In view of the current emerging environmental and climatic factors that has induced economic challenges, political instability, infrastructural defects, increasing security threats and severe austerity with significant financial pressures on all areas of organizational service delivery, it is vital that HR practitioners clarifies its aims and objectives for its staff. These need to be identified within an overall workforce strategy which is aligned to the organization's priorities and objectives. This strategy describes the high level objectives for the workforce, identifies performance measures by which progress can be judged and puts forward a range of priorities which will provide a programme of future activity with regards to workforce development. This paper argues that organizations are operating in a volatile, uncertain and unpredictable environment where the only constant is reduced resources and increased demands on service delivery. This paper therefore argues the need for a HR policy framework that addresses adaptation in public organisations and a systematic acquisition of innovative human resource professionals with requisite competence and skill capable of leading teams through periods of severe changes arising from bad government policy decisions and technology and to foster a culture of continuous improvement through reforms in other to sustain its service delivery  and achieve competitive advantage in the organization. Keywords: Change Management, workforce, austerity, Public organization, managing workforce.


: The applications of the fluorescent staining of chromosomes with quinacrine mustard allowed to identify a dicentric Y-chromosome in two patients with defected external gynaetalies: a boy of 15 years old and a girl of 2 years old. Both the patients had mosaicism of sex chromosomes: 45, x/46, x dic (Y). The dicentric Y-chromosome, resembling chromosome, 16, had bright luminescence of the thelomeric regions characteristic of the normal Y-chromosome. Besides, a balanced autosomic translocation t (1, 14) (q 31, q 3) was found in the girl identified also with quinacrine mustard fluorescent staining.


This study aims to examine the moderation effects of corporate visibility on the direct relationship between CSR with corporate reputation, and to examine the mediation effects of corporate reputation on the direct relationship between CSR with financial corporate performance. Independent variabel in this research is CSR. Mediation variabel in this research is corporate reputation. Moderation variabel in this research is corporate visibility. While the dependent variabel which used in this research is financial corporate performance.
This study uses secondary data from financial statements of companies that listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange and Bloomberg database. Sampling method that used is purposive sampling. The selected samples are manufactur companies from sector 3, 4, and 5 that publish about CSR performance and have entertainment expense or promotion expense on their financial report years 2015-2016 in a row and available in Bloomberg. This study uses Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis method to examine the direct relationship between independent variable, mediation variable, moderation
Result of this study shows that CSR has positive effect on corporate reputation, corporate visibility has not moderation effect on the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation, and CSR has positive effect on the relationship between corporate financial performance by mediation effect of corporate reputation.


SIR,-In reply to Dr Wildsmith's letter we would like to reiterate the main purpose of our short paper-namely, to highlight the erratic way in which lignocaine is commonly used and to offer a simple guide to safer practice. We accept that the correlation between body weight, total dose injected, and plasma concentration produced is not always high; in our study, however, most doctors did not use any objective physiological variables to guide their use of local anaesthetics. To suggest that they calculate a safe maximum dose according to factors other than body weight is, we feel, unrealistic. Our chart covers body weights up to 70 kg only, and we would not recommend extrapolation to include obese patients. We accept that the caption may be misinterpreted in the manner described, though in Britain intravenous regional analgesia should be practised only by specialists, whom we hope would not consider that possibility. Although we agree with Dr Dennison that the site of injection and type of procedure are important factors in the production of toxic plasma concentrations of lignocaine, we would like to point out that our article was aimed at a general medical readership, and 95O, of junior hospital doctors questioned were using lignocaine for local infiltration or topical analgesia. Few of our respondents were anaesthetists, and we hope that doctors attempting the specialist procedures he mentions would be aware of the many other factors involved in drug toxicity. We do not suggest that the use of 3 mg,/kg of lignocaine produces predictable plasma concentrations, but we do believe that if the total dose is kept at or below those derived from the chart then toxic plasma concentrations are unlikely to be achieved. This is borne out by Dr Dennison's statement that even in the vascular sites used in intercostal, interscalene brachial plexus, and epidural blocks, toxic concentrations (of greater than 5 mg,l) are not found in total doses of less than 200 mg in a man weighing 70 kg.


Interactive classroom Internet sites such as Blackboard are now widely used in college courses. These Internet sites include options for a number of possible interactive technologies. Particularly, they are useful for disseminating information and communicating quickly and easily with individual students and the class as a whole. One feature that is generally underutilized on interactive classroom sites is the online survey option. This feature was developed for instructors to survey the class, yet it is generally used by instructors for course evaluation purposes. In this article, I will describe how an online survey can be used to teach undergraduate Psychology of Women students how to conduct social science survey research related to the topics covered within their textbook. Specifically, I use online surveys in a large (N = 150) undergraduate Psychology of Women course to (a) survey male and female students about topics we will cover in class in order to provide lecture materials on how students' opinions differ from class readings, (b) demonstrate how to analyze results of simple quantitative items by gender, (c) demonstrate how to come up with themes for the answers of open-ended questions by gender, and (d) teach students how to write up survey information in a research paper. I should point out here that even instructors teaching much smaller classes (e.g., 15–20 students) can use this method, as long as there are enough students in class to make survey items meaningful (data could also be collected across classes when there are multiple sections of the same course). This assignment has some additional benefits. Students in Psychology of Women courses often consider published research studies outdated, even if those studies were conducted just a few years ago. In contrast, the online surveys were conducted just weeks or months ago. Additionally, students have a tendency to believe that research described in their textbook is not true on their campus or of their peer group. Class surveys are thus particularly convincing


Influenza is one of re-emerging infectious disease in Thailand. The true burden of influenza is not known and is needed for influenza preparedness. Thailand has a vaccine policy targets at healthcare worker (HCWs), people aged 6-24 months or ≥65 years, people with chronic medical condition (CMC), and pregnant women. However, amount of vaccine is limited and policy planners need information for vaccine prioritization. The government also promote non-pharmaceutical interventions, but their impact is not well studied. This research aimed to use agent-based model (ABM) to estimate influenza burden in Thailand and assess impact of control measures. The basic reproductive number (R0) based on Thailand's context is unknown and should be estimated for further studies of influenza dynamics. The R0 was estimated using formula relating the epidemic growth rate (r) and generation time. The projection of influenza burden was studied by fitting an ABM. The model contains a 58,354,744 synthetic Thai population, incorporates people with CMC and HCWs. At start, 100 agents were randomly assigned for initial infection. The model simulated the interactions of individuals with others over 180 days. Impacts of influenza vaccine were simulated at 50%, 75% and 100% coverage. Impacts of face mask wearing and hand washing were simulated at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% coverage. The R0 estimates ranged from 1.11 to 1.77 (median 1.39). The highest attack rate occurs in school-age children and adolescents (15.32%). One Hundred percent coverage of target population policy can avoid morbidity and mortality by 47.06% and 59.61% in total population respectively. However, the benefit is very small for HCWs (3.75% case reduction). The extended policy to include children aged 2-18 years old can avoid >99% of cases. For non-pharmaceutical interventions, at least 50% compliance of the combined face mask use and hand washing policy can avoid morbidity and mortality >98% for all adherence of mask wearing. The public health significance of this research is that it provided information for health policy makers to guide optimized target population for vaccine, and to encourage non-pharmaceutical interventions for controlling influenza outbreak.


The United Nations Paris agreement of 2015 highlighted the need for urban planning to prevent and contain urban sprawl so as to reduce trip lengths through an efficient distribution of agglomerations and a well-balanced urban pattern distribution, all while considering travel behavior and accessibility to green areas, services, and facilities on different temporal scales. For the Vienna-Bratislava metropolitan region, our integrated modeling approach uses a combination of multifractal spatial modeling along with a space syntax perspective. Multifractal strategies are intrinsically multiscalar and adhere to five planning principles: hierarchical (polycentric) urban development to manage urban sprawl; sustainable transit-oriented development; locally well-balanced urban pattern and functions distribution to enhance vital urban systems, local centers, and neighborhoods; penetration of green areas into built-up areas; and the preservation of large interconnected networks of green areas to conserve biodiversity. Adding space syntax modeling to a multifractal strategy integrates how space relates to functional patterns based on centrality, thus applying a socio-spatial perspective. In this paper, we used the following workflow for an integrated modeling approach: (1) Space syntax to identify the urban systems' hierarchy and so determine a spatial strategy regionally; (2) Fractalopolis to create a multifractal development plan for potential urbanization; and (3) Space syntax to design a strategic urban master plan for locating new housing and facilities vis-à-vis socioeconomic factors.


An i.v. formulation of rubitecan (9-nitrocamptothecin) was evaluated in five human solid tumor xenograft models. Rubitecan in IDD-P™, a particulate suspension of the insoluble analog, produced significant tumor growth delay in athymic nude mice bearing A375 melanoma, and MX-1 breast, SKMES non-small-cell lung, Panc-1 pancreatic and HT29 colon carcinomas. The activity of i.v. rubitecan was similar or somewhat superior to those of i.p. regimens with the reference drugs, irinotecan and topotecan. Tumor sensitivity to rubitecan in IDD-P was MX-1>A375>SKMES >Panc-1>HT29. Some complete regression responses were seen with MX-1, A375 and SKMES tumors treated with 2.5 mg/kg on a schedule of two 5-day dosing cycles separated by 2 drug-free days. In nude mice, the MTD of rubitecan in IDD-P lies between 2 and 2.5 mg/kg on this schedule; antitumor efficacy was achieved with doses between 2.5 and 1.25 mg/kg. Dosing with 6.6 mg/kg rubitecan in IDD-P on intermittent schedules (4- or 7-day intervals) was tolerated, but less efficacious, when tested in the A375 model. The good responses obtained with rubitecan in IDD-P suggest it could be used clinically in circumstances where an i.v. formulation offers advantages to oral or aerosol formulations.


The steady growth of alcoholism poses the task of further deepening knowledge in the field of its etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Recently, the problem of alcoholism has become increasingly important in connection with the epidemiological and social danger of this disease and the problem of alcoholism remains relevant for theoretical and practical medicine. Alcohol can damage most organs, it contributes to the development of more than 60 different diseases, makes a significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality of the population [1,2]. Along with this, the intake of ethanol into the body is accompanied by significant violations of all types of metabolism, the functioning of neurotransmitter systems, the occurrence of endocrine disorders [3,4]


Exploring women's narratives from an innovative feminist perspective, Female Stories, Female Bodies combines theory and textual commentary in a wide-ranging interrogation of representation and identity, gender and genre. Cultural critic Lidia Curti takes us through a diverse range of texts in a broad spectrum of media and genres, drawing on feminist, psychoanalytic, postmodern, and postcolonial theory in a challenging and rigorous discussion of such themes as hybridity and monstrosity, the male and female gaze, melancholia, desire, and paranoia. From Angela Carter and Toni Morrison to Jeanette Winterson and Jane Bowles, from daytime t.v. to Shakespearean drama, Curti examines variegated "textualities" in search of the "spaces and times" that narrative occupies in women's lives. Following de Certeau's dictum that "our stories order our world, providing the mimetic and mythical structures for experience," she argues that women must retrace their way in the interminable plurality of female narrative texts as a strategy for resisting the "official" closure of female identity. Female Stories, Female Bodies takes us on such a journey, bringing the body of female narrative to bear on the lived experiences of women everywhere.


Four techniques for the enumeration of viable heterotrophic bacteria were evaluated for use with environmental samples. Factors being sought were an economical use of materials and time and a superior level of bacterial recovery. The techniques compared in this study were pour plate, spread plate, membrane filtration, and the modified spread plate technique (spot plate). Eighty-four water and thirty-two sediment samples were analyzed for heterotrophic bacterial concentrations using the four methods under study. A statistical analysis of the data by a factorial analysis of variance and a t test indicated that there was no significant difference in the recoveries of the spread plate and spot plate techniques. Both of these produced superior recoveries to the membrane filter and pour plate methods. Poorest recoveries were obtained with the pour plate for water and membrane filter for sediment. The spot plate method was determined to be the most appropriate method for our purposes, since it was superior in most areas of interest to the other methods tested.


Chronic influences of low-intensity X-rays in doses of 0.15 and 0.25 Gr and mix of heavy metals salts in a dose of 2 EPC (extreme permissible concentrations) for each metal, as a single factor or as a combination of factors, on the state of pro-/antioxidative system in a rat liver have been studied. Analysis of the data concerning combined influences allows to conclude that effects under these doses have some differences: a splash of processes of lipid peroxidation are observed in both causes, but under the lower dose an additivity takes place, and under the dose of 0.25 Gr a synergism of the agent effects in relation to the development of peroxidative reactions is registered. The results testify that technogenic contamination of water with heavy metals worsens the action of radiation factor, specifically, eliminates a hormetic splash of antioxidative activity at 0.15 Gr. Biochemical indexes of the liver activity, as a central organ of a general metabolism, and a structure of morbidity have been studied in liquidators of the Chernobyl accident from industrial Prydnieprovie region. Disturbances of liver functions have been shown, especially in persons obtained the exposure dose about 0.25 Gr. A comparison of these results and data of tests with laboratory animals reveals their mutual accordance and supports a relevancy of extrapolation of data of model experiments on a person health state, which undergone a similar influence.


The Engineer: English Language for Industrial Engineering is a book with a serious video game that aims at teaching students general English at B2 level (CEFRL) and technical language related to the industrial engineering business. The book contains six units contextualized in the story of a recently graduated industrial engineer who is looking for a first engineering job. The book and the video game provide an environment of linguistic immersion through functional language, reading comprehension, and the protagonist's interaction with other computerized characters. The new knowledge is introduced in the teaching book and practiced along with the corresponding missions of the video game. The exercises are related to the industrial engineering industry and are based on puzzles, tests, fictional dialogues, search and use of objects, and other skill games. This material aims to make the learning process more engaging with active exercises immersed in the fictional reality of a video game.


Objectives: To analyze the type and distribution characteristics of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection along with cervical cytology in middle-aged and elderly women in Guangxi and to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in elderly women. Methods: 21 subtypes of HPV and cervical cytology of women over 45-year-old visiting the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January 2019 to December 2020 were collected. They were divided into two groups by age, 45-64 years group and over 65 years group. The HPV, HR-HPV, and multiple HPV infection prevalence were analyzed, as well as HPV genotypes, the age distribution of HPV infection rate, and cervical cytology. Results: A total of 6 657 eligible women were included. 6 238 women were in the 45-64 years group, with a HPV prevalence about 20.86% (1 301), while 419 women were in the over 65 years group, with a HPV prevalence about 32.94% (138). The age-associated HPV and HR-HPV prevalence increased with the age, peaking at the age group of 70-74 years (P<0.001). The most prevalent genotype was HPV52, and the infection rate was 5.3% (353), followed by HPV16 and HPV 58, about 4.63% (308) and 3.08% (205) respectively. The majority cytology of HPV-positive middle-aged and elderly women was normal. 8.70% (88) of them were ASC-US, 6.52% (66) for HSIL, 4.55% (46) for LSIL, and 2.96% (30) for ASC-H, and 0.10% (1) for SCC. Compared to middle-aged women, elderly women had a lower negative cytology rate, 69.79% (67) vs. 77.95% (714), but a higher HSIL rate, 13.54% (13) vs. 5.79% (53) (P<0.05). Conclusions: HPV and HR-HPV prevalence of elderly women in a medical center of Guangxi are higher than those of middle-aged women. The most prevalent genotype is HPV16 in elderly women, followed by HPV52 and HPV58.


Transcriptomic diversity across human populations reflects differential regulatory mechanisms. Allelic-imbalanced gene expression is a genetic regulatory mechanism that contributes to human phenotypic variation. To systematically investigate genome-wide allele-specific expression (ASE), we analyzed RNA-Seq data from European and African populations provided by the Geuvadis project. We identified 11 sites in 8 genes showing ASE in both Europeans and Africans, and 9 sites in 9 genes showing population-specific ASE, including both novel and known ASE signals. Notably, the top signal of differentiated ASE between inter-continental populations was observed in DNAJC15, of which the derived allele of rs12015, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), showed significantly higher expression than did the ancestral allele specifically in European individuals. We identified a unique haplotype of DNAJC15, where a few SNPs highly differentiated between European and African populations were strongly linked to sites with high ASE. Among these, SNP rs17553284 affected the binding of several transcription factors as well as the genotype-dependent expression of DNAJC15. Therefore, we speculated that rs17553284 could be a regulatory causal variant that mediates the ASE of rs12015. We found several variations in ASE between intercontinental populations. The highly differentiated ASE genes identified here may implicate in the phenotypic variations among populations that are both evolutionarily and medically important.


Cluster's last stand: Metal nanoparticles, which are well known for their catalytic properties, contain 103-106 atoms in each particle, giving rise to a continuous band of electronic energy levels. As a result, they are very different electronically from metal nanoclusters composed of aggregates of approximately 3-20 atoms. Such nanoclusters themselves exhibit remarkable catalytic performances in hydrogenation and ammoxidation cascade reactions.


Staphylococcus aureus is the leading etiologic agent of implant orthopedic infections. Until recently S. aureus was considered a mere extracellular pathogen; it then turned out to be able to invade eukaryotic cells. Adhesion of S. aureus to peri-prosthesis tissues represents the starting of the infection pathogenesis and the first step of the subsequent internalization of S. aureus by host cells. In the present work the experimental observations on two epidemic clinical strains differing in their adhesin pattern demonstrate the crucial role of the fibronectin-binding protein A in the internalization process and suggest that CNA and Bbp adhesins can play a synergistic role by acting in the initial adhesion of S. aureus to osteoblasts, thus favoring the subsequent FnBPA-mediated internalization.


The proceedings provide state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and assistive technologies. The proceedings collected together peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2013 conference. It contains a strong showing of articles on legged locomotion with numbers of legs from two onwards. There is also a good collection of articles on systems that walls climbing, poles balancing, and other more complex structures following the traditional of CLAWAR themes. In addition, the proceedings also cover the subject of robot-human interaction, which focus on a more "human" way of communicating with humanoid robots. As for human assistive devices, proceedings also cover exoskeletal and prosthetic devices, robots for personal and nursing cares to address the issues of ageing population in our society. Finally, the issue of the deployment of robots in society, it social and ethically consideration are also addressed in the proceedings. © 2013 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.


This open label, multicentric, comparative clinical trial was done to compare the efficacy and tolerability of two sevelamer formulations, sevelamer carbonate, and sevelamer hydrochloride, in the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in Indian end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. A total of 97 ESRD patients on hemodialysis, were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive either sevelamer carbonate or sevelamer hydrochloride. All patients were evaluated every week for 6 weeks for efficacy and safety variables. Total 88 patients completed the study. After 6 weeks of therapy, there were similar reductions (P<0.0001) in mean serum phosphorus and the CaxP product both the groups. The responder rates for test and reference groups were 75%, 68.18% respectively (P=0.3474). The adverse events reported were nausea, abdominal pain/discomfort, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, increased prothrombin time, and severe arthritis. No serious adverse events were reported. There was no significant difference between the groups for adverse events and the laboratory parameters. From the results of this multicentric, comparative, randomized clinical study on sevelamer carbonate we can recommend that sevelamer carbonate may be used as a phosphate binder in Indian chronic kidney disease patients.


This study aims to determine the role of DPS PT. BPRS XXX in Bogor Regency and DPS PT. BPRS YYY in Cianjur Regency in implementing the governance of BPRS POJK Number 24/POJK.03/2018. This type of research is a field research with a qualitative approach. The results of this study are that DPS BPRS XXX and BPRS YYY have carried out their roles well even though there are several tasks that are not in accordance with OJK regulations, such as mentioning the reasons for taking samples, not explaining concurrent positions and remuneration in detail in the governance report. From the results of the assessment of the role of DPS in the two BPRS, BPRS XXX is slightly superior to BPRS YYY because BPRS YYY has one transaction that is not sharia-compliant. In the Implementation Scale of DPS Governance, both BPRS received good predicate. Recommendations in this study include for DPS in addition to knowing the sciences of fiqh muamalah, DPS also needs to know the ins and outs of the transaction flow in LKS. In addition, DPS also needs to know statistics so that the inspection of documents by sampling is more accurate and represents other documents that were not examined.
Keywords:  BPRS, DPS, Governance


The interaction of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) with the atoms of the atmosphere can occur at center-of-mass energies that surpass 100 TeV, while present human-made accelerators go up to 13 TeV. Therefore it provides a unique opportunity to explore hadronic interactions at the highest energies. However, the extraction of hadronic interaction properties from the Extensive Air Showers (EAS) characteristics, which are induced by the UHECR, is intrinsically related to the nature of the primary cosmic ray. As such, to break the degeneracy between hadronic interactions and primary mass composition, a consistent description of the shower observables must be achieved. Such detailed studies have been conducted in the last years at the Pierre Auger Observatory, the largest UHECRs detector in the world. It combines two complementary techniques to measure the EAS characteristics. In this talk, we will present the latest measurements on shower observables, both on the electromagnetic and muonic shower components, and its interpretation in terms of the primary mass composition. Its impact regarding particle physics will be discussed, in particular the measurement of the proton-air cross section. Finally, through the joint analysis of the different measurements, it will be shown that none of the post-LHC high-energy hadronic interaction models can satisfactorily describe the data.


The work contains a comparison of the changes at the sugar market in Hungary and in Poland in the years 1995-2014. Sugar beet crop area in Hungary has decreased by 87% and in Poland by 48%, while beet root harvest dropped by 25% in Hungary, but remained unchanged in Poland. Sugar beet production was abandoned – either by choice or necessity – by 62% of farmers in Hungary (in the years 2000-2014) and by 87% in Poland (1995-2014). In the 20 year period sugar beet production shrunk in Hungary by 73% and in Poland it grew by 29%. Between 1995 and 2008 11 out of 12 sugar factories in Hungary were closed, while in Poland out of 76 factories, 19 remained operational through that period and 18 remained a year after. Sugar exports in 2013 grew compared to 1995 by 15 times in Hungary, but by 253 times in Poland. Sugar imports in Hungary grew 105 times, in Poland it dropped by 40%. Lifting of sugar production quotas in the EU in 2017 can result in complete abandoning of sugar production in Hungary and its further growth in Poland. Hungary has nevertheless been strengthening their position as the leading producer of isoglucose in the EU.


AIM
The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of the chemical characteristics and roughness of titanium surfaces on the viability, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast-like cells cultured in a medium supplemented with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-7 (rhBMP-7).

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Osteo-1 cells were grown on titanium disks presenting with the following surfaces: (1) machined, (2) coarse grit-blasted and acid-attacked (SLA) and (3) chemically modified SLA (SLAmod) in the absence or presence of 20 ng/ml rhBMP-7 in culture medium. The viability and number of osteo-1 cells were evaluated after 24 h. Analyses of total protein content (TP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity at 7, 14 and 21 days, collagen content at 7 and 21 days and mineralized matrix formation at 21 days were performed.

RESULTS
Cell viability (P=0.5516), cell number (P=0.3485), collagen content (P=0.1165) and mineralized matrix formation (P=0.5319) were not affected by the different surface configurations or by the addition of rhBMP-7 to the medium. Osteo-1 cells cultured on SLA surfaces showed a significant increase in TP at 21 days. The ALPase/TP ratio (P=0.00001) was affected by treatment and time.

CONCLUSION
The results suggest that the addition of rhBMP-7 to the culture medium did not exert any effect on the viability, proliferation or differentiation of osteoblast-like cells grown on the different surfaces tested. All titanium surfaces analyzed allowed the complete expression of the osteoblast phenotype such as matrix mineralization by osteo-1 cells.


Ecological risk assessment is carried out for chemicals such as pesticides before they are released into the environment. Such risk assessment currently relies on summary statistics gathered in standardized laboratory studies. However, these statistics extract only limited information and depend on duration of exposure. Their extrapolation to realistic ecological scenarios is inherently limited. Mechanistic effect models simulate the processes underlying toxicity and so have the potential to overcome these issues. Toxicokinetic–toxicodynamic (TK–TD) models operate at the individual level, predicting the internal concentration of a chemical over time and the stress it places on an organism. TK–TD models are particularly suited to addressing the difference in exposure patterns between laboratory (constant) and field (variable) scenarios. So far, few studies have sought to predict sublethal effects of pesticide exposure to wild mammals in the field, even though such effects are of particular interest with respect to longer term exposure. We developed a TK–TD model based on the dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory, which can be parametrized and tested solely using standard regulatory studies. We demonstrate that this approach can be used effectively to predict toxic effects on the body weight of rats over time. Model predictions separate the impacts of feeding avoidance and toxic action, highlighting which was the primary driver of effects on growth. Such information is relevant to the ecological risk posed by a compound because in the environment alternative food sources may or may not be available to focal species. While this study focused on a single end point, growth, this approach could be expanded to include reproductive output. The framework developed is simple to use and could be of great utility for ecological and toxicological research as well as to risk assessors in industry and regulatory agencies.


There are relativelv few matters with which one might take issue. In the first chapter. however, no mention is made of dvnamic events in the vitreous, and the anatomical basis of the 'vitreous base' is treated undulv cursorilv. Dr Michel's preference for light projection over .the swinging flash-light test as an index of likelv vision in an eve with dense vitreous opacities does not accord with our experience. Similarlvy the choice of the inferonasal quadrant for purposeful retinotomv to allow internal drainage of subretinal fluid is open to debate. The illustrations are generaliv excellent. though the drawings of traction retinal detachments tend to depict the elevated retina as a partialiv deflated balloon rather than a structure striving to retain apposition with the pigment epithelium against all the odds. Vitreolus Surrgerv is destined to attain and maintain pride of place in the surgical section of ophthalmic libraries. It is highlv recommended to all, though its price mav deter students and those not primarilv concerned with ocular surgerv from a personal purchase. DAvID MCLEOD


The object of research are Georgian Resort - Recreational areas  and  tourism opportunities. Nature has richly rewarded Georgia with tourist recreational resources in the areas. There is no such a places in the world where such a variety of scenery can be seen. That's why Georgia whit its unique natural economic conditions – has the opportunity to become a strong tourist country. We believe that such a country as Georgia, which is one of the major tourist potentials of its untouched, wild and varied, remarkably attractive nature,  is particularly important to assess the value of natural resources, tourism and recreation.


Relationship of morbidity rate of internal diseases with aging was evaluated in inpatients at Oral and Maxillofaclal Surgery Divisions of Kyushu Dental College HospitaL The diagnosis of internal diseases of individual patients was determined by not only their clinical histories but also laboratory data and medical examinations. They were 299 males and 288 females, and their mean age was 40.6 year old. Clinical histories revealed that the morbidity rate of hyperten$ion, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia increased with aging. Systolic blood pressure was elevated consistently with increasing age, while diastolic blood pressure was the highest in subjects in fifties. The morbidity of systolic hypertension was 54.7% in elderly patients older than 70 years, and that of diastolic hypertension 33.7% in fifties. Blood glucose level was also elevated with aging, and the value being the highest in subjects older than 70 years. In the serum cholesterol, however, the sixties had higher levels than the others, Carriers of hepatitis virus B and C were the most in patients in fifties and sixties, respectively, in which


Background: Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are lagomorphs belonging to the Leporidae family. They are widely used in laboratory experiments and are an important source for humans feeding industry. In the biomedical investigation fi eld, the rabbit contributes for the production of several scientifi c studies. Since studies about the rabbit's morphology is rare, especially what refers to abdominal vascularization, this work had the objective to systematize and describe the visceral collateral branches of the abdominal aorta in New Zealand rabbits. Materials, Methods & Results: Fourteen male and sixteen female New Zealand young adult rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were used. Animals were euthanized with T 61, administered via an intrapulmonary injection. Skin was removed, thoracic cavity opened in plastron, thoracic aorta cannulated, according to blood fl ow, and the two cranial and caudal cava veins sectioned near the heart. System was washed with saline solution and heparin and fi lled with red latex. Animals remained immersed in running water, for 90 min, and the trunk was transversally sectioned, near the last thoracic vertebra. The abdominal cavity remained closed and formaldehyde was administered via an intraperitoneal injection. Samples were fi xed in formaldehyde for seven days, the abdominal cavity opened, the viscera removed in block and the arteries dissected. Schematic drawings of every preparation were made-up and the visceral branches of the abdominal aorta systematized. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using percentage values. The celiac artery was the fi rst direct visceral collateral branch, followed by the cranial mesenteric artery, and they were given off from the ventral surface of the abdominal aorta. The renal arteries were originated from the lateral side of the abdominal aorta, and the right vessel was originated more cranial than the left. Near the entrance of the pelvic cavity, the abdominal aorta emitted from its ventral surface the caudal mesenteric artery, and near this latter, the aorta abdominal originated the right and left gonadal arteries. The adrenal arteries were found as being indirect visceral collateral branches, which in most of the cases originated from the caudal phrenic artery. It was also observed that the right and left umbilical arteries were indirect visceral collateral branches, but from the internal iliac artery on its respective antimere. Discussion: In nutria, the celiac and the cranial mesenteric arteries were the fi rst and second direct visceral collaterals branches, respectively, and they were given off from the ventral surface of the abdominal aorta, as observed in rabbits. In moco, the cranial mesenteric artery could be given off in a common trunk with the caudal mesenteric artery, which was not observd in rabbit. As opposed to nutria, in which the renal artery was double in 3,3% of the animals, on the rigth and left antimeres, in the rabbit was observed its absence in one sample, to the left, due to left kidney agenesis. The gonadal artery, in chinchilla, was branch of the correspondent renal artery and in nutria, was a branch of umbilical artery. It was noticed in this study that the gonadal artery in rabbit was originated directly from the abdominal aorta. The caudal mesenteric artery, in nutria, was usually emitted from the aorta abdominal ventral surface, near its bifurcation, and could be absent, while in rabbit it was double in 3,3% of the animals.


In this paper, a novel chip shaping being used in a particular DS-CDMA was addressed. The chip shaping is created by superpositioning of N/2 carriers in a typical interferometry-pattern chip shaping. The particular DS-CDMA refers to a DS-CDMA whose users are separated into two groups with the maximum number of users in each group being N/2. The result shows that by considering the frequency diversity, over a fading channel, the overall performance can be improved in such a way that the same QoS in all user can be achieved.


Grid is a distributed platform that makes the utilization of distributed and powerful sharing resources for those submitted applications more conveniently. Applications designed to execute on grid frequently require the simultaneous co-allocation of multiple resources to meet performance requirement. In particular, the problem of co-allocating grid resources that span multiple administrative domains is complicated by the possibility of deadlock and the lack of means for changing information between the independent applications. Motivated by this, this paper develops a new method for fast co-allocation of grid resources. The proposed method is based on Atomic Transaction and is free from deadlock. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method yields a significant performance improvement over other existing deadlock prevention methods.


Pregnancy during plastic surgery residency poses unique challenges to the resident herself, to her resident colleagues, and to her residency director. Studies of the effects of pregnancy have been conducted that have combined all medical specialties or have included all surgeons as a statistically uniform group. The Women Plastic Surgeons' Caucus Committee of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons has conducted a survey in order to obtain objective data on maternal fetal complications, time off work, maternal leave policies, call coverage, and other important issues. Response rates were 40 percent for the women residents and 45 percent for the program directors surveyed. The results show a 57 percent overall complication rate (excluding miscarriages), a 26 percent elective abortion rate, and a 33 percent infertility rate in women plastic surgeons, numbers that are higher than those currently in the literature. Data obtained regarding issues such as time off work, planning of pregnancy, call coverage, productivity and income, perceived peer support, program directors' opinions and policies, and possible solutions that might provide a mutually rewarding outcome are presented for discussion.


This study aimed to explore and analyze uncertainty in the information seeking behavior among the students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) based on Kuhlthau Information Search Process Model. This is an applied research. Data gathered using questionnaire. Research population included 1075 students from all graduate students of KUMS in M.Sc. and Ph.D. grades. The sample size estimated 263 people .The studied students had relatively similar senses as reported by Kuhlthau in her information search process model. Among demographic variables, only gender affected the presentation stage. Women had better performance in the presentation stage. Ph.D. students performed better than master students when selecting their research topics. These two groups had no clear differences in other stages. Students with previous experience in research activities had better performance in title selection, literature exploration and presentation stages and also had lower uncertainty. The students' performance decreased in different stages as their ages increased. The effect of individuals' age on their performance was considerable in the stages of literature exploration and result presentation. The graduate students of KUMS follow the same stages as Kuhlthau information search process model and have similar feelings with that. Uncertainty was felt in the different stages of information search by graduate students of KUMS. The factors like age, gender, level of education and previous experience were effective in some stages on decrease or increase of uncertainty.


A study was conducted to determine the effects the of cattle manure application on forage yield, quality and soil in orchard grass pasture at the experimental field of Subtropical Animal Experiment Station, National Institute of Animal Science from 2008 to 2009. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment consisted of chemical fertilizer (CF N-200㎏/㏊), cattle manure 50% (basis N, CM50%), CM100% (basis N), CM200% (basis N). The dry matter (DM) yield of CM200% was the highest among the other treatments. CF showed the highest average crude protein (CP) content by 12.4% and CM50% showed the lowest content by 11.0%. Average acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content were 30.4 and 69.7% respectively. All treatments have narrow range of total digestibility nutrient (TDN) from 64.0% to 69.1%. But there were big difference between treatment in forage nitrate content. Changes of physical and chemical properties of soils for applications of CF 200% and CM 200% was clearly in cattle manure application. Especially, CM application in pasture increased CF application with respect to soil pH, organic matter (OM), and avaliable phosphorous (P₂O?) contents of soils.


The reduction of Mn(VII) by Na2S2O4 in aqueous solution was investigated. Changes in [Mn (VII)] were followed kinetically by UV-Visible Spectrophotometry (λmax=530 nm) at different pH (3-12) and temperatures (298–333 K).Thermodynamic parameters for the reduction were derived from ln kobs/T vs 1/T plots. The stoichiometry was studied with fixed [Mn(VII)] (1.818×10-7 M) with various [Na2S2O4] (7.273×10-5–2.182×10-4 M) at constant pH, temperature and time. The temperature effect showed that the reaction rate increased with increased temperature. The activated entropy obtained was between -104.8887 and -113.6600 JKmol-1 for all reactions showing that the reaction was highly spontaneous suggesting an associative mechanistic pathway. The activated enthalpy obtained varied from -8.680×102   to 4.776×103 Jmol-1.In most cases it was positive showing that the reaction was rather endothermic. The activation energies obtained were 31.5954, 32.6848, 33.7742, 34.3186 and 35.4082 KJmol-1 for respective Kelvin temperature of 298, 308, 318, 323 and 333. This increase in activation energy with increasing temperature showed that the reaction does not necessarily require increased temperature to proceed. The stoichiometry therefore suggested that Mn(VII) reductant ratio was 1:1.05 and did not change under alkaline condition. These values were found to be in agreement with the theoretically obtained results. This implied that the reduction of Mn(VII) does not depend on pH. The findings from the research showed that all the reductants could be used for the reductive detoxification of Mn(VII) in polluted areas even at hyper alkaline pH at a very fast rate.


REPORT OF A CASE A 3-year-old girl was referred to the Outpatient Dermatology Clinic of the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) Medical Center because of an asymptomatic papular eruption of 1 year's duration involving the face, neck, upper extremities, and trunk. The lesions were progressively increasing in number. The patient was otherwise healthy and had a normal development. There was no family history of a similar condition or other skin diseases. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION There were multiple, discrete and confluent, 1- to 3-mm papules over the face, neck, upper extremities, and trunk. They were brownish, but some had a yellowish hue (Fig 1). The mucous membranes were not affected. Results of the rest of the physical examination were normal. Two skin biopsy specimens were taken from the right arm and left aspect of the chest. A representative section is shown in Fig 2. What is your diagnosis?


In clinical psychosomatics there is a need for adequate documentation of psychometric data both within the framework of individual diagnostics and in carespecific quality assurance. The data collection method should meet current psychometric standards, while at the same time allowing a fast and economical evaluation. In contrast to conventional methods using paper and pencil, computer-assisted testing offers considerable advantages in both regards. Using data collected from 6434 patients between the years of 1995 and 2002, we investigated what effects the complete conversion of a psychometric basis assessment to a mobile, computer-assisted method had in terms of acceptance, data structure, and economy. We implemented the following questionnaires, among others: the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale, the Giessen Complaint Inventory (Giessener Beschwerdebogen GBB), the Berlin Mood Questionnaire (Berliner Stimmungsfragebogen BSF), the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Short-Form 36 (SF-36), the WHOQOL-Bref, the Giessen Test (GTS), the Narcissism Inventory (NI), and parts of the Psychosomatic Basis Documentation (PsyBaDo). Based on our experience, we can conclude that 1. testing by means of mobile PDA's enjoys a high rate of acceptance among patients, 2. the organization of data is considerably improved, which guarantees an immediate evaluation for clinical and scientific lines of questioning, 3. no significant alterations result in terms of the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire, and 4. mobile computerized testing is two-thirds cheaper than conventional testing using paper and pencil.


The electricity sector has globally been subject to reforms since the 1990s. The reforms consisted of unbundling vertically integrated monopolies and attracting the private sector with a view of improving quality of service (QoS) and technical efficiency. In some East African countries, however, the electricity sector remains vertically integrated. Controlling electricity losses has been difficult, resulting in poor QoS. This paper analyzes and compares the performance of the East African power sector with regard to QoS. A non-parametric approach, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to estimate the technical efficiency scores and the Total Factor Productivity Change (TFPC) for productivity improvement under two models, generation and transmission-distribution (TD). Data comprising two outputs and three inputs was collected in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda for the period 2008-2017. On average, the East African power sector exhibits performance gaps of 20% for the generation model, and 22% for the TD model. In the generation model, it exhibits Decreasing Returns to Scale (DRS) at a frequency of 34 out of 60, compared to 16 for Increasing Returns to Scale (IRS) and 10 for Constant Returns to Scale (CRS). However, in the TD model, IRS are the most dominant, with a frequency of 31 out of 60 compared to 19 and 10 for DRS and CRS respectively. Inefficiency is largely attributed to excess inputs, including high-voltage transmission line lengths and electricity losses, as well as a shortage of outputs, such as the number of customers. The study also shows a global productivity improvement, which is linked to efficiency change for the generation model and technological change for the TD model. Specifically, countries that have attracted the private sector into the generation and/or distribution sectors have improved their productivity compared to others with state-owned utilities.


Partial likelihood (PL) establishes a sufficiently general framework to develop and study statistical properties of nonlinear techniques in signal processing. Adah et al. (1997), present the theorem by which the fundamental information-theoretic relationship for learning the PL cost, the equivalence of likelihood maximisation and relative entropy minimization, is established. In this paper, we reformulate the theorem to incorporate both the continuous and discrete probability modeling. We further show that, in both cases, the two conditions of the theorem are satisfied for the basic class of probability models, the exponential family, which includes many important network structures that can be effectively used as probability models. Hence we provide the prospect of using the PL cost in a wide class of applications with different models. We also propose several algorithms for learning/estimating the optimal model parameters by PL maximization. We give examples to illustrate the application of our general formulation and the learning algorithms and demonstrate the advantages of learning on the PL cost by simulation results.


Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Timely diagnosis of PH in COPD patients is vital to achieve proper treatment; however, there is no algorithm to identify those at high risk. We aimed to develop a predictive model for PH in patients with COPD that provides individualized risk estimates. Methods A total of 527 patients with COPD who were admitted to our hospital between May 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Using echocardiographic results as a standard, patients were stratified into a moderate- or high-PH probability group and a low-PH probability group. They were randomly grouped into either the training set (n = 368 patients) or validation set (n = 159 patients) in a ratio of 7:3. We utilized the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model to select the feature variables. The characteristic variables selected in the LASSO regression were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression to construct the predictive model. The predictive model was displayed using a nomogram. We used the receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, and clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) to evaluate model performance, and internal validation was assessed. Results The predictive factors included in the prediction model were Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage, emphysema, PaCO2, NT-pro-BNP, red blood cell (RBC) distribution width-standard deviation (RDW-SD), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). The predictive model yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.770 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.719–0.820); in the internal validation, the AUC was 0.741 (95% CI, 0.659–0.823). The predictive model was well calibrated, and the DCA showed that the proposed nomogram had strong clinical applicability. Conclusion This study showed that a simple nomogram could be used to calculate the risk of PH in patients with COPD which can be useful for the individualized clinical management of COPD patients who may be occur with PH. Further studies need to be confirmed by larger sample sizes and validated in the stable COPD population.


With a view to identifying the neurotransmitter content of retinal terminals within the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus, a highly specific antiserum to glutaraldehyde‐coupled glutamate was used in a postembedding immunogold procedure at the ultrastructural level. Retinal terminals were identified by cholera toxin–horseradish peroxidase transported anterogradely from the retina and reacted with tetramethyl benzidine/tungstate/H2O2, or by their characteristically pale and distended mitochondria with irregular cristae. Controls included model ultrathin sections containing high concentrations of various amino acids. Alternate serial sections were labelled with anti‐glutamate and anti‐γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA). Data were analysed by computer‐assisted image analysis. Density of glutamate labelling (gold particles per μm2) on whole retinal terminals was > 3 times higher than that on postsynaptic dendrites, and > 5 times higher than that on miscellaneous non‐retinal non‐glutamatergic terminals in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The overall density of gold particles over retinal terminals was ∼ 3 times higher than that over GABAergic terminals, in which glutamate‐like immunoreactivity was mainly mitochondrial. Labelling of vesicles in retinal terminals was almost 5 times greater than the apparent labelling of vesicles in GABAergic terminals, underscoring the location of transmitter glutamate within synaptic vesicles in retinal terminals. In the retino‐recipient region of the suprachiasmatic nucleus there was also a small population of non‐retinal glutamatergic terminals. Their overall immunoreactivity was similar to or exceeded that of retinal terminals, but morphological features clearly distinguished between these two types of glutamate‐containing terminals. The present results indicate that the vast majority of retinal terminals may use glutamate as a transmitter, in keeping with electrophysiological and neuropharmacological data from other sources. The possibility of cotransmitters within retinal terminals, suggested by the presence of dense‐core vesicles among the glutamate‐containing synaptic vesicles, has still to be addressed.


In this study, we reported continuous partial curing and tip-shaped modification methods for continuous production of dry adhesive with microscale mushroom-shaped structures. Typical fabrication methods of dry adhesive with mushroom-shaped structures are less productive due to the failure of large tips on pillar during demolding. To solve this problem, a typical pillar structure was fabricated through partial curing, and tip widening was realized through applying the proper pressure. Polyurethane acrylate was used in making the mushroom structure using two-step UV-assisted capillary force lithography (CFL). To make the mushroom structure, partial curing was performed on the micropillar, followed by tip widening. Dry adhesives with properties similar to those of typical mushroom-shaped dry adhesives were fabricated with reasonable adhesion force using the two-step UV-assisted CFL. This production technology was applied to the roll-to-roll process to improve productivity, thereby realizing continuous production without any defects. Such a technology is expected to be applied to various fields by achieving the productivity improvement of dry adhesives, which is essential for various applications.


Background: Aesthetics is a concept referring to beauty. Nowadays, media often perpetuates the concept of beauty by showing faces with attractive looks and high aesthetic value. The appearance of teeth is one aspect determining the attractiveness of someone's face and playing an important role in social interaction. Variations in aesthetic standards lead to different perceptions about the aesthetics of the teeth between one person and another. Objective: This study was conducted with an aim for obtaining value from the self-perception of students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine at Airlangga University regarding their satisfaction with their dental aesthetics and its correlation with their level of education. Methods: The study used a descriptive study method towards the student of the Faculty of Dentistry at Airlangga University from the first, third, and fifth semester. Results of the Study: More than half of the total respondents had good perceptions of their dental aesthetics. The lowest percentage of respondents who had positive perceptions in this study was from the first semester because only 55.89% were satisfied with their dental aesthetics. Meanwhile, students from the third semester occupied the highest percentage of respondents who had positive perceptions (73.5%). Conclusion: Positive perceptions of Airlangga University Faculty of Dentistry's students increased from the first until the third semester and decreased in the third until the fifth semester.


It is said that publishing a book is just half of a glass, and promoting to such an extent that every reader tells about it is the other half. Therefore, promotional literatures have a great value attached to any product. And present 'Language promotional literature (LPL)' deviating from its traditional style and voice comparatively inclined towards Technology, Social media, promotional and reading sessions. However, it seems that, the current regional language publishers of India not worried and/or not aware up these transformative components minimizing language promotion as compared to 'Most spoken languages' of world. Therefore, the present project undertakes a study to find out the idealistic features for regional LPL and to prepare a model LPL for Odia language as the primary catalyst of this paper.


Purpose: Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a rapid pro- totyping technique applied to produce tissue-engineer- ing scaffolds from powder materials. The standard scanning technique, however, often produces struts of extensive thickness, which means fabrication of high- ly porous scaffolds with small overall dimensions is quite difficult. Nevertheless, this study aims to overcome this shortfall. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, three scanning methods were evaluated in terms of minimum feature size and freedom of design, using a test polyamide (PA) material. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was then employed to create highly porous 3D scaffolds using the preferred scanning me- thod to produce thin struts. Findings: While in normal scanning mode some features were well above the laser spot diameter, strut thicknesses below the laser spot diameter were achieved when using the "outline scan" function for PA material. Those achieved for PCL were slightly higher and in the 500-800 ?m range, with an average pore size of 400 µm. Investigations on the properties of the scaffolds revealed an effective compression modulus of the PCL scaffold of 6.5 MPa. Furthermore, there was no change in physical or che- mical properties when the scaffolds were stored in a physiological environment for 7 weeks. Originality/ value: Though SLS is considered as a fabrication te- chnique for tissue engineering scaffolds, actually pro- duced scaffolds did not comply with porosity requirements and limitations of the SLS process in produ- cing features at the size of the laser beam spot have not been discussed. The present paper shows the capabilities of the SLS process based on two materials and presents a method to minimize feature size in scaffolds.


ENDOSCOPY of the equine urinary tract is usually performed as part of the diagnostic evaluation of horses with clinical signs suggestive of a urinary tract disorder, the most common being weight loss and abnormal urination. Other presenting signs include pyrexia, anorexia, depression, ventral oedema, oral ulceration, excessive dental tartar, colic and bloodstaining of the perineum or hindlimbs. Endoscopy should be combined with a thorough history, full physical examination, rectal palpation, haematology, biochemistry, urinalysis and ultrasonography of the bladder and kidneys in order to obtain a definitive diagnosis. This article describes the procedures involved in endoscopic examination of the urinary tract of the horse, and highlights some of the abnormalities that may be seen.


We report a missense mutation in the connexin 26 gene (GJB2) in a family with an autosomal dominant syndrome of hearing loss and hyperkeratosis. The affected family members have high frequency, slowly progressive, bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss and palmoplantar hyperkeratosis. The mutation causes an amino acid substitution (G59A), which may disrupt a reverse turn in the first extracellular loop of connexin 26. Connexin 26 mutations have been reported in syndromes of deafness and palmoplantar keratoderma. These data provide additional evidence for the role of connexin 26 in syndromes of this type.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

HPV has been identified as the definitive agent in cancers of the cervix, penis, vulva, vagina, anus, skin, eye, and head and neck, and is responsible for 5% of the total cancer burden worldwide. HPV oncogenes disable a number of tumour suppressor pathways, including p53 and Rb, contributing to the transformed phenotype. We have performed an siRNA screen using the kinome (779 genes) library to identify genes that when depleted are synthetically lethal with HPV transformation. The primary and validations screens have confirmed Aurora A kinase (AURKA) as a potential synthetic lethal target selective for HPV transformed cells. In vitro research using the investigational selective small molecule AURKA inhibitor alisertib found alisertib to be significantly more potent towards the HPV transformed cells, and selectively promoted apoptosis in the HPV cancers. The drug was shown to target the HPVE7 oncogene, the level of expression of this oncogene possibly influencing sensitivity. Apoptosis was sensitive to Mcl-1 but not Bcl-2 over expression, indicating that the mechanism is associated with the proteolytic destruction of Mcl-1 in the extended mitosis in the alisertib treated HPV cancer lines. Xenograft experiments with cervical cancer cell lines showed alisertib inhibited growth of HPV and non-HPV xenografts during treatment. The non-HPV cancer growth was delayed, but in two separate HPV cancers models, regression and no resumption of growth was detected at even 50 days post-treatment. A second transgenic model of premalignant disease driven solely by HPVE7 similarly demonstrated sensitivity to drug treatment. These findings provide preclinical evidnce that alisertib warrants evaluation as a potential targeted compound with activity in HPV-transformed cervical cancer and premalignant disease that may have application to other HPV driven cancers.

Citation Format: Brian G. Gabrielli, Fawzi Bokhari, Max Ranall, Zay Yar Oo, Alex Stevenson, Weili Wang, Sara McKee, Graham Leggatt, Paul Leo, Thomas J. Gonda, Nigel AJ McMillan. Synthetic lethal screen identifies Aurora A as a selective target in HPV driven cervical cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 945. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-945


The objective of this study is to convert bamboo into a transparent material with great optical transmittance and good strength. Bamboo has a much faster regeneration rate than wood, but its high density and high extractive content make it challenging to produce transparent products. This study presents a simple and effective approach that could address this challenge. Pretreatment of bamboo with low concentration sodium hydroxide greatly improved the preparation efficiency of transparent bamboo. The transparent bamboo with a thickness of 1 mm and cellulose volume fraction of 22% made from the pretreated bamboo exhibited an improved total optical transmissivity up to 80%, which was 60% higher than that of untreated bamboo. Compared to transparent wood (TW), although the transmissivity of transparent bamboo was slightly lower, its mechanical strength was almost doubled. Besides, the developed transparent bamboo exhibited a low heat conductivity of 0.203 W m-1 K-1, being about 10% lower than that of TW (0.225 W m-1 K-1) and approximately 80% lower than that of common glass material (0.974 W m-1 K-1). The transparent bamboo would significantly enhance energy-saving performance, being a promising alternative to traditional glass.


"Out of a humble beginning, may better fortune follow." So ends Bernard Etxepare's Linguae Vasconum Primitiae, likely the first book ever printed in the Basque language, in the year of 1545. Published in Bordeaux, the book contains a modest collection of poems, some religious, others love poetry, one autobiographical, and two extolling the virtues of Basque and its worthiness through publication to be included with the other languages of the world. Written in the Lower Navarrese dialect of Basque, the poems have found enduring fame among the Basques for their celebration of the Basque language. Included alongside the seminal translation by Mikel Morris Pagoeta is a comparative rendition of the original Basque. The book also includes a foreword by Pello Salaburu, the preface to the 1995 edition by Patxi Altuna, and an introduction by Benat Oyharcabal. "Other people thought it could not be written; now they have seen that they were wrong. Basque, come forth into the world!"


Three new compounds, named as vibralactones K–M (1–3), together with vibralactone (4) have been isolated from cultures of the Basidiomycete Boreostereum vibrans. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidences (1D and 2D NMR, HRMS, UV, and IR data), chemical methods and literature data. None of the compounds was cytotoxic against five human cancer cell lines and showed inhibitory activity on the pancreatic lipase.


Background: Heart rate variability has been considered as an indicator of autonomic status. Little work has been done on heart rate variability in normal healthy volunteers. We aimed at evolving the reference values of heart rate variability in our healthy population. Methods: Twenty-four hour holter monitoring of 37 healthy individuals was done using Holter ECG recorder 'Life card CF' from 'Reynolds Medical'. Heart rate variability in both time and frequency domains was analysed with 'Reynolds Medical Pathfinder Digital/700'. Results: The heart rate variability in normal healthy volunteers of our population was found in time domain using standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of average NN intervals (SDANN), and Square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals (RMSSD). Variation in heart rate variability indices was observed between local and foreign volunteers and RMSSD was found significantly increased (p<0.05) in local population. Conclusions: The values of heart rate variability (RMSSD) in healthy Pakistani volunteers were found increased compared to the foreign data reflecting parasympathetic dominance in our population.


Davenport, Iowa, April 28, 1902. To the Editor: —In the volume of papers and reports just issued by the American Public Health Association, the deaths from typhoid fever during the years 1898, 1899 and 1900 in 135 municipalities are given under the misleading title, "Typhoid Fever Death-Rates in American Cities." In the interest of accurate statistics and the fair fame of many of the cities misrepresented by this title, I wish to enter a vigorous protest against the article in question. The rates given are based on but three years' data, and those are the least representative of local conditions that could possibly have been selected. In them was observed, all over the Union, a marked increase of enteric fever due to no change in local conditions, but scattered broadcast by returning soldiers from the Spanish war. It is unjust to select this particular brief period to show the typhoid


An electronic control design is described which approximates the temperature of a heating element without measuring it. Because no sensor or closed-loop electronics are utilized, and because the control uses the same circuits and ROM of an existing electronic control system, the incremental cost is zero. The control system monitors the power setting selected by the user and then utilizes an electronic counter (called the heater energy counter), which is incremented or decremented at a rate that is approximately proportional to the rate of increase or decrease of temperature of the heating element for that power setting. By knowing the user setting and counting zero crossover points, the raw power into the heating unit is determined, and by empirically determining the thermal losses for different power levels, the effective energy in the heating unit is determined. >


Protein synthesis is finely regulated across all organisms, from bacteria to humans, and its integrity underpins many important processes. Emerging evidence suggests that the dynamic range of protein abundance is greater than that observed at the transcript level. Technological breakthroughs now mean that sequencing-based measurement of mRNA levels is routine, but protocols for measuring protein abundance remain both complex and expensive. This paper introduces a Bayesian network that integrates transcriptomic and proteomic data to predict protein abundance and to model the effects of its determinants. We aim to use this model to follow a molecular response over time, from condition-specific data, in order to understand adaptation during processes such as the cell cycle. With microarray data now available for many conditions, the general utility of a protein abundance predictor is broad. Whereas most quantitative proteomics studies have focused on higher organisms, we developed a predictive model of protein abundance for both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe to explore the latitude at the protein level. Our predictor primarily relies on mRNA level, mRNA–protein interaction, mRNA folding energy and half-life, and tRNA adaptation. The combination of key features, allowing for the low certainty and uneven coverage of experimental observations, gives comparatively minor but robust prediction accuracy. The model substantially improved the analysis of protein regulation during the cell cycle: predicted protein abundance identified twice as many cell-cycle-associated proteins as experimental mRNA levels. Predicted protein abundance was more dynamic than observed mRNA expression, agreeing with experimental protein abundance from a human cell line. We illustrate how the same model can be used to predict the folding energy of mRNA when protein abundance is available, lending credence to the emerging view that mRNA folding affects translation efficiency. The software and data used in this research are available at http://bioinf.scmb.uq.edu.au/proteinabundance/.


The energy spectra and angular distributions of the proton emission from the [sup 93]Nb(n,xp) reaction are measured by means of the multitelescope system at the University of Science and Technology of China. The total proton production cross sections are in fair agreement with the results obtained by others groups. The energy spectrum is explained well by the sum of the spectra calculated on the basis of the pre-equilibrium and Hauser-Feshbach theories. There are deviations from a previous measurement of the high-energy end of the angle-integrated proton spectrum. The angular distribution, which shows a strongly energy-dependent forward-backward asymmetry, is in fair agreement with the Kalbach-Mann phenomenological model.


Competency Based Education (CBE) is considered an alternative to face the lack of individuals with the appropriate labour abilities. A state of the art on CBE in terms of the practices being performed by main worldwide universities/colleges is presented. Main promoted competencies include effective communication, critical thinking and lifelong learning. Also, teaching and practice activities are determined such as real life situations and simulations. Regarding competency assessment techniques, a mix of them is used to guarantee the desired competency level. Achievements of competencies are reported with a pass or not pass grade and with narrative transcripts. CBE benefits from student's perspective are also determined. The main advantage of CBE is that measures what a student can do after completing a program. It is also flexible, as universities/colleges of any size/age can incorporate it at different levels, which depends on their resources and strategies. Even though CBE has proven to solve a global problem, the gap between the supply and demand of skillful people can only be reduced if all the concerned parties work together in a coordinated manner.


Introduction Patient safety is a healthcare discipline that aims to prevent and reduce patient harm, risks and errors during the provision of healthcare. Given the size of the nursing workforce in the healthcare system the inclusion of patient safety in the undergraduate nursing curriculum is necessary to enhance a safe culture in the daily work of their future careers. To this end, it is essential to apply effective teaching strategies to develop patient safety competencies. This review will aim to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions in developing patient safety knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes in undergraduate nursing students within the existing topic areas of the WHO Multi-professional Patient Safety Curriculum Guide. Methods and analysis The databases Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Education Research Complete, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, LILACS, Medes and Grey literature such as ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar, DART-Europe, ProQuest Dissertations, CAPES thesis and dissertations, The Virginia Henderson Global e-Repository, Mednar and Thesis Canada will be searched from July 2011 to January 2022. Two independent reviewers will conduct the search, extract the data and assess the risk of bias for the included studies, using standardised critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. The quality of the evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment Development and Evaluation methodology. Studies will be pooled in the meta-analysis. Alternatively, the findings will be presented in narrative form, including tables and figures, to aid in data presentation. Ethics and dissemination This study raises no ethical issues. The findings will be disseminated through presentations at professional conferences and publications in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021254965.


Recent developments in South Korea's foreign and security policies as well as major structural adjustments in the military alliance between the United States and South Korea indicate a new self-understanding on the part of South Korea in terms of playing a more assertive role in regional and even global affairs. Alongside its involvement in the so-called Six-Party Talks—a multinational framework to disarm a nuclear North Korea—South Korea's civil-military engagement in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon demonstrates that the government's foreign policy posture is not only focused on Northeast Asian affairs but is also intended to engage in other international security hot spots. However, although it has considerable material resources and capabilities—in neorealist terms constituting the power base of a state actor—South Korea is widely seen as a minor player in world politics. By means of a specific set of indicators—pretension, endowment, influence, recognition—this paper seeks to answer the question of whether South Korea is a regional power. The methodological approach used to evaluate its position will be based on analytical frameworks and typologies compiled from the literature on regional powers. Following the introduction of this approach, different concepts of the term regional power and the selection of the methodological instruments are presented. The subsequent section analyzes the selected set of indicators with regard to South Korea's potential status as a regional power. The concluding chapter evaluates the findings and raises further questions related to the regional-power concept.


In this paper we study the problem of hair interpolation: given two 3D hair models, we want to generate a sequence of intermediate hair models that transform from one input to another both smoothly and aesthetically pleasing. We propose an automatic method that efficiently calculates a many‐to‐many strand correspondence between two or more given hair models, taking into account the multi‐scale clustering structure of hair. Experiments demonstrate that hair interpolation can be used for producing more vivid portrait morphing effects and enabling a novel example‐based hair styling methodology, where a user can interactively create new hairstyles by continuously exploring a "style space" spanning multiple input hair models.


The use of CO2 laser is advocated in primary and revision stapes surgery. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of CO2 laser on stapes prostheses. CO2 laser was applied on several types of stapes prostheses and PORPs, with power settings suggested by the manufacturer (continuous wave, 2 W and 6 W; 0,05 s). Application of the laser on stainless steel or titanium prosthesis did not exert any effect on the structure of the prosthesis. The use of the laser on the Teflon piston caused superficial burning with power 2 W, and melting and holes in the piston with power settings at 6W. Similar plastipore prostheses were melting. Hydroxyapatite PORP shattered after application of the laser energy. Teflon and hydroxyapatite prostheses are easily damaged by the laser energy, therefore applying a laser on them should be avoided. CO2 laser can be used on stainless steel and titanium prostheses without risk of damaging them. However the possibility of transmission of heat to the vestibule has to be taken into consideration.


Introduction: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) management in the intensive care unit (ICU) has attracted strong interest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our retrospective study aims to describe the outcomes and predictors of mortality of ARDS associated with COVID-19 within one university-based healthcare system. Methods: We identified 165 patients within our healthcare system during the months of April 2020 through July 2020, who were admitted to our medical ICUs and eligible for our study. Baseline patient characteristics, ICU and hospital course information, ICU interventions, ventilator settings, and hospital complications were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques. Results: Our cohort had an average age of 64. No significant difference in mortality was identified with male vs. female gender or BMI. Most of the patient cohort was identified as black (68.2%). The overall mortality of our cohort was 38.2%. Hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were all associated with higher mortality. There was a significant difference in mortality between those with higher observed ventilator plateau pressures at 24 hours and higher driving pressures at 24 hours. Conclusion: COVID-19-associated ARDS is associated with significant mortality. Physicians should be aware of pre-existing conditions potentially related to worse outcomes so that they receive an appropriate level of care in a timely manner. Ventilator management should focus on maintaining low intra-thoracic pressure changes. Prospective studies are needed to guide COVID-19-associated ARDS management.


Objectives: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a highly sensitive marker of inflammation and tissue injury. This study aims to evaluate the changes in the CRP levels in the serum in patients with Ischemic Heart diseases and to evaluate the utility of CRP levels as a diagnostic and prognostic tool of myocardial ischemia and infarction.
Methods: We carried out a case-control study over 18 months wherein the study groups are compared with healthy control group with respect to their CRP values on admission, after 48 hours and at the end of one week. Study group included Stable angina group (n=25), Unstable angina (UA) group (n=25) and AMI group (n=50) along with healthy control group (n=25).
Results: The mean (± SD) age group in our study groups was matched with the control group. Males dominated the present study groups and control groups. In UA group, majority 80% of patients had raised CRP (1.776 ± 2.68 mg/dl) compared to control group and stable angina group. In AMI group all patients had a raised CRP (4.752± 4.56 mg/dl) on admission and these values were higher compared to UA group and control group (p < 0.001). In UA group 16% and in AMI group 66% developed complication and both these groups had significantly higher CRP levels on admission as compared to those patients who had no complications (P < 0.001). The patients who expired also had significantly higher CRP values (9.45 ± 5.435 mg/dl) on admission as compared to those without any complications (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: Higher the CRP value on admission and 48 hours more is the risk of complications and death. Hence CRP values help in risk stratification and predicting the prognosis.


This paper is about human interaction with things in the home. It is of potential relevance to developers of the Internet of Things (IoT), but it is not a technological paper. Rather, it presents a preliminary observational study of a day in a life of things in the home. The study was done out of curiosity - to see, given the emphasis on 'things' in the IoT, what mundane interaction with things looks like and is about. The results draw attention to the sheer scale of interaction with things, key areas of domestic activity in which interaction is embedded, and what it is about domestic life that gives data about interaction its sense. Each of these issues raises possibilities and challenges for IoT development in the home.


Purpose: Corporate finance management rules are written under the assumption that financing costs are deductible from taxable income. If this assumption is relaxed, such management rules needs to be revised. How do managers maximise operating margins and returns if this assumption no longer holds true? We faced this issue using both an algebraic and a simulation approach. By defining numerical analysis models, we bypass algebraic profile and skills, which might become too complex for practitioners. Methodology/approach: The recent tax reform introduced in Italy, that creates a partial tax deduction for financing costs, offers a case study. We reviewed traditional management tools and we proposed an analytical model for a simulation approach to measure the effect of these new tax rules on the optimal financial leverage and the maximum firm leverage. Findings: We demonstrate that the new regulation might have a deep impact on not sufficiently profitable companies. We also outline that the regulation is not addressed to highly profitable firms which could be the target for a taxation system aimed to an excess profits redistribution. The recent tax reform ultimately did not address the key issue for the Italian political economy: to strengthen the corporate financial structure and to reduce excess profit generation. Originality/value: We propose a new set of guidelines for financial management wherever financing costs would no longer be deductible from taxable income by linking a well known theoretical framework with a practitioners' approach.


The proposed in situ catalytic upgrading of heavy oil to achieve an environmentally sustainable method for heavy oil recovery requires the placement of nanodispersed catalyst particles deep into the formation where it can accelerate the high-temperature upgrading reactions. In continuation of the previous work [Zamani et al., Energy Fuels 24, 4980-4988 (2010)], this paper presents results of several new experiments carried out to examine the effects of other parameters, including the connate brine salinity, absolute permeability, sand-bed temperature and particle concentration on the propagation of nanoparticles in porous media. The results show that lower permeability, increased operating temperature and higher particle concentration did not significantly affect the propagation of nanodispersed catalyst suspension through the sand-bed. Virtually the same filtration behaviour, displaying a rapid increase of effluent concentration at 1 pore volume injected to a steady concentration close to the inlet concentration was seen in all experiments. A classical phenomenological approach was used to model the macroscopic propagation behaviour of suspended particles in the porous medium. The model was successful in history matching the effluent composition profile observed in the experiments and the deposition profile obtained from post-test analysis of the sand-bed. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering


A field-emission cathode is fabricated with ZnO tetrapodlike nanoemitters. With a simple planar triode structure, a cathodoluminescent light source has been investigated. Because of the characteristics of surface-conduction electron-emission planar triode, this cathodoluminescent light source shows a very good performance. As experimental results show, the turn-on electric field is about 1 V/mum, whereas the current density is 1 muA/cm2. The threshold electric field is 1.6 V/mum, whereas the current density is 1 mA/cm2. When a pulse voltage with 4% duty cycle is applied on the gate electrode, the fluctuation of anode current is smaller than 15 % during 200 h.


The rise and decay of luminescence of zinc silicate were measured at various excitation durations and intensities under cathode-ray excitation. The observed decays were displayed on a c-r oscilloscope. Measurements were made with short pulses of 1–280 microseconds separated by 20 milliseconds, and with square wave excitation. The pulse duration varied between 25 microseconds—10 milliseconds.It was found the rise and decay curves could be separated into three components, which are strictly monomolecular, with time constants 200, 1800, and 72,000/sec. The duration of excitation does not influence the decay rates, but varies the proportions of the individual components. The fast component is predominant at very short excitation times. Using longer excitations however, the slow component gives the most part of the light emission. The same components were found with periodical excitation too. It was found that the excitation intensity does not affect the decay rates.The brightness during the rise and decay was calculated for periodical excitation.


Currently, a significant amount of research has been done in field of Remote Sensing with the use of deep learning techniques. The introduction of Marine Debris Archive (MARIDA), an open-source dataset with benchmark results, for marine debris detection opened new pathways to use deep learning tech-niques for the task of debris detection and segmentation. This paper introduces a novel attention based segmentation technique that outperforms the existing state-of-the-art results introduced with MARIDA. The paper presents a novel spatial aware encoder and decoder architecture to maintain the contextual information and structure of sparse ground truth patches present in the images. The attained results are expected to pave the path for further research in-volving deep learning using remote sensing images. The code is available at https://github.com/sheikhazhanmohammed/SADMA.git


A miniaturized broadband marchand balun using low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology is proposed in this paper. Modified Marchand balun has been chosen to broaden the bandwidth, and it covers the band of 0.95-2.15 GHz. A spiral broadside coupled stripline is adopted to realize the proposed miniaturized balun, and the overall size of the LTCC balun is only 2.0mm×1.25mm×0.95mm. Measured results match well with the computer simulation. The fabricated balun with symmetric structure achieves good VSWR and insertion loss performance, as well as excellent amplitude imbalance and phase difference.


Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) exist today as a component of a broader, ever-evolving financial environment in which questions of value, ownership, and intention are characterized by their ambiguity. This article considers Dapper Labs "NBA Top Shot," a blockchain-backed website inviting NBA fans to join in "a new era in fandom" wherein they may acquire NFTs of NBA highlights by opening "packs," which are functionally similar to trading cards. NFTs reflect the pressures of market forces, as well as increased cultural and economic emphasis on marketization, financialization, commodification, and the ubiquity of gambling-like designs and interactions. Furthermore, this study explores tensions present in differing intentions for the NBA Top Shot platform and Discord server, the diffuse nature of user conversations (a nature that disregards topical boundaries), and audience attention toward marketization and investment interests. The commodification of the NBA fan experience illustrates a shared social pressure to more readily think of one's life, interactions, and consumptive behaviors through the lens of the investor, fostering financial attitudes that normalize instability and encourage risk-taking beyond the scope of a platform where purchase-dependent interactions serve as a source of joy and social experience in a venue representing a perceived electronic gold rush.


The use of monofilament gill nets were prohibited from 2011 fishing period. Fishing efficiency of monofilament gill nets with multifilament gill nets were investigated effect on region fishing. In this study, catch efficiencies of the same features monofilament and multifilament 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 mm mesh size gill nets compared within including from November 2009 to November 2010 in Egirdir Lake. As a result of this study, according to the fishing, productivity was found more plentiful in monofilament gill nets than multifilament gill nets. The highest fishing productivity of 90 mm monofilament gill net 15925 g (23.66%) and the lowest 80 mm multifilament gill net 997 g (4.12%) for caught most (%92,50) in total fishing of Prussian carp, Carassius gibelio, (Bloch, 1782) were found


Using digital and internet technologies in recent years has not only provided more education opportunities outside classrooms, but has also gained many attentions as a new theme for prospective learners to acquire knowledge in a more convenient way. In such a new paradigm of the so called e-Learning, many efforts have been made to build web-based learning systems that provide controllable processes of learning activities with desired curricular contents. From the learning perspective, this means that desired contents are delivered with spectacular ways to catch the attention of the learners or to enhance their comprehension on these contents. For this need, we present in this paper a flip blended learning approach for designing, lecturing, and assessing academic courses with ePUB3 eBooks used in learning activities for delivering desired curricular contents. Further, for justifying its validity, the approach employs also an analysis about the effects of using our ePUB3 eBook-based flip blended learning model in academic course learning. For implementation, the approach is applied for the design and instruction of an 'Object-Oriented Concepts' course for freshman students at a Department of Information Management.


The 'Vedic Mathematics' is the name given to the ancient system of mathematics with a unique technique of calculations based on simple rules and principles with which any mathematical problem can be solved with the help of arithmetic, algebra, geometry or trigonometry. In any of the fastest ALU, multiplier play an inevitable role. There is always a demand on high speed multiplier due to the raising limitation on delay. Increasing the speed of a multiplier there are number of new techniques have been implemented in which multiplier using Vedic mathematics are foremost one. The system performance and delay depend on the performance of multiplier used in it. Multiplier are used in different area such as cryptography, image processing application, embedded system application, programmable filter application etc .One of the major techniques to scale back the power dissipation is Reversible logic. There is no loss of data therefore power dissipation is reduced producing distinctive output for fixed input and vice-versa. The main objective of the project is to scale back the TRLIC of the multiplier factor by exploitation of Vedic arithmetic.The proposed methods are designed using VHDL Programming language, simulation and synthesis are done using Cadence RTL compiler in 180nm technology.


Summary Allocation of data or fragments in distributed database is a critical design issue and requires the most effort. It has the greater impact on the quality of the final solution and hence the operational efficiency of the system. Performance of the distributed database system is heavily dependent on allocation of data among the different sites over the network. The static allocation provides only the limited response to the change in workload. So, choosing an appropriate technique for allocation in the distributed database system is an important design issue. In this paper, a new dynamic data allocation algorithm for non-replicated distributed database system has been proposed. The proposed algorithm reallocates data with respect to the changing data access patterns with time constraint. This algorithm will decrease the movement of data over the network and also improve the overall performance of the system.


We report neutron reflectivity results on a three-layer polystyrene thin film on Si wafer, consisting of alternative stacking of deuterated layer ~20 nm thick and hydrogenated layer ~30 nm thick. In the experiments we have evaluated the film thickness of each layer and the surface roughness and interfacial widths as a function of temperature below and above the glass transition temperature Tg. It was found that the top layer has Tg lower than the bulk Tg by ~18 K, and the middle layer has almost the same Tg as the bulk. On the other hand, the bottom layer did show very high Tg above 130 °C. The results show the distribution of Tg in the thin film. It was also found that the interfacial width between the top and middle layers increased more rapidly than that between the middle and bottom layers above ~110 °C, showing higher mobility of polystyrene in the top layer because of the lower Tg.


A solid–liquid hybrid assembly has been designed for ultrasonic elasticity measurements of materials under hydrostatic conditions in a Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. In the assembly, a tungsten–carbide cubic anvil served as the buffer rod for the acoustic signals. The transducer and sample were mounted on two diagonally opposite truncated corners of the buffer-rod anvil. The sample was immersed in a liquid cell filled with a liquid pressure medium, a methanol–ethanol mixture (4:1 in volume), which produced hydrostatic conditions for the sample. The pressure was monitored with a bismuth pressure calibrant inside the liquid cell. Preliminary experiments using single-crystal MgO, polycrystal alumina, and silicate glass samples were successfully conducted up to 8GPa. This assembly is especially useful for precise elasticity measurements of single-crystal samples under hydrostatic compression.


Hem-o-Lok clip usage is well described in robotic radical prostatectomy (RRP) for control of lateral pedicles. We report a rare case of intravesical migration of Hem-o-Lok clips after robotic radical prostatectomy that resulted in bladder calculus. A literature review done with Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database showed reporting of similar cases.