Among the varied phænomena described and registered respecting the Malvern Hills in Prof. Phillips's admirable work in the 'Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain' (vol. ii. part 1), I am not aware of any notice of the effect of injected and intersecting trap upon the syenite of which the great mass of the Malverns is composed. I had for some time been aware that greenstone and trap-dykes traversed syenite in a quarry worked between the Winds-point and the Obelisk, and to which last autumn I directed the attention of Mr. C. J. Fox Bunbury. Having been requested by Sir W. Jardine to examine the site of the great Malvern bonfire of January last, in order to discover whether any signs of the vitrification of the rocks were visible, I did so, and was immediately struck with the appearance of the roasted syenite which formed the platform, and the similarity presented by the baked mineral to syenite in contact with dykes of trap and greenstone at the quarry at the back of News Wood, half-way between Winds-point and the Obelisk. I was accompanied during this investigation by a Swiss geologist, Dr. De la Harpe, well accustomed to metamorphic phænomena; he was much struck with this most interesting quarry. I may here mention that a high wind prevented the flames of the Beacon fire ascending to any height, and I was informed by those present that an intense glow was concentrated upon the syenitic platform.


Throughout the last several decades, practice models have been used to describe the scope and nature of therapeutic recreation services. Changes in health and human services require updating our models to accurately reflect current practice. The TR Service Delivery and Outcome Models provide a comprehensive overview of contemporary professional therapeutic recreation practice. The components of the models are described and explained together with their theoretical foundations. A case study is used to make application to the field.


With the help of a two-dimensional model system comprising a slow conformational degree of freedom and a higher-frequency vibration, we investigate the molecular-level origin and dynamical information content of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (fissors) signals. Our treatment avails itself of the time scale separation between conformational and vibrational modes by incorporating a vibrationally adiabatic approximation to the conformational dynamics. We derive an expression for the fissors signal without resort to the macroscopic concepts of light- and phonon-wave propagation employed in prior coupled-wave analyses. Numerical calculations of fissors spectra illustrate the case of relatively small conformational mass (still large enough that conformational motion does not induce any change in the vibrational quantum number) in which conformational sidebands accompany a central peak in the Raman gain at a conformationally averaged vibrational transition frequency, and the case of a larger conformational mass in which the sidebands merge with the central peak and the frequency of the latter tracks the time-evolving conformational coordinate.


In this paper, we analyze multi-dimensional Bohr $({\mathcal B},c)$-almost periodic type functions. The main structural characterizations for the introduced classes of Bohr $({\mathcal B},c)$-almost periodic type functions are established. Several applications of our abstract theoretical results to the abstract Volterra integro-differential equations in Banach spaces are provided, as well.


Submitted for the MAR10 Meeting of The American Physical Society Fermi-liquid properties and instabilities of strongly imbalanced Fermi gases1 KELLY R. PATTON, DANIEL E. SHEEHY, Louisiana State University — Recent experiments [Schirotzek et al., PRL 102, 230402 (2009)] involving highly imbalanced ultracold atomic gases have revealed so-called spin or Fermi polarons. These quasiparticles are composed of spinful atoms correlated with a "cloud" of atoms of opposite spin. These correlations lead to a renormalization of the free or bare atom's properties. Theoretically, these quasiparticles have been well described by a variational wave function consisting of a single impurity atom interacting with the remaining Fermi sea. Using diagrammatic many-body theory we extend these results and investigate the dependence of the polaron's Fermi liquid properties on finite temperature, as well as increased polaron density. Furthermore, we investigate instabilities of this normal Fermi liquid state, such as transitions to a superfluid or phase-separated state, as the temperature is lowered and/or the density of polarons is increased. 1This research was supported by the Louisiana Board of Regents under grant No. LEQSF (2008-11)-RD-A-10. Kelly Patton Louisiana State University Date submitted: 19 Nov 2009 Electronic form version 1.4


Bacterial transformation is an important process in recombinant DNA technology and determines the bacterial pathogenicity. Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria resulted in higher mortality and recognized as a major public health threat. Staphylococcus.aureus   is a gram-positive bacterium with numerous virulence factors that cause impetigo diseases. The study aims to investigate that cloning plasmid isolated from bacteria that causes' S. auras pathogenicity. The pathogenic S.aureus isolated from clinical samples and identified on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics. Furthermore, isolation of plasmid and cloning according to manufactures procedure kit, and transform to E.Coli . Also, confirm the antibiotic sensitivity by disc diffusion method.  The result shows that the highest antibiotic sensitivity is amoxicillin, while the lowest antibiotic sensitivity is tetracycline for both bacteria. The plasmid transformer to E.coli Bacteria appears same zone sensitivity of S.auras, and that indicates the plasmid pathogenicity transverse from S.aures into E.coli. https://doi.org/10.24897/acn.64.68.145


Submarine channel systems play a crucial role in governing the delivery of sediments and pollutants such as plastics from the shelf edge to deep water. Understanding their distribution in space and time is important for constraining the locus, magnitude, and characteristics of deep-water sedimentation and for predicting stratigraphic architectures and depositional facies. Using three-dimensional seismic reflection data covering the outer fold-and-thrust belt of the Niger Delta, we determined the pathways of Miocene to Pliocene channels that crossed, at 173 locations, 11 fold-thrust structures for which the temporal and spatial evolution of strain rates has been constrained over a period of 11 m.y. We use a statistical approach to quantify strain and shortening rate distributions recorded where channels have crossed structures compared to the fault array as a whole. Our results prove unambiguously that these distributions are different. The median strain rate where channels cross faults is <0.6%/m.y. (~40 m/m.y.), 2.5× lower than the median strain rate of active fault segments (1.5%/m.y.) with a marked reduction in the number of channel-fault crossings where fault strain rates are >1%/m.y. Our results quantify the sensitivity of submarine channels to active deformation at a population level for the first time and enable us to predict the temporal and spatial routing of submarine channels affected by structurally driven topography.


1 Another year passed in the annals of Swedish tort law history. Of particular comparative interest, some issues regarding State liability are worth mentioning in this Yearbook. Actually all the cases dealt with below are examples of the legal problems as regards liability for wrongful legal application of legal rules in courts or other authorities. The question that the Supreme Court had to give an answer to was: 'How should the wrongful legal interpretation be qualified in order to establish a necessary level of "negligence", so that the State will be liable for damages arising from the decision?' Therefore, the title – or subheading – of this article should read State Liability for Errors of Law by Courts or other Authorities.


Purpose: To elucidate the indication, presentation, demographics, Stanford classification, technical efficacy, morbidity, mortality and long term patency of Wallstent for superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. Materials and Methods: A systematic review of literature in Pubmed and Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Library in accordance to PRIMSA was conducted. Retrieval and extraction was performed by two independent reviewers with inter-rater reliability test. The hierarchy of the evidence was assessed through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Checklist. Data was subjected to pooled prevalence analysis, Cox regression, Kaplan–Meir survival and test of probability using log rank analytics. This review is registered with International prospective register of systematic review: CRD42021271009. Results: A total of n=701 individuals with n=930 stents with median age of 60 (interquartile range (IQR): 26–89) years and male predominance 3.5 : 1 were identified in n=30 articles. The most common venographic classification was Stanford type II (n=344, 50%) and complete symptomatic resolution was achieved in 48 h. The 30-day morbidity was (n=62, 8%) and mortality was (n=21, 3%). Female gender was associated with higher 30-day morbidity (p<0.03). The cumulative median patency of Wallstent for non-malignant aetiology was [550 days (IQR: 14–1080) vs. 120 days (IQR: 0–925)] for malignancy (p<0.03). Conclusion: The use of Wallstent for resolution of malignancy induced SVC syndrome as a first line therapy is feasible and associated with low mortality. Their use for non-malignant aetiology demands a more in depth review and advocates further investigation.


Sequence design and resource allocation for a symbol-asynchronous chip-synchronous code division multiple access (CDMA) system is considered in this report. A simple lower bound on the minimum sumpower required for a non-oversized system, based on the best achievable for a non-spread system, and an analogous upper bound on the sum rate are first summarised. Subsequently, an algorithm of Sundaresan and Padakandla is shown to achieve the lower bound on minimum sum power (upper bound on sum rate, respectively). Analogous to the synchronous case, by splitting oversized users in a system with processing gain N , a system with no oversized users is easily obtained, and the lower bound on sum power (upper bound on sum rate, respectively) is shown to be achieved by using N orthogonal sequences. The total number of splits is at most N − 1 splits.


Five hundred patients with hyperthyroidism underwent operation between 1970 and 1984. Sixty-nine percent had Graves' disease, 19 percent had toxic thyroid adenoma, and 12 percent had multinodular toxic goiter. Good results were achieved in the 275 patients most recently treated. These results may be attributed to the following: good personal contact between the surgeon and the patient at the first meeting, 1 month of preoperative management with carbimazole and propranolol without interruption of work, operation adapted to the type of goiter, and treatment of postoperative tachycardia by propranolol. The mean duration of hospital stay was 5 days. Sequelae were rare. In the patients with Graves' disease, results at 2 years were as follows: 74 percent of operated patients were euthyroid, 23 percent required substitutive treatment, and surgical treatment failed or early relapse occurred in 3 percent. There were no recurrences after operation in patients with solitary or multinodular toxic goiter, but 30 percent of the former and 98 percent of the latter had to be treated with L-thyroxine. Seventy-two percent of the patients who presented with atrial fibrillation had return of normal cardiac rhythm after operation.


Due to today's business environment demands organizations need to create teams to perform work in projects, with quality, within time and budget. Therefore, teams play a very important role in the organizational development, by creating conditions that enable to overcome difficulties and to promote the improvement of the organizational overall performance. Hence the relevance of studying the project teams resilience, identifying the actions that can influence the project development and its final outcomes. The resilience of a team can be defined as the team's ability to deal with problems, overcome obstacles, or resist the pressure of adverse situations, without entering into rupture. This research, focused on team resilience, firstly involved a literature review, followed by brainstorming sessions, resulting in a preliminary list of useful actions to improve project team resilience. Then, a survey was administered in order to identify the most useful actions perceived from the identified list. Completed questionnaires were received from 115 team members of information technologies/information systems projects being developed in an academic setting. By identifying the most useful actions perceived, as those having the highest potential for increasing project team resilience, practitioners and organizations can set their priorities towards improving team resilience. The results showed that the top ten list of useful actions identified is composed by very well-known and recognized actions, such as the promotion of collaboration and solidarity among project team members, and the recognition, appreciation and use of the talents and competencies of each team member. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 965 919 659. E-mail address: email@example.com 1183 António Amaral et al. / Procedia Computer Science 64 ( 2015 ) 1182 – 1189 Peer-review under responsibility of SciKA Association for Promotion and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge.


Hybridization of sympatric closely related species may sometimes lead to introgression and speciation. The sister species Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa assulta both use (Z)-11-hexadecenal and (Z)-9-hexadecenal as sex pheromone components but in reversed ratios. Female H. armigera and male H. assulta could hybridize and produce fertile male hybrids, which can then backcross with females of the two parent species to get backcross lines in the laboratory. In this study, we compared the olfactory responses to pheromone compounds in the periphery and in the antennal lobes (ALs) of males of the two species, as well as of their hybrids and backcrosses. Single-sensillum recordings were carried out to explore characteristics of male-specific sensilla on the antennae, and in vivo calcium imaging combined with digital 3D-reconstruction was used to describe what happens in the macroglomerular complex (MGC) of the AL. The results show that the population ratio of the two male-specific types of olfactory sensory neurons responding to two sex pheromone components are controlled by a major gene, and that the allele of H. armigera is dominant. Consistently, the study of the representative areas activated by sex pheromone components in the ALs further support the dominance of H. armigera. However, the topological structure of the MGC in the hybrid was similar but not identical to that in H. armigera. All subtypes of male-specific sensilla identified in the two species were found in the male hybrids and backcrosses. Moreover, two new subtypes with broader response spectra (the expanded A subtype and the expanded C subtype) emerged in the hybrids. Based on the inheritance pattern of the pheromone sensory system, we predict that when hybridization of female H. armigera and male H. assulta occurs in the field, male hybrids would readily backcross with female H. armigera, and introgression might occur from H. assulta into H. armigera through repeated backcrossing.


Colloidal gold has been coupled to a mutant cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), which contains 60 cysteine residues on the surface. A purification process was developed to separate the gold‐containing viral nanoblocks (VNBs) from the free gold. Agarose electrophoresis was utilized to separate the mixture followed by electroelution of the desired sample to recover the intact virus. Mobility of Au‐VNB and free colloidal gold was facilitated by the addition of thioctic acid (TA). 30% of the gold‐containing virus was recovered after electroelution as determined by absorbance measurements. Histogram analysis of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images demonstrated the efficient separation of gold‐containing virus from free gold. TEM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the virus was recovered intact. Monodisperse spherical particles of nominal size of 45 nm were observed under SEM.


This article posits a framework that illustrates how the concepts of cause-related marketing, product innovation and extraordinary sustainable leadership are conjoined in order to create a sustainable organisation. The intended contributions are: to accumulate the state of academic research on successful sustainable development within organisations, and to identify important underdeveloped connections between cause-related marketing, product innovation and extraordinary sustainable leadership on the one hand, with the three-dimensional concept of sustainability on the other hand. Moreover, this manuscript, to our knowledge, appears to be the first of its kind to theoretically examine the dynamics implied by synthesising these, so far, distinct concepts. Within the model explication, we offer a set of research directions designed to enable researchers to further enhance the integration of the aforementioned concepts from both problem-driven theory development as well as theory-driven practice management dimensions.


Atmospheric turbulence is a well-known phenomenon that often degrades image quality due to intensity fluctuations, distortion, and blur in electro-optic and thermal imaging systems. To properly assess the performance of an imaging system over the typical turbulence trade space, a time consuming and costly field study is often required. A fast and realistic turbulence simulation will allow the performance assessment of an imaging system under various turbulence conditions to be done as well as provide input data for the evaluation of turbulence mitigation algorithms in a cost efficient manner. The simulation is based on an empirical model with parameters derived from the first and second-order statistics of imaging distortions measured from field collected data. The dataset consists of image sequences recorded with a variable frame rate visible camera from strong to weak turbulence conditions. The simulation uses pristine, single images containing no turbulence effects as an input and produces image sequences degraded by the specified turbulence. Target range, optics diameter, wavelength, detector integration time, and the wind velocity component perpendicular to the propagation path all contribute to the severity of the atmospheric turbulence distortions and are included in the simulation. The addition of the detector integration time expands the functionality of the simulation tool to include imagers with lower frames rates. Examples are presented demonstrating the utility of the turbulence simulation.


This article attempts to identify the relation of the transnational criminal law to the international criminal law that is one of the branches of public international law that has been formed after the Second World War, if not before. The main purpose of this article is to examine whether transnational criminal law is one of the branches of international criminal law, or is it independent and therefore can be described as an independent and new branch of the public international law. The researcher in this article tends to the second trend because of the differences between the transnational criminal law and international criminal law, based on the legal concept, subject of law, sources of law, criminal liability and jurisdiction.


To address the needs for circulating miRNA biomarker validation, we developed the Multiplexed Circulating microRNA assay. This assay enables the detection of up to 68 microRNA targets per sample in 96-well format with readout on standard flow cytometers and analysis with an included bioinformatics software package. The Circulating microRNA assay combines particle-based multiplexing, using patented Firefly hydrogel particles, with single-step RT-PCR signal amplification using universal primers. Thus, the Circulating microRNA assay leverages PCR sensitivity while eliminating the need for separate reverse transcription reactions and mitigating amplification biases introduced by target-specific qPCR. Furthermore, the ability to multiplex targets in each well eliminates the need to split valuable samples into multiple reactions. Results from the Circulating microRNA assay are displayed and interpreted using our included Firefly Analysis Workbench, which allows visualization, normalization, and export of experimental data with only a few mouse clicks. To aid discovery and validation of biomarkers, we have generated fixed panels for Oncology, Cardiology, Neurology, Immunology, and Liver Toxicology. These carefully curated panels include hemolysis markers to assess sample quality, as well as critical normalization factors. Here we present the data from several studies investigating circulating and tumor microRNA profiles using the Firefly Circulating microRNA Assay Fixed Panels. Together, this novel combination of bioinformatics tools and multiplexed, high-sensitivity assays enables rapid discovery and validation of microRNA biomarker signatures from fluid specimens. Citation Format: Jessica Tytell, Issac Stoner, Michael Tackett, Graeme Doran, Conor Rafferty, Andreas Windemuth, Daniel Pregibon. High-throughput,purification-free, multiplexed profiling of circulating miRNA for discovery,validation, and diagnostics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1082.


Equations for Green's functions of the augmented quantum field theory with Yukawa-type interaction are rewritten in terms of irreducible many-point functions. ''Minimal'' equations for many-point functions are derived which do not contain the coupling constant explicitly, while the coupling constant appears in ''constraints'' explicitly. The problem of finding lower many-point functions for given higher many-point functions is also discussed. It is also shown that the ''sigma model'' is not equivalent ot the phi/sup 4/ model.


This paper re-visits the ongoing e-learning phenomenon from a holistic perspective through the study of the world's first nationwide, e-inclusive society in Singapore. It draws upon the current literature for learning models, knowledge management and utilization of technology for electronic education to examine the contribution Singapore's National IT Literacy Program (NITLP) has made to drive the diffusion of Internet, broadband and e-transaction adoption in this island nation. In doing so, the case study tracks NITLP's development of continuous and progressive phases of infrastructure, infostructure and knowledge-structure integration to leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) more efficiently and effectively for the delivery of a holistic learning experience for Singapore's late IT adopters. The practical application of the implementation program is the provision of an evaluative tool for e-learning practitioners to enable an upward spiral of continuous feedback and improvements to the e-learning architecture and contribute more strategically to the development of a total learning experience. For the learner, the model generates strategic value from knowledge creating and sharing activities. The lessons learnt from Singapore's approach to developing its e-inclusive society are significant beyond just the experience of this island nation, as it serves as an indicator of how countries in the Asia-Pacific and internationally can conceptualize and implement national IT literacy programs within a framework of e-inclusive societies to promote knowledge-based economies.


Stress is inevitable in any types of occupation and career. It is recognised as major managerial and economic issues which contribute to employee turnover and poor performance. There is  a  need to  understand how  to reduce the effects to employees. This study aims to determine the stress relationship between employees in commercial complex facilities management organisations. Data collection is through questionnaire surveys to employees and semi-structured interviews to selected facilities managers for commercial complexes in Klang Valley, Malaysia. 7he sndings indicated existence of stress that affected the occupational and behavioural performances of employees.
Keywords: Commercial complexes, Customers' satisfaction, Human behaviour, Occupational stress
eISSN 2514-7528 © 2017 The Author. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.


The authors describe a case of advanced thoracic actinomycosis. A 44-year-old man with previous episodes of productive cough with purulent sputum, fever, chest pain and subcutaneous nodules on the left hemithorax was admitted with complaints of lumbar pain irradiating into left lower limb and presence of mass lesion on the left lumbar region. Imaging evaluations were obtained and the patient underwent left lower lobectomy. Histopathology, microscopic examination and anaerobic culture of the resected material diagnosed thoracic actinomycosis.


Objectives: Both males and females carried out pubic hair removal by various methods usually for visual/aesthetic or psychosexual reasons. The aim of the present study was to evaluate self-esteem, body image and sexual functions of women before and after total laser pubic hair removal (TLPHR) which is frequently being prefered due to its long-lasting effects. Methods: A total of 45 sexually active women between 20 and 50 years of age who underwent total laser pubic hair removal were included in the study. The sociodemographic features, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES), Body Cathexis Scale (BCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) of the participants were assessed before the first session and after the 6 th session of TLPHR procedure. Results: Total RSES, total BCS scores and the 40 th item of the BCS score significantly decreased after the TLPHR procedure ( p < 0.001). Total FSFI scores and also FSFI subscales of desire, arousal, lubrication and satisfaction scores were significantly increased after TLPHR ( p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study results demonstrated that self-esteem, genital and total body image, sexual desire, sexual arousal and sexual satisfaction was improved after TLPHR procedure. Wider sampled studies examining the effects of laser pubic hair removal on individual, relational and psychosocial issues in both males and females are needed.


The brain is a thermodynamic system operating far from equilibrium. Its function is to extract microscopic sensory information from the volleys of action potentials (pulses) that are delivered by immense arrays of sensory receptors, construct the macroscopic meaning of the information, and store, retrieve, and update that meaning by incorporating it into its knowledge base. The function is executed repetitively in the action-perception-assimilation cycle. Each cycle commences by a phase transition, in which the immense population comprising each sensory cortex condenses from a gas-like state to a liquid-like state. It ends with return of the cortex to the expectant gas-like state. We have modeled the microscopic thermodynamics of the cycle using quantum field theory. Our new result is modeling cortical macroscopic thermodynamics with the generalized Carnot cycle, in which the energy required for the construction of knowledge is supplied by brain metabolism and is dissipated as heat by the cerebral circulation. What makes the application possible is the unprecedented precision with which spatial patterns of ECoG are measured, thus providing precise state variables with which to represent energy vs. entropy. We present experimental evidence that these isothermal processes are coupled by adiabatic cooling and heating. We postulate that the action-perception-assimilation cycle comprises minimally three consecutive Carnot cycles required for basic perception, assimilation, and decision, and more cycles with greater complexity of cognitive tasks at hand.


Cannabis sativa has been used for millennia in traditional medicine for ritual purposes and for the production of food and fibres, thus, providing important and versatile services to humans. The species, which currently has a worldwide distribution, strikes out for displaying a huge morphological and chemical diversity. Differences in Cannabis genome size have also been found, suggesting it could be a useful character to differentiate between accessions. We used flow cytometry to investigate the extent of genome size diversity across 483 individuals belonging to 84 accessions, with a wide range of wild/feral, landrace, and cultivated accessions. We also carried out sex determination using the MADC2 marker and investigated the potential of flow cytometry as a method for early sex determination. All individuals were diploid, with genome sizes ranging from 1.810 up to 2.152 pg/2C (1.189-fold variation), apart from a triploid, with 2.884 pg/2C. Our results suggest that the geographical expansion of Cannabis and its domestication had little impact on its overall genome size. We found significant differences between the genome size of male and female individuals. Unfortunately, differences were, however, too small to be discriminated using flow cytometry through the direct processing of combined male and female individuals.


The hypnotic efficacy and the effect on the condition after morning awakening of midazolam 15 mg and of triazolam 0.5 mg were studied in a multicentre, double-blind cross-over study in 198 out-patients with sleeping difficulties of various origin. The subjects received each drug for two consecutive nights, and completed a questionnaire each day on awakening. Both midazolam and triazolam significantly shortened the sleep-onset latency, reduced the number of awakenings, and increased the total sleep time. The state on awakening was also significantly improved after both compounds for several self-rated items. There was a difference only with regard to the patients' feeling of being under drug influence, which was reported as being significantly more marked after triazolam. In conclusion, both compounds were effective and well tolerated in the doses used, only a few side-effects being reported.


In order to develop a sound basis for the development of design education, we need to study the behaviour of designers. This enquiry focuses on the process of symbol design. A definition of design is offered which takes due account of prior definitions, design methods, psychological theory, the interdisciplinary nature of design, and of greatest importance, the need for a definition which underpins empirical investigation. The nature of symbols is discussed in relation to Semiotics. The difficulties of research are considered and an approach is developed after investigating methods of classifying symbols. The limiting conditions of this approach are specified. The above discussion is integrated into a definition of symbol design and a model of the potential influences on the process is evolved. Two pilot studies of symbol design are reported and refinements to the methodology of such experiments are suggested. Some tentative conclusions emerge from these experiments, which, along with the basic theoretical framework, are used to evaluate a number of design methods. The study concludes with a discussion of future research possibilities.


The article offers a retrospective analysis of the interaction between the language and cogitative activity of the person in the globalization context. The paper addresses the issue of linguistic differences in cross-cultural communication and discusses communicative strategies that could be used to mitigate them. The authors argue that lingua-didactic multicultural education can help remove the main obstacle in the traditional teaching of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) a "clash of cultures"; and not only can introduce a model of teaching to write, read, and speak in Russian, but can also offer a system of instruction that will allow the students to understand the way Russians think, which surely would make it easier for them to "translate" a text from one culture into another in a non-native "cultural environment" providing a polylingual format for interaction.


All schools of medicine in the United States (N = 128) and Canada (N = 16) were surveyed by telephone to determine if they had instituted policies to restrict smoking. Some policy restricting smoking was reported by 80.56 percent of US schools (N = 103) and by 93.8 percent of Canadian schools (N = 15). However, only 52.3 percent of US (N = 67) and 56.3 percent of Canadian medical schools (N = 9) indicated they had formal written policy statements. Only 13 percent of US schools and 19 percent of Canadian schools had banned smoking totally.


OBJECTIVE
To improve the diagnosis and treatment level of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in the patients with advanced liver disease, get better curative effect and prognosis.

METHODS
Registered the body temperature, symptoms and signs in the abdomen, and blood routine test, the polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell count, and ascites culture in the patients with cirrhosis and fulminant hepatitis. These patients were given supporting therapies including use plasma and albumin as well as antibiotics treatment according to drug sensitivity or empiric. Changes of the body temperature, symptoms and signs were used to evaluate the effect of therapy.

RESULTS
186 of 275 inward patients with end-stage liver disease during this period were considered as SBP by ascites culture or clinical experience with various degree symptoms and signs such as pain, distention, higher tension and touch pain in the abdomen. Infective rate was 67.6%. Among them 138 patients had abnormal body temperature more than 37.4 degrees C. 106 patients with leukocyte count in the peripheral blood more than 10 x 10(9)/L; 137 patients with PMN more than 80% in differential cell count; 103 patients with PMN more than 250/mm(3) in ascites. Only 29 patients were culture positive. 82 patients were cured, 17 patients with improvement, 18 patients with inefficacy or deterioration. 42 patients died of hepatic-renal failure and 27 patients died because of upper alimentary tract bleeding, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Signs and symptoms of SBP were atypical in the patients with end-stage liver disease. Ascites culture positive rate was not high. Early diagnosis and proper use antibiotics according to culture and empirics were important to increase effect and improve prognosis


To bring a uniform development platform which seamlessly combines hardware components and software architecture of various developers across the globe and reduce the complexity in producing robots which help people in their daily ergonomics. ROS has come out to be a game changer. It is disappointing to see the lack of penetration of technology in different verticals which involve protection, defense and security. By leveraging the power of ROS in the field of robotic automation and computer vision, this research will pave path for identification of suspicious activity with autonomously moving bots which run on ROS. The research paper proposes and validates a flow where ROS and computer vision algorithms like YOLO can fall in sync with each other to provide smarter and accurate methods for indoor and limited outdoor patrolling. Identification of age,'gender, weapons and other elements which can disturb public harmony will be an integral part of the research and development process. The simulation and testing reflects the efficiency and speed of the designed software architecture.


The three-dimensional model of 2500hp shale gas fracturing truck chassis frame was established and the natural frequency of the frame was obtained by modal analysis. Taking the displacement power spectrum density of a typical road as a random excitation, the random vibration response of frame was obtained by PSD module of finite element analysis software ANSYS. Based on the results of PSD analysis, the frame's fatigue characteristic under random vibration condition was studied according to Gauss distribution theory and Miner fatigue cumulative damage law, and the random fatigue strength of the frame was also calculated and optimized as well. A reliable and practical method was provided to verify the fatigue strength and to predict fatigue life of fracturing truck chassis frame. The conclusion provides an important theoretical reference for optimization of the frame.


Introduction Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) offers a minimally invasive approach to the management of non-ampullary duodenal polyps. However, there is limited data from the Western world on safety, feasibility, outcomes and optimal management. We aimed to describe the largest European experience from a tertiary referral centre. Method A database review of all patients referred with non-ampullary duodenal polyps from 2003 – January 2017 in a tertiary referral endoscopy centre (Nottingham University Hospital-United Kingdom) was performed. Patient demographics, lesion characteristics (size, location, Paris classification and histopathology), procedural data, first follow-up at a mean 4 months, second surveillance ≥12 months and adverse events were evaluated. Results Sixty-one patients with non-ampullary duodenal polyps were identified. 58 patients (95%) underwent EMR [mean patient age 67±10 SD years (32-85), male 55.2%)] and 3 patients were referred for surgery. The mean polyp size was 20±12 mm. Paris classification 0-IIa and 0-Is was seen in 58.6% and 22.4% respectively. Complete resection in the first session was achieved in 54 of 58 patients (93.1%). Histologically proven adenoma recurrence was identified and endoscopically treated in 5 of 42 patients (11.9%) on first surveillance. 16 of the 19 patients who were followed up ≥12 months were free of adenoma and considered cured (84.2%). Post EMR stricture occurred in 2 of 58 patients (3.4%) who had widespread resection (>75% circumference). Treatment was attempted with endoscopic balloon dilatation but was unsuccessful and these patients required surgery. Intraprocedural bleeding was noted in of 16 of 58 patients (27.5%) and there was 1 case (1.7%) of delayed bleeding, which was managed successfully with endoscopic intervention. Perforation was noted in 1 patient (1.7%), conservative treatment was sufficient to manage this complication. The removed lesions were retrieved in 51 of 58 patients (87.9%). Histopathology was adenoma with low grade of dysplasia in 43 of 58 patients (74.1%), adenoma with high grade of dysplasia in 5/58 patients (8.6%), neuroendocrine tumour in 2/58 patients (3.4%), serrated lesion in 1 patient (1.7%). Conclusion Endoscopic resection of large non-ampullary duodenal polyp is a safe and effective alternative to surgery in a tertiary referral centre. However, widespread resection can result in refractory stricture that is difficult to manage endoscopically. Intraprocedural bleeding is common but can be successfully treated. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


We present an ASCA observation of the nearby spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194). We detected hard X-ray emission with a photon index of ~1.4 and a luminosity of LX ~ 1.1 × 1040 ergs s-1 in the 2-10 keV band (assuming a distance of 9.6 Mpc). A strong fluorescent iron K line (equivalent width ~900 eV) was detected at 6.4 keV in the X-ray spectra. Such an intense iron line is characteristic of Seyfert 2 galaxies and strongly suggests the presence of a heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, the X-ray image is extended even at energies above 2 keV. From the strong iron line and the extended hard X-ray image we speculate that the AGN is obscured by matter with a hydrogen column density more than several times 1023 cm-2 and that the observed 2-10 keV X-ray flux is not dominated by emission from the AGN but rather by other components, such as low-mass X-ray binaries, which typically dominate the X-ray emission of normal spiral galaxies. Emission lines from O K, Ne K, Fe L, Mg K and Si K were detected in the soft energy spectra, which indicate the presence of hot gas. The soft component is well represented by a Raymond-Smith thermal plasma model (with kT ~ 0.4 keV), which suggests a lower iron abundance (<0.1 solar) than other elements (~0.1-0.4 solar), or by a two temperature (kT ~ 0.3 keV and kT ~ 0.8 keV) model with ~0.1 solar abundance, which is reminiscent of the X-ray-emitting gas in starburst galaxies.


PEFR was measured in 82 male students following the ingestion of 15gm of Garcinia Kola. Overall, PEFR increased with age, height, weight and chest circumference. The lowest control PEFR was 450 L/min and the highest control PEFR was 647 L/min. Following the ingestion of Garcinia Kola, PEFR decreased to 445 L/min and 615 L/min respectively at the end of 90 mins. Mean control PEFR was 576.17 ± 20 and mean PEFR 90min after Garcinia Kola consumption was 542 ± 26 (P < 0.05). Garcinia Kola may clear the airway, but does not improve the airflow in young adults. Keywords : PEFR, Garcinia Kola.


Objectives: To ascertain motivations and priorities for neurotology fellowship applicants and program directors during the match process. Methods: Anonymous online survey distributed to 20 fellowship program directors and 40 current and incoming neurotology fellows. A 5-point Likert scale was used to assess the priorities of fellowship applicants and program directors in the match process. Results: Twenty-four of 40 (60%) current or incoming fellows and 14 of 20 (65%) program directors responded to the survey. Fellows rated surgical exposure and volume as their highest priorities. In addition to neurotology case load, fellows highly valued exposure to otologic surgery. Salary, call, and work/life balance were among the lowest rated factors among fellows. Program directors attached the highest priority to the applicant interview performance, followed by strength of letters of recommendation and quality of prior research. Ethnicity, sex, and likelihood of an applicant ranking a program highly were the lowest rated factors among program directors. Conclusion: Among neurotology fellows, operative case load and breadth of surgical exposure are highly valued components of accredited fellowship training. Among neurotology fellowship program directors, candidates' performance during the fellowship interview appears to be highly valued, more so than the strength of applicants' letters of recommendation or prior research credentials.


Statement analysis has been used for years to determine the accuracy of statements. The Judgement of Memory Characteristics Questionnaire was revised in the current study to assess the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. Participants watched a video of a theft then identified the perpetrator from a line-up. Two statements were obtained: descriptions of the perpetrator and post-identification statements. The characteristics present in descriptions did not predict identification accuracy. However, analysis of the characteristics present in post-identification statements resulted in two predictive factors: Quality of Description and Amount of Detail. Statement analysis of post-identification statements resulted in a 70% correct classification rate of identifications. Further development of this measure and subsequent application of it to forensic investigations could help minimize the detrimental effects of inaccurate identifications.


The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is widely used in smartphone positioning, but its performance can be degraded in urban environments because of signal reflections or blockages. To address these GNSS outages, pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) is commonly used due to its significant improvements in both the stability and continuity of positioning, which are dependent on three key factors: continuous absolute position, heading and step information. Signals of opportunity are commonly used in positioning, whereas the installation of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) sensors on lampposts can provide an opportunity for positioning and heading estimation in urban canyons. In this article, a system integrating the GNSS, PDR, and BLE techniques is implemented in smartphones to provide a real-time positioning solution for pedestrians, which includes a new position correction method based on BLE heading, a reliable heading estimation integrating BLE and inertial sensors, an unconstrained step detection method with high accuracy, and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to integrate multiple sensors and techniques. In several field experiments, with improvements in availability and robustness, the heading accuracy of the proposed fusion approach could reach approximately 3 degrees; the positioning accuracy achieved between 2.7 m and 4.2 m, compared with a 30 m error from the GNSS alone. Simultaneously, this system could achieve a high positioning accuracy of 2.4 m with unconstrained smartphones in a mixed environment. The proposed system has been demonstrated to perform well in urban canyons.


Magnetic-polymer-composite sheeting is used to suppress radiated electromagnetic noise generated from electronic equipment. The sheeting is a combination of a soft-magnetic-metallic powder and a polymer. Installing this sheeting on transmission lines on substrates, attenuates the conducted-electromagnetic noise. In this paper we describe the effect on the transmission line characteristics due to the installation of the sheeting, and the attenuation of high-GHz-conducted-electromagnetic noise by loss of the sheeting.


Two-thirds of all women who develop breast cancer each year live in Asia. In many countries, including Bangladesh, there are few data on the pathological characteristics of breast tumours. The objectives of this study were a) to describe the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and the expression of Her-2/neu oncogene expression status in a large series of breast cancers occurring in Bangladeshi women and b) to correlate these findings with the patients' age at diagnosis, tumour histological grade, and presence of axillary lymph node metastatic disease. METHOD: One thousand forty two cases were evaluated in a referral practice. Tumour sections were stained immunohistochemically using Dako 1D5 (ER) and Dako 636 (PR) and semiquantitatively scored for ER and PR expression. Three hundred thirty five of these cases were also stained using Dako c-erb2 oncoprotein and scored for Her-2/neu over-expression. RESULTS: Estrogen Receptor expression was positive in 69.0%, PR expression was positive in 72.3%, and Her-2/neu was over-expressed (IHC score 3+) in 28.4% of the cases. Her-2/neu over-expression did not consistently correlate with ER and PR expression. ER and PR expression were inversely associated with tumour histological grade. Cases with axillary lymph node metastases had higher rates of ER and PR expression. No significant association was observed with patient's age. CONCLUSION: Estrogen Receptor, PR, and Her-2/neu expression frequencies and prognostic factor associations in Bangladeshi women with breast cancer referred for tumour marker testing are very similar to those reported in Western countries. These findings have important implications for ensuring optimal testing capacity for all patients with these tumours, to allow for appropriate choices of treatment.


Since the discovery of C60 nanowhiskers in a colloidal solution of PZT in 2001, various low-dimensional fullerene nanomaterials such as fullerene nanotubes and fullerene nanosheets have been synthesized by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method (LLIP method) as well as the C60 and C70 nanowhiskers. The LLIP method is an excellent process to synthesize the quasi one-dimensional fullerene nanomaterials. This paper first reviews the typical fullerene nano and micro materials that have been prepared by the LLIP method and then show that the LLIP method is also applicable to the synthesis of composite C60 nano and micro whiskers containing wide compositions of C60 derivative molecules.


Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), we report high angular-resolution observations of the redshift z  = 3.63 galaxy H-ATLAS J083051.0+013224 (G09v1.97), one of the most luminous strongly lensed galaxies discovered by the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). We present 0.″2−0.″4 resolution images of the rest-frame 188 and 419 μm dust continuum and the CO(6–5), H2O(211−202), and Jup = 2 H2O+ line emission. We also report the detection of H2O(211−202) in this source. The dust continuum and molecular gas emission are resolved into a nearly complete ∼1.″5 diameter Einstein ring plus a weaker image in the center, which is caused by a special dual deflector lensing configuration. The observed line profiles of the CO(6–5), H2O(211−202), and Jup = 2 H2O+ lines are strikingly similar. In the source plane, we reconstruct the dust continuum images and the spectral cubes of the CO, H2O, and H2O+ line emission at sub-kiloparsec scales. The reconstructed dust emission in the source plane is dominated by a compact disk with an effective radius of 0.7 ± 0.1 kpc plus an overlapping extended disk with a radius twice as large. While the average magnification for the dust continuum is μ ∼ 10−11, the magnification of the line emission varies from 5 to 22 across different velocity components. The line emission of CO(6–5), H2O(211−202), and H2O+ have similar spatial and kinematic distributions. The molecular gas and dust content reveal that G09v1.97 is a gas-rich major merger in its pre-coalescence phase, with a total molecular gas mass of ∼1011 M⊙. Both of the merging companions are intrinsically ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with infrared luminosities LIR reaching ≳4 × 1012 L⊙, and the total LIR of G09v1.97 is (1.4 ± 0.7)×1013 L⊙. The approaching southern galaxy (dominating from V = −400 to −150 km s−1 relative to the systemic velocity) shows no obvious kinematic structure with a semi-major half-light radius of as = 0.4 kpc, while the receding galaxy (0 to 350 km s−1) resembles an as = 1.2 kpc rotating disk. The two galaxies are separated by a projected distance of 1.3 kpc, bridged by weak line emission (−150 to 0 km s−1) that is co-spatially located with the cold dust emission peak, suggesting a large amount of cold interstellar medium (ISM) in the interacting region. As one of the most luminous star-forming dusty high-redshift galaxies, G09v1.97 is an exceptional source for understanding the ISM in gas-rich starbursting major merging systems at high redshift.


Multi-color surface photometry (BVri) is presented for the tidal features in a sample of interacting galaxies. Large color variations are found between the morphological components and within the individual components. The blue colors in the primary and the tidal features are most dramatic in B-V, and not in V-i, indicating that star formation instead of metallicity or age dominates the colors. Color variations between components is larger in systems shortly after interaction begins and diminishes to a very low level in systems which are merged. Photometric models for interacting systems are presented which suggest that a weak burst of star formation in the tidal features could cause the observed color distributions. Dynamical models indicate that compression occurs during the development of tidal features causing an increase in the local density by a factor of between 1.5 and 5. Assuming this density increase can be related to the star formation rate by a Schmidt law, the density increases observed in the dynamical models may be responsible for the variations in color seen in some of the interacting systems. Limitations of the dynamical models are also discussed.


The results of partial-body x-irradiation experiments established the abdomen as the radiosensitive area involved in postirradiation polydipsia and polyuria. However, the responses do not appear to be due to the action of x-rays on any one organ in this region, since x-irradiation of individual exteriorized organs was only partially effective. On the other hand, shielding of the exteriorized kidneys or liver was effective in the prevention of postirradiation polyuria and polydipsia. Removal of the adrenal glands or spleen prior to x-irradiation did not prevent polydipsia or polyuria, whereas removal of the pancreas greatly diminished the extent of the polydipsia and polyuria and removal of the pituitary gland eliminated the responses. Anoxic anoxia during the time of x-irradiation did not prevent polyuria or polydipsia, but when isotonic sugar solutions were given as the drinking fluid polyuria and polydipsia did not occur.


Vigna mungo L. (Fabaceae) is a popular food legume used in the traditional Indian system of medicine for the treatment of a variety of disease conditions. The objective of the study was to evaluate any immunostimulatory activities of the extract of V. mungo seeds in an animal model. The induction of any immunostimulatory effects were evaluated using measures of sheep red blood cells (SRBC)-induced humoral antibody titer, SRBC-induced delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), neutrophil adhesion, and in vivo phagocytosis (via the carbon clearance method) after host treatment with the extract. The results here indicated that primary and secondary antibody titers in the rats were significantly increased by treatment with the V. mungo extract as compared with those noted among rats in a control group. Increases in DTH response, the percentage (%) neutrophil adhesion, and in situ phagocytosis were also observed after treatment with the extract. We summarize that the apparent immunostimulatory effect of the V. mungo seed extract might be attributed to an augmentation of humoral and cell-mediated responses, phagocytosis, and hematopoiesis in the treated rats. The findings in this study suggest that V. mungo seed extract possesses profound immunostimulatory activities. Whether such outcomes are also evidenced by consumption of the intact seeds themselves, as is most likely to be the case with humans, remains to be determined. Nonetheless, the present study provides evidence that could help explain how the traditional use of V. mungo has been successful in the treatment of various disorders in humans.


We have measured the 31P and 1H NMR parameters of fractionated double-stranded DNA fragments 600, 300, and 150 base pairs long. The results indicate that, inside an intact double helix, both the deoxyribose and the sugar-phosphate backbone of the helix fluctuate substantially from their equilibrium geometry. The time constant for those coupled motions is of the order of 1 nsec.


In this paper, examples are given of recent measurements made at the Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source on four short-lived diatomic molecules. The equipment designed to overcome the difficulties of interfacing reactive species with the ultra-high vacuum environment of a synchrotron radiation source is described. The measurements presented have been selected to show the advantage of using a continuum source of radiation in identifying new structure in the photoionization continuum of these molecules.


The chronic nature of the glaucomatous process requires long years of observation and treatment. The quality of treatment depends on the doctor who determines the tactics and methods of treatment, as well as on the patient who follows or doesn't follow the doctor's instructions. The study objective was to evaluate patients' attitude to the required treatment and its cost. To do this, an anonymous survey of glaucoma patients was conducted in a number of regions of the Russian Federation. The questionnaire consisted of 7 questions and several answer options for each of them. In total, 1877 questionnaires from 35 regions of the country were processed. The survey results show that for glaucoma patients vision preservation is the priority of the treatment. Patients believe that medical treatment should be aimed at effective intraocular pressure reduction with as few side effects of used drugs as possible. The price of IOP-lowering drops of 500 rubles is affordable for the majority of respondents (76 %). However, the total price of complex glaucoma treatment drew mixed reaction from the survey participants.


With world economies facing increasing financial liberalization and financial crisis, the question raised is whether and how monetary authorities in various economies have responded to foreign financial shocks? In this paper, the focus of the question is directed at Iran, which will be examined through a modified open-economy Taylor Rule that considers foreign financial shocks from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, representing the Middle East, and the U.S., Germany, and Japan, representing the rest of the world. Results suggest that although Iran's monetary policy does not fit the Taylor Rule, it has responded to some foreign financial level and volatility shocks over the period of study, 1997-2013. Findings in this paper, following earlier findings in Ezzati (2013a) and (2013b), indicate that Iran's monetary policy has not been completely based on economic changes and macroeconomic influences, but has been based more on controversial political concerns.


Mononuclear cells from the human peripheral blood undergo an intense proliferative reaction when they are cultured in the presence of the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin (10). This proliferation is accompanied by a marked change in the morphology of the cells. Observation by light microscopy shows that they increase in size, reaching diameters of up to 30 ~. The transformed cells are highly mobile when discrete, but tend to be quiescent when in contact with one another. Their nuclei are enlarged and contain one or more nucleoli; vesicles of varying size and density are scattered throughout their cytoplasm (5). This preliminary report describes the main morphological features of the new organization of human lymphocytes stimulated in this way, as revealed by electron microscopy.


Network traffic has shown the combination of few very high bit rate
flows (large flow) and a huge amount of very low bit rate flows (small
flow), which causes uneven load balance over ECMP or LAG.
Differentiating large flow and small flow packets in IP/MPLS networks
enables an enhanced ECMP transport. Enhanced ECMP applies different
distribution methods to large flow packets and small flow packets to
improve the load balance and congestion control. This draft proposes
large flow classification scheme for flow awareness transport in PSN.


New effects of self-organization and polarization pattern formation in semiconductor microcavities, operating in the nonlinear regime, are predicted and theoretically analyzed. We show that a spatially inhomogeneous elliptically polarized optical cw pump leads to the formation of a strongly circularly polarized ring in real space. This effect is due to the polarization multistability of cavity polaritons which was recently predicted. The possible switching between different stable configurations allows the realization of a localized spin memory element, suitable for an optical data storage device.


The authors sent questionnaires to the members of the French speaking Gynecology and Obstetrics societies and received 216 replies, of which 129 covering 86,700 patients are summarized here. There were 53 cases of phlebitis, 4 of pulmonary embolism, 2 of acute hypertension, 1 of hypotension, 1 of cerebral thrombosis, 1 of retinal hemorrhage, 1 of facial paralysis and 1 of acute pancreatitis and mesenteric infarction. If the 57 cases of phlebitis and pulmonary embolism are grouped, the frequency is 6.5 per 1000, which is not sufficiently greater than 2 per 1000 found by Drill in nonpregnant women, to incrimin ate the pill. The frequency of morbidity from phlebitis and thromboembo lism in this survey may be artificially low because most respondents wer e gynecologists; some women with these disorders may have consulted other physicians.


This is the second in a series of papers analyzing the bryophytemacrolichen flora of sandstone canyons in southern Illinois. Nineteen species of mosses, twenty-one species of hepatics and 6 macrolichen elements were found within 4 study areas in Panther's Den, Union County, Illinois. For each of the above, frequency, basal area, relative cover and importance value were calculated. This information, combined with similarity coefficients, indicates a range of microhabitat conditions which create a flora dominated by common southern Illinois species. It also includes some unusual taxa. As in an earlier study differences in aspect and vertical stratification appear to be significant factors affecting species distribution. Panther's Den is located in the extreme northeastern corner of Union County, Illinois (T11S RIE NE 10), southeast of Little Grand Canyon and within the unglaciated Greater Shawnee Hills Section of the Shawnee Hills Division (Stotler, 1976, Fig. 1). It is the second isolated ravine to be systematically sampled in a continuing study of the saxicolous bryophyte and macrolichen associations of southern Illinois. The ravine runs north and south and is bordered to the east and west by low bluffs and hills. To the east of the ravine, there is an area of massive block-faulted Pennsylvanian sandstone. The juxtaposition of the walls forms a sheltered area which gives Panther's Den its name. Many of the walls produce seepage which keeps them moist during dry weather. Additionally, evaporation is reduced since the walls are shaded by each other and by vascular plants. This shelter produces a microclimate which is cooler and more moist in the summer and warmer in the winter than the surrounding area. Because of their sheerness and lack of soil, the walls support few vascular plants except for scattered individuals of Heuchera parviflora Barth. and Polypodium virginianum L. The bryophyte and macrolichen flora, however, is diverse and abundant. Within the flora are both common, thoroughly expected elements of the region, as well as rarer, more isolated taxa which appear to be at the extremes of their ranges. Although this ravine bears some superficial resemblance to Little Grand Canyon, its floristic composition is different. Hence, a quantitative study here should broaden the data pool for the southern Illinois area. 1A portion of a Research Report submitted by the first author to The Graduate School of Southern Illinois University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biological Sciences. 2 Botany Department, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901. This content downloaded from 22.214.171.124 on Wed, 25 May 2016 05:59:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1977] WEST & STOTLER: SAXICOLOUS ASSOCIATIONS IN ILLINOIS 613


After controlling for a wide range of determinants of children's participation in work, school, and idleness, we examine whether or not there exists spatial dependence in children's activities in neighboring Indian districts. We find that correlation among neighboring districts' unobservables play a significant role in determining the proportion of children who attend school, work, and are idle in a district. We attribute a large part of spatially correlated unobservables to common social attitudes, beliefs, and norms with respect to children's activities in neighboring districts. This suggests implementing policies that not only target the quality and quantity of education, but also change social attitudes in favor of education and against idleness and child labor.


Understanding modifiable determinants of full immunization of children provide a valuable contribution to immunization programs and help reduce disease, disability, and death. This study is aimed to assess the individual and community-level determinants of full immunization coverage among children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study used data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2013–14 from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data regarding total 3,366 children between 12 and 23 months of age were used in this study. Children who were immunized with one dose of BCG, three doses of polio, three doses of DPT, and a dose of measles vaccine was considered fully immunized. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the prevalence and distribution of full immunization coverage. Two-level multilevel logistic regression analysis, with individual-level (level 1) characteristics nested within community-level (level 2) characteristics, was used to assess the individual- and community-level determinants of full immunization coverage. This study found that about 45.3% [95%CI: 42.02, 48.52] of children aged 12–23 months were fully immunized in the DRC. The results confirmed immunization coverage varied and ranged between 5.8% in Mongala province to 70.6% in Nord-Kivu province. Results from multilevel analysis revealed that, four Antenatal Care (ANC) visits [AOR: 1.64; 95%CI: 1.23, 2.18], institutional delivery [AOR: 2.37; 95%CI: 1.52, 3.72], and Postnatal Care (PNC) service utilization [AOR: 1.43; 95%CI: 1.04, 1.95] were statistically significantly associated with the full immunization coverage. Similarly, children of mothers with secondary or higher education [AOR: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.00, 1.81] and from the richest wealth quintile [AOR: 1.96; 95%CI: 1.18, 3.27] had significantly higher odds of being fully immunized compared to their counterparts whose mothers were relatively poorer and less educated. Among the community-level characteristics, residents of the community with a higher rate of institutional delivery [AOR: 2.36; 95%CI: 1.59, 3.51] were found to be positively associated with the full immunization coverage. Also, the random effect result found about 35% of the variation in immunization coverage among the communities was attributed to community-level factors.The Democratic Republic of Congo has a noteworthy gap in full immunization coverage. Modifiable factors–particularly health service utilization including four ANC visits, institutional delivery, and postnatal visits–had a strong positive effect on full immunization coverage. The study underlines the importance of promoting immunization programs tailored to the poor and women with little education.


Serum thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was measured before, immediately after and on the following days after a 70 km cross-country ski race in two groups of ten well-trained men, one aged 21--29 years, taking 5.01--7.03 h, and one aged 51--57 years, taking 6.07--7.38 h. T4 was definitely increased immediately after the race, but fell to below the initial level on the following day and was not restored to the pre-race level until 4 days after the race. T3 showed essentially the same pattern, though less pronounced, a major part of the changes being possibly due to plasma volume variations. TSH showed a tendency to rise immediately after the race, but rose further to 175% of the initial level on the following day and was not restored to the initial level 4 days after the race. The pattern of changes were independent of age. It is suggested that the prolonged rise in TSH is probably due to an exercise-induced increased peripheral need for thyroid hormone.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Thailand and their associated risk factors.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
A cross-sectional, multi-sites, hospital-based study was carried out between June and December 2006. Diabetic patients from the outpatient department of seven public hospitals (3 tertiary, 2 secondary and 2 community hospital) in Thailand were performed by retinal specialist.

RESULTS
One thousand seven of 1,120 diabetic patients received retinal examination using indirect ophthalmoscope. Patients were divided into two groups (absent and present DR). Most patients in both groups were female (72.7 and 68.0%). The prevalence of DR was 24.0% (n = 242), mild NPDR 9.4% (n = 95), moderate NPDR 10.5% (n = 106), severe NPDR 1.3% (n = 13), and proliferative (PDR) 2.8% (n = 28). Age at onset, duration of DM, systolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c, Triglyceride (TG), alcohol consumption, foot ulcer, and proteinuria were recorded. Metformin and insulin taking were statistically, significantly different among these groups. There is more prevalent NPDR and PDR in insulin-taking than non-insulin-taking groups. The grading of diabetic retinopathy is associated with the duration of diabetes. In multivariate regression analysis, associated risk factors of DR patients were the duration of DM, HbA1c levels, and proteinuria.

CONCLUSION
Diabetic retinopathy was present in about one fourth of type 2 diabetic patients in this study. Associated risk factors of DR were the duration of DM, HbA1c levels, and proteinuria. Regular screening for DR especially in T2DM with associated risk factor should be done for early treatment.


In this study, the presence of tick-borne zoonotic bacteria (Borrelia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Rickettsiae spp.) in camel blood samples were examined using by PCR. A total of 50 blood samples were collected from one humped dromedary camels found in western side of Aegean region which had tick infestation in their anamnesis. Three pathogens, viz Borrelia burgdorferi, C. burnetii and Rickettsiae spp. were detected in camel blood samples. A single PCR was performed for the C. burnetii and multiplex PCR for the Rickettsiae spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi. At the end of PCR study, C. burnetii was identified at the rate of 4% out of 50 blood samples. Borrelia burgdorferi and Rickettsiae spp. were not detected from all blood samples. The results showed that tick-borne zoonotic pathogens may come up with risk factors for Camelus dromedarius population. For this reason, it is important to increase microbiological studies for Camelus dromedarius populations.


Dynamic reconfiguration of FPGAs is a powerful technique for modifying a circuit as it executes. However, dynamic reconfiguration is inadequately supported by CAD tools and poorly understood in general. We present a specific class of dynamic reconfigurations that can be expressed in terms of a formalism called partial evaluation. This provides a systematic framework for understanding the effect of a dynamic reconfiguration, as well as providing guidance on how to complete specialised circuits. The primary advantages of this technique are circuits which are smaller and faster for a certain class of applications. We present one case study from the ATM field which benefits from this treatment.


We discuss the variational optimization of a unitary tensor-network circuit with different network structures. The ansatz is performed based on a generalization of well-developed multi-scale entanglement renormalization algorithm and also the conjugate-gradient method with an effective line search. We present the benchmarking calculations for different network structures by studying the Heisenberg model in a strongly disordered magnetic field and a tensor-network $QR$-decomposition.


Recent pension reforms have shifted a larger responsibility towards savers. Individuals therefore need better knowledge of the rules and incentives embedded in the pension system to adequately save and prepare for retirement. In this paper, we use a novel Swedish survey matched with high-quality administrative data to show that many lack, and feel that they lack, such pension-specific knowledge. We also show that the most economically vulnerable groups know the least. Linking pension knowledge to behavior, we find that knowing less is associated with lower preparedness for retirement, even after controlling for financial literacy and subjective knowledge. Moreover, a large majority state the complexity of the pension system, or that they have planned to learn more about pensions but that it just hasn't happened, as reasons for why they do not have sufficient knowledge.


Stack-collected fly-ash particles from a commercial pulverized-coal power plant were extracted with 60/40 w/w benzene-methanol to remove as much of the organic fraction as possible. The extract was sequentially fractionated on a series of high-performance liquid chromatography columns, and the Salmonella bacterial mutagenicity assay using both normal and nitroreductase-deficient strains was used to localize the most mutagenic fractions. Selected fractions were analyzed by a variety of techniques, including gas chromatography with dual-flame ionization and thermionic nitrogen-phosphorus detectors, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, direct-probe low-resolution or low-voltage mass spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Mutagenicity data indicated that nitroorganic compounds were the primary mutagens in all samples submitted for chemical analysis. A series of homologous alkylated nitrophenanthrenes appear to be important mutagens in one major fraction, while alkylated nitrofluorenones appear to be the dominant mutagens in a second major fraction. No nitro compounds were identified in a third major fraction. In addition to the nitro compounds, substantial amounts of fluorenones were also found, although these are not believed to contribute to the direct-acting mutagenic activity of the samples.


Regional aviation is considered critical to the development of regional and remote communities. It has been recognised by the Australian, Brazilian and Canadian governments that regional aviation is also crucial to the continued economic development of these countries. Whilst all three countries have similar economic structures, they have also completed a cycle of regional aviation deregulation over the last twenty years. A comparative analysis of the economic regulatory reforms conducted in Australia, Brazil and Canada has been provided. The paper uses this analysis to suggest the development of four criteria (improved service quality, increased competition, increased efficiency and increased innovation), to determine the impact of government economic policy on regional aviation.


The effect of HV impulses on surface and cavity partial discharges (PD) of oil-impregnated paper (OIP) is investigated in this work, by subjecting specimens to impulse voltages superimposed on a continuous AC voltage. The superposition of transient and AC voltage is relevant to insulation systems in power-system equipment, which is exposed to transients such as lightning and switching impulses during its operation. For several different PD-generating defects in oil-impregnated paper, the PD behaviors before and after the impulse are compared. The influence of moisture content is studied by using OIP with moisture content <0.5%, 3.0% and 5.5%. The results show a distinctive behavior of PD due to the impulse for each defect and insulation condition, either by change in the PD rate and magnitude or by causing PD inception or extinction. Recordings of the voltage signals and associated PD measurements during and after the incidence of a high voltage transient are of potential use for condition assessment of the insulation of power transformers and their bushings, as a form of online diagnostics.


The purpose of this report is to compare outcomes on the North East Regional Board of Dental Examiners (NERB) clinical examination to selected measures of academic performance in one U.S. dental school. The data came from results of the spring 2001 NERB examination at that school. Five measures of academic performance--number of Class II amalgam restorations completed, number of Class III/IV composite restorations completed, fixed prosthodontic units performed, fourth-year class rank, and GPA-were compared between those who passed and those who failed NERB's restorative exercise (RESTOR) and provisional fixed partial denture exercise (SIM). Analyses could not confirm a positive relationship between the school performance measures and the NERB outcome of passing RESTOR on the first attempt. On the other hand, those who passed SIM on the first attempt had, on the average, performed more amalgams, composites, and fixed prosthodontic units as students than those who failed; they also had, on average, better class rank and higher GPA. Therefore, only performance on SIM related to performance in school. However, both RESTOR and SIM had a similar number of failures from the top as well as the bottom portions of the class. These preliminary data from one dental school class raise questions about the validity of the NERB clinical examination for licensure decisions.


The fathead minnow Pimephales promelas serves as a model organism for assessing the effects of environmental contaminants on early life stage growth and development. Yet, the utilization of genomic tools has been hindered by the lack of genome sequence and genomic information known from this model species. Utilizing published cDNA library sequences, the authors used sequence similarity to compare 4105 cDNAs isolated from fathead minnow fry (<14 days old) with over 250 000 adult cDNA sequences derived from whole body and various tissue types. The objectives of the computational subtraction were to (1) assess the extent of sequence similarity between developing and adult cDNA libraries and (2) predict which cDNA clones are expressed only in developing organisms. The results of the computational predictions were assessed through the construction of a development-specific DNA microarray targeting all 4105 sequences in the fry cDNA library as well as 56 known mRNAs in P. promelas. Gene expression was determined by comparing total RNA isolated from fry with total RNA isolated from adult samples (whole animal, kidney, liver, brain, ovary and testes). The results showed that 1381 of the targeted fry cDNA sequences (34%) displayed expression across all sample comparisons, and of these, only 166 genes were found to harbour fry-specific expression (i.e. no expression in adult samples). Of note, 69% of the genes computationally predicted to be fry specific were found across all experimental results; yet, only 27% of the computationally predicted fry-specific sequences were experimentally confirmed to be fry specific. An important result was the identification of many novel mRNA sequences specific to the developing minnow, which lack homology with any other known sequence. In addition, the study results included tissue-specific expression in adult samples. These results demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of inter-library sequence comparisons as a predictor of gene activity in non-sequenced organisms and tissues, as well as DNA microarray gene expression studies in non-sequenced organisms.


In this paper we provide a comparison of different modular multipliers suitable for use in an elliptic curve processor, when working with a Mersenne prime modulus. Mersenne primes allow for the use of fast modular reduction techniques. Several multipliers are presented that can be implemented solely in slice logic. A design that makes use of the DSP48E blocks on Virtex 5 FPGAs is also described. The different multipliers are compared for speed, area and power consumption when implemented on a Virtex 5 FPGA.


This study examines the news coverage of tobacco control in China between 2010 and 2012 and compares it with the China Tobacco Control Program (2012–2015), a recent national policy initiative. The study finds that the relative salience of second-level tobacco control issues in the media have a moderate positive association with the policy agenda. However, the news coverage of tobacco control was more consistent with the agenda of anti–tobacco control forces than with the agenda of pro-control forces. The implications of the findings are discussed.


Background Central obesity is a risk factor for many health conditions, and it disproportionately affects some ethnic minority groups. Research has shown that there is an association between area environments and obesity, but no studies have explored the association between co-ethnic density and central obesity in the UK (United Kingdom). This paper addresses the following research question: Does the relationship between co-ethnic density/area deprivation and waist circumference differ by ethnic group in England? Methods Data come from 4 years of the cross-sectional Health Survey for England (1998, 1999, 2003, 2004) and linked area-level data from the 2001 Census. More recent data on objectively measured central obesity for a nationally representative sample of ethnic minorities does not exist. Multi-level modeling methods account for individual-level and area-level factors. Interaction models test the effect of area deprivation and co-ethnic density for each ethnic group compared with the White reference group. Results For women, the relationship between area deprivation and waist circumference does not vary by ethnic group. For Indian and Bangladeshi men there is a decrease in waist circumference as area deprivation increases. There is an increase in waist circumference as co-ethnic density increases for Black Caribbean women. For Indian men there is a decrease in waist circumference as co-ethnic density increases. Conclusions Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms through which (1) increasing area-deprivation is protective for Indian and Bangladeshi men and (2) increasing co-ethnic density is associated with an increase in waist circumference for Black Caribbean women but a decrease in waist circumference among Indian men. Each of these results are important because (1) Indian and Bangladeshi men have an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome, which is linked to central obesity, and (2) Black Caribbean women have a higher risk of central obesity than the general population in England.


Most private not-for-profit (PNFP) health providers in Uganda are faith-based. They account for a sizeable proportion of the health services delivered in the country and have as their prime concern the provision of services to the poor. These providers are coordinated through umbrella organizations, such as the Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim Medical Bureaus and the Uganda Community Based Health Care Association. This article documents the experiences of the Catholic health network in Uganda and its umbrella organization, the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) in making health services work for poor people. It demonstrates how the pro-poor ethos derived from a longstanding tradition and the mission of healing by treating and preventing diseases, with a preferential option for the less privileged supported by soft regulation and technical assistance from the umbrella organization can induce a process of activity.


We compared young adults' autobiographical (AB) memories involving Music to memories concerning other specific categories and to Everyday AB memories with no specific cue. In all cases, participants reported both their most vivid memory and another AB memory from approximately the same time. We analyzed responses via quantitative ratings scales on aspects such as vividness and importance, as well as via qualitative thematic coding. In the initial phase, comparison of Music-related to Everyday memories suggested all Musical memories had high emotional and vividness characteristics whereas Everyday memories elicited emotion and other heightened responses only in the "vivid" instruction condition. However, when we added two other specific AB categories (Dining and Holidays) in phase two, the Music memories were no longer unique. We offer these results as a cautionary tale: before concluding that music is special in its relationship to cognition, perception, or emotion, studies should include appropriate control conditions.


Our understanding of the importance of environmental and lifestyle factors on sperm count and fertility is constrained by the extreme variation in sperm count between men and between ejaculates. The factors responsible for this variation provide a key to understanding what factors actually affect the sperm count. The relative importance of the various factors and the pathways via which they affect sperm count are discussed. The most important are Sertoli cell number, ejaculatory frequency, season, factors affecting scrotal heating (e.g. the time spent seated), a past history of reproductive tract disorders and ageing. The possible role of other environmental factors commonly supposed to affect sperm count (exposure to pesticides or endocrine disruptors) is discussed, although the evidence for a major influence of such factors is lacking. It is suggested that lifestyle changes, especially in the time spent seated, will exert an adverse effect on sperm production in a progressively larger group of men over the next decade.


Abstract Fluorinated bisphenols and tetraphenols have been prepared by the condensation reaction of trifluoromethyl activated ketones with simple bisphenols (including catechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone) catalyzed by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, in good yields. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


About 9000 structures of magnesium clusters Mgn (n = 2-13) generated via different methods were optimized at the DFT levels in order to estimate the number of all possible stable structures that can exist for the given cluster size (∼820,000 PES points were explored in total). It was found that the number of possible cluster isomers N quickly grows with a number of atoms n; however, it is significantly lower than the number of possible nonisomorphic graph structures, which can be drawn for the given n. At the DFT potential energy surface, we found only 543 local minima corresponding to the isomers of Mg2-Mg13. The number of isomers obtained in the DFT optimizations grows with n approximately as n4, whereas the N values extrapolated to the infinite generation process grow as n8. The cluster geometries obtained from the global DFT optimization were then used to adjust two empirical potentials of Gupta type (GP) and modified Sutton-Chen type (SCG3) describing the interactions between the magnesium atoms. Using these potentials, the extensive sets of structures Mg2-Mg55 (up to 30,000 clusters for each n) were optimized to obtain the dependence of the cluster isomer count on n in the continuous range of n = 2-30 and for selected n up to n = 55. It was found that the SCG3 potential, which is closer to the DFT results, gives a number of possible isomers growing as approximately n8.9, whereas GP potential results in the n4.3 dependence.


INCOM Egypt has undergone automation in some processes where critical aspects of its operations are transformed and automated. This paper presents an overview of INCOM Egypt processes using Ould Riva and analyses the process of 'handling a product'. It aims to demonstrate effective automation of the production of wires and cables process accompanied to Industry 4.0 while considering environmental and economic sustainability goals that were inhibited by COVID-19 restrictions. Ould's Riva method is used to analyse the production process of wires and cables to propose improvements for automating the process. Business process modelling is utilised to study the processes for clearer understating. The flow of information within the process is also analysed to integrate the production process with other processes and supply chains, which helps to identify which production activities can be automated and mainstreamed into the information flow to achieve environmental and economic sustainability. The context of INCOM Egypt, as a case study, is presented along with the Riva model of its operations. The paper identifies the before, i.e., As-Is process, and after, i.e., To-Be Process, automation of the 'handle a product' process using the Role Activity Diagram (RAD). The process involved redesigning and improving different activities to increase resource-use efficiency to participate in achieving the goals of sustainability. The focus of this paper is to investigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on sustainability and to examine the accomplishments of process automation of wire production towards environmental and economic sustainability. The results of the research reveal a relationship between business process modelling and sustainability. Moreover, automation of processes (Industry 4.0) is found to reduce the negative effect of COVID-19 on production. A triangulation between process modelling, process automation (Industry 4.0), and sustainability was determined. Each one is reinforcing and impacting one another. The RAD model demonstrates that automation of the activities in the process reduces waste, time, cost, and redundant processes as factors of sustainability, which may also help to lessen the unfavorable effects of the pandemic. The results proved generalisation on other organisations in the same line of business.


SUMMARY The Hippopotamus remains found near Leeds in 1852 are generally attributed to the Ipswichian (last) interglacial Stage, but certain features suggest that they could have been animals imported in historic times and subsequently buried. It was decided to resolve this issue by radiocarbon assay, which in theory should have been a simple matter. However, three assays on one of the bones produced unacceptable mid-Devensian (mid-last glacial) dates despite increasingly stringent decontamination procedures, the third attempt being supposedly proof against all natural and artificial contamination. A possible explanation for these results is given, and the interglacial age of the remains finally vindicated by an 'infinite' radiocarbon date obtained from a molar.


X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) offer a unique opportunity to study the structural dynamics of proteins on a femtosecond time-scale. To realize the full potential of XFEL sources for studying time-resolved biomolecular processes however, requires the optimization and development of devices that can both act as a trigger and a delivery mechanism for the system of interest. Here we present numerical simulations and actual devices exploring the conditions required for the development of successful mixing and injection devices for tracking the molecular dynamics of proteins in solution on micro to nanosecond timescales using XFELs. The mechanism for combining reagents employs a threefold combination of pico-liter volumes, lamination and serpentine mixing. Focusing and delivering the sample in solution is achieved using the Gas Dynamic Virtual Nozzle (GDVN), which was specifically developed to produce a micrometer diameter, in-vacuum liquid jet. We explore the influence of parameters such as flow rate and gas pressure on the mixing time and jet stability, and explore the formation of rapid homogeneously mixed jets for 'mix-and-inject' liquid scattering experiments at Synchrotron and XFEL facilities.


Purpose: to learn physical condition of women for the increase of efficiency of sports and health-improving classes. Material & Methods: 20 women of 21–35 years old who are engaged in health-improving aerobics took part in the stating experiment. The assessment of physical condition is carried out by means of the method of indexes and the equations of re-gression. Results: it is established in the course of the researches that 45% of participants of the experiment have the level of physical condition "below the average", and 55% – "low", at the same time persons with the highest indicators are not registered. Conclusions: results of the research added and expanded the existing conclusions about morphofunctional characteristics of physical condition of women who are engaged in different types of sports and health-improving classes.


We investigate the Gram determinant of the pairing arising from curves in a planar surface, with a focus on the disk with two holes. We prove that the determinant based on n 1 curves divides the determinant based on n curves. Motivated by the work on Gram determinants based on curves in a disk and curves in an annulus (Temperley‐Lieb algebra of type A and B, respectively), we calculate several examples of the Gram determinant based on curves in a disk with two holes, and advance conjectures on the complete factorization of Gram determinants.


The deterioration of speech intelligibility in the patients using cochlear implantation (CI) systems is especially well apparent in the noisy environment. It explains why phrasal speech tests, such as a Matrix sentence test, have become increasingly more popular in the speech audiometry during rehabilitation after CI. The Matrix test allows to estimate speech perception by the patients in a real life situation. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of audiological rehabilitation of CI patients using the Russian-language version of the matrix test (RUMatrix) in free field in the noisy environment. 33 patients aged from 5 to 40 years with a more than 3 year experience of using cochlear implants inserted at the National Research Center for Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation were included in our study. Five of these patients were implanted bilaterally. The results of our study showed a statistically significant improvement of speech intelligibility in the noisy environment after the speech processor adjustment; dynamics of the signal-to-noise ratio changes was -1.7 dB (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION
The RUMatrix test is a highly efficient method for the estimation of speech intelligibility in the patients undergoing clinical investigations in the noisy environment. The high degree of comparability of the RUMatrix test with the Matrix tests in other languages makes possible its application in international multicenter studies.


We have successfully developed a novel method to fabricate the memory structure of Ge nanocrystals embedded in amorphous Lu2O3 high-k dielectric using pulsed laser ablation. The mean size and aerial density of the Ge nanocrystals are estimated to be about 9 nm and 7 × 1011 cm−2, respectively. Good performances in terms of large memory window and long data retention were observed. Our preparation method is simple, fast and economical.


To identify early metabolic abnormalities in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), we measured sensitivity to insulin and insulin secretion in 26 first-degree relatives of patients with NIDDM and compared these subjects both with 14 healthy control subjects with no family history of NIDDM and with 19 patients with NIDDM. The euglycemic insulin-clamp technique, indirect calorimetry, and infusion of [3-3H]glucose were used to assess insulin sensitivity. Total-body glucose metabolism was impaired in the first-degree relatives as compared with the controls (P less than 0.01). The defect in glucose metabolism was almost completely accounted for by a defect in nonoxidative glucose metabolism (primarily the storage of glucose as glycogen). The relatives with normal rates of metabolism (mean +/- SEM, 1.81 +/- 0.27 mg per kilogram of body weight per minute) and impaired rates (1.40 +/- 0.22 mg per kilogram per minute) in oral glucose-tolerance tests had the same degree of impairment in glucose storage as compared with healthy control subjects (3.76 +/- 0.55 mg per kilogram per minute; P less than 0.01 for both comparisons). During hyperglycemic clamping, first-phase insulin secretion was lacking in patients with NIDDM (P less than 0.01) and severely impaired in their relatives with impaired glucose tolerance (P less than 0.05) as compared with control subjects; insulin secretion was normal in the relatives with normal glucose tolerance. We conclude that impaired glucose metabolism is common in the first-degree relatives of patients with NIDDM, despite their normal results on oral glucose-tolerance tests. Both insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion are necessary for the development of impaired glucose tolerance in these subjects.


1 Coronal sections of rat brain (500 μm thick) were trimmed to form 'wedges' of tissue consisting of cerebral cortex and corpus callosum. 2 When these slices were placed in a two‐compartment bath, the cortical tissue could be depolarized, relative to the corpus callosum, by superfusions of high K+, or by amino acids such as l‐glutamate, l‐aspartate, quisqualate, kainate and N‐methyl d‐aspartate (NMDA). 3 Responses to NM DA were reduced by magnesium ions, by the organic antagonists (−)‐2‐amino 5‐phosphonovalerate (APV) and 2‐amino γ‐phosphonoheptanoate (APH), and by the dissociative anaesthetic ketamine. 4 In this preparation, all these antagonists shifted the NM DA dose‐response curve to the right in a parallel manner. A Schild plot for Mg2+ had a slope significantly less than unity, indicative of a noncompetitive action, whilst Schild plots for (−)‐APV, APH and ketamine appeared linear and had slopes of approximately 1. 5 Analysis of the results of combination experiments suggested that the presumed competitive antagonists, (−)‐APV and APH, share a common site of action as NMDA antagonists, and that this site is distinct from that at which ketamine exerts its action. The action of Mg2+ is clearly different from that of either (−)‐APV or ketamine. It is concluded that ketamine is a non‐competitive antagonist of NMDA and may act at an allosteric site on the NMDA receptor complex to influence its function.