Netflix and Hulu are leading Over-the-Top (OTT) content service providers in the US and Canada. Netflix alone accounts for 29.7% of the peak downstream traffic in the US in 2011. Understanding the system architectures and performance of Netflix and Hulu can shed light on the design of such large-scale video streaming platforms, and help improving the design of future systems. In this paper, we perform extensive measurement study to uncover their architectures and service strategies. Netflix and Hulu bear many similarities. Both Netflix and Hulu video streaming platforms rely heavily on the third-party infrastructures, with Netflix migrating that majority of its functions to the Amazon cloud, while Hulu hosts its services out of Akamai. Both service providers employ the same set of three content distribution networks (CDNs) in delivering the video contents. Using active measurement study, we dissect several key aspects of OTT streaming platforms of Netflix and Hulu, e.g., employed streaming protocols, CDN selection strategy, user experience reporting, etc. We discover that both platforms assign the CDN to a video request without considering the network conditions and optimizing the user-perceived video quality. We further conduct the performance measurement studies of the three CDNs employed by Netflix and Hulu. We show that the available bandwidths on all three CDNs vary significantly over the time and over the geographic locations. We propose a measurement-based adaptive CDN selection strategy and a multiple-CDN-based video delivery strategy that can significantly increase users' average available bandwidth.


"For the output of an economy to be sustainable it must generate sufficient income to meet all costs of production and make investment such that at least a constant stock of capital is maintained" (Becken & Simmons, 2008, p. 421). From this perspective, are the environmental costs and the ecological capital considered? The dynamics of the current economies and the pressures on achieving higher profitability have conducted to the industries in general; and the tourism industry in particular to ignore environmental-sustainability issues. According to The Living Planet Report 2008, the sustainability concept is one of the drivers for the solution of the ecological overshoot (WWF, 2008). The consumption of the Biocapacity has become a major concern due to the unbalances between the supply of ecological capital and the demands from the economic activities. Since the tourism sector is an ecological capital industry consumer, the knowledge conception around the environmental-sustainability assessment is crucial for the industry's sustainability. From an exploratory tourism yield assessment in the Fjord Norway Region, we found that the visitors' demand represented about 17% of the ecological supply whereas the demand over the Biocapacity was increased due to the visitors' shock producing an overshoot of 57%. It represented a negative effect that in the absence of tourism would not occur. It implied that if the population's demands (summed to the visitors' demand) continues at the same rate, it will be required the equivalent of half of the Fjord Norway Region to maintain the registered level of lifestyle consumption. Consequently, there is a necessity to develop equilibrium models to maximize the tourism industry's profitability ensuring that the ecological capital remains productive indefinitely for the wellbeing of future generations.


Regardless of whether you are a buyer or a seller, and regardless what the object of the contract is, it is essentially important that you seek to protect your rights through various clauses that must aim to provide clearness to contractual obligations, definitions of breach, and consequences thereof. The article addresses a number of interest-protective legal mechanisms and necessity of their explicit incorporation in the contract. With emphasis on Material Adverse Effect clause the paper focuses on its exigency and applicability.


Synthesis is reported of optimal and adaptive algorithms for the operation of an adaptive optical phase conjugation system. This system comprises a Hartmann wavefront sensor, a wavefront corrector, and an automatic control device.


Seventy-three children with disorders of physical growth and mental development were stimulated by insulin hypoglycemia and arginine infusion and their human growth hormone (HGH) responses were determined. Only four patients exhibited absent or impaired pituitary hormone secretion and one of them presented a unique syndrome of panhypopituitarism associated with intrauterine growth retardation, long eyelashes and eyebrows, sparse hair and degeneration of the retina. Statistical analysis indicated no significant HGH peak concentrations in groups of either tall males or stunted females who possessed various sex chromosome abnormalities, nor did these groups differ in a variety of clinical parameters including age, physical growth, birth weight and intelligence.


The application of gene therapy to liver disease is contingent on the development of an effective gene delivery vehicle. Receptor-mediated endocytosis can be exploited as a means of selective and efficient targeting of gene therapy vectors to hepatocytes. DNA-binding conjugates have been directed to the liver by the attachment of asialoglycoproteins or other ligands for receptors expressed on hepatocytes. Recent studies suggest refinements in this approach through which high transduction rates in vitro may be reproduced in vivo. The intrinsic liver tropism of viral vectors and liposomes can be augmented by the addition of targeting features, as demonstrated in animal models. With further modification, such as the incorporation of hepatotropic elements of the hepatitis viruses or lipoproteins, the next generation of delivery systems may achieve efficient, persistent expression of therapeutic genes in a safe and cell type-specific manner.


We study a theory of Dirac fermions on a disk in the presence of an electromagnetic field. Using the heat-kernel technique we compute the functional determinant which results after decoupling the zero-flux gauge degrees of freedom from the fermions. We also compute the Green's functions of the remaining fermionic theory with the appropriate boundary conditions. Finally we analyze the coset model associated with this gauge theory and compute all its correlation functions.


The large variations in hydrogen isotope ratios found in insoluble organic matter (IOM) in chondritic meteorites may be attributed to hydrogen isotopic exchange between IOM and water during aqueous alteration. We conducted D–H exchange experiments (1) during synthesis of IOM simulant (hereafter called chondritic organic analog, COA) from formaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, and ammonia with water, and (2) with the synthesized COA with a secondary reservoir of water. The changes in the D/H ratios obtained by infrared spectra of the COA suggest that most of the hydrogen in the COA is derived from water during synthesis. We further investigated the kinetics of D–H exchange between D‐rich COA and D‐poor water, as well as the opposite case, D‐poor COA and D‐rich water. To help assess understanding exchange kinetics, two‐dimensional isotope imaging obtained using isotope microscope revealed that no gradient D–H exchange profiles were present in the COA grains, indicating that the rate‐limiting step for D–H exchange is not diffusion. Thus, the changes in D/(D + H) ratios were fit by the first‐order reaction rate law. Apparent kinetic parameters—the rate constants, the activation energies, and the frequency factors—were obtained with the Arrhenius equation. Using these kinetic expressions, hydrogen isotopic exchange profiles were estimated for time and temperature behavior. The D–H exchange between organic matter and water is apparently relatively fast and this implies that the aqueous alteration temperatures should have been very low, likely close to 0 °C to maintain hydrogen isotopic disequilibrium between organic matter and liquid water for millions of years.


The article deals with the cohesion specifity in electronic literary texts, which results from dual (verbal and non-verbal) structure of  electronic literary text. The research materials include several  electronic texts (based on different platforms and technologies such  as Adobe Flash, Scalar, HTML 5) that demonstrate the use of conceptually valid poly-code elements in their semantic structure.  The main methods of the research are general scientific methods,  such as monitoring and description in conjunction with the method of comparative analysis and complex linguistic and stylistic analysis of  literary text. As a result, the author concludes that the electronic  literary text cohesion on semantic level is represented in structural,  identical and indexing aspects. All of them are provided by verbal  and nonverbal elements of the electronic literary text. The semantic  unraveling of this or that main topic of the electronic literary text is  provided by the mental combination of verbal and visual elements in  recipient's mind during the electronic text perception process. In this  case the poly-code paralinguistic elements enhance semantic resources of electronic literary text and emphasize its visibility.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Curcuma aromatica powder on the functional and sensory characteristics of Mandupi. Various Mandupi samples were prepared with wheat flour along with addition of various amounts of Curcuma aromatica powder, after which instrumental characteristics and sensory evaluations were investigated. According to the amylograph data, the composite Curcuma aromatica powder-wheat flour samples showed increased gelatinization temperatures with increasing Curcuma aromatica powder content, whereas initial viscosity at , viscosity at after 15 minutes, and maximum viscosity were reduced. In terms of Hunter`s color values, L value decreased while a and b values increased with increasing Curcuma aromatica powder content. Besides cooked weight, cooked volume and turbidity of Mandupi increased as the addition level of Curcuma aromatica powder increased. In terms of textural characteristics, addition of Curcuma aromatica powder increased springiness, chewiness, and brittleness, whereas springiness and adhesiveness decreased. Based on sensory evaluations, the overall preference of Mandupi with 3% added Curcuma aromatica powder was higher than that of control.


A maxillary central incisor in a 55-year-old Caucasian female was extracted in modified block as part of a histologic study of gingival responses to subgingival crown placement. The facial portion of this block showed preclinical pocket depth of 1.0 mm with moderate gingival inflammation. The block was extracted 2 weeks after crown placement and prepared for histologic evaluation. Histologic responses to subgingival crown placement were, among others: gingival recession (1.0 mm), reformation of crevicular depth (0.7 mm) and remodelling of the gingival and periodontal attachment apparatus. Histologic evaluations of the gingival unit using cellular and connective tissue stains revealed an area of root resorption immediately apical to the junctional epithelium at a portion of the facial surface. Root resorption had progressed into dentin. Gingival connective tissue abutted the dentinal surface. Collagen stains showed the presence of tufts of collagen fibrils which appeared to arise from the dentin. These fibrillar elements seemed to splice with collagen fibrils found in the gingival connective tissue. The specimen thus suggests the possibility of a fiber linkage attachment involving exposed dentinal fibers as part of gingival repair following injury.


: This paper presents a laboratory validation of a new approach for Finite Element Model Updating(FEMU) on short-span bridges by combining ambient vibration measurements with static load input-deflection output measurements. The conventional FEMU approach based on modal parameters requires the assumption on the system mass matrix for the eigen-value analysis. The proposed approach doesn't require the assumption and even provides a way to update the mass matrix. The proposed approach consists of two steps: 1) updating the stiffness matrix using the static input-deflection output measurements, and 2) updating the mass matrix using a few lower natural frequencies. For a validation of the proposed approach, Young's modulus of the laboratory model was updated by the proposed approach and compared with the value obtained from strain-stress tests in a Universal Testing Machine. Result of the conventional FEMU was also compared with the result of the proposed approach. It was found that proposed approach successfully estimated the Young's modulus and the mass density reasonably while the conventional FEMU showed a large error when used with higher-modes. In addition, the FE modeling error was discussed.


The mist on the inside of an automobile windshield is not only uncomfortable but also very dangerous because it obstructs the driver's vision. However, the removal process of the mist has never been studied in detail. This study performed experiments analyzing the mechanism causes the mist in a car and investigated the appropriate removal process. The experiments were performed on two rainy days, 10 April 2006 and 26 May 2006, with temperature and relative humidity sensors of testo-175-H2 and DICKSON-TK500. We found a passenger increased water vapor by 0.2 g min?¹ through respiration and thereby relative humidity (RH) from 55% to 67% in 8 minutes. Even though RH was not saturated, misting occurred because the humid air contacted the colder surface of the window. To remove the mist, it is necessary to increase the temperature or inflow drier air in the car. Therefore, we expected that the heater would be more effective than air conditioner for this matter. However, the outcome was the other way around due to the structure of the heating and cooling system in the car. When the air-conditioner was on, colder and drier air was generated and flowed through the so-called evaporator. Droplets were produced in the evaporator due to cooling procedure. When the heater was on, the warm air evaporated the droplets and increased the water content in the air resulting in an increase of relative humidity. Consequently, the air conditioner is more effective than the heater to remove the mist.


Many real world classification problems involve classes organized in a hierarchical tree-like structure. However in many cases the hierarchical structure is ignored and each class is treated in isolation or in other words the class structure is flattened (Dumais and Chen, 2000). In this paper, we propose a new approach of incorporating hierarchical structure knowledge by cascading it as an additional feature for Child level classifier. We posit that our cascading model will outperform the baseline "flat" model. Our empirical experiment provides strong evidences supporting our proposal. Interestingly, even imperfect hierarchical structure knowledge would also improve classification performance.


Water deficit and phosphate (Pi) deficiency adversely affect growth and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of legume crops. In this study, we examined the impact of interaction between soil water conditions and available soil-Pi levels on growth, nodule development and BNF potential of nine cowpea varieties grown on dry savanna soils. In our experimental design, soils with different available soil-Pi levels, i.e., low, moderate, and high soil-Pi levels, collected from various farming fields were used to grow nine cowpea varieties under well-watered and water-deficit conditions. Significant and severe water deficit-damaging effects on BNF, nodulation, growth, levels of plant-nitrogen (N) and -phosphorus (P), as well as shoot relative water content and chlorophyll content of cowpea plants were observed. Under well-watered and high available soil-Pi conditions, cowpea varieties IT07K-304-9 and Dan'Ila exhibited significantly higher BNF potential and dry biomass, as well as plant-N and -P contents compared with other tested ones. Significant genotypic variations among the cowpeas were recorded under low available soil-Pi and water-deficit conditions in terms of the BNF potential. Principal component (PC) analysis revealed that varieties IT04K-339-1, IT07K-188-49, IT07K-304-9, and IT04K-405-5 were associated with PC1, which was better explained by performance for nodulation, plant biomass, plant-N, plant-P, and BNF potential under the combined stress of water deficit and Pi deficiency, thereby offering prospects for development of varieties with high growth and BNF traits that are adaptive to such stress conditions in the region. On another hand, variety Dan'Ila was significantly related to PC2 that was highly explained by the plant shoot/root ratio and chlorophyll content, suggesting the existence of physiological and morphological adjustments to cope with water deficit and Pi deficiency for this particular variety. Additionally, increases in soil-Pi availability led to significant reductions of water-deficit damage on dry biomass, plant-N and -P contents, and BNF potential of cowpea varieties. This finding suggests that integrated nutrient management strategies that allow farmers to access to Pi-based fertilizers may help reduce the damage of adverse water deficit and Pi deficiency caused to cowpea crop in the regions, where soils are predominantly Pi-deficient and drought-prone.


Three isoforms of Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta 1, beta 2 and beta 3) exist in mammals. They play critical roles in growth regulation and development. Each isoform is encoded by a unique gene on different chromosomes. All three of these growth factors are secreted by most cell types, generally in a latent form, requiring activation before they can exert biological activity. This activation of latent TGF-beta, which may involve plasmin, thrombospondin and possibly acidic microenvironments, appears to be a crucial regulatory step in controlling their effects. The TGF-betas possess three major activities: they inhibit proliferation of most cells, but can stimulate the growth of some mesenchymal cells; they exert immunosuppressive effects; and they enhance the formation of extracellular matrix. Two types of membrane receptors (type I and type II) possessing a serine/threonine kinase activity within their cytoplasmic domains are involved in signal transduction. Inhibition of growth by the TGF-betas stems from a blockage of the cell cycle in late G1 phase. Among the molecular participants concerned in G1-arrest are the Retinoblastoma (Rb) protein and members of the Cyclin/Cyclin-dependent kinase/Cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor families. In the intact organism the TGF-betas are involved in wound repair processes and in starting inflammatory reactions and then in their resolution. The latter effects of the TGF-betas derive in part from their chemotactic attraction of inflammatory cells and of fibroblasts. From gene knockout and from overexpression studies it has been shown that precise regulation of each isoform is essential for survival, at least in the long term. Several clinical applications for certain isoforms have already shown their efficacy and they have been implicated in numerous other pathological situations.


Expression of antigens immunologically related to the gag gene products of murine mammary tumour virus (MMTV) in continuous cell lines MCF-7, T47D and MDA-231 was followed by indirect enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Some cells of the 2 clonal lines derived from MCF-7 and T47D cells contained MMTV antigens, but these were not detected in MDA-231 cells and in epithelial cells from the milk of healthy women. The expression of antigens related to MMTV gag proteins correlated with the expression of proteins immunologically related to MMTV gp52. Cells positive for antigens related to p27 were also found when healthy women sera containing antibodies against MMTV p27 were examined. Before testing, the donor sera containing antibodies against MMTV protein p27 were absorbed to the negative MCF-7 cell clone and their antibody activity to MMTV p27 was also tested by immunoblotting.


We propose a Boolean cellular automation to model an artificial adaptive living organism in order to investigate the development of cyclic vital functions during a simulated evolutionary process. The organism is endowed with a basic architecture consisting of several sensor (input), motor (output) and processing Boolean gates whose connectivity pattern is adapted with a genetic algorithm. Cyclic searching behaviors develop that are tuned to the spatial distribution of "food". Under additional assumptions we also find that internal pacemakers can develop to adapt plastically to the alternance of "light" an "darkness". These pacemakers coexist with a "free running" regime in which the circadian cycles persist and even in the absence of external periodic stimuli.


We investigate whether a borrower's media coverage influences the syndicated loan origination and participation decisions of informationally disadvantaged lenders, loan syndicate structures, and interest spreads. In syndicated loan deals, information asymmetries can exist between lenders that have a relationship with a borrower and less informed, nonrelationship lenders competing to serve as lead arranger on a syndicated loan, and also between lead arrangers and less informed syndicate participants. Theory suggests that the aggressiveness with which less informed lenders compete for a loan deal increases in the sentiment of public information signals about a borrower. We extend this theory to syndicated loans and hypothesize that the likelihood of less informed lenders serving as the lead arranger or joining a loan syndicate is increasing in the sentiment of media‐initiated, borrower‐specific articles published prior to loan origination. We find that as media sentiment increases (1) outside, nonrelationship lenders have a higher probability of originating loans; (2) syndicate participants are less likely to have a previous relationship with the borrower or lead bank; (3) lead banks retain a lower percentage of loans; and (4) loan spreads decrease.


The article discusses the formation of Siberian settlements on the example of villages of the Spassky rural settlement (the Tomsk region, Russia). The influence of the MoskovskoSibirskii Tract on the development of villages is determined by the number of houses and residents. The analysis of the villages of the Spassky rural settlement includes the history of the formation of settlements; territorial management units; volost management; volost assignment to settlements after 1861, and changes in the volost boundaries based on lists of settlements in Tomsk Gubernia at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The relevance of the study is determined by little information on the historical and cultural heritage of Tomsk villages and the problems of preserving historical rural settlements in Russia. Purpose : A study the history and development of villages in the Spassky rural settlement. Practical implications : the results obtained can be used in the implementation of design work on the prospective development of old Siberian villages. Scientific novelty : Historical study of the formation and development of settlements in the Spasskoye rural settlement, which has not been studied previously. Methodology/Approach : The critical analysis of the literature, system and structural analysis of information and creative synthesis of conclusions were used in this work. Theoretical works of historians and architects listed in the bibliographic list of this article. Research findings : The formation of villages in Siberia occurred, to a large extent, owing to immigrants from the European part of Russia, who brought their own traditions of housekeeping. The analysis of the volost distribution of the villages of the Spassky rural settlement shows that the territories inhabited by certain nationalities transformed to separate volosts and were called foreign. The growth in the number of courtyards and residents of settlements in the adjacent villages of the Tomsk Province confirmed the more intensive development of the adjacent villages.


Introduction Low levels of serum vitamin D are common and associated with progression of chronic kidney disease. However, the frequency of hypovitaminosis D following kidney transplantation (KT) is not well studied. We examined how vitamin D levels change post-transplant and compared the changes between patients with low-and normal-vitamin D pre-transplant. Materials and Methods We examined KT recipients from January 1, 2006, to May 31, 2016, who had 25-hydroxy vitamin D tests both before and within the first year of KT. If there were multiple vitamin D levels, we took the closest value to the transplant date and defined as pre-Tx and post-Tx vitamin D levels. Patients with vitamin D levels greater than 50 were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups according to vitamin D levels, 1) low (<30) and 2) normal (30-50). Mean vitamin D levels were compared between pre-and post-Tx using t-test analysis. Results A total of 398 patients were included in this study. Mean pre-and post-Tx vitamin D levels were 21.12 and 20.39 ng/mL, respectively. We found that 315 patients (79.15%) had low pre-Tx vitamin D levels and 83 patients (20.85%) had normal pre-Tx vitamin D levels. Post-Tx vitamin D levels were 23.13 and 19.67 ng/mL in normal and low pre-Tx vitamin D patients, respectively (p<0.01)(figure1). Patients with low pre-Tx vitamin D levels were more likely to have low post-Tx vitamin D levels (p=0.03)(table1). Furthermore, we found that 60.5% of patients with decreasing post-Tx vitamin D levels had low pre-Tx vitamin D levels while patients with normal pre-Tx vitamin D levels had a greater reduction in post-Tx vitamin D levels than patients with low pre-Tx vitamin D (figure2). Conclusions Hypovitaminosis D was very common in kidney transplant recipients. Preexisting hypovitaminosis D patients were more likely to have persistent low post-transplant vitamin D levels. Moreover, Post-transplant vitamin D levels were still lower than normal values regardless of pre-transplant vitamin D levels. Future studies should include vitamin D supplement and graft survival to support how vitamin D may impact on long-term outcome. Figure. No caption available. Figure. No caption available.


We report the case of a 39-yr-old female with a liver lesion that was incidentally detected by ultrasound. Examination of biopsy specimens revealed focal nodular hyperplasia. A metastatic tumor in the right os ilium developed in the following weeks and showed specific uptake of 99mTc-hepatic 2,6-dimethyliminodiacetic acid (HIDA), suggesting metastasis from a differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. The final pathologic diagnosis was multifocal, solid and glandular hepatocellular carcinoma, partly differentiated as fibrolamellar carcinoma, and an osseous metastasis from the differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma.


Background: The assessment of doctor's perceptions and understanding about generic medicines may help in recognizing possible barriers to greater generic medicine usage.

Aims & Objective: The primary objective of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of doctors toward generic medicines.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a pretested questionnaire in a tertiary-care teaching hospital of Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu (India). The questionnaire was designed to assess the KAP about generic medicines. The doctors working in this institute during the study period were included. All data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, version 16.0). p-Values of


The article examines Internet banking, its main goals and objectives. The development of Internet banking abroad in the world andTurkmenistanis being considered. The services provided by Internet banking, its advantages and disadvantages are considered. The economic efficiency of the use of Internet banking in the commercial bank of Turkmenistan (AKB) «Rysgal» is determined. An important task of internet banking is to gain the trust of users. It is necessary to create a clearer legal framework for banks operating in the Internet banking market, this will increase the confidence of users in this type of banking services.


The Turonian Notom delta is one of the Ferron fluvial-deltaic wedges deposited in the Cretaceous foreland basin of North America and is well exposed in the Henry Mountains region, Utah. This article uses variable sampling of measured sections of the fluvial-deltaic wedge along a 19-mi (30-km) outcrop belt to address correlation uncertainties in sparse data sets, such as are common in subsurface studies. A high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic analysis based on 58 measured sections, extensive walking out of beds, and field photomosaics shows that the wedge is composed of 43 parasequences, 18 parasequence sets, and six depositional sequences. Resampling the outcrop belt with 13 sections provides a sparse data set. Correlations using the data set show considerable uncertainties. Fluvial complexity is greatly underestimated, and in the extreme case, only 40% of the fluvial bodies are identified. Overcorrelation results in as much as 400% exaggeration of sandstone width and thickness. Some of the uncertainties can be reduced by incorporating nonmarine sequence-stratigraphic models and various techniques that allow a more reasonable evaluation of fluvial body geometry. With sparse data, uncertainties also arise in marine successions. A key challenge is to identify and correlate the small-scale units, particularly forced regressive deposits. Many of their diagnostic features that can be easily recognized from outcrops and cores may not be as easily detected from well logs and on seismic data. In subsurface studies where sparse data are observed, integrating detailed facies analysis cores and sequence-stratigraphic concepts is critical to predict the occurrence and understand the architecture of such deposits.


An experiment was conducted with Long Evans rats to observe the comparative effects of Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) and Vitamin C to prevent Arsenic toxicity. Sixty male rats (age about 35 days; average body weight at day 0 was 75 g) were divided into five equal groups, namely control group (T0), Arsenic treated group (T1), Arsenic plus Spirulina treated group (T2), Arsenic plus Vitamin C treated group (T3) and Arsenic plus Spirulina plus Vitamin C treated group (T4). Rats in the control group were given normal feed. Rats of T1, T2, T3 and T4 treated group were given Arsenic trioxide Original Research Article Ali et al.; JALSI, 19(3): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.44720 2 (As2O3) 100 mg/kg body weight daily for 45 days. In addition to As2O3, rats of group T2 and T4 were fed with Spirulina @ 1 g/kg of feed and T3 and T4 were fed with Vitamin C @ 250 mg/kg body weight simultaneously. Four rats from each group were sacrificed at 15 days interval to collect blood samples. The research result showed that higher body weight was found except T1 group. It indicates administration of Spirulina tended to bring the body weight towards the normal. The values of SC increased significantly (P<0.01) in all the treated groups (T1, T2, T3 and T4) compared to the control group. Though the values of SGOT showed little significance (P<0.05) but SGPT showed highly significant value (P<0.01) among the treated groups. Spirulina with Vitamin C increased the significant values of TEC, TLC and Hb compared to control. The overall results of the study showed that the combined of Spirulina and Vitamin C were found more effective to decrease the level of arsenic and also to prevent the chronic arsenicosis in rats.


The changes of the oxygen permeability of packings from polymeric film materials intended for prolonged storage of metal products have been investigated. High indexes of initial oxygen permeability were recorded due to insecure insulating properties of weld seams, as well as increased diffusion characteristics after the third year of exploitation. The most characteristic structural defects, which emerging in polyethylene modified materials during the period of prolonged storage , have been identified by means of electron microscopic studies.


Rice processing industry generates solid waste, waste water, fugitive dust and boiler emissions. Particulate matter and NOx are the main air pollutants generated from rice mills which impact on surrounding communities in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Emission of CO2 from boilers contributes to global warming. Present study attempts to evaluate cost to surrounding communities due to local air pollutants and aims to estimate global damage cost due to CO2 emissions. Three large scale (with production capacity of 100-175 Mt/d), 2 medium scale and 5 small scale rice mills were selected from North Central Province. Replacement cost approach and preventative expenditure approach was adopted to estimate community nuisances and 418 households were selected from each distance zone (250, 500, 750 and 1,000 m) away from the selected mills. Information on additional cleaning activities carried out by the households and the expenditure on preventive strategies against air pollutants were collected from the households using a structured questionnaire. The global damage cost was estimated using benefit transfer approach and using the data on CO2 emissions from each mill. Results revealed that that houses need cleaning additionally two days per week due to milling dust. The total cost of preventative and replacement expenditure for 990 affected households around the 10 mills is LKR 20.6 million. If the mills are operating 20 days per month, 25,216 Mt are released into the atmosphere annually and the global damage cost is LKR 35 million. The study emphasizes the need to provide incentives for pollution control of rice processing industry. Keywords: Rice mill, Replacement cost, Boiler emissions, Global damage cost


It has become increasingly popular in practice to implement incentive systems that create goal-congruent investment behaviour between central and divisional management. In the following paper, it is shown that only linear contracts enable goal-congruent investment decisions if central management does not have information about the investment project. This might cast a new light on why linear compensation schemes are often used in practice.


The steady state kinetics of pig liver glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is consistent with an ordered, sequential mechanism in which NADP is bound first and NADPH released last. Kia is 9.0 muM, Ka is 4.8 muM, and Kb is 36 muM. Glucosamine 6-phosphate, a substrate analogue and competitive inhibitor, is used to help rule out a possible random mechanism. ADP is seen to form a complex with the free form of the enzyme whereas ATP forms a complex with both the free and E-NADP forms of the enzyme. The KI for the E-ADP complex is 1.9 mM, while the Ki values for the E-ATP and E-NADP-ATP complexes are 7.2 and 4.5 mM, respectively.


The annual cycle in pressure and winds at the middle and high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere changed appreciably in the troposphere after the late 1970s. Before that time, its major component over most of the southern oceans and the Antarctic was a semiannual oscillation (SAO) which had maxima in the equinoctial seasons over the middle latitude oceans and in the solstitial seasons over the Antarctic south of 60°S. The SAO weakened after the late 1970s because of significant decadal changes in the monthly means primarily during the second half of the year. A result was that the polar vortex in the troposphere, which normally weakens after a peak in late September and early October, remained strong into November, and the breakdown of the stratospheric polar vortex was similarly delayed. The pressure in the circumpolar trough in the 1980s was generally lower than in the 1970s, which is similar to a documented change in the North Pacific during northern winter. We suggest that the changes in the SAO, the circumpolar trough, and the polar vortex are related to the concurrent rise of sea surface temperatures at low latitudes. The delayed breakdown of the polar vortex in the troposphere and lower stratosphere which happened after the late 1970s was coincident with the beginning of the ozone deficit in the Antarctic spring. This points to a strong dynamical influence on ozone amounts. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1994.t01-1-00007.x


The aim of this review was to determine the influence of the housing type on the productive performance and welfare of lambs in intensive fattening systems. The available literature shows several housing types that differ by their position, either at ground level or elevated or from the bedding material used. Raised pens, per se , do not seem to improve the productive performance of the lambs. In addition, they negatively influence animal welfare. For these reasons, it is proposed to enrich the environment in these housing types without increasing costs and improving comfort for animals. In Mexico, contrary to other producing countries of sheep, there is a lack of scientific evidences of the suitable housing for fattening and finishing lambs in the different geographical zones of the country. The attention to this demand, in a multidisciplinary manner, would help to reduce the production problems, welfare issues and economic losses in a sustainable manner in the fattening of sheep in Mexico.


It is a very fine substitutable energy technology to synthesize ethanol from biomass-derived syngas. This paper summarized the development of preparing ethanol from syngas, and especially elaborated on the research status of catalysts for the process. Based on the relative researches on the reaction mechanism, structure and performance of the catalysts, the optimum design of catalysts with high activity was presented in this review, which set the theoretical and application foundation for the industrial production of ethanol from syngas.


A novel optical fiber filter based on a strongly chirped sampled Bragg grating is proposed for wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) system applications. It features in multiple equalized passbands with flat-top steep-edge nearly linear phase response and high transmittance. Refractive index modulation amplitude with Gaussian spatial profile is used within the samples, which contributes to the marked improvement of the filter performance. Furthermore, there are also multiple flat and equalized stopbands to be used as multichannel optical add/drop filters in a WDM system.


This paper proposes a methodology for solving the Transmission Expansion Planning Problem considering single contingencies (N-1) and future demand uncertainty. To solve this problem, a specialized Chu-Beasley Genetic Algorithm (CBGA) is used so that investment plans can be suggested. These plans are evaluated through a Higher Order Interior Point Method for Linear Programming or through a Predictor Corrector Method. Additionally, initialization of the CBGA is carried out using Non-linear Interior Point. The methodology is validated using three test systems from the specialized literature: 46-Bus South-Brazilian, IEEE 24-Bus, and a 6-Bus Garver system. Results demonstrate the validity of this approach to solving the transmission planning problem when contingencies are considered; which is attained by finding expansion plans of minimum cost.


A forty-four-year old man was hospitalized for diagnosis and treatment of a left leg ulcer which did not heal despite good compliance with a three-month medical regimen. Twenty years before he had undergone surgical curettage and radiotherapy (81 gy) for an osteosarcoma of the upper third of the left tibia. He was considered completely cured with regular findings. On examination he had a 5 X 7 cm deep ulcer with raised margins and no signs of infection, localized on the radiodermatitis on the medial aspect of his left leg. Arterial examination confirmed the left arteriopathy with absence of distal pulses; the Ankle Brachial Pressure Index was 0.69 and the foot TcPO2 27 mmHg. Arteriography confirmed the localized left lesions with three distal popliteal and proximal arterial occlusions, all other arteries being strictly normal. Arterial and dermatological radiation leg ulcer was retained as the etiological diagnosis. As the ulcer was very painful, extensive and limited walking distance, surgical revascularisation was undertaken because endoluminal revascularization was impossible. A femoroperoneal saphenous bypass was performed with surgical incisions beyond the radiodermatitis area. Two months after a split skin graft, the ulcer was considered healed and the patency of the by-pass confirmed on duplex examination. This is the first case report of a successful distal by-pass performed for radiation arteritis and ulcer healing. Long-term follow up should be reported.


In this paper, three small-scale contrast experimental devices of solar chimney-sea desalination integrated system are set up. Through contact thermometric element and under actual weather conditions, the paper studies the performance influence of seawater depth on solar chimney-sea desalination integrated system. The result shows that too deep water layer will increase the thermal inertia of seawater, and decrease the seawater temperature and reduce the water production of integrated system. From the viewpoint of reducing the thermal inertia, shallower water layer is always much better while ensuring sufficient water for evaporation. On the other hand, the shallower of the water layer, the greater fluctuation of hot air temperature. The temperature difference between hot air currents and the environment can be ensured of being positive when the water depth surpasses certain depth. Therefore, there is an optimized depth of the water layer in the integrated system which is to be further studied.


The transport of bile salts, organic anions and cations, bilirubin and other substances from the portal blood into the biliary system is accomplished through the action of an array of transporter proteins in the hepatocyte. Transporters on the basolateral membrane, which faces the space of Disse, are responsible for the uptake of bile salts and organic anions. Once translocated through the hepatocyte to the canalicular membrane, other ATP pumps provide the energy to export bile salts, phospholipids and organic ions into the bile. Canalicular transport is rate limiting. Defects in specific canalicular transporters are responsible for many of the intrahepatic cholestatic syndromes that occur in children and adults. Moreover, cholestasis provokes changes in several transport mechanisms, many of which appear to be compensatory and serve to protect the liver from the toxic effects of accumulated materials. The identification and characterization of the major transporters responsible for bile formation have yielded a more precise classification of the cholestatic syndromes of infancy and childhood, and are unlocking the molecular mechanism of acquired cholestasis in adults. This review identifies the basic physiology of bile production and the actions of the key transporters, indicates the clinical relevance and possible treatments of transport disorders, and provides an illustrative case.


Since the introduction of laparoscopic surgery in the management of colorectal disease in the early '90s, minimally invasive techniques have gained popularity. While good quality studies have been published in the literature on laparoscopy for colorectal cancer, evidence supporting the use of minimally invasive surgery for inflammatory bowel disease is lacking. This patient population represents a challenge to the colorectal surgeon even in conventional open surgery and this has limited the widespread application of minimally invasive techniques especially in Crohn's disease. Laparoscopic ileocecal resection for Crohn's disease is the most performed minimally invasive procedure in the field of inflammatory bowel disease, with promising short-term outcomes but with still some concerns related to prolonged operative times and overall costs. For ulcerative colitis the magnitude of restorative procedures has also restricted the use of minimally invasive approaches to highly specialized tertiary referral centers. The benefits of performing restorative procedures laparoscopically for ulcerative colitis are less obvious based on the limited reports available in the literature with adequate follow-up for assessing long-term outcomes, and controversies still remains about the need for a staged approach in the era of biologic therapy. Nevertheless, surgeons are actively working in an effort to obviate to the current technical limitations of laparoscopy, and to further minimize surgical trauma. In this manuscript we will present the current evidence supporting the use of laparoscopy and minimally invasive techniques in inflammatory bowel disease and present the future direction of development and research.


Documented risk factors for suicide among alcohol-dependent patients are sensitive but insufficiently specific to effectively identify individuals who are prone to future suicide attempt. As a first step to assess factors not previously considered, this pilot study involved a group of male alcohol-dependent patients (N = 175) coming to detoxification to examine the potential utility of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) along with other documented events to discriminate individuals with a history of attempted suicide from their detoxifying peers. Family health history questionnaires were used to evaluate their ACEs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to examine the predictive power of ACEs, alone or in combination with documented risk factors, to lifetime history of attempted suicide. Among our participants, 48 (27.4%) had a history of a suicide attempt and 156 (89.1%) reported at least one out of the nine categories of ACEs. Modeling by ROC analysis, we found that a cutoff of four or more ACEs plus a history of personal violence achieved the best predictive power to a history of any suicide attempt, producing a sensitivity of 0.7, specificity of 0.81, and area under curve of 0.75. A prospective study to replicate and extend our findings is necessary.


Aims Vegetation in Inner Mongolia grassland has changed due to overgrazing and climate change. Our objective was to explore the effects of plant species on soil microbial communities in an Inner Mongolia grassland to understand the ecological consequences of vegetation changes in this region. Methods We investigated the sizes and community structures of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of several typical plant species in a degradation-restoration site in Xilin Gol Grassland using real-time PCR and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. Important findings Different plant species have significant effects on the sizes of bacterial communities in both rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils and size of fungal communities in rhizosphere soil. The abundances of bac- teria and fungi in the rhizosphere soil were generally higher than those in non-rhizosphere soils, particularly for fungi. Multi-response permutation procedures and principal component analysis of T-RFLP data showed sig- nificant differences of the bacterial and fungal community structure between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil for most species, and the fungal community structures of all samples can be divided into the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils. In addition, the community structure clustered by plant species is more evident for bacteria. These results revealed important effects of plant species on microbial community composition as well as significant differences of microbial community between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils. Findings are helpful for understanding plants-soil-microbe interactions and mechanisms involved in the Inner Mongolia grassland region.


A non-Hermitian extension of a Chern insulator and its bulk-boundary correspondence are investigated. It is shown that in addition to the robust chiral edge states that reflect the nontrivial topology of the bulk (nonzero Chern number), anomalous helical edge states localized only at one edge can appear, which are unique to the non-Hermitian Chern insulator.


An 81-year-old female consulted a local physician due to diarrhea. Since general fatigue and body weight loss were observed, she was admitted for detailed examination and treatment. Colonoscopy revealed a circumferential giant tumor with a maximum diameter of 10 cm in the rectum, and biopsy findings indicated villous adenoma. The tumor secreted a large amount of mucus, and a diagnosis of electrolyte depletion syndrome causing electrolyte disorders was made. We performed endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) as a less invasive procedure. The tumor was so big that the procedure had to be completed in two separate steps and it took 1,381 min in total. The tumor was histologically diagnosed as well-differentiated adenocarcinoma in high-grade adenoma located in the lower to upper rectum, invading into the mucosa without lymphatic or venous invasion. The stump of the resected specimen was negative for adenocarcinoma, however the horizontal stump was positive for adenoma. We administered steroid suppositories to prevent stenosis. After ESD, general fatigue and diarrhea disappeared and electrolyte disorders resolved. The patient had good clinical outcome without recurrence or stenosis.


Summary Due to its advantageous nuclear physical properties iodine-123 is an excellent label for radiopharmaceuticals very well suited for measurements by γ-cameras and single-photon emission tomography. The development of 123I-radiopharmaceuticals should be based on a clear biochemical concept, reliable labelling procedures and careful pharmacokinetic studies in order to evaluate the physiological behaviour of the radioiodinated compounds being analogues of metabolic substrates. The development of 123I-labelled fatty acids and biogenic amines clearly proved the successful use of 123I for labelling compounds applied in medical diagnosis.


Since the inception of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), the recreation profession has made significant strides toward promoting inclusion for consumers with disabilities. What remain unknown are the gains and gaps related to inclusion, specifically current barriers to inclusion experienced by recreation organizations and ways in which professionals are addressing those barriers. Knowing and understanding barriers to inclusion experienced by agencies is important so individuals with disabilities can be full participants in their communities. This study examined barriers to inclusion and ways in which organizations are responding to the barriers from an ecological approach. A random sample of park and recreation organizations across the United States participated in a survey regarding administrative- and community-related barriers they have experienced when providing inclusive recreation services. The respondents were also asked to identify ways in which they have addressed the barriers. Where applicable, results were compared to a prior study to highlight the advances in inclusion and discuss current barriers. Respondents (N = 761) indicated that they experienced few administrative barriers (e.g., policies, administrative support) with the exception of financial barriers and marketing. It was recommended that organizations use nontraditional means to fund inclusive services and partner with disabilityspecific organizations to market inclusive services. Community responses to inclusion were also examined to fully understand barriers that may be beyond the scope of a recreation agency but that they may be able to influence. Respondents reported that they did not perceive resistance to inclusion by the general public, individuals with disabilities, or their family members or caregivers. The respondents' perceptions of the general community toward inclusion differed from findings of other studies; thus, further examination is recommended. Future studies comparing results from an agency perspective with the general public, participants with disabilities, or family member or caregiver perspectives would be helpful to gain a complete understanding of recreation needs, barriers, and possibilities.


Alterations during development of metabolic key organs such as the endocrine pancreas affect the phenotype later in life. There is evidence that in utero or perinatal exposure to bisphenol-A (BPA) leads to impaired glucose metabolism during adulthood. However, how BPA exposure during pregnancy affects pancreatic β-cell growth and function in offspring during early life has not been explored. We exposed pregnant mice to either vehicle (control) or BPA (10 and 100 μg/kg·d, BPA10 and BPA100) and examined offspring on postnatal days (P) P0, P21, P30, and P120. BPA10 and BPA100 mice presented lower birth weight than control and subsequently gained weight until day 30. At that age, concentration of plasma insulin, C-peptide, and leptin were increased in BPA-exposed animals in the nonfasting state. Insulin secretion and content were diminished in BPA10 and maintained in BPA100 compared with control. A global gene expression analysis indicated that genes related with cell division were increased in islets from BPA-treated animals. This was associated with an increase in pancreatic β-cell mass at P0, P21, and P30 together with increased β-cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis. On the contrary, at P120, BPA-treated animals presented either equal or decreased β-cell mass compared with control and altered fasting glucose levels. These data suggest that in utero exposure to environmentally relevant doses of BPA alters the expression of genes involved in β-cell growth regulation, incrementing β-cell mass/area, and β-cell proliferation during early life. An excess of insulin signaling during early life may contribute to impaired glucose tolerance during adulthood.


The pied butterfly bat, Glauconycteris superba, is endemic to the tropical forest zone of Africa, where it was previously known from only five specimens. Here we report the capture of 10 individuals in two localities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mbiye Island and Yoko forest reserve), and we present the first acoustic data of the species recorded using a conventional microphone and a home-made acoustic system for real time 3D localization. Our morphological comparisons show that females are larger and heavier than males, and that the two sexes exhibit the same fur coloration pattern. We found some individual variations concerning the width of the two lateral white stripes on the belly, and the number and extension of white shoulder-spots. The echolocation recordings show evidence for alternation between two call types (A and B), differing in frequency, bandwidth, and duration. The acoustic signals obtained before captures and after releases revealed important variations depending on the trajectories and environmental conditions. Acoustic characteristics, wing measurements, and the unique black and white fur pattern of G. superba suggest that it is a canopy species able to fly at high speeds. Our findings will be useful for future ecological studies to provide new data on the range, population size, trend and threats of G. superba in order to better assess its conservation status.


This paper gives the results of a set of laboratory experiments designed to analyse the petrological implications of mantle wedge plumesçlarge buoyant structures predicted by thermomechanical numerical modelling of subduction zones. A particular design of layered capsule was used to simulate the complex multilayer formed by intense flow within the mantle wedge as predicted by numerical models. A basaltic [mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-derived amphibolite] component was sandwiched between two adjacent layers of a sedimentary (Bt-rich metagreywacke) component. Conditions were fixed at temperatures of 1000^12008C at pressures of 1·5^2·0 GPa. Our results suggest that significant volumes of hybrid, Cordilleran-type granodioritic magmas can be generated by sub-lithospheric partial melting of a mechanically mixed source. Partial melting of the end-members is not buffered, forming granitic (melting of metasediment) and trondhjemitic (melting of MORB) melts in high-variance assemblages Melt þ Grt þ Pl and Melt þ Grt þ Cpx, respectively. However, the composition of melts formed from partial melting of metasediment^MORB me¤ langes is buffered for sediment-to-MORB ratios ranging from 3:1 to 1:3, producing liquids of granodiorite to tonalite composition along a cotectic with the lower-variance phase assemblage MeltþGrtþCpxþPl. Our model explains the geochemical and isotopic characteristics of Cordilleran batholiths. In particular, it accounts for the observed decoupling between major element and isotopic compositions. Large variations in isotopic ratios can be inherited from a compositionally heterogeneous source; however, major element compositions are more strongly dependent on the temperature of melting rather than on the composition of the source.


Based on the process and framework of nursing quality management in the "Third-level General Ho Accreditation Criteria", with the help of computer and mobile information technology, development of nursing quality control informatics system computer operation and mobile operating. The system has implanted PDCA several scientific management tools into the mobile applications, insteads of replace traditional paper methods, improve working efficiency in process control and Data Operation.


We pointed out in our paper that the two-dimensional Bruun model of beach erosion is controversial; the intensity of the controversy is amply illustrated by the responses printed in this Forum section of Eos. For example, at one end of the spectrum, Cyril Galvin derides beach erosion caused by sea-level rise as an article of faith, if not fact, while Pilkey et al. state that it is intuitive that sea-level rise is the primary factor causing shoreline retreat.

Pilkey et al. assert that we erred in confining our attention to the active beach profile rather than to the much flatter coastal plain. They claim that …we should expect rates of shoreline recession 10,000 times the rate of sea-level rise through simple innundation of the shoreline. We merely point out the obvious; such dramatic beach retreat has not occurred in the last 100 years, during which relative sea level has risen 20–40 cm along the U.S. east coast. In contrast to the Pilkey et al. assertions, we know of no U.S. barrier beaches that have retreated 2,000–4,000 m in the past century; we have the historical maps, and even crude comparisons show nothing approaching this magnitude of change! Many barrier beaches (for example, Nauset Spit, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Ocean City, Maryland) are only a thousand meters wide or less and would have long eroded away or been sitting on the mainland shore if this were even close to being true.


Local exponential stability and local robustness for limit cycle solutions of ordinary differential equations can be verified using the characteristic multipliers. These well-known results are here generalized to a class of infinite-dimensional systems. Stability and robustness are now verified using certain invertibility conditions on the linear equations that are obtained when the system is linearized along the limit cycle. The new criterion reduces to the classical condition on the characteristic multipliers when we consider a finite-dimensional system which is perturbed by a bounded but possibly infinite-dimensional operator. The computation of a robustness margin, i.e., a bound on the maximally allowed perturbation, is also considered.


Large amounts of rubber particles are dispersed into the environment due to tire wear. The rubber contains a wide range of chemicals, including several of environmental concern. The purpose of this thesis, which is based on six papers, was to assess the ecotoxicological hazard and risk associated with tire wear particles, with a main focus on the aquatic environment. A method was developed that enables rapid screening of the toxicity of tire particle leachates [I]. Acute and chronic toxicity of tire particle leachates to aquatic organisms was found to occur at concentrations ranging from 10 to more than 10 000 mg/l. The toxicity of wear material from different tires was found to vary with more than two orders of magnitude. Toxicity identification studies (TIEs) identified organic compounds and Zn as the toxic components of tire particle leachates. Zn was also identified as the contaminant in the sediments of detention ponds, receiving road runoff, posing the highest threat to surrounding water bodies, and tire wear particles are a main source of this Zn contamination. The Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC) was calculated, according to European chemical risk assessment guidelines, based on long term tests with the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia and the microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. The PNECs are 3.9 mg/l and 0.3 g/kg dw for water and sediments, respectively. A literature review of markers for tire wear in the environment showed tire particles to be present in surface waters, soils/sediments, air, and biota. Most of the tire particles are deposited on or close to the road surface and are then further transported by runoff water to receiving waters and sediments. The maximum Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PECs) of tire wear particles in surface water range from 0.03 to 56 mg/l, and the maximum PECs in sediments range from 0.3 to 155 g/kg dw. Thus, the upper range for PEC/PNEC ratios exceeds unity in both surface waters and sediments, meaning that tire wear particles constitute potential risks for aquatic organisms. The risk for the terrestrial environment is suggested to be restricted to the immediate road surroundings, and it is suggested that more research should be directed towards evaluating the health aspects associated with the inhalation of airborne tire particles. To conclude, the work presented in this thesis has shown that the contamination from tire wear particles needs to be reduced in order to protect receiving surface waters. This could be achieved by developing tires with more environmentally friendly constituents. Road runoff detention ponds are primary recipients of tire wear particles, and, therefore it is important that construction, environmental monitoring and management of such ponds receive increased attention (A). http://hdl.handle.net/2077/17762.


Workshop introducing members of the wider public to open-source camera devices for observing nature in their local environment. Participants learned how to build a camera kit and how to deploy it in scenarios that attracted wildlife, with a view to contributing wildlife data and images to a central repository. These workshops are also a way of troubleshooting potential issues with the prototypes to inform future designs.


Power load estimation, especially short-term power load estimation, plays an important role in the management of a power system in terms of system security and electricity costs. Therefore, estimation of short-term power load accurately is a popular research issue. In this paper, the generalized behavioral learning method (GBLM), a method developed based on human's behavioral learning theories, was employed to estimate short-term power load. The datasets that belong to houses B and C were employed in the estimation process. Achieved results by GBLM and extreme learning machine (ELM) ELM were compared. It is showed that GBLM estimates short-term power load with a higher success rate than ELM.


Following coronary stent placement, platelet activation is a major determinant of the risk of subacute stent thrombosis.1 Combined antiplatelet treatment with ticlopidine and aspirin reduced platelet activation after coronary stenting1. Although combined antiplatelet treatment consisting of aspirin and ticlopidine has significantly reduced early ischaemic events following coronary stenting, stent thrombosis still occurs in up to 1% of treated patients, especially in the early days after the intervention, probably because of delayed onset of action of ticlopidine. Clopidogrel is a ticlopidine-like novel thienopyridine inhibitor of ADP induced platelet activation.2 Clopidogrel differs from ticlopidine in that it has a favourable safety profile compared to ticlopidine and reveals an accelerated antiplatelet activity after first administration. The present study sought to investigate the antiplatelet effect of various doses of clopidogrel in patients undergoing coronary stent placement; comparison was made with standard ticlopidine treatment.

Thirty patients were randomised into three treatment arms: group I (n = 10), ticlopidine 2 × 500 g as loading dose and 2 × 250 mg daily thereafter; group II (n = 10), clopidogrel 1 × 300 mg loading dose and 1 × 75 mg per day; or group III (n = 10), clopidogrel 1 × 600 mg plus 2 × 75 mg daily thereafter. All patients received aspirin 2 × 100 mg per day concomitantly. Peripheral venous blood samples were taken with a loose tourniquet through a short venous catheter inserted into a forearm vein before and then 2, …


Soft X-ray diagnosis is a important method in the research of tokamak plasma instability. In this paper, we give the result of soft X-ray measurment in CT-6B tokamak by using Au(Si) surface barrier detector array, and present the spatial distributions of sofr X-ray emission for various plasma instability in our device.


The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse the unemployment which is one of the most significant social and economic problem, causing many difficulties throught the world history and greek history of the economy. The analysis and the deeping of this phenomenon is carried out by a brief apposition and historical retrospective with reference to definitions, concepts and categories of unemployment. Moreover, examined quantitive data and informations so as to result useful conclusions.The diploma thesis consists of five chapters, initially in the first chapter is refered to the main definitions of unemployment, types and categories, as well as in th different sources that may derive from. Afterwards, analyzing the causes of unemployment which create more and more booming unemployment rates worldwide and specifically in Greece. Discribed the the repercussions of unemployment such as: material deprevation, criminality, poverty and the gradual increase of immigration. In the second chapter, follows the interpretation of inflations and quoted the strong relationship with the unemployment,provided a brife caurse in the advanced economies and in the developing economies. What's more, inflation and unemployment are examined in more detail with the assistance of the curve of A.W Phillips in long-term and short-termperiod.In the third chapter is presented the evolution of unemployment in the national level (greek economy and labor market), provided informations and data for the following: 1) the number of the workforce and the rates of unemployment, 2) the gender, 3) geographical areas, 4) the age, 5) the duration (long-term, short-term unemployment), 6) the urbanity and 7) the educational level. Furthermore, in the fourth chapter, are recorded data on current employees by counting a) the unemployment b) the number of persons receiving a monthly allowance and c) the criteria needed in order to be a person able to get the allowance. Then, there is quotation for the evolution of the average wages in Greece and carried out a comparison with the corresponding wages in the European Union. In the end of the chapter there are two more comparisons: a) the caurse of unemployment, inflation and GDP between Ireland and Greece and b) comparison of danish working model with the greek so as to stress the discrepancies. Finally in the fifth chapter, there is the explanation and the analysis of the hysteresis and persistence unemployment, and the resources of this phenomenon such as: a) hysteresis and investments, b) hysteresis and the might of workers and c) hysteresis and long-term unemployment. In the end, follows an extended reference in the ways to encounter and limit the unemployment in greek economy.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Dissemination of tumor cells and subsequent colonization at distant sites is the most lethal event in cancer progression. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has recently been recognized as a foremost phenomenon underlying such events. Because of the importance of EMT, it is vital to understand what triggers it, as well as the mechanisms by which it is regulated. We have shown that N-myc interactor (NMI) plays a role in restricting malignant activities of cancerous cell lines in vivo and in vitro. This study describes a novel function of NMI in reducing the mesenchymal phenotype of breast cancer cell lines.

Constitutive expression of NMI in the mesenchymal cell line MDA-MB-435, showed remarkable morphologic transition towards an epithelial appearance, accompanied by reduction or loss of several mesenchymal markers such as TWIST, MMP2, SNAI2 and ZEB1 and gain of epithelial markers such as E-cadherin and Keratin 18. Conversely, silencing NMI from immortalized breast epithelial line MCF10A, renders the cells more mesenchymal in appearance. Studies using a variety of additional cell lines consistently revealed that silencing of NMI expression coincided with increased expression of both ZEB1 and SNAI2, while NMI overexpression brought about decreased expression of ZEB1 and SNAI2.

Assessment of NMI in breast cancer specimens revealed a significant loss of NMI transcript with increasing grade of breast cancer. Thus, overall, our data strongly suggests that loss of NMI may be a key event allowing increased expression of EMT-inducing transcription factors that drive EMT-dependent malignant progression.

Acknowledgement: We acknowledge grant support from the NCI: 1R01CA140472

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 967. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-967


An ionization chamber operated at pressures of up to 3 atmospheres of argon has been used to measure energy fluence by totally absorbing various X-ray beams generated between 10 kV and 30kV. Comparison of the response of a total absorption calorimeter (Greening, Randle and Redpath 1968, Phys. Med. Biol., 13, 359) with that of the ionization chamber has shown that the average energy required to form an ion pair in argon is 2636±017 eV, with no significant variation over the energy range investigated. The saturation of the ionization chamber has been investigated, and attention is drawn to its precision and sensitivity.


We show that there does not exist a Kobayashi hyperbolic complex manifold of dimension n 6= 3, whose group of holomorphic automorphisms has dimension n2 + 1 and that, if a 3-dimensional connected hyperbolic complex manifold has automorphism group of dimension 10, then it is holomorphically equivalent to the Siegel space. These results complement earlier theorems of the authors on the possible dimensions of automorphism groups of domains in complex space. The paper also contains a proof of our earlier result on characterizing n-dimensional hyperbolic complex manifolds with automorphism groups of dimensions ≥ n2 + 2.


Within the research presented in this article, we created a new question answering benchmark database for Hungarian called MILQA. When creating the dataset, we basically followed the principles of the English SQuAD 2.0, however, like in some more recent English question answering datasets, we introduced a number of innovations beyond SQuAD: e.g., yes/no-questions, list-like answers consisting of several text spans, long answers, questions requiring calculation and other question types where you cannot simply copy the answer from the text. For all these non-extractive question types, the pragmatically adequate form of the answer was also added to make the training of generative models possible. We implemented and evaluated a set of baseline retrieval and answer span extraction models on the dataset. BM25 performed better than any vector-based solution for retrieval. Cross-lingual transfer from English significantly improved span extraction models.


The Pixel Detector of the ATLAS experiment has shown excellent performance during the whole Run-1 of LHC. Taking advantage of the long shutdown, the detector was extracted from the experiment and brought to surface, to equip it with new service quarter panels, to repair modules and to ease installation of the Insertable B-Layer (IBL). IBL is a fourth layer of pixel detectors, and has been installed in May 2014 between the existing Pixel Detector and a new smaller beam pipe at a radius of 3.3 cm. To cope with the high radiation and hit occupancy due to the proximity to the interaction point, a new read-out chip and two different silicon sensor technologies (planar and 3D) have been developed. Furthermore, the physics performance will be improved through the reduction of pixel size while, targeting for a low material budget, a new mechanical support using lightweight staves and a CO2 based cooling system have been adopted. An overview of the refurbishing of the Pixel Detector and of the IBL project as well as the experience in its construction will be presented, focusing on adopted technologies, module and staves production, qualification of assembly procedure, integration of staves around the beam pipe and commissioning of the detector.


BACKGROUND
Antisynthetase syndrome is characterized by a triad of myositis, arthritis, and interstitial lung disease. Anti-Jo-1 is the most common associated autoantibody. This study planned to look at the presentation of anti-Jo-1 antisynthetase syndrome in a single Indian center.

METHODS AND MATERIALS
This was a medical records review single-center study that included patients with anti-Jo-1 antisynthetase syndrome over 10 years.

RESULTS
This study included 27 patients with anti-Jo-1 antisynthetase syndrome, with mean age of 40 ± 9.2 years and female preponderance (female-to-male ratio, 4:1). At presentation, the characteristic triad was present in only 4 patients. A majority presented with the incomplete form, with 2 clinical features (of triad) in 11 and single feature (of triad) being present in 12 patients at initial presentation. Seven presented only with polyarthritis, out of which 6 had been earlier diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Time gap from diagnosis of "rheumatoid arthritis" to antisynthetase syndrome ranged from 3 to 20 years. In patients who had only arthritis in the beginning, there was a significantly longer delay to diagnosis of antisynthetase syndrome, higher frequency of rheumatoid factor, and lower frequency of anti-Ro-52. Overall, outcome was good, with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group class 1 or 2 in most except 2 patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Anti-Jo-1 antisynthetase syndrome commonly presented as incomplete (not a triad) and often only with arthritis. These patients are diagnosed and treated as rheumatoid arthritis for many years, before a diagnosis of antisynthetase syndrome is made. Being aware of this presentation may help in earlier diagnosis by actively searching for subtle clues.


There has been much discussion about the tension between particularism and universalism in the exegesis of the first gospel. It is particularly noticeable when Matthew 10,5b-6 is compared with 28,19b. An analysis of the narrative logic of Matthew's account shows that he wants his readers to make the transition from a remote and particularist understanding of mission to a real, universalist one. The episode of the Canaanite woman (Mat 15,21-28) plays a cenral part in this matter. This change of scene goes hand in hand with a particular understanding of mission: being a missionary means, like the master, living in insecurity and presenting oneself before people as a 'little one' who lives only by the reception which he gets from them. On the historical level, Matthew's account illustrates the destiny of a Jewish-Christian community that has been led to take upon itself its own heritage and, at the same time, something new: the gospel.


OBJECTIVE: Considering previous genetic studies on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and the role of L/L serotonin transporter (5HTT) genotype and correlated genes monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and dopamine transporter (DAT) in unexpected death, an investigation was carried out verifying their involvement in apparent life-threatening events (ALTE and idiopathic form [IALTE]), also assessing common molecular basis with SIDS. METHODS: Differential diagnoses in 76 ALTE infants, distinguishing ALTE from IALTE was elaborated by using clinical-diagnostic data. Genotypes/allelic frequencies of DAT, MAOA, and 5HTT were determined in ALTE and IALTE infants and compared with data obtained from 20 SIDS and 150 controls. RESULTS: No association was found between DAT polymorphisms and ALTE/IALTE groups either at the genotype or allelic level (P range .11–.94). MAOA genotypes and allele data comparison between ALTE and controls was not significant; IALTE data showed a tendency for genotypes (P = .09) and were statistically significant for alleles (P = .036); however, MAOA significance disappeared once the Bonferroni correction was applied. 5HTT polymorphisms in IALTE remarked the role of L/L genotype (P < .00001) and L (P < .00001), as previously demonstrated in SIDS. CONCLUSIONS: Considering correspondence between 5HTT and MAOA in IALTE and SIDS, we hypothesize that the 2 syndromes are different expressions of a common ethiopathogenesis. In particular, genetic data suggest SIDS events could derive from IALTE episodes occurred during sleep, and therefore out of parental control. Despite its functional role, results highlight the usefulness of 5HTT as a valuable tracer of SIDS risk in IALTE infants. Owing to the small sample size, the results are to be considered preliminary and should be reevaluated in an independent sample.


We report on a 33-year-old patient from Sri Lanka who had been suffering from recurrent episodes of abdominal cramps since he was ten years old. He additionally suffered from postprandial flatulence and an increased frequency of bowel movements. By the age of 24, his condition had worsened with polyuria and polydipsia and he was diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus. Recently, the patient's compliance deteriorated steadily and his diabetes mellitus was uncontrolled. His flatulence continued and he had six to seven bowel movements daily. He presented to us with renewed bouts of severe stomach cramps, similar to the painful episodes that the patient experienced in his youth. After exclusion of other etiologies and judging by the clinical picture, the patient's origin and the sonographically and radiologically verified pancreatic calcification, we rendered the diagnosis of a tropic calcifying pancreatitis with secondary diabetes mellitus. According to the literature, malignant neoplasia may develop on the basis of this disease. However, we were able to rule out a carcinoma as the cause of the current pain episodes in this patient based on clinical findings and course. We attributed the stomach cramps to compression of the common bile duct by the fibrotic head of pancreas. Pain and cholestasis regressed, thus obviating the need for surgical intervention (pancreaticojejunostomy). On therapy with enzyme substitution and insulin, the patient's exo- and endocrine pancreatic insufficiency was asymptomatic.


In his regular update for Veterinary Record, Nigel Gibbens, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer, revisits the basis for the proposed badger culling policy and provides an overview of other current issues, including surveillance for Schmallenberg virus, dealing with equine infectious anaemia and the UK's stance on proposed changes to EU pet import rules


An analytical model is presented to describe the vibration of a truncated conical shell with fluid loading in the low frequency range. The solution for the dynamic response of the shell is presented in the form of a power series. Fluid loading is taken into account by dividing the shell into narrow strips which are considered to be locally cylindrical. Analytical results are presented for different boundary conditions and have been compared with the computational results from a boundary element model. Limitations of the model to the low frequency range are discussed.


The study, conducted with the aim to find out the mediating role of consumer buying behaviour. 68.5 percent respondents represent the young generation of the country, 36 percent students participated in the response. As per results, 46 percent respondents' family contain 1-5 members. 567 respondents represents the population of Pakistan. Smart PLS 3.2.7 has been used in the study. In order to measure scale and model bootstrapping, Algorithm, Fornell and Larker criterion (Discriminant Validity) and HTMT (sensitivity of multicollinearity) ratio has been used along with rule of thumbs set of scholars related to results founded. Study filled the gap of mediation of CBB. Research findings involve a direct relationship of price with customer satisfaction. Positive relationship between price and consumer buying behaviour, and positive mediating role of consumer buying behaviour between price and customer satisfaction.


Establishing clear and sharp boundaries between children's literature and adult literature intended recipients is difficult if we restrict ourselves only to the evaluation of cosmetic and internal cognitive value of literary texts, as many children literary with pleasure can be read by both children and adults, while literary texts intended for adult readers, children can't fully understand. Age and intellectual, emotional and moral maturity reader directly imposes some specific features that must have and meet children's literature intended audience. In this paper, analytical and synthetic structuralist method, for examples in European literature, we examine the specifics of children's literature in the light of the genre classifications are caused by a particular type of literary purpose layer reader. We consider them in terms of themes, motifs and selection of literary characters. Subject in Children's Literature is at the advantages of form, language and ways of artistic material. Literary text has to be interesting to children and to respond to their large and diverse interests, so that children's literature is characterized by large thematic richness and layers. Attract the attention of children and impressive carved figures presented in their descriptions prevail portraits of psychological dimension of personality. Tests peculiarities of the composition of literary works aimed at children show its simplicity and the dominance of the actions and characters in action. Children's temperament is dynamic and can't draw slow and long story filled with meditative reflections and the outcome that occurs after digression delay. Research poetic language literary testimony of the children in the limelight clarity, a simplified form and the non-use of specific stylistic techniques, hard to understand symbols, metaphors and allusions, but this would not mean an absence of emotion, it is a literary statement that is both scenic and sensitive. Literature for children thematically, stylistically and structurally adapted to the intellectual, emotional and mental capabilities of children's reception and as such is an integral part of the overall literary art that is created and shaped within the general laws of literary poetics. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p243


The Mexico-UK Sub-millimetre Camera for AsTronomy (MUSCAT) is a large-format, millimetre-wave camera consisting of 1,500 background-limited lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) scheduled for deployment on the Large Millimeter Telescope (Volcán Sierra Negra, Mexico) in 2018. MUSCAT is designed for observing at 1.1 mm and will utilise the full 40 field of view of the LMTs upgraded 50-m primary mirror. In its primary role, MUSCAT is designed for high-resolution follow-up surveys of both galactic and extra-galactic sub-mm sources identified by Herschel. MUSCAT is also designed to be a technology demonstrator will provide the first on-sky demonstrations of novel design concepts such as horn-coupled LEKID arrays and closed continuous cycle miniature dilution refrigeration. Here we describe some of the key design elements of the MUSCAT instrument such as the novel use of continuous sorption refrigerators and a miniature dilutor for continuous 100-mK cooling of the focal plane, broadband optical coupling to Aluminium LEKID arrays using waveguide chokes and anti-reflection coating materials as well as with the general mechanical and optical design of MUSCAT. We will explain how MUSCAT is designed to be simple to upgrade and the possibilities for changing the focal plane unit that allows MUSCAT to act as a demonstrator for other novel technologies such as multi-chroic polarisation sensitive pixels and on-chip spectrometry in the future. Finally, we will report on the current status of MUSCAT's commissioning.


This study illustrates an application of experimental auction methods, using both experimental economics and experimental design, to evaluate consumer perceptions and willingness to pay (WTP) for fresh pork chops. We test and reject hypotheses that (a) market prices and consumers' WTP are unaffected by the level of attributes embodied in the pork chops, (b) appearance (based on photographs or actual product) and actual taste are equally good sources of consumer information, and (c) consumers are consistent in their preferences for fresh pork attributes. A major conclusion is that predicting consumer demand for fresh pork (or any fresh food) based on appearance without tasting is unproductive. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.


Losses of horticulture product were caused by several reasons, one of them was the un-approriate post-harvest handling. One of the post-harvest method that could maintain the quality of the horticulture product is controlling the storage temperature and packaging techniques to that product. The objectives of this research were to determine the characteristics of horticultural products (tomato and bell pepper) in the cold storage that were packed with bioplastics and high density polyethylene (HDPE). The sample of packed products stored at three temperature levels (5, 10, and 15oC) for 21 days. The results showed that the types of plastic influenced respiration rate (CO2 production rate). The tomatoes packased with bioplastic had climateric phase at the day of 21th which was layer than the one of HDPE. However, bell pepper packsed with bioplastic started senescence phase at 9th day which was taste than the one HDPE at 12th day. Keywords: bioplastic, cold storage, tomato, bell pepper


Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) consist of a collection of wireless mobile nodes which dynamically exchange data among themselves without the reliance on a fixed base station or a wired backbone network. Thus routing is a crucial issue to the design of a MANET. So, we introduce Multipath routing allows building and use of multiple paths for routing between a source-destination pair. Multipath routing (MPR) is an effective strategy to achieve robustness, load balancing, congestion reduction, and increased throughput in computer networks. At present, multipath routing approach is widely used in Mobile ad hoc networks to improve network performance through efficient utilization of available network resources .In this seminar , goal of the comparative surveys is to present the concept of the existing multipath routing approaches and summarizing the state-of-the-art multipath routing techniques from the network application point of view. In order to achieve multipath routing during path discovery, we introduce the concept of independent directed acyclic graphs (IDAGs) in this seminar, which has several advantages over another approaches 1) used to provide multipath routing; 2) utilizes all possible edges; 3) guarantees recovery from single link failure 4) recovery from dual link failure and 5) reduce the number of overhead bit required in the packet header.


ABSTRACT Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent and potentially fatal complication of immobility caused by cerebrovascular disease. This review examines the efficiency of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis methods. Patients with stroke initiated on DVT prophylaxis were compared with those who did not have any prophylaxis. Integrative review research design was used and included articles from 2010 to 2016. Search terms such as "DVT prophylaxis" and "stroke" were used to identify scientific publications. Of 173 studies identified, 12 articles were included and rated using the Canadian Medical Association and Center for Evidence-Based Medicine Level of Evidence ranking system. Of DVT prophylaxis methods identified, intermittent pneumatic compression device was superior to antiembolic stockings. Current data showed that the stockings were insufficient in preventing VTE. Heparin and low–molecular-weight heparin were efficient chemoprophylaxis in reducing the incidence of VTE. The combination of chemical and mechanical DVT prevention is recommended.


In this article we described a case of sialadenoma papilliferum detected in an old lady during a complete clinical survey for unrelated causes. This tumor did not produce any symptoms. The sialadenoma papilliferum was first described as a separate entity in 1969. Since several other reports have been made but the tumor is definitely rare, usually an accidental finding and most commonly localized in the mouth in the transition zone of soft and hard palate. Our case is the first published in a woman and as yet also the oldest. A survey of the literature is given.


 Abstract — This research study is an exploration of the self-directed professional development of teachers who teach in public schools in an era of democracy and educational change in South Africa. Amidst an ever-changing educational system, the teachers in this study position themselves as self-directed teacher-learners where they adopt particular learning practices which enable change within the broader discourses of public schooling. Life-story interviews were used to enter into the private and public spaces of five teachers which offer glimpses of how particular systems shaped their identities, and how the meanings of self-directed teacher-learner shaped their learning practices. Through the Multidimensional Framework of Analysis and Interpretation the teachers' stories were analysed through three lenses: restorying the field texts - the self through story; the teacher-learner in relation to social contexts, and practices of self-directed learning. This study shows that as teacher-learners learn for change through self-directed learning practices, they develop their agency as transformative intellectuals, which is necessary for the reworking of South African public


Summary Background The aim of this 1HMRS study was to identify any potential regional differences in the metabolic spectrum in the brains of healthy children. Material/Methods Forty-nine healthy children aged 6–15 years (mean 11.6 years) were examined, including 21 girls and 28 boys. A 1.5T MR system (xi Signa HD 1.5T General Electric) was used in patient examinations. The VOI (Volume of Interest) was defined in 7 locations: the frontal lobe in the right and left hemispheres, the basal ganglia in the right and left hemispheres, hippocampus in the right and left hemispheres and cerebellum. SAGE 7.0 software was used for the analysis of data obtained from the 1HMRS study. Differences in the concentrations of metabolites in various regions of the brain in children were verified using the t-test for independent samples. Results There were significant differences in concentration levels between various brain regions for all the examined metabolites. NAA was the metabolite characterized by the greatest regional variation with significant differences being observed between all locations. Only in the case of Lip/Cr and the ratio of the Lip concentration to the sum of the concentrations of all the metabolites no significant differences could be observed. Concluisons The results of the study show that a child's brain is inhomogeneous. The results underline the need of the regional differences in the concentrations of metabolites being taken into account when comparing the results of 1HMRS studies in children.


A series of solid–solid interfaces, consisting of ceramic–epoxy resin interface samples with a tip–plate electrode, were investigated by performing partial discharge tests and real-time electrical tree observations. A toughening agent was added to the epoxy resin at different ratios for comparison. The impact strength, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric properties of the cured compositions and ceramic were tested. The electric field strength at the tip was calculated based on Maxwell's theory. The test results show that the addition of a toughener can improve the impact strength of epoxy resin but it decreases the partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) of the interface sample. At the same time, toughening leads to complex branches of the electrical tree. The simulation result suggests that this reduction of the PDIV cannot be explained by a change of permittivity due to the addition of a toughening agent. The microstructural change caused by toughening was considered to be the key factor for lower PDIV and complex electrical tree branches.


This policy brief investigates factors affecting the region's supply of recent college graduates and how those factors have changed over time, and suggests steps that states might take to expand this source of skilled labor. This brief summarizes analysis in NEPPC research report 08-1: The Future of the Skilled Labor Force in the Region: The Supply of Recent College Graduates.


Background Toxoplasma gondii is an important zoonotic pathogen. Vertical transmission of the parasite occurs when females were infected primarily during gestation. This parasite is transmitted to the fetus through the placenta and may cause miscarriage, permanent neurological damage, premature birth and visual impairment. It has been found that mouse is susceptible to Toxoplasma and is particularly an interesting model to the study of congenital infection but whether the entry of T. gondii through vagina route is involved in transmission of the parasite to the placenta and fetus or not. Objectives The current study aimed to find a route of infection which perhaps carried the parasite under natural conditions in human. Materials and Methods In the current experimental study, two 6-8 week NMRI female mice were crossed with one male. The pregnant mice were divided into 2 groups: experimental group that was infected by parasite via intra-vaginal (IV) and control group that received the same volume of normal saline via IV. One mouse from each group was killed on the fifth day after infection. The peritoneal fluid, ovary and uterus of mouse samples were taken and divided into two parts. One part used for DNA extraction and the other was kept in formalin and sent for histological study. These steps were repeated seven times and at least 10 mice in each group (case and control) were studied by molecular and histological methods. Results PCR using DNA extracted from the experimental group showed that the parasite existed in tissues of the uterus and placenta but not in the embryos and peritoneal fluid. PCR using DNA extracted from the control group was negative. Conclusions Tachyzoite of Toxoplasma and DNA of this parasite were observed in sub mucosa and muscles of the uterus and in the villis of placenta, but not in histological sections of the fetus. Therefore, histological and molecular results were consistent.


We consider the approximation of the depth‐averaged two‐dimensional shallow water equations by both a traditional continuous Galerkin (CG) finite element method as well as two discontinuous Galerkin (DG) approaches. The DG method is locally conservative, flux‐continuous on each element edge, and is suitable for both smooth and highly advective flows. A novel technique of coupling a DG method for continuity with a CG method for momentum is developed. This formulation is described in detail and validation via numerical testing is presented. Comparisons between a widely used CG approach, a conventional DG method, and the novel coupled discontinuous–continuous Galerkin method illustrates advantages and disadvantages in accuracy and efficiency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Gábor REKETTYE and Jonathan LIU (2018). Pricing - The New Frontier. London: Transnational Press London, 320pp, ISBN: 978-1-910781-83-8. Gábor Rekettye and Jonathan Liu, both are senior professors respectively in Hungary and the United Kingdom with extensive experience of teaching at all levels and to different audiences, offer a comprehensive textbook on pricing aspects of the widely used marketing mix framework. The book recently received an academic excellence award from the Hungarian Sciences Academy. This is an accolade also reflecting the seniority of the authors.