Interest on biofuel production from biomass and biofiber has gain great attention globally because these materials are abundant, inexpensive, renewable, and sustainable. Generally, the conversion of biomass and biofiber to biofuel involves several processes including biomass production, pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation. Selecting the most efficient pretreatment is crucial to ensure the success of biofuel production since pretreatment has been reported to contribute substantial portion on the production cost. The main goal of the pretreatment is to enhance digestibility of the biomass and biofiber, and to increase sugar production prior to fermentation process. To date, several pretreatment methods have been introduced to pretreat biomass and biofiber including irradiation. This book chapter reviews and discusses different leading irradiation pretreatment technologies along with their mechanism involved during pretreatment of various tropical biomass and biofiber. This chapter also reviews the effect of irradiation pretreatment on the biomass and biofiber component, which could assist the enzymatic saccharification process. kGy. Furthermore, the study showed no significant changes on the hemicellulose content. This indicates that EBI pretreatment process is a selective process and the degradation level can be controlled by the EBI dosage [39].


There is a method for offering continuous information by AF track circuits. Magnetic fields are formed by current through rails in the AF track circuit systems. So, the continuous information is received by the magnetic fields on a on-board antenna. Coating materials of spray on rails are researched to decrease defects such as head check, shelling, corrugation, squats and so on in Germany. Currently, a coating method of rail construction is proposed by using the ceramics in Korea. When deciding physical characteristic of the coating material of spray, researches are required about variation of flux density and resistivity by using the coating material of spray. In case that the flux density is much lower than existing value, the information for train control is not transmitted to the on-board antenna. In this paper, inductance on rails is calculated and a model is presented about variation of the magnetic field intensity and resistivity in the AF track circuit. Standard permeability of the coating material of spray is proposed. Also, standard resistivity of the coating material of spray is presented by analyzing short current.


This paper is a study on the preparation of the harmonization between national hazardous waste and transboundary movement waste in order to settle the procedure on waste import/export. In Korea, hazardous waste called ``specified waste``, and items have 11 sorts of specified waste and 86 sorts of transboundaty movement waste. And such items on waste import/export seem to be improved ; 1) waste item are subdivided and expanded, 2) waste code are re-arranged, and 3) inland control system are applied to including the transboundary movement waste. In order to coupling the 48 sorts of transboundary movement waste that is not managed by the national specified waste, in this study additional plan on 3-step are suggested ; 2 sorts of red tier waste on PECD are entitled on 1st-step, 13 sorts of amber tier waste that is prepared technical guideline on OECD are entitled on 2nd-step, and 23 sorts of remaining amber tier waste on OECD are entitled on 3rd-step.


Density Ratio Estimation (DRE) is an important machine learning technique with many downstream applications. We consider the challenge of DRE with missing not at random (MNAR) data. In this setting, we show that using standard DRE methods leads to biased results while our proposal (M-KLIEP), an adaptation of the popular DRE procedure KLIEP, restores consistency. Moreover, we provide finite sample estimation error bounds for M-KLIEP, which demonstrate minimax optimality with respect to both sample size and worst-case missingness. We then adapt an important downstream application of DRE, Neyman-Pearson (NP) classification, to this MNAR setting. Our procedure both controls Type I error and achieves high power, with high probability. Finally, we demonstrate promising empirical performance both synthetic data and real-world data with simulated missingness.


Inteins are mobile genetic elements that apply standard enzymatic strategies to excise themselves post-translationally from the precursor protein via protein splicing. Since their discovery in the 1990s, recent advances in intein technology allow for them to be implemented as a modern biotechnological contrivance. Radical improvement in the structure and catalytic framework of cis- and trans-splicing inteins devised the development of engineered inteins that contribute to various efficient downstream techniques. Previous literature indicates that implementation of intein-mediated splicing has been extended to in vivo systems. Besides, the homing endonuclease domain also acts as a versatile biotechnological tool involving genetic manipulation and control of monogenic diseases. This review orients the understanding of inteins by sequentially studying the distribution and evolution pattern of intein, thereby highlighting a role in genetic mobility. Further, we include an in-depth summary of specific applications branching from protein purification using self-cleaving tags to protein modification, post-translational processing and labelling, followed by the development of intein-based biosensors. These engineered inteins offer a disruptive approach towards research avenues like biomaterial construction, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Therefore, this linear perspective allows for a more comprehensive understanding of intein function and its diverse applications.


This paper examines the dynamics of completion time of masters studies and how such dynamics relate to those of doctoral studies at Makerere University, Uganda. The assessment is based on administrative data of 605 masters degree students at the University in the 2004 and 2005 enrollment cohorts. The total elapsed time from first enrollment to submission of final dissertation copy was adopted as a measure of completion time. A time-to-event approach in a Cox model was applied in the investigations. A median completion time of 3.8 years (range, 1.85.9) suggests a delayed completion of studies. The established associations, modeled by a range of candidate, candidature, and institutional variables including discipline area corroborate the results obtained by the analysis of doctoral completion time at the University. The findings suggest that masters completion dynamics mirror those of doctoral studies at the University.


A model to predict the Length of Stay (LOS) for hospitalized patients can be an effective tool for measuring the consumption of hospital resources. Such a model will enable early interventions to prevent complications and prolonged LOS and also enable more efficient utilization of manpower and facilities in hospitals. In this paper, the authors propose an approach for Predicting Hospital Length of Stay (PHLOS) using a multi-tiered data mining approach. In their aproach, the authors form training sets, using groups of similar claims identified by k-means clustering and perfom classification using ten different classifiers. The authors provide a combined measure of performance to statistically evaluate and rank the classifiers for different levels of clustering. They consistently found that using clustering as a precursor to form the training set gives better prediction results as compared to non-clustering based training sets. The authors have also found the accuracies to be consistently higher than some reported in the current literature for predicting individual patient LOS. Binning the LOS to three groups of short, medium and long stays, their method identifies patients who need aggressive or moderate early interventions to prevent prolonged stays. The classification techniques used in this study are interpretable, enabling them to examine the details of the classification rules learned from the data. As a result, this study provides insight into the underlying factors that influence hospital length of stay. They also examine the authors' prediction results for three randomly selected conditions with domain expert insights.


It has been already shown that combinatorial evolution – the creation of new things through the combination of existing things – can be a powerful way to evolve rather than design technical objects such as electronic circuits in a computer simulation. Intriguingly, only a few iterations seem to be required to already achieve complex objects. In the present paper we want to employ combinatorial evolution in software development. Our research question is whether it is possible to generate computer programs of increasing complexity using automatic programming through combinatorial evolution. Specifically, we ask what kind of basic code blocks are needed at the beginning, how are these code blocks implemented to allow them to combine, and how can code complexity be measured. We implemented a computer program simulating combinatorial evolution of code blocks stored in a database to make them available for combinations. Automatic programming is achieved by evaluating regular expressions. We found that reserved key words of a programming language are suitable for defining the basic code blocks at the beginning of the simulation. We also found that placeholders can be used to combine code blocks and that code complexity can be described in terms of the importance to the programming language. As in the previous combinatorial evolution simulation of electronic circuits, complexity increased from simple keywords and special characters to more complex variable declarations, to class definitions, to methods, and to classes containing methods and variable declarations. Combinatorial evolution, therefore, seems to be a promising approach for automatic programming. Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com. 1 ar X iv :2 10 2. 10 47 5v 1 [ cs .S E ] 2 0 Fe b 20 21


PURPOSE
To evaluate the role of cone-beam computed tomography (CT) performed for the determination of the artery of Adamkiewicz (AKA) suspected by angiography during trans-catheter bronchial artery embolization for hemoptysis.

METHODS
In this retrospective study, 17 patients with hemoptysis who underwent cone-beam CT for evaluation of the AKA prior to arterial embolization from December 2014 to March 2022 were included. During the angiographic session, two interventional radiologists selected the possible AKAs that were defined as obscured hairpin-curved vessels arising from the dorsal branch of the intercostal arteries and running towards the midline in the arterially enhanced phase. Contrast-enhanced cone-beam CT was performed as an adjunct to angiography to determine whether the indefinite AKA was a real AKA based on whether it was found to connect to the anterior spinal artery.

RESULTS
Selective cone-beam CT was performed at 17 possible AKAs detected by selective arteriogram of the intercostal artery (ICA). Cone-beam CT allowed for the determination of AKAs in 16 cases (94.1%). As a result of cone-beam CT findings, 9 of 16 study arteries (56.3%) were judged as definite AKAs, and the remaining 7 (43.7%) were judged as definitely not AKAs but as the musculocutaneous branching from the dorsal branch of the ICA. In 1 of 17 cases (5.9%), cone-beam CT could not determine the AKA because of poor image quality caused by inadequate breath holding. An additional anterior radiculomedullary artery arising from the dorsal branch of the lower ICA because of the inflow of the contrast medium through the anastomosis was detected in one case by conebeam CT but not by angiography.

CONCLUSION
Intraprocedural enhanced cone-beam CT performed as an adjunctive technique to angiography is sufficient for confident determination of the AKA, which is essential for the operators to perform accurate and safe arterial embolization for hemoptysis.


In critical leg ischemia the main treatment options are reconstructive vascular surgery and primary amputation but in some cases conservative treatment can be considered. The choice between the alternatives is difficult as a large number of factors must be considered. Among these are significant complication rates, reoperation rates and perioperative mortality as well as medical risk-factors. This paper demonstrates how formal decision analysis using special computer software can contribute by structuring of the decision situation and by quantification of risks and gains. Important is also the possibility of sensitivity analysis, i.e. to examine the effect of varying values of pertinent variables. The explicit structure and the quantification makes a formal decision analysis open for critique, discussion and improvement. This is a distinct advantage over the usual spontaneous clinical decision making.


Rapid determination of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) status is desirable when it is necessary to use a drug contraindicated in G6PD-deficient persons, such as use of primaquine for malaria prevention or treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare a new, rapid, qualitative enzyme chromatographic test for deficiency of G6PD to a standard reference method. Samples from 196 G6PD-normal persons and 50 G6PD-deficient persons were evaluated. The sensitivity of the experimental rapid test was 0.98 and the specificity was 0.98 using specimens preserved in heparin, and 0.98 and 0.97, respectively, for specimens preserved in EDTA. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.72 and 1.00, respectively, for the test for heparinized specimens and 0.65 and 1.00, respectively, for the EDTA-preserved samples. This rapid test for G6PD deficiency is a sensitive method for screening of G6PD deficiency that requires minimal training and equipment and enables rapid identification of G6PD-deficient persons.


Acoustic surveys are used to estimate the abundance and distribution of many fish species, and have been based traditionally on data collected at a single acoustic frequency. Although it has been known for some time that the use of additional frequencies can provide information on the nature of the acoustic target, the knowledge and technology required to combine the so-called "multifrequency data" in an appropriate manner has been limited. The use of several transducers of different frequencies is now common on board research vessels and fishing vessels, so multifrequency data are often collected. In order for these data to be combined appropriately, their physical and spatial characteristics from each frequency should be as similar as possible. We detail the requirements deemed necessary to collect multifrequency data in an appropriate manner. They can be stringent and may not always be achievable, so we also consider the consequences of combining acoustic data originating in transducers with varying degrees of spatial separation and with different beam widths.


Problems relating to the classification of oral conditions, diseases and syndromes are numerous and quite complex. A classification is a process of classifying or grouping of conditions, occurrencies or objects according to their common characteristics or qualities, such as classification of diseases by the common etiological, pathogenethic or therapeutic characteristics. Oral medicine and pathology participates in studying of an enormously large number of diseases, conditions and syndromes due to which their classification is really necessary and significant. Therefore it is necessary to do appropriate classification. The classification of diseases is a dynamic category, occasionally according to new findings need to be changed. Classification that can be easily understand and use and that is based on the treatment needs of patients can be considered as the most appropriate of all. Through the past there has been published a number of classification systems in oral medicine and pathology. Realizing the difficulties and disadvantages of the existing classification systems in oral medicine and pathology the main aim of this paper was established - to recommend the usage of a new classification of oral lesions and changes. By the authors of this text, a rather simple classification of the oral lesions in nine basic groups of diseases based on the nature of the disease was made. The first group consists of congenital oral conditions affecting different oral structures. The second group is formed by the variations of the normal mucous membrane, congenital conditions that usually do not require treatment. The third classification group consists of a huge number of oral lesions divided into several groups also subdivided into subgroups. The first group consists of lip lesions, the second is composed of lesions of the tongue, and the third is traumatic hyperkeratosis. The largest group here is oral infections that are subdivided according to the etiological agent of the infection. In this group are also the allergic, extravascular and reactive lesions. The fourth classification group contains precancerous, benign and malignant tumors originating from the oral cavity. The fifth classification group represents xerostomy and lesions that caused by the dry mouth. The sixth classification group contains oral pigmentations that can occur by deposition of physiological or extraoral pigments. The seventh classification group constitutes a large number of lesions that occur parallel to the skin and in the oral cavity, in this case known as oro-dermal diseases. The eighth classification group represents the group of aphthoid lesions, of which aphthous stomatitis is the most well-known disease. The ninth and last-class group covers all diseases affecting salivary glands. We think that the proposed classification of oral diseases and conditions will help those who deal with oral diseases, their diagnosis, differential diagnosis and therapy. Also this classification we hope will help for better understanding and learning of oral lesions by university students, interns, trainees and of course by dental specialists in this area. And finally we hope that this classification of oral diseases, changes and lesions will become part of everyday activities in dental offices.


MESSENGER heralded a new era in our geological understanding of Mercury as a dynamic planet. Geological mapping of surface features is essential in understanding both local and global geology. To this end, we have started mapping the H-10 (Derain) quadrangle to publish at 1:3 million scale to the same standards as other new MESSENGER mapping. This will allow integration into a global geological map. H-10 quadrangle is in the equatorial band of Mercury, located between 0°–72°E and 22N°–22°S. It was not imaged by Mariner 10; therefore this MESSENGER-based work is the first high resolution geological mapping of the quadrangle. Here we present initial observations from the first stages of mapping.


Knowledge about non-interacting proteins (NIPs) is important for training the algorithms to predict protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and for assessing the false positive rates of PPI detection efforts. We present the second version of Negatome, a database of proteins and protein domains that are unlikely to engage in physical interactions (available online at http://mips.helmholtz-muenchen.de/proj/ppi/negatome). Negatome is derived by manual curation of literature and by analyzing three-dimensional structures of protein complexes. The main methodological innovation in Negatome 2.0 is the utilization of an advanced text mining procedure to guide the manual annotation process. Potential non-interactions were identified by a modified version of Excerbt, a text mining tool based on semantic sentence analysis. Manual verification shows that nearly a half of the text mining results with the highest confidence values correspond to NIP pairs. Compared to the first version the contents of the database have grown by over 300%.


The health effects of 6 different fly ash samples from biomass combustion plants (bark, wood chips, waste wood, and straw), and co-firing plants (coal, co-firing of coal and sawdust) were investigated in a 28-day nose-only inhalation study with Wistar WU rats. Respirable fractions of carbon black (Printex 90) and of titanium dioxide (Bayertitan T) were used as reference materials for positive and negative controls. The exposure was done 6 hours per day, 5 days per week at an aerosol concentration of 16 mg/m3. The MMAD of all fly ash samples and reference materials in the inhalation unit were in the range from 1.5 to 3 ?m. The investigations focused predominantly on the analysis of inflammatory effects in the lungs of rats using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and histopathology. Different parameters (percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), interleukin-8 and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung tissue) indicating inflammatory effects in the lung, showed a statistically significant increase in the groups exposed to carbon black (positive control), C1 (coal) and C1+BM4 (co-firing of coal and sawdust) fly ashes. Additionally, for the same groups a statistically significant increase of cell proliferation in the lung epithelium was detected. No significant effects were detected in the animal groups exposed to BM1 (bark), BM2 (wood chips), BM3 (waste wood), BM6 (straw) or titanium dioxide.


Abstract Direct normal and diffuse solar irradiances and 500 nm aerosol optical depths measured at the University of Michigan departed far from normal on 26 October 1982, when it is concluded that the main stratospheric cloud from the El Chichon volcanic eruption arrived at the 42°N latitude of the radiation measurement facility. For clear-sky data analyzed through 19 January 1983, direct solar is about 25% less than normal and diffuse solar is about 85% greater. For the same aerosol optical depths and solar zenith angles, the ratio of diffuse to direct is about 30% greater for about 0.3 cm of precipitable water but nearly the same for 0.9 cm. Aerosol optical depths are nearly three times greater for wind directions that naturally advect the cleanest air. The effect of circumsolar irradiance on the methods used to measure direct normal and diffuse irradiances cause the former to be overestimated and the latter to be underestimated.


Forty-three consecutive cases from a community hospital with concomitant bone marrow iron stain, serum ferritin, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were reviewed. Cases were classified as iron present or absent by the bone marrow iron stain. A two-dimensional linear graphic relationship between ferritin and ESR correctly identified six of nine iron-deficient patients and 32 of 34 iron-present patients. Four cases yielded indeterminate results. One complex iron-deficient case was incorrectly classified. This graphic method developed with data from tertiary care patients was correct in 88.4% of cases, incorrect in 2.3%, and indeterminate in 9.3%. When absent iron stores were graphically predicted, the predictive value was 100%. When iron deficiency was graphically excluded, the predictive value was 97%. The authors conclude the graphic method is useful in a community hospital practice for the confirmation or exclusion of iron deficiency.


The LEP Collaborations have reported a small excess of events in their combined Higgs boson analysis at center of mass energies up to about 208 GeV. In this communication, I present the result of a calculation of the probability distribution function of the Higgs boson mass which can be rigorously obtained if the validity of the Standard Model is assumed. It arises from the combination of the most recent set of precision electroweak data and the current results of the Higgs searches at LEP 2.


Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in American men, mostly related to the development of androgen-independent PCa (AIPC). Understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of AIPC is critical to discovering more effective therapeutic strategies for AIPC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that play an important role in post-transcriptional regulation and have been implicated in cancer development. A recently annotated miRNA is miR-1205 encoded by the long non-coding PVT1 gene locus which is located at the prostate cancer susceptibility chromosomal region, 8q24. The role of miR-1205 in PCa is, however, unknown. This study aimed to determine whether miR-1205 plays an essential role in PCa progression. A panel of five prostate cell lines with a diversity of PCa characteristics was used. RWPE1, a non-tumorigenic prostate epithelial cell line, WPE1-NA22, an indolent PCa cell line derived from RWPE1 and three aggressive PCa cell lines (PC3, VCaP and MDA PCa 2b) were used. Expression of miR-1205 was determined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We evaluated the effect of the loss or gain of miR-1205 by transfecting the oligonucleotide inhibitor or oligonucleotide mimic respectively. Effect of loss or gain of miR-1205 on proliferation and migration was measured using MTT and wound healing assays, respectively. The miSVR computer algorithm was used to ascertain putative targets. Effect of transfection of oligonucleotide mimic on mRNA expression of the putative targets was used to confirm the miR-1205 target. Our study indicates that the expression of miR-1205 is markedly less in PCa cells (WPE1-NA22, MDA PCa 2b, PC3, and VCaP) in comparison to the RWPE1 non-tumorigenic prostate epithelial cell line. The expression of miR-1205 was further significantly less in AIPC cells (PC3) compared to the other PCa cells. Loss of miR-1205 significantly increased cell proliferation in prostate epithelial cells. Exogenous miR-1205 significantly decreased cell proliferation in prostate epithelial cells. Also, loss of miR-1205 promoted migration in PCa cells by nearly 3 folds. The miSVR computer algorithm identified FRY-like (FRYL) as a putative target of miR-1205. Transfecting the oligonucleotide mimic of miR-1205 into androgen-independent PC3 cells leads to significant decrease in the expression of FRYL, suggesting that FRYL is a direct target of miR-1205. Therefore, miR-1205 regulates proliferation and migration of prostate epithelial cells, and loss of miR-1205 promotes a tumorigenic phenotype in PCa. Moreover, miR-1205 targets FRYL in AIPC. Consequently, strategies to increase miR-1205 or target FRYL may have therapeutic potential in AIPC. Citation Format: Victoria Durojaiye, Adeodat Ilboudo, Fayola Levine, Joseph Osborne, Jong Y. Park, Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi. miR-1205/FRYL as a novel regulatory mechanism in androgen-independent prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 187. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-187


An on‐line calibration procedure for application in continuous monitoring systems has been developed. Control of the calibration value and recalibration on‐line during monitoring is possible without having to disrupt the sample withdrawal. The calibration procedure has been applied and evaluated in a continuous biosensor system based on the detection of oxygen depletion during enzymatic substrate conversion by immobilized oxidases. Evaluation included on‐line calibration during continuous measurements of glucose and lactate in bovine blood samples. Calibration of the complete system consisting of a sampling device, a sample handling step, a biocatalytic step, a detection step, and a data processing unit is performed by the on‐line addition of a calibration solution to a blank sample which is fed through the system. The calibration cycle is completed within 5.5 min. When recalibration is carried out during monitoring, the calibration solution is added to the sample, instead of to a blank sample, and the increase in outlet singl is registered. The major advantage of this internal standard principle is that the calibration solution is fed through the whole system according to the same path as the sample solution and thus takes into account all parameters influencing the sample. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Five-year performance ratings are presented for two types of untreated, uncoated wood joints (L and lap) in aboveground tests under shaded conditions. The effect of shading on moisture entrapment in pine and maple L and lap joints was evaluated in a moderate decay zone (Madison, Wisconsin). Variations were observed between wood species, visual ratings, joint type, moisture content readings, and fungal growth on the specimens. Representative fungal fruiting bodies were identified as members of the Peniophorella praetermissa species complex by microscopic and DNA analyses. After 5 years, the highest average rating (indicative of most severe deterioration) occurred in white pine L-joint specimens followed by maple lap joints and maple L joints. Pine and maple L-joint specimens demonstrated considerably lower rating variation between specimens compared with lap-joint specimens. White pine lap joints shaded with a tarp had lower average moisture content but showed similar average ratings to pine lap joints shaded by a tree. Regardless of the shading method, white pine lap joints had the lowest average decay rating. Under shaded conditions in a moderate decay zone, untreated and uncoated L-joint performance was notably more uniform from specimen to specimen than lap-joint performance following 5 years of outdoor exposure. A single-point moisture content taken at the time of inspection was not a reliable indicator of the degree or rate of decay for aboveground joint test assemblies evaluated in this study. Likewise, uniform specimen wetting or drying is not predictable under shaded conditions.


The purpose of the present invention is to provide a translucent screen capable of achieving a high-contrast display image even in a bright environment when displaying an image based on image light projected from a projector. For this purpose, the translucent screen includes a first dimming film and a second dimming film. The first dimming film is configured to be capable of being switched between a transmission state for transmitting incident light therethrough, and a diffusion state for diffusing the incident light. The second dimming film is configured such that the transmittance thereof with respect to the incident light can be changed.


We present an algorithm for the recovery of a matrix $\mathbb{M}$ % (non-singular $\in $ $\mathbb{C}^{N\times N}$) by only being aware of two of its powers, $\mathbb{M}_{k_{1}}:=\mathbb{M}^{k_{1}}$ and $\mathbb{M}% _{k_{2}}:=\mathbb{M}^{k_{2}}$ ($k_{1}>k_{2}$) whose exponents are positive coprime numbers. The knowledge of the exponents is the key to retrieve matrix $\mathbb{M}$ out from the two matrices $\mathbb{M}_{k_{i}}$. The procedure combines products and inversions of matrices, and a few computational steps are needed to get $\mathbb{M}$, almost independently of the exponents magnitudes. Guessing the matrix $\mathbb{M}$ from the two matrices $\mathbb{M}_{k_{i}}$, without the knowledge of $k_{1}$ and $k_{2}$, is comparatively highly consuming in terms of number of operations. If a private message, contained in $\mathbb{M}$, has to be conveyed, the exponents can be encrypted and then distributed through a public key method as, for instance, the DF (Diffie-Hellman), the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), or any other.


Visceral leishmaniasis has emerged in both endemic and non-endemic areas as an opportunistic infection in HIV-positive subjects. At risk for infection are HIV-positive intravenous drug abusers with a low CD4 T cell count and a high HIV viral load. In these patients, who are not always symptomatic, leishmaniasis is probably due to endogenous reactivation and often presents in an atypical fashion. Death results from uncontrolled bleeding or bacterial infections. The clinical and biological spectrum of this disease suggests that it should be included among the diagnostic criteria for AIDS. Visceral leishmaniasis responds poorly to therapy and, when responsive, the relapse rate is high. Treatment protocols and criteria to document cure after treatment have not been definitely established. Lastly, there is no effective immuno- or chemo-prophylaxis against this protozoan. We report the case of an HIV-infected patient affected by visceral leishmaniasis who was successfully treated with liposomal amphotericin B given both as first line and as secondary prophylactic therapy. The patient has remained disease-free for 26 months after his first remission whereas, to our knowledge, almost all immunocompromised patients relapse within 12 months.


Feldman M. P., Kogler D. F. and Rigby D. L. rKnowledge: the spatial diffusion and adoption of rDNA methods, Regional Studies. The 1980 patent granted to Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer for their development of rDNA technology played a critical role in the establishment of the modern biotechnology industry. From the birth of this general-purpose technology in the San Francisco Bay area, rDNA-related knowledge diffused across sectors and regions of the US economy. Patent data are used here to track the geography and timing of rDNA technology adoption in US metropolitan areas. Using event history and fixed effects conditional logit models, it is shown how the diffusion of rDNA techniques was influenced by cognitive, geographical and social proximity.


Technical advances in the field of noninvasive neuroimaging allow for innovative therapeutical strategies with application potential in neural rehabilitation. To improve these methods, combinations of multiple imaging modalities have become an important topic of research. This chapter reviews some of the most popular unsupervised statistical learning techniques used in the context of neuroscientific data analysis, and places a special focus on multimodal neural data. It starts with the well-known principal component analysis (PCA). First, the chapter shows how to derive the algorithm and provides illustrative examples of the advantages and disadvantages of standard PCA. The second method presented is canonical correlation analysis (CCA): a multivariate analysis method that reveals maximally correlated features of simultaneously acquired multiple data streams. Finally the chapter presents a straightforward extension of CCA that estimates the correct solution even in the presence of noninstantaneous couplings, that is, temporal delays or convolutions between data sources.


The utilization of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data obtained through satellite images can technically improve the process of delimiting management zones (MZ) for annual crops, resulting in socio-economic and environmental benefits. The aim of this study was to compare delimited MZ, using crop productivity data, with delimited MZ using the NDVI obtained from satellite images in areas under a no-tillage system. The study was carried out in three areas located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Three crop productivity maps, from 2009 to 2015, were used for each area, whereby the NDVI was calculated for each crop productivity map using images from the Landsat series of satellites. Descriptive and geostatistical analysis were conducted to determine the productivity and NDVI data. The MZ were then delimited using the fuzzy c-means algorithm. Spearman's correlation matrix was used to compare the methodologies used for delimiting the MZ. The MZ based on NDVI calculated from the satellite images correlated with the MZ based on crop productivity data (0.48 < r < 0.61), suggesting that the NDVI can replace or be complementary to productivity data in delimiting MZ for annual cropping systems.


The aim of the article is to analyze three variants of modernization and reconstruction of a road intersection, which in practice is the cause of numerous collisions and accidents. Detailed design solutions are presented for them. The aim of the analyses is to indicate an effective solution that, taking into account technical modifications of the road system elements, will ensure the functionality of the road system to the highest degree and significantly reduce the number of road incidents. To indicate the optimal solution, quantitative data (cost and duration of activities for three options) and qualitative data (determined based on the own experience and knowledge of road industry experts) is analyzed. The authors refer to many criteria of various natures (e.g., economic, technical, functional, environmental, social), which allow for comprehensive consideration of the current requirements of road users and changing circumstances, among others a steady increase in the number of vehicles and growing social expectations in terms of road parameters. Considering the presented analyses and arguments, the authors recommend option 1 as optimal. This is the most expensive solution among those analyzed and with the longest implementation time, however, taking into account the long-term prognosis of the direction and scope of changes to the existing standards and requirements for road infrastructure, it can be stated that option 1 meets them to the highest degree, and also has the greatest potential. The envisaged solution ensures high standards of the quality of road infrastructure use in terms of functionality, capacity, technical parameters, as well as the safety of traffic participants related to the smoothness of the journey, reduction of the number of collisions and accidents.


Sultanpur Lake is a shallow waterbody, within Sultanpur National Park, a Ramsar Site in Gurugram, Haryana. This area is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, and it is a crucial eating, resting, and nesting ground for local and migratory birds. The lake is under severe threat from rising pollution and summertime water shortage. The current study was undertaken to characterize the shifts in bacterial genera in the sediments of Sultanpur Lake brought on by intermittent drying and wetting. Next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicon was used to characterize the bacterial communities in Dry and Wet sediments of this lake and analyze the changes in them. There was a change in the community structure at the phylum as well as the genus level. The top bacterial genera in Wet sediments were Clostridium sensusstricto (23%), Sunxiuqinia (17%), Clostridium_XIVa (12%), Geobacter (12%), Bifidobacterium (6%), Caldilinea (6%), Decholoromonas (6%), Carboxylicivirga (6%), Desulfomonile (6%) and Bacillus (6%) whereas the top ten genera in Dry sediments were Clostridium sensus- stricto (19%), GPl (17%), Parcubacteria genera increate (14%), Lactobacillus (12%), Sunxiuqinia (9%), Alkaliflexus (7%), Methanobacterium (7%), Bacillariophyta (5%), Clostridium_III (5%) and Methanothrix (5%).This compositional shift in the sediment bacterial communities in the Dry plots is towards communities that do not play a major role in the biogeochemical processes.


Research with adult children of divorce (ACD) has contributed to literature suggesting the adverse long -term effects of parental separation and divorce. The role of the parent-child relationship following parental separation, when a parent's availability and support might well be especially important for a child, particularly if there is ongoing parental conflict, has received little empirical attention and was examined here. The present investigation was designed to assess ACDs' retrospective ratings of their mothers' and fathers' parenting in the two years following parental separation. ACDs' reports of each of their parents' dating behaviors as well as the conflict they remembered between their parents during this period were also examined. The results of the present investigation indicate that ACD view their mothers' and fathers' parenting behavior in the two years following separation as an important factor related to their current relationships with each of the ir parents. Indexing terms/


One might raise a question if the gravitational scalar field (dilaton) mediates a finite-range force between local objects still behaving globally as being massless to implement the scenario of a decaying cosmological constant. We offer a non-negative reply by a detailed analysis of the field-theoretical quantization procedure in relation to the observationally required suppression of the vacuum-energy.


The Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IECAS) is developing an S-band 100MW klystron for linear accelerators. The klystron has five-cavities, including a double-gap 2π-mode output cavity. The output section consists of a cavity with double gaps and one output waveguide. To date two prototypes were fabricated. Unfortunately, the first one was suffered from leaking on the edge of the high-voltage ceramic as its operating voltage reached 220 kV. Nowadays the conditioning of the second one is underway which has reached a voltage of 350kV. In this paper the design considerations and the key technical issues are described and the preliminary test results of the klystron are given.


Background While conventional electrocardiogram monitoring devices are useful for detecting atrial fibrillation, they have considerable drawbacks, including a short monitoring duration and invasive device implantation. The use of patch-type devices circumvents these drawbacks and has shown comparable diagnostic capability for the early detection of atrial fibrillation. Objective We aimed to determine whether a patch-type device (AT-Patch) applied to patients with a high risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation defined by the congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, stroke, vascular disease, age 65-74 years, sex scale (CHA2DS2-VASc) score had increased detection rates. Methods In this nonrandomized multicenter prospective cohort study, we enrolled 320 adults aged ≥19 years who had never experienced atrial fibrillation and whose CHA2DS2-VASc score was ≥2. The AT-Patch was attached to each individual for 11 days, and the data were analyzed for arrhythmic events by 2 independent cardiologists. Results Atrial fibrillation was detected by the AT-Patch in 3.4% (11/320) of patients, as diagnosed by both cardiologists. Interestingly, when participants with or without atrial fibrillation were compared, a previous history of heart failure was significantly more common in the atrial fibrillation group (n=4/11, 36.4% vs n=16/309, 5.2%, respectively; P=.003). When a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥4 was combined with previous heart failure, the detection rate was significantly increased to 24.4%. Comparison of the recorded electrocardiogram data revealed that supraventricular and ventricular ectopic rhythms were significantly more frequent in the new-onset atrial fibrillation group compared with nonatrial fibrillation group (3.4% vs 0.4%; P=.001 and 5.2% vs 1.2%; P<.001), respectively. Conclusions This study detected a moderate number of new-onset atrial fibrillations in high-risk patients using the AT-Patch device. Further studies will aim to investigate the value of early detection of atrial fibrillation, particularly in patients with heart failure as a means of reducing adverse clinical outcomes of atrial fibrillation. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04857268; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04857268


Real-world garbage collectors in managed languages are complex. We investigate whether this complexity is really necessary and show that by having a different (but wider) interface between the collector and the developer, we can achieve high performance with off-the-shelf components for real applications. We propose to assemble a memory manager out of multiple, simple collection strategies and to expose the choice of where to use those strategies in the program to the developer. We describe and evaluate an instantiation of our design for C. Our prototype allows developers to choose on a per-type basis whether data should be reference counted or reclaimed by a tracing collector. While neither strategy is optimised, our empirical data shows that we can achieve performance that is competitive with hand-tuned C code for real-world applications.


Double fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to examine the karyotype of Chaetanthera microphylla (Cass.) Hook et Arn. from Chile, including the location of 5S and 18S/25S rDNA gene sequences. The species is 2n = 24, with 8m + 4st chromosomes. Signals of 5S and 18/25S rDNA were seen in two of the 12 chromosome pairs: n° 2 and 6


Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted pathogens. Chlamydial major outer membrane protein (MOMP) can induce strong cellular and humoral immune responses in murine models and has been regarded as a potential vaccine candidate. In this report, the amino acid sequence of MOMP was analyzed using computer-assisted techniques to scan B-cell epitopes, and three possible linear B-cell epitopes peptides (VLKTDVNKE, TKDASIDYHE, TRLIDERAAH) with high predicted antigenicity and high conservation were investigated. The DNA coding region for each potential epitope was cloned into pET32a(+) and expressed as Trx-His-tag fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. The fusion proteins were purified by Ni-NTA agarose beads and followed by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. We immunized mice with these three fusion proteins. The sera containing anti-epitope antibodies from the immunized mice could recognize C. trachomatis serovars D and E in ELISA. Antisera of these fusion proteins displayed an inhibitory effect on invasion of serovar E by in vitro neutralization assays. In addition, serum samples from convalescent C. trachomatis-infected patients were reactive with the epitope fusion proteins by western blot assay. Our results showed that the epitope sequences selected by bioinformatic analysis are highly conserved C. trachomatis MOMP B-cell epitopes, and could be good candidates for the development of subunit vaccines, which can be used in clinical diagnosis.


An efficient approach to compute the near-field distribution around and within a wind farm under plane wave excitation is proposed. To make the problem computationally tractable, several simplifying assumptions are made based on the geometry problem. By comparing the approximations against full-wave simulations at 500 MHz, it is shown that the assumptions do not introduce significant errors into the resulting near-field distribution. The near fields around a wind farm are computed using the developed methodology at 150 MHz, 500 MHz, and 3 GHz. Both the multipath interference patterns and the forward shadows are predicted by the proposed method.


The use of ultrasound as a medical diagnostic tool began in the 1940s. Ever since, the medical applications of ultrasound have included imaging, tumor ablation, and lithotripsy; however, an ever-increasing body of literature demonstrates that ultrasound has potential in other medical applications, including targeted drug delivery. Site-specific drug delivery involves delivering drugs to diseased areas with a high degree of precision, which is particularly advantageous in cancer treatment as it would minimize the adverse side effects experienced by patients. This review addresses the ability of ultrasound to induce localized and controlled drug release from nanocarriers, namely micelles and liposomes, utilizing thermal and/or mechanical effects. The interactions of ultrasound with micelles and liposomes, the effects of the lipid composition, and ultrasound parameters on the release of encapsulated drugs are discussed. In addition, a survey of the literature detailing some in vitro and in vivo ultrasound triggered drug delivery systems is presented.


Despite significant vision loss, humans can still recognize various emotional stimuli via a sense of hearing and express diverse emotional responses, which can be sorted into two dimensions, arousal and valence. Yet, many research studies have been focusing on sighted people, leading to lack of knowledge about emotion perception mechanisms of people with visual impairment. This study aims at advancing knowledge of the degree to which people with visual impairment perceive various emotions – high/low arousal and positive/negative emotions. A total of 30 individuals with visual impairment participated in interviews where they listened to stories of people who became visually impaired, encountered and overcame various challenges, and they were instructed to share their emotions. Participants perceived different kinds and intensities of emotions, depending on their demographic variables such as living alone, loneliness, onset of visual impairment, visual acuity, race/ethnicity, and employment status. The advanced knowledge of emotion perceptions in people with visual impairment is anticipated to contribute toward better designing social supports that can adequately accommodate those with visual impairment.


The combination of two quantitative Aspergillus PCR assays, targeting a mitochondrial and a ribosomal target (AfQPCR), has proved effective for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis (IA) in hematology patients with risk factors and a positive galactomannan antigen (GM). The aim of the present study was to assess the performance of systematic AfQPCR for IA screening in at risk patients in a hematology intensive care unit (ICU). The study was performed in the hematology ICU at Besançon University Hospital from March 2012 to December 2013. GM detection (Platelia Aspergillus, Biorad, France) and AfQPCR were performed on the same serum sample, twice a week, in all patients with risk factors for IA. Risk factors and clinical, radiological, and biological data were prospectively recorded using the information sheet from the French network for the surveillance of Invasive Fungal Infection. Thirty-two patients were diagnosed with proven, probable, or possible IA according to the 2008 EORTC/MSG criteria. Sixteen patients had a positive AfQPCR: 9/16 had a positive GM at the same time (GM index >0.5), 4/16 had a positive GM before the AfQPCR and 3/16 had a negative GM at the time of the positive AfQPCR. Screening at risk patients using both AfQPCR and GM on the same serum sample is very feasible in a routine clinical setting. Our results confirm the usefulness of combining biomarkers for an early IA diagnosis.


As accurate malware detection on Mobile devices requires fast process of a large number of application traces, cloud-based malware detection can utilize the data sharing and powerful computational resources of security servers to improve the detection performance. In this project, I Investigate the cloud-based malware detection game, in which Mobile devices offload their application traces to security servers via base stations or access points in dynamic networks. I derive the Nash equilibrium (NE) of the static malware detection game and present the existence condition of the NE, showing how Mobile devices share their application traces at the security server to improve the detection accuracy, and compete for the limited radio bandwidth, the computational and Communication resources of the server. I design a malware detection scheme with Q-learning for a Mobile device to derive the optimal offloading rate without knowing the trace generation and the radio bandwidth model of other Mobile devices. The detection Performance is further improved with the Dyna architecture, in which a Mobile device learns from the hypothetical experience to increase its convergence rate. We also design a post-decision state learning-based scheme that utilizes the known radio channel model to accelerate the reinforcement learning process in the malware detection. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes improve the detection accuracy, reduce the detection delay and increase the utility of a Mobile device in the dynamic malware detection game, compared with the benchmark strategy.


Background: There is no national or local guidance for management of malignancy-related ascites (MRA). Modalities can include large volume paracentesis (LVP) and indwelling peritoneal catheter (IPeC) insertion. Objectives: We set up a local IPeC service and performed a retrospective review with local ethical (Caldicott) approval. We hypothesized that an IPeC service would reduce inpatient stay related to MRA management, would be acceptable to patients, and have minimal complications. Methods: Notes of all patients requiring IPeC insertion were reviewed. Descriptive statistical methodology was applied with continuous data presented as mean (standard deviation (SD); range) and categorical variables as frequencies or percentages. Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS) scores were collected for IPeC patients. Results: Thirty-four patients were identified. They were predominantly female, with a mean age of 66.6 years and a wide range of cancer diagnoses. Twenty-nine were inserted as day case procedures, and 31 had preceding paracenteses (mean 2). Main complications were leakage (6(17%)), peritonitis (2(5.8%)), and skin infection (1(3%)). IPOS scores showed consistent improvement in symptoms. Conclusions: An IPeC service for malignant-related ascites is acceptable to patients and is associated with manageable complication rates. We present the development of our service and hope for widespread application.


Inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS) was characterised for the detection of the six naturally occurring selenium isotopes. The potentially interfering argon dimers at the selenium masses m/z 74, 76, 78 and 80 were reduced in intensity by approximately five orders of magnitude by using methane as reactive cell gas in the DRC. By using 3% v/v methanol in water for carbon-enhanced ionisation of selenium, the sensitivity of 80Se was 104 counts s−1 per ng ml−1 of selenium, and the estimated limit of detection was 6 pg ml−1. The precision of the isotope ratios was close to the theoretical values for selenium concentrations at 1 and 10 ng ml−1. The accuracy of the isotope ratios, however, was improved by correcting the count rate of all selenium isotopes equivalent to the formation of SeH at 9.6 ± 0.5% one mass unit above the selenium isotopes. A linear relationship (r < 0.98) was found between the error of the corrected isotope ratios and the difference in mass from the 80Se reference isotope. This indicated that the error was caused by mass bias. The slope of the curve at −3.0% error per mass unit can be used for correction of the measured ratios. Deuterated methane used as the DRC gas showed that hydrogen transfer from methane was not involved in the formation of SeH as SeD was absent in the mass spectrum. The almost interference-free detection of selenium by ICP-DRC-MS made the detection of the 80Se isotope possible for detection of selenoamino acids separated by cation exchange HPLC. The limit of detection of the HPLC-ICP-DRC-MS method was in the range 3–5 pg as selenium.


Music psychologists have established that some forms of musical activity improve intellectual performance, spatial–temporal reasoning and other skills advantageous for learning. In this research, the potential of active music-making for improving pupils' achievement in spatial– temporal reasoning was investigated. As spatial–temporal skills are considered to be high-level mathematical abilities, this study also aimed to explore if learning music might have an effect on pupils' achievement in mathematics, and whether spatial–temporal reasoning plays a role in this process.

The study had a quasi-experimental design in which groups of children aged 4 to 7 participated in a music programme containing a variety of musical, predominantly rhythmical, activities. Parallel classes made up control groups. Throughout the intervention, pupils' attainment in mathematics, reading, writing and spatial–temporal reasoning was recorded and compared between the music and control groups.

The findings of the project supported the hypothesis that music instruction has an impact on the development of spatial–temporal skills. A statistically significantly greater progression was observed in most of the intervention groups, as compared in all periods of measurement to the control groups. The attainment in general mathematics did not always differ between the intervention and control groups but the analyses provided evidence of a consistent and statistically significant enhancement in learning mathematics between the youngest participants of the programme. This knowledge could inform pedagogical practice, while further research in this area could offer more insight into the association between music and mathematics.


4 Abstract: Field experiment was conducted to evaluate difference among various levels of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer, its application techniques and their interaction on the growth, yield components and yield of wheat. Treatments of N fertilizer application techniques, viz., broadcast and side-dressing were allocated to main- plots and nitrogen levels, viz., 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 kg N/ha were placed in sub-plots. This experiment was repeated for two years with the same treatments. Results revealed that nitrogen application techniques had non-significant impact on most of the crop parameters except count of fertile tillers. Various rates of nitrogen showed significant influence on all the parameters under study and showed significantly higher grain yield of wheat with successive increase of dose up to 180 kg N/ha. Maximum plant height and biological yield were obtained under the highest nitrogen level, viz., 210 kg N/ha. However, the highest count of fertile tillers, spike length, number of grains, 1000-grain weight and harvest index were recorded in the treatment receiving 180 kg N/ha. Interactions between fertilizer application techniques and nitrogen levels were non-significant for all the crop parameters studied in this experiment on wheat.


Background Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are associated with significant clinical and economic effects. Among the elderly population, the risk for ADRs is even higher. Data of ADR prevalence and incidence among the elderly population in Uganda and many low- and middle-income countries are lacking. Objective This study determined the prevalence, incidence, and characteristics of ADRs among hospitalized elderly patients at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH), Uganda. Methods and Materials We conducted a prospective cohort of older adults admitted to medical, oncology, and surgery wards at MRRH for consecutive 6 months. The primary data were obtained by interviewing patients and caregivers and reviewing patient medication charts, taking vital signs, and physical examinations. We used Edwards and Aronson's definition of ADR and the Naranjo ADR Causality Scale. We conducted descriptive statistics and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test using SPSS Version 23.0. Results We studied a total of 523 older adults 60 to 103 years of age. During their hospital stay, 256 (48.9%) of the patients experienced at least one ADR. A total of 365 ADRs were identified during 4702 person-days of follow-up. The incidence of ADRs was 78 ADRs/1000 person-days. ADRs affecting the gastrointestinal tract were the most frequently (40.6%) identified categories. Probable and type A ADRs accounted for 260 (71.2%) and 305 (83.6%) of the total incidents, respectively. Overall, 237 (64.9%) of the ADRs were rated as mild, whereas 10 (2.8%) of them as severe. Lastly, 165 (45.2%) of the ADRs were categorized as preventable. Conclusion Almost half of the hospitalized patients aged 60 to 103 years experienced at least one ADR during their hospital stay, which is higher than has been previously documented. Almost three-thirds of the ADRs were probable, about 4 out of 5 were type A and almost two-thirds were mild. Nearly half of the ADRs were preventable.


Sophisticated manipulation of the metal–support interaction of catalysts is of great importance for achieving a higher catalytic efficiency, but remains as an open challenge. Herein, by using a simple metal–organic framework (MOF) based strategy, a Ni/NiAl2O4–M catalyst with an enhanced Ni–support interaction is successfully fabricated. The catalyst exhibits an enhanced low-temperature catalytic performance in CO methanation. CO conversion and CH4 selectivity as high as 99.8% and 58.0%, respectively, are achieved on the Ni/NiAl2O4–M catalyst at 350 °C. The strong Ni–support interaction on the Ni/NiAl2O4–M catalyst results in more active H atoms, and promotes the formation of active CH* species which are the key intermediates for CO methanation. This not only enhances the conversion of CO into CH4, but also suppresses the carbon deposition which has a negative effect on the catalytic reactions, thus improving the catalytic performance of Ni/NiAl2O4–M. Besides, the strong Ni–support interaction makes Ni/NiAl2O4–M highly resistant to sintering of the Ni nanoparticles during the catalytic reactions. The findings of the present work are helpful for fabricating catalysts with enhanced metal–support interaction for more efficient catalysis.


Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Deg.) is one of the main cultivated species of Passiflora genus. Its fruits are rich in mineral salts and vitamins and to present agreeable aroma and flavour. The purpose of this work was to determine ethylene production and enzymatic activity of ACC oxidase (ACCO) in yellow passion fruit cropped in different maturation stages. The determination of maturation stage was effected with the help of a colorimeter that established the absolute value of fruit colour, using UV light, and classified the fruits into three groups (I, II, III). Ethylene production and ACC oxidase activity were measured by gaz chromatography. Fruits in group I, predominantly green, those in group II, as predominantly coloured, which means in an intermediary state of maturation, and those in group III, totally coloured, at the beginning of senescence. ACC oxidase activity was detected in predominantly green fruits, with values higher than those encountered in mature fruits. Higher ethylene production was also found in fruits of group I, with a mean value of 7,25 nL. g-1. h-1 , in relation to the maximum level established for species classified as poor producers of ethylene (0,5 nL. g-1. h-1). These results show that the ethylene production and ACC oxidase activity of passion fruits are related to their maturation stage. In comparison with other species, Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa was considered as an intermediary producer of ethylene. The activity of ACC oxidase enzyme was higher in predominantly green fruits, but was limited and needs enzymatic co-factors for its maximum activity.


Abstract Methods of estimating the significance of optimal regression models selected from a model hierarchy proposed by Barnett and Hasselmann (1979) are reexamined allowing for the multiple-candidate nature of the selection criteria. It is found that the single-candidate models' significance value previously used can over- or underestimate the true multiple-candidate significance level of the selected model depending on the selection criteria used. A number of possible selection strategies to remove these problems are discussed and evaluated both theoretically and by Monte Carlo simulators.


Herein is reported the case of a 43-year-old woman, who experienced an acute aortic dissection associated with underlying Cushing's syndrome. The patient had central obe sity and a moon face of ten years duration, but had never sought medical consultation. On the day of her presentation, she experienced a severe chest pain radiating to her back. Computed tomography revealed a Stanford type B acute aortic dissection and a left adrenal mass. From her hormonal study results, clinical symptoms and signs, she was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome, which was due to a left adrenal adenoma. After medical treatment to stabilize the aortic dissection, she underwent left adrenalectomy. The aortic lesion of the present patient suggests that hypercortisolemia arising from Cushing's syndrome might be related to the development of acute aortic dissection. (J Kor Endocrinol Soc 21:556~559, 2006)


This book covers the criticism of the religious and the profane poetry of Alfonso X. It treats his poetry in its complete scope, the religious (the Cantigas de Santa Maria) as well as the forty-five profane poems, mostly satires. It does so in a chronological sequence from the earliest commentary in 1278 to the most recent criticism in 2010. The work contains five times as many entries as the original 1977 edition, including an introduction, two appendices with the profane poems and the poems treated in the items in the bibliography, and an author and subject index. Joseph T. Snow is Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University.


Background The landscape of smoking cessation may have changed in Europe recently. Objectives To identify changes in use of smoking cessation assistance in the European Union (EU) and factors associated with use of cessation assistance. Methods Data from the 2012 (n=9921) and 2017 (n=9489) waves of the Eurobarometer survey were used. Self-reported use of smoking cessation assistance was assessed among smokers who had ever tried to quit and former smokers. Changes in use of each type of assistance were assessed using logistic regression. Results Among current and former smokers, those who had ever attempted to quit without assistance increased from 70.3% (2012) to 74.8% (2017). Current smokers were more likely to have used any assistance compared with former smokers (P<0.001). Use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation assistance increased (3.7% to 9.7%)%), while use of pharmacotherapy (14.6% to 11.1%)%) and smoking cessation services (7.5% to 5.0%)%) declined. Younger people were more likely to have reported e-cigarette use for smoking cessation but less likely to have used a cessation service. Individuals living in countries with comprehensive smoking cessation policies were more likely to have used any cessation assistance (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.78; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.76), pharmacotherapy (aOR=3.44; 95% CI 1.78 to 6.66) and smoking cessation services (aOR=2.27; 95% CI 1.27 to 4.06) compared with those living in countries with weak smoking cessation policies. Conclusions These findings highlight the need for approaches that ensure that smokers get support to quit smoking across the EU. The question of whether the availability of e-cigarettes will displace other methods, and the impact of such a displacement, should be closely evaluated.


A common objection to a pragmatist perspective on scientific expertise is that, while there is a well-known pragmatist theory of inquiry, which was formulated first by Peirce, then refined by Dewey and others, this theory cannot provide a clear-cut account of scientific expertise. In this paper, after addressing this objection in the second section, I claim that, on the contrary, pragmatism offers robust tools to think scientific expertise. In Sections 3 to 7, I present five important insights that one can derive from a pragmatist epistemology when responding to contemporary problems posed by expertise: about science and scientific expertise in a legal context (sections 3 and 4), about collective expertise (sections 5 and 6), and even about expertise on ignorance (section 7).


Interfacial engineering methods have been developed to solve defect issues of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, traditional surface passivation has limited effects on eliminating defect-forming residuals, while secondary grain growth (SGG) is restricted by limited choices of additives and intrinsic properties of perovskites. Here, a pincer strategy of taking advantages of surface passivation and SGG is proposed to modify both exterior and interior of CH3 NH3 PbI3 (MAPbI3 ) perovskite, by employing cyanoacetate-containing donor-acceptor compounds (CA-D-A) including 2-cyano-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylic acid (CA), methanaminium 2-cyano-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylate (CAMA), and aminomethaniminium (Z)-2-cyano-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylate (CAFA). In comparison to untreated perovskite, CA-D-A treated perovskites present better crystallinity because of SGG, lower trap densities due to the synergistic effect of surface passivation and SGG, and tuned energy levels induced by CA-D-A. Accordingly, the CA-D-A treated MAPbI3 -based PSCs exhibit higher open-circuit voltage and fill factor than the control PSC without any treatment, leading to improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) and enhanced device stability, especially the CAMA treated PSCs with an average PCE promoted from 17.77 (control PSCs) to 18.71%, and importantly an excellent PCE of 19.71% through further optimization. This work provides an effective strategy for developing highly efficient and stable PSCs with the assistance of both surface passivation and SGG.


We present a unique case of a patient coming to our internal medicine clinic with intermittent diffuse lymphadenopathy and non-specific symptoms for the past eight years. Initially, the patient was thought to have carcinoma of unknown primary origin, given the abnormalities seen in her imaging. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis was also dismissed, given that the patient had not responded to steroids with negative laboratory support. The patient was referred to several specialists, and only after a pulmonary biopsy was a non-caseating granuloma revealed after multiple prior failed biopsies. The patient was placed on infusion therapy and responded positively. This case demonstrates a challenging diagnosis and treatment which emphasizes the importance of considering alternative treatments if the initial therapy fails.


The purpose of this article is to understand what the concept of 'victory' in the war on terror would actually mean. The traditionalnotion of winning a war is clear, defeating an enemy on the battlefield and forcing it to accept political terms. However, it isimportant to determine what does victory or defeat mean in a war on terror? Will this kind of war ever end? How long will it take?Former U.S. President George Bush's approach to the war on terror implicated the use of offensive measures against terroristorganizations. This approach was criticized by leading Democrats who argued that it was important to conduct more and smarterdiplomacy, and intensify cooperation with key allies.Bush's critics considered that his approach to the war on terror created more terrorists than it eliminated and that it will continueto do so unless the United States, under the presidency of Barack Obama, radically changes course.


The transition from the home environment or an early childhood setting to formal schooling is an important turning point in a child's educational journey. Research literature has identified that the manner in which a child experiences the transition to school has significant implications for children's future social and academic success at school (Cassidy, 2005; Dockett & Perry, 2007). This article presents some of the findings from a recent study that examined the interwoven nature of children's transition to school. This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of key adult stakeholders about the processes involved in a seamless transition to school. The stakeholders who were involved in this study were parents, early childhood educators and primary school teachers. The study was carried out across three kindergartens and three primary schools in inner suburban Melbourne. The findings from this component of this study indicated that all key stakeholders vary in their views about the necessary ingredients that contribute to a child's transition to school, although it is significant that their ultimate and common goal is for children to experience a successful transition to school.International Research in Early Childhood Education, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 60-70


Given a set of regions with activity counts at each time instant (e.g., a listing of countries with number of mass protests or disease cases over time) and a spatial neighbor relation, geo-referenced time-series summarization (GTS) finds k-full trees that maximize activity coverage. GTS has important potential societal applications such as understanding the spread of political unrest, disease, crimes, fires, pollutants, etc. However, GTS is computationally challenging because (1) there are a large number of subsets of k-full trees due to the potential overlap of trees and (2) a region with no activity may be a part of a larger region with maximum activity coverage, making apriori-based pruning inapplicable. Previous approaches for spatio-temporal data mining detect anomalous or unusual areas and do not summarize activities. We propose a k-full tree (kFT) approach for GTS which features an algorithmic refinement for partitioning regions that leads to computational savings without affecting result quality. Experimental results show that our algorithmic refinement substantially reduces the computational cost. We also present a case study that shows the output of our approach on Arab Spring data.


We study the dynamics near infinity of polynomial mappings $f$ in $\mathbb{C}^2$. We assume that $f$ has indeterminacy points and is non constant on the line at infinity $L_\infty$. If $L_\infty$ is $f$-attracting, we decompose the Green current along itineraries defined by the indeterminacy points and their preimages. The symbolic dynamics that arises is a subshift on an infinite alphabet.


Trees of finite cone type have appeared in various contexts. In particular, they come up as simplified models of regular tessellations of the hyperbolic plane. The spectral theory of the associated Laplacians can thus be seen as induced by geometry. Here we give an introduction focusing on background and then turn to recent results for (random) perturbations of trees of finite cone type and their spectral theory.


Background

Photoreceptor degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration gradually proceed to photoreceptor degeneration. In animal models of photoreceptor degeneration, it is difficult to evaluate the loss of function in the retina, especially in a focal lesion.
Methods

To induce local lesion in rat retina, one microliter of N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea (MNU) solution was injected subretinally into a temporal site of the retina. A week after the injection, multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) was recorded to presume the degenerated site. Based on the data from mfERG, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed. After the OCT, eyes were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and the flat-mounted retinas were stained with peanut agglutinin (PNA) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Following observation under a fluorescence microscope, the retina was embedded into an OCT compound and cryo-sections were obtained.
Results

The decreased responses in some divisions of the retina were detected in the recording of mf-ERGs. Most of the decreased responses were localized in the temporal part of the retina corresponding to the MNU injection site. The OCT images at the area recorded a lower response of the data from mfERG and showed the severe destruction of photoreceptors; however, a well-organized retinal structure was observed in other parts of the retina. PNA and WGA staining also showed a decreased number of cones and rods in the degenerated area.
Conclusions

Subretinal injection of MNU induced the local photoreceptor degeneration without effects on other retinal layers. mfERGs could detect the focal lesion, and it might be a very helpful indication to perform OCT. These methods would help the evaluation of the effects of regenerative medicine in rodents.


© 2019 Associazione Geotecnica Italiana, Rome, Italy. Viscous dampers are common energy dissipation devices installed in superstructures to minimise seismic induced story shears and drifts. Most of the experimental research into the performance of buildings with viscous dampers fail to capture the realistic behaviour of soil-structure interaction (SSI) in the field. This paper presents one of the first experimental attempts to investigate the effects of SSI on the performance of damped sway frames through dynamic centrifuge testing. The paper will show the successful application of model oil dampers in the centrifuge and compare the response of a model damped frame to a similar frame without dampers. The degree of SSI was varied by varying the intensity of the input motions. Hysteretic damping of soil beneath the foundations is found to increase the effective damping in both damped and undamped frames. The ground compliance triggers global rocking in the damped frame which can limit damper performance.


OBJECTIVE
We aimed to explore the potential application of circulating microRNA-451 (miR-451) in serum in predicting the resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer (BC).

METHODS
Eighty-two BC patients who underwent NACT were recruited in our study, including 41 NACT-sensitive patients (NACT-sensitive group) and 41 NACT-resistant patients (NACT-resistant group). Additionally, 60 healthy subjects were selected as normal controls. Epirubicin-resistant MCF-7 BC cell line (MCF-7/EPI) and docetaxel-resistant MCF-7 BC cell line (MCF-7/DOC) were cultured in our study. MTT assay was applied to calculate the survival rates of MCF-7 cells, MCF-7/DOC cells and MCF-7/EPI cells. The expression levels of miR-451 in normal controls, NACT-sensitive group, NACT-resistant group, MCF-7 cells, MCF-7/DOC cells and MCF-7/EPI cells were measured by qRT-PCR method.

RESULTS
The proliferation rates of both the MCF-7/DOC and MCF-7/EPI cells were significantly restrained at the drug concentration of 10 ng/ml, 50 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml and 200 ng/ml. However, the proliferation rates of MCF-7/DOC and MCF-7/EPI cells both increased significantly at the drug concentration of 500ng/ml. Furthermore, the IC50 of MCF-7/DOC cells was 23.603 ng/ml and the IC50 of MCF-7/EPI cells was 3.209 ng/ml. The relative expression of miR-451 was significantly lower in both the NACT-resistant group and the NACT-sensitive group than the normal control group. We also found that the relative expression level of miR-451 was significantly lower in the NACT-resistant group than that in the NACT-sensitive group. The expression of miR-451 in the MCF-7/EPI and the MCF-7/DOC cell lines was significantly lower than that in the MCF-7 cell lines.

CONCLUSION
We supported the view that the relative expression level of miR-451 was lower in the NACT-resistant BC patients, suggesting the circulating miR-451 may have a functional significance in predicting the resistance to NACT in BC patients. We laid a foundation for further research on the resistance to NACT in BC treatment.


In today's digitalized and fast-evolving world, critical thinking skills have become necessary requirements for academic and professional success and sustainable development. For this reason, universities should educate and prepare highly employed graduates since the most valuable and most complicated skills to find generally not related to technical skills but relatively soft ones to thrive in this evolving world. New competencies must be added to one's curricula. This study, therefore, investigated university teachers' perception of the importance of teaching critical thinking skills and the most effective practices adopted to enhance its development in university. The study employed a qualitative approach to investigation. 17 Moroccan university instructors answered an open-ended questionnaire. The findings showed that critical thinking continues to gain momentum. Almost all respondents believe that critical thinking skills are a prerequisite for their learners. The results also revealed that oral and written reflection and argumentation, collaborative and cooperative learning, connection with the real world, problem and project-based learning are considered the most effective practices to enhance critical thinking skills development. Getting to know University professors' perception of the importance of critical thinking skills and the sound strategies to teach them is fundamental to set up meaningful curriculum design and to prepare graduates to become more employable.


High-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying is extensively used in a range of industries. This is because it can reduce component wear, erosion, and corrosion. If mechanical qualities and fatigue behaviour are considered, the impact of the HVOF thermal sprayingcoating on the components can be contested. The major goals of this work are to investigate the fatigue properties of carbon steel coated with tungsten carbide-nickel and to use finite element analysis to investigate the fracture process of carbon steel coated with tungsten carbide-nickel. The fatigue test for these studies was conducted in ANSYS Workbench software, where the mean theory is set as Goodman theory. Specimens are modelled in SolidWorks software in a dog-bone shape. The fatigue test simulations are run with the 9 kN, 10.5 kN, 12 kN and 13.5 kN forces applied to one of the specimens' ends and fixed support applied to the other. Based on the result, the coated specimens can sustain longer compared to uncoated specimens, and the higher forces willreduce the lifespan of the specimen. The results also show that uncoated specimens receive more damage at maximum compared to coated specimens, and the higher forces will make the damage received by the specimen higher. For fatigue strength, the uncoated specimens have higher stress compared to coated specimens, and the higher forces will make the fatigue strength of the specimen higher. The result for the fracture shows that uncoated steel has the largest smooth region compared to coated steel.


Part-time teachers represent a growing challenge to universities' quality assurance and developmental processes. This paper describes an attempt to meet this challenge through the adoption of 'teaching circles' (TCs) in four contrasting case-study schools. Analysis of outcomes enables identification of the variables affecting the apparent success of TCs as a strategy, some of which are associated with the particularities of context. Underlying these particularities, however, the general question of how participants come to feel 'ownership' of change initiatives emerges as a central issue. Three inter-related processes are shown to be involved: leadership, attribution of causation and social integration. The paper concludes that this analysis has implications beyond the TC project and provides both key practical pointers and, potentially, a useful analytical tool for researchers studying programmes of organizational change.


The ZstatFlu test(ZymeTx, USA) is a rapid detection kit for influenza types A and B virus. This test is based upon the reaction between viral neuraminidase from influenza viruses and chromogenic substrate. The positive specimen of influenza type A or B virus cleave the substrate and produce a blue colored product. The ZstatFlu was evaluated by a prototype viruses, isolated viruses and clinical specimens. At result, this kit was reactive for all human influenza type A and B virus. No cross reactivity was detected with other respiratory viruses, including parainfluenza type 1, 2, 3 and mumps viruses with neuraminidase activity. Throat swabs were used for the test. By comparison with cell culture and RT-PCR. The sensitivity and the specificity was 77.0% and 90.2% respectively. The ZstatFlu should be useful for the rapid diagnosis of influenza virus infection.


Properties of beam splitters for a far ir Michelson interferometer have been calculated for four plastic materials: Surlyn, Aclar, Mylar, and Kapton. Although the materials are birefringent, the averaged optical constants are used; and it is shown that this procedure yields valid beam splitter characteristics.


An enrichment of Anthropology of processes of diffusion that affect experience would allow it to extend the methodology and theory of ambiances. Events that follow acts of great violence leave lasting traces on the sites they touch. In the state of tabula rasa they provoke, all forms of expression of what they themselves have caused are diminished and undermined. And yet the resultant destruction of the spatial identities only lasts a certain time. New expressive forms born within these deathly spaces come to the foreground, inducing a subtle play of esthetic, ideological and political contrasts. The description of such ongoing configurations presents a challenge for the ethnography of the senses.


As the total world trade of oil by tankers grow, the potential risk to the marine environment increases. When oil tankers are involved in accidents (e.g., collision or grounding), a consequence of the resulting damage could be the release of crude oil or petroleum products into the sea. The aim of the present study is to investigate the environmental consequences of the involnement of oil tankers in collision. Using probabilistic approaches, credible scenarios of ship–ship collision are selected to create a representative sample of the most possible ones. The LS-DYNA non-linear finite element method is used to predict the resulting damage or opening associated with the individual scenarios. The environmental consequences are then estimated by calculation of the amount of oil spilled in each scenario. In addition, the potential damage to the environment is presented in terms of monetary units that can be understandable to all stakeholders.


An electron beam ion source (EBIS), capable of producing high charge states and high beam currents of any heavy ion species in short pulses, is ideally suited for injection into a synchrotron. An EBIS-based, high current, heavy ion preinjector is now being built at Brookhaven to provide increased capabilities for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). Benefits of the new preinjector include the ability to produce ions of any species, fast switching between species to serve the simultaneous needs of multiple programs, and lower operating and maintenance costs. A state-of-the-art EBIS, operating with an electron beam current of up to 10 A, and producing multi-milliamperes of high charge state heavy ions, has been developed at Brookhaven, and has been operating very successfully on a test bench for several years. The present performance of this high- current EBIS is presented, along with details of the design of the scaled-up EBIS for RHIC, and the status of its construction. Other aspects of the project, including design and construction of the heavy ion RFQ, Linac, and matching beamlines, are also mentioned.


The occurrence of fungi and bacteria in Afon, Tanke, Badi, Bolorunduro and Ilemona soils of the University of Ilorin Teaching and Research Farm and the impact of some physicochemical properties of the soils on distribution of microorganisms were studied. The soil dilution technique was used to isolate bacteria and fungi on Nutrient Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar Plates respectively. Cultural and microscopic characteristics were employed in the identification of isolates. The population density of fungi in the soils was in the order Afon > Ilemona > Tanke > Bolorunduro > Badi series while that of bacteria was in the order of Afon > Tanke > Bolorunduro > Badi > Ilemona series. The high microbial load of Afon series was attributed to a combination of factors such as its relatively high organic matter content (0.20%) and Effective Cation Exchange Capacity (9.93), the sandy loam texture and the pH (5.7). A variety of fungal and bacterial species associated with nitrogen fixation and organic matter decomposition were isolated from all the soils. The mycoflora of Ilemona soil was dominated by saprophytic Aspergillus spp while plant pathogenic moulds such as Colletotrichum and Fusarium species occurred frequently in the other soils. The frequency of occurrence of Colletotrichum sp in Afon was 52%, while Fusarium spp was 87% in Badi, 36% in Tanke and 5% in Bolorunduro. The occurrence of enteric bacteria in high numbers in Bolorunduro and Ilemona soils was attributed to the presence of grazing cattle in the farmlands. It was concluded that for optimum crop yield, Afon, Badi, Tanke and Bolorunduro soils need to be treated with appropriate fungicides before the cultivation of crops. JARD Vol. 4 (2) 2005: pp. 218-227


We describe the perturbations introduced by two counter-rotating vortices - in a two-dimensional configuration - or by a vortex ring - in an axisymmetric configuration - to the mixing layer between two counterflowing gaseous fuel and air streams of the same density. The analysis is confined to the near stagnation point region, where the strain rate of the unperturbed velocity field, A0, is uniform. We restrict our attention to cases where the typical distance 2r0 between the vortices - or the characteristic vortex ring radius r0 - is large compared to both the thickness, δv, of the vorticity core and the thickness, δm∼(ν/A0)1/2, of the mixing layer. In addition, we consider that the ratio, Γ/ν, of the vortex circulation, Γ, to the kinematic viscosity, ν, is large compared to unity. Then, during the interaction time, A0,-1, the viscous and diffusion effects are confined to the thin vorticity core and the thin mixing layer, which, when seen with the scale r0, appears as a passive interface between the two counterflowing streams when they have the same density. In this case, the analysis provides a simple procedure to describe the displacement and distortion of the interface, as well as the time evolution of the strain rate imposed on the mixing layer, which are needed to calculate the inner structure of the reacting mixing layer as well as the conditions for diffusion flame extinction and edge-flame propagation along the mixing layer. Although in the reacting case variable density effects due to heat release play an important role inside the mixing layer, in this paper the analysis of the inner structure is carried out using the constant density model, which provides good qualitative understanding of the mixing layer response.


OBJECTIVE
To detect the effects of leflunomide to phenotype and function of dendritic cells (DCs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, reveal the effective mechanism inducing remission of SLE and lay a research foundation for using 'inhibit' DCs to treat SLE in future.

METHODS
The monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood of SLE patients and cultivated into DCs with cytokines such as GM-CSF and IL-4. A771726 (active metabolite) was added in with cytokines in leflunomide group, but not in control. DCs were harvested after 9 days culture. CD(80), CD(83), CD(86) and HLA-DR surface markers on DCs were detected by flow cytometry (FACS). The ability of DCs stimulating lymphocytes proliferation was detected by MTT assay. IL-10 and IFNgamma level in the supernatant of MLR were detected by ELISA and T cell subtype after MLR was detected by FACS.

RESULTS
The DCs treated with A771726 showed a lower percentage expression of CD(83), CD(86) and HLA-DR phenotype (CD(83): 72.70 +/- 1.77 vs. 79.36 +/- 4.80, CD(86): 63.50 +/- 14.06 vs. 83.91 +/- 9.81, HLA-DR: 80.44 +/- 12.56 vs. 90.51 +/- 8.63, all P < 0.01), a weaker ability to stimulating T lymphocytes proliferation (at DC:TC = 1:10, 0.285 +/- 0.079 vs. 0.458 +/- 0.100; at DC:TC = 1:50, 0.194 +/- 0.054 vs. 0.382 +/- 0.023, all P < 0.01) and a lower secretive level of IL-10 in the MLR supernatant [(195.0 +/- 36.9) microg/L vs. (423.6 +/- 93.2) microg/L, P < 0.01], exclude those it could still increase amount of a new T cell subtype--CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+)CTLA(4)(+) T cell (12.00% & 6.23%).

CONCLUSIONS
A771726 can inhibit DCs maturation, the immature DCs can inhibit T cells proliferation and refrain T cells from dividing into Th(2) subtype, and also the immature DCs can induce a sort of regulate T cell (CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+)CTLA(4)(+) T cell) production. Through that LEF may correct part over humor immune dysfunction and get a new immune balance in SLE.


This investigation is concerned with the use of pulsed planar surface discharges for the pumping of organic dye doped modified PMMA slabs. A 0.5 /spl Omega/, lumped element pulse forming network was used to drive a surface discharge across a 4 mm thick, pyrromethene 597-doped modified PMMA slab in the presence of a 0.5 bar xenon cover gas. A laser energy of 69 mJ was recorded when 100 J of capacitively stored energy was discharged across the polymer slab. To the authors' knowledge this is the first time laser action has been reported from a surface discharge pumped solid state dye laser.


Purpose: To evaluate the receptor-mediated neuroprotective effect of insulin-like growth factor-II (IGFII) on 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP) induced oxidative damage in adult cortical neuronal cultures. Methods: Adult rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. Cortical neurons were prepared from rats. The cells were exposed to 10 μM of MPP (group 1, G1); MPP + 100 ng/mL of IGF-II (group 2, G2); MPP + IGF in the presence of 20 ng/μL IGF-I analogue (group 3; G3); 5 ng/μL anti-IGF-IIR (group 4; G4); or MPP + IGF II + IGF inhibitor (group 5; G5). The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), levels of oxidative stress markers, antioxidant enzymes, mitochondrial functional markers were analyzed in the MPP-treated neuronal cells (with or without treatment with IGF-II). Results: The results demonstrate that IGF-II treatment protects MPP-induced toxicity by decreasing ROS production (58.33 %; p ˂ 0.001), AChE levels (50 %), and maintaining the innate antioxidants to near normal levels. The study on oxidative functional markers showed that IGF-II significantly decreased the MPP-induced elevated levels and mitochondrial markers (TBARS, 40 %, LOOH-39.28 %) to near normal levels. Further analysis using inhibitors of IGF-IR (IGF-I analogue) and IGF-IIR (anti- IGF-IIR) showed that involvement of IGF-IIR might have greatly contributed to the neuroprotective effect of IGF-II. Conclusion: IGF-II receptors play a significant role in the neuroprotective mechanism of IGF-II by acting as an antioxidant, thereby reducing the neuro-degeneration induced by oxidative insults. This indicates that IGF-II receptors are a potential target for the treatment of diseases related to imbalance in redox homeostasis. Keywords: Insulin-like Growth Factor-II, Neuronal Cells, 1-Methyl-4-phenyl Pyridinium, Mitochondrial Markers, Oxidative Stress, Neuroprotection, Antioxidant


The article analyzes the quality and determines the technical level of the drill bits produced by OJSC Terekalmaz and gives recommendations for their improvement.


This study aimed to investigate the effects of geniposide(GP) on the expression of prokineticin(PK2) and prokineticin receptor 1(PKR1) in db/db mice with diabetic nephropathy(DN), so as to explore how the PK2 signaling pathway participated in the pathological changes of DN and whether GP exerted the therapeutic effect through this signaling pathway. Male mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely db/m, db/db, db/db+GP, and db/m+GP groups, with five in each group. The mice in the db/db+GP and db/m+GP groups were gavaged with 150 mg·kg~(-1) GP for eight successive weeks. Afterwards, all the mice were sacrificed and the renal tissues were embedded. The morphological changes in glomerulus and renal tubules were observed by Masson and PAS staining. The expression levels of PK2, PKR1, and Wilm's Tumor Protein 1(WT_1) in podocytes were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the protein expression levels of PK2 and PKR1 in mouse kidney by Western blot. The morphological results showed serious glomerular and tubular fibrosis(Masson), high glomerular and tubular injury score(PAS), increased glomerular mesangial matrix, thickened basement membrane, exfoliated brush border of renal tubules, decreased WT_1 in glomerular podocytes, and massive loss of podocytes in the db/db group. After administration with GP, the glomerular and tubular fibrosis was alleviated, accompanied by improved glomerular basement membrane and renal tubule brush edge, and up-regulated WT_1. As revealed by further protein detection, in the db/db group, the expression levels of PK2 and PKR1 and p-Akt/Akt ratio declined, whereas the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 rose. Ho-wever, PKR2 and p-ERK/ERK ratio did not change significantly. After administration with GP, the PK2 and PKR1 expression was elevated, and p-Akt/Akt ratio was increased. There was no obvious change in PKR2, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, or p-ERK/ERK ratio. All these have demonstrated that GP improves the renal damage in DN mice, and PK2/PKR1 signaling pathway may be involved in such protection, which has provided reference for clinical treatment of DN with GP.


Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based multilayer dielectrics containing alternating layers of carbon black (CB) were fabricated through layer-multiplying extrusion. Benefits from the presence of PVDF between CB-containing layers, the breakdown strength and hysteresis behaviors of the multilayer specimens were investigated. The multilayered distribution of conductive particles was considered to be preferred for controlling the energy conversion and storage of dielectric materials.


Green is a timely and crucial concept in sustainability; therefore, encouraging both public and private businesses in Malaysia to persistently promote and make attempts to put green practices into effect is similarly crucial. The green industry and its environment are under pressure as a result of its acquisition, which is still occurring at an alarming rate. Using the theory of consumption values (TCV) as the underlying theory, this study explores the potential drivers of green purchases while also analyzing the mediation effect of positive word-of-mouth. Purposive sampling was employed in this study and data analysis was conducted using covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM-AMOS). Findings from 336 respondents highlight the significance of positive word-of-mouth, emotional value, and epistemic value, as major determinants of green purchase intention. This study offers crucial information that will aid suppliers of green goods in motivating customers to make green purchases by emphasizing high-impact product values. Additionally, the study advocates the promotion of sustainable practices by emphasizing positive word-of-mouth in sparking public interest to make green purchases.