The Cherubim Nooitgedachter Stud was founded in June 2001 by myself and Winston Retief on the farm, Weissenfels, 110 km west of Windhoek in Namibia. A selection of registered Nooitgedachter mares were purchased from the then Colihei Nooitgedachter stud just outside Pretoria, which became the foundation of our stud.


In this paper we introduce tag expression, a novel form of preference elicitation that combines elements from tagging and rating systems. Tag expression enables users to apply affect to tags to indicate whether the tag describes a reason they like, dislike, or are neutral about a particular item. We present a user interface for applying affect to tags, as well as a technique for visualizing the overall community's affect. By analyzing 27,773 tag expressions from 553 users entered in a 3-month period, we empirically evaluate our design choices. We also present results of a survey of 97 users that explores users' motivations in tagging and measures user satisfaction with tag expression.


We have examined the effect of the route of feeding (intravenous versus enteral) on the protein metabolism of postsurgical human neonates. Twelve infants, birth weight 2.5 +/- 0.2 kg, gestational age 38 +/- 1 wk, were studied. The IV study was carried out 1-4 days after surgery at a postnatal age of 14 days and a weight of 2.6 +/- 0.2 kg. The repeat (oral) study was carried out 16 days later. Protein intakes were similar during both studies (2.7 g/kg/d). Energy intakes were within the requirement range for age and feeding route and were: IV, 85 +/- 4 kcal/kg/d; oral, 111 +/- 7 kcal/kg/d. Whole body protein metabolism was studied using a continuous infusion of 15N-glycine. Amino nitrogen flux, protein synthesis, and breakdown were 40% higher during the enteral than the IV studies (p less than 0.001). Skeletal muscle degradation was investigated by measuring urinary excretion of creatinine and N-T-methylhistidine. No differences were detected due to feeding route. We suggest that the differences seen in whole body protein turnover rates reflect the rapid growth and development of the gut in the enterally (rather than the IV) fed infant.


Clean fracturing fluid has many advantages, such as strong sand carrying capacity, strong ability to high generation and low friction, etc. However, the temperature of coalbed gas in the shallow part is low (25°C to 35°C). And there are no liquid hydrocarbons or no large amount of free water in the reservoir, which can make fracturing fluid break. The difficulty to break the clean fracturing fluid could result in serious reservoir damage during fracturing. This paper introduces many breakers for cleaning fracturing fluid. And the performances of those breakers have been evaluated in the condition of low temperature. On the base of research, the breaker for clean fracturing fluid is recommended for coalbed gas in the shallow part. The breaker can break clean fracturing fluid completely in low temperature of 25°C. At the same time, the degree of damage caused by fracturing fluid is evaluated. The damage rate of fracturing fluid is only 11%. The system of cleaning fracturing fluid has been applied in Qinshui Basin of Shanxi Province. The field experiment has achieved good results.


Most text analysis is designed to deal with the concept of a "document", namely a cohesive presentation of thought on a unifying subject. By contrast, individual nodes on the World Wide Web tend to have a much smaller granularity than text documents. We claim that the notions of "document" and "web node" are not synonymous, and that authors often tend to deploy documents as collections of URLs, which we call "compound documents". In this paper we present new techniques for identifying and working with such compound documents, and the results of some large-scale studies on such web documents. The primary motivation for this work stems from the fact that information retrieval techniques are better suited to working on documents than individual hypertext nodes.


The Lower Jurassic Hettangian Stage is documented with certainty for the first time in the Canadian Arctic. It is represented by a basal Jurassic sandstone unit in the Bonnet Lake area of northern Yukon Territory. The two subzones of the Early Hettangian Planorbis Zone, i.e., the Planorbis Subzone and the Johnstoni Subzone, are indicated by poorly preserved Psiloceras sp. indet. and Psiloceras (Caloceras) cf. P. (C.) johnstoni (J. de C. Sowerby), respectively. The varied but poorly preserved bivalve fauna associated with P. (C.) cf. P. (C.) johnstoni includes Prosogyrotrigonia (?) sp. cf. P. inouyei (Yehara), Cardinia sp. cf. C. hybrida (J. Sowerby), C. sp. aff. C. concinna (J. Sowerby), Pleuromya (?) sp., Meleagrinella (?) sp., Oxytoma (Oxytoma) sp., and Parallelodon (?) sp. The bivalves closely resemble approximately coeval forms described from Japan. The above-mentioned faunas are figured as is a specimen of Psiloceras cf. P. erugatum (Phillips), which was previously described from the Hettangian of so...


Since the first spacecraft-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission NASA's SEASAT in 1978 radars have been flown in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by other national space agencies including the Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, India Space Research Organization and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. Improvements in electronics, miniaturization and production have allowed for the deployment of SAR systems on aircraft for usage in agriculture, hazards assessment, land-use management and planning, meteorology, oceanography and surveillance. LEO SAR systems still provide a range of needful and timely information on large and small-scale weather conditions like those found across the Arctic where ground-base weather radars currently provide limited coverage. For investigators of solid-earth deformation attention must be given to the atmosphere on Interferometric SAR (InSAR) by aircraft and spacecraft multi-pass operations. Because radar has the capability to penetrate earth materials at frequencies from the P- to X-band attention must be given to the frequency dependent penetration depth and volume scattering. This is the focus of our new research project: to test the penetration depth of L-band SAR/InSAR by aircraft and spacecraft systems at a test site in Arctic Alaska using multi-frequency analysis and progressive burial of radar mesh-reflectors at measured depths below tundra while monitoring environmental conditions. Knowledge of the L-band penetration depth on lowland Arctic tundra is necessary to constrain analysis of carbon mass balance and hazardous conditions arising from permafrost degradation and thaw, surface heave and subsidence and thermokarst formation at local and regional scales.


Twenty-three human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) seroconverters were identified among 1120 HTLV-I-seronegative adults followed up for 11 years in an area of Japan endemic for HTLV-I. The geometric mean titer of anti-HTLV-I was 1:453 in the first year after seroconversion; the titer of each subject did not change significantly during 2-10 years of follow-up. HTLV-I proviral DNA load was quantified in 15 seroconverters, and a broad range of levels was observed-from <10 to >1000 copies/10(5) peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, there was no obvious change in HTLV-I proviral DNA load over several years within individual subjects. Therefore, both proviral DNA load and humoral response in adult HTLV-I seroconverters were shown to stabilize within a few years after initial infection. In addition, 1 subject tested positive for HTLV-I proviral DNA before antibody seroconversion, which suggests the existence of a window period in community-acquired infection.


Let Γ be a limit group, S ⊂ Γ a subgroup, and N the normaliser of S. If H1(S, Q) has finite Q-dimension, then S is finitely generated and either N/S is finite or N is abelian. This result has applications to the study of subdirect products of limit groups. Limit groups (or ω-residually free groups) have received a good deal of attention in recent years, primarily due to the groundbreaking work of Z. Sela ([16, 17] et seq.). See for example [1, 3, 7, 9, 15]. O. Kharlampovich, A. Myasnikov [11, 12] and others (see, for example, [8, 10, 13]) have studied limit groups extensively under the more traditional name of fully residually free groups, which appears to have been first introduced by B. Baumslag in [2]. This name reflects the fact that limit groups are precisely those finitely generated groups Γ such that for each finite subset T ⊂ Γ there exists a homomorphism from L to a free group that is injective on T . Examples of limit groups include all finitely generated free or free abelian groups, and the fundamental groups of all closed surfaces of Euler characteristic at most −2. The free product of finitely many limit groups is again a limit group, which leads to further examples. More sophisticated examples are described in some of the articles cited above. The purpose of this note is to contribute some results on the subgroup structure of limit groups. Theorem 1 If Γ is a limit group and H ⊂ Γ is a finitely generated subgroup, then either H has finite index in its normaliser or else the normaliser of H is abelian. This result is in keeping with the expectation that finitely generated subgroups of limit groups should be quasi-isometrically embedded. We shall use the following result to circumvent the difficulty that a priori one does not know that normalisers in limit groups are finitely generated. Theorem 2 Let Γ be a limit group and S ⊂ Γ a subgroup. If H1(S, Q) has finite Qdimension, then S is finitely generated (and hence is a limit group). Theorems 1 and 2 combine to give the result stated in the abstract. Theorem 1 plays an important role in our work on the subdirect products of limit groups [5, 6]. In the present note, we content ourselves with noting the following easy consequence of Theorem 1.


High mobility communication systems need suitable channel estimation to cope high frequency selectivity channel effect. In this paper we propose data pilot based channel estimation in downlink OFDMA for IEEE 802.16e standard (mobile WiMAX). The mobile WiMAX channel estimation can be done by exploiting pilot from preamble, in this paper we obtain channel transfer function by exploiting pilot at symbol data with two dimensional interpolation scheme. Based on our simulation, it can be shown that the proposed method have better performance compare with preamble based channel estimation method. Afterwards we compare linear interpolation and MMSE interpolation for proposed channel estimation method. The symbol error rate for QPSK and 64 QAM system is presented by means of simulation.


Background Positron Emission Tomography (PET) measurement was applied to the brain of the common marmoset, a small primate species, treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). The marmoset shows prominent Parkinson's disease (PD) signs due to dopaminergic neural degeneration. Recently, the transgenic marmoset (TG) carrying human PD genes is developing. For phenotypic evaluations of TG, non-invasive PET measurement is considered to be substantially significant. As a reference control for TG, the brain of the MPTP-marmoset as an established and valid model was scanned by PET. Behavioral analysis was also performed by recording locomotion of the MPTP-marmoset, as an objective measure of PD signs. Methodology/Principal Findings Marmosets received several MPTP regimens (single MPTP regimen: 2 mg/kg, s.c., per day for 3 consecutive days) were used for PET measurement and behavioral observation. To measure immobility as a central PD sign, locomotion of marmosets in their individual living cages were recorded daily by infrared sensors. Daily locomotion counts decreased drastically after MPTP regimens and remained diminished for several months or more. PET scan of the brain, using [11C]PE2I as a ligand of the dopamine (DA) transporter, was performed once several months after the last MPTP regimen. The mean binding potential (BPND) in the striatum (putamen and caudate) of the MPTP-marmoset group was significantly lower than that of the MPTP-free control group (n = 5 for each group). In the MPTP-marmosets, the decrease of BPND in the striatum closely correlated with the decrease in locomotion counts (r = 0.98 in putamen and 0.91 in caudate). Conclusion/Significance The present characterization of neural degeneration using non-invasive PET imaging and of behavioral manifestation in the MPTP marmoset mimics typical PD characteristics and can be useful in evaluating the phenotype of TG marmosets being developed.


........................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. xv GLOSSARY ......................................................................................................... xvi Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................


In this paper, a finite element method based on the ABAQUS code and user subroutines is presented to evaluate the propagation of elastic waves in a phononic crystal slab with Archimedean-like tilings. Three systems composed of cylinders embedded in host materials in square, ladybug and bathroom lattices are considered. Complete and accurate band structures and transmission spectra are obtained to identify the eigenmodes and band gaps. We find that Archimedean-like structures can have some advantages over the traditional square lattices regarding the completeness of the band gaps and their position and width. Also, due to the same square primitive unit cell, the two Archimedean-like lattices have similar wave responses at lower frequencies. The results indicate that the finite element method is efficient and suitable for the band structure computation of the phononic crystal slabs with complex lattice structures.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Disparities in breast cancer biology are evident between women of African ancestry (AA) and women of European ancestry (EA), and may be due, in part, to differences in inflammatory pathway genes. Studies on the relationships between cytokines and breast cancer risk have focused on a small number of genes and have not included AA women. In a large case-control study of 1008 AA (n=547 cases) and 763 EA (n=381 cases) women, we systematically tested the association between risk of breast cancer and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 22 cytokine and cytokine receptor genes involved in adaptive immune response pathways. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in a genotypic (co-dominant) model adjusting for major breast cancer risk factors including age, education, body mass index (BMI), family history of breast cancer and proportion of European ancestry. All analyses were stratified on race. SNPs rs17810546 in IL12A (interleukin 12A), rs1041981 in LTA (lymphotoxin alpha), and rs3135932 in IL10RA, were associated with breast cancer risk in AA but not EA women. When stratifying by menopause and ER status, SNPs rs2070874 in IL4, rs1041981 in LTA and rs2430561 in IFNG (interferon gamma) were associated with breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal AA women, and SNPs rs2243248 in IL4 and [rs746868][1] in LTA were associated with ER-negative breast cancer in EA women. Common variants in inflammatory pathway genes may help to define populations at high risk of breast cancer. Notable differences in distributions of SNPs and associations by ancestry may be related to the differential epidemiology of breast cancer in AA and EA women.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2617. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2617

 [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=GEN&access_num=rs746868&atom=%2Fcanres%2F72%2F8_Supplement%2F2617.atom


I would like to thank the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institutet for the opportunity to describe some recent work on RNA-triggered gene silencing. First a few disclaimers, however. Telling the full story of gene silencing would be a mammoth enterprise that would take me many years to write and would take you well into the night to read. So we'll need to abbreviate the story more than a little. Second (and as you will see) we are only in the dawn of our knowledge; so consider the following to be primer... the best we could do as of December 8th, 2006. And third, please understand that the story that I am telling represents the work of several generations of biologists, chemists, and many shades in between. I'm pleased and proud that work from my laboratory has contributed to the field, and that this has led to my being chosen as one of the messengers to relay the story in this forum. At the same time, I hope that there will be no confusion of equating our modest contributions with those of the much grander RNAi enterprise.


The XIII International Conference on Calorimetry in High Energy Physics was held in Pavia, Italy, 26–30 May 2008, picking up the baton from the 2006 Conference in Chicago. The Conference took place in the unique environment of the Theresian Room of the University Library. The attendees were surrounded by over 40 000 books of general interest and culture, and had the opportunity to see precious volumes written by such people as Galileo, Volta and Faraday. The Workshop brought together more than 120 participants, including senior scientists as well as young physicists, confirming the central and ever-growing role of calorimeters in modern particle physics. The development of these detectors, as stressed by Professor Klaus Pretzl in his lectio magistralis, has made it possible to explore new frontiers in physics, and the present scenario is no exception to this rule. With the LHC experiments almost completely installed and ready to take data, the Conference was an ideal chance to review the status of the different projects, whose development has been followed and discussed throughout the entire Calor series, and to show that they are capable of meeting the design specifications. Other highlights were the performance and physics results of calorimeters installed in currently operating experiments. In the session on astrophysics and neutrinos, the contributions confirmed the key role of calorimeters in this sector and demonstrated their growing application even beyond the field of accelerator physics. Considerable time was devoted to the state-of-the-art techniques in the design and operation of the detectors, while the session on simulation addressed the importance of a thorough understanding of the shower development to meet the demanding requirements of present experiments. Finally, on the R&D side, the particle flow and dual read-out concepts confronted the challenges issued by the next generation of experiments. This complex material was reviewed in 83 presentations, now reported in these proceedings, that were debated in stimulating and fruitful discussions. Outside of the Workshop, the participants were able to visit the historical Halls and Museum of the University, whose foundation dates back to the year 1361, and to enjoy a visit to the Certosa, a Carthusian monastery renowned for its exuberant architecture. Pavia welcomed the Conference participants by opening the doors of the Town Hall and offering a reception during which the Mayor's address underlined the importance of research and its applications in modern society. The successful organization and the smooth running of the Conference is due to many people and Institutions. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), the Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics and the University of Pavia, that made the Workshop possible, together with the contribution of our sponsors. The University also opened some rooms of the Chancellor's suite for the lunch and coffee breaks, and hosted the Conference Secretariat. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the INFN and Department technical staff, who helped to prepare the Hall for the Conference and to provide computer services, and to the staff of the Theresian Library, who gave us access to the Room and organized a display of the many historical books from their vast and precious collections which are of interest to physicists. Above all, the success of the meeting is due to the participants who animated it, and in particular to the speakers for their dedicated work in preparing their excellent talks and in providing the write-ups, and to the conveners for their essential role in shaping an interesting and well balanced scientific program. Finally, we wish to thank the International Advisory Committee for their unfailing support and for offering us the opportunity to organize this Conference in Pavia. Michele Livan Chairman, Organizing Committee International Advisory Commitee M Danilov, ITEP Moscow M Diemoz, INFN Roma I A Ereditato, Bern F Fabbri, INFN Frascati T Kobayashi, ICEPP Tokyo P Lubrano, INFN Perugia S Magill, ANL Argonne A Maio, LIP Lisbon H Oberlack, MPI Munich A Para, Fermilab K Pretzl, Bern Y Wang, IHEP Beijing R Wigmans, TTU Lubbock R Yoshida, ANL Argonne R Zhu, Caltech Local Organizing Committee R Ferrari, INFN Pavia M Fraternali, Universita di Pavia G Gaudio, INFN Pavia M Livan, Universita di Pavia (Chair) P Pedroni, INFN Pavia D A Scannicchio, INFN Pavia V Vercesi, INFN Pavia Session Organizers Operating Calorimeters W Sakumoto (University of Rochester) D Schamberger (State University of NY at Stony Brook) Calorimetric Techniques C De La Taille (Universite de Paris-Sud) Paul Lecoq (CERN) Frank Maas (GSI-Mainz University) Jan Stark (LPSC Grenoble) Astrophysics and neutrinos I Gil Botella (CIEMAT) A Vacchi (INFN Trieste) LHC P Bloch (CERN) L Serin (Laboratoire de l'Accelerateur Lineaire/IN2P3/CNRS) New Techniques N Akchurin (Texas Tech University) F Salvatore (Royal Holloway University of London) Simulation T Carli (CERN) A Rimoldi (INFN e Universita di Pavia) Organization Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica - Universita degli Studi di Pavia Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Sezione di Pavia Universita degli Studi di Pavia Pragma Congressi, Corso Mazzini, 9 – Pavia Sponsored by CAEN HAMAMATSU Photonis Italia Iseg Spezialelektrinik GmbH Wiener


This article reports the effect of post deposition heating on the optical and mechanical properties of polythiophene thin film prepared by vacuum evaporation technique. The post deposition heating strongly affects on the structural, surface morphological, optical and electrical properties. As deposited thin film showed uniform surface morphology with very small grain size, whereas the heat treated thin film was highly dense with larger grains. It was observed that, the absorbance of the polythiophene thin films increases due to post deposition heating, while the band gap found to be decrease and refractive index increases. However the activation energy of the polythiophene thin films was decreased due to post deposition heating.


Abstract Medical support for traumatic haemorrhage is lacking for far-forward combat units. VIR-HBOC (haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier) is a novel biological therapeutic under development as a field-stable resuscitation fluid. HBOCs have a long history of complications, chief among them is vasoconstrictive hypertension, which must be resolved before efficacy testing. As such, VIR-HBOC was compared against Lactated Ringers (LRS; vehicle) and a cross-linked haemoglobin (ααHb; a known vasoactive HBOC) in a rat topload model. Twenty-three male, Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive a 10% infusion (estimated total blood volume) of one test article while normotensive and under anaesthesia. Cardiovascular, blood chemistry and oximetry, microvascular arteriolar diameters, and interstitial tissue oxygenation parameters were measured. Circulatory half-life was calculated by plasma total haemoglobin. Treatment with ααHb caused immediate increases in mean arterial pressure compared to LRS and VIR-HBOC groups, and corresponding arteriolar vasoconstriction (p < .05), which did not occur for LRS or VIR-HBOC. Circulatory half-lives for VIR-HBOC and ααHb were calculated as 340 and 157 min, respectively. This first report of VIR-HBOC showed no evidence of a hypertensive or vasoactive effect. It was well-tolerated over the eight-hour time course of this topload model, which warrants further investigation in studies of haemorrhagic shock.


Five genera in the family Picidae are mainly responsible for damage to utility poles. These genera are Melanerpes, Centurus, Dryocopus, Colapres, and Dendrocopos. Although several of these genera are represented by species in xvidcly scattered parts of the world, including the northern and southern hemispheres, damage to utility poles, from information available to me, is restricted to the northern hemisphere. Only a few species in the genera involved damage poles, and few, if any, of these species are destructive throughout their respective ranges. Turcck (1960), on the basis of correspondence and his observations, as well as sources from the literature, delimits the areas of woodpecker attack in Europe and Asia. It isn't entirely clear, however, whether he has found woodpecker damage to poles to exist only in countries specifically mentioned, or if he implies wider occurrence when he states in his summary that "damaged wooden poles are found throughout the whole Holarctic region." Old World countries specifically reported by Turcck to have this problem are Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the U. S.S. R., and Japan. Genera involved are Dryocopus and Dendrocopos. Woodpecker attack upon utility poles has probably been better documented and known for a longer period of time in North America. During the last century, Scnnctt (1879) commented upon the severity of attack in south Texas. Many others took note of damage by woodpeckers during the early days of the communications industry when most poles carried telegraph wires. Not until 1911 was the problem seriously diagnosed by researchers. This year was important for the appearance of three papers: one on the damage caused by woodpeckers (McAtec, 1911), one on the food of woodpeckers (Bcal, 1911), and one on the effect of woodpecker damage to pole strength (Weiss in McAtcc, 1911). No solution to the problem appeared during the early part of the century. Apparently in this day before laws protecting woodpeckers and other birds, the chief recourse was in shooting the offenders. McAtcc, although noting that creosote as a pole preservative did


Alone a carotid bruit by itself may have limited clinical value. If a physician hears a carotid bruit by auscultation, it may lead to further exams, such as neurovascular ultrasound, what will eventually disclose an asymptomatic stenosis of the carotid artery. For this purpose the auscultation may reach specificity values up to approx. 80 %, indeed with a low sensitivity of about 50 %. In comparison to modern non-invasive diagnostic methods, such Duplex-ultrasound or MR-angiography, the diagnostic performance of the carotid auscultation is low and many authors have suggested not using it any more. However it may be considered, that screening of an otherwise asymptomatic population, that is at low risk of stroke, by technical methods may gender costs, while carotid auscultation is easy to perform and cheap.


Positive intentions and attitudes to not smoking are strong predictors of adolescent non-smoking behavior in the future. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes and intentions of adolescents to behave non-smoking in Kulon Progo Yogyakarta. Data in the form of questionnaires distributed to 400 adolescents who study in junior high school and senior high school in Kulon Progo Yogyakarta. the data is then analyzed using path analysis using the stata 13 program. The results there is a direct influence on the intention of adolescents not to smoke towards non-smoking behavior of adolescents in the Kulon Progo Regency of Yogyakarta (b = 1.45; 95% CI = 1.45 to 2.49; p <0.001).There is a direct influence on the attitude of adolescents not to smoke towards non-smoking behavior of adolescents in the Kulon Progo Regency of Yogyakarta (b = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.66 to 1.69; p <0.001). the conclusion there is a direct influence of smoking attitudes and intentions on adolescent non-smoking behavior. There is an indirect influence of attitudes through the intention to adolescent non-smoking behavior in Kulon Progo Yogyakarta.


This study is to find out the proper planting and utilization plans for climbing plants in urban community gardens. As a result, a majority of respondents claimed that it is acceptable to plant climbing plants in their plots of the community garden. In particular, those who have experiences with gardening activities responded that climbing plants could be allowed in the community gardens. There was a high tendency to use climbing plants in community gardens for aesthetic or ornamental use and for creating fences. Many respondents also claimed that the climbing plants should be planted outside or on the edge of the garden and that the plants should not cross over to other plots. Those who responded that the climbing plants should be planted outside or on the edge of the community garden wanted to use the plants for aesthetic or ornamental use. Those who wanted to use the plants for creating shades responded that the plants should be planted outside or on the edge of the garden. For proper planting of climbing plants in the community garden, it is necessary to consider the height of the vertical plant support depending to the gap between the plots in the community gardens, the shape and color of flowers, leaves, and stems for aesthetic use, and mixing of plants for the duration of the shade period. Accordingly, introduction of climbing plants can be considered to increase the diversity of plants in urban community gardens.


According to recently published data, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition--a process important for embryonic development, may be involved in many pathological processes such as wound healing, tissue fibrosis or cancer progression. The EMT process in cell is driven by growth factors (EGF, PDGF, HGF) or other signaling proteins such as TGF-beta, sonic hedgehog (Shh), Wnt/beta-catenin and extracellular matrix (ECM) components that may stimulate cellular growth and migration. During cancer progression, the EMT process is necessary to the conversion of benign tumor to aggressive and highly invasive cancer. This is due to complex changes in cancer cells and their microenvironment that lead to dissolution of intracellular junctions and their detachment from basolateral membrane, and changes in the interactions between cancer cells and ECM. The loss of adhesion is accompanied by molecular and morphologic changes in cancer cells that are essential for the phenotypic change from epithelial to mesenchymal one, and the acquirement of higher migration and invasion potential. During the colonization of distant sites, a reverse process mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) takes place and metastatic cancer cells again acquire the epithelial phenotype. The EMT in cancer progression is not only specific for cancer cells. It has been suggested that also cells within tumor microenvironment e.g. cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) are generated in part from normal epithelial cells in EMT process. The understanding of the role of EMT and MET processes in cancer progression and their relationship with cancer stem cells, cancer associated fibroblasts and other stroma cells might lead to the discovery of new, targeted cancer therapies.


The growing potential impact of airborne pollutants on human health and safety has escalated the demand for sensors to monitor hazardous gases. Room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) gas sensors utilizing electrochemical instrumentation demonstrate promising sensitivity, selectivity, and miniaturization capabilities. This paper introduces a microfabrication process that enables miniaturized, rapid response, gas sensors to be realized using RTIL interfaces on a permeable membrane substrate with planar microfabricated electrodes. An RTIL sensor with a 2mm×2mm sensing area is described, and measured responses to methane, a dangerous residential and occupational gas, and sulfur dioxide, a common environmental pollutant, are shown. The reported sensor structure and fabrication process enable realization of sensor arrays for multi-gas monitoring in a low power, miniaturized, wearable system platform.


Measurements of vertical and temporal variations in ozone and aerosol as extinction over an urban area in Segovia, central Spain, were performed during two summer months in 2004 by means of a commercial Nd:YAG laser DIAL remote sensing system. The Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique was applied and its description is given. From the profile data, a practical determination of mixing height may be derived. A diurnal evolution for the whole dataset is observed, the highest mean mixing height being reached at 16:00 GMT, 2150 m. The presence of a double-layer structure at night was observed and the layers can be considered residual. On average, the lower layer is formed at 670 m and the upper layer yielded mean heights ranging between 1270 and 1390 m. The estimated mixing heights during the day are also compared with those obtained from the Lagrangian HYSPLIT model. The results show good statistical agreement between both approaches, mainly in the early afternoon, with correlation coefficients around 0.7.


Public pension plans will continue to search for cost-sharing retiree health care solutions and may shift to a defined contribution emphasis. Fiduciary responsibility will be highlighted in view of controversial plan changes, government budgetary constraints, scrutinized investment return assumptions, potential labor shortages and increased shareholder activism.


Objectives. Bacterial resistance is of growing concern in haematology wards. As the inappropriate administration of empirical antibacterial may alter survival, we studied risk factors for resistance to our usual empirical first-line antibacterial therapy, cefepime. Methods. We retrospectively studied 103 first episodes of bacteraemia recorded in our haematology department over 2.5 years. Risk factors for cefepime-resistance were identified by multivariate logistic regression with backward selection (P < 0.05). A scoring system for predicting cefepime-resistance was built on independent factor, with an internal validation by the bootstrap resampling technique. Results. 38 (37%) episodes were due to Gram-negative bacteria. Fifty (49%) were due to bacteria resistant to cefepime. Cefepime resistance was significantly associated with a decreased survival at day 30 (P < 0.05). Three risk factors were independently associated with cefepime-resistance: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; ≥18 days since hospital admission; and receipt of any β-lactam in the last month. Patients with ≥2 of these risk factors had a probability of 86% (CI 95%, 25 to 100%) to carry a cefepime-resistant strain. Conclusion. Using our scoring system should reduce the indication of very broad antibacterial regimens in the empirical, first-line treatment of febrile hematology patients in more than 80% of the cases.


Holography in the Gabor regime is restricted to weak diffraction assumptions. Otherwise, diffraction prevents an accurate recovery of the object's complex wavefront. We have recently proposed a modified Gabor-like setup to extend Gabor's concept to any sample provided that it be non-diffusive. However, the resolution of the final image becomes limited as a consequence of the additional elements considered in the proposed setup. In this paper we present an experimental approach to overcome such a limitation in which the former configuration is used while the CCD camera is shifted to different off-axis positions in order to generate a synthetic aperture. Thus, once the whole image set is recorded and digitally processed for each camera position, we merge the resulting band-pass images into one image by assembling a synthetic aperture. Finally, a superresolved image is recovered by Fourier transformation of the information contained in the generated synthetic aperture. Experimental results validate our concepts for a gain in resolution of close to 2.


In the semiconductor industry Germanium is expected as the promising channel material for future high-mobility CMOS transistors because of its highest hole mobility among common elemental and compound semiconductors, and an electron mobility that is two times larger than that of Si. This article shows that oxides can be grown and/or in a subsequent process step nitridized for planar Ge and Si devices at very low temperatures (T < 460 °C). The stable oxide growth on Germanium through plasma processing is studied as a function of relevant processing parameters like time, gaseous ambient etc. For Silicon the bonding structure of pure and nitridized low-temperature grown SiO2 is analyzed, followed by an electrical characterization of 0.8 to 1.2 nm interfacial layers on Si.


Clostridium difficile is now established as the most common nosocomial enteric pathogen causing pseudomembranous colitis, antibiotic-associated colitis and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Antibiotic therapy is the most important risk factor in colonization and infection with C. difficile. However, other factors are involved such as age and underlying illness. The introduction of reliable typing and fingerprinting methods has demonstrated hospital acquisition and cross-infection with C. difficile and has been important in improving our understanding of the epidemiology and pathogenicity of C. difficile.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

6072

Prostate cancer progresses through sequential steps from prostatic intra-epithelial neoplasia (PIN) to locally invasive carcinoma to metastatic disease. Progression through various stages of tumorigenesis presumably requires altered expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the initiated cell. These genetic lesions change the cancer cell phenotype through independent growth signals that may lead to increased cell survival and evasion of apoptosis. Phosphatidylinositol 3'-OH kinase (PI3K)-Akt and transcription factor NF-κB are important signaling molecules and key survival factors involved in the control of cell proliferation, apoptosis and oncogenesis. Although PI3K-Akt and NF-κB-IκB have been implicated in the development and progression of prostate cancer, expression of these molecules during progression of autochthonous disease has not been elucidated. Employing transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) model, we examined prostate cancer progression by MRI analysis, studied expression patterns of PI3K-Akt, NF-κB-IκB and associated signaling molecules during different stages of cancer progression and compared with male non-transgenic littermates. Sequential MRI, gross and pathological analysis of prostate gland exhibited increasing prostate volume associated with the development and progression of prostatic adenocarcinoma in TRAMP mice, compared to male non-transgenic littermates. As examined by Western blot analysis, expression of PI3K and phosphorylated-Akt (Ser473) levels were significantly increased during cancer progression in TRAMP mice, compared to male non-transgenic littermates. A progressive increase in the expression of NF-κB/p65, IκBα and its phosphorylation, IKK kinase activity was observed during prostate cancer progression in TRAMP mice as examined by Western blot analysis, electrophoretic-mobility shift assay, ELISA, kinase assay, and immunohistochemistry. Over-expression of these signaling molecules correlated with transcriptional-regulated genes viz . Bcl-2, cyclin D1, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and vascular endothelial growth factor, and cancer progression observed at 24 and 32 weeks TRAMP mice compared to male non-transgenic littermates. Taken together, our results suggest that differential expression pattern of PI3K-Akt and NF-κB-IκB during prostate cancer progression in TRAMP mice represents potential molecular targets for prevention and/or therapeutic intervention. (Supported by USPHS grants NIH RO1 CA108512, RO3 CA094248, RO3 CA099049, and RO3 CA107806 and funds from Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation to SG)


Data are presented concerning the basal levels of parathormone and calcitonin and the effect of dihydropyridine derivatives on the characteristics of haemodynamics as well as pancreatic secretory activity in patients with diabetes mellitus. It is shown that in diabetic patients with hypertension a single administration of the drugs induces vasodilatation which causes lowering of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In patients with diabetes mellitus in combination with hypertension, heart coronary disease and obvious peripheral angiopathy (similar procedure) no peripheral vasodilatation was observed. No negative effects were observed on the compensatory processes (and obviously on pancreatic secretory activity in patients with both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent diabetes mellitus even during long-lasting administration of drugs. A conclusion is made that calcium channel antagonists should be recommended to patients with diabetes mellitus taking into account the state of their peripheral vessels.


The Augmented Reality is a technology that allows you to view and to integrate interactive and virtual layer to one reality image produced by the device on which it is integrated: mobile devices and new wearable technologies are predominantly used. During the pre and post medial era, cinema is alway been inclined to face the technological innovations and to be compared with them; nowadays cinema finds itself deeply connected with the digital world on different levels, in order to be hybridated in shape and style. This paper is focused on the audience point of view, in which are getting involved interactivity and participation concepts. The traditional idea of theatre, allows for further considerations about localization and deterritorialization. It gets from an immediate to an ipermediate fruition, even if we remain in immersive and pervasive technologies area of interest. That process inaugurates a scenario in which the user is the new addressee of a new bid, in order to think even more to a plurality of authorship. Diffuse Cinema, is one of the prototype, that is having a fair success margin. It comes to be a cinema, scattered all over the city, that finds out the viewer about the location of the different point of interest. It's also settled to start a visual performance straight on the screen of the user device, once he turns the connection on. The performatives and experienced characteristic ensure that the bystander becomes for all purposes a spect-actor, willing to plays a role and to cooperate with the urban text, according to personal shape and style, for the purpose to makes the user become, one of the author of story.


As technology advances into the nanometer territory, the antenna problem has caused significant impact on routing tools. The antenna effect is a phenomenon of plasma-induced gate oxide degradation caused by charge accumulation on conductors. It directly influences manufacturability and yield of VLSI circuits, especially in deep-submicron technology using high density plasma. Furthermore, the continuous increase of the problem size of IC routing is also a great challenge to existing routing algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for multilevel full-chip routing with antenna avoidance using a built-in jumper insertion approach. Experimental results show that our approach reduced antenna-violated gates by about 98% and also achieved 100% routing completion for all circuits.


The tricuspid valve is more differentiated during evolutionary development than the mitral valve. In birds it is a muscular structure joined directly to the papillary muscles, although the mitral valve of birds resembles that of mammals. There have been well-known studies describing the evolutionary line of connection of the tricuspid valve with the papillary muscles. The present study was performed on a group of 107 formalin-fixed adult human hearts. The valves and papillary muscles were classified according to a scheme for human hearts drawn up earlier. The types of connection between leaflets of the tricuspid valve and the papillary muscles were classified according to a scheme drawn up earlier for vertebrates. We observed 3 types of connection between leaflets of the tricuspid valve and the papillary muscles in the group studied. The muscular and membranous connections were not linked with any one type of tricuspid valve. Atypical forms of distribution of the tendinous chords of the right ventricle were observed. It was found that valves with a higher number of leaflets were (with the exception of type 0) provided with a smaller number of tendinous chords. Atavistic features and atypical forms of distribution of the tendinous chords are present in a small percentage of samples of the human right valvular apparatus.


Objective To investigate the clinical outcomes after hamstring tendon autograft ACL reconstruction (ACLR) with accelerated, brace-free rehabilitation. Design Systematic review according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Data sources Embase, MEDLINE Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL and Google scholar from 1 January 1974 to 31 January 2017. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Study designs reporting outcomes in adults after arthroscopic, primary ACLR with hamstring autograft and accelerated, brace-free rehabilitation. Results Twenty-four studies were included in the review. The clinical outcomes after hamstring tendon autograft ACLR with accelerated brace-free rehabilitation were the following: (1) early start of open kinetic exercises at 4 weeks in a limited range of motion (ROM, 90°−45°) and progressive concentric and eccentric exercises from 12 weeks did not alter outcomes, (2) gender and age did not influence clinical outcomes, (3) anatomical reconstructions showed better results than non-anatomical reconstructions, (4) there was no difference between single-bundle and double-bundle reconstructions, (5) femoral and tibial tunnel widening occurred, (6) hamstring tendons regenerated after harvest and (7) biological knowledge did not support return to sports at 4–6 months. Conclusions After hamstring tendon autograft ACLR with accelerated brace-free rehabilitation, clinical outcome is similar after single-bundle and double-bundle ACLR. Early start of open kinetic exercises at 4 weeks in a limited ROM (90°−45°) and progressive concentric and eccentric exercises from 12 weeks postsurgery do not alter clinical outcome. Further research should focus on achievement of best balance between graft loading and graft healing in the various rehabilitation phases after ACLR as well as on validated, criterion-based assessments for safe return to sports. Level of evidence Level 2b; therapeutic outcome studies.


Abstract Dichalcogenolenes are archetypal redox non‐innocent ligands with numerous applications. Herein, a diselenolene ligand with fundamentally different electronic properties is described. A mesoionic diselenolene was prepared by selenation of a C2‐protected imidazolium salt. This ligand is diamagnetic, which is in contrast to the paramagnetic nature of standard dichalcogenolene monoanions. The new ligand is also redox‐active, as demonstrated by isolation of a stable diselenolene radical dianion. The unique electronic properties of the new ligand give rise to unusual coordination chemistry. Thus, preparation of a hexacoordinate aluminum tris(diselenolene) complex and a Lewis acidic aluminate complex with two ligand‐centered unpaired electrons was achieved.


Report on a diabetic patient with IgA nephropathy whose kidneys were examined by biopsy four times during a period of four years. Morphologically the typical findings were observed: Outstanding deposits of IgA, hypercellularity and increase of matrix within the mesangium. The findings persisted during the period of observation. The differential diagnosis between IgA nephropathy and a slight diffuse glomerulosclerosis in diabetes mellitus is discussed. IgA nephropathy is diagnosed with certainty only by the aid of immunohistology.


INTRODUCTION
In Ontario, community ultrasound clinics do not require the on-site presence of a radiologist at the time of imaging. In hospitals, a radiologist is always present for this step. We compared the discrepancy rate of community and hospital ultrasound reports in a urology practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients who had abdominal ultrasound performed in the community and in the hospital between April 1, 2001 and June 30, 2005. Reports were examined for indication, findings and whether there was a discrepancy. A medical student, a resident, and a staff physician each independently reviewed the findings.

RESULTS
One hundred and twenty-two patients had abdominal ultrasound performed in the community and were followed up with hospital imaging. Sixty-nine patients had a community ultrasound followed by hospital ultrasound, with a discordance rate of 52.2%. Fifty-three patients had a community ultrasound and then a hospital CT scan, with a discordance rate of 43.3%. Of patients with discordant ultrasound reports, 23 had an additional CT scan in which all findings were consistent with the hospital ultrasound findings.

DISCUSSION
We found a very high discordance rate between community and hospital ultrasound reports. This is consistent with a study showing that the active role of the radiologist in ultrasound imaging is very important for accurate reporting.

CONCLUSION
Ultrasound reports form the community in patients referred to our urology practice have a high discrepancy rate when compared with ultrasound or CT scan reports from the hospital setting. We found no discordance between ultrasound and CT scan findings from imaging performed in hospital. We recommend standardization of abdominal ultrasound imaging protocols across Canada to include the presence of a radiologist at all times.


A simple and easy method for measuring the absorption coefficient of liquid solutions is reported. It is inexpensive to set up in a laboratory and can be used to measure the absorption and scattering coefficients for most liquid solutions


The nontoxic and water-soluble L-proline combined with two different forms of copper(II): recoverable Cu–Al hydrotalcite-like compounds (Cu–Al HTLcs) and water-soluble CuCl2, as a heterogeneous catalytic system (L-proline/Cu–Al HTLcs) and two-phase catalytic system (L-proline/CuCl2) to catalyze allylic oxidation with tert-butyl hydroperoxide. The results showed that L-proline/Cu(II) is highly active for oxidizing isophorone (IP) into ketoisophorone (KIP). Maximum catalytic effects were afforded respectively under the optimal reaction conditions, which obtained 77.9% IP conversion with 74.3% KIP selectivity catalyzed by L-proline/Cu–Al HTLcs and 73.5% conversion with 81.6% selectivity by L-proline/CuCl2. Recycling experiments of the two catalytic systems of L-proline/Cu(II) showed they are stable and recyclable for at least six cycles with appreciable catalytic activity. And various hydrocarbons could be smoothly transformed into corresponding ketones with satisfactory conversion and selectivity by the two catalytic systems.


The study of mindset is relevant to various outcomes that occur across the span of a college student's career. There are two different mindsets that all students view themselves through the lens of, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The fixed mindset implies that traits are unchangeable, whereas the growth mindset implies that traits are malleable (Dweck 2015). The current study sets out to examine the relationship between mindset and academic achievement, mindset and resilient behaviors, and the potential meditational variables between mindset and academic achievement, in an undergraduate population. Participants completed a Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) release form for their official semester GPA and measures assessing mindset, procrastination, study habits, self- handicapping habits, depressive symptoms, and intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. Participants completed questionnaires in a lab in the Psychology department for research credit. Mediational analyses were not run due to a lack of variability in the data that produced a negative relationship between growth mindset and GPA in participants. The predicted relationship between emotion growth mindset and lower levels of depressive symptoms was found. Further research on this topic is necessary to explore results that are inconsistent with the present literature on the topic.


Access to research assistantship opportunities in global north and global south The development of postgraduate students as researchers is a key objective in higher education internationally. Research learning spaces such as research courses, research LitNet Akademies Jaargang 14, Nommer 3, 2017, ISSN 1995-5928 619 workshops and research assistantships nurture postgraduate students as the future generation of researchers as they develop theoretical and methodological knowledge. Research assistantships represent a unique educational space for postgraduate students to acquire research knowledge and skills while assisting faculty members with their research studies. Students engaged in research assistantships have the potential to acquire valuable skills as they learn how to conduct research that could ultimately contribute to knowledge creation (Pearson and Brew 2002; Steward 2010). At the same time, researchers are able to mentor dedicated students, enhance their research outputs, and co-author journal articles or copresent at conferences. Overall, international literature informs us that research partners ‒ scholars, students and institutions ‒ recognise the potential for and importance of mutually beneficial outcomes when postgraduate students work as research assistants. In fact, research assistantships as hands-on research learning opportunities are being increasingly recognised as essential to the development of competent researchers. Yet there is a scarcity of literature investigating how institutional practices and regulations influence doctoral students' access to research assistantships. Moreover, limited literature informs us that there is no central place within researched institutions to look for information regarding research assistantships. Exploration of practices and regulations at our universities in Canadian and South African contexts echoes the concerns identified in the scholarly literature. In addition, realising the scarcity of literature around access to research assistantships validated for us the need to open academic dialogue on this topic in order to promote fair access for all postgraduate students. To that end, our goal is to showcase postgraduate students' accessibility to research assistantships in our contexts representative of the global north and the global south. To achieve that goal, we explore how research assistantships are distributed, unmask practices that limit or even exclude some postgraduate students from these opportunities, and present a way forward based on fair practices and regulations. The impetus for this article originated from our realisation in informal discussions that although research assistantships are powerful spaces to shape competent researchers, the opportunities were limited only to a few students. Committed to principles of fairness and inclusiveness, we decided to extend our informal analytical discussions and transition into an interpretive research approach where meaning-making is the primary goal for the understanding of social phenomena. Following the common methods used in interpretive research, our study draws from (a) document analysis pertaining to research assistantships at our universities, (b) informal conversations with administrators familiar with organisational characteristics of research assistantships, (c) our personal and professional experiences within research assistantships, and (d) a comprehensive literature review that provided the context for the research assistantships and informed us about the potential of and access to research assistantships. We identified the main themes emerging from our readings and incorporated them within this work. As to document selection and analysis, we engaged in reviewing and analysing documents and online information related to research assistantships at the two universities. We located the documents through searches of faculty and institutional websites, personal documentation as well as recommendations received from colleagues and administrators. The document analysis provided additional insights into the ways research assistantships are managed at the universities concerned. Although this interpretive study is not driven by any specific theoretical framework per se, we are also not operating in a theoretical vacuum. Our theoretical starting point was informed by a social practice perspective on learning posited by Lave and Wenger (1991), who argued that learning is a process of participation in communities of practice. The authors present a LitNet Akademies Jaargang 14, Nommer 3, 2017, ISSN 1995-5928 620 notion of legitimate peripheral participation as a particular way of engagement whereby a learner participates in the actual practice of an expert, the process by which newcomers become part of a community of practice and eventually become full participants. Recognising legitimate peripheral participation in our work encompasses research assistantships as educational venues for developing future researchers. Postgraduate students able to access research assistantships gain opportunities to become part of a research community, learn research skills, generate intellectual capital, and most importantly, begin the transformation toward becoming independent researchers. Yet, as this article will illustrate, access to research assistantships is delimited by institutional practices and regulations that may either promote, restrict or prevent students' legitimate peripheral participation. The findings from global north and global south showcase a deeper understanding of access to research assistantships and raise questions related to the inclusiveness of postgraduate students in a community of research practice. Both contexts illustrate practices and regulations in place that promote as well as prevent access to research assistantships. Some of the shortcomings relate to the advertising and distribution of research assistantships that contributed to unequal access to research assistantship opportunities. Considering that the culture of academia has embraced research as its highest value and that comprehensive universities have adopted missions to discover, produce and share knowledge, it is somewhat surprising that research assistantships seem to be in the process of development in terms of organisation and distribution at both institutions. The multiple data sources considered in this study highlighted how inaccessible research assistantships can be to some students and thus how institutional practices can hinder postgraduate students' participation. Although our exploration is context specific, the findings offer quality recommendations to improve students' access to research assistantships within and beyond the institutions investigated. We anticipate that the findings may help students understand access to research assistantships, assist academics in hiring research assistants, and inform administrators and academic programme committees about possible organisational changes to be made. Ultimately, a more inclusive approach to research assistantships would lead to an increased number of skilled young researchers able to contribute significantly to the research capacity of a given institution.


Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the most prevalent bloodborne pathogens. Infections caused by these organisms can become chronic and may lead to liver cirrhosis and carcinoma. Limited chemotherapy is now available, but only HBV can be prevented through vaccination. Both viruses are enveloped and relatively sensitive to many physical and chemical agents; their ability to survive in the environment may not be as high as often believed. As a result, their spread occurs mainly through direct parenteral or percutaneous exposure to tainted body fluids and tissues. Careful screening of and avoiding contact with such materials remain the most effective means of protection. Nevertheless, the indirect spread of these viruses, although much less common, can occur when objects that are freshly contaminated with tainted blood enter the body or contact damaged skin. Germicidal chemicals are important in the prevention of HBV and HCV spread through shared injection devices, sharps used in personal services (such as tattooing and body piercing), and heat-sensitive medical/dental devices (such as flexible endoscopes) and in the cleanup of blood spills. Microbicides in vaginal gels may also interrupt their transmission. General-purpose environmental disinfection is unlikely to play a significant role in the prevention of the transmission of these viruses. Testing of low-level disinfectants and label claims for such products against HBV and HCV should be discouraged. Both viruses remain difficult to work with in the laboratory, but closely related animal viruses (such as the duck HBV) and the bovine viral diarrhea virus show considerable promise as surrogates for HBV and HCV, respectively. Although progress in the culturing of HBV and HCV is still underway, critical issues on virus survival and inactivation should be addressed with the use of these surrogates.


Examination of heavy mineral concentrates from several well-known eclogite-dominated kimberlites (Roberts Victor, Bobbejaan, Zagadochnaya) has revealed that the upper mantle sampled by these kimberlites was dominantly peridotite, with only a small amount of eclogite (3–15% by volume). In the case of Group II (micaceous) kimberlites in southern Africa (e.g., Roberts Victor), it is proposed that garnet peridotites were metasomatized (phlogopitized) within the upper mantle prior to xenolith incorporation. This caused structural weakening, with the result that most of the garnet peridotites disaggregated during kimberlite ascent and eruption, leaving an eclogite-dominated xenolith suite. The amount of eclogite in the upper 200 km of the subcontinental upper mantle is concluded to be perhaps <1% by volume overall. Support for models proposing a significant amount of eclogite at deeper levels or beneath ocean basins must be sought from evidence other than mantle-derived xenoliths.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of ewes during the dry and wet months in northern Brazil. The females were divided into two groups: reproduced during the dry season and lambing in the rainy season (Group A, n = 38), and the opposite with the other group (Group B, n = 55). There was no difference (P > 0.05) for expression of estrus (86.8 and 98.3%), pregnancy rate (86.8 and 90.9%), lambing (76.3 and 83.6%), abortion (9 and 7.4%), fecundity (86.8 and 96.3%), birth (103.4 and 110.8%) and prolificacy (113.7 and 115.2%) observed in groups A and B, respectively. However, there was a difference (P < 0.05) in lamb mortality (26.6% for group A and 49% for group B). Ewes from group A presented a higher average live weight at the end of the reproductive season and during the final third of pregnancy (P < 0.05).


This research was conducted in an international company engaged in iron and steel products manufacturing industries. One of the equipment that is often damaged is a hot roller table machine in the furnace section mill unit. The availability results obtained in hot roller table equipment is 96.571% and is still below the company standard which is set at 98%. Therefore, we need an analysis of the root causes of the problem and search for the best solution to fix the existing problem by applying the method of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). FMEA is a method that can systematically and structurally analyze and identify the consequences of a system or process failure, and also reduce or analyze the probability of failure. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the level of damage and its causes with the application of the FMEA method. Based on the pareto diagram the damage to the hot roller table machine, it was found that the highest frequency of damage was in the rotary coupling with a down time percentage of 26.9%. From the FMEA Analysis, two components that have very high RPN values are categorized as potential severit i.e. bearing as the first with an RPN value of 392 and the second is a seal ring with an RPN value of 294. The two components are the main priority for repair of the furnace section. mill, especially for machine and human aspects.


Current conservation outreach largely focuses on single-day, presentation-heavy events typically addressed to farmers, mostly men. Our project created a multisession learning circle series for a cohort of women landowners that introduced conservation education through storytelling and a more conversation-driven format. Its objective was to build relationships that would empower women landowners to take action. Its outcomes, however, far exceeded expectations. The program's facilitators and the women landowner-participants not only built relationships of action but also developed a partnership that resembles what researchers call a cognitive ecology. This cognitive ecology involves collaboration among diverse and equal partners who expand each other's thinking and capacity, use tools and technologies to extend cognition (maps, soil tests, lease agreements, and simulation models), and interact with the environment. As a cognitive ecology, our group—facilitators and women landowners—produced this article together, as coauthors. Our collaboration offers a storytelling- and exchange-based framework to engage individuals whose needs have not been fully met through conventional programming. Our preliminary findings suggest that conservation programming might better empower a larger range of underinvolved stakeholders by offering multisession programming that builds an ecosystem of relationships for action.


Understanding number magnitude is an important prerequisite for children's mathematical development. One early experience that contributes to this understanding is the common practice of finger counting. Recent research suggested that through repeated finger counting, children internalize their fingers as representations of number magnitude. Furthermore, finger counting habits have been proposed to predict concurrent and future mathematical performance. However, little is known about how finger-based number representations are formed and by which processes they could influence mathematical development. Regarding the emergence of finger-based number representations, it is likely that they result from repeated practice of finger counting. Accordingly, children need sufficient fine motor skills (FMS) to successfully count on their fingers. However, the role that different types of FMS (such as dexterity and graphomotor skills) might play in the development of finger-based number representations is still unknown. In the current study, we investigated (a) whether children's FMS (dexterity and graphomotor skills) are associated with their emerging finger-based number representations (ordinal and cardinal), (b) whether FMS explain variance in children's finger-based number representations beyond the influence of general cognitive skills, and (c) whether the association between FMS and numerical skills is mediated by finger-based representations. We tested associations between preschool children's (N = 80) FMS (dexterity and graphomotor skills), finger-based number representations, and numerical skills. Furthermore, visuo-spatial working memory and nonverbal intelligence were controlled for. Dexterity was related to children's finger-based number representations as well as numerical skills after controlling for chronological age, but not after also controlling for cognitive skills. Moreover, the relationship between dexterity and numerical skills was mediated by finger-based number representations. No such associations were observed for graphomotor skills. These results suggest that dexterity plays a role in children's development of finger-based number representations, which in turn contribute to their numerical skills. Possible explanations are discussed.


We describe a proteomic approach to identify proteins which may be involved in the recurrence of pterygia. Tissues from a recurrent pterygium and from a primary pterygium were surgically resected and were analyzed by proteomics to identify proteins that were significantly up- or down-regulated. The proteins showing significant differences in the two tissues were identified by mass spectrometry. Eleven proteins were differentially expressed; seven proteins were up-regulated and four proteins were down-regulated in the recurrent pterygium. The identified proteins are known to regulate cell cycle, cell organization, extracellular matrix, cholesterol metabolism, and cell signaling. Up- and down-regulation of proteins for cellular signaling are most likely involved in the recurrence of pterygia.


IgE synthesis results from a complex interaction between T cells, B cells, and allergen presenting cells under the control of T cell and mast cell-/basophil-derived cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-6). IL-4 provides a first and crucial signal, which does not, however, suffice for the induction of IgE synthesis by human B cells. A second signal is required, which then leads to B cell activation and production of IgE+ B cells. Cognate as well as non-cognate T/B cell interactions or stimulation by Epstein-Barr (EB) virus infection, the ligand for CD40, ACTH, hydrocortisone etc. can provide this signal. Based on this concept of a multicomponent network new approaches may lead to the development of more effective strategies for the treatment of IgE-mediated allergic diseases.


We present a distributed proactive caching approach that exploits user mobility information to decide where to proactively cache data to support seamless mobility, while efficiently utilizing cache storage using a congestion pricing scheme. The proposed approach is applicable to the case where objects have different sizes and to a two-level cache hierarchy, for both of which the proactive caching problem is hard. Our evaluation results show how various system parameters influence the delay gains of the proposed approach, which achieves robust and good performance relative to an oracle and an optimal scheme for a flat cache structure.


With the explosive growth of video data in real applications, near-duplicate video retrieval (NDVR) has become indispensable and challenging, especially for short videos. However, all existing NDVR datasets are introduced for long videos. Furthermore, most of them are small-scale and lack of diversity due to the high cost of collecting and labeling near-duplicate videos. In this paper, we introduce a large-scale short video dataset, called SVD, for the NDVR task. SVD contains over 500,000 short videos and over 30,000 labeled videos of near-duplicates. We use multiple video mining techniques to construct positive/negative pairs. Furthermore, we design temporal and spatial transformations to mimic user-attack behavior in real applications for constructing more difficult variants of SVD. Experiments show that existing state-of-the-art NDVR methods, including real-value based and hashing based methods, fail to achieve satisfactory performance on this challenging dataset. The release of SVD dataset will foster research and system engineering in the NDVR area. The SVD dataset is available at https://svdbase.github.io.


Serious problems with bridging multiple scales in the scope of a single numerical model make computer simulations too demanding computationally and highly unreliable. We present a new concept of modeling framework that integrates the particle method with graph dynamical systems, called the particle automata model (PAM). We assume that the mechanical response of a macroscopic system on internal or external stimuli can be simulated by the spatiotemporal dynamics of a graph of interacting particles representing fine-grained components of biological tissue, such as cells, cell clusters, or microtissue fragments. Meanwhile, the dynamics of microscopic processes can be represented by evolution of internal particle states represented by vectors of finite-state automata. To demonstrate the broad scope of application of PAM, we present three models of very different biological phenomena: blood clotting, tumor proliferation, and fungal wheat infection. We conclude that the generic and flexible modeling framework provided by PAM may contribute to more intuitive and faster development of computational models of complex multiscale biological processes.


Fish is quickly undergoing spoiled. Therefore the community process fish to several alternatives forms such as fish floss. Home industry "Althaf Food" produces fish floss from mackerel. Located in ulujadi sub-district Palu City.The purpose of this study was to analyse the income of "Althaf Food". The owner and employee from the production department were selected as respondents. The income was analysed from the interview data. The study showed that the "Althaf Food" produces fish floss got income amounting to 1,638,612 IDR in four times of a month.


The paper describes the symmetrization method of power converter used in topology of AC traction substation with power balancer. This topology provides the three-phase current symmetrization and the reactive power compensation for AC traction substation feeding 25 kV / 50 Hz traction catenary. The described symmetrization method is based on principles of the Steinmetz symmetrizing circuit. The main paper contribution is a derivation and description of the symmetrization equations, which are used for the control algorithm of multilevel semiconductor converters in a delta connected circuit.


This master thesis collaborates with Axis Communications, which is a Swedish video camera company. The mission for the thesis was to take advantage of Axis developed or developing technology to explore the data value in the retail industry and design a data visualization interface. Shopping via online shopping platforms, customers will leave their shopping journey data and the data can be recorded step by step. By analyzing the conversion rate between different web pages, retailers could narrow down problem areas and even locate problems efficiently. Compared with online shopping platforms, traditional retail stores have limitations on data-collecting and data-integrating. Without analyzing sales numbers, it is difficult for retailers to discover any existing problems during a shopping journey and satisfy their customers by optimizing the shopping journey. Thus, I selected IKEA as my thesis's use study after my comprehensive analysis of camera data-collecting advantages and retailer's concentrated shopping journey data. With a series of user research, I selected to visualize customer flow data, which is an important data reference for making sales plans and designing layout by analyzing the relationship between a customers' path and a Product location. Finally, based on existing data Collection process and data analysis procedure, I define product function, test design prototype and finalize my customer flow data visualization interface combined with Axis brand indentation. (Less)


Purpose: The public sectors including government and public organizations have put an efforts to improve the quality of people's lives by providing enhanced services. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect job attitude, job satisfaction, and job performance in the public sector, that are rarely examined by previous studies. Research Design, data, and methodology: The following research questions have been proposed: i) how do payroll system, personnel management system, cooperative working environment, and self-efficacy affect job attitude?; and ii) how does job attitude affect job satisfaction and performance? This paper used a survey through an online platform and collected data randomly from five classified public institutions. This study applied regression analysis and ANOVA. Results: This study found that cooperative working environment and self-efficacy had significant impacts on job attitude, while payroll system and personnel management system did not affect job attitude. Overall job attitude affected both job satisfaction and performance. Conclusions: The results provide policy implications to the public sector which factors should be considered to improve job attitude, job satisfaction, and job performance. The results also provide managerial implications how such efforts ultimately improve service quality to the citizens.


Critical essays provide sources for stimulating new thoughts and perspectives on poetry. Finding such essays on specific poems can be a frustrating experience for the scholar or the student. American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism, 1925-1978 guides the researcher quickly to relevant sources of critical writing. Harriet Alexander, a reference librarian, was prompted to compile this book as a result of the many questions by students seeking information by a critic on a particular poem. Since very often critics write about several poems in one article, the available periodical indexes and bibliographies were not specific enough as they list criticism by author, not by specific work. In preparing this bibliography, Alexander has scanned hundreds of books and periodicals for critical discussions of poetry, indexing them under the poet's name and the title of the poem. Containing almost 20,000 bibliographic entries, this volume covers 53 years of poetry criticism. It is especially helpful in locating recent criticism as over 13,000 entries cover articles published from 1960-1978. The bibliography is limited to American and British poetry of 1,000 lines or less, but includes poems from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present. Although Alexander has not attempted comprehensiveness, this bibliography will lead the researcher to discover many sources not covered previously in similar publications.


Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is a major problem in different societies especially developing countries. Aim: To compare the frequency of anemia during third trimester among females with low and normal birth weight. Study design: Descriptive cross sectional. Methodology: Study conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. Patients (n=160) were enrolled through probability convenient sampling. All babies underwent assessment for birth weight in minimum clothing using weighing machine following standard protocol and procedure and labeled as low or normal birth weight as WHO criteria. Data was evaluated by using SPSS v.24. Chi square was applied with P-value of <0.05 was considered as significant. Quantitative variables were presented as mean±SD while categorical data was presented as percentage. Results: Mean age of participants was 27.1±5.1 years. There were 61 patients (38.1%) with parity ≤ 2 and 99 patients (61.9%) with parity >2. Comparison of frequency of anemia during 3rd trimester among females with low and normal birth weight revealed statistically significant difference (p=0.049*). Keywords: Anemia, Low Birth Babies, Pregnancy and Parity.


Two-dimensional (2-D) semiconductors exhibit excellent device characteristics, as well as novel optical, electrical, and optoelectronic characteristics. In this talk, I will present our recent advancements in defect passivation, contact engineering, surface charge transfer doping, and heterostructure devices of layered chalcogenides. We have developed a defect repair/passivation technique that allows for observation of near-unity quantum yield in monolayer MoS2. The work presents the first demonstration of an optoelectronically perfect monolayer. Forming Ohmic contacts for both electrons and holes is necessary in order to exploit the performance limits of enabled devices while shedding light on the intrinsic properties of a material system. In this regard, we have developed different strategies, including the use of surface charge transfer doping at the contacts to thin down the Schottky barriers, thereby, enabling efficient injection of electrons or holes. Additionally, I will discuss the use of layered chalcogenides for various heterostructure device applications, exploiting charge transfer at the van der Waals heterointerfaces.


This limited study of six comatose patients who showed clinical signs of brain death was conducted to seek answers to the proposed questions regarding the confirmation of concurrent activity in both scalp and nasopharyngeal electrode tracings, and the detection of any recordable activity from the nasopharyngeal electrodes once no further electrical activity is detected from the surface electrodes. It appears that the nasopharyngeal electrode tracings are as informative as scalp surface electrode tracing is as informative as a scalp surface electrodes tracing in cases of electrocerebral silence. Perhaps a larger patient population testing should be studied to re-affirm this observation.


Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors, characterized by excessive release of catecholamines (CAs), and manifested as the classic triad of headaches, palpitations, profuse sweating, and a variety of other signs and symptoms. The diagnosis of PPGL requires both evidence of excessive release of CAs and anatomical localization of CA-secreting tumor. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for all patients with PPGL unless contraindicated. However, without proper preparation, the release of excessive CAs, especially during surgery, can result in lethal cardiovascular complications. Herein, we briefly reviewed the pathogenesis of this disease, discussed the current approaches and evidence available for preoperative management, summarizing the results of the latest studies which compared the efficacies of preoperative management with or without α adrenergic-receptor antagonists, aiming to facilitate better understanding of the preoperative management of PPGL for the physicians.


The relaxant effects of isoprenaline, noradrenaline, and adrenaline on the isolated rectum of the rainbow lizard (Agama agama) were studied. Responses were measured as a reduction of carbachol-induced contractions for each sympathomimetic agent. Isoprenaline, adrenaline, noradrenaline produced a dose-dependent relaxation of this preparation and the order of potency was as given. The pD2 value of 8.15 +/- 1.88 obtained for isoprenaline was significantly different (p less than 0.05) from those for adrenaline (5.80 +/- 0.90) and noradrenaline (5.25 +/- 1.18). H35/25, propranolol, and practolol competitively antagonized the relaxant effects of isoprenaline on the isolated lizard rectum. The pA2 values for these beta-adrenoceptor antagonists did not differ significantly (at p less than 0.05). alpha-Adrenoceptor antagonists, phentolamine and phenoxybenzamine, failed to alter the relaxant responses of these sympathometics to any appreciable extent. These results are interpreted to suggest that the relaxant effect produced by these sympathomimetics are mediated predominantly by beta-adrenoceptors that are not significantly differentiated into subtypes. alpha-Adrenoceptors in this preparation contribute minimally to the observed inhibitory response following sympathomimetic stimulation.


The sources of errors in the quantitative determination of immunoglobulins in the passive hemagglutination inhibition test are considered. The influence of some factors (the quality of erythrocyte diagnostic reagents, the non-standard working dose of the antiserum) can be reduced if in each test the material under study is compared with a known preparation having known serological activity (standard preparation). A suggestion is made on the advisability of expressing the results of the test in the logarithmic (log2) scale of serological activity units (SAU), where the activity of 100 IU/ml is considered to be 10 units. The serological activity of the standard preparation used in this research was determined against a set of Hyland reference sera. The average level and varibility of immunoglobulin content in the sera of healthy adults were determined with the use of 104 serum samples. The average level was 10.2 +/- 0.1 SAU for IgG, 10,4 +/- 0.1 SAU for IgA and 9.6 +/- 0.1 SAU for IgM, with sigma for all immunoglobulins being about 1.0. The reproducibility of the passive hemagglutination inhibition test was satisfactory; the variability of the results after repeated tests seldom exceeded 1 SAU.


INTRODUCTION
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), an important form of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), specifically refers to pneumonia developing in a patient on mechanical ventilator for more than 48 h after intubation or tracheostomy. Despite the advancements in antimicrobial regimes, VAP continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality. VAP requires a rapid diagnosis and initiation of appropriate antibiotic treatment, as there is adverse effect of inadequate antibiotic treatment on patients' prognosis and the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens.

AIMS
The present study was undertaken to assess the etiological agents of early-onset and late-onset VAP and to know their sensitivity pattern.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
VAP data over a period of 12 months (February 2012 -February 2013) in a tertiary care ICU was retrospectively analysed. The patients were stratified by age, sex, duration of VAP (Early/Late onset) and the identified pathogens with their sensitivity pattern.

RESULTS
Incidence of VAP was found to be 35.14%, out of which 44.23% had early-onset (<4 days MV) VAP and 55.77% had late-onset (>4 days MV) VAP. The most common organisms isolated in early onset and late onset VAP was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E.coli and Acinetobacter baumanii. All enterobacteriaceal isolates were extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms and all Staphylococcus aureus isolates except one were methicillin resistant. The incidence of Multidrug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter were 40% and 37.5% respectively.

CONCLUSION
Due to the increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms in our ICU, early and correct diagnosis of VAP is an urgent challenge for an optimal antibiotic treatment and cure. Hence, knowing the local microbial flora causing VAP and effective infection control practices are essential to improve clinical outcomes.


Actor-actor communication is an important part of the functioning of wireless sensor-actor networks and enables the actor nodes to take coordinated action on a given event. Owing to various reasons such as actor mobility and low actor density, the actor network tends to get partitioned. The authors propose to use the underlying sensor nodes, which are more densely deployed, to heal these partitions. In order to maximise the utilisation of the limited energy available with the sensor nodes, a new routing protocol for actor-actor communication using directional antennas on the actor nodes is proposed. The authors contribution is threefold. First, using simulations they show that the problem of partitioning in the actor networks is significant and propose an architecture with directional antennas on actor nodes and sensor bridges to heal these partitions. Second, they identify the routing problem for this architecture based on a theoretical framework and propose centralised as well as distributed solutions to it. Third, they develop a routing protocol based on the distributed solution and show, using network simulations, that the proposed protocol not only heals the network partitions successfully, but also achieves high throughput and fairness across different flows, in addition to maximising the network lifetime.


Recent observations by the Chandra observatory suggest that some neutron stars may cool rapidly, perhaps by the direct URCA process which requires a high proton fraction. The proton fraction is determined by the nuclear symmetry energy whose density dependence may be constrained by measuring the neutron radius of a heavy nucleus, such as 208Pb. Such a measurement is necessary for a reliable extrapolation of the proton fraction to the higher densities present in the neutron star. A large neutron radius in 208Pb implies a stiff symmetry energy that grows rapidly with density, thereby favoring a high proton fraction and allowing direct URCA cooling. Predictions for the neutron radius in 208Pb are correlated to the proton fraction in dense matter by using a variety of relativistic effective field-theory models. Models that predict a neutron (Rn) minus proton (Rp) root-mean-square radius in 208Pb to be Rn-Rp 0.25 fm, the direct URCA process is allowed (by all models) to cool down a 1.4 solar-mass neutron star. The Parity Radius Experiment at Jefferson Laboratory aims to measure the neutron radius in 208Pb accurately and model independently via parity-violating electron scattering. Such a measurement would greatly enhance our ability to either confirm or dismiss the direct URCA cooling of neutron stars.


Although NLRC4/IPAF activation by flagellin has been extensively investigated, the downstream signaling pathways and the mechanisms responsible for infection clearance remain unclear. In this study, we used mice deficient for the inflammasome components in addition to wild-type (WT) Legionella pneumophila or bacteria deficient for flagellin (flaA) or motility (fliI) to assess the pathways responsible for NLRC4-dependent growth restriction in vivo and ex vivo. By comparing infections with WT L. pneumophila, fliI, and flaA, we found that flagellin and motility are important for the colonization of the protozoan host Acanthamoeba castellanii. However, in macrophages and mammalian lungs, flagellin expression abrogated bacterial replication. The flagellin-mediated growth restriction was dependent on NLRC4, and although it was recently demonstrated that NLRC4 is able to recognize bacteria independent of flagellin, we found that the NLRC4-dependent restriction of L. pneumophila multiplication was fully dependent on flagellin. By examining infected caspase-1−/− mice and macrophages with flaA, fliI, and WT L. pneumophila, we could detect greater replication of flaA, which suggests that caspase-1 only partially accounted for flagellin-dependent growth restriction. Conversely, WT L. pneumophila multiplied better in macrophages and mice deficient for NLRC4 compared with that in macrophages and mice deficient for caspase-1, supporting the existence of a novel caspase-1–independent response downstream of NLRC4. This response operated early after macrophage infection and accounted for the restriction of bacterial replication within bacteria-containing vacuoles. Collectively, our data indicate that flagellin is required for NLRC4-dependent responses to L. pneumophila and that NLRC4 triggers caspase-1–dependent and –independent responses for bacterial growth restriction in macrophages and in vivo.


Taking the clinical trial of acupuncture in treatment of postprandial distress syndrome as an example, this paper proposes that the acupuncture clinical trial protocol should be optimized in view of acupuncture prescription, acupuncture frequency and outcomes. Besides, the data quality of acupuncture clinical trial should be improved in consideration of data sharing and electronic data capture so as to provide a reference for the majority of researchers to optimize and implement acupuncture clinical trial.


Currently, a few online review and recommendation systems (such as Yelp and Trip Advisor) have attracted millions of users and are gaining increasing popularity. They usually rate and rank places and attractions based on subjective ratings provided by users. In this paper, we present design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile phone Sensing based Objective Ranking (SOR) system, which ranks a target place based on data collected via mobile phone sensing. Our system has the following desirable features: 1) it is easy to use, 2) its architecture is so scalable that various embedded and external sensors can be easily integrated into it, 3) an online scheduling algorithm is proposed and used to schedule sensing activities for coverage maximization, which has a constant approximation ratio of 1/2, 4) a personalizable ranking algorithm is developed and used to rank target places based on various sensor readings and user preferences. We validate and evaluate SOR via both field tests (using real hiking trails and coffee shops in Syracuse, NY as target places) and simulation. The field-testing results show that data collected and processed by SOR can well capture characteristics of target places, and personalizable rankings produced by SOR can well match user preferences. In addition, simulation results well justify effectiveness of the proposed scheduling algorithm.


The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and activated charcoal on the in vitro rooting of the pear tree ( communis L.) cv. Carrick. Therefore pear tree microshoots with approximately 0.8 to 1cm of length were used as explant. The treatments were constituted of three concentration of NAA in the culture medium (0; 3.2 and 6.4µM) and two concentration of activated charcoal (0 and 1%). NAA in the concentration of 3.2 and 6.4µM and in the absence of activated charcoal in the culture medium, showed better rooting rate to pear tree cv. Carrick.


The purpose of this essay is to identify how the drug user is portrayed in motion pictures. My main questions are: How is the drug use described? How is the male and female drug user depicted? How may the movies contribute to the construction, reproduction and change of gender? The method I use in my research is a qualitative, selective discourse- analysis of a number of movies prominently portraying drug use. A gender perspective is also applied on this paper.

The main result of the study is that I have found that the great majority of the analyzed films portray drug use as means for something else. Drug use is often portrayed in the beginning as heavenly but changes to be depicted as problematic. Discursive connections show that the male drug user is represented as active and capable. Among the male drug users homosocial situations were also common. The most frequent images of the female drug user that have appeared are the passive, absent, uncontrolled and the sexual object. The movies yield stereotype pictures but hegemonic values has been challenged.


Abstract. The shaped charge jet has a stronger penetration effect onto the structure than normal charges. The SPH method with mesh-free and Lagrange properties has an advantage to solve extremely dynamic problems, such as large-deformation, moving interface and multiphase mixing and so on. Therefore, the SPH method is applied to simulate shaped charge detonation, jet formation and its penetration into a plate. And a SPH model of the shaped charge penetrating the plate is established. Firstly, the simulation of the shaped charge detonation is conducted to study the shock wave propagation and underwater explosion shock loading. Secondly, the formation of the metal jet is studied, and the jet velocity and the pressure are investigated in detail. Finally, the damage characteristics of the plate subjected to the metal jet and underwater explosion shock loading are discussed. The whole analysis and conclusions provide a reference for the structural design of shaped charge warheads.


Liver injury has been reported to occur during the disease in severe cases. Therefore, this meta-analysis study aims to investigate the incidence of liver injury among published literature from 2019-Jan-01 to 2020-April-03 to provide an outline for further studies on the liver injury of COVID-19. Four databases including Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Scopus were searched for studies published from 2019-Jan-01 to 2020-April-03. Data analysis and drawing of charts were performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software Version 2.2 (Biostat, USA). The search yielded 450 publications, of which 64 potentially eligible studies were identified for full-text review and 21 studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria remained. A total of 4191 COVID-19 patients were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of liver injury was 19.5% (95% CI: 14.3-26.1). According to our results, there was significant heterogeneity among the 19 studies (X2 = 738.5; p < 0.001; I2 = 94.34%). Among 288 death cases, the pooled prevalence of liver injury was 22.8% (95% CI: 11.7-39.8). In summary, the COVID-19 disease itself can result in severe and even fatal respiratory diseases and even may lead to ARDS and multiple organ failure. The results of this systematic review highlight the importance of liver injury that may assist clinicians anywhere in the globe in controlling COVID-19-related infection and complications. Moreover, the prevalence of liver injury can be higher in severe cases than in mild cases.