Town archives of Colmar (France) include an inventory after the death of Jörg Barut, apothecary in Colmar in 1564, a small booklet of 48 pages. After a study of the profession of apothecaries in Colmar from the 14th to the 16th centuries, the authors tried to identify who was Jörg Barut and where was located his pharmacy. Then, they give a detail description of this inventory of the pharmacy. At the same time, they found an inventory of a draper, Hyeronymus Lütterwein, who died a few days before Barut. It was for them an opportunity to compare the inventories and to observe that a number of spices, herbs and other items were the same between the two professions. From that viewpoint, the study show the turning point of the history in this 16th century where one change from empiric knowledge to more and more rigorous observation of nature, and a progressive evolution to an clearer identity of the pharmaceutical profession.


Introduction Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is a major environmental factor affecting photoaging, which is characterized by skin wrinkle formation and hyperpigmentation. Although many factors are involved in the melanogenesis progress, UV is thought to play a major role in tanning. The pathway of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-melanocortin receptor 1 (MC1R) is associated with UV-induced melanogenesis. Thus, α-MSH antagonists may have applications in the prevention of melanogenesis. Aim To investigate the effects of tea polyphenols (TPS) on pigmentation, and further explore the underlying mechanism. Material and methods Human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) cells and Human epidermal melanocytes (HEM) were exposed to UVA and treated with different concentrations of TPS or Nonapeptide-1 acetate salt (N-1A). Then, cell viability, melanin content, and tyrosinase activity of both kinds of cells were detected. Quantification of α-MSH in HaCaT cells and HEM cells determined by ELISA assays. Immunohistochemistry of HEM cells was employed to further investigate the expression of melanogenesis-related proteins. Results The different concentrations of TPS were found to decrease the melanin content, tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis-related proteins such as microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)1, and TRP2. Besides, TPS inhibited α-MSH-MC1R signalling through directly suppressed α-MSH expression rather than the down-regulated expression level of MC1R. Conclusions Our findings indicate that TPS may be a potential whitening agent for use in cosmetics and the medical treatment of hyperpigmentation disorders.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of our study was to assess the relationship between intervention dosage and hospital utilization outcomes among patients with complex health and social needs enrolled in a care management program. We highlight the importance of measuring patient engagement and intervention dosage in program evaluation.

STUDY DESIGN
We performed a secondary analysis of data collected between 2014 and 2018 as part of a randomized controlled trial of the Camden Coalition's signature care management intervention. Our analytical sample consisted of 393 patients.

METHODS
We calculated a time-invariant cumulative dosage rank based on the number of hours spent by care teams working with or on behalf of patients and then divided patients into low- and high-dosage groups. We applied propensity score reweighting to compare hospital utilization outcomes between patients in these 2 groups.

RESULTS
Compared with patients in the low-dosage group, those in the high-dosage group had a lower readmission rate at 30 (21.6% vs 36.6%; P < .001) and 90 (41.7% vs 55.2%; P = .003) days post enrollment. The difference between the 2 groups at 180 days post enrollment was not statistically significant (57.5% vs 64.9%; P = .150).

CONCLUSIONS
Our study elucidates a gap in how care management programs for patients with complex health and social needs are evaluated. Although the study shows an association between intervention dosage and care management outcomes, patients' medical complexity and social circumstances are among the factors that can attenuate the dose-response relationship over time.


Time-frequency distributions (TFD's) are powerful tools to re present the energy content of time-varying signal in both time and frequency domain simultaneously. One of the limitations in this method is the presence of interference in the time-frequency representations (TFR's) caused by the cross terms. Various methods have been researched to remove these cross-terms. However, there is no single TFD with a fixed window or kernel that could perform well for all type of signals. In this paper, separable kernel with its parameters determined mathematically from the digital modulated signal is designed. This optimum kernel is capable of removing the cross-terms and maintaining accurate time-frequency representation for ASK, FSK and M-ary FSK signals. It is shown that signals with different parameters, such as frequencies and bit-duration, require different setting in order to get the optimum time-frequency representation. A simple guideline to determine the separable kernel parameters are presented.


The high power RF transmitter and the circulator with 500MHz/250kW which will be operated in Beijing Electron-Positron Collider Upgrade (BEPC II) project have been installed on site, and adjustments and acceptance test have been finished, which is the first transmitter system of 500MHz/250kW in China. In this paper, the test principle and all measurements as well as commissioning result in the acceptance test are introduced in details, and the actual machine technical parameters and performance are presented. An acceptance test conclusion by comparing with the design requirements is given.


The NIST Identifier Collaboration Service (NICS) is a proposed service to encourage collaboration among researchers and developers when choosing identifiers, far in advance of when it might ordinarily occur. This would support and enhance standards development activities, and development and communications in a variety of fields from software development to system administration. Implementation of this system would provide immediate and significant time and cost-savings to many technology administrators, researchers, developers, and implementors world-wide.

This paper describes the benefits of NICS to the Tcl community. This paper also briefly describes the implementation of NICS which is Tcl-based internally.


The complexity of cyber‐physical systems (CPSs) opens up several challenges regarding the assurance of high levels of reliability. Therefore, we need to develop a new data quality analysis and new CPS components/subsystems for the detection, isolation, recovery, and prevention of failures and intrusion events. Furthermore, we have to develop new reliability assessment models and metrics in order to properly evaluate CPSs. Agent technologies, through their characteristics such as autonomy, social ability, reactivity, and proactivity, have the potential to address these challenges and requirements. We propose a multi‐agent based solution, namely ReliaCPS, for detecting and preventing the failures of the system components of CPSs. We also use a case study of a CPS for monitoring ambient parameters to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. Our results indicate improvements in terms of reliability metrics (32.69% for the mean time between failures and mean time to failure, 50% for the mean time to repair and 0.94% for reliability function over time).


To the Editor. —Dunham et al 1 presented interesting data on bad debt and uncompensated care in office-based practices. They surveyed physicians in various urban, suburban, and rural office-based settings and obtained data from which they estimated losses of $4300, $9300, and $7500 overall for charity care, bad debt, and discounted Medicaid care, respectively. As these sorts of data are collected, it becomes imperative to think about what these numbers mean in terms of costs and the impact on the providers who are absorbing these losses. For example, consider the concept of bad debt. "Bad debt" is a bookkeeping phenomenon of practices that record losses from payments lower than their usual and customary fee. The usual and customary fee is a "sticker price" that is set by each practice for each service and is generally competitive with other practices in the local area. The amount of bad debt is affected


Clostridial diseases of cattle are an economic and welfare issue worldwide. Clostridia are obligate anaerobic spore-forming grampositive bacteria able to cause a wide range of pathologies in humans and animals. Pathogenicity is expressed by sporulation in favourable environmental condition with release of toxins. Toxins produced and tissues damaged are generally characteristic for each clostridial. The incidence of clostridiosis is relatively low however the outcome is generally very poor despite the bacteria being sensitive to the most common antibiotic therapies. The generally rapid course of the disease prevents any intervention. Despite a continually developing classification, clostridium that affect cattle can be classified based on their target tissue and pathogenic expression, as neurotoxic, histotoxic and enterotoxic. Scientific knowledge about different clostridial toxins, their aetiopathological mechanisms, risk factors and pathologies involved are generally limited due to the large number of bacteria strains and types involved. Alongside the more studied neurotoxic C. tetani and C. botulinum for their implications in human medicine, there are lots less known pathogenic strains capable of causing extremely severe clinical patterns in veterinary medicine. In particular regarding enterotoxic clostridia, the incidence of necro-haemorrhagic enteritis and enterotoxaemia is probably wrongly estimated because complete post-mortem investigation is rarely performed and several other reasons can lead to sudden death. The aim of this review is to describe the main clostridial diseases that can affect cattle and some of the possible prevention strategies as controlling major known risk factors and the use of vaccination.


It is shown that, for the temperature determination of the isothermal opaque bodies system, one can use the same techniques those are used to determine the temperature of a free-radiating opaque body. For an isothermal system of opaque bodies, a relationship was obtained, which relates the wavelength of maximum spectral radiation, the spectral effective emissivity and the thermodynamic temperature. In particular, this relationship can be used as an additional condition to determine the thermodynamic temperature of the isothermal system of bodies by the thermal radiation spectrum of the target surface, when the effective emissivity of the radiation source is unknown.


This paper presents evidence for the existence in extracts from porcine non-antral gastric tissue of a peptide capable of causing substantial rises of plasma immunoreactive gastrin levels in a dose dependent manner and of stimulation of gastric acid and pepsin secretion. Obtained data show that the peptide is basic and that its gastrin releasing properties are at least partially resistant to atropinisation and beta-receptor blockade. Antrectomy almost eliminates the rise in plasma IRGa when the peptide is administered. The possible relationship of this peptide to amphibian bombesin is discussed.


The derivation and comparison of biological interaction networks are vital for understanding the functional capacity and hierarchical organization of integrated microbial communities. In the current work we present metagenomic annotation networks as a novel taxonomy-free approach for understanding the functional architecture of metagenomes. Specifically, metagenomic operon predictions are exploited to derive functional interactions that are translated and categorized according to their associated functional annotations. The result is a collection of discrete networks of weighted annotation linkages. These networks are subsequently examined for the occurrence of annotation modules that portray the functional and organizational characteristics of various microbial communities. A variety of network perspectives and annotation categories are applied to recover a diverse range of modules with different degrees of annotative cohesiveness. Applications to biocatalyst discovery and human health issues are discussed, as well as the limitations of the current implementation.


Dilute alloys of rare earths have played a vital role in understanding magnetic phenomena. Here, we model the ground state of dilute $4f$ rare-earth impurities in light metals. When the $4f$ subshells are open (but not half-filled), the spin-orbit coupling imprints a rotational charge current of conduction electrons around rare-earth atoms. The sign and amplitude of the current oscillate similar to the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) spin polarization. We compute the observable effect, namely, the \O{}rsted field generated by the current vortices and the Knight shift.


Two million new users will abuse prescription narcotics this year, most commonly hydrocodone. The most commonly prescribed form is hydrocodone‐acetaminophen (HA). Many individuals crush the tablets and snort the product to take advantage of the rapid transmucosal delivery of narcotics. The resultant pathology of intranasal hydrocodone acetaminophen abuse (INHAA) has been described only in a few case studies.


Recent years have seen increased attention given to examining the phenomenon of hope in patients with metastatic cancer. One of the results of this activity has been a greater appreciation of the significance of hope for the dying patient. However, there are many questions about the experience of hope and its impact on the lives of patients with cancer which remain to be answered. This paper discusses how hope is currently conceptualized in the nursing literature, and considers the implications that this conceptualization has for how we care for cancer patients. Some alternative ways of looking at the experience and the impact of hope are also discussed.


This article analyses the economic implications of a change in the regulatory framework designed to promote competition among firms, assessing the impact that barriers to competition in the services industry have on the cost of inputs and the exports of manufacturing firms in Spain.
The estimates presented reveal that the reductions in barriers to competition over recent decades have had a significant impact on the real exports of manufacturing firms, especially larger ones, as a result of greater competition in the supply of their inputs.
The results underline the fact that further improvements in the degree of competition may influence the competitiveness of the Spanish economy as a whole.


In this study, the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive material ( 137 Cs) was simulated with regard to its impact within a 50-km radius from the Kori Nuclear Power Plant (NKPP) based on two different types of models (the non-steady-state puff model CALPUFF and the lagrangian model HYSPLIT) during the spring of 2012 (May 2012). The dispersion distribution of 137 Cs calculated in the CALPUFF model was similar to that of the HYSPLIT model, but the magnitudes of differences in its spatio-temporal concentrations between the two models were different. The 137 Cs concentrations simulated by the CALPUFF were significantly lower than those of the HYSPLIT due to a limi tation of puff models (e.g. puff size growth over time). The CALPUFF had the advantage of determining the dispersion of radioactive materials and their impacts on the surrounding regions, compared with the HYSPLIT that had high concentrations of 137 Cs in only small local areas with the movement of air masses along the local winds.


We have been developing a system for detecting seafloor crustal movement by combining kinematic GPS and acoustic ranging techniques. A linear inversion method is adopted to determine the position of seafloor stations from coordinates of a moving survey vessel and measured travel times of acoustic waves in seawater. The positioning accuracy is substantially improved by estimating the temporal variation of the acoustic velocity structure. We apply our method to the ranging data acquired at the seafloor reference point, MYGI, located off Miyagi Prefecture, in northeast Japan, where a huge earthquake is expected to occur in the near future. A time series of horizontal coordinates of MYGI obtained from seven campaign observations for the period 2002–2005 exhibits a linear trend with a scattering rms of about 2 cm. A linear fit to the time series gives an intraplate crustal velocity of more than several centimeters per year towards the WNW, which implies strong interplate coupling around this region. The precision of each campaign solution was examined at MYGI and other seafloor reference points along the Nankai Trough through comparison of independent one-day subset solutions within the campaign. The resultant repeatability looks to be well-correlated with the temporal and spatial stability of the acoustic velocity structure in the seawater depending on the region as well as the season.


Abstract Forest plantation is reckoned to accounts for 7% of total global forest cover and has the potential to provide 75% of the global industrial round wood supply. The study analyzed forest resource use trend, mapped out areas of high biodiversity conservation, and made recommendations to promote and sustain large-scale plantation development against the background of anthropogenic pressure on vulnerable ecosystems and biodiversity management. The methodology adopted for the study involved the application of geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques, field survey and community interactions. Major findings of the assessment include substantial land use/land cover conversion from one category to another within the past 20 years as a result of agricultural expansion, urbanisation, charcoal production and wood fuel harvesting; dense woodland and riverine forest experienced decline for the 20-year period whilst agriculture open woodland/grassland and settlement were appreciated; floral diversity was high in the dense woodlands with low regeneration potential because of persistent annual wild fires; significant socio-economic and environmental impacts resulting in the conversion of woodlands and removal of riverine vegetation leading to drying out of streams; charcoal production and shifting cultivation leading to decrease in soil productivity and poor crop yields that promotes poverty amongst the inhabitants.


The first Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument (IASI) on the Metop satellites suite has achieved more than 13 years of continuous operation. The instrument stability and the consistency between the different instruments on the successive Metop (A, B and C) is remarkable and offer the potential to investigate trends in the concentration of various species better than with any other previous or current hyperspectral IR sounder. The low noise of IASI radiances is also such that even weakly absorbing species can be identified, on single or at least on averaged spectra. In this work we exploit the first decadal record of IASI measurements to (1) detect and monitor halogenated compounds regulated by the Montreal protocol (CFCs) or used as substitutes (HCFCs, HFCs), as well as fluorinated compounds (CF 4 , SF 6 ) and potentially short lived chlorine species, for which substantial emissions are suspected (2) give a first assessment of the trend evolution of these species over the 2008-2017 period covered by IASI on Metop-A. This is done by targeting various geographical areas on the globe and examining the remote oceanic and continental source regions separately. The trend evolution in the different chemical species, either negative or positive, is validated against what is observed from ground-based measurement networks. We will conclude by assessing the usefulness of IASI and follow-on mission to contribute to global measurements of ozone depleting substances.


Using computer simulations and a quantitative method for describing bifurcating structures, the morphology of branching patterns seen in early land plants is analyzed. Four types or models of random branching (regular, geometric, binomial, and poisson) are shown to adequately describe the range of observed branching in most early land plants. Approximately 57% of all randomly generated computer patterns show reiterative branching events (=three successive identical modes of branching). Artificial canalization of reiterative events results in branching patterns structurally analogous with that of ancient fossil plants. Simulated phylogenetic changes among early land plant lineages, based on parsimonious transitions in branching patterns, indicate that most observed trends can be related directly to those seen in randomly generating branching patterns in which "size" is increased. The trimerophyte to progymnosperm trend in changing branching patterns is an exception, since the binomial model describing the progymnosperms has not been simulated by random processes. While the apparent phylogenetic changes among early land plant groups do not require deterministic explanations, the transition from regular to geometric branching and the "canalization" of reiterative branching patterns may represent a grade level response to selective pressures related to mechanical design and vegetative reproduction.


Economic feasibility of a power plant requires smooth and uninterrupted plant operation in the face of varying electrical power demand. The feed-water system in a power plant is a major contributor to plant unavailability. In this paper, a fuzzy model predictive control FMPC approach is introduced to design a level control system in a drum boiler. In this approach, the process is described by a fuzzy convolution model that consists of a number of quasi-linear fuzzy implications FI. The whole process behavior is characterized by a weighted sum of the outputs from all quasi-linear fuzzy implications. In controller design, prediction errors and control energy are minimized through a two-layered iterative optimization process. At the lower layer, optimal local control policies are identified to minimize prediction errors in each subsystem. A globally optimal control policy is then identified through coordinating the subsystems to reach an overall minimum prediction error at the upper layer. Results from validation of the control system are presented. A Client/Server architecture is proposed for implementation.


Background: Most Distylium species are endangered. Distylium species mostly display homoplasy in their flowers and fruits, and are classified primarily based on leaf morphology. However, leaf size, shape, and serration vary tremendously making it difficult to use those characters to identify most species and a significant challenge to address the taxonomy of Distylium. To infer robust relationships and identify variable markers to identify Distylium species, we sequenced most of the Distylium species chloroplast genome. Results: The Distylium chloroplast genome size was 159,041–159,127 bp and encoded 80 protein-coding, 30 transfer RNAs, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. There was a conserved gene order displayed and a typical quadripartite structure. Phylogenomic analysis based on whole chloroplast genome sequences yielded a highly resolved phylogenetic tree and formed a monophyletic group containing four Distylium clades. A dating analysis suggested that Distylium originated in the Oligocene (34.39 Ma) and diversified within approximately 1 Ma. The evidence shows that Distylium is a rapidly radiating group. Four highly variable markers, such as matK-trnK, ndhC-trnV, ycf1, and trnT-trnL, and 74 polymorphic simple sequence repeats were discovered in the Distylium plastomes. Conclusions: The plastome sequences had sufficient polymorphic information to resolve phylogenetic relationships and identify species accurately.


During sleep, cortical network connectivity likely undergoes both synaptic potentiation and depression through system consolidation and homeostatic processes. However, how these modifications are coordinated across sleep stages remains largely unknown. Candidate mechanisms are Ponto-Geniculo-Occipital (PGO) waves, propagating across several structures during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and the transitional stage from non-REM sleep to REM sleep (pre-REM), and exhibiting sleep stage-specific dynamic patterns. To understand their impact on cortical plasticity, we built an acetylcholine-modulated neural mass model of PGO wave propagation through pons, thalamus and cortex, reproducing a broad range of electrophysiological characteristics across sleep stages. Using a population model of Spike-Time-Dependent Plasticity, we show that cortical circuits undergo different transient regimes depending on the sleep stage, with different impacts on plasticity. Specifically, PGO-induced recurrent cortical activities lead to the potentiation of cortico-cortical synapses during pre-REM, and to their depression during REM sleep. Overall, these results shed light on how the dynamical properties of sleep events propagating to cortical circuits can favor different types of local plastic changes. The variety of events occurring across sleep stages may thus be instrumental in controlling the reorganization of cortical networks from one day to the next. Significance statement Considerable evidence supports rescaling of cortical synaptic connec-tions during sleep, requiring both long term potentiation to consolidate newly acquired memories, and long-term depression to maintain homeostatic levels of brain activity. However, which aspects of sleep activity contribute to this bidirectional control of plasticity remains unclear. This computational modeling study suggests that widespread transient phenomena called Ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves, have a sleep-stage dependent effect on plasticity. The alternation between sleep stages can thus be exploited in combination with spontaneously occurring transients, to trigger both up- and down-regulating effects on cortical connectivity, and may explain why the basic structure of sleep-cycles is a well-preserved property across mammalian species.


The electrical impedance myography method is widely used in solving bionic control problems and consists of assessing the change in the electrical impedance magnitude during muscle contraction in real time. However, the choice of electrode systems sizes is not always properly considered when using the electrical impedance myography method in the existing approaches, which is important in terms of electrical impedance signal expressiveness and reproducibility. The article is devoted to the determination of acceptable sizes for the electrode systems for electrical impedance myography using the Pareto optimality assessment method and the electrical impedance signals formation model of the forearm area, taking into account the change in the electrophysical and geometric parameters of the skin and fat layer and muscle groups when performing actions with a hand. Numerical finite element simulation using anthropometric models of the forearm obtained by volunteers' MRI 3D reconstructions was performed to determine a sufficient degree of the forearm anatomical features detailing in terms of the measured electrical impedance. For the mathematical description of electrical impedance relationships, a forearm two-layer model, represented by the skin-fat layer and muscles, was reasonably chosen, which adequately describes the change in electrical impedance when performing hand actions. Using this model, for the first time, an approach that can be used to determine the acceptable sizes of electrode systems for different parts of the body individually was proposed.


Introduction Patients with a positive faecal occult blood test invited for screening colonoscopy may have undergone previous colonoscopy. Excluding such patients from a repeat colonoscopy may reduce endoscopy waiting lists and avoid repeated and unnecessary invasive investigations. This study investigates the prevalence of previous colonoscopy in Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) patients and considers whether repeat colonoscopy is required. Methods All patients undergoing BCSP colonoscopy over a 30-month period at our unit were identified and cross-referenced against colonoscopy records for the preceding 3 years. New diagnoses of colorectal cancer in the cohort were identified and cancer yield in those with and without recent colonoscopy compared using the chi-squared test. Results 1419 BCSP colonoscopies were performed in 1339 patients over the study period. 109 colonoscopies were repeats with median interval to repeat 378 days. Indication for prior colonoscopy included prior BCSP invitation (n = 90), polyp surveillance (n = 6) and symptoms (n = 13). There were 111 diagnoses of colorectal cancer in the cohort but no patient with a previous colonoscopy was found to have colorectal cancer. Cancer yield in first time BCSP colonoscopy was greater than in repeated colonoscopy (8% vs. 0% p = 0.002). Conclusion Cancer yield is reduced in BCSP patients with a recent negative colonoscopy. Excluding such patients would reduce pressure on endoscopy units and any morbidity associated with repeat colonoscopy. However, such an approach would be associated with a small risk of missed pathology. Larger studies are required to define the safety of this approach and inform national guidance. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.


It is shown that 24 hours after closed craniocerebral trauma plasma serotonin significantly rises in patients with moderate brain concussion and contusion. In repeated brain concussion and severe contusion these changes were absent. This may be due to biochemical maladaptation. Serotonin levels in patients with brain contusion lowered significantly 15 and 22 days after the trauma.


African countries have been mentioned by many researches as having the highest rate of maternal mortality compared to other continents in the world. Maternal mortality has for long been a serious problem that is engulfing the lives of many childbearing (pregnant) women mostly in the African countries as a result of many contributory factors. Focuses on improving maternal health, with target aiming to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR).This paper discussed maternal mortality concepts, factors of maternal mortality in the black countries and the way forward for the reduction of maternal mortality in black countries and top five countries with highest maternal mortality rate. The paper suggested among others that pregnant mothers in the African countries should be encourage to attend antenatal clinics for routine check-ups, so that risk factors of pregnancy related infections will be diagnosed; be detected early and treated promptly and also health education and promotion programme should be intensified in African countries in order to create awareness, so that people can adopt positive health behaviour by heeding to good treatment seeking behaviour pattern when at risk. KeywordsAfrican Countries, Maternal Mortality Rate, Threat.


This paper discusses various characteristics of new polymeric membranes for the purpose of CO2 capture. Different types of single and copolymers were examined; especially by the sorption measurement at different pressures and temperatures. The permeability has been measured for three polymeric membranes and CO2/N2 selectivity has been discussed. However, the diffusion coefficient determination by the time lag method and from the solubility and permeability has been compared. For this purpose solubility has been investigated through the sorption experiment by using an MSB (Magnetic Suspension Balance). This paper contains a literature review which describes different studies on membranes and CO2 capture. The aim of the literature review is to compare and analyze the experimental results reported by different research groups and to identify actual and future development of new membranes for CO2 capture. The theories, the basic principles of different equipment, give an essential overview to understand the different parts of the thesis. Most of the gas permeation experiments were performed to examine the characteristics of the polymeric membranes at room temperature using N2 and CO2 at different pressures. The outcome of the whole project is to observe the characteristics of the polymeric membranes through their diffusion coefficients, solubilities and permeabilities.


We formulate a "Moore's law" for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and their spatial integration density using two methods. One is decomposing the integrated photonics devices of diverse types into equivalent basic elements, which makes a comparison with the generic elements of electronic integrated circuits more meaningful. The other is making a complex compo- nent equivalent to a series of basic elements of the same functionality, which is used to calculate the integration density for func- tional components realized with different structures. The results serve as a benchmark of the evolution of PICs and we can con- clude that the density of integration measured in this way roughly increases by a factor of 2 per year. The prospects for a continued increase of spatial integration density are discussed.


Existing commonsense knowledge bases often organize tuples in an isolated manner, which is deficient for commonsense conversational models to plan the next steps. To fill the gap, we curate a large-scale multi-turn human-written conversation corpus, and create the first Chinese commonsense conversation knowledge graph which incorporates both social commonsense knowledge and dialog flow information. To show the potential of our graph, we develop a graph-conversation matching approach, and benchmark two graph-grounded conversational tasks. All the resources in this work will be released to foster future research.


Three-dimensional light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point clouds acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent a relatively new type of remotely sensed data. Point cloud density of thousands of points per square meter with survey-grade accuracy makes the UAV laser scanning (ULS) a very suitable tool for detailed mapping of forest environment. We used RIEGL VUX-SYS to scan forest stands of Norway spruce and Scots pine, the two most important economic species of central European forests, and evaluated the suitability of point clouds for individual tree stem detection and stem diameter estimation in a fully automated workflow. We segmented tree stems based on point densities in voxels in subcanopy space and applied three methods of robust circle fitting to fit cross-sections along the stems: (1) Hough transform; (2) random sample consensus (RANSAC); and (3) robust least trimmed squares (RLTS). We detected correctly 99% and 100% of all trees in research plots for spruce and pine, respectively, and were able to estimate diameters for 99% of spruces and 98% of pines with mean bias error of −0.1 cm (−1%) and RMSE of 6.0 cm (19%), using the best performing method, RTLS. Hough transform was not able to fit perimeters in unfiltered and often incomplete point representations of cross-sections. In general, RLTS performed slightly better than RANSAC, having both higher stem detection success rate and lower error in diameter estimation. Better performance of RLTS was more pronounced in complicated situations, such as incomplete and noisy point structures, while for high-quality point representations, RANSAC provided slightly better results.


Nowadays, filament winding process has evolved in manufacturing of polymer composites industries. In addition, filament winding process of polymer matrix composite offered the most cost effective method, good part definition and correctly fibre placement that will give very high strength to weight ratio. In this project, a hygrothermal effect on GlassCarbon/Epoxy hybrid composite were studied and revealed. The non geodesic pattern of filament winding was used with the winding speed of 15.24 30.48 linear metre/min. Fibre tensioning weight of l kg and winding angles of 30° is created in order to produce the wound samples of hybrid composite. The hybrid composite was wound by using the orientation of± 30°with the total number of six (6) layers. While for hygrothermal effect has been carried out in humidity chamber for 3 days (72hrs). The controls temperatures of 60°C and 80°C has been set up as well as percentage of humidity 50%, 70% and 90% are used. From the testing result, hybridization of glass and carbon fibre shows the highest in tensile and flexure test which represent 90.27 MPa and 198.10 MPa respectively as compared to non-hybrid samples. Moisture absorption test shows most of the hybrid samples are gradually increased over heat and humidity. As a result, Glass-Carbon 80°C/90% shows the highest value of moisture absorbed, 0.77%. Meanwhile, the involvement of highest heat and humidity shows the decreased in value of tensile and flexure strength, 75.80 MPa and 157. 15 MPa respectively. As thermal analysis results, shows the reduction of T g with the increase of heat and humidity that indicate the effect of the hygrothermal. From fractography analysis by using Stereo Microscope Stemi 2000-C, Glass-Carbon/Epoxy 80°C/90% has shown catastrophic damage, big crack and longest delamination of fibre pull out, 10.39 mm. The criterion of fracture revealed that the involvement of heat and humidity give a big impact towards the mechanical and physical properties of hybrid composite material. © Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka


Betawi people are originating from inter-ethnic marriage and the nation in the past. Biologically, they are admitted as the Betawi people are descendants of mixed blood people of different tribes and nations that were imported by the Dutch to Batavia. What is called the Betawi people or actually starting new arrivals in Jakarta. This ethnic group was born from a combination of other ethnic groups who were already living in Jakarta, such as the Sundanese, Javanese, Arabic, Bali, Sumbawa, Ambon, Malays and hard. Betawi words used to express the native tribes inhabiting the Jakarta and Malays Creole language he used, and also culture Melayunya. Betawi word actually comes from the word "Batavia," which is the ancient name given by Dutch Jakarta (http / / id.wikipedia.orgwikiSuku_Betawi.htm). The presence of new entrants or residents in the region, allowing for the growth of buildings that are not characterized by Betawi architecture, and with the development times have also develops knowledge of building materials, building materials native Betawi architecture has undergone many changes at this time which resulted in a diversity of materials used in the Betawi Cultural Village Srengseng Sawah, South Jakarta. So on this occasion the author wants to analyze the diversity of material on the Betawi Traditional House Ornaments on the Betawi Cultural Village Srengseng Sawah, South Jakarta. At this writing will be discussed on the occurrence of a change in the use of materials on traditional home ornaments in Culture Village Betawi Betawi, Srengseng Sawah, and South Jakarta. The change meant that as the use of materials more easily available, the new home construction Betawi, due to natural materials like bamboo and wood have been very difficult to find due to environmental changes that grew out of the plantation into a dense residential population. Limitation problem confined to the use of materials and finishing house Betawi ornaments, as variables in


This paper analyzes data regarding the impact on heterosexual marriages of laws in five European countries that provide marriage or marriage-like rights to same-sex couples. The data provide no evidence that giving partnership rights to same-sex couples had any impact on heterosexual marriage. Specifically, heterosexual marriage rates and divorce rates in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and the Netherlands displayed no significant change in trends after implementation of rights for gay couples; longstanding trends in nonmarital birth rates showed no sign of acceleration attributable to passage of partnership laws; and nonmarital birth rates showed the same changes in countries with and without partnership laws. Finally, because the United States gives many more incentives for heterosexual couples to marry than European countries, any effects of passage of gay marriage or partnership laws in this country would be even less likely to have an impact on the status of heterosexual marriage.


Recently, cDNAs for alpha subunits of two different neuronal alpha-bungarotoxin-binding proteins (alpha BgtBP) were isolated from chick brain, designated alpha BgtBP alpha 1 and alpha BgtBP alpha 2. These are now also referred to as subunits alpha 7 and alpha 8, respectively. Expression studies in Xenopus oocytes have indicated that alpha 7 subunits are able to form cation channels that are sensitive to nicotinic ligands, and therefore represent bona fide nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been produced against: (i) affinity-purified chick brain alpha BgtBP; and (ii) fusion proteins containing the unique cytoplasmic sequences alpha 7(327-412) and alpha 8(293-435). Here, synthetic overlapping peptides corresponding to their deduced amino acid sequences are used to map the epitopes recognized by the different antibodies. The polyclonal response to affinity-purified alpha BgtBPs and the fusion proteins indicates that sequence segments 290-420 of both subunits contain several major and minor epitopes. mAbs selected for their ability to bind both native and denatured alpha BgtBPs isolated from chick brain also recognize subunit-specific sequential epitopes within the sequence segment 290-420. The epitopes recognized by the mAbs correspond to the minor epitopes defined using antisera. The mAbs characterized in these studies will provide useful probes for further studies of alpha BgtBP structure and histological localization.


Memory-one strategies are a set of Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma strategies that have been acclaimed for their mathematical tractability and performance against single opponents. This manuscript investigates best responses to a collection of memory-one strategies as a multidimensional optimisation problem. Though extortionate memory-one strategies have gained much attention, we demonstrate that best response memory-one strategies do not behave in an extortionate way, and moreover, for memory one strategies to be evolutionary robust they need to be able to behave in a forgiving way. We also provide evidence that memory-one strategies suffer from their limited memory in multi agent interactions and can be out performed by longer memory strategies.


We investigate the making of reliable electrical contacts on single crystals. Numerous silver pastes and the corresponding application procedures do not yield satisfactory results. Although the electrical contacts are initially of low resistance, they deteriorate in time. We present a procedure which overcomes this degradation of the contacts and ensures low-resistance contacts for at least a year, with no sign of possible future departure from the initial quality.


Due to seasonal variations in temperature and food availability, fish in temperate regions should be able to make metabolic adjustments to ensure that enough energy is available for the maintenance of basal processes. The major aim of this thesis was to elucidate how the physiology and lipid metabolism of salmonid fish is affected by temperature and food availability, and to clarify aspects of the endocrine control of lipid metabolism. In this thesis, the effects of increased temperature or reduced food availability were studied in salmonids by employing a non-prejudiced metabolomics approach to assess the physiological responses. Detailed information on the abundance of specific amino acids, lipid classes, fatty acids and other metabolites in tissue extracts and plasma was obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics. NMR-based metabolomics were successfully employed and proved to be applicable to studying metabolic fluxes in fish, providing data on novel and integrated responses. The results show similar changes in lipid metabolism during food deprivation and elevated temperature. The observed responses included increased plasma very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and unsaturated fatty acids (FAs) concurrent with decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and choline. The changes during starvation also involved changes in amino acids and glycogen that indicate that amino acids are used for gluconeogenesis in the liver to preserve glycogen stores. Growth hormone (GH) has both lipolytic and lipogenic effects. To further elucidate the mechanisms of GH action on salmonid lipid metabolism, the effects of GH in vivo on the transcription of several key lipid metabolism enzymes in various tissues were investigated. GH inhibited the hepatic expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) thereby decreasing hepatic lipid uptake. Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) mRNA expression was not increased by GH in any of the studied tissues, suggesting that the well-known GHinduced lipolysis is regulated on posttranslational levels in rainbow trout. The regulation lipid metabolism in salmonids was further investigated by studying direct effects of FAs and ghrelin on freshly isolated cells from mesenteric adipose tissue and liver. FAs elicited acute negative effects on lipid storage by decreasing lipid uptake via LPL activity in adipose cells as well as by stimulating lipolysis of stored triglycerides (TG) in liver cells. Together the results presented in this thesis shows that elevated, suboptimal temperature and nutritional may have propound effects on important processes as growth, food intake and the metabolome of salmonid fish, and may lead to a negative energy balance. Metabolic changes may be mediated by hormonal and nutrient factors acting at gene expression or enzyme activity level. The results may contribute to better understand lipid deposition patterns in farmed fish and potential effects of climate change on salmonids in the wild and in aquaculture.


The dynamical invariant, whose expectation value is constant, is generalized to open quantum system. The evolution equation of dynamical invariant (the dynamical invariant condition) is presented for Markovian dynamics. Different with the dynamical invariant for the closed quantum system, the evolution of the dynamical invariant for the open quantum system is no longer unitary, and the eigenvalues of it are time-dependent. Since any hermitian operator fulfilling dynamical invariant condition is a dynamical invariant, we propose a sort of special dynamical invariant (decoherence free dynamical invariant) in which a part of eigenvalues are still constant. The dynamical invariant in the subspace spanned by the corresponding eigenstates evolves unitarily. Via the dynamical invariant condition, the results demonstrate that this dynamical invariant exists under the circumstances of emergence of decoherence free subspaces.


Abstract
Focusing on irregular immigrants, people without any official status in their country of habitation, the research explores the relationship between urban public space and groups deemed to be marginal. Irregular immigrants' experiences of 'institutional invisibility' are combined with their in-between socio-economic and political condition, reflecting, partly, immigration's transnational character. Therefore, irregular immigrants' social reproduction is dependent, partly, on informal, often illegal, means to sustain a living that are linked to their usage of urban public space. Their everyday experiences, and the ways they negotiate their institutional invisibility and irregularity, are investigated as a means to explore the appropriation of urban public space in relation to the conditions of their habitation, thus opening up issues relating to their right(s) and claims to space.
The research underpinning the thesis was conducted during 2011-2012 in Athens, Greece, with the empirical focus on Omonoia, a place of significant 'settlement' by irregular immigrants. Its core was in-depth interviews with eight irregular immigrants' households, supplemented with a mapping exercise and participant observation. Additionally, the research documented institutional responses to, and influences on, the lives of irregular immigrants, through interviews with officials in key positions. The data show that urban public space is the primary means of survival and social reproduction for irregular immigrants, with it acting as both shelter and a place to network. The thesis highlights the use of invisibility and irregularity as a means to conceal immigrants' marginal ways of securing basic needs away from the eyes of the State. However, their uses of public spaces are usually at odds with official, 'legitimate', governmental discourses about what public spaces are or ought to be. This opposition emphasizes the role of everyday activities in the production of space, but also the right to space - in the absence of other rights - by the plain instantiation of bodily existence of the institutionally invisible, irregular, immigrants in urban public space.


The endothelium has been shown to contribute to the modulation of vascular smooth muscle tone. Using digital imaging microscopy, we measured calcium in endothelial cells of isolated skeletal muscle arterioles. First-order arterioles (N = 6) were isolated from rat cremaster muscle and cannulated. All vessels developed spontaneous tone (99.4 microns; 60%-80% of passive diameter). Endothelial cells were loaded with Fura-2-AM (5 microM), a ratiometric calcium-sensitive fluorescent dye. The Fura-2-AM was placed in the lumen of the vessel for approximately 10 min and removed. Fluorescent images of endothelial cells were acquired following excitation at 340- and 380-nm wavelengths and the data expressed as the 340/380 ratio which is directly proportional to intracellular calcium. Acetylcholine (Ach; 10(-6) M), an endothelium-dependent dilator, caused significant dilation (132% of control) and increased calcium to 186% of control. Adenosine (Adn; 10(-4) M), an endothelium-independent agent, produced similar dilation (127% of control) but did not alter endothelial cell calcium. Increasing intraluminal pressure produced a myogenic constriction with no change in endothelial calcium. Flow, induced by a 20 cm H2O pressure gradient, failed to dilate the arterioles and produced no increase in endothelial cell calcium. However, flow induced by a 40 cm H2O pressure difference did increase endothelial cell calcium prior to a significant arteriolar dilation. Removal of the endothelium by physically rubbing the intimal surface eliminated both the dilation and increase in calcium to Ach or flow (40 cm H2O) while the response to Adn remained unchanged.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Natural products containing the tetramic acid core scaffold have been isolated from an assortment of terrestrial and marine species and often display wide ranging and potent biological activities including antibacterial, antiviral and antitumoral activities. Owing to their intriguing structure and biological activity, tetramic acid-containing agents, both natural and synthetic, are attracting increasingly significant attention from biologists and chemists. Indeed, this increasing enthusiasm has led to significant advances. The goal of this review is to present not only these advances but also the broader context that frames them and provides a complete view of the naturally occurring tetramic acids inclusive of studies aimed at isolation, structure elucidation, and evaluation of biological activities. Consistent with advances over the past decade this review covers the period spanning 2002 to 2013.


The aim of this study was to determine the salivary concentrations of tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in patients with premalignant and malignant lesions. The study involved 57 patients who were examined between 2008 and 2010 at the Department of Oral Medicine and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia. They were divided into three groups: 19 patients with oral premalignant lesions, 19 with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 19 healthy control volunteers. Whole saliva was collected and investigated for the presence of TNF-α and IL-6 by enzyme immunoassay at the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical Faculty, University of Graz, Austria. All groups had statistically significant differences in values of TNF-α and IL-6 (P < 0.001). The results suggest that these proinflammatory cytokines are elevated in the saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral premalignant lesions as compared to controls, which may have diagnostic and/or prognostic significance.


This book presents recent research in the recognition of vulnerabilities of national systems and assets which gained special attention for the Critical Infrastructures in the last two decades. The book concentrates on R&D activities in the relation of Critical Infrastructures focusing on enhancing the performance of services as well as the level of security. The objectives of the book are based on a project entitled "Critical Infrastructure Protection Researches" (TAMOP-4.2.1.B-11/2/KMR-2011-0001) which concentrated on innovative UAV solutions, robotics, cybersecurity, surface engineering, and mechatrinics and technologies providing safe operations of essential assets. This report is summarizing the methodologies and efforts taken to fulfill the goals defined. The project has been performed by the consortium of the Obuda University and the National University of Public Service


Sediment geoacoustic inversion results are estimated employing a multi-beam (MB) echo-sounding system operable at 95 kHz. To characterize the western continental shelf of India (off Goa) seafloor, MB backscatter signals were acquired along with grab sediment samples. The substrate type and roughness of the site were estimated using the composite roughness scattering model with the measured backscatter values. The seafloor parameters, namely mean grain size (M(φ)); roughness spectrum strength (w(2)) and exponent (γ(2)); and sediment volume parameter (σ(2)), for coarse and fine grain sediments are estimated by employing the MB system. These parameters have also been estimated at two other frequencies (33 and 210 kHz) and are compared to the ground truth data to provide sufficient support in validating the model results and increasing the understanding of the shelf seafloor processes. Distinct interclass separations between the sediment provinces are evident from the estimated mean grain size M(φ) and water-sediment interface roughness w(2). The seafloor parameters for coarse and fine grain sediments derived from the 95 kHz MB data are consistent with the sediment sample data as well as with the inversion results obtained using backscatter data at 33 and 210 kHz from the same locations.


This paper compares the ballistic impact response of advanced fiber composites and metals. These comparisons are made within the framework of a methodology that defines the necessary data and analysis requirements for evaluating the survivability of combat aircraft designs. A side-by-side comparison was made of the available residual strength and damage size test data for metals and fiber composites damaged by small arms projectiles. In addition, the available composite data was used to extend a model for predicting the ultimate strength of composite tension panels damaged by bullets. This model was used in conjunction with an existing model for metals to extend the comparisons to equal strength, equal stiffness, or equal weight structural panels. The results show that both metal and fiber composite panels lose a significant percent of their undamaged strength (50 percent or more) when impacted with small arms projectiles. For the cases considered, the percent reduction in the fiber composite panels was greater than in the metal panels. These results are considered to be preliminary for structural evaluations, however, because only simple panel data were used in the comparison.


STRUCTURED ABSTRACT Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the current state of quality management practices in Small and Medium Enterprises. The main concepts of Quality Management and its practices in Small and Medium Enterprises were reviewed from the literature in order to understand the key practices in these organizations, and a data analysis on their use was performed. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis was performed by consulting and understanding the evolution of Organizational Excellence Models and Quality Management Systems. This research incorporates data since the beginning of the 90's from the last century and allows us to comprehend how these models and management systems have evolved and if there is any correlation between the adoption of each one of them- evaluation of interdependencies. Findings - The findings suggest that while the number of ISO 9001 certified companies has increased over the years, the number of organizations accessing Business Excellence frameworks have been decreasing. The available data suggests that Small and Medium Enterprises seem to follow these trends. It is particularly noticed that there is a considerable gap between Small and Medium Enterprises and Large Enterprises in the usage of Business Excellence frameworks. Originality/value – This article offers a global perspective of the current state in the use of ISO 9001 and Organizational Excellence Models by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME's).


> "…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character…" Romans 5: 3–4

Promoting fitness and keeping people active is a major focus of sports medicine professionals. Regular exercise reduces the incidence of, and prevents, many diseases and improves quality of life across the lifespan.1,–,3 The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) is an organisation of primary care sports medicine physicians that is dedicated to promoting safe participation in regular exercise for all people.

Phiddipides may have been the first true endurance athlete, running several hundred miles to relay news during the Persian/Greek War 2500 years ago. Following the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon, he ran 26 miles to announce the victory and upon completion of his run, died. From this tragedy, the marathon running event was born.

As more and more people complete marathons, the public mystique of the marathon as a way to differentiate oneself from 'normal' athletes is wearing off, and endurance athletes are pushing the envelope farther and longer in a quest for greatness. …


Whenever Africa is mentioned in the international arena, the name seems to conjure pity, poverty, diseases, corruption, conflicts, maladministration, abuse of human rights and other trappings of vices associated with underdevelopment. This thinking may have influenced Tony Blair's (former British Prime Minister) comments that Africa is a "scar on the conscience of the world". This paper therefore argues that the various degrees of developmental challenges confronting contemporary African states were created in the era of colonial administration of the continent. Using the concepts of fundamentalist structuralism to critically analyse the contemporary African developmental challenges, the paper concludes that Africa appears to lack the capacity to deconstruct the philosophical foundation on which colonial structures were erected, and without a radical overture, the African continent may remain in its crawling developmental posture even in the 21st century.


The General Assembly of the Collegiate Medical Organization (OMC), which represents all the Associations of Official Doctors of Spain, at its meeting of March 24th, 2017, gave the green light to an observatory board against pseudosciences, pseudotherapies, intrusive and sanitary sects. Among the therapies that have been classified as pseudoscience, is ozone therapy and they have done it without a minimum of rigor or equanimity. This decision has been executed in a biased, arbitrary way and without a minimum of dialogue or contrast of data. This is despite the fact that ozone therapy has a scientific basis and is a recognized "medical act", which must be practiced exclusively by duly trained and experienced professionals. Even in spite that ozone therapy is practiced officially in 23 public hospital in their pain management units. The superficial report of scarce 19 lines, has been developed by professionals who are completely unaware of the reality and practice of the matter they judge. At no time have they given the opportunity to give voice to the hundreds of professionals licensed in medicine who practice ozone therapy, or to the association that represents them or to the patients who receive these treatments. We have not even been given the opportunity to provide clinical studies, works or published experiences, to defend ourselves. We have been sentenced without hearing the medical doctors who practice a "recognized medical act" such as ozone therapy.


ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to examine the factors that determine the durability of Olympic success at seven consecutive Summer Games between 1996 and 2021, employing survival analysis. It is assumed that factors similar to those that influence the durability of Olympic success also influence the likelihood of winning Olympic medals. We examine the durability of Olympic success at the level of sports for all medals, and for each type of medal. Our results suggest that a country can maintain its performance in a sport for an average of 2.1 Olympic Games. The Kaplan-Meier survival function shows that about 85% of spells fail after a single Games The GDP, host country, Communist past, the number of medals in a sport and the duration of preceding medal winning period are associated with successive medal-winning. Population size and the number of previous discontinuous medal wins decrease duration of Olympic success.


The evolution of wireless networks has led to the deployment of different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) which are integrated through a common platform. Common Radio Resource Management (CRRM) was proposed to manage radio resource utilization in heterogeneous wireless networks and to provide the required Quality of Service (QoS) for allocated calls. RAT selection algorithms are an integral part of the CRRM algorithms. Their role is to decide, when a new or Vertical Handover (VHO) call is requested, which of the available RATs is most suitable to fit the need of the incoming call and when to admit them. This paper extends our earlier work on the proposed intelligent mobility optimization and proposes an intelligent hybrid cheapest cost RAT selection approach which aims to increase users' satisfaction by allocation users that are looking for cheapest cost connections to a RAT that offers the cheapest cost of service. A comparison for the performance of centralized load-balancing, proposed and distributed cheapest cost and mobility optimization algorithms is presented. Simulation results show that the proposed intelligent algorithms perform better than the centralized load-balancing and the distributed algorithms.


We have succeeded in growing single crystals of BaAl4-type CeTGa3 (T = Cu, Ag) by Ga self-flux method for the first time. In spite of several starting compositions, the resulting single crystals have partial replacement of T sites (2a sites) with Ga and their compositions are always the same, i.e., CeCu0.8Ga3.2 and CeAg0.7Ga3.3. For both compounds, a step like increase is observed at the low field in M(H) of a-axis at 1.8 K in addition to the strong enhancement below 5 K in M(T). The magnetic susceptibilities can be well explained by the crystalline electric field model. On the other hand, in p(T), distinct kinks are shown at 4.8 K for CeCu0.8Ga3.2 and at 3.9 K for CeAg0.7Ga3.3, but no clear −logT term are shown for both compounds. These results indicate that CeCu0.8Ga3.2 and CeAg0.7Ga3.3 are localized ferromagnets, which have easy axes of magnetization along a-axes, with the Curie temperature being 4.8 K and 3.9 K, respectively.


A 10-year retrospective study of 393 cases of blunt renal trauma was carried out to evaluate the use of a conservative approach to therapy in clinically stable patients with major renal injuries. Injuries were minor in 357 patients who were successfully treated conservatively. Major injuries occurred in 36 patients; 28 were treated conservatively. Of the 28, 17 had no complications. Seven required total or partial nephrectomy to control bleeding and four had drainage, one with marsupialization of a large renal cyst, 1 year after injury. The authors advocate conservative treatment of major blunt renal injuries in clinically stable patients.


The species composition and abundance of some landed fishes from three stations was studied to determine the length-weight relationship and species composition of fishes in Elechi creek. A total of one thousand specimens (1000) were recorded. A total of Ten(10) fin fish species: Eleotris Africana, Sardinella madarenis, Mugil cephalus, Tilapia guineensis, Periophthalmus papilio, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Pseudotolithus elongatus, Psettius sebae, Cynoglossus monody and Polydactylus quadrfllis belonging to Ten (10) families: Elotridae, Clupeidae, Mugilidae, Cichlidae, Periophtairnuidae, Bagridae, Sciaeridae, Monodactylidae, Cynogiossidae and Polynernidae were recorded. Sardinella maderenis of the family clupeidae accounted for the highest number (290) (29%) while cynoglossus monody (cynoglossidae) accounted for the lowest number (20) (20%).. The values of 'a' b and r for the respective species showed that Mugi cephalus had the highest growth exponent of 3(b 3.02) followed by the two species Tilapia guinensis and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus which all had positive allometric growth exponent (b=2.50). The species such as Pseudotilithus elongates had b value (b = 2.98) less than 3 (negative allometry).The coefficient of regression (r) for the respective species are as in Table 4.3. The highest 'r' value was observed in the species, Tilapia guineensis (r=0.97) while the least was observed in the species, Polydaclylus quandrfihis (0.25).


Although most of the radioactive fallout reaching the earth stays in the leaf layer and the top inch of soil, some is carried further into the soil and can be detected to a depth of several inches. This report describes a gammaray spectrometric study of fallout activity as a function of depth of soil. Total gamma activity deposited from recent tests was found to be over 1.5 curies per square mile at a site in eastern Indiana during July, 1962.


. It is shown that every symmetric convex body which satis(cid:12)es a kind of weak law of large numbers has the property that almost all its marginal distributions are approximately Gaussian. Several quite broad classes of bodies are shown to satisfy the condition.


Social conflict that occurred in Indonesia with a religious background is very concern. Religious pluralism should be the yardsticks religious tolerance in the midst of diversity, tolerant attitude of trust with fairness in order toward a civil society. In addition modernity allegedly subverts the social order because it creates an unfair economic system. The purpose of this writing to discuss religious pluralism with the value contained in it in terms of thinking Dawan Rahardjo, Nurcolish Madjid and John Hick with a contribution of modernity against the onset of social conflict. The research of religious pluralism in Indonesia namely according to Rahardjo addressed as a social integration as the Foundation behave because actual religions taught the values of public virtue while Madjid argued civil society is Home of democracy with an ethic of community as the quality of the life of democracy. Hick States pluralism as centering yourself towards the single reality of centering (of God) through different forms and ways. This diversity is vulnerable to conflict because of modernity triggered poverty, environmental destruction and communal violence. Therefore strengthening the education of multi religious and ethical global College absolutely implemented in an effort to create a civil society


A new method is presented for direct and reliable determination of the band edge offset in quantum well (QW) semiconductor heterostructures. It is based on luminescence measurements at various filling levels of the valence and conduction band quantum wells. Magnetoluminescence measurements were made to independently determine the effective masses. The conduction band offset to energy gap ratio for strained InxGa1-xAs QWS in an unstrained GaAs matrix was determined to be 0.79+or-0.05 for x=0.18 and 0.28.


Multiple penetration heat flow surveys that employ "violin bow" multithermistor array instruments generate large quantities of high-quality data. To cope with the problems associated with the reduction of these data, an algorithm has been developed which can be used to reduce the data automatically on a microcomputer. The algorithm is designed for use with a pulsed line source method of conductivity measurement, although it could be modified easily for use with the continuous line source method. The multiply iterative algorithm deals, on a sensor by sensor basis, with errors associated with nonideal probe construction and sediment entry, factors that affect the determination of both in situ temperatures and thermal conductivities. Numerical tests of the algorithm show that it is accurate and stable and fast enough for post-real-time reduction of data at sea. Practical tests on high-quality data from the western Pacific show that accuracies are limited by the instrumental resolution; in these cases, the reduction algorithm provided determinations of undisturbed in situ temperatures to better than 1 mK and of in situ conductivities to within 1%.


In the present study, a solid phase extraction procedure has been presented for the separation and preconcentration of aluminium (Al) and lead (Pb) in various matrixes such as water, cola and fruit juice samples. 4-[(3-amino-5-{[(2-hydroxyphenyl) methylidene] amino}-1H-pyrazol-4-yl) diazenyl] benzoic acid (AHPMAPDAB) was used as a ligand. AHPMAPDAB chelates of Al and Pb ions in aqueous solutions were adsorbed on polystyrene-graft-ethyl methacrylate copolymer (Poly S15-g-EMA120). Various experimental and analytical parameters such as sample solution pH, sample volume, flow rate of sample solution and eluent, volume and concentration of eluent, amount of ligand and adsorbent, effect of common matrix ions and capacity of adsorbent were investigated. The adsorbed metal ions on resin were eluted with 6 mL of 2 mol L−1 HCl solutions and their concentrations were determined by high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS FAAS). Under the optimised conditions, limits of detections were 0.32 μg L−1 and 0.24 μg L−1 for Al and Pb, respectively. The accuracy of the procedure was confirmed by analysing certified materials (NIST SRM 1643e, Trace elements in water) and spiked real samples. The developed procedure was successfully applied to real samples.


In the 1920s an international team of scientists and miners unearthed the richest evidence of human evolution the world had ever seen: Peking Man. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in the movement to bring science to the people. In a new state with twin goals of crushing superstition and establishing a socialist society, the story of human evolution was the first lesson in Marxist philosophy offered to the masses. At the same time, even Mao's populist commitment to mass participation in science failed to account for the power of popular culture - represented most strikingly in legends about the Bigfoot-like Wild Man - to reshape ideas about human nature."The People's Peking Man" is a skilled social history of Chinese paleoanthropology and a compelling cultural - and at times comparative - history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. By focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics, "The People's Peking Man" offers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.


Downhole dynamic compaction (DDC) has been commonly used in China to stabilize collapsible soil through the application of construction and demolition waste material (CDW). DDC basically forms a column inside the soil stratum which is similar to a stone column except DDC materials are put in sequence and then compacted by using DDC hammer. Due to its attractive features such as its big diameter, feasibility of using oversized material particles, rapid and simple construction technique, it is used as one of the ground improvement methods for an airport project in Indonesia. Despite of all the advantages provided by DDC, it is difficult to obtain DDC parameters from laboratory tests as it is difficult to replicate the compaction effort induced by the DDC hammer and laboratory tests are not commonly employed for oversized materials. Hence, alternative method is required to evaluate DDC parameters. In this study, static load test is conducted to determine load-deformation curve of the DDC pile. Soil parameters are first determined through soil test data such as standard penetration test (SPT), laboratory test and also pressure meter tests.  Correlation between pressure meter tests and SPT test result is also carried in order to interpret the soil parameter at the site. Axisymmetric finite element analysis is then carried by using MIDAS GTS NX in order to back analyses DDC parameters by matching the simulation curve with load settlement curve of the DDC. In this paper, it is shown that back analysis using hardening soil model for DDC material can be used to match simulation curve with the load-deformation curve.


In the industrial cluster, there is a supply chain network which has the competitive advantage of integrating enterprise resources and core abilities. In the supply chain network, this paper proposes two evolutionary game models of horizontal symmetrical and vertical asymmetric based on strong ties and weak ties of cluster enterprises cooperative behavior, studies evolutionary path and impact factors of cooperative behavior. The study shows that the evolutionary result of cooperative behavior depends on the initial status, assets return, return adjustment and network income of the cluster enterprises. lastly, this paper analyzes policy meaning of the result.


Research addressing the perspectives of physical therapists recently mandated to engage in continuing education (CE) is limited. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to identify physical therapy clinicians' and managers' views on its role and effectiveness. Participants were 23 physical therapists practicing at six different hospitals in Illinois. Qualitative methodology included participant interviews, document analysis, and field journals. Three major themes were identified: (1) attitudes toward CE and mandatory CE, (2) variables contributing to effective CE experiences, and (3) cautious optimism regarding the role of mandatory CE in the promotion of professional competence. This investigation details the need for evidence-based, clinically relevant, interactive CE presentations; ongoing discussion regarding the plausibility of increased national involvement in CE; and focused attention on overcoming obstacles associated with ineffective CE.


Results with the "sulfo-phospho-vanillin" reaction, much used for determining total serum lipids, have been favorably compared with those for the gravimetric method. We investigated the basic chemistry of the reaction and determined the reactivity of this single reagent with various lipids. Our results suggest that: (a) The reaction requires a carbon-carbon double bond. (b) Concentrated sulfuric acid reacts with unsaturated lipids in the initial step to form a carbonium ion. (c) Phosphoric acid reacts with vanillin to produce a phosphate ester, with a resulting increase in the reactivity of the carbonyl group. (d) The carbonium ion reacts with the carbonyl group of phosphovanillin to form a colored compound, which is stabilized by resonance. (e) Unsaturated compounds with more than one double bond react, but reaction may vary with steric hindrance. (f) The method is reasonably precise, but its accuracy depends primarily on the reference standard used.


We provide original descriptions for nine new species in the cheilostome bryozoan genus Cauloramphus (C. gracilis, C. Ordinarius, C. amphidisjunctus, C. cheliferoides, C. oshurkovi, C. infensus, C. parvus, C. peltatus, and C. ascofer) and a redescription of C. disjunctus Canu and Bassler, 1929. We delineate a group of eight species, here termed the 'C. disjunctus clade,' that have the opesial spine joints calcified to a greater or lesser extent in mature zooids; most also have paired, hypertrophied avicularia. This group includes C. amphidisjunctus, C. cheliferoides, C. infensus, C. parvus, C. peltatus, and C. ascofer in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska; C. oshurkovi in the Commander Islands; and C. disjunctus in Japan. High levels of apparent endemism in two unrelated bryozoan genera (Cauloramphus and Monoporella), and geographical population differentiation in C. ascofer indicating ongoing allopatric speciation, suggest high speciation rates for deep benthic bryozoans in the western Aleutians. A phylogenetic hypothesis for the C. disjunctus clade indicates that populations of Cauloramphus dispersed between the Aleutians and Asia on at least three separate occasions, and that the polarity of at least two of these dispersal events was from the Aleutians to Asia.


Since the Culham meeting in 1976, the awareness of atomic physics research needs for fusion applications and the volume of data produced for such applications has significantly increased. The present meeting fulfilled a useful function in summarizing the current fusion requirements and the status of the A+M data research work that has been performed since the Culham meeting.


This article investigates the recent resurgence of kinetic sound art in light of the relationship between art and material. It does this by studying the history of mechanical musical instruments and kinetic art, the role of immateriality in the history of Western art, and the renewed focus on materiality in the arts. Materiality is key to understanding the resurgence of kinetics in sound art. The first part of this article studies the historical narratives of materiality in sound art, while the second part investigates materiality in my own works as more contemporary examples. Here the text turns to exploration of the material and acoustic properties of metal rods and plates, and suggests that direct contact with sound-producing objects provides opportunities for new art forms where the morphology of sound can be developed in dialogue with the physical objects and the surrounding space. By examining the underlying acoustic principles of rods and plates, we get a deeper understanding of the relationship between mathematical models and the actual sounding objects. Using the acoustic model with basic input parameters enables us to explore the timbral possibilities of the sound objects. This allows us to shape the spectrum of acoustic sound objects with great attention to detail, and makes models from spectromorphology relevant during the construction of the objects. The physical production of sound objects becomes both spectral composition and shaping of spatial objects. This highlights the importance of knowledge of both materials and acoustic principles, and questions the traditional perception of sound art and music as immaterial art forms.


Background:  The Rwanda Human Resources for Health (HRH) is a seven-year program to build collaboration and partnership in health education between the Rwandan Ministry of Health (MoH) and many of the leading US educational institutions. The MoH has a commitment to meet the health needs of Rwandan citizens by 2020. The goals of HRH are accomplished through interventions to address the country's most challenging obstacles in high-quality healthcare: a critical shortage of skilled health workers; challenges in health worker education; and inadequate infrastructure and equipment in health facilities. The School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Rwanda was selected in 2011 to participate in the HRH program. In addition, the MOH has partnered with a consortium of 23 top US institutions of medicine, nursing, health management, and oral health in the Rwanda HRH program. The University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) College of Nursing is a member of the consortium of nursing colleges working with the HRH program in Rwanda. Description:  The HRH program is designed so that at the end of the 7 years, there will be sufficient Rwandan educators, infrastructure, and domestic funding to sustain the upgraded health care and health sciences education system after international funding is phased out. The Rwanda HRH Program is heavily focused on raising the skill level of the nursing and midwifery workforce. Since 2012, UIC's College of Nursing has recruited 9 midwives and 17 nurses to work in locations throughout Rwanda. Lessons Learned:  Contributing to global health, particularly for nurses and midwives, is a key goal of the UIC College of Nursing. During the first 3 years of the program, supporting Rwandan faculty by pairing with full-time UIC nursing and midwifery partners has resulted in numerous innovations in educational approaches and clinical practice. In addition we have learned that context is critical to the reciprocal learning that has occurred. Conclusion:  Our poster described the highlights of the collaborative work between the members of the UIC faculty and their Rwandan counterparts. We also delineated the role of the UIC College of Nursing in facilitating the collaboration and ongoing support for the HRH- Rwandan team since the inception of the program. Keywords: global health, collaboration, nursing and midwifery, human resources for health


This book chapter considers the many difficulties involved in attempting to regulate physicians' financial conflicts within the U.S. and Canadian Medicare programs. All trends seem to be leading toward an increasing array of conflicts of interest for physicians as gatekeepers. Such conflicts merit serious concern regarding the allocation of governmental healthcare services, as they threaten to compromise physician judgment, bias clinical decisions, and create cost pressures. However, a more aggressive and tightly regulated approach to dealing with such conflicts can easily result in the imposition of overly broad bans. As a cautionary example, the chapter looks to the U.S. experience in trying to restrict hospital-physician gainsharing. Under gainsharing programs, hospitals typically reward their medical staff physicians with bonuses for contributing to productivity improvements for the institution. U.S. regulation of gainsharing has been heavy-handed and counterproductive, crowding out potentially important disease management programs that could therapeutically benefit patients as well as undermining productivity and quality reforms aimed at better managing the use of expensive new medical technology. Gainsharing may be better managed through regulatory safe harbors and other safeguards, rather than through the imposition of broad restrictions. The chapter concludes by considering how gainsharing may be a useful strategy for experimenting with health care reform within the U.S. and Canadian Medicare programs.


: Observation and identification are important issues for the practical use of compartmental models of epidemic dynamics. Usually, the state and parameters of the epidemic model are evaluated based on the number of infected individuals (the prevalence) or the newly infected cases (the incidence). Other estimation techniques, for example, based on the exploitation of the proportion of primo-infected individuals (easily retrievable data), are rarely considered. We are thus interested in a general question: may the measure of the number of primo-infected individuals and the prevalence improve simultaneous state and parameter estimation? In this paper, we design a nonlinear adaptive observer for a simple infection model with waning immunity and consequent reinfections to answer this question. The practical asymptotic stability of the estimation errors is then proved using the Lyapunov function method. Finally, the convergence of the observer is illustrated in simulations.


Energy has become increasingly very essential for the growth and development of every nation. However, in Ghana there is a shortfall of energy supply amidst growing demand. Using data from the World Bank Indicators, the study therefore investigates the impact of growth, industrialization, urbanization and trade openness on the energy consumption in Ghana. A Johansen cointegration test shows a long-run relationship exist among all the variables. In the short run, trade openness reduces energy consumption, while income and industrialization increases consumption. The coefficient of urbanization was found to be positive though was not significant. In the long-run trade openness and urbanization increased energy consumption while income reduces energy consumption. The error correction term shows an average or moderate speed of adjustment implying that after a shock from previous year; approximately 50% of the disequilibria from the previous year's shock converge back to the long-run equilibrium in the current year. Conclusions and policy recommendations are provided.


The feasibility of determining the mass of both viable and infarcted myocardium from tomographic images of thallium-201 distribution in the heart was studied in two normal dogs and ten dogs with acute infarction. Twenty-four hours after occlusion, thallium-201 was injected and 10 min later the hearts were removed and transaxial emission computed tomograms were obtained. Using the computer, an operator defined the epi- and endocardial surfaces of the left ventricle and the area of infarction in each tomogram. The computer then calculated values for total left-ventricular mass (TLVM) infarcted mass (IM) and the percentage of the left ventricle infarcted (% LVI). The calculated values were compared with measured weights, and good correlation was found between them: for TLVM, r = 0.87; for IM, r = 0.90; and for %LVI, r = 0.87. Good interobserver and intra-observer correlations were also found. Thallium-201 emission computed tomography offers a potential means to measure both myocardial mass and acute myocardial injury.


Objective: To define a new type of head pain syndrome termed "cranial suture headache" which is a localized headache originating along the cranial suture lines of the skull. Background: Well localized headaches maybe extracranial in origin. As trigeminal nociceptors are localized within the cranial sutures of the skull, these fibrous joints maybe the source of head pain for some patients. Methods: Case series. To diagnose cranial suture headache, the patient's pain had to be localized to the skull and elicited/mimicked by mild to moderate palpation over one or more distinct cranial suture lines. Results: Ten cases are presented. Most of the patients were women (9/10). The headache started daily from onset in all cases. Range of age of headache onset was 32–64 years. Headache was one sided, unless confined to the midline and typically lacked any migrainous and/or cranial autonomic symptoms. Most cranial suture headaches localized to either the sagittal, coronal or squamosal suture lines. Headache duration prior to diagnosis was on average 8.5 years. Triggering events: three began immediately after head trauma, two had very remote head trauma, one was post infectious, one was post craniotomy, while three patients had no known triggering event. All patients were treatment refractory failing at least three preventive medications. All improved with localized anesthetic injection to the suture line(s) and/or onabotulinum toxin A injection only to the cranial sutures. Discussion: Without the recognition of cranial suture-based pain, patients may have unremitting headaches that can last years to decades. The observation that "cranial suture" headache improves with localized treatment only to the cranial sutures would seem to suggest the extracranial origin of the pain.


Two dimensional charged black holes in string theory can be obtained as exact (SL(2,) × U(1)) / U(1) quotient CFTs. The geometry of the quotient is induced from that of the group, and in particular includes regions beyond the black hole singularities. Moreover, wavefunctions in such black holes are obtained from gauge invariant vertex operators in the SL(2,) CFT, hence their behavior beyond the singularity is determined. When the black hole is charged we find that the wavefunctions are smooth at the singularities, and known results of infinite blue shifts at the horizons persist. Unlike the uncharged case, scattering waves prepared beyond the singularity are not fully reflected; part of the wave is transmitted through the singularity. Hence, the physics outside the horizon of a charged black hole is sensitive to conditions set behind the past singularity.


In this paper, we describe the incorporation of learning and reuse of experience into behavior-based service robot systems. Experience is context based, and the learned experience is associated with its relevant behaviors. Object constraints are obtained by virtual object movements in image space. In addition to retaining the key properties of behavior-based systems, our approach also has the planning ability to recover from errors and to imitate an object pattern shown by humans. Experiments on a real physical robot system have successfully tested the approach.


The 25 year period of transition in newly independent post-USSR states did not bring either of them to a desired target – mid-European level of economy. Against this sad background China represents a unique example of successful economic reforms, which lead to rapid economic development and accelerated increase of leaving standards. In spite of structural and legislative changes, the success of China's economic reforms was determined by extensive industrialization based on downstream processing of national and imported primary commodities. Privatization in this sector and support of private businesses was expressed by creation of corresponding financial instruments and, first of all, by foundation of commodity exchanges of the global importance. The phase of extensive economic development has not been finished in China yet, however, such extensive development cannot be sustainable for more than 8-10 years, and the greatest challenge for China will be a step-by-step construction of a post-industrial economy and society in coming years. Example of China may show a guideline for the newly independent states: only synergetic amalgamation of, on one hand, a civil society and, on the other hand, sustainable exploitation of national natural resources and downstream processing of national primary commodities may ensure irreversible merging of newly independent states into the civilized world.


We consider the problem of providing ubiquitous IPv6 Internet connectivity to vehicles compliant with IEEE WAVE standard. In particular, we take advantage of two realistic technology trends. On the one hand, IEEE 802.11p interfaces should be mandatory on the On-Board Units (OBUs) but the Road-Side Units (RSUs) deployment will not be immediate. This unavoidable deployment phase slows down the services availability and ITS protocols deployment. On the other hand, car manufacturers have already started equipping their OBUs with 3GPP cellular interfaces (provisioning for LTE) to enable specific car services (remote diagnosis, enter-tainment). We propose to explore the area of inter-vehicles to infrastructure (V2V2I) communication paradigm. We also set fundamental technical requirements enabling IPv6-ready OBUs to access the infrastructure during this deployment phase, and ensure ubiquitous IPv6 Internet access later over LTE. In particular, we compare V2V2I with other vehicular networking models and establish the technical constraints and limits of this paradigm. In order to access the global infrastructure, we satisfy two essential networking requirements for 802.11p-only vehicles: global addresses and specific routes.


Studies have suggested that drinking leads to promiscuity and sexual risk taking. This claim, however, has not remained unchallenged, and several investigations have suggested this relationship may be at best limited to a narrow band of sexual behavior or at worst entirely spurious. An on-line survey about two discrete sexual events: one with intercourse, one without college students (a smaller subsample was used to examine crucial hypotheses) completed by 216 (148 female). Within-subjects analyses yielded no evidence indicating that condom use was less prevalent when alcohol was consumed regardless of relationship status (casual or romantic partners). Alcohol was consumed more often during noncoital events. Among females, intercourse events showed higher levels of arousal and perceived benefits and lower perceived costs and internal conflict than noncoital events, suggesting a rather rational decision-making process even when under the influence. Stable personality and behavioral dimensions (sociosexuality, impulsivity/sensation seeking, sociability, and usual drinking) provided a better explanation for sexual risk taking than acute alcohol effects.


Accurate assessment of health disparities requires unbiased knowledge of genetic risks in different populations. Unfortunately, most genetic association studies use genotyping arrays and European samples. Here, we integrate whole genome sequence data, GWAS results, and computer simulations to examine how ascertainment bias causes disease risks to be mis-inferred in non-study populations. We find that genetic disease risks are substantially overestimated for individuals with African ancestry - risk allele frequencies at known disease loci are 1.15% higher on average in Africa. These patterns hold for multiple disease classes (e.g., cancer, gastrointestinal, morphological, and neurological diseases). A contributing factor to this bias is that existing genotyping arrays are enriched for SNPs that have higher frequencies of ancestral alleles in Africa. Computer simulations of GWAS that use samples from bottlenecked non-African populations recapitulate regional differences in allele frequencies at disease susceptibility loci. These differences cause genetic disease risks to be overestimated for individuals with African ancestry and underestimated for individuals with non-African ancestry. We find that the extent of ascertainment bias depends on the genotyping platform used, numbers of cases and controls, demographic history, the proportion of ancestral vs. derived risk alleles, and choice of study population (African GWAS are less biased). Importantly, biases are only moderately reduced if GWAS use whole genome sequences and hundreds of thousands of cases and controls. Our results indicate that caution must be taken when using GWAS results from one population to predict disease risks in another population.


The activation of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and carp, Cyprinus carpio, phagocytic cells by synthetic chum salmon, O. keta, beta-endorphin was analysed in vitro. Rainbow trout head kidney leukocytes were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium containing 1, 10, 50 or 100 ng ml-1 of chum salmon beta-endorphin and the production of superoxide anion was measured via the reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) in vitro. Macrophages incubated with 10 ng ml-1 up to 100 ng ml-1 of beta-endorphin showed an increase in their production of superoxide anion in comparison with control macrophages which were cultured without hormone. beta-endorphin also increased the production of superoxide anion in phagocytic cells prepared from kidney of carp. This stimulation was inhibited by naloxone. Phagocytic cells treated with beta-endorphin also displayed increased phagocytic activity and phagocytic index. These results showed that beta-endorphin in lower vertebrates activates the function of phagocytic cells in vitro.


Abstract The paper presents results from the experimental testing of load-bearing timber–glass composite shear walls and beams. Shear wall specimens measuring 1200 × 2400 mm2 manufactured with three adhesives of varying stiffness were tested. Twelve specimens with a single 10 mm thick glass pane and one specimen with an additional insulating glass unit were produced. The testing procedures involved various loading conditions: pure vertical load and different combinations of shear and vertical loading. The test results showed that the adhesive had only a minor influence on the buckling load which was the main failure mechanism. 240 mm high and 4800 mm long timber–glass beams manufactured with adhesives of different stiffness were tested. For the webs, two types of glass were used: annealed float and heat-strengthened glass, in both cases 8 mm thick panes were used. In total, 12 beams were tested in four-point bending until failure. Despite the considerable difference in adhesive stiffness, beam bending stiffness was similar. Concerning load-bearing capacity, the beams with heat-strengthened glass were approximately 50% stronger than the beams made using annealed float glass.