Introduction: At the age of 1st year, the 1st dental visit to the pediatric dentist should arise. A regular 1st dental visit of a child to the clinic is a principal role of the children's well-being which serves the level of the preventive side of dental care which child will earn so it will help in the upcoming oral health of the child. This study was conducted to recognize average age of the 1st dental visit of the children and their treatment needs. Aim: To evaluate 1st Dental Visit of children according to their treatment needs reported to the institute between 1/04/2016 to 31/3/2017. Methodology: This retrospective study was done by using the case documents of 900 children in K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Vadodara, Gujarat. The age groups of the children were categorized into five categories; 0-3 years, 4-6 years, 7-9 years, 10-12 years and 13-14 years with 15 chief-complains (Regular dental checkup, Dental caries, Dental pain/sensitivity, Discoloration of teeth, Deposits/bad breath, Ulcers, Malocclusion, Unerupted, missing or extra tooth, Oral habit, Trauma, Orientation to prevention, Cleft lip and palate, Mobile teeth, Soft tissue lesions and Natal/Neonatal teeth). Assessment of the age group and the most common chief complaint at the 1st dental visit was done. Results: Maximum number of the children visited to the department were among 7-9 years of age (37.6%). The most common chief-complain was pain (34.9%) followed by dental caries (31.2%). Conclusion: The apprehension regarding the 1st dental visit and prevention approach is less among this population.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic syndrome due to pancreas failure to produce insulin, thereforehyperglycemia is the hallmark of DM. There is hyperglycemia in this disease. In the world, there isaround143 million diabetes mellitus patients. One of the deathcause in diabetes mellitus is chronic liver disease.Herbal medicine is thought to give less side effect than sintetic medicine. A traditional plant that hashypoglicemia property is decoction of Indonesian bay leaves. This study was aimed to study effectivity ofIndonesian bay leaf decoction in decreasing blood glucose level, pancreas and liver hemorrhage scores, andKupffer cell count on alloxan-induced Wistar rats. This Control Group Design used twenty four rats (threemonth old). The rats were divided randomly into four groups, i.e.: control, 1 mL of Indonesian bay leafdecoction (0.9 g/kg body weight (BW)), 2 mL of Indonesian bay leaf decoction (1.8 g/kg BW), and 3 mL ofIndonesian bay leaf decoction (2.7 g /kg BW). After one week adaptation the rats were inducedwithalloxan,then pretest for fasting blood glucose test was examined. Treatment was given for ten days and posttestblood glucose test was done afterwards. At the end of the experiment, all rats were sacrificed to collectpancreas, kidney, and liver. Those organs were stained with hematoxylin eosin. Levelof fasting bloodglucose, hemorrhage score, on pancreas and kidney and Kupffer cell count were analyzed by using Anova.In conclusion, Indonesian bay leaf decoction may lower fasting blood glucose level on hyperglycemic rats aswell as Kupffer cell count significantly, but it is not likely to give significant result in lowering of pancreasand kidney hemorrhage scores.


Understanding the cellularand mechanicalprocessesthat underlie the shape changes of individual cells and their collective behaviors in a tissue during dynamic and complex morphogenetic events is currently oneofthemajorfrontiersindevelopmentalbiology.Theadvent ofhigh-speed time-lapse microscopy and its use in monitoring the cellular events in fluorescently labeled developing organisms demonstrate tremendous promise in establishing detailed descriptions of these events and could potentially provide a foundation for subsequent hypothesis-drivenresearchstrategies. However, obtainingquantitative measurements of dynamic shapes and behaviors of cells and tissues in a rapidly developing metazoan embryo using time-lapse 3D microscopy remains technically challenging, with the main hurdle beingtheshortageofrobustimagingprocessingandanalysistools.We have developed EDGE4D, a software tool for segmenting and tracking membrane-labeled cells using multi-photon microscopy data. Our results demonstrate that EDGE4D enables quantification of the dynamics of cell shape changes, cell interfaces and neighbor relations at single-cell resolution during a complex epithelial folding event in the early Drosophila embryo. We expect thistool to be broadly useful for the analysis of epithelial cell geometries and movements in a wide variety of developmental contexts.


Nebraska Consolidated Mills is my company. Our business is food. Nebraska Consolidated Mills came into existence as wheat millers, and over the years have also become manufacturers of animal feed and growers of chickens, hogs, and cattle.|All of these activities have common threads linking them into logical extensions of each other. One of these is wheat millfeeds, sometimes termed a by-product and, more recently, a co-product of wheat milling. Its principal usage is as a feed ingredient, and it is a very important one.|Millfeeds take several forms, red dog, bran, shorts, middlings, etc. They constitute 25-30% of the total amount of wheat processed on the basis of weight.|The percentage depends principally on the type of wheat and efficiency of the mill. Their value varies considerably but will average 15-20% of the total return from the wheat milled.|Feed millers utilize all of these products to a greater or lesser degree in manufacturing poultry and animal feeds of all kinds. Historically, millfeeds were probably the first commodity other than grains and forage crops in their natural state to be fed to livestock.|The purpose of this paper is to explore selected aspects of millfeed marketing to as great a depth as possible with the specific end in view of developing multiple regression and correlation relationships which might be helpful in forecasting the price of middlings at Kansas City.


Tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) of W-Ni composition was deposited from a blend of standard thermal spray powders using radio frequency inductively coupled plasma torch (RF-ICP) in a protective atmosphere. The deposit (RF WHA) contained a fully developed WHA structure, i.e., spherical W particles embedded in a Ni-rich matrix. The bending tensile strength R m , bending yield strength R p,0.2 , and elastic modulus of the deposit were compared with two W-Ni-Co references fabricated by powder metallurgy (PM WHA) via sintered and quenched (PM-SQ), and forged and annealed (PM-FA). While the RF deposit properties are comparable with the PM-SQ reference, the PM-FA exhibited higher mechanical properties. The deposit showed very limited ductility A < 3% . The fatigue crack growth rate in the deposit measured in bending ( R < -1 ) was comparable to the PM-SQ reference material in the near-threshold region whereas the forged PM-FA had significantly better fatigue performance. In the near-threshold fatigue regime, the crack growth took place in the Ni-rich matrix. In the Paris regime, the similar fracture mode was observed, with the exception of PM-SQ, where the tungsten particles fracture contributed significantly. The static failure was exclusively trans-particle in RF WHA, while both PM WHAs failed by a mix of ductile matrix failure and trans-particle cleavage fracture. The fracture toughness of the deposit was significantly lower than the references. These early results indicate that RF-plasma spray is a suitable and efficient manufacturing method for production of WHA materials, however with limited mechanical properties in some aspects.


tuberculous arthritis, to gout, or to a variant of the socalled seronegative peripheral arthritis as seen in Reiter's disease, arthritis associated with gastrointestinal disease, psoriasis, and ankylosing spondylitis. In all these conditions, however, the involvement of the proximal interphalangeal joint is uncommon, with exception of tuberculous arthritis where the tumor albus or spina ventosa are typical examples. Polyarthritis of the small hand joints was seen in four paintings. Polyarthritis was only present or visible in one hand and not with certainty in the other hand. The feet were only visible in one painting and there they were normal. So no convincing evidence of symmetrical rheumatoid arthritis is found. Except for one case, all observed arthritis cases were males, which is in contrast to the male/female ratio of rheumatoid arthritis. Although 1 looked for arthritis in the work of Breughel, Vandenbosch, Rembrandt, Rubens, and other painters of the Renaissance, no such deformities were found.


Summary A relatively simple routine method of calculating and interpreting the "modified" Lugeon water test is described. The method is used for assessing the need for foundation grouting at dam sites; it comprises calculations of lugeon values for each of five test runs at increasing and then decreasing pressures, followed by interpretation of the pattern of results, and hence selection of an appropriate representative permeability. The relative frequency of different behaviour patterns is indicated by reference to 811 actual tests.


The usurpation of land and displacement of black people during the colonial era created serious imbalances in terms of land ownership between black and white people in Zimbabwe. This presentation discusses the road to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which was kick-started in the quest to redress the skewed land ownership patterns that characterised the colonial era. It discusses the impact of major policy shifts from the market-based "willing seller –willing buyer" principle to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme on Zimbabwe's food security. It is evident from the findings that the implementation of the FTLRP, in 2000 had adverse effects on agricultural production which culminated into food insecurity. As a result of the FTLRP the country was unable to feed its people. It concludes that there is utmost need for policy reflection with a vein desire to depart from detrimental scenarios which have endangered the capability of the country to produce enough food crops. The presentation makes recommendations to policy formulators and implementers in a drive towards rebuilding the country's image as the bread basket of Southern Africa.


The Veery (Catharus fuscescens) is a common Neotropical migrant thrush whose breeding distribution spans the northern United States and southern Canada and continues south through the high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. Despite its wide distribution, many aspects of Veery biology are largely unknown, including a clear characterization of song and knowledge of geographic song variation. I describe the song structure, repertoire size, and patterns of song delivery in the songs of the Veery and describe geographic song variation across four regions along the Appalachian Mountains. Visual analysis of song spectrogram images of territorial males revealed that Veeries' repertoire ranges from one to six different song types, which is larger than what was previously described in the literature. Spectrogram analysis suggested that Veeries present song types in predictable patterns, and patterns of song presentation can change depending on repertoire size. Veeries also presented their songs in an oscillating frequency pattern regardless of repertoire size, a previously undocumented feature of their singing behavior. Random coefficient models show significant variation infrequency and temporal features of the Veery song within each sample area and across the Appalachian Mountains.


Reduced transport fluid (RTF) was modified by altering its pH and by the addition of a yeast dialysate. This reduced transport yeast-containing fluid (RTYF) was shown to be superior to RTF in maintaining viability of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in cultures and in clinical material.


This study evaluates the potential of a proposed technique in using satellite‐borne radiometer measurements and weather analyses to estimate the intensity of tropical cyclones. This theory shows that intensity is essentially directly related to the temperature deficit of cloud top versus sea surface, and the surplus in saturation entropy in the eyewall versus its surroundings. The eyewall entropy estimate comes from measurements of cloud top temperature and pressure, and the analysis provides the environmental saturation entropy. An Observing Systems Simulation Experiment was conducted, and the results were compared to those from previous studies using cloud‐profiling radar altimetry measurements. The use of cloud top pressure measurements may produce more accurate results. Inherent challenges still require caution in considering operational implementation.


The discussions as to the priority of laparoscopy or blind liver puncture have not ended in a "either-or" decision, but, rather, have come out unequivocally in favour of both techniques. The procedure of blind liver puncture is suitable for the diagnosis and follow-up of diffuse diseases of the liver (fatty liver, acute hepatitis, with restriction, chronic persistent and chronic aggressive hepatitis, pre-alcoholic liver cirrhois damage). Laparoscopy is employed primarily in cases with equivocal liver palpation findings, for the initial diagnosis of chronic inflammatory, focal and tumorous diseases of the liver. For both techniques, there needs to be a careful weighing up of indications and contraindications, risks and limitations and they should not be carried out by any and every ward physician.


The relationship between trade, investment, and environmental protection is complex, and environmental activists have engaged with international economic law in a wide variety of ways. Some environmental activists have sought to use trade systems as leverage to advance environmental protections aims, while others have been concerned about how international economic law constrains unilateral national environmental action. The dominant account of the harmonization of economic and environmental norms and the promotion of sustainable development through trade and investment is challenged by sobering statistics of ecological decline. In the face of intersecting ecological, economic, and social crises facing the global community, the often-marginalized critique developed by environmental justice activists of neoliberal globalization and the legal regimes that enable it is more urgent than ever. These perspectives and voices—which sometimes align with other environmental activists and sometimes directly oppose market-orientated environmental agendas—have been marginalized in the scholarship on international economic law, but offer an indispensable resource for imagining more equitable and ecologically just forms of global economic cooperation. This essay shows how environmental justice activists have enacted a powerful politics of refusal, resisting international economic law as well as articulating visions of how to achieve systemic change and sustainable societies based on environmental, social, economic, and gender justice and peoples' sovereignty.


DR. BASIL HETZEL read a paper on the adrenal cortex and hypertension. He said that there were probably many causes of human hypertension. but In the great majority of cases the particular factors at work were unknown. Recent work on the adrenal cortex hltd pointed to the possibility that that gland was Involved. Clinicallv t he association of hypertension with Cushing's syndrome was welI known, while the occurrence of hypertension In patients suffering from Addison's disease receiving DCA therapy had also been noticed. DCA was pressor In effect In normal and hypertensive subjects-an effect antagonized by simultaneous administration of whole adrenal cortical extract. Cortisone had been found' depressor In effect In hypertensive subjects. Vascular lesions similar to those In hypertension had been described by Selye In animals as a result of massive doses of DCA and salt. Those effects could be Inhibited by cortisone. Dr. Hetzel went on to say that In the light of the clinical and experimental observations mentioned It was necessary to know whether there was any disturbance of adrenal cortical function In other clinical types of hypertension apart from Cushing's syndrome. Work was handicapped by lack of sufficiently precise techniques for measurement of hormone levels In the body fluids. Suitable methods for measurement of the DCA-like factors were not available, while the only specific method for glucocortlcolds Involved biological assay with alI Its attendant problems. The various chemical methods were not specific for either mineralocorticoid or ·glucocortlcoid fractions. In association with Miss D. C. Hine, Dr. Hetzel had used the biological assay of Vening et alii to determine the glucocorticoid excretion In the urine of patients suffering from the various clinical types of hypertensive disease. A chloroform extract was made from a forty-eight-hour specimen and injected into fasting adrenalectomized mice, the activity being measured by assay of the glycogen content of the Ilver. Various difficulties had been encountered with the technique, but most of them had been overcome. Determinations had been made on a series of approximately 50 patients representative of the various cllnical types; namely, renal hypertension, benign and mallgnant hypertension, hypertension following toxremla of pregnancy, as well as cases associated with definite evidence of endocrine imbalance. With the exception of one case of Cushing's syndrome due to pituitary basophilia, no significant difference in glucocorticoid excretion from the normal had been found In those cases. It was provisionally concluded from the results either that adrenal cortical function was normal In hypertension or that there was a relative insufficiency of glucocorticoid production in the presence of excessive mineralocorticoid (In the Ilght of Selye's experimental observations). The second posslblIlty was to be investigated further, but there was at present no definite evidence in favour of any disturbance of adrenal cortical function in hypertension.


Introduction Focal liver lesions are common incidental findings and the differential diagnosis includes benign and malignant conditions. Cross sectional imaging and review in multidisciplinary team (MDT) is usually sufficient to obtain accurate diagnosis and biopsy/resection is reserved for indeterminate cases. We describe the nature of benign focal liver lesions discussed at a regional HPB MDT and determine the frequency of missed or inaccurate diagnoses. Method Our regional MDT serves a population of 2 million. We obtained records of all liver lesions referred for discussion between 2007 and 2013. Cases where the initial diagnosis was that of a benign liver lesion were selected and patient demographics, mode of presentation, background liver disease, diagnosis, management and follow up data were collected. We also analysed the cases where the initial diagnosis was subsequently changed to either a new benign or a malignant diagnosis.Abstract PTH-122 Table 1 Diagnosis Number of patients FNH 54 Hemangioma (s) 73 Cyst (s) 40 Adenoma (s) 23 Biliary cystadenoma 9 Indeterminate 23 Abcess 11 Others 17 Results 245 cases were identified (males 32.2%; median age 54; range 16–88). 173 lesions were discovered as incidental findings, 54 patients were symptomatic and 16 cases had abnormal liver function tests leading to their presentation. 2 cases were diagnosed as a part of routine HCC surveillance. 128 patients had background liver disease (18 alcohol related and 110 non-alcohol related liver diseases). Haemagioma and Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) were the most common diagnoses (Table 1). 10 patients had two or more diagnoses. The overall 1 year survival for all cases was 99.6%. 236 cases (96.3%) were given a final benign diagnosis. Only 18 cases were identified where there was a change in initial diagnosis. The average number of months before the new diagnosis was made was 9.5 months (median 9 months, range 2–30 months). A new diagnosis of malignant lesion was made in 9 cases (3. 7%) which lead to a change in their management. Of these patients, 4 were deceased at the time of writing giving a median survival of 27.7 months (range 4–48 months) since first presentation to our MDT and 20.4 months (range 2–38 months)since revision of their original benign diagnosis. Univariate analysis finds that age is higher (63 v 54; p = 0.008) and presence of background liver disease more common (66.7% v 15.4%; p = 0.001) in those that subsequently had a malignant diagnosis. Multivariate analysis confirmed that both age and background liver diseases are independent predictors of a subsequent malignant diagnosis. Conclusion This study highlights the value of an MDT approach in the accuracy of diagnosing benign liver lesions (96.3%) and advocates this practice to continue. Additional care should be taken to exclude malignancy in older patients with background chronic liver disease. Disclosure of interest None Declared.


Background: HAUS6 participates in microtubule-dependent microtubule amplification, but its role in malignancies including colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been explored. We therefore assessed the potential oncogenic activities of HAUS6 in CRC.Methods: We investigated HAUS6 expression and its prognostic value in CRC by microarray, analysis of public datasets, quantitative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Biological functions of HAUS6 were investigated using loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays in vivo and/or in vitro. Effectors downstream of HAUS6 were identified using cDNA microarray, bioinformatics analysis, qRT-PCR and western-blotting in CRC cells. The putative mechanism by which HAUS6 knockdown elevated p53 and p21 expression were assessed by rescue experiment. The combination effects of HAUS6 knockdown and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment in cultured CRC cells were further evaluated. Results: HAUS6 mRNA and protein expression is higher in CRC tissues, and high HAUS6 expression is correlated with shorter overall survival in CRC patients. HAUS6 knockdown in CRC cell lines suppressed cell growth in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting cell viability, survival and arresting cell cycle progression at G0/G1, while HAUS6 over-expression increased cell viability. We showed that these effects are dependent on activation of the p53/p21 signalling pathway by reducing p53 and p21 degradation. Moreover, HAUS6 knockdown enhanced the effects of 5-FU treatment in CRC cells by increasing activation of the p53/p21 pathway.Conclusions: Our study highlights a potential oncogenic role for HAUS6 in CRC. Targeting HAUS6 may be a promising novel prognostic marker and chemotherapeutic target for treating CRC patients.


After the partial collapse of the Cathedral of Noto in Sicily, damaged by the 1990 earthquake, which hit the Eastern part of the Italian island, an extensive investigation carried out on site and in laboratory allowed the detection of a preexisting damage of the pillars due to long term behaviour of the material under compressive stresses. The investigation extended to other churches and buildings showed cases of progressive damage, which can in some unforseen time, bring the structures to sudden collapse. This paper presents and discusses the preliminary results of the research carried out by the authors on the Crocifisso Church in Noto, built in the same period and with material similar to those of the Cathedral. The investigation programme was planned with the aim to evaluate the state of damage of the structure and to design the preservation and restoration actions.


Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been widely used in consumer and industrial products, especially in cosmetics, food additives, photo-electricity and rubber industry. The aim of the work was to evaluate toxic effect of 30 days administration of ZnONPs on lung and the ameliorative role of ascorbic acid in adult male albino rats. They received orally 400mg/kg/day of ZnONPs for 30 days and compared with others received the same dose of ZnONPs + 20mg/kg of ascorbic acid regarding GSH, NO, DNA damage and histopathological changes of the lung. Oral administration of 1/20 LD50 of ZnONPs for 30 days led to decrease in serum GSH, increased levels of NO, DNA damage detected by comet assay and histopathological changes in the lung in the form of collapsed alveoli, destruction of interalveolar septa with alveolar dilatation, thick interalveolar septa, heavy infiltration of inflammatory cells and inflammatory exudate. Ascorbic acid administration along with ZnONPs led to attenuation of oxidative stress and pulmonary toxicity induced by ZnONPs, but there was nonsignificant improvement in DNA damage proved by Comet assay. We concluded that ascorbic acid administration along with ZnONPs led to attenuation of oxidative stress and pulmonary toxicity induced by ZnONPs, but there was nonsignificant improvement in DNA damage proved by Comet assay.


OBJECTIVE
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common causes of death in the world. Some studies suggested that CHD begins in childhood. Obesity and dyslipidemia are important risk factors of coronary heart disease. Apolipoprotein (apo)E gene associated with dyslipidemia and coronary heart disease. The present study was designed to investigate the expression status of apoE gene in peripheral blood monocyte and association of apoE gene expression with lipids in children with obesity.

METHODS
Among 32 children with obesity and 32 healthy children without obesity or overweight, ApoE gene expressions were determined by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in peripheral blood monocyte. The concentrations of plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), apoA I, apoB(100) and apoE were measured.

RESULTS
Expression of apoE gene was detected in peripheral blood monocyte. Expression of apoE gene was significantly reduced in children with obesity as compared with control group (0.29 +/- 0.14 moles/mole GAPDH mRNA vs. 0.36 +/- 0.10 moles/mole GAPDH mRNA, t = 2.15, P < 0.05). The more severe was the degree of obesity, the more significantly reduced the expression of apoE gene; the degree of obesity was negatively correlated with the levels of expression of apoE gene (correlation coefficient = -0.40, P < 0.05). Compared with control group, the levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and apoB(100) were higher, and those of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apoA I and apoE were lower in children with obesity [(1.68 +/- 0.50) mmol/L vs. (0.99 +/- 0.54) mmol/L, (4.47 +/- 0.91) mmol/L vs. (3.33 +/- 0.90) mmol/L, (2.23 +/- 0.71) mmol/L vs. (1.13 +/- 0.96) mmol/L, (94.48 +/- 9.97) mg/dl vs. (83.81 +/- 15.64) mg/dl, (1.47 +/- 0.39) mmol/L vs. (1.73 +/- 0.36) mmol/L, (112.71 +/- 27.86) mg/dl vs. (134.80 +/- 45.36) mg/dl, (24.50 +/- 10.92) mg/L vs.(35.07 +/- 9.79) mg/L, respectively, P < 0.05]. ApoE gene expression was associated with plasma lipids metabolism in children with obesity. The quantity of apoE gene expression was inversely associated with low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, positively correlated with apoE (correlation coefficient = -0.33, 0.35, respectively, P < 0.05). The quantity of apoE gene expression was not associated with total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), apoA I, and apoB(100) (correlation coefficient = -0.19, -0.11, 0.16, 0.09, 0.18, 0.22, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Expression of apoE gene was significantly reduced in peripheral blood monocyte in children with obesity. The quantity of apoE gene expression was associated with degree of obesity and abnormality of blood lipids.


The residential property sector in Indonesia remains attractive even though there are several factors that have hampered growth over the past two years. The ownership for singles related to property refers to Government Regulation Number 40 of 1996 concerning Building Use Rights, Business Use and Use Rights to Land; Government Regulation Number 41 of 1996 concerning Housing or Residential Houses by Foreigners Domiciled in Indonesia; Law Number 25 of 2007 concerning Investment. Secondly, foreigners can buy or own a house in Indonesia above usufructuary rights, but the maximum time period given is 10 years for land under 2000 square meters. Moreover, in line with the global trend, Indonesia has experienced a process of urbanization (rapid). At present, more than 50% of Indonesia's population lives in urban areas. Several years ago, the United Nations (UN) stated that in 2050 two-thirds of Indonesia's population is predicted to live in urban areas. This means that there will be more houses, apartments and condominiums to be built in Indonesian urban areas to meet growing demand (even though Indonesia has now been burdened by a backlog of 13.5 million units and hence President Joko Widodo launched the "One Million Houses Program") in April 2015). This situation also implies that due to lack of land availability in urban areas, prices tend to rise rapidly, while developers need to increasingly focus on vertical property development such as apartments and condominiums


Proxy-apps, or mini-apps, are simple self-contained benchmark codes with performance-relevant kernels extracted from real applications. Initially used to facilitate software-hardware co-design, they are a crucial ingredient for serious performance engineering, especially when dealing with large-scale production codes. MD-Bench is a new proxy-app in the area of classical short-range molecular dynamics. In contrast to existing proxy-apps in MD (e.g. miniMD and coMD) it does not resemble a single application code, but implements state-of-the art algorithms from multiple applications (currently LAMMPS and GROMACS). The MD-Bench source code is understandable, extensible and suited for teaching, benchmarking and researching MD algorithms. Primary design goals are transparency and simplicity, a developer is able to tinker with the source code down to the assembly level. This paper introduces MD-Bench, explains its design and structure, covers implemented optimization variants, and illustrates its usage on three examples.


Abstract This article describes 1st-year experimental effects of a large-scale reform providing professional development to elementary school teachers to implement an extended, inquiry-oriented science curriculum. Known as "immersion teaching" because it "immerses" teachers and students in the full cycle of scientific inquiry, this approach developed through a partnership involving university-based science and mathematics content experts and educators and K-12 educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District. Multilevel analyses, which examined school-level effects of assignment to the professional development intervention, nested Grade 4 students and their science achievement outcomes within the 80 study schools. The analyses revealed a statistically significant negative 1st-year treatment effect of school-level assignment to the initiative on the key science achievement outcome. We also tested whether the treatment had differential effects for English language learners, schools with large proportions of English language learners, and students of new teachers. We found an interaction effect of the treatment by teacher experience level for the teachers who were the primary target of the intervention, with the treatment having positive effects for novice teachers (3 years of experience or less) but a larger, negative effect for veteran teachers. We explore analytically three sets of explanations for the unexpected negative main effect of treatment: potential statistical and design artifacts, possible misalignment between the assessments and content of the treatment, and practical issues related to implementation of the treatment.


The liberal international order has recently come under increasing nationalist pressures, evidenced for example by a rise in nationalist demands to withdraw from international institutions. A growing literature examines the domestic economic, social, and political origins of the nationalist backlash against international institutions. However, less is known about the extent to which precedents of withdrawals of one country affect nationalist pressures for future withdrawals elsewhere . In this paper, we argue that initial withdrawal episodes provide new information about both the feasibility and desirability of withdrawals to nationalist elites in other countries. As a consequence, we expect nationalists abroad to be either encouraged or de-terred to follow a similar path – depending on the success of these precedents. We explore this argument in the context of the British withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit), which arguably marks the most significant withdrawal from an international institution to date. Based on a quantitative text analyses of media reports in selected European countries, we show that nationalists in Europe significantly moderate their demands to leave the EU as the Brexit-drama unfolds, suggesting that new information generated by the Brexit process systematically affects nationalist pressures in other countries. Our results suggest that precedents of nationalist withdrawals may thus shape national politics well beyond the concerned countries themselves.


Authors report two new cases of association of Wilms' tumor and congenital aniridia and a review of the literature is made. Attention is called to the frequency of this association and the importance of close observation of patients with congenital aniridia in order to ensure early diagnosis of Wilms' tumor.


ABSTRACT Rickettsia sibirica sibirica is the causative agent of Siberian or North Asian tick typhus, a tick-borne rickettsiosis known to exist in Siberia and eastern China. Here we present the draft genome of Rickettsia sibirica sibirica strain BJ-90 isolated from Dermacentor sinicus ticks collected in Beijing, China.


A complete time-parameterized statistical model quantifying the divergent evolution of protein structures in terms of the patterns of conservation of their secondary structures is inferred from a large collection of protein 3D structure alignments. This provides a better alternative to time-parameterized sequence-based models of protein relatedness, that have clear limitations dealing with twilight and midnight zones of sequence relationships. Since protein structures are far more conserved due to the selection pressure directly placed on their function, divergence time estimates can be more accurate when inferred from structures. We use the Bayesian and information-theoretic framework of Minimum Message Length to infer a time-parameterized stochastic matrix (accounting for perturbed structural states of related residues) and associated Dirichlet models (accounting for insertions and deletions during the evolution of protein domains). These are used in concert to estimate the Markov time of divergence of tertiary structures, a task previously only possible using proxies (like RMSD). By analyzing one million pairs of homologous structures, we yield a relationship between the Markov divergence time of structures and of sequences. Using these inferred models and the relationship between the divergence of sequences and structures, we demonstrate a competitive performance in secondary structure prediction against neural network architectures commonly employed for this task. The source code and supplementary information are downloadable from \url{http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/sstsum}.


The investigations were carried out in 30 patients with primary hyperlipidaemia (hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and mixed form). The serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, and in the erythrocytes the levels of AMP, ADP, ATP, ATP complex with Fe, MP, HDP and DGP were determined. Twenty blood donors served as a control group. The obtained results showed a statistically highly significant rise in ADP concentration in all investigated subgroups of hyperlipidaemic subjects, and a non-significant quantitative shift of other determined phosphate compounds.


Set classification aims to classify a set of observations as a whole, as opposed to classifying individual observations separately. To formally understand the unfamiliar concept of binary set classification, we first investigate the optimal decision rule under the normal distribution, which utilizes the empirical covariance of the set to be classified. We show that the number of observations in the set plays a critical role in bounding the Bayes risk. Under this framework, we further propose new methods of set classification. For the case where only a few parameters of the model drive the difference between two classes, we propose a computationally-efficient approach to parameter estimation using linear programming, leading to the Covariance-engaged LInear Programming Set (CLIPS) classifier. Its theoretical properties are investigated for both independent case and various (short-range and long-range dependent) time series structures among observations within each set. The convergence rates of estimation errors and risk of the CLIPS classifier are established to show that having multiple observations in a set leads to faster convergence rates, compared to the standard classification situation in which there is only one observation in the set. The applicable domains in which the CLIPS performs better than competitors are highlighted in a comprehensive simulation study. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methods in classification of real image data in histopathology.


We propose a decentralized neural network (NN) controller for a class of large-scale nonlinear systems with the strong interconnections. The NNs are used to approximate the unknown subsystems and interconnections. Due to the functional approximation capabilities of NNs, the additional precautions are not required to be made for avoiding the possible control singularity problems. Semiglobal asymptotic stability results are obtained and the tracking error converges to zero. Furthermore, the issue of transient performance of the subsystems is also addressed under an analytical framework.


Emerging applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) require real-time event detection to be provided by the network. In a typical event monitoring WSN, multiple reports are generated by several nodes when a physical event occurs, and are then forwarded through multi-hop communication to a sink that detects the event. To improve the event detection reliability, usually timely delivery of a certain number of packets is required. Traditional timing analysis of WSNs are, however, either focused on individual packets or traffic flows from individual nodes. In this paper, a spatio-temporal fluid model is developed to capture the delay characteristics of event detection in large-scale WSNs. More specifically, the distribution of delay in event detection from multiple reports is modeled. Accordingly, metrics such as mean delay and soft delay bounds are analyzed for different network parameters. Motivated by the fact that queue build up in WSNs with low-rate traffic is negligible, a lower-complexity model is also developed. Testbed experiments and simulations are used to validate the accuracy of both approaches. The resulting framework can be utilized to analyze the effects of network and protocol parameters on event detection delay to realize real-time operation in WSNs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach that provides a transient analysis of event detection delay when multiple reports via multi-hop communication are needed.


Purpose

A case is made for developing "Relationally Integrated Value Networks for Total Facilities Management" (RIVANS-TFM) by synergistically connecting significant stakeholders of the project management (PM) and facilities management (FM) phases to deliver substantially better value for the end users of built infrastructure. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire survey enabled identification of typically significant stakeholders in the PM and FM phases. In total, 14 key stakeholders were identified through t-test analysis in this Sri Lankan study. Semi-structured interviews unveiled relationships among the aforementioned stakeholders and the findings were used to develop the "required" RIVANS-TFM, as well as the "existing" RIVANS-TFM, using the UCINET social network analysis software package. Social network theory of relationships was applied to analyze the networks in terms of "Structural Holes" or missing links and "Brokerage Potentials."

Findings

Structural holes analysis highlighted the existing setup to be more vulnerable to missing links than the "required"/targeted setup. Furthermore, brokerage potentials analysis revealed that owners, project managers, facility managers, maintenance engineers, main contractors, designers, principal consultants, and other specialist consultants can act as "brokers" to bridge the gaps or minimize structural holes, thereby uplifting and reinforcing the existing network to deliver better performance and value in TFM.

Originality/value

By revealing existing and required levels of integration of each stakeholder in RIVANS-TFM, clients are provided a great opportunity to identify the stakeholders who should be engaged more, or less – in order to best achieve clients' long-term aspirations and project objectives. Furthermore, the findings also indicate appropriate levels of stakeholder relationships to target, in order to maintain efficient flows of information, material and services in the supply chains while enhancing TFM life-cycle values.


Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin frequently found in cereal crops and cereal-derived foodstuffs worldwide. It affects plant productivity, and is also a serious hazard to humans and animals if being exposed to food/feed contaminated by ZEA. Studies over the last decade have shown that the toxicity of ZEA in animals is mainly mediated by the various stress responses, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, oxidative stress, and others. Accumulating evidence shows that oxidative stress and ER stress signaling are actively implicated in and contributes to the pathophysiology of various diseases. Biochemically, the deleterious effects of ZEA are associated with apoptosis, DNA damage, and lipid peroxidation by regulating the expression of genes implicated in these biological processes. Despite these findings, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these alterations remain unclear. This review summarized the characteristics, metabolism, toxicity and the deleterious effects of ZEA exposure in various tissues of animals. Stress response signaling implicated in the toxicity as well as potential therapeutic options with the ability to reduce the deleterious effects of ZEA in animals were highlighted and discussed.


Clustering is a popular technique for analyzing microarray data sets, with n genes and m experimental conditions. As explored by biologists, there is a real need to identify coregulated gene clusters, which include both positive and negative regulated gene clusters. The existing pattern-based and tendency-based clustering approaches cannot directly be applied to find such coregulated gene clusters, because they are designed for finding positive regulated gene clusters. In this paper, in order to cluster coregulated genes, we propose a coding scheme that allows us to cluster two genes into the same cluster if they have the same code, where two genes that have the same code can be either positive or negative regulated. Based on the coding scheme, we propose a new algorithm for finding maximal subspace coregulated gene clusters with new pruning techniques. A maximal subspace coregulated gene cluster clusters a set of genes on a condition sequence such that the cluster is not included in any other subspace coregulated gene clusters. We conduct extensive experimental studies. Our approach can effectively and efficiently find maximal subspace coregulated gene clusters. In addition, our approach outperforms the existing approaches for finding positive regulated gene clusters.


Abstract Three new species of Phyllophaga from Mexico are described: P. (Phytalus) balli, new species collected in pine and oak forests toward the northwest of Oaxaca valley; P. (Phyllophaga) navidad, new species obtained in tropical deciduous forests in the Pacific coast of Jalisco; and P. (Phyllophaga) potosisalta, new species collected in tropical subdeciduous forest of eastern San Luis Potosi. Illustrations of diagnostic characters are included.


The regulation of eIF-2 activity during protein synthesis initiation has been postulated to involve phosphorylation/dephosphorylation mechanisms and/or the participation of ancillary protein factors. Both mechanisms would affect directly the binding of initiator methionyl-tRNAi by eIF-2. Recent data concerning the phosphorylation state of eIF-2 in hemin-deficient lysates and other covalent modifications which alter the efficiency of eIF-2 utilization, however, suggest that modulation of eIF-2 activity is more complex, and involves alteration of its catalytic recycling.


Abstract The farm-gate price of raw milk in Iran is determined annually in negotiations among representatives of dairy processors, milk producers, and government officials. This study estimates the average bargaining power of dairy farmers and processors, through applying the generalized axiomatic Nash approach in a bilateral bargaining model. We employ annual data from 1990 to 2013 to estimate econometric representation of a bilateral bargaining model using a Monte Carlo expectation maximization algorithm. Results imply a higher bargaining power of 0.69 for processors, compared with 0.31 for farmers. This asymmetry of bargaining power causes unequal allocation of gains in the milk market.


A year ago I published an account of an early case of carcinoma of the bladder which Dr. Chute and I removed by the transperitoneal route. The so far successful outcome of this case has encouraged me to present a brief summary of this condition in order to bring up several points for discussion in regard to cancer of the bladder; also to endeavor to sum up the results so far obtained by the transperitoneal operation. In this presentation the term "cancer of the bladder" is intended to apply to that type of new growth which is early infiltrating and which requires the resection of a greater or less portion of the bladder wall for its removal; it does not apply to that form of prostatic growth which may simulate so closely cancer of the bladder. Cancer of the bladder occurs as a primary sessile growth which originates in the


A step-up/down single-phase AC-to-DC power converter without current sensor is proposed to achieve high performance and simple control logic. The power converter adopts a front-end diode rectifier so that only one active switch is required. The familiar state-space averaging technique for discontinuous mode DC-to-DC power converters is extended to model the proposed AC-to-DC converter. Unlike the existing model, which is valid only for a very low frequency range, namely below line frequency, the proposed model is applicable up to half switching frequency. The design of the controller is detailed. Selected experimental results are presented to verify the proposed theory. >


An 82‐year‐old man, who was healthy and had worked as a farmer, experienced worsening neurological symptoms over a seven‐month period, which eventually caused his death. Multiple fluctuating brain lesions were detected radiographically. Clinically, sarcoidosis was ranked high among the differential diagnoses because of the presence of skin lesions showing granulomatous inflammation, confirmed by biopsy. The patient's cerebrospinal fluid was also examined, but no definitive diagnosis was made while he was alive. An autopsy revealed multiple granulomatous amebic encephalitis lesions in the brain. Genetic and immunohistochemical analyses identified Balamuthia (B.) mandrillaris, a free‐living ameba, which resides in soil and fresh water, as the causative organism. A retrospective examination revealed B. mandrillaris in the biopsied skin as well as cerebrospinal fluid, strongly suggesting that the ameba had spread into the brain percutaneously. Few studies have detailed the cutaneous pathology of B. mandrillaris infections. In general, granulomatous amebic encephalitis is extremely difficult to diagnose without autopsy, but the present case provides a clue that could allow similar cases to be diagnosed earlier; that is, the presence of skin lesions.


OBJECTIVES
We investigated the frequency of hypothyroidism in patients treated with total laryngectomy, hemithyroidectomy-isthmectomy, and postoperative radiotherapy for T3 or T4 larynx cancers.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Twenty-nine male patients (mean age 54 years; range 43 to 72 years) with T3 or T4 larynx cancers were prospectively included in the study. Preoperatively, thyroid function tests were normal in all the patients. Following radiotherapy, serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (sTSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were measured every three months at least for a year. Detection of an increased level of sTSH together with decreased or normal levels of FT3 and/or FT4 indicated clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism, respectively. The relationship was assessed between hypothyroidism and both age and radiotherapy dosage. Statistical analyses were made with the use of the Student's t- test and Mann-Whitney U-test.

RESULTS
Following radiotherapy, thyroid function tests remained normal in 12 patients (41%), while 12 patients (41%) and five patients (18%) developed subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism, respectively. No significant relationship was found between age and thyroid dysfunction (p>0.05), whereas radiotherapy dosage was found in significant relationship with the development of hypothyroidism (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Due to high rates of subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism following combined therapy, thyroid functions should be closely monitored in patients undergoing laryngectomy for T3 or T4 larynx cancers.


Groups of old and young rats were administered a delayed alternation task in which memory for specific events was assessed over intervals ranging between 0 and 80 s. There was no age difference in performance at relatively short intervals, but old rats showed significant memory loss at longer intervals. The pattern of behavior exhibited by old rats was very similar to that seen in young rats with selective hippocampal lesions, tested in a previous experiment under identical conditions. The present results were interpreted as reflecting an integrative deficit in old animals related to the process of establishing and/or storing associations between temporally-separated events.


The effect of hydration on the incidence of complications from myelography with aqueous media was studied. Myelography was performed with methylglucamine iocarmate in dehydrated and vigorously hydrated monkeys. The incidence of seizures and the severity of arachnoiditis were significantly greater in the dehydrated animals. The authors suggest that patients be permitted fluids ad lib. prior to myelography with aqueous media, or in some cases be given fluids intravenously.


Why are some countries richer than others and why do some economies grow more rapidly? The Politics of Technological Progress answers these vital questions by highlighting the importance of technological progress for sustained economic development. The author also explains why some countries exhibit faster technological progress than others. Armed with a wealth of cross-national empirical evidence, Professor Simmons stresses the importance of properly constructed political parties for establishing an environment conducive to technological progress. 'Well-institutionalized' ruling parties are essential for technological progress, he argues, because only in such parties are time horizons long enough for governments to accept the deferred returns that are an inherent feature of government efforts to encourage innovation and technology adoption in the economy.


An overview of prospects and limitations for the application of 'classical' top-down biomanipulation as a management tool to ameliorate the consequences of eutrophication under the conditions applicable to reservoirs in South Africa is presented. This is structured by considering successive stages in reservoir food-web structure and function as far as can be generalised for South African biophysical conditions. Features and conditions that influence the potential vulnerability of local reservoirs to the effects of eutrophication, and prospects for its amelioration by biomanipulation intervention are examined. Physical factors linked to latitude (irradiation pattern and water-column stability) enhance the potential severity of eutrophication consequences in local reservoirs, although conversely, these are offset by suspended-clay turbidity. The predominance of
Microcystis in local eutrophic waters is perceived as a primary major constraint in implementing 'classical' food-web manipulation.
Intrinsic limitations on the ability of zooplankton grazers to control this cyanobacterium, and subsequent food-web linkages widely applicable in local reservoirs are discussed and evaluated accordingly. On balance, available evidence indicates
a range of limitations that are likely to apply in respect of familiar contemporary approaches to biomanipulation in use today, although the uniqueness of each reservoir ecosystem is recognised. Some novel alternative management approaches are suggested, and a range of associated research requirements necessary to advance locally relevant scientific comprehension of 'biomanipulation' and its application are itemised. National revitalisation of reservoir limnology remains paramount. Water SA Vol.32 (4) 2006: pp.567-575


The Kauffman-Vogel polynomial is an invariant of unoriented four-valent graphs embedded in three dimensional space. In this article we give a one variable generalization of this invariant. This generalization is given as a sequence of invariants in which the first term is the Kauffman-Vogel polynomial. We use the invariant we construct to give a sequence of singular braid group representations.


Introduction Rectal hypersensitivity is defined as being an exaggerated response to painful rectal stimuli and is thought to occur in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) although it is not a universal observation. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to confirm the presence and determine how common rectal hypersensitivity is in IBS and to determine if there are other factors such as IBS criteria, age, gender and IBS subtype that affect the presence of rectal hypersensitivity. Secondary aims were to see if rectal hypersensitivity was present in IBD to see if inflammation plays a key role in rectal hypersensitivity hence a second meta-analysis was performing assessing rectal hypersensitivity in IBD. Methods A systematic review of the literature from MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (1970-Present) was carried out. Only prospective studies were included that compared pain or discomfort thresholds to mechanical rectal stimuli in an IBS and a control population. The second review looked at studies that measured pain or discomfort thresholds to mechanical rectal stimuli in an IBD and a control population. Data was pooled for both meta-analyses and Hedges g effect sizes were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). This review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018095687). Results The search strategy identified 684 studies of which 70 were deemed relevant and 31 studies met the inclusion criteria. Rectal sensitivity was greater in an IBS population compared to controls. The effect size calculated was 0.966 95% CIs (0.76–.166) (p<0.0001). Significant heterogeneity was seen (I2 = 77.2%). Secondary analysis revealed that gender, IBS subtype and IBS criteria did not have a significant impact upon the presence of rectal hypersensitivity. When comparing adult and paediatric IBS populations there was a significant difference. There was no statistically significant difference between IBD and healthy controls 0.456 95% CIs (-0.20–.119) (p=0.178) (I2=87.6%). However, a significant difference when comparing those with active flares of their IBD against those studies that used quiescent IBD was found.Abstract PWE-096 Figure 1 Conclusions Rectal hypersensitivity is more common in an IBS population compared to controls. This indicates that pain sensation is altered in an IBS population and confirms that an altered rectal pain threshold is a marker of IBS. Rectal hypersensitivity is not a phenomenon normally present in IBD except during active flares of the diseases. The mechanisms behind rectal hypersensitivity are not fully understood but are likely due to a combination of peripheral and central factors that require further study to develop mechanism-based management approaches. However, it is unlikely that rectal hypersensitivity that likely occurs in IBS is due to the low-grade inflammatory burden.


This internship report details my four month journey as a teacher and what I have learned from this journey. I have also discussed what I have done well and what I feel I could have done better. I describe my contribution in terms of my students' learning, as well as my continuous effort to help my students to learn better. In this report I have also critically reflected my teaching, citing examples from my teaching experiences. In my teaching I attempted to implement what I have learnt attending various courses during my undergraduate study. However, I feel it is not always easy or possible to implement what the books suggest; rather I need to innovate and make activities more fun and enjoyable for my students. I have discussed a few of these experiences. I consider myself lucky to get the chance to do my internship at a renowned English Medium School named Brighton (pseudonym) school. The internship was four months in duration. During this internship, my responsibility was to help children to improve their English skills. Along with that I was also attempted to make them interested in study, specially developing their English speaking skills. The school follows the textbook like "The Radiant Way, 2 Step". Along with the suggested text I used some other interesting stories like Aesop's Fable to teach my students. Finally, this experience makes me rethink about teaching and helped me to get many practical experiences.


Biodiesel is technically competitive with or offers technical advantages over conventional petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative liquid fuel that can be used in any diesel engine without modification. In this study, to investigate the effect of fuel injection timing on the characteristics of performance with DBF in DI diesel engine. The engine was operated at five different fuel injection timings from BTDC to at intervals and four loads at engine speed of 1800rpm. As a result of experiments in a test engine, maximum cylinder pressure is increased with leading fuel injection timing. Specific fuel oil consumption is indicated the least value at BTDC of fuel injection timing.


After careful case planning and communication, this case presented a great result for the patient who was pleased to no longer consider herself as having a villainous smile (Figures 7 and 8, page 17). With successful teamwork and planning, the dental auxiliary is able to help determine the outcome of a successful treatment plan. Listening to patients' desires helps to map out a plan of action to exceed the expectations ofpatients, which allows the potential for referrals and future growth for the practice.


Abstract Go green campaign is one of ways to save the earth from garbage. Thiscampaign not only suggestsrecycling and reducing but also reusing the garbage. In line with the go green campaign, the aim of this study is to achieve the viability of using Bagasse Ash (BA) as additive material in hot mix Split Mastic Asphalt (SMA) with certain comparison which is expected to improve the quality of SMA. This research was conducted by using experiment research design in comparison among the three types of (without BA and with BA)properties of the hot SMA toward the Marshall properties (stability, flow, Marshall Quotient (MQ), Void In Total Mix (VITM), Void Filled Without Asphalt (VFWA),and Air Void to get Optimum Bitumen Content ,Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) at different temperature (20oC,40oC,60oC) and Unconfined compressive at same temperature room at 27oC but different percentage of BA (3%,4% ,5%). The results of this research are as follows: 1) the properties of the hot mix SMA toward the Marshall properties are: The stability value of SMA with BA is higher than SMA withoutBA by 3%; The flow value of SMA with BA is lower than SMA without BA by 5.5%; The Marshall Quotient value of SMA with BA is higher than SMA without BA by 5%; TheAir void value of SMA withBA is lower than SMA without BA by 3%; The VFWA value of SMA with Bagasse Ash is higher than SMA without BA by 75.87%; The Air Void value of SMA with BA is lower than SMA without BA by 2%.In terms of ITS value, the value of ITS is high when BA is combined with low temperature; but when the temperature is increased, the value of ITS decreases. Moreover, in terms of UCS, the value of UCS of BA mixture is higher than SMA and higher than normal mixture at normal temperature. The recommendation of this research is that a certain percentage of air voids is necessary in all dense-graded mixes to prevent the pavement from flushing, shoving, and rutting. Air voids may be increased or decreased by lowering or raising the binder content. They may also be increased or decreased by controlling the amount of material passing the No. 200 sieve in the HMA. The more fines added to the HMA generally the lower the air voids. The air voids may be changed by varying the aggregate gradation in the HMA. Keywords : Bagasse Ash, Split Mastic Asphalt, ITS, UCS


Abstract A numerical study is made of analytical differentiation (AD) and finite difference (FD) approaches to the computation of sensitivity derivatives required in shape design optimization problems. Based on the boundary element method for linear elastostatics, numerical solutions for response and sensitivity analysis are illustrated for the AD technique and the FD schemes with different step sizes. By solving the problem of an annular disc under internal pressure (for which analytical solutions are available), an indication of the absolute level of accuracy achievable by the FD procedure can be obtained. As there are advantages in using the FD technique for shape optimization, it is desirable to check its accuracy and effectiveness compared to the AD approach. An optimization problem based on the annular disc is then formulated and solved using the various analytical, AD and FD sensitivity values to show how the differing accuracies of the derivatives will affect the efficiency and performance of the optimization process, and whether the FD values used are sufficiently accurate for converging upon the correct optimum solution.


We have investigated the dynamic reaction mechanisms of *ClO¯ with CH3Cl (the asterisk is utilized to label a different Cl atom). Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations at the MP2/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory have been employed to compute the dynamic trajectories. On the basis of our simulations, the dynamic reaction pathways for the bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) reaction channel and SN2-induced elimination reaction channel are clearly illustrated. For the SN2 reaction channel, some trajectories directly dissociate to the final products of CH3O*Cl and Cl¯, whereas the others involve the dynamic Cl¯···CH3O*Cl intermediate complex. As to the SN2-induced elimination reaction channel, the trajectories lead to the final products of CH2O, HCl, and *Cl¯ through the dynamic Cl¯···CH3O*Cl intermediate complex. More significantly, the product branching ratios of Cl¯ and *Cl¯ predicted by our simulations are basically consistent with previous experimental results (Villano et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 8227-8233).


The waveguide slot array antenna is known to suffer from a very limited frequency bandwidth, which becomes even more serious in substrate-integrated-waveguide (SIW)-based design because of its reduced waveguide height. In this work, a 4 x 4 slot array antenna based on ridge SIW (RSIW) and T-type folded SIW (TFSIW) techniques is proposed, and an 8.8% bandwidth is easily achieved. The proposed antenna structure is then fabricated. Measured results are well consistent with simulated ones.


This paper discusses the role of process evidence in accounting research. We define process evidence broadly as data providing insight into how and why cause-effect relationships occur, and we provide a framework to guide the provision and evaluation of process evidence in accounting studies. Our definition allows for an expanded understanding of techniques for gathering process evidence. The framework highlights the importance of the study's goals and theory in choosing how to provide process evidence as well as how much process evidence to provide. The paper also outlines the strengths and limitations of three approaches to providing process evidence: mediation, moderation, and multiple-study based designs. We provide recommendations for best practices for each approach to minimize threats to validity and maximize the value of process evidence.


The spleen, because of its potential effect upon the formed elements of the blood, is an organ of particular interest in the field of transplantation. Experiments in small animals have been limited primarily to studies of the effects of intravenous injection, and only in larger animals, particularly the dog, have studies of total-spleen transplants been accomplished. There is some evidence to indicate that the two methods of transplantation are not comparable. During the past five years we have studied autologous and homologous spleen transplants in the dog, using unmodified recipients and recipients that were first exposed to varying doses of total-body irradiation.


In this study, an experimental study in sand ground that was prepared by raining method was performed for modeling the bearing capacity behavior of strip footing above a cavity. The critical range of bearing capacity of the strip footing affected by underground cavity was investigated by comparing results between experiment and theory. The size of the critical region depends on several factors such as footing shape, soil property, cavity size and cavity shape. The ultimate bearing capacity was more influenced by the depth of the underground cavity than the eccentricity of the underground. In addition, an underground cavity influences on not only the decrease of the bearing capacity, but also the differential settlement of a strip footing.


Approximately 1% of people in the world have epilepsy and 25% of epilepsy patients cannot be treated sufficiently by any available therapy. An automatic seizure detection system can reduce the time taken to review the EEG data by the neurologist for epilepsy diagnosis. In this paper, various EEG features integrated with the linear or non-linear classifiers are evaluated for seizure detection. For the EEG features, approximate entropy (ApEn) combined with 1) EEG power spectra or 2) autoregressive model (AR) are compared. In addition, the principle component analysis (PCA) is also utilized for feature extraction. For the classifiers, two linear models, linear least square (LLS) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and two nonlinear models, backpropagation neural network (BPNN) and support vector machine with radial basis function kernel (RBFSVM) are compared. The EEG signals of three Long Evans rats with spontaneous absence seizures are used for leave-one-out cross-validation. Experimental results shows that combining ApEn and multi-band EEG power spectra are superior to the combination of ApEn and AR model for all classifiers. The best average accuracy is 97.5% performed by RBFSVM and the linear models can achieve to higher than 95%. The automatic seizure detection method can be utilized to drive the seizure warning device or seizure control devices in the future to enhance the patients' quality of life.


The calculation of forces arising when drilling deep degassing, technical and exploration wells in underground conditions is fulfilled. Substantiated construction and developed boring rig, providing automatically interception of drill string when it is applied to the face.


BACKGROUND: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) often seems to be associated with other congenital abnormalities, mostly cardiac in nature. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cardiac malformations in patients with CH diagnosed during CH screening program in Isfahan. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, cardiac malformations were determined in CH patients were compared to controls using echocardiography. The association between cardiac malformations and mean T4 and TSH concentrations, etiology of CH according to radiologic findings and permanent and transient CH were studied in CH patients. RESULTS: Overall, 96 and 59 subjects were included in the case and control groups, respectively. Cardiac malformations were present in 30.2% (n = 29) and 15.2% (n = 9) of case and control groups, respectively; i.e. a higher prevalence in CH patients than in controls (P = 0.03). The prevalence of cardiac malformations without patent foramen oval was 6.25% (n = 6) in CH patients and 1.7% (n = 1) in control group (P = 0.1). There was no significant association between the presence of cardiac malformations and the aforementioned variables. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of cardiac malformations in CH patients strongly suggests the potential involvement of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of CH. This emphasizes on the necessity of genetic studies involving CH patients.


Model evidence for the "pattern effect" assumes that global climate models (GCMs) faithfully simulate how clouds respond to varying sea-surface temperature (SST) patterns and associated meteorological perturbations. We exploit time-invariant satellite-based estimates of the sensitivity of marine low clouds to meteorological perturbations to estimate how these clouds responded to time-varying SST patterns and meteorology between 1870 and 2014. GCMs and reanalyses provide estimates of the historical meteorological changes. Observations suggest that increasing estimated inversion strength (EIS) between 1980 and 2014 produced a negative low cloud feedback, opposite to the positive feedback expected from increasing CO2. This indicates that the processes responsible for marine cloud changes from 1980 to near-present are distinct from those associated with an increase in CO2. We also observationally constrain the difference between the historical near-global marine low cloud feedback, , and that arising from increasing CO2, . We find that this cloud feedback pattern effect depends strongly on time period and reanalysis dataset, and that varying changes in EIS and SST with warming explain much of its variability. Between 1980 and 2014, we estimate that W m−2 K−1 (90% confidence) assuming meteorological changes from the Multiple-Reanaysis Ensemble, implying a total pattern effect (that arising from all climate feedbacks) of 1.86±0.45 W m−2 K−1. This observational evidence corroborates previous quantitative estimates of the pattern effect, which heretofore relied largely upon GCM-based cloud changes. However, disparate historical meteorological changes across individual reanalyses contribute to considerable uncertainty in its magnitude.


Thinking that the economy had recovered in 1936 the Roosevelt (FDR) Administration tried to balance the budget in 1937 by cutting spending and raising taxes and the Federal Reserve caused the money stock to decrease. The result was the giant Recession of 1937-8, at least three times worse than that of 2008-9. Now the U.S. is heading toward fiscal austerity and ending QE-2 (Quantitative Easing Stage 2) with a fragile economy and the banking system causing a liquidity trap. We believe that if the money stock M2 growth rate stays at 3% economic growth will not improve enough to reduce unemployment, and if the growth rate declines there should be another recession. There have been fourteen recessions and a depression since 1924. Average money stock growth in the year after recession bottoms has been 7% and the average GDP growth rate 6%. In the seven quarters since the 2009 bottom M2 growth rate has been only 3.06% and GDP growth only 2.79%, both far below the averages. Currently we believe that M2 growth should be at least the historic recovery average of 7%. But there is a big problem. Bank hoarding of excess reserves is blocking monetary growth, a liquidity trap. The problem of extraordinarily high excess reserves has occurred once before, in the 1933-40 recovery from the Great Depression. Here we analyze the initial 1933-36 recovery, the 1937-8 recession, the second recovery of 1938-40, the Japanese experience, and the current attempt at a recovery.


A spherical liquid-liquid interface can be obtained by dispersing one liquid phase into another to form droplets, which will facilitate the two-phase reactions between the immiscible participating fluids. The phase transfer catalysts assembled at the droplet "wall" catalyze the reactions between the aqueous and organic phases. The study illustrates an interfacial synthetic approach which is ideal for the biphasic reaction by taking advantage of the droplet-based microdevice. The improved reaction efficiency can be attributed to the high surface-to-volume ratio and internal flow circulation in the droplets.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Background

Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent malignancy in Caucasians, with increasing incidence. Overactivity of the Sonic Hedgehog pathway is implicated in BCC etiology, however recent literature suggests that BCC carcinogenesis may be more complex.

Silencing of tumor suppressor genes by promoter hypermethylation, influenced by hypoxia, results in deregulation of cancer-related pathways. Since BCC arises in a hypoxic micro-environment, we assumed that epigenetic modifications may play a major part in BCC tumorigenesis. In this pilot we investigated promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes selected for their possible involvement in BCC. Eventually, knowledge of epigenetic modifications in BCC may impact diagnosis, classification, and treatment.

Methods

DNA was isolated from 33 formalin fixed paraffin-embedded BCC of 3 different histological subtypes. Marked tumor tissue was macroscopically scraped from slides and collected. CpG island methylation status of 10 promoter regions was analysed by methylation-specific PCR on sodium bisulfite-treated DNA. Data were compared with 36 normal skin tissue samples. All data were analysed with SPSS version 17.0. We used the Pearson Chi-Square test. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value ≤0.05.

Results

DNA methylation levels of the examined candidate gene promoters in tumor tissue compared to normal skin tissue were significantly higher for the following genes: APC 100% vs. 47,1% (p<0,001); sFRP5 93,9% vs. 42,4% (p<0,001); SHH 90,9% vs. 50,0% (p< 0,001) and 81,8% vs. 56,3% (p= 0,029) for CylD. In addition, the PTCH1 promoter showed a tendency to hypermethylation. The remaining promoters of sFRP1, sFRP2, sFRP4, TSC1 and RASSF1A showed no hypermethylation.

Conclusions

From our preliminary data we conclude that in BCC, promoters of several tumor suppressor genes, which may normally inhibit BCC growth, show aberrant methylation resulting in silencing of these genes. As a consequence, signalling pathways implicated in cancerous growth such as the SHH-, WNT- and NFκB- routes may be affected. Our data provide evidence that epigenetic modifications may play a role in BCC tumorigenesis. Genome-wide analyses will be our next step to screen for more relevant genes and to chart the full extent of genomic methylation changes in BCC. This entirely new approach may lead to new insights into development and treatment of BCC.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4929.


ABSTRACT Cratoxylum formosum Dyer has been used in Southeast Asian countries both for food and folk medicine. In this study, the leaf extracts of C. formosum were evaluated for anticancer effects on human cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) KKU-M156 cells. The results showed that the plant extracts possessed potent cytotoxicity against CCA cells. The cytotoxic activity was associated with an induction of cell apoptosis. Moreover, the colony forming ability of CCA cells was also inhibited by C. formosum extracts. Consistent with growth inhibitory effects, the plant extracts induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and downregulated cyclin A and Cdc25A protein expression. The extracts potently suppressed the migration and invasion properties of CCA cells. The effects were associated with the suppression of NF-κB and STAT3 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity, and downregulation of genes involving in cancer progression and metastasis. Furthermore, the possible bioactive compounds in the extracts were analyzed by HPLC. Taken together, the potent anticancer activity of C. formosum against CCA indicates the plant promising use for CCA prevention and therapy.


In Fox On The Roof, Robert and Beth find a family of foxes living in the school loft. They try to keep it secret and feed the cubs but soon the foxes cause chaos. In Dogs Are Different, Martin's family give him an Alsatian for Christmas without really thinking about it. Rather than lose his unsuitable pet, Martin runs away with his dog. They're soon found and the police are happy to train the Alsatian as Martin is reconciled to having a smaller dog. Tom searches for the right pet in Trouble With Animals and soon learns that animals never quite do what you want them to.


Gedatolisib, a PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitor delivered intravenously, is in early clinical trials in women with metastatic ER+ breast cancer. We reasoned that the therapeutic index could be further maximized by encapsulation of gedatolisib in nanoparticles (NP), thereby providing longer half-life, sustained release, blunting of Cmax and associated toxicity, asymmetric distribution to leaky tumor vasculature and the possibility of less frequent dosing. PF-07034663 is a polymeric NP encapsulating gedatolisib, targeted to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a clinically validated tumor antigen expressed on prostate cancer cells and the neovasculature of some nonprostate solid tumors. Studies in mice, rats, and cynomolgus monkeys demonstrated that the terminal half-life of PF-07034663 following intravenous administration increased by ~1.5 fold and the Cmax of released gedatolisib from PF-07034663 decreased by ~75 fold compared to gedatolisib delivered by the same route. Gedatolisib released from PF-07034663 exhibited markedly enhanced intratumoral accumulation compared to gedatolisib (~40 fold), indicating enhanced tissue delivery and/or prolonged retention. In exploratory toxicology studies, PF-07034663 caused no hyper-insulinemic spike in rats, in contrast to gedatolisib. To evaluate the antitumor activity of PF-07034663, we performed tumor growth inhibition (TGI) studies in PSMA-positive C4-2 prostate and in PSMA-negative MDAMB361 ER+ breast and A549 lung xenograft tumor models. In the C4-2 model, PF-07034663 showed dose-dependent antitumor efficacy as a single agent, and, in combination with enzalutamide, exhibited enhanced activity leading to tumor regressions. PF 07034663 also exhibited prolonged, dose-dependent inhibition of phosphorylation of S6 (pS6) in the C4-2 model compared to gedatolisib. Interestingly, increased pharmacodynamics (PD) responses compared to gedatolisib were not restricted to PSMA-positive tumors. Moreover, TGI responses were increased in the PSMA-negative A549 lung cancer model, relative to those observed with gedatolisib. PF 07034663 treatment in spontaneous prostate tumors in PTENnullp53mut GEM mice and in subcutaneous allografts of these spontaneous tumors in wild-type mice showed that treatment of PF-07034663 caused similar pS6 inhibition in both models, suggesting that PD modulation is independent of tumor origin or milieu and is less likely due to altered enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Taken together, PF-07034663 exhibits potential for improved tolerability, sustained tumor PK, prolonged PD modulation, and less frequent dosing schedule compared to gedatolisib. These results support further exploration of gedatolisib in tumor-targeted or non-tumor-targeted nanoparticles in clinical trials as a promising vehicle for delivery of PI3K/mTOR inhibitors to advanced cancer patients. Citation Format: Lianglin Zhang, Gabriel Troche, Ravi Visswanathan, Wenhu Huang, Young-Ho Song, Mary E. Spilker, Zhenxiong Wang, Hui Wang, Anand Giddabasappa, Louise Cadzow, Susan Low, Greg Troiano, Jennifer Lafontaine, Valeria Fantin, Robert T. Abraham, Shubha Bagrodia. Development of a nanoparticle containing the PI3K/mTOR dual Inhibitor, gedatolisib, for cancer therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Targeting PI3K/mTOR Signaling; 2018 Nov 30-Dec 8; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2020;18(10_Suppl):Abstract nr B25.


dogma. In Alexander Geddes no such separation was possible, and his criticism resulted in a distancing not only from his Catholicism but from institutional Christianity. There are many detailed examples of exegesis by the scholars discussed, and the book is immensely informative. However, it ends with the fundamental issue of the relation between objective biblical science and a Christian understanding of the Old Testament rather hanging in the air. J. W. ROGERSON


We investigate the inversion phenomena between the XXZ anisotropies of the Hamiltonian and the wave function in quantum spin chains. We focus on the S=1/2 geometrically frustrated 3-leg ladder system with the XXZ interaction anisotropy. By use of the degenerate perturbation theory from the strong rung coupling limit, we have obtained the ground-state phase diagram. In some parameter regions, the Tomonaga-Luttinger spin liquid state is realized in spite of the Ising-like anisotropy, and the Neel state in spite of the XY-like anisotropy.


Temperature chaos is an extreme sensitivity of the equilibrium state to a change of temperature. It arises in several disordered systems that are described by the so-called scaling theory of spin glasses, while it seems to be absent in mean-field models. We consider a model spin glass on a tree and show that although it has mean-field behavior with replica symmetry breaking, it manifestly has "strong" temperature chaos. We also show why chaos appears only very slowly with system size.


Approximating a spectral envelope via regularized discrete cepstrum coefficients has been proposed by previous researchers. In this paper, we study two problems encountered in practice when adopting this approach to estimate the spectral envelope. The first is which spectral peaks should be selected, and the second is which frequency axis scaling function should be adopted. After some efforts of trying and experiments, we propose two feasible solution methods for these two problems. Then, we combine these solution methods with the methods for regularizing and computing discrete cepstrum coefficients to form a spectral-envelope estimation scheme. This scheme has been verified, by measuring spectral-envelope approximation error, as being much better than the original scheme. Furthermore, we have applied this scheme to building a system for voice timbre transformation. The performance of this system demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed spectral-envelope estimation scheme.


We describe an algorithm for transforming skew-polynomial matrices over an Ore domain in row-reduced form, and show that this algorithm can be used to perform the standard calculations of linear algebra on such matrices (ranks, kernels, linear dependences, inhomogeneous solving). The main application of our algorithm is to desingularize recurrences and to compute the rational solutions of a large class of linear functional systems. It also turns out to be efficient when applied to ordinary commutative matrix polynomials.


Quantitative electron microscope observations were performed on Escherichia coli B/r after balanced growth with doubling times (tau) of 32 and 60 min. The experimental approach allowed the timing of morphological events during the cell cycle by classifying serially sectioned cells according to length. Visible separation of the nucleoplasm was found to coincide with the time of termination of chromosome replication as predicted by the Cooper-Helmstetter model. The duration of the process of constrictive cell division (10 min) appeared to be independent of the growth rate for tau equals 60 min or less but to increase with increase doubling time in more slowly growing cells. Physiological division, i.e., compartmentalization prior to physical separation of the cells, was only observed to occur in the last minute of the cell cycle. The morphological results indicate that cell elongation continues during the division process in cells with tau equals 32 min, but fails to continue in cells with tau equals 60 min.


PURPOSE
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a distressing adverse effect of general anaesthesia. The aim of the current study was to compare the antiemetic activity of different 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor antagonists with that of metoclopramide and placebo.

METHODS
In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study we have compared the antiemetic activity of the prophylactic administration of ondansetron 4 mg, tropisetron 5 mg and granisetron 3 mg with that of metoclopramide 10 mg and placebo in 132 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. All study drugs and placebo were given as a short iv infusion ten minutes before the induction of anaesthesia. Perioperative anaesthetic care was standardized in all patients. Nausea and vomiting were assessed by direct questioning of the patient at 1, 4, 9, 12, 18 and 24 hr after recovery from anaesthesia. If patients experienced nausea and/or vomiting, rescue antiemetic treatment (metoclopramide 10 mg iv) was administered.

RESULTS
For the 24-hr recovery period after surgery, the percentages of emesis-free patients were 65.5%, 52%, 48%, 29.2% and 27.6% in the ondansetron, granisetron, tropisetron, metoclopramide and placebo groups, respectively. Prophylactic antiemetic treatment with ondansetron resulted in a lower incidence (P = 0.02) of PONV than with metoclopramide or placebo. The times at which rescue antiemetic was first received were longer (P < 0.01) in ondansetron group than in the placebo and metoclopramide groups. There were no statistical differences between ondansetron, tropisetron and granisetron groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Ondansetron, when given prophylactically resulted in a significantly lower incidence of PONV than metoclopramide and placebo. Metoclopramide was ineffective.


The accurate and in-depth documentation of learning gaps is a fundamental aspect of developing continuing education activities. To obtain a better understanding of community-based medical oncology practice patterns, 43 oncologists within the United States were recruited to complete a traditional clinical case–based questionnaire and to contribute specific anonymous demographic and treatment information derived from their actual patients. This information was used to create a cross-sectional case database on two types of cancer in which major clinical advances have been reported in recent years — multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma. These diseases also are similar in that most patients experience clinically meaningful benefits from systemic treatment but are unlikely to be cured by therapy. As further described in this and the subsequent two articles, this case-based series documents that (a) clinical research advances are being quickly implemented in daily patient care and that (b) although therapeutic strategies vary based on patient age, the short-term outcomes in terms of response to and tolerance of treatment are similar in younger and older patients.


We provide an efficient and private solution to the problem of encryption-aware data-driven control. We investigate a Control as a Service scenario, where a client employs a specialized outsourced control solution from a service provider. The privacy-sensitive model parameters of the client's system are either not available or variable. Hence, we require the service provider to perform data-driven control in a privacy-preserving manner on the input-output data samples from the client. To this end, we co-design the control scheme with respect to both control performance and privacy specifications. First, we formulate our control algorithm based on recent results from the behavioral framework, and we prove closeness between the classical formulation and our formulation that accounts for noise and precision errors arising from encryption. Second, we use a state-of-the-art leveled homomorphic encryption scheme to enable the service provider to perform high complexity computations on the client's encrypted data, ensuring privacy. Finally, we streamline our solution by exploiting the rich structure of data, and meticulously employing ciphertext batching and rearranging operations to enable parallelization. This solution achieves more than twofold runtime and memory improvements compared to our prior work.


Recenly, near-infrared fluorescence heptamethine cyanine dyes have shown satisfactory values in bioengineering, biology, and pharmacy especially in cancer diagnosis and treatment, owing to their excellent fluorescence property and biocompatibility. In order to achieve broad application prospects, diverse structures, and chemical properties of heptamethine cyanine dyes have been designed to develop novel functional molecules and nanoparticles over the past decade. For fluorescence and photoacoustic tumor imaging properties, heptamethine cyanine dyes are equipped with good photothermal performance and reactive oxygen species production properties under near-infrared light irradiation, thus holding great promise in photodynamic and/or photothermal cancer therapies. This review offers a comprehensive scope of the structures, comparisons, and applications of heptamethine cyanine dyes-based molecules as well as nanoparticles in tumor treatment and imaging in current years. Therefore, this review may drive the development and innovation of heptamethine cyanine dyes, significantly offering opportunities for improving tumor imaging and treatment in a precise noninvasive manner. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.


The ability to control and manipulate the world around us is human nature. Humans and our ancestors have used tools for millions of years. Only in recent years have we been able to control objects at such small levels. In order to understand the world around us it is frequently necessary to interact with the biological world. Optical trapping and manipulation offer a non-invasive way to move, sort and interact with particles and cells to see how they react to the world around them. Optical tweezers are ideal in their abilities but they require large, non-portable, and expensive setups limiting how and where we can use them. A cheap portable platform is required in order to have optical manipulation reach its full potential. On-chip technology offers a great solution to this challenge. We focused on the Liquid-Core Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (liquid-core ARROW) for our work. The ARROW is an ideal platform, which has anti-resonant layers which allow light to be guided in liquids, allowing for particles to easily be manipulated. It is manufactured using standard silicon manufacturing techniques making it easy to produce. The planner design makes it easy to integrate with other technologies. Initially I worked to improve the ARROW chip by reducing the intersection losses and by reducing the fluorescence and background on the ARROW chip. The ARROW chip has already been used to trap and push particles along its channel but here I introduce several new methods of particle trapping and manipulation on the ARROW chip. Traditional two beam traps use two counter propagating beams. A trapping scheme that uses two orthogonal beams which counter to first instinct allow for trapping at their intersection is introduced. This scheme is thoroughly predicted and analyzed using realistic conditions. Simulations of this method were done using a program which looks at both the fluidics and optical sources to model complex situations. These simulations were also used to model and predict a sorting method which combines fluid flow with a single optical source to automatically sort dielectric particles by size in waveguide networks. These simulations were shown to be accurate when repeated on-chip. Lastly I introduce a particle trapping technique that uses Multimode Interference(MMI) patterns in order to trap multiple particles at once. The location of the traps can be adjusted as can the number of trapping location by changing the input wavelength. By changing the wavelength back and forth between two values this MMI can be used to pass a particle down the channel like a conveyor belt.


Background and Aim: The prevalence of hepatic tumors is most common among developing countries of Asia compared to Europe and Western countries. In Pakistan, hepatic tumors are the 4thcommon disorder. The current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of hepatic tumors taking histopathology as a gold standard. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study wascarried out on 120 patients who underwent CT scans for hepatic tumors inradiology department of Sughra Shafi Medical Complex / Sahara Medical College, Narowal and Children Hospital &Institute of Child Health,Multan during the period of six months from 1st September 2020 to 2nd March 2021. The age range for all the patients was 29 to 80 years with mean ±SD(52±5.32) followed by hepatic tumors diagnosed based on histopathology as agold standard and assessed with CT. The prevalence of colorectal carcinoma was 22(18.33%), while other common parameters were pancreas, stomach adenocarcinoma, and biliarytree 13 (10.83%), and hepatocellular carcinoma 85 (70.84%). Unresectable tumors inpatients were assessed with percutaneous biopsy of the hepatic lesion and correlatedwith CT results. Resectability predictionwas assessed with CT findings accuracy in all the patients who had tumors onthe basis of CT images and had surgery. Results: All the patients of hepatic tumors were assessed with CT scans and histopathology was taken from each participant. Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of CT scans was 67.33%, 62.35% and 73.85% respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were about 75.71% and 60% respectively. Statistical significance was (P<0.05) set as a standard.SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Conclusion:Our study found that hepatic tumors can be assessed byarterial portography with resectability by CT scans. In our study, out of 120 patientshad spared surgery and only 17% of patients were considered as resectable duringarterial portography on CT scans findings. CT scanplays a pivotal role in assessing hepatic tumors. Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of CT scans was 67.33%, 62.35% and 73.85% respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were about 75.71% and 60% respectively. Keywords:Hepatic Tumors, CT scans,Histopathology


Developing a video game is a costly activity, not only from an economic perspective, but also in terms of the time devoted to researching innovative solutions and managing interfaces between the creative and technical team members. In this article, we explore the possibility to use an approach rooted into AI techniques (namely Behaviour Trees) to help establish a lingua franca between these two different functions, in order to optimize both the development time and the quality of the final product. In particular, we have developed BETTER, a middleware which can be easily embedded into any game engine, and tested it during the design and development of Crazy-Hill, a commercial video game for iOS-based mobile devices.


We investigate the effect of disorder on the propagation of one-dimensional polariton condensates in semiconductor microcavities. We observe a strong suppression of the backscattering produced by the imperfections of the structure when increasing the condensate density. This suppression occurs in the supersonic regime and is simultaneous to the onset of parametric instabilities which enable the "hopping" of the condensate through the disorder. Our results evidence a new mechanism for the strong scattering reduction of polaritons at high speeds.


This study empirically analyzed the effects of coaches' transformational leadership on customers' exercise
flow and repurchase behavior. Using two hundred seventy-five questionnaires, first, charisma, individual consideration,
and intellectual stimulation had a positive effect on cognitive and behavioral flow. Second, only individual
consideration increased repurchase intention. Third, cognitive flow promoted repurchase intention, but behavioral flow
was not statistically significant. Lastly, there was no indirect effect on the relationship among the variables. The
results may prove valuable to coaches' understanding how to enhance customers' exercise flow and may improve
marketers' strategic planning decisions to attain organizational goals.