We present an experimental investigation of the UV photochemistry of diacetylene under collisionless conditions. The H loss channel is studied using DC slice ion imaging with two-color reduced-Doppler detection at 243 nm and 212 nm. The photochemistry is further studied deep in the vacuum UV, that is, at Lyman-alpha (121.6 nm). Translational energy distributions for the H + C4H product arising from dissociation of C4H2 after excitation at 243, 212, and 121.6 nm show an isotropic angular distribution and characteristic translational energy profile suggesting statistical dissociation from the ground state or possibly from a low-lying triplet state. From these distributions, a two-photon dissociation process is inferred at 243 nm and 212 nm, whereas at 121.6 nm, a one-photon dissociation process prevails. The results are interpreted with the aid of ab initio calculations on the reaction pathways and statistical calculations of the dissociation rates and product branching. In a second series of experiments, nanosecond time-resolved phototionization measurements yield a direct determination of the lifetime of metastable triplet diacetylene under collisionless conditions, as well as its dependence on excitation energy. The observed submicrosecond lifetimes suggest that reactions of metastable diacetylene are likely to be less important in Titan's atmosphere than previously believed.


【To verify the existing theory, non-propagating crack(NPC) does not exist in Ti which fulfills the good conditions for being of NPC, NPC detection in Ti was tried out. Also, the conception of fatigue limit in Ti and a main cause for NPC being were inquired. NPC was detected in both sharp notch root ( $\rho$ =0.02m 0.02mm) and micro pit (diameter = 0.25mm) which held fast to the end under stressing of fatigue limit. Therefore, the existing theory was identified as mistake. But, NPC can not be detected in smooth specimen. This fact would be due to the presumption that NPC is very small or crack does not initiate in smooth specimen. Anyway, the fatigue limit of Ti does not correspond to critical stress of crack initiation but correspond to critical stress of NPC growth. Measurement on the COD of NPC in Ti showed that the crack tip was closed even under the peak stress level at fatigue limit. But, after stress relieving annealing crack tip was opened. Consequently, compressive residual stress which is induced around the crack tip is considered to be the factor causing the NPC being.】


BACKGROUND
We discuss the etiology and incidence of iatrogenic pneumothorax (IPnx) which can develop after invasive procedures performed for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes, and the efforts to prevent this complication and its consequences.

METHODS
The records of patients who were treated for the diagnosis of IPnx between December 1998 and December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were evaluated according to their age, gender, the procedure which caused IPnx, the department which performed the procedure, the treatment and its consequences.

RESULTS
12 010 invasive procedures were performed in our hospital during the period and 164 patients (1.36 %) developed IPnx. Their mean age was 49.27 (range: 8 months-93 years). Of the patients, 101 (61 %) were male and 63 (39 %) were female. The 56.7 % of the invasive procedures which caused IPnx were performed under emergency conditions and 43.3 % were performed under elective conditions. In 69 patients (42 %) the procedures were performed due to underlying lung diseases and in 95 patients (58 %) for diseases other than lung diseases. The most frequent procedure type causing IPnx was central venous catheterization, with 72 patients (43.8 %). The other frequent causes were thoracentesis with 33 patients (20.1 %) and barotrauma due to mechanical ventilation with 15 patients (9.1 %).

CONCLUSION
At training hospitals the incidence of IPnx will increase in parallel to the increase in invasive procedures. Invasive procedures should be performed by experienced personnel or under their supervision when risk factors are involved.


Minimally invasive laparoscopic and open tension-free techniques have been evolved during the 1990's. Different laparoscopic techniques have been used, where the totally extraperitoneal hernioplasty (TEP) is a technically demanding but probably a better approach to minimally invasive hernia surgery than the transabdominal preperitoneal technique (TAPP), which may increase the risk of adhesions and postoperative intestinal obstruction. TEP has been criticized because of expensive disposable equipment. The standard polypropylene mesh used in tension-free operations induces a strong foreign tissue reaction with potentially harmful effects. A mesh with less polypropylene could possibly be beneficial. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate and compare different minimally invasive techniques and meshes for inguinal hernia. In three randomized controlled multi-center studies 1212 patients were randomized and included in followup: TEP with or without the use of a dissection balloon (322 patients); TEP using only reusable instruments, mesh-plug or Lichtenstein (299 patients); Lichtenstein with Prolene or VyproII (which contains less polypropylene) mesh (591 patients). In the last study all randomization and entering of data was performed online in a database through the Internet, which facilitated the completion of the trial. More than 80% of all patients in the studies were operated on in day-surgery. There were more conversions to TAPP or an open technique if a balloon not was used. However the majority of the conversions occurred early in the learning curve, which indicates that the use of a dissection balloon can be helpful during the learning curve, but in experienced hands it just adds costs to the operation, without offering additional benefits The operation time was shorter in the mesh-plug group compared to Lichtenstein and TEP. Postoperative pain was diminished after TEP compared to open repair. The time to return to work was shorter after TEP than Lichtenstein (5 vs. 7 days). The time of rehabilitation was shorter after TEP than mesh-plug or Lichtenstein (14 vs. 24.5 vs. 28.5 days). There was a tendency of more pain after Lichtenstein than after TEP or mesh-plug at follow-up. Laparoscopic hernioplasty (TEP) is superior to tension-free open herniorrhaphy with Mesh-plug and patch or Lichtenstein's operation in terms of postoperative pain and rehabilitation. There was no significant difference between Lichtenstein with Prolene or VyproII concerning postoperative pain, complications, rehabilitation or quality of life. All patients (n=33 275) with a unilateral primary inguinal or femoral hernia with only one operation recorded in the Swedish Hernia Register 1992-2000 were linked to the Swedish Inpatient Register and the Swedish Death Register for the period 1987-2000. The highest adjusted relative risk (RR) of postoperative intestinal obstruction was found in patients with previous multiple admissions for abdominal operations/inflammations, including intestinal obstruction, 58.99. The RR was 2.79 with TAPP and 0.57 with TEP compared to Lichtenstein operated patients.


Cell loss, which occurs when buffers overflow in ATM switches, is a key measure for the performance of an ATM network. An ATM network must be designed for very low and predictable cell loss probabilities to provide adequate quality of service for all users. Many methods have been proposed for allocating bandwidth and determining buffer size requirements to provide quality-of-service guarantees. The probabilistic nature of these methods is subject to overly optimistic allocations (insufficient in the worst case) or overly pessimistic allocations (over specified in the best case). The authors present an exact analysis of cell loss for periodic on/off (bursty) traffic sources. Periodic on/off traffic sources are representative of output traffic from leaky-bucket rate-control mechanisms as used in ATM networks. Closed-form equations for buffer sizing and cell loss probabilities are developed and rigorously proved for a single queue with multiple traffic sources and multiple queues with multiple traffic sources serviced via a round-robin discipline. These closed-form equations can be used in concert with probabilistic methods to ensure that buffer and bandwidth allocations are made between the best- and worst-case requirements.


According to the current point of view described in the literature, the transcription fac‐ tor aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), also designated as hypoxia‐ inducible factor (HIF)‐1β, is constitutively expressed and not influenced by oxygen tension. However, a study published two decades ago provided early evidence regarding a hypoxia‐dependent ARNT upregulation. This finding was subsequently challenged and neglected. Until now, only a limited number of publications focus on the regulation of ARNT in hypoxia. Therefore, appropriate studies and the putative mechanism mediating this cellular attribute are discussed. The advantages of an elevated ARNT expression level in tumour cells are delineated. This chapter provides an overview of hypoxia‐inducible ARNT as an emerging concept in HIF biology.


A new system of multicarrier modulation is described, which takes advantage of the biorthogonality property, to generalize the oversampled OFDM technique into a biorthogonal frequency division multiplex scheme named BFDM/QAM. A discrete-time analysis of this scheme leads to a discrete model of modulated transmultiplexer. Using a polyphase decomposition of this transmultiplexer, and assuming a distortion free channel, we determine the mathematical conditions on the prototype filters, allowing an exact cancellation of intersymbol and interchannel interference, i.e. a perfect reconstruction. Then, computationally efficient realizations of the modulators and demodulators are given. Lastly, some design examples are provided.


The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of success in commercial sheep farming in the Karoo so that these characteristics can be designed into smallholder commercialisation programmes there and in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Benchmarking applied to production data from commercial operations revealed that every fifth commercial farmer is less than 50% efficient, and therefore is as much in need of extension as any smallholder might be. Experience is an important determinant of performance and could be developed in the smallholder sector through vocational training at the point of commercialisation. Sheep farming is amenable to smallholder production because it can be done successfully on a part-time basis. Woolled sheep are important. Being able to respond flexibly to rainfall variability is essential, but there are several ways to achieve this cost effectively in the smallholder sector. Keywords: Benchmarks, Extension plans, Extensive grazing areas, Sheep farming


The present a method for evaluating production fault tests for asynchronous circuits. A novel fault model is defined, based on a high-level circuit description, allowing the evaluation of production tests on the design level. This evaluation method is used in the test generation for an asynchronous 22 k transistor DCC error corrector IC, resulting in a fault coverage of 99.8%.


[Read before the State Medical Society of Arkansas at the eighth annual session. Little Rock, May 30 and 31, 1883.] Homatropine was discovered in 1879 or 1880, about which there seems to be some doubt, since both Germany and England claim the discoverer. Merck, of Darmstadt, first made the crystallized hydrobromate, the preparation now altogether used. According to the last edition of the U. S. Dispensatory, the alkaloid is prepared from tropine, a substance stance obtained from belladonna, in combination with amygdalic acid and diluted hydrochloric acid. Homatropine is quite similar to atropine, both chemically and physiologically. It is not so poisonous, and can be administered in far larger doses, thus avoiding those disagreeable symptoms so common to the use of atropine in the eyes, particularly in children. The most important differences between these two articles is in their relative action and duration on the pupil and accommodation. In 1879,


Gene delivery research has gained momentum with the use of lipophilic vectors that mimic viral systems to increase transfection efficiency. Maintaining cell viability with these systems remains a major challenge. Therefore, biocompatible biopolymers that are designed by combining non-immunological viral mimicking components with suitable carrier are explored to address these limitations. In the present study, dragline silk recombinant proteins are modified with DNA condensing units and the proton sponge endosomal escape pathway is utilized for enhanced delivery. Transfection efficiency in a COS-7 cell line is enhanced compared to lipofectamine and polyethyleneimine (PEI), as is cell viability.


We write the junctions conditions for planar walls embedded in vacuum spaces of (anti) de Sitter types, in static circumstances. We find the junction relations lead to a constraint between the parameters of the wall (the surface density σ and the surface tension - p) and the cosmological constant Λ. Unlike previous results, even in a static situation the existence of domain walls is allowed. In addition, gravitational repulsion may occur for a certain range of parameters in the anti de Sitter case.


Although the sensitivity of growth and yield to ground-level ozone (O3) has been determined for a variety of agronomic crops and trees, little information is available for weedy species. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is recognized both as a common agricultural weed and the principle source of pollen for Fall (late August to November) allergies in North America. To quantify the extent to which ambient O3 limits growth and reproduction, ragweed was grown from germination to floral initiation at control [carbon filtered (CF), 15.8 nL O3 L-1 air] and treatment levels (63.5 nL O3 L-1 air) of tropospheric O3. This 8-h treatment average is similar to the average 1-h O3 peak values from May through September in urban areas of Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD. By 48 d after sowing, during floral initiation, no significant differences in total plant or floral biomass were observed as a function of O3 concentration, relative to the CF control. Analysis of leaf area ratio, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate at approximately 10-d intervals during early vegetative growth also did not demonstrate any significant effect of O3. Data from this experiment indicate that ragweed is insensitive to O3 levels up to four times that of the CF control, and suggests that O3 levels associated with urban environments may not limit the growth or reproductive development of ragweed.


Background Most estimates of HIV retention are derived at the clinic level through antiretroviral (ART) patient management systems, which capture ART clinic visit data, yet these cannot account for silent transfers across HIV treatment sites. Patient laboratory monitoring visits may also be observed in routinely collected laboratory data, which include ART monitoring tests such as CD4 count and HIV viral load, key to our work here. Methods In this analysis, we utilized the NHLS National HIV Cohort (a system-wide viewpoint) to investigate the accuracy of facility-level estimates of retention in care for adult patients accessing care (defined using clinic visit data on patients under ART recorded in an electronic patient management system) at Themba Lethu Clinic (TLC). Furthermore, we describe patterns of facility switching among all patients and those patients classified as lost to follow-up (LTFU) at the facility level. Results Of the 43,538 unique patients in the TLC dataset, we included 20,093 of 25,514 possible patient records (78.8%) in our analysis that were linked with the NHLS National Cohort, and we restricted the analytic sample to patients initiating ART between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2017. Most (60%) patients were female, and the median age (IQR) at ART initiation was 37 (31–45) years. We found the laboratory records augmented retention estimates by a median of 860 additional active records (about 8% of all median active records across all years) from the facility viewpoint; this augmentation was more noticeable from the system-wide viewpoint, which added evidence of activity of about one-third of total active records in 2017. In 2017, we found 7.0% misclassification at the facility-level viewpoint, a gap which is potentially solvable through data integration/triangulation. We observed 1,134/20,093 (5.6%) silent transfers; these were noticeably more female and younger than the entire dataset. We also report the most common locations for clinic switching at a provincial level. Discussion Integration of multiple data sources has the potential to reduce the misclassification of patients as being lost to care and help understand situations where clinic switching is common. This may help in prioritizing interventions that would assist patients moving between clinics and hopefully contribute to services that normalize formal transfers and fewer silent transfers.


A survey is given of recent work on the use of small-angle neutron scattering to examine colloidal dispersions. Particular attention is given to the determination of particle size and polydispersity, the determination of particle morphology and the behaviour of concentrated colloidal dispersions, both at rest and under the influence of an applied shear field.


Since endodontics was first recognized as a specialty of dental practice in 1963, numerous postdoctoral programs have been established or expanded to meet a growing demand for endodontic manpower. There is evidence that a serious threat of overproduction now exists. Projections of active dentist and endodontist populations provide a basis for adjusting endodontic program size.


This study extends recent research on the interaction of formal and informal controls that may create divergence between economic self-interest and social norms consistent with organizational belongingness. We use a sequence of two experiments to explore the interactive effects of performance incentives and a contemporary value statement promoting organizational belongingness. Experiment 1 focuses on the moderating effect of a general value statement, showing that a value statement increases (decreases) productivity associated with fixed pay (piece-rate) incentives. Experiment 2 further extends the work on value statements by reinforcing the value statement to increase the statement's saliency with employees. The results of the second experiment confirm that enhancing the saliency of the value statement through active delivery increases its moderating effect on productivity. On an overall basis, the results support our theorized disordinal interaction between formal and informal controls. Most notably, a value statement enhances productivity when incentivizing employees using fixed pay.


Posttranslational modifications of histones, alterations in the recruitment and functions of non-histone proteins, DNA methylation, and changes in expression of noncoding RNAs contribute to current models of epigenetic regulation. Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a group of transcription factors that, through ligand-binding, act as sensors to changes in nutritional, environmental, developmental, pathophysiologic, and endocrine conditions and drive adaptive responses via gene regulation. One mechanism through which NRs direct gene expression is the assembly of transcription complexes with cofactors and coregulators that possess chromatin-modifying properties. Chromatin modifications can be transient or become part of the cellular "memory" and contribute to genomic imprinting. Because many food components bind to NRs, they can ultimately influence transcription of genes associated with biologic processes, such as inflammation, proliferation, apoptosis, and hormonal response, and alter the susceptibility to chronic diseases (e.g., cancer, diabetes, obesity). The objective of this review is to highlight how NRs influence epigenetic regulation and the relevance of dietary compound-NR interactions in human nutrition and for disease prevention and treatment. Identifying gene targets of unliganded and bound NRs may assist in the development of epigenetic maps for food components and dietary patterns. Progress in these areas may lead to the formulation of disease-prevention models based on epigenetic control by individual or associations of food ligands of NRs.


Background: Until recently, the tuberculin skin test (TST) has been the only diagnostic method for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, the specificity of TST is low, because the purified protein derivative (PPD) used for TST contains numerous M. tuberculosis (MTB) antigens that are almost identical to BCG antigens or similar to non-TB mycobacterium (NTM) antigens. Of those 99% BCG vaccinated in Russia it is very difficult to diagnose LTBI. DIASKINTEST (DST) consists of two MTB-specific antigens - ESAT-6 and CFP-10, which are absent in all M. bovis BCG substrains and in most of NTM antigens. Aim was to evaluate to evaluate the role of DST in TB detection. Method: 1675 children and adolescents with conversed tuberculin reaction, reaction size increased by more than 6 mm, hyperergy, TB contacts (social and household) received the Mantoux test with 2 TU PPD-L and DST 0.2 mkg/0.1 ml. Result: 95,8% -TST-positive. 349 (20,8%) - DST- positive, all - chest X-rayed plus computer tomography (CT). TB was diagnosed in 148 (42,4%). Out of them 6 were initially DST negative but after 3 months DST was repeated and resulted positive- active TB was diagnosed. In 19 (5,5%) TB was in the calcination phase. 9 TB contacts with established TB were DST-negative. All had BCG vaccination. 4 children one year old, probably, had not developed immunity. Two had contacts with TB/HIV parents. Conclusion: DST allows detecting TB in 42,4% of cases. DST negative reaction could be in early aged TB patients – when immune response has not been developed yet. DST positive reaction may develop later in vaccinated children.


INTRODUCTION Routine clinical assessments including spirometry and asthma control tests (ACT) or questionnaires (ACQ) do not provide information about underlying airway inflammation in asthma. Whether measuring airway inflammation with a biomarker such as FeNO leads to more cost effective asthma management decisions remains unclear. OBJECTIVES To determine whether the use of FeNO in the specialist management of asthma results in more effective/cost effective treatment decisions. METHODS Fifty subjects ages 7-60 with established asthma participated in this single center, observational study. After performing spirometry and standard asthma assessments, health care practitioners (HCPs) clinically estimated airway inflammation and made treatment decisions. FeNO was then measured and any management changes based on knowing FeNO were made. RESULTS HCP assessments of airway inflammation were incorrect in 25 of 50 patients. Importantly, treatment decisions were substantially altered in 40% of subjects following FeNO determination. Medication reductions were made in 8 (16%) subjects with the average per month reduction estimated to be $221.38/subject. In 4 other patients, FeNO and clinical measures indicated changes could have been made. Finally, HCPs added/increased medications in 9 suboptimally managed patients to prevent worsening asthma, likely resulting in significant long term cost savings. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that FeNO testing resulted in more effective/cost effective treatment decisions by asthma specialists with potential for substantial cost savings. Longitudinal studies will help further quantify the health economic benefit of FeNO testing for managing asthma.


Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate detailed vessel response after everolimus-eluting stents (EES) implantation in human de novo coronary lesions by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Design, setting and patients Between November 2008 and October 2009, 25 patients (14 men, 65.5±8.6 years) with de novo native coronary artery lesions were implanted with 30 EES, and OCT was performed at 8 months post-implantation. Main outcome measures Neointimal thickness (NIT) on each strut, strut apposition to the vessel wall, the frequency of struts surrounded by low intensity area and the incidence of intra-stent thrombus were analysed. To evaluate the radial unevenness of NIT, the difference between the maximum and minimum NIT (dNT) was calculated for each cross-section. Results At 236±39 days after implantation, there were no major adverse cardiac events, nor target vessel revascularisation. A total of 5931 struts was evaluated by OCT. The median NIT was 80 μm (25th and 75th percentile 50 μm and 140 μm) and average NIT was 100±74 μm. The number of neointima-covered struts was 5834 (98.4%), and 31 (0.52%) struts showed malapposition without neointimal coverage. The number of struts surrounded by low intensity area was 452 (7.62%). Eleven EES (37%) showed full neointimal coverage. No intra-stent thrombus was detected. The average dNT was 108±77 μm. Conclusions Most EES struts were covered with uniform and thin neointima. The frequency of low-intensity neointima was very low, which may be a result of promoted vessel healing. These results may support improved clinical outcomes with EES in clinical trials.


Swirling flows are found in very wide range of applications, for examples, cyclone separators, spraying machines, heat exchangers and jet pumps, ect. Relatively, little work has been done on the swirl flow using flow visualization techniques. This study deals with many visualization techniques to study on swirling flow. These techniques are related to oil films methods, smoke, dye liquids, liquid crystal, stroboscope light, smoke wire, white light, naphthalene sublimation, LDV(lase doppler Velocimetry) and PIV(particle image velocimetry). The present work has handled single, annular, carved tube, swirl expansion and swirl wake using several visualization methods in the vertical and horizontal circular tube.


Churchite-(Nd) and iodine, up to now recognized as valid minerals by IMA CNMNC, are discredited because, for different reasons, both are non-existent mineral species and were never actually characterized. Churchite-(Nd) is in fact neodymium-rich churchite-(Y) and iodine has never been found at its sole purported type locality of Vesuvius. Both discreditations have been approved by the IMA CNMNC (15-C and 15-D).


Citrus is a plant that has many health benefits and has been widely reported for its pharmacological effects. One of the citrus that has been reported to have antibacterial activity is calamansi (Citrus microcarpa Bunge). This study aims to determine the chemical content profile of the essential oil of fruit peels and leaves of calamansi. The essential oil was isolated by distillation of water and analyzed for chemical compound content by GC-MS. The methods used to determine the antibacterial activity of essential oils are diffusion and dilution methods. GCMS results show that the main components of essential oil in the peels of the calamansi are D-limonene (29.52%), (R)-(+)-citronellal (13.76%), 3-isopropenyl-5,5-dimethyl-cyclopentene (8.88%), γ-terpinene (7.30%), citronellol (6.90%), and α-terpineol (4.61%) while the calamansi leaves consist of citronellal (25.74%), citronellol (12.94%), 3-carene (8.43), and β-phellandrene (4.89%). The essential oil of the fruit peels and leaves of calamansi showed antibacterial activity against MRSA, S. aureus, S. mutans, P. aeruginosa and E. coli bacteria. In the antibacterial activity test, the diffusion method showed that the essential oil of the fruit peels had moderate to strong inhibitory power, while the leaves of calamansi had very strong inhibitory power. In the dilution antibacterial activity test, it showed that the smallest MIC in the essential oil of fruit peels was a concentration of 0.39%, while the essential oil for leaves was 0.2%. The diffusion and dilution method of antibacterial activity test showed that the essential oil of the leaves was more potent than the peels of the calamansi.


Background The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied widely across nations and even in different regions of the same nation. Some of this variability may be due to the interplay of pre-existing demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors in a given population. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the statistical associations between the statewise prevalence, mortality rate, and case fatality rate of COVID-19 in 24 regions in India (23 states and Delhi), as well as key demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices. Methods Data on disease prevalence, crude mortality, and case fatality were obtained from statistics provided by the Government of India for 24 regions, as of June 30, 2020. The relationship between these parameters and the demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices of the regions under study was examined using both bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results COVID-19 prevalence was negatively associated with male-to-female sex ratio (defined as the number of females per 1000 male population) and positively associated with the presence of an international airport in a particular state. The crude mortality rate for COVID-19 was negatively associated with sex ratio and the statewise burden of diarrheal disease, and positively associated with the statewise burden of ischemic heart disease. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the COVID-19 crude mortality rate was significantly and negatively associated with sex ratio. Conclusions These results suggest that the transmission and impact of COVID-19 in a given population may be influenced by a number of variables, with demographic factors showing the most consistent association.


Effects of radiation in causing deterioration of plastic packaging material for radiosterilized pharmaceutical and hospital supplies are considered. Effects are examined for several popular plastics irradiated to a maximum dose of 5 Mrad. Changes in physical properties of polyethylene, Mylar, and Cellophane are examined in detail, and it is concluded that, while radiation in sufficient quantities can degrade any polymer system, sterilizing doses of 5 Mrad and less are not harmful to their mechanical qualities. The exception is that of Teflon and Nylon, which are generally unacceptable for radiation processing. (BBB)


Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training (CLIP) has significantly boosted the performance of various vision-language tasks by scaling up the dataset with image-text pairs collected from the web. However, the presence of intrinsic noise and unmatched image-text pairs in web data can potentially affect the performance of representation learning. To address this issue, we first utilize the OFA model to generate synthetic captions that focus on the image content. The generated captions contain complementary information that is beneficial for pre-training. Then, we propose an Adaptive Language-Image Pre-training (ALIP), a bi-path model that integrates supervision from both raw text and synthetic caption. As the core components of ALIP, the Language Consistency Gate (LCG) and Description Consistency Gate (DCG) dynamically adjust the weights of samples and image-text/caption pairs during the training process. Meanwhile, the adaptive contrastive loss can effectively reduce the impact of noise data and enhances the efficiency of pre-training data. We validate ALIP with experiments on different scales of models and pre-training datasets. Experiments results show that ALIP achieves state-of-the-art performance on multiple downstream tasks including zero-shot image-text retrieval and linear probe. To facilitate future research, the code and pre-trained models are released at https://github.com/deepglint/ALIP.


PURPOSE
To report an outcome study of 100 consecutive children with intermittent exotropia treated by unilateral rectus recession for small to moderate angle exodeviation with a minimum follow-up of 6 months.

METHODS
The records of patients with intermittent exotropia younger than 15 years who underwent 7-to-10-mm unilateral lateral rectus recession for exodeviation measuring 15 to 35 prism diopters (PD) from January 2000 to July 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. The surgery were performed accordingly to the amount of distance deviation. A successful alignment was defined as an exodeviation of 5 PD or less and absence of any esotropia in primary and lateral gaze while viewing distant or near targets.

RESULTS
Successful alignment was achieved in 99%, 88%, and 76% of patients at early postoperative, 6-month, and final follow-up, respectively. One overcorrected patient had an esodeviation of 20 PD at 6 months. The results of the final follow-up did not depend on age or refraction at the level of 0.05, whereas the amount of initial exodeviation was found to be significantly correlated with success at the final examination (P = .041). There was a positive significant relationship between results at 6 months and final follow-up (P = .000, r = 0.449). Eleven of the 13 patients who had a second surgery and were observed more than 6 months had successful alignment. Eighty-nine percent of the patients achieved a successful outcome with the combined primary and secondary surgery at the final follow-up.

CONCLUSION
Unilateral lateral rectus recession is a safe and effective treatment for small to moderate angle intermittent exotropia in children.


In this paper, analytical and numerical models have been developed to compute the stress field and predict fracture of the aluminum/epoxy interface subjected to laser shock loading, in the frame of the investigation of the paint stripping process. An explicit finite element (FE) model combined with the cohesive zone modeling (CZM) method, an analytical stress analysis model, and a spall fracture model have been developed. The numerical model has been calibrated and validated against tests in terms of the stripping pattern, while the analytical models have been compared with the numerical model. The models were combined to generate computational tools for decreasing computational effort. The FE model with the CZM is the most accurate tool although it is the most computationally expensive. The spall fracture model gives trusted estimations of the spall strength of the interface which are very sensitive to the interface thickness and when incorporated into a continuum FE-based damage model can predict the stripping initiation faster than the FE model with the CZM. The analytical stress analysis model can be used to efficiently describe the shock wave propagation into the material system, but it can give only a rough estimation of the tensile stress at the epoxy, which when combined with the spall strength does not give reliable predictions of the stripping initiation. The three models require as input different material properties, some of which are very difficult to determine. Nevertheless, the availability of accurate material parameters and properties of the aluminum, the epoxy, and, especially, their interface can significantly improve the efficiency of the developed models.


Fire is a frequent disaster, especially in tropical climates. Factors causing fires that often occur are intentional and human negligence. When fires occur, fires often get out of control and spread in the direction of global warming, climate change, landslides, and floods, causing harm to the environment. Because it is difficult to analyze the size of the fire when a fire occurs, therefore with the development of technology and sophistication, it is now possible to know the position of the fire and the thickness of the smoke in a fire using digital images. Image is another term for image as a multimedia component that plays a very important role as a form of visual information. This study aims to segment the fire image by separating 2 images, namely fire and smoke to determine the position of the fire and the thickness of the smoke in the fire. The fire and smoke segmentation research uses the K-means clustering method using the Matlab application. The stages carried out in this research include the Image Input Process, Converted Original Image to Binary, Threshold Conversion Segmentation, Image Segmentation Process. The image segmentation process for the fire and smoke fire images succeeded in separating the fire and smoke objects with a value of T3 = 61. The smoke and fire objects were in the matrix coordinates [50:100,300:200].


Successful Visual Story Telling(VST) of desire is a crucial key for the success of animation because desire is the leading power of story development of animation. An analysis of the desire of VST using the top 5 successful American feature film animations is carried out. Totally, 147 desire shots are extracted by using the proposed Objective Selection of Desire Shots(OSDS) method based on the theory of Makee's conflict and desire pursuing modeling, Maslow's 20 desire types, Greimas's actant model, and the 17 narrative process classification. In addition to them, the 5 Beat(5B) model of a scene is proposed. Five image specialists have evaluated VST of the selected 147 desire shots. For each shot, the desire type among the 20 desires and the strength are obtained. Among them, the top 3 desires(affiliation, achievement, and nurturance) appearing 51.8% are analyzed. The composition elements of shots affecting the desire type and the strength have found. These can be used for better VST of preproduction and production of animation.


At the end of the 50s and throughout the 60s, Feyerabend formulated his doctrine of theoretical proliferation. With this doctrine, he sought to emphasize the positive presence of metaphysics in the process of theoretical explanation. In particular, he claims to account for the impotence of any scientific theory for realistically explaining the world if it was not informed by some assumptions that his partners judge as non-scientific or pre-scientific. However, in order to specify the role of metaphysics in the process of theoretical explanation it is necessary to clarify what Feyerabend understands for realism. Among specialists there is a discussion about whether he defended a scientific realism or an anti-realism. In order to be able to understand in what sense Feyerabend holds that metaphysics provides access ways to explain the world, we will try to demonstrate the normative nature of his realism.


On May 3, 1954, a mother brought in two children, ages 8 and 11 years, because of alopecia of the scalp, which she herself called "moth eaten." She had feared that the condition was "ringworm." Little history was obtained, since the mother had noticed the alopecia only recently—a week, or two —and only the story of the children was available. The patients' home was adacent to some wooded ground which the children frequented. They indicated that their itching of the scalp came when they were in the woods. In fact, the children's repeated insistence that their itching and scalp trouble came from the woods became notable in contrast to the mother's repeated concern regarding ringworm and her suggestions as to its possible source. Upon examination, the appearance of the scalp of each child was much as described by the mother, that is, "moth eaten," and superficially resembled the


In participatory technology assessment (pTA), technical and nontechnical communities convene to share their views on a sociotechnical challenge, in an attempt to render technology research and development more socially robust. Taking these commitments to transdisciplinary collaboration and co-construction of technology as entry points, this article describes key tensions that emerged in a Flemish pTA project on nanotechnologies, entitled 'Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society' (NanoSoc). The tensions relate to how the terms of participation were enacted, the potentially conflicting aims embedded in the project's mission and methods, the various roles initiating pTA researchers (social scientists) assumed throughout the project's duration, and the deliberative-democratic rationale that sustains pTA frameworks at large. The article is a response to a pressing question posed to the author by pTA professionals, project participants and policymakers who ask publics to partake in science and technology decisi...


Following some incidents in high-rise buildings, such as Ronan Point London 1968, in which collapse of a limited number of structural elements progressed to a failure disproportionate to the initial cause, consideration of robustness was introduced in British Standard. The main method of preventing progressive collapse for providing robustness to steel framed buildings with precast concrete floor slabs focuses on the allowable tying forces that the reinforcement in between the slabs and in hollowcores should carry. However there are uncertainties about the basis of the practical rules associated with this method. This thesis presents the results of numerical and analytical studies of tie connection behaviour between precast concrete floor slabs (PCFS). It is shown that under current design regulations the tie connection is not able to resist the accidental load limit applied on the damaged floor slabs. By establishing the capability of a finite element model to depict and predict the behaviour of concrete members in situations such as arching and catenary action against several experimental tests, an extensive set of parametric studies was conducted in order to identify the effective parameters in enhancing the resistance of the tie connection between PCFSs. These parameters include: tie bar diameter, position, length, yield stress and ultimate strain; the slab?s height, length; and the compressive strength of the grouting concrete in between the slabs that encases the tie bar. Recommendations are made based on the findings of this parametric study in order to increase the resistance of the tie connection. Based on the identified effective parameters in the parametric study a predictive analytical relationship is derived which is capable of determining the maximum vertical displacement and load that the tie connection is able to undergo. This relationship can be used to enable the connection to capture the accidental limit load on a damaged slab. The identified parameters are examined in a three dimensional finite element model to assess their effect when columns of the structure are lost in different locations such as an edge, corner or internal column. Based on the findings of this study methods for improving the connections performance are presented. Also the effect of alternative transverse tying method is evaluated and it is concluded that although this kind of tie increases the load carrying capacity of the connection, its effect on the catenary action is not significant.


A single-crystal x-ray study on the low-temperature structure of proves the existence of two different crystal structure distortions, as originally found by neutron scattering. One phase is hexagonal and does not differ much from the room temperature structure. It appears through a second-order phase transition. The other phase is orthorhombic and appears through a first-order phase transition. A model is proposed for the orthorhombic phase, which fits our x-ray measurements on as well as on . The model gives rise to a magnetic configuration that maps on to the row model of Zhang et al.


Abstract Acute coronary syndromes can be initiated by either atherosclerotic fibrous cap ruptures, superficial plaque erosions or intraplaque haemorrhages (IPHs). Since neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) display pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic properties, we investigated the presence, extent and distribution of neutrophils and NETs in different types of plaque complications in relation to the age of overlying thrombus mass or haemorrhage. Sixty-four paraffin-embedded coronary plaque segments of 30 acute myocardial infarction patients were retrieved from the autopsy archives, which contained 44 complicated plaques (17 IPHs, 9 erosions and 18 ruptures) and 20 intact plaques. Complicated plaques were further categorized according to the histological age of thrombus or haemorrhage. Immunohistochemistry was performed to visualize neutrophils (anti-myeloperoxidase, anti-elastase and anti-CD177) and NETs (anti-citrullinated histone-3 and anti-peptidyl-arginine-deiminase-4). The results were scored semi-quantitatively. Neutrophils and NETs were abundantly present in all types of complicated, but not in intact, plaques (p < 0.05). They were found in thrombus, haemorrhages and at the thrombus–plaque interface, with no significant differences in extent between ruptures, erosions and IPHs. Interestingly, adjacent perivascular tissue of complicated, but not of intact plaques, also contained high numbers of neutrophils and NETs (p < 0.05). In thrombus and haemorrhage of different age, neutrophils and NETs were more frequently present in non-organized (fresh) thrombi and in on-going IPHs. In conclusion, netosis is a prominent pro-thrombotic participant in all distinct types of atherothrombosis, which may facilitate the progression of thrombotic or haemorrhagic complications and thus the onset of ensuing clinical coronary ischemic syndromes.


Clinical variations of 288 so-called wedge-shaped defects were described at the model and in the clinic in 50 patients aged 21 to 67 years and classified according to depth, profile and en face contour. Defect formation starts in early adult age increasing in dependence on age. The term "wedge-shaped defect" is only partly indicative and incorrect.


Blood serums of 1842 donorable Kiev inhabitants have been examined. It is shown that blood serum of people with different group belonging (by the ABO system) contains natural antialphastaphylolysins during the whole year. High titres of antialphastaphylolysins (3.0.10(3) ME/1-5.0.10(3) ME/1) are most frequently revealed among the persons of donorable age with group belonging A (II) in summer and spring.


We describe effects of a range of fallow and crop management practices on soil properties and crop growth in wheat and grain sorghum on a red-brown earth in south-west Queensland. Results from the first 4 years of the experiment, which commenced in 1983, have been published. This paper reports results from the next 6 years. No tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT), combined with stubble retention, resulted in better soil-water storage during fallow but less soil nitrate-nitrogen (N) at sowing than observed with more frequent and aggressive mechanical tillage treatments such as discing, and stubble removal. In drier growing seasons, when N application often resulted in yield reductions in wheat, NT and RT with stubble retention resulted in higher grain yields than other treatments in both crops. In a wetter growing season, when N application resulted in yield increases, wheat yields under NT and RT with stubble retention were lower than those of other treatments, even at the highest rate of N application, indicating that factors such as plant disease were also affecting yields. With stubble retention, average yields of 6 wheat crops were 12% higher under NT and reduced blade tillage, and average yields of 4 sorghum crops were 20-30% higher under NT, than other tillage treatments. Gypsum application resulted in an average yield increase of 15% in both crops under conventional disc tillage with stubble retention. In wheat, NT and RT with stubble retention were generally associated with lower grain protein concentration, and N application was necessary to maximise profitability of these practices.


Treatment of acute pain and hemodynamic changes after surgery is extremely important. Various drugs for pain relief after surgery have been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single dose of oral pregabalin on hemodynamic changes and duration of analgesia after spinal anesthesia in orthopedic surgeries of tibia fractures. This clinical trial was carried out on 120 patients with fractures of the tibia bone in 2014 in city of Zahedan. Sampling was conducted using randomized blocks and patients were placed into pregabalin (150 mg PO 1 h before anesthesia) and placebo groups. Duration of analgesia, severity of anxiety, mean arterial pressure, and pulse rate were evaluated in both groups. The mean age of the patients was 34.8 ± 21.7 years and 84 patients (70%) were male and 36 (30%) were female. There were no significant differences at baseline characteristics of the patients in two arms of the study. After surgery, mean arterial pressure, pulse rate and anxiety, were significantly lower in intervention group. Also the duration of analgesia was significantly longer in intervention arm (185.3 ± 4.9 vs 36.9 ± 13.9, P < 0.01). Dizziness as a side effect of pregabalin was observed in 21 and 11 subjects in intervention and placebo groups, respectively (P < 0.01). The present study showed that a single dose of oral pregabalin increases the duration of analgesia and maintains hemodynamic stability in orthopedic surgery patients.


Women's contributions to rural fisheries in the Philippines are often overlooked and unrecognized. The "invisibility" of women is primarily a factor of prevailing traditional views on fishing as a male-occupied industry. Gaps in understanding the role of women in the sector may risk implementing interventions that poorly capture their needs as important players in the fisheries value chain. Developing holistic and integrated solutions becomes crucial as rural fishing communities are highly vulnerable to food and economic insecurity, aggravated by external crises and a rapidly changing climate. This study identifies and assesses the factors and motivations on the gender dynamics in the rural tuna fishing communities in the Lagonoy Gulf, Philippines. Focus-group discussions and key-informant interviews were conducted with 120 male and female respondents across six (6) of the 15 municipalities in the Lagonoy Gulf, tuna federation leaders, and female group savings association officers. Results of the study emphasize the traditional heteronormative structures that still influence household and community dynamics in Lagonoy Gulf. Women are active as ancillary workers, holding key responsibilities in marketing the harvest to local traders and markets and engaging in profit-saving activities. However, these roles are seen only as support and are not recognized to merit the participation of women in community decisionmaking. This perception also reflects disparities at the household level, where women are expected to assume household and childcare work. However, women recognize these functions as a source of empowerment, upholding their skill to handle multiple occupations to service their devotion to their family. They also highly regard their skill in financial custodianship, seeking means to address their family's financial problems. Lack of opportunities for women equally bears unhealthy expectations for men to remain the breadwinner despite struggles to reap economic benefits. Both men and women in Lagonoy Gulf echo the aspiration for women to earn to help address family poverty. This study emphasizes the need for institutional support to ensure genderbased strategies in the communities, including opening pathways for women to secure decent work and increasing their participation in local fisheries governance.


Sawdust waste material is a by-product of manufacturing furniture and other wood products. It poses a major problem for the environment if no action is considered to get rid of it. For this reason, this research presents a new modality for recycling sawdust west material as a partial replacement of a plaster of Paris (POP). Six composite mortars prepared from different sawdust ratios 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 % by wt. of POP were used to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of these mortars. The effect of different temperature levels (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Cₒ) on the properties of these composite mortars was also investigated. The results show that the optimal proportion of sawdust in the mortar was 10 %, where the compressive strength increased by about 51.47 % compared to the reference mix (without sawdust) at 50 Cₒ. Additionally, there was a development in the modulus of rupture (MOR) for composite mixtures. The 6% sawdust content exhibited a 28.33 % increase in MOR. It was also found that sawdust reduced the density of the samples. Raising the temperature to 200 Cₒ and beyond affects the mechanical properties negatively.


BACKGROUND
Lipid-based systems such as self-nano emulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) have resurged the eminence of nanoemulsions and offer many useful drug delivery opportunities. In the modern drug discovery era, there was a consistent increase in the number of poorly soluble new chemical entities which suffer from poor and erratic bioavailability problems. The oral route possesses some major disadvantages such as lack of constant drug levels in plasma, first-pass metabolism which results in poor bioavailability, so to address these problems, various lipid-based therapeutic systems are available from which (SNEDDS) have the promising tool for increasing the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs.

METHODS
SNEDDS is the isotropic mixture of oils, surfactant, and co-surfactant having droplet size in the range of 100-200 nm, which spontaneously emulsifies when it contacts with aqueous media in Gastrointestinal (G.I) fluid. Various preparative methods are available for SNEDDS such as high-pressure homogenizer, Microfluidization, Sonication, Phase inversion, method. These methods show favorable benefits in drug delivery. SNEDDS possesses some disadvantages like precipitation of drug in G.I fluid or either drug will reach out in the capsule dosage form due to incompatibility issues, which will overcome by some more advanced techniques like supersaturate SNEDDS, which contains a precipitation inhibitor or Solid SNEDDS which will formulate either through spray drying or using a solid carrier.

CONCLUSION
The lipid-based nanocarrier (SNEDDS) plays a significant role in drug delivery, to overcome the poor solubility and oral bioavailability. This review highlights the elaborative aspects of the diverse advantages of SNEDDS based formulations.


The structure and dynamics of infinitely diluted aqueous amide solutions is studied for 13 compounds in the NVT ensemble using classical molecular dynamics simulations. The aim of this work is to provide valuable insights into the effect of amides on liquid water properties in order to understand the amides role in the kinetic inhibition of clathrate hydrate formation in natural gas mixtures. The OPLS-AA forcefield is used to describe the amides, with parameters obtained through fitting of computed B3LYP/6-311++g* * data when not available in the literature, and the SPC-E model is applied for water molecules. Structural properties of the solutions are analyzed via calculated radial distribution functions and dynamic properties are studied with the computed mean square displacements and velocity autocorrelation functions. Most of the studied compounds show a remarkable structuring effect on the surrounding water with strong interactions resulting from hydrogen bonding between solute and solvent molecules. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic synergistic effects influence the amide–water interaction and the properties of the water solvation shells around amides.


Aromatic (Bas-370, PB-1) and non-aromatic (Pusa-677, Pusa-834) rice were selected for the characterization and for distribution of lipoxygenase (Lox) genes. Polymorphism was observed when genomic DNA of rice varieties was hybridized with a heterologous lipoxygenase probe. A distinct polymorphic fragment (approximately 1.2 kb) was found in Bas-370. Sub-genomic library of Bas-370 was constructed and screened with LoxA probe. The smallest putative clone (pBas-14) of approximately 1.2 kb was sequenced. Complete nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence showed the clone was 1134 bp long and comprised of 378 amino acid residues. PCR amplification of genomic DNA from four rice varieties with a soybean Lox primer also showed a polymorphic fragment of size approximately 600 bp (amplicon) in aromatic varieties that was sequenced directly. Nucleotide sequence alignment between pBas-14 and amplicon concluded that the amplicon was a part of the insert pBas-14.


The purpose of the Implementing Agency survey is to assess the role and 'performance' of implementing agencies and individual implementers in delivering secure tenure for communities, both men and women, in line with reform expectations. It is concerned with identifying key goals, strategies, and actions related to reform implementation as well as factors enabling or constraining the ability of implementers to achieve related goals. This study attempts to generate insights into the underlying processes and factors that influence tenure reform implementation. In particular, it identifies the factors that enhance or constrain reform implementation from the perspective of individual implementers in government agencies at national and sub-national levels in four countries: Indonesia, Peru, Nepal and Uganda. These four countries introduced reforms in their forestry sectors in the late 1990s; most of these reforms were intended to shift greater rights and responsibilities over forest resources to lower levels of governance including sub-national actors and local communities. The interviews were conducted between July and December 2016, interviewing about 30 respondents in each of the four countries (Indonesia, Uganda, Peru and Nepal).


Purpose: The lack of reliable in vitro infection systems or convenient animal models has hindered the progress of hepatitis B virus (HBV) research and the development of new treatment options. We established an in vitro model of hepatitis B, using recombinant HBV encoding baculovirus, which provided HBV replication and antigens expression in HepG2 cells. The objectives of this study were to characterize the magnitude of HBV expression and the level of replication obtainable in HepG2 cells, to establish the optimum infection and culture conditions of HBV expression and replication. Methods: Replication of a competent HBV genome encoding the baculovirus, RC-HBV-Bac, was generated for delivering the HBV genome to HepG2 cells. HBV replication and antigens expression were determined in relation to the infection and culture conditions. Results: In RC-HBV-Bac infected HepG2 cells, HBsAg, HBeAg and HBcAg were expressed in the cytoplasm and nuclei, and secreted into the medium. HBV replication was evidenced by the presence of a replication complex and covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA in the cytoplasmic fraction of infected cells. The level of HBV expression was directly proportional to the multiplication of RC-HBV-Bac infection. Polyethylene glycol was able to enhance the infection efficiency of the baculovirus to HepG2 cells. High levels of HBV replication were achieved under culture conditions supplemented with dimethyl sulfoxide and a low serum concentration. Conclusion: This in vitro model of hepatitis B, generated by baculovirus gene delivery, represents a simple and flexible system for the study of HBV replication and drug testing.


Several instruments have been developed to assess defendants' competence to stand trial (CST). These instruments have become increasingly sophisticated mainstays of CST evaluation research. Less is known, however, about their clinical utility. Continuous quality-improvement (CQI) efforts within forensic practice are one means of helping ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of these measures, especially in public sector settings. In this article, the authors describe a CQI project examining the use of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA) on an inpatient forensic evaluation service. Results of a small, local CQI project cannot be generalized to all settings. However, from this CQI experience, the authors found the MacCAT-CA to be advantageous in assessing CST in certain defendants. Given some limitations of its practical utility, including its use with defendants putting forth poor effort, those with significant cognitive impairments, and those from various cultural backgrounds, the authors did not find that it would be an efficient practice to utilize the instrument in all CST assessments within a busy, public sector, inpatient forensic evaluation service. Having the instrument available for use as an adjunct to a clinical interview in particular cases may offer the most advantage. In addition, it is a useful tool for educating trainees about complex CST domains. This case-based CQI project reveals some basic strengths and weaknesses of the instrument and offers direction for further exploration in a systematic research study.


Adapting to the actual conditions of the tidal current energy resources in Northern China, which has the features of relatively low velocity and shallow water, a kind of gravity-based tidal current energy converters was developed. Two full-scale 50kW horizontal axis tidal current turbines were produced. Tower typed gravitybased supporting structure of the turbine was adopted in order to fit for the real situations of the sea area where the power plant would build. To ensure the stability of the supporting structure, numerical simulation was carried out by using the wave theory and CFD method. Then combined effect of wave load and current load on the device was discussed. Moreover, offshore construction plan of the device including towing, deployment, recovery and maintenance was presented, reliability and the ability of anti sliding or overturning during the operation period was assessed to ensure safety of deployment and running. A tidal current power plant has been constructed based on technology presented in this paper.


The article analyses the provisions of the legislation of Ukraine covering the assignment of economic intellectual property rights. It concluded that legal acts provide various terms and synonyms. The article provides the overview of the relevant clauses of the elaborated draft laws in intellectual property field. It is noted that in these draft laws changes in terminology are not given due attention. The article proposes the changes to the Civil Code of Ukraine, Laws of Ukraine "On Protection of Plant Variety Rights", "On Protection of Rights to the Composition of Semiconductor Products" and draft laws of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine (on Patent Legislation Reform)" , "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Strengthening the Protection and Advocacy of Rights to Trademarks and Industrial Designs and Combating Patent Trolling" and "On Copyright and Related Rights".


Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a deadly progressive lung disease with very few treatment options till now. Chronic inflammation and progressive fibrosis of the pulmonary interstitial tissues are the main features for pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis (BIPF) is a commonly used mice model in IPF research. We have chosen two measured time-points at days 7 for inflammatory phase and at days 21 for fibrotic phase after BLM instillation. CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and Th17 cells both are involved in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. It has been demonstrated in our study that after Treg depletion, fibrotic condition in pulmonary fibrosis was reduced. The regulatory function of Tregs on Th17 and other CD4+T cell subsets response in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Treg depletion on Th17, other CD4+T cell subsets, multiple cytokines involved in BIPF. Our data suggests that, Treg depletion reduces BIPF by inducing Th17 and modulating other CD4+T cell subsets such as CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD28-, CD4+CD103+ T cell responses in lung. We found the higher percentage of CD4+T lymphocytes and increased expression of IL-17A and ROR-γT after Treg depletion. So, Treg cells play crucial role in BIPF by attenuating Th17 cell and other CD4+T cell subsets responses in lung.


One of the major factors that affects the performance of adaptive filters like Particle Filter (PF), Marginalized Particle Filter (MPF) and Adaptive Marginalized Particle Filter (AMPF) is sample degeneracy. Sample degeneracy occurs when the weights associated with particles converges to zero making them useless in state estimation. Resampling is the most common method used to avoid sample degeneracy problem, in which a new set of particles are generated and weights are assigned. Performance and execution time of these filter depends a lot on what type of resampling technique is employed. AMPF is the modified version of MPF which is typically faster than PF and MPF. The main aim of this paper is to find the effect of different types of resampling on the performance and execution time of AMPF. For this, a typical target tracking problem is simulated using MATLAB. AMPF with different types of resampling techniques is used for state estimation for the above-mentioned problem and the best in terms of performance and execution speed will be found out. From the simulation, it will be clear that AMPF with systematic resampling is found to be best in terms of execution speed and performance i.e. minimum Root Mean Square Error.


Given that it is not the individual components constituting a holiday in isolation or in simple additive relationship that determines tourists' sense of satisfaction with that holiday, the absence of an instrument to capture the effect of the holiday experience in its entirety is but odd. Not only that, the current approach of inferring the whole complex of holiday experience as the simple additive sum of the knowledge of its constituent parts is epistemologically problematic, too. Beginning with a brief inventorying of the current approaches to the measurement of place attachment, which is being used by researchers to assess tourists' attachment to holiday destinations, the present paper attempts to develop a more holistic instrument, Holiday Attachment, which can comprehensively measure tourists' attachment with the composite holiday experience. The holiday attachment instrument has successfully demonstrated the essential tests of validity and reliability. The paper is concluded with a brief discussion of the current limitations and the developmental dimensions of the instrument, as well as its implications and potential applications.


A time-domain surface integral equation (TDCFIE) approach is utilized to calculate the transient scattering from arbitrarily shaped, three-dimensional dielectric bodies. In conjunction with the marching-on-in-time (MOT) method, the TDCFIE-MOT method is used to derive explicit expressions for the present-time current as a function of the incident field. Sample results showing various geometries are presented and are compared with other numerical techniques. Finally, by an incident Gaussian plane tapered wave, transient scattering from the sea surface governed by Jonswap's sea spectra is computed.


A thermoplastic polymer, Delrin 150 (polyoxymethylene homopolymer), with creep resistance ten times that of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene, is used as a material for total joint prostheses. A study was made of the local and systemic host response to this polymer when implanted in three different mammalian species. 316 LC stainless steel was used as a control. The materials were implanted into muscle and bone as solid cylinders. A total of 446 samples were implanted into 74 animals. The duration of implantation ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years. A semi-quantitative evaluation of local tissue reaction was performed. For each implant, 16 histological criteria were graded for severity of host tissue reaction. The liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, and lungs from each animal were also studied for evidence of systemic toxicity. The polymer implants exhibited a mild tissue reaction with the same characteristics as the control. Local tumor formation, bone osteolysis, and surrounding muscle necrosis were not seen. No pathological changes compatible with systemic toxicity by Delrin 150 were observed in the study of the organs. Delrin 150 in solid form did not exhibit local or systemic toxicity and is therefore biocompatible by this study. Powder implantation studies should be performed to simulate tissue response to wear particles.


We find that for simple metal clusters a single-electron description of the ground state employing self-interaction correction (SIC) in the framework of local-density approximation strongly contaminates the high-energy photoionization cross sections with spurious oscillations for a subshell containing node(s). This effect is shown connected to the unphysical structure that SIC generates in ensuing state-dependent radial potentials around a position where the respective orbital density attains nodal zero. Non-local Hartree-Fock that exactly eliminates the electron self-interaction is found entirely free from this effect. It is inferred that while SIC is largely unimportant in high photon energies, any implementation of it within the local frame can induce unphysical oscillations in the high-energy photospectra of metal clusters pointing to a general need for caution in choosing appropriate theoretical tools.


Background: The genetic abundance of ancient tea germplasm has been preserved in the long evolution process, which provides valuable resources for the protection and breed selection of ancient tea germplasm. However, the limited studies related to the genetic diversity of ancient tea germplasm restrict protection and breed selection. Therefore, the genetic diversity of ancient tea germplasm in Sandu county of Guizhou Province was explored in this study. II.Methods and Results: The genetic diversity was analyzed using phenotypes and SSR markers. The ranges for the variation coefficients of the six quantitative and seven qualitative characters were 17.76%-60.37% and 18.58%-50.64%, respectively. The ranges of diversity indices of the six quantitative and seven qualitative characters were 1.72-2.74 and 0.55-0.84, respectively. Ninety-six bands were amplified using 15 pairs of SSR primers from the 145 samples, and the average polymorphism information index was 0.66. The analysis revealed that the average values of Nei's genetic diversity index (H) and the Shannon information index (I) are 0.26 and 0.41, respectively. Further, a genetic similarity coefficient of 0.734 shown by UPGMA dendrogram classified the 145 samples decreased into four groups. III.Conclusions: This study revealed the rich phenotypic variation and high molecular genetic diversity and the genetic diversity of the arbor is higher than that of the shrub of the ancient tea germplasm in Sandu of Guizhou province. Thus, this study not only provides a theoretical basis for the protection and breed selection but also promotes further research of ancient tea germplasm.


Lead is a metal that has been implicated in toxic processes, which affect several organ systems in humans and other animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural effects of lead on the brain of rats.Wistar Albino rats (180-200 g body weight) were divided into a controlled and lead acetate-exposed group. Rats received lead acetate at 500 ppm in their drinking water for 60 days. Both groups were fed with the same standard food, but lead acetate was added to the drinking water. During the experimental period, blood samples were drawn from the abdominal aorta of the anesthetised animals. At the end of exposure, body weight and blood lead levels were measured. The brain tissue samples were preapared and analysed by light and transmission electron microscopy. In the brain cortex, degeneration in some of the neuron cells, in the lumens of the blood vessels, dilation, hemorhagia and free floating erytrocytes were observed. Ultrastructural changes were revealed in the form of vacularisation of cell cytoplasm and degeneration in mitochondria, in the perinuclear cytoplasm, electron-dense inclusion bodies were detected, and dilation were in the endopasmic reticulum. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2006; 22: 419-422.


This paper examines a lacuna in the literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to China: the absence of analysis for the prominent location of small Caribbean and Pacific islands as leading sources of FDI. An indeterminate amount of domestic capital is embedded in these FDI flows, which distorts comparative studies on FDI in developing economies between China and other states. Direct investment from China has also increased in recent years and offshore financial centres (OFCs) often serve as the initial destinations. This paper excavates the rationales behind the presence of OFCs and suggests that Chinese actors will emulate the practices of developed state multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The implications of these investment practices are outlined along with possible trajectories for their impact on the process of financial liberalisation in China. Consequently, it encourages increased Chinese participation in the development of global financial governance.


The various subsets of lymphocytes all express multisubunit immune recognition receptors. However, this viewpoint forwards the perspective that receptor ligation on natural killer (NK) cells initiates a subset of signaling events that are specifically linked to specialized cytotoxic lymphocyte functions. This includes roles for src-family protein tyrosine kinases and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in coupling receptor stimulation to granule release and cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Novel receptors (e.g. receptors recognizing MHC class I, or carbohydrate domains) also clearly generate signals modulating NK cell activation. Emerging data also suggest that alternative modes of NK-cell-mediated killing (i.e. antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity vs. natural cytotoxicity) are regulated by distinct signaling pathways. Discussion is provided on the technological approaches that seem most likely to advance our understanding of how receptor-initiated signals in NK cells precisely control their cellular responses.


Jonathan A. Walter,* Lawrence W. Sheppard, Thomas L. Anderson, Jude H. Kastens, Ottar N. Bjørnstad, Andrew M. Liebhold and Daniel C. Reuman* Abstract Spatial synchrony, defined as correlated temporal fluctuations among populations, is a fundamental feature of population dynamics, but many aspects of synchrony remain poorly understood. Few studies have examined detailed geographical patterns of synchrony; instead most focus on how synchrony declines with increasing linear distance between locations, making the simplifying assumption that distance decay is isotropic. By synthesising and extending prior work, we show how geography of synchrony, a term which we use to refer to detailed spatial variation in patterns of synchrony, can be leveraged to understand ecological processes including identification of drivers of synchrony, a long-standing challenge. We focus on three main objectives: (1) showing conceptually and theoretically four mechanisms that can generate geographies of synchrony; (2) documenting complex and pronounced geographies of synchrony in two important study systems; and (3) demonstrating a variety of methods capable of revealing the geography of synchrony and, through it, underlying organism ecology. For example, we introduce a new type of network, the synchrony network, the structure of which provides ecological insight. By documenting the importance of geographies of synchrony, advancing conceptual frameworks, and demonstrating powerful methods, we aim to help elevate the geography of synchrony into a mainstream area of study and application.


A method for the computation of radiation patterns of microstrip antennas on substrates of finite dimensions by a combination of the mixed potential integral equation technique (MPIE) for patch antennas and the weak form of the conjugate gradient-fast fourier transform (WCG-FFT) method for the scattering by the finite ground plane is presented. The computation is carried out in three steps. The MPIE formulation is first used for the accurate evaluation of the current distribution on the conducting surface of the patch. Using these currents as primary sources, equivalent polarisation currents in the dielectric slab are then evaluated. These two steps are based on the infinite grounded dielectric slab assumption. Finally the current distribution on the finite ground plane is determined using the WCG-FFT method. Since matrix inversion is not involved in the last step, the method is very convenient for treating small to moderate size ground planes. An alternative approach for the derivation of far field patterns of microstrip antennas on an infinite grounded dielectric slab using the volume equivalence theorem and image theory is also presented. Numerical results of radiation patterns have been verified experimentally. >


Fifteen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were administered elliptinium acetate in a phase II trial. A dose of 80 mg/m2/day was administered during 3 consecutive days, every 3 weeks. According to WHO criteria regarding response, no objective responses were observed. The major toxicity was dryness of the mouth which occurred in 73% of patients, on addition, one case of hemolysis was documented in spite of a systematic search for anti-elliptinium antibodies prior to each injection. In conclusion, elliptinium acetate has no valuable therapeutic impact on the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.


OBJECTIVES
This research studied the correlates of health insurance status among three major subpopulations (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban) of adult (ages of 20 to 64) Latino women.

METHODS
Data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES), 1982-1984, were examined to determine the percentages of health insurance coverage among the sample populations and to assess the relationship between access to coverage and selected sociodemographic employment/income, ancestry, and acculturation variables.

RESULTS
Variations in health insurance coverage existed by Latina subpopulation. While Puerto Rican women had the highest percentage of any health insurance coverage, Mexican-origin women (particularly those 50 to 64 years old) had the lowest. For all three Latina groups, health insurance coverage was greater among those who reported a family income above the poverty level than among those whose income fell below the poverty level; employment location, acculturation variables, and ancestry were also related to coverage.

CONCLUSIONS
Eligibility requirements, particularly for Mexican-and Cuban-origin women, need to be streamlined, and innovative health insurance programs need to be developed to increase access of Latinas to health insurance.


Background: The risks for primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture have been established. What is less well known is the risk of graft rupture after reconstruction and also the risk of a primary ACL rupture in the contralateral knee. Purpose: To determine the long-term survival of the ACL graft and the contralateral ACL (CACL) after reconstruction and to identify factors that increase the odds of subsequent ACL injury. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: All patients having undergone primary ACL reconstruction in 1993 or 1994 by a single surgeon in a single unit were considered. Patients were contacted to complete a subjective interview by telephone or e-mail questionnaire at a minimum of 15 years after surgery. Results: A total of 755 patients met the inclusion criteria, and ACL reconstruction was performed using a single-incision endoscopic technique with either autologous bone–patellar tendon–bone graft (BPTB; n = 314) or hamstring tendon graft (HT; n = 359) and metal interference screw fixation. Of these patients, 673 (89%) completed the questionnaire; 23% had sustained either a graft rupture or CACL rupture. Expected survival of the ACL graft was 95%, 93%, 91%, and 89% at a respective 2, 5, 10, and 15 years after reconstruction. Expected survival of the CACL was 97%, 93%, 90%, and 87%, respectively. Survival of the ACL graft was less favorable in men than in women (P = .007); ACL graft survival was not significantly different between the HT (88%) or BPTB (91%) groups (P = .149). Rupture of the CACL occurred twice as frequently as graft rupture in the BPTB group (graft survival, 84% vs 89%; P = .003). A positive family history of ACL rupture doubled the odds of both ACL graft and CACL rupture. The mean International Knee Documentation Committee subjective score at 15 years was 85. Return to preinjury sport levels was reported in 73% of patients, and 51% were still participating in strenuous or very strenuous activities at 15 years. Conclusion: Fifteen years after ACL reconstruction, expected survival of the ACL graft was 89% and expected survival of the CACL was 86%. Graft choice did not affect ACL graft rupture, but using BPTB increased the risk of CACL rupture compared with HT. Men had a less favorable survival rate of the ACL graft than did women, and a family history of ACL rupture increased the risk of both ACL graft and CACL rupture.


Bisphenol A (BPA) is active in immature AP rat uterotrophic assays when evaluated using either the oral or the subcutaneous (sc) injection routes of exposure (three daily administrations of 400-800 mg/kg BPA). Premature vaginal opening was seen for 8 of 14 animals exposed to 600 and 800 mg/kg BPA by sc injection. Vaginal opening was not produced by BPA in the gavage studies. These results are consistent with those of Dodds and Lawson [Nature 137:96 (1936)] who found that BPA induces persistent vaginal cornification in ovariectomized rats exposed to three twice-daily injections of 85 mg/kg BPA (total daily dose 170 mg/kg), but they conflict with the reported inactivity of BPA in the immature mouse uterotrophic assay. The uterotrophic activity of diethylstilbestrol in the rat is also established (0.04 mg/kg/day for three days).


The authors consider the dissipation arising from the activated motion of a flux line lattice in the presence of dilute pinning centres. By regarding this process as an effective motion of the pins relative to the flux lattice, they map the problem into the diffusion process of a particle interacting with the flux line lattice. They solve this problem analytically using a novel microscopic diffusion theory. In particular, they show that anomalous behaviour of the linear resistivity is expected at the flux lattice melting, and may show up as a dip in its temperature dependence.


Current risk management theory and standards agree that not all risk is bad. Most of these include opportunities alongside threats within the definition of risk, and they expect the risk process to address both opportunities and threats equitably, proactively and effectively. However current risk management practice still focuses on threats. Managing opportunity through the risk process is often seen either as an optional extra, or as only for advanced practitioners, or as just plain wrong. Why is this?


The aim of this study was to present our single center experience with short (< 3 months) and intermediate-term (> 3 months) follow-up results of patients who underwent transarterial radioembolization with yttrium-90 microsphere (Y-90) or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatic metastasis of neuroendocrine tumors (hmNETs). The results of 14 patients treated with either Y-90 or TACE were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging follow-up was performed. Efficacy was assessed by clinical and morphologic response. Survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Eight patients receiving 12 TACE treatments and 6 patients receiving 7 Y-90 treatments. Response rates were similar with two treatments at short-term follow-up, but there were a lower response rate and higher being progressive disease in the TACE group than Y-90 group at intermediate-term follow-up. However, progression-free survival was lower in Y-90 group (7.5 months) than TACE group (18 months). Regarding our limited experience, both Y-90 treatment and TACE have advantages and disadvantages in treatment of patients with hmNETs, however, randomized controlled studies, are needed.


Influence of the bending radius on the measurement of radiation induced attenuation in glass optical fibres is discussed in this paper. Radiation induced attenuation measured in two single-mode fibre types shows discrepancies when coiled around a low bending radius spool: the observed attenuation is lower than expected. A series of dedicated tests reveals that this invalid measurement is related to the displacement of the mode field towards the cladding when the fibre is bent with a low radius, and to the different radiation resistances of the core and cladding glasses. For irradiation tests of optical fibres, the spool radius should therefore be carefully chosen.


I propose the group SL(4,R) as a generalisation of the Dirac group SL(2,C) used in quantum mechanics, as a possible basis on which to build a more general theory from which the standard model of particle physics might be derived as an approximation in an appropriate limit.


Discussing the contribution of Learning and knowledge trajectories in congregations (LETRA) is a challenge, particularly when one was involved in it. Two research questions are posed: How has the methodological and theoretical framework of LETRAcontributed to knowledge about learning in congregations? What are the differences between LETRA and related Norwegian research projects within practical theology? The first part presents key features of the three different strains of theory withinLETRA, and brief examples of how researchers in LETRA have utilized them. The second part discusses the research contribution of LETRA on two topics, "object" and "materiality", taking articles by other researchers as vantage points. The article concludes that LETRA has contributed to scientific novelty through its combination of an empirical descriptive design and a pool of practice theories. However, novelty is a moving target. It is necessary to continually pursue theoretical openness in order to conduct empirical research on congregational and religious change in societiy.


Sorafenib is a potent, orally active multitargeted kinase inhibitor. In vitro, it blocks signaling through several pathways essential for renal cell and other cancers. A large body of evidence has now accrued demonstrating the activity of sorafenib, after immunotherapy failure, in advanced renal cell cancer. Although radiological responses to single-agent sorafenib by standard response evaluation criteria in solid tumors are rare, prolongation of progression-free survival has been demonstrated and is associated with stabilization of anatomically measurable disease. Compared with other available therapies such as cytotoxic chemotherapy and high-dose intravenous interleukin-2, sorafenib is well-tolerated, and studies with this exciting new agent at earlier stages in this fatal disease are awaited.


CT has become an established examination in the evaluation of the paranasal sinuses. Until recently this was achieved by the direct coronal technique on conventional and single slice helical scanners. With the advent of multislice technology, thin slice axial CT with excellent coronal and sagittal reconstructions is now the norm. We describe a study designed to evaluate the radiation dose to the lens of the eye and thyroid gland in the axial and coronal planes on a Siemens Volume Zoom quad slice scanner at 140 kV and effective mAs of 100 using 1 mm collimation. Thermoluminescent dosimeters were placed on the eyelid and thyroid gland of 29 patients scanned axially in the supine position and a further 28 patients scanned coronally in the prone position with gantry tilt. The results show mean doses of 35.1 mGy (lens) and 2.9 mGy (thyroid gland) in the coronal plane compared with 24.5 mGy (lens) and 1.4 mGy (thyroid gland) in the axial plane. Results obtained from a head phantom and from using the ImPACT CT dose calculator were comparable. The kV and mAs were then reduced to 120 and 40, respectively, and the axial study repeated using the head phantom and predicted doses using the ImPACT CT dose calculator. The low dose scanning technique revealed a lens dose of 9.2 mGy and thyroid dose of 0.4 mGy. The eye dose on a multislice scanner is still substantially less than the threshold dose of 0.5-2 Gy for detectable lens opacities. These results indicate that, in addition to the established perceived advantages of multislice axial sinus CT, i.e. patient comfort, no artefact from dental amalgam and reproducible true coronal images, should be included a decreased radiation dose to both the eye lens and thyroid gland compared with direct coronal scanning.


As the first endeavor, we have analyzed the pulsatile flow of Oldroyd-B viscoelastic fluid where the combined effects of fluid elasticity and pulsation parameters on the flow characteristics are numerically studied at a low Reynolds number. Computations are performed using a finite volume-based open-source solver OpenFOAM™ by appending the log-conformation tensor approach to stabilize the numerical solution at high Deborah number. Significant flow velocity enhancement is achieved by increasing the viscoelastic behavior of the fluid. High-velocity gradient zones and high polymeric stress regions are observed near the channel wall. The magnitude of axial velocity attenuates with increasing pulsation amplitude or pulsation frequency, and the extent of this attenuation is highly dependent on the Deborah number or the retardation ratio. This work finds application in the transport of polymeric solutions, extrusion, and injection molding of polymer melts in several process industries.


Introduction: Irritable mood (IM) and subthreshold hypomanic symptoms are reported in half and two-fifths of major depressed subjects respectively, but their clinical and prognostic meanings remain unclear. The aim of this study was to test the clinical usefulness of 2 specifiers in DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD): IM occurring during an index episode (IM+) and lifetime episodes of elated mood or IM with at least 2 concurrent hypomanic symptoms (subthreshold hypomanic episodes [SHEs]). Method: We included 482 outpatients with MDD participating in the Combining Medications to Enhance Depression Outcome study (mean age 43.14 ± 12.46 years, 144 males – 30%). The main aim of the original study was to test whether 2 different medications when given in combination as the first treatment step, compared to 1 medication, would improve antidepressant response. Results: IM + subjects (N = 349; 70%) were younger and more often females, with a more severe depression, a more marked social impairment, and more psychiatric comorbidities. The IM + group was also characterized by higher levels of suicidal ideation and more cases of emotional abuse. The combination of IM+ and SHEs was associated with an even more severe clinical picture. Limitations include the post hoc method, incomplete assessment of bipolar validators (e.g., family history of bipolar illness), personality disorders and suicide attempts. Conclusions: The presence of IM and SHEs in MDD correlate with an overall more severe clinical condition.


In this paper, we proposed an efficient data compression strategy exploiting the multi-resolution characteristic of the wavelet transform. We have developed a sensor node called "Smart Sensor Node; SSN". The main goals of the SSN design are lightweight, minimal power consumption, modular design and robust circuitry. The SSN is made up of four basic components which are a sensing unit, a processing unit, a transceiver unit and a power unit. FiOStd evaluation board is chosen as the main controller of the SSN for its low costs and high performance. The software coding of the implementation was done using Simulink model and MATLAB programming language. The experimental results show that the proposed data compression technique yields recover signal with good quality. This technique can be applied to compress the collected data to reduce the data communication as well as the energy consumption of the sensor and so the lifetime of sensor node can be extended. Keywords—Wireless sensor network, wavelet transform, data compression, ZigBee, skipped high-pass sub-band.


Abstract Chironomid midges are abundant and important components of freshwater communities, but estimating their production is problematic because of taxonomic difficulties, short generation times, and overlapping cohorts. We measured growth rates of nontanypodine chironomid larvae from a 3rd-order stream in southern Illinois, USA, at different temperatures to estimate assemblage-level production using the instantaneous growth method. We collected Chironomini, Tanytarsini, and Orthocladiinae larvae, separated them into small (0–3.9 mm), medium (4–7.9 mm), and large (8–12 mm) size classes, and then reared larvae in a controlled environment for 3 to 7 d at temperatures ranging from 5 to 28°C. We measured lengths of individual larvae before and after each trial and estimated biomass using a length–mass regression. Instantaneous growth rates (g) across all size classes ranged from 0.008 mg mg−1 d−1 at 5°C to 0.24 mg mg−1 d−1 at 22°C. Instantaneous growth rates of small larvae increased linearly with temperature between 5 and 22°C (r2 = 0.99, p = 0.0003). Instantaneous growth rates of medium and large larvae also appeared to increase linearly with temperature (medium: 5–22°C, large: 5–25°C), although power functions explained a greater proportion of the variance than linear functions (medium: r2 = 0.96, p = 0.004, large: r2 = 0.77, p = 0.05). We applied these models to data from monthly samples from the same stream and obtained an annual habitat-weighted production estimate of 4.2 g ash-free dry mass m−2 y−1 and an annual production to biomass ratio of 26. Application of 2 other assemblage-level chironomid growth models developed for headwater streams in the southern Appalachians yielded much different production estimates, illustrating the risks of applying these types of models to systems with different temperature regimes, taxonomic composition, or size spectra. Our temperature-specific models will enable more accurate estimates of chironomid production in central USA streams with thermal regimes and larval midge assemblages similar to those in Big Creek.


The reactivity control system is a vital safety system for a nuclear reactor. One of the most challenging aspects in the design of these systems is the operation during critical situations, in particular during earthquakes to safely shut-down the reactor. To study these situations, the toolbox python Implementation for Reliability Assessment Tools (PIRAT) is used to model two types of excitation: single frequency and realistic. The main focus of this work is the comparison of the implementation of the contact models used to describe the interaction between the subsystems. For the dynamic tool in PIRAT (dynamic Euler–Bernoulli for seismic event (DEBSE)), this is done with a two-stage linear spring or Lankarani and Nikravesh-based models. For the sine excitation, the results show four distinct response types with the maximum displacement varying between the models. Low-frequency excitation showed little variance while higher frequency excitation showed large variations. The realistic excitation, however, did not show these variations and showed nearly identical results for the contact models tested. This gives confidence in the simulations since the user selected contact model did not greatly affect the simulation results for a realistic excitation.


BACKGROUND
Several clinical trials of fibrinolytic agents have reported the occurrence of allergic reactions, in addition to hemorrhage. These reactions might worsen patient outcomes, especially by causing life-threatening type I hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis; however, there is a scarcity of data in this regard.

OBJECTIVE
This study described and characterized patients with urticaria, angioedema and type I hypersensitivity reactions caused by fibrinolytic agents.

METHODS
This was a retrospective study in which cases of suspected adverse drug reactions from the use of streptokinase, alteplase, and tenecteplase were evaluated over a period of 10 years at Phramongkutklao and Ratchaburi hospitals in Thailand. In addition, patient characteristics and management were assessed.

RESULTS
A total of 824 patients received fibrinolytic agents due to various indications. Of 147 patients who received streptokinase, nine (6.12%) had suspected adverse drug reactions (one case of urticaria, two cases of anaphylactic shock, and six cases of hypotension). The prescription rate of alteplase was the highest, being taken by 547 patients; however, only one patient (0.18%) reported an adverse reaction, angioedema in the face and lips. Similarly, of the 130 patients who received tenecteplase, only one patient (0.77%) developed hypotension.

CONCLUSION
All fibrinolytic agents, either nonfibrin or fibrin-specific, can cause urticaria, angioedema, and type I hypersensitivity reactions due to their mechanism of action.


We study a reversal process in Stokes flows in the presence of weak diffusion in order to clarify the distinct effects that chaotic flows have on the loss of reversibility relative to nonchaotic flows. In all linear flows, including a representation of the baker's map, we show that the decay of reversibility presents universal properties. In nonlinear chaotic and nonchaotic flows, we show that this universality breaks down due to the distribution of strain rates. In the limit of infinitesimal diffusivity, we predict qualitatively distinct behavior in the chaotic case.