1 The process of awareness raising should be seen as an important factor in enhancing knowledge of information security issues and developing appropriate behavior in response to them. In the project described here, this is carried out by means of awareness training based on experience-oriented learning scenarios, coaching, and mentoring concepts. These have been partially modified or newly developed on the basis of previous projects, drawing on concrete everyday school situations, using appropriate language, and applying three different levels of difficulty. A total of about 600 pupils from five pilot schools in Berlin and Brandenburg are participating in this research project. In the classes involved, information events, online surveys, trainings, and creative workshops were offered. Attempts are also being made to train teachers and provide parents with information to help ensure an ongoing impact in schools with long-term effects. Pupils were able to take the exam for the IT security module of the International Computer Driving License. One teacher per pilot school was able to take part in the very extensive training and certification to become an information security officer. After all the trainings and experience-oriented measures that have been carried out, it is clear that teachers have developed and implemented new teaching ideas, and that the important topic of information security has been made more understandable for pupils.


Abstract : Future CMPs will have more cores and greater onchip cache capacity. The on-chip cache can either be divided into separate private L2 caches for each core, or treated as a large shared L2 cache. Private caches provide low hit latency but low capacity, while shared caches have higher hit latencies but greater capacity. Victim replication was previously introduced as a way of reducing the average hit latency of a shared cache by allowing a processor to make a replica of a primary cache victim in its local slice of the global L2 cache. Although victim replication performs well on multithreaded and single-threaded codes, it performs worse than the private scheme for multiprogrammed workloads where there is little sharing between the different programs running at the same time. In this paper, we propose victim migration, which improves on victim replication by adding an additional set of migration tags on each node which are used to implement an exclusive cache policy for replicas. When a replica has been created on a remote node, it is not also cached on the home node, but only recorded in the migration tags. This frees up space on the home node to store shared global lines or replicas for the local processor. We show that victim migration performs better than private, shared, and victim replication schemes across a range of single threaded, multithreaded, and multiprogrammed workloads, while using less area than a private cache design. Victim migration provides a reduction in average memory access latency of up to 10% over victim replication.


As backyard poultry (BYP) ownership has increased in the US, the demand for veterinarians who treat BYP has also increased. However, veterinarians who treat BYP remain scarce and are mostly small animal veterinarians and exotic animal practitioners who have limited training in food animal regulatory practices. To gauge whether veterinary students are interested in learning more about BYP and what BYP topics to include in an online training program for veterinary students, a BYP knowledge assessment was conducted. Pre-clinical veterinary students were asked to self-rate their level of knowledge on various topics for both small animal practice and BYP using Likert-type ordinal scales. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests of those Likert data showed significant differences (p < .01 at α = .05) between self-assessed knowledge of poultry and small animal medicine for all surveyed topics. Specifically, veterinary students ranked themselves as less knowledgeable on poultry concepts than on small animal medicine concepts. Nevertheless, students expressed interest in an online training program for treating BYP and drug residue avoidance in BYP, despite having chosen future career tracks that are not exclusively poultry. Specific topics students expressed interest in with respect to BYP training included anatomy, husbandry, prescribing medications, treatment options, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, and extra-label drug use.


The parameters of the general and cerebral hemodynamics were studied in 36 patients with chronic insufficiency of the cerebral circulation following papaverine administration. In patients with the early stages of the disease, papaverine elicited a decrease in the arterial pressure and the peripheral resistance to the blood flow. The amplitude of the rheographic curve increased significantly two minutes after the intravenous injection of papaverine. Papaverine is recommended for patients with the compensatory and remitting stages of the disease. In latent cardiovascular insufficiency, papaverine should be combined with cardiogenic agents and drugs promoting metabolism in the cardiac muscle.


In this column, the author humorously relates how a childbirth educator transporting medical antiques caused a stir in airport security.


Knowledge is a strategic resource for knowledge intensive organizations like commercial banks. However, the use of knowledge as resource depends on an organization's ability to select, capture, store, disseminate and apply its knowledge resources. This organizational capability is created if the organization undertakes explicit initiatives to establish and sustain a KMS as one of its core business functions. An empirical investigation of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) shows that there is no explicit initiative or responsible unit to manage its knowledge resources. This study uses a design science research method to investigate the problems KM in CBE and propose KMS architecture which is believed, when implemented, to solve current problems. The main theoretical contribution of the study is that it demonstrates how to design a KMS architecture using system analysis and ontology methods. The paper has also implication for practice as it suggests solutions for observed problems and ways to increase CBE's capability to use its knowledge resources.


Abstract : In response to a mandate by The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2008, Section 222, the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) was tasked by the Department of Defense to carry out an independent study to examine and make recommendations with respect to the long-term missions, roles, and structure of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The scope of the review included panel discussions with leadership from the Army; Navy; Air Force; Joint Staff; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; Director, Operational Test and Evaluation; Program Analysis and Evaluation; and the Defense Information Systems Agency, as well as MDA. Several discussions were also held with contractors supporting MDA. The review also included site visits to United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), United States Northern Command, Air Force Space Command, the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, and MDA at Redstone Arsenal. This report summarizes the study findings and recommendations.


Official policy talk of "choice" for people with intellectual impairments tends towards
fundamental life-choices (e.g. who to marry, what job to work at) at the expense of
the minor but more frequent concerns of daily living (when to wash, what to eat,
where to go in the evening). Statutes and Mission Statements are unspecific about
how any such choices, big or small, are, or should be, offered. It is also silent on the
relation of choices to institutional imperatives. To redress the balance, we report on
five everyday varieties of choices in a (British) residential home. The data come from
an ethnographic study of residential services for people with intellectual impairment,
located within a National Health Service Trust in the South of England. Over the
course of nine months, a researcher (one of the authors, C.W.) engaged with residents
and staff in two residences in the geographical boundaries of this Trust. He took
ethnographic field notes of everyday interactions, and made video and audio
recordings. Conversation Analysis was used to explicate the interactions. It showed
how staff, although undoubtedly well-meaning, can use the discourse of choice to
promote institutional managerial objectives, and we discuss the gap between such
practice and overarching policy theory and recommendation.


L in Abstract The metabolism, excretion and pharmacokinetics of S -allyl- L -cysteine (SAC), an active key component of garlic supplements, were examined in rats and dogs. A single dose of SAC was administered orally or intravenously to rats (5 mg/kg) and dogs (2 mg/kg). SAC was well absorbed (bioavailabilities of > 90%) and its four metabolites, N -acetyl- S -allyl- L -cysteine (NAc-SAC), N -acetyl- S -allyl- L -cysteine sulfoxide (NAc-SACS), S -allyl- L -cysteine sulfoxide (SACS) and L - γ -glutamyl- S -allyl- L -cysteine, were identified in the plasma and/or urine. Renal clearance values (< 0.01 l/h/kg) of SAC indicated its extensive renal reabsorption, which contributed to the long elimination half-life of SAC, especially in dogs (12 h). The metabolism of SAC to NAc-SAC, principal metabolite of SAC, was studied in vitro and in vivo . Liver and kidney S9 fractions of rat and dog catalyzed both N -acetylation of SAC and deacetylation of NAc-SAC. Following the intravenous administration of NAc-SAC, SAC appeared in the plasma and its concentration declined in parallel with that of NAc-SAC. These results suggested that the rate and extent of the formation of NAc-SAC was determined by the N -acetylation and deacetylation activities of liver and kidney. Also, NAc-SACS was detected in the plasma following the intravenous administration of either NAc-SAC or SACS, suggesting that NAc-SACS could be formed via both N -acetylation of SACS and S -oxidation of NAc-SAC. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that pharmacokinetics of SAC in rats and dogs was characterized by its high oral bioavailability, N -acetylation and S -oxidation metabolisms, and extensive renal reabsorption, indicating the critical roles of liver and kidney in the elimination of SAC. non-compartmental Maximum plasma concentration and time to reach the maximum concentration were determined directly from the experimental data. The area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) was calculated by the trapezoidal rule. Bioavailability (BA) was calculated by the ratio of AUC values following oral and i.v. administration of SAC. -acetylation metabolism studies of NAc-SAC reaction mixtures added terminate and After centrifugation, portion of the supernatants was evaporated to dryness. The residues were dissolved in solvent A and analyzed with LC-MS/MS. of to acids and water (Griffith et al., The metabolism of SAC to GSAC by this enzyme will be investigated in our future study.


PURPOSE
To describe the differences between de novo uveitis in elderly patients (≥60 years of age) and younger patients (< 60 years of age) in Colombia.

METHODS
Observational, analytic, cross-sectional study.

RESULTS
In the elderly group, idiopathic was the most common type of uveitis, followed by immune-mediated and infectious uveitis.No masquerade syndromes were diagnosed. Elderly patients had worse average visual acuities than young. Significant differences between both groups were observed in corneal edema, macular edema, cataract, glaucoma, and epiretinal membrane. Additionally, there were differences in the drugs used, such as topical hypotensive drugs, ocular lubricants, topical steroids, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, and adalimumab.

CONCLUSION
The present study demonstrated significant differences between elderly and young Colombian patients with de novo uveitis. The ophthalmologists should be aware of these patterns of presentation, which would help reach an adequate diagnosis and prevent complications based on the characteristics of each group.


The importance of canvassing multiple levels of stakeholders (i.e. Strategic, Managerial, Operational and Technical) for measuring information system (IS) success has been discussed by academics for several decades. From the literature, it is apparent that IS success researchers have measured IS success from different groups of stakeholders. This make results difficult to compare. It becomes more complicated when there are many classifications of IS stakeholders suggested in the literature. With different level of users, there are many arguments on whose perspective is important when measuring IS. Some IS success researchers argue that IS Success can be measured from only selected level of stakeholders, thus different measures are needed for different level of stakeholders. Others suggest that canvassing all level of stakeholders would be beneficial to arrive at a complete and meaningful IS success score. In this paper, we present findings from a survey that indicates that different groups of stakeholders have differing views when evaluating the success of an IS. However, we disagree that different set of measures should be used for different level of stakeholders. Based on the empirical evidence that we collected at four state governments in Malaysia, we recommend that IS should be evaluated across all level of stakeholders in order to arrive at a holistic impact score.


Objectives: In this study, intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) was compared with posterior subtenon injection of TA for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). Materials and Methods: In this prospective, open, randomized, parallel group, comparative study, 60 patients of diabetic macular oedema visiting the Department of Ophthalmology, Govt. Medical College, Patiala were included. The patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria and having none of the exclusion criteria were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Patients were then randomized into two groups (group I, II) and received intravitreal and posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide, respectively. The comparison was based on change in best corrected visual acuity and macular thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT). The results were subjected to statistical analysis and observations thus made in both groups were compared. Results: With intravitreal TA, the mean pre-treatment CMT, mean post-treatment CMT and mean reduction in CMT were 395.53 ± 15.31 μm, 221.2 ± 10.71 μm and 174.33 μm (44.08 %) while the mean pre-treatment VA, mean post-treatment VA and mean improvement in VA were 0.79 ± 0.16, 0.51 ± 0.15 and 0.28 (36.11 %) logMAR units. With posterior subtenon TA, the mean pretreatment CMT, mean post-treatment CMT and mean reduction in CMT were 394.43 ± 15.03 μm, 247.3 ± 11.82 μm and 147.13 μm (37.3 %) while the mean pre-treatment VA, mean post-treatment VA and mean improvement in VA were 0.81 ± 0.15, 0.58 ± 0.14 and 0.23 (28.24 %) logMAR units. The mean pre-treatment IOP, mean post-treatment IOP and mean rise in IOP with intravitreal TA were 16.67 ± 1.92 mm Hg, 18.87 ± 1.81 mm Hg and 2.2 mm Hg (13.19 %), whereas with posterior subtenon TA were 16.87 ± 1.85 mm Hg, 17.4 ± 1.59 mm Hg and 0.53 (3.14 %). Conclusions: When used in diabetic macular edema, intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide is more effective than posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide in reducing the central macular thickness, although it produces a greater rise in IOP than PST. Key-words: Central macular thickness, Diabetic macular edema, IOP, triamcinolone. Access this article online Quick Response Code: Website: www.innovativepublication.com


BACKGROUND
Reports of malformed frogs have increased throughout the North American continent in recent years. Most of the observed malformations have involved the hind limbs. The goal of this study was to accurately characterize the hind limb malformations in wild frogs as an important step toward understanding the possible etiologies.

METHODS
During 1997 and 1998, 182 recently metamorphosed northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) were collected from Minnesota, Vermont, and Maine. Malformed hind limbs were present in 157 (86%) of these frogs, which underwent necropsy and radiographic evaluation at the National Wildlife Health Center. These malformations are described in detail and classified into four major categories: (1) no limb (amelia); (2) multiple limbs or limb elements (polymelia, polydactyly, polyphalangy); (3) reduced limb segments or elements (phocomelia, ectromelia, ectrodactyly, and brachydactyly; and (4) distally complete but malformed limb (bone rotations, bridging, skin webbing, and micromelia).

RESULTS
Amelia and reduced segments and/or elements were the most common finding. Frogs with bilateral hind limb malformations were not common, and in only eight of these 22 frogs were the malformations symmetrical. Malformations of a given type tended to occur in frogs collected from the same site, but the types of malformations varied widely among all three states, and between study sites within Minnesota.

CONCLUSIONS
Clustering of malformation type suggests that developmental events may produce a variety of phenotypes depending on the timing, sequence, and severity of the environmental insult. Hind limb malformations in free-living frogs transcend current mechanistic explanations of tetrapod limb development.


The third‐generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs) anastrozole, exemestane and letrozole have largely replaced tamoxifen as the preferred treatment for hormone receptor – positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Approximately 185,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed yearly, and at least half of these women are both postmenopausal and eligible for adjuvant therapy with AIs. In addition, AIs are currently being tested as primary prevention therapy in large randomised trials involving tens of thousands of women at increased risk for breast cancer. Given the volume of use, internists will increasingly see postmenopausal women who are taking or considering treatment with AIs. Physicians need to be able to: (i) briefly discuss the pros and cons of using a selective estrogen receptor modulator such as tamoxifen or raloxifene vs. an AI for risk reduction and (ii) recognise and manage AI‐associated adverse events. The primary purpose of this review is to help internists with these two tasks.


In 1924, the artist Yamamura K6ka (1885-1942) produced a colour woodcut depicting the dance hall of the New Carlton Hotel in Shanghai. In this print, two women are seated at a round table. One has bobbed hair; the other wears a red hat. Both wear western dress, but the embroidered jacket draped on one of the chairs suggests the fashion for Chinoiserie. Two cocktail glasses on the table contain red cherries. Several couples dance in the background of the picture, the women all with similar bobbed hair. The male dancing partners are barely visible and the women are seen from behind, giving them a sense of anonymity. The lack of individual features of the women dancing in the background also suggests a degree of interchangeability between the women. They are most likely "taxi dancers", who dance with the male patrons for a fee paid to the dance hall. The ethnicised and racialised positioning of the dancing women is unclear, but at least one of the seated women appears to be of "European" appearance. The women in the dance hall, with their bobbed hair, western dress and cocktails clearly reference the style of the "modern girl".


Christians frequently resist evolutionary theory, believing it to be incompatible with the core values of their tradition. But what exactly are the tensions between evolution and religious faith in the area of human morality? "Evolution and Ethics" examines the burning questions of human morality from the standpoint of Christian thought and contemporary biology, asking where the two perspectives diverge and where they may complement one another. Representing a significant dialogue between world-class scientists, philosophers, and theologians, this volume explores the central features of biological and religious accounts of human morality, introducing the leading theories and locating the key points of contention. Central to these discussions are the questions of whether human actions are ever genuinely selfless, whether there is something in the moral life that transcends biological function, and whether one can sensibly speak of an overall purpose to the course of evolution. Certain to engage scholars, students, and general readers alike, "Evolution and Ethics" offers a balanced, levelheaded, constructive approach to an often divisive debate. Contributors: "Larry ArnhartChristopher BoehmCraig A. BoydRobert BoydMichael J. ChapmanPhilip ClaytonLoren HaarsmaJohn HareS. Mark HeimDavid C. LahtiThomas Jay OordGregory R. PetersonJoseph PoulshockPeter J. RichersonPhilip A. RolnickHolmes Rolston IIIMichael RuseJeffrey SchlossRene van Woudenberg""


Objectives Parenteral nutrition (PN) costs approximately £80 per day per bag. Unpredictable changes in patients' clinical condition, venous access loss or reasons related to the processes involved in administering PN can lead to PN wastage. Cost efficiencies are imperative to optimise limited resource utilisation in all current healthcare economies. We undertook a quality improvement (QI) project to reduce PN wastage in an adult acute hospital setting. The project SMART's (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based) objective was reducing in-patient PN wastage by 10% in 9 months using QI methodology on a national intestinal failure unit (IFU). Method Wastage reasons were evaluated through pareto charts to target waste reduction using 'Plan, Do, Study, Act' (PDSA) cycles. Variation was mapped using c-charts. Results 12-week baseline wastage data predicted 1000 bags wasted per annum (p.a.). PDSA cycles actioned included: regular enhanced clinical team awareness of wastage; unused PN bags redistributed within expiry date; stock bag rotation; critical path analysis of PN bag journey; enhanced discharge planning/coordination; reorganisation of fridge PN storage according to weekday; changing ordering frequency and bag type (from tailored to standard) to increase flexibility around discharge date and PN weaning. Implementation of PDSA cycles led to a 34% reduction in PN wastage in 9 months. Conclusion In a high-use IFU, PN wastage is common and costly. Using a QI approach with concurrent PDSA cycles and a motivated multidisciplinary team, high levels of wastage reduction are possible with associated significant cost savings and from this study a predicted cost saving of approximately £30 000 p.a.


Arid and semi-arid climates are mainly characterised as those areas where precipitation is less (and often considerably less) than potential evapotranspiration. These climate regions are ideal environments for salt to accumulate in natural soil and groundwater settings since evaporation and transpiration essentially remove freshwater from the system, leaving residual salts behind. Similarly, the characteristically low precipitation rates reduce the potential for salt to be diluted by rainfall. Thus arid and semi-arid regions make ideal 'salt concentrator' hydrologic environments. Indeed, salt flats, playas, sabkhas and saline lakes, for example, are ubiquitous features of arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world (Yechieli and Wood,2002). In such settings, variable density flow phenomena are expected to be important, especially where hypersaline brines overlie less dense groundwater at depth. In contrast, seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers is a global phenomenon that is not constrained to only arid and semi-arid regions of the globe and is inherently a variable density flow problem by its very nature. These two examples make it clear that variable density flow problems occur in, but importantly extend beyond, arid and semi-arid regions of the globe. The intention of this chapter is therefore not to limit ourselves to modelling arid zone hydrological systems, but rather to present a more general treatment of variable density groundwater flow and solute transport phenomena and modelling. The concepts presented in this chapter are therefore not climatologically constrained to arid or semi-arid zones of the world, although they do apply equally there.


The main principle of ideomotor theory is that neural codes for action are closely associated with neural codes for perception. These kinds of associations are built through experience with a given action-effect pairing. In action imagination, conceiving of an action's effects can activate the neural code for that action and facilitate internal motor simulation. Recent work has supported this notion; a stronger association between action and effect codes, acquired through experience, produces imagined movement times (MTs) that are more similar to actual execution MTs. The purpose of the current study was to determine if this effect of experience transfers to movement contexts that are similar to, but are not actually the movement contexts that were experienced. To this end, participants imagined themselves executing a continuous tapping task before and after execution of the task. Critically, the indexes of difficulty (IDs) experienced were manipulated such that participants were asked to imagine movements at levels of difficulty they did not experience. The critical finding was that execution experience at IDs above and below (ID = 2, 4) those that were non-executed (ID = 3) lead to a decrease in imagined MTs closer to actual MTs, whereas experience at lower IDs (ID = 2, 3, 4) did not lead to a decrease in imaged MT for IDs that were beyond those experienced (ID = 5-6). This result can be accounted for by differences in movement patterns between movements at lower and higher IDs, suggesting that experience-based action-effect binding is specific to a given action. Acknowledgments: This research was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.


We compare various signal detection techniques for high-density digital versatile disc (DVD) systems in terms of performance and hardware complexity, and propose a fixed-delay trellis search with decision feedback (FDTrS/DF) suitable for ASIC chip implementation. Based on various simulation and implementation results, it is shown that the proposed FDTrS/DF provides the best performance among various signal detection techniques, such as partial response maximum likelihood (PRML), decision feedback equalizer (DFE), fixed-delay tree search with decision feedback (FDTS/DF), and signal space detection with decision feedback (SSD/DF), even with low hardware complexity.


Blended and coaxial fibers comprising polycaprolactone and gelatin, containing the endogenous nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), were electrospun. Both types of fibers had their NO release profiles tested under physiological conditions to examine their potential applications as biomedical scaffolds. The coaxial fibers exhibited a prolonged and consistent release of NO over the course of 4 d from the core-encapsulated GSNO, while the blended fibers had a large initial release and leaching of GSNO that was exhausted over a shorter period of time. Bacterial testing of both fiber scaffolds was conducted over a 24 h period against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and demonstrated a 3-log reduction in bacterial viability. In addition, no cytotoxic response was reported when the material was tested on mouse fibroblast cells in vitro. These fibrous matrices were also shown to support cell growth, attachment, and overall activity of fibroblasts when exposed to NO, especially when GSNO was encapsulated within coaxial fibers. From an application point of view, these NO-releasing fibers offer great potential in tissue engineering and biomedical applications because of the crucial role of NO in regulating a variety of biological processes in humans such as angiogenesis, tissue remodeling, and eliminating foreign pathogens.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is a standard treatment to prevent and shrink PCa growing. However, some patients undergoing ADT may finally develop to hormone-insensitive PCa. The underlying mechanisms haven't been fully elucidated. Here we found ADT-Enz led to increased PCa cell invasion, yet decreased BCa cell invasion. Our goal is to 1.reveal mechanisms of Enz induced hormoneinsensitive PCa and find a potential combination therapy. 2. reveal mechanisms of ADT role in BCa and provide an evidence of applying ADT in BCa. METHODS: The human PCa and BCa cells: C4-2, CWR22Rv1, T24 and TCC-SUP were used. Lentiviral plasmids were used to generate gene engineering tools. qPCR and Western blot were used to detect gene expressions. Invasion assay were applied to determine cancer cell invasion capability. Protein-DNA binding complexes were detected by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. PPARGC1B/PDK1 30UTR regions were cloned into the psiCHECKTM-2 vector to assay the miRNA functions. Preclinical mouse PCa model was used to evaluate the anti-cancer efficacy of Enz and circRNA-ARC1 blockage. RESULTS: Mechanistic dissection revealed that suppressing androgens/AR signals could result in differential alterations of the selective circular RNAs (circRNAs) as a result of differential endogenous AR transcription. A negative autoregulation in PCa, yet a positive autoregulation in BCa, as a result of differential binding of AR to different androgen-response elements (AREs) and a discriminating histone H3K4 methylation. Further mechanistic studies indicated that AR-encoded circRNA-ARC1 might sponge the availability of the miR125b-2-3p and/or miR-4736 to impact the metastasis-related PPARg/ MMP-9 signals. The preclinical mouse model confirms in vitro cell lines data, showing that Enz treatment could increase PCa metastasis, which can be suppressed after iknockdown of circRNAARC1. Together, these results demonstrate that antiandrogen therapy with Enz treatment may differentially lead to promoting PCa cell invasion, yet decreasing BCa cell invasion. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to reveal ADT-Enz treatment can promote PCa Cell Invasion yet decrease BCa cell Invasion via differentially regulating the AR/circRNA-ARC1/miR-125b2-3p or MiR-4736/PPARg/MMP-9 Signals. Furthermore, our findings may help in development of novel therapeutic approaches to increase the Enz efficacy with less adverse effects in patients with PCa, and providing an evidence of applying ADT in BCa.


Assesses the feasibility of retrieving soil moisture content over smooth bare-soil fields using European Remote Sensing synthetic aperture radar (ERS-SAR) data. The roughness conditions considered in this study correspond to those observed in agricultural fields at the time of sowing. Within this context, the retrieval possibilities of a single-parameter ERS-SAR configuration is assessed using appropriately trained neural networks. Three sources of error affecting soil moisture retrieval (inversion, measurement, and model errors) are identified, and their relative influence on retrieval performance is assessed using synthetic datasets as well as a large pan-European database of ground and ERS-1 and ERS-2 measurements. The results from this study indicate that no more than two soil moisture classes can reliably be distinguished using the ERS configuration, even for the restricted roughness range considered.


Abstract Although research has shown that HRM can contribute to innovation, only limited scholarly attention has been given to the bottom-up emergence of innovation based on an employees' ideas. Furthermore, while scholars have accumulated knowledge about innovative behavior in business contexts where innovation is nurtured, to fully understand 'innovation by employees' we need to also address business contexts where innovation by employees is not overtly expected. For these reasons, the aim of this paper is to explore the bottom-up emergence of so-called employee-driven innovation (EDI) in a formalized business context and study how HRM support mechanisms contribute to this. We conducted an explorative single case study in a highly formalized company – a medical laboratory in the Netherlands. The data analysis was based on 40 interviews, documents, and observations. We found that a highly formalized business context does support innovation by employees, but that this has specific employee-driven innovation routes through which employees innovate. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the content and process of EDI emergence should be studied using a multilevel perspective. We offer recommendations on how EDI routes should be modelled and reflect on what this contributes to the HRM – innovation literature. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1913625 .


Adopting healthy behaviors can prevent the onset of many adverse health conditions. However, behavior changes are difficult to make, and often, people who like to improve their behaviors do not know how to do that. Personalizable intervention systems could assist them to achieve healthy behavior change. These systems decide what would be the optimal intervention for the target user based on his or her characteristics, including current and past behavior patterns. In this thesis, we propose novel solutions that address the main challenges in building a personalizable intervention system to promote healthy behavior change. First, we propose a system based on a Bayesian mixture model to identify subpopulations with different behavior changes from longitudinal data. This system is especially suitable when the amount of data is limited, and when there are unobserved factors that might affect behavior change. Second, we propose CLINT, a system based on a latent-variable model, to discover and predict behavior change patterns from fine-grained sensor data. The novelty of this system is that it produces interpretable patterns that could be used to suggest successful behavior change strategies from the existing users similar to the target user. Third, we propose a personalizable intervention system to improve the physical activeness of senior adults. The main novelty of this system is that it uses historical time series fitness data to decide which intervention to recommend. Finally, we propose ACFR, an adversarial approach to reduce intervention bias in observational data. This approach learns a balanced representation of the covariates that allows personalizable intervention systems to make a better estimate of the intervention effect. Our solutions turn existing human behavior data into actionable insights for future users who may have unhealthy lifestyles.


A graph is called s-regular if its automorphism group acts regularly on the set of its s-arcs. In this paper, we classify all connected cubic s-regular graphs of order 6p3 for each s ≥ 1 and all primes p.


This paper researches the role of the port authorities in port governance, and the role of the port authorities in Port Community System implementation. The authors provide the theoretical frameworks of seaports, port authorities, port governance, and Port Community Systems. The literature review was carried out using the Web of Science database and additional relevant sources. The authors concluded that although different port governance models exist (regarding the type of port authority), there is no evidence as to which governance model is universally preferable, as it is specific to each seaport. In addition, the research has shown that port authorities play a very important role in the implementation of a Port Community System, increasing the sustainability of seaport operations. Its implementation enables the port authorities to evolve into real digital hubs and neutral data managers, which ultimately leads to the optimization of seaport processes and more efficient use of transport infrastructure.


The Andean foreland thrust belt would appear to be the perfect test locality for models of climatic control on thrust belt geometry and evolution. To evaluate this possibility, we examine three transects across the thrust belt: the Subandean belt at [approximately]15[degrees] and 20[degrees]S, and the Precordillera at 30[degrees]S, where current precipitation is 1000-2400 mm/yr, 400-800 mm/yr, and 200 mm/yr, respectively. Thrust belt width is directly correlated with average topographic slope and shortening. The northern Subandean belt and the Precordillera are both narrow (70 and 50 km), have high surface slopes of 2.5-3.5[degrees], and have net shortening >60% whereas the intervening southern Subandean belt is 90-110 km wide, has a slope of 0.5-1[degrees], and <50% shortening. Additional non-thrust belt shortening in the north occurs as major strike slip faults and in the south as basement uplifts. The formation of the Altiplano plateau west of the Subandean thrust belt required both Neogene and Quaternary magmatism and large magnitude shortening; neither alone would be sufficient to form the Altiplano. Second order plateau width variations may be climatically controlled. There are two significant controls on thrust belt geometry; the pre-existing basin architecture (i.e., width, thickness, number of competent units, pre-existing structures) and the Andeanmore » plate setting(arc magmatism, oblique shortening and strike-slip faulting, and basement up-lifts). The climatic influence is most clear in drainage and denudation patterns which determine the locus of sediment redistribution (i.e. piggyback basins, provenance of foreland basin fill), but otherwise climate remains an elusive control.« less


This study investigated bio-based plastic cushioning materials foamed through water phase-change characteristics using the natural by-product wheat bran. Experiments were carried out while increasing the wheat bran content from 20% to 70% in a blended composite material of polypropylene (PP) and wheat bran (WB). From the experimental results, we were able to prepare a bio-based plastic cushion that contained a high amount of natural materials, with a bran content of over 50%. This indicates the possibility of meeting the criteria for biodegradable plastics, as well as bio-based plastics. In this study, by inducing a foaming ratio of 95% or more, a volume-expansion ratio from 16 times to over 62 times was achieved. In addition, the optimal mixing condition for inducing a high-expansion foam was when the mixing ratio of PP and WB was 50/50, and the water content of the foaming agent was 25 parts per hundred resin. Finally, dynamic cushioning characteristics of PP50/WB50 composite foam prepared in this study and Polystyrene (PS) bead based commercial products were compared. The composite foam of this study showed comparable values, confirming commercialization possibility.


We investigated interactions between Typhoon Choi-wan (2009) and the Kuroshio Extension system with a coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model in 14 numerical simulations performed with initial conditions obtained from daily oceanic reanalysis data for the northwestern Pacific Ocean from September 12 to September 25, 2009. Preexisting oceanic conditions affected the simulated central pressure and the inner-core axisymmetric structure of the simulated typhoon differently during the intensification, mature, and decaying phases, but they had little impact on the simulated track. Among the simulations, the simulated central pressure range during the mature phase was ~10 hPa. Simulated central pressure was highly correlated with the axisymmetric mean horizontal specific humidity flux between radii of 50 and 150 km and altitudes of 20 to ~2000 m, suggesting that this flux has potential as a new metric for predicting tropical cyclone intensity. Variations in preexisting oceanic conditions in the Kuroshio Extension region on the simulated atmospheric and oceanic horizontal fields affected the typhoon and a nearby stationary front differently. Around the stationary front, the impact on hourly precipitation was closely related to that on surface wind speed, whereas the impact on surface temperature was greatly affected by that on sea surface temperature through the latent heat flux.


This work presents CloudMC, a cloud computing application—developed in Windows Azure®, the platform of the Microsoft® cloud—for the parallelization of Monte Carlo simulations in a dynamic virtual cluster. CloudMC is a web application designed to be independent of the Monte Carlo code in which the simulations are based—the simulations just need to be of the form: input files → executable → output files. To study the performance of CloudMC in Windows Azure®, Monte Carlo simulations with penelope were performed on different instance (virtual machine) sizes, and for different number of instances. The instance size was found to have no effect on the simulation runtime. It was also found that the decrease in time with the number of instances followed Amdahl's law, with a slight deviation due to the increase in the fraction of non-parallelizable time with increasing number of instances. A simulation that would have required 30 h of CPU on a single instance was completed in 48.6 min when executed on 64 instances in parallel (speedup of 37 ×). Furthermore, the use of cloud computing for parallel computing offers some advantages over conventional clusters: high accessibility, scalability and pay per usage. Therefore, it is strongly believed that cloud computing will play an important role in making Monte Carlo dose calculation a reality in future clinical practice.


This letter uses the fanout-of-4 (FO4) metric to analyze the semiconductor process (SP) dependent maximal switching frequency (MSF) of a digital pulsewidth modulator (DPWM). After discussing the choke effect in a self-oscillating hybrid (SOH) DPWM and its impact on MSF, this letter further shows that separating the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and the delay mux line is an effective way to relax the choke effect so that the MSF in the SOH could be almost doubled, together with 10%-20% power saving. Taking a low-cost AMI06 SP and 9-bit-resolution specification as an example, this letter predicts that 8 MHz switching frequency could be achieved with the proposed SOH. The SOH chip was custom-designed and fabricated in a 0.703 mm2 die via the metal oxide semiconductor implementation service (MOSIS) educational program. The chip test demonstrated that the MSF is 7.4 MHz with 1.07 mA power consumption, and the adjustable switching frequency range is from 1.8 to 7.4 MHz.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Objective: Biliary tract cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in East Asia. Death due to this disease comprises 5% of total cancer deaths in Japan. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between biliary tract cancer and daily habits using data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education (JACC study).

Methods: In the JACC study, a cohort of 110,792 subjects aged 40-79 from 19 prefectures in Japan completed the baseline survey during 1988-1990. The subjects were followed up until 2009. The endpoint for the present study was death due to biliary tract cancer, coded as C22.1 (intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma, CCC), C23 (malignant neoplasm of the gallbladder, GB cancer), and C24 (malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified parts of the biliary tract, BD cancer) in the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10). The hazard ratio (HR) of biliary tract cancer mortality for smoking and drinking habits, high intake of fatty food, body mass index, and the job category (office job, field work, and others) was evaluated. All results were considered to be significant at the 5% critical level.

Results: High intake of fatty food, smoking habit, and field work showed a significant positive association with death in female patients due to BD cancer in females [HR = 1.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-3.39; HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.02-2.39; and HR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.03-4.84, respectively]. No significant relationship was observed between daily habits and death due to CCC and GB cancer.

Conclusion: High intake of fatty food is often a key factor in the risk of death due to biliary tract cancer, and it is well known that smoking can cause various other cancers. Our findings support the results of a previous research. Moreover, our results suggest that occupational differences may have an effect on mortality in female patients with biliary tract cancer. Therefore, a more detailed analysis of the job category is required for a more meaningful interpretation of the data.

Citation Format: Shinji Otani, Youichi Kurozawa, Takenobu Hosoda, Haosheng Mu, Kazunari Onishi, Yae Yokoyama, Joji Watanabe, Teruhisa Sakamoto, Kanenori Endo, Masahide Ikeguchi. Relationship between daily habits and risk of death in patients with biliary tract cancer: a large-scale cohort study in Japan. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2179. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2179


Rats were maintained 16 weeks on a well-balanced semipurified solid diet supplemented with alcohol which comprised 35% of total calories. A control group was pair-fed the same basic diet with sucrose replacing alcohol isocalorically. Fecal fat excretion was evaluated. The mean fecal fat excretion of alcohol-fed rats was 40% higher than that of pair-fed controls. The possible pathogenic mechanism of such functional alteration is discussed.


In Lima, residents are fundamental co-creators of the urban water infrastructure, taking up various roles in the operation, maintenance, and expansion of the water distribution system. As Lima's potable water company presses the transition from decentralized and auto-constructed to centralized and digital, this article explores how the implementation of digital infrastructure reconfigures the role of residents in the water distribution system. Our analysis draws on an ethnographic research approach, using formal and informal interviews, and focus groups in three areas representing Lima's diversity in settlement categories and types of water consumers. By analyzing the digitalization of Lima's water infrastructure through the perspective of its residents, this research contributes to understanding how top-down, digital governance practices mediate the agency and everyday experiences of people living in Southern cities. We observe that the digitalization of the water infrastructure marginalizes the participation of the 'expert-amateur,' a crucial role in the development of urban in the Global South, while providing more space for the 'smart citizen' to engage in infrastructuring. This article concludes that to overcome the perpetual creation of the center and the periphery through digitalization, urban infrastructure management should be sensitive to residents' diverse strategies in managing resources.


ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether and how managers' enabling perceptions of their costing systems affect task performance. We propose that managers who perceive their costing system as more enabling will have higher levels of task performance, and that this relationship occurs through the intensity with which the costing system is used and the level of psychological empowerment experienced by the managers. To test these propositions, we conduct a survey of middle-level managers and analyze the responses using a PLS model. Our results generally support our propositions. Specifically, we find a positive relationship between managers' enabling perceptions and the intensity with which the costing system is used. The intensity of use is further associated with all four dimensions of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact). Finally, the intensity of use also has an indirect impact on task performance via the competence dimension of psychological empowerment. The p...


The preparation of uniform large-area highly crystalline organic semiconductor single crystals remains a challenge in the field of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Crystal densities in the channel regions of OFETs have not yet reached sufficiently high values to provide efficient charge transport, and improving channel crystal densities remains an important research area. Herein we fabricated densely well-aligned single crystal arrays of the 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS_PEN) semiconductor using a straightforward scooping-up (SU) methodology to quickly produce a large-area self-assembled semiconductor crystal layer. The resulting crystalline TIPS_PEN strip arrays obtained using the SU method revealed a packing density that was 2.76 times the value obtained from the dip-coated channel, and the mean interspatial distance between the crystal strips decreased from 21.5 to 7.8 μm. The higher crystal packing density provided efficient charge transport in the FET devices and directly yielded field-effect mobilities as high as 2.16 cm(2)/(V s). These field-effect mobilities were more than three times the values obtained from the OFETs prepared using dip-coated channels. Furthermore, the contact resistance between the source/drain electrodes and the TIPS_PEN crystals decreased by a factor of 2. These contributions represent a significant step forward in improving semiconductor crystal alignment for the fabrication of large-area high-performance organic electronics.


Whiteness Studies. Over the past two decades, scholars in the social sciences and humanities have increasingly focused on « whiteness » as a new way of exploring race and racism in America. These two articles evaluate the way historians have approached the subject. The first article, originally published in the Journal of American History in 2002, examines the development of whiteness studies in the 1990s, and the second, which appears here for the first time, provides an update on more recent trends. The articles find considerable potential in whiteness studies, but also point to serious conceptual and methodological problems that deserve attention.


Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) is widely used and can be used for prolonged periods, with the limiting toxicity usually being hand-foot syndrome (HFS). The pharmacokinetics of PLD is variable between patients, leading to variability in the risk of developing HFS. Dosing based on body surface area does not decrease variability in PLD clearance; thus, other predictive markers could be useful. The peripheral blood absolute monocyte count (AMC) has been suggested as a possible marker of both reticuloendothelial system function and PLD pharmacokinetics. The present study examined the AMC as a potential predictive biomarker in a prospective trial of pre-operative PLD combined with ifosfamide in soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). While our results suggest a relationship between pre-treatment AMC and PLD-induced HFS, the association did not reach statistical significance. The clinical utility of the AMC as a predictor of PLD-induced HFS appears limited, at least when given with ifosfamide.


The technological transformation and automation of digital content delivery has revolutionized the media industry. Advertising landscape is gradually shifting its traditional media forms to the emergent of Internet advertising. In this paper, the types of internet advertising to be discussed on are contextual and sponsored search ads. These types of advertising have the central challenge of finding the best match between a given context and a suitable advertisement, through a principled method. Furthermore, there are four main players that exist in the Internet advertising ecosystem: users, advertisers, ad exchange and publishers. Hence, to find ways to counter the central challenge, the paper addresses two objectives: how to successfully make the best contextual ads selections to match to a web page content to ensure that there is a valuable connection between the web page and the contextual ads. All methods, discussions, conclusion and future recommendations are presented as per sections. Hence, in order to prove the working mechanism of matching contextual ads and web pages, web pages together with the ads matching system are developed as a prototype.


PURPOSE: Delineate the parameters that directed the choice of an animal model of disease and to verify in the recent biomedical literature which the models of lives frequent uses. METHODS: The authors plows discussed, the concepts and the characteristics of an animal model of disease. Stands out the current consensus on when it use an animal model, which the criteria of choice and the requirements goes an appropriate model. Describes which plows the animal models available and it discusses the controversies of the phylogenetic similarity and the inherent risks the extrapolation of the models goes the human beings. Based on the document retrieval in the database of BIREME (Medline, Lilacs, Scielo and Cochrane Library) it investigates which the types of animal models mentioned in the articles of these databases lives. RESULTS: It is verified that the rats and the mice plows the animals frequently used lives. The rabbit, dog and the swine follow the list in the references of English language. In the databases of the Latin-American literature the dog overcomes the number of citations of rabbits and swine. The primates plows minority in the citations in all of the databases. The systematic revisions also have in the mice the largest number of citations, the other species plows mentioned in equality of conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Today, "animal model" plows used in virtually every fields of the biological research.The relationship between the humans and the animals of other species led, through the teams, live defined outlines, the exploration of other species have roll-neck and an established ethics, the induction of the results of animal the goes the human species have clear and objective criteria. The uses of the experimental models, or of the models animal of disease, or of the laboratory animals in the biomedical research allows and they should allow next years discussions in philosophical, politics, social, economical and religious fields.


The deregulation of airline industry of Thailand has allowed three low cost airlines (LCAS) to operate in domestic routes. This study explored the impact of LCAS to three stakeholders in airline industry, full-service
airlines, airports and passengers. The main question was who gained or lost from LCAS. In answering the question, the demand for airline industry was estimated. The change in revenue of airlines and airports were considered as private benefits. The change in consumer's surplus, amount
of money that passengers were willing to pay for the airfare but did not pay, was regarded as the social benefit. Comparison of benefits between the expansion and recession periods o f the airline industry were examined.
Moreover: the change in traveling pattern ffom Thailand to Laos was also investigated. This study proved that, in the expansion period, LCAs were not harmful to fill-service airlines. In turn, they were important to the growth of the industry. However in the recession period, LCAs were
growing at the expense of full-service airlines. For passengers, consumer's surplus was increased in the expansion period but decreased in the recession period due to higher airfare. Airports gained in both expansion
and recession period. LCAS encouraged tourists to change their traveling pattern from Thailand to Laos via an indirect route, Bangkok - Udorn Thani - Nongkai - the Friendship Bridge instead of the direct route from
Bangkok to Vientiane.


Transparent elastic optical networks (EON) allow provisioning connections with different bandwidth requirements in an efficient way. To achieve the high spectrum efficiency under dynamic traffic scenario, fragmentation-aware Routing, Modulation and Spectrum Assignment (RMSA) decisions is essential. Since fiber cuts are common, resiliency against single-link failures is another important topic. This can be provided efficiently through shared-path protection, which in turn complicates the connection provisioning problem. Unlike existing algorithms that decide first the primary and then the backup path, we introduce an algorithm in this paper that considers pairs of primary and backup paths. To select a candidate pair, we use a hybrid cost function that combines three different objectives: (1) the separation of primary and backup connections to different ends of the spectrum; (2) fragmentation-awareness as a pro-active provisioning objective trying to avoid fragmentation especially among primary resources and (3) maximization of shareability of backup resources among primary paths of link-disjoint connections. Using network level simulations in a scaled-down sample US network with load values of 190-240 Erlang, and bandwidth requests corresponding to 1% blocking probability, an average improvement of 79% compared to a recently presented reference algorithm is shown.


Wall wetting in diesel engines has been considered as a bad phenomenon because of fuel deposition which makes fuel/air mixing and evaporation worse. In order to avoid the problem, many research works have been carried out. One of the studies is on new combustion chamber systems which are using spray impacting on a wall. In this study a new type of chamber system is analysed using wall impaction model introduced and assessed in the coupled paper. The gas phase is modelled in terms of the Eulerian continuum conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy and fuel vapour fraction, The liquid phase is modelled following the discrete droplet model approach in Lagrangian form. With various conditions the spray distribution, vapor contour and gas flows are analyzed, and then design factors of those combustion systems are recommended.


In March 2003, the US government launched a military invasion and occupation of Iraq. This was one more phase of the US National Security Strategy doctrine that promises militarism, war, and disruption in various sovereign states. These wars abroad and the unprecedented powers of government and police agencies in the USA represent powerful intersections of patriarchal authority, racism, militarism, and elitism. Africana communities have a long history of resisting repression both directly and indirectly related to US foreign policy. Social scientists writing from a black feminist perspective have described how such mutually constructing forces of race, class, gender, and nation have influenced the lives of people of color, women, and the poor in American society and have highlighted the historical and sociological importance of resistance by these oppressed groups. Specifically, this paper addresses ways in which a black feminist analysis and praxis offer useful perspectives on activism concerning issues of peace and justice post 9—11—2001.


AIM
This study sought to evaluate the association of coronary angiography-derived index of microcirculatory resistance (angio-IMR) measured after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) with evolution of infarct pathology during 3-month follow-up after ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHODS AND RESULTS
Patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI were prospectively enrolled between October 2019 and August 2021. Angio-IMR was calculated using computational flow and pressure simulation immediately after PPCI. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed at a median of 3.6 days and 3 months. A total of 286 STEMI patients (mean age 57.8 years, 84.3% men) with both angio-IMR and CMR at baseline were included. High angio-IMR (>40 U) occurred in 84 patients (29.4%) patients. Patients with angio-IMR >40 U had higher prevalence and extent of MVO. An angio-IMR >40 U was a multivariable predictor of infarct size with 3-fold higher risk of final infarct size >25% (adjusted OR 3.00, 95% CI 1.23-7.32, p = 0.016). Post-procedure angio-IMR >40 U significantly predicted presence (adjusted OR 5.52, 95% CI 1.65-18.51, p = 0.006) and extent (beta coefficient 0.27, 95% CI 0.01-0.53, p = 0.041) of myocardial iron at follow-up. Compared with patients with angio-IMR ≤40 U, those with angio-IMR >40 U had less regression of infarct size and less resolution of myocardial iron at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
Angio-IMR immediately post PPCI showed a significant association with extent and evolution of infarct pathology. An angio-IMR >40 U indicated extensive microvascular damage with less regression of infarct size and more persistent iron at follow-up.


This paper presents the formation of double-layer cellular tumor spheroid for the co-culture of hepatocyte (HepG2 cancer liver cell and LO2 normal liver cell) using alginate hydrogel. With the microfluidic chip, double-layer cellular tumor spheroid can be formed by the hydrogel droplet to mimic the in vivo environment in which the cancer cell is surrounded by normal cell. A microchip with concentration gradient generation and tumor spheroid trapping site is designed for anti-cancer drug analysis.


This study examined the possible relationship and predictive impact of psychological distress on the quality of life among school personnel. 112 personnel employed in a private school in Caloocan City, Philippines, who participated in the study and completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 21) and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) survey. The occurrence of severe to extremely severe level of depression, anxiety, and stress were 28.58, 17.85, and 8.93%, respectively, thus the school personnel obtained a satisfied rating in all the domains of quality of life. Correlations between the quality of life dimensions and psychological distress facets are significant at the 0.05 level of significance except for the correlation between social mean score and total anxiety score. The respondents in terms of their gender experienced the same level of psychological distress and quality of life while single employees appeared to have higher levels of depression and stress symptoms compared to married ones. Furthermore, a regression analysis demonstrated that a significant variance of 44.7% (psychological), 40.2% (physical), 8.9% (social), and 26.9% (environmental) factors of quality of life can be accounted for by psychological distress. In addition, depression and stress symptoms are found to be significant predictors of psychological and physical health, while stress is a significant predictor of social relationships and environmental domain. Therefore, the results highlight the implications for an intervention program in relieving the psychological distress and improving the quality of life among school personnel.

 Key words: Depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life.


The goal of the data intensive LDRD was to investigate the fundamental research issues underlying the application of High Performance Computing (HPC) resources to the challenges of data intensive computing. We explored these issues through four targeted case studies derived from growing LLNL programs: high speed text processing, massive semantic graph analysis, streaming image feature extraction, and processing of streaming sensor data. The ultimate goal of this analysis was to provide scalable data management algorithms to support the development of a predictive knowledge capability consistent with the direction of Aurora.


OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively analyze the effect of anterolateral femoral free flap transplantation in repairing hand and foot soft tissue defects and the risk factors for skin flap necrosis.

METHODS
The clinical data of 62 patients with hand and foot soft tissue defects admitted to Department of Hand and Foot Microsurgery in Yuyao People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province from January 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different methods of skin flap transplantation, these patients were divided into a control group (n=30, conventional skin flap transplantation) and an observation group (n=32, anterolateral femoral free skin flap transplantation). The clinical outcomes and postoperative flap survival rate were compared between the two groups. The risk factors of flap necrosis were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Logistic regression.

RESULTS
The surgical time, intraoperative blood loss and hospital stay in the observation group were significantly less than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The survival rate of skin flap in the observation group was significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that intraoperatively incomplete hemostasis, inappropriate selection of anastomotic vessels, irrational use of antibiotics, infection and unstable fixation were independent risk factors for skin flap necrosis following hand and foot soft tissue defects surgery.

CONCLUSION
Anterolateral femoral free flap transplantation is beneficial to improve the clinical outcomes in patients with hand or foot soft tissue defects, increase the survival rate of skin flap and promote recovery. Incomplete hemostasis during operation, inappropriate choice of anastomotic vessels, irrational application of antibiotics, concurrent infection and unstable fixation are independent risk factors for postoperative flap necrosis.


The aim of this document is to advance our understanding of the costs and perils faced by any country when looking for tackling real and possible conflict of interests among public officials. In effect, there are regulatory, organiza- tional, and institutional difficulties and costs related with the implementation of reforms aimed to combat or prevent real and potential conflicts of interest. This discussion is vitally important above all to developing countries such as Mexico given that the effectiveness, cost and impact of this tool up until now applied to different countries has achieved rather heterogeneous results. The main objective of this paper is to enhance the importance of the organizational dimension whenever a regulatory framework to control conflict of interests is placed or implemented. Public organizations are not merely instruments adaptable to the orders and instructions stemming from regulations and rules. In this sense, the regula- tory (both formal and "soft") framework should take in consideration the concrete organizational effects of the rules and institutions designed to change the behavior of actors. Developing a comparison of regulatory, institutional and organiza- tional strategies applied in Canada, Mexico and USA we seek to show that the organizational dimension is critical in order to understand the "real" net effect achieved when dealing with complex behaviors like the ones which drive social and po- litical actors to face conflict of interests situations.


TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) kills tumor cells selectively. We asked how emerging tumor cells escape elimination by TRAIL and how tumor-specific killing by TRAIL could then be restored. We found that TRAIL expression is consistently downregulated in HRASG12V-transformed cells in stepwise tumorigenesis models derived from four different tissues due to DNA hypermethylation of CpG clusters within the TRAIL promoter. Decitabine de-silenced TRAIL, which remained inducible by interferon, while induction of TRAIL by blocking the HRASG12V-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway was subordinated to epigenetic silencing. Decitabine induced apoptosis through upregulation of endogenous TRAIL in cooperation with favorable regulation of key players acting in TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Apoptosis induction by exogenously added TRAIL was largely increased by decitabine. In vivo treatment of xenografted human HRASG12V-transformed human epithelial kidney or syngenic mice tumors by decitabine blocked tumor growth induced TRAIL expression and apoptosis. Our results emphasize the potential of decitabine to enhance TRAIL-induced apoptosis in tumors and thus provide a rationale for combination therapies with decitabine to increase tumor-selective apoptosis. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(9); 1611–23. ©2011 AACR.


Today wireless communications is acting as a major role in networks. Through year-end 2006, the employee's ability to install unmanaged access points will result is more than 50% of enterprises exposing sensitive information through the wireless virtual private networks (VPN). It enables you to send the data between two computers across a shared or public network in a manner that emulates the properties of a private link. The basic requirements for VPN are User Authentication, Address Management, Data Compression, Data Encryption and Key Management. The private links are established in VPN using Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and Layer-Two-Tunneling Protocol (L2TP). These protocols are satisfies VPN requirements in five layers. In user authentication layer, multiple trusted authorities using Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) do the authentication process. In fourth layer the data encryption part using RC4 called Microsoft-Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) method. The aim of this paper, instead of multiple trusted authorities we focus single trusted authority using public key cryptography RSA in EAP and also we include AES-Rijndael stream cipher algorithm instead of RC4 for MPPE. We propose new type of hybrid encryption technique using AES-Rijndael for encryption and decryption and RSA used for key management.


The author finds the fourth-order gravitational action for manifolds with boundaries, and its associated boundary conditions, which is consistent with the action principle, and yields the correct field equations. A detailed analysis is given of how this is done. Relationships to the canonical formalism are pointed out. He discusses two types of boundary conditions, imposed and natural boundary conditions. When natural boundary conditions are used there are expressions which must be satisfied when the coupling constants are not all independent of each other. The metric galpha beta and the extrinsic curvature of the boundary Kalpha beta are suggested as natural candidates for canonical field variables. Two appendices, one with useful variations with respect to the metric and the other with useful '3 plus 1' decompositions, are also included.


Nonlinear state feedback controllers are exhibited for locally stabilising linear discrete-time systems with both saturating actuators and additive disturbances when the output must track a certain time-varying reference level. The objective is to bring the steady-state error due to disturbances to zero, by using a saturated controller and a dead-zone function. The objective is two-fold: to determine both a stabilising controller and a region of the state space over which the stability of the resulting closed-loop system is ensured, when the controls are allowed to saturate.


Many trends have appeared in the field of teacher preparation all emphasizing the necessity to keep abreast of scientific, educational and technological developments. Part of such trends are developing curricula and identifying principles and guidelines for teacher preparation including: general, specialized and educational preparation, practicum training and practical education before and during the career. Current technological developments require teacher's mastery of how to deal with modern teaching methods such as computer software and internet and how to use them efficiently with the students. On these grounds, development of teacher preparation programs is essential to cater for society's developmental needs and respond to job market needs. This study aims at exploring the degree of competence students of professional post-graduate diploma in teaching acquire from practicum training. The questions of the study are as follows: What is the impact of Practicum program in improving students of professional post-graduate diploma teaching competences?  •What is the correlational relation between the practicum program competences and specialization? •What is the correlational relation between the practicum program competences and students GPA? An instrument of measuring the competences of practicum training was specially designed and used to answer the above questions with appropriate validity and reliability indicators. The sample of the study consisted of 264 students enrolled in the professional post-graduate diploma in teaching in the second semester 2013-2014. The statistical analysis of the data was carried out using SPSS program. The findings indicated statistically significant differences in the attitudes of the students of the professional post-graduate diploma in teaching towards the impact of the Practicum program in improving students' teaching competences. The differences are attributed to the specialization variable. There are no statistically significant differences attributed to the cumulative grade point average. The study has a number of recommendations in light of the findings.


This paper analyzes the possibility of using single station measurements of low‐frequency electromagnetic waves to locate lightning occurring around much, and possibly all, of the world. The electromagnetic waves generated by lightning, which propagate through the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide, are known as sferics. We combine a direction finding algorithm to compute the arrival azimuth of the recorded sferic along with a distance of propagation estimate to deduce the location of the lightning. While the methodology used for estimating the distance of propagation is described by Mackay and Fraser‐Smith (2010), this paper analyzes the effectiveness of the method. We examine the limitations including those independent of station location and performance, and those which are station dependent. We analyze the geographic coverage attained from a single station along with the percentage of lightning emitting sferics that are recorded at the station and available for computing the lightning locations.


Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors form an accepted form of treatment in the glaucomas. They have been accepted in the treatment of chronic simple glaucoma even on a long-term basis. A number of such agents which are now on the market have been tested as hypotensive agents. Becker (1954) introduced acetazolamide (Diamox) as the first hypotensive agent; Leopold (1958) described the action of dichlorphenamide; Langham (1958) discussed the effect of methazolamide (Neptazane) on the intraocular pressure. Posner (1958) and Drance (1959) discussed the action of ethoxzolamide (Cardrase) on the intraocular pressure in man. In spite of the availability of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, the search continues for powerful carbonic anhydrase inhibitors which would require less frequent administration and produce less in the way of side-effects in patients. It is still true that side-effects and intolerance constitute the main reason for cessation of therapy with these agents. The present study was under-taken to evaluate


Eddy‐zonalflowinteractionsintheannularmodesareinvestigatedinthisstudyusingamodifiedbeta-plane multilayer quasigeostrophic (QG) channel model. This study shows the different response of high- and lowphase-speed (frequency) eddies to the zonal wind anomalies and suggests a baroclinic mechanism through which the two eddies work symbiotically maintaining the positive eddy feedback in the annular modes. Analysis also indicates that the different roles played by these two eddies in the annular modes are related to the differences in their critical line distributions. Eddies with higher phase speeds experience a low-level critical layer at the center of the jet. They drive the zonal wind anomalies associated with the annular mode but weaken the baroclinicity of the jet in the process. Lower-phase-speed eddies encounter low-level critical lines on the jet flanks. While their momentum fluxes are not as important for the jet shift, they play an important role by restoring the lower-level baroclinicity at the jet center, creating a positive feedback loop with the fast eddies that extends the persistence of the jet shift. The importance of the lower-level baroclinicity restoration by the low-phase-speed eddies in the annular modesis furtherdemonstrated in sensitivity runs,in whichsurface frictionon eddiesisincreasedto selectively damp the low-phase-speed eddies. For simulations in which the low-phase-speed eddies become inactive, the leading mode of the zonal wind variability shifts from the position fluctuation to a pulsing of the jet intensity. Further studies indicate that the response of the lower-level baroclinicity to the zonal wind anomalies caused by the low-phase-speed eddies can be crucial in maintaining the annular mode‐like variations.


Responsibility for preventing and detecting fraud rest with management entities. Although the auditor is not and cannot be held responsible for preventing fraud and errors, in your work, he can have a positive role in preventing fraud and errors by deterring their occurrence. The auditor should plan and perform the audit with an attitude of professional skepticism, recognizing that condition or events may be found that indicate that fraud or error may exist. Based on the audit risk assessment, auditor should develop programs to audit procedures by which to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements in their entirety, all significant errors and fraud have been identified. It is expected that the auditor to implement procedures that will lead to the discovery of errors or fraud without significant impact on the financial statements can not be held responsible for undetected such irregularities. The auditor should communicate with the management of his client. He should ask the management information concerning any significant fraud or error has been detected in order to detect key problems that could lead to certain activities, the implementation of audit procedures more than usual However the auditor faces the risk inevitable that some significant errors to be detected, even if the audit is planned and done properly.


IL-4 plays a major role in IgE production. Its signal is conferred to effector cells through binding to the alpha chain of the membrane-bound human IL-4 receptor (huIL-4Ralpha). Here we present the genomic structure and organization of huIL-4Ralpha. The promotor region shows binding sites for several transcription factors involved in inflammatory processes. HuIL-4Ralpha has been shown to be organized differently to that of mouse IL-4Ralpha. A soluble form of huIL-4Ralpha is produced by alternative splicing of the huIL-4Ralpha gene (shuIL-4Ralpha/splice). Expression of the corresponding mRNA coding for the extracellular part of the receptor and an additional three amino acids is also shown. A second form of huIL-4Ralpha, i.e. shuIL-4Ralpha/prot, is produced by limited proteolysis of the receptor (shedding) and is already known. These results reveal a complex pattern for the regulation of the IL-4 pathway at the receptor level. The patterns of expression of all three receptor proteins as well as their individual meaning in the context of inflammation still have to be elucidated.


Application of non-bio-stimulants is one of solutions to quantitative and qualitative changes in secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. Cd in plant reduces photosynthesis and respiration, decreases the metabolism of carbohydrates, causes cholorosis and decreases growth. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cadmium concentrations on photosynthetic pigments, anthocyanin, proline, total soluble sugars, reducing sugars and atropine production in Datura stramonium L. The plants were cultured in perlite containing pots. Then, plants were treated with different concentrations of Cd (0,1,5,15 and 50 mg/l) for 2 weeks to measure physiological parameters and for 12 weeks to determine the amount of atropine. With increasing Cd concentration in solution media, photosynthetic pigments significantly decreased. Also, the results indicated that the amount of anthocyanin, soluble and reduction carbohydrate and proline significantly were increased in most treatments up to 62/7%, 40/5%, 31/5%, 56/7%, respectively. Cadmium also increased the amount of atropine. The heavy metal cadmium as a non-biological stress led to increased plant defense mechanisms, including carbohydrate and proline and secondary metabolites of anthocyanin photosynthetic pigment and tropane alkaloids (atropine).


Parents especially mothers view the internet as a source to obtain information about their children's health care. This study was designed to assess mother's antibiotics information by comparing the Internet and healthcare professionals as sources of informatics. A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in the outpatient pediatrics clinics at the Children Hospital and Benghazi Medical Centre, from February 2018 to June 2018. The sample size was 308 mothers attending the outpatient pediatrics clinic during the period of data collection. Knowledge/beliefs, behaviors, adherence, and awareness of antibiotic resistance were determined through the analysis of data obtained from the questionnaires. Eighty-two percent of mothers had a poor level of knowledge and beliefs regarding antibiotic use; however, about half of the mothers had good behaviors toward the antibiotic and a good level of awareness of antibiotics resistance. Despite this poor knowledge, 61.7% of the mothers had an overall good Adherence to antibiotic use. Furthermore, half of the mothers obtained their information about the antibiotic from the internet. A good knowledge level and good awareness of antibiotics resistance levels were attained from the Internet source. Meanwhile a good behavior and good adherence regarding antibiotic usage were gained from a healthcare professional. In conclusion, mother's good information showed a significant difference existed between the Internet and the healthcare professional sources. Therefore, this study recommends that healthcare professionals should educate mothers concerning online information. Moreover, there is a need to improve mother's knowledge about antibiotics uses.


Patient education, hand exercises, and use of assistive devices and orthoses are regarded as first-line treatment for patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA) (1), however there is limited evidence for the cost-effectiveness of such treatment.The objective of this study is to assess the cost-utility of a multimodal occupational therapy treatment delivered in the waiting period before surgical consultation in patients with thumb base OA compared to usual care.This study presents an economic evaluation assessing the difference in health care use and quality-of-life during a 24-month period in a Norwegian multicenter randomized controlled trial. All patients referred to surgical consultation due to thumb base OA at three departments of rheumatology between 2013 and 2015 were eligible for inclusion. In total, 180 patients were included and randomized to a control group or a multimodal occupational therapy group (90 patients in each group). During the waiting period between referral and actual surgical consultation, the control group continued with usual care which was staying on the waiting list and receiving information on hand OA. The intervention group got information on hand OA, ergonomic principles and use of assistive devices, and they were instructed in home-based hand exercises and received a day and a night orthosis. The intervention group was instructed to use the orthoses and assistive devices as much as possible and perform home exercises three times per week for 12 weeks. The patients were assessed at baseline and after 4, 18 and 24 months. The within-trial economic analysis reports the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) reflecting the between-group difference in incremental cost per adjusted life years (QALY) over 24 months. A generic health-related quality of life questionnaire, the EuroQol 5 Dimension, was used to calculate the QALYs at baseline, 4, 18 and 24 months. Costs were collected from different sources, taking a health care perspective; The occupation therapist reported the number of consultations related to the intervention; surgical procedure and post-operative follow-up were collected from patients' journals; and additional consumption of primary and specialist health care was self-reported by the patient. Sensitivity analyses were performed. The results are presented in a cost-effectiveness plane using bootstrapping. Willingness-to-pay threshold is set to be € 27 500 linked to the severity of this condition.The mean age of the included patients was 63 years (SD 7.6) and 79% were women. There was a total between-group difference in QALYs of 0.07 utilities after 24 months, in favour of the intervention group. Operations constituted the main costs with 22 operations in the intervention group compared to 33 in the control group. The between-group difference in costs due to health care consumption was estimated to € 500 in favour of the intervention group (Figure 1).The results in this within-trial analysis indicate that multimodal occupational therapy in the waiting period before surgical consultation compared to usual care is a cost-effective alternative taking a health care perspective.[1]Kloppenburg, M., et al. (2018). "2018 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis."Ann Rheum Dis.None declared


In printing machines incorporating indirect printing technology, the image or pattern is first printed onto a blanket cylinder having an elastic rubber surface. Subsequently, the pattern is transferred to the substrate. When the surface of the blanket cylinder is covered with incompressible elastic material, a high tangential load develops at the blanketsubstrate nip, which may either lead to longitudinal sliding of the mentioned printing element or cause tearing of the substrate. The described tangential load developing at the printing nip could be significantly reduced if the lining of the blanket included a compressible layer. The elastic material at the nip could now bear the tangential forces since the compressible layer could absorb them. In the printing result however, although quite minimal, the longitudinal slip can still be seen. Study of the geometrical analysis and movements involved at the nip between the rigid and flexible contact presented an explanation. For the geometric analysis of processes taking place at the nip, standard reverse kinematic transmission has been utilized. The flexible cylinder is taken as a fixed element while the rigid cylinder has been rolled as a planetary gear about a rolling contact. Both cylinders have bearer-to-bearer contact. Therefore they roll without any slip, ensuring a precise ratio of the angle of rotation. In order to achieve a defined contact pressure between the cylinder jackets, the projection above the bearer surfaces of the flexible and rigid cylinder have been measured, the sum of which is the metric pressure. When the rigid cylinder is rolled around the fixed flexible cylinder, each point on the surface of the rigid cylinder follows a path, the locus of which, when represented graphically forms an extended epicycloid. The presented method of calculation, using the extended epicycloid apart from theoretically determining the slip, presents the ability to minimize the same. LONGITUDINAL SLIP IN ROLLING CONTACT Uta Fügmann and Wolfgang Beier Chemnitz University of Technology GERMANY


A general method for studying boundary value problems for linear and for integrable nonlinear partial differential equations in two dimensions was introduced in Fokas, 1997. For linear equations in a convex polygon (Fokas and Kapaev (2000) and (2003), and Fokas (2001)), this method: (a) expresses the solution q(x, y) in the form of an integral (generalized inverse Fourier transform) in the complex κ-plane involving a certain function q(κ) (generalized direct Fourier transform) that is defined as an integral along the boundary of the polygon, and (b) characterizes a generalized Dirichlet-to-Neumann map by analyzing the so-called global relation. For simple polygons and simple boundary conditions, this characterization is explicit. Here, we extend the above method to the case of elliptic partial differential equations in the exterior of a convex polygon and we illustrate the main ideas by studying the Laplace equation in the exterior of an equilateral triangle. Regarding (a), we show that whereas q(κ) is identical with that of the interior problem, the contour of integration in the complex κ-plane appearing in the formula for q(x, y) depends on (x, y). Regarding (b), we show that the global relation is now replaced by a set of appropriate relations which, in addition to the boundary values, also involve certain additional unknown functions. In spite of this significant complication we show that, for certain simple boundary conditions, the exterior problem for the Laplace equation can be mapped to the solution of a Dirichlet problem formulated in the interior of a convex polygon formed by three sides.


Hydroclimatic process in the Yarlung Tsangpo River (YTR) basin, a sensitive area to climate change, is obviously changing during recent years, but there has limited understanding about it. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal variation of precipitation over last four decades in the basin and the impact thereon of the changing Indian summer monsoon at interannual and decadal time scales. All the precipitation series have similar scaling behavior, reflecting similar climatic regime throughout the basin. However, the effect of the Indian monsoon strengthens from the downstream to upstream, causing spatial variability in the seasonal distribution of precipitation, and on this basis, the YTR basin is roughly divided into three regions: east, middle, and west. Both the occurrence times and magnitude of precipitation extremes, ranging 25–50 mm/d, are exhibiting downward trends over the last four decades, which bodes well for water disaster controls in the basin. The Indian summer monsoon index, as an intensity indicator for the Indian summer monsoon, shows a positive relationship with the summer precipitation in the YTR basin. Periodic variability of the Indian monsoon determines the interannual nonstationary fluctuations of precipitation. Especially, the weakening effect of the Indian summer monsoon has caused an obvious decrease in precipitation over the rainy season after 1998. If the Indian summer monsoon keeps weakening, the precipitation would decrease and potentially water shortage would become more severe in the basin. Effective adaptation strategy should therefore be developed proactively to handle the unfavorable water situation, which is likely to occur in the future.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting women often in their childbearing years. In this case presentation a 35 year old female patient is illustrated with a recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis with active disease and a wish to conceive in the nearby future. Management of disease activity in patients who wish to conceive or during pregnancy might be a challenge due to limited treatment options. How should we treat this patient taking into account her wish to conceive in the nearby future? Should the patient postpone her wish to conceive because of active disease? Disclosure of Interest None declared


A function of Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) measurements at 50.3 and 52.8 GHz is defined, which has the property of being sensitive to the angular distribution of surface-scattered atmospheric thermal emission but insensitive to the surface reflectivity, assuming reflectivity to be equal at the two frequencies. A scattering model consisting of a linear combination of specular reflection and Lambertian scattering is fitted to observed values of the function over Antarctica. The Lambertian fraction typically lies in the range of 0.7-1.0 with a mean of 0.84, and it is negatively correlated with polarization of the surface reflectivity, as determined from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager data. Dual-polarized 37-GHz measurements, combined with a separate measurement of the surface temperature, could be used as a predictor of the diffuseness of surface scattering when the atmospheric temperature profile is retrieved from measurements made by AMSU-A or a similar instrument, or when the radiances are assimilated for numerical weather prediction.


Clinical experience suggests that there is a cohort of patients with refractory colitis who do have faecal stasis that contributes to symptoms. The underlying physiology is poorly understood, partly because until recently the technology to examine segmental colonic motility has not existed. Patients are given little information on how proximal faecal stasis can complicate colitis. Treatment guidelines are scanty and many patients are offered little apart from laxatives and advice on increasing fibre intake, which often makes symptoms worse. This article aims to review the history, pathology and management, and create impetus for future research on this underappreciated condition.


A case of a 56-year-old man with constrictive pericarditis which was diagnosed and operated for the first time in 1996, is described. After that, the patient has been hospitalised for several times because of heart failure. On admission to the hospital, he complained of dyspnea on exertion and peripheral edema. Computerised tomography of the chest demonstrated a thickened, calcified pericardium. The combination of imaging and hemodynamic findings established the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. The patient was referred to cardiothoracic surgery for pericardiectomy. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and was discharged from the hospital on the twenty seven postoperative day.


Apple bruising due to mechanical damage is of main importance for being responsible for considerable losses that alter the external appearance of the fruit hammering its commercial value. Understanding the factors that affect the formation of bruising is important to attempt to minimize the effects of mechanical damages. The objective of the present work was to identify factors that influence the mechanical damage formation produced by impact in two apple cultivars. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of fruit size and mass, hydration degree and pulp temperature on the development of fruit bruises. The apples were dropped from a height of 80 cm onto a rigid surface. Bruise diameter and depth were accessed after one week at room temperature. The factors that influence bruise formation are the size and the mass the apples as well as hydration degree of fruit tissues. Greater fruit size and mass result in larger bruise sizes. Highly hydrated tissues at the impact moment also increase the bruise size.


This work aims to understand the organizational strategies used by the ballet company Grupo Corpo, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is based upon the premise that such practices are configured (in) this organization's daily management practices. In order to achieve the proposed objective, four questions considered to be recursive in this field were used as guidelines: (a) What is strategy? (b) Who is the strategist? (c) What do strategists do? (d) What can explain an analysis of strategists and their actions? As methodological support, an ethnography was conducted. In addition, the Grounded Theory procedure was used to develop the proposal of bringing about a substantial concept of strategy. A situational analysis was also done (Clarke, 2005) and at the end of the study, three organizational spheres within the Corpo de Bale group: its Ballet Group sphere, its Citizen sphere, and its Dance School sphere. The practices and relationships constructed between these and the subjects that actually included them in the organization under study were also identified. Thus, a relational scheme was established, involving the observed practices and the individual and collective actors. Based on the analysis of the relational scheme a strategy concept was elaborated for the Corpo de Bale group.


This paper proposes anew connection for a unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) to improve the power quality of two feeders in a distribution system. The interline custom power devices named Interline Unified Power Quality Conditioner (IUPQC) is improved for various power quality disturbances and modeled in MATLAB/SIMULINK by using fuzzy logic controller. The developed topology can be used for simultaneous compensation of voltage and current imperfections in a multibus/multifeeder system. the propped IUPQC is designed for medium voltage s (11kv). Enhanced Phase Locked Loop (EPLL) based control technique is used to detect and extract the PQ problems. The performance of series compensator of IUPQC is evaluated through extensive simulations for mitigating unbalanced voltage sags, voltage swells with phase jumps and interruption. The performance of shunt compensator of IUPQC is also used for harmonic and reactive power compensation that are not investigated before in literature. It is verified that IUPQC which is connected to two feeders can compensate current and voltage distortions successfully.


The purpose of this work is to introduce the notion of a multi-value strictly $(\alpha,\beta)$-admissible mappings and a multi-value $(\alpha,\beta)$-Meir-Keeler contraction with respect to the partial Hausdorff metric $\mathcal{H}_{p}$ in the framework of partial metric spaces. In addition, we present fixed points and endpoints results for a multi-valued $(\alpha,\beta)$-Meir-Keeler contraction mappings in the framework of the complete partial metric spaces. The results obtained in this work provides extension as well as substantial generalizations and improvements of several well-known results on fixed point theory and its applications.