In this study, the classical phase-locked loop (PLL) and Costas loop are investigated together. How the synchronization is obtained by the carrier recovery from the sinusoidal reference signal is mathematically shown with some assumptions and presented. It is concluded from this paper that Costas loop produces about half of the error signal produced by the PLL in the locked-stateoperation. This result may affect the decision whether the Costas loop will be used more frequently in the phase coherent communication systems in the future.


In this paper, a state feedback controller is designed for a non-linear system using a technique in which, the fuzzy model consists of a set of linear fuzzy local models, combined to get overall fuzzy inference mechanism. This approach utilizes a certain type of fuzzy systems that are based on Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy models to approximate nonlinear systems. A fuzzy inference mechanism is designed by the integration of these local models to give overall fuzzy model of the system. The proposed control algorithm employs the fuzzy controller that was designed by considering the linear state feedback controller for each of the fuzzy local model. Individual firing strength amongst that of different rules is used for the design of gain matrix of state feedback controller. The output of the FLC, which is a function of the degrees of membership of the fuzzy rules, is made by weighted average defuzzification method. In this paper, sufficient condition for the stability of T-S fuzzy system is investigated for the non-linear system which has complex stability analysis by obtaining a common positive definite matrix P that would satisfy a set of Lyapunov inequalities. To show the effectiveness of the proposed technique, inverted pendulum, a well known non-linear system is used.


4348 The paucity of cell culture models for childhood brain tumors has stimulated us to establish such cell lines for use in biological and preclinical developmental therapeutic studies. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs), gliomas, and astrocytomas were obtained at surgery or post-mortem, minced and cultured in lscoves DMEM + 20% fetal bovine serum and insulin, selenium, transferrin. Gentamicn was only used for the initial few weeks of culture. The initial 3 cell lines established were CHLA-200 (anaplasic astrocytoma at post mortem), CHLA-259 (posterior fossa PNET at diagnosis) and CHLA-266 (PNET with supratentorial metastasis at diagnosis). All new cell lines had unique DNA "fingerprints" using the ABI Profiler. We compared biological features of these lines and response to commonly used drugs to the DAOY posterior fossa PNET cell line. The drug cytotoxicity assay employed fluorescein diacetate and digital image microcopy (DIMSCAN); mRNA expression was quantitative RT-PCR (Taqman). All cell lines grew attached to flasks but differed in morphology and doubling time (DAOY 29hrs, CHLA-259 88hrs, CHLA-266 40hrs, CHLA-200 55hrs). In contrast to fibroblasts, all 4 cell lines expressed telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and telomerase RNA template (hTR). CHLA-256, 259+200 (but not DAOY) all showed strong expression of PGP9.5 but no expression of tyrosine hydroxylase. DAOY, CHLA-259+256 (but not CHLA-200) expressed MYCN, while CHLA-266+200 expressed c-myc. CHLA-266 and/or CHLA-200 showed striking multi-drug resistance when compared to DAOY for etoposide (ETOP), topotecan (TPT), melphalan ( L-PAM), vincristin (VINC), cyclophosphamide (4-HC), and cisplatin (CDDP) (Table 1). Unlike the commonly available line DAOY, drug resistance was seen in these new cell lines for most drugs tested. Thus, these new cell lines may provide useful models for preclinical testing of novel drugs for possible activity against multi-drug resistant pediatric brain tumors. Supported by the Devin Hock Memorial Fund of the Michael Hoefflin Foundation.


A lipid factor previously isolated from leukocytes and found to stimulate basophilic erythroblast formation in an in vitro system of incubated rabbit bone marrow cells has been analyzed by thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The biologically active components are sphingosine ceramides of tetracosanoic and dehydrotetracosanoic acids. Tests of a series of related ceramides show a high degree of structural specificity for the C(24)-V-acyl compounds with significant but markedly lower activity of the C(22) analog. Commercially available sphingomyelin shows activity comparable to that of the tetracosanoic acid ceramide. Sphingosine and tetracosanic acid supplied in equimolar amounts have negligible activity. The results, in the context of other findings, suggest a possible supportive role of plasma ceramides and sphingomyelins in red cell maturation.


The wider possibility of connectivity offers additional opportunities for customers to experience value propositions. The online world is only one side of the customer experience. The integration of digital technologies, social presence and physical elements increases the complexity of customer journey. This paper aims to map the phygital customer journey by focusing on millennials.,The study adopted a qualitative methodology to investigate 50 millennials from Italy. Millennials had to describe, in two phases, a journey they had recently made. First, they used sticky notes with no restrictions on expressing their feelings and structuring their CJ. Second, customers transferred the sticky notes' contents, consider the information provided and map the journey with additional details using the Uxpressia software.,This paper frames the Millennials customer journey as a cycle of four moments: connect, explore, buy and use. Each moment enacts the customer experience as a mixture of emotional, behavioural and social responses. Online and offline interactions blur the boundaries between the physical and digital world (i.e. phygital): millennials move back-and-forth or jump from one action to another according to the evolving path of emotions and interactions.,The phygital customer journey provides an alternative understanding of customer journey occurring as a fuzzy process or loop. A phygital map develops as a circular path of moments seen as phenomenological microworlds of events, interactions, relationships and emotions.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid disease are the two most common endocrine disorders in the general population. Several Studies have shown that thyroid dysfunction is common in patients with DM, and thyroid dysfunction have been found to have a considerable impact on the glycaemic control and often increases the risk of development of long-term complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. This study determined the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in patients with type 2 DM in Kano, North-Western Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 250 participants made up of 130 patients with type 2 DM and 120 apparently healthy non-diabetic controls. Questionnaires were used to collect information on bio data, medical history, duration of diagnosis of diabetes and type of treatment. Also, blood samples of the participants were collected and analyzed for fasting plasma glucose, fT3, fT4, and TSH. The results were interpreted using American Thyroid Associations' criteria and the data was analyzed using the statistical software package, STATA version 20. Two hundred and thirty-four (93.6%) of the participants were euthyroid while sixteen (6.4%) were found to have various forms of thyroid dysfunction. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was 10% and 2.5% among type 2 diabetics and controls respectively. Among the type 2 DM patients with thyroid dysfunction, 38.5% had hypothyroidism. Thyroid dysfunction was found to be commoner among type 2 DM patients than non-diabetic individuals with hypothyroidism being the commonest disorder.


ABSTRACT Drawing on 22 qualitative interviews with social workers in Sweden, this article analyzes how social workers conceive immigrant integration and racism and tackle racism within their institutions and the wider Swedish society. The majority of the white social workers framed integration in relation to cultural differences and denied or minimized the role of racism in structuring their services and the ethnic relations in Sweden. In contrast, social workers with immigrant backgrounds were less compromising in discussing racism and assumed it as a problem both for themselves as institutional actors and as immigrants in everyday life and institutional settings. Social institutions in Sweden have been important actors in endorsing equality and accommodating differences. However, it is of paramount importance for social justice-minded social workers to identify and unsettle those structures and discourses that enable racist and discriminatory policies and practices against those groups who are not viewed as "core" members of the Swedish society. The absence of anti-racist social work within Swedish social work is primarily related to the idea of color-blind welfare universalism that is assumed to transcend the particularity of the needs, experiences, and perspectives of different groups in Sweden. While integration is envisioned and framed as a political project of inclusion of non-white immigrants, it tends to become a political device through which hierarchies of belonging are constructed. Following such conception of integration, cultural/religious differences and equality are framed as conflicting where cultural conformity underpinned by assimilationist discourses becomes a requirement for political, social, and economic equality.


CONTEXT Sustained-release naltrexone implants may improve outcomes of nonagonist treatment of opioid addiction. OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes of naltrexone implants, oral naltrexone hydrochloride, and nonmedication treatment. DESIGN Six-month double-blind, double-dummy, randomized trial. SETTING Addiction treatment programs in St Petersburg, Russia. PARTICIPANTS Three hundred six opioid-addicted patients recently undergoing detoxification. INTERVENTIONS Biweekly counseling and 1 of the following 3 treatments for 24 weeks: (1) 1000-mg naltrexone implant and oral placebo (NI+OP group; 102 patients); (2) placebo implant and 50-mg oral naltrexone hydrochloride (PI+ON group; 102 patients); or (3) placebo implant and oral placebo (PI+OP group; 102 patients). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Percentage of patients retained in treatment without relapse. RESULTS By month 6, 54 of 102 patients in the NI+OP group (52.9%) remained in treatment without relapse compared with 16 of 102 patients in the PI+ON group (15.7%) (survival analysis, log-rank test, P < .001) and 11 of 102 patients in the PI+OP group (10.8%) (P < .001). The PI+ON vs PI+OP comparison showed a nonsignificant trend favoring the PI+ON group (P = .07). Counting missing test results as positive, the proportion of urine screening tests yielding negative results for opiates was 63.6% (95% CI, 60%-66%) for the NI+OP group; 42.7% (40%-45%) for the PI+ON group; and 34.1% (32%-37%) for the PI+OP group (P < .001, Fisher exact test, compared with the NI+OP group). Twelve wound infections occurred among 244 implantations (4.9%) in the NI+OP group, 2 among 181 (1.1%) in the PI+ON group, and 1 among 148 (0.7%) in the PI+OP group (P = .02). All events were in the first 2 weeks after implantation and resolved with antibiotic therapy. Four local-site reactions (redness and swelling) occurred in the second month after implantation in the NI+OP group (P = .12), and all resolved with antiallergy medication treatment. Other nonlocal-site adverse effects were reported in 8 of 886 visits (0.9%) in the NI+OP group, 4 of 522 visits (0.8%) in the PI+ON group, and 3 of 394 visits (0.8%) in the PI+ON group; all resolved and none were serious. No evidence of increased deaths from overdose after naltrexone treatment ended was found. CONCLUSIONS The implant is more effective than oral naltrexone or placebo. More patients in the NI+OP than in the other groups develop wound infections or local irritation, but none are serious and all resolve with treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00678418.


Summary The behaviour of plasma malondialdehyde-like material (MDA-LM) was evaluated in 13 healthy subjects by a single-blind study that consisted of placebo (30 days), vitamin E treatment (300 mg/day) (30 days) and placebo (30 days). The study demonstrated that MDA-LM did not change during placebo treatment while it significantly decreased after vitamin E administration.


OBJECTIVE
Although there are many lab-based studies demonstrating the utility of confidence and decision time as indicators of eyewitness accuracy, there is almost no research on how well these variables function for lineups in the real world. In two experiments, we examined confidence and decision time associated with real lineups that had been conducted using research-based recommendations.

HYPOTHESES
We expected that how confident an eyewitness sounded and how quickly that eyewitness made their identification would be associated with whether that eyewitness identified a suspect or a filler. We also hypothesized that people's interpretations of eyewitness confidence could be easily influenced by additional, biasing information.

METHOD
Using audio recordings of these lineups, we examined (a) participants' subjective ratings of how confident an eyewitness sounded at the time of the identification and (b) objective data regarding how quickly the eyewitness made the identification decision. We also manipulated what additional information, if any, eyewitnesses received in Experiment 2.

RESULTS
In both experiments, decision time and confidence predicted whether the eyewitnesses identified the suspect or a known-innocent filler, and when decision time and confidence diverged, it is likely that the eyewitness identified a filler. In Experiment 2, we found that people's interpretations of eyewitness's confidence statements could be biased. When observers believed that the witness picked a filler rather than a suspect, or vice versa, this changed how confident they thought the witness sounded.

CONCLUSIONS
Confidence and decision time should both be collected when administering real lineups, but objective decision time data may be the most useful because people's perceptions of confidence are easily altered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


This is a book about the discovery of macroeconomic ideas and concepts long before the term macroeconomics had been coined. The cast of authors varies from doctors and physicians (Sir William Petty and Francois Quesnay), to philosophers (David Hume and Adam Smith), to bankers (Richard Cantillon and Henry Thornton) to Prime Ministers of France (John Law and Anne Robert Jacques Turgot). These authors had very rich and varied careers and the book invites readers to imagine specific moments in their careers that influenced both their lives and their writings. Building on these events the contributions of each author are outlined and discussed. Examination of their writings show that by the start of the nineteenth century they had left a rich legacy of macroeconomics ranging from the analysis and measurement of national income, the depiction of the circular flow of income, the debate on the role of money in the economy, the way to model the economy, the importance of labour, land and capital, the role of entrepreneurship, the Central Bank as a lender of last resort, and much more.


Nineteen-year-old woman with mixed connective tissue disease developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome following treatment of arthritis using sulindac. Involvements of infectious and malignant diseases have been ruled out and sulindac has strongly been suspected as a causative agent for Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Ten out of 13 cases with Stevens-Johnson syndrome associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sulindac has been administrated. Four cases also presented with severe liver disease. Patients who developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome following sulindac administration did not have apparent common clinical or laboratory findings which might be implicated for development of this severe side effects. Among the various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, safety of sulindac has widely been appreciated. However, occurrence of severe adverse events as reported here indicated that sulindac should be administrated as carefully as other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.


A series of liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) with T-shaped two-dimensional mesogenic units were synthesized via solution polycondensation. The LCPs were used as ligand polymers to coordinate with palladium dichloride, by which a series of polymeric palladium complexes were prepared. The liquid crystalline behaviors of the compounds were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, polarized microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The entire palladium complexes went to liquid crystal phase when heated to their melting temperature (Tm), and a threaded texture was observed. The melting point of all the complexes changes regularly with the increase of the end alkoxy group length and the flexible spacer unit in the ligand polymer. It is worth noting that some of the complexes without end substituent groups in the ligand polymer were also found to show liquid crystal behaviors, which would be a subject for further investigation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


DNA methylation in the form of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is essential for normal development in mammals and influences a variety of biological processes, including transcriptional regulation, imprinting, and the maintenance of genomic stability. The recent discovery of TET proteins, which oxidize 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxylcytosine, has changed our understanding of the process of DNA demethylation. Here, we summarize our current knowledge of the roles of DNA methylation and TET proteins in cell differentiation and function. The intensive research on this subject has so far focused primarily on embryonic stem (ES) cells and neurons. In addition, we summarize what is known about DNA methylation in T-cell function.


As long as 400 years ago, syphilitic ulcers and gonococcal discharge were observed in connection with sexual intercourse. War, poverty, and lack of efficient therapeutic options led to a high incidence of venereal diseases, many of which had devastating outcomes. This situation continued until the beginning of the 20th century, when the microbial aetiology of venereal diseases was discovered. The infection rate dropped with the availability of antibiotic therapy after the Second World War. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, a steady increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been recognized worldwide. The number of reported cases of syphilis is increasing in Europe, especially in men having sex with men (MSM). Antibiotic resistance in several genital pathogens, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium, causes therapeutic problems. Viral genital infections have become a therapeutic challenge, especially for prevention of STIs. Due to better knowledge of the long-term consequences of STIs and the connection between genital cancer and papillomavirus infections, sexual health services with screening programmes have been established in many European countries. There is general awareness of the importance of human papilloma virus vaccination programmes for young adolescents as a preventive strategy for genital cancer.


Dietary fiber is the basic therapeutic method to relieve the symptoms of chronic constipation. The aim of this study was to compare the laxative effect of konjac glucomannan (KGM) and konjac oligosaccharides (KOS) on constipated rats. KGM and KOS were administered to loperamide-induced constipated rats at dosages of 100 mg per kg bw and 400 mg per kg bw for 15 days. Feces were collected to evaluate the defecation function. X-ray imaging and an electrophysiological system were used to determine gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to measure the protein levels. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to assess flatulence. Our results demonstrated that low-dose KOS (L-KOS) exerted the best laxative effect. Compared to the normal control (NC) group, the fecal number in the L-KOS group increased by 39.4%, and the fecal weight significantly increased by 31.9% which was higher than those in the low-dose KGM (L-KGM) and high-dose KGM (H-KGM) groups. The fecal moisture content and transit scores were significantly increased only in the L-KOS group. Meanwhile, less GI gas was produced by KOS. Additionally, further investigations suggested that KOS could upregulate the protein expression of stem cell factors (SCF)/c-kit, and significantly promoted the secretion of mucus. In conclusion, compared to KGM, KOS had a conspicuous laxative effect especially at a low dosage. The potential laxative mechanisms of KOS probably are regulating the SCF/c-kit signalling pathway and increasing mucus secretion. These findings indicated that as a kind of functional oligosaccharide, KOS is more conducive to alleviating constipation compared to polysaccharides.


This paper introduces a sequence of cycles found in nature. Dubbed the Extra-Universal Wave Series (EUWS), these cycles may originate from outside of our observable universe. Collectively, the cycles were first discovered in 2008 and published in The Unified Cycle Theory in 2009. However, many of these cycles were already discovered on an individual basis prior to 2008. Examples include the ~ 516-yr climate cycle determined from ocean sediments, the ~ 1547-yr Dansgaard-Oeschger climate cycle, the ~ 4640-yr Bond climate cycle, the ~ 125-kyr climate cycle, the ~ 30-myr extinction cycle, and Earth's ~ 822-myr cycle in crustal formation. The Unified Cycle Theory provided a breakthrough by linking these cycles as part of an infinite harmonic sequence. Unlikely as it may seem, individual wavelengths in this sequence are precisely separated from adjacent cycles by a factor of three. Linkage implies these cycles share a common source. Whether the EUWS frequency is as short as 9.57 days or as long as 22.2 billion years, the source of these fluctuations must be the same. Heretofore, geologists have concentrated on processes internal to Earth's ecosystem to explain volcanic episodes, when, in fact, oscillations in star formation rates suggest these cycles were already shaping our universe prior to Earth's existence. A single equation describes the EUWS oscillations. This paper presents the equation, provides graphics of theoretical oscillations, and demonstrates the occurrences of these cycles in nature. The presence of EUWS cycles can be detected in a wide variety of ways including star formation oscillations, episodes of volcanism, global climate fluctuations, evolution of new gene families, mass extinction cycles, spots in the Sun and stars, civilization cycles, and financial panic cycles.


Objective: To assess the relationship between cognitive decline of older patients (≥ 65 y) and use of primary care physician (PCP) services over 24 months. Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from a cluster randomized trial that took place from 2006-2010 and investigated the relationship between formal neuropsychological evaluation and patient outcomes in primary care. Setting: Twenty-four PCPs in 11 practices in southwestern Pennsylvania. Most practices were suburban and included more than 5 PCPs. Participants: A sample of 423 primary care patients 65 years old or older. Measurements: The association between the number of PCP visits and a decline in cognitive status, as determined by multivariable analyses that controlled for patient-level, physician-level, and practice-level factors (eg, patient age, comorbidities, and symptoms of depression; practice location and size; PCP age and sex) and used a linear mixed model with a random intercept to adjust for clustering. Results: Over a 2-year follow-up, 199 patients (47.0%) experienced a decline in cognitive status. Patients with a cognitive decline had a mean of 0.69 more PCP visits than did patients without a cognitive decline (P < .05). Conclusions: Early signs of cognitive decline may be an indicator of greater use of primary care. Given the demographic trends, more PCPs are likely to be needed to meet the increasing needs of the older population.


Bioactive polyphenols are the predominant ingredients in apple pomace, an agro-industrial byproduct in apple juice processing. The present work focused on fractionation of ethanol extract of apple pomace using macroporous absorbent resin chromatography and HPLC analysis of all fractions recovered from polyphenol-enriched extract and their inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in lipo-polysaccharides (LPS) -induced mouse RAW 264.7 cell line. Six fractions API-VI were achieved through fractionation eluting with aqueous alcohol. HPLC analysis indicated that APIII eluted by 40% ethanol had the highest content of total phenolics, which was 148.1 ± 3.11 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g of dry apple pomace. Antiinflammatory assays showed that APIII had the strongest activity against COX -2 expression at 5 µg mL -1 and procyanidin B2 and quercetin exhibited positive correlation with their anti-inflammatory effects. Our data suggested that phenolics could be prepared from apple pomace and applied in the management of inflammatory diseases.


Influenza-related pneumonia is an important complication of influenza, and it has been suggested that excessive inflammatory reactions, including "cytokine storm", may contribute to the mechanisms underlying severe pneumonia. Human data and mice co-infected with influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae show increased severity of illness according to the elevation of cytokines/chemokines, and mice with genetic knock-out of immune molecules such as Toll-like receptor 3 and IRAK-M also show hyper-immune responses and reduced survival following influenza virus infection. Such findings suggest that innate immune responses and excessive neutrophil activation might be related to severe inflammatory changes in the lungs, and immunomudulatory therapy may thus be effective against severe influenza-related pneumonia.


Pulmonary vascular endothelial cells could contribute to maintain homeostasis in adult lung vasculature. "Tissue-resident" endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play pivotal roles in postnatal vasculogenesis, vascular repair, and tissue regeneration; however, their local pulmonary counterparts remain to be defined. To determine whether prominin-1/CD133 expression can be a marker of tissue-resident vascular EPCs in the pulmonary circulation, we examined the origin and characteristics of prominin-1/CD133-positive (Prom1(+)) PVECs considering cell cycle status, viability, histological distribution, and association with pulmonary vascular remodeling. Prom1(+) PVECs exhibited high steady-state transit through the cell cycle compared with Prom1(-) PVECs and exhibited homeostatic cell division as assessed using the label dilution method and mice expressing green fluorescent protein. In addition, Prom1(+) PVECs showed more marked expression of putative EPC markers and drug resistance genes as well as highly increased activation of aldehyde dehydrogenase compared with Prom1(-) PVECs. Bone marrow reconstitution demonstrated that tissue-resident cells were the source of >98% of Prom1(+) PVECs. Immunofluorescence analyses revealed that Prom1(+) PVECs preferentially resided in the arterial vasculature, including the resistant vessels of the lung. The number of Prom1(+) PVECs was higher in developing postnatal lungs. Sorted Prom1(+) PVECs gave rise to colonies and formed fine vascular networks compared with Prom1(-) PVECs. Moreover, Prom1(+) PVECs increased in the monocrotaline and the Su-5416 + hypoxia experimental models of pulmonary vascular remodeling. Our findings indicated that Prom1(+) PVECs exhibited the phenotype of tissue-resident EPCs. The unique biological characteristics of Prom1(+) PVECs predominantly contribute to neovasculogenesis and maintenance of homeostasis in pulmonary vascular tissues.


This paper presents a new method for automatic tuning of simple regulators. It is based on the idea of using relay feedback to determine points on the open loop Nyquist curve and a design method which approximately positions the closed loop poles. The method has been shown to work well in a number of industrial applications.


The interactions of porous vertical-cylinder array with incident waves and its performance as a breakwater are investigated by numerical simulations and medium-scale experiments. The interaction theory is based on linear potential theory for N bottom-mounted vertical cylinders and the porous and viscous effects are included through Darcy's law. The empirical relationship between plate porosity and porous parameter is obtained from a series of experiments. The numerical results agree well with the measured data. It is found that both transmitted and reflected waves as well as wave run-up and exciting forces are significantly reduced due to wall porosity. The results also show that the optimal design of seawater-exchanging breakwaters can be found through a systematic parametric investigation by controlling the size, number, porosity, and arrangement of circular cylinders.


Parallel applications have message-passing patterns that are important to understand. Network topology, routing decisions, and connection and buffer management need to match the communication patterns of an application for it to run efficiently and scale well. These patterns are not easily discerned from the source code of an application, and even when the data is available it is not easy to categorize it appropriately such that meaningful knowledge emerges.

We describe a novel system to gather the information we need to discover an application's communication pattern. We create five categories that help us analyze that data and explain how information from each category can be useful in the design of networking hardware and software. We use the NAS parallel benchmarks as examples on how to apply our techniques.


The Less-is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) acquisition and second language (L2) attainment. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (1) limited cognitive capacity, (2) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (3) simplified language input. While there is little-to-no evidence of benefits of limited cognitive capacity, there is ample support for a More-is-More account linking enhanced capacity with better L1- and L2-learning outcomes, and reduced capacity with childhood language disorders. Instead, reduced prior knowledge (relative to adults) may afford children with greater flexibility in inductive inference; this contradicts the idea that children benefit from a more constrained hypothesis space. Finally, studies of child-directed speech (CDS) confirm benefits from less complex input at early stages, but also emphasize how greater lexical and syntactic complexity of the input confers benefits in L1-attainment.


This paper proposes the power management technology for stand-alone PV system to extend installation environment and coverage. The proposed power management technology in this paper can protect battery safeness from overcharge/discharge with keeping the proper SOC(State of Charge) and extend using time of system through estimation of operating power. The proposed power management technology in this paper is applied to Infra-free Variable Message Sign. And performance of power management technology in this paper was verified using simulation scenario.


ABSTRACT Osteosynthesis using minimum material in pediatric mandibular fractures is the key, due to the limited space available in the mandible, especially in the mental foramen and apical region. There is an important role of open reduction and rigid internal fixation in re-establishing facial height, width and projection. During the early years of growth and development, there is a high osteogenic potential of the bones. The thick periosteum allows for rapid consolidation and remodeling at the site of fracture. Primary teeth have short, bulbous crowns which compromise stable maxillomandibular fixation during fracture reduction and stabilization using traditional methods. Further, stability of the fractured segments may be hampered because of the displaced or mobile permanent anterior teeth in the mixed dentition along the line of fracture. This clinical report outlines the use of miniplate with monocortical screws in a 9-year-old boy with symphysis fracture. How to cite this article: Srinivasan I, Kumar N, Jaganathan U, Bhandari A. Miniplate for Osteosynthesis in a 9-Year-Old with Symphysis Fracture: Clinical Report. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2013;6(3):213-216.


Recently, several types of Distributed Generators (DGs) have been connected together to form a small power system called a microgrid (MG). MG usually operates in normal connecting mode and is connected to the main grid. This paper presents the performance enhancement of microgrid with RES (Renewable Energy Sources) penetration in grid connected and islanded operation, and also shows the effect of wind and solar penetration individually and as well as coupled along with backup protection. To analyze the effect of RES penetration into micro grid a synchronous speed wind turbine equipped with SCIG (Squirrel cage Induction Generator) and solar system with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) are used. A modified Benchmark micro grid is used and simulations are performed in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. Index Terms—Micro grid, renewable energy sources, Reactive power mismatching, solar integration, voltage stability, wind penetration, battery.


In the summer of 2014 Strukton Immersion Projects has placed the foundation caissons of the Venice flood barrier in the Chioggia inlet to the Venice Lagoon. The caissons were loaded by currents and waves during placement. Before the placement, physical model tests were performed in a wave-current basin to optimize the placement procedure, and to determine the line force and pontoon motions. This paper describes the model setup, tests that were performed, the results and the implications for the placement procedure. Also the experiences during actual placement are discussed.


Many business people have concluded that Africa has lower consumer ethnocentrism tendency because of the negative attitude towards domestic products. However, such conclusions were refuted by this literature review as Africa has the highest consumer ethnocentrism tendency than both non-African developing countries and developed countries. The reviewer examined consumer ethnocentrism tendency level and variation among countries by extracting twenty countries from developed and developing countries with quota sampling technique. Based on the analysis, developing countries were found in the higher consumer ethnocentrism tendency category while developed countries were found in moderate consumer ethnocentrism tendency group. Further, the difference between developed and African countries is significant; however, the difference between developed and non-African developing countries as well as African and non-African developing countries are not significant. Africans are recommended to work hard in the marketing aspects in order to seize opportunities associated with high consumer ethnocentrism tendency which significantly affects consumers' attitude towards domestic products.


The purpose of this study is to test a conceptual model that attempts to show how selected neighborhood characteristics are related to social isolation in later life. This model specifies that older adults with low levels of educational attainment are more likely to experience financial problems and that elderly people who are confronted by financial difficulties are more likely to reside in dilapidated neighborhoods. The model further predicts that deteriorated neighborhoods in turn tend to promote distrust of others and older adults who are more distrustful of others tend to be more socially isolated. Based on data provided by a nationwide survey of elderly people, subsequent analyses revealed strong support for the theoretical sequence described above.


The influence of the projectile velocity on the nl-distributions and on the ml-distributions of the Ar7+ excited states produced by electron capture during Ar8+-Li(2s) collisions have been studied experimentally by means of near UV and visible photon spectroscopy in the 0.1-1.0 keV/amu energy range (4-40 keV), and theoretically by using the classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) method. The experimental nl-distributions have been deduced from the emission cross sections of all lines corresponding to 7l'-8l and 8l'-9l transitions. The polarization rates of all these lines have been measured and compared with those obtained from CTMC calculated ml-distributions. Electronic energy curve calculations are presented in order to discuss these results in terms of dynamical couplings.


A novel in vitro whole blood model was developed to study human antimycobacterial immunity. Recombinant reporter mycobacteria were used to enumerate the bacteria, and interactions between host immune cells and mycobacteria were studied using whole blood rather than cell fractions. The ability of healthy tuberculin-positive and tuberculin-negative individuals to restrict mycobacterial growth was compared. Growth of luminescent mycobacteria was significantly lower in blood samples of tuberculin-positive individuals than in blood samples of tuberculin-negative individuals (P=.005). Restricted mycobacterial growth was associated with significantly higher production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma (P=.01 and.004, respectively). Inhibition of the TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma response pathways by neutralizing monoclonal antibodies increased mycobacterial growth in whole blood. This model is the first functional assay in which individual variations in cell-mediated immunity are shown to correlate with differences in ability to control mycobacterial growth. It provides a new tool for studying human mycobactericidal mechanisms and, potentially, for the evaluation of improved vaccines.


To establish a tripartite division of the parts of the soul, Socrates in Plato's Republic introduces a Principle of Opposites. The principle entails that only distinct parts of a soul can be simultaneously engaged in opposed actions directed toward the same intended object. Appealing to the principle, Socrates proposes to distinguish between rational, spirited, and appetitive parts of the soul. He describes two situations of opposed actions in a soul that both desires to drink but chooses not to drink, and desires to indulge in morbid voyeurism but is angry about doing so. Without a sound basis for dividing the parts of the soul in precisely this way, Socrates cannot adequately defend the dialogue's main conclusion that justice in both city and soul is the proper harmonious hierarchical order of their respective parts. I argue that Socrates' efforts to prove the division of the soul into three parts are inconclusive because it is possible to interpret his illustrations as involving unopposed psychological acts directed toward different rather than identical intended objects.


As academics, research participants and readers can now write more together online, this paper reflects on the way that a review article on the Geographies of Food was written out of online conversations between 26 authors. This process began as an emailed invitation, moved online into blogged conversations, and produced a paper that aimed to stretch the journal format to capture and continue that conversation. This was an experiment in creative collaborative writing, writing that was intended to be evocative and engaging, writing that imagined its readers not as recipients of its expertise, but as participants in its creative process.


As the urgency of healthcare cost containment in the United States increases, this study concerns the impact of this process at the community level in the metropolitan area of Syracuse, New York. It suggests that the responses of the Syracuse hospitals to cost containment have resulted in greater numbers of adult medicine patients. This development has been paralleled by a reduced integration of services with long-term care and ambulatory care providers. As a result, the hospitals have encountered longer stays as well as greater risk of in-patient complications and readmissions for these patients. The study identifies initiatives related to improving integration of care that the Syracuse hospitals are beginning to use to address these issues.


BACKGROUND: This study is focused on the application of intensified biological systems for the degradation of halogenated organic compounds. The single and combined effects of cometabolism and bioaugmentation with Pseudomonas putida on the aerobic degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in sequencing batch reactors was studied. Phenol was added as growth substrate to enhance 4-CP biodegradation through cometabolic transformation.

RESULTS: Adaptation of activated sludge by increasing 4-CP loads aimed at a progressive acclimation to that compound, which could be successfully degraded at loading rates below 55 mg g−1 VSS d−1. Using phenol as cosusbtrate allowed almost a threefold decrease of the time required for the exhaustion of 4-CP. The addition of phenol also reduced the toxic effect of 4-CP over P. putida. The bioaugmentation of the SBR with P. putida enhanced the 4-CP removal rate, allowing the SBR to deal with 4-CP loads up to 120 mg g−1 VSS d−1.

CONCLUSION: Bioaugmentation of SBR with P. putida improves the capacity of this system to withstand high toxic shocks. Cometabolic degradation of 4-CP with phenol improves the removal rates achieved by the SBR at similar 4-CP loads. Both strategies are more convenient intensification techniques than acclimation for the biological treatment of 4-CP. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry


Abstract We first reported here that the harmful alga Cochlodinium polykrikoides, which had been previously known as an autotrophic dinoflagellate, was a mixotrophic species. We investigated the kinds of prey species and the effects of the prey concentration on the growth and ingestion rates of C. polykrikoides when feeding on an unidentified cryptophyte species (Equivalent Spherical Diameter, ESD = 5.6 μm). We also calculated grazing coefficients by combining field data on abundances of C. polykrikoides and co-occurring cryptophytes with laboratory data on ingestion rates obtained in the present study. Cocholdinium polykrikoides fed on prey cells by engulfing the prey through the sulcus. Among the phytoplankton prey offered, C. polykrikoides ingested small phytoplankton species that had ESD's ≤ 11 μm (e.g. the prymnesiophyte Isochrysis galbana, an unidentified cryptophyte, the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina, the raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo, and the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae). It did not feed on larger phytoplankton species that had ESD's ≥ 12 μm (e.g. the dinoflagellates Heterocapsa triquetra, Prorocentrum minimum, Scrippsiella sp., Alexandrium tamarense, Prorocentrum micans, Gymnodinium catenatum, Akashiwo sanguinea, and Lingulodinium polyedrum). Specific growth rates of C. polykrikoides on a cryptophyte increased with increasing mean prey concentration, with saturation at a mean prey concentration of approximately 270 ng C ml−1 (i.e. 15,900 cells ml−1). The maximum specific growth rate (mixotrophic growth) of C. polykrikoides on a cryptophyte was 0.324 d−1, under a 14:10 h light-dark cycle of 50 μE m−2 s−1, while its growth rate (phototrophic growth) under the same light conditions without added prey was 0.166 d−1. Maximum ingestion and clearance rates of C. polykrikoides on a cryptophyte were 0.16 ng C grazer−1d−1 (9.4 cells grazer−1d−1) and 0.33 μl grazer−1h−1, respectively. Calculated grazing coefficients by C. polykrikoides on cryptophytes were 0.001–0.745 h−1 (i.e. 0.1–53% of cryptophyte populations were removed by a C. polykrikoides population in 1 h). The results of the present study suggest that C. polykrikoides sometimes has a considerable grazing impact on populations of cryptophytes.


By observing ultrastructural changes under the electron microscope, we illustrated exocytosis and recycling of vesicles in the infrared receptor, a kind of free nerve ending in the pit organ of the crotaline snake, Trimeresurus flavoviridis. While maintaining the snake pit organs at stable temperatures of 15 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 30 degrees C, we fixed them by perfusion and then processed them for transmission electron microscopy. The largest number of clear and coated vesicles appeared in the terminals at the lowest temperature. The perimeter and area of a terminal were enlarged at 30 degrees C, and "opening waves" on the plasma were prominently found at the highest temperature. We also observed coated vesicles that budded from the plasma membrane in the terminals. The configuration of mitochondria in the terminals was quantitatively different between lower and higher temperatures. The data suggest that exocytosis and endocytosis in these terminals operate in a manner similar to that observed in other cell types.


Objective To examine the incidence and risk factors of any-cause reoperation after primary ACLR in children and adolescents. Design Retrospective Cohort Setting Electronic medical records from a large tertiary care, single institution integrated healthcare delivery system. Patients Patients were under the age of 18 years and had anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. They were excluded if they had a multi-ligamentous knee injury or <1 year follow-up. Interventions Patients were further identified to have undergone a subsequent knee operation ipsilaterally or contralateral ACLR. Main outcome measures The rate of any-cause reoperation was our primary outcome measure. Results The median age was 16. There were 208 females (53.9%) and 178 males (46.1%) included. The median follow-up was 25 months with a minimum of 12 months (interquartile range: 16.0, 46.0). The rate of any-cause reoperation was 34.7%. There was no statistically significant difference between those who underwent reoperation versus those who did not undergo reoperation relative to age, sex, BMI, graft type, or the presence of concomitant meniscal injury. The rates of ipsilateral ACLR and contralateral ACLR at any time during the study period was 8.0% and 10.9% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference for rate of reoperation between graft types, between various concomitant injuries, between those who underwent meniscus repair or no repair. Conclusions This study reflects a 34.7% rate of a subsequent knee operation after ACLR in patients younger than 18 years. These findings can be used to inform pediatric patients undergoing primary ACLR on their risk of returning to the operating room.


Objectives To compare the functional and radiographic outcomes of InterTAN nail (IT) and proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) for managing primary AO/OTA 31-A2 intertrochanteric hip fractures (IHFs) in older osteoporotic patients. Methods Patients aged 60 years or older who received surgical treatment for IHFs (AO/OTA 3.1A2.1-A2.3) with IT or PFNA were retrospectively evaluated. The primary outcome was the postoperative treatment failure rate. The secondary outcome was the Harris Hip Score (HHS). Results A total of 326 osteoporotic cases (326 hips: IT, n = 162; PFNA, n = 164) were assessed with a mean follow-up of 43.5 months (range, 38–48 months). For the entire cohort, the incidence of postoperative treatment failure (periprosthetic fracture and reoperation) was 29/326 (8.9%); the IT-treated cohort (7/162, 4.3%) had a significantly lower rate compared with the PFNA-treated cohort (22/165, 13.3%). The incidence of postoperative periprosthetic fractures was significantly lower in the IT-treated cohort than in the PFNA-treated cohort (2.5% vs 7.9%). The postoperative HHS at the final follow-up was not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion IT might show a better outcome in managing osteoporotic AO/OTA 31-A2 IHFs in terms of periprosthetic fracture and reoperation compared with PFNA.


It has previously been assumed in the psycholinguistic literature that finite-state models of language are crucially limited in their explanatory power by the locality of the probability distribution and the narrow scope of information used by the model. We show that a simple computational model (a bigram part-of-speech tagger based on the design used by Corley and Crocker (2000)) makes correct predictions on processing difficulty observed in a wide range of empirical sentence processing data. We use two modes of evaluation: one that relies on comparison with a control sentence, paralleling practice in human studies; another that measures probability drop in the disambiguating region of the sentence. Both are surprisingly good indicators of the processing difficulty of garden-path sentences. The sentences tested are drawn from published sources and systematically explore five different types of ambiguity: previous studies have been narrower in scope and smaller in scale, We do not deny the limitations of finite-state models, but argue that our results show that their usefulness has been underestimated.


Objective: The purpose of this study is to find out the differences of clinical characteristics of endometriosis and to emphasize the significance of early diagnosis of endometriosis to protect disease progression in adolescents. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out. All cases (n=130) were diagnosed surgically as endometriosis between January 2000 and August 2007 in two university hospitals in Daegu. Adolescents were 23 cases and unmarried young women were 107 cases. Data were collected through review of medical records. Results: The predominant symptom in adolescents was cyclic pain. 52.2% of adolescent patients were stage I or II. And stage III was 47.8% but stage IV was none. The other side 82.2% of unmarried young women patients were stage II or III and stage IV was 15.8%. Serum CA-125 level was elevated in adolescnets, also. But there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Endometriosis is progressive disease. Early diagnosis is necessary for prevention of the disease progression and free from pain. Appropriate gynecologic examination and careful concerns about adolescents are mandatory. [Korean. J. Reprod. Med. 2007; 34(3): 167-172.]


Bandwidth limitations and fluctuations in traffic on the network become obstacles in the process of sending video. At the time of the availability of small bandwidth and high network traffic, the process of sending video will take a long time due to the operation of slow video transmission or more commonly called buffering. This study evaluates sending live streaming video using the Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) method on the LAN network. DASH is an adaptive streaming protocol that can present the video with video quality according to network capabilities on the client. This implementation is carried out using H.265 video compression and the streaming process is carried out on a LAN network with 20 live streaming clients. The results of this study obtained the value of video delivery throughput reaches 1.4 Mbps and the most significant delay value is 12.5 ms. The highest percentage of client requests for video quality for one client is 98%. As for the use of 20 clients, the demand for high-quality video is reduced to 46% which proves that DASH was successfully implemented live streaming.
Keywords: Video, Live, Streaming, H.265, DASH


Robust control allows policymakers to formulate policies that guard against model misspecification. The principal tools used to solve robust control problems are state-space methods (see Hansen and Sargent, 2005, and Giordani and Soderlind, 2004). In this paper we show that the structural-form methods developed by Dennis (2005a) to solve control problems with rational expectations can also be applied to robust control problems, with the advantage that they bypass the task, often onerous, of having to express the reference model in a state-space form. Interestingly, state-space and structural-form methods do not necessarily return the same equilibria for robust control problems. We apply both state-space and structural solution methods to an empirical New Keynesian business cycle model and find that the differences between the methods are both qualitatively and quantitatively important. In particular, with the structural-form solution methods the specification errors generally involve changes to the conditional variances in addition to the conditional means of the shock processes


infection by the Diplococcus pneumoniae rather than by other forms of organism. As might be expected, the treatment by antistreptococcic serum was without any appreciable result on the course of the illness. Though the temperature fell slightly after the injections, tlle pulse and respirations were not affected. The identification of the Diplococcus pneumoniae was only completed by the result of the inoculation experiments, and so came too late to modify the vigorous antistreptococcic treatment pursued.


In this thesis, polymerisation techniques or deposition methods have been developed permitting the creation of thin molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) films or patterns and their interfacing with transducer surfaces for biosensor applications. The creation of ultra thin films has been achieved using two different techniques, spin-coating and in-situ polymerization of thin films of monomers containing a sacrificial polymeric porogen, and autoassembly of MIP nanoparticles with the aid of an associative linear polymer. These films were then used in an optical sensor based on reflectometric interference spectroscopy. Reproducible results were obtained upon measurements on both types of films and concentrations of the target analyte atrazine in the lower ppm range were possible. We were also able to elucidate the pore-forming mechanism in the case of the spin-coated films. Patterning of surfaces with MIPs in the form of micro and nano dots were achieved by a novel deposition method using fountain pen nanolithography, a scanning probe microscopy technique able to create nanoscale patterns due to its high spatial precision. Fluorescein was chosen as model analyte which enabled direct fluorescent microscopic detection of the MIP dots. The fluorescence variations of the dots upon washing and rebinding steps clearly proved that the nanofountanin pen is a very promising technique to create nanobiomimetic structures on a surface. In order to specifically detect the molecular template or the target analyte in such small structures, Raman spectroscopy was chosen as the method of choice, as it was able to detect the weak signals obtained upon binding with these small structures. In addition, the high information content of the Raman signal often allows the binding molecule to be identified. A feasibility study was performed and Raman spectroscopy was used to detect the presence of a model template, S?propranolol, in MIP nanostructures, and to follow its extraction from and binding to the MIP. In environmental analytical chemistry, there is growing interest in using MIPs as synthetic receptors for the detection of endocrine disrupting compounds. We have done a comparative study with the biological estrogen receptor and with MIPs against estradiol and testosterone, to evaluate whether MIPs can be used not only for detection but also to screen new substances for a possible endocrine disrupting effect. The data revealed a certain similarity in the cross-reaction profiles between MIP and biological receptor, even if the high selectivity of the MIPs prevented certain endocrine disruptors from being detected. (Less)


SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies represent an important component of the ongoing search for effective treatment of and protection against COVID-19. We report here on the use of a naïve phage display antibody library to identify a panel of fully human SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Following functional profiling in vitro against an early pandemic isolate as well as a recently emerged isolate bearing the D614G Spike mutation, the clinical candidate antibody, STI-1499, and the affinity-engineered variant, STI-2020, were evaluated for in vivo efficacy in the Syrian golden hamster model of COVID-19. Both antibodies demonstrated potent protection against the pathogenic effects of the disease and a dose-dependent reduction of virus load in the lungs, reaching undetectable levels following a single dose of 500 micrograms of STI-2020. These data support continued development of these antibodies as therapeutics against COVID-19 and future use of this approach to address novel emerging pandemic disease threats.


A first-phase development of a mathematical theory for a new modeling schema that is termed hierarchical holographic modeling is presented. This theory will provide a methodology for capturing and dealing with a fundamental, but heretofore neglected, characteristic of large-scale systems-their multifarious nature. Truly large-scale systems reflect a bewildering variety of resources and capabilities and respond to an equally wide variety of objectives in response to the action of diverse users. Many elements involved in this congeries of resources, objectives, actions, etc., are noncommensurable and, at least potentially, conflicting. Realistic attempts at modeling have necessarily represented commensurable features of limited aspects of the overall systems leaving many difficult questions of a more comprehensive nature to be posed and solved heuristically or even subconsciously. The prospective application of hierarchical holographic modeling to energy and water resources systems is discussed.


BackgroundProphylactic indomethacin has been widely used as an effective intervention for reducing mortalities and morbidities in preterm infants including the cardiopulmonary and neurodevelopmental morbidities as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), but many studies have reported contraindicated outcomes of its significance. Therefore, we aim to systematically review and meta-analyze the data of prophylactic indomethacin on preterm infants. MethodsOur systematic search included the following databases: Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), Virtual health library (VHL), and the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE) to include studies that assessed the use of prophylactic indomethacin in preterm infants until August 12, 2020. ResultsThe final list of our included studies is comprised of 22 randomized trials and cohort studies. Our analysis of observational data showed that intubation in the delivery room/first day (74%), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (33.2%), and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (32.2%) were the most prevalent outcomes in infants that received prophylactic indomethacin. Among all the studies outcomes, the only significant favorable outcome was lowering the rate of PDA (P< 0.001) while no significance was recorded with BPD, pulmonary hemorrhage, neurodevelopmental delays (IVH), mortality, length of hospital stays, and time spent on ventilators outcomes (P = 0.106, 0.123, 0.460, 0.340, 0.625, and 0.732, respectively). Moreover, necrotizing enterocolitis was significantly increased when applying prophylactic indomethacin in these infants (P< 0.001). ConclusionThe use of prophylactic indomethacin in preterm infants should be generally discouraged due to its neutral effect on most of the mortality and morbidity outcomes and the significant occurrence of its adverse events despite the positive effect on ductal closure.


The study was on the extent and adoption determinants of floating tray technology by small holder tobacco farmers in Bindura District of Mashonaland province. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent of adoption, identify adoption determinants that influence farmer's decision to take up floating trays. The study aimed also to identify challenges and opportunities of the floating trays. Questionnaires, focus group discussion and observations were used to gather data. The enumerator had face to face interviews with the farmers and clarified areas were the farmers need clarity on issues in the questionnaire. The logit regression model was used to determine the factors that influence adoption decision. Descriptive statistics was also used to analyse the challenges and opportunities. The major challenges were identified as high costs of technology and lack of capital with reduced input costs as an opportunity. Factors that influence farmers' decision to adopt floating tray technology were identified and these include training, educational status and off-farm hours. Age, training and off-farm hours were found to have significant influence on the adoption decision. Results show that training of the household head has a significant impact as shown by the marginal effect of 0.041. Since tobacco seedling using floating tray system is too costly and requires too much capital to establish, the researcher's hypothesis that there are challenges and opportunities in using floating tray system was not rejected. Recommendations made were to advocate for intervention in the provision of low cost or subsidize the floating tray system for the small holder tobacco farmers to increase the adoption of floating tray system.


We present 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the Galactic supernova remnant G352.7−0.1. This remnant is peculiar for having a shell-like inner ring structure and an outer arc in radio observations. In our model, the supernova explosion producing the remnant occurs inside and near the border of a spherical cloud with a density higher than that of the surrounding interstellar medium. A blowout is produced when the remnant reaches the border of the cloud. We have then used the results of our hydrodynamical simulations to calculate synthetic synchrotron radio emission maps, as well as synthetic X-ray maps. For some combinations of the particle acceleration mechanism and the direction of the line of sight, our radio maps display the peculiar morphology of G352.7−0.1 and reproduce the correct relative sizes of the main observed features. At the same time, the calculated X-ray maps reproduce the centrally peaked morphology of the observations.


Extremophilic microorganisms are considered being very promising candidates for biotechnological production of various products including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). The aim of this work was to evaluate the PHA production potential of a novel PHA-producing thermophilic Gram-positive isolate Aneurinibacillus sp. H1. This organism was capable of efficient conversion of glycerol into poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), the homopolyester of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB). In flasks experiment, under optimal cultivation temperature of 45 °C, the P3HB content in biomass and P3HB titers reached 55.31% of cell dry mass and 2.03 g/L, respectively. Further, the isolate was capable of biosynthesis of PHA copolymers and terpolymers containing high molar fractions of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) and 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB). Especially 4HB contents in PHA were very high (up to 91 mol %) when 1,4-butanediol was used as a substrate. Based on these results, it can be stated that Aneurinibacillus sp. H1 is a very promising candidate for production of PHA with tailored material properties.


It is well-known that density estimation on the unit interval is asymptotically equivalent to a Gaussian white noise experiment, provided the densities have Holder smoothness larger than $1/2$ and are uniformly bounded away from zero. We derive matching lower and constructive upper bounds for the Le Cam deficiencies between these experiments, with explicit dependence on both the sample size and the size of the densities in the parameter space. As a consequence, we derive sharp conditions on how small the densities can be for asymptotic equivalence to hold. The related case of Poisson intensity estimation is also treated.


A camera contains a planar,rectangle photosensitive
sensor divided into square pixels and the RGB color is interpolated
in the pixel when light reflect off the object traverse
the camera lens and hit the sensor. All today's digital images
have gone through some kind of degradations and restorations
during acquisition,coding,transmission and processing steps. This
degradation and restoration disturb the original information
of image from different level. Normally, high resolution image
represents the original image better than the low resolution ones
since it contains more discriminative information. Down sampling
high resolution image gives the image are far more better quality
than the real low resolution ones since many processes are
playing a role in image formation procedure. For instance, the
viewing angle is much smaller when the image recorded at a
large distance, resulting geometric difference between the image
captured closeby. In this paper, a camera model is developed to
study and analyze the image formation procedure. Based on the
model, all the parameters are carefully estimated by computing
the minimal average difference in either spatial domain or
frequency domain. The experimental results showed that the
proposed method provide a valid but simple solution to narrow
down the difference between different resolution facial images
visually and numerically.


In this paper we propose a hybrid model of a neural oscillator, obtained by partially discretizing a well-known continuous model. Our construction points out that in this case the standard techniques, based on replacing sigmoids with step functions, is not satisfactory. Then, we study the hybrid model through both symbolic methods and approximation techniques. This last analysis, in particular, allows us to show the differences between the considered approximation approaches. Finally, we focus on approximations via e-semantics, proving how these can be computed in practice.


The natural history of KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC KP) carriage is unknown. We aimed to examine the duration of KPC KP carriage following hospital discharge and to study the risk factors for persistent carriage. A cohort of 125 KPC KP carriers was followed monthly for between 3 and 6 months after discharge from an acute-care hospital. Rectal swabs and data were collected at baseline and at each visit. KPC KP was detected by culture and direct blaKPC PCR. Acquisition time was regarded as the earliest date of KPC KP isolation. Resolution of carriage was defined as a negative KPC KP test in at least two consecutive samples. Analyses were separated for recent (<4 months) (REC, 75 patients) and remote (≥4 months) (REM, 50 patients) acquisition groups. Risk factors for persistent carriage were examined by survival analyses for the REC group and by prevalence methods for the REM group. The mean age of patients was 67.5 years and 49.6% were male. Forty-six (61%) patients in the REC group and 14 (28%) in the REM group were persistent carriers (p < 0.001). A significant risk factor for persistent carriage identified in both the REC and REM groups was the presence of any catheter (p < 0.05). Unique risk factor groups included long-term care facility (LTCF) residence (p < 0.01) and a low functional status as measured by the Barthel's index (p < 0.05) in the REC group and high Charlson's score in the REM group (p < 0.05). Out of the entire 100 patients who had at least one negative sample, only 65 remained negative on subsequent cultures. In conclusion, persistent carriage of KPC KP is associated with catheter use and a low functional status; it is more common in patients with recent acquisition and is related to LTCF stay. A single negative KPC KP test is insufficient to exclude persistent carriage.


Lawsuits related to defects in apartment buildings involve a range of legal issues, based on which the current subjective judgment system has been established. This study aims to organize the judgment system by stage of lawsuit from a legal perspective by reviewing the factors dealt with in precedent research. The main issues at hand include assignment of obligation, the day on which the computation of exclusion period begins and the day on which the defect repair is completed. The rationality of the current subjective judgment system could be determined by reviewing the recent cases. Based on the findings of the review, the following are suggestions for improvements and complements of the system. First, the process of assignment of obligation should be systemized, and the guarantee insurance system that provides a warranty deed should be improved as well. In addition, improvements and systemization should be made to clarify the responsibilities for any defect arising from the agreements that are not stipulated on the contract, computation of abatement rate of compensation and the system by which the responsibility for the defects is completed when residents acquire ownership from rental status


The tumor cells form an unoriented mass rather than a layered structure. Most of the cells have no ependymal specialization, such as cilia, microtubular, etc. Instead, they assume a primitive undifferentiated appearance with large nuclei and abundant free ribosomes. Occasionally, however, certain cells tend to form a ring around a narrow lumen-like space within the mass. Such spaces are virtually filled with microvilli and, occasionally, even cilia arising form the surrounding cells. Elaborate desmosomes decorate the apposing surfaces of such cells and basal bodies are presented within the cytoplasm. In addition, the tumor cells often display glial filaments, glycogen granules and microtubules, similar to the cells comprising astrocytomas. As is well known, astrocytomas and ependymomas are often found mixed in the same tumor.


Electronically scanned radars (ESCAN radars) are key system elements of ground based military systems being developed for air and missile defense against future threats including tactical ballistic missiles, high agile and low RCS targets like drones, ARMs, UAVs. The radar design is governed on the one hand by challenging requirements on ESCAN radar performance and on the other hand by strict limitations on weight and volume dictated by the need of high system mobility and transportability. First the paper discusses the important role of ESCAN radars within the architecture of mobile air defense systems. Secondly, key characteristics of ESCAN radars operating as primary sensor of an air defense system with a netted distributed architecture are addressed. Advanced ESCAN radars can meet the requirements of both multifunctional performance and high mobility, if advanced technology and innovative algorithms are applied.


We analyze data of the AMPTE/IRM spacecraft downstream of a supercritical, quasi-perpendicular bow shock with an upstream/ (ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure) greater than unity. The observed ion temperature anisotropy (Tpn > Tpl)) satisfies the mirror instability criterion, and the mirror growth rate is positive. We investigate the low-frequency magnetic fluctuations and find that several minutes downstream of the shock ramp the compressive mode dominates in two frequency intervals below the local proton gyrofrequency. Band-pass filtering of the two frequency ranges shows that the particle pressure and magnetic pressure vary in antiphase, as is typical for the mirror mode. In addition, we estimate the proton compressibility, that is, the ratio of the relative fluctuations of proton density and magnetic field, and the Alfv6n ratio, that is, the ratio of fluctuations of the bulk velocity and the Alfv6n velocity. Combining these results, we find strong indications for the existence of mirror waves in the region downstream of the bow shock. The observed spectrum of the mirror waves has a two-banded structure.


Affordability, accessibility, availability, and quality of healthcare services have always been a burning issue for the mankind. The issue of health care is always crucial for the governments and countries irrespective of their financial status. Continuous efforts are being made by policy makers, administrators, and researchers to provide quality health care to the people at the cost that they can afford. Developed countries have adopted many alternative tools and technologies to leverage the supply of good health care but quality and cost of health care are still big issues in these countries. Developing countries are far behind in adopting technology to reduce the cost and improve the quality of health care. Telemedicine has emerged as a new hope to remove the bottlenecks in the healthcare seeking. Developing countries have adopted telemedicine technology in a hurry without proper planning and strategy. Despite more than two decades of adapting telemedicine, developing countries have not achieved any significant success in reducing the cost of care or improving the access of care. This chapter has tried to explore the various barriers to the development of telemedicine in developing countries. Proper enlisting and detailing of these barriers will definitely help governments to understand the loopholes and bottlenecks in the implementation of telemedicine and help them to develop appropriate solution.


As a preprocessing method of data mining with SVM, feature selection can eliminate irrelevant or redundant attributes and increase the density of samples in feature spaces that can improve classification performance. In the field of financial time series pattern recognition, the study of feature selection has been receiving increasing attention. Different from other studies, this work use two new coefficients: neighborhood dependence (ND) and neighborhood decision error (NDEM) to measure the classification complexity as a method of feature selection. In the real example, we use ASH, ASNN, ND and NDEM to measure the classification complexity of technical indicators data set of Shanghai stock exchange (SSE). Then we take the reduced sets which selected by the above four coefficients as input data for SVM. Compared with the forecasting results of SVM for the other three coefficients, the SVM with NDEM reduced data set has higher classification accuracy.


This paper describes Mortar, a distributed stream processing platform for building very large queries across federated systems (enterprises, grids, datacenters, testbeds). Nodes in such systems can be queried for distributed debugging, application control and provisioning, anomaly detection, and measurement. We address the primary challenges of managing continuous queries that have thousands of wide-area sources that may periodically be down, disconnected, or overloaded, e.g., multiple data centers filled with cheap PCs, Internet testbeds such as Planetlab, or country-wide sensor installations.

Mortar presents a clean-slate design for best-effort in-network processing. For each query, it builds multiple, static overlays and leverages the union of overlay paths to provide resilient query installation and data routing. Further, a unique data management scheme mitigates the impact of clock skew on distributed stream processing, reducing result latency by a factor of 8, and allows users to specify custom in-network operators that transparently benefit from multipath routing. When compared to a contemporary distributed snapshot querying substrate, Mortar uses a fifth of the bandwidth while providing increased query resolution, responsiveness, and accuracy during failures.


This document summarizes interfaces that are instrumental for the interaction with Clouds, Containers, and High Performance Computing (HPC) systems to manage virtual clusters to support the NIST Big Data Reference Architecture (NBDRA). The REpresentational State Transfer (REST) paradigm is used to define these interfaces, allowing easy integration and adoption by a wide variety of frameworks. Big Data is a term used to describe extensive datasets, primarily in the characteristics of volume, variety, velocity, and/or variability. While opportunities exist with Big Data, the data characteristics can overwhelm traditional technical approaches, and the growth of data is outpacing scientific and technological advances in data analytics. To advance progress in Big Data, the NIST Big Data Public Working Group (NBD-PWG) is working to develop consensus on important fundamental concepts related to Big Data. The results are reported in the NIST Big Data Interoperability Framework (NBDIF) series of volumes. This volume, Volume 8, uses the work performed by the NBD-PWG to identify objects instrumental for the NIST Big Data Reference Architecture (NBDRA) which is introduced in the NBDIF: Volume 6, Reference Architecture.


Changes in technology made a paradigm shift in the banking industry. Technology itself created its world in the globe of human beings. Internet banking is a service that allows customers to perform a wide range of financial services through a bank's website. With the rapid diffusion of the Internet, web-based banking has become an alternative channel to provide banking services and products. Due to the deepness of technology in the service sector, there is a shift from the traditional service quality to electronic service quality (ESQ) in order to fit the Internet banking strategy. The aim of the paper is to rank and prioritize the Internet Banking Service Quality dimensions according to customer's relevant importance from both bank sectors namely, private and public banks using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model, which is a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions. AHP has been seen as a high potential decision support tool in banking industry.


Abstract : Before any nation can achieve hegemon status, it must have economic strength. Numerous authors note that a strong economic base is the seed from which all other sources of national power emerge and hence can be considered a type of national foundation. Martin Jaques, for example, states that military and political power rest on economic strength. 1 Economics forms the support base for national power, and major international power shifts typically emerge as a result of economic developments, not military power or political influence, as Paul Kennedy s research into several centuries of global power politics highlights: There is detectable a causal relationship between the shifts which have occurred over time in the general economic and productive balances and the position occupied by individual powers in the international system . . . economic shifts heralded the rise of new Great Powers which would one day have a decisive impact upon the military/territorial order. This is why the move in global productive balances toward the Pacific rim which has taken place over the past few decades cannot be of interest merely to economists alone.2 China continues to grow economically at what some consider an alarming rate.3 Meanwhile, the United States, struggling with budget woes and sequestration, remains the world s preeminent economic and military leader but in decline relative to China. The relationship between these two nations and the comparative power they possess may well lay the foundation for future global power shifts impacting not just China and the United States, but indeed the entire international community.4 However, while China is still expected to become extremely powerful, it may not rise to the level many expect due to three limiting factors: currency, exports, and demographics. These factors, along with mutual dependency between the two nations, have implications for US policy toward China.


Aims: To clarify vascular changes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) after photodynamic therapy (PDT). Methods: Thirty-one eyes underwent PDT with verteporfin and were followed every 3 months with indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) using confocal scanning ophthalmoscope and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for over 15 months and the findings recorded. Results: The mean follow-up period was 19.2 months. Regression of the polypoidal lesions were confirmed once in 29 eyes (94%) on ICGA and OCT. Some lesions recurred at the initial regions (n = 5 eyes), at different regions connected to the branching vascular network (n = 4 eyes), and at both regions (n = 1 eye) (mean 11.4 (SD 1.9) months) after initial PDT. The branching vascular network remained in all eyes and enlarged in 13 eyes (42%) at the final visit. The vascular features of residual branching vascular networks changed (n = 7 eyes); fibrinous subretinal exudation developed (n = 4 eyes), and the retinal pigment epithelium was elevated similar to vascularised pigment epithelial detachment (n = 3 eyes). Conclusion: Polypoidal lesions of PCV are treatable with PDT; however, they often recur. The branching vascular networks do not regress and allow the recurrence of polypoidal lesions at the network termini. Alterations of the vascular features may occur; careful observation is needed after PDT.


The accurate body composition assessment comprises several variables, causing it to be a time consuming evaluation as well as requiring different and sometimes costly measurement instruments. The aim of this study was to develop new equations for the somatotype prediction, reducing the number of normal measurements required by the Heath and Carter approach. A group of 173 male soccer players (age, 13.6 ± 2.2 years, mean ± standard deviation; body mass index, BMI, 19.9 ± 2.5 kg/m2), members of the academy of a professional Italian soccer team participating in the first division (Serie A), participated in this study. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was performed using the single frequency of 50 kHz and fat-free mass (FFM) was calculated using a BIA specific, impedance based equation. Somatotype components were estimated according to the Heath-Carter method. The participants were randomly split into development (n = 117) and validation groups (n = 56). New anthropometric and BIA based models were developed (endomorphy = −1.953 − 0.011 × stature2/resistance + 0.135 × BMI + 0.232 × triceps skinfold, R2 = 0.86, SEE = 0.28; mesomorphy = 6.848 + 0.138 × phase angle + 0.232 × contracted arm circumference + 0.166 × calf circumference − 0.093 × stature, R2 = 0.87, SEE = 0.40; ectomorphy = −5.592 − 38.237 × FFM/stature + 0.123 × stature, R2 = 0.86, SEE = 0.37). Cross validation revealed R2 of 0.84, 0.80, and 0.87 for endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy, respectively. The new proposed equations allow for the integration of the somatotype assessment into BIA, reducing the number of collected measurements, the instruments used, and the time normally required to obtain a complete body composition analysis.


Unlike other aspects of the American health experience, there is a current void of information on expensive illness experiences. This paper is designed to fill this void and prrsents an analysis of the incidence and cost of catastrophic illness in the United States. Catastrophic illness is defined as an illness episode for which a person incurs $5,000 or more of medical expenses in a calendar year. This information is used to provide a framework for focusing the debate about catastrophic and national health insurance.


Abstract Rainwater management is one of the important problems of cities. At very strong downpours, storm sewer systems may not capture the rainwater, which floods pavements and roadways. The water flushes fuel and oil traces after vehicles, fallen debris, and other pollutants, which will be moved to the ground, ponds, rivers, seas, etc. In past, the problems were solved using engineering approaches – a set of rainwater receivers, a duct network, and at best, wastewater treatment plants. Now, the sponge city concept is a better solution that uses a biotechnological way for throttling water flows, drainage, and purifying them. The work aims to improve the design of roads to fully absorb rainwater from them with maximum convenience for road users. We propose a design of roads using special "green structures" – rain-garden bands along the sides of roadways. We tested its ability of water capturing on the example of Kyiv city by matching the ability with the strongest precipitation observed. In addition, the proposed plants can extinguish the energy of bouncing cars during road accidents for the protection of pavements.


INTRODUCTION
Electronic cigarettes (EC) have the potential to generate a substantial public health benefit if there is a switch from smoking to EC use on a population scale. The nicotine delivery from EC is likely to play a major role in their attractiveness to smokers. We assessed nicotine delivery from a first-generation EC and the effect of experience with its use on nicotine intake.

METHODS
Six smokers provided pharmacokinetic (PK) data after their first use of EC and again following 4 weeks of use.

RESULTS
The peak nicotine levels were achieved within 5 min of starting the EC use, which suggests that EC may provide nicotine via pulmonary absorption. There were large individual differences in nicotine intake. Compared with the PK profile when using EC for the first time, 4 weeks of practice generated a 24% increase in the peak plasma concentrations (from 4.6 to 5.7 ng/ml; nonsignificant) and a 79% increase in overall nicotine intake (AUC(0 → inf) increased from 115 to 206 ng*min/ml; p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
First-generation EC provide faster nicotine absorption than nicotine replacement products, but to compete successfully with conventional cigarettes, EC may need to provide higher doses of nicotine. Nicotine intake from EC can increase with practice, but further studies are needed to confirm this effect.


Uterine adenosarcomas (UAs) are biphasic lesions composed of a malignant mesenchymal (ie stromal) component and an epithelial component. UAs are generally low‐grade and have a favourable prognosis, but may display sarcomatous overgrowth (SO), which is associated with a worse outcome. We hypothesized that, akin to breast fibroepithelial lesions, UAs are mesenchymal neoplasms in which clonal somatic genetic alterations are restricted to the mesenchymal component. To characterize the somatic genetic alterations in UAs and to test this hypothesis, we subjected 20 UAs to a combination of whole‐exome (n = 6), targeted capture (n = 13) massively parallel sequencing (MPS) and/or RNA sequencing (n = 6). Only three genes, FGFR2, KMT2C and DICER1, were recurrently mutated, all in 2/19 cases; however, 26% (5/19) and 21% (4/19) of UAs harboured MDM2/CDK4/HMGA2 and TERT gene amplification, respectively, and two cases harboured fusion genes involving NCOA family members. Using a combination of laser‐capture microdissection and in situ techniques, we demonstrated that the somatic genetic alterations detected by MPS were restricted to the mesenchymal component. Furthermore, mitochondrial DNA sequencing of microdissected samples revealed that epithelial and mesenchymal components of UAs were clonally unrelated. In conclusion, here we provide evidence that UAs are genetically heterogeneous lesions and mesenchymal neoplasms. Copyright © 2015 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The intention of this study was to investigate the effect of steaming processing on phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities in chestnuts. Steaming processing at different times and temperatures depicted diverse impacts on free and bound fractions. Though, bound phenolics were stable but long time steaming at higher temperatures tended to improve the levels of phenolics, flavonoids as well as antioxidant activities in chestnut kernels, by up to 60.11% of the original value. Seven phenolic compounds including ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, vanillic acid, syringate, p-coumaric acid and quercetin were found to change during thermal processes. Significant relationships (p < 0.05) were identified between total phenolics and total antioxidant activities. However, the consistency of chlorogenic acid (p < 0.01) only with cellular antioxidant activity indicated poor bio-accessibility of the phytochemicals in chestnuts. However, this situation could be partly improved by steaming. Steaming could improve the cellular accessibility of free phytochemicals, particularly, increasing the bio-accessibility by 41.96%. This study provided valuable information on dynamic changes of phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of chestnuts under a steaming process, which could offer possible guidance for the chestnut processing industry in the future.


Interleukin I receptor associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) is a downstream signal molecule of activated MyD88 recruitment, which can activate Fas associated death domain protein (FADD) to induce apoptosis. IRAK1 can also activate tumor necrosis factor-related factor 6 (TRAF6) and induce the expression of a series of downstream specific genes. IRAK1 is an essential factor in the induction of mitochondrial division and necroptosis. In the current study, RNAi technique was used to silence IRAK1, and the apoptosis and necroptosis rate of SK-Hep1 cells were detected by flow cytometry. The apoptosis and the necroptosis pathway of hepatoma SK-Hep1 cells were blocked separately, and the expressions of FADD, RIP1 and TRAF6 genes were silenced separately. The results showed when the expression of IRAK1 was down-regulated, the apoptosis and necroptosis rate of SK-Hep1 cells were significantly increased. With silenced FADD, RIP1 and TRAF6, respectively, the expression of IRAK1 protein had no significant change. However, the expression of IRAK1 mRNA decreased significantly (p < 0.01) after the silencing of RIP1 and TRAF6 genes, while the IRAK1 mRNA did not change significantly after the silencing of FADD genes; when z-VAD-FMK was interfered, the expression of IRAK1 mRNA decreased significantly after the silencing of TRAF6 genes, while the IRAK1 mRNA did not change significantly after the silencing of FADD and RIP1genes. The study shows that RAK1 gene inhibits apoptosis and necroptosis in SK-Hep1 cells. TRAF6 gene affected the role of IRAK1 in apoptosis and necroptosis, RIP1 gene affected the role of IRAK1 in apoptosis, while FADD gene did not affect the role of IRAK1 in apoptosis and necroptosis.


The FIR neural network model and its temporal backpropagation algorithm are introduced in this paper. Due to its time-delay dynamic characteristics, it is fit well to be applied to model identification of the time-delay nonlinear system. Model identification has been completed successfully on actual datasets of 6 stands tandem hot mill with FIR neural network, and the results show its good characteristics.


Persistence of inflammatory cells in the microcirculation due to altered proportions of arachidonate metabolites could contribute to death from endotoxin (ET) shock. We tested this hypothesis by observing ET-induced cellular accumulations in capillaries of genetically resistant C3H/HeJ and sensitive C3HeB/FeJ mice after challenge with 1,000 micrograms of Salmonella typhi ET, a dose lethal only for the sensitive strain. These data were correlated with prostaglandin production by lung tissue. Six hours after challenge with ET, lung capillaries of sensitive animals were occluded with amorphous material and occasional polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). This inflammation, along with reduction in alveolar volume, was not observed in resistant mice. At this time only 10 PMNL/high-power field were seen with light microscopy in capillaries of resistant mice compared to 60 PMNL/high-power field in sensitive animals. Lung parenchymal tissue was excised from resistant and sensitive (C3H/HeN) mice six hours postchallenge with 800 micrograms of endotoxin and release in vitro of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) or prostacyclin (PGI2) over a 30-minute period was determined by radioimmunoassay. TXA2 and PGI2 released by lung fragments taken six hours after challenge with ET did not differ from normal levels of these substances in C3H/HeN mice. TXA2 release was normal at six hours in C3H/HeJ mice, but PGI2 was significantly increased (from 2.95 ng/mg to 5.73 ng/mg, P less than 0.005). The ratio of PGI2/TXA2 in resistant mice was 24.3 as compared to 10.3 in sensitive mice. Since PGI2 can reduce leukocyte adhesion, an increase in the ratio of this substance to TXA2 may be associated with resolution of PMNL from the pulmonary microcirculation of ET-resistant mice.


Background: Currently, due to the high prevalence of overweight, obesity and modernization of life, walking on a treadmill is welcomed instead of walking on the ground. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of treadmill and ground walking, on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage among inactive overweight women. Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 30 healthy, inactive, and overweight women volunteered to take part in this study. After performing a pre-test, the participants were randomly allocated into three equal groups (n=10): walking on a treadmill, walking on the ground, and control. The walking training program was performed three sessions per week for eight weeks with 60% to 85% of heart rate reserve. Before and after eight weeks, the VO2max was assessed by the Queen's step test, BMI by dividing weight (kg) by the square of height and the body fat percentage was determined by measuring subcutaneous fat in three points with Skinfold calipers. Results: The results showed a significant decrease in BMI in the two groups of walking on the treadmill and ground. Moreover, there was a significant difference in VO2max among the three groups. However, there was no significant difference in BMI and body fat percentage among the three groups. Conclusion: Since walking on the ground can improve VO2max, it can be more helpful to prevent obesity than walking on a treadmill.


Myocardial infarction leads to structural remodeling of the myocardium, in particular to the loss of cardiomyocytes due to necrosis and an increase in collagen with scar formation. Stem cell regenerative treatments have been shown to alter this remodeling process, resulting in improved cardiac function. As healthy myocardial tissue is highly fibrous and anisotropic, it exhibits optical linear birefringence due to the different refractive indices parallel and perpendicular to the fibers. Accordingly, changes in myocardial structure associated with infarction and treatment-induced remodeling will alter the anisotropy exhibited by the tissue. Polarization-based linear birefringence is measured on the myocardium of adult rat hearts after myocardial infarction and compared with hearts that had received mesenchymal stem cell treatment. Both point measurement and imaging data show a decrease in birefringence in the region of infarction, with a partial rebound back toward the healthy values following regenerative treatment with stem cells. These results demonstrate the ability of optical polarimetry to characterize the micro-organizational state of the myocardium via its measured anisotropy, and the potential of this approach for monitoring regenerative treatments of myocardial infarction.


Quark-hadron continuity is a scenario in which hadronic matter is continuously connected to a color superconductor without phase transitions as the baryon chemical potential increases. This scenario is based on Landau's classification of phases, since they have the same symmetry breaking pattern. We address the question of whether this continuity is true as quantum phases of matter, which requires treatment beyond the Ginzburg-Landau description. To examine the topological nature of a color superconductor, we derive a dual effective theory for U(1) Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons and vortices of the color-flavor locked phase and discuss the fate of emergent higher-form symmetries. The theory has the form of a topological BF theory coupled to NG bosons, and fractional statistics of test quarks and vortices arise as a result of an emergent Z_{3} two-form symmetry. We find that this symmetry cannot be spontaneously broken, indicating that quark-hadron continuity is still a consistent scenario.


Most cases of urethritis can be readily treated using recommended regimens. The most important causes of urethritis are Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and initial treatment is directed at them. Optimal management requires obtaining a thorough sexual history, evaluation for objective clinical and laboratory evidence of infection, antimicrobial therapy directed towards the major aetiologies, and evaluation and treatment of sexual partners. Treatment of gonorrhoea requires a single-dose regimen active against N. gonorrhoeae, plus a regimen active against C. trachomatis and nongonococcal urethritis. The usually recommended treatment for N. gonorrhoeae is a single dose of ceftriaxone 250mg intramuscularly, but there are many alternatives, including oral ones. Only in very restricted geographical areas and under restricted situations are penicillins still reliable against N. gonorrhoeae. Recommended optimal treatment of C. trachomatis or nongonococcal urethritis currently requires 7 days' treatment with a tetracycline. Some guidelines now propose ofloxacin 300 mg orally twice daily for 7 days as an equivalent alternative, and there are very promising data with a single dose therapy with azithromycin, a long-acting macrolide antimicrobial. Using recommended regimens, microbiological failure is infrequent in compliant patients. Recurrent urethritis is, however, frequent. For patients who receive recommended treatment and do well, no follow-up cultures are needed. Patients with persistent or recurrent symptoms require careful re-evaluation of the patient, documentation of urethritis, and retreatment with antimicrobial agents a second time if urethritis is documented by positive cultures or increased numbers of polymorphonuclear leucocytes in urethral secretions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)