Understanding the cross-species behavior of cancer is important for uncovering fundamental mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and for translating results of model systems between species. One of the most famous interspecific considerations of cancer is Peto's paradox, which asserts that organisms with vastly different body mass are expected to have a vastly different degree of cancer risk, a pattern that is not observed empirically. Here we show that this observation is not a paradox at all but follows naturally from the interspecific scaling of metabolic rates across mammalian body size. We connect metabolic allometry to evolutionary models of cancer development in tissues to show that waiting time to cancer scales with body mass in a similar way as normal organism lifespan does. Thus, the expectation across mammals is that lifetime cancer risk is invariant with body mass. Peto's observation is therefore not a paradox, but the natural expectation from interspecific scaling of metabolism and physiology. These allometric patterns have theoretical implications for understanding life span evolution, and practical implications for using smaller animals as model systems for human cancer.


ABSTRACT The degradation of the chemotherapeutic drug cyclophosphamide in artificial urine was evaluated by Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes (EAOP). The system consisted of an electrochemical flow reactor with a commercial DSA® electrode (nominal composition Ti / Ru0,3Ti0,7O2) and Ti-mesh cathode. In order to assess the best parameters, the effect of current density, time and flow rate were analyzed using an initial 23 factorial design. The chosen response variable was the energy efficiency to produce free chlorine species (HClO/ClO−). After obtaining the most significant factors, the Central Composite Design (CCD) was performed, where the optimum conditions were determined for the current density range (11.714 mA cm−2 and 66.57 mA cm−2), flow rate (31.33 mL min−1) and time range (19 and 37 min). Under an optimized condition, the efficiency of other combined methods (photo-assisted electrochemical, photochemical, sonoelectrochemical and photo-assisted sonoelectrochemical) was evaluated. The efficiency of degradation processes was determined by removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), creatinine and urea. Analysis by HPLC demonstrates that the cyclophosphamide was substantially removed during the treatment process of ∼77%. Based on these results, it can be observed that the coupling between electrochemical and photochemical processes is a promising alternative for the treatment of this effluent, as a marked reduction of organic matter is observed (63, 94% of creatinine, 29.62% of urea, 39.1% of TOC) and a low treatment cost ratio. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Structural Health Information (SHI) can be collected from two different types of data sources. They are the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) and the historian systems. CMMS contains information about maintenance operations, such as work orders and spare parts stock. Historian contains real time and historical operational data, such as time series obtained from sensors. Collecting, identifying, accessing, cleaning, enhancing, fusing, and analyzing this data is a challenge for large organizations like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Maintenance data do exist, but it may not be organized or accessed easily as they are managed by various entities of the organization. To develop a complete structural health monitoring (SHM) solution, both data sources should be used. This paper proposes a process for the maintenance data only, converting them into valuable information for the maintenance strategy, investment decisions and the optimization of asset's lifecycle performance. Statistical methods and stochastic processes are utilized based on the data type (e.g. inspection, repair, replacement) and the overall process is demonstrated with an example from a river navigation lock.


This paper proposes an architecture for dynamic decentralized marketplace for trading of Internet of Things data. To this end, we introduce a 3-tier framework which consists of provider, consumer and broker. The framework is realized using multiple trustless broker which matches and selects potential data provider based on the consumers requirements. Rather than using a centralized server to manage the contract between provider and consumer, the framework leverages smart contract-based agreement for automatically enforcing the terms of the contract to the involved parties.


Acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) is broadly accepted to be a major global environmental problem facing the mining industry, requiring expensive management and mitigation. A series of laboratory-scale kinetic leach column (KLC) experiments, using both synthetic and natural mine wastes, were carried out to test the efficacy of our pyrite passivation strategy (developed from previous research) for robust and sustainable AMD management. For the synthetic waste KLC tests, initial treatment with lime-saturated water was found to be of paramount importance for maintaining long-term circum-neutral pH, favourable for the formation and preservation of the pyrite surface passivating layer and reduced acid generation rate. Following the initial lime-saturated water treatment, minimal additional alkalinity (calcite-saturated water) was required to maintain circum-neutral pH for the maintenance of pyrite surface passivation. KLC tests examining natural potentially acid forming (PAF) waste, with much greater peak acidity than that of the synthetic waste, blended with lime (≈2 wt %) with and without natural non-acid-forming (NAF) waste covers, were carried out. The addition of lime and use of NAF covers maintained circum-neutral leachate pH up to 24 weeks. During this time, the net acidity generated was found to be significantly reduced by the overlying NAF cover. If the reduced rate of acidity production from the natural PAF waste is sustained, the addition of smaller (more economically-feasible) amounts of lime, together with application of NAF wastes as covers, could be trialled as a potential cost-effective AMD mitigation strategy.


There are two kinds of escalation between parents and children with acute discipline problems: (a) complementary escalation, in which parental giving-in leads to a progressive increase in the child's demands, and (b) reciprocal escalation, in which hostility begets hostility. Extant programs for helping parents deal with children with such problems focus mainly on one kind of escalation to the neglect of the other. The systematic use of Gandhi's principle of "nonviolent resistance" allows for a parental attitude that counters both kinds of escalation. An intervention is described, which allows parents to put this principle into practice.


We give an explicit construction of the scaling limit of the minimum spanning tree of the complete graph. The limit object is described using a recursive construction involving the convex minorants of a Brownian motion with parabolic drift (and countably many i.i.d. uniform random variables); we call it the Brownian parabolic tree. Aside from the new representation, this point of view has multiple consequences. For instance, it permits us to prove that its Hausdorff dimension is almost surely 3. It also intrinsically contains information related to some underlying dynamics: one notable by-product is the construction of a standard metric multiplicative coalescent which couples the scaling limits of random graphs at different points of the critical window in terms of the same simple building blocks. The above results actually fit in a more general framework. They result from the introduction of a new family of continuum random trees associated with functions via their convex minorants, that we call convex minorant trees. We initiate the study of these structures in the case of Brownian-like paths. In passing, we prove that the convex minorant tree of a Brownian excursion is a Brownian continuum ranndom tree, and that it provides a coupling between the Aldous--Pitman fragmentation of the Brownian continuum random tree and its representation by Bertoin.


OBJECTIVES
To provide an overview and draw lessons from the establishment of a local oral health promotion programme for preschool children in Leicester, England (2013-2017). The article provides information on the strategic approach taken in Leicester, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in England, and also one of the most deprived. Over a third of children aged 3 years, and half of those aged 5 years, have experience of obvious dental decay.

METHODS
A description of the evolution and development of the programme is provided along with commentary by the authors. This includes the origins, design and evaluation of the programme.

RESULTS
Progress so far has been promising. There has been a statistically significant 8% decrease in the proportion of 5-year-old children in Leicester with dental decay from 2011/2012 to 2014/2015. This will need to be sustained and further developed to deliver the 10% reduction required within the strategy.

CONCLUSIONS
The successful implementation of a local oral health improvement programme in Leicester has required leadership to coordinate a multiagency partnership approach to embedding effective concepts and realising opportunities collaboratively. However, longer term sustainability remains a concern.


Differential heating applied at a single horizontal boundary forces 'horizontal convection', even when there is no net heat flux through the boundary. However, almost all studies of horizontal convection have been limited to a special class of problem in which temperature or heat flux differences were applied in only one direction and over the horizontal length of a box (the Rossby problem; Rossby, Deep-Sea Res., vol. 12, 1965, pp. 9–16). These conditions strongly constrain the flow. Here we report laboratory experiments and direct numerical simulations (DNS) extending the results of Griffiths & Gayen (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 115, 2015, 204301) for horizontal convection forced by boundary conditions imposed in a two-dimensional periodic array at a horizontal boundary. The experiments use saline and freshwater fluxes at a permeable base with the imposed boundary salinity having a horizontal length scale one quarter of the width of the box. The flow reaches a state in which the net boundary buoyancy flux vanishes and the bulk of the fluid shows an inertial range of turbulence length scales. A regime transition is seen for increasing water depth, from an array of individual coherent plumes on the forcing scale to convection dominated by emergent larger scales of overturning. The DNS explore the analogous thermally forced case with sinusoidal boundary temperature of wavenumber $n=4$ , and are used to examine the Rayleigh number ( $Ra$ ) dependence for shallow- and deep-water cases. For shallow water the flow transitions with increasing $Ra$ from laminar to turbulent boundary layer regimes that are familiar from the Rossby problem and which have normalised heat transport scaling as $Nu\sim Ra^{1/5}$ and $Nu\sim (Ra\,Pr)^{1/5}$ , with $Nu$ the Nusselt number and $Pr$ the Prandtl number, in this case maintaining a stable array of coherent turbulent plumes. For deep-water and large $Ra$ the laminar scaling transitions to $Nu\sim (Ra\,Pr)^{1/4}$ , with the scales of turbulence extending to the dimensions of the box. The $1/4$ power law regime is explained in terms of the momentum of symmetric, inviscid large scales of motion in the interior coupled to diffusive loss of heat through stabilised parts of the boundary layer. The turbulence production is predominantly by shear instability rather than convection, with viscous dissipation distributed throughout the bulk of the fluid. These conditions are not seen in the highly asymmetric flow in the Rossby problem even at Rayleigh numbers up to six orders of magnitude greater than the transition found here. The new inertial interior regime has the rate of supply of available potential energy, and its removal by mixing of density, increasing as $Ra^{5/4}$ , which is faster than $Ra^{6/5}$ in the Rossby problem. Irreversible mixing is confined close to the forcing boundary and is very much larger than the viscous dissipation, which is proportional to $Ra$ .


The combination of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is regarded as one of the most promising solutions for improving spectrum efficiency and enhancing data rate for next-generation wireless communication systems. However, the applications of these advanced physical-layer techniques also impose great challenges on upper layer protocol designs. In this paper, a cross-layer approach was proposed to exploring the utility of the joint design of multiuser MIMO-OFDM technique and power-saving MAC protocol. Specifically, a novel MIMO-OFDM transceiver architecture and an improved power-saving MAC protocol (namely, PSM-MIMO/OFDM) are proposed. In the proposed downlink transceiver architecture, by processing the data according to the channel state, the access point (AP) makes the data for one user appear as zero at the other user on each subcarrier such that it can send distinct packets to two users simultaneously. In the dual uplink, two users can concurrently transmit data to the AP without co-channel interference by uplink-downlink duality. The key ideas of PSM-MIMO/OFDM can be summarized as follows. A similar timing structure was employed to IEEE 802.11 power-saving mechanism (PSM). By utilizing ATIM (ad-hoc traffic indication message) window, negotiations are conducted between the AP and multiple candidate users via ATIM messages to achieve multiuser diversity gains. At the end of ATIM window, the AP sends an additional beacon to indicate the estimated time duration for data exchange with the measurement result of the number of active links which have been successfully negotiated during ATIM window. The length of a beacon interval is adjustable to satisfy the requirements of active links to the maximum extent. During the data exchange, the AP always communicates with two compatible users simultaneously both in the downlink and uplink, which effectively creates extra dimensions in the spatial domain. Extensive simulations have been conducted and the results demonstrate that the new protocol significantly outperforms other power-saving MAC protocols with only minimum additional overhead and minor modifications to the IEEE 802.11 PSM.


Relevant to maximizing oil recovery, water injection is implemented for reservoir pressure maintenance and to maximize oil sweeping. The water injection involves both surface and subsurface matters. Since the objective is reservoir pressure maintenance and oil sweeping efficiency improvement, the subsurface domain includes reservoir engineering, geology and geophysics as well as the production technology. For surface operations, the water injection operation includes water injection source, water plant operations and water injection infrastructure. Water injection bottle neck and water quality issue may occur and damage the water injection efficiency. An idea of molecule to molecule (M2M) water injection performance review is raised to conduct a comprehensive and collaborative water injection review that involving many and outreach parties such as reservoir engineers, geologists, geophysicists, operation engineers, production chemists, production technologists, maintenance engineers, production planners and process engineers. The opportunity to include technical providers, partner representatives and host government representatives is taken in order to allow an effective discussion and quicken the maturing of relevant solution proposals. Comprehensive end to end review from the point of water source up to the point of producer is done to identify problem at each point, threats and improvement opportunities at every single node within the whole chain. With the M2M, water injection performance review has effectively provided an effective collaborative working environment as well as a learning avenue for young professionals that are involved in water injection matters. Many action items are resulted from the exercise and they are having high impact including safeguarding potential cost of USD 10 million per year for the water injection plant and infrastructure operations. In the short run, no disturbances for oil production and in the long run, the oil recovery can be maximized. Due to some limitation, this paper discusses only the surface water injection operations.


Telemedicine enables exchange of medical information from one location to another using electronic communication, which is proposed to improve patient health status. In US. Published record of telemedicine was in the first half if the 20 th century where ECG was transmitted over telephone. National Telemedicine Taskforce by the Health Ministry of India, in 2005, paved way for the success of various projects like the ICMR-arogyasree. 1 Telemedicine helps family physicians by giving them easy access to specialty doctors and helping them in close monitoring of patients. Indian Medical Association is training doctors adequately to use telemedicine to provide apt benefit to patients and protect themselves and their patients during Covid era. © 2020 Published by Innovative Publication. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)


Small Outline Transistor (SOT) package is a small, inexpensive, surface mount plastic-molded package, commonly used in consumer electronics. During the process of SOT packaging, the contamination is occasionally found on some SOT leads, which prevents the soldering in the assembly process. In this paper, an integrated failure analysis to solve the contamination problem is present. The surface topography and the elemental composition of the contaminant are examined by optical microscopy, SEM/EDX techniques. The structures of the organic contaminants are characterized by FTIR. After a careful analysis on the materials used in each step of packaging process and an absorption spectrum comparison with the contaminants, the possible source of the contamination is determined. To recur the contamination, a series simulation experiments were conducted and the produced substances on the lead surface were compared with the original contaminant. Infrared analysis results show that the structure of the new compounds from simulation experiments is similar to that of the original organic contaminant. The organic contamination is caused by the unexpected chemical deposition of the softening fluids with electroplating fluid on the lead frame surface, which left on the packaged chip lead surface in electroplating flow. The contamination could be eliminated by regulating the packaging processes and related parameters and conditions.


This study was conducted at Kurasini National Children home. The main objective of the study was to assess childcare workers' strength in providing child care and support to Vulnerable children in Tanzania. The specific objectives of the study were: to examine competences necessary for childcare workers; to assess the quality of child care services provided to children and to identify challenges experienced by childcare workers. The study was guided by the empowerment and attachment theories. Qualitative research design was used and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, observation and documentary review were used for collection of data which was thematically analyzed. A purposive sampling technique was used to obtain respondents. A sample of 30 children and 20 officials from childcare workers, social welfare officers and human right staff were selected, making a total sample of 50 participants. Study findings were analyzed and presented using a computer package known as SPSS version 20. The study revealed care workers' strength is weakened by their educational and training background, inadequate job orientations, inadequate supervisory leadership, organizational and management skills, lack of contractual framework between council welfare officers and childcare workers and inadequate resources. In view of the study findings it was concluded that the government and stakeholders were not adequately allocating resources for childcare workers' capacity strengthening and facilitation of child care interventions. The study therefore, recommends for the government, training institutions and stakeholders to adequately strengthen the capacity of childcare workers and to timely provide sufficient resources to facilitate the provision of quality child care services to the vulnerable children.


We aimed to explore the accuracy of 99mTc SPECT/MRI fusion for the selective assessment of nonenlarged sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) for diagnosing metastases in early-stage cervical cancer patients. Methods: We consecutively included stage IA1–IIB1 cervical cancer patients who presented to our tertiary referral center between March 2011 and February 2015. Patients with enlarged lymph nodes (short axis $ 10 mm) on MRI were excluded. Patients underwent an SLN procedure with preoperative 99mTc-nanocolloid SPECT/CT-based SLN mapping. When fused datasets of the SPECT and MR images were created, SLNs could be identified on the MR image with accurate correlation to the histologic result of each individual SLN. An experienced radiologist, masked to histology, retrospectively reviewed all fused SPECT/MR images and scored morphologic SLN parameters on a standardized case report form. Logistic regression and receiver-operating curves were used to model the parameters against the SLN status. Results: In 75 cases, 136 SLNs were eligible for analysis, of which 13 (9.6%) contained metastases (8 cases). Three parameters—short-axis diameter, long-axis diameter, and absence of sharp demarcation—significantly predicted metastatic invasion of nonenlarged SLNs, with quality-adjusted odds ratios of 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.99), 1.28 (95% CI, 1.03–1.57), and 7.55 (95% CI, 1.09–52.28), respectively. The area under the curve of the receiveroperating curves combining these parameters was 0.749 (95% CI, 0.569–0.930). Heterogeneous gadolinium enhancement, cortical thickness, round shape, or SLN size, compared with the nearest non-SLN, showed no association with metastases (P5 0.055–0.795). Conclusion: In cervical cancer patients without enlarged lymph nodes, selective evaluation of only the SLNs—for size and absence of sharp demarcation— can be used to noninvasively assess the presence of metastases.


This paper deals with nonlinear predictive control based on higher order Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems which can also be interpreted as generalized radial basis function networks. We investigate how the fuzzy models can be linked to a special type of model based predictive control algorithm, namely the dynamic matrix control (DMC). Previously, purely linear step response models were used for long-range prediction. Here, the method is extended to nonlinear processes. Therefore, various step responses for different operating points are extracted from the fuzzy model. For performance evaluation, a heat exchanger is identified by means of the local linear model tree algorithm and controlled by the modified DMC.


Hoffman syndrome is characterized by pseudohypertrophy of muscles, muscle's weakness & stiffness complicating hypothyroidism. We describe the disorder in a 45 years old female admitted with complaints of myalgia, proximal muscle weakness & calf muscle hypertrophy since 11 months. Thyroid function tests, marked elevation of muscle enzyme, electromyogram & muscle biopsy established the diagnosis of thyroid myopathy with Hoffman's syndrome. Therapy with levothyroxine resulted in marked clinical & biochemical improvements.


We propose a simple model of supersymmetric dark matter that can explain recent results from PAMELA and ATIC experiments. It is based on a U(1){sub B-L} extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. The dark matter particle is a linear combination of the U(1){sub B-L} gaugino and Higgsino partners of Higgs fields that break the B-L around 1 TeV. The dominant mode of dark matter annihilation is to the lightest of the new Higgs fields, which has a mass in the GeV range, and its subsequent decay mainly produces taus or muons by the virtue of B-L charges. This light Higgs also results in Sommerfeld enhancement of the dark matter annihilation cross section, which can be > or approx. 10{sup 3}. For a dark matter mass in the 1-2 TeV range, the model provides a good fit to the PAMELA data and a reasonable fit to the ATIC data. We also briefly discuss the prospects of this model for direct detection experiments and the LHC.


The beginning of nursing research is attributed to Florence Nightingale whose research during the Crimean War in the 1850s ultimately shaped health care, including nursing practice. Modern research, like clinical care, is influenced by technological, societal, organisational and environmental changes. However, 'nursing research' is a simple term that may not encompass complex inter-related concepts and practices and various research methods: quantitative, qualitative, implementation science, evaluation and audit. All research methods follow a similar basic 'research process,' but the way the process is applied and rigor is demonstrated differs among the methods. All nurses must engage in research on some level, given they practice in a climate of evidence-based care and are expected to adhere to evidence-based protocols and guidelines. In addition, they need to be able to implement evidence-based best practice and use clinical judgement to treat each person as an individual.


Dysmenorrhoea is the term used to describe painful menstrual cramps, and is the most commonly encountered gynaecological disorder. It affects more than 50% of women of reproductive age, of which 10% to 12% experience severe dysmenorrhoea that interferes with their daily lives by incapacitating them for 1 to 3 days each month. Dysmenorrhoea is estimated to be the single greatest cause of working hours lost by women and school absence in teenage girls (Dawood 2008; Lindeque 2015: 6-9). Primary dysmenorrhoea is defined as painful, spasmodic cramping in the lower abdomen just before and/or during menstrual bleeding, in the absence of any identifiable macroscopic pathology. It is related to increased levels of inflammatory markers such as vasopressin, prostaglandins (PGF2α) and leukotrienes from the secretory endometrium. These induce ischaemia due to excessive prolonged uterine contractions, increased the sensitivity of pain fibres, and cause vasoconstriction (Iacovides, Avidon and Baker 2015: 1-17; Stewart and Deb 2014: 296-302). This double-blinded randomised study aimed to establish the efficacy of a homoeopathic complex (consisting of Angelica sinensis 6cH, Dioscorea villosa 6cH, Matricaria chamomilla 6cH, Viburnum opulus 6cH and Zingiber officinalis 6cH) compared to a homoeopathic similimum in 30cH plussed potency in the treatment of the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhoea, in terms of the participants' perception of the treatment. Thirty female students, who signed the inform consent forms (Appendices B and D), from the Durban University of Technology were selected based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria after they underwent an abdominal ultrasound examination (Appendix D) by a gynaecologist. They were randomly divided by means of convenience sampling according to a randomisation sheet into two groups. There were 20 in the experimental group which received the homoeopathic complex, and 10 in the control group which received the homoeopathic similimum. The study took place at the Homoeopathic Day Clinic, located at the Durban University of Technology. It was conducted over a period of three menstrual cycles per participant. The initial consultation took place prior to a menstrual period and the subsequent three follow-ups took place once a month, a week after each menstrual period. During each consultation, a detailed homoeopathic case history was conducted and a physical examination including an abdominal examination was performed. In addition, the participants were required to complete the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (Moos 1968) (Appendix G) and the Pain Rating Scale (British Pain Society 2006) (Appendix H). SPSS version 23.0 software was used to analyse the data collected from these questionnaires. The quantitative variables across the groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test since the captured data was non-parametric. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare intra-group data. Quantitative variables were expressed as a mean ± standard deviation. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The intra-group analysis using the PRS and the MDQ scales (Appendices G and H) showed statistically significant changes in the subcategories of pain in the simillimum group, while these changes were noticed in the complex group only with the PRS scale, when different follow up mean pain score was compared to that at baseline. The different comparisons and p-values can be found in the Appendix G1. The homoeopathic complex group showed more statistically significant changes in the subcategories of behaviour change, negative affect, and control (Appendix G1); while the homoeopathic similimum also revealed other statistically significant changes in the autonomic response and appetite change subgroups (Appendix G1). The inter-group analysis did not reveal any statistically significant change between the groups, although a decrease in the majority of the various mean scores was observed throughout the study. The study's results led to the conclusion that both the homoeopathic complex and homoeopathic similimum were effective (Appendix G1) in the treatment of symptoms of primary dysmenorrhoea during various follow-ups, as well as reducing the need for allopathic pain medications in the participants during the study. However that efficacy shown by the presence of statistically significant results could not been maintained throughout the study from the baseline to the third follow-ups, this could be due to the smaller sample size of the participants, the need for a better suited similimum remedy with a higher potency for the control group; or the need for another complex remedy, It was also noted that there was no evidence that one treatment was more beneficial than the other even though a decrease in the mean scores was observed in both groups.


The reformed pension system in the Republic of North Macedonia has created an interest based on three poles: legal, financial and social. Therefore, the paper aims to provide not only overview of the North Macedonian pension legislative, the model of financing of the reformed pension system but also to take into account the social character of the pension system. Following the basic European values and the interception of the EC recommendations that were underline in the last 10 years for North Macedonia, the country remains moderately prepared in this area. The rapidly increased expenditure on pensions and the efforts to improve the legal, institutional and social framework on the North Macedonian pension system became new burden for the Public Pension Fund. Therefore, the sustainability and the efficiency of the contemporary pension system is under question mark. This paper will explore the major challenges and opportunities that were foster by the new pension reforms from the reconstructed pension system. The one-pillared based system (Pay As You Go system– based on principle of generation solidarity,) has become system based on three pillars (fully funded mandatory pension insurance and fully funded voluntary pension insurance). Regarding the legal and financial aspects of the reformed pension system, there will be three areas of research emphasis: delayed transfer of funds from the state pension insurance fund to private funds, the procedures for supervising voluntary pension insurance schemes and the limits on investing in non-domestic securities. These three aspects resulted in a breach of the legislation on the management of deposits in Republic of North Macedonia, and they were not in line with the acquis under Financial Services Chapter that consists mostly of legal arrangements concerning with capital markets, insurance (including individual pension systems) and banking sectors. This is why they found their place in the annual reports (for 2015, 2016 and 2018) of the European Commission on the Republic of North Macedonia in negative connotation. Analysis of the legislation, as well as comparing the legislation with EU recommendation, is expected to answer the question if our country is complying with the recommendations. The paper will be based on a legal, comparative, analytical and synthetic method that will provide a multidisciplinary approach in acquiring knowledge and in delivering results that will be of relevance to all involved stakeholders (future pensioners, pension funds, central and decentralized government).


Over the last few years there has been an increasing interest in the area of type-2 fuzzy logic sets and systems in academic and industrial circles. Within robotic research the majority of type-2 fuzzy logic investigations has been centred on large autonomous mobile robots, where resource availability (memory and computing power) is not an issue. These large robots usually have a variation of a Unix operating system on board. This allows the implementation of complex fuzzy logic systems to control the motors. Specifically the implementation of interval and geometric type-2 fuzzy logic controllers is of interest as they are shown to outperform type-1 fuzzy logic controllers in uncertain environments. However when it comes to using micro robots it is not practical to use type-1 and type-2 fuzzy logic controllers, due to the lack of memory and the processor time needed to calculate a control output value. The choice of motor controller is usually either fixed pre-set values, a variable scaled value or a PID controller to generate wheel velocities.
 In this research novel ways of implementing type-1 and interval type-2 fuzzy logic controllers on micro robots with limited resources are investigated. The solution thatis being proposed is the use of pre-calculated 3D surfaces generated by an off-line Fuzzy Logic System covering the expected ranges of the input and output variables. The surfaces are then loaded into the memory of the micro robots and can be accessed by the motor controller. The aim of the research is to test if there is an advantage of using type-2 fuzzy logic controllers implemented as surfaces over type-1 and PID controllers on a micro robot with limited resources. Control surfaces were generated for both type-1 and average interval type-2 fuzzy logic controllers. Each control surface was then accessed using bilinear interpolation to provide the crisp output value that was used to control the motor. Previously when this method has been used a single surface was employed to hold the information. This thesis presents the novel approach of the dual surface type-2 fuzzy logic controller on micro robots. The lower and upper values that are averaged for the classic interval type-2 controller are generated as surfaces and installed on the micro robots. The advantage is that nuances and features of both the lower and upper surfaces are available to be exploited, rather than being lost due to the averaging process.
 Having conducted the experiments it is concluded that the best approach to controlling micro robots is to use fuzzy logic controllers over the classical PID controllers where ever possible. When fuzzy controllers are used then type-2 fuzzy controllers (dual or single surface) should be used over type-1 fuzzy controllers when applied as surfaces on micro robots. When a type-2 fuzzy controller is used then the novel dual surface type-2 fuzzy logic controller should be used over the classic average surface. The novel dual surface controller offers a dynamic, weighted, adaptive and superior response over all the other fuzzy controllers examined.


Mutations in the nucleophosmingene (NPM1) are common in patients with cytogenetically-normal acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and have been associated with positive outcomes. Although most leukemic stem cells (LSCs) arise from CD34+ primitive progenitors, our recent data suggest that a fraction arise from less primitive CD34- progenitors and seem to have a better prognosis (Gerber et al. Haematologica 2016). Conversely, poor-risk AMLs such as those harboring internal tandem duplications of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD) or with poor-risk cytogenetics appear to arise from LSCs with a primitive hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) phenotype. NPM1-mutated AMLs can be either CD34- or CD34+, and have been associated with variable prognoses. We hypothesize that the cell of origin, CD34- or CD34+, of NPM1-mutated AML has prognostic implications. A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using electronic medical record data from patients aged 18 or older with newly-diagnosed NPM1-mutated AML treated with intensive induction chemotherapy at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2008-2015. NPM1 and FLT3-ITD mutations were determined from PCR assays on diagnostic samples. We (Gerber et al. Haematologica2016) and others have shown that CD34+ cells represent normal, non-leukemia progenitors when they comprise /= 1% MNCs was the cut-off used to distinguish CD34+ from CD34- AMLs. Clinical outcomes including complete remission (CR) rate were compared using Chi-squared tests and event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated per the Kaplan-Meier method, using Wilcoxon tests to determine the impact of CD34 status. Of 46 consecutive, newly diagnosed NPM1-positive patients treated between 2008-15, 36 (78%) had normal cytogenetics and 37 (80%) had de novo AML. 26/46 (57%) had CD34+ disease; of these, 18/26 (69%) had FLT3-ITD mutations, compared to 9/20 (45%) with CD34- AML (p=0.10). In the CD34- patients with FLT3-ITD, the mean allelic ratio (mutant to wild type allele) ±SEM was 0.26±.08 compared to 2.3±1.0 in the CD34+ patients (p=0.07). Comparing CD34+ and CD34- patients, there were no significant differences in mean age at diagnosis (52 vs 59), sex, initial hemoglobin, platelet count, or lactate dehydrogenase, but CD34+ patients had significantly higher baseline white blood cell count (mean 78 vs 38 x 103 cells/mm3; p=0.04). There was a trend toward lower CR rates following induction for CD34+ patients (69 vs 89%; p=0.11), and similar proportions of patients underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (50% vs 37%, p=0.38). However, CD34+ patients had significantly shorter EFS (figure 1; median 8.0 vs 34.3 months; p=0.04), and a trend toward inferior OS (15.4 vs 35.4 months; p=0.36). The lack of statistical significance in OS may reflect effective salvage by allogeneic transplantation. In conclusion, in this small retrospective cohort analysis of NPM1-mutated AML patients, CD34 expression was associated with significantly reduced EFS and, among FLT3-ITD mutated patients, a trend toward higher allelic ratios. Hence, CD34 positivity may be an early indicator of poor prognosis in NPM1+ AML and requires further characterization to determine its full prognostic and predictive value in guiding AML therapy. These data support evidence that the biology of AML is not only a function of genetic mutations, but also in part a functionof the stage of hematopoietic differentiation at which the leukemogenic mutations develop. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common cause of back and leg pain with the most severe cases treated surgically. Regarding the surgery outcome, the importance of early postoperative depression and pain is unknown. Aims: To examine whether the coexistence of pain and depressive symptoms on 3-month follow-up predicts the 2-year surgery outcome. Methods: 93 patients (mean age 62 years) with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis underwent decompressive surgery. They completed the same set of questionnaires, 3 months, 1 year and 2 years postoperatively. Depression was assessed with the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Physical functioning and pain were assessed with the Oswestry Disability Index, the Stucki Questionnaire, self-reported walking ability, the visual analogue scale (VAS) and pain drawing. Comparisons were made between groups according to the "misery" (i.e. the coexistence of elevated pain and depression on 3-month follow-up) status. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the factors independently associated with a poor surgery outcome on 2-year follow-up. Results: The patients in the misery group (n=24) showed greater symptom severity and greater disability than the patients in the non-misery group (n=69) at all follow-up stages. No clinical improvement was seen in the misery group during the follow-up. An independent association was observed between belonging to the misery group and 2-year disability, symptom severity and poor walking capacity. Conclusions. Even moderately increased VAS and BDI scores, when presenting simultaneously on an individual patient level during the early postoperative period, imply a strong clinical burden and a risk factor for poor recovery. The assessment of pain and depressive symptoms is encouraged.


Recently, Casaletto et al. [1] tested a number of automatic integrators by calculating 50 test integrals with different specified tolerances. We shall refer to these integrals as #1, #2 . . . . . #50. (A list can be found in Ill or [2].) One of the aims of their tests was to give a summary of the number of failures (when the computed value was not within the requested tolerance) and overflows (when an upper bound on the number of integrand evaluations prevented the specified accuracy from being reached) of each integrator. We have examined some other recently published integrators in a similar way. Our study reveals that HR VINT fails more frequently than the other integrators. For example, for the specified relative accuracy ACC = 10 -3, HVRINTfails on #26, #31, #34, #45, and #47, and for ACC = 10 -4 , on #20, #26, #31, #32, #34, #45, and #47. It is worth while to note that #20 and #32 are integrals with very smooth integrand. Most failures can be avoided by changing the statement labeled 75 to 75 IF (MFIN--2) 100, 100, 76 76 FAC = ABS (T ( K ) U ( K ) ) Indeed, with this alteration failures occur only on//47 (for both accuracies ACC = 10 -3 and 10-4).


In the study of rock mechanics, the variation of rock mechanical characteristics in high-temperature environments is always a major issue. The discrete element method and Voronoi modeling method were used to study the mechanical characteristics and crack evolution of granite specimens subjected to the high temperature and uniaxial compression test in order to study the internal crack evolution process of granite under the influence of high temperatures. Meanwhile, dependable findings were acquired when compared to experimental outcomes. A modified failure criterion was devised, and a Fish function was built to examine the evolution behavior of tensile and shear cracks during uniaxial compression, in order to better understand the evolution process of micro-cracks in granite specimens. Shear contacts occurred first, and the number of shear cracks reached its maximum value earliest, according to the findings. The number of tensile contacts then rapidly grew, whereas the number of shear cracks steadily declined. Furthermore, it was found that when temperature rises, the number of early tensile cracks grows. This study develops a fracture prediction system for rock engineering in high-temperature conditions.


INTRODUCTION
The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) branch of the Hawaii Department of Health encourages and assists mothers in breastfeeding. A study was done to determine whether an electric breast pump (vs. a manual pump) would increase breastfeeding duration in those returning to work or school full-time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
During 2002-2003, a randomized trial was conducted among 280 women, with the duration of breastfeeding analyzed in 229 of these women. Descriptive analyses and a multivariate logistic regression analysis assessed factors associated with breastfeeding at 6 months. Unadjusted and adjusted survival analyses were performed to estimate the duration of breastfeeding.

RESULTS
In all, 76.8% of women using the manual breast pump and 72.3% of those using the electric breast pump breastfed for at least 6 months. This difference did not reach statistical significance. In the survival analysis adjusted for pump assignment, maternal age, race/ethnicity, marital status, and parity, women with at least some college education breastfed for a 38% shorter time than women with a high school or lower education.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that the manual breast pump may work as well as the electric breast pump when breastfeeding is encouraged and supported among women returning to work or school full-time. Particular attention should be given to examining reasons why women with greater education breastfed for a shorter duration. Further research is needed to validate these results to better inform breastfeeding women returning to work or school.


This paper takes a high level view of the dynamics of the Cold War and their influence on management and governance. It addresses the pre-Cold War origins of key components of the information infrastructure underpinning the networked organisation of manufacture and service delivery. These embody practices that can be traced back to the impetus given by the prosecution of WWII by the allies to scientific management, and the transfer of these efforts to the Cold War continuation of conflict.


In recent years there has been increasing emphasis by the international trade community on non-tariff barriers as a significant factor limiting goods trade. Tariffs, subsidies and quotas, the most obvious factors limiting access to international markets are no longer assumed to be the most significant impediment to international goods trade. Regulations and procedures such as customs administration, inspections, trade financing, security issues and infrastructure including ports and roads can cause delays in shipping and are now considered amongst the most significant trade barriers limiting goods trade. Related to these non-tariff factors is the concept of good governance: the efficiency and transparency of processes, contract enforcement and administration. The inclusion of good governance as a topic in international trade analysis is a recognition that no matter how good a trade system looks on paper, or how low official tariffs may be, the system can contain hidden costs. These hidden costs can be direct or indirect. Direct costs of poor governance include bribes and un-official fees. Indirect costs include time delays and uncertainties in delivery resulting from poor administration and infrastructure. Recognizing the importance of non-tariff factors limiting trade, the World Bank Doing Business office has compiled a myriad of statistics and indicators to gauge the importance of these factors in a countries economy and trade.


In this note we show how techniques developed for untangling planar graphs by Bose et al. [Discrete & Computational Geometry 42(4): 570-585 (2009)] and Goaoc et al. [Discrete & Com- putational Geometry 42(4): 542-569 (2009)] imply new results about some recent graph drawing models. These include column planarity, universal point subsets, and partial simultaneous geometric embeddings (with or without mappings). Some of these results answer open problems posed in previous papers.


In the present work, Nb doped brookite TiO2 nanosheets were successfully synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal route. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). According to the experimental results, a possible mechanism for the formation of Nb doped brookite TiO2 nanosheets was proposed. Furthermore, Nb doped brookite TiO2 nanosheets were used as an anode material for the Li-ion intercalation reaction and it was found that their electronic/ionic conductivity was improved. At the same time, the cell made of Nb doped brookite TiO2 nanosheets also exhibited enhanced lithium-ion intercalation properties. For instance, this material displayed reversible capacities of 119.7 and 104.6 mA h g−1 at 5 C after 100 and 500 cycles, respectively.


NVIDIA's CUDA API has enabled GPUs to be used as computing accelerators across a wide range of applications. This has resulted in performance gains in many application domains, but the underlying GPU hardware and software are subject to many non-obvious pitfalls. This is particularly problematic for safety-critical systems, where worst-case behaviors must be taken into account. While such behaviors were not a key concern for earlier CUDA users, the usage of GPUs in autonomous vehicles has taken CUDA programs out of the sole domain of computer-vision and machine-learning experts and into safety-critical processing pipelines. Certification is necessary in this new domain, which is problematic because GPU software may have been developed without any regard for worst-case behaviors. Pitfalls when using CUDA in real-time autonomous systems can result from the lack of specifics in official documentation, and developers of GPU software not being aware of the implications of their design choices with regards to real-time requirements. This paper focuses on the particular challenges facing the real-time community when utilizing CUDA-enabled GPUs for autonomous applications, and best practices for applying real-time safety-critical principles.


Urinary schistosomiasis is endemic in Nigeria and continues to pose public health challenges especially in inhabitants of rural areas. Epidemiological studies were conducted to establish the prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis in relation to epidemiological factors among subjects in Buruku and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Benue State, Nigeria; to develop and validate a diagnostic approach (urine color observation) for the rapid identification of individuals infected with Schistosoma haematobium. Urine filtration technique using polycarbonate membrane filters and other proven field diagnostic (reagent strips) were employed to determine Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine and measure microhaematuria and proteinuria respectively. Questionnaires were also administered to subjects to collect information on socio-demographic data and water-contact activities. An overall prevalence rate of 553(42.8%) was observed out of the 1,292 subjects examined. urine color observation technique was significantly associated with intensity of infection (rho = 0.6, p < 0.01). However, this simple technique yielded a sensitivity of 91.1% and specificity of 71.6%


Two-dimensional materials have unique properties and their better functionality has created new paradigms in the field of sensing. Over the past decade, a new family of 2D materials known as MXenes has emerged as a promising material for numerous applications, including biosensing. Their metallic conductivity, rich surface chemistry, hydrophilicity, good biocompatibility, and high anchoring capacity for biomaterials make them an attractive candidate to detect a variety of analytes. Despite such notable properties, there are certain limitations associated with them. This review aims to present a detailed survey of MXene's synthesis; in particular, their superiority in the field of biosensing as compared to other 2D materials is addressed. Their low oxidative stability is still an open challenge, and recent investigations on MXene's oxidation are summarized. The hexagonal stacking network of MXenes acts as a distinctive matrix to load nanoparticles, and the embedded nanoparticles can bind an excess number of biomolecules (e.g., antibodies) thereby improving biosensor performance. We will also discuss the synthesis and corresponding performance of MXenes nanocomposites with noble metal nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles. Furthermore, Nb and Ti2C-based MXenes, and Ti3C2-MXene sandwich immunoassays are also reviewed in view of their importance. Different aspects and challenges associated with MXenes (from their synthesis to final applications) and the future perspectives described give new directions to fabricate novel biosensors.


Carrageenan is example of food with high content of fiber. An experiment was conducted to study the effects of carrageenan supplementations on blood lipid parameters of hypercholesterolemic male mice. The experiment were done at animal cages Departemen of Biology Education, Indonesia University of Education and  Fisiology Laboratory Faculty of Veteriner Medicine, Bogor Agricultural Institute on August 2011 until March 2012. The experimental mice were assigned into a completely randomized design with 5 treatments i.e., negative control  group; normocholesterolemic mice fed with a standard diet, positive control group; hypercholesterolemic mice fed with a standard diet without carrageenan supplementation, treatments group; hypercholesterolemic mice feds with supplemented with 15%, 30%, and 46%  carrageenan. The nonsoluble content of  dietary fiber in the experimental treatments were 6.92, 8.75, 10.48, 12.27, and 14.05%, respectively. The parameters measured were body weight, cholesterol levels of blood serum, liver and feces, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein  (LDL) and glucose levels. Supplementation of carrageenan as a source of dietary fiber increased serum HDL concentrations, and decreased body weight, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL concentrations of  hypercholesterolemic male mice without a significant effect on serum glucose consentrations. Hypercholesterolemic mice fed with a supplemented with 46% carrageenan decreased body weight by 7.99%, total serum cholesterol by 18.78%, triglyceride by 17.53%, LDL by 71.33%, and increased HDL by 15.59−20.47%. Carrageenan supplementation reduce liver cholesterol levels by 38.46% and increased cholesterol excretion through feces by 57.07%. Supplementation of 46% carrageenan in hipercholesterolemic fed is effective in improving blood lipid parameters of  hypercholesterolemic male mice.


Entrepreneurial intentions and factors influencing them are important in explaining and often triggering the entrepreneurial activity resulting in establishing new business and enabling to employ other people. This is especially important in category of young people. This study tries to explain common and different threats in entrepreneurial education, individual and contextual factors as variables explaining entrepreneurial intentions of youth growing in two different environments – city and village. This study also investigates if young people are willing to start their carrier in place of their birth. Data were collected in two rounds of voluntary anonymous electronic surveys among students, 537 respondents, who have finished their high-school studies. The principal component and regression analysis were applied. The dependent variable, entrepreneurial intentions, is constructed by combining items that differently measure an individual's intentions to become an entrepreneur. The independent variables consist of measures for entrepreneurial education, social and cultural capital as well as individual factors as gender, career anchors, proactive personality and others.


Enterprise systems are viewed as large-scale software systems, which are usually assembled through a number of protocols inspired by political coalitions. This is due to the fact that incompatibilities emerge through the nature of subsystems can only be avoided in a wider and comprehensive context, which can only come to existence in the corporate/strategic level of enterprises. Cancer care systems consist of a number of such individual systems that require alignment of principles and goals subjected to changes due to emerging circumstances in order to keep up with substantial efficiency, and a certain level of sustainability. In this position paper, an agent-based system is proposed comprising a set of autonomous and collaborating agents running a mathematical model to health-check the current status of the entire system and to produce maintenance and alignment operations to corresponding parts of the system. It helps align the strategical values and principles with the lower level operations infiltrating into the entire enterprise system. This prototypical idea can be extended for more configuration and maintenance.


Theoretical formulae for secondary X-ray fluorescence due to Compton electrons have been derived on the base of the Born approximation and the 'impulse approximation'. Enhanced intensity was evaluated for exemplary two-component samples. Comparison with the other secondary and tertiary enhancement effects was performed.


Nuf2 participates in the regulation of cell apoptosis and proliferation by regulating the binding of centromere and spindle microtubules to achieve the correct separation of chromosomes. Previous reports have suggested that Nuf2 may play a role in various human cancers. However, the mechanism and function of Nuf2 in the development of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains uncertain. This study investigated the prognostic potential of Nuf2 and its relation with immune cell infiltration in HCC. Nuf2 expression in tumor cells was examined using the TIMER and Oncomine databases, and its prognostic potential was assessed via the Kaplan-Meier plotter and GEPIA databases. The relationships between Nuf2 and tumor immune infiltration were analyzed using TIMER. The relationships between Nuf2 and biomarkers of tumor immune infiltration were analyzed using TIMER and GEPIA. Here we revealed that Nuf2 expression increased in tumor tissues containing HCC, and this correlated with poor relapse-free survival, disease-specific survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival in patients with HCC regardless of grades, genders, races, drinking behaviors and other clinical factors. Additionally, high expression of Nuf2 was positively correlated with differential immune cell infiltration and various immune biomarkers. Our work demonstrated that Nuf2 could be a potential prognostic biomarker and could be related to tumor immune cell infiltration in HCC.


I opened up my investigation with the statement that women have no place in the mythology of war, which is a suggestion by Carol Lynn Mithers. The original quote can be found in the introduction. My aim was to apply this statement to contemporary Vietnam War films, and determine if women, and femininity have a place in the mythology of war. First of all I introduced my investigation with Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick, 1987), because in my opinion it is one of the most interesting portrayals of femininity. This is for two reasons. Firstly because this film, unlike many Vietnam War films, actually contains some poignant female characters. The prostitutes and sniper allow an insight into women's involvement in the war and portray explicitly that women are the enemy. The second reason the film is interesting in its representation of femininity is the way the film portrays feminine characteristics as weak and as less powerful than masculinity characteristics. The way in which Sergeant Hartman seemingly ties to expel all feminine qualities from the soldiers to make them stronger connotes that strength comes from masculinity, not femininity. It is only when the troops have become masculine that the punishment stops, and they are sent to Vietnam to fight the enemy, which ultimately turns out to be femininity. I followed on with the work of one man, Oliver Stone. I chose to detail in depth Stone's work because of his actual involvement in the Vietnam War. This, I believed, would help give a justified and truthful representation of what the war was like, and therefore, give a truthful representation of femininity, however, I believed it was important to constantly keep note that the work of Oliver Stone is in fact fiction, despite its reliance on fact. With his first Vietnam War film, Platoon (Stone, 1986) he demonstrated the masculine and feminine characteristics that soldiers in the war would adhere to. Because of the lack of female characters in the film (and presumably the army) the masculine and feminine characteristics were dealt between the characters. The two Sergeants, Barns and Elias, are both male, but one is undoubtedly more masculine than the other. Chris Taylor is the private caught between these two sergeants. His actions to defend Elias portray him as choosing the feminine characteristics, but his killing of Barns portrays him as adhering to the masculine actions of Barns. Stone's second Vietnam War film, Born on the Fourth of July (Stone, 1989) takes off where Platoon finished. It details the life of a returning, crippled vet, who has trouble coming to terms with his involvement in the war. Because of his loss of legs and phallus, he has also lost his masculinity. It is only through what Susan Jeffords calls 'Debriding' that Tom Cruise's character can regain his masculinity. I consciously avoided discussing in depth Oliver Stone's third Vietnam War instalment, Heaven and Earth (Stone, 1993) for reasons discussed in the conclusion. My close study on Jane Fonda was an important and poignant part of the investigation. Being well known for both her on-screen and off-screen involvement in the Vietnam War, it became obvious that Jane Fonda would help give a huge insight into the representation of femininity from a different perspective. With her work in Coming Home (Ashby, 1979) she helped portray women dealing with the war back home in America. Her relationship with left-wing crippled veteran Luke and her right-wing husband Bob signified the political divide that was so apparent at the time of the Vietnam War. Her off-screen political involvement, and especially her infamous trip to Hanoi made her both an iconic political idol and a despised American 'traitor'. The work of Jane Fonda proved to give a huge insight into women's involvement in the war, both off and on screen. I finished by explaining the problems with my investigation, such as the lack of varied texts. Because of such in depth analysis on the films and areas I chose, some areas were overlooked. I gave a brief analysis of both Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979) and The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) which explained both their brief representation of femininity and my reason for avoidance. I did the same for Heaven and Earth (Stone, 1993) and discussed why I didn't incorporate it into my investigation when it was an important part of Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy. I briefly talked about an area which I found fascinating and would have liked to have examined in further depth, but it wasn't as relevant to my investigation as the work I had included. My analysis of Predator (McTiernan, 1986) and Aliens (Cameron, 1986) and how they acted as allegory for the Vietnam War is interesting because it takes an alternative approach to looking at the representation of femininity in Vietnam War films. I finished my essay arguing that when looking at Vietnam War films women do have a place in the mythology. War is predominantly a test of masculinity for men. To become a man is to become a warrior and to become a warrior one must go through the masculine test of war. Women's place in this mythology is to act as the obstacle. If one cannot become masculine, they become feminine, and if one is feminine, they are not a man. Femininity is the one thing men must expel if they are to truly become men.


In plants with Crassulacean acid metabolism, a diel separation of carboxylation processes mediated by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and Rubisco optimizes photosynthetic performance and carbon gain in potentially limiting environments. This review considers the mechanisms that synchronize the supply and demand for carbon whilst maintaining photosynthetic plasticity over the 24 h CAM cycle. The circadian clock plays a central role in controlling many of the metabolic, transport and physiological components of CAM. The level of control exerted by the clock can range from transcriptional through to post-translational regulation, depending on the genes, proteins, and even plant species under consideration. A further layer of control is provided by metabolites, including organic acids and carbohydrates, which show substantial reciprocal fluctuations in content over the diel cycle. Mechanisms responsible for the sensing of metabolite contents are discussed, together with signalling requirements for the co-ordination of carbon fluxes. Evolutionary implications are considered in terms of how circadian and metabolic control of the CAM cycle may have been derived from C3 plants.


Background There is growing interest and investment in electronic immunization registries (EIRs) in low- and middle-income countries. EIRs provide ready access to patient- and aggregate-level service delivery data that can be used to improve patient care, identify spatiotemporal trends in vaccination coverage and dropout, inform resource allocation and program operations, and target quality improvement measures. The Government of Tanzania introduced the Tanzania Immunization Registry (TImR) in 2017, and the system has since been rolled out in 3736 facilities in 15 regions. Objective The aims of this study are to conceptualize the additional ways in which EIRs can add value to immunization programs (beyond measuring vaccine coverage) and assess the potential value-add using EIR data from Tanzania as a case study. Methods This study comprised 2 sequential phases. First, a comprehensive list of ways EIRs can potentially add value to immunization programs was developed through stakeholder interviews. Second, the added value was evaluated using descriptive and regression analyses of TImR data for a prioritized subset of program needs. Results The analysis areas prioritized through stakeholder interviews were population movement, missed opportunities for vaccination (MOVs), continuum of care, and continuous quality improvement. The included TImR data comprised 958,870 visits for 559,542 patients from 2359 health facilities. Our analyses revealed that few patients sought care outside their assigned facility (44,733/810,568, 5.52% of applicable visits); however, this varied by region; facility urbanicity, type, ownership, patient volume, and duration of TImR system use; density of facilities in the immediate area; and patient age. Analyses further showed that MOVs were highest among children aged <12 months (215,576/831,018, 25.94% of visits included an MOV and were applicable visits); however, there were few significant differences based on other individual or facility characteristics. Nearly half (133,337/294,464, 45.28%) of the children aged 12 to 35 months were fully vaccinated or had received all doses except measles-containing vaccine–1 of the 14-dose under-12-month schedule (ie, through measles-containing vaccine–1), and facility and patient characteristics associated with dropout varied by vaccine. The continuous quality improvement analysis showed that most quality issues (eg, MOVs) were concentrated in <10% of facilities, indicating the potential for EIRs to target quality improvement efforts. Conclusions EIRs have the potential to add value to immunization stakeholders at all levels of the health system. Individual-level electronic data can enable new analyses to understand service delivery or care-seeking patterns, potential risk factors for underimmunization, and where challenges occur. However, to achieve this potential, country programs need to leverage and strengthen the capacity to collect, analyze, interpret, and act on the data. As EIRs are introduced and scaled in low- and middle-income countries, implementers and researchers should continue to share real-world examples and build an evidence base for how EIRs can add value to immunization programs, particularly for innovative uses.


Planning and lesson delivery are seldom used as a yardstick to determine a teacher's ability to enact and teach a curriculum, yet the processes are a means to student achievement. Premised on the adaptation Approach to educational change and teacher cognition of a curriculum Approach to educational change, this study considers the teacher's way of planning of the AIDS curriculum innovation as his or her display of a unique and personal understanding of how it is implemented with learners. As both educators with an interest in curriculum policy implementation and operating in the SADC region where there is a dearth of research based evidence to provide approaches that cultivate teacher agency and thoughtfulness in relation to the implementation of the mandatory HIV/AIDS education curriculum, we decided to investigate how teachers codify this curriculum to produce their own written teaching programs. We felt that how teachers understand, respond to and are faring with and experiencing the implementation of the HIV/AIDS curricula at the lesson planning level, in specific work conditions has seldom been questioned. Set within the hermeutic, interpretivist paradigm, this qualitative case study sought to explore and describe teachers symbolic representations of their actual teaching practices of the mandatory AIDS curriculum depicted in their lesson scheme/planning. The study involved three purposively selected primary school grade six teachers (n=3) from three purposively selected primary schools and employed document analysis and semi-structured interviews. One teacher adapted and codified the AIDS curriculum in a transmission-oriented approach, while two others codified it in closer approximation to the recommended learner-centered approach that celebrates the participatory teaching methods, but superficially. The teachers' personal subjective interpretations of the curriculum, their lack of knowledge and defective teacher capacitation tended to play out negatively on their scheme/ planning. Recommendations are suggested to provide teachers with knowledge related support towards effective planning of this curriculum.


Abstract—In recent decades with the development of technology and lack of food sources, sewage sludge in production of human foods is inevitable. Various sources of municipal and industrial sewage sludge that is produced can provide the requirement of plant nutrients. Soils in arid, semi-arid climate of central Iran that most affected by water drainage, iron and zinc deficiencies, using of sewage sludge is helpful. Therefore, the aim of this study is investigation of sewage sludge and manure application on Ni, Pb and Cd uptake by Savory. An experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications was performed. Sewage sludge treatments consisted of four levels, control, 15, 30, 80 tons per hectares; the manure was used in four levels of control, 20, 40 and 80 tons per hectare. Results showed that the wet and dry weights was not affected by sewage sludge using, while, manure has significant effect on them. The effect of sewage sludge on the cadmium and lead concentrations were significant. Interactions of sewage sludge and manure on dry weight values were not significant. Compare mean analysis showed that increasing the amount of sewage sludge had no significant effect on cadmium concentration and it reduced when sewage sludge usage increased. This is probably due to increased plant growth and reduced concentrations of these elements in the plant.


The thermal behavior of grass fiber was characterized by means of thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The results proved that the removal of water-soluble matter improved the thermal behavior of grass fiber over that of unleached fiber, and this was further enhanced by an alkali treatment of the grass fiber. The isothermal weight loss of the grass-fiber specimens was analyzed at 100, 200, and 300°C for different time periods. Accelerated aging of the grass-fiber samples was carried out to determine the effect of aging on the tensile strength. Partially delignified grass fiber showed maximum thermal stability. X-ray diffraction analysis was also performed to verify the composition and to correlate the change in the tensile strength due to the water leaching and alkali treatment. The processing of grass fiber with NaOH and NaClO2 reduced the amorphous fraction in the fiber sample. This may have been a result of the loss of the amorphous noncellulosic components of the fibers and the degradation of the unordered regions of the grass fiber. However, mercerization of the grass fiber revealed an increase in the amorphous fraction after a certain time exposure, confirming the decrease in the crystallinity. The morphology of the water-leached and alkali-treated grass fiber was studied with scanning electron microscopy.


The histological anatomy of the genital ducts of adult females of Eriocheir sinensis was studied before and after copulation, and during and after egg-laying. A strongly basophilic valve-like tissue was discovered at the junction of the spermatheca and the oviduct. This tissue prevents communication between the spermatheca and the oviduct except during oviposition. At this time, it functions as a valve, allowing ripe eggs out of the oviduct and preventing sperm from entering the oviduct during and after egg-laying. These findings suggest that the actual site of gamete contact in E. sinensis is within the spermatheca, instead of in the lumen of the ovary or in the oviduct. The presence of the valve-like tissue assures that the ripe eggs collected from the ovary during egg-laying are unfertilized. This observation is of great importance for obtaining unfertilized ripe eggs in studies of artificial fertilization (in vitro) and hybridization. The valve-like tissue has not been described in other brachyurans, and this genital duct should be classified as new for the Brachyura.


Gut microbial community plays an important role in the regulation of insect health. Antibiotic treatment is powerful to fight bacterial infections, while it also causes collateral damage to gut microbiome, which may have long-lasting consequences for host health. However, current studies on honey bees mainly focus on the impact of direct exposure to antibiotics on individual bees, and little is known about the impact of social transmission of antibiotic-induced gut community disorder in honey bee colonies. In order to provide insight into the potential pass-on effect of antibiotic-induced dysbiosis, we colonized newly emerged germ-free workers with either normal or tetracycline-treated gut community and analyzed the gut bacteria composition. We also treated workers with low dosage of tetracycline to evaluate its impact on honey bee gut microbiota. Our results showed that the tetracycline-treated gut community caused disruption of gut community in their receivers, while the direct exposure to the low dosage of tetracycline had no significant effect. In addition, no significant difference was observed on the mortality rate of A. mellifera workers with different treatments. These results suggest that though the residue of antibiotic treatment may not have direct effect on honey bee gut community, the gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by high dosage of antibiotic treatment has a cascade effect on the gut community of the nestmates in honeybee colonies.


Air Manis Beach is one of famous tourism destination in Padang city and visited by many domestic and foreign tourists. The Padang city government along with the local community always make efforts to increase the satisfaction of visitors of the beach. This study aims to determine satisfaction of visitors of the beach. Most of variables have satisfied consumers, however, there are some that do not have satisfactory performance, such as: cleanliness, houses of worship, speed of response of officers, security teams, parking attendants, officers' abilities and skills, security, hospitality, and service and courtesy. Therefore, stakeholders must pay attention to these variables in order to fulfill satisfaction of consumers who visit the beach.


Introduction Assaf Razin and Effraim Sadka Part I. International Mobility of Technology: 1. R and D and productivity: the international connection Elhanan Helpman Part II. Capital Flows and Exchange Rate Misalignment: 2. International implications of German unification Hans-Werner Sinn 3. Real exchange rate misalignment and growth Ofair Razin and Susan M. Collins Part III. The Incentives and Patterns of Capital Flows: 4. A pecking order of capital inflows and international tax principles Assaf Razin, Efraim Sadka, and Chi-Wa Yuen 5. Transfer pricing as a strategic device for decentralized multinationals Guttorm Schjelderup and Lars Sorgard Part IV. Limits to Income Redistribution in Federal Systems: 6. Income redistribution in an economic union: the tradeoff between inter- and international redistribution Helmuth Cremer and Pierre Pestieau 7. Federal insurance of US states: an empirical investigation Bent E. Sorensen and Oved Yosha Part V. Tax Harmonization, Tax Co-ordination, and the 'Disappearing Taxpayer': 8. Is there a need for a world tax organization? Vito Tanzi 9. Taxation, financial innovation, and integrated financial markets: some implications for tax coordination in the European Union Julian S. Alworth 10. Can international commodity tax harmonization be Pareto-improved when governments supply Public Goods? Ben Lockwood 11. Fiscal separation with economic integration: Israel and the Palestinian authority Ephraim Kleiman Part VI. Political Economy Aspects of International Tax Competition: 12. Factor taxation, income distribution, and capital market integration Andreas Haufler 13. Interjurisdictional tax competition: a political economy perspective Carlo Perroni and Kimberley Scharf Part VII. Migration of Skilled and Unskilled Labor: 14. Economic integration, factor mobility, and wage convergence Gilles Saint-Paul 15. Human capital formation, asymmetric information, and the dynamics of international migration Nancy H. Chau and Oded Stark Part VIII. Fiscal Aspects of Monetary Unification: 16. The interaction of fiscal and monetary policy in a monetary union: balancing credibility and flexibility Roel M. W. J. Beetsma and A. Lans Bovenberg.


Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare but life-threatening microangiopathic hemolytic anemia characterized by thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia and ischemic organ damage. It is mainly caused by an autoreactive antibody directed at ADAMTS13. Immunotherapy is frequently associated with autoimmune complications in cancer patients but only 3 cases of TTP have been reported, none implicating single treatment with the anti-PD-L1 antibody Nivolumab. We present the first identified and reported case of Nivolumab-associated TTP in a 51-year-old woman with Stage IIIc anal carcinoma who achieved complete response following chemoradiation and received adjuvant nivolumab as part of a randomized clinical trial. 12 weeks into treatment, she presented with dark urine, progressive fatigue and headache. TTP diagnosis was based on laboratory evidence of hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and ADAMTS13 activity of 9% associated with an inhibitor. She was treated with daily plasma exchange and oral prednisone and responded well to treatment, with platelet counts over 100 K/cmm within 4 days. We reviewed and summarized data from all reported cases of TTP associated with cancer immunotherapy. We provide guidance on identification and management of this devastating hematologic complication, focusing on the importance of early recognition, as most patients achieve complete recovery with appropriate treatment. KEY POINTS: TTP was originally excluded from previous reviews of hematologic Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs), however several cases have been reported in the past 2 years in patients treated with either single agent or combination of cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 and the programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) or the PD-1 ligand inhibitors. Although rare, TTP is a life-threatening condition that could be challenging to diagnose and early recognition is key as delayed treatment is associated with significant increase in mortality. The pathophysiology of immunotherapy-induced TTP is likely related autoimmune inhibition of ADAMTS13; the addition of prednisone and Rituxmab to urgent plasmapheresis appears to be effective and should be part of the up-front management for these patients.


Elastic Geomechanical properties are key elemental properties that must be adequately predicted for wellbore stability and effective hydraulic fracturing to be assured. Understanding these properties is key for planning drilling, production and reservoir management. This research analyses elastic Geomechanical properties predicted by seismic and well log data in "AJAH" field offshore Niger Delta using Artificial Neural Network. Analysis of well logs (5 wells) shows that the Poisson's ratio (V), Shear modulus (G), Young's modulus (E), Bulk modulus (K), Compressibility (β) and Unconfined compressional strength (UCS) range from 0.110.47, 0.15 – 8.5˟ 10 10 pa, 0.15 –14.3 ˟ 10 10 pa, 0.49 – 3.1 ˟ 10 10 pa, 0.32 – 2.0 ˟ 10 -8 pa -1 and 0.08 – 5.77 ˟ 10 7 pa respectively. A plot of Poisson's ratio Vs Young's modulus shows brittleness, indicating that hydraulic fracturing within this field would be very challenging. A well trained Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to predict elastic geomechanical properties in the vicinity of the wells and later was used to populate the estimated properties across the field. The ANN showed a correlation of 0.80205, 0.69493, 0.70674 and 0.67354 for Poisson's ratio, Shear modulus, Young's modulus and Bulk modulus respectively, indicating a good match. The ANN revealed that Shear modulus, Young's modulus and Bulk modulus generated by seismic is relatively greater than the one generated by well logs with a factor of ˟ 10 4 while Poisson's ratio is approximately the same. This research shows that in a data handicapped area (especially during exploration) a 3D seismic when constrain with well logs is very useful in predicting elastic geomechanical properties for planning/guiding new drills and for making inform reservoir management decisions.


Antiserum specific for Salmonella O3 antigen was raised by immunization of rabbits with an artificial glycoconjugate consisting of the synthetic trisaccharide beta-D- Manp (1----4)-alpha-L- Rhap (1----3)-alpha-D-Galp covalently linked to bovine serum albumin (beta- MRG -BSA). Enzyme immunoassays showed that only lipopolysaccharides extracted from Salmonella serogroup E (O3 antigen-containing) bacteria bound the antiserum. The usefulness of the beta- MRG -BSA antiserum for rapid and accurate identification of Salmonella isolates of serogroup E was shown by indirect immunofluorescence tests in which 50 Salmonella strains of serogroup E 1-4 were correctly identified from among 651 intestinal strains investigated. The finding that one strain of Citrobacter freundii was positive in immunofluorescence tests with this antiserum is readily explained by the known cross-reactivity between some C. freundii strains and Salmonella spp. strains of serogroup E. As expected, the specificity of the antiserum for the O3 antigen could further be demonstrated in coagglutination tests with staphylococci sensitized with beta- MRG -BSA antiserum.


Pulse-tube refrigerators are attractive as long life and highly reliable coolers because of their mechanical simplisity. The early type of the device, which was first developed by Gifford and Longsworth in the early 1960's, is known as the "basic pulse-tube". In the 1980's, the "orifice pulse-tube", which originated from Mikulin's work, was shown by Radebaugh et al. to possess high cooling capability. This was the start of the boom of pulse-tube refrigerator research and development and many laboratories around world are now studying these devices. This paper briefly reviews the developments of several types of the pulse tube refrigerators, and an explanation of the cooling mechanism in terms of the thermoacoustic effect is presented. According to the thermoacoustical consideration, tremendous differences in refrigeration power between the basic and orifice types can be understood as follows; flow impedance of an orifice enhances the progressive-wave part of the working gas oscillations which causes large increases in heat transfer through a regenerator. Finally, some experimental data from the author's laboratory are shown and a qualitative interpretation by analogy with an AC circuit is described.


We used a genetic algorithm in the design and optimisation of optical thin films and present the effects of the choice of variables, refractive index and optical thickness, in both applications of this algorithm, in this paper. The Fourier transform optical thin film design method was used to create a starting population, which was later optimised by the genetic algorithm. In the genetic algorithm design application, the effect of the choice of variable was not distinct, as it depended on the type of design specification. In the genetic algorithm optimisation application, the choice of refractive index as a variable showed a better performance than that of optical thickness. The results of this study indicate that a genetic algorithm is more effective in the design application than in the optimisation application of optical thin film synthesis.


347 austenitic stainless steel weld (ASSW) was thermally aged at 343, 400 and 450 °C up to 20,000 h in this study. Effects of thermal aging induced microstructure evolution on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of delta-ferrite in the 347 ASSW were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (0.07 nm) with energy-dispersive spectroscope (EDS) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). After thermal aging at 343 °C for 20,000 h and 400 °C over 5,000 h, fluctuation of major alloying elements such as Fe, Cr, and Ni was observed by spinodal decomposition in the delta-ferrite. Meanwhile, a Ni+Si-rich G phase was developed as thermal aging progressed at 400 °C for 20,000 h and 450 °C for 5,000 h in the delta-ferrite. Such microstructure evolutions tended to be accelerated with increasing aging temperature and exposure period, while the G phase was formed at a higher exposure temperature and/ or period compared to spinidal decomposition. These effects increased the tensile strength and decreased the elongation of 347 ASSW at room temperature, compared to the as-welded condition. Moreover, when spinodal decomposition and G phase were observed, the degree of sensitization values of the 347 ASSW in the double loop-electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation tests were significantly increased, due to localized Cr depletion in the delta-ferrite. (Received January 8, 2018; Accepted February 9, 2018)


Gold, silver, and copper small nanoparticles (NPs), with average size ≈2 nm, are synthesized and afterward protected with l- and d-cysteine, demonstrating emergence of chiroptical activity in the wavelength range of 250-400 nm for all three metals with respect to the bare nanoparticles and ligands alone. Silver-cysteine (Ag-Cys) NPs display the higher anisotropy factor, whereas gold-cysteine (Au-Cys) NPs show optical and chiroptical signatures slightly more displaced to the visible range. A larger number of circular dichroism (CD) bands with smaller intensity, as compared to gold and silver, is observed for the first time for copper-cysteine (Cu-Cys) NPs. The manifestation of optical and chiroptical responses upon cysteine adsorption and the differences between the spectra corresponding to each metal are mainly dictated by the metal-ligand interface, as supported by a comparison with calculations of the oscillatory and rotatory strengths based on time-dependent density functional theory, using a metal-ligand interface motif model, which closely resembles the experimental absorption and CD spectra. These results are useful to demonstrate the relevance of the interface between chiral ligands and the metal surfaces of Au, Ag, and Cu NPs, and provide evidence and further insights into the origin of the transfer mechanisms and induction of extrinsic chirality.


ABSTRACT Souza Pereira de Ávila, A.; Leonhardt, A., and Diniz, D., 2020. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction off southern Brazil during a glacial period (66.5–47 kyr BP): Continental and oceanic environments. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(6), 1204–1214. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Based on the palynological record of core REG 972, this work aimed to reconstruct the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental history from 66.5 to 47 kyr BP at the south Brazilian continental margin, as well as to identify the influence of continental discharge in the southern portion of the Rio Grande Cone. Nineteen samples were processed following the standard methodology for palynological studies. Organic matter (OM) content was measured in the sediments. The age model was established according to 18O isotopes analyses in benthic foraminiferal tests. The studied interval corresponds to a glacial interval, divided in palynozones (PZs): PZIa (66.5–64.5 kyr), PZIb (64.5–53.5 kyr), and PZII (53.5–47 kyr). PZIa was characterized by drier conditions, with grassland and salt marsh taxa dominance (Cyperaceae and Amaranthaceae). During PZIb and PZII, the increase of Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Araucaria angustifolia, Arecaceae, and Alchornea triplinervia points to wetter and warmer conditions that may be related to the beginning of marine isotope stage 3 and later to the sea-level rise. In the oceanic environment, the presence of freshwater algae and marine indicators lead to the conclusion that marine conditions prevailed during Rio Grande Cone sedimentary formation, even under low sea-level conditions when terrigenous influence was stronger. The data on OM content, dinoflagellate taxa, and mean sea level changes point to a period of low productivity during PZI. In PZII, a period of higher productivity took place because of Subantarctic Shelf Water influence, bringing cold and nutrient-rich waters to the area.


: In view of off-site assessments being adopted by Higher Education Institutions (HEI) especially in response to Covid-19, questions can be raised regarding the extent of possible unethical practices employed by students when sitting for their online exams. Such unethical practices could take various forms including working in groups during individual assessments, accessing resources beyond what is allowed, presenting someone else's work as their own, etc. In this context, we examine the impact of element of surprise in preserving exam integrity when common monitoring protocols or other paid outsourced services cannot be implemented. Employing a three-pronged approach of comparing images, comparing text-pattern and comparing multiple choice question (MCQ) response pattern across students, our results show that introducing surprise by assigning students to random versions of exams can be helpful in thwarting possible malpractices. Though the benefit in this regard for MCQ is limited, the positive impact is more pronounced for image-sharing practices and text-sharing (copy-paste) practices. Our findings also show that active collaboration during online exams tend to take place in pairs.


It has been estimated that one-third of global food is lost or wasted, entailing significant environmental, economic, and social costs. The scale and impact of food loss and waste (FLW) has attracted significant interest across sectors, leading to a relatively recent proliferation of publications. This article synthesizes existing knowledge in the literature with a focus on FLW measurement, drivers, and solutions. We apply the widely adopted DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) framework to structure the review. Key takeaways include the following: Existing definitions of FLW are inconsistent and incomplete, significant data gaps remain (by food type, stage of supply chain, and region, especially for developing countries), FLW solutions focus more on proximate causes rather than larger systemic drivers, and effective responses to FLW will require complementary approaches and robust evaluation.


Issues within the educational research community concern the correct relation between research and practice, the status of various sorts of research-based knowledge, and methodological squabbles between practitioners of different research traditions. These issues reflect the intrinsic difficulty of knowing in complex domains. In this article, child language development is taken as a (neutral) field in which to contemplate the nature of knowledge, and three generalizations about knowledge are formulated and exemplified from data on language acquisition: (1) Becoming knowledgeable about any complex domain requires a balance between going beyond the known and being constrained by what experts have already discovered; (2) In the right environment, one can perform quite skillfully despite quite low levels of autonomous competence; nonetheless, skilled performance is typically poorer than one's level of knowledge about how to perform would predict; (3) The capacity to reflect on and analyze one's knowledge emerges only after considerable knowledge has been accumulated and embedded into practice. The reflections of skilled practitioners in any field deserve to be systematized so that personal knowledge can become publicly accessible and subject to analysis.


In this study, estimated data of the UV Index on vertical planes are presented for the latitude of Valencia, Spain. For that purpose, the UVER values have been generated on vertical planes by means of four different geometrical models a) isotropic, b) Perez, c) Gueymard, d) Muneer, based on values of the global horizontal UVER and the diffuse horizontal UVER, measured experimentally. The UVER values, obtained by any model, overestimate the experimental values for all orientations, with the exception of the Perez model for the East plane. The results show statistical values of the MAD parameter (Mean Absolute Deviation) between 10% and 25%, the Perez model being the one that obtained a lower MAD for all levels. As for the statistic RMSD parameter (Root Mean Square Deviation), the results show values between 17% and 32%, and again the Perez model provides the best results in all vertical planes. The difference between the estimated UV Index and the experimental UV Index, for vertical and 40° tilted planes, was also calculated. 40° is an angle close to the latitude of Burjassot, Valencia, (39.5°), which, according to various studies, is the optimum angle to capture maximum radiation on tilted planes. We conclude that the models provide a good estimate of the UV Index, as they coincide or differ in one unit compared to the experimental values in 99% of cases, and this is valid for all orientations. Finally, we examined the relation between the UV Index on vertical and 40° tilted planes, both the experimental and estimated by the Perez model, and the experimental UV Index on a horizontal plane at 12 GMT. Based on the results, we can conclude that it is possible to estimate with a good approximation the UV Index on vertical and 40° tilted planes in different directions on the basis of the experimental horizontal UVI value, thus justifying the interest of this study.


Human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (hPPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors and are the target for the treatment of many diseases. Screening of their ligands is mainly based on assays of ligand binding to the ligand binding domain (LBD) of hPPARs.However, such assays are difficult because of the preparation of hPPARs LBD. In order to yield functional hPPARs LBD for screening ligands, hPPARs LBD was fused with maltose-binding protein(MBP) using the pMAL-p2x expression system through the gene engineering technique. The radioligand binding assay showed that MBP did not affect ligand binding with hPPARs LBD in the fusion proteins, which means that MBP-hPPARs LBD can be used instead of hPPARs LBD in ligand screening work. The results show that the new strategy using MBP as a fusion tag for preparing hPPARs LBD for screening ligands is a convenient and reliable method. It may be used to easily obtain the other nuclear receptors.


In order to determine the effect of different oligosaccharides on growth performance, intestinal health, and antioxidant status of broilers, 240 1-day-old XiangHuang broilers were randomly distributed to 4 treatments with 6 replicates each. Birds were fed corn-soybean-based diets (CON), and birds in xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), and iso-maltooligosaccharide (IMO) groups were given the basal diet supplemented with 200 mg/kg XOS, FOS, and IMO, respectively. Result showed that average daily gain (ADG) during the whole 5 weeks in FOS group was greater than that in control group (p < 0.05). Both breast and thigh muscle percentages were higher for birds fed XOS versus CON (p < 0.05). Oligosaccharides supplementation increased jejunal villus height compared with control group (p < 0.05). Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in breast muscle was lower for birds fed diet containing FOS versus CON (p < 0.05). Activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in serum and thigh muscle were higher in IMO than in control group (p < 0.05). Serum T-SOD and breast muscle's glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was higher in XOS compared with control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion, dietary oligosaccharides such as XOS, FOS, and IMO could improve intestinal health and antioxidant ability of muscle without affect growth performance in broilers.