Repeat sequence protein polymer (RSPP) technology provides a platform to design and make protein-based performance polymers and represents the best nature has to offer. We report here that the RSPP platform is a novel approach to produce functional protein polymers that have both biomechanical and biofunctional blocks built into one molecule by design, using peptide motifs. We have shown that protein-based designer biopolymers can be made using recombinant DNA technology and fermentation and offer the ability to screen for desired properties utilizing the tremendous potential diversity of amino acid combinations. The technology also allows for large-scale manufacturing with a favorable fermentative cost-structure to deliver commercially viable performance polymers. Using three diverse examples with antimicrobial, textile targeting, and UV-protective agent, we have introduced functional attributes into structural protein polymers and shown, for example, that the functionalized RSPPs have possible applications in biodefense, industrial biotechnology, and personal care areas. This new class of biobased materials will simulate natural biomaterials that can be modified for desired function and have many advantages over conventional petroleum-based polymers.


Immunotherapy was used to treat horses in British Columbia for Culicoides hypersensitivity. This is a severe, chronic, recurrent allergic disease of horses that results in severe irritation, large lesions, hair loss and secondary infection in the ventral midline, mane, and proximal region of the tail. A crude Culicoides extract was injected subcutaneously, in increasing doses, into 10 horses that were affected severely by the disease. Weekly doses reduced the clinical signs in 9 of the 10 horses in the 1st yr. Eight horses were treated with a maintenance dose during a 2nd yr. After the 2nd yr, 3 horses were completely free of clinical signs, 3 showed much less severe clinical signs than in untreated years, and 2 showed moderate reduction in clinical signs. Dosage, frequency of injections, and possible future applications of this technique are discussed.


Abstract Primary adrenal pleomorphic spindle cell sarcoma (PSCS) is an exceedingly rare mesenchymal tumour that was previously known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma. It commonly occurs in extremities, retroperitoneum, peritoneal cavity and rarely in visceral organs. We report the first case of PSCS in the left adrenal gland in a 65-year-old female who presented with a large abdominal mass with vague symptoms. The wide range of differential diagnoses posed a challenge in establishing the diagnosis. However, this was overcome by appropriate radiological, intra-operative, histological and most importantly, comprehensive immunohistochemical findings. The patient underwent complete surgical resection of the tumour and had an unremarkable recovery. She remains without metastasis or recurrences to date through her 18 months of post-operative follow-up despite the poor prognosis of this tumour.


American Statistical Association Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Department of Energy, Office of Science and Environmental Research Environmental Protection Agency National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Radiation Research Society


The shape feature of axis orbit is very important to judge the fault of rotor system. After the sampling and quantization of the image of axis orbit, the edge of the image will be inaccurate. Therefore, the discretization of image has a great influence on the calculation of higher order moments of the moment invariants. High order moments are mainly used to describe image details. The fractal dimension is sensitive to the details and complexity of the image. Therefore, this paper proposes a method of combining fractal dimension with moment invariants. And Canny operator is used to detect the edge of axis orbit image. The Hu invariant moments of the image and the fractal box dimension are used as the feature vectors of BP neural networks. The 40 groups of samples of the typical fault axis orbit of the experiment are trained and sampled to test. The recognition rate of the 8 groups of axis orbit is up to 100%, and the recognition effect is satisfactory. The results show that the method has high recognition speed and high recognition accuracy, and has good practical value for the intelligent fault diagnosis of the rotor system by using the axis orbit.


Valuation of objects of intellectual property can be important when considering civil disputes, criminal cases of copyright and related rights infringements, criminal bankruptcies, cases of administrative offenses (violations of copyright and related rights, inventor's and patent rights). At present, there is no generally accepted and accessible methodology of forensic valuation of intellectual property items. The main aspects of the forensic valuation of intellectual property are reviewed. It is shown that when assessing the value of intellectual property special knowledge should be applied in the field of forensic merchandising expertise, forensic economics, as well as other kinds and types of forensic expertise according to the characteristics of the intellectual property in question: forensic trace evidence analysis, computer forensics, forensic linguistics, forensic materials analysis, etc. It is necessary to develop and implement a new type of forensic examination in the forensic institutions of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation - forensic examination of intellectual property which will also include the value assessment of such objects.


Aim The cost–effectiveness of treatment options (anticholinergics, β3-adrenoceptor agonists, onabotulinumtoxinA, sacral nerve stimulation and percutaneous tibial stimulation [the latter two including new rechargeable neurostimulators]) for the management of overactive bladder (OAB) were compared with best supportive care (BSC) using a previously published Markov model. Materials & methods Cost–effectiveness was evaluated over a 15-year time horizon, and sensitivity analyses were performed using 2- and 5-year horizons. Discontinuation rates, resource utilization, and costs were derived from published sources. Results Using Medicare and commercial costs over a 15-year time period, onabotulinumtoxinA 100U had incremental cost–effectiveness ratios (ICERs) gained of $39,591/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) and $42,255/QALY, respectively, versus BSC, which were the lowest ICERs of all assessed treatments. The sensitivity analyses at 2- and 5-year horizons also showed onabotulinumtoxinA to be the most cost-effective of all assessed treatments versus BSC. Conclusion OnabotulinumtoxinA 100U is currently the most cost-effective treatment for OAB.


Abstract Those who are high in external motivation to respond without prejudice (EMS) tend to focus on non-racial attributes when describing others. This fMRI study examined the neural processing of race and an alternative yet stereotypically relevant attribute (viz., socioeconomic status: SES) as a function of the perceiver's EMS. Sixty-one White participants privately formed impressions of Black and White faces ascribed with high or low SES. Analyses focused on regions supporting race- and status-based reward/salience (NAcc), evaluation (VMPFC) and threat/relevance (amygdala). Consistent with previous findings from the literature on status-based evaluation, we observed greater neural responses to high-status (vs low-status) targets in all regions of interest when participants were relatively low in EMS. In contrast, we observed the opposite pattern when participants were relatively high in EMS. Notably, all effects were independent of target race. In summary, White perceivers' race-related motivations similarly altered their neural responses to the SES of Black and White targets. Specifically, the findings suggest that EMS may attenuate the positive value and/or salience of high status in a mixed-race context. Findings are discussed in the context of the stereotypic relationship between race and SES.


The severity of COVID-19 commonly depends on age-related tissue stiffness. The aim was to review publications that explain the effect of microenvironmental extracellular matrix stiffness on cellular processes. Platelets and endothelial cells are mechanosensitive. Increased tissue stiffness can trigger cytokine storm with the upregulated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin IL-6, and tissue integrity disruption, leading to enhanced virus entry and disease severity. Increased tissue stiffness in critically ill COVID-19 patients triggers platelet activation and initiates plague formation and thrombosis development. Cholesterol content in cell membrane increases with aging and further enhances tissue stiffness. Membrane cholesterol depletion decreases virus entry to host cells. Membrane cholesterol lowering drugs, such as statins or novel chitosan derivatives, have to be further developed for application in COVID-19 treatment. Statins are also known to decrease arterial stiffness mitigating cardiovascular diseases. Sulfated chitosan derivatives can be further developed for potential use in future as anticoagulants in prevention of severe COVID-19. Anti-TNF-α therapies as well as destiffening therapies have been suggested to combat severe COVID-19. The inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells pathway must be considered as a therapeutic target in the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients. The activation of mechanosensitive platelets by higher matrix stiffness increases their adhesion and the risk of thrombus formation, thus enhancing the severity of COVID-19.


This is an insightful retrospective of the career of Josef Albers, whose work underpins some of the 20th-century's most influential art education programs. Josef Albers: Minimal Means, Maximum Effect is a magnificently illustrated retrospective of the work of Josef Albers (1888-1976), a German-born American artist, whose work has formed the basis of some of the twentieth-century's most influential art education programs. Comprising more than one hundred works of art in addition to furniture, objects, photographs, and a range of documentary material. This volume presents the work of Albers as a project equally characterized by its coherence and its search for simplicity, its productive use of deliberately limited means and resources, its respect for manual labour and its emphasis on experimentation with colour, taking material shape in a body of work with a marked poetic and spiritual content. It also explores Albers' working process and his reflection about teaching, his theoretical and practical activities - he was a student and later a professor at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, and a teacher at Black Mountain College and finally at Yale University.


Proposals on domestic support were submitted in the WTO agriculture negotiations by the USA, the EU, and the G-20 in October 2005, based on the 2004 Framework agreement. This paper pays attention to the de minimis rules and the resulting de minimis allowances and projects future (2014) distorting support for the USA and the EU-15. It calculates the constraints resulting from projected values of production combined with the U.S., EU and G-20 proposals and compares their effectiveness in constraining components of distorting support and the projected future applied support. The de minimis rules make a difference in estimating how much distorting support can be provided in the future. Under the U.S. proposal the Overall commitment does not constrain either the USA or the EU. Under the EU and especially the G-20 proposals the Overall commitment constrains distorting support to be less than the sum of the cap on blue and the maximum usable components. This maximum is smaller than the sum of the commitment on Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) and the de minimis allowances. The U.S. proposal constrains only one component (Current Total AMS) and this only for the EU. The EU proposal does not constrain projected future applied support in either the USA or the EU. The G-20 proposal constrains the future Current Total AMS for both the USA and the EU. The G-20 proposal constrains projected future Overall distorting support for the EU but not for the USA.


Livestock are often criticized for their negative externalities to environment. However, in the mixed farming systems followed in India, the livestock help in saving natural resources through their synergistic relationship with cropping activities. This paper has quantified the positive environmental externalities associated with livestock production in India's mixed farming systems. These include: land saving due to recycling of agricultural by-products as animal feed and also due to use of dung- cake as domestic fuel; saving of chemical fertilizers due to use of dung as manure and prevention of carbon dioxide emission due to use of animal energy in agriculture. Land saving from livestock production system due to recycling of crop by-products as animal feed and use of dung as domestic fuel has been estimated as 42 Mha. The use of dung as manure saves 1.2 Mt of soil nutrients. Likewise, use of animal energy as a substitute for mechanical energy has potential to save diesel consumption to the extent of 13 Mt and prevents greenhouse gas emission due to burning of diesel.


The development of hypertension in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) up to 8 weeks of age involves sodium retention with reduced fractional sodium excretion. Since angiotensin II (Ang II) directly stimulates proximal tubular sodium transport, we investigated age-related changes in proximal reabsorption (Jv), using shrinking split-drop micropuncture before and after enalaprilat in SHR at 5, 7 and 12 weeks of age and in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Control values for Jv were higher in the SHR than in WKY at 5 weeks, but lower at 7 and 12 weeks, consistent with an early phase of sodium retention. Enalaprilat reduced mean Jv by approximately 15% in all WKY groups, indicating the extent of Ang II-stimulated transport. In the SHR there was an age-dependent reduction in the effect of enalaprilat on Jv, and by 12 weeks no Ang II stimulation could be detected. Age-related changes in proximal tubular reabsorption could contribute to sodium retention in the young SHR and may reflect a more general pattern of inherited transport defects.


Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine the associations among moral reasoning, empathy, communication self-efficacy, and moral sensitivity and to determine predictors of nurses' moral sensitivity. Methods: Data were collected from 194 nurses in the Republic of Korea. Structured questionnaires consisted of the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, Defining Issues Test, Jefferson Scale of Empathy, and Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory. The collected data were analyzed using t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS ver. 21. Results: Nurses' moral sensitivities were significantly associated with frequency of ethical education, empathy, and communication self-efficacy. In hierarchical multiple regression models, the significant factors of nurses' moral sensitivity were age (β=.21, p=.044), the frequency of experience in ethics education (β=.18, p=.007), empathy (β=.32, p<.001), and communication self-efficacy (β=.25, p=.001), which explained 33.2% of the variance in nurses' moral sensitivity. Conclusion: Our study findings show that nurses' moral sensitivity could be enhanced by more frequent ethics education programs. In addition, nursing ethics education might be developed to include potential strategies to improve empathy and self-efficacy in communication for high levels of moral sensitivity in nurses.


Forms of acquiring knowledge have been changed by the increased use of Information and Communications Technology. Easy access to online content, which is not always reliable, allied to the profile of new students has led to a belief that the education system may require changes. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the profile of ICT use in morphology studies in Rio Grande do Norte health courses. The National Institute of Educational Studies and Research (INEP) database of higher education courses was used as the source for reviewing the existence of internet pages for the courses and subjects and the form of ICT use. It was found that, in April 2012, 69% of the courses had a website, which percentage had fallen to 59% by October of the same year. In terms of the institutions, 50% of the public universities had a page for their courses, against 75% of the private universities. Furthermore, none of the universities had any internet pages offering morphology content linked to the course website. In conclusion, ICT is being underused by health courses in Rio Grande do Norte state.


This study on a Study on Mental Health of High School Girls Students in Cuddalore District in relation to their certain selected variables was carried out by the investigator. Studies on mental health of pupils and teachers are equally important since they modify the classroom learning and development of desirable behaviour. There seems to be increasing interest in research relating to mental health. Learning is a highly complex problem in psychology adjustment means reaction to the demands and pressure of social environment imposed upon the individual. The Normative survey method is employed to collect the data. The present study is aimed at finding out the impact of independent variables viz., Community, Locality, Type of Management of the school, Education of the parent and Income of parent and student's mental health on the testing variables. The study has been conducted on a random sample of 350 Girls students studying in government and private high schools and higher secondary schools in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu. It is concluded that the mental health of the girl's students are average level. The community of the students does not play any role in Girls mental health scores. Government girl's school students are having more mental health level. Rural Girls students are having more mental health than the Urban Girls students, The Girls students whose parents are belonging to different educational status having similar mental health. The Girls students whose parents are belonging to different income level are having similar mental health. There is no significant difference among the Girls students who belongs to different communities in their mental health scores. There is significant difference between private and government school Girls students in their mental health. There is significant difference between rural and urban school Girls students in their mental health scores. There is no significant difference among the Girls students whose parents belongs to different occupations in their mental health.


We obtain sufficient conditions of stochastic equivalence of Gaussian random fields with special covariance function. These results generalize Doob's transformation (condition of stochastic equivalence of a Gaussian and a Wiener processes) to the case of random fields (condition of stochastic equivalence of a Gaussian process and a Brownian sheet). We look at the problem of finding the distribution of supremum of a Brownian sheet on a set with a dimension lower than the dimension of the field. We consider the probability of a Brownian sheet with a certain drift to attain zero level. The obtained results can significantly simplify the problem of finding distributions of functionals of a Brownian sheet by reducing it to the problem of finding distributions on parallelepipeds with dimension lower than the dimension of the field. We consider examples that verify validity of the obtained theorem by modeling corresponding fields and comparing empirical probabilities with theoretical ones.


In many real time applications, especially those involving computer controlled systems, the application tasks often have a maximal acceptable latency, and small latency is preferred to large. The interaction between choosing task periods to meet the individual latency requirements and scheduling the resulting task set was investigated by D. Seto et al. (1996) using dynamic priority scheduling methods. We present algorithms based on static priority scheduling methods to determine optimal periods for each task in the task set. The solution to the period selection problem optimizes a system wide performance measure, subject to meeting the maximal acceptable latency requirements of each task. The paper also contributes to a new aspect of rate monotonic scheduling, the optimal design of task periods in connection with application related timing specifications and task set schedulability.


The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of learned helplessness and self-care agency in dialysis patients and the relationship between learned helplessness and self-care agency.
The subjects were 168 dialysis patients who were undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis from 1 university hospital, 1 hospital, 1 hemodialysis center in Seoul, 1 hospital in Incheon, Korea.
The data were collected with two interview questionnaires which were Learned Helplessness Scale (LHS) and Self-as-Carer Inventory (SCI). The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test, One-way ANOVA and Pearson Correlation with SPSSWIN program.
Results were obtained as follows :
1) The mean scores of learned helplessness were 45.93(range 20-80). The mean learned helplessness scores of peritoneal dialysis patient and hemodialysis (HD) patient were not different significantly. However by the aging process, the mean scores of learned helplessness has a tendency to get higher and who had a job were likely to low score of learned helplessness.
2) The mean scores of self-care agency were 142.48 (range 33-198). The mean self-care agency scores of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patient much higher than the score of it with hemodialysis. The score of self-care agency were significantly different between peritoneal dialysis patient and hemodialysis patient. The patients who have job were likely to be higher score of self-care agency than other groups.
3) There was significant relationship between the score of learned helplessness and self-care agency.
In conclusion, there was an inverse relationship between learned helplessness and self-care agency in dialysis patients. Considering this, the high level of learned helplessness of dialysis patients should be intervened by nurse with a well developed edicational program or cognitive behavioral therapy.


The task of buildup of frequency efficiency in cellular communication networks in process of transmission of signals through multibeam channels is considered. The procedure of selection of parameters of MIMO-system has been proposed. Given technique considerably increases the capacity of the system under the condition of intercell interference.


Introduction An estimated 7000 infants are born to HIV+ mothers yearly. A 1994 study showed chemoprophylaxis with zidovudine reduced perinatal HIV transmission rate from 25.5% to 8.3%, representing a large potential cost savings. Objective The purpose of this study is to compare the total cost of care for infants born into the pre-prophylaxis era (pre-1994) versus the current prophylaxis era (post-1994). Methods A convenience sample of total costs of 47 paediatric patients born to HIV-infected mothers and treated at a specialty clinic from 1986 to 2007. The three main cost components in 1999 dollars include hospitalisations, outpatient visits and drugs. Results The 9-year cost per HIV+ patient born in the pre-prophylaxis era was US$154 700 and US$106 149 for those born HIV+ in the prophylaxis era who did not receive prophylaxis (p>0.47). HIV– patient costs were approximately the same regardless of prophylaxis received (US$3625 vs US$2614). In the pre-prophylaxis era, drugs represented 50% and hospitalisations 41% of total costs of HIV+ children. In contrast, drugs accounted for 68% and hospitalisation only 20% of total costs for the prophylaxis era HIV+ child. Total annual care cost for children born into the pre-prophylaxis era was US$8.1M versus US$5.6M for those born into the current prophylaxis era, resulting in a US$2.5M annual cost savings. Conclusion This is the first longitudinal look at HIV paediatric costs from the disease's emergence, and provides an example of a success in the development of preventive medicine protocols. The prophylaxis era's success in decreasing transmission rates is also reflected in the cost-savings shown here.


Patients, family members encouraged to make a phone call when there is a change in the patient's condition. Educational brochures, reminders throughout hospital help keep families, patients engaged. Staff education reviews the purpose of program, benefits to patient safety.


A new, sensitive and simple spectrofluorometric method for the determination of thiabendazole (TBZ) residues was studied. TBZ on Sephadex G-15 gel, pH 4.70 acetate buffer, is fixed to give fluorescence. The fluorescence of the gel-TBZ system, packed in a 1-mm quartz cell was measured directly using a solid-surface attachment. The applicable concentration range was 1.5-10.0 ng.mL-1 with a relative standard deviation of 1.4% and a detection limit of 0.1 ng.mL-1. The method was applied to the determination of thiabendazole in natural, waste, sea, and residual waters (98-100% recovery). The method is more sensitive and selective than other methods described in the literature. The presence of other fluorescent pesticides (dichlone, carbaryl, morestan, o-phenylphenol) with similar spectral features (lambda exc and lambda em neighboring to excitation and emission wavelengths of the TBZ) did not cause interference.


Wood and soils are important natural resources from the environment and serves mankind well respectively as structural materials and natural platform erecting such materials. With shortfalls of naturally durable timber species for protected in-ground uses under Malaysian environments, Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated woods are widely used instead, incurring serious potential threats of preservative leaching from wood to the surrounding soil environment. This paper highlights a laboratory study into the relationship of the physical and chemical properties of main soil types of Sarawak, Malaysia, i.e. red-yellow podzolic, grey-white podzolic, gley, podzols and peat soil, on CCA leaching resistance or susceptibility from three treated wood species rubberwood sapwood (Hevea brasiliensis), engkabang undifferentiated wood (Shorea macrophylla) and mangium heartwood (Acacia mangium) materials in shallow soil-burial according to the AWPA E20-04 laboratory test methodology. Statistically significant (P<0.05) variations were detected between wood species as well as leaching of CCA and its component heavy metals. Engkabang wood yielded the highest overall mean CCA losses [620 ppm (44.0 %)] while A. mangium heartwood had the least mean CCA metal losses [374 ppm (26.0 %)] among the treated woods. Arsenic showed the highest deposition [757 ppm (53.0 %)] compared with chromium [370 ppm (26.0 %)] and copper [295 ppm (21.0 %)] among different soils. Overall, leaching of Cu, Cr and As was higher in more acidic soils, while soil macronutrient (N, P, Ca and Mg), micronutrient (Zn, Mn) levels, pH, cation exchange capacity, organic matter content and soil microbial count have significant (P< 0.05) negative correlations to leaching losses of one or all of Cu, Cr and As.


ABSTRACT The study aimed to: (1) know the type of pests and predator that lived during the growth and production of strawberry plants, (2) know the populations of pests associated to the strawberry plants during vegetative and generative development stages until harvest time. The methodology used was Descriptive Method. Sampling the pests associated to strawberry plants was taken by the Method of Deliberate (Purposive Sampling Method). In the vegetative stage, the plants were in 2-10 weeks after planting, and the generative stage of flowering plants until harvest time, or age 11-20 weeks after planting. The results showed that, the pests on strawberry plants growth and development in both vegetative and generative stages, i.e.: seven order were included in nine families, those were: order Orthoptera with Acrididae and Grylotalpidae families; order Coleoptera with Curculionidae and Chrysomelidae families; order Lepidoptera with Pyralidae families; order Diptera with Drosophilidae families; order Homoptera with Aphididea families; order Acari with Tetranychidae families, and order Mollusca. There were six types of pests which destroyed the leaves on  the vegetative phase, i.e.: Acida turita , Locusta sp., Valanga nigricornis , Chrysocus auratus , Tetranychus sp. and Aphis sp., and a kind of destructive root, that was Gryllotalpha sp. There were 11 types of pests in the generative phase, consisted of: a) six pest species destroyed the leaf, i.e.: Acida turita , Locusta sp., Valanga nigricornis , Chrysocus auratus , Tetranychus sp., and Aphis sp.; b) two kinds of fruit pests, those were : Drosphila sp. and Filicaulis bleekeri , c) as well as a type of root pest was Gryllotalpha sp. Keywords : population type and plant pests and predators; strawberry plants


Cancer is a major cause of death and the number of new cases as well as the number of individuals living with cancer is expanding continuously. Due to the enormous propensity of plants that synthesize mixture of structurally derived bioactive compounds, the plant kingdom is potentially diverse source of chemical constituents with murine leukemia activity. Plant derived compounds have played an important role in the development of several clinically useful anticancer agents having activity against murine leukemia. These include vinca alkaloids, lignans, terpenoids, quinines and phytochemicals such as flavones, flavonoids, flavonol. The active compounds which have been isolated from various plant sources are listed, classified and discussed in terms of their activity against murine leukemia cells. Structure-activity relationship has been studied for further development of compounds which show activity against leukemia cells.


Individuals' willingness to pay for public goods and services is a central concept in the analyses of public expenditures and of the performance of political institutions. This concept has proved very difficult to measure, both in the aggregate and for different groups of individuals. This paper presents the results of an approach based on the use of survey data and statistical estimation to make these measurements. The advantages of this approach are the ability directly to relate the measure to the proper theoretical concept and to estimate individual demands so that analyses of the equity implications of alternative policies can be discussed. Application of these measures and of the additional information derived from the individual level estimations is discussed.


How to generate human like response is one of the most challenging tasks for artificial intelligence. In a real application, after reading the same post different people might write responses with positive or negative sentiment according to their own experiences and attitudes. To simulate this procedure, we propose a simple but effective dual-decoder model to generate response with a particular sentiment, by connecting two sentiment decoders to one encoder. To support this model training, we construct a new conversation dataset with the form of (post, resp1, resp2) where two responses contain opposite sentiment. Experiment results show that our dual-decoder model can generate diverse responses with target sentiment, which obtains significant performance gain in sentiment accuracy and word diversity over the traditional single-decoder model. We will make our data and code publicly available for further study.


Most cases of appendiceal mucoceles present as acute appendicitis however symptomatology of appendiceal mucoceles is usually nonspecific: very large lesions can be asymptomatic in up to 25% of patients. All mucoceles should be removed to prevent the chance of progression to malignancy. Therapy requires surgical intervention and the extent of resection depends on the dimensions and histology of the mucocele. Careful handling of the specimen is required to prevent inadvertent spillage of the contents which can lead to the worst complication, pseudomyxoma peritonei. In this case a large mucinous cystadenoma was encountered along with an incidental finding, a left renal cell carcinoma of the kidney. No perforation or spillage of mucinous material was fortunately encountered at the time of exploration.


A number of previous studies have reported that dysregulated miR-184 expression is associated with the development of cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of miR-184 in prostate cancer (PC) and the mechanism underlying its effects. Data from human tumor tissue samples were collected from The CEancer Genome Atlas to determine the expression levels of miR-184 and DLX1. The miR-184 mimic and pcDNA3.1-DLX1 plasmid were utilized to induce overexpression of miR-184 and DLX1 in Du145 cells, respectively. Cell Counting Kit-8, wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to examine the effects of miR-184 on the aggressiveness of PC cells. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to investigate the association between miR-184 and DLX1, and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analyses were utilized to determine the mRNA and protein levels. miR-184 expression was found to be downregulated whereas DLX1 was upregulated in PC tissues compared with normal prostate tissues. Cell propagation, migration and invasion were all inhibited by miR-184 upregulation in Du145 cells. Dual luciferase reporter assay confirmed the association between miR-184 and DLX1. The inhibitory effect of miR-184 mimic on cell behaviors was reversed by upregulation of DLX1. These findings suggest that miR-184 plays a beneficial role in suppressing the tumorigenesis of PC by directly targeting DLX1, and it may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for PC.


Obtaining the exact position of accumulated calcium on the inner walls of coronary arteries is critical for successful angioplasty procedures. For the first time to our knowledge, in this work, we present a high accuracy imaging of the inner coronary artery using microwaves for precise calcium identification. Specifically, a cylindrical catheter radiating microwave signals is designed. The catheter has multiple dipole-like antennas placed around it to enable a 360° field-of-view around the catheter. In addition, to resolve image ambiguity, a metallic rod is inserted along the axis of the plastic catheter. The reconstructed images using data obtained from simulations show successful detection and 3D localization of the accumulated calcium on the inner walls of the coronary artery in the presence of blood flow. Considering the space and shape limitations, and the highly lossy biological tissue environment, the presented imaging approach is promising and offers a potential solution for accurate localization of coronary atherosclerosis during angioplasty or other related procedures.


Background In previous studies, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) use was associated with increased bone loss, while an angiotensin II type I receptor blocker had no effect on bone loss in elder subjects, which suggested that the effect of ACEI on bone loss was not mediated through the classical renin-angiotensin system. In this study, we set to investigate whether the effect of ACEI on bone deterioration was mediated via the kinin-kallikrein system. Methods Six-month-old male and female spontaneously hypertensive rats were used. The effect of captopril on blood pressure, serum Ang II, and bradykinin concentration was measured in intact rats. Ovariectomy and orchidectomy were performed to establish an osteoporosis model in female and male rats, respectively. Captopril and the bradykinin receptor blocker icatibant (HOE140) were administered after operation for 12 weeks. Serum Ang II and bradykinin concentration, bone turnover markers, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone microarchitecture were evaluated. Femur samples were subjected to a mechanical test. Results Captopril decreased blood pressure and serum Ang II concentration and increased serum bradykinin concentration in intact rats (P < 0.05). After castration, captopril decreased serum Ang II concentration (P < 0.05); in female rats, icatibant increased serum Ang II concentration (P < 0.05). Captopril increased serum bradykinin concentration (P < 0.05); in male rats, icatibant decreased serum bradykinin concentration (P < 0.05). Captopril increased the rat urine deoxypyridinoline-creatinine ratio (DPD/Cr) and serum osteocalcin concentration (P < 0.05). Icatibant decreased urine DPD/Cr in male rats (P < 0.05) and increased osteocalcin concentration in female rats (P < 0.05). Captopril increased cancellous BMD in castrated hypertensive rats (P < 0.05), and icatibant further increased cancellous BMD (P < 0.05), which was due to the increased trabecular bone number. In mechanical testing, ACEI increased bone strength (P < 0.05), and icatibant further improved it (P < 0.05). Conclusion ACEI decreased bone deterioration in both male and female hypertensive rats, and the bradykinin receptor blocker further decreased bone deterioration.


The main objective of this study was to develop the supercritical heat transfer correlation applicable for organic fluids when flowing upward in smooth tubes based on the available experimental data. The organic fluids contain R-22, R-134a, R-245fa and Ethanol and the associated heat transfer characteristics were compared with non-organic fluids like water and carbon-dioxide (CO2). It was found that the limit heat flux may result in heat transfer deterioration (HTD) of organic fluid and the corresponding values are much smaller than water or CO2. A new criterion to predict the HTD was developed and this criterion yields the best predictive ability against database. It was found that HTD occurs can be well described by the acceleration parameter evaluated at the wall condition rather than at bulk condition. For estimation of the supercritical heat transfer coefficient (HTC) for organic fluid, the present study proposes a new correlation with a physically based correction factor, which gives satisfactory predictions against the HTC of supercritical organic fluid. The new correlation can offer the smallest average deviation of 0.007 and standard deviation of 0.181 among the existing correlations.


Theatre-for-Development is becoming a fast rising theatre genre in Nigeria and Africa as a whole because of its focus on Development. The issue of development especially of rural communities in Nigeria has become a worrisome issue to Theatre Practitioners. It is no new phenomenon that the mainstream development strategies have so far failed to carry most of the rural communities along, neither is it also new that modes of communication the elites and the ruling class have employed have disregarded the rural populace who also consist of majority of the poor. TFD over the years in Nigeria is evolving to intervene in so many issues that will foster development in rural communities. The University of Abuja TFD Project, 2006 focused on Theatre and the Environment. This paper aims to contribute in the ongoing discourse that places TFD in a strategic position in theatre practice and development studies in Nigeria. The 2006 TFD project was carried out in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT. The theme: Theatre and the Environment seemed apt because of the state of the surroundings in Gwagwalada. This paper also seeks to tease out ways theatre can contribute to protecting the environment.


Suppose that $X_1,X_2,\ldots$ are a stream of independent, identically distributed Poisson random variables with mean $\mu$. This work presents a new estimate $\mu_k$ for $\mu$ with the property that the distribution of the relative error in the estimate ($(\hat \mu_k/\mu) - 1$) is known, and does not depend on $\mu$ in any way. This enables the construction of simple exact confidence intervals for the estimate, as well as a means of obtaining fast approximation algorithms for high dimensional integration using TPA. The new estimate requires a random number of Poisson draws, and so is best suited to Monte Carlo applications. As an example of such an application, the method is applied to obtain an exact confidence interval for the normalizing constant of the Ising model.


Dudley Andrew is a master at making the world of film theory accessible to a largely mystified public. Since the publication of his Major Film Theories, a classic in the field, the sophistication of the debate concerning the proper approach to film has grown. It is now the province of critics and universities instead of directors and artists, and this book concentrates on the main areas of the debate rather than on the individual figures. Andrew provides lucid explanations of theories which involve perceptual psychology and structuralism; semiotics and psychoanalysis; hermeneutics and genre study. Throughout he presents his own strong views on the relationship of film theory to criticism, history, and analysis. His clear approach to often obscure theories goes a long way towards bringing an important area of cultural discussion out of its academic exile.


BACKGROUND
Endometrial cancer is a common cause of death in gynecological malignancies. Cisplatin is a clinically chemotherapeutic agent. However, drug-resistance is the primary cause of treatment failure.

OBJECTIVE
Emodin is commonly used clinically to increase the sensitivity of chemotherapeutic agents, yet whether Emodin promotes the role of Cisplatin in the treatment of endometrial cancer has not been studied.

METHOD
CCK-8 kit was utilized to determine the growth of two endometrial cancer cell lines, Ishikawa and HEC-IB. The apoptosis level of Ishikawa and HEC-IB cells was detected by Annexin V / propidium iodide double-staining assay. ROS level was detected by DCFH-DA and NADPH oxidase expression. Expressions of drug-resistant genes were examined by real-time PCR and Western blotting.

RESULTS
Emodin combined with Cisplatin reduced cell growth and increased the apoptosis of endometrial cancer cells. Co-treatment of Emodin and Cisplatin increased chemosensitivity by inhibiting the expression of drugresistant genes through reducing the ROS levels in endometrial cancer cells. In an endometrial cancer xenograft murine model, the tumor size was reduced and animal survival time was increased by co-treatment of Emodin and Cisplatin.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates that Emodin enhances the chemosensitivity of Cisplatin on endometrial cancer by inhibiting ROS-mediated expression of drug-resistance genes.


77?e objectives of this research are explore and discribethe roleand contribution oflaw to franchise development. Toachive this objectives researcher conduct empirical legal research. Primary data col lectedby structuredinterview, andsecondarydata collected by content identification. Data analysis using editing analysis style (textual analysis ). The resultofthisresearch showedthatthe lawhave significantcontribution to franchise development on legality and bonafidityforeign franchisorand protectsmall and andmedium business as franchisee by determine time of franchise contract, content of franchise contract, disclosure of franchise prospectus, franchise regristation facilities, and support small and medium business joint the intemational franchise expo. The impact of this research, the goverment created a franchise act.


Even tough the ultimate etiologic and pathogenic mechanisms of mediastinal fibrosis are not quite established, several causes have been mentioned as the more frequent inducers, such as histoplasmosis, tuberculosis and other granulomatous diseases. Generally the diagnosis is suggested by a hilar or mediastinal mass, which is seen in thorax radiography, because 40% of patients are asymptomatic. Exeresis of fibrotic Magma is difficult because usually there is no separation with trachea neither with superior cava vein. That is why many times we have to restricted ourselves to the surgical approach on the complications. The present work discusses three new cases of mediastinal fibrosis.


It was shown that gamma-radiation-induced oxidation of phenol compounds in the animal liver, which leads to o-dioxyphenols and quinones accretion, is one of the reasons for excluding cytochrome c from the respiratory chain of mitochondria. Radiochemical oxidation of tyrosil groups at the protein site of cytochrome c and, as a result, the restriction in the rate of reduction of the latter were noted. On the basis of the data obtained the authors discuss the mechanism of weakening the coupling of oxidation to phosphorylation upon irradiation and the molecular mechanism of the so-called cytochrome effect.


This paper investigates the effect of the nonzero autocorrelation coefficients on the sampling distributions of the Durbin-Watson test estimator in three time-series models that have different variance-covariance matrix assumption, separately. We show that the expected values and variances of the Durbin-Watson test estimator are slightly different, but the skewed and kurtosis coefficients are considerably different among three models. The shapes of four coefficients are similar between the Durbin-Watson model and our benchmark model, but are not the same with the autoregressive model cut by one-lagged period. Second, the large sample case shows that the three models have the same expected values, however, the autoregressive model cut by one-lagged period explores different shapes of variance, skewed and kurtosis coefficients from the other two models. This implies that the large samples lead to the same expected values, 2(1 – p0), whatever the variance-covariance matrix of the errors is assumed. Finally, comparing with the two sample cases, the shape of each coefficient is almost the same, moreover, the autocorrelation coefficients are negatively related with expected values, are inverted-U related with variances, are cubic related with skewed coefficients, and are U related with kurtosis coefficients.


Usnic acid is a marker compound produced from numerous lichens (symbiotic association of mycobiont and phycobiont) possessing higher bioavailability, potent and selective against cancer cells. Usnic acid is an underutilized and well-documented anti-cancer compound from lichens and its activity is not yet documented against cervical cancer. The main aim of the present research is to screen the anti-cancer potential of usnic acid against cervical cancer target proteins. The drug-likeness validation of usnic acid shows nil violations against all drug-likeness rules when compared with all three screened anti-cancer standard drugs and shows some violation in drug likeness prediction. Further, ADMET screening reveals usnic acids shows effective pharmacokinetic profiles with good bioactivity scores, essential for drug delivery and metabolism. DFT analysis of usnic acid reveals less energy gap (-0.1184), hardness (0.0592 eV), and high softness (16.8918 eV) scores against three anti-cancer drug DFT scores. Molecular docking study shows usnic acid possesses excellent binding affinity with all the nine screened cervical cancer target proteins with docking scores ranging from -6.9 to -9.1 kcal/mol. Three anti-cancer drugs showed docking scores with a range of -5.2 to -8.4 kcal/mol. Further, four top-scored complexes were taken for molecular dynamic simulation study reveal that usnic acid complexes (1KTZ-usnic acid and 2BIM-usnic acid) possess good simulation trajectories with cervical cancer target proteins than the selected anti-cancer drugs.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.


The aim of this article is to provide essential information for hepatologists, who primarily care for adults, regarding liver‐based inborn errors of metabolism with particular reference to those that may be treatable with liver transplantation and to provide adequate references for more in‐depth study should one of these disease states be encountered. Liver Transpl 14:713–733, 2008. © 2008 AASLD.


We show how quantitative information about proton handling in human skeletal muscle in exercise and recovery can be obtained by 31P MRS and illustrate this with data from metabolic disorders. Proton production, proton efflux and passive buffering can be distinguished by comparing changes in [phosphocreatine] and pH at the end of exercise and by calculating ATP turnover during ischaemic exercise and in the 'natural experiment' of myophosphorylase deficiency (McArdle's disease). We calculate the effective buffer capacity to be 20–30 mmol/L/pH unit (slykes), somewhat lower than published measurements made in vitro but similar to other values obtained in vivo. This analysis is applied to data from normal muscle and a variety of disease states to estimate proton efflux during recovery and ATP production during exercise: (i) proton efflux during recovery is pH‐dependent, reaching a 10 mmol/L/min at pH 6.2, and is increased in some cases of mitochondrial myopathy and in hypertension; (ii) glycogenolytic ATP production during exercise can reach 25 mmol/L/min in normal muscle and correlates approximately with [Pi] at the start of aerobic exercise and throughout ischaemic exercise; (iii) oxidative ATP production can reach 20–25 mmol/L/min and (as during recovery) correlates approximately with [Pi].


Abstract The relationship between rs3746444 T>C single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in microRNA (mir)-499 and risk of gastric cancer (GC) has been widely investigated. However, the association was still unconfirmed. Here, we first recruited 490 GC patients and 1476 controls, and conducted a case-control study. And we did not find any association between rs3746444 T>C SNP polymorphism and risk of GC. Subsequently, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association of mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphism with GC development. Two authors searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases up to October 15, 2019 independently. Finally, nine literatures involving 12 independent studies were included. In total, 3954 GC cases and 9745 controls were recruited for meta-analysis. The results suggested that allele model, homozygote model and recessive model could increase the risk of overall GC (P = 0.002, 0.009 and 0.013, respectively). When we excluded the studies violated HWE, this association was also found in allele model (P = 0.020) and dominant model (P= 0.044). In subgroup analyses, we identified that rs3746444 SNP in mir-499 increased the risk of GC in Asians and gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma (GCA) subgroups. No significant bias of selection was found (all P>0.1). Test of sensitivity analysis indicated that our findings were stable. Additionally, we found that the power value was 0.891 in the allele model, suggesting the reliability of our findings. In summary, our analysis confirmed the association between rs3746444 and the risk of GC, especially in Asians and in patients with GCA.


This study uses data from a 2006 survey on potential AI outbreak in USA to explore application of risk perceptions as a segmentation tool in the poultry meat market. Preliminary results from principal component analysis (PCA) suggest that the poultry meat specific safety level will drive people consumption choices in AI outbreak. Based on the perceived safety level, poultry meat product market was categorized into: (1) the home cooked and familiar brands; (2) the technological/novel; and (3) organic/fast food poultry products. The results further show differential public trust AI advice across institutions.


A kinetic model is put forward for the study of the antigen-antibody reactions involved in the coated tube radioimmunoassay (RIA) of androstendione. Twenty experiments were conducted to determine the influence of initial concentrations, ionic strength, viscosity, and temperature on the substitution reaction of 125I-androstendione (M) by unlabelled androstendione (Q) in the immunocomplex PM (P = anti-androstendione antibody). The results obtained are in line with the proposed model. The concentration of radioactive immunocomplex is directly proportional to the initial concentration of labelled androstendione and independent of the concentration of unlabelled androstendione, ionic strength, and viscosity. The reaction is not diffusion-controlled.


This study investigates the predictive capability of the Piotroski F-Score model in forecasting stock returns during two distinct periods following the issuance of the LQ45 index. The rationale behind dividing the testing periods lies in their temporal proximity to the announcement of audited financial statements, with period 1 being close to this announcement and period 2 occurring eight months thereafter. Such differing time intervals can potentially lead to varying investor decisions. The results of regression analysis, conducted on a sample of 30 consistently listed LQ45 stocks spanning from 2020 to 2022, reveal that the Piotroski F-Score exhibits a positive impact on stock returns during period 1, whereas its influence diminishes during period 2."


Two separate frameworks have existed for the analysis of social predicaments in which businesses play a role: issues management and stakeholder management. In this paper, we argue that the chasm dividing these two literatures is artificial, and potentially obstructive to the advancement of our knowledge of the position of business in contemporary societies. The position we take in the present paper is that all social predicaments have an issues side as well as a stakeholder side and that a dual focus on both issues and stakeholders is therefore essential to understanding the evolution of these predicaments and crucial to managerial dealings with these issues. We present an integrative co-evolutionary framework, explaining the dynamics between issues and stakeholders in all consecutive stages of a predicament's evolution. The framework proposes a new way of thinking about issues and stakeholders, as such facilitates a deeper understanding of how the social environment of business is constituted, and offers new insights for the practical management of issues and stakeholders.


Frizzled-6 (FZD6) gene, located on chromosome 8 (8q22.3-q23.1), encodes a seven-transmembrane-spanning protein belonging to the frizzled family of receptors for the Wnt (Wingless/Int-1) ligands. FZD6 is classified as G-protein-coupling receptor with a prevalent role in the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway, a series of steps that affect the way cells and tissues develop. Specifically, FZD6-mediated Wnt signaling is important for cell division (proliferation), adhesion and cellular movement (migration). It is active in many tissues and is involved during embryonic development, immune cells maturation and hematopoietic regeneration. After the Wnt-ligands binding, FZD6 protein is triggered at the cell surface to send signals into the cell and to initiate the Wnt signaling pathway. The encoded protein contains a signal peptide, a cysteine-rich domain (CRD) in the extracellular N-terminal region, and seven transmembrane domains, but unlike other family members, this protein does not contain a C-terminal PDZ binding-domain motif. This protein acts as a negative regulator of the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling cascade, thereby inhibiting the processes that trigger oncogenic transformation and inhibition of apoptosis. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants, some of which do not encode a protein with a predicted signal peptide.


Early clinical and physiological speculations about a special motor system for mammalian muscle tone appeared to be disproved by the correlation of electrical (motor unit) activity with muscle contraction, and conversely, of electrical silence with the resting state.1,2However, evidence accumulated in the last decade indicates that such a system does, indeed, exist, although not in the sense of a mechanism that produces tonic muscular contraction directly. The efferent innervation of muscle spindle tension receptors by a special group of ventral spinal root fibers was first suggested by the finding that stimulation of the small (gamma) ventral root fibers (comprising about 25% of the total in the cat) produced no further muscle shortening beyond that produced by stimulation of the large (alpha) motor fibers.3Leksell4first directly confirmed this function of the gamma efferent (fusimotor) fibers. The sensitivity of muscle spindle stretch receptors is modulated by the


Although government facilities made the utmost efforts to encourage influenza vaccine immunization for children less than 3 years of age in Taiwan during the flu season, due to the confidence crisis caused by the H1N1 influenza vaccine, the inoculation rate has still significantly dropped. Through this investigation, we will try to understand the vaccine information sources of caregivers, the reasons for not bringing children for vaccination, the influencing factors in the changes in inoculation willingness in the future, and plan future communication strategies accordingly.The investigated subjects focused in this study consist of main caregivers of infants and children above 6 months of age and under 3 years of age. During the period between March 18(superscript th) and 20(superscript th) of 2011, random selections were made via telephone interviews, accomplishing a total of 1,090 valid samples. The results of the investigation show, at one time, 67.5% of children caregivers mainly receive vaccine-related information from "television news reports"; however, referential information that influences the decision in inoculating the children or not is mainly received by "consulting physicians" (63.5%). In the past, the main reason for not inoculating their children is due to the "fear of side effects of vaccines." Through analysis, it was found that factors tended to "maintain inoculation" included those who show a higher cognitive towards the high susceptibility of children towards influenza, a higher level of acceptance towards the benefits of influenza vaccines, a lower level of concern towards the safety of new vaccines, a lower level of concern for side-effects of inoculation, inoculation appointments are recorded in Children Health Handbooks, physician who provide information and advice inquiry, and a higher confidence in government prevention measures.It is recommended that first-line public health personnel use the Children Health Handbooks and make appointments for influenza vaccine inoculating, and with the professional status of physicians, provide medical information and advice in aiding children caregivers to establish correct health concepts, clarify doubts about possible side effects of vaccines.


Intratonsillar abscess is a rare clinical condition in patients who present with odynophagia. We report the case of a 33-year-old man who presented with odynophagia, unilateral tonsillar enlargement with palatal fullness, and deviation of the uvula. Failed attempts at drainage of a presumptive peritonsillar abscess and a worsening of signs and symptoms led to a clinical suspicion of a parapharyngeal abscess. Computed tomography of the neck detected a 2.6 x 2.3-cm intratonsillar abscess. The abscess was drained, and the patient's signs and symptoms resolved. Our review of the current English-language literature revealed that only 8 such cases have been previously reported. We report this new case to increase awareness of this condition, to demonstrate the diagnostic difficulty in such cases, and to discuss the pathophysiology of intratonsillar abscess formation.


The presence of driver mutations and subsequent clonal expansion by Darwinian evolution does not explain dormancy and re-emergence of cancer from a community of cancer and host cells (including stromal and immune cells). Dormancy appears to be a slow-driven, interaction-dominated, threshold system which is poorly prognosed. At the simplest level, we view cancer cells interacting with host cells via complex, non-linear population dynamics, which can lead to very non-intuitive but perhaps deterministic and understandable progression dynamics of cancer. We explore here the dynamics of host-cancer cell populations in the presence of (1) payoffs gradients and (2) perturbation due to cell migration to determine to what extent the time-dependence of the populations can be quantitatively understood in spite of the underlying complexity of the individual agents. The population dynamics presented here provide a model system for the clinic to map the payoffs matrices and suggest new avenues to predict drug dosages. Citation Format: Robert H. Austin. Game theory and personalized cancer treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; 2016 Jun 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(2 Suppl):Abstract nr IA04.


The Nutraceutical Bio Brain Korea 21 Project Group, Kangwon National University, Gangwon 200-701, KoreaAbstractThis study was carried out to estimate beneficial effects of medicinal plant [Oenanthe javanica (MNR), Coicis lachryma-jobi L. var. (YM), Plantaginis asiatica L. (CJJ)] water extracts on activities of key enzymes such as lipoprotein lipase (LPL), acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) and carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) on lipid metabolism. LPL and ACS were extracted from the epididymal adipose tissue and liver of Zucker lean rats (lean) and Zucker fatty rats (fa/fa). MNR or YM water extract treatment significantly reduced the activity of lean and fa/fa LPL. When 10000 ppm of MNR, YM, and CJJ water extracts were tested, they decreased fa/fa LPL activity by 32.5%, 30.1% and 22.8%, respectively. The lean ACS activity was significantly higher in YM water extract treatment compared to the control and the MNR water extract treatment significantly increased the activity of fa/fa ACS, compared to the activity in the control (p<0.05). MNR water extract activated fa/fa ACS activity by 12-fold compared with control at 10000 ppm concentration. CAT activity was significantly higher in 10000 ppm and 20000 ppm CJJ water extract treatment than in the control. Thus, the MNR, YM and CJJ water extracts may have beneficial effects due to activities of enzymes related with fat metabolism in obese humans.Key words: obesity, acyl-CoA synthetase, lipoprotein lipase, carnitine acetyl transferase, medicinal plant


In all anthropoid species, the coding region of the involucrin gene contains a segment of short tandem repeats that were added sequentially, beginning in a common anthropoid ancestor. The involucrin coding region of each of two platyrrhine species, the white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons) and the cottontop tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), has now been cloned and sequenced. These genes share with the genes of the catarrhines the repeats added in the common anthropoid lineage (the early region). After their divergence, the platyrrhines, like the catarrhines, continued to add repeats vectorially 5' of the early region, to form a middle region. The mechanism that was established in the common anthropoid lineage for the addition of repeats at a definite site in the coding region was transmitted to both platyrrhines and catarrhines, enabling each to generate its middle region independently. The process of vectorial repeat addition continued in two platyrrhine sublineages after their divergence from each other.


The formation mechanism of ice banding in the system of freezing colloidal suspensions, which is of significance in frost heaving, ice-templating porous materials and biological materials, is still a mystery. Recently, the theory of secondary nucleation and growth of ice has been proposed to explain the emergence of a new ice lens. However, this theory has not been quantitatively examined. Here, we quantitatively measure the initial interfacial undercooling of a new ice lens and the nucleation undercoolings of suspensions. We find that the interfacial undercooling cannot satisfy the nucleation undercooling of ice and hence disprove the secondary nucleation mechanism for ice banding.


Objective: To find the magnitude of clinically overt hypocalcaemia post-total thyroidectomy and its relation with the age of the patient.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Bahawalpur Pakistan, from Jan 2017 to Dec 2019.
Methodology: Sixty patients who were to undergo total thyroidectomy were included in the study in strict compliance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were divided into two groups according to their ages. In Group-A, patients younger than 50 and Group-B, patients older than 50 years were included. All the patients were followed up by clinical examination for the development of clinically overt hypocalcaemia and confirmed by measurement of serum calcium.
Results: Mean age of the patients was 42.75±13.05 years, with an age range of 20 to 68 years. Of all the patients, 14(23.3%) were male, and 46(76.7%) were females. Seven patients in Group-A developed post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia clinically,whereas, in Group-B, only one developed this condition. Clinical post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia developed more often in the younger age group and these results were statistically significant (p= 0.023).
Conclusion: Clinically overt hypocalcaemia develops more often in younger patients after total thyroidectomy.Keywords: Biochemical hypocalcaemia, Clinical hypocalcaemia, Post thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia, Total thyroidectomy


A multi-rate sampled-data observer for nonlinear systems under asynchronous sampling is developed in this work. The proposed multi-rate observer is based on a continuous-time design coupled with inter-sample predictors for the sampled measurements. The sampled-data system with the multi-rate observer forms a hybrid system and it is shown that the error dynamics of the overall system is input-to-output stable with respect to measurement errors, by applying the KarafyllisJiang vector small-gain theorem. This sampled-data design also offers robustness with respect to perturbations in the sampling schedule. A numerical example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Coupled-reaction-channels calculations are presented for the 48Ca(3He,t)48Sc reaction at 33 MeV. The effective interactions for the direct reaction have been obtained using the Bertsch interactions and averaging over a realistic wavefunction. The single-nucleon transfer reactions (3He, alpha ) and (3He,d) have been fitted to obtain the normalisations for all the relevant two-step (sequential) processes. A simple shell-model configuration has been chosen for the bound states and for the corresponding spectroscopic amplitudes. There were no free parameters in the calculations. Good agreement was obtained for the differential cross sections and for the analysing powers of the low-J states, confirming that the (3He, alpha ) ( alpha ,t) process is dominant. Poor agreement was observed with the analysing power of the 0+ IAS.


The 12 chapters in this edited volume represent the written remains of a 1987 Society for American Archaeology "activity episode" (symposium at that year's annual meeting) entitled "Beyond Boundaries in Space and Time: The Utility of the Site Concept." The intent of the book is entirely methodological, the participants's substantive contributions being reported elsewhere. Of the 12 articles, four are conceptual discussions, one is mainly ethnoarchaeological, one is a simulation of hunter-gatherer site reuse, and six are archaeological case studies. The environmental settings are admirably varied, including the arid Southwest and Great Basin, Eastern Woodlands, maritime temperate Ireland, and European mountains. Fluvial landforms are strongly represented. Vegetation cover in the study areas varies from virtually none—so that artifacts are readily visible, as in Camilli and Ebert's tracts west of El Paso/ Juarez, where their automated piece-plotting can record artifacts by the tens of thousands—to the forested Connecticut River valley, where the investigators must rely on shovel tests. Despite this variety in where and under what conditions their archaeology is carried out, the book's individual contributors address a certain delimited segment of the total range of archaeological concerns. The main subject is the archaeology of food collectors, although there is also treatment of horticulturists and pastoralists, and some use of ethnoarchaeology. All of the studies focus on surface-survey method, although they also discuss a few excavations. The cases fall into the spatial scale of what we can call the locality, i.e., the areas actually surveyed range from a low of .1 km (two studies), through three cases between 2.0 and 10.0 km, to cases of 19, 25, and 78 km. The volume is of a piece, a single school of practice and guiding questions. All of the papers dwell on taphonomy and how what we see today archaeologically is not necessarily representative of past behavior. The contributors see this as one of the central problems of archaeology. Most contributors speak "landscape" (whether this dialect is productive will require additional empirical experience). Almost all address the question of whether the concept of "site" helps or hinders archaeological research (half say it helps, half say it obscures; all consider the debate significant). Methodology rather than theoretical explanation is the focus of the volume, but it is fair to point out that when the authors proffer explanations in passing, the causes are the familiar and conventional population pressure and environmental change. Their models are neoclassical foraging, environmental determinism, and even culture history. In scale, this school thinks locally, usually finding efficient causes no more than a stone's throw from the study area. Several chapters, but most notably Schlanger's, based on the Dolores Project in southwestern Colorado, and Jones and Beck's Great Basin examples, explore a recurrent methodological issue that will be familiar in the experience of many archaeological practitioners: how to date small, undiagnostic surface assemblages and relate them to better-dated sites and whole settlement systems. Both papers offer interesting and potentially viable solutions specific to their research contexts, but the conclusion remains that the placement of such assemblages will be no more precise than one's base chronology. One must applaud the investigations of Ebert and Camilli as the exemplar of the distributional approach. Their surface maps are huge and loaded with what at some level we hope is significant information; they work over the artifact and landform data with one sophisticated technique after another. They conclude that when you plot everything out, archaeology is extremely complicated. Camilli and Ebert paint a murky, gray world where there are no sites until the analyst makes clusters, where nothing apparent is real, a Le Carre world where even a facile natural formation process is hard to discern, and where the discovery of interesting behavioral patterns may take lifetimes of analysis, or may never come at all. Plotting every artifact in 400-x-400-m units is a wonderful thing, but the results are also wonderfully complicated. For example (and please pardon my necessary simplification), the investigators suspected that in their study area higher ground would deflate more than the bottoms of slopes, so more stone artifacts would be visible on the rises (giving the perhaps false impression of more occupation in that setting). And these stones would also have been visible to the prehistoric people, who would have reused the stone they found laying about, so the highground tool assemblages should differ in their lithicreduction qualities from the those at less-deflated, less visible (then and now) sites (I mean nonsites). This seems reasonable, but demonstrating it was another matter. In one of the key tests Camilli and Ebert found a slight but statistically significant tendency toward more lithic reduction in the artifact clusters of lowest visibility, but only in the clusters with the most artifacts. The authors qualify this conclusion and add several complicating factors as well. In the end I am awed by Camilli and Ebert's fine-grained field observations and highly competent, intricate analysis. But I wonder if the prospects for distributional archaeology would be brighter if the school were accustomed to asking better, more significant, anthropological questions?


BACKGROUND/AIM
Stomach cancer is the second most common cause of death from all malignant tumors in the world (third in men, fifth in women), with a strong decreasing trend in most developed countries. The aim of this descriptive epidemiological study was to analyze mortality of stomach cancer in Serbia, excluding the Province of Kosovo, in the 1991-2009 period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In data analysis, we used mortality rates which were standardized directly using those of the world population as a standard. In order to analyze the mortality trend from stomach cancer, linear trend and regression analysis were used. Confidence intervals (CIs) for the average age-adjusted and age-specific mortality rates were assessed with 95% level of probability. Mortality data were derived from the data file of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.

RESULTS
During the 1991-2009 period, a significant downward trend in mortality of stomach cancer was recorded in Serbia (y=9.78 - 0.13x, p=0.000; average annual percent change was - 6.3 (95%CI, -7.8 to - 4.8). During the same period, a significant decrease in mortality trend was found both in male (y=14.13 - 0.20x; p=0.000; % change was -7.7 (95%CI, -10.9 to -4.5) and female populations (y=6.27 - 0.08x; p=0.000; % change was - 4.4 (95%CI, -5.3 to -3.6).

CONCLUSION
Decreasing trends in mortality from stomach cancer in Serbia are similar to those in most developed countries.


BACKGROUND
Balance control in elderly patients is the area of interest of many researchers. The results of their studies suggest that the measurement of shifts in the centre of foot pressure on the support base (COP) can be used as a tool for identification of fall-prone persons. It is interesting whether there are any relations between functional status, gait, posture stability and the risk of falling. The aim of this study was to find the answer to this question.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study involved 20 patients (mean age 78.1+/-11.6). The functional status of the patients was evaluated according to the Barthel Index. Postural stability was assessed with the use of a Neurocom Balance Master platform. Three measurements were taken with visual feedback (eyes open-EO) and three without visual feedback (eyes closed-EC). Balance control was also evaluated with the Berg test and on the basis of the history of episodes of falling in the preceding six months. Gait was evaluated with the six-minute walking test.

RESULTS
The parameters recorded by the force platform showed a significant relation to the values obtained in the Berg test (r=-0.60; p<0.001 for EO and r=-0.58; p<0.001 for EC). Similar trends were noted for the relation between EO and distance/velocity as well as functional status (r=-0.63 and -0.68; p<0.001). On the other hand the number of falls showed a significant relation only to the EO test (r=0.4; p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
1. An evaluation of balance control with a force platform and the Berg test produced convergent results. 2. The incidence of falls was connected with increased body sway. 3. The functional status of the patient and the balance control evaluation according to the Berg test failed to determine the risk of falling. 4. A relation was observed between postural stability, functional status and gait.


PURPOSE: To assess quality of life in patients submitted to surgical treatment of congenital heart disease in infancy. Quality of life has been assessed over social sciences backgrounds, but we have focused on the patient self-perception of their disease and related problems too. METHODS: We studied 134 adolescents, age ranged from 12 to 19 year-old, of both sexes, with any congenital heart disease, submitted to surgical treatment in infancy. They answered a questionnaire that covered their clinical, social, emotional, education and professional status. RESULTS: Ninety one percent qualified their lives as good because were symptom-free and living well without and physical restriction. CONCLUSION: The school performance was similar to the overall population engaged in Brazilian public schools. Their feelings, social relations and future plans were equal to the normal adolescents.


OBJECTIVES
We assessed the relationship of state cigarette excise tax with cigarette sales, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, and periodontitis among US lifetime nonsmokers.

METHODS
Cigarette excise tax and per capita sales data from 1983 to 1998 were obtained for 50 states and the District of Columbia. Periodontal data were analyzed for 3137 adults in 28 states from 3 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles (1999-2004). Measures of periodontal pocket depth and attachment level were used to classify people with moderate or severe periodontitis. SHS exposure was classified according to gender- or race/ethnicity-specific thresholds of serum cotinine concentration. Statistical analysis adjusted for the complex survey design.

RESULTS
For each additional $0.10 in excise tax, predicted sales decreased by 0.74 packs per person per month and adjusted odds of moderate or severe periodontitis decreased 22% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62, 0.97). For each pack sold per person per month, adjusted odds of SHS exposure increased 28% (95% CI = 1.17, 1.40) and adjusted odds of periodontitis increased 15% (95% CI = 1.03, 1.29). Odds of periodontitis for those exposed to SHS were elevated 2-fold relative to those who were unexposed (OR = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.30, 3.20).

CONCLUSIONS
Cigarette excise tax may protect nonsmokers against periodontitis.


MHD flow in sheared magnetic field is studied, and a new system of equations has been derived. Theoretical and numerical analysis shows that it implies a strange attractor and the effect of the shear on the attractor exhibits some new phenomena.


Silkworm conditioning systems are widely popular due to enhancements observed in productivity and in resource efficiencies. However, limited knowledge is available on how intra-gut interspecific collaboration between the work and gut bacteria affects silk dry matter biomass production. The study was to study how gut bacteria, specifically fermicutes boost the dry silk production in Bombyx mori by altruistic/symbiotic interactions. Materials and methods Greenhouse experiments were carried out to test the yield, biomass, nutrient uptake, parameters of gut morphology traits and glycolysis in 2017, the experiment included three treatments: no barrier treatment (NB) allowing complete gut collaboration, mesh barrier (MB) of partial gut collaboration and solid barrier (SB) without any exchanges of water and nutrients and gut collaboration. Results The yield of silk production was increased by 53.6% and 27.8% in the treatments with complete gut collaborations compared to that without gut collaborations. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) acquisitions of silk proteins were 1.71, 1.97 and 1.47 times for silkworm, and 1.25, 1.21, and 1.19 times for firmicutes in complete gut collaborations as high as in no gut collaborations, respectively. The length and surface area was increased by 42.9% and 43.6% for silkworm, 62.4% and 58.8% for firmicutes in complete gut collaborations compared to that in no gut collaborations. The worm length, leave number and net photosynthetic rate of silkworm were significantly boosted, while there is no significant effect on firmicutes. Conclusions The improvement of yield and nutrient acquisition may result from silkworm morphological and functional pliability induced from altruistic collaborations of firmicutes. The results would contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the response of silkworm and firmicutes to the gut collaboration on the basis of interspecific facilitation for silkworm/firmicutes system.


An efficient pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC) self-calibration implementation is presented. The technique uses a highly linear on-chip analog ramp generator, performs a simplified on-chip integral nonlinearity (INL) measurement, and extracts the compensation coefficients. Except for the ramp generator, the whole calibration is performed in the digital domain and is done at the nominal ADC speed (at-speed). The approach does not require any modification to the original analog section of the ADC. The INL measurement can be carried off-chip to simplify the production testing or to perform performance verification in the application environment. Simulation and measurement results show an INL improvement of more than 2 bits (from /spl plusmn/2.1 LSB to /spl plusmn/0.5 LSB).


"Two negroes hanged," John Gabriel Stedman wrote in his Suriname journal for March 9, 1776, and then two days later, among his purchases of "soap, wine, tobacco, [and] rum" and his dinners with an elderly widow, he records, "A negro's foot cut off." Stedman expanded on these events in the later Narrative of his years as a Dutch–Scottish soldier fighting against the Suriname Maroons: And now, this being the period of the [court] sessions, another Negro's leg was cut off for sculking from a task to which he was unable, while two more were condemned to be hang'd for running away altogether. The heroic behavior of one of these men deserves particularly to be quotted, he beg'd only to be heard for a few moments, which, being granted, he proceeded thus–– "I was born in Africa, where defending my prince during an engagement, I was made a captive, and sold for a slave by my own countrimen. One of your countrimen, who is now to be my judge, became then my purchaser, in whose service I was treated so cruelly by his overseer that I deserted and joined the rebels in the woods . . ." To which his former master, who as he observed was now one of his judges, made the following laconick reply, "Rascal, that is not what we want to know. But the torture this moment shall make you confess crimes as black as yourself, as well as those of your hateful accomplices." To which the Negroe, who now swel'd in every vain with rage [replied, holding up his hands], "Massera, the verry tigers have trembled for these hands . . . and dare you think to threaten me with your wretched instrument? No, I despise the greatest tortures you can now invent, as much as I do the pitiful wrech who is going to inflict them." Saying which, he threw himself down on the rack, where amidst the most excruciating tortures he remained with a smile and without they were able to make him utter a syllable. Nor did he ever speak again till he ended his unhappy days at the gallows.


Background: Patients with breast cancer who refuse standard treatment often suffer from malignant wounds due to the growth of local tumors. However, treatment strategies for patients with unresectable locally advanced breast cancer who have refused standard treatment have been unclear.Case presentation: A 44-year-old female was diagnosed with breast cancer of mucinous carcinoma in the right breast. She refused standard treatment for her breast cancer for six years. She suddenly visited the emergency department because of acute bleeding from the right breast cancer with malignant wounds. Macroscopically, the tumor in the right breast measured over 20 cm in diameter. The tumor was exudative, exhibited ulceration and slight bleeding, and gave off an odor. Imaging findings showed multiple lymph node and bone metastases, and the final diagnosis was breast cancer of stage IV (cT4bN1M1). Although the surgeon recommended chemotherapy for the breast cancer, the patient refused to receive chemotherapy or other therapy due to concerns about complications during treatment. Considering the symptoms of advanced breast cancer with malignant wounds, she finally agreed to receive radiation therapy (RT). We performed RT of 70 Gy in 35 fractions over a period of 7 weeks. The tumor-associated symptoms were disappeared after RT. At three months after RT, the tumor had almost disappeared. We administered luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists after RT. At two years after RT, she died due to multiple liver metastases and appearance of ascites; however, there was no disease progression in the right breast.Conclusions: High-dose RT for local advanced breast cancer of MC with malignant wounds is therefore considered to be an effective therapeutic option.


Trajectories of a polarizable species (atoms or molecules) in the vicinity of a negatively charged nanoparticle (at a floating potential) are considered. The atoms are pulled into regions of strong electric field by polarization forces. The polarization increases the deposition rate of the atoms and molecules at the nanoparticle. The effect of the non-spherical shape of the nanoparticle is investigated by the Monte Carlo method. The shape of the non-spherical nanoparticle is approximated by an ellipsoid. The total deposition rate and its flux density distribution along the nanoparticle surface are calculated. It is shown that the flux density is not uniform along the surface. It is maximal at the nanoparticle tips.


This paper reports on research in progress on development of a supplier selection model for the maintenance department of a petrochemical firm in Thailand. Although there are various supplier selection models available, few if any have addressed the special needs of the petrochemical industry, which is highly competitive and has several conflicting internal factors including high price competition (requiring cost leadership and therefore operational cost controls), mission-critical quality requirements, and at least in Thailand a weak and fragmented supply chain and logistics network that can delay supplies and a shortage of key human resources and skills. The preliminary supplier selection model derived from the literature review incorporates six requirements which sometimes conflict, including cost, quality, time, reliability, flexibility, and human resources. The research in progress uses a mixed methods approach that incorporates interviews with industry experts to provide user, manager, and supplier perspectives, coupled with an industry survey of those involved in supplier selection. This research is expected to deliver a refined and reliable supplier selection model that can be used in practice to meet the needs of the Thai petrochemical industry for maintenance supplier selection and monitoring of outsourcing contracts and performance.


The qualitative research of this kejawen ethno-economic aims to reveal actions kejawen culture of hamemayu hayuning urip bebrayan. Culture staple seller of panunggalan community in Gede Traditional Market-Surakarta makes people together with buyers. This atmosphere makes selling price determination is not solely economic benefits as much as possible. Therefore, the cultural tradition of hamemayu hayuning urip bebrayan becomes an analytical tool. Data was collected through participant observation of the panunggalan community and scholars. The results show cultural mysticism affects selling the price-determining concept that combines economic and non-economic values. This combination makes selling activities profit and loss and a spiritual and social belief that God gives sustenance through the buyer. An achievement makes it easy for sellers to feel what the buyer feels and considers the buyer, not someone else. This inner and outer whole conviction gave rise to kejawen ethno-economic. Ethno-economics is a transaction activity based on sympathetic feelings and thoughts not to harm (rumangsa handarbeni) by prioritizing honesty and kindness between seller and buyer. The activities of economic actors originate from the balance between the way of life and activities. The balance to always remember and obey God and love fellow humans as a form of guidelines for living life. Guidelines are the essence of life serenity according to God's will. This condition fosters a close brotherhood of increasing brothers (sedulur). Fraternal relations as a form of harmonious interaction, so far, have provided fluency (pelarisan) and wealth (pesugihan)


Knowledge about the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity is still scarce and quantifying gene expression in response to abiotic and biotic factors enables to investigate transcriptional plasticity. RNAseq data on clones of the alpine plant Biscutella laevigata (Brassicaceae) subjected to control, cold, heat, drought and herbivory treatments assessed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and transposable elements (DE-TEs) in comparison to similar experiments in Arabidopsis thaliana. Synergistic and trade-off DEGs presenting parallel and antagonistic regulation among treatments were further identified and used with networks of co-expressed DEGs to characterize transcriptional plasticity in response to environmental changes. Compared to A. thaliana, B. laevigata presented fewer DEGs that were mostly up-regulated by stronger expression shifts in response to environmental treatments. Biscutella laevigata showed constitutive expression of half of the A. thaliana DEGs. It further presented a higher proportion of synergistic DEGs, a lower number of trade-off DEGs and a transcriptome organized in environment-specific subnetworks. Several DE-TEs were identified as activated by heat and herbivory. The stress-tolerant perennial B. laevigata presents a highly modular transcriptional plasticity in response to environmental changes, contrasting with the more integrated transcriptome of A. thaliana. Significance statement Little is known about the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity. Here, focusing on expression shifts during changes in abiotic and biotic conditions, we highlight environment-responsive genes acting synergistically or antagonistically among treatments and underlying modular transcriptional plasticity in two Brassicacea species.


Femtosecond lasers enable flexible and thermal-damage-free ablation of solid materials and are expected to play a critical role in high-precision cutting, drilling, and shaping of electronic chips, display panels, and industrial parts. Although the potential applications are theoretically predicted, true 3D nano-sculpturing of solids such as glasses and crystals, has not yet been demonstrated, owing to the technical challenge of negative cumulative effects of surface changes and debris accumulation on the delivery of laser pulses and subsequent material removal during direct-write ablation. Here, a femtosecond laser-induced cavitation-assisted true 3D nano-sculpturing technique based on the ingenious combination of cavitation dynamics and backside ablation is proposed to achieve stable clear-field point-by-point material removal in real time for precise 3D subtractive fabrication on various difficult-to-process materials. As a result, 3D devices including free-form silica lenses, micro-statue with vivid facial features, and rotatable sapphire micro-mechanical turbine, all with surface roughness less than 10 nm are readily produced. The true 3D processing capability can immediately enable novel structural and functional micro-nano optics and non-silicon micro-electro-mechanical systems based on various hard solids.


Quantum Generative Modelling (QGM) relies on preparing quantum states and generating samples from these states as hidden - or known - probability distributions. As distributions from some classes of quantum states (circuits) are inherently hard to sample classically, QGM represents an excellent testbed for quantum supremacy experiments. Furthermore, generative tasks are increasingly relevant for industrial machine learning applications, and thus QGM is a strong candidate for demonstrating a practical quantum advantage. However, this requires that quantum circuits are trained to represent industrially relevant distributions, and the corresponding training stage has an extensive training cost for current quantum hardware in practice. In this work, we propose protocols for classical training of QGMs based on circuits of the specific type that admit an efficient gradient computation, while remaining hard to sample. In particular, we consider Instantaneous Quantum Polynomial (IQP) circuits and their extensions. Showing their classical simulability in terms of the time complexity, sparsity and anti-concentration properties, we develop a classically tractable way of simulating their output probability distributions, allowing classical training to a target probability distribution. The corresponding quantum sampling from IQPs can be performed efficiently, unlike when using classical sampling. We numerically demonstrate the end-to-end training of IQP circuits using probability distributions for up to 30 qubits on a regular desktop computer. When applied to industrially relevant distributions this combination of classical training with quantum sampling represents an avenue for reaching advantage in the NISQ era.


Previously suggested hidden time interpretation of quantum mechanics allows to reproduce the same predictions as standard quantum mechanics provides, since it is based on Feynman many - paths formulation of QM. While new experimental consequences of this interpretation are under investigation, some advantages can be enumerated. (1) The interpretation is much field theoretic - like in classical sense, so it is local in mathematical sense, though quantum (physical) non-locality is preserved. (2) The interpretation is based on one type of mathematical objects, rather than two different (Hilbert space vectors and operators). (3) The interpretation, as it was argued, overcomes the problem of hidden variables in a radically new way, with no conflict to Bell's theorem. Recently an important argument against hidden variables - like formulations of quantum theory was risen - "no protocol" argument. It is argued in the paper, that hidden time interpretation successfully overcomes this argument.


This paper describes the use of a tubular dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) actuator for active vibration isolation. The DEAP tubular push actuator developed by Danfoss PolyPower A/S has been used. First, the characteristics of the actuator are examined. It is seen that the actuator is inherently non-linear, involving an approximately quadratic relationship between excitation and extension. Next, it is seen that internal resonances in the actuator limit the bandwidth over which it can be used for active control (to 75 Hz or so). The potential for active vibration isolation is then explored. The dynamic performance is limited by the potential bandwidth, the inherent nonlinearity, the maximum force that can be generated and the maximum range of movement. Performance for tonal disturbances is investigated experimentally within an adaptive feedforward control scheme. Attenuation of 67dB of the excitation frequency is achieved but compensation is required to avoid increase in the higher harmonics introduced by the actuator nonlinearity. In an alternative approach adaptive control is applied not only at the harmonic of the disturbance but also at twice that frequency, to suppress the harmonic distortion introduced by the nonlinearity. In this case the first harmonic is reduced by 52dB and the second harmonic by 3dB. Isolation in response to a bandlimited random input is then demonstrated, with attenuation of 19dB being achieved over a frequency range from 2-8 Hz


PURPOSE
This study evaluated the efficacy of 2% chlorhexidine (CX), calcium hydroxide (CH), Vitapex® (VP), linezolid (LZ), a combination of LZ with CH (LC) against Enterococcus faecalis (EF).

STUDY DESIGN
EF strains were mixed with peptone water and the turbidity was adjusted to the McFarland's turbidity standard tube No: 0.5. The inoculum obtained was used to make lawn cultures on the agar plates. A total of 30 agar plates were prepared, such that each plate had five wells containing the five medicaments. The plates were incubated and evaluated for zones of inhibition after intervals of 24 hours and 72 hours. The results were statistically evaluated by paired t-test, ANOVA and Post-hoc analysis using Tukey's HSD.

RESULTS
The difference between values of the zones of inhibition around various medicaments after 24 hours and 72 hours was found to be statistically significant. A comparison between the five groups after 24 hours or 72 hours showed that each group differed significantly from the rest of the groups.

CONCLUSIONS
LC had the greatest effectiveness against EF, followed by LZ, CX, VP and CH.


Introduction: Stress among undergraduate nursing students is an increasingly important issue. Maladaptive responses can lead to serious health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. The aim of this study was to assess stress among undergraduate nursing students. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional institution-based design with a sample size of 285 undergraduate nursing students from Omdurman Islamic University and Al Neelain University. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to collect data. Results: The majority of students (29%) reported environment as the leading cause of stress and had moderate level of stress. Second-and Fourth-year students had higher stress level compared to the First-and Third-year students. Conclusion: This study concluded that environment-related pressures were the major cause of stress among undergraduate nursing students. It is recommended that academic counseling be established and maintained, and an orientation program provided to reduce stress. Tele learning and E-learning should also be initiated and maintained to reduce environmental stress.