IP address lookup operation determines the longest prefix matching each incoming destination address. As a fundamental operation for packet forwarding at Internet routers, search speed for routing table lookup is the most important performance metric. Previous researches have shown that the search performance of trie-based algorithms can be improved by adding on-chip Bloom filters. In these algorithms, an on-chip Bloom filter identifies the membership of a node in an off-chip trie, and the number of trie accesses is reduced, because the Bloom filter can filter out accesses to non-existing nodes in the trie. In this paper, we propose a new method of utilizing a Bloom filter for the IP address lookup problem. In the previous Bloom filter-based approach, false positiveness has to be identified by accessing the off-chip trie for every positive result, since false positives can produce wrong results. In our proposed approach, the false positiveness of a Bloom filter is not necessarily identified by making false positives not mislead the search. Hence the number of off-chip trie accesses are significantly reduced. Simulation results show that the best matching prefix can be found with a single off-chip access in average and in the worst-case with the reasonable size of a Bloom filter in our proposed method.


This report presents the results from metallurgical examinations of Zircaloy-clad fuel rods from two bundles (0551 and 0074) of Shippingport PWR Core 1 blanket fuel after extended water storage. Both bundles were exposed to water in the reactor from late 1957 until discharge. The estimated average burnups were 346 GJ/kgU (4000 MWd/MTU) for bundle 0551 and 1550 GJ/kgU (18,000 MWd/MTU) for bundle 0074. Fuel rods from bundle 0551 were stored in deionized water for nearly 21 yr prior to examination in 1980, representing the world's oldest pool-stored Zircaloy-clad fuel. Bundle 0074 has been stored in deionized water since reactor discharge in 1964. Data from the current metallurgical examinations enable a direct assessment of extended pool storage effects because the metallurgical condition of similar fuel rods was investigated and documented soon after reactor discharge. Data from current and past examinations were compared, and no significant degradation of the Zircaloy cladding was indicated after almost 21 yr in water storage. The cladding dimensions and mechanical properties, fission gas release, hydrogen contents of the cladding, and external oxide film thicknesses that were measured during the current examinations were all within the range of measurements made on fuel bundles soon after reactor discharge. Themore » appearance of the external surfaces and the microstructures of the fuel and cladding were also similar to those reported previously. In addition, no evidence of accelerated corrosion or hydride redistribution in the cladding was observed.« less


Road boundary detection and tracking is an important and integral function in advanced driver-assistance system. This paper proposes an algorithm, which can follow multi-kinds of lane, straight and curved, quickly and robustly. The algorithm uses several masks to extract blobs of road markings, combining with KNN function to remove the disturbance. Further more, road is modeled as a 3D surface, and some important parameters of current lane are provided on real-time by tracking based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The results of experiments, which have been done in urban road, show that the algorithm is adapted to many road conditions. Even in a complex driving environment, it also has a good performance.


This comprehensive Research Handbook offers an innovative analysis of environmental law in the global South and contributes to an important reassessment of some of its major underlying concepts. The Research Handbook discusses areas rarely prioritized in environmental law, such as land rights, and underlines how these intersect with issues including poverty, livelihoods and the use of natural resources, challenging familiar narratives around development and sustainability in this context and providing new insights into environmental justice.


This paper presents the design of a nonlinear optimal control strategy for a wind energy generation system based on a small scale wind turbine, a permanent magnet synchronous generator, a back-to-back power converter, and an LCL filter interconnected with the grid. The main control objectives in this energy system involve the trajectory tracking and regulation of different system variables as generator angular speed, DC-link voltage and reactive power. In order to fulfill these objectives, the application of optimal controllers based on the state-dependent coefficient factorization technique is proposed for both the generator-side converter and the grid-side converter. The advantages of the proposed control scheme are to achieve a wide system operating range, due to the controller design takes into account the system nonlinearities, and in addition, an efficient trajectory tracking of time-varying references generated by a maximum power point tracking algorithm, which uses a wind speed estimator. Also, an LCL filter is used to attenuate the harmonic content of the injected current to the utility grid to satisfy interconnection standards, which requires a THD below 5%. The effectiveness of the proposed controllers is verified via simulations developed in Matlab/Simulink, where the variables to be controlled reach the desired references that ensure proper operation, maximum power extraction, and fulfillment of interconnection standards.


Computer modeling of relays helps engineers understand how protection systems behave during faults and other disturbances. Simulators can assess the reliability of a protection system, determine the effect of correct and incorrect operation on a power network and if necessary help a relay manufacturer investigate new design ideas. The PSCAD/EMTDC transient simulator was used to model the effect of a fault on the protection and control system in a 132/11kV distribution substation. The operating response of each protection and control relay and the associated circuit breakers were monitored and stored in an event data base suitable for knowledge extraction studies.


Hydrokinetic energy, referring to the energy contained in moving water, is a renewable energy source that gained much consideration in the past years and expected to play a significant role in the future. The energy is initiated in all moving water masses, but is significantly economic to convert for water masses moving with high velocity. Nonlinear characteristics of water speed and generator model in hydrokinetic energy conversion systems require an optimal controller for achieving optimal performance and high efficiency of the system. Here, the field oriented control method is proposed to set the PI controllers which their coefficients are optimized based on Biogeography-Based Optimization technique (BBO). In order to use BBO to solve this problem, the problem has to be formulated as an optimization problem. Numerous simulation studies are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller scheme. Achieved results for different patterns of water speed changes in time domain show the capability of the proposed control.


While some researchers contend that hope is unidimensional, other researchers regard hope to be multidimensional. Schrank, Woppmann, Sibitz, and Lauber's exploratory factor analysis of their Integrative Hope Scale (IHS) found subscales of Trust, Future Orientation, Social Relations, and Lack of Perspective. However, subsequent articles have utilized only the total IHS score. To resolve this issue, a community sample of 288 participants completed the IHS as well as two measures of hedonic well-being (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale), a measure of eudemonic well-being (Measure of Actualization of Potential), and a measure of time orientation (the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory). One-factor, four-factor oblique, higher order, and bifactor models were compared through confirmatory factor analysis and interpreted using Omega reliability coefficients. While the poorest model fit was for the one-factor model, little reliable variance was found in subscale scores after controlling for a general hope factor with the exception of the Lack of Perspective factor. IHS total and subscale scores were associated with measures of well-being and time orientation. We suggest researchers continue to focus on using the IHS total score, but also report subscale scores, especially for the Lack of Perspective subscale.


An important parameter for COVID-19 is the case fatality rate (CFR). It has been applied to wide applications, including the measure of the severity of the infection, the estimation of the number of infected cases, risk assessment etc. However, there remains a lack of understanding on several aspects of CFR, including population factors that are important to CFR, the apparent discrepancy of CFRs in different countries, and how the age effect comes into play. We analyze the CFRs at two different time snapshots, July 6 and Dec 28, 2020, with one during the first wave and the other a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider two important population covariates, age and GDP as a proxy for the quality and abundance of public health. Extensive exploratory data analysis leads to some interesting findings. First, there is a clear exponential age effect among different age groups, and, more importantly, the exponential index is almost invariant across countries and time in the pandemic. Second, the roles played by the age and GDP are a little surprising: during the first wave, age is a more significant factor than GDP, while their roles have switched during the second wave of the pandemic, which may be partially explained by the delay in time for the quality and abundance of public health and medical research to factor in.


In this paper, we present a computationally efficient, two-dimensional quantum mechanical simulation scheme for modeling electron transport in thin body, fully depleted, n-channel, siliconon-insulator transistors in the ballistic limit. The proposed simulation scheme, which solves the non-equilibrium Green's function equations self-consistently with Poisson's equation, is based on an expansion of the active device Hamiltonian in decoupled mode-space. Simulation results from this method are benchmarked against solutions from a rigorous two-dimensional discretization of the device Hamiltonian in real-space. While doing so, the inherent approximations, regime of validity and the computational efficiency of the mode-space solution are highlighted and discussed. Additionally, quantum boundary conditions are rigorously derived and the effects of strong offequilibrium transport are examined. This paper shows that the decoupled mode-space solution is an efficient and accurate simulation method for modeling electron transport in nanoscale, siliconon-insulator transistors. ∗Electronic address: firstname.lastname@example.com


In the quantum many-body systems that have a dense spectra of excited states (compound nuclei, rare-earth atoms, molecules, clusters, "quantum dots" in solids, spin systems) weak perturbation can be strongly enhanced. An example of a compound nucleus is considered in detail. The factor of enhancement of parity nonconserving (PNC) effects in neutron-nucleus reactions exceeds 100. Calculations of the mean square value of the matrix element between compound states show that the statistical mechanism explains the "random" part of the dynamical enhancement. Possible mechanisms of regular effect are considered. It is shown that the valence mechanism (PNC effect due to single-particle component of compound states and potential scattering) contradicts the results of measurements of PNC effects in low level density nuclei (n + 124Sn, 207Pb, etc.). Calculations show also that the contribution of the valence mechanism is 100 times smaller than the observed PNC effect in 232Th. Any enhancement due to collective excitations (giant resonances) is also excluded. The limit on the strength of the neutron PNC weak potential is extracted from the measurements of neutron spin rotation in 124Sn: |gn| ⩽ 1 or |ε| ⩽ 10-8. Possible mechanism of correlations among compound states components ("quasielastic" mechanism) is considered.


This paper is concerned with the existence and asymptotic behavior of mild solutions to a class of non-linear neutral stochastic partial differential equations with infinite delays. By applying fixed point principle, we present sufficient conditions to ensure that the mild solutions are exponentially stable in $p$th-moment ($p\geq 2$) and almost surely exponentially stable. An example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed result.


Background: Manual therapy has emerged as an option for facial rejuvenation treatment due to its effects on connective tissue. Objectives: The aim of the study was to verify the effectiveness of the manual therapy protocol in attenuating wrinkles and facial sagging. Methods: This is a quantitative-qualitative, randomized clinical trial. The study included female volunteers, aged between 40 and 50 years, distributed in 2 groups: Manual therapy group (MTG) and Control group (CG). The protocol used consisted of: lymph node decongestion, sliding massages, fast and vigorous movements, and traction on the fasciae. The evaluation instrument was through photos, in which they were analyzed by Dermato-functional specialists through a scale that graduates the wrinkles. The Shapiro-Wilk normality test was used to analyze the symmetry of the results by the Gauss curve. Preand post-intervention differences between the groups were determined using the non-parametric Wilcoxon test. Results: The average score obtained in the graduation of wrinkles and signs of aging in the manual therapy group showed significant differences in all regions of the face before and after treatment. And there was a decrease in the score, which shows improvement in the reduction of wrinkles and signs of aging, especially in the upper third. In contrast, in the control group, the average remained before and after the follow-up by the research, showing that there were no significant changes in this group. Conclusion: The manual therapy protocol showed significant results in reducing the signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles, being another option to be applied in clinics.


To optimize solid-state fermentation conditions for biocontrol agent Trichoderma longibrachiatum T6, the agricultural recycled waste by product grass charcoal, vermiculite, cow dung were used as the main medium components and measuring and optimizing the number of spores production of Trichoderma longibrachiatum T6 biocontrol agent by single factor tests and response surface methodology. The effects of moisture content, inoculation amount and air permeability on growth of the strain T6 were analyzed comprehensively. Subsequently, the effects of fermentation products on pepper growth and their biocontrol efficiency against pepper blight in pot experiment were detected, respectively. Our results of single factor tests demonstrated that the optimal fermentation conditions were moisture content of 60%, inoculation amount of 30%, air permeability is 9 layer gauze, temperature 28 °C, pH 5.6. The results of comprehensive comparison showed that the effects of moisture 114 中 国 生 物 防 治 学 报 第 36 卷 content, inoculation amount and breathability on the spores production of Trichoderma longibrachiatum T6 were significant among the five factors. The optimum fermentation conditions were obtained by response surface analysis that moisture content of 64%, inoculation amount of 27%, air permeability is 9 layer gauze. Under these optimal conditions, the highest sporulation of Trichoderma longibrachiatum T6 could be 8.80841×10 cfu/g. Importantly, the treatment of pepper with soil and T. longibrachiatum T6 biocontrol agent 50:1 showed a strong effect of promoting the growth. Compared with control 1 (without any fertilizer), the relative growth rates of plant height, the ground fresh weight, root fresh weight, base stem diameter and root length were 54.90%, 82.46%, 89.19%, 56.41% and 46.62%, respectively. Finally, in the pot experiment, the pepper treated with T6 was thick and tall, with dark green leaves and developed roots. At the same time, the treatment of pepper with T. longibrachiatum T6 biocontrol agent could significantly control the disease spread and the control efficiency against pepper blight could be 54.8%, which was increased by 12.5% of the treatment with the chemicai agent carbendazol using the same treatment methods.


The method of Doyle and Roman (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 43:1343-1353, 1982) was compared with that of Lovett et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 46:459-462, 1983) for the ability to recover Campylobacter jejuni strains inoculated into raw milk at a concentration of less than 1 cell per g. The method of Lovett et al. gave significantly greater recovery proportions.


The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an independent body comprised of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine. The primary audience for the USPSTF's work is primary care clinicians, and many consider the Task Force's recommendations to be definitive standards for preventive services.


[1] The spectral polarized radiance distribution provides the most complete description of the light field that can be measured. However, this is a very difficult parameter to measure, particularly near the surface, because of its large dynamic range, changes in the skylight illumination, and waves at the air-sea interface. To measure the Stokes vector of the downwelling light field, which contains the polarization information, requires the combination of four images acquired simultaneously. To achieve this, we used the downwelling polarized radiance distribution camera system (DPOL) during the Radiance in a Dynamic Ocean (RaDyO) program Santa Barbara Channel and Hawaiian experiments. DPOL consists of four fisheye lenses and a spectral filter changer that allow us to capture the downwelling hemisphere of the polarized radiance distribution at seven wavelengths. Our measurements show that very near the surface, for clear sky conditions, the dominant source of polarization is the refracted sky light. As one progresses in the water column the polarization due to light scattering by the water increases and polarization due to light scattering in the water becomes dominant.


The folding ability of chromatin fractions containing approximately identical nucleosome numbers and the same linker histone composition, but with different extents of core histone acetylation, were analyzed by analytical ultracentrifugation. It was found that the acetylated fractions consistently exhibited a relatively small but significantly lower extent of compaction than that of their native nonacetylated counterparts. This was regardless of the extent of the size distribution heterogeneity of the fractions analyzed. Furthermore the acetylated chromatin fibers exhibited an enhanced solubility in both NaCl and MgCl2, which is neither the result of a differential binding affinity of the linker histones to chromatin nor of an alteration in the relative amounts of the histone H1 variants.


The multi-lineage differentiation capacity of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) enables its potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Master transcription factors play a key role during development, differentiation, homeostasis and disease pathology. RUNX2 is the master transcription factor for bone development, and it regulates several important signaling pathways during chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. However, modulation of RUNX2 activity during hMSC differentiation into various lineages is not yet fully described. We differentiated hMSCs into chondro-, osteo-, and adipogenic lineages and studied RUNX2 protein dynamics using Transcription Factor - Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (TF-FRAP) at different time points. The TF-FRAP method can capture the dynamic changes of RUNX2 protein mobility at the single cell level resolution, and cluster analysis shows how RUNX2 dynamics change at subpopulation level in proliferating and differentiating hMSCs. Our data show that although whole hMSC population is exposed to differentiation stimuli, some subpopulations in hMSCs do not respond to environmental cues.


INTRODUCTION
Pemphigus vulgaris is a rare cause of oral mucosal ulceration.

CLINICAL PICTURE
A 47-year-old Chinese man presented with a 3-month history of oral ulceration. There were no lesions on the skin or other mucosal sites. Histology and immunostaining were consistent with pemphigus vulgaris.

TREATMENT
Systemic and topical corticosteroids were instituted, together with topical antifungals. Conventional periodontal therapy was carried out to improve gingival/oral health.

OUTCOME
Control of oral ulceration was achieved with re-establishment of normal oral function. No other sites to date have been involved.

CONCLUSIONS
Chronic oral ulceration can be the sole manifestation of pemphigus vulgaris, at least initially. Early recognition of this lesion may prevent delayed diagnosis and inappropriate treatment of a potentially chronic dermatological condition.


Power scheduling and localization play important roles in network topology management. Distributed power scheduling is an efficient way to construct a reliable and energy-efficient network topology. Localization provides geographical information for topology management. However, during the course of transmission power control, localization based on the received signal strength (RSS) is a challenging problem because of the inconsistent RSS indication (RSSI) measurements in wireless sensor networks. This paper presents an algorithm that takes advantage of the information from the ongoing wireless communication links to calculate the estimated position of sensor nodes. Considering the existing transmit-power-aware medium access control (MAC) protocols, we propose a localization algorithm based on particle filtering for sensor networks assisted by multiple transmit-power information. Therefore, the primary contribution of this paper is the elegant strategy on how to incorporate the practical multiple transmit-power information into the process of particle filtering. Furthermore, a general message-passing framework of the transmit-power-aware MAC is seamlessly integrated with the tracking service. The proposed particle-filtering-based localization algorithm uses the RSS information from the beacons or the neighboring nodes to infer the position of the concerned node without the requirement of any additional hardware instruments. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed localization method. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms that do not utilize multiple power information.


Barium tantalum oxynitride (BaTaO2 N), as a member of an emerging class of perovskite oxynitrides, is regarded as a promising inorganic material for solar water splitting because of its small band gap, visible light absorption, and suitable band edge potentials for overall water splitting in the absence of an external bias. However, BaTaO2 N still exhibits poor water-splitting performance that is susceptible to its synthetic history, surface states, recombination process, and instability. This review provides a comprehensive summary of previous progress, current advances, existing challenges, and future perspectives of BaTaO2 N for solar water splitting. A particular emphasis is given to highlighting the principles of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, classic and emerging photocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions, and the crystal and electronic structures, dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties, synthesis routes, and thin-film fabrication of BaTaO2 N. Various strategies to achieve enhanced water-splitting performance of BaTaO2 N, such as reducing the surface and bulk defect density, engineering the crystal facets, tailoring the particle morphology, size, and porosity, cation doping, creating the solid solutions, forming the heterostructures and heterojunctions, designing the photoelectrochemical cells, and loading suitable cocatalysts are discussed. Also, the avenues for further investigation and the prospects of using BaTaO2 N in solar water splitting are presented.


The α(2A)-adrenoceptor has been identified as an important regulator of blood glucose homeostasis. α(2A)-Adrenoceptors on pancreatic β-cells inhibit insulin secretion, and α(2A)-adrenoceptors on sympathetic nerves and on adrenomedullary chromaffin cells limit sympathoadrenal output. Recently, human α(2A)-adrenoceptor gene polymorphisms that influence α(2A)-adrenoceptor expression and function have been described. Increased α(2A)-adrenoceptor expression has been associated with impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, elevated fasting blood glucose levels and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, administration of α(2)-adrenoceptor agonists generally increases blood glucose levels, in spite of the ensuing sympatholysis that would be expected to lower blood glucose as a result of diminished α(1)- and β-adrenoceptor activation. α(2)-Adrenoceptor antagonists increase insulin secretion and reduce blood glucose levels by inhibiting tonically active α(2A)-adrenoceptors on pancreatic β-cells, but may also enhance sympathoadrenal output. In addition, α(2)-adrenoceptor antagonists potentiate the insulinotropic effect of sulphonylurea drugs, pointing to a potentially serious adverse drug interaction when the two classes of drugs are combined. The α(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist atipamezole is widely used in veterinary medicine, and sulphonylureas are prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in cats and dogs. Even if no dedicated α(2)-adrenoceptor antagonists are in clinical use in humans, some antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs are relatively potent α(2)-adrenoceptor antagonists. In the treatment of type 2 diabetes, α(2)-adrenoceptor agonists could possibly protect against sulphonylurea-induced hypoglycaemia, and α(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist drugs could improve insulin secretion. The potential usefulness of such drugs may vary between individuals, depending on α(2A)-adrenoceptor genetics, sympathetic tone and concomitant pathological conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and obesity.


This paper investigates the fundamental question of nonlinear wave-ice interaction under level ice focusing on nonlinear wave propagation and dispersion of waves. Therefore, numerical investigations are performed to verify theoretically if nonlinearity takes place under level ice and if this can lead to intense wave events far away from the ice edge in order to provide an explanation for observed real-world ice break-ups. Therefore, nonlinear wave-ice interaction as well as the impact of the ice characteristics on this interaction will be investigated.
 The direct numerical simulations of the nonlinear wave propagation under solid ice are performed within the Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation (NLSE) framework. The Peregrine breather solution is applied to represent exact solutions of the NLSE for a nonlinear wave group. The application of such a nonlinear wave group is predestined for the verification of occurring nonlinear wave-wave interaction below the ice sheet. For the definition of wave and ice parameters in the simulation setup, the results of the presented parameter study are used. The parameters are analyzed regarding relevant characteristics of nonlinear wave-ice interaction and wave propagation. By assuming constraints with respect to physical consistency, the parameter range for the NLSE simulations can be narrowed.
 The scope of this investigation is to provide a better understanding of the ice conditions required to observe nonlinear wave effects under level ice.


Adults with intellectual disability (ID) are now more likely to live in ordinary localities. However, this does not always equate with engagement, leading to forming new relationships and a sense of connection. This systematic scoping review examined research on social inclusion in neighborhoods for adults with ID, synthesizing 94 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2020. The characteristics of neighborhoods that foster inclusion include: richness of opportunities in localities, public acceptance, positive neighboring, and multidimensional accessibility. Social inclusion in neighborhoods is complex, with a range of other influencing factors also identified. Recommendations for further research and implications for practice are discussed to support individuals to actively engage locally and to enhance their informal social networks.


Wetting of the pore walls of porous templates is a simple and convenient method to prepare nanoshell tubes. Wafer-scale fabrication of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate nanoshell tubes was accomplished by wetting porous silicon templates with polymeric precursors. The ferro- and piezoelectric properties of an individual ferroelectric nanoshell tube either of PZT or of BaTiO 3 were electrically characterized by measuring the local piezoelectric hysteresis. A sharp switching at the coercive voltage of about 2 V was shown from the hysteresis loop. The corresponding effective remnant piezoelectric coefficient is about 90 pm/V. We have also prepared highly ordered arrays of free-standing ferroelectric nanoshell tubes obtained by partial etching of the silicon template. Such materials might be used as building blocks of miniaturized devices and could have a significant impact in the field of nano-electromechanical systems.


The effect of two propionic acid derived drugs, ketoprofene and butibufene, on the prevention of osteopenia due to adjuvant-induced anti-inflammatory arthritis, was studied in groups composed of 10 rats each. Another group of 10 rats was treated with a placebo and 20 non-treated rats served as controls. Once arthritis was evoked, propionic acid derived drugs were administered at equivalent doses, in the form of a local cream applied on the foot where arthritis was induced. The placebo group was treated with the cream without propionic acid derivatives. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the study and the femurs where arthritis was induced were dissected. Bone densitometry studies were conducted with double energy X-ray on these bones to calculate the bone mass. Bone mass was higher in the group treated with ketoprofene (p < 0.025) than in the butibufene and placebo-treated groups, and these 3 groups showed lower values than the control (p < 0.001). These results suggest that propionic acid derivatives can prevent the osteopenia induced by inflammation and the subsequent lack of limb use, an effect which may be related to its analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, this may serve as a good model for the indirect measurement of the effectiveness of analgesic and/or non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs in experimental animals.


Binahong leaves [ Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis ] are easily found in Indonesia, efficacious and had been used as a wound-healing herbal medicine. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of acetate ethyl fraction in binahong leaves [ Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis ] as a topical agent to the histopathology changes including increased epithelization and histochemistry examination by assessing hydroxyproline level in the acute incision wound healing process in Sprague Dawley rats. An in vivo laboratory experiment, using the Pre and Post Test Only Control Group Design. The subject was Sprague Dawley white male rats, randomly divided into 5 (five) treatment groups, a negative control group (gel-based), positive control group (Bioplacenton), 1% concentration of acetate ethyl fraction from binahong leaves group (FADB 1%), 2% concentration of acetate ethyl fraction from binahong leaves (FADB 2%) and 4% concentration of acetate ethyl fraction from binahong leaves (FADB 4%). The collected data was analyzed using SPSS programme version 21.0 with homogeneity test, normality test, Wilcoxon test, Mann Whitney test, Independent T-test, and Post Hoc confirmation using LSD test. In 4th-day skin tissue examination, the effectiveness of 4% concentration of acetate ethyl fraction from binahong leaves was not significantly different from Bioplacenton effectiveness in increasing epithelization and hydroxyproline level in the 10th-day skin tissue examination.


Integrated diagnostic imaging is nowadays an extremely valuable tool in the study of periskeletal soft tissue tumors, relative to their diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. In the past, difficulties arose from the complex embryogenetic factors causing the tumors, from the different growth patterns and courses of the lesions themselves, and finally from poor development of technology specifically designed to study the soft tissues. Today, such new imaging methods as CT and MRI exhibit special features allowing the accurate study of the soft tissues and their conditions. The basic method to investigate the relationship of soft tissues to skeleton is still conventional radiology--or xeroradiography--with the soft-ray technique. However, its limitations are well known. US, with the appropriate probes and the correct technique, with comparative and dynamic studies, yields precise information, especially relative to benign tumors. CT allows not only lesion but also tumor staging, together with the study of adjacent structures; moreover, CT angiography provides accurate information as to tumor vascularization. The role of MRI, though still debated, looks extremely promising. Finally, as for angiography, the method has been replaced by newer technologies and thus limited to preoperative vascular mapping.


Seeing the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union gave a false hope to the proponent of capitalism that it is the only hope for the future. However, this very belief is crumbling the western societies with the rise of the populism and nationalism. Amidst this confusion, this paper revisited the published literature on social business model suggested by Nobel Laureate prof. Muhammad Yunus and added a new dimension of entrepreneurial attention suggested by Ocasio (1997). Propositions are derived on how the entrepreneurial attention increases the sustainable performance of the social business.


Accurate and fast prediction of aerodynamic noise has always been a research hotspot in fluid mechanics and aeroacoustics. The conventional prediction methods based on numerical simulation often demand huge computational resources, which are difficult to balance between accuracy and efficiency. Here, we present a data-driven deep neural network (DNN) method to realize fast aerodynamic noise prediction while maintaining accuracy. The proposed deep learning method can predict the spatial distributions of aerodynamic noise information under different working conditions. Based on the large eddy simulation turbulence model and the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings acoustic analogy theory, a dataset composed of 1216 samples is established. With reference to the deep learning method, a DNN framework is proposed to map the relationship between spatial coordinates, inlet velocity and overall sound pressure level. The root-mean-square-errors of prediction are below 0.82dB in the test dataset, and the directivity of aerodynamic noise predicted by the DNN framework are basically consistent with the numerical simulation. This work paves a novel way for fast prediction of aerodynamic noise with high accuracy and has application potential in acoustic field prediction.


A fixed array of four loop aerials is described which, in conjunction with a goniometer, is equivalent to a rotating spaced-loop aerial when receiving ground wave signals. 'Experimental verification of this performance is given. The theoretical performance of this system when receiving sky wave signals is developed. Under these conditions, the system offers no advantage over the simple cross-looped aerial.


Monitoring the physical quality of Cerrado soils under intensive sugarcane production requires sustainable forms of soil use and management. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the aggregation and organic matter content in soil planted with sugarcane under different tillage systems. The experiment was conducted at the Jalles Machado Sugarcane Mill, in the city of Goianesia – Goias State, Brazil. The statistical design was a randomized block with four replications. The following treatments were evaluated: 1. Moldboard plow + harrow (AA + G); 2. Ripper + harrow (SS + G); 3. Direct furrowing (SD); 4. Ripper + direct furrowing (SS + SD); 5. Stubble thrasher + ripper (DS + SS); 6. Stubble thrasher + harrow + moldboard plow + harrow (DS + GAAG), for the soil layers of 0-0.2; 0.2-0.4 and 0.4-0.6 m depth. The highest soil organic matter (SOM) levels, geometric mean diameter (GMD) values and distribution of aggregates between 4-2 mm were found in the 0-0.2 m layer for the SD and SS + SD treatment. There was a positive correlation between the SOM and GMD values. SD, SS + SD and DS + GAAG systems showed higher soil aggregate classes between 4-2 mm when compared to DS + SS in the 0.2-0.4 m layer. There was also an increase in the <0.25 mm class for AA + G. The AA + G + and DS + GAAG conventional systems had higher sugarcane yields, but these results were statistically similar to the conservation cropping system.

 Key words: Soil management, aggregates, Brazilian Cerrado, ratoon.


Linear properties of low-frequency electrostatic and electromagnetic modes in dusty plasmas are studied. The wave spectra in the presence of static and non-static charged dust grains are presented. The relevance of our investigation to astrophysical and cometary plasmas is pointed out.


In 103 children and adolescents aged 13.6+/-5.5 years with type I diabetes lasting for 5.9+/-3.1 years, we have retrospectively studied the frequency and circumstances of severe hypoglycemic episodes (coma and/or convulsions). There were 71 severe hypoglycemia during the 5 year follow-up period. One third of patients had one or more severe hypoglycemia during the 5 years, therefore 6.4% of patients had at least one severe hypoglycemia every year. 8.7% of patients had 3 or more hypoglycemia within 5 years. Both glycated hemoglobin and insulin dose were comparable in patients with, or without severe hypoglycemia. Only in one third of the hypoglycemic episodes an apparent cause was found. We conclude that, most often, severe hypoglycemia occur in diabetic children without an identifiable cause and without any direct relationship with the level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).


Technology and machine learning are becoming increasingly important in Saudi Arabia educational system. There is a growing demand for educational institutions to use machine learning to teach the skills and knowledge students need for the digital age towards Saudi Vision 2030. The integration and adoption ofdigital technologies into learning and teaching brings more opportunities for Saudi universities students and teachers to better embrace the globalized digital age. There is huge potential for the Saudi educational system to perceive the key role of digital technologies inenhancing the education process quality. The aim of this article is investigating the barriersthat affectteachers' integration and adoptionof information communication technologies(ICT) in universityclassroom. The study adopted a qualitative research design to collect the data through the semi-structured interview. The sample of the study is four Saudi ICT-experts professors from four public universities in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the study showed that there are three types of barriers namely; teachers' level barriers e.g. attitudes, knowledge, access, resistance to change. Technology level barriers e.g. compatibility, perceived of useful, institutional barriers. Institutional level e.g. leadership support, resources. The recommendation and suggestion for studies were suggested in light of the findings.


The recent advancements in multicore machines highlight the need to simplify concurrent programming in order to leverage their computational power. One way to achieve this is by designing efficient concurrent data structures (e.g. stacks, queues, hash-tables, etc.) and synchronization techniques (e.g. locks, combining techniques, etc.) that perform well in machines with large amounts of cores. In contrast to ordinary, sequential data-structures, the concurrent data-structures allow multiple threads to simultaneously access and/or modify them. Synch is an open-source framework that not only provides some common high-performant concurrent data-structures, but it also provides researchers with the tools for designing and benchmarking high performant concurrent data-structures. The Synch framework contains a substantial set of concurrent data-structures such as queues, stacks, combining-objects, hash-tables, locks, etc. and it provides a user-friendly runtime for developing and benchmarking concurrent data-structures. Among other features, the provided runtime provides functionality for creating threads easily (both POSIX and user-level threads), tools for measuring performance, etc. Moreover, the provided concurrent data-structures and the runtime are highly optimized for contemporary NUMA multiprocessors such as AMD Epyc and Intel Xeon.


The pathfinder algorithm (PFA) is a recently introduced meta-heuristic approach that is mathematically modelled by the cooperative behaviour of animal groups during a search for the best food zone. The PFA procedure comprises two phases: the pathfinder phase and the follower phase. In the former phase, the pathfinder explores new regions in the search space with its versatile explorative power. And during the later phase, followers change position following the leader and their perception, as a result, it makes it easy for the algorithm to fall in local optima leading to slow convergence. To alleviate such issues, this article introduces an improved approach to PFA named ASDR-PFA with the incorporation of a parameter termed search dimensional ratio (SDR) to generate new candidate solutions using the previous best one. The power of ASDR-PFA lies in its technique of updating the SDR parameter dynamically that attunes the balance between exploration and mining ability leading to a faster convergence towards the optimum. The proficiency of the ASDR-PFA has been examined and established using a set of 16 IEEE basic benchmark functions, applied to solve six constrained optimization complications and optimal feature selection (OFS) problems as well. Furthermore, a comparative analysis is performed on the experimental results attained by the proposed approach with five contemporary meta-heuristic methods to demonstrate its superiority.


Differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) modulation is attractive in high-speed optical communications because of its resistance to fiber nonlinearities and more efficient use of fiber bandwidth compared to conventional intensity modulation schemes. Because of its wavelength conversion ability and phase preservation, semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) fourwave mixing (FWM) has attracted much attention. We experimentally study wavelength conversion of 40 Gbit/s (20 Gbaud) non-return-to-zero (NRZ)-DQPSK data using FWM in a quantum dash SOAwith 20 dB gain and 5 dBm output saturation power. Q factor improvement and eye diagram reshaping is shown for up to 3 nm pump-probe detuning and is superior to that reported for a higher gain bulk SOA.


Siliconization is a normal method for the first-wall conditioning on the HT-7 tokamak. After siliconization the total radiation loss is reduced significantly. Heat-diffusion coefficient the electron of is reduced obviously at the outer half radius (r/a > 0.5) after siliconization. And the plasma confinement is improved effectively. At the core of the plasma, electromagnetic drift-wave mode driven by the temperature gradient of electron gives a good representation of the experimental data not only before siliconization but also after siliconization. But at the outer half radius, the Parail's electromagnetic drift-wave even mode gives a good description of the experimental data before siliconization, and the experimental data of χe is close to the collisionless electrostatic drift-wave mode turbulence after siliconization.


Purpose: This study was to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology on depression and anxiety in coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Method: The research design used was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The foot reflexology was performed for 60 minutes twice a week through five weeks in the experimental group, not in the control group. The subjects of this study consisted of both the experimental group of twenty-nine and the control group of thirty coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The data were collected from December 10, 2002 to February 15, 2003. To evaluate the effects of foot reflexology the scores of depression and anxiety were measured before and after the experiment in both groups. Data of this experiment were analyzed by Chi-square test, t-test, unpaired t-test, ANCOVA and Repeated Measures ANOVA with the SAS Program. Results: The score of depression decreased in the experimental group, not in the control group. There was a significant difference of depression between the two groups. The score of anxiety decreased in the experimental group, not in the control group. There was a significant difference of anxiety between the two groups. Conclusion: As a summary of the study results, foot reflexology was regarded that it attributed to the emotional promotion of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Therefore the foot reflexology is considered that might be used as an effective skill of nursing intervention program for coal workers' pneumoconiosis.


Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit noncompliance during medical exams. One intervention used to address this concern is differential reinforcement. Although differential reinforcement includes extinction, it may not be feasible or safe to implement extinction during medical exams. In the current study, we evaluated differential reinforcement without extinction and differential reinforcement without extinction plus stimulus fading, for increasing compliance during routine medical exams exhibited by 4 individuals with ASD. An indirect assessment identified problematic medical procedures, and a functional analysis showed that participants' disruptive behavior was maintained by escape from medical tasks. Differential reinforcement without extinction was insufficient in increasing medical compliance with 3 of 4 participants. The addition of a modified stimulus fading procedure that involved gradually introducing smaller components of problematic exam steps was effective in increasing medical compliance with all exam steps.


Introduction The prognosis of untreated severe symptomatic aortic stenosis is poor. Despite this, many patients do not undergo surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) due to age and/or co-morbidity. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a viable alternative to AVR in such high-risk patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the final treatment and subsequent outcome of patients referred to a single centre for consideration of TAVI. Methods All patients referred to a single large tertiary cardiac centre for TAVI between January 2008 and November 2009, and who had either undergone definitive treatment, been deemed unsuitable for or declined intervention, or had died prior to treatment, were included. Patients still under assessment were excluded. Procedural risk was assessed using Logistic Euroscore. The primary outcome measure was mortality at last available follow-up. Results One hundred and twenty-four patients (age 79.9±6.7, 57% male) were included. Mean follow-up period was 254 days (range 0–540 days). Forty-three patients (34.4%) underwent TAVI, 42 with the CoreValve ReValving prosthesis (38 transfemoral; four trans-subclavian), and one with the Edwards Sapien valve (trans-apical). Eight patients (6.5%) had balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV), and eight (6.5%) surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). Sixty-five patients (52.4%) underwent no intervention; 47(37.9%) were deemed unsuitable or declined, while 18 (14.5%) died during assessment or prior to treatment. Patients were unsuitable for TAVI due to severe frailty or co-morbidity (n=16 (34%)), anatomical unsuitability for TAVI (8 (17%)), absence of symptoms (6 (12.8%)), non-severe aortic stenosis (7 (14.9%)), or patient declining intervention (10 (21.3%)). There was no difference in age between any of the groups (AVR 78.6±3.6 yrs, TAVI 79.6±6 yrs,; BAV 79.3±5.1 yrs, no treatment 80±7.6 yrs,). Euroscore was 18.3% in the TAVI patients, significantly higher in the BAV group (29.1%, p=0.035 vs TAVI), non-significantly lower in the AVR patients (11.3%, p=0.11 vs TAVI), and no different in the no treatment group (20.5%, p=0.41 vs TAVI). Thirty-day mortality was 7.0% (3/43) for TAVI, 25% (2/8) for BAV, and 12.5% (1/8) for AVR. Among patients in whom no intervention was undertaken mortality at last follow-up was 41.5% (27/65). Mortality was significantly lower in patients treated by TAVI (6/43 (14.0%), p=0.003 vs no treatment), numerically lower in patients treated by AVR (1/8 (12.5%), p=0.14 vs no treatment), but no different following BAV (3/8 (37.5%), p=1). Conclusions Mortality in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis referred for consideration of transcatheter aortic valve implantation is extremely high if intervention is not undertaken. Outcome is substantially and significantly improved in patients who undergo TAVI.


The transition to the practice period presents challenges both for new graduates and their employers. Mentorship can support veterinary students' preparation for their career and improve their transition to practice. To actively and productively engage in mentoring, veterinary colleges can prepare students to develop their skills as mentees. The Western College of Veterinary Medicine developed a pilot mentee skills training program, woven through students' 4-year professional education. The curriculum emphasizes self-directed learning skills and competencies essential for lifelong learning. The pilot curriculum, with learning tools, is presented here.


Problem statement: Human leptospirosis - the most widespread zoonotic disease - thrives well in tropical and subtropical climates. It is seldom addressed ex ante or prior to an outbreak, or expected outbreak, by governments of high-risk countries. Whether common, post-exposure treatment with antimicrobial drugs is more cost-efficient than reducing animal reservoir populations was the overarching question that guided this study. A related question in this study was how to establish comparability of price or cost estimates for these two treatment methods. Approach: Annualized price samples of government-approved, antimicrobial therapies, particularly antibiotics, and appropriate anti-rat/anti-rodent chemical agents (rodenticides) were gathered from three leptospirosisendemic countries: Brazil, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Certain price data were adjusted for present value based on a linear cost accounting function. Two-tailed hypothesis-testing (α = 0.05) was performed to determine any statistically significant differences in pricing antimicrobial therapies and rodenticides in each country under investigation. Results: Shared environmental issues and socio-demographic characteristics of infected populations appear to support the need for ex ante containment of rat/rodent reservoir populations in high-risk tropical and subtropical countries. In each t-tested country, we found that tcrit>tobs>-tcrit. Therefore, the null hypothesis, μantimicrobial = μrodenticides; μantimicrobial - µrodenticides = 0, could not be rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis, μantimicrobial ≠ μrodenticides; μantimicrobial - μrodenticides ≠ 0. Conclusion: Applications of Price Estimation (PE) methods in financial economics, such as present value, help optimize health decisions concerning zoonotic diseases. Leptospira transmission in Brazil, the Philippines and Sri Lanka illuminate the need for broad and cohesive policies that take into account zoocentric measures. These may be critical in high-risk, tropical and subtropical countries that periodically experience flooding, standing water and increased rainfall.


An understanding of the pathogenesis of esophageal varix rupture is of more than academic importance, since upon such knowledge depends the development of a rational approach to the prophylaxis and therapy of this highly lethal disorder. Although much is known about the mechanisms responsible for the formation of esophageal varices, considerable controversy exists regarding the exact cause of varix rupture. Two major factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis, namely, erosion of the varix due to reflux acid-peptic esophagitis, and bursting of the varix due to increased hydrostatic pressure in the portal venous system. The treatment of bleeding esophageal varices has consisted, in large part, of measures directed at counteracting one or the other of these two factors. Much of the evidence cited to support the acid-peptic hypothesis has come from animal experiments of uncertain applicability to man,1,2,15,16from esophagoscopic examination of cirrhotic patients performed many days after bleeding


We compare teleseismic P-wave records for earthquakes in the magnitude range from 6.0 to 9.5 with synthetics for a self-similar, ω^2 source model and conclude that the energy radiated by very large earthquakes (M_w > 8 1/4) is not self-similar to that radiated from smaller earthquakes (M_w < 8 1/4). Furthermore, in the period band from 2 sec to several tens of seconds, we conclude that large subduction earthquakes have an average spectral decay rate of ω^(-1.5). This spectral decay rate is consistent with a previously noted tendency of the ω^2 model to overestimate Ms for large earthquakes.


In this investigation, two schools a control school and an experimental school were compared in terms of learner periormance in two traditional grade 11' mathematics tests, namely the pre-intervention test and the post-intervention test. Both schools completed the two tests simultaneously. Educators saw both tests before intervention. In the experimental school, four grade 11 mathematics classes were studied. The four classes were given worksheets that complied with an open ended approach (OEA) to mathematics teaching and learning for leamers to work independently on, with the teacher only facilitating. The learner-centredness expressed in the OEA complied with learner-centredness as envisaged by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), and was predominantly constructivist in character. Throughout the five-month intervention, the author observed proceedings in two of the four classes in the experimental school, ensuring that questions the teacher asked complied with the OEA. The two classes would be referred to as mQnitored classes. The other two classes at the experimental school worked on the worksheet, with the teacher having been briefed about what was expected of the learners using the worksheet basically that the learners would have to take own intiatives in solving the mathematics problems with minimal teacher intervention. The two grade 11 mathematics classes were monitored, but not as frequently as the monitored classes. The classes will be referred to as unmonitored classes. At the control school the educators followed their usual (traditional) teaching approach. Both the experimental and control schools followed the same grade 11 mathematics work schedule. The educators in the control school taught without any interierence from the author, but the classes at the control school were occasionally observed by the author. In addition to the intervention comparison, the author also gathered qualitative information about participating educators' and learners' experiences and opinions about the OEA at the experimental school by using interviews. The results of the pre-intervention test showed no statistical difference between the experimental and control school periormance, meaning that the learners from both schools were of comparable pre-requisite knowledge. In the post-intervention test, learners from the two monitored classes meaningfully outperiormed those from the two unmonitored experimental classes and those from the control school. However, v there was no significant difference in performance between learners from the two unmonitored classes and those from control school, The study concludes that the . appropriate OEA intervention was responsible for the good results of the monitored classes., and then uses the gathered qualitative information to design a model for the successfuLimplementation of'OEA in mathematics classes. keywords for indexing: School mathematics; mathematics teaching; mathematics iearning; .open~ended approach; problem solving; learner performance,~Jeatner achievement; 'grade 11.


Several visual dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease (PD) are described. Most of them are subtle or only demonstrated by stimulus-specific electrophysiologic or psychophysical testing. However, these minor deficits are thought to be of clinical relevance as they are related to direct or indirect complaints. Special emphasis is laid on visual hallucinations. These are most likely of multifactorial origin. The relation between hallucinations in PD and in dementia with Lewy bodies has to be elaborated further. Visual loss, as a possible and reversible cause of visual hallucinations should be actively sought and corrected as far as possible. An underlying role of dopaminergic retinal cells in visual dysfunction of PD patients is widely recognised. However, whether the basic abnormality resides also in the visual cortex remains to be elucidated. Other neurotransmitters may also be involved. It has not been answered whether visual dysfunction might distinguish PD from other forms of parkinsonism.


The goal of the Herschel Open Time Key programme "TNOs are Cool!" is to derive the physical and thermal properties for a large sample of Centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), including resonant, classical, detached and scattered disk objects. We present results for seven targets either observed in PACS point-source, or in mini scan-map mode. Spitzer-MIPS observations were included for three objects. The sizes of these targets range from 100 km to almost 1000 km, five have low geometric albedos below 10%, (145480) 2005 TB190 has a higher albedo above 15%. Classical thermal models driven by an intermediate beaming factor of $\eta$=1.2 or $\eta$-values adjusted to the observed colour temperature fit the multi-band observations well in most cases. More sophisticated thermophysical models give very similar diameter and albedo values for thermal inertias in the range 0-25 Jm-2s-0.5K-1, consistent with very low heat conductivities at temperatures far away from the Sun. The early experience with observing and model strategies will allow us to derive physical and thermal properties for our complete Herschel TNO sample of 140 targets as a benchmark for understanding the solar system debris disk, and extra-solar ones as well.


The standard multilayer Saint-Venant system consists in introducing fluid layers that are advected by the interfacial velocities. As a consequence there is no mass exchanges between these layers and each layer is described by its height and its average velocity. Here we introduce another multilayer system with mass exchanges between the neighboring layers where the unknowns are a total height of water and an average velocity per layer. We derive it from Navier-Stokes system with an hydrostatic pressure and prove energy and hyperbolicity properties of the model. We also give a kinetic interpretation leading to effective numerical schemes with positivity and energy properties. Numerical tests show the versatility of the approach and its ability to compute recirculation cases with wind forcing.


Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, remains one of the most fatal parasitic diseases that has affected nearly a third of the world's population. The major impediment to the treatment of malaria is the emergence of resistance of the P. falciparum parasite to current anti-malaria therapeutics such as Artemisinin (ART)-based combination therapy (ACT). This has resulted in countless efforts to develop novel therapeutics that will counter this resistance with the aim to control and eradicate the disease. The application of in silico modelling techniques has gained a lot of recognition in antimalarial research in recent times through the identification of biological components of the parasite for rational drug design. In this study we employed various in silico techniques such as the Virtual screening, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulations to identify potential new inhibitors of biotin acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase and enoyl-acyl carrier reductase, two enzyme targets that play a crucial role in fatty acid synthesis in the Plasmodium parasite. Initially, 9 hit compounds were identified for each of the two enzymes from the ZincPharmer database. Subsequently, all hit compounds bind favourably to the active sites of the two enzymes as well as show excellent pharmacokinetic properties. Three (3) of the hits for the biotin acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase and six (6) of the enoyl-acyl carrier reductase showed good toxicity properties. The compounds were further evaluated based on the Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation that confirmed the binding stability of the compounds to the targeted proteins. Overall, the lead compounds Zinc38980461, Zinc05378039, and Zinc15772056, were identified for acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase whiles zinc94085628, zinc93656835, zinc94080670, zinc1774609, zinc94821232 and Zinc94919772 were identified as lead compounds for enoyl-acyl carrier reductase. The identified compounds can be developed as a treatment option for the malaria disease although, experimental validation is suggested for further evaluation of the work.


Ammonia was the first interstellar molecule with more than two atoms to be discovered (Cheung et al. 1968). Since that time it has been observed in many HII regions and dark clouds (Mayer et al. 1973; Morris et al. 1973; Cheung et al. 1973; Kaifu et al. 1975). The molecule has a rich rotation-inversion spectrum with about 10 transitions in the range 23-25 GHz. Each line has hyperfine structure which permits, in principle, the determination of optical depths, filling factors and excitation. Unfortunately line brightness temperatures are low (<1 K) so that a low-noise receiving system and long integration times are required to exploit these possibilities.


Motivation In recent years Mendelian randomization analysis using summary data from genome-wide association studies has become a popular approach for investigating causal relationships in epidemiology. The mrrobust Stata package implements several of the recently developed methods. Implementation mrrobust is freely available as a Stata package. General Features The package includes inverse variance weighted estimation, as well as a range of median and MR-Egger estimation methods. Using mrrobust, plots can be constructed visualising each estimate either individually or simultaneously. The package also provides statistics such as which are useful in assessing attenuation bias in causal estimates. Availability The software is freely available from GitHub [https://raw.github.com/remlapmot/mrrobust/master/].


In this paper we assess two competing tectonic models for the development of the Isa Superbasin (ca 1725–1590 Ma) in the Western Fold Belt of the Mt Isa terrane. In the 'episodic rift‐sag' tectonic model the basin architecture is envisaged as similar to that of a Basin and Range province characterised by widespread half‐graben development. According to this model, the Isa Superbasin evolved during three stages of the Mt Isa Rift Event. Stage I involved intracontinental extension, half‐graben development, the emergence of fault scarps and tilt‐blocks, and bimodal volcanism. Stage II involved episodic rifting and sag during intervening periods of tectonic quiescence. Stage III was dominated by thermal relaxation of the lithosphere with transient episodes of extension. Sedimentation was controlled by the development of arrays of half‐grabens bounded by intrabasinal transverse or transfer faults. The competing 'strike‐slip' model was developed for the Gun Supersequence stratigraphic interval of the Isa Superbasin (during stage II and the beginning of stage III). According to this model, sinistral movements along north‐northeast‐orientated strike‐slip faults took place, with oblique movements along northwest‐orientated faults. This resulted in the deposition of southeast‐thickening ramp sequences with local sub‐basin depocentres forming to the west and north of north‐northeast‐ and northwest‐trending faults, respectively. It is proposed that dilation zones focused magmatism (e.g. Sybella Granite) and transfer of strike‐slip movement resulted in transient uplift along the western margin of the Mt Gordon Arch. Our analysis supports the 'episodic rift‐sag' model. We find that the inferred architecture for the strike‐slip model correlates poorly with the observed structural elements. Interpretation is made difficult because there has been significant modification and reorientation of fault geometry during the Isan Orogeny and these effects need to be removed before any assertion as to the basin structure is made. Strike‐slip faulting does not explain the regional‐scale pattern of basin subsidence. The 'episodic rift‐sag' model explains the macroscopic geometry of the Isa Superbasin and is consistent with the detailed sedimentological analysis of basin facies architecture, and the structural history and geometry.


This Article is largely an argument that the pervasive sense of cultural resistance in the African American community must be considered by criminal theorists as, at least, a partial explanation of "criminality" within the African American community. Woven into the fabric of African American culture is a vital oppositional element. This element, spoken of in many circles as "oppositional culture" constitutes a bold and calculated rejection of destructive mainstream values that have perpetuated social inequalities and power imbalances. African American resistance culture is captured by novelist John Edgar Wideman in his account of his brother's criminal lifestyle and the ambivalent attitude of some urban blacks toward street crime: "We can't help but feel some satisfaction seeing a brother, a black man, get over on these people, on their system without playing by their rules. No matter how much we have incorporated these rules as our own, we know that they were forced on us by people who did not have our best interest at heart. . . . We know they represent rebellion—what little is left in us."1 If this sentiment is any way indicative of a broader cultural perspective, criminal theorists in law and social science should be more curious and critical about the meaning and consequences of the minority oppositional mindset. To a lesser extent, this Project is a response to the moral poverty arguments of criminal theories that explain high arrest and incarceration rates among blacks as a failure in the transferal of social norms from "mainstream" communities to minority communities. The Article presents Cul-


Counting articles and citations, analyzing citations and coauthors graphs have become ways to assess researchers and institutions performance. Fairly enough, these measures are becoming targets for institutions and individual researchers thus triggering new behaviors. As a matter of fact, scientometrics and informetrics systems of all kinds have to separate the grain from the chaff. Among others, fields like information retrieval, network analysis and natural language processing may offer answers to deal with this kind of problems. Through several emblematic case studies (fake researcher, generated papers, paper mills), we show evidences of attempts to game indicators together with automatic ways to detect them (automatic detection of generated papers, errors detection).


Historically, lithographic scaling has been driven by both improvements in wavelength and numerical aperture. In the semiconductor industry, the transition to 1.35NA immersion lithography has recently been completed, and the focus is now on double patterning techniques (DPT) as a means to circumvent the limitations of Rayleigh's definition. Actually, self-aligned spacer double patterning (SADP) has already been employed in high volume manufacturing of NAND flash memory devices. This paper introduces demonstration results focused on the extendibility of double patterning techniques for various device layouts.


We describe the characterisation of four alpha satellite sequences which are found on a subset of the human acrocentric chromosomes. Direct sequence study, and analysis of somatic cell hybrids carrying specific human chromosomes indicate a unique 'higher-order structure' for each of the four sequences, suggesting that they belong to different subfamilies of alpha DNA. Under very high stringency of Southern hybridisation conditions, all four subfamilies were detected on chromosomes 13, 14 and 21, with 13 and 21 showing a slightly greater sequence homology in comparison to chromosome 14. None of these subfamilies were detected on chromosomes 15 and 22. In addition, we report preliminary evidence for a new alphoid subfamily that is specific for human chromosome 14. These results, together with those of earlier published work, indicate that the centromeres of the five acrocentric chromosomes are characterised by a number of clearly defined alphoid subfamilies or microdomains (with at least 5, 7, 3, 5 and 2 different ones on chromosomes 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22, respectively). These microdomains must impose a relatively stringent subregional pairing of the centromeres of two homologous chromosomes. The different alphoid subfamilies reported should serve as useful markers to allow further 'dissection' of the structure of the human centromere as well as the investigation of how the different nonhomologous chromosomes may interact in the aetiology of aberrations involving these chromosomes.


A pneumomediastinum is an unusual complication of respiratory infections in HIV-positive patients, usually reported in association with pneumocystis pneumonia. We describe a case of an HIV-positive patient with a pneumomediastinum who had cytomegalovirus pneumonitis. This is an important reminder to clinicians, since cytomegalovirus pneumonitis and pneumocystis pneumonia have a similar clinical and radiological presentation.


We give criteria for the existence of a Serre functor on the derived category of a gauged Landau-Ginzburg model. This is used to provide a general theorem on the existence of an admissible (fractional) Calabi-Yau subcategory of a gauged Landau-Ginzburg model and a geometric context for crepant categorical resolutions. We explicitly describe our framework in the toric setting. As a consequence, we generalize several theorems and examples of Orlov and Kuznetsov, ending with new examples of semi-orthogonal decompositions containing (fractional) Calabi-Yau categories.


The quality of water is very critical for fish survival and growth in a water body. However, little is known about the state of the Bhini Stream's water quality and its relationship to fish catch. The focus of this study was to evaluate water quality parameters in the Bhini Stream and see if there was a correlation between them and fish catch per unit effort. Monthly samples were gathered using a three-level stratified sampling method. Temperature, depth, transparency, pH, TDS, EC, DO, alkalinity, hardness, chloride, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate, and fish catch (CPUE) were all monitored simultaneously in each of the three strata of the stream. The water quality characteristics were within the permissible range for fish production. There were no significant differences in water quality parameter concentrations between the riverine, transitional, and lacustrine zones (p>0.05). TDS and nitrates from fertilisers used on nearby fields and brought to the stream by runoff or floods were significantly and negatively correlated with CPUE (r=0.84, p<0.05; r=0.71, p<0.05). 13 fish species all belonging to order Cypriniformes were reported from the stream with Schistura denisoni being reported for the first time from the River Ravi.


The deposit is composed of numerous fissure-filling quartz veins contained within Precambrian granitic gneiss adjacent to a contact with a granitic stock of Mesozoic age. delta 34 S values of 2.4 to 4.4 per mil suggest that the source of sulfur was igneous. Carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses suggest that the hydrothermal system was dominated by meteoric fluids at temperatures below 240 degrees C. Mineralizing fluids ranged from 2.6 to 14.4 equivalent weight percent NaCl. Color zoning in large scheelite crystals. Hydrothermal tungsten deposits in Korea are genetically related to shallow granitic volcanism of Cretaceous age.--Modified journal abstract.


The impact that renewable energy sources interfaced by power electronics have on power systems becomes more important as their share in the generation mix increases, thus requiring detailed analyses that take into account their dynamics and controllers. In this study, the impact of photovoltaic (PV) power plants on the power system of northern Chile is analysed. The studied plants employ a controller that allows power converters to interact with the grid like virtual synchronous generators, and their model includes the dynamics of the plant and converter controllers, as well as the dc and PV system. The presented analysis, which comprises modal analysis and time-domain simulations of large disturbances, evaluates the impact of these plants with respect to PV plants based on a conventional converter controller. Tests and validations of the proposed models and controllers are carried out for an actual PV plant connected to the power system of northern Chile, and for a higher PV penetration case. The results show the ability of PV plants formed by virtually synchronous power converters to limit frequency excursions induced by large power imbalances, and to mitigate power oscillations of the synchronous machines in the system.


The BFI provides a useful benchmark to ready acceptance of managed futures investing by institutional investors. Unlike manager universe indexes, the BFI is investable. Unlike long-only commodity indexes, the BFI captures a return stream from commercial markets that can be explained in terms of the primary economic function of these markets, and the off-loading of unwanted price risk by commercial enterprises.


Summary-For the circular disk type of transistor geometry, as commonly used in alloy junction transistors, base resistance is determined by treating it as a boundary value problem. This treatment results from consideration of the over-all behavior of both minority and majority charge carriers in the base region and leads to an expression for base spreading resistance in terms of alpha, frequency, resistivity, and transistor dimensions. Further consideration of this over-all charge carrier behavior leads to a determination of the entire common-emitter short-circuit input impedance, which in general is complex. Comparison with measurement shows that this impedance, which includes the base resistance, can be calculated accurately over a wide frequency range in terms of physical constants, dimensions, frequency, dc emitter bias, and effective minority carrier lifetime in the base region for small-signal operation of low power alloy junction transistors. Application to other types, such as power transistors and diffused-base transistors, may require extension of the present analysis with a considerable increase in complexity. Limitations and extensions of the analysis in its present form are discussed.


Over the past forty years, Aihwa Ong has invented a remarkable collection of powerful concepts, delivered in compact and vivid terms, that have become essential instruments of a global anthropology. These concepts—which she crafted in response to anthropology's engagement with globalization beginning in the late 1970s—might be understood as products of work in the "middle range." They remain powerful tools for a global anthropology of the present.


OF THE THESIS Characterization of Intracellular Trafficking of Streptococcus agalactiae by Yvette W. Del Rosario Master of Science in Microbiology San Diego State University, 2014 Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) is an important human pathogen because of its ability to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) to cause meningitis in neonates. Previous studies have demonstrated that GBS can invade and transcytose through the cells that constitute the BBB to enter the brain. However, the exact mechanisms of intracellular trafficking have not been characterized. Previous electron micrographs have shown that when GBS invades brain endothelial cells, they reside in membrane-bound vesicles. Therefore, I hypothesized that GBS may be trafficked through the endocytic pathway, which can serve as an important host defense mechanism against intracellular pathogens. In order to examine if GBS is shuttled through this pathway, I infected human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMEC) with GFP-expressing GBS and stained for early and late endosomal markers, Rab5 and Rab7 respectively. GFP-GBS was shown to colocalize with early and late endosomes, as well as acidic vesicles. I have also shown that an important GBS response regulator CiaR, which promotes bacterial intracellular survival, acts to limit bacterial trafficking to acidic compartments and that one of the CiaR-regulated genes, SAN_2180, contributed to intracellular survival. Since approximately 50% of GBS was colocalized with acidic compartments, I hypothesized that selective autophagy may be induced in hBMEC to respond to GBS infection. An important indicator of autophagy is the microtubule-associate protein light chain 3 (LC3). LC3 exists in 2 forms: LC3-I, an inactive cytosolic form, and LC3-II, the active lipidated form that associates with the formation of the autophagosome; therefore, an increase in LC3-II conversion is indicative of autophagy activation. During GBS infection, I have observed an increase in LC3-II levels, indicating induction of autophagy. I also demonstrated that autophagy is a critical host defense mechanism against intracellular GBS, and that specific bacterial factors such as the βhemolysin/cytolysin may modulate this response. Further studies will focus on examining other host trafficking pathways that are not destined to fuse with lysosomes and further elucidate the various mechanisms associated with autophagy induction.


In order to ensure the safety of an offshore structure it is important to identify and maintain the barriers preventing hazardous events. Also, when monitoring the safety, the monitoring should be regarding how well these barriers are functioning, and utilise these to reassess the safety of the structure over time. The purpose of this paper is to apply a well-known method in risk assessment, Haddon's energy and barrier model, to a new area; structural safety. The purposes of this exercise are to look at the structural safety from a risk assessment point of view, and to use this to identify and give an overview of the existing barriers. Furthermore, the purposes are to evaluate the efficiency and redundancy of these barriers, and to use this to evaluate the safety of offshore structures. This paper will analyse the safety of a fixed offshore structure through a qualitative approach. A possible event chart for a fixed offshore installation during operation in storms is established and analysed. Some of the root causes for potential structural failure are identified. These root-causes are kept on a general level, but considered in more detail than often seen in risk analysis. Hazards that are normally included in risk analysis, like boat collisions, fire, explosions, and dropped objects are not evaluated. Hazards that are evaluated are structural failure due to wave loading, fatigue damage, aging, and gross errors in design, fabrication, installation and operation. In order to identify the barriers (hazard reduction strategies, physical barriers and vulnerable target protection strategies), the different failure paths in the event chart are then analysed using Haddon's ten preventive strategies for reducing damage from hazards. As an example a fixed offshore steel structure is used. A list of proposed barriers that influence the safety of such a fixed offshore installation are presented, and methods to measure these barriers are discussed.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


Hospital, known to provide medical and healthcare facility to the disease and injured people. Each and every department of the hospital, starting from a storeroom to medical wards, is responsible for providing better medical and healthcare facilities to the patients. But a huge burning question arises here, it does not matter what has been done for the patients but the important thing is, are the patients satisfied with the healthcare facilities provided? If not, then no matter, what facilities are provided and what is done for the patients, each and everything is just scrap and a lot of attention is needed to this issue. In this regard, this study was conducted to assess and compare patient satisfaction attending the OPD'S of public and private hospitals.


Two samples of Pelly Gneiss with different field relations and post-crystallization histories give different U/Pb ages that are Devonian and Permian (375 and 276 Ma). A sample of Klotassin granodiorite gave an age of 192 Ma confirming its Early Jurassic age. These Devonian, Permian, and Jurassic plutonic rocks in Yukon Crystalline Terrane lack equivalents in the adjacent Omineca Belt where sedimentary strata accumulated at these times. This suggests that the Yukon Crystalline Terrane is allochthonous with respect to the Omineca Belt.


Bayesian analysis is a popular subspace based face recognition method. It casts the face recognition task into a binary classification problem with each of the two classes, intrapersonal variation and extrapersonal variation, modeled as a Gaussian distribution. However, with the existence of significant transformations, such as large illumination and pose changes, the intrapersonal facial variation cannot be modeled as a single Gaussian distribution, and the global linear subspace often fails to deliver good performance on the complex non-convex data set. We extend the Bayesian face recognition into Gaussian mixture models. The complex intrapersonal variation manifold is learnt by a set of local linear intrapersonal subspaces and thus can be effectively reduced. The effectiveness of the novel method is demonstrated by experiments on the data set from AR face database containing 2340 face images.


There is much interest in plant-based medicine with antidiabetic and antiglycation properties. Chronic hyperglycemia plays a vital role in the development of long-term diabetic complications by inducing protein glycation and the gradual formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in various body tissues. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the aqueous extract of the whole plant of Flueggea leucopyrus Willd (FLAE), a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine in Sri Lanka for its in vitro α-amylase inhibitory activity and its inhibitory potential on the formation of AGEs. α-Amylase inhibitory activity determined by 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid method revealed that FLAE possesses 29%–91% inhibitory activity at a concentration range of 2.5–400 μg/mL, respectively. Nonenzymatic protein glycation inhibitory capacity assessed by bovine serum albumin-fructose fluorescence spectrometric assay showed that FLAE at 15.6–250.0 μg/mL inhibited AGE formation by 0.9%–98%, respectively. Radical scavenging ability of FLAE using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and total phenolic and flavonoid contents of FLAE were also determined. This study shows that Flueggea leucopyrus Willd not only inhibits α-amylase enzyme, which is known to break starch to glucose, but also inhibits the formation of AGEs, which occur due to chronic hyperglycemia that leads to the onset of diabetic complications.


ABSTRACT: In this study we examine the effect of stakeholder orientation versus shareholder orientation, and the level of cultural secrecy on individuals' perceptions of earnings management practices. Examining perceptions from 1,260 participants from 13 countries indicates that individuals from stakeholder-oriented institutional backgrounds were less accepting of earnings management, including both accounting earnings management and operating earnings management activities, than participants from shareholder-oriented institutional backgrounds, and that individuals from secretive cultures were more accepting of both types of earnings management activities. Our findings provide evidence of the anticipated perceptual differences across countries with respect to earnings management and suggest the need for further research linking perceptions to reported earnings management measures.


The present study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of the dried berries of Myrtus communis L. in gastric ulcer against ethanol, indomethacin and pyloric ligation induced models in Wistar rats. Two doses of aqueous extracts of M. communis (AE 1 and AE2) at the dose 105 and 175 mg/kg, respectively, and methanolic extracts (ME1 and ME2) at the dose of 93 and 154 mg/kg, respectively, were administered orally to animals prior to the exposure of ulcerogens. The parameters taken to assess anti-ulcer activity were ulcer index, gastric juice volume, gastric pH, total acidity, gastric wall mucus and histopathological studies. Oral administration of AE1 and AE2 significantly reduced the ulcer index in all models of ulcers. Low dose of aqueous extract and high dose of methanolic extract of M. communis exhibited more significant effect in comparison to omeprazole (standard drug) in ethanol-induced ulcer model. Both the doses of aqueous and methanolic extracts also reduced the gastric juice volume, total acidity and increased the gastric pH and gastric wall mucus content in all the models of ulcers used in the present study. Histopathological examinations of gastric tissues of rats treated with the aqueous and methanolic extracts in indomethacin-induced ulcer exhibited significant ulcer-protective effect at both the dose levels.


We investigated clinical characteristics and incidence of patients with acute non-A-G hepatitis, who were all registered in 17 Japanese National Hospitals. Seven hundreds thirty-one (24.0%) of 3052 patients with sporadic acute hepatitis and 73 (21.2%) of 344 patients with posttransfusion acute hepatitis were diagnosed as acute non-ABC hepatitis. Patients with acute non-ABC hepatitis were older (Mean +/- SD, 44 +/- 15 years) and male/female ratio was 0.70. Although mean levels of liver function abnormality was generally mild, 4(1.8%) of 250 patients with acute non-ABC hepatitis were died of fulminant hepatitis.


Myxoglobulosis is a rare morphologic variant of appendiceal mucocele. We reported herein a case of myxoglobulosis in a 50-year-old man who presented with an appendiceal mass following a several months symptomatic course. Double contrast barium study showed filling defect in cecum. Computed tomograph showed well defined tubular, cystic lesion with slight wall enhancement at the appendiceal area. Laparotomy disclosed a distended appendix, measuring 12.04.0 cm, Without perforation containing while to pale yellowish globules, reminiscent of parasitic eggs. Microscopically globules are composed of centers of inflamed granulation tissue and amorphous granular necrotic debris, surrounded by rings of inspissated mucous shells. The wall shows devoid of a lining epithelium. We performed ileocecectomy.


Asproinocybe and Tricholosporum are not well known, and their placement at the family level remains undetermined. In this study, we conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and nuc 28S rDNA (nrLSU), and a dataset with six molecular markers (ITS, LSU, RNA polymerase II largest subunit (RPB1), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2), 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (nrSSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α)) using Bayesian (BA) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) methods, we found that the species of Asproinocybe and Tricholosporum formed an independent family-level clade (0.98/72). Asproinocybaceae fam. nov., a new family, is established here for accommodating this clade. Two new species, Asproinocybe sinensis and Tricholosporum guangxiense, from subtropical and tropical karst areas of China, are also described here.


Littermate dogs were fed from weaning on high-protein diets (HP) or on dietswhich were adequate in calories but marginally deficient in protein (LP). The LP animals grew at a slightly retarded rate but showed no other outward abnormality. In the HP animals, intravenous glucose tolerance (K) increased steadily up to twelve months of age (K = 6) and then declined to the adult value (K = 4.7). These changes were accelerated and exaggerated in LP dogs so that, from seven months onwards, the K values for the LP dogs became progressively lower than those of their HP littermates. Although the LP diet was adequate for adult maintenance and other biochemical signs of proteincalorie deficiency were corrected in the adult, glucose tolerance remained impaired (mean K for HP adults = 4.7 and for LP adults = 3.3). In the LP dog decreasing glucose tolerance was associated with increasing resistance to exogenous insulin. During pregnancy, the HP animals showed an early increase in K followed by a progressive fall. The LP animals showed little change in K during pregnancy, but after lactation both glucose tolerance and sensitivity to insulin increased. Pups born to LP mothers showed signs of congenital malnutrition; they also showed greatly enhanced glucose tolerance in early life. Young dogs, whether fed HP or LP diets, showed rapid impairment of glucosetolerance when acutely infected with toxocara canis. The findings for dogs are compared with those reported in human diabetes mellitus.


Interest in nutrient absorption and accumulation is derived from the need to increase crop productivity by better nutrition and also to improve the nutritional quality of plants as foods and feeds. This review focuses on contrasting data on the importance for human health of food mineral nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, Na and P) and also the trace elements considered essential or beneficial for human health (Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se and Zn). In addition, environmental stresses such as salinity, drought, extreme temperatures and light conditions that affect mineral content were revised in the light that the effect of these factors depends on the species or cultivar, and the specific plant organ, as well as the intensity and duration of the stress. Differences between inorganic and organic fertilisation practices on the mineral levels were also analysed to evaluate the influence of external factors on the quality of plant-based foods.


Corynebacterium species are commonly found in the conjunctiva of healthy adults and are recognized as non-pathogenic bacteria. In recent years, however, Corynebacterium species have been reported to be potentially pathogenic in various tissues. We investigated Corynebacterium species on the ocular surface and reviewed various species of Corynebacterium in terms of their antimicrobial susceptibility and the underlying molecular resistance mechanisms. We identified a risk for Corynebacterium-related ocular infections in patients with poor immunity, such as patients with diabetes or long-term users of topical steroids, and in those with corneal epithelial damage due to trauma, contact lens wear, lagophthalmos, and trichiasis. The predominant strain in the conjunctiva was C. macginleyi, and the species associated with keratitis and conjunctivitis were C. macginleyi, C. propinquum, C. mastitidis, C. pseudodiphtheriticum, C. accolens, C. striatum, C. xerosis, and C. bovis. Overall, Corynebacterium species present on the ocular surface were resistant to quinolones, whereas those in the nasal cavity were more susceptible. The prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Corynebacterium has not changed in the past 10 years; however, Corynebacterium species remain susceptible to third-generation cephems. In conclusion, the use of third-generation cephems should be a reasonable and pragmatic approach for treatment of ocular infections caused by Corynebacterium species.


This study was undertaken in order to evaluate pregnancy outcome in three groups of triplet conceptions. Of 36 delivered triplet gestations, seven were spontaneous, 12 achieved using clomiphene citrate and 17 induced by menotropins. The mean gestational age (weeks) at delivery was 36.5 +/- 1.0 SD, for spontaneous and clomiphene citrate pregnancies it was 35.9 +/- 1.9 SD which differed significantly from that in pregnancies induced by menotropins which was 32.9 +/- 3.7 SD. Similarly, triplets born following menotropin treatment had a significantly lower gestational weight (g) of 1656 +/- 516 SD vs. 2015 +/- 198 SD and 2176 +/- 315 SD for spontaneous and clomiphene citrate gestations, respectively. It is concluded that triplets following menotropins are at an increased risk for premature delivery and low birth weight.


Background Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in maternal-fetal tolerance, but little is known about the characteristic of Tregs in peripheral blood (PB), maternal-fetal interface and cord blood (CB) in normal and complicated pregnancies with preeclampsia (PE), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and premature rupture of membranes (PROM). Methods PB, retro-placental blood (RPB), and CB were collected immediately after delivery in women with normal full-term pregnancy (NP), PE, GDM, and PROM. The proportion of CD4 + CD25 + CD127 low/- T cells (Tregs) and the expression of PD-1, GITR, HLA-G and CTLA-4 on T cell subsets were investigated by flow cytometric analysis. The data were analyzed based on sample origins (PB, RPB, and CB) and the obstetrical study groups (NP, PE, GDM, and PROM). Results The proportions of Tregs in PB, RPB, and CB from NP were significantly higher than the other obstetrical groups (P < 0.01, respectively). However no significant differences were present among the PE, GDM and PROM groups (P = NS). The proportion of PD-1 + and GITR + Tregs in RPB and PB as well as PD-1 + Tregs in CB from NP were significantly higher than those of the same origin in each obstetrical study group (P < 0.01, respectively). There were no differences in HLA-G + and CTLA-4 + Tregs between different origins in each obstetrical study group. In NP, the proportion of PD-1 + Tregs was significantly decreased in CB as compared to those of PB and RPB (P < 0.05, respectively). Among the four groups, the proportion of GITR + Tregs were significantly higher in PB as compared to those of CB and RPB (P < 0.01, respectively). The proportion of HLA-G + Tregs in PB was significantly lower than that of CB and RPB (P < 0.01, respectively). The proportion of CTLA-4 + Tregs had no significant differences (P = NS). Conclusions In conclusion, the proportion and characteristics of Tregs vary in the maternal, fetal and maternal-fetal junction at the time of delivery. The different feature and density of Tregs in maternal and fetal tissue may suggest the multiple and complicated roles of Tregs during pregnancy.


How much does money drive legislative outcomes in the United States? In this article, we use aggregated campaign finance data as well as a Transformer based text embedding model to predict roll call votes for legislation in the US Congress with more than 90% accuracy. In a series of model comparisons in which the input feature sets are varied, we investigate the extent to which campaign finance is predictive of voting behavior in comparison with variables like partisan affiliation. We find that the financial interests backing a legislator's campaigns are independently predictive in both chambers of Congress, but also uncover a sizable asymmetry between the Senate and the House of Representatives. These findings are cross-referenced with a Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA) linking legislators' financial and voting records, in which we show that "legislators who vote together get paid together", again discovering an asymmetry between the House and the Senate in the additional predictive power of campaign finance once party is accounted for. We suggest an explanation of these facts in terms of Thomas Ferguson's Investment Theory of Party Competition: due to a number of structural differences between the House and Senate, but chiefly the lower amortized cost of obtaining individuated influence with Senators, political investors prefer operating on the House using the party as a proxy.