The character of the hole states in a pyramidal GaAs∕AlGaAs quantum dot-in-dot (DiD) heterostructure is shown to be controllable by tailoring the confinement potential shape. The change in ground valence band state from heavy hole like to light hole like is demonstrated by side-view polarization resolved photoluminescence measurements. The experimental findings are supported by three-dimensional numerical model calculations. The results are applicable for polarization control in quantum dot photonic devices.


As student numbers and lecturer workloads increase, traditional methods of assessment make it progressively more difficult to conduct effective assessment and provide students with detailed, specific feedback. Therefore, academic institutions are considering ways of automating their assessment methods, at least in part. This automation is realised by computer assisted assessment (CAA) software. Though CAA software has been proven in some limited situations, it remains a technology which is yet to come of age pedagogically. In this report we discuss the issues of incorporating computer-assisted assessment into university-level teaching, in particular in Computer Science, and give an overview of the software available and its capabilities.


OBJECTIVE
To monitor the safety of a salbutamol MDI with a hydrofluoroalkane propellant (Ventolin Evohaler) during its introduction into primary care use in England.

METHODS
Prospective observational cohort study. 1,365 GPs in England submitted data on 10,472 regular users of Ventolin MDI, over five 3-month periods of observation between October 1, 1998 and December 31, 1999. The primary aim was to compare event rates occurring before and after the introduction of Ventolin Evohaler. The secondary aim was a comparison of event rates between users of Ventolin Evohaler and Ventolin MDI. The main outcome measures were: indication for use of Ventolin MDI, assessment of disease severity, event rates during each period of observation; deaths, pregnancies, reported adverse drug reactions and reasons for discontinuation of MDI. Event rates were adjusted using a ratio for under-reporting derived from a validation study on 4.6% of the study population and stratified by severity of indication.

RESULTS
The primary indication was asthma in 94%, distributed by severity as 47% mild, 44% moderate and 9% severe; 13% were children. By October 1999, 52.7% of the 8,973 remaining patients had transitioned to Ventolin Evohaler. There was no increase in major or minor events observed following the introduction of Ventolin Evohaler. No serious adverse events, abnormal pregnancy outcomes or deaths have been related to Ventolin MDI or Ventolin Evohaler. The validation study showed a degree of under-reporting.

CONCLUSION
These results on a large cohort of community patients in England indicate that Ventolin Evohaler is well tolerated among asthmatics.


Unlike the object of other epistemologies, the object of historical epistemology is historical and regional, as it focuses on individual sciences, indeed particular domains within a science, in their historical development. But how does the historical epistemologist construct her historical and regional object? Which type of history can answer epistemological questions? I analyse the object of Georges Canguilhem's epistemology in the context of historical epistemology, by comparing it in particular with Leon Brunschvicg's and Gaston Bachelard's. I argue that the 'impure' objects of the life sciences and medicine guided Canguilhem towards a view of the epistemologist's object which similarly cannot be rectified in the way that Bachelard had proposed.


Our aim was to determine the pre-operative sporting profiles of patients undergoing primary joint replacement and to establish if they were able to return to sport after surgery. A postal survey was completed by 2085 patients between one and three years after operation. They had undergone one of five operations, namely total hip replacement, hip resurfacing, total knee replacement, unicompartmental knee replacement or patellar resurfacing. In the three years before operation 726 (34.8%) patients were participating in sport, the most common being swimming, walking and golf. A total of 446 (61.4%) had returned to their sporting activities by one to three years after operation and 192 (26.4%) were unable to do so because of their joint replacement, with the most common reason being pain. The largest decline was in high-impact sports including badminton, tennis and dancing. After controlling for the influence of age and gender, there was no significant difference in the rate of return to sport according to the type of operation.


IP technology for resource-constrained devices enables transparent end-to-end connections between a vast variety of devices and services in the Internet of Things (IoT). To protect these connections, several variants of traditional IP security protocols have recently been proposed for standardization, most notably the DTLS protocol. In this paper, we identify significant resource requirements for the DTLS handshake when employing public-key cryptography for peer authentication and key agreement purposes. These overheads particularly hamper secure communication for memory-constrained devices. To alleviate these limitations, we propose a delegation architecture that offloads the expensive DTLS connection establishment to a delegation server. By handing over the established security context to the constrained device, our delegation architecture significantly reduces the resource requirements of DTLS-protected communication for constrained devices. Additionally, our delegation architecture naturally provides authorization functionality when leveraging the central role of the delegation server in the initial connection establishment. Hence, in this paper, we present a comprehensive, yet compact solution for authentication, authorization, and secure data transmission in the IP-based IoT. The evaluation results show that compared to a public-key-based DTLS handshake our delegation architecture reduces the memory overhead by 64 %, computations by 97 %, network transmissions by 68 %.


Objectives: Past suicide attempt (SA) is one of the most important risk factors for suicide death. An ideation-to-action framework posits that impulsivity, potentially traumatic events, and mental disorders also play a role in increasing suicide risk. This study aimed to assess the association between trait impulsivity, lifetime exposure to trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with SA in a sample of Brazilian college students. Methods: A total of 2,137 participants filled self-reported questionnaires consisting of a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, Trauma History Questionnaire, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – Civilian version, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Results: Our findings suggest that trait impulsivity may be interpreted as exerting a distal effect on SA, even in the presence of other variables – such as trauma history, psychological neglect, and PTSD – which also increase the odds of SA. High and medium levels of impulsivity, history of trauma, and PTSD increased the likelihood of SA. Conclusions: Intervention strategies to prevent SA may target trait impulsivity and exposure to traumatic experiences.


Debris retention dams are one type of critical protection structures implemented in torrents in order to provide protection against natural phenomena. They mainly aim in moderating, through their openings, the passage of the flow to the downstream where elements at risk are located. This is achieved by storing specific volumes of debris materials in their upstream debris basins and then, eventually, releasing this volume with a lower discharge. The filling of a debris basin by debris material over time, reduces the efficacy of the dam in achieving its functions. Consequently, cleaning maintenance operations of a debris basin should be regularly performed. This necessitates high monetary budgets, which can not be always affordable by the State for the management of protection structures in mountains. This paper proposes a model that makes it possible to model the passage of debris flows through retention dams. The case of the Claret retention dam in France is considered, in which the proposed model is used to analyze the performance of the dam considering its initial and new designs. A numerical analysis, over a period of 50 years, is performed using real data. The obtained results permit the managers of the Claret to figure out which of the designs is more favorable in terms of reducing maintenance costs and in terms of increasing protection efficacy.


The increased survival rate of breast cancer has brought attention to women who are beyond the diagnosis and treatment phases of breast cancer. Although research has been conducted to address specific medical and psychosocial needs of breast cancer survivors, there has been little attention placed on health literacy and medication adherence among this population. The purpose of this article is to present the findings of a qualitative study conducted with two focus groups of underserved African-American breast cancer survivors. Four themes emerged from the transcribed interviews: inequality of access to health information, acquisition of medication information, medication usage and adherence, and barriers to access to medications.


information that students could easily use in practice. It could also be integrated into current required courses, for example, therapeutics, laboratory, and pharmacy administration. I recommend that the book be purchased if an entire elective course is based on the subject. If it is integrated into a required course, it may not be referred to often enough to make the purchase practical. The price of the book may need to be adjusted for a student buyer. A pharmacist who is attempting to start a collaborative practice should, no doubt, purchase the book. This book is an excellent tool for a practicing pharmacist and an excellent guideline for a pharmacy student to follow. It is a little difficult to extract information from this book in a quick read, but the overall content makes this text a necessity to have in the pharmacist's library. Marintha Rae Meckley Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Steven R Abel PharmD FASHP Professor and Head Department of Pharmacy Practice School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences Purdue University


This paper presents a discussion of design considerations for community web portals as social networking systems. We analyse and compare the social interaction approach, design considerations and socio-technical requirements with regards to community portal technology employed in two master-planned urban developments in Australia and Mexico. We focus on how the human and social concepts and local contextualisations affect technology design and use. In response to our analysis, and to face the challenge of designing for variability and diversity, we present the communicative ecology model as a conceptual tool to help researchers and designers grasp the situated context and purpose of these systems in order to inform the design and development of better community technology.


Malaria continues to exact a great human toll in tropical settings. Antimalarial resistance is rife and the parasite inexorably develops mechanisms to outwit our best drugs, including the now first-line choice, artesunate. Novel strategies to circumvent resistance are needed. Here we detail drug development focusing on heat shock protein 90 and its central role as a chaperone. A growing body of evidence supports the role for Hsp90 inhibitors as adjunctive drugs able to restore susceptibility to traditionally efficacious compounds like chloroquine.


Vegetation and soil in the vicinity of Wild Ass Sanctuary of Kutch district of Gujarat State in India was investigated.  This region is considered as a saline desert. Total twelve species were found of which five species of herbs, three species each of grasses and trees were found. Three species each belongs to Poaceae and two species belong to Chenopodiaceae. Contagious distribution pattern of plants was obtained. Total plant density for herbs was 2.313 plants m-2 and for trees and shrubs were 3.375 plants m-2 was found. Concentration of dominance and diversity indexes were almost similar for different sites. Among trees and shrubs Prosopis juliflora (Sw) DC was dominating with total density of 3.125 plants m-2, which is an exotic species. Suaeda fruticosa (Linn.) Forsk. was dominating with total density of 0.688 plants m-2 among herbs. Sodium (Na) and organic carbon (OC) was found to be maximum at site 3 (74.939 ppm and 0.401 %) while minimum at site 4. EC was maximum at site 3 (9.771 dSm-1) while minimum at site 1. Phosphorous (P) was found to be maximum at site 1 (38.607 kg ha-1) while minimum at site 4. Correlation was obtained for density with Na, EC and P were 0.250, 0.771 and -0.975. Na shows very poor positive correlation with density which indicates that some other salt type also affects density. This type of correlation might be due to adaptation and the vegetation is salt tolerated.


Poles of overhead contact line are designed based on the earthquake resistant guide, but a line hardware or an electric wire often breaks in middle scale of earthquake. In order to analyze the dynamic characteristics of overhead contact equipment under the condition of earthquake excitation, we developed 3-dimensional dynamic simulation method of overhead contact system. Moreover, we carried out bending and stretching tests of stranded conductors and exciting tests of concrete and steel-pipe poles. From these results, it is confirmed that the real bending rigidity and the bending stress of a stranded conductor are lower than that of a single wire. This paper describes the vibration displacement and the material stress of the overhead contact lines and feeders, etc. caused by the assumed earthquake. We propose the earthquake-resistant performance and its improvement methods of overhead contact systems.


Technology plays an important role in the practice of medicine, and it is essential that controlled clinical trials be conducted before new technologies are widely disseminated. In this article, information from the medical literature is summarized and critiqued for several common obstetric technologies which are aimed at reducing the incidence or sequelae of low birth weight and preterm birth. These technologies include home uterine activity monitoring, tocolytic drugs to suppress uterine contractions, corticosteriods to accelerate fetal lung maturity, bed rest to prevent preterm delivery, delivery methods, multifetal pregnancy reduction, and cervical cerclage. A major challenge to the practice of medicine is to find effective ways to modify physician behavior to encourage the use of proven, effective technologies, and discourage the use of unproven, ineffective technologies. Despite widespread use, most obstetrical technologies appear to have had little impact on reducing the incidence of low birth weight or preterm births, as rates of low birth weight and preterm birth have not decreased appreciably in the past 25 years. Uncovering the basic mechanisms responsible for the onset of preterm labor will undoubtedly facilitate the discovery of new technologies to prevent low birth weight and preterm births.


Context: Many thermally emitting isolated neutron stars have magnetic fields larger than 10^13 G. A realistic cooling model that includes the presence of high magnetic fields should be reconsidered. Aims: We investigate the effects of anisotropic temperature distribution and Joule heating on the cooling of magnetized neutron stars. Methods: The 2D heat transfer equation with anisotropic thermal conductivity tensor and including all relevant neutrino emission processes is solved for realistic models of the neutron star interior and crust. Results: The presence of the magnetic field affects significantly the thermal surface distribution and the cooling history during both, the early neutrino cooling era and the late photon cooling era. Conclusions: There is a large effect of the Joule heating on the thermal evolution of strongly magnetized neutron stars. Both magnetic fields and Joule heating play a key role in keeping magnetars warm for a long time. Moreover, this effect is important for intermediate field neutron stars and should be considered in radio-quiet isolated neutron stars or high magnetic field radio-pulsars.


This guide will assist students in Nancy Halbrooks' class in the preparation of their research papers and oral presentations on "The Old Masters."


Recent studies have reported a link between gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), showing that germfree (GF) mice do not develop metabolic syndromes, including NAFLD. However, the specific bacterial species causing NAFLD, as well as their molecular cross talk with the host for driving liver disease, remain elusive. Here, we found that nonvirulent endotoxin-producing strains of pathogenic species overgrowing in obese human gut can act as causative agents for induction of NAFLD and related metabolic disorders. The cross talk between endotoxin from these specific producers and the host's TLR4 receptor is the most upstream and essential molecular event for inducing all phenotypes in NAFLD and related metabolic disorders. These nonvirulent endotoxin-producing strains of gut pathogenic species overgrowing in human gut may collectively become a predictive biomarker or serve as a novel therapeutic target for NAFLD and related metabolic disorders. ABSTRACT Gut microbiota-derived endotoxin has been linked to human nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the specific causative agents and their molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we investigated whether bacterial strains of endotoxin-producing pathogenic species overgrowing in obese human gut can work as causative agents for NAFLD. We further assessed the role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) cross talk in this pathogenicity. Nonvirulent strains of Gram-negative pathobionts were isolated from obese human gut and monoassociated with C57BL/6J germfree (GF) mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Deletion of waaG in the bacterial endotoxin synthetic pathway and knockout of TLR4 in GF mice were used to further study the underlying mechanism for a causal relationship between these strains and the development of NAFLD. Three endotoxin-producing strains, Enterobacter cloacae B29, Escherichia coli PY102, and Klebsiella pneumoniae A7, overgrowing in the gut of morbidly obese volunteers with severe fatty liver, induced NAFLD when monoassociated with GF mice on HFD, while HFD alone did not induce the disease in GF mice. The commensal Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (ATCC 29148), whose endotoxin activity was markedly lower than that of Enterobacteriaceae strains, did not induce NAFLD in GF mice. B29 lost its proinflammatory properties and NAFLD-inducing capacity upon deletion of the waaG gene. Moreover, E. cloacae B29 did not induce NAFLD in TLR4-deficient GF mice. These nonvirulent endotoxin-producing strains in pathobiont species overgrowing in human gut may work as causative agents, with LPS-TLR4 cross talk as the most upstream and essential molecular event for NAFLD. IMPORTANCE Recent studies have reported a link between gut microbiota and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), showing that germfree (GF) mice do not develop metabolic syndromes, including NAFLD. However, the specific bacterial species causing NAFLD, as well as their molecular cross talk with the host for driving liver disease, remain elusive. Here, we found that nonvirulent endotoxin-producing strains of pathogenic species overgrowing in obese human gut can act as causative agents for induction of NAFLD and related metabolic disorders. The cross talk between endotoxin from these specific producers and the host's TLR4 receptor is the most upstream and essential molecular event for inducing all phenotypes in NAFLD and related metabolic disorders. These nonvirulent endotoxin-producing strains of gut pathogenic species overgrowing in human gut may collectively become a predictive biomarker or serve as a novel therapeutic target for NAFLD and related metabolic disorders.


The quality of educational institutions is supported by several system elements including supervision of education carried out by principals as supervisors as mandated by Minister of National Education Regulation (Permendiknas) Number 13 of 2007 concerning Standard Principals who must supervise education in the form of supervision and assessment of teacher performance and employees who aim to assist teachers and employees in achieving educational goals starting from planning, implementation and evaluation to be optimal in carrying out institutional tasks in an organizational frame that leads to the quality of the institution. Educational supervision serves to coordinate all school efforts including all role holders in the school organization and broaden the experience through giving constructive criticism from the principal to teachers and employees. References to educational supervision include curriculum components, curriculum content and curriculum development strategies, improvement of teaching references in terms of making learning planning, optimizing the educational functions and educational goals embodied in the school's vision and mission. Keyword: Supervision of Education, Schools.


The solution of the investigated problem with an unknown coefficient in the equation was constructed by using the method of separation of variables. The properties of the induced spectral problem for the second-order differential equation with involution are studied. The dependence on the equation involutive part of the spectrum and its multiplicity as well as the structure of the system of root functions and partial solutions of the problem were investigated. The conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the inverse problem have been established. To determine the required coefficient, Volterra's integral equation of the second kind was found and solved.


Abstract Aim of the study: The neural basis of demanding mathematical problem solving is currently indeterminate and unclear. Mathematical problem solving engages higher order cognition and a complex associative activity of functional neural networks occurs during demanding problem solving. Method: Twenty right handed subjects (mean age: 24.6 years; SD = 3.97 years; 50% female) participated in this study. An arithmetic logic puzzle was used as a demanding mathematical task. EEGs were recorded in the eye open rest and eye open task conditions. To clarify functional connectivity of brain networks, clustering coefficient, transitivity, global efficiency, degree and entropy were investigated in two conditions. Results: During problem solving, disrupted brain connectivity and decreased brain segregation were observed in the alpha band. However, in the beta band, increased connectivity, transitivity and clustering associated with higher modularity were observed. Theta exhibited unaltered brain network function. Conclusion: In the demanding problem solving task, decreased local alpha coupling may suggest that default mode network activity is interrupted. Since there is no significant difference within the theta network, the central executive network may not be as strongly involved. Increased segregation of functional brain network (without increasing of integration level) can be discussed in relation of demanding aspects of mathematical problem. We suggest a complex network may involve in the real situation of demanding problem solving.


OBJECTIVES:Although ablation therapy may be useful in the treatment of Barrett's esophagus, evidence of effectiveness is scarce, and little is known about current utilization of ablation. We aimed to determine whether the use of ablation was increasing in a cohort of gastroenterologists, and to identify physician beliefs and characteristics associated with ablation use.METHODS:We surveyed a national sample of gastroenterologists about ablation use, with an 18-month follow-up. The self-administered instrument included questions about demographic characteristics, attitudes about ablation therapy, and prior experience with ablation. Case scenarios were also included. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with the use of ablation in patients with Barrett's esophagus.RESULTS:Two hundred seventy-nine (50.3% of those eligible) responded to the baseline survey. Few agreed that ablation lowers the risk of adenocarcinoma (15%) or is supported by the medical literature (19%). However, 25% of respondents reportedly had used ablation at baseline, and this increased to 36% in the follow-up survey (p = 0.0003). The use of ablation was significantly associated with physician age greater than 54 yr (odds ratio [OR] = 2.77, 95% CI = 1.04–7.37) and the belief that ablation was used by colleagues (OR = 13.27, 95% CI = 4.44–39.64) or decreases medical costs (OR = 5.07, 95% CI = 1.00–25.74).CONCLUSIONS:Although few gastroenterologists agreed that ablation is effective, a significant proportion had adopted its use. There was a significant increase in ablation use during our study period, and the characteristic that was most strongly associated with ablation use was the belief that colleagues used it.


We conducted an ab-initio quantum computational study to address certain issues present in current
models of soot nucleation. Most models base soot nucleation upon the dimerization of gas phase polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that arises through collisions between these gaseous molecules.
These models contain three major flaws and ultimately violate the second law of thermodynamics.
Firstly, soot particles are formed at all temperatures, including room temperature, a phenomenon that is
not observed experimentally. Secondly, these models predict that collisions between aromatic molecules
of any size, including benzene, will form a soot particle. Thirdly, the dimers produced by these collisions
are predicted to be infinitely stable. In an attempt to correct for the first two issues, we hypothesized
that only collisions that included at least one excited state PAH, which would not be found at low
temperatures, could form a stable dimer. The calculations of the excitation energy difference between
excited and ground states were performed at the B3LYP level with the Dunnings Correlation Consistent
basis sets. The cc-PVDZ basis set proved itself sufficient, as its excitation energy calculations differed
from those of higher order Dunning's sets by only a few percent. The results suggest that, while
the excitation energy negatively correlated with molecular weight, it was strongly dependent upon the
structure of the given PAH. PAHs that more closely resembled the n-acenes in structure had lower excitation
barriers than other PAHs of similar mass. Using the calculated excitation energies, we evaluated
the population of excited states at a given temperature assuming a Boltzmann equilibrium distribution.
We found that only higher mass PAHs, particularly anthracene and tetracene, form a sufficiently large
population of excited molecules at common sooting flame temperatures. Then, to tackle the third issue
presented by current models, we used benzene and naphthalene as test cases to determine the stability
of any dimers formed from a successful collision. Even though we found such dimers unlikely to form,
they provided computationally efficient results that should generalize to higher order PAHs. These calculations
were carried out using the MP2/cc-PVDZ level of theory. We compared the energy of two
molecules, one in its ground and one in its excited state, an "infinite distance" apart to two in close
proximity (3-4 angstroms) and found that, for benzene, dimerization provides significant stabilization
to the two molecules ( 30 kJ/mol). The present results suggest that a collision based model involving
one ground state and one excited state PAH might adequately capture the physics of soot nucleation.


The aim in this study was to compare effects of problem-based group therapy and occupational therapy on depression scores six months after the Marmara earthquake in Golcuk. The study included 187 seventh grade students. Data were collected with the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1981, Turkish version by Oy, 1991) and a sociodemographic form. The schools were randomly assigned into two groups, either to receive problem-based group therapy (Group A) or occupational therapy (Group B). CDI was administered before and after the therapies and depression sign scores were recorded. After the first and second sessions of the therapies, there was no significant difference in mean depression scores between both groups, but there was a significant decrease in CDI scores of the adolescents.


Active degrees of freedom provide a robotic vehicle the ability to enhance its performance in all terrain conditions. While active suspension systems are now commonplace in on-road vehicles, their application to off-road terrains has been little investigated. A fundamental component of such an application is a need to translate desired body motion commands into actuator values through the use of proprioceptive algorithms. The diverse nature of the terrains that might be encountered places variable demands upon the operation of the vehicle. This entails the potential use of a diverse set of algorithms designed to optimize mobility and performance. This paper presents a cohesive control scheme designed for the operation of an autonomous vehicle under all conditions. The ideas presented have been tested in simulation, and some have been used extensively in the field


Whether extant life exists in the martian subsurface is an open question. High concentrations of photochemically produced CO and H2 in the otherwise oxidizing martian atmosphere represent untapped sources of biologically useful free energy. These out-of-equilibrium species diffuse into the regolith, so subsurface microbes could use them as a source of energy and carbon. Indeed, CO oxidation and methanogenesis are relatively simple and evolutionarily ancient metabolisms on Earth. Consequently, assuming CO- or H2-consuming metabolisms would evolve on Mars, the persistence of CO and H2 in the martian atmosphere sets limits on subsurface metabolic activity. In this study, we constrain such maximum subsurface metabolic activity on Mars using a one-dimensional photochemical model with a hypothetical global biological sink on atmospheric CO and H2. We increase the biological sink until the modeled atmospheric composition diverges from observed abundances. We find maximum biological downward subsurface sinks of 1.5 × 108 molecules/(cm2·s) for CO and 1.9 × 108 molecules/(cm2·s1) for H2. These convert to a maximum metabolizing biomass of ≲1027 cells or ≤2 × 1011 kg, equivalent to ≤10-4-10-5 of Earth's biomass, depending on the terrestrial estimate. Diffusion calculations suggest that this upper biomass limit applies to the top few kilometers of the martian crust in communication with the atmosphere at low to mid-latitudes. This biomass limit is more robust than previous estimates because we test multiple possible chemoautotrophic ecosystems over a broad parameter space of tunable model variables using an updated photochemical model with precise atmospheric concentrations and uncertainties from Curiosity. Our results of sparse or absent life in the martian subsurface also demonstrate how the atmospheric redox pairs of CO-O2 and H2-O2 may constitute antibiosignatures, which may be relevant to excluding life on exoplanets.


Creating multi-user virtual worlds is a relatively new challenge for developers of virtual reality applications. It is especially challenging to build networked VR systems based on inexpensive PC-based hardware, due to limitations in system software and inefficient networking hardware. This article explains how we created a multi-person shared virtual environment using DOS-based PCs. It also covers some of the design goals in creating a collaborative design tool for creating and modifying virtual buildings. Workroom is a general purpose simulation infrastructure that allows multiple participants to interact in unpredictable ways while minimizing simulation latency.<<ETX>>


Phytobacteria are potent threat to sustainable chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) production all over the world. In past, bacterial infections were reported in chilli plantations of Pakistan but data is still scanty and sporadic. Therefore, this study was planned to evaluate the chilli germplasm resistance against local putative bacterial isolates. Chilli infected disease samples were collected from Mianwali, Taxila, Chakwal, Islamabad and Rawalpindi during 2021-22. In addition, seeds of different chilli cultivars were also investigated for bacterial infection. In total, six putative isolates were obtained viz., GP, ISL, TAX, CM, and AAR from infected leaf samples while 1 (APO) from infected seeds. On basis of biochemical and pathogenicity assays, two putative isolates; GP (Xanthomonas vesicatoria) and APO (Pseudomonas syringae) isolates were screened for further analysis. Detached leaf and seedling inoculations assays showed that hot pepper and Gola Peshawari were found resistant against GP and APO respectively. Out of three cultivars (TAX, Sky Star, and Golden Hot), TAX cultivar showed resistance against GP isolate and Sky star show resistance against APO isolate in seedling inoculation assay. GP and APO isolates sensitivity against copper sulphate and antibiotics viz., erythromycin, penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline was also assessed by gel diffusion and plate poisoning method respectively. It was observed that tetracycline and streptomycin were effective against GP and APO respectively while bacterial strains APO and GP showed resistance against copper sulphate. Our data showed that Xanthomonas vesicatoria and Pseudomonas syringae are prevailing in chilli field plantations and seeds. Chilli germplasm must be screened against these bacteria before cultivation to avoid future disease spread.


The presidential pardon power is widely assumed to apply only to federal crimes — but not to civil offenses. No scholar, however, has ever carefully reviewed whether presidential clemency extends to civil offenses or explored the potential implications of this power. This Article provides the first-ever close study of whether presidential clemency is available for civil offenses. It concludes that presidents may pardon civil offenses — thus unearthing a new executive power, albeit one that has existed since 1787. The Article consults the various types of historical evidence that the Supreme Court has stated are most relevant to determining the scope of the pardon power: historical practices in England and the colonies, records from the Constitutional Convention, and English common law — as well as an array of other interpretive tools. The Article relies on the fact that "civil" offenses, as we now understand them, either were criminal offenses at the Founding or involved activities that went unpunished. In other words, there were no "civil" offenses (as we now know them) at the Founding; they arose only in the 1840s, as Felix Frankfurter memorialized in his 1925 article about the blurring lines between criminal and civil offenses. This Article shows, however, that the most analogous offenses prior to the advent of civil offenses could have been pardoned and were, in fact, pardoned by both presidents and English monarchs (whose acts of clemency the Supreme Court consults to assess the scope of the pardon power). In short, the various tools by which the Supreme Court assesses the breadth of the pardon power uniformly support the conclusion that civil offenses may be pardoned. The Article ends by launching a preliminary discussion of the uses and implications of this power.


ABSTRACT Morales, J.A.; Sedrati, M.; Boulmirate, O.; Borrego, J., and Carro, B.M., 2020. Measuring dimensions of ship-generated waves in Guadalquivir Estuary banks (SW Spain): Hydrodynamic considerations. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 568–572. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Estuaries have always been very important to communities, as they often represent the economic centers of many countries. The estuarine banks, as fetch-limited environments, might be highly affected by some anthropogenic actions. Ship-generated waves are starting to be the subject of several studies in order to understand their impact on coastal environments. These waves might be the leading factor to erosion in estuarine channel margins when traffic is frequent. Guadalquivir is one of the most important estuaries in Spain. It connects an important number of commercial ships to the port of Seville. Along the estuary, bank erosion is highly pronounced which is starting to worry both, landowners and ecologists, since a part of the estuarine channel crosses the marine sector of Doñana natural park. Last years, port of Seville intended to dredge the channel to get the entrance of bigger ships to the port. Ecologists argue that the magnitude of the waves generated by the ships is proportional to the size of the ship. So, the entrance of bigger ships will increase the erosion along the margins. The aim of this paper, is to obtain preliminary data to verify the relevance of this theory through a hydrodynamic survey using wave gauges on the banks and an ADCP in the bottom of the channel to control the modification of waves and currents caused by the ships.


A Lyman-alpha airglow of atomic hydrogen measured in the outer atmosphere of Venus showed that atomic hydrogen is present. The variation as a function of height indicates that the temperature of the upper atmosphere of Venus is lower than that of Earth. An ultraviolet airglow of atomic oxygen was not found. An ultraviolet nightglow was observed on the dark limb.


The efficacy of three prophylactic regimens against deep venous thrombosis was assessed in 135 patients who were more than thirty-nine years old and had a total hip replacement. The three regimens were 1.2 grams of aspirin daily, 0.3 gram of aspirin daily, and external pneumatic compression of the calf and thigh combined with low-molecular-weight dextran that was given for three days, beginning during the operation. In all patients, detection of fresh thrombi was by the fibrinogen-uptake test, cuff-impedance plethysmography, and venography. New venous thromboses developed in twenty-nine of forty-eight patients receiving 1.2 grams of aspirin and in twenty-six of forty-three receiving 0.3 gram of aspirin, indicating that the lower dose of aspirin had no advantage. Thromboembolic disease developed in only nine of forty-four patients who were on the regimen of external compression and dextran. This combination was significantly better than aspirin in both men and women. Dextran appeared to be associated with excessive bleeding when given in doses of more than 500 milliliters during the operation, but not when given in less than that amount.


We argue that the fundamental Theory of Everything is a conventional field theory defined in the flat multidimensional bulk. Our Universe should be obtained as a 3-brane classical solution in this theory. The renormalizability of the fundamental theory implies that it involves higher derivatives (HD). It should be supersymmetric (otherwise one cannot get rid of the huge induced cosmological term) and probably conformal (otherwise one can hardly cope with the problem of ghosts) . We present arguments that in conformal HD theories the ghosts (which are inherent for HD theories) might be not so malignant. In particular, we present a nontrivial QM HD model where ghosts are absent and the spectrum has a well defined ground state. The requirement of superconformal invariance restricts the dimension of the bulk to be D < 7. We suggest that the TOE lives in six dimensions and enjoys the maximum N = (2,0) superconformal symmetry. Unfortunately, no renormalizable field theory with this symmetry is presently known. We construct and discuss an N = (1,0) 6D supersymmetric gauge theory with four derivatives in the action. This theory involves a dimensionless coupling constant and is renormalizable. At the tree level, the theory enjoys conformal symmetry, but the latter is broken by quantum anomaly. The sign of the beta function corresponds to the Landau zero situation.


We have demonstrated previously that a 12-day course of FK506 permits the induction of tolerance to fully MHC-mismatched renal transplants in miniature swine. In the present study, we examined the mechanism of this tolerance by assessing the possibility that the survival of one-haplotype mismatched third-party kidneys might be prolonged via linked suppression. Ten SLAd/d miniature swine received fully MHC-mismatched renal allografts from SLAc/c donors with 12 days of FK506. Six animals received second SLAc/c kidneys without immunosuppression to confirm tolerance. Regulatory mechanisms were assessed by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and cell-mediated lympholysis coculture assays and ELISA for regulatory cytokines. Linked suppression was investigated by transplanting SLAa/c or SLAa/d allografts into long-term tolerant recipients without immunosuppression. All recipients showed donor-specific unresponsiveness in standard cell-mediated lympholysis and MLR assays. Tolerant cells prestimulated with donor Ag and then cocultured with naive recipient MHC-matched cells inhibited antidonor responses, confirming the presence of regulatory cells. ELISA and MLR assays showed that TGF-β2 was involved in mediating the suppression in vitro. SLAa/d renal allografts transplanted into tolerant recipients were rejected by postoperative day 8 (median, 7 days; range, 6–8). In contrast, SLAa/c allografts showed markedly prolonged survival (median, 52 days; range, 28–78; p = 0.0246), suggesting linked suppression. Animals not challenged with a second donor-matched graft did not manifest linked suppression consistent with in vitro data showing that re-exposure to tolerated Ags is important for generation of regulatory cells. To our knowledge, these data represent the first evidence of linked suppression across fully MHC-mismatched barriers in a large animal model.


The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) experiment BONuS used a novel spectator-tagging technique to measure the inclusive electron-free neutron scattering cross section and extract the F2 structure function. This data was used to reconstruct moments of F2 in the three prominent resonance region and the moments integrated over the entire resonance region. Comparisons of the experimental results with moments obtained from global parton distribution function parametrization seem to suggest that the quark-hadron duality hypothesis holds locally for the neutron in the second and third resonance regions down to Q2 of 1 GeV 2, with up to 20% violations observed in the first resonance region.


The clinical classification, pathophysiology and often difficult diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism are reviewed. The diagnostic power of subjective and objective clinical symptoms and the diagnostic procedures (electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, echocardiography, pulmonary arteriography, pulmonary scintigraphy, determination of arterial blood gases) are evaluated and an actual investigative plan outlined. Diagnostic problems and frequent pitfalls are discussed. The often non characteristic and masked course in acute and chronically recurrent pulmonary embolism is emphasized.


Using a stack for managing the local state of procedures as popularized by Algol is a simple but effective way to achieve a primitive form of automatic memory management. Hence, the call stack remains the backbone of most programming language runtimes to the present day. However, the appealing simplicity of the call stack model comes at the price of strictly enforced limitations: since every function return pops the stack, it is difficult to return stack-allocated data from a callee upwards to its caller – especially variable-size data such as closures. This paper proposes a solution by introducing a small tweak to the usual stack semantics. We design a type system that tracks the underlying storage mode of values, and when a function returns a stack-allocated value, we just don't pop the stack ! Instead, the stack frame is de-allocated together with a parent the next time a heap-allocated value or primitive is returned. We identify a range of use cases where this delayed-popping strategy is beneficial, ranging from closures to trait objects to other types of variable-size data. Our evaluation shows that this execution model reduces heap and GC pressure and recovers spatial locality of programs improving execution time between 10% and 25% with respect to standard execution.


Assessing the extent of parasite diversity requires the application of appropriate molecular tools, especially given the growing evidence of multiple parasite co-occurrence. Here we compared the performance of a next-generation sequencing technology (Ion PGM ™ System) in twelve Bombus terrestris specimens that were PCR-identified as positive for trypanosomatids (Leishmaniinae) in a previous study. These bumblebees were also screened for the occurrence of Nosematidae and Neogregarinorida parasites using both classical protocols (either specific PCR amplification or amplification with broad-range primers plus Sanger sequencing) and Ion PGM sequencing. The latter revealed higher parasite diversity within individuals, especially among Leishmaniinae (which were present as a combination of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Crithidia bombi), and the occurrence of taxa never reported in these hosts: Crithidia acanthocephali and a novel neogregarinorida species. Furthermore, the complementary results produced by the different sets of primers highlighted the convenience of using multiple markers to minimize the chance of some target organisms going unnoticed. Altogether, the deep sequencing methodology offered a more comprehensive way to investigate parasite diversity than the usual identification methods and provided new insights whose importance for bumblebee health should be further analysed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


In this study, simulations are carried out using the Euler-Euler granular model in STAR-CCM+ for a gas-solid flow in a rectangular bubbling fluidized bed. The problem studied was announced as Small Scale Challenge Problem (SSCP-I) in 2013. Experiments for this problem were conducted by The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The objective of this numerical study is to evaluate the reliability of the kinetic theory based granular model (KTGF) in predicting the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flows. The experimental measurements of the bubbling fluidized bed investigated in this numerical study are 3"x9"x48". The bed material for the experiment is Geldart group D particles of uniform size and high sphericity. Simulations were performed for all the three gas superficial velocities (U = 2.19, 3.28 and 4.38 m/s) for which experiments were conducted. Results from numerical simulations are validated for vertical component of particle velocity, horizontal component of particle velocity, granular temperature and the mean axial pressure gradient. The effect of the treatment at wall boundaries and coefficient of restitution (particle-particle interactions) is studied on the results.


This study attempted to investigate the effect of kiln drying on the rate of formation of ball copra. Three samples containing fifty partially dried-coconuts were placed as a single layer in three compartmentalized blocks namely, Front: Blok-1, Middle: Block-2, and Rear: Block-3 in the copra bed of the modified-Ceylon copra kiln. From each of the three blocks, thirty coconuts were selected randomly for labeling and their fresh weights were recorded. The samples were subjected to intermittent drying in the kiln by thirty five firing cycles using charcoal dust as the fuel source. The temperature distribution pattern of the three blocks during the first six firing was monitored at three hourly intervals. The weight losses of individual coconuts in each block were measured after the completion of each firing. The results showed that, there was a significant (p<0.05) effect of copra bed temperature on the weight losses of the samples. The first ever ball copra formation was detected in the Block-3 after the completion of the 12 th firing. The percentages of ball copra formed at the end of 35 th firing were 44%, 78%, and 94%, in Block-1, Block-2, and Block-3, respectively. Analytical studies indicated that the quality indices of ball copra were comparable to those of the edible white copra.


Two patients are presented who had Listeria meningo-encephalitis. They were both adults and reduced in defences against infections. The diagnosis was made by isolation of Listeria monocytogenes from cerebrospinal fluid cultures. One of the patients recovered; other died although therapeutic measures were promptly started. The Authors suggest the need for a careful research about Listeria infections in our country.


The present research tests the hypothesis that fragile X syndrome (FXS) is associated with a deficit in working memory (WM) and the deficit is more pronounced the higher the control requirements of the task. To this purpose, 15 boys with FXS and 15 typically developing children, matched for mental age, assessed with Logical Operation Test, were tested with batteries of 4 verbal and 4 visuospatial WM tasks requiring different levels of control. Children with FXS showed a performance equal to controls, in WM tasks requiring low and medium-low control but significant impairment in correspondence with greater control requirements. Results show that boys with FXS present a WM deficit only when high control is required by the task, supporting the hypothesis that control can be a critical variable distinguishing WM functions and explaining intellectual differences. On the contrary the hypothesis that the FXS is associated with a visuospatial deficit was not supported.


We introduce a new routing algorithm for capsule networks, in which a child capsule is routed to a parent based only on agreement between the parent's state and the child's vote. Unlike previously proposed routing algorithms, the parent's ability to reconstruct the child is not explicitly taken into account to update the routing probabilities. This simplifies the routing procedure and improves performance on benchmark datasets such as CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100. The new mechanism 1) designs routing via inverted dot-product attention; 2) imposes Layer Normalization as normalization; and 3) replaces sequential iterative routing with concurrent iterative routing. Besides outperforming existing capsule networks, our model performs at-par with a powerful CNN (ResNet-18), using less than 25% of the parameters. On a different task of recognizing digits from overlayed digit images, the proposed capsule model performs favorably against CNNs given the same number of layers and neurons per layer. We believe that our work raises the possibility of applying capsule networks to complex real-world tasks.


Sigmar Polke is one of the world's most revered and influential contemporary artists. This book documents Polke's contemporary work, which continues and deepens the artist's famed explorations of how images are made, used, and thought about in our media-dominated culture. The works also pose intriguing questions about how the eye and mind become crucial players in the perceptual game we undertake daily. Using topical subject matter - such as the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the Middle East and the everyday presence of guns in American life - both for its inherent content and metaphoric possibilities, Polke has created a cohesively thematic yet ingeniously diverse group of monumental paintings and large-scale drawings. The source materials for these images are often drawn from American and European newspapers, magazines, and books. All of this work by Polke reflects a fiercely intelligent yet remarkably accessible interpretation of how we perceive and misperceive the social, political, and aesthetic worlds that we live in. In the text, Charles Wylie discusses how Polke's recent work presents a coherent visual essay on the literal and symbolic construction of images. Art critic Dave Hickey provides an interpretive essay on the artist and these new works. Both essays are interspersed with a useful compendium of Polke's source materials.


Summary: The mucosae and exocrine glands harbour the largest activated B‐cell system of the body, amounting to some 80–90% of all immunoglobulins (Ig)‐producing cells. The major product of these immunocytes is polymeric (p)IgA (mainly dimers) with associated J chain. Both pIgA and pentameric IgM contain a binding site for the polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR), or secretory component (SC), which is a requirement for their active external transport through secretory epithelia. The pIgR/SC binding site depends on covalent incorporation of the J chain into the quaternary structure of the polymers when they are produced by the local immunocytes. This important differentiation characteristic appears to be sufficient functional justification for the J chain to be expressed also by most B cells terminating at secretory effector sites with IgD or IgG production; they probably represent a 'spin‐off' from sequential downstream CH switching on its way to pIgA expression, thus apparently reflecting a maturational stage of effector B‐cell clones compatible with homing to these sites. Observations in IgA‐deficient individuals suggest that the magnitude of this homing is fairly well maintained even when the differentiation pathway to IgA is blocked. Certain microenvironmental elements such as specific cytokines and dendritic cells appear to be required for induction of IgA synthesis, but it remains virtually unknown why this isotype normally is such a dominating product of local immunocytes and why they have such a high level of J chain expression. Also, despite the recent identification of some important requirements in terms of adhesion molecules (e.g. integrin α4β7 and MAdCAM‐1) that explain the "gut‐seeking" properties of enterically induced B cells, the origin of regionalized homing of B cells to secretory effector sites outside the gut remains elusive. Moreover, little is known about immune regulation underlying the striking disparity of both the class (IgD, IgM) and subclass (IgA1, IgA2, IgGI, IgG2) production patterns shown by local iinmttnocytes in various regions of the body, although the topical microbiota and other environmental stimuli might be important. Rational design of local vaccines will depend on better knowledge of both inductive and migratory properties of human mucosal B cells.


In July 2008, the Italian Court of Cassation held that Italian courts lacked jurisdiction over the 2005 killing in Baghdad by a US serviceman of an Italian intelligence officer in civilian clothes and the wounding of another officer and a reporter. The Court asserted that the action was accomplished by the serviceman while fulfilling his official duties, and that he therefore enjoyed functional immunity from foreign courts. According to the Court, this immunity was not removed by the fact that the killing allegedly amounted to a war crime. The Court took the view that war crimes are 'grave breaches' of international humanitarian law, and must be large-scale, odious and inhuman, as well as intentional acts, whereas the killing at issue was not. The author argues that the Court premised its reasoning on a clearly erroneous definition of war crimes.


Background/Aims: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly used as antimicrobial agents and drug carriers in various biomedical fields. AgNPs can encounter erythrocytes either directly following intravenous injection, or indirectly via translocation from the site of administration. However, information regarding the pathophysiological effects and possible mechanism of action of AgNPs on the erythrocytes are still inadequately studied. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the mechanism underlying the effect of coating and concentration of AgNPs on mouse erythrocytes in vitro. Methods: We studied the interaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and citrate (CT) coated AgNPs (10 nm) at various concentrations (2.5, 10, 40 µg/ml) with mouse erythrocytes in vitro using various techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), hemolysis, and colorimetric measurement of markers of oxidative stress comprising malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT). Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) was determined using Fura 2AM fluorescence. Annexin V was quantified using ELISA and the caspase 3 was determined both flurometrically and by western blot technique. Results: Following incubation of the erythrocytes with AgNPs, both PVP- and CT- AgNPs induced significant and dose - dependent increase in hemolysis. TEM revealed that both PVP- and CT- AgNPs were taken up by erythrocytes. The erythrocyte susceptibility to lipid peroxidation measured by MDA was significantly increased in both PVP-and CT- AgNPs. The concentration of GSH and CAT activity were significantly decreased by both types of AgNPs. Additionally, PVP- and CT- AgNPs significantly increased intracellular Ca2+ in a dose -dependent manner. Likewise, the concentration of the cellular protein annexin V was significantly and dose - dependently enhanced by both types of AgNPs. Furthermore, PVP- and CT- AgNPs induced significant increase in calpain activity in incubated erythrocytes. Conclusion: We conclude that both PVP- and CT- AgNPs causes hemolysis, and are taken up by erythrocytes. Moreover, we demonstrated that AgNPs induces oxidative stress and eryptosis. These findings provide evidence for the potential pathophysiological effect of PVP-and CT- AgNPs on erythrocyte physiology.


Presented paper deals with the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from forest fires. The investigation was based on the inventory methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from the year 2006. We describe the proposal of our methodology for estimating the required biomass for modelling (using the available literature as well as Sibyla growth simulator), and subsequently we describe the modelling process with fuel models (using FCCS model) as well as the resulting greenhouse gas emissions (using FARSITE and CONSUME model) for the selected site called Krompľa – Tri Kopce in the Slovak Paradise National Park in the cadastral area of Hrabušice, in which fire destroyed an area of 80 ha in the year 2000. From the forest typology point of view, following groups of forest types are dominant at the site: Fagetum dealpinum (Limestone beech forests); Fageto-Abietum (Neutrophilous beech forests), Pinetum dealpinum (Carpathian relict calcicolous Scots pine forests), Fagetum typicum (Limestone beech forests), Fageto-Aceretum (Mixed ravine and slope forests). The results indicate that the conceptions differ in the quantification of biomass available for burning, which was underestimated in the case of TIER 1 conception in comparison to TIER 2 and TIER 3, and also in the quantification of emissions. The emissions produced during the flameless burning phase were underestimated, while the CO2 emissions were slightly overestimated when comparing TIER 2 and TIER 3 approaches. The final assessment of the whole process points out at the problematic issues in the calculations of GHG emissions.


In these days of u-healthcare, for convenient monitoring of biological signals, the wireless communication technique is necessary. We have investigated several wireless technologies of biological sensor networking for u-healthcare. There are some standard techniques such as Bluetooth, wireless LAN, Zigbee etc. We have tested these techniques for biological sensor networking and summarize the advantages and the disadvantages. As a result we decided the ZigBee radio as sensor network of patients in the hospital. We developed this patient monitoring system which has several biological parameters. Especially, this system has ability of patient's location awareness in the hospital.


The Staudinger ligation of azides and phosphines has found widespread use in the field of chemical biology, but the mechanism of the transformation has not been characterized in detail. In this work, we undertook a mechanistic study of the Staudinger ligation with a focus on factors that affect reaction kinetics and on the identification of intermediates. The Staudinger ligation with alkyl azides was second-order overall and proceeded more rapidly in polar, protic solvents. Hammett analyses demonstrated that electron-donating substituents on the phosphine accelerate the overall reaction. The electronic and steric properties of the ester had no significant impact on the overall rate but did affect product ratios. Finally, the structure of an intermediate that accumulates under anhydrous conditions was identified. These findings establish a platform for optimizing the Staudinger ligation for expanded use in biological applications.


The Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) is a widely used questionnaire for assessing sense of values; however, it has limitations, especially for children. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a questionnaire for sense of values, called the Brief Personal Values Inventory (BPVI), consisting of simple questions and a smaller number of items compared to the PVQ. We first created 12 items for the BPVI and then tested their validity and reliability in 167 Japanese general population (81 males, mean age (SD) [range]: 23.4 (8.2) [15-57] years). Each of these items was correlated with one or more values in the PVQ-57. The BPVI items covered all higher-order values in Schwartz's theory (Openness to Change, Self-Enhancement, Conservation, and Self-Transcendence). In sum, the BPVI has an acceptable criterion-related validity and corresponds to higher-order values in Schwartz's value theory. The BPVI is suitable for a reliable and direct comparison of sense of values between children and adults, which may be useful for elucidating the developmental pathway of personal sense of values.


COVID-19 mortality rates vary widely across regions and sex/gender. Understanding the reasons behind such variation could help in developing suitable management strategies.

 This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of incidence and mortality rates on 2,331,363 cases and 46,239 deaths over a cumulative period of approximately 6.5 months from February to August 2020 across 411 districts of India in the age group 15-49. Together with health data from government surveys, we identify risk and protective factors across regions, socio-economic status, literacy, and sex. To obtain common indicators, we apply both machine learning techniques and statistical tests on different health factors. We also identify positive and negative correlates at multiple population scales by dividing the cohort into sub-cohorts formed from two Indian states that were further segregated by sex.

 We show that males and females differ in their risk factors for mortality. While obesity (lasso regression coefficient: KA=0.5083, TN=0.318) is the highest risk factor for males, anemia (KA=0.3048, TN=0.046) is the highest risk factor for females. Further, anemia (KA=-0.0958, TN=-0.2104) is a protective factor for males, while obesity (KA=-0.0223, TN=-0.3081) is a protective factor for females.

 Districts with a high prevalence of obesity pose a significantly greater risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in males. On the other hand, in females, the prevalence of anemia in districts is notably associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. It is important to consider sex-wise heterogeneity in health factors for better management of health resources.


We propose a method of quantitative color characteristic design for color scanners. We used calorimetric simulation with an optical model and a color conversion circuit to match the scanner color characteristic to an objective color standard. A compensation matrix is defined using the least-squares method to minimize the average error for many colors. To determine the matrix, a color space must be selected. We compared the results of conversion using matrices obtained in the CIELAB color space and in the RGB color space. The comparison shows that both conversions are nearly the same. Using computer simulation, we designed a color scanner with excellent conversion performance. The average color difference for 440 colors was ~1.3.


Purpose. Examine variation in obesity among older adults relative to the joint influences of density of neighborhood fast food outlets and residents' behavioral, psychosocial, and sociodemographic characteristics. Design. Cross-sectional and multilevel design. Setting. Census block groups, used as a proxy for neighborhoods, within the metropolitan region's Urban Growth Boundary in Portland, Oregon. Subjects. A total of 1221 residents (mean age, 65 years) recruited randomly from 120 neighborhoods (48% response rate). Measures. A geographic information system-based measure of fast food restaurant density across 120 neighborhoods was created. Residents within the sampled neighborhoods were assessed with respect to their body mass indices (BMI), frequency of visits to local fast food restaurants, fried food consumption, levels of physical activity, self-efficacy of eating fruits and vegetables, household income, and race/ethnicity. Analyses. Multilevel logistic regression analyses. Results. Significant associations were found between resident-level individual characteristics and the likelihood of being obese (BMI ≥ 30) for neighborhoods with a high-density of fast food restaurants in comparison with those with a low density: odds ratios for obesity, 95% confidence intervals (CI), were 1.878 (CI, 1.006–3.496) for weekly visits to local fast food restaurants; 1.792 (CI, 1.006–3.190) for not meeting physical activity recommendations; 1.212 (CI, 1.057–1.391) for low confidence in eating healthy food; and 8.057 (CI, 1.705–38.086) for non-Hispanic black residents. Conclusion. Increased density of neighborhood fast food outlets was associated with unhealthy lifestyles, poorer psychosocial profiles, and increased risk of obesity among older adults.


A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor for highly sensitive detection of α-fetoprotein (AFP) based on a dual signal amplification strategy was developed. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were employed as the carriers for immobilizing the capture AFP antibody (Ab1) and CdSe quantum dots (QDs). CdSe QDs-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles were used as the tracer to label the signal AFP antibody (Ab2). CdSe QDs-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles were prepared through an amide dehydration reaction and they were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The Ab2 was bound to the CdSe QDs-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles to obtain the detection probe. ZnO nanoparticles could accelerate electron transfer between the detection probe and the electrode, and their large surface area was beneficial for loading more CdSe QDs, leading to an enhanced ECL signal (0.9-fold increase) by a sandwich immunoreaction. This also indicated efficient association of the detection probe on the immunosensor surface. The designed immunoassay showed a wide linear range from 0.5 to 600 ng mL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.48 ng mL(-1) at a S/N ratio of 3 for AFP detection. The ECL immunosensor exhibited good analytical performance and was successfully applied to clinical sample detection, showing a promising application in ECL biosensing.


Video can capture the dynamic appearance of the real world in a way no other technology does; virtual reality technology, on the other hand, enables the display of dynamic visual content with unparalleled realism and immersion. The fusion of these two technologies---video for virtual reality (VR)---promises to enable many exciting photo-realistic experiences. Over half a day, this course will provide an overview of three aspects of this exciting medium: the technical foundations, current systems in practice, and the potential for future systems of VR video. In the first section, we will explore the geometric and optical problems underpinning VR video. Then, we will introduce both 360 degree video and stereoscopic video, including how 360 video is captured, analyzed, and stitched, including the mathematics behind how stereo 360 video can be captured. This background material provides the prerequisites for understanding current systems in use. In the middle hour of the course, we explain how state-of-the-art stereo 360 video is produced from camera systems and computational processing. Then, we will consider the art of storytelling in VR, and how new tools for editing VR video can aid in the craft of this art production. Finally, this section provides an industry perspective covering current production and post-production choices and practice, including CG integration. The final part of our course focuses on the next generation of video for VR, where we move to 6 degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) experiences. We introduce the basics and challenges behind light field cameras, processing and displays, and see how they can enable 6DoF experiences. This will be followed by another industry perspective on how light field camera arrays have been used to create cutting-edge experiences integrating volumetric live-action elements. To conclude the course, we will see how far we still must go toward the ideal system, in hopes of inspiring the attendees to push the boundary farther to reach it. We hope this course is useful to a broad audience---at SIGGRAPH and beyond---as we cover the academic, artistic, and production sides of VR video.


Agriculture sector plays a very important role for the economy of Haryana predominantly it is an agricultural economy. The main aim of this paper is to analyse the trend and extent of diversification in Haryana. For fulfilling the above said objectives secondary sources of data taken from various issues of Statistical Abstract of Haryana, Economic Survey of India etc. have been used in the study. The study revealed that area under wheat and rice has increased in the state is on the cost of decrease in area of other rabi and kharif crops such as barley, gram, jowar, bajra, maize etc. Growth in the production of rice and wheat is mainly due to the increase in area under the crops while the area under coarse cereals and pulses have decreased but their productivity has shown the positive trend. On the same scale the overall diversification index has shown decreasing trend over the years as diversification of area towards vegetables is very low as compare to the diversification towards wheat and rice leads to the monocropping pattern in the state.


We present a combined electrochemical, kinetic, and synthetic study with a novel and easily accessible class of titanocene catalysts for catalysis in single-electron steps. The tailoring of the electronic properties of our Cp2 TiX-catalysts that are prepared in situ from readily available Cp2 TiX2 is achieved by varying the anionic ligand X. Of the complexes investigated, Cp2 TiOMs proved to be either equal or substantially superior to the best catalysts developed earlier. The kinetic and thermodynamic properties pertinent to catalysis have been determined. They allow a mechanistic understanding of the subtle interplay of properties required for an efficient oxidative addition and reduction. Therefore, our study highlights that efficient catalysts do not require the elaborate covalent modification of the cyclopentadienyl ligands.


Background: Worldwide, dermatophytic infections are running a chronic course either due to ineffective treatment or emerging drug resistance. In the past three decades, there has been an increase in incidence and non-responsiveness to conventional antifungals, which suggests that there is a need of antifungal sensitivity testing. Aims: This study was aimed at identifying clinico-mycological pattern of dermatophytic infections in patients attending thedermatology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital, and to obtain the sensitivity pattern of isolates against six commonly used oral antifungals (fluconazole, terbinafine, itraconazole, ketoconazole, griseofulvin and voriconazole). Methods: Patients with suspected dermatophytoses attending the outpatient department of Sir Sunderlal Hospital, Varanasi, were enrolled in the study. A detailed history, clinical examination and sample collection for mycological examinations was done. In vitro antifungal sensitivity testing was done on species isolated from culture as per the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute M38-A standards, with broth microdilution method. Results: There were 256 patients recruited in the study, with a male: female ratio of 3:1. The most commonly affected age group was 20–40 years (52.4%). Tinea corporis et cruris was the most common type observed (27.2%). Potassium hydroxide positivity was seen in 211 samples (79.6%) and culture positivity was found in 139 samples (52.4%). The most common species identified was Trichophyton mentagrophytes (75.9%). Sensitivity testing was done on fifty isolates of T. mentagrophytes. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of itraconazole, ketoconazole, terbinafine and voriconazole were comparable, while griseofulvin showed the highest minimum inhibitory concentration. Itraconazole was found to be the most effective drug, followed by ketoconazole, terbinafine and fluconazole. Griseofulvin was the least effective drug among the tested antifungals. Limitations: This is a hospital-based study, and may not reflect the true pattern in the community. Sensitivity pattern of only one species T. mentagrophytes was carried out. Conclusion: Inadequate and irregular use of antifungal drugs has led to the emergence of resistant strains, which cause poor treatment outcomes. Thus, it is very important to test for antifungal sensitivity to check for resistance to antifungals.


In the past few years, we have witnessed a proliferation of patents in the two industries that are central to our information economy - computer software and biotechnology. Many commentators fear that the rush to patent in these economically vital industries will lead to restricted information flow and retarded innovation and development. The proliferation of high-technology patents directly implicates the two institutions that are primarily responsible for administering the patent system - the Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"), which grants patents, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("CAFC"), which hears all patent appeals. Moreover, given that the CAFC's reversal of PTO decisions denying patent protection to certain biotechnology and computer program inventions has been a major reason for the recent proliferation of patents, it is important to reassess the relationship between the CAFC and the PTO. This paper argues that, from the standpoint of institutional competence, the CAFC should not independently review the PTO's decisions denying patentability. Rather, it should apply traditional administrative principles of deference to the PTO's patentability denials.


Solid volume fraction in the carbon nanotube (CNT) fluidized bed reactors is an important parameter which is responsible of fluidization quality and the design of reactor. The solid volume fraction can be obtained from the pressure drop across the bed with the information of gas and particle densities. However, previous method such as the Hg-porosimetry for the measurement of the particle density did not adequately draw the solid volume fraction of the CNT aggregates with entangled nanotubes network. A new method to measure the apparent particle density of the CNT aggregates was proposed to calculate the solid volume fraction in the CNT fluidized bed. The density of the vertically aligned CNT particle was measured based on the apparent volume by shape analysis using two dimensional imaging. The solid fraction based on imaging method showed a significant value of 0.69 for the fixed bed, which describes well the entangled structure of the CNT aggregates. The distribution of solid volume fraction in the CNT fluidized bed with variation of gas velocity was determined based on the imaging method. The method was verified by applying the obtained values to the Richardson-Zaki equation on the bed expansion in the fluidized bed.


Second-generation theoretical technologies -- heavy quark expansions, QCD sum rules and QCD simulations on the lattice -- are arriving on the scene, allowing a treatment of charm decays that is genuinely based on QCD. The availability of those theoretical tools strengthens the case for the need for comprehensive precision measurements of charm decays. It is pointed out that the decays of charm mesons as well as of charm baryons have to be systematically analysed to gain control over theoretical uncertainties. A $\tau$-charm factory with $E_{c.m.}\leq 5.5$ GeV is optimally suited for such a program. It would lead to a deeper understanding of QCD that would also prepare us better for exploiting the discovery potential anticipated in beauty decays. In addition it is quite conceivable (though certainly not guaranteed) that there arise fundamental surprises, such as non-canonical rare $D$ decays, $D^0$-$\bar D^0$ oscillations and CP violation in charm decays which would dramatically alter our perspective on Nature's fundamental forces.


Hyperkalemia is a critical condition requiring careful evaluation and timely intervention. Many conditions could manifest as pseudohyperkalemia and it's important to differentiate them as inappropriate potassium-lowering therapy might lead to detrimental outcomes. A 56-year-old female was admitted for hyperkalemia (5.62–8.55 mmol/L). She had no symptoms or signs of hyperkalemia. A comprehensive work-up of hyperkalemia retrieved no valuable findings. Her blood samples underwent incubation tests at different temperatures and revealed temperature-dependent potassium leaks from red blood cells. Based on all test results, a diagnosis of hyperkalemia caused by red blood cell membrane defects was suspected. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a heterozygous c.1123C>T (p. R375W) mutation in the ABCB6 gene and confirmed the diagnosis of familial pseudohyperkalemia (FP). FP is an inherited benign condition in which red blood cells have increased cold-induced permeability to potassium. The patient was discharged with no additional treatment and she was suggested avoiding blood donation.


It is well known, combination scheme is suitable for improving the performance of adaptive algorithms. In this paper, we propose a subband combination scheme for sparse impulse response system. The combination is carried out in subband domain. In this convex combination, SIPNLMS and SNLMS are derived for fast convergence and small steady state error respectively. And mixing parameters are described by minimum mean square error and stochastic gradient algorithm. In adaptive system identification scenario, the advantages of this proposed method are illustrated.


A new species Oxytropis sanjappae is described and illustrated from the Himalaya in India. The new species is widely scattered from Losar to Kaza in Lahul-Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh State. The relationship of the species has been discussed with O. cachemiriana and O. tatarica. The new species differs in having hairs very dense, silky and white, stems generally absent or quite reduced, racemes capitate, globose-ovoid or oblong, many-flowered, dense and elongating in infruitescence, calyx teeth distinctly longer than tube, corolla light purplish pink and almost equal to calyx, wing petals obtuse at apex, mucro of the keel petal ca. 1 mm long and pods comparatively larger in size. A taxonomic key to the all 18 species of the genus occurring in India including new ones has been provided for the first time. In addition, the ecological studies related with the frequency, density, basal cover and importance value index (IVI) have also been carried out to know the conservation status of the species in the Himalaya.


Background: The first 28 days or 4 weeks of life after birth is known as neonatal period. Care during neonatal period is of immense importance for the proper development and healthy life of a newborn baby. It is a period in which majority of infant deaths occur. During this period, a newborn has about 15 times greater risk of developing diseases and death than any other time before birth. This study aimed to determine the effect of midwifery care education on neonatal care knowledge and practice among mothers. Subjects and Method: This was a quasi-experiment conducted at Mojolangu com-munity health center, Malang. A total sample of 50 mothers was selected for this study and measured before and after midwifery health education. The dependent variables were neonatal care knowledge and practice. The independent variable was midwifery care education, by providing training education such as: bathing babies, giving clothes to babies, cleaning defecation, urinating babies, and maintaining the cleanliness of baby's skin. The data were obtained from questionnaire and direct observation. The sco-res of knowledge and practice before and after education were tested by t test. Results: Midwifery knowledge after education (Mean= 72; SD= 14) was higher than before education (Mean= 51; SD= 9), and it was statistically significant (p= 0.008). Midwifery practice after education (Mean= 78; SD= 15) was higher than before education (Mean= 57; SD= 12), and it was statistically significant (p= 0.002). Conclusion: Midwifery care education increases neonatal care knowledge and practice among mothers.


Background: Rapid tranquillisation is used when control of agitation, aggression or excitement is required. Throughout the UK there is no consensus over the choice of drugs to be used as first line treatment. The NICE guideline on the management of violent behaviour involving psychiatric inpatients conducted a systematic examination of the literature relating to the effectiveness and safety of rapid tranquillisation (NICE, 2005). This paper presents the key findings from that review and key guideline recommendations generated, and discusses the implications for practice of more recent research and information.

Aims: To examine the evidence on the efficacy and safety of medications used for rapid tranquillisation in inpatient psychiatric settings.

Method: Systematic review of current guidelines and phase III randomised, controlled trials of medication used for rapid tranquillisation. Formal consensus methods were used to generate clinically relevant recommendations to support safe and effective prescribing of rapid tranquillisation in the development of a NICE guideline.

Findings: There is a lack of high quality clinical trial evidence in the UK and therefore a 'gold standard' medication regime for rapid tranquillisation has not been established.

Rapid tranquillisation and clinical practice: The NICE guideline produced 35 recommendations on rapid tranquillisation practice for the UK, with the primary aim of calming the service user to enable the use of psychosocial techniques.

Conclusions and implications for clinical practice: Further UK specific research is urgently needed that provides the clinician with a hierarchy of options for the clinical practice of rapid tranquillisation.


The purpose of this study was to assess main challenges in implementation of a distance education (DE) programme at tertiary level at University of Ghana. Quantitative data was collected from 49 tutors and 139 students. The key survey questions to tutors were on their background education, training received, challenges in tutoring, courses taught and inter-relationship between them. The important survey questions to students were on their profile, challenges in registration process, adequacy of tutorials, timeliness, prompt evaluation and feedback related to assignments. Qualitative data was also obtained from coordinators and organizers on main challenges inhibiting the implementation of the distance education programme. Inadequacy of training, inadequate financial motivation, learners shifting from one tutor to the other, inadequacy of time allocated for tutorial, late attendance of students, faulty public address systems, late delivery of modules to students and overloaded modules to be treated within the semester were major challenges reported by tutors. Majority of the students felt that registration process at the beginning of the semester was very difficult, tutorial periods were not enough and they were not enthused with assignments given to them during tutorials. The coordinators felt that some members of the implementation committee were not experts in the field of distance learning and that they had to learn on the job. Other major problems faced in implementation of the programme included the difficulty of getting course writers and low fee for writing the modules. To address the challenges it is recommended that finance and other logistics should be ensured beforehand and all stake holders should be duly informed and offered the necessary training to equip them with the requisite skills and knowledge to take part in new programmes.


The shift from traditional models of public service design to public-driven ones has been slow in the health service and particularly in the General Practice Consultation in the UK. This hesitation about fully adapting these design methods has been found to be motivated by a lack of evidence regarding the successful implementations of public involvement activities and the use of its tools, partial coverage of these tools, and failures to report on the use of alternative tools, among other reasons. This research therefore aimed to propose Human-Centred Design (HCD) as an underlying philosophy and a pragmatic set of methodologies to better understand the challenges related to the application of customer involvement activities and the use typical methods when deployed in the investigation of issues and opportunities for the design of healthcare settings. This research consisted of three stages. An exploration stage, in which it was identified and confirmed several research gaps as well as a specific case for study with a degree of complexity and known for supporting customer involvement approaches. These activities involved a literature review about customer involvement processes and a qualitative interview study (with 30 participants) in which it was identified that, a suitable case for study to perform a large ethnographic investigation using representative Human-Centred Design tools could be 'Communication and relationship between GPs and patients'. A development stage, in which it was investigated the design of public involvement activities as well as the identification and selection process of some ideal HCD tools (Focus Groups, Future Workshops / Rich Pictures. Love & Break-up Letters, and Crowdsourcing) to work with the selected case. For these activities, a total of 72 participants were recruited (n=18 per activity). Lastly, an evaluation and proposal phase, analysed these tools through a comparative study to identify several of their strengths and weakness in order to identify the best tool or combination of tools. The outcome from this comparison suggested that among the tools used for this research there was not a most optimal option or combination of options and that the success of an involvement activity relies in the careful and thorough preparation of such processes. This research concludes, that the most optimal form of helping health researchers to undertake public involvement research and to better understand the process of identifying and selecting ideal engagement tools, could be by providing a best practice informative guide containing a simplified and comprehensive version of the most commonly found steps embedded in this kind of design practices.


In very short time big changes occurred in the agrarian structure, the structure of the population, territorial and socio-economical deployment. According to that, there is an obvious discontinuity in the development of rural areas. Pointing out the resources of the region during transformation and rapid development of agriculture, rural development and development of rural regions. The largest part of the development potential based on resource utilization is precisely located in the northern region of Montenegro. The basic method used in this paper is descriptive statistics applied to the collection of relevant data resources of the region, document analysis, comparison and synthesis. The significant changes in socio-demographics appeared, an increasing part of the elders and the decreasing of the youth, and decreasing the part of the agricultural population. The main leading factors of the development of agriculture and rural development are the family farms in the region, which is about 26.000 and the resources of land, livestock, and labor. The specificity of the region is reflected in the changing structure of the agricultural population, socio-economic, demographic, territorial distribution of the population, and migration. The significant differences in the development of agriculture and rural development in the region are also present. Resources are not fully utilized in order to reduce the differences in the development of the region and to accelerate the development of less developed areas. Also, the regional development of the areas is needed for measures and program of balanced development of local self-government.


Morphological image transforms find their basis in the notions of mathematical morphology. An attempt is made to develop morphological transforms for enhancement of directional edges and lineaments from satellite imagery. Geostructural features are generally oriented in preferred directions. This information has been utilized in designing structuring elements for morphological transforms. Several shapes and sizes of structuring elements have been designed and applied to delineate lineaments in different litho-environments of the same study area. Top hat transform has been applied using the directional structuring elements for edge image at 0o, 30o, 60o, 90o, 120o and 150o. Geological lineaments such as faults could be easily identified on an edge image obtained using top hat transformation followed by an image superimposition technique. The lineament map was developed using directionally enhanced edge images and the results have been verified.


Recently, an electric vehicle (EV) has been become a huge issue in the automotive industry. The EV has many electrical units: electric motors, batteries, converters, etc. The DC distribution power system (DPS) is essential for the EV. The DC DPS offers many advantages. However, multiple loads in the DC DPS may affect the severe instability on the DC bus voltage. Therefore, a voltage bus conditioner (VBC) may use the DC DPS. The VBC is used to mitigate the voltage transient on the bus. Thus, a suitable control technique should be selected for the VBC. In this research, Current controller with fixed switching frequency is designed and applied for the VBC. The DC DPS consist of both a resistor load and a boost converter load. The load variations cause the instability of the DC DPS. This instability is mitigated by the VBC. The simulation results by Matlab simulink and experimental results are presented for validating the proposed VBC and designed control technique.


The paper shows how applying knowledge about the underlying computer hardware to the code for a simple but computationally intensive algorithm can significantly improve performance. The paper also discusses how to rearrange code so that it accommodates the peculiarities of the memory system and consequently reduces execution time.


Microsatellite flanking regions are often highly conserved in fish taxa, enabling their application in other species within or outside the source family. Moderately variable microsatellite markers may also be good candidates for species identification using multi-locus genotypes. We eval- uated the degree of conservation of microsatellite flanking regions and the level of polymorphism in 4 commercially important eel species (Anguilla anguilla, A. rostrata, A. japonica and A. marmorata). Using multiplex polymerase chain reactions developed for the first 2 taxa, we assessed the discrimi- nation power of an individual-based assignment method to differentiate all 4 species without initial species information. Detection and classification of each species was performed with high confidence (>90%), as was assignment of randomly sampled individuals to pre-defined species (>95%). Our results demonstrate the highly conserved nature of microsatellites and their level of polymorphism in Anguilla species. Although an inverse relationship was found between genetic diversity and differ- entiation estimates, likely due to homoplasy, assignment proved to be superior to multivariate and distance-based approaches for identifying the 4 species. The method enables the rapid screening of morphologically similar eel species using only 4 co-dominant nuclear loci and the detection of natural hybridisation or anthropogenic mixing between internationally highly traded species.


Optimal embodiment design and control systems can be solved using several different strategies. This paper considers whether those strategies will find the true system optimum. Optimality conditions determine whether a point is an optimum of a system. This paper presents a development and comparison of the optimality conditions for several methods of optimizing fully coupled embodiment design and control systems. The results demonstrate that the methods do not possess the same optimality conditions and therefore will not converge to the same optimal solutions, often leading to suboptimal solutions. Since these strategies have been used successfully to solve various examples, criteria are developed to determine when the various methods will find the true system optimum.


AIM
To evaluate sample adequacy, safety, and needle passes of a new biopsy needle device compared to the Quick-Core biopsy needle for transjugular liver biopsy in patients affected by liver disease.

METHODS
Thirty consecutive liver-disease patients who had major coagulation abnormalities and/or relevant ascites underwent transjugular liver biopsy using either a new needle device (18 patients) or the Quick-Core biopsy needle (12 patients). The length of the specimens was measured before fixation. A pathologist reviewed the histological slides for sample adequacy and pathologic diagnoses. The two methods'specimen adequacy and complication rates were assessed.

RESULTS
Liver biopsies were technically successful in all 30 (100%) patients, with diagnostic histological core specimens obtained in 30 of 30 (100%) patients, for an overall success rate of 100%. With the new device, 18 specimens were obtained, with an average of 1.1 passes per patient. Using the Quick-Core biopsy needle, 12 specimens were obtained, with an average of 1.8 passes per patient. Specimen length was significantly longer with the new needle device than with the Quick-Core biopsy needle (P < 0.05). The biopsy tissue was not fragmented in any of the specimens with the new aspiration needle device, but tissue was fragmented in 3 of 12 (25.0%) specimens obtained using the Quick-Core biopsy needle. Complications included cardiac arrhythmia in 3 (10.0%) patients, and transient abdominal pain in 4 (13.3%) patients. There were no cases of subcapsular hematoma, hemoperitoneum, or sepsis, and there was no death secondary to the procedure. In particular, no early or delayed major procedure-related complications were observed in any patient.

CONCLUSION
Transjugular liver biopsy is a safe and effective procedure, and there was significant difference in the adequacy of the specimens obtained using the new needle device compared to the Quick-Core biopsy needle. Using the new biopsy needle device, the specimens showed no tissue fragmentation and no increment in major procedure-related complications was observed.


We report herein the first example of the conversion of metallabenzyne II and isometallabenzene III. The osmium hydride vinylidene complex 1 reacts with HC≡CCH(OEt)(2) to give osmabenzyne 3 via isoosmabenzene 2. Compound 3 exhibits high thermal stability in air. Nonetheless, nucleophilic attack at 3 provides isoosmabenzenes 4 a and 4 b, or opens the ring to produce 5 a and 5 b. We propose mechanisms to disclose the intrinsic connection between the six-membered metallacycles, and carry out DFT calculations to rationalize the regioselectivity of the nucleophilic addition reactions.


Moringa oliefera L is one of the most plants in Indonesia. One area has this plant is Alor island with the type of Moringa leaves are flavorful and not flavorful. The use of Moringa leaves is not widely known by the public. The aim of this research is to determine the antioxidant activity of moringa leaves flavorful. The method used is the extraction method and the DPPH method. The results of the analysis showed that ethyl acetate extract of Moringa oliefera L, contained compounds group of flavonoids, terpenoids and phenolic. Antioxidant activity test showed that the ethyl acetate extract of Moringa oliefera L have a strong antioxidant activity with an IC50 14,301 ppm.