Compacted and porous lamellar membranes of xanthan (Xn) and chitosan (Ch) at mass ratios of 1 : 1 and 1.2 : 0.8 were prepared and tested to verify possible applica- tions in the treatment of skin lesions. All membranes were prepared by complexation of the polysaccharides in solu- tion and subsequent casting. The porous membranes were obtained by adding either Tween 80 or Pluronic F68 to the polysaccharide complexes before casting. Membranes pre- pared in the absence of surfactants at a mass ratio of Xn to Ch of 1 : 1 proved ideal for use as wound dressings, as they were thin (around 0.10 mm in thickness) and transparent and had low in vitro cytotoxicity to L929 cells, a tensile strength at break of 25 MPa, water absorption after 24 h of around 86 g/g and simulated body fluid absorption of 16% and adequate stability in the presence of the same solutions. Membranes prepared at the mass ratio of Xn to Ch of 1 : 1 in the presence of Pluronic F68 showed the most favorable characteristics for application as scaffolds for tissue engi- neering. These membranes consisted of a matrix with inter- connected pores which were distributed homogeneously throughout the structure and had a thickness of 1.84 mm, high capacity for FBS uptake (around 18 g/g) and cell cul- ture medium uptake (8.6 g/g), a loss of mass in the culture medium of 33% after 144 h, and low in vitro toxicity to L929 cells. In conclusion, membranes of Ch and Xn produced in the presence or absence of the surfactant Pluronic F68 have a high potential for use as scaffolds in tissue engineering or as dermal dressings, respectively, whereas in contrast, membranes prepared in the presence of Tween 80, regard- less of the mass ratio of Xn to Ch, were very cytotoxic to L929 cells and therefore were not appropriate for any of the proposed applications. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 125: E421-E431, 2012


The generation of log normal hydrologic variables should be performed so that the characteristics of the historical record are preserved. It is shown that the common scheme used will preserve the first autocorrelation coefficient but will considerably distort the tails of the correlation structure. A new methodology is presented that preserves the tails of the correlation structure, and a simplification of the method is given for the case when the historical data follow a Markovian structure.


The receptor type protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRD is implicated in maturation of synapses of expressing neurons, vulnerability to addictions, reward from addictive substances, vulnerability to restless leg syndrome and densities of neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer's disease brains by a variety of evidence. However, PTPRD's physiological substrates and adaptations to differences in levels of PTPRD expression in brains of young and aging animals have not been explored in depth. We report phosphoproteomic studies of brains of young and aged mice with different levels of PTPRD expression, gene ontology studies of genes identified in this way and validation of several candidate PTPRD substrates with in vitro assays using recombinant PTPRD phosphatase. PTPRD is well positioned to modulate the extent of phosphorylation of phosphotyrosine phosphoprotein substrates, including those involved in synaptic maturation and adaptation.


Abstract Records of seventy four species of scarab beetles are summarized from nine of Massachusetts' offshore islands. The scarab fauna of these areas is characterized through a combination of recent collections from over 30 locations on eight of the islands, museum specimens and the literature. Though the bulk of recent collecting effort has been devoted to the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, scattered species records are also collated from Naushon, Nashawena, Pasque, Tuckernuck, Muskeget, Penikese, and Cuttyhunk Islands. With 56 documented species, Martha's Vineyard, the largest of the islands, appears despite sampling bias to support the most diverse scarab fauna, followed by Nantucket, with 46 species. These two faunas account for 71 of the 74 species known from all the islands. A subset of these data consisting of scarabs from 2,700 pitfall trap samples is used to compare species richness and relative abundance at five sites on the two islands under varying degrees of conservation management. Although recent conservation has focused on grassland habitats, these represent a minority of the communities that occurred historically on these landscapes, and shrubbier habitats appear to support greater species richness than the less structurally complex grasslands.


We investigate the weak-interaction-driven bulk-viscous transport properties of $npe$ matter in the neutrino transparent regime. Previous works assumed that the induced bulk viscosity correction to pressure, near beta equilibrium, is linear in deviations from the equilibrium charge fraction. We show that this is not always true for (some) realistic equations of state at densities between one and three times saturation density. This nonlinear nature of the perturbation around equilibrium motivates a far-from-beta-equilibrium description of bulk-viscous transport in neutron star mergers, which can be precisely achieved using a new Israel-Stewart formulation with resummed bulk and relaxation time transport coefficients. The computation of these transport coefficients depends on out-of-beta-equilibrium pressure corrections, which can be computed for a given equation of state. We calculate these coefficients for equations of state that satisfy the latest constraints from multi-messenger observations from LIGO/VIRGO and NICER. We show that varying the nuclear symmetry energy $J$ and its slope $L$ can significantly affect the transport coefficients and the nonlinear behavior of the out-of-equilibrium pressure corrections. Therefore, having better constraints on $J$ and $L$ will directly impact our understanding of bulk-viscous processes in neutron star mergers.


This paper considers externally linear, time-invariant systems which can be internally nonlinear and/or time-varying. Several examples of the synthesis of such systems are presented, and it is argued that they offer advantages in comparison to internally linear, time-invariant systems. In particular, their use in signal processing is considered, and it is shown that they can be designed to reduce the undesirable effects of overloading and noise corruption through the use of companding. It is shown that a variety of previously proposed schemes for this purpose are all related. Several practical problems are discussed, as are performance criteria and types of measurements needed for the evaluation of the systems discussed.


NPRL2 is a tumor suppressor gene involved in the progression of human cancer. The present study investigated whether NPRL2 expression correlates with colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. Colorectal tissue and peripheral blood samples were obtained from 62 patients with CRC, 38 patients with colorectal adenomas and 51 normal controls. NPRL2 mRNA levels in tissue samples and blood were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. NPRL2 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. NPRL2 protein expression in CRCs was significantly lower than in the adenomas or normal colorectal tissue. NPRL2 mRNA expression was significantly decreased in adenomas compared with normal controls (P < 0.0001) and it was further decreased in colorectal tumors compared with adenomas (P < 0.0001). NPRL2 mRNA levels expression correlated with tumor stage. In addition, NPRL2 mRNA levels in the blood correlated with the levels detected in tumors. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that NPRL2 expression in blood could distinguish colorectal adenomas and CRCs from normal controls. NPRL2 mRNA expression in CRC tumor tissues and peripheral blood correlated with colorectal tumor progression. Based on our findings, we can conclude that NPRL2 mRNA blood levels could be a potentially useful marker for the detection of early stage adenomas and CRCs.


The porphyrias are a group of diseases which may be complicated by acute neurological crises having serious morbidity and a high rate of mortality. We report a case of acute porphyria in which an acute neurological crisis, resulting in loss of laryngeal function, precipitated life‐threatening aspiration pneumonia.


Hierarchical routing protocols are studied in terms of energy usage, packet latency, and security in the presence of node compromise attacks. We analyze clustering and tree-based structures of hierarchical algorithms to establish a method by which to design wireless sensor networks with particular energy, latency and security demands. Networks of homogeneous nodes and random deployment over a field are considered. We present analysis of the distribution of the distances between nodes of the sensor network and also provide simulations to validate and expound on these ideas.


The ketogenic diet's (KD) anticonvulsant effects have been well-documented for nearly a century, including in randomized controlled trials. Some patients become seizure-free and some remain so after diet cessation. Many recent studies have explored its expanded therapeutic potential in diverse neurological disorders, yet no mechanism(s) of action have been established. The diet's high fat, low carbohydrate composition reduces glucose utilization and promotes the production of ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are a more efficient energy source than glucose and improve mitochondrial function and biogenesis. Cellular energy production depends on the metabolic coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a marker for mitochondrial and cellular health. Furthermore, NAD activates downstream signaling pathways (such as the sirtuin enzymes) associated with major benefits such as longevity and reduced inflammation; thus, increasing NAD is a coveted therapeutic endpoint. Based on differential NAD+ utilization during glucose- vs. ketone body-based acetyl-CoA generation for entry into the tricarboxylic cycle, we propose that a KD will increase the NAD+/NADH ratio. When rats were fed ad libitum KD, significant increases in hippocampal NAD+/NADH ratio and blood ketone bodies were detected already at 2 days and remained elevated at 3 weeks, indicating an early and persistent metabolic shift. Based on diverse published literature and these initial data we suggest that increased NAD during ketolytic metabolism may be a primary mechanism behind the beneficial effects of this metabolic therapy in a variety of brain disorders and in promoting health and longevity.


We performed a comprehensive analysis of the bioecological characteristics of growing Corylus spp., among them number of native, introduced, and newly created by us hazelnut varieties in the conditions of the Forest-Steppe Zone of Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainian breeding varieties (in particular, "Dar Pavlenka", "Shedevr", "Dohidny", "Lozivskyi Bulavovydnyi") demonsrated strong tolerance towards the air temperature ocillations during the vegetation period. We separated thd varieties of hazelnuts, which were frost-resistant during the entire cold period within the year. Comprehensive evaluation of their winter- and frost-resistance confirmed their sufficient adaptability to the conditions of the studied horticultural area. The newly created hazelnut varieties "Sofiyevskiy 1" and "Sofiyevskiy 15" turned out to be the best concerning their winter hardiness potential. We also found that, with a water deficit, the content of total water in the leaves of hazelnut varieties "Sofiyivsky 15", "Ukraina-50", and "Trapezund" was 56.9–57.8% in August. The least amount of total water was registered in "Cherkeskyi-2" leaves (54.2 %). We established, that the minimum moisture deficit was typical for the varieties "Ukraina-50" and "Trapezund" and made 5.1 and 6.4% to the raw mass of leaves in the hottest period of studies, while for the varieties "Sofiyivsky 15" and "Cherkeskyi-2", these values exceeded 9.0 and 12.5%. Thus, the analysis of the water regime of the leaves of the studied varieties of hazelnut in terms of total water content, water deficit, relative turgorescence, intensity of loss and the percentage of moisture recovery indicated a high level of drought adaptation in "Ukraine-50" and "Trapezund" hazelnut varieties. We suggested that the deterioration of the light regime negatively affected the growth processes of all the studied varieties of hazelnut. In the conditions of insufficient illumination, the hazelnut plants did not die but significantly retarded in size and number of lateral shoots and leaves as compared with plants grew in a well-lit plot. As a result of the research, we created a number of new varieties of hazelnuts, namely "Sofiyivsky 1" and "Sofiyivsky 15". These carieties combined enhanced tolerance to the abiotic factors with high productivity and fruit quality. We also applied for registration of "Sofiyivsky 1" and "Sofiyivsky 15" in the Ukrainian Institute for Plant Variety Examination for State Scientific and Technical Expertise in Ukraine.
Key words: agro-climatic conditions; Forest-Steppe Zone; Ukraine; variety; drought tolerance; total water content; leaves water regime; winter and frost resistance
References
Amaral, J. S., Ferreres, F., Andrade, P., Valentao, P., Pinheiro, C., Santos, A., & Seabra, R. (2005). Phenolic profile of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) leaves cultivars grown in Portugal. Nat. Prod. Res, 19(2), 157–163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14786410410001704778.
Alasalvar, C., Karamac, M., Amarowicz, R., & Shahidi, F. (2006). Antioxidant and antiradical activities in extracts of hazelnut kernel Corylus avellana L.) and hazelnut green leafy cover. J. Agric. Food Chem, 54, 4826–4832. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jf0601259.
Bublyk, M. O., Patyka, T. I., Kytaiev, O. I., Makarov, D. H., Kryvoshapka, V. A., Honcharuk, Yu. D., & Potanin, D. V. (2013). Laboratorni ta pol'ovi metody vyznachennia morozostiykosti plodovykh porid i kul'tur (metodychni rekomendatsii). Kyiv: IS NAAN. 26. (In Ukrainian).
Ciemniewska-A»ytkiewicz, H., Verardo, V., Pasini, F., BryA›, J., KoczoA", P., & Caboni, M. F. (2015). Determination of lipid and phenolic fraction in two hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars grown in Poland. Food chemistry, 168, 615–622. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.07.107.
Corylus formosana Hayata. (2018). Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone. Copyright Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Available from: http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:108019-1/ (Accessed 12 December 2018)
Enescu, C. M., Houston Durrant, T., de Rigo, D., & Caudullo, G. (2016). Corylus avellana in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats. European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. Publ. Off. EU, Luxembourg, e015486.
Fisher R. A. (2006). Statistical methods for research workers. New Delhi: Cosmo Publications.
Gokirmak, T., Mehlenbacher, S. A., & Bassil, N. V. (2009). Characterization of European hazelnut (Corylus avellana) cultivars using SSR markers. Genetic resources and crop evolution, 56(2), 147–172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-008-9352-8.
Hutchinson, J. (1968). 63. Corylaceaei. The genera of flowering plants (Angiospermae). Oxford Univeristy Press; London. ІІ, Dicotyledones.
A°slam, A. (2018). Hazelnut culture in Turkey. Akademik Ziraat Dergisi, 7(2), 259–266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29278/azd.476665.
Kondratenko, P. V., & Bublyk, M. O. (1996). Metodyka provedennia pol'ovykh doslidzhen' z plodovymy kul'turamy. Kyiv: Ahrarna nauka (In Ukrainian).
Kosenko, I. S. (2015). Genetic resources of the genus Corylus L. in the National Dendrological Park "Sofiyivka" of NAS of Ukraine. Ecological Consequences of Increasing Crop Productivity: Plant Breeding and Biotic Diversity [Eds. Anatoly I. Opalko et al.]. Toronto; New Jersey: Apple Academic Press. Ch. 16. 155–166.
Kosenko, I. S., Opalko, A. I., & Opalko, O. A. (2008) Hazelnut: Applied Genetics, Breeding, the Methods of Propagation and Production. [Ed.: Ivan Sem. Kosenko]. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka (In Ukrainian).
Kosenko, I. S., Opalko, A. I., Balabak, O. A., & Shulga, S. M. (2016). Corylus spp. genetic resources use in hazelnuts Corylus domestica Kos. et Opal. improvement. Autochthonous and Alien Plants, 12, 120–136. (in Ukraine).
Kosenko, I. S., Opalko, A. I., Balabak, O. A., Opalko, O. A., & Balabak A. V. (2017). Hazelnut breeding in the National Dendrological Park "Sofiyivka" of the NAS of Ukraine. Plant varieties studying and protection, 13(3), 245–251. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21498/2518-1017.13.3.2017.110706.
Kosenko, I. S., Opalko, A. I., Balabak, O. A., Opalko, O. A., & Balabak A. V. (2019). Hazelnut (Corylus domestica Kos. et Opal.) research and breeding at NDP «Sofiyivka» of NAS of Ukraine. Temperate Horticulture for Sustainable Development and Environment. Ecological aspects [Eds.: Larissa I. Weisfeld, Anatoly I. Opalko, Sarra A. Bekuzarova]. Oakville; Waretown: Apple Academic Press. Ch. 13. 237–267.
Kulbida, M. I., Ielistratova, L. O., & Barabash, M. B. (2013). Current climate conditions in Ukraine. The problems of environmental protection and ecological safety, 35, 118–130. (In Ukrainian).
Kushnirenko, M. D., Kurchatova, G. P., & Kryukova, E. V. (1975). Methods for assessing the drought tolerance of fruit plants. Chisinau: Shtiintsy (In Russian).
Kukharska, M. А. (2014). The frost resistance estimation of the Catalpa Scop. genus members with laboratory method by direct shoots freezing. Scientific Bulletin of UNFU, 24.9, 70–75.
Makhno, V.G. (2014). Application of the genus Corylus in ornamental and commercial gardening. Subtropical and ornamental horticulture, 50, 232–235. (In Russian).
Mezhenskyj, V. M. (2007). Unification of rating scales used into introduction of woody plants. Plant introduction, 4, 26–37. (In Ukrainian).
Millar, N. (2001). Biology statistics made simple using Excel. School Science Review, 83, 23–34.
Mosjakin, S.L., & FedoronAuk, M. M. (1999). Vascular plants of Ukraine: a nomenclatorial checklist. National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, MG Kholodny Institute of Botany. Kyiv (in Ukrainian).
Peng, L., Wang, M., & Liang, W. (1996). Indexing cold tolerance/resistance of hazelnut. HortScience, 31(4), 645–645. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.31.4.645d.
Pyatnitsky, S.S. (1961). Workshop on forest selection. Moscow: Selkhozizdat (In Russian).
Reveal, J.L., & Chase, M.W. (2011). APG III: Bibliographical information and synonymy of Magnoliidae. Phytotaxa, 19(1), 71–134.
Sherman, W. B., & Beckman, T. G. (2002). Climatic adaptation in fruit crops. Genetics and Breeding of Tree Fruits and Nuts, 622, 411–428.
Sokolov, S.Ya. (1957). The current state of the theory of acclimatization and the introduction of plants. Plant introduction and green building. Acta Instituti botanici Academiae Scientiarum URSS. Ser, 6(5), 34–42. (In Russian).
Solov`eva, M. A. (1957). Winter hardiness of fruit crops under different growing conditions. Moscow: Kolos (In Russian).
Takhtajan, A. (2009). Order 38. Betulales (Corylales). Flowering Plants. Springer Science+Business Media.
Tkachyk, S. O. (2014). Methodology of examination of varieties of plants of the group of fruit, berry, native, subtropical and grapes for suitability for distribution in Ukraine (PSP). Kyiv: Nilan (in Ukrainian).
Topchii, V. (Editor-in-chief), Nikolenko N., Melnyk S., Pavlyuk N., Barban O., Tykha N., Tkachyk S. … & Yakubenko N. (2018). Sofiivskyi 15 (Application number 18286005). Hazelnut. (Corylus maxima Mill.). Plant Variety Rights Protection: Bulletin. Ukrainian institute for plant variety examination, 6, 7.


Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore the knowledge of the dentists regarding effective acute dental pain management among pregnant women. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted in the Operative Department, Dental Hospital at The University of Lahore. Sample size was 378 as in a Pakistani study. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to collect data. As descriptive statistics and data was analysed Results: Among 378 dentists, 122 (32.3%) had excellent knowledge and 143(37.8%) had good knowledge while 113 (29.9%) dentists had poor knowledge regarding management of acute dental pain during pregnancy Conclusion: Majority of the dentists reported good knowledge to deal pregnant patients with regards to procedure preferences. Keywords: Pregnant patients, Text books, Trimester, Dental pain management


The pathogenesis of Osler's nodes and Janeway lesions remains a mystery despite vigorous debate over the last 113 years. They are given great emphasis among the clinical signs of bacterial endocarditis but are seldom seen in practice. Two cases of subacute bacterial endocarditis are presented. A 66‐year‐old woman with Bartonella henselae endocarditis developed Osler's nodes on the hands postoperatively, and a 23‐year‐old man with Streptococcus oralis endocarditis developed tender macules with an appearance suggestive of Janeway lesions on one heel. The dermatopathology was similar in the two cases, consisting of a leukocytoclastic vasculitis without micro‐abscess formation or visible organisms. Although the appearance is usually consistent, it is not always possible to distinguish Osler's nodes from Janeway lesions based purely on clinical presentation. Furthermore, the histology of both clinical signs can look similar. Further reports are needed before more firm conclusions can be drawn, however, it may be that the histological appearance of Osler's nodes and Janeway lesions is primarily determined by the nature of the causative organism, while the clinical appearance may be determined by anatomical site.


We consider structure with single quantum well InP 5 nm thick grown by vapor phase epitaxy on n-GaP wafer. By classical capacitance-voltage profiling of Schottky diode on sample and electrochemical profiling, electron accumulation were detected in InP layer so existence of quantum well is confirmed. Results of admittance spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy showed defect formation in GaP layers above InP with energy position of Ec-0.21 eV, 0.30 eV и 0.93 eV.


A 12-step route is presented starting from 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-glucofuranose for the preparation of the title compounds and their L-altro analogues. Their synthesis is based on the reduction with Raney nickel of a protected 5-hydroxyimino derivative of L-arabino-hexofuranos-5-ulose, with the following improvements for the preparation of a D-galactofuranose derivative: oxidation at C-3 with pyridinium dichromate-acetic anhydride, stereospecific reduction of a 3-O-acetyl-hex-3-enofuranose intermediate to the D-gulo derivative, and inversion at C-3 of its 3-tosylate with tetrabutylammonium acetate in chlorobenzene. alpha-D-Galactosidase from coffee beans and from Escherichia coli and beta-D-galactosidase from E. coli and Aspergillus wentii were inhibited with Ki values that ranged from 0.0007 to 8.2 microM. Formation of the enzyme-inhibitor complexes with the D-galactose analogue was on the time-scale of minutes, whereas the D-galactitol analogue showed a slow approach to the inhibition only with alpha-D-galactosidase from coffee beans and beta-D-galactosidase from A. wentii. N-Alkylation of the D-galactitol analogue was detrimental to the inhibition except for beta-D-galactosidase from E. coli and beta-D-glucosidase from almonds, but, even with these enzymes, the observed affinity enhancements were 10(2) to 10(3)-times smaller than those of N-alkylated D-galactosylamine and D-glucosylamine.


Title: Consequences of the implementation of the Loading Ledge

Authors: Andre Jonsson and Bjorn Mathiasen.

Supervisors: Daniel Hellstrom - Division of Packaging Logistics, LTH.

Mazen Saghir - Division of Packaging Logistics, LTH.

Rickard Andersson - IKEA.

Peter Larsson ? IKEA.

Tobias Rasmusson ? IKEA.

Objective: To write a descriptive and evaluative master thesis about the consequences of the implementation of the Loading Ledge on logistical processes at the Distribution Centre in Almhult and at the IKEA Stores.

Problem: What are the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities with the Loading Ledge from today's point of view?

What adjustments have to be made to the logistical system at Distribution Centers and IKEA Stores in order to handle the Loading Ledge as efficient as possible during the entire implementation phase?

Method: The research is performed as a case study where the study is mainly based on interviews with people who are working at IKEA. We have interviewed individuals that are key informants at the Distribution Centers and the IKEA Stores as well as responsible for the development of the Loading Ledge and the logistical processes.

Conclusions: In this master thesis we have made a descriptive and evaluative analysis of the consequences of the implementation of Loading Ledge.

The strength with the Loading Ledge is that it adapts and becomes a part of the packaging solution, not like the wooden pallet, which dictates the dimensions of the unit load. Another advantage is that is can be shipped all over the world throughout IKEAs global distribution chain.

We have found that the Loading Ledge has the potential to increase the overall supply chain efficiency. This is accomplished by higher filling rate in transport and more efficient handling at all participants of the supply chain.

The Loading Ledge has the possibility to replace the wooden pallet in the IKEA supply chain but the Loading Ledge puts new demand on the supply chain, which needs to be tackled. Within a few years IKEA needs to introduce a specialized platform that initially replaces the wooden pallet. To achieve higher efficiency the flow of information and knowledge is a central issue as well as proper handling equipment and Loading Ledge adapted packaging solution. All these aspects affect the logistical systems at the IKEA DC and Store

In the long run the whole logistical and packaging system needs to be adapted fully to the Loading Ledge to reap from the advantages of the Loading Ledge.


A case of IgG paraprotein‐associated demyelinating neuropathy complicated by respiratory failure, which was unresponsive to standard immunosuppressive drug therapy, is reported. Cyclosporin A therapy resulted in a marked clinical recovery with objective improvement in nerve conduction and vital capacity. The beneficial response suggests that cell‐mediated immunity is an important pathogenetic mechanism, and that cyclosporin A may be useful in the treatment of other refractory cases of paraprotein‐associated neuropathy.


Background and Aims Continuing care of asthmatic children is traditionally provided in outpatients settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of both asthma and upper airway cough syndrome assessment by questionnaire and its acceptability to parents. Methods The parents of children aged 4–13 years, attending an asthma clinic, were requested to complete the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Respiratory Assessment Proforma (RAP). The RAP assessed the symptoms of upper airway cough syndrome, asthma medication use and associated risk factors. Parents were asked their views of these assessments as an alternative to attending clinic utilising a Likert questionnaire cuing at 1 not at all and at 6 a lot. All children performed pulmonary function tests at the clinic and these were compared to the ACT scores. The RAP was compared to Physician assessment of Asthma and associated co morbidities. Results One hundred and nine questionnaires were distributed with 102 fully completed. The M: F was 1.8:1. The mean age was 9.1. Asthma severity was mild in23 (23%), moderate in 59(59%) and severe in 18 (18%).The positive predictive value of ACT versus pulmonary function tests was 89%. The RAP identified 19 (18.6%) children with good asthma control but significant UACS symptoms. Fifty six (55%) parents would utilise the questionnaire to obviate a clinic visit, if rapid access to the clinic was available. Conclusion Questionnaire assessment can adequately identify the absence of asthma and UACS symptoms in children and is acceptable to more than half of parents attending an asthma clinic.


The ventilatory and arterial blood gas responses to serum-induced thrombi embolized to the pulmonary circulation of the dog have been measured. An increase in rate and minute volume of ventilation independent of the extent of the pulmonary artery obstruction were almost invariably observed. The release of thrombi to the lungs was associated with an arterial-alveolar CO2 tension difference that was dependent on the extent of arterial obstruction. Significant decreases in arterial O2 saturation occurred in animals with massive embolization in the presence of a total minute and alveolar ventilation significantly greater than control values. Failure of arterial O2 concentration to rise to control levels after inhalation of 99.6% O2 indicated that emboli of the dogs' own blood produced a perfusion defect consistent with a right to left shunt.

Submitted on November 21, 1960


The cost of climate change has increased phenomenally in recent years. Therefore, understanding climate change and its impacts, that are likely to get worse and worse into the future, gives us the ability to predict scenarios and plan for them. Flash floods, which are a common result of climate change, follow increased precipitation which then increases risk and associated vulnerability due to the unpredictable rainfall patterns. Developing countries suffer grave consequences in the event that weather disasters strike because they have the least adaptive capacity. At the equator where the hot days are hotter and winds carrying rainfall move faster, Kenya's Tana River County is noted for its vulnerability towards flash floods. Additionally, this county and others that are classified as rural areas in Kenya do not receive short term early warnings for floods. This county was therefore selected as the study area for its vulnerability. The aim of the study is therefore to propose a flash flood early warning system framework that delivers short term early warnings. Using questionnaires, information about the existing warning system will be collected and analyzed using SPSS. The results will be used to interpret the relationships between variables of the study, with a particular interest in the moderation effect in order to confirm that the existing system can be modified; that is, if the moderation effect is confirmed.


This study presents a process analysis of multi-attribute decision making. The decision problems concerned the selection of the most suitable candidate for a job opening. The problems varied in terms of complexity, i.e. the number of candidates and the number of attributes used to describe these alternatives. Results show that with an increasing number of alternatives, subjects (N = 48) used fewer attributes for the evaluation of alternatives, and made, on average, less references to the alternatives. The type of judgment most often used was absolute dimensional (comparison of an attribute to an absolute standard) and was used more often at the beginning than toward the end of the decision process. Overall, judgments were predominantly positive. The percentage of positive judgments decreased with increasing complexity, and toward the end of the decision process. Significantly more judgments, particularly positive ones, concerned the finally chosen alternative as compared to the rest of the alternatives. Finally, analysis of subjects' usage of decision rules revealed that increasing the number of alternatives resulted in an increasing use of elimination strategies. Implications of these findings for the design of decision aids will be discussed.


McGovern and Smith1 have embarked on the welcome development of an evidence based algorithm for the investigation of infants presenting with an apparent life threatening event (ALTE). Unfortunately, they do not distinguish between coincidence and causality. Recurrent vomiting occurs in over 60% of 4 month old babies,2 and it is therefore unsurprising that gastro-oesophageal reflux is commonly found in infants presenting with ALTEs. The aim of their study was to determine the diagnoses reported after the first evaluation of an ALTE, but the paper's title then somewhat misleadingly refers to "causes" of ALTE.

Despite the fact that in six of the eight studies analysed, patients did not routinely undergo pH monitoring, one of the most common diagnoses made was "gastro-oesophageal reflux disease" (GORD). This begs the question as to whether most if not all of the children merely had physiological gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR), wrongly defined as GORD, simply because of the ALTE under investigation—an unwarranted assumption of causality. Moreover, they fail to point out that the milk scans and contrast studies used in some of their cited studies have unacceptably low sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of non-physiological GOR.

Their suggested plan of investigation acknowledges that in around 50% of infants experiencing an ALTE, a careful history and …


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy arising from the epithelial lining of nasopharynx. It is one of the most common malignancies in the southern area of China and South-East Asia. NPC is frequently reported in Sarawak, Malaysia especially in males and is endemic to certain ethnic groups, including the Bidayuh and Chinese. The development of NPC is associated with multiple factors, with one common mechanism involving persistent infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This study will aim to gain a clearer understanding regarding the mechanism of EBV influencing p53 pathway to facilitate NPC development. Mutations in p53 mutation have been associated with oncogenesis of several human malignancies, however such mutations are relatively rare in NPC and the mechanisms through which p53 in inactivated in this malignancy remain poorly understood. In this study, we study the activity of p53 in immortalised nasopharyngeal epithelial cells using nutlin-3, an MDM2 antagonist. The impact of EBV infection on the protein expression of p53 and its ability to stimulate its transcriptional target genes is studied. The proteins levels of p53 and its transcriptional activation of target genes was significantly higher in EBV-infected cells, indicating that EBV infection alone is not sufficient to attenuate the p53 pathway in a non-malignant nasopharyngeal cell line. These observations will provide the fundamental steps towards the understanding of p53 and EBV viral proteins interaction that causes NPC. A post-publication change was made to this article on 11 Jun 2020 to correct an author name.


The reward of an appraisal system in an Educational Institution will enhance the growth and development of their employees, which will definitely reflect on the development on the Institution. This study attempts to identify trends and areas for further development. The main aim of the study is to identify the existing performance appraisal systems in the higher education institution. The study was conducted among the self-financing arts and science colleges functioning in Thanjavur District. The findings showed that the majority of the employees are unaware of the performance appraisal methods as it is done only through annual confidential method and it is done for annual increment.


In this study, photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide was modified by doping with silver metal. This was done by simple preparation procedure at room temperature. Different preparation conditions were studied and their effects on photocatalytic activity were investigated. The obtained nanopowders were characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), specific surface area measurement, UV‐Visible absorption, and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples under simulated sunlight were evaluated with respect to their efficiencies for the degradation of five pharmaceutical compounds commonly present in hospital wastewater. Prepared samples showed very high efficiency for photodegradation of the studied pharmaceutical compounds. Maximum photodegradation rate of the simulated hospital wastewater was obtained using 1000 ppm of the material with 0.1% Ag/TiO2 (weight ratio) calcined at 300°C and pH 5. However, the best pH of the degradation of each pharmaceutical compound varies according to the pKa. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 886–894, 2014


Abstract 2994 The suboptimal numbers of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) present in human umbilical cord blood (CB) grafts results in a significant delay in blood cell reconstitution or graft failure, particularly in adult patients following transplantation. Using chromatin modifying agents (CMAs), including 5aza-2-deoxycytidine (5azaD) and trichostatin A (TSA), we developed an ex-vivo expansion strategy that permits 7-fold expansion of transplantable HSC (Araki et al. Blood 2007, Exp Hematol 2009). Here we performed validation studies in non-human primate (NHP) baboons to examine the potential genotoxicity of CMA-expanded bone marrow (BM) graft. To our knowledge, there have been no reports suggesting 5azaD exacerbate chromosomal instability in human. We have demonstrated that the sequential addition of low-dose 5azaD (5 micromolar) and TSA (5 ng/ml) to human CB CD34+ cells does not result in a persistent depletion of Dnmt1 transcripts and protein levels. In this global methylation analysis using a LINE-1 assay indicates that DNA demethylation, which occurs with CMA treatment in culture, is transient: LINE-1 methylation of CD34+ cells in the absence or presence of CMA was 78.5% ± 2.2% and 55.4 % ± 2.2% respectively at day 3 while methylation levels of treated CD34+ cells returns to 69.7% ± 2.1% by day 9. In an attempt to evaluate the genotoxic potential of low-dose 5azaD/TSA, we transplanted baboons with CMA-expanded autologous BM grafts following a myeloablative dose of IV busulfan (4 mg/kg/day × 4 days). Although the initial pre-expansion CD34+ cell dose of CMA-expanded BM grafts was low (0.68, 2.64 and 5.18 × 10 6 CD34+ cells/kg respectively), all three baboons engrafted following transplantation. Following peripheral blood (PB) cell count recovery we examined BM CD34 and colony-forming cell (CFC) counts. Of note, the absolute number of CD34+ cells in the BM following hematopoietic reconstitution (926.0 ± 142.8 /microliter) was 3.5 fold higher than pre-transplant levels (257.9 ± 56.2 /microliter). However, the absolute number of CFC in the BM was 2.2 fold lower than pre-transplant levels. BM biopsies performed on the 3 baboons serially prior to, and 56, 120 and 400 days post-transplant respectively to examine hematopoietic recovery, myeloid-to-erythroid ratio and cellularity did not demonstrate myelodysplasia or malignancy. There was tri-lineage hematopoiesis evident in the BM in all 3 baboons with 50 to 70% cellularity. Further evaluation of the safety of 5azaD/TSA-expanded grafts was performed using three independent methods. Firstly, 150 NOD/SCID mice who received 5azaD/TSA expanded human CB grafts have not displayed any signs of tumor formation after primary or secondary transplantation. Secondly, karyotyping of CMA-expanded human CB graft or baboon CD34+ cells prior to and following transplant (day 266) reveals no detectable chromosomal anomalies. Thirdly, we used Flow-FISH, an in situ flow cytometry-based assay to measure relative telomere lengths (RTL) of purified CD11a+ (97.59% ± 0.38%) leukocytes from baboon BM prior to and following transplantation. The majority of CD11a+ leukocytes are short-lived which indirectly reflects the telomere lengths of the respective HSC from which they are derived. Our results show that the RTL of Jurkat cells were 10.6% ± 0.37%, while human CB cell RTLs were 19.7% ± 1.2%. The pre- and post-transplant (day 56) BM cells of one baboon (PA7619) displayed (average) RTL values of 13.48% ± 0.76 % and 13.96% ± 0.68% respectively. In another animal (PA7963), average RTL values were determined serially using Flow-FISH on BM CD11a+ enriched cells at multiple time-points post-transplant up to day 417 which displayed mean RTL of 17.66 % ± 0.52% while pre-transplant RTL was 15.39% ± 0.62%. In summary, the mean RTL values of baboon leukocytes were stable and post-transplant values were comparable to pre-transplant levels. Importantly, year-long monitoring shows no evidence of hematologic malignancies as determined by PB counts, BM examination (including cytogenetics) and measurements of leukocyte RTL values in a clinically relevant NHP model. These studies offer preliminary evidence that CMA-mediated expansion of CD34+ cells transferred into primates (and human CB CD34+ cells transferred into mice) is not genotoxic and does not induce hematopoietic malignancies, of relevance to use of human CMA-expanded CB grafts in clinical trials. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


We study zero-one laws for random graphs. We focus on the following question that was asked by many: Given a graph property P, is there a language of graphs able to express P while obeying the zeroone law? Our results show that on the one hand there is a (regular) language able to express connectivity and k-colorability for any constant k and still obey the zero-one law. On the other hand we show that in any (semiregular) language strong enough to express Hamiltonicity one can interpret arithmetic and thus the zero-one law fails miserably. This answers a question of Blass and Harary.


AIMS
Aortic regurgitation (AR) after Medtronic CoreValve System (MCS) implantation may be explained by patient-, operator- and procedure-related factors. We sought to explore if frame geometry, as a result of a specific device-host interaction, contributes to AR.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Using rotational angiography with dedicated motion compensation, we assessed valve frame geometry in 84 patients who underwent TAVI with the MCS. Aortic regurgitation was assessed by angiography (n=84, Sellers) and echocardiography at discharge (n=72, VARC-2). Twenty-two patients (26%) had AR grade ≥2 using contrast angiography, and 17 (24%) by echocardiography. Balloon predilatation and sizing and depth of implantation did not differ between the two groups. Despite more frequent balloon post-dilatation in patients with AR (40.9 vs. 9.7%, p=0.001), the frame was more elliptical at its nadir relative to the patient's annulus (6±13 vs. -1±11%, p=0.046) and occurred in a larger proportion of patients (61.9 vs. 26.8%, p=0.004). Although the Agatston score and the eccentricity of the MCS frame relative to the annulus were independent determinants of AR (odds ratio: 1.635 [1.151-2.324], p=0.006, and 4.204 [1.237-14.290], p=0.021), there was a weak association between the Agatston score and the adjusted eccentricity (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient =-0.24, p=0.046).

CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that AR can be explained by a specific device-host interaction which can only partially be explained by the calcium load of the aortic root.


A procedure was developed for estimating speeds with which postulated missiles hit any given set of targets in a nuclear power plant or similar installation. Hit speeds corresponding to probabilities of occurrence of .0000001 were calculated for a given nuclear power plant under various assumptions concerning the magnitude of the force opposing missile take-off, direction of tornado axis of translation, number and location of missiles, and size of target area. The results of the calculations are shown to depend upon the parameters: CDA/m, where CD = drag coefficient, A = projected area, m = mass of missiles, and the ratio, k, between the minimum aerodynamic force required to cause missile take-off, and the weight of the missile.


The difficult aspect of developing new protein sequence comparison techniques is coming up with a method that can quickly and effectively handle huge data sets of various lengths in a timely manner. In this work, we first obtain two numerical representations of protein sequences separately based on one physical property and one chemical property of amino acids. The lengths of all the sequences under comparison are made equal by appending the required number of zeroes. Then, fast Fourier transform is applied to this numerical time series to obtain the corresponding spectrum. Next, the spectrum values are reduced by the standard inter coefficient difference method. Finally, the corresponding normalized values of the reduced spectrum are selected as the descriptors for protein sequence comparison. Using these descriptors, the distance matrices are obtained using Euclidian distance. They are subsequently used to draw the phylogenetic trees using the UPGMA algorithm. Phylogenetic trees are first constructed for 9 ND4, 9 ND5, and 9 ND6 proteins using the polarity value as the chemical property and the molecular weight as the physical property. They are compared, and it is seen that polarity is a better choice than molecular weight in protein sequence comparison. Next, using the polarity property, phylogenetic trees are obtained for 12 baculovirus and 24 transferrin proteins. The results are compared with those obtained earlier on the identical sequences by other methods. Three assessment criteria are considered for comparison of the results—quality based on rationalized perception, quantitative measures based on symmetric distance, and computational speed. In all the cases, the results are found to be more satisfactory.


In order to learn the natural expectancy period of first pregnancy as well as the influences of some biosocial variables, a clinical-retrospective study was performed within 1120 gravida I women. All of them attended the major institutes of health care in Mexico City (IMSS, ISSSTE, SS and DDF). Data were obtained by means of predetermined questions from subjects after the first postpartum hours. None of them had previously used any contraceptive method. Results showed age at the first pregnancy: 21.6 +/- 3.8 (years); gestational interval 22.1 +/- 19.9 (months) and a 67% achievement rate the following twelve months of sexual activity. Eutocia was seen in 54% of these population and significant linear correlation was attained between age of the patient and the gestational interval. It seems that this is the first information regarding the fertility critical period within our society.


The submodeling technique is a powerful analysis tool. The method promotes more accurate analysis and also helps enhance productivity. It has been shown that by using displacement-force cut boundary condition method, it can be made even more versatile. The local stress phenomena of the solder microbump have been solved with this approach to demonstrate the concept. From the simulation model, it is known that the ENIG pad thickness has an effect on the aluminium pad stress in the silicon chip. This is important as the shear stress will damage the pad and circuitry on the chip. Previously this is not reported in other literatures as there is no strain gage available that can measure such a small dimension.


Plants produce a wide array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have multiple functions as internal plant hormones (e.g., ethylene, methyl jasmonate and methyl salicylate), in communication with conspecific and heterospecific plants and in communication with organisms of second (herbivores and pollinators) and third (enemies of herbivores) trophic levels. Species specific VOCs normally repel polyphagous herbivores and those specialised on other plant species, but may attract specialist herbivores and their natural enemies, which use VOCs as host location cues. Attraction of predators and parasitoids by VOCs is considered an evolved indirect defence, whereby plants are able to indirectly reduce biotic stress caused by damaging herbivores. In this chapter we review these interactions where VOCs are known to play a crucial role. We then discuss the importance of volatile communication in self and nonself detection. VOCs are suggested to appear in soil ecosystems where distinction of own roots from neighbours roots is essential to optimise root growth, but limited evidence of above‐ground plant self‐recognition is available.


Acute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by a reversible increase in blood concentration of creatinine and nitrogenous waste products and by the inability of the kidney to regulate fluid and electrolyte homeostasis appropriately. AKI in hospitalized patients is independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality in pediatric and adult populations. Continued reliance on serum creatinine and urine output for the diagnosis of AKI has resulted in an inability to provide successful therapeutic and supportive interventions to prevent and mitigate AKI. Research efforts over the last decade have foused on the discovery and validation of novel biomarkers to detect AKI prior to a change in kidney function and to make a differential diagnosis of AKI.


BACKGROUND
A number of data sources help inform policy decisions regarding the risk of work-related ill-health.

AIMS
To compare self-reported and medically reported data from multiple sources and discuss their benefits and limitations in providing estimates of work-related ill-health incidence in Great Britain.

METHODS
Sources included The Health & Occupation Reporting network (THOR & THOR-GP (THOR in General Practice)) and the survey of Self-reported Work-related Illness (SWI). Results from SWI and THOR from GPs, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, dermatologists and respiratory physicians (2006-2009) were compared. THOR-GP data also included patient referrals information.

RESULTS
Overall incidence rates were highest when calculated from self-reported data, and lowest from clinical specialists. SWI rates were higher than GP rates for mental ill-health (SWI 790, GP 500 per 100 000 persons employed) and 'other' diagnoses (SWI 368, GP 41), whereas incidence rates for musculoskeletal (SWI 670, GP 684) and skin diagnoses (SWI 38, GP 152) were higher from GPs. Very few cases of musculoskeletal and mental ill-health were referred to clinical specialists (<1%). Skin (15%) and respiratory (26%) cases were referred more frequently. Case mix varied by data source.

CONCLUSIONS
SWI is more inclusive than THOR-GP; however, reports are unsubstantiated by medical opinion. Clinical specialist reports are subject to biases such as severity and referral patterns. GP data benefit from their inclusion of less severe cases than reports from secondary care and may give a better reflection of the incidence of diseases with a work-related aetiology unrecognized by self-reporting individuals.


This essay presents metacognition as a tool to promote a classroom environment inclusive for students with disabilities. It aims at promoting reflection on the methodology to address diversity within the classroom, considering the population with disabilities as one of the major groups to bear in mind. Within the conceptual approach, inclusive education is seen as the way to address diversity in the Costa Rican education system, where education is considered a fundamental human right. The Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica is moving from a rehabilitative approach to an inclusive education approach. Metacognition is a way to raise awareness on the pedagogical mediation within the classroom environment. This paper includes results from a series of descriptive and qualitative studies conducted at Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica, which demonstrate that many of the difficulties presented in the student population are due to methodological aspects and an inadequate delivery of the contents by the teachers. The methodology used helps us to understand the ways in which students perform the cognitive processes through metacognitive strategies. It is concluded that the teaching strategies proposed to meet the educational needs comprehensively is fundamental for achieving inclusive educational processes.


The year 2000 marked both the start of the new millennium and the announcement that the vast majority of the human genome had been sequenced. Much work remains to understand how this "instruction book for human biology" carries out its multitudes of functions. But the consequences for the practice of medicine are likely to be profound. Genetic prediction of individual risks of disease and responsiveness to drugs will reach the medical mainstream in the next decade or so. The development of designer drugs, based on a genomic approach to targeting molecular pathways that are disrupted in disease, will follow soon after. Potential misuses of genetic information, such as discrimination in obtaining health insurance and in the workplace, will need to be dealt with swiftly and effectively. Genomic medicine holds the ultimate promise of revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatment of many illnesses.


Oncogenic RNA viruses have been found in many species of mammals. The presence of oncogenic viruses in man is probable. DNA viruses suspectable to oncogenic action are increasingly studied. The importance of actual studies on the viral etiology of tumors is presented.


Cerebral ventriculitis is an uncommon site and manifestation of infection of the central nervous system. We report the magnetic resonance findings in two patients with cytologic and CSF culture proof of ventriculitis. The findings included abnormal signal intensity of the ependyma and CSF on T2-weighted images. In addition, ependymal, meningeal, and dural enhancement was seen in one case, on T1-weighted images, after administration of Gd-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid.


We examine the influence of structural imperfections on mechanical damping in polydomain smectic main-chain liquid crystalline elastomers (MCLCE) subjected to small strain oscillatory shear. The mechanical loss factor tan δ = G″(ω)/G′(ω) exhibits a strong maximum (tan δ ≈ 1.0) near the smectic-isotropic (clearing) transition. "Optimal" elastomers that exhibit minimal equilibrium swelling in a good solvent are compared with highly swelling "imperfect elastomers" that contain higher concentrations of structural imperfections such as pendant chains. For the imperfect elastomers, tan δ is markedly enhanced in the isotropic state because of relaxation of pendant chains and other imperfections. However, within the smectic state, the magnitude of tan δ and its temperature dependence are similar for optimal and imperfect elastomers at ω = 1 Hz. The prominent loss peak near the clearing transition arises from segment-level relaxations that are insensitive to the details of chain connectivity. Smectic MCLCE can be tailored for applications as vibration-damping materials by manipulating the clearing transition temperature through the backbone structure or by deliberate introduction of structural imperfections such as pendant chains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 3267–3276, 2007


In the formation of a photon-number state in a micromaser, the evolution of field entropy versus the injected atom number is studied with and without the rotating-wave approximation, and the results in these two different cases are compared. An entropy-decreasing system and the quantum oscillation induced by virtual photons are discussed.


Abstract This paper summarizes the main results of recent geomorphological research on the hydrogeology of weathering profiles on the African erosion surface in Malawi. Deep regolithic profiles have developed by protracted and aggressive weathering and differential leaching. In the advanced stages of weathering, congruent kaolinite 'dissolution' causes the saprolite to collapse, forming a thick residuum of the most resistant materials, dominated by silica in the form of quartz and iron as goethite. Aluminium has been extensively leached. Such profiles pertain to a mechanism of land surface formation dominated by the activity of infiltrating water rather than direct surface runoff and it results in terrain with a generally basined configuration. Low-lying areas are occupied by dambos. These are clay-filled bottomlands which are seasonally waterlogged and are located where lithology favours leaching and saprolite collapse. The contemporary fluviatile-like configuration of the dambos is attributed to post-incision modification of the ancient land surface. As a result, their area is reduced and they become inset into it, following geological controls which express integrated groundwater movement within the saprolite. The infill is shown to be essentially an alumino-silicate evaporite rather than of alluvial origin. Analysis of dambo and dambo-peripheral profiles supports this genetic model, identifying the continuity of the contemporary dambo infill with a 'palaeodambo' clay wedge below the surficial sands in peripheral situations. The very low permeability of the clay is held to be responsible for the marginal seepage zone, fed by shallow throughflow from topographically higher profiles and augmented by upward discharge of deep water. Elements lost from the interfluves were identified in evaporites which occur on the dambo floors in the dry season. These include aluminium. Analysis of water discharging into the dambos failed to identify this element. There is a need for reassessment of technique to determines element mobilization in tropical groundwater, where organic binding is implicated.


High Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) in the transmitted signal is still a very important challenge in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems. In this paper, we present a new Zadoff-Chu matrix Transform (ZCT) precoded Selected Mapping (SLM) based OFDM (SLM-OFDM) system for PAPR reduction. The proposed system is based on precoding the constellation symbols with ZCT precoder after the multiplication of phase rotation factor and before the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) in SLM-OFDM Systems. At the clipping probability of 10−3, simulation results show that our proposed system can reduce the PAPR up to 5.0 dB with N=64 (System subcarriers) and V=16 (Dissimilar phase sequences) for QPSK modulation. Additionally, ZCT based SLM-OFDM systems also take advantage of frequency variations of the communication channel and can also offer substantial performance gain in fading multipath channels.


The present report concerns Malassezia-related pityrosporum folliculitis in a patient without any predisposing factor. Once the diagnosis had been confirmed by histopathologic exam, the patient was treated with oral ketoconazole and selenium sulfide shampoo; complete remission of the clinical condition was obtained. Thus it could be concluded that in spite of being routinely associated with immunosuppression, this condition may be present in an immunocompetent patient.


ABSTRACT Romeo and Juliet is 'a tragedy of the name', that is, a story about how the 'civil brawls' between two feuding families determine the life stories of the protagonists, since Romeo and Juliet are born 'from forth the fatal loins of these two foes'. The title of the play, Romeo's and Juliet's names, determines the tragic plot, which ends with their deaths, but also offers these lovers a certain timelessness. Reading the all-time canonical tale of pubescent love as a tragedy that stages young love as rash and risky, this essay juxtaposes the image-abundant and flirty communication between Shakespeare's tragic lovers with the contemporary phenomenon of digital sexting. It argues that their exchange shares with this contemporary form of love letters a risk of its 'fatal' publicity, and that this possibility – the risk that their messages do not arrive at the right place at the right time – is integral to the communication. It foregrounds the question of voice and its complex undertakings of both mediating our social being and constituting the grain of our subjectivity and suggests that Romeo's and Juliet's excessive speech can challenge our distributions of privacy and agency in the context of our cultural discussions about teenage sexuality.


IN MEMORY OF GETULIO COSTA Getulio Moreira da Costa played an important role in publishing books in the first half of the last century. Since his youth he was attracted to these activities, having founded some little publishing houses in S.Paulo, like Editora Popular and Rochea. Then he worked for Monteiro Lobato and Octales Marcondes Ferreira at Companhia. Editora Nacional in Sao Paulo, which he left in 1931 to go to Rio de Janeiro and found the Livraria Civilizacao Brasileira. He went to Lisbon where he founded the Livros do Brasil, which distributed books of the Civilizacao and the Nacional. Both houses were later sold to the Companhia Editora Nacional. In 1938 he founded The Editora Getulio Costa which lasted until 1950 and  also published a great deal of books of important poets, novelists and essaysts, like Jorge de Lima, Ribeiro Couto, Malba Tahan, Viriato Correia, Alceu Amoroso Lima, Gustavo Barroso, etc. His passion for books and his view of them as means of man improvement and happiness brought him no few problems, including some imprisonments. He was a pioneer in publishing books in Brazil, since during the first two decades of the twentieth  century, most of the important Brazilian authors, like Machado de Assis and Coelho Neto, had their works published in Portugal. This article deals with some biographical information of Getulio Costa, his activities of publisher and businessman, his efforts to develop reading in Brazil and some aspects of his optimistic view of life.


Provides a fascinating 'guided tour' of the worlds greatest buildings. The book is divided into ten chapters, each dedicated to an architectural period and style. Each building is described and dissected in a lively, self-contained essay covering such topics as who built it and why.


Objective. To evaluate the influence of hip dysfunction on quality of life of pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Methods. Clinical demographic, Charnley hip score, Barthel scale and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0) questionnaires were used. Results. Seventeen patients were placed into the group "with hip dysfunction," and 54 into the group "without hip dysfunction." The group "with hip dysfunction" had a higher average age (P = .026), weight (P = .029), and height (P = .019) than the group "without hip dysfunction." There was also a higher prevalence of hip trauma (P = .05) and pain (P = .00). The study demonstrated that hip dysfunction negatively influenced quality of life in the physical activity (P = .11) and psychosocial (P = .003) domains. Conclusion. Hip dysfunction and previous hip trauma negatively influenced quality of life, especially in the physical activity and psychosocial domains.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Strong evidence exists for the utility of remote monitoring in cardiac implantable electronic devices for early detection of arrhythmias and evaluation of system performance. The application of remote monitoring for the management of chronic disease such as heart failure has been an active area of research. Areas covered: This review aims to cover the latest evidence of remote monitoring of implantable cardiac defibrillators in terms of heart failure prognosis. This article also updates the current technology relating to the method and discusses key factors to be addressed in order to better use the approach. PubMed and internet searches were conducted to acquire most recent data and technology information. Expert commentary: Multiparameter monitoring with automatic transmission is useful for heart failure management. Improved adherence to remote monitoring and an optimal algorithm for transmitted alerts and their management are warranted in the management of heart failure.


We report the first detection of Trissolcusjaponicus, an exotic Asian egg parasitoid and the primary candidate for classical biological control of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorphahalys, in Canada. Twenty-eight Trissolcusjaponicus emerged from an H.halys egg mass from a site heavily infested by H.halys in Chilliwack, British Columbia, in 2018. This egg mass was deployed and retrieved as part of ongoing sentinel egg mass surveys for natural enemies of H.halys from 2017–2018 in coastal and interior British Columbia (total of 1,496 egg clusters at 16 sites). The identification of T.japonicus was based on biology (high levels of successful emergence from H.halys eggs), morphology, and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Trissolcusjaponicus was not detected at any other survey sites in 2017–2018; however, three species of indigenous egg parasitoids were found attending or emerging from H.halys egg masses at low levels (<4%) at several sites. The origin of the detected T.japonicus, the extent of its establishment in British Columbia, and its ultimate impact on H.halys populations remain to be determined. Nonetheless, the detection of this exotic biological control agent in Canada concurrently with regulatory review of its intentional importation and release is emblematic of the current uncertainty around regulatory control on the movement of biological control agents across borders.


The waters in the north of Taiwan are located at the southern end of the East China Sea (ECS), adjacent to the Taiwan Strait (TS), and the Kuroshio region. To understand the physical dynamic process of ocean currents and the temporal and spatial distribution of the ocean chlorophyll concentration in the north of Taiwan, hourly coastal ocean dynamics applications radar (CODAR) flow field data and geostationary ocean color imager (GOCI) data are analyzed here. According to data from December 2014 to May 2020, the water in the TS flows along the northern coast of Taiwan into the Kuroshio region with a velocity of 0.13 m/s in spring and summer through the ECS. In winter, the Kuroshio invades the ECS shelf, where the water flows into the TS through the ECS with a velocity of 0.08 m/s. The seasonal variation of ocean chlorophyll concentration along the northwestern coast of Taiwan is obvious, where the average chlorophyll concentration from November to January exceeds 2.0 mg/m3, and the lowest concentration in spring is 1.4 mg/m3. It is apparent that the tidal currents in the north of Taiwan flow eastward and westward during ebb and flood periods, respectively. Affected by the background currents, the flow velocity exhibits significant seasonal changes, namely, 0.43 m/s in summer and 0.27 m/s in winter during the ebb period and is 0.26 m/s in summer and 0.45 m/s in winter during the flood period. The chlorophyll concentration near the shore is also significantly affected by the tidal currents. Based on CODAR data, virtual drifter experiments, and GOCI data, this research provides novel and important knowledge of ocean current movement process in the north of Taiwan and indicates diurnal to seasonal variations in the ocean chlorophyll concentration, facilitating future research on the interaction between the TS, ECS, and Kuroshio.


The computer industry is playing an increasingly important role in India's economy. However, for a number of reasons, many researchers are not doing high-quality work. Computer science research in India takes place at academic, government-sponsored, and industry-sponsored institutions. These major institutions can conduct effective research because they have sufficient funding, high-quality programs, good equipment, and an effective infrastructure. This is not the case at India's many other institutions. Many local observers say that Indian computer scientists make advances in existing areas of research but rarely do cutting-edge work. This occurs, in part, because many Indian computer scientists receive little direction and have few co-workers in their fields, which means they work in relative isolation.


Biofilm-forming bacteria may be 10-1000 times more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic bacteria and represent about 75% of bacterial infections in humans. Antibiofilm treatments are scarce, and no effective therapies have been reported so far. In this context, antibiofilm peptides (ABPs) represent an exciting class of agents with potent activity against biofilms both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, murine models of bacterial biofilm infections have been used to evaluate the in vivo effectiveness of ABPs. Therefore, here we highlight the translational potential of ABPs and provide an overview of the different clinically relevant murine models to assess ABP efficacy, including wound, foreign body, chronic lung, and oral models of infection. We discuss key challenges to translate ABPs to the clinic and the pros and cons of the existing murine biofilm models for reliable assessment of the efficacy of ABPs.


In this paper we introduce ``clipping,'' a new method of syntactic approximation which is motivated by and works in conjunction with a sound and decidable denotational model for a given programming language. Like slicing, clipping reduces the size of the source code in preparation for automatic verification; but unlike slicing it is an imprecise but computationally inexpensive algorithm which does not require a whole-program analysis. The technique of clipping can be framed into an iterated refinement cycle to arbitrarily improve its precision. We first present this rather simple idea intuitively with some examples, then work out the technical details in the case of an Algol-like programming language and a decidable approximation of its game-semantic model inspired by Hankin and Malacaria's ``lax functor'' approach. We conclude by presenting an experimental model checking tool based on these ideas and some toy programs.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the differences in craniofacial morphology in Chinese patients with and without obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

METHOD
We performed lateral cephalometric radiographs on 94 consecutive patients (77 males) referred with snoring or other symptoms suggestive of OSA for polysomnography (PSG). Significant OSA was defined as an apneoa-hypopnoea index (AHI) > or = 10/h of sleep on overnight PSG. The cephalometric data were compared between those with and without significant OSA.

RESULTS
(mean +/- SD) There were 69 (56 males) with significant OSA with mean age 53 +/- 12 years, body mass index (BMI) 28.6 +/- 5.0 kg/m2, AHI 36.5 +/- 20.6/h, and minimum SaO2 76 +/- 14%. There were 25 controls (21 males) without significant OSA with similar age and BMI. The mandibular plane to hyoid bone distance (MPH) and the perpendicular distance from hyoid bone to the line connecting C3 vertebra and retrognathion (HHI) were significantly longer in the OSA patients. The angle measurement from sella to nasion to point A (SNA) was smaller in the OSA group. MPH distance was the only independent variable for significant OSA with an odds ratio of 3.47 (95% CI 1.39-8.66). Abnormalities of the MPH and SNA were more marked in the OSA patients with BMI > or = 30 kg/m2.

CONCLUSIONS
Significant differences in craniofacial morphology are noted between OSA patients and non-apnoeic controls. An inferiorly positioned hyoid bone and a retropositioned maxilla may predispose obese patients to more severe OSA.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of micro ribonucleic acid-330 (miR-330) in breast cancer tissues and cancer-adjacent tissues as well as the correlations of the miR-330 expression with clinicopathological features and the prognosis of breast cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The expression levels of miR-330 in cancer tissues and cancer-adjacent tissues of 120 breast cancer patients with complete follow-up data were detected via the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Meanwhile, the expression level of miR-330 in serum of breast cancer patients was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The correlations of the expression level of miR-330 with clinicopathological data and the prognosis of breast cancer patients were explored.

RESULTS
The expression level of miR-330 in breast cancer tissues was remarkably higher than that in cancer-adjacent tissues, and it was also higher in serum of breast cancer patients than that of healthy controls. In breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node metastasis, the proportion of patients with the high expression of miR-330 [30/54 (55.6%)] was markedly larger than that of patients with the low expression of miR-330 [6/30 (20%)] (p=0.003). In terms of tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, the proportion of patients with the high expression of miR-330 in stage II or above was evidently larger than that of patients with the low expression of miR-330, in which the proportion was 46/60 (77.2%) in stage III and 11/15 (73.3%) in stage IV (p=0.002). Additionally, the tumor size, the histological grade, the expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), the expression of hormone receptors and the tissue type, were not related to the expression level of miR-330 (p>0.05). It was manifested in the survival curve that the median survival time was 84.8 months in the miR-330 high expression group and 96.8 months in the miR-330 low expression group, displaying a statistical difference (p=0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
MiR-330 is highly expressed in cancer tissues and serum of patients with breast cancer, and it can promote the axillary lymph node metastasis, which is an important factor affecting the prognosis of breast cancer patients. However, no obvious correlations of the expression level of miR-330 with the tumor size, the histological grade, the HER2 expression and the expression of estrogen receptors are found.


Hydrogen peroxide was cytotoxic to the small intestine epithelial cell line, IEC-6, as judged from an MTT assay and the release of lactate dehydrogenase. The glutathione S-transferase and thioredoxin reductase activities and SH content decreased dose-dependently with H2O2, but thioredoxin activity increased at low H2O2 concentrations. In addition, the increase in thioredoxin activity was time-dependent during the initial stages of oxidative stress. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification also showed that the mRNA content in IEC-6 cells increased time-dependently at 0.25 mM H2O2. These results indicate that cellular oxidative shock causes an increase in the activity of thioredoxin, which is involved in the defense mechanism against oxidative stress.


This paper considers the problem of scaling the proposal distribution of a multidi-mensional random walk Metropolis algorithm, in order to maximize the eeciency of the algorithm. The main result is a weak convergence result as the dimension of a sequence of target densities, n, converges to 1. When the proposal variance is appropriately scaled according to n, the sequence of stochastic processes formed by the rst component of each Markov chain, converge to the appropriate limiting Langevin diiusion process. The limiting diiusion approximation admits a straightforward eeciency maxi-mization problem, and the resulting asymptotically optimal policy is related to the asymptotic acceptance rate of proposed moves for the algorithm. The asymptoti-cally optimal acceptance rate is 0.234 under quite general conditions. The main result is proved in the case where the target density has a symmetric product form. Extensions of the result are discussed.


Background. Russia ranks fourth in the World in terms of the influx of migrants (of which 12 million currently live within the country). At the same time, the factors accompanying the process of acculturation can be quite different and lead to contradictions and conflicts between the groups. As far as migrants are concerned, the study of mediative role of the perceived threat in formation of acculturation expectation sremains an under researched topic in cross-cultural psychology. Objective. The study is aimed at determining whether the perceived threat from migrants has a mediating effect on the relationship between social capital and the acculturation expectations of the host population towards migrants. Design. The study was carried out in an online format by a questionnaire given to young adults living in Moscow (N = 214). The participants answered the questions that determined the level of trust, ethnic tolerance, perceived threat, and acculturation expectations. Results. The results of the study revealed that the perceived threat (especially the cultural one) turned out to be a mediator of the connection between ethnic tolerance and acculturation expectations of "melting pot" and "exclusion". In case of connection of the indicators of trust and ethnic tolerance with "segregation", only the perceived physical threat played a mediating role. The role of ethnic tolerance has been confirmed in the above three acculturation expectations, while trust turned out to be significant only in the "segregated" models. The meditative role of the perceived threat in the relationship between the three indicators of social capital and the acculturation expectation of "multiculturalism" has been completely refuted. Conclusion. The results of the research make it possible to determine the role of the perceived threat in acculturation attitudes and expectations towards migrants. The main limitation of this study is the fact that it took place only in Moscow. In the nearest future, it is planned to compare the results obtained in Russia from Russian-speaking test-groups with the results of other groups in other countries.


The combination of graphene with semiconductor materials in heterostructure photodetectors enables amplified detection of femtowatt light signals using micrometer‐scale electronic devices. Presently, long‐lived charge traps limit the speed of such detectors, and impractical strategies, e.g., the use of large gate‐voltage pulses, have been employed to achieve bandwidths suitable for applications such as video‐frame‐rate imaging. Here, atomically thin graphene–WS2 heterostructure photodetectors encapsulated in an ionic polymer are reported, which are uniquely able to operate at bandwidths up to 1.5 kHz whilst maintaining internal gain as large as 106. Highly mobile ions and the nanometer‐scale Debye length of the ionic polymer are used to screen charge traps and tune the Fermi level of the graphene over an unprecedented range at the interface with WS2. Responsivity R = 106 A W−1 and detectivity D* = 3.8 × 1011 Jones are observed, approaching that of single‐photon counters. The combination of both high responsivity and fast response times makes these photodetectors suitable for video‐frame‐rate imaging applications.


Conducting interpenetrating polymer networks (C-IPN) are a promising solution for the design of sensing and actuating parts at macro- or microscale. This class of polymers can be used in open-air, allowing for large displacements under low voltages with a reversible process. In this work, we are mainly interested in the electromechanical characterization of the material because of its particular behavior. Two working modes, namely actuation and sensing, are identified through modeling and experimental validations. The relationship between the output forces, the tip displacements and the driving voltages was highlighted with an experimental setup while actuating. On the other hand, the linear range and the sensitivity have been empirically modeled in sensing mode. We also demonstrate that this material is suitable to build a gripper for small objects. A sphere was lifted by the gripper, and the grasping force was successfully monitored by the sensing finger. This is a promising first step towards more complex 3D structures.


Background: The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of international airports and airlines, 'IAAs', and to organize and classify the literature on air transport to stage the importance of this topic and encourage future research in the projection of the aviation and tourism sectors. Methods: It is a bibliographic study, and this work focuses on IAA documents published in major international journals, conferences, and books from 2000 to 9 June 2021; this topic is scattered across various journals and has secondary data in many disciplines. Results: The findings suggest a new paradigm applied to the IAA topic and are classified in four first-order research streams: airports; airlines; connectivity; and competition. This study identifies new challenges and opportunities for researchers, airport and airline operators, and stakeholders to make better future decisions. Conclusions: There is no agreement on an explicit definition of the IAA concept that captures the true nature of this topic. For this reason, this article is innovative in the new IAA concept and in how it will possibly change the theoretical frameworks in future scientific research in the aviation and tourism sectors. This study has been needed to better understand the effectiveness, projection, and different business strategies to be adopted by researchers and organizations in the aviation and tourism future.


To investigate whether efferent parasympathetic fibers to the tracheal smooth muscle course through the pararecurrent nerve rather than the recurrent or the superior laryngeal nerve, we stimulated all three nerves in anesthetized dogs. We also recorded the pararecurrent nerve activity response to bronchoconstrictor stimuli and compared it with pressure changes inside a saline-filled cuff of an endotracheal tube. Electrical stimulation (30 s, 100 Hz, 0.1 ms, 10 mA) increased tracheal cuff pressure by 21.0 +/- 3.2 and 1.3 +/- 0.7 cmH(2)O for the pararecurrent and the recurrent laryngeal nerve, respectively. Stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve increased tracheal cuff pressure before, but not after, sectioning of the ramus anastomoticus, which connects it to the pararecurrent nerve. Intravenous administration of sodium cyanide increased pararecurrent nerve activity by 208 +/- 51% and tracheal cuff pressure by 14.4 +/- 3.5 cmH(2)O. Elevation of end-tidal PCO(2) to 50 Torr increased pararecurrent nerve activity by 49 +/- 19% and tracheal cuff pressure by 8.4 +/- 3.6 cmH(2)O. Further elevation to 60 Torr increased pararecurrent nerve activity by 101 +/- 33% and tracheal cuff pressure by 11.3 +/- 2.9 cmH(2)O. These results lead us to the conclusion that parasympathetic efferent fibers reach the smooth muscle of the canine trachea via the pararecurrent nerve.


Using basic homotopy constructions, we show that isomorphism classes of string structures on spin bundles are naturally given by certain degree 3 cohomology classes, which we call string classes, on the total space of the bundle. Using a Hodge isomorphism, we then show that the harmonic representative of a string class gives rise to a canonical 3-form on the base space, refining the associated differential character. We explicitly calculate this 3-form for homogeneous metrics on 3-spheres, and we discuss how the cohomology theory tmf could potentially encode obstructions to positive Ricci curvature metrics.


Semantics is a branch of linguistics related to the study of language in its function with regard to organizing and expressing meaning. The discussion is related to the lexical meanings in a song. By listening to songs, we can gain knowledge about literary appreciation and song background. Therefore, the researchers were interested in analyzing the types of meanings in songs that are currently popularly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers analyzed two songs: "Demi Raga yang Lain", created by Eka Gustiwana, and "Semua kan Berlalu", by 50 Indonesian artists and created by Maria Shandi. This research used descriptive qualitative methods. The data were obtained by gathering them from the internet, then reading and listening to the lyrics to understand the contents of the songs, and analyzing the data collected and making conclusions. Lexical and contextual meaning were found in the songs.


Laser powder bed fusion additive manufactured 316L stainless steel specimens were evaluated to establish a baseline for future research in determining an optimized energy density and build orientation. Test specimens were printed at various energy densities. At each energy density, tensile and fatigue specimens were printed at 0o (longitudinal), 45o, and 90o (transverse) orientation to the build plate. Tensile and high cycle fatigue tests were performed then representative fracture surfaces were analyzed. The apparent melt track and dendrite size were evaluated using grain analysis software. Static loading of the tensile specimens showed a marginal difference in UTS for specimens with a longitudinal and 45o orientation to the build plate. The transverse orientation was more variable due to the UTS response to the quality of fusion between melt track layers. The energy density affected the fatigue as well. Typically, the medium energy density had the most consistent behavior. Fractography revealed a relationship between energy density and melt track fusion. The optimum energy density in this study was determined to be 100 J/mm3, based on the highest transverse UTS, highest fatigue limit, moderate ductility, and moderate volume of lack of fusion defects. Specimens fabricated at a lower energy density had insufficient heat input to achieve good fusion which reduced the transverse UTS, ductility, and fatigue limit. The highest energy density was excessive energy density leading to an increase in defects reducing the transverse UTS and fatigue limit. The UTS was not strongly affected by the defect volume except in the transverse orientation, where a high defect volume reduced the quality of fusion between melt track layers.


Recent meta-reinforcement learning work has emphasized the importance of mnemonic control for agents to quickly assimilate relevant experience in new contexts and suitably adapt their policy. However, what computational mechanisms support flexible behavioral adaptation from past experience remains an open question. Inspired by neuroscience, we propose MetODS (for MetaOptimized Dynamical Synapses), a broadly applicable model of meta-reinforcement learning which leverages fast synaptic dynamics influenced by action-reward feedback. We develop a theoretical interpretation of MetODS as a model learning powerful control rules in the policy space and demonstrate empirically that robust reinforcement learning programs emerge spontaneously from them. We further propose a formalism which efficiently optimizes the meta-parameters governing MetODS synaptic processes. In multiple experiments and domains, MetODS outperforms or compares favorably with previous metareinforcement learning approaches. Our agents can perform one-shot learning, approaches optimal exploration/exploitation strategies, generalize navigation principles to unseen environments and demonstrate a strong ability to learn adaptive motor policies.


Face is included in one person's biometric characteristics that are unique. By looking at a person's face can be known whether stress or not. To determine the value of the stress on the face we conducted a comparative analysis of the extracted facial features between normal face and stress face using image processing technology. This study using Principal Component Analysis method used for extraction of features so we can know the features of each facial image data. To identify the facial image stress and image normal we researchers used questionnaires Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). At the final stage of the comparison of the extracted face normal and stress. The results of the analysis graph of the image data on the face that stress has a percentage above average image amounted to 50.38% and the percentage below the average image amounted to 49.63%, while the data of face images normal have a percentage above average image to forty three poin eighty one percent and the percentage image below the average to 56.19%.


Nigella sativa and its oil are frequently consumed among the people. However, its toxic effect on fetus is not known when used during pregnancy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of Nigella sativa oil on the liver development of rat fetus. Ten female rats were used in this study; four of them consist of control group and six of them composed of the experimental group. When the pregnancy was started, 2.5 ml/kg/day saline or 2.5 ml/kg/day Nigella sativa oil were administered by oral orogastric route for control and experimental groups, respectively. After deliveries, newborn rats were weighed and sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Livers, obtained from newborn rats, were fixed with formalin and embedded with paraffin wax to prepare blocks. Sections obtained from liver blocks were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson trichrome, and examined by light microscope. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in histopathological findings of liver tissues of newborns, except hydrophic degeneration, when the groups were compared. In conclusion, using Nigella sativa oil during pregnancy do not produce toxic effects on fetus liver.


The paper presents performance analysis of an analog front end (AFE) for body-coupled communication (BCC) which is based on data transmission via capacitive coupling through the human body. The AFE designs by cascading differential preamplifier and Schmitt trigger. A flipped voltage follower (FVF) topology is used as part of the preamplifier design. The operation frequency of the overall system is mentioned as 10 MHz. The open loop gain is 24.01 dB and the close loop gain is 19.43 dB for this preamplifier. The input referred noise PSD is 8.69 nV/√Hz at 10 MHz. The system runs on a supply voltage of 1 V with implementation being done on 65 nm CMOS technology.


Aging and cancer share a number of characteristics. This has led to the hypothesis that species' differences in longevity may be governed in part by the same mechanisms as those processes governing species' differences in their age-dependent probability of developing cancer. Much evidence has indicated that beta-carotene and retinol may be important natural anticarcinogens. Accordingly, they also may be important antiaging agents. This possibility has been tested by determining if a positive correlation exists between the concentration of carotenoids and retinol in serum and brain tissue with the maximal life-span potential of mammalian species. The results show a significant positive correlation for the carotenoids but not for retinol. These results suggest that the carotenoids may be biologically active as protective agents against cancer and as longevity determinants. Retinol appears to be less important in these functions.


Background: The use of epidural analgesia in the management of postoperative pain following orthopedic surgeries has evolved as a critical component of a multimodal approach to achieve the goal of pain relief, early mobilization, and improved compliance with physiotherapy resulting in overall improved outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare continuous femoral nerve block with continuous epidural block technique for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing elective total knee replacement surgery.Subjects and Methods:The patients belonging to the ASA I to III scheduled for various knee surgeries under spinal anesthesia were enrolled in this study. They were randomly divided into two equal groups of thirty-three patients each. The Group F patients received continuous femoral nerve blockade and in the Group E patients continuous epidural blocked preoperatively.Results:The analgesic efficacy of both continuous femoral nerve block and continuous epidural nerve block was equal as measured by the visual analogue scores. The incidence of Hypotension was more in the Epidural group. The adverse effects due to the Continuous Femoral Nerve block were lower in comparison with the Continuous Epidural block technique.Conclusion:Continuous femoral nerve blockade provides postoperative analgesia equivalent to that obtained with a continuous epidural blocked but with lesser side effects.


Carbidopa, at the dose of 250 mg. and benserazide at the dose of 125 mg, given orally in a single dose to healthy women aged between 23 - 26 years enhance significantly serum prolactin. The effect is not shared by two other inhibitors of AADC, namely alpha-methyl DOPA (500 mg) and fentiazac (400 mg). The effect of benserazide is suppressed by bromocriptine (2.5 mg) and blunted by 1-DOPA (400 mg) given orally simultaneusly.


The presence of an acid was found to be essential in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric addition of terminal alkynes to diarylphosphinylallenes giving exo-enynes in high yields with high regio- and enantioselectivity. The stereochemical outcome is determined at the protonolysis of the pi-allylrhodium(I) intermediate involved in the catalytic cycle.


B117 Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation contributes significantly to an individual's risk for skin cancer. Despite widespread awareness about skin cancer risks, many individuals continue to expose themselves to large amounts of UV radiation and protect their skin minimally. Self-report is the most commonly used strategy for measuring skin color, skin sensitivity, skin risk and protective behaviors, and perceived cumulative damage to the skin. Therefore, it is important to determine how accurate self-perception or self-report is, particularly when it is used as an outcome for intervention studies. In addition to self-report, however, there are other measurement options such as observation and visual inspection, UV-filtered photography showing underlying skin damage, and skin reflectance measuring current skin color. Research is limited to date as to how these measures compare to one another in terms of reliability and validity. The current study sought to investigate the reliability and validity of four measurement strategies and explore the differential validity of these measures based on demographic the characteristics of the sample. Participants were 100 young adults from the Philadelphia area who were recruited from three college campuses to take part in a larger study testing several behavioral skin cancer prevention interventions. Participants completed an online survey and attended an in-person session in which an observer rated their skin color; additionally, UV photos and spectrophotometry readings were taken. Trained research assistants rated the damage depicted in the UV photos reliably (k = .86). Moderate to high correlations emerged between self-report and the gold-standard, skin reflectance spectrophotometery. Observer rating correlated with spectrophotometry rating of current but not natural skin color. Overall, lighter-skinned individuals (by any measure) reported more cumulative skin damage, which was confirmed by UV photography. Although women's current skin color was lighter and their UV photos showed less damage than men's, women reported their skin to be more damaged than men did. These findings suggest that self-report continues to be a valuable measurement strategy when skin reflectance is not feasible or appropriate and that UV photos may also be useful but need to be tested further. Observer rating of skin color may be improved with more comprehensive protocols or training. The results also suggest that more intensive skin cancer prevention interventions may be important for men. Future research should continue to test these measurement strategies with larger and more diverse populations and compare them with other types of measures such as behavioral observation or objective measurement of UV exposure or protective behaviors.


The creation of social ties is driven by several factors which can arguably be related to individual preferences and to the common social environment of individuals. Effects of homophily and triadic closure mechanisms are claimed to be important in terms of initiating new social interactions and in turn to shape the global social structure. This way they eventually provide some potential to predict the creation of social ties between disconnected people sharing common friends or common subjects of interest. In this paper we analyze a large Twitter data corpus and quantify similarities between people by considering the set of their common friends and the set of their commonly shared hashtags in order to predict mention links among them. We show that these similarity measures are correlated among connected people and that the combination of contextual and local structural features provides better predictions as compared to cases where they are considered separately. These results help us to better understand the evolution of egocentric and global social networks and provide advances in the design of better recommendation systems and resource allocation plans.


The initial inflammatory stages of the colic syndrome include changes known as acute phase response. The aim of this study was to contribute with the establishment of reference values concerning the electrophoretogram of peritoneal liquid from healthy horses and horses submitted to experimentally induced intestinal obstruction. Twenty-one horses were allotted in four groups: duodenal obstruction (DG), ileum obstruction (IG), left-dorsal colon obstruction (MG), and control group (CG). Peritoneal liquid was sampled before obtruction (T0), with 3 hours of obstruction (T3) and 6, 30, 102 and 174 hours after desobstructing (T6, T30, T102 and T174, respectively). Total protein levels were determined by the biuret method and protein fractions were obtained by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The acute phase proteins (APP) identified were Immunoglobulin-A, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, albumin, α1-antitrypsin, heavy and light chains of immunoglobulin-G, haptoglobin, α1-acid glycoprotein and a still unnamed protein, which was called P24. There was no difference (P>0.3) in protein levels among groups, although a significant difference (P>0.05) was observed between distinct experimental moments in each group evidencing a higher response of the APP in the obstructed groups. The APP fractioning of the peritoneal liquid was standardized to establish a standard curve for healthy equines and those submitted to induced intestinal obstruction. Moreover, it was verified that the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was sensitive and effective to help diagnose abdominal inflammatory processes.