Introduction: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most frequent gynecological infection in women of reproductive age, thus driving the search for effective and safe treatments.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of the combination nifuratel-nystatin and clindamycinclotrimazole, in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis.

Materials and Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial in 147 single women (18 to 39 years old), non-pregnant and sexually active, with a diagnosis of BV according to the Amsel clinical criteria and the Nugent score; between 2016 and 2018. In a highly complex private clinic in Armenia, Colombia. Women were randomized into two groups: "A" (73 participants: nifuratel (500 mg) - nystatin (100,000 IU) and "B" (74 participants: clindamycin (100 mg) - clotrimazole (200 mg)); both groups were treated with vaginal ovules, "A" for six days and "B" for three days. All participants were followed-up for clinical and microbiological healing at 7 and 30 days, respectively, after completion of treatment, the STATA® 14.0 program was used.

Results: The mean age of women was 28.35±5.79 years. The clinical cure rate with the nifuratelnystatin combination was 93.15%, and that of clindamycin-clotrimazole 97.29%, (p=0.123). The microbiological cure rate with the nifuratel-nystatin combination was 87.67%, and that of clindamycin-clotrimazole 93.24%, (p=0.102). Regarding safety, there were also no significant differences between the two groups (p=0.144); Mild adverse reactions were observed. Recurrence in group "A" was 12.32% compared to 6.75% in group "B" (p>0.05).

Conclusions: In this study, the combinations nifuratel (500 mg) -nystatin (100,000 IU) and clindamycin (100 mg)-clotrimazole (200 mg), reported that both are equally effective and safe options in the treatment of BV. It is necessary to evaluate the effect and safety of other combinations in order to implement timely interventions.

Keywords: Vaginosis; Bacterial; Efficacy; Safety; Nifuratel; Nystatin; Clindamycin; Clotrimazole.


In the Koobi Fora region, east of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya, there occurs a sequence ∼500 m thick of lacustrine, fluvial, and deltaic sediments that contains abundant vertebrate fossils, including hominids, as well as stone tools. Rhyolitic tuffs within the sedimentary sequence have facilitated stratigraphic mapping. Some of the tuffs contain pumice clasts, from which anorthoclase phenocrysts have been separated, providing ideal material for K-Ar and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating. Seven tuffs have been dated, generally yielding concordant ages on multiple samples from each tuff. Results are consistent with the stratigraphic sequence. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age spectra give nearly ideal flat patterns, indicating that the feldspars have remained undisturbed since crystallization and cooling, with no evidence of thermal overprinting. As the pumice clasts are considered to have been deposited very soon after their eruption, the measured ages provide a close approximation to that of deposition of the tuffs. The Moiti Tuff, ∼30 m above the base of the sequence, has a maximum age of 4.10 ± 0.07 Ma. The Toroto Tuff, some 70 m higher in the sequence, is very securely dated at 3.32 ± 0.02 Ma. Stratigraphically higher tuffs and their ages include the Ninikaa Tuff, 3.06 ± 0.03 Ma; the KBS Tuff, 1.88 ± 0.02 Ma; the Malbe Tuff, 1.86 ± 0.02 Ma; the Chari Tuff, 1.39 ± 0.02 Ma, and the Silbo Tuff, 0.74 ± 0.01 Ma, near the top of the sequence. The geochronology and geological data indicate at least three hiatuses in the sequence, each on the order of 0.5 to 0.7 Ma duration. Conventional K-Ar age measurements on basalts from the basin margin suggest that deposition of the Koobi Fora Formation began no earlier than ∼4.3 Ma ago in the early Pliocene. These results provide a well-documented numerical time framework for the sedimentary sequence in the Koobi Fora region and for the hominids and other fossils contained therein. Most of the hominid fossils, including forms assigned to the Homo lineage and a coexisting Australopithecus lineage, occur within sediments deposited in the basin over the interval from ∼2.0 to 1.4 Ma ago in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene.


Members of stigmatized cultural groups may view positive feedback from a dominant group member more negatively than do dominant cultural group members. In this experiment, a White evaluator praised or did not praise either Black or White students for a good academic performance. The students then indicated their perceptions of the evaluator's politeness and performance expectations and their feelings about their performance. Praised Black students rated the evaluator as less polite than did nonpraised Black students, whereas praise did not affect the White students' evaluations of the evaluator's politeness. Black students tended to attribute praise to the evaluator's low expectations, whereas the White students tended to attribute praise to high expectations.The Black students also felt better about their performance than did the White students. The discussion raises additional questions for future research.


Tgs1 is the enzyme that converts m7G RNA caps to the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (TMG) caps characteristic of spliceosomal snRNAs. Fungi grow vegetatively without TMG caps, thereby raising the question of what cellular transactions, if any, are TMG cap-dependent. Here, we report that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Tgs1 methyltransferase activity is essential for meiosis. tgs1Δ cells are specifically defective in splicing PCH2 and SAE3 meiotic pre-mRNAs. The TMG requirement for SAE3 splicing is alleviated by two intron mutations: a UAUUAAC to UACUAAC change that restores a consensus branchpoint and disruption of a stem–loop encompassing the branchpoint. The TMG requirement for PCH2 splicing is alleviated by a CACUAAC to UACUAAC change restoring a consensus branchpoint and by shortening the PCH2 5′ exon. Placing the SAE3 and PCH2 introns within a HIS3 reporter confers Tgs1-dependent histidine prototrophy, signifying that the respective introns are portable determinants of TMG-dependent gene expression. Analysis of in vitro splicing in extracts of TGS1 versus tgs1Δ cells showed that SAE3 intron removal was enfeebled without TMG caps, whereas splicing of ACT1 was unaffected. Our findings illuminate a new mode of tunable splicing, a reliance on TMG caps for an essential developmental RNA transaction, and three genetically distinct meiotic splicing regulons in budding yeast.


This paper addresses the need to conduct theoretical work concerning an economical way of Solid Freeform Fabrication rendering by using selective Area Laser Deposition (SALD). The part in SALD rendering process is formed layer by layer that, in turn, is composed of stripes of material produced in the path of a laser. There are three situations in which such a stripe can be rendered: a) alone, b) with one neighbor on one side, and c) with neighbors on both sides. Residual thermal stresses in the part are expected to be affected by how a stripe is rendered. Furthermore, the residual thermal stress and the mechanical property of the part are also dictated by other processing variables such as laser scanning patters, laser input power, scanning speed, scanning spacing, deposition temperature, gas precursor pressure, intrinsic thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the rendered material. A theoretical approach is proposed to address the minimization of residual thermal stresses and rendering times and the maximization of the strength of the part. It is proposed that such multiple optimizations that are dictated by many decision variables can be solved by minimizing and/or maximizing object functions dePending on the design criteria for each attribute of the rendered part.


To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying IL-4-induced tumor rejection, we challenged mice with a mouse adenocarcinoma cell line, colon 26, genetically engineered to express constitutively IL-4 gene (colon 26/IL-4). Immunocompetent BALB/c mice rejected colon 26/IL-4 cells but not parental cells or cells transduced with a control gene (colon 26/control). Moreover, on rechallenge, parental cells and colon 26/control cells were rejected by normal BALB/c mice that had previously rejected colon 26/IL-4. However, both nude and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice failed to reject colon 26/IL-4 as well as parental or colon 26/control cells. In contrast, nude mice did reject colon 26/IL-4 after transfer of lymphocytes obtained from the draining lymph nodes of BALB/c mice injected with colon 26/IL-4. These results indicate that challenging mice with colon 26/IL-4 tumor cells resulted in the generation of memory cytotoxic T lymphocytes in the draining lymph nodes. At 3 days after the challenge, IFN-gamma, IL-12 p35, and p40 mRNA expression was selectively enhanced in the draining lymph nodes of mice bearing colon 26/IL-4 cells. Finally, mice deficient in the IFN-gamma gene did not reject colon 26/IL-4 cells. These results suggest that IL-4-induced memory cytotoxic T lymphocyte generation requires IFN-gamma production in the draining lymph nodes, in order to generate a protective immune response.


We have established a metastatic model of human gastric cancer using orthotopic transplantation of histologically intact tissue in nude mice, and have used this model to evaluate the effects of immunochemotherapy using OK‐432, 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) and mitomycin C (MMC) against SC‐I‐NU, a human stomach cancer line. One‐quarter or one‐half maximum tolerated doses (MTDs) of S‐FU or MMC resulted in a significant reduction of stomach tumor growth, while liver metastases were not reduced, possibly due to suppression of natural killer (NK)‐cell activity by both drugs. On the other hand, when combined with OK‐432, half MTDs of 5‐FU and MMC significantly reduced liver metastases, with synergistic reduction of stomach tumor growth, possibly reflecting a rescue of NK‐cell activity by treatment with OK‐432. This metastatic model of human stomach cancer shows that locally growing and metastatic tumors may have different chemosensitivities, and provides the opportunity to test both with various treatment regimens.


A physically-based technique for measuring the threshold voltage of small geometry MOSFETs is presented. The new method, called the quasi-constant current (QCC) method, is based on the drain current equation in the subthreshold region. It defines the threshold voltage as the gate voltage required for surface band-bending of 2ϕF. Compared with some other commonly used methods, this technique has the advantages of better fitting accuracy in the subthreshold region, of extracting the threshold voltage, VTH, with a unique value based on a physical definition of the surface band-bending, and of being suitable for MOS devices over a wide range of voltage biases, device dimensions, and temperatures.


Scant information exists about the spatial extent of human impact on forest resource supplies, i.e., depreciative and nonforest uses. I used observations of ground-sampled land use and intrusions on forest land to map the probability of resource use and human impact for broad areas. Data came from a seven-state survey region (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, east Oklahoma, Tennessee, and east Texas) containing 32,000 land-use plots, with detailed attribute information for about half of these plots classed as forest land. Forest land attributes included human-associated intrusions (beverage containers, garbage, livestock grazing, timber management activities), proximity to nonforest land, forest fragment size, ownership, and forest type. Tools included geographic information software, a 100 MHz Pentium I processor, and 0.4-ha land-use and forest resource sample plots nominally spaced at 4.8-km intervals. I transferred information from sample plot locations to grid cells sized large enough to minimize computer memory storage and computation requirements, and small enough to conservatively model information from adjacent cells with plot information and include no more than one sample plot per cell. Results used spatially moving averages, with examples, to assess the spatial context of forest resources. Maps displayed regions of high and low probability of altered forest resources, forest attributes, and patterns qualitatively correlated with nonforest land-use neighborhoods. Findings suggested land areas with potential for multiple resource uses and forest land vulnerable to nonforest conversion.


The lifetime of luminescence in CaF2:Eu2+ crystals has been investigated in a temperature range 15-320 K using a streak camera. Unlike the cases of other Eu2+-doped crystals, an emission band with a peak at 425 nm was observed to have a lifetime which decreases with decreasing temperature. Such an unusual temperature dependence of the luminescence lifetime is suggested to be explained by taking into account the non-radiative process between the lowest 4f65d level and the upper excited levels of the Eu2+ ion.


The main objective of the study reported here was to examine the association between pregnancy loss (PL) and previous exposure to clinical or subclinical mastitis before breeding or during gestation in primiparous Holstein cows. A secondary objective was to estimate the cost of clinical mastitis during gestation, including that of PL attributable to mastitis in study cows. A total of 687 primiparous Holstein cows from 1 dairy farm were included in a matched case-control study. Study cows were declared pregnant via ultrasound on d 33 after timed artificial insemination (TAI). Case cows (n = 78) were those diagnosed as nonpregnant by rectal palpation on d 47 or 75 after TAI. Control cows were those confirmed as pregnant by rectal palpation on d 47 and 75 after TAI. Case cows were matched with eligible controls according to year of calving and calving-to-conception interval ±3 d. Cows were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) cows not affected with clinical or subclinical mastitis; (2) cows affected with subclinical mastitis (Dairy Herd Improvement Association somatic cell score >4.5); and (3) cows affected with clinical mastitis during 2 exposure periods, 1 to 42 d before breeding or during gestation (1 to PL diagnosis day for case cows, and 1 to 75 d for control cows). Conditional logistic regression was used to model the odds of PL as a function of previous exposure to mastitis in study cows. Mastitis before breeding was not associated with PL. The odds of PL were 2.21 times greater in cows affected with clinical mastitis during gestation (95% confidence interval = 1.01, 4.83), compared with cows without mastitis, after controlling for breeding type and lameness. The cost of clinical mastitis during gestation was $149, which includes the cost ($27) of PL attributable to mastitis. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that clinical mastitis during gestation can cause PL in primiparous dairy cows leading to economic losses.


Purpose To investigate clinical and ultrasound features for differentiating ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) from ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Methods Forty-five patients with OCCC and 72 patients with HGSC were retrospectively studied. Patient clinical characteristics and ultrasound features of tumors were evaluated. The differences, including laterality, menopausal status, Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage between OCCC and HGSC patients were compared by Fisher's exact test. The ultrasound features of tumors, including laterality, shape, configuration, color score, peritoneal implantation, and ascites, were evaluated and compared between the two groups. Results The average age at diagnosis in the OCCC group was 57.6±11.1 (range, 30–76) years, and 35.56% of patients were premenopausal. However, the average age at diagnosis was 63.4±12.2 (range, 42-81) years and 33.33% of patients were premenopausal in the HGSC group. There was a statistically significant difference in unilaterality (P< 0.001), clear boundaries (P<0.05), round or oval shape (P <0.05), and color score (P<0.05). Compared to HGSC patients, fewer OCCC patients had peritoneal implantation and ascites. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean size of papillary projections in OCCC and HGSC (P<0.05). The mean size of the papillary projections was significantly larger in OCCC than in HGSC. Conclusions OCCC commonly appeared as a large, round or oval mass with a clear boundary; the papillary projections of OCCC are larger and round. In contrast, HGSC was typically a large, irregular tumor with solid masses or mixed cystic-solid masses with small papillary projections.


The specific purpose of this study is to determine the factors that affect the return for the results of Islamic Bank deposits. The approach used in this research is a quantitative approach. The data used in the form of secondary data in the form of time series originating from the website of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) with the link www.ojk.go.id regarding the amount of return for mudharabah deposit results, Capital Adequacy Ratio, Non Performing Financing, Financing to Deposit Ratio and Inflation originating from the website of Bank Indonesia (BI) with the link www.bi.go.id. The population is monthly data from January 2016 to December 2019 period while the sample is annual data from 2016 to 2019. The research analysis conducted is multiple linear regression, classical assumption test (normality test, heteroscedasticity multicollinearity test and autocorrelation test), and test statistics (coefficient of determination (R2), statistical F test, and statistical t test). The results of this study are the variables of Capital Adequacy Ratio, Non-Performing Financing, Financing to Deposit Ratio and Inflation have a significant effect simultaneously (simultaneously) on the variable of Profit Sharing for Mudharabah Deposits for Islamic Commercial Banks.


This paper allocates complete characteristics of indicators of economic development of subjects of the Russian Federation. Their system representation has appeared more informative, than system of simple social and economic indexes as allows reflecting variety of communications between them, providing preserving and development of researched objects. It is established that at deterioration of state of the economy of regions of their structure change the role in formation of base indicators. At the first stage it is expressed by change of a vector of development with an opposite direction; on the second — in transition from an optimum condition of available structures on periphery; on the third — in the termination of their participation in forming of under laying echelons. At transition of subsystems of social and economic indexes from the first on the second echelon the contribution of the moved potential from structures «resource-product» and «process» for elements of activization increases, for structures «object», on the contrary, decreases, while for final elements the opposite situation is observed. As approaching the top echelon there is a reduction of interaction of base indicators from structures «resource-product» and «process», and on the contrary, growth to structures «object». The conclusion is drawn that successful social and economic activity of regions is determined by synchronous interaction of all allocated structures («resource-product», «process» and «object»). Use of the offered algorithm on the basis of complete characteristics allows not only to find out problem regions, but also shows possibility of management on the basis of revealed statistical regularities their condition by forming of optimum mutual relations between the allocated subsystems and, finally, creation of the big possibilities for realization of the having potential.


The purpose of this study is to point out the synthetic utility of a new class of Michael acceptors (nitrodienes and nitroenynes). The highly enantioselective organocatalytic Michael addition of carbonyl compounds to these functionalized nitroolefins has been carried out in the presence of (S)-diphenylprolinol silyl ether to achieve some interesting building blocks in high selectivities. The adducts thus obtained can be easily converted by taking advantage of the corresponding unsaturated carbon-carbon bond. In presence of the double bond, metathesis or electrophilic activation could be carried out whereas in the presence of the triple bond electrophilic activation could be conducted. We thus focused on a gold-catalyzed cyclization of the bis-homopropargylic alcohol to afford the corresponding substituted tetrahydrofuran. Then, we also demonstrated that organic and gold catalysts were compatible in a one-pot process. Indeed, we developed a one-pot enantioselective organocatalytic Michael addition to a nitroenyne followed by a gold-catalyzed acetalization/cyclization to achieve tetrahydrofuranyl ethers in high diastereo- and enantioselectivities with excellent yields.


In wireless sensor networks, greater energy is spent for communication when compared to computation and storage cost. Overlapping of sensing regions is higher, when the sensors are densely deployed and nodes in the same sensing region transmit the similar information to the base station. Hence the energy is wasted in communication part because of the high redundancy. So we need methods to liberate redundant communication, but event report is the essential aspect in sensor network applications. Thus reliable data transfer is also equally important. In this proposed method we are avoiding redundancy as well as ensuring reliable delivery. The aggregator node makes use of Support Vector Mechanism (SVM) to classify the received data based on the correlation that exists in the data from the various finish points. And it will eliminate the redundant information. Forward erasure coding (FEC) technique is applied for loss recovery. From the results, it is observed that our approach prolong the network lifetime by effectively controls the redundancy and achieves reliable transmission.


Accurate measurement of millimetre wave systems in terms of their noise performance is dependent on the evolution of appropriate and convenient standards. The popular use of noise diodes as a transfer standard have limitations in terms of their frequency coverage and absolute accuracy. Consequently significant errors arise in the calibration of sensitive radiometers and other low noise components or instruments. A convenient laboratory cryogenic primary standard is described which allows improved accuracy whilst extending the prior art to frequencies as high as 170 GHz.


Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is an underlying phenomenon in pathogenesis of type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Recent literature proves the development of insulin resistance in Overt hypothyroidism (OH), but there is controversy as to whether this association is also present in sub clinical hypothyroidism (SCH). Aims: Present study was designed to explore the presence IR in SCH. Settings & design: The study included 60 hypothyroidism patients and 30 age and sex matched euthyroid controls. Hypothyroidism patients were grouped as SCH (n=30) and OH (n=30). Methods: We examined total cholesterol levels, fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin levels and Insulin resistance (calculated by using HOMA-IR software). Statistical analysis: All statistical data was analysed by ANOVA using the Graph Pad Prism software, Version 5.01. Results: HOMA-IR values showed highly significant association between controls and SCH. TSH levels were positively correlated with insulin and HOMA IR in patients with SCH. Conclusions: Therefore , it will be good practice to screen people &Type 2 DM patients for presence of SCH, so that early detection and prompt intervention can prevent or prolong the appearance of various fatal complications associated with IR & help in managing diabetes holistically.


The incidence of bacteria as etiological agents of diseases in larvae of bivalve mollusks, is well documented in the literature. In this study, a series of test were performed to identify and estimate pathogenic level of marine bacteria isolated during an epizootic in a larval culture system of the tropical scallop Euvola ziczac. Such bacteria was identified as Pseudomonas sp. belonging to the group alcaligenes. The bacterium produced not only lethal effects on the scallop larvae through infection (invasive action), but also a possible pathogenic activity through endotoxins associated to bacterial cell-wall. In addition, it is possible that the isolated bacteria could act as a pathogen with members of the genus Vibrio, which was also present during the epizootic outbreak in the culture system. Susceptibility of Pseudomonas sp. to commercial antibiotics was remarkable.


Abstract Glyptothorax cavia, a small-sized benthic fish, distributed in southwest China. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of G. cavia was sequenced to be 16,529 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, a control region, and the origin of the light strand replication. The overall nucleotide composition was 31.15% A, 25.86% T, 27.64% C, and 15.35% G, with an A + T bias of 57.01%. The gene composition and the structural arrangement of the G. cavia complete mtDNA were identical to most of the other vertebrates. This will provide a useful tool for understanding the genetic diversity, population structure, and conservation status of G. cavia in the future.


Abstract The cell transmission model (CTM) is a macroscopic model that describes the dynamics of traffic flow over time and space. The effectiveness and accuracy of the CTM are discussed in this paper. First, the CTM formula is recognized as a finite-volume discretization of the kinematic traffic model with a trapezoidal flux function. To validate the constructed scheme, the simulation of shock waves and rarefaction waves as two important elements of traffic dynamics was performed. Adaptation of the CTM for intersecting and splitting cells is discussed. Its implementation on the road segment with traffic influx produces results that are consistent with the analytical solution of the kinematic model. Furthermore, a simulation on a simple road network shows the back and forth propagation of shock waves and rarefaction waves. Our numerical result agrees well with the existing result of Godunov's finite-volume scheme. In addition, from this accurately proven scheme, we can extract information for the average travel time on a certain route, which is the most important information a traveller needs. It appears from simulations of different scenarios that, depending on the circumstances, a longer route may have a shorter travel time. Finally, there is a discussion on the possible application for traffic management in Indonesia during the Eid al-Fitr exodus.


In this study, we investigate an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave event on 2010 February 11, which occurred as a limb event from the Earth viewpoint and a disk event from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Behind viewpoint. We use the data obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory in various EUV channels. The EUV wave event was launched by a partial prominence eruption. Compared with some EUV wave events in previous works, this EUV wave event contains a faster wave with a speed of ∼445 ± 6 km s−1, which we call a coronal Moreton wave, and a slower wave with a speed of ∼298 ± 5 km s−1, which we call the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) wave. The coronal Moreton wave is identified as a fast-mode wave and the EIT wave is identified as an apparent propagation due to successive field-line stretching. We also observe a stationary front associated with the fast-mode EUV wave. This stationary front is explained as mode conversion from the coronal Moreton wave to a slow-mode wave near a streamer.


Shelf seas provide valuable ecosystem services, but their productivity and ecological functioning depend critically on sunlight transmitted through the water column. Anthropogenic reductions in underwater light availability are thus a serious threat to coastal habitats. The flux of light-absorbing coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from land to sea may have increased world-wide, but how this has altered the availability and spectral quality of light in shelf seas remains poorly known. We present time-series data from the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, where the monsoon-driven reversal in ocean currents supplies water enriched in CDOM from tropical peatlands for part of the year, resulting in 5- to 10-fold seasonal variation in light absorption by CDOM. We show that this terrigenous CDOM can dominate underwater light absorption at wavelengths up to 500 nm, and shift the underwater irradiance spectrum towards longer wavelengths. The seasonal presence of terrigenous CDOM also reduces the 10% light penetration depth by 1-5 m, or 10-45%. We estimate that on average 0.6 m, or 25%, of this terrigenous CDOM-mediated shoaling might be attributable to the enhanced input of dissolved organic matter following peatland disturbance. The seasonal change in the light environment is correlated with changes in phytoplankton absorption spectra that suggest a photo-acclimation response, and we infer that terrigenous CDOM likely contributes to limiting the depth distribution of photosynthetic corals. The results reveal an ecologically important but largely overlooked impact of human modifications to carbon fluxes that is likely increasingly important in coastal seas.


The ratio of nurses and doctors to patients keeps diminishing due to increasing population health needs, however it is expected that the quality in healthcare services increases. By merging Ambient Intelligence (Ami) and semantic web technologies, PINATA aspires to address this issue. PINATA utilises pervasive devices to aid doctors and nurses to focus on the patient and thus improve the quality of healthcare services. In this paper we go over comparable Ami system architectures; summarise the physical and logical design of PINATA; provide details of the knowledgebase modelled in RDF/S and the ontologies designed for units of interest, including resources, and context-related concepts. These individual models are unified into a connected, context-rich data model through another set of classes and properties. The results presented were based on several tests done and are very promising.


We present a feasible technology for batch assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) devices by utilizing ac electrophoretic technique to manipulate multiwalled bundles on an Si/SiO/sub 2/ substrate. Based on this technique, CNTs were successfully and repeatably manipulated between microfabricated electrodes. By using this parallel assembly process, we have investigated the possibility of batch fabricating functional CNT devices when an ac electrical field is applied to an array of microelectrodes that are electrically connected together. Preliminary experimental results showed that over 70% of CNT functional devices can be assembled successfully using our technique, which is considered to be a good yield for nanodevices manufacturing. Besides, the devices were demonstrated to potentially serve as novel thermal sensors with low power consumption (/spl sim/microwatts) with electronic circuit response of approximately 100 kHz in constant current mode operation. In this paper, we will present the fabrication process of this feasible batch manufacturable method for functional CNT-based thermal sensors, which will dramatically reduce production costs and production time of nanosensing devices and potentially enable fully automated assembly of CNT-based devices. Experimental results from the thermal sensors fabricated by this batch process will also be discussed.


Myelination is one of the important stages of the nervous system (NS) development and regeneration. Understanding myelination is key to understanding certain diseases of the NS including healing after injuries. In a recent article by Huang et al (Nanotechnology. 2011;22(27):275101), the authors studied myelin structure at various stages of formation using a co-culture of Schwann cells and PC12 cells from a rat pheochromocytoma cell line. These were kept in a myelination medium and studied at 7, 12, 17, and 22 days. Indentation was used to assess the mechanical characteristics of the developing myelin. This was performed using a Berkovich diamond tip of 20 nm of radius. They observed that the optimal cell density PC12/ Schwann cells was 3:2. The myelination process began at day 12 in vitro (Figure 1), when Schwann cells express protein zero (P0). There are 3 stages in myelin structural development (Figure 2). At the latter stage (M-III), myelin becomes denser. Nano-indentation was performed every 5 nm on the axon. Displacements were measured and were a reflection of the myelin thickness. Measured displacements were 784 for M-I, 536 for M-II, and 833 nm for M-III. The work required to penetrate the myelin was -267 for M-I, 63 for M-II, and 301 mN nm for M-III. Resistance 1⁄4 work/ displacement and was—0.34, 0.12, and 0.36 mN respectively. The curves indicate the change in the mechanical properties of the myelin sheaths at various stages of development. Huang et al brought a better understanding of the myelination process using nano-technology to study the stiffness profile of myelinated axons. Development of various factors that influence the myelination process could be key in treating some demyelinating diseases such as GuillainBarré syndrome or multiple sclerosis. On the other hand, it may help develop strategies to promote healing of the central or peripheral NS.


An exact analytical solution has been constructed for the plane problem on action of a non-stationary load on the surface of an elastic layer for conditions of a 'mixed' boundary problem when normal stress and tangent displacement (the fourth boundary problem) are specified on one boundary and normal displacement and shear stress (the second boundary problem) for another boundary. Laplace and Fourier integral transforms are used. Their inversions were obtained with the help of tabular relationships and the convolution theorem for a wide range of acting non-stationary loads. Expressions for stresses (displacements) were obtained in explicit form. The obtained expressions allow determining the wave process characteristics in any point of the layer at an arbitrary moment of time. Some variants of non-stationary loads acting on an area with fixed boundaries or an area with boundaries changing by a known function are considered. Distinctive features of wave processes are analyzed.


Banded convective activity that occurred near the south coast of China on 30 January 2018 was investigated through convection‐allowing simulations using a nonhydrostatic mesoscale model. The simulations capture reasonably well the observed characteristics of this event. The convective bands are found to be closely related to an episode of mesoscale gravity waves propagating northeastward with a wave speed of around 12 m/s and a primary wavelength of about ~40–50 km. Further analyses and sensitivity experiments reveal that the environment provides a wave duct for these gravity waves, with a thick low‐level stable layer below 850 hPa capped by a low‐stability reflecting layer with a critical level. The strength and depth of the low‐level stable layer determine the intrinsic phase speed and wavelength of the ducted gravity waves. In the sensitivity tests that the stable layer depth is reduced, the wave characteristics change according to what are predicted with the wave duct theory. The convective bands collocate and propagate in phase with the peak updraft regions of the gravity waves, suggesting strong interactions of convection and gravity waves, in which the ducted gravity waves can trigger and modulate convection, while latent heating from convection enhances the waves. In essence, both wave ducting and wave‐convection interaction are jointly responsible for the banded convective activity.


Marek's disease (MD) is an infectious malignant T-cell lymphoma proliferative disease caused by Marek's disease virus (MDV). In recent years, the emergence of very virulent (vv) and/or very virulent plus (vv +) strains of MDV in the field has been suggested as one of the causes of vaccination failure. The pathogenicity of the MDV strain GX18NNM4, isolated from a clinical outbreak in a broiler breeder flock that was vaccinated with CVI988/Rispens, was investigated. In the vaccination-challenge test, GX18NNM4 was able to break through the protections provided by the vaccines CVI988 and 814. It also significantly reduced body weight gain and caused marked gross lesions and a large area of infiltration of neoplastic lymphocyte cells in the heart, liver, pancreas, etc. of the infected birds. In addition, the expressions of programmed death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), in the spleens and cecal tonsils (CTs) of the unvaccinated challenged birds were significantly increased compared to those in the vaccinated challenged birds, indicating that the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is related to immune evasion mechanisms. The results showed that the GX18NNM4 strain could cause severe immunosuppression and significantly decrease the protections provided by the current commercial vaccines, thus showing GX18NNM4 to be a vv + MDV strain.


The specific suppressing activity of passively administered antibody on 7S antibody synthesis against sheep and chicken red blood cells has been investigated at the cellular level using the indirect hemolytic agar-plaque technique. 7S antibody production was found to be sensitive to antibody-induced suppression. No inhibitory effect of transferred antibody was seen until 48 to 72 hr after administration. This indicates that the action of antibody is not by direct suppression of synthesis of already committed cells but rather by removal from the system of the stimulus for maintenance of 7S synthesis. The sensitivity of the 7S system to inhibition decreases with time after immunization but significant specific suppression could still be obtained if transfer of antibody was delayed until 40 days after immunization. The present findings emphasize the role of antibody as a feedback factor during a substantial postpeak period of 7S antibody synthesis and suggest an important role of antigen in stabilizing the 7S antibody production.


Gamification, whereby users are engaged in pre-assigned activities induced by game elements, is gaining interest among researchers and practitioners. While it has been touted that enterprise gamified information systems (ISs) can successfully tempt users, ensuring sustainable user engagement has been identified as a major challenge for organizations that have adopted the gamification ideas. Despite the proliferation of enterprise social media with gamified applications, little research has empirically examined how gamification ideas generate practical values in the workplace. To fill this gap, drawing on cognitive evaluation theory and the theory of aesthetic experience, this study develops a theoretical model that explains how game dynamics influence an employee's work engagement within an enterprise gamified IS. On the basis of the results of model test, we can discuss how different game dynamics (i.e., rewardbased and aesthetic-based dynamics) jointly influence users' intrinsic motivation (enjoyment) to engage in work-related activities.


The low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor is a key protein for maintaining cellular cholesterol homeostasis by binding cholesterol-rich lipoproteins through their apoB and apoE apoproteins. The LDL receptor is a transmembrane glycoprotein ofM r ∼115 kDa; based on its primary sequence, five distinct structural domains have been identified (Yamamoto, T., Davis, C. G., Brown, M. S., Schneider, W. J., Casey, M. L., Goldstein, J. L., and Russell, D. W. (1984)Cell 39, 27–38). As a first step toward providing a structural description of the intact LDL receptor, the receptor has been purified from bovine adrenal cortices, reconstituted into unilamellar egg yolk phosphatidylcholine vesicles, and imaged using cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM). CryoEM has the advantage of providing images of the reconstituted LDL receptor in its frozen, fully hydrated state. LDL receptor molecules were visualized as elongated, stick-like projections from the vesicle surface with maximum dimensions ∼120-Å length by ∼45-Å width. In some of the images, a short arm (or arms) was visible at the distal end of the stick-like projections. The LDL receptor was labeled via accessible free cysteine residues, probably including that corresponding to Cys-431 of the known full-length sequence of the human LDL receptor. The accessible cysteine was demonstrated using a maleimide-biotin·streptavidin conjugate and confirmed by labeling with monomaleimido-Nanogold. Images obtained by cryoEM showed that the extracellular stick-like domain of the reconstituted LDL receptor was labeled by Nanogold. This combined cryoEM-Nanogold labeling study has provided the first low resolution structural images of the reconstituted, full-length bovine LDL receptor.


Predicting the popularity of social media content in real time requires approaches that efficiently operate at global scale. Popularity prediction is important for many applications, including detection of harmful viral content to enable timely content moderation. The prediction task is difficult because views result from interactions between user interests, content features, resharing, feed ranking, and network structure. We consider the problem of accurately predicting popularity both at any given prediction time since a content item's creation and for arbitrary time horizons into the future. In order to achieve high accuracy for different prediction time horizons, it is essential for models to use static features (of content and user) as well as observed popularity growth up to prediction time.
 We propose a feature-based approach based on a self-excited Hawkes point process model, which involves prediction of the content's popularity at one or more reference horizons in tandem with a point predictor of an effective growth parameter that reflects the timescale of popularity growth. This results in a highly scalable method for popularity prediction over arbitrary prediction time horizons that also achieves a high degree of accuracy, compared to several leading baselines, on a dataset of public page content on Facebook over a two-month period, covering billions of content views and hundreds of thousands of distinct content items. The model has shown competitive prediction accuracy against a strong baseline that consists of separately trained models for specific prediction time horizons.


The study of post-COVID-19 symptomatology revealed a first wave of post-acute (persistence of symptoms less than 3 months) neurocognitive symptoms. However, some of these symptoms worsened, while others improved. To our knowledge, these symptoms may persist for up to 1 to 2 years after infection. The intensity, variability and persistence of neurocognitive symptoms may rise the hypotheses of accelerated neurodegenerative processes, as well as neuropsychiatric and/or genetic vulnerabilities that are still poorly understood. Moreover, the multi-organ manifestations of post-COVID-19 symptoms remind us of the importance of promoting an interdisciplinary perspective at both clinical and fundamental levels. Finally, many social and economic issues parallel to the neuropathological consequences remain to be investigated.


AIMS
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, and effective treatment of AF still remains an unmet medical need. AF is associated with atrial conduction disturbances caused by electrical and/or structural remodelling. We hypothesized that AF suppresses expression of the gap junction protein connexin (Cx) 43 and that Cx43 gene transfer to both atria would prevent persistent AF. The first aim of this study was to assess whether AF is associated with connexin remodelling in a porcine model. A strategy to suppress persistent AF by gene therapy was then developed and evaluated in vivo.

METHODS AND RESULTS
AF was induced in domestic pigs via atrial burst pacing, causing a 62.4% reduction in atrial Cx43 protein. Adenoviruses encoding for Cx43 (AdCx43) or green fluorescent protein (AdGFP) were injected into both atria, followed by epicardial electroporation to enhance transgene expression. Combining direct injection of adenoviruses with electroporation achieved GFP reporter gene expression in ∼50% of atrial cells in vivo. AdCx43-treated animals exhibited a 2.5-fold increase in atrial Cx43 protein content and did not develop persistent AF during the observation period of 14 days. In contrast, control animals developed persistent AF within 7.4 ± 0.5 days. Rapid ventricular heart rates during AF led to deterioration of cardiac function in control pigs but not in pigs treated with AdCx43.

CONCLUSION
Our results highlight the contribution of Cx43 to the pathophysiology of AF and demonstrate the viability of gene therapy for prevention of atrial arrhythmias.


Free-energy perturbation calculation is frequently used to calculate free-energy differences because it is easy to implement and the computation is fast. However, the calculation is subject to large inaccuracies in some circumstances due to the insufficient sampling of the relevant tails of the energy-difference distributions. Here we expand this knowledge of insufficient sampling into a two-dimensional (2D) energy space using a model of harmonic oscillators. We show analytically the relation between the energies of the sampling system and those of the desired target energy spaces, which provide the basis to understand the difficulties in free-energy perturbation calculations. We clarify the reasons of the inaccurate calculation in the different harmonic cases that stem from the spatial separations of the reference and the target energy pairs located in the two-dimensional energy space. The potential-energy space introduced into this 2D energy-space model provides additional clues to improve the sampling efficiency. Based on this understanding, we propose two ways to calculate the free-energy differences using the two schemes of the distribution method. We show that the distribution method implemented in the appropriate energy space--the energy-difference space and the potential-energy space, respectively--can improve the calculation of free energies in different circumstances. This analysis implies that the sampling can be improved if it is directed toward the appropriate region in the potential-energy space, which is easily implemented in various types of free-energy calculations. To test this, we calculate the free-energy surface of alanine dipeptide in gas phase and in aqueous phase, respectively. We demonstrate that the free-energy surface calculation is improved when the biased sampling of the potential energy is integrated into the sampling scheme.


The problem of the title is treated as a singular perturbation problem. For a body of arbitrary cross-section, a matching condition is obtained from the outer solution in terms of the forces experienced by the body. The problem is then to find a solution of the Stokes equations which satisfies the boundary conditions on the body and is consistent with the matching condition. The technique is illustrated by application to the elliptic cylinder. One of the features of the solution is that it gives an unambiguous result for the lift on an elliptic cylinder at incidence.


In this study, different proportions of gypsum composite reinforced with recycled cellulose fibers and expanded polystyrene were produced to study the properties of thermal conductivity, density, and flexural strength to be used as sealing plates to improve the thermal comfort of buildings. Different gypsum matrix composites were produced with varied proportions of cellulose fiber and expanded polystyrene, to analyze the influence of residues on the properties of the material. The thermal conductivity obtained for composites with greater amounts of expanded polystyrene was 0.18 W/mK, a 48% reduction in relation to plasterboard, improving thermal performance. The flexural strength was also analyzed, which met the minimum strength requirement for use as gypsum composites, however, it is not enough to be used in places that require mechanical resistance, thus it is indicated for sealing plates applications, improving the thermal performance of places where only plasterboard is used.


Ethical issues arising in the day-to-day practice of infertility treatment are important and sometimes difficult. A couple's infertility problem usually has affective and social dimensions, sometimes disrupting their lives. Responsible care involves dealing with these psychosocial factors, including counseling and striving for informed patient decision making. The ethical problem of whether to provide treatment when the probability of success is low is sometimes complicated by a couple's desperate desire for fertility. In such cases the physician weighs various factors, including the risks of the procedure, the harm that might result from continuing infertility and the degree of the couple's understanding of the pros and cons. Issues of truth telling are raised by a lack of third-party reimbursement for infertility workup and treatment. Also, questions about when to refer or terminate the workup and therapy involve ethical reflection about potential conflicts of interest.


Employer brand is a set of economic, psychological and functional benefits provided for employees and associated with a particular employer. The problem of efficient employer branding methods and tools for commercial organizations has been actively discussed nowadays, but as for the public civil service it has not been tackled and developed yet. The goal of the article is to reveal the features of the current employer image of the public civil service in Russia in the perception of different youth target groups (state employees at the age of under 35years, students majoring in Public Administrations and Human Resource Management). In order to evaluate the attractiveness of work in the public civil service in Russia the authors questionnaire survey was conducted, and to identify the career preferences the respondents filled in the questionnaire Career Anchors, designed by Edgar Schein (1993). The revealed career preferences reflect an ambiguous perception of the employer attractiveness in the public civil service, which enables to conclude that public authorities in Russia make insufficient efforts to attract young employees and build the employer brand. On the basis of our pilot research among state employees and students we provide Russian public civil service organizations with a number of recommendations on how to improve their employer attractiveness. Most of the respondents have a strong motivation to be involved in valid applied projects. Thus, we strongly recommend public civil service organizations to implement different projects with the valuable practiceoriented content during internship programs for students.


A 35 year-old-male with hypertension and schizoaffective disorder presented with a first episode of non-prodromal syncope and traumatic fall resulting in a mandibular fracture. Physical examination revealed orthostatic tachycardia, normal cardiovascular examination, and no abnormalities with carotid sinus massage. Electrocardiogram showed NSR at 66 bpm, a single PVC, QTc interval 493 ms, and abnormal ST-T wave contour in V2-V3. Laboratory evaluation revealed normal electrolytes, mildly elevated troponin (0.763), and no leukocytosis. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome was considered unlikely given that syncope did not occur after prolonged standing, and that his use of trazodone and risperidone can both cause orthostatic tachycardia. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed decreased systolic function (EF 45%), paradoxical septal motion, normal LV wall thickness, and no valvular disease. Cardiac MRI showed moderate biventricular systolic dysfunction, LVEF 43%, RVEF 33%, mild 4-chamber dilatation, and a small pericardial effusion. Mild T2 hyperintensity in the mid-ventricular septum and anteroseptum, and scattered foci of patchy delayed gadolinium enhancement within the mid-anteroseptal, anterior and anterolateral LV segments were consistent with acute myocarditis. The reported prevalence of myocarditis among patients with sudden death is highly variable and ranges from 2-42%. Various types of myocarditis are associated with arrhythmias, including lymphocytic myocarditis which was the likely diagnosis in our patient. Despite lack of guideline recommendations, we opted to protect our patient with a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator given case reports of successful use for recurrent malignant arrhythmias in myocarditis. Follow-up TTE two months later was normal with EF 60%. Although syncope in the younger population is often appropriately attributed to a neurally-mediated etiology, the current case highlights the need for clinicians to be attuned to the possibility of subclinical myocarditis causing malignant arrhythmias in this setting, in which case the patient may be at risk for recurrent arrhythmia and sudden death and may benefit from the use of a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator.


Money multiplier — the concept, limitations and criticismThe article presents the money creation process in the modern economy, including the role of the central bank and commercial banks in this process. The concept of money multiplier is described and set in the context of Fed's monetary policy since 1970s. Special attention is paid to the decrease of the M1 multiplier below the value of one, which accompanied the quantitative easing after the crisis arousal in 2008. Then, the main constraints are mentioned of commercial banks in the process of money creation impeding the full utilization of the multiplier potential: bank profitability and competitiveness, risk of bank runs, demand for currency, limitations concerning credit collaterals and those resulting from monetary policy, prudential regulations, and the behaviors of bank clients. The paper also reports on arguments critical toward the multiplier approach and suggests to perceive the money supply in the modern economy as an endogenously determined phenomenon: first, commercial banks grant as many credits thus creating money as they can owing to the market situation; then, they turn to the central bank to provide reserves. The latter provides reserves monetary base as the lender of last resort, aiming to control the interest rate, and not money quantity itself. The conclusions are significant for monetary policy and economic education, as the endogenous approach to money supply can explain why the quantitative easing, contrary to some concerns, did not automatically translate into a considerable increase of credit expansion and price inflation.


Legionella pneumophila has been recognized as the major cause of legionellosis since the discovery of the deadly disease. Legionella spp. other than L. pneumophila were later found to be responsible to many non-pneumophila infections. The non-L. pneumophila infections are likely under-detected because of a lack of effective diagnosis. In this report, we have sequenced the 16S-23S rRNA gene internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of 10 Legionella species and subspecies, including L. anisa, L. bozemanii, L. dumoffii, L. fairfieldensis, L. gormanii, L. jordanis, L. maceachernii, L. micdadei, L. pneumophila subspp. fraseri and L. pneumophila subspp. pasculleii, and developed a rapid oligonucleotide microarray detection technique accordingly to identify 12 most common Legionella spp., which consist of 11 pathogenic species of L. anisa, L. bozemanii, L. dumoffii, L. gormanii, L. jordanis, L. longbeachae, L. maceachernii, L. micdadei, and L. pneumophila (including subspp. pneumophila, subspp. fraseri, and subspp. pasculleii) and one non-pathogenic species, L. fairfieldensis. Twenty-nine probes that reproducibly detected multiple Legionella species with high specificity were included in the array. A total of 52 strains, including 30 target pathogens and 22 non-target bacteria, were used to verify the oligonucleotide microarray assay. The sensitivity of the detection was at 1.0 ng with genomic DNA or 13 CFU/100 mL with Legionella cultures. The microarray detected seven samples of air conditioner-condensed water with 100% accuracy, validating the technique as a promising method for applications in basic microbiology, clinical diagnosis, food safety, and epidemiological surveillance. The phylogenetic study based on the ITS has also revealed that the non-pathogenic L. fairfieldensis is the closest to L. pneumophila than the nine other pathogenic Legionella spp.


A complex active region was observed simultaneously with the solar telescopes VTT and THEMIS on Tenrife in May 2005. Spatial scans across the sunspot group were performed at both telescopes. The full Stokes-vector was recorded in several photospheric spectral lines, i.~e. at the VTT in a group of iron and silicon lines in the near infrared and at THEMIS in iron and chromium lines in the visible. Inversions were carried out independently for the different lines in order to derive the magnetic field strength, its inclination and azimuth together with the temperature stratification. Thus we obtained the three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field. Selected locations in the penumbra and in light bridges were considered in detail. We find a general tendency that the magnetic field is weaker and less inclined in higher layers.


This paper presents a detailed analysis of two-armed spiral structure in a sample of galax- ies from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS), with particular focus on the relationships between the properties of the spiral pattern in the stellar disc and the global struc- ture and environment of the parent galaxies. Following Paper I we have used a combination of Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared imaging and visible multi-colour imaging to isolate the spiral pattern in the underlying stellar discs, and we examine the systematic behaviours of the observed amplitudes and shapes (pitch angles) of these spirals. In general, spiral morphology is found to correlate only weakly at best with morphological parameters such as stellar mass, gas fraction, disc/bulge ratio, and vflat. In contrast to weak correlations with galaxy structure a strong link is found between the strength of the spiral arms and tidal forcing from nearby companion galaxies. This appears to support the longstanding suggestion that either a tidal interaction or strong bar is a necessary condition for driving grand-design spiral structure. The pitch angles of the stellar arms are only loosely correlated with the pitch angles of the corresponding arms traced in gas and young stars. We find that the strength of the shock in the gas and the contrast in the star formation rate are strongly correlated with the stellar spiral amplitude.


This research aimed to discuss the topic of patriarchal research because it still existed in several countries in the world, especially Asia and more specifically, in Indonesia. This research was conducted to reveal how patriarchal values were reflected in Indonesian children's folk tales from Sumatra Island. This research used a sociological approach to literature and used semiotic theory to analyze the data obtained. The researcher chose to use a qualitative descriptive method so that the analysis process could be described completely. The main data used in this research were several children's folk tales originating from Sumatra Island, namely Province of North Sumatra ("Di Balik Derita Si Boru Tombaga", "Bohong Merinang", and "Si Kodok Kata Malem, Baik Budi Penawan Hati"), South Sumatra ("Langkuse dan Putri Rambut Putih"), and Jambi ("Legenda Bukit Perak"). This research finds that patriarchal values are represented in how women are associated with domestic works, women are considered as the subordinates and inferiors, as well as showing their dependence on men.


An optical fiber with both temperature and strain fiber Bragg grating sensors were embedded into an aluminum cast structure during the casting process. Temperature and strain calibrations were carried out respectively for the metal-embedded sensors. Temperature and external strain decoupling was further demonstrated in a temperature range from 25 to 80 °C and an external strain range from 0 to ∼110 µɛ. With the interpolated temperature measured by two temperature sensors at different positions, the external strain could be decoupled from temperature and thermal strain at the strain sensor. The temperature and external strain values obtained from our embedded optical fiber sensors agreed well with reference values, revealing the good performance of the metal-embedded optical fiber sensors. The difference between the measured values and the reference values are within ±5 µɛ for external strain and ±1 °C for temperature. With only a single fiber, the in-situ temperature and external strain information in the aluminum structure can be monitored in real time, representing an important step towards fiber-optic smart casts. Our investigation demonstrates that embedded optical fiber sensors can be a promising method for structural health monitoring of metallic structures.


Hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction is a major source of morbidity for patients with ESRD. Development of effective approaches to prevent and treat vascular access failure requires an understanding of the underlying mechanisms, suitable models for preclinical testing, systems for targeted delivery of interventions to maximize efficacy and minimize toxicity, and rigorous clinical trials that use appropriate outcome measures. This article reviews the substantial progress and ongoing challenges in developing novel treatments for arteriovenous vascular access failure and focuses on localized rather than systemic interventions.


This paper presents a novel neutral-pion reconstruction that takes advantage of the machine learning technique of semantic segmentation using MINERvA data collected between 2013–2017, with an average neutrino energy of 6 GeV. Semantic segmentation improves the purity of neutral pion reconstruction from two γs from 70.7 ± 0.9% to 89.3 ± 0.7% and improves the efficiency of the reconstruction by approximately 40%. We demonstrate our method in a charged current neutral pion production analysis where a single neutral pion is reconstructed. This technique is applicable to modern tracking calorimeters, such as the new generation of liquid-argon time projection chambers, exposed to neutrino beams with 〈E ν〉 between 1–10 GeV. In such experiments it can facilitate the identification of ionization hits which are associated with electromagnetic showers, thereby enabling improved reconstruction of charged-current νe events arising from νμ → νe appearance.


OBJECTIVE
Despite the fact that gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common problem in pregnancy, a good proportion of cases of GDM is either not recognized or treated only inadequately. The main problems are a general trend of underestimating the risk of morbidity, the lack of integration into obstetric care regulations and heterogeneous guidelines regarding the screening and treatment of GDM.

METHODS
For decades, the Graz concept of diagnosis and therapy of GDM has offered a 1-step general screening of all pregnant women between gestational weeks 24 and 28; in addition, the option of measuring the amniotic fluid insulin concentration via amniocentesis at gestational weeks 31-32 allows to detect hyperinsulinemic fetuses who represent an obstetric high-risk group.

CONCLUSION
Lower cutoff levels in the oral glucose challenge test as well as the measurement of amniotic fluid insulin concentrations, which have been implemented in the Graz model for a long time, offer a higher detection rate of GDM and allow a targeted therapy of fetuses at high risk. Screening and therapy of GDM are cost-effective instruments to improve obstetric outcomes, therefore obligatory screening and treatment for GDM should be recommended emphatically.


On a warm autumn day in 1797, an expatriate Englishman, raised in America, was sweating. It was not the weather making Count Rumford so hot but the progress of an experiment he was conducting at the Bavarian arsenal. On his orders, two horses were turning a drill connected by gears to a newly cast metal cylinder. Rumford, it would have seemed to a casual onlooker, was simply supervising the production of cannon for use against the armies of revolutionary France. The onlooker would have been wrong, for Rumford's method differed from the standard process of cannon boring. Rumford had deliberately left the drill-bit blunt and encased the barrel in a tank of water. His apparatus was dedicated not to rearmament but to enlightenment--he was aiming not at France's soldiers but its scientists. (1) For several years, Rumford had been devising experiments to test the nature of heat, a subject of considerable dispute among scientists. According to Lavoisier, the eminent French chemist, heat was a subtle fluid (caloric) squeezed out of a body when mechanically acted upon. Compressing a gas pushed caloric out of it, giving off heat. Hammering an iron bar knocked caloric out of it by percussion; rubbing metals together produced heat by squeezing caloric from their surfaces. Lavoisier supposed heat to be a material substance that drained out of one body into another. Rumford was convinced that Lavoisier's "supposition is quite unnecessary," and he set his horses to work to prove it (qtd. Brown 195). The gun barrel and the blunt drill would produce intense heat by friction. He would measure it by recording how long it took to boil the water in which the barrel was immersed. If heat really was a fluid, then over time the quantity present inside the barrel would begin to run out. Rumford put his horses and his thermometer into action and found that, however long they labored at the mill, the time taken to boil the water was the same. Far from running out, the heat produced by the rubbing of drill and barrel "appeared evidently to be inexhaustible." Heat, he concluded, "cannot possibly be a material substance" (qtd. Brown 198). Lavoisier was wrong; heat was no caloric fluid but a form of "MOTION." On 25th January 1798 Rumford's findings were read to Britain's Royal Society and then published. Soon his work had been reported in Germany, Switzerland and France and Rumford had become the champion of anti-caloric scientists all over Europe. By the 1840s, it was accepted that heat was a form of energy or work, and Rumford was hailed as the great scientist who first demonstrated the equivalence of heat to work. While in Rumford's experiment two horses did the work to make the heat, on the other side of Europe, single boys as young as five labored to make others warm. As apprentice chimney sweeps--"climbing boys"--many were worse off than Rumford's ponies, for, as Leigh Hunt noted, they were Britain's own "little black boys"--as much slaves as were the children on the West Indian sugar plantations: The progress of the poor child in sweeping the chimney closely engrossed her [a West Indian servant's] attention, and when she saw him return from his sooty incarceration, she addressed him with a feeling that did honour to her material tenderness, saying, 'child! come yaw, child,' (and without waiting any reply, and putting a sixpence into his hand;) 'Who you mammy? You hab daddy, too? Wha dem be, da la you go no chimney for?' and moistening her finger at her lips, began to rub the poor child's cheek, to ascertain, what yet appeared doubtful to her, whether he was really a buccara, (white.) I saw this woman some time after in the West Indies; and it was a congratulation to her everafter, that her 'children were not born to be sweeps.' (Hone I, 591) The rich and famous scientist and Britain's "black" slaves seem worlds apart. Rumford spanned Europe; climbing boys were a specifically English phenomenon. …


A brief review of experiments on damping of short wind waves due to surfactant (monomolecular) and oil films carried out at the Institute of Applied Physics RAS using radar and optical methods is given. The damping degree of wind waves (spectral contrast) in film slicks is analyzed in a wide (decimeter-centimetre-scale) wavelength range of wind waves at different wind speeds and physical characteristics of films. A simple local balance model of the wind wave spectrum is developed to describe the film effect on short wind waves. Differencies in the spectral contrasts for film slicks and for some "look-alikes", in particular, for wind depression areas (WDA) are revealed: the spectral contrast for film slicks increases with surface wave number, while for WDA the contrast is practically constant for decimeter-centimeter-scale wind waves. The specific behaviour of the spectral contrast can be used as a slick "spectral sign".


If you're like many entrepreneurs, being in business means working with one or more co-owners. But what will happen to your company if a co-owner:*wants out of the business? *wants to retire? *goes through personal bankruptcy? *wants to sell his shares to someone else? *goes through a divorce? *passes away?To make sure there's a smooth transition following someone's departure, it's essential that you create a sort of "premarital agreement" for your business with a buy-sell agreement. This legal document clarifies when co-owners can sell their interest, the circumstances when someone must sell, who can buy into the business and what price will be paid.Buy-Sell Agreement Handbook walks you through creating your own buy-sell agreement, which is included on CD-ROM and as a tear-out. It provides all the tax and legal information you need at every step.The 2nd edition, completely revised and updated, covers the latest estate-tax changes and how your agreement can affect your estate taxes.


Microwave tomography is a new imaging method based on contrast in dielectric properties of materials. The mathematical theory of microwave tomography involves solving an inverse problem for Maxwell's equations. In this paper a new method of solving this inverse problem is presented. Based on the known gradient approach the method has significant advantages that allow us to solve full scale 3D microwave tomographic problems using the vector equations. The results of computational experiments are presented and discussed. Using simulated and experimental data, 3D images of mathematical and physical phantoms are obtained. The results show the abilities of the method to reveal the internal structure of objects in the strong contrast case.


Alcohol will be an exceptional alternative fuel for existing diesel engines because of its built-in fuel-improving properties (high cetane number and high energy content). Biosynthesis of N-heptanol by means of engineered microbes, such as the Clostridium species and Escherichia coli, is an active area of research. Hence, extensive investigation on the compatibility of N-heptanol in existing diesel engines is necessary. This study examined the effect of heptanol mustard oil biodiesel blends of varying proportions on the emission and performance patterns in a 1,800 r/min constant-speed immobile diesel engine. The main objective of this investigation was to investigate the reduction in all the emissions and increase the performance characteristics associated with neat mustard oil biodiesel when deploying three different fuels. Base catalyzed transesterification process was employed to convert the mustard oil into mustard oil biodiesel. Heptanol with 98.4 % purity was used as an oxygenated additive. The experimental results revealed that converting heptanol to mustard oil biodiesel caused a significant reduction in hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and smoke emissions when compared to mustard oil biodiesel in naturally aspirated conditions.


The Buck, the Fox & the Virtuous Lady Gender-metaphors in Danish and Swedish Propaganda during the Great Northern WarThe article examines the metaphorical imagery of the suffering maiden in domestic war propaganda during the Great Northern War (1700-1721). The source material is made up by ballads and royal decrees of Swedish and Danish origin, primarily stemming from the winter of 1709-1710 when the Swedish province of Scania (Skane) served as the main theatre of war. Although the figure of the maiden had a feminine exterior, the imagery was to all intents and purposes a matter of masculinity. The texts were fashioned by men primarily addressing other men. And the suffering maiden belonged to a larger metaphorical repertoire that served to render meaning and legitimacy to the war in general and male soldiering in particular. By deconstructing the maiden and associated images, the analysis aims to expose the contemporaneous myths of manliness exploited by the propaganda makers. During the war in Scania, Swedish propaganda depicted the whole province as well as individual towns in the form of virtuous yet endangered ladies. These metaphorical women fulfilled two important objectives. To begin with, the imagery aimed at a disreputable portrayal of the Danish enemy through the manliness of the rival prince. The references to helpless women and the associated language of rape made Frederic IV and his military commanders into ugly examples of a debauched and dishonourable masculinity. In the case of Scania, these treacherous forms of masculinity were epitomised by the figure of the fox (rav): a linguistic pun on the name of the Danish commander-in-chief - Christian Reventlow - and a popular metaphor for people with ominous intentions. Secondly, the maiden's agony functioned as a call to manly deeds. Her cries were crafted to stir up aggressive and combative forms of manliness amongst the king's subjects. Also in this regard, the propaganda makers made use of various animal metaphors. For instance, the lady of Scania prompted her defenders to fight as he-goats or bucks (bockar)- a Biblical metaphor for force and authority as well as a reference to the prominent Swedish general Magnus Stenbock. Through this carefully gendered imagery, the propaganda addressed the »common man« in his capacity as husband or husband-in-waiting. It played upon the duty of the Lutheran husband to guarantee and if necessary die for the safety and wellbeing of wife and children. Close links were thus construed between marital and martial manliness. And the mythical notion of male sacrifice for endangered femininity was elevated as the very essence of masculinity. Thereby, the imagery of the suffering maiden contributed to a male ideal based on furious violence and martial sacrifice. During the Great Northern War, death on the battlefield was made to appear as the highest form of manliness any loyal subject ever could achieve.


Clozapine is the treatment of choice in refractory schizophrenia. Its more extensive use is limited by adverse effects and the need for regular blood monitoring. However, black patients are disadvantaged with respect to clozapine usage. Lower baseline Absolute Neutrophil Count compared with Whites leads to a greater frequency of blood testing, treatment interruptions and discontinuation. This may in part be explained by Benign Ethnic Neutropenia, but too few black patients are thus registered. The four cases described in this report underline some of the difficulties if this problem is under-recognized. Moreover, in our sample of 191 clozapine recipients in an inner London hospital, black patients account for approximately half, but only a small proportion, 8/95 (8.4%) are registered as having Benign Ethnic Neutropenia. None of the Benign Ethnic Neutropenia-registered patients discontinued treatment for haematological reasons. To optimize clozapine treatment and improve long-term outcomes, a significantly greater proportion of Black patients should be registered as having Benign Ethnic Neutropenia.


This study investigated the effects of dietary prebiotics, probiotic, synbiotic and organic acid salt supplementation on broiler growth performance, intestinal microflora, and histomorphology. A total of 300 one-dayold broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 5 different treatments with 3 replicates including 20 birds each. The birds received the same basal diet based on corn-soybean meal, and additives included in the diet at 0 control, prebiotic (1 g/kg), probiotic (1 g/ kg), synbiotic (1 g/ kg), and acidifier (5 g/ kg). The body weight, weight gain, feed conversion, intestinal morphology and microbiology of birds showed significant (p<0.01) improvement with dietary pre, pro, synbiotic and organic acid salt supplementation from 0 to 21d, 22-42 d and from 0-41 d in comparison with the control group. Synbiotic followed by probiotic supplemented groups revealed the highest final body weight, weight gain, better feed conversion and the highest antibody response to Newcastle disease vaccine (NDV) vaccine in comparison with prebiotic and organic acids. Moreover, synbiotic followed by probiotic supplementation significantly improved intestinal morphology and intestinal microbial ecology than prebiotic, organic acids and control groups. In conclusion, we suggest the use of synbiotic followed by probiotic is preferable as efficient growth and health promoters for broilers in comparison with prebiotic and organic acids.


The research is conducted to test the impact of firm performance on stock returns, evidence from the firms listed on FTSE-100 Index, London Stock Exchange over the period 2005 to 2014. In this study the researcher used has five independent variables and one dependent variable. Earnings per share, quick ratio, return on assets, return on equity, and net profit margin is used as independent variables while stock returns is used as dependent variable. Panel regression analysis method is used for the data analysis. Results shows that net profit margin, return on assets has got significant positive impact on stock returns while earnings per share has got significant negative impact on stock returns. When earnings per share will increase, than all those investors who wants short term gain and conscious for dividend sell their stock in to the market due to which in near future the stock returns of the company will be decrease due to excess supply of stocks, while return on equity and quick ratio shows insignificant impact on stock returns.


Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) overexpression is observed in the neovasculature of solid tumors, but not in the vasculature of normal tissues. Increased PSMA expression is positively associated with tumor stage and grade, although its function in cancer remains unclear. Mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) is a negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor and is reported to regulate VEGF expression and angiogenesis. Both proteins have been considered as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for advanced solid tumors. Our work and a recent microarray-based gene profiling study suggest there could be signaling interplay between MDM2 and PSMA. We herein review the mechanisms underlining the outgrowth of tumors associated with PSMA and MDM2, their potential interaction and how this may be applied to anticancer therapeutics.


Frameworks for efficient and accurate data processing often rely on a suitable representation of measurements that capture phenomena of interest. Typically, such representations are high-dimensional vectors obtained by a transformation of raw sensor signals such as time-frequency transform, lag-map, etc. In this work, we focus on representation learning approaches that consider the measurements as the nodes of a weighted graph, with edge weights computed by a given kernel. If the kernel is chosen properly, the eigenvectors of the resulting graph affinity matrix provide suitable representation coordinates for the measurements. Consequently, tasks such as regression, classification, and filtering, can be done more efficiently than in the original domain of the data. In this paper, we address the problem of representation learning from measurements, which besides the phenomenon of interest contain undesired sources of variability. We propose data-driven kernels to learn representations that accurately parametrize the phenomenon of interest, while reducing variations due to other sources of variability. This is a non-linear filtering problem, which we approach under the assumption that certain geometric information about the undesired variables can be extracted from the measurements, e.g., using an auxiliary sensor. The applicability of the proposed kernels is demonstrated in toy problems and in a real signal processing task.


This thesis is about using exact optimization algorithms to solve the routing problem known as the Mixed Capacitated General Arc Routing Problem (MCGRP) that is a generalization of many other well known routing problems. The Mixed Capacitated Routing Problem is a routing problem generalized by many other routing problems. The goal is to find a an optimal set of routes servicing a set of required entities on a mixed network. The entities being vertices, directed arcs or undirected edges. The mathematical programming model formulation developed by this thesis is a novel path flow formulation inspired by another well known routing problem by Letchford and Oukil (2011). The solution method is based on the exact optimization techniques Column Generation and Branch & Price. The algorithm is implemented in the C# and using the the BCL XPRESS libraries. A comparison has been given to the results by an exact algorithm by Bosco et al. (2012) as well as the currently best results known in the literature. The algorithm has been tested on 158 benchmark instances, were 83 of them were solved to optimum and 14 for the very first time. The algorithm is in addition an excellent lower bounding algorithm giving 58 improved lower bounds for previously unsolved instances. There is still a lot of research that can be done on the MCGRP and we hope that this thesis will motivate further research.


The purpose of this paper is to study on the architectural value in Dom-Ino system. Dom-Ino system by Le Corbusier is a structural system for effective production in terms of physical reproductivity and a modeling system from the view of formal composition. It creates planar grid with a fixed ratio, manipulates the user group, and becomes the basic construction method. Form comes out of geometrical proportion system, and grid-based plan provides regularity and order to elevation planning. Production requires standardization. Indoor space is maintained by uniformed and integrated service facilities. Dom-Ino system was a transitional step of the Modulor system which was created by Le Corbusier in 1945 and composes of and equivalent proportional system. The fact that the numerical proportion system is the one of appropriate design methods implys a progressive concept that architectural configurations are controlled by the technology of that time. And also the system is one of the object type of Corbusier's housing architecture.


This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of CaCl2 dipping and beeswax (BW) coating on the shelf life and quality of nectarine fruits. The experiment was conducted under Holeta condition during the off-season of 2018. Fruits of '89-16N' nectarine variety were harvested from HARC orchard. The treatment consisted of a combination of four levels of CaCl2 (0%, 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5%) and three levels of BW application (0%, 3% and 6%). The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with factorial arrangement in three replications. Nectarine fruits were stored at ambient condition after being treated with the different treatment combinations of BW and CaCl2. Various physico-chemical parameters were assessed. The result revealed that the PLW of nectarine fruits was significantly reduced. The TSS and pH values as well as TA and AA contents were better maintained in CaCl2 dipping with BW coatings compared with the control. The highest percentage of marketable fruits with the lowest decay percentage were also retained by CaCl2 dipping and BW coatings. Overall, the best result was consistently obtained at 3.0% BW with 4.5% CaCl2 treated fruits for most of the parameters assessed. Hence, CaCl2 dipping and BW coatings, particularly 3% BW with 4.5% CaCl2 treatment, could be considered for extending the shelf life and better quality of nectarine fruits.


In Indonesia, the condition of education still tends to be unbalanced. The quality of education in urban areas is generally far better than the quality of education in rural areas. Education processes in rural areas face some problems like limited teaching resources, slight teaching tools, and monotonous teaching method. Therefore, an idea is emerged, a thinking to create a system in order to improve the quality of education in rural areas. Virtual Classbox 4.1 is a distance learning system developed to improve the quality of education in rural areas with video conferencing technology. Virtual Classbox 4.1 is designed based on Design Science in Information System Research. In order to produce a great system, a scientific guidance must be used. Remarkable system need astounding design, like a good house needs a strong foundation. Because of that, Design Science in Information System Research, which is very well known in information system design research world, is used.


A method for improving the accuracy of the numerical solution of dielectric bodies is presented. Its utilization makes the matrix size independent of the relative dielectric constant and reduces its size. It also improves the accuracy of the solution of the Muller formulation when the dielectric constant is high. The root-mean-square (RMS) errors are calculated for dielectric spheres by comparing the numerical solution with the exact solution using Mei series. The magnitude and phase of the surface current distributions are presented. The bistatic radar cross sections of the sphere and finite cylinder, obtained by different formulations, are presented. >


Thiele, K.R. & Shepherd, K.A. Spartothamnella canescens (Lamiaceae: Chloantheae), a new species from Western and Central Australia, with notes on the status of S. sp. Helena & Aurora Range. Nuytsia 24: 177–185 (2014). Morphological assessment of the informally named Spartothamnella sp. Helena & Aurora Range (P.G. Armstrong 155-109) shows it is not distinct from Western Australian populations of S. puberula (F.Muell.) Maiden & Betche. However, examination of S. puberula s. lat. shows that Western and Central Australian populations are morphologically distinct from typical populations in eastern Australia. Accordingly, S. canescens K.R.Thiele & K.A.Sheph. is newly described to accommodate these atypical populations. A revised description of S. puberula and a modified key for the genus are provided.


Most vines in the Mediterranean are cultivated on bare soils, due to the scarcity of water. In addition, most traditional soil conservation measures have been eliminated to facilitate the movement of machinery in the fields. In such conditions, high erosion rates are recorded. Given the predicted changes in precipitation and an increasing number of extreme events, an increase in erosion processes is expected. In this study, erosion processes under different climate change scenarios were evaluated as well as the effects of implementing drainage terraces in vineyards. Soil losses were simulated using the WEPP model. The results confirmed the relevance of extreme events on annual soil losses. The WEPP model gave satisfactory results in predicting runoff and soil losses, although the soil losses recorded after some extreme events were under-predicted. The model responded to changes in precipitation and because of that a decrease in precipitation gave rise to a decrease in soil losses. For the scenario in 2050, runoff volumes decreased between 19.1 and 50.1%, while erosion rates decreased between 34 and 56%. However, the expected increase in rainfall intensity may contribute to higher erosion rates than at present. The construction of drainage terraces, perpendicular to the maximum slope, 3 m wide and 30 m between terraces, may lead to an average decrease in soil losses of about 45%.


which made it difficult to distinguish between friend and foe. His judgement ofthe political and strategic ramifications of the battle is convincing: after the battle the Germans did indeed become reluctant to attempt to gain a decisive victory by engaging large forces. Britain's naval supremacy thus remained unchallenged, until the Imperial Navy reverted to submarine warfare in 1916-1917. This, however, is another story. To all readers interested in the opening months of the war, this book can be highly recommended.


In this paper, a reliable cooperative multipath routing algorithm is proposed for data forwarding in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this algorithm, data packets are forwarded towards the base station (BS) through a number of paths, using a set of relay nodes. In addition, the Rayleigh fading model is used to calculate the evaluation metric of links. Here, the quality of reliability is guaranteed by selecting optimal relay set with which the probability of correct packet reception at the BS will exceed a predefined threshold. Therefore, the proposed scheme ensures reliable packet transmission to the BS. Furthermore, in the proposed algorithm, energy efficiency is achieved by energy balancing (i.e. minimizing the energy consumption of the bottleneck node of the routing path) at the same time. This work also demonstrates that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing algorithms in extending longevity of the network, with respect to the quality of reliability. Given this, the obtained results make possible reliable path selection with minimum energy consumption in real time.


The experiment compared the influence of pre-exposure to a .1% saccharin CS on the conditioned taste aversion induced by lithium chloride (.15 M) and by d-amphetamine (2.0 mg/kg) in 44 female Long-Evans hooded rats. Nonpre-exposed rats displayed substantial lithium- and amphetamine-induced taste aversions while pre-exposed rats (6 days) displayed significant attenuation of taste aversion induced by lithium or amphetamine. Although the aversions induced by these reinforcers are anatomically and pharmacologically independent, manipulations of conditioning variables were not sufficient to dissociate these reinforcers.


A Si/SiC ceramic filter was used to support a structural palladium catalyst in a continuous fixed-bed flow reactor during a reductive decomposition of nitrite. A previous report described the use of non-porous alumina spheres coated with Pd/C, a carbon monolith impregnated with Pd or a structural catalyst consisting of a polyurethane sponge skeleton impregnated with Pd resulted either in negligible activity or a complete stoppage of the flow by increasing the pressure drop in the flow system. The use of a Si/SiC filter impregnated with palladium, however, overcame the demerits and resulted in an 11% conversion of nitrite in 60 min. The use of a Si/SiC filter coated with a char intermediate followed by impregnation with Pd (Pd/C/Si/SiC) resulted in a structural catalyst that enhanced the activity to yield a 33% conversion of nitrite in 60 min. When five Pd/C/Si/SiC structural catalysts were used, however, the complete decomposition was achieved in the same amount of time. Although improvement was previously observed by using an alumina intermediate, use of the char intermediate resulted in a new factor for activity improvement. The characterization results show that it was the affinity between aqueous nitrite and the intermediate rather than palladium dispersion that contributed the most to the improvement of activity.


While the analog and mixed-signal components are the leading source of test escapes that result in field failures, the lack of tools to analyze the test coverage during design has made it difficult for designers to address the issue. In this white paper, we explore the methodology for performing analog fault simulation of test coverage based on defect-oriented testing. In addition, we look at how the Cadence® LegatoTM Reliability Solution can be used to calculate test coverage and demonstrate the feasibility of the solution on a practical design, enabled through an advanced fault simulation engine.


This article presents an overview of rising trends in the study of networked interactions conveyed by social media technologies and the emergence of new meanings associated with social change. In recent years, a healthy amount of studies has focused on ICT uses within collective action, considering social media tools to have become crucial components of many transnational movements and social change projects. Crossing boundaries between social movements theories, political science, and communication studies, literature suggests that 'online activism' and increasingly networked interactions may have transformed the meanings and definitions associated with 'collective action' and 'social change'. To make sense of these meanings, we identify three approaches used by scholars, which focus on (i) the actual networking of actors, (ii) the diffusion of new repertoires and frames through networks, and (iii) making sense of new meanings conveyed within networked cultures. We conclude by suggesting the need for more comprehensive research to better observe and make sense of how's actors define collective action and how they use social media tools when striving to convey social change.


Measurement of Sebum Excretion Rate (SER) in patients is a time‐consuming test. It is now possible to measure SER 1 h after having degreased the forehead with a 70% ethanol solution. The skin surface lipids (SSL) collected during this time have similar composition to those collected for up to 7 h. A qualitative and quantitative study of sebaceous excretion, on 18 volunteers, from 1 to 7 h after having cleansed the forehead, showed that the refatting kinetics, in all subjects, obeyed the same mathematical law, independent of the subjects' individual SER.


Fluoroalkadienes were prepd. by Zn-catalyzed ring cleavage of 1-chloro-1-fluoro-2-halomethylcyclopropanes, obtained by treating haloalkenes with FCHCl2. Thus, ClCH2CH:CMeEt was treated with FCHCl2 to give the cyclopropane I (R = Cl) which was iodinated to give I (R = iodo). Treatment of the latter compd. with Zn gave CH2:CHCF:CMeEt. The fluorocycloheptadiene II was similarly obtained. [on SciFinder (R)]


Theoretical consequences of absorptive correction to the Reggeonic amplitude are studied under the assumption of a grey disc Pomeron of Ball and Zachariasen type. By the use of the procedure of the double-partial-wave amplitude recently proposed by Bronzan and Sugar, three typical conclusions are obtained with regard to the structure of !-plane singularities associated with Reggeized absorption. First, the Reggeonic amplitude with absorption has three different types of moving branch cuts in the !-plane, i.e., a logarithmic branch cut, two pairs of colliding branch cuts of logarithmic type and a pair of colliding branch cuts of square-root type. Secondly, the input Regge pole of linear trajectory-function remains unmodified on the physical sheet of !-plane. Thirdly, there is an energy-independent domain, Jtl< constant, of momentum transfers in which the asymptotic behaviour of the full Reggeonic amplitude is controlled by the input Regge pole. These conclusions bring out in striking contrast the difference between grey and black disc Pomerons.


We modulated the grafting density (σ) and chain length of polystyrene (PS) brushes on substrates to probe their effect on the glass transition temperature (Tg) in overlaying PS thin films. The Tg of PS films was analyzed as a function of brush thickness (or σRg2), where Rg is the radius of gyration of PS brushes. Our results indicate that PS films below 90 nm exhibit a nonmonotonic dependence of Tg on grafting density with the maximum Tg occurring near the regime of wetting–dewetting transition of the overlaying melt. The maximum Tg was found to be higher than the value of bulk PS system. Computer simulation results suggest that such trends arise as a consequence of the environment of enhanced friction presented by the brush layer and the overlap between the polymer film and the grafted layer.


Abstract : This thesis addresses the problem of how best to teach beginning programmers the necessary skills of object oriented programming. There is no established method of introducing object oriented concepts such as encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, or providing an intuitive progression from simple programs to complex problem solving. The approach was to use two commercially available programming languages which we consider exemplify good object oriented programming techniques, to teach beginners how to program. We selected LOGO, which has been used successfully in the past as a first programming language for children. Then we added the concepts of visual programming through the use of Prograph, a language which provides a visual, object oriented, dataflow environment. The main result of our research is the design and implementation of a prototype language called Visual Object Oriented LOGO (VOOL). VOOL is intended for use at all levels of education to teach problem solving, object oriented concepts, and fundamental programming skills. VOOL was implemented on a Macintosh in the pictorial, iconic language of Prograph and fully supports the goals of this thesis. Object Oriented programming, Visual languages, LOGO, Prograph, Turtle graphics, Classes, Objects, Inheritance, Encapsulation, Polymorphism