Understanding the human brain is the biggest challenge for scientists in the twenty-first century. The Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model is one of the most successful mathematical models for bio-realistic simulations of the brain. However, the simulation of HH neurons involves complex computation, which makes the implementation of large-scale brain networks difficult. In this paper, we propose a hardware architecture that efficiently computes a large-scale network of HH neurons. This architecture is based on the neuron machine hardware architecture, which has the limitation of speed as it has only one computation node. The proposed architecture is essentially a non-Von Neumann synchronous system with multiple computation nodes, called hardware neurons, to achieve linear speedup. In this paper, the design of a digital circuit that computes large-scale networks of HH neurons is presented as an example to provide a detailed description of the proposed architecture. This design supports axonal conduction delay of spikes and short- and long-term plasticity synapses, along with floating-point precision HH neurons. The design is implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip and computes a network of one million HH neurons in near real time. The implemented system can compute a network with up to 12 million HH neurons and 600 million synapses. The proposed design method can facilitate the design of systems supporting complex neuron models and their flexible implementation on reconfigurable FPGA chips.


The analysis of thermographic images in biomedical application is usually performed by different methods of averaging the values of pixel temperature inside a Region of Interest (ROI). We used a new method, based on maximal temperatures inside a ROI (Tmax), to evaluate temperature modifications during physical exercise in trained or untrained subjects. In this paper we analysed squat exercise effects on the thighs of 6 active subjects. Data were compared with those obtained with traditional method based on the average over an area in the anatomical part under investigation. The values of temperature measured before, during and after the exercise showed the same pattern with both methods. A slightly decrease in temperature during the exercise was followed by an increase during the recovery time. Bland and Altman statistical analysis confirmed the good agreement between the new method and the one based on the average considered as the gold standard. In this study we put in evidence the features of this analysis method specifically in human application.


A unique case of mycosis fungoides is presented. Initially the patient's eruption was vesicular and pustular. In a three-year-period reddish infiltrated plaques typical of mycosis fungoides appeared. Histopathologic examination revealed the presence of subcorneal pustules, and of atypical lymphomatous cells in the skin. These were most noticeable in the plaque stage, but were also seen retrospectively in earlier biopsies. Evidence is presented to show that the pustular eruption and mycosis fungoides were part of the same disease process. Generalized pustular dermatosis should be included as one of the polymorphous clinical manifestations of early mycosis fungoides.


A protein with an apparent Mr of 33,000 was previously purified from the EGTA eluate of a human placental particulate fraction. We now report the amino acid sequence of approximately one-third of this protein and show that it has extensive homology with a newly defined family of Ca2+-binding proteins termed annexins. The partial sequence of the placental protein could be aligned with the sequence of either lipocortin I or calpactin I such that 49% and 58%, respectively, of the residues were identical. A comparison of the partial sequences of the placental protein with the partial sequence of bovine endonexin revealed 74% sequence identity. Based on this close relationship, the placental protein was named endonexin II. Equilibrium dialysis showed that endonexin II bound Ca2+ (Kd greater than 0.5 mM) and the affinity was increased by phosphatidylserine liposomes (kd approximately equal to 100 microM). In addition, endonexin II bound to phosphatidylserine- and phosphatidylethanolamine-containing liposomes in a Ca2+-dependent manner, and the binding was cooperative with respect to Ca2+ concentration (Hill constant greater than 3). The Ca2+- and phospholipid-binding properties of endonexin II raise the possibility that each of the four internally repeated sequences that have been demonstrated within this family of proteins contains a Ca2+-binding site.


Despite research indicating that suicidal ideation is strongly related to future suicide attempts, there is limited data on variables associated with continued suicidal ideation and behaviors in adolescents. The objective of this study is to investigate whether personal, cognitive and family risk factors can differentiate adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. Twenty-four attempters, 50 ideators and 50 non-suicidal adolescents (aged 14 to 25 years) were asked during an interview to complete individual and psychosocial measures. Both suicidal groups reported greater personal vulnerability and perceived their family as less functional than did the non-suicidal group. However, no differences were found between both suicidal groups. The results suggest the presence of common factors in both adolescent suicidal ideators and attempters.


This paper describes the system we built as the YNU-HPCC team in the SemEval-2021 Task 11: NLPContributionGraph. This task involves first identifying sentences in the given natural language processing (NLP) scholarly articles that reflect research contributions through binary classification; then identifying the core scientific terms and their relation phrases from these contribution sentences by sequence labeling; and finally, these scientific terms and relation phrases are categorized, identified, and organized into subject-predicate-object triples to form a knowledge graph with the help of multiclass classification and multi-label classification. We developed a system for this task using a pre-trained language representation model called BERT that stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, and achieved good results. The average F1-score for Evaluation Phase 2, Part 1 was 0.4562 and ranked 7th, and the average F1-score for Evaluation Phase 2, Part 2 was 0.6541, and also ranked 7th.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

4354

Activation of proMMP-2 by MT1-MMP is considered to be a critical event in cancer cell invasion. In the activation step, TIMP-2 bound to MT1-MMP on the cell surface acts as a receptor for proMMP-2. Subsequently, adjacent TIMP-2-free MT1-MMP activates the proMMP-2 in the ternary complex. In this study, we demonstrate that the mechanism of cellular invasion, inhibition of matrix metallproteinase-2 activation by recombinant human α1(IV)NC1. α1(IV)NC1 significantly reduced endothelial as well as tumor cellular invasion into the reconstituted basement membrane in vitro . Gelatin zymographic analysis revealed that activation of proMMP-2 secreted from endothelial cells was inhibited by α1(IV)NC1, by forming complex with proMMP-2. Studies with recombinant MMPs confirmed that α1(IV)NC1 inhibited proMMP-2 activation, mediated by both membrane-type 1 MMP and 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that α1(IV)NC1 upregulated TIMP-2 expression in endothelial conditioned medium. Finally, co-immunoprecipitation and ISCO gradient fractionation experiments revealed that α1(IV)NC1 formed a tight complex with proMMP-2. These novel findings would, at least in part, explain the mechanism of the potent anti-angiogenic activities of α1(IV)NC1. Taken together, our data support a role for the α1(IV)NC1 in anti-angiogenesis and describe, for the first time, a signaling mechanism for α1(IV)NC1 in this process.


The relative differences between post-translational modifications (PTM) of proteins in blood plasma samples of patients with cerebral ischemia (CI) and healthy people were investigated using of the method of label-free comparative proteomic analysis based on the technology of tandem HPLC-MS/MS. For PTM detection we used multiple MS/MS search in the database Mascot for variable PTM and Progenesis LS-MS software. In the CI plasma samples, we observed an increase in the proportion of peptides with such PTM as phosphorylation of serine, threonine, and tyrosine, acetylation of lysine and protein N-term, ubiquitination of lysine and deamidation of glutamine related to clinically significant processes were revealed.


Anticoagulants are indicated for stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, and treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism. The aim of this study was to describe the impact of introducing direct oral anticoagulants on anticoagulation services. One primary and one secondary care anticoagulation service evaluation compared pre-direct oral anticoagulant (2012) and post-direct oral anticoagulant introduction (2015). In the secondary care service, anticoagulant monitoring clinics decreased by 20% and service capacity increased by 38.5% post-direct oral anticoagulant introduction. Direct oral anticoagulants comprised 87.6% of newly-initiated anticoagulants post-direct oral anticoagulant introduction. In patients newly initiated on anticoagulation, a total of 62 anticoagulation-related inpatient admissions were recorded in 12.6% of patients in the pre-direct oral anticoagulant period, compared with a total of 21 anticoagulation-related admissions in 3.6% of patients in the post-direct oral anticoagulant period. In the primary care service, warfarin comprised 62.9% of all anticoagulants prescribed post-direct oral anticoagulant introduction. Overall, patients attended a mean of 14.2 anticoagulation service visits in 6 months pre-direct oral anticoagulant and 13.3 visits in 6 months post-direct oral anticoagulant introduction (non-direct oral anticoagulant-treated: 16.1/patient; direct oral anticoagulant treated: 0.8/patient). Few patients were offered a choice of anticoagulant; however, overall patient satisfaction was high in both services. Direct oral anticoagulant introduction in secondary care was associated with increased service capacity and decreased patient visits. Patient choice was limited; however, satisfaction was high in both services.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of using central venous catheters (CVCs) impregnated with the combination of minocycline and rifampin on nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSIs), morbidity, and mortality in cancer patients in the ICU.

DESIGN
Prospective surveillance study consisting of the following two time periods: September 1997 through August 1998 (ie, fiscal year [FY] 1998); and from September 1998 through August 1999 (ie, FY 1999).

SETTING
ICUs of a tertiary care hospital in Houston, TX.

PATIENTS
Cancer patients in the medical ICU (MICU) and surgical ICU (SICU).

INTERVENTIONS
ICUs started using CVCs impregnated with the minocycline-rifampin combination at the beginning of FY 1999.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The rates of nosocomial BSIs and other patients' characteristics were compared for the two study periods to determine the impact of using the impregnated catheters in the ICU. Patients' characteristics, including antibiotic use, were comparable for the two study periods in both the MICU and the SICU. The rate of nosocomial BSIs in the MICU unit decreased from 8.3 to 3.5 per 1,000 patient-days (p < 0.01), and decreased in the SICU from 4.8 to 1.3 per 1,000 patient-days (p < 0.01) in FY 1999. Nosocomial vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) bacteremia also decreased significantly (p = 0.004). Length of stay in the MICU and SICU significantly decreased in FY 1999 (p < 0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively). The duration of hospitalization decreased for MICU and SICU patients (p = 0.06 and p < 0.01, respectively). The rate of catheter-related infections decreased from 3.1 to 0.7 per 1,000 patient-days in FY 1999 (p = 0.02). The decrease in infections resulted in net savings of at least $1,450,000 for FY 1999.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of antibiotic-impregnated CVCs in the MICU and SICU was associated with a significant decrease in nosocomial BSIs, including VRE bacteremia, catheter-related infections, and lengths of hospital and ICU stays.


The use of higher-order logic and an associated interactive theorem proving environment for hardware verification has established itself as an important technique for formal hardware validation [CaGM 86, FFEH 891. In spite of the fact that such techniques are powerful and can be used for validation of complex systems, they continue to remain purely within the purview of theorem proving specialists. The only way to bring such a system closer to circuit designers is to augment the degree of automation and provide a camouflaged environment which mirrors the designer's view of hardware. The first step in this direction is to automate the proofs of all first-order and simple higher-order statements, within such systems, which has been achieved by the tool FAUST [KuKS 91, ScKK 91aI. Further automation requires the use of domain specific knowledge. Our experiences in hardware verification using HOL [Gord 883 have shown that most proofs follow a definite pattern. This observation can be exploited to isolate the creative and mechanical steps in proofs, so as to aid the normal circuit designer in executing the creative steps, and to automate the remaining mechanical steps. A tool called MEPHISTO (Managing Exhaustive Proofs of Hardware for Integrated circuit designers by Structuring Theorem proving Operations) has been embedded in HOL, so as to disguise the complexity of hardware proofs and to allow the designer to concentrate on design creativity. This extended abstract summarizes the work presented in [ScKK 91b] and is organized as follows: In section 2, we briefly outline the structure of hardware proofs in HOL and indicate the steps which can be automated. Section 3 deals with the details of some of the steps illustrated via an example. This is then followed by some results and conclusions.


The retention of Pu-citrate in the gastrointestinal wall was compared at similar post ingestion times after ingestion at 2 days of age by rats and guinea pigs and at 1 to 34 days by neonatal primates. The small intestine was the main site of the Pu retention in all species. In rats and primates, most of the Pu was retained in the distal ileum, whereas in guinea pigs it was more homogeneously distributed. In the rats, Pu was retained in the epithelial cells on villi, but in the guinea pigs and primates it was confined to the macrophages under the epithelial cells in the lacteal region.


The tensile fatigue behaviour of unidirectional 0degrees, [+/-10](4S) and [+/-45](4S) carbon fibre/glass fibre hybrid composite has been investigated. The dissipation was measured by the stiffness, hysteresis loss and temperature field of the specimen surface in an insulated testing chamber. The hysteresis loss correlates well with the increase temperature. Microscopic studies show frictional sliding of longitudinal crack faces between carbon and glass fibre bundles to be the main source of dissipation for on-axis specimens. With increasing off-axis angle the primary loss mechanism became cyclic shear deformation of the polymer matrix. With a finer dispersion of the constituents of the hybrid, the growth of these longitudinal cracks or of zones of inelastic matrix shear deformation. would be suppressed, which would result in a more fatigue resistant material. A localisation of heat generation sets in just prior to final failure. Damage and heat localisation lead to impending failure. If the parameters that control localisation were better understood, it would be possible to improve the fatigue resistance of the material by sensible microstructural design.


Ever since the end of 1800, European music composers, authors and publishers have been entrusted the safeguarding of their own rights to societies formed by themselves. This article shows and analyses the 1999-2000-2001 data of the collections of the societies of collective management of music rights got in the European Union majors countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom). The data related to the three main sectors of exploitation of music rights - public performances, radio and television, production/distribution of phono-video- carriers - are examined in terms of different consumer models, life styles, laws and public consideration of creative activity as well as the power and efficiency of the societies themselves.


The testing of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) products is expensive and time consuming. Hence there is a great desire on the part of the suppliers of such products to have their products tested only once. At the same time, clients are seeking assurances that newly acquired OSI products will interwork with their existing systems. These two points of view cannot currently be reconciled in the absence of global arrangements on the recognition of the results of testing OSI products. In order to identify a way to proceed, the Information Technology Resources Support Group (ITRSG) recommended that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (lEC) should organize an International Workshop on the Worldwide Recognition of OSI Test Results. The Workshop, which was carefully planned by a Program Committee in which most of the interested parties from North America, Europe, and "the rest of the world," i.e., Australasia, were represented was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from May 6-8, 1991.


Herein we report the chemotactic behaviour of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the gradients of carbohydrates (glucose, fructose and sucrose) and metal ions, including cofactors (Zn2+ and Mg2+), under microfluidic conditions. We found that ALP migrates marginally away from the carbohydrate gradient, whereas for divalent metal ions, the direction is opposite and more prominent. This differential phoresis is due to the Hofmeister effect driven change in the ALP surface zeta potential and osmotic pressure imbalance. Gaining control over the chemotactic extent and direction of an enzyme in response to purely non-catalytic conditions will have potential application in designing environment-responsive nanomachines.


Research goal is to accumulate scientific data on development of components of agricultural land productivity, necessary to support of an methodology of their quality evaluation through a complex firm approach to physical and geographical conditions from Banat Plain. Research on ecometrical function of the main physical and chemical characteristics of soil have been taken by many scientists, in the country and abroad, since the beginning of last century and the German classification system was designed mainly based on soil texture in the so-called phase of its evolution (D. Teaci, 1980). As part of the soil, clay plays a role in the relations established between certain physical and chemical properties of soil and between them and the activities of organisms that inhabit it.The physical and chemical properties of soil samples (texture, pH, content of humus and NPK etc.), were analyzed in USAMVB-OSPA Timisoara Research Laboratory, after national norms and standards approved by the Standards Association from Romania (ASRO). Knowledge of these features of the soil are of special theoretical and practical importance. Theoretical, it provides to specialist the possibility to interpret the phenomena that occur in soil and to predict soil evolution in particular and the environment in general, in terms of present and future health, and practical because warns the physician as what measures should be taken to bring the soil in optimal conditions for growth and development of plants cultivated or wild. Importance, originality and timeliness of work is the need to protect the edaphic layer and environmental protection by: The accumulation of scientific data necessary to support technologies of consevative tillages and sustainable management of soil and water resources, Implementation of conservative tillages and sustainable management of physical, geographical and edaphic conditions from Banat Plain.


In this paper we try to define the future goals of the clinical research, with particular reference to methodological and policy issues. There is an increasing tension between the real drivers of clinical research and its scientific and ethical aims. To consumers the goal is to strengthen the relevance and usefulness of clinical research. This is possible only if consumers are empowered and actively involved. For the health care systems it is mandatory to re-engineer the process, enforcing national and international legislation. This should help to fill the research-clinical practice gap and to balance the research agenda, better reflecting health priorities. Finally the scientific community should reflect on its own conflicts of interests and analyse the causes of the ethical divide between the needs and the market. Scientists too often seem to loose sight of the original cumulative nature of research and of the idea of research as a collective good. More non-commercial research is needed, integrated with the health care systems, to support a transparent, more realistic and valid information useful for patient care, scientific information.


Abstract : International agreement and regulatory decisions have driven activities to replace ozone depleting chemicals (ODCs) in fire suppression and refrigeration applications. In order to validate a human physiologically based pharmacokinetic model designed for use in estimating chemical biodistribution and establishing egress times, human volunteers were exposed via inhalation to a series of chemicals relevant to ODC replacement activity. Seven male volunteers ranging from 21-49 years of age were selected to inhale bromotrifluoromethane (Halon 1301 0.5%), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a, 0.4%) and 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane (HFC-227ea, 0.6%). Each inhalation exposure was to a single chemical and was scheduled to last 30 minutes. Inhaled concentration and end alveolar expired concentration of chemical were continuously measured throughout the procedure using a non-rebreathing valve inhalation apparatus and a mass spectrometer. Blood samples were drawn through an indwelling cannula at times 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 minutes during the exposure and for five minutes at one minute intervals following the inhalation. The blood was analyzed for the chemical of interest to determine the chemical time course in blood. Throughout the exposure period, human subjects were monitored via ECG, blood pressure and pulse rate measurements. All seven volunteers completed the Halon 1301 exposures without effect on ECG, blood pressure or pulse rate. Halon 1301 concentrations in blood at exposure termination ranged from 0.19-1.24 mg/L. The HFC-134a and HFC-227ea exposures were terminated for safety reasons following unexpected and uncontrollable rapid rises in pulse rate during the inhalation exposure.


The current study examined the pattern of heart rate and skin conductance changes preceding risky choices and following outcome for bad, moderate, and good performers on an analogue of the Iowa gambling task (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994). The task required a choice between four options; two options were followed by a high reward and, unpredictably, an even higher loss (disadvantageous options) and two other options were followed by a small reward but the unpredictable loss was also small (advantageous options). Anticipatory heart rate slowing and skin conductance level were higher preceding disadvantageous relative to advantageous options, but only for good performers. In contrast, heart rate slowed and skin conductance level increased following loss relative to reward outcomes, and these changes were similar for all performance groups. These findings were interpreted to suggest that decision-making impairments in bad performers arise from a weak somatic response generated by secondary inducers (i.e., somatic markers), rather than a weak somatic response generated by primary inducers of reward and punishment.


Cytotoxicity tests were performed on cultured rheumatoid synovial membrane cells with autologous lymphocytes as effector cells. Three of 26 cultures were positive when tested at primary or first passage level, but on subsequent tests became negative. Tests based on an isotope-labelling technique and a micro-cytotoxicity assay were compared; the results appeared to correlate well. The expression of neoantigens on synovial cells was not demonstrated. Cultures initiated in medium containing hydrocortisone did not give rise to a population of synovial cells susceptible to immune lysis by autologous lymphocytes.


Ever since I co-founded the International H63D Research Consortium, I have always considered it my duty to pass on the most important knowledge about H63D syndrome to my colleagues in academia, research and applied medicine. Before I leave the consortium for a new career step, there are still some data to be published, which my current colleagues will certainly work on in more detail at a later stage. After all, knowledge can save lives and prevent suffering. I will publish these data in the following, because they speak for themselves.


We study the evolution of linear cosmological perturbations in f(R) models of accelerated expansion in the physical frame where the gravitational dynamics are fourth order and the matter is minimally coupled. These models predict a rich and testable set of linear phenomena. For each expansion history, fixed empirically by cosmological distance measures, there exists two branches of f(R) solutions that are parameterized by B ∝ df/dR. For B < 0, which include most of the models previously considered, there is a short-timescale instability at high curvature that spoils agreement with high redshift cosmological observables. For the stable B > 0 branch, f(R) models can reduce the large-angle CMB anisotropy, alter the shape of the linear matter power spectrum, and qualitatively change the correlations between the CMB and galaxy surveys. All of these phenomena are accessible with current and future data and provide stringent tests of general relativity on cosmological scales.


SHORT REPORTS usually concern a single case report. Text must by typewritten, double-spaced, with not more than six references, and should not exceed 600 words. If tables or figures are elements of the manuscript, please limit text length to 400 words with a total of either three figures or tables, or a combination of both. Tables must not exceed 12 lines in depth, including the title. For manuscripts containing either one figure and one table, or two figures or two tables, maximum text length is 500 words. Manuscripts with text only may contain up to 600 words. The usual synopsis-abstract should be omitted. For other details, including copyright procedure, see "Instructions for Authors." Congenital arteriovenous (AV) fistulas have a wide variety of clinical manifestations, one of which is cutaneous ulceration. Although the existence of AV fistulas has been known for many years, they have been commonly recognized only recently. 1-5


ABSTRACT Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing is a valuable forensics tool in determining the source of DNA obtained from degraded, damaged or small biological samples. However, despite the recent advances in Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS), the analysis of mtDNA has remained challenging: alignments can be misleading and may result in incorrect variant calls, and contamination from nuclear DNA from small samples may obscure true variants. In this article, we discuss an integrated approach to solving these issues in a new mito variant caller that integrates various sources of knowledge about mtDNA, including phylotree, EMPOP and NUMTs statistics, and that avoids many of the pitfalls of standard algorithms. The knowledge is integrated into the alignment algorithm itself to distinguish true variant calls from NUMT contamination and sequencing artefacts.


The identity of an individual or community is highly dependent upon their cultural values and traditions. It is an industry that is causing the communities that occupy the hollows of Appalachia to lose these values and traditions. It has been found that the loss of cultural identity in Appalachian hollow communities is tied to local mountain top removal mining operations. Mountain top removal mining is the source of many jobs for these communities, but the mining process itself is causing environmental devastation and spreading disease through surrounding communities. This destruction has forced community members to choose between their health and their livelihood and is dividing the community into those who are "for" and "against" mountain top removal mining. This division of community goes against the traditions and values of the Appalachian hollow culture and is causing the eradication of communities, a lifestyle, a culture, and their identity.


A system has been developed at the Savannah River Plant to help reactor operators respond to multiple alarms in a developing incident situation. The need for such systems has become evident in recent years, particularly after the three Mile Island incident.


This paper explores the literature to identify common occupational injuries, diseases, and psychological wellbeing on oil rigs as well as the negative environmental impacts of the upstream oil and gas sector. It ends by making recommendations for effective health, safety, and environmental (HSE) management. Review of the literature showed that contusion (bruise), cuts, and laceration are the commonest occupational injuries that workers on the oil rig suffer and that the injuries mostly affect the hand and finger, leg, and eyes of the offshore workers. These injuries were found to be caused mostly by direct stroke, jamming and overstrain. Similarly, accidental poisoning, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory disorders and diseases of the digestive system were also documented as the commonest occupational diseases among offshore workers. The literature also shows that working offshore is associated with poorer psychological wellbeing or health; this is to say that offshore workers tend to experience higher levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, low job satisfaction (particularly with the environmental conditions associated with their work), and sleep disorders. Finally, the literature review indicated that land-use problems, air pollution, acid rain, climate change, habitat disruption, environmental degradation, oil spills and leakages are some of environmental impacts of upstream oil production. This review was concluded by recommending some measures for the management of the HSE hazards associated with the oil and gas sector.


Free steroli and sterylglycosides (SG) from oat leaves and seeds were isolated by conventional thin layer chromatography (TLC) and subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for resolution of molecular species. Acylsterylglyco-lides, isolated by TLC, were converted to SG by mild alkaline hydrolysis and determined as SG. Sterols and SG were injected onto the column without any chemical treatment and the separated species were detected at 200 nm. The separation of SG-species follows exactly the separation of free sterols. Though gas liquid chromatography still is the method of choice, advantages of HPLC is to analyse directly the SG-specia without hydrolysis and derivatization as compared to GLC. After TLC the sterol- and the SG-fraction are injected directly onto the column. This is extremely important for labile sterylglycosides or sterols, as demonstrated for the avenasterols.


Multiple necrotic soft tissue lesions were observed in the groin of a granulocytopenic patient with Corynebacterium group JK septicemia. Complete healing followed vancomycin therapy. Review of the English-language literature disclosed that skin and soft tissue manifestations were seen in one-quarter of the patients with Corynebacterium group JK septicemia, all of whom were granulocytopenic; in no case of endocarditis were similar findings reported. The majority of lesions consisted of local infections at sites of previous bone marrow biopsy, intravascular catheter insertion, or perianal fissure; they preceded septicemia and were designated primary lesions. Less often, skin and soft tissue manifestations--including papular skin rash, soft tissue abscesses, and necrotic soft tissue lesions--developed in patients with established septicemia and were considered secondary.


We have successfully prepared the b-axis-oriented orthorhombic LuMnO3 (LuMO) and HoMnO3 (HMO) thin films by pulsed laser deposition on (110)-LaAlO3 substrates. The nearly perfect alignment between the film growth orientation and the substrate allows us to study the magnetic transitions along the respective crystal orientation, which has displayed marked anisotropic behaviours. In particular, with the largest ionic size difference between Lu and Ho for the family of RMnO3 displaying the E-type AFM, the effects of lattice distortion on the magnetic transition are compared.


This chapter describes the fundamentals of metal corrosion in relation to thermodynamics and kinetics. The chapter is so titled, because corrosion of metal is thermodynamically favourable. Moreover, it impacts negatively on economy and safety. Industries expend a substantial percentage of their budgets on corrosion control, and lose revenue due to corrosion damage. Effects of corrosion on industrial and public infrastructure cannot be overemphasized. Several accidents in the transportation and recreational industries have been linked to corrosion of metallic parts of respective gadgets. Some of these accidents are utterly catastrophic and fatal. Therefore, corrosion, albeit its thermodynamic favouability, is not desired by man. Metals corrode as a way of minimizing energy contents. Active metals are more stable in combined forms such as oxides, sulphides, and hydroxides, even though these forms are less useful to man. It appears the "price" to pay for extracting the pure forms of these metals from their ores is corrosion. This chapter presents fundamentals of thermodynamics and kinetics of metal corrosion, with emphasis on aqueous medium. It promises to serve as an introductory chapter for corrosion science students and as a concise material for tutors.


The changes in IT sector constantly influencing the performance of banking sector in the world. The emergence of internet banking has changed the way of banks of how to offer the products and services to the customers. In order to survive in the rapidly changing technological environment, the banks are required to adapt such changes and to maintain and improve the services which they are offering to their customers in order to attain the customer's satisfaction. Now the term quality does not only include the products but also the services. This paper deals with the internet banking operations and how it affects the service quality of the banks in Punjab. The research is much more of qualitative nature but to prove facts and figures quantitative approach is also used in the paper. The research is descriptive as well as explanatory. In order to arrive at the sample size, non probability method has been used. For the primary data collection a structured questionnaire is used to record the response of various respondents. Secondary data has been collected from annual reports, other published literature of the banks etc. In order to test the impact of internet banking on the service quality of banks seven service quality dimensions model is used. A model with seven dimensions service quality named reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy, tangibility, security and communication is used to complete the study. In these seven dimensions 37 variables are covered. For the data analysis the statistical package SPSS 20 is used.  Descriptive statistics is used to analyse the data. The research proves that all the dimensions which are included in the study have a positive impact on the service quality of banks providing internet banking services to their customers in Punjab. The recommendations are also discussed with which the service quality and customers satisfaction can be improved.


The crude membrane fraction of cardiomyocytes, which had been used as the antigen for the study of autoantibodies against beta-adrenergic receptors, was characterized using cytochemical methods: in a reaction for adenylate cyclase as an enzyme marker of the beta-receptors of plasma membrane and in a reaction for glucose-6-phosphatase as an enzyme marker of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The specific precipitates of both enzyme reactions were localized on the membrane vesicles. In case of AC reaction the precipitate was observed on approximately 80% and in case of G-6-Pase on approximately 25% of the whole amount of the vesicles observed, indicating prevalence of vesicles of plasmalemmal origin. These results reveal that the used membrane fraction is appropriate for the study of autoantibodies against beta-receptors, but it can also contain other proteins (antigens) which can cross-react with autoantibodies against beta-adrenergic receptors.


ABSTRACT A large and increasing proportion of teaching in UK universities is being fulfilled by staff on casual, rather than permanent, contracts. This paper examines how the proportion of teaching by casual staff affected student satisfaction in 2014–15. We find that an increased proportion of casual teaching leads to lower student satisfaction, even when controlling for respondent's subject, university and faculty. This suggests a trade-off between increasing casualisation and student satisfaction, which could have implications for future student demand. These results can be generalised to the rest of the economy and highlight potential perverse effects arising from casual contracts.


A prospective study conducted in Australia examined the errors made by 107 nurses during 568 intravenous drug administrations in hospitals. About 100 administrations had at least one serious error; most were administration rate errors.


Cotton-tipped applicator swabs are used as a collection device for many biological samples and its complete elution is a desired step for clinical and forensic diagnostics. Swabs are used to collect infectious body fluids, where the concentration of pathogens can range from 1 × 104 CFU/mL (colony forming units/mL) in respiratory-tract infections and 1 × 105 in urinary-tract infections, to up to 1 × 109 CFU/mL in salivary samples. These samples are then eluted and lysed, prior to DNA (De-oxy Ribonucleic Acid) analysis. The recovery of micro-organisms from a matrix of swab fibres depends on the nature of the body fluid, the type of the swab fibres, and the process of elution. Various methods to elute samples from swab include chemical digestion of fibres (~20% recovery), centrifugation (~58% recovery), piezoelectric vibration, or pressurized fluid-flow (~60% recovery). This study reports a magnetically-actuated physical impingement method for elution and recovery of artificial sputum samples from cotton fibres. A device has been fabricated to induce a rotating magnetic field on smaller magnetic particles in a vial that strikes the swab within a confined gap. Elution from the swab in this device was characterized using 2% Methyl cellulose in deionised water, loaded with fluorescent-tagged polystyrene beads and E. coli at various concentrations. The recovery efficiency was found to increase with both rotational speed and elution time, but plateaus after 400 RPM (Revolutions per minute) and 120 s, respectively. At a higher concentration of polystyrene beads (5 × 108 particles/mL), a maximum recovery of ~85% was achieved. With lower concentration, (1 × 105 particles/mL) the maximum efficiency (~92.8%) was found to be almost twice of passive elution (46.7%). In the case of E. coli, the corresponding recovery efficiency at 3.35 × 105 CFU/mL is 90.4% at 500 RPM and 120 s. This elution method is expected to have a wide applicability in clinical diagnostics.


Companies are being required to manage and reduce their emissions to address the climate change problem. It is quite important to correctly monitor and calculate emissions from business activities for reliable emissions trading. Some programs for monitoring or calculations have been developed, but we believe that the IT system needs to manage emissions considering the entire energy management cycle, not just monitoring. We propose a Cloud-based energy management system that allows us to manage emissions according to the full cycle and output emissions reports in the XBRL format. These emissions results have been used as new evaluation indices with financial numbers. Applying XBRL to emissions reporting makes it easy to combine emissions data and financial numbers, and hence it is especially beneficial for interested third parties. We give an example of advanced analysis using emissions and financial data extracted from XBRL. Our approach can also be extended to other kinds of environmental resource management beyond emissions, such as water management.


Transcriptional regulation of expression of the human thiamin transporter-2 (the product of the SLC19A3 gene) is unknown. In this study, we cloned the 5'-regulatory region of the human SLC19A3 gene (2,016 bp), identified the minimal promoter region required for basal activity, demonstrated a critical role for specific cis-regulatory elements in determining the promoter activity, and confirmed activity and physiological relevance of the cloned SLC19A3 promoter in vivo. With the use of transiently transfected human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells and 5'-deletion analysis, the minimal promoter region required for basal activity of the SLC19A3 promoter was found to be encoded in a sequence between -77 and +59 by using the start of transcription initiation as position 1. This minimal region was found to contain a number of putative cis-regulatory elements, with a critical role for a stimulating protein-1 (SP1)/GC-box binding site (at position -48/-45 bp) established by means of mutational analysis. With the use of EMSA and supershift assays, the binding of SP1 and SP3 to the minimal promoter region was also demonstrated. In transiently transfected Drosophila SL2 cells, both SP1 and SP3 transactivated the SLC19A3 minimal promoter in a dose-dependent manner and in combination demonstrated an additive stimulatory effect. Functionality of the full-length SLC19A3 promoter was confirmed in vivo in transgenic mice expressing the promoter-luciferase reporter gene. These studies report the first characterization of the SLC19A3 promoter in vitro and in vivo and demonstrate the importance of an SP1 cis-regulatory element in regulating promoter activity of this important human gene.


Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is the most frequent and life-threatening infection in patients with liver cirrhosis requiring prompt recognition and treatment. It is defined by the presence of >250 polymorphonuclear cells (PMN)/mm3 in ascites in the absence of an intra-abdominal source of infection or malignancy. In this review we discuss the current opinions reflected by recent guidelines (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, European Association for the Study of the Liver, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten),1–4 with particular focus on controversial issues as well as open questions that need to be addressed in the future. First, diagnostic criteria and tools available for rapid and accurate diagnosis are reviewed. Second, since prophylaxis is of crucial relevance when trying to improve survival, we discuss who should be treated, when, how and for how long to prevent episodes of SBP. Identification of risk factors and individualisation of timing and selection of prophylactic measures are the key to success without major development of resistant bacteria. Finally, effective therapy is essential since treatment failure is associated with poor outcome. Since the emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria has accelerated, criteria for the choice of antibiotic regimen in the individual patient are pivotal for optimising therapy.

SBP is the most frequent bacterial infection in cirrhosis, accounting for 10–30% of all reported bacterial infections in hospitalised patients.5–7 In outpatients without symptoms the prevalence is low (3.5%8 or lower9 10), but the prevalence increases in the nosocomial setting, ranging from 8% to 36%.11 12 Bacterascites, defined as positive culture results but no increase in the PMN count in the ascitic fluid, occurs with a prevalence of 2–3% in outpatients8–10 and in up to 11% …


The H1 neuron is a directionally sensitive motion-detector neuron with a large field that is fed by many high-resolution motion detectors in the fly optic lobe. As a stimulus pattern for it we used a random pattern of 50% bright and 50% dark squares on an oscilloscope screen. When this pattern is jumped by a small increment the H1 neuron gives a directional response. When the jump is greater than one pixel on the screen the response falls and becomes non-directional because jump direction can no longer be inferred. When the contrast is reversed at the jump, the response is the same for both directions, and is the same as when the contrast is reversed without motion. For the motion receptors this represents a non-directional \`on' or \`off' response. The result is discussed with reference to theories of motion perception.


Wole Soyinka's The Bacchae of Euripides and Toni Morrison's Beloved present the reader with a slave population that was uprooted and deported. Both works teem with punished bodies. Institutionalized slavery, as a condition, prevents the slaves from a bundle of rights, and the slave body is defined by its utility to the process of slave labor. Labor is performed under condition of bondage. Working on the plantation or in the mine constitutes the justification of the suffering experienced by the slaves. Pain becomes the foundation for resistance. Rebellion, as an expression of collective will, is triggered by the slaves' awareness of their enslavement. Both writers beautify pain and seem to suggest that the world had to be made anew by those coming out of slavery. The promise of a new life is present in the regenerating powers of vegetation.


In assessing the potential collateral effects of bomb attacks on tanks of stored liquids, it is useful to separate the liquid that is aerosolized as an escaping cloud from that which remains inside the tank or rapidly falls to the nearby ground. One relationship currently in use partitions the two categories using a linear model of aerosolized fraction versus fragment energy deposited per unit mass of liquid which is based on calculations and a few test data points. Since this model is incorporated in popular programs used by an expanding number of first responders to assess potential hazards, there is a need for high-confidence test data across the parameter space of interest to improve and/or validate the model. Such a series of tests was conducted during November of 2008 in which 7.57-liter (l) sized cans of water were impacted with fragments of known mass using scored cased explosive charges. Impact velocities were measured, and the remaining water in the can and on the nearby ground platform was collected and weighed. The missing water was assumed to be aerosolized. This new data establishes an S-curve as a more accurate relationship between aerosolized fraction (AF) and the fragment energy deposited per unit mass of liquid in the container.


This paper describes a robust glottal source estimation method based on a joint source-filter separation technique. In this method, the glottal flow derivative is modelled as the Liljencrants-Fant (LF) model and the vocal tract is described as a time-varying ARX model. Since the joint estimation problem is a multi-parameter nonlinear optimization procedure, we separate the optimization procedure into two passes. The first pass initializes the glottal source and vocal tract models providing robust initial parameters to the following joint optimization procedure. The joint estimation determines the accuracy of model estimation, which is implemented with a trust-region descent optimization algorithm. Experiments with synthetic and real voices show the proposed method is a robust glottal source parameter estimation method with a considerable degree of accuracy.


Land degradation is a major issue in the Sahel region. Numerous investments have been made in implementing sustainable land management (SLM) actions to reverse land degradation. Our work aims to (i) describe the variety of degraded land reclamation actions (DLRAs) and (ii) map the stakeholders acting in Niger. A time series (2008–2021) of georeferenced public data was collected and organized using a harmonized nomenclature. The results show that about 279,074 ha could be analysed in our study. Dug structures are the most widespread technique, while treated land is mostly devoted to single agricultural or pastoral uses. DLRAs are unevenly distributed in the Niger. More than 100 stakeholders were part of the effort to restore degraded land in the country—some playing a specific role, while others, such as the Government of the Niger, were responsible for mobilizing funds for implementing sustainable land management programs, while also carrying out certain programmes of their own. Our study points out the added value of creating a geolocalized dataset and, in future, a spatialized database management system to (i) deploy targeted sustainable land management actions complementing past and ongoing actions and (ii) create synergy between all the stakeholders.


Laparoscopic surgery has the advantage of the minimally invasive for patients. However, the surgery is technically difficult for surgeon because high dexterity is required for suturing in the narrow patient's body. This paper presents a sealing method to locate the adhesive plaster at the incision instead of suturing. The objective is to optimize the plaster material and structure. We made the plaster with the thermally cross-linked gelatin film in a spiral fold because thermally cross-linked gelatin film has the high biocompatibility and tackiness, and a spiral fold has great storage efficiency. In 3 experiments, we measured expansion rate, expansion tension, peeling force, and sealing pressure in a variety of gelatin volume and concentration, and the films diameter. From these experimental results, we optimized the films using response surface method. As a result, the plaster is optimal at gelatin volume 10 mL, gelatin concentration 4 wt %, and films diameters 75 mm. We concluded that the optimized spiral folded adhesive plaster is sufficient in terms of the expansion, tackiness, and sealing properties.


This paper focuses on the intellectual work of the Sephardic Spanish philologist Kalmi Baruh, considered the father of Spanish studies in Yugoslavia. His studies on the Judeo-Spanish language and Spanish literature are analysed within the issues concerning the Sephardi community in the Bosnian context between the two wars. More specifically, the focus is on Kalmi Baruh's essays on Ortega y Gasset, whose philosophical thought is important for Baruh own critical reflections. He also writes on Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca and Miguel de Unamuno.


Hemodynamic monitoring is an important adjunct to clinical evaluation. Nevertheless, it should not be performed unless the derived data are needed to establish a diagnosis or guide treatment. Successful use of the flotation catheter requires technical skill in insertion and maintenance, knowledge of cardiopulmonary physiology, an understanding of potential complications (and their avoidance), and the ability to correctly interpret and apply results. To maintain competence, physicians should perform at least 50 procedures a year. It is unlikely that a large clinical trial of the general efficacy of hemodynamic monitoring could ever be conducted; however, more limited studies could help define the role of this procedure in certain settings.


Abstract Unfertilized bovine oocytes can be efficiently cryopreserved only when an extremely rapid cooling rate (>20,000°C/min) is applied to oocytes with a very limited amount of surrounding vitrification solution. This protocol is defined as minimum volume cooling (MVC) vitrification. Various types of cryodevices, such as open pulled straw, Cryoloop, and Cryotop, have been developed to accelerate the cooling efficacy. Furthermore, hollow fibers with nano‐scale pores, triangle nylon mesh sheets, and multilayer silk fibroin sheets have been optimized for the loading of large quantities of oocytes and/or the subsequent removal of excess vitrification solution, without requiring skillful operation to transfer individual oocytes using fine capillaries. This article provides an up‐to‐date review of cryodevices suitable for the MVC vitrification of bovine oocytes at the immature (germinal vesicle‐) and mature (metaphase II‐) stages.


Intractable recurrent ulcer of the oral cavity and pharynx was defined as irregular ulcerative lesions occurring only in the oral cavity and pharynx, showing no specific findings on clinicohematological examinations, which recurred easily and were resistant to various treatments for at least one month. Twenty-two cases with intractable recurrent ulcer were studied histologically. The following results were obtained: 1. Five histological types (LP type, LPE type, NL type, NLE type and NLP type) were identified, according to the invasive cells present, using H.E staining. 2. Subclasses of the invasive lymphocytes were classified using UCHL1 and L26. As a result, both LP type cases showed dominant T lymphocyte invasion. 3. Appearances of the activated T lymphocytes and Langerhans cells were studied using anti-Human HLA-DR and epithelial and endothelial expression of HLA-DR were observed. As a result, the characteristic findings of each histological type were demonstrated. These results suggest that cellular immunity may participate in the occurrence and progression of intractable recurrent ulcer. However, its role in the causes and effects of ulcer cannot be confirmed at this point.


Identifying and characterizing mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in sequencing data is essential for understanding their diversity, ecology, biotechnological applications, and impact on public health. Here, we introduce geNomad, a classification and annotation framework that combines information from gene content and a deep neural network to identify sequences of plasmids and viruses. geNomad uses a large dataset of marker proteins to provide functional gene annotation and taxonomic assignment of viral genomes. Using a conditional random field model, geNomad also detects proviruses integrated into host genomes with high precision. In benchmarks that included diverse MGE and chromosome sequences, geNomad significantly outperformed other tools in all evaluated clades of plasmids and viruses. Leveraging geNomad's speed and scalability, we were able to process public metagenomes and metatranscriptomes, leading to the discovery of millions of new viruses and plasmids that are available through the IMG/VR and IMG/PR databases. We anticipate that geNomad will enable further advancements in MGE research, and it is available at https://portal.nersc.gov/genomad.


To investigate the functions of cranial 3D ultrasound in the assessment of growth and development of the volume of frontal lobes in children with perinatal brain injury, 226 neonates of different gestational ages and 86 full term with perinatal brain injury were selected as subjects. The volume of frontal lobe of neonate increased with gestational age within 7 days after birth (r=0.676, P<0.05). The volume of frontal lobe in the 33 children with serious brain injury was lower than that in the control group at 1 month and the difference was significant at 3 and 6 months (P<0.01). There was a correlation between the long-term nervous system dysplasia and the slow increase of frontal lobe volume. The volume of frontal lobe increases with gestational age. The brain injury during the perinatal period affects the development of frontal lobe and is related with neural dysplasia. 3D ultrasound is useful for evaluating the normal and abnormal brain development.


&NA; The current paradigm in macrophage biology is that some tissues mainly contain macrophages from embryonic origin, such as microglia in the brain, whereas other tissues contain postnatal‐derived macrophages, such as the gut. However, in the lung and in other organs, such as the skin, there are both embryonic and postnatal‐derived macrophages. In this study, we demonstrate in the steady‐state lung that the mononuclear phagocyte system is comprised of three newly identified interstitial macrophages (IMs), alveolar macrophages, dendritic cells, and few extravascular monocytes. We focused on similarities and differences between the three IM subtypes, specifically, their phenotype, location, transcriptional signature, phagocytic capacity, turnover, and lack of survival dependency on fractalkine receptor, CX3CR1. Pulmonary IMs were located in the bronchial interstitium but not the alveolar interstitium. At the transcriptional level, all three IMs displayed a macrophage signature and phenotype. All IMs expressed MER proto‐oncogene, tyrosine kinase, CD64, CD11b, and CX3CR1, and were further distinguished by differences in cell surface protein expression of CD206, Lyve‐1, CD11c, CCR2, and MHC class II, along with the absence of Ly6C, Ly6G, and Siglec F. Most intriguingly, in addition to the lung, similar phenotypic populations of IMs were observed in other nonlymphoid organs, perhaps highlighting conserved functions throughout the body. These findings promote future research to track four distinct pulmonary macrophages and decipher the division of labor that exists between them.


We compared destination memory to source memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the latter type of memory is believed to be severely deteriorated in AD. Control participants and AD patients were tested on two conditions, both of which had a study phase and a recognition phase. In the study phase of the first condition, participants had to tell a set of facts to the faces of a set of celebrities (destination memory). In the study phase of the second condition, they had to receive a different set of facts from a different set of celebrity faces (source memory). During the recognition phase, participants had to indicate, for destination memory, whether they had previously told a given fact to a given face (yes) or not (no) and, for source memory, whether they had previously received a given fact from a given face (yes) or not (no). In both conditions, they were asked to choose between "remember" or "know" options when answering "yes." AD patients showed reliable difficulties in destination recall, accompanied by a significant decrease in the number of "remember" responses they gave. AD-related destination memory decline may be attributed to the perturbation of episodic memory and its autonoetic reliving. The potential neural bases of this decline are discussed in terms of hippocampal failures.


An efficient expert system for machine fault diagnosis is developed. A new search method is proposed in this system to improve the efficiency of the diagnostic process. First of all, a diagnostic tree (a decision tree) is built by domain experts according to the functions of the devices in the machine. Then, the diagnostic priorities of nodes (devices) in the tree are determined based on a fuzzy group multiple attribute decision making method. A meta knowledge base for fault diagnosis is generated automatically based on the determined priorities to guide the diagnostic process. After that, a domain knowledge base that hypothesises possible faults for each device in the tree is generated by domain experts and/or manuals. At last, the inference process starts based on the meta knowledge base and hypothesises which device is the possible cause of failure. To validate the system performance, an illustrative example (VCR troubleshooting) is presented for demonstration purposes.


Introduction Medical schools are increasingly attempting to prepare future physicians for diverse new leadership roles in the health care system. Many schools have implemented didactic leadership curricula, with varying levels of structure and success. Project-based learning via completion of real-world projects using a team-based approach remains an underutilized approach to developing student leadership skills. Methods We designed and implemented the Medical Educational Consulting Group (Med ECG)—a student-run consulting program that provides medical students with opportunities to develop leadership skills by completing consulting projects with local clients. We provide an overview of the Med ECG model, including a combination of didactic training sessions and project-based learning via both simulation and real-world projects. Surveys were used to evaluate the value of Med ECG to clients, the community, and students. Results Fourteen medical students (eight first-years, two second-years, three third-years, and one fourth-year, including five dual-degree candidates) completed the Med ECG program. Client feedback pointed to the value of Med ECG's projects and their impact on the community through partner organizations. Finally, linear regression analysis showed a strong positive correlation (R2 = .61) between the amount of effort devoted to various leadership attributes and the perceived improvement while working with Med ECG. Discussion Med ECG's experiences show that a medical student-led project-based learning program is a novel way to develop leadership skills for future physician leaders. Efforts to replicate these types of programs will help additional students develop their leadership and business skills, making a positive impact outside of the classroom.


The recent discovery of H3S and LaH10 superconductors with record high superconducting transition temperature, Tc, at high pressure has fueled the search for room-temperature superconductors in superhydrides. Our results indicate the existence of a previously-unreported hexagonal HfH10, which exhibits an extraordinary high superconducting Tc of around 213-234 K at 250 GPa. In HfH10, H atoms are clustered to form a planar"penta graphene-like"sublattice, in contrast to the clathrate-like structure found in LaH10. The Hf atom acts as a precompressor and electron donor to the hydrogen sublattice. The HfH10 hexagonal structure is also found in ZrH10, ScH10 and LuH10 under high pressure, each compound showing a high Tc ranging from 134 to 220 K. Electronegativity, atomic radius, and valence configuration of the metal element are all found to play critical roles in the stabilization of the hydrogen sublattice, and fine-tune the superconductivity of these compounds. Our study of dense superhydrides with"penta-graphene-like"structures opens the door to the exploration and exploitation of a new class of high Tc superconductors.


Background: Accident is a global health problem. In 2002 the major cause of accident leading to death is road accident (22.8%). In 2003–2005 the number of road accidents in the Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory is decreasing; however the fatality and ratio of road accident and the number of victims are increasing. In Indonesia there are two kinds of reporting made whenever there is a road accident. When the accident is handled by the police, data are kept at the police office and hospital; however, when it is not handled by the police, data are kept only at the hospital, not at the police office. In the Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory data of road accident are based on the report of Traffic Office of Yogyakarta Special Territory Regional Police so that they may not reflect the actual road accidents. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of road accidents by combining data sources from both the police and hospital at the Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory 2006. Method: This was a descriptive study with survey design. It was carried out at the Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory from May to August 2007. Analysis was made using capture-recapture method. Data entry and calculation were carried out using web-based computer program with Personal Home Page language programming and the database was maintained in MySQL. Result: There were as many as 1,721 data from 5 district police office/big city police office and 5,422 data from 22 hospitals and there were as many as 751 similar data. Data from the police office were 100% complete and from hospitals were not as complete as those from the police office. Coverage of data from the police office was 13.9% and from hospitals was 43,7%. The result of the study showed that the prevalence of road accident based on data from the police office was 51 per 100,000 people and from the hospital was 161 per 100,000 people; whereas the prevalence of the result of estimation using capture-recapture method was 369 per 100,000 people (12,417 cases – 95% CI:11.799-13.035) with highest prevalence for male of 16–25 years old, living and having road accidents at Sleman District. Conclusion: The estimation of the prevalence of road accident using capture-recapture method at the Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory in 2006 was 369 per 100,000 people, 2.28 times greater than data of hospitals and 7.2 times greater than data of the police office with under reporting as much as 724% at the police office and 229% at hospitals. Keywords: road accident, capture-recapture method, prevalence


We present results of resonant-photoemission and high-resolution x-ray-photoemission-spectroscopy (XPS) studies on single-crystalline CuO, which confirms most of the earlier data obtained from polycrystalline samples. However, some minor differences with earlier results were also observed, which are concentrated on a mainly oxygen-related feature. The important first ionization state is much better resolved in our high-resolution XPS data, and is found to have both copper and oxygen orbital character. This is consistent (though not a proof) with the theoretical prediction that the first ionization state is a {sup 1}{ital A}{sub 1{ital g}} singlet with holes on both oxygen and copper sites. The 16-eV satellite is found to show a Cu antiresonance, and is assigned to a {sup 1}{ital A}{sub 1{ital g}} singlet with both holes on the copper sites.


In this study, the asphaltene extracted from Luntai heavy oil was oxidized by a mixture of propionic anhydride and hydrogen peroxide without and with a catalyst. Elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy results indicated the occurrence of oxygen addition, condensation, and side chain cleavage reactions in the oxidation process. Oxidation products were divided into methanol solubles and methanol insolubles. The H/C and O/C atomic ratios of the MeOHS in the oxidation products without a catalyst were higher than those of the Luntai asphaltene. MeOHS had fewer aromatic rings than Luntai asphaltene. Compared with the oxidative reaction without a catalyst, the total mass of oxidation products and the proportion of MeOHS in oxidation products both increased after catalytic oxidation. This low-temperature oxidation technology can be used to upgrade asphaltenes, and thus can promote the exploitation and processing of heavy oil.


Pain and other symptoms associated with work-related upper extremity disorders (WRUEDs) can lead to significant distress, lost function, and disability. Identifying factors associated with decreased upper extremity function may lead to the development of more effective interventions. In this study, participants were 165 government employees (127 female, 38 male) with an accepted workers' compensation claim (<90 days from claim filing) for a WRUED who were unable to perform their normal work. Participants completed baseline measures of upper extremity functional limitation, symptoms, general health status, problem solving orientation, pain coping, and workplace factors. After controlling for pain and gender in a multiple regression analysis, greater functional limitation was further explained by: (1) upper extremity symptoms other than pain (eg, sleep disturbance, numbness and tingling), (2) symptoms in one or both hands, (3) feeling overwhelmed by pain, (4) low confidence in problem solving abilities, and (5) higher ergonomic risk factor exposures at work. The final model accounted for 47.4% of the variance in upper extremity function, F(7157) = 4.33, P < 0.05. Mental health status was related to functional limitation in univariate, but not multivariate analyses. These results suggest that improving function in this population may require: (1) pain coping techniques and active problem solving to overcome functional barriers, and (2) reduction of workplace ergonomic risk exposure.


ABSTRACT In an earlier study, Service (1992) found that phonological short-term memory, reflected in the ability to repeat English-sounding pseudowords, was a good predictor of learning English as a foreign language over a period of three school years. This study attempts to find out to what extent foreign vocabulary learning is the critical learning process related to pseudoword repetition accuracy. Regression analyses on repetition data and learning measures revealed significant correlations between pseudoword repetition and foreign language learning, even after a measure of general academic achievement had been partialed out. In a fixed-order multiple regression analysis – with predictors entered in the order of general academic achievement, foreign language vocabulary, and pseudoword repetition – no additional variance in any foreign language measure studied could be accounted for by pseudoword repetition in the third step. When vocabulary in the second step was replaced by performance in foreign language essay writing or the correct reproduction of dictated discourse – both highly related to overall foreign language performance – repetition significantly increased the proportion of accounted variance, especially for two foreign language vocabulary tasks and a listening comprehension task. Phonological memory may, therefore, be specifically related to foreign vocabulary learning.


Osteoarthritis is frequently treated in veterinary settings with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as carprofen (CP). Its action over the articular cartilage can be enhanced by increasing drug uptake into the cartilage, alongside its site of action, and anticipating its rapid distribution towards the bloodstream. A pharmacokinetic study to evaluate carprofen nanoparticles (NP) after intraarticular administration (IA) in rabbits was performed through a modeling allometric approach. The pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma profiles showed a rapid CP distribution outwards the synovial chamber but mainly remaining in plasma (Vc = 0.14 L/5 Kg), according to its high protein-binding. The absorption data modeling showed the occurrence of two different release–absorption rate processes after nanoparticle administration in the synovial space, i.e., a fast rate process causing a burst effect and involving the 59.5% of the total CP absorbed amount and a slow rate process, involving 40.5%. Interestingly, the CP burst effect inside the joint space enhances its diffusion towards cartilage resulting in CP accumulation in about three times higher concentrations than in plasma. In line with these results, the normalized-by-dose area under the concentration vs. time curve (AUC) values after IA were 80% lower than those observed after the intravenous. Moreover, the slower slope of the concentration–time terminal phase after IA administration vs. intravenous (IV) suggested a flip-flop phenomenon (0.35 h-1 vs. 0.19 h-1). Notably, CP clearances are predictive of the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of CP in healthy humans (0.14 L/h/5 kg vs. 2.92 L/h/70 kg) although an over-estimation has been detected for cats or dogs (10 times and 4 times, respectively). This fact could probably be attributed to inter-species metabolic differences. In summary, despite the limited number of animals used, this study shows that the rabbit model could be suitable for a predictive evaluation of the release enhancement of CP-NP towards the biophase in arthritic diseases not due to sterical retention of the formulation.


What kind of bacteria are these vibrios and where do they come from? Vibrio vulnificus Vibrio parahaemolyticus Prevention of foodborne illness References Oyster beds in Galveston Bay, Texas, were closed to harvesting during most of the summer of 1998 because 416 persons in 13 states fell ill after eating raw oysters traced to this location (21). Then, just as these shellfish beds appeared to be safe again, New York authorities forbade the harvest of clams and oysters from beds near Long Island in mid-September, after 10 people became ill from eating raw shellfish collected there. The bacterial pathogen contaminating shellfish in both areas was identified as Vibrio parahaemolyticus. In the summer of 1997, this organism caused another large outbreak in the Pacific Northwest with 209 cases and one death (8). A related species, V. vulnificus, was blamed for two fatalities in Florida in 1998 and for a total of 33 deaths in the U. What kind of bacteria are these vibrios and where do they come from? Vibrios are short, Gram-negative rods, usually found in aquatic environments. Some, such as V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus are halophiles which require a saltwater environment for growth. Both species are normal residents in coastal waters, and their numbers depend on the temperature and salinity of the water (12,15,17). Cell numbers typically increase during the summer as water temperatures rise but they are not positively correlated with indicators of fecal contamination. Therefore, vibrio concentrations are not necessarily higher in shellfish from beds closed to harvesting because of high coliform counts or evidence of sewage contamination. Numerous surveys of raw shellfish from coastal waters of the U.S. have demonstrated a high level of contamination with vibrios. One survey, conducted in the summer, indicated that 100% of the oysters tested contained detectable V. parahaemolyticus and 67% contained V. vulnificus. Not all strains of these vibrio species are pathogenic. But as yet we don't know if certain environmental conditions favor the growth of pathogens over non-pathogens (23). In the U.S., V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus are the most common vibrios identified in seafood associated with illness (9). However, as many as 8 species of Vibrio have been implicated in cases and outbreaks of foodborne disease. With the exception of cholera, Vibrio diseases are not designated as reportable. However, the CDC's foodborne disease surveillance program (FoodNet) does monitor vibrio infections at its five target locations. In 1997, FoodNet …


Musical data mining is not a new invention, but as a nationwide resource of this type it breaks new ground by providing researchers with new ways to analyze musical data. It was Toiviainen and Eerola s idea to combine specific information with a geographical coordinate database. Now geographical comparisons can be made it is possible to follow the geographical variation of musical features. For instance, schools can now identify and trace folk tune originating from their own regions. Musical Data Mining is used for discovering any kind of relevant similarity between music titles. Several algorithms like Apriori, PHP, partition, sampling and some other parallel algorithm have been developed. In this thesis, Apriori and DHP are implemented. To extract the similarity between music titles and to manipulate their relationships two techniques are used cooccurrence analysis and correlation analysis. By the use of these two techniques it is capable to access the database and then find whether any similarity exist between the music titles. For the purpose of finding a match within the titles in the database Pattern matching is used using the Apriori and DHP algorithms


The university Teaching hospital is the main referral centre for Zambia a country that  has a population of over 11 million people. Fourteen sets of conjoined twins have been  seen between 1970 and 1999. Of these fourteen sets of twins, three cases were  stillborn (21.43%). The remaining 11 (78.57%) sets were brought in alive. Five (35.71%) of these eleven sets had multiple congenital abnormalities; and were not  subjected to operation. All five died within a period of two weeks. Six (42.86%) sets were successfully separated. An attempt has been made to establish the incidence of conjoined twins in Zambia. Basic principles of management have been suggested and constraints likely to be encountered in a third world country like Zambia have been  discussed. Key words : Conjoined, Siamese and twins


BACKGROUND: Data on the outcomes of noninfluenza respiratory virus (NIRV) infections among hospitalized adults are lacking. We aimed to study the burden, severity and outcomes of NIRV infections in this population. METHODS: We analyzed pooled patient data from 2 hospital-based respiratory virus surveillance cohorts in 2 regions of Canada during 3 consecutive seasons (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18; n = 2119). We included patients aged ≥ 18 years who developed influenza-like illness or pneumonia and were hospitalized for management. We included patients confirmed positive for ≥ 1 virus by multiplex polymerase chain reaction assays (respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], human rhinovirus/enterovirus (hRV), human coronavirus (hCoV), metapneumovirus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, influenza viruses). We compared patient characteristics, clinical severity conventional outcomes (e.g., hospital length-of stay, 30-day mortality) and ordinal outcomes (5 levels: discharged, receiving convalescent care, acute ward or intensive care unit [ICU] care and death) for patients with NIRV infections and those with influenza. RESULTS: Among 2119 adults who were admitted to hospital, 1156 patients (54.6%) had NIRV infections (hRV 14.9%, RSV 12.9%, hCoV 8.2%) and 963 patients (45.4%) had influenza (n = 963). Patients with NIRVs were younger (mean 66.4 [standard deviation 20.4] yr), and more commonly had immunocompromising conditions (30.3%) and delay in diagnosis (median 4.0 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.0–7.0] days). Overall, 14.6% (12.4%–19.5%) of NIRV infections were acquired in hospital. Admission to ICU (18.2%, median 6.0 [IQR 3.0–13.0] d), hospital length-of-stay (median 5.0 [IQR 2.0–10.0] d) and 30-day mortality (8.4%; RSV 9.5%, hRV 6.6%, hCoV 9.2%) and the ordinal outcomes were similar for patients with NIRV infection and those with influenza. Age > 60 years, immunocompromised state and hospital-acquired viral infection were associated with worse outcomes. The estimated median cost per acute care admission was $6000 (IQR $2000–$16 000). INTERPRETATION: The burden of NIRV infection is substantial in adults admitted to hospital and associated outcomes may be as severe as for influenza, suggesting a need to prioritize therapeutics and vaccines for at-risk people.


The growth of animal cells in culture can be stimulated very powerfully when they are allowed to extend upon a solid surface. In normal fibroblasts, the maximum is reached either on a plane surface with an area of 2500 micron 2 or on a narrow fibre with a length of 250 micron. This growth-stimulating effect of fibres could help to explain how asbestos causes cancer. All asbestiform minerals are complex mixtures of different lengths, but siliceous macrohairs with a uniform length are borne by several species of the grass genus Phalaris. Some of these species are common contaminants of the bread eaten in a part of Iran where oesophageal cancer has an unexplained high incidence. A pure preparation of 200 micron silica fibres from one of these species is a powerful promoter of cancer in the skin of mice. Similar fibres from millet (Seteria italica) are associated with the same disease in China, and plant silica has long been known to be associated the it in South Africa. In addition, a rare thoracic tumour, which normally only occurs after exposure to asbestos, has been detected among sugarcane farmers in the United States and in India; fine silica fibres are liberated into the air during the harvest.


In Project Scotia, competing schools had to design a UHF television broadcasting network for the hypothetical Scotia region, supposedly located somewhere on the west coast of Scotland. They then had to prepare a written 'consultants' report' describing and justifying their proposed scheme, and also produce a presentation of the scheme using models, drawings and similar techniques. The project was designed to foster effective interdepartmental and cross disciplinary cooperation. It required the pupils to carry out detailed calculations of a highly technical nature, and also to take full account of all relevant economic, geographical, social and environmental factors.


Background: Congenital dermal sinus tract (DST) is a rare entity of cranial or spinal dysraphism that may occur anywhere from nasion and along the midline neuraxis from occipital to sacral regions. Craniospinal infection caused by occipital DST is even rarer. Because of their scarcity, these lesions are not well documented in the literature, often mixed with dermal sinuses in other location or other dysmorphic features. This paper reports a unique case of an infant presented with craniospinal abscesses resulting from occipital dermal sinus tract. Methods and materials: In this paper, we report a case of a 16-month-old girl presented with high grade fever, vomiting and lethargy. She had a discharging occipital skin lesion. Her diagnosis was "Occipital DST with Cerebellospinal Abscess", which was treated successfully by excision of the DST and cerebellar abscess. Histopathological examination revealed a dermoid cyst. She received 8 weeks of parenteral antibiotic treatment with a good outcome. Results: Occipital DST is a rare condition. Its clinical presentation varies and clinical suspicion is required. Early neurosurgical intervention is important to prevent the risk of potential complications such as abscess and bacterial meningitis. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of early recognition and evaluation of midline craniospinal cutaneous stigmata in infant. Further neurosurgical assessment with radiological investigations are recommended for early detection and management. Once diagnosed is made, surgical intervention and appropriate antibiotic therapy are the mainstay of treatment.


Abstract The species assigned to the genus Catillochroma are reassessed. The two characters used to characterize Catillochroma, exciple anatomy and thalline chemistry, are shown to be variable and contradictory with a number of intermediates. Consequently, Catillochroma is reduced to synonymy with Megalaria, and the species previously placed in Catillochroma transferred, or returned, to Megalaria. As such, the following new combinations are proposed: Megalaria anaglyptica, M. endochroma, M. intermiscens and M. leptocheila. The genus Lopezaria is also shown to be related to Megalaria and to be closely related to the type species of Catillochroma, C. endochroma, and so is also reduced to synonymy with Megalaria. A number of species found to have been misplaced in Catillaria are also transferred to Megalaria: M. leucochlora, M. melanopotamica, M. obludens, M. pannosa and M. phaeolomiza. Megalaria imshaugii is reduced to synonymy with M. obludens, Megalaria pannosa is reported for the first time from North America and Lopezaria isidiza is reported for the first time from outside Asia from Jamaica.


100 patients with injuries to their fingers were treated using the subcutaneous digital block as described by Low et al.. Different dosages ranging from 2 to 3 millilitres of a local anesthetic were required to obtain appropriate anesthesia according to the location of injury. 108 finger injuries were treated, 18 thumb injuries, 90 finger injuries. The anesthetic was administered using a 0.55 x 25 mm needle and injected strictly subcutaneously into the flexor crease at the base of the finger or thumb. Injuries to the palmar aspect of the fingers were anesthetized using 2 ml of a local anesthetic (1% Lidocain), whereas 3 ml were needed for sufficient pain relief in case of injury to the dorsal aspect of the fingers. Injury to the thumb required a higher dosage (3 ml subcutaneously), and only offered sufficient pain relief for palmar injuries. In the case of dorsal injuries, we found that this technique was not sufficient in providing pain relief. Additionally, we performed a deep local nerve block (Oberst), if the patient still felt discomfort or pain. The severity or type of injury did not play a role according to our findings. The subcutaneous finger block as described by Low et al., therefore, is the method of choice treating injuries to the fingers and to the palmar aspect of the thumb, since it offers a decrease in the amount of anesthetic required and increases patient comfort.


Context: Microinverters are widely used in modular photovoltaic installations but its operation with reduced power is limited to inject real power into the grid. One way to optimize the use of microinverters consist of providing them the Active Power Filtering (APF) capability, which allows its use as both distributed generation and compensation unit even under unfavorable conditions of insolation. With this approach, the output stage of the microinverter can provide reactive and distortive components of power in order to compensate power quality defects of a localized load. Method: This paper proposes a non-linear control strategy to integrate the APF function in a single-phase two-stage photovoltaic microinverter. The proposal involves the use of the single-phase P-Q theory to generate the current reference, sliding mode control to achieve a robust tracking of that reference and linear robust control to maintain the power balance regulating the DC-link voltage of the microinverter. The proposed control does not require the use of low-pass filters and in turn uses a recursive average computation improving the general performance of the system. Results: The theoretical approach is validated by means of simulation results in which appropriate levels of harmonic distortion are obtained in the grid-side current for different load types and power levels. The robustness of the control system is tested by applying disturbances in the harmonic content of the load current and its power level obtaining an appropriate dynamic performance adapted to the demands of the application. Conclusions: The main advantage of this proposal is the possibility to add the active filter function to coventional microinverters extending its capability to power conditioning only integrating some algorithms. A simple design method to ensure reliability, robustness and high power quality is detailed. Language: English


While metrics are becoming increasingly important for marketing's relevance, there is also a need to understand how they, as enablers of learning, affect marketing's adaptive capabilities that ensure its long-term success. Therefore, this study aims to test the association of marketing and financial metrics use and the metric-based orientations of training and compensation, with two key marketing routines – exploitation, i.e. the perfecting of existing activities while allowing for incremental adaptations and exploration or experimentation accompanied by radical adaptation.,The study gathers data from 205 managers and uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.,Marketing metrics encourage both forms of marketing adaptation. Financial metrics use discourages exploration. Market orientation and long-term orientation strengthen (weaken) the positive (negative) relationship between marketing (financial) metrics use and marketing exploration. Metric-based training is more positively associated with both adaptive capabilities than a metric-based compensation orientation, albeit weakly.,The study's central proposition – that different metrics or metric orientations are associated with distinct types of knowledge, interpretations, mindsets, motivations and cultural contexts – provides a deeper theoretical understanding of the pathways by which a metric emphasis affects marketing adaptation.,Marketing managers should emphasize marketing metrics and training more than compensation, to promote marketing exploitation/exploration, while exercising caution in overstressing financial metrics given their negative association with exploration. This latter negative relationship can be weakened (as can the positive one between marketing metrics and exploration be strengthened) with increased market orientation and long-term orientation.,This study addresses the research gap regarding the relationship between metrics as a configurational element of marketing organization and marketing adaptation.


A case of vortex/wave shedding at a mountain near Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in a tropical cyclone situation is studied in this paper. Compared with similar studies at HKIA in the past, this paper contains novel results by considering both actual observations and numerical simulation of the event, and by studying the shedding in a neutral boundary layer instead of a stably stratified atmosphere in the spring time. The vortex/wave shedding is clearly observed from the radial velocity imagery of Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR). The shedding period is about 7 min, which is consistent with previous results in the literature. The vortex/wave adjacent to the background strong southeasterly flow also leads to significant wind shear over the arrival runway corridor to the west of the north runway of HKIA. It may also be associated with the significant headwind changes encountered by an arriving aircraft that had to conduct missed approach due to the rapidly fluctuating winds. The shedding event is simulated by using the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) version 4.4 with a horizontal resolution down to 50 m. The model is found to capture the vortex/wave shedding successfully. The simulated shedding period is similar to actual observations, though the associated area of reverse flow is much smaller. As such, with faster computers, it may be possible to forecast the occurrence of significant wind shear associated with vortex/wave shedding in an area of complex terrain and provide earlier alert to the aviation weather forecasters. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society


The Dardennes' filmic production aims at restoring the missing link between human beings and the world that have been progressively undermined during the ultimate development of late-capitalist society. This contribution deals with their search for a new contact with reality and a concrete belief in the world, focusing on the theme of body and paternity, in the epoch of their evaporation. In order to rethink the paternal function in a post-political and post-ideological age, however, the Dardennes have had to radically come to terms with its ambiguity and oscillation between abandon and adoption, self-preservation and transmission, forgiveness and revenge. With regard to this ambivalence, this contribution focuses on The Promise and The Son, which represent significant descriptions of what (the body of) a father is capable of, suggesting, at the same time, interruption and filiation as possible experiences for a new beginning.


Neurons are believed to possess plasmalemmal microdomains and proteins analogous to the caveolae and caveolin of nonneuronal cells. Caveolae are plasmalemmal invaginations where activated glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins preferentially assemble and where transmembrane signaling may occur. Molecular cloning of rat reggie-1 and -2 (80% identical to goldfish reggie proteins) shows that reggie-2 is practically identical to mouse flotillin-1. Flotillin-1 and epidermal surface antigen (ESA) (flotillin-2) are suggested to represent possible membrane proteins in caveolae. Rat reggie-1 is 99% homologous to ESA in overlapping sequences but has a 49-amino-acid N-terminus not present in ESA. Antibodies (ABs) which recognize reggie-1 or -2 reveal that both proteins cluster at the plasmamembrane and occur in micropatches in neurons [dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), retinal ganglion, and PC-12 cells] and in nonneuronal cells. In neurons, reggie micropatches occur along the axon and in lamellipodia and filopodia of growth cones, but they do not occur in caveolae. By quantitative electronmicroscopic analysis we demonstrate the absence of caveolae in (anti-caveolin negative) neurons and show anti-reggie-1 immunogold-labeled clusters at the plasmamembrane of DRGs. When ABs against the GPI-anchored cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) F3 and Thy-1 are applied to live DRGs, the GPI-linked CAMs sequester into micropatches. Double immunofluorescence shows a colocalization of the CAMs with micropatches of anti-reggie antibodies. Thus, reggie-1 and reggie-2 identify sites where activated GPI-linked CAMs preferentially accumulate and which may represent noncaveolar micropatches (domains).


The objective of this study was to identify quality of life and related factors in schizophrenic patients who were being monitored by health-care services in Concepcion and Arauca (Chile) during April-June 2009. It is a quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional descriptive study. The population in question included all schizophrenic patients (40) who were subject to a short-term stay. The principal variablequality of life (QOL) was the instrument used and was measured with the SF-36 questionnaire. Socio-demographic and social support variables were included as well, the latter through application of the Duke-UNC-11 questionnaire. The findings of the study reflect an acceptable quality of life, which may be associated with the socio-cultural conditions in the region.


Optimized structures, with all real frequencies, of superalkali superhalides (Li(3))(+)(SH)(-) (SH=LiF(2), BeF(3), and BF(4)), are obtained, for the first time, at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ computational levels. These superalkali superhalides possess three characteristics that are significantly different from normal alkali halides. 1) They have a variety of structures, which come from five bonding mode types: edge-face, edge-edge, face-face, face-edge, and staggered face-edge. We find that the bonding mode type closely correlates with the Li(3)-SH bond energy. 2) The valence electrons on the Li(3) ring are pushed out by the (SH)(-) anion, and become excess electrons, conferring alkalide or electride characteristics on these Li(3)-SH species, depending on the bonding mode type. 3) The highest occupied molecular orbital of each Li(3)-SH species is a doubly occupied delocalized sigma bonding orbital on the Li(3) ring, which indicates its aromaticity. It is noticeable that the maximum negative nucleus-independent chemical shift value (about -10 ppm) moves out from the center of the Li(3) ring, owing to repulsion by the SH(-) anion. We find that these superalkali superhalides are not only complicated "supermolecules", but are also a new type of alkalide or electride, with aromaticity.


This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the accounting system in the sales cycle and the credit purchase cycle on the CV. Mapan Sejahtera in order to improve the effectiveness of internal control. This study uses qualitative research methods with a case study research approach. From the results of research and analysis, then overall it can be concluded that there are still some weaknesses that can result in not achieving effective internal control on the CV. Mapan Sejahtera. The company has not made written procedures and systems that cause each part to make their own perceptions of the running of the company's operational standards, which leads to effectiveness. The recommended recommendation is to re-arrange procedures and systems in writing, to socialize to each relevant part so that each part can comply with and carry out operational activities according to their respective job descriptions, and carry out routine supervision especially regarding human resources (employees) the procedures and systems that have been implemented.


Recent advances in high-frequency financial econometrics enable us to characterize which components of the data generating processes change in crisis, and which do not. This paper introduces a new statistic which captures large discontinuities in the composition of a given price series. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this statistic is useful in characterizing the tail behavior across different sample periods. An application to US Treasury market provides evidence consistent with identifying periods of stress via flight-to-cash behavior which results in increased abrupt price falls at the short end of the term structure and decreased negative price jumps at the long end.