One of the main techniques for pollution control and achieving green technology is to achieve MPMP. Almost all catalytic reactions in the Petroleum refining and petrochemical industry are reversible and therefore their conversion is limited by the thermodynamic equilibrium. This conservative limitation can be broken by using selective membranes to remove one of the products. In this couple of pages editorial this revolutionary concept leading to MPMP is used for the dehydrogenation reaction where the selective membranes are used for the perm-selective removal of hydrogen [1-3]. These membranes have 100% selectivity for the removal of hydrogen. Most efficient configuration is when in the other side of the membrane is a hydrogenation reaction and the flows in the two sides of the membrane are counter-current. Such MPMP for catalytic reactors is essential part of Sustainable Development Engineering (SDE) which is an important subsystem of Sustainable Development (SD). The removal of one, or more, of the products relaxes this limitation and increases the conversion of the reaction; this relaxation increases as the removal of the product(s) is increased. The optimal utilization of this approach leads to MPMP approaching green technology and is a part of SDE. This editorial is concentrating on the removal of hydrogen from a dehydrogenation reaction, mainly ethyl-benzene to styrene [1-3], using hydrogen perm-selective membranes. The rate of hydrogen removal from the reaction side depends upon the type of the membrane and also the hydrogen driving force between the two sides of the membranes. This driving force increases when there is a hydrogenation reaction in the other side of the membrane. In this editorial a hydrogenation reaction of nitrobenzene to aniline is taking place on the other side of the membranes.


Aims and Introduction: A low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) is effective for glycemic control in patients with diabetes. However, most previous studies have compared LCD with a low-fat or low-calorie diet. In this study, we used canagliflozin, a sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, as the positive control drug and aimed to establish the non-inferiority of LCD to canagliflozin in terms of blood glucose control.
 Methods: We conducted a 3-month, multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled clinical trial involving patients with type 2 diabetes. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive canagliflozin (100 mg/day) or LCD (carbohydrate intake < 20% of the total energy intake). The primary outcome was the change in HbA1c level, and the secondary outcomes were Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)-measured time in the target glucose range of 3.9-10 mmol/L and the cost of antidiabetic agents.
 Results: In total, 121 participants from three hospitals were enrolled; 61 were administered canagliflozin and 60 were administered LCD. After the 3-month intervention, the mean change in HbA1c levels was -1.76% with canagliflozin and -2.23% with LCD (estimated difference, -0.47%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.85-0.08; P = 0.0180). Time in range (TIR) increased from 48.96% at baseline to 80.21% at 3 months in the canagliflozin group and from 52.08% to 93.75% in the LCD group. The TIR in the LCD group was significantly higher than that in the canagliflozin group (P = 0.0026). Additionally, in the LCD group, 10 of 52 patients who had been using antidiabetic drugs (19.2%) discontinued one oral antidiabetic drug or reduced their insulin doses.
 Conclusions: Our study showed that LCD was non-inferior to canagliflozin in glycemic control. Patients in the LCD group showed greater decline of HbA1c levels and higher TIR than those in the canagliflozin group. LCD reduced the cost of antidiabetic drugs.

 Y. Gu: None. X. Xia: None. M. Xu: None. L. Li: None. J. Yin: None.

 National Natural Science Foundation of China (82070885); Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (20172025); Xuhui Joint Research Projects on Important Diseases (XHLHGG202110)


Zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) has a high pollination demand, and the native, ground-nesting squash bee (Peponapis pruinosa) provides the majority of the crop's pollination requirement in some environments. Squash bees nest directly in crop fields, and nests can be disturbed by tillage and other management operations. Mulches that use municipal waste materials may provide a weed control strategy for squash plantings that is more benign to squash bees than cultivation. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted in 2011 and 2012 to compare the effects of nontillage weed control methods including polyethylene black plastic, woodchips, shredded newspaper, a combination of shredded newspaper plus grass clippings (NP D grass), and bare soil (control) on soil characteristics, squash pollination and fruit production, and squash bee nesting. Woodchips, shredded newspaper, and NP D grass mulch decreased soil temperature, while soils beneath newspaper mulch retained more moisture. Unmarketable, misshapen fruit occurred more frequently in plastic than in the other mulch treatments. No measurable differences in floral resource production or crop pollination were found among treatments, suggesting that misshapen fruit resulted from high soil temperatures in black plastic plots rather than poor pollinator attraction. Squash bee nests were located within bare soil, newspaper, and NP D grass plots, indicating that these mulches did not prevent nesting. NP D grass mulch had a positive effect on plant growth and fruit production, possibly from an addition of plant-available nitrogen or the presence of preferable nesting ground. Shredded newspaper when combined with grass clippings performed as an effective mulch material that improved crop performance with no apparent negative impacts on squash bee nesting or on squash floral resources and pollination.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of patients' use of dementia day care centers by comparing cognitive function, depression, activity of daily living (ADL) and postural balance in users and non-users. Methods: Participants in this descriptive study were 72 dementia patients who had started using dementia day care centers, and 33 dementia patients who received home visiting service irregularly, instead of using the centers. Data were collected for ADL, instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), cognitive function, depression, and postural balance. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 25.0 program. Results: The mean age of the participants was 78.8±5.95 years and 73.3% of them were women. There was no significant difference in age, gender and cognition scores between users and non-users. The statistically significant variables predicting cognitive function after 3 months were cognitive function at the beginning and use of a day care center. Depression score at the beginning and use of a day care center significantly predicted depression. ADL scores at the beginning, dementia day care center use, and dementia type also significantly predicted ADL scores. IADL scores at the beginning and marital status significantly predicted IADL scores. Conclusion: According to the results, elders regularly using dementia day care showed a delay in cognitive decline, a lessening of depression, and improved activities of daily living. Therefore, there is a need to increase day care centers for people with dementia and to encourage to use a daycare center is recommended.


The existence of negative pressure of vacuum follows from the cosmological models, based on the results of observations. But, is it possible to detect the pressure of the vacuum as per the geometry of the space around the local gravity system? The gravitational defect of mass is interpreted as the transfer of energy to the vacuum, which becomes apparent from its deformation. We determine the gravitational impact of matter on the vacuum and opposite in the sign pressure of it in case of weakly gravitating static centrally symmetric distribution of matter. We have evaluated a possibility to extend the obtained results to arbitrary gravitational systems. The equation of state gives the deceleration parameter of the universe consistent with its accelerating expansion.


We investigate the metallicity, age, and orbital anatomy of the inner Milky Way, specifically focussing on the outer bar region. We integrated a sample of APOGEE DR16 inner Galaxy stars in a state of the art bar-bulge potential with a slow pattern speed and investigated the link between the resulting orbits and their [Fe/H] and ages. By superimposing the orbits, we built density, [Fe/H], and age maps of the inner Milky Way, which we divided further using the orbital parameters eccentricity, |Xmax|, and |Zmax|. We find that at low heights from the Galactic plane, the Galactic bar gradually transitions into a radially thick, vertically thin, elongated inner ring with average solar [Fe/H]. This inner ring is mainly composed of stars with AstroNN ages between 4 and 9 Gyr with a peak in age between 6 and 8 Gyr, making the average age of the ring ~6 Gyr. The vertical thickness of the ring decreases markedly towards younger ages. We also find very large L4 Lagrange orbits that have average solar to super-solar metallicities and intermediate ages. Lastly, we confirm a clear X-shape in the [Fe/H] and density distributions at large Galactic heights. The orbital structure obtained for the APOGEE stars reveals that the Milky Way hosts an inner ring-like structure between the planar bar and corotation. This structure is on average metal rich, intermediately aged, and enhances the horizontal metallicity gradient along the bar's major axis.


The authors focus on the linguistic features characterising a postmodern novel on the example of the literary work Generation "P" by Victor Pelevin. Firstly, the impossibility of new style invention and the idea of the necessity of different styles combination are highlighted: stylistically marked words such as jargon words, low-colloquial lexis, poetic and archaic words, idioms, and even scientific terms all together create a unique style of the novel. Secondly, the implementation levels of the language game are considered. Two levels of language game representation are analysed: the mix of styles and the loss of figurativeness by phraseological units. The intertextual context of the novel and a common method of postmodernism known as "rewriting" are regarded in the article. A phenomenon of language game and intertextuality are analyzed based on the translation of the novel by Andrew Bromfield.


Many hypotheses have been developed to account for the process of olfaction (for reviews see MOULTON and BEIDLER, 1967; DAVIES, 1971 and POYNDER, 1974), but at the present time none of them has been verified. The olfactory organ demonstrates very interesting receptor properties. It interacts with a great variety of compounds, called odorants (STAHL, 1973). Appropriate biochemical and biophysical methods including the separation of sensory surfaces should be able to provide important evidence about receptive mechanisms and attempts to use such techniques have begun in recent years (e.g. KONORRING,CH and NORRING, 1969; ASH and SKOGEN, 1970; KOYAMA et al., 1971; KOROLEV and FROLOV, 1973; MENCO et al., 1974; MARGOLIS, 1975). Techniques for separating receptor structures have also been suggested by OTTOSON (1970), but sofar none of these methods has yielded a pure fraction of receptor endings (see DODD, 1974). The present account will deal mainly with the anatomy of the bovine olfactory epithelium emphasizing prospects for isolating receptor moieties. The adjacent nasal respiratory epithelium has also been investigated since, like the olfactory bipolar nervous cells such respiratory cells bear cilia. In the latter case, however, they are motile, rather than sensory, thus enabling a determination of features which are specific for the olfactory cilia and a comparison between two adjacent epithelium types allows such specific characterizations (LUCAS and DOUGLAS, 1934; SLEIGH, 1974). The cow has been used as an experimental animal, since the size of its olfactory organ and the availability of samples seemed most convenient for this work. Some of the studies presented here were carried out on sheep. Indications for behaviour towards odorants in cows have been reviewed by ERNST and PUSHKARSKII (1975). In Chapter 1, the distal processes of both epithelium types are described, using different microscopical methods, including light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thin section transmission electron microscopy and thick section high- voltage transmission electron microscopy. This latter method was used in the hope that it would permit olfactory cilia to be followed over their whole lengths. In this chapter some attention will also be devoted to macroscopic observations. Chapter 2 deals with the results of freeze-etch and electron spin resonance studies on both epithelium types. Both techniques allow predictions of some of the molecular properties of the receptive area through investigation of intact tissue in vitro. Chapter 3 deals with a quantitative analysis of the morphological data. Statistical methods are used where it is possible. Several features of the olfactory nerve endings are compared for different nasal areas and for adult as opposed to juvenile animals. Special emphasis is placed on the ciliary processes. Olfactory and respiratory cilia are also compared with each other. Furthermore, estimates for possible receptor concentrations based chiefly on freezeetch results are presented. Such quantitative information is important for biochemical work, since it indicates whether one can consider nerve ending preparations as homogeneous or if one has to take into account that biochemical preparations may contain morphologically different nerve ending types. Furthermore, some ideas about receptor quantities which might be isolated can be obtained. Finally, Chapter 4 deals with attempts to isolate peripheral receptor membranes. The conventional criteria used by others for assessing the purity of the fractions have been shown to be inadequate (DODD, 1974); this prompted us to initiate anatomical studies on the bovine olfactory mucosa, so as to provide ourselves with a more adequate basis for future biochemical studies.


ABSTRACT Seven grassland experiments on sandy and clay soils were performed during a period of 4 years to estimate the nitrogen (N) fertilizer replacement value (NFRV) of concentrated liquid fractions of separated pig slurry (mineral concentrate: MC). The risk of nitrate leaching when applying MC was compared to when applying mineral fertilizers. Grassland yields in 2009–2012 fertilized with MC were compared with grassland fertilized with two mineral fertilizers: granulated calcium ammonium nitrate and liquid ammonium nitrate (LAN). The mineral fertilizers comprised 50% nitrate-N and 50% ammonium-N, and MC comprised 95–100% ammonium-N. Treatment application rates included zero N and three incremental rates of N fertilization. The liquid fertilizers were shallow injected (0–5 cm). The NFRV of MCs was 75% on sandy and 58% on clay soil with granulated ammonium nitrate as reference, and 89% on sandy and 92% on clay soil with LAN as reference. Risk of nitrate leaching after application of MC, measured in residual soil mineral N post-growing season and N in the upper groundwater in the following spring, was equal to that for mineral fertilizers.


Background Conduction velocity of the short segment of the median motor nerve, across wrist (transcarpal motor conduction velocity (TCMCV)), has been used to increase diagnostic yield in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, repeatability of this parameter has not been studied till date. It has not been used as an indicator of response to treatment. Using surface stimulation techniques, it is difficult to localize the sites of stimulation of transcarpal segment of median nerve in palm. As a result, small errors in measurements of TCMCV can be magnified and variability of TCMCV may occur on successive measurements. Despite this possible variation, TCMCV can be a useful tool for assessing response to therapy, if its repeatability is assessed and a cut-off value determined for a significant change in nerve conduction velocity. Purpose In this study, it was determined whether TCMCV is repeatable. If found to be repeatable, we show a method to determine the cut-off value of the change in this parameter for it to be considered significant. Methods Difference between values of TCMCV on successive measurements was obtained in hands of 26 controls. Repeatability of this parameter was determined in this control population following criteria of British Standards Institution. In 19 patients of CTS, treated with intracarpal steroid injection, pre-treatment and post-treatment values of TCMCV, and of symptom severity scale (SSS) and functional status scale (FSS), were obtained at 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment. Results Repeat measurements of TCMCV were made in each hand of all controls. After applying criteria of British Standards Institution, to such recordings, TCMCV was found to be repeatable and the cut-off value for significant change determined. According to this cut-off value, 4 patients of CTS showed improvement in TCMCV, with consistent improvement in SSS and FSS. Change in TCMCV corroborated qualitatively with changes in SSS and FSS. Conclusion Repeatability of TCMCV can be assessed by criteria of British Standards Institution and a cut-off value determined to use it as an indicator of response to treatment in CTS.


During the past few years there has occurred a revival of interest in the study of the nature of infection with the pneumococcus. It will be impossible to review all the discoveries of interest and importance that have been made. The intention is to confine the present discussion mainly to certain observations made by my colleagues and associates and myself, which seem to have some value in enabling us to obtain a clearer conception of the process in pneumonia. Certain of the hypotheses advanced must be considered to be purely tentative and further work may show that different explanations are the correct ones. Biologically as well as clinically the course of lobar pneumonia consists of these phases: First, there occurs the infection and onset of the symptoms, which events may or may not be simultaneous; second, the clinical disease itself or the intoxication; and third, the recovery or immunization, using


In this paper, we use a set of unified components to conduct granular modeling for problem solving paradigms in several fields of computing. Each identified component may represent a potential research direction in the field of granular computing. A granular computing model for information analysis is proposed. The model may suggest that granular computing is an instrument for implementing perception based computing based on numeric computing. In addition, a novel granular language modeling technique is proposed for information extraction from web pages. This paper also suggests that the study of data mining in the framework of granular computing may address the issues of interpretability and usage of discovered patterns.


This thesis developed a speculative design process that sits between two streams of contemporary discourse. On one side lies 'projective' architecture—characterised by the elevation of performance and rejection of criticality—which draws from Somol & Whiting's divisive paper "The Doppler Effect and Other Moods of Modernism" (Somol & Whiting, 2002). This model can be used to describe the contemporary work produced by international firms such as OMA and BIG (Spencer, 2016). On the other side are contemporary critiques of this model: broad denunciations that the rejection of critical engagement has failed to deliver on its promises of providing architecture an increased sphere of influence. Douglas Spencer argues that architecture has been made complicit in the perpetuation of existing power structures, saying the projective project has been "worked over until it can be put to work for new-liberalism" (2016). This thesis investigated sampling as a method of design that could confound the market logic that Spencer sees at the core of the projective project, whilst still leaning upon several core tenets that were originally proposed in Somol & Whiting's 2002 paper, namely: A shift from the index to diagram, and a belief that a projective architecture is capable of generating alternative social/spatial relationships. To engage with this topic a design as research method will be employed. Murray Fraser describes design research as a method of inquiry where a series of architectural projects are placed in partnership with more general research activities (2013, p. 1). This thesis was structured around projects at three scales: installation, domestic, and urban. These inquiries formed the backbone of the thesis, each stage informing the next. The installation investigated the diagram as the generator of form, whilst the domestic scale focussed on the manipulation of urban form into new structures. Finally, at the public scale, the diagrammatic techniques of scaling and superposition (Eisenman, 1999) were used to tease form and program from a rigorous site analysis. In conclusion my design research investigated the technique of sampling and positioned it in relation to contemporary architectural discourse. Through a series of scaled inquiries, the sample was used as a tool to engage with site, program, and the design process. These inquiries demonstrated the potential of sampling as a method of disrupting the smoothness of the projective, via the injection of outside data into the architectural project.


The incorporation of plasmonic properties recently emerged as an advanced strategy for achieving high-performance catalysis. The hot carriers and near-field enhancement induced by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation are the key parameters that are responsible for the enhanced performance. Thus, the logical combination of the plasmonic nanostructures and electrocatalytic materials can be an effective strategy for further widening application of the plasmonic effect. This short Review provides a concise overview of the fundamental principles of LSPR; the mechanism of plasmon-enhanced electrocatalysis; alternative design methods of plasmonic nanomaterials for various catalytic systems; and recent progress in plasmon-mediated electrocatalysis for the production of energy, including electrochemical conversion of different feedstocks into fuels along with fuel cell catalysis. This Review also sheds light on the areas where major advancements are required to further improve the field of plasmon...


Herbal knitting is the name given to the process of knitting with various techniques after plant stems or branches and leaves are turned into strips. It is a handicraft that dates back to ancient times. Today, this handicraft has begun to be forgotten with the advancement of technology and the change in living conditions. Zembil knitting, which is the subject of the research, has an important place among Bafra handicrafts.

In 2010, Anadolu Sigorta opened a Zembil knitting course in Bafra within the scope of the "One Master, Thousand Masters" Social Responsibility Project, under the consultancy of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in order to revive the professions that were on the verge of disappearing, Nuran Gungor was the instructor of the course as a zembil knitting master. With this project, it is aimed to support the family budget and provide a profession for the women participating in the zembil knitting course.

Our aim in this study; to draw attention to Bafra zembil knitting and to promote zembil knitting, to give information about the life and works of Nuran Gungor, who practices and teaches this art. For this purpose, detailed information is given under the headings of the raw materials used in knitting zembil and the preparation of these raw materials for knitting, the process steps of knitting zembil. In addition, the current state of herbal knitting and information about Bafra zembil knitting are mentioned. The work of Nuran Gungor, who was a zambil knitting instructor at Bafra Public Education Center, was included, and his contributions to zambil knitting were emphasized.


Machine learning algorithms are useful for various predictions tasks, but they can also learn how to discriminate, based on gender, race or other sensitive attributes. This realization gave rise to the field of fair machine learning, which aims to measure and mitigate such algorithmic bias. This manuscript describes the R-package fairadapt, which implements a causal inference pre-processing method. By making use of a causal graphical model and the observed data, the method can be used to address hypothetical questions of the form"What would my salary have been, had I been of a different gender/race?". Such individual level counterfactual reasoning can help eliminate discrimination and help justify fair decisions. We also discuss appropriate relaxations which assume certain causal pathways from the sensitive attribute to the outcome are not discriminatory.


BACKGROUND
Studies identifying genes that are differentially expressed following induction of acute ischemic injury have been useful in delineating the pathophysiology of acute renal failure.

METHODS
A differential cDNA library screening technique was used to identify genes that are differentially expressed in rat kidney following induction of acute ischemic renal injury.

RESULTS
Levels of mRNA with a high homology to that coding for Siva, a human proapoptotic protein, were increased approximately 4.5-fold in kidneys obtained from rats within 12 hours following ischemia, compared to kidneys from sham-operated rats. A partial cDNA sequence for the rat protein (rat Siva) was determined that overlaps 92% of the human open reading frame. The cDNA sequence predicts a protein 177 amino acids in length with 76% homology to human Siva. Levels of rat Siva in kidneys were elevated at one, five and seven days post-ischemia were not different from those in kidneys from sham-operated controls. In situ hybridization demonstrated that rat Siva mRNA was expressed in cells lining damaged sections in the S3 segment of the proximal tubule at 12 hours and one day post-ischemia. At five and seven days, Siva mRNA was located in epithelial cells of regenerating tubules including in papillary proliferations. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells colocalized with cells containing Siva mRNA. CD27, the receptor for Siva was localized by immunohistochemistry to sloughed cells in the lumens of damaged S3 segments at 12 hours post-ischemia and to cells within papillary proliferations at five days post-injury.

CONCLUSIONS
Siva that is produced within the kidney could be a mediator of apoptosis post-ischemia via an interaction with CD27.


Shalakya Tantra is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda specifically for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of all the diseases occurring above the neck such as eyes, ear, nose, mouth and head. The branches of Shalakya Tantra includes Nethra Chikitsa (Ophthalmology), Karna Chikitsa (otology), Nasa Chikitsa (Rhinology), Mukharoga Chikita (Oral hygiene, Dentistry and Laryngology), and Shiroroga Chikitsa (diseases of the head). Among them, Ophthalmology comprises a major part of Shalakya Tantra. The eye is a very important and sensitive part of the body and responsible for visibility therefore the disease related to the eye must be handled carefully. According to Acharya Vagbhata, 18 diseases are designated as Pillakhya Rogas or Pilla Rogas which persist for a long time. The term Pilla means lusterless, dull, clouded, or dirty. Here it is used as a technical term to denote a group of 18 diseases of the eye. Also, many simple and effective treatments are mentioned in Ashtanga Hrudaya by Acharya Vagbhata. In this paper, an effort is taken to compile the references regarding Pillarogas and its management.


Despite a large body of evidence demonstrating spinal movement alterations in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP), there is still a lack of understanding of the role of spinal movement behavior on LBP symptoms development or recovery. One reason for this may be that spinal movement has been studied during various functional tasks without knowing if the tasks are interchangeable, limiting data consolidation steps. The first objective of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the influence of the functional tasks on the information carried by spinal movement measures. To this end, we first analyzed the relationships in spinal movement between various functional tasks in patients with CLBP using Pearson correlations. Second, we compared the performance of spinal movement measures to differentiate patients with CLBP from asymptomatic controls among tasks. The second objective of the study was to develop task-independent measures of spinal movement and determine the construct validity of the approach. Five functional tasks primarily involving sagittal-plane movement were recorded for 52 patients with CLBP and 20 asymptomatic controls. Twelve measures were used to describe the sagittal-plane angular amplitude and velocity at the lower and upper lumbar spine as well as the activity of the erector spinae. Correlations between tasks were statistically significant in 91 out of 99 cases (0.31 ≤ r ≤ 0.96, all p < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) to differentiate groups did not differ substantially between tasks in most of the comparisons (82% had a difference in AUC of ≤0.1). The task-independent measures of spinal movement demonstrated equivalent or higher performance to differentiate groups than functional tasks alone. In conclusion, these findings support the existence of an individual spinal movement signature in patients with CLBP, and a limited influence of the tasks on the information carried by the movement measures, at least for the twelve common sagittal-plane measures analysed in this study. Therefore, this work brought critical insight for the interpretation of data in literature reporting differing tasks and for the design of future studies. The results also supported the construct validity of task-independent measures of spinal movement and encouraged its consideration in the future.


In this article, I use the 2000–2004 data from the Greek Labour Force Survey in order to estimate a logit model for the incidence of long-term unemployment. The model computed is similar to the one estimated by Obben et al . (2002). It is found that attributes of the individual such as gender, age category, marital status and region of residence affect the odds of being long-term unemployed. On the other hand, the level of someone's qualification does not affect the odds of whether someone will be short or long-term unemployed.


We report on clinical and cytogenetic findings in a boy with partial 9p duplication, dup(9)(p21pter). Clinical manifestations included facial and hand anomalies and mental retardation. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) were used to characterize further and confirm the conventional banding data. Investigation by FISH using whole chromosome 9 paint probe showed that the additional material was derived from chromosome 9. Using CGH, a region of gain was found in the chromosome segment 9p21pter. YACs and telomeric probes confirmed the duplicated region. Using the all-human telomeric sequences probe, intrachromosomal telomeric signal was noted on the short arm of the abnormal chromosome 9. Mechanism of formation of the duplication, including intrachromosomal telomeric sequences, is discussed.


The melting behaviour, structure, and density of molten indium at high pressures have been studied in an externally heated diamond anvil cell (DAC) using x-ray diffraction/scattering measurements. Melting at high pressure was identified by the appearance of diffuse scattering from the melt. Analysis of the diffuse scattering shows that at 710(3) K the coordination number at the nearest neighbour increases from 10.1(4) at 1.0 GPa to 12.1(5) at 6.3 GPa. A method for measuring the density of amorphous materials is introduced for DAC studies and the first result on molten indium is presented.


1Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, People's Republic of China Purpose: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for more than 80% of lung cancer cases and remains the primary cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Fentanyl is a commonly utilized anesthetic during the process of tumor resection, and exhibits inhibitory effects on the progression of numerous cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. However, the effects of fentanyl on the cell viability and invasion of NSCLC has not been investigated. Current study aimed to investigate the effects and the mechanisms underlying the effects of fentanyl on NSCLC. Methods: The expression of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) was proved by flow cytometry. The expression of microRNA-331-3p (miR-331-3p) and histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) in NSCLC tissues and cell lines are evaluated by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. Cell viability and invasion are measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay and transwell assay, respectively. The interaction between miR-331-3p and 3ʹuntranslated region (UTR) of HDAC5 is predicted by TargetScan 7.1 (http://www.targetscan. org/vert_71/), validated by dual luciferase assay, RT-qPCR and Western blot. Results: There was lower miR-331-3p expression and higher HDAC5 expression in NSCLC cell lines A549 and CALU-1 compared with BEAS-2B, which was reversed by fentanyl administration. miR-331-3p targeted 3ʹ-UTR of HDAC5 in NSCLC cell lines A549 and CALU-1. miR-331-3p inhibitor partially abrogated the inhibitory effects of fentanyl on NSCLC cell viability and invasion by targeting HDAC5. In addition, there was higher HDAC5 expression and lower miR-331-3p expression in tumor tissues which were isolated from patients with NSCLC compared to the adjacent normal tissues, and miR-331-3p was negatively correlated with HDAC5 in NSCLC tumor tissues. Conclusion: Fentanyl inhibits the viability and invasion of NSCLC cells by induction of miR-331-3p and reduction of HDAC5.


A prospective consecutive series of 400 adults who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery between January 2014 and December 2016 was studied in National Heart Foundation Hospital & Research Institute. The newly developed EuroSCORE II was applied in this sample and compared to the additive and logistic version of the models.


Steganography is a process that involves hiding a message in an appropriate carrier like image or audio. It is of Greek origin and means "Covered or hidden writing". The carrier can be sent to a receiver without any one except the authenticated receiver only knows existence of the information. Steganography is an emerging area which is used for secured data transmission over any public media. Considerable amount of work has been carried out by different researchers on steganography. In this paper, a specific image based steganography technique for communicating information more securely between two locations is proposed. The author incorporated the idea of secret key for authentication at both ends in order to achieve high level of security. Before the embedding operation the cover image is segmented in different objects through normalized cut. As a further improvement of security level, the information has been permuted, encoded through integer wavelet transformation by lifting scheme and segmented in different parts and then finally each part has been embedded through modified lsb embedding method on different cuts of the cover image to form different stego objects. Finally stego image is formed by combining different stego objects and transmit to the receiver side. At the receiver side different reverse operation has been carried out to get back the original information. The proposed embedding approach works by selecting the embedding pixels using some mathematical function and then finds the 8 neighborhood of the selected pixel and map each bit of the secret message in each of the neighbor pixel in a specified manner. Before embedding a checking has been done to find out whether the selected pixel or its neighbor lies at the boundary of the image or not.


This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of paprika and spirulina as carotenoid sources with three different levels on survival and skin color development of swiri. Fish (initial mean weight 4.4 g) were fed the diets containing different levels of paprika (2, 5 and 10%), spirulina (5, 10 and 20%) and mixture of 5% paprika and 10% spirulina and without supplementation (con) for 9 weeks. Survival of fish fed diets containing the various levels of spirulina was 100% and higher than that of fish fed the other diets. Total carotenoid contents of the skin and fin in fish fed the diets containing the various levels of paprika and spirulina were higher than those in fish fed the control diet. Total carotenoid contents of skin and fin in fish fed the diets containing 5% and 10% paprika tended to be higher than that in fish fed the diet containing 2% paprika. Total carotenoid contents of fish fed the diets containing 10% and 20% spirulina tended to be higher than that of fed the diet containing 5% spirulina. The apparent color definition of skin and fin in fish fed the diets containing paprika and spirulina was better than fish fed the control diet. The results of this study suggest that dietary supplementation with paprika and spirulina can improve skin coloration of swiri.


Advances in computing and communication has resulted in very large scale distributed environments in recent years. They are capable of storing large volumes of data and often have multiple compute nodes. However, the inherent heterogeneity of data components, the dynamic nature of distributed systems, the need for information synchronization and data fusion over a network and security and access control issues makes the problem of resource management and monitoring a tremendous challenge. In particular, centralized algorithms for management of resources and data may not be sufficient to manage complex distributed systems. In this paper, we present a distributed algorithm for resource and data management which builds on the traditional simplex algorithm used for solving linear optimization problems. Our distributed algorithm is an exact one meaning its results are identical if run in a centralized setting. We provide extensive analytical results and experiments on simulated data to demonstrate the performance of our algorithm.


During imprisonment, inmates face many difficulties to adapt to prison life well depicted in either classical works or recent research. They usually face many struggles related to the lack of contact with their families. For instance, the less the number of prison visits, the higher levels of aggressiveness and, consequently, the lower levels of adaptation. Additionally, this population is already problematic in "normal conditions" of their imprisonment. When facing crisis – such as the Covid-19 pandemic – their mental and emotional conditions become even worst. Inmates may experience higher levels of anxiety and stress due to the uncertain and high-risk circumstances they are all living. In addition, the deprivations of the support from their families, combined with the higher risk they are exposed due to the danger of Covid-19 virus' contamination, substantially increase their concerns and could contribute to their lack of adjustment. The present chapter refers to the policies implemented by the Portuguese Prison Administration to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and a provisional balance of its effects after one year of implementation. Besides information regarding inmate's mental health conditions during pandemic, data on recidivism rates and criminal activity will also be discussed concerning their implication for future penitentiary policies.


ABSTRACT Eosinophils are best known as the predominant cellular infiltrate associated with asthma and parasitic infections. Recently, numerous studies have documented the presence of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on the surfaces of eosinophils, suggesting that these leukocytes may participate in the recognition and killing of viruses and bacteria. However, the significance of this role in the innate immune response to bacterial infection is largely unknown. Here we report a novel role for eosinophils as antibacterial defenders in the host response. Isolated mouse eosinophils possessed antipseudomonal properties in vitro. In vivo, interleukin-5 transgenic mice, which have profound eosinophilia, demonstrated improved clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa introduced into the peritoneal cavity. The findings of improved bacterial clearance following adoptive transfer of eosinophils, and impaired bacterial clearance in mice with a congenital eosinophil deficiency, established that this effect was eosinophil specific. The data presented also demonstrate that eosinophils mediate this antibacterial effect in part through the release of cationic secondary granule proteins. Specifically, isolated eosinophil granules had antibacterial properties in vitro, and administration of eosinophil granule extracts significantly improved bacterial clearance in vivo. These data suggest a potent yet underappreciated antibacterial role for eosinophils in vivo, specifically for eosinophil granules. Moreover, the data suggest that the administration of eosinophil-derived products may represent a viable adjuvant therapy for septic or bacteremic patients in the intensive care unit.


The binary cubic Laves phases EuPt2, GdPt2, and TmNi2 form extended solid solutions Eu1−xPt2Inx, Gd1−xPt2Inx, and Tm1−xNi2Inx. Samples within these homogeneity ranges have been prepared from the elements by arc-melting on water-cooled copper chills or by induction melting in sealed tantalum tubes and subsequent annealing. The indides were characterized by X-ray powder and single crystal diffraction: MgCu2 type, Fd3̄m, a = 770.68(6) pm, wR2 = 0.0251, 67 F2 values, 6 variables for Eu0.94(3)Pt2In0.06(3), a = 769.16(6) pm, wR2 = 0.0244, 67 F2 values, 6 variables for Eu0.85(2)Pt2In0.15(2), a = 760.12(9) pm, wR2 = 0.0693, 65 F2 values, 6 variables for Gd0.79(5)Pt2In0.21(5), and MgCu4Sn type, F 4̄3m, a = 700.27(6) pm, wR2 = 0.0368, BASF = 0.13(2), 175 F2 values, 8 variables for TmNi4In. The platinum and nickel atoms build up three-dimensional networks of corner-sharing Pt4/2 and Ni4/2 tetrahedra. These networks leave larger voids of coordination number 16 that are filled with the rare earth (RE) and the indium atoms. While the thulium and indium atoms are ordered in TmNi4In, one observes mixed RE/In occupancies in Eu0.94(3)Pt2In0.06(3), Eu0.85(2)Pt2In0.15(2), and Gd0.79(5)Pt2In0.21(5).


Summary Located in the sea area of the Bohai Bay Basin, offshore China, Chengbei Sag is a NW-trending Cenozoic half graben, with faulting in the northeast direction and overlapping in the southwest direction. The differential evolution of the NW-trending sag-controlling fault in the northeastern part results in two sub-sags in the northern and southern parts, with respective proven reserves of 10 million tons and 300 million tons. Comprehensive analysis combining the seismic and well data reveals that the two sub-sags share similar fault system characteristics, major fault properties, formation development, and unconformity distribution. Meanwhile, there are also differences in formation thickness and source rock burial depth though source rocks in both sub-sags have reached the hydrocarbon generation threshold and thus can provide sufficient oil and gas. The northern sub-sag is of great exploration prospect, and the exploration and development of it can refer to that of the southern sub-sag. To be specific, we should highlight the areas under the unconformity in the gentle slope belt, in the shallow faulting zone in the steep slope belt, and inside the uplifted buried hill.


An important consideration in coping skills training is the extent to which acquired skills generalize to other life domains. For example, sport-oriented performance enhancement skills are often regarded as "life skills" that can also facilitate adaptation in other areas of life. Moreover, task-specific increases in self-efficacy produced by coping skills training could generalize to broader self-referent cognitive domains and affect global personality traits such as self-esteem and locus of control. The concept of generalization is analyzed, and factors and procedures that influence the strength and breadth of generalization effects are discussed. Several coping skills studies that address generalization effects of stress management and self-defense training are described, and the author suggests that generalization assessment should be a focal rather than incidental consideration when evaluating coping skills interventions.


An exactly solvable sp (4) algebraic approach extends beyond the traditional isospin conserving nuclear interaction to bring forward effects of isospin symmetry breaking and isospin mixing resulting from a two-body nuclear interaction that includes proton-neutron ( pn ) and like-particle isovector pairing correlations plus significant isoscalar pn interactions. The model yields an estimate for the extent to which isobaric analog 0 + states in light and medium mass nuclei may mix with one another and reveals possible, but still extremely weak, non-analog β -decay transitions


PURPOSE
To determine whether modifications of extraperitoneal endoscopic radical prostatectomy (EERP) reduce the rate of a positive surgical margin (PSM) in men with clinical stage T(2) prostate cancer and a high risk of extracapsular extension.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A consecutive series of 182 men with stage cT(2) tumors and a high risk of extracapsular extension underwent EERP by a single surgeon (VP). The patients were divided into two groups: 71 patients who underwent a standard EERP (group 1) and 111 patients who underwent EERP with the modified technique (group 2). The basic principles of the modified technique are more thorough and wider resection of the posterolateral prostatic pedicles and extensive excision of periprostatic soft tissue at the apex, which results in better mobilization and exposure of the apex before the urethral transection. Differences in PSM rates were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS
No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding the clinical and pathologic findings (P > 0.05). The rate of PSM was 28% in group 1 and 10% in group 2 (P < 0.001). Group 2 was less than one third as likely to have PSM as group 2 (odds ratio 2.9; 95% confidence interval 1.6, 3.9). The strongest (P < 0.0001) independent predictors of PSM were the surgical technique, the presence of extracapsular disease, and the volume of the cancer. Preservation of the neurovascular bundles had no impact on margin status (P = 0.93). Functional outcomes and complication rates were not adversely affected by these modifications.

CONCLUSION
The modified dissection in EERP significantly reduces the rate of PSM in patients with stage cT(2) prostate cancer and a high risk of extracapsular extension.


Ventriculitis, or infection of the cerebrospinal fluid, in the presence of external ventricular drains (EVD), is an important complication and associated with substantial mortality, morbidity, and healthcare costs. Further, the conditions that require the insertion of an EVD, such as neurotrauma and subarachnoid hemorrhage, are themselves associated with inflammation of the cerebrospinal fluid. Phenotypically, patients with inflammation of the cerebrospinal fluid can present with very similar symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings to those with infection. This review examines various controversies relating to the definitions, diagnosis, challenges of differentiating infection from inflammation, prevention, and treatment of ventriculitis in patients with EVDs.


In silico metabolic engineering has shown many successful results in genome - scale model reconstruction and modification of metabolic network by implementing reaction deletion strategies to improve microbial strain such as production yield and growth rate. While improving the metabolites production, optimization algorithm has been implemented gradually in previous studies to identify the near - optimal sets of reaction knockout to obtain the best results. However, previous works implemented other algorithms that differ than this study which faced with several issues such as premature convergence and able to only produce low production yield because of ineffective algorithm and existence of complex metabolic data. The lack of effective genome models is because of the presence thousands of reactions in the metabolic network caused complex and high dimensional data size that contains competing pathway of non - desirable product. Indeed, the suitable population size and knockout number for this new algorithm have been tested previously. This study proposes an algorithm that is a hybrid of the ant colony optimization algorithm and flux variability analysis (ACOFVA) to predict near - optimal sets of reactions knockout in an effort to improve the growth rates and the production rate of L - phenylalanine and biohydrogen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp PCC6803 respectively.


We herein report a case of an extremely rare spinal cord endodermal sinus tumor (EST). A nine-year-old boy presented with progressive paraparesis, hypesthesia, and urinary retention. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multiple intradural enhancing lesions at T1 to T9 without evidence of intracranial tumors. He underwent partial resection of the lesions, and histology revealed an EST. He received chemotherapy, but 12 months after surgery, rapid tumor progression and intracranial metastases with obstructive hydrocephalus were detected. Following external ventricular drainage, the patient's condition rapidly deteriorated, and he ultimately died. EST should be considered when confronting a homogenously enhancing intradural tumor of the spine on post-contrast MRI.


The two most common variants of placental alkaline phosphatase, the F and S variants, were purified to homogeneity and characterized. Their molecular weights were determined by equilibrium ultracentrifugation and sodium dodecylsufate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which gave almost identical values for the two variants, 118,000 (F) and 119,000 (S). The amino acid compositions of F and S variants presented here are found to be very similar. Differences between the two variants were found in specific activity (160 U/mg for F and 250 U/mg for S), isoelectric point (IP - 4.5 for F and 4.7 for S), sedimentation coefficient (6.5 X 10(-13) sec for F and 6.4 X 10(-13) sec for S). Thus the structural differences observed for these enzyme variants seem to affect both the active site and the protein conformation.


The attractiveness of twenty seven materials (11 of fresh vegetables, 8 of plant seeds, and 8 of oily materials) to adult male and female of German cockroaches,  Blattella germanica, was evaluated singly and as mixtures under field conditions. The comparison of attractiveness was done between materials in the same group and between the most attractive materials of each group. Results showed that fresh coriander leaves, dill leaves, and zucchini fruit were the most attractive materials of the green vegetables group to both sexes and a combination of coriander leaves and zucchini fruit increased the number of attracted male and female cockroaches. In case of plant seeds, roasted peanut was the most attractive to males and females, whereas peanut butter was the most attractive from oily materials. A mixture composed of equal amounts of roasted peanut, coriander oil, fresh coriander leaves, and zucchini fruit attracted more cockroaches than peanut butter. Addition of cockroach's feces to the mixture increased its attractiveness against cockroaches.


The Australian Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT) is a new low-divergence electrode-less magneto-plasma space thruster with extended lifetime, based on the concept of ion acceleration in the potential drop of a current-free electric double layer. Following the discovery of the current-free double layer in a magnetized expanding plasma in 1999, and the subsequent finding of the supersonic large area ion beam downstream of the double layer, the first prototype was fully designed and fabricated in Australia in 2004 and tested at the European Space Agency in 2005. Since late 2006, the SP3 group has been developing the HDLT in collaboration with EADS-ASTRIUM. Recent progress on the HDLT Research and Development includes the study of alternative propellants, the spatial characterisation of the accelerated ion beam, the study of the electron dynamics associated with the double layer formation and the effect of the magnetic and geometric expansion on the double layer and ion beam formation. IRUKANDJI, a new Australian Space Simulation Chamber has been constructed and tested and is now being used for vacuum tests of the HDLT prototypes. Many post-graduate students have recently joined the HDLT R&D team and the SP3 group has secured funding in the latest round of the Australian Research Center Linkage grants (2008-2009) in partnership with EADS-ASTRIUM, the largest space company in the world.


The majority of infants that become distressed in labour have had a normal antenatal course. Currently there is no way of identifying infants at high risk of intra-partum problems. The fetal cerebro-umbilical ratio has been suggested as a marker of placental function and has been shown to be significantly lower in growth restricted infants. We investigated if measurement of the fetal cerebro-umbilical ratio prior to labour could identify babies at high risk of intra-partum fetal distress. In this prospective study, 250 women with uncomplicated term pregnancies underwent a pre-labour ultrasound assessment. The fetal cerebro-umbilical ratio (Middle Cerebral artery pulsatility index/Umbilical artery pulsatility index) was recorded. Labour was then managed as routine. Information obtained from the ultrasound scan was not made available to staff managing the labour. Intra-partum and neonatal outcome details were then recorded. Infants born by emergency caesarean section for fetal distress had significantly lower mean cerebro-umbilical ratios (1.47), compared to infants delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery (1.80) (p = <0.001), or by instrumental delivery for a prolonged 2nd stage (1.94) (p = <0.001). Thirty six percent of infants with a cerebro-umbilical ratio <10th centile required delivery by emergency caesarean section due to fetal distress, compared with 0% of infants with a cerebro-umbilical ratio >90th centile. This data suggests that measurement of the cerebro-umbilical ratio in normal term pregnancies can identify a cohort of infants at increased risk of intra-partum fetal compromise. Pre-labour measurement of the cerebro-umbilical ratio may therefore be helpful in the intra-partum management of selected cases.


Abstract The mode of action of phenol-formaldehyde (PF)-modified wood has been investigated with respect to its resistance to brown rot decay. The Fenton reaction is assumed to play a key role in the initial brown rot decay. Pine microveneers were modified to various weight percent gains (WPG) with low molecular weight PF and exposed to a solution containing Fenton's reagent. The mass loss (ML) and tensile strength loss (TSL) as well as the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide within the incubation time decreased with the increasing WPG of the veneers. Incubation of untreated and PF-modified veneers in acetate buffer containing ferric ions without H2O2 revealed that the modification strongly reduces the uptake of iron by the wood cell wall. Further studies indicated that lignin promotes the decay of wood by Fenton's reagent. The reason for the enhanced resistance of modified wood to the Fenton reaction is attributable to the impeded diffusion of iron ions into the cell wall rather than to the blocking of free phenolic sites of lignin, which accelerate redox cycling of iron.


Hearing loss (HL) is a common disorder of the elderly, and is associated with communication difficulties and social isolation. Most recently, HL has been inconsistently linked to cognitive decline and it has been postulated that HL may be an independent risk factor for dementia. The aim of this thesis is to determine whether HL is associated with cognitive decline during normal and/or pathological ageing by specifically investigating contributions from peripheral HL, central auditory processing and the psychosocial pathway.
Results show that central auditory processing was linked with cognition during normal and pathological ageing, but there was no independent association with peripheral hearing levels or psychosocial factors. The prevalence of HL was not significantly higher in the patient sample compared with matched controls, nor did HL influence the cognitive profiles in normal ageing or neurodegeneration. There was, however, a statistically significant interaction between HL and decline in executive function only in participants with HL who were high performers at baseline, thereby suggesting that peripheral HL is not an independent risk factor for cognitive decline. Higher scores on central auditory processing were associated with better performance on a test of visual long term memory, after controlling for the effects of peripheral HL, and could predict decline in cognitive performance over time on the Short Cognitive Evaluation battery. In keeping with this, the severity of pathological cognitive impairment was closely related to central auditory processing performance, and patients with mild cognitive impairment recruited the right hemisphere for linguistic processing, which was corroborated with findings of increased grey matter in the right auditory association areas.
In summary, it was concluded that the inconsistent findings in the literature may be due to differing influence of HL on normal and pathological cognitive ageing. Peripheral and central hearing changes may be a marker of impending neuronal decline or vulnerability to dementia in people with pathological cognitive impairment, but during healthy ageing, HL does not influence cognitive performance or increase the risk of developing dementia.


A new green-emitting fluorescent probe 1 was developed for biothiol detection. The sensing mechanism was considered to be biothiol-induced cleavage of the 2,4-dinitrobenzene- sulfonate group in probe 1 and resulting inhibition of the probe's photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process. Probe 1 exhibited favorable properties such as excellent selectivity, highly sensitive (0.12 µM), large Stokes shift (117 nm) and a remarkable turn-on fluorescence signal (148-fold). Furthermore, confocal fluorescence imaging indicated that probe 1 was membrane-permeable and suitable for visualization of biothiols in living A549 cells.


Bleeding because of excessive anticoagulation is a well-recognized complication of coumadin therapy. In cases of potentially life-threatening bleeding such as intracranial haemorrhage, reversal of anticoagulation should be carried out as soon as possible. Here we report the case of an emergency patient in whom excessive anticoagulation was diagnosed at the scene by emergency medical service personnel through the use of a point-of-care coagulometer. Following hospital admission, findings were confirmed by central laboratory assessment of prothrombin time. The time gained through the use of portable coagulometers may contribute to improved pre-hospital emergency management of anticoagulated patients.


We present a simple but powerful method for constructing multisolitons; of the integrable Manakov (coupled nonlinear Schrodinger) equation. Our method is essentially equivalent to the inverse scattering method (ISM) with the full strength generality but without the mathematical rigor of the ISM. This makes our method appropriate for practical purposes. A closed form of matrix determinant for the N-soliton solution in a nonvanishing background is found in this way. We work out explicitly the two dark vector soliton and the three bright vector soliton cases and demonstrate their novel behaviors.


Enterococcus faecium has six penicillin‐binding proteins (PBP), where PBP5 seems to be the main target for β‐lactam antibiotics. The PBP profiles of three imipenem‐resistant, ampicillin‐sensitive E. faecium strains, isolated from the same patient, were studied using biotinylated ampicillin and chemiluminescence detection. Imipenem resistance in these strains was found to be associated with hyperproduction of PBP5 compared to the ampicillin‐ and imipenem‐susceptible strain ATCC 19434. PBP5 in the imipenem‐resistant strains (S1, B2) exhibited a selectively decreased affinity for imipenem. An 854 bp DNA fragment, corresponding to the penicillin‐binding domain of pbp5fm, was studied in the resistant strains and the reference strain. Four amino acid substitutions were observed in the resistant strains compared to the susceptible one. The contribution of these substitutions to the increased production of PBP5 in these strains is unclear since the substitution was observed also in a strain without increased production of PBP5. Our results suggest that the moderate imipenem resistance observed in these strains is associated with increased production of PBP5 with relatively decreased affinity for imipenem, and that evolution of imipenem resistance in E. faecium is dinstinct from that of the other β‐lactams such as ampicillin.


Abstract In this article, Roberto Esposito lays out the genealogical pathways linking the three major concepts around which his most recent work has wound its way: community, immunity, and biopolitics. Although immunity is necessary to the preservation of our life, when driven beyond a certain threshold it forces life into a sort of cage where not only our freedom gets lost but also the very meaning of our existence – that opening of existence outside itself that takes the name of communitas. A hermeneutics informed by immunity can allow the category of community to regain a new political significance, without ending up in a substantialist metaphysics. This task is dictated by the urgent need for an affirmative biopolitics – a horizon of meaning – in which life would no longer be the object but somehow the subject of politics. But what sort of shape would this take? Where would we trace its symptoms? And with what objectives? A preliminary answer focuses on breaking the vise grip between public and private that threatens to crush the common, by seeking instead to expand the space of the common, in the fight, for example, against the planned privatization of water and the battle over energy sources.


The goal of this research is the design of a fast modular set up used for the measurement of pressure loss through a porous medium. Measurements done with this set-up will eventually reduce extensive simulationeffort. Inordertodesigntheexperimentalset-upaliteraturereviewhasbeenconductedfrom which design requirements and guidelines are defined. Also an analytical method is examined which in a later stadium of the research is used to validate the obtained experimental results.
Using the information acquired by means of a literature study a schematic functional design is made. The functional design leads to the final design and required components. Test with various porous media are conducted and compared to the analytical method of Sabri Ergun (chapter 3). Very good comparison is achieved between the experimental results and Erguns theory, proving that the design work resulted in a working experimental method. More validation of the experimental results is done with a CFD model, similar results of both the CFD model and experimental results where obtained (chapter 4). Therefore a validated experimental method is obtained.
The acquired constants to model the behavior of a porous medium from the experiment, are then tested in simulation software Ansys CFX. Thereby the CFD computations of a scaled down porous medium (chapter 4) in CFX is eliminated. This leads to a reduction of the computational time using the experimental method by a factor of eleven when compared to the CFD simulation.
The pressure loss measurement method can be used to eliminate the computational effort of a simulation of a porous part in a larger system. Thereby the 44 hours computational time needed for the CFD simulation are eliminated and can be replaced by the pressure loss experiment (4 hours). Therefore it can be concluded that a validated fast experimental method for pressure drop measurement through a porous medium is achieved.


Vividly revealing the multiple layers on which print has been produced, consumed, regulated, and contested for the purpose of education since the mid-nineteenth century, the historical case studies in Education and the Culture of Print in Modern America deploy a view of education that extends far beyond the confines of traditional classrooms. The nine essays examine "how print educates" in settings as diverse as depression-era work camps, religious training, and broadcast television--all the while revealing the enduring tensions that exist among the controlling interests of print producers and consumers. This volume exposes what counts as education in American society and the many contexts in which education and print intersect. Offering perspectives from print culture history, library and information studies, literary studies, labor history, gender history, the history of race and ethnicity, the history of science and technology, religious studies, and the history of childhood and adolescence, Education and the Culture of Print in Modern America pioneers an investigation into the intersection of education and print culture.


Wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae significantly reduces cotton yields, as host resistance in commercially cultivated Gossypium species is lacking. Understanding the molecular basis of disease resistance in non-commercial Gossypium species could galvanize the development of Verticillium wilt resistance in cultivated species. Nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) proteins play a central role in plant defence against pathogens. In this study, we focused on the relationship between a locus enriched with eight NBS-LRR genes and Verticillium wilt resistance in G. barbadense. Independent virus-induced gene silencing of each of the eight NBS-LRR genes in G. barbadense cultivar Hai 7124 revealed that silencing of GbaNA1 alone compromised the resistance of G. barbadense to V. dahliae isolate Vd991. In cultivar Hai 7124, GbaNA1 could be induced by V. dahliae isolate Vd991 and by ethylene, jasmonic acid and salicylic acid. Nuclear protein localization of GbaNA1 was demonstrated by transient expression. Sequencing of the GbaNA1 orthologue in nine G. hirsutum accessions revealed that all carried a non-functional allele, caused by a premature peptide truncation. In addition, all 10 G. barbadense and nine G. hirsutum accessions tested carried a full-length (∼1140 amino acids) homologue of the V. dahliae race 1 resistance gene Gbve1, although some sequence polymorphisms were observed. Verticillium dahliae Vd991 is a non-race 1 isolate that lacks the Ave1 gene. Thus, the resistance imparted by GbaNA1 appears to be mediated by a mechanism distinct from recognition of the fungal effector Ave1.


This paper describes abnormal neutrophil function in HIV-infected patients, as well as the in vitro effect of filgrastim (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) on neutrophil function in HIV infection. Research shows that HIV-infected patients have a variety of defects in neutrophil function, including abnormalities in chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and bacterial killing. Activation of neutrophils may also contribute to neutrophil dysfunction in HIV infection; it appears that neutrophils are activated at all stages of HIV disease, and this activation may result in a decreased ability to respond to a second stimulus in patients with CD4+ counts less than 200/cu mm. Accelerated neutrophil apoptosis (programmed cell death) may also contribute to impaired neutrophil function. Administration of filgrastim 300 microg s.c. daily or every other day for eight days to HIV-infected patients with CD4+ cell counts less than 200/cu mm resulted in a marked decrease in the rate of apoptosis compared with baseline. Since neutrophil activation, accelerated apoptosis, and functional defects appear to be reversible with administration of filgrastim, filgrastim may potentially be useful in preventing and treating secondary infections in HIV-infected patients.


As one of the "miracle materials" in the 21st century, aerogels with ultra‐low weight and remarkable mechanical performance have emerged and shown incredible immunity to harsh working environments, attracting substantial research interests across a wide range of areas. Recently, exploitation of MXene nanosheets into aerogels represents a new research focus in the field of materials science, on account of their unique structures and outstanding properties. In this review, the aim is to provide a timely and insightful overview for the recent advances in the fabrication, performance, and application of MXene‐based aerogels. The main strategies for constructing MXene‐based aerogels, directly from MXene‐dispersion or in the presence of other functional components, are summarized. Furthermore, the desirable performance of MXene‐based aerogels and their related applications in the areas including electromagnetic management, sensors, solar steam generators, and energy storage are highlighted. A thorough investigation and comparison of their mechanical, electrical, sensing, and other properties are performed to understand the structure‐property relationships. At last, this study is concluded with summary and outlook section on the future development as well as challenges that remained, thus bringing new research opportunities for the material engineering and functional application of MXene‐based aerogels.


Five years of OSIRIS (Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System) NO2 and SMR (Sub-millimetre and Millimetre Radiometer) HNO3 observations from the Odin satellite, combined with data from a photochemical box model, have been used to construct a stratospheric proxy NOy data set including the gases: NO, NO2, HNO3, 2×N2O5 and ClONO2. This Odin NOy climatology is based on all daytime measurements and contains monthly mean and standard deviation, expressed as mixing ratio or number density, as function of latitude or equivalent latitude (5° bins) on 17 vertical layers (altitude, pressure or potential temperature) between 14 and 46 km. Comparisons with coincident NOy profiles from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) instrument were used to evaluate several methods to combine Odin observations with model data. This comparison indicates that the most appropriate merging technique uses OSIRIS measurements of NO2, scaled with model NO/NO2 ratios, to estimate NO. The sum of 2×N2O5 and ClONO2 is estimated from uncertainty-based weighted averages of scaled observations of SMR HNO3 and OSIRIS NO2. Comparisons with ACE-FTS suggest the precision (random error) and accuracy (systematic error) of Odin NOy profiles are about 15% and 20%, respectively. Further comparisons between Odin and the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) show agreement to within 20% and 2 ppb throughout most of the stratosphere except in the polar vortices. The combination of good temporal and spatial coverage, a relatively long data record, and good accuracy and precision make this a valuable NOy product for various atmospheric studies and model assessments.


Resorption of bone occurs continuously throughout life, first as part of skeletal growth and modeling and, later, in the process of bone-remodeling in the adult skeleton. Since the 1970's, considerable progress has been made in unraveling the basic cellular mechanisms that regulate the formation and activity of the osteoclast, the main cellular agent of bone resorption. These recent advances have resulted mainly from the introduction of new methods of isolation and culture of osteoclasts and evaluation of resorptive activity; techniques have also been developed for the generation of osteoclasts in long-term culture of precursor cells found in hematopoietic tissues and peripheral blood. Although reports have suggested that other cells (such as tumor cells or macrophages) are capable of degrading bone matrix48,104,152 and releasing local factors that contribute to resorption of bone45,102,105,113, the osteoclast is the only cell specialized for this function.

The purpose of this review is to integrate new knowledge regarding the formation of osteoclasts and the regulation of their activity within a general view of the cellular biology of normal and pathological bone resorption. After a review of the criteria by which osteoclastic cells are defined, the origin and formation of osteoclasts will be considered, along with mechanisms governing their recruitment, activation, and function. The manner in which these mechanisms contribute to osteoclastic bone resorption under various pathological conditions as well as the possible roles of other cells (both skeletal and extraskeletal in origin) in this process will be discussed.

Studies on the biology of bone-resorbing cells can be properly evaluated only if the criteria for the recognition of osteoclasts are clearly defined. On histological sections, osteoclasts are readily identified as large multinucleated cells that lie in apposition to a bone surface undergoing lacunar resorption …


A series of novel narrow-band-gap copolymers (P1-P12) composed of alkyl-substituted fluorene (FO) units and six analogous mono- and bis(2-aryl-2-cyanovinyl)-10-hexylphenothiazine monomers (M1-M6) were synthesized by a palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction with two different feed in ratios of FO to M1-M6 (molar ratio = 3:1 and 1:1). The absorption spectra of polymers P1-P12 exhibited broad peaks located in the UV and visible regions from 400 to 800 nm with optical band gaps at 1.55–2.10 eV, which fit near the wavelength of the maximum solar photon reflux. Electrochemical experiments displayed that the reversible p- and n-doping processes of copolymers were partially reversible, and the proper HOMO/LUMO levels enabled a high photovoltaic open-circuit voltage. As blended with [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as an electron acceptor in bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices, narrow-band-gap polymers P1-P12 as electron donors showed significant photovoltaic performance which varied with the intramolecular donor-acceptor interaction and their mixing ratios to PCBM. Under 100 mW/cm2 of AM 1.5 white-light illumination, the device of copolymer P12 produced the highest preliminary result having an open-circuit voltage of 0.64 V, a short-circuit current of 2.70 mA/cm2, a fill factor of 0.29, and an energy conversion efficiency of 0.51%. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4285–4304, 2008


An initial version of an optimization code utilizing two-dimensional radiation transport methods has been completed. This code is capable of predicting material compositions of a beam tube-filter geometry which can be used in a boron neutron capture therapy treatment facility to improve the ratio of the average radiation dose in a brain tumor to that in the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. The optimization algorithm employed by the code is very straightforward. After an estimate of the gradient of the dose ratio with respect to the nuclide densities in the beam tube-filter geometry is obtained, changes in the nuclide densities are made based on 1) the magnitude and sign of the components of the dose ratio gradient, 2) the magnitude of the nuclide densities, 3) the upper and lower bound of each nuclide density, and 4) the linear constraint that the sum of the nuclide density fractions in each material zone be less than or equal to 1.0. A local optimal solution is assumed to be found when one of the following conditions is satisfied in every material zone: 1) the maximum positive component of the gradient corresponds to a nuclide at its maximum density and the sum of the density fractions equals 1.0 or 2) the positive and negative components of the gradient correspond to nuclides densities at their upper and lower bounds, respectively, and the remaining components of the gradient are sufficiently small. The optimization procedure has been applied to a beam tube-filter geometry coupled to a simple tumor patient head model and an improvement of 50% in the dose ratio was obtained.


We show optimal lower bounds for spanning forest computation in two different models:
* One wants a data structure for fully dynamic spanning forest in which updates can insert or delete edges amongst a base set of $n$ vertices. The sole allowed query asks for a spanning forest, which the data structure should successfully answer with some given (potentially small) constant probability $\epsilon>0$. We prove that any such data structure must use $\Omega(n\log^3 n)$ bits of memory.
* There is a referee and $n$ vertices in a network sharing public randomness, and each vertex knows only its neighborhood; the referee receives no input. The vertices each send a message to the referee who then computes a spanning forest of the graph with constant probability $\epsilon>0$. We prove the average message length must be $\Omega(\log^3 n)$ bits.
Both our lower bounds are optimal, with matching upper bounds provided by the AGM sketch [AGM12] (which even succeeds with probability $1 - 1/\mathrm{poly}(n)$). Furthermore, for the first setting we show optimal lower bounds even for low failure probability $\delta$, as long as $\delta > 2^{-n^{1-\epsilon}}$.


Case histories are based on actual medical negligence claims, however certain facts have been omitted or changed by the author to ensure the anonymity of the parties involved. Medical negligence claims involving an allegation of 'failure to diagnose' account for up to 50% of claims against general practitioners. This article examines a case in which there was a failure to diagnose and appropriately manage gestational diabetes.


E-government development, assumed as a public policy problem, has to consider political issues, where actors play a key role for success or failure on such policies. Several political theories admit the importance of actors in their approaches. Although there are efforts to formalize them, the model presented in this chapter looks to integrate a variety of proposals in the context of public policies. The application of the model to e-government cases on Chile and Costa Rica has shown that the characteristics of the process executed in a timeline (with their successes and failures) can be explained from actors' perspective. Issues like promoting new laws, the coordination of multiple agencies or the priority for projects on political context have to be solved with specific actors using their power resources. The explanations found could be considered for characterize future developments on e-government taking on account how critical is the actors' intervention.


Neutron flux oscillation event occurred at LaSalle-2 (BWR5) on March 9, 1988 which arised issues such as why the event occurred and what major differences between LaSalle-2 and other BWRs were in view of the BWR stability. In order to resolve the issues, a method to determine instability threshold was developed at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) by using the transient thermal-hydraulic analysis code RETRAN which was developed at Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The validity of the method was confirmed by parametric studies and thermal-hydraulic experiment analyses. Using the method, the instability boundary for in-phase oscillation was obtained. For out -of-phase oscillation, however, it was found that the instability boundary could not be determined in nature due to the limitation from the point reactor kinetics model.


We provide a new formulation for the problem of learning the optimal classification tree of a given depth as a binary linear program. A limitation of previously proposed Mathematical Optimization formulations is that they create constraints and variables for every row in the training data. As a result, the running time of the existing Integer Linear programming (ILP) formulations increases dramatically with the size of data. In our new binary formulation, we aim to circumvent this problem by making the formulation size largely independent from the training data size. We show experimentally that our formulation achieves better performance than existing formulations on both small and large problem instances within shorter running time.


Skin covers the majority of surface area of human. This study aims to improve the inverse Monte Carlo fitting method to extract optical coefficients of the epidermis and shallow dermis from reflectance spectra more reliably and precisely. The proposed approach was validated by fitting in-vivo human skin spectra with errors less than 13%.


Emulation of CMS systems is an interesting approach to complete the validation of new digital control unit and to perform the diagnosis tasks. However to be efficient, the emulator have to run in real time in order to reproduce exactly the physical process functioning. This paper describes the design of an autonomous emulator employing the system-level design methodology developed at CECS-UC Irvine (SpecC methodology). Starting from the abstract executable specification written in SpecC language, the emulator is gradually refined and mapped to a final communication model. This model can then be used with backend tools for implementation and manufacturing.


Background Differentiation of borderline tumors from early ovarian cancer has recently received increasing attention, since borderline tumors often affect young women of childbearing age who desire to preserve fertility. However, previous studies have demonstrated that non-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences cannot sufficiently differentiate these tumors. Purpose To investigate the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) in differentiating serous borderline ovarian tumors (SBOT) from early serous ovarian cancers (eSOCA). Material and Methods Twenty SBOT and 20 eSOCA rat models were performed with DCE-MRI and IVIM-DWI at 3.0-T MR scanner. Qualitative and quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI were acquired and compared between two groups and correlated with the microvessel density (MVD). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to determine their differentiating performances. Results SBOTs presented significantly lower values of the initial area under the enhancement curve (iAUC), volume transfer constant (Ktrans), and extracellular extravascular volume fraction (ve) (P < 0.05) and a significantly higher value of true diffusion (D) (P = 0.001) compared with eSOCAs. The diagnostic effectiveness of ve combined with D was significantly better than that of ve or Ktrans alone (P ≤ 0.039). Conclusion DCE-MRI may represent a promising tool for differentiating SBOTs from eSOCAs and may not be replaced by IVIM-DWI. Combining DCE-MRI with DWI may improve the diagnostic performance of ovarian tumors.


We suitably adapt the design of a tissue-equivalent phantom used for photoacoustic imaging to construct phantoms for optical elastography. The elastography phantom we consider should have optical properties such as scattering coefficient, scattering anisotropy factor, and refractive index; mechanical properties such as storage and loss modulus; and acoustic properties such as ultrasound velocity, attenuation coefficient, and acoustic impedance to match healthy and diseased tissues. The phantom is made of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and its mechanical, optical, and acoustic properties are tailored by physical cross-linking effected through subjecting a suitable mix of PVA stock and water to a number of freeze-thaw cycles and by varying the degree of hydrolysis in the PVA stock. The optical, mechanical, and acoustic properties of the samples prepared are measured by employing different techniques. The measured variations in the values of optical scattering coefficient, scattering anisotropy factor, and refractive index and storage modulus are found to be comparable to those in normal and diseased breast tissues. The acoustic properties such as sound speed, acoustic attenuation coefficient, and density are found to be close to the average values reported in the literature for normal breast tissue.


Embedding electronics and enabling digital responses to everyday objects is already a widespread reality. The term smart toys, tangibles and robots cover a range of play products that can present different levels of network, processing and reasoning capabilities. Such interfaces have also become capable of collecting and processing data in realtime. While quality aspects and intelligent features are more relevant than ever, many relying on data-driven methods and artificial intelligence (AI), this also raises important privacy issues and concerns. Additionally, the design of meaningful play and learning experiences that go beyond data collection remains a challenging task. This workshop aims to explore challenges and related opportunities to feed interaction design of smart toys, tangibles, robots and other smart things for children that may shape the lines for future work in the field. It aims at bringing together researchers, non-academicians and, practitioners from relevant disciplines to discuss potentials and limitations of using various smart technologies for children, to define required methodologies, and to envision alternative future scenarios that fully unleash the potential that the new generation of AI-powered smart tangibles and related devices may bring.


The decision to attend college is a question of human capital investment, yet resources to help practitioners frame human capital investment decisions remain elusive and few include the "gold standard" of finance: net present value (NPV). Can one discuss human capital investment with an average adolescent using a traditional NPV approach? Motivated by this question, we presented 10 barriers to maximizing education–career NPV (e.g., clarity of costs, immature adolescent brains, individual discount rates). We outline an iterative, research-based approach to education–career investment, including framing the conversation, calculating paired NPVs, and structuring the decision. This multistep framework leverages practitioner expertise to help adolescents consider important lifelong financial wellness implications of human capital investment.


A kernel embedding of probability distributions into reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS) has recently been proposed, which allows the comparison of two probability measures P and Q based on the distance between their respective embeddings: for a sufficiently rich RKHS, this distance is zero if and only if P and Q coincide. In using this distance as a statistic for a test of whether two samples are from different distributions, a major difficulty arises in computing the significance threshold, since the empirical statistic has as its null distribution (where P = Q) an infinite weighted sum of χ2 random variables. Prior finite sample approximations to the null distribution include using bootstrap resampling, which yields a consistent estimate but is computationally costly; and fitting a parametric model with the low order moments of the test statistic, which can work well in practice but has no consistency or accuracy guarantees. The main result of the present work is a novel estimate of the null distribution, computed from the eigen-spectrum of the Gram matrix on the aggregate sample from P and Q, and having lower computational cost than the bootstrap. A proof of consistency of this estimate is provided. The performance of the null distribution estimate is compared with the bootstrap and parametric approaches on an artificial example, high dimensional multivariate data, and text.


This paper describes a new bipartite formulation for word-document co-clustering such that hyperclique patterns, strongly affiliated documents in this case, are guaranteed not to be split into different clusters. Our approach for pattern preserving clustering consists of three steps: mine maximal hyperclique patterns, form the bipartite, and partition it. With hyperclique patterns of documents preserved, the topic of each cluster can be represented by both the top words from that cluster and the documents in the patterns, which are expected to be more compact and representative than those in the standard bipartite formulation. Experiments with real-world datasets show that, with hyperclique patterns as starting points, we can improve the clustering results in terms of various external clustering criteria. Also, the partitioned bipartite with preserved topical sets of documents naturally lends itself to different functions in search engines


In contrast to terrestrial systems, few positive plant-plant association have recorded in tropical reef environment. This study, conducted at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize during 28 March-10 April 1984, provides the first documentation of herbivore and unpalatable marine plants. For example, there was a highly significant association of several macrophyte taxa (Laurencia poiteri, Dictyota app,.Amphiroa fragilissima, cladophopsis macromeres, Galaxaura cylindrica, rhodophycean turf) within a 2.0 c-m radius of the herbivor-resistant brown alga strypopodium Zonale as within 10 cm of an equal number of random stypopodium-free points, and there were no algal species negatively associated with S. Zonale. The association of A. tribulus, L. poiteri, Digenia simplex, rhodophycean turf, and Jania adherens with S. zonale provided them a fourfold greater survivorship per 48 h in the presence of grazing activity by the fishes (mainly Acanthuridae and Scaridae). Reduced herbivory by the fishes on macroalgae associated with S. zonale was not solely a consequence of its structural aspect. Losses of the palatable alga Aconthopora spicifera were significantly greater for thalli spatially remote (30 and 60 cm) from either a real or stimulated strypopodium plants were significantly less that the losses next to models. The inter-relationship studied here, where an abundant and well defended plant provides a significant refuge habitat for at least five relative edible macroalgae, clearly facilitates the survival of certain taxa in the reef system and con-concomitantly enhances the within habitat diversity. Our findings also suggest an interaction counter to the process of competitive exclusion, since the single predominant plants has a positive rather negative net effect on the abundance of other species that utilizes the same general resources(e.g., light, space, nutrients).


Dear Editor, Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of intestinal amoebiasis affects more than 50 million people worldwide. Amoebiasis is considered to be the most common parasitic infection particularly in the tropics and subtropics.[1] It is the second leading cause of the death from parasitic diseases worldwide.[2] Humans are the primary reservoir and infection happens to be by ingestion of mature quadri-nucleate cyst through contaminated food and water.[3] Treatment and management of infection with E. histolytica has been considerably affected since 90% of the infected individuals remain asymptomatic. Clinical diagnosis of amoebiasis also remains elusive in most of the cases due to contrasting illness course in different communities, varied clinical presentations and unavailability of infrastructures in the developing countries.


In studying the radioprotective action of natural and synthesised antioxydants a decreased yield of chromosome aberrations with respect to those in untreated cells was noted in normal cells irradiated in phase G1 whereas no radioprotective effect was found in cells irradiated in G0. The addition of antioxydants into the cell cultures from patients with Turner's syndrome did not change their radiosensitivity. No adaptive response was induced in lymphocytes from patients with Down's syndrome cultivated with vitamin E.


The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 forces drug research to combat it Ivermectin, an FDA approved antiparasitic drug formulated as a mixture 80:20 of the equipotent homologous 22,23 dihydro ivermectin (B1_a and B1_b), which is known to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro with a mechanism of action to be defined It draws attention powerfully that the energetic and structural perturbation that this drug induces by binding on SARS-COV-2 proteins of importance for its proliferation is ill unknown Hence what we do an exhaustive computational biophysics study to discriminate the best docking of ivermectins to viral proteins and, subsequently, to analyze possible structural alterations with molecular dynamics The results suggested that ivermectins are capable of docking to the superficial and internal pocket of the 3CL-protease and the HR2-domain, inducing unfolding/folding that change the native conformation in these proteins In particular, ivermectin binds to the 3CL protease and leads this protein to an unfolded state, whereas the HR2-domain to a more compact conformation in comparison to the native state by refolding when the drug binding to this protein The results obtained suggest a possible synergistic inhibitory against SARS-COV-2 owing to each role of ivermectins when favorably binding to these viral proteins Given the importance of the results obtained about this new mechanism of action of ivermectin on SARS-CoV-2, experimental studies are needed that corroborate this proposal


In this paper we present Improvasher a real-time musical accompaniment system which creates an automatic mashup to accompany live musical input. Improvasher is built around two music processing modules, the first, a performance following technique, makes beat-synchronous predictions of chroma features from a live musical input. The second, a music mashup system, determines the compatibility between beat-synchronous chromagrams from different pieces of music. Through the combination of these two techniques, a real-time predictive mashup can be generated towards a new form of automatic accompaniment for interactive musical performance.


Portal vein aneurysm is an uncommon anomaly. Both congenital and acquired cases are reported. We report a case of idiopathic probably congenital portal vein aneurysm incidentally detected on contrast CT. There was no evidence of any chronic liver disease or portal hypertension in this patient.


A fish assemblage study was accomplished in different habitats of the Sorocaba River Basin. Fish were caught with gillnets, were weighed (weight total - g) and measured (standard length - mm). Several abiotic variables of selected sampling sites were measured in order to characterise their habitats in order to attempt establishing correlations with fish community traits. Fish numbers per species were adjusted to the lognormal and logseries species/abundance models The fish community totaled 38 species, distributed in 28 genera, 14 families and 4 orders. Diversity was calculated both in number and in weight and both presented higher values in better preserved sites. We did not detect any statistical differences between dry and rainy seasons. We also concluded that the abundance distribution was not influenced by abiotic variables.


Artificial Intelligence will significantly impact the work environment of radiologists. I suggest that up to 50% of a radiologists work in 2021 will be performed by AI-models in 2025. However, it won't increase beyond that 50% level, as radiologists remain key for human-centered aspects of their job. I project that few to no radiologists will be laid off in China due to the existing supply shortage of radiology services in 2021. The application of AI in radiology could contribute 1.7 billion USD to China's GDP in 2025. It will further allow radiologists to start productive work up to four years earlier. AI in radiology will positively impact the health of patients and radiologists themselves.


Power production from wind turbines is affected by several conditions like wind speed, turbine speed, turbine design, turbulence, changes of wind direct ion, wake of previous turbines. These conditions are not always optimal and have negative effects on most turbines. The present wind turbine is a small one which allows to be used on roofs or in gardens to light small areas like publicity boards, parkings, roads or for water pumping, heating... This turbine is less affected by these conditions because the blades combine a rotating movement around each own axis and around the main turbine' s one. Due to this combination of movements, flow around this turbine is more optimized than classical Darrieus turbines. It has been shown in previous studies that the best configuration was obtained with straight blades, a blade stager angle comprised between 0 and 8 degrees and a range of non-dimensional velocity from 0.4 to 0.6 for a very good power coefficient of about 0.4 in case of one VAWT. The present study points up the influence of the position of each VAWT in a group of three turbines and of the distances between turbines. It deals on global and local performances of these turbines.