The number of networked smart devices available in everyday environments is rapidly increasing; however, many current devices adopt mutually incompatible networks, protocols, and application programming interfaces. As such, creating mobile applications that dynamically discover and integrate ambient functionality across multiple vertical markets remains challenging. In this paper, we introduce a novel middleware framework, called Ambient Control, which enables commodity mobile devices (e.g., smart-phones) to dynamically mediate control messaging between incompatible smart devices situated in the user's environment. Ambient Control enables a variety of control capabilities and protocol translation services to be dynamically installed into a user's mobile device on-demand using plug-ins. The approach also features an intuitive "Tap to Interact" workflow that allows a user to tap nearby smart devices with a smart-phone to install required interaction plug-ins and automatically "wire" them together in interesting and potentially unforeseen ways. In this paper, we present a detailed overview of the Ambient Control framework, introduce our fully functional prototype, and present an evaluation indicating that the prototype provides efficient messaging performance and imposes low processing and memory overhead, making it suitable for deployment on many commodity mobile devices.


The fast switching effects in a long SOA can be used to shape complementary pulses, suppress the pattern dependent carrier density fluctuations and increase the bitrate up to 160 Gb/s. An Alternating Data Clock architecture leads to the fast clocked decision.


In 1989, the prevalence of antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) was determined by the ELISA method in serum samples from 198 apparently healthy children 4-14 years old in Kumba City (Cameroon). Children were randomly recruited from six primary schools located in different districts of the city. The overall prevalence was 94.0%, increasing from 88.5% in 4-6 years old to 98% in subjects 11-14 years old. A slight male predominance was observed (96.2% versus 92.4%), which was not statistically significant. Family size and father's occupation were not associated with anti-CMV prevalence. These findings demonstrate a virtually total exposure to CMV infection by late childhood in Cameroon. However, the undesirable consequences of congenitally acquired CMV infection are rare, because nearly 100% of the women are seropositive by the time they reach childbearing age.


Nigeria recently changed her antimalarial treatment policy from monotheraphy single based to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Close to Community Medicine Sellers (CTC-MS) were defined to include all commercial retailers supplying malaria drugs. The study examines implementation of National malaria drug policy by Close to Community Medicine Sellers (CTC-MS) in Kwara state Nigeria. It was a descriptive cross sectional study, multi stage sampling techniques was adopted and interviewer administered questionnaires was used to collect data. EPI-INFO software statistical package was used to analysis. Despite high level of awareness (53.9%) of new treatment guidelines for malaria, ninety (43.0%) of the CTC- MS correctly differentiate between artesunate monotherapy and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).Only 96 (46.6%) respondents sold artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in the new policy for the treatment of malaria. Majority CTC-MS sold Chloroquine (84.0%) and Qunine (64.1%) respectively, (75.2%) of the respondents agreed to sell any form of monotherapy for the treatment of malaria. Due to non-availability (47.1%), competition from other providers (35.3%) and high cost (17.6%). Age, educational level, years of practice and type of training significantly affected response to the implementation of new malaria guideline. Mono therapy still considered to be adequate for treatment of malaria, there is increased marketing of antimalaria monotheraphy drugs and advised to consumers to purchase Artesunate monotheraphy for the treatment of malaria. Non-availability and high cost of ACT drugs are some of the factors responsible for the sales of monototheraphy anti malaria drugs. It is recommended that special interventions such as trainings, continuous professional medical education on new anti–malaria drugs and government to withdraw non-ACT antimalarials from the market. In addition age limit, years of practices and source of trainings should be considered by the formal or informal association of CTC-MS prior to approval to join the market for sales of anti-malaria drugs therapy.


As an extension of a series of models we have developed, a mechanical bent vocal-tract model with nasal cavity was proposed for educational and clinical applications, as well as for understanding human speech production. Although our recent studies have focused on flap and approximant sounds, this paper introduced a new model for the consonants [b], [m] and [w]. Because the articulatory gesture of approximants is slow compared to the more rapid movement of plosives, in our [b] and [m] model, the elastic force of a spring is applied to affect the movement of the lower lip block, as was done for flap sounds in our previous studies. The main difference between [b] and [m] is in the velopharyngeal port, which is closed for [b] and open for [m]. In this study, we concluded that 1) a slower manipulation of the lip block is needed for [w], while 2) [b] and [m] require a faster movement, and finally, 3) close-open coordination of the lip and velopharyngeal gestures is important for [m].


CTACK/CCL27 is pivotal in mediating the migration of lymphocytes into the skin, through the binding to the chemokine receptor CCR10. CCL27 is continuously expressed by keratinocytes, but highly upregulated in inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. CCL27 can be induced in cultured keratinocytes by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, which is also known to induce activity of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. NF-kappaB plays a vital role in controlling inflammation through its regulation of transcription of chemokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines. We show here that inhibition of NF-kappaB with the non-specific NF-kappaB inhibitors SSC (sodium salicylate), DCIC (3,4-dichloroisocoumarin) and PAO (phenylarsine oxide) results in a downregulation of TNF-alpha-induced CCL27 production. To substantiate the result and to investigate the role of NF-kappaB we investigated if specific antisense oligonucleotides against the p50 and p65 subunits of NF-kappaB had the same effect. Inhibition of either p50 or p65 production with antisense oligonucleotides resulted in a significant downregulation of TNF-alpha-induced CCL27 production. These results indicate that CCL27 expression is under the control of NF-kappaB, and that NF-kappaB, as indicated by others, may be an attractive target for therapy in inflammatory skin diseases.


Smart and cost effective health-care has been in increasing demand to meet the needs of growing human population and medical expenses. It is a known fact that country like India has become heart disease capital of the world. There is an urgent need to develop an effective health monitoring system that can detect abnormalities of health conditions in time and make diagnoses according to the gleaned data. ECG monitoring is a widely studied and applied approach to diagnose heart diseases. However, existing portable wireless ECG monitoring systems cannot work without a mobile application, which is responsible for data collection and passing on the messages to doctors. Recent advances in mobile technology and cloud computing have inspired numerous designs of cloud-based health care services and devices. Within the cloud system, medical data can be collected and transmitted automatically to medical professionals from anywhere and feedback can be returned to patients through the network. In this paper, we propose a new method for ECG monitoring based on Cypress Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) Internet of Things (IoT) platform. ECG data are gathered using a wearable monitoring node and are transmitted directly to the IoT cloud using Wi-Fi. Internet of Things utilizes open source protocols like CoAP/HTTP, MQTT, TLS/TCP, DTLS/UDP and OMALWM2M for data communication and device management.


The use of anthelmintics in Cuba in the last years, including the acquisition of resistance to them and the application and successes of the FAMACHA method to prevent it, is reviewed. Similarly, research on natural products with anthelmintic action carried out in the country in recent years is summarized. The experience of the authors in the field is provided.


Aim: This is a review article, which focused upon Pakistan's pharmaceutical industry. This industry has fallen into the trap of our country's buckwheat. Basically, it's the main concern of pharmaceutical industries of Pakistan, one of the present standing position or top most sold products. Method: This is a comparison between industry from start to form or global level. It has been a detailed review of Pakistan's import and export products over the years. This article gives an overview on APIs, how they are synthesized and major exporters of APIs. Drugs formulations are also discussed in it. Formulation of drugs are solid, liquid and semi solid. Moreover, it also focused at the limitations and strengths of the factors that are important in determining the strength. Results: The pharmaceutical business has a strong capacity for innovation, and governments should conduct studies and encourage discussion on how to improve this capacity without endangering public health. Practical implication: The strength of each pharmaceutical industry based upon quality goods, providing values, services excellence.There are concerns about the current rules in Pakistan for evaluating the quality of pharmaceuticals raw materials (APIs).The pharmaceutical industry strengths could include low operating overhead, firm fiscal management, low staff turnover, high return on investment (ROI), state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and an experienced research staff. Conclusion: The medical system in a country is crucially dependent on the pharmaceutical sector. This study's goal was to shed light on Pakistan's entire pharmaceutical sector, including startups, imports, exports, and detail of APIs. The pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan is still in its early stages, but it has managed to establish a small presence in Asia-Pacific market. Keywords: Brands, Ointment, ROI, spurious drugs and PIDB


This paper critiques several exiting strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) frameworks and discusses their limitations to apply directly to emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs), especially those generated from China and other BRICS nations. To complement the existing SIHRM frameworks, key variables relevant to emerging economies are identified and the extended model with particular reference to EMNEs is developed with several research propositions. It is believed that the extended model would better capture the recent development of MNEs in transition, and alert emerging international managers to address several human resource management challenges in the global context


The metastatic behavior of a murine fibrosarcoma (UV-2237M-ADMR) resistant to Adriamycin (ADM) (doxorubicin) was investigated. Subclones isolated from the UV-2237M-ADMR line, which originated from a single colony, generally displayed a similar degree of resistance to ADM (eight out of nine clones did not differ from this UV-2237M-ADMR line). In contrast, they differed significantly in their capacity to form lung colonies after i.v. injection (six of nine clones differed significantly from the UV-2237M-ADMR line, p less than or equal to 0.005, Mann-Whitney U test). The UV-2237M-ADMR cell line maintained resistance to ADM even after 17 weeks of growth in syngeneic mice, although a gradual decrease in resistance was observed over this time. Spontaneous metastases from the UV-2237M-ADMR tumor commonly retained resistance to ADM. Of 18 cell lines, each established from an individual lung nodule, 16 showed plating efficiencies in the presence of ADM comparable to that of the primary UV-2237M-ADMR tumor. The remaining two lines had partially reverted to the sensitive state. The i.v. administration of ADM significantly reduced the lung tumor burden of mice with ADM-sensitive UV-2237M tumors but failed to affect the lung tumor burden of mice with UV-2237M-ADMR tumors. The UV-2237M-ADMR tumor line, exhibiting as it does both drug-resistant and metastatic behavior, provides a useful model system with which to investigate the metastatic process and the development of drug resistance.


The sequence of stages involved in the combustion of polymers — ignition, flame propagation, and burn-out — has been examined. The limits of existence of the flame and the role of radiation in combustion processes have been discussed. The influence of halogen- and phosphorus-containing fire-proofing agents on the combustion processes has been analysed. The promising possibilities provided by micro-encapsulated fire-proofing agents have been demonstrated. The bibliography contains 130 references.


Population growth and climate change put a strain on water resources; hence, there are growing initiatives to reduce water use. Reducing household water use will likely reduce sewer input. This work demonstrates the use of a stochastic sewer model to quantify the effect water conservation has on sewer hydraulics and wastewater concentration. Probabilistic discharge patterns have been developed using SIMDEUM WW® and fed into hydraulic modelling software InfoWorks ICM® to produce likely flow and quality profiles for five future water use scenarios. The scenarios tested were developed to outline how commercial and political factors may change water use in future. Scenario testing revealed that 15-60% water reduction reflected a 1-48% drop in the morning peak flow. The water use reduction was predicted to increase wastewater concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorus (TPH) by 55-180%, 19-116% and 30-206% respectively. The sewer flow model was developed, calibrated and validated using a case study in the Wessex Water region of the UK and all future scenarios were compared to the validated baseline case. This wastewater flow and quality model allows scenario testing, which could help redesign future sewer networks to better prepare for water conservation strategies.


The efficacy of cefazolin or cefpirome alone or combined with rifampin was compared with that of vancomycin alone or combined with rifampin in an experimental model of methicillin-resistant, beta-lactamase-producing, coagulase-negative staphylococcal endocarditis. Phenotypically, the mecA gene-positive strain used in vivo did not exhibit methicillin resistance by the agar dilution or disk susceptibility method but was resistant in vitro (oxacillin MIC, 64 micrograms/ml) by the microtiter dilution method with 2% NaCl supplementation. Macrodilution broth susceptibilities of standard inocula failed to demonstrate cross-resistance of staphylococci to cefazolin (MIC, 8 micrograms/ml) or cefpirome (MIC, 4 micrograms/ml). In vivo, vancomycin and cefpirome had similar activities, and both regimens were more effective than was cefazolin alone. While the MIC of rifampin was low (0.031 micrograms/ml), monotherapy with rifampin resulted in a bimodal distribution of outcomes due to the expected emergence of resistant mutants. The results in vitro of time-kill synergy studies using rifampin in combination with cefazolin or cefpirome varied with the antimicrobial concentrations tested and did not reliably predict activities in vivo of rifampin-beta-lactam combination therapies. Cefpirome, but not cefazolin or vancomycin, in combination with rifampin was synergistic in vivo. Cefpirome in combination with rifampin was more effective than was cefazolin in combination with rifampin. Both cephalosporin-rifampin regimens were significantly more effective than was cephalosporin or vancomycin monotherapy and were as effective as vancomycin combined with rifampin. These data support further evaluation of rifampin-beta-lactam combinations as possible alternative therapies to vancomycin-containing regimens for selected methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcal infections.


Low-friction but superhydrophilic materials are urgently needed in biomedical and engineering fields because of their nonfouling property and biocompatibility, particularly when the surfaces are definitely superhydrophilic, such as metal or TiO2 as the surface coatings of the intravascular stents. However, generally, there is a higher friction coefficient on the superhydrophilic surfaces than on the hydrophobic surfaces. On the basis of molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the friction on the superhydrophilic surface with appropriate charge patterns is evidently reduced, where the lower friction is similar to that of a rather hydrophobic surface with a contact angle of water droplet of ∼44°. This reduction is attributed to the existence of an ordered water monolayer on the superhydrophilic surface with appropriate charge patterns, and the friction between this ordered water monolayer and the water molecules above is small.


The characterization of Mg-clays in rock samples (well P1) from the Barra Velha Formation (Early Cretaceous) allowed the establishment of mineral assemblages on the basis of their kerolite and Mg-smectite (stevensite and saponite) content. Kerolite-rich assemblages (A and B) rarely contain saponite. Assemblage B is composed of kerolite-stevensite mixed layers, while assemblage A consists of more than 95% kerolite. Mg-smectite-rich assemblages (C and CB) are made up of both Mg-smectites. The predominance of stevensite in the lower interval of the stratigraphic succession suggests evaporative conditions, higher salinity and pH, which would favor its authigenesis by neoformation. In the upper portion, the occurrence of thick kerolite-rich intervals suggests regular water inputs, contributing with a decreasing in salinity and pH, favoring the neoformation of kerolite and later kerolite-stevensite mixed layering. The saponite would be the result of the transformation from Al-smectite into Mg-smectite in a Mg2+ rich medium. The results indicate that lake hydrochemical processes would have allowed the establishment of a basic depositional sequence, from base to top, as follows: (i) initial lake expansion stage marked by the occurrence of saponite, (ii) later kerolite neoformation, (iii) formation of kerolite-stevensite mixed layer with increasing salinity, and (iv) neoformation of stevensite, marking a final stage of maximum salinity (evaporation) and alkalinity of the lake.


This study analyzed the influence of firing biogas on the performance and operation of a gas turbine combined heat and power (CHP) system. A reference CHP system designed with natural gas fuel was set up and off-design simulation was made to investigate the impact of firing biogas in the system. Changes in critical operating parameters such as compressor surge margin and turbine blade temperature caused by firing biogas were examined, and a couple of operating schemes to mitigate their changes were simulated. Part load operation of the biogas-fired system was compared with that of natural-gas fired system, and it was found that as long as the two system produce the same electric power output, they exhibit nearly the same heat recovery.


The purpose of this book is to give readers convenient access to a collection of recent research reports that the author has published in international journals. It has been written as a user-friendly source of information about medical schemes. Medical schemes report on healthcare services provided to members, as well as reimbursement for such services, which provides a wealth of data on medical schemes affording many opportunities for research and exploration of such data. The book is organized into eight chapters, each of which covers a specific research area. The topics covered range from legislation to utilisation of health services and expenditure trends in the private sector. One chapter is dedicated to the provision of health services in the public sector. This chapter reviews literature on challenges faced by poverty-stricken communities in the Eastern Cape Province in accessing care. The book also covers the application of statistical methods in medical schemes data, including Ridge regression, Quantile regression, Logistic Regression, Cox`s regression models. Linear mixed models and Kernel Density Estimations are also covered.


Purpose
Since Islamic markets are growing substantially, there is an urgent need to gain a better understanding of how Muslim consumers perceive products from a religious perspective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the brain responses of Muslim consumers to Halal and non-Halal products using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology.

Design/methodology/approach
The research model is a simplified version of the theory of planned behavior. The initial experiment began by asking participants to divide a set of images into two groups: Halal and non-Halal products. The fMRI experiment uses a blocked design approach to capture brain activities resulting from presenting the two groups of images to participants, and to record the strength of their attitudes toward purchasing the products.

Findings
Across all participants, the level of brain activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex increased significantly when Halal images were presented to them. The same results emerged when the Halal images showed raw and cooked meat. The variations in the results may be due to the high emotional sensitivity of Muslim consumers to using religious products.

Research limitations/implications
This study uses a unique approach to monitor brain activity to confirm that consumers from specific market segments respond differently to market products based on their internal beliefs. Findings from this study provide evidence that marketing managers targeting Muslim markets should consider the sensitivity of presenting products in ways that reflect religious principles, in order to gain higher acceptance in this market segment.

Originality/value
Although the literature reports considerable research on Muslim consumers' behavior, most of the previous studies utilize conventional data collection approaches to target broad segments of consumers by using traditional products. This paper is the first to track the reactions of the Muslim consumer segment to specific types of market products.


We consider the diffusive motion of a localised knot along a linear polymer chain. In particular, we derive the mean diffusion time of the knot before it escapes from the chain once it gets close to one of the chain ends. Self-reptation of the entire chain between either end and the knot position, during which the knot is provided with free volume, leads to an L-3 scaling of diffusion time; for sufficiently long chains, subdiffusion will enhance this time even more. Conversely, we propose local "breathing", i.e., local conformational rearrangement inside the knot region (KR) and its immediate neighbourhood, as additional mechanism. The contribution of KR-breathing to the diffusion time scales only quadratically, similar to L-2, speeding up the knot escape considerably and guaranteeing finite knot mobility even for very long chains. (Less)


. The parametric model of the text as a research problem is of paramount importance in modern linguistics and education, since it opens up new approaches to understanding the processes of comprehending texts of various types. In the current study, 17 Russian language textbooks for elementary school were employed to identify correlations between lexical diversity indices and other complexity predictors. The total volume of the corpus compiled for the study is 439,938 words. The two-stage research algorithm included the evaluation of the reference values of text features at the basic level (word length, sentence length, the number of unique, non-repeating words and the number of word forms), evaluation and subsequent contrasting of complexity predictors, i.e. lexical diversity and readability indices. All calculations were performed with the automatic text analyzer RuLingva. The study revealed a positive dynamic of readability and no evidence of lexical diversity increase across grades. An average level of vocabulary diversity and overlaps of every 4th word in the text are fixed. No indication of correlation between text readability and lexical diversity is found. The obtained results can be useful to researchers, text-book authors, and teachers selecting textbooks. The prospects are seen in implementing functional and epidigmatic stratification of the vocabulary of the Russian textbooks under study.


In this article we use a sociocultural framework to suggest task engagement as a viable construct in L2 learning research. Clarifying and specifying this construct has important implications for the analysis of conversational data, needed in light of claims for the causal relationship posited for certain kinds of conversational adjustments on L2 acquisition outcomes. Here we examine L2 learner data to identify task engagement as it emerges, unfolds in dialogic activity, and becomes associated with the transformation of task, self, and group. The data to be analyzed come from two pairs of L2 learners involved in jigsaw tasks, one pair using Swahili, the other Spanish; all are native speakers of English. Our concern with task engagement is motivated by methodological and theoretical issues entailed in the study of L2 learning in the interactionist perspective. We argue that a sociocultural approach offers an alternative to that perspective, from the standpoint of method and theory, resting as it does on quite a different set of underlying assumptions, to be described below. The research questions are the following. (1) How might task engagement be defined within a sociocultural framework? (2) What is the effect of task engagement on data analysis and interpretation? (3) What transformative effects, if any, can be found during task engagement? In the first section we juxtapose the two frameworks for thinking about task performance, demonstrating that certain phenomena not even considered data according to one perspective can be interpreted as crucial in selecting, analyzing, and interpreting data in the other. We go on to present and interpret the task data using the proposed analytic framework, then draw conclusions based on the findings.


In a previous paper, we derive the Gauss diagram formulas for the Kontsevich integral of links up to degree four. The formulas consist of two parts. One part depends on the signs of knot diagrams, while the other depends only on their projection to the plane. In this paper, we express the latter part in terms of Arnold's invariants of plane curves J+, J− and St up to degree three.


This essay considers Jeanette Winterson's speculative novel The Stone Gods for the literary, formal, and tonal strategies it employs to diagnose and illuminate the material burdens of producing and living in the Anthropocene. Using the geologic tool of stratigraphy in concert with the conceptual tools of geotrauma and melancholy to lever open the novel's inter- and intratextual palimpsests, I examine the novel's engagement with a crucial Anthropocene issue: developing tactics for conceptualizing the intermingling of different temporal and spatial scales. I argue that the novel, which uses motifs of storytelling, measuring, repetition, evolution, pollution, love, place, and planet in order to fathom humans as a biosphere-altering geologic agent, ultimately resolves into both a critique of cyclical patterns of anthropogenic socioecological destructiveness and an exemplary theorization of the Anthropocene.


We investigated the role of biogenic amines in generating thermoprotection of the ventilatory motor pattern circuitry in Locusta migratoria. Levels of octopamine (OA) and dopamine (DA) in the metathoracic ganglion decreased during heat stress. We measured the thermosensitivity of central pattern generation in response to a ramped increase of temperature in semi-intact preparations. OA, DA, and tyramine (TA) were either bath applied or injected into the locust hemocoel 4–8 h before testing. Neither TA nor DA modified the thermotolerance of ventilatory motor pattern generation. However, OA treatment by bath applications (10−4 m OA) or by injections into the hemocoel (2 μg/10 μl OA) mimicked heat shock preconditioning and improved the thermotolerance of the motor pattern by increasing the failure temperature and by decreasing the time taken to recover operation after a return to room temperature. Heat shock-induced thermoprotection was eradicated in locusts preinjected with epinastine (OctβR antagonist). Neuropil injections of the cAMP agonist and protein kinase A (PKA) activator, Sp-cAMPs, both conferred thermoprotection in control locusts and rescued thermoprotection in epinastine-treated HS locusts. Similar injections of the PKA inhibitor Rp-cAMPs blocked the thermoprotective effect of bath-applied OA. Octopamine-mediated thermoprotection was also abolished with neuropil injections of cycloheximide or actinomycin D, indicating a requirement for transcription and translation. We conclude that OA has a crucial role in triggering protein synthesis-dependent physiological adaptations to protect CNS function during heat stress by activating a cAMP/PKA pathway.


A period-doubling route to chaos was observed in a passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser beam with azimuthal polarization. At a period of two, the peak intensities gradually varied with the azimuthal angle. When the pump power was increased, the chaotic behavior was spatiotemporal, but the polarization was still azimuthal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of spatiotemporal chaos under a stationary spatial distribution of the polarization.


RESULTS: Compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women were younger (mean age524.3 versus 30.6 years, p , 0.001), more likely to be African-American (54.3% versus 40.1%, p, 0.001), and to have Medicaid insurance (63.1% versus 57.6%, p50.04). They were less likely to have preexisting psychiatric, drug use, and alcohol use disorders (18.8%, 8.6%, and 2.0% for pregnant women versus 30.1%, 14.2%, and 8.8% for non-pregnant women, respectively, p , 0.03 for all). Pregnant women had a mean injury severity score of 8.7 compared to 9.5 for non-pregnant women (p50.3), and were significantly more likely to suffer trauma secondary to assault (adjusted relative rate-aRR)51.06, 95%CI: 1.00-1.12, p50.04). Pregnant women were more likely to require surgery (aRR51.06, 95% CI1.01-1.12, p50.03), and were 3.4 times more likely to undergo hospital transfer (aRR53.41, 95%CI: 2.32-5.00, p , 0.001). Pregnant women had mortality rates twice that of their non-pregnant counterparts despite lower injury severity scores (aRR51.98, 95%CI: 1.243.07, p50.004).


BACKGROUND
Micronutrients, an umbrella term used to collectively describe vitamins and trace elements, are essential components of nutrition. Those requiring alternative forms of nutrition support are dependent on the prescribed nutrition regimen for their micronutrient provision. The purpose of this paper is to assist clinicians to bridge the gap between the available guidelines' recommendations and their practical application in the provision of micronutrients via the parenteral route to adult patients.

METHODS
Based on the available evidenced-based literature and existing guidelines, a panel of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals with significant experience in the provision of parenteral nutrition (PN) and intravenous micronutrients developed this international consensus paper.

RESULTS
The paper addresses 14 clinically relevant questions regarding the importance and use of micronutrients in various clinical conditions. Practical orientation on how micronutrients should be prescribed, administered, and monitored is provided.

CONCLUSION
Micronutrients are a critical component to nutrition provision and PN provided without them pose a considerable risk to nutrition status. Obstacles to their daily provision-including voluntary omission, partial provision, and supply issues-must be overcome to allow safe and responsible nutrition practice.


The combination of augmented reality (AR) and medicine is an important trend in current research. The powerful display and interaction capabilities of the AR system can assist doctors to perform more complex operations. Since the tooth itself is an exposed rigid body structure, dental AR is a relatively hot research direction with application potential. However, none of the existing dental AR solutions are designed for wearable AR devices such as AR glasses. At the same time, these methods rely on high-precision scanning equipment or auxiliary positioning markers, which greatly increases the operational complexity and cost of clinical AR. In this work, we propose a simple and accurate neural-implicit model-driven dental AR system, named ImTooth, and adapted for AR glasses. Based on the modeling capabilities and differentiable optimization properties of state-of-the-art neural implicit representations, our system fuses reconstruction and registration in a single network, greatly simplifying the existing dental AR solutions and enabling reconstruction, registration, and interaction. Specifically, our method learns a scale-preserving voxel-based neural implicit model from multi-view images captured from a textureless plaster model of the tooth. Apart from color and surface, we also learn the consistent edge feature inside our representation. By leveraging the depth and edge information, our system can register the model to real images without additional training. In practice, our system uses a single Microsoft HoloLens 2 as the only sensor and display device. Experiments show that our method can reconstruct high-precision models and accomplish accurate registration. It is also robust to weak, repeating and inconsistent textures. We also show that our system can be easily integrated into dental diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as bracket placement guidance.


Seasonal changes in gonadal size, body weight, male song and the plasma titres of luteinizing hormone (LH), oestradiol and testosterone were investigated in a free-living population of African stonechats, Suxicola torquata axillaris, on Menengai Crater, Nakuru, Kenya. These were compared with the occurrence of nesting and moult in the population and a number of seasonally changing environmental factors including photoperiod, insect abundance and rain. Annual cycles in these stonechats appears to be regulated by endogenous events which are responsive to environmental factors on a seasonal basis. The dry season may play an important role in the synchronization of the population by inhibiting nesting in birds otherwise capable of reproductive activity. Rain is postulated as a time-giving cue for moult and gonadal regression. The possibility of photoperiodic changes at the equator acting as seasonal time-giving cues remains open.


Background and Objectives: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a clinically relevant opportunistic pathogen belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. It is in the top three bacteria associated with antimicrobial resistance deaths globally, and one of the most dangerous bacteria causing nosocomial infections. Phage therapy offers a potential option for the treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections. Materials and Methods: Phage PSKP16 was isolated against K. pneumoniae, capsular type K2 (isolated from a wound infection). PSKP16 is a new lytic phage with a Siphovirus-like morphology. Results: PSKP16 is a linear double stranded DNA phage with a GC content of 50% and genome size of 46,712 bp, for which we predicted 67 ORFs. PSKP16 belongs to the genus Webervirus and shows high evolutionary proximity to Klebsiella phages JY917, Sushi, and B1. Conclusion: Phage isolation is fast, cheap and efficient, but it requires time and characterization (which adds expense) to ensure that the isolated phages do not pose a health risk, which is essential to safely use phage therapy to treat life-threatening bacterial infections.


Neuroinflammation underlies neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, we test whether acute colon inflammation activates microglia and astrocytes, induces neuroinflammation, disturbs neuron intrinsic electrical properties in the primary motor cortex, and alters motor behaviors. We used a rat model of acute colon inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium. Inflammatory mediators and microglial activation were assessed in the primary motor cortex by PCR and immunofluorescence assays. Electrophysiological properties of the motor cortex neurons were determined by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Motor behaviors were examined using open-field and rotarod tests. We show that the primary motor cortex of rats with acute colon inflammation exhibited microglial and astrocyte activation and increased mRNA abundance of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and both inducible and neuronal nitric oxide synthases. These changes were accompanied by a reduction in resting membrane potential and rheobase and increased input resistance and action potential frequency, indicating motor neuron hyperexcitability. In addition, locomotion and motor coordination were impaired. In conclusion, acute colon inflammation induces motor cortex microglial and astrocyte activation and inflammation, which led to neurons' hyperexcitability and reduced motor coordination performance. The described disturbances resembled some of the early features found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and animal models, suggesting that colon inflammation might be a risk factor for developing this disease.


Water quality issues are a growing concern due to the the recent intensification of urbanization and industrialization. This paper evaluates and compares the surface water quality of the ten sub-basins of the Pará River, located in the São Francisco River Basin, Minas Gerais, and evaluates the impact of seasonality and the compliance with the current limits of state legislation. The surface water quality monitoring database of the Institute of Water Management of Minas Gerais (Igam) was used, and 18 parameters were analyzed from a historical series from 2008 to 2016, totaling 16,651 observations. First, the descriptive statistics of the parameters were calculated, considering each sub-basin separately. Then, for the temporal and spatial analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric statistical tests were applied, followed by the multiple comparison test, with an alpha level of 5%, due to the asymmetric behavior of the data. Thus, it was possible to compare water quality of the sub-basins in rainy and dry seasons and to identify which parameters were responsible for the greater degradation. In the compliance analysis to the current limits of state legislation, it was identified that all of the sub-basins were out of the specified range for at least one of the evaluated parameters. Finally, the seasonality analysis exposed significant differences in the parameters of dissolved oxygen, turbidity, total suspended solids, total solids and water temperature, where it was shown that there was a worsening of water quality in the rainy season for most sub-basins.


In this article I survey the theoretical literature on environmental policy in the presence of imperfect competition, ranging from early contributions in the 1960s to the present. I cover the following market structures when polluting firms have market power in the output market: monopoly, Cournot oligopoly, Bertrand duopoly with homogeneous products, pricesetting duopoly with differentiating commodities, and models of monopolistic competition. Among the latter I consider Cournot oligopoly with free entry, the Dixit-Stiglitz model, and Salop?s model of the circular city with polluting firms. The regulation instruments I concentrate on are emission taxes, tradable permits, and both absolute and relative standards. I also discuss taxation when firms have market power in the input market, and I study models where firms exercise market power in the market of tradable permits. In the latter case I also survey some recent results from the literature on experimental economics. Finally, I briefly discuss environmental policy in open economies when firms have market power in international markets. Here I suggest different decompositions of the unilateral second-best optimal tax rate, thus attempting to unify alternative interpretations of these decompositions in the literature.


The metabolome (Figure 1) is difficult to characterize; there is a wide dynamic range of concentrations of metabolites, which are chemically and structurally diverse with various polarities and sizes. Creating a single analytical method for all these components is challenging. With global profiling techniques, the aim is to detect and quantify as many metabolites as possible. Information dependent acquisition (IDA) provides useful MS/MS information, based on the user selected criteria to prioritize candidates for fragmentation. TripleTOF systems are capable of delivering high resolution, accurate mass data with high acquisition rates, enabling MS and MS/MS information to be acquired in a single acquisition. Speed is crucial to the workflow, enabling MS/MS information to be collected for as many features as possible, providing a comprehensive interrogation of the samples. Here a untargeted metabolic workflow using a high resolution TripleTOF System and associated software is presented.


This article studies the joint distribution of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios (SINR) of the users in Rayleigh multiple access channels and broadcast channels, using large dimensional random matrix theory. Two models are studied: a multiple access channel (MAC) with minimum mean square error (MMSE) decoding, and a broadcast channel with regularized zero-forcing (RZF) precoding. It is shown that, in both models, the empirical distribution of the SINRs of the users behaves asymptotically as a Gaussian, with identified mean and variance. The result is applied to the estimation of the proportion of users in outage for a given target rate. This asymptotic Gaussian behavior can be derived from a theoretical approach based on Stein's method in a random matrix theory context.


Endogenous peroxidase activity in rat thyroid follicular cells is demonstrated cytochemically. Following perfusion fixation of the thyroid gland, small blocks of tissue are incubated in a medium containing substrate for peroxidase, before being postfixed in osmium tetroxide, and processed for electron microscopy. Peroxidase activity is found in thyroid follicular cells in the following sites: (a) the perinuclear cisternae, (b) the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum, (c) the inner few lamellae of the Golgi complex, (d) within vesicles, particularly those found apically, and (e) associated with the external surfaces of the microvilli that project apically from the cell into the colloid. In keeping with the radioautographic evidence of others and the postulated role of thyroid peroxidase in iodination, it is suggested that the microvillous apical cell border is the major site where iodination occurs. However, that apical vesicles also play a role in iodination cannot be excluded. The in vitro effect of cyanide, aminotriazole, and thiourea is also discussed.


Ultrasound technology has become an important aspect in material handling and machining. Standing and traveling ultrasonic waves have been applied in powder transportation, feeding, dosing and supply of small amounts of powder with high quantitative accuracy and precision. Piezoelectric actuators are the most commonly used to generate the ultrasonic waves in various devices. Hence, these devices have presented a unique, economic and simple means of accurate handling of powder. This paper describes the determination of the resonant frequency of a piezoelectric ring that can be applied for generation of the ultrasonic waves. The resonant frequency is important in determining the highest amplitude of the vibration of the ring.


Based on our belief that critical incident data, observed during usage and associated closely with specific task performance are the most useful kind of formative evaluation data for finding and fixing usability problems, we developed a Remote Usability Evaluation Method (RUEM) that involves real users self-reporting critical incidents encountered in real tasks performed in their normal working environments without the intervention of evaluators. In our exploratory study we observed that users were able to identify, report, and rate the severity level of their own critical incidents with only brief training.


Young people aged between 13 to 29 were contributed to the total of 34% of the cumulative infection Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, and perception among students in the University. Research design is cross-sectional. Questionnaire were distributed to 372 respondents. Therefore, 52.4 percent students had a good knowledge.  There was positive weak correlation between KA (r =0.23) and KP (r=0.19)  with significance (p<0.05). Conclusion, increase in the level of knowledge were contribute to the positive attitude and perception also reduce the stigma and discrimination toward people living with HIV/AIDS.


Success of banking operations is strongly correlated with the quality of customer relations and efficacy of banks processes. Banks seek means for efficient analysis of vast amount of gathered data from their IT systems. They are exploiting business intelligence (BI) technology to analyze every aspect of their data to understand behavior of their clients, striving to satisfy client's needs, in an endless race for a competitive advantage in the market. The intention of this paper is to review and discuss the most significant applications of business intelligence in banking as well as point to new technology trends that will affect bank's development.


Recently multi-channel multimedia broadcast systems on P2P network have emerged in applications such as long-distance education and multimedia broadcast television. With the conflict between huge amounts of streaming data and limited available bandwidth over the Internet seemingly irreconcilable, we observe 1) some channels demand disseminating rapidly, having no requirement for high presentation quality at receivers and 2) some channels expect better quality of service metrics such as bit rate and delay than others while bandwidth contention of multiple channels makes it difficult to realize. Existing proposals have not done enough work based on the two observations. In this paper, we propose DiffStream, a multi-channel dissemination strategy. In DiffStream, each channel disseminates partial streaming data instead of all, using MDC technology. Meanwhile, service differentiation is also achieved by treating different channels with varying priorities and regulating allocation of network resource to different channels in application layer. Furthermore, an extensive mechanism of vacant bandwidth preemption for improving bandwidth utilization is also raised. Experiments are constructed on NS2 and the results have demonstrated DiffStream's effectiveness in achieving our design objectives.


Fourth generation human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen (Ag)/antibody (Ab) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test used in the current screening of blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Service centres has limited ability to detect HIV Ag/Ab during the first two weeks of the window period. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of acute HIV infection among HIV antigen/antibody negative blood donors. This was a cross-sectional blood donation based facility study conducted at Eastern Zone Blood Transfusion Services in Dar es Salaam from December 2009 to April 2010. Apparently healthy voluntary blood donors screened and accepted for blood donations were included. Blood donation screening questionnaires were used to obtain socio-demographic characteristics, history of past medical, sexual and blood transfusion of the study population. Blood specimen was collected for confirmation of the negative HIV Ag/Ab status by the Roche HIV-1 DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. A total of 552 blood donors with negative HIV Ag/Ab donated blood were included in the study. The overall mean age of blood donors was 27 years (18-54 years). About two thirds of the blood donors were in the age group of 18 - 27 years. Of 552 blood donors, 413 (75%) were males while 139 (25%) were females. Seventy two percent of blood donors were unmarried. About 71% were voluntary and the rest were replacement blood donors. The prevalence of acute HIV-1 infection by HIV-1 DNA PCR test was found to be 0.2%. It is concluded that many voluntary blood donors were found to be young, male and unmarried. Acute HIV-1 infection using HIV-1 DNA PCR test in the blood donors with negative HIV Ag/Ab donated blood was found to be very low. Further multi-centre study with larger sample size country wide is warranted to determine the magnitude of acute HIV infection in the blood donors with negative HIV Ag/Ab donated blood .


Dear Editor,

We read with interest the article titled "Evaluation of anterior segment parameters in obesity" [1], in which the authors showed that obesity was associated with higher intraocular pressure (IOP) and lower anterior chamber depth (ACD). The study was undoubtfully well designed and conducted, and the results were clear.

However, in the Materials and Methods section, the manner in which "age- and sex-matched healthy subjects" were randomly selected from a general population to prevent bias should be described more specifically, because there might be a concern about selection bias. Comparison of the ages between the two groups should also be performed to show the similarity in age distribution between the two groups.

In the Discussion section, the authors postulated that increase in retrobulbar fat associated with obesity might cause a decrease in ACD and an increase in IOP. In addition, there should be explanation for the lack of difference in axial length between the two groups. Evaluation of the grade of cataract could also be helpful as cataract might have influenced the decrease in ACD. Investigation and comparison of exophthalmometric values could also be useful to determine the presence of eyeball protrusion caused by the pressure from increased retrobulbar fat. In addition, because body height might be positively correlated with both ACD and axial length [2], inclusion of the height in the analyses would produce more meaningful results. Although the authors showed that anterior chamber angle had significant correlation with body mass index (BMI), there was no significant difference in anterior chamber angle in a comparison between the two groups. Multivariate analysis would be necessary to address the controversy, as well as to exclude the effects of confounding factors.

Finally, we would like to point out that the mean BMI in the obese group was 39.8, which suggests that most of the patients were not simply obese, but severely obese with class II (BMI between 35.0 and 39.9) or III obesity (BMI ≥40.0) [3]. Therefore, although the results did show that patients with severe obesity might have increased IOP and decreased ACD, it appears that addition studies should be performed to evaluate the changes in anterior segment parameters in patients with class I obesity (BMI between 30.0 and 34.9) and overweight patients (BMI between 25.0 and 29.9).


An international database of prospective studies of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was set up in 2001, and will include at least eight individual studies. The goals are to enable analyses that cannot be made reliably from the individual studies, such as the predictive value of different measures of blood pressure, for example the morning surge and blood pressure variability, the ability to look at the prediction of specific endpoints, for example stroke versus myocardial infarction, and also to look at differences in different populations.


Ninety-seven threaded acetabular prostheses (44 cups of Lord and 53 Motta, type cups) were implanted among which 72 were examined at an average follow-up of 5.9 years. After an initial phase of good tolerance, the results became rapidly degraded. Clinically, the lack of fixation was translated by a start up pain. On examination, the pain provoked by the opposed hip flexion was pathognomonic. A radiographic analysis of our checks allowed us to classify them in four types: Type I: painful hip, normal radiography or presence of a radiolucent line in one of the DeLee's zones; increased uptake at bone scanning. Type II: total radiolucent demarcation; Type III: axial migration; Type IV: migration and tilting; Finally analysis of our series with Kaplan-Meier method showed a survivorship rate at five years of 59.3 per cent. It is concluded that this kind of implant must be abandoned.


In his Scelta di poesie filosofiche (1622), Tommaso Campanella presents himself at times as another Prometheus, the Titan punished by his god for daring to bring illumination to human beings, other times as a Jonah figure, a prophet who in his reluctance to fulfill his divine command finds himself imprisoned in the most absurd conditions, and still other times as an alter-Christus, submitting to tortures and self-sacrifice out of a desire to save humankind. While previous scholars have studied Campanella's philosophical thought and poetic language and have found them to be inspired by Lucretian atomism, Dantean language, and the spirit of the Psalms, among other sources and influences, this article focuses on the models that Campanella chooses for his poetic persona. Relying on both Campanella's poetry and the self-commentary that Campanella included with his poems, the author argues that Campanella's choices for his three primary self-representational models of Prometheus, Jonah, and Christ help to delineate the impetus for Campanella's own poetic-vatic enterprise and the underlying rationale for his 'anti-canzoniere'.


Immune system has evolved to fight pathogenic microbes. However, 100 trillion of microbes inhabit in host9s gut, skin and urogenital organs without being eliminated and are considered as commensal bacteria. Recent evidences indicated that gut commensal flora give us a benefit by influencing innate and adaptive immune responses. For example, mice treated with oral antibiotics show impaired immune response against respiratory influenza virus and the subsequent increase in the viral load. Thus, commensal flora especially in gut has important roles in development of systemic host immunity. Tumor tissues have unique inflammatory environment in themselves, and targeting tumors with anti-tumor immune cells is a promising strategy to conquer the cancers. The evidences that gut bacteria positively affect immunity against pathogens prompt us to examine the role of the flora in anti-tumor immunity. This study aimed to determine the effect of gut flora on tumor-associated immune responses after immunotherapy and immunogenic chemotherapy. To deplete the gut commensal flora, C57BL/6 mice were administered an antibiotic cocktail including neomycin, vancomycin and imipenem in the drinking water, resulting in a 3-log reduction in fecal bacteria. Because CpG oligonucleotide stimulates innate immune cells to produce inflammatory molecules, intratumoral injection of CpG causes destruction of tumors. In mice bearing subcutaneous MCA38 colon carcinoma or B16 melanoma, the antibiotic treatment suppressed the CpG treatment-induced tumor necrosis. TNF is a key effector molecule for tumor destruction in CpG-based therapy. Antibiotic-treated mice showed reduced frequency of tumor-infiltrating TNF-producing myeloid cells after the therapy. Germ-free animals also showed the impaired TNF production. Administration of various single antibiotics revealed that tumor TNF production correlated with the number of gut bacteria. Oral administration of bacterial component lipopolysaccharide (LPS) restored TNF production in antibiotics-treated mice, so LPS is one of the mediators between gut bacteria and the treatment-induced inflammation in the tumors. Finally, the cytotoxic oxaliplatin-induced immunogenic death of tumor was also impaired in antibiotic-treated mice. Generation of reactive oxygen specices in the tumors is necessary for eradication of the tumors by oxaliplatin treatment. Administration of antibiotics might impair the anti-tumor effect of oxaliplatin by reducing ROS generation from Gr1+ myeloid cells in the tumor. Altogether, these results demonstrate that optimal immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic responses against cancer require an intact commensal flora. Citation Format: Noriho Iida, Charles Stewart, Romina Goldszmid, Amiran Dzutsev, Giorgio Trinchieri. Gut commensal bacteria promote antitumor innate immune responses in distant tumors after immunotherapy and chemotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B80.


The present study was designed to investigate fertilisation of open pulled straw (OPS) vitrified mouse oocytes drilled with piezo-micromanipulation method and their subsequent in vitro and in vivo developmental capacity. Ovulated mouse oocytes were vitrified using the OPS method. After warming, the zona pellucida of a group of vitrified-warmed oocytes was drilled by piezo-micromanipulation. Groups of (a) vitrified, (b) vitrified/drilled and (c) fresh control oocytes were fertilised in vitro. The fertilisation rate of vitrified-warmed oocytes was significantly lower than that of fresh oocytes (45.0 +/- 12.6% vs. 85.2 +/- 6.8%, P < 0.05), and was significantly improved by zona-drilling (85.4 +/- 7.3%). However, blastocyst formation rates of the vitrified and vitrified/drilled groups were significantly lower than those of the fresh controls (65.7 +/- 7.0% and 66.4 +/- 2.5% vs. 86.6 +/- 4.3%, respectively, P < 0.05). The cell number of blastocysts from the vitrified/drilled or the vitrified group was not different from that of the controls. Embryo transfer resulted in pregnancy in all three groups, but the rate of development to term was lower in the vitrified/drilled or vitrified groups than in the controls (16.6 +/- 0.7% or 36.0 +/- 2.4% vs. 51.3 +/- 2.9%, respectively). Our results demonstrated that zona-drilling with piezo-micromanipulation could improve fertilisation in OPS vitrified mouse oocytes but did not increase the overall number of vitrified oocytes developing to term.


The aim of this article is to investigate the different types of grammatical status of the Northern Sotho form ka and its multiple functions in language contexts. The various ranks that ka occupies in the taxonomy of Northern Sotho verb forms are identified and described. Grammatical descriptions by some prominent researchers and grammarians concerning the grammatical status of ka are evaluated and discussed. Emphasis is also placed on rank and categorial shifting that involves ka and some related verb forms. These language phenomena are investigated from a diachronic perspective. Morphological, syntactical and semantic characteristics of ka functioning in different ranks are revealed. In conclusion, the various ranks that mark ka functioning in different contexts are indicated.


Author(s): Shen, Wen | Advisor(s): Lopes, Cristina | Abstract: In many real-world scenarios, individual agents' interests are often not fully aligned, in fact, they can even be conflicting with a principal's objectives. The principal needs to take measures to influence agents' decisions or behavior to achieve desirable system-wide outcomes. A powerful tool for motivating self-interested agents to cooperate is to offer incentives for their efforts (e.g. cooperation or sacrifices) by committing to some allocation and payment rules. This approach to implementing the incentive rules is called mechanism design. Mechanism design has many promising applications in a variety of critical domains that include spectrum allocation, online marketplace, transportation management, power grids, education, and health care. Despite its promising prospects in addressing some of the most challenging societal issues, mechanism design has not leveraged its full potential due to assumptions such as full rationality, direct preference revelation, and no group manipulation.In this work, I introduce a unified framework called mechanism design with thresholding agents (MDTA) to relax some of those unrealisticassumptions. The proposed approach integrates a series of new techniques that include modeling agents' decision-making with cutoff policies, indirect preference revelation, and using contests to increase competition among agents to counter group manipulations. Idemonstrate the power of the proposed framework by applying it to real-world problems that arise in crowdfunding, transportation systems, information diffusion, and utility sharing. My work extends traditional mechanism design by providing a systematic approach to influencing agents' behavior for desirable objectives.


Objective: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a third-wave psychological intervention that has attracted considerable clinical and research attention. A previous meta-analysis of ACT trials in psychosis reported a large effect size of ACT against overall psychotic symptomatology. However, there were critical methodological issues in the review that justify replication. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing ACT vs. any comparator condition in a sample of adults with psychosis. The outcome of interest was overall psychotic symptomatology. Results: The search identified seven published and eight unpublished trials (of which we were able to obtain data from one). Data on symptomatology were extracted from six trials that involved 274 participants. The summary effect size (Hedge's G) for overall symptomatology was small and not significant (-0.21, 95%CI -0.60-0.18). Trials were generally rated as having a high risk of bias. Safety reporting was inadequate across included trials. Conclusions: Our observed effect size contrasted with that reported in a previous meta-analysis; differences were likely explained by errors in data extraction. The findings of this review suggest that there is currently inadequate evidence to conclude that ACT is a safe and effective treatment against psychotic symptomatology. Systematic review registration: CRD42018097200


A method for selecting ferroelectric capacitors as nonlinear components for application in turn-off snubber circuits for power electronic switches is investigated. By initiating, without destroying, localized events in the dielectric layer of a multilayer capacitor, such capacitors can be selected (and some of them also stabilized) by observing the number of events and the rate of events. This is achieved by exposing them to a high field strength by means of the application of a high voltage from ahigh-impedance source. The observed phenomena confirm that the conduction is mainly by electrons. An explanation for the instabilities in the steady-state DC current under increasing voltage as observed by other authors is proposed. Components which have been selected in this manner allow the usage of these capacitors at extremely high voltages (approximately 4 to 6 times the rated voltage for linear applications). An apparatus for the selection and stabilization is developed. The selected capacitors have a ratio of capacitance at zero voltage to that at the maximum operating voltage of approximately 10:1. The criteria for selecting capacitors for nonlinear applications (these applications are at high field strengths) are discussed. Preliminary results are given for applications of these capacitors in power electronic switching circuits. >


With the rise of Python language in these years, more and more developers start to use Python language to do researches. Python language has its own advantage on Encryption algorithm. This paper discusses the principles of Caesar Cipher, Simple Substitution Cipher and Vigenere Cipher and their operating process based on Python, then concludes the characteristics and disadvantages of these Encryption algorithms from security and efficiency. It points out their applicable range, and in the end, forecasts the future of the Encryption algorithm based on Python.


Starting from the extended nonlinear Schrödinger equation in which the self-steepening effect is included, the evolution and the splitting processes of continuous optical wave whose amplitude is perturbed into time related ultra-short optical pulse trains in an optical fibre are numerically simulated by adopting the split-step Fourier algorithm. The results show that the self-steepening effect can cause the characteristic of the pulse trains to vary with time, which is different from the self-steepening-free case where the generated pulse trains consist of single pulses which are identical in width, intensity, and interval, namely when pulses move a certain distance, they turn into the pulse trains within a certain time range. Moreover, each single pulse may split into several sub-pulses. And as time goes on, the number of the sub-pulses will decrease gradually and the pulse width and the pulse intensity will change too. With the increase of the self-steepening parameter, the distance needed to generate time-dependent pulse trains will shorten. In addition, for a large self-steepening parameter and at the distance where more sub-pulses appear, the corresponding frequency spectra of pulse trains are also wider.


The aim of the LHCb configuration database [1] is to store information about all the controllable devices of the detector. The experiment's control system (that uses PVSS [2]) will configure, start up and monitor the detector from the information in the configuration database. The database will contain devices with their properties, connectivity and hierarchy. The ability to store and rapidly retrieve huge amounts of data, and the navigability between devices are important requirements. We have collected use cases to ensure the completeness of the design. Using the entity relationship modelling technique we describe the use cases as classes with attributes and links. We designed the schema for the tables using relational diagrams. This methodology has been applied to the TFC (switches) and DAQ system. Other parts of the detector will follow later. The database has been implemented using Oracle to benefit from central CERN database support. The project also foresees the creation of tools to populate, maintain, and configure the configuration database. To communicate between the control system and the database we have developed a system which sends queries to the database and displays the results in PVSS. This database will be used in conjunction with the configuration database developed by the CERN JCOP (Joint Controls Project) [3] project for PVSS.


Abstract Expressions are derived for the Brunt- Vaisala frequency Nm, in a saturated atmosphere, which are analogous to commonly-used formulas for the dry Brunt- Vaisala frequency. These formulas are compared with others which have appeared in the literature, and the derivation by Lalas and Einaudi (1974) is found to be correct. The simplifying assumptions, implicit in derivations by Dudis (1972) and Fraser et al. (1973) are clarified. Numerical examples are presented which suggest that these incomplete formulations for Nm are reasonably accurate approximations, except when the saturated static stability is small. A new formula expressing Nm in terms of moist conservative variables is presented, and an accurate approximation is also given which may be useful when evaluating Nm.


Steam explosion was employed as a bulrush pretreatment process in the subsequent anaerobic fermentation by rumen microorganisms. The effects of steam pressure, moisture content, and residence time on the pretreatment efficiency were investigated by using response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design. The product formation rate (R(max)) and specific product formation potential (P(s)) were respectively selected as the response. A maximum R(max) of 0.485 g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L center dot d was obtained at a moisture content of 18%, a steam pressure of 1.6 MPa, and a residence time of 8 min, while a maximum P(s) of 0.432 g COD/g bulrush was achieved at a moisture content of 20%, a steam pressure of 1.8 MPa and a residence time of 8 min. Batch kinetics analysis shows that increases by approximately 140% in R(max) and approximately 20% in biodegradability (P(s)) were obtained, compared with the untreated bulrush under the optimum conditions. Ultraviolet (UV) analysis indicates that the soluble carbohydrate-lignin compounds or lignin fragments increased after steam explosion. Breakage of rigid lignin structure was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that the ratio of oxygen to carbon atoms increased from 0.206 to 0.286, and that the relative abundance of C2 and C3 in Cls spectra increased from 27.4 to 28.7 and 8.9 to 13.8, respectively. This demonstrates the partial removal of lignin and wax from the surface of bulrush through steam explosion.


Hand and wrist procedures range in various lengths of time and are performed under bleeding-free conditions achieved by some sort of exsanguination and tourniquet. The purpose of this paper is to describe regional and local anesthesia options facilitated by the use of forearm tourniquet, in particular the forearm sterile elastic exsanguination tourniquet (FA-SET). The paper will focus on two main strategies: (i) Local incision site infiltration while the FA-SET is tolerated by the patient without or with additional topical anesthesia at the site of the tourniquet; and (ii) Intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA – Bier Block) performed with the FA-SET in place. The conclusion from our experience is that the use of the FA-SET for IVRA is superior and safer over the traditional methods.


Media plays an important role in every field in all over the world, government, Political parties and other organizations use media for there own will. After intervention in Swat, Taliban started use of media and designed a special media strategy. Taliban created panic via radio channels and local media and moulding people opinion against government. In Swat, many journalists sacrificed their lives while rendering their professional duties. Five journalists were killed during three years time in Swat. Some highlighted civilian casualties in Swat when military operation started they were declared Taliban sympathizers and were harassed by military and by Taliban also. Media was powerful tool for both sides and they tried to achieve their goals through this technology. During militancy in Swat, Taliban Commander Fazlullah used FM radio technology for preaching. He also warned the inhabitants of the area not to talk against Taliban and motivated them to support Taliban. He was commonly known by radio mullah and during his speech he used harsh words against the government of Pakistan and Pak Army.


Recently, the interest in the development of high efficiency Diesel engine technology using alternative fuel has been on the rise and related studies are being performed. Therefore, the DME(Dimethyl Ether), an oxygen containing fuel as an alternative fuel for light oil that can be used for diesel engines since it generates very little smoke. But it is unavoidable that the modification of a fuel supply system in an engine to application of the DME fuel because of DME fuel properties. So, in this study, a DME high pressure pump for a common-rail fuel supply system has been composed and the test results of the pump have been presented. As the results of the tests, it is confirmed that DME pump inlet pressure, pump speed and common-rail pressure effects on the volumetric efficiencies of the pump. Finally, it is defined that the optimum plunger volume of a DME pump has to be extended to the minimum 150% compared to a Diesel pump plunger volume considering DME fuel properties and volumetric efficiencies characteristics at same specifications of the high pressure pump.


Article Details: Received: 2020-10-21 | Accepted: 2020-11-27 | Available online: 2021-01-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi-prap.150-154 The effect of the administration of two humic preparations on a selected production and biochemical parameters were monitored in an experiment with broiler chickens of the Cobb 500 breed. There were not observed statistically significant differences between the control group and the experimental groups in the achieved average live weight and the feed conversion ratio in the 37-day experiment. The statistically significant differences (P˂0.001 and P˂0.05) were between the content of calcium, phosphorus and chlorides in the blood of the control group compared to the experimental groups. As for magnesium in the blood, we did not find significant differences (P≥0.05) between the groups. As far as the parameters of the energy profile are concerned, the content of glucose and cholesterol was statistically significantly higher in the control group in comparison with the experimental groups (P˂0.05). The concentrations of triglycerides were statistically significantly higher in the experimental groups (P≤0.05, resp. 0.01, resp. 0.001) compared to the control group. Keywords: nutrition, humic substances, production, blood, broilers References ARPASOVA, H. et al. (2016). Use of humic acid in nutrition of broiler chickens. Slovenský chov , 32-33. In Slovak. AVCI, M. et al. (2007). Effects of humic acid at different levels on growth performance, carcass yields and some biochemical parameters of quails. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances , 6(1), 1-4. BAHODARI, Z. et al. (2017). The effect of earthworm meal with vermi-humus on growth performance, haematology, immunity, intestinal microbiota, carcass characteristics, and meal quality of broiler chickens. Livestock Science , 202, 74-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2017.05.010 EL-ZAIAT, H. M. et al. (2018). Impact of humic acid as an organic additive on ruminal fermentation constituents, blood parameters and milk production in goats and their kids growth rate. Journal of Animal and Feed Science , 27(2), 105-113. https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/92074/2018 HAKAN, K. et al. (2012). Effects of boric acid and humate supplementation on performance and egg quality parameters of laying hens. Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science , 14(4), 233-304. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-635X2012000400008 JAĎUTTOVA, I. et al. (2019). The effect of dietary humic substances on the fattening performance, carcass weight, blood biochemistry parameters and bone mineral profile of broiler chickens. Acta Veterinaria Brno , 88, 307-313. https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201988030307 MAJEWSKA, M. et al. (2017). Influence of humic acid supplemented to sheep diets on rumen enzymatic activity. Medycyna Weterynaryjna , 73(12), 770-773. https://doi.org/ 10.21521/mw.5822 MUDROŇOVA, D. et al. (2020) The effect of humic substances on gut microbiota and immune response of broilers. Food and Agricultural Immunology , 31(1), 137-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540105.2019.1707780 NAGARAJU, R. et al. (2014). Effect of dietary supplementation oh humic acids on performance of broilers. Indian Journal of Animal Science , 84(4), 447-452. https://doi.org/ PMC6811714 PISTOVA, V. et al. (2017). The effect of the humic substances, garlic ( Allium sativum L.), wormwood ( Artemisia absinthium ) and walnut ( Juglans regia ) on carcass parameters of broiler chickens. Scientific Papers Animal Science and Biotechnologies , 50(1), 234-237. RZASA, A. et al. (2014). Humic-fatty acid preparation in growing rabbits nutrition. Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities , 17(3), 1-6. TERRY, S. A. et al. (2018). Effect of humic substances on rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility, methane emissions, and rumen microbiota in beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science , 96(9), 3863-3877.  https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky265 . TICHA, A. et al. (2009). Humic substances influence on cholesterol absorption. Klinicka biochemie a metabolizmus , 17(1), 37-41. In Czech. VASKO, L. et al. (2012). Humic acids in nutrition and effect on metabolism and health production. Slovenský chov , 5, 40-41. In Slovak. WANG, Q., et al. (2008). Effects of supplemental humic substances on growth performance, blood characteristics and meat quality in finishing pigs. Livestock Science , 117(2-3), 270-274. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.livsci.2007.12.024 YORUK, M. A. et al. (2004). The effects of supplementation of humate and probiotic on egg production and quality parameters during the late laying period in hens. Poultry Science , 83(1), 84-88. https://doi.org/ 10.1093/ps/83.1.84


Purpose: Pralatrexate is a folic acid analogue metabolic inhibitor similar to methotrexate, which has shown tolerability and efficacy with an overall response rate of 45% in a phase I dose deescalation study of patients with relapsed/refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Experimental Design: The object of this phase I/II open-label, multicenter clinical trial was to determine the MTD and recommended dose of pralatrexate plus oral bexarotene in 34 patients with relapsed/refractory CTCL who had failed prior systemic therapies. Pralatrexate was administered by intravenous push at 15 mg/m2 given weekly 3 weeks out of 4 weeks with daily oral bexarotene (150 or 300 mg/m2), levothyroxine, atorvastatin, folate, and with B12 every 2 months. Results: At the MTD of 15 mg/m2 bexarotene and 15 mg/m2 pralatrexate, the response rate was 60% [4 complete responses (CR), 14 partial responses (PR)], the maximum observed response duration was 28.9+ months, and duration of response for 4 CRs ranged from 9.0 to 28.3 months. The median progression-free survival was 12.8 months (0.5–29.9). Mucositis was the most common adverse event. Conclusions: The combination of pralatrexate (15 mg/m2) and oral bexarotene (150 mg/m2) is active with high response rates and minimal toxicity for cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3552–6. ©2017 AACR.


The phenomenon of belief in demonic possessions always appears in times of crisis. The intention of this communication is to report the vision of Michel de Certeau, among others, on a fact of possession that occurred in Loudun and shows that religious motives, for some time in history, have been and are still being used for political manipulation. With great documentary and literary analysis, allied to intense research on the city's folklore and imagery, Certeau shows a perspective on the history of religions in the least different. In the construction of his reasoning and his research, contradictory histories emerge, each at different times and places and each one connected in political and epistemological transformations, of Certeau not only maintains an unconventional authorial posture, but more importantly: it shows the reader That which is lost, missing and fragmented in the process of writing official history.


Cervical SCNEC is a rare and highly malignant invasive tumor. The incidence is low, at less than 5% of all cervical cancers. Moreover, most patients with small cell carcinoma are interrelated with high risk HPV (more familiar HPV 18). Compared to squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma, patients of cevical SCNEC are more prone to lymph node invasion early, so the clinical manifestation is usually local or distant metastasis. We summarized the clinical features of 19 patients with cervical small cell carcinoma in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from 2012 to 2021, and retrospectively analyzed data from 1576 patients in 20 related studies and more than 50 pieces of literature in recent years by searching PubMed, Google schalor, Cochrane Library, Clinicalkey, and other databases. The collected patient data included age, clinical manifestation, TCT, HPV detection, the size and morphology of the tumor, local invasion depth, stage, lymph node status, initial treatment method, tumor-free survival, and so on. The positive rates of CGA, SYN, and CD56 in our cases were high, and NSE was a moderately sensitive index. P16 and Ki67 were the most sensitive, and all patients were positive. We found that multimodal treatment can indeed improve tumor-free survival (DFS), but the prognosis of patients is still very poor. For the early stages, our treatment principles refer to the guidelines of SGO, international gynecological cancer Cooperation (GCIG), and NCCN. We suggest a combination of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, the general state of advanced patients is poor, whether they can tolerate the operation after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, whether the operation area can remain tumor-free, and whether this treatment will prolong the survival time of patients still need to be further discussed. In order to better prolong the tumor-free survival and prognosis of patients, we need to find gene changes suitable for targeted therapy, so as to complete the clinical application of these treatment methods. Further works are needed to explore more effective therapy for cervical SCNEC.


Pregnancy is a transient physiological state which brings about different hormonal changes in a woman's body. These effects are generalized and there are various oral changes as well. There are a number of especially important alterations in the periodontal conditions within the oral cavity. These changes have important implications as they have been known to cause adverse pregnancy outcomes. Better knowledge about these scenarios among health care professionals and women would go a long way toward avoiding or minimizing these adverse outcomes. Health education is an important tool in creating awareness among pregnant women regarding improvement of their oral health. Awareness among the health professionals and good inter-departmental collaboration would help toward a more efficient treatment of these pregnancy related conditions.


Starting from the analysis of a clinical case of infantile mastocytosis followed for 18 years, the role of the history is emphasized both from the diagnostic and clinical monitoring point of view. The history is so significant that in most cases it is not necessary to perform a histological examination and sometimes even to evoke Darier's sign to be sure of the diagnosis. And to monitor the clinical course of mastocytosis, which in the child is almost always characterized by spontaneous regression, it is sufficient for the mother to record the episodes of flushing, blisters, and wheals: their rarefaction with time attests to the regression of the disease. Systemic mastocytosis in the child is practically non-existent, so the dosage of serum tryptase is of little importance.


Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using the stable xenon enhanced CT method in previously untreated 13 patients with Parkinson's disease to evaluate CBF abnormality related to dysfunction of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. The patients comprised 5 men, 8 women with Hoehn-Yahr stage II-III. Age at onset ranged from 51 to 73 years (mean +/- SD, 61.8 +/- 8.9) and the duration of illness ranged from 1 to 96 months (15.1 +/- 24.1 months). In this series, there was no clinical evidence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cognitive impairment. rCBF was measured during 4-5-minutes inhalation of 33% stable xenon gas-67% oxygen. The first measurement of rCBF was performed in all of the patients before L-dopa treatment. After initiation of L-dopa treatment (333.3 +/- 47.1 mg/day), the second measurement was carried out in 6 patients (1 man and 5 women) who had shown symptomatic improvement. The interval between both measurements was 57.7 +/- 16.9 days. The following results were obtained. 1) No significant CBF asymmetry was noted in any of the striatum, pallidum, thalamus, cerebrum, cerebellum and frontal lobe in untreated patients with Parkinson's disease. 2) After L-dopa treatment, rCBF was significantly increased only in the striatum as compared with the pretreatment level (51.9 +/- 9.3-->63.1 +/- 9.9 ml/100 g/min, p < 0.01). 3) This increase was significantly greater on the more severely affected side (contralateral to the predominantly symptomatic limb) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that the increase of rCBF in the striatum is closely related to functional improvement of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons.


The act of sharing is as ancient as humankind's history and actions focused on sharing have been modeling consumer behavior in our society. This subject has been targeted by many studies from academic and market levels, in which is included the studies about sharing economy and its different hues. Sharing economy has emerged in the last years as a disruptive approach to the traditional way of planning, modeling and making business between companies and people. This phenomenon earned a significant leverage in a wide gamma of domains, including entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and management in its widest ways. Although this trend and interest, academic and marketwise speaking, there's a lack of a deepest research of its different views, such as ontology, technological facilitators, social boosters (consuming behavior) and mainly in the rising diversity of business models in shared economy and it's implications to business growth, community impact, sustainability and public politics. Most parto of the existing researches are concentrated in the international scope. On the other hand, the subject is still very immature in Brazil, reflecting itself in shallow researches. Thus, this research aims to leverage a rigorous comparative methodology, the fs/QCA (Quantitative Comparative Analysis of fuzzy-set type), to evaluate business models from 12 brazilian companies inserted in the sharing economy in Brazil. Taking advantage of a rich set of qualitative data extracted from existing researches and other publications, this research investigates the attributes of business models in the sharing economy, revealing by the end a unique typological configuration that represents the constellation of business models of the companies within Brazil's sharing economy business scope. Emerging dilemmas and paradoxes are explored, as well as the implications of business models for startups, researches e other interested parties in the context of sharing economy in both national and international scope.


For centuries, the Church has held the Christ of faith as the starting point of Christology. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, "from above" came down to earth. During the medieval period, people rarely debated whether the Jesus depicted in the New Testament is exactly the Jesus who walked in the land of Palestine or whether the Christ of faith is identical to the historical Jesus who walked along the Sea of Galilee. People were content with the truth as claimed to be revealed in the Bible. In our time, also, the Christ of faith is preached much more than the earthly man Jesus depicted in the New Testament. Even in the process of evangelization, the effort and focus is not on describing how Jesus lived his earthly life and then leading people into acknowledging Jesus' divinity. Rather, Jesus' divinity is proclaimed to unbelievers who may not have any background in Christianity at all. As time goes on, the image of the earthly man Jesus is dimmed or even ignored. This dimming or ignoring of Jesus' humanity has become a part of Christian tradition for many churches worldwide. Today, however, "we no longer live in an age which takes the need for salvation for granted." After the Enlightenment, some scholars who carried on the quest for the historical Jesus brought challenges to the Church. This quest, often divided into three separate quests, has caused some conservative scholars and church ministers to turn their focus on the earthly man Jesus and start trying to describe Jesus Christ from below. The results of the historical Jesus quests are diverse and indicate some strengths and weaknesses of Christology from below. As the historical Jesus


Safety occurrence reports can contain valuable information on how incidents occur, revealing knowledge that can assist safety practitioners. This paper presents and discusses a literature review exploring how Natural Language Processing (NLP) has been applied to occurrence reports within safety-critical industries, informing further research on the topic and highlighting common challenges. Some of the uses of NLP include the ability for occurrence reports to be automatically classified against categories, and entities such as causes and consequences to be extracted from the text as well as the semantic searching of occurrence databases. The review revealed that machine learning models form the dominant method when applying NLP, although rule-based algorithms still provide a viable option for some entity extraction tasks. Recent advances in deep learning models such as Bidirectional Transformers for Language Understanding are now achieving a high accuracy while eliminating the need to substantially pre-process text. The construction of safety-themed datasets would be of benefit for the application of NLP to occurrence reporting, as this would allow the fine-tuning of current language models to safety tasks. An interesting approach is the use of topic modelling, which represents a shift away from the prescriptive classification taxonomies, splitting data into "topics". Where many papers focus on the computational accuracy of models, they would also benefit from real-world trials to further inform usefulness. It is anticipated that NLP will soon become a mainstream tool used by safety practitioners to efficiently process and gain knowledge from safety-related text.


SUMMARY The province of Barcelona became one of the major industrial regions at the outset of the first industrial revolution in Spain. The province of Barcelona had a distinctive place in the Spanish monarchy and it was an area where agriculture was the most important economic activity. This situation coincided with the beginning of liberal parliamentarism in Spain and it determined the profile of the Catalan MPs. For this reason, this article explores the profiles of the 85 deputies elected by the province of Barcelona during the period of liberal parliamentarianism (1834–54). The date and place of birth, profession, parliamentary experience and political militancy are examined, as is the development of cursus honorum, the ladder of political career advancement, based on the 'course of honours/offices' that operated in ancient Rome for men of senatorial rank and comprised a mixture of administrative and political posts. A quantitative analysis indicates a characteristic profile that is also aligned to a general European pattern. For instance, liberal professionals and public officials were significant in the professional status of the MPs. Besides, this study also considers the issues and questions which attracted the attention of the Catalan MPs and which were also willingly used by the MPs to mobilize public opinion. Furthermore, the MPs chosen by the province of Barcelona during the rise of the parliamentary system acted in an autonomous manner. Important examples of this autonomous political behaviour include the defence of a unitary position concerning industrial issues, military intervention in the province of Barcelona, and with tax policies.


Surficial mapping and geologic information on the nature and evolution of surficial materials in the Slave geologic province indicate that the geotechnical properties and potential ground ice contents associated with these materials depend largely upon their provenance, depositional conditions, and the postglacial climatic history. This information may be used to provide a regional-scale view of the distribution of ground ice conditions and terrain sensitivities associated with various surficial materials. In till veneers and blankets, ground ice content is generally low, as suggested by lack of thermokarst and other permafrost features. However, distinctive surface relief in hummocky till including kettle depressions, rim-ridges, and shallow thaw flowslides may be attributed to massive ice, resulting in sensitive till terrain. Although many outwash sediments have low ice contents near the surface, massive ice ranging from 5 to 10 m thick is present in some eskers and ice-contact outwash sediments. These are associated with thermokarst, slope movement, and collapse features, indicative of meltout or creep of large bodies of massive ice. The terrain sensitivity associated with these deposits is typically low to moderate, due to the coarse-grained nature of the sediments. In contrast, terrain sensitivity is high, and active-layer detachment slides are common along the Coronation Gulf coast where frozen silty clay marine sediments contain a wide range of ice contents. Results from this study may be applied to a much more extensive area of the glaciated western Arctic mainland and adjacent Arctic coastal plain in which materials with a similar glacial history are found. Resume : La cartographie et l'evolution de depots de surface dans la province des Esclaves demontrent que les proprietes geotechniques et le potentiel pour la presence de glace de sol associes aux depots dependent largement de l'origine des depots, l'histoire glaciaire, et une connaissance de l'histoire climatique postglaciaire. Cette information peut servir a fournir une vue regionale de la distribution de glace de sol et la sensibilite de terrain associee aux divers depots de surface. La quantite de glace de sol dans les couvertures et placages de till peut etre minime telle que suggeree par l'absence de thermokarst ou des formes periglaciaires. Par contre, dans le till bossele, des structures de contact glaciaire et des glissements retrogressifs par liquefaction resultent en formes de relief distinctives qui peuvent etre attribuees a la glace de sol enfouie. Meme si certains eskers ont l'apparence d'avoir de la glace de sol en faible teneur, la glace massive d'une epaisseur d e5a1 0 mpeut se retrouver ou les eskers demontrent les effets de thermokarst, de reptation et des structures d'effondrement. La sensibilite de terrain associee a ces depots est generalement faible a moyenne, a cause d'une granulometrie grossiere. Le long des rivieres ou des sables grossiers littoraux recouvrent les silts argilleux marins geles contenant la glace de sol d'une epaisseur variable, la sensibilite de terrain est elevee et des glissements par liquefaction sont communs. Les resultats de cette etude peuvent etre appliques dans l'Arctique central et de l'ouest ou les depots de surface ayant une origine glaciaire semblable sont presents.


Traumatic pancreatic injury is infrequently encountered in children. Diagnosis and treatment of this injury can be complicated. Signs and symptoms are often subtle with presentation frequently delayed leading to increased morbidity and mortality. This delay is compounded by lack of specific diagnostic tools to aid diagnosis. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for pancreatic injury in any child who sustains blunt abdominal trauma. Ongoing clinical evaluation is essential. This article presents a case study of a child with a traumatic pancreatic injury and discusses tools utilized to aid diagnosis of pancreatic injury, treatment options, and potential complications.


Mycobacterium avium comprises four subspecies that contain both human and veterinary pathogens. At the inception of this study, twenty-eight M. avium genomes had been annotated as RefSeq genomes, facilitating direct comparisons. These genomes represent strains from around the world and provided a unique opportunity to examine genome dynamics in this species. Each genome was confirmed to be classified correctly based on SNP genotyping, nucleotide identity and presence/absence of repetitive elements or other typing methods. The Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) genome size and organization was remarkably consistent, averaging 4.8 Mb with a variance of only 29.6 kb among the 13 strains. Comparing recombination events along with the larger genome size and variance observed among Mycobacterium avium subspecies avium (Maa) and Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis (Mah) strains (collectively termed non-Map) suggests horizontal gene transfer occurs in non-Map, but not in Map strains. Overall, M. avium subspecies could be divided into two major sub-divisions, with the Map type II (bovine strains) clustering tightly on one end of a phylogenetic spectrum and Mah strains clustering more loosely together on the other end. The most evolutionarily distinct Map strain was an ovine strain, designated Telford, which had >1,000 SNPs and showed large rearrangements compared to the bovine type II strains. The Telford strain clustered with Maa strains as an intermediate between Map type II and Mah. SNP analysis and genome organization analyses repeatedly demonstrated the conserved nature of Map versus the mosaic nature of non-Map M. avium strains. Finally, core and pangenomes were developed for Map and non-Map strains. A total of 80% Map genes belonged to the Map core genome, while only 40% of non-Map genes belonged to the non-Map core genome. These genomes provide a more complete and detailed comparison of these subspecies strains as well as a blueprint for how genetic diversity originated.


The study of host-pathogen interactions begins with the attachment of a bacteria or virus to a host cell. Studying this initial interaction which often involves significant cytoskeletal rearrangements and membrane changes can provide clues for entry and egress mechanisms. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides a widely used tool to qualitatively determine surface changes that occur but is limited quantitatively as the resulting image is still a twodimensional output. Optimizing an image capture strategy and utilizing Autodesk's Memento Software, allowed 3-dimensional topographic reconstructions from SEM images. [Ref. 1]