In this short survey we give a background and explain some recent developments in algebraic minimal cones and nonassociative algebras. A part of this paper is recollections of my collaboration with my teacher, PhD supervisor and a colleague, Vladimir Miklyukov on minimal surface theory that motivated the present research.


An investigation was made of a synchronously pumped pulsed LiF:F2- crystal laser. The pump radiation was provided by a neodymium phosphate glass laser operating under passive mode-locking conditions and generating pulses of 7 ps duration. The LiF:F2- laser generated 2 ps pulses tunable in the 1.10–1.22 μm range and the efficiency of the conversion process was 35%. Under the conditions of quasi-cw nanosecond pumping and active mode locking the LiF:F2- laser generated pulses of duration of the order of 400 ps.


This authoritative text has been re-written and expanded to include additional chapters on methyl tertiary butyl ether and higher alcohols. Read it cover to cover,chapter by chapter as the subject comes up in your business, use it as an encyclopedia, or as a primer on petrochemical economics. Packed with diagrams and tables, it is the only source you will need to get a clear understanding of this complex topic. Each chapter includes exercises and 'in a nutshell' chapter reviews. Contents: What you need to know about organic chemistry Benzene Toluene and the xylenes Cyclohexane Olefins plants, ethylene, and propylene The hydrocarbon family Cumene and phenol Ethylbenzene and styrene Ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride Propylene oxide and propylene glycol Methanol and synthesis gas Other alcohols Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde Ketones Acids Acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, and acrylates Maleic anhydride Alpha olefins Nature of polymers Thermoplastics Resins and fibers.


Objective The NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Pioglitazone (PIO) has been found to exert an anti-inflammatory effect in patients with diabetes mellitus, but it is still unclear whether PIO exhibits a similar effect in DN. We aimed to explore the effect and underlying mechanism of PIO on DN, as well as investigate if NLRP3 is a pharmacologic target of PIO. Methods We divided 48 apolipoprotein E (apoE) (-/-) mice into 4 groups: apoE (-/-), apoE (-/-) with PIO, diabetic apoE (-/-), and diabetic apoE (-/-) with PIO. Wild type male C57BL/6 mice were used as controls (n = 8 per group). After 8 weeks of PIO treatment, we examined the baseline characteristics and metabolic parameters of each group, and we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot, and immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the expression levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), NLRP3, nuclear factor—kappa B (NF-κB), caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-18, and IL-1β in each group. Results Compared to the diabetic apoE (-/-) group, PIO treatment decreased blood glucose, cholesterol, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine levels. It also depressed the glomerular mesangial expansion. PIO down-regulated expression of AGEs, RAGE, and NF-κB, all of which further depressed NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-18, and IL-1β levels. Conclusion Pioglitazone can ameliorate diabetic renal damage, and this effect is related to the inhibition of renal AGE/RAGE axis activation and the down-regulation of NF-κB expression. These effects lead to a decline in NLRP3 levels and downstream secretion of inflammatory cytokines.


Knowledge of the relative contributions of phytoplankton size classes to zooplankton biomass is necessary to understand food-web functioning and response to climate change. During the Deep Water formation Experiment (DEWEX), conducted in the northwest Mediterranean Sea in winter (February) and spring (April) of 2013, we investigated phytoplankton-zooplankton trophic links in contrasting oligotrophic and eutrophic conditions. Size fractionated particulate matter (pico-POM, nano-POM, and micro-POM) and zooplankton (64 to >4000 lm) composition and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured inside and outside the nutrient-rich deep convection zone in the central Liguro-Provencal basin. In winter, phytoplankton biomass was low (0.28 mg m 23) and evenly spread among picophytoplankton, nanophyto-plankton, and microphytoplankton. Using an isotope mixing model, we estimated average contributions to zooplankton biomass by pico-POM, nano-POM, and micro-POM of 28, 59, and 15%, respectively. In spring, the nutrient poor region outside the convection zone had low phytoplankton biomass (0.58 mg m 23) and was dominated by pico/nanophytoplankton. Estimated average contributions to zooplankton biomass by pico-POM, nano-POM, and micro-POM were 64, 28 and 10%, respectively, although the model did not differentiate well between pico-POM and nano-POM in this region. In the deep convection zone, spring phyto-plankton biomass was high (1.34 mg m 23) and dominated by micro/nano phytoplankton. Estimated average contributions to zooplankton biomass by pico-POM, nano-POM, and micro-POM were 42, 42, and 20%, respectively, indicating that a large part of the microphytoplankton biomass may have remained ungrazed. Plain Language Summary The grazing of zooplankton on algal phytoplankton is a critical step in the transfer of energy through all ocean food webs. Although microscopic, phytoplankton span an enormous size range. The smallest picophytoplankton are generally thought to be too small to be directly grazed by zooplankton, resulting in less efficient energy transfer through the food web. This has implications for our future oceans where warming and lower nutrient supply are predicted to favor picophytoplankton over the larger nanosize and microsize classes. We tested the importance of phytoplankton size classes in the transfer of energy to zooplankton in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, where conditions naturally result in contrasting regions of small and large phytoplankton dominance. Contrary to expectation, biochemical tracers showed that microphytoplankton never contributed more than 20% to zooplankton biomass, even in regions where microphytoplankton were plentiful. On the other hand, picophytoplankton contributed 25-65% to zooplankton biomass. This finding indicates that there are well-established food-web pathways from picophytoplankton to zooplankton, and that these pathways play an important role even in ocean regions where microphytoplankton dominate. Accordingly, a decline in phytoplankton size classes may have a greater effect on carbon sequestration than on food-web productivity.


The possible usefulness of low-lactose milk for those lactose-intolerant subjects who develop symptoms from milk consumption was investigated. In the first part of the study, 16 intolerant subjects (blood glucose rise less than 25 mg/100 ml) received low-lactose skim milk containing 15 g lactose (2.5 cups) and 7.5 g lactose (2.5 cups), regular skim milk containing 30 g lactose (2.5 cups), and all three milks plus a small breakfast. The low lactose milks produced significantly fewer symptoms. The food given with the milk had no significant effect on symptomatic response. The second group of 17 subjects received 25 g lactose in water (250 ml), skim milk (500 ml) and whole milk (500 ml); 10 g lactose in lactose-reduced skim (500 ml) and whole milk (500 ml) and whole milk (500 ml); and a placebo (250 ml). There was a significant positive relationship between amount of lactose consumed and symptom response. The form in which the lactose was administered (e.g., whole versus skim milk) was not significantly related to symptoms. It is concluded that in a symptomatic subjects a significantly greater quantity of low-lactose milk than regular milks can be consumed.


SUMMARY The objective of this study was to evaluate embryonic and fetal growth by ultrasonographic measurements in pregnant Akkaraman ewes fed a maintained diet either given or not given supplemental selenium (Se) and vitamin E (vit E). Thirteen pregnant ewes were allotted to two groups, a group of 5 ewes supplemented with Se and vit E and a group of 8 ewes not supplemented. The supplemented group received barley plus straw and 0,1 ppm Se per kg -15 IU vitE per kg DM from 9 months prior to breeding season until 40 day after parturition. The other group was fed with the same protocol without Se and vit E supplementation. The different structures of ovine fetuses were measured by ultrasonography from day 15 until day 130 of gestation. Suitable regression models were used for each group at the advanced pregnancy, through taking the biparietal diameter (BPD), diameters of orbita, stomach, heart, trunkus, abdomen, femur, humerus, radius-ulna, tibia-fibula and countable caruncle and relationship between the period of pregnancy and fetal growth. The mean serum Se levels of Se and vit E unsupplemented and supplemented groups were 120.6 ng per ml (SE 3.7) and 211.3 ng per ml (SE 11.5), respectively. BPD, diameters of fetal heart, abdomen, trunk, stomach, orbit diameter, the length of extremites and caruncle measurements were not affected by maternal serum Se level. All ultrasonographic measurements in both groups exhibited linear or exponential increase as corraleted with the advancement of pregnancy. The results obtained from this study indicated that maternal serum Se concentration from 112.9 ng per ml to 235.1 ng per ml during pregnancy had neither negative nor positive effect on embryonic and fetal growth.


A method to describe and estimate the characteristics of target with micro-motions based on cyclostationary theory is proposed in this study. The radar signal returned from a target with vibration or rotation can be modelled as cyclostationary, and a method based on cyclic statistics is designed to estimate the frequency and amplitude of the vibration or rotation. The experiments showed the performance of the proposed method under different signal noise ratios with simulated radar data.


Z-source energy conversion is a recent concept introduced for adding voltage-boost functionality to the traditional buck-only dc-ac inverter. The same concept can equally be extended to the indirect ac-ac matrix converter, where only a single Z-source impedance network needs to be inserted to its intermediate dc link. The topology formed is, thus, quite straightforward. Its modulation is, however, nontrivial if advantages like buck-boost flexibility, minimum commutation count, ease of implementation, and sinusoidal input and output quantities are to be attained simultaneously. This capability is now pursued through unveiling related modulation theories, so as to better present the indirect Z-source matrix converter as an attractive alternative for ac-ac buck-boost energy conversion. Findings presented have already been verified in simulation and experiment.


PURPOSE
This study evaluated the use of an electronic Health Questionnaire System (HQS) within the University of California San Francisco Breast Care Center as a screening and triage tool to proactively recognize patients' supportive care needs during new patient consultations and identify demographic characteristics associated with referrals to three supportive care services.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 428 patients with and without breast cancer between the ages of 18 and 84 years completed HQS intake forms before appointments at the University of California San Francisco Breast Care Center between November 2014 and May 2015 and agreed to participate in this study. Patient HQS responses triggered referrals to supportive care services, and a review of electronic health records was conducted to determine the outcomes of these referrals.

RESULTS
A total of 242 patients (56.5%) met criteria for at least one supportive care referral. Women with invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ met criteria for supportive services more frequently than women without breast cancer diagnoses (76.9% v 23.8%; P < .001) and were most likely to receive referrals for genetic counseling (67.0%), psychological services (32.2%), and social services (12.1%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being married was associated with fewer referrals to social work (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.81) and that those between 45 and 54 years of age were less likely to receive referrals to genetic counseling than those ≥ 55 years of age (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.73). Among all referrals (n = 369), 26.8% resulted in completed appointments.

CONCLUSION
Using an automated intake form is an efficient way to identify and triage individuals in need of supportive care services and can provide insight into the populations with supportive care needs for targeted outreach.


Flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana is controlled by multiple pathways, including the photoperiod pathway and the FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC)-dependent pathway. Here, we report that a pair of related jumonji-class transcription factors, EARLY FLOWERING 6 (ELF6) and RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6), play divergent roles in the regulation of Arabidopsis flowering. ELF6 acts as a repressor in the photoperiod pathway, whereas REF6, which has the highest similarity to ELF6, is an FLC repressor. Ectopic expression studies and expression pattern analyses show that ELF6 and REF6 have different cellular roles and are also regulated differentially despite their sequence similarities. Repression of FLC expression by REF6 accompanies histone modifications in FLC chromatin, indicating that the transcriptional regulatory activity of this class of proteins includes chromatin remodeling. This report demonstrates the in vivo functions of this class of proteins in higher eukaryotes.


Maternal β-catenin activity is essential and critical for dorsal induction and its dorsal activation has been thoroughly studied. However, how the maternal β-catenin activity is suppressed in the non-dorsal cells remains poorly understood. Nanog is known to play a central role for maintenance of the pluripotency and maternal-to-zygotic transition. Here we reveal a novel role of Nanog as a strong repressor of maternal Wnt/β-catenin signaling to safeguard the embryo against hyper-activation of maternal β-catenin activity and hyper-dorsalization. Knockdown of nanog at different levels led to either posteriorization or dorsalization, mimicking zygotic or maternal activation of Wnt/β-catenin activities, and the maternal-zygotic mutant of nanog (MZnanog) showed strong activation of maternal β-catenin and hyper-dorsalization. Although a constitutive-activator-type Nanog (Vp16-Nanog, lacking the N-terminal) perfectly rescued the defects of maternal to zygotic transition in MZnanog, it did not rescue the phenotypes resulting from β-catenin activation. Mechanistically, the N-terminal of Nanog directly interacts with TCF and interferes with the binding of β-catenin to TCF, thereby attenuating the transcriptional activity of β-catenin. Therefore, our study establishes a novel role for Nanog in repressing maternal β-catenin activity and demonstrates a transcriptional switch between β-catenin/TCF and Nanog/TCF complexes, which safeguards the embryo from global activation of maternal β-catenin activity.


Postmortal changes of propane, butane and iso-butane concentration in the lung and fat of mice exposed to lethal intoxication with commercial liquid gas are studied. The hydrocarbon tissue concentrations after exposure were determined by gas liquid chromatography. The hydrocarbons progressively decreased in the lung and disappeared, depending on the degree of putrefaction; even in case of remarkable putrefaction, it was still possible to detect them in the fat tissue.


A model of the injection well test with congtant pressure is given for multilayered oil reservoir. The solutions with broke line injection function are obtained both in Laplace space and real space . By these results, typical curves can be provided for injection well testing in layers.


The major problem in studying thin-layered reservoirs is identification of net pays and reliable assessment of hydrocarbon-saturation type and degree. The main difficulty arises from the low vertical resolution of standard resistivity tools. More specifically, in laminated formations, thinbeds of fine-grained sand, silt, and clay distributed within hydrocarbon-bearing formations significantly reduce the apparent resistivity. Such fine-grained thin-bedded layers can hold high volumes of irreducible water and thus produce water-free hydrocarbons; yet oil companies may not even attempt to complete such zones. For example, one offshore deepwater well off the east coast of India, was recently tested over two thinly laminated sand/shale zones and produced dry gas of approximately 34 Mscf/D. However, this gas production was not expected by the initial conventional normal resolution petrophysical evaluation, which was largely underestimating the hydrocarbon potential over these two tested zones. The problem becomes more acute in deepwater formation evaluation since exploration and development costs are much higher and thus it is essential that all hydrocarbon reserves should be accurately assessed. This paper is a case-study of a field-scale integrated thin-bed petrophysical evaluation and hydrocarbon reserve estimation in the field-A (offshore India). All the drilled wells in this field intersected thinly laminated shale-silt-sand sequences and blocky sands. It is shown that in this environment using conventional resistivity data to quantify the hydrocarbon reserves is difficult because the data are dominated by the conductivity of the shale laminae. A model has been developed to use two resistivity measurements (vertical and horizontal), in conjunction with other available logs (nuclear magnetic resonance and formation microresistivity) and core data, in order to better predict the potential hydrocarbon in place. The final results were compared with the ones derived by conventional petrophysical evaluation. Use of this technique in several gas-bearing, thinly bedded intervals has resulted in gas reserve estimate increases up to 700 percent of the conventionally computed reserves. These results are confirmed against a variety of independent data, including surface seismic interpretations, reservoir pressure profiles core analysis and well tests.


Compared to European countries, the incidence of hip fractures in Russia is significantly lower. The reasons for such a discrepancy have been studied insufficiently. It is known that in Russia, not all patients with hip fracture are hospitalized. The aim of the present study was to obtain the best possible precise data on epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures in older population. 208 cases of hip fractures were revealed during 2008-2009 (52 men and 156 women). 57 (27,4%) of them haven't been registered in official statistics and were consulted only by the primary care physicians. The incidence of hip fracture make up 191,9/100000 person-years (125,4 men and 233,2 women). The official statistics doesn't give the objective information on number of hip fractures, and search for patients treated only in a primary care settings is necessary in order to receive objective information.


There are no data regarding hepatic lobe donation effects on donor life insurability. Two investigators called 10 agents of 10 different large life insurance companies. One investigator gave a fictitious profile: Caucasian man, 33 years old, nonsmoker, without medical problems (control profile [CP]). The other investigator used the same profile with a history of uncomplicated right lobe donation 12 months earlier (donor profile [DP]). Investigators asked for premium quotes on a $100,000 term life policy. No medical testing or record review was allowed. Investigators were blinded to the results of each other's calls. Agents were unaware of the study. We documented underwriting decisions, premiums quoted, stipulations, number of phone calls, and phone time. All 10 companies would pursue underwriting CP at their lowest, "preferred" rate. Five would do the same for DP. Two might underwrite DP at a more expensive "standard" rate, but a "preferred" rate would be less likely. One would underwrite DP at the "standard" rate; one would not underwrite DP. One agent did not return follow‐up calls (DP insurability < CP, P = 0.04). Mean quoted premiums were lower for CP vs. DP ($189/yr. vs. $202/yr., P = 0.56). Median number of phone calls required was 1 for CP and 3 for DP (P = 0.01). Mean telephone minutes were 4.2 for CP and 8.0 for DP (P = 0.004). In conclusion, right hepatic lobe donation decreases life insurability 1 year after uncomplicated donation. Donors can expect some increased difficulty obtaining life insurance, but they should find a company willing to pursue underwriting. The premium paid may be slightly higher. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:843–847.)


BACKGROUND: Ineffective health communication could cause the increase of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia. Medical students can involve in efforts in health communication on social media to positively impact prevention behaviors during a pandemic. This study aims to identify and analyze medical students' and internship doctors' perceptions toward health communication related to COVID-19 through social media. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mixed method with exploratory sequential used. A qualitative study was done using phenomenology approach through deep and semi-structured interviewing. After data analysis, the draft of the instrument prepared. Items in the draft selected based on the respondents' answer. Then, a quantitative cross-sectional study was used. The data obtained from 399 medical students and doctors at a University in Indonesia using Google Form on October 14 to October 20, 2020 through media social. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation and Chi-square (alternative: Fisher's exact test) and logistic regression analysis with P < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval, respectively. RESULTS: Based on interview, respondents communicate health on social media because the condition of COVID-19 in Indonesia is dangerous, feel vulnerable to COVID-19, understand the benefits, obligations, or responsibilities as a candidate and/or medical personnel and believe they can create content/find valid sources. Meanwhile, the perception of limited knowledge is their biggest obstacle in conducting health communication. There were a relationship between gender (P = 0.028, PR = 0.657), perceived severity (P = 0.044, PR (Prevalence Ratio) =4.844 [0.725–32,354]), perceived susceptibility (P = 0.005, PR = 1.803 [1.182–2.750]), perceived barrier (P < 0.001, PR = 2.543 [1.908–3.388]), and self-efficacy (P = 0.012, PR = 1.810 [1.120–2.926]) with health communication behavior. The perceived barrier (P < 0.001, RR = 4.278 [2.709–6.754]) and perceived susceptibility (P = 0.004, PR = 2.304 [1.302–4.077]) were the most influenced behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived barrier, and self-efficacy are predictor factors of health communication behavior related to COVID-19 on social media with perceptions of susceptibility and perceived barriers as the most influential variables. It is necessary to provide communication learning on social media as effectively and applied directly to reduce perceived barriers and increase self-efficacy.


We study the call blocking performance obtained by microcellizing a macrocell network. Each macrocell is partitioned into microcells, and some of the channels originally allocated to the macrocell are assigned to the microlayer cells according to a reuse pattern. The arriving calls are classified as fast or slow; fast calls are always assigned only to macrocell channels, whereas for slow calls a microcell channel is first sought. Slow calls may be allowed to overflow to the macrolayer, but may be repacked to vacated microcell channels. Calls can change their mobility class during a conversation. We develop an approximate analysis for computing the slow and fast call blocking probabilities in such a system. We adopt the technique of analyzing an isolated macrocell with the Poisson arrival assumption and then iterating on the stationary analysis of the isolated macrocell to obtain stationary results for the multicell system. Simple, but accurate approximations are developed for analyzing the isolated macrocell and its associated microcells. The analyses based on the approximate isolated cell model are validated against simulations of a multicell model.


This work describes the use of a motion phantom and 1D, 2D, and 3D ion chamber, EBT3 film, electronic portal imaging device (EPID) and FXG gel measurements for dosimetric validation of a stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SBRT) technique in our clinic. Results show good agreement between the measurements and calculated treatment plan dose.


Retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic factors for loco-regional control and the results of re-irradiation for 28 patients with recurrent, poorly-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (PDSCC) of the nasopharynx. Twenty-four of them received re-irradiation. Local, local plus regional and regional recurrences were observed in 19, five and four patients, respectively. Except for three patients, all had Stage IV disease at the initial diagnosis. The only parameters influencing loco-regional recurrence were T and N stage categories. The median latent period from initial treatment to recurrence was 18.5 (range, 2-100) months. There was no difference in latent period by first recurrence site, although recurrent tumors confined to the nasopharynx or those only regionally developed had a longer latent period. Only four patients developed secondary distant bone metastases with a median latency of three months from loco-regional relapse. The patients with local recurrent tumors confined to the nasopharynx, and those with regional recurrences only, could be salvaged by re-irradiation, with five-year survival rates of 44 and 100%, respectively. Five of 28 patients (18%) developed severe chronic radiation sequelae: cerebrospinal complications in four patients, bilateral neck fibrosis in one. We conclude that recurrent PDSCC of the nasopharynx can be controlled by re-irradiation with some success. Radiation therapy techniques must, however, be carefully planned in order to avoid the severe late post re-irradiation sequelae. For patients with advanced non-curable local recurrences, palliative care should be recommended instead of agressive re-irradiation.


A Sub‐Harmonic Arc Detection (SHAD) system has been installed on the transmission lines feeding the JET ICRF ITER‐like‐Antenna (ILA). Along with the commissioning of SHAD, extensive measurements of the RF field in the transmission lines were carried‐out using fast sampling (125 Mb/s) oscilloscopes. The system is described, and the SHAD ability to detect arcs during ILA operation (in particular on ELMy H modes) is discussed. Overall, SHAD proved to be efficient, and in some conditions it can offer extra protection in complement to other arc detection systems.


Background: Although ruminants experience pain like other species, diagnosis and treatment may be imprecise and challenging, especially because of lack of recognition and restraint of therapeutic resources. In addition to the restrictions inherent in the species, organic dysfunctions may further restrict the analgesic arsenal, making it necessary to find viable and effective alternative for pain control. The continuous administration of opioids in the epidural space has been highlighted as an analgesic resource in several species. However, until this moment, there are few information on this practice in ruminants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the use of continuous epidural infusion of morphine in a sheep undergoing to urethrostomy with a history of chronic pain and urolithiasis. Case: A 3-year-old Santa Ines sheep, weighting 110 kg, was presented to the Veterinary Hospital of Federal University of Bahia with history of recurrent urolithiasis, lameness, severe pain and continuous use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The findings of the physical examination, imaging and laboratory tests revealed possible abomasum inflammation, chronic laminitis, left humerus-radioulnar osteoarthritis and urethral urolithiasis with uremia. A clinical stabilization of the animal was performed, including an interruption of the use of the NSAID and the administration of fluid, urinary acidifier (ammonium chloride), histamine H2 receptor antagonist (ranitidine), cytoprotectant (sucralfate), antibiotic (norfloxacin) and dipyrone. After 3 days, urethrostomy was performed followed by the implantation of an epidural catheter (19G) in the lumbosacral space (L7 - S1) by means of a Tuohy needle (18G), after the surgical procedure. Administration of morphine (0.1 mg kg-1) through the catheter at 24-h intervals, associated with dipyrone (25 mg kg-1) intravenously (IV), every 8 h, over a 5-day period, was the postoperative analgesic protocol chosen. The data of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (f), rectal temperature (T °C), ruminal movements (RM) and possible behavior related to pain were registered at intervals of four-hours until the fifth day after surgery. After 24 h postoperative, stability of the variables (HR, f, T °C) with increased RM concomitant to the interest for food was verified. On the fifth postoperative day, the animal was hydrated, visibly comfortable and with normal levels of serum creatinine. Discussion: Considering the initial clinical status involving renal insufficiency and significant gastric abnormalities, the use of NSAIDs was immediately disregarded. However, the need to relieved musculoskeletal and postoperative pain, has raised interest in the use of morphine, whose literature refers duration of up to 24 h in other species, with reduced adverse effects compared to systemic administration, due to the considerably lower dose. Dipyrone was incorporated into the protocol for providing visceral analgesia and minimal effects on the organic functions. During the 5-days of evaluation, the signs of well-being presented by the animal associated to the stability of vital parameters, feeding and satisfactory ruminal activity attested to the viability of the protocol tested. It was concluded that the use of morphine, through the continuous epidural route, contributed to the relief of postoperative pain, reestablishment of the organic functions and patient welfare, being suitable as an analgesic alternative to NSAID use in sheep. Keywords: ovine, analgesia, opioid, epidural.


The effect of interactivity on identification with characters in audiovisual fiction was observed. 310 participants were asked to watch a film in one of these two conditions: 1) interactive (they selected the plot), and 2) non-interactive (they consumed the fiction in a conventional way). After watching the movie, they completed a questionnaire with the EDI scale of identification and empathy with characters, created by Igartua and Paez. The capacity to intervene in the configuration of the plot (interactivity) affected identification with characters. The results provide data about the psychology of media and interactivity in communication and allow us to understand the processes of empathy and identification with characters.


The standard definition of the stochastic risk-sensitive linear–quadratic (RS-LQ) control depends on the risk parameter, which is normally left to be set exogenously. We reconsider the classical approach and suggest two alternatives, resolving the spurious freedom naturally. One approach consists in seeking for the minimum of the tail of the probability distribution function (PDF) of the cost functional at some large fixed value. Another option suggests minimizing the expectation value of the cost functional under a constraint on the value of the PDF tail. Under the assumption of resulting control stability, both problems are reduced to static optimizations over a stationary control matrix. The solutions are illustrated using the examples of scalar and 1D chain (string) systems. The large deviation self-similar asymptotic of the cost functional PDF is analyzed.


ABSTRACT We provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature studying the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the productivity of locally owned firms in the Czech Republic. To this end, we collect 332 previously reported estimates and use Bayesian model averaging to address model uncertainty. We find no evidence of publication bias, i.e. no sign of selective reporting of estimates that are statistically significant and show an intuitive sign. Our results suggest that more advanced techniques yield substantially larger positive effects (FDI spillovers). When placing more weight on estimates that solve important identification problems in the literature (such as using data on existing linkages between firms instead of approximations based on input-output tables), we find that, as of 2018, a 10-percentage-point increase in foreign presence is likely to lift the productivity of domestic firms by 11%. The effect is even larger for joint ventures, reaching 19%.


We report on a partially coherent radially polarized power-exponent-phase vortex (PC-RP-PEPV) beam with various distributions of intensity, controllable coherence width, vortex phase, and polarization. The statistical properties of the PC-RP-PEPV beam depend on topological charge, power order, polarization states, and coherence width, which differ from those of conventional radially polarized beams. Here, the initial radial polarization state will transform to complex ellipse polarization state during propagation. By modulating the topological charge of the PC-RP-PEPV beam, the intensity structure of the beam can be adjusted from circular to polygonal. Finally, PC-RP-PEPV beams were experimentally generated, and were consistent with numerical simulation results. This work has applications in optical manipulation, optical measurements, and optical information processing.


Conventional resin-bonded bridges are designed with adhesive surfaces on both sides of the dummy. As a consequence both abutment teeth are rigidly connected to each other. Loading of the abutment teeth or dummy will lead to wringing forces in the cement. Adhesive bridges with one adhesive surface are actually cantilever bridges. Theoretically this type of bridges will be less prone to wringing forces due to loading. However, long term research into the performance of cantilever resin-bonded bridges (RBBs) is hardly available. The results of research into the longevity of conventional RBBs differ remarkably between Europe, and the United States and Japan. These difference are discussed in this article. This article compares the fixed-fixed design RBBs with the cantilever RBBs. The differences are discussed based on eight articles, the earliest being published in 1991, which are dedicated, completely or partially, to the subject of cantilever adhesive bridges. One can conclude that in The Netherlands RBBs are wrongly considered to be unreliable. On the contrary, they appear to be reliable and predictable restorations provided their preparations meet the right standards. Although a number of authors conclude that cantilever RBBs are performing better than their fixed-fixed design counterparts in similar situations, further research is needed concerning the longevity of this type of adhesive bridges.


We explore the behavior of the nearest-neighbor Ising spin glass with discrete bonds (± J) on the face-centered cubic lattice using both Monte Carlo simulations and high-temperature expansions. A phase transition to a spin glass phase is found in zero magnetic field (H) at a nonzero temperature (T = Tc), with critical exponents close to that for the simple cubic lattice. In the (H, T)-plane, the contours of constant spin glass susceptibility show an upturn towards higher H at the lowest T, consistent with the possibility of a de Almeida-Thouless line of phase transitions in a field. Further, the upturn is similar to those on the simple cubic lattice and less pronounced than on the four-dimensional hypercubic lattice, despite the higher coordination number of the f.c.c. lattice, suggesting that the upturn is a dimension-related property.


Petrographic and geochemical data from glacial erratics provide evidence for a hidden subglacial source when compared with data from the only known sulphide deposit outcropping locally. These results are found to be in agreement with geological and glaciological studies conducted as part of a reconnaissance exploration program. It is suggested that the integrated approach described here is an inexpensive and rapid exploration method that can determine the likelihood of additional sub-glacial occurrences in areas of known deposits.


Metaphor is pervasive at all levels of the linguistic enterprise: from the conception of particular phenomena, to the formulation of theories, to "world views" such as the "formalist" and "functionalist" perspectives. Metaphor is not just unavoidable but essential to the enterprise, a source of insight and creativity. But since all metaphors are inappropriate in some respect, they can lead to spurious questions, conceptual confusion, misconception of the target, and pointless arguments. These points are illustrated in regard to several metaphors pertaining to lexicon and lexical meaning. Further illustration is provided by an extended case study comparing the network and exemplar models of categorization. When the actual models proposed are distinguished from their metaphorical descriptions, there is no fundamental conflict.


In this paper, we study a certain class of online optimization problems, where the goal is to maximize a function that is not necessarily concave and satisfies the Diminishing Returns (DR) property under budget constraints. We analyze a primal-dual algorithm, called the Generalized Sequential algorithm, and we obtain the first bound on the competitive ratio of online monotone DR-submodular function maximization subject to linear packing constraints which matches the known tight bound in the special case of linear objective function.


In a world like today's one, with communication, trade and the increasing cross-border travels, the issue of the conflict of laws appears in every aspect of the private law. It is important that every member of the legal community understands the conflict of laws. This is important especially for judges, because they are the ones who should solve cross-border disputes submitted to them, which affect the personal lives of individuals and their businesses. Judges are precisely those who, with their work, should increase the confidence of the parties and the public, both within the community of their country and in other countries. However, in a broader view, not only lawyers but all legal subjects must have general knowledge in this field in order to perform effective agreements. Thus, through this article we aim to shed light on the regulation of private legal relations that are characterized by a foreign element, presenting innovations brought by Law No. 10426 'On Private International Law' which entered into force on 02.06.2011.


Coal is a sedimentary rock containing approximately 50% to 70% carbon derived from the accumulation of plant residue that had undergone chemical and physical changes. In this research, the petrographic analysis method of coal was conducted based on the following parameters, measuring vitrinite reflectance (Ro%), estimation of moisture, volatile matter, and carbon-hydrogen content. This study aims to determine the zonation of coal rank through the vitrinite reflectance analysis in Maura Enim Formation. The samples observed were obtained from the Muara Enim Formation, which had undergone certain geological events to form lignite and anthracite coal ranks, then analyzed using the descriptive method. The results showed that the reflectance value of vitrinite was between 0.20% - 0.44%, which was utilized in the sorting of coal from lignite - sub-bituminous, according to ASTM D2798-06 (2006). Furthermore, in the Southwest region, coal is formed through greater pressure than those in the Northeast. Generally, the level of difference is caused by pressure, temperature, and time factor. Therefore, this study is recommended as a guideline in determining coal rank through vitrinite reflectance analysis in different formations.


Cardiovascular diseases are the main source of morbidity and mortality in the United States with costs of more than $170 billion. Repetitive respiratory disorders during sleep are assumed to be a major cause of these diseases. Therefore, the understanding of the cardio-respiratory regulation during these events is of high public interest. One of the governing mechanisms is the mutual influence of the cardiac and respiratory oscillations on their respective onsets, the cardio-respiratory coordination (CRC). We analyze this mechanism based on nocturnal measurements of 27 males suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Here we find, by using an advanced analysis technique, the coordigram, not only that the occurrence of CRC is significantly more frequent during respiratory sleep disturbances than in normal respiration (p-value<10−51) but also more frequent after these events (p-value<10−15). Especially, the latter finding contradicts the common assumption that spontaneous CRC can only be observed in epochs of relaxed conditions, while our newly discovered epochs of CRC after disturbances are characterized by high autonomic stress. Our findings on the connection between CRC and the appearance of sleep-disordered events require a substantial extension of the current understanding of obstructive sleep apneas and hypopneas.


Cloud computing workflows are collections of interdependent tasks. Workflow scheduling is mainly concerned with cost reduction and overall completion time reduction. Our algorithm devised for workflow scheduling aims to address these two QoS factors. Workflows have many tasks which may require different kinds of execution environment for each task. Supporting all these environment dependencies and task dependencies is really difficult for a cloud scheduling system. Workflows are represented using directed acyclic graph (DAG) which shows the dependencies among tasks. Introducing execution environment dependencies to a DAG will lead to a several combinatorial DAGs. In this paper, our system provides a modified DAG which supports task and execution environment dependency. This paper deals with this time-cost tradeoff and tries to balance both these QoS in compromised way. It compromises the cost when the completion time of tasks is higher and vice versa. Hence, the cost as well as makespan will be as minimum as possible. Experimental results show that our algorithm provides a better time-cost balanced solution in imposing execution environment into task DAG.


For some decades, the scientific community has been looking for alternatives to the use of fossil fuels that allow for the planet's sustainable and environmentally-friendly development. To do this, attempts have been made to mimic some processes that occur in nature, among which the photosystem-II stands out, which allows water splitting operating with different steps to generate oxygen and hydrogen. This research presents promising results using synthetic catalysts, which try to simulate some natural processes, and which are based on Au@ZnO–graphene compounds. These catalysts were prepared by incorporating different amounts of gold nanoparticles (1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%) and graphene (1 wt.%) on the surface of synthesized zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs), and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), along with a commercial form (commercial ZnO) for comparison purposes. The highest amount of hydrogen (1127 μmol/hg) was reported by ZnO NWs with a gold and graphene loadings of 10 wt.% and 1 wt.%, respectively, under irradiation at 400 nm. Quantities of 759 μmol/hg and 709 μmol/hg were obtained with catalysts based on ZnO NPs and commercial ZnO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of all composites increased with respect to the bare semiconductors, being 2.5 times higher in ZnO NWs, 8.8 times higher for ZnO NPs, and 7.5 times higher for commercial ZnO. The high photocatalytic activity of the catalysts is attributed, mainly, to the synergism between the different amount of gold and graphene incorporated, and the surface area of the composites.


Determining the scale of anthropogenic impacts is critical in order to understand ecosystem effects of human activities, within the context of changes caused by natural environmental variability. We applied spatial eigenfunction analysis to disentangle effects of anthropogenic drivers from environmental factors on species assembly in the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC), in the northeast Atlantic. We found that the species assembly considered here was structured at both small and large spatial scales. Specifically, substrate types, distance to oil wells and pipelines, the presence of objects and demersal fishing (both static and mobile) appeared significant in explaining large spatial scale species assembly structures. Conversely, temperature and variance in temperature shaped the species community across smaller spatial scales. Mobile scavenger species were found in areas impacted by demersal fishing. Oil and gas structures seemed to provide a habitat for a range of species including the commercially important fishes Molva sp. and Sebastes sp. These results demonstrate how the benthic ecosystem in the FSC has been shaped by multiple human activities, at both small and large spatial scales. Only by sampling datasets covering several sites, like in this study, can the effects of anthropogenic activities be separated from natural environmental controls.


The purpose of this research was to develop an integrated interface for the usability test of systems or products in the design process. It is capable of automatically creating GOMS models which can predict human task performances. It can generate GOMS models to be interacted with the prototype interfaces. It can also effectively manage various design information and various usability test results to be implemented into the new product and/or system design. Thus we can perform usability test for products or system prototypes more effectively and also reduce time and effort required for this test. For usability tests, we established an integrated interface based on GOMS model by the LabVIEW program. We constructed the system that the linkage to GOMS model is available. Using this integrated interface, the menu structure of mobile phone can be constructed easily. User can design a depth and a breath that he want. The size of button and the label of the button is changable. The path to the goal can be defined by the user. Using a designed menu structure, the experiment could be performed. The results of GOMS model and the actual time are presented. Besides, values of operators of GOMS model can be defined as the value that user wants. Using the integrated interface that we developed, the optimal menu structure deducted. The menu structure that user wants can be established easily. The optimal layout and button size can be decided by comparison of numerous menu structures. User can choose the method of usability test among GOMS model and empirical data. Using this integrated interface, the time and costs can be saved and the optimal menu structure can be found easily.


The objective of this paper is to design and simulate a wind powered hydraulic heating system that can operate independently in remote places where the use of electricity is not possible. Components for the system were to be selected in such a way that the conditions for manufacture, use and economic viability are the as good as possible. Savonius rotor is chosen for wind turbine, due to its low cut in speed and robust design. Savonius rotor produces kinetic energy in wide wind speed range and it can withstand high wind gusts. Radial piston pump is chosen for the flow source of the hydraulic heater. Pump type is selected due to its characteristics in low rotation speeds and high efficiency. Volume flow from the pump is passed through the throttle orifice. Pressure drop over the orifice causes the hydraulic oil to heat up and, thus, creating thermal energy. Thermal energy in the oil is led to radiator where it conducts heat to the environment. The hydraulic heating system is simulated. For this purpose, a mathematical models of chosen components were created. In simulation wind data gathered by Finnish meteorological institute for 167 hours is used as input. The highest produced power is achieved by changing the orifice diameter so that the rotor tip speed ratio follows the power curve. This is not possible to achieve without using electricity. Thus, for the orifice diameter only one, the optimal value is defined. Results from the simulation were compared with investment calculations. Different parameters effecting the investment profitability were altered in sensitivity analyses in order to define the points of investment profitability. Investment is found to be profitable only with high average wind speeds.


Discrete Element Method (DEM) proved to be an essential tool to optimize the industrial auger dosing process for pharmaceutical powders. During the DEM parameter calibration process of a certain powder, several parameter combinations might lead to a similar bulk response, which could also vary for other bulk responses. Therefore, a methodology is needed in order to narrow down the number of combinations and be at once close to reality representation. In this study, a vertical auger dosing setup is used as a standard calibration device to extract three different bulk responses, i.e., angle of repose, bulk density, and mass flow rate. Simulations using LIGGGHTS software package are performed based on Design of Experiments (DoE) by varying four input factors, i.e., auger speed, particle-particle and particle-wall static friction coefficients, and particle-particle rolling friction coefficient. The successful application of multivariate regression analysis (MVRA) results in predicting the bulk behavior within the studied ranges of parameters. In this regard, clustering the different predicted behaviors of the three responses together allows to dramatically reduce the admissible parameter combinations. Consequently, an optimized set of calibrated DEM parameters is chosen, where the simulation results accurately match the experimental reference data. This simple dynamic calibration tool proves to strongly verify and predict the flowability of free-flowing bulk materials.


Many time series in diverse fields have been found to exhibit long memory. This paper analyzes the behavior of some of the most used tests for long memory: the R/S or rescaled R/S, the GPH (Geweke and Porter-Hudak) and the DFA (Detrended Fluctuation Analysis). Some of these tests exhibit size distortions in small-samples. It is well known that the bootstrap procedure may correct this fact. In this paper, size and power for those tests, for finite samples and different distributions such as normal, uniform and log-normal are investigated. In the case of short memory process, such as AR, MA and ARCH and long memory such as ARFIMA, p-values are calculated using the post-blackening, moving block bootstrap. The Monte Carlo studies suggest that the bootstrap critical values perform better. The results are applied to financial return time series.


Fourier-transform infrared photoreflectance was used to optimize design and growth temperature of complex III–V nanoheterostructures proposed for efficient mid-IR emitters. They comprised an InAs/InGaAs quantum well (QW) with InSb sub-monolayer insertions and were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates via a convex-graded InAlAs metamorphic buffer layer. The room temperature photoreflectance spectra supported by the full 8 × 8 Kane model calculations showed that the triple InSb insertions enhance the probability of the main optical transitions in the QW, while lowering the growth temperature results in a red shift of the transitions and further increase in their probability.


Superintegrable (non-commutative completely integrable) systems on a symplectic manifold conventionally are considered. However, their definition implies a rather restrictive condition 2n = k + m where 2n is a dimension of a symplectic manifold, k is a dimension of a pointwise Lie algebra of a superintegrable system, and m is its corank. To solve this problem, we aim to consider partially superintegrable systems on Poisson manifolds where k+m is the rank of a compatible Poisson structure. The according extensions of the Mishchenko–Fomenko theorem on generalized action-angle coordinates is formulated.


A new hierarchical model predictive controller (HMPC) for autonomous vehicle steering control is presented. The controller generates a path of shortest distance by determining lateral coordinates on a longitudinal grid, while respecting road bounds. This path is then parameterized by arc length before being optimized to restrict the normal acceleration values along the trajectory's arc length. The optimized trajectory is then tracked using a nonlinear MPC scheme using a bicycle plant model to calculate an optimal steering angle for the tires. The proposed controller is evaluated in simulation during a double-lane-change maneuver, where it generates and tracks a reference trajectory while observing the road boundaries and acceleration limits. Its performance is compared to a controller without path optimization, along with another that uses a smooth, predetermined, reference path instead of creating its own initial reference. It is shown that the proposed controller improves the tracking compared to a controller without path optimization, with a four-times reduction in average lateral tracking error. The average lateral acceleration is also reduced by 6%. The controller also maintains the tracking performance of a controller that uses a smooth reference path, while showing a much greater flexibility due to its ability to create its own initial reference path rather than having to follow a predetermined trajectory.


Osteoporosis is the second most common epidemiologic disease in the aging population worldwide. Previous studies have found that frequent tea drinkers have higher bone mineral density and less hip fracture. We previously found that (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (20–100 µmol/L) significantly suppressed receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and pit formation via inhibiting NF-κB transcriptional activity and nuclear transport of NF-κB in RAW 264.7 cells and murine primary bone marrow macrophage cells. The most important regulation in osteoclastogenesis is the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB/RANKL/osteoprotegrin (RANK/RANKL/OPG) pathway. In this study, we used the coculture of RAW 264.7 cells and the feeder cells, ST2, to evaluate how EGCG regulated the RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway in RAW 264.7 cells and ST2 cells. We found EGCG decreased the RANKL/OPG ratio in both mRNA expression and secretory protein levels and eventually decreased osteoclastogenesis by TRAP (+) stain osteoclasts and TRAP activity at low concentrations—1 and 10 µmol/L—via the RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway. The effective concentration can be easily achieved in daily tea consumption. Taken together, our results implicate that EGCG could be an important nutrient in modulating bone resorption.


Five cases of hereditary onycho-osteodysplasie are reported. All of the family members presented dysplastic nails. Hypoplastic patella, elbow dysplasia or iliac horns were shown in variable expression. We've seen no other anomalies especially nephropathy did not occur.


We introduce a new subdivision-surface wavelet transform for arbitrary two-manifolds with boundary that is the first to use simple lifting-style filtering operations with bicubic precision. We also describe a conversion process for re-mapping large-scale isosurfaces to have subdivision connectivity and fair parameterizations so that the new wavelet transform can be used for compression and visualization. The main idea enabling our wavelet transform is the circular symmetrization of the filters in irregular neighborhoods, which replaces the traditional separation of filters into two 1-D passes. Our wavelet transform uses polygonal base meshes to represent surface topology, from which a Catmull-Clark-style subdivision hierarchy is generated. The details between these levels of resolution are quickly computed and compactly stored as wavelet coefficients. The isosurface conversion process begins with a contour triangulation computed using conventional techniques, which we subsequently simplify with a variant edge-collapse procedure, followed by an edge-removal process. This provides a coarse initial base mesh, which is subsequently refined, relaxed and attracted in phases to converge to the contour. The conversion is designed to produce smooth, untangled and minimally-skewed parameterizations, which improves the subsequent compression after applying the transform. We have demonstrated our conversion and transform for an isosurface obtained from a high-resolution turbulent-mixing hydrodynamics simulation, showing the potential for compression and level-of-detail visualization.


The energy partitioning during activation and relaxation events under steady-state conditions for a Brownian particle driven by multiple thermal reservoirs of different local temperatures is investigated. Specifically, we apply the formalism derived in Paper I [G. T. Craven and A. Nitzan, J. Chem. Phys. 148, 044101 (2018)] to examine the thermal transport properties of two sub-ensembles of Brownian processes, distinguished at any given time by the specification that all the trajectories in each group have, at that time, energy either above (upside) or below (downside) a preselected energy threshold. Dynamical properties describing energy accumulation and release during activation/relaxation events and relations for upside/downside energy partitioning between thermal reservoirs are derived. The implications for heat transport induced by upside and downside events are discussed.


the SUMMARY: Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. ( C. tinctoria Nutt.) can protect diabetic kidneys, but the mechanisms are unclear. This work is to investigate the potential mechanisms of C. tinctoria Nutt. in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy based on network pharmacology analysis of its active ingredients. Twelve small molecular compounds of C. tinctoria Nutt. and targets related to diabetic nephropathy were docked by Discovery Studio 3.0. DAVID database was used for GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis. Cytoscape 3.6.1 was used to construct active ingredient-target network. Cell viability was detected with MTT. Glucose consumption was analyzed with glucose oxidase method. Protein expression was measured with Western blot and immunofluorescence. Electron microscopy observed autophagosomes. The core active ingredients of C. tinctoria Nutt. included heriguard, flavanomarein, maritimein, and marein. Twenty-one core targets of the 43 potential targets were PYGM, TLR2, RAF1, PRKAA2, GPR119, INS, CSF2, TNF, IAPP, AKR1B1, GSK3B, SYK, NFKB2, ESR2, CDK2, FGFR1, HTRA1, AMY2A, CAMK4, GCK, and ABL2. These 21 core targets were significantly enriched in 50 signaling pathways. Thirty-four signaling pathways were closely related to diabetic nephropathy, of which the top pathways were PI3K/AKT, insulin, and mTOR, and insulin resistance. The enriched GO terms included biological processes of protein phosphorylation, and the positive regulation of PI3K signaling and cytokine secretion; cellular components of cytosol, extracellular region, and extracellular space; and molecular function of protein kinase activity, ATP binding, and non-membrane spanning protein tyrosine kinase activity. In vitro experiments found that marein increased the expression of phosphorylated AKT/AKT in human renal glomerular endothelial cells of an insulin resistance model induced by high glucose, as well as increased and decreased, respectively, the levels of the microtubule-associated proteins, LC3 and P62. C. tinctoria Nutt. has many active ingredients, with main ingredients of heriguard, flavanomarein, maritimein, and marein, and may exert anti-diabetic nephropathy effect through various signaling pathways and targets.


Repetitive behaviour is widely known to be one of three core and defining features of autism (ICD-10, World Health Organisation, 1990; DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Any clinician who is told that a child repetitively flaps his arms, spends hours lining up Lego bricks, will not tolerate changes in routine, and has a peculiar fascination with the many varieties of electric fan available on the market will, before hearing anything about the social functioning or communicative abilities of that child, be deeply suspicious that the child is autistic. However, the literature on repetitive behaviour in autism reveals several paradoxes and inconsistencies. First, given the significant challenge that this class of behaviour can pose, the literature devoted to the study of this behaviour in autism is relatively small in comparison with the extensive literature on other aspects of autistic symptomatology. Whilst certain classes of repetitive behaviour have been described as nonspecific to autism (e.g. Prior & Macmillan, 1973), others have been suggested to be of particular significance to the disorder (e.g. U. Frith, 1989; Kanner, 1943; Wing & Gould, 1979). Finally, although repetitive behaviour is commonly defined as behaviour with no obvious goal or function (e.g. Hutt & Hutt, 1970), much of the literature concerning repetitive behaviour in autism has sought to explore what function this behaviour serves. The aim of this Annotation is to provide a review of what is known about repetitive behaviour in autism, its specificity to the syndrome, and the functions or mechanisms that might underlie this behaviour at the psychological level.


The thesis explores the ideological aspect of modern Turkish love poetry by focusing on the works of major poets and movements between 1923 and 1980. The approach to the theme of love was metaphorical and mystical in classical Ottoman poetry. During the period of modernisation (1839-1923), poets either rejected the theme of love altogether or abandoned Islamic aesthetics and adopted a Parnassian approach arguing that love was the expression of desire for physical beauty. A great variety of discourses on love developed during the republican period. Yahya Kemal sets the theme of love in Ottoman Istanbul and mourns the end of the relationship with the beloved who incarnates his conservative vision of national identity. The Five Syllabists contrast treacherous and sensual love in the city with pure and simple love in the Anatolian countryside, thus reflecting the Anatolianism of the nationalist intelligentsia. Nazim Hikmet approaches the theme from a variety of angles. He explores the links between love and human solidarity and humanises the beloved by writing about her in a realistic context. The Bizarre movement discusses the theme of love in the framework of its subjective realism and focuses more on the effects of love on the individual than on love itself Socialist poets do not approach the theme uniformly but all of them advocate a socially engaged realism and are opposed to the individualism of Bizarre. The movement of the Second Renewal equates love with sexuality and explores its impact on human relationships. Islamist poets too adopt a realist stance. They abandon the idealised gardens of the divan tradition and go on a mystical quest in the harshness of everyday reality. The ideological convictions of all these movements and poets are mainly expressed in the choice of setting of the relationship, in the image of the beloved and in the definition of love.


Background and Aims: Current prediction models for early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgical resection remain unsatisfactory. The aim of this study was to develop evolutionary learning-derived prediction models with interpretability using both clinical and radiomic features to predict early recurrence of HCC after surgical resection. Methods: Consecutive 517 HCC patients receiving surgical resection with available contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images before resection were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to a training set (n = 362) and a test set (n = 155) in a ratio of 7:3. Tumor segmentation of all CECT images including noncontrast phase, arterial phase, and portal venous phase was manually performed for radiomic feature extraction. A novel evolutionary learning-derived method called genetic algorithm for predicting recurrence after surgery of liver cancer (GARSL) was proposed to design prediction models for early recurrence of HCC within 2 years after surgery. Results: A total of 143 features, including 26 preoperative clinical features, 5 postoperative pathological features, and 112 radiomic features were used to develop GARSL preoperative and postoperative models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) for early recurrence of HCC within 2 years were 0.781 and 0.767, respectively, in the training set, and 0.739 and 0.741, respectively, in the test set. The accuracy of GARSL models derived from the evolutionary learning method was significantly better than models derived from other well-known machine learning methods or the early recurrence after surgery for liver tumor (ERASL) preoperative (AUC = 0.687, p < 0.001 vs. GARSL preoperative) and ERASL postoperative (AUC = 0.688, p < 0.001 vs. GARSL postoperative) models using clinical features only. Conclusion: The GARSL models using both clinical and radiomic features significantly improved the accuracy to predict early recurrence of HCC after surgical resection, which was significantly better than other well-known machine learning-derived models and currently available clinical models.


The aim of the study was to compare the effects of three water-based training on blood pressure (BP) in older women. A total of 57 participants were randomized into the following groups: (a) aerobic training (AT), (b) concurrent training in which resistance training progresses to the use of resistive equipment (CTRE), and (c) concurrent training in which resistance training progresses to multiple sets (CTMS). The participants trained twice a week for 16 weeks. Systolic BP decreased from pretraining to after 8 weeks of training and, subsequently, to after 16 weeks of training (AT: -6.53 mmHg, CTRE: -10.45 mmHg, and CTMS: -10.73 mmHg). Diastolic BP decreased from pretraining to after 8 and 16 weeks of training (AT: -6.23 mmHg, CTRE: -4.61 mmHg, and CTMS: -6.19 mmHg). Furthermore, 16% of the AT participants, 23% of the CTRE participants, and 28.5% of the CTMS participants were no longer classified as hypertensive. Water-based aerobic and concurrent training are efficient nonpharmacological measures to reduce BP in older women.


Purpose of review Aortic dissection is an uncommon but highly lethal condition with a mortality rate of 1–2% per hour within the first 24 h when the ascending aorta is affected and remains a surgical domain. For the treatment of type B aortic dissection, however, endovascular techniques became available recently and are increasingly popular. This review focuses on current indications and results of thoracic endovascular stent-graft therapy in aortic dissection. Recent findings Uncomplicated type B aortic dissections should be managed medically and kept under surveillance for delayed expansion in 20–50% patients over 4 years. Endovascular treatment should be considered in the setting of impending or actual complications, for example, when the aortic diameter exceeds 55–60 mm, in the case of uncontrolled pain or blood pressure with evidence of malperfusion syndrome or rapid growth of the dissecting aneurysm (>1 cm/year). In both complicated acute and chronic type B aortic dissections, endovascular therapy may emerge as an attractive alternative to open surgery. However, in uncomplicated chronic type B aortic dissection, endovascular therapy failed to improve outcomes over optimal medical therapy within 2 years despite aortic remodeling. Summary Endovascular stent-graft therapy for aortic dissection is emerging with good mid-term results. Further indications, that is, aortic arch dissection and uncomplicated acute aortic dissections, are under evaluation.


In recent times, due to the increase in global energy commodities prices, aero-engine manufacturers are investing in advanced aero-engine technologies to reduce the operating costs. These innovative technologies include overall weight reductions to develop efficient aero-engines. Due to these circumstances, the overall exposure of the aero-engine to vibration transfer due to various loading conditions such as the rotor loading forces has significantly increased. Due to advancement in technologies and demand for greater passenger comfort, vibration transfer reduction to the aircraft fuselage has received prominent attention. In this paper, an analytical transmissibility study called the bond graph Transfer Path Analysis (TPA) has been extensively studied and its applications are explored. Bond Graph TPA is a reliable and feasible theoretical methodology that can be implemented on various large mechanical systems in the design stages to tackle noise and vibration problems before prototyping to significantly reduce the development costs. Bond graph transfer path analysis (TPA) is an advantageous method compared to the existing empirical TPA methodologies such as the Operational Path Analysis due to its efficient analytical nature. In this paper, bond graph TPA has been implemented on a reduced aero-engine model to determine vibration contribution at various aero-engine locations to propose structural design guidelines to minimize the vibration transfer.


This paper reports on an optimization of Pressure die-casting process parameters to identify optimized level for improving the cycle time using Taguchi method for DOE. AlSic132 up to 20tonn machine capacity is used to calculate cycle time. There are four machining parameters i.e. melting temperature, Injection pressure, Plunger speed, cooling phase. Different experiments are done based on this parameters. Taguchi orthogonal array is designed with three levels and four process Parameters with the help of software Minitab 15. In the first run nine experiments are performed and Cycle time is calculated. Taguchi method stresses the importance of studying the response variation using the signal–to– noise (S/N) ratio, resulting in minimization of cycle time variation due to uncontrollable parameter. The Cycle time was considered as the quality characteristic with the concept of "the larger-the-better". The S/N ratio for the larger-the-better Where n is the number of measurements in a trial/row, in this case, n=1 and y is the measured value in a run/row. The S/N ratio values are calculated by taking into consideration with the help of software Minitab 15. The Cycle time values measured from the experiments and their optimum value for maximum cycle time. Every day scientists are developing new materials and for each new material, we need economical and efficient die-casting process. It is also predicted that Taguchi method is a good method for optimization of various Diecasing process parameters as it reduces the number of experiments. From the literature survey, it can be seen that there is no work done on AlSic 132 die-casting process. So in this project the Pressure die casting parameter of AlSic 132 is done in order to optimize the pressure die-casting process parameters for minimizing the Cycle time.


The frequency response characteristics of surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters are governed primarily by their geometrical structures, i.e., the configurations of interdigital transducers (IDTs) and reflectors arranged on piezoelectric substrates. We present an Imanishian genetic algorithm (GA), which is based on an evolutionary theory advocated by a Japanese ecologist, Kinji Imanishi, for the structural design of SAW filters. In the proposed Imanishian GA, each species is discriminated from others according to the distance between individuals. Then, the generation model tries to hold various species in the population as many as possible. In addition, a local search is used to improve respective individuals effectively. As a result, in comparison with traditional Darwinian GAs, the Imanishian GA is better at taking balance between exploration and exploitation. Computational experiments conducted on an optimum design of a resonator type SAW filter demonstrate the usefulness of the Imanishian GA.


Awareness of loss in smell sensitivity was assessed in 80 normal elderly subjects, 80 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 80 patients with sinusitis by comparing measured smell sensitivity to questionnaire-based, self-reported sensitivity. Both AD patients and sinusitis patients had significantly poorer diagnosed smell sensitivity than the normal elderly. Both patient groups had thresholds which on average were about nine times more concentrated than those of the normal elderly. However, 74% of the AD patients and 77% of the normal elderly with smell loss reported normal smell sensitivity. In contrast, only 8% of the sinusitis patients with loss reported normal smell sensitivity.


Tubers of 25 varieties of yam ( Dioscorea spp.) were peeled, sliced, and cooked in corn oil at 375° F. Chips were evaluated freshly cooked and after 1 week of storage. They were rated for crispness, hardness, flavor, and appearance. Species of yam other than D. alata usually did not yield good chips. The Puerto Rican vaiiety Forastero ( D. alata ) yielded one of the best chips. The quality of hot French fries was related closely to chip quality. Among cooking fats, corn oil and a mixture of lard and hydrogenated vegetable oil gave best results. These results can be commercialized with little modification.


Like any number of American allies, Canada declined to recognize the revolutionary government of the People's Republic of China, and helped exclude it from the United Nations in the 1950s. By the early 1960s, there were strong pressures for change. This article examines the efforts of Paul Martin, Sr., Canada's foreign minister from 1963 to 1968, to respond to those pressures and modernize his country's approach to the emerging Asian giant. After establishing Martin's diplomatic credentials, the paper traces the evolution of his attitude toward Beijing during the 1950s as he accepted the logic and necessity of recognition. Opposed by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and many of his cabinet colleagues, who feared U.S. retaliation, Martin persisted in trying to win over their backing. Progress, when it finally came in 1966, was incremental and much too late, prompting critical attacks on the minister's reputation and his "hush puppy style."


The proposal to undertake major reforms in universities to cater to the need of the so-called "digital natives" has revealed the belief that there is a homogenous generation of university students highly skilled in the usage of technology is untrue. Instead these students seem more inclined to use technology for social rather than academic purposes. In Malaysia, the use of technology in learning English as Second Language (ESL) has generally been well received. However the characteristics of the "digital natives" have not been clearly defined until recently when Thang et al. (2014) undertook a study to investigate patterns of ICT use of students in a public university in Malaysia. Their findings are somewhat similar to those of other countries but they differ in that they found students show a preference for the teacher-centred approach. The current study extends on this by undertaking a study involving four different types of public universities. A questionnaire designed by the research team was used to collect data which were analysed quantitatively using SPSS.  The findings revealed that students from all four universities generally felt that technology is useful for learning ESL. However, their usage is more for recreation than for learning ESL. It further revealed that the teachers used technology only moderately, but the students still felt that their teachers are competent in the use of technology. This shows their unwillingness to criticize their teachers openly.  However, there were some variations which suggest that students from older research universities are more self-reliant and students from newer universities are more receptive to the use of technology for learning ESL.


In cDNA microarray image analysis, classification of pixels as forefront area and the area covered by background is very challenging. In microarray experimentation, identifying forefront area of desired spots is nothing but computation of forefront pixels concentration, area covered by spot and shape of the spots. In this piece of writing, an innovative way for spot partitioning of microarray images using autonomously organizing maps (AOM) method through C-V model has been proposed. Concept of neural networks has been incorpated to train and to test microarray spots.In a trained AOM the comprehensive information arising from the prototypes of created neurons are clearly integrated to decide whether to get smaller or get bigger of contour. During the process of optimization, this is done in an iterative manner. Next using C-V model, inside curve area of trained spot is compared with test spot finally curve fitting is done.The presented model can handle spots with variations in terms of shape and quality of the spots and meanwhile it is robust to the noise. From the review of experimental work, presented approach is accurate over the approaches like C-means by fuzzy, Morphology sectionalization.


FRED is a machine reading tool for converting text into internally well-connected and quality linked-data-ready ontologies in web-service-acceptable time. It implements a novel approach for ontology design from natural language sentences, combining Discourse Representation Theory (DRT), linguistic frame semantics, and Ontology Design Patterns (ODP). The current version of the tool includes Earmark-based markup, and enrichment with word sense disambiguation (WSD) and named entity resolution (NER) off-the-shelf components.


The H1(e,e′K+)Λ reaction was studied as a function of the Mandelstam variable -t using data from the E01-004 (FPI-2) and E93-018 experiments that were carried out in Hall C at the 6 GeV Jefferson Laboratory. The cross section was fully separated into longitudinal and transverse components, and two interference terms at four-momentum transfers Q2 of 1.00, 1.36, and 2.07GeV2. The kaon form factor was extracted from the longitudinal cross section using the Regge model by Vanderhaeghen et al. [Phys. Rev. C 57, 1454 (1998)PRVCAN0556-281310.1103/PhysRevC.57.1454]. The results establish the method, previously used successfully for pion analyses, for extracting the kaon form factor. Data from 12 GeV Jefferson Laboratory experiments are expected to have sufficient precision to distinguish between theoretical predictions, for example, recent perturbative QCD calculations with modern parton distribution amplitudes. The leading-twist behavior for light mesons is predicted to set in for values of Q2 between 5 and 10GeV2, which makes data in the few-GeV regime particularly interesting. The Q2 dependence at fixed x and -t of the longitudinal cross section that we extracted seems consistent with the QCD factorization prediction within the experimental uncertainty.


We study noninterference in the setting of multi-threaded distributed programs in which threads share local memories and multi-threaded processes communicate over an insecure network using encryption primitives to secure messages. We extend a simple imperative language with cryptographic operations which are modelled as special expressions respecting the Dolev-Yao assumptions. Then, we adapt to our setting the notion of patterns proposed by Abadi and Rogaway for modelling the equivalence of cryptographic expressions. Based on this notion, we naturally obtain a definition of strongly secure programs corresponding to the one proposed by Sabelfeld and Sands for programs without cryptography. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first definition of noninterference in a multi-threaded distributed setting, with insecure channels and cryptography. We prove compositionality of secure programs and we adapt the type system of Sabelfeld and Sands to our setting, proving its correctness.


We study the effects of introducing class action lawsuits into a competitive environment where some firms have an intrinsic motivation to implement efficient care. The standard aggregation argument in favor of class action holds that there will be increasing efficiency due to lower litigation costs. In the short run, intrinsically motivated firms benefit from the introduction of a class action procedure. In the long run, new intrinsically motivated entrants are attracted into the market, thereby increasing consumer surplus. Overall, the average care level increases.


Fibrosarcoma is a malignant tumor of the fibroblasts, which is liable to recur and metastasize, most frequently in the lungs. Although fibrosarcomas are rare, they can occur anywhere in the body. The most common sites are in the retroperitoneum, thigh, knee, and distal extremities. It is very uncommon in the head and neck region and comprises only about 1% of all the malignancies in humans. Almost 23% are seen in the oral cavity. The prognosis for fibrosarcomas is poor with a five-year survival rate of 20-35%. The common modality of treatment is radical surgery. We report a rare presentation of gingival fibrosarcoma in a young female, who presented with a painless lump.


Production of whipped confectionery (marshmallows, pressed fruit paste, sweets with light-textured centres) is a complex process difficult to control. To expand and modernise their production, it is necessary to find simpler technologies, both resourceand energysaving, to increase the stability of the heterogeneous dispersed system, and to improve the quality of finished products. In this respect, applying food additives of the nanometer range in technology looks very promising due to their unique physicochemical parameters and their many functional and technological properties. In the paper, it is suggested to solve the problem of stabilising the polyphase structure of whipped confectionery products and to form their quality by using the food additive Magnetofood based on ferrous and ferric oxides (FeOFe2O3). Magnetofood is ultrafine powder with a particle size of ~80 nm. It has a high functional and technological potential: large specific surface and a set of useful properties (the additive is surfaceactive, with complex-forming, sorption, and stabilising properties). This allows us to recommend Magnetofood as an additive with a complex action to improve the quality and extend the shelf life of sugar confections like fruit paste and fruit jelly products, in particular, white and pink marshmallows. It has been found that addition of Magnetofood in the form of an aqueous suspension at the stage of swelling and dissolution of the gelling agent improves the shape and consistency, reduces the density of the foam structure by 1.12–1.15 times, reduces the amount of gelling agent by 10–12% for agar and by 7–9% for pectin, increases the mechanical strength of marshmallows by 11.5–12.6% for agar and by 8.2-9.1% for pectin. Besides, the foaming ability of egg white increases by 1.14-1.4 times (with constant foam stability (99±1)% due to the stabilising effect of Magnetofood nanoparticles), and the thixotropic property of the gel structure becomes 1.4–1.5 times as much.


This thesis is an applied case study, wherein a donation of materials was assessed at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive between January – June 2019. The archive has struggled to process their backlog due to a strain on resources—an issue that is prevalent in the archival profession, and particularly in small institutions. The objective was to apply broad principles from Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner's 2005 paper "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival processing," aimed at large paper and manuscript collections, to managing backlog at the Pacific Cinematheque Archive in order to help establish a minimal processing workflow that would allow for faster access to materials in the future. The case study explores the applicability of Greene & Meissner's processing framework in a small, film-centric archive, as well as the implications of making archival selections in this setting and the importance of preserving and providing access to these films.


Abstract In this chapter, the American family meal is examined. Recent trends in eating by both individuals and families are explored. Frequency of eating various meals, time spent eating, and which, if any, family members participate in these meals are studied. Effects of parental employment, income, and other characteristics indicate the frequency and time spent in some family meals are constrained by resources such as time and by parental work schedules. Foods currently consumed at family dinner tables are presented.


The oestrid fly or the camel nasal botfly Cephalopina titillator (Clark) is an insect that causes health hazards in camels. No doubt, camels are very important livestock particularly in arid and semi-arid lands. In this paper, the monthly and seasonal prevalence of C. titillator larvae in slaughtered camels were studied. The rate of camel infestation was 25%. The highest prevalence month was October and the highest prevalence season was Autumn. The three larval instars were demonstrated in the infested camels. However, the 3rd instars were the predominant stage (60.59%), followed by the 2nd instars (30.58%) and then the 1st instars (8.83%). In general, some myiasis producers are zoonotic parasites. Nevertheless, the control of the adult C. titillator and its larval instars is a must for the sake of the animal and for the human welfare.


In recent days, the large amount of information getting increased on internet; it is difficult for the user to go through all the information available on web. Automatic summarization system is used to reduce the user's time in reading the whole information available on web. Text summarization system is to identify the most important information from the given text and provided it to the end users without changing source text idea. The automatic text summarization with statistics and linguistics feature uses sentence scoring method for selecting important sentence according to their level of importance. The total number of importance sentences are equal to total number of paragraphs that time importance sentences are added in summery so meaningful information is not extracted effectively, it have text overloading problem. The automatic text summarization with cohesion features is grammatical and lexical linking within the text or sentences that hold together a sentence and provide meaningful sentences to end user without changing source text idea therefore it increase the effectiveness of summery and also solve text overloading problem. Keywords— Summarization, Linguistic Features, Statistical Features, Cohesion Features.


On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-gender marriage. From California to Missouri, nearly all states now face legislative challenges to the once firmly entrenched notion that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. Public opinion polls conducted from 1977 to 2004 found that Americans' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and marriages or civil unions for same-gender couples have evolved. Opposition persists, however. The most recent data indicate support for some legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples, but most Americans favor civil unions over same-gender marriages. Although the future of civil unions and same-gender marriages remains uncertain, social workers can serve gay and lesbian clients and their families best by staying informed of the attendant legal, social, and policy issues.


Positioning of valves is a real-life issue in Water Distribution System design and, currently, it is usually addressed by hand by hydraulic engineers, or by means of genetic algorithms, that give no assurance of optimality. Since a given valves placement identifies a sectorization of the WDS in several isolable portions, the valves positioning problem can be seen as a variant of the well known graph partitioning, which is a hard combinatorial problem. [2] showed recently that Computational Logic can provide technologies and techniques that can be exploited to model and achieve the optimal partition of the water network (i.e., the optimal positioning of valves). In particular, they tackled the optimization of the valves positioning through a two player game model, giving a Constraint Logic Programming formalization to solve it effectively. The aim of this paper, instead, is to investigate the potential of Answer Set Programming in this practical application; evaluation is in terms both of language expressivity and solving efficiency. Results are discussed for different ASP models and a comparison with the CLP(FD) technique shown by [2] will be given.


Disease rating of naturally infected 481 local maize cultivars collected from 8 states in the rainforest and parts of the Guinea Savanna zones of Nigeria revealed that rust infection caused by Puccinia polysora was an important hazard to maize production in southern Nigeria. Out of the 481 cultivars planted 378 had 31-70% total leaf area infected by rust (P. polysora). This means that on the average 78.6% of the total plantslplot (ten plantslplot) were infected by rust. Similarly, about 133 cultivars had leaf blight infections caused by H. maydis; this corresponded to 1-30% total leaf area infected. The two improved varieties on the average had 65% of the total plants/plot infected by rust. Disease incidence and severity of the other pathogens on the improved varities were generally low. Rust epiphytotics are, therefore imminent in southern Nigeria if not checked adequately and fast. Other maize disease hazards identified in order of their importance were H. maydis, Curvularia and Fusarium spp, H. turcicum, stem borer and maize streak virus. The solution to the problems includes use of resistant varieties, well planned maize production prograrnme, and chemical control measures. To avoid maize disease epiphytotics in the rainforest and parts of the Guinea Savanna vegetations zones of Nigeria it is recommended that research institutes and universities involved in maize irhprovement prograrnme should emphasize maize disease problems in maize production and in their research proposals or Programmes.


"Naphthocage", a naphthalene-based organic cage reveals very strong binding (up to 1010 M-1) to aromatic (di)cationic guests, i.e. the tetrathiafulvalene mono- and dication and methyl viologen. Intercalation of the guests between two naphthalene walls is mediated by C-H•••O, C-H•••π and cation•••π interactions. The guests can be switched into and out of the cage by redox processes with high binding selectivity. Oxidation of the flexible cage itself in the absence of a guest leads to a stable radical cation with the oxidized naphthalene intercalated between and stabilized by the other two. Encapsulated guest cations are released from the cavity upon cage oxidation, paving the way to future applications in redox-controlled guest release or novel stimuli-responsive materials.


Random matrix models encode a theory of random two dimensional surfaces with applications to string theory, conformal field theory, statistical physics in random geometry and quantum gravity in two dimensions. The key to their success lies in the 1/N expansion introduced by 't Hooft. Random tensor models generalize random matrices to theories of random higher dimensional spaces. For a long time, no viable 1/N expansion for tensors was known and their success was limited. A series of recent results has changed this situation and the extension of the 1/N expansion to tensors has been achieved. We review these results in this paper.


Abstract An analytical model of the heat flow during pulsed welding is constructed by first developing a solution for the temperature distribution due to an instantaneous, stationary, Gaussian heat source. This solution is first extended to treat the case of a moving heat source for a single pulse and then extended to treat the case of pulsed welding by summing the temperature changes due to a series of pulses. Test gas tungsten arc welds in mild steel are used to confirm the validity of the model.MST/1371


Many countries are facing significant challenges posed by aging populations, and many of these elderly people are increasingly socially isolated, raising the need to develop senior-friendly services and settings for community life. ICT-enabled technologies can be used to help the elderly maintain adequate degrees of social participation. This paper reports the design and production of an innovative recreation installation featuring elderly friendly technologies to enhance the social lives of elderly Chinese people. The contents are composed of modernized visualization elements of traditional Chinese painting designed to engage elderly Chinese people and promote interaction and participation.


Plant-based removal of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from water bodies is an important method for remediation of aquaculture wastewater. In order to acquire knowledge as to how antibiotic residues in wastewater might affect the microbial community and plant uptake of N and P, this study investigated N and P removal by a coastal plant Sesuvium portulacastrum L. grown in aquaculture wastewater treated with 0, 1, 5, or 50 mg/L sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfadiazine, SD) for 28 days and compared the microbial community structure between the water and rhizosphere. Results showed that SD significantly decreased N removal rates from 87.5% to 22.1% and total P removal rates from 99.6% to 85.5%. Plant fresh weights, root numbers, and moisture contents as well as activities of some enzymes in leaves were also reduced. SD changed the microbial community structure in water, but the microbial community structure in the rhizosphere was less affected by SD. The microbial diversity in water was higher than that in the rhizosphere, indicating microbial community differences. Our results showed that the commonly used antibiotic, SD, in aquaculture can inhibit plant growth, change the structure of microbial community, and reduce the capacity of S. portulacastrum plants to remove N and P from wastewater, and also raised alarm about detrimental effects of antibiotic residues in phytoremediation of wastewater.


A 66-year-old woman with malignant histiocytosis was treated with a combination of recombinant gamma interferon (GI-3) and etoposide. Following partial response to intravenous gamma interferon (9 x 10(6) units (U)/day) alone, the patient received an eight-months course of subcutaneous gamma interferon (0.5 x 10(6) U/day) and intravenous etoposide (100 mg/week). After two years, the patient remains in complete remission. The present case report discusses the successful use of combination gamma interferon and etoposide for the treatment of malignant histiocytosis.


This conference paper explores the relationship between legal theory, Law Courts and Imperialism and takes us on an illustrated journey from the Nazi holding camp outside of Mechelen to the Palais de Justice in Brussels.


Solar type III radio bursts are an important diagnostic tool in the understanding of solar accelerated electron beams. They are a signature of propagating beams of nonthermal electrons in the solar atmosphere and the solar system. Consequently, they provide information on electron acceleration and transport, and the conditions of the background ambient plasma they travel through. We review the observational properties of type III bursts with an emphasis on recent results and how each property can help identify attributes of electron beams and the ambient background plasma. We also review some of the theoretical aspects of type III radio bursts and cover a number of numerical efforts that simulate electron beam transport through the solar corona and the heliosphere.


Brand equity has become one of the key concepts used for evaluating commercial brands widely by marketing communications practitioners. However, its role for evaluating public health campaigns has rarely been established. Therefore, this study is aimed to use brand equity as a framework for evaluating public health campaigns. The three national public health campaigns in Thailand for reducing alcohol consumption among Thai youth were purposively selected in this study. They included "MAO MAI KUB" (Don't Drive Drunk), "NGOD LAO KAO PUNSA" (No Drink in the period of Buddhist Lent Festival), and "RUBNONG PLAUD LAO" (No Drink in freshman initiation activities). The empirical results after simple regression analysis in all three campaigns showed that campaign message exposures from marketing communications tools had a significantly positive relationship with brand equity. Besides, the findings from binary logistic regression analysis in all three campaigns also indicated that brand equity affected alcohol consumption among Thai youth significantly. This study suggests that brand equity can be used as a valuable framework for evaluating the outcome of public health campaigns effectively.