Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is frequently performed to evaluate gastrointestinal pathologic conditions, and the majority of the gastrointestinal radiology literature has concentrated on the colon, stomach, and distal small bowel. In a description of CT findings of duodenal pathologic conditions, congenital, traumatic, inflammatory, and neoplastic diseases are presented. Congenital duodenal anomalies such as duplications and diverticula are usually asymptomatic, while annular pancreas and malrotation may manifest in the 1st decade of life. CT plays a vital role in the diagnosis of traumatic duodenal injury. Primary inflammatory processes of the duodenum such as ulcers and secondary involvement from pancreatitis can reliably be diagnosed at CT. Infectious diseases of the duodenum are difficult to diagnose, as the findings are not specific. While small bowel malignancies are relatively rare, lipoma, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma, as well as local extension from adjacent malignancies, can be diagnosed at CT. Careful CT technique and attention to the duodenum can result in reliable prospective diagnoses.


The ophthalmoscope holster here described was designed in the department of ophthalmology of the Cook County Hospital, where it is now in daily use by the interns and resident physicians. Its practical features have been fully attested to by those who have used it in the routine examination of patients in the wards and clinics. The holster eliminates the loss of time and patience attendant on the misplacing of the ophthalmoscope and other accessories, such as a pencil or pen, a rule, a retinoscope or a pocket flash-light during rounds of the wards. It dispenses with the disarrayed and frayed pockets encountered when the ophthalmoscope is carried in the usual manner on one's person. The continual hazard of "hooking the chair" or other objects when carrying the ophthalmoscope in the rear pocket


Abstract Time-consuming and costly religious rituals pose a puzzle for economists committed to rational choice theories of human behavior. We propose that either through selection or a causal relationship, the performance of religious rituals is associated with higher levels of cooperation. To test this hypothesis we design field experiments to measure the in-group cooperative behavior of members of religious and secular Israeli kibbutzim, communal societies for which mutual cooperation is a matter of survival. Our results show that religious males (the primary practitioners of collective religious ritual in Orthodox Judaism) are more cooperative than religious females, secular males and secular females. Moreover, the frequency with which religious males engage in collective religious rituals predicts well their degree of cooperative behavior.


Today the web contains a huge amount of information provided as html and xml pages and their number is growing rapidly with expansion of the web. In Web text mining, the text extraction and filtering of extracted content is the foundation of text mining. Automatic Classification of text is a semi-supervised machine learning task that automatically classify a given document to a set of pre-defined categories based on its features and text content. This paper explains a generic strategy for automatic classification of web pages that deals with unstructured and semi-structured text. This work classified the datasets into different labeled classes using kNN and Naive Bayesian classification techniques. The experimental evaluation concluded that kNN has better accuracy, precision and recall value as compared to Naive Bayesian classification. This paper presents a unified approach that is able to provide robust classification and validation of web pages to different categories.


A linear array processor bas been designed and built whose elements consist of a programmable pattern matching VLSI and a block of local memory. The processor element is called the Graph Search Machine (GSM), and the array processor is called the Graph Search Array (GSA). The array is implemented on pc-compatible plug in cards, four elements to a card, and currently 16 cards are supported in a parallel arrangement. The instruction rate for the fully configured array is 2.5 GIPS (Giga instructions per second) typical, and 5.6 GIPS peak. The instruction set of the GSM and likewise the GSA is optimized for computing distances and making decisions. These are the two kernel operations of pattern recognition. The GSA was designed primarily for development of connected word speech recognition applications. To this end, a connected word recognizer incorporating a single-pass (real-time) finite state grammar has been developed to run on the array. This implementation is called the single- pass finite state grammar (SPFSG).


Applied statistical studies / sample surveys in assessing the demographic behavior of society are not just an urgent scientific and practical task, but make it possible to more fully haracterize the reproductive plans of the population, to identify obstacles to demographic development. The article presents an analysis of the results of a sample survey of the population of a number of regions of Russia, on the basis of which the real demographic needs of the population are revealed, gender correspondences / differences in them are characterized. The assessment of the differences in the views of women and men on the obstacles to the growth of the number of children in the family, as well as the motives that induce to postpone the birth of a child. A number of recommendations are proposed to achieve the strategic goal of increasing the birth rate.


The project we present intends to contribute to the focus on emergent water and land-use management, by exposing a set of criteria for assessing processes and stating the decisions of the social actors, under conditions of change, uncertainty and complexity. In the general process of land-use planning, we assess the robustness of a regional water system and its territorial references, underlying an ecosystem approach and the framing of water management. On this, we develop a method relating several concepts, the central one being resilience. We then apply the method to the interpretation of the Algarvian water system. The diagnosis proves the vulnerability of the current territorial model and, at the same time, indicates the marginal changes which are produced by effective social arrangements. We then advocate that the decision making on water and land-use would be guided by the principle of the quality, therefore emphasising the active participation of the stakeholders and the needs for generating more robust alternative models.


Author(s): Lin, Tony Hsiu | Advisor(s): Nesbet, Anne; Frick, David | Abstract: Fryderyk Chopin's fame today is too often taken for granted. Chopin lived in a time when Poland did not exist politically, and the history of his reception must take into consideration the role played by Poland's occupying powers. Prior to 1918, and arguably thereafter as well, Poles saw Chopin as central to their "imagined community." They endowed national meaning to Chopin and his music, but the tendency to glorify the composer was in a constant state of negotiation with the political circumstances of the time. This dissertation investigates the history of Chopin's reception by focusing on several events that would prove essential to preserving and propagating his legacy. Chapter 1 outlines the indispensable role some Russians played in memorializing Chopin, epitomized by Milii Balakirev's initiative to erect a monument in Chopin's birthplace Żelazowa Wola in 1894. Despite their political tension, Russia and Poland came together in the common cause of venerating Chopin. Chapter 2 examines two instances of the Russian-Polish cooperation: Chopin centennial celebrations in 1910 and 1949. These celebrations featured speeches and commemorative concerts that later became the norm. Chapter 3 considers the International Chopin Piano Competition, founded in independent Poland in 1927. As one of the earliest international musical contests of its kind and scale, the Chopin Competition effectively turned Chopin from a national into an international figure. Furthermore, the public nature of the competition led to the engagement of the entire society, involving spectators and the press. Besides the three main chapters, two Interludes survey the representations of Chopin and his music in Russian and Polish literature. In addition to literature, this dissertation analyzes works of visual art and music to consider the process of mythmaking and its implications.


A solar matching photovoltaic (PV) system that uses the entire spectrum of sunlight except for the wavelengths necessary for growing plants has previously been proposed. However, before it can be used effectively, we need a method for estimating the amount of power that can be generated by this system. In this study, we used field measurements to develop an estimation method and then modeled proposed PV systems.


Nowadays the thin layers are the attractive "term", their studying, basic researches are important form material behavior. One of the ways of its preparation is sol-gel method, which is a typical method of special prepared non-metallic materials. There are widely usefully in materials engineering – mainly by preparation of films which modified physical and chemical properties of various substratum. This method is preferred for its simple way of preparation the widely scale thin films with different chemical composition. Describe method allows to prepare types of material, which aren't possibly to prepare another methods e.g. inorganic – organic materials, nanocomposites [1, 2].


Classical density-functional theory is employed to study finite-temperature trends in the relative stabilities of one-component quasicrystals interacting via effective metallic pair potentials derived from pseudopotential theory. Comparing the free energies of several periodic crystals and rational approximant models of quasicrystals over a range of pseudopotential parameters, thermodynamically stable quasicrystals are predicted for parameters approaching the limits of mechanical stability of the crystalline structures. The results support and significantly extend conclusions of previous ground-state lattice-sum studies.


In next-generation wireless networks, providing secure transmission and delay guarantees are two critical goals. However, either of them requires a concession on the transmission rate. In this article, we consider a visible light network consisting of multiple access points and multiple users. Our first objective is to mathematically evaluate the achievable rate under constraints on delay and security. The second objective is to provide a cell formation with customized statistical delay and security guarantees for each user. First, we propose a user-centric design called secure cell formation, in which artificial noise is considered, and flexible user scheduling is determined. Then, based on the effective capacity theory, we derive the statistical-delay-constrained secrecy rate and formulate the cell formation problem as a stochastic optimization problem (OP). Further, based on the Lyapunov optimization theory, we transform the stochastic OP into a series of evolutionary per-slot drift-plus-penalty OPs. Finally, a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm and an interference graph-based user-centric scheduling algorithm are proposed to solve the OPs. We obtain a dynamic independent set of scheduled users as well as secure cell formation parameters. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve a better delay-constrained secrecy rate than the existing cell formation approaches.


Simple physical models for the stresses in dovetail attachments are developed. These models address: to slip or not to slip, nominal stresses during loading up, peak contact and shear stresses during loading up, hoop stresses during loading up, peak contact and shear stresses during unloading, and hoop stresses during unloading. Comparisons are made with a previous paper on companion finite element modeling. Generally there is good agreement between the simple physical models and the finite element analysis. Together the two identify a pinching mechanism as leading to large fluctuations in hoop stresses at the edges of contact. These fluctuating hoop stresses can be expected to be a major contributor to the fatigue of dovetail attachments.


Land Grabbing in Mexico. Confusion in the World Bank's Line of Argument. Abstract This paper analyses the WorldBank's (WB) claim that Mexico presents a positive example of how land grabbing in poor countries can be turned into a "win-win" situation with opportunities for rural development. The WB suggests that clear, affordable and accessible (collective) land rights – as they allegedly exist in Mexico – in combination with a voluntary code of conduct for large scale land transactions, will help to ensure positive outcomes for rural development. However, WB documents and an analysis of the Mexican situation reveal that: (a) the 1990s attempt to privatise Mexico's communal lands only partially succeeded, which now, 15 years later, is being proclaimed by the WB as a success in preserving communal land; (b) the WB's conclusion that this cadastral project reduced land conflicts is drawn from a faulty database; and, (c) that numerous land conflicts belie this conclusion. Three case studies are presented in contra to WB claims. In conclusion, this text argues that in countries ridden by corruption and human rights violations, large scale land transactions reinforce social inequality instead of contributing to rural development.


In primary total hip replacements there are numerous options available for providing hip stability in difficult situations i.e. Down9s syndrome, Parkinson9s disease. However, in the revision situation, in general, and in revision for recurrent dislocation situations specifically, it is important to have all options available including dual mobility constrained liners in order to optimise the potential for hip stability as well as function of the arthroplasty. Even with the newer options available dislocation rates of higher than 5% have been reported in the first two years following revision surgery at institutions where high volumes of revision surgery are performed [Della Valle, Sporer, Paprosky unpublished data]. Because of the deficient abductors, other soft tissue laxity and the requirement for large diameter cups, revision cases will always have more potential for dislocation. In these situations in the lower demand patient and where, a complex acetabular reconstruction that requires time for ingrowth before optimal implant bone stability to occur isn9t present, dual mobility with constraint has provided excellent success in terms of preventing dislocation and maintaining implant construct fixation to bone at intermediate term follow-up. Hence in these situations dual mobility with constraint remains the option we utilise. We are also confident in using this device in cases with instability or laxity where there is a secure well-positioned acetabular shell. We cement a dual mobility constrained liner in these situations using the technique described below. Present indication for dual mobility constrained liners: low demand patient, abductor muscle deficiency or soft tissue laxity, large outer diameter cups, multiple operations for instability, and instability with well-fixed shells that are adequately positioned. Technique of cementing liner into shell: score acetabular shell if no holes; score liner in spider web configuration; all one or two millimeters of cement mantle. Results Constrained Dual Mobility Liner For Dislocation: 56 Hips 10 yr average f/u, 7% failure of device, 5% femoral loosening, 4% acetabular loosening. For Difficult Revisions: 101 hips 10 yr average f/u, 6% failure of device, 4% femoral loosening, 4% acetabular loosening Cementing Liner into Shell: 31 hips 3.6 yr average f/u (2–10 years), 2 of 31 failures


This paper examines the links between productivity and social welfare, with an application to the banking industry. It models spatial price competition between bank branches jointly with banks' decisions on the opening or closing of branches based on profit expectations. The model predicts that more productive banks set lower (higher) interest rates on loans (deposits) and increase their market share through both higher demand per branch and a larger network of branches. Specifically, the paper i) uses a new measure of bank productivity; ii) provides a productivity differences-based explanation of the distance between bank branches and bank customers; and iii) shows how the intensity of market competition may be unaffected when the number of banks decreases, provided that banks continue expanding their branch network. The empirical implementation of the model uses Spanish banks over the period 1993-2007 and it confirms the theoretical predictions of the paper.


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common cause of chronic liver disease, consists of fat deposited (steatosis) in the liver due to causes besides excessive alcohol use. The folding activity of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) has been shown to protect mitochondria from proteotoxicity under various types of stress. In this study, we investigated whether HSP60 could ameliorate experimental high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and hepatitis and explored the potential mechanism in mice. The results uncovered that HSP60 gain not only alleviated HFD-induced body weight gain, fat accumulation, and hepatocellular steatosis, but also glucose tolerance and insulin resistance according to intraperitoneal glucose tolerance testing and insulin tolerance testing in HSP60 transgenic (HSP60Tg) compared to wild-type (WT) mice by HFD. Furthermore, overexpression of HSP60 in the HFD group resulted in inhibited release of mitochondrial dsRNA (mt-dsRNA) compared to WT mice. In addition, overexpression of HSP60 also inhibited the activation of toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5), and phosphorylated-interferon regulatory factor 3 (p-IRF3), as well as inflammatory biomarkers such as mRNA of il-1β and il-6 expression in the liver in response to HFD. The in vitro study also confirmed that the addition of HSP-60 mimics in HepG2 cells led to upregulated expression level of HSP60 and restricted release of mt-dsRNA, as well as downregulated expression levels of TLR3, MDA5, and pIRF3. This study provides novel insight into a hepatoprotective effect, whereby HSP60 inhibits the release of dsRNA to repress the TLR3/MDA5/pIRF3 pathway in the context of NAFLD or hepatic inflammation. Therefore, HSP60 may serve as a possible therapeutic target for improving NAFLD.


By the methods of field investigation and laboratory analysis, the habitat characteristics of Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) in Zhangjiajie Giant Saramander National Nature Reserve were studied from July to August in 2006-2008. In the study area, the inhabited reaches of A. davidianus were characterized by moderate altitude (373 +/- 97 m), relatively small river width (6.39 +/- 2.13 m) and depth (1.07 +/- 0.53 m), lithoid substrate with more gravels or rocks, irregular river bed, stony river bank with more scrub vegetation and larger coverage ( > 50%), steeper bank gradient (58 degrees +/- 17 degrees), higher water flow rate (0.33 +/- 0.08 m x s(-1)), and weaker anthropogenic disturbances. There were many burrows (4 +/- 2 ind x 100 m(-1)) in the habitat, and the water flow rate in the burrows were relatively low (0.22 +/- 0.10 m x s(-1)). The waters in the habitat were with high DO (7.23 +/- 0.85 mg x L-(-1)), low COD (4.00 +/- 2.51 mg x L(-1)), low TN (0.11 +/- 0.15 mg x L(-1)), moderate total hardness (137.16 +/- 67.69 mg x L(-1)), and lesser coliform groups (3419 +/- 3407 ind x L(-1)). Crabs were the most important food organisms affecting the A. davidianus population in the study area, followed by shrimps.


Objectives The provision of orthodontic (dental) care is part of the German Public Health sector comprising 90% of German population. The current regulations for the provision of orthodontic care in the public sector have been adopted in 2004 as a negotiation-process between providers and public health insurance companies without patient participation. To date patient-related data on the impact of the 2004 regulation on the quality and quantity of orthodontic services are lacking. In addition, patients (mostly adolescents) preferences and perceptions toward orthodontic treatment are almost unknown. Therefore, we first examined the content of the 2004 regulations in terms of formal criteria for treatment access, diagnostic and treatment guidelines as well as treatment duration. Secondly, we analyzed medical health record data to obtain information on real utilization of orthodontic services as diagnostic and treatment procedures. Finally we examined patient's preferences and their role in the decision-making process. Method In the first stage we examined the formal criteria of the regulation of orthodontic services regarding treatment access, appropriateness criteria for diagnostic and treatment procedures as well as quality control. In the second stage we surveyed adolescents aged 10 to 14 years (n=2.991, 29% response rate) insured by a public health care insurance company before or at the beginning of treatment related to their perceptions of toward orthodontic treatment need using validated and standardized questionnaires. Finally, in the third stage we analyzed medical record data of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment from 2012–2017 (n=5.514) insured by a second, independent public health care insurance company to obtain quantitative data on the real utilization of detailed orthodontic services including diagnostic records, treatment procedures, costs as well as treatment duration time. Results Treatment guidelines adopted 2004 are mandatory for both providers and insurance companies. They regulate access through objective criteria and define criteria for the use of diagnostic and treatment procedures. Parallel guidelines adopted simultaneously regulate payment system and quality control. The described regulation has following impact on utilization of orthodontic services: Diagnostic procedures as panoramic X-ray and cephalograms were performed routinely (85%–90%) although their use is limited to defined diagnoses according to radiation guidelines and should not exceed 30%. About 64% of the patients received removable appliances despite their inappropriateness and inefficiency in comparison to fixed appliances. The mean treatment duration time was 36 months given that the published standard for a mean duration should be no longer than 18–20 months. Dentists were reported (81% of respondents) to be the primary driver for patients to start treatment. 93% of the patients reported to no complaints before starting treatment. Conclusions The use of inappropriate diagnostic and treatment procedures as well as prolonged treatment duration indicate overuse of orthodontic services in German public health sector. As diagnostic and treatment procedures are strictly regulated by treatment guidelines adopted by provides and public health insurance companies the overuse of orthodontic services seems to be driven by regulators, health authorities and providers.


The influence of gamma irradiation on the reaction of actinide-doped borosilicate glass (SRL 165) in a saturated tuff environment has been studied in a series of tests lasting up to 56 days. The following conclusions were reached. The reaction of, and subsequent actinide release from, the glass depends on the dynamic interaction between radiolysis effects, which cause the solution pH to become more acidic; glass reaction, which drives the pH more basic; and test component interactions that may extract glass components from solution. The use of large gamma irradiation dose rates to accelerate reactions that may occur in an actual repository radiation field may affect this dynamic balance by unduly influencing the mechanism of the glass-water reaction. Comparisons between the present results and data obtained by reacting similar glasses using MCC-1 and NNWSI rock cup procedures indicate that the irradiation conditions used in the present experiments do not dramatically influence the reaction rate of the glass. 8 figs., 9 tabs.


What is it that characterizes a system? Certainly as systems engineers this is a vital question to ask. While most will claim that it is a question of perspective (viewpoint and view), this does not help us in identifying key aspects that can lead to useful discipline independent semantics for systems. There have been several system experts that have expressed their perspectives in this regard. The current paper identifies and utilizes some of these contributions and then identifies a key set of concepts and principles as well as a unifying mental model collectively called the System Survival Kit. The survival kit generically identifies the relationship between situation systems, respondent systems and system assets in a manner that can be applied to any system related situation. These contributions are based upon experiences in teaching people from many disciplines to "think" and "act" in terms of systems.


The primary mode of production of W{sup +} bosons in a p{bar p} collider is u + {bar d} {yields} W{sup +}. The u quark generally carries more momentum than the {bar d} and the resultant W{sup +} tends to be boosted in the proton direction. Similarly, W bosons are boosted in the anti-proton direction. This is observed as an asymmetry in the rapidity distributions of positive and negative W bosons. Measurement of this asymmetry serves as a probe of the momentum distribution of partons within the proton. These distributions are required as input to the calculation of every p{bar p} production cross section. This thesis presents the first measurement at D0 of the charge asymmetry of the W boson production cross section as measured in W {yields} ev decays in 0.3 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions collected with the D0 Detector. Theoretical predictions made using the CTEQ6.1M and MRST(2004) parton distribution functions are compared with the measurement.


The organization of conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) interacting with biomolecules sets conditions for the biodetection of biological processes and identity, through the use of optical emission from the CPE. Herein, a well-defined CPE and its binding to DNA is studied. By using dynamic light scattering and circular dichroism spectroscopy, it is shown that the CPE forms a multimolecule ensemble in aqueous solution that is more than doubled in size when interacting with a small DNA chain, while single chains are evident in ethanol. The related changes in the fluorescence spectra upon polymer aggregation are assigned to oscillator strength redistribution between vibronic transitions in weakly coupled H-aggregates. An enhanced single-molecule spectroscopy technique that allows full control of excitation and emission light polarization is applied to combed and decorated lambdaDNA chains. It is found that the organization of combed CPE-lambdaDNA complexes (when dry on the surface) allows considerable variation of CPE distances and direction relative to the DNA chain. By analysis of the polarization data energy transfer between the polymer chains in individual complexes is confirmed and their sizes estimated.


This study was aimed at exploring the conditions of people with an entrepreneurial spirit or entrepreneurial community, precisely located in Lok Baintan Floating Market. Entrepreneurial community in this Floating Market has a distinctive character which gives color to market existence in term of shaping forming sense of place for the tourism area in Banjarmasin, Borneo. Method used in this study was exploratory qualitative, where the data was obtained from interviewing the head of the local community group, traders, tourists, and local government. The study showed that the Floating Market is distinct not only by its product-based characteristic but also by its service-based in marketing the products, among others, product uniqueness (unique merchandise commodities), price (price and bargaining process), place (located in a river corridor), promotion (a unique way of promotion for both sellers and government support), people (sellers' ethnicity, lifestyle, and speech style), and physical aspect (selling and buying location in a riverboat which is unique and has a memorable impression).
Keywords: Sense of place; Entrepreneurial Community; Marketing Mix


The presence of water in oil reservoir cores has been observed for several years by analysts using a direct method for fluid content determinations. The actual amount of water that is present in the sand is of importance in the estimation of oil reserves as well as in determining the type of fluid which a particular stratum will produce under conditions favorable for flow into the well. The core analysis profile of a well cored with oil (using Baker Core Barrel) is compared with three other wells which were cored with water. The analysis of the former core is in close agreement with respect to oil and water saturations, 30.58%, 44.40% respectively, with other cores in the area, and points to the conclusion that water was distributed throughout the sand section with no indication of gravitational separation at the time of coring. Coring with oil or the addition of indicators to the fluid used during coring and the subsequent analysis of same are methods for determining correct interstitial water saturation.


2 Abstract Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) is a psychological intervention developed in the discipline of Positive Psychology, which aims to improve wellbeing by fostering strengths, resources, and positive experiences. This thesis describes the adaptation and preliminary evaluation of PPT for people with psychosis. A systematic review identified the evidence base relating to wellbeing in people with psychosis and developed a conceptual framework of wellbeing. A subsequent qualitative study with 23 service users with psychosis and 14 mental health service staff validated the framework and identified suggestions for adapting PPT. Suggested changes were presented to an expert panel. An intervention model and manual for adapted PPT – called WELLFOCUS PPT – were developed. The model and intervention were tested in a pilot randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN04199273). 94 patients with psychosis were individually randomised in blocks to receive either 11 weekly group sessions of WELLFOCUS PPT in addition to treatment as usual (TAU), or TAU only. Assessments occurred pre-randomisation and post-therapy. The primary outcome was wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale). Secondary outcomes included symptomatology, depression, selfesteem, empowerment, hope, sense of coherence, savouring beliefs, and functioning, all according to standardised definitions. ANCOVA was used to estimate the main effect of group on all outcomes. Nested process evaluation involving interviews and focus groups with intervention group participants (n=37) and therapists (n=7) assessed the feasibility and trial processes. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no main effect of WELLFOCUS PPT on wellbeing, but significant effects on symptoms (p=.006, ES=0.42). Additional analysis adjusting for therapy group increased the effect on symptoms (p=0.004, ES=0.43). After adjusting for age and gender, improvement in depression also became significant (p=.005). The intervention was well received, with suggested adaptations for optimising understanding, maintenance, and therapist involvement. A future definitive RCT might focus on symptomatology, for which a complete sample size of about 168 would be required to show significant results.


Background

Previous reports indicate that the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C > T polymorphism plays a role in gastric cancer. However, whether it influences the development and progression of atrophic gastritis remains unclear. We aim to determine the possible association between the MTHFR 677C > T polymorphism and the severity of atrophic gastritis.
Methods

A total 128 patients with atrophic gastritis were included in the study. The presence and severity of gastric atrophy was assessed by histology using OLGA and OLGIM Gastritis Staging System. MTHFR 677C > T genotyping was performed by digital fluorescence molecular hybridization. Categorical variables were analyzed by percentages using the χ2 test.
Results

In this study, the TT genotype was significantly more frequent among patients aged ≤ 44 years (age ≤ 44 years vs. >44 years, P = 0.039). Patients with the TT genotype showed a higher ratio of incisura with atrophy or intestinal metaplasia (TT vs. CC + CT, P = 0.02). Furthermore, the TT genotype was associated with more severe lesions compared with the CC + CT genotypes (TT vs. CC + CT for atrophy: odds ratio [OR] = 2.18, P = 0.07; for intestinal metaplasia: OR = 3.39, P = 0.02; for moderate-to-severe lesions: OR = 3.84, P = 0.02). OLGA and OLGIM stages III-IV were observed more frequently in patients with the TT genotype compared with the CC + CT genotypes (for OLGA: OR = 3.98, P = 0.004; for OLGIM: OR = 2.45, P = 0.04).
Conclusions

The MTHFR 677C > T TT genotype showed an increased risk of moderate-to-severe lesions by OLGA and OLGIM stages, and these results suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism may serve as a predictive marker for precancerous gastric lesions, especially in patients aged ≤ 44 years.


In recent years, new global initiatives responding to the AIDS crisis have dramatically affected-and often significantly improved-how developing countries procure, distribute, and manage pharmaceuticals. A number of developments related to treatment scale-up, initially focused on AIDS-related products, have created frameworks for widening access to medicines for other diseases that disproportionally impact countries with limited resources and for strengthening health systems overall. Examples of such systems strengthening have come in the areas of drug development and pricing; policy and regulation; pharmaceutical procurement, distribution, and use; and management systems, such as for health information and human resources. For example, a hospital in South Africa developed new tools to decentralize provision of antiretroviral therapy to local clinics-bringing treatment closer to patients and shifting responsibility from scarce pharmacists to lower level pharmacy staff. Successful, the system was expanded to patients with other chronic conditions, such as mental illness. Progress toward universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support will continue the push to strengthen pharmaceutical sectors that serve not only HIV-related needs but all health needs; health experts can likely take these achievements further to maximize their expansion into the wider health system.


Introduction and aim: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) was discovered in 1965. Approximately 350 million people are infected with HBV. The virus has a worldwide spread and one of the most important complications of infection is chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis can be detected by biochemical tests that determine liver function. Methods: This study was qualitative and 30 patients with suspected hepatitis B referring to Massoud Lab in 2019 were selected. Blood samples were tested for HBsAg positive by multiplex RT-PCR with specific probes and primers as well as β-Actin gene as quality control. Then the obtained results were compared with the results of commercial tests. Results: From 30 samples, 19 samples were HBsAg positive and 11 samples were HBsAg negative. Positive samples were re-examined to confirm the positive results. To compare and evaluate the quality of the results of the designed test, all of these 30 samples were analyzed using another common laboratory kit. Conclusion: The high sensitivity, good reproducibility, and low cost make this innovative quantitative HBV real-time PCR assay especially well-suited for application to large clinical surveys. Keyword: β-Actin gene, HBV, Hepatitis B, Molecular Diagnosis, Real-time PCR


Abstract. We use the Global Positioning System (GPS) network in northwest China and central Asia to monitor traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs), which were possibly excited by the large meteorite blast over Chelyabinsk, Russia, on 15 February 2013. Two TIDs were observed. The first TID was observed 13 min after the blast within a range of 270–600 km from the blast site. It propagated radially from the blast site with a mean velocity and period of 369 m s −1 and 12 min, respectively. The second TID was found in northwest China, 1.5 h after the time of the blast, at  ∼  2500–3100 km from the blast site. This latter TID propagated southeastward with a velocity and period of 410 m s −1 and 23 min, respectively. Severe dissipation of the perturbation total electronic content (TEC) amplitude was observed. Any TIDs propagating in a global range was not found after the meteorite blast. Features of TIDs were compared with those excited by early nuclear explosion tests. It is inferred from our analysis that the energy release of the Chelyabinsk meteorite blast may not be large enough to excite such ionospheric disturbances in a global range as some nuclear explosions did.


Determining gene sequences responsible for complex phenotypes has remained a major objective in modern biology. The candidate gene approach is attempting to link, through mapping analysis, sequences that have a known functional role in the measured phenotype with quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are responsible for the studied variation. To explore the potential of the candidate approach for complex traits we conducted a mapping analysis of QTL for the intensity of the red colour of the tomato fruit (mainly lycopene) and for probes associated with the well-characterized carotenoid biosynthesis pathway. Seventy-five tomato introgression lines (ILs), each containing a single homozygous RFLP-defined chromosome segment from the green-fruited species Lycopersicon pennellii delimited 107 marker-defined mapping bins. Three of the bins resolved known qualitative colour mutations for yellow (r) and orange (B and Del) fruits resulting from variation in specific carotenoid biosynthesis genes. Based on trials in different environments, 16 QTL that modified the intensity of the red colour of ripe fruit were assigned to bins. Candidate sequences associated with the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway were mapped to 23 loci. Only five of the QTL co-segregated with the same bins that contained candidate genes - a number that is expected by chance alone. Furthermore, similar map location of a QTL and a candidate is far from a direct causative relationship between a gene and a phenotype. This study highlights the wealth and complexity of the variation present in the genus Lycopersicon that could be employed for basic research and genetic improvement of fruit colour in tomato.


Objectives Gini coefficients have been used to describe the distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections among individuals with different levels of sexual activity. The objectives of this study were to investigate Gini coefficients for different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and to determine how STI control interventions might affect the Gini coefficient over time. Methods We used population-based data for sexually experienced women from two British National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-2: 1999-2001; Natsal-3: 2010-2012) to calculate Gini coefficients for CT, Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), and human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. We applied bootstrap methods to assess uncertainty and to compare Gini coefficients for different STIs. We then used a mathematical model of STI transmission to study how control interventions affect Gini coefficients. Results Gini coefficients for CT and MG were 0.33 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18-0.49) and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.02-0.36), respectively. The relatively small coefficient for MG suggests a longer infectious duration compared with CT. The coefficients for HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 ranged from 0.15-0.38. During the decade between Natsal-2 and Natsal-3, the Gini coefficient for CT did not change. The transmission model shows that higher STI treatment rates are expected to reduce prevalence and increase the Gini coefficient of STIs. In contrast, increased condom use reduces STI prevalence but does not affect the Gini coefficient. Conclusions Gini coefficients for STIs can help us to understand the distribution of STIs in the population, according to level of sexual activity, and could be used to inform STI prevention and treatment strategies. Key messages The Gini coefficient can be used to describe the distribution of STIs in a population, according to different levels of sexual activity. Gini coefficients for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 appear to be higher than for Mycoplasma genitalium and HPV 6, 11 and 16. Mathematical modelling suggests that CT screening interventions should reduce prevalence and increase the Gini coefficient, whilst condom use reduces prevalence without affecting the Gini coefficient. Changes in Gini coefficients over time could be used to assess the impact of STI prevention and treatment strategies.


The calculations of isotopic amplitudes and their results for the direct $CP$--violating charge asymmetry in $K^\pm \to 3\pi$ decays within the nonlinear and linear ($\sigma$--model) chiral Lagrangian approach are compared with each other. It is shown, that the latter, taking into account intermediate scalar resonances, does not reproduce the $p^4$--corrections of the nonlinear approach introduced by Gasser and Leutwyler, being saturated mainly by vector resonance exchange. The resulting differences concerning the $CP$ violation effect are traced in some detail.


Objectives: Most important point for the control and effective treatment of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is early diagnosis and rapid determination of the resistance. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of the Genotype-MTBDR assay applied directly on sputum samples and compare the results with those obtained by DNA sequencing and phenotypic susceptibility testing. Materials and methods: Between November 2005 and February 2006, 93 smear and culture positive sputum samples were included in the study. Drug susceptibility results for rifampin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH), obtained by proportion method on L-J medium, Genotype-MTBDR and DNA sequencing were compared. Results: The rate of concordance between the results of the Genotype-MTBDR and DNA sequencing was 93.5% and 96.7% for RIF and INH, respectively. Moreover, Genotype-MTBDR detected all the RIF (24) and INH (18) resistant strains obtained by sequencing (100%). Compared to the DNA sequencing method; the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive value for RIF and INH were 100%, 91.3%, 80%, 100% and 100%, 96%, 85.7%, 100% respectively. Conclusion: Genotype-MTBDR, one of molecular assays, distinctly shortens the time for diagnosis and detection of resistance to INH and RIF, essential for management of MDR-TB. The test appears to have good sensitivity and specificity when also used directly on sputum specimens.


A review is made of the data in the literature and of the authors' experience regarding the etiology and pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of the chronic form of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The mechanisms of production (after McMillan et al.) are presented schematically and the five criteria of ITP diagnosis suggested by Karpatkin are discussed: 1) decreased blood platelet count with direct or indirect signs of thrombocytolysis; 2) increased number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow and/or signs of intramedullary thrombocytolysis; 3) direct or indirect signs of antiplatelet autoantibody presence in the plasma; 4) exclusion of a primary disorder and 5) absence of splenomegaly. The results of corticotherapy, splenectomy, platelet transfusion and immunosuppression (including "target" immunosuppressive therapy) in 188 patients with ITP, admitted to the clinic of Hematology--Bucharest between 1966 and 1978, are presented and analysed.


Background: Appropriate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is a cornerstone of care for ensuring optimal child growth and development during the first 2 years of life. Globally, about 40% of under two years of age deaths are attributed to inappropriate infant and young child feeding practices. In Ethiopia, a large range of inappropriate feeding practices of mothers during infancy and early childhood were documented. This study aims to assess infant and young child feeding practice status and its determinants among mothers of children aged 6–23 months in Kalu district, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study design was applied from May 1–30/2019. A total of 605 mothers–children pair's 6–23 months were included in the study using multi-stage sampling followed by a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Bi-variate and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess determinants associated with child feeding practices. Statistical significance was decided at p-value less than 0.05. Results: Of six hundred five (605) sampled mothers having an infant and young child age 6–23 months, 589 were successfully included in the study making a response rate of 97.35%. In our study, the overall proportion of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices was 57.7%. Place of delivery (AOR=1.977; 95% Cl (1.101, 3.552)), mothers' age being 25–35 years (AOR =2.091; 95% Cl: (1.452, 3.011)) and family size >4 members (AOR=1.873; 95% CI: (1.311, 2.675)) were determinants positively associated with appropriate infant and young child feeding practices in Kalu district at 95% CI. Conclusion: The overall appropriate infant and young child feeding practices were better in general in Kalu district. However, this prevalence is not acceptable to ensure good health and better nutritional status of children. As a result, intervention initiatives should focus on institution delivery services that are crucial to implementing appropriate infant and young child feeding practice. Health facilities need to be strengthened and fully utilized to provide high-quality feeding counseling. Special attention needs to be given to younger mothers, in addition to increasing institution delivery service.


Queueing networks are a powerful abstraction for modeling systems involving contention for resources, e.g., manufacturing lines and computer systems. Queueing networks are especially effective in modeling computer communication systems. Most papers concerning queueing models of communication describe analytic solution of queueing models. This paper describes simulation models based on "extended" queueing networks. The primary advantage of using a queueing network representation for simulation of a computer communication system is the high level of description, in comparison with conventional simulation programming languages. For queueing network models to be used effectively for simulation of contention systems, appropriate software is needed. The research queueing package (RESQ) is a general purpose tool for modeling contention for resources and associated system characteristics. RESQ facilitates i) appropriate abstraction of system characteristics through its definitions of extended queueing networks, ii) efficient and convenient definition and revision of models through its integrated interactive and batch model definition interface, and iii) effective experimentation with simulation models through facilities for parameterized sets of experiments, interactive running of simulations and statistical analysis of simulation results. With a tool such as RESQ, an analyst can produce results in days instead of weeks, and so an analyst can answer questions which otherwise would be left unanswered.


This article describes the use of the mesoporous molecular sieve KIT‐6 as a sorbent in miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion (MSPD) in combination with ultra‐performance LC for the determination of bioactive flavonoids in toothpaste, Scutellariae Radix, and saliva. In this study, for the first time, KIT‐6 was used as a sorbent material for this mode of extraction. Compared with common silica‐based sorbents (C18 and activated silica gel), the proposed KIT‐6 dispersant with a three‐dimensional cubic Ia3d structure and highly ordered arrays of mesoporous channels exhibits excellent adsorption capability of the tested compounds. In addition, several experimental variables, such as the mass ratio of sample to dispersant, grinding time, and elution solvent, were optimized to maximize the extraction efficiency. The proposed analytical method is simple, fast, and entails low consumption of samples, dispersants and elution solvents, thereby meeting "green chemistry" requirements. Under the optimized conditions, the recoveries of three bioactive flavonoids obtained by analyzing the spiked samples were from 89.22 to 101.17%. Also, the LODs and LOQs for determining the analytes were in the range of 0.02–0.04 μg/mL and 0.07–0.13 μg/mL, respectively. Finally, the miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion method was successfully applied to the analysis of target solutes in real samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.


ABSTRACT To investigate the control effect of the synthetic jet on the aerodynamic characteristic of rotors, a numerical simulation procedure for the rotor flowfield is established. First, a moving-embedded grid method and an unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) solver are established for predicting the complex flowfield of rotors. A velocity jet boundary condition over the jet actuator orifice is constructed, and a numerical method for simulating the active flow control on rotors is developed. Then, the effectiveness of the simulation method is validated by comparing the numerical results of jet control on NACA 0015 aerofoil with the experimental data. At last, the aerodynamic characteristic of rotors with synthetic jet actuators located on the suction surface of the blade in forward flight is calculated. The results indicate that the synthetic jet has the capability of improving the aerodynamic characteristic of rotors, especially in inhibiting the flow separation over the surface. In addition, the increase of the jet momentum coefficient and the jet angle can both enhance the lift coefficient in the retreating side. Compared with a single jet, jet arrays have better control effects on improving the aerodynamic characteristic of rotors in forward flight.


The neutral red and methylene blue in vitro cytotoxicity assays were compared under a variety of conditions using normal human ovarian epithelial cells to determine whether either assay is superior for studying cell growth. The results were standardized against a DNA spectrofluorometric assay. Although the assays were equivalent in reflecting cell number, each has specific advantages: while neutral red discriminates between viable and dead cells, the methylene blue assay is more sensitive and easier to perform.


Malaria, the most important of the parasitic diseases of humans, is transmitted in 108 countries containing 3 billion people and causes nearly 1 million deaths each year. With the re-emergence of malaria various life-threatening complications of malaria have been observed. Unarousable coma/cerebral malaria, severe normochromic, normocytic anemia, renal failure, pulmonary edema/adult respiratory distress syndrome, hypoglycemia, hypotension/shock, bleeding/disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), hemoglobinuria and jaundice are few of the common complications of severe malaria. Symmetrical peripheral gangrene (SPG) has been reported as a rare complication of malaria. We report a rare and unique case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria complicated by DIC, severe normocytic normochromic anemia, and SPG.


Mitome is a specialized mitochondrial genome database designed for easy comparative analysis of various features of metazoan mitochondrial genomes such as base frequency, A+T skew, codon usage and gene arrangement pattern. A particular function of the database is the automatic reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships among metazoans selected by a user from a taxonomic tree menu based on nucleotide sequences, amino acid sequences or gene arrangement patterns. Mitome also enables us (i) to easily find the taxonomic positions of organisms of which complete mitochondrial genome sequences are publicly available; (ii) to acquire various metazoan mitochondrial genome characteristics through a graphical genome browser; (iii) to search for homology patterns in mitochondrial gene arrangements; (iv) to download nucleotide or amino acid sequences not only of an entire mitochondrial genome but also of each component; and (v) to find interesting references easily through links with PubMed. In order to provide users with a dynamic, responsive, interactive and faster web database, Mitome is constructed using two recently highlighted techniques, Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and Web Services. Mitome has the potential to become very useful in the fields of molecular phylogenetics and evolution and comparative organelle genomics. The database is available at: http://www.mitome.info.


AIMS
To identify the facilitators of and barriers to nurses' adherence to evidence-based wound care clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) in an Australian tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND
Current research suggests that up to 50% of nurses are unaware of the evidence-based recommendations to prevent SSIs and that adherence to evidence-based CPGs is suboptimal. However, little is known regarding the facilitators and barriers to adherence to evidence-based CPGs.

DESIGN
A qualitative study incorporating ethnographic data collection techniques.

METHODS
Data collection included semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups (N = 20), and examination of existing hospital policy and procedure documents. Thematic analysis using inductive and deductive approaches was conducted. This manuscript adheres to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines.

FINDINGS
Data analysis revealed four themes: adhering to aseptic technique, knowledge and information seeking, documenting wound care and educating and involving patients in wound care. Facilitators and barriers within each theme were identified. Facilitators included participants' active information-seeking behaviour, a clear understanding of the importance of aseptic technique, and patient participation in wound care. Barriers included participants' knowledge and skills deficits regarding application of aseptic technique principles in practice, the availability of the hospital's wound care procedure document, suboptimal wound care documentation and the timing of patient education.

CONCLUSIONS
There is a need to develop interventions to improve nurses' adherence to recommended CPGs including following aseptic technique principles, hand hygiene, documentation and patient education. Hospital procedure documents that outline wound care need to reflect current recommended CPGs.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Adhering to evidence-based CPGs has been found to be effective in reducing and preventing SSIs. Our study provides an in-depth understanding of the barriers and facilitators to nurses' adherence to recommended CPGs. The findings may inform future practice improvements in wound care.


Kupffer cells (KCs) originate from yolk sac progenitors before birth. Throughout adulthood, they self-maintain independently from the input of circulating monocytes (MOs) at stead state, and are replenished within 2 weeks after having been depleted, but the origin of repopulating KCs in adult remains unclear. The current paradigm dictates that repopulating KCs originate from preexisting KCs or monocytes, but there remains a lack of fate-mapping evidence. In current study, we firstly traced the fate of preexisting KCs and that of monocytic cells with tissue-resident macrophage-specific and monocytic cell-specific fate mapping mouse models, respectively, and found no evidences that repopulating KCs originate from preexisting KCs or MOs. Secondly, we performed genetic lineage tracing to determine the type of progenitor cells involved in response to KC depletion in mice, and found that in response to KC depletion, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) proliferated in the bone marrow, mobilized into the blood, adoptively transferred into the liver and differentiated into KCs. Finally, we traced the fate of HSCs in a HSC-specific fate-mapping mouse model, in context of chronic liver inflammation induced by repeated carbon tetrachloride treatment, and confirmed that repopulating KCs originated directly from HSCs. Taken together, these findings provided strong in vivo fate-mapping evidences that repopulating KCs originate directly from Hematopoietic stem cells not from preexisting KCs or from MOs. Significance There is a standing controversy in the field regarding the cellular origin of repopulating macrophages. This paper provides strong in vivo fate-mapping evidences that repopulating KCs originate directly from hematopoietic stem cells not from preexisting KCs or from MOs, which presenting a completely novel understanding of the cellular origin of repopulating Kupffer Cells and shedding light on the divergent roles of KCs in liver homeostasis and diseases.


Podoplanin (PDPN) is a prognostic factor and is involved in several mechanisms of tumor progression in human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Canine non-tonsillar SCC (NTSCC) is a common oral tumor in dogs and has a highly invasive characteristic. In this study, we investigated the function of PDPN in canine NTSCC. In canine NTSCC clinical samples, PDPN overexpression was observed in 80% of dogs with NTSCC, and PDPN expression was related to ki67 expression. In PDPN knocked-out canine NTSCC cells, cell proliferation, cancer stemness, and migration were suppressed. As the mechanism of PDPN-mediated cell proliferation, PDPN knocked-out induced apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in canine NTSCC cells. These findings suggest that PDPN promotes tumor malignancies and may be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for canine NTSCC.


Person re-identification has always been a hot and challenging task. This paper introduces our solution for the re-identification track in VIPriors Challenge 2021. In this challenge, the difficulty is how to train the model from scratch without any pretrained weight. In our method, we show use state-of-the-art data processing strategies, model designs, and post-processing ensemble methods, it is possible to overcome the difficulty of data shortage and obtain competitive results. (1) Both image augmentation strategy and novel pre-processing method for occluded images can help the model learn more discriminative features. (2) Several strong backbones and multiple loss functions are used to learn more representative features. (3) Post-processing techniques including re-ranking, automatic query expansion, ensemble learning, etc., significantly improve the final performance. The final score of our team (ALONG) is 96.5154% mAP, ranking first in the leaderboard.


An oriented tree T on n vertices is unavoidable if every tournament on n vertices contains a copy of T . In this paper we give a sufficient condition for T to be unavoidable, and use this to prove that almost all labelled oriented trees are unavoidable, verifying a conjecture of Bender and Wormald. We additionally prove that every tournament on n + o( n ) vertices contains a copy of every oriented tree T on n vertices with polylogarithmic maximum degree, improving a result of Kühn, Mycroft and Osthus.


Smartphones, digital medical devices, smart bracelets, and mobile applications have emerged in the healthcare field as an effective way to help in the treatment of patients Healthcare services are characterized by ease of use, low cost, accessibility, mobility, and reliability The MediCare system was built to enhance healthcare services in the Iraqi environment The MediCare system can run on smartphones or tablets that operate on Android, but it can also be used as a web application The research team wanted to evaluate if the platform meets customers" needs Therefore, a usability survey for the MediCare system in regard to healthcare services and underlying technology was done In this paper, an evaluation and usability measurement of the MediCare system is presented The quantitative research shows that users found that the system is suitable for their needs The system is especially necessary now, when the COVID-19 pandemic is a global emergency © 2021 Karadeniz Technical University All rights reserved


OBJECTIVE
To investigate penis development in children and adolescents aged 0-16 years, and to plot the percentile curve for penis development in different age groups.

METHODS
A total of 3 024 normal male neonates, children, and adolescents aged 0-16 years in Chongqing, China were selected by simple random sampling and stratified cluster sampling. The length and diameter of the penis were measured for all subjects. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to investigate the data characteristics of the penis, and the GAMLSS fitting model was used to plot the percentile curves of P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90, and P97 and obtain percentile reference values.

RESULTS
The length and diameter of the penis grew rapidly before the age of 1 year, grew relatively slowly from 1 to 11 years old, and entered a rapid growth period from 11 years old. The length of the penis was positively correlated with its diameter (r=0.961, P<0.01). The percentile reference values of penis length and diameter were obtained and the percentile curve was plotted.

CONCLUSIONS
The growth and development of penis length is consistent with that of penis diameter in male children and adolescents in Chongqing, and 0-1 year and 11-16 years are rapid growth periods of penis length and diameter. The percentile curve of penis length and diameter in children and adolescents aged 0-16 years in Chongqing which has been established will provide a reference for further studies on sexual development in children and adolescents.


Taking inspiration from the properties of magnetic fields, we propose a reactive navigation method for soft continuum manipulators operating in unknown environments. The proposed navigation method outperforms previous works since it is able to successfully achieve collision-free movements towards the goal in environments with convex obstacles without relying on a priori information of the obstacles' shapes and locations. Simulations for the kinematic model of a soft continuum manipulator and preliminary experiments with a 2-segments soft continuum arm are performed, showing promising results and the potential for our approach to be applied widely.


The structure and the mineralization of the scales of the living dipnoan (lungfish) Protoptems annectens have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thin and imbricated scales are composed of two layers: the squamulae and the basal plate. At the outer surface, the squamulae form isolated plates superficially ornamented with spines and concretions and made up of acellular bone. After demineralization, the squamulae show a heterogeneous organic matrix composed of thin randomly oriented collagen fibrils forming a loose network within which the concretions appear as electronlucent circular areas. Abundant and aggregated concretions are located within the spines. The crystallites are oriented by the collagen fibrils except in the concretions. Anchoring bundles composed of parallel collagen fibrils arise from the squamulae and connect the scales to the overlying dermis.

The basal plate, the most developed part of the scale, is made up of isopedine. Its main component consists of thick, closely packed collagen fibrils organized in a 'double twisted plywood-like structure'. Fibroblasts are present in the basal plate. Mineralization occurs only in few plies located beneath the squamulae. Mandl's corpuscles are found in front of the mineralization front. The mineral deposit is oriented by the collagen fibrils.

The scales of Protoptems annectens differ from the typical elasmoid scales of the teleosts by the peculiar structure of the squamulae, nevertheless they show enough structural characteristics to support the hypothesis that they can be considered as scales of the elasmoid grade, which have retained some plesiomorphic characteristics.


Service requests of intra-datacenter networks (intraDCNs) are different from traffic demands of traditional transport networks in the following features: 1) The latter is typically generated between dedicated node pairs that only require sufficient transmission bandwidth, i.e., frequency spectrum. IntraDCN service requests, in contrast, require IT resources, such as computational, memory and storage resources, in addition to the transmission bandwidth. 2) For a given intra-DCN service request, any intra-DCN node that can provide the required IT resources can serve as a destination node. Thus, this type of network poses an important research problem of routing and spectrum/IT resource assignment (RSIA). To support these features, we first develop an integer linear programming (ILP) model to address the static RSIA problem, and then propose efficient heuristic algorithms to address the dynamic RSIA issues, subject to the intra-DCNs' limited network resources. The results of the proposed ILP model and heuristic algorithms are compared with the traditional network models and algorithms. It is found that the proposed ILP model and dynamic algorithms perform much better than the traditional approaches in terms of using intra-DCN network resources and reducing the service-request blocking probabilities.


Stress and strain interaction is of vital importance for concrete structures as it has an influence on cracking, deflection and prestressing loss. With the increased range of compressive strengths and flow characteristics, the mixture composition of nowadays concretes often differs considerably from Vibrated Concrete (VC) with regard to paste strength, paste composition and paste volume. As a result, the viscoelastic properties of concrete are altered as well and some of the established stressstrain-relations valid for VC have to be questioned or at least reconfirmed for new concrete types like Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC), Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) and Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC). This paper discusses time- and load-dependent characteristics of flowable concrete as an outcome of a workgroup within fib Task Group 4.3 that aims at facilitating the use of innovative flowable materials for the design of concrete structures.


Droughts have become more powerful and frequent, affecting more people for longer periods than any other natural disaster, particularly in eastern Africa. The unprecedented climate change has increased the severity, duration, and frequency of droughts. The objectives of this study were to evaluate performances of different drought indices for spatiotemporal drought characterization in the Bilate river watershed that represents part of the rift valley drylands in Ethiopia. Historical data for 39 years (1981–2019) from seven stations were used for drought analyses using the following indices: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI), enhanced Reconnaissance Drought Index (eRDI) with different time scale and Self-Calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI). Among them, SPI, SPEI, RDI and eRDI with 6-month and 9-month time scales were found to be the best correlated drought indices to characterize the historical drought events. Then, using the selected drought indices, temporal drought analysis showed occurrence of major drought events in the years: 1984/85, 1999/2000, 2002/3, and 2009. Some of these years are well known as famine years in some parts of Ethiopia including the study area. The results revealed spatial variation the severity of drought with extreme droughts occurred in the southern part of the Bilate watershed. Application of the theory of run confirmed that the maximum severity and duration of drought were observed at the Bilate Tena station that is located in the southern part of the watershed; the most severe being observed on a 9-month scale during 1984/85. Hossana and Wulbareg stations showed the highest frequency of drought over the study period. The Mann-Kendal trend test statistics showed an increasing trend of drought conditions in the study watershed.


Abstract The insulin response following carbohydrate ingestion enhances creatine transport into muscle. Cinnamon extract is promoted to have insulin-like effects, therefore this study examined if creatine co-ingestion with carbohydrates or cinnamon extract improved anaerobic capacity, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Active young males (n = 25; 23.7 ± 2.5 y) were stratified into 3 groups: (1) creatine only (CRE); (2) creatine+ 70 g carbohydrate (CHO); or (3) creatine+ 500 mg cinnamon extract (CIN), based on anaerobic capacity (peak power·kg−1) and muscular strength at baseline. Three weeks of supplementation consisted of a 5 d loading phase (20 g/d) and a 16 d maintenance phase (5 g/d). Pre- and post-supplementation measures included a 30-s Wingate and a 30-s maximal running test (on a self-propelled treadmill) for anaerobic capacity. Muscular strength was measured as the one-repetition maximum 1-RM for chest, back, quadriceps, hamstrings, and leg press. Additional sets of the number of repetitions performed at 60% 1-RM until fatigue measured muscular endurance. All three groups significantly improved Wingate relative peak power (CRE: 15.4% P = .004; CHO: 14.6% P = .004; CIN: 15.7%, P = .003), and muscular strength for chest (CRE: 6.6% P < .001; CHO: 6.7% P < .001; CIN: 6.4% P < .001), back (CRE: 5.8% P < .001; CHO: 6.4% P < .001; CIN: 8.1% P < .001), and leg press (CRE: 11.7% P = .013; CHO: 10.0% P = .007; CIN: 17.3% P < .001). Only the CRE (10.4%, P = .021) and CIN (15.5%, P < .001) group improved total muscular endurance. No differences existed between groups post-supplementation. These findings demonstrate that three different methods of creatine ingestion lead to similar changes in anaerobic power, strength, and endurance.


Potassium metal batteries (PMBs) are a compelling technology for large‐scale energy storage due to the abundance of potassium resources and high energy density. A vital obstacle to construct high‐performance PMBs is developing superior cathode materials. Tannin, a plant polyphenol, holding many active sites for redox reactions, is an auspicious high‐capacity cathode. However, the relatively poor conductivity and slight solubility in electrolyte deteriorate its capacity and cycle stability. Herein, the tannin is activated through a crosslinking reaction with polyaniline to obtain a composite cathode (i.e., ATN). It exhibits a high initial capacity of 172 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, based on the electrochemical reaction mechanisms of embedding/releasing of K+ on CO and PF6− on NH. Moreover, to improve the cycling performance, a graphene oxide modified separator is developed to effectively retard the ATN shuttle. As a result, the capacity retention is significantly enhanced, for example, 82% over 300 cycles at 50 mA g−1. From a practical aspect, a full PMB of K@KxPy||ATN is built up, displaying high energy/power density and superior cycling stability, which is a step forward in the development of PMBs.


The problem of load balancing in distributed systems composed of several homogeneous sites connected by a subnet is examined. The author determines a general formula for the probability that any one site in the system is underloaded while some other site in the system is overloaded. This probability can be used to define the likelihood of load balancing success in a distributed operating system. This probability gives insight into the utilization of the system and is an aid in determining a measure of effectiveness of the system. From this formula one can determine this probability when the workload is composed of processes typical to distributed systems. The influence of variants in the load balancing algorithm on this probability is demonstrated. >


Wetland ecosystem is an essential ecosystem in the world. Its organic carbon stock and carbon cycle are important basis of global carbon cycle researches and also major contents of global climate change researches. Researches have shown that wetland protection and restoration can promote carbon accumulation and reduce emission of greenhouse gases. This paper discussed influence of carbon stock and carbon balance of wetland ecosystem and emission of greenhouse gases, as well as the relationship between wetland and global climate changes. Finally, it made prospect on researches about carbon cycle of Dongting Lake.


This research aims to study the relationship between organization structures and organizational learning of Guilan education organization. Statistic population include all personnel of Rasht education organization (region 1), Somesara, Lahijan and Langerood (265 individuals). According to no of variables, sample volume includes 150 individuals but 120 completed questionnaires selected via cluster sampling. Data gathering tools include: Organizational structure aspects questionnaire (27 questions) and Organizational Learning questionnaire (31 questions). Kronbach Alpha coefficient for organizational structure aspects and organizational learning questionnaires was 0.812 and 0.925, respectively. Data was analyzed via multiple regression analyze and Pierson coefficient tests. Results show that: there is a relationship between organizational structure aspects and education organization learning. There is a meaningful relation between components of organizational structure aspects (concentration, complexity, formality and flexibility) and among these components, concentration is the best predictor one.


We analyze the instanton transitions in the framework of the gauge invariant variational calculation in the pure Yang-Mills theory. Instantons are identified with the saddle points in the integration over the gauge group which projects the Gaussian wave functional onto the gauge invariant physical Hilbert space. We show that the dynamical mass present in the best variational state provides an infrared cutoff for the instanton sizes. The instantons of the size ρ < 1/M are suppressed and the large size instanton problem arising in the standard WKB calculation is completely avoided in the present variational framework.


group of 200 patients taking norfloxacin and gentamicin and, after discussion with bacteriologists, we began using ciprofloxacin (500 mg orally) and gentamicin (80 mg intramuscularly) one hour before the procedure. With this regimen, we have had no further major septic episodes in our last 200 patients. The use of transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsies does have some risk, but with appropriate prophylactic antibiotics this can be reduced to an acceptably low level. This procedure is generally well tolerated, requires no anaesthetic and has few complications. Common complications, including haematuria, haematospermia, blood in the stool and pain, as well as the less than 1% risk of infection, should be explained to patients. We certainly agree that prostatic biopsy should not be undertaken lightly, and that transrectal ultrasound should not be used as a screening tool for prostatic cancer. However, transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate with appropriate prophylactic antibiotics is a safe procedure. It would be in the interests of patients for ciprofloxacin to be made more freely available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.


The main problem of ferry ships is maintaining the speed due to ship resistance. There are many efforts to reduce the resistance by modifications of them. This study aims to reduce resistance due to modification of the hull form on the bow Angle of Entrance (AoE) and ducktail addition at the transom stern. The object of the research is a 1,500 GT ro-ro ferry. The AoE minimizes wave resistance and improves flow patterns, while the ducktail reduces the negative effects of the circulation zone on the wetted transom so that waves and wake are reduced. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to analyze these modifications. The final results of the numerical simulation are then verified by the ship model resistance test in the towing tank. Tests were conducted in calm water conditions at a draft of 3.30 meters with a speed variation of 10 - 18 knots. The results show that with the combination of AoE and Ducktail, at ship speeds of 13 to 18 knots, the reduction in resistance from CFD ranges from 13.13% - 16.69% while the experimental results range from 16.00% - 16.54%. While separately the AoE modification is between 8.89% – 12.19% and ducktail is 3.12% -3,62%.


After recalling the financial origin of the crisis and the persistent worldwide fragility of the financial sector, and after citing papers which before 2007 had pointed out the elements of systemic fragility of the US and world economy, the paper illustrates the cultural roots of the crisis, namely the economic views which favoured deregulation policies: the fallacy of the invisible hand of the market and a simplistic view of uncertainty, to which Keynesian uncertainty is opposed, with the consequent underevaluation of the risks of systemic instability.  JEL: E44, G01


Stainless steels can be damaged by pitting corrosion in presence of aggressive anions, such as halide ions. The aim of this work was to study different aspects on initiation and repassivation of pits on austenitic stainless steel in chloride solutions at ambient temperature. The role of the alloying elements molybdenum and nitrogen in improving the corrosion properties as well as the influence of the solution composition were studied. A review of Mo-Cl salts and co-ordination complexes in hydrochloric acid solutions is given. Moreover, the properties of molybdenum in the apparent passive region were investigated. The techniques applied were mainly electrochemical methods and surface analysis by angular-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Three high alloyed steels with a systematic variation in composition (Fe20Cr20Ni, Fe20Cr20Ni6Mo, and Fe20Cr20Ni6Mo0.2N) were polarised in electrolytes with varying acidity and Cl- concentration. Chloride ions are incorporated throughout the 10-25 A thick passive film and the Cl- content increases with the acidity of the solution. It was found that alloying with Mo decreases the amount of Cl- in the passive film and it is concluded that this is due to formation of soluble Mo-oxochloro complexes. The pitting corrosion resistance of Mo alloyed stainless steels is enhanced by the decreased Cl- content in the film. Insoluble .BETA.-MoCl 2 was detected in the passive film and it was suggested that the formation of Mo-chlorides with low solubility contributes to the stability of the passive film. Electrochemical results showed that alloying with N improves the repassivation properties of stainless steels. The OH- content of the passive film increases with the acidity, suggesting that the deprotonation of the initially formed hydroxide film is hindered by a low pH. A 304 stainless steel (Fe18Cr9Ni) was studied in neutral Cl- solutions with and without phosphate, respectively. It was concluded that phosphate enhances the repassivation of initiated pits. Molybdenum was polarised in 1 M HCl. A three dimensional passive film is not formed at potentials below the transpassive dissolution. In this apparent passive region, anodic current is only observed if the sample has first been polarised at low potentials. It is suggested that hydrogen diffuses into the molybdenum metal at cathodic potentials and is oxidised upon positive polarisation.


The pathological study of brains affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) has shown the presence of spirochetal infection. These bacteria produce a detectible biofilm as a defense mechanism, impenetrable by both the immune system and antibiotic medications. The failure of the innate immune system at the site of biofilm deposition ultimately leads to the pathognomonic beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques of AD at the exact same location as visualized by immunological staining. Furthermore, recent studies show that senile plaques are partially composed of bacterial Aβ in addition to that of the host. The bacterial and neuropathology similarities continue with similar staining results using all of the following: silver impregnation techniques, green thioflavin S fluorescence, anti-AβPP, and anti-AβPP antibodies. TUNEL assay of senile plaques further support the DAPI visualization and in situ hybridization detection of bacterial DNA with extracellular DNA fragmentation that corresponds to spirochetal apoptosis in the plaque's biofilms, confirming the plaques are composed of spirochetes, Aβ, and biofilm. These significant similarities of biofilms and Aβ substantiate our hypothesis that amyloid of AD is located in the extracellular space.


Background: Antimicrobial catheter lock solutions (CLS) have been shown to prevent bacteremia in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients with new HD catheters. However, there is little information regarding the usage of these solutions in patients who have a history of recurrent bacteremia and are at very high risk of infection. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the efficacy of these solutions in such high-risk patients. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients who had a history of recurrent bacteremia and had received prophylaxis with antimicrobial CLS. Results: Nine patients with recurrent bacteremia were identified. These patients had received prophylaxis with minocycline/EDTA, gentamicin/heparin, or vancomycin/heparin solutions. The catheter-related bacteremia rate was 9.13 per 1,000 catheter days prior to the use of CLS, 1.04 during use of solution, and 7.94 after the CLS were discontinued (p < 0.001). Conclusions: These results show a dramatic effect of antimicrobial CLS on the prevention of catheter-related bacteremia.


An abdominal wall Actinomyces abscess occurred in a woman with an intrauterine device. Contributing factors were local trauma, spread from surrounding colonized body sites and symbiotic growth of other anaerobes. The diagnosis was based on the histologic finding of the sulfur granule. Special studies may be needed to distinguish this condition from other, similar ones (Nocardia, botryomycosis).


Many questions in healthcare can only be answered after the conduct of clinical trials. For medicinal products and medical devices the industry finances most studies to bring their products to market. However, there is a need for further research in certain areas e.g. children, older people and comparative research of different treatment options (comparative effectiveness). In addition, interventions that are less industry-driven such as surgery, radiotherapy, psychotherapy, diet, physical medicine, needappropriately funded large scale clinical trials. Such clinical trials can be a good investment for the government and the healthcare payer. At the end of 2015 the Belgian Healthcare Knowledge Centre (KCE) received the mission and budget to run a programme of practice-oriented comparative clinical trials. Two years later the recruitment of patients in the first trials is ongoing. In addition to its yearly national calls for trial proposals, early in 2018 KCE launched its first international common call for comparative clinical trials with its Dutch counterpart ZonMw (BeNeFIT).


We study in this paper the problem of using multiple-instance semi-supervised learning to solve image Relevance feedback problem. Many multiple-instance learning algorithms have been proposed to tackle this problem; most of them only have a global representation of images. In this paper, we present a semi-supervised version of multiple instance learning. By taking into account both the multiple-instance and the semi-supervised properties simultaneously, a novel graph-based algorithm is developed, in which global and local information are used. Experimental results show promising results of the proposed method for a test database containing more than 2000 color seaweed images.


Repairing techniques for relational databases have leveraged in- tegrity constraints to detect and then resolve errors in the data. User guidance has started to be employed in this setting to avoid a prohibitory exploration of the search space of solutions. In this pa- per, we present a user-guided repairing technique for Knowledge Bases (KBs) enabling updates suggested by the users to resolve errors. KBs exhibit more expressive constraints with respect to relational tables, such as tuple-generating dependencies (TGDs) and negative rules (a form of denial constraints). We consider TGDs and a notable subset of denial constraints, named contra- diction detecting dependencies (CDDs). We propose user-guided polynomial-delay algorithms that ensure the repairing of the KB in the extreme cases of interaction among these two classes of constraints. To the best of our knowledge, such interaction is so far unexplored even in repairing methods for relational data. We prove the correctness of our algorithms and study their feasibility in practical settings. We conduct an extensive experimental study on synthetically generated KBs and a real-world inconsistent KB equipped with TGDs and CDDs. We show the practicality of our proposed interactive strategies by measuring the actual delay time and the number of questions required in our interactive framework.


Because of the delay of the next-generation lithography technologies, self-aligned double patterning (SADP) has become one of the major lithography solutions for sub-20-nm technology nodes. For advanced sub-10-nm nodes, self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQP) or even self-aligned octuple patterning will be required. Due to considerable design complexity and unmanageable process variation, 1-D grid-based layout structure will be adopted, which can be achieved with sophisticated self-aligned multiple patterning (SAMP) process with the use of a cut mask. However, cut masks for arbitrary layouts are hardly manufacturable, because cut mask rules are limited by conventional 193-nm lithography. To the best of our knowledge, most of the existing SADP- and SAQP-aware detailed routers would fail to generate cut mask-friendly routing results for general SAMP. In this paper, we propose the first work of cut mask optimization with wire planning in SAMP full-chip routing. We first identify cut mask-aware routing rules to guide our router. Then, cut mask-aware wire planning, detailed routing, and postlayout modification techniques are proposed in the routing flow. Experimental results show that the proposed routing algorithms are effective in generating routing results with optimized cut masks.


Data and information sharing is driven by the need to maintain more accurate and up to date spatial temporal database and at the same time reduce the data acquisition and maintenance costs. This paper discusses the need of a database schema integration and ontology merging to support interoperability GIS applications. This enable translation query from one database schema into another to support finally the development of XML-GML based document. Research results shows the potential use of the approaches to solve problems associated with seamless GIS based information sharing.


Good oral care in children, especially in those aged 7 to 9 years, is important if the risks of later serious dental carries and periodontal  health  problems  are  to  be  minimised.  The  purpose  of  this  study  was  to  evaluate  the  effectiveness  of  an innovative multimodal education programme, which included the use of animated cartoons, to improve knowledge, attitudes and oral hygiene practices of children among this critical age group. The present study was a cluster randomised controlled trial  involving  a  total  of  244  children  selected  from  elementary  classes  in  two  districts  in  Khon  Kaen  Province,  Thailand. The children in one district received the multimodal education programme, while the other district provided the no-treatment controls. The outcome variables comprised measures of dental health knowledge, attitudes to oral care, reported oral hygiene practices, and  an  objective  assessment  of  plaque  formation.  Data  were  analysed  using  multiple  logistic  regression  with  a generalised  estimating  equation  to  estimate  effect sizes in  the  intervention  and  control  groups. When compared with the controls, the new education programme resulted in statistically significant improvements in all the outcome variables including plaque formation which was the most objective measure of dental care. Recommendations were made for future research.  Two  important  limitations  of  the  study  are  noted:  the  exact  contribution  of  each  of  the multimodal  programme  components  remains  unknown,  in  particular  the  use  of  animated  cartoons,  and  the  lack  of  a long-term  follow-up.


Mealybug, Planococcus lilacinus Cockerell, is a primary surface-feeding insect pest of fruit and flowering plants and also transmits plant viruses, resulting in economic crop loss. Inappropriate and recurrent use of pesticides for mealybug control results in resistance building and deleterious effects on humans and the environment. Essential oils are the most excellent choice for insecticides. Insecticidal activities of pure compounds of essential oils against P. lilacinus are not reported. The present study aims to study the insecticidal activities of some pure active compounds and their binary mixture's action by topical application against P. lilacinus. Results showed that the pure compounds of L-limonene, β-myrcene, and ocimene revealed toxicity (each at LD50 = 0.37 µg/insect) after 96 h. The binary mixtures of geraniol + L-menthol and L-limonene + geraniol exhibited synergistic effects (each at LD50 = 0.03 µg/insect) after 96 h. The monoterpenes of ocimene and β-myrcene at the higher concentration of 5,000 ppm substantially inhibited the detoxification enzyme activities of AChE (0.93 and 0.78 mU/mg, respectively) and GST (2.19 and 7.29 nmol/min/ml, respectively) in P. lilacinus after 48 h. SEM analysis reported the significant anomalies on the morphology of abdominal cuticle, setae, and thoracic leg after 96-h treatment with ocimene at 1,250 ppm against P. lilacinus. Based on the results, the tested pure compounds and their combinations can be suggested for the control of mealybugs.


Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a rare bilateral diffuse granulomatous panuveitis that occurs in few days to several years after penetrating injury. This intraocular inflammation can occur in any age group without a sex predilection. Pathology and immunohistochemistry-supported evidence is important to know the disease in a better way. We present a case of a 24-year-old female with clinical diagnosis of SO with an atypical past history of chicken pox in that eye and residual corneal opacity.


In this chapter the notion of geometric homogeneity is extended for differential inclusions. This kind of homogeneity provides the most advanced coordinate-free framework for analysis and synthesis of nonlinear discontinuous systems. The main qualitative properties of continuous homogeneous systems are extended to the discontin-uous setting: the equivalence of the global asymptotic stability and the existence of a homogeneous Lyapunov function; the link between finite-time stability and negative degree of homogeneity; the equivalence between attractivity and asymptotic stability are among the proved results.


Amifostine (WR-2721) is an inorganic thiophosphate-cytoprotective agent developed to selectively protect normal tissues against the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiation. We have previously shown that amifostine protects both chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) vessels and cells from the effects of X-rays. In the present work, we studied the effect of amifostine on angiogenesis in vivo, using the CAM model. Amifostine decreased the number of CAM vessels in a dose-dependent manner, without being toxic for the tissue. It also decreased the mRNA levels of both vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms VEGF165 and VEGF190, 6 and up to 48 h after its application onto the CAM. Similarly, it decreased the mRNA levels of inducible nitric-oxide synthase, 24 and 48 h after drug application. Furthermore, amifostine decreased the deposited amounts of laminin and collagen I 24 h after its application, without affecting the expression of the corresponding genes. The protein amounts and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 were not affected, whereas the expression of the corresponding gene was decreased up to 48 h after drug application. Finally, the activity of plasmin was increased 6 h after amifostine application and remained increased at later time points. These findings suggest that amifostine alters the expression of several molecules implicated in the angiogenesis process and affects the composition of the extracellular matrix in a way that leads to inhibition of angiogenesis. Such an antiangiogenic action of amifostine, together with its radioprotective effects, further supports its use in combination with radiotherapy for increased therapeutic efficacy.


The secure transmission problem of MIMO wireless system in fading channels is studied in this paper. We add a secrecy capacity optimization artificial noise(SCO-AN) to the transported signal for improving the security performance of the system. The closed-form expression of secrecy capacity's lower bound is obtained. Base on the closed-form expression of secrecy capacity's lower bound, We optimize the power allocation between the information-bearing signal and the SCO-AN. By calculating, the optimal ratio of power alloation betwenn the information-bearing signal and the SCO-AN is obtained. Through simulation, the results shows the secrecy capacity increases with more receiving antennas and less eavesdropping antennas.And more power should be allocated to the SCO-AN with the increase of the colluding eavedroppers.More over, we study the effect of channel estimation error on power allocation between information-bearing signal and SCO-AN and find that more power should be allocated to decrease eavesdroppers capacity if the channel estimation is not perfect.


This research investigates a novel method for energy saving in a point-to-point actuation of a pneumatic system. The method predicts the system's actuation using the Gas Law and the actuator model, and commits air supply cut-off at the time when the energy in the actuator is sufficient to complete the actuation task. Experimental implementation is compared with simulation. The effect of the method is compared with conventional no cut-off and end-stroke cut-off actuations. Lumped and finite difference methods are used for transmission line and system actuation modelling. The transmission line, actuator and control valves are modelled and integrated for the system actuation simulation and comparisons between simulation and measured data are performed. Pressure oscillation in the transmission line exists and is captured by stimulating the air dynamics using a new transmission line experimental method. The friction model of the pneumatic actuator is determined by experiment and applied to the energy saving control system as well as the computer modelling algorithm. The determination of pneumatic transmission line bulk modulus is performed through experiment due to the confidentiality of Young's modulus value needed for its calculation. Significant effect has been achieved in implementation and it is found that cut off at end-stroke and cut-off using model prediction can reduce the amount of air potential energy wasted in conventional actuation by up to 43.5% and 80.2% respectively. However the actuation time of predicted cut-off increases by up to 25%.


The results of using the laser scalpel in surgery for echinococcosis of the liver in 68 patients are discussed. It was established that carbon dioxide laser induces coagulation of small blood vessels and intrahepatic bile ducts and thus prevents postoperative complications like bleeding and escape of bile, destroys live protoscoleces, and has a harmful effect on the microflora. This creates favourable conditions for shortening the period of treatment for patients with echinococcosis.


Geosmin is the major cause of the common earthy off-flavor in light-aroma type Chinese liquor and, thus, highly detrimental to the aromatic quality. To find out its origin, the evolving process of geosmin in light-aroma type liquor making was monitored, and microbial analysis of Daqu containing geosmin was carried out. The results showed that geosmin appeared in all the fermented sorghums at different fermentation periods. About 57% geosmin in the fermented sorghums was distilled into liquor. During the distillation process, the peak of geosmin concentration appeared when alcohol content was 50-60% vol. More importantly, high geosmin content was observed during the Daqu-making process. Furthermore, five Streptomyces strains were isolated from different types of Daqu used for the fermentation of light-aroma type liquor. All of them produced only geosmin as the main volatile metabolite but no 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB). It appears that microorganisms developing in Daqu are responsible for the presence of geosmin in liquor. Because of the relatively low detection threshold estimated at 110 ng/L in 46 vol % hydroalcoholic solution, the presence of geosmin in Daqu may pose a risk for Chinese liquor producers.