Demonstrating the completeness of wave function solutions of the radial Schrodinger equation is a very difficult task. Existing proofs, relying on operator theory, are often very abstract and far from intuitive comprehension. However, it is possible to obtain rigorous proofs amenable to physical insight, if one restricts the considered class of Schrodinger potentials. One can mention, in particular, unbounded potentials yielding a purely discrete spectrum and short-range potentials. However, those possessing a Coulomb tail, very important for physical applications, have remained problematic due to their long-range character. The method proposed in this paper allows to treat them correctly, provided that the non-Coulomb part of potentials vanishes after a finite radius. Nonlocality of potentials can also be handled. The main idea in the proposed demonstration is that regular solutions behave like sine/cosine functions for large momenta, so that their expansions verify Fourier transform properties. The highly singular point at k=0 of long-range potentials is dealt with properly using analytical properties of Coulomb wave functions. Lebesgue measure theory is avoided, rendering the demonstration clear from a physical point of view.Demonstrating the completeness of wave function solutions of the radial Schrodinger equation is a very difficult task. Existing proofs, relying on operator theory, are often very abstract and far from intuitive comprehension. However, it is possible to obtain rigorous proofs amenable to physical insight, if one restricts the considered class of Schrodinger potentials. One can mention, in particular, unbounded potentials yielding a purely discrete spectrum and short-range potentials. However, those possessing a Coulomb tail, very important for physical applications, have remained problematic due to their long-range character. The method proposed in this paper allows to treat them correctly, provided that the non-Coulomb part of potentials vanishes after a finite radius. Nonlocality of potentials can also be handled. The main idea in the proposed demonstration is that regular solutions behave like sine/cosine functions for large momenta, so that their expansions verify Fourier transform properties. The high...


Wear particle-induced osteolysis is widely regarded as the leading long-term complication associated with total hip arthroplasty (THA) [1]. The need to reduce or eliminate UHMWPE debris has led to renewed interest in alternatives to the current metal-UHMWPE bearing couple, including a reevaluation of metal-on-metal designs. Previous analyses of both simulator-tested and retrieved metal-on-metal THA articulating components have shown that wear rates tend to decrease with a longer time in situ [2,3]. This phenomenon may result from an initial period of accelerated "run-in" wear, in which there is a partial removal of surface asperities and a correction of implant asphericity. This may lead to enhanced fluid film lubrication at the articulation interface and ultimately reduce long-term wear rates of the bearing components. The objectives of this study were to quantify the wear rates of a series of explanted Sivash metal-on-metal bearing components and to characterize changes in surface geometry configurations in order to better understand the running-in phenomenon associated with metal-on-metal bearing surfaces.


Lyme Borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete transmitted to man by a tick bite. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of tick bites for the diagnosis of Borreliosis in a sample of 266 subjects residing in an endemic area of north-eastern Italy. In the serological diagnosis of Borreliosis, positive and negative predictive values of tick bites were found to be 24% and 88% respectively.


The gravitational lensing effect is one of the most promising tools for cosmology. Indeed it probes directly the total mass distribution in large-scale structures and can as well provide valuable informations on the values of the density parameter Omega and the cosmological constant lambda. In this review we summarize the most spectacular observational and theoretical advances obtained in this field during the last five years.


Background: Antimicrobial resistant bacteria are considered a hazard not only for the treatment of animal diseases but also for public health. Commensal bacteria, such as Escherichia coli are considered a good indicator of antimicrobial resistance in the population, because it is a gut inhabitant and thus undergoes constant pressure of selection by the administration of antimicrobials. Regarding the public health, it is important to evaluate if resistant bacteria carried in the intestinal content of slaughter pigs can be found on the surface of pre chill carcasses. Therefore, the aims of this study were to evaluate the frequency of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli isolated from feces and pig carcasses; and to assess if multi-resistant isolates from both sources were phenotypically and genotypically related. Materials, Methods & Results: Two sampling cycles were conducted in three pig slaughterhouses (A, B and C). In each cycle, samples were collected form: i. feces deposited on the pen floor of the lairage; ii. surface of carcasses at the prechill step. Samples were submitted to a protocol of isolation and confirmation of Escherichia coli. Isolates were grouped according to the origin: feces (n = 355); carcasses (n = 319); and evaluated for antimicrobial resistance by agar diffusion test. Ninety two isolates presenting multidrug resistance profile were analyzed by pulsed-field gel eletrophoresis (PFGE). Among the 674 isolates of E. coli, 7.4% were susceptible to all tested antibiotics while 79.5% (536/674) were multi-resistant. The most frequent resistance patterns were displayed to tetracycline (Tet, 85.9%), ampicillin (Amp, 73.0%), sulfonamide (Sul, 70.0%), florfenicol (Flo, 65.0%) and nalidixic acid (Nal, 58.9%). The most frequent multi-resistance profile among isolates from both origins was [AmpFloNalSulTet]. Multiresistant isolates originated from feces and carcasses displaying genotypically related pulsotypes (≥70% similarity) were found in all three slaughterhouses. Discussion: In agreement with other studies, E. coli isolated from pig feces and carcasses demonstrated a high frequency of antimicrobial resistance and multi-resistance. The most frequent resistance profiles included antimicrobials frequently used on farm as well as drugs that have been banned as feed additives some years ago in Brazil. The selection of resistant strains may be related to the selection pressiondue to the use of antimicrobials in the pig production chain as well as the co-selection of resistance mediated by genes located in common genetic elements. Therefore, the ban of an individual drug is not always associated with the immediate disappearance of the resistance phenotype in the bacteria population. The fact that most multi-resistant E. coli isolates from carcasses belonged to pulsotypes related to those originated from feces samples indicates that resistant E. coli isolates selected on farm may be able to survive the slaughter process and be found on the carcass. In this case, the possibility of those strains being able to reach the population through the consumption of pork products may have to be considered. This hazard has motivated the ban of antimicrobial use in animals in some countries. However, the ban of antimicrobials use on farm is a controversial issue, due to the economical losses that may result from this measure. Therefore, the prudent use of antimicrobials on farm should be encouraged and its influence in the multi-resistance profile of the enteric microbiota should be further studied.


A fuzzy controller for the closed loop control, by insulin infusion of glycaemia in type 1 diabetic patients is proposed. The controller uses type-2 fuzzy sets. The controller was tested in simulation using a complex nonlinear model of the glucose metabolism. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness and the robustness of the type-2 fuzzy logic controller. The design of the controller uses an optimization method based on genetic algorithms. This makes the type-2 fuzzy controller more efficient and faster than a fuzzy controller with type-1 fuzzy sets, allowing a more accurate control of the glucose in the blood.


This paper proposes novel channel estimation methods for an iterative maximum a posteriori (MAP) receiver. The targeted systems are low-density parity-check (LDPC)-coded multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) mobile communications. By reconsidering the joint processing of the iterative MAP receiver from the viewpoint of the message-passing algorithm in the factor graph, this paper theoretically derives the recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm with smoothing and removing (SR-RLS). The computational complexity of SR-RLS is about two to three times larger than that of the original RLS algorithm. Computer simulations under fast multipath fading conditions show that the MAP receiver using the proposed SR-RLS channel estimator outperforms the one using the conventional RLS channel estimator.


The Sloan Digital Sky Survey science database is approaching 2TB. While the vast majority of queries normally execute in seconds or minutes, this interactive execution time can be disproportionately increased by a small fraction of queries that take hours or days to run; either because they require non-index scans of the largest tables or because they request very large result sets. In response to this, we added a multi-queue job submission and tracking system. The transfer of very large result sets from queries over the network is another serious problem. Statistics suggested that much of this data transfer is unnecessary; users would prefer to store results locally in order to allow further cross matching and filtering. To allow local analysis, we implemented a system that gives users their own personal database (MyDB) at the portal site. Users may transfer data to their MyDB, and then perform further analysis before extracting it to their own machine.
We intend to extend the MyDB and asynchronous query ideas to multiple NVO nodes. This implies development, in a distributed manner, of several features, which have been demonstrated for a single node in the SDSS Batch Query System (CasJobs). The generalization of asynchronous queries necessitates some form of MyDB storage as well as workflow tracking services on each node and coordination strategies among nodes.


Wilderness preservation is strongly supported by the American people (Cordell et al. 1998) and a substantial portion of the public domain has been allocated to wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 and more than 135 subsequent wilderness bills have created a National Wilderness Preservation System of 661 wilderness areas with a total acreage that exceeds 106 million acres. The proportion of the United States currently designated as wilderness is 4.5%. Designated wilderness constitutes more than 16% of lands owned by the federal government, 57% of National Park Service lands, 22% of Fish and Wildlife Service lands, 18% of Forest Service lands and 2% of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Moreover, wilderness acreage is likely to increase substantially in the future.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Despite the availability of tests to diagnose acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cases are still missed. Methods: We systematically reviewed the literature to determine how missed AMI has been defined, the reported rates of misdiagnosed AMI, the outcomes patients with misdiagnosed AMI have, what diagnosis was initially suspected in missed AMI cases, and what factors are associated with misdiagnosed AMI. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE in September 2020 for studies that evaluated missed AMI. Data were extracted from studies that met the inclusion criteria and the results were narratively synthesized. Results: A total of 15 studies were included in this review. The number of patients with missed AMI in individual studies ranged from 64 to 4707. There was no consistently used definition for misdiagnosed AMI, but most studies reported rates of approximately 1%–2%. Compared with AMI that was recognized, 1 study found no difference in mortality for misdiagnosed AMI at 30 days and 1 year. The common initial misdiagnoses that subsequently had AMI were ischemic heart disease, nonspecific chest pain, gastrointestinal disease, musculoskeletal pain, and arrhythmias. Reasons for missed AMI include incorrect electrocardiogram interpretation and failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests. Hospitals in rural areas and those with a low proportion of classical chest pain patients that turned out to have AMI were at greater risk of missed AMI. Conclusions: Misdiagnosed AMI is an unfortunate part of everyday clinical practice and better training in electrocardiogram interpretation, and education about atypical presentations of AMI may reduce the number of misdiagnosed AMIs.


The world-wide telecommunication deregulation and competition increases the demand for a better integrated service management environment which can integrate different management technology to manage different switched and transmission networks. CORBA as a general purpose distributed object management technology is gaining acceptance in the telecommunication industry. It has demonstrated its ability to support some important functions required in telecommunications network and service management. Java has also demonstrated its potential as a platform independent GUI environment for telecommunication network and service management. It can be used as a fast GUI development tool and its platform independent nature and easy integration with CORBA environment offers an ideal environment for deploy customer services. This paper discusses how CORBA and Java technology is used in developing a prototype ATM management system. This system has been demonstrated at the 1996 Network Management Forum general meeting in Barcelona. The emphasis of the demonstration was on the use of features and services provided by CORBA and the GUI implemented using Java. A simple video-on-demand service is built on top of the management platform. This paper reports our experience with building this prototype. Keywords—ATM, Network Management, Service Management, CORBA, Java Source of Publication—Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Distributed Systems: Operation and Management (DSOM 1997), Sydney, Australia, Oct. 1997, ISBN 1 86365 344 9.


This paper compares the parameter estimation accuracy of four adaptive algorithms for frequency estimation when applied to an IIR digital notch filter. All four algorithms were subjected to the same experimental conditions and the variance of parameter estimates are compared to the Cramer Rao Lower Bound. Results show that the RML yielded the most accurate parameter estimates although its computational burden is quite high. The AML produced good parameter estimates and it has the advantages of proven convergence properties as well as lower computational burden over the RML. For applications where the signal to noise ratio is moderate it is shown that the AGB algorithm may be suitable, particularly where minimal computational burden is desired.


Purpose Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common myocardial disease characterised with the dilatation of left or both ventricles and presents with a progressively impaired pump function associated with poor prognosis. Echocardiography plays an important role in both the diagnosis of DCM and the evaluation of dysfunction. Recent studies indicate that mitral and aortic annuli excursions (AE) in the longitudinal direction may reflect the left ventricular (LV) global shortening deformation and aortomitral angle (AMA) may affect annuli coupling. However, the evaluation of annular movement only limited to animal experiments or small population of healthy humans, little was known about the alteration of left annuli movement during the cardiac cycle in DCM patients. This article compares AE and AMA variation during the cardiac cycle using two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and hypothesizes there may be some physiological links between them, which may be functionally associated with the impaired systolic function. Methods 2D transthoracic echocardiography were performed in 53 DCM patients and 53 age matched healthy adults. Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics were collected. Aortic annulus AE, mitral annulus AE, maximal AMA, minimal AMA and the difference between them were measured by 2D- STE. Continuous data were compared between groups by using Student's unpaired t-test. Correlations between LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and AMA variation, AEs were tested using liner regression. Results The maximum AEs of each tracked point were larger and AMAs were differed significantly between DCM patients and healthy controls ( p < 0.001). Both AEs and AMAs were positively correlated with systolic function in DCM patients and healthy controls. Additionally, there were significant correlations between AMA variation and AE of posterior mitral annulus (r = 0.427, p = 0.001), AE of right aortic annulus (r = 0.464, p < 0.001) and AE of mid- aortic annulus (r = 0.313, p = 0.022) and AE of mid-mitral annulus (r = 0.346, P = 0.011) but not with AE of fibrous junction (r = 0.163, p = 0.244) in DCM patients.Also, the results showed AMA(max-min) had a good correlation with AE of right aortic annulus (r = 0.339, p = 0.013) in healthy controls. Conclusions AEs and AMAs differ significantly between DCM patients and healthy controls and AEs and AMA variation are correlated with decreased systolic function in DCM patients. Our findings support that the mitral and aortic annuli move as integral structure during cardiac cycle. This knowledge may be benefit to the treatment for DCM with severe mitral regurgitation and contribute to the LV ejection fraction evaluation in DCM patients. Keywords Speckle Tracking, Echocardiography, Annulus Excursion, Aortomitral Angle, Dilated Cardiomyopathy


INTRODUCTION
To reduce the risk of decompression sickness (DCS), current USAF U-2 operations require a 1-h preoxygenation (PreOx). An interruption of oxygen breathing with air breathing currently requires significant extension of the PreOx time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between air breaks during PreOx and subsequent DCS and venous gas emboli (VGE) incidence, and to determine safe air break limits for operational activities.

METHODS
Volunteers performed 30 min of PreOx, followed by either a 10-min, 20-min, or 60-min air break, then completed another 30 min of PreOx, and began a 4-h altitude chamber exposure to 9144 m (30,000 ft). Subjects were monitored for VGE using echocardiography. Altitude exposure was terminated if DCS symptoms developed. Control data (uninterrupted 60-min PreOx) to compare against air break data were taken from the AFRL DCS database.

RESULTS
At 1 h of altitude exposure, DCS rates were significantly higher in all three break in prebreathe (BiP) profiles compared to control (40%, 45%, and 47% vs. 24%). At 2 h, the 20-min and 60-min BiP DCS rates remained higher than control (70% and 69% vs. 52%), but no differences were found at 4 h. No differences in VGE rates were found between the BiP profiles and control.

DISCUSSION
Increased DCS risk in the BiP profiles is likely due to tissue renitrogenation during air breaks not totally compensated for by the remaining PreOx following the air breaks. Air breaks of 10 min or more occurring in the middle of 1 h of PreOx may significantly increase DCS risk during the first 2 h of exposure to 9144 m when compared to uninterrupted PreOx exposures.


Risks of falls among older adults are multifactorial in nature. A combined training program might be beneficial on fall-related outcomes. This study aimed to explore the effects of group-based physical-cognitive trainings on physical and psychological outcomes among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and balance impairment. Fall incidence were also determined. Thirty-seven older adults with T2DM and balance impairment were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The intervention program comprised of 24 training sessions of 45–60 min exercise for 8 weeks. The exercise consisted of warm-up, aerobic exercise by nine square stepping, resistance exercise combined with cognitive training and cool down. All participants were assessed at baseline, 4 and 8 weeks after intervention, and 1-year follow-up. Both groups reported similar rates of falls. Global cognition, depressive symptoms, and fear of falling did not differ between groups at any time. The Timed Up & Go (TUG) test, alternate stepping test (AST), knee extensors, ankle plantarflexors, and dorsiflexors strength differed at 4 weeks. TUG, AST, hip abductors, knee flexors, ankle plantarflexors, and dorsiflexors strength differed at 8 weeks. The activity of daily living (ADL), TUG test (P=0.002) and AST, hip extensors and abductors, knee extensors and flexors, ankle plantarflexors and dorsiflexors were different at 1-year follow-up. The group-based physical-cognitive training could benefit older adults with T2DM in terms of maintaining ADL. The intervention could reduce fall risk factors by improving balance and lower limb muscle strength among older adults with T2DM and balance impairment.


A 28-species reduced chemistry mechanism for Dimethyl Ether (DME) combustion is developed on the basis of a recent detailed mechanism by Zhao et al. (2008). The construction of reduced chemistry was carried out with automatic algorithms incorporating newly developed strategies. The performance of the reduced mechanism is assessed over a wide range of combustion conditions anticipated to occur in future advanced piston internal combustion engines, such as HCCI, SAHCCI, and PCCI. Overall, the reduced chemistry gives results in good agreement with those from the detailed mechanism for all the combustion modes tested. While the detailed mechanism by Zhao et al. (2008) shows reasonable agreement with the shock tube autoignition delay data, the detailed mechanism requires further improvement in order to better predict HCCI combustion under engine conditions.


Over the past three years there has been a rapid increase in discussions across the different levels of Australia's governments about the role that hydrogen might play in helping the world transition to a low carbon future. While those working in the energy industry are aware of the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead, the general public is less engaged. However, we know from the introduction of previous technologies that public attitudes towards technologies, including whether they view them to be safe, can severely impact overall acceptance. Understanding how the public perceives hydrogen, both for domestic and export use and the potential benefits it brings to Australia is critical for the industry to progress. In this paper we present the initial findings of a national survey of the Australian public conducted in March 2021, which builds on the results of a previous survey conducted in 2018. The 2021 respondents were drawn from all Australian states and territories ( n =3,020), and quotas were used to ensure adequate representation of age groups and gender. Overall, the respondents have favorable views about using hydrogen for energy in Australia, with caveats about production-related environmental impacts and issues such as safety. While there has been a slight increase in support for hydrogen as a possible solution for energy and environmental challenges since the 2018 survey, the effect size is very small. This suggests that while hydrogen discussions have increased at a policy level, little has been done to improve public understanding of hydrogen in the last 3 years. Evidence-based public communication strategies will be needed as the Australian hydrogen industry continues to develop and gain more widespread media attention.


We have presented two interesting cases that demonstrate the use of multimodal imaging in refractive surgery cases. The first case demonstrates a simple capsular contraction causing immense problems of light spread in an otherwise normal trifocal implanted patient. The second is a case of a hidden and problematic refractive surgery that again complicated a trifocal lens surgery. We have made many advancements in understanding the eyes optical elements and must use this to our advantage to help our patients.


This study was aimed to investigate the correlation of thrombosis with increased platelet turnover in essential thrombocythemia. According to presence or absence of thrombosis, 26 patients with ET were divided into two groups. Reticulated platelets (RP) were measured by flow cytometry and 26 healthy volunteers were selected as healthy controls. The ET patients with thrombosis were treated with hydroxyurea and interferon-alpha. The results demonstrated that the ET patients with thrombotic events had a significantly higher RP percentage (14.8% +/- 7.2%) than that in both asymptomatic ET patients (4.5% +/- 2.3%) and normal control (3.3% +/- 1.5%), (P < 0.05); the RP percentage in asymptomatic ET patients did not differ significantly from controls. ET patients with thrombosis also had a significantly higher absolute RP (ARP) count than those in ET patients without thrombosis [(176 +/- 37) x 10(9)/L vs (46 +/- 12) x 10(9)/L]. The ET patients with thrombosis were successfully treated with hydroxyurea plus INF-alpha, the RP percentage and ARP counts obviously reduced. In conclusion, when the ET patients had thrombotic events, those patients had a significantly higher RP percentage and ARP compared with patients without thrombosis and healthy controls. The ET patients with thrombosis were successfully treated with hydroxyurea plus INF-alpha.


A simple configuration to perform wavelength switching in an actively mode-locked fiber ring laser is demonstrated. A Fabry-Perot laser diode was used as a modulator and a HiBi fiber loop mirror was used as a periodic multichannel wavelength filter in the cavity. By setting the channel spacing of nm can be achieved by tuning the fiber loop mirror filter. In the wavelength-switched process, the modulation frequency was not required to be changed.


The atmospheric constituents generated by the activities of an urban area may affect UV radiation reaching the ground. In this study, two areas were chosen in Baghdad city (Zafaraniyah and Abu Ghraib). Parameters of the pollutants data (Total column NO2 and Total column CO) and UV radiation for specific bands were collected and analyzed for the period of three years (2017-2019) were taken hourly from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for each parameter through the years. The results show that the concentrations of pollutants in Zafaraniyah higher than Abu Ghraib throughout the year, Where total column NO2 reaching to about 9.6 * 10-5 kg m-2 in 2019 for Zafaraniyah and 8.48 * 10-5 kg m-2 for Abu Ghraib. While total column CO reaching to about 45 * 10-4 kg m-2 in 2019 for Zafaraniyah and 43 * 10-4 kg m-2 for Abu Ghraib in the same year. While the values of UV radiation in Abu Ghraib higher value 487.3W/m2 than 443.7 W/m2 Zafaraniyah throughout the year.


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographical characteristics of non-syndromic hypodontia and hyperdontia in the permanent dentition. Study design: This study included 139 patients. Clinical and radiographical examinations were carried out by two examiners. Number and localization of missing or supernumerary teeth, and pathologies associated with the teeth, were recorded. Other teeth in the mouth were also examined for the presence of additional dental anomalies. Results: A total of 256 congenitally missing teeth were observed in 102 patients, and 73 supernumerary teeth were observed in 37 patients. The rate of missing teeth was much higher in females (67.6 %) than males (32.4 %) and in the maxilla (64.5 %) than mandible (35.5 %). The rate of supernumerary teeth was slightly higher in males (59.5 %) than females (40.5 %) and in maxilla (53.4 %) than mandible (46.6 %). The most common hypodontia type was mild to moderate hypodontia (62.7 %) and the most observed hyperdontia was a single supernumerary tooth (54.1 %). Microdontia, talon cusp, taurodontic molars were observed in 18.6 % of patients with hypodontia; and microdontia and dilacerated molars were observed in 8.1 % of patients with hyperdontia. Conclusions: Although missing and supernumerary teeth are asymptomatic in most cases, they may lead to malocclusions, aesthetic, functional and psychological problems.


We intend to think, together with Barthes, semiology as a "diaphorologie", the science of shades, from the horizon opened by the Barthesian neuter. It is an experience that questions us in its contemporaneity and necessity. With this aim we approach the experience of the neuter by means of its figures, that we also understand as experiences: non-arrogance, delicacy, shade among others. Barthes distinguishes arrogance from the neuter, and from the neuter he thinks the place of human sciences and specifically semiology as the science of shades. The neuter would be an experience of the non-arrogance. We also recover Roberto Esposito's unavoidable reading about the neuter which points out that "it is also the task of philosophy to think neutral", these words could be expanded to include all social and human sciences in general, and semiology in particular.


Pipelines are extensively used engineering structures for conveying of fluid from one place to another. Most of the time, pipelines are placed underground, surcharged by soil weight and traffic loads. Corrosion of pipe material is the most common form of pipeline deterioration and should be considered in both the strength and serviceability analysis of pipes. The study in this research focuses on two different types of buried pipes including concrete pipes in sewage systems (concrete sewers) and cast iron water pipes used in water distribution systems. This research firstly investigates how to involve the effect of corrosion as a time dependent process of deterioration in the structural and failure analysis of these two types of pipes. Then two probabilistic time dependent reliability analysis methods including first passage probability theory and the gamma distributed degradation model are developed and applied for service life prediction of the pipes. The obtained results are verified by using Monte Carlo simulation technique. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to identify the most important parameters that affect pipe failure.

For each type of the pipelines both individual failure mode and multi failure mode assessment are considered. The factors that affect and control the process of deterioration and their effects on the remaining service life are studied in a quantitative manner. The reliability analysis methods which have been developed in this research, contribute as rational tools for decision makers with regard to strengthening and rehabilitation of existing pipelines. The results can be used to obtain a cost-effective strategy for the management of the pipeline system.

The output of this research is a methodology that will help infrastructure managers and design professionals to predict service life of pipeline systems and to optimize materials selection and design parameters for designing pipelines with longer service life.


This paper describes the disposal criticality analysis for canisters containing highly enriched uranium (HEU) in the form of aluminum-based Department of Energy spent nuclear fuel (DOE-SNF). The analysis is based on Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) U-Al fuel with 93.5% enriched uranium which has a relatively heavy linear uranium loading. A canister design with 64 MIT assemblies (16/layer, 4 layers) totaling 35.2 kg of uranium was developed for this fuel type. A radial cross-sectional view of the MIT SNF canister is shown in a figure. Gadolinium phosphate (GdPO{sub 4}) distributed on, or in, carbon steel plates was incorporated into a carbon steel internal basket structure within a 439 mm OD, 15 mm thick XM-19 canister shell. The DOE-SNF canister is placed in a Codisposal waste package (CWP) centered in a pentagonal array of five HLW canisters. The disposal criticality analysis methodology was applied to develop the following scenarios unique to the CWP in general, and to the Al-based fuel in particular: (1) aqueous corrosion of stainless steel HLW and fuel containers; (2) degradation of HLW glass to clay; (3) degradation of Al-based fuel concurrent with or after the HLW glass; and (4) degradation of fuel canister basket materials including criticality control material, coupled with flushing soluble compounds from the CWP. The EQ3/6 program was used to analyze the chemistry/geochemistry of the system. Parametric analyses were run on a range of possible distributions of fuel within the CWP using MCNP to identify the most reactive configurations and determine the minimum amount of neutron absorber required to be distributed with the fuel in its degraded configuration.


The Indian Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on 1 April 2013 dismissed the plea of Novartis AG for grant of patent for the beta crystalline form of Imatinib mesylate. The Court did not find the product to have satisfied the relevant provisions of patentability laid down in the Indian Patents Act. Patents for pharmaceutical products have always triggered intense debate in India and other developing countries. The Indian Patent laws are fully compliant with the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). This article through the lens of the Court verdict analyses whether there was any real enhancement in therapeutic efficacy of the product as claimed by Novartis and whether Novartis resorted to evergreening. The article dwells on the possible implications of the judgment on investments in India; and innovations in research and development in the pharmaceutical sector. The article further observes that the Court has, while upholding the public health agenda of the state, judiciously interpreted the statutory provisions governing the grant of intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical products in India, in the patient versus patent debate.


The famous painter Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) suffered during his life one or several diseases, the nature of which has not been determined with certainty. The partially documented morbid episodes that happened during the years 1792-1793 in Seville and Cadiz, 1819 in Madrid, and 1825 in Bordeaux could be related. In the latter one, the urological signs and symptoms the distinguished patient presented have been demonstrated. The objective of this paper is to propose the hypothesis of neurosyphilis' dorsal tabes responsible for the voiding disorders he presented in Bordeaux in the spring of 1825, having as a resource Goya's "diplomatario", with the letters and documents that have been collected and made known to date, with the purpose of using an inductive-deductive method for their study and interpretation, setting an interrelation between these valuable sources with both the medical knowledge of the period and the current, particularly in urological features, and reviewing the available bibliography on that topic, with the natural reserve about giving a retrospective diagnosis which cannot be completely true due to its inherent characteristics. In the same way, and as a complement, we include a brief review of some circumstances and characters that surrounded the artist in France to help to incardinate and better understand the personality of Goya, already old and sick at that time.


The value of non-parallel-transmission zoom-diffusion weighted imaging (non-PTX zoom-DWI) compared with conventional DWI in the diagnosis of bladder cancer muscular invasion is investigated. Results show that non-PTX zoom-DWI improves sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy. Additionally, it has good diagnostic consistency across different readers, and shows better display of bladder than conventional DWI sequence. Non-PTX zoom-DWI may be superior to conventional DWI in predicting the muscular invasion in bladder cancer.


A method, system, and computer program product for simultaneous multi-channel upload of a file to one or more servers while ensuring data integrity. A validation scheme employs hashes to allow segments of the data file to be separately validated. Thus, if the upload process is interrupted or otherwise corrupted, segments of previously transferred data which have been transferred correctly may be validated, eliminating the need for re-transmission of that correctly transferred data. Preferably, a grid broker may be incorporated, allowing simultaneous multi-channel upload of data in a grid computing environment.


The paper reports the effects of lanthanum and aluminum ions, on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of NiFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles. The precursors have been synthesized via a hydrothermal route in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) using urea as a reducing agent and fuel for maintaining the uniform morphology and equal particle size distribution. In order to find out the optimum temperature (1023 K) for the formation of the spinel phase of the doped nickel ferrite, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for the un-annealed samples was performed. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that NiFe2−2xAlxLaxO4 have been well crystallized to spinel ferrite crystal structure with the Fd3m space group. The average crystallite size obtained is in the range of 9–19 nm, a size useful for attaining a suitable signal-to-noise ratio in high-density recording media and in electrical devices. In order to render the synthesized samples for diminishing eddy current losses, we were able to enhance the room temperature resistivity through proper selection of dopant used. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss decreased with applied frequency for all the samples showing normal behavior of ferrites. The calculated magnetic parameters such as saturation magnetization (Ms), remanence (Mr) and coercivity (Hc), showed increased values for some Al–La doped samples.


The measurement of the velocity and power flow angle of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) using a scanning laser acoustic microscope is described. Data obtained from a single scan by the microscope and from a single direction of insonification are Fourier transformed from the spatial domain into the spatial frequency domain. The incident cw surface waves scatter from the sides of the sample into all possible wave vectors. Thus, the Fourier transform in the spatial frequency domain is the inverse velocity or slowness curve for surface waves propagating on the material. From this curve, the phase velocity, group velocity, and power flow angle versus propagation direction can be obtained. Experimental results for YZ lithium niobate, ST quartz, and (111) silicon are in good agreement with theoretical calculations.


Recently, Reinforcement Learning (RL) has been actively researched in both academic and industrial fields. However, there exist only a few RL frameworks which are developed for researchers or students who want to study RL. In response, we propose an open-source RL framework "Join Our Reinforcement Learning framework for Developing Yours" (JORLDY). JORLDY provides more than 20 widely used RL algorithms which are implemented with Pytorch. Also, JORLDY supports multiple RL environments which include OpenAI gym, Unity ML-Agents, Mujoco, Super Mario Bros and Procgen. Moreover, the algorithmic components such as agent, network, environment can be freely customized, so that the users can easily modify and append algorithmic components. We expect that JORLDY will support various RL research and contribute further advance the field of RL. The source code of JORLDY is provided on the following Github: https://github.com/ kakaoenterprise/JORLDY


Under the assumption that in the generalized linear model (GLM) the expectation of the response variable has a correct specification and some other smooth conditions, it is shown that with probability one the quasi-likelihood equation for the GLM has a solution when the sample size n is sufficiently large. The rate of this solution tending to the true value is determined. In an important special case, this rate is the same as specified in the LIL for iid partial sums and thus cannot be improved anymore.


Flow cytometry has been used to analyze cell populations with a certain condition, but because of the limitations of a single flow cytometry experiment, results only present a small portion of cell populations. Meta-analysis has been used to compare and contrast multiple datasets in hopes of discovering new insights. Scientists can then identify more cell populations linked to the condition. Therefore, we are developing a method to standardize and analyze multiple flow cytometry datasets.


Scientific Research is carried out through various scientific studies based on the observation of specific populations. This form of research is known as epidemiology and has been used for centuries mainly in the field of public health. In close connection with the science and research, there is rehabilitation which represents a constantly evolving discipline. By its very nature is not able to demonstrate nor produce undisputed absolute truths, rather it checks consistently and as best as possible hypotheses on the different aspects of the given method and when necessary he questions himself by rewiewing theories in the light of the new data and observations. The Professional, therefore, with the insertion of Scientific knowledge in his own clinical practice ,is called to ask himself a clinical question and to search for answers through a critical analysis on the use of such evidence. The main purpose of the work was to investigate the relationship between rehabilitation professionals and Scientific Research by identifying positive and
negative factors and possible solutions to the findings. The methods of data collection has allowed a high adhesion by the rehabilitation professionals of the Campania Region. The data collected allowed to identify a profile of the professionals claiming to have conducted a postgraduate research study. Furthermore It was possible to identify the perceived and critical issues in daily practice such as lack of incentives and poortraining on how Scientific Research.


This article examines Ismene's nightmare in book 8 of Statius's Thebaid by contextualizing it within the epic's narrative, comparing it with the dream narrations of other female characters in epic poetry, and aligning it with other typically female modes of subjective expression in epic, such as weaving, teichoscopy, and lamentation. My analysis shows that by exposing the difficulties inherent in retelling a dream, Statius demonstrates sympathy with the female perspective on the horrific war that constitutes the central action of his poem and foreshadows the subsequent inadequacy of words in reaction to such horror.


To study the impact of fluoropyrimidine (FP)- therapy on the acetylation level of histones (H3 and H4), and its correlation to treatment outcome in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Total histone protein was extracted, and the level of global histones (H3 and H4) acetylation was determined in the peripheral blood of 66 CRC patients before treatment with FP therapy, and also in 48 and 32 of those patients after 3 and 6 months of treatment, respectively. Clinicopathological stratification of patients was conducted for subgroup analysis. After three years of follow up, event-free survival (EFS) and the hazard of recurrence and progression were determined by Kaplan –Meier and COX regression analyses, respectively. Baseline CRC patients showed global H3 hyperacetylation by 160%, but H4 hypoacetylation by 87% relative to healthy control. FP therapy significantly reduced global H3 and H4 acetylation levels especially in subgroups of CRC patients > 45 years, females, with right colon tumours, with normal baseline levels of CEA and CA19.9, with negative lymph nodes and negative metastasis, and also in the patients who showed no signs of recurrence or progression after three years of follow up. Survival analyses showed decreased median EFS time and increased the hazard of recurrence and progression in patients with high CEA (HR= 3.38, P= 0.023), positive metastasis (HR= 1.16, P<0.001), and H4 hypoacetylation <87% (HR= 1.55, P=0.014). FP therapy-induced reduction in the global level of histones acetylation declared in subgroups of CRC patients with excellent prognostic features.


In recent years the EU has been witnessing a growing tension between the logic of 'closure', which underpins national welfare systems, and the logic of 'opening', which guides the integration process, especially in the economic sphere. Are there ways of mitigating such tension, in order to avoid negative consequences in terms of performance and legitimacy? The article outlines a strategy of institutional reconciliation between the two logics, based on a more explicit and effective 'nesting' of the nation-based welfare state within the overall spatial architecture of the Union. While recognizing the important role played by free movement and competition rules, this nesting strategy entails the strengthening of an EU 'social space', capable of safeguarding the closure preconditions for multi-level social sharing arrangements. Copyright (c) 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


Many Artificial Intelligence tasks need large amounts of commonsense knowledge. Because obtaining this knowledge through machine learning would require a huge amount of data, a better alternative is to elicit it from people through human computation. We consider the sentiment classification task, where knowledge about the contexts that impact word polarities is crucial, but hard to acquire from data. We describe a novel task design that allows us to crowdsource this knowledge through Amazon Mechanical Turk with high quality. We show that the commonsense knowledge acquired in this way dramatically improves the performance of established sentiment classification methods.


We have developed a novel, Internet-based approach to increase the productivity of multi-disciplinary, distributed engineering teams that use today's commercial vendors' best-of-class development tools in order to develop innovative computing-enabled devices under strong time-to-market and cost pressures. This approach is a combination of methodology and commercial, Internet-based software technology that interacts with and integrates with today's users' best-of-class commercial tools in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary environment. We believe this approach elegantly sidesteps the technical and economic obstacles described above. We call this approach Zero-latency Engineering/sup TM/, where "latency" refers to unnecessary, time consuming and high-risk problems.


In P. aeruginosa, biofilm dispersion has been well-characterized with respect to dispersion cue perception, matrix degradation, and the consequences of dispersion. While the intracellular signaling molecule c-di-GMP has been linked to many of the phenotypic changes ascribed to dispersion, including the modulation of motility and matrix production, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms leading to matrix degradation and cells actively leaving the biofilm. ABSTRACT Dispersion is an active process exhibited by Pseudomonas aeruginosa during the late stages of biofilm development or in response to various cues, including nitric oxide and glutamate. Upon cue sensing, biofilm cells employ enzymes that actively degrade the extracellular matrix, thereby allowing individual cells to become liberated. While the mechanism by which P. aeruginosa senses and relays dispersion cues has been characterized, little is known about how dispersion cue sensing mechanisms result in matrix degradation. Considering that the alginate and motility regulator AmrZ has been reported to regulate genes that play a role in dispersion, including those affecting virulence, c-di-GMP levels, Pel and Psl abundance, and motility, we asked whether AmrZ contributes to the regulation of dispersion. amrZ was found to be significantly increased in transcript abundance under dispersion-inducing conditions, with the inactivation of amrZ impairing dispersion by P. aeruginosa biofilms in response to glutamate and nitric oxide. While the overexpression of genes encoding matrix-degrading enzymes pelA, pslG, and/or endA resulted in the dispersion of wild-type biofilms, similar conditions failed to disperse biofilms formed by dtamrZ. Likewise, the inactivation of amrZ abrogated the hyperdispersive phenotype of PAO1/pJN-bdlA_G31A biofilms, with dtamrZ-impaired dispersion being independent of the expression, production, and activation of BdlA. Instead, dispersion was found to require the AmrZ-target genes napB and PA1891. Our findings indicate that AmrZ is essential for the regulation of dispersion by P. aeruginosa biofilms, functions downstream of BdlA postdispersion cue sensing, and regulates the expression of genes contributing to biofilm matrix degradation as well as napB and PA1891. IMPORTANCE In P. aeruginosa, biofilm dispersion has been well-characterized with respect to dispersion cue perception, matrix degradation, and the consequences of dispersion. While the intracellular signaling molecule c-di-GMP has been linked to many of the phenotypic changes ascribed to dispersion, including the modulation of motility and matrix production, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms leading to matrix degradation and cells actively leaving the biofilm. In this study, we report for the first time an essential role of the transcriptional regulator AmrZ and two AmrZ-dependent genes, napB, and PA1891, in the dispersion response, thereby linking dispersion cue sensing via BdlA to the regulation of matrix degradation and to the ultimate liberation of bacterial cells from the biofilm.


Various cationic nanobiomaterials have been widely used as gene delivery nanosystems (GDNSs) in vitro and in vivo. Various cellular machineries are involved in trafficking of GDNSs, whose surface functional moieties and architectural properties confer great potential to interact with cell membranes and subcellular biomolecules. It appears such intrinsic inadvertent biological functionalities may impact the outcome of the biomedical applications of these nanobiomaterials. Various advanced materials used as GDNSs may display selective phenotypic effects in target cells/tissues as a result of initiation of various signaling pathways perhaps due to its cellular interactions with plasma cell membranes and/or intracellular compartments including genetic materials. Thus, better understanding about cellular/molecular impacts of GDNSs may maximize their clinical outcomes and accordingly minimize their inevitable undesired consequences. The main focus of this review is based on the cellular trafficking and interactions of cationic gene delivery nanobiomaterials with target cells or subcellular compartments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5951.2011.01.01.12


The engineering cost estimation during the early stage of the project is not only the basis of feasibility study in the investment management of construction project, but is also the vital factor for the estimate of the bidding. What's more, its accuracy directly erects influences on the decision of investment and construction cost control for the project. By collecting and clearing up the materials of the completed construction projects, this essay applies the BP neural network in the cost estimation of college engineering, defines the proper value which will influence the engineering cost and then builds up the model of neural network. For the purpose of realizing the model, it also applies the MATLAB in order to train, simulate and test the model. Furthermore, it uses the project case to test the model, the result of which proves that this kind of model is on the one hand of great generalization ability, but it can also precisely estimate the engineering cost.


This article proposes a fault location algorithm for double-circuit transmission lines compensated by a generalized unified power flow controller (GUPFC) in the phasor analysis domain. The suggested algorithm is able to locate the fault point in three stages at each circuit of a double-circuit line equipped with a GUPFC between two terminals. The first stage determines the faulty section with respect to the location of the GUPFC using the positive sequence voltages of two terminals of the line. In the second stage, the faulty circuit among the circuits of the double-circuit line is identified through analysis of sequence components of the line currents at the terminals. After determining the faulty section and faulty circuit of the line, the fault location is calculated at the third stage with high accuracy based on the analysis of synchronous current and voltage phasors that rule the circuitry equations in the GUPFC compensated double-circuit transmission line. Finally, the equations required for determining the fault location for 11 types of faults in these lines are presented based on the distributed parameter model of the line in sequence components considering the coupling between the two lines. The considered GUPFC, based on the detailed model method, is modeled along with the test network in MATLAB/Simulink. Moreover, the presented algorithm is programmed in MATLAB software for evaluation and test. The obtained simulation results verify the accurate performance of the presented algorithm under different fault conditions.


The main goal of this thesis is to design and analyze a security protocol for a vulnerable SSO system developed earlier by NISLAB in a previous master thesis and to investigate whether the protocol could enhance the security of the prototype without affecting its usability. During the protocol design, a substantial part of the work was dedicated to selecting the best cryptographic algorithms that can be implemented in the prototype in order to secure the communication between the mobile phone and the microchip devices. Due to the limited processing power of these devices, the choices of potential cryptographic algorithms for implementation were limited. Most of the algorithms studied in this thesis to secure the prototype, were either subject to some minor changes or used in their weakest form. The limited processing power and memory storage of the microchip device meant that the design of the protocol had to be tuned several times to make it compatible with the hardware's available power of the microchip without affecting neither the usability nor the performance of the SSO prototype. The protocol developed during this thesis for securing the prototype offers a good level of security given the nature of the tasks that the SSO prototype is expected to perform. More security could only be achieved by using more powerful microchip devices. The work on this thesis resulted in enhancing the security of the SSO prototype by finding some theoretical as well as practical solutions to its major security problems.


A GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) release-inhibiting agent in the cerebellum and a composition for treating pathological symptoms caused by over-release of GABA in the cerebellum, each comprising a Bestrophin 1(Best1) channel inhibitor as an active ingredient; a GABA release-promoting agent in the cerebellum and a composition for treating pathological symptoms caused by the deficit of GABA in the cerebellum, each comprising a Best1 channel activator as an active ingredient; and a method for screening a GABA release-regulating agent in the cerebellum, which uses Best1 channel as target, are provided.


This paper presents an automatic impedance-matching algorithm that can sequentially realize a simultaneous conjugate-matching state for all the elements in an N-element array antenna. The analytical results show that the converged solution obtained from the proposed algorithm agrees well with the solution calculated by the analytical deterministic equation, confirming the validity of the proposed method. The method can be applied to MRC and MIMO array antennas.


As the symposium in this issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law makes clear, there remains a great deal of controversy and uncertainty surrounding the treatment of scientific evidence by the courts. Many of the issues are not new: they began to be identified in the legal literature in the mid-1980s (Brennan and Carter 1985). The fifteen years of struggle by courts and legal commentators have not, however, resolved the problems that occur when judges are faced with complex questions of scientific fact. To use a medical metaphor, we have been struggling to make a diagnosis—to clearly articulate the nature of these problems, with a view to proposing therapeutic reforms. A key assumption underlying these diagnostic efforts seems to be that the gulf between law and science as disciplines is so vast that it can never fully be bridged. This is a central argument of the crisp article by John M. Eisenberg, the administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Eisenberg identifies a series of differences between law and medicine and concludes that given these differences in institutional views, judges' problems with medical and scientific issues are not only understandable but inevitable. One could, we think, respectfully take issue with some of the dichotomies Eisenberg sets forth, and we do so below. At the same time, however, we recognize that these concerns about the institutional competence of courts to make medical and technical judgments are, to judges, very real. Permeating the legal decision making in matters related to health


Ni-rich cathode materials suffer from poor capacity retention due to micro-cracking and interfacial reactivity with electrolyte. Addition of tungsten (W) to some Ni-rich materials can improve capacity retention. Here, a WO3 surface coating is applied on Ni-rich hydroxide precursors before heating with lithium hydroxide. After heating in oxygen, Ni-rich materials with any of the commonly used dopants (magnesium, aluminum, manganese, etc.) show a "universal" improvement in capacity retention. Experimental characterization and theoretical modelling showed W was concentrated in the grain boundaries between the primary particles of secondary particles of the layered oxides, and W is incorporated in amorphous LixWyOz phases rather than as a substituent in the LiNiO2 lattice. This self-infusion of W in the grain boundaries during synthesis also significantly restricts primary crystallite grain growth. Along with smaller primary grain size, the LixWyOz phases in the grain boundaries lead to improved resistance to microcracking and reduced surface or interfacial reactivity. Improving the intrinsic properties of primary grains through doping of Mg, Al or Mn and reinforcing the secondary particle structure mechanically and chemically using W or a similar element, M, that forms LixMOy phases and does not substitute into LiNiO2 is a universal strategy to improve polycrystalline Ni-rich materials.


The Red Tea Detox Review

 If you want to skip the rest of this review, visit the website for Red Tea Detox here.

The Red Tea Detox might seem like a tasty tea but you'll quickly realize that it's so much more than that. In fact, this weight loss program is the most comprehensive system I've ever seen. It covers absolutely every element of your health – from your mental health to your emotional wellbeing, weight loss and fitness, diet and lifestyle, and so much more. And it's all put together in a fun, entertaining and easy-to-read system called, you guessed it, The Red Tea Detox. So, if you're ready to tackle your 2018 New Year's Resolutions, I think you just found your cup of tea. Pun intended!
 WHAT IS THE RED TEA DETOX PROGRAM ABOUT?
This unique weight loss system comes straight to you from ancient African times. It's highly focused on a remedy tea that boosts your metabolism and melts away fat. However, The Red Tea Detox program is much more than just a cup of tea. In addition to the recipe, you're provided with an abundance of information that teaches you exactly what to do to maximize your results. It's like every chapter holds your hand and walks you through each step, supporting you the entire way – something I've never seen from a weight loss program before. Since the mind-blowing Red Tea Detox system covers absolutely every aspect of your life, the creator has broken it down into three major components to make it easy and fun to read. This also makes it easy to refer back to any information as needed. The components are: Diet Exercise Willpower, Motivation and MindsetNow, at first glance, it seems like three topics but as soon as you access The Red Tea Detox program (which you can do immediately after purchase since it's an online program), you'll quickly see that you're mistaken. The three components have an incredibly long list of topics within each, which I will show you in just a moment. More importantly, each component comes with a significant number of tips, tricks, tools, exercises, instructions and information to help you succeed. It might seem like a lot, but it's laid out so perfectly that you'll get lost in the pages. Reading a weight loss program has never been so much fun. That's also not to mention that you receive a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee when you purchase this system. Considering you can lose between 5 to 20 pounds in as little as 14 days, that's more than enough time to see what The Red Tea Detox can do for you.
 WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE RED TEA DETOX PROGRAM?
Liz Miller is a naturopath, professional weight loss expert and best-selling author on Amazon. She is highly renowned within the health and fitness industry for her unique approach to helping men and women across the globe achieve their goals. She steers away from tasteless diet plans and exhausting fitness regimes, and focuses on the stuff that works – the natural remedies and methods from the past.
 OVERVIEW OF THE RED TEA DETOX PROGRAM
To give you a better understanding of just how valuable this revolutionary system is, I've decided to show you what topics are covered in each chapter. Prepare to be amazed.
 Chapter 1: Toxins and You

Where are toxins found?Toxins in foodToxins in waterToxins in airToxins in soilToxins in synthetic materialsToxins in self-care productsFat and toxins: a deadly connection
 Chapter 2: Why Detox with Red Tea?
Understanding the body's detoxification systemHow red tea supports detox6 awesome reasons that make the detox so powerful
 Chapter 3: Rapid Detox and Weight Loss: Not Impossible
What can I achieve during the detox?
 Chapter 4: Debunking the Diet Industry: The Real Truth about Detoxification and Weight Loss
How fat happensThere are a few points I'd like to clarifyFat loss the tea way
 Chapter 5: Introducing the Recipe
Start with the detox fast to maximize the power of fastingThe formulaHow to make the tea for detox and beyondMore ways to enjoy the redTips and tricksMeditation: a tool for taking your detox to the next level
 Chapter 6: Understanding Nutrients: What your Body Does and Doesn't Need
Back to the basics with the big three: protein, fat and carbohydratesProteinProtein supplements: your ally for rapid weight lossFat: eat a little, burn a lotEssential fatty acidsCarbs: simple vs. complexFiber: get the right amountFruits and vegetables: The miracle fiberWater: Why you must drink enough
 Chapter 7: Metabolism: It's Easier Than You Think
What affects metabolism?
 Chapter 8: Follow These Rules to Burn Fat Faster
Rule #1: When you create a calorie deficient, you automatically burn fat and lose weightRule #2: Burning fat is east when you learn to mobilizeRule #3: You're the box of your own metabolismRule #4: Keep your catecholamine level high and your insulin level low
 Chapter 9: Easier than it Sounds: How to Increase Catecholamine Levels and Lower Insulin
Reducing the calories the right wayShort-term fastingWhy cut carbs?Fasting doesn't equal starvationExerciseCombining exercise with a low carb dietWhat to do about stubborn body fatFat burning supplements
 Chapter 10: Faster, Easier Fat Burning
How to use short term fastingGoing low carbAbout fatPhase 1Vegetables to eatVegetable preparation methodsProtein to eatSupplementsPhase 2Phase 3Research providing the effectiveness of a fat fastSaturating fat benefitsMonounsaturated fat benefitsPolyunsaturated fatTrans fatPhase 4Determining your BMRCreating a calorie deficitbest detox tea for weight loss reviews
 Chapter 11: Continuing Weight Loss and Keeping on Track after the Detox
Add super greens and shakes to keep weight loss going strongKeep working outFollow the 3-pound rule
 Chapter 12: Using Mindset, Motivation and Willpower to Transform your Body
RegroupPut your goals on paperKeep a journalMotivation
 Chapter 13: How to Use the Detox Workout and Skyrocket your Metabolism
Take a quick walk each dayThe importance of consistencyResistance trainingWarm upTiming your resistance training workoutsGet started with goblet squatsMove on to dumbbell inclined bench pressesKeep moving with bent over rowsDo dumbbell upright rowsTips for creating fat-blasting momentumWorkout sampleExtra fat-burning exercisesMidsection miracle workoutAb blastersPlantsSteam enginesKeep working
 VERDICT
Phew! That's a lot of topics in one system. Like I said, it's a comprehensive health, fitness and weight loss program – and one that shows you exactly what you need to do to achieve all of your goals. So, let's tackle those 2018 New Year's Resolutions. Start The Red Tea Detox program today.


This work presents a novel optimal design framework that treats uncertain dynamical systems described by ordinary differential equations. Uncertainty in multibody dynamical systems comes from various sources, such as: system parameters, initial conditions, sensor and actuator noise, and external forcing. The inclusion of uncertainty in design is of paramount practical importance because all real-life systems are affected by it. Designs that ignore uncertainty often lead to poor robustness and suboptimal performance. In this work uncertainties are modeled using Generalized Polynomial Chaos and are solved quantitatively using a least-square collocation method. The uncertainty statistics are explicitly included in the optimization process. Systems that are nonlinear, have active constraints, or opposing design objectives are shown to benefit from the new framework. Specifically, using a constraint-based multi-objective formulation, the direct treatment of uncertainties during the optimization process is shown to shift, or off-set, the resulting Pareto optimal trade-off curve. A nonlinear vehicle suspension design problem, subject to parametric uncertainty, illustrates the capability of the new framework to produce an optimal design that accounts for the entire family of systems within the associated probability space.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Background Fibromyalgia (FM) is well described as a concomitant syndrome that can frequently accompany connective tissue diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this epoch of modern biologic therapy and RA tight control effort it is essential to count various factors that can impact RA activity or modulate activity assessment. Objectives To compare proportional representation of FM in RA patients cohort according to increasing arthritis activity assessed by composite indices in a regional, monocentric, cross-sectional study. Methods Examination of 120 consecutive patients (pts) with RA was performed in the terciary outpatient rheumatology department. Diagnosis of concomitant FM was established according to ACR criteria (1990). Standard Manual Tender Point Survey was used for the examination of FM tender points. The following data were recorded: demographic data, tender point count (TPC), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnarie (FIQ) score and RA activity composite indices (DAS-28, CDAI, SDAI). Short Form 36 items (SF-36) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were used for evaluation of quality of life (QOL) and functional disability, respectively. Statistical analysis was based on Student's t-test or Fisher exact test (statistical significance level 0.05). Results Concomitant FM was diagnosed in 25 (20.8%) pts with RA, 4 men and 21 women. Comparing RA without FM (RAF-) and with FM (RAF+), there were no significant differencies in sociodemographic characteristics, laboratory inflammatory markers, RF and ACPA seropositivity. RAF+ pts in comparison to RAF- pts reached significantly higher scores of RA activity (DAS-28 5.35±1.1 vs. 3.67±1.4, p<0.0001) and disability level (HAQ 1.83±0.64 vs. 0.87±0.76, p<0.0001). Analysing RA subgroups on the basis of rising disease activity we found increasing proportion of RAF+ pts in the subgroup with higher activity (DAS-28 <3.1 – 2.7% RAF+ pts; DAS-28 3.2-5.1 – 13.5%; DAS-28 >5.1 – 54.8%, p<0.0001). Similar results were found using other composite indices CDAI and SDAI. Conclusions Concomitant fibromyalgia appears frequently in RA pts and has significant impact on the disease activity assessment and disability level because of altered pain perception. Patients with high disease activity measured by widely used composite indices are usually indicated for more intensive immunosuppressive or biologic therapy. But in this case it is necessary to realize this group contains higher portion of FM pts resulting in risk of wrong therapy reinforcement. Disclosure of Interest : None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5942


Metal roofs have always been in the focus of stormwater runoff contamination. However, other roofing materials are also suspected of releasing metals and other inorganic substances with stormwater runoff. Hence, this review focuses on the impact of commonly used non-metal roofs - vegetated and non-vegetated - on stormwater runoff quality. Results from 42 studies were compiled and assessed to gain an overview of substances in runoff from nine roofing types with a special focus on green roofs. Concentrations of 27 substances including nutrients, heavy metals, and other inorganic substances were compared. Results show that the nine roof types that were assessed can be a potential source for inorganic substances in the runoff. Threshold values for groundwater protection are exceeded especially for PO4 3-, Cu, Pb, and Zn for some roofing materials. As the concentrations vary strongly for different parameters, no roofing material can be identified as clearly superior or inferior to the others. Gravel roofs act as a sink for NH4 + and can retain some heavy metals. Elevated heavy metal concentrations were found in runoff from wood shingle roofs treated with preservative chemicals and in runoff from most roofing types usually due to the used gutter materials. Green roof runoff shows increased concentrations of Ptot, PO4 3-, Na, K, Ca, and Mg. The concentrations depend strongly on the green roof age, the growth substrate, and applied fertilizers. In addition to the roofing materials, external factors dependent on the location (rural or urban site) influence the runoff quality. Runoff from the analyzed roofs must be seen as a diffuse source of environmental pollution and requires appropriate treatment before it is released into the environment or used for further applications. Overall, there are only a few studies on the topic so it is not possible to make statistically significant statements. More serious in-depth studies are urgently needed.


The addition of allylic trichlorosilanes to benzaldehyde promoted by chiral phosphoramides to give the enantioenriched homoallylic alcohol has been investigated. In a survey of Lewis bases as activators for the addition of allyltrichlorosilane to benzaldehyde, phosphorus-based amides have been found to be the most effective promoters. To achieve asymmetric induction, chiral phosphoric triamides derived from chiral diamines have been developed and applied in the allylation reaction albeit with modest enantioselectivities. The addition of 2-butenylsilanes was highly diastereoselective, suggesting a closed, chair-like transition structure. A detailed mechanistic study has been carried out to probe into the origin of activation. From a combination of nonlinear effects and kinetics studies, the reaction was found to likely involve two phosphoramides in both the rate and stereochemistry determining steps. These studies provided the background for the development of highly selective and reactive catalysts.


MiRNA affects the proliferation, migration and cycle of tumor cells. However, the mechanism of regulating Notch pathway expression and inhibiting tumor cell proliferation in hepatoblastoma is not clear, we need to further explore. In this study, the dact2 gene can inhibit liver fibrosis. In this experiment, we used in vitro culture of hepatoblastoma cells and flow cytometry to detect the effect of miRNA-135a on the tumor cell cycle. The expression of miRNA-135a was detected by real-time PCR in 6 tumor samples and normal controls to observe and analyze the expression level of the important signal pathway proteins in the cells after mir-135a transfection. The cells were divided into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was transfected with miRNA-135a cells, while the control group was not transfected. Finally, the data are analyzed and discussed. from the third day, the activity of M17 cells in the mir-135a group began to be inhibited. By the fifth day, the inhibition rate of M17 was 50.64% (P < 0.01), and M21 was 25.02% (P < 0.01). In the experimental group, 53.38% of the cells were in the G1 phase, and mir-135a could block the tumor cells in G1 phase, affect the cell cycle process, and then affect cell proliferation.


Current methods for attachment of proteins to inorganic nanoparticle surfaces utilize strategies that can destroy the tertiary structure of large proteins and/or do not allow for directional attachment, thereby diminishing functionality. We report a novel approach for the conjugation of proteins to iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) through coiled-coil interactions. With this strategy, coiled-coiled interactions drive attachment of the desired protein, fused to a K-coil peptide, and E-coil peptides linked to the IONP surface via a nanoparticle attachment peptide (NAP). Importantly, this method allows for directional attachment of proteins without the use of either chemical conjugation or extreme pH solutions and, thus, allows maintenance of correct protein structure with functional orientation relative to the IONP surface. In our studies, monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were used as model proteins to demonstrate the coiled-coil approach can be utilized to attach large proteins to IONP surfaces while maintaining complex tertiary structures. These proof-of-concept studies showed EGFPand mRFP-K-coil fusion proteins interacted specifically with E-coil-coated nanoparticles and multiple different proteins could be displayed on individual IONPs. We did not observe fluorescence after conjugation of fluorescent proteins to either E-coil-coated IONPs or dopamine-coated IONPs, which was likely due to quenching or FRET activity induced by the iron oxide core. However, substituting an E-coilbound chromatography resin for E-coil-coated IONPs allowed the preservation of protein fluorescence following coiled-coil attachment of K-coil-fused mRFP, demonstrating the coiled-coil attachment strategy provided maintenance of the mRFP tertiary structure required for fluorescence. The coiled-coil nanoparticle attachment strategy developed herein should have broad applications in nanomedicine.


An orally bioavailable inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK-1) and DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), with potential anti-angiogenic and antineoplastic activities. Upon oral administration, PI3K/mTOR/ALK-1/DNA-PK inhibitor P7170 inhibits the activity of all four kinases. This prevents PI3K/mTOR and ALK-1-mediated signaling pathways and may lead to the inhibition of cancer cell growth in PI3K/mTOR-overexpressing tumor cells and angiogenesis in ALK-1-overexpressing endothelial cells. Also, by inhibiting DNA-PK, this agent inhibits the ability of tumor cells to repair damaged DNA. The PI3K/mTOR pathway is upregulated in a variety of tumors and plays an important role in regulating cancer cell proliferation, growth, and survival. ALK-1, a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b) type I receptor family, is overexpressed on endothelial cells in a variety of tumor types and increases endothelial cell proliferation and migration. DNA-PK is activated upon DNA damage and plays a key role in repairing double-stranded DNA breaks.


The Brazilian capital markets, in special the stock market, apparently had great development in the 90's - mainly when one considers market capitalization, traded volume and new issues. However, several signs of decline appeared at the end of the decade - decline in volume traded and new issues. High interest rates, ADRs and CPMF (tax on financial transactions) are commonly blamed for this reversion. This article presents another diagnosis. It shows that the referred development was illusionary since 1) the number of public firms was declining since the beginning of the decade, and 2) market concentration was increasing (i.e., only a small number of firms took advantage of the expansion). Some elements indicate that the low protection for minority investors is one of the reasons for the atrophy of the Brazilian capital markets.


Most data-intensive applications are confronted with the problems of I/O bottleneck, poor query processing times and space requirements. Database compression alleviates this bottleneck, reduces disk space usage, improves disk access speed, speeds up query response time, reduces overall retrieval time and increases the effective I/O bandwidth. However, random access to individual tuples in a compressed database is very difficult to achieve with most of the available compression techniques. This paper reports a lossless compression technique called non-differential augmented vector quantization. The technique is applicable to a collection of tuples and especially effective for tuples with numerous low to medium cardinality fields. In addition, the technique supports standard database operations, permits very fast random access and atomic decompression of tuples in large collections. The technique maps a database relation into a static bitmap index cached access structure. Consequently, we were able to achieve substantial savings in space by storing each database tuple as a bit value in the computer memory. Important distinguishing characteristics of our technique are that tuples can be compressed and decompressed individually rather than a full page or entire relation at a time. Furthermore, the information needed for tuple compression and decompression can reside in the memory. Possible application domains of this technique include decision support systems, statistical and life databases with low cardinality fields and possibly no text fields.


Variations in parameters representing natural frequency, damping and effective nonlinearities before and after damage initiation in a beam carrying a lumped mass are assessed. The identification of these parameters is performed by exploiting and modeling nonlinear behavior of the beam-mass system and matching an approximate solution of the representative model with quantities obtained from spectral analysis of measured vibrations. The representative model and identified coefficients are validated through comparison of measured and predicted responses. Percentage variations of the identified parameters before and after damage initiation are determined to establish their sensitivities to the state of damage of the beam. The results show that damping and effective nonlinearity parameters are more sensitive to damage initiation than the system's natural frequency. Moreover, the sensitivity of nonlinear parameters to damage is better established using a physically-derived parameter rather than spectral amplitudes of harmonic components.


The traditional teaching mode of English reading emphasizes vocabulary and grammar over the psychological mechanism of learners, making it difficult to improve their English reading skills. This paper mainly explores the psychological mechanism of English learners in reading comprehension, aiming to optimize their learning strategies and thinking mode. The psychological mechanism was theoretically analyzed in the three stages of English reading, namely, pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading. Then, a three-stage teaching model was established and applied to a contrastive experiment on non-English majors in a university of Guangzhou, China. The students in the experimental group were taught English reading using the three-stage model while those in the control group were taught by the traditional teaching model. The psychological state of the students in English reading was measured by a questionnaire survey, a pre-test and a post-test. The results show that the three-stage teaching model has a positive effect on the psychological mechanism of college students in English reading. The research findings promote the application of cognitive psychology in English reading teaching.


Objective Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common and severe manifestation of SLE. The genetic risk for nephritis and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with LN remains unclear. Herein, we aimed to identify novel genetic associations with LN, focusing on subphenotypes and ESRD. Methods We analysed genomic data on 958 patients with SLE (discovery cohort: LN=338) with targeted sequencing data from 1832 immunological pathway genes. We used an independent multiethnic cohort comprising 1226 patients with SLE (LN=603) as a replication dataset. Detailed functional annotation and functional epigenomic enrichment analyses were applied to predict functional effects of the candidate variants. Results A genetic variant (rs56097910) within the MERTK gene was associated with ESRD in both cohorts, meta-analysis OR=5.4 (2.8 to 10.6); p=1.0×10-6. We observed decreased methylation levels in peripheral blood cells from SLE patients with ESRD, compared with patients without renal SLE (p=2.7×10-4), at one CpG site (cg16333401) in close vicinity to the transcription start site of MERTK and located in a DNAse hypersensitivity region in T and B cells. Rs56097910 is linked to altered MERTK expression in kidney tissue in public eQTL databases. Two loci were replicated for association with proliferative LN: PRDM1 (rs6924535, pmeta=1.6×10-5, OR=0.58) and APOA1BP (NAXE) (rs942960, pmeta=1.2×10-5, OR=2.64). Conclusion We identified a novel genetic risk locus, MERTK, associated with SLE-ESRD using the data from two large SLE cohorts. Through DNA methylation analysis and functional annotation, we showed that the risk could be mediated through regulation of gene expression. Our results suggest that variants in the MERTK gene are important for the risk of developing SLE-ESRD and suggest a role for PRDM1 and APOA1BP in proliferative LN.


Critical Literacy approach suggests that teaching reading should not only be focused on language but also on developing students' critical literacy. This article discusses the findings of research focusing on strategies used in developing critical literacy in Reading class at English Education Department of Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta and challenges faced by the lecturers in developing students' critical literacy. The subjects were 20 English Education Department students and three lecturers of Reading. The data were collected using interview, observation, and documentation. They were analyzed through data reduction, data display for categorization and conclusion by using relevant framework of critical literacy. The findings showed that the strategies used by the lecturers include using various texts, stimulating the students' interest, asking critical questions, discussing questions collaboratively, and writing summary and response. The challenges faced by the lecturers in developing students' critical literacy were students' low of critical literacy, students' lack of self confidence, students' low English proficiency and students' dependence of guidance.


This paper starts with a brief background of the link between creativity and education, including the beginning of the most recent interest in the two. There is a short summary of the reasons for this renewed interest. This is followed by a discussion into the dissatisfactions over current education and its changing role in the light of increasing importance being accorded to creativity. Lastly, evidence in educational policy documents from around the world is presented to show the steps being taken for implementation of creativity in education.


The purposes of this study were to estimate the effect of levels and different periods of vitamin premix consumption during finisher period (29-42 d) on performance and immunocompetence of broiler chicks fed wheat and barley based diet in floor system. A total of 504 male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to 7 treatment groups, with 4 replicates per treatment group and 18 birds per replicate pen, and all data were analyzed in a randomized complete design. The dietary treatments were: T1) the basal diet with no vitamin premix during 29-42 days; T2) the basal diet 33.33% vitamin premix during 29-42 days; T4) the basal diet 66.66% vitamin premix during 29-42 days and T6) 100% vitamin premix during 29-42 days and treatments 3, 5 and 7, similar treatments 2, 4 and 6 grespectively and fed during 24-35 day and the vitamin premix was with drawn from all these lates diets (35 and 7) during 36-42 day of age. Feed intake and weight gain were measured at 35 and 42 days of ages and feed conversion ratio was calculated. At 35 and 42 days of ages, after slaughtered and determine carcass weight and the organs bursa of fabricius and spleen were weighed and immunocompetence was evaluated at 42 day of age, based on SRBC, IgG and IgM titers by hemagglutination method. Results showed that different levels of vitamin premix did not impair performance and immunocompetence response during the final period of broilers (29-42d). In conclusion, it is possible to withdraw vitamin premix from finisher diets.


PHM is a logical step following from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) continual efforts to improve aircraft management, affordability, availability, airworthiness and performance (MAAAP). MOD has fitted aircraft with data collection equipment such as flight data recorders (FDR), engine usage monitoring systems (EUMS) and health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS). Whilst the MOD ground-based systems contain a wealth of information including huge volumes of flight data, there is a growing interest in analysing and automatically trending/fusing/mining this information, combining it with MOD and design authority (DA) experiences and verifying emerging PHM algorithms before seriously considering them within the management/maintenance infrastructure. Smiths has worked closely with MOD and evolved a flight and usage management software (FUMS/spl trade/) to address this need. FUMS/spl trade/ tools have operated on existing aircraft data to provide an affordable framework for developing and verifying diagnostic, prognostic and life management approaches. In the context of MOD objectives, FUMS/spl trade/ provides a ground-based fleet management framework operating on existing MOD databases and aircraft data. It also provides a procurement risk control framework to assist with verifying emerging PHM approaches using real data and to collect verification evidence for qualification and maintenance credit purposes. The paper describes the main features of FUMS/spl trade/ and addresses some of the verification issues of PHM algorithms including those of FUMS/spl trade/.


Abstract Alcohol formation was initiated in continuous cultures of Clostridium acetobutylicum under distinct steady-state conditions: (i) in glucose-limited cultures established at low operating pH with formation of butanol, ethanol and acetone (induction of the solventogenesis) in which cells contained normal levels of NADH and a high level of ATP and butyric acid; and (ii) by increasing the NADH pressure at neutral pH in glucose-limited cultures after addition of Neutral red, or in glucose-glycerol or glucose-glycerol-pyruvate grown cultures, with a strictly alcohologenic metabolism (no acetone produced) associated with high levels of intracellular NADH and various levels of ATP. These two different metabolic shift systems are correlated with the expression of different genes involved in the solvent-forming pathways and the electron flow distribution. A high NADH level leading to butanol and ethanol formation was accompanied by increased activities of the NADH-dependent alcohol and butyraldehyde dehydrogenases, and ferredoxin:NAD(P) + reductases, and by decreased activities of the NADH:ferredoxin reductase. This last group of enzymes constitutes the key enzymes regulating electron flow, since no change in hydrogenase activity was observed. On the other hand, classical solventogenesis appears to be characterized by high levels of expression of the NADPH-dependent alcohol and butyraldehyde dehydrogenases, and of the two enzymes involved in the acetone-forming pathway, while the ferredoxin:NAD(P) + reductases were not synthesized. A decrease of the in vitro hydrogenase activity explains the lower hydrogen generation. In addition, the regulation of the intracellular pH was different between the alcohologenic culture grown at neutral pH and the solventogenic cultures grown at low pH. An inversion of the transmembrane pH gradient was observed during the production of alcohol at neutral pH and was related to a lower in vivo specific rate of hydrogen production while in the cultures grown at low pH the transmembrane pH generation was not linked to the F 1 F 0 ATPase activity.


2,4,5-Trimethoxybenzaldehyde was condensed with S-benzyldithiocarbazate to give Schiff base 2,4,5-trimethoxy benzaldehyde-S-benzyldithiocarbazone (BBTC), which was used for complexation with Mn(II), Fe(II) and Co(II) metal ions. The complexes were formulated as M(BBTC)2X2 where X is Cl−, NO3− and CH3COO−. The FTIR spectra of the metal complexes in comparison to that of free ligand suggested the coordination through azomethine nitrogen and thion sulphur forming six membered chelating with metal ion. The magnetic susceptibility and electronic spectral bands revealed octahedral symmetry (Oh) around Mn(II) but tetragonally distorted octahedral symmetry (D4h) of Fe(II) and Co(II) complexes. The positive value of Dt for Fe(II) (68.42-135.2 cm-1) and Co(II) (263-280 cm-1) clearly indicated elongation along z-axis in these complexes which was also supported by the less value of Dq(z) than Dq(xy) for the metal complexes. The ligand as well as its metal complexes have been found active against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and antibacterial activity of the free ligand has been observed to have enhanced in metal complexes.


Background: Breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSES) is an important modifiable determinant of BF initiation, duration and exclusivity. The use of valid measurement tools of BSES is important in clinical and community practice. Thus, we aimed to assess the properties of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES-SF) to measure the self-efficacy of mothers in Cyprus and its association with BF and EBF up to the sixth month.Methods: A cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive study with a nationwide consecutive sample of 586 mother-infant dyads, recruited from all state maternity wards and 24 (of 30) private clinics within 24-48 hours of birth and followed up by telephone up to the 6 th month postpartum. BSES was assessed at the clinic and at the first month with the Greek version of the 14-item 5-point Likert BSES-SF scale. Information on infant feeding practices was collected at all four time points. The association between self-efficacy and breastfeeding outcomes was estimated in logistic regression models. Results: With Mean=3.55 (SD=0.85), BSES was only moderate, and lower among Cypriot women, primiparas, those who delivered by C/S and did not intent to breastfeed exclusively. There was good internal consistency across the 14 items (alpha coefficient=0.94). While higherlevels of self-efficacy were not strongly associated with the likelihood of breastfeeding initiation, there was a stepwise association with exclusivity. The association between in-hospital assessment of self-efficacy and long-term EBF persisted in multivariable models adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Women in the upper quartile of BSES at 48 hours were more likely to breastfeed exclusively at the 1 stand at the 4 th month. Similar, if not stronger, associations were observed between self-efficacy at the 1 st month and BF outcomes at subsequent time-points. High BSES at the first month (>3.96) had 58.9% positive and 79.6% negative predictive value for breastfeeding at 6 months.Conclusions: The Greek version of the BSES-SF showed good metric properties. The generally low prevalence of breastfeeding among mothers in Cyprus, suggests a need for policy, educational and community support interventions, including the systematic use of BSES scale as a screening tool to identify those at higher risk for premature BF discontinuation.


This paper discusses the use of classifiers and reduplication in Cantonese. I propose a unified account for the syntax-semantics of both nouns and verbs, based on two functional layers: individuation and quantification. I demonstrate an abstract semantics that handles the interaction between classifiers and reduplication without reference to syntactic categories. Quantification (reduplication) and individuation (classifiers) can be treated as general semantic functions that subsume category-specific functions. The analysis also separates quantification from individuation to provide a natural explanation of durative readings of reduplicated unbounded


The article addresses the issue of adaptive management of Ukrainian retail to consumer realities in the conditions of a state of war. The state of Ukrainian retail under the challenging circumstances of the Russian-Ukrainian war has been investigated, and the main challenges it has faced include economic instability, loss of trade enterprises, limited financial resources, infrastructure destruction, reduction of product assortment in retail chains, changes in the retail landscape, staff shortage, and shifting consumer priorities. The necessity of making changes in the retail sector's activities, particularly in the formation of a value proposition, which depends on the meaningful content of all elements of the business model, has been justified. It should meet three main criteria: relevance to current consumer demands, elements of innovation (uniqueness), and service orientation. The important role of consumers in shaping the trajectory of the retail sector's development has been substantiated. Changes in the behavior of Ukrainian consumers, resulting from the pandemic and massive military actions on the territory of Ukraine, have been analyzed. A trend towards increased economy and rationality in consumer purchasing behavior compared to the pre-war period has been identified. Changes in consumer buying behavior associated with the strengthening of Ukrainian society's consolidation, national identity, conscious choice to support domestic producers, the army, political positions, language of communication, or cooperation with the aggressor country have been noted. Adaptive measures for the recovery and development of Ukrainian retail in the conditions of a state of war and post-war period have been proposed, including: adjusting the product assortment and marketing strategies of retailers according to new needs, opportunities, and preferences of their customers; focusing on expanding the range of online services; improving sales and after-sales service; implementing an omnichannel communication model; and utilizing innovative sales technologies.


Severe hypophosphatemia is a rare electrolyte disturbance among surgical patients associated with severe fatigue, impaired cardiac and respiratory functions. Although mild hypophosphatemia is common after parenteral administration of intravenous iron replacement, severe hypophosphatemia is not usual in perioperative period. We present a case of 76-year-old female who underwent surgery for a left paramediastinal mass. Laboratory examination showed hypochromic microcytic anemia. A total dose of parenteral 1000 mg ferric carboxymaltose was administered two days prior to the operation with the aim of achieving a rapid increase in hemoglobin. We performed a wedge resection for the mass originating from the left upper lobe. The patient developed dyspnea and fatigue with severe hypophosphatemia on postoperative third day. The clinical status of the patient could be only improved with parenteral administration of high dose of sodium phosphate. We tried to emphasize this unexpected complication of intravenous iron replacement and the features of its management.