Five types of commercial glove liners (within double latex gloves) were compared to single and double latex gloves for cut and puncture resistance and for relative manual dexterity and degree of sensibility. An apparatus was constructed to test glove-pseudofinger constructs in either a cutting or puncture mode. Cutting forces, cutting speed, and type of blade (serrated or scalpel blade) were varied and the time to cut-through measured by an electrical conductivity circuit. Penetration forces were similarly determined with a scalpel blade and a suture needle using a spring scale loading apparatus. Dexterity was measured with an object placement task among a group of orthopedic surgeons. Sensibility was assessed with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, two-point discrimination, and vibrametry using standard techniques and rating scales. A subjective evaluation was performed at the end of testing. Time to cut-through for the liners ranged from 2 to 30 seconds for a rapid oscillating scalpel and 4 to 40 seconds for a rapid oscillating serrated knife under minimal loads. When a 1 kg load was added, times to cut-through ranged from 0.4 to 1.0 second. In most cases, the liners were superior to double latex. On average, 100% more force was required to penetrate the liners with a scalpel and 50% more force was required to penetrate the liners with a suture needle compared to double latex. Object placement task times were not significantly liners compared to double latex gloves. Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, two-point discrimination, and vibrametry showed no difference in sensibility among the various liners and double latex gloves. Subjects felt that the liners were minimally to moderately impairing. An acclimation period may be required for their effective use.


The effects of droplet size and spray volume (spray-mixture application rate) on honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) mortality were evaluated using 0.55 to 0.58 kg ae (acid equivalent) ha-1 clopyralid (3,6 dichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid). A factorial combination of 3 spray volumes (19, 37, and 75 liters ha-1) and droplet sizes of 325 +/- 25, 475 +/- 25, and 625 +/- 25 micrometers nominal volume median diameter were replicated 3 times at both Andrews and Big Lake, Tex., during June 1989. The experiment was repeated in 1990 at Big Lake and Campbellton, Tex., without the 75 liters ha-1 spray volume. Honey mesquite mortality and canopy reduction 16 months after application were significantly less on the 625 micrometer droplet treatments in 2 of 4 experiments, when compared to plots treated with smaller droplet sizes. Mortality increased with larger spray volumes, particularly with 625 micrometer droplets. Relative mortality data from the 4 experiments clearly demonstrated that larger droplet sizes require larger spray volumes for greatest efficacy.


Reviewed scientific publications that define the location of foci of chronic infections in dermatology. Indicated by the currently existing problematic issues and their solutions.


ABSTRACT In debates about ageing western societies it is often assumed that many middle-aged women struggle to combine paid employment and intergenerational support, and that the subsequent stress leads them to experience an increase in depressive symptoms. Cross-sectional studies have supported this notion, but the question remains whether combining work and intergenerational support actually causes an increase in depressive symptoms. In order to fill a gap in the literature, this study examines the proportion of middle-aged women combining paid work and support to an adult child and/or parent, and the extent to which combining these roles affects women's depressive symptoms over time. For this purpose, we make use of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data set which includes longitudinal data collected on European women aged 50+. Descriptive analyses indicated that 14 per cent of middle-aged women combine the roles of employee, support provider to an adult child, and/or support provider to a parent. Results from semi-dynamic and full-dynamic regression analyses indicate that combining roles can take away some, of the positive mental health effects of fulfilling a role. These findings support the role combination stress hypothesis.


Some Besov-type spaces $B^{s,\tau}_{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ can be characterized in terms of the behavior of the Fourier--Haar coefficients. In this article, the authors discuss some necessary restrictions for the parameters $s$, $\tau$, $p$, $q$ and $n$ of this characterization. Therefore, the authors measure the regularity of the characteristic function $\mathcal X$ of the unit cube in $\mathbb{R}^n$ via the Besov-type spaces $B^{s,\tau}_{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^n)$. Furthermore, the authors study necessary and sufficient conditions such that the operation $\langle f, \mathcal{X} \rangle$ generates a continuous linear functional on $B^{s,\tau}_{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^n)$.


The paper is concerned with the construction of Stackelberg strategies for differential continous-time leader-follower games, where the leader has access to the closed-loop information. The proposed approach utilizes the methodology of sequential strategies, developed originally for the zero-sum differential games, to derive a method for computing the upper bound for the leader's payoffs and obtain sufficient conditions for the existence of equilibrium.


The effect of visible light on the reaction between silicon and XeF2 has been studied as a function of pressure, light intensity, and dopant. Steady‐state etch rates are sensitive to all three variables. Two major light‐induced processes have been identified. The reaction can be suppressed by diffusion of fluorine into unreactive sites and enhanced by an increased rate of addition of fluorine to silicon centers relative to the rate of desorption of the intermediate fluorosilyl species. Experiments indicate that these unreactive sites are located beneath the surface. The data have been interpreted in terms of a model in which adsorption of electronegative fluorine causes band bending in the semiconductor, the direction of which depends on whether the material is doped n or p type. Photogenerated charge carriers induce faster fluorine insertion rates into Si–Si bonds, and enhance diffusion below the surface. N‐ and p‐type silicon differ mainly in their relative ability to stabilize subsurface fluorine. The ...


After a process of competitive tendering for the provision of initial teacher education in Wales, there is an opportunity to re-examine the relationship between schools and universities. With the growing importance of research for both student and serving teachers, the Cardiff Partnership
 developed a model where a school-based 'Research Champion' (RC) would be an integral part of the support for capacity building and developing excellence. Although this model has previously been used in different forms at Oxford and Manchester Universities, the role was new to schools in the
 Cardiff Partnership. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with a representative sample of RCs in primary and secondary schools and university staff to reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the early stages in developing this unique role in the context of an evolving
 education context in Wales. This study uses data from these interviews to establish key ideas around the emerging role of the RC, the shift in working relationships between schools and universities and what is needed to bridge the gap between research and practice. Interviews were transcribed
 and, after open-ended thematic analysis, opportunities and challenges are reported. These themes include: bridging the gap between educational research and classroom practitioners; types of knowledge drawn upon by teachers; changes in role and identity. Suggestions for further research monitoring
 the ongoing development of the role are suggested.


Bacterial infections are increasingly difficult to combat, which makes them a threat to public health on a global level. Staphylococcus aureus is considered one of the main causes of infections in hospitals, as it has a variety of virulence factors, as well as is able to produce bacterial biofilms, which, consequently, bring numerous damages to public health as a result of increased resistance to conventional antibiotics and a longer hospital stay. Therefore, the use of compounds extracted from medicinal plants is a potential pharmaceutically acceptable target, as they do not have toxicity and the potential to disrupt biofilms produced by Staphylococcus aureus already evidenced, thus revealing their relevance to our study.

The objective of this work was to perform a critical analysis of a patent with natural extracts against bacterial biofilms found in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database, to map the possible bioactive compounds that may serve as potential future antimicrobial drugs.

A technological survey was carried out to verify existing patents using natural extracts with anti-biofilm potential. For this, it was searched with the keywords: Botanical extracts AND biofilms; which were performed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. Thus, the selected patent used a non-aqueous extract partitioned and vacuum-contracted, subsequently lyophilized for assays with antimicrobial potential. Because of this, a patent was analyzed regarding its chemistry, and biological activity, followed by a critical analysis of the technology proposed in the invention.

When using the keywords Botanical extracts AND biofilms in the USPTO, it was possible to find twenty-two inventions; however, only four patents in the USPTO were in agreement with the proposal of the natural extract having antimicrobial activity and an anti-biofilm potential, of which two belonged to the same applicant with similar proposals. The key point of this invention was to enable the compounds of the Castanea sativa plant and its methods of obtaining the extract to present a significant antimicrobial action associated or not with antibiotics, promoting the development of new therapies against bacterial infections capable of disrupting biofilms. The invention developed a methodology for extracting Castanea sativa, in which pentacyclic triterpene compounds were found mostly in its leaves. Whereas for the extraction, the crude methanol extracts called extracts 224 from the ground leaves were made by maceration, filtered, combined, concentrated under pressure in rotary evaporators, and lyophilized. After that, they were resuspended in water and partitioned in succession with hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol. The most active refined partition was the 224C extract with the solvent ethyl acetate, which was subjected to further fractionation using silica column chromatography. Resulting in the most refined extract, which was 224C-F2, capable of acting directly on the quorum sensing of bacteria, mainly Staphylococcus aureus, blocking the translation of RNAIII, including a series of exotoxins. Regarding the antimicrobial capacity against Staphylococcus aureus, it presented Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of 1.56 µg/mL-1 and > 100 μg/mL -1, respectively.

Given the analyzed patent, it was possible to verify the importance of alternatives to reduce the impact of bacterial biofilms, which causes damage to industries in general and to health. From this, the invention analyzed has a promising proposal with antimicrobial potential focusing on the great impact of bacterial biofilms. Therefore, natural extracts with antibiofilmic potential can help to minimize the economic losses caused to health due to these multidrug-resistant microorganisms with different virulence mechanisms.


The aim of this study is to show the Algerian National Movement's position towards the Palestinian Issue in a specific period, i.e. 1948, and to show that the fall of Algeria under French occupation has not distracted Algeria's attention from the Arab issues, particularly the Palestinian Cause. The study is also an attempt to show the Algerians attitude to the Palestinian cause, for this is a critical cause which is of great concern, not only to the Palestinians but to the whole Arab region. This attitude shows the political awareness of early risks arising from the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. This study showed that the Algerian interest towards the Palestinian issue was not only religious due to the sanctity of the place, but it was a blend where Arabism and Islam become mingled. This study will show that the position of the Algerian nationalist movements towards the Palestinian cause, has deepened Algeria's correlation with the Arab East issues, despite the attempts of colonialism in all its forms for the fragmentation of the Arab region, and for the occupancy of each country with its internal crises, and not outside its borders.


Constructive Mathematics might be regarded as a fragment of classical mathematics in which any proof of an existence theorem is equipped with a computable function giving the solution of the theorem. Limit Computable Mathematics (LCM) considered in this note is a fragment of classical mathematics in which any proof of an existence theorem is equipped with a function computing the solution of the theorem in the limit. Computation in the limit, or more formally, limiting recursion, is a central notion of learning theory by Gold and Putnam [9, 21, 18]. We will show that a realizability interpretation via limiting recursive functions is a natural modeling of LCM for rst order arithmetic. We will point out that this will enable automatic extraction of limit-algorithms from some classical proofs of well-known trans nite theorems, e.g., Hilbert's original proof of his famous nite basis theorem, once blamed as \theology" by P. Gordan.


The effects of exercise on subsequent psychophysiological responses to mental stress were assessed in a study of 30 normotensive male volunteers. Participants were randomly allocated to three experimental conditions--20-min exercise at 100 Watts (high exercise), 20-min exercise at 25 Watts (low exercise), or 20-min no exercise (control). After a recovery period of 20 min, all subjects performed a mental arithmetic task for four 5-min trials. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored continuously using a Finapres, and respiration and electrodermal activity were also recorded. Baroreceptor reflex control of heart rate was assessed using power spectrum analysis. Exercise produced consistent increases in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and subjective tension, together with reductions in systemic resistance and baroreflex sensitivity. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate reactions to mental arithmetic were significantly blunted in the high exercise compared with control conditions, with the low exercise group showing an intermediate pattern. Subjective responses to mental stress were unaffected by prior exercise. The pattern of hemodynamic response was not a result of changes in baroreflex sensitivity. The mechanisms underlying this result are discussed in relation to the discrepancies between subjective and physiological responses to mental stress, and the implications for the use of exercise in stress management.


This paper presents one of the first studies of firm demographics in Estonia, particularly, on the processes of firm entry and exit as well as survival analysis of new firms. Also decompositions of productivity change into components consisting of resource reallocation, firm entry and exit, and productivity growth within continuing firms is carried out. Our results, derived from a novel database of the population of Estonian firms, show that firm turnover has been rather high in Estonia during the observed period from 1995 to 2001, resulting from low institutional entry barriers and emergence of the SME sector. The high survival rates for new firms and surviving firms' relatively fast growth could reflect their relatively high productivity compared to incumbent firms and changes in the sectoral structure of the economy. The decomposition of productivity change shows that the high productivity growth has been mostly from within-firm productivity growth (e.g. the adoption of new production technologies and organizational changes), but the reallocation of production factors (especially the exit of low productivity units) has played an important role as well.


Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories has been designing, developing, testing, and evaluating spoken language understanding systems in several unique operational environments over the past six years. Through these experiences we have encountered numerous challenges in making each system become a useful and trustworthy tool that is an integral part of a user's operations. In this paper, we discuss the challenges of building trust and report how we overcame them with respect to a number of domains.


From birth, infants detect associations between the locations of static visual objects and sounds they emit, but there is limited evidence regarding their sensitivity to the dynamic equivalent when a sound-emitting object moves. In 4 experiments involving thirty-six 2-month-olds, forty-eight 5-month-olds, and forty-eight 8-month-olds, we investigated infants' ability to process this form of spatial colocation. Whereas there was no evidence of spontaneous sensitivity, all age groups detected a dynamic colocation during habituation and looked longer at test trials in which sound and sight were dislocated. Only 2-month-olds showed clear sensitivity to the dislocation relation, although 8-month-olds did so following additional habituation. These results are discussed relative to the intersensory redundancy hypothesis and work suggesting increasing specificity in processing with age.


The previous release of our Automatic DIFlux, called AutoDIF mk2.2, is now running continuously since June 2012 in the absolute house of Dourbes magnetic observatory performing measurement every 30 minutes. A second one is working in the tunnel of Conrad observatory (Austria) since December 2013. After this proof of concept, we improved the AutoDIF to the version mk2.3 which was presented in 16th IAGA workshop in Hyderabad. Today, we have successfully deployed 6 AutoDIFs in various environments: 2 in Dourbes (DOU), 1 in Manhay (MAB), 1 in Conrad (CON), 1 in Deajeon (Korea) and 1 is used for tests. This one was installed for 10 month in Chambon-la-Foret (CLF) and since 2016 in Kakioka (KAK). In this paper, we will compare the automatic measurements with the human-made, and discuss the advantages/disadvantages of automatic measurements


A review of the wide variety of system controllers available on the market along with the practical applicability of each is discussed in this paper. The system controllers that are discussed include programmable logic controllers, microcontrollers and single board computers. These controllers are generally not competing for the same market share however, some of the capabilities of these controllers overlap with one another which makes the selection of an appropriate system controller a complex decision. The practical considerations of controller selection are discussed and reviewed in this article, a new trade off analysis is presented along with a practical example thereof. The practical example that was used to illustrate controller selection was a residential energy management system which would be installed alongside a grid-tied 2 kWp photovoltaic system. The aim of the energy management system is to ensure that all the photovoltaic generated energy is consumed locally within the residence and not fed into the distribution network. Such a system is applicable in areas where no net-metering policies are in place.


Female infertility affects approximately 10.9% of women ages 15-44 in the US, and the molecular mechanisms leading to this disorder are multifaceted and varied. We have previously demonstrated that the gonadal-enriched TFIID subunit TAF4B, a paralog of the general transcription factor TAF4A, is required for fertility in mice. Female mice deficient for TAF4B exhibit a phenotype resembling premature ovarian failure, including early oocyte loss, follicular atresia and severely reduced granulosa cell proliferation when treated with 17β-estradiol. The inability of estrogen to stimulate granulosa cell proliferation led us to hypothesize that TAF4B is involved in an estrogen signaling pathway within the ovary. A large percentage of Taf4b -knockout oocytes die by apoptosis immediately after birth, and this germ cell loss is attenuated by estrogen supplementation, further suggesting a connection between TAF4B and estrogen. Taf4b -knockout ovaries also display deregulated epigenetic marks, which can affect DNA repair during meiotic homologous recombination. Furthermore, estrogen is known to regulate epigenetic changes in the ovary, leading us to hypothesize that the estrogen rescue may occur via modulation of the epigenetic state and consequent repair of double-strand breaks during meiosis. Here, we show that Taf4b mRNA and TAF4B protein expression are upregulated by estrogens in whole ovaries and purified granulosa cells of the ovary and that this increase occurs via nuclear estrogen receptors. We observe significant increases of Taf4b mRNA in estrogen-exposed mouse ovarian tumors, and the mice exposed to estradiol had significantly diminished survival compared to those receiving a placebo pellet. Combined with the fact that epigenetic deregulation and DNA repair processes play a key role in tumorigenesis, these results suggest that in addition to fertility defects, TAF4B could also affect ovarian tumorigenesis later in life. Our preliminary data suggest that the loss of oocytes in Taf4b -knockout ovaries may occur due to deficiencies in epigenetic regulation and/or a deficiency in DNA repair during meiotic prophase, since DNA repair and meiosis related genes are significantly reduced in Taf4b -knockout ovaries. Future studies will determine if estrogen treatment of neonatal Taf4b -knockout ovaries ameliorates these epigenetic and DNA repair deficits, leading to the observed oocyte rescue, and will explore if ovarian tumorigenesis is altered in the absence of TAF4B. Citation Format: Jennifer R. Wardell, Kathryn J. Grive, Kendra M. Hodgkinson, April K. Binder, Kimberly A. Seymour, Lindsay A. Lovasco, Ken S. Korach, Barbara C. Vanderhyden and Richard N. Freiman. Estrogen-responsiveness of the TFIID subunit TAF4B and its potential function in ovarian cancer, epigenetic regulation and meiotic DNA repair. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Ovarian Cancer Research: From Concept to Clinic; Sep 18-21, 2013; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2013;19(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A81.


While ostensibly aspects of poetics are best discussed within a purely literary perspective, in fact they can hardly be disconnected from their socio-cultural and religious frameworks. Al-Hārit ibn Sinān was a Christian scholar and writer who lived under Muslim rule towards the end of the ninth and apparently also the beginning of the tenth century, precisely at the time when the first fruits of the idea of the Qur'ān's stylistic inimitability (i'gāz) began to ripe. Although this concept played a role also in interfaith polemics throughout the Middle Ages, our author shows his temperance and restraint by praising the style of the Bible (he would appear not to have read the books of the Old Testament in the original Hebrew but demonstrated understanding and a feeling for the text through another Semitic language: Syriac), both because as a Christian living under Muslim rule he was loathe to arouse an overt controversy with the society in which he lived, and also because glorifying the style of Holy Scripture, which he had apparently inherited from the Syriac-Byzantine culture, was an important tendency in and of itself in both Jewish and Christian literature (in England, for example, upsurges of this tendency have occurred even in modern times). Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that our author did compare the poetics of four cultures: that of the Hebrews, that of the Greek (or rather Greek-Byzantine, rūm), that of the Syriac elements and that of the Arabs. He even tries to prove, using somewhat specious arguments, that the Hebrew portions of the Bible contain rhymes. His positions thus deserve to be considered retrospectively also in an interfaith and intercultural context.


Four experiments examined the hypothesis that individuals who hold discrepant implicit and explicit self-esteem possess relatively strong self-image concerns. As a result, they may act irrationally when expressing sexual health attitudes. In support of the hypothesis, Experiments 1a and 1b demonstrate that large self-esteem discrepancy participants possess strong implicit self-image ambivalence relative to small self-esteem discrepancy participants. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants who varied in self-esteem discrepancies received either negative or positive (or no) feedback on an intelligence test, and then they were given an opportunity to express implicit and explicit attitudes toward condoms. Large self-esteem discrepancy participants who received a self-threat responded irrationally and expressed relatively strong negative implicit (but not explicit) attitudes toward condoms. However, this detrimental effect was completely reversed following a self-affirmation to large discrepancy participants. The implicit and explicit attitudes toward condoms of small discrepancy participants were unaffected by a self-threat or a self-affirmation.


AbstractsWe establish WKB estimates for linear dynamic systems with a small parameter on a time scale unifying continuous and discrete WKB method. We introduce an adiabatic invariant for dynamic system on a time scale, which is a generalization of adiabatic invariant of Lorentz_s pendulum. As an application we prove that the change of adiabatic invariant is vanishing as approaches zero. This result was known before only for a continuous time scale. We show that it is true for the discrete scale only for the appropriate choice of graininess depending on a parameter . The proof is based on the truncation of WKB series and WKB estimates.


In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), both crop production and the hidden hunger index (HHI, a combination of zinc, iron, and vitamin A deficiency), continue to be worse than the rest of the world. Currently, 31 out of 36 countries of SSA show the highest HHI. At the same time, several studies show climate change as a major constraint to agriculture productivity and a significant threat to SSA food security without significant action regarding adaptation. The food security of SSA is dependent on a few major crops, with many of them providing largely only an energy source in the diet. To address this, crop diversification and climate-resilient crops that have adaptation to climate change can be used and one route toward this is promoting the cultivation of African orphan (neglected or underutilized) crops. These crops, particularly legumes, have the potential to improve food and nutrition security in SSA due to their cultural linkage with the regional food habits of the communities, nutritionally rich food, untapped genetic diversity, and adaptation to harsh climate conditions and poor marginal soils. Despite the wide distribution of orphan legumes across the landscape of SSA, these important crop species are characterized by low yield and decreasing utilization due in part to a lack of improved varieties and a lack of adequate research attention. Genomic-assisted breeding (GAB) can contribute to developing improved varieties that yield more, have improved resilience, and high nutritional value. The availability of large and diverse collections of germplasm is an essential resource for crop improvement. In the Genetic Resources Center of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the collections of orphan legumes, particularly the Bambara groundnut, African yambean, and Kersting's groundnut, have been characterized and evaluated for their key traits, and new collections are being undertaken to fill gaps and to widen the genetic diversity available to underpin breeding that can be further utilized with GAB tools to develop faster and cost-effective climate-resilient cultivars with a high nutrition value for SSA farmers. However, a greater investment of resources is required for applying modern breeding to orphan legume crops if their full potential is to be realized.


Self Micro-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) are usually used to improve the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. Approximately 60-70% of new chemical entities exhibit poor aqueous solubility and present a major challenge to modern drug delivery system, because of their low bioavailability. SMEDDS is isotropic (one phase system) mixture of oil or modified oils, surfactants and co-surfactants, which form the fine oil-in-water microemulsion when introduced into aqueous phase under condition of gentle agitation. The digestive motility of the stomach and intestine provide the agitation necessary for self-microemulsion invivo. Triglyceride is the one of the component of SMEDDS, which helps in the absorption of drugs from the GI tract. SMEDDS enhance the bioavailability enabling reduction in dose of the drug. SMEDDS is evaluated by various methods like visual assessment, droplet polarity and droplet size, size of emulsion droplet, dissolution test, charge of oil droplets, viscosity determination, in-vitro diffusion study. This article gives an overview of improvement in the rate and extent of oral absorption of drugs by SMEDDS approach. The characterization of SMEDDS and application of SMEDDS is also introduced, with particular emphasis being placed on the developments of Solid self microemulsifying delivery system and dosage form of SMEDDS. Pharmaceutical Sciences


This  study  examined  the  psychophysiological  effects  of  coffee  consumption  on  anxiety  as  reported  by  University students.  .  It  was  hypothesized  that  heavy  caffeine  users  would  report  significantly  higher  anxiety  and  more psychophysical symptoms of caffenism more than non-users. A sample size of 447-university students made up of 239 males and 208 females within ages 16-36 years (M = 22.7; SD = 2.92) participated in the study. All respondents completed an adapted version of STAI forms Y-1 and Y-2 which measures state-trait anxiety. Analysis of data revealed significant difference between coffee users and non -users on state  anxiety.  The  quantity  and  frequency  of  daily  coffee  consumption  were  found  to  be  related  to  the  symptoms exhibited on state anxiety. There was no significant sex difference on the frequency and quantity of coffee consumption but a significant age difference in favour of younger respondents was recorded on frequency of coffee consumption. Various symptoms reported by the respondents confirmed  the stimulating properties of caffeine.  It is recommended that awareness and enlightenment programmes on effects of consumption on human psychophysiological responses be created by government and other stakeholders


BACKGROUND
The eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can be challenging in certain circumstances. There is no current first-line therapy that is curative in all patients.

OBJECTIVE
This article summaries the role of emerging novel therapies in the treatment of
H. pylori. Known as sequential therapy and salvage therapy, these new therapeutic strategies are thought to produce eradication rates superior to currently recommended first-line therapies. This article outlines the growing body of evidence supporting their efficacy.

DISCUSSION
Sequential therapy and salvage therapy have emerged recently as alternative regimens for the eradication of H. pylori. Although current guidelines continue to recommend established therapies for first-line management of H. pylori, general practitioners should be aware of these new strategies such that these options could be applied when traditional therapy fails.


In this research work, we propose explicitly representing the knowledge embedded in a Pattern Recognition Weighted Neural Network (PRWNN) system in a "humanly comphrensible" form, using the concepts of Fuzzy Logic. The targeted audiences are the Zimbabwean system designers and/or system analyzers of (PRWNN) systems that are used as forecasting tools in the Meteorological Department, in Zimbabwe. We view the knowledge represented inside a PRWNN system as tacit, "hidden" knowledge, that is well understood and known by the system and it's weights. We then extract, refine and revise this trapped knowledge using the concepts of fuzzy logic, that is: fuzzy set, membership function, use of the connectives AND, OR and implication, the determination of action to be taken based on human determined fuzzy IF – THEN rules, combined with non-fuzzy rules and the fact that correctly trained networks can act as a Content Addressable Memory. The proposed method is tested on the weight matrix of already trained networks using past data obtained from the Meteorological Department in Zimbabwe.


Individual differences in the timing of developmental processes are often of interest in longitudinal studies, yet common statistical approaches to modeling change cannot directly estimate the timing of when change occurs. The time-to-criterion framework was recently developed to incorporate the timing of a prespecified criterion value; however, this framework has difficulty accommodating contexts where the criterion value differs across people or when the criterion value is not known a priori, such as when the interest is in individual differences in when change starts or stops. This article combines aspects of reparameterized quadratic models and multiphase models to provide information on the timing of change. We first consider the more common situation of modeling decelerating change to an offset point, defined as the point in time at which change ceases. For increasing trajectories, the offset occurs when the criterion attains its maximum ("inverted J-shaped" trajectories). For decreasing trajectories, offset instead occurs at the minimum. Our model allows for individual differences in both the timing of offset and ultimate level of the outcome. The same model, reparameterized slightly, captures accelerating change from a point of onset ("J-shaped" trajectories). We then extend the framework to accommodate "S-shaped" curves where both the onset and offset of change are within the observation window. We provide demonstrations that span neuroscience, educational psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, illustrating the applicability of the modeling framework to a variety of research questions about individual differences in the timing of change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), as a gold standard treatment for coronary artery disease, has been widely adopted all around the world. Meanwhile, it's also well known that diabetes is an independent risk factor for postoperative mortality. However, hyperglycemia often occurs perioperatively, regardless of whether the patient has diabetes or not. Perioperative stress hyperglycemia is harmful to patients undergoing cardiac surgery and has a clear correlation with increased inflammatory response, and clinical adverse events, especially for patients with diabetes. Thus, proper perioperative blood glycemic control can reduce the short-term and long-term mortality and the incidence of complications in patients undergoing CABG.


When some of the records used to estimate the imputation models in multiple imputation are not used or available for analysis, the usual multiple imputation variance estimator has positive bias. We present an alternative multiple imputation approach that enables unbiased estimation of variances and, hence, calibrated inferences in such contexts. First, using all records, the imputer samples m values of the parameters of the imputation model. Secondly, for each parameter draw, the imputer simulates the missing values for all records n times. From these mn completed datasets, the imputer can analyze or disseminate the appropriate subset of records. We develop methods for interval estimation and significance testing for this approach. Methods are presented in the context of multiple imputation for measurement error. Some key words: Combining data; Confidentiality; Measurement error; Missing data.


The dawn of the 20th century in Britain witnessed changes in almost every aspect of women>s everyday lives. The emergence of the women's movement and a new generation of female professionals transformed the traditional patriarchal social structure. The present paper pursues two main goals. First, it shows how the novels Lady Chatterley's Lover and A Room with a View emerged from this social-historical moment in Britain. Since the novels depict the period before the Great War, they connect two periods in English history: Victorianism and Modernism, two different ways of living and two different approaches to moral principles. The protagonists of the novels, Connie, later lady Chatterley, and Lucy, personify the young and impressionable women of that era. Second, the focus is on the layers of interpretation/the codes of meaning that indicate the narrative interface: similarities in the novels' plots and their characters. They also reflect on the social divide that marked the period. The paper also shows that, according to the story, plot, and discourse of the novels, money and social status cannot substitute for the bindings of love.


While nurses are able to identify abusive situations involving older people, they are reluctant to act on their fears. This is partly due to a lack of confidence in their ability to intervene effectively, arising from a lack of knowledge. This paper reviews the research on the subject and highlights approaches to overcoming these problems.


This paper is the second of two companion papers. The foundation for the external gain scheduling approach to enable an existing controller via middleware for networked control with a case study on a proportional-integral (PI) controller for dc motor speed control over IP networks was given in Part I. Part II extends the concepts and methods of the middleware called gain scheduler middleware (GSM) in Part I to enable an existing controller for mobile robot path-tracking teleoperation. By identifying network traffic conditions in real-time, the GSM will predict the future tracking performance. If the predicted tracking performance tends to be degraded over a certain tolerance due to network delays, the GSM will modify the path-tracking controller output with respect to the current traffic conditions. The path-tracking controller output is modified so that the robot will move with the fastest possible speed, while the tracking performance is maintained in a certain tolerance. Simulation and experimental results on a mobile robot path-tracking platform show that the GSM approach can significantly maintain the robot path-tracking performance with the existence of IP network delays.


In this paper, we focus on solving a class of constrained non-convex non-concave saddle point problems in a decentralized manner by a group of nodes in a network. Specifically, we assume that each node has access to a summand of a global objective function and nodes are allowed to exchange information only with their neighboring nodes. We propose a decentralized variant of the proximal point method for solving this problem. We show that when the objective function is ρ-weakly convex-weakly concave the iterates converge to approximate stationarity with a rate of O(1/ √ T ) where the approximation error depends linearly on √ ρ. We further show that when the objective function satisfies the Minty VI condition (which generalizes the convex-concave case) we obtain convergence to stationarity with a rate of O(1/ √ T ). To the best of our knowledge, our proposed method is the first decentralized algorithm with theoretical guarantees for solving a non-convex non-concave decentralized saddle point problem.


Background: Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) are age-related diseases and therefore occur simultaneously. DM and, in particular, diabetic nephropathy are associated with an increased modification of the extracellular tissue matrix with advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Objective: As AGE-modified matrix impairs the invasive migration of lung carcinoma cells, our study aimed at the effect of DM on the NSCLC-related outcome. Methods:In a retrospective clinical study, we analyzed the time-dependent survival of NSCLC patients with DM compared to patients without DM, who had been treated for cancer by resection surgery. The age-matched study population (51–80 years) included 55 DM patients and 111 non-DM patients. Results: Comparative analyses between DM and non-DM patients did not find significant differences for NSCLC histology, tumor stage and stay in the hospital. Analyses of the mid-term (20-month) survival showed that the DM group had a significantly higher proportion of NSCLC patients being alive 20 months after tumor resection than the non-DM group (76 vs. 59%, p = 0.048). The DM-related increase in the mid-term survival rate was particularly observed for patients without lymph node metastasis (88%) and those patients also suffering from nephropathy (90%). In contrast to the mid-term survival, DM had no effect on the long-term (60-month) survival of NSCLC patients (35 vs. 32% in the non-DM group). Conclusion: Our study indicates that DM-associated changes mediate beneficial effects in terms of NSCLC progression, in which AGE modifications might play a critical role.


Objective Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most lethal cancers. Although cisplatin-based chemotherapies have been regarded as a promising treatment approach, cisplatin resistance still remains one of the major clinical challenges. Curcumin, a naturally occurring polyphenol, has been proved to increase chemotherapeutic efficiency of NSCLC cells. However, the role of curcumin in cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells has been rarely investigated. This study aims to investigate whether curcumin enhances cisplatin sensitivity of human NSCLC cells and its underlying mechanisms. Method A549/DDP and H1299/DDP cells were treated by DDP or/and curcumin before cell viability, and apoptosis were determined by using a CCK-8 assay and flow cytometer. The expressions of apoptosis and ER stress-related proteins, including cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, CHOP, GRP78, XBP-1, ATF6, and caspase-4, were measured by the qPCR and western blotting. After cotreatment by DDP and curcumin, A549/DDP and H1299/DDP cells were further treated by the ER stress inhibitor, salubrinal (20 μm), after which the cell apoptosis and viability were detected. Result Treatment by DDP and curcumin can substantially decrease cell viability, while can increase the cell apoptosis rate, elevate mRNA and protein expressions of apoptosis and ER stress-related proteins, compared with cells treated by DDP or curcumin alone. Salubrinal treatment can counteract the suppressive effect of DDP and curcumin on cell viability and decrease the cell apoptosis of A549/DDP and H1299/DDP cells. Conclusion Curcumin can increase the sensitivity of NSCLC to cisplatin through an ER stress pathway and thus can be served as one of the molecular targets for overcoming the cisplatin resistance.


Predicting return to work in persons with traumatic brain injury has been a challenge for doctors, rehabilitation therapists and vocational counselors. Although traditional vocational rehabilitation may be beneficial to many clients, there are others who are unable to return to work through customary means. Supported employment is a method of vocational rehabilitation in which a professional staff person (a job coach) provides structured job placement services and highly individualized training at the job site in addition to ongoing services throughout the entire length of employment. This approach has been used as a last resort to treatment, but has very high success rates (50-78% success rates for those deemed unemployable by other means). Work hardening was used in the 1980s as a last resort to therapy for the industrial injured worker. However, it was found that when clients entered the program sooner, they had a greater chance of return to work than if they entered the program after a prolonged period of time, thus saving money. If the individual with a traumatic brain injury is placed in supported employment programs sooner, he may have a greater chance of return to work than if supported employment is used only as a last resort.


We analyzed whether sister chromatids are continuously aligned in meristematic and endopolyploid Arabidopsis interphase nuclei by studying sister-chromatid alignment at various chromosomal positions. FISH with individual BACs to flow-sorted 4C root and leaf nuclei frequently yielded more than two hybridization signals, indicating incomplete or absent sister-chromatid alignment. Up to 100% of 8C, 16C, and 32C nuclei showed no sister-chromatid alignment at defined positions. Simultaneous FISH with BACs from different chromosomal positions revealed more frequent sister-chromatid alignment in terminal than in midarm positions. Centromeric positions were mainly aligned up to a ploidy level of 16C but became separated or dispersed in 32C nuclei. DNA hypomethylation (of the whole genome) and transcriptional activity (at FWA gene position) did not impair sister-chromatid alignment. Only 6.1% of 4C leaf nuclei showed sister-chromatid separation of the entire chromosome 1 top arm territories. Homozygous transgenic tandem repeat (lac operator) arrays showing somatic homologous pairing more often than average euchromatic loci did not promote an increased frequency of sister-chromatid alignment. The high frequency of separated sister-chromatid arm positions in ≥4C nuclei suggests that sister-chromatid cohesion is variable, dynamic, and not obligatory along the entire chromosome arm in meristematic and differentiated Arabidopsis nuclei.


Advances in neural architecture search, as well as explainability and interpretability of connectionist architectures, have been reported in the recent literature. However, our understanding of how to design Bayesian Deep Learning (BDL) hyperparameters, specifically, the depth, width and ensemble size, for robust function mapping with uncertainty quantification, is still emerging. This paper attempts to further our understanding by mapping Bayesian connectionist representations to polynomials of different orders with varying noise types and ratios. We examine the noise-contaminated polynomials to search for the combination of hyperparameters that can extract the underlying polynomial signals while quantifying uncertainties based on the noise attributes. Specifically, we attempt to study the question that an appropriate neural architecture and ensemble configuration can be found to detect a signal of any n-th order polynomial contaminated with noise having different distributions and signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios and varying noise attributes. Our results suggest the possible existence of an optimal network depth as well as an optimal number of ensembles for prediction skills and uncertainty quantification, respectively. However, optimality is not discernible for width, even though the performance gain reduces with increasing width at high values of width. Our experiments and insights can be directional to understand theoretical properties of BDL representations and to design practical solutions.


The interplay between the confinement potential and the electron–electron interactions causes reconstructions of quantum Hall edges. We study the consequences of this edge reconstruction for the relaxation of hot electrons injected into integer quantum Hall edge states. In translationally invariant edges, the relaxation of hot electrons is governed by three-body collisions, which are sensitive to the electron dispersion and thus to reconstruction effects. We show that the relaxation rates are significantly altered in different reconstruction scenarios.


The climate of Morocco is characterized by a strong spatial and inter‐annual variability. This study provides an evaluation of high‐resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations of precipitation and temperature over Morocco and future projections based on two emission scenarios. The evaluation of the RCM ensemble over the historical period is performed with a network of 20 weather stations, using Taylor and Portrait diagrams. The results show that the four simulations considered (CLM, CNRM, KNMI and IPSL) are generally able to simulate climate indices and no model is performing significantly better. This ensemble of RCM simulations captures the precipitation and temperature spatiotemporal patterns in the evaluation and historical runs. Climate change scenarios are presented with the goal to identify spatial patterns of change over Morocco, to provide information for climate policy and adaptation. The RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios are considered for two time horizons, 2036–2065 and 2066–2095. A large increase in temperature is observed by the end of the century in particular for the RCP8.5 scenario over the Southeast regions. The minimum temperature is expected to increase more than maximum temperature in most parts of Morocco, with the exception of the Eastern regions. The different RCMs show a strong agreement towards similar changes for most temperature‐based indices. The climate change signal is less homogeneous in the different simulations for most of the precipitation indices. Nevertheless, there is a clear decrease of precipitation totals in the different simulations, following a north to south gradient. However, for heavy rainfall events, there are strong uncertainties in projections and the four RCM simulations disagree about the future changes.


Background: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an aerobic exercise consisting of high intensity of physical exercise interspersed with low intensity of physical exercise. HIIT has been known that can improve cognitive function. Medical students has low physical activity that can affect on cognitive function including short-term memory. Short-term memory is important in learning process which can affect on academic performance. Objective: To determine the effect of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on an individual's short-term memory. Methods: This study used quasi experimental pretest and posttest design. The research subjects were 29 female students of the Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University with the average age of 19-22 years with normal BMI, divided in 2 groups. Experimental group (n=14) was instructed to do 6 weeks of HIIT (3 times a week) and control group (n=15) was instructed to not to do any exercises. Short-term memory was measured with Scenery Picture Memory Test (SPMT). The significance of the data was analyzed with paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test. Results : A significant increase (p<0.001) in memory score before and after HIIT, from 18.07±1.49 to 20.21±1.37. The posttest memory score of HIIT group (20.21±1.37) was significantly (p=0.034) higher than the control group (18.67±2.23). Meanwhile, the memory score at the pretest between the 2 groups was no significant differences (p=0.621). Conclusion: HIIT can improves short-term memory. Keywords: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Short-term Memory, Scenery Picture Memory Test (SPMT).


Stably stratified flow conditions often exhibit wind veer, or a change of wind direction with height. When wind turbines experience this veered flow, the resulting wake structure tends to exhibit a stretching into an ellipsoid, rather than a symmetric shape or a curled shape. Observational studies suggest that the magnitude of wake veer is less than the veer of the inflow, whereas large-eddy simulations with actuator disk models and actuator line models suggest a range of relationships between inflow veer and wake veer. Here we present a series of large-eddy simulations with a range of veer shapes, a range of magnitudes of veer, a range of wind speeds, and both rotational directions of the wind-turbine rotor investigating the effect on the wake deflection angle. These results can guide the application of wake steering in stably stratified flow.


This research is structured to focus on the performance of real estate investments, measurement and its barriers in Lagos metropolis. The research adopted Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyor and Valuers and Nigerian Stock Exchange as the source of information.

The study employed the use of methodology and analytical techniques. In a bid to assess methods of performance measurement in practice, the target population has been the Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Lagos branch. The sample frame considered all the registered Estate Surveyors as contained in the year 2010 directory of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers.

Questionnaires were administered to the registered members of NIESV in order to collect information on the level of awareness, understanding and usage of the performance measures that have been developed so far.

Moreover, the comparative study on the performance of property investment, the mean return was compiled for investment in bank accounts, ordinary shares and property between 2006 - 2010. Using these mean returns, the investments risks were computed and analysed. The investment performance assets were then compared in absolute term as well as the risk adjusted return using Sharpe Performance Index.

In conclusion, the study shows that the understanding, awareness and usage of the performance measure are very low among the Nigerian Estate Surveyors and Valuers. Following from this, there is a need to promote the awareness of developments among Estate Surveyors and valuers and incorporate the developments into the academic programme of tertiary institution and professional bodies provided by Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers.


Introduction: Pathological fractures in pediatric age group are most commonly secondary to bone tumors. Management of such cases in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is complicated by the prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) in these patients. Case Report: Through this case, we report a 13-year-old male diagnosed with autism spectrum disease, who was brought by his parents with a history of trivial trauma and gross deformity of the left humerus. On plain radiography, a displaced fracture in the foreground of a lytic, cystic lesion was noted which on magnetic resonance imaging was confirmed to be metadiaphyseal unicameral bone cyst. The patient underwent extensive curettage, allograft impaction, and definitive fixation by a locking compression plate. Following a relatively extended period of immobilization, he was started on range of motion exercises followed by strengthening. He was able to return to his pre-operative activity levels at 14 weeks postoperatively. At 1-year postoperatively, the patient achieved excellent clinical and radiological outcomes, without any signs of failure, complications, or signs of recurrence. Conclusion: Management of pathological fractures in pediatric patients with ASD can be challenging due to the associated low BMD and potential non-compliance from the patient's end. Such cases are best treated with open curettage, allograft impaction, and definitive fixation by locking compression plate, even if present in a non-weight bearing bone.


Background/aim In this prospective observational study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D and acute postoperative pain scores, as well as opioid analgesic consumption in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and methods The study was performed in the Medical Faculty Hospital, from April 2020 to April 2021. Postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, total tramadol consumption, number of requests on patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) were compared between the vitamin D deficient (≤20 ng/mL; n = 25) and vitamin D nondeficient (>20 ng/mL; n = 55) groups at five time points (T0: in the recovery room, T1: 1st hour in the ward, T2: 6th hour, T3: 12th hour, and T4: 24th hour). Results Postoperative VAS pain scores were similar in the vitamin D deficient group at all time points (T0–4), but differed significantly only at the T-0 time point (p = 0.020). The mean cumulative tramadol consumption was significantly higher in the vitamin D deficiency group than in the nondeficiency group (p = 0.005). Vitamin D levels were lower in patients with VAS ≥ 4 at the postoperative T-0 time point (p = 0.009). In the multivariate linear regression analysis, 15.7% of cumulative tramadol consumption was due to vitamin D deficiency (β = −0.188). Conclusion Our study shows that preoperative low vitamin D level was associated with an increase in acute postoperative pain scores and consumption of opioid analgesics in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Our findings may be useful for postoperative pain management in patients with vitamin D deficiency.


Nowadays, there is significant improvement of development in Intrusion Detection System tecnology. At the same time, the tecnology of intrusion is getting sophisticated and improved as well. For example, there are more than 359000 computers infected by worm of code red in 14 hours in 2001, with the loss of approximately 2 billions dollar.The problems may occur in guarding a network. Firstly, the methods and technology used by intruder are developing. Secondly, vulnerability of softwares and the complexity of internet make detection system difficult in protecting the system. Thirdly, architecture of the centralized IDS will make the system vulnerable with DoS attacks. Based on the fore-mentioned problems, a colaborated IDS which enables to overcome the problems is badly needed. The system can detect an intrusion fast and acurately bacause it will exchange the information from suspected sources.


Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) affects 1-6% of children & is linked to respiratory, cognitive & other morbidities. Cardiorespiratory polygraphy (CRPG) & pulse oximetry (PO) aid diagnosis in UK centres. There are no guidelines on minimum recording time for these studies. Aims: To inform quality standards for optimal CRPG & PO recording duration. Methods: Data were collected from 108 children aged 0.5-18y (60 male) having CRPG with simultaneous PO at Southampton Children's Hospital. Differences between: apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI); oximetry desaturation index 4% (ODI4) & Delta 12s index were assessed for the first 4, 5, 6 & 7 hrs of each recording. Clinical thresholds were set at ODI4≥4/hr & AHI≥5/hr. Results: Limits of agreement between AHI, ODI4 & Delta 12 index widened with increasing duration of recordings. Median absolute AHI differences increased with time difference (4vs5hr median=0.20, CI=0.15-0.35; 4vs7hr median=0.5, CI=0.39-0.82 [p Using 7vs4hr of CRPG, 3 more children (18 vs.15) were identified with AHI≥5 (p=0.453). No more children were identified using ≥4hrs oximetry data with ODI4≥4 (n=12). Conclusion: CRPG & PO values differ with longer recording time. Based on 7 vs. 4hrs of CRPG data, 3 extra children would be diagnosed with OSA. CRPG studies of 4hrs duration may underestimate AHI & influence treatment decisions. Replication of our data will inform study duration quality standards.


Phenology has become a field of growing importance due to the increasingly apparent impacts of climate change. However, the time-consuming, subjective and tedious nature of traditional human field observations have hindered the development of large-scale phenology networks. Such networks are rare and rely on time-lapse cameras and simplistic color indexes to monitor phenology. To automatize rapid, detailed and repeatable analyzes, we propose an Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework based on machine learning and computer vision techniques. Our approach extracts multiple ecologically-relevant indicators from time-lapse digital photography datasets. The proposed framework consists of three main components: (i) a random forest model to automatically select relevant images based on color information; (ii) a convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify and localize open tree buds; and (iii) a density-based spatial clustering algorithm to cluster open bud detections across the time-series. We tested this framework on a dataset including thousands of black spruce and balsam fir tree images captured using our phenological camera network. The performed experiments showed the efficiency of the proposed approach under challenging perturbation factors, such as significant image noise. Our framework is exceedingly faster and more accurate than human analysts, reducing the time-series processing time from multiple days to under an hour. The proposed methodology is particularly appropriate for large-scale and long-term analyzes of ecological imagery datasets. Our work demonstrates that the use of computer vision and machine learning methods represents a promising direction for the implementation of national, continental, or even global plant phenology networks.


In this paper, both methods of magnitude-oriented design and delay-oriented design for variable fractional-delay (VFD) infinite impulse response (IIR) filters are proposed. In the former, the objective error function is formed by including root-mean-square error function of variable frequency response and the stability error constrained function, such that the designed filters are stable. As for the second part of this paper, it is desirable to minimize the root-mean-square error of variable group-delay response while the magnitude response and stability can be preserved. Hence, except those stated above, the root-mean-square error function of variable group-delay response is further included in the objective error function. However, these induced problems are highly nonlinear, so iterative methods are proposed to overcome them. Several design examples are presented to demonstrate the features of these design methods, including concerns among VFD finite impulse response (FIR) filters, VFD allpass filters and VFD IIR filters as well as the designed results of both methods.


As part of the HST/STIS GRB host survey program we present the detection of three faint gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies based on an accurate localisation using ground-based data of the optical afterglows (OAs). A common property of these three hosts is their extreme faintness. The location at which GRBs occur with respect to their host galaxies and surrounding environments are robust indicators of the nature of GRB progenitors. The bursts studied here are among the four most extreme outliers, in terms of relative distance from the host center, in the recent comprehensive study of Bloom et al. (2002). We obtain a revised and much higher probability that the galaxies identified as hosts indeed are related to the GRBs (P(nchance) = 0.69, following Bloom et al. 2002), thereby strengthening the conclusion that GRBs are preferentially located in star-forming regions in their hosts. Apart from being faint, the three hosts consist of multiple structures, indicative of merging and active star-formation. For one of the hosts, GRB 980329, we estimate a photometric redshift of z ∼ 3.5.


Abstract. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), most of the major glaciated basins of the European Southern Alps had piedmont lobes with large outwash plains; only few glaciers remained within the valley. The formers left well-preserved terminal moraines, whose investigation allowed to infer their evolution and chronology. Valley glaciers remnants, on the contrary, are often scantly preserved and changes can be detected only through the correlation with the glaciofluvial deposits in downstream alluvial basins. The Brenta glacial systems dynamics in its terminal tract was inferred through a wide range of sediment analysis techniques on an alluvial stratigraphic record of the Brenta megafan (NE Italy) and the mapping of in-valley glacial/glaciofluvial remnants. Glaciers flowing across narrow gorges turned out to be possibly slowed/blocked by such morphology and, if a lateral valley exists, glacial/sediment fluxes can be diverted. Moreover, narrow valleys may induce glaciers to bulge and form icefalls at their front, preventing the formation of terminal moraines. The Brenta glacier was probably slowed/blocked by the narrow Valsugana gorge downstream of Primolano and was effectively diverted eastwards across a windgap (Canal La Menor valley), joining the Cismon/Piave glaciers near Rocca and ending ~ 2 km downstream. The Cismon River started to flow along its present path just before 27 ka cal BP, while the Piave catchment contributed to the Brenta system at the acme of LGM, from ~ 27 to, at least, ~ 19.5 ka cal BP. Our investigation shows that glacial catchments may significantly vary over time during a single glaciation in rugged Alpine terrains. Sand petrography and chemical/mineralogical composition of sediments are good tracer of such variations, that reflects in the glacial and glaciofluvial systems and can be recognized in the alluvial stratigraphic record far downstream from the glacier front.


BACKGROUND. Inspection of or interventions in the external ear canal and the nostrils pose similar technical problems. This is the reason why early instruments devised for otoscopy and rhinoscopy were based on an identical principle. They were shaped like a pair of tongs, comparable to nasal specula of today. A similar type of instrument had been developed earlier by barber surgeons for inspecting narrow wound cavities. TONG-SHAPED SPECULA. The first description and illustration of an aural and nasal speculum was provided by Guy de Chauliac in Montpellier, France in 1363. Sophisticated models were presented by Fabricius Hildanus in Germany in 1646 and J.J. Perret in Paris in 1772, who offered them in his illustrated catalogue of surgical instruments at fixed prices. W. Kramer (1836) in Berlin improved this tong-shaped instrument and devised the ear speculum named after him that was generally favored during the first half of the 19th century. Further variations of this type were presented by Lincke and Schmalz (1846) in Germany. FUNNEL-SHAPED SPECULA. Ignaz Gruber in Vienna in 1838 devised the first tunnel-shaped ear specula made of metal. They had a simple conical shape, were not divided into separate jaws, and could not be spread. Gruber himself did not publish his invention, but he demonstrated his ear specula to W. R. Wilde from Dublin, who had paid a visit to his office in Vienna. Wilde reported on this in 1844, and subsequently systematically refined Gruber's specula. A. v. Tröltsch from Würzburg (Germany) had seen these instruments at Wilde's office and it was Wilde himself and v. Tröltsch who helped this type of ear speculum to gain acceptance on an international scale. A different type of bottle-shaped ear speculum was first used by Schmalz (1846) and Erhard (1859) in Germany, but it was only developed into a commercially available instrument by Josef Gruber in Vienna in 1870. The ear specula most in use today were first presented by A. Hartmann in Berlin in 1881. SUPPLEMENTARY INVENTIONS. An important supplementary invention was the pneumatic ear speculum by E. Siegle in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1864. It permitted not only inspecting the tympanic membrane but also examining its compliance and response to variations in air pressure in the ear canal. The importance of this instrument was recognized at once and has remained undisputed to this day. J. Bruton, an English military surgeon, presented his otoscope in 1862. It was the first device to incorporate interchangeable ear specula, illumination by a perforated mirror, and a magnifying lens into one handy instrument. It is the precursor of the modern diagnostic sets comprised of a battery-handle, various specula, and accessories for otoscopy, rhinoscopy, and ophthalmoscopy which started to come into use in the late twenties of this century. This historical development of the ear specula is described and illustrated in detail.


Since the mid-1970s the RAF has generated a variety of different forms of 'life-writing', ranging from memoirs written by ex-terrorists to autobiographical fiction by contemporaries which explores the interaction between an authorial narrator and a central terrorist character. Film-makers, echoing novelists, have often focussed on the life of an individual terrorist. While the view that an individual's turning to the RAF or one of its related groupings could be explained through biographical experience has been discredited by the evidence now available, RAF memoirs are of limited value in other respects because their authors are unable to reflect critically on their past. In fiction (by writers such as Timm, Chotjewitz, and Demksi) and films (by von Trotta, Schlondorff, and Conradt) which depict the first RAF generation it becomes clear that what is made of the life is more challenging than the life itself. The same appears true of the largely non-fictional treatment of Ulrike Meinhof. Younger writers and playwrights (Dresen, Kuckart, Scholz, Loher) and film-makers (Veiel), while struggling to make links between the recent past and the present, show much greater distance to the material, sometimes to the point of incorporating the points of view of the RAF 's opponents and victims. In addition to generational affiliation the gender of both author/film-maker and particular terrorist subject also determines in unexpected ways the depiction of RAF lives.


A multiplication-based pulse integration method is proposed for sonar to detect underwater dim target under impulsive noise condition. The method multiplies the received signals in various returns from the target instead of summing them up. The random occurrence of the impulse interference and the nature that a small number near zero multiplies a big number equals to a small number can make huge difference between useful target echo and unwanted impulsive noise. By utilizing the Keystone transform, moving targets can also be detected by the proposed method. Computer simulations and real data analysis show that the proposed scheme is more resistant to impulsive noise, as compared with the conventional addition-based pulse integration scheme. The benefits of this scheme include the improved performance of detection under complex impulsive noise environment, implementation simplicity and flexibility, which indicates the effectiveness and robustness of the method.


A diversity of results has been obtained from nuclear transfer experiments in Amphibia since the time when a satisfactory technique was first developed for transplanting living cell nuclei into enucleated eggs. This article reviews the question of whether stable changes restricting the developmental capacity of cell nuclei are important in promoting the normal differentiation of somatic cells. The results of experiments with Rana and Xenopus have clearly shown that the mitotic products of some transplanted cell nuclei hlave undergone stable changes restricting their developmental capacity. It has not yet been conclusively demonstrated that these nuclear changes arise during normal cell differentiation rather than following transplantation. If it should be found that at least some stable nuclear changes do arise during normal cell differentiation, there is at present no evidence to show whether they promote cell differentiation or arise only as a consequence of it. Other nuclear transfer experiments have shown that, at least in some cases, nuclei can support the formation of differentiated intestine cells without having lost the capacity to promote the formation of other quite different cell types. It is argued that some of these results support, and that others are consistent with, the following general conclusions: (1) that the nuclei of differentiating somatic cells do not generally undergo any restrictive changes affecting the genetic material itself; and (2) that the specialized information provided by somatic cell nuclei either results from a semistable inactivation of parts of the genietic material, or else depends solely upon the nature of the environmnent in which the chtromosomes lie at any one time.


Uterine serous papillary carcinoma (UPSC) is an aggressive tumor, often diagnosed as a metastatic disease and characterized by a high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. UPSC represents a distinct subtype of endometrial cancer which is different in clinical and pathological behaviors from endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (EEC) and resembles more to serous ovarian carcinoma. Since tumors of serous papillary of the ovary are hypothesized to stem from cells of the fallopian tube's fimbria, we hypothesized that UPSC may also origin in the fallopian tubes. In our previous study, using a novel method of computerized morphometry of the fimbrial epithelium we have found significant differences between fimbriae of healthy women and serous ovarian cancer patients. In this study we showed the presence of morphologic differences between twenty-four fimbriae from healthy women, and twenty six fimbriae from uterus cancer (13 from UPSC patients and 13 from EEC patients). All fimbriae reported by the pathologist as "normal" were subjected to a computerized histomorphometric analysis. Two-step method of computerized histomorphometry, i.e. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) followed by a co-occurrence matrix analysis and an additional analysis of the nuclear symmetry of the tubal fimbrial epithelium were applied. Using these novel methods, we were able to show differences in the morphometric characteristics of the fimbriae in UPSC patients compared to EEC and healthy patients. It is yet to be determined the clinical significance of this observation.


This chapter covers pensions and pension orders available to the court. It discusses what a pension is, the pension as a financial instrument, and how a pension is valued. The cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) is explained. The chapter explains how pensions are dealt with following divorce or dissolution and the various options for pensions in financial proceedings. One of the options includes pension offsetting, which is the least complex option. The other two options that are discussed are pension attachment and pension sharing. It is explained that pension sharing was the solution to the problems and unpopularity of the pension attachment order.


BACKGROUND
The dysarthria of progressive supranuclear palsy consists of prominent hypokinetic and spastic components with less prominent ataxic components.

OBJECTIVE
To correlate the types of dysarthria with neuropathological changes in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.

DESIGN AND METHODS
In 14 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy, we correlated the perceptual speech findings with the neuropathological findings. A dysarthria assessment was performed a mean +/- SD of 31 +/- 15 months (range, 10-53 months) before death. The deviant speech dimensions were rated on a scale of 0 (normal) to 3 (severe). The neuropathological examination consisted of semiquantitative analysis of neuronal loss and gliosis by investigators (A.A.F.S., and L.A.B.) blinded to the clinical findings. Correlation and linear regression analysis were used to correlate the severity of the hypokinetic, spastic, and ataxic components with the degree of neuronal loss and gliosis in predetermined anatomical sites.

RESULTS
All patients had hypokinetic and spastic dysarthria, and 9 also had ataxic components. The severity of the hypokinetic components was significantly correlated with the degree of neuronal loss and gliosis in the substantia nigra pars compacta (r = 0.61, P =.02) and pars reticulata (r = 0.64, P =.01) but not in the subthalamic nucleus (r = 0.51, P =.07) or the striatum or globus pallidus (/r/<0.34, P>.20). The severity of the spastic and ataxic components was not significantly correlated with the neuropathological changes in the frontal cortex (r = 0.20, P =.50) and cerebellum (/r/<0.28, P>.33), respectively.

CONCLUSION
The hypokinetic dysarthria of progressive supranuclear palsy may result from degenerative changes in the substantia nigra pars compacta and pars reticulata and not from changes in the striatum or globus pallidus.


Background:
In July 2004, the Commission presented a new proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for the programming period 2007 – 2013 which has been agreed upon in June 2005 (European Commission 2005a, Council of the European Union 2005a and 2005b). The explanatory memorandum of the new Rural Development Programme (RDP) presented by the European Commission mentions that after a period of reforms of the First Pillar of the CAP, now focus will be led on the reform of rural development policy. However, this does not mean a paradigm shift but rather a consolidation and administrative simplification making rural development policy more efficient and coherent (Wehrheim 2005). Compared to current Council Regulation (EC) 1257/1999, the new RDP considers in Article 6 to strengthen the partnership approach through close consultation of competent regional, local and other public authorities as well as Non-governmental organisations and private bodies representing civil society (European Commission 2004b).
The regulation seeks dovetailing policies of first and second pillar: e.g. through modulation. On the other side, EU rural development policy should move towards a more strategic approach, reinforcing it and simplifying its implementation (European Commission, 2004a). To ensure the sustainable development of rural areas, the new RDP focuses on a limited number of core priority objectives relating to agriculture and forestry (European Commission, 2004b):
1. improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by means of support for restructuring, development and innovation
2. improving the environment and the countryside by means of support for land management
3. improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity:
Each of these core objectives relates to one thematic axis for which each a range of measures are proposed:
Axis 1: Improving the competitiveness of the agriculture and forestry sector
Axis 2: Improving the environment and the countryside
Axis 3: The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy
In addition a fourth overarching axis is introduced which relates to all three objectives:
Axis 4: "LEADER" Axis
While so far the 2nd Pillar of the CAP was funded by two different financial sources (EAGGF Guidance and Guarantee section), the new regulation envisages the creation of only one new fund for Pillar 2: The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Thus, current differences of Guidance and Guarantee section as concerns programming, administration and monitoring will be dispensed, which might lead to a significant ease of administrative tasks (Grajewski 2004). The resources available for the period 2007 to 2013 amount according to Article 70 of the Council proposal to 88,75 billion Euro at constant 2004 prices (European Council, 2005). The minimum EU fund contribution at axis level shall be 20%. In the case of Axis 1 and 3, maximum funds are ceiled to 50% of the eligible public expenditures (75% in convergence regions). For Axis 2 and the Leader Axis the maximum rate will be 55% (80% in convergence regions), expressing the EU priority attached to these axes. For the outermost regions the maximum co-financing rates are increased by 5 points (Council of the European Union 2005a). The implementation process of the new policy foresees adoption of the Community level strategic guidelines for rural development by autumn 2005 in order to enable Member states to finalise their national strategic plans until mid 2006 (European Commission 2005a).
So far, there has only been some scientific discussion on earlier stages of the respective regulation (Grajewski et al. 2004, Schader and Stolze 2005, Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Agrarpolitik, nachhaltige Landbewirtschaftung und Entwicklung landlicher Raume beim Bundesministerium fur Verbraucherschutz, Ernahrung und Landwirtschaft 2005). Generally the approach of the regulation was considered to be an improvement. However, little reference has been made so far in the discussion to the prospects the new policy holds for support of organic farming, inspite of the fact that there are economic arguments in favour of support for organic farming (Dabbert et al. 2004). Organic farming is mentioned only once in the regulation, as a minor point and without any specifics. This seems to be in contrast to the importance given to organic farming by other statements of the Commission (European Commission 2004c). Also the recent Commission proposal for strategic guidelines (European Commission 2005b) is more explicit on the role of organic farming for rural development. It thus seems worthwhile to take a closer look at this aspect.


Abstract Background: Endocannabinoids (ECs) are rapidly acting immune-modulatory lipid-signaling molecules that are important for adaptation to stressful and aversive situations. They are known to interact with glucocorticoids and other stress-responsive systems. Maladaptation to acute or chronic stress represents a major risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders. In the present study, we administered stress doses of hydrocortisone in a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study in patients undergoing cardiac surgery (CS) to examine the relationship between the use of glucocorticoids, plasma EC levels, and the occurrence of early postoperative cognitive dysfunction (delirium) and of later development of depression. Methods: We determined plasma levels of the ECs anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in CS patients of the hydrocortisone (n=56) and the placebo group (n=55) preoperatively, at postoperative day (POD) 1, at intensive care unit discharge, and at 6 months after CS (n=68). Postoperative delirium was diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association IVth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, and depression was determined by validated questionnaires and a standardized psychological interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV). Results: Stress doses of hydrocortisone did not affect plasma EC levels and the occurrence of delirium or depression. However, patients who developed delirium on POD 1 had significantly lower preoperative 2-AG levels of the neuroprotective EC 2-AG (median values, 3.8 vs. 11.3 ng/ml; p=0.03). Preoperative 2-AG concentrations were predictive of postoperative delirium (sensitivity=0.70; specificity=0.69; cutoff value=4.9 ng/ml; receiver operating characteristic curve area=0.70; 95% confidence interval=0.54–0.85). Patients with depression at 6 months after CS (n=16) had significantly lower anandamide and 2-AG levels during the perioperative period. Conclusions: A low perioperative EC response may indicate an increased risk for early cognitive dysfunction and long-term depression in patients after CS. Glucocorticoids do not seem to influence this relationship.


Developing an effective classification model in the medical field is challenging due to limited datasets. To address this issue, this study proposes using a generative adversarial network (GAN) as a data-augmentation technique. The research aims to enhance the classifier's generalization performance, stability, and precision through the generation of synthetic data that closely resemble real data. We employed feature selection and applied five classification algorithms to thirteen benchmark medical datasets, augmented using the least-square GAN (LS-GAN). Evaluation of the generated samples using different ratios of augmented data showed that the support vector machine model outperforms other methods with larger samples. The proposed data augmentation approach using a GAN presents a promising solution for enhancing the performance of classification models in the healthcare field.


The main objectives of this study were investigating the effects of the maximum size of coarse Attapulgite aggregate and micro steel fiber content on fresh and some mechanical properties of steel fibers reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete (SFLWSCC). Two series of mixes were used depending on maximum aggregate size (12.5 and 19) mm, for each series three different steel fibers content were used (0.5 %, 1%, and 1.5%). To evaluate the fresh properties, tests of slump flow, T500 mm, V funnel time, and J ring were carried out. Tests of compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural tensile strength, and calculated equilibrium density were done to evaluate mechanical properties. For reference mixes, the results showed that mixes with a larger maximum aggregate size of 19 mm exhibited better fresh properties, while mechanical properties negatively affected by using a larger maximum aggregate size. The results also showed that using steel fibers led to negative effects on fresh properties, especially with higher steel fibers content and larger maximum aggregate size. The marginal effect of steel fibers on compressive strength was noticed, while for both splitting and flexural tensile strength, significant increase was obtained with increasing of steel fibers content. The properties of SFLWSCC in the fresh state had a considerable effect on mechanical properties, whereas with the best fresh properties, the best mechanical properties can be obtained.


Lexical relations describe how concepts are semantically related, in the form of relation triples. The accurate prediction of lexical relations between concepts is challenging, due to the sparsity of patterns indicating the existence of such relations. We propose the Knowledge-Enriched Meta-Learning (KEML) framework to address lexical relation classification. In KEML, the LKB-BERT (Lexical Knowledge Base-BERT) model is first presented to learn concept representations from text corpora, with rich lexical knowledge injected by distant supervision. A probabilistic distribution of auxiliary tasks is defined to increase the model's ability to recognize different types of lexical relations. We further propose a neural classifier integrated with special relation recognition cells, in order to combine meta-learning over the auxiliary task distribution and supervised learning for LRC. Experiments over multiple datasets show KEML outperforms state-of-the-art methods.


Purpose: Viral infections had been historically observed in chronic disease development and complications including although not limited to hepatitis C, influenza A, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein bar virus (EBV), HIV and herpes simplex. Epidemiologic data had implicated CMV, herpes simplex and hepatitis C in type II diabetes (T2D). With the observed increased incidence T2D in COVID-19 among children and adults, this review aimed to examine scientific literature on immune and endocrine systems dysregulation in T2D and pancreatic neoplasm. Materials & Method: A qualitative systematic review (QSR) was utilized in assessing the immune system deregulation and endocrine system involvement in chronic disease development such as T2D. The PubMed was the main search engine in studies identification with several search terms such as "SARS-CoV-2 and T2D", "COVID-19 and T2D", SARS-CoV-2 and insulin resistant", etc. Results: Viral pathogens such as CMV, influenza A, and herpes simplex and hepatitis C infections have been implicated in decreased insulin sensitivity (IS) and increased insulin resistant (IR). Similarly, these pathogenic microbes increased the T2D incidence and complications. SARS-CoV-2 a COVID-19 causative pathogen had been observed in increased risk and incidence of T2D among children and adults. While data are not currently available on the precise mechanistic process, SARS-CoV-2 viral infection in T2D incidence may be explained by excess pro-inflammatory cytokines elaboration (cytokine storm) resulting in increased IR and decreased IS, leading to glucose intolerance and T2D. Further COVID-19 may increase pancreatic neoplasm in populations with increased incidence of COVID-19, due to pancreatic beta cells and insulin receptors dysregulation and cellular dysfunctionality as abnormal cellular proliferation. Conclusions/Recommendation: SARS-CoV-2 a causative pathogen in COVID-19 morbidity is associated with increased incidence of T2D, which is explained in part by immune and endocrine system integration dysregulation, resulting in cytokine storm, decreased IS and increased IR, implying glucose intolerance and T2D. Additionally this pathogenic microbe may result in increasing incidence of pancreatic neoplasm, a malignant neoplasm with the worst prognosis and excess mortality due to late stage at diagnosis and marginalized biomarkers of susceptibility and morbidity.


With the appearance of oxygen and the development of aerobic life on earth, reactive oxygen species (ROS) became important factors influencing a number of processes within a cell. Although initially considered unwanted and harmful by-products of a number of cellular reactions, the last decade has shown that ROS can also act as signalling molecules mediating changes in O(2) tension, as well as the response to hormones, growth factors, and mechanical or chemical stress. Different ROS-generating and ROS-degrading systems in different intracellular compartments seem to play an important role. In line with this, it appears that proteins already well known for an ROS-unrelated specific function in one compartment participate in the ROS response within another compartment. Thus, it is easy to envision that redox changes in different compartments and resulting changes in ROS levels may represent an important mechanism of intracellular communication between different cellular compartments.


The Fourier transform is the standard image reconstruction technique
used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and it is an integral part
of the inverse scattering formalism in ultrasound (US) imaging. Unfortunately,
artifacts such as Gibbs ringing induced by a finite sampling window
or systematic errors in phase may significantly impede the interpretation
of the resulting Fourier transform images. Further, when only a few
parameters are needed to characterize the object function, it is likely not
to be the best technique for optimal signal-to-noise. In this paper, the
application of a parameter estimation reconstruction scheme using a priori
constraints to remove Gibbs ringing and improve resolution and signalto-
noise is presented for MRI and US. Projection onto convex set theory
is also used to regenerate uncollected data in partial Fourier imaging, and
model constraints are used to correct motion artifacts in MRI. These methods
are found not to require unrealistic values of the signal-to-noise ratio
and are likely to prove practical in future applications.


We recently noted [R. K. Harris, P. Hodgkinson, V. Zorin, J.-N. Dumez, B. Elena, L. Emsley, E. Salager, and R. Stein, Magn. Reson. Chem. 48, S103 (2010)] anomalous shifts in apparent (1)H chemical shifts in experiments using (1)H homonuclear decoupling sequences to acquire high-resolution (1)H NMR spectra for organic solids under magic-angle spinning (MAS). Analogous effects were also observed in numerical simulations of model (13)C,(1)H spin systems under homonuclear decoupling and involving large (13)C,(1)H dipolar couplings. While the heteronuclear coupling is generally assumed to be efficiently suppressed by sample spinning at the magic angle, we show that under conditions typically used in solid-state NMR, there is a significant third-order cross-term from this coupling under the conditions of simultaneous MAS and homonuclear decoupling for spins directly bonded to (1)H. This term, which is of the order of 100 Hz under typical conditions, explains the anomalous behaviour observed on both (1)H and (13)C spins, including the fast dephasing observed in (13)C{(1)H} heteronuclear spin-echo experiments under (1)H homonuclear decoupling. Strategies for minimising the impact of this effect are also discussed.


Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) is a chronic inflammatory condition of large blood vessels primarily affecting the aorta and its main branches (1). Although more prevalent in Asians, it has a worldwide distribution. Increased oxidative stress perpetuating the inflammatory response and activity of matrix metalloproteinase are commonly proposed mechanisms for the occurrence of TAK (2). The persistent inflammatory response in TAK can lead to the involvement of pulmonary/coronary artery or myocardium (3). Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) has been recently reported to result in worse outcomes comparable to acute coronary syndrome (4). The variety of risk factors make certain individuals more susceptible to TTS and adversely influence their outcomes (5). Recently, Lim et al. have reported the first-ever case of TTS in a 51-year old female with TAK (6). However, the epidemiology and outcomes of TTS patients with TAK have never been studied.


Introduction: Climacteric is a period of transition between the reproductive and non-reproductive phases of the woman, due to hypoestrogenism. Some symptoms such as vasomotor and urogenital disorders and sexual dysfunctions are characteristics of this period that can interfere negatively in women´s quality of life. However, specific exercises can positively influence the improvement of these conditions. Objective: To verify the impact of a physiotherapist supervised exercise protocol on menopausal symptoms, sexuality and quality of life of climacteric women. Methods: A descriptive study with physiotherapeutic intervention through a specific exercise protocol. Participated in the study 18 women attended to Instituto da Mulher e Gestante, in the city of Santos (SP). Results: The women underwent initial physiotherapeutic evaluation, answered the Sexuality Questionnaire Female Sexual Function Index, Kupperman Menopausal Index and SF-36 quality of life. They were then submitted to health education about climacteric period and also to a physiotherapist supervised exercise group, once a week, lasting 50 minutes, for 12 weeks. The same questionnaires were reapplied at the end of this period. Conclusion: The protocol of specific group exercises supervised by physiotherapist did not influence sexual function, but it was effective for better quality of life and decreased significantly climacteric symptomatology.


Mud volcanoes are prominent geological structures where fluids and gases from the deep subsurface are discharged along a fracture network in tectonically active regions. Microbial communities responsible for sulfur and methane cycling and organic transformation in terrestrial mud volcanoes remain poorly characterized. Using a metagenomics approach, we analyzed the microbial community of bubbling fluids retrieved from an active mud volcano in eastern Crimea. The microbial community was dominated by chemolithoautotrophic Campylobacterota and Gammaproteobacteria, which are capable of sulfur oxidation coupled to aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Methane oxidation could be enabled by aerobic Methylococcales bacteria and anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME), while methanogens were nearly absent. The ANME community was dominated by a novel species of Ca. Methanoperedenaceae that lacked nitrate reductase and probably couple methane oxidation to the reduction of metal oxides. Analysis of two Ca. Bathyarchaeota genomes revealed the lack of mcr genes and predicted that they could grow on fatty acids, sugars, and proteinaceous substrates performing fermentation. Thermophilic sulfate reducers indigenous to the deep subsurface, Thermodesulfovibrionales (Nitrospirae) and Ca. Desulforudis (Firmicutes), were found in minor amounts. Overall, the results obtained suggest that reduced compounds delivered from the deep subsurface support the development of autotrophic microorganisms using various electron acceptors for respiration.


Author(s): Nardoni, Emily Margaret | Advisor(s): Intriligator, Kenneth | Abstract: In this dissertation we study properties of superconformal field theories (SCFTs) that arise from a variety of constructions. We begin with an extended review of various techniques in supersymmetry that are relevant throughout the work. In Chapter 3, we discuss aspects of theories with superpotentials given by Arnold's $A,D,E$ singularities, particularly the novelties that arise when the fields are matrices. We focus on four-dimensional $N=1$ variants of supersymmetric QCD, with $U(N_c)$ or $SU(N_c)$ gauge group, $N_f$ fundamental flavors, and adjoint matter fields $X$ and $Y$ appearing in $W_{A,D,E}(X,Y)$ superpotentials. We explore these issues by considering various deformations of the $W_{A,D,E}$ superpotentials, and the resulting RG flows and IR theories. In Chapter 4, we examine the infrared fixed points of four-dimensional $N=1$ supersymmetric $SU(2)$ gauge theory coupled to an adjoint and two fundamental chiral multiplets. We focus on a particular RG flow that leads to the $N=2$ Argyres-Douglas theory $H_0$, and a further deformation to an $N=1$ SCFT with low $a$ central charge. Then for the latter half of the dissertation we turn our attention to 4d SCFTs that arise from compactifications of M5-branes. In Chapter 6, we field-theoretically construct 4d $N=1$ quantum field theories by compactifying the 6d (2,0) theories on a Riemann surface with genus $g$ and $n$ punctures, where the normal bundle decomposes into a sum of two line bundles with possibly negative degrees $p$ and $q$. In Chapter 7, we study the 't Hooft anomalies of the SCFTs that arise from these compactifications. In general there are two independent contributions to the anomalies: there is a bulk term obtained by integrating the anomaly polynomial of the world-volume theory on the M5-branes over the Riemann surface, and there is a set of contributions due to local data at the punctures. Using anomaly inflow in M-theory, we describe how this general structure arises for cases when the four-dimensional theories preserve $N=2$ supersymmetry, and derive terms that account for the local data at the punctures.