The efficacy of a new slow release (SR) diltiazem preparation was assessed in 10 patients with stable effort angina. A double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized, crossover protocol was carried out comparing the effects of diltiazem 60 mg tid and diltiazem SR 120 mg bid on clinical and ergometric parameters. Exercise test was carried out 3 and 12 hours after the last dose of diltiazem or diltiazem SR respectively. Both drug preparations reduced the incidence of positive test, increased the exercise time and the time of onset of ischemic ST depression. The beneficial effects of the drugs appeared to be due to a reduction in myocardial oxygen consumption at the same workload as shown by the lesser value of pressure rate product at submaximal exercise. In conclusion, diltiazem SR at 12 hours after the last administration has the same effectiveness of diltiazem 60 mg at 3 hours.


Purpose: To report an unusual endovascular technique to manage unfavorable renal artery anatomy encountered in an urgent case of symptomatic postdissection thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) treated with an off-the-shelf multibranched device. Technique: The technique is demonstrated in a 77-year-old woman who had a history of previous open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and an emergent procedure to implant a thoracic endograft and an aortic bare Z-stent (PETTICOAT) for acute Stanford type B dissection 7 years prior. The patient presented with a symptomatic, rapidly growing, postdissection TAAA. Endovascular treatment with a Zenith t-Branch was planned. After standard catheterization techniques failed in the left renal artery, a bailout maneuver was utilized to place a "floating" Viabahn stent-graft in the aneurysm sac to create sufficient support to deliver the bridging stent-grafts through the bare stent to the target left renal artery. The procedure was successful in excluding the TAAA and preserving perfusion to all target vessels. No neurological complications occurred. Six-month imaging follow-up confirmed the patency of the bridging stents. Conclusion: Remodeling changes after complex endovascular TAAA procedures often require the use of innovative techniques and materials during secondary procedures. In this case, the presence of a post-PETTICOAT bare aortic stent and hostile target artery anatomy increased the technical difficulty of t-Branch implantation. A "floating" stent-graft could be useful to reach challenging target vessels by providing additional support to bridging stent advancement and deployment.


A concept to mitigate parasitic self lasing effects in mid-IR fiber amplifiers by means of efficient long period fiber gratings is shown. Using tightly confined ultrashort laser pulses at 800 nm the gratings are directly inscribed into the core of a fluoride glass fiber. Strong attenuation peaks down to −22 dB, with sharp and predictable spectral resonances, were obtained. The gratings reveal great potential to improve the laser performance concerning average output power and attainable spectral range.


Greece and its creditors have been engaged in a two-month standoff over the release of further financial assistance to the country. Lorenzo Codogno and Paul De Grauwe write that with no agreement yet reached, the possibility of Greece leaving the euro has now become real. They argue that the only solution to the crisis is for both sides to compromise, with the Greek government accepting deep supply-side reforms, and Eurozone policymakers offering Greece a fair deal on the demand-side.


This research aims to analyze the impact of tax service, perception of effective tax system, knowledge of tax, and awareness of taxpayers towards individual taxpayers compliance, as well as to obtain empirical evidence on research conducted either empirically or simultaneously. The research method used is a causal study. Causal study means that the researchers wanted to examine the relationship between independent variables with dependent variable. The populations of research was all individual taxpayers registered in the tax office (KPP) Pratama Tigaraksa. The sample of population used is individual taxpayer who enrolled in KPP Tigaraksa especially in Kelapa Dua subdistrict at period 2012. Sample was used 102 respondence. These results indicate that variable tax service have signigicant effect towards individual taxpayer compliance, variable perception of effective tax system didn't have significant effect towards individual taxpayer compliance, knowledge of tax have significant effect on individual taxpayer compliance, and awareness of individual taxpayers have significant effect on individual taxpayer compliance.


In this work, a method for the determination of the amounts of the four genotoxic impurities in gefitinib has been developed. A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) approach has been developed, optimized, and validated. The genotoxic impurities were 3-chloro-4-fluoroaniline, 3,4-difluoroaniline, 3-fluoro-4-chloroaniline, and 3,4-dichloroaniline. Separation was achieved on an Inertsil ODS-3 column (100 mm×3.0 mm, 3 μm). The column temperature was 40 ℃, and the running time was 12 min. A triple quadrupole mass detector with positive electrospray ionization in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was applied. The method was validated in terms of its specifi-city, linearity, precision, accuracy, stability, and robustness. The correlation coefficient of each impurity was higher than 0.999 in the range of 0.6-96.0 μg/L. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantity (LOQs) were in the ranges of 0.2-2.0 μg/L and 0.6-6.0 μg/L, respectively. The recoveries of all impurities at 6, 30, and 60 μg/L were within 91.0%-98.5%. All impurities were stable within 2 h. After detection, only 3-chloro-4-fluoroaniline was detected in the batch number 16052301 and R16052501-1 gefitinib samples, but its concentration was below the impurity limit (6 mg/L). This method is simple, reliable, and suitable for the determination of four genotoxic impurities in gefitinib. It can be further applied as a reference for quality control.


The most common form of joint dislocation is anterior shoulder dislocation. There are a number of available techniques to reduce, but which have a possibility to be happened many kinds of complications like brachial plexus injury, axillary nerve injury and fracture of the humerus. In addition, the drugs we use for the reduction have potential side effects such as cardiovascular complications and respiratory arrest. We are trying to introduce new reduction technique aimed at minimizing the complications and increasing the success rate, which was used in 23 cases and all of them were successfully reduced without complications.


The 2012 International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration pave the way for more expeditious arbitral proceedings since under the added requirements, the parties are to provide more extensive information during the initial stages of the proceedings. The delays caused by further submissions are thereby avoided. A wider approach towards the case, may enable the joinder of additional parties, to address claims between multiple parties and multiple contracts ab initio, and to consolidate arbitration proceedings. The new Rules establish an emergency arbitrator procedure for urgent interim or conservatory measures, as well as case management techniques to reduce the costs. The work of the members of the ICC Commission of Arbitration, the ICC National Committees, the International Court of the Arbitration, the representatives of the National Committees, and selected counsels and arbitrators, over a two-year period bore results: in June 2011 in Mexico City, a revised version of the 1998 ICC Rules of Arbitration was adopted by The World Council of the ICC (hereinafter 'the 2012 ICC Rules' and/or 'the new Rules').


Abstract The ideal management of a patient with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) includes close antepartum management culminating in a planned and coordinated delivery by an experienced multidisciplinary PAS team. Coordinated team management has been shown to optimize outcomes for mother and infant. This section provides a consensus overview from the Pan-American Society for the Placenta Accreta Spectrum regarding general management of PAS.


This essay explores madness as a performative practice in Janet Frame's An Angel At My Table (1981) as a way to escape from gender conventions. Following Shoshana Felman and Suzette Henke, I will look at how Frame deconstructs and reconstructs a new identity by giving up female gender conventions—especially sexuality and the normative female body. In the second part of this article I analyse how, by omitting an actual account of her stay in numerous mental institutions in her autobiography, she reshapes and "re-members" the image that she wants to portray of herself.


The Anglo-Saxon legal institution of a trust is generally regarded as unique because of the simultaneous existence of a legal and equitable title. Legal systems based on Roman law recognize only the unity of ownership, which acts as the chief impediment to the introduction of trusts. Legislators in civil law and mixed jurisdiction countries discovered the relevant advantages of trusts in the economy and in the private sphere, therefore they tried to create similar institutions that could fulfil the same function. The aim of this study is to present a view and a comparative law analysis of the trust-like devices of civil law and mixed jurisdictions, with special emphasis on the regulation of trust property. The comparison will take into account characteristics such as ownership of the trust fund, asset partitioning, the nature of the parties involved in the legal relationship, and the possibility of tracing. The functionality of institutions in civil law countries is more or less adequate to serve the purposes of a trust, but several important details and relevant differences should be highlighted.


It is usual to evaluate the performance of the cool roof by measuring in-site rooftop temperature using thermal infra-red camera. The principal advantage of rooftop thermal infrared image acquired in oblique vantage point of super high-rise building as a remote sensor is to provide, in a cost-effective manner, area-wide information required for a scattered rooftop target with different colors, utilizing wide view angle and multi-temporal data coverage. This research idea was formulated by incorporating the concept of traditional remote sensing into rooftop temperature monitoring. Correlations between infrared image of super high-rise building and in-situ data were investigated to compare rooftop surface temperature for a total of four different rooftop locations. The results of the correlations analyses indicate that the rooftop surface temperature by the infrared images of super high-rise building alone could be explained yielding values of 0.951. The visible permanent record of the oblique thermal infra-red image was quite useful in better understanding the nature and extent of rooftop color that occurs in sampling points. This thermal infrared image acquired in oblique vantage point of super high-rise made it possible to identify area wide patterns of rooftop temperature change subject to many different colors, which cannot be acquired by traditional in-site field sampling. The infrared image of super high-rise building breaks down the usual concept of field sampling established as a conventional cool roof performance evaluation technique.


Previous research indicates that infants generalize syntactic-like structures to novel exemplars in a way that has been characterized as abstract and algebraic (Marcus et al., 1999). Infants appear to learn and generalize from speech more successfully than from nonspeech stimuli (Marcus, Fernandes, & Johnson, 2007). In this series of experiments, we manipulated speech and nonspeech stimuli to identify the factors that facilitate or inhibit infants' learning and generalization. The results demonstrate that redundancy facilitates learning, even in nonlinguistic stimuli. In addition, the results indicate that learning from speech is inhibited when the speech is less redundant. These experiments suggest that speech and nonspeech stimuli are on a continuum of effectiveness, related to the ease with which infants can access and benefit from redundant information. The redundant information in the stimuli may be particularly related to the ease with which infants can detect repetition.


The aim of this study is to examine the cognitive structures of the secondary school students towards the concept of health. The study was carried out using the descriptive survey model, which is a research approach that intends to describe a past or present situation as it is. The study group of the research was determined by maximum diversity sampling and consisted of 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade secondary school students studying in Bursa and Malatya in the 2021-2022 academic year. In this study, which attempts to examine the perceptions of secondary school students regarding the concept of health, WAT (Word Association Test) was used as a data collection tool. The word association test consists of two dimensions. While there are explanations about WAT (Word Association Test) and sample WAT (Word Association Test) study in the first dimension, there is the WAT worksheet for the concept of health in the second dimension. In the analysis of the data, the words obtained regarding the answers given by the students to the key concept of health were examined in detail in a table, the threshold point was determined by considering the repeated words, and concept networks were created in this direction. In the study, secondary school students produced different words for the concept of health. Those with four or fewer frequencies of these words were not included in the analysis. The most repeated word among the words included in the analysis was "doctor". Those which followed this word were "hospital", "vaccine" and "Covid-19". As a result of the research, no difference was observed in terms of the cities in which the study was conducted or regarding class level, and similar answers were obtained in all classes. © 2022, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved.


In this paper Manning random alloy model has been extended to the binary nonstoichiometric intermetallic compound of the B2 structure. Two sub-lattices, that are dynamically independent in six-jump cycle (6JC) mechanism, are coupled together by taking into consideration the vacancy motion as a sequence of nearest neighbour jumps in random directions. The linear response expressions for the phenomenological transport coefficients are evaluated making use of the kinetic equation approach. The expressions for collective correlation factors are derived in terms of the equilibrium partial atomic concentrations and jump frequencies. Results are compared with Monte Carlo simulation results using the four-frequency model.


MultiG, an open research program addressing issues that range from end-user requirements on distributed multimedia applications supporting collaborative work to medium-access protocols for multi-gigabit networks on optical fibers, is discussed. The projects in MultiG are described from the top down, beginning with computer-supported cooperative work. Distributed multimedia applications and application generators are then considered, followed by networking issues, including interprocess communication, transport services, network protocols, and high-speed protocol processing. Testbed activities and future plans are described. >


This study explored the relationship of influence tactics used by managers and the resulting degree of commitment that they saw in their subordinates as moderated by organizational power distance. There are 260 Filipino middle and upper level managers working in industries in the Philippines who participated in the study. Ingratiation and consultation were found to be positive predictors of subordinates' degree of commitment. The results using multiple regression analyses provided evidence that when managers engage in consultation practices, subordinates' degree of commitment becomes low when power distance is high. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research directions were provided.


A description is given of a method in which a point-like transmission diffraction grating is used in the absolute determination of the spectrum of soft x-ray radiation. This method is intended for the investigation of targets with an internal coupling-in of laser radiation in the ISKRA-5 facility. The results are given of the determination and reconstruction of the spectrum of soft x-ray radiation. The calculated and experimentally determined spectra of soft x-ray radiation are compared and the results are shown to be in satisfactory qualitative and quantitative agreement.


Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between previously demonstrated thermosensitising effects of the block copolymer, Pluronic, and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression in an experimental colorectal cancer model in vitro and in vivo. Materials and methods: Rat colorectal carcinoma cells were treated with low-grade hyperthermia (43°C) alone or in combination with Pluronics L10 (3 mg/mL), L61 (0.3 mg/mL), or L64 (0.5 mg/mL) for 20 min. Adinosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and cell viability were determined using standard assays. Hsp70 expression was quantified by western blot for cells treated with L10, L61, and L64 at doses specified above and Pluronic P85 (10 mg/mL) alone and in combination with heat. BDIX rats with flank tumours were used to study the effect of L61 and hyperthermia on Hsp70 expression in vivo. Results: In vitro, treatment with L10, L61, and L64 plus low-grade hyperthermia lead to depletion of ATP levels to between 8 and 66% of untreated control after 24 h. Maximum expression of Hsp70 was observed at 9 h following hyperthermia alone. The combination of low-grade hyperthermia and Pluronic treatment reduced Hsp70 expression for up to 6 hours, and L10 appeared to completely inhibit the Hsp70 expression. In vivo, Hsp70 expression was increased 5 h after hyperthermia in BDIX rat tumour models and no Hsp70 expression was observed in L61 pre-treated and control groups. Conclusion: Pluronic effectively improves hyperthermic and low-grade hyperthermic treatment in part due to reduction of Hsp70 expression.


We have prepared a variety of fragments of the restriction endonuclease EcoRI by partial or total CNBr or acid cleavage of the protein. These fragments were isolated by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. They were analyzed in a qualitative manner for phosphodiesterase activity. Antibodies against these fragments were elicited in rats and tested for binding to native EcoRI in an enzyme-linked immunoassay. We conclude from these experiments that the DNA binding site of EcoRI is located in the COOH-terminal half of the molecule, close to and probably comprising amino acid residues 137 to 157. This conclusion is reinforced by the observation that this sequence shows homology to the sequences of the recognition helix of other gene-regulatory proteins.


The major issue in distributed multimedia simulation is how to specify and implement synchronization scheme satisfying the QoS applications requirements. This paper suggests the use of a powerful synchronization scheme based on HTSPN between different flows issued from distributed multimedia systems to fulfill these requirements. Such an interpreted model permits powerful analysis techniques for validating the quality of service in computer networks before protocol implementation. Consequently, it allows the specification of both the temporal non-determinism of weakly distributed applications and the temporal variability of the multimedia processing. An example is used to demonstrate the capabilities of this scheme to specify the QoS requirements of simulated applications.


Objective: To determine the patterns of per-operative parameters and early outcomes of patients that underwent CABG surgery during a four-year period. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a tertiary care of hospital from November 2020 to January 2021. All the patients that underwent the isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure were included in the study from June 2017 till June 2020. Data was collected on a data extraction form and stored in SPSS format which was analyzed for qualitative statistics keeping p<0.05 as significant. All the results were represented in the form of tables. Results: A total of 1,613 patients were operated upon for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) procedure during the study period with 1,222 (75.8%) males and 391 (24.2%) females. Dyslipidemia (71.8%) was the most common risk factor. The average perfusion time decreased only slightly (~1 minute) from 96.01 minutes to 95.07 minutes (2017 to 2020). This change however was not significant (p=0.301). The rate of Left Internal Mammary Artery (LIMA) use stayed relatively stable over the 4-year period fluctuating between 88.7% and 92.9% (p=0.360). The average initial ICU stay (in hours), drain at 12 hours and 24 hours stays almost the same. The rate of mortality peaked in 2018 (4.76%) and subsequently fell to 3.57% by 2020. Conclusion: More males underwent CABG surgery at this tertiary care hospital and the overall complication rate and per-operative parameters improved over the years. The non-risk stratified mortality in this study was found to be higher than developed nations.


Abstract:The biographies of animal celebrities published by the historians John Simons and Eric Baratay aim to place animals in and of themselves at the center of academic narratives. Both excavate the lived experiences concealed behind official discourses and collective representations, notably by relying on cross-fertilization with ethological research. They unveil the ways in which information was reshaped in order to portray animal celebrities as benevolent members of human-animal communities, and thereby shed light on the mechanics of animal commodification. The close examination of a few individual animal trajectories enlightens the condition of many historical animals living under human tutelage in the 19th and early 20th century and highlights long-term historical evolutions, such as the succession of animal cultures and generations largely determined by human actions.


Find out all you need to know about NHCPL's book clubs in addition to titles available for book clubs to check out for their next discussion..


OBJECTIVE
To identify the effect of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) on prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and on infant growth and development.

METHODS
A total of 16 HIV-infected women or pregnant women selected in this study received HAART before or 18 - 24 weeks after pregnancy. The treatment included taking Zidovudine (AZT) 0.3 g each time, twice a day, Lamivudine (3TC) 0.3 g each time, once a day and Nevirapine (NVP) 0.2 g each time, twice a day or Efavirenz (EFV) 0.6 g each time, once a day, as well as labor intervention and artificial feeding. The growth index for 17 infants from HIV-infected mothers (experimental group) and 16 normal infants (control group) were observed for 18 months. Neonatal hemoglobin (Hb), liver and kidney function, serum iron and calcium were detected at neonatal period and at 12(th) month, respectively.

RESULTS
All the pregnant women were in good conditions and had tolerance with HAART. The birth weight, length and Apgar score of the newborns in the experimental group were (3.5 ± 0.9) kg, (54.2 ± 3.8) cm and 7 - 10 scores respectively, however those in the control group were (3.6 ± 0.8) kg, (55.6 ± 3.6) cm and 8 - 10 scores (t(weight) = 1.01, t(length) = 6.98, P > 0.05). Weight and length of infants in experimental group were (9.36 ± 1.8) kg and (76.3 ± 2.7) cm at 12(th) month, while those in control group were (9.86 ± 2.5) kg and (76.8 ± 2.9) cm (t(weight) = 0.83, t(length) = 1.00, P > 0.05). The level of Hb in experimental group was (126.2 ± 16.7) g/L, and was (148.6 ± 20.5) g/L in control group (t = -5.89, P = 0.11). At 12(th) month, the levels of Hb and the total bilirubin (TB) were (125.9 ± 19.8) g/L and (11.7 ± 3.5) µmol/L in experimental group; and those in the control group were (130.1 ± 18.7) g/L and (13.2 ± 3.7) µmol/L (t(Hb) = -3.82, t(TB) = -2.14, P > 0.05). Serum iron and calcium were (25.4 ± 5.7) µmol/L and (26.4 ± 7.2) µmol/L at neonatal period and were (2.3 ± 0.6) mol/L and (2.8 ± 0.6) mol/L at 12(th) month in experimental group, while those were (26.2 ± 4.9) µmol/L and (28.1 ± 6.9) µmol/L at neonatal period and were (2.6 ± 0.5) mol/L and (3.1 ± 0.5) mol/L at 12(th) month in the control group (t(Fe) = 0.80 and t(Ca) = -3.00 in neonatal period, t(Fe) = -1.50 and t(Ca) = -1.00 at 12(th) month, P > 0.05). All infants of HIV-infected mothers were not infected with HIV when they were 18 months old.

CONCLUSION
HAART can prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and it was not found to influence the baby's growth and development in this study.


Background. Eosinophilic esophagitis is an inflammatory condition where there is a dense infiltration of eosinophils typically exceeding fifteen cells per high power field. Familial Mediterranean fever is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by brief, acute, and self-limited episodes of fever and polyserositis that recur at irregular intervals. Case Presentation. A three-year-and-nine-month-old Iranian girl was admitted to our center. The patient's parents complained of a history of abdominal pain, poor appetite, and poor weight gain from 1.5 years ago and episodes of food impaction after starting solid foods. Eosinophilic esophagitis was diagnosed based on histology. Because of continuing abdominal pain after treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis, the episodic nature of disease, and the presence of fever with pain, screening for familial Mediterranean fever mutation was performed and the patient was found to be heterozygote for Mediterranean fever. Conclusion. We have reported a case of eosinophilic esophagitis coexisting with familial Mediterranean fever which has not been described previously.


Author(s): Kee, Theodore W. | Advisor(s): Ho, Dean | Abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a blood cancer that is characterized by overproduction of lymphoblasts in the bone marrow. Treatment for ALL typically uses combination chemotherapy. However, a major challenge for combination therapy is the inability to pinpoint drug doses that are optimized for each patient. To address this challenge, we have developed a powerful digital health technology platform based on the field of Phenotypic Personalized Medicine (PPM). PPM identifies patient-specific maps that correlate drug inputs with phenotypic outputs parabolically. In a disease mechanism-independent fashion, PPM was able to determine individualized drug ratios/dosages for 2 ALL patients in this study using a retrospective optimization approach. This optimization process demonstrated that dynamically adjusted dosing of combination chemotherapy can enhance treatment outcomes while also substantially reducing the amount of chemotherapy that is required. This may lead to shortened maintenance therapy regimens that will in turn, reduce the onset of complications following remission.


Inter-alpha-inhibitor (IalphaI) is a human plasma serine proteinase inhibitor. It contains one light peptide chain called bikunin that exerts antiproteinase activity and other antiinflammatory functions. Bikunin is covalently linked to two heavy chains that, after tissular diffusion, stabilize the extracellular matrix. Owing to its negative acute-phase reactant character and its susceptibility to proteolysis, IalphaI has been implicated in the pathophysiology of sepsis. Moreover, IalphaI has been shown to exert a protective effect on a pig model of endotoxic shock. Twenty patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for a septic syndrome were included in the present study. IalphaI and antithrombin III (ATIII) levels were measured on admission. Sequential measurements of IalphaI could be done in 4 patients. We demonstrate that IalphaI levels are significantly decreased in plasma samples collected on admission from patients with sepsis (59 +/- 32 mg/L vs 241 +/- 70 mg/L; P < .0001). This decrease was greater in severe sepsis and septic shock than in sepsis. Death was not predictable from initiol IalphaI levels. In 2 patients with a favorable course, IalphaI values regularly increased during the ICU stay. By sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblot analysis and microsequencing, we characterized IalphaI-related components in plasma from several patients; they obviously arise from IalphaI through proteolytic cleavage. Thus, systemic proteolysis and decreased biosynthesis both contribute to the fall in the plasma level of IalphaI. Because IalphaI is very sensitive to proteolysis by polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNs) that are stimulated during sepsis, we suggest that IalphaI plasma level would be a useful marker for neutrophil proteinase activity. ATIII, as well as IalphaI, is considered a negative acute phase protein. Because in vitro ATIII is less susceptible than IalphaI to proteolysis by PMNs and because their relative levels weakly correlated, we suggest that an unspecific systemic proteolysis is not significantly involved in the ATIII deficiency occurring in sepsis.


The increasing demand for fatigue life extension of both military and civilian aircraft has led to advances in repair technology for cracked metallic structures. Conventional structural repairs may significantly degrade the aircraft fatigue life and lower its aerodynamic performance. Adhesively bonded composite reinforcement is a new technology of great importance due to the remarkable advantages obtained, such as mechanical efficiency and repair time and cost reduction. In this article, bonded composite patch repairs were designed for quick application to aircraft under emergency conditions, such as aircraft battle damage repair (ABDR). A formulated method was developed, to be applied when damage has to be restored quickly, without restrictions to safety of flight. Different damage cases were investigated using finite-element analysis (FEA), taking into account specific parameters of the structure under repair. Based on the FEA results, a quick design procedure using composite patch repairs for the most ...


Laser deposition of zinc oxide films is studied. An intermediate screen is used to prevent microparticles formed during laser ablation of the target from falling on the film. The effect of deposition conditions on the morphology of the film, its electrical properties and crystal structure is studied. It is shown that the laser deposition technique can be used to obtain films of both types. The resistivity of the films was 0.07 Ω cm for films with the n-type conduction and 0.08 Ω cm for films with the p-type conduction. The photoluminescence studies of the films have shown that stimulated radiation is generated in the films under pump intensity exceeding 6 MW cm-2.


With the combination of T-S fuzzy model and conventional PID controller, as well as by means of the self-learning and self-organizing ability of neural network, an intelligent control algorithm based on T-S fuzzy neural network PID control is presented in this paper. With this control algorithm, an pressure controller for solenoid valve test was designed and the corresponding simulation was carried out to show its highly dynamic and stable traits, strong self-adaptive ability and anti-interference ability of this controller, the simulation results also revealed that the T-S fuzzy neural network PID controller is much better than conventional PID controller and simple fuzzy controller.


This paper presents a new System designing method for job recommendation of College Graduates based on hadoop in China. With the enlargement of the scale of Chinese graduates and the improvement of the employing demand of enterprises, the employment situation of college graduates is becoming more and more serious. College graduates can't get satisfactory job, while enterprises can't recruit suitable graduates. In order to improve the satisfaction and efficiency of college graduates employment and enterprise recruitment, an intelligent employment recommendation system was designed in this paper which was based on collaborative filtering recommendation framework Mahout. With the system, the intelligent recommendation mechanism of schools, enterprises and graduates could be realized, and the employment efficiency, the satisfaction of college graduates and the efficiency of recruiting enterprises could be effectively improved. It is beneifiet to the employment department of colleges and universities in predicting employment trends and cultivating the students Abstract.


Particle contamination of medications obtained from glass ampules can pose serious hazards to patients. Particle contamination may be reduced by using a filter needle when obtaining medication from glass ampules prior to administration. The purpose of this article is 2-fold, to educate nursing staff caring for neonates about (1) the potential risk and resultant complications related to particle contamination and the benefit of utilizing a filter needle when obtaining medication from glass ampules, prior to administration of the medication to patients, and (2) the construction of a unit-specific filter needle protocol. The article promotes the continued change in nursing practice regarding nurses erring on the side of safety, with the ultimate goal of improving patient safety and outcome.


This paper deals with the development of cellulose nanofibres (CNFs) reinforced biopolymers for use in packaging applications. Cellulose nanofibres were extracted from sawdust by a combination of chemical and mechanical treatments. The extracted cellulose nanofibres were chemically modified (fCNFs) and characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Bionanocomposites were prepared from biopolymers polylactic acid/polybutylene succinate (PLA/PBS) and cellulose nanofibres by compounding in a twin-screw extruder followed by injection moulding. The developed bionanocomposites were subjected to mechanical and thermal characterisation. As part of product development, CNF-biopolymer pellets were also extruded into filaments which were then 3D printed into prototypes. This work is a successful demonstration of conversion of waste residues into value-added products, which is aligned to the principles of circular economy and sustainable development.


OBJECTIVE
A precision medicine approach is used to improve treatment of patients with monogenic diabetes. Herein we searched SU efficiency according to the genotype-phenotype correlation, dosage used and side effects.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Systematic review conducted according the PRISMA control criteria identifying relevant studies evaluating the in vivo and in vitro sensitivity of ATP-dependent potassium channels according to the characteristics of genetic mutation.

RESULTS
103 selected articles with complete data in 502 cases in whom 413 (82.3%) had mutations in KCNJ11 (#64) and 89 in ABCC8 (# 56). Successful transfer from insulin to SU was achieved in 91% and 86.5% patients, respectively at a mean age of 36.5 months (0-63 years). Among patients with KCNJ11 and ABCC8 mutations 64 & 46 were associated with constant success,5 & 5 to constant failure, and 10 and 4 to variable degrees of reported success rate, respectively. The glibenclamide dosage required for each genotype ranged from 0.017 to 2.8 mg / kg / day. Comparing both the in vivo and in vitro susceptibility results, some mutations appear more sensitive than others to sulfonylurea treatment. Side effects were reported in 17 /103 of the included articles: mild gastrointestinal symptoms and hypoglycaemia were the most common. One premature patient had an ulcerative necrotizing enterocolitis which association with SU is difficult to ascertain.

CONCLUSIONS
Sulfonylurea are an effective treatment for monogenic diabetes due to KCNJ11 and ABCC8 genes mutations. The success of the treatment is conditioned by differences in pharmacogenetics, younger age, pharmacokinetics, compliance and maximal dose used. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Locomotor training is a classic rehabilitation approach utilized with the aim of improving sensorimotor function and walking ability in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Recent studies have provided strong evidence that locomotor training of persons with clinically complete, motor complete, or motor incomplete SCI induces functional reorganization of spinal neuronal networks at multisegmental levels at rest and during assisted stepping. This neuronal reorganization coincides with improvements in motor function and decreased muscle cocontractions. In this review, we will discuss the manner in which spinal neuronal circuits are impaired and the evidence surrounding plasticity of neuronal activity after locomotor training in people with SCI. We conclude that we need to better understand the physiological changes underlying locomotor training, use physiological signals to probe recovery over the course of training, and utilize established and contemporary interventions simultaneously in larger scale research studies. Furthermore, the focus of our research questions needs to change from feasibility and efficacy to the following: what are the physiological mechanisms that make it work and for whom? The aforementioned will enable the scientific and clinical community to develop more effective rehabilitation protocols maximizing sensorimotor function recovery in people with SCI.


To the Editor. —Brain death is defined as a state of total absence of function of the brain. 1 Adopting this definition one might ask whether electrical activity derived from the scalp of a dying patient is a function of the brain or not. This underscores the need for a clear distinction of what special function has been evaluated by which means. Clinical diagnosis of brain-stem death rests on the knowledge of the primary cause of the coma and the abolishment of brain-stem reactivity. Technical investigations undertaken to confirm the diagnosis of brain death may, of course, yield seemingly contradictory results. Everybody who is engaged in determining brain death has noted an isoelectric electroencephalographic (EEG) recording before, as well as electrical brain activity after, the clinical diagnosis has been made. It has been pointed out that EEG silence may lag behind clinical signs of brain death from 1 to 8


Materials and research data sets produced as part of research undertaken at various departments at Rhodes University, including the Department of Zoology and Entomology.


THE USE of shunts between the portal venous system and the vena cava or its branches has become a well-established method of combating the complications of portal hypertension.1The impetus of a reasonable surgical treatment has resulted in an improved understanding of the modes of production of portal hypertension. The frequent disproportion between the level of the portal pressure in intrahepatic disease and the degree of hepatic damage has been studied by Kelty and others.2These workers find that the regeneration of liver cells which improves hepatocellular function adds to the interference with portal blood flow. In cases of extrahepatic portal obstruction, the causes are narrowing down to those of congenital nature and those resulting from inflammation and thrombosis of the portal vein with subsequent organization along various lines. This organization may take the form of a single, extremely thick-walled vessel with small lumen, met with in one


ABSTRACT The article sheds light on the period of intensified dialogue between Turkey and the EU and how it has been perceived by the latter since the climax of the Syrian civil war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. To this end, the paper analyses official documents and expert interviews through the qualitative research program ATLAS.ti in order to trace salient patterns in the discourse of EU institutions, premised on the methodological approach of grounded theory. The findings of the analysis suggest that the official EU approach to the partnership has been mainly imbued in a security perspective that seeks to externalize the refugee crisis, pursued with the promise of re-invigorating Turkey's long inert accession process.


A 42-year-old female patient who underwent right central compartment node dissection owing to recurrence of differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma received 150 mCi of I as an adjuvant therapy. Uptake was observed at the thyroid bed and right lower neck, suggesting thyroid remnant tissues and/or lymph node metastasis on a whole-body scan obtained 5 days after I administration. SPECT/CT was performed and the uptake at the right lower neck was finally diagnosed as a lung metastasis. This case illustrates the benefit of SPECT/CT for a patient with equivocal findings on an I planar image.


In the current digital era, with the advancement of an era where technology is progressing rapidlyto facilitate the activities of the Indonesian people incommunicating.Where at this time many people make buying and selling transaction online so that people are just waiting for the arrival of the goods purchased.From here, many entrepreneurs take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunitieswith this online method, making it easier for people to buy and sell transactions and new business ideas.The purpose of making this web-based system is to make it easier for sellers and buyers, ordering an item and providing information on the existence of spare parts with several types and prices listed as well as available stock. In this data collection method, it is done by analyzing the system that is running to find out the weaknesses of the system.In this research, an application has been produced that can make it easier for HD Comp customers to make spare parts transactions easily for HD Comp parties for data management from transaction data carried out. The application runs smoothly and without problems. The benefits of this research are for future reference materials.


Fertility is one of the three principal components of population dynamics that determine the size, structure, and composition of the population in any country. Children ever born refer to the number of children born alive to the person up to a specified reference date. It includes children who have died since birth. This study aims to identify the socioeconomic and demographic factors influencing Children Ever Born (CEB) to the women of Somadi village development committee (VDC) of Palpa district of Nepal. This study is entirely based on primary data collected using convenience sampling through questionnaire methods. A representative sample of size 298 married women was taken for the study using proportionate sampling from the different ethnic groups. The result of the study shows that the factors age at marriage, occupation of husband and knowledge of contraceptive/family planning have statistically significant role for varying CEB among the women under study. The result of the study compels to recommend that various awareness programs should be conducted about the use of contraceptive/family planning and to stop practice of early marriage among the women to reduce the higher fertility. The factors 'knowledge of contraceptive/family planning', 'occupation of husband' and 'age at marriage' are seen to have very significant impact for explaining the children ever born (CEB) to the women of Somadi VDC of Palpa district of Nepal.


In this paper, based on a massive online survey of public procurers and suppliers, we analyzed the features of building trust in new counterparties in the Russian public procurement system. Despite the widespread opinion about the low level of trust in Russia, the analysis showed that trust in new counterparties is characteristic of a significant share of public procurers and suppliers. To identify positive and negative factors that form trust in new counterparties, regression models were built both for procurers and for suppliers. Focus on the corporate reputation of the counterparty turned out to be the most significant factor influencing the level of trust in new counterparties. The importance of corporate reputation for direct participants of the procurement process confirms the relevance of issues related to the development and implementation of tools for recording reputation in public procurement. At the same time, previous conflicts with counterparties, as well as problems in the implementation of contracts common in the industry, have a negative impact on trust in new counterparties. For Russian public procurers and suppliers, the willingness to trust new counterparties was positively associated with a higher assessment of procurement efficiency at the micro level, which confirms the importance of strengthening the "culture of trust" in the Russian public procurement system, developing an institutional environment that promotes the formation of trust between direct market participants.


Latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis presents a big obstacle for tuberculosis therapy. In this study, we investigated the effects of sequence-specific DNAzymes targeting the mRNA of isocitrate lyase (ICL), an enzyme playing a pivotal role in the metabolism of M. tuberculosis in the latent state, on the expression of ICL and survival of M. tuberculosis. In vitro studies showed that four of five designed DNAzymes, DZ1, DZ3, DZ4, and DZ5 could cleave icl mRNA efficiently and specifically. Treatment of virulent M. tuberculosis with 5microM DZ4 plus a subinhibitory concentration of isoniazid (INH) decreased ICL expression and the survival of M. tuberculosis in macrophages but had no obvious influence on the growth of M. tuberculosis in vitro. This study demonstrates that using INH to soften the cell wall of M. tuberculosis and help the entry of biomolecules is an efficient method of improving the uptake of DNAzymes. Silencing the icl gene by DNAzyme is a promising method to combat latent infection of tuberculosis.


Meaning of Role and Social Capital of Bajo Fisherwomen (Phenomenology Study at the Coastal of Soropia of Konawe Regency) (Supervised by Sitti Bulkis, and Andi Agustang).

 The research was motivated from the view of the controversy that casts doubt on women's abilities and the facts of the research that Bajo fisherwomen play more role than men.
 This study aims to reveal the the role social, social role and meaning of the role of Bajo fisherwomen and social construction of the role, their social capital in doing the role and contribution of the role in achieving the welfare of their families.
 To reveal these objectives then use study of phenomenology. Through the phenomenology approach it is revealed that Bajo fisherwomen do triple-burden roles. Productive roles consist of looking for and selling seafood, caring for and make catch tools, and do any productive job. They also do reproductive roles, like buy and take care of all family needs, including lifting water for husband and children. In the social-public roles, the women work together their neighbor. They are represent of their family in the social-public activities. The role and social capital began to be socially constructed from an early age until this woman married. The roles are done since child, except role as a wife. The women can do roles more than men roles because the role contains the meaning of love and responsibility to the family. This spiritual factor became a powerful social-energy and suggestion so that the Bajo fisherwomen worked like untiring, fearless, and timeless. Despite having strong energy but can not pass the role without social capital, particularly very high trust and very strong help each others with their families and neighbors. All roles and social capital serve to achieve family welfare, aspesciay fufied needs that fit their standar of living.

Key Words: Women's role, meaning of women's role, meaning of women's social capital, family welfare, social construction.


Today's Augmented Reality (AR) technology allows users to explore the real world enriched with digital artifacts, learn from it, or shape it (i.e., creating your own virtual objects). To properly use virtual objects in AR space, users must be able to manipulate them (i.e., rotate or move them). The prerequisite for manipulation is an intuitive interaction technique controlled by an input device. To explore novel AR interaction techniques, a new ball-shaped input device called BIRDY is combined with the HoloLens for the first time. This paper presents findings regarding this combination of devices. Four new interaction techniques were designed that benefit from BIRDY's orientation invariance. Aiming to identify promising interaction rules, a prototype was developed to evaluate these interaction techniques. Results indicate that using gravity as a placement tool and separating the degrees of freedom when manipulating virtual objects provides the best experience for users. Findings further confirm the potential of using ball-shaped devices for interaction in AR.


This article aims to explain the implementation of the Islamic economic system in the process and practice of community empowerment by selecting the An-Nadzir religious community in South Sulawesi as the basis for its analysis. In this case An-Nadzir developed as an independent religious community with the application of Islamic economics in social-economic life. This research is done by qualitative data collection, then presented in descriptive analysis. In the era of the ASEAN economic community and the current global economic competition, various forms of strategy and implementation of the economic system need to be done. One is the implementation of Islamic economics with the empowerment of society as a practical offer. This is endeavourmust be implemented through the empowerement the middle to lower community in order to create a strong, creative, and more independent society. The social-economic empowerment of religious communities is one of the bids as an alternative to implementing the Islamic economic system.


The most commonly accepted view internationally is that addiction is an individualised brain-based disease or disorder. This view is buttressed by neuroscientific evidence, which is interpreted as demonstrating that the addicted brain undergoes long-term structural and functional changes as a result of substance use. Proponents of this model argue that such evidence is conclusive and that we have finally, over many decades, arrived at an enlightened, evidence-based, scientific understanding of addiction and dispensed with outdated 'moral models'. However, critical scholars have argued that what we mean by addiction very much depends on the political–economic and socio-culture structure of a particular society at a particular temporal juncture. This paper seeks to build on this critical scholarship by examining shifting addiction understandings across time in Ireland. (This refers to the 26 counties of the southern Irish state.) This has involved analysing various documents, archives, and journal articles relating to the main 'claim-making' groups in Irish society (Catholic Church, medical profession, government, and media). It is argued that understandings of addiction through time in Ireland have tracked the country's political–economic and socio-cultural development and have not developed according to 'objective evidenced-based Science'. Furthermore, the portrayal of addiction across time has directed attention inwards to the diseased or disordered individual and away from macro-level processes. This has also led to the neglect of potentially vital areas of inquiry in relation to addiction scholarship in Ireland. To this end, the present research paper intends to highlight some of these macro-level processes in order to suggest fruitful avenues for future research.


Abstract Weeds contribute to biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem functions. It is crucial to map different weed species and analyze their physiological activities. Remote sensing techniques for plant identification, especially hyperspectral imaging, are being developed using spectral response patterns to vegetation for detection and species identification. A library of hyperspectral images of 40 urban weed species in northeast China was established in this study. A terrestrial hyperspectral camera was used to acquire 435 hyperspectral images. The hyperspectral information for each weed species was extracted and analyzed. The spectral characteristics and vegetation indices of different weeds revealed the differences between weed species in the cities of northeast China and indirectly characterized the growth and physiological activity levels of different species, but could not effectively distinguish different species. Five methods—first derivative spectrum (FDS), second derivative spectrum (SDS), standard normal variate (SNV), moving averages (MA), and Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing—were used to pretreat the spectral curves to maximize the retention of spectral characteristics while removing the influence of noise. We investigated the application of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with terrestrial hyperspectral remote sensing to identify urban weeds in northeast China. A CNN classification model was established to distinguish weeds from the hyperspectral images and demonstrated a test accuracy of 95.32% to 98.15%. The accuracy of the original spectrum was 97.45%; SNV had the best accuracy (98.15%) and SG was the least accurate (95.32%). This provides a baseline for understanding the hyperspectral characteristics of urban weed species and monitoring their growth. It also contributes to the development of a hyperspectral imaging database with global applicability.


The iron(II) spin-crossover compound [Fe(ptz)(6)](PF(6))(2) (ptz = 1-propyltetrazole) crystallizes in the triclinic space group P&onemacr;, with a = 10.6439(4) Å, b = 10.8685(4) Å, c = 11.7014(4) Å, alpha = 75.644(1) degrees, beta = 71.671(1) degrees, gamma = 60.815(1) degrees, and Z = 1. In [Fe(ptz)(6)](PF(6))(2), the thermal spin transition is extremely steep because of cooperative effects of elastic origin. The transition temperature at ambient pressure is 74(1) K. An external pressure of 1 kbar shifts the transition temperature to 102(1) K, corresponding to a stabilization of the low-spin state, which is smaller in volume. The volume difference between the high-spin and the low-spin state, DeltaV degrees (HL), is 24(2) Å(3)/molecule. The interaction constant Gamma, as a measure of cooperativity, is within experimental error independent of external pressure and has a value of 101(5) cm(-)(1). In contrast to the case of the related compound [Fe(ptz)(6)](BF(4))(2) (Decurtins et al. Inorg. Chem.1985, 24, 2174), there is no hysteresis due to a first-order crystallographic phase transition, nor is there a hysteresis induced by external pressure as in the mixed crystal [Zn(1)(-)(x)()Fe(x)()(ptz)(6)](BF(4))(2), x = 0.1 (Jeftic et al. J. Phys.Chem. Solids 1996, 57, 1743). However, in [Fe(ptz)(6)](PF(6))(2), the interaction constant Gamma is found to be very close to the critical value above which a hysteresis solely due to the cooperative effects is expected. In addition, high-spin --> low-spin relaxation measurements were performed under external pressures of up to 1 kbar in the temperature interval between 50 and 60 K. An external pressure of 1 kbar accelerates the high-spin --> low-spin relaxation by 1 order of magnitude.


Through echolocation, a bat can perceive not only the position of an object in the dark; it can also recognize its 3D structure. A tree, however, is a very complex object; it has thousands of reflective surfaces that result in a chaotic acoustic image of the tree. Technically, the acoustic image of an object is its impulse response (IR), i.e., the sum of the reflections recorded when the object is ensonified with an acoustic impulse. The extraction of the acoustic IR from the ultrasonic echo and the detailed IR analysis underlies the bats' extraordinary object-recognition capabilities. Here, a phantom-object playback experiment is developed to demonstrate that the bat Phyllostomus discolor can evaluate a statistical property of chaotic IRs, the IR roughness. The IRs of the phantom objects consisted of up to 4,000 stochastically distributed reflections. It is shown that P. discolor spontaneously classifies echoes generated with these IRs according to IR roughness. This capability enables the bats to evaluate complex natural textures, such as foliage types, in a meaningful manner. The present behavioral results and their simulations in a computer model of the bats' ascending auditory system indicate the involvement of modulation-sensitive neurons in echo analysis.


Abstract : This paper describes how a 3D-Audio system for use in fighter aircrafts was evaluated in an experiment, by comparing localization performance between real and virtual sound sources. Virtual sound sources from 58 selected directions were evaluated, while 16 of these directions were also evaluated using real sound sources, i.e. loudspeakers. 13 pilots from the Royal Danish Air Force and 13 civil persons were used in the test. The localization performance was split into a constant and a stochastic difference between the perceived direction and the desired direction (stimulus). The constant difference is a localization offset and the stochastic difference is a measure for the localization uncertainty. Stimuli length of both 250 ms and 2's enabled investigation of the importance of head movements, i.e. using head tracking. Real and virtual sound sources could be located with an uncertainty of 10o and 14o degrees for azimuth while the uncertainty for elevation was 12o and 24o (real and virtual sound sources). No significant localization offset was found for azimuth, while an average offset for elevation of 3o 6o degrees was found using long stimuli. A significant difference between the localization offset obtained in different directions was found especially for elevation, where the offset was found to have a strong correlation to the stimuli elevation.


Distance and location are important determinants of many choices that economists study. While these variables can sometimes be obtained from secondary data, economists often rely on information that is self-reported by respondents in surveys. These self-reports are used especially for the distance from households or community centers to various features such as roads, markets, schools, clinics and other public services. There is growing evidence that self-reported distance is measured with error and that these errors are correlated with outcomes of interest. In contrast to self-reports, the Global Positioning System (GPS) can determine location within 15 meters (95 percent of the time). The falling cost of GPS receivers (typically below US$100) makes it increasingly feasible for field surveys to use GPS as a better method of measuring location and distance. In this paper we review four ways that GPS can lead to better economics and better policy: (i) by helping to understand policy externalities and spillovers, (ii) through better understanding of the access to services, (iii) by improving the collection of household survey data, and (iv) through use in econometric modeling to understand the causal impact of policies. We also discuss several pitfalls and unresolved problems with using GPS in household surveys. JEL codes: C81, O12, R20


The epitaph of Priest Iohannes (CIL III 9527, Salona, August 13, 599 or AD 603) is one of the few inscriptions from the sixth-century Salona, which can be dated with precision. It is also one of the rare inscriptions from Dalmatia of this period, which mention a person (proconsul Marcellinus) known from other sources (Registrum epistularum of Pope Gregory the Great). However, its linguistic importance seems to be summarized in the remark of its most recent editor Nancy Gauthier (2010) that the language of the epitaph reflects the features of Latin spoken in Dalmatia at the time ("la langue vivante"). The aim of this paper was to check the plausibility of this statement by comparing the Vulgar Latin features in the inscription with the results of research on Latin in late Dalmatia. Also, a new interpretation of the word obsis l. 13 is proposed.


Introduction: Metronidazole is commonly used to treat bacterial vaginosis (BV) despite its various side effects and frequent cases of BV recurrences. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of probiotic vs metronidazole for bacterial vaginosis. Methods: A meta-analysis of randomized control trials (RCTs) was performed on the studies available in PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Springer Link and the Cochrane databases. The meta-analysis was based on random-effects models and included studies evaluating BV therapy in women during their reproductive age. The data were analyzed using Rev Man 5 software for the heterogenity. Results: Thirteen studies involving 2149 subjects were included in the analysis.The results of this meta-analysis showed that probiotic has a beneficial effect for the treatment of BV compared to placebo (OR: 0.62; 95%CI= 0.40 – 0.97). In addition, probiotic can reduce the risk of BV incidence by a half time compared to metronidazole (RR: 0.51; 95% CI= 0.20 – 1.33), Conclusion: Probiotic therapy could be used as an alternative to metronidazole therapy for bacterial vaginosis.


This research investigates hypotheses about differences between Chinese and American managers in the configuration of trusting relationships within their professional networks. Consistent with hypotheses about Chinese familial collectivism, an egocentric network survey found that affectand cognition-based trust were more intertwined for Chinese than for American managers. In addition, the effect of economic exchange on affect-based trust was more positive for Chinese than for Americans, whereas the effect of friendship was more positive for Americans than for Chinese. Finally, the extent to which a given relationship was highly embedded in ties to third parties increased cognition-based trust for Chinese but not for Americans. Implications for cultural research and international business practices are discussed.


Background and Aims: The burden of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] in health care is high. We conducted research on the temporal changes in the incidence of paediatric IBD [PIBD] using nationwide registry-based data in Finland. Methods: All PIBD cases diagnosed at less than 20 years of age during 1987–2014 [in total, 5415 patients] were retrieved from a database documenting reimbursements for drug costs. Incidence rates were calculated by dividing the number of annual new PIBD cases by the size of the paediatric population at risk during each calendar year. Temporal trends in the incidences of PIBD and its subtypes, ulcerative colitis [UC] and Crohn's disease [CD], were estimated using Poisson regression analyses. Results: The mean annual incidence of PIBD increased from 7/100000 for the years 1987–1990 to 23/100000 for the years 2011–2014. The average rate of increase was 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6–4.5) per annum. In the period 2000–2014, the increase rate in the annual incidence of UC [3.8%; 95% CI: 2.7–5.0], was steeper than for CD [2.5%; 95% CI: 1.0–3.8]. The most pronounced increase occurred in UC among adolescents aged 16–19 years [4.8%; 95% CI: 2.9–6.7]. For children less than 10 years of age, the rate of change remained low. Approximately 0.17% of the birth cohort for the years 1999–2000 was diagnosed with PIBD by the age of 14 years. Conclusion: The incidence of PIBD is primarily increasing among adolescents, challenging the identification of the possible environmental triggers for the disease.


The worldwide expansion of modern humans (Homo sapiens) from Africa started before the extinction of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis). Both species coexisted and interbred, as revealed by the sequencing of Neanderthal genomes, leading to ~2% Neanderthal DNA in modern Eurasians1,2, with slightly higher introgression in East Asians than in Europeans3–6. These distinct levels of ancestry have been argued to result from selection processes7,8. However, recent theoretical simulations have shown that range expansions could be another explanation9,10. This hypothesis would lead to the generation of spatial gradients of introgression, increasing with the distance from the source of the expansion, i.e., Africa for modern humans. Here, we investigate the presence of Neanderthal introgression gradients after past human expansions by analysing an extended palaeogenomic dataset of Eurasian populations. Our results show that the Out-of-Africa expansion of modern humans into Eurasia resulted in spatial gradients of Neanderthal ancestry that persisted through time. Moreover, while keeping the same gradient orientation, the expansion of early Neolithic farmers into western Eurasia contributed decisively to reducing the average level of Neandertal genomic introgression in European compared to Asian populations. This is because Neolithic farmers carried less Neanderthal DNA than preceding Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. This study shows that inferences about past population dynamics within our species can be made from the spatiotemporal variation in archaic introgression.


:  This study examined why people accepted a demanding rule in a recycling system that was newly introduced in Nagoya City. We focused on two social psychological topics: social dilemmas and fairness. While the new system succeeded in reducing waste, it imposed a burden on citizens without providing incentives and sanctions. In a research survey, 1442 responses from a sample of 3000 (48% response rate) were obtained using a stratified sampling method. The results showed that the new recycling system was approved despite the demands placed on citizens, with a preference for more strict rules such as penalties and surveillance for noncompliance. The main determinants of approval of the new recycling system were social benefit and procedural fairness, whereas the main determinant of preference for strict rules was outcome fairness. We argue that (a) social benefit should be emphasized to facilitate cooperative behavior in a social dilemma situation and (b) the government should ensure sufficient discussion with citizens and acknowledgment of their opinions.


Density functional supercell calculations were carried out by a mixed-basis pseudopotential method for the Σ3 (111) [10] symmetrical tilt grain boundary in strontium titanate, SrTiO3, as a prototype planar defect in an electro-ceramic material. A low grain boundary energy of 0.52 J m-2 was obtained. Minor structural relaxations compared to the coincidence site lattice model are obtained close to the grain boundary plane by theory and previous experiment. Within the limits of the rather small supercell model employed in the calculations, the calculated geometric structure agrees well with the experimental one. An analysis of calculated local electron densities of states shows that the perturbation due to the grain boundary is localized in the near vicinity of the boundary plane. From the present results for the small supercell model, there is no evidence for the build-up of a space-charge layer at this highly ordered and undoped twin boundary in SrTiO3.


Developing contrast-enhanced optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques is important for specific imaging of tissue lesions, molecular imaging, cell-tracking, and highly sensitive microangiography and lymphangiography. Multiplexed OCT imaging in the second near infrared (NIR-II) window is highly desirable since it allows simultaneous imaging and tracking of multiple biological events in high resolution with deeper tissue penetration in vivo. Here we demonstrate that gold nanobipyramids can function as OCT multiplexing contrast agents, allowing high-resolution imaging of two separate lymphatic flows occurring simultaneously from different drainage basins into the same lymph node in a live mouse. Contrast-enhanced multiplexed lymphangiography of a melanoma tumor in vivo shows that the peritumoral lymphatic drainage upstream of the tumor is unidirectional, with some drainage directly into the tumor, but the lymphatic drainage from the tumor is multi-directional. We also demonstrate real-time tracking of the contrast agents draining from a melanoma tumor specifically to the sentinel lymph node of the tumor and the three-dimensional distribution of the contrast agents in the lymph node.


In this paper we present the novel qualities of entanglement of formation for general (so also infinite dimensional) quantum systems.
A major benefit of our presentation is a rigorous description of entanglement of formation. In particular, we indicate how this description may be used to examine optimal decompositions. Illustrative examples showing the method of estimation of entanglement of formation are givem\n.


The authors determined the association between metabolic syndrome in early pregnancy (mean, 11.96 weeks) and the risk of preterm birth in the mother-child cohort study ("Rhea" Study) in Crete, Greece, 2007-2009. Maternal fasting serum samples were collected, and blood pressure was measured at the time of the first major ultrasound examination (n = 625). Multivariable log-binomial regression models were used. Women with metabolic syndrome were at high risk for preterm birth (relative risk (RR) = 2.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.53, 5.58), with the highest risk observed for medically indicated preterm births (RR = 5.13, 95% CI: 1.97, 13.38). Among the components of metabolic syndrome, the most significant risk factor was hypertension (RR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.28, 4.20). An elevation of 10 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure increased the relative risk for preterm birth by 29% (RR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.53), while a per unit increase in the low density lipoprotein/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio increased this risk by 19% (RR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.39). Fetal weight growth restriction was associated with elevated levels of insulin (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.20) and diastolic blood pressure (RR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.61) in early pregnancy. These findings suggest that women with metabolic syndrome in early pregnancy had higher risk for preterm birth.


Flavocytochrome b2 is a flavohemo enzyme localized in the intermembrane space of yeast mitochondria, where it catalyzes the electron transfer from its substrate, L-lactate, to cytochrome c. We have obtained crystals of a flavocytochrome b2 mutant, Y143F, which are isostructural with those of the native recombinant enzyme [Tegoni, M., & Cambillau, C. (1994) Protein Sci.3, 303-314]. These crystals were grown under similar conditions to those used to obtain the recombinant enzyme, but in the presence of phenyl lactate or lactate. We report here on the structural analysis of the two complexes of flavocytochrome b2 with the reaction products at 2.9 A resolution. In both structures, the Phe143 phenyl ring keeps the same position as that of the phenolic ring of Tyr143 in both the native recombinant and in the native wild-type enzymes. The product of the reaction, phenyl pyruvate or pyruvate, is present at the active site of both subunits, and not only in subunit 2 as observed in the wild-type structure [Xia, Z.-X., & Mathews, F.S. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 212, 837-863]. The number of interactions between the FMN and the heme domain is considerably lower in the Y143F mutant than in the native proteins. The latter finding strongly supports the hypothesis that the main role of Tyr143 in the native proteins. The latter findings strongly supports the hypothesis that the main role of Tyr143 in the native protein probably consists in establishing a hydrogen bond with the heme [Xia, Z.-X., & Mathews, F.S. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 212, 837-863]. This interaction appears to be essential for the two domains to approach each other suitably so that the intramolecular electron transfer can occur.


The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity investigated plains at Meridiani Planum, where laminated sedimentary rocks are present. The Opportunity rover's Athena morphological investigation showed microstructures organized in intertwined filaments of microspherules: a texture we have also found on samples of terrestrial (biogenic) stromatolites and other microbialites. We performed a quantitative image analysis to compare images (n=45) of microbialites with the images (n=30) photographed by the rover (corresponding, approximately, to 25,000/15,000 microstructures). Contours were extracted and morphometric indexes were obtained: geometric and algorithmic complexities, entropy, tortuosity, minimum and maximum diameters. Terrestrial and Martian textures present a multifractal aspect. Mean values and confidence intervals from the Martian images overlapped perfectly with those from the terrestrial samples. The probability of this occurring by chance is 1/2 8 , less than p<0.004. Terrestrial abiogenic pseudostromatolites showed a simple fractal structure and different morphometric values from those of the terrestrial biogenic stromatolite images or Martian images with a less ordered texture (p<0.001). Our work shows the presumptive evidence of microbialites in the Martian outcroppings: i.e., the presence of unicellular life on the ancient Mars.


Literature revealed limited empirical studies on honour killing in Canada. The recent cases drew attention from the media, and the public but less from the academic. Discussion on this issue revolved around immigration, multiculturalism, and violence against immigrant women. Also, it is a manifestation of patriarchy common in most societies, and a form of violence against women not exclusive to one culture but deeply rooted in culture and religion. It is not always the sexual behaviour of the victim that define the 'family honour '. Murder, sometimes, is a result of women not following the social rules or the gender norms in the family and the men act to preserve their reputation. To understand honour killing, we need to consider the multiple ources of oppression and think of their intersections and how they affect each other and are intertwined.

Keywords: honour, honour killing, Newspapers, violence against immigrant women, culture, Islam, Muslim


According to some observers, Creolistics or the study of pidgins and creoles is coming of age. Although no longer considered "marginal languages" (Reinecke, 1937), it seems justified to claim that pidgin and creole languages as well as the corresponding speech communities are nevertheless marginalized not only "on the terrain" but also in academia, for example by those working on endangered languages although many communities are menaced by linguicide and some even by genocide (e.g. Fa d Ambu). I would like to make a contribution to the debate by discussing the cases of the two creole languages and communities of Colombia of which I have first hand experience: Islander (San Andres and Old Providence Creole English) and Palenquero. I will discuss the current sociolinguistic situation and language revitalization and promotion measures largely made possible by the 1991 national constitution as well as future prospects. Marked differences arise from the specific sociohistoric and sociocultural ecologies. I am also reporting on my on-going research on Islander (1999: a sociolinguistic survey of San Andres; 2001-2002: a contrastive grammar Islander - Caribbean Standard English - Spanish).


Based on the curves of pHmetric titration of the asmol used for anticorrosive protection of oil and gas pipelines, isopropanol solution of KOH in toluene isopropanol mixture established the presence of two jumps pH, which indicates the presence of both strong and weak acids. Acid number of asmol on strong acids made 28.9 mg KOH/1g on weak 7.2 mg KOH/1g. Extraction of polar components of an asmol by water is carried out and the IR spectrums of the nonpolar and water phases are investigated. It is established that the nonpolar phase of an asmol is presented by oil hydrocarbons with a lowered content of aromatic components of the feedstock. The polar part of an asmol, passing at extraction into a water phase is characterized by the presence of a wide absorption band in the area 3300 3600 cm with a maximum at 3420 cm. The strongest absorption band in the spectrum of the water extract phase located at 1200 cm. There are also two absorption bands corresponding to maxima at 1020 cm and 1050 cm and also an absorption band of medium intensity at 600 cm and a weak at 935 cm. Thus, at synthesis of an asmol sulfonation heavy oil residues sulfuric acid, strong acids can be identified as sulfonic acid and weak as carbonic acids and phenols. Polar groups in the asmol are also hydroxyl groups as alcohols, carbonyl groups of aldehydes and ketones, SO2 group in the sulfone, which can be a part of the molecules of strong and weak acids, and also to be functional groups of neutral resins and asphaltenes.


This paper is a geomechanics case study in which timelapse timeshifts have been accurately measured over the producing HP/HT Franklin and Elgin gas condensate fields then inverted to production-induced stress and strain changes throughout the reservoir, overburden and underburden. The interpretation of the result can be used to constrain the coupled reservoir-geomechanical model with the objective of enhancing its capacity to detect parts of the reservoirs that have not been depleted, explaining casing integrity problems and anticipating potential wellbore instability problems on infill wells.


Head-on collisions of binary micro-droplets are of great interest in both academic research and engineering applications. Numerical simulation of this problem is challenging due to complex interfacial changes and large density ratio between different fluids. In this work, the recently proposed lattice Boltzmann flux solver (LBFS) is applied to study this problem. The LBFS is a finite volume method for the direct update of macroscopic flow variables at cell centers. The fluxes of the LBFS are reconstructed at each cell interface through lattice moments of density distribution functions (DDFs). As compared with conventional multiphase lattice Boltzmann method, the LBFS can be easily applied to study complex multiphase flows with large density ratio. In addition, external forces can be implemented more conveniently and the tie-up between the time step and mesh spacing is also removed. Moreover, it can deal with complex boundary conditions directly as those do in the conventional Navier-Stokes solvers.At first, the reliability of the LBFS is validated by simulating a micro-droplet impacting on a dry surface at density ratio 832 (air to water). The obtained result agrees well with experimental measurement. After that, numerical simulations of head-on collisions of two micro droplets are carried out to examine different collisional behaviors in a wide range of Reynolds numbers and Weber numbers of 100 ≤ Re ≤ 2000 and 10 ≤ We ≤ 500. A phase diagram parameterized by these two control parameters is obtained to classify the outcomes of these collisions. It is shown that, at low Reynolds number (Re=100), two droplets will be coalescent into a bigger one for all considered Weber numbers. With the increase of the Reynolds number, separation of the collision into multiple droplets appears and the critical Weber number for separation is decreased. When the Reynolds number is sufficiently high, the critical Weber number for separation is between 20 and 25.Copyright © 2016 by ASME


Prognostics is an emerging field of research that enables the real-time health assessment of an engineering system and the prediction of its future state based on up-to-date information. This field integrates various scientific disciplines including physics/mechanics, computational statistics and probabilistic modeling, machine learning and sensing technologies. The main goal is the prediction of the remaining useful life (RUL) of the engineering system while it is in-service. Lately, there is an effort to study and predict the future status of engineering systems that exhibit a complex degradation process. The availability of condition monitoring (CM) data, the constantly increasing computational power, the development of machine learning algorithms and the advancements on the physics/mechanics for several engineering systems form a solid foundation to achieve that goal. Among the engineering systems that exhibit a complex degradation process are composite structures. Composite structures have made a significant mark in numerous industries, driven by advantages in structural efficiency, performance, versatility and cost. It is well known that the damage accumulation process of composite structures depends on several parameters, i.e. the type of material and the lay-up, the loading frequency and sequence, the manufacturing process. Additionally, the multi-phase nature of composites and the variation of defects result in a stochastic activation of the different failure mechanisms. So, one expects that the long-term behaviour of two comparable composites structures, subjected to comparable environmental and loading conditions, will differ and that makes the fatigue damage analysis, and consequently the prediction of RUL, very complex tasks. This difference is profound especially when unexpected phenomena may occur. The goal of this research is to develop a new RUL prediction model that is able to learn from unexpected phenomena and adapt its parameters accordingly. The model is composed of three elements; 1) sensing techniques to acquire online CM data, 2) machine learning algorithm for developing a damage modelling strategy and 3) stochastic modelling for uncertainty quantification. Based on the literature review, it was concluded that a frequentist data-driven model has the potential to fulfil the research goal and an extension of the Non-Homogenous Hidden Semi Markov model (NHHSMM) is a good candidate. The first step was to design the structure of the RUL prediction model and define its elements. The next step was to develop the extension of the NHHSMM, and verify its correctness and robustness, utilizing simulated Monte-Carlo (MC) data. A series of assumptions was necessary in order to frame the applicability of the model towards composite structures and to achieve an efficient prediction process.


Strong, proactive people focus their efforts, time, and energy on that which they control. Your co-workers' behavior can influence you, but never control you. Neither do you control your colleagues. No matter what your role or practice setting, or your level of power or experience, you do control your own behavior, and can thereby influence others in your workplace. Focus on yourself and how you behave at work. By choosing constructive, collaborative, respectful ways of interacting, every nurse can be instrumental in creating healthy workplaces.


The development of renewable energy sources has grown increasingly as the world shifts toward lowering carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources, and its harvesting potential has gone beyond typical solar panels to small, portable devices. Also, the trend toward smart buildings is becoming more prevalent at the same time as sensors and small devices are becoming more integrated, and the demand for dependable, sustainable energy sources will increase. Our work aims to tackle the issue of identifying the most suitable protective layer for small optical devices that can efficiently utilize indoor light sources. To conduct our research, we designed and tested a model that allowed us to compare the performance of many small panels made of monocrystalline cells laminated with three different materials: epoxy resin, an ethylene–tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), under varying light intensities from LED and CFL sources. The methods employed encompass contact angle measurements of the protective layers, providing insights into their wettability and hydrophobicity, which indicates protective layer performance against humidity. Reflection spectroscopy was used to evaluate the panels' reflectance properties across different wavelengths, which affect the light amount arrived at the solar cell. Furthermore, we characterized the PV panels' electrical behavior by measuring short-circuit current (ISC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), maximum power output (Pmax), fill factor (FF), and load resistance (R). Our findings offer valuable insights into each PV panel's performance and the protective layer material's effect. Panels with ETFE layers exhibited remarkable hydrophobicity with a mean contact angle of 77.7°, indicating resistance against humidity-related effects. Also, panels with ETFE layers consistently outperformed others as they had the highest open circuit voltage (VOC) ranging between 1.63–4.08 V, fill factor (FF) between 35.9–67.3%, and lowest load resistance (R) ranging between 11,268–772 KΩ.cm−2 under diverse light intensities from various light sources, as determined by our results. This makes ETFE panels a promising option for indoor energy harvesting, especially for powering sensors with low power requirements. This information could influence future research in developing energy harvesting solutions, thereby making a valuable contribution to the progress of sustainable energy technology.


The spectrum modification technique is a digital procedure for placing the spectrum of any band-limited signal-analog or digital within an arbitrarily chosen set of (nonoverlapping) frequency intervals, the sum of whose lengths is not less than the original bandwidth of the signal. Because it can serve the function of several digital techniques, such as mixing, interpolating, and decimating, and can he realized in a finite impulse response (FIR) filter form, it may be suitably implemented by a programmable FIR filter having a flexible timing scheme. The technique is more computationally efficient for many of its applications than the conventional algorithms it replaces. In the application for which it was developed, it replaced a mixer and the concomitant filtering required to shift a signal spectrum a fraction of its bandwidth and cut the computational rate an order of magnitude.


A growing body of research has documented that childhood maltreatment is associated with increased risk of child aggression. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying the relationships between childhood maltreatment and reactive and proactive functions of aggression. Therefore, the present study examined whether callous-unemotional traits mediated the relationships between childhood maltreatment and two subtypes of aggression and whether these mediating processes were moderated by friendship quality. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2407 adolescents between 11 and 16 years (M age = 12.75, SD = .58) in Shanxi province, China. Participants filled out questionnaires regarding childhood maltreatment, callous-unemotional traits, aggression, and friendship quality. The results indicated that childhood maltreatment was significantly and positively associated with proactive and reactive aggression, and these relationships were partially mediated by callous-unemotional traits after controlling for demographic variables. Friendship quality moderated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and proactive aggression as well as callous-unemotional traits and proactive aggression. These relationships became weaker for adolescents with high levels of friendship quality. Friendship quality did not moderate the effects of childhood maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits on reactive aggression.


This article analyses risk' and stakeholders' management in the project to establish a product created by BNDES to provide partial credit guarantees for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Investment Guarantee Fund (FGI). The project went through several adjustments during its development to adapt it to changes in the credit market, the demands of financial agents and credit access' public policy. For this analysis were used risk management models, stakeholder management in projects and guarantee systems. The methodology used was the single case study with the fund manager, with document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results of the analysis indicate that the corrections in the direction and the adequacy of the fund project development pace, together with stakeholder management techniques use and project risk management , led to increased security in the Fund  implementation, minimizing the need for rework and schedule delays. This context prevented several risks associated with the operation and the adequacy of the final product, contributing to a gradual but steady adoption of the Fund's guarantee by financial agents.


Abstract For analysis of an ex-vessel severe accident, the corium melt conditions inside the reactor vessel are important at the time of the reactor vessel failure together with the reactor vessel failure mode. To determine penetration tube failure in the lower head of the reactor vessel during a severe accident, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute developed the PENetration Tube Analysis Program 2.0 (PENTAP 2.0) and carried out validation work based on experimental data that can simulate penetration tube heatup, rupture, penetration weld failure, and penetration tube ejection failure. A numerical simulation was undertaken to investigate the effect of the presence of melt in a tube, the expansion direction of the reactor vessel hole, and wall ablation on tube failure using PENTAP 2.0. The simulation results showed that the presence of melt inside the tube helps prevent tube ejection. When melt is not in the penetration tube, tube ejection is strongly dependent on the expansion direction of the reactor vessel hole.


Background Healthy lifestyle including sufficient physical activity may mitigate or prevent adverse long-term effects of childhood cancer. We described daily physical activities and sports in childhood cancer survivors and controls, and assessed determinants of both activity patterns. Methodology/Principal Findings The Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a questionnaire survey including all children diagnosed with cancer 1976–2003 at age 0–15 years, registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, who survived ≥5years and reached adulthood (≥20years). Controls came from the population-based Swiss Health Survey. We compared the two populations and determined risk factors for both outcomes in separate multivariable logistic regression models. The sample included 1058 survivors and 5593 controls (response rates 78% and 66%). Sufficient daily physical activities were reported by 52% (n = 521) of survivors and 37% (n = 2069) of controls (p<0.001). In contrast, 62% (n = 640) of survivors and 65% (n = 3635) of controls reported engaging in sports (p = 0.067). Risk factors for insufficient daily activities in both populations were: older age (OR for ≥35years: 1.5, 95CI 1.2–2.0), female gender (OR 1.6, 95CI 1.3–1.9), French/Italian Speaking (OR 1.4, 95CI 1.1–1.7), and higher education (OR for university education: 2.0, 95CI 1.5–2.6). Risk factors for no sports were: being a survivor (OR 1.3, 95CI 1.1–1.6), older age (OR for ≥35years: 1.4, 95CI 1.1–1.8), migration background (OR 1.5, 95CI 1.3–1.8), French/Italian speaking (OR 1.4, 95CI 1.2–1.7), lower education (OR for compulsory schooling only: 1.6, 95CI 1.2–2.2), being married (OR 1.7, 95CI 1.5–2.0), having children (OR 1.3, 95CI 1.4–1.9), obesity (OR 2.4, 95CI 1.7–3.3), and smoking (OR 1.7, 95CI 1.5–2.1). Type of diagnosis was only associated with sports. Conclusions/Significance Physical activity levels in survivors were lower than recommended, but comparable to controls and mainly determined by socio-demographic and cultural factors. Strategies to improve physical activity levels could be similar as for the general population.


We develop a method to perform an untargeted Bayesian search for anisotropic gravitational-wave backgrounds that can efficiently and accurately reconstruct the background intensity map. Our method employs an analytic marginalization of the posterior of the spherical-harmonic components of the intensity map, without assuming the background possesses any specific angular structure. The key idea is that the likelihood function of the spherical-harmonic components is a multivariate Gaussian when the intensity map is expressed as a linear combination of the spherical-harmonic components and the noise is stationary and Gaussian. If a uniform and wide prior of these spherical-harmonic components is prescribed, the marginalized posterior and the Bayes factor can be well approximated by a high-dimensional Gaussian integral. The analytical marginalization allows us to regard the spherical-harmonic components of the intensity map of the background as free parameters, and to construct their individual marginalized posterior distribution in a reasonable time, even though many spherical-harmonic components are required. The marginalized posteriors can, in turn, be used to accurately construct the intensity map of the background. By applying our method to mock data, we show that we can recover precisely the angular structures of various simulated anisotropic backgrounds, without assuming prior knowledge of the relation between the spherical-harmonic components predicted by a given model. Our method allows us to bypass the time-consuming numerical sampling of a high-dimensional posterior, leading to a more model-independent and untargeted Bayesian measurement of the angular structures of the gravitational-wave background.


Isomeric chlorobenzoyl cations (m/z 139), under collision-induced experiments, fragment identically. Chlorobenzoyl cations can be efficiently converted into cholorophenol radical cations by the reaction with methanol in the ion trap analyzer under CI-MSn conditions. The substitution of the carbonyl group with a hydroxyl moiety is able to induce an ortho effect, which is absent in the startingortho-chlorobenzoyl cation. This transformation could be useful to recognize ortho-chlorinated benzoyl derivatives without the need of MS spectrum comparison of the whole set of isomers. The method reported in this study could be applicable to biologically active molecules that dissociate to form the chlorobenzoyl cations under CI or CI collision-induced dissociation conditions, such as indomethacin, the degradation products from the insect growth regulator 1-(2-chlorobenzoyl)-3-(4-chlorophenyl) urea, and lorazepam.


With its industrial adaptability, epitaxial graphene (EG), formed by a UHV annealing of SiC substrates, is attracting recent attention. While hexagonal SiC bulk substrates have been solely used for this purpose, benefits in use of 3C-SiC virtual substrate founded on Si substrates could be enormous. We have succeeded in fabricating a graphene film on a 3C-SiC(111) virtual substrate, which was preformed on a Si(110) substrate by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy using monomethyl silane. The geometrical matching in this configuration greatly suppresses the strain in the SiC film, which is related to this successful formation of graphene. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2009.311]


We report the microfabrication and characterization of concentric gold nanoring electrodes (Au NREs), which were fabricated by patterning two gold nanoelectrodes on the same silicon (Si) micropillar tip. Au NREs of 165 ± 10 nm in width were micropatterned on a 6.5 ± 0.2 µm diameter 80 ± 0.5 µm height Si micropillar with an intervening ~ 100 nm thick hafnium oxide insulating layer between the two nanoelectrodes. Excellent cylindricality of the micropillar with vertical sidewalls as well as a completely intact layer of a concentric Au NRE including the entire micropillar perimeter has been achieved as observed via scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy data. The electrochemical behavior of the Au NREs was characterized by steady-state cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The applicability of Au NREs to electrochemical sensing was demonstrated by redox cycling with the ferro/ferricyanide redox couple. The redox cycling amplified the currents by 1.63-fold with a collection efficiency of > 90% on a single collection cycle. The proposed micro-nanofabrication approach with further optimization studies shows great promise for the creation and expansion of concentric 3D NRE arrays with controllable width and nanometer spacing for electroanalytical research and applications such as single-cell analysis and advanced biological and neurochemical sensing.


A novel lightweight onion-like carbon (OLC)-based polymer composite with high electromagnetic (EM) shielding properties is presented. OLC have been produced via the large-scale production technology based on the annealing of detonation nanodiamond under vacuum conditions (or in inert atmosphere). EM shielding effectiveness has been tested in the frequency range of 26-37 GHz. The highest EM attenuation at 36.6 GHz reaching -34 dB was observed for polymethylmethacrylate films comprising 20 wt.% of OLC. The shielding effectiveness data collected for microwave frequencies were found to correlate well with the electrical resistivity measurements by four-probe method as well as conductivity measurements provided by the broadband dielectric spectroscopy (20 Hz-3 GHz). It was proved experimentally that OLC EM shielding capacity can be optimized by varying the nanoonion cluster size and nanodiamond annealing temperature so that effective EM coatings can be produced. Both the experimental observations and theoretical simulations demonstrate that even small (smaller than percolation threshold) additions of OLC particles to a polymer host can noticeably modify the composite response to EM radiation.