Type 2 diabetes has rapidly emerged as a global health crisis. Because population-level genetic changes take many generations to occur, this epidemic is almost certainly primarily a consequence of recent environmental changes; nonetheless, diabetes does appear to occur preferentially in genetically predisposed populations, which suggests that the effects of pre-existing susceptibility genes have been triggered by recent shifts in nongenetic factors.

Predisposition is influenced by the level of certain environmental exposures, personal factors, access to good-quality primary care, and by genotype. Interactions between genetic and nongenetic risk factors are hypothesized to raise diabetes risk in a synergistic manner; reciprocally, health-enhancing changes in behavior, body composition, or medication may reduce the risk of disease conveyed by genetic factors. Defining the nature of these interactions and identifying ways through which reliable observations of gene-environment interactions (GEIs) can be translated into the public health setting might help 1 ) optimize targeting of health interventions to persons most likely to respond well to them, 2 ) improve cost- and health-effectiveness of existing preventive and treatment paradigms; 3 ) reduce unnecessary adverse consequences of interventions; 4 ) increase patient adherence to health practitioners' recommendations; and 5 ) identify novel interventions that are beneficial only in a defined genetic subgroup of the population. In this Perspective, we describe the rationale and evidence relating to the existence of gene-environment and gene-treatment interactions in type 2 diabetes. We discuss the tried, tested, and often-failed approaches to investigating gene-lifestyle interactions in type 2 diabetes; we discuss some recent developments in gene-treatment interactions (pharmacogenetics); and we look forward to the strategies that are likely to dominate these fields of research in the future. We conclude with a discussion of the requirements for translating findings from these future studies into a form where they can be used to help predict, prevent, or treat diabetes. Here we …


The authors present 5 cases of monoarthritis which revealed adjacent bone tumours: a bony metastasis, a fibrosarcoma and three bone lymphomas. In three cases, the synovial histology showed lesions of non-specific synovitis without neoplastic invasion. A review of the literature demonstrates the rarity of these mono- or oligo- arthrites adjacent to bone tumours and two types can be distinguished: neoplastic invasion of the synovium or reactive non-specific synovitis without invasion.


Cotton was planted 11 Jun in 4 row plots (40-inch centers) × 50 ft on the Northeast Research Station (Macon Ridge Branch) near Winnsboro, La. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated 4 times. Insecticides were applied on 10, 14, 17, and 23 Aug. Applications were made with a high clearance sprayer calibrated to deliver 6 gal total spray/acre through Teejet X-5 hollow cone nozzles (2/row) at 40 psi. Methyl parathion (0.3 lb [AI%/acre) was applied on an "as needed" basis for boll weevil control. Treatments were evaluated by examining 50 cotton fruit (squares and bolls) for evidence of damage and the presence of larvae. The test plots received 0.3-inch rainfall on 13 Aug and 1.6-inch rainfal on 20 Aug.


There is an increasing demand for outcomes data from both purchasers of health care and providers. This is especially true for the managed behavioral health care industry. Patients are more educated about health care and active in treatment decisions. Patient-reported outcomes data, clinical information, and functional status are components of the clinical decision support system. This article describes, in interview format, an outcomes measurement system for clinical decision support.


Age-related changes in famous face incongruity detection were examined in middle-aged (mean = 50.6) and young (mean = 24.8) subjects. Behavioral and ERP responses were recorded while subjects, after a presentation of a "prime face" (a famous person with the eyes masked), had to decide whether the following "test face" was completed with its authentic eyes (congruent) or with other eyes (incongruent). The principal effects of advancing age were (1) behavioral difficulties in discriminating between incongruent and congruent faces; (2) a reduced N400 effect due to N400 enhancement for both congruent and incongruent faces; (3) a latency increase of both N400 and P600 components. ERPs to primes (face encoding) were not affected by aging. These results are interpreted in terms of early signs of aging.


The Bidimensional technique is an edgewise technique in which 2 different sized vertically slotted brackets are used. On the central and lateral incisors, .018" x .022" brackets are placed on the central and lateral incisors and .022" x .028" brackets are placed on the canines, molars and premolars. The maxillary incisor brackets are programmed. All movements, including bodily retraction of the maxillary incisors are produced by sliding mechanincs. When retracting maxillary incisors, an .018" x. 022" wire which fills the vertical portion of the brackets, providing torque control, is inserted and 300 gm intra arch forces are placed for incisor retraction. In the buccal segments, the .018" x .022" wire is undersized relative to the canine, premolar and molar brackets and can readily slide through the brackets and tubes. The method is described and illustrated with one case report of the extraction treatment of a patient with Class I bimaxillary protrusion.


This thesis investigates various questions concerning the birational geometry of the moduli spaces Mg and Mg,n, with a focus on the computation of effective divisor classes. In Chapter 2 we define, for any n-tuple d of integers summing up to g − 1, a geometrically meaningful divisor on Mg,n that is essentially the pullback of the theta divisor on a universal Jacobian variety under an Abel-Jacobi map. It is a generalization of various kinds of divisors used in the literature, for example by Logan to show that Mg,n is of general type for all g ≥ 4 as soon as n is big enough. We compute the class of this divisor and show that for certain choices of d it is irreducible and extremal in the effective cone of Mg,n. Chapter 3 deals with a birational model X6 of M6 that is obtained by taking quadric hyperplane sections of the degree 5 del Pezzo surface. We compute the class of the big divisor inducing the birational map M6 99K X6 and use it to derive an upper bound on the moving slope of M6. Furthermore we show that X6 is the final non-trivial space in the log minimal model program for M6. We also give a few results on the unirationality of Weierstraß loci on Mg,1, which for g = 6 are related to the del Pezzo construction used to construct the model X6. Finally, Chapter 4 focuses on the case g = 0. Castravet and Tevelev introduced combinatorially defined hypertree divisors on M0,n that for n = 6 generate the effective cone together with boundary divisors. We compute the class of the hypertree divisor on M0,7, which is unique up to permutation of the marked points. We also give a geometric characterization of it that is analogous to the one given by Keel and Vermeire in the n = 6 case.


Objectives:This study explored correlates of spousal ability to infer the thoughts and feelings of individuals with chronic pain (ICPs). Methods:Participant couples (N=57), who consisted of at least 1 couple member with chronic pain, engaged in a videotaped discussion about pain, after which they completed an empathic accuracy procedure where spouses of ICP were asked to infer thoughts/feelings of ICPs. Results:Overall levels of partner empathic accuracy were similar to other studies of couples. Several characteristics of the pain experience and the marital relationship correlated with empathic accuracy for thoughts and feelings. Specifically, partner catastrophizing about the ICP's pain was associated with less empathic accuracy for thoughts, whereas ICP pain severity was related to a greater empathic accuracy for feelings. Several significant interactions were also found, with marital satisfaction and partner's own pain experience acting as moderators. Discussion:These findings provide support for models of empathy that argue that characteristics of the pain condition and characteristics of the observer are important contributors to observers' understanding of pain. In addition, the findings support previous research that suggests there are different processes for understanding the emotional versus the cognitive experience of others.


Background: Pharmacies play a special role in providing treatment services for patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in China. There is a need to study the STD/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge among pharmacy workers in retail pharmacies. Method: A total of 200 pharmacy workers were recruited from 120 randomly selected retail pharmacies in Fuzhou, China. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect information of demographics, working experience, pharmacy structure and clientele profile, and pharmacy workers' attitudes toward traditional Chinese folk remedies and their STD/HIV knowledge. Results: Work-related training during the past 6 months, holding pharmacist license, and years of being a pharmacy worker showed significant association with STD/HIV knowledge. Work-related training also significantly associated with provision of consultation. Years of education and medical training, however, failed to show significant association with STD/HIV knowledge. Conclusions: In order to improve service quality and avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment of STD/HIV, on-the-job training or continuous education for pharmacy workers should be required, implemented, and monitored as part of the national effort for STD control and treatment.


Recent reports from the Netherlands document the emergence of novel multilocus sequence typing (MLST) types (e.g., ST-398) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in livestock, particularly swine. In Eastern North Carolina (NC), one of the densest pig farming areas in the United States, as many as 14% of MRSA isolates from active case finding in our medical center have no matches in a repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) library. The current study was designed to determine if these non-matched MRSA (NM-MRSA) were geographically associated with exposure to pig farming in Eastern NC. While residential proximity to farm waste lagoons lacked association with NM-MRSA in a logistic regression model, a spatial cluster was identified in the county with highest pig density. Using MLST, we found a heterogeneous distribution of strain types comprising the NM-MRSA isolates from the most pig dense regions, including ST-5 and ST-398. Our study raises the warning that patients in Eastern NC harbor livestock associated MRSA strains are not easily identifiable by rep-PCR. Future MRSA studies in livestock dense areas in the U.S. should investigate further the role of pig–human interactions.


Summary form only given. We present a concept for automatic construction site monitoring by taking into account 4D information (3D over time), that is acquired from highly-overlapping digital aerial images. On the one hand today's maturity of flying micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) enables a low-cost and an efficient image acquisition of high-quality data that maps construction sites entirely from many varying viewpoints. On the other hand, due to low-noise sensors and high redundancy in the image data, recent developments in 3D reconstruction workflows have benefited the automatic computation of accurate and dense 3D scene information. Having both an inexpensive high-quality image acquisition and an efficient 3D analysis workflow enables monitoring, documentation and visualization of observed sites over time with short intervals. Relating acquired 4D site observations, composed of color, texture, geometry over time, largely supports automated methods toward full scene understanding, the acquisition of both the change and the construction site's progress.


In their 2002 Guidelines for chromosome analysis of peripheral blood, the American College of Medical Genetics states that "The 550-band stage should be the goal of all constitutional studies..." The College of American Pathologists requires that the average case be analyzed at the 400-band level of resolution for routine work, and that the 550-band level be achieved in appropriate blood samples. The challenge is how to identify the 400, 550, and 850-band levels confidently and consistently. In this study, our objectives were to develop simple and reliable criteria to estimate band level, and to evaluate our laboratory's performance with respect to those criteria. Using the ISCN(1995) ideogram as a reference, candidate bands were selected for the three band levels: 400, 550 and 850. A pilot and two follow-up studies were conducted and a set of candidate bands were validated against the Vancouver method of evaluating band level so that band level scores were similar using either method. The final set of reference bands were the presence of 9q32 and 20q13.2 for the 400-band level; 5q33.2 and 10q22.2 for the 550-band level; and 3p26.1, 18q22.3 and 20q13.32 for the 850-band level. Cell selection improved after each technologist was provided a composite image of chromosomes with reference bands highlighted. The band level criteria presented here involve no band counting, appear to be objective, can help to improve quality and consistency among technologists, and can ensure compliance with regulatory agencies.


Peripheral vascular diseases (PVDS) are characterized as a circulation problem in the veins, arteries, and lymphatic system. The main therapy consists of changes in lifestyle such as diet and physical activity. The pharmacological therapy includes the use of vasoactive drugs, which are used in arteriopathies and venolymphatic disorders. The goal of this study was to research the scientific literature on the use and pharmacology of vasoactive drugs, emphasizing the efficacy of their local actions and administration.


Abstract We report on an eastern coyote or coywolf (Canis latrans × lycaon) pack in a heavily urbanized area at the northern edge of Boston, Massachusetts, living at a high pack density. We radio-collared four members of this social unit, a breeding pair and two of their juvenile offspring and tracked them from May 2004–Apr. 2005. The pack had a small cumulative territory area (overall  =  2.05 km2), yet lived at a normal group size (fall  =  6–7, winter  =  4) for coyotes/coywolves in eastern North America. Fall density for this pack was 2.92–3.41/km2 and winter density was 1.95/km2, representing the highest recorded density for coyotes in this region.


The clinical findings and etiologic agents of childhood pneumonia vary, dependent upon the age of the child, with major differences seen in neonates, young infants 1 to 3 months of age, older infants or young children 3 months to 5 years of age, and older children or adolescents. Appropriate medical management and antibiotic therapy of children with pneumonia require consideration of these various age-dependent factors. Commonly the bacterial or viral etiologic agent causing community-acquired childhood pneumonia is not identified and thus antibiotic therapy is based on the probability of the most likely causative organisms. The choice of antibiotic for continuation of therapy is based on the clinical response to empiric therapy.


Physical injuries and neurodegenerative diseases often lead to irreversible damage to the organizational structure of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), culminating in physiological malfunctions. Investigating these complex and diverse biological processes at the macro and micro levels will help to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with nerve degeneration and regeneration, thereby providing new options for the development of new therapeutic strategies for the functional recovery of the nervous system. Due to their distinct advantages, modern microfluidic platforms have significant potential for high-throughput cell and organoid cultures in vitro, the synthesis of a variety of tissue engineering scaffolds and drug carriers, and observing the delivery of drugs at the desired speed to the desired location in real time. In this review, we first introduce the types of nerve damage and the repair mechanisms of the CNS and PNS; then, we summarize the development of microfluidic platforms and their application in drug carriers. We also describe a variety of damage models, tissue engineering scaffolds, and drug carriers for nerve injury repair based on the application of microfluidic platforms. Finally, we discuss remaining challenges and future perspectives with regard to the promotion of nerve injury repair based on engineered microfluidic platform technology.


The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the governing body for some 400,000 college athletes in the United States. During football's bowl season and basketball's March Madness, the NCAA likes to remind its millions of TV viewers that it represents student athletes: most of its members compete as amateurs and will never go pro. Somehow, that message seems increasingly lost in a sea of multi-million dollar TV deals, recruitment scandals, back-channel payouts, fan hysteria, player misbehavior both civil and criminal, and the routine bending-or flouting-of college and NCAA rules about player academic eligibility. Far from this madding crowd, the nation's oldest, most prestigious private colleges and universities go about the business of making scholar-athletes from the ranks of their admitted classes, without special recruitment or scholarship money, and demanding and getting the best from them both on the field and in the classroom. Using a model that has changed very little since it was founded in 1954, the Ivy League offers a bracing corrective to the excesses of big-money college sports. In Ivy League Athletes, veteran sportswriter Sal Maiorana follows nine student-athletes from seven Ivy League campuses through the 2011-2012 season. Along the way he shows us the qualities of heart, mind, and body that got them there and allow them to prosper on the field and in the classroom. The book includes a foreword by former Harvard and current NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.


Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of the extended use of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy (PT-DC) plus endostatin in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We performed a retrospective analysis of 200 newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC patients who had received at least 1 cycle of endostatin plus PT-DC between September 2009 and November 2014. Of these patients, 155 received 4 or more cycles of therapy (the extended therapy group), while 45 received less than 4 cycles of therapy (the control group). Clinical tumor responses, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity profiles were recorded and retrospectively analyzed. In the extended therapy group, 67 patients (43.2%) achieved a best overall response rate of partial response (PR), while in the control group, 13 patients (28.9%) had a best overall response rate of PR. After a median follow-up of 15.9 months, the median PFS and OS were 8.0 and 23.1 months in the extended arm and 5.8 and 14.0 months in the control arm, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in median PFS and OS between these 2 arms. Hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicities occurred more frequently in the extended therapy group, but no statistically significant difference was detected in grade 3 to 4 toxicities overall between these 2 groups. In conclusion, extended treatment using endostatin combined with PT-DC can provide additional survival benefits and satisfactory toxicity profiles in previously untreated patients with NSCLC, which merits further evaluation in a larger prospective study.


Objective The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was developed for clinicians and researchers as a brief screening instrument for behavioural and emotional problems in children. Administered in its traditional pen‐and‐paper format, the SDQ has demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The SDQ is increasingly being administered online, despite there being little evaluation of the psychometric properties and norms of the instrument in this new administrative context, and none in an Australian (or English‐speaking) sample. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the psychometric properties and present normative data for the online administration of the parent‐report version of the SDQ in an Australian sample. Methods Participants were parents (n = 1,070) of Australian primary school‐aged children (5 to 12 years) who completed the SDQ online via a web‐based software program. Results Results demonstrate sound psychometric properties for the SDQ in its online administrative format that are comparable to previous Australian studies utilising the traditional pen‐and‐paper format of the SDQ. Moreover, we provide normative data on the SDQ subscales, as well as the impact supplement when administered online. Conclusions Together, the results support the use of the SDQ online, and provide emerging evidence that the psychometric properties and the norms for the parent‐report SDQ in an English‐speaking sample are similar regardless of online versus pen‐and‐paper administration.


Subject area

Marketing, Sports marketing and Social media marketing.

Study level/applicability

Graduate level.

Case overview

This case, based on field research and multiple secondary sources, documents the 12-month period since early 2014 during which Cricket South Africa (CSA) developed the Protea Fire brand for their national men's cricket team, known as the Proteas. In mid-2014, Marc Jury, the Commercial and Marketing manager of CSA set up a project team to take the previously in-house Protea Fire brand public. With the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand less than a year away, Jury worked with a diverse project team of Proteas players, cricket brand managers and external consultants to build a public brand identity for the national team, to nurture greater fan affinity and to mobilize South Africans behind their team for the World Cup. The project team developed a range of Protea Fire multimedia content as the core of the campaign. These included video diaries, scripts which were written by the Proteas players themselves, player profile videos, motivational team-talk videos and good luck video messages featuring ordinary and famous South Africans. Having invested in creating this content, the project team faced the difficult task of allocating a limited media budget to broadcast and amplify the content. Another significant challenge was to ensure that the Proteas team values were authentically communicated across all content, including via the social media strategy using Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. As the World Cup tournament kicked off on February 14th 2015, South Africa was well placed to overcome their previous inability to reach a final, although Jury wondered whether another exit in the knockout round would weaken the strong and positive emotions the Protea Fire campaign had ignited. With the last two balls remaining in South Africa's semi-final game against New Zealand on March 24th 2015, and the home team requiring just five runs to win, Jury joined 60 million South Africans hoping that Protea Fire was strong enough. The case concludes with South Africa losing the semi-final game and Jury turning his attention to how the #ProteaFire campaign should respond.

Expected learning outcomes

This study aimed to analyse the development of a sport team brand and a megaevent campaign; to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of a marketing campaign; and to consider appropriate brand responses to the team's failure to deliver on expectations.

Subject code

CSS 8: Marketing.


Background: The prevalence of asthma is increasing in both western and developing countries. Few studies evaluated asthma prevalence in Jordan and especially in south of Jordan.
Objectives: to determine the prevalence of asthma among the population of Ma'an Governorate.
Method: A retrospective analysis of 6883 physician diagnosed asthma persons of different ages and gender who had been referred to Ma'an Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Centre for treatment and were subjected to full clinical examination during the last five years, reviewed and the incidence were determined.
Results: The total number of patients in this retrospective study was 6883. Among this number 2862 (41.6 %) adult male and 2881 (41.9 %) adult female, 769 (11.2 %) children male and 371 (5. 4 %) children female. The results showed that the prevalence of asthma is higher in adult male and female than that in both male and female children (p<0.05). Also there is no significant difference between adult male and adult female, while there is a significant difference between male children and female children (p<0.05). The highest prevalence of asthma was in May and December of each year while the lowest level was in August.
Conclusion: Bronchial asthma is a signifcant health problem among children and adults in Ma'an province.


Author(s): Yanuck, Justin Lee | Advisor(s): Chakravarthy, Bharath | Abstract: One of the first provisions of the Affordable Care Act to be implemented allowed young adults to remain on their parents' insurance plans until the age of 26. This study estimated the association between the dependent coverage provision and changes in young adults' usage of Emergency Department (ED) and Hospital services for psychiatric diagnoses. We utilized a Quasi-Experimental Analysis of ED use and inpatient admissions in California from 2009-2011 for behavioral health diagnosis of individuals aged 19 to 31-years old. Analyses used a difference-in-differences approach comparing those targeted by the ACA dependent provision (19 to 25-year-olds) and those who were not (27 to 31-year-olds), evaluating changes in ED/Inpatient visit rates per 1,000 in California. Primary outcome measures included the quarterly ED/Inpatient visit rates with any psychiatric diagnosis, with subgroup analysis looking at the effects of race and gender on the primary outcome. It was found that while the young adult dependent provision was associated with 0.05 per 1,000 people (pl0.001) fewer psychiatric ED visits among the treatment group (19 to 25-year-olds) compared to the control group (27 to 31-year-olds), this significant reduction in psychiatric ED visits was not seen in males, hispanics, asians or pacific islanders. Furthermore, hispanics, asians, and pacific islanders were the only racial subgroups that did not see gains in the proportion of psychiatric ED visits covered by private insurance. Additionally, inpatient visit rates did not significantly change in the treatment group relative to the control group, however after stratification, rates significantly increased for males, whites, blacks, and mixed/other racial groups. While the source of admission from the ED did not significantly change in the treatment compared to the control group, admissions from sources other than the ED significantly increased overall, as well as for whites, blacks, mixed/other, and females. Ultimately, our research has shown that in one of the earliest aspects of the ACA, gender, and racial disparities exist.


Despite much research, the pathophysiology of IBS remains poorly understood. So it is very difficult to treat. There is no standard treatment for IBS. Because IBS symptoms can be elicited or exacerbated by diet and stress, this suggests that patient education regarding his or her illness might be beneficial to patients in managing their symptoms. This study was done to see the short term effects of outpatient education in relation to change of symptom score in IBS patients. This is a prospective randomized comparative study. In this study a total of 80 patients were included. Forty patients were given only pharmacological management with Mebevarine hydrochloride 135mg thrice daily half an hour before meal and Amitryptline 10mg at night for six months and another forty were given education in addition to the same pharmacological treatment. In both the study group [medical management only versus medical management with education] changes of symptoms and quality of life of patients of IBS were assessed by using previously used, specially designed symptoms scoring system and a validated IBS-QOL instrument. There was no significant difference in severity of symptoms between only drug treatment group (118.973) and education plus drug treatment group (119.57) before treatment. The difference of improvement between the education group and without education group was not statistically significant (P>0.05), though the subsidence of pain in both the group before and after treatment was statistically significant (P<0.01).


Text content can have different visual presentation ways with roughly similar characters. While conventional text image retrieval depends on complex model of OCR-based text recognition and text similarity detection, this paper proposes a new learning-based approach to text image retrieval with the purpose of finding out the original or similar text through a query text image. Firstly, features of text images are extracted by the CNN network to obtain the deep visual representations. Then, the dimension of CNN features is reduced by PCA method to improve the efficiency of similarity detection. Based on that, an improved similarity metrics with article theme relevance filtering is proposed to improve the retrieval accuracy. In experimental procedure, we collect a group of academic papers both including English and Chinese as the text database, and cut them into pieces of text image. A text image with changed text content is used as the query image, experimental results show that the proposed approach has good ability to retrieve the original text content.


The hydrocele of the cord presents as a translucent swelling in the inguinal canal or scrotum, separately above the testis. It is more commonly seen in childhood and is rare in adults. It comprises of two varieties based on their communication with the peritoneal cavity. The encysted hydrocele of the cord does not communicate with the peritoneal cavity above or the tunica vaginalis below. The other variety known as the funicular hydrocele communicates with the peritoneal cavity above but does not communicate with the tunica vaginalis below. This case report presents the case of a 22 year old young male with an inguinal swelling. Clinical differential diagnoses were of inguinal lymphadenitis, encysted hydrocele of the cord and irreducible hernia. The aim of this report is to highlight the role of ultrasonogram in early diagnosis and surgical excision as mainstay of treatment.


Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment option for pachychoroid diseases such as central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV), polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and peripapillary pachychoroid syndrome (PPS). On the other hand, morphological changes of choroidal vessels in the irradiated field after PDT have also been discussed, with occlusion of choriocapillaris and stenosis of choroidal middle and large vessels being reported. Here, we report a case of vortex vein occlusion after half-fluence PDT (HF-PDT) combined with an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent for PNV. In this case, HF-PDT achieved complete occlusion of PNV; in addition, a vortex vein that flowed in PNV but was located outside the PDT irradiation field was fully occluded three months post-treatment. At the occluded site of the vortex vein, indocyanine green video angiography revealed pulsation downstream of the vortex vein. Such occlusion of a large vessel by HF-PDT has not been reported previously. Occlusion could be induced by two factors: the potentiality of PDT and risk factors for thromboembolism, such as older age, smoking, and arrhythmia. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms of these large vessel occlusions.


Sensitivity to Benomyl of Bakanae pathogen, Gibberella fujikuroi, on diseased rice plants was surveyed in Iwate Prefecture from 1980 to 1987. A highly resistant isolate was discovered first in 1980 and gradually increased as well as moderately resistant isolates for the next 8 years. In 1985, both of the sensitive and resistant isolates coexisted on the same diseased sheath blade of rice plant, but in 1987 most of the isolates were highly resistant with minimum inhibitory concentration of equal to or more than 1, 000μg/ml. Such rapid development of resistance to benomyl in G. fujikuroi may be caused by successive application of this chemical as seed disinfectant.


A block/homo-mixed polyplex micelle, comprising of cationic homo polymer: {N'-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl]aspartamide} P[Asp(DET)] and block copolymer: polyethylene glycol (PEG) -P[Asp(DET)], has been reported to exhibit the efficient transgene expression in vivo by intratracheal and systemic administration. In the present study, we investigated the potential of immunogene therapy by intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of block/homo polyplex micelles for peritoneal dissemination. For evaluation of transgene expression in vivo, block/homo polyplex micelles showed 12-fold higher level in luciferase expression evaluated by bioluminescence imaging system at 24 h after the i.p. administration compared with block polyplex micelles in nude mice bearing peritoneal dissemination. The distribution of polyplex micelles in tumor nodules was similarly present for both polyplex micelles, where the intracellular uptake of plasmid DNA was detected for block/home polyplex micelles but little for block polyplex micelles. The i.p. administration of block/homo polyplex micelles encapsulating granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene elicited GM-CSF expression dominantly in tumors and less in normal organs (liver and spleen), inhibited the tumor growth and prolonged survival rate for the mice harboring disseminated pancreatic cancer more significantly compared with the mock. The antitumor effect of GM-CSF gene therapy was mediated via the activation of natural killer cells. For safety evaluation, block/homo polyplex micelles indicated almost no adverse events for patho-physical findings and blood examinations in mice and cynomolgus monkeys, although slight increases in serum fibrinogen were observed in the monkey model. In conclusion, block/homo polyplex micelle-based immunogene therapy via i.p. administration may be a safe and effective approach for suppressing intractable peritoneal dissemination.

Citation Format: Masahiro Ohgidani, Koichi Furugaki, Shinkai Kentaro, Yumi Kunisawa, Keiji Itaka, Kazunori Kataoka, Kenji Nakano. Block/homo polyplex micelle-based GM-CSF gene therapy via intraperitoneal administration elicits antitumor immunity against peritoneal dissemination and exhibits safety potentials in mice and monkeys. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A59.


Abstract. Recent observations show that, during ionospheric heating experiments at frequencies near the second electron gyro-harmonic, discrete spectral lines separated by harmonics of the ion-gyro frequency appear in the stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) spectrum within 1 kHz of the pump frequency. In addition to the ion gyro-harmonic structures, on occasion, a broadband downshifted emission is observed simultaneously with these spectral lines. Parametric decay of the pump field into upper hybrid/electron Bernstein (UH/EB) and low-frequency ion Bernstein (IB) and oblique ion acoustic (IA) modes is considered responsible for generation of these spectral features. Guided by predictions of an analytical model, a two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) computational model is employed to study the nonlinear processes during such heating experiments. The critical parameters that affect the spectrum, such as whether discrete gyro-harmonic on broadband structures is observed, include angle of the pump field relative to the background magnetic field, pump field strength, and proximity of the pump frequency to the gyro-harmonic. Significant electron heating along the magnetic field is observed in the parameter regimes considered.


The purpose of this paper is to review briefly the literature and to report five additional cases of what is referred to by various writers as congenital, infantile or cervical coxa vara. Coxa vara is an anatomic term now used to indicate a diminution from normal of the angle between the neck and the shaft of the femur. Since coxa vara is caused by the strain of weight-bearing on a weakened femoral neck, one finds that the cases fall into certain groups, depending on the etiology of the weakness. A classification now generally used is as follows: 1. Congenital coxa vara (the infantile or cervical type of Elmslie and Fairbanks). 2. Acquired coxa vara. ( a ) Due to local pathologic processes such as cervical fracture, tuberculous or pyogenic infection, metastatic malignancy and similar conditions. ( b ) Adolescent coxa vara, which Noble and Hauser believe is due to pituitary dysfunction. ( c ) Coxa vara


: Effect of papaverine, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and SQ-20009 was studied. It was shown that papaverine (50 microM) had rotenone--like action on isolated rat liver mitochondria decreasing their membrane potential and blocking respiration upon beta-oxybutyrate oxidation. Papaverine did not practically influence the membrane potential and oxygen consumption upon succinate oxidation. SQ-20009 effect was much less than that of papaverine. 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (50-200 microM) was uneffective at all.


Background: Liquid biopsy analysis for EGFR detection in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from NSCLC patients has become routine. The aim of this study was to explore its applicability in clinical practice. Methods: We collected data of EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients with liquid biopsy analysis. Data included test timing, concomitant tissue re-biopsy, therapy change, histology, stage, smoking habits, gender and age. All analyses were performed via a real-time PCR method to analyze EGFR mutations at exons 18, 19, 20 and 21. Variant allele frequency was performed for patients with available sequential EGFR mutation analysis in cfDNA. Overall survival was analyzed through the Kaplan–Meier method. We designed flow charts to show the real-life application of liquid biopsy. Results: We found that liquid biopsy is used in treatment-naïve patients as an alternative to EGFR detection in tumor tissue, and in patients with positive or negative EGFR from tumor biopsy. The majority of liquid biopsy analyses were performed in NSCLC patients who were disease progressive during TKI therapy. The presence of EGFR mutation in cfDNA was associated with a worse prognosis. In two patients, VAF of EGFR mutations in cfDNA was concordant with tumor volume changes. Conclusion: These findings suggest that liquid biopsy for EGFR detection can continue to be useful.


Early recognition of coalescence in pneumoconiotic lesions is important because such coalescence is associated with the respiratory symptoms and deterioration of lung function. This complicated form of pneumoconiosis also has worse prognosis than does simple pneumoconiosis. High resolution computerized tomography(HRCT) provides significant additional information on the stage of the pneumoconiosis because it easily detects coalescence of nodules and emphysema that may not be apparent on the simple radiograph. The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of HRCT in detection of large opacity and the relationship of change between the coalescence of nodules or emphysema and lung function in dust exposed workers. 1. There was good correlation between the HRCT grade of pneumoconiosis and ILO category of profusion. 5(9.09%) in 55 study population had confluent nodule extending eve, two o, more cuts on HRCT. HRCT could identify the pneumoconiotic nodules which was not found by simple radiogrphy in 6 workers with category 0/0. 2. No significant difference was observed coalescence of nodules and emphysema by dust type. 3. There was no significant difference in pulmonary function according to ILO and HRCT classification. 4. HRCT could detect the significant reduction in , PEFR, and remarkable increase in RV and TLC in study persons with emphysema compared with non-emphysema group. 5. Emphysema was found more often in nodules-coalescence group than small opacity group by HRCT. We found that HRCT could easily detect areas of coalescence and complicated emphysema compared to plain chest X-ray. Also our data suggest that it is primarily the degree of emphysema rather than the degree of pneumoconiosis that determines the level of pulmonary function.


The content based image retrieval (CBIR) is one of the most popular, rising research areas of the digital image processing. Most of the available image search tools, such as Google Images and Yahoo! Image search, are based on textual annotation of images. In these tools, images are manually annotated with keywords and then retrieved using text-based search methods. Therefore the performances of these systems are not satisfactory. The goal of CBIR is to extract visual content of an image automatically, like colour, texture, and shape. Our project aims to design and develop a CBIR system, which is based on sketch and coloured images. With the help of the existing methods, we will describe a possible solution of how to design and implement a CBIR system on the basis of colour, shape and texture as parameters, and also handle the informational gap between a sketch and a coloured image, making an opportunity for the efficient search hereby. It is constructed after special sequence of pre-processing steps so that the transformed full colour image and the input image can be compared. Overall, the results show that the sketch based and colour image based system allows users an intuitive access to search-tools. The CBIR technology can be used in several applications such as digital libraries, crime prevention, photo sharing sites, etc. Such a system has great value in apprehending suspects and indentifying victims in forensics and law enforcement.


We sampled four vegetation systems with different degree of disturbance (i. e. tropical forest, mature and young secondary forest, and a cornfield) in northern Chiapas, Mexico. The objective of this study was to determine the differences in the composition and structure of macroinvertebrate communities in litter. We estimated abundance (N), species richness (S), Shannon's diversity (H′), Pielou's evenness (J), and Morisita-Horn's similarity index. Twenty samples were randomly placed in each system by using 1-m2 quadrats. Leaf litter and organic matter (humus) were collected from the quadrat to a depth of 5.0 cm, with the purpose of collecting only the epigeous macroinvertebrates. We collected 1,259 specimens from three phyla, nine classes, 26 orders, 61 families, 17 genera, and 100 morph types. The highest N and S were observed in the tropical forest, however, the highest diversity (H′) occurred in the young secondary forests. The cornfield showed the highest evenness. There was a positive relation between the systems' conservation level and macroinvertebrate abundance, but not with species richness.


Jojoba oil is a source of specially chemicals and its uses for industrial applications are gaining in adaptability and importance. Four different alkyd resins modified by various amount of jojoba seed oil (JSO) were prepared by an alcoholysis-polyesterification process. The effect of oil contents on properties such as the drying performance, thickness of film, solubility, viscosity and color of the alkyd resins was evaluated. The alkyd with the least oil content had the greatest viscosity and lightest colour as well as the most rapid drying property. The jojoba-alkyds were found to be comparable with commercial samples. Their films were resistance to water, alkali, acids and solvents as well as gloss %, adhesion, impact, hardness, bending and flexibility. Incorporation of jojoba oil into alkyd resin prooved to achieve good mechanical characteristics and high chemical resistance to these resins.


Optical transparency giving full-flexibility to the end systems with respect to transmission rate, coding, format and protocol has been an early vision in optical networking. Depending on the timing period, channel transparency such as in WDM channels or timed transparency such as in optical burst or packet switching applies. Operation of current optical networks is completely based on a small number of transmission standards of electronic transmission equipment both in the high-bit core and metro networks and the low-bit optical access networks. The use of optical switching in form of crossconnects is very limited. An increasing trend can be observed in the usage of optical add-drop units. In access networks, radio-over-fiber to increase the flexibility of the allocation of radio frequency carriers in mobile communication cells has attracted global interest. The paper presents the properties, merits, limits as well as networking and application issues.


A case of pigmentary paravenous chorioretinal degeneration initially diagnosed as retinitis pigmentosa is presented. The focal macular visual evoked response (VER) was normal. Both rod and cone components in the electroretinogram showed reduced amplitude with normal peak time. The psychophysical threshold in the dark adaptation was nearly normal in some parts of the retina and extremely elevated in other parts of the retina. Fundus appearance and retinal function studies suggest that the impaired area in the retina and choroid is localized in this disease.


: Extracts of the aerial parts and roots of the wild-growing medicinal plant Gentiana asclepiadea were analysed for their antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antioxidant activity with quantification of the total phenolic and total flavonoid content. Antimicrobial activity was tested against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, yeasts, and moulds using the microdilution method. The strongest antibacterial activity was detected on Bacillus species, where minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of from 0.16 mg/mL to 5 mg/mL were obtained, while antifungal activity was low to moderate, with MICs between 1.25 and 20 mg/mL. In the crystal violet assay, the extracts inhibit 50% biofilm formation in the concentration range of from 2.12 to 37.04 mg/mL. Staphylococcus aureus , S. aureus ATCC 25923, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 biofilms were the most sensitive to the presence of extracts. The extracts rich in phenolic compounds showed good DPPH-scavenging activity, with EC 50 values between 181.3 and 614.3 μg/mL for extracts of aerial parts and from 426.67 to >1000 μg/mL for root extracts. Even though G. asclepiadea has long been traditionally used, its biological activity is still insufficiently explored, so the obtained results are significant for contributing new knowledge about the plant's medicinal properties.


In this paper, we advocate for using large pre-trained monolingual language models in cross lingual zero-shot word sense disambiguation (WSD) coupled with a contextualized mapping mechanism. We also report rigorous experiments that illustrate the effectiveness of employing sparse contextualized word representations obtained via a dictionary learning procedure. Our experimental results demonstrate that the above modifications yield a significant improvement of nearly 6.5 points of increase in the average F-score (from 62.0 to 68.5) over a collection of 17 typologically diverse set of target languages. We release our source code for replicating our experiments at https://github.com/begab/sparsity_makes_sense.


Measurements of NMR spectra of β-aryl-α-thiopyruvic acids revealed that they exist dominantly in the form of trans cinnamic acid configuration. Geometrical configuration of 4-arylidene-1,3-oxathiolan-5-one was also determined to be trans in regard to aryl and carbonyl groups.


Abstract The increasing urbanization process of the last decades has resulted in negative impacts and changes in the quality of the urban environment, as reflected in mortality and morbidity data (Páldy, 2018). The quality of the environment, the urban climate, the increased frequency and duration of extreme weather events, ultimately threaten human well-being. To design and build liveable cities, the quality of the urban environment must be improved, and improving micro- or local climate is an important factor in this. Increasing the proportion and quality of biologically active surfaces, i.e. the ecosystem services provided by green spaces, is one of the most effective tools for urban conditioning and enhancing human well-being. Determining the proportions of the green area, the design of vegetation, the choice of pavements and microarchitectures all determine the microclimate of an open-space. This has been confirmed by a large body of research and implemented work, but it is also important for designers to make a preliminary prediction of the impact of any intervention on the climatic conditions of the design site. These predictions will help cost-effective designing to determine which intervention will result in climate change. This research uses two specific examples to examine the effectiveness of each landscape designing tool and to show which designing tool produces what and how much climatic impact. For these studies, we used a climate modeling program (ENVI-MET), which runs simulations to infer the climate modifying effects of landscape planning tools. In the course of the research, we have shown that the local climate of hospital gardens could be significantly influenced by favorable, environmental-friend paving, a higher green cover ratio, and a well-developed and sufficiently dense tree canopy, and various water features.


BACKGROUND
Within the plastic surgery community, it is widely believed that waiting a minimum of 6 to 12 months after patient cessation of systemic retinoid therapy is necessary before proceeding with elective surgery.

OBJECTIVE
The authors investigate partial- and full-thickness wound healing after treatment with systemic isotretinoin in a porcine model.

METHODS
Following institutional approval, 2 Hanford miniature pigs were obtained. One pig received isotretinoin at a dose of 2 mg/kg/d, administered orally along with pig feed over a 60-day period; the other (control) pig received only pig feed over the same time period. After the treatment period ended, a total of 24 full-thickness wounds and 24 partial-thickness wounds were made on each pig. The wounds were evaluated by photographic and histological analysis at 7, 14, and 28 days.

RESULTS
The average full-thickness wound size in the control animal was 0.4346 cm(2) at 14 days and 0.0689 cm(2) at 28 days. The average full-thickness wound size in the isotretinoin-treated animal was 0.4685 cm(2) at 14 days and 0.0363 cm(2) at 28 days. The differences were not statistically significant between the 2 animals at either time point. On histological analysis, the healing characteristics of partial- and full-thickness wounds were similar at 7, 14, and 28 days for both animals.

CONCLUSIONS
Invasive surgery might be safely performed even in the presence of recent isotretinoin therapy. This finding challenges the current practice of waiting longer than 6 months after completion of therapy to perform surgery.


Two major genes for Na(+) exclusion in durum wheat, Nax1 and Nax2, that were previously identified as the Na(+) transporters TmHKT1;4-A2 and TmHKT1;5-A, were transferred into bread wheat in order to increase its capacity to restrict the accumulation of Na(+) in leaves. The genes were crossed from tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) into hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) by interspecific crossing and marker-assisted selection for hexaploid plants containing one or both genes. Nax1 decreased the leaf blade Na(+) concentration by 50%, Nax2 decreased it by 30%, and both genes together decreased it by 60%. The signature phenotype of Nax1, the retention of Na(+) in leaf sheaths resulting in a high Na(+) sheath:blade ratio, was found in the Nax1 lines. This conferred an extra advantage under a combination of waterlogged and saline conditions. The effect of Nax2 on lowering the Na(+) concentration in bread wheat was surprising as this gene is very similar to the TaHKT1;5-D Na(+) transporter already present in bread wheat, putatively at the Kna1 locus. The results indicate that both Nax genes have the potential to improve the salt tolerance of bread wheat.


In this article, we systematically reviewed the research literature dealing with expectancy-value motivation theory within music contexts. Employing the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, a total of 1,120 records were retrieved and examined, with 110 eventually included in the analyses. Frequencies/percentages were generated for research output in 5-year time periods, type of publication, sampling locations, and methodologies. Summaries of all 110 records were provided; content analyses on topics covered were also conducted. Findings indicated a clear increase in research interest over the past 15 years with quantitative methodologies being twice as prevalent as qualitative approaches. While the vast majority (97.7%) of quantitative research employed self-report questionnaires, the most common form of qualitative data collection was interviews (59.1%). Salient topics covered included students' expectancy-value beliefs across music and other school subjects, continued music participation, intentions to pursue a career in music, and parental influences.


In the historical process, the phenomenon of women showed a positive change with the transition from traditional society to modern society, and mass media played an important role in women's struggle to exist. The presence and representation of women in the media carries traces of patriarchal and traditional thinking, and appears as a problematic area for the position of the woman. Today, the features that are imposed on women in print and visual media are far from giving them any strength and status. The role of the media in the use of the female body as a material is emphasized by emphasizing the weakness of women. The economic-political and ideological structures of media organizations have been influential in the production process of the news. Especially in recent years, it is seen that some ethical values have been ignored due to the increase in ratings and circulation. Media organizations who want to make more profit move the news away from its real context and adopt a sensational journalism approach. This situation brings important problems in terms of how women are represented in the media in the adoption of gender roles to society. Media contents are closely related to social values, gender perceptions and perspectives towards women dominate the news production process, and sexist and masculine discourse shows itself in news texts. The problem of women's representation in the media is framed by sexist discourses and masculine thoughts. Women; in a war over their status and identity, they are presented to the society through anti-women problematic approaches and a negative language. In the study, the representation of women in the media is taken theoretically based on the historical development of the phenomenon of women in the context of gender.


The Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Stochastic Waiting Times at Recharging Stations is an extension of the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows where the vehicles may wait in the queue before recharging their battery due to a limited number of available chargers. Long waiting times at the stations may cause delays for both the customers and the depot. In this study, we model the waiting times using M/M/1 queueing system equations. We solve small instances by CPLEX assuming expected waiting times at the stations and calculate the reliability of these solutions by simulating the waiting times. We observe that, while chargers become busier, the reliability of the solutions obtained with average times decreases.


Speculative execution can significantly improve the performance of Big Data applications by launching other copies of stragglers (slow tasks). Stragglers detection plays an important role in the effectiveness of speculative execution. The methods employed to detect stragglers use the information extracted from the last received heartbeats which may be outdated when triggering detection. This, in turn, can mislead Big Data analytic systems to make wrong detection with high inaccuracy. To shed the light on this issue, we carry out extensive simulations to identify how heartbeat arrival, task starting times, and detection methods impact the accuracy of stragglers detection in Big Data analytic systems. We reveal that the asynchrony in heartbeat arrivals not only lead to marking normal tasks as stragglers (false positives) but can also result in overlooking real stragglers (false negatives).


Introduction: There is an increasing use of enteral therapy at home, which reduces costs and improves patients' quality of life. Homemade food diets are being commonly used in the households of undeveloped countries, but those diets vary in composition and characteristics depending on the ingredients and preparation procedures adopted in its preparation, which influences the quality of the diet to satisfy the nutritional needs of patients. Objective: This study aimed to formulate and determine the quality of homemade enteral diets. Methods: An enteral diet plan was prepared by using conventional food, consisting of 6 meals, totalizing 2 liters per day, and it was adopted a proportion of 25% of solid food. The diets were analyzed for stability, viscosity, flow, pH, chemical and nutritional composition. Results and discussion: The enteral diet plan was adequate in its physical-chemical aspects, however, it presented low percentages of adequacy, 20-53%, between the estimated and real content of macronutrients in the soup, formula used for lunch and dinner, which impaired the nutritional quality of the enteral diet plan. Conclusions: The results showed the difficulty of establishing the nutritional content of these diets, especially when made of meat and vegetables. Therefore, it is suggested a mixed enteral therapy by using commercial diets to achieve part of the nutritional needs of the patient together with enteral diets of homemade food to supplement it and also to redeem the psychosocial values of the feeding process.


The study sought to investigate the role of the community in inhibiting girls' access and participation in formal education in Marsabit County-Kenya. As one of the marginalized counties in Kenya, the county had among the highest rate of illiteracy in Kenya with 68 per cent of residents with no formal education. The study involved a total of 128 informants, including school girls, boys, parents, and local leaders. The study utilized three main tools in data collection; interviews, focused group discussions and whole community mapping. The study found out that the selected four communities did not have adequate number of role models for girls; there were cases of teenage pregnancy, early marriages and practiced 'girl booking' that affected girls' participation in formal education. The study recommends tripartite efforts by the national government, county government of Marsabit County, and civil societies involved in advocacy of girls' education to particularly involve boys in their interventions to ensure that all girls access schools.


The thesis investigates the socio-ecological factors driving human-leopard conflict due to livestock and game depredation in the Blouberg Mountain Range, South Africa. Local people's perceptions of conservation are shaped by historical and contemporary relationships with protected areas and particularly, by conflicts of land and natural resource use. Legacies of disempowerment, marginalisation and stigmatisation manifest through people's conservation discourses, social conflict and resistance towards protected area establishment, a process defined as traumatic nature. Traumatic nature elevates distrust of local people towards wildlife authorities and decreases support for wildlife conservation, aggravating human-leopard conflicts. Leopard predation on livestock and game is most strongly influenced by distance to village and distance to water, respectively, in addition to seasonal grazing patterns, the calving season and poor livestock husbandry practices. Livestock depredation represents significant economic costs for subsistence communal farmers', which is exacerbated by the erosion of traditional cattle sharing systems and a lack of alternative livelihood strategies. Livestock depredation results in the loss of functional and material benefits, social capital, a spiritual resource, diminished wellbeing and perceived cultural decay. Camera trap results showed a lower leopard density of 0.7 leopards per 100km2 on commercial farms compared to the Blouberg Nature Reserve of 5.4 leopards per 100km2. Commercial farms may function as ecological traps because they represent areas with disproportionate leopard mortality that otherwise provide a high abundance of prey species for leopards. A male-biased sex ratio and a high number of sub-adult male leopards indicate high leopard mortality rates in the population. Camera trap results show low occupancy rates on communal land that may reflect a low large prey biomass, potentially caused by overhunting and habitat conversion. Farming communities ascribe a wide range of environmental values to the leopard that provide barriers and support for leopard conservation. Environmental institutions need to improve responses to reports of human-leopard conflicts and build trust and legitimacy in the eyes of local people by developing stronger working relationships with farming communities. The decentralisation of authority to local government actors to manage human-leopard conflicts and the devolution of responsibility to farmers to improve livestock husbandry practices is necessary to reduce depredation incidents. Incentive and education schemes are important for reducing lethal control measures and to improve tolerance of depredation incidents and leopard conservation.


A design of low-power 10-bit 1 MS/s asynchronous successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC) is presented in this paper. To improve the linearity of the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and energy efficiency, a common mode-based monotonic charge recovery (CMMC) switching technique is proposed. The proposed switching technique consumes only 63.75 CVREF2 switching energy, which is far less as compared to the conventional switching technique without dividing or adding additional switches. In addition, bootstrap switching is implemented to ensure enhanced linearity. To reduce the power consumption from the comparator, a dynamic latch comparator with a self-comparator clock generation circuit is implemented. The proposed prototype of the SAR ADC is implemented in a 55 nm CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) process. The proposed architecture achieves a figure of merit (FOM) of 17.4 fJ/conversion, signal-to-noise distortion ratio (SNDR) of 60.39 dB, and an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 9.74 bits with a sampling rate of 1 MS/s at measurement levels. The implemented SAR ADC consumes 14.8 µW power at 1 V power supply.


This paper focused on the nature and concept of reinforcement and its educational implications. Reinforcement is the process of increasing or stamping in desirable behaviour of an individual through the mechanisms of positive, negative, primary or secondary reinforcers respectively. A reinforcer is the pleasurable stimulus that leads to an effect called reinforcement. Conditions or patterns of administering reinforcement are continuous schedule and partial (intermittent) schedule patterns. Partial schedule is sub-divided into ratio and interval with each having fixed and variables schedules respectively. There are also interactions between the conditions of reinforcement. A list of educational implications of reinforcement were outlined. Reinforcement as a behaviour modification technique can be applied to a wide range of behaviour problems and can be used in every human setting but its monotonous application makes reinforcement to lose its values before the client.


Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the composition of breast milk which had been gathered from mothers for over first 2 weeks of lactation and to compare the changes in composition of preterm and term milk. Methods: A prospective, single center study was provided in Warsaw, Poland. The samples of breast milk from 22 mothers who had delivered prematurely and 39 mothers who had given birth to term infants were collected. The creamatocrit, energy and fat concentration were estimated in each participant's breast milk sample twice a day (morning and night hours). Results: The lowest creamatocrit, calories and fat concentration was indicated in the preterm milk obtained in the morning (4.86%, 663.8 kcal/L and 33.6 g/L, respectively). The highest milk parameters were observed in the night samples of full-term milk and measured (9.6%, 919.7 kcal/L, and 60.7 g/L, respectively). No significant differences in analysed parameters were observed between preterm and full-term milk (p > 0.05). In summary, creamatocrit, calories and lipid concentration in breast milk shows the daily differences. Colostrum and mature milk from mothers of preterm neonates differed from colostum and mature milk from mothers of term neonates. They had lipid contents, creamatocrit level and calorific value.


Poly (ethylene terephthalate)(dacron, PET) films were exposed under argon plasma glow discharge with different glows and induced polymerization of acrylic acid(AA) in order to introduce carboxylic acid group onto PET (PET-AA) assisted by ultraviolet radiation(UV). Hirudin-immobilized PET (PET-HRD) films were prepared by the grafting of PET-AA, followed by chemical reaction with hirudin. The surface structure of the treated PET was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wettability, surface free energy, and interface free energy of the films were investigated by contact angle measurement. The blood compatibility of the films was assessed by platelet-adhesion test and fibrinogen conformational change measurements to evaluate the viability of the materials in biomedical engineering. Measurement by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the amounts of adhered, aggregated and morphologically changed platelets were reduced on the hirudin-immobilized PET films. Enzyme-linked-immunoassay measurements that disclosed fibrinogen conformational changes showed results consistent with the platelets' behavior.


This research aims to explain and determine the modeling behavior of K-Pop Idols on self-image. The purpose of this research is to see how the behavior of a model or someone who is considered a role model can affect adolescent self-image. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method with a questionnaire model and literature study. Sources of data used are primary and secondary data where primary data is obtained directly through analysis and observation of questionnaires, while secondary data is obtained through literature study. The results of this study indicate that the modeling behavior of K-Pop Idols on adolescent self-image changes the way teenagers view their self-image. They become things in life; how to dress, how to talk, how to speak, etc.


A physics-based model is proposed for the simulation of Li-air batteries. The model is carefully calibrated against published data and is used to simulate standard Li-air batteries with nonaqueous (organic) electrolyte. It is shown that the specific capacity is mainly limited by the oxygen diffusion length which is a function of the oxygen diffusivity in the electrolyte and the discharge current density. Various approaches to increase the specific capacity of the cathode electrode and the energy density of Li-air batteries are discussed. It is shown that, in order to increase the specific capacity and energy density, it is more efficient to use a nonuniform catalyst that enhances the reaction rate only at the separator-cathode interface than a catalyst uniformly distributed. Using uniformly distributed catalysts will enhance the current and power density of the cell but will not increase significantly the specific capacity and energy density. It is also shown that the specific capacity and energy density can be increased by suppressing the reaction rate at the oxygen-entrance interface in order to delay the pinch-off of the conduction channel in this region. Other possibilities to enhance the energy density such as using solvents with high oxygen solubility and diffusivity, and partly wetted electrodes are discussed.


Epiretinal prostheses used to treat degenerative retina diseases apply stimulus via an electrode array fixed to the ganglion cell side of the retina. Mechanical pressure applied by these arrays to the retina, both during initial insertion and throughout chronic use, could cause sufficient retinal damage to reduce the device's effectiveness. In order to understand and minimize potential mechanical damage, we have used finite element analysis to model mechanical interactions between an electrode array and the retina in both acute and chronic loading configurations. Modeling indicates that an acute tacking force distributes stress primarily underneath the tack site and heel edge of the array, while more moderate chronic stresses are distributed more evenly underneath the array. Retinal damage in a canine model chronically implanted with a similar array occurred in correlating locations, and model predictions correlate well with benchtop eyewall compression tests. This model provides retinal prosthesis researchers with a tool to optimize the mechanical electrode array design, but the techniques used here represent a unique effort to combine a modifiable device and soft biological tissues in the same model and those techniques could be extended to other devices that come into mechanical contact with soft neural tissues.


Researchers have begun to examine the various manufacturing processes that a printed wiring board (PWB) undergoes during its production, such as lamination, solder masking, and soldering process to determine their impact on board warpage. The goal of this paper is to determine effects of the solder masking process on the PWB warpage. Finite element analysis was used to study the effects of the solder masking process, in particular the curtain coating and curing processes on PWB warpage of four different board designs. These analyses have aided development of general guidelines that should be observed when selecting solder masking material.


We present a new multivariate technique for testing the significance of individual terms in a multifactorial analysis-of-variance model for multispecies response variables. The technique will allow researchers to base analyses on measures of association (distance measures) that are ecologically relevant. In addition, unlike other distance-based hypothesis-testing techniques, this method allows tests of significance of interaction terms in a linear model. The technique uses the existing method of redundancy analysis (RDA) but allows the analysis to be based on Bray-Curtis or other ecologically meaningful measures through the use of principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). Steps in the procedure include: (1) calculating a matrix of distances among replicates using a distance measure of choice (e.g., Bray-Curtis); (2) determining the principal coordinates (including a correction for negative eigenvalues, if necessary), which preserve these distances; (3) creating a matrix of dummy variables corresponding to the design of the experiment (i.e., individual terms in a linear model); (4) analyzing the relationship between the principal coordinates (species data) and the dummy variables (model) using RDA; and (5) implementing a test by permutation for particular statistics corresponding to the particular terms in the model. This method has certain advantages not shared by other multivariate testing procedures. We demonstrate the use of this technique with experimental ecological data from intertidal assemblages and show how the presence of significant multivariate interactions can be interpreted. It is our view that distance-based RDA will be extremely useful to ecologists measuring multispecies responses to structured multifactorial experimental designs.


Insecticide based intervention remains the primary control tool for vector borne diseases. Many mosquito vectors have developed resistance to the insecticides which are in use in public health programmes. There is a need to search for alternative insecticides to manage the insecticide resistance. Neonicotinoids are one of the emerging new promising insecticides with novel mode of action against agricultural pests. To understand the neonicotinoids efficacy in vector control, In silico docking study has been explored between the neonicotinoids and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of Anopheles gambiae Giles (Diptera: Culicidae). The format of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) protein subunits sequence of the An. gambiae was retrieved from NCBI database. Three dimensional structure of nAChR protein subunits has been predicted using Modeller 9.10. The predicted protein structure was energy minimized by Swiss Pdb viewer 4.1. Stereo chemical analysis of a structure was performed using PROCHECK Ramachandran plots from SAVES server. Validated protein structure was visualized by UCSF Chimera 1.5.3 and models were submitted in Protein Model Database (PMDB). Molegro virtual docker 5.0 was used for nAChR protein subunits and neonicotinoid compounds docking study. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit's three dimensional structure predicted models were submitted in Protein Model Database having PMID PM0079637, PM0079638, PM0079639, PM0079640, PM0079641, PM0079642, PM0079643, PM0079644, PM0079645 and PM0079646. Each neonicotinoid compound selectively bound to the receptor subunits individually. The best conformation with the least binding energy was selected. Out of seven compounds, dinotefuran has the least binding energy value of –110 Mol Dock score and Re rank score of –94.63 with more number of H-bond interactions showing the highest activity in nAChR α3 subunit. The docking scores of neonicotinoid compounds against nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit of An. gambiae are in the order of dinotefuran >thiamethoxam >clothianidin >imidacloprid >nitenpyram >acetamiprid> thiacloprid. Among the seven neonicotinoids, dinotefuran has shown the least docking score with highest activity and possibly this molecule can be used in control of mosquito vectors.


To contribute to the understanding of the mechanism underlying selective analgesia by epidural application of suspensions of the local anesthetic butamben (n-butyl-p-aminobenzoate; BAB), we investigated the effect of dissolved BAB on calcium channels in sensory neurons. Small-diameter dorsal root ganglion neurons from newborn mice were used to measure whole-cell barium or calcium currents through calcium channels upon voltage-clamp stimulation. BAB suppressed the voltage-step-evoked barium current of these cells in a concentration-dependent manner with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 207 ± 14 &mgr;M (n = 40). A similar concentration dependency was found for the pharmacologically isolated N-type component of the whole-cell barium current. The time constants of inactivation and deactivation of the N-type current became smaller in the presence of BAB, thus suggesting that kinetic changes are involved in the inhibition of this current. BAB caused a similar inhibition of the total calcium current and its N-type component when these currents were evoked by command potentials with the shape of an action potential. This inhibition of calcium currents by BAB should be considered in the search for the mechanism of selective analgesia by epidural suspensions of this local anesthetic.


Abstract : Current estimates predict that 30-40 percent of the population will be infected with the flu virus during a pandemic. Fire departments should anticipate a higher attack rate for their personnel because of increased exposure risk. Additionally, many variables will negatively influence fire fighter participation rates over and above these attack rates. This thesis analyzes fire fighters ability and willingness to participate in a pandemic through a comprehensive survey of fire fighters within the twelve National Capital Region fire departments. Issues that may influence fire fighters ability and willingness to work include childcare, concern of family, adequate personal protective equipment, worker's compensation coverage, and availability of vaccines and antivirals. Collectively, these variables determine a workforce participation percentage (WPP) the share of fire fighters who will be able and willing to participate in a response during a pandemic. Results indicate that between 30-70 percent of the fire fighters will not be able or willing to work during a pandemic. Although a fire fighter s participation is situationally dependent, fire departments should take urgent steps to address five core areas. These are included in a set of recommendations. Ultimately, the priority recommendation is for fire officials and regional public policymakers to rise to the challenge of the complexity of these issues. Leadership in the face of this recognized pandemic threat, however, remains an elusive solution.


We present an alternative scheme for implementing the unconventional geometric two-qubit phase gate and preparing multiqubit entanglement by using a frequency-modulated laser field to simultaneously illuminate all ions. Selecting the index of modulation yields selective mechanisms for coupling and decoupling between the internal and the external states of the ions. By the selective mechanisms, we obtain the unconventional geometric two-qubit phase gate, multiparticle Greenberger—Horne—Zeilinger states and highly entangled cluster states. Our scheme is insensitive to the thermal motion of the ions.


The radiation safety issues in the application of radioguided sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy are discussed, particularly the effective dose (ED) for patients undergoing lymphoscintigraphy by taking into account both the internal emission and the external transmission dose. The quantitative result can be compared with other common radiological examinations. Whole body and finger doses of surgical and pathology staff were determined by direct measurement using high-sensitivity thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and compared with the annual dose limits recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). These dosimetric observations for personnel also provide reference information to implement guidelines for the safe handling, storage, and transport of radioactive specimens at all stages of the radioguided surgery effort in order to maintain good work practices while dealing with unsealed radioactive substances.


An optical information channel, based on two synchronised chaotically operating lasers with periodic pumping of the active medium, is considered. A study is reported of the dynamics of this laser system when chaotic radiation modulated by an external signal is injected. It is shown that information carried by a chaotic signal transmitted by such a channel can be retrieved and an estimate of the permissible width of the spectrum of the information signal is estimated.


China has experienced rapid changes in the past two decades. "A New China", written from the perspective of a foreign student who has just arrived in China, has been designed to provide up-to-date material on the changing face of China. The text compares contemporary China with its pre-reform era and emphasizes improvements in Chinese society. As in previous textbooks, "A New China" aims to provide a solid foundation in grammar and pronunciation rather than teach vocabulary geared toward specific usage. As a new feature, the textbook includes vocabulary words on the same page as the lesson text, making comprehension of new reading passages easier for students. "A New China" is appropriate for intermediate-level students and includes both traditional and simplified characters.


In the years 1983-1997, 252 female to male transsexuals were treated in the Department of Plastic Surgery of University Medical School in Łódź. In 209 patients surgical penis construction was performed. The paper presents operative techniques and results of penis construction with the use of four kinds of flaps: a bipedicled abdominal tube flap, a single pedicled infraumblical flap, a pedicled myocutaneous flap with gracilis muscle and a pedicled lateral groin flap. Overall estimation of early results of penis construction with the use of the four methods applied in the Department showed that we obtained good results in 69.8% of operated transsexuals, satisfactory effects in 24.4% of patients and poor outcome in 5.8% of cases. The best results were achieved with the technique involving a lateral groin flap.


Although the decomposition of plant material in soil is an extremely complex process, relatively simple models can give good fits to the decay process. Thus a two-compartment model gives a close representation, over the first few years, of the decay of 14 C-labelled plant material in soil. A model containing a single homogeneous humus compartment decomposing by a first-order process is surprisingly useful for soil organic nitrogen over periods measured in decades. More sophisticated multicompartmental models are now widely used to represent turnover in soil. One of these, the Rothamsted turnover model, is described in detail and shown to give a useful representation of data from the Rothamsted long-term field experiments.


Over the last few decades, substrates with immune-modulating properties have been identified in all groups of micro- and macronutrients. Numerous experimental studies have focused on evaluating these substances, either alone or in combination. After hundreds of experiments, no clear, consistent signal exists that any of these agents result in significant treatment benefits in critically ill patients. The current approach to establishing the efficacy of nutritional interventions suffers from several limitations. First, the majority of studies focus on surrogate or substitute end points rather than clinically important end points. Second, the majority of clinical studies are small, and as such are underpowered to detect a significant treatment effect on clinically important end points. Third, the methodological quality of individual randomized trials varies. Methodological limitations, prevalent in nutrition studies, limit the strength of clinical inference that can be made from study results. High quality studies have been shown to differ significantly from low quality studies in their estimation of treatment effect. Fourth, the generalizability of single-site studies is limited. Finally, studies sponsored solely by industry are considered to be less believable than studies conducted under the auspices of peer-review agencies. Future evaluations must be done in the context of large, multicenter, well-designed, randomized trials focusing on clinically important end points that are sponsored from a variety of sources (including peer-reviewed agencies). Although such trials are costly, they are feasible and are much more likely to be believable and generalizable than the current approach.


Capacity of MIMO-OFDM system with exponential correlation matrix and multi-path channel was researched. Based on SVD, factors of correlation coefficient and the number of multi-path and antenna were analyzed. The Monte-Carlo simulations present that capacity of MIMO-OFDM system would decrease obviously as correlation coefficient increasing in large SNR; and it would also increased with number of multi-path at power limited situation; capacity for Nr×Nt=N×N system is increase with N, and number the antenna in receiver has more effect on capacity when Nr is un-equal to Nt.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the content of the hormone progesterone and minerals in the blood with the success of artificial insemination in Bali cattle in the medium and lowlands of Jambi Province. The research method used in this study is survey and laboratory. The survey method is used to evaluate the success of AI in the form of service per conception (S/C). The sampling technique used in this research is Stratified Random Sampling which consists of 2 strata, namely: Strata I is bali cattle that are inseminated by inseminators in the medium areas of Jambi Province represented by Tebo District. Stara II is a bali cattle that is inseminated by inseminators in the lowand areas of Jambi Province represented by Tanjung Jabung Barat District. Laboratory research was conducted to measure the blood and mineral blood hormones of Balinese cattle, to measure the content of the hormone progesterone in the blood of Balinese cattle using radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. The results of the correlation analysis (Pearson Correlation, Kendall's tau_b, and Spearman's rho) obtained a relationship between the content of the hormone progesterone in the blood of cattle with the success of artificial insemination in cattle is very significant. The results of the correlation analysis (Pearson Correlation) obtained from the relationship between blood mineral content in the form of Zn, Se and Mg with the success of IB in cattle in the central cattle area of Jambi Province is very significant.


According to modern conceptualizations oil forms complex dispersed system containing disperse phase formed of high molecular compounds: long-straight-chained hydrocarbons or asphaltene-resin compounds with high concentration of heteroelements and metals and dispersion media formed of hydrocarbons of less molecular weight. These days, along with traditional methods for oil treating, the new ones are appearing aimed at transforming of high molecular compounds into smaller ones. And the role of magnetic, electromagnetic, acoustic field's investigations on the properties of the oil is growing. For the proper impact on oil it is necessary to conduct deep investigations of the oil components structure changes. In this regard, considerable interest, first of all, is quantum-chemical analysis of the relationship "carbon-carbon (C-C) and carbon – hydrogen (C-H), which is conducted not at the molecular but at the atomic level. So the purpose of the work was to conduct the quantum energy calculations of the parameters of electromagnetic impact on heavy hydrocarbons. With the changes in temperature of the system, the vibration frequency of atomic bonds will be also changed. Consequently, in any attempt to impact on petroleum components with using external excitation sources, should be taken into account the temperature factor and must be established connection between the source of impact and temperature. In this paper additional opportunities to specify the resonant excitation temperature of oil and the relationship between temperature and frequency characteristics of the atoms and molecules were identified.


Sensor array beamforming performance using independently mobile antennas connected through a wireless sensor network is analyzed where a performance metric is proposed enabling mitigation of the perturbation of array factor formation caused by dynamic node positions. Wireless networking has expanded array design possibilities to include wirelessly connected elements; however, static positioning of elements remains central to determination and application of weights necessary for coherent array beam formation. Wireless networks allow for participant mobility, but applied weights must be reformed for each position update in order to maintain target focus. While deterministic motion allows easy weight translation, random element motion requires significant network energy to reform weights through position updates. The relationship between array factor and stochastic element motion is analyzed. A relationship is developed between motion and array factor magnitude probability towards the intended target vector. The relationship proposed is shown to be assessable and useful for reducing network traffic and processing overhead and while producing operationally acceptable gain towards the target. The result compares favorably against a constant position updating model in terms of sensor energy usage across the network.


I. Introduction. In April 1902, the south-south-eastern end of a cavern in the Hoe-Grange Quarry was broken into, in the course of the quarrying operations (P1. VI). The discovery was first made known to us by Mr. J. Ward, Curator of the Cardiff Museum, who was formerly a resident in Derby, and has worked out several caverns in the neighbourhood. One of us visited the quarry on April 26th, 1902, and subsequently, through Messrs. Holland & Rigby, solicitors (of Ashbourne), obtained leave from Major Nicholson, the owner of the quarry, to work the deposits on behalf of the Derbyshire Archæological & Natural History Natural History Society. The owner stipulated that the cavern should be worked in such a manner as would secure the largest amount of evidence possible under the circumstances. In company with Mr. C. Fox-Strangways we visited the quarry, and found that the cavern had been indiscriminately worked in the upper part, above the line AB in the horizontal section (Pl. V, fig. 1), for a distance of 34 feet north-north-west of the point where the quarrymen had first broken in at the south-south-eastern end. Our thanks are due to Messrs. Shaw&Lovegrove, the lessees of the quarry, who did their best, before we took the work over, to secure and retain, as far as they could under the circumstances, specimens which had been obtained. By this means they supplied us with 1577 specimens, and we subsequently recovered other 679 specimens from the tip-heaps. Some of these were obtained


The amount of data generated by the current interconnected world is immeasurable, and a large part of such data is publicly available, which means that it is accessible by any user, at any time, from anywhere in the Internet. In this respect, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is a type of intelligence that actually benefits from that open nature by collecting, processing and correlating points of the whole cyberspace to generate knowledge. In fact, recent advances in technology are causing OSINT to currently evolve at a dizzying rate, providing innovative data-driven and AI-powered applications for politics, economy or society, but also offering new lines of action against cyberthreats and cybercrime. The paper at hand describes the current state of OSINT and makes a comprehensive review of the paradigm, focusing on the services and techniques enhancing the cybersecurity field. On the one hand, we analyze the strong points of this methodology and propose numerous ways to apply it to cybersecurity. On the other hand, we cover the limitations when adopting it. Considering there is a lot left to explore in this ample field, we also enumerate some open challenges to be addressed in the future. Additionally, we study the role of OSINT in the public sphere of governments, which constitute an ideal landscape to exploit open data.


Aim and objective: This study aimed to evaluate the different approaches in measuring alveolar ridge width accurateness before implant placement. Materials and methods: This study included 30 partially edentulous patients with missing teeth in the age range of 18–50 years needing dental implant prosthetic replacement of the missing teeth. A stent was prepared and the width of the alveolar ridge was estimated employing the following techniques: Group I: Measurement of alveolar ridge width on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) method, group II: Measurement of alveolar ridge width by ridge mapping technique, group III: Measurement of alveolar ridge width by surgical exposure. The data were analyzed statistically using the SPSS Statistics for Windows Software, version 17.0. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: 3.84 ± 0.20 was the width of the alveolar ridge on CBCT, 3.96 ± 0.44 with ridge mapping, and 3.78 ± 0.16 by direct measurement upon surgical exposure at point 1. The measurements at point 2 on CBCT, by ridge mapping, and on surgical exposure were 6.80 ± 0.26, 7.02 ± 0.98, and 6.68 ± 0.76, respectively. When ridge mapping and surgical exposure methods at both points were compared, the difference between the groups was significant statistically at point 2 with the p value < 0.04. Conclusion: Cone-beam computed tomography and ridge mapping techniques when independently compared with the gold standard surgical exposure system, CBCT was verified to be an extremely specific and sensitive technique to measure the residual alveolar ridge width for dental implant therapy planning. Clinical significance: Residual ridge resorption following the tooth extraction is an inevitable phenomenon that results in inadequate width of the ridge. Hence, it is essential to measure the physical dimensions of the existing bone as part of the diagnosis and pre-surgical planning before implant placement. The success of the dental implant depends on the significant requirement of dimensions of the existing bone. computed tomography, Ridge


The United States presidential election in 2000 was one of the closest in history. In 1960, the winner of the popular vote in that presidential election won by the narrowest of margins. Forty years separated the two results, and both involved a sitting Vice President losing to a relative newcomer.  This study sets out the backgrounds of each of the four presidential candidates who competed in 1960 and 2000 and aims to understand the character of each by examining the influences on their lives and the development of their defining character traits. The second aim is to understand the authentic nature of their character by applying several theoretical frameworks to each of them. The application of these theoretical models is done in the context of the outcomes of the 1960 and 2000 elections and, in particular, the losing candidates' reactions to those results. It is at this most crucial moment that decision-making best reflects whether the candidate's reaction is authentic in the context of his character development.


For the first time in mankind history, all properties of elementary particles are uncovered and described concisely and systematically.

Aligning with the synthesis of the virtual and physical worlds in a hierarchical taxonomy of the universe, this theory refines the topology framework of universe, and presents a new perspective of the Yin Yang natural laws that, through the processes of creation and reproduction, the fundamental elements generate an infinite series of circular objects and a Yin Yang duality of dynamic fields that are sequenced and transformed states of matter between the virtual and physical worlds.

Once virtual objects are transformed, they embody various enclaves of energy states, known as dark energy, quarks, leptons, bosons, protons, and neutrons, characterized by their incentive oscillations of timestate variables in a duality of virtual realities: energy and time, spin and charge, mass and space, symmetry and asymmetry.

As a consequence, it derives the fully-scaled quantum properties of physical particles in accordance with numerous historical experiments, and has overcome the limitations of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the Standard Model, towards concisely exploring physical nature and beyond...


Mediation refers to the effect transmitted by mediators that intervene in the relationship between an exposure and a response variable. Mediation analysis has been broadly studied in many fields. However, it remains a challenge for researchers to consider complicated associations among variables and to differentiate individual effects from multiple mediators. [1] proposed general definitions of mediation effects that were adaptable to all different types of response (categorical or continuous), exposure, or mediation variables. With these definitions, multiple mediators of different types can be considered simultaneously, and the indirect effects carried by individual mediators can be separated from the total effect. Moreover, the derived mediation analysis can be performed with general predictive models. That is, the relationships among variables can be modeled using not only generalized linear models but also nonparametric models such as the Multiple Additive Regression Trees. Therefore, more complicated variable transformations and interactions can be considered in analyzing the mediation effects. The proposed method is realized by the R package mma . We illustrate in this paper the proposed method and how to use mma to estimate mediation effects and make inferences.


Can virus transmission from bats to humans be predicted? The importance of predicting the timing and location of infectious disease emergence events from animal into human populations is highlighted by the effect of Ebola virus in West Africa. Such predictions are, however, usually hampered by a dearth of data. In a recent analysis of rabies viruses derived from vampire bats (see the photo) in Peru, Streicker et al. show that with sufficient data on both pathogen and host and with accurate models, predictions can be made to inform surveillance and public health efforts (1).