BACKGROUND
GPs at the Deep End first started in Scotland and brought together Scottish general practitioners (GPs) working in the 100 most deprived practices in the country. The group continues to provide peer support, advocacy, training and research opportunities to learn more about general practice in disadvantaged areas. In 2016, Canberra GPs came together to form a local Deep End group, supported by the Scottish initiators.

OBJECTIVE
To describe the process and benefits of beginning a local Deep End group in the Canberra region.

DISCUSSION
The Canberra Deep End group includes GPs working with a diverse group of patients from disadvantaged areas. Since its inception, the group has met regularly to discuss local issues, advocate for change in local government policy, and provide peer support and learning opportunities. We highlight this powerful movement to Australian GPs working in areas of disadvantage and encourage others to develop their own Deep End group.


The traditional boundaries of labour law are becoming outmoded in a modern world in which active labour market participants vastly outnumber "employees", and the world of work extends way beyond the workplace gate. There is convergence with labour market regulation. The contract of employment remains central but is no longer the sole object of study.Labour Law and Labour Market Regulation reflects the dramatically different industrial, social, political and legislative contexts in which the law now operates and the intellectual revolution this is generating. Individual chapters contain studies of regulation within prescriptive government schemes, contract networks, specialist labour markets, the intersection between work and family, enterprise policies and practices, and the courts and tribunals. The book provides insights into areas that are, as arbitration declines, becoming increasingly important to their clients' interests. The most recent legislation and jurisprudence is discussed in many chapters including discrimination, dismissals, health and safety, immigration, social security, franchise, volunteer and contract law.


Despite all the talk about a prioris and metaphysics, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's criticism amounts to an attack on pluralism and the evolutionary scientific point of view from a traditional Catholic perspective. The proposal by Andrew Hodge and Alan Duhs to entertain Ratzinger's criticism affords the opportunity to remind us of how John Dewey would respond from his secular, scientific point of view to the issues under discussion. From Dewey's point of view, I discuss briefly issues about the nature and place of presuppositions, the nature of human potentiality, the place of faith, the way to view society and human character, the nature of human growth and freedom, teleology, the nature and role of reason and intelligence, the failures of absolutism, and the importance of the method of intelligence and democratic habits against the methods and institutions of absolutism.


This course deals with the aspects of physical oceanography which are important to understand the dynamics and role of the ocean in the climate system of our planet earth. There are outstanding and very comprehensive books on the dynamics of the worlds ocean, and the purpose of this "Guided Tour Through Physical Oceanography" is not to rival them, but rather to provide for a concise, self contained and systematic introduction to the field, emphasizing the basic questions. While teaching an introductory class of physical oceanography to graduate students, I found no concise introduction to the subject that deals with the matter on an advanced and modern level. By modern I mean oriented ``[...] toward the understanding of
physical processes which control the hydrodynamics of oceanic circulation.'' (H. Stommel, The Gulfstream, 1958). More precisely, when considering such physical process we first assume that such process can be modeled by the Navier-Stokes equations, an assumption that is surely satisfied to a very high degree of accuracy.
We then proceed in four steps:
(i) formulate assumptions about the process that simplify the problem;
(ii) use these assumptions to derive simplified (mathematical) models;
(iii) study the thus obtained simplified models; and
(iv) compare the results to observations (if available) to validate or reject the results.
If the results have to be rejected when confronted with observations, laboratory experiments or results from more complete models, we have to formulate new assumptions, that is, restart with (i). It is the first point, the choice of the important assumptions which is key to scientific progress and asks for a deep scientific insight.


Vertices in networks often have external classifications. Vertices with similar classifications may have similar connection patterns in the network, even if they reside in remote regions of the network. We thus introduce a novel method for the detection of groups of non-adjacent vertices with similar classifications in networks through the similarity of measures on the network surrounding them. In the algorithm, vertices are characterized by a large set of structural properties of local and global scale, composing a network attributes vector for each vertex. This characterization is used to construct an affinity dual graph, where clustering is applied. When tested in several real-world networks with ground truth classifications, the groups detected by our algorithm had significantly more homogenous groups than those found by common community detection algorithms. The algorithm allows the clustering of non-adjacent vertices in remote network locations, as shown in two networks. When used in a supervised context, precise predictions of vertices content are accomplished.


A label-free biosensor is presented using carbon nanofiber (CNF) nanoelectrode arrays for the detection of cardiac troponin-I in the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Immobilization of anti-cTnI Ab on CNFs and the detection of human-cTnI were examined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques. Each step of the modification process was monitored, and the results show changes in electrical capacitance or resistance to charge transfer due to the specificity of corresponding adsorption of Ab-Ag interaction. The immunosensor demonstrates a good selectivity and high sensitivity against human-cTnI analytes and is capable of detecting cTnI at concentrations as low as ∼0.2 ng/mL, which is 25 times lower than that possible by conventional methods. Analysis of the electrode at various stages using atomic force microscopy and X-ray reflectivity provides information on the surface roughness and orientation of the antibody.


Herein, we provide a new protocol to reduce various transition-metal complexes by using organosilicon compounds in a salt-free fashion with the great advantage of generating pure low-valent metal species and metallic(0) nanoparticles, in sharp contrast to reductant-derived salt contaminants obtained by reduction with metal reductants. The organosilicon derivatives 1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2,5-cyclohexadiene (1 a), 1-methyl-3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-cyclohexadiene (1 b), 1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene (2 a), 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene (2 b), 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene (2 c), and 1,1'-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1H,1'H-4,4'-bipyridinylidene (3) all served as versatile reductants for early transition-metal complexes and produced only easy-to-remove organic compounds, such as trimethylsilylated compounds and the corresponding aromatics, for example, benzene, toluene, pyrazine, and 4,4'-bipyridyl, as the byproducts. The high solubility of the reductants in organic solvents enabled us to monitor the catalytic reactions directly and to detect any catalytically active species so that we could elucidate the reaction mechanism.


Previous research using cancer cells has demonstrated that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) can suppress cell proliferation and promote cell differentiation. The research reported in this research ascertains that VD3 plays a similar role in haematopoiesis. This was investigated using the E14/ OP9 co-culture as it has previously been shown to be a good setting for studying haematopiesis. The effects of VD3 on E14 and OP9 were tested separately with different VD3 levels to demonstrate that sufficient levels of VD3 were crucial in promoting differentiation and suppressing proliferation of both cell lines. The effective dosage of VD3 was 100 nmol/L. This dosage was then used to test the effect of VD3 on cell proliferation and differentiation in haematopoiesis in the E14 / OP9 co-culture system through analyses of growth factors, cluster of differentiation (CD) markers, colony-forming cell (CFC) counts, haematopoiesis-specific genes and cytokine expression. VD3 was shown to promote differentiation thereby accelerating the early appearance of differentiated cells in the co-culture system. The in vitro study was followed by an in vivo pilot study, in which blood samples were taken monthly from a group of adult volunteers over a three-month period for analysis of VD levels, CD34 expression and blood cell counts. In the in vivo pilot study, it was found that there were significant non-random temporal variations in the measurements and there were statistically significant positive correlations between each of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level, white blood cell count, platelet count, CD34+ progenitor cell count and VD3 level. Overall, the research reported in this thesis demonstrated for the first time an anabolic effect of VD3 in haematopoiesis on murine E14 and OP9 cells in vitro. In addition, the pilot study on human volunteers demonstrated that a comparable effect takes place on human cells in vivo and these results could be used to inform future studies.


Phage SP RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (SP replicase) was purified from Escherichia coli infected with RNA phage SP. The enzyme was found to be composed of four non-identical polypeptides, i.e. subunits I, II, III, and IV and molecular weights of 74,000, 69,000, 47,000, and 36,000 daltons, respectively. As in the case of phage Qbeta replicase, the largest polypeptide is identical with the ribosomal protein S1, and subunits III and IV with polypeptide chain elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-ts, respectively.. This is based on the behaviour of the subunits on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing and immunological cross-reaction. Subunits I, III, and IV of SP replicase are derived from the host cell, while subunit II is coded by phage RNA genome. The striking coincidence of the composition and entity of the structural components of SP replicase with those of Qbeta replicase may indicate the structural and functional requirements of host-derived polypeptides in RNA replicase. The binding activity of S1 (in 70S ribosome comples) to poly (U) is retained in SP replicase complex. In contrast, the GDP binding activity of EF-Tu is masked in SP replicase. It is concluded that S1 is required functionally whereas EF-Tu.EF-Ts are required structurally in RNA replicase.


This paper investigates the determinants of exchange rate regime choice in 93 countries during 1990-98. Cross-country analysis of variations in international reserves and nominal exchange rates shows that (i) truly fixed pegs and independent floats differ significantly from other regimes and (ii) significant discrepancies exist between de jure and de facto flexibility. Regression results highlight the influence of political factors (political instability and government temptation to inflate), adequacy of reserves, dollarization (currency substitution), exchange rate risk exposure, and some traditional optimal currency area criteria, in particular capital mobility, on exchange rate regime selection.


ference by man, and the changes, some imperceptible and others blatantly obvious, all disturb its balance and may result in disease. This book, edited by a physician and a geographer, consists of a series of contributions by experts on a wide variety of topics wrhich illustrate the manner in which the health of the patient can be affected by his environment and by his social milieu. There is not a dull chapter in the book, though some of the contriibutors tend to overemphasize their own particular interest. In the discussion on water in relation to disease there is too much on lead pollution, yet the problems of both chemical and microbiological pollution are fully described and some recent views on wuater supplies discussed. Again, the chapter on diseases asEociated with modern economic development reflects the author's interest in the deficiency of dietary fibre in the food eaten by the populations of developed countries. There is an unfortunate typographical error in the opening paragraphs of this chapter (p. 140) which attributes the demonstration of the mode of transmission and life cycle of the malaria parasite to Rose instead of Ross. The short contribution on the environment as it affects arteriosclerotic disease is packed with interesting facts, and the chapter on the environmental factors in relation to obstetrics makes one wonder why this interesting information has not been collected in this form previously. The commnunicalble diseases, in both developing and developed countries, are dealt with in relation to the differing environmental conditions which prevail. The chapter on the relationship of weather to health and disease is well documented and contains a considerable amount of data which have not before been readily accessible. It contains much information which merits careful reading. This is a book which will interest most doctors, but it will prove of special value to the medical teacher as it covers a wide spectrum of environmental factors which affect health and disease to which the attention of the student should be directed. It is relatively easy to demonstrate the cellular pathology of a disease, but it is often much more difficult to describe the underlying social and environmental pathology. The book is replete with fascinating examiples of the later. ANDREW B. SEMPLE


Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of maternal age on fertilization, embryo quality, and clinical pregnancy in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using testicular sperm from partners with azoospermia. Methods A total of 416 ICSI cycles using testicular spermatozoa from partners with obstructive azoospermia (OA, n=301) and non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA, n=115) were analyzed. Female patients were divided into the following age groups: 27 to 31 years, 32 to 36 years, and 37 to 41 years. The rates of fertilization, high-quality embryos, clinical pregnancy, and delivery were compared across maternal age groups between the OA and NOA groups. Results The rates of fertilization and high-quality embryos were not significantly different among the maternal age groups. Similarly, the clinical pregnancy and delivery rates were not significantly different. The fertilization rate was significantly higher in the OA group than in the NOA group (p<0.05). Age-group analysis revealed that the fertilization and high-quality embryo rates were significantly different between the OA and NOA groups in patients aged 27 to 31 years old, but not for the other age groups. Although the clinical pregnancy and delivery rates differed between the OA and NOA groups across all age groups, significant differences were not observed. Conclusion In couples using testicular sperm from male partners with azoospermia, pregnancy and delivery outcomes were not affected by maternal age. However, women older than 37 years using testicular sperm from partners with azoospermia should be advised of the increased incidence of pregnancy failure.


Ultrastructural localization of herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoprotein D was studied using HSV infected monolayers of rabbit corneal cells. The pre-embedding indirect peroxidase-labeled antibody method was employed. Immediately after viral adsorption, deposits of reaction products were seen on the viral envelope. The cytoplasmic membrane showed focal positive staining at the sites of virus attachment. At 1 hour after infection, reaction products were found on the envelope of the virus in the phagocytic vacuoles and on the walls of these vacuoles. The localization of the staining did not alter until 4 hours after infection. At 5 hours after infection the nuclear envelope and parts of the membranous structures in the cytoplasm were stained. At 6 hours after infection, when capsid assembly began, the cell surfaces were stained throughout. At 12 hours after infection, when enveloped particles were released into the extracellular space, viral particles were enveloped by the nuclear membrane or membranous structures in the cytoplasm. These membranes were stained positively.


The impacts of uptake and electricity load profiles of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Heat Pumps (HPs) on the low voltage (LV) distribution networks were analyzed. The United Kingdom (UK) has a legally mandated policy concerning reduction of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emissions. Therefore, the integration of low carbon technologies (LCTs) especially EVs and HPs at the LV networks is expected to increase in the drive to reducing the GHGs emissions. Future uptake scenarios, adapted from the National Grid studies, of EVs and HPs were developed for a real and typical urban LV distribution network in Great Britain (GB). Gridlab-D, an agent-based power system simulation software, was used to model the LV distribution network. The model was run for four different scenarios considering seasonal load profiles and projected EVs and HPs uptakes for each of the year 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively. The results were analyzed in terms of transformer loading, voltage profiles of the feeders, and the ampacity loading of the cables for the different scenarios of the years.


The linguistic form class of a word and the kind of object the word refers to both provide information for discovering whether a new noun refers to an object as a category member (e.g., a dog) or as an individual (e.g., Lassie). This study investigated children's use of both syntactic (i.e., form class) and semantic (i.e., type of referent) information, clarifying and extending work summarized by Macnamara. Although widely accepted, past results were inconclusive because (1) children were taught new words for objects they could already name, and (2) the earlier procedure lacked appropriate distractor items. This work eliminated these problems by using unfamiliar objects and a revised testing procedure. 32 2-year-olds were each taught 1 new noun. Linguistic form class (presence or absence of an article) and type of referent (animal-like or blocklike toy) were varied between groups. Children's interpretations of the new nouns were assessed by asking the subjects to select the named toy from an array of 4 toys (e.g., "Point to Zav"). With animal-like toys, Macnamara's claim that children interpret common nouns as category names, and proper nouns as individual names, was supported. With blocklike toys, children in our study interpreted a common noun as a category name, but there was a tendency for children in the proper noun condition to choose a particular stuffed animal as the new noun's referent rather than the named blocklike toy. These results show that 2-year-old children use both linguistic form class and their knowledge about real-world objects to interpret new words.


The formalin-killed suspensions of Mexican rickettsiae prepared according to the methods of Zinsser and Castaneda afforded a practical method for vaccination on a large scale. The vaccine has evident protective power against typhus infection, as proved by experiments in men and laboratory animals. Twelve persons who had not had a previous typhus infection were vaccinated and subsequently inoculated with large doses of typhus material obtained from infected guinea-pigs and none of them developed the disease. It was found necessary to inject at least 3 doses of vaccine in order to protect guinea-pigs against non-orchitic Mexican strains, whereas it was easy to immunize these animals with a single dose of vaccine against the orchitic typhus. The apparent immunological differences between orchitic and non-orchitic Mexican strains are the same as those observed between murine and European typhus.


The financial turmoil starting in late 2007 has engendered serious criticisms of major credit rating agencies (CRAs), crystallising in a groundbreaking Regulation on CRAs in the EU. This article considers that the Regulation might have failed to take into account a fundamental problem relating to credit ratings - the single, through‐the‐cycle rating system - which probably contributed to the ratings of entities highly sensitive to changes in overall market conditions, including banks and financial institutions, to be vulnerable to cascading ratings downgrades during downturns. The first part of the article analyses the performance of such credit ratings to support the above argument, while the second part explores a proposed solution of moving away from the single rating system to one where 'standard' ratings are supplemented by 'stressed ratings.' This solution can be based on a public–private partnership where CRAs produce stressed ratings based on scenarios set by regulators - an idea that entails recognition that regulatory efforts in this area ultimately entails a complex balancing of the roles of both the CRAs and regulators as gatekeepers in making safety‐and‐soundness judgements together for global financial markets.


Body fat disorders are a common and relevant problem in HIV-1-infected patients that can be associated with metabolic alterations. Many controversies in their definition, pathogenesis, measurement, and management remain unclear. Several factors including HIV-1 infection itself and antiretroviral therapy have been associated with the development of these alterations. Most studies show that the action of drugs on the pathogenesis of lipoatrophy is undeniable. However, they also show that there are considerable differences not only between the different families of antiretroviral drugs, but also between the individual members of these families. The diagnosis of lipodystrophy is limited by the absence of an agreed definition and a reference for normality. Accurate diagnosis, especially in mild-moderate cases, is difficult, almost always subjective, not standardized, and cannot be carried out by a single method. In general, subjective evaluation by the physician and patient, together with simple techniques such as anthropometry, can provide highly valuable information, especially when used over time. Although there is no known therapy to completely reverse lipodystrophy once it becomes established, there is evidence that lipoatrophy can be partially improved by replacing thymidine analogs in certain cases. In addition, reparative surgery may prove useful in moderate or severe cases. Neither the interruption of antiretroviral therapy nor the use of metformin, glitazones or growth hormone analogs can be recommended due to their limited efficacy or associated complications.


imbalance seems to exist in view of the lengthy discussions of writers like Eliza Orzeszkowa, Adam Asnyk, and Maria Konopnicka, whose works have faded in significance when compared to the influence Zeromski has had on the modern period. A comprehensive and updated bibliography includes publications of original works, collected editions, and criticism—mostly in Polish but also in German—as well as some translations and studies in English. Mi^zek's book represents a useful and welcome addition to the growing body of studies on modern Polish literature and is recommended to any student and library interested in Polish studies.


The objective of this article is to progress descriptively within the first phase of the research process, namely observation towards a problem statement. On the basis of interviews with Dr LouwAlberts and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, literature, a survey on violence by the HSRC, and press reports we describe the role of Christian church leaders in the peace process which culminated in the National Peace Accord. Our research identified a problem which needs further research: there is a discrepancy between the religious understanding of peace by the church leaders and the religious understanding of peace by the people on grassroots level.


The aim of this study was to compare two approaches to career guidance, formal and non-formal career guidance, so as to improve guidance programmes and raise career satisfaction and career realisation level of employees. A causal comparative survey was conducted in Harare. The researcher purposefully selected 93 participants, then employees in four different employing institutions at the time the research was conducted. The basis for the selection of the research participants is that they had gone through Ordinary level education at a secondary school in Zimbabwe where they were influenced by either of the two or both types of career guidance. Each participant completed a 45-item, closed form questionnaire indicating his/her perceptions about the career guidance he/she had received and how satisfied they felt about their careers. The results were analysed using SPSS, 20.0. A Chi-square Test was carried out to compare the relative strengths of the two major sources of influence, formal and non-formal career guidance. The focus of the Chi-square test was on comparing the observed and expected numbers of participants influenced by each of the sources of career guidance. The Chi-square test results indicated that there is a significant difference in the strengths of the influences of the two groups. A One- Way Analysis of Variance was carried out to compare the means of career realisation levels of the groups under study. The ANOVA results indicated that there was no significant difference between the career realisation levels of employees influenced by formal career guidance and those influenced by non-formal career guidance. Although formal career guidance seemed less convincing to attract many students, it seems to be associated with relatively higher career realisation levels because it provides relevant career information to the students before they make the career decisions. On the other hand, non-formal career guidance attracted almost half of the participants mainly because it provides sustainable financial and social support to the student during this transition period between school and employment. However, non-formal career guidance was associated with the limitation of lack of relevant information on career awareness and other career preparatory information. The participants influenced by non-formal career guidance reported relatively lower career realisation levels. About one third of the participants reported to have been influenced by both formal and non-formal career guidance and they indicated that they experience moderately high career realisation levels. This research study has shed more light as to why some employees seem not satisfied with their careers. Either they did not directly participate in choosing the career (as in the case of formal career guidance) or they selected the career before they had adequate information about the career (as in non-formal career guidance). The study indicated that there are strengths and weaknesses associated with each of the two approaches of providing career guidance. Adopting the strengths of each of these approaches is likely to maximize the career realisation levels of more students. From the findings of this study the researcher recommends that a collaboration of the two (formal and non-formal career guidance) be implemented in order for most students to achieve optimal career realisation levels when they enter their careers.


Background: The aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the remineralization potential of three remineralizing systems as follows: fluoride, casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), and CPP-ACP with fluoride, under scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study A total of 40 enamel specimens were prepared from the buccal or lingual surfaces of human premolars extracted for orthodontic reason. Specimens were then placed in demineralizing solution for 96 h, to produce artificial caries-like lesion. Calcium and phosphate weight percentage of demineralized specimens was measured. Specimens were divided into four groups as follows: (a) control, (b) CPP-ACP, (c) CPP-ACP with fluoride, and (d) fluoride varnish. Except for the control group, the entire specimens were subjected to remineralization using respective remineralizing agents of their groups. The prepared specimens were assessed for calcium and phosphate weight percentage using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Tukey's test, was performed with the help of critical difference (CD) or least significant difference at 5% and 1% level of significance. P ≤ 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant and P < 0.001 as statistically highly significant. Results: The mean weight percentage of calcium and phosphorus of specimens treated with CPP-amorphous calcium phosphate nanocomplexes plus fluoride (ACPF) was significantly higher than other groups. Conclusion: All the groups showed statistically significant remineralization. However, because of added benefit of fluoride, CPP-ACPF showed statistically significant amount of remineralization than CPP-ACP.


Patient satisfaction data for 2,226 patients in the Medical Outcomes Study were used to determine the dimensions of satisfaction with medical care, the relation between direct and indirect methods of assessing global satisfaction with care, and the extent to which visit-specific and global satisfaction with one's medical care covary. Results supported the multidimensionality of satisfaction ratings but showed substantial covariation among some dimensions. Direct and indirect methods of assessing global satisfaction with care also covaried markedly. Global satisfaction was significantly, albeit modestly, correlated with visit-specific satisfaction


The superconducting coils of SC200 cyclotron put forward strict demand for the accuracy and stability of power supply. In this paper, a rectifier-based constant-current power supply is presented for this application, which is composed of phase-controlled rectifier, pulse-width modulation (PWM) active filter and LCR passive filter. Low-frequency harmonics can be eliminated by passive filtering, while PWM active filtering device acts as the role of suppressing non-characteristic harmonics. Transfer function is studied in detail and the scheme of the power supply is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink software. The simulated and measured results both indicate that the proposed power supply meets the requirements of SC200 superconducting coils in terms of precision, stability as well as dynamic response.


In this study we determined whether alterations in the expression of GLUT4, the major insulin-regulatable glucose transporter, in skeletal muscle could explain the insulin-resistant glucose uptake characteristic of both dietary-induced and genetic obesity. GLUT1 expression was measured for comparison. To assess glucose transporter protein levels in dietary-induced obesity, postnuclear membranes were prepared from hindlimb muscle of Sprague-Dawley rats fed chow ad libitum (control), a high calorie/carbohydrate diet, or a high fat (80%) diet for 7 weeks. Immunoblotting revealed that GLUT4 protein levels decreased 34% in high fat-fed rats, but were unaltered in high calorie/carbohydrate-fed obese rats compared to control values. GLUT4 mRNA per DNA decreased 47% in muscle of high fat-fed rats compared to that in control or high calorie-fed rats; GLUT1 mRNA was reduced 31%, and actin mRNA tended to decrease (29%). To assess GLUT4 and GLUT1 expression in genetic obesity, similar studies were carried out in 5- and 20-week-old lean and obese Zucker rats as well as in 20-week-old obese Zucker rats 36 h after streptozotocin injection to lower insulin levels. GLUT4 protein and mRNA levels were unaltered in hindlimb muscle of obese Zucker rats at either age or in the acutely diabetic state, whereas GLUT1 protein and mRNA levels decreased 40-45%. Comparison of these results with recent data in adipocytes demonstrates tissue-specific regulation of expression of GLUT4 and GLUT1. Thus, obesity due to high fat feeding, but not that due to high calorie/carbohydrate feeding or genetics, is associated with pretranslational suppression of GLUT4 expression in skeletal muscle. In at least some forms of obesity, the level of GLUT4 expression in muscle appears to be only one factor in, or may even be unrelated to, the degree of insulin-responsive glucose transport in vivo.


Calculations of energies and lifetimes of levels for configurations 2s22p53l and 2s2p63l were performed for the Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Ni ions. The intermediate coupling scheme was used. The initial energy matrix was derived in the LS-scheme. Relativistic corrections were calculated using the Breit operator. Calculations were made in the framework of the Z-expansion perturbation theory.


In this paper the flexible Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) substrate is used to implement broadband wearable/foldable conformal bandpass filters that use compact cavity resonators working under the principle of quarter mode substrate integrated waveguide (QMSIW), which features a 75% size reduction with respect to the conventional substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) counterpart. Further size reduction is realized with the use of a complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) metamaterial unit cell integrated with the QMSIW architecture. The resulting CSRR-loaded QMSIW cavity has its main resonance frequency below the quasi-TE0.5,0,0.5 resonance mode of the original QMSIW cavity due to the evanescent wave amplification phenomenon with CSRR loading. A low temperature surface micromachining process on the LCP and mechanical drilling of via holes are used for fabrication. The realized CSRR-loaded QMSIW cavity features a moderate quality factor (Q) that makes it useful for the design of bandpass filters with much broader fractional bandwidth (FBW) when compared to those using conventional SIW cavities. A 2nd order and a 3rd order surface micromachined Chebyshev BPFs are demonstrated for operation at a center frequency of 25.5 GHz. More than 11% FBW with an in-band return loss of better than 20 dB and an insertion loss of less than 1.5 dB, including transitions, are obtained for both filters. Theoretical analysis of the working principle is explained. Measured results are in good agreement with the 3D full wave structure simulations.


The identification of specific molecular aberrations guides the prognostic stratification and management of grade 2 astrocytomas. Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 and 2, found in the majority of adult diffuse low-grade glioma (DLGG), seem to relate to a favorable prognosis compared to IDH wild-type (IDH-wt) counterparts. Moreover, the IDH-wt group can develop additional molecular alterations worsening the prognosis, such as epidermal growth factor receptor amplification (EGFR-amp) and mutation of the promoter of telomerase reverse transcriptase (pTERT-mut). This review analyzes the prognostic impact and therapeutic implications of genetic alterations in adult LGG.


Chiral spin pumping is the generation of a unidirectional spin current in half of ferromagnetic films or conductors by dynamic dipolar stray fields from close-by nanomagnets. We formulate a general theory of long-range chiral interactions between magnets mediated by unidirectional traveling waves, e.g., spin waves in a magnetic film or microwaves in a waveguide. The traveling waves emitted by an excited magnet can be perfectly trapped by a second, initially passive, magnet by a dynamical interference effect. When both magnets are excited by a uniform microwave, the chiral interaction between them creates a large imbalance in their magnon numbers.


A one-dimensional theory is developed for modeling the analysis of beams containing piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The equations of motion and associated boundary conditions are derived for the vibrations of piezoelectrically sensored/actuated beams. The effect of coupling between longitudinal deflection and bending deflection is investigated. For the practical applications, in accordance with the proposed beam theory, a one-dimensional finite element formulation is presented. The proposed beam theory as well as the finite element approach can easily be used in developing a formal two-dimensional theory for piezoelectrically actuated composite plates and shells or other physical systems.


Aspen forests in the Great Lakes States support much of the regional timber industry. Management-induced soil compaction is a concern because it affects forest health and productivity and soil erosion. Soil compaction increases bulk density and soil strength and can also decrease air and water movement into and through the soil profile. Currently, most inventories, and specifically the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, use qualitative estimates of soil compaction. This study compared qualitative estimates with quantitative measurements on aspen clearcuts in five national forests in the Great Lakes States. Research sites were stratified into classes of high and low potential for soil compaction on the basis of soil texture. Qualitative visual assessments of compaction were made according to Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) phase 3 protocols and compared with physical measurements of bulk density, soil compression strength, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. No differences in compaction between high- and low-risk soils were detected using visual assessments, but quantitative measurements in high-risk, fine-textured soils indicated greater compaction than low-risk, coarse-textured soils. These results illustrate shortcomings in qualitative estimates of compaction made according to FIA phase 3 field protocols. Inexpensive quantitative measurements, such as those taken with a pocket penetrometer, may be sufficient to quantify compaction levels within the plots.


Reflection spectra of particulate samples of minerals that commonly occur in hydrothermally altered rocks and soils were recorded to display their features at their natural spectral bandwidths in the near-infrared from 1.3 to 2.4 mu m. Atmospheric transmission spectra were recorded over limited wavelength segments in the same region to demonstrate the availability of some of the diagnostic mineral bands that occur close to regions of intense absorption. Changes occur in the appearance of all these spectra caused by instrumental factors such as less than adequate spectral resolution and response time. The features in the mineral spectra are sufficiently characteristic to be used for analytical purposes, especially including those near 1.4 mu m which are unavailable for remote-sensing activities because of atmospheric obscuration. For remote-sensing purposes, the features in the 2.2-mu m region are emphasized as particularly valuable because they are common to alteration minerals and allow discrimination from nonalteration minerals which provide features only as close as 2.4 mu m. Detection of unique features near 1.76 mu m that occur only in alunite and gypsum is possible through the atmosphere and so provides diagnostic potential. The location and shape of mineral spectral features are retained unaltered in the spectra of rocks, and intensity with which they appear is governed by the accessibility of the particular mineral in the rock to the interacting radiation. For remote-sensing purposes, it appears that at least two 0.1-mu m wide filters in the 2.2-mu m region would be necessary to unambiguously identify the presence or absence of alteration minerals, and that judicious selection of the exact location of filters could provide finer discrimination.


Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and immunoreactive parathyroid hormone concentrations were measured in normal elderly subjects living at home and in sick elderly patients in hospital. Normal old people tended to have high 25-hydroxyvitamin D and low parathyroid hormone concentrations; in the sick elderly this pattern was reversed. The raised serum parathyroid hormone concentrations in the sick elderly were not due to poor renal function and may have been a response to vitamin D deficiency. A high serum parathyroid hormone concentration in an elderly patient must be interpreted in the light of the patient's general health and nutritional state. Caution is needed in diagnosing primary hyperparathyroidism in this age group.


Serpentinization may provide a unique environment for the abiotic formation of condensed carbonaceous matter. This could support the deep biosphere and contribute to the deep carbon cycle, and may have provided the first building blocks for life. However, thus far, condensed carbonaceous matter has been found only in association with the minor mineral constituents of serpentinites. In contrast, here we show the direct association between carbonaceous matter and the dominant Fe oxide in serpentinites, magnetite. Our samples were recovered from the Yap Trench, western Pacific Ocean, with a human-occupied vehicle at a depth of 6413 m below sea level. The carbonaceous matter coincides with some micron-sized magnetite grains, but particularly with nanosized Fe oxides within serpentinite nanopores. Vibrational spectroscopy reveals that the condensed carbonaceous matter contains both aliphatic and aromatic compounds, but there is no evidence for functional groups typical for biological organics. Based on these observations, we suggest that physicochemical phenomena in serpentinite nanopores and nanosized catalytically active minerals may play a key role in the abiotic synthesis of complex carbonaceous matter.


Drift dissipative instabilities of electron-acoustic and lower-hybrid wave in a multi-ion species plasma have been investigated. In contrast to the result of Mohan and Yu [15], it is found that the electron-acoustic drift dissipative instability appears at moderately high ion-viscosity. Also we have found another electron-acoustic drift dissipative mode due to second ion species which is also having a growth rate of same order.


Background Spondyloarthritis (SpA) and Takayasu arteritis (TA) are two chronic inflammatory diseases; their association is rare but has already been described in the literature. Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features of patients suffering from SpA associated with TA and to identify some characteristics of SpA patients that could be suggestive of TA. Finally, we analyzed treatments that were generally used in this clinical context and their efficacy in TA. Methods This retrospective study collected patients' cases from 10 medical centers in France. Data collection relied on a call for observations on behalf of the Club Rhumatismes et Inflammation. A standardized questionnaire was established and validated by the investigators. Results We included 14 patients, 10 of them were women. The median age at SpA diagnosis was 43.5 years (ranging from 19 to 63). Subtypes of SpA were: ankylosing spondylitis (n=11), psoriatic arthritis (n=2) and SAPHO syndrome (n=1). HLA-B27 was positive in 3 cases, negative in 9 cases and unknown in 2 cases. SpA was diagnosed before TA in 13 cases (median time of 4.5 years). During SpA patients' follow-up, TA revealing symptoms were: clinical detection of a pulse diminution/abolition (3/14), superior limb claudication (2/14), and vascular sound (2/14). Other TA diagnoses were made by the exploration of inflammatory cervical pain (1/14), or the radiological detection of radial artery thrombosis (1/14). TA was confirmed by CT (11/14) and/or PET (6/14) or anatomopathology (1/14). Laboratory tests shown increased acute phase reactants in all cases, C-reactive protein being ≥25mg/L in 71% of the cases; systemic inflammation was the revealing factor for TA in 6 cases. Seven patients were treated with anti-TNF: 2 with adalimumab, 4 with etanercept (among whom one required a switch to infliximab and another required a switch to adalimumab, and then to golimumab) and 1 with infliximab. Anti-TNF treatment was introduced in 5/7 cases after TA diagnosis. Vascular surgery was necessary for 4 patients. Conclusions Association of SpA and TA is probably not coincidental. The recent findings of double negative T cells expressing IL-23 receptor in the aorta of mice presenting with a model of SpA supports this association[1]. The careful peripheral pulse palpation and vessels auscultation should be systematic and stay the first alert to TA diagnosis in SpA patients. Moreover, increased acute phase reactants during SpA follow-up, without alternative explanation, should alert physicians and lead to screen patients for TA, as well as for an inflammatory bowel disease. Finally, the identification of this association has therapeutic implications since anti-TNF alpha have already demonstrated their efficacy in both diseases as observed in our study. References Sherlock et al., IL-23 induces spondyloarthropathy by acting on ROR-γt+ CD3+CD4−CD8− entheseal resident T cells. Acknowledgements Club Rhumatisme et Inflammation Disclosure of Interest None declared


Antrodia cinnamomea exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory activities. We aimed to explore the antipsoriatic potential of 2,4-dimethoxy-6-methylbenzene-1,3-diol (DMD) derived from A. cinnamomea. The macrophages activated by imiquimod (IMQ) were used as the cell model for examining the anti-inflammatory effect of DMD in vitro. A significantly high inhibition of IL-23 and IL-6 by DMD was observed in THP-1 macrophages and bone marrow-derived mouse macrophages. The conditioned medium of DMD-treated macrophages could reduce neutrophil migration and keratinocyte overproliferation. DMD could downregulate cytokine/chemokine by suppressing the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and NF-κB. We also observed inhibition of GDAP1L1/Drp1 translocation from the cytoplasm to mitochondria by DMD intervention. Thus, mitochondrial fission could be a novel target for treating psoriatic inflammation. A psoriasiform mouse model treated by IMQ showed reduced scaling, erythema, and skin thickening after topical application of DMD. Compared to the IMQ stimulation only, the active compound decreased epidermal thickness by about 2-fold. DMD diminished the number of infiltrating macrophages and neutrophils and their related cytokine/chemokine production in the lesional skin. Immunostaining of the IMQ-treated skin demonstrated the inhibition of GDAP1LI and phosphorylated Drp1 by DMD. The present study provides insight regarding the potential use of DMD as an effective treatment modality for psoriatic inflammation.


Modern superscalar, out-of-order microprocessors dominate large scale server computing. Monitoring their activity, during program execution, has become complicated due to the complexity of the microarchitectures and their IO interactions. Recent processors have thousands of performance monitoring events. These are required to actually provide coverage for all of the complex interactions and performance issues that can occur. Knowing which data to collect and how to interpret the results has become an unreasonable burden for code developers whose tasks are already hard enough. It becomes the task of the analysis tool developer to bridge this gap. To address this issue, a generic decomposition of how a microprocessor is using the consumed cycles allows code developers to quickly understand which of the myriad of microarchitectural complexities they are battling, without requiring a detailed knowledge of the microarchitecture. When this approach is intrinsically integrated into a performance data analysis tool, it enables software developers to take advantage of the microarchitectural methodology that has only been available to experts. The Generic Optimization Data Analyzer (GOoDA) project integrates this expertise into a profiling tool in order to lower the required expertise of the user and, being designed from the ground up with large-scale object-oriented applications in mind, it will be particularly useful for large HENP codebases


Abstract Reliable evaluation of shale-play potential requires robust geological models that can simulate the generation and retention of petroleum, porosity and permeability in source rocks from first principles, and that can be implemented in basin modelling software. To be predictive, such basin models need to be calibrated against observations from real shale plays. A key control on the amount of retained petroleum is the porosity in the shale and the abundance of organic matter. Scanning electron microscopy of argon-ion milled shale samples can potentially reveal systematic variations in the amount of porosity, pore types and distributions across a range of thermal maturities. These observed variations in porosity can be used to calibrate basin modelling outputs and refine predictive models. For these reasons BP has conducted scanning electron microscopy studies of shale plays including the Eagle Ford Shale, a carbonate-rich mudstone sequence of Cenomanian to Turonian age. The results clearly show that the mean pore size decreases as thermal maturity increases and that organic matter-hosted pores are absent in low thermal maturity samples (where vitrinite random reflectance Ro <0.7) and become increasingly more abundant as thermal maturity increases). In moderately mature samples there are organic matter hosted pores that range in pore size from 5 to 500 nm. In highly mature samples, small (<50 nm) organic matter-hosted pores predominate. Our studies reveal that porosity evolution in this organic-rich, fine-grained, carbonate mudrock shows a strong correlation with increasing thermal maturity.


Non-parallel Voice Conversion (VC) has gained significant attention since last one decade. Obtaining corresponding speech frames from both the source and target speakers before learning the mapping function in the non-parallel VC is a key step in the standalone VC task. Obtaining such corresponding pairs, is more challenging due to the fact that both the speakers may have uttered different utterances from same or the different languages. Iterative combination of a Nearest Neighbor search step and a Conversion step Alignment (INCA) and its variant Temporal Context (TC)-INCA are popular unsupervised alignment algorithms. The INCA and TC-INCA iteratively learn the mapping function after getting the Nearest Neighbor (NN) aligned pairs from the intermediate converted and the target spectral features. In this paper, we propose to use dynamic features along with static features to calculate the NN aligned pairs in both the INCA and TC-INCA algorithms (since the dynamic features are known to play a key role to differentiate major phonetic categories). We obtained on an average relative improvement of 13.75 % and 5.39 % with our proposed Dynamic INCA and Dynamic TC-INCA, respectively. This improvement is also positively reflected in the quality of converted voices.


Food vendors with poor knowledge and practice of food hygiene are potential source of food contamination and food borne diseases in institutions of learning in developing countries. The study was conducted to appraise the knowledge and practice of food hygiene among food vendors in the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria using a cross - sectional descriptive survey as the research design. A total of sixty – seven food vendors were purposely recruited for the study.  Researcher's developed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Collated data were sorted, coded, and analysed with SPSS software. The results were described using frequency counts and percentages. Findings from the study indicated that majority of the respondents 57 (85.1%) had adequate knowledge of food hygiene and the same percentage also engaged in good food hygienic practices. The result also revealed that, there was a statistically significant relationship between knowledge and practice of food hygiene (=28.134; p<0.05).  Thus, the researchers suggested continuous education of food vendors on the need to maintain hygiene practices during preparation and handling of food to safeguard the health of the students.


Background: Considering the high fatality of botulism, the control of Clostridium botulinum and its neurotoxins has clinical importance. In this regard, using chemical preservatives, natural essential oils (Eos), and changes in the growth predisposing factors of bacteria are suitable methods to control the growth and toxin producing of C. botulinum in foods. Objective: The current survey was done to assess the effects of Citrus sinensis EO and intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the growth and toxin producing of C. botulinum type A. Materials and Methods: In this experiment with a factorial design, C. sinensis EO (0.0%, 0.015%, 0.03%, and 0.045%), nisin (0, 500, and 1500 IU/mL), nitrite (0, 20, and 60 ppm), pH (5.5 and 6.5), storage temperature (25 and 35° C), and sodium chloride (NaCl, 0.5% and 3%) were used to assess bacterial growth in the brain heart infusion medium. Finally, the mouse bioassay method was also used to assess toxicity. Results: Clostridium sinensis EO with a concentration of 0.045%, as well as the reduction of pH and temperature could significantly delay the growth of bacteria (P≤0.05) in contrast to the use of NaCl and nisin alone. However, all concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), nisin, and C. sinensis EO (< 0.045%) in interaction with each other, especially in combination with nitrite, showed good synergistic effects. Conclusion: These results suggested that using certain concentrations of C. sinensis EO and nisin, along with other suboptimal factors caused a significant decrease in the nitrite contents of foods with a significant reduction in the growth and toxin-producing ability of C. botulinum.


Background: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is one of the common intestinal infectious diseases worldwide, which caused a huge economic and disease burden in many counties. In China, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention included the HFMD into the Class C reported infectious diseases. The average annual growth rate of HFMD is 16.43%. Shaanxi is a special region which across three temperature zones. Hence, in this study, the spatial-temporal analysis of Shaanxi would reveal the characteristics of distribution of HFMD and explore the related determinants of HFMD.Methods: The county-level and municipal data of Shaanxi province from 2009 to 2018 were applied to research the spatio-temporal characteristics of HFMD and its meteorological determinants. Time series analysis and spatial autocorrelation analysis were applied to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics of HFMD. This study used spatial econometric panel models to explore the relationship between HFMD and meteorological factors.Results: The incidence rate of HFMD displayed no long-term changing pattern from temporal perspective. The high incidence rate of HFMD were observed from June to September, which is the season with a climate characterized by heavy rain, high temperature, and high humidity. The high spot is mainly located in central region in Shaanxi. The Low-low clusters were mainly found in Northern Shaanxi. As for the meteorological factors analyzed in this study, the waterfall, temperature and humidity in one specific and surrounding region is positive association with incidence rate of HFMD in specific region.Conclusion: The results could be applied by government and general public to take effective measures to prevent diseases. The region-targeted policies could be enacted and implemented in the future. The local government needs take responsible for the health management of immigration and mobile population. The citizen should cultivate good living habits such as hand-washing habit and the eating habit.


The present paper examines the dynamics between macroeconomic variables and the stock market. The index of industrial production, inflation, gold price, oil price, and return from treasury bills have been used as proxy macroeconomic variables. The Indian stock market has been typified by the Sensex. Monthly observations have been analyzed from April 1993 to October 2022 through cointegration and the Granger causality test to examine possible long-run and short-run relationships, respectively. The results proclaim the presence of cointegration among variables. Further, the analysis of normalized cointegrating coefficients reveals that in the long run, changes in inflation and the rate of return from T-bills positively affect the stock market. While changes in gold and oil prices have a negative impact on the stock market. The Granger causality test implies that in the short run, the stock market is sensitive to changes in the index of industrial production, inflation, and oil prices. The results are expected to be fruitful for investors as well as traders when designing their investment and trading strategies. Since the results indicate that volatility in the stock market can significantly affect industrial production, inflation, and gold prices, regulators should be vigilant about perturbations in the stock market to mitigate adverse effects.


Abstract SOX11 is a critical biomarker for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) diagnosis; however, its role remains unclear in MCL. Here, clinical-pathological analysis showed Ki67 index was negatively relevant to SOX11 expression only in CD43 positive cases. Coexpression of SOX11/CD43 indicated longer overall survival. In vitro, knockout/overexpression of SOX11 or CD43 promoted/inhibited cell proliferation respectively. CD43 overexpression reversed tumor proliferation induced by SOX11 knockdown. Furthermore, overexpressing/silencing the SOX11/CD43 gene affects phosphorylation of p38-MAPK while p38 inhibitor reversed proliferation induced by si-SOX11 or si-CD43, respectively. In CAM-DR model, both SOX11 and CD43 in MCL cells were elevated when co-cultured with M2-10B4 bone marrow fibroblasts or fibronectin. Knockdown/overexpression of SOX11 decreased/increased cell adhesion, respectively, and the effect induced by silencing SOX11 was reversed by overexpression of CD43. Collectively, SOX11 could inhibit tumor proliferation and promote CAM-DR in a CD43 dependent manner.


The paper features relations between extremist attitudes and moral sphere. The study was based on J. Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory. Most researchers are interested in the problem of right-wing extremist attitudes, e.g. xenophobia, nationalism, religious fanaticism, authoritarianism, etc. However, the existing evidence of the link between such attitudes and some particularities of the moral sphere doesn't take into account modern psychological approaches toward moral. On the basis of moral foundations theory, the authors hypothesized that binding moral foundations may be linked with rightwing extremist attitudes. This hypothesis was tested on 397 university students (women – 83 %). The participants answered the Moral Foundations Questionnaire by J. Graham et al. and Young Men Extremist Attitudes Questionnaire by K. V. Zlokazov. The results of the correlation analysis showed that individualizing moral foundations (Harm and Fairness) were inversely correlated with right-wing extremist attitudes, while binding moral foundations (Loyalty and Authority) showed direct correlation. Such moral foundation as Sanctity showed contradictory correlations with extremist attitudes. Using structure linear modeling the authors demonstrated the significant impact of two moral foundations (Authority and Harm) on extremist attitudes. Authority was associated with a relatively high level of religious fanaticism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism. Care was associated with a low level of fanaticism, xenophobia, and nationalism. The obtained results proved that such violencecondemning values as care and harm avoidance oppose right-wing extremist attitudes. However, such values as respect for authorities and traditions may have potentially negative side effects, e.g. justification and support of right-wing extremist attitudes.


Background While the conserved positions of a multiple sequence alignment (MSA) are clearly of interest, non-conserved positions can also be important because, for example, destabilizing effects at one position can be compensated by stabilizing effects at another position. Different methods have been developed to recognize the evolutionary relationship between amino acid sites, and to disentangle functional/structural dependencies from historical/phylogenetic ones. Methodology/Principal Findings We have used two complementary approaches to test the efficacy of these methods. In the first approach, we have used a new program, MSAvolve, for the in silico evolution of MSAs, which records a detailed history of all covarying positions, and builds a global coevolution matrix as the accumulated sum of individual matrices for the positions forced to co-vary, the recombinant coevolution, and the stochastic coevolution. We have simulated over 1600 MSAs for 8 protein families, which reflect sequences of different sizes and proteins with widely different functions. The calculated coevolution matrices were compared with the coevolution matrices obtained for the same evolved MSAs with different coevolution detection methods. In a second approach we have evaluated the capacity of the different methods to predict close contacts in the representative X-ray structures of an additional 150 protein families using only experimental MSAs. Conclusions/Significance Methods based on the identification of global correlations between pairs were found to be generally superior to methods based only on local correlations in their capacity to identify coevolving residues using either simulated or experimental MSAs. However, the significant variability in the performance of different methods with different proteins suggests that the simulation of MSAs that replicate the statistical properties of the experimental MSA can be a valuable tool to identify the coevolution detection method that is most effective in each case.


The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the burden of kidney disease among Indigenous Australians. After summarising kidney disorders and the context of kidney disease among the general Australian population, attention is directed to the factors contributing to kidney disease among Indigenous people. The extent of CKD and ESKD among Indigenous people in Australia is then addressed by outlining the overall incidence and prevalence, and associated hospitalisation and mortality. The review also outlines the extent of other urologic conditions and disorders of the urinary tract among Indigenous people, including acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN), urinary tract infections (UTIs) and urolithiasis. The factors contributing to kidney health problems, particularly CKD and ESKD, are considered in the context of the management and treatment of these conditions. The review concludes by outlining the current policies and strategies employed to address kidney health in Australia, with particular focus on polices and strategies employed to address the kidney health of Indigenous Australians.


Background: Depression of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) promotes the onset of opportunistic infections including intestinal parasites. Objectives: In this study, we are comparing the prevalence of these parasitic infections among individuals infected with HIV (HIV) and non-infected (HIV) enrolled in four HIV care units in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and stool samples were collected from 283 HIV positive subjects and 245 seronegative subjects. These samples were processed using direct wet mount, formol-ether concentration, Kato-Katz procedure, modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and Baermann techniques to identify both common and opportunistic intestinal parasites. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between HIV infection and socio-demographics factors as well as infection with intestinal parasites. Results: A total of 123 (23.4%) individuals were found infected with at least one protozoan parasite species, and nine (1.7%) with intestinal worms. Overall, infection rates were 27.9% and 22.4% among HIV and HIV subjects, respectively. The frequencies of Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar were significantly more important among HIV subjects (P < 0.0455). Pentatrichomonas hominis and Entamoeba coli were significantly more prevalent among HIV subjects (P < 0.0210). Heterogeneity was observed in the distribution of intestinal parasites, according to socio-demographic parameters. In addition,Cryptosporidium spp. was significantly associated with the decrease in CD4 cell count (P = 0.0035). The frequencies of infections with Cryptosporidium spp., Isospora belli, and Iodamoeba buetschlii were significantly more important in HIV positive patients not taking antiretroviral (P < 0.0226). Conclusions: Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, and Blastocystis spp. were the intestinal pathogens more often found among HIV infected individuals. HIV positive subjects were significantly more infected with intestinal parasites than seronegatives in intermediate and rural settings, among individuals aged more than 45 years and among unemployed individuals.


Diarrhoeal diseases are among the most frequent childhood illnesses and the leading cause of preventable death in developing countries. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to determine the level of knowledge of causes, symptoms, and management of diarrhoeal diseases, assess personal hygiene practices, determine the association between knowledge of diarrhoeal diseases and hygiene practices as well as ascertain determinants of positive hygiene practices among in-school adolescents in selected middle schools between the ages of 10-15 years in Ife Central Local Government, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Methods Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and observational checklists and were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Fortune J Health Sci 2021; 4 (3): 394-411 DOI: 10.26502/fjhs.030 Fortune Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 4 No. 3 July 2021. 395 Results The study revealed that the level of knowledge of causes, symptoms, management of diarrhoea, and personal hygiene among the respondents were high (94.7%, 66.7%, 51.3%, and 96.9% respectively) and an association existed between knowledge of diarrhoea causes and hygiene practices of respondents. The major determinants of positive hygiene practice were sex, availability of kitchen facilities at home, type of school, and availability of toilet facilities in schools. Conclusion The study established a high knowledge level of diarrhoea and personal hygiene practices among respondents. However, there is a need for reinforcement from parents, teachers, and the government as well as the availability of hygiene enabling facilities at home and in schools to empower respondents to maintain their health and to influence the health of their families as well the entire society.


The uncertainties that frequently surrounded the diagnosis of lesions in the deeper urinary tract have been materially lessened by recent advances in the physical methods of diagnosis. This is particularly true of the intrarenal and intraureteral disorders, where improvements in diagnosis have resulted in a clearer differentiation between the symptoms of conditions that had been grouped as identical; in a more exact determination of the character and location of the lesion; and hence in a more accurate analysis of the indications for treatment, resulting in valuable modifications, more precise operative intervention, and, finally, a marked betterment in results. The facts that have led to a differentiation in the symptomatology and a more accurate localizing of intrarenal and intraureteral lesions have been derived from the study of the symptoms after an accurate localization of a calculus has been made by the Roentgen method of diagnosis. Thus the localizing symptoms observed as


Land cover maps are important tools for quantifying the human footprint on the environment and facilitate reporting and accounting to international agreements addressing the Sustainable Development Goals. Widely used European land cover maps such as CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) are produced at medium spatial resolutions (100 m) and rely on diverse data with complex workflows requiring significant institutional capacity. We present a 10 m resolution land cover map (ELC10) of Europe based on a satellite-driven machine learning workflow that is annually updatable. A random forest classification model was trained on 70K ground-truth points from the LUCAS (Land Use/Cover Area Frame Survey) dataset. Within the Google Earth Engine cloud computing environment, the ELC10 map can be generated from approx. 700 TB of Sentinel imagery within approx. 4 days from a single research user account. The map achieved an overall accuracy of 90% across eight land cover classes and could account for statistical unit land cover proportions within 3.9% (R2 = 0.83) of the actual value. These accuracies are higher than that of CORINE (100 m) and other 10 m land cover maps including S2GLC and FROM-GLC10. Spectro-temporal metrics that capture the phenology of land cover classes were most important in producing high mapping accuracies. We found that the atmospheric correction of Sentinel-2 and the speckle filtering of Sentinel-1 imagery had a minimal effect on enhancing the classification accuracy (<1%). However, combining optical and radar imagery increased accuracy by 3% compared to Sentinel-2 alone and by 10% compared to Sentinel-1 alone. The addition of auxiliary data (terrain, climate and night-time lights) increased accuracy by an additional 2%. By using the centroid pixels from the LUCAS Copernicus module polygons we increased accuracy by <1%, revealing that random forests are robust against contaminated training data. Furthermore, the model requires very little training data to achieve moderate accuracies—the difference between 5K and 50K LUCAS points is only 3% (86% vs. 89%). This implies that significantly less resources are necessary for making in situ survey data (such as LUCAS) suitable for satellite-based land cover classification. At 10 m resolution, the ELC10 map can distinguish detailed landscape features like hedgerows and gardens, and therefore holds potential for aerial statistics at the city borough level and monitoring property-level environmental interventions (e.g., tree planting). Due to the reliance on purely satellite-based input data, the ELC10 map can be continuously updated independent of any country-specific geographic datasets.


The use of nanotechnology (devices/materials composed of parts less than 10 nanometres) in the development of new products is rapidly expanding. Industrialists and decision-makers consider nanotechnology to be the next industrial revolution, but fear they risk the same resistance to nanotechnology that their counterparts experienced with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Although risk perception studies have shown that perceived risk of GMOs is quite high compared to that related to nanotechnology, no study to date has explored a potential direct social representation link between the two. The present study aims to fill that gap by comparing the social representations of nanotechnology and GMOs among a population of non-experts. This study was conducted with 282 students in human and social sciences and natural sciences. Using a free association task with the inductive words 'nanotechnology' and 'GMO (genetically modified organism)', we identified the existing social representations of the two based on a structural approach. While the representation of GMOs is objectified in the field of agriculture, objectification for nanotechnology seems to still be lacking, although its possible objectification likely lies in computing and robotics. Our calculation of the rate of similarity of associative words with nanotechnology and GMOs indicated no present, direct link between their social representations. We discuss the possible evolution of the social representation of nanotechnology over time.


INTRODUCTION In March 2005, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), released its Customary International Humanitarian Law, a work intended to articulate and justify the rules of customary international humanitarian law (IHL). (1) This Note will explore some of the issues surrounding the ICRC's publication, such as examining the wider role of the ICRC in IHL, debating the methodology used in the text, and finally, speculating on how the project will impact customary IHL in American and international tribunals. This Note concludes that while the ICRC successfully articulated a global consensus on what international humanitarian law ought to be, it may have sacrificed some of its respect in the international community by departing from a traditional definition of customary law. A. A Brief Overview of Customary International Humanitarian Law To understand the significance of the ICRC's attempt to articulate the rules of customary IHL, one must know at least the basic structure of the law in this area. International law comes from four sources: (1) treaties and agreements; (2) customary law; (3) general principles of law common to major legal systems; and (4) judicial decisions and scholarly teachings) Treaties and customary law have equal authority as international law. (3) If they conflict, the "last in time" rule operates, meaning that whichever came into force most recently takes precedence. (4) When treaties and customary law are not helpful, one may then consult general principles, which most frequently come into play to determine procedural matters. (5) If an issue cannot be resolved after examining these sources, decision-makers should then consult scholarly articles and judicial opinions. (6) However, as will be discussed in more detail below, (7) overburdened judges often rely on scholarly works as definitive evidence of customary international law or general principles instead of conducting independent assessments of primary sources. (8) Customary International Humanitarian Law addresses customary international law, and specifically, customary IHL. (9) Customary law is "international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law," (10) resulting from "a general and consistent practice of states followed by them from a sense of legal obligation." (11) Thus, a principle is considered customary law if many states across the world feel legally obliged to follow that principle. This sense of legal obligation is commonly referred to as opinio juris. The ICRC spent nearly a decade determining when state practice and opinio juris in the area of IHL are sufficient to give rise to customary law and articulating that law. The resulting work closely resembles an American-style restatement's articulation of common law-based rules. (12) B. An Overview of the International Committee of the Red Cross The ICRC has its roots in an 1859 battle in Solferino, Italy. (13) Swiss businessman Henry Dunant, in Solferino on a business trip, was appalled that the wounded of both sides had been left to die and arranged for their care. (14) Following that experience, he founded the predecessor to the ICRC, the International Committee for the Relief of the Wounded, and in 1864 helped to draft the first Geneva Convention, which created the concept of IHL. (15) Today, the four Geneva Conventions and their Protocols are the basis of IHL. (16) From its infancy, the ICRC has been in the practice of creating law, but what is interesting about its most recent foray into lawmaking is that it claims only to be writing down existing customary law. (17) Whether it has done so accurately or whether it is continuing its practice of creating law is a matter of much debate. In addition to interpreting, articulating, and creating IHL, (18) the ICRC is also associated with the national Red Cross societies, which work in areas decimated by war or natural disaster to reunite families and otherwise provide relief. …


A silver-catalyzed ring-opening reaction of cyclopropanols with sulfonyl oxime ethers has been developed. The protocol was conducted under mild reaction conditions to provide a series of γ-keto oxime ethers with moderate to good yields. The reaction proceeded in a stereoselective manner for CF3-containing oxime ethers to provide a single stereoisomer, while an inseparable E and Z mixture was obtained for CN-containing oxime ethers. Mechanistic studies indicate that the reaction proceeded via a radical mechanism.


Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe myopathy of recessive X-linked character and the most relevant animal study model is the Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD). In addition to the severe changes occurring in the striated musculature, several studies show that other structures, including viscera, may prove to be altered in this pathology. Thus, this study aimed to analyze and compare possible structural and functional alterations of the kidney in GRMD dogs. In this study model, it was possible to observe the presence of convex and concave faces, the renal hilum, and the cranial and caudal poles of the kidneys. The organ was surrounded by a fibrous capsule. In a sagittal section of the organ, the presence of the cortical and medullary regions and the renal pelvis were noticed. On microscopic examination, it was possible to identify the medullary and cortical zones and their structures: the renal corpuscles formed by the glomerulus and Bowman's capsule, the proximal and distal convoluted tubules, the collecting ducts, the blood vessels, and the segments of the loops of Henle. The serum creatinine and urea were within normal limits. Thus, according to our results, we may conclude that the affected animals under study showed no structural or functional changes in the kidneys, something which allows us to suggest that, despite the impaired water intake, renal structure remains preserved in GRMD animals.


A study was conducted to determine the chemical composition and digestibility of almond hull using invitro , sacco and vivo methods. Chemical compositions of almond hull and alfalfa hay were determined. The crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) of almond hull were lower than those of alfalfa hay but the non fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) was more than that of alfalfa hay (3.5 times) (P < 0.01). The dry matter disappearance of almond hull for all incubation times using in sacco method was greater than that of alfalfa hay (P < 0.01). To measure in vivo digestibility, four mature Moghani sheep of live weight (39 ± 3 kg mean±SD) were used in a 2 × 2 change over design. Diets consisted of a basal diet (alfalfa hay) and a mixed diet (alfalfa hay 70% + almond hull 30%). Invitro and vivo dry matter digestibilities of almond hull were 585.8 and 645.0 gkg -1 , respectively. There was no difference between in vivo dry and organic matter digestibility of alfalfa hay and mixed diet but were significantly affected in the case of CP and NDF (P < 0.01). In general, almond hull had low CP but greater NFC content as well as greater digestibility in sheep.


It is a thesis that is presented in the format of Compendium of Publications (Article 8
Regulation on deposit evaluation and defense of doctoral thesis, according to the Reform adopted at 28/II/2012). The thesis discusses the issue of human rights of children and adolescents in the context of international migration with an approach that includes a conceptual framework and various researches from the field. The thesis, integrated by a series of publications between the years 2008 and 2015, addresses the progress, challenges and conflicts with respect to the rights of children in the field of migration policies, including the legal framework and its implementation. In this regard, it is analyzed, firstly, the international standards and principles on children's rights applicable to migration, as well as the theoretical arguments that protect these rights. In addition, the publications describe the main problems and obstacles -both in theory and in practice identified on the ground in numerous countries- for the efective fulfilment of those rights.
Among the major shortcomings, they highlight the invisibility of the rights of children within migration policies, which is complemented by the invisibility of the rights of migrants within childhood policies. In turn, migration policies, mostly
focused on control mechanism and a selective approach to migration, tend to lack
specific consideration that international law demands when it comes to children's rights. Moreover, the publications gathered for this thesis include researches coordinated by the candidate that were carried out in different regional (Latin America and the Caribbean) and national contexts (Argentina and Mexico). Among the various topics discussed in
these publications, it is important to note the issue of detention and expulsion of children due to migration reasons, the right to family life (including the right to family reunification), the access of migrant children to social rights and the right to be heard at any proceeding that may affect their rights. Along with the abridged publications, this thesis includes an introductory chapter and a conclusion and outcomes chapter. In the first one, each of the publications are briefly explained, including a short description of the main themes, the methodology and the context in which they were done (e.g., working paper,
field research, etc.). The second examines the theoretical contributions of each one and the numerous outcomes, particularly their impact at different levels (academic, public policies initiatives of international organizations, policy reforms, among others). With the same objective, the thesis contains two annexes concerning: a) other publications on migration & human rights made by the candidate between 2008 and 2015; b) conferences, seminars and courses delivered by the applicant on the same topics during the abovementioned period of time.


The nonlinear optical constant of AgGaS2 was determined to be d36 (AgGaS2)=(0.84 ±0.1) ×d36 (AgGaSe2) =(34.8 ±4) pm/V from the direct comparison of the second-harmonic generation conversion (SHG) efficiencies of a CO2 laser at 9.2714 µm observed in AgGaSe2 under the identical experimental conditions. The phase-matching conditions for type-1 SHG in both AgGaS2 and AgGaSe2 are presented together with the damage thresholds at 9.2714 µm and 2.097 µm.


This article exposits the mystification of forests among people residing in proximity to a forest reserve in southwestern Nigeria. The theory of material engagement and the ecology of human development support the position that the forest is a classical motivator of traditional culture. Still, socio-cultural change is prevalent. As an element of this change, forest-based social cognition warrants systematic examination in the interest of environmental sustainability. This is because the concurrent conveyance of sustainability-promoting immaterial culture across generations is a component of the pathway to a sustainable future. Moreover, systems theory posits that social events affect each other. Since social change is not solitary but encompassing, forest mystification was examined along with other indicators of traditional orientation including attitude towards―religion, ageing, gender; and cultural enthusiasm. The results indicate that forest mystification is still huge and connected with orientations towards ageing and cultural enthusiasm. This exemplifies the Yorùbá social context's manifestation of continuity as opposed to change in forest culture; and stands in solidarity with traditional African mentality.


Purpose. Botanical analysis of existing vegetation in the territory of the "Beremitske" Nature Park for further zoning and selection of individual territories where reproduction of the original state of the phytocenosis is planned.

Methods. Field research methods for the analysis of the taxonomic composition of the flora in the park, cartographic methods for zoning the area and historical analysis of the land use of the former landowners.

Results. The conducted flora monitoring showed that in the studied territories the adventitious and synanthropic species predominated, in particular in the meadow-steppe areas the invasive and synanthropic vegetation was represented by Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Asclepias syriaca, Amaranthus retroflexus, Arctium lappa, Sonchus arvensis, Tanacetum vulgare, Medicago lupulina, Verbascum phlomoides, Urtica dioica. Among the wood forms Betula pendula, Robinia pseudoacacia, Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus sylvestris Populus nigra, Alnus glutinosa, Carpinus betulus predominated. Among the rare plants we identified the accumulation of Iris

sibirica in some meadow-swamp areas. The scheme of the park has been developed and the starting points at which flora reproduction is planned to be identified.

Conclusions. The species composition of the phytocenosis showed the predominance of invasive vegetation species in some areas of the park. The growth sites of the endangered species of Iris sibirica have been found, and in the future will allow to design new ecological trails in the park and to reintroduce it to other suitable sites. The data obtained will allow to develop a scheme of restoration of the original floral biodiversity in the park, taking into account the identified features.


We are developing a scalable parallel and distributed computational framework consisting of methods, algorithms, and integrated software tools for multi-terascle-to-petascale simulations of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) with quantum-level accuracy. We have performed multimillion- to billion-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of deformation, flow, and fracture in amorphous silica with interatomic potentials and forces validated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Optimized potentials have been developed to study sulfur embrittlement of nickel with multimillion-to-multibillion atom MD simulations based on DFT and temperature dependent model generalized pseudopotential theory. We have also developed a quasi-continuum method embedded with quantum simulations based on DFT to reach macroscopic length scales and an accelerated molecular dynamics scheme to reach macroscopic time scales in simulations of solid-fluid interfaces that are relevant to SCC. A hybrid MD and mesoscale lattice Boltzmann simulation algorithm is being designed to study fluid flow through cracks.


The mineralogy and chemical components of polymetallic nodules and sediment samples collected by R/V DAYANG YIHAO in the central Indian Ocean in 2007 were studied by means of XRD,Mossbaure,XRF and ICPMS.The nodules occur in siliceous ooze in shapes of cauliflower,fragment,waxberry and parallel nodules.Medium-sized and small nodules are dominant,with an average abundance of 4.213kg/m2.The nodules consist of todorokite,vernadite,birnessite and goethite with small amount of phillipsite,quartz etc.The average grade or the total content of Cu,Co and Ni is 2.385%.The cauliflower-shaped nodules are rich in Mn,Ni,Cu,with a high Mn/Fe ratio(5.09~6.33),and the parallel nodules are rich in Fe,Co,with a low Mn/Fe ratio(1.03~1.36).The REE patterns of the nodules are basically similar,characterized by LREE enrichment and a positive Ce anomaly.However,the total REE and Ce anomaly of the parallel nodules is much higher than that of the cauliflower-shaped nodules.The nodules from central Indian Ocean basin have similar mineral composition and REE patterns with those of eastern Pacific basin,suggesting that they possibly have similar origin,but the average abundance and grade of the nodules from central Indian Ocean basin is lower than those from the eastern Pacific basin.


In this paper, a generalized regular form is proposed to facilitate sliding mode control (SMC) design for a class of nonlinear systems. A novel nonlinear sliding surface is designed using implicit function theory such that the resulting sliding motion is globally asymptotically stable. Sliding mode controllers are proposed to drive the system to the sliding surface and maintain a sliding motion thereafter. Tracking control of a two-wheeled mobile robot is considered to underpin the developed theoretical results. Model-based tracking control of a wheeled mobile robot is first transferred to a stabilization problem for the corresponding tracking error system, and then the developed theoretical results are applied to show that the tracking error system is globally asymptotically stable even in the presence of matched and mismatched uncertainties. Both experimental and simulation results demonstrate that the developed results are practicable and effective.


The task of Human-Object Interaction (HOI) detection targets fine-grained visual parsing of humans interacting with their environment, enabling a broad range of applications. Prior work has demonstrated the benefits of effective architecture design and integration of relevant cues for more accurate HOI detection. However, the design of an appropriate pre-training strategy for this task remains underexplored by existing approaches. To address this gap, we propose Relational Language-Image Pre-training (RLIP), a strategy for contrastive pre-training that leverages both entity and relation descriptions. To make effective use of such pre-training, we make three technical contributions: (1) a new Parallel entity detection and Sequential relation inference (ParSe) architecture that enables the use of both entity and relation descriptions during holistically optimized pre-training; (2) a synthetic data generation framework, Label Sequence Extension, that expands the scale of language data available within each minibatch; (3) mechanisms to account for ambiguity, Relation Quality Labels and Relation Pseudo-Labels, to mitigate the influence of ambiguous/noisy samples in the pre-training data. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate the benefits of these contributions, collectively termed RLIP-ParSe, for improved zero-shot, few-shot and fine-tuning HOI detection performance as well as increased robustness to learning from noisy annotations. Code will be available at https://github.com/JacobYuan7/RLIP.


Conformance testing focuses on checking whether an implementation under test (IUT) behaves according to its specification. Typically, testers are interested in performing targeted tests that exercise certain features of the IUT. This intention is formalized as a test purpose. The tester needs a "strategy" to reach the goal specified by the test purpose. Also, for a particular test case, the strategy should tell the tester whether the IUT has passed, failed, or deviated from the test purpose. In (J. Jeron and P. Morel, 1999) Jeron and Morel show how to compute, for a given finite state machine specification and a test purpose automaton, a complete test graph (CTG) which represents all test strategies. In this paper, we consider the case when the specification is a hierarchical state machine and show how to compute a hierarchical CTG which preserves the hierarchical structure of the specification. We also propose an algorithm for an online test oracle which avoids a space overhead associated with the CTG


We consider the numerical solution of an unsteady convection-diffusion equation using high order polynomial approximations both in space and time. General boundary conditions and initial conditions can be imposed. The method is fully implicit and enjoys exponential convergence in time and space for analytic solutions. This is confirmed by numerical experiments (in one space dimension) using a spectral element approach in time and a pure spectral method in space. A fast tensor-product solver has been developed to solve the coupled system of algebraic equations for the Ο(N d ) unknown nodal values within a single space-time spectral element. This solver has a fixed complexity of Ο(N d+1 ) floating point operations and a memory requirement of Ο(N d ) floating point numbers. An alternative solution method, allowing for a parallel implementation and more easily extendable to more complex problems is sketched out at the end of the paper.


HIV and AIDS can result in visual impairment, therefore it is important that those who have or atrisk of contracting the disease have a basic knowledge of its ocular manifestations, so that they may seek eye care early. This study assessed the per-ceptions of a sample of senior high school students at the Capricorn district, Limpopo Province, South Africa about the ocular manifestations of HIV/AIDS and its management. Questionnaires were distributed to the students in their classrooms after school hours and upon completion were collected the same day. Data analysis revealed that 27.8% of the participants agreed that HIV/AIDS can affect the eyes. Another 27.8% responded that HIV/AIDS could cause dry eyes. Less than a third (31.4%) indicated that the disease could cause red eyes, 31.5% and 38.1% respectively indicated that HIV/AIDS could cause cancer of the eyelids and the eyeball.  About half of the respondents (52%) agreed that the disease could cause swollen eyelids; while about 46% agreed that vision loss or blindness could occur in HIV/AIDS.  Many (65.6%) indicated that an ophthalmologist or an optometrist should be consulted for HIV/AIDS-related eye problems and only 16.5% reported that traditional healers could be consulted. Perception about the ocular manifestations of HIV and AIDS is poor among the participants, suggesting a need for awareness campaigns and education.  (S Afr Optom 2012 71(3) 117-122)


Seasonal and interannual variability of ice drift in the Laptev Sea and ice exchange with the Arctic Ocean have been investigated using remote sensing data, a large-scale dynamic-thermodynamic numerical sea ice model and semi-empirical method. During the period 1979-1995 sea ice was exported from the Laptev Sea with maximum export occuring in February and minimum in August. The average winter ice outflow during this period was equal to 482700 km/sup 2/. Estimates of ice exchange between the northern and southern parts of the Laptev Sea during the period 1936 to 1996 exhibited a strong interannual variability, but did not reveal significant trends.


---The qualified study: " Autoperception of the quality of life of the major adult with diagnosis of Cancer submitted to ambulatory chemotherapy. HNERM.2013 ". It had as general aim: To determine the autoperception of the quality of life of the major adult with diagnosis of Cancer submitted to ambulatory chemotherapy. The study was of applicative level, quantitative type, and descriptive method of transverse court. The sampling went not probabilistic to convenience of the investigator and was shaped by 44 adult major patients who were present at the Unit of Chemotherapy during May. The technique was the survey and the instrument the scale type Likert modified with 38 terms of reference adapted on the basis of the questions of the questionnaire WHOQOL-Bref of the WHO and the multidimensional questionnaire QLQ-C30.Results: Of 100 % (44) of adult major patients, 25 % (11) they have an unfavorable Autoperception of his quality of life; 43.2 % (19) has a moderately favorable Autoperception and 31.8 % (14) has a favorable Autoperception of his quality of life. Conclusions: The highest percentage of major polled adults has a moderately favorable Autoperception of his quality of life followed by a significant percentage that has a favorable Autoperception.

Key words: Autoperception, Quality of life, Chemotherapy.


Abstract : The operation of building and utility systems at many U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR) installations is controlled and managed by Utility and Energy Monitoring and Control Systems (UEMCS). Commercially available hardware/software direct digital control (DDC) systems exchange data between individual microprocessors within the system using complex, proprietary communication protocols. As a result, different vendors' DDC systems are not normally communications compatible. Firm Neutral Data (FND) transmission is a standard communication protocol developed by the German Government that permits different vendors' DDC hardware to be interfaced with a common front-end computer called a "central station." This study demonstrated the use of FND in a multi-vendor UEMCS at the U.S. Army's Karisruhe Military Community, Germany. Two different manufacturers' DDC systems were interfaced to a third manufacturer's central station. The demonstration confirmed that FND can be used to integrate several vendors' DDC systems into a fully functional UEMCS. (MM)


Population-based clinical trials foundation of new drug development and approval. How-ever, trial participants frequently do not represent the racial and ethnic composition of the population they are intended to emulate. To assess the impact of recent efforts to improve trial diversity in urology, this study aimed to assess race and ethnicity reporting in clinical trials (CT) leading to recent urological drug approvals. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed US and Drug drug approvals for urological through Published trials that supported these approvals were analyzed to determine reporting of participant and We calculated proportional race/ethnicity reporting after censoring trials race/ethnicity in part or The was clustered and analyzed by demographic and clinical variables. for in the and diversity of clinical trial participants, gaps in race/ethnicity and disparities in representation persist in urological drug tri- Non-White trial participants relative to the US population for drugs targeting cancer and non-cancer conditions. Renewed efforts are urgently needed to ensure inclusive drug trials in urology.