&NA; A major part of the growth performance in birds is the result of the combined effects of genes, including the general and specific combining ability that requires the design of an optimal mating system. The aim of this study was to fit the best model for each body weight trait from hatch to 45 days and the estimation of the variance components and the genetic parameters for the body weight traits of a crossbred population. This crossbred population was created by 4 strains of Japanese quail, including the Italian Speckled (A), Tuxedo (B), Pharaoh (C), Texas A&M (D), and the body weights of the different combinations were analyzed by 24 models including the direct genetic effect, the non‐additive genetic effects including dominance and epistatic effects, the maternal permanent environmental and maternal genetic effects. The selection of the best fit model of each trait was performed based on the deviance information criteria. The variance components were estimated using a single‐trait animal model analyzed with Gibbs sampling. At the early stage of bird growth, maternal genetic and maternal permanent environmental effects had a considerable contribution to the best model, but the contribution of these effects reduced with an increase in the bird's age and the additive variance contribution increased. Adding non‐additive genetic effects (dominance and epistasis) to the models significantly reduced the variance of the error and the additive genetic variance estimated with high accuracy. The estimated heritability of body weight traits for the body weights of hatch, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 d were 0.316, 0.170, 0.251, 0.153, 0.132, 0.164, 0.290, 0.425, 0.476, and 0.362, respectively. The ratio of maternal genetic and maternal permanent environmental was considerable especially on early age body weight but the ratio of dominance and epistatic variances on each of the body weight traits was less than 4.5% of the total variance, but led to a more accurate estimates of the direct additive genetic.


In this letter, we report on the development and characterization of an InGaAsP semiconductor optical amplifier- (SOA) based ring cavity laser that emits up to 16 wavelengths in the 1550-nm region. The laser is loss modulation mode locked at up to 10 GHz with temporal pulses of 25 ps. Spectral control of the emission is accomplished by an intracavity 4-f spectral pulse shaper with a programmable liquid crystal spatial light modulator (SLM) in the Fourier plane. Voltage control of the transmissibility of the pixels of the SLM defines the wavelength channels and allows flattening of channels to produce a uniform intensity of channel outputs.


Whether in face-to-face or distance mode, courses result not-simply from informed input and pedagogic planning from an academic team but, as Thorpe (1988: 120) maintains from 'a process of interaction between the learner and any materials, staff or facilities associated with the achievement of [those courses]'. This synergy suggests that learners have a pivotal role to play not only in revealing the short-term effectiveness of instructional design and teaching strategies but also in contributing to their long-term development. This is not disputed, as reflected in the place that formal evaluation tools have on most courses. DOI: 10.1080/09687760108656776


Fundamental research and technological applications of topological insulators are hindered by the rarity of materials exhibiting a robust topologically non-trivial phase, especially in two dimensions. Here, by means of extensive first-principles calculations, we propose a novel quantum spin Hall insulator with a sizeable band gap of $\sim$0.5 eV that is a monolayer of Jacutingaite, a naturally occurring layered mineral first discovered in 2008 in Brazil and recently synthesised. This system realises the paradigmatic Kane-Mele model for quantum spin Hall insulators in a potentially exfoliable two-dimensional monolayer, with helical edge states that are robust even beyond room temperature and that can be manipulated exploiting a unique strong interplay between spin-orbit coupling, crystal-symmetry breaking and dielectric response.


— This paper reveals the less known effectiveness of Chilling method in mitigating human elephant conflicts carried out in Western Serengeti, Tanzania. Two villages were involved namely Nyamburi and Bonchugu. Data were collected by using household questionnaire, focus group discussion and archive information. Data were analyzed by use of SPSS (Version 18) software.Field results indicates that; Chilling method is effective (83%)in mitigating human elephant conflicts. However, statistics for crop damaged by elephants before and after introduction of the method shows that the crops damage decreased by 25 %. The most observable strengths of the method were; it control HEC without harm people and elephants, it is easy to apply (55%), it does not consume time and use appropriate technology. Despite the effectiveness of the method, major weaknesses observed to face the method were; insufficient used oil and pepper (61%), elephants observed to be a clever animal as sometimes they inter into the farms backwards and also during rain seasons, chill method observed to be ineffective as it can be washed/removed easily. However, the respondents recommended that; the challenges can be solved by local community to cultivate pepper and other stakeholders such as district, different NGO and companies to support farmers the provision of used oil, chill should be applied regularly once washed out by rain and for the effectiveness of the method community should be more trained on how to use the method.


The political structure of Iran is a theocratic system based on Shia doctrine. The most powerful religious and political
authority is a Shia religious authority known as the Supreme Leader. However, the head of government is a president
elected through popular vote. So far eleven presidential elections have been held since the 1979 revolution. The
eleventh presidential election was held on June 14, 2013. It was one of the most important presidential elections. It
owed its importance to the previous controversial presidential election in 2009 which led to a wide popular uprising.
More importantly, the eleventh presidential election was held amid tensions among different political streams within
the political system. Based on primary and some secondary sources, this paper looks at the Iranian electoral laws, the
candidates, their campaigns, voting, the election result and the wider significance of the eleventh presidential election.
It specifically answers the following questions: what was the importance of the eleventh presidential election? What
were the electoral laws, institutions and procedures for the presidential election in Iran? How was the presidential
election conducted? What role do presidential elections play in the Iranians' quest for democracy? This paper finds
that although the election results received welcome by Iranians, there are significant flaws in the Iranian electoral
system which casts doubt on the credibility of the elections being held in Iran. In particular, there were series of events
during the eleventh presidential election which affected its natural outcome. Finally, this paper discovers that despite
the conservatives' paean, the presidential election was a major setback for them.


We study the problem of distributing loads in mobile crowdsensing systems (MCS). In this context, we present a multi-commodity network game, more explicitly, an atomic routing game, to depict the linking of several crowd participants into bundles that are capable of successfully completing desired sensing tasks. The nodes of the network correspond to the resources of the crowd participants and the players of our game are sensing service requesters that wish to route their demand along paths trough the network. One resource may serve several requests at the same time, which can be modeled efficiently using the network structure. Resource usage involves load-dependent costs. Our model caters for the uncertainty inherent from crowd involvement and mobility by incorporating certainty parameters in the model. These certainty parameters describe the quality of the partial result a participant can produce. Requesters may set a minimum certainty level for the successful completion of their overall sensing tasks that has to be met. In our model, we analyze four different solution concepts for balancing loads with respect to costs and quality of results: (1) a distributed brute force approach (engaging all suitable crowd participants), (2) a random selection of suitable crowd participants, (3) a Nash equilibrium (as result of decentralized selfish cost-minimizing game play) and (4) a (centralized) social optimum. All considered distributed solutions or an epsilon-approximation of a solution can be computed efficiently (for affine cost functions). Furthermore, well-known results for the price of anarchy of atomic routing games can be transfered to our model, i.e., the relative solution quality of a Nash equilibrium compared to a social optimum is provably bounded. In addition, we provide an extensive experimental study that supports theoretical results and gives further suggestions on the impact of uncertainty. We merge the findings of our analysis into a truthful distributed mechanism such that requesters have no incentive to deviate from an efficient solution.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Being among the youngest within a school class is linked to disadvantages in various educational and mental health domains. This study aimed to investigate whether preterm born infants are particularly vulnerable to relative age effects on mental health, not previously studied.

METHODS
We used registry data on all Norwegians born between 1989 and 1998 to compare prescription status for psychostimulants, antidepressants, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and antipsychotics per year from age 10 to 23 years (2004-2016) between exposure groups with different time of birth in the year (relative age) and different gestational age (preterm versus term).

RESULTS
Of 488 470 individuals, 29 657 (6,1%) were born preterm. For term born in November/December, the adjusted odds ratio (aORs) for psychostimulant prescription compared with peers born in January/February was 1.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.69-1.91) at ages 10 to 14 years, and 1.17 (95% CI, 1.08-1.27) at ages 20 to 23 years. Within preterm born, the corresponding results were 1.39 (95% CI, 1.13-1.69) and 1.34 (95% CI, 1,00-1.78) at ages 10 through 14 and 20 through 23 years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Being relatively young within the school group was associated with increased psychostimulant prescription in the preterm as well as the term population. In contrast to term peers, the relative age effect for psychostimulant prescription seemed to persist to young adulthood for the preterm population. The results suggest that preterm individuals are vulnerable to long-term effects of relative immaturity and that they require careful consideration from both health care professionals and the school system.


The ultimate impact of climate change on human systems will depend on the natural resilience of ecosystems on which societies rely as well as on adaptation measures taken by agents, individually and collectively. No sector of the economy is more reliant on climate than agriculture. Evidence from the American settlement process suggests that societies can successfully adapt to new climatic environments. Whether and how much agriculture will manage to adapt to a changing climate remains an open question in the empirical economics literature, however. This article reviews the existing evidence on weather and/or climate impacts on agricultural outcomes from the economics literature, with a focus on methodological questions. Some key econometric issues associated with climate impact measurement are discussed. We also outline important questions that have not been adequately addressed and suggest directions for future research.


Lou, J., G. H. Yue, W. Q. YanG, H. W. Mei, L. J. Luo and H. J. Lu, 2014. Mapping QTLs influencing stigma exertion in rice. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 1450-1456 Stigma exertion plays an important role in the efficient improvement of commercial seed production in hybrid rice. To understand the genetic basis of stigma exertion, a quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis was conducted using the F2 population derived from two indica cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) maintainers Huhan1B and K17B. QTLs influencing percentage of single exerted stigma (PSES), percentage of dual exerted stigma (PDES) and total exerted stigma (PES) were detected using a linkage map of 92 SSR markers. A total of 1, 3 and 1 QTLs were detected for PSES, PDES and PES, respectively. There were one to five pairs of epistatic QTLs affected stigma exertion. The contribution rate of additive and epistatic effects were in a low magnitude for most cases (0.83%-13.77%) while one QTL (qPES-6) and one pair of epistatic QTL explained 18.82% and 25.44% of total variance. The interval of RM3575-RM3351 on chromosome 5 contained two QTLs for PSES and PDES with reverse function, while RM8225-RM225 on chromosome 6 influencing PDES and PES functioned in the same way. If qPSES-5 and qPDES-5 were two tightly linked QTLs, recombination between these loci could improve both PSES and PDES. Otherwise the application of qPDES-5 to improve PDES could be selected by MAS in rice breeding practice.


Abstract. The use of photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning for building information modelling (BIM) in the documentation and conservation of Cultural Heritage (CH) is now well established. By combining BIM with the latest visualization technologies, powerful, semi-immersive experiences can be developed to enhance the dissemination of CH. In semi-immersive experiences such as Augmented Reality (AR), digital content can be overlapped on to physical spaces, providing a new way to interact with both the physical space and the digital content. This paper discusses the translation of a digital object created using BIM, into a physical object and the utilisation of this physical object as a trigger for an AR experience. The case study looks at one of the neo- Gothic window frames from the House of Commons in the Centre Block of the Parliament Hill National Historic Site, in Ottawa, Canada. The window frame is one in a series that represents a Canadian province or territory with a stained glass feature that includes floral emblems and heraldic symbols from the respective provincial or territorial shield. The frame in this case study corresponds to the stained glass window of five provinces. Using the replica frame as a target, the user can select which stained glass windows they would like to view in the AR application. Through these combined technologies, we argue that CH can be revealed in a more interactive way and therefore more engaging manner – making even inaccessible architectural details readily available to the public.


As technology develops, major countries have begun to implement the Smart Agriculture system and Internet of Things to facilitate farmers in managing their agricultural land. This study discusses the communication system of Smart Agriculture based on Internet of Things. Data from the sensor will be sent by Wireless Sensor Network to Raspberry Pi and send it to the database server which can then be accessed via the internet using android applications. Android applications can be used to monitor soil pH sensors and moisture. In addition, the control of sluice gates and water pumps can also be done manually and automatically. So that water can be controlled through applications and the web remotely. The success percentage of the communication system of Smart Agriculture based on the Internet of Things is 100% because all data from the sensor are successfully received by the Raspberry Pi and sent to the database so it can be accessed through the built-in android application and website.


This paper examines how Africai¯s recent efforts to promote economic integration, specifically the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the proposed Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) are supported by and in harmony with the Post 2015 Development Agenda and the African Unioni¯s Agenda 2063 initiative. The World Banki¯s Global Economic Prospects projects for the period 2014-2017 that five of the worldi¯s 13 top growing economies will be in Africa. However, it is distressing and puzzling that such growth has not been accompanied by reduced poverty, income inequality and unemployment. It is also unsettling that few states met all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expired at the end of last year. Furthermore, Africa will likely be confronted by daunting challenges in the near term. This ominous situation is enhanced by the nature of Africai¯s trade, both within the continent and in the global economy. To counter some of these constraints, especially the tariff barriers, the RECs and the CFTA will be critical in stimulating trade growth. Increased economic integration, either on a regional level or on a continent-wide level under the general guidelines of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 will result in increased trade which will, in the long term, increase incomes, reduce poverty, increase employment, provide greater consumer choice, and will offer shelter from exogenous external shocks. However, at least in the short term, such gains are also typically accompanied by loses. This paper calls for a continental Integration Compensation Funding Mechanism (ICFM) to balance some of these loses. The ICFM would be developed and managed by the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union.


Introduction: Proteasome inhibitors (PI) are a class of cancer drugs that cause cell death via the accumulation of tumor suppressors and pro-apoptotic proteins. The development of PI, such as Bortezomib, Car fi lzomib, and Ixazomib, has provided a breakthrough in the management of many malignancies. A limiting factor in the use of these drugs is their side e ff ect pro fi le, which includes neuropathy, fatigue, and gastrointestinal(GI)toxicity.Despitethis,PI remainan integralcomponentoftreatment regimensduetoimprovementinpatientoutcomes.In this study,weevaluated PIrelated GItoxicitiesandcomparedthe di ff erences in GI toxicities between Bortezomib, Car fi lzomib, and Ixazomib. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study among cancer patients at a tertiary care cancer center to investigate the clinical characteristics of PI related GI toxicity. We included patients receiving a PI and excluded patients with GI symptoms from other etiologies. Results: 973 patients who received PI treatment between 2017 and 2022 were reviewed with a PI related GI toxicity incidence of 193 patients (20%). 114 (59%) of the patients received Bortezomib, 55 (29%) received Car fi lzomib, and 24 (12%) received Ixazomib. The median time from PI initiation to GI toxicity was 79 days. The most common symptom was diarrhea, present in 169 (88%). The median symptom durationwas12days.70(36%)requiredhospitalization.157(81%)receivedtreatmentfortheirGItoxicityand99.3


There is a constant drive to improve automobiles by enhancing safety, reducing weight and containing cost. This combined with a new focus to improve resource efficiency during manufacturing, forces role players to rethink and improve current processes and develop novel manufacturing techniques. One such a novel resource saving technique, currently being researched at the Chemnitz University of Technology and Fraunhofer IWU, combines a modified batch galvanizing process with a direct hot stamping process. In doing so it eliminates the traditionally required surface coating process with its energy requirements. In this study the process uses molten Zn alloy at 850 °C to simultaneously heat and apply a corrosion protective coating to 22MnB5 for subsequent use in hot stamping. A CFX simulation was conducted in order to understand the thermal behaviour of the bath containing the alloy and the treated steel during the dipping process. The material properties, of 22MnB5 and the stainless steel used to construct the bath, essential to the simulation (heat capacity, density and thermal diffusivity) was measured over the relevant temperature range for the heating cycle using a pushrod dilatometer, differential scanning calorimeter and a laser flash apparatus. The simulation was evaluated using experimental data, showing a good correlation between the simulation and experimental results.


The invention relates to a method for remote attestation. In the method is created a first asymmetric key pair (302) in a trusted platform module in an electronic device. A first public key and software platform state information are certified (306) with an attestation identity key associated with the trusted platform module to produce a first certificate. A second asymmetric key pair is produced (308) in an application within the electronic device. The second public key is certified (310) with said first secret key to produce a second certificate. A message is signed (316) with the second secret key to provide a message signature in the first electronic device. The message and the message signature, software platform state information, the first certificate and the second certificate are sent (318) to a second electronic device.


Al13 pillared montmorillonites (AlPMts) prepared with different Al/clay ratios were used to remove Cd(II) and phosphate from aqueous solution. The structure of AlPMts was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and N2 adsorption–desorption. The basal spacing, intercalated amount of Al13 cations, and specific surface area of AlPMts increased with the increase of the Al/clay ratio. In the single adsorption system, with the increase of the Al/clay ratio, the adsorption of phosphate on AlPMts increased but that of Cd(II) decreased. Significantly enhanced adsorptions of Cd(II) and phosphate on AlPMts were observed in a simultaneous system. For both contaminants, the adsorption of one contaminant would increase with the increase of the initial concentration of the other one and increase in the Al/clay ratio. The enhancement of the adsorption of Cd(II) was much higher than that of phosphate on AlPMt. This suggests that the intercalated Al13 cations are the primary co-adsorption sites for phosphate and Cd(II). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated comparable binding energy of P2p but a different binding energy of Cd3d in single and simultaneous systems. The adsorption and XPS results suggested that the formation of P-bridge ternary surface complexes was the possible adsorption mechanism for promoted uptake of Cd(II) and phosphate on AlPMt.


The separation and accurate quantification of active biomass components in activated sludge is of paramount importance in models, used for the management and design of waste water (WW) treatment plants. Accurate estimates of microbial population concentrations and the direct, in situ determination of kinetic parameters could improve the calibration and validation of existing models of biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems. The aim of this study was to obtain correlations between heterotrophic active biomass (ZBH) concentrations predicted by mathematical models and quantitative information obtained by Fluorescent in situ hybridizations (FISH). Respirometric batch test were applied to mixed liquors drawn from a well‐defined parent anoxic/aerobic activated sludge system to quantify the ZBH concentrations. Similarly fluorescent labeled, 16S rRNA‐targeted oligonucleotide probes specific for ammonia and nitrite oxidizers were used in combination with DAPI staining to validate the ZBH active biomass component in activate sludge respirometric batch tests. For the direct enumeration and simultaneous in situ analysis of the distribution of nitrifying bacteria, in situ hybridization with oligonucleotide probes were used. Probes (NSO 1225, NSR 1156, and NIT3) were used to target the nitrifiers and the universal probe (EUB MIX) was used to target all Eubacteria. Deducting the lithoautotrophic population from the total bacteria population revealed the ZBH population. A conversion factor of 8.49 × 10−11 mg VSS/cell was applied to express the ZBH in terms of COD concentration. ZBH values obtained by molecular probing correlated closely with values obtained from the modified batch test. However, the trend of consistently poor correspondence of measured and theoretical concentrations were evident. Therefore, the focus of this study was to investigate alternative technology, such as FISH to validate or replace kinetic parameters which are invariably incorporated into models. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;98: 561–568. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The control language and common data interface for a real-time digital signal processing (DSP) receiver are described. A low level serial interface standard for the DSP receiver is described, and techniques which allow multiple DSP receivers to be remotely controlled by a single controller are discussed. This arrangement of remote receivers can be configured to measure and respond to real-time multiple-channel traffic on cellular and paging channels for market studies, adaptive RF coverage and control, fraud detection and abatement, and law enforcement applications. With a standardized control language, the receiver system described can be used for a wide range of custom applications for cellular, paging, and personal communication network measurement and control.


A general solution is deduced of the differential equations which describe the propagation of elastic waves in a nondissipative liquid-filled porous solid. The solution is then used to examine some of the phenomena which arise when each of the three body waves predicted by the field equations is, in turn, incident on a plane traction-free boundary. It is found, for example, that an obliquely incident wave of each type in general gives rise to reflected waves of all three types.


Common bacterial infections are increasingly being diagnosed in HIV-infected individuals. Cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage kill invading bacterial pathogens and subsequently release immunoadjuvant components from the degraded cell walls. Since monocytes can be infected with HIV, effects of bacterial immunomodulators on infected promonocytic U937 cells were investigated. Synthetic muramyl peptide, mycobacterial trehalose dimycolate, and detoxified endotoxin exhibited an initial reduction followed by a rapid increase in HIV p24 antigen production. The upregulation of virus expression was correlated with enhanced interleukin-1 beta levels and a decrease in TNF-alpha production.


Aim:  To determine the attitudes of rural men to matters of health and body image.

Methods:  Focus group discussions were used to examine the attitudes of a sample of Australian rural men to matters of health and body image in the context of their eating and exercise behaviours. Forty-two rural men, aged 25–64 years, took part in four focus groups, one exclusively for farmers, in south-western New South Wales (NSW).

Results:  Results from these focus groups reveal that many of the masculine myths surrounding male behaviour in relation to health and ideas on body image persist among rural men in south-western NSW. Talking about health is not considered a male past-time; visiting health professionals is still seen as a last resort; being a 'big bloke' is perceived to be advantageous and heavy drinking is still considered an Australian male domain, especially among the younger men in the groups.

Conclusion:  The present study provides a deeper understanding of rural men's attitudes to body image issues and lifestyle behaviours, which is critical to helping change health outcomes for this hard-to-reach group.


Plasma diagnostics in the reaction zone of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus have been made by the Langmuir probe technique. In addition to a conventional probe analysis, further investigations of the ion saturation current, the floating potential and the electron energy distribution lead to obtaining reliable plasma parameters. For the plasma density, the effect of the magnetic field is taken into account according to Dote's theory. The pressure dependence of the electron temperature can be explained in terms of the balance between the generation and loss of charged particles. The influence of the magnetic field on the electron temperature can be taken into account through this particle balance.


ABSTRACT Objective: Specific legislation regulating the use of animals in research in Brazil was introduced in 2008. However, the viewpoint of the Brazilian population regarding the use of animals in research and teaching activities remains largely unknown. Investigation of the public viewpoint on and understanding of the topic is required given the current shifts in the animal ethics scenario in Brazil. The objective of this study was to provide the first insight into the Brazilian population viewpoint on the use of animals in scientific research and teaching activities. Methods: Data collected in a survey involving 2,115 individuals aged 16 years or older and residing in 130 municipalities distributed across the five Brazilian macroregions (North, Northeast, South, Southeast, and Midwest) were analyzed. The margin of error for entire sample was set at 2%, with a 95% confidence interval. Results: This survey revealed that most Brazilian citizens are in favor of the use animals in research, particularly for medical purposes. Different views depending on the nature of research were identified. Approximately 80% of respondents were also in favor of frequent oversight of laboratories and animal facilities. Conclusion: Survey findings indicate that the opinion of the Brazilian population is divided when it comes to the use of animals in scientific research and teaching. Divided opinions expose a limited understanding of the importance of basic sciences and emphasizes the need for improved communication between the scientific community and the general population. Further strategies aimed to promote animal welfare are discussed.


Text recognition in images is a very urgent problem in modern search engines. There are many different methods and techniques for text recognition. The paper is a method for text recognition in a standardized image. Standardized image means an image that has the same font, character size, certain writing order, such as the serial number or license plate of the car. In the paper, we developed an improved method for text recognition in the image. The method consists in a preliminary search of the same characters and memorizing their positions. Identical symbols are recognized only once. After recognition, symbols are arranged in the desired position. Image processing and isolation of character boundaries is performed using JavaCV. The modified method was developed based on the template method. Both methods were implemented in Java language. To create a text-recognition software, a neural network based on a single-layer perceptron was built. The results of tests have shown the superiority of the modified method compared to the original one. At best, the performance of the modified method is 300% of the performance of the original one. At worst, it is slower only by 5-10%. In addition, the modified algorithm requires 3 times fewer iterations. The modified algorithm allows to accelerate the text recognition process in standardized images if they have recurring characters.


In this study, the effect of simultaneous variation in blade root chord length and blade taper on the control effort of helicopter flight control system (i.e., FCS) of a helicopter is investigated. Therefore, helicopter models (i.e., complex, control-oriented, and physics-based models) including the main physics and essential dynamics are used. The effect of simultaneous variation in the blade root chord length and blade taper (i.e., in both chordwise and lengthwise directions dependently) on the control effort of an FCS of a helicopter and also on the closed-loop responses is studied. Comparisons in terms of the control effort and peak values with and without variations in the blade root chord and blade taper changes are carried out. For helicopter FCS variance-constrained controllers, specific output variance-constrained controllers are beneficial.


This study evaluated non-genetic factors and calculated heritability estimates of direct and maternal effects for growth traits in Nellore cattle raised in southern Brazil. Performance records of 4170, 1538, 3139, 1830, and 1151 calves born from 2005 to 2011 were analyzed for birth weight (BW), adjusted120-day weight (W120), adjusted 205-day weight (W205), adjusted365-day weight (W365), and adjusted 550-day weight (W550), respectively. The components of (co)variance used to calculate heritability estimates were determined by Derivative-Free Restricted Maximum Likelihood using the MTDFREML software. Contemporary groups were included in the model as fixed effects, and direct and maternal effects, permanent environmental effects, and residual errors were included as random effects. Phenotypic correlations were estimated using the PROC CORR procedure from SAS. Overall means for BW, W120, W205, W365, and W550 were 38, 138, 201, 270, and 376 kg, respectively. Heritability estimates for direct and maternal effects were 0.17 ± 0.04 and 0.11 ± 0.03 (BW), 0.14 ± 0.03 and 0.03 ± 0.04 (W120), and 0.17 ± 0.04 and 0.09 ± 0.03 (W205). Genetic, phenotypic, and environmental correlations were 0.79, 0.44, and 0.32 for BW and W120, 0.79, 0.39, and 0.26 for BW and W205, and 0.96, 0.74, and 0.75 for W120 and W205. The results indicate that selection for pre-weaning weight would be more efficient using W205, and genetic correlation coefficients indicate that selection at any age should produce a positively correlated response at older ages. Genetic, phenotypic, and environmental correlation coefficients between W365 and W550 were 0.99, 0.75, and 0.76, respectively. Selection for adjusted 550-day weight should produce the greatest genetic gains. Genetic correlation coefficients between weight traits indicate that selection for weight at older ages, which could help reduce the number of weighings and increase accuracy of selection at younger ages, produces gains at older ages.


Selna Adesetiani. D1214086. SELF-IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION OF FEMALE COLLAGE STUDENT SMOKERS IN BUILDING INTERPERSONAL RELATION WITH THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT (A Case Study of Non-Reguler Female Students of Communication 2015 Sebelas Maret University Who are Smokers). Thesis. Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Science in Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta 2016. The research begins with the writer closeness with some friends in Sebelas Maret University who have smoking behaviour tendency. It is being intereated to find out what kind of impression wants to be represented/built by non-regular female students major in communication science in Sebelas Maret University Surakarta 2015 who are active smoker. This research uses dramaturgy/management impression to find out impression as female smokers and non-smokers presented by informant in building interpersonal relation with their social; environment. The writer divides the social environment into four environment, college environment, family environment, society environment, and peer-group environment. This is a kind of qualitative research and the data in this research is qualitative (non-numerical data). Research method that is being used in this research is case study method. The explorative case study is being used to track events involved that can not be manipulated by doing observation and indepth interview. The data sources in this research are primary and secondary data. Data analysis that is being used in this research is Yin K. Robert case study research. The subjects in this research are non-regular female students major in communication science in Sebelas Maret University Surakarta 2015 who are active smoker to be analyzed about their self-identity construction when they are in different social environment. Based on this research's result, the informants which are female students who smoke cigarette doing the impression management for certain aims such as to be acceptable, avoided from problems, or trustworthy. The same thing is done by by non-regular female students major in communication science in Sebelas Maret University Surakarta 2015 who smoke cigarette representing different impressions in their every social environments. Female students who smoke cigarette doing the impression management not only based on the social environment but also the people they are dealing with. They can represent two different impressions in the same environment based on the group of people they are dealing with. It makes the impression management that is done by the for informants is failing mainly and not reaching the expected effect. Key Word : Impression Management, Female Smoker, Interpersonal Relation, Social Environment.


Calcification of the lateral collateral ligament is a rare phenomenon, which can cause acute knee pain. The management is usually conservative and there is subsequent resolution of the calcification seen on initial radiographs. It is important to exclude more sinister pathology such as septic arthritis as a cause of pain. We report the case of an elderly lady who presented with acute knee pain. Initial radiographs showed calcification at the lateral aspect of the knee joint. The pain settled with conservative management. Resorption of calcification was demonstrated on subsequent radiographs.


Finding materials with negative thermal expansion (NTE) property is challenging. Tuning NTE is of fundamental and technological importance. Pressure enhanced negative thermal expansion behavior in 2H CuScO2 is found and expounded using density functional theory (DFT) and quasi-harmonious approximation (QHA). The frequencies of low energy modes and Grüneisen parameters decrease under pressure, but the bulk modulus increases with pressure. The transverse vibration of Cu atoms becomes stronger under pressure and the materials undergo thermal softening. These factors including thermal softening, pressure induced decrease of Grüneisen parameters and pressure induced strengthening of transverse vibration of Cu atoms all contribute to the enhanced negative thermal expansion property in 2H CuScO2 in view of the thermodynamic relationship , Grüneisen's theory of thermal expansion and the mechanism of NTE, respectively.


Abstract Previously a double inverted pendulum was built with the cg of the lower pendulum located at the pinned joint connecting the lower and upper pendulum. A full-order estimator and state feedback controller were designed for this system and, with some difficulty, the pendulum was stabilized but operated in a limit cycle. The controllability of this system is analyzed by transforming a linearized state-space model of the pendulum to the modal domain and evaluating the modal control vector. It is shown that changing the lower pendulum cg location from the pinned joint to the middle of the lower pendulum significantly increases controllability and makes it easier to control the upper pendulum. These results invite the question: Would it have been easier to balance the pendulum if the cg was located in the middle of the lower pendulum? To answer this question, the pendulum system has been analyzed to determine the effects of this change in cg location on system controllability, observability, and design of the state estimator and state feedback controller. A state estimator and state feedback controller are designed for the new cg location and compared with those of the original system and it is found that to achieve the same closed-loop bandwidth, the state feedback gains for the model with the new cg location are reduced by the same factor that the controllability is increased, as expected. The steady-state operation of the two models is compared in the presence of angle measurement biases and Coulomb friction that caused a limit cycle in the original system. The results indicate that the sensitivities to measurement biases are very similar for both models but the amplitude of the steady-state limit cycle due to Coulomb friction is twice as large for the model with the new cg location. It is concluded that changing the cg of the lower pendulum from the pinned joint to the middle of the pendulum to increase controllability would not have made it easier to stabilize the pendulum. In analyzing these models it became apparent that biases in the angle measurements result in significantly larger the steady-state displacements of the base when the estimator is used than when direct state feedback is used. This sensitivity contributed to the difficulty of stabilizing the original pendulum.


Abstract. A new methodology based on cyclic voltammetry using a chemically modified
electrode has been developed for the discrimination of the floral origin of
honey. This method involves an electronic tongue with an electrochemical
sensor made from a carbon paste (CPs) electrode where zinc oxide (ZnO)
nanoparticles are used as an electroactive binder material. The bare CPs
electrode is evaluated for comparison. The electrochemical response of the
modified electrode in 50 samples of five different floral types of honey has
been analysed by the cyclic voltammetric technique. The voltammograms of each
floral variety of honey reflect the redox properties of the ZnO nanoparticles
present inside the carbon paste matrix and are strongly influenced by the
nectar source of honey. Thus, each type of honey provides a characteristic
signal which is evaluated by using principal component analysis (PCA) and an
artificial neural network (ANN). The result of a PCA score plot of the
transient responses obtained from the modified carbon paste electrode clearly
shows discrimination among the different floral types of honey. The ANN model
for floral classification of honey shows more than 90 % accuracy. These
results indicate that the ZnO nanoparticles modified carbon paste (ZnO Nps
modified CPs) electrode can be a useful electrode for discrimination of honey
samples from different floral origins.


Adaptive behavior of animals can he observed in the locomotion, as the variations of gait patterns. Physiological experiments demonstrated that decerebrate cats can adapt to periodic perturbation applied by the treadmill, and change their gait pattern with respect to the environmental changes. Based on this fact, we regard the adaptation as the process that adjusts memorized motion patterns to he more appropriate for the changed environments. Following this idea, we describe the adaptive behavior of decerebrate cat locomotion using a central pattern generator (CPG) model. We also take into account of the coupling of oscillators and limbs dynamics, and propose an adaptive control approach for the limb movements.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to determine histological, clinical features and prognosis at patients with fatty gepatose and nonalcohol steatogepatite (NASG). The material of this study was analysis of clinical and laboratory manifestations in 74 patients with fatty gepatose of nonalcohol etiology that we have observed in 60-70th years of the twentieth century. All patients were performed liver puncture biopsy, 7 patients puncture performed twice, two--three times and two--four times. Thus we studded 91 punctate. Patients with fatty dystrophy I - II - III degree and I - II degree of fibrosis were included in the group of fat gepatose without inflammatory reaction (1st group, 54 patients), patients with fat-dystrophia II - III degree and III degree of fibrosis--in a group of fat gepatose with inflammatory reaction (Group 2, 20 patients). Patients classified earlier in a group of fat gepatose with inflammatory reaction, according to modern classification positions on histological characteristics of nonalcoholic steatogepatite.

RESULTS
Functional disorders of liver are often not captured in conventional biochemical tests. It characterized by urobilinogenuriya, delayed retention of bromsulfalein, gipertriglitseridemiya. ALAT activity slightly increased in patients with fatty gepatose and exceeded norm in 1,5-2,5 times. While at NASG activity of this enzyme was more than half the enhanced AsAT, and gamma-GTP. Nonalcoholic steatogepatite did not have specific clinical and biochemical features. Assessment of inflammation and fibrosis degree using ultrasound liver is difficult and non-reliable. Therefore, NASG diagnosis based on represented data of liver puncture biopsy. In a lengthy check-up we have 42 patients with fat gepatose and NASG--stabilization process was defined in 34 people. Development of cirrhosis found in 5 patients. After repeat biopsy in these patients on a background of fat liver dystrophy encountered a picture of developing micronodular cirrhosis. In 3 of them had repeated liver puncture through 1.5 years. One patient puncture performed three times at intervals of 4.5 years, initial signs of cirrhosis found only in the last biopsy. Another patient moved 4 puncture for 6 years hemochromatosis as an iron overload syndrome, and initial signs of cirrhosis identified through 3 years, in next 3 years progression of morphological features of cirrhosis weren't found.

CONCLUSION
Nonalcoholic steatogepatite is an independent disease, which should be remembered in differential diagnosis in patients with sustained ALAT and ASAT improvement in serum especially in presence of obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia. The diagnosis was confirmed with biopsy of liver. Despite of oligosymptomatic course of the disease with long-term observation of more than one third of patients with evidence of progression of the process; cirrhosis development noted sixth of the patients, and more. Universally accepted treatment of NASG doesn't exists, although exclusion of provoking factors, therapy antioxidant drugs and ursodezoksiholevoy acid can have favorable effect. The study in 45 patients with NASG was adjusted an effective use of berlitione in the treatment of patients with nonalcoholic steatogepatite. At comparing different schemes of appointment preparations optimal effect were obtained in patients with berlitione dose 600 and 900 mg for two months.


Drawing on an actor-network articulation of evaluation theory, this article examines the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's transition from a punitive teacher evaluation model to a promising new development and support model, which focuses on teacher growth and environmental adjustments. Supported by dozens of interviews and observations of teachers, school and district administrators, support staff, and regional and state education organization employees, the article explains how material, discursive, and affective entanglements within and outside the evaluation apparatus constrained the realization of the new growth model of teacher evaluation. Actor-network evaluation provides a new articulation of evaluation contextualization that provides insight into why some promising changes may run out of steam.


Locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons are active during wakefulness, slow their discharge rate during slow wave sleep, and stop firing during paradoxical sleep (PS). A large body of data indicates that their inactivation during PS is due to a tonic GABAergic inhibition. To localize the neurons responsible for such inhibition, we first examined the distribution of retrogradely and Fos double‐immunostained neurons following cholera toxin b subunit (CTb) injection in the LC of control rats, rats selectively deprived of PS for 3 days, and rats allowed to recover for 3 hours from such deprivation. We found a significant number of CTb/Fos double‐labeled cells only in the recovery group. The largest number of CTb/Fos double‐labeled cells was found in the dorsal paragigantocellular reticular nucleus (DPGi). It indeed contained 19% of the CTb/Fos double‐labeled neurons, whereas the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) contained 18.3% of these neurons, the lateral paragigantocellular reticular nucleus (LPGi) 15%, the lateral hypothalamic area 9%, the lateral PAG 6.7%, and the rostral PAG 6%. In addition, CTb/Fos double‐labeled cells constituted 43% of all the singly CTb‐labeled cells counted in the DPGi compared with 29% for the LPGi, 18% for the rostral PAG, and 10% or less for the other structures. Although all these populations of CTb/Fos double‐labeled neurons could be GABAergic and tonically inhibit LC neurons during PS, our results indicate that neurons from the DPGi constitute the best candidate for this role. J. Comp. Neurol. 495:573–586, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Composite shells and panels are widely used in aerospace structures. These are often subjected to defects and damage from both in-service and manufacturing events. Delamination is the most important damage defect. This paper deals with the computational modelling of delamination in laminated composite shells. The use of three-dimensional finite elements for determining delamination of these structures is computationally expensive. Here combined double-layer and single-layer shell elements are employed to study the effect of delamination on the strain values in the sample under purely bending loads. The computational load and the accuracy of the modelling approaches are compared. It is shown that a through-the-thickness delamination can be modeled and analyzed effectively without requiring a great deal of computing time and memory. Some of the results are compared with the experimental results.


The red light (RD) marks high preference (PR), weight gain and welfare of broilers. A study was conducted to determine the PR for high (HI; 320 lux), medium (MI; 20 lux), dim (DI; 5 lux) intensities of RD and to investigate whether such PRs are influenced by age (AG), temporal variation (TV) and behaviour. The PR-chambers consisting of three identical compartments were provided with ad libitum feed, water and illumination from 5W incandescent bulbs (20 lux, 20 L:4D). A randomized complete block design was used with six replicates. Five birds were initially confined to the centre of each experimental unit (24 hrs.) and then allowed to move freely. Their presence under respective light intensity (LI) was recorded with behaviour adopting scan sampling. Data were analyzed using ANOVA procedure (a=0.05). The PR was significantly affected by AG, TV and behaviour, i.e. walking [Wk] and lying [Ly]. At the week 2 (wk 2) the highest (87%) and the lowest (3%) PRs were marked for HI and DI, respectively, in the night (NT). Young birds (14 d) preferred HI to DI, and the opposite was recorded with AG advancement. Irrespective of the AG, the highest PR was recorded for DI in the morning (MN) and HI in the NT. The reason could be that low intensities are associated with the cooling effect. The LI*TV*AG significantly affected on Ly and Wk. The highest Wk (87.29 % ± 0.05) was observed in the NT under HI at wk 2 and the highest Ly (39.95 % ± 0.08) was performed in the evening in DI at wk4. At the wk 2, all activities occurred mostly in HI; whereas at wk 5, Ly and sleeping (Sl) were dominant in DI. It is concluded that PR for different intensities of RD varies with AG advancement, temporal variation of the day, and certain behaviours (mainly Wk and Ly) of broiler birds. Older birds were inactive and preferred to perform Ly and Sl under DI. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (2): 146 – 157 (2014)


This study further examines the failure of game form recognition in preference elicitation (Cason and Plott, 2014) by making elicitation more cognitively demanding through a cognitive load manipulation. We hypothesized that if subjects misperceive one game for another game, then by depleting their cognitive resources, subjects would misconceive the more-cognitively demanding task for the less-cognitively demanding task at a higher rate. We find no evidence that subjects suffer from a first-price-auction game-form misconception but rather that once cognitive resources are depleted, subjects' choices are better explained by random choice. More cognitively able subjects are more immune to deviations from sub-optimal play than lower cognitively able subjects.


The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between serum magnesium and TNF-alpha levels in obese subjects. A cross-sectional population based study that included 192 non-diabetic, non-hypertensive subjects allocated in three categories of body mass index (BMI) <25; > or =25 to <30 kg/m2; and > or =30 kg/m2. Elevation of TNF-alpha levels was defined by serum levels > or =3.5 pg/mL, and low serum magnesium by levels < or = 0.74 mmol/L. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) adjusted by age, HOMA-IR index, and glucose tolerance status are presented. Obese subjects exhibited higher serum concentration of TNF-alpha (p = 0.002) and lower serum magnesium levels (p < 0.0001) than lean and overweight subjects. Ninety-one (47.4%) subjects showed elevated levels of TNF-alpha, of them 7 (10.9%), 31 (48.4%), and 43 (67.2%) in the groups with BMI <25, > or = 25 to < 0, and >> or =0 kg/m2, respectively. Multivariate OR between low serum magnesium and TNF-alpha levels in obese subjects was of 1.8, Cl95% 1.2-9.1, P = 0.001, whereas in the lean and overweight individuals of 1.1, Cl95% 0.7-8.7, P = 0.12, and 1.3, Cl95% 0.9-10.8, P = 0.09, respectively. These data shows that low serum magnesium levels and elevated TNF-alpha are related in the obese subjects. It will be necessary to conduct more studies in order to add new data on this issue.


CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells (CD25+ T regulatory [Treg] cells) are a naturally occurring suppressor T‐cell population that regulates a wide variety of immune responses. A major function of CD25+ Treg cells is to inhibit the activity of self‐reactive T cells that can potentially cause autoimmune disease. This review examines the recent advances in CD25+ Treg cell biology, with particular focus on the thymic and peripheral development of CD25+ Treg cells, the signals that promote their expansion and maintenance in the periphery and the mechanism by which they mediate their suppressor activity in peripheral lymphoid tissues. An understanding of these issues is likely to facilitate the development of CD25+ Treg‐cell‐based therapies for the treatment of autoimmune disease.


BACKGROUND
multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) caused pneumonia has become a crucial case. MDRO infection has been a problem concern to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). A lot of factors play roles in CAP with MDRO infection. This study aimed to analyze MDRO as the etiology of hospitalized patients with CAP along with its risk factors in Dr. Soetomo Hospital as one of the top referral hospitals in east Indonesia.

METHODS
this retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 2016 to December 2018. Data were collected from patients' medical records. Automatic Rapid Diagnosis (Phoenix TM) was used as a standard method for culture and susceptibility test. Various risk factors were analyzed for MDRO infection.

RESULTS
five most common pathogens in hospitalized patients with CAP were Acinetobacter baumannii 244/1364 (17.9%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 134/1364 (9.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 91/1364 (6.7%), Escherichia coli 58/1364 (4.3%), and Enterobacter cloacae 45/1364 (3.3%). There were 294/1364 (21.5%) MDROs isolated from patients with CAP. MDRO infection was linked to previous hospitalization, malignancy, cardiovascular disease, and structural lung disease with p values of 0.002, <0.001, 0.024, and <0.001, respectively.

CONCLUSION
the incidence of MDRO in CAP is high (21.5%). The risk factors related were previous hospitalization, malignancy, cardiovascular disease, and structural lung disease.


In the parallel contracting mode with characteristics of single client and several contractors in construction phase, quality rank-order tournaments is analyzed whether it can incentive contractors to improve quality or not from the angle of client by applying the correlation theory and technique of Game theory and Economics of Information. Quality rank-order tournaments game model is established, the optimal allocation of prizes is studied when the contractors' cost functions are convex. The result shows that in different conditions different optimal allocation of prizes should be adopted such as single prize or several positive prizes, furthermore, the optimal structure of prizes when several prizes are adopted is given.


Over the past 5 years, the neurohospitalist model of care has grown rapidly in both academic and community settings and appears poised to become the dominant model of inpatient neurologic care in the United States. Initial descriptions of neurohospitalists focused on their unique ability to solve a number of existing and emerging problems in inpatient neurologic care, including the increasing complexity of neurologic inpatients, the growing financial and time pressures related to outpatient neurologic care, the responsibility of teaching trainees, and hospital and community needs for rapid, on-site evaluation of neurologic emergencies.1 As with most major changes in medicine, the increase in the number of neurohospitalists has led to the identification of a new set of challenges to the field that will need to be addressed in the coming years in order to gauge the sustainability of this model across a wide range of hospital settings.


Objectives: Recent international policy suggests that changing public awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health priority. We conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions that targeted the public and aimed to change AMR awareness and associated behaviour. Here we focus on identifying the active content of such interventions and explore potential mechanisms of action. Design: Systematic review. Methods: The project took a novel approach to intervention mapping utilising the following steps: (i) systematic review of the literature; (ii) coding of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) using the BCT Taxonomy v1 from intervention descriptions alone; (iii) an exploration of explicit and tacit theory and theoretical constructs using the theory coding scheme and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), and (iv) an examination of the added value of BCT coding of intervention materials rather than intervention descriptions. Results: Nineteen studies utilising 14 BCTs were included. The most commonly used BCTs were 'information about health consequences' (79% of studies), 'credible source' (68% of studies), and 'instruction on how to perform the behaviour' (58% of studies). These represent theory congruent BCTs when mapped onto the TDF domains of knowledge and skills. An explicit theoretical framework for the interventions was reported in only four of the 19 studies. Conclusions: The study highlights the need for innovation in methods around intervention mapping. The current methodological approach provided a novel and useful way of mapping theoretical constructs and BCTs when reviewing studies that provide limited information on theory and intervention content.


Background Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) face multiple treatments and have contact with multiple healthcare providers during the course of their disease. A care booklet, consisting of information and tools to set and monitor treatment goals can support patients to be an active participant in the management of their disease. To optimize the implementation of a care booklet, it is important to get insight into factors influencing the use of a care booklet. Objectives The aim of this study is to identify factors that are associated with the use of a self-management care booklet in RA-patients. Methods The care booklet was distributed among patients visiting the departments of rheumatology of two hospitals in two regions of the Netherlands. An a-selective sample of 1000 RA-patients received the care booklet by mail; another a-selective sample of 1000 patients received an information letter with the option to order the care booklet. Four months after distribution, a random sample of 810 patients (stratified by hospital and distribution method) received a questionnaire on the use of the booklet and potential influencing factors. The use of the booklet was defined as having read it, making notes in the booklet and/or discussing it with a healthcare provider. Potential influencing factors included social-demographic characteristics, medication use, disease activity and duration, activity limitations, self-efficacy, illness perceptions, distribution strategy and educational needs. Based on univariate analysis, variables for a multilevel logistic regression model were selected. Region was included as random effect. Results In total 370 patients (46%) returned the questionnaire. Mean (SD) age of the patients was 65.1 (11.9) with the majority being woman (68%). The care booklet was used by 77 (21%) patients. No relation was found between distribution method and use of the care booklet. Age, cohabitation, activity limitation, educational needs and beliefs about RA having a fluctuating disease course, were univariately associated with the use of the care booklet (p<0.05). Identified factors independently associated with the use of the care booklet were: relatively high level of activity limitations (OR =2.36, CI 1.26–4.42), cohabiting (OR =2.21, CI 1.04-4.70), beliefs about RA having a fluctuating disease course (OR =1.84, CI 1.05–3.22) and younger age (OR =0.41, CI 0.22–0.76). Conclusions A low-cost self-management tool is used by about 1 out of 5 RA-patients. Our findings provide starting points to optimize further implementation strategies of a care-booklet by targeting specific subgroups of patients or by integrating the care booklet in the routine care. Further research should focus on the (cost)-effectiveness of care-booklet. Acknowledgements This project was financially supported by the Dutch Arthritis Foundation (Reumafonds) Disclosure of Interest None declared


Background: Pertinent findings of two national breast reconstruction (BR) surveys from two different institutions at two separate times (2012 vs 2010) were analyzed for comparison. Methods: An appraisal of sampling methodology, sample demographics, years of practice, practice affiliation, BR type, and annual volume between the two studies was conducted using statistical analysis. Results: Proper sampling technique and adequate sample size were used in both surveys to represent the typical population of general US plastic surgeons practicing BR. There were no differences in mean age or years of practice between the sample population in both studies. The percentage of plastic surgeons with academic affiliation was higher in the 2012 survey compared to the 2010 survey (28% vs 18%, P<0.05). Implant-based BR was the predominant method among surveyed plastic surgeons in both surveys. There was a substantial decrease in the proportion of plastic surgeons performing >20 cases per year in the 2012 survey compared to the 2010 survey (P<0.05). A high volume of BR, defined as >60 cases per year in the 2010 survey and >20 cases per year in the 2012 survey, correlated significantly with academic practice and multidisciplinary cancer centers, respectively (P<0.05). There was a significant decline in the percentage of plastic surgeons performing microsurgical BR from 2010 to 2012 (35% vs 25%, P<0.05). Conclusions: Comparative data suggest that there are fewer high volume BR cases being performed by US plastic surgeons and that there has been a reduction among plastic surgeons in the use of microsurgical BR from 2010 to 2012. We believe that these findings may indicate early signs of the changes in BR trends in the US.


This study investigated the occurrence of resveratrol in Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne and the effect of preharvest conditions on resveratrol content. Both cis- and trans-resveratrol were detected in strawberry achenes (seeds) and pulp (receptacle tissue). Resveratrol was found to be higher in achenes than in fruit pulp. The levels of resveratrol were affected by genotype variations, fruit maturation, cultural practices, and environmental conditions. High growing temperature (25 and 30 degrees C) or enriched CO 2 in the atmosphere significantly enhanced resveratrol content of strawberries. Advancing maturation also increased resveratrol content. The mature pulp and achenes contained higher amounts of resveratrol than the immature fruit. Adding compost as a soil supplement or preharvest application of methyl jasmonate (MJ) also significantly enhanced the level of resveratrol in strawberry fruit. Among the plants grown in hill plasticulture, fruits of 'Ovation (B28)', 'Mohawwk', 'Earliglow', and 'B35' had higher amounts of resveratrol than fruits of other genotypes. 'Ovation' contained the highest amount of resveratrol among strawberries grown in matted row, whereas 'Latestar' contained the least. Ten of 14 tested genotypes (all except 'Allstar', 'Delmarvel', 'Northeaster', and 'MEUS 8') had higher amounts of resveratrol when grown in hill plasticulture compared to matted row.


The author of this interesting monograph is a clinical chemist at the National Hospital for Nervous Disease, Queen Square. He has had an extraordinary experience with CSF studies apparently encompassing some 25,000 samples. It is stated that this book's main thrust is to put forward two hypotheses based on this data, mainly that there are multiple barriers for CSF proteins and that logarithmic models give a better fit to the quantitative analysis of immunoglobulin data. The book's focus is remarkably narrow and it is clear that when the author ventures outside his experience with CSF clinical chemistry, he runs into difficulty. Although tables suggesting clinical action on the basis of isolated CSF results are wellmeaning few clinicians would base the decision on therapy on the results of CSF immunoglobulin studies. Furthermore, comments about prognosis as they relate to these results are similarly of very little value. This book's main value lies in its relatively comprehensive review of the literature on most aspects of CSF although much NEUROLOGY: A CONCISE CLINICAL TEXT. 1989. By Michael Swash, Martin S. Schwartz. Published by W.B. Saunders. 400 pages. $39 Cdn.


As in many other European countries also Finnish higher education system has witnessed several reforms over the past decade many of which originate in efforts to make more competitive and affordable higher education system. The aim of this paper is to describe the changes and institutional mergers in particular that have taken place in Finnish higher education and explore what kind of academic identities are constructed amid changes in Finnish higher education. The paper shows that the mergers followed the objectives set by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for the structural development of the higher education system and that the creation of a joint culture for merged institutions was important yet challenging. The paper also argues that due to these external changes in Finnish higher education there is a tendency to move from a traditional notion of an academic toward more hybrid and dynamic understanding of what it is being an academic in the 21st century.


Background Since 1986, laser is used for percutaneous treatment of discal herniation. Due to a thermic effect, it infers an evaporation of the nucleus pulposus and allows a discal decompression that seems to be responsible for the improvement of the patients. Objectives To estimate the efficacy of the laser nucleolysis on pain, functional incapacity and quality of life of patients suffering of lombosciatica due to dics herniation. Methods Thirty patients suffering from lombosciatica due to a disc herniation for more than three months were selected on clinical and radiological criteria. All were not relieved although they underwent a well-driven medical treatment. They were treated with percutaneous way with a laser diode 940 nm. All were followed prospectively for six months by an examiner different from the operator. Evaluation criteria consisted of level of lumbar and radicular pain (VAS), level of functional incapacity (Oswestry) and quality of life (SF-36). Results 30 patients were included in this study. 6 months after the intervention 23 of them (76.6%) were relieved of their radicular pain (EVA < 20%). Lumbar pain and level of functional incapacity decreased whereas the quality of life increased. The patients who failed to improve three months after the procedure (23.4%) were all relieved later after a surgical discectomy. Conclusion Laser nucleolysis allows a significant decrease at month 6 of pain, functional incapacity and an increase of the quality of life in a group of selected patients suffering from lombosciatica resistant to the medical treatment.


Delayed in Transit, the report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) on acute bowel obstruction (ABO), highlighted a number of areas for improvement in this group of patients. The overarching finding was that there were delays in the pathway of care for patients with ABO at every stage of the clinical pathway, including diagnosis, decision-making and the availability of operating theatres. Furthermore, basic measures including hydration, nutritional screening and nutritional assessment were noted to be deficient. Patients who were admitted to non-surgical wards had an increased risk of delayed treatment and subsequently a longer starvation period. There was room for improvement of nutritional screening and assessment on admission, throughout the hospital stay and on discharge. A selection of the report recommendations that address these areas requiring improvement is discussed here.


Background and aim: Hypertension is a multifactorial condition that is among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Regulation of blood pressure greatly depends upon the activity of the autonomic nervous system. Alterations in the autonomic nervous system can lead to hypertension. In addition to nervous system control and individual physiologic state, various genes can directly influence autonomic responses. The complexity of blood pressure control is reflected in the 20-30% of individuals resistant to traditional pharmacological treatment, this indicates the need for alternative interventions. This article provides an integrative review and discussion of the key neurophysiologic and genetic factors that contribute to blood pressure regulation, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and manual therapy literature, and the manual therapy and blood pressure literature. Methods: To assess the effects of chiropractic on the management of hypertension we searched articles published from 1980 to 2019 in PubMed, the Index to Chiropractic Literature and CINAHL, using the keywords: chiropractic, spinal manipulation, hypertension, and blood pressure. Results: We found 38 original studies that analyzed the effect of chiropractic therapy on hypertension. Of these studies, 10 were case reports and the statistical significance of the effects of chiropractic on blood pressure was not evaluated on these articles, so we focused on the remaining 28 articles. Conclusions: The results of the review relative to chiropractic care were promising, but often contradictory, suggesting more research should be done. In consideration of the complexity of ANS blood pressure control, an evaluation of patient presenting physiologic and genetic characteristics is recommended and could provide valuable insight relative to the likelihood of patient blood pressure related responsiveness to care (www.actabiomedica.it)


A model to account for the reinforcement distribution in composite materials is developed. The method calculates the local reinforcement volume fraction for a given region of the composite so that the local elastic properties of the material can be estimated. The global elastic properties of the composite are determined by finite-element simulations with spatially varying local elastic properties. The method provides estimates of the elastic properties with reduced computational effort. Its advantages and limitations are discussed.


Labuhan Jukung Beach is one of the beaches in Kru, which is located on Krui Bay, West Coast District. This beach is a tourist beach directly adjacent to the Indian Ocean, so it has a high wave. Based on wind data from 2008 – 2017 that be analyzed in this research, Krui Beach has extreme wave height (25th return period) as big as 6 meters in deep-sea water and 3.4m in shallow water, consequently Krui Beach has the potential to erode To resolve these problems, must be built environmentally friendly coastal protection structure. The structure that can be used in this beach is groynes. Groynes serve as sediment traps and existence of groin does not disturb tourists who surf the beach. Based on HWS value and run-up wave calculation, the groin structure need to has elevation +10.3m from seabed, with armor weight is 6.3 ton.


Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) typically employs the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism. In non-human primates (NHP), contrast enhancement is possible using monocrystalline iron-oxide nanoparticles (MION) contrast agent, which has a more temporally extended response function. However, using BOLD fMRI in NHP is desirable for interspecies comparison, and the faster response of the BOLD signal promises to be beneficial to rapid event-related (rER) designs. Here, we used rER BOLD fMRI in macaque monkeys while viewing real-world images, and found visual responses and category-selectivity consistent with previous studies. However, activity estimates were very noisy, suggesting that the lower contrast-to-noise ratio of BOLD, suboptimal behavioural performance, and motion artefacts, in combination, render rER BOLD fMRI challenging in NHP. Previous studies have shown that rER monkey fMRI is possible with MION, despite its prolonged response function. To understand this, we conducted simulations of the BOLD and MION response during rER designs, and found that no matter how fast the design, the greater amplitude of the MION response outweighs the contrast loss caused by greater temporal smoothing. We conclude that although any two of the three elements (rER, BOLD, NHP) have been shown to work well, the combination of all three is particularly challenging.


In this paper I investigate the formulaic language of fifth-century BCE honorific decrees and the extent to which the Athenians used specifically democratic language: were men honoured for benefiting the city or specifically the democracy? Despite the general belief that the rhetorical formula 'being good towards the demos' had a democratic meaning, consideration of all the readable fifth-century bce honorific decrees demonstrates that a standard formula to indicate the addressee of the benefits did not exist; rather, it is apparent that honorific decrees enacted under the democracy used indifferently the formulae 'being good towards the demos', 'being good towards the polis' and 'being good towards the Athenians'. Moreover, a final consideration of an oligarchic honorific decree will show that oligarchs were perhaps more careful with their language (avoiding 'demos' and preferring 'polis') than the democrats might have been.


Johann Josef Boker Michael von Savoyen und der Fassadenriss des Kolner Doms Cologne: Bohlau Verlag, 2018, 170 pp., 53 b/w illus. €30 (cloth), ISBN 9783412501006

Johann Josef Boker's new book stands as a coda of sorts to one of the most significant publishing enterprises in medieval architecture undertaken in recent years. Two decades ago, Boker began to study the hundreds of medieval architectural drawings in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, by far the largest such collection in the world. His lavishly produced catalogue of this collection appeared in 2005, followed by two similarly grand volumes written with a group of younger colleagues, the first published in 2011 on drawings from Ulm and the Danube region, the second in 2013 on drawings from the Rhineland.1 With their superb illustrations and comprehensive coverage, these catalogues constitute an essential new resource for the study of medieval architecture in the Germanic world. The texts of these catalogues are also rich in revisionist hypotheses, especially involving dating and attribution, some of which work better than others. For example, while Boker's rehabilitation of the fifteenth-century Viennese designer Laurenz Spenning makes excellent sense on documentary and stylistic grounds, his treatment of the earlier Rhenish builder Erwin von Steinbach is more problematic; he attributes to Erwin nearly every important architectural design made in the upper Rhineland in the decades around 1300, often neglecting evidence that would complicate this thesis. He thus credits Erwin not only with the original design drawing for Strasbourg Cathedral's west facade but also with the facade as built, where ideas from the drawing were dramatically transformed. Boker also assigns to Erwin the design of Freiburg Minster's magnificent spire, a pyramid of openwork tracery whose format has no precedent in the early drawings for the Strasbourg facade.

The origins of the openwork spire format have long been controversial. The Freiburg spire was certainly the first of this type to be built, but many scholars have suspected that …


With ILO-92 Otodynamics Analyzer, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) at the 2 f1-f2 frequency were recorded from 86 normally hearing ears in response to four groups of different primary levels (L1 = L2 = 75 dB SPL; L1 = L2 = 65 dB SPL; L1 = L2 = 60 dB SPL; L1 = 65 dB SPL, L2 = 50 dB SPL). The average DPOAEs-gram demonstrated a bilobed contour with two peaks at approximately 1.5 kHz and 5 kHz and "notch" between 2.5 kHz and 3 kHz. Moreover, the contour of DPOAEs-gram had no obvious changes with sex, ear or primary stimulus levels differences. While the primary levels increased, the amplitude of DPOAEs gradually increased, which was about 55-65 dB SPL below the primary levels. At each frequency from 1-6 kHz, statistical analysis showed that there existed significantly different DPOAEs level under four groups of different primary stimulus levels.


The aim of the thesi is to formulate a suitable Item Response Theory (IRT) based model to measure HRQoL (as latent variable) using a mixed responses questionnaire and relaxing the hypothesis of normal distributed latent variable. The new model is a combination of two models already presented in literature, that is, a latent trait model for mixed responses and an IRT model for Skew Normal latent variable. It is developed in a Bayesian framework, a Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure is used to generate samples of the posterior distribution of the parameters of interest. The proposed model is test on a questionnaire composed by 5 discrete items and one continuous to measure HRQoL in children, the EQ-5D-Y questionnaire. A large sample of children collected in the schools was used. In comparison with a model for only discrete responses and a model for mixed responses and normal latent variable, the new model has better performances, in term of deviance information criterion (DIC), chain convergences times and precision of the estimates.


US Census Bureau poverty measures do not include an explicit need for health care or insurance nor do they consider health insurance benefits to be resources. Consequently, they cannot measure the direct impact of health insurance benefits on poverty. This paper reviews conceptual and practical considerations in incorporating health benefits and needs into poverty measures. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches including variants of the Official Poverty Measure (OPM); the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM); using a threshold with medical out-of-pocket (MOOP) expenditures; a Medical Care Expenditure Risk (MCER) Index; willingness to pay (WTP) for Medicaid; and the Health-Inclusive Poverty Measure (HIPM; Korenman and Remler 2016). We present estimates of Medicaid's impacts on child poverty, based on the HIPM. This paper was prepared as a background paper for the Committee on Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years, of the Board of Children, Youth and Families of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper was submitted in October 2017 and embargoed until the release of the Committee's report, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, in March of 2019.


STU-2A, developed by Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites, to validate orbit maneuver technology, is equipped with 3 reaction wheels and the NanoSpace-developed nano-propulsion. The former is used to stabilize and maneuver the attitude of STU-2A before orbit maneuver while the latter is employed for orbit maneuver and satellite stabilization in the process. These actuators ensure CubeSats the capabilities to demonstrate some novel and important technologies, such as space rendezvous. A 4-nozzle nano-propulsion, developed in Sweden, is employed to control the orbit and the attitude of STU-2A simultaneously. Several velocity increments with proper time intervals would be implemented first to adjust the separation distance between STU-2A and STU-2B from the initial relative situation to a proper one, and to ensure the two satellites the same orbital period and near-zero eccentricity. Another velocity increment would result in a kind of formation flying of which STU-2A would cycle to some point and overtake STU-2B along its geocentric orbit. During the process of orbit maneuvers, a thruster-based Bang-Bang attitude control scheme is adopted to guarantee the orbit maneuver executed perfectly. Simulation results indicate that the designed orbit maneuver scheme is feasible and the coupling control law works well with an above 95% effectiveness of orbit maneuver.


BACKGROUND
Nitrate leaching and the resulting groundwater contamination from intensive cereal production has become a major concern for long-term farmland efficiency and environmental sustainability in northern China. The aim of this study was to evaluate a water-saving super-absorbent polymer (SAP) for minimising NO(3)(-) leaching from soil and optimising corn growth and yield. Thirty-six undisturbed soil lysimeters were installed in a field lysimeter facility in drought-affected northern China to study the growth and yield characteristics of summer corn (Zea mays L.) as well as the amount of NO(3)-leaching losses under different fertiliser (standard, medium or 75% and low, or 50% of conventional fertilisation rate) and SAP (control, 0; level-1, 15 kg ha(-1) and level-2, 30 kg ha(-1)) treatments.

RESULTS
Corn yield fell by 19.7% under medium and 37.7% under low fertilisation; the application of SAP increased yield significantly by 44.4% on level-1 and 80.3% on level-2. Similarly, plant height, leaf area, number of grains as well as protein, soluble sugar and starch contents in the grain also increased with SAP treatment. Application of SAP at 30 kg ha(-1) plus half of conventional fertilisation can reduce maximum (64.1%) nitrate leaching losses from soil.

CONCLUSIONS
Application of SAP at 30 kg ha(-1) plus only half the amount of conventional fertiliser rate (150 kg urea, and 50 kg each of superphosphate and potassium sulfate) would be a more appropriate practice both for minimising nitrate leaching and sustainable corn production under the arid and semiarid conditions of northern China.


Indoor localization is a growing research field and interest is expanding in many application fields, including services, measurement, mapping, security, and standardization. The quest for appropriate tracking technologies for COVID-19 pandemic control has shown us the importance of identifying the sensors data and processing that are suitable, accurate, reliable, and respectful of privacy. A prominent area is, therefore, that of sensors, where both improved hardware solutions and more powerful data analysis are required.


The effectiveness of Double Concave Curved Surface Sliders (DCCSS), which initially spread under the name of Double Friction Pendulum (DFP) isolators, was already widely proven by numerous experimental campaigns carried out worldwide. However, many aspects concerning their dynamical behavior still need to be clarified and some details still require improvement and optimization. In particular, due to the boundary geometrical conditions, sliding along the coupled surfaces may not be compliant, where this adjective is adopted to indicate an even distribution of stresses and sliding contact. On the contrary, during an earthquake, the fulfillment of geometrical compatibility between the constitutive bodies naturally gives rise to a very peculiar dynamic behavior, composed of continuous alternation of sticking and slipping phases. Such behavior yields a temporary and cyclic change of topology. Since the constitutive elements can be modelled as rigid bodies, both approaches, namely Compliant Sliding and Stick-Slip, can be numerically modelled by means of techniques typically adopted for multi-body mechanical systems. With the objective of contributing to the understanding and further improvement of this technology, a topology-changing multi-body mechanical model was developed to simulate the DCCSS. In the present work, attention is focused on details regarding geometrical compatibility and kinematics, while the complete dynamics is presented in another work. In particular, for the sake of comparison, the kinematic equations are presented and applied not only for the proposed Stick-Slip approach, but also for the currently accepted Compliant Sliding approach. The main findings are presented and discussed.


In order to identify new anticancer compounds from nature, a prefractionated library derived from Australian endemic plants was generated and screened against the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP using a metabolic assay. Fractions from the seeds, leaves, and wood of Anopterus macleayanus showed cytotoxic activity and were subsequently investigated using a combination of bioassay-guided fractionation and mass-directed isolation. This led to the identification of four new diterpenoid alkaloids, 6α-acetoxyanopterine (1), 4'-hydroxy-6α-acetoxyanopterine (2), 4'-hydroxyanopterine (3), and 11α-benzoylanopterine (4), along with four known compounds, anopterine (5), 7β-hydroxyanopterine (6), 7β,4'-dihydroxyanopterine (7), and 7β-hydroxy-11α-benzoylanopterine (8); all compounds were purified as their trifluoroacetate salt. The chemical structures of 1-8 were elucidated after analysis of 1D/2D NMR and MS data. Compounds 1-8 were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against a panel of human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, C4-2B, and DuCaP) and nonmalignant cell lines (BPH-1 and WPMY-1), using a live-cell imaging system and a metabolic assay. All compounds showed potent cytotoxicity with IC50 values of <400 nM; compound 1 was the most active natural product from this series, with an IC50 value of 3.1 nM toward the LNCaP cell line. The live-cell imaging assay on 1-8 showed a concentration- and time-dependent effect on the cell morphology and proliferation of LNCaP cells.


AimsThis research aims to understand relatives' and carers' experiences of discussions about resuscitation. Findings are needed to inform policy and practice about what works well and how discussions about resuscitation need to improve.BackgroundDo Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) discussions have been especially challenging during the pandemic. Hospital visiting restrictions and untimely deaths due to COVID-19 have disrupted usual modes of communication between staff, patients and relatives. There have been reports of blanket DNACPR decisions being applied to older people and complaints about communication are common. This is distressing for patients and families and costly for the NHS.MethodsThis qualitative research uses semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of people who discussed resuscitation on behalf of a relative during the COVID-19 pandemic. An interview topic guide was developed in collaboration with patients and public involvement partners. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysed using framework analysis.Results18 semi-structured interviews have been undertaken to date. Analysis has identified the following themes:The importance of communication. This includes the timing of communication about DNACPR and examples of good practice and the lack of information about DNACPR for patients and families.The multiple dimensions of resuscitation and DNACPR, with misunderstanding about what resuscitation involves, how the decision about DNACPR is made, and by whom.Wide-ranging impacts of the DNACPR decision, feeling overlooked and disregarded by the medical team, guilt at not contesting a DNACPR decision, and consequent mistrust of the healthcare system.We aim to complete over 30 interviews by March 2022. Recruitment will continue until inductive thematic saturation.ConclusionUrgent action is needed to improve communication and ensure appropriate DNACPR discussions. Current practice results in frequent misunderstandings and lasting negative effects which may have detrimental consequences for bereavement reactions and future relationships with healthcare professionals.


Empirically, we find that the parametric plots of the imaginary vs real parts of the complex viscosity may depend neither on temperature nor on average molecular weight. Moreover, for a fixed polydispersity, these viscosity Cole–Cole curves amplify both rightward and upward with long-chain branching content. In this paper, we find that general rigid bead–rod theory [O. Hassager, "Kinetic theory and rheology of bead–rod models for macromolecular solutions. II. Linear unsteady flow properties," J. Chem. Phys. 60(10), 4001–4008 (1974)] can explain these rightward and upward amplifications. We explore the effects of branching along a straight chain in small-amplitude oscillatory shear flow. Specifically, we explore the number of branches, branch length, branch position, and branch distribution.


What is Money Laundering ('ML')? How has the definition of ML expanded in recent years? Where does AML law and regulation come from? When must I report any 'suspicion'?
 Money Laundering Compliance is designed as a detailed reference source both on legal and technical details, as well as practical and procedural points. It provides a technical and practical overview of AML/CFT provisions in the UK and other key international jurisdictions including:
 - Bahamas
 - Bermuda
 - Cayman Islands
 - Guernsey
 - Isle of Man
 - Jersey
 - Singapore
 - Switzerland
 - United States
 The Fourth Edition has been completely revised in line with recent legislation and case law, with other key areas of change including:
 - The impact of Brexit on the UK's position vis-a-vis EU Law, and in particular in relation to the EU Money Laundering Directives covering AML/CFT matters
 - 'Economic Substance' requirements in key jurisdictions
 - A new chapter on FinTech, the host of AML/CFT RegTech websites/Mobile Apps, and the introduction of new methods of CDD verification
 - A new chapter on crypto assets and regulation
 - Current sanctions against defined Russian Oligarchs
 - The general prohibition against the provision of trust and company services to certain 'Russian-connected' trusts
 This essential resource ensures that finance professionals, private bankers, lawyers, trust and estate practitioners, regulators, compliance officers and other advisers remain up to date with this increasingly complex and crucial area of law.
 This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's Banking and Finance online service.


I describe a new policy that endows firms with limited-duration, virtual shares in their own workers' future realized earnings growth. The policy seeks to leverage employers to address a key challenge of the modern world: increasing worker skills well into adulthood. I label the policy "generalized experience rating" (GER) because it builds on the more narrow experience rating long embodied in the US unemployment insurance system. GER can be interpreted as a Pigouvian tax, and as a mandate alleviating an adverse selection problem. I discuss many design issues and potential unintended consequences. I conclude the policy may warrant further research.


PURPOSE
To determine the risks of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and transplant-related mortality after allogeneic peripheral-blood stem-cell (PBSC) transplantation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Between December 1994 and July 1996, 50 consecutive patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies in first remission or relapse received high-dose therapy followed by transplantation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized, allogeneic PBSCs collected from HLA-identical siblings. GVHD prophylaxis included cyclosporine and corticosteroids.

RESULTS
As of April 1, 1998, 18 patients (36%+/-13%) survived with a median follow-up period of 767 days (range, 602 to 1,127 days). The actuarial probability of grades 2-4 acute GVHD was 0.37+/-0.14 (95% confidence interval). Of 36 assessable patients, 26 (72%+/-15%) developed chronic GVHD. The actuarial probability of chronic GVHD 2 years after transplantation was 0.87+/-0.15. Of 14 progression-free survivors, 11 (79%+/-22%) have active, chronic GVHD. All 11 patients require ongoing immunosuppression, and nearly two thirds have extensive disease. Thirteen patients died as a result of transplant-related mortality (26%+/-12%), six (12%) before and seven (14%) after day +100.

CONCLUSION
We observed a high risk of chronic GVHD after allogeneic PBSC transplantation, which compromised the performance status of most long-term survivors and resulted in a relatively high risk of late transplant-related mortality. Approximately 75% of transplant-related deaths were associated with GVHD; thus, reduction in transplant-related mortality after allogeneic PBSC transplantation will require more effective strategies for the prophylaxis and/or treatment of GVHD.


Proposed is a liquid-crystal sealing material for liquid-crystal dropping methods which has excellent resistance to liquid-crystal penetration thereinto and is also excellent in terms of general properties required of liquid-crystal sealing materials, such as adhesion strength, and which facilitates the production of a liquid-crystal display cell having excellent long-term reliability. This liquid-crystal sealing material for liquid-crystal dropping methods contains a solid ingredient (I), wherein in cases when the specific gravity of the solid ingredient (I) is expressed by A [g/cm3], the content of the ingredient (I) in the liquid-crystal sealing material by B [g], and the volume of the liquid-crystal sealing material by C [cm3], the A, B, and C satisfy numerical expression (a). In viscosity examination with an E-type viscometer at 25 Degree Centigrate under the conditions of 5 rpm and 0.5 rpm, the sealing material has a thixotropic ratio, shown by (viscosity at 0.5 rpm)/(viscosity at 5 rpm), of 1.1-3.0. 0.2<=B/(A*C)<=0.4 (a).


This document is a critical review of three recent reports detailing research on the appropriate level of design gyrations to use when preparing hot mix asphalt (HMA) mix designs for airfield pavements using the gyratory compactor. Research performed at the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) recommended using 70 gyrations when designing HMA for airfield pavements using the gyratory compactor. The results from research using a similar approach, sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and performed by SRA International, Inc. (SRA) and several other contractors, concurred that 70 gyrations was an appropriate compaction level. This research also found that HMA designed using 75-blow Marshall compaction and 70 gyrations exhibited similar levels of rut resistance and fatigue resistance when evaluated in laboratory tests. A third study, Airfield Asphalt Pavement Technology Program (AAPTP) Project 04-03, also examined the issue of using gyratory compaction to design HMA for airfield pavements. In this project, it was recommended that design gyrations should increase with increasing tire pressure. For example, the AAPTP 04-03 report recommended that, for HMA subject to aircraft tire pressures in excess of 200 lb/in2, 80 gyrations should be used in preparing specimens during the mix design process. Although the concept of linking design gyrations to aircraft tire pressure has merit, the performance test used in developing these recommendations was not calibrated to actual pavement performance. Therefore, it is recommended that 70 gyrations be used in preparing mix designs for HMA for airfield pavements, in accordance with the ERDC and FAA/SRA reports.


In this article, the one-effective mode Marcus-Jortner-Levich (MJL) theory and the classical Marcus theory for electron transfer were applied to estimate the internal conversion rate constant, kIC, of organic molecules and a Ru-based complex, all belonging to the Marcus inverted region. For this, the reorganization energy was calculated using the minimum energy conical intersection point to account for more vibrational levels, correcting the density of states. The results showed good agreement with experimental and theoretically determined kIC, with a small overestimation by the Marcus theory. Also, molecules less dependent on the solvent effects, like benzophenone, presented better results than molecules with an expressive dependence, like 1-aminonaphthalene. Moreover, the results suggest that each molecule possesses unique normal modes leading to the excited state deactivation that does not necessarily match the X-H bond stretching, as previously suggested.