The system for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) on board of passenger related ships is one of the biggest energy consumer. The system is vital to the comfort of the crew, passengers and can improve reliability of equipment. Since fuel prices keep rising and green credentials of a ship become more important it is necessary to have insight into the efficiency of the HVAC system. When a ship designer wants to analyse the potential of energy efficient measures, other HVAC layouts or needs to evaluate how the current system will behave in off-design conditions the behaviour of the system in actual service conditions is required. Power demand varies in time due to time dependent variables like ambient conditions and internal heat loads. These aspects can be investigated through time consuming on-site measuring, but this project investigates the possibility to generate this research data by time domain simulations with an HVAC system simulation computer model. The purpose of this project is to develop a tool which provides the ship designer easy access to data of energy consumption and HVAC system behaviour in different service conditions and operational areas, in order to analyse energy efficiency in the early design stage and to gain system understanding to enable the designer to act as smart customer towards HVAC experts and suppliers. The HVAC computer model is constructed from separate component models, each describing a physical discernible part of the HVAC process. These components are verified during extensive verification procedures, to make sure the model behaves as expected. The HVAC system of the AMELS 272 superyacht, a central variable air volume (VAV) configuration with reheating, is used as a benchmark for this project. A test case consisting of one air handling unit (AHU) and two conditioned rooms with dedicated local control is built from the component models. The benchmark simulation showed that the model is able to generate data of the energy consumption and the behaviour of the HVAC system and the separate components within a matter of seconds. From this data the energy consumption of the reheaters proved to be substantial during a one day cycle for every climate. The nominal local flow rate is determined based on the worst case design conditions and because the minimum flow rate of local supply air is limited at a certain percentage of the nominal flow rate, the local supply air provides too much cooling capacity the majority of the day. Therefore a substantial amount of reheating is required. From the system understanding gained with the results from the benchmark simulation several suggestions arose for case studies to increase the efficiency and demonstrate the capabilities of the model to investigate the impact of adjustments in the HVAC system. By raising the AHU supply temperature with one degree up to 14% energy reduction can be realized, with the consequence that less dehumidification occurs in the AHU, resulting in higher indoor relative humidity. Lowering the flow rate limit proved to reduce the energy consumption with up to 9% for decreasing the limit with 5%, with the consequence that possibly insufficient air mixing is provided to have homogeneous temperature distribution throughout the room. Increasing the recirculation ratio reduced the energy consumption with up to 3% for every 5% extra recirculation air. Because of the high reheating demand a measure to lower the solar heat gain through glass did not result in energy savings. To quantify the potential of the case studies more research needs to be conducted to the boundaries of the consequences of these energy efficient measures. If the consequences are found to be unacceptable, more research can be performed to measures to cope with the consequences.


Southern Ocean mesoscale eddies play an important role in ocean circulation and biogeochemical cycling, but their biological characteristics have not been well quantified at the basin scale. To address this, we combined a 15‐year tracked eddy data set with satellite observations of ocean color, sea surface temperature, and autonomous profiling floats to quantify the surface and subsurface properties of eddies. Anomalies of surface temperature and chlorophyll were examined in eddy‐centric composite averages constructed from thousands of eddies. Normalized surface chlorophyll anomalies (chlnorm) vary seasonally and geographically. Cyclones typically show positive chlnorm, while anticyclones have negative chlnorm. The sign of chlnorm reverses during late summer and autumn for eddies between the Subtropical and Polar Fronts. The reversal is most obvious in the Indian sector, and we attribute this to a combination of eddy stirring (deformation of surface gradients by the rotational velocity of an eddy) and deeper winter mixing in anticyclones. Both chlnorm and sea surface temperature anomalies transition from dipole structures north of the Subtropical Front to monopole structures south of the Subantarctic Front. Sea surface temperature and chlnorm composites provide evidence for eddy trapping (transporting of anomalies) and eddy stirring. This research provides a basin‐scale study of surface chlorophyll in Southern Ocean eddies and reveals counterintuitive biogeochemical signals.


Introduction Heart transplantation which is an option for end-stage heart diseases can be associated with various complications during follow-up. In this study we report the lung related complications in heart transplant recipients performed in 88 patients. Materials and Methods Medical records related to orthotopic heart transplant recipients from January 2003 to November 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Results A total of 88 patients were included in the study. 19 of them were female and mean age was 39 ± 14 years at time of transplantation. 37 patients (%42) presented with pulmonary complications. Pneumonia was the most common complication (n=31). 13 of these patients had pulmonary aspergillosis (mainly aspegillus fumigatus, flavus and terreus), 9 of them had community acquired pneumonia and 9 of them nosocomial type. 2 patients had lung tuberculosis, 1 had pulmonary thromboemboli and 1 case developed lung cancer during follow-up. 5 patients had prolonged respiratory failure requiring tracheotomy. As far as concerns the thorax tomography findings pneumonic infiltrations (n=23), pleural effusion (n=18), atelectasis (n=17), nodules (n=12), ground glass appearance (n=7) and pneumothorax in 7 patients were detected. Mortality was calculated as 51%. Conclusion Pulmonary complications are quite common after cardiac transplantation and can occur at any time during follow-up. Close monitoring of these patients is necessary for early detection of especially pulmonary infections which might be even invasive like aspergillosis that can be hardly detected because of obscure findings and symptoms in transplant patients. Thorax tomography and bronchoscopy should be the procedures of choice in diagnosis of lung complications.


We demonstrate stimulated supercontinuum-radiation of carbon disulfide (CS2) influenced by biological molecules all-trans-β-carotene in liquid core optical fibre (LCOF). By virtue of the broad fluorescence characteristics and large third-order optical nonlinearities of all-trans-β-carotene, the high-order Stokes lines of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and the multi-order Stokes lines of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) excitated by SRS are observed at low input-laser energies. The results indicate that the fluorescence not only enhances the SRS, but also the SBS. These Stokes lines generate the SRS-SBS supercontinuum radiation (RBSR). A flat-amplitude bandwidth of 110 nm from 515 nm to 625 nm is observed when a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm with an energy of 0.86 mJ is used. This result is expected to be useful for the multi-wavelength fibre laser.


In this paper author takes the review of different types of nano fluids. Studied different nano materials and its t engineering applications with their different properties. By this study one can use Al2O3 as nano coolant for future automobile engine. Using this nano fluid increase the performance of automobile engine which is today's requirement, and increase fuel economy and emission by increasing thermal conductivity. As mentioned below different investigators explained their theories and they found various properties like electrical, physical, thermal etc. They have also prepared nanofluid of various nono-particles. Relevant literature is available based on these studies. The current work is an attempt to manufacturing of zinc oxide nanopowder, preparation of nanofluid and evaluates its thermal and physical properties. The outcomes of experimental work under different volume fraction will be analyzed to have conclusions regarding to viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat transfer rate, thermal diffusivity analysis. Forced convective heat transfer in a water based nano fluid has compared to that of pure water in vehicle radiator. When nano particles of Al2O3 added in to water heat transfer coefficient increased and circulation rate of fluid increased which improve heat transfer efficiency some of researches are to be needed on drawbacks of nanofluid.


Background Digital health innovations can support the prevention and management of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke. However, little is known about people's everyday experiences of digitally augmented stroke-prevention programmes combining onsite group sessions including peers and healthcare professionals with interaction and support from a multifactorial mHealth app. Objective The aim of this study was to explore how people with stroke risk experienced interaction with a multifactorial mHealth app as support in the make my day stroke-prevention programme. Methods Repeated interviews and observations with 12 adults with moderate to high stroke risk were analysed using a constant comparative method informed by constructive grounded theory. Results Incorporating new ways of doing into everyday life involves a process through which participants learn from both being and doing in different environments (e.g., digital, physical and social). Digital self-monitoring combined with seemingly trivial everyday experiences played central roles in the process of increasing awareness of health and stroke risks, and providing tools to support increased self-reflection on everyday behaviours. Adoption of positive health behaviours in everyday life was supported or hindered by how easy to use and personally relevant the mHealth app was perceived to be. Conclusions An experience-based group programme together with a personally relevant multifactorial mHealth app can be supportive in stroke prevention to increase general health literacy and stroke risk literacy, and promote the incorporation of new ways of doing in everyday life. Routines of doing digital self-monitoring and health-promoting activities were however strongly influenced by different environments in which choices are presented. It is therefore important to explore how both self-monitoring and health-promoting activities can be incorporated into everyday routines for different individuals. Research should also explore how personally relevant mHealth can be developed and integrated into prevention practices in primary healthcare.


Twin births have occurred seasonally in England and Wales since 1940. The probability of a twin birth is highest in November and lowest in May. The difference between the two probabilities is of the order of seven per cent.


With the predicted climate change and an ever-growing population there is increasing
pressure to develop crop plants with improved stress responses, increased yield and high
nutritive value. We have explored transcriptomic changes in the leaves and roots of rice
plants (Oryza sativa japonica cv Nipponbare) in response to drought and the root-knot
nematode Meloidogyne graminicola. A glasshouse model was developed to mimic
conditions experienced by rice plants in the field. The plant responses under
simultaneous biotic and abiotic stress were dominated by the drought element
accompanied by a unique set of genes that were only responsive to the simultaneous
stress. Highlighted within this group were novel members of stress-responsive gene
families for example cytochrome P450, wall-associated kinases, lipid transfer proteinlike
proteins and new candidate genes that may play important roles in the response of
rice to multiple stresses. The genes that were differentially regulated between the
multiple and the drought stress treatment were explored using loss-of-function mutants.
The loss-of-function mutant for peroxidase precursor gene (per) showed improved
growth and yield compared to the wildtype Nipponbare plants. The experiments
conducted in growth rooms were validated in a field study. Both Nipponbare rice plants,
and the popular lowland indica rice cv IR64 were grown under prolonged vegetative
drought stress accompanied by cyst nematode or root-knot nematode infection.
Reduction of phytate, an anti-nutrient, has been adopted as a major strategy to improve
the nutritional value of crop plants. Nematode susceptibility of low phytate Arabidopsis
plants was studied to determine the effect of reduced phytate content on the plant's
defence response.
The study has provided insight into the genome-wide transcriptional changes in rice
under a combined biotic and abiotic stress. It has led to better understanding of the
stress responses in plants that will be advantageous in developing crop varieties with
improved yield and nutritive value.


Introduction Most patients with oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OA) are unfit for curative treatment but are fit for photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT has been limited by poor tumour selectivity, poor tissue penetration of light and protracted side effects. These restrictions may be overcome with targeted PDT. We have previously demonstrated aberrantly glycosylated MUC1 (AG-MUC1), bound by humanised anti-human milk-fat globule-1 (Hu-HMFG1) antibody is significantly expressed in Barrett's epithelium (BE) with high grade dysplasia and OA. In this study, we characterise photoimmunoconjugates (PIC) of Hu-HMFG1 with the photosensitisers (PS) pyropheophorbide-α (PPa), and PS1, a water-soluble derivative of PPa activated in the near infra-red. Methods PPa succinimidyl ester (PPA-SE) and PS1 were first synthesised (PhotoBiotics) from PPa. Both PS were then conjugated with Hu-HMFG1. The resulting PICs were dialysed, centrifuged and the supernatant and resultant pellet were resuspended in PBS and retained for spectroscopic and SDS-Page gel analysis. Fluorescence of PICs in the gels were photographed and the gels stained with Coomasie to confirm accurate loading. AIDA image analyser software was used for densitometry measurement. Results HuHMFG1:PPa PICs, although well conjugated by fluorescent photography of SDS-page gels, were very insoluble. Further characterisation was limited to PS1 PICs. UV/Vis analysis of the soluble HuHMFG1:PS1 PIC supernatant, suitable for subsequent in vitro testing, confirmed maximum absorption at 683 nm (Abstract PWE-012 figure 1). SDS page analysis indicated up to 52% of PS1 photosensitiser was conjugated in the supernatant mixture post-dialysis. AIDA image analysis confirmed that in those antibodies conjugated, a loading ratio of PS1:HuHMFG1 of up to 7:1 was achieved.Abstract PWE-012 Figure 1 UV/Vis spectrum of HuHMFG1:PS1 PIC. Conclusion This pilot study is the first to successfully conjugate HuHMFG1 with the photosensitisers PPa and PS1. These PICs could potentially selectively target photosensitisers to tissues of interest preserving the surrounding architecture during PDT. HuHMFG1:PS1 PICs have shown enhanced absorption in the red spectral region which will translate clinically into deeper tissue penetration than currently licenced photosensitisers. Further experiments are needed to both optimise the conjugation protocol and purify the product to GLP standards prior to clinical studies. Competing interests None declared.


Background/Aims In some Western countries, up to 50% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have subclinical gut inflammation. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and severity of gut inflammation and to determine clinical factors associated with colonic inflammation in Korean AS patients who performed ileocolonoscopy without evidence of established inf lammatory bowel diseases before. Methods One hundred and eight AS patients who underwent ileocolonoscopy were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups based on gross ileocolonoscopic findings; patients with inflammatory lesions, and patients without inflammatory lesions. Results Inf lammatory lesions in ileocolonoscopic findings were found in 40 patients. The Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score C-reactive protein was higher in the group with inflammatory lesions and gut lesions were found often in the terminal ileum. The risk of inflammatory lesions was higher for AS patients whose symptoms required ileocolonoscopy than for AS patients who underwent routine ileocolonoscopy screening (odds ratio, 3.96). However, abnormal lesions were detected also in 17.6% of the patients who underwent ileocolonoscopy for routine screening and most of them were erosion and ulcer. Among patients with inflammatory lesions (n = 40), 23 showed subclinical gut inflammation associated with AS and 17 were diagnosed finally as Crohn's disease (n = 12), intestinal tuberculosis (n = 4), and ulcerative colitis (n = 1). Conclusions Our findings suggest that ileocolonoscopy might be recommended regularly in AS patients even without gastrointestinal symptoms, especially in the patients with high AS activity.


Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a form of cell death that activates an adaptive immune response against dead-cell-associated antigens. Cancer cells killed via ICD can elicit antitumor immunity. ICD is efficiently induced by near-infrared photo-immunotherapy (NIR-PIT) that selectively kills target-cells on which antibody-photoabsorber conjugates bind and are activated by NIR light exposure. Advanced live cell microscopies showed that NIR-PIT caused rapid and irreversible damage to the cell membrane function leading to swelling and bursting, releasing intracellular components due to the influx of water into the cell. The process also induces relocation of ICD bio markers including calreticulin, Hsp70 and Hsp90 to the cell surface and the rapid release of immunogenic signals including ATP and HMGB1 followed by maturation of immature dendritic cells. Thus, NIR-PIT is a therapy that kills tumor cells by ICD, eliciting a host immune response against tumor.


-The technical feasibility and the economic and environmental performance of atmospheric gasification of biomass wastes and residues integrated with a combined cycle for electricity production are investigated for Dutch conditions. The system selected for study is an atmospheric circulating fluidized bed gasifier-combined cycle (ACFBCC) plant based on the General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine and atmospheric gasification technology, including flue gas drying and low-temperature gas cleaning (similar to the Termiska Processer AB process). The performance of the system is assessed for clean wood, verge grass, organic domestic waste, demolition wood and a wood-sludge mixture as fuel input. System calculations are performed with an ASPEN p~"' model. The composition of the fuel gas was derived by laboratory-scale fuel reactivity tests and subsequent model calculations. The net calculated efficiencies for electricity production are 35.440.3% (LHV) for the fuels studied, with potential for further improvement. Estimated investment costs, based on vendor quotes, for a fully commercial plant are 1500-2300 ECU per kWc installed. Electricity production costs, including logistics and in some cases negative fuel price, vary between minus 6.7 and 8.5 ECUct/kWh. Negative fuel costs are obtained if current costs for waste treatment can serve as income to the facility. Environmental performance is expected to meet strict standards for waste incineration in the Netherlands. The system seems flexible enough to process a wide variety of fuels. The kWh costs are very sensitive to the system efficiency but only slightly sensitive to transport distance; this is an argument in favour of large power-scale plants. As a waste treatment option the concept seems very promising. There seem to be no fundamental technical and economic barriers that can hamper implementation of this technology. (~, 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd Keywords---atmospheric gasification; ASPEN'~°~; electricity production; biomass wastes and residues


Our previous studies have shown that a unique glycoprotease from Pasteurella haemolytica specifically cleaves only proteins containing sialylated O-linked glycans. The hematopoietic progenitor cell antigen, CD34, which is heavily glycosylated with both N- and O-linked glycans, is readily cleaved by this protease. In this study, we demonstrate that the epitopes detected by five of the seven CD34 monoclonal antibodies are removed by the glycoprotease. The differential sensitivity of the CD34 epitopes to cleavage with either neuraminidase and/or glycoprotease establishes three classes of epitopes: 1) (class I) those identified by MY10, B1.3C5, 12.8, and ICH3 that are differentially affected by neuraminidase and removed by the glycoprotease; 2) (class II) the epitope detected by QBEND 10 that is removed only by the glycoprotease; and 3) (class III) those identified by TUK3 and 115.2 that are not removed by either enzyme. Cleavage of the 110-kd CD34 structure by the glycoprotease generates a major cell-bound fragment of about 75 kd, identified by the class III antibodies. We have also used the enzyme to improve the rapid recovery of CD34+ cells selected by immunomagnetic affinity techniques. In a preclinical model, we separated CD34+ KG1 cells with high yield (90%-95%) and high purity (94%-98%) from sham mixtures containing 50% CD34- cells. We also separated CD34+ blast cells from a patient in megakaryoblastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia. In this case, the purity and yield were 93% and 94%, respectively. Enzyme treatment had no detrimental effect on cell viability, and the treated cells showed a normal quantitative expression and distribution of CD34 antigen as assessed with class III antibodies. We conclude that the P. haemolytica glycoprotease has potential to improve the isolation, from human bone marrow, of primitive hematopoietic cells that carry the CD34 antigen.


Retinal ganglion cells are categorized into multiple classes, including multiple types of bistratified ganglion cells (BGCs). The recent use of transgenic mouse lines with specific type(s) of ganglion cells that are labeled by fluorescent markers has facilitated the morphological and physiological studies of BGCs, particularly the directional‐selective BGCs. The most important benefit from using transgenic animals is the capability to perform in vivo gene manipulation. In particular, the Cre/LoxP recombination system has become a powerful tool, allowing gene deletion, overexpression, and ectopic expression in a cell type‐specific and temporally controlled fashion. The key to this tool is the availability of Cre mouse lines with cell or tissue type‐specific expression of Cre recombinase. In this study we characterized the Cre‐positive retinal ganglion cells in a PCP2 (Purkinje cell protein 2)‐cre mouse line. We found that all of the Cre‐positive retinal ganglion cells were BGCs. Based on morphological criteria, we determined that they can be grouped into five types. The On‐ and Off‐dendrites of three of these types stratified outside of the cholinergic bands and differed from directional selective ganglion cells (DSGCs) morphologically. These cells were negative for Brn‐3b and positive for both calretinin and CART retina markers. The remaining two types were identified as putative On‐Off and On‐DSGCs. This Cre mouse line could be useful for further studies of the molecular and functional properties of BGCs in mice. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:2165–2180, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


INTRODUCTION: The personality of an individual is the result of a complex network of influences of various independent factors such as biological and psychological constitution, beyond the influences of social, environmental and cultural aspects where he/she live. It is the integration of these parts that when interacting, make the whole. OBJECTIVE: To verify whether there is a cause-effect relationship among personality traits, gender and injury in sports. METHOD: The sample consisted of 60 athletes with mean age of 15.6 (SD = 1.5) years old, being 35 male athletes and 25 female athletes from the children and youth category, participating in field tennis tournaments of the Federation of Santa Catarina and Parana. Data were collected with the application of the Factor Personality Inventory - FPI. MANOVA and ANOVA at a level of p < 0.05 were used for data processing. RESULTS: Were significant to the variable damage with aggression (p = 0.01) and heterosexuality (p = 0.00). Concerning gender, there were significant differences with intraception (p = 0.02); succorance (p = 0.02), dominance (p = 0.004), autonomy (p = 0.03) and heterosexuality (p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: That aggressiveness is an important personality trait to be considered to control, prevent and reduce the incidence of injuries in tennis athletes.


The evidence of effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based mental health applications is shown to be equivalent with face-to-face CBT. Although there is a high number of users, the adherence of users to the intervention is low. Meanwhile, user non-adherence could happen on purpose. However, the reasons for this circumstance are not well examined, particularly from a user's perspective. The question of which features engage them to use as well as to continue using these interventions are not well understood. From the designer's perspective, to answer this question, it is essential to understand the context of app uses, particularly, three precedent questions: who are intended users, what they use it for, and why they use it need to be examined. This study answers these three questions by analyzing user reviews of several sample mental health applications which the core design is primarily based on a CBT. The qualitative analysis indicates that most of reviews are from people with common MH problems. Some people simply use the app to relax, track their mood, practice mindfulness, self-care, or build healthy habits. The majority of users have used the apps as complementary to the professional-based treatment. Users use the app because it makes them more positive, happy, self-conscious, calm, fun, focused, relaxed, motivated, mindful, self-controlled or better at sleep. Importantly, they highly appreciate the ability to figure out what going on their health, to help them keep on progress of health, to see correlation between causes and effects of their health problems, to conduct self-evaluation and self-reflection, to learn good things, to build good habits, and to provoke, reframe, and organize their thoughts. These findings will help the designers think of appropriate approaches to design the app which helps users better at achieving their targets.


Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland's greatest architect and designer, was remarkable for the wide range of his achievements and the clarity of his vision. This book reviews his work in context and considers how his ideas can be freshly interpreted. Inspired by nature, fired by the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, rooted in the vernacular traditions of his native region, Mackintosh's genius was to forge an entirely new style for a new age. Radical, but intensely personal, his architecture, interiors and furnishings retain all their essential vigour nearly a century after they were first conceived. In this study, Elizabeth Wilhide considers Mackintosh's handling of colour, use of materials and graphic approach to form. From knives and forks to fireplaces, tiles to wrought ironwork, tables to the arranging of flowers, his vision, once considered revolutionary, is relevant and inspiring to those willing to recreate the Mackintosh style.


Changes in the health care industry have created great challenges for leaders of acute care organizations. One of the greatest challenges is ensuring a competent nursing staff to care for patients within this changing environment. This article will describe how our organization uses Joint Commission standards to assess, maintain, and improve the competency of nursing staff.


We report on AlGaN/GaN metal oxide semiconductor heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) over SiC substrates with peripheries from 0.15 to 6 mm. These multigate devices with source interconnections were fabricated using a novel oxide-bridging approach. The saturation current was as high as 5.1 A for a 6 mm wide device with a gate leakage of 1 /spl mu/A/cm/sup 2/ for 1.5 /spl mu/m gate length in a 5 /spl mu/m source-drain opening. The cutoff frequency of around 8 GHz was practically independent of the device periphery. Large-signal output rf-power as high as 2.88 W/mm was measured at 2 GHz. Both the saturation current and the rf-power scaled nearly linearly with the gate width.


The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma concentrations of sCD36 (soluble CD36) are associated with the presence of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Plasma levels of sCD36 were analysed in 1023 subjects (225 type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients, 276 type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, and 522 non-diabetic control subjects) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multinomial and logistic regression models were performed to evaluate associations with sCD36 and its association with diabetes types. There were no significant differences in sCD36 (p = 0.144) among study groups, neither in head-to-head comparisons: non-diabetic versus T1D subjects (p = 0.180), non-diabetic versus T2D subjects (p = 0.583), and T1D versus T2D patients (p = 0.151). In the multinomial model, lower sCD36 concentrations were associated with older age (p < 0.001), tobacco exposure (p = 0.006), T2D (p = 0.020), and a higher-platelets count (p = 0.004). However, in logistic regression models of diabetes, sCD36 showed only a weak association with T2D. The current findings show a weak association of circulating sCD36 with type 2 diabetes and no association with T1D.


Abstract The possibility of locally increasing the gas discharge light emission (GDLE) in the UV and visible range generated by a planar semiconductor gas discharge IR image converter system (SGDICS) in the wide pressure range (266–93 325 Pa) has been studied. The use of gas discharge gap with microcapillary multichannels spacer (MCS) and an IR light to excite the GaAs photocathode of the SGDICS leads to increase in the GDLE intensity. Electrons entering the multichannels of the discharge gap are multiplied in the electrical field by the avalanche mechanism, so that current increases in the discharge gap with microcapillary MCS. In this system, the local intensity of GDLE exceeds the intensity of uniform GDLE in the SGDICS by the same factor as the working area of the photocathode exceeds the total active area of the MCS. It is experimentally demonstrated that gas discharge gap with microcapillary MCS of an SGDICS can operate as an effective internal image intensifier with gain values of 20.


SETTING
Seventeen health facilities in a Tuberculosis Unit, and the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC), Chennai, India.

AIM
Evaluation of restaining by the auramine-phenol method for detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in direct smears of samples transported in cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) solution.

METHODS
Among patients attending the above health facilities, 730 samples were collected in CPC and transported to the TRC. Two direct smears were prepared from each sample, one stained by the usual auraminephenol method (primary staining) and the other stained again by the same method (restaining) for examination by fluorescence microscopy. All the samples were processed for culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

RESULTS
A significantly higher proportion (49.6%) of samples were positive by restaining compared to primary staining (32.5%, P < 0.0001). Of 362 samples positive by restaining, 38.7% were negative by primary staining. The yield of different grades of smears was significantly higher with restaining than with primary staining (P < 0.0001). More smear-negative culture-positive smears were observed with the primary than with the restaining method (178/400 [44.5%] vs. 78/ 400 [19.5%], P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
The rate of detection of AFB in direct smears made from sputum samples transported in CPC was higher on restaining than on primary staining.


This paper examines the effects of exercise descriptions and supplied hints to achieved scores and required working times of programming exercises within a MOOC. We conducted an A/B test on more than 2.400 students using an exercise with four descriptions differing in clarity, description detail, order of presented instructions and presence or absence of exemplary program output. Results show that the expressiveness and structure of the instructions influence the required work times as well as the number of issued program runs. We suggest further experimentation to outline effects on programming errors and to determine guidelines for optimal exercise descriptions.


The title ionic compound, C16H36N+·C10H20B10N3O3 −, consists of a tetrabutylammonium cation and a closo-decaborate cluster anion, which is bound to the substituted 2,3-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole ring through a B—N bond [1.540 (2) Å]. The distances between connected B atoms in the decaborate cluster range from 1.689 (2) to 1.844 (2) Å. The 2,3-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole ring adopts an envelope conformation with the N atom as the flap atom.


After more than 32 years under centralized government, Indonesia underwent a process of political decentralization starting in 1999. However, the management and control of natural resources, particularly in the forestry and mining sectors, is still largely under the authority of central government. At the same time, global calls for conservation and sustainable development that require state territorialization have also influenced policy and practice at the local and national levels. They have encouraged a process of state territorialization that has had a distinct affect on the land-based institutions that form the customary sense of territoriality of rural villagers.

Within this overall context, this thesis starts by introducing an international conservation project that led to confrontation involving local government and a mining company. The thesis focuses on the establishment of Batang Gadis National Park in North Sumatra, the drawing of forest conservation boundaries and the impact this had on the mining company and in particular on the rural villagers and their customary territoriality. Through interviews and analysis of documents and media, this work discusses conflict over competing land claims by conservation and development forces and their entanglement with the customary institutions of territoriality.

My findings lead me to argue firstly that the process of state territorialization engenders elite conflict over land and resources and that this usually undermines the interest of local villagers and their customary territoriality. Secondly, local government can switch its allegiance – in this case, from conservation to development – without accounting for this change either to central government or in particular to rural villagers. Thirdly, customary territoriality has the potential to be the basis for the formation of cogent demands for accountability of powerful actors.

In reflecting these findings, this study concludes that, in the context of a decentralized Indonesia, it is important that the state territorialization process recognize and entertain a dialogue with the institutions of customary territoriality, which it sees as best placed to protect the interests of local people and the environment from external and elite intervention.


Background and Aim: Tracheal extubation is a crucial step of general anaesthesia which is associated with intense airway and hemodynamic responses secondary to activation of mechanoreceptors in larynx. The present study aims to compare the efficacy of intravenously administered dexmedetomidine and esmolol in attenuating the hemodynamic response to endotracheal extubation. Materials and Method: This prospective, randomized, double-blind study was conducted in 80 ASA I-II patients of 18-60 years undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia. They were randomly divided into two groups of forty each. Anticipated ten minutes before the extubation Group D received intravenous dexmedetomidine 0.5 µg/kg diluted in 10 ml normal saline and Group E received 10 ml of normal saline. Two min before extubation Group D received 10 ml normal saline and Group E received esmolol bolus dose 1 mg/kg diluted in 10 ml normal saline. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, extubation and emergence time, Ramsay sedation score and adverse events were recorded. Results: Mean heart rate was significantly lower in group D from 5 min of drug administration till 20 min post extubation as compared to group E. Mean systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean blood pressure were significantly lower in group D as compared to group E from 8 min after administration of drug till 20 min of post extubation ( p <0.05). Emergence time, extubation time and adverse events were comparable in both the groups ( p >0.05). Delayed emergence was observed in 2 patients in group D. More number of patients in group D were sedated. Conclusion: IV dexmedetomidine is better in attenuating haemodynamic response to endotracheal extubation than esmolol because of comparatively stable haemodynamics, comparable emergence and extubation time, conscious sedation, less postoperative cough and agitation.


Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is considered one of the world's most important cereal crops. Every year 704 million tons of grain is produced worldwide. Bread wheat croplands cover 17% of the total crop area. In recent years, sudden changes in air temperatures have a negative impact on the morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular properties of wheat and grain yield. Therefore, it is important to create highyielding and resistant varieties of bread wheat to abiotic factors and to develop its primary source in the condition of different regions. In the result of this study, the influence of high temperature which varied from 30°С and above continuously during spiking and maturation period of grain, especially in the period of grain filling, on grain quality and productivity has been studied thoroughly for southern parts of Uzbekistan. Mostly, winter bread wheat varieties are grown in these southern regions. The optimal sowing time in autumn season is the second decade of October. In order to determine the heat resistance of the winter wheat varieties that are mostly grown in the Republic and selected in the result of breeding, the experiments and observations were carried out on optimal and late sowing periods. The optimal planting time was found to be appropriate on the 15 th of October and for late sowing the 15 th of November. At the same time, late sown varieties and samples are divided into resistant and non-resistant groups due to the delay in the maturation period and greater exposure to heat. At the study, temperatures during the growth period were calculated and daily temperatures during the grain filling period were determined too, and the influence of air temperature on growth phases, height of plant (cm), spike length (cm), number of spikelets in a spike (pieces), grain weight in a spike(g), weight of 1000 grains (g), grain nature (g/l), protein amount (%), gluten amount (%), its changes and the results in optimal and late periods were studied by comparing them. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine ISSN 2515-8260 Volume 7, Issue 2, 202


The relationship between plasma GH profiles and circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) at three different planes of nutrition, chosen to represent a high, medium and low level of nutrition (3%, 1.8% and 1% dry matter of liveweight per day) was studied in 15 young Angus steers. All steers were maintained on 3% dry matter for 5 weeks, then on one of the three nutritional planes for 4 weeks and then all were returned to 3% dry matter for 3 weeks. Blood was sampled through jugular catheters at 15-min intervals for 25 h at the end of each phase of the study and additional samples were taken on 2 days each week. Pulsatile release of GH occurred episodically with a diurnal increase during night and morning hours only in steers on high nutritional intakes. Reduced feeding at both the medium and the low plane abolished the diurnal rhythm and significantly increased mean plasma GH concentrations, the amplitude of GH pulses and the area under the GH profiles. Baseline concentrations of GH and pulse frequency did not change through nutritional manipulation. Upon realimentation, plasma GH concentrations decreased in both previously undernourished groups, with those fed 1% dry matter still having increased levels 10 days after refeeding. Plasma IGF-1 concentrations showed no periodicity. With nutritional deprivation, a decrease in IGF-1 concentration was observed only at negative energy balance (1% group). In this group plasma IGF-1 concentrations were progressively restored within 1 week of realimentation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


: The influence of abortion at the 7-8 weeks of pregnancy on the level of sex hormones in the blood of 60 women aged 20 to 35 years was studied. The abortions were made under anesthesia by scraping the uterine. It was established that before the abortion progesterone in blood averaged 22.98 +/- 4.66 ng/ml and estradiol-1940 =/- 5I2pg/ml. At the 7-8th weeks of pregnancy when compared to normal menstrual period estradiol content rose by 4-5 times and progesterone by 2 times. The abortion caused a decrease of the progesterone level by 38% after 1 hour, by 52% after 3 hours and by 80% after 24 hours (4.63+/-1.23 ng/ml). Concentration of estradiol 1 hour after abortion decreased by 58% and after 24 hours - by 88% (250 +/- 74 pg/ml). These findings suggest that the synthesis of steroid hormones at the 7-8 weeks of pregnancy occurs mainly in the fetoplacentic system and that only small quantities of progesterone and estradiol are produced by the luteous body. The ovulations were defective during the 1st menstrual cycle after obortion in 18% of women. During the 2nd menstrual cycle the ovulations were normal in all the women. The concentrations of progesterone and estradiol at these periods did not differ from their concentrations during normal menstrual cycles.


This longitudinal study investigated 196 Hispanic English learners' responses to an English instructional intervention from kindergarten to second grade. The effect of student gender was also examined as a secondary focus. The intervention consisted of ongoing professional development and structured and systematic English intervention during an English as a second language (ESL) block. A multilevel modeling approach revealed that (a) the intervention effect was positive and significant, reflecting a range of phonological awareness, oral language skills, and decoding and reading proficiency, indicating the effectiveness of this intervention, and (b) that boys possessed more expressive vocabulary knowledge upon school entry and acquired receptive vocabulary faster than girls, while both girls and boys attained comparable levels of decoding skills and reading proficiency. We conclude that the effect of instructional intervention is stronger than the effect of gender. More well-planned, scientifically based research is needed to promote the linguistic development of English learners.


Ficus pandurata Hance (FPH) is a Chinese herbal medicine widely used for health care. This study was designed to investigate the alleviation efficacy of the low-polarity ingredients of FPH (FPHLP), prepared by supercritical CO2 fluid extraction technology, against CCl4-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice and uncover its underlying mechanism. The results showed that FPHLP had a good antioxidative effect determined by the DPPH free radical scavenging activity test and T-AOC assay. The in vivo study showed that FPHLP dose-dependently protected against liver damage via detection of ALT, AST, and LDH levels and changes in liver histopathology. The antioxidative stress properties of FPHLP suppressed ALI by increasing levels of GSH, Nrf2, HO-1, and Trx-1 and reducing levels of ROS and MDA and the expression of Keap1. FPHLP significantly reduced the level of Fe2+ and expression of TfR1, xCT/SLC7A11, and Bcl2, while increasing the expression of GPX4, FTH1, cleaved PARP, Bax, and cleaved caspase 3. The results demonstrated that FPHLP protected mouse liver from injury induced by CCl4 via suppression of apoptosis and ferroptosis. This study suggests that FPHLP can be used for liver damage protection in humans, which strongly supports its traditional use as a herbal medicine.


A new method of optimizing prototypes for a nearest neighbor classifier is proposed based on a four-layer network architecture. A new error function is defined for updating prototypes. The physical meaning of the updating rule and the relationship between the proposed method and LVQ2 are also presented. The main characteristic of the present method is consistent criteria for updating prototypes and for using the trained prototypes to build a nearest neighbor classifier. Experimental results indicate that the present method is effective compared with LVQ2.


The AIDS epidemic remains one of the most important public health problems of the 21st century. Delayed diagnosis of HIV infection in patients with advanced states of immunosuppression (in the absence of highly active antiretroviral treatment [HAART]) significantly increases the risk of acquiring infections classified as opportunistic. Opportunistic infections (OIs) that affect the respiratory system in patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS are a factor of high morbidity and mortality. Their usually insidious presentation, with non-specific symptoms and signs, makes their timely diagnosis and differentiation difficult. Among these, the most frequent ones affecting the respiratory system in Ecuador are: bacterial pneumonias, histoplasmosis, Pnemumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, cryptococcosis, candidiasis or mycobacterial infection. Below is an approach to the diagnosis of these diseases.


One of major evolutions of the additive manufacturing is the ability to produce parts with functionally graded materials (FGM). However, manufacturing of these parts is limited to discrete or nearly continuous FGM on samples. To achieve this, it is necessary to have a global control of processes and to develop methodologies to help designers and manufacturers. A methodology to produce morphologically complex parts is proposed in this paper. It consists in classifying all typologies of bi-materials gradients with mathematical description. Each typology of gradient is associating with manufacturing strategies in order to choose slicing and path strategies. Afterwards, mathematical data are used to have a global control of a process. This paper presents the principle of this methodology and the mathematical models which are chosen to describe part and manufacturing.


Slow ion-atom collisions can be described within a first-principles molecular dynamics based on eikonol wave functions for the nuclei and the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) approximation for electrons that self-consistently couples the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. By expanding the molecular orbitals in traveling atomic orbitals containing electron translation factors, it is possible to eliminate spurious couplings between same-center orbitals at asymptotic distances, and this generates a term in the density matrix equations proportional to the nuclear accelerations. The authors examine the effect of this acceleration term on Loewdin atomic populations for H{sup +} + H(1s) and He{sup 2+} + H(1s) collisions, for varying collision energies and impact parameters. They find significant increases in atomic populations for an intermediate range of energies going from several tens to several hundreds of electron volts, and for low impact parameters, in the case of the H{sup +} + H(1s) collision.


Plastics are not easily biodegradable; and because of these characteristics they can remain under landfill and water for a very long period of time. All over the world only 6% of waste plastics are recycled and the rest of all waste plastics are dumped into landfills. An experiment was conducted in a laboratory scale batch process under Labconco's fume hood utilizing low density polyethylene (LDPE). The experiment was carried out to obtain a hydrocarbon fuel product utilizing thermal degradation. Many research studies have successfully demonstrated that waste plastics such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) can be converted to valuable liquid hydrocarbon fuels. For experimental purposes we used 500 gm of LDPE as raw materials. This particular experiment is a two step process; the first step process involves extracting hydrocarbon fuels as mixture of both short and long chain hydrocarbon compounds. During the second step the fuel obtained in the first process is refractionated by thermal degradation process utilizing a distillation column. This process yields a short hydrocarbon chain liquid fuel that has similar properties to gasoline grade fuels. Analysis of these fuels was conducted by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS), FT-IR Spectrum 100 and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The results show that the produced fuels are good quality fuels with high energy content. ASTM test result indicates that fuel has low sulfur level (3.2 ppm) and the fuel hydrocarbon range shown by GC/MS analysis is C4-C10.


Legislative action was historically the means by which U.S. states abolished capital punishment, but such action ceased for decades following the Supreme Court's 1976 Gregg decision that reaffirmed the constitutionality of the death penalty. Despite the fact that several legislatures have considered abolition bills in the modern era, only three states successfully enacted such legislation. It is my purpose in this study to analyze why states are currently struggling to pass abolition legislation and to determine which factors contribute to success. I conduct a comparative, qualitative case study of New Jersey, the first state to legislatively abolish since 1976, and Maryland, a similar state whose abolition effort recently failed. I analyze the content of legislators' debates about the abolition bills in committee and on the legislature floor, as well as news coverage of the abolition efforts in each state's largest newspapers. I reach two primary conclusions. First, an abolition bill is more likely to be passed by Democrats than Republicans, but unified Democratic control of the government is not a sufficient condition for abolition. Second, arguments about the risk of wrongful executions and the deleterious collateral consequences of the death penalty process on the family members of murder victims are powerful sources of political support for abolition, especially where doubts about the deterrent effect of the death penalty are widespread. This study reaffirms the central importance of the innocence frame in the modern death penalty debate, and it presents the first scholarly analysis of the collateral consequences frame. These findings may help activists in the abolition movement more effectively frame their arguments to appeal to legislators.


Thirty-six patients with a total of 50 symptomatic tailor's bunions were evaluated clinically, radiographically, and subjectively, both before and after a distal oblique osteotomy procedure was performed. Thirty-four of 36 patients were satisfied with pain relief. Radiographic measurements derived from this study were consistent with those of other studies. Avascular necrosis, nonunions, or neuroma formation were not encountered in this study. The significant advantages of this procedure are its simplicity, safety, and predictability. The procedure does not require internal fixation or postoperative immobilization.


Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is often suffered by pregnant women. Preventive action by giving iron tablet during pregnancy had been performed with unsatisfying result. Kelor leaves has micro nutrient substance that is needed by pregnant women. This study aims to develop additional food product such as mocaf (Modified cassava flour)-arrowroot biscuit that�s supplemented with kelor (Moringa Oleifera) leaves and chicken liver with high level iron and protein as well as sensory characteristics that can be accepted in pregnant women.
Methodology: This study used Random Groups Design. There were two factors tested; they were, the proportion of mocaf : arrowroot (P), 80:20 (P1); 75:25 (P2); 70:30 (P3) and the comparison of kelor leaves : chicken liver (K), 50% addition to total flour, 25% : 25% (K1); 35% : 15% (K2). There were 6 treatment combinations repeated four times until 24 samples were obtained. Chemistry variable analysis used F-test (95%) and then continued with Duncan�s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) 5%, sensoric variable used Friedman Test and then continued with Double Compare Test 5%. The best treatment combination used Effectivity Index Test.
Result: The best treatment combination was P3K1, in which biscuit had proportion of the composite of mocaf : arrowroot 70:30 and the comparison of kelor leaves : chicken liver 25%:25% with energy value 460.35 kkal/100g; water content 4.40% bb; gray value 1.76% bk; protein level 6.09% bk; fat content 17.71% bk; carbohidrat content by difference 74.43% bk and iron level 9.89 mg.
Conclusion: Second trisemester pregnant women anemia could be given eleven biscuits and for third semester pregnant women anemia could be given sixteen biscuits in a day to fulfil the iron need.
Key words: Iron Deficiency Anemia, Pregnant women, PMT biscuit, mocaf, Kelor leaves (Moringa Oleifera), Arrowroot flour, Chicken liver.


The document is a presentation of techniques thought to be most appropriate for analysis of mineland hydrology, hydraulics, geomorphology sedimentation and associated hydraulic structures in the western United States. The volume serves as a reference for the evaluation and review of mine plans, and to provide background for the material included in the accompanying volume Hydrology and Sediment Yield Work Manual. However, it is also addressed to the larger problem of acquiring an understanding of the physical processes associated with runoff acting in a surface mining environment.


: G-myeloma protein is shown to differ by its conformation from the donor immunoglobulin G. It is characterized by a more polar surrounding of the molecule tyrosine and tryptophane residua. Under the effect of urea the changes are less considerable.


The purpose of the present study was to verify the effects of different hand paddle sizes on kinematics of front crawl performed under perceived exertion, referring to the rating 17 of the Borg Scale. Ten regional level swimmers (age = 17.6 ± 3.7 years) performed twelve 50m trials, with intervals of 20s, in three situations: without hand paddles (WHP), with little hand paddles (LHP; 183cm 2 ) and with medium hand paddles (MHP; 260cm 2 ). The use of hand pad dles caused increased covered distance per cycle (DC) and reduced frequency of cycles (FC) (p < 0.001). Due to the DC increase, in order to maintain the same perception of exertion under different conditions, swimmers adopted a strategy for reducing the FC , which was sufficient for the swimming speed (SP) not to be altered.


Business process reengineering efforts suffer from low success rates, due in part to a lack of tools for managing the change process. The Matrix of Change can help managers identify critical interactions among processes. In particular, this tool helps managers deal with issues such as how quickly change should proceed, the order in which changes should take place, whether to start at a new site, and whether the proposed systems are stable and coherent. When applied at a medical products manufacturer, the Matrix of Change provided unique and useful guidelines for change management.


information available at Abstract Livestock and climate change are interlinked through a complex mechanism and serve the role of both contributor as well as sufferer. The livestock sector is primarily accountable for the emission of methane and nitrous oxide. Methane emission takes place from both enteric fermentation and manure management; whilst nitrous oxide emission is purely from manure management. Rumen methanogenesis due to emission intensity and loss of biological energy always remains a priority for the researchers. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure are determined by storage conditions and the organic content of the manure waste. Due to large livestock population, India is a major contributor of enteric methane emission, while its contribution to the excrement methane is negligible. In this chapter, information pertaining to enteric methane emission, excrement methane and nitrous oxide emissions and ameliorative/ precautionary measures for reducing the intensity of emissions have been compiled and presented.


This paper presents a laboratory investigation aimed at evaluating the effect of employing hyper-modified asphalt binders in surface asphalt courses. Two different Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) surface layers were investigated: an Open Graded Friction Course (OGFC) and a dense-graded blend. Two different asphalt binders were employed: a highly modified binder and an experimental hyper-modified binder. Both natural aggregates and steel slags were used for asphalt mixture design. The cracking behaviour of the mixtures were evaluated using a visco-elastic fracture mechanics-based cracking model. The cracking behaviour of the mastics was investigated using a Modified Direct Tension Test (MDTT), together with a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system. The results showed that the hyper-modified binder provides better performance than the traditional hard modified one when used in the OGFC mix. Conversely, it does not bring great improvements in terms of fracture resistance for the dense-graded blend, but helps to resist more to rutting.


Abstract The domestic cat, Felis catus, is one of the most popular and widespread domestic animals. Because domestic cats can reach high population densities and retain at least some tendency to hunt, their overall impact on wildlife can be severe. Domestic cats have highly variable predation rates depending on the availability of prey in their environment, their owners' practices, and individual cat characteristics. Among these characteristics, cat personality has recently been hypothesized to be an important factor contributing to variations in the hunting activity of cats. In this study, we surveyed 2508 cat owners living in France about their cats' personalities, using the Feline Five personality framework, and the frequency with which cats bring home prey. Personality traits were analyzed using factor analysis and related to predation frequency using cumulative logit models. For both birds and small mammals, cats with high levels of extraversion or low levels of neuroticism had significantly higher frequencies of prey return. Owners whose cats had low levels of agreeableness or high levels of dominance reported a significantly lower frequency of bird return. Personality differences therefore seem to contribute to the high variability in predation rates among domestic cats. We also found that the owner‐reported prey return frequencies were significantly higher for cats spending more time outdoors, for non‐pedigree cats, and for owners living in rural or suburban areas as opposed to urban areas. By contrast, we did not detect an effect of cat sex or age on their reported prey return rates.


HF radar employing linear frequency-modulated continuous wave or "chirp" modulation provides an alternative to the more conventional pulsed amplitude modulation technique in advanced ionosphere sounding. An analysis is presented which shows that the phases of the discrete Fourier components of the receiver output can be used in the same fashion as the phases of pulsed, fixed frequency ionospheric echoes to evaluate the standard digital parameters, including group path by the method of stationary phase. This can be used to overcome the group path/Doppler velocity ambiguity of linear frequency modulation. A description is given of a sounding structure from which unambiguous group range, angle of arrival, O/X mode, and Doppler velocity can be evaluated. A simple error analysis is also given.


In our laboratory we have designed and synthesized a new fluorescent CGE(N), which has a fluo-rigen and can react with active hydrogen in chemical compounds. We have studied its application in solution fluorescence, thin-layer fluorescence and solid fluorescence analysis. The results have indicated that CGE (N) is a good reagent in analysis. And the example of its application in solution fluorescence analysis is given in this paper.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify, classify and prioritize the benefits, challenges and risks for the integrated use of building information modeling (BIM), radio frequency identification (RFID) and wireless sensor network (WSN) in the architecture, engineering, construction and operation (AECO) industry.

Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on the mixed method approach which consists of systematic literature review, semistructured interviews and Delphi technique. A systematic literature review was performed and face-to-face semistructured interviews with seven subject matter experts (SMEs) were conducted for identification and classification purposes. Delphi method was applied in two structured rounds with eleven SMEs for prioritization purpose. These three research techniques were chosen to reach the most accurate data by combining different perspectives on the subject matter. Data gathered by these three methods was triangulated to increase the validity and reliability of this research.

Findings
Thirteen benefits, ten challenges and four risks for the integrated use of BIM, RFID and WSN were identified. The results could aid the practitioners and researchers comprehend the pros and cons of this integration by representing SMEs' valuable insights and perspectives about the current and future status, trends, limitations and requirements of the AECO industry. The identified risks and challenges show the requirements for future studies while the benefits demonstrate the capabilities and the potential contributions of this hybrid integration to the AECO industry.

Originality/value
The integration of BIM, RFID and WSN is still not commonly implemented in the AECO industry. Some studies focused on this topic; however, none of them reveals the benefits, risks and challenges for integrating BIM, RFID and WSN in a holistic manner. This research makes a significant contribution to the AECO literature and industry by uncovering the benefits, challenges and risks for the integrated use of BIM, RFID and WSN that could increase industry applications.


To find markers that distinguish the different Cactaceae species, by using near infrared Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, we studied the occurrence, in the stem, of solid deposits in five Cactaceae species (Coryphantha clavata, Ferocactus latispinus, Opuntia ficus-indica, O. robusta, and O. strepthacantha) collected from their natural habitats from a region of México. The deposits in the tissues usually occurred as spheroidal aggregates, druses, or prismatic crystals. From the Raman spectra, the crystals were identified either as calcium oxalate monohydrate (CaC2O4H2O) or calcium oxalate dihydrate (CaC2O4·2H2O) Opuntia species (subfamily Opuntioideae) showed the presence of CaC2O4·H2O, and the deposition of CaC2O4·2H2O was present in C. clavata and F. latispinus (subfamily Cactoideae, Cacteae tribe). As a punctual technique, Raman spectroscopy seems to be a useful tool to identify crystal composition. In addition to allowing the analysis of crystal morphology, this spectroscopic technique can be used to identify Cactaceae species and their chemotaxonomy.


This paper aims to identify possible factors that can enhance student learning in terms of environment and other classroom features. Using action research as an approach, responses were extracted from 27 Malaysian undergraduates. Ten open ended questions were posed and responses were collected immediately and manually analysed. A thematic analysis was applied to separate the factors noted in the data. Data analysis suggested that undergraduates were ready to take ownership of their learning through negotiations of course assignments, deadlines, assessments, weightage of marks and activities. Undergraduates also noted that a relaxing, informal, non-judgmental and interactive learning environment would enhance learning. Lecturers were still viewed as authority but were expected to be equipped with certain friendly qualities. This paper is limited to a very small population thus, findings cannot be generalised. However, the outcomes can be used to enhance student learning in higher education settings.


BACKGROUND
Using a nationwide population-based dataset and case-control study design, we investigate the association between urinary calculi (UC) and kidney cancer (KC) in Taiwan.

METHODS
The data for this case-control study were sourced from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program. The cases included 1308 incident patients pathologically diagnosed with KC. This study also used 6540 randomly selected subjects as controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the associations between KC and patients previously diagnosed with UC.

RESULTS
Of the sampled patients, 1262 (16.1 %) had previously been diagnosed with UC; 415 (31.7 % of the patients with KC) and 847 controls (13.0 % of patients without KC). After adjusting for monthly income, geographic location, urbanization level, hypertension, diabetes, renal disease, obesity, cystic kidney disease, tobacco use disorder, and alcohol abuse, we found that patients with KC were likely to have been previously diagnosed with UC than controls (odds ratio [OR] 3.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.75-3.68, p < 0.001). In addition, the magnitude of the observed associations were stronger among females (females OR 3.59; 95% CI 2.87-4.48 vs. males OR 2.93, 95% CI 2.42-3.55) and transitional cell carcinoma patients (transitional cell carcinoma, OR 3.96; 95% CI 3.23-4.86 vs. renal cell carcinoma OR 2.76, 95% CI 2.31-3.29).

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that there is an association between KC and prior UC, especially in females and patients with transitional cell carcinoma.


We collected pore waters using an in situ pore water-squeezer for a submersible Shinkai 2000 at six depths beneath the sediment surface within a deep-sea "cold seep" giant clam community off Hatsushima Island, Sagami Bay, Japan. A box core sample was also collected ca. 4.5 km east of the community and pore waters were separated. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was extracted and purified in a vacuum line and 14C concentration was determined with a Tandetron accelerator mass spectrometer at Nagoya University after conversion to graphite targets using a batch Fe-catalytic hydrogen reduction method. ∆14C values decreased with increasing depth to −938‰ at the sulfate concentration minimum. This indicates that methane used for the active reduction of sulfate and formation of hydrogen sulfide, which is used by symbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria in gills of the giant clams, is almost dead and is likely supplied from the deep. ∆14C values of DIC vary linearly with δ13C values along a mixing line between that in the bottom water and that produced by the oxidation of dead methane. The δ13C value of DIC oxidized from dead methane is estimated to be ca. −45‰.


This paper presents details and applications of a novel channel simulation software named NYUSIM, which can be used to generate realistic temporal and spatial channel responses to support realistic physical-and link-layer simulations and design for fifth-generation (5G) cellular communications. NYUSIM is built upon the statistical spatial channel model for broadband millimeter-wave (mmWave) wireless communication systems developed by researchers at New York University (NYU). The simulator is applicable for a wide range of carrier frequencies (500 MHz to 100 GHz), radio frequency (RF) bandwidths (0 to 800 MHz), antenna beamwidths (7° to 360° for azimuth and 7° to 45° for elevation), and operating scenarios (urban microcell, urban macrocell, and rural macrocell), and also incorporates multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays at the transmitter and receiver. This paper also provides examples to demonstrate how to use NYUSIM for analyzing MIMO channel conditions and spectral efficiencies, which show that NYUSIM is an alternative and more realistic channel model compared to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and other channel models for mmWave bands.


ABSTRACT This research was intended to investigate the protective effect of leaf ethanolic extract Etlingera hemisphaerica Blume (LE3H) against mercuric chloride (HgCl2) toxicity in blood of mice (Mus musculus). The experimental animals, 95 male M. musculus, received drink and food ad libitum. Three materials were tested: LE3H (0.13, 0.26, 0.39 mg/g body weight [bw]) was administered by gavage; HgCl2 (5 mg/kg bw) was administrated by gavage or intraperitoneal injection; and Imunos (the nutritional supplement to stimulate the immune system; 0.2 mg/g bw), as a positive control for LE3H treatment, was given by gavage. Blood samples were taken from the tails for determining number of blood cells. The animals were killed by cervical dislocation (CD), and then blood samples were collected from the hearts for protein electrophoresis. Results revealed the same number of leukocytes with LE3H (0.39 mg/g bw) treatment as with the Imunos treatment. HgCl2 administration increased leukocytes and decreased erythrocytes; HgCl2 administration followed by LE3H (0.39 mg/g bw) treatment protected the amount of blood cells as well as the control. HgCl2 administration showed a new 125 kDa protein and caused overexpression of 48 kDa protein; this protein profile could be protected by LE3H (0.39 mg/g bw) treatment as in the control condition. We conclude that LE3H provides a protective effect against HgCl2 toxicity in blood of M. musculus.


Abstract This paper examines the context, campaign and main determinants of how Catalans voted in the 2015 regional election. The elections were exceptional because the incumbent and the remaining Catalan nationalist parties framed the contest as a de facto referendum on secession. In this paper we scrutinise whether attitudes towards independence affected vote choice and whether they eclipsed other traditional significant vote-driving factors such as the state of the economy or government performance. Results show that, although the independence issue became a major determinant of vote choice, the elections did not become a pure plebiscite on secession, since voters also used their vote to hold the regional government accountable for its past performance.


Contemporary America faces deep-seated problems - not least because so many Americans have lost respect for their own electoral system and democratic institutions. America suffers too from unrelenting right wing hyperbole in respect of significant social issues, including their conviction that only they understand, and value, freedom. Because of Australia's restrictive responses to the covid-19 pandemic, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis – a potential Presidential candidate - denigrates Australia as 'not a free country; not a free country at all'. Australians may dismiss Governor DeSantis's comments as laughable, but a chorus of hard right comments in support of his view invites a comparison of the different ways in which 'freedom' is understood in Republican America and in Australia. One consequence of DeSantis's conception of 'freedom' is the extraordinary American death rate from the Covid-19 pandemic, which in the case of Florida – which DeSantis celebrates as the 'free-est State' – stood at about 48 times the Australian rate when he scorned Australia as indistinguishable from communist China. Despite massive American spending on defence budgets, a domestic battle has been waged, and lost, in respect of the more prosaic defence of America's traditional economic philosophy, and its defining institutions; and American conservatives are now divided even within their own ranks as to what it is that they wish to conserve, other than partisan advantage. The roots of America's present malaise are to be found in the evolving (mis)understandings of a set of keywords including 'freedom', 'democracy', 'tyranny', 'individualism', and 'society'. The radical right has impoverished the understanding of these keywords, and Australia's pandemic response was in fact designed to give itself freedom from the 'freedom' that the Republican right now eulogises. In the name of an implicit and contentious teleological vision, the Republican understanding of 'freedom' has now descended to the point where America's hard right perversely sees itself as actually now needing to save Australia from democracy, while simultaneously undermining its own democratic institutions. The need for a reinvigorated teaching of economic philosophy is plain to see.


The literature examining the effects of exercise deprivation on well-being was overviewed. A general consensus in this area indicates that exercise deprivation has adverse effects on subjective states and/or well-being. The studies, however, do not identify the determinants of exercise deprivation and therefore numerous questions remain unresolved. The few experimental studies, performed in this field of research, support anecdotal reports on the effects of exercise deprivation. However, inconsistencies in methodologies call for substantially more work in this field. A large part of the overviewed inquiries examined solely runners and mostly within the realms of the running addiction literature. It is suggested that the impact of exercise deprivation on well-being should also be examined apart from the running-addiction perspective by using experimental paradigms. Finally, some key methodological and conceptual issues, associated with exercise deprivation research, are discussed with the aim to provide bases as well as incentives in the undertaking of future studies.


Ultraviolet-C AlGaN resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes with top and bottom pipe-AlGaN-distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) have been demonstrated. For the top/bottom DBR structures, 20 pairs of n+-AlGaN:Si/n-AlGaN:Si stack structures were transformed into the pipe-AlGaN:Si/n-AlGaN:Si DBRs through a doping-selective electrochemical wet etching process. The reflectivity of the pipe-AlGaN DBR structure was measured as 90% at 276.7 nm with a 20.9 nm flat stopband width. The anisotropic optical properties of the pipe-AlGaN DBR structure had been analyzed through the polarization-dependent reflectance spectra. For temperature-dependent reflectance spectra, the central wavelengths were slightly redshifted from 275 nm (100 K) to 281 nm (600 K) due to thermal expansion, refractive index increase, and partial strain release phenomena in the pipe-DBR structure. High photoluminescence emission intensity and line-width reducing phenomena were observed at 10 K in the UVC-LED with the resonant-cavity structure, which has potential for high-efficiency UV-C light source applications.


We present a holographic model of a topological Weyl semimetal. A key ingredient is a time-reversal breaking parameter and a mass deformation. Upon varying the ratio of mass to time-reversal breaking parameter the model undergoes a quantum phase transition from a topologically nontrivial semimetal to a trivial one. The topological nontrivial semimetal is characterized by the presence of an anomalous Hall effect. The results can be interpreted in terms of the holographic renormalization group (RG) flow leading to restoration of time reversal at the end point of the RG flow in the trivial phase.


This paper presents a receding horizon optimal controller with guaranteed stability for multirobot formation, taking into account collision and obstacle avoidance. The proposed scheme is based on synchronous decentralized strategy wherein all the vehicles that are connected via a packed‐delaying network solve a finite horizon–constrained optimal control problem to obtain their own control action at each sampling instant. First, each robot is modeled by a single integrator dynamics; then, by defining a control law for each robot and considering the effect of communication delay, the closed‐loop dynamics is described as a delay differential equation with tunable parameters. Afterwards, a novel finite‐horizon optimal control setup is established to obtain these adjustable gains such that a desirable formation is achieved. The efficiency and applicability of the suggested scheme are demonstrated by simulation results.


Chaff lining and chaff tramlining are harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems that involve the concentration of chaff material containing weed seed into narrow (20 to 30 cm) rows between or on the harvester wheel tracks during harvest. These lines of chaff are left intact in the fields through subsequent cropping seasons in the assumption that the chaff environment is unfavorable for weed seed survival. The chaff row environment effect on weed seed survival was examined in field studies, and chaff response studies determined the influence of increasing amounts of chaff on weed seedling emergence. The objectives of these studies were to determine the influences of (1) chaff lines on the summer–autumn seed survival of selected weed species and (2) chaff type and amount on rigid ryegrass seedling emergence. There was frequently no difference (P> 0.05) in seed survival of four weed species (rigid ryegrass, wild oat, annual sowthistle, and turnip weed) when seeds were placed beneath or beside chaff lines. In one instance, wild oat seed survival was increased (P< 0.05) when seed were placed beneath compared to beside a chaff line. The pot studies determined that increasing amounts of chaff consistently resulted in decreasing numbers of rigid ryegrass seedlings emerging through chaff material. The suppression of emergence broadly followed a linear relationship in which there was approximately a 2.0% reduction in emergence with every 1,000 kg ha–1 increase in chaff material. This relationship was consistent across wheat, barley, canola, and lupin chaff types, indicating that the physical presence of the chaff was more important than chaff type. These studies suggested that chaff lines may not affect the survival over summer–autumn of the contained weed seeds but that the subsequent emergence of weed seedlings will be restricted by high amounts of chaff (>40,000 kg ha–1).


Certain glycolipid antigens for natural killer T (NKT) cells can direct the overall cytokine balance of the immune response. However, the molecular mechanism of Th1- or Th2-biased cytokine secretion by NKT cells is still unknown. Previously, we synthesized isoglobotrihexosylceramide (iGb3) analogues by introducing a hydroxyl group at C4 on the ceramide portion of iGb3 to produce 4-HO-iGb3 or to further deoxylation on the terminal galactose to produce 4‴-dh-iGb3. Both modified iGb3, especially 4‴-dh-iGb3, stimulated more IFN-γ production by hepatic NKT cells, and thus elicited preferential Th1 responses. Here, we found that 4‴-dh-iGb3–loaded bone marrow–derived dendritic cells (DC) could significantly inhibit growth of subcutaneous melanoma and suppress lung metastasis in C57BL/6 mice compared with unmodified iGb3-loaded DCs. In investigating the mechanisms of this improved activity, we found that 4‴-dh-iGb3 stimulation increased STAT1 signaling by NKT cells, whereas the phosphorylation of Th2 type cytokine–associated transcription factor STAT6 signaling was not affected. Analysis of the structures of iGb3 and 4‴-dh-iGb3 revealed that 4‴-dh-iGb3 provides greater stability and affinity between glycolipid and CD1d or NKT TCR complex than iGb3. Thus, 4‴-dh-iGb3 can improve the antitumor effects of a DC-based vaccine possibly by stabilizing the CD1d/glycolipid/TCR complex and stimulating IFN-γ signaling of NKT cells. Furthermore, chemical modification of iGb3 can elicit Th1-biased responses by NKT cells, and 4‴-dh-iGb3 combined with a DC vaccine may serve as a potent new NKT-based therapy against tumors and infectious diseases. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(8); 1375–84. ©2011 AACR.


ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 8 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com A field study was conducted at S.G. College of Agriculture and Research Station, Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh). The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with 3 levels of fertilizer as main plot and 4 levels of row spacing as sub plot with 3 replications. Results showed that the highest values of fingers plant -1 (9.9), finger length (16.3 cm), leaves plant -1 (11.5), leaf length (18.1 cm), leaf area index (1.36), grains finger -1 (519), biological yield (53.3 q ha -1 ), grain yield (6.4 q ha -1 ) and straw yield (46.9 q ha -1 ) were recorded under 125% of RDF. These parameters increased significantly with the increase in level of fertilizer from 75 to 100 and 100 to 125% of RDF. The plant height and harvest index were recorded significantly higher under 125% of RDF than 100% RDF but 100 and 75% of RDF was at par with each other. The tillers plant -1 and leaf width under 125% of RDF were significantly higher than 75% of RDF but at par with 100% RDF. The test weight under 125% of RDF was at par with 100% RDF and significantly higher than 75% RDF. The highest values of plant height (106.9cm), leaf area index (1.49), biological yield (68.3 q ha -1 ), grain yield (7.4 q ha -1 ) and straw yield (60.9 q ha -1 ) were recorded under 22.5 cm row spacing and these parameters increased significantly with narrowing the row spacing from 60 to 45, 45 to 30 and 30 to 22.5cm except plant height where 60 and 45cm spacing were at par. The highest values of tillers plant -1 (6.0), secondary tillers plant -1 (7.0), fingers plant -1 (11.2), finger length (15.9 cm), leaves plant -1 (11.4), leaf width (2.2 cm), leaf length (17.5 cm) and grains finger -1 (485) were recorded under 60 cm of row spacing and these parameters decreased significantly with narrowing the row spacing from 60 to 45, 45 to 30 and 30 to 22.5cm except secondary tillers where 22.5 and 30cm was at par, leaves plant -1 where 30 and 45 cm was at par and leaf width where 22.5 and 30cm and 45 and 60cm were at par. The leaf area index responded significantly to higher doses of fertilizer i.e. 100 and 125% of RDF at each level of row spacing. The leaf area index didn't respond to lower level of fertilizer i.e. 75% of RDF under wider row spacing i.e. 60 cm. Narrowing the row spacing from 45 to 30 or 22.5 cm, responded significantly to each and all the levels of fertilizer under study. K e y w o r d s Brown top millet, Row spacing, Fertilizer doses, Entisols Accepted: 26 July 2020 Available Online: 10 August 2020 Article Info Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(8): 3459-3472

https://www.ijcmas.com/9-8-2020/Danish Ahmed Siddiqui, et al.pdf


A simple and sensitive assay for quantitating 9-methyl-3-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one (1; BMY 26517) in human plasma was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The method involves precipitation of protein and reversed-phase chromatography. The method is linear in the range of 4.3-429 ng/mL of 1, and the limit of detection is 0.4 ng/mL. The day-to-day precision values of this method at 25.7 and 386 ng/mL are 2.1 and 2.6%, respectively. The day-to-day accuracy values at these concentrations are 99.7 and 99.8%, respectively. The recovery of 1 is 98.3%.


this installation makes perceptible the tension between standardised measures and the way we calculate relationships through an affective measure that people deploy when moving in a variety of everyday situations. These everyday calculations involve complex correlations of abstract ideas of time and space, global and local, geometry and topography, and often leave us up in the air and feeling like the rug has been pulled out from where we are standing. The exhibition will explore how everyday practices of measuring when walking, thinking, and moving our bodies overlap with larger global systems and imaginations.


It is well known that UV radiation can cause human health problems and that energy consumption can lead to human survival problems. Here, we prepared a composite membrane that can block UV radiation as well as reduce energy consumption. Carbon dots (CDs) and acrylates were prepared from xylose and epoxidized soybean oil as biomass feedstocks, respectively, and the composite membrane was prepared by a self-assembly strategy. The first layer of the membrane is composed of CDs and epoxy resin. Its main function is not only to weaken UV rays and the aggregation-induced quenching effect of CDs but also to reduce the absorption of UV rays by the second layer of the membrane. The second layer consists of barium sulfate (BaSO4) and acrylate. Compared to TiO2 (3.2 eV), BaSO4 (∼6 eV) has a higher electronic band gap, which reduces the absorption of UV light by the membrane. The composite membrane exhibits excellent UV-blocking and radiative cooling performance, shielding 99% of UV rays. In addition, the membrane can reduce 4.4 °C in radiative cooling tests, achieving a good cooling effect. Finally, the recyclability of the BaSO4/acrylate membrane is discussed, and 95% recovery rate provides sustainable utilization of the membrane. The composite membrane is expected to be popularized and used in low latitudes and areas with high temperature and high UV radiation near the equator.


An image entails a huge amount of data and information. For this reason, image synthesis and analysis by computer systems requires a high processing time. This represents a handicap in systems where real time processing or an immediate interpretation is demanded as in visual inspection industrial applications. Present work, introduces a computer architecture for the construction of a compact real-time system for high speed visual inspection. The vision system is essentially a Cellular Neural Network Computer (CNN-C) basically composed of a Cellular Neural Network Universal Machine (CNN-UM), an analog memory, an imager and a control unit with mixed-signal properties. This prototype has some limitations, but represents the first approximation of a new kind of systems for visual inspection. The CNN-C prototype will be tested in visual inspection of paper, metal and polymer surfaces. Besides the CNN-C can be used in many other image processing tasks, such as coding, singularity detection or multiresolution representation.


This paper enumerates a new approach to the solution of classification problems based on the properties of Additive Cellular Automata. Classification problem plays a major role in various fields of computer science, such as grouping of the records in database systems, detection of faults in VLSI circuits, image processing, and so on. The state-transition graph of Non-group Cellular Automata (CA) consists of a set of disjoint trees rooted at some cyclic states of unit cycle length - thus forming a natural classifier. First a scheme of classifying the patterns distributed into only two classes has been dealt with. This has been further extended for solution of the multiclass classification problem. The Multiclass Classifier saves on an average 34% of memory as compared to the straight-forward approach storing directly the class of each pattern. A regular, modular, and cascadable hardware implementation of the classifier has been presented which is highly suitable for VLSI realization. The design has been specified in Verilog and verified for functional correctness.


The current study investigated the effects of different computer-supported cooperative prewriting strategies (text-based brainstorming, drawing, and mind mapping) on the writing performance of elementary-school EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in Taiwan. Three intact classes of fifth graders (N = 81 students; 27 per prewriting strategy group) participated in this study. These subjects in different classes used different prewriting strategies at the prewriting stage. A quasi-experimental design was adopted in this study to collect experimental data, including the scores of English composition (two writing works), the level of grammar knowledge, and the level of English writing motivation. The analytical results indicated that in both the mind mapping group and the drawing group, the participants' English grammar knowledge had increased significantly after the treatment. It was also found that different computer-supported cooperative prewriting strategies benefited young EFL writers in different dimensions of English composition. The influence of using the mind mapping strategy seems most powerful on young EFL writers, followed by the drawing strategy and the text-based brainstorming strategy. As to English composition motivation, almost all of the participants appreciated the computer-supported cooperative prewriting activities and were also aware of how these activities benefited their English writing.


The role of metastasectomy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has been widely debated. Most clinical information regarding metastasectomy has been obtained from small retrospective studies that include heterogenous patient populations. It is unclear in what setting patients may confer the most clinical benefit. Moreover, a significant portion of clinical evidence suggesting additional benefit of metastasectomy is derived from a non-contemporary era, when interleukin-2, interferon-alpha, and limited number of tyrosine kinase inhibitors were the only available treatment options in addition to surgery. In efforts to answer these questions, we peruse the current literature of metastasectomy in mRCC by specific anatomical location, analyze the clinicopathological factors associated with metastasectomy outcomes, and discuss the potential role of metastasectomy as an adjunct to targeted therapy and immunotherapy.


Abstract:  Bennettites are an abundant and frequently well‐preserved component of many Mesozoic fossil floras, often playing an important ecological role in flood plain vegetation communities. During a recent study focusing on stomatal indices of Triassic–Jurassic fossil plants, it became evident that the leaf fragments of two bennettite genera Anomozamites Schimper (1870) emend. Harris (1969) and Pterophyllum Brongniart (1825) display a significant overlap of leaf shape as well as cuticular characters. Owing to the preference of recognition of single taxa (ideally species) for the stomatal method, we use a database of 70 leaf fragments of Anomozamites and Pterophyllum compressions from five isotaphonomic Late Triassic sedimentary beds of Astartekløft in East Greenland to test whether leaf and cuticle fragments of the two genera can be separated using a range of quantitative and qualitative morphological and statistical analyses. None of the observed characters – including stomatal frequencies – could be applied to separate the fragments of the two genera into well‐defined groups. Our results therefore indicate that fragmented material and dispersed cuticles cannot be utilized to distinguish between Anomozamites or Pterophyllum at the genus level, but that instead these cuticle fragments may be used interchangeably as stomatal proxies. Classification of fossil leaves into either of these genera is thus only possible given adequate preservation of macro‐morphology and is not possible based solely on cuticle morphology. We suggest that this large inter‐ and intra‐generic morphological variation in both leaf and cuticle traits within Anomozamites and Pterophyllum may be related to the bennettites' role as understory plants, experiencing a range of micro‐environmental conditions, perhaps depending mainly on sun exposure. Based on the results obtained in this study, we conclude that Anomozamites and Pterophyllum cuticle fragments can be employed interchangeably in palaeo [CO2] reconstructions based on the stomatal method, thus potentially annexing a plethora of bennettitalean fossil plant material as CO2 proxies, including dispersed cuticles.


The progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads to altered lipid metabolism. CKD patients exhibit high blood triglyceride (TG) levels, reduced concentrations and functionality of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and elevated levels of atherogenic small, dense, low-density lipoproteins (sdLDL). Disorders of lipid metabolism and other metabolic disturbances place CKD patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Extensive evidence supports the cardioprotective effects of unsaturated fatty acids, including their beneficial effect on serum cholesterol and TG levels. Dietary lipids might therefore be especially important in the nutritional management of CKD. We review current dietary recommendations for fat intake by CKD patients and suggest potential nutritional interventions by emphasizing dietary lipids that might improve the blood lipid profile and reduce cardiovascular risk in CKD.


Mesenchymal stem cells have been known to have the nature of supressing immune response. This cell have been proven to reduce the symptoms of organ transplants rejection. Clinically proofing is also being performed on an autoimmune disease caused by the complex immune such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study aimed to know aggregated IgG-stimulating effects of mesenchymal stem cells in relation to IDO secretion, an immunosuppressant agent. Mesenchymal stem cells was isolated from liposuction waste and characterized based on its surface molecule accrording to ISCT criterias. The confirmed cell culture was used to the next culture by the addition of heat aggragated immunoglobulins gamma (HAGG) for six days. IDO secreted on supernatant culture was collected and assayed by elisa method at 450 nm. The results showed that there was elevated levels of IDO (16.73-49.5%) on culture with HAGG stimulation than without stimulation. This study could be a part of the basic


There are numerous observational studies on intraspecific variation in avian nest building and a single experimental manipulation. The general consensus is that birds build nests in response to environmental conditions, but it is not clear whether such flexibility in nest building is reproductively advantageous. To test the relationship between building flexibility and reproductive success, we allowed captive zebra finches to build their first nest, using string, and to breed in temperature-controlled rooms held at 14 or 30 °C. Once the offspring had fledged, we returned half the pairs to breed at the same temperature while half the pairs were switched to the alternative temperature. We provided all pairs with string and left them to build and breed a second time. For their first nest, pairs that built at 14 °C used more string than did pairs that built at 30 °C, and pairs that bred successfully built a nest with more string than did unsuccessful pairs. When pairs built their second nest, however, temperature no longer explained the number of pieces of string they used; rather, irrespective of the ambient temperature, pairs that had successfully produced young from their first nest used the same amount of string for their second nest, whereas those that had failed to reproduce with their first nest used more string. These latter pairs were then more likely to reproduce successfully. Ambient temperature, therefore, did affect the nest the pairs built but only in the absence of reproductive experience.


This paper investigates the pressure dependency of a lean premixed jet injected into a lean vitiated crossflow with an experimentally verified detailed chemistry computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and 53 species considered. Experimental data were taken in an axially staged combustor with an optically accessible test section, allowing the use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and CH* chemiluminescence techniques as well as point measurement of species concentration, temperature, and pressure. The experimental data cases at one, three, and five atmospheres were selected to describe the flame stabilization dependency on pressure and gain the required knowledge for an extrapolation to engine condition. Simulated exit nitrogen oxide levels were validated with experimental emission data, and a global emission trend for the NO reduction at elevated pressure and constant turbine inlet temperature level was defined. The nitrogen oxide benefit at elevated operating pressure was justified with the significantly smaller flame surface area: the analysis of the simulated spanwise and top-view profiles showed a relatively short receded core flame with nitrogen oxide production in the center at high pressure relative to a longer and larger shear layer flame at atmospheric condition that produced NO toward the inner and outer side of the flame. Decomposition of the Damköhler number revealed the strong influence of the reaction timescales with higher reaction rates at elevated pressure, along with a moderate influence of the turbulent timescales, showing higher turbulence intensity in the lee-side recirculation zone at lower pressure.


Moctezuma was the Aztec emperor when Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1519. After his entrance in Tenochtitlan, Cortés held the emperor hostage, forcing him to govern under conditions in his own palace. The psychic evolution experienced by Moctezuma until his death in 1520 is analyzed based on testimonial reports of Benal Diaz del Castillo and historian contributions. Although there is evidence that Moctezuma was stoned and wounded by an arrow, we propose the hypothesis that the emperor was affected by a Major Depression.