To the Editor: Invasive aspergillosis remains a serious opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients with prolonged granulocyt0penia.l Clusters of invasive aspergillosis have been reported by various bone marrow transplant and leukemia treatment centers, in association with hospital construction,z lack of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration, lack of laminar flow ventilationZ.3 or contaminated hospital materials including filters and fireproofing." In most instances, it is difficult to identify the environmental source of an outbreak." Thus, amphotericin-B is often used empirically and a discriminant scorecard has been proposed that identifies patients who are likely to be infected." At our institution, a low incidence of Aspergillus infections prevailed between 1987 and 1991 in patients undergoing autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, or induction chemotherapy for acute leukemia. We report efforts to contain and identify the source of a clustered outbreak of invasive Aspergillus species in this population between July 1991 and March 1992. The bone marrow transplant/ leukemia service has been located on a 22-bed inpatient unit since 1987. The unit has a HEPA filtered air system (12 to 15 air exchanges per hour) and a hallway carpet that is impregnated with the fungistatic/bacteriostatic agent Intersept (Interface Research Corp, Kennesaw, GA), a durable quaternary amine complex shown to be effective in reducing the buildup of microorganisms in building materials.5 A multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, administrators, construction supervisors, and a pharmacist coordinates a prospective monitoring program to identify and reduce the risk of opportunistic infections among patients. A neutropenic precautions policy, implemented in 1984, mandates handwashing prior to any patient contact, high-filtration masks for any person entering the patient's room, cleaning of all medical examination equipment prior to each use, use of high-filtration masks by patients when they leave their room for any reason, and a low-pathogen diet. Strict protocols govern evaluation of fever and the use of antibiotics. Infection records are reviewed monthly and infection rates and trends are monitored prospectively. In June 1990, construction was initiated on a lo-story research tower within 200 yards of the hospital. In October 1990, demolition and excavation of four buildings began within 100 yards of the hospital, followed in February 1991 by construction of a new 12-story hospital tower. These construction projects continued through 1993. During this time, engineering records of cross HEPAfilter pressure indicated that the filters were constantly operating within specifications. Monthly volumetric air sampling began in March 1990 using a Centrifugal Air Sampler RCS [Biostat]; it identified up to 75 fungal spores/100 cu ft in the outside air, including 0 to 8 Aspergillus species. Lower spore counts (0 to la/l00 cu ft) were found inside the hospital in areas of construction whereas few spore isolates were found (0 to 2 spores/100 cu ft) on the transplant/leukemia unit. Between 1987 and 1990, three to four cases of invasive aspergillosis occurred per year (some categorized as community-acquired by our prior definitions) ,1,4 without evidence of seasonal clustering. On June 23, 1991, a tire broke out in a IlO-year-old building across the street from the hospital and in direct view of the transplant/ leukemia unit. The interior, attic, and roof of the building were gutted completely, and internal demolition and reconstruction began in July 1991. During the week of the fire, a patient had repeatedly opened the window in his room to smoke cigarettes, in violation of the hospital no-smoking policy; when this was discovered the window was sealed shut. Three weeks later, the patient developed invasive aspergillosis. Twelve additional cases of Aspergillus occurred over the subsequent 9 months. The rate of Aspergillus infections was significantly higher between July 1991 and March 1992 than between January 1989 and June 1991, when only seven cases were observed over 30 months @'<O.OOl). All cases of invasive Aspergillus infections were confirmed by histology and microbiology using previously described criteria.' Five patients had Aspergillusjlavus and six had Aspergillus&migatus infection; two were identitied by biopsy alone as presumed Aspergillus species. Of the 13 cases that occurred during the cluster, 10 had pulmonary infection, and one each had infection of the skin, bone, and sinus. Ages of the 13 patients (7 males) ranged from 38 to 73; all received chemotherapy. Eight of the 13 patients survived; all who died had a relapsed or treatmentresistant malignancy. In our investigation into possible sources of the epidemic, carpet tile


The need for flexible customization of large feature-rich software systems, according to requirements of various stakeholders, has become an important problem in software development. Among the many software engineering approaches dealing with variability management, the notion of Software Product Line (SPL) has emerged as a major unifying concept. Drawing from established disciplines of manufacturing, SPL approaches aim to design repertoires of software artifacts, from which customized software systems for specific stakeholder requirements can be developed. A major difficulty SPL approaches attempt to address is the modularization of software artifacts, which reconciles the user's needs for certain features and the development and technical constraints. Towards this end, many SPL approaches use feature diagrams to describe possible configurations of a feature set. There have been several proposals for feature diagram languages with varying degrees of expressiveness, intuitiveness, and precision. However, these feature diagram languages have limited scalability when applied to realistic software systems. This article provides a systematic survey of various concerns of feature diagrams and ways in which concerns have been separated. The survey shows how the uncertainty in the purpose of feature diagram languages creates both conceptual and practical limitations to scalability of those languages.


seemed advisable, but Harry's delusions were so well systematized and his emotional recoil so instantaneous whenever the subject was approached that it seemed wiser to build up bit by bit his mental integrity, until such time as he could profit by an authoritative explanation by the psychiatrist in charge. Psychiatric social work is not, as is sometimes supposed, a new profession, but a branch and enrichment of old case work methods. Its rules, however, are not yet clearly defined; and it was in the hope of making some contribution to this new technique that the story was written. HELEN M. IRELAND


A low-sidelobe fan-beam wideband linear array antenna employing a nonparasitic grounded reflector is presented. This fan-beam antenna is achieved using a six-element conventional planar monopole array antenna and feed network, which together produce sidelobes at - 26 dB. Dolph-Tschebyscheff distribution is employed, and a broadband array feed network is designed to satisfy beneficial input impedance bandwidth requirements in the frequency range 1.7-2.2 GHz. Therefore, this array covers applications of GSM-DCS2, DECT, and 3G. Combining planar monopole antenna as an array with nonparasitic grounded reflector allows an advantageous fan beam pattern to be generated. H-plane 3-dB beamwidths are controllable using grounded reflector height. In addition, the results are compared with and without reflector array antenna.


Alcator C-Mod is a particularly challenging environment for thermography. It presents issues that will similarly face ITER, including low-emissivity metal targets, low-Z surface films, and closed divertor geometry. In order to make measurements of the incident divertor heat flux using IR thermography, the C-Mod divertor has been modified and instrumented. A 6° toroidal sector has been given a 2° toroidal ramp in order to eliminate magnetic field-line shadowing by imperfectly aligned divertor tiles. This sector is viewed from above by a toroidally displaced IR camera and is instrumented with thermocouples and calorimeters. The camera provides time histories of surface temperatures that are used to compute incident heat-flux profiles. The camera sensitivity is calibrated in situ using the embedded thermocouples, thus correcting for changes and nonuniformities in surface emissivity due to surface coatings.


A simulation model is presented in this research which models the operating characteristics of the upgraded cargo handling systems supporting underway replenishment for the MARS Class ship conversion program. The replacement of installed package conveyors with elevators will substantially improve the ship's vertical lift capability and consequently should improve cargo handling efforts. In this thesis we develop a simulation model to assess the impact of this improvement while demonstrating the benefit of using simulation methods as a decision support tool. We present two scenarios; the first provides a preliminary estimate of the vertical lift capability of the newly installed 12,000 lb capacity elevators. Secondly, the model is expanded to assess one of the main deck cargo handling functions involving forklift operations moving material delivered by one or two of the new 12,000 lb elevators. The results of the simulation show that forklift cargo delivery functions along the ship's main deck can be expected to be the controlling factor in determining the time required to complete cargo handling operations. Although the model presented is specifically designed for the USS SAN JOSE it is adaptable for use on other ships of the class.


Commanders must remain agile and adaptive in the future Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled multi-domain battlespace, where critical decisions are made at the tactical edge. Over-reliance on static, cloud-centric approaches to Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) compromises such agility and adaptability. These systems must operate in a dynamic threat environment, and learn to detect novel threats during operation. They must be able to perform this learning through the execution of tactical MLOps under austere and degraded conditions, especially limited wireless network bandwidth. In response to these requirements, this paper describes Hawk, a system that leverages edge proximity for rapid and iterative execution of the Observe stage of the Observe-Orient-Decide-Act loop. Central to this architecture is the use of tactical cloudlets. These mini data centers provide cloud-like computing resources without the communication latency to exascale data centers. Hawk enables a human to guide MLOps at low cognitive load, thus enabling an operational objective to be achieved at speed and scale while remaining usable and explainable.


Discussion of a paper by Murthy and Patterson. The isotopic composition of Pb of the Boulder batholith is based on the composition of Pb from quartz of one sample (S-1) and may not be representative of the whole quartz monzonite mass. Rejection of feldspar Pb data by Murthy and Patterson because of supposed Pb contamination may be unwarranted. Slight cloudiness of the K feldspar is a primary or at most a deuteric feature. If the batholithic model is not restricted to 2 dimensions but includes depth as well, the hypothesis of Murthy and Patterson need not necessarily depart from the classic hydrothermal epigenetic theory.


cross-coupling reaction is an synthetic tool for synthesis to assemble biaryls, in One avenue of research to improve the practicality of the transformation to seek aryl electrophiles alternative to aryl halides to avoid halogen contaminations in products and wastes to streamline and diversify chemical processes to access biaryls. many different aryl electro philes as aryl esters, aryl ethers, aryl carboxylic acid deriva tives, and aryl ammonium salts introduced for the Miyaura cross-coupling the decade, no successful for the use of nitroarenes as the coupling partner. for first arenes can be viable aryl electrophiles for the Suzuki– Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. are common synthetic building blocks in chemical processes serve as start ing materials to derivatize aromatic compounds


Introduction: Within the substantial direct and indirect evidence that school gardens can enhance diet, physical activity and social cohesion, there is little information related to effects according to age. This study measured changes in knowledge of and attitudes towards vegetables and fruits (V&F) associated with the introduction of a school-based food garden, in relation to age. Methods: A school-based community food garden was installed in a state primary school in a low SES area of Brisbane, Australia. Ability to identify various V&F, and determinant factors for V&F consumption (family environment, neophobia, peer influence, preferences, nutritional awareness, perception of intake) were measured. This 12-month intervention trial used an historical control design (control n=132, intervention n=120). Data were collected from all students in grades 4 to 7 (ie. ages 8 to 12 years), using class-based, self administered questionnaires requiring one-word answers and 3-point Likert style responses. Frequency distributions for each question were generated and chi-squared analyses were used to determine statistical significance. Results: There were fewer significant attitudinal changes by school year 7 students associated with the intervention compared to other grades. Changes in school years 4 and 5 were much more focussed on personal (1st person) perspectives, compared with awareness of their social environment. Conclusions: Age-related differences in impact of the garden intervention may correspond to expansions of autonomy in food choice and other behaviours as children mature. Food based education strategies (eg school gardens) to enhance V&F consumption may be most effective in younger age groups.


State-of-the-art dialogue models still often stumble with regards to factual accuracy and self-contradiction. Anecdotally, they have been observed to fail to maintain character identity throughout discourse; and more specifically, may take on the role of their interlocutor. In this work we formalize and quantify this deficiency, and show experimentally through human evaluations that this is indeed a problem. In contrast, we show that discriminative models trained specifically to recognize who is speaking can perform well; and further, these can be used as automated metrics. Finally, we evaluate a wide variety of mitigation methods, including changes to model architecture, training protocol, and decoding strategy. Our best models reduce mistaken identity issues by nearly 65% according to human annotators, while simultaneously improving engagingness. Despite these results, we find that maintaining character identity still remains a challenging problem.


Abstract Nediphya gen. n. and four new species, N. lehtineni sp. n. (type species), N. hippai sp. n., N. lyleae sp. n. and N. padillai sp. n. are described from Papua New Guinea. Some somatic characters of Nediphya gen. n. such as modified eyes and a prolateral row of stiff setae on legs I and II resemble those of Diphya Nicolet, 1849, but the morphology of its copulatory organs indicates it belongs to Nanometinae, a subfamily known only from Australasia. Th e status and composition of Nanometinae are briefly discussed. Nanometa gentilis Simon 1908 (the type species of Nanometa Simon, 1908), thought to be known only from the female, was actually described from both sexes.


Aims: To investigate whether renal pathology is an independent predictor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in diabetic kidney diseases (DKD) with nephrotic range proteinuria. Methods: A total of 199 DKD patients with nephrotic range proteinuria underwent renal biopsy and were divided into an ESRD group and a non-ESRD group. A Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to compare renal survival rate, and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to determine the predictors of the ESRD. Results: The mean age of included patients was 51.49 ± 9.12 years and 113 patients (56.8%) progressed to ESRD. The median follow-up period was 16 (12–28) months. The glomerular pathology class III is the most common type (54.3%). In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, compared with patients without ESRD, patients with ESRD had a longer duration of diabetes (≥6 years), lower eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2), lower albumin (<30 g/L), lower hemoglobin (<120 g/L), and a higher grade of glomerular stage (class III + IV vs. class I + II) (p < 0.05). The hemoglobin and e-GFR, but not the histopathological damage, were significantly associated with a higher risk of ESRD in both the univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. Conclusions: In patients with diabetic kidney disease characterized by nephrotic range proteinuria, histopathological damage (glomerular alterations, interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA), interstitial inflammation, and arteriolar hyalinosis) is not associated with poor renal outcomes, but hemoglobin and e-GFR could predict poor renal outcomes.


Next generation sequencing technologies used in metagenomics yield numerous sequencing fragments which come from thousands of different species. Accurately identifying genes from metagenomics fragments is one of the most fundamental issues in metagenomics. In this article, by fusing multifeatures (i.e., monocodon usage, monoamino acid usage, ORF length coverage, and Z-curve features) and using deep stacking networks learning model, we present a novel method (called Meta-MFDL) to predict the metagenomic genes. The results with 10 CV and independent tests show that Meta-MFDL is a powerful tool for identifying genes from metagenomic fragments.


Tamas I. Gombosi, professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has been appointed senior editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics. His term will begin August 1 and continue until December 31, 1996.

Gombosi's main objective as editor is to keep JGR (blue) the "best space physics journal in the world," while making it more readable, more interesting, and increasing its circulation. Specifically, he wants to provide the highest-quality forum for space physics, assure equal access and standards for scientists from all over the world, and provide a forum for new, high-risk ideas.


During studies on the amino acid sequence of bovine nasal cartilage collagen, the cyanogen bromide peptide alpha1(II)-CB11 was degraded to smaller peptides with trypsin. One of the tryptic peptides, T5, which contained 39 residues was shown by amino acid and sequence analyses to occur in a predominant form that contained glutamine at position 5 and in a second form with leucine at this site. In addition to the heterogeneity at this position, amino acid analyses of five different preparations revealed that the peptide with leucine contained a seryl residue not found in the major form. Sequence heterogeneity at a third position of alpha1(II) was demonstrated by the isolation of a hexapeptide (T2) from the trypsin digest of alpha1(II)-CB11 which contained 0.21 residue of alanine and 0.77 of leucine. Both the leucine and alanine of T2 were removed after the second cycle of subtractive Edman degradation. These data show that at least two types of alpha1(II) chains, designated as alpha1(II)Major and alpha1(II)Minor, exist in bovine nasal cartilage. Further considerations suggest that these two chains are probably not variants derived from allelic genes but are the products of separate genes.


This project investigates Saccharina latissima seaweeds, harvested in Sweden, as substrate for bioethanol fermentation. Saccharina latissima is also called sugar kelp and contains large amounts of the polysaccharide laminarin which was the target of interest in this project. The seaweed was milled before mixed with strong base followed by acid to extract the laminarin into a solution. After extraction, three methods for hydrolysing the laminarin into glucose were evaluated: sulphuric acid and autoclaving, commercial laminarinase enzyme, and enzymes from the naturally occuring bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. After hydrolysis fermentation was performed in small batches with a commercial strain of brewers' yeast. The results show that both sulphuric acid and enzymes from Pseudoalteromonas sp. did release glucose, which was successfully fermented into ethanol.


Objects and camera movements are important clues, which can be used for a better video and image understanding for content-based image and video indexing. In this paper, we propose a new general technique for object and 3D camera movement detection based on 2D hints extracted from 2D images. Our approach consists of extracting first 2D hints based on object contours and calculating their different order derivatives. We then apply our pattern matching method to obtain objects movement vectors, and with help of 3D projection theory, we detect the camera movement description in the 3D space. The further work we have been undertaking shows that 2D and 3D hints combined with movement vectors can lead to 3D scene description. Some experimental evidence is also provided.


In Libya, English is taught as a foreign language and it has been the focus of attention for several years. Many researchers have investigated and is still investigating the most effective approach/s for teaching English as a foreign language. Libyan students need to learn the four skills of learning English especially reading. In this paper, the extent of the successes and failures of an English Language teaching approach namely communicative approach specifically in teaching reading comprehension, will be explored. This study attempts to investigate the teachers' perceptions in teaching reading comprehension in the preparatory level and the teachers' and students' adaptation to this innovative method of learning the language. This paper is expected to give some insights on the past studies that are related to teaching reading comprehension skills at Libyan preparatory school and also reviews of some works that examine teaching reading comprehension skill in Libyan contexts.


Optoacoustic imaging has been intensively investigated in the last decade in the preclinical imaging research community. In addition of combining high contrast and high resolution, this modality features the advantage of enabling molecular imaging. When combined with suitable contrast agents such as dyes, gold nanoparticles or single-wall carbon nanotubes that are coupled to specifically binding moieties, optoacoustic imaging allows localizing of tissue structures based on their specific molecular signature. This has been proven in various proof-of-concept in-vivo experiments involving different kinds of optoacoustic imaging systems and diseases models. However, for a deeper understanding of the processes involved in optoacoustic molecular imaging (i.e. the binding of the targeted contrast agents to single cells), the phenomena have to be studied on the cellular level. For this purpose, we developed an optoacoustic microscope for high resolution imaging of cells and cell-contrast agent interactions. Using a glioblastoma cell model and chlorotoxin-functionalized nanoparticles, we performed proof-of-concept experiments showing that the approach of molecular optoacoustic imaging can be transferred from in-vivo to the single cell level.


Reflection scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) at 1 GHz has been used to examine artificially induced cracks in alumina samples. The results are compared with the corresponding optical micrographs and scanning electron microscope images. For a sample with a 0.08 μm centre-line average (CLA) surface finish, the SAM working with a 400 μm frame size, showed that a crack that appeared to be about 150 μm in length in the corresponding optical image was, in fact, at least 200 μm in length. For a sample with a good engineering finish of 0.15 μm CLA, the SAM was able to reveal crack detail to a degree comparable with that revealed by an optical microscope working under optimum conditions. On a sample with a highly polished surface it was possible to distinguish between cracks and grain boundaries by using the V(z) response of the SAM, in agreement with theory.


The near-far problem for direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DS-SS) can be alleviated by the use of low-complexity multiuser receiver implementations, such as successive interference cancellation (SIC) and parallel interference cancellation (PIC) receivers. Ironically, multiuser detection (MUD) has received more research attention for its potential application to 3rd generation commercial cellular systems which employ tight power control than for its application to ad-hoc military networks that might benefit from the near-far resistance of MUD techniques. Some previous research has demonstrated the feasibility of simple MUD techniques for improving the performance and capacity of ad-hoc peer-to-peer packet radio networks (Howlader and Woerner 1998, 1999). This paper presents an architecture for DS-SS packet radio networks exploiting MUD. Issues to be considered include: the performance of fixed complexity PIC and SIC receivers in peer-to-peer environments with AWGN and fading channels, the formulation of signal amplitude estimation for the MUD, and packet acquisition using receiver-oriented spreading codes.


This paper discusses the role of the Buddha's wife, Yasodharā/Rāhulamātā, in Pāli Jātakas. Noting her continued popularity in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, it considers her path to liberation seen as a composite whole, through many lifetimes, and considers some of the literary implications of this multiple depiction. The intention of this paper is to initiate more discussion about this figure as a sympathetic and central presence in Southern Buddhist text and practice.


Identifying the symptoms of the early stages of dementia is a difficult task, particularly for older adults living in residential care. Internet of Things (IoT) and smart environments can assist with the early detection of dementia, by nonintrusive monitoring of the daily activities of the older adults. In this work, we focus on the daily life activities of adults in a smart home setting to discover their potential cognitive anomalies using a public dataset. After analysing the dataset, extracting the features, and selecting distinctive features based on dynamic ranking, a classification model is built. We compare and contrast several machine learning approaches for developing a reliable and efficient model to identify the cognitive status of monitored adults. Using our predictive model and our approach of distinctive feature selection, we have achieved 90.74% accuracy in detecting the onset of dementia.


In regularized risk minimization, the associated optimization problem becomes particularly difficult when both the loss and regularizer are nonsmooth. Existing approaches either have slow or unclear convergence properties, are restricted to limited problem subclasses, or require careful setting of a smoothing parameter. In this paper, we propose a continuation algorithm that is applicable to a large class of nonsmooth regularized risk minimization problems, can be flexibly used with a number of existing solvers for the underlying smoothed subproblem, and with convergence results on the whole algorithm rather than just one of its subproblems. In particular, when accelerated solvers are used, the proposed algorithm achieves the fastest known rates of $O(1/T^2)$ on strongly convex problems, and $O(1/T)$ on general convex problems. Experiments on nonsmooth classification and regression tasks demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art.


Physically accessible devices such as sensor nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks or "smart" devices in the Internet of Things have to be resistant to a broad spectrum of physical attacks, for example to Side Channel Analysis and to Fault Injection attacks. In this work we concentrate on the vulnerability of ASICs to precise optical Fault Injection attacks. Here we propose to use metal fillers as potential low-cost countermeasure that may be effective against a broad spectrum of physical attacks. In our future work we plan to evaluate different methods of metal fillers placement, to select an effective one and to integrate it as additional design rules into automated design flows.


Background: Resistant Gram-positive bacteria are causing increasing concern in clinical practice. This work investigated theefficacy of AP-CECT7121 (an antimicrobial peptide isolated from an environmental strain of Enterococcus faecalis CECT7121) against various pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria. Methods: Strains were isolated from intensive care unit patients unresponsive to standard antibiotic treatments. Inhibitory activity of AP-CECT7121 was assessed using the agar-well diffusion method. The most resistant isolates from each species screened (Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis,Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile) were further examined in time-killing curve studies. Results: These bactericidal kinetic experiments demonstrated a rapid killing effect with no viable bacteria being detected within 30 and 90 min for enterococcal and streptococcal strains and 180 min for community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus and C. perfringens: viable counts for C. difficile were threefold decreased after 90 min. Conclusions: AP-CECT7121 may provide a novel strategy for treating potentially fatal clinical infections in hospitalized patients.


PURPOSE
To develop a simple method for the clinical evaluation of tear dynamics and evaluate its usefulness in the diagnosis of dry eye syndrome.

METHODS
The study includes 170 eyes from 85 adults. 102 eyes had a Schirmer's test value of less than 10 mm and subjective symptoms of dry eye. Tear function index (TFI) was calculated in all the cases using prepared drops with 0.5% fluorescein and 0.4% oxibuprocaína. Five minutes later a Schirmer strip was placed on the conjunctival fornix. Schirmer's test and tear clearance were calculated after a further five minutes. Tear clearance was measured using a table of fluorescein concentrations. TFI is the quotient between the value of the Schirmer's test and TCR.

RESULTS
The cut-off value of TFI in dry eye is 74. At this point the sensitivity of this method is 74% and the specificity is 63%. The Schirmer's test results did not correlate with the tear clearance results.

CONCLUSION
TFI is a rapid and sensitive method of identification of subjects with dry eye. The lack of correlation between TFI and TCR is because these methods evaluate different aspects of tear dynamics.


The article aims to describe the medium-term impacts of a major earthquake event (Chile, February 27, 2010) on 26 seniors. The authors adopted a qualitative study approach. Data obtained using the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R) show the presence of manifestations of posttraumatic stress in the majority of respondents. In addition, data collected in interviews demonstrated a progressive deterioration of the health of respondents over a period of 4 years following the disaster. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to the effects of material loss, emotional stress, and postdisaster health complications. These impacts are exacerbated by low economic status. Furthermore, broader research is necessary involving elderly living in poverty who have survived natural disasters and others without such experiences, in order to better identify and differentiate between health complications associated with exposure to disaster events and those linked more strictly with natural aging processes.


Isotactic polypropylene was grafted with maleic anhydride using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator and toluene as a solvent. Effects of various parameters such as monomer and initiator concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature on percentage grafting were studied. Effect of various solvents on extent of grafting was also studied. The maximum extent of grafting achieved was 5.3%. The graft copolymers were characterized by i.r., thermal, viscometric, and contact angle studies. Improved thermal stability and decreased intrinsic viscosity and critical surface tension were observed for graft copolymers. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


In this paper, we address the problem of OFDM channel estimation in the presence of phase noise (PHN) and carrier frequency offset (CFO). For OFDM systems, PHN and CFO cause two effects: the common phase error (CPE) and the intercarrier interference (ICI) which severely degrade the accuracy of the channel estimate. In literature, several algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem. Here, we propose the joint estimation of channel impulse response (CIR), CFO and PHN with no prior statistical knowledge of PHN and SNR. The proposed approach uses a training OFDM symbol to track and estimate these many unknowns in the time domain by particle filtering. The particle filter is efficiently implemented by combining the principles of the Rao-Blackwellization technique and the hybrid importance function which encompasses the advantages of both the optimal and the prior importance functions. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Abstract From recent past, shoplifting has become a serious concern for business in both small/big shops and stores. It customarily involves the buyer concealing store items inside clothes/bags and then leaving the store without payment. Unfortunately, no cost-effective solution is available to overcome this problem. We, therefore intend to build an expert monitoring system to automatically recognize shoplifting events in megastores/shops by recognizing object-stealing actions of humans. The method proposed utilizes a deep convolutional-based InceptionV3 architecture to mine the prominent features from video clips. These features are used to custom Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) network to discriminate human stealing actions in video sequences. Optimizing recurrent learning classifier using different modeling parameters such as sequence length and batch size is a genuine contribution of this work. The experiments demonstrate that the system proposed has achieved an accuracy of 89.36% on the synthesized dataset, which comparatively outperforms other existing methods.


A chronic ulcer may be defined as one that fails to heal in the expected time for a ulcer of that type, which is usually less than 3 weeks. Chronic ulcers usually respond slowly to conventional treatments. In Ayurveda classics, ulcers its types and management has been explained. Signs and symptoms of non-healing ulcers can be compared with features of Dushtavrana. In spite of the modern advances that have been made; the management of Chronic ulcer is still a challenge for the clinician. Sushruta was quite aware of the importance of ulcer management. 60 methods of treatment of Vrana have been explained in Susruta Samhita Chikitsa stana Dvivraneeya adhyaya and one among them is Dhoopana. Dhoopana is indicated in ulcers which have predominance of Vata, severe pain and exudation. In Susruta Samhitha suthrasthana Misraka adhyaya, Dhoopana with Sriveshtaka, Sarjarasa, Sarala, Devadaru and other Sara-vrikshas are explained. In the present case study, 60 year old male patient who visited OPD with non-healing ulcer over left side of left lower limb with pain and purulent discharge from the ulcer was subjected to Dhoopana for 7 days twice daily for 10 minutes with Sriveshtakadi dhoopa choorna. Assessment of pain was done with VAS and VRS scale, discharge was assessed with grading scale and microbial content was assessed with Pus culture. After the study period there was considerable relief of pain and discharge. The organism Staphylococcus aureus present in initial swab was absent after 7 days of Dhoopana.


It is important for clinical practice to be able to find (or retrieve) relevant literature and to keep informed of the state of medical science. The fact that the contents of articles in journals are now accessible via computers is the result of integration of bibliographic techniques, medical knowledge and computer technology. Articles published in some 5000 medical journals can nowadays be retrieved electronically via Medline and Embase together (but medical literature in Dutch is underrepresented). Computerised insertion of publications into Internet dose not make information traceable or accessible, let alone reliable and readable. It cannot be predicted if electronic versions of scientific periodicals will replace the printed editions completely. However, valuable, reliable information will always have its price, even on Internet. It is unlikely that electronic information published privately (internet) will replace scientific publishers soon, for readers will still want selection and monitoring of contents and language. Good layout, professional typography and suitable illustrations to enhance reading comfort and cognitive processes, will even become more important. The problems arising from the immensity of scientific knowledge are not (any longer) of a technological nature-what is needed is a cultural about-turn of the information infrastructure in medical-scientific associations, organizations and institutions.


Different acid oxidation methods were systematically carried out to purify the SWNTs synthesized by CVD. The results show that the best purification process can produce over 98% pure single-wall carbon nanotubes within 2 h. In this process, it is found by Raman characterization that the amount of nanotubes with small diameters do not diminish within 3 h.


This tutorial will share with the audience on how to leverage the foundational knowledge of Service- Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web services to build service-oriented business consulting method, enable Software As Services and Services As Software. Advanced SOA techniques are covered in the following topics: services publishing and discovery, business services relationship modeling, business requirements-driven services composition, services value chain collaboration, business process integration and modeling, enterprise modeling, and project-based business performance management. A Services Engineering method and delivery framework will be discussed as a case study. The target audiences are all-level researchers, practitioners, and students. From this tutorial, the audiences could learn the actual service delivery processes, technologies, and methodologies in the entire service delivery life cycle. This tutorial material is created for the IEEE Body of Knowledge initiative on Services Computing, which is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Services Computing.


Over the last decade, differential privacy has achieved widespread adoption within the privacy community. Moreover, it has attracted significant attention from the verification community, resulting in several successful tools for formally proving differential privacy. Although their technical approaches vary greatly, all existing tools rely on reasoning principles derived from the composition theorem of differential privacy. While this suffices to verify most common private algorithms, there are several important algorithms whose privacy analysis does not rely solely on the composition theorem. Their proofs are significantly more complex, and are currently beyond the reach of verification tools.In this paper, we develop compositional methods for formally verifying differential privacy for algorithms whose analysis goes beyond the composition theorem. Our methods are based on deep connections between differential privacy and probabilistic couplings, an established mathematical tool for reasoning about stochastic processes. Even when the composition theorem is not helpful, we can often prove privacy by a coupling argument.We demonstrate our methods on two algorithms: the Exponential mechanism and the Above Threshold algorithm, the critical component of the famous Sparse Vector algorithm. We verify these examples in a relational program logic apRHL+, which can construct approximate couplings. This logic extends the existing apRHL logic with more general rules for the Laplace mechanism and the one-sided Laplace mechanism, and new structural rules enabling pointwise reasoning about privacy; all the rules are inspired by the connection with coupling. While our paper is presented from a formal verification perspective, we believe that its main insight is of independent interest for the differential privacy community.


Background Proteomic analyses have broadened the horizons of vector control measures by identifying proteins associated with different biological and physiological processes and give further insight into the mosquitoes' biology, mechanism of insecticide resistance and pathogens-mosquitoes interaction. Female Ae. aegypti ingests human blood to acquire the requisite nutrients to make eggs. During blood ingestion, female mosquitoes transmit different pathogens. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the best protein extraction method for mass spectrometry analysis which will allow a better proteome profiling for female mosquitoes. Methods In this present study, two protein extractions methods were performed to analyze female Ae. aegyti proteome, via TCA acetone precipitation extraction method and a commercial protein extraction reagent CytoBusterTM. Then, protein identification was performed by LC-ESI-MS/MS and followed by functional protein annotation analysis. Results The CytoBusterTM reagent gave the highest protein yield with a mean of 475.90 µg compared to TCA acetone precipitation extraction showed 283.15 µg mean of protein. LC-ESI-MS/MS identified 1,290 and 890 proteins from the CytoBusterTM reagent and TCA acetone precipitation, respectively. When comparing the protein class categories in both methods, there were three additional categories for proteins identified using CytoBusterTM reagent. The proteins were related to scaffold/adaptor protein (PC00226), protein binding activity modulator (PC00095) and intercellular signal molecule (PC00207). In conclusion, the CytoBusterTM protein extraction reagent showed a better performance for the extraction of proteins in term of the protein yield, proteome coverage and extraction speed.


Temperate anuran amphibians generally complete metamorphosis by the autumn of their natal year, but there are an increasing number of reports of overwintering of the larval tadpole phase. We currently know little about the environmental cues that trigger this change in the temporal pattern of development, or if it has any fitness consequences. In an experimental study in the laboratory, we examined the effects of environmental temperature and food availability on the temporal pattern of larval development and the proportion of individuals that overwintered as larvae, in Rana temporaria from the UK. The proportion of overwintering tadpoles increased with lower temperature and food availability. No overwintering tadpoles appeared to arrest their larval development early in the season, contrary to expectations from field observations. Therefore, other factors beyond mean temperature and food availability may be involved in the overwintering phenomenon observed in the field. Furthermore, all overwintering tadpoles were large enough to commence metamorphosis in the autumn, but this was delayed until spring, and on completion of metamorphosis overwintered tadpoles were larger than individuals that had completed metamorphosis within their first summer. While developmental and growth constraints certainly play a role in overwintering as larvae in the laboratory, the larger size on completion of metamorphosis may represent an adaptive advantage for this phenomenon. The extent to which the larger size of overwintering tadpoles is advantageous would presumably vary with local conditions and individual survival prospects.


Actinobacillus seminis is a Gram-negative bacterium member of the Pasteurellaceae family. Even though it is part of the ovine microbiota it is also the causal agent of genital organs affections, particularly epididymitis and orchitis. Infections caused by this microorganism generate economic losses to the ovine industry due to impaired fertility and sterility in affected animals. Knowledge about virulence factors expressed by A. seminis is scarce. In the present work, we describe the expression of a metalloprotease secreted by A. seminis that can degrade bovine fibrinogen and immunoglobulin G and present homology with a carboxy-terminal protease from A. seminis. This metalloprotease presents an optimal activity at a pH between 6 and 7, is stable up to 60°C, inactive at higher temperatures, and completely inhibited by 30 mM EDTA. The expression of this proteolytic activity is controlled by temperature, calcium, and iron. Proteases degrading extracellular matrix components and molecules involved in the immune response could facilitate and improve host colonization and invasion by A. seminis


The hemodynamic response to maximal exercise was determined in sedentary and trained rats with a chronic myocardial infarction (MI) produced by coronary artery ligation and in rats that underwent sham operations (SHAM). Infarct size in the MI groups of rats comprised 28-29% of the total left ventricle and resulted in both metabolic and hemodynamic changes that suggested that these animals had moderate compensated heart failure. The training regimen used in the present study produced significant increases in maximal O2 uptake (VO2max) when expressed in absolute terms (ml/min) or when normalized for body weight (ml.min-1.kg-1) and consisted of treadmill running at work loads that were equivalent to 70-80% of the animal's VO2max for a period of 60 min/day, 5 days/wk over an 8- to 10-wk interval. This training paradigm produced two major cardiocirculatory adaptations in the MI rat that had not been elicited previously when using a training paradigm of a lower intensity. First, the decrement in the maximal heart rate response to exercise (known as "chronotropic incompetence") found in the sedentary MI rat was completely reversed by endurance training. Second, the downregulation of cardiac myosin isozyme composition from the fast ATPase V1 isoform toward the slower ATPase (V2 and V3) isoforms in the MI rat was partially reversed by endurance training. These cardiac adaptations occurred without a significant increase in left ventricular pump function as an increase in maximal cardiac output (Qmax) and maximal stroke volume (SVmax) did not occur in the trained MI rat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


With the internationalization of education, Chinese students have constituted the largest international student group in the world as well as in Canada. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences, challenges, and supports specific to the Chinese student population at Canadian universities. In order to triangulate the data from different sources, individual interviews with eight Chinese international students and three International Student Advisors
were conducted in this qualitative research. Hofstede's theory on cultural dimensions and the bilinear model of acculturation and enculturation are applied to explain the findings about Chinese international students' experiences and challenges with regard to second language learning, academic studies, social interaction, post-graduation plans, and personal development and identity reshaping. Moreover, based on Chinese international students' awareness and use of supports available to them, this study has implications for practice as to how to improve their support system.

Key words: Chinese international students; cultural dimensions; acculturation and enculturation; international
student support; second language learning; academic studies; social interaction; post-graduationhengying
plans; personal development; identity reshaping


Introduction: Although penetrating cranial injuries are rare in pediatric patients, these injuries can lead to morbidity and mortality. Removal of a gigantic foreign body from the cranium requires proper management as it has high risk of further brain damage and seizures. Case Presentation: We report the case of a patient with cranial injury caused by hitting the head to the hook of a school desk. Due to the extreme nature of the injury, the following additional steps were necessary: taking help from a local firefighter team to cut the desk, surgical removal of the foreign body, and cranioplasty after 6 months. Following this, he was discharged without neurological deficits. Discussion/Conclusion: Neurotrauma is one of the major causes of death in children. The damage and effect of the injuring foreign body depends on its size, shape, velocity, trajectory, and entry point. It should be kept in mind that any high-frequency processes applied on the extracranial parts of conductive objects, such as metal bars, may trigger seizures. Preoperative extracranial intervention for huge penetrating foreign bodies should be performed under anticonvulsant administration and intubation to decrease the risk of epileptic seizures and its complications.


Abstract Most of the current knowledge about African tephritids originates from studies performed in agricultural areas, while information about their distribution in pristine or moderately disturbed environments is extremely scarce. This study aims at (i) describing levels of spatial variability of frugivorous tephritids in tropical forests and small rural villages of the Congo River basin and (ii) verifying if human-mediated activities, such as small-scale agriculture and trade, can affect their distribution patterns. Four locations were sampled along a 250 km stretch of the Congo River. At each location, pristine and disturbed habitats (i.e. tropical forests and small rural villages, respectively) were sampled, with three replicate sites in each combination of habitat and location. Sampling with modified McPhail traps baited with four different attractants yielded 819 tephritid specimens of 29 species from seven genera (Bactrocera, Carpophthoromyia, Ceratitis, Dacus, Celidodacus, Perilampsis, Trirhithrum). The three most abundant species sampled (Dacus bivittatus, D. punctatifrons, Bactrocera invadens) showed significant variations in abundance across locations and sites and accounted for 98.29% of the overall dissimilarity between habitats. Assemblages differed among locations and sites while they showed significant differences between pristine and disturbed habitats in two out of the four locations. This study shows that frugivorous tephritids in central Congo have remarkably patchy distributions with differences among locations and sites representing the main source of variability. Our data show that, in rural villages of central Democratic Republic of Congo, human activities, such as small-scale agriculture and local commerce, are not always sufficient to promote differences between the tephritid assemblages of villages and those of the surrounding tropical forests.


The vanadium(IV) compound [V(IV)O(OH)((t)Bu(2)bpy)(2)]BF(4) (V(IV)O(OH)) ((t)Bu(2)bpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butylbipyridine) is slowly oxidized by O(2) in ethereal solvents to give the oxo-peroxo compound [V(V)O(O(2))((t)Bu(2)bpy)(2)]BF(4) (V(V)O(O(2))) in excellent yield. This and related compounds were fully characterized by NMR, IR, and optical spectroscopies; mass spectrometry; elemental analyses; and an X-ray crystal structure of the 4,4'-dimethylbipyridine analog, [V(V)O(O(2))(Me(2)bpy)(2)]BF(4). Monitoring the reaction of V(IV)O(OH) with O(2) in THF/acetonitrile mixtures by (1)H NMR and optical spectroscopies surprisingly shows that the initial product is the cis-dioxo compound [V(V)(O)(2)((t)Bu(2)bpy)(2)]BF(4) (V(V)O(2)), which then converts to V(V)O(O(2)). Reaction of V(IV)O(OH) with (18)O(2) gives ca. 60% triply (18)O labeled V(V)O(O(2)). The mechanism of formation of V(V)O(O(2)) is complex and may occur via initial reduction of O(2) at vanadium(IV) to give a superoxo-vanadium(V) intermediate, autoxidation of the THF solvent, or both. That V(V)O(2) is generated first appears to be due to the ability of V(IV)O(OH) to act as a hydrogen atom donor. For instance, V(IV)O(OH) reacts with V(V)O(O(2)) to give V(V)O(2). V(V)O(O(2)) is also slowly reduced to V(IV)O(OH) by the organic hydrogen atom donors hydroquinone and TEMPOH (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-ol) as well as by triphenylphosphine. Notably, the peroxo complex V(V)O(O(2)) is much less reactive with these substrates than the analogous dioxo compound V(V)O(2).


Abstract. Over a six-month period from late January to early August 2021 the Historic Environment Department of the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi carried out archaeological monitoring along a 11.5km stretch of a project to renew the existing border fence between the United Arab Emirates and Oman within the oasis city of Al Ain.The scope and sequence of the construction project determined the excavation and recording methodology employed. The trench was roughly straight-sided, 3.5m wide by 3–4m deep and entailed machine excavation of more than a million cubic meters. Documentation of this trench, which proceeded at an average distance of 80m a day, has informed our understanding of the landscape, identified locations for future archaeological work and assisted our ongoing efforts to manage and protect the historic environment. The project produced new data on the development of the historic oasis landscape of Al Ain, a UNESCO World Heritage property. Some of the most significant features revealed include a monumental stone tomb from the Late Bronze Age (2000–1300 BCE), an extensive Iron Age (1200-300 BCE) cemetery, high-status tombs of Late Pre-Islamic date (300 BCE–300 CE) and more than 50 ancient aflāj or underground water channels of various dates and techniques of construction, along with extensive evidence for distinct phases of Iron Age agriculture.Photogrammetry recording sessions numbered nearly three hundred in total, together creating a series of consecutive overlapping 3D models from which ortho-rectified images in plan and section have been produced for each of the zones along the trench route.This paper discusses the recording practice and workframe as it evolved over the course of the project, and the challenges found during the data acquisition phase in terms of the construction environment, lighting, geometry, tools, time and team size. It presents the system used to manage the digital data archive needed to keep track of 288 recorded photogrammetry sessions, along with the related ground control points survey. The paper discusses the challenges and available solutions for rapid processing and delivery of geo-referenced 3D models and ortho-rectified images generated throughout the project. It concludes with some general remarks on the peculiarly linear challenge of presenting the results of an archaeological excavation 11.5km long and 3.5m wide in both digital and hard-copy formats.


Precision in implant placement is of utmost importance for achieving predictable aesthetics and successful restorations, especially in the anterior zone. The quest for accuracy has recently been aided by digital workflows and stereolithographic stents, which not only support planning the implant positioning by flapless procedures accurately but also make possible the prefabrication of a provisional restoration before the procedure. CAD/CAM technology helps reducing inadvertent time loss and manual errors of impression making, pouring casts and fabrication of prostheses.


Bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and related structures are unique units that widely exist in natural products, but the rapid and stereoselective construction of this skeleton is a challenging issue. We report the stereodivergent synthesis of bicyclo[3.2.1]octenes using Nazarov reagents and alkenyl 1,2-diketones with Brønsted base catalysis under mild conditions. Both stereoisomers of the bridged products can be obtained by tuning the reaction conditions, and cyclohexene product can also be selectively formed.


Chemical treatment of sewage water is today often considered as a method for phosphorus reduction and used in combination with biological treatment. The experience in Scandinavia, however, shows that chemical treatment alone gives beside a good phosphorus removal also a high BOD reduction. Due to the very low investment cost for such a process it has been adapted in Scandinavia as an alternative to biological treatment. Where the demand is for greater sewage treatment the most feasible method is to complement the chemical precipitation process with a compact biological treatment.

In Sweden the dominating post (and also the simultaneous) precipitation process has in many plants been replaced by a chemical pre-treatment process, because with pre-precipitation most of the organic matter is coagulated and extracted already in the primary clarifier. The energy demand in the biological process will decrease. The organic matter in the sludge will increase, which in an anaerobic digester means more digester gas.

The unloading pre-precipitation effect can also give advantages for nitrification. The important BOD/TKN ratio is decreased. It is possible to build up a high sludge age and to upgrade a plant without tank expansion to a nitrifying plant. Pre-precipitation is normally not influencing the readily degradable BOD, which is about 25% of the total BOD and therefore a perfect electron donor for pre-denitri-fication is still available.

The pre-precipitated sludge contains 75% of the organic matter in the sewage and can by hydrolysis be converted to readily degradable organic matter, which presents a valuable carbon source for the denitrification process. The hydrolysation process can be performed by, for instance, anaerobic treatment or heat treatment. This paper will review experiences from full-scale applications as well as pilot plant and laboratory studies.


Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that has serious complications including quality of life. This research analyses the health-related quality of life and the relative factors of type 2 diabetics in Tam Binh District, Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was administered from July-August 2019 at seventeen communes in Tam Binh district. All total of 500 patients diagnosed type 2 diabetes and aged 35 years and older, comprised this investigation. The exploration questionnaire encompassed the Vietnamese Diabetes Quality of Life. Diabetics had an average age of 59.77 + 9.81 years. The health-related quality of life score was moderate at 60.15 + 21 points. The inter-personal relationship had the lowest score. However, the highest score was detected for the physical endurance. The significant differences could be distinguished at different individual components like age, marital status, location, family type, education, occupation, income, duration, glycaemia, HbA1c, hypoglycemia, alcohol-using, treatments, and other issues. The study highlighted that type 2 diabetes had a negative impact on health-related quality of life. Some patient characteristics affected Vietnamese diabetes quality of life score.


Prem K. Budhwar, Canada-India: Partners in Progress, (New Delhi, Vij Books / ICWA, 2016), Pages: xvii+216, Price: Rs. 850.00How does one sum up Canada-India relations over the past nearly seven decades? The answers are many and varied. One answer is that the twain do not meet. It is argued that the political orientation of the two countries and their alliance relationships make Canada and India unlikely partners. At the other end of the spectrum is the view that Canada and India are traversing a braided path, with their relations being deeply entwined. As long as the two remain federal, parliamentary, multicultural democracies, champion UN multilateralism in their foreign policies, Canada and India share the same destiny. There is much to learn from each other's developmental-democratic experiences, and to cooperate for international peace and security.Prem K.Budhwar, who served as India's High Commissioner to Canada during 1992-97, takes the reader through the 'roller-coaster' of a relationship over the past 68 years (p. 107). The bromance began on a high note in the 1950s which was decade of a 'special relationship 'marked by Canadian aid, and assistance under the Colombo Plan. Canadian aid in the field of nuclear energy was the high watermark of the period. Relations nose-dived when India exploded a nuclear device in 1974. Canada described Pokhran I as a 'breach of trust', and a 'betrayal', alleging use of the Canada-supplied uranium in the nuclear experiment. Relations remained in deep 'freeze' - perhaps worsened in the 1980s - as 'mutual suspicion' arose with the spread of Khalistan militancy in Punjab. India complained that Canada was not doing enough to rein in the Khalistan militants operating out of Canadian soil while Canada, facing domestic demand, talked of human rights violations in Punjab. Then came one of the worst air disasters in 1985 when Air India's Kanishka was downed by Canada-based Khalistan elements, and Canada treated one of the worst terrorist attacks with kid-gloves.The acceleration of the globalisation process in the 1990s raised new hopes and new imperatives came calling on a liberalising India and Canada, asking both countries to leave the acrimony of the past behind and explore together the new world of free-flowing capital and the revolution of 'new technologies'. The Liberal Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, came to 'rediscover' India in 1996 at the head of a 300-strong 'Team Canada', comprising seven premiers, scores of ministers and members of parliament, and CEOs of top Canadian companies. Once again, this proved short-lived: bilateral ties got a 'renewed setback' in the wake of the Pokhran II in 1998.The author, however, remains optimistic; he believes that Canada and India are quintessentially Partners in Progress. Things are changing for the better. He sees meaningful change in the perception and appreciation of each other's geostrategic scenario and respect for differences. Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006-15) came to India twice (in 2009 and 2012), to 're-engage' with India. Among several others, the 2009 framework agreement for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the 2010 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, and 2012 agreement establishing an annual 'strategic dialogue' at the foreign ministers level constitute the landmarks of this changed scenario. The first India-Canada Strategic Dialogue was held in 2013 in Toronto and the second one in New Delhi in 2014, with a view to giving a long-term strategic direction to the bilateral relationship. Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister in 42 years to visit Canada in May 2015. The visit produced, among others, the path-breaking agreement regarding the sale of uranium to India. Now, relations are on the upswing, and Canada has set up a large number of trade and consular offices in India.Whenever one thinks of Canada and India, discussions get bogged down by the subject of the Indian Diaspora. …


This is an abstract of a paper from the Proceedings of the 51st Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society, Brisbane, 17-20 April 1990, published by Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society. This version is reproduced with the permission of publisher.


OBJECTIVE
Recent evidence suggests that human chondrocytes express several facilitative glucose transporter (GLUT) isoforms and also that 2-deoxyglucose transport is accelerated by cytokine stimulation. The aim of the present investigation was to determine if human articular chondrocytes express any of the recently identified members of the GLUT/SLC2A gene family and to examine the effects of endocrine factors, such as insulin and IGF-I on the capacity of human chondrocytes for transporting 2-deoxyglucose.

DESIGN/METHODS
PCR, cloning and immunohistochemistry were employed to study the expression of GLUT/SLC2A transporters in normal human articular cartilage. The uptake of 2-deoxyglucose was examined in monolayer cultured immortalized human chondrocytes following stimulation with TNF-alpha, insulin and IGF-I. Levels of MMP-2 were assessed by gelatin zymography following glucose deprivation of alginate cultures.

RESULTS
Using PCR we detected transcripts for eight glucose transporter isoforms (GLUTs 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) and for a fructose transporter (GLUT5) in human articular cartilage. Expression of GLUT1, GLUT3 and GLUT9 proteins in normal human articular cartilage was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The uptake of 2-deoxyglucose was dependent on time and temperature, inhibited by cytochalasin B and phloretin, and significantly accelerated in chondrocyte cultures stimulated with IGF-I. However, 2-deoxyglucose uptake was unaffected by short and long-term insulin treatment, which ruled out a functional role for insulin-sensitive GLUT4-mediated glucose transport. Furthermore, secretion of MMP-2 was increased in alginate cultures deprived of glucose.

CONCLUSIONS
The data supports a critical role for glucose transport and metabolism in the synthesis and degradation of cartilage.


Facile design of low-cost and high-efficiency catalysts with earth-abundant and cheap materials is desirable to replace platinum (Pt) for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting, but the development of such HER catalysts with Pt-like activity using simple strategies remains challenging. A mesoporous hybrid catalyst of nickel phosphides nanoparticles and cobalt phosphosulfide/phosphide (CoS|Ni|P) nanosheet arrays for HER is reported here, which is developed by a facile three-step approach consisting of electrodeposition, thermal sulfurization, and phosphorization. This hybrid catalyst is highly robust and stable in acid for HER, and is distinguished by very low overpotentials of 41, 88, and 150 mV to achieve 10, 100, and 1000 mA cm-2 , respectively, as well as a small Tafel slope (45.2 mV dec-1 ), and a large exchange current density (964 µA cm-2 ). It is among the most efficient earth-abundant catalysts reported thus far for HER. More importantly, this electrocatalyst has electrochemical durability over 20 h under a wide range of current densities (up to 1 A cm-2 ) in acidic conditions, as well as very high turnover frequencies of 0.40 and 1.26 H2 s-1 at overpotentials of 75 and 100 mV, respectively, showing that it has great potential for practical applications in large-scale water electrolysis.


We appreciate the interest shown by Drs Marcus and Joseph in our study. 1 As we stated, "our data show that children with coins in the proximal or middle third of the esophagus are unlikely to pass them into the stomach." None of the 58 such children in our study did so, despite a 15.5-hour median waiting period for the 88% for whom waiting times were known. Although it is possible that one or more of these coins could have passed into the stomach during a uniform 24-hour waiting period, the retrospective nature of our study did not allow us to examine this possibility. We are aware of only one reported passage of a proximal esophageal coin. 2 As Dr Marcus notes, the costs of obtaining radiographs on all patients who have swallowed coins may indeed be formidable. The savings generated by early identification of just a few


With a particular interest in the connection of childhood experiences to an artist's production, Linda Montano interviewed over 100 performance artists from 1979 to 1989 on the themes of sex, food, money, fame, ritual and death. Grouped according to these thematic categories, each section of interviews is accompanied by a short essay. A general introduction by A. Festa discusses art and everyday life, the autobiographical voice and talking performances, vis-a-vis Montano's work and the history and nature of performance art. K. Stiles's afterword considers this era of performance art in relation to certain social conditions of the times, with examples of performance art's influence on other art forms and on society. Includes subject index and brief biographical notes on artists and authors. 71 bibl. ref.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a system of automatic cephalometric analysis and compare the reliability of the computer software systems (ACAS and OSPES).

METHODS
The establishment of the ACAS computer software system by image processing technique was introduced. 15 cephalograms were used for comparing the reliability of cephalometry between ACAS and OSPES.

RESULTS
The results shown that the ACAS is more reliable for soft tissue profile measurement than OSPES.

CONCLUSION
The application of ACAS would supply a valuable measurement tool for orthodontics and orthognathic surgery.


Background: Asthma is a disease that causes a lot of suffering. It becomes a hurdle in everyday life. Asthma self-care program through mobile Line application (SALA) might be a good choice to help resolving this problem.

Objective: To evaluate effectiveness of SALA program among asthma patients.

Materials and Methods: The present study was a randomized controlled trial. The study sample consisted of 62 participants aged between 20 to 60 years with mild to moderate asthma. The study sample were randomly assigned to intervention plus usual care (intervention group, n=31) or usual care (control group, n=31) by computer generated. SALA program was sent to participants once a week for two months through their mobile phone, drug reminder appointment date for four months. The study period was six months. Clinical record form and Questionnaire were adapted to collect the demographic data and lung function via spirometer as FEV₁, FVC, FEV₁/FVC, PEFR, ACS, knowledge, attitude, and self-management. Mini Asthma Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire was used to collect the data. Intention to treat (ITT), Repeated ANOVA, and General Linear model were statistical technique used to analyze the data.

Results: Data from 60 asthma patients were available for analyses. The baseline characteristics of both groups were not significantly different. There were statistically significant mean differences in between the groups at three and six months. The mean difference in the following variables were FEV₁ 13.83 (5.01 to 22.65) FVC, 13.36 (2.62 to 24.09) FEV₁/FVC, 11.65 (4.8 to 18.49), PEFR 9.85 (0.03 to 19.67), ACS 2.45 (0.62 to 4.27), knowledge 2.64 (0.81 to 4.46), and self-management 4.26 (2.00 to 6.52).

Conclusion: SALA improved knowledge, self-management, asthma status, and lung function among asthma patients.

Keywords: Asthma, Self-care program, Mobile line application


Habitat restoration resulting in changes in plant community composition or species dominance can affect the spatial pattern and variability of soil nutrients. Questions about how these changes in soil spatial heterogeneity develop over time at restoration sites, however, remain unaddressed. In this study, a geostatistical approach was used to quantify changes over time in the spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter (SOM) across a 26‐year chronosequence of tallgrass prairie restoration sites at FermiLab, outside of Chicago, Illinois. We used total soil N and C as an index of the quantity of SOM. We also examined changes in C:N ratio, which can influence the turnover of SOM. Specifically, the spatial structure of total N, total C, and C:N ratio in the top 10 cm of soil was quantified at a macroscale (minimum spacing of 1.5 m) and a microscale (minimum spacing of 0.2 m). The magnitude of spatial heterogeneity (MSH) was characterized as the proportion of total sample variation explained by spatially structured variation. At the macroscale, the MSH for total N decreased with time since restoration (r2= 0.99, p < 0.001). The decrease in spatial heterogeneity over time corresponded with a significant increase in the dominance of the C4 grasses. At the microscale, there was significant spatial structure for total N at the 4‐year‐old, 16‐year‐old, and 26‐year‐old sites, and significant spatial structure for total C at the 16‐year‐old and 26‐year‐old sites. These results suggest that an increase in dominance of C4 grasses across the chronosequence is homogenizing organic matter variability at the field scale while creating fine‐scale patterns associated with the spacing of vegetation. Areas of higher soil moisture were associated with higher soil N and C at the two oldest restoration sites and at the native prairie site, potentially suggesting patches of increased belowground productivity in areas of higher soil moisture. This study is one of the first to report significant changes over time in the spatial structure of organic matter in response to successional changes initiated by restoration.


Driven by dysregulated IL-6 family member cytokine signaling in the tumor microenvironment (TME), aberrant signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3) and (STAT5) activation have been identified as key contributors to tumorigenesis. Following transformation, persistent STAT3 activation drives the emergence of mesenchymal/cancer-stem cell (CSC) properties, important determinants of metastatic potential and therapy failure. Moreover, STAT3 signaling within tumor-associated macrophages and neutrophils drives secretion of factors that facilitate metastasis and suppress immune cell function. Persistent STAT5 activation is responsible for cancer cell maintenance through suppression of apoptosis and tumor suppressor signaling. Furthermore, STAT5-mediated CD4+/CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been implicated in suppression of immunosurveillance. We discuss these roles for STAT3 and STAT5, and weigh the attractiveness of different modes of targeting each cancer therapy. Moreover, we discuss how anti-tumorigenic STATs, including STAT1 and STAT2, may be leveraged to suppress the pro-tumorigenic functions of STAT3/STAT5 signaling.


This paper investigates the dynamics of in the S&P500 index from daily returns for the last 30 years. Using a stochastic geometry technique, each S&P500 yearly batch of data is embedded in a subspace that can be accurately described by a reduced number of dimensions. Such feature is understood as empirical evidence for the presence of a certain amount of structure in the market. As part of the inquiry into the structure of the market we investigate changes in its volume and shape, and we define new measures for that purpose. Having these measures defined in the space of stocks we analyze the effects of some extreme phenomena on the geometry of the market. We discuss the hypothesis that collective behavior in period of crises reinforces the structure of correlations between stocks, but that it also may have an opposite effect on clustering by similar economic sectors. Comparing the crises of 1987 and 2001, we discuss why the expansion of the ellipsoid describing the geometry of the distances in the market, which occurs in the latter period, is not homogeneous through sectors. The conclusions from this research identify some of the changes in the structure of the market over the last 30 years.


This cross-sectional study was conducted in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from June to September 2012. We aim to evaluate the misuse of TC on the face for cosmetic purpose and the adverse effects due to its application. A questionnaire-based analysis was done among females who use topical corticosteroids on the face for cosmetic purpose. Of the 770 women questioned, 384 (49,8%) used topical corticosteroids for cosmetic purpose whose mean age was 38 years (range 16–73 years). Two hundred and sixty-one females (68%) used TC combined with handcrafted cosmetics, and 123 (32%) used TC alone. "Pandalao," which contains salicylic acid, peppermint oil, lanolin, powder of Juanes de Vigo (mercury powder), and Vaseline, is the most handcrafted cosmetic combined with TC in our study (used by 29,4% respondents). Only one (0,26%) had obtained the TC by physician's prescription, 234 (61%) from cosmetic retailers, 92 (23%) directly from local pharmacies, 49 (12%) from beauticians, and 15 (4%) from unspecified sources. Lightening of skin color was the main reason for using TC in 44,8% of respondents in the absence of any primary dermatosis. Pigmentation disorders (63,2%) and cutaneous atrophy (52,1%) were the most adverse effects noted.


This study aimed to characterize the care provided in a hospital emergency service in Maceio city, Alagoas, Brazil, and identify the characteristics of accident victims attended at this service in 2009. Exploratory, descriptive study, with a quantitative approach. Data were collected from secondary sources. Based on the total number of accidents in 2009, which summed 143,262, a random sample of 399 occurrences was selected, calculated with a sampling error of 5% and confidence interval of 95%. For data collection, it was used a form drawn up based on the record of Accidents and Violence Secretariat of Health Surveillance, Ministry of Health. The variables studied were age and sex of the victim, type and time of the occurrence. The majority (76.19%) of victims were men, aged between 15 and 49 years (66.96%), predominantly between 20 and 29 years (26.50%); 11.55% were drivers of vehicles, and 8.02% were pedestrians. The highest incidence of accidents occurred during the afternoon and evening, with 31.33% and 32.83% of cases, respectively. The results highlight the risk that drivers face in land transport traffic in the city of Maceio, and such occurrences need interventions and other research to assess risk situations.


With the demand increase for electricity, the ever-increasing awareness of environmental issues, coupled with rolling blackouts, the role of renewable energy generation will become even more significant. Instead of the traditional high-power energy storage and management system at the utility scale to implement PV firming, this paper proposes a new PV (panel-level) firming control algorithm using grid-tied three-port bidirectional converter. The topology with the control algorithm and PV intermittency data collected in real time are discussed and analyzed in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The preliminary experimental results verify the proposed PV firming algorithm.


The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a multi-donor consortium dedicated to advancing microfinance, is a global resource center for microfinance standards, to provide operational tools, training, and advisory services, committed to building more inclusive financial systems for the poor. Meeting the challenge of placing resources and power into the hands of poor and low-income people themselves, is the topic of this book. It is also the main focus of the CGAP, a vision about inclusive financial systems, the only way to reach large numbers of poor and low-income people. To get there, diverse approaches are needed, reviewed through a look at microfinance, its history, process and progress. The book offers a compendium of CGAP's learning and experience over the past decade, opening a new chapter in its ongoing work: to dramatically expand access to financial services.


Syndecan‐1 is a transmembrane heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycan present on hepatocytes and involved in uptake of triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins via its HS polysaccharide side chains. We hypothesized that altered hepatic syndecan‐1 metabolism could be involved in dyslipidemia related to renal transplantation. In a rat renal transplantation model elevated plasma triglycerides were associated with fivefold increased expression of hepatic syndecan‐1 mRNA (p < 0.01), but not protein. Expression of syndecan‐1 sheddases (ADAM17, MMP9) and heparanase was significantly up‐regulated after renal transplantation (all p < 0.05). Profiling of HS side chains revealed loss of hepatic HS upon renal transplantation accompanied by significant decreased functional capacity for VLDL binding (p = 0.02). In a human renal transplantation cohort (n = 510), plasma levels of shed syndecan‐1 were measured. Multivariate analysis showed plasma syndecan‐1 to be independently associated with triglycerides (p < 0.0001) and inversely with HDL cholesterol (p < 0.0001). Last, we show a physical association of syndecan‐1 to HDL from renal transplant recipients (RTRs), but not to HDL from healthy controls. Our data suggest that after renal transplantation loss of hepatic HS together with increased syndecan‐1 shedding hampers lipoprotein binding and uptake by the liver contributing to dyslipidemia. Our data open perspectives toward improvement of lipid profiles by targeted inhibition of syndecan‐1 catabolism in renal transplantation.


Drugs are discovered, manufactured, and tested by scientific methods. On the other hand they are produced and marketed through a blend of personal and social motives; they are prescribed by doctors with varying knowledges and skills, and they are taken by patients who have different degrees of information, interest, and precision. Drugs are brewed in the cup of science; they are drunk through a patient's lips, and "there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip." Scientific attention is usually turned toward the discovery of drugs; in the present paper I shall consider the path from their development to their use. As an example, let us take chlortetracycline, one of the first antibiotics to be produced by a pharmaceutical company. After screening hundreds of specimens of soil, Duggar isolated Streptomyces aureofaciens, in the fall of 1945. Its in vitro antibacterial activity was demonstrated later in the same year. Preparation


By using advanced manufacturing processes, production results should increase. Nevertheless managers have their doubts to invest in such processes because of the financial risks and the absence of adequate technical and economical measures which should support their decisions. Measures which contain the advances of sophisticated manufacturing process, like quality and flexibility increase, have not yet been developed. Starting with the mass balance, a technical measure has been derived, called the transformation factor, which is a measure for the productive behaviour of a manufacturing process. By using data from the production floor as well as from simulations, the practical usefulness of the transformation factor as measure is shown.


Vertebral compression fractures can affect both sexes and constitute a major health care problem, due to negative impact on the patient's function, quality of life and the costs to the health care system. Patients can be treated conservatively or by conventional fluoroscopic assisted vertebroplasty – injection of polymethylmethacrylate PMMA into the fractured vertebral body. Conventional vertebroplasty imposes technical challenges with possible complications including cement extravasations, nerve root compression, the possibility of breaching the walls of the pedicle by the osteoplasty needle and prolonged fluoroscopic radiation exposure of the surgeon and the medical team at large. We present here a comparative study of 20 cases of thoraco-lumbar vertebral compression fracture, treated with robotic assisted vertebroplasty (research group) versus 30 cases of fractures treated by conventional fluoroscopic vertebroplasty (compared group). All patients were diagnosed as suffering from acute vertebral compression fractures (up to 3 weeks from the traumatic event) and were scored 7 and above in the VAS. The mean overall operation time of the fluoroscopic assisted vertebroplasty was 35 minutes compared to a mean operation time of 45 minutes at the robotic assisted vertebroplasty. There was a significant difference in the fluoroscopic time and subsequent exposure time to radiation between the groups: in the research group we used only an average of 3 seconds of fluoroscopic exposure (an average of 5 fluoroscopic images) compared to an average of 7 seconds of exposure (an average of 12 fluoroscopic images). No difference was found between the groups in regard with overall admission time or with the time between the operation and physiotherapy. Conclusion: robotic assisted vertebroplasty is a new and safe approach aiming to shorten the duration of fluoroscopic exposure of the patient and surgeon thus reducing the exposure to radiogenic dose. This novel procedure, promotes better accuracy with regard to the cement injected thus reducing the potential complication of the operation.


The spontaneous mutation rate in normal human cells is estimated to be 10 −9 to 10 −11 (Drake et al. 1998; Loeb 2001), suggesting that eukaryotic chromosomal DNA replication is highly accurate. Accurate replication depends on multiple DNA transactions. Several DNA repair pathways remove DNA lesions generated by endogenous cellular metabolism or environmental agents, thus providing clean substrates for the replication machinery. Accurate copying of undamaged DNA templates results from the high nucleotide selectivity of the major replicative DNA polymerases, the ability of their intrinsic exonucleases to excise mismatches they create, and the ability of the DNA mismatch repair machinery to remove mismatches not excised by proofreading. When occasional unrepaired DNA lesions or other circumstances stall replication, other processes, including translesion DNA synthesis involving specialized DNA polymerases, help to overcome replication blocks. Malfunction of these processes can reduce replication fidelity and genome stability, with important consequences for human disease. EUKARYOTIC DNA POLYMERASES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes encode multiple DNA polymerases to conduct these many transactions (for review, see Shcherbakova et al. 2003; Bebenek and Kunkel 2004). These polymerases are classified into seven different families based on the primary sequences of their catalytic subunits. Representatives of five of these seven families are found in eukaryotic cells. For example, in humans, a total of 17 enzymes capable of polymerizing DNA have been described to date, and homologs of many of these enzymes are present in other eukaryotes, e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Table 1). Family A includes DNA polymerases that are homologous...


In Brazil, hearing loss diagnosis does not occur in early years. Among various factors that could explain this fact is that the parents do not know well about hearing health for their children, and then do not attend for the follow-up. This literature review had as main goal to describe how the follow up has been done in Brazil, especially regarding to the audiologic exams, regarding to the follow up by the family, and regarding to educations activities for the health professionals. In order to achieve that, an integrative review of the literature was done, leaded by the question: How the audiologic follow up has been done for the newborn hearing screening programs? It was used the the following databases: Lilacs, Medline, IBECS and CidSaude using combinations of the terms "follow-up studies", "hearing" and "newborn screening". Initially, 1130 articles were screened by titles and abstracts. Then, 21 full articles were pre-selected by title and summary. Twelve articles answered the question of this review. The results indicated that tests for hearing screening and audiologic were used more Evoked otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem response, and behavioral assessment, tympanometry and acoustic reflexes. Three studies reported the presence of educational programs and only one specified professionals realized that, being the nurse what else made these activities. The percentage of families who joined the monitoring varied considerably. It was interesting to see that those recommendations from local and international entities to perform the audiologic, seeking a standard of quality and effectiveness in the programs and the quality of the audiological evaluation.


A Temporal Knowledge Graph (TKG) is a sequence of KGs with respective timestamps, which adopts quadruples in the form of (\emph{subject}, \emph{relation}, \emph{object}, \emph{timestamp}) to describe dynamic facts. TKG reasoning has facilitated many real-world applications via answering such queries as (\emph{query entity}, \emph{query relation}, \emph{?}, \emph{future timestamp}) about future. This is actually a matching task between a query and candidate entities based on their historical structures, which reflect behavioral trends of the entities at different timestamps. In addition, recent KGs provide background knowledge of all the entities, which is also helpful for the matching. Thus, in this paper, we propose the \textbf{Hi}storical \textbf{S}tructure \textbf{Match}ing (\textbf{HiSMatch}) model. It applies two structure encoders to capture the semantic information contained in the historical structures of the query and candidate entities. Besides, it adopts another encoder to integrate the background knowledge into the model. TKG reasoning experiments on six benchmark datasets demonstrate the significant improvement of the proposed HiSMatch model, with up to 5.6\% performance improvement in MRR, compared to the state-of-the-art baselines.


COVID-19 has affected the conduct of clinical trials worldwide. Once the health emergency began in Peru, the national government took measures to guarantee the conduct of COVID-19 clinical trials. A national research ethics committee was exclusively established for COVID-19 clinical trials; and a regulatory framework was implemented to ensure the ethical and timely conduct of these studies. To december 31, 2020, the Peruvian National Health Institute authorized 29 clinical trials, of which 4 test vaccines. The mean and standard deviation of time authorization were 19.3 and 10.5 days, respectively. 58.6% (n= 17) were phase II clinical trials and 34.5% (n= 10) were phase III; 31.0% (n= 9) were sponsored by a Peruvian institution. The aim of the actions implemented was to promote COVID-19 research while responding to the health emergency needs without affecting the protection of participants or the rigor of the studies.


A special winding machine with high accuracy has just been developed and applied to the construction of HT-7U Tokamak. It is one of the critical facilities for R & D of HT-7U construction. The machine mainly consists of five parts, including a CICC pay-off spool, a four-roller correcting assembly, a four-roller forming/bending assembly, a continuous winding structure and a CNC control system with three-axis AC servo motors. The facility is used for Cable in Conduit Conductor (CICC) magnet fabrication of HT-7U. The main requirements of the winding machine are: continuous winding to reduce joints inside the coils; pre-forming CICC conductor to avoid winding with tension; suitable for all TF & PF coils of various coil shapes and within the dimension limit; improving the configuration tolerance and the special flatness of the CICC conductor. This paper emphasizes on the design and fabrication of the special winding machine for HT-7U. Some analyses and techniques in winding process for trial D-shape coil are also presented.


Background Parasites are well-known immune-modulators. They inhibit some aspects of the immune system to ensure persistence inside the host for a long time; meanwhile, they stimulate other immune aspects to assure the survival of the host. Wide variations in the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among developed and developing countries were reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parasitic infections, including Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), were claimed to contribute to such variations. Methods To explore a possible relationship between latent toxoplasmosis and COVID-19 severity, our study included 44 blood samples from moderate/severe COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt, during the pandemic. Patients' sera were screened for Toxoplasma IgG antibodies using ELISA (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, USA), and the gene expression of important immune markers (iNOS, arginase-1, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and TGF-β) was checked using real-time quantitative PCR. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the patients' medical records. Results Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were detected in 33 (75%) of patients. None of the studied clinical or laboratory parameters showed any significant changes in relation to toxoplasmosis seroprevalence. Further classification of the patients according to COVID-19 severity and Toxoplasma seroprevalence did not reveal any changes related to toxoplasmosis as well. Conclusion Our study indicates that latent toxoplasmosis has no effect on the severity of COVID-19.


Objective: Sustainability is recognized as an important objective in business planning and is of equal relevance to policy makers. It is equally accepted, almost universally, that the resources of the planet are finite and are being over consumed on an annual basis. The prognosis therefore is that resources are being depleted and competition for access to remaining resources must ensue, as countries seek to grow and develop. This will have the effect of increasing the transaction costs of business activity as they find greater difficulty in seeking restricted supply of resources. This poses a problem for future economic activity and therefore for the achievement of sustainability. This is compounded by the fact that individual sustainability for countries or companies does not equate to global sustainability.Method: At the same time Game Theory is recognized as a key strategic tool by policy makers and by business decision makers and is used extensively for scenario planning and strategic decision making. Although it has been recognized that Game Theory has relevance to addressing the problems of manufacturing due to resource depletion, it is surprising that no work has been done in this area. This paper therefore explains the role which this theory can play in developing strategy, and thereby promoting sustainability.Results: It does so by developing a model which can be used in demonstrating the efficacy of planning scenarios developed in this way. For this the Prisoners Dilemma version of Game Theory is used and extended. The resulting model is then discussed and the results evaluated. Further however it recognizes the resultant problems which further need to be solved.Conclusion: It concludes by discussing the resulting problems to propose a solution and way forward but also argues that further work is needed in order to promote sustainability and make it realistic in a global context.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences between M.P.Ed. Boys and Girls on Academic Achievement Motivation and Mental Health. The total sample consisted of 100 among 50 are boys and 50 are girls were selected to different collages in Rajkot(Gujarat)city.The research tool for Academic Achievement Motivation was measured by Sharma and Mental Health tool was measured by Bhatt and Gida were used to collect the data. Here't' test was applied to check significance difference and 'r' was applied to check correlation. The finding of the study revealed that there was significance difference of Academic Achievement motivation among M.P.Ed. Boys and Girls. But there was no significance difference between M.pedBoys and Girls on Mental Health.The 'r'between Academic Achievement Motivation and Mental Health is 0.59.So we can say that it is normal correlation.


Abstract

Introduction: The hierarchy of the American medical system and it's disconnect of recognition beyond the binary of sexual minorities has created systematic inequitable care because of lack of appropriate cultural competency training. Healthcare providers are not adequately taught appropriate cultural competencies in standardized academic training.
Methods: Given an online survey of varied health care providers (N = 208), the research examined "culturally competent health care delivery" knowledge, stage of change; precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance; as per the work of Prochaska & DiClemente, (1983) for taking action to be culturally sensitive, culturally competent, culturally appropriate, and future training desirability.
Results: The sample population reported a high self-rating for aligning with definition of cultural competency; prevalence of 6 to 10 hours of engagement in cultural competence training; rating 3.97 (SD = .741) of quality for cultural competence training; Pre-Survey Stage of Change (N = 208) mean was 4.32 between action and maintenance, but closest to action (SD = 1.21); and with 71.2% already in maintenance it is noted that the research captured providers who have received equitable training, offering equitable care.
Conclusions: Affirmation for LGBT clients is a critical adaptive response for practitioners recognizing the overt social injustices that have occurred historically as personal injustices and responding in a positive and accepting manner can dramatically improve patient engagement. Training within the confines of a grounded evidenced based theory can support appropriate and culturally competent equitable care.

Keywords: healthcare providers, cultural competency, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), stages of change, transtheoretical model


Noise performance of the correlated double sampling switched-capacitor integrators incorporating a supplementary hold capacitor is analyzed. These types of integrators rely on an extra capacitor to attenuate the amplifier low-frequency noise. Approximate expressions for the input-referred noise of the integrators are derived. It is shown that a large parasitic capacitance at the amplifier input may seriously degrade the low-frequency noise performance of such structures.