The Vulcan Peak alpine-type peridotite forms part of the Josephine ultramafic complex in the Klamath Mountains geologic province. The peridotite is a partly serpentinized highly deformed harzburgite-dunite complex, in which three episodes of high-temperature plastic deformation are recognized. The first deformation was the most intense and produced the dominant metamorphic foliation and scattered folds in crosscutting layers and in the foliation itself. The first deformation seems also to have produced an olivine fabric in which X is normal to the foliation. The second deformation superposed a similar and pervasive fabric on the first, in which X olivine is normal to a spotty weak subvertical north-striking foliation that crosscuts the first foliation. These olivine fabrics are analogous to fabrics produced experimentally by either gliding or syntectonic recrystallization at temperatures in the range 1000° to 1200°C. This temperature range agrees with the temperatures of formation calculated from the distribution of Mg and Fe in mineral pairs. The third deformation was characterized by a limited plasticity, in which deformation was restricted to scattered narrow northeast-striking subvertical plastic shear zones. The sense of movement on the shear zones is consistently down on the northwest. A homotactic olivine fabric is present in the shear zones, consisting of a strong Z-point maximum approximately parallel to the zone. This fabric suggests glide on the system {Ok1} [100], which has been produced experimentally in the temperature range 800° to 1000°C. After the high-temperature and presumably deep-seated plastic deformation, the relatively cold peridotite was thrust, probably in post-Middle Jurassic time, northward against a complex of igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. Later, probably in Late Cretaceous or Tertiary time, the peridotite and the complex were thrust together westward against the low-grade Dothan Formation.


A new method to prepare graphene-based fibers with ultrahigh tensile strength, conductivity, and increased elongation is reported. It includes wet-spinning the mixture of GO aqueous dispersion with phenolic resin solution in a newly developed coagulation bath, followed by annealing. The introduced phenolic carbon increased densification of graphene fibers through reducing defects and increased interfacial interaction among graphene sheets by forming new C-C bonds, thus resulting in the increasing of stiffness, toughness, and conductivity simultaneously.


One main challenge of the theory of computational effects is to understand how to combine various notions of effects in a meaningful way. Here, we study the particular case of the local state monad, which we would like to express as the result of combining together a family of global state monads parametrized by the number of available registers. To that purpose, we develop a notion of indexed monad which refines and generalizes Power's recent notion of indexed Lawvere theory. One main achievement of the paper is to integrate the block structure necessary to encode allocation as part of the resulting notion of indexed state monad. We then explain how to recover the local state monad from the functorial data provided by our notion of indexed state monad. This reconstruction is based on the guiding idea that an algebra of the indexed state monad should be defined as a section of a 2-categorical notion of fibration associated to the indexed state monad by a Grothendieck construction.


The crystal structure of antiferroelectric with ordered complex perovskite structure was reexamined by TEM (transmission electron microscope). Its domain-wall orientations were investigated by the spontaneous strain method. From the CBED (convergent-beam electron diffraction) patterns, its point group was determined to be orthorhombic mmm. During transition from the high-temperature cubic to low-temperature orthorhombic phase, the prototype cubic cell is monoclinically distorted. The monoclinic cell was found to be contracted along the direction of shifts. The reduced symmetry of the orthorhombic phase transformed from the prototypic phase allows the existence of ten species of domain walls, i.e. six W-walls and four -walls. The breaking of reflection symmetry during transition occurred at (1 0 0), (0 1 0), (0 1 1), and planes of the cubic prototype. These high-symmetry planes correspond to the W-walls in the ferroelastic phase. Taking into account the domain geometry, the and planes are the domain-boundaries and the others can be both and ones. The orientations of -walls calculated from the strain components were approximately , and planes at room temperature. On approaching the transition these -walls tend to orient themselves toward the direction of or domain W-walls.


School Implementing Inclusion Education or Sekolah Pelaksana Pendidikan Inklusi
(SPPI) is a school that uses educational service system which allows children with
special needs to participate and study together in regular classes along with their
normal peer. Status alteration from regular school to SPPI has been causing new
problems in its implementation and it may also cause negative emotion among the
teachers. Negative emotion emerges due to the teacher�s failure to deal with existing
problems and perceiving the event as threatening. The negative emotion comes in
the form of experiencing unpleasant feelings such as worry, tense, irritable, and
depressed due to the workload they carry as teachers. Teachers may have both
positive and negative emotions. Positive emotion is a pleasant emotion and it has
positive effects towards teachers of SD PPI. The approach that may improve positive
emotion and reduce negative emotion is mindfulness. Participants were teachers of
SPPI which were assigned into two groups, experiment and control (waiting list). The
design of this study used was quasi experiment using untreated control group design
with pretest and posttest design with two measurements: before and after treatment.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Mindful Teaching program
towards emotion among SD PPI teachers. Measurement tools used were emotion
scale, observation, interview, and daily journal. The result of quantitative analysis
using wilcoxon test on experimental group showed that there was no significant
difference among the score of positive emotion, negative emotion, and emotional
balance before and after treatment. Mindful Teaching program can not improve
positive emotion significantly, decrease negative emotion significantly, and improve
emotional balance significantly for experimental group. The result of quantitative
analysis on pretest using Mann-Whitney showed that there was no significant
difference on positive emotion score, negative emotion, and emotional balance
between experimental and control group on pretest. Meanwhile, the result of
quantitative analysis on posttest did not show significant difference on positive
emotion score and emotional balance between teachers in the experimental group
who received treatment and teachers in the control group, but the significant
difference found on negative emotion score between teachers in the experimental
group and teachers in control group on posttest.


The apparent decline in voter participation in national elections since 1972 is an illusion created by using the Bureau of the Census estimate of the voting-age population as the denominator of the turnout rate. We construct a more accurate estimate of those eligible to vote, from 1948–2000, using government statistical series to adjust for ineligible but included groups, such as noncitizens and felons, and eligible but excluded groups, such as overseas citizens. We show that the ineligible population, not the nonvoting, has been increasing since 1972. During the 1960s the turnout rate trended downward both nationally and outside the South. Although the average turnout rates for presidential and congressional elections are lower since 1972 than during 1948–70, the only pattern since 1972 is an increased turnout rate in southern congressional elections. While the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, the lower turnout rate of young voters accounts for less than one-fourth of reduced voter participation.


This thesis presents details of an experimental and numerical programme of study undertaken on the fracture and self-healing of cementitious materials at Cardiff University. The experimental component reported in the thesis consists of an extensive programme of tests conducted on reinforced mortar specimens, autonomically healed with a low viscosity cyanoacrylate adhesive. The development of the self-healing experimental procedure is explained and results of a series of three point bending tests are presented. These examine the effect of reinforcement, pre-notching, and rate of loading, on the healing performance of the beams. Both primary and secondary healing behaviour was observed during the first and second loading cycles, respectively. The numerical component of this thesis describes development work undertaken on the discrete lattice beam modelling method. The aim of these developments is to improve the quantitative aspects of the model, including mesh orientation and size dependency, and over-brittleness of the force-displacement response. The orientation effect of the lattice is discussed and various failure criteria which minimise, or omit, this effect are presented and compared. The effect of mesh size (lattice resolution) on the specific fracture energy is also examined. A new regularisation method, which is based on the application of statistical distributions of beam strengths that are linked to the beam length, is presented. This method is shown to significantly improve the objectivity of the force-displacement results, whilst maintaining the qualitative ability to capture the main phases of crack formation, namely macrocrack growth, crack branching and bridging. In the final chapter the lattice method is used to simulate the self-healing response observed during the experiments. The method was found to be capable of capturing realistic pre- and post-healing fracture patterns, in addition to the stiffness increase observed during primary healing, which occurs shortly after the release of adhesive from the glass supply tubes.


While Nasgaard describes and analyses the artist's wall paintings, Barlosky's reprinted essay surveys Kennedy's contribution as President of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design since 1967. With extensive notes by the artist. 77 bibl. ref.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on the mental health of nurses around the world. The aim of the study was to assess the sense of fear and the degree of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to estimate the influence of various factors on the fear of SARS-CoV-2. We analysed methods and strategies for coping with stress used by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey, which included a self-constructed questionnaire and a standardized psychological questionnaire: Brief-Cope. Results: A total of 361 nurses confirmed their participation in the study. Most of the nurses were ages 31 to 50 (48.2%), lived in a city (83.7%), and had a master's degree in nursing (45.7%). Nurses ≥ 51 years of age, with ≥ 21 years of work experience and with secondary education in nursing and master of nursing were more likely than other nurses to agree with the statement, I am afraid of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 (appropriately p = 0.009, p = 0.007, p = 0.014). During the outbreak of COVID-19, nurses most often took action to improve the situation, reflecting on and planning what to do. The most frequent means of coping with stress by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak were problem-focused strategies. The least frequent strategy was the use of substances (taking substances to alleviate unpleasant emotions), considered to be the least effective, but useful in some situations. Conclusions: Most nurses were afraid of being infected with COVID-19. The most frequently used strategies for coping with stress by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic were problem-focused strategies. Nurses should receive psychological support and assistance from the employer in improving their working conditions.


The invention the core both ends of the cylindrical metal mold 13 and the cylindrical metal mold 13 at the same time, the core body 21 to place the core 21 in the end faces forming die (1) having a core supporting member 14 in the and held in the holding member 14, the present invention relates to a resin roller 10 is made to cure by injecting a molding resin into the mold (1). The resin roller 10 has the core body in the vicinity of both edge and the outer diameter over the entire length of the same core 21, the core body 21 is provided, and the formed body 12 and the resin molding 12 of the tubular installed in the central portion of the ( 21) the seal member (24, 26) are present and installed, the seal member (24, 26 around a) is a mold core 21 in contact with the end face (14a) of the forming space side of the core supporting member 14 ( It is disposed in the first). The cylindrical metal mold, the core body, the core supporting member, a molding resin, a resin roller, the seal member, the mold


The increasing number of Web services over the web makes the consumer to apply tools to search for appropriate Web services available though out the world. Web service technology provides a way for simplifying inter-operability among different platforms. There exist many Web services which reveal similar functional characteristics; non-functional properties (QoS) have become essential criteria to enhance the discovery and registration process of services. The purpose of web service discovery is to choose best possible web service for a particular task. When dynamic discovery is used in Web Services, it is common that the result of the discovery contains more than one web service provider. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach for designing and developing a broker-based architecture (WSB) and its QoS-based matching, ranking and selection algorithm for evaluating and discovering the best possible Web services for a specific task. We explained the underlying ideas of our approach and experimental results have shown the effectiveness of our approach. Keywords--Broker-Based, Web Service Architecture, Service Registration, Service Discovery, Quality of Services (QoS).


The relative importance of the three current major economic markets should modify the twenty-first century. In the rest of the world, territories successfully their development could provide export markets of considerable magnitude.


Object oriented programs are simpler to implement and maintain than those using traditional programming methods. At the same time, object oriented programs create and destroy objects, incurring overhead costs. They also cause unmanned temporary objects of the same type to be created in the scope of the calling routine. Both of these factors affect the performance of object oriented programs compared to procedural programs. For these reasons, programmers view object oriented programming as wasteful compared to procedural programming. When runtime efficiency is important, developers have a legitimate reason to reject OOP. The authors propose to improve the efficiency of the underlying implementation by reusing temporaries. They report experimental results showing large speedups using this method.


This study designed to determine the best type of informing Shahrekord's students toward Addiction. Statistical community was all students in shahrekord university (Iran). Among the group 338 students were selected via random sampling. Finally, there were 366 students in the sample (338 in the experimental 28 in the control groups). The experimental groups were movie watchers, colored pestered readers, speech attendants, and walled journal readers. The applied statistics were ANOVA and descriptive methods. Results showed a significant change for colored poster and speech attendants; but, no significant change was shown for the rest.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the subjective quality of life among college students from China. Methods: The research design was a descriptive survey design using convenience sampling. Data was collected by using a self-questionnaire completed by 304 Chinese students located in three cities, namely, Seoul, Gangneung, and Seosan. ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical multiple regression with the SPSS Win 12.0 Program were used to analyze the data. Results: The average score on subjective quality of life was 3.59±0.43. There were significant differences in the subjective quality of life according to length of stay, type of program, and health status. The subjective quality of life had significant negative correlation with acculturative stress and positive correlation with social support. The explained variance for the subjective quality of life was 51.5%. Variables on health status, guilt feelings, other acculturative stress, and social support significantly predicted the degree on subjective quality of life. Conclusion: Findings on this study provide a comprehensive understanding on the subjective quality of life and related factors for Chinese students in Korea. However, further studies with a larger random sample and more detailed research design is necessary.


We have isolated a dab (Limanda limanda) homologue of the human retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor suppressor gene. The L. limanda partial Rb cDNA encodes a partial predicted protein of 753 amino acids. DNA sequence analysis with other vertebrate Rb sequences demonstrates that the L. limanda Rb cDNA is highly conserved in regions of functional importance. The sequence reported herein, combined with the high degree of conservation observed in critical domains, has also facilitated an investigation of the molecular etiology of environmentally induced liver tumor samples in a feral fish species. Mutational alterations were detected in liver adenoma samples, also in apparently "normal" regions of liver samples dissected from fish displaying adenoma, but not in normal liver samples from otherwise healthy feral fish. These results are the first reporting the appearance of Rb mutations in wild-caught fish and suggest that the molecular etiology of fish cancer appears to involve Rb-implicated tumorigenesis. The ecotoxicological relevance of the Rb mutations in feral fish liver tumors, in terms of future genome instability and possible development of a genotoxicity biomarker, is discussed.


Energy consumption in residences accounts for 20% of total energy and 35% of electricity used in the United States today. Over time, the amount of energy consumed to provide a particular service will change. The mix of fuels consumed also changes; recently, households have increased their electricity consumption and decreased consumption of fossil fuels. For these reasons, an understanding of the components of residential energy consumption is important to utility companies and government policy makers. This article describes the development of the LBL Residential Energy Model to provide improved policy analysis at the end-use level. The major improvements include:representation of recent equipment efficiency trends; new techniques for forecasting future appliance efficiencies and annual appliance replacements; and extension of the model to include heat-pump space-conditioning systems. The resulting forecasts give improved agreement with recently reported energy consumption and provide lower estimates of future energy consumption.


The article provides information about the tests of circle cross-section reinforced concrete beams made of high-strength steel-fiberconcrete on combined torsion and bending. Given information contains the main results: a diagram of the cracks with an indication of their opening width, the values of support reactions at the moment of cracking and at the moment before destruction. It was found that as the load is applied in beams made of high-strength steel-reinforced concrete, in the case of several cracks at the firststage, there is one crack increases. The beams are modeled in the design complex and given description of the main design parameters. The results of the calculation are presented and a comparative analysis of the results obtained with the experiments results. It is noted that the adopted models in the computational complexes require the development of subroutines and refinement


The two parameters which plays important role in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), acquired by various imaging modalities are Feature extraction and object recognition. These operations will become difficult if the images are corrupted with noise. Noise in MR image is always random type of noise. This noise will change the value of amplitude and phase of each pixel in MR image. Due to this, MR image gets corrupted and we cannot make perfect diagnostic for a body. So noise removal is essential task for perfect diagnostic. There are different approaches for noise reduction, each of which has its own advantages and limitation. MRI denoising is a difficult task as fine details in medical image containing diagnostic information should not be removed during noise removal process. In this paper, we are representing an algorithm for MRI denoising in which we are using iterations and Gaussian blurring for amplitude reconstruction and image fusion, anisotropic diffusion and FFT for phase reconstruction. We are using the PSNR(Peak signal to noise ration), MSE(Mean square error) and RMSE(Root mean square error) as performance matrices to measure the quality of denoised MRI .The final result shows that this method is effectively removing the noise while preserving the edge and fine information in the images.


Summary: Oxidative stress is considered to be a unifying link between diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications, including nephropathy (DN). The aim of this study was to determine the parameters of oxidative injury of lipids and proteins as well as the activity of ectoenzymes in the urine of DN patients. The study included 40 individuals: 10 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and microalbuminuria (DMT2-MIA), 10 type 2 diabetic patients with macroalbuminuria (DMT2MAA), 10 patients with type 1 diabetes and microalbuminuria (DMT1-MIA) and 10 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (control). In the urine we determined TBA reactive substances (TBARS), reactive carbonyl groups (RCG), and the activity of ectoenzymes N-acetyl-b-d-glucosaminidase (NAG), plasma cell differentiation antigen (PC-1), aminopeptidase N (APN) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV). A higher concentration of TBARS in the urine was found in DMT2-MIA and DMT1-MIA, compared to the control group (p<0.001 and P<0.05). The urine concentration of RCD shows similar results with a significant elevation in the groups with DMT2MAA and DMT1-MIA, compared to the DMT2-MIA (p<0.001) and control group (p<0.001). Activities of NAG, APN and DPPIV were significantly higher in the urine of DMT2-MAA, compared to the control (p<0.01). The activity of PC-1 was slightly increased in that group, but not significantly. In conclusion, the level of oxidative stress markers and activities of brush border ectoenzymes in the urine may be a useful non-invasive and easily repeatable test in DN.


We examine how differences in state income tax rates, as well as other state and local taxes and public service expenditures, influence the choice of state of residence for households (federal tax filers) moving into multistate metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) using data from the one in twenty sample of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing microdata extracted from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). MSAs that are on borders provide a spatial discontinuity – discrete differences in state tax rates within a single labor market. These MSAs allow residents to live in one state and work in another state. After controlling for other factors believed to affect household location, we find that differences in state income tax rates have a statistically significant impact on the probability a household locates in the low tax state within an MSA.


We propose a microrobotic platform for single motile microorganism observation and investigation. The platform utilizes a high-speed online vision sensor to realize real-time observation of a microorganism under a microscopic environment with a relatively high magnification ratio. A microfluidic chip was used to limit the vertical movement of the microorganism and reduce the tracking system complexity. We introduce a simple image processing method, which utilizes high-speed online vision characteristics and shows robustness against image noise to increase the overall tracking performance with low computational time consumption. The design also considers the future integration of a stimulation system using microtools. Successful long-time tracking of a freely swimming microorganism inside of a microfluidic chip for more than 30 min was achieved notwithstanding the presence of noises in the environment of the cell. The specific design of the platform, particularly the tracking system, is described, and the performance is evaluated and confirmed through basic experiments. The potential of the platform to apply mechanical stimulation to a freely swimming microorganism is demonstrated by using a 50-µm-thick microtool. The proposed platform can be used for long-term observation and to achieve different kinds of stimulations, which can induce new behavior of the cells and lead to unprecedented discoveries in biological fields.


Previous investigations have suggested that the biosynthesis of the Mycobacterium avium serovar-specific glycopeptidolipid antigens involves initial steps that include the participation of lipopeptides. The prevailing assumption is that subsequent glycosylation of those lipopeptides results in the fully glycosylated form of the glycopeptidolipid components. In an effort to identify potential precursors in the biosynthetic pathway of glycopeptidolipid components, we have identified a unique lipopeptide from an M. avium rough variant (MAC702) that was isolated from a patient suffering from a chronic M. avium lung infection. Upon examination it was revealed that although the total lipid extract from MAC702 lacked serovar-specific glycopeptidolipid antigens, it did contain a unique lipopeptide, possessing some amino acids identical to those found in the serovar-specific glycopeptidolipid antigens. Initial examination of acid-hydrolyzed samples of the lipopeptide (lipopeptide-I) revealed the presence of phenylalanine, alanine, and isoleucine, but no carbohydrate. Subsequent mass spectrometric and 1H-NMR and 1H-13C-NMR correlation spectroscopy analysis confirmed the initial results and also revealed the presence of N-methylisoleucine. The following structure for lipopeptide-I was proposed: fatty acyl (C19 or C17)-Phe-N-methyl-Ile-Ile-Phe-Ala-Ile-Ala-Phe. Lipopeptide-I is unlike any heretofore identified compound, however, it does have similar features to lipopeptides previously reported in mycobacteria and fungi. Although its structure does not verify that it is a direct precursor in glycopeptidolipid biosynthesis, the presence of certain components in lipopeptide-I indicate that it may share at least some pathways associated with the biosynthesis of the M. avium serovar-specific glycopeptidolipids.


This paper presents QuickStroke: a system for the incremental recognition of handwritten Chinese characters. Only a few strokes of an ideogram need to be entered in order for a character to be successfully recognized. Incremental recognition is a new approach for on-line recognition of ideographic characters. It allows a user to enter characters a factor of 2 times faster than systems that require entry of full characters. Incremental recognition is performed by a two-stage system which utilizes 68 neural networks with more than 5 million free parameters. To enable incremental recognition, we use specialized time-delay neural networks (TDNNs) that are trained to recognize partial characters. To boost the recognition accuracy of complete characters, we also use standard fully-connected neural networks. Quickstroke is 97.3% accurate for the incremental writer-independent recognition of 4400 simplified GB Chinese ideograms.


The subject of the study is the constitutional regime of the independent city of Fiume during the authoritarian rule of Gabriele D'Annunzio (September 1919 — December 1920). His power was based not on legal norms, but on the will of the commander known as the prophet (vate) or the leader (duce), supported by the strength of his army. Nevertheless, in September 1920, D'Annunzio proclaimed the Charter of Kvarner — the constitution of the small state, which never came into force. The author analyzes its provisions using the formal-dogmatic approach, pointing to the modernity and originality of its regulations: gender equality, guarantees of social rights, protection of work, secularity of education, society divided into corporations, elements of direct democracy, division of powers between legislative chambers, and a lack of the head of state. Constitutional institutions are presented with consideration of the history of Fiume, studied by the historical approach.
The author concludes that D'Annunzio did not belong to the fascist movement, but was rather a rival of Mussolini, with a different vision of the state and methods of rule. His Charter of Kvarner can therefore be seen as a concept for the new Italy. At the same time, the commandant was a forerunner of the methods of communicating with society which were later used by the leaders of totalitarian states.


The connections between gender and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are profound, and the sector is beginning to explore the integration of gender-transformative principles into WASH programming and research. Gender-transformative approaches challenge inequalities and move beyond an instrumentalist approach to gender in development interventions. Through a critical review of academic empirical studies, this paper explores the last decade of WASH-gender literature (2008–2018). Trends were visualised using an alluvial diagram. The reviewed literature was underpinned by a diversity of disciplines, yet was dominated by women-focused, water-focused studies. Although the studies addressed many important gender considerations, few studies engaged with transformational aspects of gender equality. The majority of the studies were based in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, indicating opportunity to explore contextual dynamics in other areas of the global south. Lastly, the studies primarily focus on women of productive age; only a few studies touched on gender dynamics relevant for a diversity of women, and men and boys were mostly absent. Insights from this analysis can inform future studies at the intersection of WASH and gender. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to include a diversity of voices, reflect on the strengths and limitations of research disciplines, and incorporate gender-transformative concepts.


This paper is concerned with the problem of finite-time synchronization in complex networks with stochastic noise perturbations. By using a novel finite-time L -operator differential inequality and other inequality techniques, some novel sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure finite-time stochastic synchronization for the complex networks concerned, where the coupling matrix need not be symmetric. The effects of control parameters on synchronization speed and time are also analyzed, and the synchronization time in this paper is shorter than that in the existing literature. The results here are also applicable to both directed and undirected weighted networks without any information of the coupling matrix. Finally, an example with numerical simulations is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


We have used an in vitro model system to probe the iron transport pathway across the brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVEC) of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This model consists of human BMVEC (hBMVEC) and C6 glioma cells (as an astrocytic cell line) grown in a transwell, a cell culture system commonly used to quantify metabolite flux across a cell-derived barrier. We found that iron efflux from hBMVEC through the ferrous iron permease ferroportin (Fpn) was stimulated by secretion of the soluble form of the multi-copper ferroxidase, ceruloplasmin (sCp) from the co-cultured C6 cells. Reciprocally, expression of sCp mRNA in the C6 cells was increased by neighboring hBMVEC. In addition, data indicate that C6 cell-secreted hepcidin stimulates internalization of hBMVEC Fpn but only when the end-feet projections characteristic of this glia-derived cell line are proximal to the endothelial cells. This hepcidin-dependent loss of Fpn correlated with knock-down of iron efflux from the hBMVEC; this result was consistent with the mechanism by which hepcidin regulates iron efflux in mammalian cells. In summary, the data support a model of iron trafficking across the BBB in which the capillary endothelium induce the underlying astrocytes to produce the ferroxidase activity needed to support Fpn-mediated iron efflux. Reciprocally, astrocyte proximity modulates the effective concentration of hepcidin at the endothelial cell membrane and thus the surface expression of hBMVEC Fpn. These results are independent of the source of hBMVEC iron (transferrin or non-transferrin bound) indicating that the model developed here is broadly applicable to brain iron homeostasis.


COVID-19, a disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a Pandemic in February 2020 and by the end of April more than 200,000 people had died from it. In an attempt to reduce viral transmission, governments around the world have imposed restrictions on internal mobility and lockdown. Almost instantly, information regarding of air pollution reduction traveled as fast as the wind and local and regional studies are starting to be conducted to show this more detailed picture. Moreover, in midst of this scenario, researches concerning the possible association between the spread and lethality of COVID-19 and levels of air pollution also starts to appear, mainly because the current situation appears to be very similar in China and European countries. This brief review aims to address some studies already published on this topic and discuss future directions for the scientific community. The two main topics covered are the relation between air pollution and the spread and lethality of Covid-19 and reduction of air pollution due to quarantine/lockdown. Similar research in other parts of the world will give a more complete picture of the association between air pollution and COVID-19.


The potential for improvement of the characteristics of large caliber guns has not reached its limit. Some of the problems still to be solved are the varying velocity of rounds at different temperatures and the tailoring of the pressure profile. The limiting case is a "constant pressure" approximation. Combustion control can be applied for solving these problems. A direct input of electrical energy in the form of an electrical arc in a combustion chamber is considered. For a realization of an effective combustion control this kind of energy input seems to be the favorable method in comparison to the indirect input of electrical energy e.g. plasma injection from a capillary discharge. As a baseline case a 120 mm gun and JA2 propellant are considered. The effect of radiation on the JA2 propellant, screening the radiation by the propellant grains are the key points investigated and discussed. The energy criteria for combustion control and influence of radiation on the combustion process are defined.


Administration of local nerve blocks for ophthalmic surgical procedures causes pain resulting in an unpleasant and stressful experience for the patient. A prospective, randomized, double-masked study compared injection pain of anesthetic solutions used for facial and retrobulbar nerve blocks. Anesthetic solutions to which sodium bicarbonate had been added were compared with anesthetic solutions without added sodium bicarbonate. Pain on injection of both facial and retrobulbar nerve blocks was significantly less (P = .0009 and P less than .0001 respectively), without diminution of effectiveness of either type of nerve block, in the group using anesthetic solutions to which sodium bicarbonate had been added.


In order to explore the necessity of community rehabilitation, we conducted a questionnaire survey of patients with a communication disorder who had finished speech therapy at our hospital during the period of April 1998 to November 2001. A total of fifty-four subjects answered the questionnaire. The following observations were made based on the results. 1. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents was experiencing some degree of difficulties in their daily life, and facing some sorts of psychological and social problems. 2. Fifty nine percent considered community rehabilitation was necessary, while only one respondent was actually receiving it. 3. The majority of respondents wished there were speech therapists in their area to provide a variety of services such as recreation and rehabilitation. These results suggest the importance of speech therapy through local welfare and social care facilities.


Objectives. The availability of emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) services is one of the key strategies in improving maternal health and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3. Health staff knowledge and competency on these interventions are crucial to ensure the effective handling and management of obstetric and newborn emergencies. Health workers, despite having undergone formal training, require regular refresher courses to keep up with new, evidence-based information on EmONC intervention; and to ensure compliance with national and local referral guidelines. A two-day workshop was implemented to assess the knowledge and skills of healthworkers in Legazpi, Albay, regarding obstetric emergency cases and referral guidelines.
Methods. A pretest was conducted on the first day to assess the knowledge of the participants. A series of lectures were given before administering a posttest at the end of these lectures. An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was conducted on the second day, which aimed to assess the skills of the participants.
Results. The pretest findings indicated that the participants are generally knowledgeable about areas such as handwashing and prenatal care. Results of the posttest show that participants had difficulty with the category of referrals. Moreover, comparing the pretest and posttest scores, there is strong evidence that there is a difference in the median values of the pretest scores as compared to the posttest scores. The results of the OSCE also indicate the need for further training on partograph use and adherence to an EINC protocol. More than half of the participants passed all five parts of the OSCE.
Conclusion. The workshop contributed to an improvement in the knowledge of health care workers in obstetric emergency cases. Skills–wise, more frequent training may need to be conducted to improve other competencies such as partograph utilization and the practice of EINC interventions.


An efficient process is developed by spin-coating a single-component, self-assembled monolayer (SAM) to simultaneously modify the bottom-contact electrode and dielectric surfaces of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). This effi cient interface modifi cation is achieved using n-alkyl phosphonic acid based SAMs to prime silver bottom-contacts and hafnium oxide (HfO2) dielectrics in low-voltage OTFTs. Surface characterization using near edge X-ray absorption fi ne structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry suggest this process yields structurally well-defi ned phosphonate SAMs on both metal and oxide surfaces. Rational selection of the alkyl length of the SAM leads to greatly enhanced performance for both n-channel (C60) and p-channel (pentacene) based OTFTs. Specifi cally, SAMs of n-octylphos-phonic acid (OPA) provide both low-contact resistance at the bottom-contact electrodes and excellent interfacial properties for compact semiconductor grain growth with high carrier mobilities. OTFTs based on OPA modifi ed silver electrode/HfO2 dielectric bottom-contact structures can be operated using < 3V with low contact resistance (down to 700 Ohm-cm), low subthreshold swing (as low as 75 mV dec−1), high on/off current ratios of 107, and charge carrier mobilities as high as 4.6 and 0.8 cm2 V−1 s−1, for C60 and pentacene, respectively. These results demonstrate that this is a simple and efficient process for improving the performance of bottom-contact OTFTs.


The ontogeny of the interrenal stress response in rainbow trout was characterized by measuring resting and acute-stress-induced changes in whole-body cortisol levels in embryos and larvae at different early developmental stages. In Experiment 1, resting cortisol levels averaged 6.0 ng/g in newly fertilized eggs, fell to less than 0.3 ng/g by the time of hatching at Week 4 (incubation at 10 degrees), and increased to 1.4 ng/g by Week 5. Cortisol levels did not change in response to acute stress in 3-, 4-, or 5-week-old fish. In Experiment 2, resting cortisol averaged 1.4 ng/g in newly fertilized eggs, fell to less than 0.03 ng/g by Week 2, and then steadily increased between Weeks 3 and 6 to a peak of 4.8 ng/g before falling to 1.2 ng/g by Week 7. Cortisol levels did not change in response to acute stress in 3-, 4-, or 5-week-old fish. Six-week-old fish showed a 2.3-fold increase in cortisol levels at 1 hr poststress, indicating that the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis first develops responsiveness to stress 2 weeks after hatching and 1 week before the onset of exogenous feeding. The stress hyporesponsive period after hatching in rainbow trout may be homologous to the 2-week stress hyporesponsive period after birth in rodents, the function of which may be to maintain low, constant corticosteroid levels during a critical developmental period when these steroids can have permanent effects on neural organization. As suggested for mammals, this period may be a time when rainbow trout are particularly vulnerable to environmental effects on their subsequent development.


In-depth interviews with 75 female journalists who work or have worked in Germany, India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America reveal that they face rampant online gendered harassment that influences how they do their jobs. Many of the women report that if they aim to engage with their audience online – which is a job requirement for many of them – they frequently face sexist comments that criticize, attack, marginalize, stereotype, or threaten them based on their gender or sexuality. Often, criticism of their work is framed as misogynistic attacks and, sometimes, even involves sexual violence. The journalists have developed a variety of strategies for dealing with the abuse, including limiting what they post online, changing what stories they report on, and using technological tools to prevent people from posting offensive words on the journalists' public social media pages. Results show that this harassment disrupts the routinized practice of reciprocal journalism because it limits how much these women can interact with the audience in mutually beneficial ways without being attacked or undermined sexually. While experiences of harassment were consistent across the countries studied, cultural differences were evident in how much the journalists were expected to engage online. Results are discussed in relation to the hierarchy of influences model that aims to explain how multiple forces influence media content.


Image segmentation is still an active reason of research, a relevant research area in computer vision and hundreds of image segmentation techniques have been proposed by the researchers. All proposed techniques have their own usability and accuracy. In this paper we are going present a review of some best lung nodule existing detection and segmentation techniques. Finally, we conclude by focusing one of the best methods that may have high level accuracy and can be used in detection of lung very small nodules accurately.


EU energy policy has often been criticized for disregarding external developments and for not speaking with a single voice in international affairs. Based on a broadly constructivist perspective, this article argues that such criticism is unwarranted. By analysing discursive and institutional changes in internal and external EU energy policy between 2000 and 2016, the article makes three major points. First, external developments were major drivers of the EU's internal policymaking. Second, EU external energy policy has changed substantially over time and has made important steps towards the creation of a 'single voice'. Third, such 'single voice' should not be taken as the only relevant attribute of EU external energy policy. Drawing on complexity theory and the EU external governance literature, the article argues that Europe should begin to regard its 'polyphony' as an asset rather than a burden – it should strive for many voices carrying coordinated messages.


Protein S (PS) has an established role as an important cofactor to activated protein C (APC) in the degradation of coagulation cofactors Va and VIIIa. This anticoagulant role is evident from the consequences of its deficiency, when there is an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. In human plasma, PS circulates approximately 40% as free PS (FPS) and 60% in complex with C4b-binding protein (C4BP). Formation of this complex results in loss of PS cofactor function, and C4BP can then modulate the anticoagulant activity of APC. It had long been predicted that the complex could act as a bridge between coagulation and inflammation due to the involvement of C4BP in regulating complement activation. This prediction was recently supported by the demonstration of binding of the PS-C4BP complex to apoptotic cells. This review aims to summarize recent findings on the structure and functions of PS, the basis and importance of its deficiency, its interaction with C4BP, and the possible physiologic and pathologic importance of the PS-C4BP interaction.


We evaluate the multi-criteria methodology employed by Norwegian authorities to screen and prioritise a large number of hydropower licences due for revision of their environmental and production conditions. We structured the national licence screening methodology using the multi-criteria decision analysis theory implemented in Bayesian Network (BBN) software. We show how BBNs can be used to diagnose the overall importance of different criteria implicit in the licence screening project's methodology. The diagnostic analysis finds that hydropower loss criteria were considerably more import than environmental criteria in explaining which licences were given lower licence revision priority. We also use the BBN to assess the trade-offs between environmental impacts and hydropower. Using the licence ranking by Norwegian authoities, we provide an interpretation of the 'significant adverse effect' for Norwegian hydropower of achieving Water Framework Directive. The national-level estimates of significant adverse effect are likely to be high, given the limited number of mitigation measures that were assessed in the national screening study. The paper discusses the importance of further regional and local assessment of all available measures to achieve good ecological potential in Norwegian water courses.


Human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) have been shown to support breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis, partly through their secretome. hMSCs have a remarkable ability to survive for long periods under stress, and their secretome is tumor supportive. In this study, we have characterized the cargo of extracellular vesicular (EV) fraction (that is in the size range of 40-150nm) of serum deprived hMSCs (SD-MSCs). Next Generation Sequencing assays were used to identify small RNA secreted in the EVs, which indicated presence of tumor supportive miRNA. Further assays demonstrated the role of miRNA-21 and 34a as tumor supportive miRNAs. Next, proteomic assays revealed the presence of ≈150 different proteins, most of which are known tumor supportive factors such as PDGFR-β, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Lipidomic assays verified presence of bioactive lipids such as sphingomyelin. Furthermore, metabolite assays identified the presence of lactic acid and glutamic acid in EVs. The co-injection xenograft assays using MCF-7 breast cancer cells demonstrated the tumor supportive function of these EVs. To our knowledge this is the first comprehensive -omics based study that characterized the complex cargo of extracellular vesicles secreted by hMSCs and their role in supporting breast cancers.


In computer graphics, most animations of characters have been created using the traditional and often highly labor intensive key-framing technique. Recently, character animation is demanded increasingly automated techniques for animation according to interaction with the user or environment of the user. In this paper, we will propose a new method which can animate characters automatically with user interactions. The character's behavior is determined as a result of understanding the emotional condition of the user. Psychology and cognitive AI provide some ideas about how to approach this problem. Our study is based mostly on the theories of Ortony, Clore and Collins, which were designed to be implemented computationally. In our system, we can make 22 emotion types and some more behavior features and we apply to some characters.


This paper analyses the market of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the United States. It develops a system of demand and supply equations for both the HFCS and soft drinks markets. The system of equations is estimated through Two Stage Least Squares methods. The results show that soft drinks are the main driver of the growth of demand for HFCS. In addition, negative news on HFCS (the association of HFCS consumption and obesity) has a negative effect on the growth of demand for soft drinks, but soft drinks per capita advertising has a positive effect on the growth of demand for soft drinks and more than offsets the effect of negative news.


A new biozone - called Ictidosaur Assemblage Zone - is proposed to the Upper Triassic Caturrita Formation from Southern Brazil, based on the discovery of a distinct tetrapod association characterized by the presence of little non-mammalian cinodonts including Riograndia guaibensis, Brasilodon quadrangularis and Brasilitherium riograndensis . Besides, the advanced procolophonid Soturnia caliodon , the dinosaur Guaibasaurus candelariensis , the dicynodont Jachaleria candelariensis , indeterminated phytosaurs and sphenodontids were also found in this association. The new biozone overlies the Rhynchosaur Assemblage Zone and encloses the " Jachaleria Level " usually cited for these layers. Stratigraphical sections, as well as facies analysis, facies associations and architectural elements confirms that the new biozone is clearly included in a distinct stratigraphical level, which reflects a marked change in the fluvial pattern of the sequence. The anastomosed/meandering pattern associated to the underlying Rhynchosaur Assemblage Zone turns to a braided to low confinement fluvial system with unconfined flows. The faunal and faciological changes may have been caused by a combined action of climatic, base level and floral changes, probably reflecting the global tendency to an increasing aridity towards the end of the Triassic. It is presumed an early Norian age for the new biozone on basis on its faunal content, on its stratigraphic placement, recovering the Carnian rhynchosaur assemblage and also on the presence of woods, leafs and reproductive structures of conifers, whose morphological pattern is exclusively Triassic.


The inclusion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the Sustainable Development Goals (target 3.8) cemented its position as a key global health priority and highlighted the need to measure it, and to track progress over time. In this study, we aimed to develop a summary measure of UHC for Malawi which will act as a baseline for tracking UHC index between 2020 and 2030. We developed a summary index for UHC by computing the geometric mean of indicators for the two dimensions of UHC; service coverage (SC) and financial risk protection (FRP). The indicators included for both the SC and FRP were based on the Government of Malawi's essential health package (EHP) and data availability. The SC indicator was computed as the geometric mean of preventive and treatment indicators, whereas the FRP indicator was computed as a geometric mean of the incidence of catastrophic healthcare expenditure, and the impoverishing effect of healthcare payments indicators. Data were obtained from various sources including the 2015/2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS); the 2016/2017 fourth integrated household survey (IHS4); 2018/2019 Malawi Harmonized Health Facility Assessment (HHFA); the MoH HIV and TB data, and the WHO. We also conducted various combinations of input indicators and weights as part of sensitivity analysis to validate the results. The overall summary measure of UHC index was 69.68% after adjusting for inequality and unadjusted measure was 75.03%. As regards the two UHC components, the inequality adjusted summary indicator for SC was estimated to be 51.59% and unadjusted measure was 57.77%, whereas the inequality adjusted summary indicator for FRP was 94.10% and unweighted 97.45%. Overall, with the UHC index of 69.68%, Malawi is doing relatively well in comparison to other low income countries, however, significant gaps and inequalities still exist in Malawi's quest to achieve UHC especially in the SC indicators. It is imperative that targeted health financing and other health sector reforms are made to achieve this goal. Such reforms should be focused on both SC and FRP rather than on only either, of the dimensions of UHC.


A data acquisition framework based on a RT-Linux host and several embedded processors is presented. A constant velocity Mossbauer spectrometer with controlled temperature sweep is shown as a real experimental application. The hardware platform consists of a standard personal computer (PC) supporting several dedicated custom boards. Each board has a microcontroller and additional hardware to interface with the experiment. A simple real-time kernel with a preemptive scheduling scheme was implemented for the microcontroller boards. Tasks are assigned to each standalone board during the initialization step. The PC runs the Linux operating system, with its real time extension RT-Linux. The flow of data to and from the boards is implemented with real-time tasks through real-time FIFOs in an event-driven basis. The proposed structure dramatically simplifies the implementation of sophisticated user interfaces, using high level languages like Tcl/Tk or Java for graphical and remote applications, without degrading real-time performance.


Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous and highly impairing disorder that is frequently comorbid with other conditions. Participants in this study were 212 individuals recruited through Mechanical Turk who filled out validated measures of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, quality of life (QoL), generalized anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Analyses examined the influences of each symptom variable on QoL and the mediating role of depression as an indirect link between unacceptable thoughts (UT) and QoL. Depressive symptoms had a significant negative relationship with multiple domains of functioning. Generalized anxiety was not significant. Higher endorsement of UT symptoms was related to lower physical, emotional, and social QoL. Depression partially mediated the relationship between UT symptoms and physical, emotional, and social health. Depressive symptoms are important to consider in clinical work surrounding OCD. The significant associations between UT symptoms and QoL in a nonclinical population illustrate a relevant area for future intervention, public awareness, and education.


Semi-empirical calculations successfully predicted the terahertz (THz) absorption spectrum associated with intra- and intermolecular interactions in 1,4-dihydroxynaphthalene. Results are in excellent agreement with spectroscopy data in the 0.5-6 THz region using GaP wave THz source.


Student teachers completing a three year pre‐service primary teaching degree in New Zealand experience a practical teaching component called professional practice. This is carried out in school placements for block periods and involves a visiting lecturer from their institution observing them teaching to ensure they are meeting their specific learning outcomes. One of the significant aspects of the lecturer visit is the giving of both spoken and written feedback to students on a variety of areas of their teaching practice. This action research was carried out over a two‐year period using the experiences of students in their second and third years to investigate the quality of feedback they received and the ways in which it could be improved. Throughout the study, the researcher used a qualitative research approach that involved in‐depth interviews and surveys with the students and two focus‐group discussions with lecturers. This approach allowed her to focus on her own practice of giving feedback to student teachers and to discover some unexpected aspects about herself as a practitioner. These reflections and other aspects of the study identified the key aspects for best quality feedback practice as; written reflections by the student teachers pre‐prepared questions by the observing lecturer in order to provide structure and guidance for the feedback process; establishment of as much time as possible for the feedback discussions; lecturers employing coaching skills for adult learners; honesty as a valued and welcomed trait; recognition that tacit knowledge is valuable and should be shared; and lecturers being readily available to students and able to provide them with prompt responses.


Atherosclerosis is a major complication of type 2 diabetes. The pathogenesis of this complication is poorly understood, but it clearly involves production in the vascular wall of macrophage (Mo) lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Mo LPL is increased in human diabetes. Peripheral factors dysregulated in diabetes, including glucose and free fatty acids (FAs), may contribute to this alteration. We previously reported that high glucose stimulates LPL production in both J774 murine and human Mo. In the present study, we evaluated the direct effect of FAs on murine Mo LPL expression and examined the involvement of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in this effect. J774 Mo were cultured for 24 h with 0.2 mmol/l unsaturated FAs (arachidonic [AA], eicosapentaenoic [EPA], and linoleic acids [LA]) and monounsaturated (oleic acid [OA]) and saturated FAs (palmitic acid [PA] and stearic acid [SA]) bound to 2% bovine serum albumin. At the end of this incubation period, Mo LPL mRNA expression, immunoreactive mass, activity, and synthetic rate were measured. Incubation of J774 cells with LA, PA, and SA significantly increased Mo LPL mRNA expression. In contrast, exposure of these cells to AA and EPA dramatically decreased this parameter. All FAs, with the exception of EPA and OA, increased extra- and intracellular LPL immunoreactive mass and activity. Intracellular LPL mass and activity paralleled extracellular LPL mass and activity in all FA-treated cells. In Mo exposed to AA, LA, and PA, an increase in Mo LPL synthetic rate was observed. To evaluate the role of PPARs in the modulatory effect of FAs on Mo LPL gene expression, DNA binding assays were performed. Results of these experiments demonstrate an enhanced binding of nuclear proteins extracted from all FA-treated Mo to the peroxisome proliferator-response element (PPRE) consensus sequence of the LPL promoter. PA-, SA-, and OA-stimulated binding activity was effectively diminished by immunoprecipitation of the nuclear proteins with anti-PPAR-alpha antibodies. In contrast, anti-PPAR-gamma antibodies only significantly decreased AA-induced binding activity. Overall, these results provide the first evidence for a direct regulatory effect of FAs on Mo LPL and suggest a potential role of PPARs in the regulation of Mo LPL gene expression by FAs.


Corm rot is a major constraint in the successful cultivation of saffron in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. The disease was found to be caused by a complex group of microorganisms. The results showed significantly less disease incidence and more germination and yield on integrated disease management (IDM) adopted areas as compared to farmers' practices (FP) plots, during the three consecutive years of validation. Average mean percent disease incidence and germination of three years were 28.88 and 81.16 in IDM and 71.11 and 18.83 in FP plots, respectively. Fields covered under IDM practice showed significantly higher mean yield (0.396 t ha-1) comparing to farmer's practiced plots (0.148 t ha-1).


Abstract In Item-and-Arrangement models of inflection, morphemes are associations of form and meaning stored in a mental lexicon. Saussure's notion of the linguistic sign as a unit of an acoustic image (signifier) and a concept (signified) immediately suggests such a model. But close examination of the examples of inflectional morphology throughout the Cours brings Saussure's ideas more in line with Process morphology, a model in which recurrent elements in word forms are exponents of content features, and realizational rules license a word form inferentially from the word's content. The Saussurean sign allowed French structuralists to revolutionize the methods of modern social science, eschewing the motives and intentions of human actors to focus on the system of oppositions that make signification possible in each domain. Eventually, post-structuralism rejected the static nature of the linguistic sign, forcing linguistics into relative isolation (since it held on to sign-based models of language). The criticism of structuralist treatments of morphology in Process models of inflection, however, stands as an exception to this tendency. In retrospect, I argue, similar ideas can be found in Saussure's view of the langue as a complex algebra.


The effect of zidovudine (500 mg/day) on 32 asymptomatic subjects seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was evaluated by monitoring the concentrations of infections HIV-carrying blood mononuclear cells and serum virus particles. After 3 months of treatment, a significant reduction in cellular virus load (P < .001) and a marginal decrease in serum viremia (P = .068) were noted. After 6 months, 14 patients (44%) maintained a > or = 50% reduction in virus load, 12 patients (37%) had a virus load that declined by > 50% at 3 months but returned to the initial level at 6 months, and 6 patients (19%) retained their initial virus load. Thus, virus load measurements permit reliable follow-up of antiviral therapy on an individual basis and may enable the identification of patients for whom zidovudine is efficacious.


Recommendations on the usage of agile methods in companies creating and implementing complex software applications are given. Peculiarities of product software development in comparison with be-spoke projects are disclosed. These peculiarities arise from the necessity to take into account the needs of several different stakeholders' groups simultaneously. It is shown that Scrum is possible to use for the whole product development including maintenance and support. Practices specific for application development and deviations from the standard Scrum practices are given, which increases the Scrum efficiency. The use of those practices allowed increasing the velocity measured in product backlog items by 30–40% and significantly improved motivation of the personnel participating in development.


By reconfiguring the propagation environment of electromagnetic waves artificially, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have been regarded as a promising and revolutionary hardware technology to improve the energy and spectrum efficiency of wireless networks. In this paper, we study a RIS aided multiuser multiple-input single-output (MISO) wireless power transfer (WPT) system, where the transmitter is equipped with a constant-envelope analog beamformer. We formulate a novel problem to maximize the total received power of all the users by jointly optimizing the beamformer at transmitter and the phase shifts at the RISs, subject to the individual minimum received power constraints of users. We further solve the problem iteratively with a closed-form expression for each step. Numerical results show the performance gain of deploying RIS and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Question
Do the effects of fire regimes on plant species richness and composition differ among floristically similar vegetation types?.

Location
Booderee National Park, south-eastern Australia.

Methods
We completed floristic surveys of 87 sites in Sydney Coastal dry sclerophyll vegetation, where fire history records have been maintained for over 55 years. We tested for associations between different aspects of the recent fire history and plant species richness and composition, and whether these relationships were consistent among structurally defined forest, woodland and heath vegetation types.

Results
The relationship between fire regime variables and plant species richness and composition differed among vegetation types, despite the three vegetation types having similar species pools. Fire frequency was positively related to species richness in woodland, negatively related to species richness in heath, and unrelated to species richness in forest. These different relationships were explained by differences in the associations between fire history and species traits among vegetation types. The negative relationship between fire frequency and species richness in heath vegetation was underpinned by reduced occurrence of resprouting species at high fire frequency sites (more than four fires in 55 years). However, in forest and woodland vegetation, resprouting species were not negatively associated with fire frequency.

Conclusions
We hypothesise that differing relationships among vegetation types were underpinned by differences in fire behaviour, and/or biotic and abiotic conditions, leading to differences in plant species mortality and post-fire recovery among vegetation types. Our findings suggest that even when there is a high proportion of shared species between vegetation types, fires can have very different effects on vegetation communities, depending on the structural vegetation type. Both research and management of fire regimes may therefore benefit from considering vegetation types as separate management units.

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Introduction: Early detection and aggressive treatment programs to prevent cervical carcinoma in situ (CIS) and invasive uterine cervical cancer (ICC) have been available for more than 30 years with more than 80% population coverage. Despite this, 11,000 cases of ICC and 40,000 cases of CIS continue to be diagnosed in the United States annually. Women of African descent are at >2-fold higher risk of invasive cervical cancer death compared to other ethnic groups. Objective: The overarching goal is to develop epigenetic biomarkers that can be used for early identification of aggressive cases likely to result in invasive cervical cancer and death. Methods: We conducted a hospital-based, case-control study comprising 26 women with ICC, 18 with CIN2/3/HSIL, and 41 with normal cytology, at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania. We analyzed methylation of three regions in the IGF2/H19 imprinted domain known to regulate the expression of imprinted IGF2. Aberrant methylation is associated with IGF2 deregulation, including changes in expression, loss of imprinting, and neoplasia. Results: At the IGF2/H19 imprint center upstream of H19, methylation profiles for all women with no evidence of cervical abnormality or those with CIN2-CIN3 were within normal ranges (40%-60%), while 23% with invasive cancer had hypermethylation. In contrast, 25% of the CIN2/3 cases were abnormally hypomethylated at the IGF2 DMR in IGF2 intron 2, and the methylation profile worsened in the invasive cervical cancer cases with 64% having an abnormal methylation profile. A similar trend was found for the regulatory region in IGF2 intron 6. Stratifying these analyses by HIV status in ICC revealed that aberrant intragenic IGF2 hypomethylation was observed only among women without HIV. These associations persisted after adjusting for HPV genotype. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that regulation of IGF2 is substantially altered in CIN2 or worse via epigenetic alterations. DNA methylation profiles of these regions may be markers of risk of progression especially in HIV-women. The findings support our hypothesis that epigenetic deregulation of this imprinted gene could be useful in discriminating women with dysplasia likely to progress. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):A91.


Mouse is the most widely used preclinical animal model yet the translational rate from mouse studies to therapies of human disease is dismal. To identify differentially expressed gene networks that underlie the distinct pathophysiological responses in human and mouse, we compared the patterns of gene regulation by nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in human and mouse. As expected, we identified approximately 1,600 genes whose expressions are similarly regulated by NAFLD in human and mouse. Intriguingly, however, we also identified a similar number of genes that exhibit completely opposite regulation. Pathway analysis revealed that similarly regulated genes performed similar function in human and mouse whereas oppositely regulated genes perform very different function, despite the same set of genes were analyzed in either mouse or human. To determine if these oppositely regulated genes truly reflect differences in human and mouse liver biology, we analyzed gene expression in chimera mice in which human and mouse hepatocytes co-exist in the humanized liver and are exposed to identical in vivo metabolic milieu. Strikingly, we were able to recapitulate a sizable fraction of oppositely regulated genes in a fast/refeeding cycle. We further analyzed the promoter activities and RNA stability of regulated genes and found that promoter occupancy by RNA pol II and a HuR-dependent post-transcriptional mechanism both contribute to the divergent regulations. Our findings suggest that there are a core set of genes, despite their conserved molecular function, might be differentially regulated and contribute to distinct physiological outcomes in human and mouse. Thus our work provide a timely resource to understand the molecular basis for divergent metabolic responses in human and mouse liver and also highlight the areas of human liver biology where mouse is not a suitable model, and a human or humanized system is needed for translational studies. Disclosure H. Cao: None. Funding National Institutes of Health


I read an article by Zaidi et al. titled to "A study on assessment of mast cell (MCs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)" with great interest.[1] We are concerned about their meandering conclusion presuming close association between OSCC development and MC. Since the role of MCs in the tumor stroma has been very controversial so far, it needs further clarification. Furthermore, my interest in this study is that we have recently demonstrated human MC‑mediated cytotoxicity against different human tumor cells in vitro.[2,3] Here, we want to emphasize anti‑tumor effects of MC in the light of recent literature and our findings as well.


This study was conducted on both station and farmers' fields during the 2010 dry cropping season in the Vallée du Kou rice scheme. We investigated the effect of three rice-transplanting periods (8–10 days) on the population dynamics, damage and parasitism associated with rice stem borers. The on-station experiment was designed as a randomized complete block with three treatments (planting dates) and four replications. Regular intervals of 14 days were observed between subsequent planting dates. Weekly agronomic and entomological assessments were performed from the 21st day after transplanting (DAT) to the 84th DAT. The on-farm experiment covered 1200 ha divided into two zones in which 48 farmers' fields were selected according to the periods of rice transplanting (resulting in 16 fields per period). On-station results indicated 10.1% of deadhearts and 7.5% of whiteheads due to stem borers in the first transplanting period, resulting in the lowest yield (2 metric tons/ha). In farmers' fields, the genus Chilo was found to be the most injurious rice stem borer in Vallée du Kou. The highest larval parasitism (38.5%) was recorded in the third treatment. These results provide important data that can be used in the development of an integrated management strategy for rice insect pests in Vallée du Kou.


Introduction: Arteriovenous fistula dysfunction is a common problem in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Its early diagnosis has a great impact on the prognosis. Physical examination and ultra sonography are usually used to depict fistula stenoses or thromboses. In most cases conventional angiography is performed to evaluate the fistula and the venous outflow segments. It is considered as the method of choice allowing an accurate description of abnormalities. Nevertheless, it is an invasive exam with considerate risk of complication. Recent development in imaging techniques revealed a good accuracy of MDCT angiography as a non invasive reliable tool evaluating the entire vascular tree. Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the accuracy of 64-MDCT angiography in the assessment of arteriovenous fistula dysfunction in comparison with conventional angiography. Subjects and methods: Prospective study including 40 patients (22 men and 18 women), average age 62.4 years with chronic renal insufficiency in the stage of hemodialysis presenting fistula's dysfunction. All patients underwent conventional angiography first and then 64 row MDCT angiography. CT Images were interpreted by a long experienced radiologist unaware of the results of the angiography. Results: Images quality was good for both exams. MDCT had good accuracy in the depiction of arterial and central venous stenosis. It was even superior to conventional angiography for the depiction of distal venous stenosis. MDCT was also superior to fistulography in the detection of aneurysm thromboses. Conclusion: MDCT angiography is a non invasive imaging tool exploring arteriovenous fistulas failure with reliable results compared to digital substraction angiography.


Weapons "FN P-90" The emergence and development of the concept of weapons for personal protection. A detailed description of the structural design of Belgian weapons "FN P-90", with emphasis on experiences from field use, and tactical technical data.


Purpose - – This study uses stochastic dominance (SD) theory to examine whether the traditional festival, such as the Spring Festival (often in February), affects the patterns of monthly anomaly for the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors employ a new bootstrap-based test due to Linton, Maasoumi and Whang (hereafter LMW). The LMW test is well suited for financial time series data, such as monthly returns of various portfolios in this study, because it allows for general dependence among the prospects (distributions) and does not require the observations to be identically and independently distributed. Findings - – The particular findings of this study are that the February effect and the February-size effect indeed exist in the TWSE. Furthermore, allowing part of investors' assets is invested in the risky asset and the remaining part in a risk-free asset, first finding for monthly anomaly in the extant literature, is useful in distinguishing the performance among various size-month portfolios. Originality/value - – Instead of tax-loss and window dressing hypothesis, the Spring Festival money movement hypothesis can be used to well explain the findings.


A 30-year-old seventh gravida presented with acute renal failure at 28 weeks of gestation. All her previous pregnancies were normal. With a differentional diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis, acute interstitial nephritis (cefuroxime induced) or rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, treatment with antibiotics, intensive hemodialysis (HD) and pulse methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisolone was initiated. She was maintained on HD 5-6 times per week aiming at serum urea level of less than 15 mmol/L. After six weeks on HD, she underwent a cesarean section at 34 weeks of gestation with delivery of a baby weighing 1.6 kg. Percutaneous left renal biopsy performed one week post-delivery showed anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody-mediated crescentic glomerulonephritis. The anti-GBM antibody, which was negative during pregnancy, was found to be positive at this juncture and remained so until ten months post-delivery while on HD. The patient continues to be on regular maintenance HD.


BACKGROUND
Upper airway edema might contribute to pharyngeal collapsibility and account for the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with heart disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate if intensive unloading with diuretics improves sleep-disordered breathing and increases pharyngeal caliber in patients with severe OSA and diastolic heart failure.

METHODS
Fifteen patients with severe OSA, hypertension, and diastolic heart failure were hospitalized to receive IV furosemide, 20 mg, and spironolactone, 100 mg, bid for 3 days. Polysomnography was performed for assessment of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), acoustic pharyngometry was performed for assessment of the oropharyngeal junction (OPJ) area, and forced midinspiratory flow (FIF(50)), forced midexpiratory flow (FEF(50))/FIF(50) percentage, and exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) were measured before and after diuretic treatment.

RESULTS
Diuretic treatment produced a significant decrease in body weight, BP, and AHI (from 74.89 +/- 6.95 to 57.17 +/- 5.40/h, p < 0.001), associated with an improvement in OPJ area (from 1.33 +/- 0.10 to 1.78 +/- 0.16 cm(2), p = 0.007), FIF(50) (from 3.16 +/- 0.4 to 3.94 +/- 0.4 L/s, p = 0.006), and FEF(50)/FIF(50) percentage (from 117.9 +/- 11.8 to 93.15 +/- 10.1%, p = 0.002). Weight loss was significantly related to the decrease of AHI (R = 0.602; p = 0.018), to the increase of FIF(50) (R = 0.68; p = 0.005), and to the decrease of FEF(50)/FIF(50) (R = 0.635; p = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that pharyngeal edema contributes to sleep-disordered breathing in obese patients with severe OSA, hypertension, and diastolic heart failure. Upper airway edema may contribute to the frequent occurrence of OSA in patients with heart disease.


Background: Nowadays, umbilical cord- and adipose-derived stem cells (UCSCs and ASCs) are the most common sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). As part of the tumor microenvironment, MSCs are known to communicate with cancer cells via their secretomes. Increased activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) has been widely used as a common intrinsic stemness marker in normal and cancer stem cells. Our study aimed to elaborate on the effect of UCSC and ASC secretomes on the expression of ALDH1A3, as one of the important variants of ALDH1, TGF-β1 and TGF-β receptor type I (TβRI) in human breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Methods: UCSCs and ASCs were cultured in serum-free α-MEM media under standard conditions for 24 hours. The conditioned medium (CM) containing secretomes of UCSCs and ASCs were collected and added 50% (v/v) to the cultured of human BCSCs for 72 hours. The mRNA expressions of ALDH1A3, TGF-β1, and TβRI were determined using quantitative Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (q-RT-PCR). Results: We found that CM of UCSCs significantly increased the ALDH1A3 expression of BCSCs in parallel with the increase of TGF-β1 and TβRI expressions. Conversely, CM of ASCs had no significant effect on the ALDH1A3 expression, but significantly decreased TGF-β1 and TβRI expressions of BCSCs. These results contradict our published data on ALDH1A1, which is another important variant of ALDH1, as well as data of the pluripotency markers OCT4 and SOX2 expressions. Conclusions:  UCSC and ASC secretomes have different regulation on ALDH1A3 expression in human BCSCs, which may be related to the autocrine TGF-β1 signaling in modulating cell proliferation and stemness of BCSCs. Further studies are required to evaluate factors involved in the differential effects of UCSC and ASC secretomes that regulate ALDH1A3 expression in relation to autocrine TGF-β1 signaling and aggressiveness of human BCSCs.


In order to fulfill its role as a vector, adenovirus needs to successfully deliver its DNA genome to the host nucleus, a process highly influenced by adenovirus intracellular translocation. Thus, cell entry pathway and intracellular trafficking determine functionality of human adenovirus-based vectors. ABSTRACT Human adenovirus type 26 (HAdV26) has been recognized as a promising platform for vaccine vector development, and very recently vaccine against COVID-19 based on HAdV26 was authorized for emergency use. Nevertheless, basic biology of this virus, namely, pathway which HAdV26 uses to enter the cell, is still insufficiently known. We have shown here that HAdV26 infection of human epithelial cells expressing low amount of αvβ3 integrin involves clathrin and is caveolin-1-independent, while HAdV26 infection of cells with high amount of αvβ3 integrin does not involve clathrin but is caveolin-1-dependent. Thus, this study demonstrates that caveolin-1 is limiting factor in αvβ3 integrin-mediated HAdV26 infection. Regardless of αvβ3 integrin expression, HAdV26 infection involves dynamin-2. Our data provide for the first-time description of HAdV26 cell entry pathway, hence increase our knowledge of HAdV26 infection. Knowing that functionality of adenovirus vector is influenced by its cell entry pathway and intracellular trafficking, our results will contribute to better understanding of HAdV26 immunogenicity and antigen presentation when used as vaccine vector. IMPORTANCE In order to fulfill its role as a vector, adenovirus needs to successfully deliver its DNA genome to the host nucleus, a process highly influenced by adenovirus intracellular translocation. Thus, cell entry pathway and intracellular trafficking determine functionality of human adenovirus-based vectors. Endocytosis of HAdV26, currently extensively studied as a vaccine vector, has not been described so far. We present here that HAdV26 infection of human epithelial cells with high expression of αvβ3 integrin, one of the putative HAdV26 receptors, is caveolin-1- and partially dynamin-2-dependent. Since caveolin containing domains provide a unique environment for specific signaling events and participate in inflammatory signaling one can imagine that directing HAdV26 cell entry toward caveolin-1-mediate pathway might play role in immunogenicity of this virus. Therefore, our results contribute to better understanding of HAdV26 infection pathway, hence, can be helpful in explaining induction of immune response and antigen presentation by HAdV26-based vaccine vector.


Technical skills in volleyball, universally accepted definition of the term of the test in the modern scientific literature. Therefore, based on the analysis of scientific approaches, we have the opportunity to determine the definition of "technical skills in volleyball" and make some theoretical conclusions for understanding the problem being studied.


The growth of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce has gained a lot of attention among SMEs. Most B2C firms are turning their attention on how to retain new customers and are left in a situation to compete with larger firms. This paper aims to examine the impact of E-Commerce Customer Relationship Management (ECCRM) in a small business firm that engages in B2C e-commerce. Drawing upon the theories of customer relationship management, e-commerce, trust and loyalty, we develop an integrated framework of ECCRM model to illustrate the impact of the hard and soft factors that reflect the level of transactional and relational components of communication thereby impacting the customers shopping time lifecycle experiences. We develop a number of hypotheses to facilitate testing of the framework via an exploratory case study. We then discuss the findings of the integrated framework leading to theoretical and practical implications of this study and directions for future research.


Japanese craftsmanship is an important resource of Japanese industrial culture. The Japanese manufacturing industry has a global reputation and strong competitiveness and influence, and the artisan spirit is one of the "secret weapons" that has made the Japanese manufacturing industry strong. The evolution of Japanese craftsmanship in different historical periods can further enrich the connotation of craftsmanship and deepen people's understanding of craftsmanship, which is of positive significance to all countries in cultivating and promoting craftsmanship and improving the service capability of various industries.


Background: Child undernutrition has been a prevailing issue in country like Nepal. Though there has been progress over the decades, the burden of child undernutrition still remains unacceptably high. It is important to look at how infants and young children's feeding practices and nutritional status are affected by nutrition transitioning in rapidly urbanizing Nepal Methods: This is a cross-sectional research design Children aged 6-23 months and their mothers visiting the hospital for regular immunization services constituted the study population. Data was collected from 305 children over four months from September 2019 to January 2020. Anthropometric measurements (weight and length) were collected of all children and their mothers/caretakers were interviewed on the IYCF practices via a semi-structured questionnaire Data was analyzed using WHO Anthro Survey Analyzer, Microsoft Excel and STATA 15.Results: Early initiation of breastfeeding was 47.9% and use of bottle was 48.5%. Minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet were 66.2%, 79.1% and 54.4% respectively. Consumption of nutrient-poor packaged foods was 63.0% with biscuits being the most common type (52.1%) and 32.8% of the children were found to be drinking tea. Overall, 13.8% of the children were stunted, 3.9% were underweight and 1.7% were wasted while 2.3% were overweight.Conclusion: The practices related to breastfeeding and diets of young children in urban areas of Nepal are not optimal with only around half meeting the minimum standards recommended by the WHO. Therefore, there is a pressing need to wake up to the rapidly changing dietary patterns among young children through necessary urban nutrition policies and programmatic interventions, the rising adverse nutrition issues can be nipped in the bud before they get too pervasive.


We present a study based on the high-resolution spectroscopy and K2 space photometry of five chemically peculiar stars in the region of the open cluster M44. The analysis of the high-precision photometric K2 data reveals that the light variations in HD73045 and HD76310 are rotational in nature and caused by spots or cloud-like co-rotating structures, which are nonstationary and short-lived. The time-resolved radial velocity measurements, in combination with the K2 photometry, confirm that HD73045 does not show any periodic variability on timescales shorter than 1.3 d, contrary to previous reports in the literature. In addition to these new rotational variables, we discovered a new heartbeat system, HD73619, where no pulsational signatures are seen. The spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric analyses indicate that HD73619 belongs to the peculiar Am class, with either a weak or no magnetic field considering the 200G detection limit of our study. The Least-Squares Deconvolution (LSD) profiles for HD76310 indicate a complex structure in its spectra suggesting that this star is either part of a binary system or surrounded by a cloud shell. When placed in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, all studied stars are evolved from main-sequence and situated in the δ Scuti instability strip. The present work is relevant for further detailed studies of CP stars, such as inhomogeneities (including spots) in the absence of magnetic fields and the origin of the pulsational variability in heartbeat systems.


This study examines financial reporting quality (FRQ) effects around voluntary International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoptions by German private firms across two important dimensions, earnings quality and disclosure practices. To capture differences in the motivations for IFRS adoptions, we identify four different types of IFRS adopting firms based on a comprehensive set of firm characteristics. We observe earnings quality improvements around IFRS adoptions primarily for one type of firm, which is young, fast growing and seeking access to public equity markets. Using a matched sample of private German GAAP and IFRS reporting firms, we find some evidence suggesting that IFRS also contribute to higher earnings quality. Recognizing that our earnings quality metrics are only incomplete measures of FRQ, we also compare the disclosure practices of IFRS and German GAAP firms. We find that all IFRS firm types disclose significantly more information in their financial reports and show a higher propensity to publish their financial reports voluntarily on the corporate website. Our findings indicate that failure to identify earnings quality changes around IFRS adoption cannot be automatically interpreted as IFRS adoption having no effect on the FRQ of (private) firms. Collectively, our results suggest that both incentives and accounting standards shape private firms' FRQ.


In this letter, a novel waveguide bandpass filter with fractal-shaped irises is presented. By applying first iteration Koch fractal-shaped irises, the bandwidth is increased to more than 3.15times and the overall size is reduced to about 2.8times in comparison to a waveguide filter with rectangular-shaped irises. The proposed filter is simulated using Ansoft HFSS and fabricated, which is verified by good agreement between simulated and measured results. Measurement results show less than 0.8 dB insertion loss and return loss better than 10 dB.


The North Anatolian Fault System (NAFS) is an approximately 2-110-km-wide, 1600-km-long right-lateral intra-continental transform fault boundary between the Anatolian platelet and the Eurasian plate. The Gerede fault zone is one of the major active structures in the western section of the NAFS. It is a 1-9-km-wide, 325-km-long and ENE-trending dextral strike-slip fault zone, with a total accumulated offset since its initiation (Late Pliocene) of about 43 km. This offset indicates an average geological slip rate of 16.5 mm/yr. The 1 February 1944 Gerede earthquake occurred within the Gerede fault zone. Based on recent field geological mapping of the rupture traces and offsets on it, the average and peak lateral offsets were measured to be 4.37 m and 7.16 m, respectively. A triangulation network covering the region was first set up between 1936 and 1943. Twentyeigth existing points of the network were reoccupied by GPS receivers between 1995 and 2004. Coseismic displacements for the February 1, 1944 Gerede earthquake were obtained at the reoccupation points by removing interseismic deformation and coseismic displacements of recent earthquakes. Modelling the coseismic displacements in elastic half space resulted in a rupture surface slippage of 4.40 ± 0.11 m and 1.02 ± 0.17 m in dextral and normal dip-slip directions, respectively. The 191-km-long and 16-km-deep rupture surface strikes N76°E and dips at 85° ± 5° both to north and south. In the present study the estimated geodetic scalar moment and moment magnitudes are Mo= 4.02 x 1020 Nm and Mw= 7.74, respectively. The rupture surface was extended down dip to a depth of about 28 km, and a significant slip distribution was recovered. Based on both the geodetic and geological data, the recurrence intervals for great seismic events to be sourced from the Gerede fault zone were calculated as 232 ± 25 years and 266 ± 35 years, respectively.


In present situations different concepts about Islam are floating in the minds of the people. Some hold that the religion of Islam is a religion of wars and terrorism others label Islam with extremism. But in reality, Islam promotes neither terrorism nor encourages extremism. Islam preaches tolerance and moderation. Also it forbids killing/bloodshed without valid justification. Therefore this research paper is aimed at providing a clear and true picture picture of "Jihad" which is in consonance with sublime teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)


This article addressed the development goals for landscape ecological towns from reviewing the theory and practice of small towns planning, and then it introduced the cases of landscape small towns planning practice in recent years in Shanghai and the south Jiangsu region, as well as the cases planned by the author. The new town development pattern guided by the waterscape planning have been used in all these cases. Finally, the article summarized some important problems of landscape urban development. The perspective of waterscape-guided development of Shanghai and the south Jiangsu practices also provided important experience and enlightenment for the construction of small towns in other areas of China.


Fluoride (F) and aluminum (Al) are both ingested daily in water, foods, and pharmaceuticals. Owing to the strong chemical affinity between F and Al, these elements can interact in biological systems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of F ingestion on Al excretion in humans. Six healthy volunteers ingested 100 ml of distilled water at 6:00 a.m. on day 1 (control period) and the same volume of sodium fluoride solution containing 5 mg of F at 6:00 a.m. on day 2 (test period). A schedule for meals and for blood and urine collection was followed for the two successive days. The concentration of F was measured with an F-electrode, and Al was determined by ion-pair RP-HPLC with its complexation with 8-quinolinol. The mean concentration of serum F peaked within 30 minutes after ingestion of F and rapidly decreased thereafter, reaching baseline 24 hours later. In control period, there was no increase of Al concentration in serum in 24 hours. In test period, Al concentration in serum did not increase significantly compared with those in control serum. Although some variation was observed among subjects, cumulative amounts of F and Al excreted in urine during the test period were significantly higher than those during the control period. The results suggest that absorbed F enhanced urinary Al excretion and that the Al in urine may be, at least in part, derived from endogenous tissues.


Industry 4.0 is a concept that assists companies in developing a modern supply chain (MSC) system when they are faced with a dynamic process. Because Industry 4.0 focuses on mobility and real-time integration, it is a good framework for a dynamic vehicle routing problem (DVRP). This research works on DVRP. The aim of this research is to minimize transportation cost without exceeding the capacity constraint of each vehicle while serving customer demands from a common depot. Meanwhile, new orders arrive at a specific time into the system while the vehicles are executing the delivery of existing orders. This paper presents a two-stage hybrid algorithm for solving the DVRP. In the first stage, construction algorithms are applied to develop the initial route. In the second stage, improvement algorithms are applied. Experimental results were designed for different sizes of problems. Analysis results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.