Heterozygotes for Tay-Sachs disease can be distinguished by measuring the serum hexosaminidase activity and calculating the percentage of the heat-labile (A) form. We tested 7565 Ashkenazi Jews in Metropolitan Toronto and found a carrier frequency of 0.071. This figure was similar to the predicted frequency on the basis of caseload over a five-year period. We also found that 15% of women taking oral contraceptives were false-positive carriers. As with pregnant women, these false-positive carriers could be distinguished from true carriers by assaying leukocyte hexosaminidases.


Human error is a crucial problem in manufacturing industries. Due to the misinterpretation of information on interface system design, accidents or death may occur at workplace. Lack of human cognition criteria in interface system design is also one of the contributions to the failure in using the system effectively. Therefore, this paper describes stages of evaluation process on powder handling system prototype. In the study, the prototype was evaluated based on cognitive awareness criteria for interface system design: perception, comprehension, and projection. Five experts with more than five years of experience from engineering and information technology fields were involved in the evaluation process. Results in this study are essential to the researcher in order to improve powder handling system prototype. It is hoped that mapping up the cognitive awareness criteria in interface system design will help users to make better decisions while handling the system at the workplace.


Prediction of machining process capability in the design stage plays a key role to reach the precision design and manufacturing of mechanical products. Inaccuracies in machining process lead to errors in position and orientation of machined features on the part, and strongly affect the process capability in the final quality of the product. In this paper, an efficient systematic approach is given to investigate the machining errors to predict the manufacturing errors of the parts and capability prediction of corresponding machining processes. A mathematical formulation of fixture locators modeling is presented to establish the relationship between the part errors and the related sources. Based on this method, the final machining errors of the part can be accurately estimated by relating them to the combined dimensional and geometric tolerances of the workpiece – fixture system. This method is developed for uncertainty analysis based on the Worst Case and statistical approaches. The application of the presented method is illustrated through presenting an example and the computational results are compared with the Monte Carlo simulation results. Keywords—Process capability, machining error, dimensional and geometrical tolerances, uncertainty analysis.


The fast multipole method (FMM) in conjunction with the lifting wavelet-like transform scheme is proposed for the scattering analysis of differently shaped three-dimensional perfectly electrical conducting objects. As a flexible and efficient matrix compression technique, the proposed method can sparsify the aggregation matrix and disaggregation matrix in real time with compression ratio about 30%. The computational complexity and choice of proper wavelet are also discussed. Numerical simulation and complexity analysis have shown that the proposed method can speed up the aggregation and disaggregation steps of the FMM with lower memory requirements.


Between 1977 and 1986, 170 male patients with anaplastic germ cell tumours (AGCT) completed chemotherapy with POMB/ACE (platinum, vincristine (oncovin), methotrexate, bleomycin, actinomycin D, cyclophosphamide and etoposide). By increasing the number of courses of POMB in 1979 we have been able to compensate for adverse prognostic factors. Since then each patient has received a minimum of three courses of POMB and 139 patients have completed therapy with an overall survival of 89%, and for those patients who had not received prior radiotherapy the survival is 92%. By increasing the number of courses of POMB, the initial serum concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG greater than 50,000 IU/I) and/or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP greater than 500 kU/l) have ceased to be poor prognostic variables. Neither stage at presentation nor the volume of metastatic disease is a major adverse prognostic variable using this chemotherapy.


Early life stress is one of non-genomic factor that influences offspring phenotype, growth and behaviors. In mammals, glucocorticoids exposure during the embryonic development cause epigenetic programming of the body where methylation imprints are established. Relevant studies are missing in avian species. Corticosterone (CORT) is a predominant glucocorticoid in the plasma of birds. It is reported to be deposited in the avian eggs, and has been measured in the egg of a variety of avian species including domestic chicken, quail, and canary. The effect of CORT on aggressive behavior and its relation with Serotonergic system and epigenetic programming is not been studied in chickens. In this study, we first investigated differences in egg deposition of CORT and embryonic expression of CORT metabolic enzymes between slow and fast growing broiler chickens. Secondly, we used a model of in ovo injection of CORT and investigated the effect of CORT on growth, aggressive behavior and its relation with serotonergic system and epigenetic modification. Finally, we investigated the effect of in ovo injection of CORT on ovary functions in the chicken.


The nuclear and Coulomb potentials between deformed nuclei with octupole deformations and arbitrary orientations are evaluated numerically. The effects of the octupole deformation on the potential between nuclei and the potential energy surface (PES) used in the description of the production of super-heavy nuclei (SHN) by heavy-ion fusion reactions are investigated in the di-nuclear system model. It is found that the nuclear octupole deformation significantly changes the shape of the PES, which may influence the fusion probability of the SHN. Also, PESs in the tip-belly and belly-belly cases are investigated. Finally, the quasi-fission barriers in the tip-tip and belly-belly cases are evaluated. It is found that the quasi-fission barriers of the belly-belly case are generally larger than those of the tip-tip case.


In recent years, attention to the high debt ratio in public institutions has pushed the government to make efforts in reducing the debt ratio. However, in order to stimulate the economy, the government needs drastically innovative measures that reduce debt by improving efficiency rather than moderate approaches that focus solely on debt reduction. Despite this need, no study has yet systematically analyzed the overall efficiency of domestic public institutions and identified the source of inefficiencies in each public entity. Therefore, largely two research questions are examined. First, this study compares the efficiency levels by types of public institutions. Second, this study identifies the cause of inefficiencies in each public institution and proposes directions for improving efficiency. Based on a 5-year data of 302 public institutions published in public business information systems and organizational websites from 2009 to 2013, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was performed. The input variables include the number of employees and total costs while the output variables include sales and net income. Reflecting the characteristics of public institutions, the input-oriented CCR model and input-oriented BCC model were utilized. Analysis results are as follows. First, market-oriented public institutions showed the highest efficiency while fund management quasi-governmental agencies showed the highest inefficiency. Second, scale efficiency score was measured by applying the CCR model and the BCC model on the organizations with the lowest efficiency level, fund management quasi-governmental agencies. Based on these analysis results, the source of inefficiency and detailed directions for improvement were proposed for Decision Making Units (DMUs) with low CCR and BCC scores.


The physical model for field enhancement (FE) and the edge effects of body-tied FinFET charge-trapping NAND Flash devices are extensively studied in this paper. First, analytical equations are derived to provide insight to the FE effect for FinFET devices, and these analytical results are validated by 3-D TCAD simulation and experimental verification. Next, complicated programming and erasing characteristics and transconductance and subthreshold slope (gm/SS) behaviors are completely explained by the nonuniform injection behavior along various corner edges in FinFET. FE allows high program and erase speed and larger memory window. On the other hand, the edge effect complicates the device DC I-V, as well as programming and erasing characteristics, and these must be taken into account in memory circuit design.


Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that help establish and control the small voltage gradient across the plasma membrane of cells by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. They may be classified by the nature of their gating, the species of ions passing through these gates and on the basis of number of gates (pores). There are a number of chemicals and genetic disorders, which disrupt normal functioning of ion channels and have disastrous consequences for the organism. Modulation of the properties of membrane ion channels is of fundamental importance for the regulation of neuronal electrical activity and of higher neural functions. The development of powerful new molecular biological and biophysical approaches has provided important new insights into the structure and function of ion channels and has revealed them as dynamic entities whose activity can be regulated.


Resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) is mainly investigated with the objective of either minimizing project makespan or maximizing project net present value. However, when material planning plays a key role in a project, the existing models cannot help determining material ordering plans to minimize material costs. In this paper, the RCPSP incorporated with the material ordering problem is first formulated into a NP-hard optimization model. Then, two hybridized meta-heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve the integrated problem. In addition, statistical methods are employed to tune the parameters of both algorithms. Finally, computational results for a set of test problems taken from the project scheduling problem library (PSPLIB) are presented.


Human health, in addition to social and spiritual well-being, is determined by its physical condition, which reflects the functional capabilities of the body, features of physical development and ensures working capacity in any activity, including academic workload, which is extremely important for students in higher educational institutions. The purpose of the study is to assess the health status of students at the School of Biomedicine of the Far Eastern Federal University. Material and methods. The health status of 184 medical students (147 young women and 37 young men) was assessed using a sociological survey (questionnaire) and a study of the component composition of the body using bioimpedancemetry. Results. The low physical activity, detected in 68% of students and bad habits (smoking tobacco) have been established to negatively affect students' health. Among smokers, 75% of students live in dormitories on the university campus. According to the results of bioimpedancemetry, significant deviations from the age norm were noted in terms of body mass index (BMI) (50% of cases) and fat mass (FM) (71% of cases). Significant gender differences in the individual components of the body were not identified. Discussion. The most aggressive factors that significantly affect the health of students are unbalanced nutrition, lack of compliance with the regime of study and rest, lack of sleep and stay in the fresh air, lack of physical activity, lack of motivation for a healthy lifestyle. Significant deviations in BMI and FM, identified by bioimpedancemetry, indicate the risks of developing arterial hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and nutritional status disorders. Medical students need to give recommendations for increasing motor activity and changing diet. Conclusion. The results of the study can be used in the future to determine the functional state of students and develop preventive measures to preserve the health of medical students.


We investigate the thermodynamic stability of quantized vortices in a dilute Bose gas confined by a rotating harmonic trap at finite temperature. Interatomic forces play a crucial role in characterizing the resulting phase diagram, especially in the large $N$ Thomas-Fermi regime. We show that the critical temperature for the creation of stable vortices exhibits a maximum as a function of the frequency of the rotating trap and that the corresponding transition is associated with a discontinuity in the number of atoms in the condensate. Possible strategies for approaching the vortical region are discussed.


In this paper, we investigate suborbital graphs generated by the action of the group Γ 3 which is the group obtained from the third powers of the elements of the modular group Γ on Q ∪ {∞} . First, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for an edge to be in the related graphs. Then, we investigate connectedness of the graphs.


This paper is a sequel of \cite{CD:2012}. We show how to establish a functional Edgeworth expansion of any order thanks to the Stein method. We apply the procedure to the Brownian approximation of compensated Poisson process and to the linear interpolation of the Brownian motion. It is then apparent that these two expansions are of rather different form.


PURPOSE
We aimed to characterize, by ultrasonography (US), the aspects, locations and the dimensions of intussusceptions in pediatric cases and to compare these data with the clinical findings and therapeutical outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively evaluated abdominal US examinations and clinical data of 13 consecutive pediatric patients with intussusceptions. Patients are grouped according to the type of intussusceptions (ileocolic intussusceptions and intussusceptions with colocolic involvement) and according to the modality of treatment (surgical and non-surgical).

RESULTS
Median age was 24 months (range 5-108 months). Eleven cases were surgically treated because of delayed referral. For all cases the mean diameter+/-SD of intussusception was 30+/-5 mm and mean length+/-SD was 59+/-21 mm. For ileocolic intussusceptions (n=9/11), mean diameter+/-SD was 29.1+/-4.4 mm and mean length+/-SD was 61.7+/-18.1 mm. The right upper quadrant of abdomen was the most common location for ileocolic intussusceptions (n=7/9), the rest were located in paraumbilical regions (n=2/9). For two cases of intussusceptions with colocolic involvement (ileocolocolic and colocolic intussusceptions located in right upper quadrant and left lower quadrant, respectively), mean diameter+/-SD was 37.5+/-0.7 mm and mean length+/-SD was 75.5+/-21.9 mm. The difference between mean diameters of ileocolic intussusceptions and intussusceptions with colocolic involvement was statistically significant (p =0.03), whereas the difference between mean lengths of these two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.36). For surgically treated cases (n=11/13), mean diameter+/-SD of intussusception was 30.6+/-5.2 mm and the mean length +/-SD was 64.2+/-18.5 mm. For non-surgically treated cases (n=2/13), with intussusceptions located in right lower quadrant, mean diameter+/-SD of intussusception was 27+/-4.2 mm and the mean length+/-SD was 32.5+/-10.6 mm. The difference between mean diameters of surgically and non-surgically treated cases was not statistically significant (p=0.37), whereas the difference between mean lengths of these two groups was statistically significant (p=0.04).

CONCLUSIONS
A very good correlation between US and surgical findings was obtained. US should be used in all pediatric patients clinically suspected for intussusception. A relatively large, target-like and sandwich-like, incompressible intraabdominal bowel mass having the above mentioned dimensions should be looked for on US examination.


Stability of cut-slope, the orientation and dimension of which are gradually changed, has been analyzed by employing the cross-section method capable of comprehensibly considering the lithological, structural and mechanical characteristics of slope rock. Lithological fragility is investigated by inspecting the drilled core logs and BIPS image has been taken to delineate the rock structure. Engineering properties of drilled-core including the joint shear strength have been also measured. Potential failure modes of cut-slope and failure-induced joints are identified by performing the stereographic projection analysis. Traces of potential failure-induced joints are drawn on the cross-section which depicts the excavated geometry of cut-slope. Considering the distribution of potential plane failure-induced joint traces blocks of plane failure mode are hypothetically formed. The stabilities and required reinforcements of plane failure blocks located at the different excavation depth have been calculated to confirm the applicability of the cross-section method for the optimum cut-slope design.


This paper considers potential strategic options for agriculture and development in Malawi in the context of the country's current situation and the prospects the country faces. After briefly reviewing current national and sectoral policy and potential roles of smallholder agriculture in economic growth, we set out the current situation in order to consider strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We conclude that a major emphasis is needed on supporting changes that reduce the rate of population growth and promote capacity for adaptation and resilience to climate change. Rapid increases in the productivity of agricultural land and labor and in rural incomes will be critical to this, alongside increased education and empowerment of girls and women. There are, however, difficult potential trade-offs to negotiate (for example, between increased irrigation and reduced inflows into Lake Malawi) and these need further consideration.


Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy and to compare pregnant women with and without risk factors for thyroid dysfunction. Methods: One hundred and ninety-four women in weeks 6-20 of pregnancy attending the Obstetrics and Gynae- cology Clinics of Bakirkoy MD Sadi Konuk Teaching and Research Hospital between April 2008 and February 2009 were included in the study. The cases were separated into two groups, Group I and Group II. Serum levels of anti- TPO (anti-thyroid peroxidase), TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), free T4 (thyroxine) and free T3 (triiodothyronine) were measured in all cases. Results: The prevalence of hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism was found to be 3.6%, 1% and 1%, respectively. The frequency of abortus was not statistically different between pregnant women with thyroid disease and without thyroid disease. The prevalence of thyroid disease was significantly higher in cases with positive anti-TPO and in cases who underwent surgery. Thyroid diseases which required treatment were diag- nosed in five of 128 pregnant women without risk factors for thyroid disease. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of thyroid disease between pregnant women with risk factors and without risk factors. Conclusion: The frequency of thyroid dysfunction was similar in the two groups, including cases with or without risk factors for thyroid disease. In spite of many endocrine societies, we suggest that all pregnant women should be screened without consideration of risk factors to avoid adverse outcomes. (Gazi Med J 2012; 23: 6-9)


In this paper, a review of four different association rule mining algorithmsApriori, AprioriTid,Apriori hybrid and tertius algorithms and their drawbacks which would be helpful to find new solution for the Problems found in these algorithms and also presents a comparison between different association mining algorithms. Association rule mining is the one of the most important technique of the data mining. Its aim is to extract interesting correlations, frequent patterns and association among set of items in the transaction database.


In this study, monoketo and monohydroxy eicosanoic acids and their methyl esters with the position of the substituent on odd numbered carbon atoms from 3 to 13 were synthesized with high purity. Furthermore, the semicarbazone and anilide derivatives of the obtained keto acids were prepared. They were characterized by TLC, IR and 1 H-NMR spectroscopy and their physical and chemical properties were established.


Towards the ultimate goal of designing dual suspension off-road bicycles which decouple the suspension motion from the pedaling action, this study focused on determining experimentally the optimum pivot point height for a swing-arm type rear suspension such that the suspension motion was minimized. Specific objectives were (1) to determine the effect of interaction between the front and rear suspensions on the optimal pivot point height, (2) to investigate the sensitivity of the optimal height to the pedaling mechanics of the rider in both the seated and standing postures, (3) to determine the dependence of the optimal height on the rider posture. Eleven experienced subjects rode a custom-built adjustable dual suspension off-road bicycle, [Needle, S., and Hull, M. L., 1997, "An Off-Road Bicycle With Adjustable Suspension Kinematics," Journal of Mechanical Design 119, pp. 370-375], on an inclined treadmill. The treadmill was set to a constant 6 percent grade at a constant velocity of 24.8 km/hr. With the bicycle in a fixed gear combination of 38 x 14, the corresponding cadence was 84 rpm. For each subject, the pivot point height was varied randomly while the motions across both the front and rear suspension elements were measured. Subjects rode in both the seated and standing postures and with the front suspension active and inactive. It was found that the power loss from the rear suspension at the optimal pivot point height was not significantly dependent on the interaction between the front and rear suspensions. In the seated posture, the optimal pivot point height was 9.8 cm on average and had a range of 8.0-12.3 cm. The average optimal pivot point height for the seated posture corresponded to an average power loss for the rear suspension that was within 10 percent of the minimum power loss for each subject for 8 of the 11 subjects. In the standing posture, the average height was 5.9 cm and ranged from 5.1-7.2 cm. The average heightfor the standing posture was within 10 percent of the minimum power loss for each subject for 9 of the 11 subjects. While the optimum height was relatively insensitive to pedaling mechanics in both the seated and standing postures, the choice of the optimal pivot point height in production bicycles necessitates some compromise in performance given the disparity in the averages between the seated and standing postures.


As the demand for qualified higher education faculty increases, practicing administrators with the appropriate education and experience will be likely recruits. Prudent faculty hopefuls will investigate the role of faculty and make the necessary preparations to secure and be successful in a faculty appointment. This article will provide an overview of the realistic considerations and preparations administrators should take when contemplating making the move from an administrative to a faculty position. Doctoral level training in higher education administration has been available since the 1960's (Crosson & Nelson, 1984). The maturing and expansion of higher education graduate programs, coupled with the graying of American university's faculty (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998-1999; Jacobs, 1990; Keim, 1991; U. S. Department of Education, 1991) has created an increased need for higher education faculty. With few exceptions, these faculty positions reside in departments with titles such as Counselor Education, Educational Psychology, or Educational Leadership (American College Personnel Association, 1994), and are administratively located within Colleges or Schools of Education whose roots are in public school counseling or leadership training. These units have traditionally required faculty members to have practical school-based experience. As a result, new higher education faculty positions in these departments routinely call for higher education administrative experience making practicing higher education administrators likely recruits. This article will provide an overview of the realistic considerations and preparations administrators should take when contemplating moving from an administrative to a faculty position. Variables for Consideration When determining interest in faculty appointments, administrators might do well to consider the characteristics of effective faculty members and relate these to their own attributes and desires. In addition to a good fit with individual qualifications, administrators should consider how faculty appointments differ from administrative ones relative to salary structure, workload, working conditions, and reward system. Faculty Characteristics A 1995 study conducted by Kalivoda reveals some interesting commonalties in faculty identified as exemplary. The study offers guiding principles found consistently in the attitudes, values, and beliefs of effective faculty. Several may prove helpful to individuals considering moving into the faculty arena. "Self improvement as a way of life" (Kalivoda, 1995, p. 105) is one such principle observed in the exemplary faculty participants. This principle suggests a love of learning and a desire to strive for excellence. "The seizing of opportunities" and lia long-term view and persistence" (Kalivoda, 1995, p. 108) were two additional attitudes held by the faculty participants. These attitudes were seen in the faculty member's ability to see potential, to take advantage of it, and to establish goals and work toward them. Due to the independent nature of faculty work, these attitudes are fundamental to their success (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 19981999). Finally, faculty enthusiastically recounted their belief in "generosity of ideas" (Kalivoda, 1995, p. 109) and "respect, sincerity, and caring toward others" (p. 110). As faculty members teach, conduct research, and provide service, these principles are key to successful interaction with students, colleagues, and administrators (Froh, Gray, & Lambert, 1993). Salary Structure Faculty in education disciplines typically are appointed for nine months (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998-1999). The salary, therefore, advertised and paid for these positions are base salaries for the nine months of work. Although salaries vary by region of the country and by institution, the average 9-month salary for new assistant professors in education is slightly more than $37,000 at public institutions and slightly more than $34,000 for private institutions (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1997). …


The article describes the process of estimating the cost and complexity of software development for the task of inventory management of a commercial enterprise to improve the decision-making process at the stage of formation of requirements for similar software products. There are different approaches to inventory management of a commercial enterprise. The algorithms implemented in the system are based on the constraint theory tool – dynamic inventory buffer management. Inventory management according to the theory of restrictions allows to provide a high level of availability of goods with minimal inventory in the system. After analyzing the subject area of inventory management and the methodology of dynamic inventory buffer management, a list of functional and non-functional software requirements was formed, and a data model was designed. The information obtained was used to compile a list of logical files and transactions specific to a particular requirement. From the resulting list of files and transactions, it is determined which elementary data, elementary records and links to files they consist of. The information obtained was used to estimate the size of the software at non-aligned functional points. To take into account the impact of non-functional requirements on the complexity of software development, the VAF alignment factor was calculated, for which it is necessary to give a qualitative assessment of the impact of system-wide requirements on the complexity of the software. The estimation of the complexity of the development was obtained using the COCOMO II methodology, namely, using seven multipliers of the complexity for the case of the initial assessment at the stage of approval of requirements. The calculations were obtained for teams with different professional level and equipment, in the conditions of a significant tightening of the development process, a high level of certainty of risks, without a rigid schedule of work.  The cost of development was calculated for several common programming languages: J2EE, C#, C++.


In recent years, treatment of colorectal cancer has improved significantly. Laparoscopic surgery has been demonstrated to be at least equivalent to traditional laparotomy in terms of adequacy of resection, disease recurrence, and long-term survival. In addition, laparoscopic resection for cancer has considerable short-term benefits over laparotomy, including shorter hospital stay, shorter time to recovery of bowel function, and decreased analgesic requirements [1]. Recent advances in treatment of metastatic disease such as portal vein embolization have made liver resection a possibility for more patients. The criteria for resectability are also less rigid than in the past and the tendency to adopt a more aggressive treatment of metastatic lesions is the rule [2, 3]. This approach is associated with prolonged survival for patients with liver metastases [4]. The acceptance of the principle of total mesorectal excision for rectal cancers has ensured significant improvements in the quality of surgical resection [5], and radiotherapy for these tumours has allowed the possibility of downstaging, making more rectal cancers suitable for total mesorectal excision with a reduced local recurrence rate during long-term follow-up [6]. In terms of systemic management, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with leucovorin has been the mainstay of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings for a long time. This chemotherapy increased median survival with metastatic disease from 5 months with best supportive care to 14 months. In the late 1990 s, the introduction of irinotecan and oxaliplatin as combination treatment with 5FU/leucovorin increased the median survival of patients with disseminated colorectal cancer to 16 months. Sequential chemotherapy of both irinotecan and oxaliplatin with 5-FU/leucovorin further increased this survival to 21 months. More recently, several biopharmaceuticals, in particular the monoclonal antibodies bevacuzimab and cetuximab, have shown promise in clinical studies [7, 8] and are rapidly being implemented in regular treatment protocols.


Dear Editor, Recently, a case report describing a woman who had two Mirena intrauterine devices (IUDs) in uterine cavity is published (1). The patient was suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding. Clinical and ultrasound examinations, laboratory tests, cervical cytology and endometrial biopsy were normal and a Mirena IUD was inserted. Six months later, she still had the same complaints. Ultrasound scan was performed and no Mirena IUD was seen in uterine cavity. A new Mirena IUD was inserted. She did not recover and admitted to another clinic where three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound scan revealed the presence of two Mirena IUDs. The levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), often referred to by its brand name Mirena, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been used till early nineties in many countries. Mirena has a 32 mm T-shaped polyethylene frame that releases 20 μg of progestin (levonorgestrel) daily for up to 5 years. In contrast to a copper IUD, the visualization of a Mirena IUD by ultrasound is not straightforward. The two-dimensional (2-D) transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) is the primary method for the evaluation of the location of Mirena. The absence of copper, leads to the lower image quality visualization, therefore, the imaging of Mirena needs more operator's skills. When 2-D TVS fails, or when patients carrying Mirena have symptoms, as is seen in the case report, other diagnostic modalities are recommended. These are three-dimensional ultrasound, x-ray of the pelvis, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The use of 3-D TVS clearly display the entire LNG-IUS and its relation to the uterine cavity. Three-dimensional ultrasound has been even found to be better than 2-D ultrasound for locating and adequately visualizing levonorgestrel IUDs (2). However, many of physicians have access only to 2-D ultrasound, so, the visualization of Mirena by 2-D ultrasound is crucial. The sonographic appearance of Mirena IUDs includes both proximal and distal ends of the vertical arm of the device, which extend into the fundal region and internal cervical os, and an acoustic shadowing between both ends which defines the location of the device (3-4) (Figure 1). The proximal and distal ends are echogenic and the hormone cylinder does not show a clear auditory reflex, in consequence, only a typical trapeze-shaped acoustic shadowing can be seen between the echogenic ends (Figure 1). Clinicians have to be careful during the evaluation of the patients with Mirena IUD to prevent such situations that no one would desire.


Fighting Back is a comprehensive substance abuse program operating in 14 communities spread throughout the United States. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has committed more than $45 million over a 7-year period to plan and implement innovative, community-wide initiatives in Columbia, SC; Charlotte, NC; Kansas City, Mo; Little Rock, Ark; Northwest New Mexico; Milwaukee, Wis; New Haven, Conn; Newark, NJ; Oakland, Calif; San Antonio, Tex; Santa Barbara, Calif; Vallejo, Calif; Washington, DC; and Worcester, Mass. In this article the work in progress at the end of 18 months of a 5-year implementation program in each site is reported. A Fighting Back National Program Office operates from a base at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. The senior staff of this office highlights the process that has unfolded to date, describes some of the sources of encouragement, and discusses some of the critical issues and sources of concern. A "Call to Action" on the part of the federal government is included.


The plasmapause is a highly dynamic boundary between different magnetospheric particle populations and convection regimes. Some of the most important space weather processes involve wave-particle interactions in this region, but wave properties may also be used to remote sense the plasmasphere and plasmapause, contributing to plasmasphere models. This paper discusses the use of existing ground magnetometer arrays for such remote sensing. Using case studies we illustrate measurement of plasmapause location, shape and movement during storms; refilling of flux tubes within and outside the plasmasphere; storm-time increase in heavy ion concentration near the plasmapause; and detection and mapping of density irregularities near the plasmapause, including drainage plumes, biteouts and bulges. We also use a 2D MHD model of wave propagation through the magnetosphere, incorporating a realistic ionosphere boundary and Alfven speed profile, to simulate ground array observations of power and cross-phase spectra, hence confirming the signatures of plumes and other density structures.


In this Book, a modern FPGA card (Spartan-3A, Xilinx Company) is used to realized a novel Fuzzy- PID control strategy on a complex system; a three- phase induction motor (squirrel cage type) is selected as a case study. The Fuzzy logic control demonstrates a good performance. Furthermore, Fuzzy logic offers the advantage of a faster design, and emulation of human control strategies. Also, Fuzzy control works well for high-order and nonlinear and shows the efficiency over the PID controller. The proposed controller and the pulse width modulator (PWM) inverter algorithm which have been built in FPGA have resulted in a fast speed response and a good stability in controlling the three-phase induction motor. For comparison purpose, two widely used controllers are realized using the same FPGA kit: PID and Fuzzy. Simulations are performed using MATLAB/SIMULINK (R2009a) with varying load and speed conditions. The Fuzzy-PID control strategy outperformed both PID and Fuzzy controllers. This book will be especially useful to academics, researchers, and practitioners.


In this project we presented a novel approach to a Multi Technology and Protocol
Wireless Sensor Network (MTPWSN) for environmental monitoring. This approach
uses multiple networking technologies and protocols to present a more stable and
larger network. Finally, a comparative experiment for the WSN and each of the
technologies that it employs were performed. The final experiment was a set up for a
working multi technology wireless sensor network. This set up had an average of
95.5% of uncorrupted package reception and were confirmed 2.04% of corrupted
packages. The experiment concluded on less than 0.5% of package loss for an 8-hour
trial.


The desire to correct the poor implementation of traditional antenatal care (ANC) in developing countries resulted to the adoption of antenatal care model termed as Focused Antenatal Care (FANC). The goal of FANC is to ensure a good outcome for both the baby and mother and prevent complication during pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum period. It is characterized by four (4) main focused visits. Studies have shown that Kenya has long suffered from high maternal morbidity and mortality one of the strategies to reduce the high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is effective implementation of FANC. The aim of this study was to identify uptake of FANC services among women of reproductive age with emphasis on their perceptions. The health belief model was adopted in the study to guide the researcher in understanding the respondents' behavior in seeking FANC services. A cross sectional study was carried out. Data collection involved use of a pre-tested questionnaire for quantitative data and Focused Group Discussion (FGD) guide for qualitative data. The sample size was 337 participants who had delivered within two years. Data analyses was done using SPSS version 21, chi square test was used to compare association between variables and content analysis for qualitative data. It was established that achieving or not achieving FANC is significantly associated (p<0.05) with high, moderate or low levels of perceived susceptibility (p =0.015), perceived severity (p =0.03) and perceived barriers (p <0.001).The study recommends that the ministry of health and other health sector should strengthen sensitization, information sharing and follow-up on FANC in a move to improve the uptake of FANC in Nakuru County.
Keywords: Perceptions of women of reproductive age, Uptake of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) services, Nakuru County.


ABSTRACT In September 2000, participants in the United Nations Millennium Summit made a commitment to alleviating global poverty and inequality through the Millennium Development goals. This historical pledge has raised public and academic awareness of the issue of global poverty. In light of this interest, this literature review seeks to clarify the issues surrounding global poverty by focusing on the developed world and the developing world. Given the substantial amount of interdisciplinary research on global poverty, it can be organized into at least four areas: poverty definitions, units of measurement, theories concerning resources, and findings on effective interventions. It is clear that context influences these four areas and the resulting theories relate to: (1) inclusion, exclusion, and access; (2) individual rights and responsibilities versus community focus; (3) human capital theories, structural poverty, and resource inequality; and (4) theories of welfare versus theories of development. This analysis of these four theoretical domains concludes with a conceptual framework for understanding of global poverty and the influence of the social environment on human behavior.


Natural language querying for remote sensing databases means that the users describe the query object directly in natural language when they query remote sensing (RS) databases. This method is not limited by the options on the query interface, and allows non-professional users to access to the databases easily. After making a study on the status of natural language querying for databases, the paper sums up three methods used in natural query language processing, which are Pattern Matching, Dependency Extraction and Knowledge Extension. Then it proposes a new method for Natural Language Processing (NLP) based on the features of the RS query text, which establishes a prototype system that contains three main steps-keywords extraction, keywords extension and SQL generation. The system implements the conversion from natural query language to database manipulation language (e.g. SQL), which greatly facilitates the users' query.


Gold mineralisation in the Lachlan Orogen of western Victoria, is generally hosted in turbidites with very low-grade metamorphic assemblages. Metamorphic data from these turbidites are relatively rare because of the fine-grained nature of the pelitic component and lack of suitable assemblages for thermobarometric estimates. In this study, 'illite crystallinity' (Kübler Index) and b-lattice spacing measurements were carried out on white micas in metapelites, collected from near the inferred western margin of the Selwyn Block, as well as three exploration targets, in an attempt to relate thermal and barometric conditions to mineralisation. Higher-grade (epizone) metamorphic conditions are recorded in sequences west of the Whitelaw Fault and lower-grade (anchizone) metamorphic conditions to the east of the fault. The change from epizonal to anchizonal grade is abrupt, resolved to a distance of a few hundred metres. The b-spacing values change adjacent to the Muckleford Fault. This is due to rocks to the east being exhumed as the edge of the Selwyn Block moved westward during the Middle Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny at ∼380 Ma. We propose that the juxtaposition of rocks with contrasting thermal and barometric histories represents expression of the upper crustal location of the western margin of the Selwyn Block at the time of peak deformation, at about 440 Ma, and this crustal structure controlled the distribution of the major quartz-vein-type gold deposits. The Middle Devonian orogenic activity (∼380 Ma) was accompanied by the formation of disseminated gold deposits such as Fosterville. This represents a mineralising event that overprints the earlier gold deposits in a corridor at least 50 km wide and to the west of the Whitelaw Fault, that parallels the margin of the Selwyn Block. The correlation between gold assays and 'illite crystallinity' results, from X-ray diffraction and from short-wave infrared-reflectance field-spectroscopy data, were ambiguous. Kübler Indices are not found to be effective in targeting of mineralisation as the values obtained from the alteration and the host-rock assemblages were similar and reflected the ambient P–T conditions at the time of mineralisation.


High speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) was introduced in WCDMA as an enhance technology. The objective of the major component fast packet scheduling is to ensure the fairness between users according to their instantaneous channel state. We proposed in this paper a novel packet scheduling algorithm for HSDPA which is based on QoS assurances. This algorithm is called classified wireless fair queuing which classifies flows into different class according to their average data rate. Each class is given different bandwidth guarantee and packets are scheduled in different slot, within each class it uses wireless fair queueing method to schedule each user. Simulation results and comparisons show that this algorithm could effectively reduce the average end-to-end packet delay especially for high data rate traffic and provide good fairness to each user.


This presentation is part of the thesis, which is looking at the Campus Paris-Saclay (France) project. The aim is to analyse the conception of the new campus being part of the implementation of a nation wide public policy which main purpose is to give France a higher education and research system of excellence, at the world's best level, in order to allow to national visibility and competitiveness. A series of reforms have been introduced crossing several dynamics: the implementation of structures to evaluate and finance research, groups to stimulate the scientific cooperation, the development of a territorial policy, a system of competitive bidding and the promotion of cooperation between public research and the economic world. The thesis project consists of the analysis of the concept of the Saclay model and its implementation. How does this model of territorial organization come to life, is justified and contributes to national public policy?


Diffraction of light of a visible spectral range by subwavelength metal gratings has been investigated experimentally and theoretically using rigorous electromagnetic calculations. It has been demonstrated that an effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), at which total absorption of light by metal grating can be observed, occurs under certain conditions. Large positive and negative Goos-Hänchen (GH) shifts occur near the SPR. It has been shown that the reflected beam is split into two parts, the relative powers of which depend on the incident beam width and the grating depth. The dependence of the GH shifts on the grating period and grating depth has been investigated for different incident beam widths. The high sensitivity of the GH shift on the incident angle of a light beam near the SPR has been demonstrated.


In recent years, Monte Carlo (MC) methods have been increasingly applied to cope with variability in photopeak efficiencies due to matrix effects. But to obtain proper results only by numerical simulation, especially at low energies, sample bulk density and chemical composition must be well characterized. In this paper, we propose a method that combines both experimental measurements and MC simulations, being applicable to matrices of unknown composition. A transmission measurement of a 210Pb point source through the sample allows one to compute accurately its photopeak efficiencies at energies above 46.5 keV. The method is validated for several inorganic and organic matrices measured in Petri dishes geometry.


In selected patients with severe heterogenous emphysema lung volume reduction can be performed by using endobronchial valves. So far, only unilateral procedures have been published. Here is described a patient where a right‐sided closure of the right upper lobe resulted in an increase of FEV1sec of more than 50%, and some years later the procedure was repeated on the left side with further considerable improvement. A tracheal bronchus to the apical segment of the right upper lobe made measuring the collateral flow at bronchoscopy impossible, but clearly visible fissures were used as a substitute. In conclusion, valve treatment in suitable patients can give substantial improvement in lung function and quality of life and can be repeated on the other side if warranted some years later.


During this study, 25 patients (26 limbs) incurred 37 vascular injuries to the lower extremity. The majority were young males injured by penetrating trauma (84%). There were 25 arterial and 12 venous injuries (two isolated). Sixteen patients had soft-tissue injuries, 12 had fractures, and six had peroneal nerve damage. Twenty-two arterial injuries were repaired, the majority (17) by saphenous vein bypass. Three tibial vessels were ligated. All major venous injuries were repaired. No synthetic material was used. Vascular repair took precedence in all but two cases. After repair, the vascular surgeon assisted with stabilization. Thirteen limbs required fasciotomy; nine required subsequent debridements and later plastic reconstruction. Limb salvage was 96%. More important, 21 patients can ambulate independently on the injured extremity (84%). These results support an aggressive approach to lower extremity vascular trauma with repair of all major arterial and venous injuries in conjunction with aggressive debridement and soft-tissue repair.


LETTER LETTER REPLY TO RIEGER AND WAGNER: Context matters when studying purportedly harmful cultural practices David W. Lawson a,1 , Susan James b , Esther Ngadaya c , Bernard Ngowi c , Sayoki G. M. Mfinanga c , and Monique Borgerhoff Mulder b,d Rieger and Wagner (1) present three lines of cri- tique. First, Rieger and Wagner (1) argue that our (2) demonstration that polygyny predicts higher child weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) in two out of three ethnic groups practicing polygyny should be disre- garded because of inadequacies of this measure. We defend our use of WHZ because: (i) although no mea- sure is perfect, many studies unequivocally confirm that WHZ is a useful indicator of acute malnutrition, highly predictive of child mortality (3); and (ii) regard- less of construct validity, WHZ scores have guided the international development sector for decades, our primary audience in addressing claims that po- lygyny is universally harmful. We also emphasize that our interpretation that polygyny may, in certain contexts, serve female interests rests not only on differences in WHZ, but also on our demonstration that (male-headed) polygynous households are rel- atively food secure and wealthy compared with monogamous households. Second, Rieger and Wagner (1) write that we dem- onstrate that child height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) are "systematically and negatively correlated with polygyny both at the individual and the village levels" (1), and that although our individual-level comparisons are sta- tistically nonsignificant, this can be attributed to small sample size because their study of polygyny across 26 African nations revealed a statistically significant nega- tive correlation at a similar magnitude (4). This critique fundamentally misses our central conclusion: context matters when studying purportedly harmful cultural practices. At the village level, the association between polygyny prevalence and child HAZ is accounted for by underlying contextual differences in ecological vulner- ability (rainfall) and socioeconomic marginalization (ed- ucation). At the individual level, our estimates are based on a specific area of Tanzania, and so cannot be mean- ingfully contrasted with Wagner and Rieger's (4) esti- mate based on Africa as a whole. Indeed, consistent with our analysis (2), Wagner and Rieger's cross-national study identifies considerable heterogeneity, with confi- dence intervals crossing zero for 15 of 26 countries and a positive (statistically nonsignificant) association be- tween polygyny and HAZ in Tanzania (ref. 4, p 17). Africa is a diverse continent and polygyny a diverse in- stitution, encompassing variable norms of residence, resource sharing, and spousal recruitment (5). A true understanding of polygyny can only be gained by ac- knowledging this diversity and designing analyses that take context into account (2). Third, Rieger and Wagner (1) suggest our analyses (2) are flawed because we don't include interactions with child age. Reanalyzing our data selecting only children over 30 mo, Rieger and Wagner (1) report a negative association between polygyny and HAZ. However, our data are not suitable to test for age de- pendencies, which can only be confidently assessed via longitudinal analysis. Furthermore to achieve ade- quate sample size, Rieger and Wagner resort to (i) pooling data across ethnic groups, and so cannot rule out confounding with ethnicity, and (ii) crude compar- isons neglecting wife rank (proxied by household head sex) that proved crucial in our original analysis. Notably, once adjusted for village differences, Rieger and Wagner's (1) effect estimate also falls short of standard levels of statistical significance (i.e., P < 0.05). We also observe a double standard: Wagner and Rieger's (4) own cross-national study of polygyny neglects age interactions. In studying "harmful cul- tural practices" it is vital that we apply equivalent stan- dards of evidence independent of whether results meet or contradict conventional expectation. a Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom; b Savannas Forever Tanzania, Arusha, Tanzania; c National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, 11101, Tanzania; and Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 Author contributions: D.W.L., S.J., E.N., B.N., S.G.M.M., and M.B.M. designed research; D.W.L. analyzed data; D.W.L. and M.B.M. wrote the paper; and S.J., E.N., B.N., and S.G.M.M. collected data. The authors declare no conflict of interest. To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: email@example.com. d www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1601420113 PNAS Early Edition | 1 of 2


A patient with a diagnosis of malignant melanoma was found to have a multinodular goiter on routine examination. Thyroid function tests revealed normal free T4 and TSH levels. A multinodular goiter was confirmed by thyroid ultrasonography with the dominant nodule located at the isthmus. Tc-99m pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy did not reveal nodule activity. Delayed imaging was performed for localization of the dominant nodule with a marker. Surprisingly, the nodule was found to be hyperactive. The nodule was normoactive on 1-131 thyroid scintigraphy. Fine needle aspiration biopsy confirmed a colloid nodule with follicular epithelial cells.


In this paper, we present an image contrast enhancing method based on the piecewise linear approximation of the cumulative density function (CDF). Reduced hardware is required for CDF calculation, since the number of bins is greatly reduced thanks to this approximation. With the proposed method, various contrast enhancing effects can be implemented such as histogram equalization, partial or entire histogram modification.


A new method to estimate the induction motor stator and rotor resistance (Rs and Rr) and temperature (Ts  and Tr) was proposed in this paper. Two signals with proper frequencies that yield high sensitivities of terminal measurement to Rs and Rr at a given rotor speed are injected to the induction machine to estimate Rs and Rr. The estimated Rs and Rr are then used to estimate Ts and Tr respectively, according to the relationships between Rs and Ts, and Rr and Tr. Simulation and experimental work have been carried out to verify the proposed method. The proposed method can estimate both stator and rotor resistance and temperature with high accuracy and the estimated Rs and Rr can be updated in real time. It does not require additional hardware or a large amount of finite-element analysis (FEA) or experimental data for implementation


The emergence of IoT devices is revolutionizing various aspects of human life, including healthcare, where the use of such devices can potentially improve health outcomes for millions. However, the efficacy of treatments and protocols based on IoT devices is measured through the use of rigorous double-blind studies, which can be quite expensive to conduct as they traditionally require a third party mediator. In this paper, we propose CATnIP, a secure, centralized cloud hub for instrumenting and conducting double-blind studies, with an extended focus on seamless integration with IoT devices. This paper outlines the construction and security considerations of CATnIP, the motivations behind creating such a system, and an evaluation based on the Five Safes and Stakeholder frameworks.


The current computer program is artificially designed to execute the process,which has the weakness of passivity,rigidity and lack of flexibility. This paper proposes a method of program design based on reinforcement learning mechanism , and realizes the corresponding algorithm. According to the environment and requirements,the agent can choose executive process independently and arrive at the optimal result by learning,realize the layered calls. Using this method,the executing program is decision-making,has a way to realize the adaption, and reduces the dependence on designer. The result shows that the method can achieve satisfactory execution efficiency.


Background: Orally or sublingually administered lysates of mixed respiratory pathogenic bacteria have been used in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world, but not the United States, since the mid 1950s, first to prevent recurrent respiratory tract infections, later to prevent wheezing and asthma exacerbations associated with respiratory infections, and, more recently, for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The apparent success of this treatment contrasts with the negative experience of treating with injections of similar mixed respiratory bacterial vaccines (MRBV or BV) to prevent asthma exacerbations associated with respiratory infections that was once common practice but abandoned ∼50 years ago. Methods: Textbooks and articles on the use of injected BVs to prevent asthma exacerbations associated with respiratory infections were reviewed, including a number of, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled (RDBPC) studies the results of which were predominantly negative that contributed to the abandonment of this treatment. Also reviewed were more recent articles from Europe and China, which report both clinical and immunologic support for the use of the orally and sublingually administered mixed respiratory bacterial lysates (MRBL or BL). Results: A review of five RDBPC studies of the parenteral use of BVs for prevention of asthma exacerbations conducted by leading international allergists in the 1950s and 1960s showed, in a combined 532 patients, an overall reduction of asthma attacks by 4.9% over placebo. However, in five studies in 1126 patients of oral or sublingual treatment with BLs, the reduction in respiratory infections, wheezing episodes, and asthma exacerbations was 42.6% over placebo. Conclusion: Reported results with oral and sublingual BLs are far superior to the historical performance of injected BVs. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed, but none is clearly responsible for the difference in clinical results.


Modigliani & Miller (1958) have shown the impact of debt-equity ratio on firm value in their Capital StructureTheory. They argued that, the market values the earning power of a company"s real assets and that if the company"s capital investment program is held fixed and certain other assumptions are satisfied, the combined market value of a company"s debt and equity is independent of its choice of capital structure. Despite their effort the Modigliani & Miller (MM) model is still in vague. A company"s choice of capital structure undoubtedly does affect its total market value However, the extent to which a company"s choice of capital structure affects its market value is debated.Economist and financial researchers have spent time to develop new thoughts around this theory. This study analyses the capital structure of ten selected leading Cement manufacturing companies from Indian Cement Sector with a specific objective to examine the impact of capital structure on the firm value. This paper will help to understand the general practices of capital structure including the sensitivity of firm value to each of the selected explanatory variables for each selected company. This will also act as a guide for the financial managers to design their optimum capital structure to maximize the market value of the firm and minimize the agency cost for the companies in Cement Manufacturing sector of India. The paper teststhe influence of debt-equity structure on the firm value as represented by market value of shares for ten selected leading companies of Indian Cement Manufacturing Industry.


It is my custom, when I come on a floor of the hospital, to take the appropriate nursing charts and to direct my attention first to that section labeled "Nursing Notes." This quickly tells me what each patient's course has been in the previous 24 hours, after which I review more leisurely those sections dealing with laboratory analyses, house staff progress notes, and the like. I have been startled, in recent months, to learn from the nursing notes that my "client" did or did not void, was or was not febrile, that my "client" was or was not in pain, or that my "client" was ready for discharge in the morning. It disconcerted me to find that the patients I have taken care of for many years have magically become "clients." I had always known that lawyers, architects, and businessmen had clients to deal with, but the uniqueness of the


This paper presents a semi-adaptive closed-loop control approach to autonomous infusion of medications exhibiting significant transport delay in clinical effects. The basic idea of the approach is to enable stable adaptive control of medication infusion by (1) incorporating transport delay explicitly into control design by way of a Padé approximation while (2) facilitating linear parameterization of control design model by desensitization of nonlinearly parameterized cooperativity constant associated with pharmacodynamics (PD). A novel dynamic dose–response model for control design is presented, in which the cooperativity constant exerts zero influence on the model output in the steady-state. Then, an adaptive pole placement control (APPC) technique was employed to fulfill adaptive control design in the presence of nonminimum phase dynamics associated with the Padé approximation of transport delay. The controller was evaluated in silico using a case study of regulating a cardiovascular variable with a sedative under a wide range of transport delay and pharmacological profiles. The results suggest that adaptation of transport delay and pharmacological characteristics may be beneficial in achieving consistent and robust regulation of medication-elicited clinical effects.


A positive association has been found between physical activity (PA) and student mental wellbeing (SMW). This association has been mainly explored in secondary school and university students. Studies in vocational education and training (VET) are lacking, while VET students could especially benefit from exploring this association since research shows that VET students, who often come from low socioeconomic status (SES) households, are prone to low SMW. Low SMW can result in higher school dropout rates and long-term negative effects, such as unemployment, social exclusion, and impoverishment. The aim of the current study was to explore the association between total PA and different physical activity behaviors {PABs, i.e., moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), and sedentary behavior (SB)}, and SMW in the VET setting. In this cross-sectional observational study, students wore an ActivPAL3™ accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure PAB. SMW was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire (RSE). Complete data for the analyses were obtained from 85 students. Multiple regression analyses showed a significant positive association between total PA and self-esteem and a significant negative association between total PA and depressive symptoms. Taking different PA intensities into account, there was a significant positive association between LPA and self-esteem and a significant negative association between LPA and depressive symptoms. No significant associations were found between MVPA and the outcome measures, although the associations were aligned with the findings for LPA. High levels of SB were significantly associated with low self-esteem; however, the association between SB and depressive symptoms was not significant. The significant positive associations between LPA and SMW and the negative association between SB and self-esteem indicate that decreasing SB and increasing LPA could contribute to improve SMW. Future research should determine if these are causal relationships.


: This research empirically investigates various company practices and policies associated with high rates of volunteer participation in employee volunteer programs (EVPs). Data were taken from surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015 among companies in the United States with an annual revenue of one billion dollars or more, with 166 companies included in the analysis. A multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the effects of various company policies on the percentage of employees participating in EVPs. The following policies were assessed in this analysis: including community engagement on performance reviews, awarding "Dollars for Doers" grants for volunteering, providing awards or recognition for engagement, offering paid time off to volunteer, and providing employee training on community engagement. Findings indicate different levels of comparative benefit afforded by diverse EVP policies and practices.


Koṭīvarṣa/Koṭivarṣa, alias Devīkoṭa and Śoṇitapura, in North Bengal is known to be one of the early centres of Tantric Śaivism. In this paper, the history of Śaivism at the site up to the twelfth century will be examined, using textual, archaeological and epigraphical sources, of which the two recensions of the Skandapurāṇa are the main material. The study reveals a strong local tradition of goddess worship throughout the period. The site was subsumed under Śaivism possibly by the fourth century; thereafter, diverse streams of Tantric Śaivism—goddess-oriented followers of the Yāmala scriptures and the orthodox Saiddhāntikas—took hold there in different periods and interacted with the local tradition of goddess worship.


A method is presented for rapid blood flow quantitation. It combines multiple shot echo planar imaging principles with phase contrast velocity encoding gradients. Preliminary validation experiments performed on a flow phantom indicate a good correlation with actual flow values. Measurements of pulsatile flow in the ascending and descending aorta, acquired in just 4 s1 with a temporal resolution of 50 ms, are demonstrated.


The effects of Y and Zn atoms on elastic properties of Mg solid solution are investigated by first‐principles calculations based on density function theory. Five supercell models (Mg96, Mg95Y1, Mg94Y2, Mg95Zn1 and Mg94Zn2) are adopted to simulate the variation of solute atoms content. Structural optimization is performed firstly, and then the five independent elastic constants of Mg solid solution are calculated. The bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, Young's modulus E and Poisson ratio ν are also derived by Voigt–Reuss–Hill (VRH) approximation, indicating a strong dependence of the elastic modulus on concentration of the solute atoms. Using the bulk modulus/shear modulus ratio (B/G), the change in the ductility of Mg solid solution with the solute atom content is further studied. In the end, the electronic density of states (DOS) is calculated and discussed.


Natural polymer-based hydrogels are excellent for encapsulating hydrophilic drugs, but they are mechanically weak and degrade easily. In this communication, we exploit the electrostatic interaction between nanosilicates (nSi) and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) to form a mechanically tough nanocomposite hydrogel for pharmaceutical drug delivery. These hydrogels, prepared at subzero temperatures to form cryogels, displayed macroporous structures, which favors cell infiltration. The designed tough cryogel also showed a slower rate of degradation. Furthermore, we encapsulated the small molecule metformin and sustained the drug release under physiological conditions. Cryogel-loaded metformin reduced the effect of endothelial cell injury caused by nutrient deprivation in vitro. Finally, we hypothesize that this versatile nanocomposite material will find use in diverse biomedical applications.


In the long history of men and ideas from the origins to scientific Chemistry, we focus on the critical period, lasting three centuries, in which Alchemy dies and from its remains Chemistry arises as a positive science. The appearance of Iatrochemistry already meant a cooperation with Medicine, but only truly scientific Chemistry could lead to the success of modern therapeutics. Reaching this point required the slow development of the founding ideas during the historical period discussed in this presentation.


Increasing shares of fluctuating renewable energy sources induce higher and higher power flow variability at the transmission level. The question arises as to what extent existing networks can absorb additional fluctuating power injection without exceeding thermal limits. At the same time, the resulting power flow characteristics call for revisiting classical approaches to line temperature prediction. This paper presents a probabilistic modeling and simulation methodology for estimating the occurrence of critical line temperatures in the presence of fluctuating power flows. Cumbersome integration of the dynamic thermal equations at each Monte Carlo simulation trial is sped up by a specific algorithm that makes use of a variance reduction technique adapted from the telecommunications field. The substantial reduction in computational time allows estimations closer to real time, relevant to short-term operational assessments. A case study performed on a single line model provides fundamental insights into the probability of hitting critical line temperatures under given power flow fluctuations. A transmission system application shows how the proposed method can be used for a fast, yet accurate operational assessment.


Abstract The results and performance of an enterprise are the result of the decisions taken by the management of the entity, decisions which are the result of a complex procedure of processing and analyzing the relevant data and information provided by the information system available. In other words, appropriate and correct decisions that lead to the achievement of the objectives and attainment of higher performances are dependent on the quality and quantity of the information. Consequently, accurate information generates correct decisions. Due to of its qualities (relevance, intelligibility, credibility and comparability), accounting information occupies a very important place in the architecture of the economic information system, having the highest degree of certainty and providing the possibility of an accurate representation of economic phenomena and processes, both at micro, as well as at macroeconomic levels. Hence, we can say that the "final outcome of accounting", namely accounting information, is one of the most important pillars of the elaboration, substantiation and decision-making process. Starting from this premise, this article aims to capture the main features of accounting information, which qualifies it as the object and the subject of the management system.


The QRS represents the simultaneous activation of the right and left ventricles, although most of the QRS waveform is derived from the larger left ventricular musculature. Although normal QRS duration is <100 millisecond (ms), its duration and shape are quite variable from patient to patient in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Prolongation of QRS occurs in 14% to 47% of heart failure (HF) patients. Left bundle branch block (LBBB) is far more common than right bundle branch block (RBBB). Dyssynchronous left ventricular activation due to LBBB and other intraventricular conduction blocks provides the rationale for the use of cardiac resynchronization therapy with biventricular pacing in patients with IDCM. Fragmented QRS (fQRS) is a marker of depolarization abnormality and present in significant number of the patients with IDCM and narrow QRS complexes. It is associated with arrhythmic events and intraventricular dyssynchrony. The purpose of this manuscript is to present an overview on some clinical, echocardiographic and prognostic implications of various QRS morphologies in patients with IDCM.


Many national brands adopt innovation strategies based on frequent launches of new products to defend and grow market shares against private labels. However, retailers imitate the novelties of national brand new products very fast. One of the key questions to assess the effectiveness of national brands' product innovation is to get a deeper understanding of how consumers react in terms of choice when faced with a national brand new product and a me-too private label product. In particular this research explores the effects of consumer innovativeness and risk aversion on this choice in five European countries and the United States. Results show that consumers with higher innovativeness prefer national brands. However, there are significant differences among countries depending on their uncertainty avoidance and risk aversion.


Over the last decade, development aid has increasingly used a more collaborative model, with donors and recipients both contributing ideas, methods and goals. Though many examples of collateral aid projects exist in agriculture, business administration and banking, few have found their way into health care and health education, a typically donor-dominated model. The following case report describes a collateral project in health care education. This case report analyzes data-inducing project proposals, personal interviews and project reports obtained through standard archival research methods. The setting for this joint project was the collaboration between international nongovernmental (NGO) aid foundations and the faculty of a major sub-Saharan African Medical School's Department of Anesthesia. The initial goal of this project was to improve record keeping for all anesthetic records, both in the operating theatres and outside. Analysis of the data was performed using ethnographic methods of constant comparative analysis. The purpose of the analysis was to critically evaluate both the goals and their results in the Department of Anesthesiology. The findings of this analysis suggested that results included not only quality assurance and improvement programs in the department but also advances in the use of critical incidents as teaching tools, hospital-wide drug and equipment utilization information and the initiation of an outreach program to district hospitals throughout the country for similar projects.


Objective:The timing of menopause is associated with multiple health outcomes in female populations including all-cause mortality, heart disease, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. Although research suggests that age at menopause varies in different ethnic groups, data on age at menopause among Hispanic women are limited. Design:The present cross-sectional study estimates age at natural menopause among a sample of 1,272 Puerto Rican women aged 40 to 59 years who participated in health fairs held in 22 municipalities of Puerto Rico between May 2000 and November 2001. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to characterize age at natural menopause and its association with relevant covariates. Results:The overall adjusted median age at natural menopause was 51.3 years. Current employment (hazard ratio = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.59-0.95) and parity of two or three children as compared with having no children or one child (hazard ratio = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.54-0.98) were associated with a later menopause. Conclusions:This study provides a robust estimate of age at menopause for Puerto Rican women, which is similar to overall estimates previously reported for US populations, but higher than estimates for other Hispanic populations. Our results confirm attributes associated with age at menopause and provide information relevant to understanding the potential chronic disease burden of Puerto Rican women as they age.


Marchand speaks of the growth of the university and the library from a small college to a university with radidly growing graduate programs, especially after WWII.  He notes the G.I. generation swelled undergraduate enrollment and were entering graduate programs. He state that the Library had acquired the fundamental research tools and many of the reference works in special fields that are essential to graduate study, even before rapid growth of graduate program.


Ecoimmunology is an example of how fruitful integrative approaches to biology can be. Since its emergence, ecoimmunology has sparked constructive debate on a wide range of topics, from the molecular mechanics of immune responses to the role of immunity in shaping the evolution of life histories. To complement the symposium Methods and Mechanisms in Ecoimmunology and commemorate the inception of the Division of Ecoimmunology and Disease Ecology within the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, we appraise the origins of ecoimmunology, with a focus on its continuing and valuable integration with disease ecology. Arguably, the greatest contribution of ecoimmunology to wider biology has been the establishment of immunity as an integral part of organismal biology, one that may be regulated to maximize fitness in the context of costs, constraints, and complex interactions. We discuss historical impediments and ongoing progress in ecoimmunology, in particular the thorny issue of what ecoimmunologists should, should not, or cannot measure, and what novel contributions ecoimmunologists have made to the understanding of host-parasite interactions. Finally, we highlight some areas to which ecoimmunology is likely to contribute in the near future.


Abstract The City of Seattle has been a leader in developing and implementing legislation that will reduce the influence of money on elections and the conduct of government. This article documents the history of this scheme of regulation, analyzes its success, and examines the attempts to undermine it and their effect.


Abstract Various historical processes have been put forth as drivers of patterns in the spatial distribution of Amazonian trees and their population genetic variation. We tested whether five widespread tree species show congruent phylogeographic breaks and similar patterns of demographic expansion, which could be related to proposed Pleistocene refugia or the presence of geological arches in western Amazonia. We sampled Otoba parvifolia/glycycarpa (Myristicaceae), Clarisia biflora, Poulsenia armata, Ficus insipida (all Moraceae), and Jacaratia digitata (Caricaceae) across the western Amazon Basin. Plastid DNA (trnH–psbA; 674 individuals from 34 populations) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS; 214 individuals from 30 populations) were sequenced to assess genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, population genetic structure, and demographic patterns. Overall genetic diversity for both markers varied among species, with higher values in populations of shade‐tolerant species than in pioneer species. Spatial analysis of molecular variance (SAMOVA) identified three genetically differentiated groups for the plastid marker for each species, but the areas of genetic differentiation were not concordant among species. Fewer SAMOVA groups were found for ITS, with no detectable genetic differentiation among populations in pioneers. The lack of spatially congruent phylogeographic breaks across species suggests no common biogeographic history of these Amazonian tree species. The idiosyncratic phylogeographic patterns of species could be due instead to species‐specific responses to geological and climatic changes. Population genetic patterns were similar among species with similar biological features, indicating that the ecological characteristics of species impact large‐scale phylogeography.


Agricultural producers and food marketers are increasingly responding to environmentally friendly cues from consumers, even though privately appropriated values associated with a range of food products commonly rank above their public-good counterparts. Wine can be considered an ideal product to examine these issues given consumers' highly subjective sensory preferences towards wine, and a winegrape production process that is relatively intensive in the use of chemical inputs for the control of disease and infection. Semi-dry Riesling wines made from field research trials following environmentally friendly canopy management practices were utilised in a lab experiment to better understand preferences for environmental attributes in wine. A combined sensory and monetary evaluation framework explicitly considered asymmetric order effects. Empirical results revealed that sensory effects dominate extrinsic environmental attributes. Once consumer willingness to pay (WTP) was conditioned on a wine's sensory attributes, the addition of environmentally friendly information did not affect their WTP; however, adding sensory information significantly influenced WTP initially based only on environmental attributes. The results confirm the idea that promoting environmentally friendly winegrape production practices would increase demand and lead to higher premiums for the products, but are only sustainable if consumers' sensory expectations are met on quality.


Entity linking is a fundamental database problem with applicationsin data integration, data cleansing, information retrieval, knowledge fusion, and knowledge-base population. It is the task of accurately identifying multiple, differing, and possibly contradictingrepresentations of the same real-world entity in data. In this work,we propose an entity linking system capable of linking entitiesacross different databases and mentioned-entities extracted fromtext data. Our entity linking solution, called Certus, uses a graph model to represent the profiles of entities. The graph model is versatile, thus, it is capable of handling multiple values for an attributeor a relationship, as well as the provenance descriptions of thevalues. Provenance descriptions of a value provide the settings ofthe value, such as validity periods, sources, security requirements,etc. This paper presents the architecture for the entity linking system, the logical, physical, and indexing models used in the system,and the general linking process. Furthermore, we demonstrate theperformance of update operations of the physical storage modelswhen the system is implemented in two state-of-the-art databasemanagement systems, HBase and Postgres.


Many different sources of input are available to assistive technology innovators during the course of designing products. However, there is little information on which ones may be most effective or how they may be efficiently utilized within the design process. The aim of this project was to compare how three types of input—from simulation tools, professional therapists, and end users—affect the final design when they are provided during the course of the design process. Eight design teams were recruited to independently design a working prototype of an assistive device while receiving a particular type of input. Twenty potential users were recruited to evaluate each of the devices with respect to effectiveness and satisfaction. The results indicate that in some cases each type of input can have a positive effect on end user evaluation. Issues related to how input may be affected by design concept selection, stakeholder recruitment, and timely delivery of input are discussed.


This paper deals with the properties of self-compacting concrete with and without fly ash. The samples of concrete were made by four groups with a self-compacting concrete with 100% OPC, 5% fly ash replacement, 10% fly ash replacement and 15% fly ash replacement. Strength properties tests were carried at the ages of 7th, 14th and 28th days for the various mixes. Results indicates that an increase in percentage of fly ash replacement was good in its fresh property and all fly ash replaced self-compacting concrete was have better flowability, fillingability and segregation resistant than a self-compacting concrete with 100% OPC. The compressive strength results of the sample indicates that, a Self-compacting concrete with 10% fly ash have 50.2 MPa at 28th day and has better result than all other specimens and and the for with was


The high level of compression efficiency achieved by HEVC coding techniques decreases the error resilience performance under error prone conditions. This paper addresses the error resiliency of the HEVC standard, focusing on the new motion estimation tools. It is shown that the temporal dependency of motion information is comparatively higher than that in the H.264/AVC standard, causing an increase in the error propagation. Based on this evidence, this paper proposes a method to make intelligent use of temporal motion vector (MV) candidates during the motion estimation process, in order to decrease the temporal dependency, and improve the error resiliency without penalising the rate-distortion performance. The simulation results show that the proposed method improves the error resilience under tested conditions by increasing the video quality by up to 1.7 dB in average, compared to the reference method that always enables temporal MV candidates.


Ras proteins (H-, K-, and N-p21ras) play critical roles in the control of normal and neoplastic cell growth. To date, however, little is known about the role of p21ras in regulating mitogen-induced smooth muscle and, specifically, human airway smooth-muscle (HASM) cell growth. We postulate that p21ras is a critical signaling event regulating mitogen-induced HASM cell proliferation. Growth-arrested, confluent HASM cells were treated for 1 h with 10 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF), 1 U/ml thrombin, or 5 microM bradykinin, then cell lysates were immunoprecipitated using anti-p21ras antibody. Immunoblot analysis using a pan p21ras antibody, which recognizes H-, K-, and N-p21ras, found no significant difference in p21ras expression in HASM after stimulation with either agent, as compared with control. In parallel experiments, we characterized that HASM cells express K- and N-p21ras, but not H-p21ras. Further, there was no difference between the levels of each p21ras isoform after stimulation with any of the agonists. The time course of p21ras activation, however, was markedly different among agonists. EGF rapidly activated p21ras within 30 s and was sustained for up to 30 min. Although thrombin also induced a rapid rise in p21ras activity after 2.5 min, the activation was transient. In contrast, bradykinin, which is nonmitogenic for HASM cells, did not activate p21ras. Using single-cell microinjection, the role of p21ras activation in modulating mitogen-induced HASM DNA synthesis was determined by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and anti-BrdU immunofluorescent staining. Thrombin- and EGF-induced DNA synthesis in cells microinjected with Y13-259, a neutralizing p21ras antibody, was significantly inhibited as compared with those microinjected with isotype-matched rat immunoglobulin G(1) or a vehicle control. These data suggest that activation of p21ras appears to be necessary for EGF and thrombin-induced HASM cell proliferation and that activation of K- and N-p21ras, but not H-p21ras, mediates smooth-muscle cell growth.


This was the first attempt to investigate the bioelectricity output based on solid-liquid cooperation in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) treatment of oil-based drill sludge by adjusting the stirring rate (SR) and supplementing oil-based drill cuttings (OBDCs). According to the results, the maximum power density output reached 671 mW/m2 (5.4 kW h/m2) when the stirring rate was 100 r/min and the OBDCs concentration was 2 g/L in the anode chamber, which was more than 2.4 times as high as that of the control group and significantly higher than those of other MFCs. Extremely high removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia and total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) were realized in optimization, with values of 52.3 ± 1.9% (the removal quality was 12081 ± 432 mg/L), 74.5 ± 0.2% and 58.9 ± 0.2%, respectively. Electrochemical analyses and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the cooperation of stir with OBDCs could activate microbial activity while reducing the overpotential loss in anode systems and thus responsible for the enrichment of electrogenic bacteria with extracellular electron transfer functions (such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria) and denitrifying bacteria (such as Bacilli and Anaerolineae and Rhodopseudomonas). Moreover, substrate characterization (via Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)) showed that organic matter might converted into small molecules without intermediates. This investigation offers a new strategy for the treatment /application of solid and liquid produced from oil and gas fields by bioelectrochemical technology.


Recent years have seen growing efforts to develop spoofing countermeasures (CMs) to protect automatic speaker verification (ASV) systems from being deceived by manipulated or artificial inputs. The reliability of spoofing CMs is typically gauged using the equal error rate (EER) metric. The primitive EER fails to reflect application requirements and the impact of spoofing and CMs upon ASV and its use as a primary metric in traditional ASV research has long been abandoned in favour of risk-based approaches to assessment. This paper presents several new extensions to the tandem detection cost function (t-DCF), a recent risk-based approach to assess the reliability of spoofing CMs deployed in tandem with an ASV system. Extensions include a simplified version of the t-DCF with fewer parameters, an analysis of a special case for a fixed ASV system, simulations which give original insights into its interpretation and new analyses using the ASVspoof 2019 database. It is hoped that adoption of the t-DCF for the CM assessment will help to foster closer collaboration between the anti-spoofing and ASV research communities.


Lentinus lepideus is an edible mushroom currently available in Korea. The acetone, methanol and hot water extracts were prepared and assayed for their antioxidant and antityrosinase inhibitory activities. The hot water extract showed the strongest β-carotene-linoleic acid inhibition compared to the other extracts. At 8 mg/mL, the methanolic extract showed a high reducing power of 1.21. The acetone and methanol extracts were more effective in scavenging DPPH radicals than the hot water extract. The strongest chelating effect was obtained from the methanolic extract. Xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the acetonic, methanol and hot water extracts increased with increasing concentration. Gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillin, naringin, naringenin, formononetin, and biochanin-A were detected in the acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid (5:1) solvent extract. This study suggests that fruiting bodies of L. lepideus can potentially be used as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants.


This paper addresses the problem of resource allocation and quality of service (QoS) management in a downlink communication system where the users are allowed to be attached to and receive data from one or several cooperating base stations (BSs) under orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). Under the assumption that only information regarding the link path loss is available at each transmitter, the problem of power and bandwidth allocation to minimize transmission power subject to minimum rate (i.e., QoS) constraints is written as a convex optimization problem. Considering that the transmission power per BS is limited, the Lagrange multipliers of the optimization problem are exploited either to efficiently identify which are the candidates to be preempted whenever unaffordable power consumption arises, or to relax the target rate constraints for the ongoing connections. In the second case, the Lagrange multipliers are used in combination with the Newton- Raphson algorithm to adjust the QoS of the users in the system according to the available BS power.


A critical pathway of lumbar discectomy has helped Blodgett Memorial Medical Center in Grand Rapids, MI, decrease cancellations by incorporating a preoperative telephone call one to two weeks before surgery. 50% of patients are going home in 23 hours or less. A handful of those are going home the same day as the procedure. The preoperative telephone call includes registration, education, instruction about laboratory tests to be done before the day of surgery, and even discharge planning.


Numerous engineering problems of interest to the industry are often characterized by expensive black-box objective function evaluations. These objective functions could be physical experiments or computer simulations. Obtaining a comprehensive idea of the problem and/or performing subsequent optimizations generally requires hundreds of thousands of evaluations of the objective function which is most often a practically unachievable task. Gaussian Process (GP) surrogate modeling replaces the expensive function with a cheap-to-evaluate data-driven probabilistic model. While the GP does not assume a functional form of the problem, it is defined by a set of parameters, called hyper-parameters, that need to be learned from the data. The hyperparameters define the characteristics of the objective function, such as smoothness, magnitude, periodicity, etc. Accurately estimating these hyperparameters is a key ingredient in developing a reliable and generalizable surrogate model. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a ubiquitously used Bayesian method to estimate these hyperparameters. At GEs Global Research Center, a customized industry-strength Bayesian hybrid modeling framework utilizing the GP, called GEBHM, has been employed and validated over many years. GEBHM is very effective on problems of small and medium size, typically less than 1000 training points. However, the GP does not scale well in time with a growing dataset and problem dimensionality which can be a major impediment in such problems. For some challenging industry applications, the predictive capability of the GP is required but each second during the training of the GP costs thousands of dollars. In this work, we apply a scalable MCMC-based methodology enabling the modeling of large-scale industry problems. Towards this, we extend and implement in GEBHM an Adaptive Sequential Monte Carlo (ASMC) methodology for training the GP. This implementation saves computational time (especially for large-scale problems) while not sacrificing predictability over the current MCMC implementation. We demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of GEBHM with ASMC on four mathematical problems and on two challenging industry applications of varying complexity.


1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) is a natural D-glucose analogue and has a strong physiological activity in inhibiting α-glucosidase in vivo. The antidiabetic effects of DNJ in mice or other mammals were extensively explored, but the physiological and toxic roles of DNJ in insects was seldom reported. In this study, the biological effects of DNJ were examined in midgut extracts of fourth-instar larvae of Eri silkworm (Samia cynthia ricini, Saturniidae). Based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabonomics technology, we analyzed the alterations of glycometabolism, lipids, and energy metabolism pathways in the midgut of S. cynthia ricini caused by DNJ. Pattern recognition analysis (partial least square-discriminant analysis, PLS-DA) showed that four groups of latex, 0.25% DNJ, 0.5% DNJ and the mixture of 0.5% DNJ and latex (1:1) were distinctly different from the control group. Moreover, several metabolic pathways of DNJ-mediated modulation in the midgut were identified. Compared with the control group, alanine, succinate, glutamate, and fumarate concentrations decreased in three groups of 0.5% DNJ, latex, and the mixture, choline levels increased in two DNJ groups, and trehalose levels increased in all experimental groups. Therefore, these results suggest that DNJ modulated lipid metabolism by limiting the hydrolysis pathways of phospholipids metabolism. Additionally, DNJ has a potent negative effect on energy metabolism by inhibiting the hydrolysis of trehalose, glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Overall, DNJ, as a single-ingredient, is an efficient substance for modulating lipid metabolism and inhibiting energy metabolism.