At present, traditional methods to direct -centered projects in meeting goals, time, budget and quality-requirements are insufficient. In recent years, various studies have shown that the main factors of complexity in project management come from the social dimension of the parties involved and from contextual aspects. It has also been shown to analyze and understand the complex factors that affect the project is a necessary step for proper direction.


BACKGROUND
 The benefits of vitamin D relate to muscle strength, cardiovascular health, and prevents osteoporosis.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study aimed to explore trends of global interest on vitamin D, hypercalcaemia, adverse kidney effects (stones and kidney failure) and osteoporosis

 METHODS
 An electronic search was conducted with Google Trends, limiting searches based on the "health" criterion.

 RESULTS
 Worldwide interest in vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol or calciferol), kidney stones and kidney failure is progressively growing over time. On the other hand, vitamin D was found to be negatively correlated with hypercalcaemia and bone density. Another result of our analysis is the distribution of the popularity of searches across countries. In particular, the global popularity for vitamin D3 seems higher than that of vitamin D2 and also shows different geographical preferences. The growing interest in vitamin D parallels that of kidney stones and kidney failure, while decreasing popularity has been noted for hypercalcaemia and bone density

 CONCLUSIONS
 The research volumes help to clarify the changes in the trends of use of supplements and the development of their complications, according to the different geographical areas, socio-economic status and online literacy


Birch xylan (4-O-methylglucuronoxylan) isolated from a kraft cooking liquor was delignified and grafted with polylactide of predictable branch length. This graft copolymerization resulted in very high total yields, greater than 90%, and with less than 10% polylactide homopolymer byproducts. Mild reaction conditions (40°C, 5 to 120 minutes) were used, which was believed to limit transesterification reactions and thus make it possible to reach good predictability of the polylactide branch length. The thermal properties of the polylactide-grafted xylan depended on the branch length. Short branches resulted in fully amorphous materials with a glass transition temperature of about 48 to 55°C, whereas long polylactide branches resulted in semi-crystalline materials with melting points of about 130°C. Using mixtures of L-lactide and D/L-lactide in the monomer feed further altered the thermal properties. The degradation temperatures of the polylactide-grafted xylans were higher than that of the unmodified xylan, with degradation temperatures of about 300°C and 250°C, respectively. Tensile testing showed increased elongation at break with increasing branch length. The proposed method thus enables tailor-making of copolymers with specific thermal and mechanical properties.


Transactional database systems and data stream management systems have been thoroughly investigated over the past decades. While both systems follow completely different data processing models, the combined concept of transactional stream processing promises to be the future data processing model. So far, however, it has not been investigated how well-known concepts found in DBMS or DSMS regarding multi-user support can be transferred to this model or how they need to be redesigned. In this paper, we propose a transaction model combining streaming and stored data as well as continuous and ad-hoc queries. Based on this, we present appropriate protocols for concurrency control of such queries guaranteeing snapshot isolation as well as for consistency of transactions comprising several shared states. In our evaluation, we show that our protocols represent a resilient and scalable solution meeting all requirements for such a model.


The challenge of fundamental ecclesiology for the present-day is to move on from the words, expressed during the Second Vatican Council concerning the self‑presentation of the Church, towards the structural transformation of Christian communities and also of the communities of local churches. The aim of the article is to find appropriate impulses and the logic of ecclesial transformation within the framework of an interdisciplinary reflection which occurs between theology and social sciences, herein represented predominantly by relevant concepts derived from the theories of social organization and the so‑called theory of complexity. The starting point of this article is found in the thinking of Etienne Wenger, an author of social organizational theory. His thoughts, presented through the framework of communities of practice, offers a heuristically fruitful project for the structuration of ecclesial communities based on "The People of God" category, a theological category rediscovered by the Second Vatican Council.


Based on a mathematical model involving Radon measure explicit
computations on convolution integrals defining continuous
(integral) wavelet transformations are carried out. The study
shows that the truncated Morlet wavelet significantly depends on a
rotation parameter and thus lay a foundation of edge detection in
pattern recognition and image processing using rotational
(directional) wavelets. Experiments and algorithms are developed
based on the theory. The theory is further generalized to the
$n$-dimensional cases and to a large class of rotational wavelets.


Abstract : Remotely-sensed observations from satellites hold great promise for providing a wealth of high-temporal and spatial resolution data, particularly over the oceans. However, it has been very difficult for numerical weather prediction systems to show consistent, positive forecast improvement attributable to satellite retrievals obtained in the conventional manner. By developing techniques for the direct assimilation of the satellite measured radiances, this project will lay the foundation for improved three- and four-dimensional data assimilation systems for global and mesoscale applications. These systems may be run at operational central-site forecast centers or run on-scene to provide operational mission support.


Abstract Rationale: Anti-gamma-aminobutyric-acid B receptor (anti-GABAB R) encephalitis is clinically characterized by seizures, cognitive disorders, and behavioral changes. Most patients are diagnosed with small-cell lung carcinoma. Patient concerns: The patient suffered from a repeated grand mal seizure lasting for 10 minutes, intermittent speech vagueness, manic at night, and mental disorder. Diagnosis: The patient was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis. The gamma-aminobutyric-acid B(GABAB) receptor antibody test result was positive. After a bronchoscopic biopsy, the patient was diagnosed with small-cell lung carcinoma. Interventions: The patient was administered with intravenous immunoglobulin and Methylprednisolone. Etoposide was used after the small-cell lung carcinoma was diagnosed. Outcomes: After immunotherapy, following the 4 months of Etoposide and antiseizure treatment, the neurology examination revealed a remarkable improvement. MRS score reduced from 5 to 1. Electroencephalogram (EEG) recovered to normal from an extreme delta brush (EDB) electroencephalographic-pattern. Conclusion: Immunotherapy and Etoposide can improve the outcome of severe anti-γ-aminobutyric acid B receptor encephalitis with small-cell lung carcinoma. After immunotherapy and antineoplastic therapy, Electroencephalogram (EEG) can be recovered to normal from an extreme delta brush.


Semiotic Analysis of the Collection of Seasonal Poems Starting from the Work of Sumatran Female Poets Semiotic is an analytical method that examines signs. Collection of Season Poetry Starting from the work of the Sumatran Women's Poet, it contains many elements of semiotics such as icons, indices and symbols. Research problem is how the icon is inside Collection of Beginning Season Poems by Sumatran Women's Poets? What is the index in the collection of Seasonal Poetry Beginning by a female poet all over Sumatra? and what are the symbols in the collection of the Beginning Season Poetry works Sumatran poets of women? The purpose of the study is to know and analyze the poetry semiotics of the Season Beginning poetry collection by female poets all over Sumatra. The scope of the study is included in the scope of the criticism study literature, especially the study of semiotics. Problem limitation is that researchers take everything semiotic aspects of the type of sign (icon, index and symbol). The theory used is Pradopo (2013), Nurgiyantoro (2007) and Sentosa (1993). Data source is a collection Beginning Season Poetry by Sumatran Women's Poets. Research approach This semiotic uses a qualitative approach with the type of research. The method used is descriptive method. Data collection technique used is hermenuitik technique. The results of the study and the amount of data in the collection Beginning Season Poetry by the Sumatran Female Poet consists of 5 poetry writer by Sumatran poet women. The results of this study are (1) The icon aspect is 38 data. For example, in my words, I am a marker which marks the heart's own feelings. (2) Index aspect has 21 data. For example the word is like the back longing for the moon. Phrases like backs lingering month is a form of index of a poem that is told where it is causal relationship between cause and effect between signs and the marker. (3) Semiotic aspects of symbols are 50 data. Examples like found in the crossed phrase ablution. The meaning contained in that symbol it is intended to be a special devotion performed by the poet solely because of the creator.


BACKGROUND: Endometrial stromal sarcoma can present management difficulties due to its lack of response to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Various hormonal therapies have been shown to reduce tumor volume in both primary and recurrent disease. CASE: A woman who underwent myomectomy was discovered to have a low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. Treatment with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue triptorelin before surgery had produced reduction in uterine size. The woman developed tumor recurrence six months after definitive surgical treatment. The tumor enlarged rapidly during a 2-month period, with development of a right-sided hydronephrosis. Repeat administration of triptorelin was accompanied by resolution of the hydronephrosis and reduction in tumor volume. Biopsy results confirmed recurrent low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma with moderate estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity. CONCLUSION: Control of progression of a recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma was achieved with the GnRH analogue triptorelin. This is the first report in the English-language literature during a 30-year period of single-agent GnRH analogue being an effective treatment intervention in this context.


ABSTRACT Yan, F. and Wang, Y., 2018. Remediation of marine pollution by microorganisms in the comprehensive management of coastal zones. In: Ashraf, M.A. and Chowdhury, A.J.K. (eds.), Coastal Ecosystem Responses to Human and Climatic Changes throughout Asia. Degradation characteristics of marine pollutants were studied in this paper. A microbial degradation agent for degradation of pollutants was developed and applied to a coastal bioremediation experiment. At the same time, the degradation of marine pollutants in intertidal and subtidal zones was investigated. The degradation rate of total alkane and total aromatic hydrocarbon was analyzed to evaluate the degradation effect. The results showed that the degrading bacteria group DC10 could degrade most of the alkanes and aromatics, and the degradation was significant in bioremediation experiments on a polluted coastal beach.


Rainfall forcasting is a non-linear forecasting process that varies according to area and strongly influenced by climate change. It is a difficult process due to complexity of rainfall trend in the previous event and the popularity of Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) with hybrid learning method give high prediction for rainfall as a forecasting model. Thus, in this study we investigate the efficient membership function of ANFIS for predicting rainfall in Banyuwangi, Indonesia. The number of different membership functions that use hybrid learning method is compared. The validation process shows that 3 or 4 membership function gives minimum RMSE results that use temperature, wind speed and relative humidity as parameters.


The Purdue Make It system is a unique automated platform capable of small-scale in situ synthesis, screening small-molecule reactions, and performing direct label-free bioassays. The platform is based on desorption electrospray ionization (DESI), an ambient ionization method that allows for minimal sample workup and is capable of accelerating reactions in secondary droplets, thus conferring unique advantages compared with other high-throughput screening technologies. By combining DESI with liquid handling robotics, the system achieves throughputs of more than 1 sample/s, handling up to 6144 samples in a single run. As little as 100 fmol/spot of analyte is required to perform both initial analysis by mass spectrometry (MS) and further MSn structural characterization. The data obtained are processed using custom software so that results are easily visualized as interactive heatmaps of reaction plates based on the peak intensities of m/z values of interest. In this paper, we review the system's capabilities as described in previous publications and demonstrate its utilization in two new high-throughput campaigns: (1) the screening of 188 unique combinatorial reactions (24 reaction types, 188 unique reaction mixtures) to determine reactivity trends and (2) label-free studies of the nicotinamide N-methyltransferase enzyme directly from the bioassay buffer. The system's versatility holds promise for several future directions, including the collection of secondary droplets containing the products from successful reaction screening measurements, the development of machine learning algorithms using data collected from compound library screening, and the adaption of a variety of relevant bioassays to high-throughput MS.


Multicentre research provides advantages over single‐centre research by maximising available patient numbers while pooling varied expertise and resources available across different participating investigators and sites. The increased complexity of multicentre regulatory approvals, communication and study management, can be mitigated by the formation of a research network where multicentre efforts move from ad hoc, single projects to formalised ongoing collaboration. Network research helps prioritise research efforts and importantly fosters the development of a collaborative track record in terms of research expertise, research capacity and grant success. It also has the potential to rapidly change patient care across many hospitals as research results will be more generalizable and definitive. This paper sets out the key elements of network research, its benefits and possible challenges drawing on the example of PREDICT (Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative) an established paediatric emergency research network in Australia and New Zealand.


Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors. They include obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance. Central obesity and resistance to insulin, in particular, are recognized as causative factors, which form the development of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a progressive and genetically determined condition. The result of its progression is that carbohydrate, lipid and purine metabolism break down. The intestinal microbiome has a significant role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome. One of the methods of influencing the micribiotic composition is the physical activity. The human intestinal microbiome is a complex ecosystem consisting not only of microorganisms, but also including bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Biodiversity and the overall composition of the microbiota play a crucial role in maintaining normal homeostasis in the human body. With the recent advent of the possibility of studying the intestinal microbiome, the impact on its taxonomic composition and metabolism through exercise is the subject of scientific interest. Recent studies showed that the intestinal microbiota was directly involved in the formation of the metabolic syndrome. The function of the microbiome is just as important as the function of the "metabolic organs" that affect energy homeostasis and control body weight. In addition, changes in the intestinal microbiotic composition lead to increased intestinal permeability, endotoxemia, which plays a role in the development of chronic inflammation in the host, contributing to the development of metabolic syndrome and related chronic metabolic diseases. Intestinal microbiota in its own right is injected into the development of systemic inflammation in obesity, such a rank, inappropriate insertions in development or regression of insulin resistance, and hyperglycemia in metabolic syndrome. Physical activity can affect not only the composition of the microbial composition, but also the metabolic activity of the intestinal microbiome. The health-improving effect of physical exercises is connected with their ability to change the composition of an intestinal microbiota. Studies involving professional athletes and a specially selected control group indicated that athletes had a lower pro-inflammatory status and a high degree of bacterial diversity. Due to this, there is a positive dynamics of improving carbohydrate metabolism and the impact on the course of pathological processes associated with the metabolic syndrome, through the introduction of regular physical activity. Conclusion. The literature review presents data on the metabolic syndrome, its pathogenesis and components of the spectrum of development of metabolic disorders. We also analyzed material on influence of gut microbiota on development of metabolic disturbances and inreraction of structure of a microbiotic composition with physical exercises


Halftoning and inverse-halftoning processes are tools that have been widely used in the last few years, which are used in scientific research for the development of visual cryptography, steganography, reconstruction of tampered images, authentication systems, among others. In this paper, a technique of inverse-halftoning, which generates grayscale images from halftone images, is proposed. This method obtains a high quality in the generated grayscale images. Our approach first uses a low-complexity low-pass filter to obtain an approximation to the desired grayscale image, and then a bilateral filter is applied in order to eliminate regions with noise without affecting the edges of the image. To evaluate the quality of the obtained images, the objective criterion of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is used. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in comparisons with other schemes reported in the literature, additionally, the average processing time for the proposed system maintains a good performance against the reported schemes.


Use this guide to help you get started with exploring tests and measurements. It includes books, research databases, journals and links to useful websites


Background: The five-year survival rate of breast cancer is bleak because of the predilection for bone metastasis. Tumor-associated macrophages are involved in tumor metastasis and are divided into two antagonistic types, M1 and M2. This study aimed to detect the anti-tumor effect of the modified Sijunzi decoction (MSJZD) in a mouse model of breast cancer and explore whether MSJZD inhibited tumor metastasis by regulating macrophage polarization.Materials and methods: A luciferase-expressing mouse breast cancer cell line Luc-4T1 was inoculated into the right mammary fat pad of mice to establish a Balb/c mouse model of breast cancer. After inoculation for 24 h, the mice were randomly divided into the MSJZD group and control group (n = 5 per group). The mice in the MSJZD group were gavaged with 0.77 g/mL MSJZD once daily for 35 days, whereas those in the control group were administered the same volume of normal saline. Subsequently, the effects of MSJZD on tumor growth and macrophage polarization were investigated.Results: On day 35, MSJZD reduced tumor growth in the mouse model of breast cancer. Flow cytometry showed that the M1 marker (inducible nitric oxide synthase+) was increased in the MSJZD group relative to that in the control group, whereas the M2 marker (CD206+) did not exhibit significant differences between the two groups. The results indicated that MSJZD promoted macrophage polarization into the M1 phenotype.Conclusions: Our findings showed that MSJZD promoted macrophage polarization into the M1 phenotype, thus inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis in breast cancer.


Josephson voltage standards with series arrays of up to 20 000 tunnel junctions can generate stable reference voltages at arbitrary values between - 15 V and + 15 V. These standards, which are now installed in many national and industrial laboratories, are used to calibrate Weston cells or Zener reference standards, to measure the linearity of digital voltmeters, and as precise potentiometers for the measurement of voltage and resistance ratios. The fundamental principles, the historical development, the design, the fabrication and the operation of these voltage standards are reviewed.


The analysis and design of a direct six-switch three-phase PWM rectifier, capable of correcting input unbalance, is presented. Based on the input source positive and negative sequence components, an unbalanced transfer matrix in terms of input phase voltages is derived. An online method is used to implement the transfer matrix function and generate the switch gating signals. As compared to other unbalance correction methods, the proposed approach is very simple to implement. It uses only a few discrete analog and digital components. The algorithm of the proposed approach is described in this paper, and results are verified from a 1 kVA breadboard set-up. >


In this paper we present an implicit time-stepping scheme for multibody systems with intermittent contact by incorporating the contact constraints as a set of complementarity and algebraic equations within the dynamics model. Two primary sources of stability and accuracy problems in prior time stepping schemes for differential complementarity models of multibody systems are the use of polyhedral representations of smooth bodies and the approximation of the distance function (arising from the decoupling of collision detection from the solution of the dynamic time-stepping subproblem). Even the simple example of a disc rolling on a table without slip encounters these problems. We assume each object to be a convex object described by an intersection of convex inequalities. We write the contact constraints as complementarity constraints between the contact force and a distance function dependent on the closest points on the objects. The closest points satisfy a set of algebraic constraints obtained from the KKT conditions of the minimum distance problem. These algebraic equations and the complementarity constraints taken together ensure satisfaction of the contact constraints. This enables us to formulate a geometrically implicit time-stepping scheme (i.e., we do not need to approximate the distance function) as a nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP). The resulting time-stepper is therefore more accurate; further it is the first geometrically implicit time-stepper that does not rely on a closed form expression for the distance function. We demonstrate through example simulations the fidelity of this approach to analytical solutions and previously described simulation results.


Economic Methodology: An Inquiry presents a clear and accessible introduction to the methodology of economics. An essential introduction to the subject for those who would like to pursue the more specialist literature, explaining both the role of methodology in assisting economists to address fundamental issues and also the different approaches to methodology that are on offer. The book begins with a discussion of the nature and scope of economics as a discipline and of the issues currently facing it. Dow then goes on to introduce some of the central theoretical and empirical issues in economics and demonstrates the need for methodological awareness in approaching these issues. This is followed by a brief account of the methodological ideas that have influenced economics over the last two centuries and a detailed chapter on current methodological ideas, showing how they are discussed today in the field of economic methodology and how these ideas are related to current practice in economics. The book concludes with a discussion of what economics can reasonably be expected to do and what possible future directions the subject might take. Written in a clear and accessible style with suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, this book will be the ideal starting point for all those wanting an introduction to the methodology of economics, both as it has developed in the past and as it now stands.


We model a shear-thickening fluid that combines a tendency to form inhomogeneous, shear-banded flows with a slow relaxational dynamics for fluid microstructure. The interplay between these factors gives rich dynamics, with periodic regimes (oscillating bands, travelling bands, and more complex oscillations) and spatiotemporal rheochaos. These phenomena, arising from constitutive nonlinearity not inertia, can occur even when the steady-state flow curve is monotonic. Our model also shows rheochaos in a low-dimensional truncation where sharply defined shear bands cannot form.


Korean dramas have played an influential role in Taiwanese society since they were first introduced into Taiwan. One of the most dominant themes in most Korean dramas is the theme of love. As a story topic, love accounts for about ninety percent of the themes dealt with by these dramas. By applying the theoretical idea of cultural proximity, and by using content analysis to analyze the underlying values contained in the dramas, this study examines the theme of love in these dramas. The data pool includes 10 popular Korean dramas aired between the years of 2008 and 2012. Using these 10 dramas as a sample, I examine whether contemporary feminist attitudes about women " s autonomy play a role in how Taiwanese audiences identify with stories about love in Korean dramas. Through interviews with four television station managers from companies including LTV, ETTV, ii Videoland Drama and ELTA, I also gathered information about the process of localization within Korean dramas. In addition to the above strategies, my study incorporates secondary data to analyze related reports and statistical data about Korean dramas.


The indirect ("ex-cell") electrochemical synthesis of benzoxazoles from imines using a redox mediator based on the iodine(I)/iodine(III) redox couple is reported. Tethering the redox-active iodophenyl subunit to a tetra-alkylammonium moiety allowed for anodic oxidation to be performed without supporting electrolyte. The mediator salt can be easily recovered and reused. Our "ex-cell" approach toward the electrosynthesis of benzoxazoles is compatible with a range of redox-sensitive functional groups. An unprecedented concerted reductive elimination mechanism for benzoxazole formation is proposed on the basis of control experiments and DFT calculations.


Knowledge of the electromagnetic properties of building materials is becoming increasingly important in modern wireless communications due to high demands for indoor communications. This paper describes a free-space time-domain measurement technique, which is based on the principle of ground penetrating radar (GPR), for imaging building materials. The technique can simultaneously determine the constitutive parameters of the layered material being tested, such as the number of layers and the thickness and dielectric constant of each layer. This is achieved by employing an inverse scattering algorithm developed previously. The measurement apparatus and the calibration procedure are described. Results of measurements on standard materials and some building materials are presented and discussed.


Pearson correlation coefficients were established among secondary metabolites of Leucaena leucocephala and some climatic factors (maximum, minimum and mean temperature, rainfall and number of rainy days), primary metabolites and digestibility (organic matter, dry matter, protein and NDF). The metabolites were A) secondary: total tannins, total phenols, total condensed tannins, free condensed tannins, alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes, steroids and flavonoids and B) primary: glucose, fructose, sucrose and N. Secondary metabolites were correlated with the maximum temperature and the highest coefficient (r = 0.78) was for steroids. Similar result was obtained for condensed tannins bound to the fiber, but with the minimum temperature (r = -0.90). The highest coefficient for the number of rainy days was presented in flavonoids (r = 0.99), while for total rainfall coefficient, it was for total phenols (r = -0.90). Correlation coefficients between the secondary metabolites and OMD ranged from -0.57 to -0.74. For the in vitro of dry matter digestibility, they ranged between -0.65 and -0.94 and for NDF between -0.91 and -0.98. For PBD, the values were the lowest (-0.39 and 0.55). Considering the phenolic compounds as independent variables and related to alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes, steroids and flavonoids, the highest coefficients (≥0.80) were recorded by total tannins, total phenols, total condensed tannins and condensed tannins bound to fiber. When the secondary metabolites were related to the primary metabolites (glucose, fructose, sucrose and N), coefficients were negative and varied between -0.41 and -0.98. It can be concluded that the elements of the climate influenced the studied metabolites. All digestibility expressions were negatively affected by the presence of the secondary metabolites. Phenolic compounds were positively correlated with flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes and steroids, while primary metabolites correlated negatively with secondary metabolites. It is recommended to consider the results of this study in Leucaena leucocephala to assess the effect of climate change on the secondary metabolites, counteract the negative effect of these compounds on ruminant feeding systems, conduct future research to establish its maximum allowable value in the diet and apply the simulation and mathematical modeling to predict the performance of these substances in this and other plants.
Key words: antinutritional factors, digestibility, legumes, temperature, rain


In this work, machine learning techniques have been applied for the assessment of the relevance of several prosodic features in TTS for Spanish. Using a two step correspondence between sets of prosodic features and intonation parameters, the influence of the number of different intonation patterns and the number and order of prosodic features is evaluated. The output of the trained classifiers is proposed as a labelling mechanism of intonation units which can be used to synthesize high quality pitch contours. The input output correspondence of the classifier also provides a bundle of relevant prosodic knowledge.


Introduction: Although the ultraviolet rays are the most significant factors in the formation of skin cancer, the harmful effect of the sun cause various skin diseases. Seasonal agricultural workers constitute the main labor force of the agricultural sector in Turkey. The aim of the study to determine the skin cancer and solar knowledge of the seasonal agricultural women workers. Material and Method: 154 seasonal agricultural women workers were included in the descriptive study. The questionnaire examining the Skin Cancer and Solar Knowledge Scale and the socio-demographic aspects of the participants was applied through face-to-face survey and data were collected accordingly. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used in the analysis of data. Results: It was observed that the majority of the participants were between 18-24 years old and they have very limited knowledge of skin cancer and solar exposure. In addition, it was ascertained that the level of knowledge decreases when the age of women increases.The level of knowing the risk factors of skin cancer wasfound to be higher in women having a high school education or higher in comparison to the women who graduated from primary school. It was concluded that the level of knowledge of women living in the province is higher than the women residing in the countryside. Conclusion: Since the seasonal agricultural workers are included in the risk group in terms of skin cancer, we hereby recommend organizing training to raise the knowledge levels and starting the periodic implementation of cancer screening and monitoring programs.


Purpose The incomplete immune reconstitution is a complex phenomenon among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients despite the fact that they have achieved persistent viral suppression under the combined antiretroviral therapy. This study aims to screen and verify the immunological characteristics and underlying mechanisms of immunological non-responders (INRs). Methods The RNA-seq and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis were used to explore potential characteristics among INRs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) analysis, Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis, and the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were used to explore the potential mechanism. The transcriptional meta-analysis was used to analyze the external efficiency. Results The RNA-seq identified 316 DEGs among INRs. The interferon signaling pathway was enriched via GO and IPA analysis among DEGs. The combined GSEA and WGCNA analysis confirmed that the IFN response was more correlated with INR. Furthermore, IFI27 (IFN-α Inducible Protein 27, also known as ISG12) was chosen based on combined DEG analysis, WGCNA analysis, and the transcriptional meta-analysis conducted on other published datasets about INRs. The expression of IFI27 was significantly negatively correlated with the CD4+ T-cell counts of PLWH, and the predictive efficiency of IFI27 level in distinguishing PLWH with poor immune recovery was also with significant power (AUC = 0.848). Conclusion The enhanced expression of IFI27 and the IFN response pathway are among the important immunological characteristics of INRs and exhibited promising efficiency as biomarkers for CD4+ T-cell recovery.


This article analyses the recent political repression of academia in Hungary and Turkey within the critical scholarship on globalisation and neoliberalisation of higher education. We introduce and challenge the hegemonic definitions of academic freedom that sit comfortably with the capitalist logic as well as repressive governing forms and assess the recent attacks on university communities with emphasis on both academic labour and freedom. Adopting a case study approach, we investigate how economic and political forms of repression accompany and reinforce one another within the specificities of both country contexts. We delineate the underlying structural and historical dynamics as well as emergence and evolution of methods of struggle and resistance employed by diverse university communities in their shared and divergent characteristics. Our conclusions include critical reflections on the broader implications of higher education restructuring, authoritarian interventions, and the future of systemic-level resistance.


Ultrasound (US) delivers mechanical vibration above the upper threshold of human hearing (>20 kHz). US in the megahertz range (1-3 MHz) has been used to treat musculoskeletal disorders, often by physical therapists. Although the exact mechanism underlying its clinical effects is not known, therapeutic US has been shown to have a variety of effects at a cellular level, including angiogenesis, leukocyte adhesion, growth factor, collagen production, and increases in macrophage responsiveness, fibrinolysis, and nitric oxide levels. The therapeutic effects of US energy in the kilohertz range have also been examined. Although the precise effects are not known, low-frequency US in this range may improve wound healing via the production, vibration, and movement of micron-sized bubbles in the coupling medium and tissue.


In this paper, CFD assessment of the DYNASTY natural circulation loop, adopting a RANS turbulence modeling approach, is performed using the OpenFOAM open source toolbox. The DYNASTY facility is designed to investigate the stability and dynamics of heat-generating fluids, in particular molten salts, in a natural or forced circulation regime and as such, it is one-of-a-kind, large scale facility for studying the natural circulation in presence of distributed heating. In this work, a CFD model of the facility is set up and validated by comparing the model results to experimental data obtained during the initial testing campaign of the facility, with water as working fluid. In particular, the equilibrium state of the system is investigated in terms of the mass flow dynamic behaviour and the temperature difference across the cooler section of the loop. It is shown that the CFD simulations adopting the k − ω SST turbulence model best reflect the experimental results. The CFD results are also in agreement with a simplified 1D modeling as well as an analytical solution.


An abiding interest in computerization and the manner in which it is-or is not-implemented, especially in large organizations, grew out of the author's professional life as a systems analyst and became a lifelong pursuit. In this recollection, she describes what it was like to work as an analyst in the 1940s and 1950s, and she also describes a number of incidents that reflected prevailing attitudes toward women in the workplace.


FAO's programme for Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) Management is guided by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Important elements are reporting on the status of animal genetic diversity and supporting the development of methodological tools to support decision-making and implementation of national AnGR management programmes. As a first step in the reporting process, FAO invited 188 countries to submit national reports on AnGR management. The process also included the establishment of a network of National Coordinators and Consultative Committees. Subregional training and follow-up workshops were organized. The Country Reports were seen as the base for developing the first report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources (SoW-AnGR). A total of 169 Country Reports were received. The 148 reports available by June 2005 were used to assess institutional and human capacity, breeding and conservation programmes, use of biotechnology, and legal frameworks affecting AnGR management. The analysis of FAO's Global Databank for Farm Animal Genetic Resources revealed a total of 7616 breeds reported world-wide, 20 percent of which are classified as at risk and 9 percent of which (mostly in Europe) are already extinct. Large differences in countries' AnGR management capacities were apparent between, but also within regions. As expected, human and institutional capacities in Europe, North America, Australia, and parts of Asia and Latin America are more developed than elsewhere. The SoW-AnGR report also analyses scientific methods and tools related to AnGR management. Although research interest has increased in recent years, there remains a great need for improved methods for characterization, and for defining goals and organizational structures for breeding and conservation programmes, in particular in lower input production systems. Concerted efforts are also needed to improve criteria for prioritizing breeds for genetic improvement and conservation programmes at national, regional and international levels. Plant genetic resources have long been acknowledged as part of human heritage, and awareness has grown that the same is true for animal genetic resources. To maintain at least the most precious part of this heritage clearly requires more coordinated efforts and a rapid increase in human and financial capacities.


Nowadays, people in China also have the American dream, which is a wish of living in a large house and enjoy the convenient life. By reviewing the history of the development of the American economic, we believe that the American dream can be realized by consumer credit. But in recent years, shocked by the decline of the economic of America, the government of the American began restrict the development of the consumer credit. Meanwhile, it seems that the consumer credit in China still has a good future. Both the market itself and the government of china look a good view on the consumer credit and we believe, we Chinese can finance the American dream in china.


Finite element methods for some elliptic fourth order singular perturbation problems are discussed. We show that if such problems are discretized by the nonconforming Morley method, in a regime close to second order elliptic equations, then the error deteriorates. In fact, a counterexample is given to show that the Morley method diverges for the reduced second order equation. As an alternative to the Morley element we propose to use a nonconforming H2-element which is H1-conforming. We show that the new finite element method converges in the energy norm uniformly in the perturbation parameter.


This paper focuses on the common law doctrine of the penalty rule and the recent Supreme Court decision in Cavendish Square Holding v Makdessi and ParkingEye v Beavis . The state of the penalty rule prior to the judgment was unsatisfactory and criticized by both commentators and practitioners alike. Its indiscriminate application and unclear criteria was a needless source of uncertainty for both contracting parties and lawyers. Nevertheless, their Lordships in Cavendish refused to abolish the penalty rule but acknowledged its limited application in the modern commercial context. This paper accordingly aims to justify the continued existence of the doctrine on theoretical grounds within the English private law framework despite its practical obsolescence.


Abstract We examine a hypothesis implied by Steffe's constructivist model of children's numerical reasoning: a child's spontaneous additive strategy may relate to a foundational form of multiplicative reasoning, termed multiplicative double counting (mDC). To this end, we mix quantitative and qualitative analyses of 31 fourth graders' responses during clinical, task-based interviews. All participants spontaneously used one of three additive strategies—counting-on, doubling, or break-apart-make-ten (BAMT)—to correctly solve an addition word problem (8 + 7). We found between-group differences, with asymmetric association of those ordinal variables. We found counting-on to be mainly related to premultiplicative reasoning and BAMT to mDC reasoning. We discuss the theoretical significance and implications of this corroboration of Steffe's model.


After irradiating the acetylcholine receptor complex with the title neurotoxin derivative, the labeled delta-subunit was separated by preparative SDS-PAGE, reduced-carboxymethylated and cleaved with LysC endoproteinase. One of the radioactive peptides isolated by HPLC was further purified by electrophoresis in a tricin gel. Edman degradation of the radioactive fractions yielded the sequence of the delta-subunit fragment starting from Phe148. The AspN-cleavage of the radioactive peptide from the LysC digest gave on HPLC a radioactive peak which eluted similarly to peptide 33-44 generated by LysC/AspN-cleavage of 125I-neurotoxin II. In model experiments, irradiation of the photoactivable derivative was found to produce a heterogeneous mixture of reaction products. Unusually low initial and repetitive yields were observed for neurotoxin II and its fragments containing the photolabeled and radiolabeled residues. These results might explain why the neurotoxin sequence was not detected on Edman degradation of the cross-linked products available at a low picomole level.


Substrate dephosphorylation by the low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatases proceeds via nucleophilic substitution at the phosphorous atom yielding a cysteinyl phosphate intermediate. However, several questions regarding the exact reaction mechanism remain unanswered. Starting from the crystal structure of the enzyme we study the energetics of this reaction, using the empirical valence bond method in combination with molecular dynamics and free energy perturbation simulations. The free energy profiles of two mechanisms corresponding to different protonation states of the reacting groups are examined along stepwise and concerted pathways. The activation barriers calculated relative to the enzyme‐substrate complex are very similar for both monoanionic and dianionic substrates, but taking the substrate binding step into account shows that hydrolysis of monoanionic substrates is strongly favored by the enzyme, because a dianionic substrate will not bind when the reacting cysteine is ionized. The calculated activation barrier for dephosphorylation of monoanionic phenyl phosphate according to this novel mechanism is 14 kcal mol−1, which is in good agreement with experimental data. Proteins 1999;36:370–379. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The International Seabed Authority is an international organization created in 1982 by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Implementation Agreement of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1994 to administer the Area and the resources found therein. However, the persistent complains of the absence of an exploitation regulation in the Area for over two decades is a call for concern on the effectiveness of the International Seabed Authority in exercising its role of managing the Area. This can be observed from the granting of thirty exploration contracts till date but no exploitation contract and inadequate information on the effects of these activities in the Area. However, this paper is focused on investigating the strategies adopted by the International Seabed Authority for the management of the Area. The paper does so through the exploitation of secondary and primary sources of information. Secondary data were collected from books, academic journals, magazines, and official publications touching the subject matter. To compliment secondary data, primary data was also used and this was done essentially through interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed with the use of thematic content approach The ensuing results revealed that the strategies range from the adoption of a Strategic Plan, establishment of a Mining Code to Environmental Management Plans. Thus the findings, laid a ground for further research on this area.


Since 2004, the 130 winegrowers of the Saumur–Champigny appellation d'origine controlee have been committed to biodiversity. In a sector sometimes resistant to change, and indeed for the first time in France, winegrowers have chosen more ecological weed control methods and concentrated on creating and maintaining plant hedges within zones écologiques reservoirs (ecological conservation areas)(ZER) (Jarno, 2011). The growers' Syndicate, backed by a powerful regional cooperative, rallied all its members and urged them to commit to the process. Collective awareness has driven the majority of winegrowers to 'go organic' and with the ultimate benefit of being awarded an organic label. But going organic is costly in terms of time, labour and finances and inevitably increases production costs. However, despite the less favourable cost equation, their business model is nonetheless effective, and most producers manage to sell their entire product. The aim of this case study is to show how some wine producers, in the quest for quality, have 'looked outside the box' for new information (for example: sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, biodynamics), assimilated that information and applied it to their own operation and production for improved commercial results.


Based on experiences of member organizations in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, for example, and based on the realization that quality in Sport for All programs and events depends on professionalism, "The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA)" created and started a special education program in Sport for All Management in 2007 – the so-"called Certified Leadership Course (CLC)". In a five days program, international and national lecturers (i.e. from the host country) are teaching between 25 and 85 participants in different topics about the development and management of Sport for All on local, regional, national and international levels. The participants themselves have sometimes more or sometimes less experiences in Sport for All Management. The evaluations are so positive that TAFISA – meanwhile supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – is encouraged to continue with the CLCs and to develop an accredited Master of Arts (MA) Study Program in Sport for All Management together with partner universities.


The incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing world wide, especially in younger children. Unfortunately, there is little information on the incidence of type 1 diabetes or its management from India. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of strict glycemic control in the prevention and delay of chronic microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus. This has lead to increasing efforts in devising means of physiological insulin delivery, in which basal insulin and meal related boluses of insulin are separately given and insulin doses are appropriately altered based on frequent blood glucose testing, meal size and exercise. Newer insulin analogues, which better mimic basal and meal related increments of insulin secretion, have been marketed. Regimes for physiological insulin delivery, such as multiple subcutaneous insulin injections and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion are becoming increasingly popular. However, the high frequency of hypoglycemia is an important constraint to achieving normal glycemic control. In developing countries such as India, other obstacles include the high cost of insulin and blood glucose monitoring strips, social barriers to accepting insulin injections and lack of trained teams for management of type 1 diabetes.


The catalytic and electrochemical properties of tryptophan repressor-binding protein (WrbA), pyranose dehydrogenase (PDH), cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) on carbon electrodes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and flow injection amperometry to construct biosensors and biofuel cell (BFC) anodes. WrbA has a catalytic FMN-containing domain whereas both PDH and GDH have a catalytic FAD-containing domains. Different osmium redox polymers (Os-polymers) covering a broad potential range from +15 mV to +490 mV vs. NHE were used to "wire" WrbA, PDH and GDH to study catalytic and electrochemical properties through mediated electron transfer (MET). Unlike WrbA, PDH and GDH, CDH owns both a catalytic FAD-containing domain as well as a haem domain interconnected through a built-in electron transfer pathway from FAD to haem, which in turn can also connect to the electrodes. CDH is therefore able to give direct electron transfer (DET) by communicating directly with the electrodes. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) of different lengths were cross-linked with WrbA and Os-polymer to increase the catalytic current density. WrbA was used to construct NADH biosensor and a prototype BFC anode. Length fractionated SWCNTs were also embedded together with CtCDH on spectrographic graphite electrodes to enhance DET properties and a 3rd generation glucose biosensor working at physiological conditions and with a linear range from 0.5 to 30 mM for glucose could be developed. To further improve the performance and properties of 3rd generation glucose biosensor, we used commercially available screen-printed electrodes (SPE) made of carbon (SPCE), carboxyl functionalized single- (SPCE-SWCNT) or multi-walled (SPCE-MWCNT). An improved sensitivity and improved linear range from 0.025 to 30 mM for glucose was obtained with SPCE-SWCNT/CtCDH modified electrode. I could foresee that in future such a 3rd generation biosensor could replace the commercially available biosensors, which are based on mediators and thus have higher fabrication prices and more complicated design. PDH was "wired" with different Os-polymers to improve the current density to develop an anode for BFC. In the same way, GDH was also "wired" with different Os-polymers to construct glucose biosensor and BFC anode. With this study we found the best Os-polymers with maximum current density for both PDH and GDH. GDH and CDH can oxidize glucose at C-1 whereas PDH can oxidize glucose at C-2 and C-3. The PDH was combined with either GDH or CDH and cross-linked with the optimized Os-polymers to develop a BFC anode with increased current density and coulombic efficiency.


The climb of dissociated dislocations in FCC materials is known to be complex: Observations of climb under HVEM irradiation in CuAl suggest that it, proceeds via the nucleation of interstitial loops directly onto individual partials. In silver, however, dissociated dislocations appear to constrict at an early stage in the irradiation, and dense vacancy cluster damage is seen to form in their vicinity. This thesis presents results and analysis of a study aimed at the determination of the interaction of HVEM generated interstitials and vacancies with pre-existing dislocations in a range of Fe-17Cr-Ni ternary alloys (with the nickel content varying between 15 and 40%). Two quaternary alloys (Fe-15%Ni-17%Cr-l%Si and Fe-15%Ni-17%Cr-2%Mo) arc also studied. As with earlier studies in CuAl and Ag, pre-existing dislocations in a (111) orientated foil were first characterized at subthreshold voltages employing the weak-becim technique, then irradiated with IMeV electrons at temperatures in the range 400-430°C and finally returned to the low voltage microscope for postirradiation characterization of the observed damage. Analysis of the post-irradiation microstructures indicates that interstitial climb only occurs at particularly favourable sites, such as pre-existing jogs: For the ternary alloys, constrictions are removed along edge and mixed dislocations, whilst zig-zagging of screw and near-screw dislocations may also be attributable to jog climb. After the annihilation of constrictions evidence of climb is not seen and pipe diffusion is thought to be occurring. The precipitation of small clusters, many of which are identifiable as vacancy SFT, is reminiscent of observations in silver. The addition of silicon to the matrix apparently leads to the creation of favourable sites for interstitial climb, as evidenced by the formation of high densities of new jogs after irradiation. Loops are seen to precipitate close to dislocations in the Mo-doped material. The origin of these loops is unclear at this stage. The relevance of the results to the phenomenon of void swelling is discussed.


Prufrock has always been known as an image of cautious, well-educated and moody urban man created from T. S. Eliot's distinguished poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. In his monologue, he uses clever expressions to tell the audience what has been haunting him for so long that it becomes his dilemma. In this paper, it explains that Prufrock's dilemma does not come entirely from the suppression of his desire or libido, but much more from the imbalance between the ideal world and the real world.


The aim of the present research is to explore preschool teachers' perceptions about the effective strategies for bullying prevention in preschool context. The sample of this research study was 164 preschool teachers from Greece. Data were collected by a questionnaire that was based on previous research. The findings show that teachers regard that classroom activities for diversity acceptance, the development of empathy, the cooperation between school and family, the implementation of socio-emotional learning programs in school context and teacher training, are among the most effective strategies. They also value the cooperation between school, family, and community services for bullying prevention as well as peer support and the creation of prevention activities and material such as videos. Research findings may be utilized for designing teacher training and professional development programs aiming at preventing school bullying at an early age.


The study dealt on the utilization of a science-based digitized instructional material (SBDIM) in tackling competencies in Grade 10 Biology. Specifically, the study determined the correlation between the perceived acceptability of SBDIM as to content quality, applicability, appeal to the target users, and originality in presentation with the self-directed learning skills of the Grade 10 STE students as to critical thinking and decision-making skills. Using descriptive correlational design, two sets of instruments that undergone reliability and validity were used. Mean percentage score was calculated to determine the mean performance of the students in Biology and to determine the perceived level of acceptability of the SBDIM, weighted mean and standard deviation were utilized. Moreover, to identify the relationship between variables, Pearson Product-Moment correlation coefficient was used. Results revealed that the students are 'moving towards mastery' in the assessed self-directed learning skills; the SBDIM is highly acceptable in terms of content quality, applicability, appeal to the target users, and originality in presentation. This implies that the SBDIM on selected Grade 10 Biology topics had achieved the criteria and standards for the acceptability of the instructional material in the teaching-learning process. Moreover, among the four criteria, originality in presentation was found to be significantly related to critical thinking and decision-making skill of the learners. The previous suggested that when the students were exposed to a novel instructional material such as SBDIM, they tend to think rationally in order to understand why they were learning biology. The results also suggest that when the students recognized a novel instructional material, they tend to consider it in choosing a good option and take them into account in making decisions. It can be assumed that it is imperative that novelty of digital instructional material should be taken as one aspect to be kept in mind during the development of digital instructional material.


Abstract The term monosymptomatic nasal obstruction does not refer to the isolated nasal obstruction, but to a nasal pathology in which nasal obstruction is the predominant symptom. Four nasal structures may be involved in the isolated monosymptomatic nasal obstruction: the inferior nasal turbinates, the nasal septum or the nasal valve. Since the phenomenon of nasal obstruction can be due to various diseases, correct assessment of the patient is very important. Correctly performed anamnesis and clinical and paraclinical evaluations can help determine the definite diagnosis and choose the therapeutic strategy indicated in each individual case. In this review the authors present the proper therapeutic approach for each type of monosymtpomatic nasal obstruction, emphasizing the need of a preoperatory detailed and correct investigation and diagnosis.


Programmed cell death (PCD) occurs during plant development and in response to various stimuli, including biotic and abiotic stresses. Characteristics of PCD were detected in cucumber fruit after 9 days of cold storage at 2C, including chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. PCD development was accompanied by ethylene emission and cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]cyt) release. The role of ethylene production and [Ca2+]cyt in chill-induced PCD were studied through the application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP; an ethylene perception inhibitor) and ethylene glycol bis (2-aminoethyl) tetraacetic acid (EGTA; a divalent cation chelator). Results indicated that hallmarks of PCD were identified in cucumber fruit suffering from chilling stress and diagnostic events of PCD were alleviated and/or delayed by 1-MCP or EGTA applications. Therefore, ethylene and calcium could play significant roles in the initiation and execution progress of cold-induced PCD.

Practical Applications

Cucumber fruit is chilling sensitive at temperatures below 10C. It has also been showed that exogenous ethylene could induce PCD features in cucumber fruits and [Ca2+]cyt plays a key role in regulating apoptosis. However, information about roles of endogenous ethylene and calcium in the PCD process of cucumber under cold stress has been rarely reported. The data in this study provided a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanism of chilling injury in cucumber fruit and benefited exploration of strategies to prevent it.


As citizens inadvertently "encounter" news and political information through digital media and social networking sites, they might perceive themselves to be well informed about politics without actively seeking political information, which has been labeled as the "News Finds Me" (NFM) perception. We attempt to explicate and further advance the conceptualization and corresponding measurement of "News Finds Me" perception. Using a nationally representative survey conducted in Austria, our analysis shows that social media news use may contribute to cynicism towards politics, and that such a relationship is critically mediated through NFM perceptions, but to a differential degree depending on specific sub-dimensions of NFM perceptions.


Rupture of left ventricular wall (LVWR) following mitral replacement (MVR) is rare (0.5 to 7.3% of all MVR). Two "types" of LVWR have been recognized and attributed to technical errors during MVR and/or to co-existing unfavourable conditions. The two types are precisely located, and appear "early" during operation, at discontinuation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Miller et al. have described a "third type" LVWR which depends primarily on local conditions, is located between the other two and occurs "late". Successful repair is rare. The outcome is favourably influenced by intraoperative recognition. This paper reports two LVWRs "type III" which occurred among 282 MVR (0.7%) done in our Department since 1977. Both were successfully repaired respectively 12 (and again 48) and 15 hours after MVRs. To the best of our knowledge these are the only cases of successful repair of a "type III" LVWR reported in the literature. On the basis of this experience some considerations are presented.


The zebrafish is a valuable model for teaching developmental, molecular, and cell biology; aquatic sciences; comparative anatomy; physiology; and genetics. Here we demonstrate that zebrafish provide an excellent model system to teach engineering principles. A seven-member undergraduate team in a biomedical engineering class designed, built, and tested a zebrafish microfluidic bioreactor applying microfluidics, an emerging engineering technology, to study zebrafish development. During the semester, students learned engineering and biology experimental design, chip microfabrication, mathematical modeling, zebrafish husbandry, principles of developmental biology, fluid dynamics, microscopy, and basic molecular biology theory and techniques. The team worked to maximize each person's contribution and presented weekly written and oral reports. Two postdoctoral fellows, a graduate student, and three faculty instructors coordinated and directed the team in an optimal blending of engineering, molecular, and developmental biology skill sets. The students presented two posters, including one at the Zebrafish meetings in Madison, Wisconsin (June 2008).


Strong light-matter coupling manifested by Rabi splitting has attracted tremendous attention due to its fundamental importance in cavity quantum-electrodynamics research and great potentials in quantum information applications. A prerequisite for practical applications of the strong coupling in future optoelectronic devices is an all-solid-state system exhibiting room-temperature Rabi splitting with active control. Here we realized such a system in heterostructure consisted of monolayer WS2 and an individual plasmonic gold nanorod. By taking advantages of the small mode volume of the nanorod and large transition dipole moment of the WS2 exciton, giant Rabi splitting energies of 91-133 meV can be achieved at ambient conditions, which only involve a small number of excitons. The strong light-matter coupling can be dynamically tuned either by electrostatic gating or temperature scanning. These findings can pave the way toward active nanophotonic devices operating at room temperature.


Abstract
Silicon (Si) has been the dominant semiconductor for electronic devices for more than four decades. However, with continued scaling of gate pitch at 0.7× per technology node, the industry has adopted strained Si and high-k dielectric technology to maintain and improve the performance of circuit during the past decade. In addtion, contact resistance and resistance-capacitance delays in the interconnect lines are also important limiting factors for device operation at the same time. Germanium (Ge) is the material with mechanical properties similar to Si. Not only Ge is infinitely soluble in Si, but also, the bulk lattice constant of Ge differs from that of Si by only 4.2%. Hence there has been more research on the use of SiGe and its potential for improving Si device performance. Furthermore, it is easier to combine with the Si-based technology today. In this work, the growth and properties of SiGe virtual substrate and Cu3Ge nanowires have been investigated.
The strain-relaxed SGOI substrate fabricated by Ge condensation is generally regarded to be an appropriate stressor for strained Si epitaxy. Investigations on the oxidation behavior and the post-annealing effect on a strained Si1-xoGexo layer (x0=0.05 and 0.10) grown on 55 nm thick SOI layer of a 8 in. SIMOX wafer were carried out. After dry thermal oxidation at 1000-1050 ℃, thin ( 0.4) were fabricated. In addition, with two-steps oxidation treatment, it could effectively homogenize the Ge distribution in the final relaxed SiGe layer. From examinations of surface morphology of SGOI structures utilizing AFM, it was found that the HF and HCl mixed solution can etch the Ge-oxides much more effectively than only the conventional HF solution.
High-quality, thin relaxed Si0.8Ge0.2 layers grown on Si(100) by ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) have been formed with hydrogen-implantation and subsequent thermal annealing. H+-implantation was used to introduce a layer with a high density of defects (cavities) below a 200-nm-thick strained Si0.8Ge0.2. The peak of the implanted profile was located just ~50 nm below the Si0.8Ge0.2/Si interface. The dependence of residual strain in pseudomorphic Si0.8Ge0.2 layer on the annealing temperature has been investigated. By adjusting the dose of H+-implantation and the subsequent annealing conditions, almost relaxed (~95%) Si0.8Ge0.2 layers with a smooth surface were achieved. The method provides a simple approach for the formation of thin relaxed Si0.8Ge0.2 with reduction in surface roughness for advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor electronic devices.
Free-standing and single-crystal Cu3Ge nanowires were synthesized by a vapor phase deposition method in one step. The Cu3Ge nanowires are orthorhombic in structure and grown in the [010] direction. The diameters and lengths are about 20-40 nm and 4-8 m, respectively, with aspect ratios of about 200-400. The single-crystal Cu3Ge nanowires exhibit extremely low resistivity of about 4.5-5  cm, the lowest ever for a binary compound. For comparison, the resistivities of Cu3Ge thin films are in the range of 5.5-24  cm. The nanowires can withstand a maximum current density of 3.2×107 A/cm2. It indicates that the Cu3Ge structure can be scaled down to ultrasmall dimensions without degradation of the electrical properties and could be a promising metal contact and interconnect candidate for the fabrication of next generation nanodevices.

摘 要
四十多年來,矽元素在電子元件中一直扮演主流半導體材料的角色。然而,隨著元件尺寸不斷縮小,業界為了維持甚至增強元件的效能,在過去十年間,已經開始採用應變矽技術以及用高介電常數/金屬閘極來取代傳統的二氧化矽/多晶矽閘極。除此之外,在金屬導線間的接觸電阻及R-C延遲效應也同時成為影響元件效能表現的重要一環。鍺元素由於與矽元素性質相近,不僅可以和矽完全互溶,而且晶格常數也僅比矽元素大4.2%,所以有越來越多的研究著重在利用矽鍺合金來增強元件的效能。在本研究中,我們將鍺元素在半導體元件上的應用為主題,探討矽鍺虛擬基材以及具有非常優異的低電阻特性的銅鍺奈米線的結構成長及性質探討。
首先,利用乾式氧化法使鍺元素濃度提升的方法,可形成應變鬆弛的絕緣層上的矽鍺層,並可被用來當作應變矽的應變源。一開始,在長有55奈米厚的矽層的SIMOX晶片上先成長具有不同鍺起始濃度的矽鍺層,本研究將探討不同的乾式氧化及後續退火條件對於應變鬆弛的絕緣層上矽鍺層的影響。在經過適當條件的氧化及退火處理後,厚度小於20奈米且具有高鍺濃度的應變鬆弛的絕緣層被成功的製備。此外,我們發現藉由兩階段退火處理,可有效的改善起始鍺濃度較高的試片在氧化後所面臨的鍺分佈不均的現象。而在利用原子力顯微鏡探討應變鬆弛的絕緣層上矽鍺層的表面平整度時,發現利用氫氟酸及鹽酸的混和液可以比傳統的單純氫氟酸更有效的去除表面的鍺氧化物的雜粒。
在第二部份研究中,利用超高真空化學氣相沉積法所成長的矽鍺層可藉由氫離子佈植法及後續的退火處理來促使應變鬆弛。在此方法中,氫離子佈植在矽鍺層與矽基材界面的下方約50奈米處。藉由改變不同的佈植濃度及不同的退火條件,將可以成功製備近乎完全應變鬆弛且具有平整界面的矽鍺層。此方法提供一個較簡易的方法來製備可以適用於先進元件的應變鬆弛矽鍺層。
在第三部份研究中,利用氣相傳輸法,獨立於試片表面且單晶結構的銅鍺奈米線第一次成功被製備。本研究所製備的銅鍺奈米線具有長方晶的單晶結構,並且沿著[010]方向成長。銅鍺奈米線的粗細範圍多介於20-40奈米且長度介於4-8微米,換算所得的長寬比則介於200-400間。特別的是,本研究所製備的銅鍺奈米線具有相當優異的低電阻性質(4.5-5  cm)以及3.2×107 A/cm2的高電流密度。在現今已製備的二元化合物的奈米線中,具有最低的電阻率。除此之外,與薄膜型態的銅鍺化合物相比,銅鍺奈米線在尺寸微縮後,仍具有相當優異的電阻率,這些特性對於銅鍺奈米線在日後應用於金屬接觸及金屬間導線上具有相當大的優勢。


This paper addresses the issue of autonomous navigation method based on MEMS sensor optimization for mobile robot in Global Urban System (GUS). A new GPS/INS (Inertial Navigation System) navigation scheme is proposed, based on MEMS gyro north-finding approach. Existing research in the area of GUS focuses on the issues related to SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and planned trajectory tracking, while our work will specially consider about the robot's effectiveness and adaptability based on MEMS gyroscope technology and application in prescribed urban area. And we apply the urban map and GPS information into the outdoor experiment to observe the mobile robot's trajectory. Compared with usual integrated navigation, the system's structure is simplified; targeting precision and navigation performance are improved. From the simulation and experimental results, the MEMS gyro north finding accuracy, effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed autonomous navigation scheme are confirmed.


Nietzsche and Peirce offer us a perspective on reality that is more adequate than the essentialist and relativist approaches. The problem of the essentialist is that he precludes the possibility of real novelty, and fails to account for the dynamic connectedness of the world. The relativist is not capable of doing justice to the elements of brute force and regularity, which are aspects of reality that cannot be simply reduced to particular standpoints or frameworks. Nietzsche's and Peirce's worldviews are discussed on the basis of the notions "possibility", "struggle", and "regularity". The paper ends with confronting Nietzsche's view with that of Peirce.


Kallmami's syndrome (KS) is defined as the association of hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (IHH), caused by hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency, and anosmia, due to malformation of the olfactory bulbs and tracts. Patients most commonly present with delayed puberty and may also present in childhood with cryptorchidism. Renal agenesis seen in 40% and synkinesis observed in up to 90% of patients with X-linked KS (XKS) are likely to originate in the aberrant expression oîKAL (Xp22.3) during early foetal development. Failure of the olfactory axons in the accessory ol&ctory nerves to project through the cribriform plate and estabhsh synaptic contact with the developing olfactory bulb is thought to be central to the pathogenesis of these clinical features. GnRH neurons originating in the primitive nasal area consequently fail to migrate into the forebrain because of the absence of the "scaffolding" provided by these olfactory nerves. This study has examined areas of KAL protein (680 amino acid protein containing a signal peptide but no membrane insertion or anchorage sequence, suggesting that this is a secreted protein) e?q)ression in the developing foetus and adult using anti-protein peptide antibodies generated in mice. A short sequence of the putative KAL sequence was used to synthesise a multiple antigenic peptide, which was then used as the antigen. Due to the non specificity of these antibodies the areas and stages of KAL gene expression were further investigated using in situ hybridisation and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on first trimester foetal tissue. This revealed KAL transcript in the olfactory bulbs, neuroretina and developing kidney. Patients with XKS and sporadic KS were investigated for mutations in KAL using estabhshed molecular biology techniques including PCR, direct DNA sequencing and single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP). Previously characterised mutations were confirmed and two new mutations identified. Using restriction jfragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, a methodology was estabhshed to successfully screen XKS carriers in a selection of patient pedigrees.


Summary and Conclusions The problem of numerical integration of galvanometrically recorded seismograms involving three successive integrations is considered and the following conclusions are reached: 1.The error involved as a result of three integrations is essentially cubic in nature but also contains quadratic and linear factors. The form of the error curve is a cubical parabola. 2.The error is a random effect, or we might say a curve-point function. 3.Correction factors must be determined for short intervals. The method of application of these factors eliminates cumulative error and reduces the liability of computational error. 4.The presence of transients are noted which limit the usefulness of the results within the range over which the transients are present. The method was applied to a test record of known motion which was approximately harmonic. In the development of the method there is nothing that seems to require such motion, but the transients excited in the recording system at the beginning of the motion effectively limit the accuracy of the results to that portion of the record which corresponds to a steady state.


In a recent issue ofTHE JOURNAL, I wrote, "In developed countries, the Golden Age of Medicine is at hand—for the patients." 1 While it is evident that our resources and our accomplishments are truly extraordinary, we are far away from having achieved any kind of medical utopia. This editorial attempts to identify some of the myriad reasons hindering realization of that distant ideal and suggests proper responses. See also p 3171. There are three basic ways to manage any enterprise. One is by strategic planning, setting goals and objectives, identifying the resources needed to address them, and then proceeding with iteration and accountability. Another approach is to identify and analyze problems as they arise, set priorities, and logically set about solving the problems. A third and less desirable (albeit commonplace) way is simply to muddle through, defending the status quo against change until change becomes mandatory. Applying a strategic


The leuconostocs are traditionally found in association with plant matter, fermented dairy products, and wines. More recently, new strains have been isolated from meats and clinical sources. Since 1983, six new strains have been added to the genus. The development of new taxonomic methodologies make likely the addition of more strains to this genus in the near future. A brief history, characteristics, isolation, and taxonomic tests for the genus Leuconostoc are presented.


This paper explores the level of community food insecurity in Clay and Poinsett Counties in the Mississippi Delta region of Northeast Arkansas. A team of graduate students from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service partnered with the East Arkansas Planning & Development District to research this topic. The study investigated the important contributing factors and significant barriers to healthy food choices. The USDA Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit provided a template for the parameters and research methods of this study. Methods used include secondary data research and analysis, focus groups, household food security surveys, and food store surveys. Results include data for the following assessment categories: community socioeconomic and demographic characteristics; community food resources; household food security; food resource accessibility; food availability and affordability; and community food production resources. Preliminary findings indicate that Clay and Poinsett Counties have multiple high risk factors for high levels of community food insecurity.


In the following interview, social workers talk about what this profession means to them and what challenges they have encountered, meet in everyday life. Their responses provide insight into the events of the past 30 years of social work. Keywords: professional challenges of social work, social wellfare system, progresses and deficit areas


A method for reducing the characteristic buzz from LPC synthetic speech is presented. The method consists of the use of an non-impulse source for exciting the LPC synthesizer during voiced sounds. One novel feature is that the temporal parameters of the source are kept in fixed proportion to the pitch period. An extensive perceptual experiment has shown that the resulting quality of the synthesis is significantly preferred over the quality of the standard LPC synthesis.


This work was aimed at studying the effect of the presence of leaf stipule and of one or two leaves or half leaf on the rooting of semi-hardwood cuttings of Passiflora actinia. Cuttings, with two nodes and 8 to 10cm long were planted in tubes with vermiculite and kept for 75 days in greenhouse under intermittent mist. The percentages of rooted cuttings, live cuttings, cuttings with callus, necrosis rate, roots dry weight and the number of leaves and leaf stipule per cutting were evaluated. It was concluded that the presence of two leaves resulted in a better rooting, and higher length and number of roots. The presence of leaf stipule increased the rooting of cuttings without leaves.


This article introduces the essays in this symposium on the impact of William Julius Wilson's scholarship on the work produced by a cohort of his former students. These former students, all scholars of colour, have positioned race and racism as centrally in their research as they have urban poverty and social inequality. Consequently, these essays reflect an initial attempt to respond to a critical question that has endured throughout the twenty-year advance in scholarly inquiry into American urban poverty; that is, why has this research not yielded more attention to race or racism as explanatory variables for social outcomes rather than to human capital attributes or to the creation of policy initiatives that assume a liberal disposition on race in the United States. Among other objectives, these essays represent a collective attempt to begin comenting the bridge between the fields of race and race relations research and urban poverty research.


Considered as the first village from Minas Gerais state, Mariana has important cultural and historical collections from the Brazilian colonial period. Currently the city has three squares in the historic center, and they are recognized for the historical heritage. Gomes Freire's Square, set in the historic center of Mariana, has two interesting characteristics: its location behind the Main Church and the intensity use by many social groups in this city, furthermore the large presence of tourists. In the prospect of meeting its historical evolution, and identify the landscape representation in the collective unconscious of Mariana's inhabitants, it was analyzed the evolution of the village and formation of the Gomes Freire's Square. To achieve this goal it was necessary to deepen the knowledge of the social appropriation of this space over time, enabling the identification of the same, as well as its evolution as a public place. The study focused its interest in the village evolution, in the uses and social representation of the covered space. For this, the methodology applied was an interface between the inventive analysis, subjective method analysis, and recommendations for preservation of historic gardens. Gomes Freire's Square, in its formation process presented as remarkable feature in its historical dimension, the fact that emerged and remained as a space of popular demonstrations.


Faculty in 38 CACREP-accredited doctoral programs in the US described their dissertation products over the last three years, composition of their dissertation committees, and their satisfaction ratings with dissertation products and processes. Results indicated traditional dissertation formats were predominant. Over half (54%) of completed dissertations were quantitative and 40% were qualitative. Committees typically included two or three counselor educators and at least one outside faculty member. Faculty were modestly satisfied with dissertations, citing the need for more rigor and consistency of standards. Higher satisfaction was related to committee composition as well as the use of a variety of research methods.


Coordinating cell wall synthesis and cell division Most bacteria are protected by peptidoglycan cell walls, which must be remodeled to split the cell. Cell division requires the tubulin homolog FtsZ, a highly conserved cytoskeletal polymer that specifies the future site of division. Bisson-Filho et al. and Yang et al. found that the dynamic treadmilling of FtsZ filaments controls both the location and activity of the associated cell wall synthetic enzymes. This creates discrete sites of cell wall synthesis that circle around the division plane to divide the cell. Science, this issue p. 739, p. 744 The bacterial tubulin FtsZ uses guanosine triphosphate hydrolysis to power treadmilling, organizing processive synthesis of the septal cell wall. The bacterial tubulin FtsZ is the central component of the cell division machinery, coordinating an ensemble of proteins involved in septal cell wall synthesis to ensure successful constriction. How cells achieve this coordination is unknown. We found that in Escherichia coli cells, FtsZ exhibits dynamic treadmilling predominantly determined by its guanosine triphosphatase activity. The treadmilling dynamics direct the processive movement of the septal cell wall synthesis machinery but do not limit the rate of septal synthesis. In FtsZ mutants with severely reduced treadmilling, the spatial distribution of septal synthesis and the molecular composition and ultrastructure of the septal cell wall were substantially altered. Thus, FtsZ treadmilling provides a mechanism for achieving uniform septal cell wall synthesis to enable correct polar morphology.


Due to the uncertainty of transmission opportunities between mobile nodes, the routing of delay-tolerant networks (DTNs) exploits the mechanism of opportunistic forwarding. Efficient algorithms and policies for opportunistic forwarding are crucial for maximizing the message delivery probability while reducing the delivery cost. In this paper, we investigate the problem of energy-efficient opportunistic forwarding for DTNs. First, we model the message dissemination by introducing a continuous-time Markov framework. Based on this framework, we formulate the optimization problem of opportunistic forwarding, with the constraint of energy consumed by the message delivery for both two-hop and epidemic forwarding. Then, based on the solution of the optimization problem, we design different kinds of forwarding policies such as static and dynamic policies. Among these policies, we find that the threshold dynamic policy is optimal for both two-hop and epidemic forwarding. By simulation results, we show the accuracy of our continuous-time Markov analysis model. Furthermore, through extensive numerical results, we demonstrate that the performance of the threshold dynamic policy is the best among the static and continuous dynamic policies, and among the continuous dynamic policies, the negative-power policy provides relatively better performance.


The objective of the present work is to examined the effects of plasma target electron-electron collisions on H2 + protons traversing it. Specifically, the target is deuterium in a plasma state with temperature Te=10 eV and density n=10(23) cm(-3), and proton velocities are vp=vth, vp=2vth, and vp=3vth, where vth is the electron thermal velocity of the target plasma. Proton interactions with plasma electrons are treated by means of the dielectric formalism. The interactions among close protons through plasma electronic medium are called vicinage forces. It is checked that these forces always screen the Coulomb explosions of the two fragmented protons from the same H2 + ion decreasing their relative distance. They also align the interproton vector along the motion direction, and increase the energy loss of the two protons at early dwell times while for longer times the energy loss tends to the value of two isolated protons. Nevertheless, vicinage forces and effects are modified by the target electron collisions. These collisions enhance the calculated self-stopping and vicinage forces over the collisionless results. Regarding proton correlated motion, when these collisions are included, the interproton vector along the motion direction overaligns at slower proton velocities (vp=vth) and misaligns for faster ones (vp=2vth, vp=3vth). They also contribute to a great extend to increase the energy loss of the fragmented H2 + ion. This later effect is more significant in reducing projectile velocity.


Inspecting what sort of starch in commercial starch-noodles is important to international trade, food safety and protecting consumer benefit. At present, the inspection of components of starches in starch-noodle mainly relies on sensory perception, and which is fallibility or trustless. Because the microstructure pattern of starches in starch-noodles depends mainly on a kind or blend of starches from which the starch-noodle was made, this paper presents an approach to classify the starch-noodles by using computer system automatically based on recognizing the microstructure pattern of the starches and components in starch-noodle. The method consists of three steps: 1) take the micrograph of starch-noodles with scanning electron microscopy and preprocessing. 2) Extract features of fractal geometry and gray-level co-occurrence from micrograph. 3) Distinguish a sort of starch-noodles by using these combined features as input vector of artificial neural networks. The experiments has been conducted with starch-noodles of mungbean blending pachyrhizus, and the experimental results show that the method is practicable and effective


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the molecular genetics basis for HLA novel allele HLA-DRB1*1212 in Chinese population.

METHODS
Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood by salting-out method. HLA-DRB1 gene exon 2 was amplified by PCR with group-specific primers from genomic DNA. PCR products were cut back from agarose gels and purified to sequence directly. The polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSO) was performed to confirm the mutations which were detected by sequencing in this study.

RESULTS
The sequencing results showed HLA-DRB1 alleles of the proband as DRB1*090102 and the novel allele. The sequences of the novel allele have been submitted to GenBank (AY899825). Through BLAST analysis, the novel allele was found to be different from DRB1*120101 at position 199A-->C in exon 2, that results in an amino acid change from Ile to Leu at codon 67.

CONCLUSION
This allele is a novel and has been officially named as DRB1*1212 by the WHO Nomenclature Committee.


The neutering of pet rabbits has become more common in recent years due to recognition of the importance of species-specific social contact and the perceived risk of reproductive malignancies in unspayed older females. Here, Guen Bradbury and Greg Dickens argue that the benefits of neutering singly housed rabbits (still the majority in the UK) may not outweigh the adverse effects of the procedure.


A reaction sequence, norsolorinic acid (NA)-->averantin (AVN)-->5'-hydroxyaverantin (HAVN)-->averufin (AVR), is the early part of a biosynthetic pathway for aflatoxins. In this study, we determined the stereochemical relationship among these metabolites by using chiral high-performance liquid chromatography. In cell-free experiments using the cytosol fraction of Aspergillus parasiticus NIAH-26, (1'S)-AVN was exclusively produced from NA in the presence of NADPH. Also, only (1'S)-AVN, and not (1'R)-AVN, served as a substrate for the reverse reaction from AVN to NA. When the microsome fraction of NIAH-26 was incubated with (1'S)-AVN in the presence of NADPH, two HAVN diastereomers and one AVR enantiomer were formed, whereas these substances were never produced from (1'R)-AVN. Moreover, (1'S,5'R)-AVR was exclusively formed from both HAVN diastereomers by the cytosol fraction in the presence of NAD. The feeding experiments using this mutant showed that aflatoxins were produced from (1'S,5'R)-AVR but not from (1'R,5'S)-AVR. These results indicate that the enzymes involved in this pathway show strict stereospecificity to their substrates and that the configuration of (1'S,5'R)-AVR leading to the formation of aflatoxins is due to the stereospecificity of NA dehydrogenase which catalyzes the reaction between (1'S)-AVN and NA.


In the submitted case-report the authors describe a combination of a reconstruction operation with an orthopaedic approach to a devastating injury of the shoulder and elbow in a 26-year-old patient after an electric current injury. The total extent of the skin damage was 13% T.B.S.A. with localization on the right side of the chest, right arm, left elbow and shoulder. After fascial excisions the proximal part of the humerus was amputated with fixation by means of cerclage to the scapula. This defect was covered with the musculus latissimus dorsi flap and the defect on the elbow was covered by a tube pedicle flap.


In order to take into account the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) as much as possible, a unified motion model for eccentric expansion of obstacle ships is proposed, which is in accordance with the Convention. To achieve intelligent collision avoidance of multi-obstacless in wide waters, a fuzzy programming method based on the urgency of obstacle avoidance, safety prediction and feasibility of adjustment is proposed. The simulation of collision avoidance planning for multiple complex obstacles with simultaneous encounter, crossover and overtaking conditions proves the intelligence of the method. 


Introduction The aim of our study was to analyse the regional differences in diabetic retinopathy (DR) prevalence and its co-existing social and demographic factors in the overall population of Poland in the year 2017. Material and methods Data from all levels of healthcare services at public and private institutions recorded in the National Health Fund database were evaluated. International Classification of Diseases codes were used to identify patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and with DR. Moran's I statistics and Spatial Autoregressive (SAR) model allowed us to understand the distribution of DR prevalence and its possible association with environmental and demographic exposures. Results In total, 310,815 individuals with diabetic retinopathy (DR) were diagnosed in the year 2017 in Poland. Of them, 174,384 (56.11%) were women, 221,144 (71.15%) lived in urban areas, and 40,231 (12.94%) and 270,584 (87.06%) had type 1 and type 2 DM, respectively. The analysis of the SAR model showed that the significant factors for the occurrence of DR in particular counties were a higher level of average income and a higher number of ophthalmologic consultations per 10,000 adults. Conclusions The analyses of social, demographic, and systemic factors co-existing with DR revealed that level of income and access to ophthalmologic and diabetic services are crucial in DR prevalence in Poland.


Background Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are an important class of genetic marker for target gene mapping. As of yet, there is no rapid and effective method to identify SNPs linked with agronomic traits in rapeseed and other crop species. Methodology/Principal Findings We demonstrate a novel method for identifying SNP markers in rapeseed by deep sequencing a representative library and performing bulk segregant analysis. With this method, SNPs associated with rapeseed pod shatter-resistance were discovered. Firstly, a reduced representation of the rapeseed genome was used. Genomic fragments ranging from 450–550 bp were prepared from the susceptible bulk (ten F2 plants with the silique shattering resistance index, SSRI <0.10) and the resistance bulk (ten F2 plants with SSRI >0.90), and also Solexa sequencing-produced 90 bp reads. Approximately 50 million of these sequence reads were assembled into contigs to a depth of 20-fold coverage. Secondly, 60,396 'simple SNPs' were identified, and the statistical significance was evaluated using Fisher's exact test. There were 70 associated SNPs whose –log10 p value over 16 were selected to be further analyzed. The distribution of these SNPs appeared a tight cluster, which consisted of 14 associated SNPs within a 396 kb region on chromosome A09. Our evidence indicates that this region contains a major quantitative trait locus (QTL). Finally, two associated SNPs from this region were mapped on a major QTL region. Conclusions/Significance 70 associated SNPs were discovered and a major QTL for rapeseed pod shatter-resistance was found on chromosome A09 using our novel method. The associated SNP markers were used for mapping of the QTL, and may be useful for improving pod shatter-resistance in rapeseed through marker-assisted selection and map-based cloning. This approach will accelerate the discovery of major QTLs and the cloning of functional genes for important agronomic traits in rapeseed and other crop species.


The size of a bolus determines how it will be manipulated in the mouth and swallowed. We hypothesized that mucosal sensitivity would be important for masticatory function. The accuracy of solid object size perception, spatial acuity, and food particle size reduction during mastication were measured in 22 healthy adults with/without topical anesthesia of their oral mucosa. Topical anesthesia had no effect on the perception of sphere sizes, but significantly reduced spatial sensitivity. Without anesthesia, there was a correlation between an individual's ability to perceive the sizes of steel spheres (diameter, 4–9 mm) and the sizes of food particles chewed for 15 cycles and at swallowing. There was no correlation between spatial sensitivity and food particle size. We suggest that the stimuli used to test two-point discrimination stimulates only superficial receptors, which involve light touch and are easily anesthetized, while the spheres might excite more deeply-set receptors. The latter appear to be more important for masticatory performance and swallowing.