The aim of this work is to review and analyze the needs of citizens and the city, concerning the cultural, spiritual and intellectual development, for the subsequent creation of comfortable, diverse cultural and educational space in each area of the city. The paper studies the creation of the cultural and educational environment and examines the socio-cultural situation in the city. Design/methodology/approach: The theoretical approach is based on works of sociologists and philosophers, cultural studies, and a few studies of architects. In fact, there is no systematic approach to design of cultural and educational spaces in Russian cities. As a result, in practice a lack of understanding is identified for the role of the city environment as a social and economic system. There is also a shortage of such studies concerning Krasnoyarsk. As a result, the paper poses problems of designing a system of cultural space and complexes that currently develop in Krasnoyarsk. The role of culture for the city life along with the historical influence of cultural centers on the city development are considered. Research findings: Analyzing the location of cultural objects on the city map one can observe a stereotype that is established in the minds of people: the center is a cultural point, and the absence of cultural sites on the periphery or a sharp decrease of their quantity in non-central districts is supposedly normal. In most cities of Russia the phenomenon of cultural monocentricity is observed. It implies the concentration of the cultural function in the city center and its deficit on the periphery can be noticed. The analysis of needs of citizens is made for the potential subsequent creation of models of cultural and educational spaces in each city area. Practical implications: Based on the results, current trends and algorithms of the implementation of proposed scheme are suggested. Recommendations for approaches to the architectural design of cultural and educational complexes and spaces are made. Cultural and educational complexes seem not as vital for surviving as, for example, schools, universities, hospitals, etc. However, it is necessary to support the desire of citizens to visit cultural places, progress, learn independently (outside school or university), engage in creativity and create all possible conditions for their implementation. Originality/value: Taking into account the existing theoretical studies, a sociological survey is compiled for residents of the city. Using various theories, the needs for cultural development and social recognition are investigated. Based on the survey, a problem was formulated, and suggestions were made about the need for further research. It is found that the presence or absence of cultural spaces significantly influence the life of people in a particular district or city: the lack of alternatives for self-expression and leisure provokes the rise of internet, television and other forms of destructive activities, slowing down the cultural development of the city. The study provides the complex strategic solution for the problem.


Inter-particle interactions play important roles in controlling the structures, dispersion state and chemo-physical properties of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in liquid media. In this work, we prepared palladium (Pd) NPs with an average diameter of ∼4.6 nm in situ inside the liquid cell, and investigated their coupled diffusion and aggregation behaviors through liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM). Via analyzing the interaction energies and forces, we derived the effective working range for repulsive double layer interaction experimentally, a value larger than two times the Debye length, suggesting a different interaction behavior of sub-5 nm NPs from that of colloidal NPs in larger sizes. Our results provide insights for the interactions between colloidal ultrafine nanoparticles in solution and will also shed light on the precisely controlled assembly of colloidal nanocrystals for practical applications.


Planetary rotation organizes fluid motions into coherent, long-lived swirls, known as large-scale vortices (LSVs), which play an important role in the dynamics and long-term evolution of geophysical and astrophysical fluids. Here, using direct numerical simulations, we show that LSVs in rapidly rotating mixed convective and stably stratified fluids, which approximates the two-layer, turbulent-stratified dynamics of many geophysical and astrophysical fluids, have a generic shape and that their size can be predicted. We show that LSVs emerge in the convection zone from upscale energy transfers and can penetrate into the stratified layer. At the convective-stratified interface, the LSV cores have a positive buoyancy anomaly. Due to the thermal wind constraint, this buoyancy anomaly leads to winds in the stratified layer that decay over a characteristic vertical length scale. Thus LSVs take the shape of a depth-invariant cylinder with a finite-size radius in the turbulent layer and of a penetrating half dome in the stratified layer. Importantly, we demonstrate that when LSVs penetrate all the way through the stratified layer and reach a boundary that is no-slip, they saturate by boundary friction. We provide a prediction for the penetration depth and maximum radius of LSVs as a function of the LSV vorticity, the stratified layer depth, and the stratification. Our results, which apply for cyclonic LSVs, suggest that LSVs in slowly rotating stars and Earth's liquid core are confined to the convective layer, while in Earth's atmosphere and oceans they can penetrate far into the stratified layer.


Using the notation of two-point tensors a boundary integral equation for steady-state problems of thermoelasticity is derived. We point out that only the fundamental solution U_Ki and the Galerkin tensor G_K^i have to be known in order to formulate the problem in an arbitrary curvilinear system of coordinates. After rewriting the integral equation for antisymmetric problems we solve this equation by means of the Boundary Element Method. Parabolic elements are utilized where nonsingular and singular integrals are computed numerically. The stress state in the body region and on its boundary are calculated with the help of suitable formulae which have been derived. Some numerical calculations in comparison with the results obtained analytically are given.


Background: Numerous studies indicate perceived social support is essential for maintaining quality of life in patients withObsessive-compulsive disorder. Objective: The study examines the role of perceived social support in quality of life (QOL) of patients with OCD. Methods: Fifty patients (25 females, 25 males) between 21 and 65 years old with OCD were recruited from the outpatient psychiatric units of different hospitals of Kashmir Valley. Quality of life was assessed by means of the WHOQOL-BREF, a self-administered questionnaire developed by WHO. Perceived Social Support was assessed by using Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Results: The results show a significant relationship between social support and quality of life. The findings of the study revealed that family support and support from friends were found significant predictors of quality of life among obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. Implications of present findings for OCD patients are discussed.


As the second largest organ in insects, the insect midgut is the major tissue involved in the digestion of food and detoxification of xenobiotics, such as insecticides, and the first barrier and target for oral RNA interference (RNAi). In this study, we performed a midgut‐specific transcriptome analysis in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, an economically important worldwide pest, with many populations showing high levels of insecticide resistance. Using high‐throughput sequencing, 52 838 060 short reads were generated and assembled to 25 236 unigenes with a mean length of 758 bp. Interestingly, 34 unique sequences encoding digestion enzymes were newly described and these included aminopeptidase and trypsin, genes associated with Bacillus thuringiensis resistance and fitness cost. Second, 41 transcripts were annotated to particular detoxification genes such as glutathione S‐transferases, carboxylesterases and cytochrome P450s, and the subsequent phylogenetic analysis indicated homology with tissue‐specific and insecticide resistance‐related genes of Drosophila melanogaster. Third, we identified the genes involved in the mechanism of RNAi and the uptake of double‐stranded RNA. The sequences encoding Dicer‐2, R2D2, AGO2, and Eater were confirmed, but SID and SR‐CI were absent in the midgut transcriptome. In conclusion, the results provide basic molecular information to better understand the mechanisms of food digestion, insecticide resistance and oral RNAi in this important pest insect in agriculture. Specific genes in these systems can be used in the future as potential targets for pest control, for instance, with RNAi technology.


Several studies on the mortality of chemists have revealed a lower overall mortality but an excess of deaths from certain diseases, in particular, cancers. This study determined the causes of mortality of 4,012 chemists among 14,884 members of The Royal Society of Chemistry who were followed for a period of 25 years. The results demonstrated consistency with other studies. There was an overall low mortality rate, with fewer deaths than expected from cancers, but an excess mortality from lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers, in particular leukemias. There was an excess of deaths from certain gastrointestinal cancers. There was reduced mortality from respiratory diseases, including lung cancers, and from cardiovascular disease. New findings reported in this study are increased mortality from cancers of the duodenum and kidney, certain skin cancers, mental disorders, and diseases of the nervous system.


We present a genome assembly from an individual female Sacculina carcini (crab hacker barnacle; Arthropoda; Crustacea; Thecostraca; Sacculinidae). The genome sequence is 264 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 28 chromosomal pseudomolecules plus 10 unlocalised. The mitochondrial genome was not identified.


A cryptographic primitive based on the Learning With Errors (LWE) problem with its variants is a promising candidate for the efficient quantum-resistant public key cryptosystem. The recent schemes use the LWE problem with a small-norm or sparse secret key for better efficiency. Such constraints, however, lead to more tailor-made attacks and thus are a trade-off between efficiency and security. Improving the algorithm for the LWE problem with the constraints thus has a significant consequence in the concrete security of schemes. In this paper, we present a new hybrid attack on the LWE problem. This new attack combines the primal lattice attack and an improved MitM attack called Meet-LWE, answering an open problem posed by May [Crypto'21]. According to our estimation, the new hybrid attack performs better than the previous attacks for the LWE problems with a sparse ternary secret key, which plays the significant role for the efficiency of fully homomorphic encryption schemes. In terms of the technical part, we generalize the Meet-LWE algorithm to be compatible with Babai's nearest plane algorithm. As a side contribution, we remove the error guessing step in Meet-LWE, resolving another open question.


This paper tabulates a number of specimens of affective usage noted by Sībawayhi, that is, language in which the emotional content leads to morphological and syntactical anomalies. They are grouped into five categories: (A) fully grammaticalized constructions which will not be discussed in detail because they have been incorporated into what we know as Classical Arabic, (B) oaths, exhortations and other exclamations which are syntactically obscure, (C) morphological categories such as diminutives, intensives and vocatives, which are intrinsically affective, (D) inconsistencies in the nominal cases and verbal moods which suggest an incomplete process of syntactical standardization (here supplemented by material from the dialects which was not incorporated into Classical Arabic), and (E) morphological items showing the range of alternative forms from which the standard patterns were selected (also supplemented by dialect material). The paper concludes with some speculations about the exclamatory nature of the dependent case inflection, though this is not in any way a new idea.


The use of the CO2 laser in the extirpation of selected intracranial and spinal tumors has been shown to be of great benefit. The role of the CO2 laser as applied to other neurosurgical procedures has not been adequately explored or defined. The authors have compared the radiological and histological effects of performing anterior cervical discectomy with the CO2 laser to those of performing it by standard operative technique. Groups of laboratory dogs underwent anterior cervical discectomy performed in both operative fashions. The animals were killed and the operated disc spaces were examined radiographically and microscopically. Observations were made 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 weeks postoperatively. Based upon these radiographic and microscopic evaluations, the authors were able to draw certain conclusions with respect to the use of the CO2 laser in performing anterior cervical discectomy.


Five soybean varieties of two early maturing ; Karikei 73 and ss 79168, and three late maturing ; Tohoku 76, Baegunkong and Jangbaegkong were used and evaluated in the study. Of the varieties examined, Karikei 73 was characterized by the delayed leaf senescence. To investigate the periodical trends of nitrogen in plant organs and their roles to the nitrogen fixing activity of root nodules, the concentrations of nitrogen in plant organs during the grain filling period were measured. High positive correlation was recognized between the amount of nitrogen in plant parts and p-ARA, suggesting the higher the activity of nitrogen fixation the greater the amount of nitrogen in plant. But the relationship between the concentration of nitrogen in plant and s-ARA was positive at R4. but negative at R6. This was inferred that the high concentration of nitrogen at R4 gave accelerating effects on s-ARA by increasing the activity of photosynthesis in leaf-blades, while the reduced activity of photosynthesis in leaf-blades at R6 resulted in continued degradation of nitrogenous compounds in plant, and then high concentration of nitrogen in plants brought reduced supply of sugars to nodules.


The aim was to psychometrically evaluate the activities of daily living (ADL)-staircase in various age groups. This age stratified, cross-sectional study comprised 826 individuals aged 18–102 years. The factor structure was assessed by means of hierarchical cluster analyses, plots and analyses of nonclassifiable responses. Reliability was assessed in terms of internal consistency. In general, the cluster analysis revealed two main clusters, which followed the intended factor structure (i.e. grouping the items according to personal ADL and instrumental ADL) and which were found in four of the six age groups (18–29, 30–44, 45–59 and 75–89 years). Plots confirmed that, in general, the instrument followed the hierarchical structure. Acceptable Cronbach's &agr; was found in the total sample, the 18–29 age group and those aged 60 years and older. The ADL-staircase showed a varying degree of acceptable construct validity and reliability. The instrument, however, seems to be more suitable for older people.


Objective: To analyze the prevalence, co-prevalence of cardiovascular metabolic (CM) risk factors in women aged 15-49 years in China, and describe the influence of social economic factors on them. Methods: The project data of Nutritional Status and Health Transition of Chinese Residents in 2015 were used. The changes in epidemiological characteristics of central obesity, elevated blood pressure, FPG and TG, decreased HDL-C and co-prevalence of the risk factors in women aged 15-49 years were analyzed. According to the definition of the metabolic syndrome released by the International Diabetes Federation in 2005, five cardio-metabolic risk factors appeared as central obesity, increased triglycerides, decreased HDL-C, increased blood pressure and increased plasma glucose. Co-prevalence of risk factors was defined as detecting 2 or more risk factors in a person at the same time. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic factors and metabolic risk factors. Results: In 2015, in women aged 15-49 years in 15 provinces, the detection number (rates) of central obesity, elevated blood pressure, FPG and TG, decreased HDL-C, at least one CM risk factor and co-detection rate of CM risk factors were 944 (47.4%), 464 (23.3%), 123 (6.2%), 327 (16.4%), 1 025 (51.5%), 1 501 (75.4%), and 874 (43.9%), respectively. Compared with women aged 15-19 years, the women in age group of 25-, 30-, 35-, 40-, and 45-49 years were more likely to have central obesity (P<0.05), the women in age group of 30- 35-, 40-, and 45-49 years were more likely to have elevated blood pressure (P<0.05), the women aged 45-49 years were more likely to be affected by one or more CM risk factors (P<0.05), but the women in age group 25-29 years group had lower risk for elevated FPG (P<0.05). The odds of having central obesity, elevated blood pressure, FPG and TG, decreased HDL-C, at least one CM risk factor and co-prevalence of CM risk factors in women with BMI≥24.0 kg/m(2) were 14.16, 3.05, 2.46, 2.49, 2.42, 9.79 and 7.39 times higher than those in the women with BMI of 18.5-24.0 kg/m(2), respectively. The odds of having elevated FPG and TG in women aged 15-49 years in western China and the odds of having elevated blood pressure and FPG in women aged 15-49 years in eastern China were significantly higher than those in central China. No significant correlations were found between the prevalence and co-prevalence of CM risk factors and income level or urban and rural area residences in women aged 15-49 years. Conclusions: Age, BMI level and living area were the major influencing CM risk factors. The precise prevention and control measures should be taken in time for the adverse changes in CM risk factor prevalence.


Some multilinear operators related to the Littlewood-Paley operators are defined,and the weighted boundedness for the multilinear operators on some Block-Hardy spaces are obtained by using the atomic and block decomposition of the spaces.


PURPOSE
In this study, we investigated the efficacy of systemic and intravitreal (IV) infliximab treatments and compared these 2 different treatment modalities in an experimental model of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU).

METHODS
Twenty-four white New Zealand rabbits were equally divided into 4 groups. Group 1 received IV injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), group 2 received IV injections of LPS and saline, group 3 received IV LPS and IV 2 mg/0.1 cc infliximab, and group 4 received IV LPS and 5 mg/kg intravenous infliximab. Inflammation was determined with objective and subjective tests. The subjective test was clinical determination of uveitis, the objective tests were determination of protein concentrations and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels and histopathology.

RESULTS
Clinical examination score was lower in group 3 and group 4 (4±0.6 and 3.5±1.6, respectively) when compared with group 1 (P=0.02; P=0.04, respectively) and group 2. In group 3 and 4, the aqueous and vitreous protein and TNF-α concentration measured significantly lower than group 1 and 2. In histopathologic examination, there was no statistically significant difference between group 1, 2, and 3 (3.5±0.5, 3.6±0.5, 3.6±0.5, respectively). However, the lowest histopathologic inflammation was determined in group 4 (2.5±0.5) (compared with group 1 and group 3, respectively; P=0.03; P=0.014).

CONCLUSION
In a rabbit model of experimental EIU, intravenous administration of infliximab was more effective than IV route in an acute period.


Identity in Animation: A Journey into Self, Difference, Culture and the Body uncovers the meaning behind some of the most influential characters in the history of animation and questions their unique sense of who they are and how they are formed.

Jane Batkin explores how identity politics shape the inner psychology of the character and their exterior motivation, often buoyed along by their questioning of 'place' and 'belonging' and driven by issues of self, difference, gender and the body. Through this, Identity in Animation illustrates and questions the construction of stereotypes as well as unconventional representations within American, European and Eastern animation. It does so with examples such as the strong gender tropes of Japan's Hayao Miyazaki, the strange relationships created by Australian director Adam Elliot and Nick Park's depiction of Britishness. In addition, this book discusses Betty Boop's sexuality and ultimate repression, Warner Bros' anarchic, self-aware characters and Disney's fascinating representation of self and society.

Identity in Animation is an ideal book for students and researchers of animation studies, as well as any media and film studies students taking modules on animation as part of their course.


Background: The regulatory mechanism of BLT2 is largely unknown. Results: RanBPM interacts with BLT2 and inhibits BLT2-induced ROS generation and chemotaxis. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that RanBPM acts as a negative regulator of BLT2. Significance: Identification of regulators would provide better understanding of BLT2 signaling and potentially various BLT2-associated inflammatory pathogenesis. BLT2, a low affinity receptor for leukotriene B4 (LTB4), is a member of the G protein-coupled receptor family and is involved in many signal transduction pathways associated with various cellular phenotypes, including chemotactic motility. However, the regulatory mechanism for BLT2 has not yet been demonstrated. To understand the regulatory mechanism of BLT2, we screened and identified the proteins that bind to BLT2. Using a yeast two-hybrid assay with the BLT2 C-terminal domain as bait, we found that RanBPM, a previously proposed scaffold protein, interacts with BLT2. We demonstrated the specific interaction between BLT2 and RanBPM by GST pulldown assay and co-immunoprecipitation assay. To elucidate the biological function of the RanBPM-BLT2 interaction, we evaluated the effects of RanBPM overexpression or knockdown. We found that BLT2-mediated motility was severely attenuated by RanBPM overexpression and that knockdown of endogenous RanBPM by shRNA strongly promoted BLT2-mediated motility, suggesting a negative regulatory function of RanBPM toward BLT2. Furthermore, we observed that the addition of BLT2 ligands caused the dissociation of BLT2 and RanBPM, thus releasing the negative regulatory effect of RanBPM. Finally, we propose that Akt-induced BLT2 phosphorylation at residue Thr355, which occurs after the addition of BLT2 ligands, is a potential mechanism by which BLT2 dissociates from RanBPM, resulting in stimulation of BLT2 signaling. Taken together, our results suggest that RanBPM acts as a negative regulator of BLT2 signaling to attenuate BLT2-mediated cell motility.


Temporal and spatial variability of intertidal benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the surface (0–1 cm) sediments have been determined by a time series survey (27 months) of the Hamble estuary, southern England. One pair of replicates was collected each month from two stations at different elevations in the intertidal zone. The assemblages were dominated by three species, Haynesina germanica, Ammonia beccarii (forma tepida ), and Elphidium excavatum. Patchiness occurred on a scale of a few centimeters and had a major impact on tracking temporal changes in the standing crop. The study clearly shows the need for replicate sampling in order to obtain reliable information especially on absolute abundance data. The absence of juveniles is due to loss through drying the samples prior to picking. The results show that it is not possible to determine the lifespan of continuously reproducing species (i.e., young individuals always present) where it is impossible to follow the growth of cohorts, and for the same reason it is not possible to make production calculations. While there is a cyclicity in standing crop at station 2 (mid intertidal zone), this is not the case at station 1 (lower intertidal zone). Species diversity showed reasonable annual cyclicity at both stations. At neither station is there any correlation between the size of the standing crop and the chlorophyll a content of the surface sediment. There was some cyclicity in the peaks of biomass (only determined for sta. 1) in all three species and considerable variability from one year to the next. Thus this area is extremely variable, there is no obvious annual pattern in standing crop, and the best measures of seasonality seem to be species diversity and biomass.


Recently, the emergence of single phase multilevel inverter has been increased due to its advantages over traditional one. This paper proposes a single-phase five level pulse width modulation (PWM) inverter for grid connection employing PI controller to perform unity power factor. Two triangular carrier signals identical to each other with an offset equivalent to the amplitude of the reference signal were used to generate PWM signals for the switches. The proposed inverter has the advantage of less number of components. Operational principles with switching functions are analyzed. A digital proportional integral current control algorithm is implemented in FPGA XC3S400 to control the injected current into the grid to be almost sinusoidal. The inverter offers much less total harmonic distortion and can operate at near-unity power factor. Some switches operate at fundamental frequency and others operate at switching frequency. The proposed inverter has been compared with the conventional single-phase five-level PWM inverter. The effectiveness of the proposed inverter and its control technique has been verified theoretically, using PSIM simulation program, and experimentally, using laboratory prototype system.


Patient waiting times are continuously increasing due to a shortage of trained physicians in most hospitals and clinics. Wireless Doc is a device that integrates an Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electroencephalography (EEG) and Blood Pressure (BP) together for further medical examination. Wireless Doc aims at a faster and an efficient way for providing this information to assist a physician in acquiring an accurate diagnosis sooner thereby reducing patient wait times in emergency. The Electrocardiogram (ECG) aims to measure the cardiac rhythm and rate of a patient. It ensures that the QRS complex is intact for the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias. The ECG system is used to detect Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA). EEG is used in the evaluation of brain disorders. Most commonly it is used to show the type and location of the activity in the brain during a seizure. It also is used to evaluate people who are having problems associated with brain function. Design considerations that need to be taken into account when designing an ECG, EEG and BP are discussed. By using the electrodes attached to the patient from which the electrical activity of the heart and brain are acquired, amplified, filtered and sent wirelessly through Zigbee networks to a base station for post processing.


A new sterol, named thunberol (1), along with four known analogs, 24-ethylcholesta-4,24(28)-dien-3-one (2), stigmasta-5,28-dien-3β-ol (3), cholesta-5,14-dien-3β-ol (4), and cholesta-5,23-dien-3β,25-diol (5), were isolated from the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii collected from China Sea. The structures of these metabolites were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with the literature data. Thunberol (1) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, a potential drug target for the treatment of Type-II diabetes and obesity, with an IC50 value of 2.24 μg/ml.


The increasing popularity of wireless communications and the different QoS requirements of new types of service lead to higher demands on cellular mobile networks. With central control and multi-hop communication, relay based cellular networks are seen as an effective way to meet users' increased bit rate requirements while still retaining the benefits of a cellular structure. However, the more complex architecture and topology make the provision of optimal QoS more challenging. The objective of this paper is to illustrate an effective and efficient approach for scalable QoS provision in relay based cellular networks. Primary concerns are, firstly, the selection of the node to service the mobile user with QoS that guarantees the time delay requirement for multimedia services and eliminates bottleneck links; and secondly, the choice of the optimal slot allocation scheme that optimizes the radio resource allocation to maximize user satisfaction level and balance the QoS requirement. The performance evaluations use a Mobile WiMAX network.


The size distribution of self-assembled heteroepitaxial islands is critical to their application as quantum dots in novel devices. In situ, real time UHV transmission electron microscopy studies of Ge island growth on Si(001) show that island coarsening occurs even during growth. With increasing volume, a shape transition from pyramids to domes gives rise to an abrupt change in chemical potential. This leads to a bifurcation in the size distribution and ultimately to a narrow size range. Simulations of coarsening in the presence of a shape transition are in good agreement with experimental results.


We reviewed 556 male urethral strictures treated at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria between 1980 and 1989. Their ages ranged from nine to 80 years with a mean of 40 +/- 12.9 SD years. Infection caused stricture in 66.5% while trauma accounted for 31.7%. Urethral injury associated with pelvic fracture from road traffic accident accounted for 68% of the traumatic causes. Inflammatory strictures were mainly located in the bulbar urethra (69.9%), while most traumatic ones involved membranous urethra (74.4%). Inflammatory strictures were mostly multiple (85%) while 90% of traumatic ones were single. Many patients with inflammatory strictures had more than one episode of urethritis. About 58% of the patients were treated by dilatation, 16% by visual internal urethrotomy and 26% by urethroplasty. Best results were obtained in patients treated by urethroplasty where 72% were satisfied with their treatment. Overall, 61% of the patients were satisfied with their treatment and were voiding urine without effort at two years. Re-stricture occurred in 21% and 23% of patients treated by urethroplasty and internal urethrotomy respectively. Urethroplasty is advocated upon less strict indications where the expertise is available.


In modern techniques of radiotherapy like intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in which the radiation dose may vary in space and time the treatment planning is done by using sophisticated optimization algorithms. In this work we proposed a novel method of IMRT optimization based on the concept of the adjoint sensitivity analysis. We use mathematical model of tumor growth with added term describing the effects of irradiation [1] to simulate the tumor behaviour during radiotherapy. The pre-defined functional characterizing the model's solution is minimized by using gradient-descent algorithm with additional constraints. The gradient for the minimization algorithm is calculated efficiently by using the concept of adjoint sensitivity analysis [2]. The results show the importance of value of the environment capacity for tumor cells which is consistent with recent research [3]. ...


Quantitative precipitation forecasting is currently limited by the paucity of observations on sufficiently fine temporal and spatial scales. Three-dimensional water vapor fields can be retrieved with improved spatial coverage from measurements obtained using a network of scanning microwave radiometers. To investigate this potential, an observation system simulation experiment was performed in which synthetic examples of retrievals using a network of radiometers were compared with results from the Weather Research and Forecasting model at a grid scale of 500 m. These comparisons show that the 3-D water vapor field can be retrieved with an accuracy of better than 15%-20%. A ground-based demonstration network of three compact microwave radiometers was deployed at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in Oklahoma. Results using these network measurements demonstrated the first retrieval of the 3-D water vapor field in the troposphere at fine spatial and temporal resolutions.


Current methodologies for targeting the mitochondrial genome for basic research and/or therapeutic strategy development in mitochondrial diseases are restricted by practical limitations and technical inflexibility. The development of a functional molecular toolbox for CRISPR-mediated mitochondrial genome editing is therefore desirable, as this could enable precise targeting of mtDNA haplotypes using the precision and tuneability of CRISPR enzymes; however, published reports of "MitoCRISPR" systems have, to date, lacked reproducibility and independent corroboration. Here, we have explored the requirements for a functional MitoCRISPR system in human cells by engineering several versions of CRISPR nucleases, including the use of alternative mitochondrial protein targeting sequences and smaller paralogues, and the application of gRNA modifications that reportedly induce mitochondrial import. We demonstrate varied mitochondrial targeting efficiencies and influences on mitochondrial dynamics/function of different CRISPR nucleases, with Lachnospiraceae bacterium ND2006 (Lb) Cas12a being better targeted and tolerated than Cas9 variants. We also provide evidence of Cas9 gRNA association with mitochondria in HeLa cells and isolated yeast mitochondria, even in the absence of a targeting RNA aptamer. Finally, we present evidence linking mitochondrial-targeted LbCas12a/crRNA with increased mtDNA copy number dependent upon DNA binding and cleavage activity. We discuss reproducibility issues and the future steps necessary if MitoCRISPR is to be realised.


A synthesis technique of lossy and dispersive tapered transmission line is presented that extends lossless cases suggested by Klopfenstein and others. A special optimization process based on the Fourier transform pair and generalized Taylor's procedure is performed to extract the exact null points of lobe-like frequency response in terms of the input reflection coefficient of lossy-tapered line in which the loss may be frequency dependent and distance dependent. The theory is verified by evaluation of a synthesized microstrip taper profile in the lossy case and is expected to be helpful for design of tapered line in the high-frequency microwave integrated circuits (MICs) with loss.


To obtain the risk assessment of hazardous materials in ginseng, the residues of heavy metals and organochlorine pesticides in samples on the Yeungju and Sangju are surveyed. Cd and Hg in ginseng on Yeungju and Sangju is not detected. 0.21 mg/kg of As, 0.39 mg/kg of Cr, 0.14 mg/kg of Pb, 1.83 mg/kg of Cu, 3.93 mg/kg of Zn and 0.43 mg/kg of Ni in ginseng on Sangju are shown. 0.25 mg/kg of Cr, 0.08 mg/kg of Pb, 1.11 mg/kg of Cu, 8.99 mg/kg of Zn and 1.15 mg/kg of Ni in ginseng on Yeungju are detected. As and Pb in ginseng on Sangju are 7.0% and 2.8% for Korea Food & Drug Administration(KFDA) advisory level, respectively. Pb in ginseng on Yeongju are 1.6% for Korea Food & Drug Administration(KFDA) advisory level. The heavy metals such as AS, Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Hg, Ni in soil on Yeongju and Sangju are range of 0-20% for with Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) level. BHC isomer, DDT isomer and endosulfan isomer are not detected in ginseng and soil on Yeongju and Sangju, respectively. Finally, the assessment of hazardous materials of the heavy metals and organochlorine pesticides in ginseng on the Youngju and Sangju are verified the safety the level compare with tolerances level for Korea.


We propose a cost-efficient scheme called pseudo-pilot coding based phase noise estimation (PC-PNE) to compensate laser phase noises for filter-bank multicarrier (FBMC) transmission systems. The performance of the proposed PC-PNE with rectangular quadratic-amplitude modulation (QAM) is evaluated and compared with the state-of-the-art modified blind phase search (M-BPS) approach via extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Under 200 kHz combined laser linewidth, 32 Gbaud 256-subcarriers FBMC optical transmission equipped with PC-PNE provides a comparable performance with the complicated M-BPS method for QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM. Moreover, a significant reduction in computational complexity (up to 50 times) is obtained with PC-PNE in comparison with M-BPS method at the cost of 3.1% spectral efficiency loss.


Part 1 Clinical science of hypertension: definitions epidemiology natural history pathology pathophysiology clincial trials. Part 2 Diagnostic assessment: general diagnosis introduction to secondary hypertension adrenergic adrenocortical renal other forms of secondary hypertension. Part 3 Treatment: non-pharmacologic treatment drug treatment prevention emergencies. Part 4 Special problems: elderly pregnancy diabetic patients chronic renal disease other medical diseases pre- and peri-operative management.


The Ascomycete pathogen Fusarium graminearum can infect all cereal species and lower grain yield, quality and safety. The fungus can also cause disease on Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, the disease-causing ability of two F. graminearum mutants was analysed to further explore the parallels between the wheat (Triticum aestivum) and Arabidopsis floral pathosystems. Wild-type F. graminearum (strain PH-1) and two isogenic transformants lacking either the mitogen-activated protein kinase MAP1 gene or the trichodiene synthase TRI5 gene were individually spray- or point-inoculated onto Arabidopsis and wheat floral tissue. Disease development was quantitatively assessed both macroscopically and microscopically and deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin concentrations determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Wild-type strain inoculations caused high levels of disease in both plant species and significant DON production. The map1 mutant caused minimal disease and DON accumulation in both hosts. The tri5 mutant, which is unable to produce DON, exhibited reduced pathogenicity on wheat ears, causing only discrete eye-shaped lesions on spikelets which failed to infect the rachis. By contrast, the tri5 mutant retained full pathogenicity on Arabidopsis floral tissue. This study reveals that DON mycotoxin production is not required for F. graminearum to colonize Arabidopsis floral tissue.


BiVO4 powder with scheelite structure was obtained by hydrolyzing a nitric acid solution of Bi(NO3)3 and Na3VO4 with bases (Na2CO3 and NaHCO3) at room temperature. Tetragonal BiVO4 of a high-temperature form was obtained after 4.5 h of preparation time while monoclinic BiVO4 was done after 46 h. Although the structure and the band gap of tetragonal BiVO4 with scheelite structure were similar to those of monoclinic BiVO4, the photocatalytic activity of the tetragonal BiVO4 for O2 evolution from an aqueous AgNO3 solution under visible light irradiation was negligible. In contrast, the monoclinic BiVO4 showed high photocatalytic activity. Distortion of a Bi−O polyhedron by a 6s2 lone pair of Bi3+ plays an important role for high photocatalytic activity of the monoclinic BiVO4 under visible light irradiation.


The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of an in-line 0.22 μ cellulose ester membrane filter would hamper the delivery of a common adult dose of tobramycin sulfate. Solutions of tobramycin sulfate 80 mg in 100 ml D5W were assayed after 30 minute infusions through unfiltered and filtered administration sets; solutions post-flush of filtered sets were also assayed. Assay was done by Emit-QST. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the delivery of tobramycin sulfate, regardless of the presence of an in-line filter. Solutions post-flush contained about ten percent of the drug, reflecting the amount in solution that remained in the tubing. Since ten percent can alter pharmacokinetic monitoring for patient dosing, a consistent procedure for flushing filtered administration sets should be adopted to enhance accuracy of such determinations.


Working as a doctor has many rewards, but there are also many challenges. One of the greatest challenges is being able to respond appropriately to the human suffering of our patients without becoming emotionally overwhelmed by it. Most doctors I know have developed some form of defence mechanism to help them cope with this dilemma. We often discuss this issue at the burnout prevention workshops, which I run, and I'd like to share one of my strategies.


Summary
1West et al. (2001) describe a general model of ontogenetic growth in which growth represents the surplus of energy acquisition over maintenance energy requirement, which themselves are allometric (power) functions of body mass with exponents 3/4 and 1, respectively. Furthermore, the intercept of the maintenance requirement decreases with the –1/4 power of adult mass.
2These relationships determine the sigmoid shape of the postnatal growth curve and the 3/4 allometric slope of time to complete growth as a function of adult mass.
3West et al.'s growth function is a particular form of the generalized Putter growth model dm/dt = amy − bmz, which includes other familiar growth functions, such as the logistic and von Bertalanffy equations.
4Empirical estimates of the allometry of resting metabolism in growing birds are close to z = 1 in some precocial species, but are approximately 50% higher in altricial and semiprecocial birds, which challenges the generality of any single growth function for birds.
5Rather than growth rate being limited by the difference between energy acquisition and maintenance expenditure, it may also be determined by the growth potential of tissues, which is traded off against functional capacity. Predicted growth curves based on increasing tissue function with age are indistinguishable from the West et al. and related equations.
6Models based on growth rate–functional maturity trade-offs also can produce observed allometric relationships of growth rate to adult mass by incorporating the relative size of the chick at hatching.
7In contrast to West et al.'s model, declining variance in size among individuals as chicks approach adult size implies targeted growth and control of growth rate by feedbacks of body size itself on growth rate.
8The existence of plausible alternative hypotheses for the control of postnatal growth should stimulate additional experimental studies to elucidate mechanisms of growth rate regulation and to understand the evolutionary diversification of postnatal growth.


A high-pressure reactive evaporation process and a high-pressure reactive sputtering process have been developed for the growth of high-quality thin films of YBa/sub 2/CU/sub 3/O/sub 7/. Both techniques, when used with heated substrates, are effective in the formation of the 123 phase in situ during the film growth. With reactive evaporation only a cooldown anneal in a higher pressure oxygen ambient is necessary to obtain good superconducting properties. For the reactive sputtering process, a brief, postgrowth, rapid thermal anneal is required for best results. Fully epitaxial growth has been achieved with single-crystal MgO substrates. The resultant films, which can be quite smooth and uniform, have been patterned to micron and submicron dimensions, and the transport properties of these microstructures have been examined. Results are presented on critical currents and Josephson weak links.<<ETX>>


In order to improve the cycling performance of LiMn2O4, the spinel phase LiMn2–xBaxO4 (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05) compounds were fabricated by the glycine-nitrate method. The structures of the products were investigated by X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical studies were carried out using the Li|LiMn2O4 and Li|LiMn2–xBaxO4 cells. The capacity loss of Li|LiMn2O4 cell is about 15% after 30 cycles, whereas that for Ba doped spinel materials (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05) are 7.5%, 3.5% and 1.8% respectively. The good capacity retention of LiMn2–xBaxO4 electrodes is attributed to stabilization of the spinel structure by Ba doping of Mn sites. Ba substituted spinels display better cycle performance in terms of cycle life compared with LiMn2O4.


We study a queue where the rapidly varying component of input traffic is treated as a noise. The queue length statistics are compared between the cases with and without noise smoothing. This relates to abstract simulation and traffic modeling. We found that the system load and traffic burstiness at large timescales have critical impacts on the evaluation errors caused by such smoothing.


An implicit association test is a human psychological test used to measure subconscious associations. While widely recognized by psychologists as an effective tool in measuring attitudes and biases, the validity of the results can be compromised if a subject does not follow the instructions or attempts to manipulate the outcome. Compared to previous work, we collect training data using a more generalized methodology. We train a variety of different classifiers to identify a participant's first attempt versus a second possibly compromised attempt. To compromise the second attempt, participants are shown their score and are instructed to change it using one of five randomly selected deception methods. Compared to previous work, our methodology demonstrates a more robust and practical framework for accurately identifying a wide variety of deception techniques applicable to the IAT.


Background: The revised integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) guidelines adopted by African member states in 2010 aimed at strengthening surveillance systems critical capacities. Milestones achieved through IDSR strategy implementation prior to adopting the revised guidelines are well documented, however, there is a dearth of knowledge on the progress made post-adoption. This study aimed to review key recommendations resulting from surveillance assessment studies to improve implementation of the revitalised IDSR system in the African region based on health workers perspectives. The review focused on literature published between 2010 and 2019 post-adopting the revised IDSR guidelines in the African region. Methods: A systematic literature search in PubMed, Web of Science and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted. In addition, manual reference searches and grey literature searches using World Health Organization Library and Information Networks for Knowledge databases were undertaken. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement checklist for systematic reviews was utilised for the review process. Results: Thirty assessment studies met the inclusion criteria. IDSR implementation under the revised guidelines could be improved considerably bearing in mind critical findings and recommendations emanating from the reviewed surveillance assessment studies. Key recommendations alluded to provision of laboratory facilities and improved specimen handling, provision of reporting forms and improved reporting quality, surveillance data accuracy and quality, improved knowledge and surveillance system performance, utilisation of up-to-date information and surveillance system strengthening, provision of resources, enhanced reporting timeliness and completeness, adopting alternative surveillance strategies and conducting further research. Conclusion: Recommendations on strengthening IDSR implementation in the African region post-adopting the revised guidelines mainly identify surveillance functions focused on reporting, feedback, training, supervision, timeliness and completeness of the surveillance system as aspects requiring policy refinement. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration number CRD42019124108.


Emission trading programs have been discussed with respect to achieving water quality objectives and future caps on carbon emissions. A significant part of this literature explores the institutional and technical design issues associated with trades involving nonpoint effluent sources and carbon sequestration. This paper explores conceptual linkages between the nonpoint and carbon sequestration programs and identifies potential areas where cross fertilization can benefit research and policy design of trading programs for environmental protection.


This paper describes the structure and function of a number of diagnostic indexes used in the Genetic Clinic at Moorfields Eye Hospital. The disorders for which separate diagnostic indexes have been compiled are retinitis pigmentosa, retinoblastoma, and congenital glaucoma.


In order to control the quality and properties of hydrogenated amor-phous silicon (a–Si:H) semiconductors produced by discharge deposition, we would like to control the gas species produced in the discharge and to understand how these deposit and influence the film properties. One would like to separately consider the gas processes that yield the mix of species arriving at the surface, and then the surface processes. I will somewhat follow that separation here, but it appears that many of the species found in the gas may, in fact, be released from the surface. Thus, the gas species appear to result from gas and surface reactions, and a sequential separation is actually not possible. Similarly, the study of the surface deposition process requires forming various radical species as well as an a–Si:H surface, which inevitably will involve the gas processes. Thus we really have coupled problems.


There is considerable interest in understanding how management may help species and populations cope with climate change (climate change adaptation). I used a population model describing the demography of a southern range-margin European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria population vulnerable to climate change to assess the potential benefits associated with site-based adaptation management. Two forms of management were simulated: (1) counteracting management to reduce the severity of the negative climate change impacts, simulated by increasing tipulid (cranefly) abundance, and (2) compensatory management to increase populations through an alternative mechanism, simulated by manipulating nest and chick predation rates. A 1 °C rise was estimated to require a doubling of cranefly abundance, or a 35% increase in nest and chick survival rates, to maintain a stable population. For a 2 °C rise, a four-fold increase in craneflies or an 80% increase in survival rates would be required for population stability. A model based on likely realistic estimates of the magnitude of benefit associated with both adaptation management options showed that combined, they may significantly reduce the severity of population decline and risk of extinction associated with a relatively large increase in temperature of 5.8 °C above 1960–90 levels. Site-based adaptation management may therefore increase the resistance of Golden Plovers to some degree of future climate change. This model framework for informing climate change adaptation decisions should be developed for other species and habitats.


In seeking to develop mixed-criticality scheduling algorithms, one encounters challenges arising from two sources. First, mixed-criticality scheduling is an inherently an on-line problem in that scheduling decisions must be made without access to all the information that is needed to make such decisions optimally – such information is only revealed over time. Second, many fundamental mixed-criticality schedulability analysis problems are computationally intractable – NP-hard in the strong sense – but we desire to solve these problems using algorithms with polynomial or pseudo-polynomial running time. While these two aspects of intractability are traditionally studied separately in the theoretical computer science literature, they have been considered in an integrated fashion in mixed-criticality scheduling theory. In this work we seek to separate out the effects of being inherently on-line, and being computationally intractable, on the overall intractability of mixed-criticality scheduling problems. Speedup factor is widely used as quantitative metric of the effectiveness of mixed-criticality scheduling algorithms; there has recently been a bit of a debate regarding the appropriateness of doing so. We provide here some additional perspective on this matter: we seek to better understand its appropriateness as well as its limitations in this regard by examining separately how the on-line nature of some mixedcriticality problems, and their computational complexity, contribute to the speedup factors of two widely-studied mixed-criticality scheduling algorithms. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Computer systems organization → Real-time systems


Systemic sclerosis is a rare systemic autoimmune disease characterized by microvascular impairment and fibrosis of the skin and other organs with poor outcomes. Toxic causes may be involved. We reported the case of a 59-year-old woman who developed an acute systemic sclerosis after two doses of adjuvant chemotherapy by docetaxel and cyclophosphamide for a localized hormone receptor + human epithelial receptor 2—breast cancer. Docetaxel is a major chemotherapy drug used in the treatment of breast, lung, and prostate cancers, among others. Scleroderma-like skin-induced changes (morphea) have been already described for taxanes. Here, we report for the first time a case of severe lung and kidney flare with thrombotic microangiopathy after steroids for acute interstitial lung disease probably induced by anti-RNA polymerase III + systemic sclerosis after docetaxel.


In biometric identification systems, the identity associated with the input data is determined by comparing it against every entry in the database. This exhaustive matching process increases the response time of the system and, potentially, the rate of erroneous identification. A method that narrows the list of potential identities will allow the input data to be matched against a smaller number of identities. We describe a method for indexing large-scale multimodal biometric databases based on the generation of an index code for each enrolled identity. In the proposed method, the input biometric data is first matched against a small set of reference images. The set of ensuing match scores is used as an index code. The index codes of multiple modalities are then integrated using three different fusion techniques in order to further improve the indexing performance. Experiments on a chimeric face and fingerprint bimodal database indicate a 76% reduction in the search space at 100% hit rate. These results suggest that indexing has the potential to substantially improve the response time of multimodal biometric systems without compromising the accuracy of identification.


Reasons for the decline of the Mariana Crow (Corvus kubaryi) on the Western Pacific island of Rota are currently unknown, but a need to protect nesting habitat has been suggested. We examined 55 actual nest sites and 60 random sites from 1997 to 1999 to investigate habitat characteristics specific to crow nest sites. Both nests and random plots were predominantly in limestone forest habitat. Discriminant function analyses indicate actual nest sites were differentiated from random sites based on a higher percentage of canopy cover and mean DBH of papaya (Carica papaya) and woody vines, as well as a higher stem count of species associated with limestone forests. This resulted in correct classification of a potential site as nesting versus random in 92% of the cases. Actual nests were >300 m from buildings, while random sites averaged (± SE) 226.7 ± 71.6 m from a building. Actual nest sites were about twice as far from a road as random nest sites. Twenty-eight of the 55 active nests fledged young. Nests in native forests were associated with higher reproductive success than nests in more disturbed areas. These findings suggest that damage to habitat from anthropogenic or natural causes may be limiting nesting success. Received 19 February 2010. Accepted 22 November 2010.


Jordan and Graves (Jordan, W. C., S. C. Graves. 1995. Principles on the benefits of manufacturing process flexibility. Management Sci. 41(4) 577-594) initiated a stream of research on supply chain flexibility, which was furthered by Graves and Tomlin (Graves, S. C., B. T. Tomlin. 2003. Process flexibility in supply chains. Management Sci. 49(7) 907-919), that examined various structures for achieving horizontal flexibility within a single level of a supply chain. In this paper, we extend the theory of supply chain flexibility by considering placement of vertical flexibility across multiple stages in a supply chain. Specifically, we consider two types of flexibility--logistics flexibility and process flexibility--and examine how demand, production, and supply variability at a single stage impacts the best stage in the supply chain for each type of flexibility. Under the assumptions that margins are the same regardless of flexibility location, capacity investment costs are the same within and across stages, and flexibility is limited to a single stage of logistics (process) flexibility accompanied with necessary process (logistics) flexibility, we show that both types of flexibility are most effective when positioned directly at the source of variability. However, although expected profit increases as logistics flexibility is positioned closer to the source of variability (i.e., downstream for demand variability and upstream for supply variability), locating process flexibility anywhere except at the stage with variability leads to the same decrease in expected profit.


Simulation studies have demonstrated that automatic control of canals is more effective when feedforward scheduling, or routing of know demand changes, is combined with centralized, automatic, distant, downstream water level control. In practice, few canals use this approach. To help further develop and test this strategy, the writers developed SacMan, or Software for Automatic Canal Management. The software was tested on the WM lateral of the Maricopa Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District, Stanfield, Arizona. Initial testing was done during 2002 and 2003. In 2004, SacMan was used to operate the canal nearly continuously for a period of 30 days. Tests were conducted during normal operations, during which more than 50 delivery changes to users were scheduled and implemented with SacMan. In addition, SacMan responded to unscheduled changes such as emergency shut off and power outages that reduced well flow that had been pumping into the canal. Additional "manufactured" tests were conducted to compare different control methods. This paper describes the overall SacMan control scheme and presents a summary of the tests conducted and typical results. Companion papers examine the results of these tests in more detail. DOI: 10.1061/ASCEIR.1943-4774.0000120 CE Database subject headings: Irrigation districts; Canals, Automation; Computer software; Control systems. Author keywords: Irrigation districts; Canals; Automation; Computer software; Control systems.


Part I of this essay sketches the history of laboratory teaching of medical physiology in England from the perspective of the author as a student at Oxford from 1935 to 1938. The systematic laboratory teaching that began in the 1870s at University College London under William Sharpey was carried to Oxford, as well as to other English and Scottish universities, by Sharpey's junior colleagues. C. S. Sherrington added mammalian experiments, and C. G. Douglas and J. G. Priestley added experiments on human subjects. The author describes his experience as a student in the Oxford courses and tells how he learned physiology by teaching it from 1941 to 1943 in the laboratory course established at the University of Pennsylvania by Oxford-trained physiologist Cuthbert Bazett.


We present results from a deep (174 ks) Chandra observation of the FR-II radio galaxy 3C 220.1, the central brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) of a kT ∼ 4 keV cluster at z = 0.61. The temperature of the hot cluster medium drops from ∼5.9 to ∼3.9 keV at ∼35 kpc radius, while the temperature at smaller radii may be substantially lower. The central active galactic nucleus (AGN) outshines the whole cluster in X-rays, with a bolometric luminosity of 2.0 × 1046 erg s−1 (∼10 per cent of the Eddington rate). The system shows a pair of potential X-ray cavities ∼35 kpc east and west of the nucleus. The cavity power is estimated within the range of 1.0 × 1044 and 1.7 × 1045 erg s−1, from different methods. The X-ray enhancements in the radio lobes could be due to inverse Compton emission, with a total 2–10 keV luminosity of ∼8.0 × 1042 erg s−1. We compare 3C 220.1 with other cluster BCGs, including Cygnus A, as there are few BCGs in rich clusters hosting an FR-II galaxy. We also summarize the jet power of FR-II galaxies from different methods. The comparison suggests that the cavity power of FR-II galaxies likely underestimates the jet power. The properties of 3C 220.1 suggest that it is at the transition stage from quasar-mode feedback to radio-mode feedback.


ABSTRACT Nationally representative survey data and small-area estimation techniques are used to assess the geographic prevalence of left-handedness in China 2011. Measures of individuals' handedness are their self-reported dominant hand and their hand grip strength, which yield four estimates of left-handed prevalence, and these statistics are recorded at the provincial level. These estimates concord with one another. There are several geographic clusters of high-prevalence rates of left-handers located in ethnic minority-designated autonomous areas or historically revolutionary base areas, which may reflect a deep-rooted sense of defiance to authorities and promote such cultural values as individual autonomy and equality among local people.


Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a persisting challenge to clinical and basic research scientists as none of the presently available medications have been fully able to combat these consequences. The aim of the present review is to summarize the different lines of treatment available for the different symptomologies that women with PCOS presents. In this comprehensive review, search was made for various treatment options available for PCOS by using Cochrane library, Pubmed, Medline, in addition to the relevant printed medical journals and periodicals. The search results revealed that oral contraceptives containing oestrogen and progesterone regularize the menstruation, antiandrogens like spironolactone and drosperinone have proven to be effective in hirsutism and acne, clomiphene is the gold standard for ovulation induction, but multiple pregnancies and clomiphene failure add to its limitation. Hence, aromatase inhibitors like letrozole, low‐dose gondotropins, and ovarian drilling procedure have shown to be beneficial effect in clomiphene‐resistant cases. Insulin sensitizers such as metformin, thiazolidinediones, and d‐chiro‐inositol increase insulin sensitivity and improve ovulation rate. Recently, melatonin, N‐acetyl cysteine, acarbose, and statins have shown positive results in different symptomologies of PCOS. The results show that PCOS treatment constitutes varied line of treatment depending upon the clinical features with which a woman is presenting. Still, unfortunately, none of the treatments are fully able to combat the PCOS.


A cDNA clone encoding a vacuolar H+-pyrophosphatase (V-H+-PPase) was isolated from Hordeum brevisubulatum (Trin.) Link by using RACE method. Sequence analysis revealed that HbVP1 contained 2 319 nucleotides of open reading frame (ORF) and 420 nucleotides of 3'-untranslated region. Its encoding protein consisted of 773 amino acid residues,which includes 14 transmembrane helices. The predicated molecular mass is 80.4 kDa with pI of 4.90. The V-H+-PPases in higher plants shared low identity (40-55%) with those of protozoa, marine alga and archaebacteria. HbVP1 transcripts accumulated abundantly in roots, shoots and seeds, and it was also strongly induced by salt treatment.


This study addresses the modeling of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image texture for sea ice targets in the Labrador marginal ice zone (MIZ). The image texture of distributed scatterers contains a substantial component relating to the imaging system as well as information about the target itself. Theory shows that the image autocorrelation function (ACF) may be analyzed to separate system contributions from scene contributions under certain conditions. The main theses of the study are: (i) SAR intensity images of sea ice are spatially non-Gaussian; and (ii) the predominant types and forms of MIZ sea ice may be discriminated based upon ACF model parameters. Data for the experiment was collected during the Labrador Ice Margin Experiment (LIMEX) during the spring of 1989. The primary data set is synthetic aperture radar imagery collected by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing from an airborne platform The image data are at two frequencies (5.3 and 9.25 GHz) and four polarisations (HH, HV, VH, and W). Ancilliary data include RC-10 mapping camera photographs and extensive surface measurements. Experimental results indicate that the model provides an excellent fit to the measured ACFs. The image texture was found to be a strong function of the form of the sea ice as well as its type. For a given type, the various forms could be discriminated with a single SAR channels. For full discrimination of all types and forms, a two-channel combination was necessary: X/sub HV/+C/sub HH/ or X/sub HV/+C/sub HV/.<<ETX>>


In the inner mitochondrial membrane several potassium channels have been identified whose activation lead to cytoprotection during ischemic event. It was found that activation of mitochondrial large conductance calcium activated potassium channel (mitoBKCa) and ATP regulated potassium channel (mitoKATP) preserves brain and heart muscle cells against ischemia/reperfusion induced damage. However the detailed cytoprotection mechanism remains unclear. Similarly, the molecular structures and protein interactions of the mitochondrial potassium channels are still unknown. In this article, we summarize the current knowledge of the mitoKATP and mitoBKCa channels topology. Different aspects of this topic are discussed like import and assembly of the channel subunits and biophysical properties of mitochondrial compartments. Additionally, the consequences of different topology models on the cytoprotective function of the mitochondrial potassium channels were analyzed.


C onsider a single molecule of water. Many of its properties, such as bond lengths, bond angles, and energy levels, can be calculated from quantum mechanics, the appropriate theory at the atomic scale of matter. Add 10 further molecules of water, and you've got a liquid, which is described by hydrodynamics—an altogether different ball game than quantum mechanics. Eddies and vortices don't exist at the level of a single molecule. Decrease the temperature, and the liquid freezes. Now you can push the rear side of a block of ice and the front side moves instantaneously along with it. Rigidity is hardly a property of a fluid or a gas. A very large number of water molecules thus constitute an "object" so rich that it needs a different theory at different temperatures! In the early 1970s, Phil Anderson, a Nobel Laureate and member of the SFI Science Board, coined the slogan "More is different" (Science, 177:393–396, 1972). Emergence points to the fact that new properties come to dominate a system's behavior as we increase its degrees of freedom or as we tune a parameter to break a symmetry. There are different mechanisms for emergence. Yet they all depend on the fairly obvious fact that the components of a system interact. Increasing the number of interactions, or emphasizing certain interactions over others (breaking symmetry), triggers feedback loops among the components, giving rise to collective behavior. Components that are locked into such behavior can be treated together as a new unit. While the composition of a system has remained the same, its internal boundaries—which suggest how to parse a system into "parts"— have been redrawn from within. This forces a change in the way we describe that system and how we must think about it. For example, we do not think of the air over the U.S. as a flowing gas, but we think of it in terms of cold and warm fronts or huge vortices such as hurricanes. Those who emphasize the global view of a system say that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts," where the "more" refers to properties deriving from WALTER FONTANA AND SUSAN BALLATI


Hermite‐Padé approximants of type II are vectors of rational functions with a common denominator that interpolate a given vector of power series at infinity with maximal order. We are interested in the situation when the approximated vector is given by a pair of Cauchy transforms of smooth complex measures supported on the real line. The convergence properties of the approximants are rather well understood when the supports consist of two disjoint intervals (Angelesco systems) or two intervals that coincide under the condition that the ratio of the measures is a restriction of the Cauchy transform of a third measure (Nikishin systems). In this work we consider the case where the supports form two overlapping intervals (in a symmetric way) and the ratio of the measures extends to a holomorphic function in a region that depends on the size of the overlap. We derive Szegő‐type formulae for the asymptotics of the approximants, identify the convergence and divergence domains (the divergence domains appear for Angelesco systems but are not present for Nikishin systems), and show the presence of overinterpolation (a feature peculiar for Nikishin systems but not for Angelesco systems). Our analysis is based on a Riemann‐Hilbert problem for multiple orthogonal polynomials (the common denominator).© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


 Abstract - This work proposes the definition of a system to negotiate products in an e-commerce scenario. This negotiation system is defined as PLANE - Platform to Assist Negotiation - and it is carried in a semi-automatic way, using multi-attributes functions, based on attributes of the negotiated content. It also presents an architecture to interconnect the participant through an inter-network in the television broadcasters context. Each participant of the inter-network applies policies for its own contents, and all of them must comply these policies. If a participant needs a content not covered by the policies, it is possible to start a negotiation process for this specific content. Experiments present a simulation scenario where PLANE assists the negotiation between three sellers and one buyer with predefined negotiation profiles. Results demonstrated the success of the system in approximate the negotiator after some few interactions, reducing time and cost.


MERLOT (multimedia educational resources for learning and online teaching) is a consortium that aims to motivate and support the effective use of technology in teaching. Individual MERLOT members contribute links to materials they deem useful in teaching a particular subject, which then enter the repository. Discipline editors review the links for suitability and decide if materials warrant an in-depth peer review. However, MERLOT is expanding its online community thus additional portals are needed. MERLOT management agreed to establish a prototype portal and obtain software that would let the editors create and maintain portal content. Their decision to put content control in the hands of the content experts has had some unexpected benefits and perhaps some lessons for industry intranets


PURPOSE
To evaluate inter- and intrareader agreement in breast percent density (PD) estimation on clinical digital mammograms and central digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) projection images.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This HIPAA-compliant study had institutional review board approval; all patients provided informed consent. Breast PD estimation was performed on the basis of anonymized digital mammograms and central DBT projections in 39 women (mean age, 51 years; range, 31-80 years). All women had recently detected abnormalities or biopsy-proved cancers. PD was estimated by three experienced readers on the mediolateral oblique views of the contralateral breasts by using software; each reader repeated the estimation after 2 months. Spearman correlations of inter- and intrareader and intermodality PD estimates, as well as kappa statistics between categoric PD estimates, were computed.

RESULTS
High correlation (rho = 0.91) was observed between PD estimates on digital mammograms and those on central DBT projections, averaged over all estimations; the corresponding kappa coefficient (0.79) indicated substantial agreement. Mean interreader agreement for PD estimation on central DBT projections (rho = 0.85 +/- 0.05 [standard deviation]) was significantly higher (P < .01) than that for PD estimation on digital mammograms (rho = 0.75 +/- 0.05); the corresponding kappa coefficients indicated substantial (kappa = 0.65 +/- 0.12) and moderate (kappa = 0.55 +/- 0.14) agreement for central DBT projections and digital mammograms, respectively.

CONCLUSION
High correlation between PD estimates on digital mammograms and those on central DBT projections suggests the latter could be used until a method for PD estimation based on three-dimensional reconstructed images is introduced. Moreover, clinical PD estimation is possible with reduced radiation dose, as each DBT projection was acquired by using about 22% of the dose for a single mammographic projection.


The aim of this work was the obtainment of Odontesthes bonariensis eggs from broodstocks reared in captivity since them hatched. The experiment took place from September 2005 to April 2006 during this time fish were kept in two circular tanks of 20 m2 (A1 and A2), with water salinity of 9 g/l and 3,6 times/day water volume changes. Water temperature varied from 17 to 22,5oC. Broodstocks were fed with artificial food twice a day at 1% of body weight/day. The initial densities were 20,4 (A1) and 18,7 (A2) ind/m2. The male/female relationship was 1,02 (A1) and 0,86 (A2). Mean standard length of A1 reproducer was 293,1mm and 286,3mm in A2. Mean weight was 322 g (A1) and 306,4 g (A2). From A1 7.868.550 eggs with a 74,31 % fertilization rate and 6.061.790 with 75,11 % fertilization rate in A2 were obtained. During the first fifteenth of October the greater percentage of eggs was collected 25.01 % in A1 and 29.14 in A2. Each A1 female spawned 39.942 eggs in average and 32.208 in A2. Reproducers survival rates were 96,98 % and 94,66 % (A1 and A2). Finally we think that massive egg production with a high fertilization rate is possible from high densities of reproducers reared in captivity.


Cu ions activate yeast metallothionein gene transcription by altering the conformation and DNA-binding activity of the ACE1 transcription factor. We show that this conformational switch occurs in an all-or-none highly cooperative fashion (Hill coefficient = 4). Analysis of the subunit composition of ACE1 bound to DNA indicates that cooperativity results from the binding of multiple Cu(I) ions to the cysteine-rich DNA-binding domain. Surprisingly, DNA has little effect on the interaction between Cu(I) and ACE1 as assayed by partial proteolysis; this suggests that the effect of the metal on DNA binding is primarily kinetic rather than thermodynamic. Although Ag(I) also activates ACE1, it acts less cooperatively than the smaller Cu(I) ion and the resulting metalloprotein has a reduced affinity for DNA. The cooperative interaction between Cu and ACE1 allows the cell to respond to a small change in metal concentration by a large change in gene expression.


Background: Monitoring of emerging modes of drug consumption in France has identified new patterns of injection among youths with diverse social backgrounds, which may explain the persistence of high rates of hepatitis C virus infection. The circumstances surrounding the first injection have been poorly documented in the group of heavy drug users and in the context of the French opioid substitution treatment (OST) policy that provides expanded access to high-dosage buprenorphine (BHD) Methods: An Internet survey (Priminject) was conducted from October 2010 to March 2011 with French drug users. Four time periods were compared based on critical dates throughout the implementation of the Harm Reduction Policy in France. Results: Compared with drug users who injected for the first time prior to 1995, the aspects of drug use for users who recently injected for the first time were as follows: (1) experimentation with miscellaneous drugs before the first injection; (2) an older age at the time of first injection; (3) heroin as the drug of rugs uses choice for an individual's first injection, notwithstanding the increased usage of stimulant drugs; (4) BHD did not appear to be a pathway to injection; and (5) an increased number of users who injected their first time alone, without the help or presence of another individual. Conclusion: The PrimInject study showed that there is a group of injection drug users that is larger than the group of injection drug users observed in previous studies; therefore, it is necessary to diversify programs to reach the entire spectrum of high-risk users.


The primary abilities of physics students at the University of Muhammadiyah Makassar against the scientific concepts learned at the secondary school level vary, resulting in a complex integrated science learning process. The university follows the conventional methods of learning science with little or no use of modern technology. Thus, the present study was conducted to develop interactive multimedia learning using the Macromedia Flash program on integrated science content. The research consisted of two stages. While the first stage included the identification and content analysis of integrated science materials, the second stage comprised designing interactive multimedia learning and testing its validity. Validation was carried out on seven participants and analyzed using the Aiken validation. The validation results showed that the interactive multimedia developed is valid and can be used in Integrated Science lectures.
Keywords: interactive multimedia, integrated science, media development


Abstract Glenn Pool, a mature marginal oil field, is located on the Northeastern Oklahoma Platform. It has been under production since the first discovery in 1905. Several reservoir treatments have been implemented in the last 50 years following the primary production. However, high reservoir complexity resulted in a large volume of oil to be left in place. Our research is focused on a 160-acre block (Self Unit) where a detailed multi-disciplinary (Geology, Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering) reservoir study was conducted. The purpose of the study is to improve the secondary recovery performance of the field through the use of proper reservoir description and better reservoir management. Prior to drilling a cooperative project well (Uplands Self #82) Self Unit was studied with conventional methods. Stratigraphic framework of the Glenn Sand reservoir has been established through a series of stratigraphic cross sections. Based on well log correlations the reservoir was divided into six discrete genetic intervals (DGI). Channel-fill, splay, channel-mouth bar, levee and interdistributary mudstone facies were recognized from well log profiles and core analysis. Attempts were made in simulating geology using simple kriging methods; results were not entirely satisfactory. Uplands Self #82 was drilled in late December, 1993. The project objectives for drilling the well were: 1) evaluate reservoir predictions; 2) collect data using conventional and advanced technologies. Facies architectural characterization before drilling was reasonably successful. Advanced technologies including microresistivity imaging log and crosswell tomography data were acquired as well as the conventional well log suites and core. Simulation of the DGI distribution was undertaken using truncated Gaussian simulation method. Simulation results strongly agree when comparing probability input distributions with the output distributions. Porosity distribution was simulated using the simulated annealing method, and permeability distribution was transformed from porosity using a conditional distribution approach. For a selected well location (Self #82) the comparison between simulated and core porosity/permeability is very good. Crosswell transmission and migrated reflection tomography images between Self #82 and three offset wells constrained lateral reservoir continuity. A reservoir management plan was developed from reservoir performance simulation, well test data, facies architecture and crosswell tomography.


Selles, F., Campbell, C. A., Zentner, R. P., Curtin, D., James, D. C. and Basnyat, P. 2011. Phosphorus use efficiency and long-term trends in soil available phosphorus in wheat production systems with and without nitrogen fertilizer. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 39-52. Efficient use of phosphorus (P) in crop production is important for economic and environmental reasons, and to prolong the life of a limited resource. Short-term studies often show low recovery of fertilizer P, but P use efficiency may be underestimated because the value of residual P in the soil is ignored. Our objective was to determine fertilizer P use efficiency in two wheat production systems [continuous wheat (CW) and a 3-yr rotation of summer fallow-wheat-wheat (FWW)] using data from a 39-yr study (1967-2005) at Swift Current, SK. Each rotation received either P only (P) or nitrogen plus P (NP) fertilizer. Annual grain P removal was monitored (all straw was returned to the soil) and changes in soil available P (0- to 15-cm layer) were measured by the Olsen bicarbonate method. In 1993, subplots which received no additional P were established to evaluate the residual effect of P fertilizer applied in the preceding 27 yr. Where P was applied each year, grain P removal averaged 54 to 78% of fertilizer P, with values as high as 65 to 109% in 1994 to 2005, the period of lowest water deficit. The P-only treatments removed 13% less P in grain, on average, than NP treatments. In the P-nly systems, Olsen P content increased linearly with time, but in the NP systems it reached a maximum after 20-22 yr and then stabilized. The cumulative P balance (fertilizer P minus P removed in grain) accounted for 60% of the variability in Olsen P accumulation over the course of the experiment. In CW, Olsen P content increased by 0.15 kg ha-1 for each kg ha-1 of P added in excess of crop removal. The rate of Olsen P accumulation was greater (0.20 kg ha-1 for each kg ha-1 of excess fertilizer P) in the FWW rotation possibly due to P mineralization during the summer fallow year. When P was withheld between 1994 and 2005, total grain production in the CW rotation was reduced slightly (by 10%), but there was no significant effect on FWW. Crop P removal (1967-2005) where P was withheld in the final 12 yr was equivalent to 105 and 90% of fertilizer P added to the NP and P-only systems, respectively. We concluded that residual P in prairie soils is retained in forms that are available to plants; wheat crops may therefore recover close to 100% of applied fertilizer P given sufficient time.


Facilitated in Bandundu, D.R.C over a span of 4 months, this study evaluated the efficacy of P&G Purifier of Water, a point-of-use water treatment product produced and provided by Procter & Gamble. The evaluation was conducted by comparing the efficiency of using Ready-to-use-Food (RUTF) and treating domestic water with P&G Purifier of Water versus RUTF alone in the nutrition treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) children under the age of 5 years without medical complications. Two hypotheses were tested: 1.) SAM cases without medical complication benefiting from RUTF + P&G Purifier of Water have a lower prevalence of waterborne diseases during the course of their treatment 2.) SAM children benefiting from RUTF + P&G Purifier of Water have better outcomes in terms of treatment time (shorter) and weight gain (higher). Ultimately, the study determined the importance of promoting P&G Purifier of Water as part of the standard nutrition treatment of SAM children without medical complications, in areas with difficult or no access to clean drinking water.


The wavelet analysis of the Doppler heart sound detected under controlled venous air embolism at sub-clinically and clinically significant volumes was studied in anaesthetized dogs. Signal processing with wavelet enhances the power of embolic signal and facilitates the simple detection and extraction of embolic heart beats by thresholding. The cumulative power of the extracted embolic heart beats is found to be linearly related to the volume of embolic air on the log-log scale, suggesting that it is feasible to estimate clinically significant volume of embolic air in human subjects by linearly extrapolating from sub-clinical embolic volumes.


Metal clusters have interesting characteristics, such as the relationship between properties and size of the cluster. This is not always apparent, so theoretical studies can provide relevant information. In this report, optimized structures and electron donor-acceptor properties of AunBim clusters are reported (n + m = 2-7, 20). Density functional theory calculations were performed to obtain optimized structures. The ground states of gold clusters formed with up to seven atoms are planar. The presence of Bi modifies the structure, and the clusters become 3-D. Several optimized geometries have at least one Bi atom bonded to gold or bismuth atoms and form structures similar to NH3. This fragment is also present in clusters with 20 atoms, where the formation of Au3Bi stabilizes the structures. Bismuth clusters are better electron donors and worse electron acceptors than gold clusters. Mixed clusters fall in between these two extremes. The presence of Bi atoms in gold clusters modifies the electron donor-acceptor properties of the clusters, but there is no correlation between the number of Bi atoms present in the cluster and the capacity for donating electrons. The effect of planarity in Au19Bi clusters is the same as that in Au20 clusters. The properties of pure gold clusters are certainly interesting, but clusters formed by Bi and Au are more important because the introduction of different atoms modifies the geometry, the stability, and consequently the physical and chemical properties. Apparently, the presence of Bi may increase the reactivity of gold clusters, but further studies are necessary to corroborate this hypothesis.


Identification of the dysfunctional genes in human lung from patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will help up to understand the pathology of this disease. Here, using transcriptomic data of lung tissue for 91 COPD cases and 182 matched healthy controls from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. Employing a stringent model controlling for known covariates and hidden confounders, we identified 1,359 significant differentially expressed genes (DEG) with 707 upregulated and 602 downregulated respectively. We evaluated the identified DEGs in an independent microarray cohort of 219 COPD and 108 controls, demonstrating the robustness of our result. Functional annotation of COPD-associated genes highlighted the activation of complement cascade, dysregulation of inflammatory response and extracellular matrix organization in the COPD patients. In addition, we identified several novel key-hub genes involved in the COPD pathogenesis using a network analysis method. In summary, our study represents the comprehensive analysis of gene expression on COPD with the largest sample size providing great resource for the molecular research in the COPD community.


This article reports a multifaceted comparison between statistical
and neural machine translation (MT) systems that were developed for translation of data from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The study uses four
language pairs: English to German, Greek, Portuguese, and Russian. Translation quality is evaluated using automatic metrics and human evaluation, carried out by professional translators. Results show that neural MT is preferred
in side-by-side ranking, and is found to contain fewer overall errors. Results
are less clear-cut for some error categories, and for temporal and technical
post-editing effort. In addition, results are reported based on sentence length,
showing advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular language
pair and MT paradigm.


Revenue, expenditure, and employment data indicate that county governments—once taken for granted and playing "second fiddle" to municipalities—are playing an increasingly important role (and sometimes a role equal to that of municipalities) as vital service providers. Therefore, one would expect that county governments and municipal governments would receive approximately equal treatment in college and university graduate and undergraduate local government courses. However, a recent survey of college and university faculty who regularly teach local government courses reveals that this is not the case. Moreover, a content analysis of local government textbooks indicates that they are skewed in favor of municipalities. This article reports other findings from this survey that shed light on the reasons for this unequal treatment in the local government classroom and offers suggestions for changing the unbalanced approach to teaching these courses.


Five trends in the global political environment that affect the Asia-Pacific are: globalization; pulls of integration and disintegration; American dominance and leadership in the world; the emergence of new powers; the proliferation of nuclear states, weapons of mass destruction and the technological advances in the weapon delivery systems. These trends have significant implications for global finance, and the conduct of business in Asia. Both the businessperson seeking an opportunity and the academic doing research would find it useful to have an understanding of the various perspectives of Asia -- its economic recovery, changing political landscape, progress of economic reform, and the impact of the telecommunication and digitisation revolution. Formerly the Year in Review series, Perspectives endeavours to provide more forward-looking, instead of backward-looking, insights into developments in the international and Singaporean environments. Perspectives: 2000 and Beyond is a collection of papers that were presented at a conference in January organised by The Institute of Policy Studies, a public policy think-tank in Singapore, to celebrate the new millennium.


We investigate the morphologies of block copolymers confined in the region between two concentric and charged cylinders. The relative stability of a concentric lamellar phase compared to one where the lamellae are oriented in the radial direction is determined from the competition between long-range elastic and electrostatic forces. We find in weak and strong segregation and by single-chain-in-mean-field simulations that under sufficiently strong voltage difference there is a phase transition from concentric to radial lamellae containing defects. Above a threshold voltage the block copolymer melt develops an interfacial instability at a finite wavelength.


To a scaled logistic company, assigning is an important part of logistic, and further development will make the optimized assigning of multi-warehouse and multi-task possible. This paper provided a two-phase multiwarehouse and multi-task based algorithm which has two phases. In the first phase, it combines sweep algorithm,saving algorithm and virtual task point to present a method. And in the second phase it provides an algorithm for the arrangement of goods loading which is based on the constraints of time-window and attributes of goods and vehicle. It uses the computing results of the first phase to form more detailed delivery scheme based on the constraints of time-window and attributes of vehicle and goods.


Abstract
Voluntary interruption of pregnancy (VIP) in Italy is regulated by Law no. 194/1978. Its monitoring is carried out by the VIP Epidemio-logical Surveillance System, which periodically analyses the results of questionnaires compiled by the territorial healthcare structures and sent by each Region. The latest report, covering the years 2019 and 2020, highlights the adequacy of preventive and proactive strategies, an improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the service offered. Furthermore, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the reorganization of the IVG application guidelines showed a considerable adaptation to the emergency context through measures such as the increase in pharmacological procedures compared to surgical procedures. The interpretation of the data shows that in Italy there is one of the lowest VIP rates in Europe, reflecting the effectiveness of campaigns that promote responsible procreation. Further implementations should be extended to the foreign population, which still shows a medium-high VIP rate. The efficiency of the service offered resulted to be high. The latter was assessed considering the waiting period required for the performance of the VIP procedure. Furthermore, the high percentage of conscientious objectors does not harm the healthcare service. The estimates show an adequate territorial coverage by the authorized structures compared to the female population of fertile age. In conclusion, the central action of planning, organization, and monitoring finds a valid ally in the territorial management entrusted to the Regions. The analyzed report reflects even more margins of efficiency and adequacy when considered within the particular historical context of the pandemic by COVID-19.


A combined device of a PZT-film-actuated micromirror and microsensor that can detect linear movement and rotation angle of the mirror has been developed[l]. The micromirror is actuated by vertical movement of two PZT cantilevers formed as a unit on the right and left of the movable mirror and directly connected to it via hinges. By detecting reflected light diffused from a VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) toward the mirror, using two photodiodes (one on each side), displacement and rotation angle are measured with high precision. Since this combined device can feed back the displacement and rotation angle obtained from the sensor, it can compensate for the hysteresis of PZT and therefore enable stable, high-precision optical beam control.


INTRODUCTION
Stress is defined as a complex of protective and disturbing responses of the organism, generated in the process of the evolution, which occur as a result of neuroendocrine and metabolic alterations in response to the impact of emergency or pathological factors. Hence, stress is an important link of the adaptive mechanism; however, its adverse course can contribute to pathogenesis of many diseases. The problem of stress, which has been under study for years, is still a relevant topic to be investigated.

AIM
The paper was aimed at comparison of various models of chronic immobilization stress based on the published data and findings from our own research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The comparative analysis of the various techniques of chronic immobilization stress simulation in rats has been carried out on the basis of published data and findings of our own studies.

RESULTS
It has been shown that the model, proposed by the investigators from the Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy aids in reducing the time of experimental study, does not require sophisticated equipment and the use of additional stressors, at night time, in particular, as well as enables animals' restraint in the convenient morning time.

CONCLUSIONS
This technique is easy-to-use and can be applied while studying the influence of the immobilization stress on the body.


&tt>pa£m j tpj i KavTexa irewXav;], vv. lect. Soph. Antigon. 235.' There can be no doubt that Shilleto's divination found the truth. 8e8payfUvoi gives exactly the sense required: ' clutching her from either side,' and the textual history of Ant. 235 makes the conjecture certain. In Sophocles hthpaypivos, now universally accepted, has the support of Paris A, the old scholia, and some recentiores, whereas L with some recentiores gives ireirpaypfvos, and by further corruption iretppaypAvos appears in others. Shilleto's conjecture was based on the variation n-ê paylUvoi: SeSpaypcvoi, but there is nothing to show that he realised how the variant arose. Yet it seems clear, as I pointed out in the Proceedings of the Camb. Philol. Soc, 1922, p. 15, giving examples, and in particular Suid. 3e8payp.cvos • •n-firpayptvos, that neirpa.yp.ivos was a gloss on 8e8pa(y)fUvos, and ire<t>payp£vos a conjecture or a blunder.


We studied the mode of action of the nonspecific T suppressor factor (nsTsF-1) made in the picryl (TNP) system when T acceptor cells armed with antigen-specific TsF are triggered by antigen in the context of I-J. This suppressor factor does not inhibit the passive transfer of contact sensitivity directly, as shown by its failure to inhibit passive transfer by immune cells deprived of I-A+ cells. Its immediate target is an immune, antigen-specific, Ly-1+2-, I-A+ T cell. This cell, which may be regarded as a T suppressor effector cell (Ts-eff-2), produces nsTsF-2 when exposed sequentially to nsTsF-1 and antigen. This nsTsF subsequently inhibits the passive transfer of contact sensitivity. The action of nsTsF-2 is MHC genetically restricted. As the nsTsF-2 bears I-A determinant(s), this raises the possibility that it may act by combining with the recognition site for I-A on the T cell that mediates contact sensitivity.