An open, prospective, randomised study was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of valacyclovir vs. oral ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in renal transplant recipients. Eighty-three renal transplant recipients were assigned randomly to receive valacyclovir (n=43) or oral ganciclovir (n=40) for the first 3 months after transplantation. Both groups were similar in terms of demographics, primary renal disease, graft source, HLA matching, immunosuppressive therapy and donor-recipient CMV antibody status. CMV infection was diagnosed by detection of virus DNA in plasma with the Amplicor CMV Test. CMV disease was observed in only one patient belonging to the ganciclovir group, who developed enterocolitis 6 months post-transplantation. No difference was observed between the two treatment groups with respect to detection of CMV DNA, virus infections other than CMV, acute rejection episodes, and serum creatinine levels at 3 and 6 months following transplantation. An increased number of bacterial infections was noted in the ganciclovir group (p 0.003). No adverse reactions with either treatment were reported. The estimated cost of valacyclovir treatment was 20% higher than that of ganciclovir treatment. Overall, both valacyclovir and oral ganciclovir were found to be effective and safe for CMV prophylaxis in renal transplant recipients. Decisions regarding prophylactic regimens should include additional criteria, such as cost or possible development of resistance.


Recently, there has been a renewed interest in decomposition-based approaches for evolutionary multiobjective optimization. However, the impact of the choice of the underlying scalarizing function(s) is still far from being well understood. In this paper, we investigate more carefully the effect of different scalarizing functions (weighted Tchebycheff, weighted sum, and combinations thereof) and their parameters on the search performance. We thereby abstract firstly from any specific algorithm and only consider the difficulty of the single scalarized problems in terms of the search ability of a (1+ λ)-EA on biobjective NK-landscapes. Secondly, combining the outcomes of independent single-objective runs allows for more general statements on the impact of the scalarizing function parameters on set-based performance measures such as hypervolume and e-indicator. Finally, we investigate the correlation between the opening angle of the scalarizing function's underlying contour lines and the position of the final solution found by the (1+λ)-EA in the objective space. Our analysis is of fundamental nature and sheds more light on the optimization of scalarizing functions within decomposition-based algorithms and also on how these algorithms might be improved.


My thesis seeks to reduce what may be a natural human antipathy to ageing and/ or the elderly by working with one distinctive and consistently approved feature of some older people. This feature is a bold and cheerful struggle within a self-chosen project. The argument opens by distinguishing short-term gratification from lasting, fulfilling happiness, and showing the link between gratification and dependence. Three kinds of struggle (non-voluntary, part-voluntary and positive) are then outlined and exemplified. Gerontological and anthropological research suggest that attitudes to struggle are fixed early in life, and while in the past they mitigated for or against successful survival, they now influence happiness and coping in later life. I argue that the negative effects of the first two kinds of struggle - which are often misguided, grudging or 'no-win'struggles - are responsible for the rigidity, narcissism and resentment disliked in some older people. Self-respect, contrasted with self-righteousness, is shown to accrue only from the positive (voluntary and congenial) struggle that seems at any age to deflect or compensate for depression, disappointment, loneliness and illness.


My husband brings his work home. Had he been a butcher, it might have been a prime cut of steak; a mason, a block of limestone. The newspaper reporter brings home fingers covered in ink, and the fishmonger, the smell of the sea. But my husband is an oncologist, so he brings home the dead and dying. This makes our king-size bed rather crowded. The children, padding into the room after midnight on footie-pajamaed feet to cuddle beside us, are unaware of who is already there between their parents: a bald thirty-three year old who will never be a mother, a grieving widow who turned her anger against her husband's doctor rather than his horrible disease, a beloved grandfather whose cancer has metastasized to every far-reaching corner of his body. My husband's patients hog the blankets, steal my pillow, shake the mattress with their sobs. Over the sleeping body of our curly-haired daughter, my husband and I watch the television pundits discuss the war in Iraq, then a human interest story about the young men and women, not really that much older than our own babies, who carry guns, drive tanks, watch their comrades suffer and die. We stare at the screen in silence, together and apart, fixed on images of young bodies killing and being killed. Even on returning home, some soldiers can never be the same. Violent memories linger, recurring like tumors. After so much blood, some soldiers become dry and still like stones. "The only difference," my husband finally says, "is that those soldiers see death like a flash--quick and fierce and chaotic." With his index finger, he gently traces the baby's slightly parted lips--a perfect cupid's bow. Then he looks away. "I watch people die in slow motion." In medical school, they called us marines. Osier marines, to be precise, after the venerable Dr. William, who, so they say, was a general of a man. We were in the trenches, on the front lines, soldiering on. Antibiotics bombed infections, diligent docs were gunners, and incoming patients were middle of the night hits to be avoided. It was no time to be at war with metaphor. Metaphor was at war with us, and winning by a big margin. In our white-coated uniforms, our scrub suit camouflage, we were the measly privates of the operation being taught the ways of battle. We were given rounds of bullets with names like distance, objectivity, and self-preservation. Any other kind of medical practice was strictly on a don't ask, don't tell basis. So we huddled together for warmth in the fox holes of training. In the field, almost a dozen couples were born--all fair in love and war--among them, my husband and I. "Medicine makes a jealous mistress," our teachers told us laughingly, even as our dean earnestly recommended that I reconsider obstetrics for pediatrics, a field more suited to family life and what is, after all, a military marriage. What is it to witness continuous suffering? What is it to continuously witness suffering? Emmanuel Levinas posited that the ethical work of medicine lies in this act of witnessing--of seeing the Other's face, answering the call of another's suffering. (1) But what philosopher can account for the weight of suffering--not only upon those who suffer, but upon those who stand beside suffering? What is the cost of ethical practice? What is the responsibility of those who witness the experience of witnesses? Historically, medicine recognized the need for physicians to be witnessed even as they were witnessing their patients. In part, this need was satisfied by the Hegelian sense of recognition, whereby the gift of recognition was returned: patients could engage with and recognize the humanity of their doctor, who in turn engaged with and recognized theirs. (2) This sort of medicine provided other avenues for recognition as well, in local communities in which physicians lived, practiced, and enjoyed special status, and in families in which (male) physicians' (female) partners provided unconditional love and support. …


Prior knowledge of road traffic conditions on the freeways is of prime importance for motorists. With recent developments in technology it is possible for the vehicles to be equipped with communication and GPS systems. The equipped vehicles on the road can act as nodes to form an ad hoc network. These nodes can collect information regarding traffic conditions such as position, speed and direction from other participating nodes. Depending upon the number of participating nodes this collected information can provide useful information of driving conditions to the node collecting this information. With proper analysis this information can be used in detecting and or predicting traffic jam conditions on the freeways. In this paper the traffic information gathered by a node in an ad hoc network is viewed as a snapshot in time of the current traffic condition on the road segment. This snapshot is considered as a pattern in time of the current traffic conditions. The pattern is analyzed using pattern recognition techniques. A weight of evidence based classification algorithm is presented to identify different road traffic conditions. The developed algorithm is tested using data generated by microscopic modelling of traffic flow for simulation of vehicle or node mobility in ad hoc networks. Test results are presented under assumption of different levels of vehicles equipped with communication capability.


Devolution in the UK created an asymmetric division of powers between Holyrood and Westminster with some policies reserved and others devolved. Equal opportunities policy falls within this gap between reserved and devolved powers. It is a policy area that highlights the disparities of responsibilities, obligations, institutional mechanisms, and procedures between Scottish and UK levels of governance. There are variations in terms of the powers and obligations, and the institutions themselves have adopted various practices to deal with equality within their own polity. This has led to variation of the equality agenda and a policy 'gap' between the UK and Scotland (see Fyfe et al, 2009). The policy area also highlights, ironically given it concerns equal opportunities, less than inclusive policy making styles. At the UK and Scottish governance levels there is less variance on the manner in which the policy is formulated with a tendency towards an expert-bureaucratic approach. This is perhaps explained by the under-representation of women in political institutions and decision making. This chapter therefore explores the politics of equal opportunities policy between Westminster and Holyrood with a focus on gender equality and the representation of women in the policy process.


Purpose: To investigate the value of MR imaging for preoperative diagnosis of paraganglioma of the cauda equina. Material and Methods: A retrospective review of 2 cases of paraganglioma of the cauda equina examined with MR imaging was undertaken. Features assessed included the homogeneity of the lesions, presence or absence of serpiginous flow void and thin hypointense margins. Results: In case 1, the tumor was hyperintense on the postcontrast examination and serpiginous flow void suggested vessels in the upper pole of the tumor. In case 2, the tumor was encapsulated by a thin hypointense margin on both T1- and T2-weighted images, which suggested hemosiderin. Conclusion: The MR appearance may be of great value in the preoperative diagnosis of paraganglioma of the cauda equina.


In this paper, interpolation-based off-line robust MPC for uncertain polytopic discrete-time systems is presented. Instead of solving an on-line optimization problem at each sampling time to find a state feedback gain, a sequence of state feedback gains is pre-computed off-line in order to reduce the on-line computational time. At each sampling time, the real-time state feedback gain is calculated by linear interpolation between the pre-computed state feedback gains. Three interpolation techniques are proposed. In the first technique, the smallest ellipsoids containing the measured state are approximated and the corresponding real-time state feedback gain is calculated. In the second technique, the pre-computed state feedback gains are interpolated in order to get the largest possible real-time state feedback gain while robust stability is still guaranteed. In the last technique, the real-time state feedback gain is calculated by minimizing the violation of the constraints of the adjacent inner ellipsoids so the real-time state feedback gain calculated has to regulate the state from the current ellipsoids to the adjacent inner ellipsoids as fast as possible. As compared to on-line robust MPC, the proposed techniques can significantly reduce on-line computational time while the same level of control performance is still ensured.


Analyses on a sediment core collected from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica are used to demonstrate that climatic conditions in this region prior to the Last Glacial Maximum were similar to those during the Holocene and that the area was overrun by ice at some stage between 26 kyr BP and the onset of biogenic sedimentation 11 kyr BP. The 10.9 m long core was taken from a marine inlet (epishelf lake) on Peterson Island and is predominantly a sapropel of Holocene age. Material in the lower part of the core includes a till layer lain down during the last glacial in the region and below this till is material which has been dated to 26 kyr BP. Geochemical analyses conducted on the core demonstrate similarities between the Holocene sequence and the preglacial material. The Holocene sequence shows enhanced biogenic production and periods of open water around 4 kyr BP, suggesting a climatic optimum around that time. A subsequent decline in conditions, probably a colder climate with greater extent of sea ice, is evident from 1 kyr BP to the present. The data support results from ice core studies on nearby Law Dome, which suggest there was a period of warming around 11.5 to 9 kyr BP, that recent summer temperatures are low relative to a few centuries ago, and that increasing winter temperatures are the main contributing factor to a recent overall warming in the region.


An analysis has been performed to investigate the limits of high field commercial tokamak reactors. Variations of the maximum mechanical stress, the major radius and the performance parameter (where B0 is the magnetic field on axis and a is the minor radius) have been investigated to evaluate the potential impact of higher strength structural materials and higher field superconductors. For fixed values of major radius and stress, the tokamak parameters have been chosen such as to optimize machine performance. Increasing values of allowable stress correspond to decreasing capital cost and may be an effective approach to economic commercial fusion. The paper discusses prospects of using very high strength structural materials to provide a sufficiently high field for Ohmic dominated heating to ignition in power reactors with a major radius of about 6 m.


For a long time it has been my contention that mental health is adequate maturity plus adjustment. For the adequately matune person, coping and adaptation are pretty much what living is all about; therefore, a book on this subject is more than welcome. This volume is a follow-up of the Conference on Coping and Adaptation held in Palo Alto, Calif., March 20-22, 1969. The conference was sponsored by Stanford University's Department of Psychiatry and supported by NIMH. A group of topnotch people, leaders in their fields, have contributed to this multiauthor work on coping and adaptation, an excellent topic for interdisciplinary study. Ecology, field studies of primates, ethology, ethnology, sociology, psychology, psychoanalysis, and political science are all represented in this volume. It is an attempt to further the unification of concepts from all of these fields. This alone is a great advance over the rivalry and even bitterness among the disciplines that have marred the history of studies in the behavioral sciences. Especially pleasing is the fact that the ideas presented here are based on biological theories of evolution stemming from Darwin and Wallace, even though evolution through natunal selection is usually a process measured in hundreds of thousands if not millions of years. All of the chapters are excellent. They are filled with data, well reasoned, broad, tolerant, and simply and clearly written. Especially interesting and illuminating are "Ethology, Ecology, and Ethnological Realities" by Goldschmidt, "Social Structure and Personal Adaptation: Some Neglected Dimensions" by Mechanic, White's "Strategies of Adaptation: An Attempt at Systematic Description," and two other exceedingly fine chapters, "Coping, Vulnerability, and Resilience in Childhood" by Murphy, and "Early Adolescence: A Specific and Stressful Stage of the Life Cycle" by Beatnix Hamburg. Also stimulating and informative are the chapters "Coping with Long-Term Disability" by Adams and Lindemann, "Vigilance and Decision Making in Personal Crisis" by Janis, and "Adaptation to Stress in Political Decision Making: The Individual, Small Group, and Organizational Contexts" by George. These are followed by a thorough and informative section titled Assessment of Coping Functions. Lazarus, Averill, and Opton discuss the psychology of coping, French, Rodgers, and Cobb focus on person-environment fit, and Moos details psychological techniques in the assessment of maladaptive behavior. The final chapter, by the editors of the volume, is a summary of the preceding contributions and is titled "Coping and Adaptation: Steps Toward a Synthesis of Biological and Social Perspectives." Of course, such a synthesis is a hope and a goal to work towand rather than a fait accompli, but it is a noble, realistic, and necessary goal for mankind's well-being and, possibly, survival. Because of the state of each of the disciplines of the behavioral sciences, this collection is by necessity more a report of ongoing work and a clarification of concepts than a finished synthesis that is of practical value to the clinical psychiatrist. However, acquaintance with this body of work, theory, and thinking should be pant of the education of every psychiatrist. To have it available in a single volume, and by such authorities, is a huge advantage and one not to be missed.


Benign lipomatous tumors are characterized at the genetic level by different types of chromosomal abnormalities. A rearrangement of the HMGIC (HMGA2) gene, localized in 12q15 and coding for an architectural non-histone DNA protein, is observed in a majority of solitary superficial lipomas. Alterations of HMGIC are often resulting from reciprocal translocations, such as t(3;12)(q27-28;q15) that fuses LPP with HMGIC, but a variety of chromosomal anomalies, such as deletions, inversions or insertions are also observed. Rearrangements of chromosomal regions 6p21-22, 13q, 11q13, 12q13 or others are described in approximately one third of superficial lipoma cases with abnormal karyotypes. The genes involved in these alterations remain to be determined. Lipoblastomas are pediatric neoplasms that are characterized by rearrangements of PLAG1, located in 8q11-12 whereas hibernomas, that resemble brown fat, are associated with 11q13 rearrangements together with often complex chromosomal alterations. Deletions of 13q and 16q have been identified in spindle cell lipomas. A t(11;16)(q13;p12-13) have been described in the two published karyotypes of chondroid lipomas. The chromosomal features of other rare benign lipomatous tumors, the differential diagnosis of which is occasionally difficult, such as infiltrating intra-muscular lipomas, organic deep-seated lipomas, or angiomyolipomas, myolipomas, myxolipomas are still poorly defined. Although the genetic characterization of benign lipomatous tumors has been dramatically in progress over the last ten years, many aspects remain obscure and warrant future investigations for a better comprehension of underlying molecular mechanisms.


Nonadiabatic effects are ubiquitous in photophysics and photochemistry, and therefore, many theoretical developments have been made to properly describe them. Conical intersections are central in nonadiabatic processes, as they promote efficient and ultrafast nonadiabatic transitions between electronic states. A proper theoretical description requires developments in electronic structure and specifically in methods that describe conical intersections between states and nonadiabatic coupling terms. This review focuses on the electronic structure aspects of nonadiabatic processes. We discuss the requirements of electronic structure methods to describe conical intersections and nonadiabatic couplings, how the most common excited state methods perform in describing these effects, and what the recent developments are in expanding the methodology and implementing nonadiabatic couplings.


Many people believe that tropical forest conservation strategies for Latin America should focus on extracting non-timber products. However, very little economic research has addressed the activity. This paper presents the results of a study of vegetable ivory, or tagua (Phytelephas aequatorialis), production in western Ecuador. It is one of the largest extractive industries in the hemisphere. We found that, until recently, households collecting tagua received payments that barely covered the value of their harvest labor. By contrast, a few firms that slice tagua into disks that are exported to overseas button manufacturers have captured sizable profits. This concentration of economic returns at the top of the domestic marketing chain has been typical of non-timber extraction throughout Latin America. Processing and exporting are becoming more competitive. As a result, producer-level prices are increasing. Nevertheless, our research findings lead us to doubt that collecting non-timber products will save vast tracts of tropical forest.


In this letter, we consider a large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system where the receiver should harvest energy from the transmitter by wireless power transfer to support its wireless information transmission. The energy beamforming in the large-scale MIMO system is utilized to address the challenging problem of long-distance wireless power transfer. Furthermore, considering the limitation of the power in such a system, this letter focuses on the maximization of the energy efficiency of information transmission (bit per Joule) while satisfying the quality-of-service (QoS) requirement, i.e. delay constraint, by jointly optimizing transfer duration and transmit power. By solving the optimization problem, we derive an energy-efficient resource allocation scheme. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


Metastatic epithelial malignant tumor involving the spermatic cord and epididymis is rare and the prognosis of these patients is poor. Usually gastrointestinal cancers show diffusion to liver, lung and bone. Several routes by which a colorectal cancer can metastasize to the testis have been reported in literature. Herein we report a case of an occult gastrointestinal cancer with an intrascrotal metastasis in an adult patient with possible spread through the spermatic veins due to primary intestinal carcinoma. In the case of a testicular mass or hydrocele evidence in a patient with an unusual age for primary testis tumor, a diagnosis of metastatic cancer should be considered.


BACKGROUND
Omicron variant has been associated with milder cases of COVID-19 among kidney transplant recipients. However, little is known about postacute sequelae, referred to as Long COVID.

METHODS
Prospective, single-center cohort study investigating prevalence and risk factors for Long COVID among kidney transplant recipients during the omicron predominance in Brazil. The analysis included adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between January 5, 2022, and July 18, 2022, were alive, had a functioning kidney transplant 3 mo after symptom onset, and answered a telephonic survey about physical complains of Long COVID.

RESULTS
From the 1529 eligible, 602 (39%) patients responded the survey. Sixteen percent reported a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 85% had been fully vaccinated. The prevalence of Long COVID was 52%, with the most common complaints being weakness (46%), myalgia (41%), dizziness (33%), and headache (31%). Among employed patients, 94% were able to resume their normal work activities. In multivariable analysis, female gender (hazard ratio [HR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-3.02; P < 0.0001), previous SARS-CoV-2 infection (HR, 3.55; 95% CI, 1.91-6.60; P < 0.0001), fatigue (HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.18-4.55; P = 0.014), myalgia (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.03-2.15; P = 0.036) during the acute phase, and hospitalization because of COVID-19 (HR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.06-2.76; P = 0.028) were independently associated with Long COVID.

CONCLUSIONS
In the "omicron era," Long COVID among kidney transplant recipients exhibited milder characteristics and had a less significant impact on their ability to resume normal life activities. The risk factors for persistent symptoms were similar to those observed in the general population except for the vaccination status, underscoring the importance of closer monitoring in special subgroups.


ABSTRACT This paper first reviews some major steps in the development of environmental education, mainly in the light of the major UN conferences (Belgrade, Tbilisi, Moscow, Rio, leading to the forthcoming Rio+10 in South Africa). It then highlights the contribution of the University of Salford to the environmental movement from way back in 1969. The paper analyses the way in which environmental education can contribute to conflict resolution and peace, arguing that a derelict environment In which to live, the absence of caring for that environment and pressure on scarce or diminishing natural resources are major potential sources of conflict. The paper reviews the basic causes of conflict and the principles and practice of conflict prevention and resolution. If one wishes to eliminate a major potential cause of conflict and hence help achieve peace, the line of action to follow is, in a nutshell, to "learn about the environment and teach others". The absence of education (basic, artistic, scientific and environmental) is, after all, the earliest warning of oncoming conflict, while the destruction of the environment and the resource base of people's livelihood is a sure indicator of oncoming strife and conflict. Some guidelines for environmental education appropriate to the 21st century are proposed. 1. Glossary Education: In civilizations, a process of transmission from one generation to the next of acquired knowledge, concepts and skills, a process which leads to the personal development of the learner. Pedagogy: The science and art of facilitating and guiding learning. Restoration: To return a degraded ecosystem (or culture, community or painting) to its original condition. Sustainable development: Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacities of supporting ecosystems and supporting built-up systems (Atchia, November 2000). Intergenerational equity: Affirming the rights of future generations and our obligations to them (Kumar, 1993). Social equity: Confirming the rights of groups formerly on the periphery of decision-making (Kumar, 1993). Ecological integrity: Maintaining the global life support system (Kumar, 1993). Cumulative effects: The total aggregated impact of many small, individual (often unrelated) impacts over a period of time. The term is equally valid in the environmental field as in the field of conflict build-up and resolution. 2. Environmental Education--A short history Planet Earth is the only place in the solar system and indeed in the universe known to sustain life. Starting from the "primeval soup" of organic molecules and one-celled organisms some 4,000 million years ago, evolution has produced, through mutation and natural selection, a bewildering diversity of life on Earth. Humanity as part and parcel of this biodiversity has brought "consciousness" and conscious thinking to the biosphere. Armed with these "superior powers," but unfortunately still reacting in the old ways of the "survival of the fittest", humanity has ended in laying waste large areas of the planet and seriously modifying its natural regenerative cycles of climate, freshwater, temperature, currents, reproductions and migrations. The effect of human action and impact has been further multiplied by an exponential human population explosion and by a changing individual human life-style, which makes increasing demands on the earth for energy, material and space, as well as producing mountains of increasingly toxic, non-biodegradable waste. The history of environmental thinking dates back from early civilizations in Greece, India, China and Mesopotamia, and later the Aztecs and Incas, to mention but a few. The disappearance of civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Indus valley due to climate change and the over-exploitation of water resources is well documented. …


OBJECTIVE
The objective of our study was to evaluate the clinical significance of grade 2C meniscal [corrected] signal (an extensive triangular or wedge-shaped signal that does not reach the surface on more than one image) on MR imaging of the knee.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Review of 1106 MR imaging reports over 2 years revealed 88 patients with menisci described as containing triangular, wedge-shaped, extensive, or grade 2C signal. Image review by consensus of two radiologists found 34 menisci in 29 patients that fit criteria for grade 2C signal. Seven menisci containing grade 2C signal were evaluated with arthroscopy. An additional three patients with grade 2C meniscal signal with arthroscopic correlation were identified from 4 previous years.

RESULTS
Prevalence of grade 2C signal was 1.5% (34/2212 menisci). Seven (21%) of these 34 menisci had subsequent arthroscopy and three of these had meniscal tears. Including the three additional menisci with grade 2C signal from 4 previous years, five (50%) of 10 menisci with grade 2C signal were torn at arthroscopy. No difference was noted between torn and intact menisci in the number of images with grade 2C signal. In patients with tears, the range was three to 10 images (mean, 6.6 images) compared with a range of two to 10 images (mean, 6.6 images) in patients without tears. The maximal percentage of area of abnormal signal in patients with tears ranged from 70% to 90% (mean, 80%) compared with a range of 60-90% (mean, 82%) in patients without tears. The patient age range was 23-64 years (mean, 47 years) in patients with tears and 16-67 years (mean, 47 years) in patients without tears.

CONCLUSION
Grade 2C meniscal signal has a low incidence. Although half of patients with symptoms meriting arthroscopy have tears, most patients with grade 2C signal are not treated with arthroscopy.


Who says cars cannot run on water? The paper focuses to develop practical and efficient technique to make cars run on water. The water‐hybrid system is a practical solution developed for use in fuel‐injected and carbureted motor vehicles. The secret of the water‐hybrid system lies within its HyTronic module. It produced relatively low voltage, but uniquely shaped electronic pulses of precise frequency and duration. The overall power consumption of the HyTronic module and the entire water‐hybrid system is fairly low; actually low enough to be easily powered by your vehicle excess electrical and heat output, and with enough reserve power left to help run all your vehicle's other electrical devices. You don't need carbon that pollutes atmosphere and bankrupt citizens.


Sir,

We read the article "Biochemical effects of irbesartan in experimental diabetic nephropathy" published in IJP[1] with great enthusiasm. We have the following observations to make regarding this article:

This study discussed the beneficial effects of irbesartan in counteracting some biochemical or functional changes of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in experimental animals, while irbesartan has already been approved for use in DN in humans.[2] The relevance of this study is, therefore, debatable.

In our opinion, instead of insulin, a drug chosen from the same group or an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor having an established role in DN would have been better.

In methods, while discussing groups, animals pre-treated with irbesartan and insulin have been referred to as group III and group IV, respectively. However, in all three tables, animals pre-treated with insulin have been referred to as group III and animals pre-treated with irbesartan have been referred to as group IV. Now, which one of these statements is true and figures mentioned in tables belong to which group actually?

In results, it is mentioned that insulin pre-treatment completely prevented proteinuria, but proteinuria actually increased with insulin pre-treatment (group III) as compared to diabetic rats (group IV) by 50–60 times. Which one of the statements is true?

It is clear that creatinine clearance was 1.1 ± 0.18 ml/min at 0 weeks in normal rats (group I), which suddenly increased to 20.8 ± 0.84 ml/min at 4 weeks. It remained static, but again had a sudden fall from 21.3 ± 0.86 ml/min to 1.2 ± 0.06 ml/min within a period of 4 weeks. Is there any possible explanation why this happened in normal rats?


This study aims to analyze how big the influence of sharia complaince towards the profitability of Islamic Banks in Indonesia. The sample selected by the method of purposive sampling so obtained 9 samples of islamic banks The Unit of analysis in the study amounted to 45 of the annual report of Islamic Banks. Research approach with quantitative methods using secondary data. Type the quantitative data in the form of data of financial statements (annual report) each bank of the the year 2013 until 2017. The results of this study seen from the results of the F test, a variable Profit Sharing Ratio (PSR), Islamic Income Ratio (IsIR), and Islamic Investment Ratio (IIR) simultaneously no significant effect on the variable fraud. From the results of t test variable Profit Sharing Ratio (PSR), Islamic Income Ratio (IsIR), andno significant effect on the variable fraud. From the results of t test variable Profit Sharing Ratio (PSR), Islamic Income Ratio (IsIR), and Islamic Investment Ratio (IIR) no effect and not significant on the variable fraud. Based on the results of the above analysis in the absence of such influence caused, the activities in islamic banking is currently carrying out compliance on sharia principles, because the lower the level of fraud the higher the level of shariah complaince on islamic banking. For the banks still have to improve the level of compliance on the principles of sharia and also do activities to the prevention of fraud.


Fixed nitrogen is an essential nutrient for bacteria used in the mining industry to solubilise metals from their associated ores in a process known as bioleaching. Most bacteria are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, but those which are not require a feed solution of aqueous ammonium to meet their nitrogen requirements. Bioleaching operations are large scale and therefore the cost associated with providing aqueous nitrogen is considerable. It is therefore important that only the minimum amount of aqueous nitrogen is added during the process to minimise costs. Camborne School of Mines were investigating the potential loss of aqueous nitrogen from bioleaching solutions through the precipitation of ammonium jarosite. In order to further their studies, they required development of a method for the determination of ammonium in a typical bioleaching solution so that they could research optimum bioleaching conditions to minimise loss of aqueous nitrogen. Various methods were researched and determination of ammonium using an ammonia gas selective electrode was investigated in detail. The method yielded promising results for determinations of ammonium between 0 and 50 mg/L in a typical bioleaching solution. Additions of base much in excess of ammonia electrode literature were required to liberate ammonia gas from bioleaching solutions, most likely due to the consumption of hydroxide during the precipitation of metal-hydroxide species. The performance characteristics of the method developed were assessed and the method and standard operating procedure developed were fit for purpose and adopted by Camborne School of Mines.


Plastics are inexpensive and widely used organic polymers, but their high durability hinders biodegradation. Polystyrene, including extruded polystyrene also known as styrofoam, is among the most commonly produced plastics worldwide and is recalcitrant to microbial degradation. In this study, we assessed changes in the gut microbiome of superworms (Zophobas morio) reared on bran, polystyrene, or under starvation conditions over a three weeks' time period. Superworms on all diets were able to complete their life cycle to pupae and imago, although superworms reared on polystyrene had minimal weight gains, resulting in lower pupation rates. The change in microbial gut communities from baseline differed considerably between diet groups, with polystyrene and starvation groups characterized by a loss of microbial diversity and the presence of opportunistic pathogens. Inferred microbial functions enriched in the polystyrene group included transposon movements, membrane restructuring, and adaptations to oxidative stress. We detected several encoded enzymes with reported polystyrene and styrene degradation abilities, supporting previous reports of polystyrene degrading bacteria in the superworm gut. By recovering metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) we linked phylogeny and functions and identified genera including Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus and Corynebacterium, that possess genes associated with polystyrene degradation. In conclusion, our results provide the first metagenomic insights into the metabolic pathways used by the gut microbiome of superworms to degrade polystyrene. Our results also confirm that superworms can survive on polystyrene feed, however, this diet has considerable negative impacts on host gut microbiome diversity and health. Impact Statement Increasing plastic pollution is a major environmental problem, and a recently proposed way to counteract this trend is to embrace a circular economy, in which used materials are recycled, rather than disposed of. An important step to facilitate this process is to invent new approaches for upcycling of plastic waste to desirable consumer products. Microbial plastic degradation and conversion is likely to play a considerable part in shaping a circular economy, by engineering microbes or their enzymes to bio-upcycle plastic waste. A first step towards actualizing this goal is to identify microbes that can degrade polystyrene and to investigate the enzymes and pathways involved. Our study represents the first metagenomic analysis of an insect gut microbiome on a polystyrene diet. It identifies bacteria with polystyrene and styrene degrading abilities, and infers enzymes and pathways involved in these reactions. Therefore, our results contribute towards understanding microbial polystyrene degradation and will provide a base for future investigations into microbial upcycling of plastic waste.


Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a key member of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), has a certain regulatory effect on many physiological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. However, abnormal production of H2O2 can cause diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, and so on. Therefore, it is important to detect changes in H2O2 at the subcellular level. In recent years, many fluorescent probes for H2O2 have been developed and used in living cells. In this review, we introduce some typical fluorescent probes for H2O2 with mitochondrial and lysosomal targeting. This review contains targeting strategies, detection mechanisms, optical characteristics and cell imaging of these probes.


In order to develop a method of corrosion fatigue design and estimate reliability of TMCP steel using as the material of heavy industries and plants, its corrosion susceptibilities, corrosion fatigue strength, and determination of fatigue design criterion considering corrosion degradation were investigated. From the results, the corrosion characteristic of TMCP steel is very susceptible in 3.5wt.% NaCI solution. Its susceptibility was linearly increased with the solution temperature increase. The corrosion fatigue strength in 25℃, 3.5wt.% NaCI solution is very lower than that of in air. And also, it was decreased with the frequency decrease in the same environment. It is expected that the-developed corrosion fatigue design method for TMCP steel is useful. However, it is necessary to verify its reliability for actual application.


—Task-based runtime systems are adopted by application developers for their valuable features including flexibility of execution and optimized resource management. However, the use of such advanced programming models in complex HPC applications often requires significant training time and programming effort. In this work, we share experiences and lessons learned from the use of StarPU in three independent projects of various complexity. We reach conclusions, with respect to training, programming effort, and existing challenges, that are useful to the communities of application developers, as well as to the developers of runtime systems. Finally, we suggest extensions to the runtime systems beneficial to application developers.


Porous MnO2 was uniformly electrodeposited on nickel foam in MnSO4 solution, which was applied as the electrode of supercapacitors. The nucleation/growth mechanisms of porous MnO2 were investigated firstly. Then two kinds of electrochemical measuring technologies, corresponding to the cycle voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge, were adopted to assess the electrochemical performance of MnO2 electrodes. The results demonstrated that the deposition of MnO2 on nickel foam included four stages. Prior to the deposition, an extremely short incubation period of about 2 s was observed (the first stage). Then the exposed nickel foam was instantly covered by a large number of MnO2 crystal nuclei and crystal nuclei connected with each other in a very short time of about 3 s (the second stage). Nucleation predominated in the second stage. The sharply rise of current was caused by the increase in substrate surface area which due to nucleation of MnO2. Grain boundaries grew preferentially due to their high energy, accompanied with a honeycomb-like structure with the higher surface area was formed. However, accompanied with the electrochemical reactions gradually diffusion-controlled, the current presented the decline trend with increasing the time (the third stage). When the electrochemical reactions were completely diffusion-controlled, the porous MnO2 coating with an approximately constant surface area was formed (the fourth stage). MnO2 coatings deposited for different time (30, 60, 120, 300 s) exhibited a similar specific capacitance (CV: about 224 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: about 264 F/g). Comparatively speaking, the value of MnO2 deposited for 600 s was highest (CV: 270 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: 400 F/g).


The study was carried out to determine if the addition of cysteamine to the culture medium buffalo oocytes would improve its intracytoplasmic glutathione (GSH) levels and if such changes would translate an improvement in the male pronucleus (MPN) and developmental capacity. In Experiment 1, buffalo oocytes were cultured in basic maturation medium composed of TCM 199 + FCS ( 10%v/v ) + gonadotropins with or without cysteamine. The addition of 50 mM and 100 mM cysteamine resulted in 75% and 81% MPN formation, respectively, of the in vitro fertilized oocytes. ln Experiment 2, the proportion of cleavage stage embryos was greater for oocytes that were matured In the presence of cysteamine (46/96) compared to the control (27/90). The percentage of cleaved embryos developing up to the blastocyst stage was 19.3% with cysteamine and 11.1% without cysteamine supplementation. In Experiment 3, intracytoplasmic glutathione levels were measured for oocytes matured in the presence or absence of cysteamine. Intracytoplasmic GSH values improved when oocytes were matured in maturation conditions supplemental with cystamine. However, the values were lowered compared to the GSH levels of large follicles representing the In vivo matured oocytes. The results of the present study suggest that an increase in the intracellular GSH of bubaline oocytes induced by cysteamine during maturation may provide favorable intracellular condition to support fertilization and embryonic development of oocytes in vitro.


The dipping angles of refracting interfaces at Afikpo, Nigeria have been estimated. The seismic refraction method was used. Compressional waves were utilized. The instrumentation includes a seismograph and its accessories. Three layers of the subsurface were revealed by the waves with two refractors, first and second from the earth's surface obvious. The average velocities of the layers were from the surface,413ms ,1139ms and 2287ms.The dipping angle of the first refracting interface to the second was estimated to be 11° while the dipping angle of the second refracting interface to third was 12°.


Quality care is a major issue currently facing the delivery of health care services yet little research has been conducted on what parents of hospitalized children perceive as quality nursing care. A qualitative approach was used to identify the meaning of quality nursing care from parents' perspective and to identify concepts inherent in the process of receiving quality nursing care. Four stages in the process were identified: maneuvering, process of knowing, relationship, and quality care. The concepts suggested a similar experience for all participants, even though the individual stories of the process of receiving quality nursing care were different for each child and parent.


The main object considered in this paper is the trace function, defined as a suitably normalized trace of a product of intertwining operators for the Drinfeld-Jimbo quantum group, multiplied by the exponential of an element of the Cartan subalgebra. This function depends of two parameters -- the element of the Cartan subalgebra, and the highest weight of the Verma module in which the trace is taken. The main results of the paper are that the trace function satisfies two systems of difference equations with respect to the first parameter (the quantum Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard and Macdonald-Ruijsenaars equations), and that it is symmetric with respect to the two parameters. In particular, this implies that for each of the above two systems of equations there is the dual system with respect to the second parameter, which is also satisfied by the trace function.
The paper establishes a connection between the I.Frenkel-Reshetikhin theory of quantum conformal blocks, the work of Felder-Mukhin-Tarasov-Varchenko on the quantum KZB and Ruijsenaars equations, the work of Etingof-I.Frenkel- Kirillov Jr.-Styrkas on traces of intetwining operators, and the Macdonald- Cherednik theory. The methods of the paper are based on the theory of dynamical twists and R-matrices.


Public Law 99-457 has renewed interest in providing preschool education for hearing-impaired children. It is not clear, however, whether we're ready for this mandate to expand services to an ever-younger population and its families.This study presents a "snapshot" of the trends in preschool programs and of the availability of programming to students in various parts of the country. We obtained lists of programs from a sample of state level special education offices, and then sent the programs detailed questionnaires. The returned surveys provided a snapshot of the instructional approaches used in many preschool programs and indicated that there may still be some problems in the availability of preschool programming and in the ability of programs to uniformly provide the sorts of quality comprehensive services mandated by the law.


In experiments on rat conducted hygienic safety of 2 types of food supplements (BAN) - "Biogen" (Bulgaria) and "Bioferron" (Uzbekistan) intended for the use in nutrition of professional sportsmen of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Determined, than BAN "Biogen", is safe and can be recommended for enriching of sportsmen nutrition. BAN "Bioferrons" in dose of more 11000 mg/kg breaks functional condition of liver in connection needs in working on the prescription.


The purposes of this investigation were to: (1) estimate the prevalence of illicit drug use within the prenatal population of a midwestern suburban ambulatory care center; (2) explore the relationship between nurses' judgments of patient illicit drug use and urine toxicology results; and (3) determine if a difference exists between nurses' judgments of illicit drug use by private physicians' patients (PPP) and nurses' judgments of illicit drug use by resident physicians' patients (RPP). For a 16-week period, all new prenatal patients (N = 189) were included in this study; 78 (41%) were in the RPP group and 111 (59%) were in the PPP group. Urine remaining from routine urinalysis was assayed for seven drugs or drug classes. Fourteen (7.5%) subjects tested positive for illicit drugs, 8 (10.3%) in the RPP group, and 6 (5.4%) in the PPP group (chi 2, P greater than .33). Using a Likert-type scale, nurses rated the likelihood of a positive result of each patient's urine test. Nurses' judgments of patient illicit drug use and positive results were related, r = .28. Nurses were more likely (P less than .0001) to suspect residents' patients of illicit drug use than private physicians' patients.


Driving simulators provide researchers with a flexible, controllable, safe, and economical tool for a range of applications. A pivotal aspect in the application of driving simulators is the development of measures aimed at describing the behavior and performance of the driver and providing knowledge about the way drivers are controlling their vehicle, which ultimately will benefit road safety. The driver performance is traditionally described by measures of (simulated) vehicle data and measures of subjective evaluations. This thesis provides additional measures of visual attention and driver physiology aimed at describing the driver behavior. Frequently, these measures are analyzed in isolation of the driver and vehicle performance. This thesis aims to derive relationships between concurrently recorded eye-movement and driver behavior variables in closed-loop driving tasks.


Fifty-five adolescents between the ages of thirteen and nineteen years underwent chemonucleolysis for one or more herniated lumbar discs at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. The surgery was done by the senior one of us (J.M.) between 1972 and 1982. The duration of symptoms ranged from two months to three years. Pain in the lower limb was the predominant symptom in forty-eight patients. Reduction of the amount of straight leg-raising by 50 per cent or more, with or without pain in the ipsilateral hip when the asymptomatic limb was lifted (cross-over pain) and with or without pain radiating up or down the lower limb when the tibial nerve was pressed in the popliteal fossa (bowstring discomfort), was considered evidence of tension on or irritation of the nerve root and was present in all patients. Chemonucleolysis was considered as an alternative to discectomy and was performed only after the patient failed to respond to conservative management. An anaphylactic reaction occurred in one patient and was treated successfully. The most common symptom after injection was increased back pain, and it was controlled with medication. One patient had transient weakness of the extensor hallucis longus after injection. The length of follow-up ranged from two to twelve years (average, four years and six months), excluding one patient who was killed in an accident six months after injection. Chemonucleolysis did not relieve the symptoms in eleven of the fifty-five patients. These eleven patients all subsequently had surgical excision of the disc, and in them the chemonucleolysis was considered to have failed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In certain cases of obscure chronic lung disease, the possibility of a genetic disorder, such as cystic fibrosis of the pancreas, should be considered. When the genetic defect fails to cause pancreatic involvement, the partial expression of cystic fibrosis is encountered. Elevation of sweat electrolyte levels is not sufficient to confirm the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in adults since normal levels vary widely in both adolescents and adults. Other tests should, therefore, be utilized. The cilia dyskinesis test is positive in both homozygous and heterozygous patients with cystic fibrosis. Utilization of this technique in a family study confirmed the diagnosis of partial expression of cystic fibrosis in an adolescent female.


In this work, the thermodynamic treatment of the equilibrium distribution coefficient kXo in iron base ternary alloys described in the previous work1, 2) was developed for iron base multi-component alloys and the effects of solute-interactions on the equilibrium distribution coefficient in multi-component iron alloys were discussed thermodynamically. A new paramete for the evaluation of such effects was introduced. Furthermore, the equilibrium distribution coefficients of Cr, Ni, Si, Mn and Mo at various compositions in Fe-Cr-Ni base alloys were measured. Small dependence of kXo of those elements on the concentrations of Cr and Ni in those alloys was found and those results were explained by the application of new parameter.


The Antarctic terrestrial environment is under increasing pressure from human activities. The Fildes Region is characterized by high biodiversity, but is also a major logistic centre for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Different interests, from scientific research, nature conservation, protection of geological and historical values, station operations, transport logistics and tourism, regularly overlap in space and time. This has led to increasing conflict among the multiple uses of the region and breaches of the legal requirements for environmental protection that apply in the area. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of human activities in the Fildes Region by monitoring the distribution of bird and seal breeding sites and recording human activities and their associated environmental impacts. Data from an initial monitoring period 2003–06 were compared with data from 2008–10. We observed similar or increased levels of air, land and ship traffic, but fewer violations of overflight limits near Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 150 Ardley Island. Open waste dumping and oil contamination are still major environmental impacts. Scientific and outdoor leisure activities undertaken by station personnel are more frequent than tourist activities and are likely to have a commensurate level of environmental impact. Despite the initial success of some existing management measures, it is essential that scientific and environmental values continue to be safeguarded, otherwise environmental impacts will increase and the habitat will be further degraded. We argue that the Fildes Region should be considered for designation as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area, a measure that has proven effective for environmental management of vulnerable areas of the Antarctic.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The severity of anemia at which to initiate erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) treatment in nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is unclear. Risk of mortality, hospitalizations, and blood transfusion were compared among nondialysis CKD patients with "early" versus "delayed" ESA initiation.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
A retrospective cohort study was conducted on CKD (estimated GFR <60 ml/min/1.73m(2)) outpatients in the national Veterans Administration who were initiated on ESAs. Patients with ESRD, gastrointestinal bleeding, chemotherapy, or hematologic malignancy were excluded. Patients were characterized as having early [hemoglobin (Hb) 10.0 to 11.0 g/dl] or delayed (Hb 8.0 to 9.9 g/dl) ESA initiation. A propensity score comprising demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables was used to select a 1:1 matched cohort. Cox survival and negative binomial regression were used to compare the matched groups for all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, and blood transfusions.

RESULTS
Of 1837 patients who met inclusion criteria, 1410 (77%) were successfully matched. The groups did not differ significantly in 31 characteristics reflecting sociodemographics, comorbidity, healthcare utilization, and renal function. There was no significant difference in mortality with early initiation. Those initiated early had a 17% lower risk of initial hospitalization and a 29% lower risk of transfusion compared with delayed initiation patients. Results did not differ between those with and without pre-ESA transfusion or hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS
In nondialysis CKD, ESA initiation at Hb 10.0 to 11.0 g/dl compared with 8.0 to 9.9 g/dl is associated with reduced risk of blood transfusion and initial hospitalization.


Para/Inquiry represents the next generation of postmodern studies. Focusing on cultural studies religion, and literature, Victor E. Taylor provides us with a fresh look at the history and main themes of postmodernism, both in style and content. Central to the book is the status of the sacred in postmodern times. Taylor explores the sacred images in art, culture and literature. We see that the concept of the sacred is uniquely singular and resistant to an easy assimilation into artistic, cultural or narrative forms. Anyone wishing to gain a new and exciting understanding of postmodernism, will read this book with great pleasure.


: This study has contributed to understanding a delayed prey-predator system involving cannibalism. The system is assumed to use the Holling type II functional response to describe the consuming process and incorporates the predator's refuge against the cannibalism process. The characteristics of the solution are discussed. All potential equilibrium points have been identified. All equilibrium points' local stability analyses for all time delay values are investigated. The system exhibits a Hopf bifurcation at the coexistence equilibrium, which is further demonstrated. The center manifold and normal form theorems for functional differential equations are then used to establish the direction of Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the periodic solution. To demonstrate the key findings, various numerical simulations are then run.


A three-phase charge-coupled device (CCD) technology with three levels of polysilicon and trichloroethylene (TCE) oxide-silicon nitride gate, having a good processing yield and taking full advantage of the self-aligning property of silicon gate transistors, is presented. The use of a TCE gate oxide results in a storage time between 3-4 min, measured on the CCD itself. The presence of the silicon nitride requires a suitable combination of low- and high-temperature anneals in order to decrease the density of fast surface states. A reliability problem observed at high clock voltages is attributed to trapping of injected hot carriers in the gate insulator.


Airline companies has been incorporated various cooperation forms to handle risky situations arising from high competition level and to gain sustainable competitive advantages. The aim of this research is to reveal the transformation that strategic airline alliances and airline joint ventures have, with their current situation. In this research, which adopted the qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were held with top executives of five traditional airline companies affiliated to strategic airline alliances and airline joint ventures. The most significant finding obtained as a result of the research is that airline companies affiliated with strategic airline alliances are beginning to question alliances' structures though airlines accept that alliances are still valuable to them. Another remarkable finding is that airlines have begun to move out of classical form with newly launched form of joint venture.


A study about the frequency of respiratory and allergic disorders in childhood was carried out in Rome, during the 2000-2001 school year. This survey represents the Italian contribution to the second phase of the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC Phase Two). A properly filled in ISAAC Phase II questionnaire was returned by parents of 1,760 children attending the fifth grade in primary school (83.5% of the target). Prick tests were performed to provide an objective measure of atopy, defined as skin reactivity to one or more allergens. The presence of visible flexural dermatitis was determined through skin examination. Lifetime prevalence for asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema was 12.4%, 13.2% and 15.1%, respectively. Period prevalence in the last 12 months was 7.0% for attacks of wheezing or whistling in the chest, 9.1% for rhinitis symptoms, and 9.5% for dermatitis symptoms. A total of 1.6% of the children under examination had a visible flexural dermatitis. Of the children who performed prick test, 31.8% was skin positive at least to one of the adopted allergens. An international comparison with the results of other ISAAC Phase Two studies (conducted in Albania, Germany, Hong Kong, UK and Sweden) has shown that Rome and Hong Kong were the areas with the highest prevalence rate for atopy, but had comparatively low proportions of asthmatic subjects. This inconsistency suggests that factors other than atopy could be responsible for the geographic epidemiological distribution of asthma.


Animal ethics has presented convincing arguments for the individual value of animals. Animals are not only valuable instrumentally or indirectly, but in themselves. Less has been written about interest conflicts between humans and other animals, and the use of animals in practice. The motive of this paper is to analyze different approaches to interest conflicts. It concentrates on six models, which are the rights model, the interest model, the mental complexity model, the special relations model, the multi-criteria model, and the contextual model. Of these, the contextual model is the strongest, and carries clear consequences for the practical use of animals.


This paper debunks the common perception that "foreclosure will ruin your credit score." Using individual-level data from a credit bureau matched with loan-level mortgage data, it is estimated that the very first missed mortgage payment leads to the biggest reduction in credit scores. The effects of subsequent loan impairments are increasingly muted. Post-delinquency foreclosures have only a minimal effect on credit scores. Moreover, credit scores improve substantially a year after borrowers experience 90-day delinquency or foreclosure. The data supports one possible explanation of this improvement: the absence of mortgage payments relaxes the borrowers' budget constraint, allowing them to restore other forms of credit.


Background Continuity of care with a general practitioner (GP) is vital for management of chronic conditions including diabetes as it provides proactive care facilitating opportunities to prevent or delay progression of disease.
 Aim To capture the proportion of time people with diabetes are under the protective effect of contact with a GP using the Cover Index and its effect on potentially preventable hospitalisation (PPH) and length of stay (LOS).
 Methods The linked self-report and administrative health service data of 267,153 participants in the 45 and Up study in New South Wales (NSW) in 2006-2009, obtained from the NSW Centre for Health Record Linkage and the Australian Government Department of Human Services, were used. A cohort of 21,965 people aged 45+ years identified with diabetes before July 2009 and followed up to 2015 were included in the analysis. Time duration protective effect of GP contact was estimated according to severity of diabetes using threshold effect models and then used to calculate the Cover Index. The effect of levels of GP cover on PPH and unplanned PPH and related LOS were estimated using negative binomial models weighted for the inverse probability of treatment to control for observed pre-treatment covariate imbalance.
 Results Perfect GP cover was observed among 56% of people in the study cohort. Compared with low GP cover, having perfect GP cover was significantly associated with lower PPH (IRR 0.21, 95%CI 0.13-0.35), LOS for PPH (IRR 0.12, 95%CI 0.06-0.24), unplanned PPH (IRR 0.36, 95%CI 0.19-0.68) and LOS for unplanned PPH (IRR 0.39, 95%CI 0.17-0.85) after controlling for the observed pre-treatment covariate imbalance.
 Conclusion This study suggests that longitudinal continuity of care measured by incorporating a time protective effect of a GP (cover) may be an important factor associated with reduction in PPHs and length of stay independent of other measures of longitudinal continuity.


Our study was carried out on 70 patients with invasive squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (CC) or invasive adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix at all stages, admitted to the University Department of Gynecology and/or to the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana. The patients were not selected by age. A questionnaire on known risk factors in CC was filled in for each of the 70 patients, and two tumor smears were taken for the determination of human papilloma viruses (HPV) 16 and 18 by means of in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Each patient also had the serum level of vitamin A determined. The results of our study revealed a correlation between HPV 16 or 18 infection (60:40) and CC. When analysing some already known risk factors, no statistically significant difference could be established for any of the factors studied, except for the age at first birth.


Consider a $m$-round interactive protocol with soundness error $1/2$. How much extra randomness is required to decrease the soundness error to $\delta$ through parallel repetition? Previous work, initiated by Bell are, Goldreich and Gold wasser, shows that for \emph{public-coin} interactive protocols with \emph{statistical soundness}, $m \cdot O(\log (1/\delta))$ bits of extra randomness suffices. In this work, we initiate a more general study of the above question. \begin{itemize}\item We establish the first derandomized parallel repetition theorem for public-coin interactive protocols with \emph{computational soundness} (a.k.a. arguments). The parameters of our result essentially matches the earlier works in the information-theoretic setting. \item We show that obtaining even a sub-linear dependency on the number of rounds $m$ (i.e., $o(m) \cdot \log(1/\delta)$) is impossible in the information-theoretic, and requires the existence of one-way functions in the computational setting. \item We show that non-trivial derandomized parallel repetition for private-coin protocols is impossible in the information-theoretic setting and requires the existence of one-way functions in the computational setting. \end{itemize} These results are tight in the sense that parallel repetition theorems in the computational setting can trivially be derandomized using pseudorandom generators, which are implied by the existence of one-way functions.


5'-3' exoribonucleases (XRNs) play crucial roles in the control of RNA processing, quality, and quantity in eukaryotes. Although genome-wide profiling of RNA decay fragments is now feasible, how XRNs shape the plant mRNA degradome remains elusive. Here, we profiled and analyzed the RNA degradomes of Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant plants with defects in XRN activity. Deficiency of nuclear XRN3 or cytoplasmic XRN4 activity but not nuclear XRN2 activity greatly altered Arabidopsis mRNA decay profiles. Short excised linear introns and cleaved pre-mRNA fragments downstream of polyadenylation sites were polyadenylated and stabilized in the xrn3 mutant, demonstrating the unique function of XRN3 in the removal of cleavage remnants from pre-mRNA processing. Further analysis of stabilized XRN3 substrates confirmed that pre-mRNA 3' end cleavage frequently occurs after adenosine. The most abundant decay intermediates in wild-type plants include not only the primary substrates of XRN4 but also the products of XRN4-mediated cytoplasmic decay. An increase in decay intermediates with 5' ends upstream of a consensus motif in the xrn4 mutant suggests that there is an endonucleolytic cleavage mechanism targeting the 3' untranslated regions of many Arabidopsis mRNAs. However, analysis of decay fragments in the xrn4 mutant indicated that, except for microRNA-directed slicing, endonucleolytic cleavage events in the coding sequence rarely result in major decay intermediates. Together, these findings reveal the major substrates and products of nuclear and cytoplasmic XRNs along Arabidopsis transcripts and provide a basis for precise interpretation of RNA degradome data.


At present, there is no evidence of toxicity from the use of PVC plasticized plastics in medical practice. The major components of plasticized PVC have been examined over a span of years and each passing year sees a confirmation of the lack of toxicity. From time to time, misconceptions of new workers in the field may raise issues that have been examined and found to no longer be issues. Considering all the factors of cost, convenience, and safety, it appears that plasticized PVC containers continue to have a valuable place in medical practice.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of idiopathic chronic relapsing inflammatory
conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. The precise etiology of IBD is unknown,
although it is clearly multifactorial resulting from interplay of genetic, environmental
and immunological factors. Epidemiological studies show that the incidence of IBD
and other autoimmune disorders is low in the developing countries and more in the
developed countries. Evidence suggests that therapeutic administration of helminth
can reduce the symptoms of IBD in both animal models and man. However, one study
show the rat tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta infection results in significant exacerbation
of oxazolone induced colitis in mice (Hunter et al., 2007). The mechanisms by
which helminths interact with the gut immune system in IBD-susceptible hosts, particularly
their effect on the onset and progression of colitis are poorly understood. To
address this we have investigated the interaction between Trichuris muris and the
mdr1a (-/-) mouse model, which lacks the epithelial barrier protein, p-glycoprotein and
slowly develops a spontaneous colitis in the presence of a normal gut flora.


The kinetics of temperature-induced liquid–liquid structure transition (TI-LLST) process in Sn–(40wt%)Bi melt is investigated in isothermal and continuous heating experiments with electrical resistivity method. The time evolution pattern of the electrical resistivity suggested the transition mechanism of TI-LLST for Sn–(40wt%)Bi melt in accordance with the autocatalytic reaction model, which is an indication of nucleation-growth type. With the calculated reaction rate constant KT and apparent activation energy ΔE, we deduce the reason for the characteristics of TI-LLST. The present result may be beneficial for further understanding of the nature of TI-LLST.


To support and scale up global restoration efforts, the United Nations (UN) has proclaimed 2021–2030 the "UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration." The Decade offers significant opportunities for and challenges to restoration, in particular for Africa, a continent that has a large need and potential for restoration. We thus argue that the Decade must be a success in and for Africa, and for this to happen, opportunities and challenges to achieving its goals must be promptly identified, and considered in the planning and implementation of restoration. Here, we outline six key areas that should be considered at a strategic level by African countries during the Decade. These are: (1) ensuring effective oversight and governance relevant to Africa; (2) translating the goals to meet the African context; (3) making the case for restoration amid multiple development demands; (4) growing an African restoration community of practice based on regional need; (5) collaborating to improve restoration outcomes; and (6) establishing an Africa‐relevant evidence base for restoration. We believe that these six key areas—even though they are not all novel—are currently not addressed at a level that matches the scale of the problem on the continent. Although the specific actions to be taken under each key area are dependent on the restoration context, integrating these key areas in the planning and implementation of restoration efforts will likely lead to improved restoration outcomes during the Decade.


Changes made during a brief visual interruption sometimes go undetected, even when the object undergoing the change is at the center of the observer's interest and spatial attention (Simons & Levin, 1998). This study examined two potentially important attentional variables in change blindness: spatial distribution, manipulated via set size, and detail level, varied by having the change at either the global or local level of a compound letter. Experiment 1 revealed that both types of change were equally detectable in a single item, but that global change was detected more readily when attention was distributed among several items. Variation of target level probability in Experiment 2 showed further that observers could flexibly set the detail level in monitoring both single and multiple items. Sensitivity to change therefore depends not only on the spatial focus of attention; it depends critically on the match between the detail level of the change and the level-readiness of the observer.


Abstract This study provides an analysis of the effect of migration and commuting on regional wage disparities in Germany. Using the INKAR dataset and the GSOEP from the years 1998 to 2009, dynamic GMM panel estimations are applied to consider dynamics as well as the simultaneity between migration and regional labor market circumstances. To begin with, the influence of migration on relative wage levels is analyzed. The results show a small positive wage effect due to the overall regional migration balance. However, only domestic migration is relevant for analyzing the influence of migration on regional wage disparities. The wage effect due to domestic migration turns out to be smaller and negative. Regions seem to benefit primary from a combination of internal and foreign migration, however effects are small. Assuming that individuals usually move to high-wage regions, the negative wage effect of German migration would trigger an adjustment mechanism of wage disparities. Therefore, a second dynamic GMM panel estimation tests whether an influence of the regional wage levels on migration exists. Results show no statistically significant effects. An adjustment of existing wage disparities due to migration is not likely to occur in Germany in the next few years.


Bilevel optimization is a type of mathematical program in which one optimization problem (called the lower level problem) is nested within another (called the upper level problem). In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the development of algorithms that can handle multiple objective functions at both levels. The challenge lies in the implication that every upper level decision leads to a set of Pareto optimal solutions at the lower level. As a result, a single point in the upper level decision space maps to a set of points in the upper level objective space. Since standard multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) are not designed for such point-to-set mappings, the state-of-the-art solution methods often dictate several enhancements to existing MOEAs. In this paper, we propose an adaptive scalarization based approach to solving bilevel programs with multiple objectives at both levels, such that any off-the-shelf MOEA can be used with minimum modification. Subsequently, we put forward a surrogate-assistance technique that can significantly lower the computational cost commonly associated with such problems. Finally, proof-of-concept numerical experiments are carried out in order to demonstrate the potential of our proposed methods.


Analog designers working infields such as aerospace, the defense and nuclear industries, telecommunications and medical electronics have long faced a special problem when trying to source application‐specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for their designs. Although digital ASICs have long been available with the degree of radiation hardening normally required for these applications, sourcing radiation‐hardened ('rad‐hard') analog ASICs has been much more difficult. In particular, the CMOS/SOS technology used very successfully to produce rad‐hard digital ASICs has long been considered to be fundamentally unsuitable for analog designs. Only now has CMOS/SOS technology been developed to the point where highly integrated, high‐performance rad‐hard analog ASICSs can be made readily available — thanks to a breakthrough by Swedish semiconductor specialists ABB HAFO that is now opening up new opportunities for analog designers everywhere.


In recent years, the success rate of drug development has declined, and along with it, R&D costs have continued to rise. The rate of discontinuation of drug development due to safety reasons remains unchanged from 20 years ago. Therefore, it is important to check the safety of candidate compounds early in drug discovery in order to improve drug discovery efficiency. Under such circumstances, each company is focusing on establishing a low-cost, high-precision, and high-throughput safety screening system. The zebrafish is expected as a new experimental animal that serves as a bridge between in vitro and in vivo, and the progress of research in the last 15 years has been remarkable. At present, zebrafish are becoming a major experimental animal in Japan. At the same time, the gap between ideal and reality began to be seen, and it was time to once again understand the characteristics of zebrafish and think about its usage. This paper summarizes the points to be noted in the screening using zebrafish and introduces the use for actual safety evaluation.


A systematic management program is often needed to control student behavior or elicit their optimum level of performance. One management system that is beginning to receive attention in physical education is the application of physical activity reinforcement (McKenzie, 1979; Siedentop, 1983). This system of reinforcement is defined as a systematic procedure in which a structured time to choose among various physical education activities is contingent on the individual's meeting a predetermined criterion of behavior. The following discussion of the research conducted on program strategies and benefits utilizing physical activity reinforcement will enable practitioners to incorporate such a management system into their physical education program.


Humic substances are constituents of organic matter that require removal from water environments because of their adverse ecological and sanitation effects. A mixture of hydrogarnet and poly(lactic acid) dissolved in chloroform was electrospun to prepare a composite as a adsorbent for humic substance removal. Here, humic acid was used as the model substance for evaluating the adsorbent's water remediation efficiency. Despite the hydrogarnet particles being embedded in its poly(lactic acid) fibers, the composites demonstrated a higher humic acid removal ability than the pure poly(lactic acid) sample prepared using an electrospinning process. Pores were introduced to the fiber surfaces of the composite by controlling the relative humidity during electrospinning, thus enhancing their humic acid removal ability (4.6 ± 2.4 mg/g), compared to the composite consisting of the fibers without pores (1.2 ± 0.9 mg/g).


This article surveys the complex ecumenical, missionary and international church relations of Chinese Protestant Christians. It argues that the inter-church relations to other parts of Asia are overshadowed by relations to Christians in the West, thus reflecting a political preoccupation with relationships to the West. This is evidenced by an analysis of worldwide and Asian ecumenism as well as bilateral church and missionary relationships. The dominance of contacts with the West not only contradicts the idea of a multipolar world and increased South-South contacts, it also stands in contrast to the reality of growing and increasingly important Christianity in Asia. Methodologically, this paper analyses different kinds of international relations (multilateral and bilateral, inter-church and missionary) and develops a typology of different inter-church and inter-state relations to assess international church relations in Asia today. The typology shows how China's international church relations support its political relationships with its neighbours and beyond.


This article based on the thought of "oneness of man and nature", expounds the basic concepts and features of forestry harmony, and proposes building a harmonious forestry development ideas. Base on in-depth analysis of the development significance of harmonious forestry with the combination of the actual construction of Hunan forestry, forest culture and universal concept of ecological civilization; changing forestry development; deepening forestry reform; accelerating scientific and technological innovation; sound Forestry Law and other strategic measures are put forward to boost green Hunan construction.


The main aim of this study was to suggest rotating electro-magnetic finishing(REMF) which had the capability to yield ultra-fine finished surface in micro-meter level with high productivity in a short time. The performance of the REMF process was primarily dependent upon magnetic and impact energy by the physical properties of a particle, particle velocity, and impact angle. Therefore, in this study, numerical simulations were conducted by explicit dynamic analysis to verify the effect of both single and multiple abrasive media impact characteristics on a deburring area of the machined surface. Based on the observed results and Pareto analysis, it was found that the overall weight of the particles was the most significantly affected for burr reduction, and deburring area was proportional to the increasing impact angle as well. In addition, to estimate the relationship between process factors and output variable and determine the optimum condition for burr reduction, a second-order polynomial model was developed by adopting a response surface methodology. As a result, the predictive model agreed with numerical analyzed results with 84.4% of the accuracy rate. The optimized deburring area was 2.27mm2 at 1,800rpm of rotational velocity, 0.7mm of particle diameter, and 2.0kg of total particle weight. It was founded to be similar to the maximum deburring area, about 2.37mm2, obtained from the simulations at the same condition.


Twinning in monotocous domestic species dairy cattle is most frequently by dyzygote in which two eggs is ovulated by treatment with gonadotropin hormon. A study to see the effects of concentration of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (Folltropin) on the ovulation rates and twinning birth was conducted. The experiment designed was commpletely randomized designed with 3 treatment of total concentration of FSH (A: 12, B: 6 and C 3 ml) and 4 lactating cows for a replications. Hormon was intramussculary injected in decreasing dossis method twice a day with 12 hours apart for 4 days. Data recorded were the diameter of ovary (DO), total corpus luteum (TCL), concentration of progesterone on the day 12 of estrus cycle (P), percentage of pregnancy and number of birth. FSH significantly increased the ovulation rates. The means DO was significantly (P < 0.05) higher after injection (6.3 cm) than those before injection (2.0 cm). The TCL and P were highly significant (P < 0.01) higher after injection. The TCL and P were 1.2 and 0.8 ng/ml and 8.5 and 3.0 ng/ml before and after hormone treatment respectively. Concentration of FSH significantly increase (P < 0.05) the TCL and P but not for DO. The means DO, TCL and P were 5.0, 4.5 and 1.6, 5.5, 8,8 and 1.8 and 8.4cm, 12.3 and 5.3 ng/ml for treatments C, B and A respectively. Persentage of pregnancy was decreasing by the increasing of ovulations rates and the highest percentage of pregnancy 75% was obtained on treatments C. The normal single birth was found for treatment C and neonatal death were occurred for treatment B and A where the number of calves is higher than 2. In conclusion the FSH increased the ovulation rates in dairy cattle and the ovulation rates obtained was also affected by the concentration of hormone. Key Words : Hormone, FSH, Ovulation, Twin Birth


1. The indications such as the place of finding, the identification of clothes or other personal items, represent only the first step towards the identification of a corpse. 2. An identification based on medical data, other than dental, is often possible, more often than it is believed. 3. The forensic pathologist plays a double role in the case of such an identification: a) in the phase of the inquiry, he must contact the investigators and the families to explain his wishes and the different possibilities of identification. b) he must use the gathered information in the appropriate way. 4. It would be desirable to compose some statistical tables of the various medical elements useful for the identification (mutilations, surgical operations, etc...). We present six cases of identification in our practice.


Virtualisation of cellular networks can be seen as a way to significantly reduce the complexity of processes, required nowadays to provide reliable cellular networks. The Future Communication Architecture for Mobile Cloud Services: Mobile Cloud Networking (MCN) is a EU FP7 Large-scale Integrating Project (IP) funded by the European Commission that is focusing on how cloud computing and network function virtualisation concepts are applied to achieve virtualisation of cellular networks. It aims at the development of a fully cloud-based mobile communication and application platform, or more specifically, it aims to investigate, implement and evaluate the technological foundations for the mobile communication system of Long Term Evolution (LTE), based on Mobile Network plus Decentralized Computing plus Smart Storage offered as one atomic service: On-Demand, Elastic and Pay-As-You-Go. This paper provides a brief overview of the MCN project and discusses the challenges that need to be solved.


Conventional model setting of production planning is developed with numerical crisp values. Additionally coefficient values must be determined before the model is set. It is however troublesome and complex for decision maker to provide rigid values and determining the coefficient values for the model. Building the production planning model with precise values sometimes generates improper solution. Hence, this study proposes a fuzzy random regression method to estimate the coefficient values for which statistical data contains simultaneous fuzzy random information. A numerical example illustrates the proposed solution approach whereby coefficient values are successfully deduce from the statistical data and the fuzziness and randomness were treated based on the property of fuzzy random regression. The implementation of the fuzzy random regression method shows the significant capabilities to estimate the coefficient value to further improve the model setting of production planning problem which retain the simultaneous uncertainties.


Using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory, we show that the molecular ordering and orientation of metal phthalocyanine molecules on the deactivated Si surface display a strong dependency on the central transition-metal ion, driven by the degree of orbital hybridization at the heterointerface via selective p-d orbital coupling. This Letter identifies a selective mechanism for modifying the molecule-substrate interaction which impacts the growth behavior of transition-metal-incorporated organic molecules on a technologically relevant substrate for silicon-based devices.


In this paper the author reviews the present situation of the family from the point of view of the professional social intervention. The author tries to identify the changes that are occurring in the framework, the organization and the functions of the family and to find out how these changes are affecting the members of the family and theirs relations to the institutions. These changes affect the organization of the diary life and the achievement of the basic needs, particularly of the members that because of their age and health problems are more dependent and vulnerable.


Bacteriological culture of milk provides fundamental information to veterinarians, their support staff, and dairy producers who want to improve milk quality on dairy farms. In-clinic or on-farm culture cannot achieve the degree of sophistication of an accredited diagnostic laboratory. Nonetheless, non-diagnostic laboratory culture of milk samples can help identify opportunities in farm management, as well as therapeutic decisions. The fundamentals of milk bacteriology are not difficult, and numerous resources are available to help veterinary personnel establish basic milk bacteriology laboratories. Care should be taken to avoid common pitfalls in interpretation and application of the culture results.


Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) re-quires the solution of a dynamic optimization problem at each sampling instant under strict timing constraints, involving nonlinear dynamics that can often be stiff or implicitly defined. The real-time iteration (RTI) scheme has been shown to allow real-world embedded applications of NMPC. The present paper proposes an extension of the standard RTI algorithm with a block-structured quasi-Newton method to obtain low-rank Jacobian updates that preserve the block structure of the optimal control problem. In addition, a particular structure-exploiting implementation is presented for implicit integration schemes such that no Jacobian evaluation is needed neither any matrix factorization. Based on a proof of concept implementation in C code, the computational performance of the algorithm is illustrated for multiple NMPC case studies.


The area now known as Royal National Park was one of the first sites in the world designated as a national park. In 1879 the concept of a national park was very different from that held today, and in the decades following establishment of the Park substantial alterations to large areas were carried out by the Trustees. Despite these disturbances the Park retains many of its biodiversity values and still meets current criteria for designation as a national park. What the history of Royal National Park tells us about reserve selection processes is explored.One of the outstanding features of Royal National Park is the floristic diversity of its sclerophyll communities. In Australia such diversity is characteristic of areas with low soil fertility, and is a function of geological history. The consequences of the relationship between soils and flora for conservation in a changing world are discussed.


Whilst the act of progression is being performed, the several limbs exhibit rhythmic movements of flexion and of extension. When any limb is in contact with the ground, it extends, and thus serves to propel the animal forwards. At the end of this act the limb is lifted from the ground by a movement of flexion, is carried forward, and finally is again placed upon the ground to repeat the cycle. During these phasic acts the dynamic balance of the neural centres is disturbed by two different kinds of peripheral stimuli. In the first place, the discontinuous contact with the ground, and the synchronous distortion of the skin of the foot—determined by the weight of the animal then carried in part by that limb—produce changes in the activity of exteroceptive end-organs therein embedded, and discontinuous augmentations and diminutions of the stimuli originated in them.


In order to synthesize natural-sounding Japanese phonetic words, a novel VCV-concatenation synthesis with an advanced word database is proposed. The word database consists of VCVbalanced phonetic words which are uttered forcibly in type-0 and type-1 pitch accents. The advantage of using the advanced word database is that a variety of VCV-segments with the same phonetic chains and the different pitch patterns could be collected efficiently at the same time. The following pitch modification techniques are used to achieve the sound quality: (1) The optimal VCV-segment set which minimizes the pitch modification rate is selected. (2) Pitch waveforms are extracted by referring to excitation points. (3) Wavelengths of pitch waveforms are adjusted depending on the pitch modification rates. (4) Natural prosody in the VCV-segments in the database is effectively used. Superiority of the proposed database is ensured by means of the pitch pattern matching measurement and the subjective quality evaluation.


The novel femtosecond NIR (near infrared) laser based high resolution imaging system DermaInspect was used for non-invasive diagnostics of pigmented skin. The system provides fluorescence and SHG images of high spatial submicron resolution (3D) and 250 ps temporal resolution (4D) based on time resolved single photon counting (TCSPC). Pigmented tissue biopsies from patients with nevi and melanoma have been investigated using the tunable 80 MHz femtosecond laser MaiTai with laser wavelengths in the range of 750 - 850 nm. The autofluorescence patterns of different intratissue cell types and structures were determined. The non-linear induced autofluorescence originates from naturally endogenous fluorophores and protein structures like NAD(P)H, flavins, elastin, collagen, phorphyrins and melanin. In addition to autofluorescence, SHG (second harmonic generation) was used to detect dermal collagen structures. Interestingly, pigmented cells showed intense luminescence signals. Further characterization of tissue components was performed via 4D measurements of the fluorescence lifetime (x, y, z, τ). The novel multiphoton technique offers the possibility of a painless high resolution non invasive diagnostic method (optical biopsy), in particular for the early detection of skin cancer.


The surface of bushing is contaminated with rain, dust, salt and others. A bushing with contaminations in air is serious problem in insulation. Therefore, it is important to understand the inspection and diagnoses of the safety. The ultra-violet rays(UV) camera has attracted interest from the view point of easy judgement. In this paper, we will report on the corona discharge characteristics of surface flashover model with contaminations in air. Also, UV images of discharge and corona pulse count in air are analyzed using prototype UV camera of Korea and a UV sensor with an optic lens. These results are studied at both AC and DC voltage under a non-uniform field.


Recently, integrated electric propulsion system has been vigorously adopted into naval vessels. To enhance effectiveness and efficiency of power management in these propulsion systems, this paper investigates necessity of energy storage devices and their operation strategies. By introducing the energy storage devices, engine can operate at higher efficiency point and accordingly costs for fuel and maintenance are significantly reduced. In addition, transient performance can also be improved with support of the devices and it leads to stable operation of shipboard power bus. To validate the proposal of this paper, computer simulation has been conducted with real load data of existing electric propulsion system.


The Silicon-Fluoride-Acceptor (SiFA)-(18)F-labeling strategy has been shown before to enable the straightforward and efficient (18)F-labeling of complex biologically active substances such as proteins and peptides. Especially in the case of peptides, the radiolabeling proceeds kit-like in short reaction times and without the need of complex product workup. SiFA-derivatized, (18)F-labeled Tyr(3)-octreotate (TATE) derivatives demonstrated, besides strong somatostatin receptor (SSTR) binding, favorable in vivo pharmacokinetics as well as excellent tumor visualization by PET imaging. In this study, we intended to determine the influence of the underlying molecular design and used molecular scaffolds of SiFAlin-TATE derivatives on SSTR binding as well as on the in vivo pharmacokinetics of the resulting (18)F-labeled peptides. For this purpose, new SiFAlin-(Asp)n-PEG1-TATE analogs (where n = 1-4) were synthesized, efficiently radiolabeled with (18)F in a kit-like manner and obtained in radiochemical yields of 70-80%, radiochemical purities of ≥97%, and nonoptimized specific activities of 20.1-45.2 GBq/μmol within 20-25 min starting from 0.7-1.5 GBq of (18)F. In the following, the radiotracer's lipophilicities and stabilities in human serum were determined. Furthermore, the SSTR-specific binding affinities were evaluated by a competitive displacement assay on SSTR-positive AR42J cells. The obtained in vitro results support the assumption that aspartic acids are able to considerably increase the radiotracer's hydrophilicity and that their number does not affect the SSTR binding potential of the TATE derivatives. The most promising tracer (18)F-SiFAlin-Asp3-PEG1-TATE [(18)F]6 (LogD = -1.23 ± 0.03, IC50 = 20.7 ± 2.5 nM) was further evaluated in vivo in AR42J tumor-bearing nude mice via PET/CT imaging against the clinical gold standard (68)Ga-DOTATATE as well as the previously developed SiFAlin-TATE derivative [(18)F]3. The results of these evaluations showed that [(18)F]6-although showing very similar chemical and in vitro properties to [(18)F]3-exhibits not only a slowed renal clearance compared to [(18)F]3, but also a higher absolute tumor uptake compared to (68)Ga-DOTATATE, and furthermore enables excellent tumor visualization with high image resolution. These results emphasize the importance of systematic study of the influence of molecular design and applied structure elements of peptidic radiotracers, as these may considerably influence in vivo pharmacokinetics while not affecting other parameters such as radiochemistry, lipophilicity, serum stability, or receptor binding potential.