Summary Objectives: We here aimed to investigate our pediatric group of patients to reveal the comorbidity of epilepsy and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnias and their clinical and polysomnographic characteristics. Methods: We retrospectively investigated all patients at the age of 18 or younger internalized within the last two years patients for a full night polysomnographic evaluation in our Sleep and Wake Disorders Unit. The diagnosis of epilepsy was made on the basis of clinical findings and electroencephalography findings; and the diagnosis of NREM parasomnia was made according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Results: A total of 29 male (67.4%) and 14 female (32.6%) patients were investigated. Nineteen (44.2%) out of 43 patients were diagnosed as epilepsy. Nine (47.4%) of the patients with epilepsy also had delta-alpha paroxysms (DAP) and partial wakefulness during sleep – which are the characteristics polysomnographic features of NREM parasomnias. Conclusion: We observed a high comorbidity of epilepsy and NREM parasomnia in pediatric group of patients investigated in our sleep center. The arousal parasomnias are increasingly being reported to be more common in patients with epilepsy, probably due to shared common physiopathological mechanism characterized by pathological arousals originating in abnormal thalamo-cortical circuits produced by the central pattern generators.


INTRODUCTION
During years the pharmacology of the lower urinary tract function has been presided by the protagonism of the autonomic nervous system and its components, sympathetic and parasympathetic. Recent investigations proved a greater complexity of micturional dynamics, attributing a more important role to the central nervous system (SNC), to the striated sphincter and to the afferent arc, offering a new opportunity to the Tricyclic Antidepressants (T.A.), reason for this general review.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Using as reference the work of the First Consultation on Incontinence (Montecarlo, 1999), the previous and later publications about T.A. have been reviewed, including experimental (isometric and "in vivo" studies) and clinical studies, investigating on pharmacological evidences, mechanism of action, tolerance and other effects of T.A.

RESULTS
Only a reduced group of T.A. have been submitted to experimental evaluations and employed in clinical trials. The recent works on Duloxetine have waked up a special interest by their pharmacological potential.

CONCLUSIONS
New knowledge on the peripheral and central control of the continence-miction dynamic offer new pathways for the treatment with T.A., whose effectiveness and tolerance are reviewed.


OBJECTIVE
To search for the main differential points in clinical and CSF changes between patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and cryptococcal meningitis (CCM).

METHODS
Fifty three cases of TBM and 55 cases of CCM who admitted to hospital from February 1983 to December 1997 were investigated retrospectively. Main symptoms, signs and CSF changes before administration of specific antibiotics were compared.

RESULTS
9%(5/53) TBM and 49% (27/55) CCM patients had headache without fever at the onset. The incidences of symptoms of failing eyesight, hearing loss and paralysis of extremities were 13% (7/53) and 36%(20/55), 2% (1/53) and 16% (9/55), and 19% (10/53) and 0 in TBM and CCM patients respectively. The rate and the degrees of optic papilla edema in CCM patients (66%, 16/36 slight, 13/36 moderate, and 7/36 serious) were significantly higher and more serious than that in TBM (15%, 8/8 slight). The patients with initial CSF pressure over 400 mm H2O were 11% and 90% in TBM and CCM. All but 20 CCM patients had elevation of CSF protein content, and 45% (24/53) TBM and 9%(5/55) CCM were > 2 g/L.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the most important differences between TBM and CCM are: headache not accompanied by fever at the onset, failing eyesight, striking elevation of initial CSF pressure, moderately and serious degree of optic papilla edema, normal CSF protein content occurs usually in CCM more than those in TBM patients. On the other hand, striking elevation of CSF protein content (> 2 g/L) occurs usually in TBM patients.


The article describes the common and distinctive features of methodological support in the field of higher education in civilian and military schools. The authors generated the recommendations for exchange of experience in the formation of methodological support of the higher civilian and military schools.


Abstract : This first combined quarterly and biannual report to Congress provides initial details of the programs and operations that support the U.S. strategy to counter the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including military operations under the complex overseas contingency operation (OCO) known as Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). The Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) agencies the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG), Department of State Office of Inspector General (DoS OIG), and U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) have responsibility for oversight reporting on the OCO. The U.S. airstrikes to support counter-ISIL efforts in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014 and are considered part of the OIR contingency designation. A month after these targeted attacks began, on September 10, 2014, President Obama announced a broader strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL. Six days later, President Obama appointed General John Allen (USMC, retired) as the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. His main focus is to help build membership, integrate capabilities, maintain cohesion, and sustain the international coalition efforts in a comprehensive, international strategy to defeat ISIL. More than 60 partners have joined the international coalition to support a broad diplomatic, economic, and military response to ISIL. In October 2014, the military mission for Iraq and Syria was named OIR, and on October 17, the Secretary of Defense designated it an OCO. Pursuant to section 8L of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency designated DoD Inspector General Jon T. Rymer as the Lead Inspector General for OIR on December 17, 2014. Inspector General Rymer immediately appointed DoS Inspector General Steve A. Linick as the Associate Inspector General for OIR to act in a coordinating role.


The definitions of innovation have been transformed a lot over time since Schumpeter introduced his concept. Even recently one of the most prestigious innovation management references, the Oslo Manual have changed its concept. One rarely discussed aspect of the concept of innovation is that most of the definitions are referring to the business sector; only a few of them are referring to any kinds of organizations, including non-profit and governmental organizations. Any kind of organization must innovate sooner or later; therefore they have to learn how to manage innovation effectively and efficiently. That is why the broad type of definitions is recommended, involving not only for-profit organizations but non-profit and governmental organizations as well.


From the Publisher:
Created by a team of expert developers and trainers, Inside 3D Studio MAX 3 is a focused, sophisticated guide to increasing your productivity with 3D Studio MAX 3. Containing case studies, as well as real-world problems and solutions, this book is an accurate, insightful, must-have resource whether you're a MAX novice or an experienced user. The authors have created hands-on tutorials that enable you to arrive at practical solutions to actual problems. Each chapter features highlighted information that's specific to MAX 3, with clearly written text that helps you understand the how and the why of using MAX's production tools. And they've included inspirational images and informative examples in different artistic styles, making the book easy to use and directly applicable to your needs, Practical solutions, background information, expert advice, and inspirational artwork: the combination makes this the most comprehensive reference available.


The invention relates to a strip-pack apparatus, and a gripping device and an unwrinkling device to be used in the apparatus, and to manufacture a strip pack efficiently. In the strip-pack apparatus for adhering a tape to a seal portion (Z) of a gripped bag (X), the gripping device (or gripping unit) for gripping the bag (X) grips the seal portion (Z) from the side of the seal portion (Z) to be adhered to the tape. The gripping unit grips the seal portion (Z) on the two sides of the gripping zone. The strip-pack apparatus further includes a brush unit (7) for unwrinkling the seal portion (Z), and the gripping unit grips the seal portion (Z) on the two sides of the brush unit (7).


Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are an innovative institutional model to channel financing and knowledge to developing countries. In Latin America, the balance of forces between competition and collaboration among MDBs and other sources of development finance have formed a system that is decentralized and client-oriented. The author analyzes three types of relationships between MDBs to show areas of strength in their operations and future potential, using a great amount of quantitative data from the annual reports and financial databases of MDBs that the FORO Nacional Internacional research program has been tracking periodically.


Biosynthesis of very long chain (>C(18)) fatty acids (VLCFAs) and the pathway for their incorporation into acyl lipids was studied in microspore-derived (MD) and zygotic embryos of Brassica napus L. cv Reston. In the presence of [1-(14)C]oleoyl-coenzyme A or [1-(14)C] eicosenoyl-coenzyme A, malonyl-coenzyme A, and reducing equivalents, maximal in vitro elongation activity was expressed in protein preparations from early-mid cotyledonary stage MD embryos (17-20 days in culture), when endogenous eicosenoic (20:1) and erucic (22:1) acids were just beginning to accumulate (approximately 1.5 milligrams per gram dry weight). The biosynthesis of VLCFAs and their incorporation into glycerolipids in vitro in the MD embryo system occurred at rates comparable to those measured in developing zygotic Reston embryos at about 20 days postanthesis. When glycerol-3-phosphate was supplied as acyl acceptor in time-course experiments using homogenates prepared from 18-day MD embryos, newly synthesized [(14)C]20:1 and [(14)C]22:1 were incorporated primarily into triacylglycerols (TAGs) and, to a lesser extent, into lyso-phosphatidic/phosphatidic acids, diacylglycerols, and phosphatidylcholines as well as the acyl-coenzyme A and free fatty acid pools. [(14)C]24:1 was not detected in any acyl lipid. Stereospecific analyses of the radiolabeled TAGs indicated that [(14)C]20:1 and [(14)C]22:1 moieties were esterified predominantly at the sn-3 position, but were also found at the sn-1 position. [(14)C]20:1, but not [(14)C]22:1, was detected at the sn-2 position. Similar patterns of (14)C-labeled VLCFA distribution were obtained in experiments conducted using a 15,000g pellet fraction from 18-day MD embryos. All trends observed in the formation of TAGs containing VLCFAs in the Reston MD embryo system were also confirmed in studies of zygotic embryos of the same cultivar. The data support the biosynthesis of 20:1 and then 22:1 via successive condensations of malonyl-coenzyme A with oleoyl-coenzyme A and, for the first time in B. napus, demonstrate the incorporation of newly synthesized VLCFAs into TAGs via the Kennedy pathway.


Street-vended ready-to-eat food sold in Egypt, including sandwiches and dishes of traditional food, was examined for the presence of Listeria species. Out of 576 samples, 24% were found to contain Listeria species. L. monocytogenes and L. innocua were isolated from 57% and 39% of the contaminated samples, respectively. Other Listeria spp. were detected with lower frequency. L. monocytogenes of ≥103 CFU/g were detected in 7% of the total examined samples, which represent 49% of the contaminated food samples (meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, and products of plant origin). Most of the samples contaminated by L. monocytogenes had high levels of total viable bacterial counts. The results obtained may help to clarify the epidemiology of listeriosis in the country and draw the attention of the decision makers to issue hygienic regulations for food processing industries as well as street vendors in order to ensure safe street-vended ready-to-eat food.


Schwannoma is a benign tumor that often occurs in the posterior mediastinum and arises from the sympathetic or in-tercostal nerve. The majority of cases are not symptomatic, and an operation is performed without a pathological diag-nosis. Case: A 69-year-old woman complaining of a chronic cough underwent computed tomography (CT) for the inspec-tion of a gastric submucosal tumor (SMT). Incidentally, it showed a cyctic tumor on the dorsal side of the left main bronchus, surrounded by the descending aorta and esophagus. We conducted endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) and diagnosed it as a schwannoma pathologically. The nodule affected the bronchial wall, and so was a sus-pected cause of coughing. We removed the tumor by thoracoscopic surgery, and it was revealed that it originated from the vagus nerve. It is difficult to diagnose a middle mediastinal tumor preoperatively because it could be close to critical organs and vessels. Although needle biopsy involves a risk of bleeding, we could make a preoperative diagnosis. We en-countered the rare case of a symptomatic middle mediastinum schwannoma that originated from the vagus nerve.


Cell suspensions obtained from the testes of 13.5-14.5 day post coitum (dpc) mouse embryos reaggregate in cord-like structures following in vitro culture for 24 h on a reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel). Ovarian cells of the same fetal age or cell suspensions from sex indifferent gonadal ridges (11.5 dpc embryos) form an organized cell network but not cord-like structures. Antibodies directed against laminin or against the alpha 6 subunit of its integrin receptor prevent such morphogenetic processes. The addition of 5 micrograms/ml cycloheximide, cytochalasin B or tunicamycin also inhibits the phenomenon. Interestingly, compounds that increase intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) (dbcAMP, forskolin and isobutyl-1-methylxanthine) induce embryonic testicular cells to organize into structures similar to those assembled by ovarian or sex indifferent cell suspensions. These findings offer a simple in vitro model for studying some aspects of early gonad development and provide novel experimental evidence that cell motility and cell-cell adhesion, possibly regulated by cAMP dependent mechanisms, are likely to play an important role in gonad morphogenesis.


Wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) are expected to be come fundamental technologies supporting machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and the internet of things (IoT). However, wireless sensors face inherent limitations because they must provide high demand response (DR) despite severely limited battery power. In an effort to achieve both power-saving characteristics in addition to high DR, we are working on research and development of radio-on-demand sensor and actuator networks (ROD-SANs), in which each node is equipped with a wake-up receiver that allows all nodes to stay in sleep mode most of the time, and transmit only after a wake-up signal is received. Since the wake-up signal can also include channel information, the sender nodes can direct the receiver nodes to switch communication channels when needed. However, as the number of nodes using the same channel increases, packet collisions occur more frequently, thereby degrading response performance. On the other hand, frequent channel switching inevitably increases channel switching delays. To simultaneously reduce both packet collisions and channel switching delays, we have extended the average-channel-utilization-based channel switching (ACS) scheme, discussed in our previous work on single-hop communication in a way that allows it to provide efficient performance in multi-hop communication. In this paper, based on simulations, we show how our scheme can improve the delivery ratio performance by approximately 20%.


Recombination frequencies were determined for 15 independently isolated auxotrophs of C. crescentus crossed pairwise in all possible combinations. The results indicate that the mutants may be grouped into at least two types: "fertile" strains, which recombine with all other mutants at frequencies ranging from less than 10-6 to 3 times 10-2, and "nonfertile" strains which recombine with fertile strains at high frequencies and with other nonfertile strains at low or negligible frequencies. Several lines of evidence indicate a polarized inheritance of markers. Two of these are (1) the preferential inheritance of unselected markers from the nonfertile parent in fertile times nonfertile crosses, and (2) the consistent ordering of markers based on the frequency at which the mutants recombine with each of the three fertile strains. Although the evidence is not conclusive at this point, the results are most consistent with conjugation at the mechanism of gene transfer in these bacteria.


With increased drilling activity associated with development of unconventional reservoirs, many operators are reporting both stimulation and production interference between wells. Interference between existing production wells (parent wells) and newly completed infill wells (child wells) is often associated with production impairment (Marongiu-Porcu et al. 2015; Ajisafe et al. 2017; Defeu et al. 2018 and Manchanda et al. 2018a). The objective of this work is to develop guidelines concerning infill wells completion scheme to minimize parent-child wells interference in a typical pad, with infill drilling in the Duvernay formation.
 The area of interest selected within the Duvernay formation consists of three parent wells and two child wells. An integrated mechanical earth model (MEM) was constructed for the area using public databases. The created 3D-geological model included petrophysical and geomechanical properties along with a 2D discrete natural-fracture network representing the distribution of natural fractures in the reservoir. Hydraulic fractures in parent wells were modeled using original stress settings from the 3D-MEM. Then, a dynamic model was constructed for the three parent wells and production simulation was run for five years. Pressure distribution at the time when child wells came into production was extracted and 3D depleted stress distribution was computed using a finite element method that included the effect of pore pressure decrease and principal stress magnitude and orientation changes. Then, hydraulic fracture modeling was performed for the two child wells using the new depleted stress distribution, and finally a five-well dynamic model was created. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the hydraulic fracture parameters of the child wells with the objective of maximizing recovery by accessing more virgin reservoir area between the parent wells. Hydraulic fracture modeling followed by dynamic simulation was done in the pad for multiple cases. Fracture geometry, hydraulic/propped surface area, and fracture conductivity in child wells were extracted and analyzed against production performance of the wells.
 This study shows a holistic approach in modeling the impact of completion modifications on the child wells performance in an infill drilling scenario. A 3D-geomechanical model coupled with reservoir simulation allowed simulating the propagation of hydraulic fractures in the presence of pressure depleted regions. Results confirmed that the main reason for under-performance of child wells in Duvernay is the stress change induced by the reservoir pressure depletion associated with the parent wells production hence, influencing the child wells hydraulic fractures propagation patterns.


The 18 extranuclear mutants of Neurospora crassa, without exception, have abnormal mitochondrial respiratory systems. On the basis of genetic, phenotypic and physiological criteria, these mutants are divided into four groups: 1) the cytochrome aa3 and b deficient "poky" variants that are defective in mitochondrial ribosomes assembly, 2) the cytochrome aa3 deficient mutants, [mi-3] and [exn-5], that appear to have genetic lesions affecting a component of a regulatory system controlling cytochrome aa3 synthesis, 3) the cytochrome aa3 and b deficient "stopper" mutants with physiological lesions that probably affect mitochondrial protein synthesis, and 4) cni-3, a mutant that is constitutive for an inducible mitochondrial cyanide-insensitive oxidase in spite of having a normal cytochrome mediated electron-transport system. It is proposed that the mitochondrial genophore not only codes for cellular components that are essential for the formation of the mitochondrial protein synthesizing apparatus, but also for components of a regulatory system that coordinates the expression of nuclear and mitochondrial genes during the biogenesis of the mitochondrial electorn-transport system.


Lithium is widely used and the treatment of choice for patients with manic-depressive illness. For pregnant patients with manic-depressive illness, however, the use of lithium during the first trimester of pregnancy may present an increased risk for fetal maldevelopment. We have recently cared for several large-for-gestational-age, prematurely born infants whose mothers were treated with lithium throughout pregnancy. To determine whether maternal lithium use during pregnancy may predispose to the onset of premature labor and fetal macrosomia, we reviewed records from the International Register of Lithium Babies and from a cohort of manic-depressive pregnant women. More than one third (36%) of infants reported to the International Register were born prematurely, and 37% of the premature infants were large for gestational age; 15% of the term infants were born large for gestational age. In the cohort group, manic-depressive mothers who received lithium during pregnancy had a 2.5-fold higher incidence of premature births than manic-depressive pregnant patients who did not receive lithium treatment. The incidence of large-for-gestational-age births in lithium-treated women in the cohort was not different from that of the general population or from manic-depressive women not treated with lithium. In summary, an association between maternal lithium therapy and premature delivery is reported. We recommend that women receiving lithium therapy during pregnancy be closely monitored for the onset of premature labor.


ABSTRACT Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of plant steroids that are known to elicit remarkable growth responses such as growth, seed germination, rhizogenesis, senescence, flowering, abscission, maturation, and also confer resistance on plants against various abiotic stresses. Brassinosteroids increase chlorophyll breakdown and inhibit anthocyanin biosynthesis. In this study the effect of epibrassinolide (epi-BL) on pigment content, soluble protein content, and peroxidase (POD) activity was investigated in excised cotyledons of cucumber seedlings. The cucumber seedlings were grown in dark conditions for 9 days and then their etiolated cotyledons were harvested. After that, they were transferred into Petri dishes containing 10−7 mol/L, 10−9 mol/L and 10−11 mol/L epi-BL. Cotyledons were incubated for 14 h in the dark at room temperature, then they were incubated in light for 3 h. Results showed that epi-BL affected the chlorophyll and carotenoid content, but no significant changes were observed when compared with the control.


In the knowledge based society, organizations often encounter problems as they seek to manage knowledge. Consequently, they try to identify the causes of these problems and find solutions. In this article, we develop a knowledge management problems-causes-solutions framework that encompasses: problems associated with knowledge creation, storage/retrieval, transfer and application; causes, including organizational, human-related and technical dimensions; and both IT and non-IT solutions. Survey data from 143 junior knowledge workers is analyzed in a preliminary verification of the framework. The importance of the framework and its implications for knowledge management research and practice are discussed.


The etiology of kidney stones is divided in three broad categories: (i) Metabolic abnormalities that lead to excessive urinary excretion of solutes those are susceptible to crystallization or reduced excretion of inhibitors of crystallization (ii) Anatomic defects that cause disturbances in voiding or urinary stasis (iii) Idiopathic. The laboratory assessment has focused on 24-hour urine collections to measure excretion of calcium, oxalate, citrate, cystine, uric acid, magnesium, and creatinine, selective blood tests, and imaging studies to determine renal structure and function. This article reviews recent data suggesting that the incidence of kidney stones is rising in children and adolescents.


An ideal I of a ring A is essentially nilpotent if I contains a nilpotent ideal N of A such that J⋂N≠0 whenever J is a nonzero ideal of A contained in I. We show that each ring A has a unique largest essentially nilpotent ideal EN(A). We study the properties of EN(A) and, in particular, we investigate how this ideal behaves with respect to related rings.


INTRODUCTION
Lower urinary tract infections (LUTI) are one of the most common diseases among women. The risk of LUTI increases with the onset of peri- and postmenopause. Vulvovaginal atrophy occurs in 30% of women aged 55 years and 75% of women aged 70 years. Currently, local hormone therapy is the main method of its treatment. However, different variants of complex therapy are also used.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study included 60 women aged with the diagnosis: "Postmenopausal atrophic vaginitis. Chronic recurrent bacterial cystitis in the acute stage". The patients were divided into 2 groups of 30 people. In group 1 was carried out etiotropic antibiotic therapy in combination with local use of single-agent preparation or estriol for 3 months. In group 2, the patients received antibiotics in combination with Triozhinal for 3 months. The effectiveness was monitored on the 1st and 7th day of therapy, as well as 3 months after the start of treatment.

RESULTS
At admission in both groups there were signs of vulvovaginal atrophy and exacerbation of chronic cystitis. Complex therapy with Triozhinal, containing lyophilized culture of lactobacilli L. casei rhamnosus Doderleini, contributed to the normalization of PH, restoration of vaginal biocinosis, and, consequently, reduce the severity of complaints of dryness and burning in the vagina, dyspareunia. Thus, despite the reduction of symptoms in the majority of women, the proportion of such patients in group 2 was higher and amounted to 96.7% against 83.3% in group 1. Supportive reception of the drug for 3 months. it allowed to preserve the normocinosis of the vagina until the restoration of its trophic, as well as to reduce the frequency of bacteriuria and leukocyturia by 20% compared with the results of group 1, and to significantly reduce the number of relapses of infection (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Triozhinal improves the results of treatment of recurrent urinary infection in women with vulvovaginal atrophy in peri- and postmenopausal and can be recommended for use in combination therapy.


The fusion gene of human beta-endorphin was cloned into the shuttle plasmid pDC312-AAVEE with the method of molecular bilology. The latter and genomic plasmids were cotransfected into HEK293 to package the Adenovirus/Adeno-associated hybrid virus containing fusion gene of human beta-endorphin. The hybrid virus was identified with the method of PCR. The titer of proliferated virus, after purified, was determined by TCID50. The expression of transgene was studied after the hybrid virus infected the cultured cells, through testing the concentration of expressed product in the culture liquid by ELISA. It was identified that the sequence of fusion gene of human beta-endorphin was correctly inserted into the genome of hybrid virus, and not contaminated by wild type virus. The titer of Ad/AAV-EE is 1.29 x 10(10) PFU/mL after purification. The ascending trend of transgene expression was observed from the 1st to the 14th day, and the protein concentration reached 3141 pg/mL at the 14th day.


MicroRNAs are short RNAs that play a crucial role in all biological processes through post-transcriptional regulation for protein-coding genes and inducing mRNA degradation. Hepatitis B virus infection has been considered as a major risk factor in hepatocellular carcinoma, further research indicates that hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) is one of the critical links of hepatocarcinogenesis. HBx takes part in hepatocarcinogenesis via regulating transcription, signal transduction, apoptosis, protein degradation and DNA repair. miRNA is the important target gene of HBx, their interaction impacts many tumor processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, differentiation and adipogenesis. In the present study we reviewed the current state of knowledge of regulation pathway of HBx acting on miRNAs, and focused on the role of their interplay in hepatocarcinogenesis.


This paper describes a quantitative fluorimetric method for the determination of small amounts of uranium (0.001$ to 0.01$), useful for field and laboratory. A small sample is fused directly with a fluoride flux, and the fluorescence of the uranium melt is measured photometrically or visually. Columbium and other elements tested do not give any fluorescence of their own in this procedure. Enhancement of the uranium fluorescence is observed in some samples.


Compound 1 has been crystallized out of a mixture of hot N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 2-propanol giving yellow fluorescent crystals with sizes up to 0.8 mm. The compound crystallizes in P1, Z = 1, a = 8.7737(10) Å, b = 10.4982(11) Å, c = 11.7877(12) Å, α = 98.463(8)°, β = 101.314(8)°, γ = 104.750(8)°, V = 1007.07(19) Å. The central phenylen moiety is almost perpendicular to the other parts of the molecule (dihedral angle 84.5°).


Search algorithms are a key issue to share resources in large distributed systems as peer networks. Several distributed interconnection structures and algorithms have already been studied in this context. With expanding ring algorithms, the efficiency of searches depends on the topology used to send query requests and the dynamics of the structure. In this paper, we present an interconnection structure that limits the number of messages needed for search queries. This structure, called distributed spanning tree (DST), defines each node as the root of a spanning tree. So, it behaves as a tree for the number of messages but it balances the load generated by the requests among computers, and thus, it avoids to overload the root node. This structure is scalable because it needs only a logarithmic memory space per computer to be maintained. A formal and practical description of the structure is presented and we describe traversal algorithms. Simulations show that DST based searches behave better than randomly generated graphs and trees as it generates less messages to query all computers while avoiding the tree bottlenecks.


OBJECTIVE
To determine xanthine oxidase activity, free radical concentrations, and lipid peroxidation in patients with sepsis syndrome compared with noninfected critically ill patients.

DESIGN
A prospective observational study.

SETTING
A nine-bed intensive care unit in a university teaching hospital trust.

PATIENTS
Fourteen consecutive patients who met the established criteria for sepsis syndrome with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and ten noninfected critically ill patients were studied.

INTERVENTIONS
None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Xanthine oxidase activity was increased in septic patients compared with both healthy volunteers (p < .01) and noninfected patients (p < .05), and was highest in the six patients who survived (p < .05). Lipid peroxides were increased in both septic patients (p < .001) and nonseptic controls (p < .001). Xanthine oxidase activity did not relate to the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score or to the presence of organ dysfunction. The mean ascorbyl radical concentration (arbitrary units) determined by electron paramagnetic resonance following spin trapping was increased in patients compared with healthy subjects (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with sepsis have xanthine oxidase activation, high free-radical concentrations, and evidence of free radical damage. The finding that xanthine oxidase activity was lower in those patients who died, coupled with increased lactate concentrations implies more severe ischemia with incomplete reperfusion resulting in less xanthine oxidase "wash out" into the circulation. Increased ascorbyl radical concentrations may be due to an increased radical generation and oxidant scavenging, but appears to be unrelated to xanthine oxidase activity within the circulation.


In English Language Teaching in Sweden, the entextualized ideology is monolingual, i.e., English Only (Hult, 2017; Lundahl, 2012). Evidence from a large-scale classroom observation study (Swedish Schools Inspectorate, 2011) and a smaller-scale classroom-interaction study (Authors 3 & 4 2016) reveals a de facto bilingual policy of both English and Swedish enacted in classrooms, however. As studies focusing on English teachers' beliefs are lacking, we do not know whether in-service English teachers themselves endorse the monolingual belief that is entextualized in education policies (Hult 2017) and materials for pre-service teachers (Lundahl, 2012). In this paper we address this research gap by reporting quantitative results from a nation-wide questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of in-service teachers of English in Swedish secondary schools (N = 139). The questionnaire, administered online in 2017, targeted beliefs and self-reported practices linked to the use of languages in the English classroom. The results show that an overwhelming majority of teachers (98%) saw multilingualism as something positive, and 83% said that background languages should be drawn upon when learning an additional one. More specifically for English, 63% agreed that pupils learn English best if they are allowed to use their background language(s) in the learning. At the same time, seemingly conflicting, c. 60% stated that they use English only when teaching, and 66% that pupils learn English best if they stick to English only during English lessons. These results will be interpreted through the theoretical lens of 'educators as policymakers' (Menken & Garcia, 2010), where teachers are conceived of as active agents implementing language education policies as well as language (learning) ideologies into their teaching practices.


The external costs of different types of transport and the necessity of their account at comparison of variants are considered.


In order to estimate the effects of high hydrostatic pressure treatment at 400 MPa for 0 min and 10 min (HHP-0, HHP-10) and high hydrostatic pressure in combination with sous-vide treatment (HHP-0+SV, HHP-10+SV) on the quality of largemouth bass stored at 4 °C for 30 days, the physicochemical changes were evaluated by microbiological determinations, pH, sensory evaluation and texture analysis, and the flavour changes were analysed by solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and amino acid automatic analyser. The results show that HHP-0+SV and HHP-10+SV treatment effectively inhibited microbiological growth and attenuated physiochemical changes (pH, sensory evaluation, flesh and texture) of largemouth bass fillets. HHP+SV treatment prolonged the storage period of largemouth bass fillets for 24 days. The content of total free amino acids in control (CK) samples was high, but HHP+SV treatment caused the loss of free amino acid content. Especially when stored for 30 days, the total free amino acid content of HHP-0+SV and HHP-10+SV was only 14.67 mg/100 g and 18.98 mg/100 g, respectively. In addition, a total of 43 volatile compounds were detected and elucidated, among which hexanal, heptaldehyde, octanal and nonanal showed a decreasing tendency in HHP groups and an increasing trend in HHP+SV groups throughout the storage.


Introduction: Allergy to furry animals is a risk factor for asthma and is associated with asthma severity. A major step forward in the diagnostic work-up is the introduction of molecular allergology. We compared sensitization to individual allergen components from furry animals in children with severe and controlled asthma. Methods: Children with a positive ImmunoCAP towards any furry animal (cat, dog or horse) were recruited from a Nationwide Swedish study on severe childhood asthma. Severe (n=37, age 12.9 years) and controlled (n=28, age 13.9 years) asthmatics underwent assessment of allergic sensitization by ImmunoCap and Immunosolid-phase allergen chip (ISAC). In addition, Asthma control test, spirometry and a methacholine challenge were performed. Results: Children with severe asthma had lower asthma control (p 800ug budesonide). Using ImmunoCAP, severe asthmatics had increased levels of IgE antibodies towards cat (p=0.03), dog (p=0.01) and horse (p=0.01). Results from ISAC are presented in Table 1. IgE levels towards Equ c 1 correlated with Asthma control (r=-0.41, p=0.04). Multisensitization towards ≥3 lipocalin allergens (Fel d 4, Can f 1, Can f 3, Equ c 1) was more common in severe asthma (30% vs. 4%, p=0.007). Conclusion: Higher sIgE levels and a more complex molecular spreading of allergen components were observed for children with severe allergic asthma.


Lung clearance index (LCI) and moment ratios (MR) from MBW are more sensitive measures of lung function than spirometry in children and teenagers with cystic fibrosis (CF) and correlate well with abnormalities in HRCT scanning. Objectives: To test the relationships between the indices of the multi-breath nitrogen washout test (MBNW), PFTs and structural lung disease measured by HRCT in adults with CF. Methods: 34 adults with CF (10 M/24 F, median of age was 27,5 years) were included in the cross-sectional study. PFTs (spirometry, body plethysmography and diffusion test), MBNW and HRCT were performed. Dyspnea was also evaluated by mMRС scale. MBNW measurements were performed using the Easy-One Pro, MBW Module (ndd Medical Technologies). The patient's HRCT score was calculated based on the severity and/or extent of the nine morphologic changes using Bhalla scoring system. Results: The median FEV1 was 53 %pred., FVC-83 %pred., FEV1/FVC-58 %, TLC-118 %pred., RV-221 %pred., RV/TLC-50 %, VTG-147 %pred, DLCOc–80 %pred. The median LCI was 18,8 (or 307 %pred.), MR1–5,2 and MR2–56,6. The median dyspnea score was 1. The median composite HRCT score was 12: severity of bronchiectasis–2; peribronchial thickening–1; extent of bronchiectasis–3; mucus plugging–1,5; generations of bronchial divisionsi nvolved-3; sacculations-0; bullae-0; emphysema-0; collapse-0. There were significant correlations between MBNW and PFTs, and between HRCT features and MBNW or PFTs data in adults with CF. Conclusion: HRCT, PFTs and MBNW have significant relationships in adults with CF. Unlike children, in adults LCI is not the most sensitive test of airway disease in advanced CF.


YOxNy dielectric films were grown by rf-magnetron sputtering on a n-Si(1 0 0) substrate at different deposition temperatures from 300 to 550 °C. The interfacial properties of YOxNy films with different deposition temperatures were investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that an interfacial layer of yttrium silicate was formed between the YOxNy films and the Si substrate during deposition, and the higher the deposition temperature, the thicker the interfacial layer. The x-ray diffraction analysis shows that the phase transition of the YOxNy films occurs at substrate temperatures between 400 and 550 °C. The spectroscopic ellipsometry results indicate that the deposition temperature has a strong effect on the optical properties of the YOxNy films. The band gap was found to shift to higher energy at higher deposition temperature, which is likely due to the change in the crystalline structure of the YOxNy films.


The APSIM-Wheat and AQUACROP models were calibrated for the Sakha 95 cultivar using phenological data, grain and biomass yield, and genetic parameters based on field observation. Various treatments of planting dates, irrigation, and fertilization were applied over the two successive winter growing seasons of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. Both models simulated anthesis, maturity dates, grain yield, and aboveground biomass accurately with high performances (coefficient of determination, index of agreement greater than 0.8, and lower values of root mean square deviation) in most cases. The calibrated models were then employed to explore wheat yield and water productivity (WP) in response to irrigation and nitrogen fertilization applications. Scenario analyses indicated that water productivity and yield of wheat ranged from 1.2–2.0 kg m–3 and 6.8–8.7 t ha–1, respectively. Application of 0.8 from actual evapotranspiration and 120% from recommended nitrogen dose was the best-predicted scenario achieving the highest value of crop WP. Investigating the suitable option achieving the current wheat yield by farmers (7.4 t ha–1), models demonstrated that application of 1.4 from actual evapotranspiration with 80% of the recommended nitrogen dose was the best option to achieve this yield. At this point, predicted WP was low and recorded 1.5 kg m–3. Quantifying wheat yield in all districts of the studied area was also predicted using both models. APSIM-Wheat and AQUACROP can be used to drive the best management strategies in terms of N fertilizer and water regime for wheat under Egyptian conditions.


Enzyme immunoassay and DNA hybridization technique were used to diagnose herpetic infection. Blood and liquor antiherpetic antibodies were detected, with anticytomegalovirus antibodies used as reference ones. Intrauterine herpetic infection was detected in 61.5% of 91 risk group newborns. We should like to emphasize that two laboratory tests should be used to diagnose an intrauterine herpetic infection in newborns. Detection of antiviral antibodies in the CSF is a valuable method for the diagnosis and differentiation of brain involvement in intrauterine herpetic infection.


Stimulus responsive hydrogels are being considered as one of the most exciting biomaterials of current generation. A novel hydrogel based on poly 3-[(methacryoylamino) propyl trimethylammonium chloride-co-methacrylic acid] (PMAPTACMAAc) copolymer was synthesized by free radical aqueous copolymerization. The water uptake of the hydrogels was investigated as a function of temperature and pH. The in vitro release properties of the PMAPTACMAAc hydrogels were analyzed under simulated body fluid (pH 7.4) by loading indomethacin (IND) as a model drug. The XRD study of the hydrogel revealed the amorphous nature of the copolymer and provided evidence that crystalline IND was entrapped in the hydrogel matrix. The DSC study showed the presence of single glass transition temperature in the thermogram which indicated the formation of random copolymers. The prepared hydrogels showed typical polyampholyte behavior and swelling was affected by the monomer feed ratios in the hydrogels. The morphological study on the hydrogels showed the three dimensional (3D) porous nature of the PMAPTACMAAc-5 gel with pore size ranging from 10 to 40 μm. The kinetics of the cumulative IND release shows that the gel follows a non-Fickian release mechanism. In vitro cytotoxicity of the hydrogel (PMAPTACMAAc-5 gel) on RAW 264.7 murine macrophages showed that the hydrogel was biocompatible and not toxic as the viability was maintained. The hydrogel with a 90 : 10 feed ratio of MAAc and MAPTAC was better than the other developed formulations. The results suggest that the hydrogels could be employed as a sustained release formulation for targeted delivery of IND, for example to the colon. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


Education is thought to provide a certain outcome—a promise. I argue that a promise that education will counteract cultural and social disintegration involves a risk of engendering narrow social and cultural incorporation. On what reasonable basis could education contribute to civic life, when contemporary Western society is represented by a diversity of lifestyles and beliefs, with roots in different traditions? Habermas's communicative theory and theory of procedural democracy contain a normative core of presuppositions that function as enabling conditions for practical discourse to take place under such conditions. However, Habermas's perspective conceptualizes these presuppositions as features of a political culture whose 'accommodating quality' citizens need to be able to expect sociologically. Within a political and moral theory, Habermas only counts on these preconditions implicitly, but he does hope for such accommodating qualities to be fulfilled in a process of socialization and in political forms of life.


The high load of agrochemicals and antibiotics coexisting in aquatic environments within agroecosystems represents a risk for wildlife. As the gut microbiota plays a key role on its host's functioning and is sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, its study allows evaluating organisms' health and therefore, the ecosystem. We studied toxic effects of commercial formulations of a glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) on gut bacterial microbiota diversity of the common toad (Rhinella arenarum) tadpoles, considered a sentinel species. The study was carried out by classic microbiological analysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. The microbiota from GBH treatment had greater taxa diversity and richness, including some genera, such as Proteus spp. and Yersinia spp. that were absent in control. In contrast, microbiota from CIP treatment registered a decrease of diversity indexes, dominance of Aeromonas spp. and presence of Leclercia spp. The GBH-CIP treatment showed changes in taxa composition, including decrease of Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas spp. and trends of individual pollutant treatments. For all cases, changes in the composition of bacterial community (dysbiosis) were linked to a significant decrease in tadpoles' weight. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the disruption of gut bacterial microbiota of tadpoles by a mixture of two contaminants of emerging concern worldwide. These findings contribute to understanding how the presence of two co-occurring pollutants in freshwaters results in deleterious effects on the amphibian community and potentially affect the microbiota of those environments.


The directions of the establishment of Employment Law Indonesia in the era of globalization is influenced by the tendency of the existing market, labor relations aimed to the flexible work system, the indication is the legalization of the system of labor contracts / specified time work agreements (CTWA), outsourcing and daily paid workers agreement (DPWA), nevertheless in practice the flexibility of labor is still being debated in Indonesia (Agusmidah, 2011 : 359). The core existance of the flexible labor market is an attempt to change the rigid of the labor market to be more flexible and better suited to the climate of competition in the global economy that is increasingly liberal, therefore the various regulations that burden the business, deter the investment, employment and economic growth, should be abolished (Hari Nugroho and Indrasasi Tjandrasingsih, 2007 : 4). The Indonesian state concept in national development is the Welfare State, the state must realize the social welfare and also must provide protection for all citizens as a social defense. Welfare means an expectation of an objective condition where the needs for the material, spiritual, social and citizens has been fulfilled, so that they wil have decent live and able to develop themselves, be able to perform their social function as human beings as the goal to be achieved (Enam Suparman, 2015 : 3). In the specific areas of employment, welfare expentancy is formulated in the Constitution of Article 27 paragraph (2) Constitution NRI 1945, namely: "Every citizen has the right to work and a decent living for humanity" and Article 28 D (2) Constitution NRI 1945 namely : "Everyone has the right to work and to receive remuneration and fair handling and proper treatment in the employment relationship" (Eman Suparman, 2015 : 4). The form of the legal certainty is through the establishment of legislation in the field of employment that today is Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower. Based on the considerations of Law No. 13 In 2003, the value of the labor laws are: first, the formulation of labor law should provide protection to workers / laborers and their families in accordance with human dignity and values; second, employment law is also pay attention to the improvement of the business world. The second value must be balanced so that justice is reflected in the substance and implementation of the labor law. However the fact is that these two values are not in accordance with the aspired. This study focused on DPWA as one of the phenomena of labor flexibility, especially in the plantation sector. Palm Wacht research results, the current plantation sector employs 10.4 million workers and as many as 70% of them are workers non- guarantees job that are Freelance Workers, Labor Wholesale, Contract Labor and outsourcing ( Sawit Watch, Pers release,May 12th 2015.)  DPWA is not regulated in Law No. 13 of 2003 but included in the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Decree No. Kep.100 / Men / VI / 2004 on the Implementation of the Provisions CTWA. Previously there has been Regulations of the Ministry of Manpower  No. Per-06 / Men / 1985 on the Protection of Workers' Day off, in which among other provisions concerning the employer's obligation to provide the labor social security and threats penalties against violations of several articles. The regulation has been declared invalid by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Decree No. : Kep.100 / Men / VI / 2004 which abolished these provisions. Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Decree No. Kep.100 / Men / VI / 2004 solely put in 3 (three) articles about DPWA, namely Article 10 to Article 12. This provision is DPWA very flexible and does not clear to the type of work, giving rise to multiple interpretations in implementation, there is no decent wage setting, no social security employment which are the fundamental right of workers. This indicates there are discrepancy between the value of labor law with the substance of the law and its implementation, so as to give rise to injustice.  Based on the description above, it is very urgent and actual to investigate more deeply how the working relationship that is based on DPWA should be built in Employment Law so as to realize the value of labor law with the title reseach : "Reconstruction of The Daily Paid Work Agreement in the Employment Law Based on Justice"


international law and treaties was this year's theme at the seminar in harrogate. maria bell reports on two of the papers. professor anthony aust gave the opening paper on the basics of international law and the treaty framework. paul barnett and nevil hagon of the foreign and commonwealth office treaty section presented an overview of their work in maintaining treaty records and in advising on treaty procedures and processes.


The article is devoted to the analysis of some trends in modern world antiquity and the re-actualization of issues that have methodological and ethical significance for researchers in this field. The essay is aimed not so much at building a broad argument for the "defense" of early ancient philosophers but at (re) actualizing those questions that should be answered by a historian of philosophy, translator, antiquarian, or more broadly - a researcher related to this field. . The author questions the place of the legacy of early ancient philosophers in the history of philosophy, as well as the ethics of "ranking" of more or less important philosophical doctrines. If we turn to the question of assessing (less) the value of the philosopher on the historical background, it remains open. It needs to be discussed soon because, without its clarification, there are no plans for translations and selection of authors for translation and research work in general. Areas will be unsystematic. Simultaneously, the birth of ancient philosophical thought ab initio is interesting precisely in its diversity, in the assortment of currents and approaches, in the pluralism of expressed ideas, because that is why almost every modern philosophical thesis can be justified with the help of an ancient heritage. After all, it is on such principles that specific steps can be outlined for building antiquity as a branch of Ukrainian science. That is why the author emphasizes the need for professional discussion of a range of issues that are basic for historical and philosophical science, which could clarify both the ethical dimension of the researcher and/or translator and the methodological direction of these studies, as well as affect the methodology of the thesaurus—key philosophical terms in Ukrainian. Addressing the origins of European philosophical thought is an urgent need of the Ukrainian community of philosophers because, without this field of research, the academic field cannot be complete.


: The nearly 170 years old modern proscenium theatre in Marathi Language is considered to be an important cultural identity of the progressive Marathi middle class. Its text- intensive nature renders importance to the playwright who shapes theatrical social knowledge through plays in a major way. Historically, writing of plays acquired importance in the colonial period because the theatre had become an important site to construct colonial public discourse particularly with respect to nationalist aspirations of the middle class and the nineteenth century reform movement for women. Though the generally observed social invisibility of women is true of the colonial Marathi theatre as well, it happens to be more a case of non-recognition of women playwrights than a reality. It is a primary observation that the Marathi women playwrights have been writing independent social, humourous, historical or mythological plays for approximately the last 110 years even when their plays did not always stand a chance of performance. Considering continuity of their writing as their collective "performance" and as an act of intervention in the theatrical discourse in defiance of objectification and reduction in masculine reflection, I would like to explore the intentions and methods of their writing through two contemporary examples of playwrights namely, HirabaiPednekar (1885- 1951) and Girijabai Kelkar (1886-1980). I submit that if the meaning of being a woman playwright in colonial modern Marathi theatre is to be an agency of social thinking and change, then the feminine agency does not receive its due credit because of social prejudices against categories of caste and gender.


We examine the role of the turn-on time of intense laser fields in the adiabatic stabilization of an electron bound in a short-range potential. We use the Kramers-Henneberger (KH) frame and examine both bound-state dynamics (of the Kramers-Henneberger time-averaged Hamiltonian and of the field-free Hamiltonian) and the ionization dynamics for ramped field turn-on. We examine the role of superpositions of KH states in the time-evolved wavepacket induced by such a field and the interference between the components in the superposition in the population dynamics.


5-HT3 receptors possess a number of highly conserved proline residues. We changed each of these to alanine, expressed the mutants as homomeric 5-HT3A receptors in HEK293 cells, and analyzed them with radioligand binding, electrophysiology, and immunocytochemistry. Mutation of Pro56, Pro104, Pro123, and Pro170 resulted in ablation of radioligand binding, whereas mutation of Pro257 and Pro301 did not. Only the latter were expressed at the plasma membrane but were non-functional. Thus the former, which are in the N-terminal domain, may be involved in forming correct receptor structure, while those in the transmembrane region (Pro257 and Pro301) are necessary for the function of the protein. To explore the conformational preference (propensity) of these residues we examined the proportion of cis-prolines and the influence of adjacent residues in known protein structures. 4.7% of prolines in the protein data base were in the cis conformation, and the distribution of amino acids adjacent to cis-prolines was not randomly distributed. Comparison of the proportion of each amino acid residue adjacent to a cis-proline revealed that aromatic and bend-facilitating residues were favored while those with beta-branched chains were not. Thus five residues (Gly, Pro, Tyr, Trp, Phe) and three residues (Pro, Tyr, Phe) were found more frequently than expected before and after cis-prolines respectively, whereas five residues (Val, Ile, Leu, Asp, Thr) and two residues (Asp, Glu) were found less frequently. Of the 20 proline residues in the 5-HT3A receptor subunit only Pro170 has adjacent residues that are favorable. Mutating these to non-favorable residues resulted in ablation of ligand binding, whereas replacement with alternative favorable residues did not. We therefore propose that Pro170, which is part of the characteristic cys-loop found in this family of proteins, may be in the cis conformation.


This paper describes comparative aspects of the qualitative features of lamb pelts in two populations of lambs belonging to two farm types of Karakul sheep: elite farm within the R-DSSGB and private farm within the SGBA "MOLDOOVIS" Botosani. The qualitative analysis of lamb pelts by the complex (multifactorial) estimation method revealed the morphological and production superiority of individuals from elite farm compared to those from private farm concerning their distribution in zootechnical (breeding) classes. In the elite farm three quarters of lambs are in Record class and a quarter of them belong to Elite class; the presence of individuals in I -st class is sporadic. In contrast, in the private farm, half of individuals fall within the Elite class and only a third of them are in the Record class; the lambs belonging to I st class have a relatively high frequency. Differences between the two farms regarding the lamb pelt quality have statistical assurance validated by high value of the test χ 2 (253.39***). The differences between the two types of farms, in this respect, would be caused by the accuracy of selection system and of reproduction process. In the elite farm the selection pressure is more intense and the activities of selection and mating matching are made with a higher accuracy than in the private farm. Also, in private farm the selection was focused on immediate commercial characters (shape and size of curls) whereas in the elite farm the selection works took into account the setting of some finer characteristics (such as lustre and quality of hair fibre). However, due to the fact that in both populations the zootechnical classes II nd and III rd are missing shows that in both kinds of farms the animal selection is made accurately, with rigor distinctions between them.


Blood flow through the gastrocnemius-plantaris muscle of the dog in situ was increased by a pump in the arterial supply during a 30-min period of 1/s isotonic tetanic contractions. Compared with a control series of experiments with normoxemia and spontaneous flow, the pump increased flow 84%, from 1.51 +/- 0.08 to 2.78 +/- 0.15 ml.g-1.min-1. The perfusion pressure was increased from 125 to 196 mmHg. The pump hyperemia increased maximal O2 uptake (VO2) at 5 min of contractions by 31%, from 8.97 +/- 0.44 to 12.89 +/- 0.30 mumol.g-1.min-1. The extraction was decreased, and venous PO2 (PVO2) was increased. Fatigue, measured as a drop in power production from the highest level at 10 s to 30 min, was 49% during pump hyperemia and 54% in the control conditions. VO2 decreased 30% from the 5-min value to the 30-min value with pump hyperemia and 28% over the same time in the control conditions. At maximal VO2, the ratio VO2/PVO2 was increased by pump hyperemia compared with control conditions, suggesting an increased O2 diffusing conductance of the muscles. We conclude that the elevated perfusion pressure of pump hyperemia increased flow to raise maximal VO2 mainly in areas of the muscle that had restricted flow under control conditions.


The chinampa, a sustainable high efficient agrohydrologic system for shallow lacustrine or wetland areas, was invented by pre-Hispanic culture 3,000 years ago. The chinampa in the Valley of Mexico has been a sustainable and successful practice from the 15th century until now. This heritage and its continuity are now in the hands of the chinamperos (local farmers) of the Xochimilco–Chalco watershed south-east of the capital city of Mexico. The chinampa, consists of building layers of vegetation and sludge to produce organic soil 50 cm above the water level for agricultural use in wetlands. These layers form rectangles or plots 5–10 m wide by 50, 100 or more meters long, surrounded by water. When a significant number of chinampas are built, these form a network with small channels between each chinampa, and other broader channels which provide navigation routes. The chinampa is secured by trees called ahuejotes, whose roots hold soil, planted on the sides of the plot. Despite urban pressures, this paper demonstrates the relevance of the permanence of this system as a high efficient agrohydrologic system in balance with the ecosystem and which should also be regarded as a model to be transferred to other regions with similar conditions.


Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) is a very aggressive neuroendocrine tumour of the lung, which demonstrates a 5 year survival of only 10% for extensive stage disease (20-30% for limited stage), with only modest improvement over the last few decades. Identification of new molecular diagnostic and therapeutic targets is thus imperative. Previous efforts in identifying molecular changes in SCLC by gene expression profiling using microarrays have facilitated disease classification but yielded very limited information on SCLC biology. Previous DNA studies have been successful in identifying several loci important to SCLC. However the low resolution of conventional chromosomal Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) has limited the findings to large chromosomal regions with only a few specific candidate genes discovered to date. Thus, to further understand the biological behaviour of SCLC, better methods for studying the genomic alterations in SCLC are necessary. This thesis highlights the development of array CGH technology for the high resolution dissection of aneuploidy in cancer genomes and the application of this new technology to the study of SCLC. I present the development of the first whole genome CGH array which offered unprecedented resolution in the profiling of cancer genomes allowing fine mapping of genes in a single experiment. Through application of DNA based analysis in conjunction with integrated expression analysis and comparison of SCLC to less aggressive non-small cell lung tumours I have identified novel patterns of pathway disruption specific to SCLC. This included alteration to Wnt pathway members and striking patterns of cell cycle activation through predominantly downstream disruption of signalling pathways including direct activation of the E2F transcription factors, which are normally repressed by the Rb gene. Analysis of targets of the E2F/Rb pathway identified EZH2 as being specifically hyper-activated in SCLC, compared to NSCLC. EZH2 is a polycomb group gene involved in the control of many cellular functions including targeted DNA methylation and escape from senescence in hematopoietic stem cells. Taken together these results suggest that in SCLC, downstream disruption may replace multiple upstream alterations leading to activation independent of a specific mitogenic pathway, and that EZH2 represents a potentially important therapeutic target.


To enhance the systemic transdermal delivery of papaverine for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, several factors that influence transdermal delivery of papaverine HCl were studied. The effects of membrane types for in vitro permeation study, human skin layers, solvent/cosolvent systems and the penetration enhancers on the transdermal permeation of papaverine HCl were investigated. A combination of caproic acid, ethanol and water in the volume ratio of 50%:30%:20% was chosen as penetration enhancer and incorporated in two gel bases: 18% Pluronic F-127 and 2% Carbopol 940. In vivo skin permeation studies were performed with two loading doses (0.6% and 2%) in rabbits. The flux and permeability coefficient of papaverine HCl through different human skin layers suggested that the major barrier layer for papaverine HCl was residing primarily in the stratum corneum. However, the viable epidermis and dermis layer also contributed certain degrees of diffusion resistance. Differential Scanning Calorimetry study showed that penetration enhancer exhibited a counter effect with papaverine HCl on the temperature and enthalpy in both gels. In vitro drug release study demonstrated significant increases in the steady-state flux, permeability coefficient and enhancement ratio in these gels. Faster drug transports and higher bioavailability were also observed in rabbits. Skin irritation test performed in rabbits demonstrated a mild skin reaction with mean PII scores of 2 and below; however the recovery was fast. In conclusion, caproic acid, ethanol and water in the volume ratio of 50%:30%:20% is an effective penetration enhancer to deliver papaverine HCl transdermally for systemic absorption.


The nomenclature and classification of patients with a functionally univentricular heart has been debated for decades. We review here the approach taken for dealing with this group of patients by the International Working Group for Mapping and Coding of Nomenclatures for Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Disease. We discuss the approach of this Nomenclature Working Group in the context of other historical and contemporary ideas about this topic.


Abstract The behaviour under load of asphalt concrete (AC) was viewed as additively separable into viscoelastic and viscoplastic components, and the study focused on modelling the pre-peak response of the viscoelastic part under constant temperature conditions. Non-linear viscoelastic behaviour was first exposed in several test modes, and a constitutive theory was subsequently offered – potentially capable of capturing and reproducing the observations. The modelling was based on replacing applied stresses in the linear convolution formulation with effective stresses; it included a mechanism for simulating the following effects: (i) short-lasting damage, (ii) long-lasting damage, (iii) stiffening under compressive conditions and (iv) healing during recovery intervals. As an initial validation effort, the model's reproducibility was assessed by calibration to a uniaxial compression experiment consisting of both small and medium strain levels. Next, the calibrated model was employed to forecast small-strain behaviour in a standard complex modulus test. The simulated results qualitatively agree with recently reported findings that challenge the existence of a linear viscoelastic domain for AC.


Coir is the natural hard fruit fibre extracted from the exocarp of the coconut. The fibre has over 40 percent lignin and is spun into yarn and rope. Coir is used globally for manufacturing floor coverings as home furnishing. The Coir Industry enjoys the status as the largest cottage industry in Kerala giving employment to over a million people, of which 80 percent constitute women. Coir pith is a biomass residue generated during the extraction of coir fibre from coconut husk. Coir pith produced during coir fibre extraction is of environmental concern as its dumping on shore line and leaching of its constituents alter water quality and aquatic life. Management of coir pith is a major problem with all coir industrialists. Hillocks of coir pith accumulate in the vicinities of coir fibre extraction units in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Orissa. These agricultural wastes have traditionally been disposed by burning which resulted in various environmental problems. Therefore, composting is an alternate way to dispose coir pith and is of critical importance. Ligninolytic enzyme production during coir pith composting by Pleurotus sajor caju has been studied in detail. Pleurotus sajor caju produces oxidative enzymes which degrade lignin in the presence of urea as nitrogen source. Substitution of urea with vegetative sources has resulted in the vigorous growth of the mushroom which leads to decreased lignin content and C: N ratio in the biodegraded coir pith. Combination of Azolla and Soya hulls as biological supplements was observed to be the best substitute for lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase production. Activity of manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase was maximum on the twentieth day of fermentation of coir pith. The level of enzyme activity during biological composting using vegetative sources was compared with the conventional process using urea. The enzyme profile exhibited variation with change in substrate and duration of decomposition. The colonization of Pleurotus sajor caju by its utilization leads to biochemical changes in coir pith converting it into an ideal plant nutrient.


Township and rural migrant workers are returning to the business personnel's main force. Party 18 proposed a rural revitalization strategy, and the central committee of the State Council issued a series of encouraging policy measures to bring them back. The study found that migrant workers' return-home entrepreneurship and the connection between the rural industries on the basis of factor resources flow are related. As a result, this study analyzed the practical situation of migrant workers' return-home entrepreneurship. Next, it used a combination forecast method and dynamic simulation model of the migrant workers' return-home entrepreneurship and revitalization of the relationship with the rural industry. The resuscitation of rural industries can be efficiently facilitated by the return of rural migrant workers to launch firms. Their success can attract more migrant workers to launch businesses. The total regeneration of rural areas and the prosperity of farmers can be achieved by effectively linking the return of migrant workers to launch businesses and the revival of rural industries.


Episodic hypoxia elicits a long-lasting augmentation of phrenic inspiratory activity known as long-term facilitation (LTF). We investigated the respective contributions of carotid chemoafferent neuron activation and hypoxia to the expression of LTF in urethane-anesthetized, vagotomized, paralyzed, and ventilated Sprague-Dawley rats. One hour after three 5-min isocapnic hypoxic episodes [arterial Po(2) (Pa(O(2))) = 40 +/- 5 Torr], integrated phrenic burst amplitude was greater than baseline in both carotid-denervated (n = 8) and sham-operated (n = 7) rats (P < 0.05), indicating LTF. LTF was reduced in carotid-denervated rats relative to sham (P < 0.05). In this and previous studies, rats were ventilated with hyperoxic gas mixtures (inspired oxygen fraction = 0.5) under baseline conditions. To determine whether episodic hyperoxia induces LTF, phrenic activity was recorded under normoxic (Pa(O(2)) = 90-100 Torr) conditions before and after three 5-min episodes of isocapnic hypoxia (Pa(O(2)) = 40 +/- 5 Torr; n = 6) or hyperoxia (Pa(O(2)) > 470 Torr; n = 6). Phrenic burst amplitude was greater than baseline 1 h after episodic hypoxia (P < 0.05), but episodic hyperoxia had no detectable effect. These data suggest that hypoxia per se initiates LTF independently from carotid chemoafferent neuron activation, perhaps through direct central nervous system effects.


ABSTRACT In this paper we present our work on the design and evaluation of a web-based digital archive. The aim of this research project was to explore ways of enabling easy access to materials about their cultural heritage for indigenous people. In this project we worked in close collaboration with the Sami people across brainstorming sessions, design workshops, prototype development, and user tests. During this process we became aware of two intertwined sensitivities, i.e. a cultural sensitivity and a design sensitivity - and we refer to this as a "double sensitivity". The data recorded from the interviews and the participants' interaction with the prototype were analyzed using thematic analysis as the methodological approach. Our results pointed at five main code clusters including: tonality of the design, usability, sociability, ethical considerations and technical errors. In this paper we discuss these findings, and we suggest that our results, and the proposed notion of "double sensitivity" contributes important research on human computer interaction (HCI) design for indigenous people.


An impeachment is a mandatory prerequisite for the removal of an elected public official in most countries of the world including Nigeria. The process of impeachment of elected public officers under the 1999 Nigerian constitution has several loopholes which leave the system open to manipulation and abuse. This has been established in this paper through the examination of key impeachment cases that have occurred in Nigeria. The cases examined reveal the role and relevance of the judiciary in the sustenance of democracy and rule of law.


BACKGROUND
Delay in treatment of patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) has an adverse effect on patient outcomes. Limited data are available on the effectiveness of hospital care improvement strategies (HCIS) to reduce time to reperfusion by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study evaluated the combined effect of HCIS implementation to reduce door-to-balloon time in patients with STEMI.

METHODS
Retrospective chart review was done for 95 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent PCI at Charleston Area Medical Center. Patients with non-STEMI and patients transferred from other medical centers were excluded. Door-to-balloon time was defined as time from emergency department arrival to first PCI balloon inflation. A program of 3 HCIS was implemented: 1) a fast-track catheterization laboratory protocol, 2) feedback to cardiologists on their treatment times, and 3) a weekday 24-hour inhouse catheterization laboratory team. Patients were separated into groups before (n = 46), during (n = 18), and after (n = 31) HCIS implementation.

RESULTS
Mean age was 60.3 +/- 13 years and 74% were male. The majority (64%) arrived by ambulance; 29% had a prehospital electrocardiogram done. Most patients presented during the day (68%) on weekdays (75%). Symptom onset-to-door time was 289 +/- 393 minutes. No significant differences were found between the groups for these variables. Door-to-PCI time in minutes was reduced in the group after versus the group before HCIS implementation (94.3 +/- 37 vs 133.5 +/- 53; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
Implementation of HCIS shortened door-to-PCI time for patients with STEMI by 39.2 +/- 10 minutes. Thus, HCIS may be effective in improving patient outcomes.


Validation HPLC-methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of methyluracile and metronidazole in the structure of the experimental drug, «Remeltop» was performed. In liquid chromatograph LC-20 of the company «SHIMADZU» (Japan) with UV detector with further computer processing of the results of research using the program «LCsolution version 1.4» studies were conducted. Stationary phase chromatography column 4,6 x 150 mm PerfectChrom C-18, a particle size of 5 nm («MZ-Analysentechnik», Germany). The mobile phase: trifluoroacetic acid a solution of 0.1%, B: acetonitrile 100%. Gradient elution concentration changes of eluent B from 10% to 50%, duration of the analysis 8 min. The technique for quality assessment Remeltop (a powder for oral suspension) can be used, as experimentally defined settings linearity (R2=0,9991, y=233600×x-19,458; R2=0,9993, y=7490576×x+0,246), application range (50 to 150%), precision in terms of the frequency of occurrence (RSD=0,50%; 1,04%; 1,75%), correctness ( =95,52±0,56%, 99,96±0,16%) for methyluracile and metronidazole respectively, which do not exceed the recommended values.


ABSTRACT Lacan papers reading is difficult and often disappointing. His technique, using shortening of sessions as a way of interpreting transference ("scansion") is unacceptable. His great project of create a united structural theory of psychoanalysis, linguistic and anthropology has failed. However, his works on transference are worth being red. Lacan has reminded psychoanalysts that they are "divided subjects", meaning that their unconscious remains unconscious to themselves, that they have to listen to themselves as much as they have to listen to their their patients; he has rediscovered the importance of après-coup, already stressed by Freud, but often forgotten; and above all, he has rediscovered the importance of words in transference interpretation, showing the importance of the link between two signifiers, more than the link between signifier and signified.


The objective of this demonstration project was to evaluate market-ready retrofit technologies for reducing the energy and water use of multi-load washers in healthcare and hospitality facilities. Specifically, this project evaluated laundry wastewater recycling technology in the hospitality sector and ozone laundry technology in both the healthcare and hospitality sectors. This report documents the demonstration of ozone laundry system installations at the Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Rogerson House assisted living facility in Boston, Massachusetts.


S, LiF'.MAN, M,D.: There is evidence in the literature, substantiated by our own studies, that allopurinol is very effective in the tre.itment of cutaneous sarcoid lesions. The mechanism of action î unknown l>ut thought to involve T-cells and cellmediated immunity. The effect is noticeable after about 6 weeks, with gradual but remarkable improvement over several months. Sequential (Opsies demonstrated involution of the granulornas with \.̂ ma cell infiltration.


Instrumentation has been developed for obtaining triangulation photographs of luminous clouds in the upper atmosphere. These clouds are created by the release of chemicals such as sodium and cesium from rockets. The instrumentation has been used on approximately eighty rocket firings. Descriptions and operating characteristics are given of the equipment. Observations have been made from the Air Force ranges at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and from the NASA test facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. A modified version of the K-24 aerial camera with 7 in. (17.8 cm) f/2.5 optics was used and mounted on 60-in. (152-cm) searchlight carriages and Mk 51 gun directors. Camera control system, data chamber, fiducial light system, shutter and filter system, field installation, and alignment procedures are described.


Background Many children in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) have reduced cognitive abilities, but few studies have explored the influencing factors.
Objective To determine the determinants of children's low cognitive development at 4 to 6-year-old.
Methods This is a retrospective cohort study in year 2021. The data was obtained from Bogor Longitudinal Study of Child Growth and Development (BLSCGD) that started from year 2012. For this analysis, we considered 165 of children aged 4-6 years. The dependent variable in this analysis was cognitive development as measured by the Indonesian Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) with the indicators of full-scale IQ (FSIQ), verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ). The independent variables were determinants of children's cognitive development at 4-6 years, consisted of socio-demographic factors, determinants from early life (0-23 months), as well as determinants from current conditions. Multivariate analysis done with the logistic regression test.
Results Bivariate analysis revealed that paternal education level was significantly associated with FSIQ and inadequate calorie intake in infancy and poor child stimulation were significantly associated with VIQ. In the final model of multivariate analysis, low paternal education level retained a significant association with FSIQ. Psychosocial stimulation was significantly associated with VIQ and inadequate calorie intake during infancy was significantly associated with PIQ.
Conclusion Low paternal education level and inadequate psychosocial stimulation are risk factors for reduced child cognitive development in 4-6-year-olds. Inadequate calorie intake in infancy even though not statistically significant it has high OR values for low VIQ and PIQ, thus the results showed the importance of calory intake in infancy.


The Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE) is an experiment led by the European Space Agency (ESA) aimed at supporting the on-going implementation of Galileo, the European global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Among the objectives of the GIOVE Mission are the validation and characterization of the on-board clock technologies. The current baseline technologies for on-board clocks are the rubidium atomic frequency standard (RAFS) and the passive hydrogen maser (PHM). Both technologies have been validated and qualified on ground and are now being further validated in a representative in-orbit environment aboard 2 spacecrafts, GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B. This paper presents the results obtained in the frame of the GIOVE experimentation. The behavior and performances of the clock technologies on board both spacecrafts has been investigated and analyzed in terms of operation, frequency stability, and clock prediction error after more than 3 years of operation for GIOVE-A and almost one year for GIOVE-B. In addition, relativistic frequency shifts of GIOVE spacecrafts have been investigated.


Abstract Each right has a corresponding duty. The African Children's Charter, under article 31, imposes a range of duties on children. Understandably, it could become contentious when an instrument on the rights and welfare of children expressly imposes duties on them. After setting the platform for discussion by highlighting international experiences and outlining the African concept of human rights, this article critically examines and attempts to clarify the precise meaning, content, conditions of compliance and application of those duties for children. By way of conclusion, it suggests that article 31 represents a valuable addition to the international human rights agenda, and that a purposeful interpretation of its constituent parts reveals that children should be required to play a role at family, community, national and continental levels, in accordance with their age and maturity as they grow up, as part and parcel of their heritage, empowerment and developing citizenship.


This paper proposes vocalizations and etymologies for two uncommon Persian words in 'Abd Allah Ansari's Tabaqat al-sufiya: bglwy 'dirty' and wgstn 'to reveal'. The former is to be vocalized as ba-calwi, derived from *ba-carbi 'with grease' on the basis of the parallel Arabic adjective wadir 'dirty with grease' found in other early Sufi literature. The latter word traditionally vocalized wagastan, is to be vocalized wigustan (present stem wigund-) on the basis of the vocalization marks given in a manuscript of Tabagat al-sufiya, which are partly supported by an etymological analysis based on its Middle Iranian cognates.


Tundra swans Cygnus columbianus columbianus were captured on their eastern USA wintering grounds in Maryland and North Carolina during 1966-84. Weights were taken on 3,583 of these swans and 581 were also measured for culmen, gape, nares-to-bill-tip, middle toe, and tarsus length. Each swan was sexed and aged as an adult, subadult, or juvenile. Significant differences in weights were found between age and sex groups, and within seasons. Variations in weights between years were examined for swans captured in late January and February. Significant differences were found in some structural measurements between sex and age groups.


The increasing rate of depletion of conventional energy resources and the ability of induction generators to convert mechanical power over a wide range of rotor speeds have given rise to an interest in the possible contribution of wind energy to provide fuel displacement.


Fujitsu 's Passive Optical Network product, FePX-20, is a multi-service access network delivery system that is fully managed by FENS 3000. The management system is designed and developed in accordance with the principles laid down in ITU-T standards for TMN. This presentation describes FENS 3000 and discusses the implementation of the product, the operational experiences, what has been learnt from the development and a view of the way forward.


Abstract Knowledge regarding the effects on employees of occupational intervention programs targeting psychosocial factors at work, including job demands, job resources, and personal resources, is limited and existing studies show mixed findings. This study aimed to investigate potential effects on employees' job demands (i.e., workload, unnecessary tasks, unreasonable tasks), job resources (i.e., feedback, control, goal clarity), and personal resources (i.e., signaling and limit-setting strategies) of an intervention targeting managers' ways of improving the psychosocial work environment among their staff (SWEActManager). Questionnaire data from employees (n = 40) of a Swedish municipality, whose managers (n = 4) participated in the program, and referents (n = 58 employees), were collected before and after the program. The program included four three-hour workshops delivered during a six-week period. Results from 2(group) × 2(time) ANOVAs showed that all three demands increased over time, while job control decreased. There were no significant group effects. One interaction effect only was significant: Unnecessary tasks increased more among referents than in the intervention group. The few significant short-term effects probably relate to challenges in designing and implementing organizational interventions targeting managers, and evaluating their effects among subordinates. This study adds to the limited research regarding the effects of organizational psychosocial interventions, including managers for their subordinates' demands and resources in a changing working life.


One hundred and eleven general practice patients (101 females and 10 males) with acute uncomplicated cystitis received a 5-day course of pivmecillinam at a daily dose of 200 mg 3-times a day. Positive bacteriological cultures were found in 63 (57%) patients before treatment and three-quarters of all patients were totally symptom-free after treatment, with the post-treatment clinical symptom score falling by 94%. In those patients with a positive culture the bacteriological cure rate was 90%. Pivmecillinam was generally well tolerated. Side-effects were reported in 8 (7%) patients and only 1 of these patients had to stop treatment prematurely.


This paper shares some of the experiences in online coordination and teacher development which have emerged in the English Language Department at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. The advantages and disadvantages of coordination in an asynchronous computer-mediated environment form the backdrop to those issues which we consider to be vital, both for the success of online language courses and in the training and support of online instructors. Among the issues discussed are the course coordinators' role in developing awareness of the specific needs of the online learner, encouraging teacher reflection and the construction of knowledge on new pedagogical approaches inherent in online learning, and promoting a sense of community among online teachers. Specific examples of coordinating activities developed within the English Department will be examined, such as face-to-face meetings, training of new teachers, reference documents for teachers, coordinators' feedback on teachers' work in the classroom, and online discussions of pedagogical issues. These all play their part in helping educators to deliver online courses "to learn from the experience of others and to encourage and evaluate educational innovation" (Gooley & Lockwood, 2001, p. 12).


Objective: To investigate the effects of moxibustion on the behavioral performance, brain morphological structure of mice with hypoxia-ischemia brain injury and to explore its mechanisms. Methods: One hundred and six ICR mice were randomly divided into three groups, sham group (n=23), model group (n=46) and moxibustion-treated group (n=37). Neonatal hypoxic-ischemia brain injury was induced by ligation of common carotid artery followed by hypoxia (8% oxygen, 100 min), and pups in the moxibustion-treated group were administered suspended moxibustion on the Dazhui points (GV14) at a height of approximately 2 cm over a hairless area of the skin once a day for 4 days (i.e. at 2, 24, 48 and 72 hours after hypoxia-ischemia procedure). Behavioral tests were used to evaluate behavioral performance. HE staining was used to observe brain morphological structure. Western blot was used to detect the expression of SOD2 protein, and spectrophotometry was used to determine the content of MDA in the ipsilateral brain. Results: Mouse pups in sham group showed that the behavioral performance was normal, the brain tissue cells were densely and neatly arranged, the expression of SOD2 and the level of MDA in the brain tissues were normal. Compared with sham group, mouse pups in the HI model group exhibited a significant longer latency to complete the righting reflex, geotaxis reflex, cliff avoidance (P<0.05) and a marked shorter latency to complete the grip test (P<0.05); and the HI model group had dramatic brain morphological changes showing missing regions, decreased expression of SOD2 protein (P<0.05) and increased level of MDA in the brain. Compared with HI model group, mouse pups in the moxibustion-treated group exhibited a significant shorter latency to complete the righting reflex, geotaxis reflex, cliff avoidance test (P<0.05) and a marked longer latency to complete the grip test (P<0.05); and the moxibustion-treated group had less brain morphological changes, increased expression of SOD2 protein (P<0.05) and decreased level of MDA in the brain (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Moxibustion could improve behavioral performance and attenuate hypoxia-ischemia brain injury, which might be related to increasing the expression of SOD2 protein and decreasing the content of MDA, thus enhancing the anti-oxidative ability.


With the advent of ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), the security and privacy issues for various smart devices such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and wireless sensor nodes are receiving increased attention from academia and industry. A number of lightweight cryptographic primitives have been proposed to provide security services for resource-constrained smart devices. As one of the core primitives, a cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) plays an important role for lightweight embedded applications. The most existing PRNGs proposed for smart devices employ true random number generators as a component, which generally incur significant power consumption and gate count in hardware. In this article, we present Warbler family, a new pseudorandom number generator family based on nonlinear feedback shift registers (NLFSRs) with desirable randomness properties. The design of the Warbler family is based on the combination of modified de Bruijn blocks together with a nonlinear feedback Welch-Gong (WG) sequence generator, which enables us to precisely characterize the randomness properties and to flexibly adjust the security level of the resulting PRNG. Some criteria for selecting parameters of the Warbler family are proposed to offer the maximum level of security. Two instances of the Warbler family are also described, which feature two different security levels and are dedicated to EPC C1 Gen2 RFID tags and wireless sensor nodes, respectively. The security analysis shows that the proposed instances not only can pass the cryptographic statistical tests recommended by the EPC C1 Gen2 standard and NIST but also are resistant to the cryptanalytic attacks such as algebraic attacks, cube attacks, time-memory-data tradeoff attacks, Mihaljević et al.'s attacks, and weak internal state and fault injection attacks. Our ASIC implementations using a 65nm CMOS process demonstrate that the proposed two lightweight instances of the Warbler family can achieve good performance in terms of speed and area and provide ideal solutions for securing low-cost smart devices.


In August 1997 NASA/ Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) began a test with the objective of monitoring the growth of microorganisms on material simulating the surface of the International Space Station (ISS) Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Condensing Heat Exchanger (CHX). The test addressed the concerns of potential uncontrolled microbial growth on the surface of the THC CHX subsystem. For this study, humidity condensate from a closed manned environment was used as a direct challenge to the surfaces of six cascades in a test set-up. The condensate was collected using a Shuttle-type CHX within the MSFC End-Use Equipment Testing Facility. Panels in four of the six cascades tested were coated with the ISS CHX silver impregnated hydrophilic coating. The remainder two cascade panels were coated with the hydrophilic coating without the antimicrobial component, silver. Results of the fourteen-month study are discussed in this paper. The effects on the microbial population when drying vs. not-drying the simulated THC CHX surface are also discussed.


The equations of the relativistic self-consistent field, first set up by Swirles (1935), are discussed using the algebra of tensor operators. The coefficients of radial integrals in the formula for the energy can be written in terms of Clebsch-Gordon and Racah coefficients, so that their symmetries can easily be seen and their numerical values can easily be calculated with the use of published tables. The magnetic interaction between two electrons is considered as well as the electrostatic interaction, and the effect of this term on the ionization energy of a K electron in mercury is computed with the use of unpublished results of Mayers.


Recent works on 3D human pose tracking using unsupervised methods typically focus on improving the optimization framework to find a better maximum in the likelihood function (i.e., the tracker). In contrast, in this paper, we focus on improving the likelihood function, by making it more robust and less ambiguous, thus making the optimization task easier. In particular, we propose an exponential chamfer distance for model matching that is robust to small pose changes, and a part-based model that is better able to localize partially occluded and overlapping parts. Using a standard annealing particle filter and simple diffusion motion model, the proposed likelihood function obtains significantly lower error than other unsupervised tracking methods on the HumanEva dataset. Noting that the joint system of the tracker's body model is different than the joint system of the motion capture ground-truth model, we propose a novel method for transforming between the two joint systems. Applying this bias correction, our part-based likelihood obtains results equivalent to state-of-the-art supervised tracking methods.


We present a streamlined limiting case of the theory of Oritz & Repetto for crystals with microstructure in which the crystals are assumed to exhibit infinitely strong latent hardening. We take this property to signify that the crystal must necessarily deform in single slip at all material points. This requirement introduces a non–convex constraint that renders the incremental problem non–convex. We have assessed the ability of the theory to predict salient aspects of the body of experimental data compiled by Hansen et al. regarding lamellar dislocation structures in crystals deformed to large strains. Although the comparisons with experiment are somewhat indirect, the theory appears to correctly predict salient aspects of the statistics of misorientation angles and lamellar–boundary spacings, and the scaling of the average misorientation and spacing with increasing macroscopic strain.