BACKGROUND
Although increasing evidence has suggested the significant association between dysglycemia and hypertension, this association is less well described in prediabetes. Additionally, it is unclear how risk of hypertension varies according to the change of glycemic state.

METHODS
Five thousand four hundred thirteen nondiabetic Koreans were dichotomized into normoglycemia (NG) and prediabetes group and followed-up for 10 years. Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) [adjusted HRs (95% CI)] for the development of hypertension. Subgroup analysis was conducted in subdivided glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) with <5.7%, 5.7-5.9%, and 6.0-6.4% and 2 hour post-load glucose (2 hr-PG) with <140, 140-169, and 170-199 mg/dl. The glycemic states are NG, prediabetes, and diabetes mellitus (DM), which are used in evaluating the change of glycemic state during follow-up in baseline NG (NG → NG, NG → prediabetes, and NG → DM) and baseline prediabetes (prediabetes → prediabetes and prediabetes → DM).

RESULTS
Compared with NG, prediabetes was not significantly associated with the risk of hypertension [1.11 (0.997-1.23)]. HbA1c ≥5.7% [1.13 (1.02-1.26)] and 2 hr-PG ≥140 mg/dl [1.15 (1.004-1.31)] were marginally associated with the risk of hypertension. In subgroup analysis, only 2 hr-PG of 170-199 mg/dl showed the significantly increased risk of hypertension [1.37 (1.09-1.73)]. Compared with the maintaining glycemic state, the progression of glycemic state had the significantly increased risk of hypertension [NG → prediabetes; 1.41 (1.19-1.67), NG→DM; 1.77 (1.36-2.30), and prediabetes → DM; 1.32 (1.13-1.55)].

CONCLUSION
The progression of glycemic state was a strong determinant on the development of hypertension.


Aerial surveys of harbor seals on land produce only a minimum assessment of the population; a correction factor to account for the missing animals is necessary to estimate total abundance. In 1991 and 1992, VHF radio tags were deployed on harbor seals (n = 124) at six sites in Washington and Oregon. During aerial surveys a correction factor to account for seals in the water was determined from the proportion of radio-tagged seals on shore during the pupping season. This proportion ranged from 0.54 to 0.74. Among the six sites there was no significant difference in the proportion of animals on shore nor was there a difference in age/sex categories of seals on shore between sites. The pooled correction factor for determining total population abundance was 1.53. An additional 32 seals were radio tagged in 1993 at one of the sites used in 1991. Comparing data from the two years, we found no interannual variation. Aerial surveys of all known harbor seal haul-out sites in Washington (n = 319) and Oregon (n = 68) were flown during the peak of the pupping season, 1991-1993. The Washington and Oregon harbor seal population was divided into two stocks based on pupping phenology, morphometics, and genetics. Mean counts for the Washington inland stock were 8,710 in 1991, 9,018 in 1992, and 10,092 in 1993. Oregon and Washington coastal stock mean counts were 18,363 in 1991, 18,556 in 1992, and 17,762 in 1993. Multiplying the annual count by the correction factor yielded estimates of harbor seal abundance in the Washington inland stock of 13,326 (95% CI = 11,637-15,259) for 1991, 13,798 (95% CI = 11,980-15,890) for 1992, and 15,440 (95% CI = 13,382-17,814) for 1993. In the Oregon and Washington coastal stock the corrected estimate of harbor seal abundance was 28,094 (95% CI = 24,697-31,960) in 1991, 28,391 (95% Cl = 24,847-32,440) for 1992, and 27,175 (95% CI = 23,879-30,926) for 1993.


We give new call-by-value calculi of control operators that are complete for the continuation-passing style semantics. Various anticipated computational properties are induced from the completeness. In the first part of a series of papers, we give the characterization of termination properties using the continuation-passing style semantics as well as the union-intersection type discipline.


The availability of online GIS (Geographic Information Systems) maps has provided a new source of spatial information to tourists. However these maps have yet to be evaluated of their effectiveness. This has challenged scholars to further investigate methods of evaluating geographic information retrieval. Therefore the main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of GoogleMap as one of the online GIS maps providers. System testing is used to assess three different study areas namely, Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur and Taiping. To facilitate this assessment a query list consists of 78 keywords are gathered. Precision and recall measures are also used as an evaluation method. Findings show that GoogleMap Malaysia is bias towards places that are well-known and fed with abundant information by users. Therefore area that has more information and bigger in size has higher score levels of recall and precision percentage as compared to smaller and isolated areas that have lesser information.


The ATLAS hadronic calorimeter, named the Tile Calorimeter (TileCal), is a non-compensating sampling calorimeter comprised of steel and scintillating plastic tiles which are read-out by photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The TileCal is regularly monitored and calibrated by several different calibration systems: a Cs radioactive source that illuminates the scintillating tiles directly, a laser light system to directly test the PMT response, and a charge injection system (CIS) for the frontend electronics. These calibrations systems, in conjunction with data collected during protonproton collisions, provide extensive monitoring of the instrument and a means for equalizing the calorimeter response at each stage of signal propagation. Through the individual calibrations provided by these systems, we are able to achieve a precision of approximately 0.5-1.0% in the monitoring of the evolution of the response of the different components of TileCal. Analysis of the combined calibrations is used to measure the gain variance in the detector response. This contribution presents a brief description of the different TileCal calibration systems along with the latest results on their performance during the LHC Run I.


Previous studies demonstrated significant differences in the learning and performance of discrete movement sequences across the lifespan: Young adults (18–28 years) showed more indications for the development of (implicit) motor chunks and explicit sequence knowledge than middle-aged (55–62 years; Verwey et al., 2011) and elderly participants (75–88 years; Verwey, 2010). Still, even in the absence of indications for motor chunks, the middle-aged and elderly participants showed some performance improvement too. This was attributed to a sequence learning mechanism in which individual reactions are primed by implicit sequential knowledge. The present work further examined sequential movement skill across these age groups. We explored the consequences of making an error on the execution of a subsequent sequence, and investigated whether this is modulated by aging. To that end, we re-analyzed the data from our previous studies. Results demonstrate that sequencing performance is slowed after an error has been made in the previous sequence. Importantly, for young adults and middle-aged participants the observed slowing was also accompanied by increased accuracy after an error. We suggest that slowing in these age groups involves both functional and non-functional components, while slowing in elderly participants is non-functional. Moreover, using action sequences (instead of single key-presses) may allow to better track the effects on performance of making an error.


Background Recent UK epidemiological data suggests that while incidence and mortality of myocardial infarction (MI) is in decline, mortality associated with out of hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) in the setting of MI is still a significant problem now constituting 70% of its total fatality. Small studies have shown survival benefit with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in OOHCA in the setting of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There is little contemporary outcome data in this population. We sought to identify predictors of survival in STEMI complicated by OOHCA in a large, contemporary cohort in the era of pPCI. Methods Between January 2008 and October 2011, 1836 consecutive STEMI admissions to a high volume pPCI centre were retrospectively analysed. 132 patients were identified as having OOHCA. Clinical and procedural data was collected from the UK Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) database and patient notes. Endpoints were all cause mortality to 4 years (mean: 559 days, median: 380 days) and neurological recovery at discharge (Cerebral Performance Score/CPS 1). Mortality data was collected using the Office of National Statistics mortality database. Results 132 out of 1836 consecutive STEMI patients were identified with OOHCA (7.2%). The mean age of patients was 59.4±14years, 78.8% were male and 55% were directly conveyed to the pPCI centre; the remaining were transferred from district hospitals. Survival to discharge was 76.5% (101/132 patients). 86 patients had full neurological recovery (65% of the whole cohort). Long term follow-up revealed only one further death making the overall survival rate 75.8%. Survivors had significantly higher incidence of witnessed arrest (p<0.0001) and immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/advanced life support (ALS) (p<0.0001), a shorter time to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (p<0.0001) and were more likely to be alert post ROSC (p<0.0001). Shorter call to balloon time (p=0.0117) and time from arrest to arrival at pPCI centre (p<0.0001) were strongly associated with improved survival as was successful pPCI (p=0.0004) defined as TIMI 2–3 flow. Patient factors associated with poor outcome included three-vessel disease (p=0.0007), severe left ventricular impairment (p=0.0179), cardiogenic shock (p=0.0023) and renal dysfunction (p<0.0001) on admission. Improved neurological outcome in survivors was strongly associated with witnessed arrest (p<0.0001), immediate CPR/ALS (p=0.0186), shorter time to ROSC (p<0.0001), patient being alert post ROSC (p<0.0001) and shorter call to balloon (p=0.0028) and arrest to arrival times (p<0.0001). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first reported series of STEMI complicated by OOHCA of this size in UK contemporary practice. This data shows a 76% survival rate, 65% rate of full neurological recovery and supports the emergent transfer of this patient group to a cardiac centre for pPCI.


This study is based on the premise that most of the trapped hydrocarbons can be produced, if we substitute them with another 'acrificial' fluid that has amplified interactions with organic pore walls, such as CO2. For the presented study, a downhole shale sample is analyzed in the laboratory to predict gas storage properties such as pore-volume, pore compressibility, and gas adsorption capacity. Then a series of pressure pulse decay measurements are performed to delineate transport mechanisms and predict stress-sensitive permeability. These coefficients are obtained as the calibration parameters of a simulation-based optimization for injection and production. Simulation model considers compositional gas flow in a deformable porous media and includes a multi-continuum porosity, with organic and inorganic pores, and micro-fractures. The experimental and simulation results show that most of the injected CO2 is adsorbed in the organic matrix and are not produced back. This is because CO2 molecules have significantly larger adsorption capacity when compared to methane. The strong adsorption of CO2 improves the release of natural gas from kerogen pores. This indicates that the separation of produced CO2 will be a minimal cost. Transport in kerogen has significant pore wall effects, and includes large mass fluxes of the adsorbed molecules by the walls due to surface diffusion. In essence, the adsorbed CO2 molecules significantly influence transport of methane. The results also show core-plug permeability is stress-sensitive due to presence of micro-fractures. Forward simulation results using optimum parameters indicate that closure stress developing near the fractures could significantly control the volume of CO2 injected. This raises operational issues on when to start injecting, and how to inject CO2. Using a simulation study of a production well with single-fracture, we show that fracture closure stress develops rapidly and production rate becomes a slave of the fracture geo-mechanics, e.g., strength of the proppants and the level of proppant embedment.


In India, use of renewable energy is slowly catching up and quite a large number of wind turbines are being installed in various parts of the country. The seismic analysis of wind turbines is now gaining importance as more wind turbines are now installed in seismic prone regions and not many studies have been carried out in this field. This study is aimed to obtain the various bending modes and the seismic response of the wind turbine. Three Finite Element Models of the wind turbine was developed in Opensees Navigator which is an open source software for earthquake simulations. A stick model, a turbine tower with lumped mass and a model of the Turbine tower with blades. Stick model was the simplest model. The turbine tower modeled with nacelle and rotor blades are the full system models. The mode shapes and the seismic response of these three finite element models were determined and thereby the effects of these various finite element models on the seismic response were also studied. The data of the shake table experiment of the 65 kW turbines conducted at UCSD in November 2004 provide the basis for the finite element model development. This paper gives an overview on the seismic analysis of wind turbines using various finite element models in Opensees Navigator.


We argue that the principles of a macroscopic realism must be introduced in quantum mechanics (QM): special relativity and Vorob'ev's theorem (its crucial role in understanding Bell's theorem was first recognized by mathematicians; see AIP Conference Proceedings, 889 (2007) p.3, p.7 and references therein) of probability theory demand them, and the linear formalism of QM allows them. QM should treat a pure time-dependent Cat state to imply for a system, e.g., N macroscopically distinct alternatives as a combined pure state to represent a coherent superposition of N macroscopically distinct elementary time-dependent sub-states, each being endowed by its own Kolmogorov probability space and set of ob-servables. Decomposing a combined state into elementary ones is not always a trivial problem. Our model just shows how to do this for a 1D completed scattering. Keywords EPR-Bell theorem · Schrödinger's cat paradox · principles of a macroscopic realism · nonlocality


The essays collected here focus on how Anglo-Saxon royal authority was expressed and disseminated, through laws, delegation, relationships between monarch and Church, and between monarchs at times of multiple kingships and changing power ratios. Specific topics include the importance of kings in consolidating the English "nation"; the development of witnesses as agents of the king's authority; the posthumous power of monarchs; how ceremonial occasions were used for propaganda reinforcing heirarchic, but mutually beneficial, kingships; the implications of Ine's lawcode; and the language of legislation when English kings were ruling previously independent territories, and the delegation of local rule. The volume also includes a groundbreaking article by Simon Keynes on Anglo-Saxon charters, looking at the origins of written records, the issuing of royal diplomas and the process, circumstances, performance and function of production of records. Gale R. Owen-Crocker is Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture at the University of Manchester. Contributors: Ann Williams, Alexander R. Rumble, Carole Hough, Andrew Rabin, Barbara Yorke, Ryan Lavelle, Alaric Trousdale


Background: To know effect of acupuncture Baihui (GV20) and
electroacupuncture Zusanli (ST36) against WBC level white rats model stress
result intermittent chronic noise.
Methods: This study was an experimental with pre and post test group design.
Subjects were 32 male white rats (Rattus norvegicus) wistar strain samples and
grouped into 2 groups, the noise group (KB) were treated with chronic
intermittent noise induced, acupuncture noise group (KBA) were treated with
chronic intermittent noise induced and acupuncture Baihui (GV 20) and
electroacupuncture Zusanli (ST36). Subjects was treated for 28 days. The
collected data were analyzed using Independent samples T-test, Paired-samples T
test, alternative test with Wilcoxon test, and Mann-whitney test.
Results: Mean KB (pre test), KB (post test), KBA (pre test), and KBA (post
test) were 12.952,50 ± 2.845,52/uL; 8.151,88 ± 1.978,19/uL; 12.493,13 ±
2.584,90/uL; and 8.942,50 ± 2.591,93/uL. The result of statistically showed that
there was a significant difference of white blood cell count between KB (pre test)
– KB (post test) dan KBA (pre test) – KBA (post test) and no significant between
KB(pre test) – KBA (pre test) dan KB (post test) – KBA (post test).
Conclusion: There was no effect of acupuncture Baihui (GV20) and
electroacupuncture Zusanli (ST36) against WBC level white rats model stress
result intermittent chronic noise.
Keyword: WBC, Akupunktur, chronic intermittent noise


The company INFRANORD AB in Sweden works with production and maintenance of the railway system in Sweden. Risks and violations of safety rules have been observed by the organisation and a project was started 2010 with the aim to improve safety. The project was led by researchers from Lulea University of Technology and was based on the Tripod-Delta method, an established proactive safety philosophy. The results of the project were followed up two years later, in 2012. Improvements in the design of equipment were reported, as well as a positive tendency for the quality and safety of maintenance activities. The quality of communication was reported as being improved, incident reporting increased slightly and accidents decreased. On the negative side, a decrease in efficiency was reported. The results were interpreted as a positive trend towards a safety culture. A number of factors beside the project may have had an impact on the
results in the 2012 follow up study.


The ruminal mucosa of 15 pygmy goats of different age (Z1 approximately 4-5 months, Z2 approximately 1 year, Z3 approximately 1.5-5 years) were studied gross-anatomically concerning their colour, clumping of papillae, fodder precipitations on the papillae, areas poor in papillae or devoid of them and the development of papillae. The density of papillae/cm2 in the 3 groups investigated was 79.4; 67.3; 58.0; the mean length of the papillae (mm) 1.75; 1.86; 2.96; the mean breadth of the papillae (mm) 1.3; 1.2; 2.0; the area of the ruminal mucosa (cm2) 799; 943; 1 195; the area of the ruminal pillars (cm2) 38; 41; 69; the number of the papillae/rumen 59,940; 58,022; 64,782; the total absorptive area (cm2) 3,802; 3,854; 11,268; the surface magnifying factor 4.0; 3.4; 8.4.


Education is a right for everyone. The problem that still occurs is the lack of equitable facilities and infrastructure to support education. One of the government's efforts to accelerate education equality is the establishment of a zoning policy through Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 14/2018 on New Student Admission. To measure the success of a policy implementation, this phenomenon will be analyzed using Edward III's policy implementation model. Edward III's theory is considered relevant to the analysis process for research with a qualitative approach. The purpose of this research is to see and describe the phenomena that occur in the implementation of the zoning system policy in the admission of new students as an effort to equalize Indonesian education. By using indicators of communication, resources, organizational structure, and attitudes or dispositions. This research shows the results of the implementation of the zoning system policy in PPDB which is quite good as an effort to equalize education in Indonesia.


Follicular lymphomas are a subgroup of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with a low-grade malignancy. They are characterized by a frequent chromosome abnormality, a translocation between chromosome 14 and chromosome 18. This translocation plays a role in the development of this disease. The course of follicular lymphomas is slow, usually lasting several years but is ultimately fatal, Their treatment is controversial. Recently, an association of chemotherapy and alpha interferon appeared promising. Other drugs such as fludarabine or 2' chlorodeoxyadenosine are currently tested.


Presentation of Case A 23-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain and vomiting. He was well until approximately two months earlier, when he began to experience crampy pain in the left upper part of the abdomen; the pain was often present on awakening and seemed to be relieved after the ingestion of food or antacid medication. Two weeks before admission the pain became more severe; the patient was evaluated at an emergency facility, where an x-ray film of the abdomen showed considerable fecal material and a diagnosis of constipation was offered. One week before entry the . . .


Increasing age is a risk factor for the development of colorectal adenomas and advanced adenomas. However, few studies have been published on the features of colorectal polyps in the elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical, enteroscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps in Chinese elderly patients in a single center (The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China). The endoscopic and pathological reports of colonoscopies performed in our center were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 7,795 consecutive patients referred for colonoscopy were evaluated between January 2013 and December 2014. Of the 297 who met the inclusion criteria, 279 polyps were observed in men and 230 in women. Of all the polyps, 263 were non-adenomatous polyps, 104 were non-advanced adenomas and 142 were advanced adenomas. 336 polyps were left-sided and 173 were right-sided. Polyps ≥10 mm were more likely to exhibit an adenomatous component and advanced features, and these findings continued to hold true when the size cut-off was set at 5 mm. The data shown in the present study have revealed that a significant number of polyps lie proximal to the splenic flexure. Thus, evaluation of the whole bowel is particularly important in elderly patients who are undergoing colonoscopy. In addition, the polyp size was associated with the presence of adenoma, and advanced component, diminutive and small polyps should not be ignored in elderly patients.


Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry method on gold nanoparticle enhanced target (AuNPET) was used for rapid detection and quantification of lysine. The amino acid was tested directly in the concentration range from 100 μg mL−1 to 1 ng mL−1, which corresponds to lysine mass of 50 ng to 500 fg per analyzed spot. Detection limit value of 0.2 ng mL−1 or 100 fg per spot is one of the best among the techniques used to determine lysine. In addition, mass spectrometry imaging quantification approach shown in this study canceled out sweet spot effect on the measurement result.


A general notion of universal consistency of nonparametric estimators is introduced that applies to regression estimation, conditional median estimation, curve fitting, pattern recognition, and learning concepts. General methods for proving consistency of estimators based on minimizing the empirical error are shown. In particular, distribution-free almost sure consistency of neural network estimates and generalized linear estimators is established. >


Objectives The 2018 Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS), conducted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia showed a high prevalence of dental caries (88.8%) in Indonesia and suggested that smoking tobacco was associated with an increased risk of dental caries. This study analyzed the association between tobacco smoking and dental caries in the Indonesian population. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data collected from RISKESDAS 2018. The study population included 35 391 Indonesians aged ≥10 years from all 34 provinces. The decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was used to measure dental caries. Smoking status was assessed qualitatively based on smoking activity, and the level of smoking exposure was assessed based on the Brinkman index. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the relationships of smoking status and smoking exposure levels with the DMFT index. Results Of the population aged ≥10 years, 36% had a DMFT≥8 (females: 37.5%, males: 33.9%). Almost one-fourth (23.4%) were current smokers, and 4.1% were ex-smokers. Furthermore, 26.4% had a Brinkman index ≥400, indicating heavy smoking. According to the multivariate analysis, current smoking status was associated with the risk of DMFT≥8 in males (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.40; 95% CI, 1.27 to 1.55; p<0.001) and overall (aOR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.14; p=0.037). In females, ex-smoking was associated with a 41% higher risk of DMFT≥8 (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.84; p=0.014). Heavy smoking was associated with a higher risk of DMFT≥8 in males (aOR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.52; p<0.001) and females (aOR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.50; p=0.022). Conclusions Tobacco smoking was associated with dental caries in the Indonesian population.


A 2D optical ultrasound receive array has been investigated. The transduction mechanism is based upon the detection of acoustically-induced changes in the optical thickness of a thin polymer film acting as a Fabry Perot interferometer (FPI). A sensor head employing a medium finesse polymer film FPI has been fabricated and characterised. By illuminating the interferometer with a large diameter (12 mm) laser beam and raster scanning a photodiode across the reflected output beam, a 2D ultrasound array was simulated. To demonstrate the concept, the ultrasound field distributions at various distances from the focus of a 5 MHz focussed ultrasound transducer were mapped. The system was also evaluated by performing transmission ultrasound imaging of several targets of known dimensions. The "array" aperture, defined by the dimensions of the incident optical field, was 12 mm in diameter and spatially sampled in 0.1 mm steps. Element sizes, defined by the photodiode aperture, were 0.4 mm for the focussed transducer measurements and 0.8 mm for the transmission ultrasound images. The wideband (30 MHz) noise-equivalent-pressure was 3 kPa and the acoustic bandwidth 12 MHz. It is considered that this approach has the potential to be used for transmission medical ultrasound, biomedical photoacoustic imaging and ultrasonic field characterisation applications.


Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may affect blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients receiving drug treatment, but data on the effects of low-dose aspirin are scanty. This study assessed the effects of chronic treatment with low doses of aspirin (100 mg/day) on clinic and ambulatory systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP in hypertensives on chronic, stable antihypertensive therapy. The study was conducted in the framework of the Primary Prevention Project (PPP), a randomized, controlled factorial trial on the preventive effect of aspirin or vitamin E in people with one or more cardiovascular risk factors. Fifteen Italian hypertension units studied 142 hypertensive patients (76 men, 66 women; mean age 59 +/- 5.9 years) treated with different antihypertensive drugs: 71 patients were randomized to aspirin and 71 served as controls. All patients underwent a clinic BP evaluation with an automatic sphygmomanometer and a 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, at baseline and after 3 months of aspirin treatment. At the end of the study the changes in clinic SBP and DBP were not statistically different in treated and untreated subjects. Ambulatory SBP and DBP after 3 months of aspirin treatment were similar to baseline: deltaSBP -0.5 mmHg (95% confidence intervals [CI] from -1.9 to +2.9 mm Hg) and deltaDBP -1.1 mm Hg (95% CI from -2.5 to +0.3 mm Hg). The pattern was similar in the control group. No interaction was found between aspirin and the most used antihypertensive drug classes (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium antagonists). Despite the relatively small sample size our results seem to exclude any significant influence of low-dose aspirin on BP control in hypertensives under treatment.


Cholesterol levels in the blood above normal are called hypercholesterolemia. This condition will cause many diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke. One way to prevent this disease is by fasting. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of fasting on cholesterol levels. This research is an experiment with Complete Random Design (CRD) method. The experimental animals used were mice aged 8-10 weeks and weight 23-26 grams. The treatment given is (A) not fasting as a control, (B) fasting Monday-Thursday, (C) fasting Daud. The treatment was given for 36 days then the blood of the mice was taken and cholesterol levels were measured. The data obtained were then analyzed using one way ANOVA SPSS statistical program with a significance level of 5%. The results showed that the sig value > 0.05, which means that the fasting Monday-Thursday and Daud did not affect the cholesterol levels of mice.


Mixed monotone operator is
an important nonlinear operator. It exists extensively in the research of
nonlinear differential and integral equations. Generally, the research of mixed
monotone operators in partially ordered Banach spaces requires compactness,
continuity or concavity-convexity of the operators. In this paper, without any
compact and continuous assumption, we obtain some new existence and uniqueness
theorems of positive fixed point of e-concave-convex mixed monotone operators
in Banach spaces partially ordered by a cone, which extends the existing
corresponding results.


In the present study, changes of latency and amplitude of short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were evaluated continuously during slow induction of anesthesia from sevoflurane awake to deep levels of anesthesia in eight scheduled surgical patients. Not consistent with other previous investigations, the latency of N20 was significantly shortened with sevoflurane after 25 minutes from the beginning of inhalation compared with the awake control levels. No increase of latency was observed. The amplitudes of N20 were decreased with sevoflurane anesthesia in relation to duration of anesthesia. These results suggest that sevoflurane alone might have no marked pharmacological properties to change the latency of SSEPs even in the deep level of anesthesia.


Little is known about whether Scottish children follow the UK government recommendation of consuming 5 portions of fruit and vegetables (F&V) a day or whether there is any association between F&V intake and health parameters (HP). This study aimed to 1) examine changes in the number of portions of F&V that children consume by age and gender throughout their primary school education. 2) Establish the relationship between F&V intake and HP in primary school children. In 2015, data was collected from nine schools (236 children between 4–13 years old). All F&V was assessed using a questionnaire that specifically focused on the consumption of F&V. Children's parents were asked to report any fruit or vegetables (excluding potatoes) consumed in 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2 snacks (before lunch, dinner) a day for 4 days. HP (weight, height, body composition, blood pressure, waist circumference, hip circumference and lung function) were collected from all of the children. Children consumed on average a total of 4·25 (SD 1·65) portions of F&V per day (including fruit juices and other food that contained F&V). F&V intake was the same for girls compared to boys (fruit intake (t = 0·11, p = 0·91) and vegetable intake (t = 0·88, p = 0·38)). Children aged 4–6 and 8–10 years old had significantly higher intake of F&V compared to 6–8 and 10–12 + children. Children increased their intake of F&V over the weekdays compared to weekend days (t = 4·99, p < 0·05). Only 32 % children achieved the recommended F&V intake of five or more. This current study revealed after controlling for age, sex and schools that those children who increased intake of F&V had an increase in weight (W) (R = 0·530, P < 0·05), height (H) (R = 0·645, P < 0·05), waist circumference (WC) (R = 0·369, P < 0·05), waist/hip ratio (WHP) (R = 0·029, P = 0·036), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (R = 0·055, P = 0·033) and forced vital capacity (FVC) (R = 0·052, P = 0·041) while those children who increased intake of F&V had a decrease in systolic blood pressure (BPS) (R = 0·060, P = 0·008), pulse (P) (R = 0·077, P = 0·002), hip Circumference (HC) (R = 0·376, P < 0·05) and waist to height ratio (WH) (R = 0·173, P < 0·05). Other health parameters did not show any relationship. Although some studies examined the relationship between F&V intake and specific health parameters in adults and children, ours was unique in our extensive measurement of health parameters. Unexpectedly an increased in F&V intake were positively related to some of children's health parameters. The lack of similar association to these findings among children at primary age or adults make it not clearly understood and needs further investigation.


Introduction: There is a paucity of information on management of forearm fractures through pre-existing ischemic contractures. The prevention of a Volkmann's contracture in forearm compartment syndrome requires vigilant clinical evaluation and emergent fasciotomy, but many of the patients who develop these contractures often do so as a result of delayed presentation due to substance abuse and intoxication. This case describes the first report and management of a severely displaced both bone (BB) forearm fracture through a chronic forearm Volkmann's contracture. Case Report: A 39 year old female presented with an acute both bone forearm fracture in the setting of a Volkmann's contracture. Although very limited in use, the arm was functional for holding objects and was determined to be important in her activities of daily living. The surgical management involved open reduction internal fixation with radial and ulnar shortening osteotomies to restore cortical alignment secondary to the extensive overlying soft tissue contractures. Conclusion: Restoration of the radial bow and other standard principles of open reduction and internal fixation of BB fractures may not be as important as obtaining fracture union in patients with these complicated injuries due to the pre-existing functional limitations of the limb. The soft tissue envelope in a contracted forearm is commonly fibrotic and provides an abnormal fracture healing environment. Careful attention to osseous and soft tissue healing in the postoperative period is recommended. This report details the first case, technical difficulties, and subsequent management of a BB fracture in the setting of subsequent management of a both bone fracture in the setting of a chronic Volkmann's contracture.


Abstract 2534 Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant is performed for high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Complex allogeneic immune responses can produce graft versus host disease which is associated with antileukemia effects. The prevailing paradigm is that these antileukemia effects are mediated by allogeneic T cells. Our laboratory has been studying factors associated with long term disease free survival in murine models of allogeneic transplantation for ALL. Design/Method: We employed a well characterized murine model of MHC-matched, multiple minor histocompatibility mismatched transplantation in which C3.SW mice are donors and C57BL/6 mice are recipients. The ALL model is a recently derived C57BL/6 murine pre-B ALL driven by a bcr/abl p210 oncogene and an Ink/Arf region deletion; such lesions frequently present in human ALL. Recipients underwent myeloablation with 5-FU and total body irradiation and received hematopoietic grafts comprised of donor marrow and spleen cells. Recipients were challenged with ALL cells three weeks after transplant and followed for survival up to 3 months. Some groups of mice were treated with vaccines comprised of irradiated leukemia cells, Freund9s adjuvant and GM-CSF. Serum samples were collected prior to leukemia challenge, three weeks after leukemia challenge and at the conclusion of the experiments. T cell responses were measured with ELISPOT assays specific for minor histocompatibility antigens and leukemia antigen specific responses. Antibody responses were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. Leukemia was measured by flow cytometry. Results: Across all experiments approximately 35% of animals challenged with ALL were long term, leukemia free survivors. Interferon-gamma ELISPOT T cell responses specific for minor histocompatibilty antigens were found in none of the survivors and ELISPOT responses to leukemia antigens were seen in only 20% of long term survivors and these were very modest in magnitude. In contrast, IgM and IgG antibodies that bound leukemia cells were found in the vast majority of survivors. Antibody responses were not specific for the ALL with which the animals were challenged. Cross reactivity with other C57BL/6 ALL and AML leukemia lines were observed. In addition, lower levels of antibody cross reactivity were observed against normal C57BL/6 and C3.SW hematopoietic cells. Titers of the antibodies ranged from 1:40 to > 1:100. Antibody responses were observed in mice that had not received post-transplant vaccination. However, post-transplant vaccination significantly increased the titers of leukemia reactive antibodies. Statistical analysis was performed to determine if antibody levels at any point in the animal9s course had any relationship with the risk of later death from leukemia or GVHD. Outcomes for each animal were categorized as alive, death from leukemia, death from GVHD or death of unspecified cause. Antibody levels for each animal were categorized as above or below the median for the entire experimental population. Chi square analysis demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between outcome and antibody level at the time of leukemia challenge. Few animals with high antibody levels died of leukemia (p = 0.0197). In comparison of death from leukemia with death from GVHD, higher antibody levels were associated with death from GVHD (p = 0.0099). A statistically significant difference was not observed between survivors and death from GVHD; however, the death from GVHD group was small, limiting the power of the analysis. Conclusion: Antibody responses to ALL cells were consistently observed in survivors. These studies do not prove the antibodies play a role in control of leukemia, but suggest the hypothesis that antibody responses may contribute to GVL effects. Current experiments in B cell deficient mice are underway to test the mechanistic role of antibody responses in the GVL effect. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Abstract : In order to exit from a theater such as Iraq, where the objective is to ensure a secure environment, it is necessary to change the intentions of non-compliant parties. Relying on indices such as numbers of incidents/fatalities is not enough; only parties intentions can tell us whether the environment is likely to deteriorate after the military force has left. Commanders must rely on cooperation from civilian agencies to affect a change in the intentions of non-compliant parties the agencies control many of the necessary carrots and sticks. A plan for achieving compliant intentions is implemented first and foremost by the commander as shooter. Line commanders at each level have to work with civilian agencies to put pressure on non-compliant parties at their level. They do this by interacting personally (or through their immediate delegates) both with representatives of civilian agencies and with non-compliant parties. A system for Command and Control of Confronting and Collaborating, or a C2CC system, supports joint strategy formation and implementation by a coalition of the International Community. This paper discusses valid Measures of Merit for such a system, and applies them to a fictitious example based on experience in NATO exercises.


BACKGROUND
Czech facilities for non-acute, continuing care provide care for very heterogeneous group of residents with different clinical characteristics, care needs and resource use. The rate based funding of LTC doesn't reflect patient case-mix. Therefore, a case mix system RUG based on per diem resource use is being used abroad for rational and fair LTC funding.

METHODS
The validity of RUG-III has been evaluated and its use for financing of LTC and geriatric care in CR examined. In a sample of 1162 residents from 18 institutions patients were assigned to one of 44 RUG-III groups regarding their clinical characteristics. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance with individual care time per patient per day as independent and RUG-III groups as dependent variables. Weighted means for each group (case-mix indexes, CMI) were calculated.

RESULTS
The RUG-III system achieved 59% variance explanation of total per diem costs of nursing and therapy/rehabilitation care and meets criteria of clinical validity. The CMIs for individual groups span from 0.39 to 2.70 i.e. differences in resource use between groups were sevenfold. Resource use within groups was relatively homogeneous.

CONCLUSIONS
The RUG-III represent a suitable case-mix system for nonacute institutional care in the Czech health care. Besides its use for payment incentives, RUG-III can be used in facility management, quality assurance process and for comparative analyses on national and international level.


We evaluated the effects of the joining process on the electrical and mechanical properties of Bi-2223 superconductor tape fabricated by the powder-in-tube technique. The joining of tapes was carried out by a lap-joint method. In the process, tapes were masked and etched to expose the superconductor cores in windows located near or at the end of the tape. The exposed cores of the two tapes were brought into contact, uniaxially pressed in the range 140-4000 MPa and sintered. The current carrying capacity of the jointed tape was evaluated as a function of uniaxial pressure and the shape of windows. It was observed that the current carrying capacity was reduced in the transition region of the jointed tape because of the non-uniform microstructure during the pressing. In addition, the current carrying capacity was significantly dependent on the uniaxial pressure. The highest current carrying capacity was obtained to be ~90% for the jointed tape to the tape itself by optimizing the window shape and pressure. It is believed that the highest value of current carrying capacity results from improvements in interface uniformity, core density, contacting area and grain alignment. The strain tolerance of the jointed tape was also evaluated, and the irreversible strain was measured to be 0.1%, which is lower than that of the unjointed tape. The decrease in the strain tolerance for jointed tape is believed to be due to the irregular interface and Ag intrusion in the transition region which acts as a stress concentration.


Classic scholarship on the problem of urban inequality tends to highlight the absence of "the market" and the correspondingly problematic and inadequate role of the state in poor communities. This article explores how the relationship between markets and urban poverty has shifted in recent decades. Scholars have become increasingly attentive to the growing influence of market logics and privatization—core features of "neoliberal" change—in areas such as housing, education, federal policy, local politics, employment, and social services. I discuss how this recent work adds to our understanding of how markets shape urban disadvantage. I also argue that—given the rising influence of market logics in city governance—urban scholarship stands to benefit from a deeper engagement with insights from the field of economic sociology. Building bridges between the two subfields, I argue, will help to specify what markets mean in the lives of the urban poor, and also can bring issues of race and poverty to the attention of economic sociologists.


In this paper, we have proposed a design strategy for the derivation of memory-efficient architecture for multilevel 2-D DWT. Using the proposed design scheme, we have derived a convolution-based generic architecture for the computation of three-level 2-D DWT based on Daubechies (Daub) as well as biorthogonal filters. The proposed structure does not involve frame-buffer. It involves line-buffers of size 3(K-2)M/4 which is independent of throughput-rate, where K is the order of Daubechies/biorthogonal wavelet filter and M is the image height. This is a major advantage when the structure is implemented for higher throughput. The structure has regular data-flow, small cycle period TM and 100% hardware utilization efficiency. As per theoretical estimate, for image size 512 × 512, the proposed structure for Daub-4 filter requires 152 more multipliers and 114 more adders, but involves 82 412 less memory words and takes 10.5 times less time to compute three-level 2-D DWT than the best of the existing convolution-based folded structures. Similarly, compared with the best of the existing lifting-based folded structures, proposed structure for 9/7-filter involves 93 more multipliers and 166 more adders, but uses 85 317 less memory words and requires 2.625 times less computation time for the same image size. It involves 90 (nearly 47.6%) more multipliers and 118 (nearly 40.1%) more adders, but requires 2723 less memory words than the recently proposed parallel structure and performs the computation in nearly half the time of the other. Inspite of having more arithmetic components than the lifting-based structures, the proposed structure offers significant saving of area and power over the other due to substantial reduction in memory size and smaller clock-period. ASIC synthesis result shows that, the proposed structure for Daub-4 involves 1.7 times less area-delay-product (ADP) and consumes 1.21 times less energy per image (EPI) than the corresponding best available convolution-based structure. It involves 2.6 times less ADP and consumes 1.48 times less EPI than the parallel lifting-based structure.


State-of-the-art language recognition systems are based on dis-criminative embeddings called x-vectors. Channel and gender distortions produce mismatch in such x-vector space where em-beddings corresponding to the same language are not grouped in an unique cluster. To control this mismatch, we propose to train the x-vector DNN with metric learning objective functions. Combining a classification loss with the metric learning n-pair loss allows to improve the language recognition performance. Such a system achieves a robustness comparable to a system trained with a domain adaptation loss function but without using the domain information. We also analyze the mismatch due to channel and gender, in comparison to language proximity, in the x-vector space. This is achieved using the Maximum Mean Discrepancy divergence measure between groups of x-vectors. Our analysis shows that using the metric learning loss function reduces gender and channel mismatch in the x-vector space, even for languages only observed on one channel in the train set.


Proteus syndrome exhibits an expanded phenotype. We report a case with restricted macrodactyly and cerebriform hypertrophy of one palm. The differential diagnosis with macrodactyly and other hamartomatous overgrowth syndromes is discussed.


This 400-page book aims to prepare physicians and other healthcare workers to respond to a terrorist event. In fact, the book provides interesting reading in terms of the history of biochemical warfare and is a superb reference for the management of biological, chemical, or radiation incidents. The book is coauthored by 37 experts in this field, many of whom have been involved in various aspects of evaluation and management of biological and chemical threats and in homeland defense efforts. The book is divided into 4 major categories: responding to an incident, biological agents, chemical agents, and additional considerations. After an introduction to mass casualty events, a detailed description is provided of 13 biological agents, 6 types of chemical agents, radiation, and blast effects, concluding with a review of the psychological impact of terrorist incidents. Each topic is reviewed in significant detail with appropriate and up-to-date references. The history, pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of each agent is described, with useful clinical and radiographic images where appropriate. The therapeutic section for each agent is remarkable in its detail; first-line agents and alternatives are described with precise dosing information, including the management of special populations, such as pregnant women and children. Case vignettes are used to provide real-life insight into the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of biological and chemical exposures. While the book is thorough and detailed, reviewers can always find areas for improvement. The addition of a separate detailed section describing decontamination procedures and personal protective equipment would be very valuable, as many first-line healthcare workers are not adequately familiar with these methods. In addition, the hospital preparedness section could cover an approach to dealing with mass critical care management. Finally, a table is provided of syndromes potentially resulting from bioterrorism, for example, "pneumonia with abnormal liver function tests" (potentially due to plague, tularemia, Q-fever, glanders). Ideally, this could be expanded to provide a diagnostic algorithm for a broader approach to all biochemical incidents. Whether you are a first responder working amid the chaos at a disaster scene, at a hospital receiving mass casualties or a provider in the community responding to a patient fearful of exposure to a biochemical agent, or a mental health specialist helping patients and their family members deal with the psychological aftermath, this book will provide essential information in an easy-to-follow, clinically relevant, case-based format. This is a very well-structured text appropriate for any healthcare worker or hospital administrator who may be responsible for managing casualties in a potential or real terrorist incident, and it is an important reference for hospital or medical libraries. Of note, for your $99.50 US, you also receive a CD that provides an Adobe Acrobat e-book, as well as a somewhat difficult-to-use PDA version.


In this paper, the author researches on the design of constant pressure water supply system based on PLC. The combination of computer technology and PLC control technology could effectively and rapidly test the present water supply system's parameters and performance; meanwhile it could also modify the software to test other parameters at any time according to customer's demands. This study adopted modular design, usually used in system design, to divide the system's functions into modules, thus revealing the design concepts of the complex system. The control model and the approximate mathematical model are also established. The frequency converter with built-in PID module to realize the closed loop speed control system. The water flow with frequency pump mutual investment security supply and variable frequency pump grading adjusting water supply mode can not only ensure the lowest safe water flow and also high flow constant pressure water supply and energy saving. This paper discusses the two motor mutual investment reserves for minimum security of water supply idea and implementation method, discusses a variety of effective supply states and the switching conditions of four pumps parallel water supply mode. This paper also discusses the PLC control software program flow, electrical control scheme, PLC software, PID parameter setting, motor relay protection setting and some other issues in depth.


At the Electron Stretcher Facility ELSA of Bonn University, an upgrade of the maximum stored beam current from 20 mA to 200 mA is planned. The storage ring operates applying a fast energy ramp of 4 GeV/s from 1.2 GeV to 3.5 GeV. The intended upgrade is mainly limited due to the excitation of multibunch instabilities. As a countermeasure, we succesfully commissioned state-of-the-art bunch by bunch feedback systems in the longitudinal and the two transverse dimensions. First results concerning the commissioning of the systems as well as the operation during the fast energy ramp will be presented. In particular, the performance while controlling the motion of every single bunch, especially in controlled bunch cleaning, will be discussed.


Real-time multi-task multi-model (MTMM) workloads, a new form of deep learning inference workloads, are emerging for applications areas like extended reality (XR) to support metaverse use cases. These workloads combine user interactivity with computationally complex machine learning (ML) activities. Compared to standard ML applications, these ML workloads present unique difficulties and constraints. Real-time MTMM workloads impose heterogeneity and concurrency requirements on future ML systems and devices, necessitating the development of new capabilities. This paper begins with a discussion of the various characteristics of these real-time MTMM ML workloads and presents an ontology for evaluating the performance of future ML hardware for XR systems. Next, we present XRBENCH, a collection of MTMM ML tasks, models, and usage scenarios that execute these models in three representative ways: cascaded, concurrent, and cascaded-concurrent for XR use cases. Finally, we emphasize the need for new metrics that capture the requirements properly. We hope that our work will stimulate research and lead to the development of a new generation of ML systems for XR use cases. XRBench is available as an open-source project: https://github.com/XRBench


Space missions have historically relied upon a large ground staff, numbering in the hundreds for complex missions, to maintain routine operations. When an anomaly occurs, this small army of engineers attempts to identify and work around the problem. A piloted Mars mission, with its multiyear duration, cost pressures, half-hour communication delays and two-week blackouts cannot be closely controlled by a battalion of engineers on Earth. Flight crew involvement in routine system operations must also be minimized to maximize science return. It also may be unrealistic to require the crew have the expertise in each mission subsystem needed to diagnose a system failure and effect a timely repair, as engineers did for Apollo 13. Enter model-based autonomy, which allows complex systems to autonomously maintain operation despite failures or anomalous conditions, contributing to safe, robust, and minimally supervised operation of spacecraft, life support, In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and power systems. Autonomous reasoning is central to the approach. A reasoning algorithm uses a logical or mathematical model of a system to infer how to operate the system, diagnose failures and generate appropriate behavior to repair or reconfigure the system in response. The 'plug and play' nature of the models enables low cost development of autonomy for multiple platforms. Declarative, reusable models capture relevant aspects of the behavior of simple devices (e.g. valves or thrusters). Reasoning algorithms combine device models to create a model of the system-wide interactions and behavior of a complex, unique artifact such as a spacecraft. Rather than requiring engineers to all possible interactions and failures at design time or perform analysis during the mission, the reasoning engine generates the appropriate response to the current situation, taking into account its system-wide knowledge, the current state, and even sensor failures or unexpected behavior.


Most object detection methods for autonomous driving usually assume a consistent feature distribution between training and testing data, which is not always the case when weathers differ significantly. The object detection model trained under clear weather might be not effective enough on the foggy weather because of the domain gap. This paper proposes a novel domain adaptive object detection framework for autonomous driving under foggy weather. Our method leverages both image-level and object-level adaptation to diminish the domain discrepancy in image style and object appearance. To further enhance the model's capabilities under challenging samples, we also come up with a new adversarial gradient reversal layer to perform adversarial mining for the hard examples together with domain adaptation. Moreover, we propose to generate an auxiliary domain by data augmentation to enforce a new domain-level metric regularization. Experimental results on public benchmarks show the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method. The code is available at https://github.com/jinlong17/DA-Detect.


Cambridge Hospital at Home (CH@H) provides 24-h nursing in a patient's own home to patients requiring terminal and palliative respite care. To investigate views of the service, we surveyed all GPs and district nurses (DNs) in the catchment area of the scheme. Responses were received from 85% of DNs and 65% of GPs. The majority of DNs (93%) and GPs (57%) had patients referred to CH@H, whereas 90% of DNs and 42% GPs had patients admitted. The most commonly reported reason for non-referral was lack of availability of places (GPs 62%; DNs 63%). Ninety per cent DNs and 84% GPs rated continuation of the scheme as important. The most important reported benefits were 24-h care (GPs 84%; DNs 82%) and help in keeping patients at home (GPs 69%; DNs 83%). Seventy-four DNs also considered help in arranging discharge to be important. Almost half GPs and DNs considered CH@H worse than other NHS services in terms of availability and limits on the duration of care. Whilst 65% of DNs thought CH@H had reduced workload, 77% GPs reported it had made no difference or had increased it. Most indicated that CH@H made a difference in allowing patients to die at home (GPs 60%; DNs 68%). The CH@H scheme is viewed as beneficial for patients requiring palliative care at home, although GPs and DNs expressed realistic reservations about specific aspects of the scheme. With the emergence of Primary Care Trusts, NHS commissioning of hospice at home services will more firmly rest with primary care practitioners, who on balance clearly prize them.


Background/Aim: The P300 component of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) is related to fundamental aspects of cognitive functions, such as Working Memory (WM) and attention allocation. Deficits in these domains have been implicated in the pathophysiology of depersonalization-derealization (DD). The present study focused on the P300 elicited during a WM test in transient DD experiences. Methods: Fifteen subjects with transient DD experiences were matched for age, sex and educational level to an equal number of healthy controls. Both groups were submitted to a computerized version of the digit span Wechsler batteries. P300 was measured during the anticipatory period of this test. All participants completed the Dixon self-rating questionnaire. Results: In relation to the control group, the subjects with transient DD experiences showed significantly decreased amplitudes of P300 at central posterior brain areas. Concerning memory performance, the groups did not differ significantly. Conclusions: These findings may indicate that subjects with transient DD experiences manifest altered aspects of information processing, as reflected by P300 amplitudes elicited during a WM test. Additionally, P300 might serve as a valuable investigative tool for a more comprehensive understanding of the neurobiological substrate of DD.


Cyberporn case has become a challenge for the Judge in East Java jurisdiction to fulfill legal provisions and uphold the law in the society. The problem appears on the meaning of nature against the material law itself under judge's consideration and the measurement used to determine that a judge has imposed nature against the material law. In order to decrease the problem, research method of socio-legal is used to analyze the basic law of imposition of nature against material law associated with the use of nature against the material law by a judge in examining and deciding a case. The result of the research shows that judge considers nature against the material law in giving a verdict for cyberporn case. Judge's consideration of norms of morality is based on religious aspect, culture and the development of people's condition. Judge's verdict also includes socio-juridical which is automatically accepted by the society. Keywords: nature against material law, judge, cyberporn


The flotation of small polymer disks in lower-density liquids was studied. A disk or rod was placed in a clear container, and liquid was slowly added. The progression of liquid rising and ultimately floating or engulfing the rod was observed. It was found that the maximum rod length that would float on a given liquid decreased with increasing rod diameter. It was possible to float larger disks and rods by increasing the liquid surface tension or by decreasing the density difference between the liquid and the solid. A simple analytical model allowed the prediction of the maximum flotation length from material properties.


In 948 women of the blood-pressure behaviour was registered weekly, from the 12. up to the 42. week of normal pregnancy. The normal range is stated with the single and double dissemination of the blood-pressure values; depending from the number of weeks being pregnant, and dessignation and meening to the pathological behaviour are represented. Desides, the frequency of various course-types of the blood-pressure during pregnancy is given, their possible meaning being discussed. For this purpose, 1337 single courses of the blood-pressure behaviour within pregnancy were explored.


Distance education is a completely different way of learning, separated from traditional face-to-face education, independent of time and place. The journey of distance education that started with communication tools such as letters, radio, and television continues to evolve based on the use of web-based technologies such as social media and learning management systems (LMSs), depending on the developments in technology today. In this study, a review has been carried out to outline the technologies used in LMS, first. In particular, the developments of the widely used advanced algorithms and LMSs have been taken into consideration in the study by examining internet-web based technologies and standards. Then, an investigation on new trends algorithms in this field has been performed. In this scope, five supervised (linear regression, logistic regression, 𝑘-nearest neighbors, decision tree and Naive Bayes), two unsupervised (Apriori and principal component analysis) and lastly one ensemble learning algorithm (Adaptive Boosting) have been examined. Consequently, the new algorithms have been proposed to be used for different purposes, such as analyzing of users' hidden behaviors, performance prediction, producing automatic recommendations as well.


This paper addresses the problems of institutional changes in governance and the framing of biodiversity conservation policy at the level of the enlarged European Union. The current development of European Union governance has become more complex and multilevel, partially usurping competences from the central state and relying on networks of interconnected actors rather than on a hierarchy dominated and defined by the state. This shift is particularly challenging for biodiversity governance in new member states, where current decision making is still affected by post-socialist relations and massive ongoing institutional changes, often resulting in inefficient institutional designs and over-exploitation of natural resources. The paper offers a cross-country analysis of five Central and Eastern European countries, characterized by different socialist regimes and different transition processes from hierarchical to democratic and market governance. The theoretical basis of the paper is institutional rebuilding in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the emerging multilevel environmental governance of the EU. The data were collected from desk study research and interviews. The results show that some elements of multilevel governance existed in these countries prior to the transition, but that EU integration empowered lower levels of self-government. The mismatch between the old hierarchical institutions developed under socialism and the new decentralized institutions introduced during the transformation process still persists and is visible. The emergence of multilevel governance with multiple actors' participation is prone to create tensions, but evidence from the countries studied indicates that this is not necessarily a disadvantage. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.


This paper presents important concepts that are to be considered in designing an AC exciter of a brushless exciter. These concepts are important because, based on these concepts, such as physical proportions, magnetic flux densities, current densities and existing design performance, a method for synthesizing a group of designs can be produced for an optimal solution of brushless exciter design. Brushless exciters are multi-pole, high frequency machines with a rotating armature and a stationary field windings. Selection of exciter rating, rotor length and diameter, armature core and winding, flux level, armature slots, air gap size, armature winding connection, and winding pitch are discussed. Also, a summary table of a case study, which was done utilizing the concepts in this paper, is presented.


Progenitor cells of bovine erythrocytes, megakaryocytes, and granulocyte-macrophages were cultured in agar or methylcellulose media. Colony formation was supported by cell-free conditioned medium from short-term cultures of concanavalin A-stimulated bovine peripheral blood leukocytes. Granulocyte-macrophage progenitors proliferated well in both types of semisolid culture media, giving rise to neutrophils (from granulocyte colony-forming units, CFU-G), eosinophils (from eosinophil CFU, CFU-Eo), monocyte-macrophages (from macrophage CFU, CFU-M), and mixed granulocyte-macrophages (from granulocyte-macrophage CFU, CFU-GM). Better growth of megakaryocytes, as well as late (erythroid CFU, CFU-E) and early (erythroid burst-forming units, BFU-E) erythroid progenitors was obtained with methylcellulose. Despite considerable variation in the numbers and types of colonies formed from different aspirates of bovine marrow, the numbers observed were generally comparable to those obtained from human and mouse bone marrow cells. The proliferation of bovine BFU-E and eosinophil progenitors herein described is the first successful report of the culture of these cell types.


Judicial reform in Afghanistan is seriously undermined by systemic corruption that has resulted in low legitimacy of the state and weak rule of law. This article reviews the main shortcomings in the Afghan justice system with reference to 70 interviews conducted in Kabul. Building on legal pluralism and a political economic approach, the shortcomings and causes and consequences of corruption in the Afghan justice sector are highlighted. These range from low pay, resulting in bribery; criminal and political intrusion into the judiciary; non-adherence to meritocracy, with poorly educated judges and prosecutors; and low funding in the judicial sector resulting in weak case tracking and human rights abuses in the countryside. This is followed by sociological approaches: understanding corruption from a non-Western approach and emphasis on religion, morality and ethics in order to curb it.


Dubin‐Johnson syndrome (DJS) is a hereditary disease characterized by hyperbilirubinemia. We investigated the consequences of 2 missense mutations, R768W and Q1382R, of nucleotide‐binding domains (NBDs) of the multidrug resistance protein 2 (MRP2; ABCC2) that were previously identified in patients with DJS. Pulse chase analysis revealed that the precursor form of the wild‐type and Q1382R MRP2 were converted to the mature form, which is resistant to endoglycosidase H (Endo H) in about 60 minutes. However, the precursor form of the R768W MRP2, which is sensitive to endoglycosidase H, was degraded within 120 minutes and did not mature to the fully glycosylated form. Proteasome inhibitors inhibited the degradation of the precursor form of the R768W MRP2. Unlike the R768W MRP2, the Q1382R MRP2 was mainly localized on the apical membrane in the wild‐type form. However, efflux of glutathione monochlorobimane (GS‐MCLB) and ATP‐dependent leukotriene C4 (LTC4) uptake into plasma membrane vesicles from cells expressing the Q1382R MRP2 were markedly reduced, suggesting that the Q1382R MRP2 on the apical membrane was nonfunctional. Vanadate‐induced nucleotide trapping with 8‐azido‐[α‐32P]ATP in the wild‐type MRP2 was stimulated by estradiol glucuronide (E217βG) in a concentration‐dependent manner but that in the Q1382R MRP2 was not. In conclusion, the R768W mutation causes deficient maturation and impaired sorting, and the Q1382R mutation does not affect maturation or sorting but impairs the substrate‐induced ATP hydrolysis.


Dr. Kinjal J. Shah is currently working as an Associate Professor in the College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China. He completed his Ph.D. in the field of applied science from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan in 2015. He has started his research carrier in 2009 from Shah Schulman Center for Surface Science and Nanotechnology (SSCSSNT), DDU, India. He obtained his postdoctoral trainings in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and the National Taiwan University under the prestigious project of "National Energy Program–II". During his last 10 years of research carrier, he has published more than 35 SCI papers and 2 books and 8 book chapters to International accredited journals. His h-index is 18 with total citations of 870. He has received the leading Young Scientist award from Society of Polymer Science Japan (SPSJ) in 2019, Japan, and Mayor Award from Taiwan. One of his research was nominated by ENI award, 2019, in the category of "Advance Environmental Solutions". In addition, he has received many domestic and international awards from different societies and institutional bodies. He has been invited as the lead speaker to many internationally accredited conferences. Moreover, he is serving as editor and guest editor in Elsevier and Bentham group of journals. His research activity is focusing on the synthesis of functional and biopolymer for environmental applications; implementation of green chemistry practice for pollution control; and physicochemical aspects of air pollutants.


It is common to use coal as raw material in heat power engineering. A number of shortcomings of coal such as ignitability cannot be easily eliminated. The use of water-slurry-based coal-water fuel instead of coal eliminates this problem. The coal-water fuel (CWF) is liquid fuel, which means that the main line of investigation is to study its sedimentation and rheological properties responsible for the transport and atomization in the boiler and thermal-physical properties which determine the expedience and efficiency of its application. The paper shows that the final performance properties of suspended coal fuel can be determined at the stage of CWF preparation by hydrodynamic treatment of aqueous coal slurry. The rheological and sedimentation properties and combustion parameters of water-coal fuel, ignition time of the drop, its completeness of combustion, and amount of man-made emissions, have been studied. Studies have been carried out on coals from the Kansk-Achinsk coal basin (Russia). The studies were performed under laboratory conditions with a hydrodynamic rotary mixer, making it possible to attain cavitation effects in the processed medium. Two CWF types have been considered: the first was produced by cavitation dispersion of the solid coal fraction in distilled water, and the second was produced in analogy, but the dispersion medium was water pretreated by cavitation. The paper shows that the cavitation method of producing CWF improves the rheological and sedimentation properties of the end-use fuel, reduces hazardous emissions in combustion, and affects the combustion parameters.


: We present three cases of Tuberous Sclerosis, studying its oral manifestations and suggesting that dental pits are clinical markers of diagnostic interest in the paucisymptomatic forms of the syndrome.


In this paper, a system is designed for improving the quality of novel view synthesis. To make the virtual view synthesis look better, the basic idea is to perform model refinement with important camera information of the novel view. In this system, we first use the reconstructed visual hull from shape from silhouette and then refine this 3D model based on the view dependency. The 3D points of the model are classified into the outline points and the non-outline points according to the virtual viewpoint. To refine the model, both of the outline points and the non-outline points are used to move the 3D points iteratively by minimizing energy function until convergence. The key energy is the photo-consistency energy with additional smoothness energy and contour/visual hull energy. The latter two energy terms can avoid the local minimum when calculating the photo-consistency energy. Finally, we render the novel view image using view-dependent image synthesis by blending the pixel values from reference cameras near the virtual camera.


Some phenomena in marketing systems are such that micro actions have wildly disproportionate macro impact or vice versa. Rumors are clearly in this category of phenomena. In this issue's book review, Jonathan Schroeder presents a lucid review of Rumors: Uses, Interpretations, & Images, a fascinating book by Jean-Noel Kapferer. The review illustrates how a discipline such as psychology, traditionally associated with the study of micro-level marketplace phenomena, can be employed gainfully to understand a macro-level phenomenon like the spread of rumors.


To the Editor:

Chronic pleural effusions are sometimes difficult to manage. Some cases remain unresolved despite invasive investigations. Iatrogenic pleural effusions are not rare but the diagnosis is mostly putative and difficult to ascertain. Herein, we report two cases of eosinophilic pleural effusions that are potentially iatrogenic and review the current literature accordingly.

A 38-yr-old male, nonsmoker has been followed for 13 yrs in the Dept of Neurology (AP-HM, Marseille, France) for treatment of multiple sclerosis. Until 2 yrs ago he had been treated with bolus of cyclophosphamide, and is currently being treated with 10 mg prednisolone per day, with significant neurological sequelae. His treatment includes prednisolone 10 mg q.d. , dantrolene 100 mg t.i.d. (doubled 3 months ago), osomeprazole 20 mg q.d. , fluoxetine 20 mg q.d. and paracetamol in case of pain.

1 month ago the patient noted chest pain and dyspnoea at rest with no other respiratory, extra-thoracic or general symptoms. Chest pain increased leading to hospitalisation in the Dept of Neurology. Clinical examination found no serious organ failure, fever or signs of respiratory distress; however, the pulmonary examination showed a pleural syndrome of the left hemi-thorax. The rest of the physical examination was unremarkable, taking into account the patient's pre-existing neurological sequelae. Laboratory tests showed leukocytosis with 85% of neutrophils without eosinophilia, C-reactive protein (CRP) of 15 mg·L−1, brain natriuretic peptide of 20 pg·mL−1 and normal hepatic, renal, thyroid and adrenal tests. The chest radiograph showed a left pleural effusion, right mediastinal deviation and a blunting of right costophrenic angle, without any associated parenchymal lesion. The computed tomography (CT) scan showed a large left pleural effusion, a small right pleural effusion and a moderate pericardial effusion. The CT scan did not show any parenchymal lesion, except a left lower lobe atelectasis in contact …


The rhizomes and herbal medicines originating from Acorus gramineus, A. calamus, A. tatarinowii, and A. gramineus var. pusilus, show significant similarity, and the correct identification of species is very difficult. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) were used to develop a reliable method for identification of these four species. Several distinct SCAR markers were developed from species-specific RAPD amplicons for each species. Furthermore, a useful molecular marker was established for multiplex-PCR, in order to the four species could be distinguished concurrently. These markers allow efficient and rapid identification of closely-related Acorus species and will be useful for standardization of herbal medicines.


Abstract Different views have been expressed by the American non-proliferation lobbyists on possible loss or gain from the Indo-US nuclear agreement. Would the agreement complicate global non-proliferation efforts as the critics argue or would it lead to a stronger front to deal with emerging non-proliferation challenges? To answer these questions it is necessary to examine the merits of the arguments put forward by the US non-proliferation lobby carefully. Two of the principal arguments — one, that it would encourage nuclear proliferation by threshold states such as North Korea and Iran, and two, that it would lead to China claiming exceptional treatment for Pakistan similar to what India might receive under the US-India nuclear deal — are inappropriate and hollow, given India's non-NPT status and positive non-proliferation record that the countries mentioned do not possess.


The effects of divalent ionophores (A23187 and ionomycin), Ca2+ channel agonist (BAY K 8644), and protein kinase C (C-kinase) activators [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), mezerein] on bovine tracheal smooth muscle contraction were investigated. A23187 (5 microM) and ionomycin (0.5 microM) produced a prompt but transient contraction. C-kinase activators either produced no effect--e.g., PMA at 200 nM--or produced a rise in tension that was slow in onset but then gradually increased--e.g., mezerein at 400 nM. In contrast, ionophores and C-kinase activators, in combination, acted synergistically to produce a prompt and sustained contractile response that is reminiscent of that observed in response to carbachol, a cholinergic agonist. In addition, BAY K 8644 (20 nM), which has a minimal effect on tension by itself, could significantly enhance contraction induced by C-kinase activators. The contraction induced by all of these agents was quickly reversed either by removal of extracellular Ca2+ or upon addition of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase. A similar reversal of carbachol-induced contraction by forskolin was observed with carbachol-induced contraction. These findings strongly suggest that C-kinase plays an important role in mediating tracheal smooth muscle contraction.


Affordable houses bloom in Medan due to high demand. Although labeled affordable, there is some contradiction. The primary task of this paper is to compile the various conditions and issues that related to affordable houses in suburban of Medan and to develop its conceptual framework of housing mismatch through literature review gathered. This research uses descriptive qualitative research method. The study found that price factor is the most influencing factor (pull factor) for people to buy the house, followed by affordable installment and attractive building facades.It concluded that there are mismatches between the type of housing unit offered and the group desired by low and middle-income people, location and unhealthy physical conditions.


A new, precise, simple and accurate HPLC method was developed for the first time to separate and determine mebeverine enantiomers. Enantiomeric resolution was achieved on a cellulose Tris (3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) column known as Chiralcel OD, with UV detection at 263 nm. The mobile phase consisted of n-hexane, isopropyl alcohol and triethylamine (90:9.9:0.1 v/v/v). Sample run time was 18 min. On using the chromatographic conditions described, mebeverine enantiomers were well resolved with mean retention times of about 11 and 14 min. A linear response (r>0.999) was observed over the concentration range 0.5-20 microg/mL racemic mebeverine. Precision, accuracy and stability were studied according to ICH guidelines. The limit of detection was found to be 0.05 microg/mL for each enantiomer of mebeverine. The proposed method was applied for analysis of mebeverine in commercially available tablets dosage formulations. Examples of application to biological samples are also given. Reanalysis of samples several weeks after the initial analysis showed no degradation of mebeverine.


Survey data collected from 2,000 senior secondary class two (SSII) students in Cross River State, Nigeria were analyzed to determine the influence of child abuse and the trait of introversion-extroversion among senior secondary school students. Four dimensions of child abuse - physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as child neglect were studied. Contingency chi square (X 2 ) was used in testing the hypothesis for introversion-extroversion behavior among senior secondary school students at the 0.05 alpha level of significance. The result obtained showed a significant influence of child abuse on introversion-extroversion characteristics among senior secondary school students in the study area. Students who were abused were more likely to become introverts than those not abused. Key words: introversion, extroversion, personality traits, non conforming, extroverted individual.


We are using image systems simulation technology to design a digital camera for measuring fluorescent signals; a first application is oral cancer screening. We validate the simulations by creating a camera model that accurately predicts measured RGB values for any spectral radiance.
 Then we use the excitationemission spectra for different biological fluorophores to predict measurements of fluorescence of oral mucosal tissue under several different illuminations. The simulations and measurements are useful for (a) designing cameras that measure tissue fluorescence and
 (b) clarifying which fluorophores may be diagnostic in identifying precancerous tissue.


Aquatic insects have been studied in five Czech (Cerne,
Certovo, Prasilske, Plesne, and Laka) and three German (Grosser
Arbersee, Kleiner Arbersee, and Rachelsee) lakes and their
inlets and outlets in the Bohemian Forest. All available
historical and present records, as well as many unpublished
data were summarised. Of nine insect orders, 70 families, 214
genera, and 373 species/taxa were found in total (Ephemeroptera
20, Odonata 22, Plecoptera 37, Heteroptera 35, Megaloptera and
aquatic Neuroptera 3, Trichoptera 46, Coleoptera 58,
Chironomidae 113, other Diptera 39). All aquatic insect groups
are discussed from the point of view of species richness,
influence of acidification, ecological requirements,
distributional ranges of species, and species protection. The
lakes were classified into four groups which primarily reflect
characteristics of the lake littoral and water chemistry.
Available data on Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, and
Heteroptera from the past two decades were analysed in order to
repeal possible biological recovery from acid stress. A certain
degree of recovery has been documented by the increase in
species richness of Ephemeroptera and Heteroptera. Yet the
lakes have not been colonised by any acid-sensitive species.


In this paper we consider the comparison of alternative size corrections of the t and F tests in the normal linear model with unknown error covariance matrix. Rothenberg (I984b) has derived corrected critical values for the F test from a chi-square Edgeworth approximation. Similar corrected critical values for the t test can be derived from a normal Edgeworth approximation. Alternative critical values can be obtained by using Edgeworth approximations based on the F or t distributions respectively. These corrections are locally exact, i.e. they reduce to the exact critical values when the error covariance matrix is known up to a multiplicative factor. Moreover, instead of correcting the critical values, we may use a Cornish-Fisher correction of the test statistic. Thus we avoid the problem of negative "probabilities" in the tails of an Edgeworth "distribution". The relative performance of these corrections is examined in the linear regression model with heteroscedastic errors. A simulation study supports the theoretical considerations in favor of the locally exact Cornish-Fisher corrections. Due to their moderate computational requirements and the simplicity of their use, the Cornish-Fisher corrections can be a useful tool in applied statistical and econometric work.


BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to examine the association between smoking status and relative body weight at different educational levels in Finland during 1978-1995.

METHODS
The data for the study were derived from separate cross-sectional health behavior surveys conducted annually by the National Public Health Institute (n = 3,418-5,037, response rate 68-84%). Relative weight was compared among current smokers, ex-smokers, and never smokers. Mean body mass index (BMI) was used as the measure of relative weight. Educational level was measured by the number of school years.

RESULTS
During 1978-1995, relative weight increased in all smoking categories. Among men, ex-smokers weighed most, irrespective of study year or educational level, whereas among women ex-smokers showed a mean BMI comparable with that of never smokers. Among current and never smokers, both men and women, the association between smoking status and mean BMI varied according to educational level: current smokers weighed less than never smokers at the lowest educational level, whereas at the highest educational level they weighed more than never smokers.

CONCLUSIONS
The association between smoking status and relative weight varied according to educational level. The finding suggests that the association between smoking status and relative weight is modified by social and behavioral factors.


In the early 2000's Cochran and Harvey introduced non-commutative Alexander polynomials for 3-manifolds. Their degrees give strong lower bounds on the Thurston norm. In this paper we make the case that the vanishing of a certain Novikov-Sikorav homology module is the correct notion of a monic non-commutative Alexander polynomial. Furthermore we will use the opportunity to give new proofs of several statements about Novikov-Sikorav homology in the three-dimensional context.


We analyze privatization in a differentiated oligopoly setting with a domestic public firm and foreign profit-maximizing firms. In particular, we examine pricing below marginal cost by public firm, the optimal degree of privatization and, the relationship between privatization and foreign ownership restrictions. When market structure is exogenous, partial privatization of the public firm improves welfare by reducing public sector losses. Surprisingly, even at the optimal level of privatization, the public firm's price lies strictly below marginal cost, resulting in losses. Our analysis also reveals a potential conflict between privatization and investment liberalization (i.e., relaxing restrictions on foreign ownership) in the short run. With endogenous market structure (i.e., free entry of foreign firms), partial privatization improves welfare through an additional channel: more foreign varieties. Furthermore, at the optimal level of privatization, the public firm's price lies strictly above marginal cost and it earns positive profits.


This study aims to provide evidence about two widely held assumptions in the experimental study of moral judgment. First, that different terms used to ask for moral judgment (e.g., blame, wrongness, permissibility…) can be treated as synonyms and hence used interchangeably. Second, that the moral and legal status of the judged action are independent of one another and thus moral judgment have no influence of legal or other conventional considerations. Previous research shows mixed results on these claims. We recruited 660 participants who provided moral judgment to three identical sacrificial dilemmas using seven different terms. We experimentally manipulated the explicit legal status of the judged action. Results suggest that terms that highlight the utilitarian nature of the judged action cause harsher moral judgments as a mechanism of reputation preservation. Also, the manipulation of the legal status of the judged action holds for all considered terms but is larger for impermissibility judgments. Taken as a whole, our results imply that, although subtle, different terms used to ask for moral judgment have theoretically and methodologically relevant differences which calls for further scrutiny.


Abstract The aim of the study was to determine the microstructure and residual stress changes which appears in the S235 steel (which is designed for operating in elevated temperatures) during cold rolling. The changes of orientation, both morphological and crystallographic, are occurring as a result of the rolling process. Analysis of the results allowed to determine the change in grain morphology (size, shape), determination of grain morphology of the rolling direction and determination of crystallographic texture. The dislocation density present in the material before and after the cold rolling process was estimated on the basis of dislocation structure images obtained via transmission electron microscope. The observed microstructural changes were correlated with the results of nondestructive testing using eddy current method. They allowed for the identification of the state of stress measured on three different surfaces of the rolled sheet (parallel and perpendicular to the rolling direction). As the result the usability of using the non - destructuve techniques of stress level determination was proved.


Antioxidants and immunomodulatory effect of black cumin seed oil in at-risk metabolic syndrome Akrom Akrom1,3*, Endang Darmawan1, Nuril Maulida2, Syuhada2 Introduction: Black Cumin Seed Oil (BCSO) is a traditional medicine widely used as an antioxidant and immunomodulator. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of dose variation of BCSO (1.5 ml/day versus 3 ml/day) on IL-10 activity and MDA levels in patients at risk of MS at Jetis 1 Public Health Center (J1PHC), Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Methods: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study. 66 patients at risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) were divided into two groups. In stage 1, group 1 received a 1.5 ml/day dose, and group 2 received 3 ml/day for 20 days. The clinical parameters of MS, IL-10 activity, and MDA levels were measured at the end of the study stages. Results: The mean activity of IL-10 in the 1.5 ml/day dose group was 4.83 and in the 3 ml/day dose group was 5.49, which showed an increase of around 13.66% (p = 0.300). The mean MDA level in the 1.5 ml/day group was 3.92 μmol/L, which increased to 4.31 μmol/L in the 3 ml/day group or approximately 9.95% (p = 0.802). Statistically, IL-10 activity and MDA levels in the two-dose groups did not differ significantly. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the administration of BCSO at doses of 1.5 ml/day and 3 ml/day for 20 days has the same effect on IL-10 activity and MDA levels in patients at risk of MS.


The bacterial flagellar motor is one of the most complex protein machines found in nature and how it self-assembles and produces force are very much open questions. In this thesis, I study the constituent parts of the motor in vitro, with the focus being primarily on FliG, a protein which helps to form the motor's cytoplasmic ring. The experimental approach employs a DNA scaffold to direct the in vitro formation of the FliG ring, with the aim of determining both the number of proteins in the complex and the means by which they associate to form a circular structure. One leading theory states that the FliG proteins interact through a process of domain-swap oligomerization and the primary goal of this work is to search for evidence of this process with the aid of in vitro DNA templates. To attach the FliG protein to the underlying DNA structures, I produced FliG-DNA conjugates through two different means. First, I bound both tris- and pentakis-NTA-modified DNA strands to the Histidine-tag of FliG and showed that these conjugates could be arranged on simple, linear DNA templates. In order for the proteins to be arranged with the spacing observed in the cytoplasmic ring however, a different conjugation strategy was required in which a maleimide-modified DNA strand was reacted with a single-cysteine FliG mutant. After issues relating to Histidine-tag-mediated FliG dimerization were resolved, these conjugates were able to be organized on both linear DNA strands and origami tiles with the desired spacing between the proteins. No interactions between either template-bound or free-floating FliG proteins could be observed however, meaning a new strategy was needed. One model of cytoplasmic ring assembly predicts that binding of FliG to the C-terminal domain of the membrane-bound FliF protein induces a conformational change in both partners which then triggers interactions between neighbouring FliG proteins. To test this, I designed a peptide corresponding to the FliFC domain of Salmonella and E. coli FliF and incorporated it into my system. Several biophysical assays indicated that the FliFC peptide stably bound to purified wild-type Salmonella FliG and that binding to the peptide increased the overall stability of the protein. This constitutes the first confirmation that the cytoplasmic domain of FliF is sufficient for FliG binding in enteric bacteria. Following this discovery, a maleimide-modified DNA strand was then conjugated to a single-cysteine version of the peptide and the peptide-DNA conjugates organized with various stoichiometries and spacing on DNA templates to create an array of 'binding platforms' for the FliG protein. FliG bound to the organized peptides in a one-to-one fashion but interactions between the organized FliG proteins were still not detected. In a final effort to stimulate FliG-FliG binding, a radially-symmetric DNA nanostructure was designed with dimensions and a geometry which matched those found in the cytoplasmic rings of bacteria. Gels and AFM microscopy proved that the 12 designed strands assembled correctly into the desired structure and that FliFC-DNA conjugates with FliG proteins bound could be organized on the circular arrangement of binding sites around the structure's outer rim. Even in such an arrangement, interactions between neighbouring proteins could not be observed, and though higher concentrations of FliFC and FliG were tested, issues with purification prevented accurate characterization of these complexes. Thus, though the domain-swap model for FliG oligomerization was therefore neither confirmed or denied, the use of a DNA scaffold to organize protein molecules and study their interactions holds promise as a technique to investigate the proteins of other biological systems and will no doubt be employed to great effect in the coming years.


Despite various efforts for enhancing women's autonomy in developing countries, many women are deprived of their capacity in decision-making on their household affairs as well as social issues. This paper aimed to examine women's autonomy and its associated factors in the Kapilvastu district of Nepal. We measured women's autonomy using a recently developed women's autonomy measurement scale from June to October 2014. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic multivariate modeling technique were applied for assessing the association of demographic and socio-economic characteristics of women and their autonomy. Mean score for women's autonomy was 23.34± 8.06 out of the possible maximum 48. It was found to be positively associated with higher age difference at marriage, advantaged caste/ethnicity, better employment for the husband, couple's education more than 10 years schooling, and higher economic status of the household. We found strong direct effect of women's education (OR = 8.14, CI = 3.77–17.57), husband's education (OR = 2.63, CI = 1.69–4.10) and economic status of household (OR = 1.42, CI = 1.01–2.03) on women's autonomy. When we adjusted women's education for husband's education, the odds ratio decreased by around 22% {from (OR = 8.14, CI = 3.77–17.57) to (OR = 6.32, CI = 2.77–14.46)} and was a mediator effect. The economic status of household also had mediator effect on women's autonomy through their education. Education status of women is a key predictor of women's autonomy in Kapilvastu district. Husband's education and economic status of the household are other important predictors of women's autonomy which have a mediator effect on women's autonomy. Improving educational status and economic conditions of both women and their husbands may be the best solution to promote women's autonomy.