. The potential effects of climatic changes on water resources are crucial to be assessed, particularly in dry regions such as Northeast Brazil (1 million km²), where water supply is highly reliant on open-water reservoirs. This study analyses the impact of evaporation (by the Penman method) on water availability for four scenarios based on two regional climatic models (Eta-CanESM2 and Eta-MIROC5) under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5. We compared the water availability in the period of 2071-2100 with that of the historical period (1961-2005). The scenarios derived from the 15 Eta-CanESM2 model indicate an increase in dry season evaporative rate (2% and 6%, respectively) by the end of the century. Unlike the above scenarios, the ones derived from the Eta-MIROC5 model both show a decrease in dry season evaporative rate of -2%. Consequently, for a 90% reliability level, the expected reservoir capacity to supply water with high reliability is reduced in 80%. It is reasonable to state that both patterns of future evaporation in the reservoirs may prove to be plausible. Because model-based projections of climate impact on water resources can be quite divergent, it is necessary to develop 20 adaptations that do not need quantitative projections of changes in hydrological variables, but rather ranges of projected values. Our analysis shows how open water reservoirs might be impacted by climate change in dry regions. These findings complement a body of knowledge on estimation of water availability in a changing climate and provide new data and insights on water management in reservoir-dependent drylands


ABSTRACT Very few factors that impact the grieving process can be modified after the fact to the extent that social support can. However, social support has received limited research attention, resulting in little conceptual understanding of the mechanisms behind perceptions of, and intentions to support, grieving persons. This systematic review aimed to explore bereaved, decedent, and respondent-related determinants of the provision of social support. The review yielded 42 studies impacted by various methodological and sampling limitations. This review poses a call to the field for more rigorous study of social support determinants to better assist the bereaved and their natural supporters.


We analyze simulation results of a model proposed for etching of a crystalline solid and results of other discrete models in the (2+1)-dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) class. In the steady states, the moments W(n) of orders n=2,3,4 of the height distribution are estimated. Results for the etching model, the ballistic deposition model, and the temperature-dependent body-centered restricted solid-on-solid model suggest the universality of the absolute value of the skewness S identical with W(3)/W(3/2)(2) and of the value of the kurtosis Q identical with W(4)/W(2)(2)-3. The sign of the skewness is the same as of the parameter lambda of the KPZ equation which represents the process in the continuum limit. The best numerical estimates, obtained from the etching model, are absolute value of S=0.26+/-0.01 and Q=0.134+/-0.015. For this model, the roughness exponent alpha=0.383+/-0.008 is obtained, accounting for a constant correction term (intrinsic width) in the scaling of the squared interface width. This value is slightly below previous estimates of extensive simulations and rules out the proposal of the exact value alpha=2/5. The conclusion is supported by results for the ballistic deposition model. Independent estimates of the dynamical exponent and of the growth exponent are 1.605< or =z< or =1.64 and beta=0.229+/-0.005, respectively, which are consistent with the relations alpha+z=2 and z=alpha/beta.


Learning-based approaches have shown promising results in several medical imaging applications. However, the performance of the models is affected by the scarcity of the available data. This problem is partially circumvented by using simulation tools to create a large dataset. However, the generation of realistic 3D-simulated input-output pairs, specifically in ultrasound imaging, is usually computationally complex which makes the creation of an adequate training dataset a burdening and time-consuming task. In this work, we investigate the capability of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to generate two interrelated RF signals from random noise while learning the relationship between them. This allows us to incorporate the generated input-output signal-pairs in the training dataset to enhance the performance of a deep learning-based ultrasound application, specifically harmonic imaging. Convolutional based generator and discriminator networks are implemented with three different loss functions to evaluate the performance of the model across different settings. The generated signals are then used to augment the training dataset for harmonic imaging. The dataset augmented with the generated synthetic data enhanced the desired signals estimation by 6.7% compared to the non-augmented dataset. These results demonstrate the GANs ability to generate high quality and diverse ultrasound signal-pairs with a close distribution to the simulated data, yet at a considerably higher speed. This approach could be further extended to enhance the prediction accuracy in other ultrasound applications.


REPORTS 1 demonstrating the tension-lowering possibilities of adrenergic blocking agents in glaucoma are occurring in the literature. There are several types of adrenergic blocking agents. These were tested on a number of glaucomatous eyes at the Wills Hospital to determine their relative efficacy and to clarify, if possible, the type or types of glaucoma in which these agents might be most useful. Adrenergic blocking agents may be defined, according to Nickerson, 2 as agents which inhibit certain responses of effector cells to epinephrine, related amines, and sympathetic nerve impulses. This action of adrenergic blocking agents is distinct from the action of substances which can prevent a sympathicoadrenal discharge by block of nerve impulses in ganglia, such as tetraethylammonium effects, or along peripheral neurons, such as local anesthetics produce, or in the central nervous system, such as barbiturates and other central nervous system depressants bring about. Since these compounds do not


Adequate housing is a chronic headache for most of Kenyans and more so the urban poor. Both the private sector and the government acting singularly have been unable to address this problem satisfactorily and provide sufficient and adequate housing stock for all socio-economic groups. This was the basis for the formation of Slum Dwellers Federation Muungano Wa Wanavijiji a vehicle with which the urban poor communally sought solutions to their shared housing problems. One of the redressal solutions pursued by Muungano Federation for its members is the bottom-up approach of 'community-led settlement improvement' in Huruma.
Realization of such a settlement upgrading is by no means an easy feat considering the community limitations in resources, ability to negotiate for required support from external partners and organizations, the gaping diversities in needs and interests among the community members as well as the hardship in aligning their community interests with the environment other intervening factors arising from the political and policy dynamics in Kenya.
This research was therefore instigated by the interest in the strategies the representative community agents applied in bridging these diversities of groups and the extents to which the abilities and competencies of these community agents in applying those strategies impacted the settlement upgrading outcomes realized from a boundary spanning perspective.
Theoretical review divulged the essential tasks that these agents must undertake in traversing these barriers to realize a fulfilment of the involved partner's needs. These are Establishing connections and linkages among parties, engaging in informational exchange between separate groups, and facilitating cooperation of all parties to ensure the realization of a co-joint objective. This research undertook and explanatory case study with three embedded units in Huruma. It followed a mixed method approach where in-depth semi-structured interviews with respondents directly involved in leadership positions in the Huruma upgrading project. Questionnaires were issued to the beneficiary community as well as content analysis of the reports made of the upgrading process to measure the success of the project outcomes as well as provide insight into the activities of the community agents and the limits to which they fulfilled their roles.
The research established that informational exchange was the task that had the most impact on the upgrading outcomes realized. The community response and decisions were strongly based on information available and thus participation was limited to the extents to which relevant information on the upgrading was received. Secondly, due to the long-term nature of an incremental settlement upgrading project, it was found that multiple connective agents are necessary to muster and maintain positive involvement of vital partners from the household levels in the community to the organizational levels of external supporting bodies. Community agents bearing different characteristics are required to leverage their strengths where they complement each other's skills and competencies by focussing on the areas of their core competencies and leaving others to do the same. It also found that the legitimation processes had impact on the extents to which the community agents fulfilled their roles, consequently community agents are required to achieve both vertical and horizontal legitimation and where impossible then a mix of community agents deriving different legitimation sources is necessitated to create sufficient connections between their constituency and the external supporting organizations.
For future studies, I recommend a similar research but focussing rather on the boundary spanning agents located externally to the community but involved in this project to find out the extents to which they impacted the project.


Abstract This paper designs a refueling system for battery electric buses (BEBs) by applying battery-swapping technologies together with a local charging system. The service capability of battery-swapping stations (BSSs) is restricted by the number of installed swapping robots. Depleted batteries are charged at BSSs which is equipped with a local charging system having a number of standby batteries and chargers in various types. This study intends to answer four fundamental questions: How many BSSs should be installed? Where should they be? How to assign the depleted electric buses to BSSs? What is the service capability of the BSS? An integer linear program is first formulated to represent the problem with deterministic demand. A two-stage stochastic programing model is then formulated to handle the demand uncertainties, which is then solved by a customized gradient algorithm. The test on a real network of the southeast region of Melbourne in Australia verifies the feasibility of the proposed model and draws managerial insights for the location and configuration of BSSs.


This paper reports a Class II, division 2 malocclusion case successfully treated at an early age and in a relatively short period of time using the Trainer for Kids (T4K), a prefabricated functional appliance. Skeletal changes observed in the before and after treatment cephalic radiographs were compared with the expected changes produced by the patient's natural growth. The functional appliance's effects resulting in the outcomes observed in this clinical case, as well as the importance of identifying the etiological factors when treating a malocclusion will be discussed.


In cereals, pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) or vivipary is a key physiological and agronomic trait that causes huge economic loss. PHS triggered by typhoons, cyclones, and high relative humidity at the late seed maturation stage is becoming a major threat to rice production in India. To explore the mechanism of PHS in rice, we evaluated 96 rice genotypes for PHS resistance and discovered 12 PHS resistant genotypes. These genotypes were classified into two groups susceptible and resistant, based on their phenotype. From the 96 genotypes, 16 contrasting genotypes were chosen, to unravel the underlying mechanism associated with PHS resistance. The results revealed that resistant genotypes had 0% germination at all the flowering stages (20 to 40 DAF), while susceptible genotypes had 4 to 87.5% germination from 20 to 40 DAF. In terms of pericarp color, 7 out of 8 resistant genotypes had red/pigmented pericarp color while the susceptible genotypes had white/non-pigmented pericarp color. The carotenoid content of leaves and seeds from 20 to 40 DAF was also measured and found to be significantly higher in resistant genotypes than susceptible genotypes. Carotenoids have been demonstrated to increase resistance by assisting in the synthesis of ABA and thereby seed dormancy. The 12 resistant genotypes were examined for germination to decide the duration of dormancy. The duration of dormancy varied in these 12 resistant genotypes varying from 10 days up to 40 days after harvest. These findings suggest that these novel PHS resistant genotypes (PB-68, HT-81, PB-50(1), HT-86, HT-20, Mahulata, PB-285, PB-47, NHN-279, PB-65, PB-259 and Budidhan) may be exploited as donors in the crop improvement programmes to generate PHS resistant genotypes.


Objective: To develop and validation of the new estimation methods for 24-h urinary sodium excretion by using spot urine for Chinese urban and rural residents. Design and Method: Three populations were involved in this study. 100 healthy participants were enrolled in this study (Xishan population) and they all collected each spot urine sample and mixed finally as the 24-hour urine samples according to the study design and protocol. Data from previous researches were also used in this study, including Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study – China urine validation trial population (PURE-China urine trial population) and Application of prevention and treatment technique in community for noncommunicable diseases (Dexing population), for which these two researches were both collected the morning urine and 24-hour urine samples. The validation analysis conducted through correlation, bias distribution, residual analysis and Bland-Altman plots to assess the accuracy and the applicability of New methods in Chinese residents. Compared with the estimation by Kawasaki, INTERSALT, and Tanaka formula. Results: Second morning urine New method: Male: PrCRE24h = 9.39 × weight (kg)-3.567 × height (cm)-4.683 × age +1498.014 Female: PrCRE24h = 8.09 × weight (kg)+4.417 × height (cm)-1.906 × age -159.528 e-24-h USE = 2.41 × PrUCr24h × (NaSMU / CrSMU)0.461 New method underestimated the mean value of 24-h USE about 273 mg/day, which was better for population level estimation. Furthermore, the accuracy of estimation at individual level also was not improved through bias distribution analysis. With the similar effect of K method, New method showed a dispersed randomly Bland-Altman plot and indicated a relative accuracy. Although the gap between estimation values and real measured values was the least by using New method (Estimated – Measured), the bias of individual estimated values were all big no matter which methods used. Conclusions: The estimation for 24-h USE by using spot urine through New methods did not showed a good accuracy at individual level and could be an alternative for 24-h USE estimation at population level to evaluate the salt intake in given population.


Qualititive, quantitative and functional differences were found in lymphoid cells of female thymectomized and irradiated (Tx-X) PVG/c strain rats as compared to normal females of the same strain. Tx-X rats were lymphopenic and had reduced numbers of cells within spleen and cervical lymph nodes, depressed transformation responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes to PHA and lower percentage killing of their spleen cells by anti-T-cell serum and complement. There was an increased percentage of immunoglobulin-bearing cells in the lymph nodes. Reconstitution of Tx-X rats by the intravenous route using syngeneic lymph node cells, spleen cells or thymocytes abrogated the autoimmune responses to thyroid components generally observed in this state. Lymph node and spleen cells, but not thymocytes, also prevented thyroid changes when given intraperitoneally. In contrast, bone marrow cells appeared to give enhanced responses. Quntitative studies showed that the relative proportions of the suppressor or autoregulatory cells in various lymphoid tissues were lymph node greater than spleen greater than thymus. Complete abrogation of the autoimmune responses was possible only when cells were administered within a short time of final dose of irradiation and moderate thyroid change was again seen if transfer was delayed for 14 days post-irradiation. At 28 days reconstitution had no influence on the development of the autoimmune responses. Preliminary characterization studies using an anti-T-cell serum and fractionation of lymph node cells on a linear Ficoll gradient suggested that autoregulatory cell is a large T cell.


For parallel detection of mycobacteria by the radiometric method using a Bactec 460 TB apparatus and by the standard cultivation method 5383 specimens of pathological material from patients of in-patient TB departments (90%) and other health facilities (10%) were examined. 492 samples were positive. By the radiometric method alone 114 samples were positive and by cultivation only 15 samples. The mean period of detection was 12.9 days for the Bactec method, for the cultivation method 32.4 days. For the Bactec system 0.4 ml inoculum was used and one cultivation vessel, for the cultivation 0.4-0.6 ml inoculum and two egg media per sample. Of 15 samples positive on cultivation only, rarely colonies were obtained after 6-9 weeks' incubation.


A series of tests has been conducted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to evaluate the performance of a Space Station Freedom (SSF) pre-development water recovery system. Potable, hygiene, and urine reclamation subsystems were integrated with end-use equipment items and successfully operated for a total of 35 days, including 23 days in closed-loop mode with man-in-the-loop. Although several significant subsystem physical anomalies were encountered, reclaimed potable and hygiene water routinely met current SSF water quality specifications. This paper summarizes the test objectives, system design, test activities/protocols, significant results/anomalies, and major lessons learned.


Human Obesity Gene Map (2005r) includes more than 600 genes, genetic markers and chromosomal regions the obesity phenotype associated. One of the genes is gene FTO (Fat Mass And Obesity Associated). Purpose compare difference of girls-teenagers with overweight/obesity and without it – various genotype carriers of polymorphic loci A23525T (rs9939609) of gene FTO. Materials and methods There have been examined 129 girls, living in the East Siberia in Russia (Irkutsk). The control group is 59 girls with sds BMI 0,78±0,07(aged 15,5±0,12). The key group – 70 girls with sds BMI 2,46±0,08 (aged 15,76±0,13). There carried out the antropometric measurement analysis, foldind parameters, and also polymorphic loci rs9939609 of gene FTO molecular genetic testing. Results According to the molecular genetic testing of polymorphic loci rs9939609 of gene FTO all the girls are divided into 3 groups: carriers of AA-, TT- and AT-genotypes. Genotype frequency in the control group: AA 39,0%, AT 39,0%, TT 22,0%, in the key group: 25,7%, 45,7%, 28,6% respectively. A – allele frequency in the control group is 58,5%, in the key group – 48,6%. Significant difference of genotype frequency and alleles in the control and the key group was not revealed. Statistically significant antropometric measurement differences of various genotype carriers were not revealed in the control group. In the group with overweight/obesity A–allele carriers (genotypes AA and AT) had higher anthropometric measurements: sds BMI (2,73±0,15 AA-genotype carriers versus 2,30±0,11 AT-genotype carriers (p=0,01) and 2,35±0,18 TT-genotype carriers (p=0,04), body fat% (47,0±1,25% AA-genotype carriers versus 42,4±1,6% TT-genotype carriers (p=0,01), hip width (111,7±2,8 cm AA-genotype carriers versus 106,5±1,6 cm AT-genotype carriers (p=0,03), and also subcutaneous fat lines in the chest region (1,05±0,04 cm AA-genotype carriers versus 0,93±0,03 cm AT-genotype carriers (p=0,03) and 0,89±0,03 cm TT-genotype carriers (p=0,01), biceps (1,17±0,06cm AA-genotype carriers versus 1,02±0,03cm TT-genotype carriers (p=0,01) and 1,0±0,03cm AT-genotype carriers (p=0,01), belly (2,07±0,1cm AT-genotype carriers versus 1,89±0,08cm AT-genotype carriers (p=0,02) and 1,85±0,06cm TT-genotype carriers (p=0,04). Conclusion Girls with BMI/obesity – A–allele polymorphic carriers A23525T of gene FTO, anthropometric measurements are higher than T-allele carriers'.


Abstract Purpose To examine the extent to which there is a basic economic case for the provision of rehabilitation services within a publicly funded, device-centred approach to adult hearing services. Materials and methods Five representative cross-sectional surveys of people aged 50 years and over were conducted in Australia between 2013 and 2019 (n = 4663). Respondents were surveyed on self-rated hearing abilities, hearing aid usage and perceived benefits of device usage. A population estimate of non-device usage was derived from these data and the costs and benefits of the existing versus proposed hearing services pathways examined. Results Among respondents 27% reported that their hearing was fair or poor, and 14% reported hearing aid ownership. 45% of hearing aid owners were regular device users. Approximately 1:4 people (24%) who owned a hearing aid had not used it in the past three months; with an estimated cost of $au87.4 million per annum. The provision of hearing rehabilitation services in addition to or instead of hearing aids could provide clients with a more comprehensive service at an estimated saving of between 62% to 81% of existing program costs. Conclusions Cost benefit analysis supports the provision of hearing rehabilitation within a hearing services program, either as an alternative to the existing service, or adjunct to it. Such a service would enhance client outcomes and reduce the level of wastage currently associated with the current device-centred approach. Implications for rehabilitation Clients identified as not being immediately ready to progress to hearing aids could benefit from rehabilitation programs while still having access to either assistive listening devices or hearing aids. The proposed approach could result in significant cost savings to publicly funded programs while ensuring better outcomes for service users through the more effective, efficient and ethical use of public monies.


Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (Allo-BMT) has been widely used for the treatment of haematological malignancies. In patients without HLA-matched siblings, BMT from matched-unrelated donors (MUD) becomes an alternative choice. Total body irradiation (TBI) is used conventionally in MUD BMT conditioning but it is associated with severe side effects. In a!Io-BMT conditioning, busulfan-cyclophosphamide (Bu-Cy) was shown to be as effective as Cy-TBI. In MUD BMT, however, there has been concern that the use of Bu-Cy may increase the risk of graft rejection. The present study investigated the effects of Bu-Cy conditioning on the outcome of patients undergoing MUD BMT. Since December 1998, 8 patients (CML=5; AML=3) underwent MUD BMT using busulfan (16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg) as conditioning. (Mean age 32.8±3.3). As historical control, the outcomes of 28 patients (CML=16; AML=7; Biphenotypic acute leukaemia=2; ALL=2; MDS=1) who underwent MUD BMT using TBI containing regimen [Bu (7 mg/kg)-Cy (50mg/kg)-TBI (12Gy) = 18; Cy (120mg/kg)-TBI (12Gy) = 10] since 1992 (Mean age 29.3± 1.7) were also analyzed All patients received standard GVHD and anti-microbial prophylaxis. The average no. of days requiring TPN (as a result of oral mucositis) was significantly lower in the Bu-Cy group (18±3.6 days) compared with the control (31.9±4.1 days, Mann-Whitney U Test p<0.05). There were no differences in neutrophil (ANC > 0.5 x 10 9 /L) and platelet (>25 x 10 9 /L without transfusion) engraftments between the 2 groups. The Bu-Cy group had less veno-occlusive disease (VOD) (2/8 vs 11/28 in control) but more haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) (3/8 vs 5/28 in control) though the differences were not significant (Chi-Sq Test p>0.05). Patients in the Bu-Cy group also had a significantly lower occurrence (1/8) of severe GVHD (Overall grade >=2) than the control group (18/28) (Chi-Sq Test p<0.05). Transplant-related mortality (TRM) within 100 days after BMT was O in the Bu-Cy group but was 7 (out of 28) in the control (GVHD related = 4; Regimen-related toxicity = 2; Graft failure = 1). The difference, however, did not reach statistical significance (Chi-Sq Test p>0.05). There was no difference in the occurrence of early graft failure in both groups of patients (1/8 in the Bu-Cy group vs 3/28 in the control). In conclusion, we have shown that the use of Bu-Cy during conditioning in MUD BMT had no adverse effect on neutrophil and platelet engraftments and did not increase the occurrence of graft failure. On the other hand, the use of TBI-containing regimen in marrow conditioning was associated with increased severity of oral mucositis and increased risk of VOD and severe GVHD and a higher transplant-related mortality. Haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is a common occurrence in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients. Queen Hospital (QMH), its prevalence was 13.6%. While early onset HC is related to the toxicity of cyclophosphamide amplification of viral polymerase chain reaction spot urine sample analysis of and electron microscopy (EM) for viral inclusions Simultaneously 10 citrated viral by PCR. dipstix is performed everyday for each Target sequences by PCR. confirm amplification, PCR products from selected cases were sequenced. Specimen viral target subject quantitative PCR Applied Biosystem) measure the number of viral DNA copies. In the 9 patients tested, 4 of (2 matched-unrelated and 2 allogeneic BMT). PCR for BK were in all 4 patients whereas EM and cytology were in 3 and 1 patient respectively. In the 5 patients without HC (3 autologous and 2 allogeneic BMT), PCR and cytology were positive in 3 and 1 of them respectively. None of them was EM positive. Amplification of BK DNA in free and its in a distinct 95 bp band and the PCR product was confirmed by automated sequencing.


The anthropology of policing draws from a range of intellectual traditions to generate new understandings of the police as an institution and policing as a social practice. This article reviews recent anthropological work on police, situating it in longer-term disciplinary concerns. I begin with the connection between policing and personhood, exploring how the subject–object dynamics of police domination are related to anthropological conceptions of kinship, law, and social control. I then turn to the contribution that anthropological ethnography makes to a critical theory of the relationship between sovereignty, violence, and police power. I conclude by reflecting on the situation of scholarship in our current political environment, suggesting that the anthropological turn to policing is animated, in part, by hope for a better understanding of the nature of moral agency under difficult conditions.


Voltage collapse and blackout can occur in an electric power system when load powers vary so that the system loses stability in a saddle node bifurcation. The authors propose new iterative and direct methods to compute load powers at which bifurcation occurs and which are locally closest to the current operating load powers. The distance in load power parameter space to this locally closest bifurcation is an index of voltage collapse. The pattern of load power increase need not be predicted; instead the index is a worst case load power margin. The computations are illustrated in the six-dimensional load power parameter space of a five bus power system. The normal vector and curvature of a hypersurface of critical load powers at which bifurcation occurs are also computed. The sensitivity of the index to parameters and controls is easily obtained from the normal vector. >


The fracture mechanism and fracture toughness of glass-cloth/polyester composite laminate (GPCL) at low temperature (77 °K) were studied by experimental technique. The results show that the fracture toughness of GPCL at 77 °K is much greater than at ambient temperature (300 °K). In addition, the fracture phenomenon of net matrix material and matrix with a few bunches of glass fibers is also researched.


Worldwide, over 1.3 billion tonnes of food goes to waste each year, and much of this is disposed of in landfill, which is costly to the economy and the environment. This study targeted food waste management in local food service businesses as the third largest producer of food waste and a sector that has received less academic attention than other food waste producers (such as household food waste). Questionnaires and interviews were used to investigate current food waste management practices within food service businesses in a Local Government Area in Adelaide, South Australia. Twenty-two respondents completed the online questionnaire and three of these businesses also participated in an interview—two in-person at their business premises and one via an online teleconferencing system. It was found that 54% (n = 12) of these businesses have practices in place to recycle their food waste, while 46% (n = 10) do not. Insufficient kitchen space and the difficulty of separating food waste from non-compostable rubbish were reasons given for not recycling food waste, and the single most important factor that would encourage food waste recycling cited by businesses was the provision of a free, green organics bin. Motivations for recycling food waste included compassion for the environment and the desire to divert waste from landfill. These insights may help local government implement solutions to reduce food waste from entering landfill.


The quality of baby carrots may be associated to the standard of the raw material that in turn, may be influenced by agronomic practices. Thus, the effect of planting density and harvest age were assessed on physical and morphological characteristics, yield and end quality of intact and minimally processed carrots in the form of baby carrots. A randomized block experimental design was used with the density in the plots (4 x 20 cm and 4 x 7.5 cm) and the harvest age in the subplots (50, 57, 64, 71, 78, 85, 92, 99 and 106 days), with five replications. The experimental unit consisted of 25 plants. The assessments of diameter, length, yield, secondary phloem translocation with the cambio and total carotenoids were decisive in selecting the carrot harvest age for baby carrot manufacture. Under the 4 x 20 cm and 4 x 7.5 cm adensed conditions, harvested between 85 and 92 days, carrot roots became thinner and more orange in color (with maximum carotenoid accumulation), larger and with satisfactory yields and therefore more acceptable for minimal processing in the form of baby carrots. Thus the decision of populational density associated to harvest age will depend on the market demand, on price, quality and other variables. The use of adensed cropping with early harvests may lead to obtain carrots and respective baby carrots that are more acceptable for commercialization.


Salmonella meningitis is rarely seen in neonates and if it is present, it is associated with complications like subdural collections and abscesses. We are presenting a case of Salmonella meningitis in a 28 days old neonate who developed complications like extensive subdural collections and ventriculitis. The child responded well to prolonged systemic antibiotics and other supportive measures.


As the rate of energy release in a double layer with voltage ¿V is P ¿ I¿V, a double layer must be treated as a part of a circuit which delivers the current I. As neither double layer nor circuit can be derived from magnetofluid models of a plasma, such models are useless for treating energy transfer by means of double layers. They must be replaced by particle models and circuit theory. A simple circuit is suggested which is applied to the energizing of auroral particles, to solar flares, and to intergalactic double radio sources. Application to the heliospheric current systems leads to the prediction of two double layers on the sun's axis which may give radiations detectable from Earth. Double layers in space should be classified as a new type of celestial object (one example is the double radio sources). It is tentatively suggested that X-ray and ¿-ray bursts may be due to exploding double layers (although annihilation is an alternative energy source). A study of how a number of the most used textbooks in astrophysics treat important concepts such as double layers, critical velocity, pinch effects, and circuits is made. It is found that students using these textbooks remain essentially ignorant of even the existence of these concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been well known for half a century (e.g., double layers, Langmuir, 1929; pinch effect, Bennet, 1934).


Electron density and electron temperature profiles are reconstructed from Thomson scattering data on the stellarator Wendelstein 7-AS by means of systematic statistical modelling employing the Bayesian probability theory (BPT). The BPT allows for systematic combination of all information entering the measurement descriptive model considering all uncertainties of the measured data, calibration measurements, physical model parameters and measurement nuisance parameters. The BPT results are consistent with the ratio-evaluation method (REM) which is used to determine the electron temperature from the ratios of scattering signals. If compared to the sequential REM, the Bayesian error analysis is much more informative because it yields probability density functions of the quantities of interest. Moreover, systematic consideration of all the obtainable raw data, in particular those data suffering from low signal levels, results in an improved evaluation for weakly informative data. Sensitivity analysis of model parameters allows for finding crucial uncertainties which has impact on both diagnostic improvement and design.


The key role of the primary cilium in developmental processes is illustrated by ciliopathies resulting from genetic defects of its components. Ciliopathies include a large variety of dysmorphic syndromes that share in common the presence of multiple kidney cysts. These observations suggest that primary cilia may control morphogenetic processes in the developing kidney. In this study, we assessed the role of primary cilium in branching tubulogenesis and/or lumen development using kidney collecting duct-derived mCCDN21 cells that display spontaneous tubulogenic properties when grown in collagen-Matrigel matrix. Tubulogenesis and branching were not altered when cilium body growth was inhibited by Kif3A or Ift88 silencing. In agreement with the absence of a morphogenetic effect, proliferation and wound-healing assay revealed that neither cell proliferation nor migration were altered by cilium body disruption. The absence of cilium following Kif3A or Ift88 silencing in mCCDN21 cells did not alter the initial stages of tubular lumen generation while lumen maturation and enlargement were delayed. This delay in tubular lumen maturation was not observed after Pkd1 knockdown in mCCDN21 cells. The delayed lumen maturation was explained by neither defective secretion or increased reabsorption of luminal fluid. Our results indicate that primary cilia do not control early morphogenetic processes in renal epithelium. Rather, primary cilia modulate tubular lumen maturation and enlargement resulting from luminal fluid accumulation in tubular structures derived from collecting duct cells.


Young nurses' safety behavior and interrupted coping behavior affect patient safety. A stepped, interactive and situated training program should be evaluated to assist young nurses in improving themselves. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the stepwise interactive situated training program on safety behavior and practice ability with respect to nursing interruptions for young nurses and its influencing factors. This was a quasi-experimental, one-group, self-control and pretest–post-test design study. Six hundred young nurses in two provinces were included. The participants underwent a stepwise interactive situated training program from March to August 2019. The program was delivered by designated head nurses and consisted of five themes: mobilization, theoretical training, operational training, specialized training and self-improvement. Five hundred and sixty-two young nurses completed this study. The safety behavior and the practice of nursing interruption were significantly higher after intervention than before. Professional titles, age and occupational time were the influence factors. The stepwise interactive situated training program was effective at improving young nurses' safety behavior and interrupted coping behavior. Nurses with higher professional titles performed better with regard to the safety behavior and the practice of nursing interruption.


Actor–Network Theory is a controversial social theory. In no respect is this more so than the role it 'gives' to nonhumans: nonhumans have agency, as Latour provocatively puts it. This article aims to interrogate the multiple layers of this declaration to understand what it means to assert with Actor–Network Theory that nonhumans exercise agency. The article surveys a wide corpus of statements by the position's leading figures and emphasizes the wider methodological framework in which these statements are embedded. With this work done, readers will then be better placed to reject or accept the Actor–Network position – understanding more precisely what exactly it is at stake in this decision.


The paper proposes a Java-based mobile agent infrastructure, TRAVELER, to support wide area parallel applications. Unlike other meta-computing systems, TRAVELER allows users to dispatch their compute-intensive jobs as mobile agents via a resource broker. The broker forms a parallel virtual machine atop servers to execute the agents. Since the agents can be programmed to satisfy their goals, even if they move and lose contact with their creators, they can survive intermittent or unreliable network connection. During their lifetime, the agents can also move themselves autonomously from one machine to another for load balancing, enhancing data locality, and tolerating faults. TRAVELER relies on an integrated distributed shared array runtime system in support of agent communications on clusters of servers. We demonstrated the feasibility of the TRAVELER in LU factorization problems.


Clinical observation of a 1.5-year-old with a hydrogel foreign object in the ileum causing an acute obturation intestinal obstruction was submitted.


This article compares the use of the Internet during the first year of university education of students who have pathological levels of Internet anxiety with those who do not. Two hundred and sixteen first year psychology students (females 184, males 32) were surveyed for their levels of Internet-related anxiety, from which 12 (5.6%) were identified as having pathological levels (termed "technophobic"). At the beginning of the year, there were no differences in Internet usage between the two groups. However, at the end of the academic year, the non-technophobic group had increased their Internet usage, while the technophobic group had decreased their Internet usage. For the technophobic group, changes in Internet-related anxiety over the academic year correlated with changes in Internet usage. The technophobic group perceived a greater need for informal (home-based) support and formal (university-based) support than the non-technophobic group, though largely did not receive support. For the non-technophobic group, informal support was related to increased Internet usage. The decrease in usage in the technophobic group was particularly marked in those who did not receive support. Support did not impact upon changes in Internet-related anxiety. As study at university requires an increase in the use of Information Communication Technology, identification of Internet-related anxieties is crucial. Left unaddressed, this study suggests that a student experiencing pathological levels of Internet-related anxiety could become increasingly disadvantaged through their academic studies when Internet-based resources are required for study. These findings are discussed in terms of supporting technophobic students at university.


Three cases of neonatal E. coli infection in Newfoundland dogs are described. The serological examination showed that the implicated E. coli belonged to sero-group 04 in two outbreaks while sero-group 025 was responsible for one outbreak. In one of the kennels with implication of 04, this 0-group was also isolated from adult dogs with diarrheal conditions.


As of 2013, almost all robots have access to computer networks that offer extensive computing, memory, and other resources that can dramatically improve performance. The underlying enabling framework is the focus of this chapter: networked robots. Networked robots trace their origin to telerobots, or remotely controlled robots. Telerobots are widely used to explore undersea terrains and outer space, to defuse bombs, and to clean up hazardous waste. Until 1994, telerobots were accessible only to trained and trusted experts through dedicated communication channels. This chapter will describe relevant network technology, the history of networked robots as it evolves from teleoperation to cloud robotics, properties of networked robots, how to build a networked robot, example systems. Later in the chapter we focus on the recent progress on cloud robotics, and topics for future research.


In American Society: How It Really Works, Erik Olin Wright and Joel Rogers ask several key questions: What kind of society is America? How does it really work and why is it the way it is? In what ways does it need changing, and how can those changes be brought about? To answer these questions, Wright and Rogers identify five core social values that most Americans affirm in one way or another: freedom, prosperity, efficiency, fairness, and democracy. The authors then challenge readers to question to what degree contemporary American society actually lives up to these values and suggest how we might make progress in solving some of the social problems that confront America today.


Due to the remarkable development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in recent years, its application in river engineering increases widely mainly for the measurement of ground topography such as by the technique Structure from Motion (SfM) using a series of high-resolution static images. However, although UAV usually installed a high density video camera, the use of the movie is limited just for watching and observing the geometrical feature of the ground. In the light of such a present status, the authors have developed an aerial space-time image velocimetry (STIV) technique to measure streamwise river surface velocity distributions. However, as STIV is insensitive to the change of flow direction, the aerial space-time volume velocimetry (STVV) technique, which is an extension of STIV, was developed in this research. STVV examines the change of volumetric texture within a space-time volume (STV) instead of examining the change of image intensity on a line segment as in STIV. The performance of STVV was investigated during the measurement of snowmelt flood of the Shinano River by comparing it with those obtained by the other techniques such as STIV, LSPIV and ADCP. It was made clear the aerial STVV has a great advantage over the existing image-based techniques.


Author Yury Linnik should be well known to Leonardo readers. He partici pated in the Theremin issue of Leonardo Musicjournal (Vol. 6, pp. 70-71, 1996). Previous to that, Linnik reported on the Rerikh Space Art Museum in the Prometheus special issue of Leonardo (Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 377-378,1994). He planned to establish this museum using as its base his collection of works by artist-cosmists from the "Amaravella" group. Unfortunately, the museum— with its hundreds of canvasses and graphics—is still quartered in Linnik's small flat in Petrozavodsk, while his achievements in the field of cosmic art have become widely known via from his numerous publications from the Saint Island (Svyatoi Ostrov) Press, which (alas!) is also quartered in the same two-room flat. In spite of all these diffi culties, Linnik sees fit to publish his own works exclusively. During the era of perestroika he published about 100 of his own works, including an anthol ogy of verse, fantastic prose and books about the world's major religions, along with his personal newsletter, Yury Linnik.


Recently, the iron and erythropoiesis‐controlled growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has been shown to inhibit the expression of hepcidin in β‐thalassaemia patients, thereby increasing iron absorption despite iron overload. To access the diagnostic and pathogenic impact of GDF15 in inflammatory anaemia the association of GDF15 expression with serum iron parameters and hepcidin was studied in patients suffering from iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) and ACD subjects with true iron deficiency (ACD/IDA). GDF15 was significantly increased in both ACD and ACD/IDA, but not in IDA subjects as compared to controls. In contrast, hepcidin levels were significantly lower in IDA and ACD/IDA subjects than in ACD patients. IDA and ACD/IDA, but not ACD, showed an association between GDF15 and soluble transferrin receptor, an indicator of iron requirement for erythropoiesis. However, GDF15 did not correlate to hepcidin in either patient group. While GDF15 levels were linked to the needs for erythropoiesis and iron homeostasis in IDA, the immunity‐driven increase of GDF15 may not primarily affect iron homeostasis and hepcidin expression. This indicates that other ACD‐related factors may overcome the regulatory effects of GDF15 on hepcidin expression during inflammation.


Here we present the rst observations on the immature stages of the cetoniid tribe Taenioderini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). The larvae of Chalcothea neglecta Ritsema, 1882, Coilodera diardi (Gory & Percheron, 1833), C. penicillata Hope, 1831, Euselates cineraceus (Gory & Percheron, 1833), E. laoticus Mikši , 1974, Meroloba suturalis (Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1858), Plectrone tristis (Westwood, 1842) and an undetermined species belonging to Taeniodera idolica Janson, 1909 species group are described and illustrated, their morphology is compared with the immature stages of the other Cetoniinae. Brief observations on biology and ecology are given. Larvae of Taenioderini show a remarkable morphological diversity. An intra-generic variability in the body pilosity, presence and development of various structures (e.g. the palidium of raster) is documented. Larvae of Taenioderini are morphologically highly variable, as compared to other all Cetoniinae tribes.


We report direct measurements of the force distance profiles between emulsion droplets in surfactant solutions of various nature. We probe the evolution of double layer repulsive forces in mixture of ionic and non ionic surfactants. In the absence of any micelles, the force intensity is shown to be significantly enhanced by the presence of non ionic surfactant. Then, by varying the ratio of ionic over non ionic surfactant well above the critical micellar concentration, we investigate the behavior of forces in the presence of micelles of various charge densities. The double layer repulsive force-distance profile is not affected by the presence of neutral non ionic micelles. However, as soon as they get partially charged, a deviation from the classical electrostatic profile is observed. In that case, we establish that the repulsive force can be described by the sum of two contributions : one is the repulsive double layer repulsive force while the other is attractive and arises from the depletion of charged micelles. Because micelles and droplets are identically charged, they repel each other and this repulsion enhances the depletion force. This effect is accounted by considering an effective larger droplet diameter. We present the empirical relation between this extra thickness and the Debye length. The simple addition of the two contributions is shown to successfully describe the force-distance profiles measured in mixed ionic-non ionic as well as in purely ionic micellar solutions.


This review describes the types of psychiatric treatment studied during the Japanese colonial period of 1910–1945 in Korea, known at the time as Chosun. Twenty-nine research papers and abstracts on psychiatric treatment were reviewed, which were published in the Shinkeigaku-zassi (Neurologia), the Seishin-shinkei-gaku zassi (Psychiatria Et Neurologia Japonica) and the Journal of Chosun Medical Association, by faculty members of the department of neuropsychiatry, Chosun-Governor Hospital and Keijo (Seoul) Imperial University School of Medicine. The major research area was biological psychiatry and biological treatment, as Japanese pioneers in psychiatry at that time had introduced German psychiatry into Japan. Professor Kubo published the most papers, followed by Dr. Hattori, Dr. Hikari, and Professor Suits. In Chosun-Governor Hospital, research on prolonged sleep therapy was an active field. In the Imperial University Hospital, malarial fever therapy, sulphur-induced fever therapy, and insulin shock treatment were the most frequent research topics. Some were tried for the first time in the Japanese Empire, which reflected the pioneering position of the university. These achievements are attributed to Professor Kubo. Six papers on psychotherapy were published. Among them, two papers were on persuasion therapy, three papers were case reports of psychoanalytic therapy, and one paper on Freud. However, this psychoanalytic therapy research seemed to be limited trials conducted following literal guidance, and no further development was noted. Generally, research was characterized by simple design, small numbers of subjects, lack of objective evaluation method, lack of statistical treatment, and especially lack of ethical consideration comparing with today's standard. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2016;55(3):143-157


Access to microcredit has been identified as a principal element for micro entrepreneurs to succeed in their drive to build productive capacity, to create jobs and contribute to poverty alleviation in developing countries. However access to finance for the rural poor especially women has not been easy. This is because women in Kenya experience social and economic discrimination because of the patriarchal nature of the Kenyan society. The Kenyan government acknowledges that women have not been at par with their male counterparts and therefore special provisions have been made for gender mainstreaming. To stimulate economic activity and growth, and to ultimately reduce unemployment, the Kenyan government has placed emphasis in the development and expansion of microenterprise, more specifically the women run enterprises. This has been made possible with the introduction of the women enterprise fund. This study therefore sought to establish the challenges faced by women who access the women enterprise fund. The survey research conducted in Hamisi constituency used interview schedules to collect data from 145 respondents. The data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and presented through frequency tables and percentages. The study found out that WEF faced numerous challenges both at the lender and borrower level. This affected the effectiveness of the fund. This study concluded that the challenges faced need to be addressed to enhance the effectiveness of the programme. It recommends the WEF should increase loan sizes, improve staffing, work out ways of providing individual loans though group lending and sensitize men to get involved. Keywords: Constituency women enterprise scheme (C-WES), Microcredit, Microenterprise, Revolving loan fund.


The broadcast nature of wireless networks and the mobility features created new kinds of intrusions and anomalies taking profit of wireless vulnerabilities. Because of the radio links and the mobile equipment features of wireless networks, wireless intrusions are more complex because they add to the intrusions developed for wired networks, a large spectrum of complex attacks targeting wireless environment. These intrusions include rogue or unauthorized access point (AP), AP MAC spoofing, and wireless denial of service and require adding new techniques and mechanisms to those approaches detecting intrusions targeting wired networks. To face this challenge, some researchers focused on extending the deployed approaches for wired networks while others worked to develop techniques suitable for detecting wireless intrusions. The efforts have mainly addressed: (1) the development of theories to allow reasoning about detection, wireless cooperation, and response to incidents; and (2) the development of wireless intrusion and anomaly detection systems that incorporate wireless detection, preventive mechanisms and tolerance functions. This chapter aims at discussing the major theories, models, and mechanisms developed for the protection of wireless networks/systems against threats, intrusions, and anomalous behaviors. The objectives of this chapter are to: (1) discuss security problems in a wireless environment; (2) present the current research activities; (3) study the important results already developed by researchers; and (4) discuss the validation methods proposed for the protection of wireless networks against attacks.


Hemiplegia/ hemiparesis is the paralysis of either right or left side of the body with loss of functions. The main cause of hemiplegia is cerebrovascular attack (CVA) or stroke. Stroke is the third main cause of the death & disability in India. There are two major categories of brain damage in stroke i.e. ischemia & haemorrhage. The aim of rehabilitation in subjects with hemiplegia is to promote recovery of lost function, independence, and early reintegration into social and domestic life. Many stroke patients have a number of serious disorders such as hemiplegia, motor disturbance, sensory disability, and cognitive impairment. Stroke rehabilitation is the process by which those with disabling strokes undergo treatment to help them return to normal life as much as possible by regaining and relearning the skills of everyday living. Physiotherapy treatment includes conventional therapies & neurophysiological approaches. Conventional therapies(Therapeutic Exercises, Traditional Functional Retraining) comprises of: Range Of Motion (ROM) Exercises i.e. passive followed by active assisted, active then active resisted exercises, Muscle Strengthening Exercises to reduce flaccidity, Stretching techniques to reduce spasticity, Mobilization techniques, Fitness training & Compensatory Techniques. Neurophysiological Approaches: 1. Muscle Re-education Approach. 2. Neurodevelopmental Approaches: – Sensorimotor Approach (Rood, 1940S), Movement Therapy Approach (Brunnstrom, 1950S), NDT Approach (Bobath, 1960-70S), PNF Approach (Knot and Voss, 1960-70S). 3. Motor Relearning Program for Stroke (1980S). 4. Contemporary Task Oriented Approach (1990S). We conclude that above all the techniques, Bobath, NDT, PNF, Roods approach, speech therapy, robotic devices, balance training and kinesiotapping are effective in the improvement of patient's condition.


Diploid organisms inherit a set of chromosomes from each parent. In contrast to Mendelian principles, according to which both parental alleles contribute equally to the phenotype, a small subset of genes in the mammalian genome is inherited in an inactive state from one parent, and in an active form from the other parent, thus conferring an epigenetic asymmetry on the two parental genomes. Many imprinted genes are involved in fetal and placental growth and/or tissue development. Genomic imprinting is regulated by DNA methylation and chromatin structure. Most imprinted genes are clustered with cis-acting imprinting control regions that carry parent-specific methylation patterns. These methylation imprints are established in the male or female germline, most likely because of a reproductive battle between the two sexes over the extraction of maternal resources for the offspring. The two germline epigenomes represent opposite parental interests and, therefore, must be reprogrammed after fertilization for somatic development. Genome-wide demethylation waves in the early embryo erase most germline methylation patterns, followed by de novo methylation and the establishment of somatic methylation patterns, which are identical on both parental alleles. Only imprinted genes escape this postzygotic reprogramming process and maintain their sex-specific epigenetic asymmetry in somatic cells. Their functional haploidy and complex regulation makes imprinted genes particularly susceptible to classical DNA sequence mutations and epigenetic errors. Apart from rare imprinting disorders, the dysregulation of imprinted genes has been linked to medical problems associated with assisted reproduction, pregnancy loss, cancer, neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders, and various complex disease susceptibilities.

Keywords:

Chromatin;
Differentially methylated region (DMR);
DNA methylation;
Early embryogenesis (preimplantation development);
Epigenetics;
Epigenome;
Gametogenesis;
Germline;
Imprinting;
Imprinting control region (ICR); imprinting center (IC)


Control of dam gates is a complex, nonlinear, and non-stationary control process and is significantly affected by hydrological conditions which are not predictable beforehand. In this paper, we proposed control methods based on a fuzzy inference method for the operation of dam gates. The proposed methods are not only suitable for controlling gates but also able to maintain target water level in order to prepare a draught, and able to control the amount of the outfow from a reservoir in order to prevent floods in lower areas of a river. In the proposed methods, we used the dynamic fuzzy inference method that membership functions can be varied by changing environment conditions for keeping up the target water level instead of conventional static fuzzy inference methods, and used additional fuzzy rules and membership functions for restricting the amount of the outflow. Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed methods produce an efficient solution for both of maintaining target water level defined beforehand and controlling the amount of the outflow.


Lathyrogens decrease collagen and elastin cross-linking by inhibiting lysine oxidase. The lathyrogens isoniazid and semicarbazide decrease liver pyridoxal phosphate and are teratogenic; all their effects are reversed by pyridoxal. beta-Aminopropionitrile, another lathyrogen, does not affect liver pyridoxal phosphate, and its lathyrogenic and teratogenic effects are not reversed by pyridoxal. Time courses of these effects differ greatly, suggesting enzyme inhibition by different mechanisms.


Posttraumatic stump formation and replantation of the severed limb are both reconstructive plastic operations which may lead to the improvement or destruction of a patient's lifestyle. For the primary attending surgeon, the decision whether to undertake such an operation depends on the patient's clinical condition, the operational circumstances, the psychological and social aspects and, last but not least, on the surgeon's own abilities. This monograph is designed as a synopsis of the great number of patho-physiological parameters and surgical and rehabilitational aspects which must be considered in the analysis of complications in major limb replantation. In addition, basic information about the key role of ischemic myopathy and microangiopathy is supplied to encourage further experimental investigations.


Metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is incurable and FDA-approved kinase inhibitors that include oncogenic RET as a target do not result in complete responses. Association studies of human MTCs and murine models suggest that the CDK/RB pathway may be an alternative target. The objective of this study was to determine if CDKs represent therapeutic targets for MTC and to define mechanisms of activity. Using human MTC cells that are either sensitive or resistant to vandetanib, we demonstrate that palbociclib (CDK4/6 inhibitor) is not cytotoxic to MTC cells but that they are highly sensitive to dinaciclib (CDK1/2/5/9 inhibitor) accompanied by reduced CDK9 and RET protein and mRNA levels. CDK9 protein was highly expressed in 83 of 83 human MTCs and array-comparative genomic hybridization had copy number gain in 11 of 30 tumors. RNA sequencing demonstrated that RNA polymerase II-dependent transcription was markedly reduced by dinaciclib. The CDK7 inhibitor THZ1 also demonstrated high potency and reduced RET and CDK9 levels. ChIP-sequencing using H3K27Ac antibody identified a superenhancer in intron 1 of RET. Finally, combined inhibition of dinaciclib with a RET kinase inhibitor was synergistic. In summary, we have identified what we believe is a novel mechanism of RET transcription regulation that potentially can be exploited to improve RET therapeutic targeting.


Homogenization and diversification are major themes in studies of globalization and culture. McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) are often used as evidence to describe these two themes. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which homogenization and diversification occur in the television commercials for McDonald's and KFC in China as well as the strategic models they adopt to manipulate the tension between homogenization and diversification. La Pastina and Straubhaar's theory is used to map out two different strategic models: genre proximity and cultural proximity. The study finds that homogenization exceeds diversification in the commercials of McDonald's and KFC as a whole. Comparatively, McDonald's adopts genre proximity and KFC adopts cultural proximity. The adoption of different models offers a cultural explanation for KFC's triumph in the competition with McDonald's in the Chinese fast food market.


We introduce a process for optically reconstructing full-color holographic images recorded by optical scanning holography. A complex RGB-color hologram was recorded and converted into a binary hologram using a direct binary search (DBS) algorithm. The generated binary hologram was then optically reconstructed using a spatial light modulator. The discrepancies between the reconstructed object sizes and colors due to chromatic aberration were corrected by adjusting the reconstruction parameters in the DBS algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first optical reconstruction of a full-color hologram recorded by optical scanning holography.


Gastric cancer (GC) is a common digestive tract malignancy worldwide. N-myristoyltransferase 1 (NMT1) has been implicated in many cancers, but its association with gastric cancer remains to be clarified. Thus, this paper elucidated the role of NMT1 in GC. The NMT1 expression level in GC and normal tissue samples as well as the relationship between NMT1 high or low expression and overall survival in GC was analyzed via GEPIA. GC cells were transfected with NMT1 or SPI1 overexpression plasmid and short hairpin RNA against NMT1 (shNMT1) or shSPI1. NMT1, SPI1, p-PI3K, PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, p-mTOR, and mTOR levels were detected through qRT-PCR and western blot. MTT, wound healing, and transwell assays were applied to test cell viability, migration, and invasion. The binding relationship of SPI1 and NMT1 was determined through a dual-luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation. NMT1 was upregulated in GC, the high level of which connected with a poor prognosis. Overexpressed NMT1 elevated viability, migration rate, and invasion rate of GC cells, whereas NMT1 knockdown leads to the opposite results. Besides, SPI1 could bind to NMT1. Overexpressed NMT1 reversed the effects of shSPI1 on decreasing viability, migration, invasion, p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, and p-mTOR/mTOR in GC cells, and NMT1 knockdown reversed the effects of SPI1 overexpression on increasing viability, migration, invasion, p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, and p-mTOR/mTOR. SPI1 upregulated NMT1 to facilitate the malignant behaviors of GC cells through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.


Purpose: Partnering has been at the top of the management agenda in the construction industry for many years as a means of improving performance. Previous research shows that partnering has not reached the desired level of strategic partnering, but stopped at project partnering. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical framing for transformation from project partnering towards strategic partnering with suppliers. Design/methodology/approach: The framework is based on two building blocks: a case study of a contractor involved in implementing strategic partnering with four of its suppliers and a literature review dealing with partnering in construction; and models for close and long-term buyer-supplier collaboration in other contexts. Findings: Transformation towards strategic partnering should preferably be based on extension of project partnering in two dimensions: extension in time through relationship development with suppliers and extension in space through increasing network orientation across projects. Practical implications: Succeeding with relationship development and network orientation requires contractors to abandon two significant aspects of established construction logic that serve as significant implementation barriers. Competitive bidding in single projects needs to be replaced by collaboration over series of projects. The decentralisation of authority to the project level needs to be supplemented with increasing centralised decision making. Originality/value: Previous research showed that despite the considerable interest in partnering there is a lack of systematic theorizing of the phenomenon. This paper contributes to theoretical anchoring through the combining of the case study and the literature review in the abductive approach applied.


The NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) is a technological marvel and a great feat of international cooperation. The ISS is an Earth-orbiting laboratory drawing upon the scientifi c and technological expertise of 16 nations: the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Brazil, and the 11 member nations of the European Space Agency (ESA). The ISS is a gateway to new space frontiers, a hallmark to United States space leadership, a unique laboratory, and a virtual space classroom. The ISS also is an out-of-control project, one that needs an immediate managerial overhaul to assure its productivity and retain its promise of being a world-class orbiting laboratory. The project is a victim of inadequate cost-accounting measures, a skyrocketing price tag, and an increasingly suspect research agenda given cost overruns and shrinking crew size. All these issues help frame the program as one steeped in controversy rather than as a cosmic gateway to the universe.


The number of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients and heart transplantation (HT) recipients enrolled in rehabilitation and maintenance exercise programs continues to expand. There is growing clinical consensus that stable patients with CHF respond favorably to exercise training and convincing evidence that exercise training should be an essential adjunct therapy in postoperative management of HT recipients. This review examines the following specific advances in exercise physiology for heart failure and heart transplantation patients: 1) the mechanisms of exercise intolerance in CHF and the results of exercise rehabilitation studies in these patients; 2) the exercise challenges conferred by glucocorticoid therapy and chronic cardiac denervation in HT recipients; and 3) a summary of current recommendations and guidelines for exercise prescription in each patient population.


Digital privacy notices aim to provide users with information to make informed decisions. They are, however, fraught with difficulties. Instead, I propose that data privacy decisions can be understood as an expression of user values. To optimize this value expression, I further propose the creation of a value-centered privacy assistant (VcPA). Here, I preliminary explore how a VcPA could enhance user value expression by utilizing three user scenarios in the context of considering whether or not to download an environmental application, the OpenLitterMap app. These scenarios are conceptually constructed from established privacy user groups the privacy fundamentalists; the privacy pragmatists; and the privacy unconcerned. I conclude that the VcPA best facilitates user value expression of the privacy fundamentalists. In contrast, the value expression of the privacy pragmatists and the privacy unconcerned could be enhanced or hindered depending on the context and their internal states. Possible implications for optimal VcPA design are also discussed. Following this initial conceptual exploration of VcPAs, further empirical research will be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of the VcPA system in real-world settings.


A laboratory study was conducted with the aim of evaluating efficacy of different botanical insecticides against weevil in storage with four replication in completely randomized design. Seven plant materials; Acorus calamus Linn., Piper nigrum Linn., Zanthoxylum armatum DC., Azedarachta indica A. Juss., Melia azedarach Linn., Justicia adhatoda Linn., and Artemisia vulgaris Linn. were compared along with control. Maize samples were infested with S. zeamais at the rate of 4 pair adults/50 g. At 120 days of treatment, the highest and lowest number of weevil progeny (19.75 and 0.70), and grain damage % (19.50% and 0.21%) was recorded in control and A. calamus. Similarly, weight loss% was the highest on control (7.03%) and lowest on A. calamus (1.80%), followed by A. indica (2.79%) and P. nigrum (3.13%), respectively.100% weevil mortality was observed in A. calamus and P. nigrum treated grains within 14 and 21 days. A. calamus was found more effective for weevil management in storage.


A complete numerical analysis of heat pipes is performed with no empirical correlations while including the flow in a wick. The numerical model is validated from experimental and numerical work. Single and multiple heat sources were used as well as constant, convective, and radiative heat sinks. The numerical model does not fix the internal pressure references by a point, but allows it to rise and fall based on the physics of the problem. Also, the capillary pressure needed in the wick to drive the flow is obtained for various heating configurations and powers. These capillary pressures, in conjunction with an analysis that predicts the maximum capillary pressure for a given heating load, are used to determine the dry-out limitations of a heat pipe.


ABSTRACT The impact of class size on student achievement remains an open question despite hundreds of empirical studies and the perception among parents, teachers, and policymakers that larger classes are a significant detriment to student development. This study sheds new light on this ambiguity by utilizing nonparametric tests for stochastic dominance to analyze unconditional and conditional test score distributions across students facing different class sizes. Analyzing the conditional distributions of test scores (purged of observables using class-size specific returns), we find that there is little causal effect of marginal reductions in class size on test scores within the range of 20 or more students. However, reductions in class size from above 20 students to below 20 students, as well as marginal reductions in classes with fewer than 20 students, increase test scores for students below the median, but decrease test scores above the median. This nonuniform impact of class size suggests that compensatory school policies, whereby lower-performing students are placed in smaller classes and higher-performing students are placed in larger classes, improves the academic achievement of not just the lower-performing students but also the higher-performing students.


This report contains a database of detailed section-, core-, and hole-scaled stratigraphic columns constructed from shipboard and shore-based observations of core recovered during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 351 at Site U1438. The sectionand core-level stratigraphic columns include bedding and facies designations intended for use in postexpedition studies, including analyses of depositional processes and sediment provenance, as well as contexts for geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological analyses. We also present a stratigraphic synthesis column reflecting bedding and facies variation at the site.


The aim of study was to analyze the functioning the new model of criminal corporate responsibility in Poland. The need to introduce into the Polish legal system liability of corporate (collective entities) has resulted, among others, from the Polish Republic's international commitments, in particular related to membership in the European Union. The study showed that responsibility of collective entities under the Act has a criminal nature. The main question concerns the ability of the collective entity to be brought to guilt under criminal law sense. Polish criminal law knows only the responsibility of individual persons. So far, guilt as a personal feature of action, based on the ability of the offender to feel in his psyche, could be considered only in relation to the individual person, while the said Act destroyed this conviction. Guilt of collective entity must be proven under at least one of the three possible forms: the guilt in the selection or supervision and so called organizational guilt. In addition, research in article has resolved the issue how the principle of proportionality in relation to criminal measures in response of collective entities should be considered. It should be remembered that the legal subjectivity of collective entities, including their rights and freedoms, is an emanation of the rights and freedoms of individual persons which create collective entities and through these entities implement their rights and freedoms. The whole study was proved that the adopted Act largely reflects the international legal regulations but also contains the unknown and original legislative solutions. Keywords—Criminal corporate responsibility, Polish criminal law.


In 2016, Yuri Zarhin gave formulas for "dividing a point on a hyperelliptic curve by 2." Given a point $P$ on a hyperelliptic curve $\mathcal{C}$, Zarhin gives the Mumford's representation of every degree $g$ divisor $D$ such that $2(D - g \infty) \sim P - \infty$. The aim of this paper is to generalize Zarhin's result to the superelliptic situation; instead of dividing by 2, we divide by $1 - \zeta$. Even though there is no Mumford's representation for superelliptic curves, we give a formula for functions which cut out $D$.


Based on viscoplastic Anand's model, the structural stress of 8� 8 InSb infrared focal plane array detector with underfill is systematically analyzed by finite element method, and the impacts of design parameters including indium bump diameters, heights on both Von Mises stress and its distribution are discussed in this manuscript. Simulation results show that for the given indium bump height, the maximum stress existing in InSb chip is almost unchanged with reduced indium bump diameters, and with thicker indium bump, the stress is smaller, when the indium bump height is over than 15� m, the stress reduces slowly with decreased standing off height. When the InSb IRFPA format increases from 8� 8 to 32� 32, the maximal Von Mises stress increases from 500MPa to 900Mpa, almost twice over, and is not proportional to array format scale.


Abstract "Rural reconstruction" has become an important and much-discussed theme within Chinese architectural practice and academia in recent years. The approach adopted by architects and intellectuals in this field tends to be oriented towards humanitarian service and cultural production. In this study I argue that not enough attention is being given to the kinds of social production and communal form that are typically constructed through collective building and economic practices in Chinese villages. This paper compares the approaches to village revitalization taken by two recent architectural projects in two Chinese villages, both attempt to give fresh meaning to the old word "commune." By examining the extent to which input from creative outsiders can reconfirm or reinvent the value and potential of "commune" in their efforts to effect socio-cultural transformation in Chinese villages, my conclusion is that architecture in Chinese villages needs to work with more communal forms of collective practice in order to achieve a more socially resilient rural reconstruction.


Native carvers supplying curios for the Pacific Northwest souvenir trade in the late 1800s created the first model totem poles. Over time, totem poles came to be perceived as generalized icons of "Indian life" and Native groups all across North America began making model totems for the ever-expanding tourism industry that attended the popularization of automobile travel. By the middle of the 20th century, totems were being produced by a variety of non-Native groups, including Boy Scouts and hobby crafters. Today, Native artists in both the United States and Canada have revitalized the model totem pole tradition, sharing it with a growing fine art audience. Carvings and Commerce recreates an exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, Canada, in the summer of 2010, which traced the history of model totem poles from the end of the 19th century to the present time. A group of internationally recognized scholars and artists examine the issues of politics, economics, cultural identity, tradition, and aesthetics that have shaped the evolution of the model totem pole for over a hundred and thirty years.


Model populations, simulating progenies obtained from Escherichia coli Hfr x F- crosses, are generated. Linkage relations and exchange frequencies are expressed in these populations in complex, in some cases, even paradoxical manner. It is demonstrated that the origin of the complexities is located in the particular allelic configuration of the genotypes, characteristic for all exconjugant and selected populations.


Indian agriculture is passing through difficult times due to two consecutive drought situations in several parts of the country, thereby resulting into wide spread distress among farmers. Past strategy for development of the agriculture sector in India has focused primarily on raising agricultural output and improving food security & did not explicitly recognise the need to raise farmers' income and did not mention any direct measure to promote farmers welfare. The net result has been that farmers income remained low, which is evident from the incidence of poverty among farm households. Low level of absolute income as well as large and deteriorating disparity between income of a farmer and non-agricultural worker constitute an important reason for the farmers' suicides during 1995 to 2004, and is also forcing more and more cultivators, particularly younger age group, to leave farming. This can cause serious adverse effect on the future of agriculture in the country. To provide a solution for all these, in February 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a scheme "Doubling farmers' income" by 2022 by spelling out 6 points strategy.


Anatomical specimens and normal persons were studied by gradient echo MR imaging to determine the influence of different echo times (TE) on bone marrow contrast. First of all, six normal persons were studied to determine specific echo times for in-phase and opposed-phase states. Using different sequences bone marrow contrast in isolated femoral bones was determined and compared to results of pathological exams. Red bone marrow had no signal on opposed-phase images; contrast between red and yellow marrow was higher on opposed-phase than on in-phase images. Bone marrow lesions can be expected to be visualised with high signal on opposed-phase images; this technique should be especially suited for MR imaging of bone marrow.


Along with rapid advance in cities and economic structure changes, traditional family structure and concept are changing to affect learning attitudes and behavior quality to result in crises in the operation of healthy society. "Ethical instruction" therefore has become the emphasis of global education in the 21st century. The practice of ethical instruction in life allows students learning the virtue of behavior in life and stressing on the meanings of learning in practice and continued education. Gorgeous pictures, animations, and films presented on computers change children's learning methods to become easily accepting stimulating information, but not used to reading texts. Apparently, the establishment of digital games plays an important role in learning process. With nonequivalent pretest posttest control group design, 261 students of Beihua University are proceeded 15-week (3 hours per week for total 45 hours) experimental teaching in this study. The research results show significant effects of 1.digital game-based teaching on ethical instruction effectiveness, 2.experiential learning on ethical instruction effectiveness, and 3.digital game-based teaching integrated experiential learning on the promotion of ethical instruction effectiveness. According to the results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to guide learners solving problems in games so that students could solve problems by themselves to achieve autonomous learning. Besides, it allows students experiencing and learning in situations, establishing good ethics to change the attitudes and behaviors in similar situations in the future, and cultivating the concepts of responsibility, respect, concern, helping each other, cooperation, and bravery as well as healthy personality.


One of the goals of a cooperative game is to compute a valuedivision to the players from which they have no incentive todeviate. This concept is formalized as the notion of the core.To obtain a value division that motivates players to cooperate to a greater extent or that is more robust under noise, the notions of the strong least core and the weak least core have been considered. In this paper, we characterize the strong and the weak least cores of supermodular cooperative games using the theory of minimizing crossing submodular functions. We then apply our characterizations to two representative supermodular cooperative games, namely, the induced subgraph game generalized to hypergraphs and the airport game. For these games, we derive explicit forms of the strong and weak least core values, and provide polynomial-time algorithms that compute value divisions in the strong and weak least cores.


The importance and implications of entrepreneurial education in engineering curricula have been well-documented, leading to its rapid growth in many Canadian Engineering schools in recent years. For undergraduate students, this education promotes interdisciplinary and diverse thought with awareness of the political, financial and social environments that inevitably influence their careers and possible business initiatives on the local and/or global stage. For graduate students developing leading-edge technologies, this education encourages the much needed commercialization of innovations in Canada. However, entrepreneurial education is often outsourced to business schools which emphasize theory over pragmatic real-world approaches. This paper describes a latter approach: an entrepreneurial program designed for engineering students at the University of Toronto (UofT). Specifically, we report on the curriculum of courses offered and taught by practicing entrepreneurs who lecture in the context of their own experiences. The result is a program focused less on theoretical work and more on the opportunities and obstacles likely to be encountered in an entrepreneurial career. Our program has evolved over more than 20 years. It has been a great success with students, in terms of their satisfaction as well as in their business formation and value/wealth creation after graduation. This has consequently led to its popularity; we currently serve 180-200 students each year out of the many who apply. With such demand exceeding our capacity, plans for expansion are underway and expected to run smoothly as the program is purposely designed in modules to make the courses easy to "clone", and for new instructors to be trained quickly. Moreover, we see potential for other faculties at the UofT and other universities to adopt and modify our model to suit their future needs.


In this simple, quick procedure for determining copper in human serum and urine, the serum and urine specimens were analyzed directly after dilution with a solution of HNO3 and Triton X-100, 1 mL/L each. We calibrated with aqueous standards for quantitation in Zeeman background atomic absorption spectrometry. By modifying the drying and pyrolysis stages of the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer, we reduced the analytical time to 30 s per determination. The within-run imprecision (CV) is 2.6% and 3.4% and the between-run imprecision is 0.9% and 2.5% for serum and urine copper at concentrations of 30.4 and 2.70 mumol/L, respectively. The accuracy of this fast method was verified by analyzing the National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Materials SRM 1598 bovine serum and SRM 2670 urine (agreement with certified values within 0.1 mumol/L for serum and within 0.02 mumol/L for urine), by analytical recovery studies (98% recovered in serum, 100% recovered in urine), and by comparison with our normal routine method. We also used the Quebec Interlaboratory Comparison Program to validate the analytical performance. From the precision and accuracy studies, we conclude that this fast-furnace program is a rapid, simple, and reliable method for determining copper in serum and urine.


Foulkes et al. (1) reported that the expression of cytokeratin 5/6, indicating a basal epithelial phenotype, was statistically significantly associated with germline BRCA1 mutations in estrogen receptor (ER)and erbB2-negative invasive breast cancers. It has recently been shown that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often expressed in basal-type ("stem") cells of the breast (2), extending the phenotype of basal cells to ER/erbB2/EGFR breast cells. We examined the expression of EGFR by immunohistochemistry in the invasive breast cancers from 21 proven carriers of BRCA1 germline mutations and five proven carriers of BRCA2 germline mutations, as well as from a control group of 430 invasive breast cancers from patients unselected for a family history of breast cancer. Only clear membrane staining for EGFR was considered as overexpression. Of the 21 BRCA1-related breast cancers, 14 (67%) showed EGFR overexpression, 19 (90%) were ER negative, and 17 (81%) were erbB2 negative. Eleven (52%) of 21 tumors were ER/erbB2/EGFR . All five (100%) breast cancers in BRCA2 mutation carriers showed EGFR overexpression, four (80%) were ER negative, and three (75%) of four were erbB2 negative (one could not be characterized). Two (50%) of four tumors were ER/erbB2/EGFR . In the control group of 430 tumors, EGFR overexpression was found in only 70 (16%), and only 28 (7%) of 422 tumors were ER/erbB2/EGFR . (Eight tumors could not be characterized for both proteins.) EGFR overexpression was statistically significantly higher in breast cancers in BRCA1 (P .001, two-sided Fisher's exact test) and BRCA2 (P .001) mutation carriers than in the control tumors. Also, the full ER/erbB2/EGFR phenotype was statistically significantly more frequent in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (P .001). The high frequency of EGFR overexpression fits with the poor prognosis for patients with hereditary breast cancer, but the underlying mechanism is yet unclear. Amplification of EGFR seems to be very rare in invasive breast cancer (Buerger H, unpublished data). Further, by comparative genomic hybridization, amplification at the EGFR locus was not observed (3). Genetic alterations in an expression-regulating CA repeat in the first intron of the EGFR gene (4) have not yet been studied in hereditary breast cancer. In two gene expression studies in hereditary breast cancer (5,6), increased EGFR mRNA expression was not observed, indicating that EGFR expression is probably largely posttranscriptionally regulated. We conclude that invasive breast carcinomas in patients with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutation show a high frequency of EGFR overexpression, compatible with the previously (7) established predominantly basal phenotype (ER/erbB2) of these cancers and their aggressive clinical behavior. Thus, we urge further investigation into the mechanisms of EGFR overexpression and into new preventive strategies through EGFR targeting.


The US Navy is applying the processing graph method (PGM) to the Navy's standard signal processors AN/UYS-1 and AN/UYS-2. The graphic entry workstation (GEWS) is a Macintosh-based workstation for developing signal processing application software for systems using the PGM. The GEWS captures a signal processing software via graphic entry and automatically generates the SPGN (signal processing graph notation) source code. The heart of this system is its ability to interface with a primitive library so that various parameters of the application software which would normally be explicitly provided by the programmers can be automatically generated based on the information specified in the primitive library. The ability to automatically generate many default parameters of a signal processing graph not only relieves the burden of manually providing this information from the user, but also reduces the opportunity of introducing errors by the user.<<ETX>>


The current study was designed to assess the recent rate of cigarette smoking and to examine the association of cigarette smoking with individual factors and problem behaviors using data collected in December 1997 from 323 middle school students (43% females) in Beijing, China. About 15% of the study sample (23% males and 5% females) reported having ever smoked. The data in the current study confirmed findings from our earlier study (Li et al., 1996, Substance Use and Misuse, 31, 545-563) that the prevalence of cigarette smoking among Chinese adolescents was higher among males, increased with advancing age and was associated with participation in other problem behaviors and with poorer self-perceived academic performance. The data underscore the need for smoking-prevention programs targeting Chinese children and adolescents.


In this study, we demonstrated that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) exerts therapeutic effects under conditions, stimulation applied once at low frequency and low voltage or applied twice at low frequency and high voltage, that induce a mild switch in energy metabolism from glucose into lipid predominance through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator (PGC-1α) upregulation and suppression of inflammation and may be an effective early intervention even in hemodynamically unstable patients. In a previous study, we investigated changes in energy substrate utilization during sepsis and found that it changed from glucose to predominantly lipid utilization, with protein catabolism also increasing, as a function of sepsis severity. We had also demonstrated that low-intensity exercise in the acute phase of endotoxic shock has beneficial effects similar to those of NMES. These results suggest that upregulation of PGC-1α following exercise or NMES causes a metabolic switch from glucose to lipid utilization and suppresses inflammation, thereby improving the nutritional state and leading to a better outcome.


This paper reports on the fi ndings from training on language learning of pre service language student teachers on the translation of English Wikipedia articles into Oshikwanyama and Oshindonga. The interpretative framework of scaffolding was used to conduct the training. The study involved a group of 24 pre-service language student and teachers from a university in Namibia. Data was generated  through the observation of the Wikipedia translation  intervention referred to above. An openended questionnaire that served as a tool for refl ection on the translation was also used. The participants made use of several mediating technological tools (computers, internet, the  Wikipedia website, and online dictionaries) as well as language books and  dictionaries to translate articles on the Wikipedia website from English, the students' second language, into Oshikwanyama/Oshindonga, their home languages. The fi ndings suggest that Wikipedia is a good resource for helping student teachers integrate the use of technology into their language learning in the fi rst-language classroom. It also offers student teachers a chance to develop strategies that scaffold learning in a structured way, using both technological and language mediating tools that are accessible and convenient to use.


Introduction: Health care workers (HCWs) are among the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination in Zimbabwe. This study was done to assess HCWs' COVD-19 vaccine perceptions and confidence.Methodology: An analytic cross sectional study was conducted among HCWs from City of Harare health facilities. Data was collected using interviewer administered structured questionnaires which were developed using the Health Belief Model. STATA was used for data analysis. Kruskal-Wallis test and two sample Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to determine predictors of vaccine willingness.Results: A total of 513 participants were interviewed and 72·7% were females. The median age was 40 years (Q1=33, Q3=49). Nurses constituted the majority (46·8%). Social media was the leading source of COVID-19 vaccine information. The majority (92·2%) were at risk of contracting COVID-19 with 76·2% describing the risk as high. Of the participants, 20·2% were willing to receive the vaccine when it became available, 39·1% would wait and 40·7% would not at all receive the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine perception score ranged from eight to 42. Significant predictors of willingness to receive the vaccine were sex (b= -1·689, P=0·01) and perception score (b= 0·172, P< 0·0001).Conclusion: Negative COVID-19 vaccine perceptions were demonstrated among the health care workers in the City of Harare and these were associated with unwillingness to be vaccinated. Targeted health education and COVID-19 vaccine awareness needs to be conducted among HCWs. Tailored strategies to address vaccine concerns raised in the study will decrease vaccine hesitancy.Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interest: None to declare.


Acanthospermum hispidum (Asteraceae), used ethnomedically in the treatment of inflammatory conditions and fever, was evaluated for antiprotozoal activities such as trypanocidal and antiplasmodial effects. This study was carried out to investigate the anti-trichomonal potential of the plant. The air-dried leaf was extracted successively with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethylacetate and methanol using the soxhlet extraction method. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the most active extract was carried out using the vacuum liquid chromatographic technique for antitrichomonal activity using Trichomonas gallinae in vitro. The ethyl acetate extract (A3) was the most active extract with LC50-LC90 values of 0.58-1.06 and 0.58-1.05 mg/ml at 24 and 48 h, respectively.  Subfraction C7 had the highest antitrichomonal activity with 0.25-0.66 and 0.25-0.54 mg/ml at 24 and 48 h, respectively comparable to the activity of metronidazole at 0.20-0.39 and 0.16-0.36 mg/ml at 24 and 48 h, respectively. A . hispidum possessed antitrichomonal activity which resided in the chloroform portion of the ethyl acetate extract of the plant. Keywords: Trichomonas gallinae , vacuum liquid chromatography, antiprotozoal African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(11), 1303-1307


ABSTRACT Replacement of the native fermentation pathway inEscherichia coli B with a homo-ethanol pathway fromZymomonas mobilis (pdc andadhB genes) resulted in a 30 to 50% increase in growth rate and glycolytic flux during the anaerobic fermentation of xylose. Gene array analysis was used as a tool to investigate differences in expression levels for the 30 genes involved in xylose catabolism in the parent (strain B) and the engineered strain (KO11). Of the 4,290 total open reading frames, only 8% were expressed at a significantly higher level in KO11 (P < 0.05). In contrast, over half of the 30 genes involved in the catabolism of xylose to pyruvate were expressed at 1.5-fold- to 8-fold-higher levels in KO11. For 14 of the 30 genes, higher expression was statistically significant at the 95% confidence level (xylAB, xylE, xylFG, xylR, rpiA, rpiB, pfkA, fbaA, tpiA, gapA, pgk, and pykA) during active fermentation (6, 12, and 24 h). Values at single time points for only four of these genes (eno, fbaA, fbaB, andtalA) were higher in strain B than in KO11. The relationship between changes in mRNA (cDNA) levels and changes in specific activities was verified for two genes (xylA andxylB) with good agreement. In KO11, expression levels and activities were threefold higher than in strain B for xylose isomerase (xylA) and twofold higher for xylulokinase (xylB). Increased expression of genes involved in xylose catabolism is proposed as the basis for the increase in growth rate and glycolytic flux in ethanologenic KO11.