This paper examines the development of total factor productivity (TFP) and the drivers of TFP for a panel of 17 EU countries in the period of 1995-2007. We estimate aggregated and sectoral TFP for 17 EU countries by means of the augmented mean group estimator to control for endogeneity, cross-section dependence and heterogeneous production technology. We find that although wages are the main driver of TFP, ICT, extra-EU trade and human capital also play a role.


An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed for the quantitative determination of the most probable contaminating proteins (MCP) of recombinant human Erythropoietin produced in the mouse fibroblast cell line C-127. The developed ELISA is a double polyclonal sandwich type immunoassay, which allows a quantitation of the MCPs in the range of parts per million. The polyclonal antibody, used for both coat and conjugate in this ELISA, was demonstrated to be reactive with the reference MCPs (a collection of the most probable protein contaminants) by immunoblot analysis and immunoabsorption of radiolabeled MCPs. Affinity purification of this antibody preparation using the immobilized MCPs resulted in an assay with higher signal-to-noise ratio. The assay was demonstrated to be very specific for the MCPs obtained from the rhu EPO purification process. Since the purification of each recombinant DNA derived protein expressed in mammalian cells requires its own unique process, no generic assay for contaminating proteins can be developed. There are only a few common criteria for the development of such multi-antigen ELISA, which will be discussed in this paper.


Ni–Al–Co is a promising system for ferromagnetic shape memory applications. This paper reports on the development of a ternary embedded-atom potential for this system by fitting to experimental and first-principles data. Reasonably good agreement is achieved for physical properties between values predicted by the potential and values known from experiment and/or first-principles calculations. The potential reproduces basic features of the martensitic phase transformation from the B2-ordered high-temperature phase to a tetragonal CuAu-ordered low-temperature phase. The compositional and temperature ranges of this transformation and the martensite microstructure predicted by the potential compare well with existing experimental data. These results indicate that the proposed potential can be used for simulations of the shape memory effect in the Ni–Al–Co system.


This article reviews the current recommendations on equipment when blood pressure is measured by sphygmomanometer. The scientific rationale underlying the current recommendations for selection and maintenance of blood pressure measuring equipment is presented. The errors that can occur when the recommendations are not followed are quantified whenever the data are available. Inadequate assessment and maintenance of equipment often lead to the use of faulty equipment, and as a result errors in the assessment of patients' blood pressure are likely to be common. If followed, the current guidelines for use and maintenance of equipment would remove most of the problems noted. Physicians must ensure that properly maintained and appropriate equipment is used to measure blood pressure.


MARTYN HOUSDEN and DAVID J. SMITH, Introduction. FRANK NESEMANN, A Special Baltic German Understanding about Finland's Autonomy in die Russian Empire? Count Fabian Steinheil as the Governor-General of the Grand Duchy of Finland (1810-1823). RIMANTAS MIKNYS and DARIUS STALIUNAS, The "Old" and "New" Lithuanians: Collective Identity Types in Lidiuania at the Turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. ANDREJS PLAKANS, Regional Identity in Latvia: The Case of Latgale. MARKO LEHTI, The Dancing Conference of Bulduri: A Clash of Alternative Regional Futures. MARTYN HOUSDEN, Securing die Lives of Ordinary People: Baltic Perspectives on the Work of the League of Nations. MICHAEL GARLEFF, The Historiography of Paul Schiemann. JORG HACKMANN, Werner Hasselblatt on Cultural Autonomy: A Forgotten Manuscript. MARTYN HOUSDEN and DAVID J. SMITH, A Matter of Uniqueness? Paul Schiemann, Ewald Ammende and Mikhail Kurchinskii Compared. VALTERS SCERBINSKIS, Leaders, Divided Society and Crisis: The Coup d'Etat of 1934 in Latvia, Its Causes and Consequences. JOACHIM TAUBER, The View from die Top: German Soldiers and Lithuania in the Two World Wars. ERWIN OBERLANDER, Soviet Genocide in Latvia? Conflicting Cultures of Remembrance of Stalin's Policy, 1940-1953. EVA-CLARITA PETTAI, The Convergence of Two Worlds: Historians and Emerging Histories in the Baltic States. DAVID J. SMITH, "You've Got to Know History!" Remembering and Forgetting the Past in die Present-Day Baltic. LEONIDAS DONSKIS, The Unbearable Lightness of Incessant Change: The Predicaments of Modernity in Lithuania.


The purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of the pathways through which childhood victimization influences adult health outcomes. Specifically, measures of high-risk behaviors, tobacco use, alcohol use, illegal substance use, and HIV risk behaviors were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between childhood victimization and adult physical health. The sample consisted of 406 women on probation and parole with a history of childhood victimization in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between childhood victimization, high-risk behaviors, and physical health outcomes. The findings indicate partial mediation, with health risk behaviors accounting for 12.5% of the variance in the relationship between childhood victimization and health outcomes. Implications for policy and treatment practice in the health and criminal justice arena are discussed.


What is really needed to make an existing 2D GAN 3D-aware? To answer this question, we modify a classical GAN, i.e., StyleGANv2, as little as possible. We find that only two modifications are absolutely necessary: 1) a multiplane image style generator branch which produces a set of alpha maps conditioned on their depth; 2) a pose-conditioned discriminator. We refer to the generated output as a 'generative multiplane image' (GMPI) and emphasize that its renderings are not only high-quality but also guaranteed to be view-consistent, which makes GMPIs different from many prior works. Importantly, the number of alpha maps can be dynamically adjusted and can differ between training and inference, alleviating memory concerns and enabling fast training of GMPIs in less than half a day at a resolution of $1024^2$. Our findings are consistent across three challenging and common high-resolution datasets, including FFHQ, AFHQv2, and MetFaces.


Abstract This study aims to yield a product for the Javanese language maintenance through local culture in speech community in an anthropolinguistic study. This research and development study used the Recursive, Reflective, Design, and Development (R2D2) design. The development procedure consisted of four steps, i.e. designing a prototype, testing the prototype (through expert judgment and field testing), revising the prototype, and in a large scale producing a DVD of the Javanese language maintenance through local culture in speech community. The data were analyzed by means of expert judgment and field testing using the mean score analysis technique. The research and development product is a DVD of the Javanese language maintenance through local culture in speech communitysatisfying the acceptability requirement. The product becomes an official document for the local government and related parties as a reference for the Javanese language maintenance. The Java language as part of local culture is a cultural heritage that must be preserved. To preserve local culture, cultural maintenance against external influences is necessary by completely, authentically, and officially documenting it. Keywords: Javanese language maintenance, local culture, speech community, anthropolinguistics


Using the gate-stroking method, this paper shows that a complex open-channel flow feedforward control problem can be treated as a series oflinearly additive single flow-change control problems. A key element of this approach is determining the initial conditions for each single flow-change problem. An inadequate choice of initial conditions will result in under or overestimation of the canal storage volume change needed for the new steady-state conditions. These findings provide support to a simple feedforward control scheme based on volume compensation and time delay. An example is used to demonstrate that the simple scheduling approach is nearly as effective in controlling water levels as the complex gate-stroking approach.


Single-crystal silicon cantilevers 1 /spl mu/m thick have been demonstrated for use in high-density atomic-force microscopy (AFM) thermomechanical data storage. Cantilevers with integrated piezoresistive sensors were fabricated with measured sensitivities /spl Delta/R/R up to 7.5/spl times/10/sup -7/ per /spl Aring/ in close agreement with theoretical predictions. Separate cantilevers with integrated resistive heaters were fabricated using the same basic process. Electrical and thermal measurements on these heating devices produced results consistent with ANSYS simulations. Geometric variants of the cantilever were also tested in order to study the dependence of the thermal time constant on device parameters. Depending on the design, time constants as low as 1 /spl mu/s were achieved. A thermodynamic model was developed based on the cantilevers geometry and material properties, and the model was shown to predict device behavior accurately. A comprehensive understanding of cantilever functionality enabled us to optimize the cantilever for high-speed thermomechanical recording.


Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that describes variation in brain function among individuals, including conditions such as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or dyslexia. Neurodiversity is common in the general population, with an estimated 5.0% to 7.1% and 7% of the world population being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia respectively. Neurodivergent (ND) individuals often experience challenges in specific tasks, such as difficulties in communication or a reduced attention span in comparison to neurotypical (NT) individuals. However, they also exhibit specific strengths, such as high creativity or attention to detail. Therefore, improving the inclusion of ND individuals is desirable for economic, ethical, and for talent reasons. In higher education, struggles of ND students are well-documented. Common issues in this area are a lack of awareness among other students and staff, forms of assessment that are particularly challenging for some students, and a lack of offered accommodations. These factors commonly lead to stress, anxiety, and ultimately a risk of dropping out of the studies. Accommodations for ND students can require substantial effort. However, smaller changes in course material can already have major impact. In this chapter, we summarise the lessons learned from an intervention in four courses in undergraduate computer science programmes at Reykjavik University, Iceland, over a period of two terms. Following accessibility guidelines produced by interest groups for different ND conditions, we created course material in the form of slides and assignments specifically tailored to ND audiences. We focused on small, economical changes that could be replicated by educators with a minimal investment of time. We evaluated the success of our intervention through two surveys, showing an overall positive response among ND students and NT students.


The impact of vibrational-electronic resonances on the rate of excited-state energy transfer is examined in a set of bacteriochlorin dyads that employ the same phenylethyne linker. The donor/acceptor excited-state energy gap is tuned from ∼200 to ∼1100 cm-1 using peripheral substituents on the donor and acceptor bacteriochlorin macrocycles. Ultrafast energy transfer is observed with rate constants of (0.3 ps)-1 to (1.7 ps)-1, which agree with those predicted by Förster theory to within a factor of 2. Furthermore, the measured rates follow a trend-line with only small deviations that do not correlate with the density of vibrations at the donor/acceptor excited-state energy gap. Thus, if vibrational-electronic resonances occur in any of these dyads, which seems likely, the impact on the rate of energy transfer is small.


Abstract A study of the composition and unit cell data of a suite of lead-rich minerals of the alunite-jarosite group from the oxidized zone of the ore body at Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, has revealed almost complete XO4 (X = As, P, S) solid solution in these minerals at this deposit. The species in the group noted are hidalgoite, hinsdalite, beudantite, segnitite and plumbogummite. These minerals at Broken Hill exhibit a number of growth textures, including oscillatory zoning, colloform banding and replacements. Zoning in these minerals is due to the segregation of Al- and Fe-rich members, and compositions indicate a strong coupling of Fe3+ with AsO43−and Al with PO43−.


15-20% of all diabetic patients develop a foot ulcer. Diabetic ulcer is the major cause of non-traumatic lower extremity amputation. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has emerged as a promising therapy in the field of wound healing. In this study, Five patients with diabetic foot (mean age of 58.2 ± 19.63 years, mean ulcer duration: 1.6 years), received ESWT in 6-8 weekly sessions, at a flux density of 0.25 mJ/mm2, delivered as 500 shocks at wound margin and 1000 shocks distal to the wound. All patients had evidence of peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy before treatment. A significant reduction in ulcer surface area was observed in four patients (mean reduction: 1.21 ± 0.82 cm2, p value=0.03). All patients showed improvement in the ankle brachial index and monofilament test after treatment. In sum, ESWT may be a promising adjunct in the treatment of chronic, non-healing diabetic ulcers.


66 women were examined to determine the copper concentration in their serum and endometrium after prolonged use of an IUD (Lippes Loop, Hall Ring, Birnberg, Saf-T-Coil, Tatum, and Copper 7). A control of 16 nonusers was included. The level of copper was found by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In the control group, the copper concentration in the serum was a mean of 100 gamma/100 cc of serum and in the endometrial tissue, a mean of 251 gamma/100 gm/wet tissue. In women using IUDs with no copper, the concentration in the serum was in the normal range, but in endometrial tissue it was between 457-586 gamma/100 gm. Similar findings came with the examination of women using IUDs containing copper. The high concentration of copper in inflamed endometrial tissue led to the hypothesis that such a condition, ith accompanying hyperenemia and hyperkinesia of the uterus and tubes are the principle factors for the contraceptive action of IUDs.


Neuropathic pain is common in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DN), probably caused by pathogenic ion channel gene variants. Therefore, we performed molecular inversion probes-next generation sequencing of 5 transient receptor potential cation channels, 8 potassium channels and 2 calcium-activated chloride channel genes in 222 painful- and 304 painless-DN patients. Twelve painful-DN (5.4%) patients showed potentially pathogenic variants (five nonsense/frameshift, seven missense, one out-of-frame deletion) in ANO3 (n = 3), HCN1 (n = 1), KCNK18 (n = 2), TRPA1 (n = 3), TRPM8 (n = 3) and TRPV4 (n = 1) and fourteen painless-DN patients (4.6%—three nonsense/frameshift, nine missense, one out-of-frame deletion) in ANO1 (n = 1), KCNK18 (n = 3), KCNQ3 (n = 1), TRPA1 (n = 2), TRPM8 (n = 1), TRPV1 (n = 3) and TRPV4 (n = 3). Missense variants were present in both conditions, presumably with loss- or gain-of-functions. KCNK18 nonsense/frameshift variants were found in painless/painful-DN, making a causal role in pain less likely. Surprisingly, premature stop-codons with likely nonsense-mediated RNA-decay were more frequent in painful-DN. Although limited in number, painful-DN patients with ion channel gene variants reported higher maximal pain during the night and day. Moreover, painful-DN patients with TRP variants had abnormal thermal thresholds and more severe pain during the night and day. Our results suggest a role of ion channel gene variants in neuropathic pain, but functional validation is required.


The de novo synthesis of glycerolipids in mammalian cells begins with the acylation of glycerol-3-phosphate, catalyzed by glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT). GPAT2 is a mitochondrial isoform primarily expressed in testis under physiological conditions. Because it is aberrantly expressed in multiple myeloma, it has been proposed as a novel cancer testis gene. Using a bioinformatics approach, we found that GPAT2 is highly expressed in melanoma, lung, prostate and breast cancer, and we validated GPAT2 expression at the protein level in breast cancer by immunohistochemistry. In this case GPAT2 expression correlated with a higher histological grade. 5-Aza-2′ deoxycytidine treatment of human cells lines induced GPAT2 expression suggesting epigenetic regulation of gene expression. In order to evaluate the contribution of GPAT2 to the tumor phenotype, we silenced its expression in MDA-MB-231 cells. GPAT2 knockdown diminished cell proliferation, anchorage independent growth, migration and tumorigenicity, and increased staurosporine-induced apoptosis. In contrast, GPAT2 over-expression increased cell proliferation rate and resistance to staurosporine-induced apoptosis. To understand the functional role of GPAT2, we performed a co-expression analysis in mouse and human testis and found a significant association with semantic terms involved in cell cycle, DNA integrity maintenance, piRNA biogenesis and epigenetic regulation. Overall, these results indicate the GPAT2 would be directly associated with the control of cell proliferation. In conclusion, we confirm GPAT2 as a cancer testis gene and that its expression contributes to the tumor phenotype of MDA-MB-231 cells.


This study investigates predictors of continuance intention and purchase intention in mobile application(App) stores. This study identifies the structural relationships among app store quality, user habit, switching costs, user loyalty, continuance intention, and purchase intention in mobile application stores. The results indicate that user loyalty increases continuance intention and purchase intention and that user habit positively affects perceived switching costs and user loyalty. App store quality is a formative construct including quality of content, ease of use, and security. App store quality affects user habit positively. This study theoretically and practically contributes to the integration of influential factors for continuance intention as well as purchase intention.


With Don Quixote, according to Michel Foucault in The Order of Things, 'writing has ceased to be the prose of the world' (Foucault 1974:47) as it was in the Renaissance, when there is an unchallenged continuity between signs and things, or words and world. Flocks, serving girls, and inns become once more the language of books to the imperceptible degree to which they resemble castles, ladies, and armies ... (Foucault 1974:47). This type of resemblance, so clearly undermined by the deluded hero, tells of distinction, not connection. This distinction prompts the observation that language 'now possesses new powers, and powers peculiar to it alone' (Foucault 1974:47). In the second part of the novel, Don Quixote is clearly recognisable to certain people who have read the first part, as he himself becomes his own text:


This research aimed to know the effect of onion (Allium cepa L.) extract
on liver histophatology of white rats (Rattus norvegicus) with diabetes mellitus.
Onion (Allium cepa L.) contains allyl propyl disulphide (APDS) that can increase
insulin product as hypoglycemic agent. This study is using 20 of three months old
white rats as experimental animals. Rats were randomly divided into 5 groups
baced on treatment. Rats in negative control group were not induced by alloxan
while the others were induced with 120 mg/kg bw of alloxan. Each group received
different treatment with oral administration for 14 days. K- treated by CMC Na
0.5%, P0 induced by alloxan and treated by CMC Na 0.5%, P1 (200 mg/kg bw of
onion extract), P2 (400 mg/kg bw of onion extract) and P3 (800 mg/kg bw of
onion extract). Liver histopathology were examined under light microscope in 400
times magnification. Scoring method were using Arsad Scoring Method to
examined the presence of necrosis and congestion. Then, the data of this study
were analyze by Kruskal-Wallis test and followed by Mann-Whitney test of
statistical analylis. The result of this study showed that onion (Allium cepa L.)
extract can improve liver histopathology of of white rats (Rattus norvegicus) with
diabetes mellitus.


From 2017 to 2019, several vaccine-like recombinant strains of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) were discovered in Kazakhstan and neighbouring regions of Russia and China. Shortly before their emergence, the authorities in Kazakhstan launched a mass vaccination campaign with the Neethling-based Lumpivax vaccine. Since none of the other countries in the affected region had used a homologous LSDV vaccine, it was soon suspected that the Lumpivax vaccine was the cause of these unusual LSDV strains. In this study, we performed a genome-wide molecular analysis to investigate the composition of two Lumpivax vaccine batches and to establish a possible link between the vaccine and the recent outbreaks. Although labelled as a pure Neethling-based LSDV vaccine, the Lumpivax vaccine appears to be a complex mixture of multiple CaPVs. Using an iterative enrichment/assembly strategy, we obtained the complete genomes of a Neethling-like LSDV vaccine strain, a KSGP-like LSDV vaccine strain and a Sudan-like GTPV strain. The same analysis also revealed the presence of several recombinant LSDV strains that were (almost) identical to the recently described vaccine-like LSDV strains. Based on their InDel/SNP signatures, the vaccine-like recombinant strains can be divided into four groups. Each group has a distinct breakpoint pattern resulting from multiple recombination events, with the number of genetic exchanges ranging from 126 to 146. The enormous divergence of the recombinant strains suggests that they arose during seed production. The recent emergence of vaccine-like LSDV strains in large parts of Asia is, therefore, most likely the result of a spillover from animals vaccinated with the Lumpivax vaccine.


The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) is an endangered species whose bold anti-predator behaviour in comparison to related species may increase its vulnerability to hunting and predation. We used a judgement bias test to investigate whether captive peccaries that had recently experienced a trapping event made more 'pessimistic' decisions under ambiguity. If so, this would indicate (i) that the procedure may induce a negative affective state and hence have welfare implications, and (ii) that the species is able to adopt a cautious response style despite its bold phenotype. Eight individuals were trained to 'go' to a baited food bowl when a positive auditory cue (whistle; CS+) was given and to 'no-go' when a negative cue (horn A; CS-) was sounded to avoid a loud sound and empty food bowl. An 'ambiguous' auditory cue (bell; CSA) was presented to probe decision-making under ambiguity. Individuals were subjected to three tests in the order: T1 (control-no trap), T2 (24h after-trap procedure), and T3 (control-no trap). In each test, each animal was exposed to 10 judgement bias trials of each of the three cue types: CS+,CS-,CSA. We recorded whether animals reached the food bowl within 60s ('go' response) and their response speed (m/s). The animals varied in their responses to the CSA cue depending on test type. In all tests, animals made more 'go' responses to CS+ than CSA. During control tests (T1 and T3), the peccaries showed higher proportions of 'go' responses to CSA than to CS-. In T2, however, the animals showed similar proportions of 'go' responses to CSA and CS-, treating the ambiguous cue similarly to the negative cue. There were differences in their response speed according to cue type: peccaries were faster to respond to CS+ than to CS- and CSA. Trapping thus appeared to cause a 'pessimistic' judgement bias in peccaries, which may reflect a negative affective state with implications for the welfare and management of captive individuals, and also function to increase caution and survival chances following such an event in the wild environment.


This paper discusses how to solve problems occurring in the risk management of musyarakah mutanaqisah contract on home financing in sharia banks in Indonesia, particularly on its legal and operational issues. This study used a qualitative method using library data collection techniques and interviews. The study found that legal and operational risk management issues could be satisfactorily resolved by agreement of rescheduling, adding new conditions, and using new structures in accordance with Islamic teachings and applicable positive laws. In addition, ownership proof of some is needed to minimize the risk for the bank and the customer.


This article presents a new method for texture description suitable to be used as a solution to the retrieval problem in large image collections. The proposed approach combines multiscalegray-level co-occurrence matrices (GLCM) with Symbolic Data Analysis. A benchmark data set is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is encouraging with an average successful rate of 100% for Dataset 1 and 97.9% for Dataset 2.


Regional image emphasis is often evident in paintings and illustrations. This technique increases local contrast while reducing global contrast by amplifying image intensity on shadowed surfaces, reducing intensity on illuminated surfaces, and then expanding contrast at intensity edges. The effects are assumed to result from the visual processing needed to interpolate the real world onto canvas. Therefore, we propose an intensity emphasis method based on human vision. This method simulates the adaptation of photoreceptor cells and the lateral inhibition of receptive fields. These attributes of a vision system are realized by computation of relative intensity and differential intensity in small areas.


Literary theme identification and interpretation is a focal point of literary studies scholarship. Classical forms of literary scholarship, such as close reading, have flourished with scarcely any need for commonly defined literary themes. However, the rise in popularity of collaborative and algorithmic analyses of literary themes in works of fiction, together with a requirement for computational searching and indexing facilities for large corpora, creates the need for a collection of shared literary themes to ensure common terminology and definitions. To address this need, we here introduce a first draft of the Literary Theme Ontology. Inspired by a traditional framing from literary theory, the ontology comprises literary themes drawn from the authors own analyses, reference books, and online sources. The ontology is available at this https URL under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0).


Background: Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) occurs at a rate of 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 children. Methods: A PubMed search was undertaken to evaluate recent SCFE literature. A convenience sample of articles were selected and summarized. Results: Most slips appear well tolerated long-term with ∼5% resulting in total hip arthroplasty (THA) at 20-year follow-up. Classic data reveals poor outcomes following closed reduction for treatment of SCFE. Improvements in intraoperative fluoroscopy and avoidance of pin penetration have reduced the rates of chondrolysis. Unfortunately, avascular necrosis remains a known risk in patients, occurring in 15% to 50% of patients following acute, unstable slips. This is the most common cause of THA in patients with SCFE. Rate of THA due to degenerative arthritis secondary to SCFE is more difficult to determine and occurs at a later age. Although realignment procedures to address anatomic abnormalities from SCFE have increased in popularity, it is unclear if this prevents degenerative arthritis and subsequently reduces the rate of THA. SCFE patients face an increased risk of disability and death due to their underlying medical comorbidities. Interventions for weight loss, blood pressure management, and lifestyle adjustments should be considered at the time of SCFE diagnosis. Conclusions: SCFE remains a challenging and common condition for pediatric orthopedists. Although innovative techniques have been proposed, long-term outcome data still supports in situ pinning for stable slips, and in situ pinning with capsular decompression for unstable slips to minimize the risk of avascular necrosis.


Abstract Background Enterobacter spp. can develop resistance during prolonged therapy with third-generation cephalosporins (3GC: ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, or ceftazidime) because of derepression of AmpC β-lactamase. However, the clinical significance of this phenomena remains undetermined. This study aims to assess the outcome of patients with 3GC-susceptible Enterobacter bacteremia (EB) who received definite therapy with 3GC or broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSA) using propensity score analysis. Methods In this retrospective, cohort study conducted at two tertiary care hospitals in Japan, we determined consecutive patients with EB identified from the laboratory databases between January 2010 and December 2017. We enrolled patients with 3GC-susceptible EB treated with 3GC or BSA (defined as fourth-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, and piperacillin/tazobactam) as definitive therapy. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. The secondary outcome was the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strain during antimicrobial therapy. We compared outcomes using the propensity scores and inverse-probability-weighting (IPW) adjustment to decrease the confounding by indication. Results We identified 320 patients with EB; of these, 191 cases were eligible (86 treated with 3GC and 105 treated with BSA). All the measured covariates were well balanced after the IPW adjustment. We observed no significant differences in the unadjusted mortality [5.8% in the 3GC group vs. 13.3% in the BSA group; risk difference, −7.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI): −15.7–0.6; P = 0.09], and the IPW-adjusted mortality (5.1% vs. 9.4%; risk difference −4.3%; 95% CI: −12.2–3.5; P = 0.3) between the groups. The results of the propensity score-matched analysis and sensitivity analysis were similar. Furthermore, we did not observe the emergence of antimicrobial resistance during antimicrobial therapy in both groups. Conclusion Definitive therapy with 3GC for susceptible EB was not associated with an increased risk of the 28-day mortality after adjustment for potential confounders with the propensity score analysis or with the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strain. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


A study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of Geographical Information System (GIS) for mapping the biophysical resources of watershed PC-based GIS soft-wares were used in the analysis, processing and mapping of spatial data. The conventional mapping technique that presents land attribute in form of polygon with abrupt change across class boundaries was improved using Fuzzy technique. This technique involves the generation of membership maps for each soil type based on the relationship between the soil type and it's forming factors like geology, elevation, slope gradient, slope aspect, slope curvature, and land cover. The fuzzy technique was found to be more appropriate than the conventional technique of mapping in expressing continuous and gradually changing soil or land attributes. Validation with observed soil or land attributes values indicated that root mean square error (RMSE) obtained for Fuzzy method was lower than that from the conventional method


The high range resolution profile (HRRP) can be reconstructed by combining frequency bands coherently for inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging of a moving target in stepped-frequency (SF) radar systems. However, the range migration and phase errors among sub-pulses in a pulse train caused by the target translational motion results in difficulty for HRRP synthesis of SF sub-pulses. In order to compensate the translational motion for SF ISAR imaging, a novel method based on adjacent pulses correlation integration and coherent processing is proposed in this study. Firstly, the radial motion parameters can be estimated by the adjacent pulses correlation integration for the range echo envelope in a pulse train. Owing to strong coherence between two adjacent pulses, the correlation integration achieves high gain of signal-to-noise ratio. It is robust to noise ensuring precise estimation of translational motion. Secondly, after compensating the phase errors, the HRRP can be reconstructed by the combination of frequency bands coherently and the inverse Fourier transform. Finally, a nice ISAR image of a moving target can be obtained by conventional range–Doppler algorithm (RDA). In the end, simulated and real data are used to demonstrate the good performance of the method proposed in this study.


One of the issues on the national agenda of low-income developing countries is the formulation of their own sustainable development strategies. The United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an important benchmark and road map for achieving this goal. At the same time, local specifics have an impact on the approaches, methods and possibilities for achieving the declared goals in each particular state. This study analyzes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda, official North Korean statements, and Russian and foreign academic and analytical publications in order to outline North Korea's approach to localizing the sustainable development goals (SDGs), identify problems arising in this process, and highlight prospects for international cooperation. Methods of comparative and content analysis were used in the research. It is maintained that, in search of its own strategy, the DPRK's leadership is trying to use international experience by integrating the SDGs into national development plans. North Korean specifics lie in reformulating global SDGs according to the national narrative of local-style socialism construction, the decisive role of the state in the development and implementation of actual plans, a formal approach to the implementation of some SDGs, and a focus on economic self-sufficiency as a guarantee of sustainable development. Despite the need for external assistance to achieve the main national SDGs, at present, the possibilities for international cooperation with the DPRK are significantly limited. The implementation of joint initiatives or assistance projects requires both obtaining permission from the UN Security Council 1718 Sanctions Committee and opening the borders of North Korea, which have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, given the global scope of the tasks set out in the 2030 Agenda, it is highly likely that in the medium and long term the DPRK will resume international cooperation in key areas of sustainable development—agriculture, health care, access to clean drinking water and sanitation, and climate change, as well as energy and transport infrastructure modernization. The main partners in this cooperation can be international organizations and neighbouring Russia and China.


A novel prenylated flavanoid, isonymphaeol-D (1), together with two known compounds, isonymphaeol-B (2) and nymphaeol-B (3), were isolated from Egyptian propolis. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by various spectroscopic methods. 1 exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative strains (Serratia sp., Pseudomonos sp., Escherichia coli).


Background Acute renal failure is associated with 50–80% mortality. Currently, treatment options for this life-threatening disease are limited. However, stem cells offer an exciting potential for kidney regeneration. Aim In the present study we evaluated whether bone marrow stem cells and vitamin C, either in combination or alone, are effective in the regeneration of kidney tubules following acute tubular necrosis in rats. Materials and methods Eighty adult male albino rats divided into five groups (15 rats each) were used in this study. Group I was the control group; group II was treated with mercuric chloride (HgCl2); group III was treated with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; group IV was treated with vitamin C; and group V was treated with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and vitamin C. One set of animals were sacrificed on day 5 after injection of HgCl2, another set at 8 weeks after treatment, and one set at 12 weeks after treatment. Kidney tissue samples were processed for histological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical study and for biochemical assay. The obtained results were analyzed morphometrically and statistically. Results Group II showed several tubular changes in the form multiple vacuoles and darkly stained nuclei. Some tubules revealed karyolitic nuclei, denudation of the basement membrane, and acidophilic casts engorged in their lumens. The glomerular capillaries were congested and enlarged with decrease in filtration space and well-observed atrophic changes. Bone marrow stem cells and vitamin C were found to play a role in the regeneration of tubules of the renal cortex. H&E, Periodic acid–Schiff, and survivin expression revealed a significant improvement in the functional and structural recovery of the kidney from acute kidney injury (AKI) in groups III and V compared with group II. Conclusion The present results demonstrate that bone marrow stem cells contribute to the regeneration of the renal tubular epithelium in HgCl2-induced AKI. This study also suggests the antioxidant and antiapoptotic functions of bone marrow stem cells and vitamin C together in treating AKI.


Periodic cyclic homology group associated to a mixed complex was introduced by Goodwillie. In this talk, I will explain how to apply this construction to the symplectic cochain complex of a Liouville domain and obtain two periodic symplectic cohomology theories, which are called periodic symplectic cohomology and finitely supported periodic symplectic cohomology, respectively. The main result is that there is a localization theorem for the finitely supported periodic symplectic cohomology.


This paper compares efficiency results and performance targets for academic departments in a local private college using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). Because of an aging society, a smaller school-age population entering colleges, and enhanced accreditation standards by the government, colleges and universities are not recruiting and retaining sufficient students and therefore are struggling for survival. In contrast to popular fouryear undergraduate universities concentrated in Seoul and its satellite cities, retaining students is critical for the survival of local private colleges in poor or remote regions. Therefore, it is very important to identify the factors involved in the retention of students in the various departments of a college. However, given the different characteristics of the departments, it is difficult to identify one unique or robust set of standards to evaluate their performance. The purpose of this paper is to maximize student retention capabilities by ensuring that additional resources are assigned to efficient DMUs; while, inefficient DMUs are given benchmarked targets. Based on previous studies and college accreditation standards, this paper presents indices to be used in evaluating the efficiency of academic departments in a college. In evaluating relative efficiency, this paper uses the outputoriented BCC model. To define target levels to be achieved for efficient DMU, a multi-stage DEA procedure is used.


Private wealth holdings are likely to become an increasingly important determinant in the job exit decision of elderly workers. Net wealth may correlate with worker's characteristics that also determine the exit out of a job. It is therefore important to include a rich set of observed characteristics in an empirical model for retirement in order to measure the (marginal) effect of wealth on the job exit rate. But even with a rich set of regressors the question remains whether there are unobservable worker's characteristics that affect both net wealth and the job exit rate. We specify a simultaneous equations model for job exit transitions with multiple destinations, net wealth, and the initial labour market state. The job exit rates and the net wealth equation contain random effects. We allow for correlation between the random effects of job exit and net wealth, and the initial labour market state.


We investigate the cation rotational dynamics of a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C(4)mim]PF(6)) in its three crystalline states by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation time (T(1) and T(2), respectively) measurements as a function of temperature confirm the presence of three polymorphic crystals of [C(4)mim]PF(6): crystals α, β, and γ, which we previously discovered using Raman spectroscopy and calorimetry. Second moment calculations of (1)H NMR spectra reveal that certain segmental motions of the butyl group in addition to the rapid rotation of the two methyl groups in the cation occur in all the crystals. The trend in the mobility of the segmental motions is γ < β ≤ α, which is consistent with the strength of cation-anion interactions (or crystal packing density) estimated from high-frequency Raman scattering experiments. T(1) measurements demonstrate two types of rotational motions on the nanosecond time scale in all three crystals: fast and slow motions. The three crystals have similar activation energies of 12.5-15.1 kJ mol(-1) for the fast motion, which is assigned to the rotation of the methyl group at the terminal of the butyl group. These observed activation energies were consistent with that estimated by quantum chemical calculations in the gas phase (11.9 kJ mol(-1)). In contrast, the slow motions of crystals α and γ are attributed to different segmental motions of the butyl group and that of crystal β to either a little segmental motion or a certain PF(6)(-) rotational motion. These nanosecond rotational motions obtained from the T(1) measurements do not appear to be affected by crystal packing density because local interactions in the crystalline state rather than packing density govern such nanosecond motions. With respect to the segmental motions, the mobility is likely to change significantly with the conformation of the butyl group. On the basis of these findings, crystal γ, which is the only crystalline phase previously determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, is considered to be the most stable phase because of the slowest segmental motions and the strongest cation-anion interactions.


Acid treated sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) starch (microcrystalline starch) was evaluated as a disintegrant using paracetamol tablet formulation and compared with similar concentrations of untreated sweet potato starch and maize starch B.P. Concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%w/w disintegrant were incorporated as intradisintegrants in the study. The sample starch powders used were characterized and the various properties of the starch powders compared. Wet granulation method was adopted for the production granules. The compacts formed (tablets) were subsequently subjected to quality control tests; uniformity of thickness and diameter, uniformity of weight test, crushing strength, friability test, disintegration and dissolution rate tests. The results obtained indicated that acid treated sweet potato starch has a better disintegrant property compared to untreated sweet potato and maize starch B.P. By implication, acid treated sweet potato starch can therefore be used as an alternative disintegrant to maize starch B.P.


Background Microgravity and simulated microgravity (SM) lead to important changes in orthostatic tolerance (OT), the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the volume-regulating systems. After one is exposed to microgravity or SM, a period of readaptation to gravity is known to take place, but it is not certain if orthostatic function returns to baseline within the initial recovery and what mechanisms are involved. We hypothesized that after a period of recovery, OT, ANS, and volume-regulating systems would return to pre-SM levels. Methods To test this hypothesis, 24 healthy men were placed on a constant diet for 3 to 5 days, after which a tilt-stand test (pre-TST) was performed. The TST was repeated after 14 to 16 days of head-down tilt bed rest (HDTB) (post-TST) and a 3-day period of recovery (rec-TST), at which times measurements of renal, cardioendocrine, and cardiovascular systems were conducted. Results Presyncope occurred in 46% of subjects pre-TST, in 72% post-TST, and in 23% during rec-TST. OT was significantly better during the recovery period than at baseline (p = .03). There was a significant decrease in urinary sodium and potassium excretion, along with a decrease in plasma renin activity and serum and urine aldosterone compared with baseline. Serum norepinephrine and sympathetic responsiveness remained below baseline values. Conclusion In summary, OT improved compared with baseline after a period of readaptation. Retention of electrolytes (sodium, potassium) could be involved. These findings indicate that recovery after SM is not simply a gradual return to baseline values but is instead a dynamic process reflecting interaction of multiple regulatory systems.


The process by which a massive compact object (like white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes etc) gravitationally captures ambient matter is called accretion. The accretion of matter on to a compact massive star is the likely source of energy in the observed binary X-ray sources. Since black holes are 'black', there cannot be any direct observational evidence of them. Thus they must be observed by detecting the radiations emitted by accreting matter. For typical gas dynamical conditions found in the interstellar medium and in the matter exchanged between the binary stars, it is expected that accretion flows on to compact objects will be hydrodynamical or magneto-hydrodynamical in nature. Thus, to study black hole accretion, it is necessary to know the hydrodynamic properties of the flow of the matter as it is the matter which, after all, will emit the radiation that we detect by satellites. The variation of thermodynamic quantities such as the initial energy density of the accreted matter plays important roles as the emitted radiation intensity from the flow depends on the density and the temperature at each point of the flow at each moment of time. So the spectral and temporal properties of emitted radiations are directly determined by the hydrodynamical variables. In my Ph.D. work, I mainly made effort to study the hydrodynamic properties of the flow and its stability properties through time-dependent numerical simulations. We started with time-dependent solutions of one-dimensional (spherically symmetric) and two-dimensional (axially symmetric) accretion flows around compact objects, in particular black holes, after examining the steady-state solutions. We describe the development of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic code and its application to various astrophysical problems. A FORTRAN code for two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamics has been developed to model viscous accretion discs. We employ a grid-based finite difference method called the total variation diminishing method (TVD). The effective shear viscosity present in the code is evaluated. The simulations were carried out for flows in the Schwarzschild geometry. By numerical simulation, we show that the theoretical solutions (with or without shocks) which are claimed to be stationary are indeed so. When the shocks are absent, they show steady oscillations. Our survey was carried out using the entire inflow parameter space spanned by the specific energy, angular momentum, shear viscosity and a


PRE-ENGINEERED (PACKAGE/AND OR ON-SITE) W ASTEW ATER TREATMENT PLANTS Nguyen Hun Quyet, Vi Thi Thorn, Cao The Anh, Le Van Chieu, Cao The Ha, Vu Ngoc Duy, Truong Thi Mien, Vo Thi Thanh Tam, Tran Thi To Phuong Research Centre for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development (CETASD), Hanoi University of Science, VNU-Hanoi T3 Building, 334 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xl/an, Hanoi, Vietnam Package plants are getting more and more popularity not only in drinking water treatment, but also in wastewater treatment. There are some proccesses used to design such kind of facilities. They are extended aeration, contact stabilization, SBR, RBC, oxidation ditch, BMR, physico-chemical treatment etc. In this repoli two options for preingineered wastewater treatment plant were studied. It was revealed that plant based on principle of Japanese Jokaso using contact stabilization by biological submerged anaerobic and aerobic filters was well suited for on-site treatment of hospital or similar wastewaters.Although relatively high cost of investment, MBR is another promissing option with the best effluent's quality, that can be reused to reduce the treatment cost.


Shared automated vehicles (SAVs) own the potential to contribute significantly to a reduction in urban traffic by reducing the share of motorized private transport in the modal split. Due to high traffic loads in cities, rapid introduction of SAVs is highly desirable. In order to enable the introduction of new, automated mobility concepts successfully, understanding mobility behavior as well as user needs is crucial. As part of the research project SAVeNoW, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, this work aims to identify relevant patterns in mobility behavior as well as attitudes towards automated mobility concepts. Therefore, we conducted an online survey in the city of Ingolstadt.The promising effects of shared automated mobility concepts only hold true, if they are able to attract users from the motorized private transport sector. Otherwise, there is a high risk of pure cannibalization of public transportation by SAVs. It is therefore of utmost importance to precisely understand user needs and requirements long before the implementation of shared mobility services. This paper offers insights from an online-based survey on the aforementioned issues. Previous studies already investigated users' perspectives on shared automated mobility. The presented sample however stands out due to having been obtained in the city of Ingolstadt, which has an unusual high private car density. Results from this sample are crucial to understanding the desires of a car centric community regarding automated mobility concepts.An online survey was chosen as method to obtain relevant mobility data. The online link to the survey was distributed via e-mail and reached students and employees from the Technical University Ingolstadt of Applied Sciences as well as a group of senior citizens who gave their consent to participate in scientific studies. Furthermore, posters and flyers promoting the survey's QR code were placed in the city's public parking garages as well as in the public transport busses in order to generate a diverse sample of participants. The online-questionnaire took roughly 20 minutes to complete and included four sections: demographic data, mobility demographic data, mobility behavior and attitude towards autonomous driving and future mobility concepts.N = 85 participants completed the questionnaire. The assumption of strong car ownership was confirmed. Notable reasons for car ownership were higher flexibility as well as shorter trip duration. This falls in line with previous research. Stated reasons against the use of public transport like high prices and low availability could be overcome with SAVs. Generally, participants are strongly willing to use automated shuttle busses. Readiness to share rides with others is most firmly influenced by familiarity with fellow riders, followed by sharing the same employer or neighborhood i.e. destination. Besides ticket price, general availability and route network, interior related features like privacy, cleanliness and availability of seats as well as WiFi and itinerary information can be considered as important factors towards the decision to use such mobility concepts. Results indicate that SAVs are a welcome mobility alternative, but may need to be reconsidered in their current design.


Surgical departments treat two groups of inpatients--the simple and the complex--consequently a single average fails to describe the use being made of the occupied beds. Using decision support techniques, we show why indicators such as the average length, the average occupancy and the average admissions mislead. Furthermore, by analysing the fluctuating pattern of weekly admissions we show how weekends and the Christmas holiday periods impact on bed usage. Next, we demonstrate that flow process models can be used to describe how the in-patient workload concerns two groups of patients. On an average day, 71.4% of the beds contained patients who will have an average (exponential) stay of 4.8 days, and the other beds, 28.6%, contain patients who will have an average (exponential) stay of 22.8 days. The article concludes by demonstrating the short and long-term impact on daily admissions of a 10% change in four different parameters of the model. The data used come from a surgical department in Adelaide, as UK data sets report finished consultant episodes rather than completed in-patient spells.


ASTRACT. Pelagic polychaetes collected at 29 oceanographic stations in the southern channels of Chile between Boca del Guafo and Elefantes Channel (spring 1998, summer 1999) were analyzed. Seven species of pelagic po- lychaetes were identified: Tomopteris planktonis Apstein, T. septentrionalis Steenstrup, Pelagobia longicirrata Greeff, Lopadorhynchus krohnii (Claparede), Maupasia caeca Viguier, Typhloscolex muelleri Busch, and Phalacrophorus pictus Greeff. Seven species were collected in spring and five in summer. All the identified species are cosmopolitan and were recorded for the first time in this sector of southern Chile's interior waters. Maupasia caeca, Lopadorhynchus krohnii, and Typhloscolex muelleri are recorded for the first time in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the southern distribution limit of Phalacrophorus pictus was extended to the coast of Chile.


To date almost 40 human chemokines have been described, modulating a complex and overlapping set of biological activities important for basal leukocyte trafficking, as well as the extravasation and tissue infiltration of leukocytes in response to inciting agents. Chemokines appear to be key mediators in a number of inflammatory pathologies as a result of their chemotactic effects on almost every leukocyte type, including neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, dendritic cells, NK cells, B-cells and T-cells, together with their ability to stimulate effector functions, such as granule release and superoxide radical production from these cells. With the recent discovery that some chemokine receptors function as HIV-1 co-receptors and with accumulating evidence that chemokines may also regulate certain aspects of haematopoiesis, angiogenesis and apoptosis, the chemokines and their receptors have emerged as a new set of drug discovery targets for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.


Electrical and electromagnetic methods are well suited for coastal aquifer studies because of the large contrast in resistivity between fresh water‐bearing and salt water‐bearing formations. Interpretation models for these aquifers typically contain four layers: a highly resistive unsaturated zone; a surficial fresh water aquifer of intermediate resistivity; an underlying conductive, salt water saturated aquifer; and resistive substratum. Additional layers may be added to allow for variations in lithology within the fresh water and salt water layers. Two methods are evaluated: direct current resistivity and time domain electromagnetic soundings. Use of each method alone produces nonunique solutions for resistivities and/or thicknesses of the different layers. We show that joint inversion of vertical electric and time domain electromagnetic soundings produces a more tightly constrained interpretation model at three test sites than is produced by inversion methods applied to each data set independently.


Summary 1 General Principles of International Law have been a much contested source among International Law scholars. The ambigu‐ ity that surrounds their interpretation has resulted to a vivid dia‐ logue around their legal nature, and their use in contemporary judicial practice of domestic and international tribunals. Global‐ ization and the ever‐increasing complexity of International Eco‐ nomics affected the position of General Principles within the international legal system, and resulted to their progressive con‐ solidation in the area of International Economic Law. Further examination of issues arising vis‐a‐vis General Principles could prove to be useful in other areas of law, in the same manner they addressed legal issues in International Economic Law.


Usri, a southward sloping fourth order drainage sub-basin of Barakar
river, is located in the northern margin of Chhotanagpur plateau,
Giridih, India. Gently sloping undulating landforms devoid of hills and
outcrops is main characteristics of this sub-basin. Topographic
elevation varies between 310 to 390 m MSL. Geographically it is located
between lat 24.38° N to 24.54° N long and 86.07° E and 86.28° E
longitudes. Thick weathered horizon developed over homogenous Archean
granite-gneiss is the principal unconfined aquifer system. Basement
topographic (weathering depth) and water table have been correlated with
the surface topographic features (landforms). Presence of considerably
thick weathered horizons, devoid of rock exposures, regional uniformity
in geomorphic characters and its location at fringe of plateau provides
favorable condition for correlation of surface topography with basement
topography and water table. It has been observed that basement surface
is replica of ground surface only in regional or watershed perspective
with reference to common datum. The basement surface is not always exact
replica of ground surface at micro watershed scale. In many cases,
basement surface is reverse of ground surface. The depth basement has
remained constant along the basin water-divide situated near the margin
of the plateau. The depth of basement (weathered horizon) is higher in
upper reaches than lower reaches on the micro water-divides (upland) as
well as in the drainage depressions (channels) within the sub-basin. The
upper reaches of the sub-basin mainly along the basin water-divide has
better groundwater prospects than lower reaches. There is no definite
trend of water table with respect to ground and basement topography.
Many places water table is shallow on the micro water-divides (upland)
and deep in drainage depressions (channels). The established
correlations are likely to be applicable in the other geographical area
where similar watershed and geological characteristics exits.


The work/step framework provides a high-level cost model for nested data-parallel programming languages, allowing programmers to understand the efficiency of their codes without concern for the eventual mapping of tasks to processors. Vectorization, or flattening, is the key technique for compiling nested-parallel languages. This paper presents a formal study of vectorization, considering three low-level targets: the EREW, bounded-contention CREW, and CREW variants of the VRAM. For each, we describe a variant of the cost model and prove the correctness of vectorization for that model. The models impose different constraints on the set of programs and implementations that can be considered; we discuss these in detail.


Platelets play a central role in the initiation and propagation of thrombus formation. The use of antiplatelet and antithrombotic medications during peripheral vascular and coronary interventions helps reduce the likelihood of intravascular thrombus formation and adverse ischemic events. As formation of intravascular thrombus and subacute stent thrombosis are thrombin- and platelet-mediated phenomenon, achieving optimal activated clotting time and platelet inhibition (PI) during the interventional procedure is critical. However, as a quick and easy measure of platelet function has previously not been available in the interventional laboratory, cardiovascular interventions are routinely performed after administration of oral or intravenous antiplatelet agents without evaluating platelet function. Recently, point-of-care rapid platelet function assays have become available that allow quick and reproducible measure of platelet function in the interventional laboratory after administration of aspirin, thienopyridines, and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. Though PI can now be routinely measured during vascular interventions, considerable inconsistencies exist in the management of patients based on these results. We present an algorithm for the management of antiplatelet therapy during cardiovascular interventions based on rapid evaluation of platelet function in the interventional laboratory.


Given the positions and orientations of several pipe surfaces (cylinders) in 3D space, a scheme for constructing a piecewise algebraic surface to blend the pipe surfaces is presented. The algorithm starts with a suitable partitioning of the 3D space into tetrahedra or prisms in which the algebraic surface patches are defined. Then a smooth piecewise algebraic surface is constructed which meets the pipe surfaces with a certain order of geometric continuity. The proper choice of free parameters is briefly discussed.


This study examined the remediation of crude oil polluted soils obtained from Ohaji Egbema Imo State Nigeria using macerated roots of T. diversifolia (TD) and S. jamaicensis (SJ). The soil pH levels, PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and TPH (Total petroleum hydrocarbons) contents, and catalase and peroxidase activities were evaluated. Thirty-two polyethene bags containing 300g of soil samples were divided into eight groups of quadruplicates. Group 1 were the unpolluted soil samples (USS), group 2; polluted soil samples (PSS) without remediation, group 3; PSS containing 250g of TD, group 4; PSS containing 500g of TD, group 5; PSS containing 250 g of SJ, group 6; PSS containing 500g of SJ, group 7; PSS containing 250g of the mixture of TD and SJ (1:1) and group 8; PSS containing 500g of the mixture of TD and SJ (1:1). At all experimental periods, the pH of the PSS without remediation was significantly lower than the USS. The 500 g TD completely normalized the altered pH of the PSS on the 4th week, comparable to the results of the 12th week. The PAH (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) levels in the group 5 and 7 on the 1st day were not significantly different from the PAH of the group 2. Group 3, 4, 7, and 8 produced the best PAH lowering effects on the polluted soils on the 8th week, which compared to the results of the 12th week. At all experimental periods, 500g of TD provided the most effective for TPH reduction of the polluted soils. Results for the enzyme activities showed a significantly decreased (p < 0.05) catalase and peroxidase levels of the polluted soils when compared to the USS. Both the 1st day and 1st week recorded similar catalase activities in all groups except group 5, while group 4-8 recorded significantly increased catalase activities from the 4 - 12th week. For the 1st day, 1st week, and 4th week, increasing the amount of the plants from 250g - 500g had no effect on the peroxidase levels of the soils, while a quantity dependent significant increase in peroxidase levels was observed only for group 7 and 8 on the 8th and 12th weeks. The 500g TD produced the most significant restorative effect on the polluted soils. This study has shown the extensive remediation produced by TD on crude oil polluted soils of Ohaji Egbema.


Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in combination with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is a popular method for high data rate wireless transmission. The use of multiple antennas at both sides of the link offers an additional fundamental gain-spatial multiplexing gain, which results in increased spectral efficiency. This paper is concerned with the simulation, modeling and performance evaluation of Multiple Input Multiple Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) with improved performance. In this scheme OVSF codes have been used for image spreading before transmission as it solves the synchronization problem and minimizes the effect of unwanted noise during transmission. Rayleigh fading channel has been used in the proposed scheme. The performance of the proposed scheme has been tested on image signal and checked by waveforms and plots by calculating bit error rate and pixel error rate. Various digital modulation techniques have been used for checking the performance of the proposed scheme.


In December 1992, 17 African lions and 7 Siberian tigers in a Safari park in Japan became sick with characteristic clinical symptoms of acute vesicular formations on tongue and snout. The disease was highly contagious since all of these animals showed similar symptoms within two days after the onset of the first case. Swabs were taken from affected animals in rubbing tongues, snouts and some from rectums. Cytopathic viruses were isolated on CRFK cell culture by virological tests. The physicochemical property of a representative virus strain, named Arthur/L, isolated from a male lion was identified as a member of Caliciviridae. However, seroneutralization test indicated that this virus strain was antigenically distinct from Japanese isolates of feline caliciviruses used for comparison. Viral capsid proteins of the present isolate, Arthur/L, and of a feline calicivirus, strain FC7, were compared in an electrophoresis in SDS-PAGE gel. The major viral capsid polypeptide of them were proved to be significantly different in molecular weight. The polypeptide of FC7 was estimated to be ca. 63 KDa whereas that of Arthur/L consisted of 2 components of ca. 65 and 62 KDa. The viral proteins of these two strains were also proved to be distinct by an immunoblotting test.


In Reordering the Natural World, Annabelle Sabloff argues that the everyday practices of contemporary capitalist society reinforce the conviction that we are profoundly alienated from the rest of nature. At the same time, she reveals the often disguised affinities and sense of connection urban Canadians manifest in their relations with animals and the natural world. Sabloff reflects on how the discipline of anthropology has contributed to the prevailing Western perception of a divide between nature and culture. She suggests that the present ecological crisis has resulted largely from the ways in which Western societies have construed nature as a cultural system. Since new ideas about nature may be critical in changing humanity's destructive interactions with the biosphere, Reordering the Natural World is invaluable in exploring how urban Canadians develop and sustain their current relationship with the macrocosm, and in considering whether these relationships might be altered by reconceptualizing anthropology itself as an integral part of natural history. With this unique text, Sabloff not only provides provocative insight into the study of relations between humans and the natural world, she lays the cornerstone for building an entirely new structure for the study of anthropology itself.


Computed tomography scans were assessed for subcutaneous fat area and density at thoracic vertebra 4 in 65 adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. Subcutaneous fat was quantified over 3 timepoints; (1) baseline, (2) end of initial anthracycline treatment (EOT) and (3) 1 year. Fat area increased at EOT (62.3 ± 5.4 cm/m2 vs 53.5 ± 5.0 cm/m2, p < 0.01) and 1 year (65.8 ± 5.6 cm/m2 vs 53.5 ± 5.0 cm/m2, p < 0.01) compared to baseline. Fat density significantly decreased at EOT (-91.2 ± 1.4 HU vs -86.5 ± 1.4 HU, p < 0.01) and at 1 year (-90.3 ± 1.6 HU vs -86.5 ± 1.4 HU, p = 0.01) compared to baseline. Female, radiation receiving, and anthracycline dosage >250mg/m2subgroups experienced significant fat gain (p < 0.05 for all). Female AYA Hodgkin lymphoma patients receiving radiation, and/or high-dose anthracyclines may be at higher risk of subcutaneous fat gain during therapy.


Guided by the i-PARIHS framework, this study investigates perceived facilitators in the process of adopting a new regulation launched in 2015 which aims to prevent and treat malnutrition. In May 2016, a national web-based questionnaire was emailed to chief medical nurses in elderly care in all Swedish municipalities (n = 290). The response rate in this cross-sectional study was 75% (n = 217). Fifty per cent of the municipalities had adopted new routines, 42% had started and 8% had not. One third of the respondents considered malnutrition to be a major problem in elderly care and about half considered the new national regulation to have strengthened local work. A logistic regression showed that the odds for having adopted new routines were higher for CMNs with long experience in elderly care and who had previously worked to prevent malnutrition, and for those who considered the new national regulation helpful. To extract underlying factors in the adoption process, two principal component analyses were performed for key actors and support. For key actors, the analysis yielded four factors, explaining 67% of the total variance; (a) first line team, (b) expert team, (c) management team and (d) surrounding resources. For support, the analysis yielded three factors, which explained 65% of the total variance; (a) agile teamwork, (b) management and leadership and (c) acceptance. The slow adoption rate of the regulation raises questions about its impact; this might be an effect of the general trend of decentralisation in the Swedish welfare sector, and in elderly care in particular, making it hard to attain change that is steered centrally. However, malnutrition is a pronounced problem in elderly care and the mandatory nature of the new regulation therefore warrants further investigation of whether its launch has contributed to a reduction of malnutrition by investigating outcomes and preventive actions carried out in practice.


The common approach to radial distortion is by the means of polynomial approximation, which introduces distortion-specific parameters into the camera model and requires estimation of these distortion parameters. The task of estimating radial distortion is to find a radial distortion model that allows easy undistortion as well as satisfactory accuracy. This paper presents a new class of rational radial distortion models with easy analytical undistortion formulae. Experimental results are presented to show that with this class of rational radial distortion models, satisfactory and comparable accuracy can be achieved.


Several recent studies have addressed the topic of "exposome", an approach for evaluating environmental exposures and their influence on human health conditions. Environmental exposures affecting human health range from a combination of factors like air pollution, tobacco smoke, and pollen, to climate, such as heat and humidity. With continued advances in information technology, and the worldwide deployment of mobile and wireless networks, patients' health conditions can be continuously monitored by numerous intelligent devices. Sensors can be integrated into their mobile devices such as smart phones for continuous health assistance and disease attack prevention. However, researchers must overcome many challenges, such as data acquisition, data scales and data uncertainty, in order to evaluate environmental exposures. In this paper, we propose a framework for a generic health monitoring system for modeling and analyzing individual exposure to environmental triggers. We propose to integrate a wide range of individual exposures using wireless sensors and mobile devices for exposure assessment. This paper provides a solid framework by considering asthma as a specific case and presents challenges and opportunities in developing a data management system for continuously changing data and algorithms for evaluating environmental exposures.


Non‐Newtonian characteristics of boundary layer flow passing a flat external surface with zero incident angle were studied using Phan‐Thien Tanner (PTT) type constitutive equation with the network theory. Consideration is given to the shear thickening and the shear thickening–thinning characteristics of fluid in the flow problem. The Von Karman integral equation is solved numerically in order to obtain the boundary layer thickness and associated friction coefficient. Two important parameters in the network theory, the segment number and chain slippage parameter, are discussed to investigate their effects on the boundary layer characteristics. The calculated results indicate that there are large jumps of boundary layer thickness at the leading edge of the plate for small slip parameters when the effect of normal stress is not included in the calculation. On the contrary, the jumps are eliminated, particularly for smaller Reynolds number, with the inclusion of the effect of normal stress.


The reaction of S-methyl t-butyl(phenyl)- and di-t-butyl-phosphinothiolates with bromine and iodine involves the transient formation of the same type of halosulphonium salts, ButRP(O)S+(X)MeX– and phosphonium salts, ButRP+(SMe)OP(O)ButRX–(R = Ph, But; X = Br, I) as described1for the reaction of S-methyl t-butyl(phenyl)phosphinothiolate with chlorine and sulphuryl chloride. The considerable stability at room temperature of intermediates containing two phosphorus atoms, and their predominant decomposition with preservation of the P–O–P bridge in the reaction product, has been demonstrated. The stereochemistry of this transformation has been established by stereochemical correlations.


OBJECTIVE
To illustrate the basic characteristics of several specific personality disorders, focusing mainly in antisocial personality disorder. The differences between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy are highlighted. Serial killers and its psychopathic aspects are also discussed.

METHOD
A bibliographic review was completed in order to outline convergences and divergences among different authors about this controversial issue, especially those concerning the possibility of treatment.

RESULTS
While anti-social personality disorder is a medical diagnosis, the term "psychopathy" (which belongs to the sphere of forensic psychiatry) may be understood as a "legal diagnosis". It is not still possible to identify an effective treatment for serial killers.

CONCLUSION
Personality disorders, especially of the antisocial type, still represent a formidable challenge to forensic psychiatry today. Questions as yet unanswered include the best and most humane place for patients with this condition and the nature of a standardised treatment recommendation.


Inflammatory processes are deeply involved in ischemia-reperfusion injuries (IRI) and ventricular remodelling (VR) after a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). They are associated with clinical adverse events (heart failure and cardiovascular death) adding damage to the myocardium after reperfusion. Moreover, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induces a local sympathetic denervation leading to electrical instability and arrythmia. Colchicine, a well-known alkaloid with direct anti-inflammatory effects, was shown to reduce the myocardial necrosis size and limit the VR. In a recent proof of concept study, colchicine appears to prevent sympathetic denervation in a mice model of ischemia/reperfusion, but not in the necrosis or in the border zone areas. The Colchicine to Prevent Sympathetic Denervation after an AMI study (COLD-MI) is an ongoing, confirmative, prospective, monocentre, randomized, open-label trial. The COLD-MI trial aims to evaluate the intensity of sympathetic denervation after AMI and its potential modulation due to low dose colchicine. Sympathetic denervation will be noninvasively evaluated using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). After a first episode of STEMI (Initial TIMI flow ≤ 1) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), patients will be randomized (n = 56) in a 1:1 ratio to either receive colchicine or not for 30 days. The primary end point will be the percentage of myocardial denervation measured by 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) SPECT at a 6-month follow-up. The main secondary end points will be basic ECG parameters (QRS duration, corrected QT) and HRV parameters from a 24 hour-recording Holter at 1- and 6-months follow-up. Results from this study will contribute to a better understanding of the cardioprotective effect of colchicine after AMI. The present study describes the rationale, design, and methods of the trial.


One of the famous Marxist texts Socialism: Utopian and Scientific was originated from the book Anti-Duhring. The former was mainly recomposed of the important contents of the latter. This text was at those days appraised as a guide to the scientific socialism. So this book was 1880 at first time published in French by Paul Lafargue, and since then it was successfully translated in 10 languages until the English publisher Edward Aveling published in English. Even in East Aisa in 1906, the text was at first time translated in Japanese. The main translators Sakai Toshihiko and Kawakami Hajime used both the English and the German version as the basic text for the translation. In Korea Socialism: Utopian and Scientific was translated in 1925 at first time by Sinchun. Only the chapter III was published with the title "Scientific Socialism" on the magazine Sasangundong. This Korean version has the peculiar character to use the English version as the basic translation text and also to refer the Japanese version which was translated by Sakai and Kawakami. It is very important that it shows that the translation method relating to Marxist texts has gradually changed from the double translation of the Japanese version to the direct translation of the English version. While Sinchun selected and used main conception words from the Japanese version, he also had used creative translation words. And he tried to give useful help to the Korean readers by newly adding 79 notes for the Korean version. On April 1926, Gwondoksa published Socialism: Utopian and Scientific with the Korean title Scientific Socialism. It was the first Engels' text to be published in Korea. This Korean version used the English version as the basic translation text and also to refer the Japanese by Sakai and Kawakami. This editors made use of main conception words from the Japanese version, they also created new Korean translation words. And they also tried to help to understand the content of the book with the addition of 37 notes. Moreover, they retranslated completely on the basic of the English version all of the parts which the Japanese version had deleted or translated differently on the Japanese style. In these points the version of Gwondoksa was very different from the version of Sinchun. The publication of Scientific Socialism was the trial to respond to the social needs for the scientific theory from the development of the socialism movement in Korea. This event has an historical meaning that the Korean socialists had successfully tried to understand the Marxism directly without passing through the Japanese version.


Overall goal of our study of sediment material collected during RV Sonne Cruise 202 (INOPEX) in 2009
(Gersonde et al., Curise Report 2009), is the reconstruction of the short-term variability of sea-ice, sea-surface
temperature (SST), primary productivity and terrigenous input in the subpolar North Pacific/Bering Sea and
their relationship to global climate change, using organic-geochemical proxies (i.e. organic-geochemical bulk
parameters and biomarkers such as: TOC, hydrogen indices; long-chain n-alkanes, sterols, alkenones; Uk37 and
TEX86-Index; BIT-Index; HBIs, IP25, PIP25). In a first phase, these organic-geochemical proxies have been
determined in surface sediments. The results show that the biomarker proxies reflect modern sea-ice and SST
distributions as well as areas of increased primary productivity and increased input of terrigenous (organic) matter
quite well. In a second phase of the project, the biomarkers have been determined in three selected sediment cores:
Core SO 202-18-6 (Umnak Plateau/Bering Sea; 60.127�N, 179.444�W; water depth 1105 m; core length
7.21 m; age interval 0 to 14 kyr.BP).
Core SO 202-07-6 (Detroit Seamount/western subpolar North Pacific; 51.272�N, 167.700�W; water depth 2340
m WD; core length 4.69 m; age interval MIS 1 to 3).
Core SO 202-27-6 (Patton Seamount/eastern subpolar North Pacific; 54.296�N, 149.600�W; water depth 2919 m;
core length 2.91 m: age interval MIS 1 to 3).
Here, we concentrate especially on the variability of sea-ice cover and SST, using the newly developed
sea-ice proxy IP25 (Belt et al., 2007) and alkenone data, respectively, determined in the AMS14C-dated Core
SO 202-18-6. Based on these biomarker records, sea-ice cover and SST changed significantly in the northern
Bering Sea during Deglacial-Holocene times. The Younger Dryas interval is characterized by extended sea-ice
cover, coinciding with a drop in SST to 2-4�C. With the end of the Younger Dryas, between 460 and 420 cmbsf,
sea-ice cover decreased with increasing SST. Between 420 and 120 cmbsf representing the early Holocene
(Thermal Maximum), IP25 is absent and maximum SST of about 6�C was reached. During the upper 120 cmbsf
representing the late Holocene, IP25 occurred again and increased towards the top, paralleled by a decrease in
SST of about 3�C. A very similar contemporaneous trend of increasing sea-ice cover during the late Holocene
was recorded in the northernmost North Atlantic (Fram Strait), paralleled by an advance of glaciers in Norway, a
colder climate over Greenland, a colder and dryer climate in Siberia, and a decrease in Siberian river discharge
(Stein et al., 2004; Muller et al., 2009; 2012).


Broadcast plantings of nonhost cultivars (alfalfa, barley, bean, onion, potato, and wheat) in soil in redwood boxes (4.2 x 30 x 14 cm) infested with Heterodera schachtii reduced the initial nematode populations (P = 0.05). The reduction was greater with sugarbeets, a host, than with all other cropping treatments except onion, bean, and fallow (P = 0.05). After 80 days, when the root growth of all treatments had completely penetrated the soil, the nematode population was lower under onion than under wheat and barley (P = 0.05). The terminal nematode population (160 days) was lowest under onion, followed by bean, potato, fallow, and alfalfa. The nematode population was less under onion than under fallow, alfalfa, barley, and wheat (P = 0.05). Bean, potato, and fallow nematode populations were less than barley populations (P = 0.05). When broadcast plantings of these cultivars were simulated in microplots, the terminal population (100 days) was significantly lower under onion and bean than fallow (P = 0.05). However, no significant differences in reduction of H. schachtii population density were obtained when commercial row plantings of these crops were simulated in microplots. H. schachtii suppressed growth of barley, tomato, and sugarbeet, but not of bean, onion, alfalfa, or wheat in the greenhouse. Only the growth of sugarbeet was suppressed significantly in the field (P = 0.05).


Many geophysical phenomena can be described as complex systems, involving phenomena such as extreme or "wild" events that often do not follow the Gaussian distribution that would be expected if the events were simply random and uncorrelated. For instance, some geophysical phenomena like earthquakes show a much higher occurrence of relatively large values than would a Gaussian distribution and so are examples of the "Noah effect" (named by Benoit Mandelbrot for the exceptionally heavy rain in the biblical flood). Other geophysical phenomena are examples of the "Joseph effect," in which a state is especially persistent, such as a spell of multiple consecutive hot days (heat waves) or several dry summers in a row. The Joseph effect was named after the biblical story in which Joseph's dream of seven fat cows and seven thin ones predicted 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of drought.


The aim of this paper is to describe a direct and personal account of the issues and challenges that occurred in three action research projects that were part of a doctoral research program. The action research cases were carried out in various government organisations and were researching the application of a Systemic Lessons Learned Knowledge (Syllk) conceptual model. The focus of the paper is on the general methodological issues and problems of action research. The author hopes that readers will benefit from the direct and transparent account of the practical problems encountered in the studies.


BACKGROUND
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents 85% of all lung cancers. It is estimated that 60% of patients with NSCLC at time of diagnosis have advanced disease. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical and demographic prognostic factors of long term survival in patients with unresectable NSCLC.

METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed data of 1,156 patients with NSCLC stage IIIB or IV who survived more than 60 days from the time of diagnosis and treated from August 1987 until March 2013 in the Oncology Department of Pulmonary Clinic of the General Hospital Papanikolaou. Initially univariate analysis using the log-rank test was conducted and then multivariate analysis using the proportional hazards model of Cox. Also Kaplan Meier curves were used to describe the distribution of survival times of patients. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

RESULTS
The mean age at diagnosis was 62 years. About 11.9% of patients were women and 88.1% were male. The majority of cases were adenocarcinomas (42.2%), followed squamous (33%) and finally the large cell (6%). Unlike men, most common histological type among women was adenocarcinoma rather than squamous (63% vs. 10.9%). In univariate analysis statistically significant factors in the progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were: weight loss ≥5%, histological type, line 1 drugs, line 1 combination, line 1 cycles and radio lung. Specifically radio lung gives clear survival benefit in the PFS and OS in stage IIIB (P=0.002) and IV (P<0.001). On the other hand, the number of distant metastases in stage IV patients did not affect OS, neither PFS. In addition patients who received platinum and taxane had better PFS (P=0.001) and OS (P<0.001) than those who received platinum without taxane. Also the third drug administration proved futile, since survival (682.06±34.9) (P=0.023) and PFS (434.93±26.93) (P=0.012) of patients who received less than three drugs was significantly larger. Finally, large cell carcinoma recorded the shortest OS and PFS compared with adenocarcinoma (P=0.043 and P=0.016 respectively) and squamous cell carcinoma (P=0.021 and P=0.004 respectively). In multivariate analysis the same predictors were statistically significant except for line 1 drugs.

CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms the increased incidence of adenocarcinoma in women than in men and the aggressiveness of large cell carcinoma. It also underlines the vitality of factors such as weight loss, radio lung and doublet platinum-based. On the other hand, it excludes significant factors such as gender, age and smoking.


We studied binding of T4 to the lipid-complexed apolipoproteins (apo) of high density lipoproteins (HDL), the major lipoprotein carrier of thyroid hormones in human plasma, and to lipid-free apoA-I. HDL isolated from fresh normal plasma by ultracentrifugation (density, 1.063-1.210 g/mL) was photoaffinity labeled with [3,5-(125)I]T4 and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two bands corresponding to apoA-I (28.3K) and apoC-II or apoC-III (8.6-9.2K) were seen, and their radioactivity decreased by 50-60% when labeled in the presence of 1 mumol/L T4. Photoaffinity labeling of isolated apoA-I also was demonstrated and was decreased 74% by 1 mumol/L T4, suggesting a higher affinity of the lipid-free protein for T4. T4 binding of isolated apoA-I was optimal at pH 7-8, reached a maximum after 1 h at 23 C, and decreased after incubation at 37 C. Scatchard analysis revealed a single T4-binding site with a Ka of 7.5 x 10(7) L/mol at 23 C, pH 8.2. The potency of T4 analogs as inhibitors of T4 binding to isolated apoA-I was L-T4 = D-T4 = triiodothyroacetic acid = L-rT3 much greater than L-T3 much greater than L-thyronine. The binding of T4 to apoA-I was reduced by known inhibitors of T4 binding to serum proteins (diclofenac = mefenamic acid = furosemide = 8-anilinonaphthalene sulfonic acid much greater than dilantin greater than heparin greater than barbital) and by lipids (unsaturated fatty acids greater than cholesterol = cholesterol esters = phospholipids greater than saturated fatty acids = diglycerides = triglycerides). We conclude that the binding of T4 to HDL is mediated by a specific interaction of the hormone with apoA-I and with apoC-II and/or apoC-III. Since the lipid constituents of HDL inhibit T4 binding to apoA-I, the HDL subfraction in plasma that carries most of the HDL-bound T4 should be one with a low lipid content.


A common approach in resolving enantiomers of chiral basic drugs by capillary electrophoresis (CE) is to use cyclodextrins (especially their anionic derivatives) as chiral selector in the acidic buffer (pH ≤ 3) in normal or reversed (carrier) mode. Then, some organic modifiers are added to the buffer solution if the resolution is not satisfactory. In case of cetirizine (CTN), applying the same approach, i.e. a reversed mode capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with an acidic buffer and sulfated-β-cyclodextrine (S-bCD) as chiral selector, was failed and no complete enantioseparation was achieved. Different organic modifiers, like urea and triethylamine HCl, were used to improve chiral resolution which led to partial resolution of the two peaks. Then, guanidine HCl at a concnetration of 100 mM was added to the running buffer and an acceptable resolution of the enantiomers of the drug was obtained. The method was successfully applied to determine optical purity of a levo-cetirizine (l-CTN) sample.


Introduction Stroke (CVA) is a multifactorial disease, where the combination of risk factors may be associated with and contribute to its development. Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of risk factors for stroke in the physically independent elderly in the city of Londrina, Brazil. Materials and methods This study was composed of the elderly individuals participating in the EELO project (Age and Ageing Study, Londrina, State of Parana, Brazil). In order to identify the risk factors for stroke, one used a structured questionnaire with information about socio-demographic and anthropometric data as well as lifestyle variables, such as physical inactivity and smoking, presence of comorbidities, and laboratory tests for diagnosis of diabetes and dyslipidemia. Results The study included 454 elderly with mean age of 69.7 years. There was a significant relationship between the number of risk factors and gender (p = 0.01), with higher prevalence among women. In separate analysis, the elderly between 60 and 69 years had a higher incidence of obesity (p = 0.03) and dyslipidemia (p = 0.04). Regarding gender, obesity (p = 0.01), smoking (p = 0.0001), vascular disease (p = 0.0001) and heart disease in the family (p = 0.01) higher incidence was shown in females, according toChi Square's test. Conclusions It is concluded that elderly people aged less than 70 years and older women were those with the highest number of risk factors for CVA. Therefore, it may be suggested the development of primary care programs in order to promote information on the prevention of these risk factors and thus reduce the occurrence of stroke.


This study intends to investigate how multi-symbolic representations (text, digits, and colors) could effectively enhance the completion of co-located/distant collaborative work in a virtual reality context. Participants' perceptions and behaviors were also studied. A haptics-enhanced virtual reality task was developed to conduct collaborative work. An experiment was conducted with which participants were separated into four groups with the combinations of two variables: w/o multi-symbols and co-located/distant. Performance results show that multi-symbolic representations significantly helped users reduce the time in completing a task in the co-located case. Perception results show that awareness, presence and social presence are highly correlated to usefulness, ease of use and playfulness. Further, behavior analysis found two strategies beneficial to the completion of collaborative work with which divide and conquer is used in problem solving. In addition, the major failure mode is identified and it implies that participants had problems in depth perception. In summary, multi-symbolic representations in haptics-enhanced virtual reality systems have potentials to effectively help collaborative work.


Analysis, the first phase of the typical instructional design process, is often downplayed. This paper focuses on the analysis concerning a series of e-courses for collaborative adult education in semi-formal settings by reporting and generalizing results from the REVIT project. REVIT, an EU-funded research project, offered custom e-courses to learners in several remote European areas and received a 'best practice' distinction in social inclusion. These e-courses were designed and developed for the purpose of providing training in aspects of the learners' professional domains related to the utilization of information and communication technologies. The main challenge was to prove that it is possible and economically feasible to provide meaningful training opportunities via distance education, by utilizing existing infrastructure ("revitalizing schools") and by making use of modern digital technology affordances coupled with suitable distance learning techniques and Web 2.0 tools. ADDIE, the generic instructional systems design model, enhanced with a rapid prototyping phase, was put forth in order to allow stakeholders to interact with a prototypical e-course, which served as an introductory lesson and as a reference point, since its evaluation informed the design choices of all subsequent e-courses. The learning needs approach adopted in REVIT combined learner analysis, context analysis, and needs analysis into a coherent analysis framework in which several methods (observation, estimation, document analysis, survey, and dialogue) were exploited. Putting emphasis on the analysis phase and decoupling the design from the delivery of the e-courses facilitated adaptation and localization. Adaptation and localization issues concerning the adoption of the REVIT distance learning framework, taking into account the socio-cultural and pedagogical context, are discussed. A central result reported is that the analysis phase was crucial for the success of the whole endeavour and that carrying it out properly is not straightforward or easy. The analysis framework presented in this paper could be useful in other similar e-learning situations whose "educational-identity" also involves distance and adult learning in a semi-formal setting.


Studies of thin film growth involve interdependent chemical, electronic and mechanical properties whose comprehensive understanding is critical for predicting thin film morphology and properties. Self assembly of organic molecules on a metal substrate lays the groundwork for structures desired in nanotechnology applications. The three classes of films which I investigate are: monolayer MoS2 with strong Mo-S bonding, anthracene films formed by weak van der Waals interactions, and anthraquinine (AQ) honeycomb networks assembled by the interplay of local hydrogen bonding and substrate-mediated long range interactions. In this book, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angular resolved ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (ARUPS) have been used to investigate monolayer and sub-monolayer thin films grown on a Cu(111) substrate. My research focuses on the use of STM, XPS and ARUPS to investigate the role of ionic bonding, van der Waals interaction, hydrogen bonding and surface mediated interactions during growth of thin films and how to tailor the film morphology by controlling these interactions.


, '" .ii Chapter I: Introduction Statement ofthe Problem " .4 Purpose ofthe Study 5 Research Questions 5 Definition ofTerms 5 Assumptions ofthe Research 6 Limitations ofthe Research 7 Chapter II: Literature Review