OBJECTIVE
This study examined how people with serious mental illness access and use media to receive health information.

METHODS
One hundred people with serious mental illness were interviewed regarding their media use, with a focus on how they get their health information.

RESULTS
Among these participants, 91% had a television (M+/-SD=5.7+/-4.6 hours per day), and 74% indicated it was a primary health information source. One third of the sample had used the Internet. Of these participants, about half (53%) had gone online for health information. Younger participants and those with more education were significantly more likely to use the Internet. Among Internet nonusers, there was still interest in finding health information online; however, expense, lack of computer skills or knowledge, and difficulties with typing and reading prevented doing so.

CONCLUSIONS
Although this sample used television more often than the Internet as a resource, there appears to be interest among persons with serious mental illness in using the Internet as a source of health information and support.


When someone suffers a mishap, a setback or a downfall, we sometimes find ourselves experiencing schadenfreude - an emotion defined as deriving pleasure from another's misfortune. Schadenfreude is a common experience and an emotion which is seemingly inherent to social being. This book offers a comprehensive summary of current theoretical and empirical work on schadenfreude from psychological, philosophical and other scientific perspectives. The chapters explore justice as an underlying motive for schadenfreude, and the role played by social comparison processes and envy in evoking pleasure at the misfortunes of others in interpersonal relations. Schadenfreude is also described as a common phenomenon in intergroup relations. This is a compelling volume on a fascinating subject matter that aims to increase our understanding of the nature of this emotion and the role it plays in social relations.


A paper-based interface for browsing video is proposed. A paper document shows key frames selected from a video, a transcript for the parallel audio track, and bar codes that, when scanned, invoke a multimedia player. The paper document provides a stand-alone representation for a video recording that lets a user both understand the content of the file and replay only selected parts of the multimedia that are necessary to gain a better understanding. This approach applies the two-dimensional display characteristics of a newspaper to multimedia retrieval. By so doing, the user's browsing and search efficiency is greatly improved. This poster describes an implementation of the video paper system using a pocket PC with a bar code reader as the remote control device and an archive of video recordings on the pocket PC or an external server.


Abstract. Recent tropical cyclones, like Hurricane Katrina, have been some of the worst the United States has experienced. Tropical cyclones are expected to intensify, bringing about 20 % more precipitation, in the near future in response to global climate warming. Further, global climate warming may extend the hurricane season. This study focuses on four major river basins (Neches, Pearl, Mobile, and Roanoke) in the Southeast United States that are frequently impacted by tropical cyclones. An analysis of the timing of tropical cyclones that impact these river basins found that most occur during the low 10 discharge season, and thus rarely produce riverine flooding conditions. However, an extension of the current hurricane season of June-November, due to global climate warming, could encroach upon the high discharge seasons in these basins, increasing the susceptibility for riverine hurricane-induced flooding. This analysis shows that an extension of the hurricane season to May-December (just 2 months longer) increased the number of days that would be at risk to flooding were the average tropical cyclone to occur by 37-258 %, depending on the timing of the hurricane season in relation to the high 15 discharge seasons on these rivers. Future research should aim to extend this analysis to all river basins in the United States that are impacted by tropical cyclones in order to provide a bigger picture of which areas are likely to experience the worst increases in flooding risk due to a probable extension of the hurricane season with expected global climate change in the near future.


Computing software and systems have become increasingly large and complex. As their dependability and autonomy are of great concern, self-healing is an ongoing challenge. This paper presents an innovative model and technology to realize the self-healing function under the real-time requirement. The proposed approach, different from existing technologies, is based on a new concept defined as consequence-oriented diagnosis and healing. Derived from the new concept, a prototype model for proactive self-healing actions is presented. Then, a hybrid diagnosis tool is proposed that takes advantages from the Multivariate Decision Diagram, Fuzzy Logic, and Neural Networks, achieving an efficient, effective, accurate, and intelligent result. The consequence-oriented diagnosis and self-healing function is also implemented. The experimental results exhibit that the innovative system is very effective and precise in predicting the consequence, and in preventing resulting software and system failures.


The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) or the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a major endocrine/ paracrine system that regulates blood pressure (BP) via angiotensin release as well as fluid and electrolyte homeostasis via aldosterone release. RAAS should be constantly suppressed and any degree of activity may lead to hypertension (HTN) and associated target organ damage. Activation of the RAAS in the pathogenesis of hypertension, cardiovascular disease(CVD) and renal disease is well documented. Also benefits of inhibition of RAAS, as an effective way to intervene in the pathogenesis of HTN, CVD and chronic renal failure(CRF) has been well recognized. Inhibition of renin activity and the blockage of RAAS cascade at its primary steps, has long been proposed as the optimal means of RAAS inhibition. Renin inhibitor provides more effective means of RAAS Inhibition. Aliskiren is the first in a new class of orally active, non-peptide, low molecular weight direct renin inhibitor (DRI) available for clinical use and potential new approach to the blockade of the RAAS. Bangladesh J Medicine Jan 2014; 25 (1) : 21-24


Purpose: To evaluate the sensitivity of chemical-exchange-saturation transfer imaging of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) (gagCEST) on human knee cartilage in vivo at 3T and 7T. Methods: The study was conducted under an approved Institutional Review Board protocol of the University of Pennsylvania. With an informed consent CEST imaging was performed on the knees of six healthy human volunteers using 18-cm diameter, eight-channel transmitreceive phased-array (PA) knee coil on Siemens 3T (Magnetom Tim Trio, Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA) and 7T MR scanner (Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA). A new pulse sequence was designed to use a frequency selective saturation pulse train followed by a segmented RF spoiled gradient echo (GRE) readout sequence. The sequence parameters were: slice thickness = 5mm, GRE flip angle =10°, GRE readout TR=5.6ms, TE =2.7ms, field of view = 140×140mm2, matrix size = 128×128, and one saturation pulse and 128 segments acquired every 10 sec to enable full T1 recovery. Multiple CEST images were collected using a saturation pulse with average B1rms of 31 (0.7mT), 62 (1.4mT), 93 (2.1mT) and 124Hz (2.8mT) and saturation offsets relative to water ranging from −3.0 to +3ppm in steps of 0.1ppm.The total scan time was ~30 minutes. To alleviate B0 and B1 inhomogeneity contribution from CEST effect, B0 and B1 maps from the same imaging slices were also obtained.


Efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) bifunctional electrocatalysts have been pursued for decades. Meanwhile, single metal atoms embedded in a two-dimensional material substrate (2D-substrate) have emerged as an outstanding catalyst. Herein, we report on computational ORR/OER efficiencies of a series of single atom catalyst systems, with a nitrogen-doped boron phosphide monolayer (N3-BP) as the 2D-substrate, and with Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rh, Pd, Ir, and Pt as the single-atom subject (M). In brief, our density functional theory results show that the overpotentials for ORR/OER are low for CoN3-BP, NiN3-BP, and PtN3-BP, with {ηORR; ηOER} of {0.36; 0.42 V}, {0.29; 0.44 V}, and {0.32; 0.25 V}, respectively. The relevant attributes such as the chemical stability of the 2D-substrate in the ORR/OER environments, immobilization of the single-atom subject on the 2D-substrate, and mechanisms of the ORR/OER activity and the catalyst recovery on the MN3-BP catalysts were carefully examined. The key to the comparative study is how the electronic states of the reaction center near the Fermi level of the catalytic system match the frontier orbitals of ORR/OER reaction intermediates. In short, our method predicts the ORR/OER catalytic efficiencies of novel catalysts via a single-atom/2D-substrate design strategy.


An ultra-high sensitivity double-slot hybrid plasmonic (DSHP) ring resonator, used for optical sensors and modulators, is developed. Due to high index contrast, as well as plasmonic enhancement, a considerable part of the optical energy is concentrated in the narrow slots between Si and plasmonic materials (silver is used in this paper), which leads to high sensitivity to the infiltrating materials. By partial opening of the outer plasmonic circular sheet of the DSHP ring, a conventional side-coupled silicon on insulator (SOI) bus waveguide can be used. Experimental results demonstrate ultra-high sensitivity (687.5 nm/RIU) of the developed DSHP ring resonator, which is about five-times higher than for the conventional Si ring with the same geometry. Further discussions show that a very low detection limit (5.37 × 10−6 RIU) can be achieved after loaded Q factor modifications. In addition, the plasmonic metal structures offer also the way to process optical and electronic signals along the same hybrid plasmonic circuits with small capacitance (~0.275 fF) and large electric field, which leads to possible applications in compact high-efficiency electro-optic modulators, where no extra electrodes for electronic signals are required.


This paper presents development of ROV-type underwater robot capable of cleaning ship hull in automatic mode. The purpose of developing this robot is for underwater cleaning to secure the safety of divers who inspect and clean the ship hull. The robot consists of the cleaning system with rotating brush mechanism, a car-like driving mechanism, inspection system using video, and overall control system for underwater communication and operation. In this paper, we present overall design process of the cleaning system and operating system and technical contents of the overall control system for the underwater cleaning robot.


Short timescale processes such as earthquakes, tremors and slow slip events may be influenced by reactions, which are known to proceed rapidly in the presence of water (typically several days). Here, we developed a theoretical framework to introduce the influence of mineralogical reactions on fluid flow and deformation. The classical formalism for dissolution/precipitation reactions is used to consider the influence of the distance from equilibrium and of temperature on the reaction rate and a dependence on porosity is introduced to model the evolution of the reacting surface area during reaction. The thermodynamic admissibility of the derived equations is checked and an analytical solution is derived to test the model. The fitting of experimental data for three reactions typically occurring in metamorphic systems (serpentine dehydration, muscovite dehydration and calcite decarbonation) indicates a systematic faster kinetics on the dehydration side than on the hydration side close from equilibrium. This effect is amplified through the porosity term in the reaction rate. Numerical modelling indicates that this difference in reaction rate close from equilibrium plays a key role in microtextures formation during dehydration in metamorphic systems. The developed model can be used in a wide variety of geological systems where couplings between reaction, deformation and fluid flow have to be considered.


Background: Pattern of suicidal deaths is a reflection of the prevailing social set up and mental health status of the region. Many cultural and socio-economic factors of a country are responsible for the causation of such deaths in females. Suicidal deaths happen almost everywhere in the world.
Objective: The current study was conducted with an objective to find out the causes of suicidal deaths in females and the various reasons associated with them.
Methodology: The present study is hospital based cross-sectional study in which 138 autopsy cases of suicidal deaths in females were taken out of total 1983 autopsies conducted in the mortuary of Government Medical College and New Civil Hospital, Surat (South Gujarat) during the period from May 2009 to April 2010.
Results: The most common cause of death in majority of the deaths was poisoning (35.51%) followed by hanging (31.16%) and burns (27.54%) while common motive behind them was mental stress due to unknown reasons (51.45%). Conclusions: Most of the causes are preventable The result of this study indicates that, by not only a strong legal support network but also opportunities for economic independency, essential education and awareness, alternative accommodation and a change in attitude and mindset of society, judiciary, legislature, executive, men and the most importantly woman herself can lower or prevents the such suicidal deaths.


Off-road engines are requested with limited space due to variety of end products, and it is also requested reasonable costs for the limited end products prices. For that purpose, several small off-road engines have to comply with emission legislations by only engine modifications. However, the additional engine control and devices (=High pressure direct injection, combustion chamber modification, electrical control, turbo charging control, etc.) must be expensive, and increasing the total engine costs and manpower for developments. These are very critical issues for long term possibility of same engine productions which cover to new legislations in each country. Thanks to drastic fuel condition improvement for passenger cars / trucks around the world, it would be aroused one of the best solution by DOC (Diesel Oxidation Catalyst) systems rather than the engine modifications. However, the small DOC systems would lead to low emission conversion efficiencies by large gas-flow and high temperature (=larger SV (Space Velocity)) as an effect of high load applications. This paper describes ultra-small DOC systems with metal special structure design (LS: Longitudinal Structure design) substrate. For compact, HC/PM reductions issues, Hydrodynamic, heat transfer and gas dispersion of perspective, the metal LS substrate is firstly calculated for optimization of off-road application. Then, the hypothesis is evaluated by gas rig and actual engine tests for the emission conversion efficiencies under significant catalytic converter volume reduction and PGM reduction by considering the space and cost limitations. For off-road engine applications, it is confirmed that the LS substrate has advantages compared to conventional other types of substrates in ultra-small DOC systems.


The time evolution of the phases present in the ceramic cores of silver-sheathed (Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox (Ag/Bi-2223) multifilament superconducting tapes heat-treated at selected oxygen partial pressure/temperature (pO2/T) set points was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy coupled with computer-based image processing methods. The numerical values for individual phase contents and non-superconducting second phase (NSP) size distributions generated in this way were used to quantify the temporal evolution of composition in the variably treated Ag/Bi-2223 tapes. Results for the three pO2/T set points investigated (21.0% O2/835 °C, 7.5% O2/825 °C and 4.0% O2/815 °C) revealed characteristic patterns of recurring maxima and minima in the time evolution of the NSPs. (Ca, Sr)14Cu24O41 was found to be the stable phase at 21.0% O2/835 °C, possibly evolving as a co-product of the Bi-2223 formation reaction, while (Ca, Sr)2CuO3 and CuO were stable at 4.0% O2/815 °C, presumably as a consequence of competitive secondary reactions proceeding in parallel with Bi-2223 formation. The best-aligned grains were formed in Ag/Bi-2223 tapes treated at 21.0% O2/835 °C, while the best conversion to Bi-2223, together with the least amount of NSP particles >0.5 μm in major dimension, was produced by the 7.5% O2/825 °C treatment. A forward-looking conclusion of the study is that it appears possible to minimize the amount and size of NSP particles during Ag/Bi-2223 heat treatment by using a combinatorial sequence of appropriately timed pO2/T set points.


The Israeli Standard SI5282 rates buildings according to the operational energy (OE) used to support their heating, cooling, and lighting needs. When it was proposed, OE was generally considered to be derived from fossil fuels, such as coal. However, at present, Israel is in the process of transitioning to cleaner energy sources, such as natural gas and renewables. In light of this change, the question that guided this study was as follows: should the production (P) stage of external shading devices be taken into account alongside the OE stage? In this study, we aimed to evaluate the P (environmental damage) and OE (environmental benefit) of five external shading devices with equivalently high energy rates that were installed in a typical office building using cleaner OE sources. We evaluated the environmental impacts using the ReCiPe2016 method. The results indicated that the P stage of the five shading devices led to significantly different degrees of environmental damage, thus reducing the environmental benefits related to the OE stage. Therefore, the five similarly rated shading devices could no longer be considered as equivalent sustainable alternatives. As such, we recommend that the energy rating be supplemented with a P stage environmental evaluation.


The Late Mississippian Newman/Greenbrier carbonates were deposited in the Appalachian foreland basin whose depocenter lay to the south and east of Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Over 50 closely spaced detailed measured sections along with numerous wireline logs, biostratigraphic data, and lithologic markers are used to construct detailed facies cross-sections. In the Newman limestone along the Cincinnati Arch, four sequences bounded by regional unconformities can be recognized. The lower three sequences contain one to eight oolite bearing disconformity bounded parasequences. Parasequences within sequences one to three, progressively onlap the Waverly and Cincinnati arches. These are dominated by shoal water ooid grainstone and lagoonal skeletal wackestone/mudstone facies, while eolianite quartzose peloidal grainstone facies are restricted to the lower two sequences. Sequence four is thicker and capped by a disconformity, but is internally conformable. It contains thick oolite units in the lower part (up to 10 m), open ramp skeletal packstone and shale (2nd order maximum flooding of the studied interval). In the much thicker foreland basin sections in West Virginia, four sequences also can be defined. The lowstand deposits are characterized by red beds up-dip, locally thickened tidal flat facies down-dip, and thin grainstone tongues extending into the slope/basin facies. Withinmore » the sequences, parasequences lack bounding disconformities, and are dominated by open ramp skeletal packstone and shoal water ooid grainstone facies. Eolianite facies are common in landward parts of the lower two sequences. The complex regional distribution and vertical compartmentalization of these multilateral oolitic reservoirs in both areas on this tropical ramp reflect tidal bar morphologies, differential regional subsidence patterns, coupled with 4th order moderate amplitude eustacy.« less


The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe preservice teachers' views on the use of banned or censored texts and taboo topics in the classroom. The study sought to discern how elementary and secondary teacher candidates enrolled in methods courses at a Midwestern university thought about issues of censorship, citizenship, and curricular materials they may or may not decide to use. The study found that, when introduced to banned and censored texts related to citizenship, teacher candidates conceptually appreciated the notion of exploring controversial citizenship issues with students.


This paper presents a case between South African Airways (SAA) and an applicant for employment who did not volunteer information about his HIV status. The matter between Jacques Charl Hoffmann an HIV-infected man applying for a position as flight attendant and SAA was heard before Judge Hussain in the Witwatersrand Local Division. Mr. Hoffmann contended that SAA had unfairly discriminated against him solely on the basis of his HIV-positive status. He argued that such unfair discrimination violated his constitutional rights to dignity equality fair labor practices and privacy. Considered as a whole Judge Hussain found that the policy of SAA was justified and substantiated. It is noted that the policy is not selectively applied against those persons who are HIV-positive instead it is directed at detecting all kinds of disabilities that make employment as a flight attendant unsuitable. To the judge the "unsuitability" of an applicant is to be considered against the policys consideration of "medical safety and operational grounds". In conclusion the court found it justifiable for the airline to conduct medical examinations of aspiring flight attendants and its refusal to employ Mr. Hoffmann was not an act of unfair discrimination.


Novel photo-responsive hollow structured molecularly imprinted polymers (PHMIPs) were developed as a selective sorbent to recognize and separate analytes in complex samples. The PHMIPs were prepared using kaempferol (KAE) as the template, 4-[(4-methacryloyloxy) phenylazo] benzenesulfonic acid as a photo-responsive functional monomer, and hollow SnO2 (Ho-SnO2) as the support via free radical polymerization. The structure and physical properties of the developed polymers were characterized using different nano structural techniques and spectroscopy. Under alternating irradiation at 365 and 440 nm, the PHMIPs could release and uptake KAE, indicating that the template molecules can be easily bound to recognition sites and released back into solution. From adsorption experiments, the binding properties were evaluated, and the maximal adsorption capacity of the PHMIPs was 11.04 mg g-1. Furthermore, the developed PHMIPs showed high selectivity towards KAE compared to other compounds. Subsequently, the materials were successfully applied to the photo-controlled extraction of KAE from sea buckthorn leaves. The recoveries for KAE were higher than 90% and relative standard deviation values were between 1.81% and 2.53%, indicating the potential of the developed materials for use in extracting KAE from complex samples.


Mid-infrared metamaterial absorbers have many applications in the field of infrared detection, infrared thermal energy utilization, radiation refrigeration, invisible camouflage, etc. In this study, we designed an ultra-broadband mid-infrared metamaterial absorber based on multi-sized resonators. The structure of the absorber consisted of a gold substrate and nine resonators. The simulated results showed that the absorptivity of the absorber was higher than 90% in the 8.33–15.09 μm waveband with an average absorptivity of 95.17%. The energy distributions of the electric and magnetic fields were introduced to investigate the physics of broadband absorption. Moreover, we combined the multi-layer structure with the plane random arrangement structure to achieve a balance between thickness and width. Our study further illustrates the potential application of multi-sized resonators in metamaterial absorbers to realize high absorptivity and ultra-broadband to improve the performance of devices applied in infrared detection, radiation refrigeration, and other fields.


Background & Objective: Nowadays due to the environmental pollution, health risk of foodstuffs consumption especially citrus species as an integral part of human diet has become a serious challenge. Therefore, this study was carried out for analysis and health risk assessment of As and Zn in some widely used citrus samples marketed in Hamedan city in 2015. Materials and Methods: In this analytical study, 48 samples of citrus species (orange, grapefruit, lemon and tangerine) were randomly collected from four wholesale centers of Hamedan city. After samples preparation using acid digestion method, the concentrations of elements in samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES) in three replications. the gained experimental results were analyzed by SPSS 20 software using Shapiro-Wilk Test, One Sample T Test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. Results:The results showed that the maximum mean concentration (mg/kg) of As and Zn were 0.09±0.07, and 0.26±0.09 for grapefruit and lemon samples respectively. Also the computed health risk assessment showed that there is no potential risk for children and adult to consume the studied citrus. Conclusion: Although based on the obtained results, controlled consumption of studied citrus species has not adverse effect on the consumers' health, due to the increased use of agricultural inputs especially phosphorus fertilizers, sewage sludge and wastewater by farmers and orchardists, regular periodic monitoring of chemical pollutants such as pesticides and other toxic metals (Hg, Pb, Cd and Cr) content are recommended for food safety especially in imported foodstuffs.


Intelligent systems and communication technologies have experienced huge advances in the last few years. AAL can benefit from mixing both research fields. This article presents an intelligent communication architecture for AAL. It uses artificial intelligence to process the information gathered from several types of communication (e.g., wireless sensor networks, wireless ad hoc networks, wireless mesh networks) over any type of communication technologies (e.g., device-to-device, machine-to-machine, sensor-actuator), know what is happening in the network, and detect if elderly people need assistance. The article shows the main intelligent algorithms included in the AAL system and the developed software application. Several real measurements validate the operation of our proposal.


We present a comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) -based study of different aspects of one vacancy and He impurity atom behavior at semicoherent interfaces between the low-solubility transition metals Cu and Nb. Such interfaces have not been previously modeled using DFT. A thorough analysis of the stability and mobility of the two types of defects at the interfaces and neighboring internal layers has been performed and the results have been compared to the equivalent cases in the pure metallic matrices. The different behavior of fcc and bcc metals on both sides of the interface has been specifically assessed. The modeling effort undertaken is the first attempt to study the stability and defect energetics of noncoherent Cu/Nb interfaces from first principles, in order to assess their potential use in radiation-resistant materials.


The general accepted dogma is that antibodies do not penetrate living cells. However, this has recently been challenged for anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies (anti-RNPab). We have studied here the "penetration" of trypsin isolated keratinocytes in vitro, using indirect immuno-fluorescence and immuno-peroxidase techniques. 70% (+/- 22) of a living keratinocyte cell suspension showed nuclear speckled staining when incubated with anti-RNP sera but only 9.5% (+/- 4) were stained with an anti-DNA antiserum (homogeneous pattern). A suspension of dead keratinocytes gave similar percentages with both anti-sera (89.5 [+/- 8] and 76.6 [+/- 18] respectively). The penetration of anti-RNPab into the nuclei of living epidermal cells increased gradually during the first hour of incubation without a parallel increase in the deadh rate measured by trypan blue dye exclusion. There was still high percentage of stained cell even after high dilution (1/1000) of anti-RNP sera. However, the percentage markedly decreased after previous incubation of the cells with increasing concentrations of concanavalin A. No decrease was obtained with dead keratinocytes in the same conditions. After they had been incubated with anti-RNPab, the epidermal cells were still capable of adhering to culture flasks and of incorporating labeled precursors. Only 4% of the epidermal cells in suspension were able to form rosettes with antibody coated erythrocytes, and were thus bearing receptors for the Fc fragment of IgG. These results strongly suggest that anti-RNPab penetrated living epidermal cells, but not through Fc receptors as reported for mononuclear blood cells.


ABSTRACT Background: It is common practice for HIV programmes to routinely trace patients who are late for a scheduled clinic visit to ensure continued care engagement. In South Africa, patients who are late for a scheduled visit are identified from clinic registers, and called by telephone up to three times by designated clinic staff, with home visits conducted for those who are unreachable by phone. It is important to understand outcomes among late patients in order to have accurate mortality data, identify defaulters to attempt to re-engage them into care, and have accurate estimates of patients still in care for planning purposes. Objective: We conducted a study to assess whether tracing of HIV patients in clinics in rural north-eastern South Africa was implemented in line with national policies. Methods: Thirty-three person-day of observations took place during multiple visits to eight facilities between October 2017 and January 2018 during which clinic tracing processes were captured. The facility level implementation processes were compared to the intended tracing process and gaps and challenges were identified. Results: Challenges to implementing effective tracing procedures fell into three broad categories: i) facility-level barriers, ii) issues relating to data, documentation and record-keeping, and iii) challenges relating to the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in the tracing cascade. We recommend improving linkages between clinics, improving record-keeping systems, and regular training of community health workers involved in tracing activities. Improved links between clinics would reduce the chance of patients being lost between clinics. Record-keeping systems could be improved through motivating health workers to take ownership of their data and training them on the importance of complete data. Finally, training of community health workers may improve sustained motivation, and improve their ability to respond appropriately to their clients' needs. Conclusions: Substantial investment in data infrastructure and healthcare staff training is needed to improve routine tracing.


The study of the different facies of the terminal Jurassic (Portlandian) and of their geographic distribution makes possible a rough estimate of the form of the basin of sedimentation. To the south and to the east appear shallow shelves which extend from Moustier-Sainte-Marie to Nice and to the border of the Mercantour [massif], while the region between Sisteron and Puget-Theniers must show a fairly great depth, as emphasized by the importance of submarine slides which have carried toward the center of the basin constituents coming from the shelves.


Subchronic tests on rats showed that a new phenolic antioxidant bis[3,(3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propyl] sulfide (SO-3) exhibits low toxicity upon peroral administration. Neither significant variations in the hematological and integral indices, nor pathological shifts in the activity of serum enzymes or pathomorphological changes in the internal organs were observed. Simultaneous administration of a sunflower oil with SO-3 led to a significant decrease in the blood cholesterol level, produced a hepatoprotector effect, and exhibited a protective action with respect to the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract. Animals receiving large doses of SO-3 showed no signs of a prelipid stage of the arteriosclerosis typically observed in the control group.


Background Neighbourhoods that promote natural surveillance may support greater feelings of safety; yet few empirical studies have explored the relationship between suburban planning and residents' perceived safety. Aims/Objectives/Purpose To examine whether changes to the built environment that promote pedestrian movement influence residents' perceived safety from crime. Methods The RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) study is a longitudinal study of people moving into new neighbourhoods (n=74) in Perth, Western Australia. Participants (n=1420) completed a questionnaire before moving to their new neighbourhood, and again 12 months after relocation. Objective environmental measures were generated at both time points using Geographic Information Systems. Linear regression examined the influence of changes to the built and social environments on perceived safety, controlling for individual factors and suburb-level changes in crime. Results/Outcomes Resident's perceived safety increased after relocation (p =0.000). A decrease in vacant land improved perceived safety (p =0.042); and perceived improvements in traffic safety and street lighting, and declines in graffiti/vandalism were also determinants of increased perceived safety (p =0.000). Notably, increased social cohesion caused the greatest increase in perceived safety after relocation (p =0.000). Significant/Contribution to the Field Changes to the built environment had little impact on perceived safety, however participants typically moved to urban-fringe suburbs where infrastructure was still developing. Residents' changing perceptions were important influences on perceived safety, and community initiatives that improve social cohesion, street lighting and maintenance, and manage traffic may best promote perceived safety. Further follow-up is needed to investigate whether the observed relationships are related to the novelty of moving to a new neighbourhood.


The present contribution examines the use of animal terminology—wild dogs—in Ps. lix and endeavours to interpret this terminology within the framework of a working definition of metaphor as a stylistic feature of BHP and its function therein. As a result, it would appear that the author's metaphorisation of his enemy (either personal or national) as a pack of wild dogs foaming at the mouth and terrorising the city at night allows him to introduce elements of imprecation. Indeed, animal terminology, focusing particularly on mouth, teeth etc. is common among the so-called psalms of imprecation. At a second level, it is possible to detect traces of a further metaphorisation in which the author invites the divinity to behave as wild dogs would in destroying his enemy.


A long term (1989-1994) experiment with sugar cane (RB 739735) was carried out, in Linhares, ES, Brazil, in order to evaluate the effect of two systems of sugar cane harvesting: the first with previous burning (burned cane), and the second with crop residue remaining on the soil surface (green cane), on some physical properties of a tableland Yellow Podzolic soil. The statistical design was in randomized blocks, replicated six times. After six years of cultivation, a process of soil degradation was observed in the burned cane system, with decreasing of aggregate mean diameter and increasing of soil bulk density at the 0-5 cm soil depth. There were also differences in total porosity and porous distribution at the 0-5 cm soil depth as a consequence of the harvesting system. The soil water infiltration, measured in the field, was greatest in the area under the green cane treatments. The same result was not observed when measuring saturated hydraulic conductivity with the steady state permeameter.


Summary Populations of Critically Endangered White-rumped Gyps bengalensis and Slender-billed G. tenuirostris Vultures in Nepal declined rapidly during the 2000s, almost certainly because of the effects of the use in livestock of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, which is nephrotoxic to Gyps vultures. In 2006, veterinary use of diclofenac was banned in Nepal and this was followed by the gradual implementation, over most of the geographical range of the two vulture species in Nepal, of a Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) programme to advocate vulture conservation, raise awareness about diclofenac, provide vultures with NSAID-free food and encourage the veterinary use in livestock of a vulture-safe alternative NSAID (meloxicam). We report the results of long-term monitoring of vulture populations in Nepal before and after this programme was implemented, by means of road transects. Piecewise regression analysis of the count data indicated that a rapid decline of the White-rumped Vulture population from 2002 up to about 2013 gave way to a partial recovery between about 2013 and 2018. More limited data for the Slender-billed Vulture indicated that a rapid decline also gave way to partial recovery from about 2012 onwards. The rates at which populations were increasing in the 2010s exceeded the upper end of the range of increase rates expected in a closed population under optimal conditions. The possibility that immigration from India is contributing to the changes cannot be excluded. We present evidence from open and undercover pharmacy surveys that the VSZ programme had apparently become effective in reducing the availability of diclofenac in a large part of the range of these species in Nepal by about 2011. Hence, community-based advocacy and awareness-raising actions, and possibly also provisioning of safe food, may have made an important contribution to vulture conservation by augmenting the effects of changes in the regulation of toxic veterinary drugs.


We study free electron dynamics during inelastic interaction with the ponderomotive potential of a traveling optical wave using classical and quantum-mechanical models. We show that in the strong interaction regime, the electrons trapped in the periodic potential oscillate leading to periodic revolutions of sharp peaks of the density distributions in the real and momentum spaces. In this regime, the synchronicity between the velocity of the optical wave and the electron propagation velocity is not required. Asynchronous interaction enables acceleration or deceleration of a significant fraction of the electrons to a final spectrum with a relative spectral width of 0.5%-2.5%. This technique allows one to accelerate electrons from rest to keV energies while reaching a narrow spectrum of kinetic energies and femtosecond pulsed operation.


Thioglycoligases are recently introduced variants of retaining glycosidases in which the acid-base catalyst has been mutated, rendering them capable of thioglycoside synthesis. The original acid-base mutant of Agrobacterium sp. beta-glucosidase (E170A) was previously shown to be an effective thioglycoligase carrying out glycosyltransfer from 2,4-dinitrophenyl glycosides to several different thio sugar acceptors. Here we report the generation of a screen for improved thioglycoligases, randomized mutagenesis of the acid-base catalyst E170 and identification of variants superior to E170A. Furthermore we have established a coupled assay allowing kinetic analysis of isolated variants and found that Abg E170Q is 5-fold faster than Abg E170A when 2,4-dinitrophenyl glucoside is used as donor and 100-fold faster when glucosyl azide is used. To demonstrate its utility, different acceptor and donor sugar combinations were employed to produce thio-linked di- or trisaccharides in high yields, showing the considerable versatility of the system for the synthesis of carbohydrate mimetics.


Capacitance due to geometric influence of the finite tip shape and influence of distant surface points can lead to artifacts in scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) images. These artifacts appear as features in the SKPM image which are due only to tip/surface geometry and not to true surface potential variations. They can also cause blurring of real features. Such effects are most prominent for samples with rich topography. We present here a method for identifying and removing these artifacts, and demonstrate it for a gold sample with rich topography relative to the nearly flat surface potential fluctuations.


The use of ionic liquids (ILs) as precursors for functional carbon materials is reviewed, showing that they are highly promising starting compounds for this purpose: As liquids with negligible vapour pressure, simple processing and structural control of the resulting carbons can be achieved. The architecture of ILs allows for a wide combination of anions and cations, which can be used to tailor the amount of heteroatom-doping in the resulting carbon materials. As ILs are well compatible with a variety of compounds, carbon composites can be simply prepared. Considerable progress in applications of these materials has been presented for example as electrodes in fuel cells, supercapacitors or Li-ion batteries.


Carnivorism is one of the basic life strategies of fungi. Carnivorous fungi possess the ability to trap and digest their preys by sophisticated trapping devices. However, the origin and development of fungal carnivorism remains a gap in evolution biology. In this study, five protein-encoding genes were used to construct the phylogeny of the carnivorous fungi in the phylum Ascomycota; these fungi prey on nematodes by means of specialized trapping structures such as constricting rings and adhesive traps. Our analysis revealed a definitive pattern of evolutionary development for these trapping structures. Molecular clock calibration based on two fossil records revealed that fungal carnivorism diverged from saprophytism about 419 Mya, which was after the origin of nematodes about 550–600 Mya. Active carnivorism (fungi with constricting rings) and passive carnivorism (fungi with adhesive traps) diverged from each other around 246 Mya, shortly after the occurrence of the Permian–Triassic extinction event about 251.4 Mya. The major adhesive traps evolved around 198–208 Mya, which was within the time frame of the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event about 201.4 Mya. However, no major carnivorous ascomycetes divergence was correlated to the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which occurred more recently (about 65.5 Mya). Therefore, a causal relationship between mass extinction events and fungal carnivorism evolution is not validated in this study. More evidence including additional fossil records is needed to establish if fungal carnivorism evolution was a response to mass extinction events.


Applying high voltage pulses to both cathodes separately, a coherent train of sharp voltage dips appears above a threshold voltage. The single spikes with a length of several nanoseconds are so distributed between the cathodes that only one is affected at a time. In general (applying equal voltages) the sequence is simply alternating. Raising the voltage at one cathode higher than at the other prevents it from spiking, while the cathode with the lower voltage now carries the whole spike train, as given by the sum of both trains in the alternating mode. These spikes are associated with electron beam pulses originating from the whole cathode surface, which have been measured on the He II line at 469 nm. Before the onset of spiking a polarised microwave burst is emitted at the plasma frequency.


• To understand how enthalpy and entropy changes affect solution formation. • To use the magnitude of the changes in both enthalpy and entropy to predict whether a given solute–solvent combination will spontaneously form a solution. In all solutions, whether gaseous, liquid, or solid, the substance present in the greatest amount is the solvent, and the substance or substances present in lesser amounts are the solute(s). The solute does not have to be in the same physical state as the solvent, but the physical state of the solvent usually determines the state of the solution. As long as the solute and solvent combine to give a homogeneous solution, the solute is said to be soluble in the solvent. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) lists some common examples of gaseous, liquid, and solid solutions and identifies the physical states of the solute and solvent in each. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Types of Solutions Solution Solute Solvent Examples gas gas gas air, natural gas liquid gas liquid seltzer water (\(CO_2\) gas in water) liquid liquid liquid alcoholic beverage (ethanol in water), gasoline liquid solid liquid tea, salt water solid gas solid \(H_2\) in Pd (used for \(H_2\) storage) solid solid liquid mercury in silver or gold (amalgam often used in dentistry) solid solid solid alloys and other "solid solutions"


: Background: Increasing knowledge regarding the deleterious effects of sun exposure and the mechanisms of photodamage has enabled the development of tailored photoprotection strategies based on skin type and the existence of underlying conditions. Dermatologists play an essential role as they identify the specific skin photoprotection needs of their patients. This translates into specific recommendations of suitable protection measures, both in terms of the length and time of the day these patients can be exposed to the sun and the use of sun protection products. Purpose: Our purpose was to overview optimal photoprotection strategies for patients with dermatological pathologies or alterations. Methods: Increasing evidence supports the use of sunscreens containing not only organic and inorganic filters but also non-filtering biological ingredients that can enhance sunscreen protection efficacy. Examples of these biologicals are DNA repair enzymes, antioxidants including vitamins and other biological agents, including those of botanical origin. Results: Oral photoprotection is also an area of increasing interest that contributes to an integral protection against sun-related alterations. Conclusion: This article provides the skin care specialist with a simple, easy-to-use guide to identify appropriate measures for patients presenting pathologies or conditions requiring specific sun protection needs, including (but not limited to) photodermatoses (polymorphic light eruption, porphyrias); inflammatory dermatoses (atopic dermatitis, rosacea, psoriasis); pigmentation disorders (hyperpigmentation, vitiligo), photoaging, skin pre- cancerous lesions and cancers, and photosensitive or sensitized skin (patients undergoing specific drugs treatments or skin-related procedures), ensuring the choice of personalized protection for susceptible groups within the general population.


Hypertension can be prevented and handled by eating nutritious foods with the right composition. The genetic algorithm can be used to optimize the food composition for people with hypertension. Data used include sex, age, weight, height, activity type, stress level, and patient hypertension level. This study uses a reproduction method that is good enough to be applied to integer chromosome representations so that the search results provided are not local optimum solutions. The testing results show that the best genetic algorithm parameters are as follows population size is 15 with average fitness 20.97, the generation number is 40 with average fitness 50.10, and combination crossover rate and mutation rate are 0.3 and 0.7 with average fitness 41.67. The solution obtained is the optimal food composition for people with hypertension.


Molecular analysis using the internal transcribed spacer region sequences revealed that the strains used in this study, which were formerly identified as Panellus serotinus, are Panellus edullis. After Universal Fungal PCR Fingerprinting (UFPF) analysis, eight strains of P. edulis were divided into two groups. We conducted fundamental research on mycelial growth and sawdust cultivation to understand the cultural characteristics of eight wild P. edulis strains collected from Korean forests. All strains showed faster and denser mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) than on other media (malt extract agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar). Optimal conditions for mycelial growth were: 20°C on PDA, 25°C on potato dextrose broth (PDB), and pH 5~8 on PDB at 25°C. Two strains (NIFoS 2407, 3993) were selected as excellent strains based on mycelial growth and density on PDA. NIFoS 2792 showed high cellulase activities on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar, and NIFoS 2387 and 2804 exhibited high laccase activities on ABTS-containing agar media. The mycelial growth of P. edulis was the fastest on Quercus acutissima and Q. mongolica sawdust media, and mycelial density was the highest on Quercus spp. sawdust-containing media. Sawdust cultivation of P. edulis was successful. The conditions were 80~85 days of cultivation period after spawn inoculation, 10~11 days for primordial formation at 17~18°C, and 15~20 days for fruiting growth. NIFoS 2804 and 3993 were selected as good strains in terms of cultivation period and mushroom production. These results could be useful for the artificial cultivation of P. edulis.


Objective: HIV incidence in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where Indigenous persons make up 80% of those infected, are among the highest on the continent. Reports of accelerated HIV progression, associated with carriage of certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles (including the typically protective HLA-B*51) have also emerged from the region. Given that acquisition of HIV preadapted to host HLA negatively impacts clinical outcome, we hypothesized that HIV-host adaptation may be elevated in Saskatchewan. Design: Comparative analysis of population-level HIV sequence datasets from Saskatchewan and elsewhere in Canada/USA. Methods: We analyzed 1144 HIV subtype B Pol sequences collected in Saskatchewan between 2000 and 2016, comprising ∼65% of cumulative provincial HIV cases, for the presence of 70 HLA-associated Pol mutations. Sequences from British Columbia (N = 6525) and elsewhere in Canada/USA (N = 6517) were used for comparison. HIV adaptation levels to 34 HLA alleles were also computed. Putative HIV transmission clusters were identified, and the prevalence of HLA-associated adaptations within and outside these clusters was investigated. Results: Analyses confirmed significantly elevated and temporally increasing levels of HIV adaptation to commonly expressed HLA alleles, in particular B*51. Notably, HLA-adapted HIV strains were significantly enriched among phylogenetic clusters in Saskatchewan. Conclusion: Extensive circulating HIV adaptation to HLA in Saskatchewan provides a plausible explanation for accelerated progression, while enrichment of adapted variants in phylogenetic clusters suggests they are being widely transmitted. Results highlight the utility of Pol sequences, routinely collected for drug resistance monitoring, for surveillance of HIV-host adaptation, and underscore the urgent need to expand HIV prevention and treatment programmes in Saskatchewan.


Time synchronization is a topic of interest for any distributed system and it is of particular relevance in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), especially when it is necessary to keep a strong level of time synchronization among the data coming from different nodes, which are then employed to perform a posteriori data-fusion and data-merging operations. A special case of WSN is constituted by Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN). The paper introduces the Fractional Low-power time Synchronization Algorithm (FLSA), a lightweight and ultra-low-power time synchronization algorithm conceived for Wireless Body Area Networks. The core of the proposed approach is the fractional-time concept, borrowed from Phase-Locked Loops theory, that allows achieving fine timer corrections. Moreover, an heuristic routine managing the on/off switching of the radio section of the device allows to dramatically decrease the power consumption. The mathematical discussion, along with a set of experiments is presented, proving the benefits associated with the proposed algorithm.


Over the past decade or so there has been growing recognition of the impacts of biomass burning in the wet forests of Indonesia. In contrast much less attention has been given to annual, mostly prescribed, burning practices and associated land management issues. A workshop, supported by ACIAR, was held in Darwin to discuss and prioritise these problems. [Book Synopsis].;


The proposed multi-dimensional quantitative fluorescence microscopy for the CAS-LIBB single-particle microbeam II endstation is a CCD-based imaging system. We systematically analyse the theoretical and the practical considerations pertinent to choosing the right CCD camera and unveiling the principles underlying multifarious parameters. Therefore, this analysis can be a valuable tool in scrutinizing each parameter and clarifying proper usage of a scientific CCD camera.


Determination of flow path is strongly controlled by both the preexisting topography and rheology of the lava flow. Using the Okmok 1997 eruption as an example lava flow, we perform numerical simulations of Bingham fluids flowing over preexisting topography and find that flow rheology determines whether or not new lobe formation (or bifurcation) occurs from the main flow at a topographic divide or remains confined by local topography. Therefore, lobe (or branch) length may increase for higher viscosity flows, when considering the effect of topographic control. Also, even one order of magnitude difference in the rheological properties allows lava flows to move in completely different paths, which may suggest that flow bifurcation due to topographic control provides insight to the local rheological properties of a lava flow. The effect reported here should be taken into account in risk assessments of future volcanic hazards.


Gum arabic is a tree resin obtained from Acacia senegal, an endemic tree species to the African Sahel Zone. Recently, plantation cultivation of Acacia senegal has been introduced in Northern Nigeria and the 'modern' production of gum arabic is investigated by government institutions to promote future gum arabic production, alongside a thitherto predominant smallholder collection of gum arabic from so-called natural stands of Acacia senegal. The two ways of collecting or producing gum arabic - smallholder collection in natural stands and plantation cultivation of Acacia senegal - are compared referring to land and labour productivity. In contrast to the collection of gum arabic in natural stands, the production of gum arabic in plantation cultivation requires the implementation of several working steps that are not carried out in natural stands. Hence, the question is raised how these two ways of gum arabic production differ from each other and why the collection from natural stands is rather extensive in comparison to plantation cultivation. Therefore, the context of local livelihoods and the interaction of several actors in the drylands of North-Eastern Nigeria is taken into consideration to explain the collection of gum arabic in natural stands. These interactions are limited in plantation cultivation where gum arabic production efficiency and profitability is focussed.


In this paper, a micropropagation protocol of sugar palm (Arenga pinnata Wurmb Merr) through callogenesis and somatic embryogenesis was examined. Callus induction frequency and somatic embryogenesis response were dependent on plant growth regulators (PGRs) and genotype. Semi-compact and compact embryogenic calluses were induced from excised immature zygotic embryo (IZE) cultured on semi-solid MS (Murashige & Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with various concentration and combination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 6-benzyl aminopurine acid (BAP). MS medium supplemented with 0.4 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/L BAP was found optimum to induce 100% rate of embryogenic calluses and maximum degree of callus formation after 8 and 12 weeks of culture. The incorporation of increased sucrose concentration (60.0 g/L) and 2.0 g/L casein hydrolysate (CH) to the culture medium with similar PGRs composition enhanced the induction of globular somatic embryos (SEs), while addition of silver nitrate (AgNO3) produced SEs of different stages. SEs maturated in MS medium containing 1.0 mg/L BAP and 1.0 mg/L naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA) formed cotyledon-stage embryos. Clonal roots regeneration was obtained on half-strength MS devoid of PGRs after 4 months of culture. Frequent subcultures increased embryogenesis rate favourably.


OBJECTIVE
Fetuin-A is an acidic glycoprotein produced in the liver, as an inhibitor for cysteine protease. Its gene is founded in chromosome 3 (3q27). It is involved in various physiological and pathological conditions. These include vascular decalcification, bone metabolism, insulin resistance, protease function control, neurological illnesses and multiplication of breast cancer cells. Vascular calcifications predict cardiovascular disease which can be a major cause of death. So, fetuin-A is a potent circulating calcification inhibitor. Studies on individuals with clinical cardiovascular disease supported that lower levels of fetuine-A are released with coronary artery circulation (CAC) and the function of the heart valve. Our aim was to evaluate fetuin-A values of the patients with coronary artery disease, as a prognostic factor of the disease, in correlation with SPET myocardium scintigraphy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We studied 40 patients, 25 male and 15 female, with a mean age 48±8 years (range 36 to 69), with coronary heart disease. All were subjected to myocardium scintigraphy, in the Nuclear Medicine Department of University Hospital of Alexandroupolis. Simultaneously, blood samples were drawn for the determination of fetuin-A. Serum fetuin-A levels were measured by a commercially available sandwich ELISA (Epitope Diagnostics, Inc., San Diego, CA).

RESULTS
The average values of fetuin-A range between 140-297mg/L, as it is derived from the current bibliography and our laboratory tests. In normal individuals, pathological values were considered to be under 140mg/L. Twenty five patients with positive SPET imaging for myocardium necrosis (scars) had low fetuin values (45-148mg/ L), 10 of them passing away within 6 months, while the rest of them were showing an encumbered clinical condition (P<0.005). Ten patients with reversible ischemia showed relatively low values (125-302mg/L) (P<0.005). Five patients with a normal myocardiac scintigraphic imaging showed normal values of fetuin-A (165-508mg/L) (P<0.005).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with myocardium necrosis demonstrated very low values of fetuin. Patients with ischemia show low amounts while patients with negative Scintigraphy for ischemia showed normal results of fetuin. The 10 patients that passed away in 6 months showed very low amounts of fetuin. Fetuin-A is supported to be a reliable prognostic factor in monitoring patients with coronary heart disease.


Background: Nutrition plays a major role in the prevention and management of diet-related disease. With the absence of clinical nutrition dietitians, physicians are considered responsible for prescribing nutritional support. Identifying weaknesses in nutritional knowledge among Saudi physicians may provide guidance to improve their nutritional knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional study that used an anonymous electronic questionnaire to investigate physicians' knowledge of the clinical nutrition discipline. In addition to demographics, the questionnaire consisted of 15 questions covering six areas in the clinical nutrition discipline (macro- and micronutrients, nutrition and chronic diseases, nutrition and metabolic diseases, nutrition care process, nutrition support therapy, and research). For continuous variables, independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used. Results: A total of 332 had completed the questionnaire and were included in the study. Most of the physicians were Saudi (87%), male (73.5%), aged between 26 and 35 years (63.3%), and without health problems (56.3%). The mean score of the physicians' knowledge was 5.3 ± 1.97 out of 15. Physicians who reported that they received some sort of nutritional training or course (M = 5.57, SD = 2.08) scored significantly more than physicians who did not (M = 5.10, SD = 1.86); t(330) = −2.174, p = 0.30. Conclusions: Nutrition should be reinforced as an important component of continuing medical education. There is a need for hiring more dietitians in health care settings in Saudi Arabia as an integral part of a multidisciplinary team delivering medical care services.


Height is one of the most influential traits of human beings, it has a high heritability factor but few major alleles. Hundreds of candidate genetic variants that potentially play a role in the determination of human height have been identified through dozens of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Profiling these variants, underlying genes, and networks can help for understanding the genetic knowledge of human height. In this study, a multi-step integrative bioinformatic analysis platform was performed to identify hub genes and their interacting partners. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other variant loci (n = 673) were collected from 30 data sets (n = 327,870) from GWAS Central. Next, we performed multi-step integrative bioinformatic analyses, including function prediction of SNPs, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI). A total of 372 genes were identified and mapped to pathways based on the reported and prioritized height-related SNPs. The majority were significantly enriched in skeletal system development and morphogenesis; cartilage development and differentiation; and other height-related biological process (BP); as well as the pathway which relates to long-term depression. The top 10 hub genes were identified from this analysis and a corresponding PPI network were also developed. This replication study identified candidate height-related hub genes based on input from GWAS studies and pathway analyses. This multi-step integrative bioinformatic analysis with GWAS inputs is an applicable approach to investigate the genetic background of human height and other complex polygenic traits.


The goal of this paper is to access to pelvis position and morphology in standing posture and to determine the relative locations of their articular surfaces. This is obtained from coupling biplanar radiography and bone modeling. The technique involves different successive steps. Punctual landmarks are first reconstructed, in space, from their projected images, identified on two orthogonal standing X-rays. Geometric models, of global pelvis and articular surfaces, are determined from punctual landmarks. The global pelvis is represented as a triangle of summits: the two femoral head centers and the sacral plateau center. The two acetabular cavities are modeled as hemispheres. The anterior sacral plateau edge is represented by an hemi-ellipsis. The modeled articular surfaces are projected on each X-ray. Their optimal location is obtained when the projected contours of their models best fit real outlines identified from landmark images. Linear and angular parameters characterizing the position of global pelvis and articular surfaces are calculated from the corresponding sets of axis. Relative positions of sacral plateau, and acetabular cavities, are then calculated. Two hundred standing pelvis, of subjects and scoliotic patients, have been studied. Examples are presented. They focus upon pelvis orientations, relative positions of articular surfaces, and pelvis asymmetries.


Reliability is among the performance factors applied to multi computer systems consisting of active parallel hosts (clients) and a central server. For reliability evaluation and system performance, this study analyzed a multi computer system consisting of a three hosts (clients) connected to a central server. The system is configured as series-parallel system consisting of two subsystems A and B. Subsystem A consist of three clients working in parallel with each other while subsystem B consist of a central server. Both clients and server failure and repair time are to be exponentially distributed The system is analyzed using first order differential difference equations to derive the expressions for availability, mean time to failure, probability of busy period of repairman due partial or complete failure. The results are presented in tables and graphs. Reliability characteristics such as availability, MTTF, profit function as well as sensitivity analysis have been discussed. Some particular cases have also been derived and examined to see the practical effect of the model. The computed results are demonstrated by tables and graphs.


The global epidemic of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) has caused many psychological problems. During the peak period of COVID-19 outbreak in China, COVID-19 patients from 5 designated hospitals with new coronary pneumonia were selected by convenient sampling method. Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were investigated by either a convenient online questionnaire at: WJX.cn as a data collecting platform or an equivalent paper questionnaire. It showed that the positive detection rate of SCL-90 in the COVID-19 patients was 29.83%. The most common mental health problem was anxiety (28.3%), and the top three prominent mental health problems are depression (9.4%), interpersonal sensitivity (9.4%), paranoia ideation (7.7%). Compared with the Chinese adult norm, there were significant differences in the SCL-90 total score and somatization, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety dimension (P<0.05). The main influencing factors of mental health of COVID-19 patients are the number of confirmed cases nationwide, sex, marital status and psychological intervention. The mental state of some groups is relatively low, which leads to depression and anxiety more easily. In particular, the most vulnerable group was found to be unmarried women who have a high occurrence rate of mental health problems. We need to pay particular attention to high risk groups, and support patients with increased susceptibility, which will require timely assessment by mental health care professionals.


On March 25, 1990 a large earthquake (Mw = 7.0, ML = 6.8) occurred at the entrance of the Nicoya Gulf, Costa Rica, at 1322:55.6 UTC, producing considerable damage in central Costa Rica and generating much interest about whether or not the Nicoya seismic gap (Nishenko, 1989) had broken. The local country-wide seismographic network recorded 6 years of activity prior to this large earthquake, 16 hours of foreshocks, the mainshock, and its aftershocks. This network is operated jointly by the Costa Rica Volcanological and Seismological Observatory at the National University (OVSICORI-UNA), and the Charles F. Richter Seismological Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz (CFRSL-UCSC). We obtained high resolution locations from this network and located the mainshock at 9°38.5′N, 84°55.6′W (depth is 20.0 km) and the largest foreshock (Mw = 6.0, March 25, 1990, at 1316:05.8 UTC) at 9°36.4′N, 84°57.1′W (depth is 22.4 km). We find that the aftershock zone abuts the southeast boundary of the Nicoya seismic gap, suggesting that the seismic gap did not rupture. Since the installation of the local network in April 1984 to March 24, 1990, nearly 1900 earthquakes with magnitudes from 1.7 to 4.8 (318 with magnitude 3.0 or larger) have been located at the entrance of the Nicoya Gulf, one of the most active regions in Costa Rica. The March 25 earthquake occurred at the northwest edge of this region, where a sequence of foreshocks began 16 hours prior to the mainshock. The spatial-temporal distribution of aftershocks and directivity analysis of the mainshock rupture process using teleseismic records both indicate a southeast propagating rupture. The mainshock ruptured an asperity of approximately 600 km2 of area, with this area expanding to 4000 km2 after 7 days. We present evidence that suggests that the ruptured asperity is produced by the subduction of a seamount. Inversion of teleseismic broadband and long-period P and SH waves yields a thrust faulting mechanism with the shallow plane striking 292°, dipping 26°, and with a rake of 88°, in agreement with the subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate. Local first motions for the largest foreshock and the mainshock agree with this solution. We also present evidence suggesting that the March 25, 1990, earthquake triggered and reactivated several seismic swarms in central Costa Rica and temporally decreased the activity in the epicentral area of the July 3, 1983 (Ms = 6.2), Perez Zeledon earthquake.


This paper presents an empirical study of two widely-used sequence prediction models, Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) and Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTMs), on two fundamental tasks for Vietnamese text processing, including part-of-speech tagging and named entity recognition. We show that a strong lower bound for labeling accuracy can be obtained by relying only on simple word-based features with minimal handcrafted feature engineering, of 90.65% and 86.03% performance scores on the standard test sets for the two tasks respectively. In particular, we demonstrate empirically the surprising efficiency of word embeddings in both of the two tasks, with both of the two models. We point out that the state-of-the-art LSTMs model does not always outperform significantly the traditional CRFs model, especially on moderate-sized data sets. Finally, we give some suggestions and discussions for efficient use of sequence labeling models in practical applications.


SummaryIn October 1988, an ordinance of the Finnish government created the Committee for International Information (Kansainvalisen tiedottamisen neuvottelukunta, or Kantine). Kantine came as the last of a series of Cold War efforts to centrally define an image of Finland fit for foreign consumption, and to establish the communication methods through which state authorities and their partners could use this image as an economic and political asset. Established under the coordination of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kantine acts as a window into the evolution of Finnish national image management and its state at the end of the Cold War. However, the context of the late 1980s and the desire of Kantine's members to use the committee as the platform for a 'wide societal debate on Finland in the twenty-first century' gave it a broader scope than other 'national image committees' that had preceded it since 1945. This article will place Kantine in the evolution of Finland's national image management and image policy, and will summarize its work and consequences.


We studied 20 patients undergoing thoracotomy, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of intercostal bupivacaine. Bupivacaine 0.25% was infused at 5 ml h-1 through each of two catheters placed in the intercostal space at operation. Mean (95% confidence limits) 24-h requirements for morphine from a patient-controlled analgesia device were 29 (22-37) mg during bupivacaine infusion and 44 (32-57) mg during saline infusion (P = 0.04). Patients also recorded significantly smaller visual analogue scores for pain during bupivacaine infusion. There were no adverse effects related to the intercostal infusion of bupivacaine. We conclude that bupivacaine, infused through catheters placed during thoracotomy in the adjacent intercostal spaces, is a useful adjunct to systemic opioid analgesia.


ABSTRACT Introduction : Tuberculosis is a major global health problem. It is estimated that almost 9 million new cases detected in 2011 and 1.4 million died because of TB. Early diagnosis and effective treatment are the key elements of the TB control program. Delayed diagnosis associated with a longer duration of infectiousness, increase the severity of the disease, more severe complication and even death. Objective s : To determine the factors associated with delayed diagnosis among tuberculosis patients in Kebumen District. Methods : A cross sectional study among newly diagnosed TB patients in April to June 2013 in Kebumen was conducted. The data was collected using a questionnaire interviewing officers of government health care facilities which have implemented DOTS programs already. Data was analyzed by a logistic regression test with confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results : Eighty five pulmonary TB patients were studied consisting of 65 TB smear positive and 20 smear negative/roentgen positive patients. The median duration of delayed patients was 3.9 weeks; delayed health service was 2.6 weeks and delayed diagnosis was 7.6 weeks. Multivariate analysis showed that factors associated with delayed diagnosis were the type of health services which first visited (p value = 0.002 and OR = 6.87), level of knowledge about TB (p value = 0.002 and OR = 6.41), educational level (p value = 0.024 and OR = 5.68) and the number of visits to health service (p value = 0.021 and OR = 3.87). Conclusion : The median duration of delayed diagnosis was 7.6 weeks. Delayed diagnosis among TB patients in Kebumen Distict was associated with type of health services which is non-DOTS, low level of knowledge about TB,  low levels of education and the number of visits to health services ≥3 times. Keywords: delayed diagnosis , TB patients, Kebumen District


Cutaneous malignancy in association with arsenic exposure is a rare but well-documented phenomenon. Signs of chronic arsenic exposure are very rare in Denmark today. However, arsenic was used in the medical treatment of psoriasis vulgaris up till the 1980's and several patients suffer from this arsenic treatment today. This case report shows that arsenical keratosis can be treated by dermatome shaving, a superficial destructive therapy.


Abstract Corporate governance is a relatively new concept that emerged after the middle of the last century in response to financial scandals and bankruptcies of large companies in the 1990s and has become increasingly important, mainly in the present-day context of globalization and the growth of international competition, of the continuous changes of the market, of the economic and political environment, of the rapidity of the technological changes, which make that the maintenance of the balance and success of companies cannot be achieved without paying increasing attention to the way management and control is performed. The concept of corporate governance is based on internal and external mechanisms, designed to align the interests of all those involved in the company's activity, so as to increase the value of the company and to achieve the highest possible performance, and to increase investors' confidence through transparency, accountability and honesty. The Board of Directors is one of the most important corporate governance mechanisms, its main role is to elect and monitor the activity of managers, to ensure that they run the company in accordance with the interests of those who elected them (the shareholders), while pursuing the company's strategy and objectives. This study presents an analysis of the Board of Directors of the companies that are part of BETPlus index of BSE, in terms of compliance with the provisions of Bucharest Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Code, but also a brief review of the main corporate regulations in Romania, highlighting the requirements related to the size and composition of the boards, requirements that the listed companies must comply with.


ABSTRACT The genus Jumellea Schltr. is revised for the Comoros Archipelago (Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mohéli, Mayotte). Six species occur on the islands: Jumellea anjouanensis (Finet) H. Perrier, J. arachnantha (Rchb. f.) Schltr., J. arborescens H. Perrier, J. comorensis (Rchb. f.) Schltr., J. maxillarioides and J. pailleri F.Rakotoar. These species are not the same as Schlechter covered; Jumellea arborescens, J. maxillarioides (Ridl.) Schltr. and J. pailleri were added to the list whereas Jumellea phalaenophora was removed since its presence in Comoros archipelago is doubtful. Jumellea gladiator (Rchb. f.) Schltr. is a synonym of J. arachnantha (Rchb.f.) Schltr. Three species of Jumellea are endemic to the Comoros archipelago whereas the three other are also present in Madagascar.


This paper examines the effect of characteristics of the decision situation and of the decision maker on decision processes and outcomes in the context of risky choice. Male and female undergraduate students were presented with decisions from different domains of life. For each decision they indicated the likelihood with which they would use each of five decision modes (i.e., ways of making the decision): by following someone's advice, by weighing pros and cons, by following their intuition, etc. They also chose between two courses of action described for each decision and rated the perceived riskiness of both alternatives. We found that the content domain of the decision and/or the gender (or the interaction of both) of the decision maker influenced decision mode usage, and risk perception, behavior, and preference (derived within a risk-return model of risky choice). These results have implications for educational interventions and decision aids that attempt to influence or change the risky decisions of target populations.


AIM
The effect of a renewed SS-cream (RSSC) on the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) was evaluated and compared with the original SS-cream (OSSC).

METHODS
Sixty male white New Zealand rabbits, weighing 2.5 kg-3.0 kg, were divided at random into 3 groups: the RSSC, OSSC and placebo groups. The spinal somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) elicited by electric stimulation of the glans penis with disk electrode was investigated with an electrophysiograph (Poseidomn, Shanghai, China) before and 10, 30 and 60 min after drug or placebo application on the glans. The Onset and the N1 latencies and the amplitude of SSEP were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS
There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the mean Onset and N1 latency of SSEP among the 3 groups before drug application. Compared with the pre-application value, the mean Onset and N1 latencies in the RSSC and OSSC groups were significantly prolonged at 10, 30 and 60 min after treatment (P<0.05), while they were not significantly changed (P>0.05) in the placebo group. The mean Onset latency of RSSC at 10 and 30 min and that of OSSC at 30 min were significantly delayed (P<0.05) compared with the placebo group. The mean N1 latency of RSSC at 30 and 60 min and that of OSSC group at 30 min were also significantly delayed (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
RSSC delays the latencies of SSEP, suggesting a local desensitizing effect on the sensory receptor of the glans penis dorsal nerve, which provides the potential for PE treatment. The desensitizing effect of RSSC is higher than that of OSSC.


Impact of Lean Practices on Printing Companies Jenna Bodolay Graphic Communication Department, June 2010 Advisor: Ken Macro The purpose of this study was to bring understanding to what Lean and sustainable practices are most efficient and popular within printing companies. The information and data collected provides insight into what companies are doing to be Lean. The data exhibits what Lean and sustainable techniques that provide positive effects for companies and identifies potential pitfalls for why companies have not been able to be productive with Lean strategies. This study collected and analyzed data on Lean and sustainability efficiency through historical case studies and descriptive research surveys. Case studies in the printing industry were studied and compared on the issues of Lean and sustainable practices used, time and monetary savings, and the increase in productivity. Thirty surveys were sent to printing companies throughout the California area. The respondents answered questions relating to the application of Lean and sustainable principals, the existence of a separate Lean department and coordinator, monetary savings, productivity increase, and interest of customers in the businesses Lean strategy. Findings from the case studies reveal that using Lean techniques to solve issues within a printing company provide savings in time and money and a significant increase in productivity. Results from five responses indicated businesses with a separate Lean coordinator and department yielded positive effects, while business without a Lean manager were unable to produce positive results.


This paper introduces a refined single-valued neutrosophic set (RSVNS) and presents a similarity measure of RSVNSs. Then a multicriteria decisionmaking method with RSVNS information is developed based on the similarity measure of RSVNSs. By the similarity measure between each alternative and the ideal solution (ideal alternative), all the alternatives can be ranked and the best one can be selected as well. Finally, an actual example on the selecting problems of construction projects demonstrates the application and effectiveness of the proposed method.


A comprehensive study of the complex polyphenol biosynthesis in developing leaves of apple (Malus domestica) was performed comprising gene expression, enzyme activities and polyphenol composition. During leaf development, an early increase in gene expression was observed for phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, EC 22.214.171.124), chalcone synthase (CHS, EC 18.104.22.168), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (FHT, EC 126.96.36.199) and dihydroflavonol 4-reductase/flavanone 4-reductase (DFR/FNR, EC 18.104.22.168). Their enzyme activities showed a corresponding trend during the time course. A parallel set of experiments was carried out with leaves treated with prohexadione-Ca (ProCa), which is an enzyme inhibitor of 2-oxoglutarate dependent dioxygenases (2-ODDs). ProCa is known to induce changes in polyphenol biosynthesis, which are accompanied by a reduced incidence of fire blight and scab, the two major pome fruit diseases. The application of ProCa led to an increase in activities of PAL, CHS, FHT and DFR/FNR, which was based on an enhanced gene expression. In contrast, an inhibition of gene expression was detected for anthocyanidin synthase (EC 18.104.22.168). These effects are interpreted as a feedback regulation by changed polyphenol levels. Because of the inhibition of the 2-ODDs FHT and flavonol synthase (EC 18.104.22.168), some pronounced changes in polyphenol composition were observed. Eriodictyol, the substrate of FHT, accumulated as eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside and 6″-O-trans-p-coumaroyleriodictyol 3′-O-glucoside. In addition, the 3-deoxycatechin luteoliflavan was formed which is not present in untreated apple leaves. Hence, beyond the redirection of polyphenol biosynthesis by the enzyme inhibitor, changed polyphenol levels obviously cause a distinct induction of gene expression by feedback regulation.


We are interested in the possible contribution of end-user thesauri to the improvement of information retrieval by end- users. Thesauri (from the Greek for treasure or treasury) in information retrieval attempt to record and display relations among concepts and terms -- to be treasuries of concepts and the terms that represent them. End-user thesauri are designed to guide and facilitate end-user searching of textual databases (both full-text databases and reference databases that contain only surrogates of full-texts, such as abstracts). End-user thesauri link: the vocabulary of the searcher and the vocabulary of the database, functioning as part of the user database interface. End-user thesauri are not designed to guide indexing, although they can be used to suggest terms, much like writers have used Roget's thesaurus for centuries.


We have constructed the database of stars in the local group using the extended version of the SAGA (Stellar Abundances for Galactic Archaeology) database that contains stars in 24 dwarf spheroidal galaxies and ultra faint dwarfs. The new version of the database includes more than 4500 stars in the Milky Way, by removing the previous metallicity criterion of [Fe/H] <= -2.5, and more than 6000 stars in the local group galaxies. We examined a validity of using a combined data set for elemental abundances. We also checked a consistency between the derived distances to individual stars and those to galaxies in the literature values. Using the updated database, the characteristics of stars in dwarf galaxies are discussed. Our statistical analyses of alpha-element abundances show that the change of the slope of the [alpha/Fe] relative to [Fe/H] (so-called "knee") occurs at [Fe/H] = -1.0+-0.1 for the Milky Way. The knee positions for selected galaxies are derived by applying the same method. Star formation history of individual galaxies are explored using the slope of the cumulative metallicity distribution function. Radial gradients along the four directions are inspected in six galaxies where we find no direction dependence of metallicity gradients along the major and minor axes. The compilation of all the available data shows a lack of CEMP-s population in dwarf galaxies, while there may be some CEMP-no stars at [Fe/H] <~ -3 even in the very small sample. The inspection of the relationship between Eu and Ba abundances confirms an anomalously Ba-rich population in Fornax, which indicates a pre-enrichment of interstellar gas with r-process elements. We do not find any evidence of anti-correlations in O-Na and Mg-Al abundances, which characterises the abundance trends in the Galactic globular clusters.


This study presents a detailed survey on recent development of logical networks and its applications, including the background of logical networks, the theory of a new matrix product called semi-tensor product (STP) of matrices, some fundamental works on logical networks, and some current research works. Particularly, some fundamental works on logical networks are presented for the past years, including controllability, stability and stabilisation, synchronisation, disturbance decoupling and so on. Due to the great potential of STP in dealing with logical networks, a surge of attraction from overseas is paid on the study of STP and its applications. Currently, some new research areas are widely studied including pinning control, function perturbations, system decomposition, trajectory control, output tracking issues, symbolic dynamics and so on. The main concern of this study is to present a comprehensive introduction to logical networks and some other applications under the framework of STP of matrices.


The urbanization processes in Russia have had a significant impact on the state of human resources in urban and rural areas, including the decline in the birth rate. As part of this study, the authors studied the characteristics of the births of the first and subsequent children in urban and rural areas, as well as the influence of such factors as the level of per capita incomes of the population. In the course of analysis based on averaged time data for the subjects of the Russian Federation from 2010 to 2017, a cross section was conducted. His results showed the presence of various, sometimes opposite fertility trends of the first and subsequent children among the population in urban and rural areas. So, the birth of the first child both in the city and in the village practically does not depend on the income level of the population. With respect to subsequent children, the opposite trend is observed—in the city, with the growth of income, the total birth rate of second and subsequent children decreases, while in rural areas it grows. According to the authors, these processes are influenced not only by objective factors—the proportion of women of reproductive age, but also subjective—by the features of reproductive behavior, including an increase in the age of birth of the first child in rural areas.


OBJECTIVE to analyze the profile of patients with Fournier's gangrene treated in a public tertiary hospital in western Parana State. METHODS we conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective and descriptive study of patients with Fournier's gangrene treated between January 2012 and November 2016. RESULTS there were 40 patients with Fournier's gangrene treated in the period, 29 (72.5%) men and 11 (27.5%) women. The mean age was 51.7±16.3 years. The mean time of disease progression, from the initial symptom to hospitalization, was 10.5±1.2 days. All patients had clinical signs such as pain, bulging, erythema, among others, and 38 (95%) had associated comorbidities, the most common being type 2 diabetes mellitus and systemic arterial hypertension. The majority (30 patients - 75%) had perianal abscess as the probable etiology. All patients were submitted to antibiotic therapy and surgical treatment, with a mean of 1.8±1.1 surgeries per patient. Nine (22.5%) patients died. There was a strong correlation between the presence of sepsis on admission and mortality. CONCLUSION Fournier's gangrene patients in this series had a long disease duration and a high prevalence of comorbidities, with a high mortality rate.


Traditional precipitation methods for inorganic micropollutant removal from waters are increasingly being replaced by sorption methods based on both natural and synthetic materials. In this context, two novel effective heavy metal ions absorbers are presented. These resins, LYMA and LMT85, were crosslinked poly(amidoamine)s carrying amine and carboxyl groups in their repeating units. In particular, the LYMA-repeating unit contains one carboxyl and two amine groups and is a mimic of L-lysine, whereas LMT85 contains two amine and five carboxyl groups and is a mimic of EDTA. Both resins were prepared at moderate cost by simple eco-friendly procedures. The heavy metal ion set adopted as benchmark was Cu2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+. LYMA proved selective for Cu2+ and Ni2+, the other ions tested being negligibly absorbed, whereas LMT85 proved capable of rapidly and quantitatively absorbing all the ions tested either singly or in mixed solution. The absorption process was reversible, and the resins were easily regenerated by acidification. The absorption of several metal ions imparted intense coloring to the resins, a feature possibly exploitable for analytical purposes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012


Policy studies suggest that scientists should adopt two strategies to close the 'evidence-policy gap'. First, engage in political debates to help define policy problems and solutions rather than expect the evidence to speak for itself. Second, learn where the action is, form long-term coalitions, and exploit the 'rules of the game' to maximise your influence in complex policy-making systems. Both lessons can prompt major dilemmas, for many actors, about going beyond your expertise and comfort zone when engaging politically and pragmatically. Scientists should learn from feminist social policy actors who routinely (a) combine evidence with engagement to pursue social change, and (b) face tough choices about framing their aims in terms of the dominant political discourse. We use Scottish social policy as a case study, examining how feminist actors exploited the opportunity, afforded by constitutional and political reforms since 1999, to create a collaborative 'velvet triangle' between the government, academia, and interest groups. Their experience suggests that limited and slow policy change requires major engagement and compromise.


Clare's Letters to Agnes: Texts and Sources. By Joan Mueller. (St. Bonaventure, New York: The Franciscan Institute. 2001. Pp. ix, 269. $21.95 paperback.) Light Shining Through a Veil: On Saint Clare's Letters to Saint Agnes of Prague. By Edith A. Van den Goorbergh, O.S.C., and Theodore H. Zweerman, O.F.M. Translated by Aline Looman-Graaskamp and Frances Teresa, O.C.S. (Leuven: Peeters. 2000. Pp. xi, 33.) Since the eighth centenary of her birth in 1993, Clare of Assisi has emerged from her cloister and into the limelight. Two recent full-length studies have made valuable contributions to an understanding of Clare in her context as a medieval woman and to the relevance of her message for our time. Joan Mueller's work, Clare's Letters to Agnes: Texts and Sources, provides an assessment of the sources of Clare's letters in the ancient Legend of Saint Agnes of Rome, the struggle of Agnes of Prague amidst the papal and royal correspondence of the Premysl dynasty, as well as her association with the early brothers. Mueller includes the Latin text of the letters, an English translation, and extensive footnotes commenting on the meaning of Clare's message in her time and ours. Clare's Letters to Agnes: Texts and Sources is simultaneously about Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and Agnes of Rome and how their histories intertwine. These are the three major figures confronting contemporary readers who study Clare of Assisi's Letters as a source of early Franciscan spirituality, Agnes of Prague as an influential woman caught by the vision of Francis and his friars, or the ancient Christian legend of Agnes of Rome, popularly known for choosing martyrdom in order to preserve her virginity. In the introduction to Clare's Letters to Agnes, Mueller presents the manuscript tradition of Clare's four letters, brief biographies to illustrate the relationship of Clare and Agnes of Prague, and her intent to examine Clare's letters in their historical cultural context. Part One of Mueller's book provides the Latin texts of Clare's four letters, an English translation, and historical and philological guidance for reading and interpretation. The extensive footnotes serve as a commentary to establish the background of Agnes of Prague, her royal family, and her place in the history of Bohemia. This approach led Mueller to identify the "three substantial sources" for Clare's letters which she treats in separate essays in the remainder of the book. Part Two begins with an essay elucidating "The Legend of Saint Agnes of Rome as Source." Mueller argues that Clare seems to have known and improvised on the Legend of Saint Agnes, and that their dependence on the Legend cannot be fully traced through consulting only the antiphons and responsories of the January 21 Office of Saint Agnes. Mueller's second essay "The Primitive Franciscan Climate as Source: Clare's Letters and the Early Brothers," demonstrates how the spirit of Clare's letters is comparable to the spirit of the early Franciscan brothers. Mueller demonstrates how Clare's theology helped to put a Franciscan stamp on the evolving penitential movement of the early thirteenth century. "The Privilege of Poverty as Source: Clare's Letters amid Papal and Royal Correspondence," Mueller's third essay in Part Two, places the letters in the medieval ecclesiastical world, especially within the context of pertinent papal bulls. …


Two cases of carcinoma developing on old frostbite scars of the heel are presented. A short review of the subject follows, stressing the rarity of these "secondary" tumors and their general context within the skin cancers and the tragic experience of Greece with frostbite in the campaign of 1940-1941.


The ensemble-averaged kinetic energy viscous dissipation rate was determined with a multipoint LDA technique in a vessel stirred by a Rushton turbine. Nine out of the total of 12 mean squared velocity gradients constituting the dissipation rate were directly measured in the impeller stream, and the deviation of the flow from local isotropy was investigated. The dissipation rate normalized with N3D2, where N and D are the impeller rotational speed and the impeller diameter, respectively, was found to be approximately constant for Reynolds numbers of 20,000–40,000, whereas the fluctuating gradients were found to vary significantly, by up to three times the ensemble-averaged values, with blade angular position. The ensemble-averaged dissipation rate values were also assessed through a local turbulence kinetic energy balance. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005