Environmental factors contribute to over 70% of crop yield losses worldwide. Of these drought and salinity are the most significant causes of crop yield reduction. Rice is an important staple crop that feeds more than half of the world's population. However among the agronomically important cereals rice is the most sensitive to salinity. In the present study we show that exogenous expression of anti-apoptotic genes from diverse origins, AtBAG4 (Arabidopsis), Hsp70 (Citrus tristeza virus) and p35 (Baculovirus), significantly improves salinity tolerance in rice at the whole plant level. Physiological, biochemical and agronomical analyses of transgenic rice expressing each of the anti-apoptotic genes subjected to salinity treatment demonstrated traits associated with tolerant varieties including, improved photosynthesis, membrane integrity, ion and ROS maintenance systems, growth rate, and yield components. Moreover, FTIR analysis showed that the chemical composition of salinity-treated transgenic plants is reminiscent of non-treated, unstressed controls. In contrast, wild type and vector control plants displayed hallmark features of stress, including pectin degradation upon subjection to salinity treatment. Interestingly, despite their diverse origins, transgenic plants expressing the anti-apoptotic genes assessed in this study displayed similar physiological and biochemical characteristics during salinity treatment thus providing further evidence that cell death pathways are conserved across broad evolutionary kingdoms. Our results reveal that anti-apoptotic genes facilitate maintenance of metabolic activity at the whole plant level to create favorable conditions for cellular survival. It is these conditions that are crucial and conducive to the plants ability to tolerate/adapt to extreme environments.


Detecting vertical transversely isotropic (VTI) formations and quantifying the magnitude of anisotropy are fundamental for describing organic mudrocks. Methods used to estimate stiffness coefficients of VTI formations often provide discontinuous or spatially averaged results over depth intervals where formation layers are thinner than the receiver aperture of acoustic tools. We have developed an inversion-based method to estimate stiffness coefficients of VTI formations that are continuous over the examined depth interval and that are mitigated for spatial averaging effects. To estimate the coefficients, we use logs of frequency-dependent compressional, Stoneley, and quadrupole/flexural modes measured with wireline or logging-while-drilling (LWD) instruments in vertical wells penetrating horizontal layers. First, we calculate the axial sensitivity functions of borehole sonic modes to stiffness coefficients; next, we use the sensitivity functions to estimate the stiffness coefficients of VTI layers sequentially from frequency-dependent borehole sonic logs. Because sonic logs exhibit spatial averaging effects, we deaverage the logs by calculating layer-by-layer slownesses of formations prior to estimating stiffness coefficients. The method is verified with synthetic models of homogeneous and thinly bedded formations constructed from field examples of organic mudrocks. Results consist of layer-by-layer estimates of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. We observe three sources of error in the estimated coefficients: (1) bias error originating from deaveraging the sonic logs prior to the sequential inversion, (2) error propagated during the sequential inversion, and (3) error associated with noisy slowness logs. We found that the relative bias and uncertainty of the estimated coefficients are largest for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] because borehole modes exhibit low sensitivity to these two coefficients. The main advantage of our method is that it mitigates spatial averaging effects of sonic logs, while at the same time it detects the presence of anisotropic layers and yields continuous estimations of stiffness coefficients along the depth interval of interest.


We examine three equivalent constructions of a censored rotationally symmetric L\'{e}vy process on an open set $D$; via the corresponding Dirichlet form, through the Feynman-Kac transform of the L\'{e}vy process killed outside of $D$ and from the same killed process by the Ikeda-Nagasawa-Watanabe piecing together procedure. We prove the trace theorem on $n$-sets for Besov spaces of generalized smoothness associated with complete Bernstein functions satisfying certain scaling conditions. Using this result, we analyze the boundary behavior of the corresponding censored subordinate Brownian motion and determine conditions under which the process approaches the boundary $\partial D$ in finite time. Furthermore, we prove the 3G inequality and its generalized version for Green functions of the subordinate Brownian motion on $\kappa$-fat open sets. Finally, we obtain the scale invariant Harnack inequality for the corresponding censored process.


The article concerns study trips organised by the Faculty of International Relations of the Polish Naval Academy (Akademia Marynarki Wojennej – AMW) between 2016 and 2019. The text consists of four parts. The first part outlines the theoretical approach to study trips as a teaching technique particularly useful in the study of international relations. A model of a study trip organised by AMW is presented. In the second part, the case studies of six study trips implemented by AMW are discussed and analysed. In the third part, the authors criticise study trips as a teaching tool used under the conditions of the Polish higher education system. In the final part, the author suggests institutionalising study trips. In the authors' opinion, they can become a new distinguishing feature of education in the Polish higher education system, responding to the challenges of the globalising world.


Electric vehicle (EV) charge points (CPs) can be used by aggregators to provide frequency response (FR) ser-vices. Aggregators must have day-ahead half-hourly forecasts of minimum aggregate vehicle-to-grid (V2G) plug-in to produce meaningful bids for the day-ahead ancillary services market. However, there is a lack of understanding on what features should be considered and how complex the forecasting model should be. This paper explores the dependency of aggregate V2G plug-in on historic plug-in levels, calendar variables, and weather conditions. These investigations are used to develop three day-ahead forecasts of minimum aggregate V2G plug-in during 30-minute window. A neural network that considers previous V2G plug-in values the day before, three days before, and seven days before, in addition to day of the week, month, and hour, is found to be the most accurate.


Nurses satisfaction has been linked to and impacted on many issues in the health care system, such as the outcome of care, patient satisfaction and organizational commitment. Organizational commitment and job satisfaction are attitudes related to jobs that have received considerable attention from researchers worldwide. Nurse role considered as very important to provide health care for patient with respect the improving the quality of care in health institutions. This study aimed: To assess the relationship between nurse's job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Saudi hospitals. Study design: A quantitative descriptive correlational survey of registered nurses (RNs) in Riyadh region. The data collection tools: Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Organization Commitment Questionnaire. Result: The study shows the correlations between nurse's job satisfaction and each dimension of organizational commitment were examined using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The correlation between nurse's job satisfaction and Affective commitment was positive and significant (r=0.636), Continue commitment (r=0.654) and Normative commitment (r=0.723) with (p<0.0) which means that nurses who are satisfied with their job have organizational commitment.


From 25 November 2003 to 24 November 2005, a pilot Victim Statement (VS) scheme operated in Ayr, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock. The scheme aimed to provide an opportunity to victims of prescribed offences to make a statement about the personal impact of the crime, once a decision to prosecute had been taken. The Scottish Government is now considering plans to extend the scheme to all cases heard before a judge in the High Court or a sheriff and jury, as part of their strategy to "put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system" (Scotsman 2007). This paper is a response to the Government's invitation for external parties to submit views on the practical implementation of the VS scheme.


OBJECTIVES
Biomonitoring of exposure in workplaces has gained importance in evaluation of human health hazards. Since occupational exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons may have deleterious effects, genotoxicity risk among 200 fuel filling station attendants (FFSAs) and 200 matched controls was investigated.

METHODS
The probable genetic damage was determined by comet assay and micronucleus test in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of study subjects. Air and blood sample analysis was done to estimate the benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) concentrations using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effect of exposure on antioxidant enzymes was also studied by determining the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and rate of lipid peroxidation measured as concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) formed.

RESULTS
The results of the present study suggest that there was a statistically significant increase in mean comet tail length (25.09 versus 10.27 μm) and frequency of micronuclei in PBL (11.83 versus 5.83 per thousand; P < 0.05) of FFSAs as compared to controls. BTX concentrations were found to be significantly higher in ambient air of petrol pumps and FFSAs showed elevated levels of these compounds in their breathing zone in comparison to controls (P < 0.05). Blood BTX levels were found to be significantly enhanced in FFSAs. SOD and GPx were significantly decreased with an increased rate of CAT and MDA in FFSAs as compared to controls.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study suggest that exposure to BTX has the potential to cause genetic changes in the exposed subjects. The data highlight the need to maintain safety measures and intervention to minimize exposure.


Description Much blame cast upon fisheries policy may be misguided With many fish populations around the world overfished (1), countries are increasingly passing laws to prevent overfishing and rebuild depleted stocks (2–4), an objective adopted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, some elected officials (5), scientists (6), and industry groups in the US and Europe (7, 8) have questioned whether such policies have gone too far, resulting in "underfishing," to the economic detriment of fishing communities. This idea is influencing debate over reauthorizing the US Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), which shares key features with fishing policies in the European Union (EU) and Canada and is regarded internationally as a benchmark fishing law. Analyzing two decades of data on 170 US fish stocks, we find that the reasons some species are fished less than others are varied, and the MSA is only sometimes the primary factor. In many cases, fishers are fishing less of a species because they find it unprofitable.


X-ray computed tomography is increasingly used in the studies of food structure. This paper describes the perspectives of use of pha se contrast computed tomography in studies of heat induced structural changes in meat. From the data it was possible to obtain reconstructed images of the sample structure for visualization and qualitative studies of the sample structure. Further data segmentation allowed structural changes to be quantified.


Two new normative indices of mobility are proposed. The first one is a population weighted generalized Gini mobility index and will be higher, the higher the size of the transfer between two individuals and, for a given transfer, the higher the rank difference between the individuals between whom the transfer takes place. This index is also higher, the greater the rank gap between the individuals between whom a swap takes place. The second index is an income weighted generalized Gini mobility index. When a transfer takes place between two individuals this index will be higher, the greater the transfer. Similarly in the case of a swap between the incomes of two individuals, the index will be higher, the greater the gap between the incomes of the two individuals between whom the incomes are swapped. The empirical illustration is based on Israeli Census data.


Although the public health emergency related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has officially ended, many software developers still work partly from home. Agile teams that coordinate their office time foster a sense of unity, collaboration, and cohesion among team members. In contrast, teams with limited co-presence may experience challenges in establishing psychological safety and developing a cohesive and inclusive team culture, potentially hindering effective communication, knowledge sharing, and trust building. Therefore, the effect of agile team members not being co-located daily must be investigated. We explore the co-presence patterns of 17 agile teams in a large agile telecommunications company whose employees work partly from home. Based on office access card data, we found significant variation in co-presence practices. Some teams exhibited a coordinated approach, ensuring team members are simultaneously present at the office. However, other teams demonstrated fragmented co-presence, with only small subgroups of members meeting in person and the remainder rarely interacting with their team members face-to-face. Thus, high average office presence in the team does not necessarily imply that team members meet often in person at the office. In contrast, non-coordinated teams may have both high average office presence and low frequency of in-person interactions among the members. Our results suggest that the promotion of mere office presence without coordinated co-presence is based on a false assumption that good average attendance levels guarantee frequent personal interactions. These findings carry important implications for research on long-term team dynamics and practice.


Atrazine is an herbicide used worldwide to control grasses and weeds. Previous studies have shown that, depending on atrazine's administered dose, exposure of male rats during the early postnatal or peripubertal periods can result in alterations in endocrine function. The gestational period is particularly vulnerable to environmental agents; however, the possible effects of atrazine exposure during this period have received only limited attention. Herein we examine the dose effects of atrazine exposure during Sprague-Dawley rat gestation on the postnatal development of male offspring. Pregnant dams were treated by oral gavage with atrazine at 0 to 100 mg/kg/d from gestational day 14 to parturition. Thereafter, neither the pups nor the dams received atrazine. Atrazine had no effect on the number of live births per dam. Neonatal pup survival was affected, however, with increased pup death seen at doses of 10 mg/kg/d and higher. There was no effect of atrazine on the testosterone concentration within the testes of newborn pups. Anogenital distance, an androgen-dependent process, decreased from the control level at the 75 and 100 mg/kg/d doses, with the decrease reaching significance at 100 mg/kg/d. Preputial separation, also an androgen-dependent process, was delayed significantly compared with that in controls in response to the 50 and 100 mg/kg/d doses. At postnatal day 60, serum testosterone concentrations were reduced significantly from controls in the 50 to 100 mg/kg/d groups. However, these decreases had little effect on seminal vesicle or ventral prostate weights. These results, taken together, are suggestive of antiandrogenic effects of gestational atrazine exposure on male offspring, although for most parameters, the doses used in this study are unlikely to be experienced under any but experimental conditions.


The aim of this paper is to situate the interplay between the politics and economics of the BJP regime in India. Following two decades of ostensibly "rapid growth," the serial manipulation of economic statistics notwithstanding, the Indian economy's growth rate has now begun to slow to a new normal – a "Hindutva" rate of growth, so to speak. This is occurring at a time that the overly centralized and ideologically radical government of the BJP has initiated policies that will jeopardize India's regional and national security. This paper draws keen linkages between these comingled phenomena, and its findings suggest that the BJP has embarked on a course of ideological frenzy and self-harm that shall constrain economic growth and trigger irreparable social fissures.


Osteoporosis is a condition affecting millions of Americans, the majority of which are women secondary to low estrogen in the postmenopausal state. In many instances, the diagnosis is not recognized until after a fracture has occurred due to the "silent" nature of this disease. As a result, this leads to millions of fractures each year, placing a substantial economic burden of billions of dollars from Medicare alone. Prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment remain paramount in reducing this economic impact as well as improving overall incidence of mortality and morbidity. Goals of care include preventing the progression of disease and minimizing bone fractures, particularly in the hips, spine, and wrists. This article will examine the risks of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women, the current and emerging pharmacologic treatment options, and the role of managed care pharmacists in decreasing economic burden and improving patient care.


This paper reviews disorders of memory. After a brief survey of the clinical varieties of the amnesic syndrome, transient and persistent, selected theoretical issues will be considered by posing a series of questions. (i) What is impaired and what is spared in anterograde amnesia? (ii) Do temporal lobe, diencephalic and frontal lobe amnesias differ? (iii) How independently semantic is semantic memory? (iv) What determines the pattern and extent of retrograde memory loss? (v) Can retrograde amnesia ever be "isolated"? (vi) Does psychogenic amnesia involve the same mechanisms as organic amnesia? (vii) How and when do false memories arise? Commonalities as well as differences across separate literatures will be emphasized, and the case for a more "dynamic" (interactionist) approach to the investigation of amnesia will be advocated.


With protectionism on a global rise, non-tariff measures have been an object for public debates and
research, as the work of WTO has reduced the possibilities of raising traditional trade restrictions as
customs tariffs. Hence governments have turned to non-tariff measures and regulatory standards
to fulfill their agendas. This study aims at shedding light on the question of whether non-tariff
measures, and particularly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, have been decreasing trade
between 2002 and 2017. This is conducted by investigating the effects of EU exports of agri-food
products as the importer imposes an SPS measure towards these products. The result is estimated
by applying Ordinary Least Squares and Pseudo-Poisson Maximum Likelihood to the gravity
model of trade. The data sets include EU export of agri-food gods to 122 countries during
2002-2017. This study does not find any decreases in EU exports. However, the results are mostly
insignificant and any definite conclusion can not be drawn. There is, however, significant proof of
a decrease in exports towards low-income countries as these impose SPS measures.


We have screened 18 Phoma spp. for the mycosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Out of 18, 17 Phoma spp. demonstrated mycosynthesis of AgNPs, which were characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared, X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nanoparticle tracking and analysis system, and zeta potential measurement. SEM and TEM analysis showed the mycosynthesis of polydispersed spherical AgNPs, with the exception by P. sorghina (MTCC‐2096), which revealed the fabrication of silver nanorods. The effect of pH, temperature, silver nitrate, fungal filtrate, and light intensity was studied to understand the mechanism of mycosynthesis of AgNPs by P. sorghina. The involvement of protein was found during the mycosynthesis but the process failed to follow the Michaelis–Menton kinetics of the enzyme‐catalyzed reaction. A three‐step hypothetical mechanism, that is, activation, nucleation, and reduction, for the mycosynthesis of silver nanorods is proposed. The present study will be useful for the stable and rapid mycosynthesis of AgNPs. The extracellular process involved in synthesis of AgNPs was found to be rapid, simple, easy, and ecofriendly.


OVERVIEW For over 70 years, CARE has worked in the world's poorest communities to ensure that rural farmers have the resources they need to feed their families and communities. CARE works in 94 countries with more than 80 million people worldwide through more than 1,000 projects, from emergency relief to early childhood education, to maternal and reproductive health. Programs focus on the poor and extreme poor, those who live on less than $1.25 a day, and have little access to markets, education, or decision-making. Through village savings groups that empower members to gain financial independence, or by providing drought-resistant seeds that better withstand extreme weather, or by working with private sector partners to help farmers reach markets, CARE's projects empower women and men to be agents of change in their communities.


We consider a Nehari problem for matrix-valued, positive-real functions, and characterize the class of (generically) minimal-degree solutions. Analytic interpolation problems (such as the one studied herein) for positive-real functions arise in time-series modeling and system identification. The degree of positive-real interpolants relates to the dimension of models and to the degree of matricial power-spectra of vector-valued time-series. The main result of the paper generalizes earlier results in scalar analytic interpolation with a degree constraint, where the class of (generically) minimal-degree solutions is characterized by an arbitrary choice of ¿spectral-zeros¿. Naturally, in the current matricial setting, there is freedom in assigning the Jordan structure of the spectral-zeros of the power spectrum, i.e., the spectral-zeros as well as their respective invariant subspaces. The characterization utilizes Rosenbrock's theorem on assignability of dynamics via linear state feedback.


Author(s): Crossley, Scott; Salsbury, Thomas Lee; McNamara, Danielle S. | Abstract: The authors compare the frequency of negotiations for meaning in a natural spoken corpus to a variety of cohesive devices. The study demonstrates that a lack of cohesive devices in non-native speaker (NNS) discourse correlates to negotiations for meaning. The data comes from a year-long longitudinal study of six beginning NNSs and comprised 99 transcripts. The transcripts were coded for negotiations for meaning. Regression analyses suggested that causal cohesion and semantic co-referentiality were significantly related to the frequency of negotiations for meaning. Additionally, NNS discourse demonstrates a significant decrease in frequency of negotiations for meaning as a function of time. Taken together, these results suggest that negotiations for meaning are related to a lack of cohesive devices in NNS speech.


The problem of transmission adaptation over a correlated time-varying wireless channel is formulated as a Constrained Markov Decision Process. The model includes a transmission buffer and finite state Markov model for time-varying radio channel and incoming traffic. This crosslayer optimization problem is formulated as to minimize the transmission cost (e.g. power or bit-error-rate) under the constraint on a buffer cost such as the transmission delay. Under the assumptions on submodularity and convexity of the cost function it is shown that the optimal randomized policy is monotonically increasing with the increase of the buffer state.


It is widely believed that cooperation between clinicians and machines may address many of the decisional fragilities intrinsic to current medical practice. However, the realization of this potential will require more precise definitions of disease states as well as their dynamics and interactions. A careful probabilistic examination of symptoms and signs, including the molecular profiles of the relevant biochemical networks, will often be required for building an unbiased and efficient diagnostic approach. Analogous problems have been studied for years by physicists extracting macroscopic states of various physical systems by examining microscopic elements and their interactions. These valuable experiences are now being extended to the medical field. From this perspective, we discuss how recent developments in statistical physics, machine learning and inference algorithms are coming together to improve current medical diagnostic approaches.


OBJECTIVE To compare QT dispersion in patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function and in matched control patients with normal left ventricular systolic function. DESIGN A retrospective, case-control study with controls matched 4:1 for age, sex, previous myocardial infarction, and diuretic and β blocker treatment. SETTING A regional cardiology centre and a university teaching hospital. PATIENTS 25 patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function and 100 patients with normal left ventricular systolic function. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES QT and QTc dispersion measured by three methods: the difference between maximum and minimum QT and QTc intervals, the standard deviation of QT and QTc intervals, and the "lead adjusted" QT and QTc dispersion. RESULTS All measures of QT/QTc dispersion were closely interrelated (r values 0.86 to 0.99; all p < 0.001). All measures of QT and QTc dispersion were significantly increased in the patients with impaired left ventricular systolic functionv controls (p < 0.001): 71.9 (6.5) (mean (SEM)) v 46.9 (1.7) ms for QT dispersion, and 83.6 (7.6) v 54.3 (2.1) ms−1−2 for QTc dispersion. All six dispersion parameters were reduced in patients taking β blockers (p < 0.05), regardless of whether left ventricular function was normal or impaired—by 9.4 (4.6) ms for QT dispersion (p < 0.05) and by 13.8 (6.5) ms−1−2 for QTc dispersion (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS QT and QTc dispersion are increased in patients with systolic heart failure in comparison with matched controls, regardless of the method of measurement and independently of possible confounding factors. β Blockers are associated with a reduction in both QT and QTc dispersion, raising the possibility that a reduction in dispersion of ventricular repolarisation may be an important antiarrhythmic mechanism of β blockade.


The work to be presented is part of the POEMA project which has the goal of developing new coatings for steels and alloys used in supercritical steam power plants for efficient and clean coal utilization. From the required high temperature mechanical properties perspective (in particular creep strength) steel P92 is one of the chosen materials. It can be used at temperatures up to 650°C.
Sol-gel alumina coatings are among the coatings to be produced and tested. Even though such coatings are comparably thin (in the range of few micrometers) they are able to effectively diminish high temperature corrosion. The behavior of the new coatings for protecting materials both from steam oxidation and fire-side corrosion will be studied in steam and oxy-fuel combustion atmospheres.
Coatings were applied by dipping the substrates into ethanolic boehmite sols. After heat treatment at 650°C for 30 min up to ~2.5μm thick and well adherent transition, alumina coatings were formed.
Coated and uncoated samples were exposed in steam and oxy-fuel atmosphere (60 CO2 - 30 H2O - 2 O2 - 1 SO2 - 7 N2, all in vol. %; flow rate 3*10-2 m/s, 1 bar,) at 650°C for up to 300 h whereby the influence of ash deposits was also regarded.
Samples are characterized by using optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, and electron probe microanalysis. Additionally, the mass gain was recorded.
The results proved the protective abilities of the thin sol-gel alumina coatings, which did not spall, had no cracks, did not show larger corroded areas, and exhibited a very low mass gain. Hence, such coatings are promising candidates for protection of steel P92 used in power plants.


There is good evidence that 50% or more of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are unnecessary. To curtail inappropriate RBC transfusions at our hospital, real-time clinical decision support was implemented in our electronic medical record (EMR) that alerts clinicians to the patient's most recent pretransfusion hemoglobin value upon order entry and provides Best Practice Advisory. This is a soft pop-up alert which is activated when the hemoglobin exceeds 7 g/dL. The ordering clinician can either honor (by cancelling the order) or override the alert. We studied the impact of the alert on blood utilization during a 3-month period (November 2016 to January 2017). For patients who were transfused despite the alert, a retrospective review of the medical chart was performed to determine whether or not the transfusion was clinically indicated. During the study period, 178 of the 895 RBC transfusion orders (20%) triggered the alert. After excluding duplicates, 144 orders were included in our analysis. Most of these orders (124/144, 86%) were carried out despite the alert. According to our chart review, 48% of the alert transfusions could be considered inappropriate, with hemodynamically stable, asymptomatic anemia being the leading indication. Of clinical services, orthopedic surgery had the highest rate of overriding the alert with no clinical justification (70%). The number of RBC transfusions dropped from 313.5 units per month (preintervention period) to 293.2 units per month (postintervention period)—a 6.5% decrease. Real-time clinical decision support may reduce the number of inappropriate RBC transfusions in a community hospital setting, though in our study, the decrease in blood utilization (6.5%) did not reach statistical significance.


Water is the main limiting factor in rain-fed cropping systems under semi-arid environmental conditions, and because of the characteristics of rainfall in general, and low precipitation in particular, the productivity of plants is very low. This study was conducted at Al-Ubeidiya town in Bethlehem governorate to evaluate the effect of using water-harvesting techniques on the productivity of barley (Hordeum valgare L.) during two consecutive seasons. Three treatments were evaluated; namely: strip planting, ploughing-sowing-ploughing, and contour ridges, in addition to the control treatment (traditional planting method). Split-plot design was used to compare among treatments. The results showed the positive effects of water harvesting practices on barley productivity where a significant increase was obtained in grain and straw weight by 37% and 76% respectively, by using strip planting compared to the traditional cultivation (control). Grain and straw yield and plant height gave the best results in strip planting, followed by ploughing-sowing-ploughing, then the contour ridges, while the lowest values were in the traditional planting. These results suggested that using simple and practical water harvesting techniques for barley cultivation under semi-arid conditions have the potential to increase barley grain and straw yield.


This research proposes a novel auction mechanism for transactive energy exchange between buyers and sellers, modeled as agents in a microgrid. The mechanism is implemented by a separate microgrid controller (MC) agent, and requires big data flow with the other agents through an iterative bidding process. Although private user information remains hidden to the MC, a theoretical analysis shows that under the assumption of convexity of the agents utilities, the proposed auction is still able to maximize the social welfare (SW), i.e. the aggregate utilities of the agents. In addition, it is shown that the mechanism exhibits the key desirable features of individual rationality and weak budget balance, guaranteeing that neither the payoff to any agent nor the net monetary revenue after termination, is negative. The proposed approach also incorporates a mechanism to redistribute the sellers shares in a fair manner. As an example, a maximum entropy based fair redistribution scheme is addressed. The theoretical analysis reported here is accompanied by extensive set of simulations that illustrate the various aspects of the proposed mechanism.


Two rare new chlorophenyl glycosides, 2,4,6-trichlorol-3-methyl-5-methoxy-phenol 1-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (1) and 4-chlorol-5-hydroxyl-3-methyl-phenol 1-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), along with three known compounds (3–5) were isolated from the bulbs of Lilium brownii var. viridulum. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. All the compounds exhibited weak inhibition of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.


The vast majority of pedigrees with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) are caused by inheritance of mutations in the PSEN1 1 gene. While genetic ablation studies have revealed a role for presenilin 1 (PS1) in embryonic neurogenesis, little information has emerged regarding the potential effects of FAD-linked PS1 variants on proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation, key events that control cell fate commitment of adult brain neural progenitors (NPCs). We used adult brain subventricular zone (SVZ)-derived NPC cultures transduced with recombinant lentivirus as a means to investigate the effects of various PS1 mutants on self-renewal and differentiation properties. We now show that viral expression of several PS1 mutants in NPCs leads to impaired self-renewal and altered differentiation toward neuronal lineage, in vitro. In line with these observations, diminished constitutive proliferation and steady-state SVZ progenitor pool size was observed in vivo in transgenic mice expressing the PS1ΔE9 variant. Moreover, NPC cultures established from the SVZ of adult mice expressing PS1ΔE9 exhibit reduced self-renewal capacity and premature exit toward neuronal fates. To these findings, we show that both the levels of endogenous Notch/CBF-1-transcriptional activity and transcripts encoding Notch target genes are diminished in SVZ NPCs expressing PS1ΔE9. The deficits in self-renewal and multipotency are restored by expression of Notch1-ICD or a downstream target of the Notch pathway, Hes1. Hence, we argue that a partial reduction in PS-dependent γ-secretase processing of the Notch, at least in part, accounts for the impairments observed in SVZ NPCs expressing the FAD-linked PS1ΔE9 variant.


5 min of tryptic digestion of purified rabbit skeletal alpha-actinin decreases by approximately 75% the ability of alpha-actinin to cross-link F-actin filaments as measured viscometrically at 27 degrees C, but has little effect on the sedimentation coefficient of alpha actinin at 20 degrees C or an alpha-actinin's ability to increase the Mg2+-modified ATPase activity and rate of turbidity increase of reconstituted actomyosin suspensions. Twenty to sixty min of trypsin treatment reduces the sedimentation coefficient of alpha-actinin and destroys much of alpha-actinin's ability to increase the MG2+-modified ATPase and rate of turbidity increase of reconstituted actomyosin suspensions. Therefore, the ability of alpha-actinin to increase the rate of in vitro measures of muscle contraction may not result directly from alpha-actinin's ability to cross-link F-actin filaments. Trypsin does not split alpha-actinin into large fragments as it does myosin. Previous studies have shown that 35 to 65% of total tryptic-susceptible peptide bonds in alpha-actinin are split after 60 min of incubation with trypsin and that 30% of these bonds split in 60 min are cleaved during the first 5 min in a rapid reaction. That splitting of this group of peptide bonds has little effect on the sedimentation coefficient of alpha-actinin indicates that these bonds are located in a region of the alpha-actinin molecule where noncovalent forces are strong enough to maintain conformation of the native alpha-actinin molecule even after these bonds have been split. This ostensible segregation of alpha-actinin's ability to cross-link F-actin filaments from its ability to increase rate of in vitro assays of contraction by tryptic digestion may suggest that alpha-actinin could have at least two different physiological roles: (1) to bind actin filaments to each other or to basal structures, and (2) to enhance the effectiveness of actin in supporting movement.


Thrust, specific impulse, thrust efficiency, and microwave coupling efficiency were measured for a microwave electrothermal thruster (MET) operating on water in a non-tunable configuration, and on helium and water in a tunable configuration. In the nontunable configuration, attempts to improve water performance by repositioning the nozzle to counteract buoyancy and by changes in nozzle geometry were unsuccessful. In the tunable configuration, microwave coupling efficiencies near 100% were achieved for both helium and water at all operating conditions. With helium, improved coupling at constant specific energy resulted in increased specific impulse and thrust efficiency, however water displayed no performance improvement. Measurements with a residual gas analyzer indicate that the plume of the water MET may be 50 to 70% dissociated, and that the observed lack of dependence of specific impulse on specific energy may be the result of a trade-off between power loss to dissociation at low specific energy and to heating of the thruster body at high specific energy.


It appears as though Alice and the design of payment systems in the health care industry have much in common. I'm not certain that any of the conceptual or empirical pieces on health care payment have really specified all of the criteria that should be used in evaluating which form of reimbursement or rate-setting model should be adopted. Most of the empir? ical studies have focused on cost, either pre? dominantly or exclusively.1 While cost cer? tainly is a criterion of prime importance, it is not the only one. Nor is cost a one-dimen? sional standard; there are a number of con? stituent elements that are affected differen? tially by alternative reimbursement systems.2 In the following sections of this paper, a number of criteria useful for evaluating alter? native payment systems for health care insti? tutional providers will be posited. These cri? teria then will be used to analyze and evaluate alternative payment systems. It should be em? phasized that the analysis of criterion attain? ment and the weighting of individual criteria are author-specific. Other analysts might reach different conclusions.


Bradykinin (BK), an endogenous algesic and sensitizing substance, excited nociceptors and sensitized their heat responses. These effects were mediated by B2 receptors (B2Rs) in normal condition, and B1 receptors were additionally recruited in inflammation. B2Rs were coupled with Gq/11 and their activation resulted in diacylglycerol and inositol triphosphate release. Diacylglycerol activated protein kinase (PK) Cepsilon in sensory neurons. To clarify what channel was modulated by PKC to depolarize nociceptor terminals, we examined the heat activation threshold (Tt) of heat-sensitive capsaicin receptor (TRPV1). Tt was lowered down to 31 degrees C by BK in concentration dependent manner through activation of PKCepsilon in cells heterologously expressing TRPV1 and B2Rs. Thus both excitation and sensitization to heat could be explained by one mechanism, lowering Tt of TRPV1. The same was observed in capsaicin-sensitive primary sensory neurons. However, TRPV1 knockout mice showed almost no change in BK-induced nociceptive behavior and nociceptor excitation, although BK-induced heat hyperalgesia completely disappeared, suggesting that TRPV1 was not the sole channel that was modulated by BK to depolarize nociceptor terminals. In addition nociceptor sensitivity to BK was augmented in inflamed animals, with B2R mRNA and protein upregulated. The mechanism for prostaglandin-induced augmentation of BK response is left open for future study.


Electron energy distribution in a mesoscopic ac-driven diffusive wire generally is not characterized by an effective temperature. At low temperatures, the distribution has a form of a multistep staircase, with the step width equal to the field energy quantum. Analytic results for the field frequency high and low compared to Thouless energy are presented, while the intermediate-frequency regime is analyzed numerically. Manifestations in the tunneling spectroscopy and noise measurements are discussed.


ABSTRACT This paper describes the first Polish expedition to Greenland in 1937. The fieldwork was carried out in western Greenland at the eastern edge of Arfersiorfik Fjord between Disko Bay in the north and Nordre Strömfjord in the south. The main goal was to undertake a comprehensive study of a fragment of the Greenland ice sheet edge and its foreland focusing on a cartographic survey. The first ever map of this region entitled The Polish expedition to give new names. In the post-war history, expedition members exerted great influence on the development of Polish polar research.


Sexual violence against female students is a thriving academic vice in tertiary institutions in most countries of the world, Nigeria inclusive. This derogatory act perpetrated by male lecturers robs the ivory tower of academic dignity and integrity thus making certification an exercise in falsehood. Sexual violence is a major problem in Polytechnics in South-West Nigeria. This paper therefore examined sexual violence and sexual violence preventive measures adopted in tertiary institutions in Australia and South –Africa to checkmate the menace and how such can be adopted by Polytechnics in South-West Nigeria. In the two countries where the incident of  sexual violence is alarmingly high, institutions jointly organized campaign against sexual violence while men staged peaceful protest to show that they felt the pain of the women and that they are ready to support them to rid the society of the callous act. The paper suggested that all polytechnics in South-west Nigeria should come together to wage war against this demeaning act and also to involve men actively in sexual violence preventive measures in their institutions. Keywords: Sexual violence, female students, polytechnics, preventive measures


PURPOSE
Cerenkov emission (CE) is a promising tool for online tumor microenvironment interrogation and targeting during radiotherapy. In this work, we utilize CE generated during radiotherapy as a broadband excitation source for real-time absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate the feasibility of CE spectroscopy using a controlled experiment of materials with known emission/absorption properties.

METHODS
A water tank is irradiated with 20 MeV electron beam to induce Cerenkov emission. Food coloring dyes (Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue #1), which have known emission/absorption properties were added to the water tank with increasing concentration (1 drop (0.05 mL), 2 drops, and 4 drops from a dispenser bottle). The signal is collected using a condensing lens which is coupled into a 20m optical fiber that is fed into a spectrometer that measures the emitted spectra. The resulting spectra from water/food coloring dye solutions were normalized by the reference spectrum, which is the Cerenkov spectrum of pure water, correcting for both the nonlinearity of the broadband Cerenkov emission spectrum as well as the non-uniform spectral response of the spectrometer. The emitted spectra were then converted into absorbance and their characteristics were analyzed.

RESULTS
The food coloring dye had a drastic change on the Cerenkov emission, shifting its wavelength according to its visible color. The collected spectra showed various absorbance peaks which agrees with tabulated peak positions of the dyes added within 0.3% for yellow, 1.7% for red, and 0.16% for blue. The CE peak heights proportionally increased as the dye concentration is increased.

CONCLUSION
This work shows the potential for real-time functional spectroscopy using Cerenkov emission during radiotherapy. It was demonstrated that molecule identification as well as relative concentration can be extracted from the Cerenkov emission color shift.


BACKGROUND
The diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in women presenting in early pregnancy is often protracted, relying on costly investigations that are psychologically burdensome to the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the financial costs to the health services in Scotland of the current methods used to diagnose and exclude ectopic pregnancy, and compare these with that of a theoretical single diagnostic serum biomarker.

METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cost-description analysis (with and without costs of diagnostic laparoscopy) of the health-care costs incurred by all patients presenting to a large Scottish teaching hospital between June and September 2006 with pain and bleeding in early pregnancy, where ectopic pregnancy was not excluded. Additionally, a cost minimization analysis was performed for the costs of current ectopic pregnancy investigations versus those of a theoretical single diagnostic serum biomarker. This included sensitivity analyses where the biomarker was priced at increasing values and assumed to have less than 100% diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

RESULTS
About 175 patients were eligible to be included in the analysis. Forty-seven per cent of patients required more than three visits to diagnose or exclude ectopic pregnancy. The total yearly cost for diagnosing and excluding ectopic pregnancy was 197K pound sterling for the hospital stated, and was estimated to be 1364K pound sterling for Scotland overall. Using a theoretical diagnostic serum biomarker we calculated that we could save health services up to 976K pound sterling (lowest saving 251K pound sterling after subanalysis) every year in Scotland.

CONCLUSIONS
Ectopic pregnancy is expensive to diagnose and exclude, and the investigation process is often long and might involve significant psychological morbidity. The development of a single diagnostic serum biomarker would minimize this morbidity and lead to significant savings of up to 1 million pounds per year in Scotland.


Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are associated with a high disease burden, reduced quality of life and shortened survival. The aim of this questionnaire was to gain patients' and caregivers' perspectives on the impact of living with an MPN in the Republic of Ireland. An Irish adaptation of the 'Global MPN Landmark survey' was conducted. Fifty-one patients and 44 caregivers completed the questionnaire. Patients reported a wide variety of symptoms at the time of questionnaire completion; fatigue, bone pain and pruritus being most frequently reported. Approximately one-third of respondents from each of the groups (patients and caregivers) reported a negative impact of MPNs on their emotional wellbeing and daily lives. The study findings revealed that, despite treatment, symptom burden remains high, and several unmet needs exist, including educational, emotional and peer group support. Interventions that focus on reducing symptom burden and addressing these unmet needs, may improve the quality of life for patients with MPNs and their caregivers.


Recently, we have found that a number of microRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins are involved in the response to acupuncture therapy in hypertensive rats. Our bioinformatics study suggests an association between these miRNAs and proteins, which include miR-339 and sirtuin 2 (Sirt2). In this paper, we aimed to investigate whether Sirt2 was a direct target of miR-339 in neurons. In human SH-SY5Y cells, the luciferase assay implied that Sirt2 was likely a target of miRNA-339. Overexpression of miR-339 downregulated Sirt2 expression, while knockdown of miR-339 upregulated Sirt2 expression in human SH-SY5Y cells and rat PC12 cells. In addition, overexpression of miR-399 increased the acetylation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) in SH-SY5Y cells, which are known targets of Sirt2. Our findings demonstrate that miR-339 regulates Sirt2 in human and rat neurons. Since Sirt2 plays a critical role in multiple important cellular functions, our data imply that acupuncture may act through epigenetic changes and subsequent action on their targets, such as miRNA-339/Sirt2/NF-κB/FOXO1 axis. Some physiological level changes of neurons after altering the miR-339 levels are needed to validate the suggested therapeutic role of miR-339/Sirt2/NF-κB/FOXO1 axis in response to acupuncture therapy in the future work.


The social information processing (SIP) model is an important element in theoretical accounts of the development of aggressive behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is associated with and predicted by specific social information-processing patterns and interventions targeting these patterns are relatively effective. The present article discusses three directions in which further progress can be made. First, the SIP model may be improved to take better account of emotional processes. Second, issues concerning the validity of SIP assessment need to be resolved. Third, differential development of SIP needs to be studied and to be related to development of specific aggressive behaviour patterns. Recent findings concerning these three issues are reviewed and directions for research are discussed.


We give a survey on old and new results concerning Arnold's strange duality. We show that most of the features of this duality continue to hold for the extension of it discovered by C. T. C. Wall and the author. The results include relations to mirror symmetry and the Leech lattice.


Background: Some previous works on the psychological impact of speech on the cardiovascular system have mainly focused on the speaker as the individual in whom clinical outcomes are being measured. There is limited data on the effects of listening to the fast speech on cardiovascular responses.
Aim: The aim of the study was to comparatively examine blood pressure and heart rate changes upon listening to normal and fast speeches.
Method: A total of 88 (22 females and 66 males) normotensive adults were recruited for the study from a university population. All subjects were made to listen to two different 13-minutes audio recordings of normal speech (news commentary) and fast speech (a radio sports presentation). Blood pressure and pulse rate changes were taken at 4-minutes time intervals during listening to the audio recordings. Based on the enthusiasm and patronage of the sports program, participants were classified as ''Regular'' listeners and ''Non-regular'' listeners. Blood pressure and pulse rate changes were calculated as the mean net area under the curve response and differences were analysed with analysis of variance.
Results: Systolic, diastolic and pulse rate responses were significantly higher in both the Regular and Non-Regular listener groups during listening to the fast-speech audio presentation as compared to the News Commentary presentation.
Conclusion: Although there is limited data, listening to fast speech itself may act as a psychosocial stressor that predisposes to an increased cardiovascular response manifested as higher blood pressure and heart rate.


Eucalyptus is expressed as huge potentials for Ethiopian climatic conditions. Looks for quality of essential oils was an aim for this study. Hydro distillations of fresh leaves were yielded 1.75% (E. globulus) and 2.00% (E. citriodora) essential oils. Major compounds with 1, 8-Cineole (77.24%) and α-Pinene (10.54%) were indentified from E. globules essential oil. Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil was abundant with Citronellal (73.86%) and Citronellol (14.13%). The results of DPPH assay indicated that weak free radical scavenging activities with IC50 value of 795.42 mg/mL for E. globulus, 169.64 mg/mL for E. citriodora and 0.577 mg/mL for the reference Ascorbic acid. The overall quality of E. globules and E. citriodora essential oils are comply the international specifications.


N.B. reproduced with permission of Peter Lang Verlag. For citation, please, use the following reference: Campos, M.A. 2010. "Going beyond the obvious in English for Legal Purposes: a few remarks on International Legal English as a Lingua Franca in Europe", pp. 175-194 in Linde, A; Crespo, R. (eds.), Professional English in the European Context: The EHEA Challenge. Bern: Peter Lang. ISBN: 978-3-0343-0088-9.


Computable models as a fundamental candidate for traditional biological experiments have been applied in inferring lncRNA–disease association (LDA) for many years, without time-consuming and laborious limitations. However, sparsity inherently existing in known heterogeneous bio-data is an obstacle to computable models to improve prediction accuracy further. Therefore, a new computational model composed of multiple mechanisms for lncRNA–disease association (MM-LDA) prediction was proposed, based on the fusion of the graph attention network (GAT) and inductive matrix completion (IMC). MM-LDA has two key steps to improve prediction accuracy: first, a multiple-operator aggregation was designed in the n-heads attention mechanism of the GAT. With this step, features of lncRNA nodes and disease nodes were enhanced. Second, IMC was introduced into the enhanced node features obtained in the first step, and then the LDA network was reconstructed to solve the cold start problem when data deficiency of the entire row or column happened in a known association matrix. Our MM-LDA achieved the following progress: first, using the Adam optimizer that adaptively adjusted the model learning rate could increase the convergent speed and not fall into local optima as well. Second, more excellent predictive ability was achieved against other similar models (with an AUC value of 0.9395 and an AUPR value of 0.8057 obtained from 5-fold cross-validation). Third, a 6.45% lower time cost was consumed against the advanced model GAMCLDA. In short, our MM-LDA achieved a more comprehensive prediction performance in terms of prediction accuracy and time cost.


The emergence of new technologies and services as well as trillions of devices and petabytes of data to be processed and transferred in the Internet of the Future mean that we have to deal with new threats and vulnerabilities, in addition to handle the remaining old ones. Together with the rise of Cyber Warfare and the resulting impact on the environment means that we have to bring intelligence back to the network. Consequently, effective Cyber Defence will be more and more important. In this paper we will show that the proposed requirements for an Early Warning System are a main part of future Cyber Defence. Special attention is given on the challenges associated to the generation of early warning systems for future attacks on the Internet of the Future. The term Cyber War is used frequently but unfortunately with different intends. Therefore, we start with a definition of the term Cyber War focusing on security aspects related to the Internet of the Future, followed by an exemplification of a Cyber War, of its implications and the challenges associated to it. Then we proceed with an analysis of state of the art recent work that has been proposed on the topic. Additionally the weaknesses of these analyzed systems and approaches are presented. Finally we propose guidelines and requirements for future work which will be needed to implement a next generation early warning system for securing the Internet of the Future.


Abstract. Slope deformation is one of the typical geohazards that causes an extensive economic damage in mountainous regions. As such, they are usually intensively monitored by means of modern expertise commonly by national geological or emergency services. Resulting landslide susceptibility maps, or landslide inventories, offer an overview of areas affected by previously activated landslides as well as slopes known to be unstable currently. Current slope instabilities easily transform into a landslide after various triggering factors, such as an intensive rainfall or a melting snow cover. In these inventories, the majority of the existing landslide-affected slopes are marked as either stable or active, after a continuous investigative work of the experts in geology. In this paper we demonstrate the applicability of Sentinel-1A satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR) to assist by identifying slope movement activity and use the information to update national landslide inventories. This can be done reliably in cases of semi-arid regions or low vegetated slopes. We perform several analyses based on multitemporal InSAR techniques of Sentinel-1A data over selected areas prone to landslides.


Lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) from 14 Mycoplasma hominis isolates or strains share similar protein and antigenicity profiles. Of 31 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients from whose samples M. hominis was cultured, 28 tested strongly positive for serum antibodies to M. hominis LAMPs. The remaining 3 serum samples showed low antibody titer to LAMPs from all of the 14 M. hominis isolates or strains, which was likely the result of the compromised immune systems of the patients. Thus, M. hominis LAMPs as a whole are homogenous in antigenicity within the species, despite having many different serotypes. Serological study involving 564 healthy blood donors and 211 patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics by LAMPs showed that general populations were widely exposed to M. hominis. Women were infected with M. hominis at a younger age than were men. The prevalence of infection increased markedly among sexually active persons.


The purpose of writing this text is to make Al-Quran a place to ask questions and remember the greatness of God. The closer humans are to God, humans always care for nature with full awareness. Messages of Al-Quran and newspaper coverage with methode tafsir bi ar-Ra'yi atau al-'aqli by qualitative descriptive analysis can be used as a life lesson. It is to realize that Divine power is second to none because He is the Almighty. Human negligence in caring for nature will cause disaster / natural disasters. Disasters are not always predictable by the sophistication of technology and science in terms of when to come and when the end of natural disasters due to human limitations. The Koran illustrates that natural disasters have occurred in humans since the beginning of time. The event has a variety of meanings to be used as material for life lessons.


The unique characteristics and healthful reputation of caffeine-free rooibos tea (RT) make it an ideal carrier for vitamin D3 supplementation, and a potential base for the addition of Saskatoon berry syrup (SBS), a natural flavor additive. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of vitamin D3 fortification and SBS addition on the flavor profile, consumer acceptability, and antioxidant properties of RT. Six formulations (RT, RT with SBS, RT with SBS and vitamin D3 , RT with vitamin D3 , green tea [GT], and GT with SBS) were evaluated by 12 trained panelists and 114 consumers. The formulations were also assessed for antioxidant capacity, physical characteristics, and untargeted phytochemical content. Sensory results revealed that the mean intensity values for berry and sweet attributes were significantly higher (P < 0.05) while bitter and astringent attributes were significantly lower when SBS was added to RT samples compared to those without syrup. Acceptability of flavor, aftertaste, and overall acceptability were also significantly higher for the RT with SBS. The addition of SBS to RT significantly increased the antioxidant capacities which may increase the related health benefits of RT. SBS contributed several polyphenols, particularly flavonoids, to the tea. Vitamin D3 added to RT formulations did not significantly affect the sensory attributes, acceptability, or antioxidant content. For the development of a functional vitamin D3 fortified iced-tea beverage that can be consumed as part of the daily diet, SBS could be a favorable flavoring additive that may provide additional health benefits.


Phosphoinositides in the cell membrane are signaling lipids with multiple cellular functions. Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) is a determinant phosphoinositide of the plasma membrane (PM), and it is required to modulate ion channels, actin dynamics, exocytosis, endocytosis, intracellular signaling, and many other cellular processes. However, the spatial organization of PI(4,5)P2 in the PM is controversial, and its nanoscale distribution is poorly understood due to the technical limitations of research approaches. Here by utilizing single molecule localization microscopy and the Pleckstrin Homology (PH) domain based dual color fluorescent probes, we describe a novel method to visualize the nanoscale distribution of PI(4,5)P2 in the PM in fixed membrane sheets as well as live cells.


(KxNa1-x) NbO3 ceramics or KNN is considered as one of the most promising candidates for lead-free piezoelectric applications, because of its high Curie temperature and good electrical properties. However, it is well known that dense and well-sintered KNN ceramics are very difficult to obtain by conventional sintering process because of the high volatility of alkali elements at high temperatures. The major strategy to overcome this problem is simply adding excess alkali metals in the starting composition. KNN ceramics with potassium excess were prepared by high temperature solid state reaction technique. Effect of K excess on the phase structure and electrical properties of KNN ceramics were investigated. The results showed that the single phase orthorhombic perovskite structure was obtained in ceramics. Ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition temperature was about 370 °C for all the samples. The dielectric permittivity was maximized, the dielectric loss was a minimum and the relative density was found to reach 95% of theoretical density for K content= 53% in KNN system. Impedance study shows the non-Debye type temperature of relaxation phenomenon in the system. Above the ferroelectric paraelectric phase transition temperature, the electrical conduction is governed by the thermal excitation of carriers from oxygen vacancies exhibiting NTCR behavior.


We present here resonant ultrasound spectroscopy measurements of the elastic moduli and attenuation for UzZnt7 and UCu 5 through the respective TN's of 9.7 and 15 K. For single-crystal UzZnt7, the data are the first modulus measurements for this material, and exhibit a very large softening of the sound velocity and an anomalous increase in attenuation below TN, while no precursors at all are observed above. Polycrystalline UCu~, in contrast, exhibits weak softening above TN, and a weak stiffening below. The heavy electron compounds U2Zntv and UCu~ both develop commensurate antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. UCu5 displays a minimum in the resistivity between 0.5 and 1.5 K indicating another phase transition, but of unknown origin [1], while the resistivity of U,Zn~7 decreases monotonically below the AFM transition. These compounds also exhibit clear anomalies in the ~tSR relaxation rates [2]. For UCus, an expected and characteristic k anomaly occurs at TN, with an onset of about 4Tn. In contrast, U2Zn~v exhibits no temperature dependence in the laSR relaxation rate above Try, while below, the rate increases continuously, eventually saturating, indicating that fluctuations do not play a role. in contrast, the specific heat anomalies associated with AFM order in both materials are very typical looking second-order types [3], with the addition of some spinwave contributions in U2Zn~v. Measurement of the sound velocity and attenuatioq, then, should be important to complete the thermodynamic picture. According* Corresponding author. ly, we grew single crystals of U2Znl-7 from a stoichiometric melt. We also prepared annealed polycrystals of UCus.os by arc melting and then annealing at 1023 K for four days. Metallographic examination of the UCus.o5 sample showed that fine lamellae of a presumably Curich phase were present. The excess copper was used to stabilize the material for the later production of single crystals using a zone-melting technique. To ensure that this excess Cu did not affect the ultrasound measurements, a small flake of stoichiometric UCu5 was also measured, with nearly identical results. Both samples were cut into small rectangular parallelipipeds in preparation for resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) [4] measurements at room temperature, and a small flake of U2Znt, was used cold. From these measurements, we obtained the first determination of the moduli of U2Zn17, shown in Table 1 in an hexagonal basis set (a natural choice for a rhombohedral crystal structureL Unfortunately, however, the weak phase separation in the UCus polycrystal made it impossible to obtain accurate moduli for it. The magnetic susceptibility for the two samples is 0921-4526 94 $O7.(X) C 1994 Elsevier Science B.V. All right~, reserved SSDI 0921-4526~93) E0313-6 A. Migliori et ai. / Physica B 199&200 (1994) 36-38 Table 1 Elastic moduli of a single crystal of U zZnl7 at 295 K in 101 ' dyn/cm ~ using an hexagonal basis. The sample had a measured density of 8.424 gm/cm 3 with dimensions of 0.1395, 0.1797 and 0.2111 cm


Significance International concern about the consequences of human-induced global environmental changes has prompted a renewed focus on reducing ecological effects of biological invasions, climate change, and nutrient pollution. Our results show that the combined effects of nonnative species invasions and abiotic global environmental changes are often negative but no worse than invasion impacts alone. Invasion impacts are also more strongly detrimental than warming temperatures or nitrogen deposition, two common stressors. Thus, reducing the spread of invasive species is critical for mitigating harms from anthropogenic changes to global ecosystems.


Two-color fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) is a widely used technique for comparing relative gene expression patterns. Current two-color FISH protocols are not ideal for detecting weakly expressed transcripts or monitoring signal strength and background levels during the course of the reaction. Here we describe an improved FISH protocol using the conventional highly sensitive chromogenic substrates nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT)/5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate (BCIP) and Vector Red in zebrafish embryos. This protocol substantially improves on existing FISH techniques by combining the advantages of long reactivity of alkaline phosphatase, chromogenic monitoring of both developing reactions, and the ability to perform subsequent high-resolution fluorescent imaging. Although tested in zebrafish, a similar approach is expected to be applicable to ISH in any model organism.


Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are associated with high mortality rates despite therapeutic advances. The pathogenesis of ALI and ARDS is similar to that of sepsis, as these disease states involve uncontrolled host defense responses that lead to inflammation, endothelial damage, enhanced coagulation, diminished fibrinolysis, and fibroproliferation. Recent studies of anticoagulants have shown positive outcomes in patients with severe sepsis. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that the use of anticoagulants, such as tissue factor pathway inhibitor, antithrombin, thrombomodulin, heparin, activated protein C, and fibrinolytics (plasminogen activators and particularly tissue plasminogen activator), may be useful in the treatment of ALI and ARDS. Data from experimental models of sepsis, ALI, and ARDS indicate that some of these agents improve lung function and oxygenation. Although clinical data are less convincing than these findings, results from clinical trials may influence the design of future studies.


Since late 2019, COVID-19 has emerged as a global pandemic that has infected 200 million and killed 5 million. A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients continue to have persistent neurological sequelae after recovery, which are not well understood. In this study, we report our preliminary neuroradiological findings from ultrahigh field MRI at 7T in patients with post-COVID neurological symptoms. We show that numerous heterogeneous abnormalities are present in 7T MR brain images. We expect that these findings may pave the way to explain neurological symptoms in post-COVID patients.


The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the development of adequate vaccines. Despite vaccines being demonstrated to be safe and effective for preventing severe disease and death, vaccine hesitancy remains. Reasons include concerns over adverse effects on male fertility, which have not been widely investigated. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on semen parameters in a retrospective cohort study of South African males undergoing fertility assessment. The patients for this study were adult men who have previously undergone routine semen analysis for fertility assessment at Androcryos Andrology Laboratory (Johannesburg, South Africa) between March 2021 and March 2022. They also received vaccination within 3 months following a semen analysis and underwent a second semen analysis any time post-COVID-19 vaccination. From 277 records analysed, 46 patients met the inclusion criteria, receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b1) (63%), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ-78436735/Ad26.COV2S) (34.8%), and the AstraZeneca (AZD1222) (2.2%) vaccines. Sperm concentration significantly increased postvaccination (

 P
 =
 0.0001

 ), with no significant changes in semen pH, volume, total sperm count, progressive motility, normal sperm morphology, or chromatin condensation. Results were not influenced by age, type of vaccine received, and the number of days following vaccination, as depicted by multiple regression analysis. In conclusion, there is no evidence of a negative impact of COVID-19 vaccination on male semen parameters, which is consistent with the emerging literature on COVID-19 vaccination and male fertility. COVID-19 vaccinations should not be dismissed based on fear of adverse effects on male fertility parameters.


The energy of tagged photons, which were provided from the internal photon tagging system of the Laboratory of Nuclear Science, Tohoku University, has been calibrated using the d(γ,π−pp) reaction. Charged pions and protons in the final state were detected with the Neutral Kaon Spectrometer (NKS2). Photon energies were obtained from the reaction of d(γ,π−pp). The derived photon energy was consistent with the design of the tagger system and the previous measurement using electron-positron pair production. The consistency demonstrates the performance of NKS2 and the capability of the photon energy calibration using d(γ,π−pp).


Electronic health records (EHR) as well as personal health records (PHR) are in widespread use today. Since several years the University Hospital Heidelberg is implementing a so-called personal and electronic health record (PEHR). The joint approach is standards-based and includes several needed services. However a remained unresolved issue is how to connect general practitioners (GP) and their systems to the record. This work describes a tool called GP Connector that provides access for GPs to the PEHR within the law. GPs can profit from all advantages of the PEHR usage. Only adding documents to the record comfortably through standards-based interfaces remains still open. Thus, deep integration of the PEHR into primary systems is preferable anytime. Yet the continuous trend towards multi-institutional health network may also pave the way for standards-based interfaces also in the field of practice management systems.


Unlike the mortality risk on which actuaries have been working for more than a century, the long-term care (LTC) risk is young and as of today hardly mastered. Semi-Markov processes have been identified as an adequate tool to study this risk. Nevertheless, access to data is limited and the associated literature still scarce. Insurers mainly use discrete time methods directly inspired from the study of mortality in order to build experience tables. Those methods however are not perfectly suited for the study of competing risk situations.

The present article provides a theoretical framework to estimate biometric laws associated with a long-term care insurance portfolio. The presented method relies on a continuous-time semi-Markov model with three states: autonomy, disability and death. The process describing the state of disability is defined through its transition intensities. We provide a formula to infer the mortality of autonomous people from the mortality of the whole portfolio, on which we have more reliable knowledge. We then propose a parametric expression for the remaining intensities of the model. In particular, incidence in LTC is described by a logistic formula. Under the assumption that the disabled population is a mixture of two latent populations with respect to the category of pathology that caused LTC, we show that the resulting intensity of mortality in LTC takes a very peculiar form and depends on time spent in the LTC state. Estimation of parameters relies on the maximum likelihood method. Our parametric approach, while inducing model uncertainty, eliminates issues related to segmentation in age categories, smoothing or extrapolation at higher ages and thus proves very convenient for the practitioner. Finally, we provide an application using data from a real long-term care insurance portfolio.


We study individual superparamagnetic Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles in solution using a double nanohole optical tweezer with magnetic force setup. By analysis of the trapping optical transmission signal (step size, autocorrelation, the root-mean-square signal, and the distribution with applied magnetic field), we are able to measure the refractive index, magnetic susceptibility, remanence and size of each trapped nanoparticle. The size distribution is found to agree well with scanning electron microscopy measurements, and the permeability, magnetic susceptibility and remanence values are all in agreement with published results. Our approach demonstrates the versatility of the optical tweezer with magnetic field setup to characterize nanoparticles in fluidic mixtures with potential for isolation of desired particles and pick-and-place functionality.


The optimum crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) levels were determined in a Bresse capon diet. In each trial, 120 Bresse cockerels aged 4 wk were castrated using the laparoscopic vacuum testectomy technique and allotted to four dietary groups according to a 2 × 2 factorial complete randomized design. Trial 1 (age 5–10 wk) consisting of a high CP diet (21%) promoted significantly higher final body weight (FBW), body weight gain (BWG), average daily gain (ADG), CP and ME intake with a better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than a low CP diet (19%), while a high ME diet (3.3 kcal ME/g) resulted in significantly lower feed intake (FI) and CP intake but promoted better FCR than a low ME diet (3.0 kcal ME/g). There was no interaction between the CP and ME levels for all parameters (p > 0.05). Trial 2 (age 11–13 wk) resulted in the high CP diet (19%) promoting significantly (p < 0.05) better FBW, BWG, FCR, ADG, CP intake, percentage of carcass, breast, thigh, liver, drumstick and breast moisture content than the low CP diet (17%). In contrast, the low ME diet (3.0 kcal/g) significantly (p < 0.05) provided higher FI, FBW, thigh moisture and fat, BWG, ADG, CP intake, breast moisture content and fat but lower abdominal fat, thigh meat and breast shear force than the high ME diet (3.3 kcal/g). There were interactions between the main factors on FI, FCR, ME intake and thigh meat. In conclusion, the optimum diet for Bresse capon aged 5–10 wk should contain 21% CP with 3.3 kcal ME/g and for age 11–13 wk should contain 19% CP with 3.0 kcal ME/g to achieve the best performance of the tested parameters.


The leaching of grafted sulfate groups is one of the major issues for the solid acid catalysts with sulfate modification. A detailed study of sulfated alkaline earth metal–ferric composite oxides was carried out to suppress the leaching of sulfate groups as well as maintain high reactivity during the esterification of oleic acid. The acid properties and quantities of the active sites present on the catalysts were studied with pyridine-adsorption, FT-IR, TGA, and titration methods. The following order of acidic strength was observed: SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide > SO42−/Ca–Fe oxide > SO42−/Mg–Fe oxide. After sulfate modification, sulfate ions are linked to the composite oxides in a bridged bidentate form. SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide exhibits superacidic nature due to the high induction effect of the sulfated ion grafted on the Sr cation. TGA and FT-IR spectroscopic analyses provide new insights into the function of the iron cations implanted on the catalyst surface for enhancing the turnover frequency (TOF) of the active sites on SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide in the esterification. It was verified that the active energy of SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide for the esterification of oleic acid with methanol was as low as 28.53 ± 0.72 kJ mol−1. In the reusability study, SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide exhibited high reusability in the esterification, due to the high stability of the sulfate ion grafted on SO42−/Sr–Fe oxide.


Aim: This research was conducted to differentiate and characterize eight Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates collected from vaccinated chicken at commercial flocks in West Java, Indonesia, in 2011, 2014 and 2015 by pathotype specific primers. Materials and Methods: A total of eight NDV isolates collected from clinical outbreaks among commercial vaccinated flocks in West Java, Indonesia, in 2011, 2014, and 2015 were used in this study. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect and differentiate virulence of NDV strains, using three sets of primers targeting their M and F gene. First primers were universal primers to detect NDV targeting matrix (M) gene. Other two sets of primers were specific for the fusion (F) gene cleavage site sequence of virulent and avirulent NDV strains. Results: Our results showed that three isolates belong to NDV virulent strains, and other five isolates belong to NDV avirulent strains. The nucleotide sequence of the F protein cleavage site showed 112K/R-R-Q/R-K-R/G-F117 on NDV virulent strains and 112G-K/R-Q-G-R-L117 on NDV avirulent strain. Conclusion: Result from the current study suggested that NDV virulent strain were circulating among vaccinated chickens in West Java, Indonesia; this might possess a risk of causing ND outbreaks and causing economic losses within the poultry industry.


Background Children and young people with chronic neurological conditions have significantly higher rates of mental health disorders than those without a chronic health condition, or those with chronic illnesses that do not involve the CNS. Mental health problems can impact on quality of life as well as on the management and medical consequences of the physical illness yet may be relatively easy to treat. However, such mental health disorders often go unrecognised and therefore untreated. The aim of the current study was to establish the feasibility of routine screening and brief telephone intervention for mental health disorders in paediatric neurology clinics. Methods Parents of children and young people aged 7–18 attending specialist paediatric neurology clinics were asked to complete an online screening questionnaire (the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) on a tablet computer in clinic. Those who had symptoms of a mental health disorder were invited to complete a longer online diagnostic questionnaire, the Development and Wellbeing Assessment (DAWBA), at home. Those with impairing symptoms were offered a 10-session guided self-help intervention delivered over the telephone. Standardised measures were completed before, during and after the intervention. Results The method of identification proved feasible in terms of numbers completing the SDQ (n=406, of which n=232 had significant symptoms of a mental health disorder) and DAWBA (n=124). 76% of those completing the DAWBA met DSM-V diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder. 40 families took part in the brief intervention and results are promising, with progress made towards families chosen goals and high levels of satisfaction reported by families and clinicians. Conclusions Children and young people with chronic neurological conditions have high rates of mental health disorders. These disorders can be detected and treated through a simple online diagnostic tool and telephone intervention and this method is acceptable to families.


Racial riots broke out in Malaysia in 1969 when the Malays felt that they were in danger of losing control of their country and destiny. "The New Economic Policy" (NEP) was adopted as a means of helping them, through the establishment of special institutions and policies, to catch up ultimately with the much wealthier immigrant Chinese. The twenty years prescribed for the NEP have run their course, and the results achieved by it are assessed in this book. Income distribution remains unequal, but Malaysia has become one of the most rapidly growing middle-income developing countries, with a good record of agricultural and industrial development, accompanied by impressive provision of education and other government services. Future progress, and the achievement of national unity, depend greatly on the removal of racial imbalances.


Presently available bipolar pacemakers connected to bipolar leads allow the programming of polarity to either bipolar or unipolar configuration. The bipolar configuration improves sensing because of its lack of oversensing. In respect to the pacing impulse, it may be beneficial to program the bipolar to unipolar configuration, because the unipolar pacing configuration seems to lead to lower pacing thresholds. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the two configurations on pacing and sensing in 11 patients with a new ventricular steroid‐eluting lead (Encor Dec 033–301. Telectronics Inc.) connected to the same types of VVI(R) pacemakers. Follow‐up was 12 months after implantation. Pacing was assessed by pulse duration thresholds at 0.8‐, 1.6‐, and 2.5‐V pulse amplitude and by pacing impedance. Parameters for sensing included sensing thresholds, R wave amplitudes, and amplitude of intrinsic deflection. Pulse duration thresholds were similar for the two configurations. At implantation, pacing impedance was significantly higher with bipolar (672 ± 60 Ω) than with unipolar pacing configuration (626 ± 82 Ω, P < 0.005). The difference lasted until 1 month after implantation (bipolar: 670 ± 49 Ω: unipolar: 630 53 Ω, P < 0.01). No significant differences were detected after 3 (bipolar: 683 ± 63 Ω; unipolar: 662 ± 70 Ω) and 12 months (bipolar: 658 ± 64 Ω: unipolar: 660 ± 63 Ω) between the 2 configurations. Although intrinsic deflections of ventricular electrograms were different, mean R wave amplitudes were similar in unipolar and bipolar configuration. Pacing and sensing characteristics of unipolar and bipolar configuration were similar for the studied bipolar pacing lead. Pacing impedance was initially higher for bipolar than for unipolar configuration and equilibrated within 3 months after implantation.


We used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and 26AI to study the plasma concentration, urinary excretion, and retention in bone, brain, and liver of a single dose of a dietary concentration of aluminum ingested either with or without citrate by 2-month-old Wistar rats. In the absence of citrate, cumulative urinary excretion and skeleton retention were each approximately 0.05% of the total 26AI dose ingested. 26AI retention in brain and liver were approximately 4 x 10(-8) and 2 x 10(-6), respectively. Concomitant citrate intake increased these median values by about two- to fivefold, although this factor was highly variable in individual rats. Independent of citrate administration, 90% of the 26AI excreted in urine (measured cumulatively over 30 days) was excreted within the first 48 h. Uptake by bone was rapid (approximately 1 h) and permanent over the 30-day duration of the experiment.


The comprehensive understanding of contaminant interfacial behavior strongly depends on the in situ characterization technique, which is still a great challenge. In this study, we constructed a device integrated with open-circuit potentialand attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (OCP-ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to simultaneously monitor the electrochemical and infrared spectral information on the interfacial reaction for the process analysis, taking the competitive adsorption of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and oxalate on hematite nanocubes (HNC) as an example. The synchronous OCP and infrared results revealed that Cr(VI) interacted with HNC via bidentate binuclear inner-sphere coordination, accompanied by electron transfer from HNC to Cr(VI), while oxalate was adsorbed on HNC through bidentate mononuclear side-on inner-sphere coordination with electron transfer from HNC to oxalate, and also outer-sphere coordination with negative charge accumulation. When oxalate was added to HNC with preadsorbed Cr(VI), oxalate would occupy the inner-sphere adsorption sites and thus cause the detaching of preadsorbed Cr(VI) from HNC. This study provides a promising in situ characterization technique for real-time interfacial reaction monitoring and also sheds light on the competitive adsorption mechanism of oxalate and Cr(VI) on the mineral surface.


Due to its lethal effect on the human body and other creatures, Cr(VI) ions have attained widespread public attention, and an effective adsorbent for removing Cr(VI) ions is vital. Chitosan (CS)/cellulose nanocrystals grafted with carbon dots (CNCD) composite hydrogel with strong sorption ability and sensitive detection ability for Cr(VI) was formed. The cellulose nanocrystals (CN) offered a natural skeleton for assembling 3D porous structures, and then improved the sorption ability for Cr(VI); moreover, carbon dots (CD) acted as a fluorescent probe for Cr(VI) and provided Cr(VI) adsorption sites. With a maximum adsorption capacity of 217.8 mg/g, the CS/CNCD composite hydrogel exhibited efficient adsorption properties. Meanwhile, with a detection limit of 0.04 μg/L, this hydrogel was used for selective and quantitative detection of Cr(VI). The determination of Cr(VI) was based on the inner filter effect (IFE) and static quenching. This hydrogel retained its effective adsorption ability even after four repeated regenerations. Furthermore, the economic feasibility of the CS/CNCD composite hydrogel over activated carbon was confirmed using cost analysis. This study provided one new method for producing low-cost adsorbents with effective sorption and sensitive detection for Cr(VI).


Insomnia is a major public health hazard. Complexity of insomnia patho-physiology is intriguing and is an exciting subject of inquiry. The current article summarizes the recent developments in our understanding of insomnia. Although the early models of insomnia were unidirectional, they provided foundation for development of more integrative models. Sleep- wake regulation and more specifically conceptual understanding of sleep homeostasis, circadian influence, and hyperarousal further added new dimensions to our understanding of insomnia. However, there is more appreciation than ever of the fact that a lot more work must be done before even thinking about finding a conclusive evidence of what causes insomnia and what maintains it. Some of the legendary work is cited in the reference section to develop an understanding of intricate interplay of multiple systems within the body that cause sleep and lack of it.


The phase diagrams of a variety of physical systems, among them certain antiferromagnets and ternary fluid mixtures, may include a critical line intersecting a line of first-order transitions at a critical end point rather than at the familiar tricritical point. At the critical end point the order parameter has critical fluctuations in the paramagnetic phase and a finite jump. Within Landau theory this phenomenon appears with the introduction of a negative ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{6}$ coupling; here we extend that theory to include fluctuations by a momentum-shell renormalization-group analysis close to four dimensions. In previous real-space analyses the critical end point was associated with a new fixed point. In contrast, the Wilson-Fisher fixed point which characterizes the entire critical line describes the critical end point here. We derive the $O(\ensuremath{\epsilon})$ corrections to the mean-field exponents which, in Landau theory, describe the approach to the critical end point from high temperatures. At the same time, the discontinuity in $〈\ensuremath{\varphi}〉$ at the critical end point predicted by Landau theory is essentially unaltered by fluctuations. It emerges from a renormalization-group calculation of the Gibbs free energy for the Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson model with a negative ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{6}$ term and a positive ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{8}$ term.


The classic turbulent axisymmetric wake derivation for the spreading of wake half-width, δ, and maximum mean velocity, umax decay comes from arguments of a high local Reynolds number, Re, and thus negligible viscosity. If instead one assumes the local Reynolds number is small, then at some distance sufficiently far downstream the turbulent production term in the Reynolds shear stress equation will decay and a new similarity solution will arise: as shown by [2, 4]. This solution features the scaling of δ∼ (x/d)1/2 and umax ∼ (x/d)−1. In other words, the turbulent wake is scaling itself at rates that match the theoretical laminar wake, yet with a local Reynolds number high enough for the turbulent fluctuations to be non-negligible. Whilst the derivation of a low Reynolds number solution is a mathematical exercise, obtaining data to confirm or deny its existence has proved difficult. No experiment has been conducted at a combination of high enough initial Reynolds number and far enough downstream to capture this transition behaviour. Furthermore, only the DNS study of Gourlay [3] has been able to achieve this behaviour; leading some researchers to question whether this decay state would occur or if the wake instead would relaminarise [7]. This paper presents results for a towed a sphere through water at a Reynolds number, based on sphere diameter, of 13000. Our experiments have been able to capture the wake transitioning from the high local Reynolds number solution to the low local Reynolds number solution via high-speed time-resolved PIV. The value of local Reynolds number that exhibits itself in the extreme far wake during the low local Reynolds number solution suggests the wake is still turbulent, supporting the claim of [2, 4].


Intensive Review of Internal Medicine , third edition, by the Department of Continuing Education of Harvard Medical School and the Brigham, Women's, and Beth Israel hospitals is an outgrowth of the yearly course given in Boston. This home study course consists of an attractive 653-page monograph and 32 audiocassettes edited by two wellknown internists, Drs Braunwald and Fanta, with 55 members of the faculty of the above medical school and hospitals as contributing authors. The Review is an excellent intensive study in internal medicine and related subspecialties. The text is divided into 12 subspecialty disciplines of unequal length. Infectious disease, cardiology, and hematology form the largest segment, with oncology and neurology the smallest. This arrangement may be a deficiency, depending on the reader's needs and interest. The audiocassettes follow the manuscript word for word but may be used by themselves with some loss of clarity, as there is reference to the


Recently, versatile hydrogels with multifunctionality have been widely developed with emerging applications as wearable and implantable devices. In this work, we reported novel versatile hydrogels by self-catalyzing the gelation of an interpenetrating polymer network consisting of acrylic acid (AA) monomers and GA-modified collagen (GCOL) in situ decorated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The resultant hydrogel, namely AgNP@GCOL/PAA, has many desirable features, including good mechanical properties (such as 123 kPa, 916%, and 1961 J m-2 for the fracture stress, strain and tearing energy) that match with those of animal skin, excellent self-healing performance, favorable conductivity and strain sensitivity as a flexible biosensor, and excellent antibacterial and anti-UV properties, as well as the strong adhesiveness on skin. Moreover, AgNP@GCOL/PAA showed excellent biocompatibility via in vitro cell culture. Remarkably, AgNP@GCOL/PAA displayed superior hemostatic properties with sharply decreasing blood loss for a mouse liver incision, closely related to its strong self-adhesion which produced anchoring strength to the bleeding site and thus formed a network barrier with liver tissue. This study provides new opportunities for the facile preparation of widely used multifunctional collagen-based hydrogels based on a simple pyrogallol-Ag system.


Since over a decade and ever more often we observe a clash between specific "new" living entities and the governance and regulation of (bio-)medical practices. These are the entities we call "bio-objects." As will become clearer in the following, these bio-objects are indicators of a fundamental change between different systems of thought and practice: this is in the case of medicine the change from reproduction and repair to regeneration. This change in medicine is part of a broader cultural change.


OBJECTIVE
To describe clinical features and seizure dispersion in precatamenial/pericatamenial epilepsy patients.

DESIGN
Case series.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
Department of Neurology (formerly Neuropsychiatry), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, from July 1991 to November 2001.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Present study included 33 untreated pericatamenial (n: 23, age: 12-40 years, menstrual cycles: 147) and precatamenial (n: 10, age: 13-32 years, menstrual cycles: 70) epileptics with tonic-clonic seizures. Clinical features and seizure dispersion were evaluated during premenstruation, menstruation, and postmenstruation phases.

RESULTS
Women with precatamenial epilepsy had highly significant mean phase day seizures during premenstruation versus other phases, whereas women with pericatamenial epilepsy did not show any significant variations. Premenstrual seizures were found significantly more and others as significantly less in % number in precatamenials compared to those in pericatamenials. Furthermore, precatamenial epileptics with primary generalized seizures were significantly higher in % number and secondary generalized seizures as significantly lower against those in pericatamenial epileptics. All precatamenial epileptics under study had incontinence compared to 65% pericatamenial epileptics that had incontinence. Majority of the patients in both groups showed post-ictal headache.

CONCLUSION
The present report describes the extent of exacerbation of premenstrual tonic-clonic seizures with clinical features. These investigations may help in understanding partly the complexity of catamenial/precatamenial/ pericatamenial/noncatamenial seizures, and similarities and dissimilarities between pericatamenial and precise precatamenial seizures.


Pattern matching occurs in various applications, ranging from simple text searching in word processors to identification of common motifs in DNA sequences in computational biology. The problem of exact pattern matching has been well studied and a number of efficient algorithms already exist. However these exact pattern matching algorithms are of little help when they are applied to finding patterns in DNA sequences. Pattern matching in a D NA sequence or pattern searching from a l arge data base is a major research area in computational biology. To extract pattern from a l arge sequence it takes more time, in order to reduce searching time we have proposed an approach that reduces the search time with accurate retrieval of the matched pattern from the given sequence of any size of a file. Executing patterns from a l arge DNA or protein data is a computationally intensive task. As performance plays a major role in extracting patterns from a g iven DNA sequence or from a large database independent of the size of the sequence. More efficient approaches related to multiple pattern matching techniques are becoming more important for finding the functional as well as the structural properties of the proteins and genes. One of the major problems in genomic field is to perform pattern comparison on DNA and protein sequences. In the current approach we explore a new technique which avoids unnecessary comparisons in the DNA sequence and gives the accurate retrieval of the pattern called a multiple pattern matching algorithm using pair count. The proposed technique gives very good performance related to DNA sequence analysis for querying of publicly available genome sequence data. By using this method the number of comparisons gradually decreases and comparison per character ratio of the proposed algorithm reduces accordingly when compared to the some of the existing popular methods. The experimental results show that there is considerable amount of performance improvement due to this the overall performance increases.