In this paper we investigate how it is to have supervision during a course when the students are to learn to write and compose music during a 12-hour music camps. It is a study that is close to practice as the part of the programme is about the students are to experience how it is to work on producing and developing music in a work life. The connection to work life require that the students establish an understanding of the purpose of the music camps and why they are organized the way they are. We will analyse this approach in the light of the communication principles of Habermas. The role of the supervisor does in a Norwegian setting require equality and symmetry in the relation between the supervisor and student, something that contributes to a psychological safety in the situation. This in turn contribute towards the students being able to forward their own points of views. The supervisors seek to make the students reach an awareness regarding what they will encounter in a work life. Hence, they encounter the concrete situations that occur and either steer or support the students based on their level of maturity and competency level. This can be regarded as an ongoing interaction regarding tacit and explicit knowledge. These are processes that not only support individual learning, but development of new knowledge which can be incorporated in the further development of the music camps. We have developed a conceptual model that has guided us in our analysis which is based on the qualitative investigations we have undertaken. Our conclusion is that the lecturers experience and skills, and work-like approach to the education strongly contribute towards facilitating a way of communicating that imply a sense of equality and symmetry in the communication between the student and lecturers, something they report contribute to a psychological safety that enables the learning not only of theory and skills, but also prepare them for a work-life.


This study analyzes the absolute stability in static fuzzy logic control systems with certain and uncertain parameters. For certain static fuzzy control systems, the absolute stability can be analyzed with Popov criterion. The uncertain parameters for absolute stability analysis include the reference input, actuator gain and interval linear plant. The parametric robust Popov criterion based on Lurpsilae systems is applied to stability analysis respect to uncertain parameters. In our work, the parametric robust Popov criterion is applied to analyze absolute stability in static fuzzy logic control systems first time. This study can provide a valuable reference in designing fuzzy control systems. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to verify the analytical results.


The article presents the results of the research activity carried out within the framework of the European project H2020 REFLOW, which aims to build an integrated approach for the development of innovative participatory practices dedicated to urban circular metabolisms. As a result of the survey conducted on the application of collaborative models for the urban circular economy, it emerged that there is no shared operational strategy that can be adopted for the circular development of complex systems, such as cities. Based on this premise, this paper offers a new perspective on how to build and validate a transitional pathway for the development of circular cities through the adoption of a design-oriented approach that orchestrates different resources and capacities.


This paper aims to open up the black box of auditing for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management standard. Specifically, we delve into the early steps of becoming an FSC auditor by examining two auditor training sessions in northern Europe. Using a mix of participant observation and unstructured interviews, the paper subjects the trainings to analysis focusing on the ways in which trainees are taught to become FSC experts. Alongside being an exploratory piece on the nature of FSC auditor training, we show how auditing expertise is a matter of performing objectivity and how interpretation is a key aspect of these performances. Learning how to do interpretation, and what values should guide this interpretation, is part of the training but also poses a challenge to the teachers because these aspects cannot be seen to impinge on the objectivity of auditing. We suggest that the mitigation of these tensions during the performance of objectivity is the hallmark of auditing expertise. We conclude our analysis by discussing expertise as a matter of reflecting on and aligning objectivity, values, and interpretation.


Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, is the most pathogenic member among Rickettsia spp. Surface-exposed proteins (SEPs) of R. rickettsii may play important roles in its pathogenesis or immunity. In this study, R. rickettsii organisms were surface-labeled with sulfo-NHS-SS-biotin and the labeled proteins were affinity-purified with streptavidin. The isolated proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and 10 proteins were identified among 23 protein spots by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Five (OmpA, OmpB, GroEL, GroES, and a DNA-binding protein) of the 10 proteins were previously characterized as surface proteins of R. rickettsii. Another 5 proteins (Adr1, Adr2, OmpW, Porin_4, and TolC) were first recognized as SEPs of R. rickettsii herein. The genes encoding the 5 novel SEPs were expressed in Escherichia coli cells, resulting in 5 recombinant SEPs (rSEPs), which were used to immunize mice. After challenge with viable R. rickettsii cells, the rickettsial load in the spleen, liver, or lung of mice immunized with rAdr2 and in the lungs of mice immunized with other rSEPs excluding rTolC was significantly lower than in mice that were mock-immunized with PBS. The in vitro neutralization test revealed that sera from mice immunized with rAdr1, rAdr2, or rOmpW reduced R. rickettsii adherence to and invasion of vascular endothelial cells. The immuno-electron microscopic assay clearly showed that the novel SEPs were located in the outer and/or inner membrane of R. rickettsii. Altogether, the 5 novel SEPs identified herein might be involved in the interaction of R. rickettsii with vascular endothelial cells, and all of them except TolC were protective antigens.


This paper presents a novel digital interferometric method to demodulate Placido fringe patterns. This is a synchronous method which uses a computer-stored conic-wavefront as demodulating reference. Here we focuses on the experimental aspects to phase-demodulate Placido mires applied to corneal topography. This synchronous method is applied to two topographic Placido images and their de-modulated corneal-slope deformation is estimated. This conic-interferometric method is highly robust against typical "noisy" signals in Placido topography such as: reflected eyelashes and iris structures. That is because the eyelashes and the iris structure are high frequency "noisy" signals corrupting the reflected Placido mire, so they are filtered-out by this method. Digital synchronous interferometry is here applied for the first time to demodulate corneal topographic concentric-rings images (Patent pending at the USPTO).


The location and condition of the graves of 48 famous dermatologists are identified. Brief personal data is presented for all the physicians. In seven instances, more detailed information about the dermatologists and their tombstones is provided to illustrate the value of graves as culture sites worthy of both honor and preservation.


Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was administered subcutaneously at 0.5, 1.5 or 4.5 microg/kg/day (DES 0.5, 1.5 and 4.5 groups, respectively) to pregnant SD rats daily on days 7-21 of gestation, to investigate its effects on the development and functions of the reproductive system in their male offspring. Of the 10 pregnant rats in the DES 4.5 group, only 1 delivered, and this rat could not suckle the pups. Rat pups in the DES 0.5 and 1.5 groups were autopsied at 1, 3, 6 and 15 weeks after birth. The testosterone concentrations in the DES 1.5 and 0.5 groups at 6 weeks were significantly decreased and the plasma LH concentrations were not altered. In the DES 1.5 group, DES treatment did not change the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area (SDN-POA) in the male offspring, although this dose of DES increased the volume of SDN-POA in female offspring. The DES treatment altered frequencies in the cycles of the seminiferous tubules, and suppressed histological maturation in the epididymis and the prostate weight. These observations indicate that prenatally administered DES impairs testicular endocrine function continuously as well as pituitary function, but the induced low level of testosterone disrupts spermatogenesis and permanently inhibits the morphological development of epididymis and prostate.


Well and long established radio-fibroses have been treated successfully with a liposomal encapsulated bovine copper superoxide dismutase. After a short treatment (three weeks intramuscular injection of 5 mg twice a week) regression of the fibrosis is stable. The average size is reduced by one third and significant softening occurs in 82% of the cases. Efficiency is independent of the time between radiotherapy (origin of the fibrosis) and treatment with liposomal SOD. Complete regression even after this limited treatment is seen in cases of chronic prefibrotic inflammatory syndromes and prophylactic action in cases where the probability of fibrosis formation is certain appears to be successful. The roles of superoxide and superoxide dismutase are discussed.


OBJECTIVES
The clinical feasibility of self-expanding metal stents with respect to the technical success, complications, and reintervention rate should be tested.

METHODS
Five coated and 26 uncoated prototype Wallstents, especially designed for stenosis of the upper GI tract, were implanted in 23 patients. All patients with dysphagia suffered from inoperable tumor stenosis of the esophagus or the cardia. Stent implantation was performed under slight i.v. sedoanalgesia.

RESULTS
Technical success was achieved in all 31 implanted stents. Forty-eight hr after implantation, dysphagia was improved in 21/23 patients. Acute problems observed within 1 wk were stent migration (1 patient, uncoated stent), oblique position of the stent (3 patients), epigastric or retrosternal pain (9 patients), insufficient stent expansion (4 patients), and pouch formation at the upper rim of the stent (4 patients). An uncomplicated follow-up (median 66 days, range 10-139 days) was seen in 12 patients (52%). Major problems in the follow-up period were stent migration in three patients (three coated stents, two stent migrations in one patient) and stent obstruction by tumor ingrowth/overgrowth and/or food impaction in eight patients (35%). Most of these problems could be successfully resolved by implantation of a second stent or electrocoagulation of overgrowing tumor tissue. By the 1st of March, 1994, three patients were still alive with a follow-up period of 530 days (median range, 336-880 days); 20 patients were decreased with a follow-up period of 70 days (median range, 3-374 days).

CONCLUSIONS
Implantation of esophageal Wallstents is safe and has a low risk of acute complications and mortality for the patient. Early complications such as perforation and bleeding did not occur. Tumor ingrowth/overgrowth are the major reasons for the high reintervention rate in the follow-up period. Coated stents can resolve this problem, provided that stent migration can be avoided by improvement of the coating technology.


A 9-year-old, mildly mentally retarded girl presented with phenotypic manifestations of Down syndrome. G-banded chromosomal analyses of peripheral blood lymphocytes from the patient and her parents, and skin fibroblasts from the patient, did not detect any abnormality. Molecular analysis of 15 highly polymorphic chromosome 21 dinucleotide repeat markers demonstrated a partial duplication of the Down syndrome critical region (D21S55, subband 21q22.2) of maternal origin in the patient. The segmental trisomy was confirmed by FISH analysis using the cosmid probe D21S55. Further analysis demonstrated that the trisomy was due to segregation of an apparently balanced cryptic translocation from the mother. The patient's karyotype is 46,XX,-12,tder(12)t(12;21)(p13.1;q22.2)mat.


ABSTRACT The enediyne family of natural products has had a profound impact on modern chemistry, biology, and medicine, and yet only 11 enediynes have been structurally characterized to date. Here we report a genome survey of 3,400 actinomycetes, identifying 81 strains that harbor genes encoding the enediyne polyketide synthase cassettes that could be grouped into 28 distinct clades based on phylogenetic analysis. Genome sequencing of 31 representative strains confirmed that each clade harbors a distinct enediyne biosynthetic gene cluster. A genome neighborhood network allows prediction of new structural features and biosynthetic insights that could be exploited for enediyne discovery. We confirmed one clade as new C-1027 producers, with a significantly higher C-1027 titer than the original producer, and discovered a new family of enediyne natural products, the tiancimycins (TNMs), that exhibit potent cytotoxicity against a broad spectrum of cancer cell lines. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of rapid discovery of new enediynes from a large strain collection. IMPORTANCE Recent advances in microbial genomics clearly revealed that the biosynthetic potential of soil actinomycetes to produce enediynes is underappreciated. A great challenge is to develop innovative methods to discover new enediynes and produce them in sufficient quantities for chemical, biological, and clinical investigations. This work demonstrated the feasibility of rapid discovery of new enediynes from a large strain collection. The new C-1027 producers, with a significantly higher C-1027 titer than the original producer, will impact the practical supply of this important drug lead. The TNMs, with their extremely potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cells and their rapid and complete cancer cell killing characteristics, in comparison with the payloads used in FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), are poised to be exploited as payload candidates for the next generation of anticancer ADCs. Follow-up studies on the other identified hits promise the discovery of new enediynes, radically expanding the chemical space for the enediyne family. Recent advances in microbial genomics clearly revealed that the biosynthetic potential of soil actinomycetes to produce enediynes is underappreciated. A great challenge is to develop innovative methods to discover new enediynes and produce them in sufficient quantities for chemical, biological, and clinical investigations. This work demonstrated the feasibility of rapid discovery of new enediynes from a large strain collection. The new C-1027 producers, with a significantly higher C-1027 titer than the original producer, will impact the practical supply of this important drug lead. The TNMs, with their extremely potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cells and their rapid and complete cancer cell killing characteristics, in comparison with the payloads used in FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), are poised to be exploited as payload candidates for the next generation of anticancer ADCs. Follow-up studies on the other identified hits promise the discovery of new enediynes, radically expanding the chemical space for the enediyne family.


The burden of disease related to chronic hepatitis C (CHC) continues to increase annually. While our experience with treating CHC began less than 30 years, steady progress has been made in the ability to successfully treat patients, reducing morbidity and mortality. Until recently, the main players in therapy of CHC were interferon and ribavirin. Unfortunately, response to this therapy is successful only in a selected group of patients, leaving a sizeable portion of patients with CHC untreated or with ineffective retreatment options after having failed prior therapy. An in depth understanding of the hepatitis C virus has ushered in the dawn of a new era of therapy for CHC. Two drugs, telaprevir and boceprevir, have recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Many others hold great promise and are in the early phases of drug development. Here, we will review the history of hepatitis C therapy, mechanism of action drugs approved for or in development, current data on clinical safety and efficacy of these agents as well as the role of patient preference in CHC therapy. We will conclude with current recommendations for the treatment of patients with CHC and the evolving role of interferon and ribavirin.


Rule 47a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes contains wording that is misleading. The examples given also give the wrong impression with regards the role of genus names in determining the priority of names at a higher taxonomic rank.


Intravenous (20 kBk) and intragastric (400 kBk) cadmium chloride administration to 45 white noninbred rat males kept for a month on a semisynthetic isocaloric diet including 0.0005 and 0.001% zinc were evaluated for absorption and distribution. Radionuclide findings provided the conclusions that: the absence or excess of zinc in the diet stimulates cadmium absorption from gastrointestinal tract; cadmium distribution in the viscera (the liver, kidneys, pancreas) varies with route of entry, the least accumulation of oral cadmium in the above viscera is observed in animals receiving optimal zinc quantities.


In recent years, with the growing accessibility of abundant contextual emotion information, which is benefited by the numerous georeferenced user-generated content and the maturity of artificial intelligence (AI)-based emotional computing technics, the emotion layer of human–environment relationship is proposed for enriching traditional methods of various related disciplines such as urban planning. This paper proposes the geographic information system (GIS)-based emotional computing concept, which is a novel framework for applying GIS methods to collective human emotion. The methodology presented in this paper consists of three key steps: (1) collecting georeferenced data containing emotion and environment information such as social media and official sites, (2) detecting emotions using AI-based emotional computing technics such as natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision (CV), and (3) visualizing and analyzing the spatiotemporal patterns with GIS tools. This methodology is a great synergy of multidisciplinary cutting-edge techniques, such as GIScience, sociology, and computer science. Moreover, it can effectively and deeply explore the connection between people and their surroundings with the help of GIS methods. Generally, the framework provides a standard workflow to calculate and analyze the new information layer for researchers, in which a measured human-centric perspective onto the environment is possible.


In this paper, we present a visual quality enhancement method for elemental images in integral imaging. To reduce the image blurring caused by multi-focus camera, sum-modified-laplacian is adopted to improve the visual quality of blurred elemental images. The preliminary experimental results can confirm the feasibility of the proposed method.


SI-GaAs:Cr is a material for ionizing radiation detectors [1], in which, on the contrary to materials for THz devices [2], a long charge carrier lifetime, at the level of tens and hundreds of nanoseconds, is required. Despite the fact that SI-GaAs:Cr has been successfully used to create ionizing radiation detectors highly demanded by nuclear physics research centres [3] the mechanisms responsible for the increase in charge carrier lifetime with the introduction of chromium are not completely revealed. THz pump-probe methods are contactless and relevant to study ultrafast phenomena in semiconductors. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences in the values of charge carrier lifetime in GaAs obtained from terahertz pump-probe measurements and from measurements of photoconductivity decay or charge collection efficiency [4]. This can be attributed to influence of surface states and high levels of injection at pump-probe measurements. To address these issues in the present study semiconductors with chemically and mechanically treated surfaces were studied. To distinguish the contributions of different recombination mechanisms, an approximation based on the equation 1/τeff =A+B-N+C-N2 =−1/NdN/dt was applied, where τeff is the effective nonequilibrium charge carrier lifetime, the A coefficient is responsible for the influence of surface and volume Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination, the B coefficient is associated with the effect of interband radiative transitions and Auger recombination through trap levels and the C coefficient is responsible for the effect of interband Auger recombination.


Regulation of taste is important for improving meat quality and glutamate (Glu) is one of the important taste-active components in meat. Here, the effects of dietary lysine (Lys) content on taste-active components in meat, especially free Glu, were investigated. Fourteen-day-old broiler chicks (Gallus gallus) were fed on diets containing 100% or 150% of the recommended Lys content for 10 days. Concentrations of free amino acids in plasma, muscle and liver were measured. The levels of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for enzymes related to Glu metabolism were determined in muscle and liver. The concentration of muscle metabolites was also determined. The free Glu content in muscle of chicks fed the Lys150% diet was increased by 44.0% compared with that in chicks fed the Lys100% diet (P < 0.01). The mRNA level of lysine α-ketoglutarate reductase, which is involved in Lys degradation and Glu production, was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the Lys150% group. Metabolome analysis showed that the Lys degradation products, muscular saccharopine, pipecolic acid and α-aminoadipic acid, were increased in the Lys150% group. Our results suggest that free Glu content in muscle is regulated by Lys degradation. These results suggest that a short-term feeding of high-Lys diet could improve the taste of meat.


Three ruthenium(II) complexes [Ru(bpy)2(biim)]2+ (1), [Ru(phen)2(biim)]2+ (2) and [Ru(p-mopip)2-(biim)]2+ (3) (where bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine, phen is 1,10-phenanthroline, biim is 2,2′-bisimidazole and p-mopip is 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-imidazo-[4,5f]phenanthroline), have been synthesized and characterized. The interactions of human telomeric DNA oligomers 5′-G3(T2AG3)3-3′ (HTG21) with ruthenium(II) complexes were investigated via UV-vis, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assay, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) stop assay, and circular dichroism (CD) measurements. The results indicated that the three ruthenium(II) complexes could stabilize the formation of human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA, and complex 2 was found to be the most efficient. In vitro cytotoxicity assay by MTT also showed that complex 2 was superior to complexes 1 and 3 in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) showed that complexes 2 and 3 led to an inhibition of the telomerase activity, and complex 2 was the significantly better inhibitor. Flow cytometric analysis and evaluation of mitochondrial membrane potential demonstrated that complex 2 inhibited the growth of HeLa cells through induction of apoptotic cell death, as evidenced by the depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential in HeLa cells.


On the Swiss market there exist various different accident insurance schemes and systems. Private accident insurance which is offered by the private insurers, date back to the middle of the 19th century. Since 1912 accident insurance is compulsory for all employees working in particularly dangerous industries, since 1984 it covers all employees in the country. In Switzerland there exists no general compulsory accident insurance. To perform as insurance carriers are qualified: private insurance companies, the Swiss Accident Insurance Company, and a number of the social health (sickness) insurers. Depending on the insurance system there are different approaches to renumerate the health costs. In the various social insurance systems the patient is rather free to chose his doctor and hospital (among those who have a contract with the insurer); in private insurance he is completely free. Yet the billing systems and the applicable rates and tarifs differ considerably. There are trends to simplify these systems and bring them more into mutual accordance. Due to the important rise of the health costs in Switzerland, there exists the danger that possible simplifications will bring about more public influence yet less private initiative and less incentives to really control costs without lessening the patients' possibilities.


With the reformation of Chinese Higher Education deepening, high schools have witnessed a series of teaching and learning contradictions which are typical of current era style. This article itself takes the teaching practice in Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT) for instance to research the contradictions between teachers and students by analyzing their characteristics between teachers and students. It puts forward the detail teaching method, which uses seven specific means to study how to improve the teaching efficiency of Higher Education and provides concrete practical methods to be accustomed to the need of fostering suitable talents for society in universities and colleges.


Abstract The phosphate response patterns of tropical and temperate legumes were compared in a glasshouse trial on a high country yellow-brown earth subsoil. Differences in growth and P response patterns could be explained by the known differences in tolerance of Al toxicity. The temperate legumes Lotus pedunculatus and Lupinus polyphyllus appeared to be able to tolerate Al toxicity as well as the torpicallegume Lotononis bainsu and more so than Trifolium semipilosum. However Trifolium repens was less tolerant than T. semipilosum. Of the species studied, Lupinus polyphyllus was the only one capable of reasonable growth where no P was added to the soil. The greater seed reserves of Lupinus appeared to contribute substantially to its greater growth and P uptake under conditions of low P input.


The development of more sustainable and eco-friendly polymers has attracted much attention from researchers over the past decades. Among the different strategies that can be implemented towards this goal, the substitution of the toxic reagents/monomers often used in polyurethane chemistry has stimulated much innovation leading to the development of the hydroxylated version of PURs, namely, the poly(hydroxyurethane)s (PHURs). However, some PHURs remain far from being sustainable as their synthesis may involve monomers and/or solvents displaying poor environmental impacts. Herein, we report on the use of more sustainable conditions to synthesize the biobased polycarbonates involved in the aminolysis reaction. In addition, we demonstrate that the use of renewable deep eutectic solvents (DESs) can act both as excellent solvents and organocatalysts to promote the aminolysis reaction.


Natural Language Inference (NLI) datasets contain examples with highly ambiguous labels due to its subjectivity. Several recent efforts have been made to acknowledge and embrace the existence of ambiguity, and explore how to capture the human disagreement distribution. In contrast with directly learning from gold ambiguity labels, relying on special resource, we argue that the model has naturally captured the human ambiguity distribution as long as it's calibrated, i.e. the predictive probability can reflect the true correctness likelihood. Our experiments show that when model is well-calibrated, either by label smoothing or temperature scaling, it can obtain competitive performance as prior work, on both divergence scores between predictive probability and the true human opinion distribution, and the accuracy. This reveals the overhead of collecting gold ambiguity labels can be cut, by broadly solving how to calibrate the NLI network.


This study analyses the coverage of seven free‐access bibliographic databases (Crossref, Dimensions—non‐subscription version, Google Scholar, Lens, Microsoft Academic, Scilit, and Semantic Scholar) to identify the potential reasons that might cause the exclusion of scholarly documents and how they could influence coverage. To do this, 116 k randomly selected bibliographic records from Crossref were used as a baseline. API endpoints and web scraping were used to query each database. The results show that coverage differences are mainly caused by the way each service builds their databases. While classic bibliographic databases ingest almost the exact same content from Crossref (Lens and Scilit miss 0.1% and 0.2% of the records, respectively), academic search engines present lower coverage (Google Scholar does not find: 9.8%, Semantic Scholar: 10%, and Microsoft Academic: 12%). Coverage differences are mainly attributed to external factors, such as web accessibility and robot exclusion policies (39.2%–46%), and internal requirements that exclude secondary content (6.5%–11.6%). In the case of Dimensions, the only classic bibliographic database with the lowest coverage (7.6%), internal selection criteria such as the indexation of full books instead of book chapters (65%) and the exclusion of secondary content (15%) are the main motives of missing publications.


ABSTRACT The stem-boring beetle, Aphanasium australe was introduced into South Africa in 2001 for biocontrol of Hakea sericea. It has a two-year life cycle, the majority of which is spent within the basal stem and roots of its host plant. Damage assessments indicate that A. australe is capable of killing 7-10% of trees in a Hakea stand. However, how much internal damage, and number of insects that are required to cause significant damage or death of the plant, is not known. Here, we used a novel technique – X-ray micro computed tomography (microCT) – to quantify damage in dead and live trees. We also used the technique to assess whether microCT is feasible as a means to determine percentage emergence and survival of larvae/pupae within Hakea stumps. Results showed that the technique can be used successfully to quantify damage, and that felled live trees had significantly less damage than felled dead trees. The amount of internal damage was significantly influenced by the number of insects that emerged, and by the overall size of the trees. MicroCT was able to determine with 100% accuracy the survival of insects that were either inside stumps or had emerged at the time of scanning. A complex suite of factors are responsible for death or survival of trees once infested with the biocontrol agent, and percentage internal damage to trees is not the only factor that dictates whether or not a tree will succumb to the effects of the stem-borer.


: Ficus exasperata is an important medicinal plant with a wide geographical distribution in Africa particularly in Nigeria. In this study, aqueous stem bark extracts of Ficus exasperata were administered to investigate its hepatoprotective effects on Paracetamol induced liver toxicity in Wistar rats. A total of Twenty Five Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups labeled A-E and kept in a well ventilated room. Group A served as control and were treated with distilled water. Rats in groups B-E were all treated with Paracetamol (800mg/kg body weight) but rats in group C, D and E were however pretreated with Silymarin (50 mg/kg bw), 100mg/kg bw aqueous stem bark extracts of Ficus exasperata and 200mg/kg bw aqueous stem bark extracts of Ficus exasperata respectively one hour before Paracetamol administration for fourteen days. Animals were sacrificed twenty four hours after the last treatment. Blood samples were collected into heparinized bottles for biochemical estimation of liver enzymes and the liver was harvested for routine histological examination. Paracetamol produced significant changes in biochemical parameters (increases in serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), with a reduction in Total protein) and Liver histology (damage to hepatocytes). Pretreatment with Silymarin and aqueous stem bark extracts of Ficus exasperata significantly prevented the biochemical and histological changes induced by Paracetamol in the liver. In conclusion, our histological and biochemical findings indicate that aqueous stem bark extracts of Ficus exasperata possesses hepatoprotective properties. © JASEM


Conventional arteriography is the investigation of choice in patients with critical ischaemia to select the site for the distal anastomosis of a femorodistal bypass. Several arteriographic scoring systems have been devised in an attempt to quantify the run‐off. More recently Pulse Generated Run‐off and intraoperative peripheral resistance measurements have been proposed as better predictors of early graft patency. Eighty‐eight consecutive femorodistal bypass grafts were studied using Pulse Generated Run‐off (PGR), conventional and intra‐arterial digital subtraction arteriography (DSA) and peripheral resistance measurement. Three widely used arteriographic scoring systems were used to grade the arteriographic run‐off. There were significant correlations between the scoring systems and the measured peripheral resistance, although PGR correlated better with peripheral resistance than arteriography (rs = −0·59, P <0·001). Intra‐arterial DSA improved the correlation between the arteriogram scoring systems and the measured peripheral resistance in the distal popliteal artery, but not in single calf vessels. In contrast, PGR correlated much better with peripheral resistance in single calf vessels (rs = −0·82, P0·001). We recommend that selection for femorodistal reconstruction be based on a combination of intra‐arterial DSA and PGR. PGR will identify patent distal calf vessels not seen on arteriography and determine their continuity with the pedal arch, two features which are essential prerequisites for successful femorodistal bypass.


EFECAB (Epidemiologie et Fardeau Economique de la Cysticercosis au Burkina) was initiated in 2006 with a grant funded through the Brain Disorders in the developing world - Research Across the lifespan program of the National Institutes of Health in the United States (R21NS055353) followed by a more substantial grant in 2010 (R01NS064901). The pilot grant showed that human and porcine cysticercosis were not only present in Burkina Faso, but more prevalent in two of three pilot villages. A cluster randomized controlled trial was subsequently conducted to estimate the effectiveness of a community-based educational intervention to reduce the frequency of cysticercosis in 60 villages located in 3 provinces where pigs were raised. The intervention was developed using an implementation research method which resulted in offering the Participatory Hygiene And Sanitation Transformation - Self-esteem Associative strengths Resourcefulness Action planning Responsibility approach, adapted for cysticercosis, and the viewing of a 52-minutes comedy movie explaining the disease and ways to prevent it to the 30 intervention villages. In each village, 60 of 80 participants accepted to provide a blood sample on three occasions over a three year period. Blood samples were analysed with the B158/B60 AgELISA test to detect active cysticercosis. Data were analysed using Bayesian hierarchical log-binomial models adjusting for the clustering of cysticercosis by village, the change in cysticercosis prevalence prior to randomization and the fact that the intervention was offered at the village level. The intervention reduced the prevalence and cumulative incidence of active cysticercosis in 2 provinces, but had no or little impact in the 3rd province. Answers to other research questions regarding factors associated with cysticercosis, measurement of epilepsy and headaches in resource-poor settings, and the cross-reaction of the AgELISA test with T. hydatigena in pigs will be summarized.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to analyze whether transabdominal and introital ultrasonography can accurately identify paravaginal defect associated with GSI (Genuine stress urinary incontinence) and to determine the changes after paravaginal defect repair.

DESIGN
Prospective randomised clinical study.

SETTING
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.

METHODS
Sixteen women with GSI, who had previously not undergone anti-incontinence surgery were involved. Their average age was 52 years, average weight 71 kg and average parity 2.0. Within vaginal examination our attention was focussed on the diminution of sulsus superioris vaginae during Valsalva maneuver. The bladder of a patient in supine position was filled with 300 ml of sterile saline. Than a 5 MHz curved array probe was used to assess the bladder neck mobility from the perineal approach, and the same probe was used from the abdominal approach to determine paravaginal defect and subsequently a vaginal probe from introital approach was used for the rest of the examination. After Burch colposuspension and paravaginal defect repair US scanning was performed 6 till 8 days and 5 or 6 weeks after operation.

RESULTS
We found significant differences in bladder neck position and mobility before and after the operation. In women with symptoms of GSI we found from abdominal approach unilateral or bilateral paravaginal defect in fifteen women. Unilateral defect was found on the right side six times and on the left side only once. In eight women the defect was bilateral. The introital approach obtained similar results, only in two patients with bilateral defect the examination concluded unilateral right defect. After the operation we did not find PVD in patients after paravaginal defect repair. We obtained worse results from vaginal examination, where preoperatively PVD was correctly determined (sensitivity) only in 82.6%.

CONCLUSION
From our preliminary results we can suggest performing US scanning to conform paravaginal defect before anti-incontinence surgery and possibly adding to the Burch colposuspension paravaginal defect repair to correct cystourethrocele.


Novel immunotherapeutic approaches revolutionize cancer prognosis but the role of innate immunity in chemoresistance remains poorly understood. For example, toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands in combination with anticancer treatments yielded unpredictable effects, either beneficial or deleterious. We hypothesized that the function of tumor-infiltrating immune cells depends on constitutive TLR variants. We characterized healthy donor T cells, B cells, monocytes and natural killer (NK) for functional polymorphism after transwell co-culture with chemosensitive (OVCAR5) vs. chemoresistant (SKOV3TR) ovarian tumor cells +/- (1) medium only; (2) LPS; (3) PamCys3; (4) Paclitaxel (PTX); (5) OVCAR5; (6) OVCAR5+PTX; (7) SKOV3TR; (8) SKOV3TR+PTX. CD8+ T cell activation was measured by perforin staining, monocyte and B cell maturations by cytokine expression array, and NK-mediated cytotoxicity by PI staining of GFP-transfected K562 after 4 hour-incubation. We observed minor functional variations between donor T cells, B cells and monocytes. However, while all NK cells killed GFP-K562 cells as expected, in some donors NK cytotoxicity was specifically inhibited by SKOV3RT co-culture. NK genotyping and phenotyping are ongoing including tumor-dependent NKG2D expression, and PTX-dependent MICA release by tumor cells. These results support the hypothesis that chemoresistant tumors release soluble factors that modulate NK function though specific interactions with innate immune receptor variants.


This paper deals with the calculation of lightning-induced overvoltages on medium-voltage (MV) and low-voltage (LV) distribution networks taking into account the presence of MV-LV distribution transformers and, in particular, the surge transfer through them. The influence of the high-frequency model adopted for the representation of the power transformer on the calculation results is analyzed, with regards to two different models, both identified and validated by means of laboratory measurements: namely, a simple pi of capacitances, and the more complex one introduced by Morched, Marti, and Ottevangers in 1993. Accurate simulation results provide information on the adequacy of both models for the calculations of interest. Additional results, useful to evaluate the expected level of power quality and the benefits achievable by a proper installation of protection devices, are presented making reference to a realistic and complex configuration of an overhead distribution system.


In this paper, the technological features of a innovative smart socket able to supporting a novel service for the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and the Demand Response Service Provider (DR-SP) is presented. The service provides a fully decentralized voltage control for the DR-SP and it is designed to be implemented in residential units. In detail, the paper proposes a novel smart socket design to be included in an enhanced Smart Home Energy Management System (SHEMS). The socket supplies the usual services included in the traditional residential houses introducing also a new functionality, that is the voltage modulation, able to reduce the household power consumptions. The service is intended to be used by the DR-SPs when power reduction is required by the distribution grid, as the power balance service. In this paper, we introduce a basic board to offer a local voltage regulation for residential units and we provide some results in order to have a first insight of the solution.


Random projections constitute a simple, yet effective technique for dimensionality reduction with applications in learning and search problems. In the present paper, we consider the problem of estimating cosine similarities when the projected data undergo scalar quantization to $b$ bits. We here argue that the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) is a principled approach to deal with the non-linearity resulting from quantization, and subsequently study its computational and statistical properties. A specific focus is on the on the trade-off between bit depth and the number of projections given a fixed budget of bits for storage or transmission. Along the way, we also touch upon the existence of a qualitative counterpart to the Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma in the presence of quantization.


Chemical analysis of adult cat prostate shows that zinc is present in significant amounts. Attempts to demonstrate the zinc at cell level using dithizone give indeterminate results. From autoradiographs, the zinc is scattered throughout the cell but concentrated in the apical area, along the luminal surface, and free in the lumen. Electron micrographs of the acinar cell show secretory granules agreeing with the grain distribution of the autoradiograph. Previous histochemical findings gave a similar position for non-specific acid phosphatase and 5-nucleotidase. It is suggested that zinc is an integral part of the secretion of the cat prostate, and associated with the production of metalloenzymes.


Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a dieless forming process which uses local deformations to form complex geometries. This is achieved through the use of a typically hemispherical tipped forming tool. Several variations of SPIF have been developed to improve the performance of this process. This includes the use of a partial die which is placed on the back-side of the material. The forming tool is then able to press the material into this partial die. Another method is to utilize a clamping fixture with a periphery that closely matches that of the desired geometry. While both of these methods improve the performance of SPIF, they also require dedicated fixturing. While these modifications still present an advantage over traditional stamping, it is desirable to avoid the use of any geometry-specific equipment.
 Springback is a significant issue when performing traditional SPIF. Springback can occur in two different ways: local and global. Local springback results from the elastic deformations created outside the region located directly beneath the forming tool. This causes poor accuracy as a result. Compensation methods have been developed to overcome this type of springback but are faced with certain limitations. Global springback refers to the springback experienced once the material is removed from its clamping fixture. This springback is a result of all residual stresses produced during forming. This springback is much more difficult to reduce and often requires annealing the workpiece subsequent to forming.
 A toolpath approach is explored herein as a method to reduce springback without the use of geometry-specific equipment. The toolpath developed begins at the edge of the clamping fixture, regardless of the geometry shape, and forms the flashing material prior to the desired geometry. By starting the toolpath along the edge of the fixture, elastic deformations are minimized. Additionally, the work hardening produced during this forming acts as a stiffener for the desired geometry, which behaves as a frame which matches the periphery of the desired geometry.
 This method was experimentally tested for its accuracy improvements when forming a truncated pyramid from 5052 aluminum. The angle of this stiffener, the step size of the stiffener, and the size of the desired geometry were varied. The fixture dimensions were held constant. This method was found to reduce the overall springback of the part and increase the accuracy of the resulting geometry. Furthermore, it was found that a large step size can be used to form the stiffener section of the part. By using a large step size, the time it takes to form this sacrificial region is minimized.


This article assesses various underlying driving factors for the evolution of household earnings inequality or 23 OECD countries from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s. There are a number of factors at play. Some are related to labour market trends – increasing dispersion of individual wages and changes in men's and women's employment rates. Others relate to shifts in household structures and family formation – more single-headed households and increased earnings correlation among partners in couples. The contribution of each of these factors is estimated using a semi parametric decomposition technique. The results reveal that marital sorting and household structure changes contributed, albeit moderately, to increasing household earnings inequality, while rising women's employment exerted a sizable equalising effect. However, changes in labour market factors, in particular increases in men's earnings disparities, were identified as the main driver of household earnings inequality, contributing between one-third and one-half to the overall increase in most countries. Sensitivity analysis applying a reversed-order decomposition suggests that these results are robust.


To clarify uncertainty in predictions of the quantity, radionuclide inventory and activity of waste from the Krsko nuclear power plant, and to illuminate its role in related policy‐making, we made a scenario analysis in order to find out the variation in waste characteristics if the plant operates five years shorter or longer than anticipated, or if it uses fuel of a higher enrichment (levels between 3 per cent and 5 per cent of U‐235). We used ORIGEN2 computer code for calculations connected to spent fuel, and developed a code for calculating low‐ and intermediate‐level waste. We present and interpret our results using language which can be understood by decision makers and the general public. We believe that the clarification of the issues gained through our analysis will contribute to more informed decision making and be effective in building confidence among professionals, the public and politicians in the process of identifying the most appropriate waste management options.


Background Current examination methods to assess the anatomical variations of flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) tendon in the little finger necessitate a strong external force applied by the examiner and cause false negatives. A new examination method was designed to detect the variations more accurately. Methods We examined the little fingers of 220 adult hands (110 subjects) by 2 methods: the expanded examination method advocated by Tan et al., and a new examination method. Variations of the FDS in the little finger were examined by both methods and categorized separately as having independent FDS function, FDS connection to the tendons of the ring finger or of the multiple adjacent fingers, and functional substitution of the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) with or without tendinous connection to the ring or multiple adjacent fingers. By our new method, we could further divide the FDS connection or FDP substitution with connection to the ring finger into 2 subtypes: loose and close connections. Data were reported as case numbers and percent. Date on symmetry were statistically analyzed by matched case-control studies. Results Among 220 hands, 113 hands (51.4%) had independent FDS function by the new examination method, which was lower than the incidence (55.5%) detected with the existing expanded examination method. In the hands with connections between FDS tendons of the little and the ring fingers, 32 hands (14.5%) demonstrated loose and 37 (16.8%) close connections. Three hands (1.4%) had loose and 19 (8.6%) had close FDP substitution with tendinous connection to the ring finger. Among 110 hands without independent FDS function, variants of 42 hands (38.2%) were asymmetric. There was no statistical significance in symmetry of variations. Conclusions This new examination method offers other assessment variations of FDS tendon in the little finger. We recommend using this test to assess the variations and function of the FDS of the little finger.


In an examination of the mnemonic dimensions of Canadian postmodernism, Cheetham focuses on the relation of postmodernism to the historical past and memory in defining a subject in works of art; the author also considers the social and political uses of memory, giving special attention to the dimensions of play and gender. Hutcheon's essay maps the territory of Canadian postmodernism and argues for a politicized understanding of postmodernist theory and practice. Biographical notes on the authors and 35 artists. Index of names. Bibl. 3 p.


Climate change is very crucial for ecological systems and society. But Global climate models run at coarse spatial resolution which is difficult to do regional analysis. Regional-scale projections can be obtained by a technique called statistical downscaling which uses past data to find out the high resolution and low-resolution mapping. There are many methods for statistical downscaling of climate data: 1) Conventional methods 2) Deep learning architecture. Some of the existing works like DeepSd downscaled High-resolution climate projections but in such cases, Global climate model (GCM) data suffers from concept drift, change of mapping between input and label over time. So applying these deep learning models is not a good idea for statistical downscaling. In my study, I have developed new approach of downscaling which outperforms other deep learning architectures like super-resolution convolutional neural network (SRCNN), Long short term memory network (LSTM) in terms of accuracy and reliability. These existing models focus on minimizing the root mean square error (RMSE ) and do not take care of the tails or extremes. Therefore the objective function of these models should be changed other than root mean square error (RMSE). My proposed model focuses on both means and extremes. I provide a comparison between proposed and other existing deep learning models in downscaling daily precipitation and temperature from 1.25 to 0.25 resolution over India. I have downscaled 6 Global climate model (GCM) models in our comparative study.


Accreditation has been defined as a process whereby a professional association or nongovernmental agency grants recognition to a school or healthcare institution for demonstrated ability to meet predetermined criteria for established standards 1

Accreditation within the medical arena is longstanding throughout history. In 1910, the Joint Commission was established with the primary mission of continuously improving healthcare for the public by evaluating healthcare organisations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective treatment of the highest quality and value. In the past 100 years, accreditation has extended to medical education and more specifically the implementation of standards in the training of medical specialists. This article focuses on the accreditation of training centres in adult respiratory medicine.

The foundation of the EU directive 75/362/ECC in 1975 produced guidelines for medical training institutions across Europe which was believed would open access to the job market for European specialists in respiratory medicine while also producing documentation for training institutions to follow in order to achieve high-quality education. The implementation of such standards has by no means mirrored the reality of medical training of respiratory specialists in Europe today. Stark differences exist in the training duration, the sitting of exit examinations and accreditation of training centres 2. Consequently, despite such regulations, mobility across Europe continues to be a challenge for some doctors. Considering the unsystematic process of respiratory medicine training across Europe, there is most certainly scope to improve quality in patient care and to fortify adult respiratory medicine.

HERMES (Harmonising education in respiratory medicine for European specialists), is an initiative which responded to Europe's need to regulate education in respiratory medicine and ensure raising quality in adult respiratory care. A specialist Task Force representing 13 countries in Europe has worked prolifically since 2005 to support this educational mission for reform. …


Sixty-oute nentatodes wcrre recovered from three domctstic cats in Tokyo, Japan.Most of them were found attachcclL to the mucous membrane of the stomach, and a fewfree from the gastric contents. From their morphological features and measures (Table I, Figs. 1 -12), they were identified as Ph)>saloptera praeputiaZis von Linstow, 1889. Thisappears to be the first record of F. praeputittlis from the domestic cat in Japan.


The number of the passenger using air travel keeps increasing every year. Inconsistency with an increasing number of passengers without medical conditions, the number of passengers with acute or chronic medical conditions increases inevitably. The attitude of commercial aircrafts providing passenger transportation during air travel is associated with altered internal cab pressure, humidity rate, partial oxygen pressure when compared with sea level pressure and medium. Alterations in the internal cab during a flight are usually well tolerated by healthy passengers, however might harm passengers with acute or chronic medical conditions. Around 65 % of health conditions emerging during flights are related to pre-existing medical conditions. Passengers with medical conditions are not fully aware of the potential influences of flight on their acute or chronic conditions. However, treatment options are substantially limited in case of an emergent medical condition during flights. Evaluation and clearance of patients with medical conditions before the flight by physicians experienced in-flight medicine is the key step for elimination or minimizing risks during the flight. Particularly patients with a history of recent hospitalization, injury, surgery, unstable conditions related to chronic health conditions, acute conditions, need for oxygen support, need for stretcher should be thoroughly evaluated before the flight. The present review aimed to investigate preflight medical screening of patients with medical conditions and their risks associated with air travel.


BACKGROUND
Hybrid procedures including debranching of visceral and renal arteries followed by endovascular exclusion of the thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) have recently been proposed as a less invasive alternative to conventional TAAA surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate and long-term outcomes of hybrid procedures for TAAA in high-risk patients.

METHODS
Between September 1998 and May 2012, 32 high-risk TAAA patients (five females, median age 61.5 years) underwent hybrid procedures at a single institution. Simultaneous approach and staged approach were performed on the basis of patients' conditions. Follow-up computed tomography angiography (CTA) was routinely performed before discharge and at 6, 12 months and annually thereafter.

RESULTS
Procedural success was achieved in all cases. The median hospital stay was (21.5 ± 2.3) days, and the median procedure time was (420 ± 31) minutes. Blood loss averaged (2100 ± 261) ml. A total of 124 visceral artery bypasses was performed. Two patients (6.3%) died within 30 days. One patient exhibited complete paraplegia (3.1%). The visceral graft patency was 96.1% at 3 years. All-cause survival rates were 93.8%, 87.5%, 81.3% and 53.1% at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years, respectively. No patient died due to aortic events. The freedom rates from aortic events were 96.9%, 93.6%, 87.5%, 68.8% at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of visceral hybrid repair for high-risk patients with complex TAAAs are encouraging. However, the procedure is still a significant physiological insult to patients. Until branched and fenestrated endovascular repair become more common, hybrid procedure will continue to have a role in high-risk patients.


The present paper considers emerging Internet of Things (IoT) applications and proposes a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) based neural network for predicting the end of the broadcasting period under slotted CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) based MAC protocol and Energy Harvesting enabled Wireless Networks (EHWNs). The goal is to explore LSTM for minimizing the number of missed nodes and the number of broadcasting time-slots required to reach all the nodes under periodic broadcast operations. The proposed LSTM model predicts the end of the current broadcast period relying on the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values generated by its output, which (the RMSE) is used as an indicator for the divergence of the model. As a case study, we enhance our already developed broadcast policy, ADAPCAST by applying the proposed LSTM. This allows to dynamically adjust the end of the broadcast periods, instead of statically fixing it beforehand. An artificial data-set of the historical data is used to feed the proposed LSTM with information about the amounts of incoming, consumed, and effective energy per time-slot, and the radio activity besides the average number of missed nodes per frame. The obtained results prove the efficiency of the proposed LSTM model in terms of minimizing both the number of missed nodes and the number of time-slots required for completing broadcast operations.


ABSTRACT What model of voter enrolment is appropriate for states with nomadic minority populations? The present paper examines this question with reference to an equality-based, moral right to vote and considers four models that track some of the different institutional strategies that have been developed by states with transient populations. The paper shows that the right to vote is compatible neither with a model that makes permanent residence in a constituency an absolute condition for voter enrolment and so excludes nomads from the electoral process, nor with a model that enables nomadic voter enrolment but restricts the number of nomads that can enrol in a single constituency. But the right is, subject to certain caveats, consistent with a model that enables nomads to enrol in a constituency of their choice and, as well, with a model that enables nomads to enrol and vote in a distinct, non-territorial constituency.


Within the vast and rich field of online gaming, a new generation of Online Social Games (OSGs) is emerging that have in common a core of social interaction, sometimes explicit, other times implicit. This common core of social experience promises to become at least as important as the experience derived from the game-‐world itself. In this chapter, we consider the social side of OSGs and provide the following contributions: 1.We motivate the importance of taking social features into account to improve the quality of experience in online gaming. 2.We discuss the various dimensions of (player experience in) OSGs. 3.We describe a social network analysis methodology for identifying relations in OSGs and indicate how this methodology could be used to improve the game-‐play experience. 4.We also consider and illustrate how certain "social" behaviour, like toxicity, is negative and may harm the game-‐play experience, if not adequately addressed. 5.We mention several directions for future research to put the power of social features in OSGs to good use.


We implanted artificially synthesized hydroxyapatite (a-HA) spheres into the orbits of sixteen rabbits after enucleation. The spheres were removed 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after implantation and examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Tissue breakdown and exposure of a-HA implants were not observed in any case. As time passed, fibrovascular tissue gradually invaded the pores of the HA spheres deeper and deeper. Although the HA used was completely artificially, we observed a mild foreign body reaction around the a-HA sphere. HA spheres are appropriate for orbital implants after enucleation without scleral enveloping.


It is the purpose of this paper to describe a device, designed by one of the authors (S. G. C.) by which small-portal radiation therapy of the type currently delivered with orthovoltage equipment to irregularly shaped portals (1) may be carried out with either supervoltage x-ray or cobalt-60 apparatus. This device has been in continuous use for the last eight years and has proved to be quite satisfactory. Because of the increased tolerance of the skin at the higher voltages, the use of relatively small, well defined, shaped portals has not been as strongly emphasized with this type of therapy as with the use of orthovoltage equipment. Until very recently, there has been no attempt to use any type of asymmetrically shaped portal for irradiation of short wave length. The more recent models of the Van de Graaff 2,000,000-volt generator are equipped with optional beam-shaping accessories but these are intended for use with relatively large-field therapy. The "Theratron F" cobalt teletherapy unit of the Commer...


The purpose in this study was to examine how undergraduate student athletes organized different explanations relating to behavioral procrastination into a hierarchy. Participants ( N = 201) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983) and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) personality questionnaires. Two groups (low and high trait-anxious and perfectionist) were created from the lower and upper third responses. These participants read 6 vignettes describing different explanations of athletes' behavioral procrastination and 2 control vignettes (nonprocrastinator and reveler drinker), and rated them. The 2 groups both placed the nonprocrastinator vignette in the first position, but rated differently the behavioral self-handicap of reveller drinker and perfectionism with high standards vignettes. Maladaptive aspects of perfectionism associated with procrastination are discussed.


Sensory input from multiple sources is crucial for robust and coherent human perception. Different sources contribute complementary explanatory factors. Similarly, research studies often collect multimodal imaging data, each of which can provide shared and unique information. This observation motivated the design of powerful multimodal self-supervised representation-learning algorithms. In this paper, we unify recent work on multimodal self-supervised learning under a single framework. Observing that most self-supervised methods optimize similarity metrics between a set of model components, we propose a taxonomy of all reasonable ways to organize this process. We first evaluate models on toy multimodal MNIST datasets and then apply them to a multimodal neuroimaging dataset with Alzheimer's disease patients. We find that (1) multimodal contrastive learning has significant benefits over its unimodal counterpart, (2) the specific composition of multiple contrastive objectives is critical to performance on a downstream task, (3) maximization of the similarity between representations has a regularizing effect on a neural network, which can sometimes lead to reduced downstream performance but still reveal multimodal relations. Results show that the proposed approach outperforms previous self-supervised encoder-decoder methods based on canonical correlation analysis (CCA) or the mixture-of-experts multimodal variational autoEncoder (MMVAE) on various datasets with a linear evaluation protocol. Importantly, we find a promising solution to uncover connections between modalities through a jointly shared subspace that can help advance work in our search for neuroimaging biomarkers.


This article explores how gay men in Iceland were constructed as good responsible citizens through neoliberal discourses from 1990 to 2010. Drawing on interviews with gay men in Icelandic magazines, we focus on three discursive formations of responsibilization that reveal the technologies of agency at play in transforming the men into good, responsible gay citizens capable of self-management. The discursive formations focus on the good gay citizen who (a) has a positive mind-set, (b) transforms himself, and (c) displaces responsibility for personal harm. They reveal how gay men are constituted as neoliberal subjects through discursive practices linked to responsibility, happiness, and national progress. These practices enable a normalization process devoid of confrontation, anger, or blame where gay men are not only made responsible for their own lives but also the marginalization they experienced in the past.


The authors present the results of a simulation study carried out to compare the effects of different restart techniques on the overall throughput, number of restarts, average response time, and average communication delay in representative distributed database environments. The performances of the following transaction restart methods are compared: (1) restart with random increase of timestamp, (2) restart with random delay, (3) data-marking method, (4) data marking with random delay, and (5) restart with a substitute transaction. The substitute transaction method is shown to perform well under all loads, except for the case in which all transactions are update-only. In this case, restart with a random delay performs better. The data-marking method introduces a very high communication overhead owing to the fact that the transactions keep sending messages requesting operations when an item is not available. This results in high response times and in an erratic behavior of the system under higher loads.<<ETX>>


Subtitle: With the 2010 FAFI World Cup looming, the abnormal load industry has been placed under immense pressure and is struggling to keep on track with demand. Steven O'Sullivan investigates the regulations and vehicle shortages that prevent this industry from operating to its full potential.


Momoko Ikeuchi is an Associate Professor at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in the Division of Biological Science. Her lab studies plant regeneration, with a focus on the developmental mechanisms underlying callus formation and shoot regeneration. We spoke to Momoko over a video call to learn more about her career, her path to independence, and her love for the rich diversity of plants.


In an academic set up the 'library' plays a pivotal role. It stores, analyses, interpret and disseminate information among the users to fulfil their information needs. It has been observed that recent technological advancement has revolutionised library services to a great extent. Now libraries are providing both physical as well as web-enabled library services to their users. In this context, library websites act as a major gateway in providing web-enabled library services. The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the physical mode of library services. However, to support the ongoing teaching and learning process, libraries need to continue their services despite the lockdown. Therefore, the present study seeks to find out whether academic libraries are ready and adequately equipped to perform basic services during this critical juncture. The present study was directed towards exploring the readiness among the academic libraries by assessing their websites based on selected evaluation criteria. Hence, in this study top, 100 NIRF ranked institutes websites were examined by adopting 30-point evaluation criteria. These criteria were selected from the extant literature. These criteria were grouped into 04 categories i.e., basic website information, resource discovery, availability of resources and reference services. The readiness index of each library was calculated based on the availability and non-availability of the said criteria. The findings of the study reveal that 64 per cent of the libraries have failed to secure their score of 50 per cent on predefined criteria. It was also found that the preparedness index is independent of NIRF ranking. Overall findings of the study make it clear that academic libraries need to improve and up to date their web-based services to play a proactive role in the present and post-pandemic situation.


Introduction/Background There is limited evidence favoring the use of the sentinel lymph node technique in ovarian cancer, and no standardized approach has been studied. The objective of the video is to show the standardized sentinel lymph node technique in early ovarian cancer Methodology In the case of malignancy, the sentinel lymph node technique was performed. We subperitoneally injected 0.2 mL of saline solution containing 37 mBq of 99mTc nanocolloid (Albu-res, Pharmaceutical Nycomed Amersham, Braunschweig, Germany). At the same time, 0.5 mL of indocyanine green (concentration 1.25 mg/mL) was injected. We used a 27 G needle at each injection point Results The sentinel lymph nodes were checked with an intra-operative mobile gamma camera (Sentinellatm, Oncovision) for descriptive purposes only. Thirty minutes after the injection, the SLN procedure was started regardless of probe migration with the IMGC. Guided by the acoustic signal of a gamma probe (Wprobe wireless gamma probe STD and LAP, Oncovision), we performed a minimum dissection looking for the hottest sentinel lymph node(s) in the pelvic/para-aortic region. We simultaneously used the Imagen1 HUB-OPAL1 (NIR/ICG system) (Karl Storz Endoscopy, GmbH, Mittelstrasse, Tuttlingen, Germany) to detect the sentinel lymph node(s) dyed with indocyanine green. Any lymph node with a remarkably higher count than the background was considered a sentinel lymph node and was harvested separately. Conclusion In light of the findings of SENTOV clinical trial, the sentinel lymph node technique appears to be applicable in early-stage ovarian cancer Disclosure Nothing to disclose


Soluble sulphate ions in nuclear wastes can have detrimental effects on cementitious wasteforms and disposal facilities based on Portland cement. For safe immobilisation of sulphate-bearing nuclear wastes, Ba(OH)2-Na2SO4-Blast Furnace Slag composites were synthesised via a newly developed single-step method and studied. These composites promote precipitation of insoluble BaSO4 and the consequent activation of the BFS. Six month aged Ba(OH)2-Na2SO4-BFS composite samples, successfully produced via the single-step method, revealed that phases formed are low solubility salts of BaSO4 and BaCO3, calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) with some barium substitution as the main binder phase, with barium also present in Ba-substituted AFt, and a hydrotalcite-type layered double hydroxide. Long term stability investigation, up to 18 months, showed that the BaCO3 initially formed reacts with the sulphate contained in different phases to form less soluble BaSO4 without disturbing the physical stability of the bulk materials.
Gamma irradiation resistance of the proposed composite cement system is the focus of the second half of this thesis. An early age BFS-PC system is studied as a reference to provide information regarding the expected behaviour of slag-rich cements under irradiation, and then early age Ba(OH)2-Na2SO4-BFS composites are studied to evaluate their performance under exposure to gamma rays by comparison. Irradiated samples were compared with control and also heat-treated samples to identify potential effects of the temperature rise during irradiation exposure. The gamma irradiation resulted in the formation of cracks in the BFS-PC system as a result of the radiolysis of the free water, whereas Ba(OH)2-Na2SO4-BFS composites could withstand gamma irradiation without any obvious reduction in the integrity of the products.


INTRODUCTION
Brucellosis is a zoonotic endemic disease in Lebanon. It is caused by direct transmission of Brucella from contaminated animal products to humans. If left untreated brucellosis might lead to several complications and a chronic disease state. The prompt diagnosis of brucellosis has the ability to limit the progression of the disease, especially if the correct treatment is administered for the adequate amount of time. The aim of this study is to determine the optimal diagnostic tool and to assess Brucella burden in Lebanon.

METHODOLOGY
This retrospective study was performed by reviewing the medical charts of 46 brucellosis patients from three Lebanese hospitals. Brucellosis diagnostic tests were compared and sensitivity of each test was calculated, as well as, the level of agreement with other standard diagnostic tools. Data retrieved were analyzed for relevance and statistical significance using the statistical package for social sciences version 23.

RESULTS
Sensitivity results of the diagnostic tests were: Rose Bengal test (RBT) 94.7%, blood culture 65.6%, standard agglutination test (SAT) melitensis 95.1% and SAT abortus 97.6%. The level of agreement between RBT and SAT melitensis as well as abortus is 98% and 90.18%, respectively. While the level of agreement between Blood culture and SAT melitensis as well as abortus is 66.88% and 64.5%, respectively.

DISCUSSION
Culture techniques require further optimization in order to find the best diagnostic tool for brucellosis. Meanwhile, Blood Rose Bengal test held a significant potential for identifying Brucella infection in a highly sensitive, cost effective and time saving manner.


Definitions and codes for identifying vegetation seral status and structure are desired for land management planning, appraising wildlife habitat, and prescibing vegetation treatment. Codes are only presented; they are not a system for determining seral status or stand structure. Terms defined are climax, potential natural community (PNC) succession, seral status, thresholds, altered PNCs, life-form layer, dominant species, successional indicator species, structure classes, cover, and strata. Plant communities may be divided into three life-form layers where appropriate: tree, shrub, and herb/cryptogram. Each layer may be appraised and coded separately for seral status, or a single code may be used. Coding is provided for plant community structure class according to size, cover, and strata in a life-form layer. Seral status and structure may be coded together.


Tracheal agenesis (TA) is a rare congenital anomaly that is incompatible with prolonged life. It may occur alone or with other associated anomalies. A term infant presented with cyanosis, hypotonia, absence of crying and respiratory distress at birth. Intubation was difficult. Esophageal intubation was performed under laryngoscopy. As TA was suspected, a bronchoscopy was performed and the infant was found to have a normal epiglottis and vocal cords; however, there was no trachea. Cardiorespiratory deterioration developed and the patient died on the night of the second day at the postnatal age of 41 hours. Tracheal agenesis was confirmed at autopsy. Associated anomalies included bronchoesophageal fistula, double outlet of the right ventricle with ventricular septal defect, bicuspid pulmonary valve, single lobe of the right lung, imperforate anus and a rectourethral fistula. According to development theory, tracheal agenesis and VACTERL (vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiovascular defects, tracheoesophageal fistula, radial dysplasia or renal defects and limb defects association may result from a mesodermal deficiency caused by abnormal blastogenesis.


An investigation was carried out with 49 bread wheat genotypes to assess the genetic diversity for yield and yield related traits. The Unweighted Pair Group Method using Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) technique was used for the analysis. The genotypes were evaluated for 17 Characters and showed wide variability for the components studied. The cluster analysis grouped the 49 bread wheat genotypes into 22 different clusters. This indicates the presence of wide diversity among the tested genotypes. From cluster mean values, genotypes in cluster 9 and 13 deserve consideration for their direct use as parents in hybridization programs to develop high yielding wheat varieties. The genotypes in cluster 3 and 16 may be used for improvement of protein and gluten contents, early maturity-ness and other desirable characters other than grain yield. The result of the principal components analysis revealed that nine principal components (PC1 to PC9) accounted nearly 80 % of the total variation. It was also noted that differentiation of genotypes into different clusters was because of the small contribution of few character rather than the cumulative effect of a number of characters. The information obtained from this study can be used to plan crosses and maximize the use of genetic diversity and expression of heterosis.


Time and wavelength resolved spectroscopic measurements have been performed for xenon gas excited by 2.0 MeV protons. Reaction rate constants for the formation and decay of the 3 Sigma sub u and the 1 Sigma sub u states in Xe sub 2* via three body collisions are 31 Hz/Torr square and 61 Hz/torr square, respectively. A kinetic model based on the experimental facts is presented and is examined. The lifetime of the 3 Sigma sub u state in Xe sub 2* has been measured to be 102 ns. Single proton counting techniques were used, and both the 172 nm radiation from the 3 Sigma sub u state as well as the 152 nm radiation from the 1 Sigma sub u state were monitored as a function of time and pressure. The rate constants of interest have been extracted from the pressure dependence of the decay times. Ion recombination kinetic processes were clearly distinguishable at higher pressures and could be dealt with independently from the excited state channel reactions. Tests were performed to insure that events which occur late in time following excitation were actually ion recombination processes. Absolute conversion efficiencies were measured for proton energy input to 172 nm protonmore » energy output.« less


Turbo codes are extensively used in current communications standards and have a promising outlook for future generations. The advantages of software defined radio, especially dynamic reconfiguration, make it very attractive in this multi‐standard scenario. However, the complex and power consuming implementation of the maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithm, employed by turbo decoders, sets hurdles to this goal. This work introduces an ASIP architecture for the MAP algorithm, based on a dual‐clustered VLIW processor. It displays the good performance of application specific designs along with the versatility of processors, which makes it compliant with leading edge standards. The machine deals with multi‐operand instructions in an innovative way, the fetching and assertion of data is serialized and the addressing is automatized and transparent for the programmer. The performance‐area trade‐off of the proposed architecture achieves a throughput of 8 cycles per symbol with very low power dissipation.


The blade-/plate-form implant is the only endosseous implant which has proved to be successful under three different types of integration: fibrous integration, when the layer of fibrous or collagenous tissue interspersed between implant and bone is less than 125 microns; fibro-osseous integration, when there is a combination of thinly defined fibrous connection with 22% or less direct bone contact with the implant; and osseous integration, when there is 23% or more direct bone-to-implant contact, with no evidence of fibrous connective tissue anywhere. The blade implant is an unique versatile device which has passed with success the test of time (some of them being in function for as long as 28 years) and deserves more attention from implantologists around the world.


Distance education has been recognised around the world as a viable and cost-effective method for the initial training of teachers, and for their continuing professional development. In Nepal, one teacher training college has been offering a teacher education course through distance mode. In this regard, the main objective of this study was to seek a deeper understanding of the programme and to determine its overall quality. To achieve this, the research utilised a case study methodology and explored the experiences and reactions of students, tutors/founder members on this B.Ed. programme. To systematically assess the programme's effectiveness, the research developed a new analytical framework appropriate for this context. The framework was further refined as data were analysed.

The study revealed that the quality of Self-Learning-Materials provided were poor in terms of content presentation, coverage, student-content interaction, and in encouraging distance students in learning. While the poor quality of the materials was partly due to inadequate finances, it was also due to a lack of expertise and training in distance learning materials development.

The distance approach introduced by the college was highly appreciated by students, but the study revealed that the context in which the college worked had impeded development. Initiatives were constrained by several issues, such as the college and its study centres operating with minimal physical infrastructure and logistics, poor learning resources and inadequate staffing. The college and university management and administration was inefficient in supporting its students and staff. Study findings indicate that the quality of the programme was undermined by several factors such as political instability, absence of government support, insufficient finances, poor infrastructure, management incompetence, a lack of adequately trained staff, and shortage of expertise in distance learning.

The findings suggest that the quality and sustainability of the programme could be ensured through political commitment, government support, staff development and training, use of communication technology, collaborative partnerships and the establishment of quality assurance mechanisms.

This study makes a unique contribution to the field of teacher education through distance mode by exploring its effectiveness in Nepal, and brings to light the complexities and challenges of distance education in a politically unstable, under-resourced and development context.


In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the federal government's Senate reform agenda. This article focuses on the Court's response to the government's proposal for consultative (non-binding) elections, which would have had the prime minister consider recommending an electorate's preferred candidate for nomination by the governor general. The Court rejected the government's argument that the proposal adhered to the legally unenforceable parliamentary conventions of responsible government. The Court characterized the proposal as a break in Canada's 'constitutional architecture.' I ask: how is it that Canada's constitutional architecture has become unconventional? My answer lies in the Court's theorization of what the Constitution is and how it may be amended. I trace a shift in the Court's metaphorical reasoning, from the 1981 Patriation reference's Constitution as dynamic machine where conventions are its 'operative force' to the 1998 Secession and 2014 Senate Reform references, where a static and aesthetically coherent Constitution as architecture emerges. I argue that, in its architectural understanding, the Court understates the role of conventions in constitutional amendment and finally casts conventions of responsible government as the saboteurs of a unified constitutional design.


Food-production has a great impact on the environment and the need for a more sustainable food consumption pattern and low impact products is high. Aquaculture in general, and especially mussels are in many ways a sustainable alternative for protein source. However, depending on how the mussels are being produced, the total environmental impact varies. This study analyzes an innovative technique to farm mussels, the re-seeding technique aiming to inrease the yield and quality of mussels and examine how different methods affect the environment.

The method Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used and is considering a cradle to gate perspective. The two impacts categories are climate change and eutrophication potential (EP). On the farm that is being studied the mussels are being harvested from nets and re-seeded to the optimal density on ropes to maximize the yield. To examine the impact of different method, four different scenarios are being analyzed.

The result shows that the re-seeding process is relatively material and fuel intensive and the environmental impact would be lower if the mussels were left on the nets for the whole growth cycle. Compared to other mussel LCA studies, emissions are similar or lower depending on different factors such as method, time for growth and meat content. Taking in to account the mussel's removal of nutrients during their life, the total EP of the farm is negative, which is a unique property in food production. The main contributor to emissions is the materials used on the farm and especially the cotton mesh sock that is being used to reseed the mussels.


is the degree matrix and elucidate some of its key properties that make it suitable for clustering. Suppose we form a weighted graph G with our data-points being the vertices and the edge weights being specified by the weight matrix W . Let us first consider the special case when the graph G has exactly k components with vertex sets A1, · · · , Ak. Then the Laplacian Lrw has the following properties.


Responsibilities in Planning a Survey. Some Remarks on the Theory of Sampling. The Frame and Elements of a Sampling Plan. Operational Definitions of Expected Value and of Standard Error. Uncertainties Not Attributable to Sampling. Some Simple Replicated Designs. A Survey of Business Establishments with Correction for Nonresponse. Examples in Sampling Accounts. Evaluation of Inventory of Materials. Exercise in a Replicated Survey of a Small Urban Area. General Theory and Procedure for Replicated Sampling of a Large Area. Field Procedure for the Creation of Segments and for the Selection of People Within Families. A Statistical Aid to Supervision. Sampling New Material. Stratified Sampling. Evaluation of Expected Value and of Bias in Sampling Procedures. Theory of Variances. The Poisson Series and the Square-Root Transformation. Optimum Number of Segments Per Block. Theory for the Formation of Strata. Choice of Zoning Interval and Number of Subsamples. Index.


Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) may act as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes that can be transferred via the food chain or within the gastrointestinal tract to pathogenic bacteria. This thesis provides data required for assessing the potential risk of using antibiotic resistant strains of the LAB species Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus plantarum as food processing aids or probiotics. Knowledge of the distributions of antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for a species is needed when using a phenotypic method to differentiate strains with acquired resistance from susceptible strains or strains with intrinsic resistance. Controlled and standardised conditions are required for antibiotic susceptibility testing of LAB, as demonstrated here during evaluation of the Etest and broth microdilution MIC determination methods used. Inoculum size and incubation time were varied during broth microdilution testing of the susceptibilities of 35 LAB strains to six antibiotics. An increase in either parameter resulted in elevated MICs for all species. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined for 56 L. reuteri and 121 L. plantarum strains that differed by source and spatial and temporal origin. MIC data obtained with the Etest and the broth microdilution methods corresponded well with each other. All L. plantarum strains were susceptible to ampicillin, gentamicin, erythromycin and clindamycin, and intrinsically resistant to streptomycin. Acquired resistance to tetracycline was associated with plasmid-bound tet(M). Lactobacillus reuteri strains had acquired resistance to tetracycline (n=28), ampicillin (n=14), erythromycin/clindamycin (n=6) and chloramphenicol (n=1). This resistance was attributed to mutational pbp genes for ampicillin and to added tet(W), erm and cat(TC) genes for the antibiotics inhibiting protein synthesis. Genetic relatedness was observed among L. reuteri strains with high MICs for both ampicillin and tetracycline and among strains with high MICs for both erythromycin and clindamycin. The majority of the antibiotic resistant L. reuteri strains carried the resistance genes on plasmids. Traits of putative transfer machineries adjacent to both plasmid- and chromosome-located resistance genes were demonstrated. Lactobacillus reuteri as a donor of resistance genes in the human gut was investigated by studying the transferability of the tetracycline resistance gene tet(W) to faecal enterococci, bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. No gene transfer was demonstrated under the conditions tested.


There are many parameters that affect video quality but their combined effect is not well identified and understood when video is transmitted over mobile/wireless networks. In this paper our aim is twofold. First, to study and analyze the behaviour of video quality for wide range variations of a set of selected parameters. Second, to develop a learning model based on ANFIS to estimate the visual perceptual quality in terms of the mean opinion score (MOS) and decodable frame rate (Q value). We trained three ANFIS-based ANNs for the three distinct content types using a combination of network level and application level parameters such as frame rate, send bitrate, link bandwidth and packet error rate and tested the ANN models using unseen dataset. We found that the video quality is more sensitive to network level parameters compared to application level parameters. Preliminary results show that a good prediction accuracy was obtained from the ANFIS-based ANN model. The work should help in the development of a reference-free video prediction model and quality of service (QoS) control methods for video over wireless/mobile networks.


In a cognitive radio network (CRN), a primary (licensed) user (PU) can share its frequency spectrum by renting this spectrum to a secondary (unlicensed) user (SU). In this paper, we propose an auction-based CRN model whose novelty is considering multiple PUs along with multiple SUs. These PUs compete with each other so that they can earn more profit while the SUs pay less and earn higher payoffs. This situation is formulated as an oligopoly market. For the SUs, we adopt Hackner utility function to obtain the demands for the frequency spectrum and according to their payoff functions the best scenario in each stage of the dynamic spectrum sharing game is selected in the case in which there is a limit on PUs to supply SUs' demands. Simulation results show that our proposed model satisfies both groups of PUs and SUs.


The low-field Hall effect at 4.2 K and deviations from Matthiessen's rule between 4.2 K and 140 K were studied for dislocated samples of high-purity copper. In the framework of the two-group model it is shown that for a good agreement between low-field Hall effect and DMR data it is necessary to take into account the different averaging of relaxation times for low-field Hall effect and electrical resistivity. The mathematical analysis used leads to a definition of neck angle in the two-group model.


Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is the main risk factor for the development of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Nowadays medicine that reduce IOP remain the main method of treating for POAG. The first-line drugs for POAG are prostaglandin analogues. In Russia, for the first time, it appeared not in the form of a fixed combination (Bimoptic). In this regard it is very important to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Bimoptic as a monotherapy and additive component in the treatment of patients with POAG. Patients and methods. Patients were divided into 3 groups depending on the treatment. Group I comprised of 34 patients with newly diagnosed glaucoma on monotherapy with bimatoprost 0.03 %. Group II consisted of 30 patients who started taking bimatoprost 0.03 % as a replacement for latanoprost 0.005 % or travoprost 0.004 %. There were 32 patients in group III, who were prescribed bimatoprost 0.03 % as an adjuvant therapy for B-blockers (BB) 0.5 % or carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (ICA) 2 %. Results. According to the results of the clinical study, it was found that instillation of Bimoptik as a monotherapy for newly diagnosed POAG leads to a decrease in IOP level by an average of 32.1 % of the initial level. With the additive tactics of assigning Bimoptik to the BB and / or IKA, the level of IOP goes down by 10.6 % more. If prostaglandin is changed to Bimoptik, the level of IOP decreases by 12.6 % of the prostaglandin-associated values. Also according to acquired data, Bimoptik has a low percentage of adverse reactions, slight hyperemia and discomfort were observed in 5.2 % of cases in all groups. Conclution. Bimoptik effectively reduces the level of IOP in both monotherapy and additive tactics with the least adverse reactions.


In order to improve the efficiency of gas turbines, thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have been applied to components in the hot sections of advanced gas turbines. During service, thermally grown oxide (TGO), which consists of an Al2O3 layer and a mixed oxide layer, forms at the interface between the top coating and bond coating. It is supposed that the reason for failures of TBCs, such as cracking, delamination or spalling, is due to decreased bond strength caused by TGO growth or due to the formation of stress concentration sites caused by porosities in the mixed oxide. In this study, to inhibit the growth of TGO, plasma sprayed CoNiCrAlY bond coating was remelted with a YAG laser prior to spraying the top coating. A thin Al2O3 layer formed at the top coating/bond coating interface, and the formation of porous mixed oxide during thermal aging tests was inhibited. Four-point bending tests showed that the bond strength of TBC with remelted CoNiCrAlY was superior to standard TBC.


Culture as defined by Tylor is that complex whole including beliefs, art, region, values, norms, ideas, law, taught, knowledge, custom and other capabilities acquired by a man as a member of a society. Culture is the totality of human experience acquired during transmission of heritage from one generation to another and to learn the ways of learning, eating, drinking, behaving, walking, dressing, and working etc. The culture of Bengal encompasses the Bengal region in south Asia, mainly including Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam (Barak Valley), where the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Nineteenth-century (mainly the period of Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Rabindranath Tagore) having a great concentration of scholars, social and religious reformers, scientists, literary giants, patriotic orators etc. brought renaissance in Bengal and transform it from the 'medieval' to the 'modern'. Social reformers established many libraries as community learning space started with The Calcutta Public Library, in the year 1836, the first modern public library in South Asia. From that era role of public library and its purpose of use have changed time to time. A brief description has given about the public library movement and the changes of public library use in the cultural context of present West Bengal.


In this paper, loads acting on driveline components during an entire proving ground (PG) durability schedule are used to demonstrate the methodology of optimizing driveline performance reliability using both physical and computational methods. It is well known that there is an effect of driver variability on the driveline component loads. Yet, this effect has not been quantified in the past for lack of experimental data from multiple drivers and reliable data analysis methods. This paper presents the data reduction techniques that are used to identify the extreme driver performance and to extrapolate the short-term measurement to long-term data for driveline performance reliability. The driveline loading variability is made evident in the rotating moment histogram domain. This paper also introduces the concept for a simulation model to predict the driveline component loads based on a complete proving grounds schedule. A model-to-test correlation is also performed in this paper.