Thin-slice accelerated aging methodologies have not been ag gressively pursued because of concerns about the reliability and applicability of the results. The use of gases such as helium, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, which diffuse rapidly and are only sparingly soluble in the polymer, may be used to obtain a diffu sion measurement in the foam matrix. These diffusion measurements provide a basis for examining the reliability of the scaling technique for more soluble blowing agents. Results of numerical solutions of the diffusion equation suggest that there may be a thickness limit for thin-slicing, depending on cell size. The existence of this limit may be evaluated by examining the effects of slice thickness on the effective diffusion coefficients of the pure sparingly soluble gases in foam samples. In this investigation, diffusion will be monitored by two different measurements: weight change (gain or loss) and thermal conductivity increase during air uptake and blowing agent loss. The effective diffusion coefficients from both measurements will be compared to demonstrate a consistent diffusion mechanism. Both polyurethane (PU) and polyurethane modified polyisocyanurate (PUIR) foams will be used for this demonstration. The goal is to show that thin-slice methodology balances the need for precise measurements with the desire for a significant reduction in testing time. The desire for a significant reduction in testing times is particularly important as environmentally damaging blowing agents (chlorofluorocarbons) are being replaced by less environmentally damaging blowing agents (such as the hydrochlorofluoro carbons HCFC-141b, HCFC-22 and HCFC-123). The effective diffusion coeffi cients of slices as thin as 0.0013 m agree with those up to 0.025 m thick, based on ad justed thermal conductivities for PUIR foams blown with CFC-11.


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Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. So national influenza surveillance have been important for understanding the epidemiology of influenza over time. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence rate of influenza viruses among hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), identify circulating types and subtypes of influenza viruses among them, and determine the risk factors associated with SARI. A total of 320 hospitalized patients suffering from SARI at Al Joumhouri University hospital in Sana'a city were enrolled; and their age was ranged from < 1 year to ≥ 56 years. Both nasopharyngeal and oro-pharyngeal swabs were collected from each patient and tested by using rRT-PCR technique for the detection of influenza A, influenza B and subtypes of influenza A viruses (A/H1N1(2009) and A/H3N2). The crude prevalent rate of influenza viruses among SARI patients was 10.9%;the female rate was 12.4%, and the male rate was 9.9%. The rate of Flu A in the total SARI cases was 5.9% and for Flu B was 5%. In addition 3.8% of SARI patients were suffering from influenza A/H3N2, 2.2% from influenza A/H1N1(2009) infections; and the mortality rate for influenza infections was 17.1%. Also, a high mortality rate was occurred in influenza infections in age groups 36-45 years and 6-15 years. Also, there was a significant association between flu infection; and 46-55 years group (OR=2.8), Winter time (OR=17.5), cardiac diseases (OR=9.1), and diabetic mellitus (OR=3.7). In conclusion: both influenza A and B were represented as a causative agents of SARI, and Influenza A/H3N2 was present subtype followed by A/H1N1(2009). The frequency of influenza viruses ascertain among SARI patients in Yemen highlights the need for health authorities to develop strategies to reduce morbidity among at-risk population in the course of vaccine recommendation.


Biomass burning plays a key role in the interaction between the atmosphere and the biosphere. The nearly two-decade-old Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire product provides critical information (e.g., fire radiative power or FRP) for characterizing fires and estimating smoke emissions. Due to limitations of sensing geometry, MODIS fire detection capability degrades at off-nadir angles and the sensor misses the observation of fires occurring inside its equatorial swath gaps. This study investigates missing MODIS FRP observations using the 375 m Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) active fire data across Africa where fire occurs in the majority of vegetation-covered areas and significantly contributes to global biomass-burning emissions. We first examine the FRP relationship between the two sensors on a continental scale and in grids of seven different resolutions. We find that MODIS misses a considerable number of low-intensity fires across Africa, which results in the underestimation of daily MODIS FRP by at least 42.8% compared to VIIRS FRP. The underestimation of MODIS FRP varies largely with grid size and satellite view angle. Based on comparisons of grid-level FRP from the two sensors, adjustment models are established at seven resolutions from 0.05°–0.5° for mitigating the underestimation of MODIS grid FRP. Furthermore, the investigation of the effect of equatorial swath gaps on MODIS FRP observations reveals that swath gaps could lead to the underestimation of MODIS monthly summed FRP by 12.5%. The quantitative information of missing MODIS FRP helps to improve our understanding of potential uncertainties in the MODIS FRP based applications, especially emissions estimation.


A small fraction of the CD8 T cell effector population that responds to an infection progresses through the contraction phase to the memory stage. The factors regulating the extent of contraction are poorly understood. In previous experiments, parameters such as inflammation, antigen presentation, etc. were modified during the priming/expansion phase and the consequences of these changes were monitored in the contraction phase. A major caveat of these studies is that the experimental setup did not allow examination of the contraction phase without altering the priming phase first. We developed a system based on bim-/- CD8 T cells that overcomes this confounding problem. Competition for limited resources has been widely postulated to be the cause of cell death during the contraction phase, but our data show that competition does not affect contraction kinetics. All effector cells present at the peak of the response have the potential to become bona fide memory cells, thus excluding selection based on functionality. We propose that cell death during contraction is the default pathway for an effector cell and identify a set of genes that may be key regulators for surviving contraction.
 This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and National Institutes of Health Grant AI-19335 (to M.J.B.). M.P. is a fellow of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The authors have no conflicting financial interests.


The Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) enables knowledge of the profile of people with active tuberculosis (TB) in a country of continental dimensions such as Brazil. Available in all Brazilian municipalities and states, the system enables continuous consolidation of data, evaluation and monitoring of actions related to TB control in the country. The purpose of this paper is to present the specificities of SINAN-Net related to TB, including the follow-up screen, the record linkage and the follow-up report. Additionally, we describe the main variables and indicators and the challenges and limitations of the system.


This article describes a part of the survey research conducted in Antalya, Turkey, whose aim was to gain a better understanding of resident attitudes and perceptions of tourism. Factor analysis applied to impact statements yielded nine reliable dimensions of tourism impacts as perceived by local residents. The most important dimensions were effect of tourist crowds, impact on built environment, and impact on social values. The study findings suggest that residents of Antalya could differentiate between benefits and costs while still remaining predominantly supportive of tourism. In addition, this study empirically verified that residents with the highest overall level of support for tourism expansion in Antalya tended to be people who were more educated, did not live in the proximity of the city's central tourist area, were more frequent users of tourism facilities, had tourism‐dependent income, and were employed in jobs that had a direct relation to tourism.


Between 1994 and 2006 Berlusconi has been the dominant figure of Italian politics. Following his electoral defeat in the April 2006 elections, it is possible to begin an initial evaluation of the many roles he has played as well as to assess his overall accomplishments in politics. This article focuses on five roles—party builder, coalition maker, institution builder, Prime Minister, and opinion leader. The article briefly explores Berlusconi's achievements and inadequacies and attempts to explain the reasons for his failures. Because Berlusconi has been unable fundamentally to institutionalize his politics and to reform Italian institutions, the article comes to the conclusion that his legacy will be of limited duration. All this notwithstanding, Berlusconi's political trajectory may not yet have reached its conclusion.


INTRODUCTION
While overexpression of syndecan-1 has been associated with aggressive breast cancer in the Caucasian population, the expression pattern of syndecan-1 in Asian women remains unclear. Triple-positive breast carcinoma, in particular, is a unique subtype that has not been extensively studied. We aimed to evaluate the role of syndecan-1 as a potential biomarker and prognostic factor for triple-positive breast carcinoma in Asian women.

METHODS
Using immunohistochemistry, staining scores of 61 triple‑positive breast carcinoma specimens were correlated with patients' clinicopathological variables such as age, ethnicity, tumour size, histological grade, lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion, associated ductal carcinoma in situ grade, recurrence and overall survival.

RESULTS
Syndecan-1 had intense staining scores in triple‑positive invasive ductal breast carcinomas when compared to normal breast tissue. On multivariate analysis, syndecan-1 epithelial total percentage and immunoreactivity score showed statistical correlation with survival (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION
The intense staining scores of syndecan-1 and their correlation with overall survival in patients with triple-positive breast carcinoma suggest that syndecan-1 may have a role as a biological and prognostic marker in patients with this specific subtype of breast cancer.


Linear polarization at the level of ~1%-3% has by now been measured in several gamma-ray burst afterglows. Whereas the degree of polarization, P, was found to vary in some sources, the position angle, θp, was roughly constant in all cases. Until now, the polarization has been commonly attributed to synchrotron radiation from a jet with a tangled magnetic field that is viewed somewhat off-axis. However, this model predicts either a peak in P or a 90° change in θp around the "jet break" time in the light curve, for which there has so far been no observational confirmation. We propose an alternative interpretation, wherein the polarization is attributed, at least in part, to a large-scale, ordered magnetic field in the ambient medium. The ordered component may dominate the polarization even if the total emissivity is dominated by a tangled field generated by postshock turbulence. In this picture, θp is roughly constant because of the uniformity of the field, whereas P varies as a result of changes in the ratio of the ordered-to-random mean-squared field amplitudes. We point out that variable afterglow light curves should be accompanied by a variable polarization. The radiation from the original ejecta, which includes the prompt γ-ray emission and the emission from the reverse shock (the "optical flash" and "radio flare"), could potentially exhibit a high degree of polarization (up to ~60%) induced by an ordered transverse magnetic field advected from the central source.


Data are presented for the electrical resistivity ρ of fcc La as a function of T and p in the range 70 to 700 K and 0 to 1.25 GPa. The data are analyzed using the phenomenological ''parallel resistivity'' formula for resistivity saturation, which describes very well the T dependences of both ρ and its pressure coefficient. The pressure coefficients of the electron-phonon interaction parameter and Tc are calculated from the p dependence of the electron-phonon component, and the p dependence of the parallel saturation resistivity is obtained from band-structure calculations using a simple Bloch-Boltzmann model. In both cases excellent agreement with experiment is found.


Plasmodium falciparum malaria has long been a killer of the young, and has selected for polymorphisms affecting not only erythrocytes, but the immunogenetics of three histocompatibility systems: ABO, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), and CD36. The ABO system is important because the original allele, encoding glycosylation with the A sugar, acts as an adhesion ligand with infected red blood cells (iRBC), thereby promoting vasoocclusion. The prevalence of blood group O, which reduces this cytoadhesion, has increased in endemic areas. Other adaptations which could mitigate A‐mediated rosetting include weaker A expression and increased soluble A secretion. The role of the HLA system in malaria has been harder to verify. Although HLA‐B53 and DRB1*04 may be associated with clinical outcome, HLA studies are challenged by numerous comparisons in this most polymorphic of systems, and confounded by increasingly heterogeneous populations. Certain HLA markers may also reflect linkage artefact with other malaria‐relevant polymorphisms. HLA may be less important because the parasite predominantly invades a compartment which does not express HLA. Adhesion of iRBCs is also mediated by CD36, expressed on platelets, monocytes, and microvascular endothelium. CD36 on monocytes is involved in clearing iRBC, while CD36 on platelets and the endothelium may play a role in tissue sequestration. The genetics of CD36 expression are complex, and recent research is fraught with inconsistent results. The solution may lie in examining genotype–phenotype correlations, zygosity effects on differential tissue expression, or other mechanisms altering CD36 tissue expression. Carefully designed prospective studies should bridge the gap between in‐vitro observations and clinical outcomes.


Discoveries of organic remains are rare on Late Stone Age sites in southern Africa. However, it is known from numerous historical records that in the case of the Wilton people the perishable elements of the material culture were in many cases the most important aspects of the tool-kit of Late Stone Age man. The prehistoric settlements at Gwisho hot-springs, Lochinvar, Zambia, assume particular importance, for excellent circumstances of preservation have enabled us to make an exceptionally complete reconstruction of Late Stone Age economy and material culture in a savannah woodland and riverside environment. The object of this paper, in advance of a comprehensive study, is to describe some of the wooden implements found at the sites during recent excavations.


Twenty four bacteria were killed when exposed to black water. The initial concentration of the organism appeared to have a significant effect upon the survival of the bacteria in six of thirteen cases. Neutralization of black water to pH 7.0 reduced its toxicity to the bacteria studied. Material precipitated during neutralization was also toxic to the bacteria.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore the experience of parents of gymnasts suffering from overuse injuries. The work is part of a wider ethnographic project, with 43 participants (16 gymnasts, 3 coaches, 1 physiotherapist, 22 parents, 1 manager), which investigated the psychosocial factors affecting the development of overuse injuries in gymnasts. Data collection began with observations, formal and informal interviews, and a focus group, which were transcribed and analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Preliminary results were shared with the participants and reflective interviews were conducted to ensure depth and methodological rigour. Five themes were identified: 'Catch 22', highlighting the helplessness parents experienced watching their injured daughters; 'I (need to) trust these people', referring to the parent–coach relationship; 'Because a gymnast cannot rest for too long', which reconnects to aspects of Nixon's culture of risk; 'It's on me', and 'Walking on a thin line', two themes related to the sense of responsibility and the role of 'mediator' parents needed to adopt when dealing with their daughters' overuse injuries. Findings from the study are presented using ethnodrama, a form of creative analytical practice aiming to create an informative and evocative experience. This study extends existing research which has demonstrated a recent shift away from the simplistic perspective of sport parents being either good or bad (e.g., 'pushy parents'), and provides a more rounded description of the challenges of dealing with overuse injuries in youth sport. It also adopts an innovative form of representation to reach and impact non-academic audiences.


Twenty-four public and academic reference librarians were surveyed for the purpose of obtaining information about the services if any, that they currently provide for information brokers, the appropriateness of providing reference services for those who market the information obtained, and whether or not reference departments of public and academic libraries should provide competing fee based reference services. Few public or academic librarians objected to providing reference services for information brokers. Academic reference librarians expressed the view that service should not interfere with services for their primary clientele. Public reference librarians generally held the opinion that their services should be available to all and had already been provided for with public funds. Both public and academic reference librarians expressed concern about qualifications of some commercial suppliers of information as this effected their relationship with them. Public reference librarians were of the opinion...


This article concerns a report by Nguyen Thi Hien chairperson of Nghi Loc District Womens Union on the contribution of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project to their organization. She states that prior to the start of the JICA project the womens union had a lot of campaigns for maternal and child health and family planning. However the impact was not strongly felt. After the implementation of the JICA project women in the district have become interested and excited about the various activities conducted under the project. Subsequently more women understood the correct way to take care of their health and their childrens health. Furthermore more people in the district frequently use the services of commune health centers and district health centers. In the family planning field contraceptive prevalence rate has increased and the number of abortions and menstrual regulations has been reduced. Despite the achievements of the campaign the district still has a few big problems to address. These problems include: 1) a gap between commune health centers in remote areas and those near the district health centers; and 2) a low level of family planning acceptance in Catholic communes.


The development of internal combustion engines is challenged by increasingly stringent emission limits. This challenge can only be solved by a deeper knowledge of the combustion process itself. However, the combustion is strongly influenced by the processes inside the injector nozzle. This begins with the internal flow of the injector, which significantly influences the spray formation. One of the key parameters here is the appearance of cavitation caused by the nozzle geometry, needle lift and injection pressure up to 3000 bar. However, there is lack of knowledge about the real flow inside injectors at these high pressure conditions. The cavitation effects in the injection port area destabilize the emergent fuel jet and improve the jet break-up. Therefore internal flow, the jet break-up, the atomization and the mixture formation are closely connected in the combustion chamber and therefore have a direct impact on emissions, fuel consumption and performance of an engine. In this work, the flow in a nozzle of a real diesel fuel injector is analyzed with high-resolution neutron imaging. Due to the different mechanisms of interactions between neutrons and the material, the steel structure of the nozzle is relatively transparent to neutrons, while the fuel possesses high neutron attenuation [1]. This distinguishes the neutron imaging from x-ray measurements, in which the fuel is of a very low contrast. Thanks to these advantages of the neutron imaging in comparison with other methods (e.g visible light microscopy with glass structures [2]), the nozzle can be investigated under realistic pressure and flow conditions. Recently, the high resolution neutron imaging instrument (`Neutron Microscope') has been developed at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) [3]. This allows the acquisition of neutron radiographies with the spatial resolution down to 5 micrometers [4]. An injection nozzle has been enclosed in a specially tailored chamber that allowed placing the nozzle in close proximity of the detector and tested in-situ Neutron Microscope. The injector was operated under steady state condition at lowered injection pressures up to 170 bar. In this pilot high resolution investigation water, with gadolinium salt as a tracer, was used to optimize the contrast of the images. The nozzle was modified to a single hole nozzle due to an easier observation. First examinations show various cavitation phenomena. Different characteristics of cavitation in the spray hole were detected, and its influence on the spray formation was clearly visualized simultaneously.


The Gp2 domain is a 45 amino‐acid scaffold that has been evolved for specific, high‐affinity binding towards multiple targets and was proven useful in molecular imaging and biological antagonism. It was hypothesized that Gp2 may benefit from increased hydrophilicity for improved physiological distribution as well as for physicochemical robustness. We identified seven exposed hydrophobic sites for hydrophilic mutations and experimentally evaluated single mutants, which yielded six mutations that do not substantially hinder expression, binding affinity or specificity (to epidermal growth factor receptor), and thermal stability. Eight combinations of these mutations improved hydrophilicity relative to the parental Gp2 clone as assessed by reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (p < 0.05). Secondary structures and refolding abilities of the selected single mutants and all multimutants were unchanged relative to the parental ligand. A variant with five hydrophobic‐to‐hydrophilic mutations was identified with enhanced solubility as well as reasonable binding affinity ( K d = 53–63 nM), recombinant yield (1.3 ± 0.8 mg/L), and thermal stability ( T m = 53 ± 3°C). An alternative variant with a cluster of three leucine‐to‐hydrophilic mutations was identified with increased solubility, nominally increased binding affinity ( K d = 13–28 nM) and reasonable thermal stability ( T m = 54.0 ± 0.6°C) but reduced yield (0.4 ± 0.3 mg/L). In addition, a ≥7°C increase in the midpoint of thermal denaturation was observed in one of the single mutants (T21N). These mutants highlight the physicochemical tradeoffs associated with hydrophobic‐to‐hydrophilic mutation within a small protein, improve the solubility and hydrophilicity of an existent molecular imaging probe, and provide a more hydrophilic starting point for discovery of new Gp2 ligands towards additional targets.


Job related satisfaction was evaluated by registered nurses, physicians, nurse assistants and aids at an internal medicine clinic at a university hospital in Sweden. A questionnaire concerning cooperation, work load, support, independence and other work related factors was developed and filled out by 153 individuals. The results mostly show high job satisfaction in all professional groups. Nevertheless, nearly half of the staff wanted to quit their jobs. Those who planned to leave their jobs perceived themselves as less satisfied with such factors as cooperation, job complexity, help received from superiors and sufficient time for care delivery, than did those who did not plan to quit. The differences were most evident in the group of registered nurses. The head nurse appeared to have an important supportive function. In conclusion, the results suggest that a supportive organization might reduce personnel turnover in hospitals.


As the emerging economies expand, demand for low cost production of internal gears has been increasing. And skiving is in focus as a potential method than can meet this demand.Skiving was invented in 1910, since then, mechanical machine has been developed to NC machine and cutter design technologies have developed dramatically. As a result, several machine and tool manufacturer started to release their skiving machine and skiving cutter as well.Furthermore, many studies on the kinematics have been conducted both in research institutions and private companies. However, most of these studies are subject to understanding the cutting mechanisms as a basic research and establishing cutter design methods.For further improvement and boost widespread application of the process, optimization of the manufacturing process is an issue. Particularly, the effects of cutter accuracy and cutter set up deviations on the skived gear are important to ensure reliability of the process. Unfortunately, few studies on those effects can be found.In this paper, geometrical model that can predict the effect of pitch deviation and of run out of a cutter on a skived gear is proposed. Experiments were also carried out to verify the validity of the model, and the results were in good agreement with the simulated ones.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Manuscript submitted 2017-04-05, revised 2017-06-02, initially accepted for publication 2017-06-28, published in October 2017 Abstract. The main goal of this paper is to present a five-level converter with the feature of output voltage boosting capability. Thanks to its modular construction and single DC source usage, 5LCHB converter becomes an important alternative for two-level converters operating with DC-DC converters that use bulky inductors. Furthermore, model predictive control (MPC) method is presented, which allows for boosting output voltage of presented converter while providing three-phase load current control and flying capacitor voltage stabilization. The last section describes a 5kVA laboratory model of five-level hybrid converter interfacing RL load and shows experimental results confirming theoretical analysis derived in previous sections.


In this paper, we show how temporal (i.e., time-series) Gaussian process regression models in machine learning can be reformulated as linear-Gaussian state space models, which can be solved exactly with classical Kalman filtering theory. The result is an efficient non-parametric learning algorithm, whose computational complexity grows linearly with respect to number of observations. We show how the reformulation can be done for Matérn family of covariance functions analytically and for squared exponential covariance function by applying spectral Taylor series approximation. Advantages of the proposed approach are illustrated with two numerical experiments.


Introduction Ring chromosomes arise from breakage and fusion at distal regions of short and long arms of the chromosomes. The effect of the ring chromosome on the phenotype may vary widely depending on the amount of the deletion in the chromosomal areas and genes implicated in these regions. Case presentation We present a 35-year-old male patient with infertility and mild intellectual disability (MID) who has de novo ring 13 (r(13)) chromosomes. To determine chromosomal abnormality, we performed karyotype analysis, Y chromosome microdeletion analysis, FISH, and aCGH techniques. Conclusion The patient's karyotype analysis result was mos46,XY,r(13)(p13q34)[75]/45,XY,-13[14]/46,XY,dic (13;13)[8]/47,XY,r(13), + r(13)[2]/46,XY,tetrac r(13;13;13;13)[1]. FISH analysis supported the findings of the cytogenetic analysis. Y microdeletion analysis showed that the AZF region was intact. On aCGH analysis, we detected a 1.5 megabase deletion at the end of chromosome 13, including the CHAMP1 gene. The loss of the CHAMP1 gene, in particular, may explain our patient's MID, and the other deleted genes at 13q34 may explain our patient's infertility.


Age-of-Information (AoI) is a recently introduced metric for network operation with sensor applications which quantifies the freshness of data. In the context of networked control systems (NCSs), we compare the worth of the AoI metric with the value-of-information (VoI) metric, which is related to the uncertainty reduction in stochastic processes. First, we show that the uncertainty propagates non-linearly over time depending on system dynamics. Next, we define the value of a new update of the process of interest as a function of AoI and system parameters of the NCSs. We use the aggregated update value as a utility for the centralized scheduling problem in a cellular NCS composed of multiple heterogeneous control loops. By conducting a simulative analysis, we show that prioritizing transmissions with higher VoI improves performance of the NCSs compared with providing fair data freshness to all sub-systems equally.


Background: Falls occur in approximately one‐third of older Australians per year and can be attributed to intrinsic or extrinsic factors, but are often reported by the elderly to be associated with the latter: environmental hazards. The objective of this study was to investigate outdoor falls and their relationship with outdoor hazards among community‐dwelling older people in the City of Sydney. Methods: Focus group discussions (n=47) and structured interviews (n=124) were conducted among Sydney residents aged 60 years and older to explore issues regarding their residential environments and health outcomes. Structured interviews addressed experiences of indoor and outdoor falls and near falls, and participants' perception of hazards in their outdoor environment. Results: The focus groups suggested that outdoor falls are common and are associated with insufficient street lighting, uneven road/path surfaces, tree roots, and fallen seed pods from Plane trees. In the survey, 35.5% of participants reported an outdoor fall or near fall. Poisson regression analysis, while accounting for other potential predictors, demonstrated that the risk of an outdoor fall or near fall was higher for footpaths of lower perceived quality and a non‐Asian ethnic background. Conclusions: Outdoor falls are a substantial problem among community‐dwelling older Australians and outdoor hazards may contribute to these falls. Future fall prevention interventions should evaluate whether modification of the outdoor environment reduces outdoor falls.


Calcium homeostasis after thyroid surgery was studied during the immediate postoperative period and after one year. One day after hemithyroidectomy ionised calcium decreased whereas basal PTH did not change. EDTA stimulated maximal and total PTH secretion and set-point decreased on postoperative day 1 and normalised on day 7. One year after hemithyroidectomy (n=10) total calcium and 1.25(OH)2D3 decreased. EDTA and calcium infusion tests showed that maximal and total PTH secretion were unaltered. However, ionised calcium at maximal PTH secretion was reduced, the set-point slightly decreased and the ionised calcium/PTH relation curve left shifted. One year after hemithyroidectomy (n=45) ionised calcium decreased from 1.25±0.05 to 1.22±0.04 mmol/L (p=0.001) despite an unaltered PTH level (2.8±1.0 vs. 3.1±1.5 pmol/L, p=0.50). The marker of bone resorption 1CTP decreased. A reduction in ionised calcium was seen only in groups with reduced FT4. An independent association was found between reduced ionised calcium and altered TSH and FT4 levels. The peripheral effects of PTH were studied by using a six hour hPTH-(1-34) infusion protocol. Induced changes in serum levels of ionised calcium and 1.25(OH)2D3 and in urinary excretion of phosphate and n-cAMP, were not altered by a slight reduction in thyroid hormones at 3 months after hemithyroidectomy. Intraoperative PTH, measured immediately after total or near-total thyroidectomy, showed an independent association with postoperatively reduced serum calcium levels. Intraoperative PTH was lower among patients who developed biochemical hypocalcemia (p<0.001). Low intraoperative PTH identified the patients who required calcium intravenously within 24 hours postoperatively and predicted biochemical hypocalcemia with a sensitivity and specificity of 90 % and 75 %, respectively. In summary, reduced PTH secretion is the main determinant of transient hypocalcemia after thyroid surgery. Low intraoperative PTH is a feasible predictor of postoperative hypocalcemia. Even minor thyroid surgery, i.e. hemithyroidectomy has sustained effects on calcium homeostasis due to the influence of reduced thyroid hormones on bone remodelling. (Less)


We compared characteristics of fish assemblages from Finland and northern Wisconsin on several scales to investigate community-level similarity in environmentally similar but faunistically different small lakes. Although Finland has only half as many fishes in its regional species pool, local species richness did not differ between the two regions. Variability in species composition among assemblages was lower in Finland, suggesting that a large proportion of the fauna could maintain populations across a broad range of environmental conditions, whereas the Wisconsin fauna was composed of more specialized species. Three types of fish assemblages were identified in Wisconsin based on species' presence or absence, whereas on the same scale, Finnish assemblages presented a hierarchical continuum based on species addition. These and other patterns suggest that habitat specialization and the exclusion of small prey species from lakes with piscivores contribute to the occurrence of presence-absence assemblage types in Wisconsin. Biotic interactions can affect population densities of Finnish species without exclusion, and assemblage types could be identified in Finland only on the basis of species' relative abundance. Finnish assemblages dominated by perch, roach, and crucian carp occurred in lakes that were environmentally similar to lakes in Wisconsin with bass, pike, and mudminnow assemblages, respectively. Because of these similar relations, discriminant functions from one region could successfully identify the assemblage types that occurred in lakes from the other region; this community-level predictability suggests that fish assemblage structures in northern forest lakes are influenced by common sets of environmental factors. Similarities and differences on different scales reflect the balance between local and regional processes; although local characteristics are well matched between regions, many regional and historical phenomena are dissimilar. Because of influences operating on several scales, viewed as a series of filters, community ecologists should not be content with simple acceptance or rejection of the convergence hypothesis. Greater understanding of communities will come from comprehensive studies that encompass a hierarchy of causes and effects.


We carried out ten sampling sessions in 2013 at Bom Retiro Farm: five in a forested area, located inside the forest, and five in an open area, approximately 600 m away from each other. The same capture effort was used in both areas, and collection has always been carried out on the same day in both areas. The forested area was more diverse, being captured 256 bats, all of Phyllostomidae, belonging to 14 species; Carollia perspicillata (n = 112), Sturnira lilium (n = 46), Desmodus rotundus (n = 25), were the most captured. In the open area we captured 153 individuals of four families: Phyllostomidae was represented by Carollia perspicillata (n=52), Desmodus rotundus (n=39), Artibeus lituratus (n=24), the most captured. A higher diversity in forested area ( H' 1.812 ), where there should be more resources and shelters, and consequently more protection.


The electrostatic model for osmotic flow across a porous membrane in our previous study (Akinaga et al. 2008)" was extended to include the streaming potential, for solutes and pores of like charge and fixed surface charge densities. The magnitude of the streaming potential was determined to satisfy zero current condition along the pore axis. It was found that the streaming potential affects the velocity profiles of the pressure driven flow as well as the osmotic flow through the pore, and decreases their flow rates, particularly in the case of large Debye length relative to the pore radius, whereas it has little effect on the reflection coefficients of spherical solutes through cylindrical pores.


In this paper, a new approach for network planning in unbundled power systems is presented. The approach takes into account the desires of demand customers, power producers, system operator, network owner(s), and regulator in network planning. Competition, reliability, flexibility of operation, transmission expansion cost, and environmental impacts are used as planning criteria. In order to consider the importance degrees of stakeholders and planning criteria in network planning, first importance degrees of stakeholders and planning criteria are determined by a presented new method. Then, importance degrees of stakeholders and planning criteria are aggregated with appropriateness degrees of expansion plans to compute a fuzzy index for measuring the goodness of expansion plans. The final plan is selected using the presented fuzzy risk assessment method. The approach is applied to an eight-bus test system


Concerns video compression. We present our work on the adaptive modeling of quantization process at macro block layer of MPEG encoders. A binary tree (B-tree) fuzzy interpolation algorithm for data approximation and online adaptation which adjusts the parameters of MSFs according to domain data have been used to build the model. Our experimental results have shown that the adaptive model has better performance than its nonadaptive counterpart as well as the look-up table method widely used and reported in literature, which suggests that improvements can be well expected if the model is applied to the design of quantization control schemes for MPEG encoders.


Background: The safety and efficacy of chemotherapy for patients undergoing concomitant hemodialysis have not been fully established and optimal doses of anti-cancer drugs and best timing of hemodialysis remains unclear. Although chemosensitive cancers, such as germ cell tumors, treated with chemotherapy should have sufficient dose intensity maintained to achieve the desired effect, many patients with cancer undergoing hemodialysis might be under-treated because the pharmacokinetics of anti-cancer drugs in such patients remains unknown. Case presentation: We describe a 31-year-old Japanese man with a mediastinal yolk sac tumor treated with surgery followed by five cycles of chemotherapy containing cisplatin and etoposide while concomitantly undergoing hemodialysis. The doses of these agents used in the first cycle were 50% of the standard dose of cisplatin (10 mg/m) and 60% of the standard dose of etoposide (60 mg/m) on days 1 through to 5; the doses were subsequently escalated to 75% with both agents. Hemodialysis was started 1 hour after infusions of these agents. Severe hematological toxicities were observed despite successful treatment. During treatment with concurrent hemodialysis, pharmacokinetic analysis of cisplatin was performed and its relationship with adverse effects was assessed. Compared with patients with normal renal function, the maximum drug concentration was higher, and concentration increased in the interval between hemodialysis and the subsequent cisplatin infusion, resulting in a higher area under the curve despite a reduction in the dose to 75% of the standard regimen. Conclusions: Because of the altered pharmacokinetics pharmacodynamics status of patients with renal dysfunction undergoing hemodialysis, pharmacokinetics pharmacodynamics analysis is deemed to be helpful for effective and safe management of chemotherapy in patients undergoing hemodialysis.


Variations in the total solar irradiance (TSI) associated with solar activity have been argued to influence the Earth's climate system, in particular when solar activity deviates from the average for a substantial period. One such example is the 17th Century Maunder Minimum during which sunspot numbers were extremely low, as Earth experienced the Little Ice Age. Estimation of the TSI during that period has relied on extrapolations of correlations with sunspot numbers or even more indirectly with modulations of galactic cosmic rays. We argue that there is a minimum state of solar magnetic activity associated with a population of relatively small magnetic bipoles which persists even when sunspots are absent, and that consequently estimates of TSI for the Little Ice Age that are based on scalings with sunspot numbers are generally too low. The minimal solar activity, which measurements show to be frequently observable between active‐region decay products regardless of the phase of the sunspot cycle, was approached globally after an unusually long lull in sunspot activity in 2008–2009. Therefore, the best estimate of magnetic activity, and presumably TSI, for the least‐active Maunder Minimum phases appears to be provided by direct measurement in 2008–2009. The implied marginally significant decrease in TSI during the least active phases of the Maunder Minimum by 140 to 360 ppm relative to 1996 suggests that drivers other than TSI dominate Earth's long‐term climate change.


Fallow plays an important role in weed flora management and soil fertility restoration. The aim of this study was to determine the structure of flora through systematic composition, life forms and chorology distribution. Thus, phytosociological surveys were carried out during 2015 and 2016 crop years on station in Eastern Senegal, Upper Casamance and Middle Casamance. The results revealed that flora consisted of 109 species distributed in 64 genera and 19 families. Dicotyledon was the most important form. Indeed, it represented 69% of the species, 69% of the genera and 79% of the families. This flora was more diverse in Kolda where it was composed of 91 species, distributed in 57 genera and 15 families. In Sefa, the flora contained 52 species, 38 genera and 11 families while in Sinthiou Maleme, the flora is rich of 43 species, 31 genera and 9 families. The overall analysis of the biological spectrum showed a large dominance of therophytes (78.9%) followed by phanerophytes (9.2%) and hemicryptophytes (6.4%). The biogeographical distribution of the species revealed that african species (49 species) were the most important and followed by pantropical species (29 species). The present study allowed pointing out the flora of fallow lands in Eastern Senegal and Casamance which is essential before elaboration of any management plan for improving crop production. © 2017 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: Fallow, weed flora, systematic composition, Senegal


The oil obtained from Brazilian roasted coffee by supercritical CO2 extraction shows considerable aromatic properties, mainly composed by five aromatic compounds, 2-methylpyrazine; 2-furfurylalcohol, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine; γ-butyrolactone and 2-furfurylacetate. Sensory analyses were used to verify the influence of a mixture of these important classes of aromatic coffee compounds (pyrazines, furans and lactones) and of the roasted coffee aromatic oil on the coffee aroma and flavour of black instant freeze and spray-dried coffee beverages. In the acceptance evaluation of the aroma, the samples prepared with freeze-dried instant coffee without the mixture of volatile compounds (sample 4) were not significantly different from the freeze-dried instant coffee in which the aromatic coffee oil was added (sample 5) and from the sample prepared with freeze-dried coffee in which the mixture of the five volatile was added (sample 3), coincidentally from the same drying process. Therefore, sample (3) did not differ from samples prepared with spray dried instant coffee without (sample 1) and to which (sample 2) the mixture of volatile was added. Therefore, with respect to this attribute, the addition of this mixture did not interfere in this drink acceptance. Taking into consideration the flavor, samples prepared with freeze-dried instant coffee in which the aromatic coffee oil was added (5) and the samples with (3) and without (4) the mixture of the five volatile was added did not differ significantly, however sample (4) did not differ from samples (1) and (2). Regarding this attribute, the addition of the aromatic oil of roasted coffee or a mixture of volatile in samples of freeze-dried instant coffee had a better acceptance than those dried by spray dryer (1) and (2). Thus, the enrichment of drinks with the aromatic oil of roasted coffee, or even with the mixture of the five components did not influence the consumer acceptance with respect to the aroma, but exerts influence with respect to flavour.


This study was performed to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Pimpinella brachycarpa (PB) on serum and liver lipid metabolism in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered 1% cholesterol and 0.25% sodium cholate to induce hypercholesterolemia. PB ethanol extract (200 ㎎/㎏/day or 400 ㎎/㎏/day) was also administered orally to rats with high cholesterol diet for 6 weeks. We divided 40 rats into five groups; normal diet group (NC), high cholesterol diet group (HC), normal diet and PB ethanol extract (200 ㎎/㎏) administered group (NC-PB), high cholesterol diet and PB ethanol extract (200 ㎎/㎏) administered group (HC-PBL), and high cholesterol diet and PB ethanol extract (400 ㎎/㎏) administered group (HC-PBH). The growth rate and liver weight of the high cholesterol diet group was higher than those of the normal diet group, whereas those of the groups administered PB ethanol extract were gradually decreased. There was a signigicant increase in the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), asparate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the high cholesterol diet group. The administration of PB ethanol extract decreased serum ALT, AST and ALP activities in a dose-dependent manners. The high cholesterol diet group showed increased serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, free cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels, and decreased atherogenic index, HDL-cholesterol and phospholipid levels as compared with the normal diet group. PB ethanol extract administrated groups showed increased HDL-C/T-C, HDL-cholesterol and phospholipid levels, and decreased serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, free cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol levels as compared with the high cholesterol diet group. There were no differences in the concentrations of serum triglyceride, phopholipid, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and free cholesterol between normal diet groups. The hepatic concentrations of total cholesterol and triglyceride were also lower in PB ethanol extract administrated groups than in the high cholesterol diet group. These results suggest that ethanol extract of PB exerts hypocholesterolemic effect by reducing serum and liver cholesterol contents.


Objective To develop and validate a prediction model for excess pregnancy weight gain using early pregnancy factors. Design Prospective cohort study Setting We recruited from 12 obstetrical, family medicine, and midwifery centers in Ontario, Canada Participants We recruited English-speaking women with singleton pregnancies between 8+0–20+6 weeks. Of 1296 women approached, 1050 were recruited (81%). Of those, 970 women had complete data (970/1050, 92%) and were recruited at a mean of 14.8 weeks. Primary outcome measure We collected data on psychological, physical, and social factors and used stepwise logistic regression analysis to develop a multivariable model predicting our primary outcome of excess pregnancy weight gain, with random selection of 2/3 of women for training data and 1/3 for testing data. Results Nine variables were included in the final model to predict excess pregnancy weight gain. These included nulliparity, being overweight, planning excessive gain, eating in front of a screen, low self-efficacy regarding pregnancy weight gain, thinking family or friends believe pregnant women should eat twice as much as before pregnancy, being agreeable, and having emotion control difficulties. Training and testing data yielded areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.76 (95% confidence interval, 0.72 to 0.80) and 0.62 (95% confidence interval 0.56 to 0.68), respectively. Conclusions In this first validated prediction model in early pregnancy, we found that nine psychological, physical, and social factors moderately predicted excess pregnancy weight gain in the final model. This research highlights the importance of several predictors, including relatively easily modifiable ones such as appropriate weight gain plans and mindfulness during eating, and lays an important methodological foundation for other future prediction models.


Martin Mordecai's Free is a lyrical yet unflinching examination of the ruinous intimacies sustained by and sustaining plantation slavery. Set around Jamaica's Christmas Rebellion of 1831–32 and framed around three characters who are free themselves, but hedged in by the oppressive protocols of slavery, Free is an extended meditation on violence, memory, community, love and forgiveness. Mordecai uses the ranges and registers of the creole continuum to seduce readers into a wrenching engagement with the deformation wrought by slavery upon everyone and everything it touched.


Aluminum alloys have been attracted by several engineering sectors due to their excellent strengthweight ratio and corrosion resistant properties. These are categorized into 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7and 8xxx on the basis of alloying elements. Among these 6xxx series contains aluminum–magnesium–silicon as alloying elements and are widely used in extruded products and automotive body panels. The major advantages of these alloys are good corrosion resistance, medium strength, low cost, age hardening response no yield point phenomenon and Ludering. 6xxx series alloys generally have lower formability than other aluminum alloys which restrict their utilization for wide applications. Keeping in view of the shortcomings in the set of mechanical properties of 6xxx series the efforts were made to improve the tensile strength and toughness properties through age hardening. In present study heat treatment cycles were studied for 6061 aluminum alloy. Three different age hardening temperatures 160, 200 and 240oC were selected. The obtained results showed that 17.26, 7.69, and 10.51% improvement in tensile strength, toughness and hardness respectively was achieved with solution treatment at 380oC followed by an aging 240oC. Microstructural study revealed that substantial improvements in the mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy under heat treatment were achieved due to precipitation of Mg2Si secondary phase.


Estrogen and progesterone are important hormones in normal female development, yet both have critical roles in breast carcinogenesis. Cyclin D1 is a breast cancer oncogene whose amplification is linked to poor prognosis in estrogen and progesterone receptor positive breast cancers. Here we show that cyclin D1 regulates progesterone receptor expression, consequently enhancing responses to estrogen and progesterone in breast development and carcinogenesis. Estrogen treatment of cyclin D1 transgenic mice caused mammary hyperplasias expressing increased progesterone receptors, which were stimulated by progesterone and blocked by a progesterone antagonist. Cyclin D1 regulated progesterone receptor expresion through a novel estrogen- and cyclin D1-responsive enhancer in DNA encoding part of the 3' untranslated region of the progesterone receptor gene. Small inhibitory RNAs for cyclin D1 decreased progesterone receptor expression in human breast cancer cells, which sensitized them to progesterone-antagonists. Since estrogen and progesterone regulate cyclin D1, our results suggest that cyclin D19s participation in a feed-forward loop could contribute to increased breast cancer risks associated with estrogen and progesterone combinations. Additionally, its regulation of the progesterone receptor identifies a novel role for cyclin D1 in ovarian hormone control of breast development and breast carcinogenesis. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1469.


The 2008 WHO classification tentatively introduced myelodysplastic syndrome with fibrosis (MDS-F) based on previous literature of the existence of such cases. Most MDS-F cases have increased blasts, lower hemoglobin and platelet counts, an aggressive clinical course, and more frequently include cytogenetic aberrations. We report the case of a 66-year-old male patient diagnosed with refractory anemia with excess blasts-2 with fibrosis (MDS RAEB-2-F) with a normal karyotype and negative findings for both BCR-ABL1 transcript and JAK2 V617F mutations. He refused therapy upon his diagnosis and, after 5 months, his disease progressed to leukemia. The patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC), based on a bone marrow exam revealing increased blasts (32.8%). Cytogenetic study revealed a complex karyotype, and molecular studies identified a minor BCRABL1 fusion transcript. The patient's general condition deteriorated despite the initiation of induction chemotherapy, and he died approximately 2 weeks after the diagnosis of AML-MRC. This patient's poor clinical outcome may have been exacerbated by the acquisition of the BCR-ABL1 fusion transcript overlapping with the aggressive nature of MDS-F.


This paper outlines Mongolia9s regime transformation, focusing on its 2000 constitutional amendments that turned Mongolia into a parliamentary system, albeit with a popularly elected fixed-term president. The paper also emphasizes the prominence of institutional authority to form the executive in determining regime type, and makes an effort to clarify Duverger9s second criterion of semi-presidentialism as the presidential authority to form the cabinet.


Abstract Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) has been recently documented after a variety of laparoscopic surgeries. Although it is well established in splenectomies, its prevalence in other laparoscopic procedures is rare. PVT in colectomies has been associated with inflammatory processes, such as ulcerative colitis and diverticulitis. We report a case of postoperative PVT following a total abdominal colectomy for colonic inertia. A 27-year-old female underwent an uneventful elective laparoscopic total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis for colonic inertia, and presented on postoperative day (POD) 3 with obstipation, abdominal distention and emesis. Her abdominal pain increased on POD 4 and computed tomography revealed PVT. PVT following laparoscopic surgery is rare in cases not involving the spleen. Although previously seen in colectomies for inflammatory conditions, it can present after colonic inertia. A high index of suspicion should be maintained to diagnosis this rare complication.


Motives and images of the nature and landscape sketches are examined to analyze their functional role in the story and to investigate the ethnopoetics. The author describes the principles of depicting the pictures of the nature, related to the world of the hero. It is inferred that landscapes carry the national character, figurativeness, folklore and ethnographic elements.


We assess how divorce through midlife affects the subsequent probability of work-limiting health among U.S. women. Using retrospective marital and work disability histories from the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to Social Security earnings records, we identify women whose first marriage dissolved between 1975 and 1984 (n = 1,214) and women who remain continuously married (n = 3,394). Probit and propensity score matching models examine the cumulative probability of a work disability over a 20-year follow-up period. We find that divorce is associated with a significantly higher cumulative probability of a work disability, controlling for a range of factors. This association is strongest among divorced women who do not remarry. No consistent relationships are observed among divorced women who remarry and remained married. We find that economic hardship, work history, and selection into divorce influence, but do not substantially alter, the lasting impact of divorce on work-limiting health.


We explore an approach to possibilistic fuzzy clustering that avoids a severe drawback of the conventional approach, namely that the objective function is truly minimized only if all cluster centers are identical. Our approach is based on the idea that this undesired property can be avoided if we introduce a mutual repulsion of the clusters, so that they are forced away from each other. We develop this approach for the possibilistic fuzzy c-means algorithm and the Gustafson-Kessel algorithm.


The changes of arterial pressure promoted by bolus injection of 50 micrograms phenylephrine (PHE) were studied in 20 atropinized patients (5 normal subjects, 13 patients with mitral valve disease, 1 patient with essential arterial hypertension and 1 patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) submitted to routine catheterism. Patients with aortic valve disease, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and intracardiac shunt were excluded from the study. All patients were in sinus rhythm, without heart failure. Arterial pressure started to increase at 14.8 +/- 5.4 s (range, 5.6 to 27 s; mean +/- SD) after PHE. There was an increase of 37.8 +/- 16.7 mmHg (range, 12.5 to 70 mmHg) in systolic pressure and of 26.6 +/- 11.1 mmHg (range, 7.5 to 42.5 mmHg) in diastolic pressure. Peak hypertension was attained at 36.6 +/- 16.4 s (range, 10.8 to 64.9 s) and hypertension continued for 176 +/- 92 s (range, 11 to 365 s). Heart rate was 114 +/- 21 bpm before PHE and 111 +/- 21 bpm (P < 0.05) after PHE. There were no adverse events associated with intravenous PHE injection in any patient, in accordance with the general view that bolus injection of PHE is a safe and practical maneuver to promote arterial hypertension.


This research paper presents the design of a control technique based on the combination of Linear Algebra (LABC) with Neuro Adaptive Sliding Mode Control (NN-SMC) applied to the control of a marine vessel. Where the linear Algebra technique controls the kinematics of the Vessel and the NN-SMC controls its dynamics. Where the adaptive capacity of the neural networks learns the vessel dynamics, including the non modeled dynamics. The simulation results show satisfactory results especially when disturbances are acting on its dynamics. Finally, the convergence of the proposed technique was demonstrated using Lyapunovs theory.


12% of patients in the non-treatment group. In the Lipid Research Clinical Program study of the patients who died, 30% of those receiving treatment died violent deaths —¿ accident, suicide, or murder —¿ as opposed to 14% in the control group. Lipids comprise about half the dry matter of the brain; the axon, the myelin sheath, and the synapto somal membrane all having different proportions of lipid constituents; synoptic vesicles have a relatively high content of phospholipids. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that anything which upsets the balance of cerebral lipid metabolism could have profound effects on the brain function. Several abnormalities of enzymes required for normal lipid metabolism are known to result in severe mental subnormality, e.g. deficiency of sphingomyelinase results in Niemann Pick disease. Disruption of the structure of the synaptic membrane or synaptic vesicles could disrupt normal function. It is tempting to speculate how lipid-lowering drugs could affect the brain: cerebral lipids are syn thesised in the brain from water-soluble precursors. Any alteration in peripheral lipid ratios are unlikely therefore to affect brain lipid metabolism. A direct effect of the drug itself in the brain could be postu lated; however, cholestyramine is not absorbed from the gut. Gemfibrizol is absorbed, although its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier has not been estab lished. In both studies these results were interpreted as being a chance finding. We find these results most interesting and raise the question as to whether alteration of the ratio of HDL:LDL could be important psychiatrically.


BACKGROUND Lipomas are common benign mesenchymal tumors commonly removed using excision, but in certain cases, surgery is undesirable or ineffective. High‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) offers a noninvasive tumor ablation tool increasingly used in the clinic. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a noninvasive lipoma size reduction technology using HIFU. MATERIALS & METHODS Twelve lipomas in nine patients were treated. Patients underwent four treatment sessions with a 3‐week interval between treatments. Blood and urine tests and tolerability based on a standard visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to monitor patients for adverse effects. Lipoma volume was determined by measuring width and length (manually) and depth (ultrasonically). RESULTS The range of lipoma size was 2.7–169.4 cm3 before treatment and 0.2–119.8 cm3 after treatment. Mean volume reduction was 58.1 ± 22.8%. When palpated, the lipomas felt much softer than before treatment. The average VAS score was 4.1 ± 2.4. No significant adverse effects were noted. CONCLUSION The treatment was shown to be effective in noninvasively reducing lipoma size. The average volume reduction was substantial and statistically significant. The treatment was safe and well‐tolerated. HIFU may be an alternative treatment modality in cases of lipoma.


Introduction: The Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii (ABC) complex includes five species, and the A. baumannii is the most important of them because it carries mechanisms of carbapenems resistance, especially the oxacillinases. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify the species of the ABC complex, to evaluate the susceptibility profile and to investigate the presence of oxacillinases in carbapenems-resistant isolates from four Brazilian States. Methods: In the study period, 92 isolates from Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Paraná (PR) and São Paulo (SP) were collected. The isolates were identified by matrixassisted laser desorption ionization-time of fight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and sequencing of gyrB gene. Evaluation of susceptibility was performed by disk diffusion and broth microdilution. The presence of oxacillinases was performed by in-house multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Ninety-one (99%) isolates were identified as A. baumannii by MALDI-TOF and sequencing. The majority of isolates (56; 61%) showed resistance to the six antimicrobial agents tested. Three isolates were resistant to polymyxin B [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥ 4 μg/ml). Eighty (87%) isolates were positive to OXA-23-like, and twelve (13%) isolates to OXA-24-like. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the knowledge about the dissemination of the bla OXA-23 gene in Brazil and suggest the recent emergence and spread of bla OXA-24 gene, since it was identified in three of the four sampled states.


In connection with our studies of fibrinogen in the blood of the new-born infant, it seemed desirable to determine what effect if any an intramuscular injection of the mother's whole blood has on the infant's fibrinogen. Injection of blood or serum has become the generally accepted treatment for hemorrhagic disease of new-born infants since first introduced by Welch 1 in 1910, but the mechanism by which it is effective in checking hemorrhage is still unknown. Normal new-born infants were used for the study. All were put to the breast at regular four hour intervals and were given water freely, but no supplementary food was given. Blood was drawn for the determination of fibrin daily for a control period of from two to four days. After the last control sample had been drawn, 7 cc. of the mother's whole blood, uncitrated, was injected into the muscles of the infant's thigh. Determinations


Introduction: The baby-friendly hospital initiative is a global program launched by WHO and UNICEF in 1991 to encourage hospitals, mainly maternity wards to implement practices that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. This study aimed to assess Knowledge and Practice regarding breastfeeding of BFHI among Nurses.
Method: A cross-sectional analytical study design was used among nurses of Maternity, Children, Gynaecology, and Postpartum wards of Patan Hospital, from January 2019 to February 2020. Data on knowledge of baby-friendly hospital initiative and breastfeeding was collected by using a self-administered structured questionnaire and practice of breastfeeding by observation checklist. Descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential (Chi-square, normality test, and Spearman's rank correlation) statistics were used for data analysis with SPSS version 20.
Result: The findings show that out of 100 nurses surveyed, more than half (58%) of the respondents had a good level of knowledge and less than one-fourth (23.8%) had a good level of practice of breastfeeding. There was no significant association between level of knowledge and baby-friendly hospital initiative in the nursing course (p=0.814), training on breastfeeding in hospital (p=0.069), or outside (p=0.944). There was a weak positive correlation between knowledge and practice of breastfeeding.
Conclusion: Compared to knowledge on breastfeeding, the practice was quite low among the nurses.


Cancer cells generally possess higher levels of reactive oxygen species than normal cells, and this can serve as a possible therapeutic target. In this proof-of-concept study, an antioxidant-inspired drug discovery strategy was evaluated using a hydroxycinnamic acid derivative. The processing of oxidized mixtures of p-coumaric acid methyl ester (pcm) revealed a new antitumor lead, graviquinone. Graviquinone bypassed ABCB1-mediated resistance, induced DNA damage in lung carcinoma cells but exerted DNA protective activity in normal keratinocytes, and modulated DNA damage response in MCF-7 cells. The cytotoxic effect of pcm in MCF-7 cells was potentiated under H2O2-induced oxidative stress, and the formation of graviquinone was confirmed by Fenton's reaction on pcm. In silico density functional theory calculations suggested graviquinone as a kinetic product of pcm-scavenging •OH radicals. Our results demonstrate the pharmacological value of an in situ-formed, oxidative stress-related metabolite of an antioxidant. This might be of particular importance for designing new strategies for antioxidant-based drug discovery.


The torus has been mentioned in the literature for about 180 years. However, little has been revealed about it until the last two decades when great advances were made in the field of genetics. Its occurrence in various ethnic groups ranges from 9 to 66 per cent. Even between similar ethnic groups living in different environments, different figures have been reported. It has been statistically proven that differences do occur between various ethnic groups and the sexes. In current thinking, the occurrence of tori is considered to be an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. The quasi-continuous genetic or threshold model seems to hold the answers to their formation. This theory proposes that the environmental factors responsible must first reach a threshold level before the genetic factors can express themselves in the individual. Hence, both genetic and environmental factors determine liability, making the system multifactorial.


Political duty is either the central or fundamental problem of political philosophy. There is no doubt, however, that the history of political thought is replete with attempts to provide a satisfactory account of political duty from the time of Socrates to the present. To have a political obligation is to have a moral duty to obey the laws of one's country or state. On that point, there is almost complete agreement among political philosophers. But how does one acquire such an obligation? Is political duty more a matter of being than of doing – that is, of simply being a matter of the country or state in question? Many answers have been proffered but none commands widespread assent. However, this study is an attempt to add to the existing debate, by suggesting a solution to the problem of political duty. The paper adopts expository and analytic approaches that are usually associated with philosophical scholarship. Indeed, a number of contemporary political philosophers deny that a satisfactory theory of political duty either has been or can be devised. Others, however, continue to believe that there is a solution to what is called 'the problem of political obligation', and they are presently engaged in lively debate not only with the skeptics but also with one another on the question of which theory, if any, provides the solution to the problem. We therefore, show that the political leader, in ensuring the peace and growth of the society, must consciously embrace morality. For morality and politics are bound together.
Keywords: Duty, Justice, Morality, Philosophy, Politics,


ABSTRACT Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting about 2% of the population worldwide. Lamotrigine (LTG) is a second generation anti-epileptic drug (AED) with broad spectrum of activity, a favourable side-effect profile, simpler dosing than earlier drugs and efficacious in diverse epilepsy syndromes. Areas covered: The present review focuses on pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of LTG and its effect on cognition, psychiatry, quality of life, women and pregnancy along with effect of enzyme inducing and enzyme inhibiting drugs over LTG and their effect on serum level fluctuations by collecting data from various studies over the years until 2016. Expert commentary: Results from various studies and clinical trials indicate that LTG possessed a favourable profile of anticonvulsant activity and good tolerability as a monotherapy/or add-on therapy in children and adult patients against several types of seizures and syndromes. It has wide clinical dose range with favourable pharmacokinetic properties making it an excellent therapeutic option in epilepsy.


Caching is emerging as a vital tool for alleviating the severe capacity crunch in modern content-centric wireless networks. The main idea behind caching is to store parts of the popular content in end-users' memory and leverage the locally stored content to reduce peak data rates. By jointly designing content placement and delivery mechanisms, recent works have shown order-wise reduction in transmission rates in contrast to traditional methods. In this paper, we consider the secure caching problem with the additional goal of minimizing information leakage to an external wiretapper. The fundamental cache memory versus transmission rate tradeoff for the secure caching problem is characterized. Rather surprisingly, these results show that security can be introduced at a negligible cost, particularly for large number of files and users. It is also shown that the rate achieved by the proposed caching scheme with secure delivery is within a constant multiplicative factor from the information-theoretic optimal rate for almost all parameter values of practical interest.


The History of the Mathematical Studies in the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires from 1865 to 1930 is divided into four parts: a) 1865-1885. In this initial period the mathematics are in the hands of the Italian Speluzzi and Rosetti who are the first in giving courses of higher mathematics. b) I885-I90O. There is a first flowering of the Argentinian mathematics, due mainly to the work of Valentin Bolbin. c) 1900-1917. Grows the knowledge of advanced topics in mathematics, but, the research work is not taken into account. d) 1917-1930. Arrives to Argentina the Spanish Rey Pastor and begins the research Work


INTRODUCTION
Surgical endarterectomy represents the gold standard for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions of the groin vessels. Endovascular treatment such as atherectomy with or without drug coated angioplasty (DCA) of the so called no stenting zones, i.e. inguinal and popliteal vessels, is gaining growing acceptance as alternative option to open surgery. This systematic review aims to scrutiny the current clinical evidence regarding atherectomy and DCA for the common artery (CFA).

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
We conducted an exhaustive research in multiple platforms (Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Embase) on studies over atherectomy and angioplasty for inguinal atherosclerotic lesions published between 2000 and 2021. As search strategy we used a wide list of MeSH items, words, synonyms. Bibliographies of review articles were checked for further relating studies regarding atherectomy of CFA. A qualitative and quantitative data analysis was carried out.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
Fifteen studies were included in the qualitative review. Not all studies were focused only on atherectomy of inguinal vessels, despite including such treatment. Hence, data regarding this treatment were not exhaustive. A fairly homogeneous data analysis was possible in 7 of 15 studies. The remaining 8 studies were qualitatively analyzed but not included in the statistical analysis. In all 7 included studies directional atherectomy and DCA under filter protection were carried out. In this subgroup, overall, 497 patients were treated with atherectomy. Sixty-eight percent of the patients were males. Rutherford class from 1-3 dominated against 4-6 (63% vs. 37%). Mean technical success rate was 96%, with a primary and secondary patency rate of 92% and 98% respectively at one year. Procedure related vascular complications ranged from 1% to 6%.

CONCLUSIONS
Current literature about atherectomy for inguinal arteries is scant, data are inhomogeneous and so are treatment modalities. Nevertheless, the results of this systematic review suggest that this endovascular strategy is feasible with good short and midterm results. Prospective trials with larger patient cohorts are necessary to confirm these preliminary results.


Over the past few years significant progress was accomplished in efficient processing with wide-coverage HPSG grammars. HPSG-based parsing systems are now available that can process medium-complexity sentences (of ten to twenty words, say) in average parse times equivalent to real (i.e. human reading) time. A large number of engineering improvements in current HPSG systems were achieved through collaboration of multiple research centers and mutual exchange of experience, encoding techniques, algorithms, and even pieces of software. This article presents an approach to grammar and system engineering, termed competence & performance profiling, that makes systematic experimentation and the precise empirical study of system properties a focal point in development. Adapting the profiling metaphor familiar from software engineering to constraint-based grammars and parsers, enables developers to maintain an accurate record of system evolution, identify grammar and system deficiencies quickly, and compare to earlier versions or between different systems. We discuss a number of exemplary problems that motivate the experimental approach, and apply the empirical methodology in a fairly detailed discussion of what was achieved during a development period of three years. Given the collaborative nature in setup, the empirical results we present involve research and achievements of a large group of people.


Stepped gabion spillways have many applications in dam structure, river engineering and soil conservation works. These types of weirs have more flexibility in respect to rigid (impervious) type and are more stable against water pressure. Energy dissipation through this weir is high due to over flow and inflow from steps, so the cost of stilling basin construction can be reduced. Flowing water through the body of weir is one of its important characteristics that make flow condition more complex. Most of the researches until now were on rigid stepped weir in large dams and there are a few studies on gabion stepped spillways. The purpose of this study is to investigate flow over and through the gabion stepped spillway body and determine energy dissipation rate. For this purpose 8 physical gabion stepped spillways with 3 different porosities 38 to 42 percent and two slopes 1:1 & 1:2 (V:H) were made and iron plate on each horizontal or vertical step was used to study the effect of step pervious on energy dissipation. Results show that at higher discharge, energy dissipation is more in pervious (gabion) spillway. In fact at higher discharge or skimming flow regime, energy dissipation divided in to over flow and inflow through the spillway body. In this situation energy dissipation through the spillway body have more effect on total energy dissipation. Thus in skimming flow regime, gabion stepped spillway will have greaterenergy dissipation. At lower discharge, energy dissipation is more in impervious stepped spillway. In this condition other rank belongs to gabion, step with vertical plate and step with horizontal plate respectively. Gabion with higher porosity had bigger energy dissipation and with increasing in discharge, their differences tend to zero. Slope decreasing from 1:1 to 1:2 causes more energy dissipation.


This paper focuses - through the lens of the Finnis case - on the search for answers to the questions: Where do the boundaries of academic freedom and free speech lie? Did Finnis overstep them with his "extremely discriminatory views against many groups of disadvantaged people" presented in his papers between 1992 and 2011, as it is said in the Petition to stop John Finnis teaching at Oxford University because of his discrimination? Are Finnis' views phobic? The main theses presented in the paper are: The boundaries of academic freedom and freedom of speech have not been overstepped, but these freedoms were abused. Some of these views, as abstractly expressed opinions, are phobic, but there is no tangible proof of any discriminatory behaviour by Finnis towards anybody.


How have journalistic ideals of public service arisen? To what extent do journalists live up to these ideals? Can we make any claims as to the social conditions that this performance depends on? Using Bourdieu's theory of fields of cultural production, this article addresses these questions with evidence from the history of journalism in the United States. What is most distinctive about modern journalism is a specific practice: active news-gathering or reporting. This practice became common in the 1860s and 1870s with the emergence of journalism as a field with its own stakes, relatively independent from political advantage or literary merit. The power of field-specific capital to organize practices in the media has varied since then. The field consolidated in the era from 1890 to 1914, with the newspaper industry expanding. In the interwar years, the boundary between PR and journalism became blurry and the institutional basis for active news-gathering declined. Under favorable economic and political conditions reporting practices, including local and investigative reporting, flourished between 1945 and1970 across media forms. In the past 40 years the importance of active news-gathering has declined.


: Ever-growing doses (beginning from the therapeutic up to 10-fold doses of a complex of five functionally bound vitamins (B1, FMN, nicotinamide, pantothenate, lipoic acid) being administered to F1 mice (CBA x Black) induced a constant and considerable rise of the pyruvate- and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (PDG and OGDG) activity in the mouse organs. In the in vitro experiments the addition of the corresponding coenzymes or their mixture (in the optimal concentrations) to the incubation medium containing mitochondria of the mouse liver led to a greater activation of these dehydrogenases in the group of animals which were preliminary injected the above complex of vitamins.


Abstract. Bundle adjustment with additional parameters is identified as a critical step for precise orthoimage generation and 3D reconstruction of Dunhuang wall paintings. Due to the introduction of self-calibration parameters and quasi-planar constraints, the structure of coefficient matrix of the reduced normal equation is banded-bordered, making the solving process of bundle adjustment complex. In this paper, Conjugate Gradient Bundle Adjustment (CGBA) method is deduced by calculus of variations. A preconditioning method based on improved incomplete Cholesky factorization is adopt to reduce the condition number of coefficient matrix, as well as to accelerate the iteration rate of CGBA. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results comparison with conventional method indicate that, the proposed method can effectively conquer the ill-conditioned problem of normal equation and improve the calculation efficiency of bundle adjustment with additional parameters considerably, while maintaining the actual accuracy.


We propose an approach to surface reconstruction using active tactile sensing and surface normal information. Unlike previous works which consider primarily the problem of reconstructing a single tensor B-spline patch based on deformed planar or spherical domain, the surface reconstructed here is a network of triangular B-spline patches based on arbitrary topological domain and can maintain tangent plane continuity. The input is unorganized tactile sensing 3D data points with normal information of arbitrary topological type surfaces, which are obtained by a dextrous multifingered hand equipped with force/moment tactile sensors. The surface reconstructed is a parameterization of the data over these patches. An adaptive refinement is explored on the patch network in order to satisfy a given error tolerance. Demonstrations are carried out on simulated and experimental data.


Nerium oleander var. 'Villa Romaine', commonly called oleander, is an ornamental shrub that exists in Tunisia in the wild and cultivated form. This plant is frequently propagated and produced in nurseries and used in urban plantings and on roadsides. The effects of nature of the plants (spontaneous or cultivated), climatic conditions (localities), and altitude (from 6 to 447 m) on seed shape, size, and germination of Tunisian populations, were investigated. Seeds were harvested from 23 locations belonging to six bioclimatic stages and distributed from North to South of Tunisia. The seed parameters studied were area, roundness, J index, and germination rate. A significant variation was obtained between populations, categories (cultivated and spontaneous), bioclimatic zones and altitudes. Seeds of cultivated plants were the smaller and showed the higher germination rates, compared with spontaneous populations, which had large seeds and a low germination rate. Climatic conditions and geographical location had an effect on seed morphology; seeds in lower humid were small for both cultivated and spontaneous types, they also showed a low J index value and a high germination rate. On the other hand, in upper Saharan, seeds were large and roundness and germination rate were the lowest. Also, seeds from plants in higher altitudes were the smaller and presented the lower values of the J index compared with those collected from low-altitude sites.


The crude alkaloid mixtures from the aerial parts S.telephium was analyzed by GC-MS method. As a result 14 compounds, including 6 alkaloids were characterized. 3-methyl-2-carbethoxyindole (4.730%), 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzothiazole (1.576%) and N,4, 5-trimethyl phenyl-1,2-diamine, (1.217%) were in higher contents. One sulfur-containing alkaloid 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzothiazole has been identified. These six alkaloids are described for the first time from this plant. Mongolian Journal of Chemistry 16 (42), 2015, 44-47


Some biochemical parameters of liver and liver microsomes were studied in albino rats following administration of cobra and viper venoms at dose of 2 mg/kg body weight. The total protein content in cobra venom treated (CVT) animals and DNA and RNA contents of liver and liver microsomes were almost unaltered in both the venom treated animals while total protein content was significantly reduced in viper venom treated (VVT) animals. Alkaline and acid phosphatases activities of whole liver showed significant increase in both the venom treated animals whereas the rise in cholinesterase activity in CVT animals was not significant. Lactic acid content was significantly higher in CVT animals compared to either VVT animals or controls. The glycolytic enzymes viz., aldolase, phosphohexose isomerase and lactate dehydrogenase measured in hepatic microsomal fraction were significantly reduced while alanine and aspartate aminotransferases and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activities of liver microsomes were significantly elevated in both the venom treated animals compared to controls.


Today's digital start-ups have succeeded in creating a new trend and can solve problems in society. One that is attracting attention today is Gojek. Not only does it provide benefits from the consumer side, but Gojek can also provide benefits from the business side, one of which is by joining as a GoFood business partner or commonly called a "GoFood Partner". This study aims to determine the effect of market orientation on the marketing performance of Gofood Partners in Surabaya. This study involved 70 respondents who are owners or managers and customers of Gofood in the city of Surabaya. By using the Purposive sampling method, data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The analytical technique used in this research is using the component-based SEM method using PLS. The results found indicate that Market Orientation has a positive effect on Marketing Performance. The better the market orientation carried out by gofood partners, the marketing performance will also increase.


In this work we study the long time behavior of nonlinear stochastic functional-differential equations in Hilbert spaces. In particular, we start with establishing the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions. We proceed with deriving a priory uniform in time bounds for the solutions in the appropriate Hilbert spaces. These bounds enable us to establish the existence of invariant measure based on Krylov-Bogoliubov theorem on the tightness of the family of measures. Finally, under certain assumptions on nonlinearities, we establish the uniqueness of invariant measures.


Background Gastric cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm of digestive system. Herein, we aim to detect the expression of nuclear factor I C (NFIC) in gastric cancer cells, and to explore the effect and mechanism of its expression on the development of gastric cancer. Methods qPCR and Western blot assays were carried out to detect NFIC expression. Then, BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cell lines were selected to perform the following functional experiments. The function of NFIC on gastric cancer cells was analyzed by biological experiments. The associations between miR-9-5p and NFIC were searched on the bioinformatics website and identified by dual luciferase assay. The effects of miR-9-5p and NFIC on cells were verified by co-transfection experiments. The related genes expression was examined by Western blot. Results A marked augmentation of NFIC was observed in gastric cancer cells. Knockdown of NFIC significantly inhibited the viability, colony formation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells. Overexpression of miR-9-5p obviously suppressed the viability, colony formation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells, and this phenomenon was aggravated by si-NFIC. Additionally, the expression levels of PCNA, vimentin, and Snail were obviously decreased after miR-9-5p mimic or/and si-NFIC treatment. Conclusions These results suggested that NFIC was highly expressed in gastric cancer cells, and knockdown of NFIC suppressed the growth and mobility of gastric cancer cells; miR-9-5p was identified as an upstream regulator of NFIC and suppressed the malignant behaviors of gastric cancer cells by targeting NFIC through affecting PCNA, vimentin, and Snail expression.


An analytical method for the determination of glucose, fructose, isomaltose, isomaltotriose, maltose, panose and maltotriose was developed by high performance anion exchange chromatography coupled with integrated pulsed amperometric detection. The analysis was performed on a CarboPa™ 10 column with gradient elution of NaOH-NaOAc as mobile phases. The seven sugars were well separated in less than 26 min and showed good linear correlation coefficients between 0.5 and 50 mg/L. The detection limits (LODs) were 0.1 g/L. The recoveries ranged from 76.5% to 108.4% at different spiked levels. The relative standard deviations were between 3.02% and 8.23%. The established method was applied in determining the seven sugars in different batches of Shaoxing Jiafan rice wines from different manufacturers. The standard fingerprints were established by median values using the obtained results. Similarities of the fingerprints of the samples to the standard were calculated by using angle cosine. The results showed that the similarities of wines from different manufacturers were significantly different, so the method could be used for the identification of rice wines from different manufacturers.


During the last years the research for new scintillation crystals has been crucial for the improvement of imaging performance in nuclear medicine applications. Crytur company has recently released two new scintillators named CRY-018 and CRY-019 which are non hygroscopic, have short decay time and low refraction index. They represent the ideal candidates to substitute NaI:Tl and BGO crystals in future PET ad SPECT applications. The purpose of this work is to characterize this unknown crystals, look for possible applications in imaging for nuclear medicine. The results of this work were compared with the results obtained with a LaBr3:ce scintillation crystal. This particular crystal is used as a comparison benchmark because of its strong linear pulse height uniformity response and high energy resolution. Measurements have been performed with a high count rate which is typical for medical applications. Irradiation of the crystals have been performed in three different geometries and in a photon energy range suitable with SPECT and PET applications. The experimental results identify the CRY-018 as an Yttrium and Silicon mixture and the CRY-019 with as Lutetium and Silicon one. Moreover a light yield of about 45% of LaBr3 one, was obtained for both the CRY-018 and CRY-019. This is one of the higher light yield between most of the scintillation crystals usually used in nuclear medicine. Both crystals are characterized by a non-proportionality in the pulse height linearity response. Energy resolutions of 7.4% for CRY-018 and 8.4% for CRY-019 at 661 keV, have been measured. The intrinsic component of the energy resolution has been esteemed for all three scintillators. An intrinsic detection efficiency of about 45% at 122 keV for CRY-018 and 14% at 661 keV for CRY-019 has been measured. Compared with LaBr3:Ce efficiency, which is highly deteriorated by the coating required by the hygroscopicity, CRY-018 and CRY-019 are really interesting considering that these two samples are only 6 mm thick. Crytur's crystals seem to be suitable for nuclear medicine applications.


In this work, we present an experimental measurement of temperature and strain sensitivities of a micro-drilled optical fiber (MDOF). The MDOF consisted of a quasi-randomly distributed reflector along a single mode fiber (SMF). A fiber cavity laser based on MDOF was experimentally studied, attaining a single-wavelength laser emission centered at 1568.6nm. The output power level obtained from this single-laser oscillation when pumped at 140mW was around - 9.6dBm, and an optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) of around 45dB was measured. Although temperature sensitivities of fiber Bragg gratings used as sensors are similar to our MDOF, strain sensitivity is enhanced around one order of magnitude when the MDOF was used.


Education for employability is one of the greatest challenge for Higher education institutions in Europe, but especially in Spain. The European Higher Education Area assumes that competence development becomes crucial to connect higher education curricula with evolving labour market demands. The Authentic Learning Scenarios foster the competence development bringing work experience to the formal learning. Considering that online learning methodologies seems to have a relevant role into a life long learning perspective to achieve authentic learning environments is a singular challenge. We have introduced the authentic learnig scenarios attributes into a specific subject and we have tested its impact on students competence profile. Apart from testing if the new subject design is effectively atuthentic, the findings show that when the learning process includes authenticity the students perception about their perfomance in the competence more relevant for the job market improves.


This paper presents a numerical study of a deterministic discretization procedure for multistage stochastic programs where the underlying stochastic process has a continuous probability distribution. The discretization procedure is based on quasi-Monte Carlo techniques originally developed for numerical multivariate integration. The solutions of the discretized problems are evaluated by statistical bounds obtained from random sample average approximations and out-of-sample simulations. In the numerical tests, the optimal values of the discretizations as well as their first-stage solutions approach those of the original infinite-dimensional problem as the discretizations are made finer.


In future wireless networks, cooperation between the base stations may reduce the effects of intercell interference and enhance the capacity per cell. In this paper, the potential of such cooperation is evaluated using measurements of the information- theoretic channel capacity at 5.2 GHz in 4 overlapping urban macrocells with 5 users. In each link, a 10-transmit 16-receive antenna configuration is used. Results for individual links between terminals and base stations, valid for 60% of the scenarios, indicate that the direct signal has a significant impact on the channel structure. The direct signal contributes two spatial degrees of freedom due to the polarization. Rich scattering is observed when the direct signal is blocked. Results for the multiuser multicell scenario demonstrate for the first time experimentally that the intercell interference leads to an enhanced rank of the joint multiuser multicell channel matrix. Compared to a conventional cellular system, where a fixed assignment of different radio resources is used in adjacent cells in order to avoid the interference, it is better to exploit the interference by cooperation. This enhances the spectral efficiency by a factor of five in our measurement scenario.


In general,  the high  and low price  of a commodity  is very important  for a trading company in selling the products so increasing  its sales volume. Price is one ele- ment of a marketing  strategy is used as a benchmark  for consumers  to obtain goods or services, so as to achieve the objectives of the company  (at a profit).While  sales volume is all of the  sales result  that can be achieved  by a company  and  can be measured  by specific units. Usually the lower price of product  it can increase sales volume, while high price of product  will resulting  in decreased  sales volume. But in fact the consumers  is often assume the price is the determining factor of a product  quality, high price goods is generally considered  to have better quality  than the goods whose have  low prices. The method used in the research is quantitative,  the research conducted  at Minimarket  espe- cially in Indomaret Manisrejo Madiun city. The data obtained from the documentation  of the closing monthly  data of Indomaret Manisrejo  in Madiun which are contain list price and sales volume.  The result  of analysis  data obtained  in this research using regression correlation  test, F test, and t test. In correlation values obtained rhit = sig(prob) (0,84 >= 0,05), so we can conclude that H, is accepted it means there is no relationship between the price  of the  fried  instant noodle  sales  volume  in minimarket Indomaret Manisrejo in Madiun  city. Fisher's test values  obtained  in Fbit sigprob(0,84  > 0,05).  So we  can conclude  that Ho is accepted its means that no price impact  on the sales volume  of instant  fried noodle  on minimarket Indomaret Manisrejo in Madiun.  While  in regression coefficient test / test t values  obtained  thit sigprob (0,84  > 0,05), it can  be  concluded that  H, is accepted, it means  that  there  is no difference  price  to price  effect  of sales  volume fried instant  noodle  on minimarket Indomaret Manisrejo in Madiun.