This study investigates paleofluid flow through the Devonian carbonate aquifers in the deep part of the western Alberta Basin, using the distribution and geochemical composition of deep burial, late diagenetic, sparry calcite and dolomite cements, as well as the Precambrian metasediments that make up the underlying basement and much of the adjacent Rocky Mountain Main Ranges. The objective of this study is to characterize regional, tectonically-induced (squeegee-type) fluid flow in these Devonian aquifers, the fluxes and thermal anomalies, their timing and duration, as well as their possible influence on hydrocarbon migration and trapping. New data from the Southesk-Cairn complex and the surrounding shales show intriguing patterns. Firstly, the data define the regional (background) value of the MAximum Sr Isotope Ratio of BAsinal Shale (MASIRBAS) at 0.7120. Comparison with literature data shows that MASIRBAS is valid for the entire stratigraphic section from the Pleistocene glacial till down to at least the Middle Devonian, probably also to the base of the Cambrian. Consequently, any carbonate (or sulphate) cement with a 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-ratio of >0.7120 is likely to have formed from formation waters with a basin-external (extra-basinal), metamorphic component that is derived from Precambrian rocks. Many carbonates close to the deformed belt host sour gas pools that are hydrologically relatively isolated at present. However, highly elevated 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-ratios (up to 0.7370) indicate sublateral injection of fluids from a basin-external, probably metamorphic source during deep burial diagenesis in some pools close to the deformed belt, such as at Obed. At other locations, such as Simonette or Kaybob-South, basin-external fluids appear to have been injected via subvertical faults from below, with highly radiogenic Sr derived from the metasedimentary basement or sublaterally via the intervening Cambrian clastics. The fluxes and possible geothermal anomalies during injection of these external fluids appear to have been low, as estimated from the volumes of late calcites with elevated 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-ratios and from their fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures. Reasons for the low fluxes include low volumes of expelled fluids and a relatively poor hydraulic connection between the source of these fluids and the Devonian aquifers, reminiscent of an ill-fitting garden hose connection. Tectonically-induced fluid flow appears to have been laterally rather limited, extending perhaps only 100 to 200 km into the foreland basins, where the radiogenic Sr signal "disappears". Another important finding is that late diagenetic carbonate cements from outcrops in thrust sheets of the Rocky Mountain Main Ranges do not exhibit the highly elevated 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-ratios found in the subsurface. These findings have several important implications. Firstly, large-scale hydrothermal dolomitization, which requires large fluxes and has been advocated recently for the deep part of the Alberta Basin and similar geologic settings elsewhere, is not possible by squeegee-type flow, unless the fluids are focused into and funnelled through relatively narrow confined aquifers. Secondly, the pervasive Laramide-aged remagnetization of much of the sedimentary sequence close to the limit of the disturbed belt in Alberta is not possible by this type of flow. Lastly, the recognition that metamorphic Sr, albeit present in the deep basin, is absent from at least some of the thrust sheets in the Main Ranges, indicates a different type of hydrologic regime during their formation.


Cardiomyocytes suppress contraction and O2 consumption during hypoxia. Cytochrome oxidase undergoes a decrease in V max during hypoxia, which could alter mitochondrial redox and increase generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We therefore tested whether ROS generated by mitochondria act as second messengers in the signaling pathway linking the detection of O2 with the functional response. Contracting cardiomyocytes were superfused under controlled O2 conditions while fluorescence imaging of 2,7-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) was used to assess ROS generation. Compared with normoxia (PO2 ∼ 107 torr, 15% O2), graded increases in DCF fluorescence were seen during hypoxia, with responses at PO2 = 7 torr > 20 torr > 35 torr. The antioxidants 2-mercaptopropionyl glycine and 1,10-phenanthroline attenuated these increases and abolished the inhibition of contraction. Superfusion of normoxic cells with H2O2 (25 μm) for >60 min mimicked the effects of hypoxia by eliciting decreases in contraction that were reversible after washout of H2O2. To test the role of cytochrome oxidase, sodium azide (0.75–2 μm) was added during normoxia to reduce theV max of the enzyme. Azide produced graded increases in ROS signaling, accompanied by graded decreases in contraction that were reversible. These results demonstrate that mitochondria respond to graded hypoxia by increasing the generation of ROS and suggest that cytochrome oxidase may contribute to this O2 sensing.


This research examines students' foreign language anxiety of the English education of state institute of Islamic studies Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia which includes reading anxiety. Furthermore, this research also explores the factors that cause the emergence of anxiety experienced by students when learning a foreign language and explores their efforts to manage this anxiety. This research uses mix-methods with a sequential explanatory model. A total of 130 students for the 2019/2020 academic year at all semesters as the subject in this study. A questionnaire is given for them to obtain the quantitative data, besides, 30 sutudents get in-dept interview as the addition data to find the causes oh anxiety. Consequently, the results of questionnaire  showed that  Efl students experienced anxiety in learning reading is medium category(54.8%).While the result of  in-depth interviews is among the factors that cause anxiety are cognitive factors, namely inadequate mastery of language supporting elements, such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, worry factors about getting negative assessments from the surrounding environment, low interest and motivation in foreign languages, assessment factors, and lecturer factors. Among the symptoms of anxiety experienced when learning a foreign language are shaking, heart palpitations, tension, confusion, cold sweats, panic, depression, and difficulty breathing. Not all Efl students make efforts to suppress anxiety, but some of them make preparations in the form of notes before showing the language, practice the language with friends and family, and follow several YouTube channels related to language learning.


Abstract In an ever-more-competitive global market, vignerons compete for the attention of consumers by trying to differentiate their product while also responding to technological advances, climate changes and evolving demand patterns. In doing so, they highlight their regional and varietal distinctiveness. This paper examines the extent to which the winegrape varietal mix varies within and among states of the United States and relative to the rest of the world, and how that picture has been evolving. It reports varietal intensity indexes for different regions, indexes of similarity of varietal mix between regions and over time, and price-based quality indexes across regions and varieties within and among the three west-coast States. Broadly speaking, the mix of winegrape varieties in the United States is not very different from that in the rest of the world and, since 2000, it has become even less differentiated and closer to that of France and the world as a whole. But individual U.S. regions vary considerably in the mix of varieties in which they specialize and in the quality of grapes they produce of a given variety; and region-by-variety interactions have complex influences on the pattern of quality and production. We use measures of regional varietal comparative advantage and a Nerlovian partial adjustment model to account for some of the shifting varietal patterns in the U.S. vineyard and in winegrape production. (JEL Classification: D24, L66, Q13)


Introduction: More than 300 million individuals worldwide suffer from scabies, which has a considerable morbidity rate, especially in underdeveloped countries. The Federal Ministry of Health has created rules for handling outbreaks in Ethiopia. Investigations are still being conducted only in a few areas, and health educators are making diagnoses even though they might overlook some cases. The prevalence of scabies among primary school students in Goro Gutu Woreda, east Hararghe zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia, was examined from October 20 to November 20, 2021. Methods: From October 20 to November 20, 2021, 460 students in Goro Gutu Woreda's primary schools participated in this institutional-based cross-sectional study. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire and a physical exam were used to gather the data. Stata (version 15) was utilized to analyze the data. To find factors linked to scabies, bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed, and a P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall magnitude of scabies was 11.4% [(95% confidence interval [CI]: 8, 14)]. Lower grade levels of (1-4 grade) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=3.09, 95% CI (1.32, 7.25)], families with illiterate fathers (AOR=2.68, 95% CI (1.32, 5.44)], and the lack of taking bath with water and soap [AOR=3.22, 95% CI (1.07, 9.66)] were significantly associated with scabies. Conclusion: According to the 2015 Ethiopian guidelines for controlling scabies outbreaks, schoolchildren in the Goro Gutu district of eastern Ethiopia had high scabies rates. These rates were closely connected with children's grade level, fathers' educational status, and how frequently they took baths with soap and water. It is advised that children in schools and communities behave more hygienically


In two-dimensional electronic systems, direct first-order phase transitions are prohibited as a consequence of the long-range Coulomb interaction, which implies a stiff energetic penalty for macroscopic phase separation. A prominent proposal is that any direct first-order transition is instead replaced by a sequence of"microemulsion"phases, in which the two phases are mixed in patterns of mesoscopic domains. In this note, we comment on the range $\Delta n$ of average electron density that such microemulsion phases may occupy. We point out that, even without knowing the value of a phenomenological parameter associated with surface tension between the two phases, one can place a fairly strong upper bound on the value of $\Delta n$. We make numerical estimates for $\Delta n$ in the case of the Fermi liquid to Wigner crystal transition and find $\Delta n$ to be on the order of $10^7$ cm$^{-2}$. This value is much smaller than the width of the phase transition observed in experiments, suggesting that disorder is a more likely explanation for the apparent broadening of the transition.


The purpose of this study was to investigate health awareness level and sources of health information of Arab clubs players in Volleyball. Furthermore, its purpose was to determine the effect of players experience and qualification on health awareness level. The sample consisted of 90 players who participated in the twentysecond Arab clubs championship held in Jordan. The questionnaire contains 57 items on health awareness which covers the domains of the study, and 8 items measure sources of health information. The results indicate that there was a high degree of health awareness level of Arab clubs players in Volleyball, where the overall percentage of response amounted to (81%). Also, the results revealed a significant difference among health awareness domains in favor of social and psychological stress control domain. In addition, there were nonsignificant differences at (α = 0.05) on health awareness level of Arab clubs players in Volleyball due to playing experience, qualification and interaction. The media was the first source of health information of players. Based on the study findings, the researcher recommended guiding players in conducting comprehensive medical tests at least once a year.


To clarify the mechanism of platelet activation by immune complexes and the possible involvement of surface glycoproteins (GPs), we studied platelet activation induced by heat-aggregated IgG (HAG). We examined the effects of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) against GPIb, GPIIb/IIIa, and the Fc receptor on resting platelets and on platelets stimulated by HAG. HAG increased the cytosolic ionized calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and stimulated protein (P47 and P20) phosphorylation, phosphatidic acid (PA) synthesis, serotonin secretion, and platelet aggregation. IV.3, an anti-Fc gamma RII receptor MoAb, inhibited HAG binding to platelets and all subsequent platelet responses. Like IV.3, MoAbs against GPIIb/IIIa (Tab, 10E5, AP-3) or GPIb (AP-1, 6D1) strongly inhibited platelet activation by HAG. However, while anti-GPIIb/IIIa MoAbs inhibited binding of IV.3 and HAG to platelets, anti-GPIb MoAbs had little effect on platelet binding of IV.3 or HAG. These observations suggest a close topographical and functional association of GPIIb/IIIa with Fc gamma RII in the platelet response to HAG. Cytochalasin B, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, also inhibited platelet activation but not HAG or IV.3 binding. Measurement of the fluorescence of 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-(NBD)-phallacidin, a specific marker for filamentous actin (F-actin), showed that both cytochalasin B and AP-1 blocked the increase of F-actin induced by HAG. The common effects of anti-GPIb MoAbs and of cytochalasin B suggest that unlike the activity of GPIIb/IIIa, the ability of anti-GPIb to inhibit the activation of platelets by immune complexes is associated with perturbation of the cytoskeleton.


This paper presents a case study of fracture interaction mitigation in a multistage horizontal stimulation of an offshore Black Sea well. A multi-faceted approach in applying lessons learned and pre-job geo-mechanical analysis of depletion-induced stress differential and its effects on fracture interactions will be discussed. Details of on-the-job, real-time bottom-hole pressure monitoring of nearby wells, with the effort of on-the-fly pumping schedule changes, will also be provided.
 An analysis was conducted on past fracture interactions observed from multistage stimulation jobs in the area. Depletion, distances between producing wells, and a stress analysis was performed using fracture simulation software, and a consequent analysis of fracture geometry was applied. A bottom-hole gauge pressure profile assessment of nearby wells, including the pre-stimulation, shut-in, and post-stimulation period of the targeted well, was completed. A redesigned treatment was applied, considering a mitigation plan for potential on-the-fly changes during pumping. A holistic tracer analysis of production contribution between stages and wells was performed, with the goal of understanding possible crossflow of production fluids.
 Past-fracture interaction events have been analyzed, and clear drivers for fracture hit communication were observed. Extreme depletion effects were a primary factor in enabling fracture communication. The preferential fracture growth was further enabled owing to the continuous production of nearby wells and no shut-in implementation. The 3D geo-mechanical model was built using pertinent data from the targeted and nearby wells. The model was further optimized using fracture geometry outputs, and constraints were input to limit the fracture growth and avoid communication. The outcome of the analysis showed a clear driving force behind the interactions was depletion. An on-the-job assessment of diagnostic tests yielded a heterogeneous behavior of the horizontal segment, further proving stress differentials along the lateral. An overall chemical tracer analysis of the targeted and nearby wells was completed using pre- and post-stimulation fluid samples. The results were crucial in understanding the stimulation approach and possible crossflow effects due to fracture communication. Additionally, using bottom-hole temperature readings, a rudimentary cool-down and heat-back analysis was performed to better understand possible fluid interactions with nearby wells and optimize fluid design.
 Intra-stage fracture interference presents unique events and challenges that are typically managed on a case-by-case basis, and this work presents the critical analyses that are paramount to planning stimulation treatments in highly depleted segments and reservoirs with wells in close proximity.


Abstract : There is concern about the ability of the armed forces to meet their accession requirements as youth population declines over the next 10-15 years. This study addresses this concern by developing a way to predict the supply of high quality accessions to all four services. Accessions are then projected for the rest of the decade under various assumptions. Data organized by Navy Recruiting District for the period 1976-1981 are examined to relate the number of high quality accession contracts to economic and policy factors, as well as to the size of the youth population. The pay of civilian youth, military pay, recruiters, advertising, and economic conditions were key determinants of recruit supply. GI Bill benefits induced many accessions. Population was important, but not as important as many expected. Projections indicate that (with minor exceptions) recruiting goals can be met through the 80s if current plans are executed. Over the longer run, goals can be met if military pay keeps up with civilian youth pay and if recruiting resources are made available quickly when the economy strengthens.


Antonio Muñoz Molina is one of the most prestigious novelists now writing in Spain. Over the last two decades, his novels have combined modern and postmodern literary technique with powerful storytelling, earning both critical acclaim and a wide popular audience while broadening the limits of traditional fiction. Sepharad, his latest novel, now translated into English by Margaret Sayers Peden, exemplifies these qualities. Sepharad is a novel of novels. Each of its seventeen chapters functions as a self-enclosed story, but all share a tone and a theme, and many are interconnected by time, common conflicts, and characters. The novel's first-person narrator, who seems much like Muñoz Molina, rarely speaks of himself. Instead he listens to others and relates their stories. With seamless transitions, the narrative structure alternates between the narrator's reflections and the stories he tells. One moment he ruminates on the burden of identity and how it becomes lighter when we travel; the next we hear a cough and find ourselves sitting next to Kafka on a train. The stories can be divided into three types. The first group focuses on people who experienced persecution during World War II and who would be unknown to a general audience. Most are about people who suffered the Stalinist purges. The reader learns, for example, of the dramatic lives of Eugenia Ginzburg, Margarete Buber-Neumann and her husband, and the fall from grace of Communist propagandist Münzerberg. These stories, though always fragmentary, are dramatized with detail, offering glimpses into the lives of those suddenly trapped by accusations and persecution. Stories of betterknown lives—Kafka, Primo Levi, Walter Benjamin—make the second group. They are referred to and quoted throughout, making for some of the most memorable sentences in the novel. A third group of stories centers exclusively on Spanish characters, some fictional, some real, with experiences of exile, war, or marginalization. These are the most developed stories and narratively are the most satisfying. Some have to do with major events of the twentieth century: Spaniards who fought in the Blue Division alongside the Nazis in Russia, and Loyalists who went into exile after the Spanish Civil War. Some


Kamus Urban Indonesia (An Indonesian Urban Dictionary) as one of lexicographic translation products
also documented a certain local language vocabularies which were not found in any standard local language
dictionaries. The lexicographic translation product accommodated language variations determined based
on urban geographic area. Urban vocabularies of a local language documented in Indonesian dictionary
might trigger local language speakers' positive language attitude. The vocabularies might also be used as
the last fortress of both Indonesian and English urban vocabularies exhortation that were daily exposed by
media. This paper tried to describe potentials of Sundanese urban vocabularies triggering positive language
attitude of its speakers, in term of Sundanese language maintenance. The writer found at least two
characteristics of language attitude might be triggered by the dictionary, namely language loyalty which
reflects the desire of entire speech community to retain its language and, if necessary, to defend it against
foreign enrichment, and language pride which motivates individual or entire speech community to make
his/their language as his/their identity, as well as distinguishing them from other communities.


We present a fast direct solver for the simulation of electromagnetic scattering from an arbitrarily shaped, large, empty cavity embedded in an infinite perfectly conducting half-space. The governing Maxwell equations are reformulated as a well-conditioned second kind integral equation, and the resulting linear system is solved in nearly linear time using a hierarchical matrix factorization technique. We illustrate the performance of the scheme with several numerical examples for complex cavity shapes over a wide range of frequencies.


A review of rigorous evaluations of interventions that seek to empower women economically shows that the same class of interventions has significantly different outcomes depending on the client. Capital alone, as a small cash loan or grant, is not sufficient to grow women-owned subsistence-level firms. However, it can work if it is delivered in-kind to more successful women microentrepreneurs, and it should boost the performance of women's larger-sized SMEs. Very poor women need a more intensive package of services than do less poor women to break out of subsistence production and grow their businesses. What works for young women does not necessarily work for adult women. Skills training, job search assistance, internships, and wage subsidies increase the employment levels of adult women but do not raise wages. However, similar interventions increase young women's employability and earnings if social restrictions are not binding. Women who run subsistence-level firms face additional social constraints when compared to similar men, thus explaining the differences in the outcomes of some loans, grants, and training interventions that favor men. Social constraints may also play a role in explaining women's outcome gains that are short-lasting or emerge with a delay. The good news is that many of the additional constraints that women face can be overcome by simple, inexpensive adjustments in program design that lessen family and social pressures. These include providing capital in-kind or transacted through the privacy of a mobile phone and providing secure savings accounts to nudge women to keep the money in the business rather than to divert it to non-business uses.


We investigated the sound radiated from an object, induced by a piezoelectric extracorporeal shock wave lithotripter (ESWL). However, it was found that more direct measurement is necessary to analyze the sounds in piezoelectric ESWL. Therefore, we investigate the vibrations of a phantom, which are directly measured using laser Doppler velocimetry. The results show that the peak frequency in the power spectrum shifts as the number of shots increases from high frequency to low frequency. The previous results are confirmed by detecting the characteristic peaks obtained from the vibrations of bronze models. The bronze models are used to simulate the phantom during the breaking process. It is found that it is more difficult to make the models vibrate exactly at the focal point than above or below the focal region. These results will be applied to the monitoring of the breaking process and the choice of the optimum focal point on the calculus.


Call Centers provide a challenging environment in which to provide leadership. The organization is typically hierarchical with many layers of management. The majority of the employees work autonomously but are often organized into teams reporting to one leader. This leader must motivate and engage these employees to provide a high level of customer service at all times. The leader has very little decision making authority in the call center hierarchy and is required to implement the decisions and ideas of those who often cannot relate to the role of the frontline employee. There is a lack of role clarity in this position with many administrative and supervisory tasks assigned, yet there is still an expectation of being an inspiring leader. Thus the reason for exploring the constraints to exercising leadership in the call center environment.


Material development is generally assumed as the teachers' task. However, the concept of learner-generated materials has existed for some time in EFL/ESL context and attracted lots of researchers' attention (Clarke,1989; Riggenbach, 1988; Whitaker, 1983), especially during the rise of learner-centered approach in language learning. The term "learner-generated materials" refers to (1) Materials selected by learners for classroom use, (2) Learner products exploited by a teacher for teaching purposes and (3) Materials created by learners for use by other learners(Said & Zhang 2013:201). Unquestionably, this somewhat challenges traditional paradigm of education but it will bring substantial benefits for both instructors and students. Students can use their English and critical-thinking skills to create materials themselves and shape their own learning process, thereby develop their active engagement in classrooms. This paper highlights the significance of learner-produced materials and put forwards ways for teachers to encourage their students to create English-learning materials. The article also suggests kinds of materials that students can exploit to suit the course aims while empowering themselves to practise and improve their English.


Abstract In this essay I consider the role of memory in the creation of the post‐apartheid nation: how does memory – individual and communal – function in the shaping of nationhood? Specifically, how does a text such as Antjie Krog's Country of My Skull, which seeks to straddle the divide of personal, individualised memory and collective memory, contribute to this process in post‐apartheid South Africa? Drawing on the proliferation of testimonies which emerged from the Truth Commission, in this text Krog actively contributes to the construction of collective memory. But, as Ernest Renan reminds us, although "the essence of a nation is that all individuals have many things in common" – and shared historical narratives are crucial in this regard – it is equally important that the nation collectively suppresses specific aspects of knowledge of the past. Renan continues: "Forgetting, I would even go so far as to say historical error, is a crucial factor in the creation of the nation". What is it that Country of My Skull asks us to remember, what should we forget? And what are the ethical implications thereof?


Abstract This paper investigates whether stock markets respond to disease pandemic referencing the case of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The paper employs three cointegrating regression models: Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, and Canonical Cointegrating Regression to analyse the effect of growth in total COVID-19 confirmed cases and related deaths in Nigeria and across the globe from 27 February 2020 to 4 September 2020 on the stock market performance. Key findings support the presence of long-run association between stock market returns and COVID-19 in Nigeria. The stock market is found to respond negatively to both domestic and global growths in total confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19. Consequently, affected businesses in Nigeria should be assisted and bailed out by the government through practices such as tax filing, subsidies, targeted spending, and credit.


Based on the official agreements concluded between government committees and strikers' committees in Poland in the 2nd half of 1980 and on the declaration of the "Congress of Pensioners" of the ISTU Solidarity, problems of old persons in after-strike agreements concluded in Poland in the 1980/81 period are investigated. In the agreements concluded in the third quarter of 1980 (Szczecin, Gdańsk, Lipcowy, Katowice) only basic demands for rising the lowest pensions up to the level of a social minimum (while the problem of adjusting these pensions to the rising living-costs is generally neglected), and tendencies of shortening the life-working-time can be found. Much more differentiated and adapted to single interests of the striking farmers is the agreement concluded in February 1981. The declaration of the congress of pensioners of the ISTU Solidarity is mostly differentiated and engaged in essential problems of old people. But its disadvantage is that neither the government nor even the trade-union leaders are bound to it.


2D metamaterials have immense potential in acoustics, optics, and electromagnetic applications due to their unique properties and ability to conform to curved substrates. Active metamaterials have attracted significant research attention because of their on‐demand tunable properties and performances through shape reconfigurations. 2D active metamaterials often achieve active properties through internal structural deformations, which lead to changes in overall dimensions. This demands corresponding alterations of the conforming substrate, or the metamaterial fails to provide complete area coverage, which can be a significant limitation for their practical applications. To date, achieving area‐preserving active 2D metamaterials with distinct shape reconfigurations remains a prominent challenge. In this paper, magneto‐mechanical bilayer metamaterials are presented that demonstrate area density tunability with area‐preserving capability. The bilayer metamaterials consist of two arrays of magnetic soft materials with distinct magnetization distributions. Under a magnetic field, each layer behaves differently, which allows the metamaterial to reconfigure its shape into multiple modes and to significantly tune its area density without changing its overall dimensions. The area‐preserving multimodal shape reconfigurations are further exploited as active acoustic wave regulators to tune bandgaps and wave propagations. The bilayer approach thus provides a new concept for the design of area‐preserving active metamaterials for broader applications.


Quantum molecular dynamic (QMD) simulations have been applied to study the thermophysical properties of liquid xenon under dynamic compressions. The equation of state (EOS) obtained from QMD calculations are corrected according to Saha equation, and contributions from atomic ionization, which are of predominance in determining the EOS at high temperature and pressure, are considered. For the pressures below 160 GPa, the necessity in accounting for the atomic ionization has been demonstrated by the Hugoniot curve, which shows excellent agreement with previous experimental measurements, and three levels of ionization have been proved to be sufficient at this stage.


The present study was undertaken to determine the pathophysiological role of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in elderly patients with hyponatremia, and the efficacy of fludrocortisone acetate in treating their hyponatremia. Eleven hospitalized patients aged 65 years or older whose serum sodium levels were less than 130 mEq/l were examined. The hyponatremic patients included two groups of patients: syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and central salt-wasting syndrome. And 24 healthy, young subjects aged 20 to 34 years, and 24 healthy, elderly subjects age 65 to 80 years were recruited by community announcement. The elderly subjects had decreased urinary concentrating ability and exaggerated response of AVP secretion to osmotic and nonosmotic stimuli, as compared to the young subjects. All the patients had hyponatremia, with the exaggerated urinary loss of Na. Plasma AVP levels were elevated despite hypoosmolality in all the 2 groups of hyponatremic, elderly patients. Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone concentrations were low in the patients with SIADH and central salt-wasting syndrome. Fludrocortisone acetate therapy was effective in the patients with central salt-wasting syndrome and 3 patients with SIADH whose hyponatremia remained unchanged after water restriction. Water restriction therapy normalized serum Na levels in only 3 patients with SIADH. These results indicate that AVP is involved in the mechanism for hyponatremia in the elderly patients with SIADH and central salt-wasting syndrome. Severe hyponatremia associated with SIADH and central salt-wasting syndrome responds well to mineralocorticoid therapy. Both the secretion of AVP and renal sodium handling may be involved in the mechanism of action of the disorders. The diagnostic criteria for SIADH in the elderly patients may have to be reevaluated and should be considered to indicate fludrocortisone acetate therapy.


Abstract In the preovulatory follicle, oocyte meiotic resumption occurs soon after the LH surge and is associated with a decrease in cAMP. Inhibition of cAMP degradation blocks germinal vesicle breakdown as well as activation of meiotic promoting factor, both hallmarks of reentry into the cell cycle. In situ and pharmacological analysis of rodent ovaries suggested the presence of a phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) in the germ cell but not the somatic cell compartment. Here we have investigated the structure and properties of the PDE form expressed in mouse oocytes. Polymerase chain reactions using a mouse oocyte cDNA library as a template, and primers based on the conserved sequence of rat and human PDE3As, yielded partial fragments corresponding to mouse PDE3A. Further screening of the mouse oocyte cDNA library and subsequent ligation of individual cDNA clones yielded PDE3A cDNA containing the entire coding region of mouse PDE3A. To determine the kinetic properties of this PDE, the cDNAs encoding the full-length PDE3A and NH2-truncation forms Delta 1 (Δ346aa) and Delta 2 (Δ608aa) were expressed in mouse Leydig tumor cells. Whereas the full-length recombinant protein was always found in the particulate fraction, the Delta 1 and Delta 2 truncated PDE3As were recovered mostly in the soluble fraction. The Michaelis constant values for hydrolysis of cAMP of PDE3A Delta 1 and PDE3A Delta 2 were similar to those of intact full-length PDE3A or oocyte PDE (0.2–0.5 μM). More importantly, there was good correlation between the rank of potency of selective and nonselective compounds in inhibiting recombinant PDE3A or PDE activity derived from cumulus-oocyte complexes and in blocking resumption of meiosis. These data provide evidence that the PDE expressed in the oocyte is a soluble form of PDE3A and that activity of this enzyme is involved in the control of resumption of meiosis.


Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada (SCL) have partnered with Industry Canada to research Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and their business benefits. This research report identifies industry perspectives, issues, and drivers for GSCM practices and thus helps inform decision makers of current and future industry needs.


A Nutrigenetic study of the effects of graded levels (0%, 5% and 10%) of undecorticated undefatted Moringa oleifera Seed Meal (UUMOSM) on the biological growth programme of 48 young broilers of two genotypes (Marshall and Arbor Acres) was conducted. Rates of change (%) of Body Weight (WTR), Length (BLR) and Girth (BGR), and Lengths of Shank (SLR), Thigh (TLR), Wing (WLR) and Keel (KLR) between 1 and 4 weeks age were measured. The effect of Genotype and Diet on growth rate was defined by fitting a univariate General Linear Model, while the strength of relationship between traits was examined by use of Pearson's bivariate correlation method. Only BLR was significantly (P<0.05) affected by genotype, while diet significantly (P<0.05) determined WTR, BGR, TLR, WLR, and KLR. Significant (P<0.05) effects of Genotype x Diet interaction on WTR, BLR, BGR, WLR and KLR were observed. The level of correlation between trait rates varied with increasing levels of UUMOSM in both genotypes; exhibiting a direct, inverse, parabola or inverted parabola shaped relationship curve. These results showed that subtle variations in dietary levels of UUMOSM significantly influence the biological growth programme of young broilers, with implications for size and interrelationship of body parts, including shape/conformation. They further showed that substructures within populations such as clusters with non-overlapping nutritional habits (voluntary or forced) influence overall population estimates of inter-trait relationships. The transcriptomic (gene expression) and metabonomic correlates of the phenomenon reported here will be examined in further studies and should yield evidence of underlying mechanisms.


Abstract This paper presents the analysis of air pollution monitoring and evaluation results in the center of Riga City. The air quality reports have pointed out that road traffic and road infrastructure are the main issues of air pollution in the center of Riga. However, none of the reports validated this assumption considering actual traffic flow data. In the present article, the air pollution data have been collected and analyzed in the context with traffic flow. The statistical analysis of both the air pollution and traffic flow data was performed and the correlation between them was established and evaluated. Finally, the conclusions and recommendations for further improvements of the methodology of measurements necessary for successful air quality assessment in the urban areas and particularly in Riga city are given.


Currently NIST is working towards the standardization of lightweight cryptography (LWC). Although the cryptanalytic strength of LWC is currently under deep scrutiny, the LWC implementation security has not been yet widely explored. GIFT block cipher is the main building block of many of the LWC NIST candidates and therefore has the potential to be part of the next lightweight crypto-standard. Hence it is important to understand its implementation vulnerabilities such as side-channel attacks (SCAs). Although SCAs have been evaluated for hardware implementations, no analysis or countermeasures have been proposed yet for software implementations. This work evaluates GIFT 128-bit software implementations (protected and unprotected) against power-based SCAs. Our protected implementation is based on a new lightweight countermeasure consisting of two balanced and masked SBoxes. Our results show that GIFT's SBox (or SubCell function) is vulnerable against profiled and non-profiled attacks when unprotected or protected implementations based on existing balancing or masking techniques are used. On the other hand, our proposed countermeasure that smartly combines balancing and masking offers full protection with negligible overhead.


Delays in signal conduction are not great enough to be useful clinically

In this issue of the BJO (p 1132) the paper by Rodarte et al reports on the effect of glaucoma on the multifocal multichannel visual evoked potential (mfVEP), specifically its effect on signal latency.1 Many previous publications have established that there is a loss of mfVEP amplitude in glaucoma.2–5 This paper confirms that there are also some measurable effects on latency, but the delays in signal conduction are not great enough to be useful clinically with only 40% showing significant change. As a relative negative finding this is important if the mfVEP is to be used in the diagnostic setting.

It is consistent with our understanding of the mechanisms of cell death in glaucoma, where demyelination is not a feature, in contrast to optic neuritis where marked latency delays are the hallmark. In fact in our recent study,6 large mfVEP latency delays in the recovery phase of a first episode of optic neuritis may even be predictive of the later onset of multiple sclerosis. A recent paper by Danesh-Meyer et al has also reported mfVEP amplitude reductions in compressive optic neuropathy,7 with some latency delays but not as marked as in optic neuritis (personal communication). The relative losses of amplitude versus delay may help separate not only disease types, but possibly prognosis in these conditions. It had been hoped that latency delays in glaucoma may be useful as an early marker in glaucoma, since there are many previous studies on the conventional VEP (cVEP) where some delays were identified. Also, latency has greater reproducibility and less inter-subject variability so would therefore be a useful parameter to measure. Unfortunately, this study confirms that the delays are not substantial enough to use in diagnosis. We …


Ventricular septal defect is an acyanotic congenital heart disease, characterized by a left-to-right shunt. The incidence varies between two and six per 1000 live births. It is found in 30% to 60% of all the newborns with congenital heart disease, thus making it one of the most common congenital heart diseases. It can lead to significant hemodynamic changes and patient morbidity and mortality perioperatively, thus posing a challenge to the anesthesiologists. Here, we report the perioperative management of an adult patient with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis, posted for cholecystectomy, which was successfully managed with general anesthesia and thoracic epidural analgesia.


We examined the effects of running on mood alteration in males and females and its relationship to changes in beta-endorphin (B-EN), corticotropin (ACTH), and growth hormone (GH). Thirteen males and ten females ran on a treadmill for 30 min at 80% of previously determined maximum heart rate. Five plasma samples were obtained through an indwelling catheter before exercise (-30 and 0 min), during exercise (15 min), at exercise completion (+30 min), and after 30 min of recovery (R30); the Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory was administered at -30 and +30. Composite mood improved after the run for both males and females withput concomitant rise in B-EN. For males but not females, an increase in mood was associated with lower B-EN (r = 0.65) and ACTH (r = 0.65) and this relationship was also significant prior to exercise for B-EN (r = 0.74) and ACTH (r = 0.81). It appears that an increase in peripheral beta-endorphin concentration may not be a major contributor to improved mood in response to exercise, but is an indicator of negative mood in males.


Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that causes a febrile disease and may cause a fatal neurological illness in humans. We aimed to investigate the geographic distribution of Culicinae mosquitoes and their possible infection with WNV in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran. Methods: Field studies were carried out from June 2017 to May 2019. Different mosquito sampling methods were used monthly to collect mosquitoes from 22 sites. The Real-Time PCR technique was used to detect the virus infection in the mosquitoes. Results: Overall, 6165 mosquitoes were caught. The species were Culex theileri (33.25%), Cx. pipiens (20.45%), Cx. quinquefasciatus (10.51%), Aedes caspius (6.33%), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (5.82%), Ae. vexans (4.10%), Cx. sinaiticus (3.62%), Cx. antennatus (3.29%), Culiseta longiareolata (2.81%), Cx. perexiguus (2.03%), Cs. subochrea (1.95%), Cx. mimeticus (1.49%), Cx. pusillus (1.38%), Cx. univittatus (1.27%), Cx. modestus (1.14%), and Cx. sitiens (0.57%). The molecular detection of virus infection in mosquitoes found to be negative for WNV. Conclusion: The presence of many species of mosquito vectors and high population traffic increase the risk of disease transmission is very high. Therefore, the way to restrict WNV infection factors is increasing the knowledge for personal protection measures to prevent mosquito bites.


Shigella is an important human food-borne zoonosis bacterial pathogen, and can cause clinically severe diarrhea. There is an urgent need to develop a specific, sensitive, and rapid methodology for detection of this pathogen. In this study, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with magnetic immunocapture assay (IC-LAMP) was first developed for the detection of Shigella in pure culture, artificial milk, and clinical stool samples. This method exhibited a detection limit of 8.7 CFU/mL. Compared with polymerase chain reaction, IC-LAMP is sensitive, specific, and reliable for monitoring Shigella. Additionally, IC-LAMP is more convenient, efficient, and rapid than ordinary LAMP, as it is more efficiently enriches pathogen cells without extraction of genomic DNA. Under isothermal conditions, the amplification curves and the green fluorescence were detected within 30 min in the presence of genomic DNA template. The overall analysis time was approximately 1 h, including the enrichment and lysis of the bacterial cells, a significantly short detection time. Therefore, the IC-LAMP methodology described here is potentially useful for the efficient detection of Shigella in various samples.


Objective: To study the pharmacokinetics of lumefantrine in healthy Pakistani volunteers so as to see the adequacy of the regimen in vogue for the treatment of malaria and prevention of recrudescence. Place and duration of study: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, from December 2006 to December 2007. Study design: Quasi experimental study. Subjects and Methods: Twelve healthy Pakistani male adult volunteers after informed consent participated in the study. Plasma concentration time profiles were measured after a single oral dose administration of 480mg of lumefantrine equal to four tablets of artemether –lumefantrine combination (Exafal). After extraction of lumefantrine with hexane-diethyl ether (70:30v/v) from plasma, it was analysed by HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography) using a C18 reverse phase ODS stainless steel column and a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.1 M ammonium acetate (90:10, v/v) adjusted to pH 4.9 with ultra violet detection at 335 nm. Results: The median absorption half-life of lumefantrine was 4.5 hours, with Time to reach peak plasma concentration (Tmax) 8.5 hours, plasma clearance 2.44 l/h and terminal elimination half-life of 89.5 hours. The Mean residence time (MRT) calculated ranged from 62.5 to125.6 (mean 98.17+17.18) hours. The day seven plasma concentrations in all the subjects, less one, were more than the cut-off value of 0.28mg/l required to prevent the recrudescent infection. Conclusion: The overall pharmacokinetic profile of lumefantrine in Pakistani healthy volunteers appears to be comparable to other ethnic groups reported from various countries and the dose regimen used is adequate for the treatment and prevention of recrudescence.


Author(s): Lukowsky, Lilia Rebecca | Advisor(s): Kheifets, Leeka I | Abstract: Mortality is high among incident hemodialysis patients especially during the first several months after initiation of dialysis and can be influenced by many factors. Age, vascular access, co-morbid conditions, serum levels of albumin, and dialysis modality may affect survival. We attempted to identify factors that influence survival of incident hemodialysis patients and to determine if changes in clinical practices could improve survival. We hypothesized that patients surviving at least 24 months differ in their characteristics from those who died and so indentifying those differences and making changes may improve survival in all hemodilaysis patients. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for each of the first 24 months on dialysis to determine the temporal pattern of mortality. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to examine mortality at several a priory determined time periods for each predictor using case-mix adjustments. The associations between all-cause mortality and combined serum levels of albumin and nPCR were studied for each of first 8 quarters on dialysis. Changes in serum albumin and nPCR levels from the prior quarter were examined separately. Finally, marginal structural models (MSM) were fitted to analyze the association between mortality and dialysis modality during 24 months of treatment. Inverse probability weights were created to account for time varying confounding of quarterly measured laboratory values and changes in dialysis modality over the first 8 quarters. SMRs were the highest during the 3-6 months after starting dialysis. Use of central venous catheters and low levels of serum albumin at the time of dialysis initiation were associated with all-cause and infection-related mortality during the first 24 months of treatment. Volume overload was associated with cardio-vascular mortality especially in non-hypoalbuminemic patients. Decrease in albumin and nPCR was associated with mortality during 24 months on dialysis. Patients on peritoneal dialysis showed better survival compared to hemodialysis patients after adjusting for modality changes by using MSMs. Patients who changed modalities at least once showed a survival advantage over those who remained on initial modality during 24 months of dialysis treatment.


The phenomenon of street children actually have been grown for long time, but today it becomes the world's attention, as long as the increasing number of street children in the big cities around the world. A hard life, the need for independent life, the less attention from the parents, the environment that is not conducive, and the lack of opportunity to school are factors that affect the self-concept on the street child. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between environmental factors and the self concept of street children aged 12-18 years in Kediri city. The design of this study was an analytic cross sectional. The population in this study were all street children in the city of Kediri. The amount of sample that is determined were 30 respondents using quota sampling. The independent variables was the environmental factors and the dependent variable was the self concept. The data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed Mann Whithney statistical test with significance level α <0.05.From the results of data analysis known that street children had not good environment, had not good self-image, have sufficient ideal of self, a good role, the good identity, sufficient of the self-concept. The results of Spearman's Rho statistical tests obtained p = 0.143, so there is no relationship between independent variables and the dependent variable. The conclusion is that the environmental factors haven't relation with the self concept of street children aged 12-18 years in Kediri city, although the street children has a good environment but they have a negative self concept.


As a source for a soft X-ray microscope, a liquid-nitrogen jet has been developed and its radiation characteristics have been investigated for various laser parameters, such as the laser pulse energy and duration. The e ects of pre-pulse and multiple pulses have also been studied. The focus has been the N VI 1s2-1s2p transition at 2.88 nm. The investigation shows that the laser intensity for the maximum conversion e ciency scales as Im / 1/ , where = 0.9 0.15. The study of the pre-pulse e ect on the conversion e ciency shows that a pre-pulse of only 2 mJ enhances the conversion e ciency by 10 { 15 times for the main pulse of 15 { 60 mJ at a delay of 3 { 6 ns. The photon ux is 1.2 1012 photons / (pulse sr) at a delay of 4 ns for a main pulse of 60 mJ with a pre-pulse of 4 { 8 mJ. The study of the multiple pulse e ect was done in the 4-pulse con guration. The enhancement of the radiation compared to the accumulation of the radiation intensity of each pulse was observed at a certain delays between 4 pulses, implying that there exists a proper pulse structure for maximum radiation.


The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools in turbomachinery has seen an increase as a result of the exponential growth of computational power, as well as of improvements of the accuracy of numerical simulations. These tools are often used in optimization environments, where gradient-based optimization algorithms are the most common due to its efficiency. The optimization may contain a large number of design variables (typically in the order of thousands), such in cases of shape optimization. In these cases, the adjoint approach for calculating the gradients is beneficial, as it provides a way of obtaining function sensitivities with a computational cost that is independent of the number of design variables, as opposed to what happens with the well known finitedifference approach. The interaction between adjacent blade rows has an important impact on the whole performance of a multistage turbomachine. The most commonly used method to address these effects in the simulation of multiple rows is the mixing-plane treatment, that has become a standard industrial tool in the design environment. In this paper, improvements on the adjoint solver of a proprietary CFD solver for multistage turbomachinery applications are presented, namely the adjoint counterpart of the mixing-plane formulation used in the direct solver. The solver is developed using the discrete ADjoint approach, where the partial derivatives required for the assembly of the adjoint system of equations are obtained using automatic differentiation tools.


Autonomic computing is emerging as a significant new approach for the design of computing systems. Its goal is the production of systems that are self-managing, self-healing, self-protecting and self-optimizing. Achieving this goal involve techniques from both software engineering and artificial intelligence. We discuss one particular aspect of autonomic computing: event management. It considers the range of event handling techniques in use, particularly in relation to distributed systems. Intelligent approaches are illustrated using the example of event handling in telecommunication systems. In particular, the telecom survivable network architecture is analyzed to identify lessons and potential pitfalls for autonomic computing.


We have studied the electronic, physical, and transistor properties of a family of donor-acceptor polymers consisting of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) coupled with different accepting companion units in order to determine the effects of donor-acceptor interaction. Using the electronically neutral benzene (B), the weakly accepting benzothiadiazole (BT), and the strongly accepting benzobisthiadiazole (BBT), the accepting strength of the companion unit was systematically modulated. All polymers exhibited excellent transistor performance, with mobilities above 0.1 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1), even exceeding 1 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1) for one of the BBT-containing polymers. We find that the BBT is the strongest acceptor, enabling the BBT-containing polymers to be strongly ambipolar. The BBT moiety also strengthens interchain interactions, which provides higher thermal stability and performance for transistors with BBT-containing polymers as the active layer.


In this work, a fast nonlinear model‐based predictive control (NMPC) strategy is designed and experimentally validated on‐line on a real fuel cell. Regarding NMPC strategies, the most challenging part remains to achieve on‐line implementation, especially when dealing with fast dynamic systems. As previously demonstrated in a recent work, the proposed control strategy is ideally suited to address this problem. Indeed, it is 30 times faster than classical NMPC controllers. This strategy relies on a specific parameterization of the control actions to reduce the computational time and achieve on‐line implementation. Due to its short computational time compared to mechanistic models, an artificial neural network model is designed and experimentally validated. This model is employed as internal model in the NMPC controller to predict the system behavior. To confirm the applicability and the relevance of the proposed NMPC controller varying control scenarios are investigated on a test bench. The built‐in controller is overridden and the NMPC controller is implemented externally and executed on‐line. Experimental results exhibit the outstanding tracking capability and robustness against model‐process mismatch of the proposed strategy. The parameterized NMPC controller turns out to be an excellent candidate for on‐line applications.


Background Hyperuricaemia and reactive oxygen species have recently been associated with essential hypertension. Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) produces urate and, in its oxidase isoform, reactive oxygen species also. Our previous studies indicated that hypertension-prone rat strains have greater renal XOR activity than their normotensive counterparts, and that dietary sodium modifies renal XOR activity. Objective To clarify whether renal XOR induction precedes or follows the development of hypertension. Methods Five-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats were kept for 3–8 weeks on low sodium (0.3% salt w/w) or high sodium (6.0% salt w/w) intakes, with or without allopurinol, an inhibitor of XOR, to study the possible pathogenetic role of XOR in hypertension. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), renal XOR activity and mRNA expression were measured. Results Regardless of sodium intake, renal XOR activity increased twofold during growth in SHRs, but not in WKY rats. SBP increased from 122 ± 4 to 241 ± 13 mmHg in SHRs kept on the high-sodium diet and to 204 ± 11 mmHg in those on the low-sodium diet. At the end of the experiment, renal XOR activity correlated with SBP in SHRs. Allopurinol prevented hypertension-induced left ventricular and renal hypertrophy in SHRs, but had negligible effect on blood pressure. Conclusion Renal XOR induction in SHRs does not precede the development of hypertension, but progress concomitantly with an increase in SBP. The results indicate a role for locally synthesized XOR in the development of hypertension-associated end-organ damage, but no major role in the development of hypertension.


BACKGROUND
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system characterized by demyelination of neurons and neurodegeneration. Current MS therapies ameliorate inflammatory damage but are unable to address the degenerative aspects of the disease.

OBJECTIVE
In this report, we evaluate the ability of amide-based dithiolethiones (DTTs) to suppress neuroinflammation in microglia and increase anti-oxidant capacity neuron-like cells.

METHODS
A series of amide-containing DTTs were designed, synthesized, and assayed for ability to suppress proneuroinflammatory cytokines IL-12p40 and IL-23p19 induced by LPS in the BV2 microglial cell line. Lead analog 2c was identified and further characterized.

RESULTS
Structure-activity data revealed tolerance towards a variety of amides. Morpholine analog 2c dose-dependently reduced various other inflammatory cytokines and mediators, including TNF, IL-6, IL-1β, NOS2, and COX2. Additionally, 2c elevated cellular levels of glutathione in SH-SH5Y neuronal cell line. Furthermore, mechanistic studies showed 2c increased the expression of anti-inflammatory Nrf2 and HMOX proteins.

CONCLUSION
The combination of anti-neuroinflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of amide-based DTTs suggest they are promising agents for the treatment of both demyelination and neurodegeneration in MS.


CMOS compatible leaky wave optical antennas are proposed and analyzed for electronically controlled radiation pattern generation. Very directive far field radiation pattern (>15dB) is generated from a Si3N4 leaky wave antenna with silicon periodic perturbations.


I list the characteristic features of Globular Cluster (GC) HR diagrams which provide a complete test of the stellar evolution of low mass stars: morphologies describing the diierent evolutionary phases, number ratios and luminosity functions, which add quantitative information. Then I explore the stage of todays' understanding of the classical distance scale indicators (providing warnings against model construction which, underneath, already is based on a choice of distance), and compare them to the \new" indicators, such as the white dwarfs and the rst and second kink of the low main sequence. The classical and new distance indicators are still subject to uncertainties due to tiny details of the theory, which are all of the same order of magnitude, 0:25mag and the absolute ages of GCs can not be constrained to better than 10{16 Gyr. However, most of recent theoretical and observational results (including both classical and new indicators) point more towards the lower range of ages (10{12) than to the upper range (15{16).


The mean ocular tension of third trimester hypertensive pregnant women did not differ significantly from that of third trimester non-hypertensives, in contrast to the tendency for open-angle glaucoma to be associated with vascular hypertension. Presumably there are different causes for the two types of vascular hypertension. The ocular hypotensive effect of late pregnancy (third trimester) was confirmed.


The global work environment requires graduates to have skills to work collaboratively over distance and time. This pilot study presents the findings of a survey of student perceptions concerning a global virtual team (GVT) experience that used both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration. Our findings revealed that while students experienced enhanced cognitive and social learning through the GVT experience, they found the activity to be frustrating and time consuming. However, students acknowledged that the experience was beneficial to their learning and should be incorporated in future course


Stress anisotropy affects the motion of gravitational mass flows, including debris flows, rock and snow avalanches. Though widely used in analytical models and numerical simulation tools, direct measurements of stress anisotropy in debris flows are not yet available. The present study aims to investigate the ratio of longitudinal to normal pressure exerted by two natural debris flows impacting a monitoring structure in the Gadria creek, IT. The fin-shaped structure in the middle of the channel is equipped with a force plate upstream of the barrier and load cells on the vertical wall of the barrier, continuously recording forces in flow and bed-normal direction. Additionally, the flow height and basal pore fluid pressure were measured. Here we present data from surges of two debris-flow events with peak flow heights of 2.5 m and velocities up to 4 m/s. The ratio of pore fluid pressure to normal stress (often termed liquefaction ratio) reached values up to 0.8. We find an anisotropic stress state during most of the flow event, with stress ratios ranging between 0.1 and 3.5. Video recordings reveal complex deposition and re-mobilization patterns in front of the barrier during surges and highlight the unsteady nature of debris flows. We find a correlation of the stress ratio with flow depth. There is a weak correlation between stress ratio and liquefaction ratio during the falling limb of the surge hydrographs.  Our monitoring data confirm the assumption of stress anisotropy in natural debris flows and support the earth-pressure concept used for gravitational mass flows.


A pseudoaneurysm of the common carotid artery was found with computed tomography in a 62-year-old woman with an esophageal stent that had eroded through her skin. The pseudoaneurysm was treated with a self-expanding nitinol stent; after massive hemoptysis, an endograft was placed on the pseudoaneurysm. The patient then underwent ligation of the left common carotid artery, proximal to the carotid bulb, and excision of the endograft and previously placed coils. The esophageal stent wires were so that they could no longer impinge the common carotid artery.


Over the past few years many workers have been attracted to the Juan de Fuca ridge 500 km off the Pacific northwest coast to study its tectonics. Investigations by both American earth scientists in the southern part of the system and Canadians where the northern extension enters territorial waters provided much of the background for the first submersible venture on this actively spreading ridge. In August 1983 a joint expedition of Canadian and American geologists and biologists set out to examine the ridge in the area of a seamount that sits astride the spreading axis. Scientific participants came from the universities of British Columbia, Victoria, Washington, Toronto, California at Santa Barbara, and the Institute of Ocean Sciences, British Columbia.


This research paper looks at Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A's) that have happened in Indian banking sector to understand the resulting synergies and the long term implications of the merger. The paper also analyses emerging future trends and recommends steps that banks should consider for future. The paper reviews the trends in M&A's in Indian banking and then impact of M&A's has been studied in three leading banks of India. The study covers the area of performance evaluation of M&A's in Indian banking sector during the period from 2000 to 2013. The paper compares pre and post merger financial performance of merged banks with the help of financial parameters like, Net Profit margin, operating Profit margin, Return on Capital Employed, Return on Equity, earnings per share, capital adequacy ratio, dividend per share etc. The findings suggest that to some extent M&A's has been successful in Indian banking sector. The Government and Policy makers should not promote merger between strong and distressed banks as a way to promote the interest of the depositors of distressed banks, as it will have adverse effect upon the asset quality of the stronger banks.


Delta (δ) spots are complex magnetic configurations of sunspots characterized by umbrae of opposite polarity sharing a common penumbra. In order to investigate the fine structure of the region separating the two magnetic polarities of a δ spot, we studied the morphology, the magnetic configuration, and the velocity field in such a region using observations of active region (AR) NOAA 11267 obtained with the CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter (CRISP) at the Swedish Solar Telescope on 2011 August 6. The analysis of CRISP data shows upflows and downflows of ∼ ± 3 km s−1 in proximity of the δ spot polarity inversion line (PIL), and horizontal motions along the PIL of the order of ∼1 km s−1. The results obtained from the SIR inversion of CRISP data also indicate that the transverse magnetic field in the brighter region separating the two opposite magnetic polarities of the δ spot is tilted about ∼45° with respect to the PIL. Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager observations confirm the presence of motions of ∼ ± 3 km s−1 in proximity of the PIL, which were observed to last 15 hr. From the data analyzed, we conclude that the steady, persistent, and subsonic motions observed along the δ spot PIL can be interpreted as being due to Evershed flows occurring in the penumbral filaments that show a curved, wrapped configuration. The fluting of the penumbral filaments and their bending, continuously increased by the approaching motion of the negative umbra toward the positive one, give rise to the complex line-of-sight velocity maps that we observed.


Clinical evaluation of posterolateral complex injuries of the knee can be difficult. To determine if magnetic resonance imaging can assist in decision-making in the treatment of posterolateral complex injuries, six consecutive patients with acute posterolateral knee trauma were imaged preoperatively with standard magnetic resonance imaging sequences. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were then correlated with results of examination under anesthesia or open lateral reconstruction. There were five complete lateral com plex injuries (grade III) and one partial tear. Magnetic resonance imaging was able to accurately depict the extent of injury preoperatively in each case. All patients had concomitant anterior cruciate ligament tears. There was one partial posterior cruciate ligament tear. Visualization of the arcuate complex, biceps femoris tendon, lateral capsule, iliotibial band, popliteal tendon, and lateral collateral ligament was possible. A charac teristic bone contusion on the anteromedial femoral condyle was present in all patients with complete pos terolateral disruptions. Lateral complex injuries of the knee can be very accurately demonstrated on mag netic resonance imaging, and this imaging technique can be used to clarify the exact nature of the injury to allow better surgical planning.


Differential cross sections for single ionisation of He and D2 by protons have been measured at impact energies of 3 and 6 MeV, and proton scattering angles between 0.1 and 1.0 mrad. A clear shoulder has been observed at an angle of 0.55 mrad. This feature in the differential cross sections is attributed to binary encounters between the protons and the quasi-free target electrons. The measured data are in good agreement in shape and magnitude with both a first Born approximation calculation of the ionisation and with a simple calculation of Rutherford scattering from free electrons.


As the very peculiar and remarkable positions in which glacial striæ and abrasions are sometimes observed on the surface of rocks in Scotland may tend, if carefully examined, to explain the particular mode in which such phænomena have been produced, it is probable that the occurrence of glacial traces beneath an overhanging rock bordering a fissure at Dumbarton Castle is, amongst others, worthy of being recorded. The hard whinstone, which here rises up abruptly from the alluvial shores of the River Clyde, exhibits in a very interesting and beautiful manner the crystalline arid prismatic structure peculiar to such trappean effusions, but the lines of fracture or divisional planes of the Rock of Dumbarton are observed to incline generally at an angle of about 70° giving to the Rock on one of its sides a rather precipitous and overhanging appearance. The effect of denudation or abrasion has therefore been to wear or score it in certain parts into fissures, the sides of which have a parallel inclination; and across the centre of the Dumbarton Rock there is one of considerable depth, dividing the hill into two parts or summits, as shown in fig. 2. It is on the sides of this fissure, which now forms a passage, and the only mode of approach to the buildings on the Rock, that striaæ and abrasions are observed, which constitute the subject of this notice. The fissure intersects the Rock from south to north, pointing directly up the valley of the Leven, through which


A polymer waveguide is successfully fabricated by a new method, which is implemented by a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) process including a stamping transfer technique incorporated with holographic interference, a lithography procedure and soft molding tecnnology. The polymers used in these experiments are OG146 and OG154 with different refractive indices. The near-field measurement for the channel waveguide has shown that the polarization dependent loss is very low. This process is simple, easy and suitable for mass production


This paper investigates the effects of having a separate innovation unit on exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity in manufacturing and service firms according to traditional paradigms of the innovation management discipline that innovation units should be organized in a separate department. Many manufacturing firms have such a unit while few service firms do. This paper sets out to investigate the advantages of having such a unit for exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity, and whether there are differences between manufacturing and service firms that could help explain why such units are present or absent. The literature suggests that a separate innovation unit has a positive effect on exploration and ambidexterity in manufacturing firms. However, the effect on improving operational activities, that is, exploitation, is unclear. If exploration and exploitation are two ends of a continuum, as the literature suggests, more exploration comes at the cost of exploitation. On the other hand, others have suggested the possibility of an orthogonal relationship, where a separate unit can simultaneously enhance exploration and exploitation. In this paper, the Dutch Community Innovation Survey (CIS) is used to investigate these relationships for manufacturing and service firms, with a question added to the survey regarding the locus of innovation within each firm, that is, mostly within a dedicated innovation unit or dispersed throughout the firm. Our findings show that a separate innovation unit increases exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity in both manufacturing and service firms. It thereby provides support for the orthogonal view of ambidexterity. A separate unit enhances the ability to exploit and be ambidextrous equally in service and manufacturing firms, but has a weaker positive effect on exploration, and exploratory and ambidextrous performance in service firms. This finding implies that both manufacturing and service firms benefit from having a separate innovation unit, with the advantages being greatest for manufacturing firms. In service firms, such an innovation unit alone may not be sufficient, as such units are expensive to maintain, while they contribute less to ambidextrous performance than in manufacturing firms. Based on the latter finding, future studies should make a distinction between the ability to be ambidextrous in creating exploratory and exploitative innovations, and ambidextrous performance, the ability to gain financially from engaging in both types of activities simultaneously.


Albania's EU integration has been an important part of politics of all Albanian governments after 1990s. This process has been considered not only as a means for being a part of the United Europe, but a factor for achieving the stability in the country, economic development, strengthening democracy. Diplomatic relation between Albania and the EU were established since 1991, but Albania's European perspective was ensured only in 1999, by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Since 1999 onwards the Albanian governments have been working for fulfilling the membership criteria to European Union, though the process has been a long and problematic one. Nowadays (2019) Albania expects the EU to open the negotiations for the EU membership process. Through this descriptive-analytical study, we will shed light into the most important moments of the Albanian process toward the European integration; policies followed from both parties, attitudes of the Albanian politics, encountered difficulties, problems and achieved successes. The study relies on the many documents from EU and Albanian institutions such as studies, analyses, interviews with political personalities, Albanian and European researchers and analysts. The study aims to analyze the "long and difficult" path of Albania towards EU, focusing on what has been achieved and the future challenges.


Bone reconstruction techniques are mainly based on the use of tissue grafts and artificial scaffolds. The former presents well-known limitations, such as restricted graft availability and donor site morbidity, while the latter commonly results in poor graft integration and fixation in the bone, which leads to the unbalanced distribution of loads, impaired bone formation, increased pain perception, and risk of fracture, ultimately leading to recurrent surgeries. In the past decade, research efforts have been focused on the development of innovative bone substitutes that not only provide immediate mechanical support, but also ensure appropriate graft anchoring by, for example, promoting de novo bone tissue formation. From the countless studies that aimed in this direction, only few have made the big jump from the benchtop to the bedside, whilst most have perished along the challenging path of clinical translation. Herein, we describe some clinically successful cases of bone device development, including biological glues, stem cell-seeded scaffolds, and gene-functionalized bone substitutes. We also discuss the ventures that these technologies went through, the hindrances they faced and the common grounds among them, which might have been key for their success. The ultimate objective of this perspective article is to highlight the important aspects of the clinical translation of an innovative idea in the field of bone grafting, with the aim of commercially and clinically informing new research approaches in the sector.


Automatic system for harvesting or implant the follicular unit is a moveable arm; The movement of harvesting and / or implantation tool mounted on the arm as possible; One or more cameras mounted on the moveable arm; A processor to receive and process images acquired by the one or more cameras; And a controller that is based at least in part on the the image processing is obtained by the above camera one above is associated with the operation of the processor to place the moveable arm, wherein the moveable arm is a body wherein the tool adjacent It may be configured to be placed in the desired direction to the surface.


ABSTRACT Signal-induced nuclear expression of the eukaryotic NF-κB transcription factor involves the stimulatory action of select mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases on the IκB kinases (IKKα and IKKβ) which reside in a macromolecular signaling complex termed the signalsome. While genetic studies indicate that IKKβ is the principal kinase involved in proinflammatory cytokine-induced IκB phosphorylation, the function of the equivalently expressed IKKα is less clear. Here we demonstrate that assembly of IKKα with IKKβ in the heterodimeric signalsome serves two important functions: (i) in unstimulated cells, IKKα inhibits the constitutive IκB kinase activity of IKKβ; (ii) in activated cells, IKKα kinase activity is required for the induction of IKKβ. The introduction of kinase-inactive IKKα, activation loop mutants of IKKα, or IKKα antisense RNA into 293 or HeLa cells blocks NIK (NF-κB-inducing kinase)-induced phosphorylation of the IKKβ activation loop occurring in functional signalsomes. In contrast, catalytically inactive mutants of IKKβ do not block NIK-mediated phosphorylation of IKKα in these macromolecular signaling complexes. This requirement for kinase-proficient IKKα to activate IKKβ in heterodimeric IKK signalsomes is also observed with other NF-κB inducers, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 Tax, Cot, and MEKK1. Conversely, the θ isoform of protein kinase C, which also induces NF-κB/Rel, directly targets IKKβ for phosphorylation and activation, possibly acting through homodimeric IKKβ complexes. Together, our findings indicate that activation of the heterodimeric IKK complex by a variety of different inducers proceeds in a directional manner and is dependent on the kinase activity of IKKα to activate IKKβ.


Technical methods of intellectual property protection are reviewed and combined in the essay in the discourse of historical development — from man-made signatures of Renaissance artists to non-fungible tokens (NFT). The proliferation of NFTs is analyzed from the point of view of the commercial law: NFTs are discussed as objects that simultaneously have the characteristics of independence and a derivative nature in relation to intellectual property being the underlying digital asset. The self-sufficiency of NFTs as legal objects is provided by their commodity properties, which arise not only from the value of the underlying asset, but from the phenomenon of crystallization of the unique fixed version of the asset in a non-interchangeable and irreproducible token. The derivative nature of NFTs, figuratively correlated with the derivative contracts in financial markets, is manifested in the symbolization of intellectual property as an underlying asset and the loss (in full or in part) of its usual significance for a potential acquirer when placed in an NFT-image. Despite the variety and a specific evolution of legal approaches to the understanding of intellectual property, we can state a long-standing conceptual rejection by legal scholars from the simplest proprietary theories of transferring real rights constructions to intellectual property. However, some absolute property features of the NFTs, ensuring both internal and external legal aspects of the property, raise the question of a new legal life of "proprietarism" in the conditions of digitalization and information capitalism.


This paper focuses on the use of wolbachia to control the spread of zika virus disease. Zika virus disease is an arboviral disease that spreads through bites of female mosquitoes in the aedes family especially, aedes aegypti. Experimental studies have indicated that wolbachia could be used to prevent the spread of zika virus disease by infecting aedes aegypti with wolbachia in a laboratory and releasing them in the wild to mate with the wild aedes aegypti.
A system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is used to model the use of wolbachia to stop the spread of zika virus disease in the human and mosquito populations. as well as the population of wolbachia-infected aedes aegypti used as control. It is shown through bifurcation analysis that the model exhibits forward bifurcation, which confirms that a unique endemic equilibrium exists in the model when the control reproduction number, $ \mathcal{R}_c>1$. The existence of forward bifurcation in the model means that $ \mathcal{R}_c<1$ is enough to guarantee eradication of zika virus disease using wolbachia as a biocontrol. Hence, the spread of zika virus disease can be controlled irrespective of the initial sizes of infected human and mosquito populations


Abstract Directly funded (DF) home care, or consumer directed home care, gives program users a budget to choose their own services. Set in the Canadian province of Manitoba, our study examines the local DF program "Self and Family Managed Care", which does not allow program users to hire and pay a family member. Incorporating a disability lens into care and aging studies, we share findings from a qualitative study based on 24 semi-structured interviews with DF users. We focus on the experiences of family managers, that is, representatives acting as a decision maker for an older adult. About half of the family managers in this study care for people living with dementia or cognitive decline. We identify two main themes: 1) service flexibility in DF reduces caregiver strain, 2) family managers tend to hire agencies rather than individuals to avoid administrative burden. Our discussion highlights the costs of DF from the perspective of caregivers as administrative burden (financial paperwork, finding workers, choosing a 'good' agency), and the benefits as flexibility (choosing workers, trusting workers, setting schedules, assigning work). We also consider the goals of family managers to enhance quality of life and avoid long-term residential care, in contrast to younger self-managers who desire control and autonomy. We recommend that DF programs need to reduce administrative work for users, support users in making informed choices, and find better ways to support, acknowledge and value the work of family managers and substitute decision makers.


Density functional theory (DFT) calculations with BP86-D3(BJ) functionals were employed to reveal the mechanism and stereoselectivity of chiral guanidine/copper(I) salt-catalyzed stereoselective three-component reaction among N-sulfonyl azide, terminal alkyne, and isatin-imine for spiroazetidinimines that was first reported by Feng and Liu (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 16852-16856). For the noncatalytic cascade reaction, the denitrogenation to generate ketenimine species was the rate-determining step, with an activation barrier of 25.8-34.8 kcal mol-1. Chiral guanidine-amide promoted the deprotonation of phenylacetylene, generating guanidine-Cu(I) acetylide complexes as active species. In azide-alkyne cycloaddition, copper acetylene coordinated to the O atom of the amide moiety in guanidium, and TsN3 was activated by hydrogen bonding, affording the Cu(I)-ketenimine species with an energy barrier of 3.5∼9.4 kcal mol-1. The optically active spiroazetidinimine oxindole was constructed via a stepwise four-membered ring formation, followed by deprotonation of guanidium moieties for C-H bonding in a stereoselective way. The steric effect of the bulky CHPh2 group and chiral backbone in the guanidine, combined with the coordination between the Boc group in isatin-imine with a copper center, played important roles in controlling the stereoselectivity of the reaction. The major spiroazetidinimine oxindole product with an SS configuration was formed in a kinetically more favored way, which was consistent with the experimental observation.


IN A RECENT review of the literature Anderson 1 found only 91 cases of solitary diverticulum of the cecum. He collected an additional 8 cases from the Mayo Clinic, which made a total of 99 cases of solitary diverticulum reported in the entire literature. The purpose of this communication is to present 2 new cases recently observed at the Framingham Union Hospital. REPORT OF CASES Case 1. —A 67 year old white married housewife was admitted to the Framingham Union Hospital on Nov. 27, 1947, with the chief complaint of obstipation of three days' duration. During the three months preceding her admission the patient had noted increasing constipation. Increasingly large doses of cathartic were required, and the resulting stools were loose and watery and associated with much flatus. The last bowel movement was three days before admission in spite of repeated enemas and catharsis. There were no other symptoms referable


This paper proposes motion-trajectory generation for mechanical systems that can be widely used in industrial applications. Many industrial systems, such as feed drive tables, gantry cranes, and material handling systems, are operated using S-curve acceleration and deceleration trajectory, and simple controllers that allow only such a simple motion trajectory are employed from the viewpoints of controller hardware and implementation cost efficiency. This study deals with simple mechanical dynamics including vibration properties and derives a necessary and sufficient condition for the motion trajectory to suppress residual vibration. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed conditions.


This paper investigates the effect of remittances on gross domestic savings in Uganda using maximum likelihood framework. The results show that remittances have a significant negative effect on gross domestic savings. This contradicts the studies that show positive relationship between remittances and gross domestic savings but in agreement that remittances are mainly devoted to daily consumption needs and that foreign capital inflows have a negative and significant impact on domestic savings. The study also showed that other factors such as real effective exchange rate, per capita gross domestic product, and inflation rate and deposit interest rate affect remittances positively. It is therefore recommended, that government should establish agencies in countries to where most Ugandans migrate in order to capture their savings and help them channel those savings into productive projects in Uganda.


In the United States, children's book publishing experienced significant shifts throughout the 20th century, starting with the establishment of dedicated children's books departments in the 1920's through to late century changes in printing technology leading to the cost-effective publication of full color non-fiction for youth. Each generation experienced children's books differently.
            One constant was the sparse availability of books representing any child who was not white. As in Rudine Sims Bishop's analogy, these youth easily found windows and sliding glass doors in their books but rarely found the self-affirming mirror. Conversely, white children had many mirrors but far fewer opportunities to view unfamiliar experiences nor enter new worlds to discover empathy for others.
            Today's children are growing up with increasingly diverse representation in the available literature. To fully understand the significance of this moment, we must "go back and get" the experiences of the children who grew up in the 20th century. In this oral history project, we collect individual's memories of reading and stories from their youngest years through adolescence. Participants are drawn from diverse backgrounds, with an emphasis on people who identify as Black, Latinx, Asian, and/or Indigenous. Findings illuminate the overlooked literacy experiences of people of color and the impact of childhood reading. This project provides insight into the historical impact of library services and the importance of contemporary libraries providing children with diverse literature.


Much of the study has been done on the design of dual controller that guarantee the stability and improvement of the system performance. A dual controller concept is proposed to consist of first controller estimates the control law and second controller suppresses the combined noises due to numerical error and internal noise as well. These Irregular disturbances are not only increasing the fatigue but also destabilize the system because of unwanted output Performance. The 'stochastic controller' is used to suppress the irregular random disturbance. Simulation is conducted to reveal that the proposed dual stochastic controller is highly efficient one to control a system hybrid noises.


Some of the fastest demographic transitions in the world have been observed in Latin American countries. Fertility and mortality declining have occurred in less than half the time observed in industrialized countries. Population aging is also occurring rapidly in the region. However, its socioeconomic consequences take longer to happen. Socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by current cohorts of Latin American elderly are more resistant to change over time because of the persistence of cohort effects. The slower pace of population aging with respect to other demographic dynamics translates into both opportunities and challenges. This paper intends to describe the differences in the population aging process across Latin American countries, and how these differences can show the path for institutional changes that can improve the welfare of Latin American nations. The paper will first explore how advanced different Latin American countries are in their population aging process. The paper will link this information with data about Social Security coverage among the labor force, labor force formalization and availability of caretakers. Countries that are demographic transition leaders have had higher proportions of educated people, as well as proactive governments that created welfare institutions that still benefit the population in most need. On the contrary, most of the countries that are still going through the transition have been characterized by income and wealth inequality and an absence of political disposition to advance human development policies. The countries that are still far away in their aging process will be able to avail from their demographic situation consensus to develop policies and institutions that improve the human development of their populations can be reached. The article concludes highlighting the need for reforms in terms of Social Security coverage, not only pension reform, for securing the well-being of Latin American elderly in the near future. 1 Paper presented at the XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference, Session 143 (Demographic transformations, convergences and inequalities in Latin America: what the future holds? Latin American Population Association), September 27 to October 2, 2009, Marrakech, Morocco. 2 Centro Centroamericano de Población, Universidad de Costa Rica. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com.


The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of obesity management program in food attitude and food habit, body composition(body fat ratio, body fat weight, lean body mass, total body water), abdominal girth(waist, hip, thigh), and serum lipid level(cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, phospholipid, NE fatty acid, high density lipoprotein) of middle aged women. Data for the study were collected from July 4 to August 25, 2000. The study objects were 20 middle aged women(10 controls and 10 experimental objects) from 40 to 50 years old who had body fat ratio more than and waist girth more than 80cm. The results were as follows: 1. Similarity test between experimental group and control group processed by serum HDL level showed the significant difference(t=3.25, p=0.004), but that processed by age, body weight, body fat ratio, body fat weight, lean body mass, total body water, waist girth, hip girth, thigh girth, cholesterol level, LDL level, triglyceride level, NE fatty acid level, food attitude and food habit score showed no significant difference(p>0.05). These findings imply that the two groups are similar in the sample distribution. 2. The effects of the abdominal obesity management program The obtained results indicate that the abdominal obesity management program in middle aged women changes the food attitude & the food habit. decreases the body fat ratio & the body fat weight and increases the lean body mass, and decreases the girth of waist & hip and the serum level of cholesterol & LDL. Therefore, it is concluded that the abdominal obesity management program can be applied for nursing intervention to decrease the body fat weight and abdominal obesity.


A quasiclassical trajectory study with the sixth-order explicit symplectic algorithm of the N(4S)+O2(X 3Sigmag-)-->NO(X 2Pi)+O(3P) atmospheric reaction has been performed by employing the new 2A' and 4A' potential-energy surfaces reported by Sayos et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 117, 670 (2002)]. For the translational temperature considered up to 10,000 K, the larger relative translational energy and the higher rovibrational levels of O2 molecule with respect to the previous works have been taken into account, and a clearer database about the character of the total reaction cross section has been presented in this work. The dependence of microscopic rate constants on the vibrational level of O2 molecule at T=3000, 5000, and 10,000 K has been exhibited, and we can see that the values of log10 k(T,v,J) vary almost linearly with the vibrational level of O2 molecule. The thermal rate constants at the translational temperature between 300 and 10,000 K have been evaluated and compared with the experimental and previous theoretical results. It is found that the thermal rate constants determined in this work have a better agreement with the experimental data and can provide a more valid theoretical reference at the translational temperature considered for the title reaction.


Background: Inflammatory mammary carcinoma (IMC) is locally aggressive, fast growing, highly malignant tumor that affects humans and dogs. Affected dogs usually are presented with generalized edema, pain, erythema, and skin ulceration in mammary glands. Surgery is not recommended and an effective treatment has not been established [1]. Calcarea carbonica derivative complex (M8) has demonstrated anticancer properties in a murine model, by improving innate immune response against tumor cells [2]. M8 is a complex high diluted medication comprised of Calcarea carbonica 16x, Aconitum napellus 20x, Arsenicum album 18x, Asa foetida 20x, Conium maculatum 17x, Ipecacuanha 13x, Phosphorus 20x, Rhus toxicodendron 17x, Silicea 20x, Sulphur 24x, and Thuya occidentalis 19x, dilution procedures have followed standard methodology described at the Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia.
Aims: To describe different routes of M8 administration associated with oral pyroxican (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to treat dogs with IMC.
Methodology: Three female dogs with 10 years old median age were presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Federal University of Parana, Curitiba (HV-UFPR) with cytological and clinical diagnosis of IMC. Patients were treated with oral (0.5 mL,q12h), topical (q12h) and inhalatory (2 mL, q24h, through an ultrasonic inhalation device) M8, and oral pyroxican (0.3mg/kg, q24h).Thoracic radiographs showed pulmonary metastasis in all dogs.
Results: 7 days after initiating treatment all patients had clinical improvement. It was observed reduction on mammary glands inflammation and decreased pain sensitivity. One patient had 8 month of complete remission. The other two patients died 1 and 2 month after initial treatment. However none of the patients had pulmonary progressive disease, showed by radiographic examinations. Owners revealed treatment satisfaction in regards to quality of life improvement, easy M8 administration, good M8 palatability for dogs, and inflammation reduction.
Conclusion: The present report suggests that M8 influenced positively the anti -inflammatory treatment.
Keywords: Calcarea carbonica complex; inflammatory mammary carcinoma; routes of administration
References
[1] Sorenmo K. Canine mammary gland tumors. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. 2003 33(3):573-96.
[2] Oliveira CC, Abud APR, Oliveira SM, Guimarães FSF, Andrade LF, Di Bernardi RP, Coletto ELO, Kuczera D, Da Lozzo EJ, Gonçalves JP, Trindade ES, Buchi DF. Developments on drug discovery and on new therapeutics: highly diluted tinctures act as biological response modifiers. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2011, 11(101): 2-11.