Recent experiments with high-energy protons above 100 MeV are reviewed. Considerable data have been obtained from the study of proton-proton scattering below 400 MeV, especially where polarized beams have been used. It is now possible to extract the available information from such experiments by making phase shift analyses. The neutron-proton scattering experiments, although not so numerous, are reviewed where they are relevant to these analyses. The phase shifts have not yet been determined unambiguously but the analyses have indicated the general trend and make it possible to test various models of the nucleon-nucleon interaction. At energies above 400 MeV the character of the scattering changes and the production of mesons becomes noticeable. At the highest energies now available from the Bevatron at Berkeley antiprotons are produced. Many of the experimental results in proton-nuclear scattering have been explained in terms of nuclear transparency, optical and statistical models, but careful measurements of inelastic scattering have suggested that more detailed models are required. The polarization in elastic scattering can be explained by an optical model with the addition of a spin-orbit coupling similar to that used in the shell model. The theoretical variation of the polarization with scattering angle displays sharp features near the diffraction minima but the observation of these tends to be obliterated by finite experimental angular resolution and detection of inelastically scattered particles.


What does it mean to find one's place in a book ? Some authors assert that the web actualises the dream of Emmanuel Kant that reason is an independent entity , where each one of us plays a part in its construction. Is this the core of the enlightment ? In his minor works and his correspondence Kant wrote about the book and about reading. We should distinguish between Kant's own concept and the uses to which it is put today. In his work he speaks of the courage necessary to think, of the publisher's responsibility, of the theoretical and practical components of thought. From the perspective of Kant's writings, we can see that our view of hypertext is too preoccupied with the instrument of communication itself to the detriment of understanding what might be communicated.


BACKGROUND HLA-DQ donor-specific antibodies (DSA) are implicated in allograft dysfunction after renal and lung transplantation. Limited data exists on the impact of HLA-DQ antibodies on heart transplant patients. OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of DSA formation on allograft function and outcomes in heart transplant patients. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Collating post-transplantation patient data from computerized database in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to October 2014. PATIENTS AND METHODS We excluded recipients with positive preoperative complement-dependent-cytotoxicity crossmatch grafts and those with preformed DSA. Anti-HLA antibodies were identified using Luminex-based assay in sera collected before transplantation with a routine endomyocardial biopsy the first year and then annually. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome measures were all-cause mortality, development of antibody mediated rejection, treated acute cellular rejection (ACR) and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). SAMPLE SIZE 127 patients. RESULTS DSA formation occurred in 43/127 (34%), with 33/43 (77%) targeting HLA-DQ antigens alone (n=7) or in combination with -DR, -A or B antibodies (n=26). Most (76%) were male and the mean (SD) age was 36 (14) years. Ten patients developed -A, -B or -DR antibodies without -DQ antibodies also present. Treated ACR (P=.011), reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (P<.001), CAV development (P=.003), and all-cause mortality (P=.01) were all significantly more prevalent in the DSA-positive cohort. CONCLUSION HLA-DQ donor-specific antibodies were the most common type detected and may play a significant role in poor outcomes post-cardiac transplantation. This emphasizes the importance of HLA-DQ matching and monitoring for DSA formation in order to minimize post-transplantation immunological risk. LIMITATIONS Retrospective design comes with inherent biases, results from single institute, with a particularly young cohort.


The results of dig limit delineation in open pit mining are never truly optimized due to gaps in the underlying data, such as insufficient sampling. Aside from the data uncertainty, there is also an influence on the final dig limit by either humans or by the heuristic character of an optimization method like simulated annealing. Several dig limit optimizers have been published, which can replace the manual dig-limits designing process. However, these dig limit designs are generally not adapted to account for this heuristic character. In this paper we present a stochastic analysis tool that can be used with the results of heuristic dig-limit optimization to increase confidence in the obtained results. First, an enhanced simulated annealing algorithm for dig limit optimization is presented. Then, this algorithm is tested on ten different blasts at the Marigold mine, Nevada, USA, as a case study. Finally, the results are analysed with a destination-based ensemble probability map and an analysis conducted of the final solution data distribution. The generated dig-limit designs of the algorithm include high revenue areas that are excluded in comparable manual designs and show improved objective and revenue values. The analysis tool provides block destination probabilities and box plots with the distribution of opportunity value for the dig limit. Furthermore, with the analysis tool, it is possible to make well-informed design decisions in areas of uncertainty.


Over the past four decades, treatment of acute leukemia in children has made remarkable progress, from this disease being lethal to now achieving cure rates of 80% for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 45% for acute myeloid leukemia. This progress is largely owed to the optimization of existing treatment modalities rather than the discovery of new agents. However, the annual number of patients with leukemia who experience relapse after initial therapy remains greater than that of new cases of most childhood cancers. The aim of pharmacogenetics is to develop strategies to personalize medications and tailor treatment regimens to individual patients, with the goal of enhancing efficacy and safety through better understanding of the person's genetic makeup. In this review, we summarize recent pharmacogenomic studies related to the treatment of pediatric acute leukemia. These include work using candidate-gene approaches, as well as genome-wide studies using haplotype mapping and gene expression profiling. These strategies illustrate the promise of pharmacogenomics to further advance the treatment of human cancers, with childhood leukemia serving as a paradigm.


Recently, the concern over ISA has been growing in European countries. Introducing ISA into residential roads in Japan may significantly improve the traffic safety of bicycles and pedestrians. However, ISA also represses the convenience of drivers. The aim of this study is to develop a method for evaluating the burdens of drivers due to Mandatory ISA. Firstly, the factors affecting the speed selection of drivers on residential roads is analyzed based on a driving experiment. Secondly, based on the total cost minimization concept, a speed selection model which considers the trade-off between perceived accident cost and delay cost is developed. Then, the total cost which drivers perceive when driving at a certain speed under a certain road environment condition is estimated. The result shows that the perceived total cost will increase by 0.5% ∼ 6.5% and 19% ∼ 39% with the ISA limiting to 30 km/h and 20 km/h, respectively.


: We provide substantial evidence on how short-term changes in environmental conditions activate and deactivate spawning activities in small pelagic fishes. An ichthyoplankton survey was conducted along the southernmost part of the Canary Current upwelling ecosystem in May 2013, covering the area twice within 20 d. This period coincided with a strong environmental change from a cold productive upwelling regime to a warmer and less productive upwelling relaxation event. This change triggered a shift in spawning activity from European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus to round/flat sardinella Sardinella spp. We used zero-altered negative bi - nomial regression models with a generalized additive structure based on integrated nested Laplace approximations to link early larval distribution patterns to the 2 different regimes. The models confirmed 2 species-specific temperature spawning windows, suggesting a spawning pause of anchovy during upwelling relaxation while simultaneously activating spawning in sardinella. Observing immediate spawning responses to the 2 environmental regimes underlines the as - sumption that windows of spawning opportunity are the main drivers of small pelagic fish fluctuations in upwelling regions. The duration of a specific environmental condition can, therefore, increase or decrease the chances for reproductive success. The observations of this study may explain why certain small pelagic fish species can dominate over others during a particular period and might also apply to other upwelling regions of the world oceans where upwelling and relaxation events alternate.


This is a general review of the types of steroid contraceptives their mode of action and efficacy and major complications including thromboembolism cancer jaundice diabetes and hypertension. Tables show combined and sequential pills available in Belgium by brand name manufacturer and composition. About 300000 Belgian women use the pill. Since endometrial cancer is probably and cervical cancer certainly not enhanced by the pill the maternal death rate among pill users is about 5% of the rate among unprotected sexually active women.


For the reaction of O((3)P) with propyne, the product channels and mechanisms are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Theoretically, the CCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of calculations are performed for both the triplet and singlet potential energy surfaces and the minimum energy crossing point between the two surfaces are located with the Newton-Lagrange method. The theoretical calculations show that the reaction occurs dominantly via the O-addition rather than the H-abstraction mechanism. The reaction starts with the O-addition to either of the triple bond carbon atoms forming triplet ketocarbene (3)CH(3)CCHO or (3)CH(3)COCH which can undergo decomposition, H-atom migration or intersystem crossing from which a variety of channels are open, including the adiabatic channels of CH(3)CCO + H (CH(2)CCHO + H), CH(3) + HCCO, CH(2)CH + HCO, CH(2)CO + CH(2), CH(3)CH + CO, and the nonadiabatic channels of C(2)H(4) + CO, C(2)H(2) + H(2) + CO, H(2) + H(2)CCCO. Experimentally, the CO channel is investigated with TR-FTIR emission spectroscopy. A complete detection of the CO product at each vibrationally excited level up to v = 5 is fulfilled, from which the vibrational energy disposal of CO is determined and found to consist with the statistical partition of the singlet C(2)H(4) + CO channel, but not with the triplet CH(3)CH + CO channel. In combination with the present calculation results, it is concluded that CO arises mainly from the singlet methylketene ((1)CH(3)CHCO) dissociation following the intersystem crossing of the triplet ketocarbene adduct ((3)CH(3)CCHO). Fast intersystem crossing via the minimum energy crossing point of the triplet and singlet surfaces is shown to play significant roles resulting into nonadiabatic pathways for this reaction. Moreover, other interesting questions are explored as to the site selectivity of O((3)P) atom being added to which carbon atom of the triple bond and different types of internal H-atom migrations including 1,2-H shift, 3,2-H shift, and 3,1-H shift involved in the reaction.


This paper presents a device that integrates a micromachined flow cytometer with two embedded etched optic fibers in order to carry out on-line detection of particles and cells. A simple and reliable fabrication process is used to fabricate the cytometer on soda-lime glass substrates. It is shown experimentally that particles/cells can be squeezed hydrodynamically into a narrow stream by two neighboring sheath flows such that they flow individually through a detection region. The resulting scattered light is then detected by etched optic fibers downstream. The proposed approach has the advantage that particles/cells can be counted without the need for fluorescent labeling or delicate optical alignment procedures. The current study confirms the success of the proposed microchip in the counting of polystyrene beads and human blood cells. The results also indicate that the intensity of the scattered light is proportional to the size of the particles/cells, which suggests that the proposed device may offer the potential to distinguish between particles/cells of different sizes.


Algorithmic trading has become a part of the mainstream in response to buy-side traders9 need to move large blocks of shares with minimum market impact in today9s complex institutional trading environment. With myriad service providers in the marketplace, the decision about which algorithmic trading service provider to select can be challenging for many buy-side firms and is dependent upon several key factors. The authors present an overview of the key providers in the marketplace and the variables that affect the decision to buy or build. While algorithmic trading relies on technology, in the end, working with a committed and experienced team, coupled with a "white glove" service, appears to be the right combination for those firms trying to avoid being left behind.


High-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the study of organic and inorganic materials because it can directly probe the symmetry and structure at nuclear sites, the connectivity/bonding of atoms and precisely measure interatomic distances. However, NMR spectroscopy is hampered by intrinsically poor sensitivity; consequently, the application of NMR spectroscopy to many solid materials is often infeasible. High-field dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has emerged as a technique to routinely enhance the sensitivity of solid-state NMR experiments by 1-3 orders of magnitude. This Perspective gives a general overview of how DNP-enhanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy can be applied to a variety of inorganic and organic materials. DNP-enhanced solid-state NMR experiments provide unique insights into the molecular structure, which makes it possible to form structure-activity relationships that ultimately assist in the rational design and improvement of materials.


Polylactide (DL)/polyethylene glycol/silicate nanocomposite blended biodegradable films have been prepared by solvent casting method. Rheological and thermal properties were investigated for both neat amorphous polylactide (PLA-DL form) and blend of montmorillonite (clay) and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG). Melt rheology of the PLA individually and blends (PLA/clay; PLA/PEG; PLA/PEG/clay) were performed by small amplitude oscillation shear (SAOS) measurement. Individually, PLA showed an improvement in the viscoelastic properties in the temperature range from 180 to 190 degrees C. Incorporation of nanoclay (3% to 9% wt) was attributed by significant improvements in the elastic modulus (G') of PLA/clay blend due to intercalation at higher temperature. Both dynamic modulii of PLA/PEG blend were significantly reduced with addition of 10% PEG. Rheometric measurement could not be conducted while PLA/PEG blends containing 25% PEG. A blend of PLA/PEG/clay (68/23/9) showed liquid-like properties with excellent flexibility. Thermal analysis of different clay loading films indicated that the glass transition temperatures (T(g)) remained unaffected irrespective of clay concentration due to immobilization of polymer chain in the clay nanocomposite. PEG incorporation reduced the T(g) of the blend (PLA/PEG and PLA/PEG/clay) significantly. Both rheological and thermal analysis data supported plasticization and flexibility of the blended films. It is also interesting to study competition between PLA and PEG for the intercalation into the interlayer spacing of the clay. This study indicates that PLA/montmorillonite blend could serve as effective nano-composite for packaging and other applications.


Pharmacists are only knowledgeable and skilled healthcare professionals dedicated to compounding and preparing medications to meet the unique needs of patients. The safe and successful extemporaneous compounding of prescription products for patients' requirement in special consideration is vital to the drug store profession. In any case, there are a lot to improvement in the situation secundum artem. It is not in the least conservative for a pharmaceutical organization to marketize an item in 10 distinctive likely doses or in five diverse dosage forms to address the issues of the whole scope of individuals accepting treatment. Despite the fact that advancement is a continuous process, companies are customizing features to meet most of patient needs, yet the very idea of the process can't meet every patient need. The risk-benefit proportion of using customarily compounded drugs is ideal for patients who require specialized drugs that are not industrially accessible, as they would otherwise not approach suitable treatment. Be that as it may, if a US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-endorsed medication is industrially accessible, the use of an unapproved compounded medication confers included risk with no commensurate benefit. Published reports of autonomous testing by the FDA, state agencies, and others consistently show that compounded drugs neglect to meet specifications at a considerably higher rate than FDA-endorsed drugs. Compounded sterile preparations pose the additional risk of microbial contamination to patients. In the last 11 years, three distinct meningitis outbreaks have been followed to purportedly 'sterile' steroid injections tainted with fungus or microscopic organisms, which were made by compounding pharmacies. The 2012 epidemic has resulted in intense scrutiny of drug store compounding practices and increased acknowledgment of the need to ensure that compounding is constrained to fitting circumstances. Keywords : pharmacy practice, drugs, dosage forms, compounding, equipment Cite this Article Mohiuddin AK. Extemporaneous Compounding: Cautions versus Convenience. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology . 2019; 9(1): 26–43p.


BACKGROUND
In order to evaluate changes related to the effect of new anti-retroviral agents and preventive programs, cohort studies of patients with HIV in our environment are needed.

METHODS
Cohort study of patients diagnosed of HIV infection in the five hospitals included in the Madrid metropolitan south-eastern crown (COMESEM), which attend a population of 1,300,000 inhabitants.

RESULTS
A total of 5,532 patients had been recruited until August 2001 (with a follow-up of 34,227 patients-year). The male/female ratio was 3/1. As for the transmission mechanism, 72.9% were parenteral drug users (PDU), 13.7% heterosexuals (HTX) and 8% of males having sex with males (MSM). The maximal figure of diagnosis per year corresponded to 1991 for PDU, 1993 for MSM and 1995 for heterosexuals. A decline in the number of diagnosed patients was observed for all groups, but MSM showed an increase in the year 2001 for the first time. Notably, among HTX, a growing and sustained trend was observed of patients not born in Spain (0% in 1993 and 50% in 2001; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Establishing a large cohort of HIV infected patients based upon medium-sized hospitals is possible. The analysis of data derived from this cohort allows the early detection of changes in the clinical and epidemiological profile of HIV infection.


The Performance appraisal is one of the most important human resource management practices as it yields critical decisions integral to various human resource actions and outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between perceptions of performance appraisal fairness and employee engagement in the business organization context. In this rapid-cycle economy, business leaders know that having a high-performing workforce is essential for growth and survival. They recognize that a highly engaged workforce can increase inno¬vation, productivity, and bottom-line performance, while reducing costs related to hiring and retention in highly competitive talent markets. The work climate and job characteristics have a differential effect on employee engagement. Both job and organization resources (performance feedback, autonomy, development opportunities, task variety, welfare, and support from line manager, colleagues and senior management) are linked to positive employee engagement of all types, and might therefore be useful tools for enhancing engagement. Equally, a relatively high level of pressure to produce has a positive effect on employee behaviors. But while most executives see a clear need to improve employee engagement, many have yet to develop tangible ways to measure and tackle this goal. However, a growing group of best-in-class companies say they are gaining for its competitive advantage through establishing metrics and practices to effectively quantify and improve the impact of their engagement initiatives on overall business performance. The survey found that many companies find it challenging to measure engagement and tie its impact to financial results: fewer than 50 percent of companies said that they are effec¬tively measuring employee engagement against business performance metrics like cus¬tomer satisfaction or increased market share. A significant gap appeared between the views of executive managers and middle managers in this area. Top executives seemed much more optimistic about the levels of employee engagement in their companies, making them seem out of touch with middle management's sense of their front line workers' engagement. The Research is to getting Connection towards engagement to the business performance requires considerable effort and top management focus to a large degree, with enormous opportunity available to utilze for better function of companies.


The post-tetanic decay in miniature excitatory junction potential (MEJP) frequency and in facilitation of excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) was measured at crayfish neuromuscular junctions. A 2-s tetanus at 20 Hz caused the MEJP frequency to increase an average of 40 times and the EJP amplitude to increase an average of 13 times. Both MEJP frequency and EJP facilitation decayed with two time constants. The fast component of MEJP frequency decay was 47 ms, and that of EJP facilitation was 130 ms. The slow component of MEJP frequency decay was 0.57 s, and that of EJP facilitation was approximately 1 s. These results were consistent with the predictions of a residual calcium model, with a nonlinear relationship between presynaptic calcium concentration and transmitter release.


The design procedure for the queuing network of a multiplexed communication link has been found based on priority requirement and the statistical nature and properties of messages transmitted through the information channels. The channel capacity of each channel sharing the link has also been found.


As the use of aerial tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for mangrove monitoring gains in popularity, understanding who leads this research and where is critical for expanding efficient monitoring methods and achieving international commitments to sustainable development, technology transfer and reduced inequality. Between 2000 and 2019, mangrove research using aerial tools was largely conducted in and led by institutions in higher income countries, despite High-income countries accounting for only 9% of global mangrove coverage. Of studies where the country of the lead institution differed from that of the study site, only 38% of the studies included local co-authors. These results echo historical patterns of research conducted by researchers from higher income countries on biodiversity concentrated in lower income countries, frequently with limited involvement of local scientists—known as "helicopter research." The disconnect between where mangroves are located and where aerial research is conducted may result from barriers such as government restrictions, limited financial and technical resources, language barriers hindering UAV deployment, or hampered findability of local research. Our findings suggest that expertise for aerial surveys currently lies in "High-income, Annex II" and "Upper-middle-income, Non-Annex" countries, and both groups could invest time and resources in building local, long-term technological capacity in Upper-middle, Lower-middle and Low-income countries. We identify strategic partnerships to expand aerial tools for mangrove research that also address commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and potential international collaborations under the framework proposed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.


Strategies for visualizing stress within polymeric materials are of growing interest during the past decade. In this paper, stress-sensing materials, triggered by a mechanoresponsive catalytic system based on latent copper(I)bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) mechanophores, are reported, which can be activated by compression force to trigger a fluorogenic copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne/azide "click" cycloaddition reaction, activating a fluorescent dye useful for stress-sensing applications in bulk polymeric materials. The focus is placed on the polymeric architecture, which is responsible for an efficient stress transmission, revealing the greatest activation for network-based mechanocatalysts, observing "click" conversions up to 44%, while chain-extended and linear mechanocatalysts activate either in a less efficient manner or are not completely latent in the initial state. The developed catalysts enable "irreversible" mechanochromic systems for stress-sensing devices.


Background: Phyllanthus niruri, Thymus vulgaris, Centella asiatica, and Apium graveolens L. have been frequently used as medical herbs for various diseases. However, the use of the herbs is not based on any evidence of their contents.

Aims and Objective: To examine their potential activity of becoming antioxidant, using in vitro and in vivo models and isolate active compound.

Materials and Methods: The antioxidant activity of the samples was assessed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as radical compounds. The decrease of DPPH radical was measured using spectrophotometer at 517 nm, after an incubation for 30 min. The highest antioxidant activity of the sample was then continued with in vivo model using Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Paracetamol was used as an inducer to increase the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in plasma, with doses of 2.5 g/kg BW. The rats were divided into four groups: negative control, dose of 50 mg/kg BW, dose of 100 mg/kg BW, and dose of 200 mg/kg BW. Isolation method was guided by antioxidant activity by using fractionation and column chromatography. The obtained compound was then characterized by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and compared with the earlier study.

Result: The IC50 value of these samples were 14.21 ± 0.73; 14.41 ± 1.13; 98.66 ± 9.59; and 237.33 ± 17.26 mg/mL, respectively, and the total phenolic contents were 81.59 ± 2.85; 154.09 ± 11.61; 6.36 ± 3.99; 2.03 ± 0.78 mg/g of sample extract, respectively. The in vivo study showed that P. niruri with dose of 100 mg/kg BW and 200 mg/kg BW were able to reduce MDA levels by 90.44% and 92.64%, respectively. Meanwhile, the proton and carbon NMR spectra showed that the isolate was quercetin. The IC50 value of the isolate, being 5.85 mg/mL, was lower than that of vitamin E, which was 6.85 mg/mL.

Conclusion: The extract shows a potential effect with antioxidant activity, both in in vitro and in vivo models. Quercetin is the active compound, the antioxidant activity of which is higher than that of vitamin E.


The efficacy of protein-based medicines is frequently compromised by rapid clearance from circulation. Achieving prolonged and optimal pharmacokinetics (PK) is necessary to avoid dose dumping while ensuring that a therapeutic concentration can be maintained between each time the the dose is administered. Optimised PK properties are important for therapeutic proteins, such as interferon alpha 2a (IFN) which is used to treat infections to ensure complete pathogen kill. The conjugation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to a protein, which is known as protein PEGylation, is a clinically proven strategy to increase the circulation half-life of proteins. However, most clinically used PEGylated proteins, including PEGylated IFN α-2, are heterogeneous mixtures comprised of positional conjugation isomers. There is a genuine need to develop efficient strategies for site-specific and site-selective PEGylation to obtain more homogeneous PEGylated products. The work described in this thesis examines the use of bis-alkylation PEGylation reagents (i) to site-specifically conjugate PEG to IFN consensus (IFN-con) at the two cysteine thiols in either of its two native disulfides and (ii) to site-selectively conjugate PEG at two histidines which have been added or substituted into the IFN structure. Initial work focused on PEGylation at the existing disulfides of IFN-con which is approved for the treatment of HCV patients who have failed first line treatment of PEG-IFN-α/ribovarin. IFN-con is more potent than IFN α-2 and PEGylated IFN-con is not clinically available. Disulfide PEGylation of IFN-con was then conducted using just 1 molar equivalent of the bis-alkylation PEG reagent (20 kDa PEG or 2×20 kDa PEG), which yielded 28–57% conversion to the mono-PEGylated products. Purified PEG-IFN-con displayed 3-fold higher activity than the clinically used PEG-IFN α-2a (Pegasys®). These results support continued investigation of disulfide PEGylated IFN-con as a potential long-acting treatment for HCV non-responders. While utilising the native disulfides for site specific conjugation is an improvement over the existing methods for PEGylating IFN, it was hypothesised that bis-alkylation PEGylation could be accomplished by conjugation to two histidines at a slightly acidic pH. This second strategy would therefore provide a means to engineer the site of conjugation within IFN (i.e. siteselective PEGylation). Bis-alkylation PEGylation was investigated with IFN alpha-2a that had been herein focused on confirmation by either trypsin or CNBr digestion that the site of PEGylation on IFN alpha-2a was achieved at the His8-tag.To achieve true site-selectivity it was hypothesised that two histidines as a conjugation site could be rationally added to a region of IFN alpha-2a distant from the receptor binding site. This method could potentially be applied to any protein and avoids challenges associated with engineering a free cysteine or incorporation of a non-native amino acid to achieve site-selectivePEG conjugation. Genes encoding for IFN alpha-2a analogs were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis and IFN alpha-2a variants were successfully expressed as soluble and active protein in identical yields as the production of native IFN alpha-2a. Site-selective PEGylation at the engineered histidines was as efficient as PEGylation at the N-terminal His8-tag. The use of the bis-alkylation PEG conjugation reagent proceeded with a similar efficiency that is generally observed for other amine conjugation methods. A good level of biological activity was retained for all conjugates produced (ranging from 10-75%). A IFN -2a variant that had been PEGylated at position 106 was produced in the highest yields (33%) and displayed the highest level of bioactivity (75%),which is greater than any reported PEGylated conjugate of IFN. In contrast, Pegasys® which is the most widely used PEG-IFN conjugate in the clinic has an activity of ~7%.


This paper presents in a complete and detailed manner the modeling of pH processes. The model is strictly based on the physical balance equations of mass and charge. The model exactly represents the balance equation, it is proven that polyprotic substances can be represented uniquely by a combination of monoprotic substances equivalent to the real acids, bases and salts that compose the solution. A general differential algebraic equation model is derived for the CSTR arrangement. Observability conditions for the solution inside the CSTR are derived using a reduced model and based on these observability conditions a minimal description for the chemical solution is derived. The balance equation is shown to be monotone, hence the solution of this equation is unique and well defined for each value of pH. This establishes the validity of nonlinear feedback linearization techniques which require the inverse of the static nonlinearity. Two identification methods are proposed: the nonnegative least squares algorithm to find the influent concentrations when the dissociation constants pK's are known or to find a set of fictitious concentrations that best represent an unknown model using a fixed and ample set of fictitious pK's. The nonlinear optimization algorithm operating in cascade with the nonnegative least squares algorithm determines the set of pK's and respective concentrations that best approximate the influent composition.


The traditional production concept for car engine sound has changed from finding a solution to unwanted noise, to designing a particular sound. Although many studies have investigated the development of comfortable car-engine sounds, the psychoacoustic effects of time-varying rate for accelerating engine sounds remain unclear. Thus, we investigated the effects of increasing the frequency of interior car noise on auditory impressions, using psychological and neurophysiological methods. We carried out two investigations. First, we examined the relationship between the impression of 'sportiness' from the dynamic characteristics of the engine sound and brain magnetic fields. Complex harmonic tones simulating acceleration noise were used as stimuli, and subjective evaluations were examined using the semantic differential method. Neuronal activity in the auditory cortex was measured using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Second, we examined the relationship between subjective preference and brain magnetic fields for the simulated interior noise of an accelerating car. Subjective evaluations were examined using a paired-comparison method. The MEG alpha-wave range (8-13 Hz) was measured and analyzed using the autocorrelation function. Neuronal activity was longer following stimulation by a preferred sound. Our results indicated that the particular characteristics of engine sounds have a significant effect on subjective impressions and neuronal activity in the auditory cortex.


The call for a more "managerial" approach in running museums and other cultural organisations is a common phenomenon in western societies, and Italy is not an exception to this rule. Within this context Pompeii is particularly a significant reality, more than a simple "example". On September 1997 a national law gave it a new "status": from the previous nature of a local branch of the Ministry of Arts (the Soprintendenza), it is now configured as an autonomous entity (Soprintendenza autonoma) on an experimental basis. The law indeed seems to largely refer to a more general movement towards the "managerialisation" of art organisations, as far as a new role is introduced close to the Superintendent: the "city manager", as normally referred to. Furthermore, this institutional innovation is taking place within a context of an explicit project to renew Pompeii, strongly supported by the Ministry, and which gained an increasing visibility in the last years. In a sense, such a situation represents an ideal "social laboratory" to test the impact of management culture and rhetoric in addressing attention and mobilising collective action. However, as a first advice from the strategic management literature, what is needed as a starting point (year 0) is to achieve a deep understanding of antecedents, the past and present functioning of this complex organisation, if the promises and expectations for change are to be driven towards some influence in the future developments of Pompeii. The risk is not to fully grasp the nature and magnitude of changes that are needed, and the conditions for change. The paper is focused on the reconstruction of the evolution of Pompeii (or better, the organisation of the archaeological site of Pompeii) from the establishment as a local branch of the Ministry on 1980 to the new status of autonomous entity on 1997. Four major variables are taken into account to describe the dynamic of this reality: the activities characterising such a unique archaeological site; the relations with visitors and other relevant segments of "audience"; human resources and organisational structures and procedures; financial resources and their representation. Finally, based on the contradictions empirically emerged from the reconstruction of the past evolution, some of the major questions and difficulties challenging the project of renewing Pompeii will tentatively pointed out. A particular attention will be posed to the potential tension (if not conflicts) arising from three different kinds of discourses: that of professionals, of politicians, of management and economic experts.


About 1.8 million square kilometers of Australia is, or was, covered by woodland vegetation communities, defined here as ecosystems, with widely spaced trees having an overstorey of vertically projected cover of photosynthetic foliage (FPC) of between 10% and 30%. The woodlands of Eastern Australia shown in Figure 9.1 are mostly located within the states of Queensland and New South Wales. This area includes tropical and subtropical Savannas in the north and temperate and Mediterranean woodlands in the southern areas. The woodlands are located between the higher rainfall coastal areas to the east and arid areas to the west. The vegetation types within these woodland areas are quite diverse due to many factors including climate, geology, soils, presence or absence of fire, and land management practices (Lindenmayer et al., 2005). The predominant land use of these woodland areas is grazing of cattle and sheep. In all areas of northern Queensland where precipitation exceeds potential evaporation, vegetation growth is water limited, and trees and grasses compete for rainfall. This has lead to widespread clearing of woody vegetation to increase pasture productivity, and significant areas of woodland have also been cleared for agriculture, particularly those on more fertile clay soils. Some ecosystems have been cleared to the extent that less than 10% of the pre-clearing area remains intact (Fensham et al., 2003). The clearing of woody vegetation has significant biodiversity and greenhouse gas emission implications (Henry et al., 2005).


OBJECTIVE
To determine the androgen status of men with mild ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to evaluate the relationship of sex hormones with bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral fractures.

METHODS
Fifty-six male patients with mild AS were studied. All patients had BMD measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the lumbar spine and hip, and had radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spines. Radiographs were evaluated morphometrically, and vertebral fractures were defined using established criteria. Serum total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteininzing hormone (LH) were measured in the patients with AS and 52 age matched controls. Testosterone free index (TFI) was calculated.

RESULTS
There was a small, not significant reduction in serum total testosterone in patients with AS compared to controls [16.02 (5.0) vs 21.0 (6.2) nmol/l]. Serum SHBG was significantly lower in patients with AS [27.29 (10.6) vs 35.0 (13.0) nmol/l; p < 0.001] compared to controls. There was no significant difference in the mean TFI between patients and controls [58.7 (21.2) vs 60 (22.2) nmol/l; p > 0.05] or in the levels of LH and FSH. No significant correlation was found between sex hormones, BMD, and vertebral fractures in patients with AS.

CONCLUSION
Sex hormones are not altered significantly in patients with mild AS and do not appear to be related to BMD or vertebral fractures. Osteopenia in men with mild AS is therefore unlikely to be secondary to hypogonadism.


Many complex real-world decision and control problems contain an underlying constraint reasoning problem. This is particularly evident in a recently developed approach to planning, where almost all planning decisions are represented by constrained variables. This translates a significant part of the planning problem into a constraint network whose consistency determines the validity of the plan candidate. Since higher-level choices about control actions can add or remove variables and constraints, the underlying constraint network is invariably highly dynamic. Arbitrary domain-dependent constraints may be added to the constraint network and the constraint reasoning mechanism must be able to handle such constraints effectively. Additionally, real problems often require handling constraints over continuous variables. These requirements present a number of significant challenges for a constraint reasoning mechanism. In this paper, we introduce a general framework for handling dynamic constraint networks with real-valued variables, by using procedures to represent and effectively reason about general constraints. The framework is based on a sound theoretical foundation, and can be proven to be sound and complete under well-defined conditions. Furthermore, the framework provides hybrid reasoning capabilities, as alternative solution methods like mathematical programming can be incorporated into the framework, in the form of procedures.


Emergency room (ER) visits for accidental casualties, according to the International Classification of Deceases 10th Revision Chapters 19 and 20, include injury, poisoning, and external causes (IPEC). Annual distribution of 187,008 ER visits that took place between 2009 and 2011 in Beijing, China displayed regularity rather than random characteristics. The annual cycle from the Fourier series fitting of the number of ER visits was found to explain 63.2% of its total variance. In this study, the possible effect and regulation of meteorological conditions on these ER visits are investigated through the use of correlation analysis, as well as statistical modeling by using the Distributed Lag Non-linear Model and Generalized Additive Model. Correlation analysis indicated that meteorological variables that positively correlated with temperature have a positive relationship with the number of ER visits, and vice versa. The temperature metrics of maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures were found to have similar overall impacts, including both the direct impact on human mental/physical conditions and indirect impact on human behavior. The lag analysis indicated that the overall impacts of temperatures higher than the 50th percentile on ER visits occur immediately, whereas low temperatures show protective effects in the first few days. Accidental casualties happen more frequently on warm days when the mean temperature is higher than 14 °C than on cold days. Mean temperatures of around 26 °C result in the greatest possibility of ER visits for accidental casualties. In addition, males were found to face a higher risk of accidental casualties than females at high temperatures. Therefore, the IPEC-classified ER visits are not pure accidents; instead, they are associated closely with meteorological conditions, especially temperature.


This work is aimed at evaluating the effect of ribbon blender operational parameters on mixture quality. Mix quality parameters and blend uniformity limits are enforced by regulatory bodies. These limits have served in this present work as targets for blending end-points. In a laboratory-scale model ribbon blender, built by scaling down a real industrial unit, powder mixtures composed of white and blue microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were blended. Blend uniformity was evaluated using a statistical analysis method under various operating conditions such as loading patterns, blender filling percentage, impeller rotational speeds, and mixing times. It was shown that the filling percentage is the most influential mixing parameter. At high impeller rotational speed, the blending end-point was never reached during experimentation.


White organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) were fabricated utilizing a CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn phosphor layer. X-ray diffraction patterns for CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn phosphors showed that Mn ions in the CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn phosphors were completely substituted into Ga ions. Field-emission-scanning electron microscopy images showed that the sizes of the CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn phosphor crystals were approximately between 0.1 and 3 μm. Although a broad band approximately between 250 and 550 nm of an excitation spectrum for CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn appeared, peaks were observed at 639, 654, and 665 nm of the fluorescence emission spectrum. The color coordinates of the electroluminescence spectra for white OLEDs with phosphor thicknesses of 0.25 and 0.35 mm shifted to the white emission side because the generated blue light from the blue OLEDs combined with the red light converted by the CaAl 12 O 19 :Mn phosphor down-conversion layer. The color conversion efficiency of white OLEDs was significantly affected by the excitation source and the thickness of the phosphor layer.


Along with China's economic globalization, the promotion of enterprises informatization and e-commerce are rapidly emerging. As a result the express industry shines out in the logistics industry and development of social economy. The soc-called accelerator for economic development is infiltrated into people's daily life at a tremendous speed, and people all depend on the express industry. However, with such a big opportunity, the express industry also faces a development bottleneck, for example high distribution cost, lack of goods, and professional talents, etc. KeywordsExpress Distribution; Shortest Path; Path Optimization; SWOT Analysis; Scanning Method


The cardiovascular oscillations during orthostasis were analyzed by time-frequency mapping in 23 patients with history of vasodepressor (VD) syncope and in 10 control subjects. Syncope was induced by head-up tilt (80 degrees, 25 min) alone in 11 patients (VD-1). Twelve patients remained asymptomatic (VD-2) during this tilt, but presented VD syncope or presyncope during tilt with an isoproterenol infusion. Data from the first tilt without isoproterenol infusion are presented here. Amplitude of sympathetically-mediated nonrespiratory fluctuations [0.01 Hz-respiratory frequency (Rf)] in blood pressure was greater at the beginning of the tilt in both (VD-1 and VD-2) groups compared to controls. Nonrespiratory oscillations were present throughout the tilt and their amplitude increased toward its end (p < 0.001) in VD-2 and control groups. In contrast, in the VD-1 group, the amplitude of 0.01-0.05 Hz rhythm in blood pressure diminished shortly after the beginning of tilt and continued to decline toward the syncope. Nonrespiratory fluctuations in R-R intervals were greatest in VD-1 group. The slow blood pressure rhythms reflect an integrity of feedback loops, and their disappearance is an early sign of an impending syncope.


Author(s): Runckel, Charles James | Advisor(s): DeRisi, Joseph L | Abstract: Recombination is a driving force in the evolution of RNA viruses and the understanding of this phenomenon is critical to improving the genetic stability of live attenuated vaccines. To identify what sequence motifs are responsible for non-random patterns of mutation within similar viruses, a synthetic poliovirus 1 virus was generated with densely-spaced synonymous mutations to act as markers and a recombination map was created using a novel deep sequencing technique. This map identified multiple sequence motifs that were associated with increased or decreased local recombination, which were then engineered into a new virus to successfully modulate recombination. In contrast to frequent recombination events between strains, inter-family recombination is rare. Due to the small number of known inter-family recombinants, little is know about the determinants either for the generation of such recombinants or their viability. Deep sequencing-based viral discovery techniques were employed to discover 51 new virus species, four of which represent inter-family recombinants between the nodavirus-like superfamily and the tetraviridae. These recombination events coincided with switches between bipartite and monopartitie genome organization. No inter-family recombination events were observed in the order Picornavirales despite frequent observations of known and novel species, suggesting a predisposition towards such recombination in the Nodavirales and Tetraviridae. These studies demonstrate new techniques to study viral recombination at all taxonomic levels, describe new motifs associated with recombination and set the stage for viral engineering to control recombination.


To probe the mechanism of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) observed in Fe/Cr multilayers, we have sputter deposited at the interfaces of Fe(15 A)/Cr(12 A) multilayers an additional, ultrathin (0–4 A) layer of a variety of third elements (V, Mn, Ge, Ir, and Al). When alloyed with Fe in dilute concentrations, the elements chosen have known resistivities for spin‐up (ρ↑) and spin‐down (ρ↓) currents arising from spin‐dependent impurity scattering. The results show a clear correlation between α=ρ↓/ρ↑ of the respective element and the way in which GMR varies with the ultrathin layer thickness. In addition, little difference in GMR is observed between multilayers where the ultrathin layer thickness t/2 is deposited on every Fe/Cr interface and those with a thickness t deposited on alternate interfaces. This investigation demonstrates the importance of the type and total number of scattering centers per multilayer period to the GMR effect.


Background:
 Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common hereditary red blood cell disorder in the United States (USA) and primarily affects African-Americans. Of the four most common sickle cell genotypes, SS and Sβ0 are associated with greater severity, including more ischemia due to sickling and more profound microvascular changes from chronic sickling, as compared to those with the Sβ+ and SC genotypes. African-Americans suffer from high rates of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a disease associated with deleterious microvascular changes when blood glucose is poorly controlled. Recent epidemiologic studies suggest the prevalence of T2DM among African-Americans with and without SCD in the USA are similar around 15-20% and that patients with SCD and T2DM are more likely to be overweight than those without T2DM (Zhou etal., Br J Haematol, 2019). However, the prevalence of diabetes among the different genotypes of SCD remains unknown (Skinner etal., Br J Haematol, 2019). Furthermore, the HbA1C, which is often used to screen, diagnose and monitor long-term control of T2DM in patients is not reliable in patients with SCD and data suggests that fructosamine may be a more reliable marker in this patient population (Smaldone, 2008). If SCD patients with T2DM are undiagnosed or undertreated, they may develop preventable complications related to their vasculopathy. In this study, we assessed both the prevalence of T2DM among adults with various SCD genotypes at our institution and the methods of monitoring long-term control among these patients.
 Methods:
 The University of North Carolina (UNC) Sickle Cell Database was used to conduct a single- institution, retrospective cross-sectional study of sickle cell patients and matched controls. A query of electronic medical records identified adult patients > 18 years old with both SCD (SC, Sβ+, SS, or Sβ0) and T2DM seen in the UNC Hospital system in the past 5 years Age, race, gender, BMI, and the frequency of fructosamine and HbA1C values were evaluated. Patients were divided into 2 groups - less severe (SC/Sβ+) vs. more severe (SS/Sβ0). Controls without T2DM were randomly selected from the database and matched 2:1 to cases based on SCD genotype, age, race, and gender for body mass index (BMI) comparisons. Unadjusted statistical tests were used to examine how the group with the more severe SCD genotype (SS/Sβ0) differed from the less severe genotype group (SC/Sβ+) based on T2DM diagnosis and BMI.
 Results:
 We identified 444 adult patients with SS, Sβ0, SC, or Sβ+ - 283 patients with more severe SCD (SS/Sβ0) and 161 patients with less severe SCD (SC/Sβ+). Twenty-six patients had a co-diagnosis of T2DM; all identified as African-American (see Table 1). A significantly higher proportion of the less severe SCD group were diagnosed with T2DM as compared to the more severe group (χ2 =10.13, p = 0.001). A higher proportion of patients diagnosed with T2DM and SCD had a BMI of 25kg/m2 (i.e. overweight) or greater (76.9%) compared to matched controls (59.6%, χ2 = 2.29, p = 0.13) (see Table 2). Of the patients diagnosed with SCD and T2DM within our database, 81% had an HbA1C resulted in the EMR within the past 5 years and 62% had a fructosamine resulted during the same time period; in the past 6 months 31% had an HbA1C resulted and 19% of patients had a fructosamine resulted.
 Conclusion:
 Patients in the less severe SCD group were more likely to be diagnosed with T2DM in our cohort as compared to the more severe genotype group. Notably, the T2DM prevalence for both the severe group (10.6%) and less severe group (3.2%) was lower than that reported by Zhou et al., 2019, suggesting under diagnosis of T2DM among adults with SCD. Our findings also suggest patients with SCD who are overweight or obese may be at risk for T2DM. Variability in the monitoring of T2DM among SCD patients was evident by the ordering patterns of fructosamine and HbA1C. Hematologists treating patients with SCD should be aware of the inaccuracy of HbA1C in this patient population and ensure patients with SCD and T2DM are monitored appropriately. Further investigation is needed to determine if our findings are applicable to larger cohorts.

 Little: Hemex Health, Inc.: Patents & Royalties; GBT: Research Funding. Carden:GBT: Honoraria; NIH: Research Funding.


Chronic inflammatory diseases include a wide range of conditions that cause suffering and debilitation affecting millions of people in the EU. These conditions include asthma, rheumatic diseases, inflammatory organ-diseases such as inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal track like inflammatory bowel disease, as well as inflammatory disease of the brain, endocrine system or skin such as psoriasis.


Safe water and environmental sanitation services (by which we mean solid and liquid waste facilities vector and pest control as well as food hygiene) are vital for peoples dignity and health and are especially important in ensuring the healthy development of children. The lack of such facilities is responsible for over two million child deaths each year. This working paper aims to support Plan staff by looking at the whole issue of water and environmental sanitation and enable the organisation as a whole to direct resources in an integrated and cost-effective way. By doing so we will be able to play a crucial role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and in the International Decade for Action Water for Life (2005-15). There is a clear link between poverty poor water quality and a lack of environmental sanitation facilities. This working paper aims to position Plans approach to water and environmental sanitation within the context of the broader international development goals andwithin Plans own commitment to child centred community development. From this standpoint it then looks in more detail at the main challenges linked to water and environmental sanitation and in each case details how Plan staff can put our approach into practice and the main issues to bear in mind while doing so. Further important issues to consider are also included. (excerpt)


Chiefs of American University medical departments met with their geriatrician counterparts, in order to define the role of Geriatrics within the discipline of Internal Medicine. Options for pregraduate training, practical courses during the period of study and specific teaching during specialization or during further education were carefully chosen. Fundamental and clinical research is considered indispensable, for this alone will permit the dawning of "Centres of excellence" in Geriatrics, which will be the guarantee of a training that has been rendered necessary by demographic and public health considerations.


The construction of the initial part of the J‐PARC linac has been started at KEK for beam tests before moving to the JAERI Tokai campus, where J‐PARC facility is finally to be constructed. The RFQ and MEBT (Medium Energy Beam Transport) has already been installed at KEK, and the beam test has been performed successfully. In this paper, the experimental results of the beam test are compared with simulation results with a 3D PIC (Particle‐In‐Cell) code, IMPACT.


The current paper presents techniques that facilitate mobile robots to be deployed as interactive agents in populated environments, such as museum exhibitions or trade shows. The mobile robots can be teleoperated over the Internet and this way provide remote access to distant users. Throughout this paper we describe several key techniques that have been developed in the context of relevant EU-IST projects. The developed robotic systems have been installed and extensively operated in the premises of various sites. The use of the above techniques, combined with appropriate authoring tools, has resulted in drastic reduction in the installation times. Such demonstrations ascertain the functionality and reliability of our methods and provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of the complete systems.


This paper presents results of the study of the ultra-poor in the south of Thailand, revisited after 10 years since the original 2000 study. The objectives of the study were to assess the changes in the poverty situation after 10 years, and the impacts of the poverty reduction projects implemented by the government on the poor. The research methodology used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The same villages in the four provinces studied in 2000 were again chosen. The results show that the poverty situation of the ultra-poor groups has not changed much since they lacked the basic key factor to get themselves out of poverty: the ownership of land. Even though the government's projects have not reduced the poverty directly, the projects have significantly contributed to the improvement of the quality of life of the poor and the non-poor in the areas especially through better transport, mainly good roads which have significant impacts on the transport of agricultural produce, access to health and education, personal security, job opportunities and community participation.


Sudan has great potential of renewable and non-renewable groundwater resources which are important sources of water supply for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. It is a key element for human settlement and sustained socioeconomic activities. Demand for groundwater in many areas of the Sudan has recently increased considerably in order to meet the needs for the implementation of agricultural and economic development plans but regrettably, these  development are taking place in a rather unplanned manner leading to many problems such as overexploitation, reduction of reliable yield, and deterioration of quality .This emphasizes the need for sound polices and optimum plans for groundwater resources management in order to ensure its long term sustainability. However, Groundwater management in Sudan is faced with many challenges. The most obvious of these challenges is the absence of quantitative and qualitative monitoring and scarcity of information on aquifers geometry and their hydro geological characteristics. Another major difficulty is related to the understanding of flow dynamics and recharge sources and mechanisms for the different aquifers. This makes the estimation of recharge volumes an extremely difficult task. Correct estimation of groundwater recharge and aquifer storage are two of the most important requirements for long term management of any groundwater system. Fractured aquifers in Sudan cover very large areas and provide an important source of water particularly in rural areas. A major problem encountered in the management of fractured aquifers is the limited understanding of their hydrogeology and flow dynamics. The fractures characteristics could be extremely complex making it very difficult to locate areas of productive boreholes with sustainable groundwater yield. Vulnerability and risk of contamination of these aquifers are also very high. Other key challenges facing groundwater management in Sudan are the management of shared non-renewable aquifer resources, lack of comprehensive guiding plans and policies, poor governance and legislative framework, inadequate capacity, and lack of coordination among groundwater sub sectors.The purpose of this paper is to discuss these challenges in some details and suggest directions for overcoming them. The paper also includes a case study on the use of advanced methodologies for groundwater management and protection in Sudan.


In this letter, a novel mean-field game (MFG) framework is proposed for uplink power control in an ultra-dense millimeter wave network. The proposed MFG considers the time evolution of the mobile users' (MUs) orientations as well as the energy available in their batteries, under adaptive user association. The objective of each MU is then to find the optimal transmission power that maximizes its energy efficiency. The expression of the energy efficiency is analytically derived for the realistic case of a finite size network. Simulation results show that the proposed approach yields gains of up to 24%, in terms of energy efficiency, compared to a baseline in which the nodes transmit according to the path loss compensating power control policy.


It is well known that anthropogenic aerosols deteriorate air quality increasing public health risk. Therefore their characterization must be one of the main objectives in atmosphere studies, although the heterogeneous distribution of the aerosols in the atmosphere hampers it. Anthropogenic aerosols are mostly concentrated within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) that extends from the surface up to a variable height that usually coincides with the presence of a temperature inversion. The PBL height, then, is affected by the radiation emitted by the surface causing turbulence and evolving along the day and in this way limiting the vertical mixing of the air pollutants generated near the surface. Therefore, it can be assumed that the lower the PBL height, the higher the aerosol concentration from local sources. Lidars have demonstrated their capabilities to study the aerosol vertical distribution and their spatio-temporal evolution can provide very complete information on both aerosol spatial distribution and their characterization. Their wavelength dependence of the backscatter and extinction coefficients allows for a more detailed discrimination of aerosol types. On the other hand, ceilometers are capable of providing continuous aerosol vertical profiles with good spatial resolution and a large range, besides ceilometers operating at 1064nm can provide backscatter and extinction coefficients as Lidar instruments. The present work has been carried out in the Madrid metropolitan area located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, which counts with a population of nearly 6 million inhabitants and a car fleet of almost 3 million vehicles. Its main objective is the assessment of the planetary boundary layer height by means of machine learning techniques using ceilometer signals and also its validation by using multiwavelength lidar measurements and radiosoundings. Typical techniques as the wavelet and the gradient methods are unable to detect the PBL in cases with presence of low clouds or residual layers. For that purpose, several profiles stored in the Madrid database, covering different synoptic situations as long-range transport of aerosols and clean-atmosphere situations are used. These profiles have been performed by the CHM15k Nimbus ceilometer deployed next to the MDR-CIEMAT ACTRIS station (40.4565ºN, 3.7257ºW, 663 m a.s.l.), equipped with a Lidar-Raman instrument (integrated in EARLINET-ACTRIS) and located in the Madrid North-West city outskirts.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by H2020 programme from the European Union (grant 654109, ACTRIS-2 project), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (CRISOL, CGL2017-85344-R) and Madrid Regional Government (TIGAS-CM, Y2018/EMT-5177).


At all times, cycles have focused men's attention and fashioned his life. Today, thanks to genetic, one can find tracks of circadian rhythms programming until cell's DNA, and this in a very amazing and similar manner from amoebas to mammals. A particular rhythm interests the researcher in oncology: the circadian rhythm of melatonin. It stands at the junction of several domains: somatic, immune and psychic, through the many receptors found on leukocytes, through the links between this hormone production and the one of many cytokines but also with activity, life habits and "stress". On an other hand, antioxydant action of melatonin gives a serious argument concerning its possible role in cancer aetiology. As for them, studies on sleep confirm the large ubiquity of biological cycles, for instance thanks to the observation of the impact of particular genetic mutations on advance or delayed sleep syndrome. Because of the great diversity of cyclic phenomena, the study of chronobiology cannot be undertaken today without a wide interdisciplinary collaboration. During the 13th congress of the "Association Francaise de Chronobiologie Medicale", this study has been continued mainly in three different directions of research: fundamental, applied and transverse. Many original experimental results have been presented and new ways of multidisciplinary research specified. The important scientific fecundity of this very convivial annual congress never lacks to satisfy its participants: it continues to favour the onset of new projects, enabling to avoid major shelves thanks to the constructive criticism of each domain specialists.


. Four new species of the eutheiine genus Paraneseuthia Franz, 1986 are described: P. luzonica sp. nov. (the Philippines), P. kaibesariana sp. nov. (Indonesia: Kai Besar Is.), P. tanimbariana sp. nov. (Indonesia: Yamdena Is.), and P. morobensis sp. nov. (Papua New Gui-nea). Externally, these species share many characters with members of the SE Asian, Sundaland group within the genus. However, male genitalic structures of some of them resemble aedeagi of Australian Paraneseuthia , supporting previous phylogeographic hypotheses that assumed the origins of both north-eastern (Far Russian and Japanese) and south-eastern (Australian and Melanesian) Paraneseuthia from a Sundaland ancestor. The aedeagus of P. morobensis sp. nov. shows intermediary shape and structures between those of P. quadrifoveata Ja ł oszy ń ski, 2010 of Borneo, Sabah, and that of P. levigata Ja ł oszy ń ski, 2010 of eastern Papua New Guinea. The aedeagus of P. tanimbariana sp. nov., in turn, shows a striking similarity to that of the northern Australian P. angustifurculata Ja ł oszy ń ski, 2013 and other species known to occur in Australia. The male genitalia of P. luzonica sp. nov. (the fi rst species discovered in the Philippines), and especially of P. kaibesariana sp. nov., add unique features to the already known, great morphological diversity of the SE Asian members of Paraneseuthia that occupy the presumable evolutionary cradle of this genus.


The energy of a particle in the Rainbow Rindler metric is derived using Hamilton's variational principle. Saha Ionization equation and Pair production in Rainbow Rindler metric have been investigated. Saha ionization equation and Pair production in Rainbow Rindler metric depend on corrected acceleration which is energy-dependent. This means energy ($E$) and metric tensor ($g_{\mu \nu}(E)$) depends on the inertial observer.
The physical implications of energy-dependent acceleration, observer-dependent(inertial) energy and metric tensor are discussed. On comparing the above results with that of Rindler metric we get the result obtained by Sanchari De and Somenath Chakarabarthy by applying the correspondence principle.


Many believe that American education can only be improved with a sizable infusion of new resources into the nation's schools. Others find little evidence that large increases in spending lead to improvements in educational performance. Do additional school resources actually make any difference?The evidence on this question offers a striking paradox. Many analysts have found that extra school resources play a negligible role in improving student achievement while children are in school. Yet many economists have gathered data showing that students who attend well-endowed schools grow up to enjoy better job market success than children whose education takes place in schools where resources are limited. For example, children who attend schools with a lower pupil-teacher ratio and a better educated teaching staff appear to earn higher wages as adults than children who attend poorer schools.This book, which grew out of a Brookings conference, brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines to discuss the evidence on the link between school resources and educational and economic outcomes. In a lively exchange of views, they debate whether additional spending can improve the performance of the nation's schools.In addition to editor Gary Burtless, the contributors include Eric Hanushek, University of Rochester; James Heckman, University of Chicago; Julian Betts, University of California, San Diego; Richard Murnane, Harvard University; Larry Hedges, University of Chicago; and Christopher Jencks, Northwestern University.Dialogues on Public Policy


Our experience with peritioneal dialysis and hemodialysis in diabetic patients in the Joslin Clinic for the period 1959 to 1968 shows that 44 patients received dialysis; 32 for anasarca secondary to diabetic nephropathy and congestive heart failure, 7 for an acute exacerbation of chronic renal failure, and 5 for acute renal failure. Diffuse and nodular glomerulosclerosis was found in 19 of the 26 cases with autopsies or biopsies. Best results were obtained in three patients with acute tubular necrosis following diabetic acidosis, in one patient with glutethimide intoxication, and in two patients with chronic renal disease in whom therapy was maintained with long-term hemodialysis (one of whom had successful renal transplantation). Complications of induced hyperglycemia were easily regulated by frequent injections of small amounts of regular insulin. The presence of diabetes should not contraindicate dialysis, especially in those with acute renal failure.


In the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Institute for Technical Physics, the test facility HOMER II is currently under construction. In a first step, a magnetic field of 20 T in a bore of 180 mm produced by advanced LTS materials is aspired. In a second step, insert coils built of HTS wires are planned to be added in order to obtain resulting fields up to 25 T. With these intentions in the background, the superconducting properties of different Bi-HTS wires were investigated in a bath cooled superconducting magnet system at 4.2 K and magnetic fields up to 10 T. The critical current I/sub c/ was examined resistively using a high resolution four-point measurement technique. In consideration of the determined current carrying capacity of the wires, two layouts for HTS insert coils are presented.


Biliary strictures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality for liver transplant recipients. The endoscopic management of biliary strictures is not well established after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in comparison with deceased donor liver transplantation. The aims of this study were to assess the initial success rate of primary endoscopic treatment of biliary strictures after LDLT and to identify predictors of the feasibility of endoscopic management. One hundred thirty‐seven adult patients who underwent LDLT and were confirmed to have biliary strictures by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were enrolled. The biliary strictures were primarily managed endoscopically with internal drainage or nasobiliary catheterization. The initial success rate for the primary endoscopic management of biliary strictures after LDLT was 46.7% (64 of 137 patients), and the feasibility of endoscopic management was associated with the stricture‐to‐ERCP interval (the interval between the development of the total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, or alanine aminotransferase level to >2 times the upper limit of normal and the performance of ERCP) as well as cholangiographic findings (eg, the stricture morphology and the tip shape of the distal duct). In conclusion, when biliary strictures are noticed after LDLT, prompt endoscopic interventions may improve the initial success rate of primary endoscopic management. In addition, the feasibility of primary endoscopic management can be predicted by the cholangiographic findings, which may help with the choice of the therapeutic modality. Liver Transpl, 2011. © 2011 AASLD.


Abstract - This study describes a preliminary evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of Castanopsis cuspidata extracts. C. cuspidata was extracted using 80% ethanol and then fractionated sequentially with n -hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate, and butanol. To screen for anti-inflammatory agents effectively, we first examined the inhibitory effect of the C. cuspidata extracts on the production of pro-inflammatory factors and cytokines stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. In addition, we examined the inhibitory effect of C. cuspidata extracts on pro-inflammatory mediators (NO, iNOS, COX-2) in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. The amounts of protein levels were determined by immunoblotting. Of the sequential solvent fractions of C. cuspidata , the n ‑hexane, dichloromethane and ethylacetate fractions inhibited the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 β and IL-6), production of NO, and the protein level of iNOS and COX-2. These results suggest that C. cuspidata may have significant effects on inflammatory factors and may be provided as a possible anti-inflammatory therapeutic plant.


The study was performed to assess the acute dermal toxicity of TroisTM in Newzealand white rabbit. Test substance was applied as such to the shaven skin of group of rabbits at the dose of 2000 mg/Kg body weight. Control group of animals were similarly treated but only with base. Following dosing up to 14 days the rabbits were observed for mortality and clinical sign of toxicity. No visible signs of toxicity after treatment were observed on the animals of both control and treated animals up to 14 days. Various haematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated and found to be in the normal limit, which indicates that no sign of toxicity in NewZealand white rabbits after 14 days treatment in respect to control group, proving safety of TroisTM in topical application.


'Apparent contrast' as defined by Bodmann is a direct implication of Haubner's relationship between brightness and luminance. Results obtained in a typical case suggest an hypothesis on general visual behaviour in current lighting situations. Many experiments on visual comfort support this proposal.


Cells of Listeria monocytogenes exposed at 4 degrees C to 1% solutions of two alkaline cleaners or alkali-adapted in tryptose phosphate broth (pH 10.0) at 37 degrees C for 45 min, followed by 4 degrees C for 48 h, were inoculated onto beef frankfurters containing high fat (16 g) and high sodium (550 mg) or low fat (8 g) and low sodium (250 mg) per 57-g serving. Frankfurters were surface inoculated (2.0 log10 CFU/g), vacuum packaged, stored at -20, 4, or 12 degrees C, and analyzed for populations of L. monocytogenes at 2-day to 2-week intervals. Populations did not change significantly on frankfurters stored at -20 degrees C for up to 12 weeks. After storage at 4 degrees C for 6 weeks (I week before the end of shelf life), populations of control cells and cells exposed to alkaline cleaners were ca. 6.0 log10 CFU/g of low fat, low sodium (LFLS) frankfurters and ca. 3.5 log10 CFU/g of high fat, high sodium (HFHS) frankfurters. Growth of alkali-adapted cells on both types of frankfurters was retarded at 4 degrees C. Growth of L. monocytogenes on frankfurters stored at 12 degrees C was more rapid than at 4 degrees C, but a delay in growth of alkali-adapted cells on HFHS and LFLS frankfurters was evident during the first 9 and 6 days, respectively. Alkali-adapted cells had a significantly (P < or = 0.05) lower logistic D59 degrees C-value (decimal reduction time) than alkaline cleaner-exposed cells, but the D59 degrees C-value was not different from that of control cells. Cells exposed to a nonbutyl alkaline cleaner, and then heated in LFLS frankfurter exudates, had a significantly lower D62 degrees C-value than cells that had been exposed to some of the other treatments. Growth characteristics of L. monocytogenes inoculated onto the surface of frankfurters may be altered by previous exposure to alkaline environments. Differences in growth characteristics of L. monocytogenes on HFHS versus LFLS beef frankfurters stored at refrigeration temperatures indicate that composition influences the behavior of both alkaline-stressed and control cells.


The murine immune system is not necessarily identical to it human counterpart, which has led to the construction of humanized mice. The current study analysed whether or not a human immune system contained within the non‐obese diabetic (NOD)‐Rag1null‐γ chainnull (NRG) mouse model was an accurate representation of the original stem cell donor and if multiple mice constructed from the same donor were similar to one another. To that end, lightly irradiated NRG mice were injected intrahepatically on day 1 of life with purified cord blood‐derived CD34+ stem and progenitor cells. Multiple mice were constructed from each cord blood donor. Mice were analysed quarterly for changes in the immune system, and followed for periods up to 12 months post‐transplant. Mice from the same donor were compared directly with each other as well as with the original donor. Analyses were performed for immune reconstitution, including flow cytometry, T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) spectratyping. It was observed that NRG mice could be 'humanized' long‐term using cord blood stem cells, and that animals constructed from the same cord blood donor were nearly identical to one another, but quite different from the original stem cell donor immune system.


Accent on Technology Hansavivek pansion, financed financial MUKAND IRON AND STEEL Works has planned 33-crore ex- which is intended to be by long-term loans from, institutions and retained' earnings. The' company is seeking an industrial licence to' manufacture sponge iron based on solid reductarit, hat is, hon-coking coal, The capacity of the proposed plant is approximately 200,000 tonnes per annum. The plant Intended to be located in a 'back-' ward' area in Maharashtra. The com- pany has also applied for expansion of its steel-making capacity from 135,000 tonnes of : billets to 270,000 tonnes per annum. In the changed contex of government policy permit-' ing mini-steel plants to expand and o set "up captive sponge iron capa- city, the company hopes to get the necessary industrial licences for these projects. Meanwhile, the programme of modernisation of the wire rod mill is in its final stage and will be com pleted by the end of the current year The company . will be the first to set up an easy draw continuous cooling system for high carbon and low carbon wire rods


Introduction: the implementation of land development programmes in the polar regions, Siberia andFar East turns more complex due to power shortages in these areas. High electric energy rates and the need to maintain special purpose buildings encourage engineers to develop autonomous energy supply systems. Methods: the co-authors have analyzed several types of autonomous power supply facilities and series of autonomous power supply units designated for the power supply to the production machinery installed as part of various economic and special-purpose facilities, located at a long distance from industrial sources of electric energy. Findings and discussion: the co-authors present an algorithm for the selection of the configuration of an autonomous power supply system. The co-authors employ the findings of their analysis to substantiate the choice of a solar power station as a supplementary source of energy used as part of hybrid power generation systems. Conclusion: the algorithm developed by the co-authors may be used to design an efficient autonomous power supply system comprising hybrid units.


A recent trend in software security has utilized hardware performance counters as a security mechanism for integrity checks as well as malware detection. In this work we have developed two methods to check and validate the runtime integrity of a program to protect against malicious intrusions. The two methods developed utilize Hidden Markov Models and Long Short Term Memory neural networks trained on traces of a program's performance counter data which allows for classification, offline anomaly detection, and online anomaly detection. In our benchmark of embedded software the HMMs achieved a classification accuracy of 100%, while offline anomaly detection achieved an average 98% accuracy with only 1% false positives, and online detection with a heuristic achieved 95% with only 0.38% false positives. On the same embedded software benchmark LSTMs neural networks achieved an offline anomaly detection rate of 100% with no false positives, and an online anomaly accuracy was 98% on average with no false positives.


Notion of acyclic models are introduced in Eleinberg-Maclane [4]. In [5] and [3], this theory is used as auxiliary tools to solve extension problems of morphisms of chains complexes and homotopy between those morphisms. So in the first section of this work, we will adapt the notion of acyclic models in the category of Banach chain differential complexes Ch∗(Ban). In the second section, we recall the functor of real c1singular homology (cf. [8]) on which we apply theorems proved in the first section. In particular, we prove an analogous of Zilber-Eilenberg theorem [5] in real c1-singular homology. In last section, we prove an analogous of Brown theorem in real c1-singular homology. As consequence of this theorem we show that the real c1-singular homology depends only on the fundamental group and we establish some exact sequences.


Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a novel machine learning method after the artificial neural networks (ANN). The SVM with RBF is the research hot spot in assessment area at present. Because of its good learning performance, the SVM with RBF is widely used in practical application. In this paper, the RBF-SVM and its application on reliability evaluation of electric power system communication network is researched. Through experiments, the impact of learning ability and generalization ability for the error penalty parameter Cand kernel function width σ is analyzed and compared, how the parameters affect the performance of RBF-SVM is expatiated, the pictures of the changing curve that the parameters Cand σ affect the number of Support Vector(SV) and wrong recognition rate are presented. AT last, through reliability evaluation with SVM under different kernel function, compare with their assessment performance, and the performance superiority of RBF-SVM is validated.


Understanding molecular mechanism in tobacco adaptation to drought stress become indispensable strategy for the development of high-yield tolerant varieties. Profiling the pattern of drought-related gene expression is a promising strategy to preliminary evaluates the plant response to drought stress. This study aims to investigate the expression pattern of drought-responsive genes in burley tobacco under in vitro water deficit. In this study, we used three burley varieties including Marakot, Jepon Mawar and MKY. Drought stress treatment was applied in vitro using MS medium supplemented with several concentration of PEG 6000 (Polyethylen Glycol) (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%). The expression profile of drought-related genes including NtLTP1, NtABA2 and NtERD10B were investigated using quantitative Reverse Transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR). The results showed that NtABA2 and NtERD10B genes were parallely overexpressed following an increase concentrations of PEG in var. Jepon Mawar and var. MKY. However, the highest mRNA relative expression of these genes was occured in var. MKY treated with 30% of PEG, which increased 1,7 and 1,64-fold compared to control, respectively. NtLTP1 was down-regulated in var. Jepon Mawar following an increase of PEG concentrations. In contrast, NtLTP1 was up-regulated in var. MKY. Meanwhile, var. Marakot demonstrated similar pattern of all gene expressions, where treatment of 20% PEG induced highest expression compared to the other treatments. The overall result suggests that var. MKY is likely more tolerant to drought stress followed by var. Jepon Mawar and var. Marakot, respectively.


Topology-awareness is an important feature of communication algorithms and protocols for wireless multi-hop networks. In its basic form, topology-awareness requires nodes to know their immediate neighbors and, if possible, the quality of the links between them. In general, neighborhood discovery is done by routing protocols; the problem with such an approach is that fundamental changes in node characteristics require revisiting the routing protocol, especially if this latter relies on cross-layer metrics. In this paper, we propose an abstraction layer that performs neighborhood discovery and link quality assessment. In this way, neighborhood discovery is decoupled from the upper layers. Our abstraction layer stands as an active building block for the implementation of routing protocols or any other IEEE 802.11 communication algorithm for wireless multi-hop networks. It provides an updated list of neighbors, along with several statistics about link quality that can be used, for instance, to compute cross-layer metrics.


A validated computational head-neck model was used to understand the mechanical relationships between surface padding characteristics and injury risk during impacts near the head vertex. The study demonstrated that injury risk can be decreased by maximizing the energy-dissipating ability of the pad, choosing a pad stiffness that maximizes pad deformation without bottoming out, maximizing pad thickness, and minimizing surface friction. That increasing pad thickness protected the head without increasing neck loads suggests that the increased cervical spine injury incidence previously observed in cadaveric impacts to padded surfaces relative to lubricated rigid surfaces was due to increased surface friction rather than pocketing of the head in the pad.


Characters, accents, modifiers, punctuation and stress symbols, etc., neces sary to support modern Cyrillic texts are considered. The list of glyphs that we present supports all writing systems we know of. The paper also describes the pecularities of several writing systems which are essential for TEX.


Racial-ethnic minorities are at risk of academic disengagement: pulling back effort in school. Our model focuses on implications of content of racial-ethnic self-schemas (RES) for disengagement. We postulate that risk increases when individuals are either aschematic (do not have an RES) or in-group only RES schematic (when RES incorporates only the in-group without reference to membership in larger society), and that risk decreases when RES contains both in-group and larger society. This latter RES can take the form of a dual identity, in which one is a member of both in-group and larger society, or a minority identity, in which one is a member of an in-group that must fight to overcome obstacles to attain larger societal resources. Three studies involving African American, Hispanic, American Indian and Arab-Palestinian Israelis corroborate the positive effect of dual and minority RES versus in-group only RES or RES aschematic status.


Analysis of the biostratigraphy and the litho-facies pattern of Upper Cambrian sedimentation upon the craton reveals four synchronous marine regressions and three transgressions attributable to eustatic sea level change. The beginning of each regression relates to the impoverishment or extinction of the existing trilobite biota and the appearance of many individuals of a few unrelated genera and species. Except in near-shore sites the abrupt faunal change preceded by a short time the physical evidence of regression in the sections. The cause of the faunal change and of the regression was a deterioration of world climate. The first regression occurred during the Bolaspidella Zone and the ensuing faunal impoverishment and change has been used to mark the end of the Middle Cambrian. The beginning of the second regression coincided with the appearance of the oldest genera of the Aphelaspis Zone assemblage on the craton in late Dresbachian; the third with the earliest genera of the Conaspis Zone assemblage in the middle Franconian; and the fourth with the dominance of genera of the Hungaia assemblage on the craton in late Trempealeauan. The small biota of each new assemblage evolved during the regression to occupy the limited habitats of the shrinking environments on the craton and in the adjoining miogeosyncline. During the succeeding transgression some of the genera evolved explosively as a variety of habitats became available in the warming marine waters of the expanding cratonic environment. The Cedaria-Crepicephalus, the Elvinia, and the Prosautya-early Saukja assemblages are the characteristic, highly varied biotas of the transgressions.


Objective: The objective of this research work is to know the productive and reproductive performances and problems of local, crossbred, Nilli, and Murrah buffalo cows in selected study areas in Bangladesh. Methodology: A total of 1,241 local, crossbred, Nilli, and Murrah buffalo cows were surveyed in the selected areas with a pre-set questionnaire. Among 1,241 buffalo cows, 112 buffalo cows were randomly selected at day 0 of the estrus cycle for studying ovarian features. Results: Results showed that the average age, body condition score, and body weight were significantly (p < 0.05) different among the studied breeds. Milk production in Murrah and lactation length in Nilli cows were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than indigenous, crossbred, Nilli, and indigenous, crossbred, Murrah buffalo cows, respectively. Results also illustrated that sexual maturity, estrus cycle length, insemination time after the onset of estrus, and gestation length insignificantly (p > 0.05) varied among the surveyed breed. But, the fallout of the study denoted that estrus duration, first calving age, parity number, number of service per conception, calving interval, and voluntary waiting period varied significantly (p < 0.05) in different breeds. Ovarian physiological characteristics such as vaginal electrical resistance, average number of follicles in two ovaries, and largest follicular diameter, estrogen, and progesterone at day 0 of the estrus cycle of local, crossbred, Nilli, and Murrah buffalo cows showed insignificantly (p > 0.05) differences. Conclusion: The study will help the veterinarian and researcher to identify the constraints for the reproductive efficiency of buffalo in Bangladesh.


Iran is a territory with a genuine culture and civilization. One of the reasons for the value of this culture and civilization has been the presence of valuable scholars in science, culture, and literature. Sa'di Shirazi is one of the scholars, whose works are well known in the world and have played an important role in enriching Iranian culture. Like other great Persian literary scholars, he is a great honor of the Persian language and Iran and has inspired many writers and poets. Among the factors affecting the prosperity of the works of this great poet and writer is his attention to Quranic verses and the sayings of Imams and other religious figures. In this article, the author points to the influence of Islamic and Quranic culture on Sa'di's works and takes a descriptive and analytical approach to investigate the relationship between some of his poems and writings on the one hand and the Quran verses on the other. The reason for this approach is that inattention to the effects of Quranic verses on Sa'di's works can prevent us from achieving the desired results in such an investigation.


NMR spectroscopy has been used to monitor the quadrupolar relaxation and motional dynamics of {sup 2}H selectively incorporated into skeletal and side chain positions of the heme in sperm whale myoglobin. The hyperfine shifts of the heme resonances in paramagnetic states of myoglobin allow resolution of the signals of interest, and paramagnetic contributions to the observed line widths are shown to be insignificant. The {sup 2}H line widths for the skeletal positions of deuterohemin-reconstituted myoglobin yield a correlation time identical with that of overall protein tumbling (9 ns at 30{degree}C) and hence reflect an immobile heme group. The {sup 2}H NMR line widths of heme methyl groups exhibit motional narrowing indicative of very rapid internal rotation. Hence the methyl rotation is effectively decoupled from the overall protein tumbling, and the residual quadrupolar line width can be used directly to determine the protein tumbling rate. The {sup 2}H NMR lines from heme vinyl groups were found narrower than those from the heme skeleton. However, the range of quadrupolar coupling constants for sp{sup 2} hybridized C-{sup 2}H bonds does not permit an unequivocal interpretation in terms of mobility. 48 refs., 4 figs.


This paper deals with the performance evaluation of LAN-Integrated Service protocol called SBM (Subnetwork Bandwidth Manager), a solution to handle QoS requirements over Local Area Networks. SBM is an RSVP-based protocol, which consists in electing a manager over a LAN segment to map RSVP-flows into an appropriate class of service and handles admission control and bandwidth reservation operations for such flows. To show how SBM is useful for guaranteeing requested quality of service for real-time admitted flows, we simulated the bandwidth reservation and message scheduling in an Ethernet switch for different input flows sharing a same output trunk link. DSBM election has also been simulated in order to evaluate time for DSBM failure recovery over switched and shared LAN topology.


We herein report a new approach to convert fatty acids to hydrocarbons in near- or supercritical water. We tested several different metal salts, bases, and high-surface-area supported metal catalysts for activity toward deoxygenation of palmitic acid in a hydrothermal reaction medium. Two heterogeneous catalysts, 5% platinum on activated carbon (Pt/C) and 5% palladium on activated carbon (Pd/C), proved to be very effective for hydrothermal deoxygenation of palmitic acid. The reactions were done in water with no added H2. The catalysts can be reused without significant activity loss, and the selectivity was more than 90% toward pentadecane, the deoxygenation product. We examined the effect of the catalyst loading, reactant loading, batch holding time, and reaction temperature on the Pt/C-catalyzed deoxygenation rate. The results show that the reaction is first-order in palmitic acid, and the rate constants displayed Arrhenius behavior with an activation energy of 79 kJ mol−1.


An elusive goal in the field of chemoinformatics and molecular modeling has been the generation of a set of descriptors that, once calculated for a molecule, may be used in a wide variety of applications. Since such universal descriptors are generated free from external constraints, they are inherently independent of the data set in which they are employed. The realization of a set of universal descriptors would significantly streamline such chemoinformatics tasks as virtual high-throughout screening (VHTS) and toxicity profiling. The current study reports the derivation and validation of a potential set of universal descriptors, referred to as the 4D-fingerprints. The 4D-fingerprints are derived from the 4D-molecular similarity analysis. To evaluate the applicability of the 4D-fingerprints as universal descriptors, they are used to generate descriptive QSAR models for 5 independent training sets. Each of the training sets has been analyzed previously by several varying QSAR methods, and the results of the models generated using the 4D-fingerprints are compared to the results of the previous QSAR analyses. It was found that the models generated using the 4D-fingerprints are comparable in quality, based on statistical measures of fit and test set prediction, to the previously reported models for the other QSAR methods. This finding is particularly significant considering the 4D-fingerprints are generated independent of external constraints such as alignment, while the QSAR methods used for comparison all require an alignment analysis.


Motor behaviour of adult patients with hemiplegia recovery stages and evaluation procedures training procedures gait patterns in hemiplegia walking preparation and gait training Brunnstrom's treatment approach in light of contemporary motor control concepts. Appendix - instructions for administration of sensorimotor assessment in hemiplegia.