The surgical history of ectopic pregnancy is dotted with puzzling cases in which undoubted symptoms of the condition were present, and in which on operation a greater or less quantity of blood was discovered in the pelvis, and yet careful microscopic examination of the tissues removed failed to show any trace of the products of conception. In many of these cases careful examination has failed to disclose the source of hemorrhage. Some recent studies in biology bearing on the implantation of the ovum in the uterine mucosa have revealed a process which when transplanted, as in tubal pregnancy, sheds a flood of light on many of these obscure cases. The established teaching has been that the impregnated ovum when it reaches the uterine mucosa nestles among its follicles, which at once take on a hypertrophic development, reach out on all sides and envelop it in their arms. Later developments bring


The first known cleavage by a bacterium of an arylglycerol-β-aryl ether linkage, the most common intermonomer linkage in lignin, is described.


Deportation, understood as the physical removal of someone against their will from the territory of one state to that of another, has moved to the forefront of academic and policy agendas. Although there is a growing literature on legislation and policy, there is very little in-depth data on what happens post-deportation. In this article, we examine possible post-deportation outcomes. We argue that, whatever reasons existed for people to migrate in the first place, deportation adds to these and creates at least three additional reasons that make adjustment, integration, or reintegration difficult, if not impossible. These include the impossibility of repaying debts incurred by migration, the existence of transnational and local ties, the shame of failure, and the perceptions of 'contamination'. We draw on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data gathered in Europe and Afghanistan to argue that many deported Afghans at- tempt and succeed in re-migrating.


The need for quality nursing research to promote evidence-based practice and optimize patient care is well recognized. This is particularly pertinent in cardiovascular nursing, where cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide (World Health Organization, 2007). Across the spectrum of academic, clinical, and health care administration nursing roles, research remains fundamental to bridging theory, practice, and education (LoBiondo-Wood, Haber, Cameron, & Singh, 2009). Despite recognition of the importance of nursing research, the gap between research and practice continues to be an ongoing issue (Funk, Tornquist, & Champagne, 1995; Pettengill, Gillies, & Clark, 1994; Rizzuto, Bostrom, Suterm, & Chenitz, 1994; Rolfe, 1998). Nurses are appropriately situated to contribute to research that improves clinical outcomes and health service delivery. However, the majority of nurses in clinical practice do not have a significant research component structured into their nursing role. In this research column, the authors outline the importance of nurses being engaged in research and present some different levels of involvement that nurses may assume. A continuum of nursing research involvement includes asking researchable questions, being a savvy consumer of research evidence, finding your own level of research involvement, and aspiring to lead.


For a robot to personalize physical assistance effectively, it must learn user preferences that can be generally reapplied to future scenarios. In this work, we investigate personalization of household cleanup with robots that can tidy up rooms by picking up objects and putting them away. A key challenge is determining the proper place to put each object, as people's preferences can vary greatly depending on personal taste or cultural background. For instance, one person may prefer storing shirts in the drawer, while another may prefer them on the shelf. We aim to build systems that can learn such preferences from just a handful of examples via prior interactions with a particular person. We show that robots can combine language-based planning and perception with the few-shot summarization capabilities of large language models (LLMs) to infer generalized user preferences that are broadly applicable to future interactions. This approach enables fast adaptation and achieves 91.2% accuracy on unseen objects in our benchmark dataset. We also demonstrate our approach on a real-world mobile manipulator called TidyBot, which successfully puts away 85.0% of objects in real-world test scenarios.


The Australian aquatic theme park segment is a vibrant and significant part of the Australian tourism industry because as a tourism generator it is a direct contributor to the economy and to employment growth. Research in this area can provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of the industry and its future effectiveness. Tourism organisations, such as aquatic theme parks, need to rely on the commitment and performance of a well-trained, multi-skilled workforce in order to achieve a competitive position, especially in terms of providing high quality customer service. This suggests that tourism organisations need to adopt effective organisational practices that enhance the motivation of employees and improve organisational effectiveness by providing the level of quality customer service required to become and remains competitive. Although the tourism industry in general and the theme park segment in particular make an important contribution to the Australia economy, minimal research has been undertaken to determine the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of organisational practices that influence work-related outcomes (commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance). As a related issue, no research has been undertaken to examine the perception of professionalism of employees undertaking marine science activities within Australian aquatic theme parks. Accordingly, one of the objectives of the present research was to examine the impact of organisational practices (training and communication) on affective commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance within the Australian aquatic theme park segment. The second objective was to examine whether the impact of such organisational practices on these work-related outcomes varies between employees designated to undertake marine science related activities and other theme park employees (salespersons, food and beverage and administrative). The final objective of this research was to examine whether employees designated to undertake marine science related activities perceive themselves as professionals. The Meaning of Working Theoretical Framework (based on the Meaning of Working (MOW) model developed by Westwood and Lok, 2003) is used in this research as a conceptual framework to enable a better understanding of the meanings and significance that aquatic theme park employees attach to their work roles. Understanding the basic meanings that individuals attach to their work roles provides relevant insights into the nature of employee commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance, given the apparent impact of perceived work significance on employee attitudes and behaviours. Application of the Meaning of Working Theoretical Framework therefore broadened the conceptual framework of the present research to include and clarify the central constructs of commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance in Australian aquatic theme park workplaces. The present study was undertaken with employees from three Australian aquatic theme park companies, including 'marine science employees' and 'other theme park employees', with a particular emphasis on the former group of employees. The nature of the current study suggested the value of using both quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed methods methodology) and so, the adoption of the pragmatist paradigm was appropriate in framing and answering the thesis' research questions. Quantitative and qualitative methods in this study were conceptualized, designed and implemented sequentially. Quantitative methods (e.g. survey) were conducted first in order to develop a level of generalisation that not only added knowledge to the theory but also enabled a prediction in understanding levels of commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance. Qualitative methods (indepth interviews and focus group discussions) then provided in-depth information and insights into the link between organisational practices (e.g. training and communication) and work-related outcomes and perceptions of professionalism for marine science employees. The findings of this study have broadened the scope of the MOW model developed by Westwood and Lok (2003) in a number of significant and original ways. In particular, consideration of the relationship between employees and customers and analysis of the values maintained by the organisational culture and their influence on the particular subcultures within the organisations studied proved to be essential in understanding the work meanings patterns in this study. The present study further developed the MOW model by clearly demonstrating the critical role played by training and communication in influencing patterns of work meanings. In addition, this study also expanded the Westwood and Lok's (2003) MOW model by including issues related to professionalism. The findings of the present study highlighted the pivotal role played by a key HRM practice (on-the-job training), which is more relevant in influencing work-related outcomes than the impact of communication processes, as demonstrated in the study data and analysis. Contrary to expectations, the findings suggested that communication processes play an indirect role in influencing organisational effectiveness, in terms of providing high quality service because of an identified 'gap' in beliefs and behaviours regarding customer service. Both training and communication processes appeared to be relatively ineffective in reducing this ambiguity regarding customer service for both group of employees within the aquatic theme parks studied. This should lead to a re-thinking of both training and communication practices to enhance the focus on, and delivery of quality customer service. A number of suggestions are canvassed. Another major finding of this thesis indicates that marine science employees not only perceive themselves as professionals but their status (job/occupation) within the tourism community supports a perception of emerging professionalism. The results revealed in the present study have the potential to impact positively on the tourism industry in general and on the aquatic theme park segment in particular. However, it is clear from the present research that the vibrancy of the tourism industry and the aquatic theme park segment can only be enhanced with more attention to communication and training, with an emphasis on improving employee self-efficacy, especially in the area of customer service.


The arrival of cloud computing the new pattern for data outsourcing and high quality data service is great flexibility and economic saving. However fear about the sensitive information on cloud to be protecting the data privacy problems sensitive information has to be encrypted before outsourcing, which creates the effective data utilization services a very big challenging task. Symmetric Searchable Encryption (SSE) technique allows to retrieval of encrypted data on cloud, but it leaks the data privacy. Secure server –side ranking based on the order-preserving Encryption (OPE) it include the similarity relevance and robustness. But OPE also unavoidable of data privacy. To eliminate server side ranking introduce the Two-Round Searchable Encryption (TRSE) it include the vector space model and homomorphic encryption. Vector space model used for user retrieve file accurately and homomorphic encryption used for ranking involve in the user side it done by server side operation on cipher text. The TRSE also leakage the privacy and it generated the small number of keys so unauthorized user easily hack the sensitive information so to avoid this problem propose the blowfish algorithm it generate the large number keys. We propose scheme is high security guarantee and more efficiently retrieve the over encrypted data.


This paper deals with the attitude control of an underactuated spacecraft that has one single-gimbal variable-speed CMG. An underactuated spacecraft may not converge to arbitrary attitudes if its total angular momentum is not zero. To stabilize a spacecraft, the CMG has to align with the angular momentum in the inertial frame. Four different install configurations for the CMG have been considered and controllable angular momentums have been analyzed. Also, based on the backstepping method, stabilizing control laws have been presented and their properties have been compared.


Factors affecting the germination and seedling growth of leafflower were evaluated. Germination required exposure to light. Seeds covered with a 1-cm deep layer of pine bark mulch failed to emerge. Maximum seedling development occurred in full exposure to sunlight; shading that reduced light intensity more than 26% was inhibitory. Maximum seed germination (79%) occurred between 25 and 35 C; temperatures outside this range were inhibitory. Germination was strongly influenced by osmotic potential. Osmotic potentials of 0, 304, and 507 kPa resulted in 85, 24 and 14% germination, respectively. PRE applications of either granular formulated oxadiazon at 4.5 kg ha–1, or premixed granular formulated oxyfluorfen + oryzalin at 4.6 + 2.3 kg ha–1, provided a minimum of 85% control. The following POST treatments provided a minimum of 90% control of mature plants: paraquat at 0.21 kg ha–1, glyphosate at 0.56 kg ha–1, oxyfluorfen at 1.12 kg ha–1, and acifluorfen at 2.24 kg ha–1.


Background: Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is still a challenge, with Narrow band (NB-UVB) considered to be a corner stone. Calcidiol deficiency is one of the factors in the pathogenesis of AD, thus supplementation with oral calcidiol is assumed to offer additional therapeutic option for such patients.
Aim of study: Was to assess the possible role of calcidiol in the treatment of AD whether it is induced by phototherapy or given as an oral supplementation.
Patients and methods: 30 pediatric patients with AD were enrolled in this study and divided into 2 equal groups. Group Ι patients received 24 sessions of NB- UVB and group ΙΙ patients received oral calcidiol (600 IU/day orally) for 2 months. A blood sample was taken and SCORAD index was assessed before and after treatment for all patients. 20 controls were also included.
Results: At baseline, the mean level of calcidiol was significantly lower in AD patients (92.53 ± 22.42 ng/ml) in comparison to controls (132.18 ± 48.27 ng/ml) (P=0.005). Two months after therapy, both groups showed elevation of calcidiol level with no statistical difference between them (P=0.66), and also improvement of SCORAD index with no statistical difference between both groups (P=0.172).
Conclusion: The current study proves the suggested role of calcidiol deficiency in AD especially in the pediatric group. In addition, it demonstrated the high efficacy of oral supplementation of calcidiol in the management of AD children that was comparable to documented results of NB-UVB.


Depression is common in pregnant women. However, the rate of antidepressant treatment in pregnancy is significantly lower than in nonpregnant women. Although some antidepressants may cause potential risks to the fetus, not treating or withdrawing the treatment is associated with relapsing and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth. Pregnancy‐associated physiologic changes can alter pharmacokinetics (PK) and may impact dosing requirements during pregnancy. However, pregnant women are largely excluded from PK studies. Dose extrapolation from the nonpregnant population could lead to ineffective doses or increased risk of adverse events. To better understand PK changes during pregnancy and guide dosing decisions, we conducted a literature review to catalog PK studies of antidepressants in pregnancy, with a focus on maternal PK differences from the nonpregnant population and fetal exposure. We identified 40 studies on 15 drugs, with most data from patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine. Most of the studies have relatively poor quality, with small sample sizes, reporting concentrations at delivery only, a large amount of missing data, and not including times and adequate dose information. Only four studies collected multiple samples following a dose and reported PK parameters. In general, there are limited data available regarding PK of antidepressants in pregnancy and deficiencies in data reporting. Future studies should provide accurate information on drug dosing and timing of dose, PK sample collection, and individual‐level PK data.


Purpose Recent studies show that angiopoietin-like protein 2 (Angptl2) contributes to chronic inflammation in diabetes, tumor, rheumatoid arthritis and dermatomyositis, Angptl2 is expressed in endothelial cells, and increased by hypoxia and endoplasmic reticulum stress in HUVEC, and serum level of Angptl2 is increased in diabetes. However, the function of Angptl2 in diabetic retinopathy is still unknown. In this study, we investigate the Angptl2 concentration in vitreous fluid and expression in fibrovascular membrane of PDR patients to evaluate the role of Angptl2 in pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods We collected vitreous samples at the time of vitreous surgery from 33 PDR and 29 nondiabetic patients. The concentration of Angptl2 in vitreous samples was measured by using the human Angptl2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and we examined Angptl2 protein expression in fibrovascular membrane from PDR patients by immunohistochemistry using both anti-Angptl2 and anti-CD31 or anti-Mac2 antibody. Next, we examined Angptl2 expression under the hypoxic condition, and ICAM-1 expression induced by Angptl2 in human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs).

Results The vitreous concentration of Angptl2 significantly increased in patients with PDR compared with controls (P< .001). Double immunofluorescent staining showed that Aangptl2 was expressed in endothelial cells and macrophages in fibrovascular membrane. In vitro study, we found that Angptl2 expression was increased under 2% hypoxic condition in HRECs, and Angptl2 promoted ICAM-1 expression in HREC through the activation of NFkB signaling.

Conclusion Aangptl2 may play an important role in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy by causing the chronic inflammation in retinal endothelial cells.


To solve the user data sparsity problem, which is the main issue in generating user preference prediction, cross-domain recommender systems transfer knowledge from one source domain with dense data to assist recommendation tasks in the target domain with sparse data. However, data are usually sparsely scattered in multiple possible source domains, and in each domain (source/target) the data may be heterogeneous, thus it is difficult for existing cross-domain recommender systems to find one source domain with dense data from multiple domains. In this way, they fail to deal with data sparsity problems in the target domain and cannot provide an accurate recommendation. In this article, we propose a novel multidomain recommender system (called HMRec) to deal with two challenging issues: 1) how to exploit valuable information from multiple source domains when no single source domain is sufficient and 2) how to ensure positive transfer from heterogeneous data in source domains with different feature spaces. In HMRec, domain-shared and domain-specific features are extracted to enable the knowledge transfer between multiple heterogeneous source and target domains. To ensure positive transfer, the domain-shared subspaces from multiple domains are maximally matched by a multiclass domain discriminator in an adversarial learning process. The recommendation in the target domain is completed by a matrix factorization module with aligned latent features from both the user and the item side. Extensive experiments on four cross-domain recommendation tasks with real-world datasets demonstrate that HMRec can effectively transfer knowledge from multiple heterogeneous domains collaboratively to increase the rating prediction accuracy in the target domain and significantly outperforms six state-of-the-art non-transfer or cross-domain baselines.


Currently, business development has led to the digital economy or online market due to changes in people's shopping styles, which have begun to shift from offline shopping to online shopping. This is an opportunity for business actors to market their products through digital media such as e-commerce. E-commerce facilitates communication between sellers and buyers, facilitates marketing and product promotion activities by sellers, facilitates the sale and purchase transaction process, facilitates payments made by consumers because it can be done online. This study was shown to analyze the effect of service quality on Tokopedia consumer satisfaction in Surabaya. The variables used in this study are service quality which consists of efficiency, system availability (reliability), fulfillment, confidentiality (privacy), responsiveness (responsiveness), compensation (compensation), contact (contact). And the variable of consumer satisfaction which consists of the suitability of expectations, loyalty, interest in visiting again and willingness to recommend. This study uses a survey method by distributing online questionnaires to 100 Tokopedia users in Surabaya. Based on the data analysis, it can be concluded that service quality has a positive and significant effect on Tokopedia consumer satisfaction in Surabaya.


This report describes a new version of the OntoSpec methodology for ontology building. Defined by the LaRIA Knowledge Engineering Team (University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France), OntoSpec aims at helping builders to model ontological knowledge (upstream of formal representation). The methodology relies on a set of rigorously-defined modelling primitives and principles. Its application leads to the elaboration of a semi-informal ontology, which is independent of knowledge representation languages. We recently enriched the OntoSpec methodology by endowing it with a new resource, the DOLCE top-level ontology defined at the LOA (IST-CNR, Trento, Italy). The goal of this integration is to provide modellers with additional help in structuring application ontologies, while maintaining independence vis-a-vis formal representation languages. In this report, we first provide an overview of the OntoSpec methodology's general principles and then describe the DOLCE re-engineering process. A complete version of DOLCE-OS (i.e. a specification of DOLCE in the semi-informal OntoSpec language) is presented in an appendix.


Lightning can pose a threat to numerous processes associated with the production and handling of energetic materials and materials that may produce environments containing flammable gases, flammable or combustible liquid-produced vapors, combustible dusts, or ignitable fibers/flyings. Advance warning of a lightning threat can allow termination of such operations or enable the operator to render the process to a configuration less susceptible to the effects of lightning. The proper incorporation of lightning warning techniques and hardware into the plant or process operating procedures could have a positive effect on the plant/process lightning risk assessment and help reduce the level of protection required from a lightning protection system. This paper will discuss the general principles and techniques for lightning warning and discuss baseline requirements for hardware that can reliably provide advance warnings for critical operations. This paper will also address considerations of incorporation of these techniques into a facility's lightning protection plan. Finally, this paper will show through a risk assessment example how the use of advance warning can mitigate the risk of a lightning threat.


Although ethics training is one of the core components of psychiatric education, it is not sufficiently addressed in the curricula of many educational institutions. It is shown that many of the psychiatry residents received no ethics training in both residency and medical school. Predictably, over half of the psychiatry residents had faced an ethical dilemma that they felt unprepared to meet, and nearly all of them indicated ethics education would have helped them to solve this dilemma. In addition to learning about the fundamental topics of ethics like confidentiality, boundary violations, justice, benefience and nonmaleficence, psychiatrists must also learn to deal with other hidden ethical dilemmas which are mostly due to the changing world order. It is obvious that residency training should include a well developed ethics curriculum. However, some still believe that ethical principles cannot be taught and are formed in one's early moral development. Accepting the fact that teaching ethics is difficult, we believe that it is getting easier with the new methods for teaching in medicine. These methods are clinical supervisions, rol-models, case studies, role playing, small group discussions, team based learning and "let's talking medicine" groups which is a useful methods for discussing ethics dilemmas on daily practice and C.A.R.E (Core Beliefs, Actions, Reasons, Experience) which is a special training method for teaching ethics. In this review, the need of ethics training in residency curriculum will be discussed and new methods for teaching ethics will be proposed.


The number of microprocessors and microcontrollers being applied to modern computational systems is growing exponentially. Nevertheless, it is not easy to find engineers with the necessary skills for developing software for such devices. In fact, the creation of official undergraduate courses to fulfill this modern demand proved not to be the best solution. This paper describes an inter-universities training program specially created for embedded systems organized by CEFET-AM, a technical college, and carried out by Genius Institute of Technology, a research and development company, both located in Manaus - Brazil. After a restrictive selection process, 24 senior students coming from 8 of the most important universities of the region started their studies. Eleven theoretical modules distributed in 300 hours of training were given. Afterwards, the students started an industry oriented project. One major assignment was given to the whole group. They divided themselves in subgroups responsible for specific parts of the project which involved distributed systems programming, communication process development by using M2M, web services planning and MMI design by using diverse devices. The joint venture of theoretical studies conduced by a school of technology together with the practical side of a research company resulted in a well succeed experience.


Descriptions of verified instances of cavernous hemangio-endothelioma of the nose are rare in the literature, and little mention is made of the condition in standard textbooks. It was rarely mentioned in the literature until described by Crowe and Baylor 1 in 1923. The growth arises from the ethmoid region in the lateral wall of the nose and is benign to the extent that it seldom forms metastases. It grows slowly. It is dangerous because of its highly vascular structure and because it grows by infiltration and is destructive to surrounding tissues. It may eventually fill the nose, invade the sinuses and the nasopharynx and finally erode the bony walls of one or more of these cavities. Nasal obstruction and severe profuse epistaxis are common symptoms. Facial disfigurement or exophthalmos may be present. In two patients mentioned by Barnes 2 there was erosion of the anterior wall of the


Thrombus is a frequent cause of shunt malfunction both of the proximal end following intraventricular hemorrhage and of the distal catheter of a vascular shunt. Continued blockages may result in numerous shunt revisions until the blood has been cleared. We have treated 3 children with shunt malfunctions secondary to thrombus with urokinase, a thrombolytic agent. Two children had intraventricular hemorrhage following a shunt revision and were treated with intrashunt urokinase, and 1 with occlusion of an atrial catheter was treated with both intrashunt and systemic urokinase. All were symptomatic at the time of treatment (headaches, vomiting, full fontanel, somnolence) and all had ventriculomegaly demonstrated on computed tomography. Various dosage regimens were used with total intrashunt doses of 20,000, 50,000, and 70,000 IU. All improved clinically, computed tomography scans demonstrated improvement, and all were discharged from the hospital. There were no complications of the urokinase administration. The 2 children with proximal occlusion have not required further shunt revisions at 12 and 27 months following treatment. The infant with atrial end occlusion subsequently underwent two proximal revisions with eventual removal of the atrial catheter because of infection. We conclude the intrashunt urokinase can be of value in the treatment of shunts by blood and blood products.


Introduction. The number of people with celiac disease is rapidly increasing. Gluten, is one of the most common food allergens, consists of two fractions: gliadins and glutenins. The research objective was to determine the optimal conditions for estimating gliadins by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Study objects and methods. The experiment involved wheat flour samples (0.10; 0.20, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.0 g) suspended in different solvents (ethanol, methanol, 1-propanol, and isopropanol) of different concentrations (40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% v/v). The samples were diluted with Tris buffer in ratios of 1:50, 1:100, 1:150, and 1:200. The gliadin test was performed using a Gliadin/Gluten Biotech commercial ELISA kit (Immunolab).
Results and discussion. The optimal conditions for determining gliadin proteins that provided the highest gliadin concentration were: solvent – 70% v/v ethanol, extract:Tris buffer ratio – 1:50, and sample weight – 1.0 g.
Conclusion. The obtained results can be of great importance to determine gliadin/gluten concentrations in food products by rapid analysis methods.


In recent years, the concept of contemporary mosque architecture has emerged in all Islamic countries. The goal of these structures which are produced using original designs, contemporary materials, technology and construction systems is to design structures which suit modern architectural concepts of today in the architecture of traditional mosques. Taken up with contemporary plan and form concepts rather than traditional plans, contemporary lines and interpretations are seen in liturgical elements such as the mihrap, dais, pulpit, gallerys, courtyard, fountain and minaret, which are indispensable elements of the mosque architecture in these mosques. One of the important points that is dwelled upon with these structures is their interior design. The aim of this study is to examine the design, layout features as well as the interior decoration of the Marmara Ilahiyat Mosque, which is one of our contemporarymosques that have been addressed in Turkey in the 20th century. With this goal, the structure's overall layout, its interior space, decorative and liturgic elements as well as characteristics such as materials, technology and lighting have been examined in detail. As one of the important representatives of contemporary Turkish mosques, the structure is suitable for the land it was built on top of and the city fabric, that it interprets traditional architecture with modern styling, and that it takes its place in a significant position amongst contemporary Turkish mosques, as it is a unique example that achieves a contemporary and dynamic identity of Turkish-Islamic architectures by using today's materials and techniques from a standpoint of traditional layout, plan elements and interior space embellishments.


Abstract Ship burials are a well-known feature of Scandinavian Viking Age archaeology, but the discovery of 41 individuals buried in two ships in Estonia belongs to the Pre-Viking period and is the first of its kind in Europe. The two crews met a violent end around AD 750, and were buried with a variety of richly decorated weapons, tools, gaming pieces and animal bones. The rich grave goods suggest that this was a diplomatic delegation protected by a cohort of elite warriors. They were armed with swords of Scandinavian design, possibly from the Stockholm-Mälaren region, and stable isotope analysis is consistent with that being the probable homeland of the crew.


The therapeutic jurisprudence movement began almost twenty-five years ago with the opening of the first drug court in 1989. Since that time, thousands of courts like it and many more incarnations have sprung up around the country. These courts proliferate because they lower recidivism and are often a more affordable and humane alternative to traditional criminal justice. Therapeutic courts are not hard to run successfully if the right elements are in place. However, even when jurisdictions have a compassionate judge, eager participants, a cohesive therapy team, and a supportive community, therapeutic courts may still have difficulty getting started, maintaining continuity, or planning for the future due to uncertainties related to funding and resources. This article examines the resource and funding challenges that drug and mental health courts face. It discusses the importance of documenting operational costs and the role that diversification of funding plays in the long-term success of therapeutic courts, with an emphasis on how these two practices affect drug courts. The article also focuses on mental health courts and the need for innovation in obtaining resources in communities where they may be lacking. The author hopes by spotlighting therapeutic court challenges and innovation, struggling or new therapeutic courts might develop ideas related to funding and resource acquisition.


1 Werner RA, Franzblau A, Albers JW, Buchele H, Armstrong TJ. Use of screening nerve conduction studies for predicting future carpal tunnel syndrome. Occup Environ Med 1997;54:96100. 2 Nathan PA, Meadows KD, Doyle LS. Occupation as a risk factor for impaired sensory conduction of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel. Hand Surg 1988;13B(2): 167-70. 3 Nathan PA, Keniston RC, Myers LD, Meadows KD. Obesity as a risk factor for slowing of sensory conduction of the median nerve in industry. A cross sectional and longitudinal study involving 429 workers. Occup Med 1992;34: 379-83. 4 Nathan PA, Keniston RC, Myers LD, Meadows KD. Longitudinal study of median nerve sensory conduction in industry: relationship to age, gender, hand dominance, occupational hand use, and clinical diagnosis. Hand Surg 1992;17A:850-7. 5 Nathan PA, Keniston RC, Myers LD, Meadows KD. Predictive value of nerve conduction measurements at the carpal tunnel. Muscle Nerve 1993;16:1377-82.


The turbine rotor or steam turbine rotor is subjected to temperature variations in short periods of time due to the start and stop cycles of the turbine. This causes sudden changes in the temperature with transient thermal stresses being induced into the turbine rotor. The transient effect is due to the changes in the material properties like density, specific heat and Young's modulus. The estimate of thermal stresses induced in the turbine rotor is important in determining the startup cycle of a steam turbine. Thermal gradients developed during thermal transients are the key source of stress generation in the rotor. The "heart" of these versatile machines is made by the blades and vanes, which are subjected during operation to very high thermal and mechanical stresses (combined effects of centrifugal force and thermal gradient).The high-pressure turbine model was prepared using CAD software (PRO-E) and axis symmetric F. E. model was analyzed for transient thermal and thermo-mechanical stresses using Ansys 11.The transient thermal and thermo-mechanical stress values found were within the yield strength of the material. It can be stated that the transient thermal and thermo-mechanical stresses are larger than the steady-state stresses.  Keywords:  Steam turbine rotor, transient thermal stresses, FEM, Ansys, transient thermo-mechanical stresses


Purpose We aimed to define cell subpopulations of odontogenic keratocyst (OKC), particularly relating to angiogenesis and explored the potential regulation mechanism for angiogenesis. Materials and Methods Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis was investigated on 14,072 cells from 3 donors with OKC. The differential expressed genes, cell trajectory and intercellular communications were evaluated by bioinformatic analysis. Hydrostatic pressure (80 mmHg, 6h) was applied to the primary fibroblasts of OKC and the supernatant was collected for cytokines detection by cytokine antibody array. The chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12 (CXCL12) and CD31 expressions were explored by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray of OKC. Results Five different cell types were identified in the epithelium of OKC and 3 different cell types in the OKC fibroblasts were characterized, indicating high intra-lesional heterogeneity. CXCLs were highly enriched in the subset of fibroblasts and showed close interactions with endothelial cells. Hydrostatic pressure (80mmHg) significantly increased CXCL12 secretions in OKC fibroblasts. Stromal CXCL12 expressions were closely related to CD31 expressions of tissue microarray of OKC. Conclusion CXCLs enriched fibroblasts are crucial for angiogenesis of OKCs which could be partially regulated by hydrostatic pressure.


Globalization and the advent of technology have caused a major shift in work culture and personal lives in the 21st century, and consequently has shifted the emphasis and direction of the teaching and learning domain. Researchers and educators in The New London Group introduced the concept of multiliteracies in 1994. This approach takes into account the diversity of linguistic, communicative, and technological dimensions into classroom practice. In Malaysia, the integration of this approach resulted in educational reform and the introduction of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025 for Preschool and Post-Secondary Education, Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015–2025 for Higher Education, and a National e-Learning Policy. These policies focus on the enhancement of information and communication technology in Malaysia in terms of facilities, management, and ways of learning. Multiliteracies pedagogy is thriving in the Malaysian academic landscape.


The outbreak of COVID-19 has made a profound impact on mobility, especially for public transport users. Extensive research has been conducted on the change of travel patterns in major cities where public transport systems have been well developed and heavily used. However, in small cities, the public transport network is relatively sparse, especially in suburban areas, which makes the corresponding travel patterns differ from those in major cities. Therefore, proper investigation of the public transport usage in such small cities is still needed, especially under the COVID-19 impact. This paper aims to reveal the change of public transport users' travel patterns based on a comparative study of public transport usage Pre-COVID and during the COVID-19 period. The Illawarra, a coastal region close to Sydney in Australia is used as a case study. Smart card data is used to reveal relevant changes in both intraregion (in the Illawarra) and inter-region (between the Illawarra and Sydney) travels in consideration of heterogeneous user groups. The results show a significant decrease (around 47%) in public transport ridership by both train and bus. However, compared to intra-region ridership, the inter-region trips by train drop much more (around 62%). Moreover, heterogeneous age group passengers show different changes after the COVID-19 outbreak. The research findings are expected to provide valuable suggestions for policy making and public transport service adjustment when a similar crisis occurs again.


This paper aimed to develop scales to measure the adoption of the e-CRM systems in service firms. A qualitative study consists of 10 semi-structured interviews to explore the intention of marketers to adopt the e-CRM system; we opted for an inductive approach for the generation of items, since the scales in the literature are not adapted to the context of this study. We chose six experts to take part in the survey; data collection was carried out through interviews; these experts judged the relevance of each of the 27 items generated. During the 6 interviews, we noted several relevant impressions and remarks from the experts. Once the content validity for the development of the measuring instrument has been designed, a test-pilot will be carried out. The objective of the test pilot is to verify the reliability of the items. Three hundred forty managers from different service firms have been selected to participate in this test. Factorial analyzes are considered necessary to identify the main factors explaining the results obtained. The results of the exploratory factor analysis generated three factors. We choose the smart PLS approach to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis to verify the reliability and validity of the scales. A reliable and valid scale was developed to measure the two dimensions of adoption of the eCRM system: the testability and the observability of the e-CRM system. Since this study was conducted in Tunisia, the generalizability of the CRM scale has to be tested in other countries. In addition, cross-sectional data were used in this study. Future studies should have applied to identify the relationship between CRM and business performance. The findings validate the observability and, the testability encourage the adoption of e CRM system.


The estimation of treatment effects on medical costs is complicated by the need to account for informative censoring, skewness, and the effects of confounders. Because medical costs are often collected from observational claims data, we investigate propensity score (PS) methods such as covariate adjustment, stratification, and inverse probability weighting taking into account informative censoring of the cost outcome. We compare these more commonly used methods with doubly robust (DR) estimation. We then use a machine learning approach called super learner (SL) to choose among conventional cost models to estimate regression parameters in the DR approach and to choose among various model specifications for PS estimation. Our simulation studies show that when the PS model is correctly specified, weighting and DR perform well. When the PS model is misspecified, the combined approach of DR with SL can still provide unbiased estimates. SL is especially useful when the underlying cost distribution comes from a mixture of different distributions or when the true PS model is unknown. We apply these approaches to a cost analysis of two bladder cancer treatments, cystectomy versus bladder preservation therapy, using SEER‐Medicare data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Two cases of long-term (twenty and sixteen years) follow-up of medically treated infants with infantile lobar emphysema are reported. Both patients were initially symptomatic and had typical clinical and radiological presentation, but the chest film eventually returned to normal. The possibility of conservative management in selected cases is emphasized. INDEXTERMS: Emphysema, pulmonary. Infants, respiratory tract


The composition of feedstock for biogas plants has changed during recent years. There has been an increase in the share of energy crops and residue from agriculture. As a consequence the contents of digesters are less fluid and hence, the effort for mixing has increased. Applying enzymes seems to be a promising way of improving fluidity. In this study the effects of enzyme application were investigated for a set of materials – grass silage, feed residue, maize silage, and rough-ground rye as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. After enzyme application these materials were mixed with cattle slurry and the probable effect was assessed with three different apparatus – fluidmeter, rotation rheometer, and torquemeter. The instruments proved applicable, in general, whereas grass silage could only be measured with the torquemeter. Fluidity of untreated material increased in the following row: grass silage


In this paper, we report on the practical application of a novel approach for validating the knowledge of WordNet using Adimen-SUMO. In particular, this paper focuses on cross-checking the WordNet meronymy relations against the knowledge encoded in Adimen-SUMO. Our validation approach tests a large set of competency questions (CQs), which are derived (semi)-automatically from the knowledge encoded in WordNet, SUMO and their mapping, by applying efficient first-order logic automated theorem provers. Unfortunately, despite of being created manually, these knowledge resources are not free of errors and discrepancies. In consequence, some of the resulting CQs are not plausible according to the knowledge included in Adimen-SUMO. Thus, first we focus on (semi)-automatically improving the alignment between these knowledge resources, and second, we perform a minimal set of corrections in the ontology. Our aim is to minimize the manual effort required for an extensive validation process. We report on the strategies followed, the changes made, the effort needed and its impact when validating the WordNet meronymy relations using improved versions of the mapping and the ontology. Based on the new results, we discuss the implications of the appropriate corrections and the need of future enhancements.


Background: Salmonella typhi causes typhoid illness. In India, it is a huge public health issue. Several impoverished nations have endemic typhoid fever. The wide range of clinical symptoms of typhoid fever makes diagnosis difficult. The purpose of this study was to better understand the vast range of clinical symptoms, comorbidities, and drug sensitivity patterns associated with typhoid fever in children.
Methods: From March 2021 to October 2022, 100 children hospitalised to the paediatric unit at Al-Ameen Medical College and Hospital in Bijapur with proven typhoid fever were included in the study. Age, gender, presenting complaint, laboratory tests, and antibiotic sensitivity pattern are all gathered and analysed in each patient.
Results: There were 58 men (58%) and 42 females (42%) among the 100 cases. The most typical age range was 5 to 15 years. Fever was the most prevalent symptom, occurring in 100% of patients, headache (80%), coated tongue (100%), vomiting (45%), and abdominal pain (70%). In 68% of cases, the most prevalent indication was a toxic look, and hepatomegaly in 44%. In 28% of instances, leukocytopenia was discovered. In every case, the blood culture proved positive. The length of hospital stay ranged from 3 to 10 days. There was no recorded death.
Conclusions: Unhygienic habits and consuming meals from the outside are the main causes of typhoid fever. By raising people's understanding of disease transmission and its many preventative methods, this serious public health issue can be resolved.


The magnitude of the low energy component of the photon energy spectrum inside a J. L. Shepherd Model 81-22 Co-60 irradiator has been experimentally determined. Thermoluminescent dosimeters and a specialized ionization chamber were used to verify the usefulness of a lead (0.06") and aluminum (0.03") filter box to harden the Co-60 photon energy spectrum. The area of uniform dose as a function of distance from the Co-60 source inside the irradiator also has been determined. The results suggest two recommendations for use of the irradiator: the Pb/Al box should be used for all irradiated samples where low energy radiation can be a factor, and samples should be placed as close to the source as possible, while maintaining a uniform dose rate over the entire sample area.


We study the delay characteristics of fair queueing algorithms with a stochastic comparison approach. In integrated services networks, fair queueing (FQ) policies have received much attention, because they can guarantee an end-to-end session delay bound when the burstiness of the session traffic is bounded, and they ensure the fair allocation of the bandwidth. A large class of FQ policies attempt to emulate generalized processor sharing (GPS) policy by assigning timestamps to cells. These GPS related policies have quite complex dynamic, and their exact analytical analysis is not tractable. The delay characteristics of these algorithms are evaluated by considering the worst-case, when sources have a bounded burstiness. In fact, these are deterministic delay bounds which do not always provide an insight on the underlying policies. For instance, in the case of leaky bucket constrained traffic, these bounds correspond to the case when all sessions are greedy (each session must empty the token pool in the minimum time after becoming active). We propose a methodology to analyze delay characteristics of a class of GPS-related FQ policies with general source models by providing stochastic bounds on their delay distribution. These stochastic bounds are obtained by analyzing two modified weighted round robin (WRR) policies. Clearly, since cells are scheduled periodically according to a predefined list under WRR-related policies, their models are simpler than the models of GPS-related policies.


Common themes in ideas about rearing infants and young children in the United States can be traced from the nation's beginnings to the present day. These themes include a strong concern about child rearing; a belief that human beings are perfectible through better child rearing; an eagerness by parents to listen to the advice of 'experts'; a belief that infants and young children should be educated in schools or day-care centers by experts, competing with the belief that infants belong at home with their mothers; a commitment to social reform, competing with the conviction that families should be autonomous. These themes provide a background for contemporary research, political controversy, and future discussion concerning how children should be reared. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


I review the black hole uniqueness theorem and the no hair theorems established for physical black hole stationary states by the early 80'. This review presents the original and decisive work of Carter, Robinson, Mazur and Bunting on the problem of no bifurcation and uniqueness of physical black holes. Its original version was written only few years after my proof of the Kerr-Newman et al. black hole uniqueness theorem has appeared in print. The proof of the black hole uniqueness theorem relies heavily on the positivity properties of nonlinear sigma models on the Riemannian noncompact symmetric spaces with negative sectional curvature. It is hoped that the first hand description of the original developments leading to our current understanding of the black hole uniqueness will be found useful to all interested in the subject.


Cooling antihydrogen atoms is important for future experiments both to test the fundamental CPT symmetry by high‐resolution laser spectroscopy and also to measure the gravitational acceleration of antimatter. Laser‐cooling of antihydrogen can be done on the strong 1 S–2 P transition at the wavelength of Lyman‐alpha (121.6 nm). Ongoing work to set up a solid‐state continuous‐wave laser source at Lyman‐alpha is described.


Just as its parent profession has grappled with identity problems, social work research has struggled to assert its legitimacy. A convincing case has not yet been made to enable it to claim authoritative status in its own right. Alternative trends can be identified as social work research has sought a niche. On one hand, it has been defined in pragmatic terms according to formal occupational definitions and the conventional terrain of social work practice. Here the focus has been on developing evidence about practice, but perhaps not so much 'with' or 'for' practice. On the other hand, strong arguments have been made for a 'committed' paradigm, drawing validation from its identification with minority and service user interests. It is possible to make a case for social work research as a discrete and authoritative project, on the basis of its essential values, but how far does this get us in asserting its academic merits and quality, such as when submitting knowledge claims to critical scrutiny. This study suggests that social work research can indeed claim to be distinctive and authoritative. It may not hold its key characteristics uniquely, but in combination they offer a distinctive sense of identity and purpose.


I consider a topological transition resulting in an abrupt change by π of the geometric (Berry's) phase occurring in an optical modulator based on a fiber ring resonator. The topological transition, induced by modifying the birefringence along the ring, manifests itself in a narrow resonance in the transmission of the optical modulator. Contrary to the adiabatic case, the condition of critical coupling is not essential to obtain deep modulation of the transmission. Moreover, broadening of the resonance due to the finite linewidth of the optical input is also discussed.


Computational complexity theory contains a corpus of theorems and conjectures regarding the time a Turing machine will need to solve certain types of problems as a function of the input size. Nature need not be a Turing machine and, thus, these theorems do not apply directly to it. But classical simulations of physical processes are programs running on Turing machines and, as such, are subject to them. In this work, computational complexity theory is applied to classical simulations of systems performing an adiabatic quantum computation (AQC), based on an annealed extension of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG). We conjecture that the computational time required for those classical simulations is controlled solely by the maximal entanglement found during the process. Thus, lower bounds on the growth of entanglement with the system size can be provided. In some cases, quantum phase transitions can be predicted to take place in certain inhomogeneous systems. Concretely, physical conclusions are drawn from the assumption that the complexity classes P and NP differ. As a by-product, an alternative measure of entanglement is proposed which, via Chebyshev's inequality, allows us to establish strict bounds on the required computational time.


A computer system designed to support operating system facilities is formally specified. With the proposed technology, an operating system in the conventional sense of the word becomes superfluous. Instead, the facilities supported by e.g. a general-purpose operating system may be implemented as applications of the proposed computer system. This is made possible by the ability of the proposed system to support data abstraction rather than procedural abstraction as supported by conventional systems. The design is revolutionary in the integration of "processing" and "filing", as supported by the conventional systems "process" and "file" concepts. This is achieved by supporting a single system object, the "domain", which is an extension of the domain concept known in a number of systems. The capability concept will enable domains to reference each other in a network-like structure.A rationale for the use of data abstraction in operating systems can be found in [Madsen 79b].


How do readers create representations of fictional worlds from texts? We hypothesize that readers use the real world as a starting point and investigate how much and which types of real-world information is imported into a given fictional world. We presented subjects ( N =52) with three stories and asked them to judge whether real world facts held true in the story world. Subjects' responses indicated that they imported many facts into fiction, though what exactly is imported depends on two main variables: (1) the distance that a narrative world lies from reality and (2) the types of fact being imported. Facts that are true of the real world are more likely to be imported into worlds that are more similar to the real world, and facts that are more central to the representation of the real world are more likely to be imported overall. These results indicate that subjects make nuanced inferences when creating fictional worlds, basing their representations both on how different a story world is from the real world and on what they know to be causally central to the real world.


Introduction Treatment of deep-seated, previously-bled brain AVM unsuitable for microsurgery and radiosurgery remains a challenge. At the same time, the risk of rebleeding in such lesions is 32.9%–47.7% according to literature. Transvenous approach could be usable for embolization of the AVMs and can increase the chances of complete obliteration. The aim of the study was to compare the rates of complete obliteration and complications in the series of transvenous (TVA) and transarterial (TAA) approaches of the patients with deep hemorrhagic brain AVMs Spetzler-Martin (SM) III-IV. Materials and methods 58 patients with deep hemorrhagic brain AVMs SM III-IV were treated in the single center between 2011 and 2017. 44 patients were completely treated, ranging in age from 7 to 68 (mean, 31.3). All patients had the first-time embolization. According to mRS before the treatment 32 patients (55.1%) had '0', 16 (27.6%) – '1', 4 (6.9%) – '2', 3 (5.2%) – '3' and 3 (5.2%) – '4'. Two groups of patients were assigned retrospectively into 2 groups. In the first group – 17 (38.6%) TVA, and in the second group TAA – 27 (61.4%) was conducted. Comparison of the groups was carried out using χ-square method. Results and discussion The complete occlusion was achieved in 94.1% for transvenous approach; a small residual nidus was left in one case. This patient was successfully treated using radiosurgery following to embolization. In the this group, patients got 7 complications (2 ischemic and 5 hemorrhagic). One patient had increase in mRS score at discharge. The total mortality in this group reached 17.7% (3 patients). The complete obliteration of TAA was achieved in 55.6%. For the rest of patients, further embolization is impossible. In this group of patients 11 procedure-related complications occurred (5 ischemic and 6 hemorrhagic), which included morbidity of 3.7% and mortality of 14.8%. Statistically significant difference was identified using χ-square method in the complete obliteration (p<0.01), however, it is not reliable in case of mortality (p=0.736) and complication rates (p=0.775). Conclusion The results showed that transvenous approach is reliable, effective and safe technique for treatment of patients with SM high-grade brain AVMs in selected cases, which establishes additional option for neurosurgeons. Further investigation of TVA allows to widen area of its application and to create more precise protocols for endovascular management of brain AVMs. Disclosures M. Demyanovskaya: None. N. Strelnikov: None. A. Moskalev: None. K. Orlov: None.


Exemplifying the tsunami source immediately after an earthquake is the most critical component of tsunami early warning, as not every earthquake generates a tsunami. After a major under sea earthquake, it is very important to determine whether or not it has actually triggered the deadly wave. The near real-time observations from near field networks such as strong motion and Global Positioning System (GPS) allows rapid determination of fault geometry. Here we present a complete processing chain of Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS), starting from acquisition of geodetic raw data, processing, inversion and simulating the situation as it would be at warning center during any major earthquake. We determine the earthquake moment magnitude and generate the centroid moment tensor solution using a novel approach which are the key elements for tsunami early warning. Though the well established seismic monitoring network, numerical modeling and dissemination system are currently capable to provide tsunami warnings to most of the countries in and around the Indian Ocean, the study highlights the critical role of geodetic observations in determination of tsunami source for high-quality forecasting.


In distributed system development security is a major design criteria. Security and more specific access-control can be seen as an aspect in terms of Aspectoriented Programming. We present a Model Driven Development (MDD) approach to the development of access control aspects which permits their generation from UML models. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, we present the integration of access control requirements into the software development process. Second, we introduce an access control specification language for distributed systems that is capable to express the access control aspect of a system. Third, we define an interceptor-based approach for the integration of aspects into the application logic during runtime instead of code weaving. Applying our technique to the design process of a distributed system allows to generate the access control aspects of the system in an specification language that subsequently can be enforced by an interceptor enabled platform.


Bloodstream infections induce considerable morbidity, high mortality, and represent a significant burden of cost in health care; however, our understanding of the immune response to bacteremia is incomplete. Langerin+ CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs), residing in the marginal zone of the murine spleen, have the capacity to cross-prime CD8+ T cells and produce IL-12, both of which are important components of antimicrobial immunity. Accordingly, we hypothesized that this DC subset may be a key promoter of adaptive immune responses to blood-borne bacterial infections. Utilizing mice that express the diphtheria toxin receptor under control of the langerin promoter, we investigated the impact of depleting langerin+ CD8α+ DCs in a murine model of intravenous infection with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guerin (BCG). In the absence of langerin+ CD8α+ DCs, the immune response to blood-borne BCG infection was diminished: bacterial numbers in the spleen increased, serum IL-12p40 decreased, and delayed CD8+ T cell activation, proliferation, and IFN-γ production was evident. Our data revealed that langerin+ CD8α+ DCs play a pivotal role in initiating CD8+ T cell responses and IL-12 production in response to bacteremia and may influence the early control of systemic bacterial infections.


Recent developments in the use of capillary electrophoretic techniques for the in‐line study of enzyme reactions and derivatization protocols are reviewed. The article is divided into two parts: (i) in‐line enzyme reactions and (ii) in‐line derivatization. The first part introduces electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) and discusses and illustrates the different modes of EMMA. A literature overview is provided, starting from 1996, and the investigated enzymes are classified into two tables based on the mode of engagement (i.e., continuous or transient) of the developed EMMA‐based assay. The second part starts with an introduction of the procedures and the nomenclature used in the area of in‐line derivatization protocols based on EMMA. Reported derivatization procedures are discussed and classified in tables, according to the functional group that is derivatized.


We investigated the effect of Jianpi Bushen prescription (JBP) on the expression of the SHP-1 and apoptosis-related genes in chemically damaged model mice and a compound e-jiao slurry (EJS) group (positive control). Kunming mice received an abdominal injection of 100 mg/kg cyclophosphamide once a day for 3 consecutive days to induce chemical damage. The mice underwent lavage at a suspension of 0.1 g/kg low-dose JBP (100%), high-dose JBP (200%), and 0.2 mL/10 g EJS twice a day for 9 days. mRNA and protein expression of SHP-1 in bone marrow mononuclear cells was detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot; mRNA expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) protein was detected by in situ hybridization. Expression of SHP-1 and Bax mRNA was significantly upregulated in the model group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Expression in the low-dose JBP, high-dose JBP, and EJS groups was significantly downregulated compared with the model group (P < 0.05). The low-dose JBP group exhibited much lower SHP-1 and Bax mRNA expression levels. Compared with controls, Bcl-2 mRNA expression was significantly reduced in the model group (P < 0.05). Expression in the low-dose JBP, high-dose JBP, and EJS groups significantly increased compared with the model group (P < 0.05). The low-dose JBP group showed much higher Bcl-2 mRNA expression. Therefore, JBP regulates the expression of the SHP- 1, Bax, and Bcl-2 genes in chemically damaged mice.


Paragonimus heterotremus is a medically important lung fluke that causes human and animal paragonimiasis in Southeast Asia, including Thailand. In the current study, a real-time fluorescence resonance energy transfer polymerase chain reaction (real-time FRET PCR) with melting curve analysis was developed and evaluated to detect P. heterotremus eggs in the feces of experimentally infected cats. The detection limit of this method for the P. heterotremus DNA sequence was 3 × 102 copies of the positive control plasmid and 10−3 ng of P. heterotremus genomic DNA. The assay system could detect 10 eggs of P. heterotremus per gram of cat feces. No fluorescence signal was observed when DNA purified from 16 other organisms or genomic DNA from cats and human beings were tested. Real-time FRET PCR yielded positive results for all fecal samples from 17 P. heterotremus–infected cats and showed a negative relationship (r = −0.852, P < 0.001) between the number of parasite eggs in feces and the number of PCR cycles. The assay could detect genomic DNA from P. heterotremus, P. westermani, P. macrorchis, P. siamensis, P. harinasutai, and P. bangkokensis and can differentiate P. heterotremus from the other 5 species. The 6 Paragonimus species examined were divided into 4 groups by melting peak analysis. This assay can be useful for the detection of, and epidemiological studies on, P. heterotremus infection in endemic areas.


ABSTRACT Geographic variation in mating signals is of interest to evolutionary biologists because the consequences of spatial divergence may lead to behavioral discrimination, assortative mating, and speciation. Birdsong is a mating signal of songbirds, and geographic variation in the form of small-scale dialects or large-scale regiolects has been documented in many species. We studied macrogeographic variation in song of the MacGillivray's Warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) to determine the pattern of song variation in this species. Hypotheses used to explain the evolution of song divergence were also examined. We found extensive individual variation in the cultural units and physical parameters of song that overwhelmed differences among populations. We did not find dialects in the breeding range but did find a pattern of clinal variation with song differences increasing with increasing geographic distances among populations. Hypotheses that explain patterns of song divergence in other species did not apply to MacGillivray's Warblers. Selection for novel songs that facilitates individual recognition may be important in this species that breeds in extremely dense vegetation. Extensive individual variation among male tutors within and among populations may also inhibit dialect formation and perpetuate song diversity in future generations.


1-Substituted piperazinecarbodithioates were obtained by an unusual removal of CS2 in benzyl substituted dithiocarbamate derivatives under acid and basic conditions during design and synthesis of 1,4-(disubstituted)piperazinedicarbodithioates as double edged spermicides. A plausible mechanism for CS2 removal has been proposed. All synthesized compounds were subjected to spermicidal, antitrichomonal and antifungal activities. Twenty-one compounds irreversibly immobilized 100% sperm (MEC, 0.06-31.6 mM) while seven compounds exhibited multiple activities. Benzyl 4-(2-(piperidin-1-yl)ethyl) piperazine-1-(carbodithioate) (18) and 1-benzyl 4-(2-(piperidin-1-yl)ethyl)piperazine-1,4-bis(carbodithioate) (24) exhibited appreciable spermicidal (MEC, 0.07 and 0.06 mM), antifungal (MIC, 0.069-0.14 and >0.11 mM) and antitrichomonal (MIC, 1.38 and 0.14 mM) activities. The probable mode of action of these compounds seems to be through sulfhydryl binding which was confirmed by fluorescence labeling of sperm thiols.


Dirac cones in the band structure make a great contribution to the unique electronic properties of graphene. But the spin-degeneracy of Dirac cones limits the application of graphene in spintronics. Here, using first-principles calculations, we propose a two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (MOF), Ni2C24S6H12, with spin-polarized Dirac cones at the six corners of the Brillouin zone (BZ). Ferromagnetism is quite stable with a high Curie temperature (630 K) as revealed by Monte Carlo simulation within the Ising model. Taking spin-orbit coupling into account, band gaps are opened up at the Dirac point (5.9 meV) and Γ point (10.4 meV) in the BZ, making Ni2C24S6H12 a Chern topological insulator which is implemented for achieving the quantum anomalous Hall effect. These interesting properties enable Ni2C24S6H12 to be a promising candidate material for spintronics device applications.


Plasma current induced by a strong dc electric field is studied by Fokker-Planck (FP) simulation. Based upon this, a hydrodynamic-like equation, similar to Spitzer's but without the weak-field limit, is given for calculating the current. This equation is suitable for application in hybrid-PIC simulations relevant to the fast ignition (FI) scheme. Furthermore inverse bremsstrahlung (IB) absorption is studied in a wide laser intensity range. In particular, we introduce an IB operator which is similar to Langdon's, but without the low laser intensity limit. This operator enables one to treat IB absorption properly in the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) schemes with the NIF/LMJ-scale laser intensity beyond 1015 W/cm2.


The radiation effects on three new cation exchange resins were investigated. The resins were Dowex MSC-1, Amberlite 252, and Duolite C-264. The properties examined were ion exchange capacity, moisture content, plutonium loading and elution characteristics, thermal stability, and gas generation. There were some differences in the radiation effects on these properties but the overall radiation stability was considered to be about the same. The resins were relatively radiation stable, indicative of cation resins of this type.


The first irreducible solution of the $\SU (2)$ self-duality equations on the Euclidean Schwarzschild (ES) manifold was found by Charap and Duff in 1977, only 2 years later than the famous BPST instantons on $\rl^4$ were discovered. While soon after, in 1978, the ADHM construction gave a complete description of the moduli spaces of instantons on $\rl^4$, the case of the Euclidean Schwarzschild manifold has resisted many efforts for the past 40 years.
By exploring a correspondence between the planar Abelian vortices and spherically symmetric instantons on ES, we obtain: a complete description of a connected component of the moduli space of unit energy $\SU (2)$ instantons; new examples of instantons with non-integer energy (and non-trivial holonomy at infinity); a complete classification of finite energy, spherically symmetric, $\SU (2)$ instantons.
As opposed to the previously known solutions, the generic instanton coming from our construction is not invariant under the full isometry group, in particular not static. Hence disproving a conjecture of Tekin.


Abstract : The development of social media into today's style of life. The decline in the child's desire to follow communities a result of the use of social media affect the formation of character in children. Character education is a very good effort from all of people who develop education. Science briefing will children with good character is the responsibility of all of people involved in education for the future of dignity. Teachers is an asset in the world of education should have good prospects in education which is not a crisis of character. Organization is a place for prospective teachers to build character. This study aims to describe the role of student organization of study program in developing the leadership character of prospective educators of Chemistry Christian University of Indonesia. The focus in this research is the role of organization of student set of study program in shaping the leadership character of prospective educator. In this research, qualitative approach and case study research design is used to collect data by technique (1) in-depth interview, (2) nonparticipant observation, (3) documentation study. Data analysis techniques use data reduction, data presentation, verification or conclusion. The result of this research is the role of organization of student set of study program in shaping the leadership character of prospective educator by giving courage, integrity, good sense of humor and maturity which is 96.5%, 93,75%, 93,75% and 91, 25% on prospective educators. So, the students are expected to join the organization of student group of study program is effort done in shaping the leadership character of prospective educator of Chemistry Christian University of Indonesia. Keywords: character, chemistry, educators


Energy awareness is the first step to achieve energy sustainability. Without energy awareness, effort in energy conservation can be difficult and leading to energy wastage. This paper intends to introduce the Conceptual Model of Energy Awareness Development Process (CMEADP) as a guide for facilities and energy managers to raise energy awareness and improve energy-use behaviour among the building's users in Malaysian university. The CMEADP consisted of two segments: receiver dominated segment that represents the energy awareness achievement process and transferor dominated segment that represents the energy awareness development process. Each of the segments consist a sequence of core processes. This paper focus on the transferor dominated segment which play an essential role in creating energy awareness and lead to energy saving.


Design, simulation and experimental implementation of a wavelet basis function network learning controller for linear brushless dc motors (LBDCM) are considered. Stability robustness with position tracking is the primary concern. The proposed controller deals mainly with external disturbances, e.g. nonlinear friction force and payload variation in motion control of linear motors. It consists of two parts, one is a state feedback component, and the other one is a learning feedback component. The state feedback controller is designed on the basis of a simple linear model, and the learning feedback component is a wavelet neural controller. The attenuation effect of wavelet neural networks on friction force is first verified by the numerical method. The learning effect of wavelet neural networks on friction force is also shown in the numerical results. Then, a wavelet neural network is applied on a real LBDCM to on-line suppress the friction force, which may be variable due to the different lubrication. The effectiveness of the proposed control schemes is demonstrated by simulated and experimental results.


Abstract This paper presents a review of state-of-the-art security frameworks for IoT applications. It aims to find out what alternatives have been proposed to guide IoT application developers in the implementation of security measures through all development phases. In this literature review, we identified 21 security frameworks, and we analyzed them from IoT application domains addressed and IoT elements protected. We find four application domains: generic, smart cities, smart car/VANET, and smart infrastructures. Concerning elements protected, we analyzed the frameworks through protected application resources and we also consider security properties in this paper. Our two principal findings are: (i) Even though there are a wide variety of security frameworks, we did not find a proposal that addresses all the layers of an IoT application (device, network, service and application) and all development phases (analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance), (ii) Addressing security from the design phase allows IoT developers to have a broader perspective of the system, avoiding massive changes to be made in later stages, saving costs and time. This gap and concerns enable various research on security by design and secure development to be carried out, and proposed frameworks to address the identified problems.


Abstract Background Older patients have a less pronounced immune response to infection, which may also influence infection biomarkers. There is currently insufficient data regarding clinical effects of procalcitonin (PCT) to guide antibiotic treatment in older patients. Objective and design We performed an individual patient data meta-analysis to investigate the association of age on effects of PCT-guided antibiotic stewardship regarding antibiotic use and outcome. Subjects and methods We had access to 9,421 individual infection patients from 28 randomized controlled trials comparing PCT-guided antibiotic therapy (intervention group) or standard care. We stratified patients according to age in four groups (<75 years [n = 7,079], 75–80 years [n = 1,034], 81–85 years [n = 803] and >85 years [n = 505]). The primary endpoint was the duration of antibiotic treatment and the secondary endpoints were 30-day mortality and length of stay. Results Compared to control patients, mean duration of antibiotic therapy in PCT-guided patients was significantly reduced by 24, 22, 26 and 24% in the four age groups corresponding to adjusted differences in antibiotic days of −1.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] −2.36 to −1.62), −1.98 (95% CI −2.94 to −1.02), −2.20 (95% CI −3.15 to −1.25) and − 2.10 (95% CI −3.29 to −0.91) with no differences among age groups. There was no increase in the risk for mortality in any of the age groups. Effects were similar in subgroups by infection type, blood culture result and clinical setting (P interaction >0.05). Conclusions This large individual patient data meta-analysis confirms that, similar to younger patients, PCT-guided antibiotic treatment in older patients is associated with significantly reduced antibiotic exposures and no increase in mortality.


This paper describes algorithms and techniques for the computer-aided design and analysis of optoelectronic circuits for microwave applications. Linear and non-linear analysis methods for hierarchically structured multiport microwave circuits with arbitrary topology have been extended to include optoelectronic device models. Ideal control sources are often used in modelling optoelectronic and optical components, and sometimes introduce problems to nodal analysis and harmonic balance methods. The paper will show how these difficulties can be overcome and how lightwave/microwave circuits can be efficiently analyzed. As an example, a novel lightwave/microwave transceiver module has been analyzed and optimized for large-signal operation at microwave frequencies.


Market mechanisms are a means by which resources in contention can be allocated between contending parties, both in human economies and those populated by software agents. Designing such mechanisms has traditionally been carried out by hand, and more recently by automation. Assessing these mechanisms typically involves them being evaluated with respect to multiple conflicting objectives, which can often be nonlinear, noisy, and expensive to compute. For typical performance objectives, it is known that designed mechanisms often fall short on being optimal across all objectives simultaneously. However, in all previous automated approaches, either only a single objective is considered, or else the multiple performance objectives are combined into a single objective. In this paper we do not aggregate objectives, instead considering a direct, novel application of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) to the problem of automated mechanism design. This allows the automatic discovery of trade-offs that such objectives impose on mechanisms. We pose the problem of mechanism design, specifically for the class of linear redistribution mechanisms, as a naturally existing multi-objective optimisation problem. We apply a modified version of NSGA-II in order to design mechanisms within this class, given economically relevant objectives such as welfare and fairness. This application of NSGA-II exposes tradeoffs between objectives, revealing relationships between them that were otherwise unknown for this mechanism class. The understanding of the trade-off gained from the application of MOEAs can thus help practitioners with an insightful application of discovered mechanisms in their respective real/artificial markets.


Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the assumptions underlying efforts to evaluate principal effectiveness in terms of student test scores, to review extant research on efforts to estimate principal effectiveness, and to discuss the appropriateness of including estimates of principal effectiveness in evaluations of principals. Method: We review 10 different strategies for estimating principal effectiveness based on student test scores, representing all of the strategies currently employed by states and districts. We base our reviews on the literature in three areas: use of test scores, evaluation, and statistical approaches to estimating the effects of individuals and schools on student test scores. Conclusions: We conclude there are currently no strategies to estimate principal effectiveness that accurately capture the independent effect of principals on student test scores; thus, these current strategies send inaccurate signals to both principals and those who make employment decisions about principals. Moreover, we also conclude a substantial proportion of principals could not be included in the most accurate strategies to assess principal effectiveness. Implications: This research has profound implications for states and districts implementing principal evaluation systems, particularly those making high-stakes decisions about principals based on statistical estimates of principal effectiveness. Indeed, such statistical estimates should be used not for making judgments or decisions about principals but rather as a screening tool to identify where states and districts should focus more in-depth and accurate strategies to evaluate principal effectiveness.


Capsicum chinense Jacq. obtained the designation of origin in 2010 due to the unique organoleptic properties given by the characteristics of soils in the Peninsula of Yucatan. So, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of soil composition on the profile and concentration of polyphenols, antioxidant activity, and its relationship with the degree of maturity in habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.). Pepper plants were grown in three soils named according to the Maya classification as: K'ankab lu'um (red soil); Box lu'um (black soil); and Chich lu'um (brown soil). The crops were cultivated in four different dates. The peppers were analyzed for antioxidant activity, profile and content of polyphenols. The results indicated that peppers grown in black soil had the highest concentration of total polyphenols (122.78 ± 12.60 mg of gallic acid 100 g−1), catechin (61.64 ± 7.55 mg 100 g−1) and antioxidant activity by DPPH (86.51 ± 0.82%). Physicochemical characterization indicated that black soil has the highest concentration of organic matter (10.93 ± 0.23%), nitrogen (52.01 ± 7.05 mg kg−1), manganese (5.24 ± 0.45 mg kg−1) and electric conductivity (2.32 ± 0.16 d Sm−1) compared to the other soils evaluated. These results demonstrate that the physicochemical composition of soils could be related to the biosynthesis of polyphenols in the habanero pepper.


This paper proposes a novel split-boss design of piezoresistive pressure sensor for low pressure range (0-1.1bar). This design improves both sensitivity and non-linearity of the pressure sensor. The square diaphragm of pressure sensor is proposed to be fabricated by wet bulk micromachining using TMAH, undercutting the structure with an angle of 54.740. Corner compensation structures are proposed to be used for avoiding convex undercutting. The size of diaphragm is optimized to have high sensitivity and then a boss is added to improve the linearity. Further a split is introduced in the boss to improve the performance. Conventional design, bossed design and novel design are simulated in COMSOL® and the sensitivity and non-linearity are compared. The novel split-boss design proposed is found to be improving both non-linearity and sensitivity and thus enhancing the performance of pressure sensor. Keywords— Piezoresistive pressure sensor, bossed diaphragm, TMAH, COMSOL®.


Functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea (FHA) is associated with functional inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Causes of FHA can be classified into the three groups: 1) stress-related factors, 2) consequences of weight loss and/or underweight, and 3) consequences of physical exercise or practicing sports. Diagnosis of FHA should be based on a history of menstrual disorders. During physical examination, patients with FHA present with secondary and tertiary sex characteristics specific for the pubertal stage preceding development of the condition and with the signs of hypoestrogenism. Laboratory results determine further management of patients with amenorrhea, and thus their correct interpretation is vital for making appropriate therapeutic decisions. Treatment of chronic anovulation, menstrual disorders, and secondary amenorrhea resulting from hypothalamic disorders should be aimed at the elimination of the primary cause, i.e. a decrease in psycho-emotional strain, avoidance of chronic stressors, reduction of physical exercise level, or optimisation of BMI in patients who lose weight. If menses do not resume after a period of six months or primary causative treatment is not possible, neutralisation of hypoestrogenism consequences, especially unfavourable effects on bone metabolism, become the main issue. Previous studies have shown that oestroprogestagen therapy is useful in both the treatment of menstrual disorders and normalisation of bone mineral density. Hormonal preparations should be introduced into therapeutic protocol on an individualised basis.


The study was aimed at the screening of human chromosomal DNA for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) at the human thyroglobulin (hTg) gene locus. The RFLP screening was performed in a typical way. As hybridization probes were used 5 Pst I fragments of hTg cDNA of the total length 5.1 kb pairs cloned in pBR 322. One not described polymorphism was found by using the probe hTg 10, (nucleotides from position 4830 to 5810 in the 3' flanking region of hTg). Restriction enzyme Msp I identified a single two allele polymorphism: A1: 3.5 kb and A2: 2.5 kb. Of 32 unrelated healthy individuals two were homozygous for 3.5 kb, one was homozygous 2.5 kb and 29 were heterozygous for both 3.5 kb. and 2.5 kb. Thus, the frequencies of the 3.5 and 2.5 kb Msp I alleles were 0.52 and 0.48 respectively.


1 The effects of pH on the different kinds of currents occurring at the lepidopteran amino acid cotransporter KAAT1 have been examined using heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes and voltage clamp. 2 Acidic pH (5.5‐4.5) caused a slight depression of the uncoupled current and a complete inhibition of the coupled and transient currents, in the presence of either Na+ or K+, the two ions physiologically relevant to the transport process. 3 Conversely, at alkaline pH (9) no statistically significant effects could be observed on uncoupled, coupled and transient currents compared to the effects at pH 7.6. 4 These effects of pH indicate that operation of the transporter is maximal in the physiologically alkaline native environment. 5 The dose‐response curves for the inhibition of coupled and transient currents were similar, with respective pKa values of 6.29 ± 0.05 and 6.40 ± 0.03 and respective Hill coefficient values (nH) of 0.93 ± 0.07 and 1.08 ± 0.08, suggesting that the two effects can be explained by a single proton binding to the same site in the transporter.


We present two novel algorithms for multimodal, dense matching of two images using a variational approach. These algorithms complete and generalise our previous work by treating the case of semi-local energy functionals (G. Hermosillo et al., 2001). In brief, they are derived from the maximization of two statistical criteria (mutual information and correlation ratio) estimated from corresponding regions around each pixel (or voxel in the 3D case). As a second contribution, we present a result of existence and uniqueness of the solution of the abstract evolution problems associated to these algorithms, as well as those of the corresponding global algorithms. This is important since it shows the well-posedness of the problems to solve. We finish by showing some applications of our methods to one synthetic and four real examples.


Introduction Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is the commonest complication of cirrhosis but its development is not invariable; thus approximately 20% of individuals remain free of neuropsychiatric complications and patients with minimal HE do not invariably develop overt HE. It is possible that genetic factors, most likely resulting in deregulation of ammonia metabolism, might determine an individual's susceptibility to develop this complication. In 2010, Romero-Gomez and colleagues,1 identified a functional microsatellite consisting of GCA repeats near the promoter region of the glutaminase gene, GLS1, and proposed that patients with cirrhosis who were homozygous for the long microsatellite allele were more likely to develop overt HE. The aim of this study was to further investigate the association between GLS1 promoter microsatellite variants and HE. Methods The study population comprised 110 patients with cirrhosis, of British/Irish ancestry, in whom neuropsychiatic status had remained stable during monitoring for a minimum of 5 years, except in those treated for overt HE. Patients were classified using clinical, neurophysiological and neuropsychometric variables as: unimpaired (51; 46%) or as having minimal (24; 22%) or overt (35; 32%) HE. The control population comprised 325 ancestrally-matched healthy controls. DNA was genotyped using gel electrophoresis and verified by Sanger sequencing. Alleles were stratified as long (≥14 GCA repeats) or short (<14 GCA repeats). Genotype distributions and allele frequencies were compared between groups. Results There were no significant differences in allele frequencies or genotype distributions between cases and controls. The proportion of long-short heterozygotes was significantly higher in the unimpaired patients (62.7%) than in those with either minimal HE (37.5%) or overt HE (37.1%) (p = 0.029; Table).Abstract PWE-033 Table 1 Genotype Controls(n = 325) All Patients(n = 110) Unimpaired(n = 51) Minimal HE(n = 24) Overt HE(n = 35) Intergroupsignificance(p) n (%) Long-long 103 (31.7) 39 (35.5) 15 (29.4) 9 (37.5) 15 (42.9) 0.428 Long-short 163 (50.2) 54 (49.1) 32 (62.7) 9 (37.5) 13 (37.1) 0.029 Short-short 59 (18.2) 17 (15.5) 4 (7.8) 6 (25.0) 7 (20.0) 0.106 Conclusion There was no evidence that the long-long genotype is a risk factor for HE in the present study. However, there was evidence of possible heterozygote advantage resulting in significant protection against the development of this syndrome. More studies are needed to confirm or refute these findings. Reference 1 Romero-Gomez M, et al. Variations in the promoter region of the glutaminase gene and the development of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:281–8. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the relationship between nonunion of humeral shaft fractures and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) exposure in older adults.

METHODS
A cohort of 9,995 patients with humeral shaft fractures was identified using diagnosis and procedure codes from a Medicare database of >500,000 patients. Prescription NSAID as well as prescription opioid use was assessed from pharmacy claims data for 3 30-day periods immediately after the initial fracture. Nonunion was defined by the presence of procedure codes for repair of nonunion 90-365 days after the index fracture. We examined the association between NSAIDs and nonunion using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS
Of the 9,995 humeral shaft fractures, 105 patients developed nonunions (1.1%), and 1,032 (10.3%) were exposed to NSAIDs in the 90 days after fracture. NSAID exposure within the first 90 days was significantly associated with nonunion (relative risk [RR] 3.7, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 2.4-5.6). When indicators for exposure to NSAIDs during each of the 3 30-day windows were placed into the same multivariate model, only the period 61-90 days post-fracture was significantly associated with nonunion (RR 3.9, 95% CI 2.0-6.2). We observed a similar association between opioids and nonunion, with exposure to opioids between 61 and 90 days associated with nonunion (RR 2.7, 95% CI 1.5-5.2), but exposure to opioids during neither of the 2 earlier 30-day periods significantly associated with nonunion.

CONCLUSION
We found that exposure to nonselective NSAIDs or opioids in the period 61-90 days after a humeral shaft fracture was associated with nonunion. Although these associations may be causal, they are more likely to reflect the use of analgesics by patients with painful nonhealing fractures.


MODFLOW 6 is the latest in a line of six "core" versions of MODFLOW released by the U.S. Geological Survey. The MODFLOW 6 architecture supports incorporation of additional hydrologic processes, in addition to groundwater flow, and allows interaction between processes. The architecture supports multiple model instances and multiple types of models within a single simulation, a flexible approach to formulating and solving the equations that represent hydrologic processes, and recent advances in interoperability, which allow MODFLOW to be accessed and controlled by external programs. The present version of MODFLOW 6 consolidates popular capabilities available in MODFLOW variants, such as the unstructured grid support in MODFLOW-USG, the Newton-Raphson formulation in MODFLOW-NWT, and the support for partitioned stress boundaries in MODFLOW-CDSS. The flexible multi-model capability allows users to configure MODFLOW 6 simulations to represent the local-grid refinement (LGR) capabilities available in MODFLOW-LGR, the multi-species transport capabilities in MT3DMS, and the coupled variable-density capabilities available in SEAWAT. This paper provides a new, holistic and integrated overview of simulation capabilities made possible by the MODFLOW 6 architecture, and describes how ongoing and future development can take advantage of the program architecture to integrate new capabilities in a way that is minimally invasive and automatically compatible with the existing MODFLOW 6 code. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Many recent reports suggest that the calpastatin/calpain system plays a role in cellular growth and differentiation. Defects of the calpastatin/calpain system have been linked to cellular dysfunctions, apoptosis, myocardial infarct, and dystrophies. The calpastatin/calpain system has also been implicated in post-mortem tenderization of skeletal muscle through degradation of key myofibrillar and associated proteins, a process of key importance to meat quality. In the present study we investigate the presence and activity of the calpastatin/calpain system in trout muscle samples, collected at 0, 3, 18 and 28 h post-mortem, by immunohistochemistry method. Calpastatin is a specific endogenous enzyme of cytosol, modulating the ubiquitous calpains. Calpastatin was found in samples obtained in vivo and immediately post-mortem, but its concentration declined rapidly in samples obtained 3, 18 and 28 h post-mortem. The ubiquitous m e m-calpains, which are localized on Z line proteins and activated by intracellular Ca2+ increase, showed a rapid decline within 3 h post-mortem. By contrast p94 calpain, which is specific to skeletal muscle, showed a slow decrease post-mortem which was independent of intracellular Ca2+ increase. Our results suggest that the mechanism of activation and activity of the calpastatin/calpain system in trout is similar to that described in mammals.