Trichoderma spp. are the most commonly used and widely applied biocontrol agents which is known for its antagonistic activities against plant pathogens especially soil borne pathogens such as Fusarium spp. (Fusarium wilt), Rhizoctonia, Pythium (Damping off), Sclerotium rolfsii (Sclerotinia rot), etc. Trichoderma exhibit diverse array of activities viz. plant growth promotion, biofertilizer, bioagents through the production of different biocontrol mechanisms (enzymes) such as chitinase, protease, glucanase, etc. Their mode of action is either by parasitizing the plant pathogens, secreting antibiotics or by competing for space and nutrients. Nutrient uptake is also enhanced as it regulates the root architecture promoting better root growth. Recently studies have found that it can also be utilized for bioremediation which will play a pivotal role in rejuvenating the environment from toxic substances. Heavy metal contaminants like Ni, Cd, Zn, Pb, As has been tolerated and accumulated by Trichoderma sp. Decomposition rate was fastened when Trichoderma was inoculated in agricultural waste substrate. It can detoxify toxic pesticides and fungicides which will be of great help in solving the environment pollutants besides increasing the soil fertility. Its role as biocontrol and as bioremediation can be of great advantage to the agriculture sector in solving disease problems and providing safe environment.

https://www.ijcmas.com/11-1-2022/Thangjam Subhalakshmi and R. K. Imotomba Singh.pdf


It is well known that most episodes of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), even in untreated, recover spontaneously in 2 to 6 weeks. In the present study, we put forward the hypothesis that this is mainly due to the fact that endolymph, owing to its low calcium content (20 microM) is able to dissolve otoconia. To support this, the fate of frog saccular otoconia immersed in normal endolymph (Ca2+ content 20 microM) and in Ca2+-rich endolymphatic fluids (up to 500 microM) was studied by observing the crystals at regular intervals for 3 weeks. The results demonstrated that normal endolymph can dissolve otoconia very rapidly (in about 20 hours). When the endolymphatic Ca2+ content was increased (50 to 200 microM) otoconia dissolution time was slowed down (about 100 to 130 hours, respectively) and completely stopped when the endolymphatic Ca2+ content was of 500 microM. The present results therefore suggest that the major process involved in the spontaneous recovery of BPPV episodes is the capability of the endolymph to dissolve dislodged otoconia.


The forecast on price of agricultural futures is studied in this paper. We use the ARIMA model to estimate the price trends of agricultural futures, which can help the investors to optimize their investing plans. The soybean future contracts are taken as an example to simulate the forecast based on the auto-regression coefficient (p), differential times (d) and moving average coefficient (q). The results show that ARIMA model is better to simulate and forecast the trend of closing prices of soybean futures contract, and it is applicable to forecasting the price of agricultural futures.


The peak reflectance wavelengths of gratings with reflectance maxima separated by less than 2 nm can be accurately determined through a demultiplexing method based on Hilbert transforms of interferograms. We demonstrate a wavelength demultiplexing of three fiber Bragg gratings (FBG's) with less than 4 pm crosstalk and repeatability and less than 19 pm uncertainty. We anticipate that a large number of gratings can be demultiplexed with a single broadband source and a single receiving interferometer, provided that the interferogram is sampled at accurate intervals slightly above the Nyquist rate.


Tumorigenesis results from an accumulation of mutational and epigenetic changes that alter normal cell growth and survival pathways. Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous inherited cancer syndrome that can provide powerful insights into our understanding of the somatic mutations present in sporadic cancers. LFS is currently linked to heterozygous mutation in the tumor suppressor gene p53 (TP53), which encodes a transcription factor that responds to diverse cellular stresses through the regulation of target genes that induce apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and senescence. We previously showed a balanced reciprocal chromosomal translocation t(11;15)(q23;q15) in the non-cancerous skin fibroblasts of a bilateral breast cancer patient in LFS family. This prompted us to investigate the breakpoint region of the translocation, which uncovered a gene that encodes DLL4, (Delta-like ligand 4; locus at 15q15.1), a Notch ligand that is a key target in tumor vasculature. DLL4 regulates T-cell lineage thymopoiesis and further affects cancer immunosurveillance. In the breakpoint region of chromosome 15q15, we examined THBS1, DNAJC17, Rad51, DLL4, CHAC1 and INO80 gene expression levels. We found that specifically DLL4 is abrogated in all the LFS cell lines as well as MDA231 breast cancer cell line, and drastically down-regulated in MCF7 breast and IMR32 brain cancer cell lines and several human organ-specific tumor samples. Furthermore, DNA methylation studies revealed that DLL4 promoter is silenced only in MCF7 and MDA231 but not in LFS cell lines. ChIP and siRNA knockdown assays demonstrated that p53 binds to DLL4 promoter through its association with CTCF, a chromosomal networking protein CCCTC binding factor. These results imply a possible karyotype-phenotype correlation with respect to DLL4 in LFS and breast cancer initiation and progression. The drastic reduction or absence in the expression of DLL4 in normal skin fibroblasts of LFS patients as well as breast and brain cancer cells is significant and supports the concept that this ligand may also play a role in cancer immune-surveillance; and its resuscitation in the tumor microenvironment may stimulate T-cell immunity and suppress tumor growth. Citation Format: Zhixing Yao, Zaki A. Sherif. The effect of epigenetic silencing and p53 mutation on DLL4 expression in human cancer stem cell disorder: The Li-Fraumeni syndrome. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3698.


Regional economic data are mainly from statistical data. The traditional statistical data are documents of WORD or Excel. The data structure with non-hierarchical brings a lot of inconvenience to the analysis and research. In this paper, the regional economic data analysis and mining platform based on On-Line Analytical Mining (OLAM) has been studied, which provides a more convenient and efficient analytical model.


In this study, a three-component dynamometer design, construction and its calibration were carried out. The dynamometer system consisted of three 20 kN high capacity single point load cells, three isolated strain gauge input modules, a terminal board, an analogue-to-digital card and a software for recording and analyzing the data. The load cells were mounted in three different planes vertical to each other. These load cells were loaded up to 10 kN in various steps from unloaded condition. The output strains obtained as the results of the loads were recorded and these files were introduced to the software. The system records four data each of which consists of the average of 256 data block per second. By using the dynamometer, the forces occurring during clamping of workpiece and during cutting were monitored on the PC screen and their magnitudes were accurately transferred to the PC. Besides, the dynamometer was used on larger sized workpieces successfully.

 Key words: Dynamometer, force measurement, calibration.


Meiosis is a specialised cell division essential for sexual reproduction. During meiosis the chromosomes are highly organised and correct chromosome architecture is required for meiotic recombination and faithful segregation of chromosomes at anaphase. Condensin is involved in chromosome organisation during meiotic and mitotic cell divisions. Three condensin subunits, including condensin I and II specific subunits AtCAPD2 and AtCAPD3 respectively, have been studied for their role in meiosis using T-DNA insertion plants and an RNAi approach.

The condensin subunit AtSMC4 localised to meiotic chromosomes at metaphase I, where it coated the entire chromosome and remained until telophase. Some evidence of centromere localisation of AtSMC4 was also seen during prophase I and metaphase I. AtSMC4RNAi lines were able to condense their chromosomes into metaphase bivalents which were essentially normal. However at anaphase the chromosomes appeared to lose structural integrity such that a thin curtain of lagging chromatin was seen to trail behind the segregating chromosomes. As in AtSMC4RNAi lines, both condensin I and II specific subunits were also required for chromosome segregation at anaphase I and II. However their roles in this process differed. AtCAPD2RNAi resembled AtSMC4RNAi lines but Atcapd3 plants had a unique anaphase phenotype. It is possible that these two phenotypes represent different manifestations of the same role of maintaining chromosome organisation. Condensin I, but not condensin II was also shown to be required for the organisation of the rDNA and to maintain the structure of the centromeres at metaphase.


A UV- Spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of Gatifloxacin and Flurbiprofen Sodium in their pharmaceutical formulation on measurement of absorbance at two maximum Gatifloxacin respectively. The method was validated for various parame regression analysis data for the calibration plots showed good linear relationship 18 µg/ml and 0.6 ‐ 1.8 µg/ml and correlation co Flurbiprofen Sodium respectively.


Background The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines for the management of severe sepsis (SS) and septic shock (SSh) have been recommended to reduce morbidity and mortality. Materials and Methods A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a medical-surgical ICU. Multiple interventions to optimize SS and SSh shock patients' clinical outcomes were performed by applying sepsis bundles (6- and 24-hour) in May 2006. We compared bundle compliance and patient outcomes before (July 2005-April 2006) and after (May 2006-December 2009) implementation of the interventions. Results A total of 564 SS and SSh patients were identified. Prior to the intervention, compliance with the 6 hour-sepsis resuscitation bundle was only 6%. After the intervention, compliance was as follows: 8.2% from May to December 2006, 9.3% in 2007, 21.1% in 2008 and 13.7% in 2009. For the 24 hour-management bundle, baseline compliance was 15.0%. After the intervention, compliance was 15.1% from May to December 2006, 21.4% in 2007, 27.8% in 2008 and 44.4% in 2009. The in-hospital mortality was 54.0% from July 2005 to April 2006, 41.1% from May to December 2006, 39.3% in 2007, 41.4% in 2008 and 16.2% in 2009. Conclusion These results suggest reducing SS and SSh patient mortality is a complex process that involves multiple performance measures and interventions.


theory of the relationship between risk and culture; and (2) an application of the theory to explain "the sudden, widespread, across-theboard concern about environmental pollution and personal contamination that has arisen in the Western world in general and with particular force in the United States"2 (a phenomenon that I will call "environmentalism"). Most readers will be struck not by the abstract theory but by its application to the rise of environmentalism. This emphasis is unfortunate. The attempt to "explain" environmentalism makes a few good points, but on the whole this part of the book is crude, shortsighted, and snide. On the other hand, the sections that consider the relationship between risk and culture on a more fundamental level are sensitive and thoughtful. Even at its best, Risk and Culture is not entirely successful at explaining the paradox of risk-the problem of managing the unknown-but parts of the book deserve to be read seriously by people interested in the problem of risk, including environmental lawyers. t Associate Professor of Law, Yale University. 1. M. DOUGLAS & A. WILDAVSKY, RISK AND CULTURE: AN ESSAY ON THE SELECTION OF TECHNICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DANGERS (1982) [hereinafter cited by page number only]. 2. P. 10. 3. See Winner, Pollution as Delusion, N.Y. Times, Aug. 8, 1982, § 7 (Book Review), at 8, 18 (accusing Douglas and Wildavsky of "ill-conceived polemic" and "a shabby political critique" of environmentalists).


Objectives: To examine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) progression over 24 months following the first recorded COPD diagnosis and disease burden variation using routinely collected data in the UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD). Methods: A retrospective cohort of newly diagnosed COPD patients was identified in the GPRD between 1/1/2008- 31/12/2009 and followed for up to 24 months; patients were censored at death or end of study period. Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status were defined at diagnosis. Values for Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea score and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage of airflow limitation closest to 24 months of follow-up were utilized. Comorbidities were included if they occurred any time in a patient's record. Moderate/severe exacerbations and general practitioner (GP) visits were observed over 24 months. Results: Among the 7,881 COPD patients, the mean age was 67.2 yrs and 45% were female. During follow-up, 8% (n=618) of patients died and the exacerbation rate was 0.64 per person-year. As airflow limitation increased from GOLD stage 1 to 4, the exacerbation rate increased from 0.55 to 1.05. As dyspnea increased from MRC score of 1 to 5, the exacerbation rate increased from 0.44 to 1.15. The GP visit rate also increased as dyspnea increased. The rates of exacerbations and GP visits varied by comorbidities and BMI. Conclusion: In addition to lung function, outcomes in COPD patients also varied by levels of dyspnea, BMI and comorbidities; these results support a holistic patient assessment to improve COPD management. Funded by GSK (Protocol WEUSKOP5904).


Background: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) including In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) has led to improved outcomes for sub fertile couples and individuals. Endometrial thickness, a sensitive and reproducible marker of endometrial receptivity has been linked to success rates in IVF. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to review this association.
Methods: A literature search using the Cochrane library, EMBASE and MEDLINE was performed for eligible articles (n=11).
Results: Seven studies suggested that endometrial thickness had no impact on pregnancy rates. Four studies suggested that increased endometrial thickness had a positive effect on pregnancy rates. Two studies concluded that extreme endometrial thicknesses were negatively associated with pregnancy rates.
Conclusions: Existing prospective and retrospective studies suggest that extreme endometrial thicknesses may have a negative impact on IVF pregnancy rates. However, no definitive conclusions for clinical practice have been reached in terms of appropriate endometrial thickness thresholds.


Multi-unit recording of siphon nerve activity in intact Aplysia california with chronically implanted cuff electrodes provided a monitor of activity in a central pattern generator, the Interneuron II (Int II) network, which produces large siphon and gill contractions both spontaneously and after tactile stimulation of the siphon. The phase-response curve of the Int II oscillator for single stimuli at different phases of the cycle showed a "refractory" period early in the cycle after which most stimuli phase advanced the oscillator and caused a short-latency Int II burst and a large contraction. The amplitude of gill withdrawal and the duration of siphon withdrawal in response to different stimulus intensities depended on whether an Int II burst was triggered. Activation of the Int II oscillator transformed the reflex from one that was graded smoothly with stimulus intensity to one in which nearly maximal responses were elicited even by weak stimuli. Entrainment and habituation training both involved monotonous repetition of a stimulus at specific intervals. With repeated siphon stimuli, nearly maximal reflex responses were maintained in intact animals as long as the Int II oscillator was entrained, whereas habituation was associated primarily with failure to entrain the oscillator. Long-term sensitization of the reflex was characterized by large and prolonged withdrawal responses. Sensitized animals showed significantly more triggered Int II bursts than did controls. In addition, digital spike-train analysis indicated that individual siphon motoneurons showed significantly increased background activity which often persisted for several minutes.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the enforcement of minimum legal age for purchase of alcohol (18 years) in Norway. We have assessed to what extent this requirement is fulfilled in grocery stores, on-premise outlets and monopoly outlets.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Questionnaires were filled in by 13-17 year-olds who had started drinking. They were asked about the frequency of purchase attempts in grocery stores, on-premise outlets and in monopoly outlets in the past year and how often their attempt to buy alcohol had been refused.

RESULTS
Slightly more than 20% of the under-aged alcohol consumers (n = 9,309) had tried to buy beer in grocery stores; a similar proportion had tried to buy alcohol in pubs, bars, etc, and less than 5% had tried monopoly outlets. More than half of the attempts in grocery stores, 80% in on-premise venues and two thirds of those in monopolies were successful (i.e. purchase was not denied).

INTERPRETATION
A stricter enforcement of the minimum legal age is likely to reduce availability of alcohol to the under-aged.


There is growing interest in establishing the extent of differences in willingness to pay (WTP) for attributes, such as travel time savings, that are derived from real market settings and hypothetical (to varying degrees) settings. Non-experiment external validity tests involving observation of choice activity in a natural environment, where the individuals do not know they are in an experiment, are rare. In contrast the majority of tests are a test of external validity between hypothetical and actual experiments. Deviation from real market evidence is referred to in the literature broadly as hypothetical bias. The challenge is to identify such bias, and to the extent to which it exists, establishing possible ways to minimise it. This paper reviews the efforts to date to identify and 'calibrate' WTP derived from one or more methods that involve assessment of hypothetical settings, be they (i) contingent valuation methods, (ii) choice experiments involving trading attributes between multiple alternatives, with or without referencing, or (iii) methods involving salient or non-salient incentives linked to actual behaviour. Despite progress in identifying possible contributions to differences in marginal WTP, there is no solid evidence, although plenty of speculation, to explain the differences between all manner of hypothetical experiments and non-experimental evidence. The absence of non-experimental evidence from natural field experiments remains a major barrier to confirmation of under or overestimation. We find, however, that the role of referencing of an experiment relative to a real experience (including evidence from revealed preference (RP) studies), in the design of choice experiments, appears to offer promise in the derivation of estimates of WTP that have a meaningful link to real market activity, closing the gap between RP and SC WTP outputs.


Three case histories are presented which are characterized by progressive, severe symptoms of mental and epileptic nature with EEG abnormalities of increasing severity culminating in "hypsarhythmia". the seizures were resistant to any treatment over a period of several months. Apparently spontaneous cures followed, and the patients remained healthy during follow‐up, which ranged from 10 to 12 years. the observations confirm Lennox's remark that a miraculous cure may occasionally be expected in even severe, probably symptomatic, epilepsy. Some exogenous (infectious?) cause is suspected.


Background: Medication interruption of two days a week is common in Iran to avoid the toxic effects of digoxin; however, the efficacy on symptoms and heart rate is not well studied yet. Methods: The current clinical trial was conducted on patients receiving a digoxin regimen of 0.125mg/day or 0.25 mg/day except for Mondays and Fridays (0.25mg/day-5/7) for atrial fibrillation (AF) or heart failure (HF). After measuring digoxin level and heart rate and scoring the clinical symptoms, the enrolled patients were switched to another method of digoxin prescription. The symptoms were reevaluated after four weeks of changing the regimen of digoxin. The study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) (No. 20110512006463N2). Results: A total of 77 patients completed the study. The mean age of the enrolled group was 65.16±11.64 years, and 44 patients (55.7%) were female. The mean digoxin level was 0.76±0.35 in the 0.125mg/day regimen, which changed to 0.94±0.56 in the 0.25mg/day- 5/7 regimen (P=0.034). Heart rate (HR) and daily activity scores, pain, spiritual feelings, energy, dyspnea, palpitation, nausea, blurred vision, and quality of life did not show any significant changes in the two regimens. The results of subgroup analysis in patients with AF were similar in terms of HR and symptoms, while in the subjects without AF, the scores of daily activity, dyspnea, palpitation, and quality of life significantly improved with the 0.25mg/day-5/7 regimen. Conclusions: Results of the current study showed that the HR and symptoms were not considerably different in the two regimens, whereas the digoxin level was significantly higher in the 0.25mg/day-5/7 regimen. Furthermore, in the subgroup with HF but without AF, the 0.25mg/day-5/7 regimen offered a better symptom control of dyspnea, palpitation, daily activity, and quality of life.


Heat shock protein (HSP) expression is induced by the exposure to stress, such as fever, oxidative stress, chemical exposure, and irradiation. In cancer, HSP promotes the survival of malignant cells by inhibiting the induction of apoptosis. In colorectal cancer, a loss-of-function mutation of HSP110 (HSP110ΔE9) has been identified. HSP110ΔE9 inhibits the nuclear translocation of wild-type HSP110, which is important for its chaperone activity and anti-apoptotic effects. The patients carrying HSP110ΔE9 mutation exhibit high sensitivity to anticancer agents, such as oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil. There is still insufficient information about HSP110 localization, the clinicopathological significance of HSP110 expression, and its association with chemotherapy resistance in gastric cancer. Here, we found that high nuclear expression of HSP110 in gastric cancer tissues is associated with cancer progression, poor prognosis, and recurrence after adjuvant chemotherapy. In vitro results showed that HSP110 suppression increases the sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin of human gastric cancer cell lines. Our results suggest that nuclear HSP110 may be a new drug sensitivity marker for gastric cancer and a potential molecular therapeutic target for the treatment of gastric cancer patients with acquired anticancer drug resistance.


Water Research Commission, Pretoria, South Africa Ring-bound soft cover, 220 pages WRC Report No. TT 214/03; ISBN 978-1-77005-055-6; price R100.00 (South Africa), US$50.00 (international) Obtainable from the Water Research Commission, Private Bag X03, Gezina, Pretoria 0031, South Africa, or email@example.com African Journal of Aquatic Science 2009, 34(2): 203–204


This thesis proposes parasitic aware design techniques for concurrent Multi-Band impedance matching networks. Different concurrent L-matching networks are analyzed and the substantial impact of component non-idealities on matching performance is addressed. To counter these impacts, the design methodology is modified and the improvement is verified for different concurrent dual-band networks. The same techniques are extended for quad band concurrent L-matching networks. The proposed parasitic aware methods are validated through practical components from Coilcraft and Murata libraries (offchip) and UMC 0.18_um RFCMOS technology (on-chip). The results show considerable improvement in both off-chip and onchip scenarios. Hence, the proposed method is much useful in low power concurrent multi band RF circuit design.
The new methodology for broadband impedance matching has been discussed. In this the cascaded Highpass and Lowpass LC sections are designed at lower cutoff and Higher cutoff frequencies respectively. Bandwidth can be changed for given reflection coefficient. From this methodology a flat band is obtained.
In this document ,the parasitic impact on broadband impedance matching network is analyzed. In narrow band impedance matching the component parasitic degrades the matching performance. The impact of parasitic are significant hence parasitic aware techniques are introduced to improve the performance in real environment. In broadband impedance matching , the impact of parasitics are analyzed for different topologies using real and imaginary impedance equations. The observation made from this analysis is that, the impact of parasitic on broadband impedance matching is not significant.


History has noted that the process of Islamic development in the archipelago is relatively peaceful. The Islamic community in the region has never been involved with terrorism and extremism in the spread of Islam and the process of interaction with non-Muslims living with them. However, the situation began to change with the emergence of extreme and radical elements into the life of the Muslim community in the archipelago in general and in Malaysia in particular. The elements were brought into the archipelago as it was considered the most strategic region to be the center of terrorism movement, as the al-Qaeda group, the Jemaah Islamiyyah, and the latest group of Daesh. Therefore, this study examines the process of dissemination of the ideology of extremism of Daesh groups in Malaysia through social media mediums. Based on qualitative methods, the data is critically analyzed about why it appears and how best to perform counter-terrorism action against the Daesh group. The findings found that social media played the most critical and effective role in the spreading of ideology of extremism and recruitment of new members of the Daesh group worldwide including Malaysia.


: Background: Obesity and poor respiratory function are associated with morbidity and mortality. Obesity affects lung function, however the effects of all degrees of obesity on lung function should be investigated in different populations and gender. Aims and Objectives: The authors investigated the relationship between BMI, waist circumference, physical activity with lung function among adult females. Place and Duration: In the Pulmonology Department of Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi for one-year duration from March 2019 to February 2020. Material and methods: The analysis included 359 women aged 18-44, who had not been diagnosed with any serious disease before, and who had a complete anthropometric examination (height, weight and waist circumference) and forced vital capacity (FVC) using simple measurements spirometry and chest. Physical activity was measured using the "International Physical Activity Questionnaire" (IPAQ). Results: Both FVC and predicted FVC along with the chest dilatation measures were linearly and inversely related across the entire range of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and positively associated with physical activity in subjects, even after adjusting for the confirmatory age our hypothesis. However, BMI and exercise accounted for the highest percentage of variance for both FVC and thoracic expansion in regression analysis compared to WC. Conclusion: In the general population of adult women, obesity may play a role in impaired lung function from a BMI ≥ 35 kg / m2, while even moderate physical activity may have a positive effect on lung


This paper describes a novel type synthesis methodology for creating planar shape-morphing mechanism chains of any length with specified mobility (degree-of-freedom). It is expected that this will be of use in designing complex shape-morphing objects. The methodology is based on using graph theory in conjunction with symmetry theory for borders (Frieze groups). It is shown that the methodology can produce chains of a variety of lengths and mobility, and these chains have symmetric topologies and that symmetric kinematics may be possible for some of the chains, which simplifies their analysis. Techniques for decreasing and increasing the mobility of the chains are discussed. Finally, a gallery of shape morphing chains is given to provide concrete illustrations of the diversity of designs generated using this methodology.


With the rapid development of Internet+, it is still necessary for users to extract valuable data from massive data using classical algorithms. Based on the Hadoop platform, this paper uses collaborative filtering algorithm to study the overall employment situation of IT industry across the country. It has important reference value for college students working in the IT industry, such as working place, salary, skill points, etc. The results of study analysis have certain theoretical research significance in talent cultivation in colleges and universities.


Abstract. Uto Atmospheric and Marine Research Station is located on Uto Island (59°46'50 N, 21°22'23 E) at the outer edge of the Archipelago Sea, Baltic Sea towards the Baltic Sea Proper. Meteorological observations at the island started in 1881 and vertical profiling of sea water temperature and salinity in 1900. In this study, we analyze long-term changes of atmospheric temperature, cloudiness and sea salinity, temperature and ice cover. Our main dataset consists of 248 367 atmospheric temperature observations, 1632 quality assured vertical seawater temperature and salinity profiles and 8565 ice maps, partly digitized for this project. We also use North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Major Baltic Inflow (MBI) data from the literature as reference variables to our data. Our analysis is based on statistical method utilizing dynamic linear model. The results show an increase in the atmospheric temperature at Uto, but the increase is significantly smaller than on land areas and takes place only since early 1980's, with a rate of 0.4 °C/decade during the last 35 years. We also see an increase on sea water temperatures, especially on the surface, with an increase of 0.3 °C/decade for the last 100 years. In deeper water layers the increase is smaller and influenced by vertical mixing, which is modulated by inflow of saline water from the North Sea and fresh water inflow. Date when air temperature in the spring exceeds +5 °C has become 5 days earlier from the period 1951–1980 to period 1981–2010 and date when sea surface water temperature exceed +4 °C has changed 9 days earlier. Sea ice cover duration at Uto shows a decrease of approximately 50 % during the last 35 years. Based on the combined results, it is possible that the climate at Uto may have changed into a new phase, in which ice do not reduce the local effects of global temperature increase.


The rapid population growth in Indonesia has an impact on increasing the amount of waste or household waste. Waste is the result of community activities so it should be instilled that waste management is a shared responsibility. According to the Central Statistics Agency of Indonesia, the amount of waste in 2020 in 384 cities in Indonesia will reach 80,235.87 tons every day. From the waste generated, it is estimated that 4.2% will be transported to the Final Disposal Site, 37.6% will be burned, disposed of into the river by 4.9% and untreated around 53.3%. One effort that has been made in Tambakreja Village, South Cilacap District, Cilacap Regency, Central Java through the use of household waste that is processed as compost to create a reduction in pollution to the environment. The waste or waste management program in Tambakreja Village RW 08 has been started since early 2014, namely processing waste in community settlements by launching a Waste Bank program called Bank Sampah Mandiri "Subur" (BSM Subur). However, because the program has just begun, the program has not gone according to plan. The low community participation in this program is one of the obstacles. In this village does not yet have a Final Shelter so that most of the population provides a monthly retribution fee for the collection of household waste that will be taken to the temporary disposal site. Waste originating from household activities is usually discharged directly without treatment, sometimes even waste from plantations and agriculture is directly burned in the yard. This is will cause negative impacts in the form of environmental pollution. This program is carried out to increase community participation in waste management by providing knowledge as well as assistance on the importance of holistic environmental management so that people can have the habit of reducing and anticipating environmental pollution that is around them. The results of this program showed that the community began to care about the garbage in their homes, care about their own health and the environment through community activities carried out continuously and began to be open in managing waste to prevent the burning of garbage in their environment.


Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are subclassified as conjugation machines or effector translocators, according to their capacity to transmit mobile DNA elements to bacterial cells or protein effectors to eukaryotic cells. Whitaker et al. (p. 2701 2718) have repurposed the "dedicated" conjugation machine encoded by Escherichia coli pKM101 for protein transfer. This was achieved by creating chimeras of "coupling proteins" associated with the pKM101 system and effector translocators from alphaproteobacterial species. These findings advance a mechanistic understanding of T4SSs and suggest that functionally diversified T4SSs might prove useful for the targeted delivery of therapeutic protein or DNA substrates into cell types of interest.


— In this paper, we consider the nonlinear pulse propagation through a nonuniform birefringent fiber Bragg grating (FBG) whose index modulation depth varies along the propagation direction. Here, the pulse propagation is governed by the nonlinear birefringent coupled mode (NLBCM) equations. To form the Bragg soliton outside the photonic bandgap (PBG), the NLBCM equations are reduced to the well known NLS type equation by multiple scale analysis. As we consider the pulse propagation in a nonuniform FBG, the pulse propagation outside the PBG is governed by inhomogeneous NLS (INLS) rather than NLS. We then discuss the formation of soliton in the FBG known as Bragg soliton whose central frequency lies outside but close to the PBG of the grating structure. Further, we discuss Bragg soliton compression due to a delicate balance between the SPM and the varying grating induced dispersion. In addition, Bragg soliton collision, Bragg soliton switching and possible logic gates have also been discussed.


Equations and justification are provided to compensate for the non-Euclidean nature of rotation space in statistical calculations with rotation functions.


Gangliosides induce a selective and complete modulation of CD4 from the surface of T cells. CD4 down-modulation occurs by CD4 endocytosis. This process is independent of serine phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic tail of CD4 and does not require the association between the tyrosine protein kinase p56lck and the cytoplasmic tail of CD4. Ganglioside-induced CD4 endocytosis is accompanied by the loss of p56lck activity associated with CD4. Sequential immunoprecipitation analysis using an anti-CD4 antibody and an anti-p56lck antiserum showed that this is caused by the dissociation of the enzyme from the cytoplasmic tail of CD4. The kinetics of p56lck dissociation after ganglioside treatment is identical to that of CD4 endocytosis, suggesting that p56lck is displaced in the process of endosome formation. The results indicate that CD4 endocytosis alone can cause the dissociation of the p56lck complex without the requirement for CD4 phosphorylation.


Steganalysis attack is to statistically estimate the embedded watermark in the watermarked multimedia, and the estimated watermark may be destroyed by the attacker. The existing methods of false negative probability, however, do not consider the influence of steganalysis attack. This paper proposed the game theory based false negative probability to estimate the impacts of steganalysis attack, as well as unintentional attack. Specifically, game theory was used to model the collision between the embedment and steganalysis attack, and derive the optimal building/embedding/attacking strategy. Such optimal playing strategies devote to calculating the attacker destructed watermark, used for calculation of the game theory based false negative probability. The experimental results show that watermark detection reliability measured using our proposed method, in comparison, can better reflect the real scenario in which the embedded watermark undergoes unintentional attack and the attacker using steganalysis attack. This paper provides a foundation for investigating countermeasures of digital watermarking community against steganalysis attack.


SETTING
Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is often based on drug susceptibility testing (DST) results; for this reason, rapid, simple DST methods are sought which could be applied in resource-poor countries. One such method is a nitrate reductase colorimetric assay known as the Griess method. In Peru, where the incidence rate of TB is among the highest in South America, the National Institute of Health recently undertook the validation and implementation of the direct Griess method.

OBJECTIVE
To describe the process of validation and implemention of the direct Griess method at the Peruvian National Institute of Health.

DESIGN
Prospective study comparing the sensitivity and specificity of the direct Griess method with the Löwenstein-Jensen proportion method in determining resistance to isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RMP) among clinical isolates.

RESULTS
Among 192 specimens, the sensitivity and specificity of the Griess method for detection of INH resistance was 99.1% and 100%, respectively. For identification of RMP resistance, the sensitivity and specificity was 93.5% and 100%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
In addition to its high sensitivity and specificity and rapid turn around time, the Griess method uses simple, inexpensive reagents and requires minimal laboratory space and technical expertise, thus providing an ideal screening tool for resource-poor settings with high rates of MDR-TB.


PARASITES fall only roughly into the two categories implied in the title of this discussion. While a few of them are totally dependent upon human hosts, and some are able to develop only in other animals, a majority of the parasites commonly referred to as "parasites of man" are in reality parasites of other animals. In the latter group are such familiar examples as Trichinella, found in rats and many other animals, including pigs; Balantidium and some lesser protozoa of pigs; Toxoplasma, which occurs in many wild and domesticated animals. Trypanosoma cruzi, which is carried by a variety of animals, is the cause of Chagas' disease commonly seen in parts of South America and found recently in a child in Texas. Other examples include Isospora of undetermined hosts, possibly including the dog; Trichostrongylus species that commonly are found in sheep and goats; the small tapeworms, Hymenolepis nana and Hymenolepis diminuta, of rats and mice; and the common dog tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum. There are others whose endemicity in any area depends somewhat on the presence of suitable non-human hosts, and still others that are able to reach maturity in man but are rarely involved in medical problems because infection is acquired only by eating uncooked earthworms and insects. It might be mentioned, as a matter of interest, that occasionally other animals may acquire parasitic diseases from their human associates, as for example dysentery and diarrhea in dogs, caused by Entamoeba histolytica and Strongyloides stercoralis.
 In all of the above mentioned parasitic infections, diagnosis is usually based on conventional laboratory methods, and both clinical and laboratory workers are generally familiar with the problems presented by them.


An analysis of 1054 acts of medicolegal examinations of corpses of people who died from injuries of major vessels has been made. It was established that wounds of the v. c. i. took place in 0.7% of the cases. The experience with the treatment of 9 patients with thrust-cut wounds of v. c. i. and 14 patients with iatrogenic trauma of v. c. i. is described. Methods of help in the prehospital period, specific operative interventions, methods of postoperative management of patients with injuries of v. c. i. are described.


This article assesses the efficiency of the foreign exchange market after the global financial crisis of 2007-08. A BDS independence test was applied to the returns of weekly exchange rates of the euro, the Australian dollar, the Swiss franc, the New Zealand dollar, and the Singapore dollar against the US dollar, one time from 2002 to 2007, and the other time from 2007 to 2011. The result was that the returns of all of the exchange rates were independent and identically distributed (iid) before the crisis, but they were not iid after the crisis, that is, Efficient markets hypothesis cannot be rejected before the crisis, while it is rejected after the crisis. In other words, the efficiency of the foreign exchange market has fallen after the crisis. It will be discussed that it could have happened because of a substantial reduction in speculative activity caused by the interventions of the governments of the developed countries in the currency markets. JEL classification: F31; G17


Museum values are often a topic of discussion. As a public institution, museums are expected to be responsive and adaptive as they must compete for public resources by justifying the value they contribute to individuals and society. The Anatomy Museum of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya (FKIK UAJ) is one of the university museums in Indonesia. This museum has an unusual collection and acts as a living laboratory. Research questions were: (1) What are the values of FKIK UAJ Anatomy Museum? (2) Are there differences in values constructed by the museum and those perceived by visitors?  Research objectives were (1) to identify the values of the Anatomy Museum, and (2) to map the meaning of the Anatomy Museum based on the visitor's perspective. Informants were determined using nonprobability sampling, comprising museum stakeholders, i.e. (1) visitors; (2) initiators and managers; (3) policymakers at the university. Results showed that the Anatomy Museum had seven values constructed through the collection's selection, maintenance and assessment, curatorial exhibitions, facilities, and providing public services and programmes. Not all values constructed by the museum were perceived similarly by the visitors.  Spiritual, professional and caring; educational and recreational were the visitors' interpretation of museum values. Moreover, visitors perceive the museum as promotional media for FKIK UAJ, learning media at the university, and motivational tools for studying medicine.


An unstable fishbone-like non-resonant external kink mode (FLEM) is numerically found to be driven by the precessional drift motion of trapped energetic particles (EPs) in both reversed-field pinch (RFP) and tokamak plasmas, even under the ideal wall boundary condition. In the presence of a sufficiently large fraction of trapped energetic ions in high beta plasmas, the FLEM instability may occur. The excitation condition is discussed in detail. The frequency of the FLEM is linked to the precessional drift frequency of EPs, and varies with the plasma flow speed. Therefore, it is usually much higher than that of the typical resistive wall mode (RWM). In general, the growth rate of FLEM does not depend on the wall resistivity. However, the wall position can significantly affect the mode's property. The drift kinetic effects from thermal particles (mainly due to the transit resonance of passing particles) play a stabilizing role on FLEMs. In the presence of EPs, the FLEM and the RWM can co-exist or even couple to each other, depending on the plasma parameters. The FLEM instabilities in RFP and tokamaks have rather similar physics nature, although certain sub-dominant characters appear differently in the two configurations.


BACKGROUND
The on-call service (emergency service) has been reachable under 116117 in Germany since 2012. Nevertheless, this number is almost unknown to most Germans. A literature review of emergency service has shown that information which can be found is often incomplete and unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to cover the status quo regarding 116117 at the federal level in Germany.

METHODS
In February 2019 all physicians working with a statutory health insurance were asked to fill in an online survey. The survey was based on a literature review regarding emergency service and on-call service at the federal level in Germany. The questionnaire covered different areas. In this paper only results regarding 116117 will be reported. Data were analyzed descriptively.

RESULTS
The organization and range of services as well as the qualifications of the staff are structured differently at the federal level. Services provided by 116117 are arrangements for home visits, out-of-hours service appointments, consulting, and forwarding to 112. Staff includes physician assistants, nurses, and physicians.

CONCLUSION
Standardized regulations at the federal level might improve transparency. The planned extension of 116117 to include a standardized initial medical assessment as well as 24/7 accessibility could facilitate patient access to adequate medical treatment.


Background: The association between long-term use of metformin and low vitamin B12 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been proven. However, the prevalence among metformin induced vitamin B12 deficiency in T2DM patients showed considerable variations among the studies. The potential of deficiency to cause new onset or worse preexisting peripheral neuropathy in T2DM patients has been investigated with conflicting results.The objective of this study is to determine the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency among patients with T2DM patients on metformin therapy compared to those who are not taking metformin.
Methods: This crosssectional analytical study was conducted at the Department of Medicine, in Sylhet M. A. G. Osmani Medical College &Hospital, Sylhet. Total 100 patients' withT2DM were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria following informed written consent. They were divided into two groups; each groups contains 50 patients. Group-I included patients who were taking metformin for e"1 year and Group-II included patients who were not taking metformin for at least 1 year. Detailed history taking, proper clinical examinations and relevant investigations were done. After collection of all the required data, final analysis was carried out by using the SPSS version 22.0.
Results: Among 100 patients of T2DM, mean age were 55.4±15.62 and 55.24±16.76 years, respectively among Group- I and Group-II. They were similar in terms of demographic profile. About 16.0% patients of group- I had vitamin B 12 deficiency and 6.0% had vitamin B 12 deficiency in Group-II. The mean serum Vitamin B 12 was 481.52±283.37 (pgm/mL) in group-I and 600.85±294.2 (pgm/mL) in group-II. The difference of serum Vitamin B 12 was statistically significant (p<0.041) between two groups. Reduced vitamin B 12 also found to be positively associated with duration of metformin intake (p<0.05) and presence of neuropathy (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Metformin is significantly associated with decrease the level of vitamin B12.
Bangladesh J Medicine 2022; 33: 43-48


Most location-based services are based on a global positioning system (GPS), which only works well in outdoor environments. Compared to outdoor environments, indoor localization has created more buzz in recent years as people spent most of their time indoors working at offices and shopping at malls, etc. Existing solutions mainly rely on inertial sensors (i.e., accelerometer and gyroscope) embedded in mobile devices, which are usually not accurate enough to be useful due to the mobile devices' random movements while people are walking. In this paper, we propose the use of shoe sensing (i.e., sensors attached to shoes) to achieve 3D indoor positioning. Specifically, a short-time energy-based approach is used to extract the gait pattern. Moreover, in order to improve the accuracy of vertical distance estimation while the person is climbing upstairs, a state classification is designed to distinguish the walking status including plane motion (i.e., normal walking and jogging horizontally), walking upstairs, and walking downstairs. Furthermore, we also provide a mechanism to reduce the vertical distance accumulation error. Experimental results show that we can achieve nearly 100% accuracy when extracting gait patterns from walking/jogging with a low-cost shoe sensor, and can also achieve 3D indoor real-time positioning with high accuracy.


Generation of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in phagocytes is an important innate immune response mechanism to eliminate microbial pathogens. It is known that deoxynucleotides (dNTPs), the precursor nucleotides to DNA synthesis, are one group of the significant targets for these oxidants and incorporation of oxidized dNTPs into genomic DNA may cause mutations and even cell death. Here we show that the mycobacterial dNTP pyrophosphohydrolase MazG safeguards the bacilli genome by degrading 5-OH-dCTP, thereby, preventing it from incorporation into DNA. Deletion of the (d)NTP pyrophosphohydrolase-encoding mazG in mycobacteria leads to a mutator phenotype both under oxidative stress and in the stationary phase of growth, resulting in increased CG to TA mutations. Biochemical analyses demonstrate that mycobacterial MazG can efficiently hydrolyze 5-OH-dCTP, an oxidized nucleotide that induces CG to TA mutation upon incorporation by polymerase. Moreover, chemical genetic analyses show that direct incorporation of 5-OH-dCTP into mazG-null mutant strain of Mycobacterium smegmatis (Msm) leads to a dose-dependent mutagenesis phenotype, indicating that 5-OH-dCTP is a natural substrate of mycobacterial MazG. Furthermore, deletion of mazG in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) leads to reduced survival in activated macrophages and in the spleen of infected mice. This study not only characterizes the mycobacterial MazG as a novel pyrimidine-specific housecleaning enzyme that prevents CG to TA mutation by degrading 5-OH-dCTP but also reveals a genome-safeguarding mechanism for survival of Mtb in vivo.


Affinity capillary electrophoresis has been used to determine the two dissociation constants of the complex between anti-DNP rat monoclonal IgG2b antibody and charged ligands that contained a N-dinitrophenyl group. Singly and multiply charged ligands were used to establish the influence of the charge on the mobility of the complex between Ig and its ligand(s). Zwitterionic buffer additives lessened adsorption of protein to the walls of the capillary. A form of analysis of the binding data is derived that is more useful than Scatchard analysis for certain multivalent systems where cooperativity of binding is in question, but where it is also possible to make plausible assumptions about electrophoretic mobilities of protein and protein-ligand complexes. The uncertainties and assumptions of this analysis are contrasted with those of Scatchard analysis. For this antibody and these monovalent ligands, the dissociation of the ligands from the antibody occurred noncooperatively. The charge on IgG2b at pH 8.3 is estimated to be -8.0 +/- 0.2; this value is obtained by analysis of the electrophoretic mobilities of complexes IgG2bL2, where the ligands L are structurally similar but have different charges (the charges on the ligands were also determined by CE).


Females with symptomatic leiomyomas (fibroids) wishing to maintain fertility are faced with difficult treatment choices. These include uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), myomectomy, hormonal therapy, MRI high intensity focused ultrasound, and myolysis. This review focuses on UFE, one of the most commonly accepted minimally invasive procedural choices among patients with symptomatic fibroids wishing to retain the option of becoming pregnant in the future, and makes comparisons to myomectomy which has historically been the surgical choice for fertility-preserving fibroid treatment. Pubmed and Google Scholar searches using keywords such as: uterine artery embolization, uterine fibroid embolization, pregnancy, complications, infertility were performed between Jan. 1, 2019 and May 10, 2019. Publications were chosen based on their inclusion of information pertaining to fertility or pregnancy after UFE without being limited to single case reports.Randomized controlled trials comparing myomectomy and UFE are limited due to study size and confounding variables, but through registry data and familiarity with referring clinicians, UFE has gained wide acceptance. Healthy pregnancies following UFE have been sporadically reported but the actual fertility rate after UFE remains uncertain. Conversely, low birth weight, miscarriage and prematurity have been associated with UFE. Despite inherent risks of possible fertility issues after UFE, the procedure remains an option for females with clinically symptomatic fibroids who desire pregnancy. However, additional research regarding rates of conception and obstetrical risks of infertility following UFE is necessary.


Wave energy has been considered to be one of the most promising energy resources for the future, as it is pollution-free and an abundant natural resource. However, since it has drawbacks of non-stationary energy density, it is necessary to change the wave energy into a simple concentrated energy. Progressive waves in a coastal area can be amplified, swashed, and overtopped by a wave overtopping control structure. By conserving the quantity of overflow in a reservoir, the kinetic energy of the waves can be converted to the potential energy with a hydraulic head above the mean sea level. The potential energy in the form of a hydraulic head can be utilized to produce electric power, similar to hydro-electric power generation. This study aims to find the most optimal shape of wave overtopping structure for maximum overtopping volume of sea water; for this purpose, we carried out the wave overtopping experiment in a wave tank, under both regular and irregular wave conditions.


The requirements for the climatisation of electric vehicles largely depend on the vehicles usage location. For example, electric vehicles operated in European countries require heating during the winter season, while those operated in equatorial regions face cooling load throughout the year. To date, the low range for a given battery charge remains the single-most important factor hindering the widespread acceptance of electric vehicles. The principal electrical load of an electric vehicle used in equatorial regions comprises of the traction motor and the air-conditioning compressor motor. These high power loads expedites the battery drain, leading to poor cruise range. The paper proposes a novel design solution geared towards improving the overall operating efficiency of these motors by integrating them into a single housing.


We redesigned the Mars Airplane Balloon Experiment Two (MABE-2) based on MABE-1 to improve the vehicle's stability and controllability. Following the redesign, the MABE-2 vehicle had a larger horizontal tail volume than that of MABE-1 for improved stability performance. In addition, to further improve the stability and control characteristics, a rectangular planform was employed for the horizontal tail wing; in contrast, MABE-1 had a tapered planform. The vertical tail position of MABE-2 was moved to the end of the horizontal tail wing, because the vertical tail of MABE-1, which was positioned at the mid span of the horizontal tail wing, showed aerodynamic interaction with the horizontal tail wing. In this paper, we discussed the aerodynamic performance of a control surface based on computational fluid dynamics with variation in the deflection angle between the control surface and the horizontal tail (elevator), and we examined the effects of this redesign on longitudinal control characteristics. Numerical investigations confirmed the linear variation in the pitching moment and the aerodynamic force with the changing elevator deflection angle in MABE-2. Surface pressure observations indicated that MABE-2 shows a smooth variation in the pressure distribution with changing elevator deflection angle, while MABE-1 does not. These results demonstrate that the aerodynamic control characteristics of MABE-2 were improved in comparison to those of MABE-1.


Using cointegration theory, grain markets in Michigan, Kansas, Iowa and Indiana were examined to determine if increased ethanol production affected spatial corn price relationships in these states from 1998 through 2008. It was determined that corn prices operated in a stable, long-run equilibrium from 1998 through 2008 and increased ethanol production did not have an effect on this relationship. These findings suggest policy boosting ethanol production has not altered relationships between spatially dispersed corn markets. In addition to policy makers, this information is also useful to farmers and commodity traders who utilize market information when managing their businesses.


Objectives: Loss of foot sensitivity is a relevant parameter to assess and prevent in several diseases. It is crucial to determine the vibro-tactile sensitivity threshold response to acute conditions to explore innovative monitor tools and interventions to prevent and treat this challenge. The aims were: 1) to analyze the acute effects of a single whole body vibration session (4min-18Hz-4mm) on vibro-tactile perception threshold in healthy young adults. 2) to analyze the 48 hours effects of 3 whole body vibration sessions on vibro-tactile perception threshold in healthy young adults. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial over 3 sessions of whole body vibration intervention or 3 sessions of placebo intervention. Twenty-eight healthy young adults were included: 11 experimental group and 12 placebo group. The experimental group performed 3 sessions of WBV while the placebo group performed 3 sessions of placebo intervention. Results: The vibro-tactile threshold increased right after a single WBV session in comparison with placebo. Nevertheless, after 3 whole body vibration sessions and 48 hours, the threshold decreased to values lower than the initial. Conclusions: The acute response of the vibro-tactile threshold to one whole body vibration session increased, but the 48 hours short-term response of this threshold decreased in healthy young adults.


Introduction: Surgical management of the fracture femur is preferred so as to prevent complications associated with prolonged immobilization. Central neuraxial blockade (CNB) is an attractive option for these patients, and an optimal positioning of the patient is a definite requirement. Owing to the pain associated with movement of the fractured limb, it becomes difficult for the patients to give suitable positioning. Femoral nerve block (FNB) features as a rescue analgesia so as to provide adequate analgesia for facilitation of satisfactory positioning. Aim: This study aims to compare analgesic effect of two different dosages of local anesthetic (LA) solution administered for ultrasonography (USG)-guided FNB given to facilitate optimal positioning for conduct of CNB. Materials and Methods: After taking permission from the institutional review board, eighty patients were enrolled in the study to find out the efficacy of dosage of LA solution for FNB in providing pain relief caused by movement of fractured limb during conduct of regional anesthesia. Informed consent was taken. All patients were given USG-guided FNB. Patients were randomized using a computer-generated random number table, into two groups of forty patients each. Group A patients received USG-guided 12 ml of LA solution containing 10 ml lignocaine solution without preservative (2%) plus 2 ml normal saline (NS), while Group B patients received USG-guided 15 ml of LA solution containing 13 ml lignocaine solution without preservative (2%) plus 2 ml NS for positioning before combined spinal epidural. Results: A total of eighty patients, divided randomly into two groups, were enrolled in the study. Demographics (age, sex, weight, and American Society of Anesthesiologists grades) were similar in both groups. No statistical significance was found in the numeric rating scale scores at baseline, zero minutes, 5, and 15 min in both the groups. Conclusion: USG-guided FNB with 12 ml of LA solution was as effective as 15 ml of LA solution for achieving adequate pain relief so as to give optimal positioning for CNB in patients of fracture neck of femur.


Six routine techniques for the determination of monoclonal IgM are compared: standard electrophoresis, the Technicon AIP system, Hyland laser nephelometry, Beckman Immunochemistry System, Behring laser nephelometry, and radial immunodiffusion. The data are evaluated by use of a nonparametric statistical analysis of variance by ranks (Friedman test) and Wilcoxon's test. The 27 sera containing monoclonal IgM that we studied yielded different results by the various techniques. Sera from a "reference" population of 15 subjects having above-normal polyclonal IgM yielded identical results for all techniques. These statistical findings agree with the biophysical mechanisms involved in the various ways of quantifying IgM. We conclude that these different systems are equivalent for estimating polyclonal IgM, but cannot (and should not) yield identical values when used in monoclonal IgM evaluations. Results for monoclonal IgM must be interpreted in terms of the molecular forms and immunological specificities of the assayed IgM.


Abstract We describe a new species of squeaker frog (Arthroleptis) from Mt. Manengouba in southwestern Cameroon. The new species is distinguished from other Cameroonian Arthroleptis by moderately larger body size; a darkened throat and posterior thigh, both with many white spots; and, in females, a fourth finger longer than the first and second fingers. This species corresponds to a Cameroonian taxon previously identified as Arthroleptis adolfifriederici but which has been long recognized as distinct. Multivariate morphometric analysis demonstrates that the new taxon is distinct from Arthroleptis variabilis, which occurs in the surrounding lowlands. Because of the general similarity of the new species to A. variabilis and its previous confusion with A. adolfifriederici, redescriptions of the latter two species are provided. This refinement of taxonomic knowledge will facilitate future study of cryptic or undescribed large Arthroleptis from western, central, and eastern Africa.


Porcine 17 beta-estradiol dehydrogenase was recently purified and cloned. It catalyzes the NAD(+)-dependent oxidation of estradiol to estrone 360-fold more efficiently than the reverse reaction with NADPH. Immunogold electron microscopy localizes 17 beta-estradiol dehydrogenase in organelles of 120 to 500 nm with moderate electron-dense matrices bounded by single membranes. Antibodies against the peroxisomal markers catalase and acyl-CoA oxidase recognize the same organelles in double-labeling studies. This is the first report on the participation of peroxisomes in the metabolism of estradiol.


Following a geometric paradigm, the estimation of a Toeplitz structured covariance matrix is considered. The estimator minimizes the distance from the Sample Covariance Matrix (SCM) while complying with some specific constraints modeling the covariance structure. The resulting constrained optimization problem is solved globally resorting to the Dykstra' projection framework. Each step of the procedure involves the solution of two convex sub-problems, whose minimizers are available in closed form. Simulation results related to typical radar environments highlight the effectiveness of the devised method.


WC/Co ceramic metal-matrix composites are characterized by very high mechanical properties that allow for application of the composites mostly in production of different types of cutting tools. By combining in a composite structure a phase of brittle hard wolfram carbide (WC) grains with a metallic interface of cobalt (Co) that exhibits plastic properties, a geometrically complex microstructure with significantly different mechanical properties of the combined phases is created, see Fig. 1a.

The presence of the elastic-plastic interface material, i.e. Co binder, in the composite structure is the reason for initiation of technological defects – mainly material porosity. During material loading pores start to coalesce and finally one can observe creation of microcracks system distributed along interfaces.

The aim of the paper is to show the previously formulated model [1], [2] of the polycrystalline composite to be extended towards cracks development around the junctions of the interfaces. The obtained numerical results indicate that in the junctions high stress concentrations were observed, which leads to crack initiation and its further unstable propagation, and finally the composite failure.

Results indicate that the first crack appears close to the junction and that the load carrying capacity of the sample is overestimated if a crack model in the interfaces is not assumed.


Purpose We performed an analysis of the smartphone legibility of the websites of the Korean Urological Association (KUA) and other urological societies. Materials and Methods This study was conducted on the websites of the KUA and nine other urological societies. Each website was accessed via iPhone Safari and Android Chrome, respectively, to evaluate the establishment and readability of the mobile web pages. The provision of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds by the websites and whether the websites had Twitter and Facebook accounts were evaluated. In addition, a validation test on the web standards was performed by using the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C®) Markup Validation Service, and subsequently the numbers of errors and warnings that occurred were analyzed. Results When accessed via Safari, two websites were legible, four were somewhat legible, and four were somewhat illegible. When accessed via Chrome, two websites were legible, six were somewhat legible, and two were somewhat illegible. One website provided an RSS feed and two websites managed members via separate Twitter accounts. No website supported mobile web pages. The result of the W3C® Markup Validation test on 10 websites showed a mean error rate of 221.6 (range, 13-1,477) and a mean warning rate of 127.13 (range, 0-655). Conclusions The smartphone legibility level of the websites of urological societies was relatively low. Improved smartphone legibility and web standard compliance of the websites of urological societies are required to keep up with the popularity of smartphones.


Purpose: This study aimed to explore the level of importance perceived by caregivers of elderly on the education of long term care nursing assistants (LTCNAs) taking care of elders with dementia or stroke. Method: Data was collected from 296 participants (112 families, 98 NAs, and 86 RNs) from October 2006 to February 2007. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Result: The item of `attitude while caring for the aged` was identified as most important. The family group reported that `position change` and `understanding of geriatric diseases` were the most important for education, while LTCNAs, highly identified, `bathing`, and `bed sheet change`. The RNs group regarded `position change`, and `bathing` as most important. Institutions demanding LTCNAs` activities were special facilities for elderly care and special hospitals for the aged, and the need was also high in families with an elder incapacitated by illness. Conclusion: Nurses need to take an interest in education for enhancing the quality of LTCNAs and thus advance the quality of nursing care as well as the quality of life for the aged.


Dust storm in Iraq is a climatic phenomenon. Dust storm data from 1992 to 2009 and data of main climatic parameters rainfall (1942 to 2010) and air temperature (1992 to 2009) of Erbil Meteorological Station were analysed. Results show an increase of the number of suspended and rising dust as well as dust storms with time. An average of the above mentioned period of all types of dust storms is individually compared with the last five years. Again, there is a noticeable increasing of the number of storms. From the results it can be seen that the months May, June, July and August have the most frequent dust conditions while months January, February, November and December the least. The annual precipitation trend line for water years has a significant decreasing slope. While the average annual air temperature trend line has a significant increase.


Permeability refers to the ability of coal to transmit gas when a pressure or concentration gradient exists across it. The permeability of coal is dependent upon factors that include effective stress, gas pressure, water content, disturbance associated with drilling and matrix swelling/shrinkage due to adsorption/desorption. A programme of laboratory tests were conducted on coal samples from the Bulli seam for evaluating the permeability and drainability of coal. The study was conducted using two different types of permeability apparatus. The methods of permeability testing of coal under different triaxial conditions are discussed. Permeability testing of the Bulli seam coal sample with N2 is described as an example in this study. Both the tests results and the values of calculated permeability were in agreement.


Magnesium alloys, as a new type of biodegradable medical metal material, have a promising application in the field of interventional medical devices. In this work, Mg-4Zn-0.2Mn-xCa (0.05~1wt.%) were designed to study the effect of Ca element on the mechanical and corrosion properties of the alloy. And the alloy with 0.2wt.% Ca element has the best comprehensive properties. The micro-tubes for vascular stent application of Mg-4Zn-0.2Mn-0.2Ca alloy with 3.6 mm in outer diameter and 0.4 mm in thickness were prepared by hot extrusion-drawing composite process. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of tubes showed that the crystal slip, twins and recrystallization occurred during the plastic deformation, and the work hardening was significant. This drawn tube exhibited a tensile strength of 427.3 MPa, yield strength of 383.4 MPa, and elongation of 5.2%. After annealing at 300�?? for 30 min, the microstructure became uniform and the elongation increased to 18.0%. In vitro degradation of tubes were investigated by means of immersion testing in Hank's simulated solution. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of tubes can be improved by annealing treatment. The long-term immersion tests revealed that the corrosion process of the micro-tubes was relatively uniform. The corrosion rate after immersion for 180 days was 0.3094 mm/y, before complete biodegradable when soaked for 202 days. The results showed that the Mg-4Zn-0.2Mn-0.2Ca alloy exhibited great potential to be used as biodegradable stents.


Novel trimeric cationic surfactant tri(dodecyldimethylammonioacetoxy)diethyltriamine trichloride (DTAD) has been synthesized, and its self-assembly morphology on a mineral surface has been studied. From its micelle solution, highly ordered bilayer patterns are obtained on a mica surface, whereas randomly distributed bilayer patches are formed on a silica substrate. The highly ordered bilayer patterns on mica are first caused by the matching of the special structure of DTAD headgroups with the negative charge sites on mica, which leads to the specific nucleation of DTAD on the mica surface via electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, hydrophobic interaction among the DTAD hydrocarbon chains results in the formation of the bilayer structure, and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding among the DTAD headgroups promotes the directional growth of such bilayer structures.


Here, we report the enhanced luminescence and optical gain by appropriate P-doping in Si nanocrystals (NCs)/SiO2 multilayers with ultra-small size of ∼1.9 nm. The luminescence intensity is enhanced by 19.4% compared to that of an un-doped NC and the optical gain is as high as 171.8 cm−1, which can be attributed to the reduction of surface defect states by the passivation of P impurities as revealed by electron spin resonance spectra. Further increasing the P-doping ratios results in the increase of conduction electrons due to the substitutional doping of phosphorus in the Si NCs, which favors the Auger recombination process. Consequently, both the luminescence intensity and the optical gain decrease rapidly. It is demonstrated that introduction of the suitable impurities can effectively modulate the surface chemical environment of Si NCs, which provides a new way to control the physical properties of Si NCs.


There are limited studies on the diagnosis of thermodynamics misconceptions using a four-tier instrument diagnostic test. Therefore, this identifies the misconceptions in thermodynamics material. The survey research was conducted on 577 students at SMAN in Semarang, Central Java. Students were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Identification of student misconceptions was done using the Four Tier Thermodynamics Diagnostic Test (4T-TDT). Students' conceptual understanding was calculated using the percentage technique. The results of this study indicate that many students still have misconceptions about the concept of thermodynamics. The findings are expected to be a strategic step for designing appropriate remedial teaching.
Keywords: thermodynamics, misconception, four-tier diagnostic test, alternative conception


This paper identifies the limitations of conventional crossover in genetic algorithms when operating on two chromosomes of differing lengths. To address these problems, the concept of a Semantic Hierarchy (i.e. tree of meaning) of a genotype within a genetic algorithm is introduced. With this in mind, a new form of crossover operator known as Hierarchical Crossover is presented, capable of performing crossover with genotypes of different sizes, while still being functionally equivalent to standard, single-point crossover (or uniform crossover). Various aspects and advantages of this method are discussed. Finally, an example of some results produced by an implementation is shown.


Hotel occupancy leveling is one of crucial components in the hotel revenue management. Revenue management is meant to maximize the revenue management from various limited supplies. There has been a trend that the prevailing hotels nowadays have improved the technology aspect to increase the hotel quality and eventually the hotel occupancy. The modeling for hotel occupancy representation is a complex problem because the presentation has linked with the other processes, such as: the arrival reservation, cancelation, length of stay, no-show, group reservation, seasonality, and so on. In fact, the problems rising up recently are not limited on the workers or capital, but more in providing the reservation information. The information should give facility by providing simple method of reservation for the customers. This paper provided brief explanation regarding with the hotel occupancy and then explored the reservation system which implemented Indonesian language called Humane Reservation Assistance (HuResTan). Obvious contribution of this application was the implementation of Indonesian language in the reservation process. Furthermore, it provided the preference to make a reservation for the hotel room after the searching result for targeted room was completed.


We evaluated humoral immunity by measuring IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE concentrations in 274 male workers in an iron foundry in Cracow, Poland. There were two groups: 199 coke oven workers and 76 cold-rolling mill workers. The groups were similar with respect to age, length of work (average 15 years), and smoking habits. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), assessed by personal and area monitoring, ranged from 0.2 to 50 micrograms/m3 benzo[a]pyrene in coke plant workers and was of 3-5 magnitudes higher than in the cold-rolling mill employees. Comparison of the two groups revealed a marked depression of mean serum IgG and IgA in coke oven workers (p < 0.001, Student's unpaired t-test). In the same subjects, serum IgM had a tendency to decrease, whereas serum IgE showed a trend toward higher values. Thus, workers exposed chronically to complex mixtures of air pollutants, composed primarily of PAHs, develop immunosuppression. It remains to be established whether the immunosuppression described here is related to the frequent development of lung cancer reported in coke plant employees. Workers exposed chronically to PAHs should have serum immunoglobulins monitored regularly. ImagesFigure 1.


In this study, we confirmed the ability of the 2-kb promoter fragment of the chicken ovalbumin gene to drive tissue-specific expression of a foreign EGFP gene in chickens. Recombinant lentiviruses containing the EGFP gene were injected into the subgerminal cavity of 539 freshly laid embryos (stage X). Subsequently the embryos were incubated to hatch using phases II and III of the surrogate shell ex vivo culture system. Twenty-four chicks (G0) were hatched and screened for EGFP with PCR. Two chicks were identified as transgenic birds (G1), and these founders were mated with wild-type chickens to generate transgenic progeny. In the generated transgenic hens (G2), EGFP was expressed specifically in the tubular gland of the oviduct. These results show the potential of the chicken ovalbumin promoter for the production of biologically active proteins in egg white.


1.Few reports exist that describe marine non-native species in the Southern Ocean and near-shore waters around the Antarctic continent. Nevertheless, Antarctica's isolated marine communities, which show high levels of endemism, may be vulnerable to invasion by anthropogenically introduced species from outside Antarctica via vessel hull biofouling.
2.Hull surveys of the British Antarctic Survey's RRS James Clark Ross were undertaken between 2007 and 2014 at Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula (Lat. 67°34'S; Long. 68°07'W) to investigate levels of biofouling. In each case, following transit through scouring sea-ice, over 99% of the vessel hull was free of macroscopic fouling communities. However, in some surveys microbial/algal biofilms, balanomorph barnacles and live individuals of the cosmopolitan pelagic barnacle, Conchoderma auritum were found in the vicinity of intake ports, demonstrating the potential for non-native species to be transported to Antarctica on vessel hulls.
3.Increasing ship traffic volumes and declining duration of sea ice in waters to the north and west of the Antarctic Peninsula mean the region may be at increased risk of non-native species introductions. Locations at particular risk may include the waters around popular visitor sites, such as Goudier Island, Neko Harbour, Whalers Bay, Cuverville Island and Half Moon Island, and around northern peninsula research stations.
4.Simple and cost-effective mitigation measures, such as intentionally moving transiting ships briefly through available offshore sea ice to scour off accessible biofouling communities, may substantially reduce hull-borne propagule pressure to the region. Better quantification of the risk of marine non-native species introductions posed by vessel hulls to both Arctic and Antarctic environments, as sea ice patterns and shipping traffic volumes change, will inform the development of appropriate regional and international management responses.


Steganography is an information security technique that consists of concealing secret data into digital medias including videos, texts, network protocols and images. In this paper, a steganography method to dissimulate the secret information in gray-scale images is proposed; the dissimulation is adapted to the cover image's texture, data is hidden in the edge areas. The edge pixels are selected by over-segmentation using Modified Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (M-SLIC). This algorithm allows to decompose the cover image into K regions which we call superpixels. The image's texture and the amount of the secret data are the factors that help to determine the value of the parameter K. Choosing the pixels of complex regions to conceal secret information is due to the fact that the human visual system is designed to notice changes in the pixels of smooth areas. Therefore, edge areas tolerate larger changes than smooth areas without causing detectable distortions. Experiment on a large set of images were carried out; results illustrate the good performance of the proposed work in terms of capacity, security and imperceptibility in comparison to recent works.


Background During the Late Jurassic, several groups of eucryptodiran turtles inhabited the shallow epicontinental seas of Western Europe. Plesiochelyidae are an important part of this first radiation of crown-group turtles into coastal marine ecosystems. Fossils of Plesiochelyidae occur in many European localities, and are especially abundant in the Kimmeridgian layers of the Swiss Jura Mountains (Solothurn and Porrentruy). In the mid-19th century, the quarries of Solothurn (NW Switzerland) already provided a large amount of fossil turtles, most notably Plesiochelys etalloni, the best-known plesiochelyid species. Recent excavations in the Porrentruy area (NW Switzerland) revealed new fossils of Plesiochelys, including numerous well-preserved shells with associated cranial and postcranial material. Methods/results Out of 80 shells referred to Plesiochelys, 41 are assigned to a new species, Plesiochelys bigleri n. sp., including a skull–shell association. We furthermore refer 15 shells to Plesiochelys etalloni, and 24 shells to Plesiochelys sp. Anatomical comparisons show that Plesiochelys bigleri can clearly be differentiated from Plesiochelys etalloni by cranial features. The shell anatomy and the appendicular skeleton of Plesiochelys bigleri and Plesiochelys etalloni are very similar. However, a statistical analysis demonstrates that the thickness of neural bones allows to separate the two species based on incomplete material. This study furthermore illustrates the extent of intraspecific variation in the shell anatomy of Plesiochelys bigleri and Plesiochelys etalloni.


Background Accessory breast cancer is very rare, particularly in men. Male accessory breast cancer on the abdominal wall has not been documented in the scientific literature so far. We describe a case of male accessory breast cancer on the abdominal wall. Case presentation We describe a male patient suffering a swelling and erosive, enlarged, and hardened abdominal wall mass with pain due to abdominal wall accessory breast cancer. The patient had no obvious disease history, and the initial clinical symptom was a small mass on the abdominal wall. B-ultrasound revealed a solid subcutaneous nodule in the right abdomen with a size of ~2.8 × 2.5 × 1.5 cm. The abdominal wall tumor resection was performed with local anesthesia. Pathological testing revealed a grade II infiltrating ductal carcinoma derived from the accessory mammary gland (right abdominal wall) with neuroendocrine characteristics, showing ER (100% strong positive), PR (100% strong positive), HER-2 (−), ki67 (40% positive), Syn (+), CgA (+), and GCDFP15 (+). Conclusion Nonaxillary accessory breast cancer in males is very rare, with no obvious clinical manifestations, and could be easily ignored. This disease requires great attention from clinicians.


The tidal flat is long and narrow area along rivers and coasts with high sediment content, so there is little feature difference between the waterbody and the background, and the boundary of the waterbody is blurry. The existing waterbody extraction methods are mostly used for the extraction of large water bodies like rivers and lakes, whereas less attention has been paid to tidal flat waterbody extraction. Extracting tidal flat waterbody accurately from high-resolution remote sensing imagery is a great challenge. In order to solve the low accuracy problem of tidal flat waterbody extraction, we propose a fine-grained tidal flat waterbody extraction method, named FYOLOv3, which can extract tidal flat water with high accuracy. The FYOLOv3 mainly includes three parts: an improved object detection network based on YOLOv3 (Seattle, WA, USA), a fully convolutional network (FCN) without pooling layers, and a similarity algorithm for water extraction. The improved object detection network uses 13 convolutional layers instead of Darknet-53 as the model backbone network, which guarantees the water detection accuracy while reducing the time cost and alleviating the overfitting phenomenon; secondly, the FCN without pooling layers is proposed to obtain the accurate pixel value of the tidal flat waterbody by learning the semantic information; finally, a similarity algorithm for water extraction is proposed to distinguish the waterbody from non-water pixel by pixel to improve the extraction accuracy of tidal flat water bodies. Compared to the other convolutional neural network (CNN) models, the experiments show that our method has higher accuracy on the waterbody extraction of tidal flats from remote sensing images, and the IoU of our method is 2.43% higher than YOLOv3 and 3.7% higher than U-Net (Freiburg, Germany).


After the financial crisis of 2008, there have been changes in migration patterns, among them a noticeable increase in the flows of highly-skilled migration into the United States. Although the U.S. seeks to mantain its leadership in technological innovation, it faces adverse structural conditions in terms of demographics and education. This explains why highly-skilled migration has gained central importance for the U.S., as it has served to satisfy its great demand of STEM workers, especially from China and India, which surpass migration flows of Mexican migrants.


Some of the Key Fertiliser Issues of our time include ways to increasing the efficiency of applied fertilizers, the issue of increasing cost of mineral resources, the importance of trace elements and challenges of their applications as well as reducing environmental effects from fertilizer leaching.

In the current economic environment, growers are continuously pressured to maximize yield and optimize inputs. Fertilizer and its efficiency play a major role within these practices. It is therefore imperative to maximize the efficiency of applied fertilizer.

Omnia has developed an effective, easy to apply, biostimulant coating product called FertiCoat with the main objective of increasing fertilizer use efficiency. Nutrients like phosphorous can become fixed in the soil and become unavailable for crop growth. In low pH soils this occurs due to Al and Fe fixing phosphorous and in high pH soils calcium, magnesium and bicarbonates tie up available phosphorous.

To avoid this, FertiCoat™ can be used as a coating onto granular planting fertilizer, Urea or mixed with UAN. It complexes with phosphorous and keep it from being fixed in the soil by unfavorable elements. This makes the applied nutrients more plant available and therefore increases its efficiency and results in increased yields.

FertiCoat consists biostimulants like Seaweed, humates, fulvates, Amino Acids and polymers. Besides the benefits from humates and fulvates, it is known that plant hormones and amino acids in Seaweeds will promote plant growth and assist plants to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses. This process indirectly increases fertilizer efficiency as plants will be more vigorous with less fertilizer application. FertiCoat formulation contains these biostimulants in desired levels.

Omnia has researched FertiCoat™ over many years and has proven it to be a superior coating product.


IntroductionSolid organ transplant recipients are at risk of infections, which may be either derived through transplantation or acquired later. Blood-borne viruses (BBV) are a particular concern for donor-derived transmissions. There is an increasing emphasis on biovigilance – monitoring the safety of donated organs. However, systematic surveillance to distinguish donor-transmitted infection from de novo post-transplant infection is challenging. Additional information can be obtained through linkage of administrative health data.
Objectives and ApproachWe aimed to identify donor-transmitted and de novo BBV infections among organ transplant recipients. We conducted a cohort study of all solid organ donor-recipient pairs in New South Wales, Australia, 2000-2015. Donor and recipient BBV infections were identified by linking transplant registries with administrative health data. Proven/probable donor-transmissions were identified among new recipient infections within 12 months of transplant, classified according to an international algorithm. All other new BBV infections were classified as de novo infections.
ResultsAmong 2,120 organ donors, 73 had a BBV infection (11/73 active, 62/73 past). Donors with BBV donated to 176 recipients, of whom 24/176 had the same BBV as their donor, and 152/176 did not; these 152 recipients were at risk of donor-transmission. Among those at risk, there were 3/152 proven/probable BBV transmissions (1 hepatitis C, 2 hepatitis B [HBV]) and 149/152 recipients with non-transmissions. All donor-transmissions were previously recognised by donation services, and were from donors with known BBV. There were no deaths from transmissions. There were 70 recipients with de novo BBV; 2/70 died from new HBV.
Conclusion / ImplicationsThis work confirms the safety of Australian organ donation, with no unrecognised BBV transmissions and many non-transmissions from donors with BBV. This may support increasing targeted donation from donors with BBV. However, de novo BBV infections were substantial and preventable. Data-linkage may be a useful adjunct to current biovigilance systems.


The adsorption behavior of pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in aqueous solution has been investigated using a hypercrosslinked polystyrene adsorbent (NDA-99) modified by dimethylamine group as well as a nonionic macroporous adsorbent (XAD-4). The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed to fit the experimental data to describe adsorption mechanism. It shows that NDA-99 resin exhibits an adsorption affinity for 2,4-D higher than XAD-4 resin owing to its exceptional micropore structure and the amine group of the hypercrosslinked matrix. Further studies indicate that the hydrogen bonding interaction and the stronger π-π conjugation play a significant role in the course of the adsorption of 2,4-D on NDA-99 resin, which is in agreement with the IR spectroscopic results and the ΔE values of HOMO (the highest occupied molecular orbit) of adsorbent and LUMO (the lowest unoccupied molecular orbit) of adsorbate calculated from the MINDO/3 model.


In order to evaluate the accuracy and clinical availability of MicroTymp (Welch Allyn) which was new, portable, cordless, and hand-held impedance audiometer, 64 normal subjects and 52 patients with otitis media with effusion were examined by use of MicroTymp and Amplaid 702 (Dana Japan). The types of tympanogram were agreed with each other in 87% of ears. Six cases of type C tympanograms in MicroTymp were shown to be type A by Amplaid 702, and the average of peak pressure of MicroTymp was more negative than Amplaid 702. The difference of peak pressure seemed to be influenced by the speed of ear canal pressure change, because the speed of MicroTymp was considerably higher than Amplaid 702; -200mmH2O/sec in MicroTymp, and -50mmH2O/sec in Amplaid 702. In the experimental study on 7 normal ears, negative shift of peak pressure was observed by increasing the rate of ear canal pressure change from -25mmH2O/sec to -50mmH2O/sec in Amplaid 702. These findings suggest that one should note in the judgment of type C tympanogram in MicroTymp having the peak pressure close to -100mmH2O.


The assessment and evaluation of the academic influence of the researcher is a challenging task. This task allows the scientific community to make valuable decisions, such as identifying leading experts in a specific field, nominating candidates for scientific awards, awarding scholarships/grants, promoting researchers, and selecting tenure positions. Scientists have proposed various varied and multifaceted metrics to determine the most influential researchers. These metrics are the citation count, total number of publications, hybrid approaches, h-index, and variants of the h-index. Contemporary research in this domain shows that there is no universally accepted yardstick available for determining the finest parameter to recognize the most influential researcher within a particular domain. Moreover, to recognize the potential metric, some researchers have conducted evaluation surveys. In these evaluation surveys, the researchers utilized a limited number of indices on a small and imbalanced dataset as well as on fictional case scenarios, which makes it challenging to determine the significance and influence of each metric over the others. The present study computed fourteen distinct metrics based on the author-count. Our aim is to determine the potential metrics. For experimental purposes, we collected 1050 researchers' data from the mathematics domain. For the benchmark dataset, we have collected the awardee's data of the last three decades of four different societies of mathematics domain. To evaluate these metrics, we first computed the Spearman correlations among the obtained values of these metrics to assess their similarities and differences. The results showed a high degree of correlation among these metrics. However, some metrics represent weak correlations, signifying that their rankings are highly dissimilar to those of the other metrics. Furthermore, the position of award winners is checked in the top 10, 50, and 100 return records based on a ranked list of each metric. The potential value of each metric such as the hf metric, indicates that 60% of the awardees in the top 10% of the ranked list are associated with this, whereas the potential value of fractional g metric is linked with 49% of the awardees in the top 100% of the ranked list. In addition, it is further scrutinized that most of the award winners lie in a top position belonging to IMS, LMS, and AMS society return by fractional g-index, gf index, and gm index, which indicates that there is some relationship between these societies and metrics.


In the challenge of reducing the weight of the vehicle structures, a particular focus has to be done on the interior noise. Indeed, the weight reduction of the structure often implies an increase of the noise in the cabin.
To maintain a constant acoustic performance, acoustic packages often have to be added, the challenge being that the weight of the acoustic materials added remains lower than the weight saved in the structure.
In today's engineering world, numerical simulation is the primary tool to assess the vibro-acoustic behavior of the vehicle during the design phase. To tackle the challenge of weight reduction, it is necessary to simulate accurately the vibro-acoustic response of the structure including the acoustic treatments.
This paper presents the validation of a simulation method for the vibro-acoustic response of a truck cabin, taking into account the effect of acoustic treatments, in the frequency range [0-200 Hz].
The method combined a modal scheme for the structure and the cavity with a physical scheme for the acoustic treatment (porous materials).
The model consists in a truck cabin with its cavity and five acoustic treatments (three floormats, the headliner and the rear trim panel). A measurement campaign is performed to get reference NTFs, VTFs and local inertances. The model without any treatments is first correlated. The noise reduction given by each treatment alone as well as grouped together is simulated. The comparisons between the simulated and measured results show good agreement both in term of spectrum and amplitude. Although some discrepancies in the low frequency range remain unexplained, the method is considered as validated