We compared continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) versus multiple injections (MI) in the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) to assess the effect of glucose control on monocyte insulin receptors. Each IDDM patient (n = 8) was treated for 2 mo by MI (HS Ultralente and AC boluses of regular insulin) and for 2 mo by CSII in a randomized fashion. Prestudy preprandial/ postprandial blood glucose levels were 199 ± 33/261 ± 28 mg/dl and improved to 124 ± 12/156 ± 13 mg/dl during MI and to 115 ± 11/151 ± 11 mg/dl during CSII. Glycosylated hemoglobin before the study was 10.1 ± 0 . 5% and decreased to 8.8 ± 0.4 and 8.3 ± 0.3% during MI and CSII, respectively. The specific 125I-labeled insulin binding to circulating monocytes in a group of nonobese controls (n = 17) was 4.6 ± 0.2%. In our poorly controlled diabetics during conventional therapy, the 125Iinsulin binding was decreased to 3.7 ± 0.3 (P < .025). This was not significantly affected by MI despite good glucose control (4–0 ± 0.3%). With CSII, however, good glucose control was associated with normalization of 125I-insulin binding to monocytes (4.7 ± 0.27%). The affinity of the insulin receptors was normal before the study and was not affected by either MI or CSII. In conclusion, these observations demonstrate that in IDDM, intensive therapy by MI and CSII resulted in similar good glucose control, but only CSII resulted in normalization of insulin receptors on circulating monocytes.


Enterococci are occurring in opportunistic infections involving the oral cavity. This study has identified enterococcal species in 29 endodontic infections undergoing treatment with Ca (OH)2 dressings. The in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of 29 isolated enterococcal strains was determined. Enterococcus faecalis was speciated for 26 isolates and Enterococcus faecium for three isolates. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed enterococcal isolates resistant to benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin, metronidazole and tetracycline but sensitive to erythromycin and vancomycin. Due to low sensitivity to antimicrobial agents, enterococci may be selected in root canals undergoing standard endodontic treatment and significantly contribute to endodontic treatment failures.


A retrospective study of 310 patients from 1978 to 87 showed emergency operations for peritonitis, acute obstruction (5%) and massive hemorrhage (3%) in 22% of the patients and various procedures for abscesses, such as delayed emergency in 14% and elective resections in 41%. Conservative treatment was given to 23% of patients with acute diverticulitis without further symptoms. During followup 68% had no symptoms, while 7% required resection for complications. The death rate for diffuse peritonitis has fallen: from 33 to 16% with Hartmann operation, and for perforations without and with abscesses from 4 to 0% and 12 to 4%, and from 1.2 to 0.6% in elective primary resection.


Purpose: Prospective evaluation of a PCR-ELISA method for the early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in hematological patients. Patients and Methods: The PCR-ELISA assay was evaluated using 1,494 sera samples from 201 hematological adult patients. Monitoring was performed twice weekly during 256 consecutive high-risk treatment periods. Results: Underlying diseases were acute leukemia 52.7%, lymphoma 20.9%, multiple myeloma 12.4%. Eighty four patients (41.8%) were stem cell transplant recipients. Fifty-five patients were diagnosed with IA. PCR-ELISA positivity (i) preceded the empirical antifungal therapy in 20/31 patients (median 10.5 days), (ii) preceded or was simultaneous to the radiological diagnosis by chest CT in 21/31 patients (median 8 days), (iii) preceded the mycological/histological diagnosis in 7/12 patients (median 70 days) and, (iv) anticipated or was simultaneous to the galactomannan (GM) antigen positivity in 50% (median 16.5 days) and in 89 % of the patients (median 33 days) using a 0.5 and a 1.5 optical density index (ODI) cut-off for the GM assay, respectively. For at least two positive samples the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the PCR-ELISA assay, were 63.6%, 82.2%, 57.4% and 85.7%, respectively. When the PCR-ELISA and GM detections were combined, values of the combined test for at least two positive samples with either assay were 80%, 47.3%, 36.4%, 86.2% using the 0.5 GM ODI cutoff, and 67.3%, 82.2%, 58.7% and 87% using the 1.5 GM ODI cutoff. Conclusion: In addition to serial screening with GM antigenemia and chest CT surveillance, the PCR-ELISA assay may improve the early diagnosis of IA.


An approximate method is extended for analyzing the free vibration problem of orthotropic square plate with a square hole. In this paper, a square plate with a square hole is transformed into an equivalent square plate with non-uniform thickness by considering the hole as an extremely thin part of the equivalent plate. Therefore, the dynamic characteristics of a plate with a hole can be obtained by analyzing the equivalent plate. The Green function, which is the discrete solution for the deflection of the equivalent plate, is used to obtain the characteristic equation of the free vibration. The effects of the side to thickness ratio, hole side to plate side ratio and the variation of the thickness on the frequencies are considered. Some numerical analyses are carried out for the simply supported orthotropic square plate with a square hole. The efficiency and accuracy of the numerical solutions by the present method are investigated.


: Objective: - To describe the prenatal sonographic "double-bubble" appearance of duodenal atresia and further comment on its association with Down syndrome. Study Design: - Single descriptive case study. Place: Materials and Method: - A 39-year-old patient presented at 26 weeks of gestation for routine obstetric scan. Prenatal sonographic examination was commenced on Toshiba Xario 100 ultrasound machine using a 3-5 MHz curved-array transducer. Trans-abdominal scan was performed. Fetal growth parameters and amniotic fluid volume were measured. Fetal anatomy was assessed for congenital anomalies. Amniotic fluid cells sample was obtained to carry out prenatal cytogenetic analysis. Results: - Antenatal ultrasound scan revealed a single intrauterine active male fetus with over- distended stomach and duodenum giving rise to a "double-bubble sign" and associated mild polyhydramnios was noted indicating duodenal atresia. Suspicion of Down syndrome was raised. Prenatal cytogenetic investigation (amniocentesis) was carried out to rule out any presence of chromosomal anomalies. The test confirmed that the fetus had Down syndrome. There was confirmed association of duodenal atresia and Down syndrome in the fetus. Family decided to continue pregnancy which was managed accordingly and carefully planned intervention resulted in a live-birth. Duodenal atresia was treated surgically to improve survival rate. This immediate intervention proved beneficial. Conclusion: - Ultrasonography is a safe modality for prenatal screening. There is a known association between duodenal atresia and Down syndrome (approximately 30%) which was noted in our study. Duodenal atresia reveals a typical "double-bubble sign" on prenatal ultrasonography. Awareness of this prenatal sonographic finding should result in improved detection of Down syndrome and also prompt a cytogenetic investigation which will aid to identify, plan and direct the management of fetuses at risk of Down's syndrome.


Background: Clinical glioblastoma treatment mostly focuses on the contrast-enhancing tumor mass. Amino acid positron emission tomography (PET) can detect additional, nonenhancing glioblastoma-infiltrated brain regions that are difficult to distinguish on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We combined MRI with perfusion imaging and amino acid PET to evaluate such nonenhancing glioblastoma regions. Methods: Structural MRI, relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) maps from perfusion MRI, and α-[11C]-methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT)-PET images were analyzed in 20 patients with glioblastoma. The AMT uptake and rCBV (expressed as tumor to normal [T/N] ratios) were compared in nonenhancing tumor portions showing increased signal on T2/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2/FLAIR) images. Results: Thirteen (65%) tumors showed robust heterogeneity in nonenhancing T2/FLAIR hyperintense areas on AMT-PET, whereas the nonenhancing regions in the remaining 7 cases had homogeneous AMT uptake (low in 6, high in 1). AMT and rCBV T/N ratios showed only a moderate correlation in the nonenhancing regions (r = 0.41, P = .017), but regions with very low rCBV (<0.79 T/N ratio) had invariably low AMT uptake. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the metabolic and perfusion heterogeneity of nonenhancing T2/FLAIR hyperintense glioblastoma regions. Amino acid PET imaging of such regions can detect glioma-infiltrated brain for treatment targeting; however, very low rCBV values outside the contrast-enhancing tumor mass make increased AMT uptake in nonenhancing glioblastoma regions unlikely.


Using Swedish panel data, we assess whether the gender gap in supervisory authority has changed during the period 1968-2000, and investigate to what extent the gap can be attributed to gender-specific consequences of family formation. The results indicate that the gap has narrowed modestly during the period, and that the life-event of parenthood is a major cause. As long as women and men are childless and single, the gender gap in supervisory authority is marginal, even reversed. When men become fathers, however, they strongly increase their chances for supervisory authority whereas women's chances remain unaffected when they become mothers. We also find a male "marriage premium" on workplace authority, but this premium is generated by selection.


Matrix inversion is very inefficient for computing direct solutions of the large sparse systems of linear equations that arise in many network problems. Optimally ordered triangular factorization of sparse matrices is more efficient and offers other important computational advantages in some applications. With this method, direct solutions are computed from sparse matrix factors instead of from a full inverse matrix, thereby gaining a significant advantage in speed, computer memory requirements, and reduced round-off error. Improvements of tea to one or more in speed and problem size over present applications of the inverse can be achieved in many cases. Details of the method, numerical examples, and the results of a large problem are given.


A novel approach to generating phase-coded millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signal in the optical domain is proposed. In the proposed system, a radio frequency signal is applied to a Mach-Zehnder modulator that is biased at the minimum transmission point to generate two optical sidebands with suppressed carrier. A differential group delay device is utilized to rotate the polarization states of the optical sidebands to ensure they are orthogonally polarized. The two sidebands are then sent to a polarization modulator (PolM), with their polarization directions aligned with the two principal axes of the PolM, to achieve phase coding. A 33-GHz mm-wave signal that is phase coded by an 8.28 Gb/s digital sequence is experimentally demonstrated. The approach has potential applications in mm-wave pulse compression radar and wireless communications.


OBJECTIVE
As network models of eating disorder (ED) psychopathology become increasingly popular in modeling symptom interconnectedness and identifying potential treatment targets, it is necessary to contextualize their performance against other methods of modeling ED psychopathology and to evaluate potential ways to optimize and capitalize on their use. To accomplish these goals, we used generalized network psychometrics to estimate and compare latent variable models and network models, as well as hybrid models.

METHOD
We tested the structure of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (EPSI) and Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in Recovery Record, Inc. mobile phone application users (N = 6856).

RESULTS
Although all models fit well, results favored a hybrid latent variable and network framework, which showed that ED symptoms fit best when modeled as higher-order constructs, rather than direct symptom-to-symptom connections, and when the relationships between those constructs are described as a network. Hybrid models in which latent factors were modeled as nodes within a network showed that EPSI Purging, Binge Eating, Cognitive Restraint, Body Dissatisfaction, and Excessive Exercise had high importance in the network. EDE-Q Eating Concern and Shape Concern were also important nodes. Results showed that the EPSI network was highly stable and replicable, whereas the EDE-Q network was not.

DISCUSSION
Integrating latent variable and network model frameworks enables tests of centrality to identify important latent variables, such as purging, that may promote the spread of ED psychopathology throughout a network, allowing for the identification of future treatment targets.


This paper provides an analytical formula for the theoretical stress concentration factor in a common type of excavation repair for large forgings and castings. Mechanical components obtained with these processes are often subjected to superficial defects. As the rejection of such pieces is out of question, given the relevant size and costs associated with them, usual industrial practice consists in the removal of the defect and a portion of the surrounding material through milling processes. The authors have selected a reference geometry of the excavation to be left on the mechanical pieces, which can be easily controllable in practice by three operating parameters. Then, the domain of existence of such a repair was investigated on a sequence of discrete points, by means of FEA, obtaining for each, the values of the stress concentration factor Kt. Finally, through polynomial regression, the Kt functions have been accurately approximated by a sixth degree polynomial formulation, which, given a triplet of dimensional geometric parameters, is able to compute the stress concentration factor Kt, with an error that never exceeds 8%.


Abstract In this study, Thymus numidicus Poir. plant material was collected from two different locations in north-western Tunisia and the aerial parts essential oils (EOs) were extracted via hydro-distillation. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) were used for the qualitative analysis and quantification of the volatile constituents. Thymol (50.1–52.8%) was identified as the main compound of both EOs. To evaluate the potential application of the EOs as antifungal agents, the in vitro inhibitory effects were tested against six fungal strains; a strong antifungal activity of one sample was observed (MIC = 40–400 µg/mL). The in vitro antiproliferative activity was investigated on two human cancer cell lines, i.e. the colonic (HCT116) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) using the colourimetric MTT assay. Again, the same sample demonstrated to possess good antiproliferative activity against both cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 26.9 and 11.7 µg/mL, respectively.


This dictionary gives the user guidance at a glance on all spelling forms, and also shows the points at which it is acceptable to hyphenate. The dictionary gives extensive coverage with over 146,000 words. Every word for which one or more acceptable hyphenation breaks exist has these shown by a plus sign, printed in red to make it easily identifiable. All the material in the dictionary is derived from a machine-readable electronic dictionary, which was itself created from the "Collins English Dictionary". Each main word is followed by any words that are derived from it, the derivative forms being indented under the main word. It is often these derived forms that cause uncertainty - for instance, is the "t" doubled at the end of "benefit" when adding -ed or the "e" dropped in "glance" when adding -ing? The arrangement of the book means that all existing related forms are shown together. Where acceptable variant spellings exist, such as judgment and judgement, both are given. American spellings are also shown, clearly labelled. Geographical and other proper names are included.


It is well known that a large terminal set leads to a large region where the MPC problem is feasible without the need for a long prediction horizon. This paper proposes a new method for the enlargement of the terminal set. Contrary to existing approaches, the method uses the convex hull of a trajectory as the basis for the construction. This trajectory may be any feasible trajectory of the system terminating in an invariant set around the origin and is not restricted to consist only of equilibrium points. The method is applied in an MPC scheme where the terminal set is calculated at initialization.


Bacterial meningitis is one of the most serious forms of meningitis. Bacteria that cause meningitis often gain access to the CNS through the bloodstream after trauma or as a result of the action of bacterial toxins. Bacteria may also spread from structures in the upper respiratory tract, such as the oropharynx, nasopharynx, sinuses, and middle ear. Patients with head wounds or cochlear implants (an electronic device placed in the inner ear) are also at risk for developing meningitis.


Termination checking is a classic static analysis, and, within this focus, there are type-based approaches that formalize termination analysis as type systems (i.e., so that all well-typed programs terminate). But there are situations where a stronger termination property (which we call strongly-bounded termination) must be determined and, accordingly, we explore this property via a variant of the simply-typed λ-calculus called the bounded-time λ-calculus (BTC). This paper presents the BTC and its semantics and metatheory through a Coq formalization. Important examples (e.g., hardware synthesis from functional languages and detection of covert timing channels) motivating strongly-bounded termination and BTC are described as well.


We consider the effect of inhomogeneities on the expansion of the Einstein–de Sitter universe. We find that the back-reaction of linear scalar metric perturbations results in apparent dark energy with a mixture of equations of state between 0 and -4/3. We discuss the possibility that back-reaction could account for present-day acceleration.


High resolution model estimations of tropospheric NO2 column amounts from the Comprehensive Air Quality Model (CAMx) were simulated for the Balkan Peninsula and were compared with satellite data for a period of one year, in order to study the characteristics of the spatial and temporal variability of pollution in the area. The Balkan area is considered a crossroad of different pollution sources and therefore has been divided in urban, industrial and rural regions, aiming to investigate the consistency of satellite retrievals and model predictions at high spatial resolution. Satellite measurements of tropospheric NO2 are available daily at 13:30 LT since 2004 from OMI/Aura with a resolution of 13×24 km. The anthropogenic emissions used in CAMx for the domain under study, was compiled employing bottom‐up approaches (road transport sector, off‐road machinery) as well as other national registries and international databases. High resolution GIS maps (road network, landuses, population) were also used in order...


Mastery sentences, in which students compose a sentence demonstrating their understanding of a given English word, are recognized as an effective means of promoting vocabulary learning (Masson, 2012). As explained in Gallacher (2015, p.76) a "successful mastery sentence thus becomes one in which the target word, if removed, could only be replaced by a direct synonym." Early in the spring 2017 semester, students were advised that their vocabulary midterm test would be a Mastery Sentence test of 10 items. An explanation of Mastery Sentences was provided, as were successful and poor examples. High-beginner first year students, enrolled in a mandatory English class at a university in southern Japan (n = 209), took a Mastery Sentence midterm test of 10 items selected from their assigned vocabulary word list of 40 words. This test was given at the beginning of one class in June 2017. Towards the end of that same 90 minute class, students took an English to Japanese translation test of those same 10 individual items. Unfortunately, 81 students had perfect scores on the translation test, leading to a ceiling effect. These 81 were deleted from the data pool, leaving 128. Overall, mastery sentence test scores were higher than translation test scores. Results found that for 19% of the possible pairings, the mastery sentences did not match the translation; neither both were correct or both were incorrect. Also for half of the tested items more than 21% showed the same mismatch. It was concluded that mastery sentences did not consistently reflect actual word meaning knowledge.


Abstract
This chapter analyzes the practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in Chilean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This work follows an explorative and descriptive methodology that uses analysis of secondary information as data collection instrument. Results suggest that SMEs in Chile seem to have a higher degree of adoption of CSR practices when compared to those of other countries in Latin America. Chilean SMEs tend to concentrate their efforts in the area of human resources; therefore, these organizations are more willing to invest in labor-related issues than in the negative impacts they may generate in the environment and society. This can be evaluated as a natural first stage, since worker-focused CSR programs generally have a faster return on investment than those focused on other areas. Also, the relations that SMEs develop with local communities to create value are still an area of opportunity that can be addressed through the SMEs and CSR technical groups of the Pacific Alliance. This alliance is an ideal platform to share best CSR practices among SMEs, which probably will increase their competitiveness.


How do poets, writers and cultural critics contend with and represent the garden or their own gardening as they are changed by austerity? Gardening under austerity encompasses a diversity of places, spaces, practices, and actors: suburban allotments and zoological gardens, Victory diggers and urban foragers, human gardeners and the unruly more-than-human world. Theorizing the politics, poetics and practices of austerity gardening in twentieth and twenty-first century Anglophone cultural texts, The Poetics and Politics of Gardening in Hard Times explores the variegated impact of austerity in conjunction with the representation of the garden in the national context of England in the mid-century, and how garden imagery is embedded within and illuminates the political, economic, and social contexts of literary production.


Macrostructures of melt-crystallized vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene (37/63), (65/35) and (73/27) mol% copolymers have been studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The SEM images show stacks of lamellar crystals with thicknesses of about 1000 A. However, experimental SAXS intensities do not show diffraction peaks that are sufficiently distinct to suggest the presence of the lamellar stacks; rather, they decrease almost monotonically as the scattering angle increases. Two structural models are introduced to calculate theoretical SAXS intensity, and the degree of agreement between theoretical and experimental SAXS intensities is examined for each model. The first model is the finite lamellar stack model, which presents a good approximation of the macrostructures shown in the SEM images. However, this model yields poor agreement in higher angular regions, which indicates that the lamellar stack model is not valid for analyzing the experimental SAXS intensities of melt-crystallized copolymers. Thus, a second model is proposed: crystalline blocks cohere and constitute quasi lamellae, which are then stacked. The theoretical SAXS intensity based on the second model gives a satisfactory description of the experimental SAXS intensity.


Inflammation markers are significantly higher among hemodialysis (HD) patients, which have been associated with chronic activation of the immune system. Hemodialysis centers in Baghdad appear to be taking measures with low adequacy and frequency of dialysis sessions, which can be a reason for decreased kidney functions. Therefore, the objective of this study focuses on the assessment of different aspects of hemodialysis for regular HD patients in Baghdad, including inflammatory markers (serum C-reactive protein, CRP, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ESR), dialysis dose, comorbidities, and demographic factors for a period of one year (2018), the assessment covered four major hospitals in Baghdad namely (Al-Kindi, Baghdad Educational, Al-Imamain Al-Jwadian, and AlYarmouk). The study involved 320 adult (chronic kidney disease; non hepatitis virus) patients (55% male and 45% female) treated with regular hemodialysis. When compared with the normal values specified by manufacturers for the number of measurement of these indicators. Inflammation markers were high in HD patients were 66.2% of patients recorded elevated of CRP and 87.7% for ESR with no significant difference between males and females, but the origin of chronic inflammation in the patient's remains unclear. Moreover, the majority of HD patients were non-educated; illustring that higher education is possibly associated with lower disease incidence as compared to those who never finished high school. Finally, most of these hospitals, average hemodialysis treatment lasts about three hours and is done two times per week.


This qualitative study examined the prevalence of the "Nine Ds," a framework developed by Edwards and Benson for understanding the heterogeneity of reasons for which grandparents assume care of grandchildren (i.e., death, disease, detention, divorce, departure, drugs, desertion, delivery, deployment) in a contemporary sample. Using a nationwide sample of custodial grandparents (N = 322) and foster parents (N = 105), caregivers were asked their reason for assuming care of the grandchild or foster child within their care. The results of the study suggest that the Nine Ds are a useful framework, but accounted for only 21.74% of responses, indicating the Nine Ds fail to capture many of the reasons for assuming care. Three new themes—dollars, duty, and daily grind—were identified using semantic thematic analysis and are applicable to both grandfamilies and foster families. These themes represent different motivations for assuming care and provide insight into the social structures that may act as barriers to family formation. This study provides a foundation for future research examining the impact of assumed care by non-parental attachment figures on the health and well-being of both grandchildren and foster children.


5085 We have previously reported the generation of a preclinical model of ovarian carcinoma with diminished response to Herceptin (Trastuzumab). SKOV-3 HR (Herceptin-refractory) subcutaneous xenograft tumors, unlike parental SKOV-3 xenografts, were not growth inhibited by Herceptin over a 4-week treatment period when implanted in athymic nu/nu mice. Herceptin has a 3-fold lower binding affinity on HER2 (erbB2) cell surface receptors of SKOV-3 HR cells, and was unable to inhibit the proliferation of these cells. To understand the cause of the experimentally-induced lack of response to Herceptin, microarray expression profiling (MEP) was performed on both the parental/Herceptin-susceptible and Herceptin-refractory cell lines. SKOV-3 and SKOV-3 HR cells were incubated with or without Herceptin up to 72 hours, cells harvested, RNA extracted, and cDNA scanned onto Affymetrix (U133A, U133B) gene chips. MEP results revealed an increased expression of angiogenic, metastatic, and invasive genes such as Angiopoietin 2, ICAM2, nestin, fibulin, MMP7, ceruloplasmin, CD24, FGFR3, and Vav3 oncogene in SKOV-3 HR cells. Alternatively, keratin 19, integrin alpha 3 and beta 4, uPAR and thrombomodulin were downregulated potentiating an epithelial to mesenchymal phenotypic transition. Interestingly, Mucin1 (MUC1) gene expression was also upregulated (4-5 fold) in basal and Herceptin-treated SKOV-3 HR cells. Glycosylated MUC1 is aberrantly overexpressed in breast and ovarian carcinomas. HER2 has been shown to regulate MUC1 expression in transformed mammary epithelial cells. MUC1 transmembrane overexpression on SKOV-3 HR cells could possibly affect Herceptin binding by direct steric hindrance onto HER2 receptors. Additionally, the MUC1 cytoplasmic tail has been reported to bind all four members of the HER/erbB family of tyrosine kinase receptors. Increased phosphorylation of MUC1 in SKOV-3 HR cells could potentiate downstream signaling pathways such as Ras/Raf/Erk (MAPK) leading to increased proliferation. Through the use of MEP, we hypothesize that increased expression of MUC1 and genes involved in angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis may play a role in lack of Herceptin-response which drives an aggressive HER2-positive primary tumor with greater metastatic potential, thus leading to poor prognosis and shortened survival. It remains to be determined if similar changes occur in Herceptin-treated patients whose tumors progress.


Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a hormone of the adrenal cortex, acts as a peroxisome proliferator and hepatocarcinogen in rats upon long-term treatment with high doses in the diet. The aim of the present study was to identify the site of origin of hepatocellular neoplasms and the sequence of preneoplastic lesions. Twenty-five female and 25 male rats were given 0.6% DHEA in the diet; 25 animals of each sex were controls. Groups of 5 treated and untreated animals were sacrificed after 4, 20, 32, 70, and 84 wk. Amphophilic cell foci were detected after 32 wk of treatment; they developed from the liver parenchyma almost exclusively in the vicinity of portal tracts. Adenomas of the amphophilic or amphophilic/tigroid cell phenotype were observed at 70 wk of treatment. Highly differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas presenting a similar cellular phenotype occurred after 70-84 wk. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas was 44% in female and 11% in male rats. Ultrastructural studies of the amphophilic cell foci and tumors revealed a marked proliferation of mitochondria and a moderate proliferation of peroxisomes in all lesions. In addition, a very strong peroxisome proliferation was observed in perivenular hepatocytes in the liver of female rats. Peroxisomes usually lacked core and showed flocculent matrices. In male rats, weak peroxisomal proliferation was observed. Typical morphological abnormalities of these peroxisomes were paracrystalline inclusions of striated appearance. Although the most prominent peroxisome proliferation was observed in perivenular hepatocytes, these cells did not seem to be involved in tumor development. In contrast, the morphological similarity of the amphophilic cell foci and the amphophilic/tigroid cell adenomas and carcinomas, their coincident localization near portal tracts, and the sequential appearance of these lesions suggest that the amphophilic cell foci represent an early stage in DHEA-induced hepatocellular neoplasia. Mitochondrial proliferation as the most prominent feature in all stages of this model of hepatocarcinogenesis may offer a new approach for analysis of hepatocarcinogenesis induced by DHEA and possibly other peroxisomal proliferators.


XML (extensible markup language) is the global standardized and flexible electronic data expression form, expected to further spread through its varied and wide use. To improve data-processing performance for XML documents in a record form, such as bills and customer lists (the data size tends to be large for business purposes), a reversible compaction method which reduces the number of apparent elements has been newly developed. The compaction is executed using XSLT, which is a format conversion of the basic function in an XML environment, such as Aapache XML software and MSXML in Microsoft Internet explorer6.0. To enable the user to easily perform the conversion, we let the user simply draw up an XML document, "compaction specification" which enumerates all elements in a record and specifies the elements to be compacted. The improvement of data-processing performance was measured using test documents and the improvement of main memory requirements and parsing time of standardized XML API software, DOM parser is also presented.


The aims of this research were to identify the consumer's characteristics that do the complain act, to analyze the relation between consumer's characteristics with the complaint action, to analyze the company's conception with consumer's satisfactory level, and to analyze factors influence consumer's satisfaction level complaint after company's response. The research was conducted from February to May 2008 in Jabodetabek, using descriptive design method. The data collected was primary and secondary data which analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Then, the data was processed by using Microsoft Excel and SPSS 13.0. The satisfaction level was obtained by measurement using scale interval. Statistical test used in this research were Spearman Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression. According to this research's results showed that 18-40 year old male consumers with high education incline to do the complaint act. Products/services usually complained were those around services, quality, and transaction cases. Almost all consumers felt unsatisfied towards the company's after complaint 'conception. This unsatisfactory was caused by the company's bad and ineffective conception. The company's conception had a strong relationship with the satisfactory level. Factors influenced consumer's satisfaction level after complaint were sex, education, and the company's fast conception towards


Salivary gland involvement is one of the radioiodine therapy complications. Salivary gland scintigraphy in quantitative mode can accurately evaluate salivary gland function. Methods: Salivary gland scintigraphy was performed with Tc-99m Pertechnetate, at the time of iodine therapy as a basic study and then 3 weeks and 3 months afterwards. Ejection Fraction (EF) of parotid and submandibular glands was obtained at each stage of the study. Results: 36 patients (10 male, 16 female) were studied. Mean of EF 3 weeks and 3 months following radioiodine therapy was reduced. There was no significant involvement in 12 patients (33.3%). With increase in radioiodine dose, more salivary gland involvement was noted in 3 weeks (P=0.07), but not after 3 months (P=0.5). No difference was noted between two sexes (P=0.6). Parotid gland involvement was more than submandibular gland (P<0.05), confirming more radiosensitivity of parotid gland. No meaningful relation was noted between salivary gland involvements with age (P=0.1). Parotid gland dysfunction was not related to radioiodine dose, but in submandibular gland, with dosage increase, more involvement was noted (P=0.02). Clinical symptoms were not reliable in evaluating salivary gland dysfunction.


Partial discharge (PD) measurements are universally accepted as a technique giving some indication of the state of the insulation in high-voltage apparatus. Cable end users are keen to adopt online PD monitoring during commissioning of systems. However, because of noisy environments and the problems of interference the conventional methods are difficult to implement. As a consequence, ultra-high frequency (UHF)/very high frequency (VHF) techniques of on-site detection of partial discharges have been developed. A technique based on capacitive coupling has received much attention. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to use the technique to monitor the partial discharge in cables, particularly in joints/terminations. However, in order to obtain quantitative information about PD, calibration is required for this technique. Existing calibration methods are difficult to implement on-site. In this paper, a novel method is proposed and compared with the conventional method on a short piece of cable. It has been shown that an individual capacitive coupler can also be accurately calibrated on-site and online using the new method, therefore it provides quantitative information about the amount of apparent discharge. In practice, this is important for electricity utilities as the quantitative information about PD can be used to determine the quality of the cable system and to decide whether the system needs to be repaired or replaced.


Boundary recovery is one of the main obstacles in applying the Delaunay criterion to mesh generation. A standard resolution is to add Steiner points directly at the intersection positions between missing boundaries and triangulations. We redesign the algorithm with the aid of some new concepts, data structures and operations, which make its implementation routine. Furthermore, all possible intersection cases and their solutions are presented, some of which are seldom discussed in the literature. Finally, numerical results are presented to evaluate the performance of the new algorithm.


The efficient conversion of biomass into biofuels is closely associated with the topochemistry of the cell wall. In this study, the topochemical correlation between carbohydrates and lignin in the Eucommia ulmoides cell wall was investigated in situ by confocal Raman microscopy. The carbohydrates and lignin were mainly collocated in the secondary wall of the fiber, ray parenchyma, and vessel in E. ulmoides. High carbohydrates were associated with low lignin or vice versa, indicating that a high concentration of carbohydrates leads to a drop in the degree of lignification. Furthermore, the band intensity ratio of S- and G-lignin to carbohydrates (I1333/I2889 and I1274/I2889) in morphologically distinct regions of fiber was calculated. In accordance with the wet chemical analysis, a higher ratio of lignin to carbohydrates was observed within the middle layer of the 3-year-old E. ulmoides fiber secondary wall. The results potentially extend the current understanding of the carbohydrate and lignin topochemistry in woody biomass and may facilitate an efficient wood bioconversion process in future biorefineries.


Eighty‐nine postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer, in whom estrogen receptors (ER) were positive or unknown, were treated on a controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of tamoxifen and to assess the therapeutic advantage of sequentially adding low‐dose cyclophosphamide‐methotrexate‐5‐fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy in tamoxifen responders. Patients with known ER negative status were not studied. After the initial 12 week treatment with tamoxifen alone, 59% of ER positive patients achieved complete or partial response as did 35% in whom ER were unknown. Response status further improved in 18% randomized to continue tamoxifen alone vs. 28% in whom CMF was added to tamoxifen. There were no statistically significant differences in time to the development of progressive disease or survival between the ER positive and ER unknown patients or between the tamoxifen and tamoxifen plus CMF groups. We conclude that inability to determine ER status should not prejudice against the use of tamoxifen in postmenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer. As yet, no benefit has been demonstrated from the addition of CMF chemotherapy in tamoxifen responders. Cancer 45:735‐741, 1980.


This Note examines the split among the federal circuit courts regarding the application of agency principles to claims of foreign sovereign immunity. Specifically, a minority of courts have applied the doctrine of apparent authority in determining whether a sovereign is bound by the acts of its agents. The majority of courts have, however, declined to apply the doctrine, holding that only actual authority is sufficient to bind sovereigns to their agents' acts. This Note examines the policy ramifications of the minority view through the lens of sovereign debt litigation, especially those conducted by so-called vulture funds, and ultimately concludes that the minority view should be explicitly disregarded via congressional revision of the statutory scheme governing claims of foreign sovereign immunity.


AIM: To construct a anti dodecane tertraacetic acid yttrium (DOTA Y) immune Fab phage antibody library. METHODS: BALB/c were immunized with BSA Y DOTA which was prepared by DOTA conjugated BSA and chelated with Y. After determination of anti serum, total RNA was extracted from splenic lymphocytes of immuned mice. The heavy chain Fd and light chain Kappa genes repertoires of immunoglobulin were amplified respectively by RT PCR, and then the amplified products were cloned into the reconstructive phage vector pComb3M to construct anti DOTA Y Fab antibody. And then, the recombination rate, diversity and display of Fab antibody library were identified by restriction endonuclease digestion, DNA sequenceing and ELISA. RESULTS: BSA Y DOTA was prepared successfully, and a higher titer of immune sera was achieved. The amplified gene fragments of Fd and κ chain by RT PCR were correct and the length was with about 650 bp, and were inserted exactly. The sink size of Fab phage display library reached 8×10 7, the recombination rate was about 90%, and it possesed great diversity. In addition, ELISA detection showed that there was Fab expression on the phage library. CONCLUSION: An immune Fab phage antibody library of DOTA Y has been constructed successfully, which lays a solid foundation for screening specific anti DOTA Y antibody.


BACKGROUND Ultrasound imaging of the spine is thought to reduce failed and traumatic neuraxial procedures. Most of the evidence supporting this assumption has been produced in the context of an expert sonographer performing the ultrasound assessment, and it remains unknown whether this technique is useful when used by multiple individual operators. OBJECTIVE To invesstigate the impact of preprocedural spinal ultrasound on the ease of insertion of labour epidurals by a group of trainees. We hypothesised that the ultrasound-assisted technique would improve the ease of insertion when compared with the conventional palpation technique. DESIGN A randomised controlled trial. SETTING Academic hospital in Toronto, Canada. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION A group of 17 second-year anaesthesia residents and five anaesthesia fellows underwent a training programme in ultrasound assessment of the spine. Parturients with easily palpable lumbar spines were randomised to either ultrasound or palpation group. Residents and fellows performed both the assessment (ultrasound or palpation) and the epidural procedure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome: ease of insertion of epidural catheter composed of the time taken to insert the epidural catheter, number of interspace levels attempted and number of needle passes. Secondary outcomes: total procedural time (assessment and insertion); first pass success rate; number of attempts required to thread the epidural catheter; failure of epidural analgesia; and patient satisfaction. RESULTS We analysed 128 epidural catheter insertions (residents 84, fellows 44). There was no difference in median (interquartile range, IQR) epidural insertion time between the ultrasound and palpation groups [174 (120 to 241) versus 180 (130 to 322.5) s, respectively; P = 0.14]. The number of interspace levels attempted and needle passes were also similar in both groups. The total procedural time was longer in the ultrasound group. CONCLUSION The use of preprocedural spinal ultrasound by a cohort of anaesthesia trainees did not improve the ease of insertion of labour epidural catheters in patients with easily palpable lumbar spines, as compared with the traditional palpation technique based on anatomical landmarks. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00996905.


A total of 116 finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis, were collected in the Yellow Sea off Korea. About 111 specimens were incidentally caught by stow nets on anchors from March to June 2010, and five were stranded in February 2011. Age was determined by counting dentinal growth layer groups (GLGs) in thin-sectioned teeth, and sexual maturity rating (SMR) was classified by investigating ovaries and testis macroscopically and microscopically. Immature females were ranged 1–4 years old and 92.6–141.2 cm in total body length (TBL), pubertal ones were all 5 years old and 125.4–136.0 cm, and mature ones ranged 5–19 years old and 131.6–155.2 cm. Age at attainment of sexual maturity of females was 4–5 years old. Parturition season estimated based on TBL of eight fetuses was from April to August with a peak in April to May. The first age at parturition was 5 years old. Among 62 males, immature males were 1–4 years old and 87.9–154.6 cm, pubertal ones were 3–5 years old and 121.5–134.5 cm, and mature ones were 4–19 years old and 125.3–229.0 cm. Males reached sexual maturity at 4–5 years old. Testicular mass and the diameters of seminiferous tubules were dramatically increased with SMR and regressed in testis of the individuals stranded in February. It suggested that male finless porpoises have aspermatogenic period between October and February. It is presumed that the breeding season would be May–September with a peak in May–June.


This talk provides a review of laser pulse post-compression leveraged by the advent of the multi-pass spectral broadening scheme, including perspectives on expanding the limits of pulse duration and energy.


Guidance and counseling teachers are mandated to improve the mental health of learners. This research explores the challenges encountered by guidance and counseling teachers in developing mental health literacy. The study involved 179 guidance and counseling teachers. Questionnaires with open questions were distributed to the participants via Google Form. The data analysis was descriptive. The results showed that the encountered challenges were a lack of related knowledge about mental health, the existing stigma, and the social support received by the teachers.
Keywords: challenges, guidance and counseling, teachers, mental health literacy


Two hundred and twenty six consecutive patients aged over 75 years discharged following an acute medical admission to a district general hospital were followed up six months later. 46 (20.3%) required emergency admission within three months of discharge. 19 had a diagnosis related to their original admission, and 27 an unrelated diagnosis. The mean time to readmission was 34 days, but this was significantly shorter (21 days) in those with a related diagnosis. Those readmitted had more often required admission in the year prior to their index admission, had more comorbidities, higher use of social services, and no carer. There were no significant differences in age, gender, mental test score, length of stay, home circumstances or diagnosis. The results suggest that most readmissions are due to medical rather than social problems, and that most are unavoidable. Efforts to reduce readmissions should be directed at preventing early medical relapse in at risk patients.


Objective To determine the extent to which family physicians closed their doors altogether or for in-person visits during the pandemic, their future practice intentions, and related factors. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Six geographic areas in Toronto, Ont, aligned with Ontario Health Team regions. Participants Family doctors practising office-based, comprehensive family medicine. Main outcome measures Practice operations in January 2021, use of virtual care, and future plans. Results Of the 1016 (85.7%) individuals who responded to the survey, 99.7% (1001 of 1004) indicated their practices were open in January 2021, with 94.8% (928 of 979) seeing patients in person and 30.8% (264 of 856) providing in-person care to patients reporting COVID-19 symptoms. Respondents estimated spending 58.2% of clinical care time on telephone visits, 5.8% on video appointments, and 7.5% on e-mail or secure messaging. Among respondents, 17.5% (77 of 439) were planning to close their existing practices in the next 5 years. There were higher proportions of physicians who worked alone in clinics among those who did not see patients in person (27.6% no vs 12.4% yes, P<.05), among those who did not see symptomatic patients (15.6% no vs 6.5% yes, P<.001), and among those who planned to close their practices in the next 5 years (28.9% yes vs 13.9% no, P<.01). Conclusion Most family physicians in Toronto were open to in-person care in January 2021, but almost one-fifth were considering closing their practices in the next 5 years. Policy makers need to prepare for a growing family physician shortage and better understand factors that support recruitment and retention.


The cultivation of true morels (Morchella spp., Morchellaceae, Ascomycota) has rapidly expanded in recent years, especially in China. Red stipe is a symptom wherein the stipe of morel fruiting bodies becomes red–gray, resulting in the gradual death of the affected fruiting bodies. The impact of red-stipe symptom occurrence on the development and nutritional quality of morel fruiting bodies remains unclear. Herein, morel ascocarps with the red-stipe symptom (R) and normal (N), artificially cultivated in the Fujian Province of China, were selected for the transcriptome and metabolome analysis to study the physiological and biochemical responses of morel fruiting bodies to the red-stipe symptom. Transcriptome data revealed several differentially expressed genes between the R and N groups significantly enriched in the tyrosine, riboflavin, and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways. Similarly, the differentially accumulated metabolites were mainly assigned to metabolic pathways, including tyrosine, the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites, and the biosynthesis of amino acids. Moreover, the transcriptome and metabolome data combination revealed that tyrosine metabolism was the most enriched pathway, which was followed by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism. Overall, the integration of transcriptomic and metabolomic data of M. sextelata affected by red-stipe symptoms identified several important genes, metabolites, and pathways. These findings further improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the red-stipe symptom development of M. sextelata and provide new insights into how to optimize its cultivation methods.


Small bowel capsule endoscopy has become a commonly used tool in the investigation of gastrointestinal symptoms and is now widely available in clinical practice. In contrast to conventional endoscopy, there is a lack of clear consensus on when competency is achieved or the way in which capsule endoscopy should be performed in order to maintain quality and clinical accuracy. Here we explore the evidence on the key factors that influence the quality of small bowel capsule endoscopy services.


Most patients are at high risk of thrombosis during cancer treatment. However, the major discrepancy in the therapeutic mechanisms and microenvironment between tumors and thrombosis makes it challenging for a panacea to treat cancer while being able to eliminate the risk of thrombosis. Herein, we developed a biomimetic MnOx/Ag2S nanoflower platform with platelet membrane modification (MnOx@Ag2S@hirudin@platelet membrane: MAHP) for the long-term release of anticoagulant drugs to treat thrombosis together with tumor therapy. This MAHP platform could achieve the targeted delivery of hirudin to the thrombus site and perform the controlled release under the irradiation of near-infrared light, demonstrating effective removal of the thrombus. Moreover, MAHP could inhibit tumor progression and prolong the survival time of mice with thromboembolic complications.


Audit committee , external auditor , and Board of Commissioner have a very important role to oversee the financial reporting process and monitor the propensity of a company managers to manipulate earnings.
This study uses secondary data from annual reports and financial statements on non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2014. The sampling method used is purposive sampling. The total number of samples in this study were 93 data, but after going through the stages of data processing, there are 1 of data outliers that should be excluded from the sample. Thus, the total number of eligible final sample was observed that 92 data. Variable earnings management, activeness of the audit committee, the expertise finance of audit committee, external audit, the expertise finance of commisioner,indpendence of commisioner and activeness of commisioner actionanalyzed by Ordinary Least Square regression.
Activeness of the audit committee and the expertise finance of commisioner significantly do not impact of earnings management, while the external audit significantly impact the earnings management. However, the expertise finance of audit committee, the board of activeness of commisioner and the indpendence of commisioner independence have not significant effect on earnings management


2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]oxathiine represents a valuable pharmacophoric heterocyclic nucleus known since very long time. Initially, together with some patents reporting the use of these compounds as herbicides or lipogenesis inhibitors, several papers reported their ability as melatonin, histamine and serotonin receptor ligands, alpha-adrenoreceptor blockers as well as non-glycoside sweeteners. This wide range of biological activities has been recently further improved by studies stating their activity as antimycotics, multi-defense antioxidants and estrogen receptor ligands. The last insights regarding the preparation, the biological activity and the structure activity relationship (SAR) of derivatives containing the dihydrobenzoxathiine skeleton will be discussed in this review.


According to a previously reported model [IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 27, 396 (1991)], the properties of injection-locked gain-guided diode laser arrays depend on the geometric characteristics of the master beam, such as the size of its waist and its incidence angle. Experimentally, two injection configurations are of particular interest: the focused injection, in which the master beam is focused on one stripe of the slave array, and the wide-beam injection, in which the master beam is shone on the whole or a part of the width of the array. We investigate experimentally and compare these two configurations. In particular, we show that, in agreement with our theory, changing the geometry of the master beam greatly alters the far-field patterns, the locking bandwidth, and the spectrum of the locked array. We also compare the injection angle sensitivity and the beam-steering properties of the two configurations. Observations confirm our predictions, and optimal configurations are proposed.


New developments in additive manufacturing and regenerative medicine have the potential to radically disrupt the traditional pipelines of therapy development and medical device manufacture. These technologies present a challenge for regulators because traditional regulatory frameworks are designed for mass manufactured therapies, rather than bespoke solutions. 3D bioprinting technologies present another dimension of complexity through the inclusion of living cells in the fabrication process. Herein we overview the challenge of regulating 3D bioprinting in comparison to existing cell therapy products as well as custom-made 3D printed medical devices. We consider a range of specific challenges pertaining to 3D bioprinting in regenerative medicine, including classification, risk, standardization and quality control, as well as technical issues related to the manufacturing process and the incorporated materials and cells.


The interaction of highly ionized laser-produced plasma jets with gases has been studied with X-ray microscopic methods. Simultaneous high spectral and 2-dimensional spatial resolution provided a detailed topological structure of the counter-propagating plasma and discovered a gas pressure-dependent X-ray emission structure inside the jets of H-like and He-like aluminum ions. At larger distances from the target, anomalous high (3 orders of magnitude) intensities of Li-like intercombination transitions from double excited states have been identified. Charge-exchange-driven cascading in autoionizing states is proposed to explain the experimental findings.


Theoretical description of the electronic vibrational spectroscopy of atoms adsorbed on metal surfaces is developed which takes into account both open and closed (i.e. resonant) scattering channels of incoming electrons. Inelastic scattering cross section for the lowest order vibrational transition is formulated in the two-beam approximation, and the matrix elements are explicitly calculated in the point dipole model. The proper inclusion of the resonant channel scattering leads to the enhancement of the inelastic peaks near resonances, and, assuming the laterally screened induced electron-dipole interaction, explains the partial breakdown of the dipole selection rules and the relative strengths of parallel and normal vibrational excitations, as observed in HREELS of hydrogen adsorbed on transition metal surfaces. The angular dependences of the loss peaks on and off resonances are also discussed.


A novel block prior is proposed for adaptive Bayesian estimation. The prior does not depend on the smoothness of the function or the sample size. It puts sufficient prior mass near the true signal and automatically concentrates on its effective dimension. A rate-optimal posterior contraction is obtained in a general framework, which includes density estimation, white noise model, Gaussian sequence model, Gaussian regression and spectral density estimation.


Frostbite is a form of thermal injury that can have devastating consequences for patients, including digit amputations and sometimes more proximal amputations. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no one has determined national characteristics of frostbite patients, nor the prevalence of these diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. This is the first look at nationwide trends in the treatment of frostbite in the United States. Patients with frostbite injury were identified in the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) and National Burn Repository (NBR). Inclusion criteria were diagnosis codes of frostbite injury. The number of frostbite patients treated each year is relatively stable at NBR (N = 497) contributing centers. The NTDB (N = 388) has shown a trend toward increased numbers of frostbite patients. Both databases show an overwhelmingly male demographic (NBR 81.1%, NTDB 75.8%) with a predominance of lower extremity injury (NBR 47.9%, NTDB 66%). Hospital days were similar in both databases (NBR 10.7, NTDB 9.5). Both databases show that frostbite patients frequently require an intensive care unit (ICU) stay, with an average of 8.5 ICU days for NBR patients and 5.9 days for NTDB patients. Frostbite is often a severe disease process that results in relatively long hospital and ICU stays, as well as frequent significant surgeries including amputation. Often, patients afflicted with frostbite require discharge to skilled care before returning home. As more centers encounter patients with frostbite injury, the need for increased awareness of limb/digit saving treatment modalities should be addressed through education from national associations.


Summary

The information extracted from IMPASSE, DAISIE, FishBase, and FAO-DIAS inventories of alien species were used to draw a list of the 27 most utilized animal alien species for aquaculture and related activities (e.g. stocking, sport fishing, ornamental purposes) in Europe. Three variables have been considered to assess their negative ecological impacts when these species escape from aquaculture facilities: (i) their distribution across Europe (including non-EU Member States); (ii) evidence of their environmental impact in the wild; and (iii) evidence of their being vectors of non-target alien species and other hitchhikers (e.g. pathogens). Drivers of use and mechanisms of dispersal in the wild have been also considered and reviewed. Twenty of the species are freshwater fishes: alien cyprinids and salmonids have been introduced into Europe mainly for food production, sport fishing and ornamental purposes. The most widespread species are the goldfish Carassius auratus and the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, established in 29 and 28 European countries, respectively. Notwithstanding their successful distribution in Europe, only the Gibel carp Carassius gibelio and the peneid shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus were found to have environmental impact in all the countries of establishment. Crayfish and predatory fishes (e.g. catfishes and salmonids) cause major environmental impacts in Europe by outcompeting native species and altering habitat structure. Alien crayfish, Procambarus clarkii and Pacifastacus leniusculus, are responsible for the largest range of impacts (i.e. crayfish plague dissemination, bioaccumulation of pollutants, community dominance, competition and predation on native species, habitat modifications, food web impairment, herbivory and macrophytes removal). Cyprinids (e.g. herbivorous carps) are vectors of diseases and parasites, while salmonids (e.g. Salvelinus fontinalis) often cause genetic impairment of native stocks by hybridization. The importation of alien farmed (target) species frequently leads to the introduction of associated non-target species. The cultures of the Pacific cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas and Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum were responsible for the introduction of the largest number (60) of non-native invertebrates and algae, often attached to packaging material, fouling the shell or parasitizing bivalve tissues.


BACKGROUND
Uterine myomas are most common non-cancerous tumours in reproductive period. The fertility preserving surgery, i.e., myomectomy as compared to hysterectomy, is associated with massive blood loss due to dissection of huge fibroids making it technically difficult procedure. Misoprostol (a uterotonic) is an effective option amongst different interventions used to reduce intraoperative blood loss during myomectomy. This randomized control trial investigated effectiveness of single dose of rectal misoprostol given preoperatively in reducing intraoperative blood loss during abdominal myomectomy..

METHODS
Fifty Patients undergoing abdominal myomectomy were selected for the study. Twenty-five patients were given 800 micrograms misoprostol per rectally half an hour before surgery while rest received placebo, i.e., control group. Number and weight of surgical packs were recorded both Pre and post operatively to assess blood loss. Preoperative and 24 hrs postoperative haemoglobin was also recorded. Data analysed by SPSS-20.

RESULTS
Mean of age, parity and myoma size were not statistically different between the two groups. However intraoperative blood loss (as measured by weighing and counting number of swabs used) and postoperative haemoglobin after 24 hours were significantly different between two groups with p-value <0.01.

CONCLUSIONS
Single dose of misoprostol given preoperatively via rectal route is effective in reducing intraoperative blood loss during abdominal myomectomy. Misoprostol must be used in different doses and routes in order to investigate its effectiveness in reducing intraoperative blood loss.


The success of prostate brachytherapy depends on the faithful delivery of a dose plan. In turn, intraoperative localization and visualization of the implanted radioactive brachytherapy seeds enables more proficient and informed adjustments to the executed plan during therapy. Prior work has demonstrated adequate seed reconstructions from uncalibrated mobile c-arms using either external tracking devices or image-based fiducials for c-arm pose determination. These alternatives are either time-consuming or interfere with the clinical flow of the surgery, or both. This paper describes a seed reconstruction approach that avoids both tracking devices and fiducials. Instead, it uses the preoperative dose plan in conjunction with a set of captured images to get initial estimates of the c-arm poses followed by an auto-focus technique using the seeds themselves as fiducials to refine the pose estimates. Intraoperative seed localization is achieved through iteratively solving for poses and seed correspondences across images and reconstructing the 3D implanted seeds. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated through a series of simulations involving variable noise levels, seed densities, image separability and number of images. Preliminary results indicate mean reconstruction errors within 1.2 mm for noisy plans of 84 seeds or fewer. These are attained for additive noise whose standard deviation of the 3D mean error introduced to the plan to simulate the implant is within 3.2 mm.


Abstract The stochastic electrical numerical model of cloud growth and precipitation development of Scott and Levin (1975) has been refined to include a distribution of charge within each size class. Each size class is separated into three subclasses containing negative, neutral and positive charge, respectively. The results indicate that the electric field reaches values of around 4 kV cm−1 within about 1000 s and that both positive and negative charges are carried on the particles. In agreement with the previous model, most precipitation size particles carry negative charges while most smaller cloud particles carry positive charges. However, the electrification shows an enhancement in precipitation in the early stages of cloud development. The effect reverses when the field approaches its maximum value. At that point the electrical forces affect the particle interactions through their fallspeed, and the precipitation rate falls below the corresponding rate in the unelectrified case.


This paper tests the validity and accuracy of the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model, by predicting the variation in excess portfolio returns on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Portfolios of stocks were constructed based on an adapted Fama-French (1993) approach, using a  annual sorting procedure, based on Size and Book-to-Market metrics respectively. The sample period spans six years, 2010 to 2015, and includes 46 companies listed on the JSE. The results indicate that both models perform relatively poorly because of inadequate market proxy measures, market liquidity restrictions, unpriced risk factors and volatility inherent in an emerging market environment. The Value Premium is found to explain a larger proportion of variation in excess returns than the Size Premium, and is more pronounced in portfolios with relatively higher book-to-market portfolios.


The specific component of the free energy of adsorption, G A , of untreated crystalline and fused silica, and four types of silane coupling agents-treated fused silicas, were estimated by the inverse gas chromatography (IGC) method, using the adsorption of several polar and nonpolar probes on their surfaces at various measuring temperatures. The acid-base properties of the untreated and surface-treated silicas were quantified by their KA and KD parameters, reflecting the ability of the surface to act as an electron acceptor and donor, respectively. Acidic components were detected on the untreated crystalline and fused silica surfaces, but the surface properties of the fused silicas surface-treated with -glycidoxy propyl trimethoxy silane (GMS) and -amino propyl triethoxy silane (AES) were slightly basic, and those of the fused silicas surface-treated with -methacryloxy propyl trimethoxy silane (MTMS) and -mercapto propyl trimethoxy silane (MCMS) were amphoteric. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MER2007076]


Abstract The Sapat layered complex, occupying the tectonic base of the Cretaceous Kohistan island arc, occurs in the immediate hanging wall of the Indus suture zone north of the Kaghan valley. Previously undescribed, much of the complex consists of gabbroic rocks, but in the basal part there are ultramafic cumulates (15 × < 2 km) in direct tectonic contact with the Indian plate. In the central part, the complex can be divided into five zones. From the base these are: (1) homogeneous serpentinized dunites (350 m thick), (2) dunites with thin chromite layers (100 m), (3) thinly layered dunites-pyroxenites (30 m), (4) layered dunites-pyroxenites-gabbros (170 m) with chromite layers in the lower part, and (5) gabbros. The gabbroic rocks are amphibolitized and consist of a variety of lithologies ranging from troctolites to anorthosites, with local pyroxenite (± olivine) layers and horizons of olivine-rich ultramafics. These rocks are locally cut by pyroxene-rich pegmatites containing up to 45 cm long pyroxene crystals. Preliminary microprobe studies on the ultramafic rocks show that the clinopyroxene is Mg-Ca-rich diopside, and olivine has a forsterite content of 92 to 78, but in rare cases > 95. The chromite displays high Cr No. (75–67) and low Fe3+/R3+ (<10). These data, especially the chromite analyses, are akin to those of ultramafic rocks of island arcs, including the Jijal complex, 80 km to the west. We propose that the Sapat complex formed the basal part of the Kohistan terrain and is related to arc magmatism. It has been metamorphosed under epidote amphibolite facies conditions.


A growing body of work examines enterprise wikis. In this paper, we argue that "enterprise wiki" is a blanket term describing three different genres of wiki: single contributor wikis, group or team wikis, and internal-use encyclopedias emulating Wikipedia. Based on the results of a study of wiki usage in a multinational software company, we provide a taxonomy of enterprise wiki genres. We discuss emerging challenges specific to company-wide encyclopedias for which platforms such as Wikipedia provide surprisingly little guidance. These challenges include platform and content management decisions, territoriality, establishment of contribution norms, dispute resolution, and employee turnover.


Gravitational wave is a propagation of space-time distortion, which is predicted by Einstein in general relativity. Strong gravitational waves will come from some drastic astronomical objects, e.g. coalescence of neutron star binaries, black holes, supernovae, rotating pulsars and pulsar glitches. Detection of the gravitational waves from these objects will open a new door of \textit{`gravitational wave astronomy'}. Gravitational wave will be a probe to study the physics and astrophysics. To search these gravitational waves, large-scale laser interferometers will compose a global network of detectors. Advanced LIGO and advanced Virgo are upgrading from currents detectors. One of LIGO detector is considering to move Australia Site. IndIGO or Einstein Telescope are future plans. LCGT (Large-scale Cryogenic Gravitational wave Telescope) is now constructing in Japan with distinctive characters: cryogenic cooling mirror and underground site. We will present a design and a construction status of LCGT, and brief status of current gravitational wave detectors in the world. Network of these gravitational wave detectors will start in late 2016 or 2017, and may discover the gravitational waves. For example, these detectors will reach its search range for coalescence of neutron star binary is over 200 Mpc, and several or more events per year will be expected. Since most of gravitational wave events are from high-energy phenomenon of the astronomical objects, these might have counterpart evidences in electromagnetic radiation (visible light, X/gamma ray), neutrino, high energy particles or others. Thus, the mutual follow-up observations will give us more information of these objects.


At Tampere University of Technology (TUT), magnetic fields from indoor distribution substations have been studied for few years. A phone questionnaire study has been done about magnetic field reductions in substations, as a part of the studies about the distribution substation magnetic fields. The aim of this study was to find out about the magnetic field problems, the electric utilities might have had. Altogether 34 electric utilities were contacted in connection with this phone questionnaire. Questions about the possible magnetic field interference and different reduction methods were discussed in a telephone conversation. 31 of the utilities wished to answer the questions. The questions have included inquiries about possible magnetic field interference, customer complaints, different reduction methods, costs and of course the outcome of magnetic field reductions. Twelve of the utilities reported to have encountered problems caused by indoor MV/LV substation magnetic fields. Most of the utilities that had encountered these problems, had succeeded in reducing magnetic fields.


s of doctoral theses on the Indonesian economy 119 labour creation on economic growth is estimated using econometric methods and linear algebra. A consumption tax to fi nance defi ned-benefi t pension cash transfers of $1, $2 and $3 per person per day is found to impose a lower burden on skilled than on unskilled labour. Introducing a consumption tax to fi nance a $1 cash transfer creates an incentive for the highest amount of labour (both skilled and unskilled) to work in the formal sector, to compensate for the consumption tax costs through higher income. Increasing the consumption tax to support $2 and $3 cash transfers reduces labour supply to the formal sector, however, with skilled labour supply decreasing more than unskilled in the $2 case and the reverse in the $3 case. I fi nd that the elasticity of skilled labour creation with respect to government education expenditure is roughly 0.3. Using this elasticity, and expenditure, education and labour force data, I calculate that, to reduce participation in the informal sector by 25% within 20 years (an average of 1.25% annually), the government must increase education expenditure to 8% of the annual budget (from 4.5% in 2004 and 1.3% in 2001). Finally, I show that the increase in skilled labour would contribute positively to economic growth, while consumption taxes and fully funded pension taxes are likely to reduce current economic growth but increase future growth. My theoretical contributions are that, given the existence of both formal and informal sectors in an economy, and the latter being dominant: (1) taxation of expenditures is preferred to taxation of income because the fi rst may induce labour to work in the formal sector; and (2) there exists an optimal level of consumption tax that provides incentives for the largest supply of labour, both skilled and unskilled, to the formal sector. © 2009 Muliadi Widjaja Peasants and Policymakers: Agricultural Transformation in Java under Suharto Tobias Axelsson (email@example.com) Accepted 2008, Lund University, Sweden In line with the East Asian success story, Indonesia subscribed to a model of increased productivity, income and equity through the modernisation of agriculture. When hit by the crisis in 1997, Indonesia was regarded as one of the up-andcoming tigers of Southeast Asia, and well equipped to deal with any diffi culties ahead. In hindsight this was clearly not the case. The crisis revealed serious fl aws in the structure of the economy, necessitating a re-examination of the Indonesian model of development. The aim of this thesis is to explain the severity of the crisis, rather than just the crisis itself. This is done through a close look at the agricultural transformation process in Java under Suharto. Many studies were carried out before the crisis to explain the success of the Indonesian regime. Initially these studies included the agricultural sector, but once rice self-suffi ciency was achieved, the interest of researchers waned and a comprehensive picture of agricultural transformation under Suharto was never completed. As a consequence, Indonesian agriculture needs to be revisited. 120 Abstracts of doctoral theses on the Indonesian economy The thesis shows that Indonesia commenced a transformation process but did not see it through, causing the economy to be more investment-driven than agriculturally led. Inspired by the East Asian model, the thesis focuses on three core areas within the agricultural transformation process. First, it considers yields and labour productivity, showing that the principal source of productivity growth was land-augmenting policies. More interestingly, it shows that labour productivity increased steeply between 1977 and 1984, only to slow down thereafter. The second issue discussed in the thesis is income. Though the focus is predominantly on agricultural income, an increasing proportion of the rural population is now deriving a signifi cant part of total income from off-farm activities. The study shows that land-holders' income from rice increased dramatically in the early 1980s, before levelling out. For landless labourers there was also an increase in income, again achieved predominantly in the early 1980s. The fi nal aspect, equity, is closely related to the other two and is measured using data on consumption, income and land-holdings. This chapter reveals an interesting pattern of increasing inequality in the agricultural sector from the second half of the 1980s onwards. A qualitative approach is used to determine the reasons for this slowdown in the agricultural transformation process. Interviews with farmers and public offi cials at a local level are combined with extensive analyses of both local and national policy documents. It can be argued that the process stalled as a consequence of farmers being averse to change and modernity, but this thesis shows that reasons for the slowdown in change can in fact be found in actions by the state, as this was the driving force behind the transformation of agriculture. The thesis also shows that the state's motives for change were guided by urban rather than rural needs, and increasing production took precedence over raising rural incomes. In conclusion, the study shows that the development process in agriculture lacked the dynamics to generate its own growth: Javanese agriculture was still vulnerable and the country could not sustain the blow when the crisis hit in 1997. © 2009 Tobias Axelsson Political Accountability, Incentives and Public Service Delivery: Theory with Evidence from Local Governments in Indonesia Sebastian Eckardt (email@example.com) Accepted 2006, University of Potsdam, Germany What makes governments tick? Why are some public institutions more successful than others in managing resources and delivering services? Even more vitally, how can malfunctioning institutions be reformed so that they fulfi l their responsibilities more effectively? This research contributes to our understanding of these over-arching questions by exploring the interactions between political institutions and public sector performance in the context of decentralisation and local governance. It shows—theoretically and empirically—that performance outcomes are determined by the extent to which people can hold their governments accountable through political institutions. Abstracts of doctoral theses on the Indonesian economy 121s of doctoral theses on the Indonesian economy 121 At a theoretical level, the principal hypothesis holds that the performance of local governments is determined to a signifi cant extent by the effectiveness of political accountability systems that ensure public control of government actions. To elaborate this hypothesis, a stylised model of political accountability is proposed. The model generally suggests that incentives embedded in political accountability mechanisms have a crucial impact upon local government performance. Political incentives present local government with two broad options: (1) to extract private rents at the expense of social welfare; or (2) to provide high-quality public services to the community. The basic argument is that, either by encouraging sanctions against non-compliant public agents or simply by reducing the gap in public information about government activities, political accountability will create forceful incentives for elected offi cials and civil servants to reduce opportunistic behaviour and improve public service provision, thus enhancing performance. As an extension of the basic model, the study proposes how these effects might in turn determine reform dynamics. If local political accountability is incomplete, the short-term gains from increased decentralisation will be concentrated within a narrow group in the local government. Access to resources (rents) might rise rapidly for local political elites in the short term as local public revenues grow and local political elites become more fi scally and politically independent from central control. The second hypothesis suggests that early winners will face incentives to propagate low accountability in order to protect their rent-seeking opportunities, leading to an institutional lock, in effect—a sub-optimal but self-perpetuating equilibrium. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study tests the model empirically against evidence from newly empowered local governments in Indonesia. The empirical fi ndings, both quantitative and qualitative, broadly support the study's hypotheses. Poorly performing local governments were often deeply rooted in their political (and social) environment. Conversely, better performing governments were found to be consistently more open to the pressure of informed, organised and politically active communities, which strengthened their incentives to be responsive and to manage and deliver services effi ciently. Improved public services on the ground, in terms of both quantity and quality, require informed and well-functioning decision-making processes that allocate resources to priority areas to meet the demands of the broader community. If political institutions do not translate community demands into public spending and policies because of weak electoral incentives, ineffective checks and balances and poor transparency, governments often fail to deliver basic services, because political and bureaucratic agents face incentives to misallocate public resources in order to draw private 'rents'. Conversely, higher accountability will increase the political costs of ineffi cient and inadequate public decisions, and public service performance is likely to improve. This requires the interaction of institutions, the electoral regime and a well-informed and politically active community able to participate directly and indirectly in exacting accountability. © 2009 Sebastian Eckardt 122 Abstracts of doctoral theses on the Indonesian economy A Study of Indones


A design method is introduced that incorporates a mean-line design code and a throughflow code with an optimization environment. The scheme makes it possible to use design of experiments for rapid exploration of the design space and also multiobjective optimization. The method is then demonstrated by defining a conceptual compressor optimization problem, typical for an open rotor engine compressor. The optimizer environment is used to establish a pareto front interrelating the compressor part load surge margin and the polytropic design point efficiency.


A general model for valuation of changes in natural resource service flows, entirely consistent with Hicksian concepts of consumer surplus, is developed. It is a total value model, applicable to all classes of goods: divisible and indivisible in ...


Learning algorithms are now routinely applied to data aggregated from millions of untrusted users, including reviews and feedback that are used to define learning systems' objectives. If some of these users behave manipulatively, traditional learning algorithms offer almost no performance guarantee to the "honest" users of the system. This dissertation begins to fill in this gap.Our starting point is the traditional online learning model. In this setting a learner makes a series of decisions, receives a loss after each decision, and aims to achieve a total loss which is nearly as low as if they had chosen the best fixed decision-making strategy in hindsight.We extend this model by introducing a set of users U. Each of the learner's decisions is made on behalf of a particular user u ∈ U, and u reports the loss they incur from the decision. We assume that there is some (unknown ) set of "honest" users H ⊂ U, who report their losses honestly, while the other users may behave adversarially. Our goal is to ensure that the total loss incurred by users in H is nearly as small as if all users in H had used the single best fixed decision-making strategy in hindsight. We say that an algorithm is manipulation-resistant if it achieves a bound of this form.This dissertation proposes and analyzes manipulation-resistant algorithms for prediction with expert advice, contextual bandits, and collaborative filtering. These algorithms guarantee that the honest users perform nearly as well as if they had known each others' identities in advance, pooled all of their data, and then used a traditional learning algorithm. This bounds the total amount of damage that can be done per manipulative user. More significantly, we give bounds that can be considerably smaller in the realistic setting where the users are vertices of a graph (such as a social graph) with disproportionately few edges between honest and manipulative users.As a key technical ingredient, we introduce the problem of online local learning, and propose a novel semidefinite programming algorithm for this problem. This algorithm allows us to effectively perform online learning over the exponentially large space of all possible sets H ⊂ U, and as a side-effect provides the first asymptotically optimal algorithm for online max cut.


The overall goal of this research was to quantify the safety performance of alternative traffic control strategies to mitigate right-turning vehicle-bicycle crashes at signalized intersections in Oregon. The ultimate aim was to provide useful design guidance to potentially mitigate these collision types at the critical intersection configurations. This report includes a comprehensive review of more than 150 scientific and technical articles that relate to bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. A total of 504 right-hook crashes were identified from vehicle path information in the Oregon crash data from 2007-2011, mapped and reviewed in detail to identify the frequency and severity of crashes by intersection lane configuration and traffic control. Based on these efforts, a two stage experiment was developed in the Oregon State University (OSU) high-fidelity driving simulator to investigate the causal factors of right-hook crashes at signalized intersections with a striped bike lane and no right-turn lane, and to then identify and evaluate alternative design treatments that could mitigate the occurrence of right-hook crashes. Experiment 1 investigated motorist and environmental related causal factors of right-hook crashes, using three different motorist performance measures: (1) visual attention, (2) situational awareness (SA) and (3) crash avoidance behavior. Data was collected from 51 participants (30 male and 21 female) turning right 820 times in 21 different experimental scenarios. It was determined that the worst case right-hook scenario occurred when a bicycle was approaching the intersection at a higher speed (16 mph) and positioned in the blind zone of the motorist. In crash and near crash situations (measured by time-to-collision) the most common cause was a failure of the driver to actively search for the adjacent bicyclist (situational awareness level 1), although failures were also determined to occur due to failures of projection (i.e. incorrectly assuming that the bicycle would yield or that there was enough time to turn in front of the bicycle). Elements of driver performance and gap acceptance collected in the first stage simulator experiment were field validated to provide additional confidence in the findings. The research reviewed 144 hours of video and identified 43 conflicts where the time-to-collision (TTC) measured less than 5 seconds. When field observations of scenarios most similar to those in the simulator were isolated, the analysis indicated that the distribution of the TTCs values observed in the simulator were consistent with those observed in the field. Experiment 2 evaluated several possible design treatments, (specifically: signage, pavement markings, curb radii, and protected intersection designs), based on the visual attention of motorist, their crash avoidance behavior, and the severity of the observed crashes. Data was collected from 28 participants (18 male and 10 female) turning right 596 times in 22 scenarios that were used. The resulting analysis of the driver performance indicators suggest that while various driver performance metrics can be measured robustly, and all of the treatments had some positive effect on measured driver performance, it is not yet clear how to map the magnitudes of the differences to expected crash outcomes. Additional work is recommended to address the limitations of this study and to further consider the potential effects of the right-hook crash mitigation strategies from this research.


In this study, dormitory room and social group assignment data from a college are used to investigate peer effects on college students' decisions to switch majors. Results reveal strong evidence of such peer effects at both the room and the social group level. Most notably, at the room level, the dense concentration of same-major roommates deters students from switching majors; having one or two same-major roommates has no significant effect on major switching, indicating strong nonlinearity of peer effects at the room level. Such nonlinearity is not observed among social group members. Results also reveal evidence that students' choices of new majors are affected by peers' majors. Peers are more likely to choose the same destination majors than nonpeers. In choosing their new majors, students do not necessarily follow their peers indiscriminately. Their decisions seem to be influenced more by short-term academic requirements than by long-term job prospects. Finally, peer effects on major switching and major choices are stronger at the dormitory room level than at the social group level in most cases.


The relation of lipoprotein tocopherol levels to red blood cell (RBC) tocopherol was investigated in 81 healthy children, comprising 44 males and 37 females, using a new technique for separation of individual lipoprotein fractions. 1. In children there were no age and sex differences in tocopherol contents among individual lipoprotein fractions. The tocopherol content of high density lipoprotein (HDL) was slightly higher than that of low density lipoprotein (LDL), but this difference was not statistically significant. 2. The tocopherol content of HDL fractions was closely correlated with RBC tocopherol concentration, but there was no relationship in tocopherol levels between RBC and LDL and between RBC and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). 3. There were no age and sex differences in contents of total cholesterol (T-ch), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), total lipids, HDL-cholesterol, LDL or VLDL in children.


Accused of domestic violence before the Assize Court of the Scheldt Department / Province of East Flanders, 1811-1867. – Studying the criminal prosecution of intrafamily violence in the Scheldt department / province of East Flanders between 1811 and 1867 is only possible by consulting the archives of the Assize Court of that region. Because this Assize Court only dealt with the most serious criminal cases, one can only study the tip of the iceberg.
Between 1811 and 1867, the Assize Court of the Scheldt Department / Province of East Flanders in Belgium treated 203 criminal cases involving interfamily violence. 107 (53%) of these cases involved violence against a child and in 94 of those 107 cases (88%) an infanticide. In total 103 people were charged with an infanticide, but in the end only 38 were punished with death, being the then legal punishment for this crime. All other accused were acquitted or, after a reclassification of the facts listed in the indictment, sentenced for another crime such as an involuntary manslaughter of a child or concealing a child. The main reason for this was the fact that an infanticide, which was usually committed without witnesses, was very difficult to prove. Thirteen other criminal cases for violence against a child dealt with violence against a no longer new-born child. The Court of Assizes applied the normal penalties in these criminal cases. This usually involved mostly intentional manslaughter, murder or attempted murder of such a child.
In the period 1811–1867, the Court of Assize also tried 73 people for violence against a parent or grandparent. Of those 73 persons, 15 were acquitted and 58 (7 women and 51 men) punished. Three persons accused of elder murder were punished: one for intentionally beating his father, one for murdering his father and one for murdering his mother. The 55 other accused were punished for intentional hits on an ascendant.
Partner violence was the category of interfamily violence that was least dealt with by the Assize Court. In total, the Assize Court handled only 25 criminal cases for marriage partner violence, involving 27 people as perpetrators or accomplices. Six of those 25 criminal cases dealt with poisoning of the partner and 12 criminal cases with murder or attempted murder of the partner. In only five of the last 12 criminal cases, the accused was sentenced to death, but in the end only one of them was guillotined. The four other death row inmates were given a kingly grace who commuted their death sentences to a hard labour. In the other seven of those 12 criminal cases, the case was reclassified to intentional manslaughter or intentional hits and wounds and punished as such.
The Assize Court also treated five criminal trials in which a person was charged from the outset with intentional manslaughter of the marriage partner. In three of those five criminal cases, the accused was also punished for such intentional manslaughter, in one of those five criminal cases, the offences were reclassified to intentional hits and wounds causing illness or disability of more than twenty days, and in one of those five criminal cases, the accused was acquitted. Finally, the Assize Court also treated two criminal cases in which a person was charged from the outset with intentional hits and wounds against his marriage partner. In one of those two criminal cases, after a reclassification of the facts, the Court sentenced the accused to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 200 francs. In the second criminal case the accused was acquitted.


Abstract Numidiaphyllum is one of the Paleozoic scleractiniamorphs. The genus is characterized by a poorly integrated, uniserial fasciculate form with an epithecate wall and simple morphological traits. Parent corallites are divided into several daughter corallites using one mode of division among several theoretically possible alternatives. Bipartite increase is most common, followed by hexapartite and then tripartite increase. Daughter corallites possess relatively large diameters from the beginning, along with a robust colonial pattern. This parricidal increase caused the morphologies of both parent and daughter corallites to be greatly altered and to show high morphological variability. For ecological and structural reasons, co-occurring daughter corallites generally are equal or subequal in size. Daughter corallites initially show a bilateral symmetry in both outline and septal arrangement during the course of hystero-ontogeny. However, this symmetry results only from structural necessity and is transitory. It is not homologous with the bilaterality of body plans characteristic of anthozoan groups. The morphological simplicity, related parricidal reproduction, and resulting poorly integrated growth form as seen in Numidiaphyllum, all suggest conservative features that could have resulted from phylogenetic antiquity within the scleractiniamorph body plan. Those generalized features are not themselves related to immediate phylogenetic relationships with any simply constructed rugosan group, nor would they have been due to surrounding, stressful ecologic conditions. They may have been phylogenetic-specific.


We construct solutions to the Strominger system on a class of noncompact Calabi-Yau 3-folds. These spaces include $\mathbb{C}^3$ and resolved conifold $\mathcal{O}(-1,-1)$ as special examples.


We have analysed the blood feeding sources of 94 triatomine bugs (51 T. brasiliensis, 42 T. pseudomaculata and one R. neglectus) from Fazenda Aroeira, in Catolé do Rocha Municipality, Paraíba State, and four neighbouring localities. The positivity for marsupial, man and bird blood were, respectively, 39.7, 6.2 and 23.0%. Three insects from Fazenda Aroeira were positive both for T. cruzi and marsupial blood while only one of the three was positive for another mammal. Marsupials are the most important source of T. cruzi for the insects of the area, which have little contact with man.


COVID-19 pandemic initiated a worldwide race toward the development of treatments and vaccines. Small animal models were the Syrian golden hamster and the K18-hACE2 mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 to display a disease state with some aspects of the human COVID-19. Group activity of animals in their home cage continuously monitored by the HCMS100 was used as a sensitive marker of disease, successfully detecting morbidity symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters and in K18-hACE2 mice. COVID-19 convalescent hamsters re-challenged with SARS-CoV-2, exhibited minor reduction in group activity compared to naive hamsters. To evaluate rVSV-ΔG-spike vaccination efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, we used the HCMS100 to monitor group activity of hamsters in their home cage. Single-dose rVSV-ΔG-spike vaccination of immunized group showed a faster recovery compared to the non-immunized infected hamsters, substantiating the efficacy of rVSV-ΔG-spike vaccine. HCMS100 offers non-intrusive, hands-free monitoring of a number of home cages of hamsters or mice modeling COVID-19.