We describe a simple and rapid procedure for differentiating the koji molds, Aspergillus oryzae and A. sojae, from the closely related species, A. flavus and A. parasiticus. Total DNA from the Aspergillus strains was digested with the restriction enzyme SmaI and was separated by electrophoresis on an agarose gel. The size of the bands, ranging from 3 to 5kb strongly stained with ethidium bromide, was intraspecifically consistent but was interspecifically different. The difference in the size of the bands seemed to be due to the divergence in the nucleotide sequence of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The restriction enzyme cleavage patterns can be readily distinguished on agarose gel, so they will provide a useful tool for identifying koji molds and other related species.


Cancer Have SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies In a recent study, patients undergoing cancer treatment who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine produced antibodies at a slower rate than people without cancer, but most were seropositive after the second dose. The results, published in JAMA Oncology, reinforce the recommendation to prioritize patients with cancer for vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The study, conducted in Israel, involved 232 patients with cancer with an average age of 66 years and a healthy, age–matched control group of 261 health care workers, all of whom received Pfizer-BioNTech's SARSCoV-2 vaccine. After the first dose, 84% of the control group was seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies compared with 29% of the patients with cancer. After the second dose, however, 86% of the patients with cancer were seropositive. Two COVID-19 cases occurred in the patient group immediately after the first dose. Real-world data are needed to evaluate the vaccine's long-term efficacy among patients receiving cancer treatment, the investigators wrote.


In this paper we propose a multi-criteria recommender system based on collaborative filtering (CF) techniques, which exploits the information conveyed by users' reviews to provide a multi-faceted representation of users' interests. To this end, we exploited a framework for opinion mining and sentiment analysis, which automatically extracts relevant aspects and sentiment scores from users' reviews. As an example, in a restaurant recommendation scenario, the aspects may regard food quality, service, position, athmosphere of the place and so on. Such a multi-faceted representation of the user is used to feed a multi-criteria CF algorithm which predicts user interest in a particular item and provides her with recommendations. In the experimental session we evaluated the performance of the algorithm against several state-of-the-art baselines; Results confirmed the insight behind this work, since our approach was able to overcome both single-criteria recommendation algorithms as well as more sophisticated techniques based on matrix factorization.


McEliece public-key cryptosystem (PKC) is one of a few alternatives for the current PKCs that are mostly based on either the integer factoring problem (IFP) or the discrete logarithm problem (DLP) that would be solved in polynomial time after the emergence of quantum computers. The security of the McEliece PKC is based on the decoding problem and it is known that it satisfies, with an appropriate conversion, the strongest security notion, i.e., INDistinguishability of encryption against adaptively Chosen-Ciphertext Attacks (IND-CCA2), in the random oracle model under the assumption that the underlying primitive McEliece PKC satisfies a weak security notion of One-Wayness against Chosen-Plaintext Attacks (OW-CPA). OW-CPA is said to be satisfied if it is infeasible for chosen plaintext attacks to recover the whole plaintext of an arbitrarily given ciphertext. Currently, the primitive McEliece PKC satisfies OW-CPA if a parameter n/spl ges/2048 with optimum t and k is chosen since the binary work factor for (n,k,t)=(2048,1278,70) to break it with the best CPA is around 2/sup 106/, which is infeasible even if world-wide computational power is used. While the binary work factor for the next smaller parameter n=1024 is in a gray level of 2/sup 62/, it will be improved by applying Loidreau's modification that employs Frobenius automorphism in Goppa codes. In this paper, we carefully investigate the one-wayness of the Loidreau's modified McEliece PKC against ever known CPAs and new CPAs we propose, and then show that it certainly improves the one-wayness against ever known CPAs but it is vulnerable against our new CPAs. Thus, it is rather harmful to apply the new modification to the McEliece PKC.


The just behaviour of police officers in their interactions with citizens has been demonstrated as an antecedent of police legitimacy in Western democracies and beyond. As this paradigm gains prominence, the implementation of procedural justice interventions should be examined in order to better focus policy efforts in varied contexts. This article draws on a study of training in the Israeli Border Police to propose four factors that may influence the efficacy of procedural justice interventions in deeply divided societies: the perceptions of police officers regarding the minority group as deserving a relationship based on legitimacy; the depth of the existing deficit in legitimacy within that group; the paramilitary attributes of the police organisation; and high policing tasks, specifically protests, as discouraging dialogue. Highlighting these factors is of value to the successful delivery of interventions and advances understanding of police legitimacy in different contexts.


Background: An increasing number of studies have applied ultrasound (US) to evaluate enthesitis in spondyloarthritis. However, there is no clear agreement on which sites should be evaluated for enthesitis. Furthermore, there are different opinions on whether US can monitor disease activity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the common involvement of entheses and correlations between disease activity and US scores in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods: A cross-sectional, monocentric, and controlled study was performed. US was used to scan 34 entheses per person and the Madrid sonography enthesitis index (MASEI) score was used. US scores were used to evaluate the elemental lesions of hypoechogenicity, thickness, erosion, calcification, bursitis, and Doppler signal. Disease activity was assessed by Disease Activity Score–C reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI).Results: 104 patients with AS and 50 control subjects were included. A total of 5236 entheses were assessed. Compared with the control subjects, only three entheses – the Achilles tendon (AT), sternoclavicular joint (SCJ), and costochondral joint (CCJ) – showed significant differences in the AS group (p < 0.05). Patients with high disease activity (ASDAS-CRP ≥ 2.1) had higher scores than patients with low activity (ASDAS-CRP < 2.1) in erosion (p = 0.02). Patients who were categorized in very high disease activity (ASDAS-CRP ≥ 3.5) had a higher score in erosion (p = 0.02). The erosion score was moderately associated with ASDAS-CRP and BASDAI (r = 0.44, r = 0.21).Conclusions: The commonly involved entheses were the AT, SCJ, and CCJ in AS. Erosion occurred more often in patients with disease activity or high activity. Erosion would be more useful for monitoring disease activity in AS.


There are several types of immunological approaches to the diagnosis of cancer. The search for circulating tumor associated antigens has been used most extensively. Carcinoembryonic antigen (C EA ) and alpha-fetoprotein are the best studied examples. In addition, several hormones and other proteins have shown some association with the neoplastic state. Other immunodiagnostic approaches include the study of the general immune competence of cancer patients and the cell-mediated and humoral immune response to tumor associated antigens. Although several assays seem promising, none have been adequately evaluated as to their sensitivity and specificity. The potential role of these tests in screening for cancer, in differential diagnosis and in monitor ing of the cancer patient after therapy remains to be determined.


The master's program in civil engineering is designed to provide advanced study, both theoretically and experimentally, in structures, mechanics, finite element methods, water resources, and geotechnics. This program prepares the student for advanced placement in the civil engineering field in industry, research, or development areas. Additionally, this program provides a suitable base for entrance into a doctoral program in a field related to civil engineering. The program is offered both at the Pocatello and the Idaho Falls campuses, primarily through the use of telecommunications/distance learning, which includes partial in-class instruction.


Aberration-corrected electron microscopy can resolve the smallest atomic bond-lengths in nature. However, the high-convergence angles that enable spectacular resolution in 2D have unknown 3D resolution limits for all but the smallest objects ( < ∼ 8 nm). We show aberration-corrected electron tomography offers new limits for 3D imaging by measuring several focal planes at each specimen tilt. We present a theoretical foundation for aberration-corrected electron tomography by establishing analytic descriptions for resolution, sampling, object size, and dose—with direct analogy to the Crowther-Klug criterion. Remarkably, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron tomography can measure complete 3D specimen structure of unbounded object sizes up to a specified cutoff resolution. This breaks the established Crowther limit when tilt increments are twice the convergence angle or smaller. Unprecedented 3D resolution is achievable across large objects. Atomic 3D imaging (1 ˚A) is allowed across extended objects larger than depth-of-focus (e.g. > 20 nm) using available microscopes and modest specimen tilting ( < 3 ° ). Furthermore, aberration-corrected tomography follows the rule of dose-fractionation where a specified total dose can be divided among tilts and defoci.


The aqueous-ethanolic (50%) extracts of fruit rind (PGR), flower (PGF), and leaves (PGL) of Punica granatum were examined for its oral anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities at the doses of 150, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight. Oral pretreatment with the dried extracts of P. granatum produced statistically significant and dose dependent inhibition of edema induced by carrageenan at all doses when compared to the control groups. The highest activity was shown in the PGR that at 500 mg/kg p.o. inhibited inflammation by 82.14%. (79 % for indomethacin at 10 mg/kg). On the contrary, the aqueous-ethanolic (50 %) extracts of PGF and PGL exhibited 71.42% and 67.85% inhibition, respectively, at 500 mg/kg dose. The extracts at tested doses were found to possess analgesic activity in mice against tail-flick method. These results indicated that extracts of P. granatum possessed significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities suggesting its potential as an anti-inflammatory agent for use in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in traditional medicine.


In 2003, Shen et al. proposed a timestamp-based password authentication scheme by using smart card. Later, in 2005 and 2008, this scheme was found susceptible to forged login attacks by some researchers, and improved schemes were proposed. In 2011, Awasthi et al. pointed out an additional security threat on the scheme of Shen et al. and also suggested remedy by proposing an enhanced scheme. In this paper, we analyze the additional attack identified by Awasthi et al. on the scheme of Shen et al. show its flaws and rectify it. Further, we find that the scheme of Awasthi et al. still fails to withstand forged login attack, smart card loss attack, offline password guessing attack, and so on, and also inherits some weaknesses from the original scheme. Therefore, we propose an improved version of the scheme of Awasthi et al. Our improved scheme not only resists the attacks that we depict on the scheme of Awasthi et al. but is also free from the attacks pointed out so far on the scheme of Shen et al. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Alus are transposable elements belonging to the short interspersed element family. They occupy over 10% of human genome and have been spreading through genomes over the past 65 million years. In the past, they were considered junk DNA with little function that took up genome volumes. Today, Alus and other transposable elements emerge to be key players in cellular function, including genomic activities, gene expression regulations, and evolution. Here we summarize the current understanding of Alu function in genome and gene expression regulation in human cell nuclei.


Pancreatic cystadenoma is an unusual lesion of the pancreas, typically occurring as an isolated lesion in a middle-aged woman with abdominal pain or an asymptomatic epigastric mass. Jaundice is unusual. Two types of pancreatic cystadenoma are distinguished: microcystic and mucinous; the latter has a tendency to malignant degeneration. A patient with Von Hippel-Lindau disease and pancreatic cystadenoma developed jaundice due to common bile and pancreatic duct obstruction. Cystic and adenomatous lesions of the pancreas are common in Von Hippel-Lindau disease, but jaundice due to common bile duct obstruction has not previously been reported.


Pfeiffer contains a population of fractals which has been evolving continuously for more than three years. The animations are developed from embryos using a Lindenmayer grammar (LSystem). These open generative representations potentially allow gene duplication and the evolution of higher order genetic operators and might be a step towards the emergence of social intelligence in swarms of artificial life (alife) agents. The fitness function is simply do the snowflake patterns appeal to the users: interactive evolution (IEC). To this end, images are placed in animated snow globes (computerised snowstorms) by world wide web (www) browsers (Netscape, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) anywhere on the planet. More than 600 people have used http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/W.Langdon/pfeiffer.html.


3D Multi-object tracking (MOT) is crucial to autonomous systems. Recent work often uses a tracking-by-detection pipeline, where the feature of each object is extracted independently to compute an affinity matrix. Then, the affinity matrix is passed to the Hungarian algorithm for data association. A key process of this pipeline is to learn discriminative features for different objects in order to reduce confusion during data association. To that end, we propose two innovative techniques: (1) instead of obtaining the features for each object independently, we propose a novel feature interaction mechanism by introducing Graph Neural Networks; (2) instead of obtaining the features from either 2D or 3D space as in prior work, we propose a novel joint feature extractor to learn appearance and motion features from 2D and 3D space. Through experiments on the KITTI dataset, our proposed method achieves state-of-the-art 3D MOT performance. Our project website is at this http URL


The invention relates to vacuum glass. The vacuum glass is characterized in that each of upper glass and lower glass is convex glass, an edge sealing strip frame is arranged at the welded periphery of the upper glass, an edge sealing groove is arranged at the welded periphery of the lower glass, and the upper glass and the lower glass are welded together by utilizing metal or alloy solder in a vacuum edge sealing furnace; and the manufacturing of the vacuum glass is simpler and more convenient, and the matching of the edge sealing strip frame and the edge sealing groove can ensure a good sealing effect. The method has the advantages of simpleness in manufacturing process, low cost, high production efficiency, reliability in sealing and connecting and good sealing effect; the one-step large-batch preparation of the vacuum glass without exhaust ports can be realized by utilizing the technology, and the manufactured vacuum glass is strong in resistance to wind pressure and good in heat insulation and sound insulation; and the method can be used for manufacturing the ordinary vacuum glass and is particularly suitable for manufacturing tempered vacuum glass.


The traditional class room approach of teaching and learning has always had the limitation of not being able to provide personalised learning content that would meet the individual needs of each learner. E-learning technologies have the potential of being designed to give the learner the appropriate content in line with the learner's personal information requirements. We explore theories of knowledge construction and how they can be supported through e-learning and look at the approaches of personalisation that can be adopted based on the psychological attributes of learner. This forms a basis for extending, designing and developing a conceptual model of how learning content can be structured using learning objects for a content management system to enable personalisation of the learning content.


This paper shows the results of calculations, obtained by computer simulation, of the Stark broadening of the dipolar Lyman−α line of hydrogen considering fine structure, of two–photon absorption profiles for the transition 1S→2S of hydrogen and of the profiles that could be obtained using two–photon polarization spectroscopy techniques for the aforementioned transition. Calculations have been carried forward for wide ranges of electron density, between 4 10 and 10 m−3 and temperature, between 2 000 and 100 000 K. We have considered ion dynamics effects with perturbers of different masses. In this paper we give the obtained profiles and the autocorrelation functions. These autocorrelation functions could be used in order to add another broadening mechanisms before obtaining the spectral profiles.


Satralizumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 receptors, has been approved for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Several reports have described the effectiveness of satralizumab against neuropathic pain in patients with NMOSD, but its effects on painful tonic seizures have not yet been reported. We herein report a Japanese woman with anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive NMOSD whose painful tonic seizures completely resolved after six months of satralizumab treatment. In conclusion, interleukin-6 blocking may be effective against painful tonic seizures. This effect may be due to suppression of microglial activation and the resultant neuronal hyperexcitability.


As relatives share genes that are identical by descent, organisms can gain additional fitness benefits by improving the reproductive success of known kin. There are a number of costs associated with close inbreeding, including an increased likelihood of the expression of recessive deleterious alleles and reduced survivorship. The ability to recognise kin therefore enables individuals to improve their inclusive fitness and avoid problems associated with close inbreeding. Female house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) will nest and nurse offspring communally. Choosing an appropriate nest partner is therefore important and competition between nesting females can result in reproductive inhibition and infanticide. Kin selection theory suggests that females could gain inclusive fitness benefits from nesting with relatives. This thesis explores the mechanisms of kin recognition in female house mice in the contexts of social partner choice and inbreeding avoidance. Female house mice recognised unfamiliar relatives, suggesting a phenotype matching mechanism for kin recognition. Females were presented with maternal and paternal half-siblings to investigate recognition template formation. Females nested with maternal but not paternal half-sisters, suggesting that female house mice may use a recognition template learnt from their mother for social partner choice decisions. However females avoided both maternal and paternal half-brothers suggesting that females may use a match-to-self mechanism for inbreeding avoidance. Female house mice were able to identify relatives from urine, suggesting that genetic markers are present in urine. To investigate the molecular markers of kin recognition mice were bred to control for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and major urinary proteins (MUPs). Females nested with females that matched for MHC or MUP type, suggesting that both gene families may be used for kin recognition between females. A non-significant trend was observed for females to avoid males that matched themselves for MUP type, but females showed no avoidance of males that matched for MHC type. A small pilot experiment investigated the physiological effects of female social environment. Housing with unfamiliar females resulted in short-term decreases in female body mass and urinary protein concentration but an increase in urinary creatinine concentration. Competition between unfamiliar females may have resulted in a decreased water uptake and an increase in scent marking which could explain the physiological changes observed. Together these results suggest that female house mice may use two mechanisms of kin recognition. For social partner choice females may use a match-to-maternal MHC and MUP type mechanism, whilst for inbreeding avoidance females may use a match-to-own MUP type mechanism. The possibility of a single species using two separate mechanisms suggests that kin recognition may be considerably more complex than previously thought.


Introduction Stroke is the third most frequent cause of death after cancer and heart disease in developed countries and one of the most common reasons for developing cognitive impairment and vascular dementia [1]. High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for stroke, and a continuous relationship between BP and the occurrence of stroke has been well established [2]. On the other hand, evidence from hypertension treatment trials has shown that relatively small reductions in BP (5–6 mm Hg in diastolic BP, 10–12 mm Hg in systolic BP over 3–5 years) reduce the risk of stroke by more than one third [3]. The primary prevention of stroke through antihypertensive therapy and BP control is well established. Likewise, higher BP levels after stroke increase the risk of recurrent stroke [4], and recent trials indicate that BP reduction with combined antihypertensive therapy is beneficial in reducing stroke recurrence [5].


Valorization of lignin plays a key role in the further development of lignocellulosic biorefinery processes for biofuels and biobased materials production. Today's increased demand for alternatives to fossil carbon-based products expands the interest and the need to create added value to the unconverted lignin fraction. The aim of the research was to study the potential of lignin to become a renewable aromatic resource for the chemical industry. Lignin can be considered as an abundantly available and cheap raw material for the manufacturing of an array of products. Development of applications needs to go hand in hand with the anticipated increased production of technical lignins derived from the pulp and paper industry and the emerging lignocellulosic biorefinery industry. Two promising lignin applications are studied in this thesis: 1)         the use of lignin in wood adhesives 2)         the use of lignin for the production of aromatic chemicals PCA modeling was performed aimed at the prediction of the application potential of different technical lignins for wood adhesive production. The lignins and their fractions could be classified in different clusters based on their structure dependent properties. Lignins exhibiting sufficient reactive sites, medium molar mass and low level of impurities are most promising candidates for the development of lignin based wood adhesives. Both lignin reactivity and formaldehyde-free crosslinking agents are needed to develop emission-free adhesives. Periodate oxidation was studied as method to improve the lignin reactivity. Alternatives to formaldehyde- based glues are under investigation and a combination of lignin and furans might be an interesting concept to develop renewable adhesives.  In this research a reliable SEC methodology was developed for the analysis of the molar mass distribution of a wide range of different lignins. The major drawback of this method is that the molar masses are calculated on a relative basis to sulfonated polystyrenes. Using MALDI-TOF-MS and prior fractionation of lignin did not solve all problems associated with the determination of the absolute molar mass of lignin.    Supercritical depolymerisation of lignin using a carbon dioxide/acetone/water fluid resulted in a depolymerised lignin oil. In this oil some monomeric compounds are present in relatively high amounts up to 3.6% (based on dry lignin). These products maybe further isolated by downstream processing to obtain purified fine chemicals. For continuous operation of this supercritical process, the formation of char should be further limited.  The results presented in this thesis are expected to contribute - together with the many on-going activities worldwide - to the increased commercial utilisation of lignin in the future. Moreover, the obtained results contribute to the increasing knowledge on lignin analysis, chemistry and reactivity.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Transplant pathology contributes substantially to personalized treatment of organ allograft recipients. Rapidly advancing next-generation human leukocyte antigen (HLA) sequencing and pathology are enhancing the abilities to improve donor/recipient matching and allograft monitoring.

RECENT FINDINGS
The present review summarizes the workflow of a prototypical patient through a pathology practice, highlighting histocompatibility assessment and pathologic review of tissues as areas that are evolving to incorporate next-generation technologies while emphasizing critical needs of the field.

SUMMARY
Successful organ transplantation starts with the most precise pratical donor-recipient histocompatibility matching. Next-generation sequencing provides the highest resolution donor-recipient matching and enables eplet mismatch scores and more precise monitoring of donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) that may arise after transplant. Multiplex labeling combined with hand-crafted machine learning is transforming traditional histopathology. The combination of traditional blood/body fluid laboratory tests, eplet and DSA analysis, traditional and next-generation histopathology, and -omics-based platforms enables risk stratification and identification of early subclinical molecular-based changes that precede a decline in allograft function. Needs include software integration of data derived from diverse platforms that can render the most accurate assessment of allograft health and needs for immunosuppression adjustments.


The Federal Constitution of 1988 established the decentralization of competence to legislate on the environmental issue, and, consequently, the competence of the municipality to legislate on the environment, including the issue of urban afforestation. The objective of this article is to analyze urban afforestation, based on the legislation that deals with the subject, diagnosing the main problems derived from inadequate afforestation, either by choosing the wrong species or by the lack of maintenance and monitoring of the chosen seedlings. In this context, we also sought to verify the role played by the municipality in order to avoid the impacts caused by inadequate afforestation. It was concluded that, despite the importance of protecting the artificial environment and the existence of a vast legal apparatus available for the implementation of urban afforestation, the legislation is not fully effective, lacking in important technical aspects, which ends up leaving it to subjective criteria the implementation of afforestation, including respect for the tree species to be used.


ScaRaB (SCAnner for RAdiation Budget) is the name of three radiometers whose two first flight models have been launched in 1994 and 1997. The instruments were mounted on-board Russian satellites, METEOR and RESURS. On October 12th 2011, a last model has been launched from the Indian site of Sriharikota. ScaRaB is a passenger of MEGHA-TROPIQUES, an Indo-French joint Satellite Mission for studying the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics. ScaRaB is composed of four parallel and independent channels. Channel-2 and channel-3 are considered as the main ones. Channel-1 is dedicated to measure solar radiance (0.5 to 0.7 μm) while channel-4 (10 to 13 μm) is an infrared window. The absolute calibration of ScaRab is assured by internal calibration sources (black bodies and a lamp for channel-1). However, during the commissioning phase, the lamp used for the absolute calibration of channel-1 revealed to be inaccurate. We propose here an alternative calibration method based on terrestrial targets. Due to the spectral range of channel-1, only calibration over desert sites (temporal monitoring) and clouds (cross band) is suitable. Desert sites have been widely used for sensor calibration since they have a stable spectral response over time. Because of their high reflectances, the atmospheric effect on the upward radiance is relatively minimal. In addition, they are spatially uniform. Their temporal instability without atmospheric correction has been determined to be less than 1-2% over a year. Very-high-altitude (10 km) bright clouds are good validation targets in the visible and near-infrared spectra because of their high spectrally consistent reflectance. If the clouds are very high, there is no need to correct aerosol scattering and water vapor absorption as both aerosol and water vapor are distributed near the surface. Only Rayleigh scattering and ozone absorption need to be considered. This method has been found to give a 4% uncertainty. Radiometric cross calibration of Earth observation sensors is a crucial need to guarantee or quantify the consistency of measurements from different sensors. ScaRaB is compatible with CERES mission. Two main spectral bands are measured by the radiometer: A short-wave channel (0.2 to 4 μm) dedicated to solar fluxes and a Total channel (0.2 to 200 μm) for fluxes combining the infrared earth radiance and the albedo. The earth long-wave radiance is isolated by subtracting the short-wave channel to the Total channel. Both Earth Radiation Budget missions (CERES and ScaRaB) have the same specification: to provide an accuracy of ~1% in the measurement of short-wave and long-wave radiances and an estimation of the short-wave and long-wave fluxes less than 10 W/m2. We use the CERES PAPS and Cross-Track SSF datasets for direct radiances and fluxes comparisons during two validation phases. The first one occurred during April 17th to June 8th (51 days) in 2012 and the second one occurred between March 22th and May 31st 2015. The first validation campaign has been held with the CERES team using the Terra FM2 data. The CERES PAPS mode was used to align the swath scan, in order to increase the collocated pixels between the two instruments. This campaign allowed us to validate the ScaRaB radiances and to refine the error budget. The second validation campaign aims to provide a temporal monitoring of ScaRab calibration.


The author reviews recent studies on blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings (ICOs), and discusses their implications for institutional investors. The research on blockchain technology is organized into two broad categories: those with the economics of decentralized ledger technologies and those studying their impacts on the real economy. The author first clarifies the core functionalities of blockchains and then elaborates on issues concerning information distribution in generating decentralized consensus, industrial organization of mining pools, the role and dynamic pricing of crypto-tokens, and auditing with a federated blockchain.


BACKGROUND Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is the gold standard for treatment of high-risk skin cancers. There has been an upward trend in the use of this procedure as demonstrated by data from Medicare and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. OBJECTIVE To assess interest in MMS among members of the general public as measured by number of online searches, and how that interest has changed over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS Google Trends was used to plot interest in search terms including "Mohs surgery," "basal cell carcinoma," "squamous cell carcinoma," "melanoma," and "skin cancer" from January 1, 2004, to November 30, 2016. RESULTS Search interest for the term "Mohs surgery" has steadily increased since 2004 and correlates closely with increased interest for "basal cell carcinoma" (r = 0.82) and "squamous cell carcinoma" (r = 0.85). Search interest in MMS did not correlate well with searches for melanoma (r = −0.15) or skin cancer (r = −0.29). CONCLUSION Public interest in MMS has continued to steadily increase in the United States, which may be a reflection of the increasing volume of MMS that is performed.


Leuctra quadrimaculata Kis, 1963 (Plecoptera; Leuctridae) in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts. and Javorníky Mts. (Czech Republic) The paper brings new information on the distribution of Leuctra quadrimaculata Kis, 1963 in the Czech Republic. Until now, it was known only from the one locality in the Bílé Karpaty Mts. (Bojková & Špaček, 2006). The imagines of L. quadrimaculata were collected at five localities in the Outer Western Carpathians (3 localities in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts., subunit Klokočovská hornatina and 2 localities in Javorníky Mts.). Presented records confirm the occurrence of the species in the Czech Republic and they are the first records in the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts. and Javorníky Mts.


Following the adoption of an acuity-adaptable unit model in an academic medical center, a $13M increase in cost of intermediate intensive care unit (IICU) accommodations was observed. The authors followed A3 methodology to determine the root cause of this increase and developed a 3-prong intervention centered on physician engagement, given that physicians have the ability to order a patient's level of care. This intervention consisted of: (1) identifying physician champions to promote appropriate IICU use, (2) visual changes to essential electronic medical record tools, and (3) data-driven feedback to physician champions. In the year following intervention deployment, average IICU length of stay decreased from 1.08 to 0.62 days and average IICU use decreased from 21.4% to 12.3%, corresponding to ~$5.7M cost savings with no significant change in balancing measures observed. Together, these results demonstrate that a multicomponent intervention aimed at engaging physicians reduced inappropriate IICU use with no increase in adverse events.


Introduction: Medical ethics is an analytical attempt that deals with various aspects of ethical decision making in medicine. According to the importance and goals of medical ethics, this study is an endeavor to evaluate strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) as well as opportunities and threats to medical ethics education (external factors) using SWOT (Strengths,Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) model and represent helpful strategies in medical ethics education in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross sectional study, the opinions of 48 faculty members of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in year 2011 were studied. After collecting the opinions, each factor was weighed (level of importance) and ranked and finally the strategies were formulated in SWOT model. Results: Evaluating internal factors of strength points, it was deriven that the most importance level (weight) belongs to "having rich Islamic and historical resources on medical ethics" with the weight of 0.10 and the grade of 2.9. Among weekness points, the top importance belonged to "using traditional methods for medical ethics education" with weight of 0.12 and ranking of 2.6. Furthermore, the sum of grades in analysis table was 2.85 for internal factors and 2.87 for external factors. The results showed that the first three priorities of formulated strategies were "inter-disciplinary medical ethics education by medical ethics and clinical sciences teachers", "teaching medical ethics in clinical settings", and "employing new methods in medical ethics education", respectively. Conclusion:The analysis of internal and external factors in medical ethics education in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences which studies the weekness and strength points, opportunities, and threats to medical ethics education shows that the faculty reaction to these factors is lower than medium. On the other hand, the validity of strategies for medical ethics education development using SWOT model is high, so these strategies can play an important role in strategic planning of medical ethics education in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.


For city and neighbourhood people transport, electric driven vehicle with advanced energy storage and electronic control system could be competitive for conventional transportation means. Advanced energy storage and full utilization of regenerative braking system leads to significant energy saving. Regenerative braking is particularly important in city traffic, where a lot of acceleration/braking cycles occur. Replacement of internal combustion engines driven cars with electric vehicles give various benefits: decrease of transport sector impact on climate warming by CO2 emission reduction and general human health condition increase by elimination of toxic exhaust gases components emission by passenger cars. Particular interest of EV research is focused on lithium based batteries and supercapacitors. Nano-Lithium-Titanate battery could be fully recharged in a very short time and current peaks have no damage impact on the battery. Such batteries have high Cycle Life value (25000) and long life calendar (20 years).Fast charging systems should be equipped with energy converter built inside charging station. The converter has to be based on intelligent control system, for charging parameters setting (stable voltage, charging current, charging time) for different electric vehicles. To estimating charge/discharge characteristic and regenerative braking effectiveness, a simulation in MATLAB environment has been performed based on factory parameters. Graphical simulations results are presented in the paper.


Recent developments of information technologies have supported fast development of Internet shopping worldwide and also using mobile devices. Internet shopping creates convenience for customers, bigger selection of goods and services from one side, but also creates several challenges for companies as well as some problems for companies and customers from the other side. Active research on different aspects is done by businesses, academic researchers alone and in co-operation of business and academic researchers. The aim of research is to find recent ideas of customers on Internet shops and problems raised in Internet shopping using mobile devices and to compare the results with other countries. The authors used the research methods such as: scientific publications' studies, analysis of statistics on Internet shopping development, a survey realised in Latvia at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 on Internet shopping in co-operation with the company iMarketing, University of Latvia, and Chamber of Trade and Commerce of Latvia. The main results and findings of the study, theoretical and practical implications are the following: the response rate of respondents was very high in comparison with other surveys, respondents have also expressed their suggestions and improvements for Internet shopping using mobile devices. The main conclusions of research: increase in Internet shopping in Latvia using mobile devices is not so fast as in other countries, mobile devices for shopping on the Internet are used not so often as in other countries; several local brands already having experience on Internet shopping encounter big challenges in development of Internet marketing; customers highly evaluate previous personal experience and good references of relatives and friends (word of mouth) in use of a respective brand for Internet shopping, but does not want to leave personal information (bank card information, personal code, etc.). KEYWORDS: Internet marketing, problems in Internet shopping, young people shopping on Internet, survey. JEL CODES: L86; M31; M37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v27i1.1884


Scholars have acknowledged that research staying within its own discipline tends to only investigate one level of reality, which hinders our understanding of the world we live in, and fails to address contemporary social issues. The concept of transdisciplinarity has emerged as an alternative approach that enables researchers to go beyond their discipline, reaching knowledge that risk to otherwise get lost in the gaps between fields and between academia and practice.

The importance of working transdisciplinary is frequently mentioned in design, especially when dealing with participatory design and sustainable social advancement in developing countries. However, although seen as important, collaboration between disciplines is often only noted in passing. Other fields are acknowledged primarily by a definition of their discipline, or referred to as non-designers. Also, designers seem to mainly carry out the discussion in a design context, from a design perspective.This is relevant in order to evolve the disciplinary knowledge, however other fields tackle
the same issues as designers, often in the same context. Transdisciplinary research also includes practitioners and the society. The involvement of these stakeholders is seen to be the core of participatory design, however there are few studies that incorporate their perceptions of the process.

The paper aims to explore how it is possible to work with the challenge of moving beyond disciplinary boundaries in order to reach knowledge integration in transdisciplinary projects. This is done through a reflection on an ecotourism development project in Dunga Beach, Kisumu, Kenya, where the authors'
research areas of design and marketing and the collaboration with local stakeholders enabled the project to be set in the borderland between fields, as well as between research and practice. The findings indicate a need for support structures that allow stakeholders to find a common ground, and for focus to be placed on actions rather than disciplines.


This report presents information on drug usage by adolescents in County Tipperary. An extensive questionnaire survey of post-primary school pupils between the ages of 15 and 19 was conducted using a stratified random sampling approach. Schools and classes were selected in a random and representative manner. Over 600 questionnaires were completed. The report consists of two sets of analysis: Analysis of the entire survey sample and analysis of a sub-section of the total population, the latter group excluding those who were deemed "over reporters." 50.9% of respondents had smoked a whole cigarette in the past 12 months, 60.6% claimed to have consumed a whole alcoholic drink in the past 12 months. In the smaller sample, 22% reported having taken one or more illegal drugs. Cannabis is the most common drug used (12%) followed by hallucinogens (7%) and ecstasy (3%). Most students surveyed did view illegal drug consumption in a favourable light. Polydrug use is not the norm; friends are the most usual suppliers of drugs. Half the respondents reported getting no education about illegal drugs, and of those who did, 35% did not find it of value. Extensive use of alcohol and cigarettes by young people continues to be a problem, however use of illegal drugs is not a large problem. The report concludes that efforts to prevent drug abuse should begin with early childhood education and family support, parent training and school organisational strategies. The report recommends the setting up of a task force to deal with this issue.


Background: Fast-acting medications for the management of anxiety are important to patients and society. Measuring early onset, however, requires a sensitive and clinically responsive tool. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of a patient-reported Global Anxiety - Visual Analog Scale (GA-VAS). Methods: Data from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of lorazepam and paroxetine in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder were analyzed to assess the reliability, validity, responsiveness, and utility of the GAVAS. The GA-VAS was completed at clinic visits and at home during the first week of treatment. Targeted psychometric analyses—test-retest reliabilities, validity correlations, responsiveness statistics, and minimum important differences—were conducted. Results: The GA-VAS correlates well with other anxiety measures, at Week 4, r = 0.60 (p < 0.0001) with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety and r = 0.74 (p < 0.0001) with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Anxiety subscale. In terms of convergent and divergent validity, the GA-VAS correlated -0.54 (p < 0.0001), -0.48 (p < 0.0001), and -0.68 (p < 0.0001) with the SF-36 Emotional Role, Social Function, and Mental Health subscales, respectively, but correlated much lower with the SF-36 physical functioning subscales. Preliminary minimum important difference estimates cluster between 10 and 15 mm. Conclusions: The GA-VAS is capable of validly and effectively capturing a reduction in anxiety as quickly as 24 hours post-dose.


Introduction: The study aims to analyze the infectious complications and mortality associated with small intestine transplant (SIT) patients on immunosuppressive therapy. Methods: Aretrospectivecohortstudywasconductedatasingle,urbanquaternarycarecenterinmidwesternUnitedStatesandconsistedof27patientsreceivingimmunotherapyfollowingSITfrom2012-2022. Data points that were collected included age at transplant, sex, and causal organism of infection. Patients were categorized into 3 groups based on onset of infection (within 6/6-12 months/beyond 12 months of transplant). Primary outcomes collected from each group were percent survival at 1 and 3 years respectively. Results: 27 patients were included in the study. The most common source of post SIT infection was intrabdominal which comprised of 29.6% (n 5 8) of all infections. From this group, 88% developed infections within 6 months of SIT with a 1 and 3-year survival rate of 86% respectively. 13% developed after 12 months, having a 100% survival rate after 1 and 3 years respectively. The second most common source was CMV viremia which comprised 19% of infections with 20% of these patients developing within 6-12 months from SIT with a 1-year survival of 100% and 3-year survival of 0%. From patients who developed CMV viremia, 80% of them developed it after 12 months from SIT, and survival rate at 3 years was 100%. The next group of infections was pneumonia which comprised of 15% of patients (n 5 4). 75% (n 5 3) developed within 6 months of SITand 3-year survival rate was 100%. 25% (n 5 1) of them developed 6-12 months after SIT and had a 1-year survival rate of 100% with a 3-year survival rate of 0%. Conclusion: Of patients who developed post SIT infections, intrabdominal infections were the most common with most patients developing them within 6 months from SIT. Common causes from this group included intraabdominal abscess ' , fl uid translocation, peritonitis, and enteritis. While CMV viremia was the secondmost commoninfection, the source and site of infection was largely unknownand could have had overlap from patient ' s with intrabdominal infection. Larger studies from multi center are needed for further investigation of infectious complications following SIT.


Humic acids (HAs) form coatings on clays and minerals that can play an important role in nutrient and contaminant migration in soil and water. Humic acid-clay mineral interactions are known to be affected by pH and ionic strength, but little attention has been paid to the effects of temperature. In this paper we report the stoichiometry and thermodynamics of interactions of aqueous HAs (isolated from two peats, two soils and a marine alga with a method that removes lipids) with kaolinite clay, Al2Si2O5(OH)4, at seven temperatures from 5.0 to 35.0 degrees C in 0.05 M NaCl at pH 3.5. All the sorption isotherms exhibit consecutive steps ascribed to HA monolayer and bilayer formation, respectively. Site capacity comparisons suggest different HA molecular conformations on kaolinite. Linearly correlated enthalpy and entropy changes for HA sorption point to the importance of hydration and dehydration in the sorption mechanism.


The mechanisms that determine population genetic structure in the marine environment are poorly understood, as are the processes that drive population dynamics. One potential factor is depth, with especially those species living in the abyss inhabiting a distinct environment with respect to habitat complexity, pressure, the distribution of resources and environmental change over time. Here we consider a deep sea fish genus, Coryphaenoides, which has many named species, including 8 abyssal species. We provide data in support of the existence of 2 distinct evolutionary lineages within the genus, associated with depth, and also provide detailed population genetic data for the abyssal species (C. brevibarbis) for comparison with available data on a congeneric species inhabiting shallower waters (C. rupestris). The abyssal species showed no sign of population genetic structure across a thermal oceanographic boundary (the Sub-Polar Front), for which C. rupestris showed differentiation. An assessment of historical demographics suggested a decline in population size for both species, but a faster and more severe decline for the abyssal species. We consider these data in the context of environmental gradients and potential evolutionary mechanisms. Relatively low effective population size estimates for both species emphasize the importance of understanding these processes for the effective conservation and management of deep sea fish stocks.


With recent advances in Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal processing and biomedical instrumentation, brain machine interfaces are used for rehabilitation of people suffering from neuromuscular disorders. This paper presents a novel method employing Hierarchical classifier using optimised Neural Networks to classify left-hand movement, right-hand movement and word generation using EEG signals. One of the most important components of brain computer interface (BCI) is feature extraction of EEG signals. Power spectral density (PSD) is used for feature extraction from EEG signals. The proposed pre-processing and reconfiguration of PSD samples make them more discriminative & yield appropriately organized feature vectors. The adaptation of network weights using Comprehensive Learning Particle Swarm Optimization (CLPSO) is proposed to improve the performance of Neural Network (NN). Further, the two level hierarchical neural network is used to enhance the discriminative property of the features and hence better classification accuracy is achieved. Results are verified on BCI benchmarking database as well as our own experimental database. Results obtained using the proposed methods are compared with other contemporary methods such as Linear Discrimination analysis (LDA), neural networks based on improved particle swarm optimization (IPSONN) and to a recently proposed approach based on Evidence-based combining classifier. It is found that the proposed method outperforms all the contemporary techniques for the multi-task EEG classification. This new method can be easily extended to other multitask BCI applications. General Terms BCI, EEG Classification, Neural networks


The bread wheat is an important crop of Pakistan. The average yield of wheat in the country is much behind the potential yield of the improved wheat cultivars. The low yield of wheat is the consequence of many factors including rust diseases that cause yield along with quality losses. Most of breeding programs in the country lack facilities for screening against rust diseases. Usually, selection is done with inadequate rust epidemic or improper pathotypes. As a result, only a few of released cultivars exhibit desired resistance against the prevailing rust races/pathotypes. A study was conducted from 2007 to 2011 at National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, Pakistan to provide information on the level of resistance in 113 released Pakistani bread wheat cultivars against stripe rust. The results indicated that most of the cultivars exhibited compatible reaction with prevailing pathotypes/races of stripe rust fungus at Islamabad. Only six cultivars including, Tatara, Faisalabad 08, Bahawalpur 94, Sassui, Chakwal 86 and Fakhr-e-Sarhad demonstrated hypersensitive type of resistance against naturally prevailing stripe rust races/pathotypes. However, year x cultivar interaction was observed in many cultivars against stripe rust races. Among the cultivars that showed compatible type of reactions, four were highly partial (non-hypersensitive) resistant (disease severity (DS) < 5% of Morocco), nineteen were partially (non-hypersensitive) resistant (DS < 20% of Morocco), forty-three were moderately partial (non-hypersensitive) resistant (DS < 50% of Morocco) and forty-one were moderately to highly susceptible. Virulence was observed against resistant genes YrA, Yr2, Yr4 Yr6, Yr7, Yr9 and Yr27.


This paper is a critique of the current direction of industrial statistics in the U.S. The sweep includes not just the toolkit of statistical methods most often employed in industry, but also international competi- tiveness, the corporate climate in which statistical solutions are sought and the educational process which trains applied statisticians. Much is found that is good, but bland endorsement does little to advance a field. Therefore most of the paper is deliberately iconoclastic. Almost all of the extreme viewpoints are rooted in the author's direct experience, working with statisticians and managers across a range of industries. Some of the perspective must be attributed to knowledgable gossip, from friends and students who are now employed by various companies. Incidentally, the paper reviews four new statistical textbooks for engi- neers and an edited volume of papers on experimental design for industry.


Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are embryonic precursors of the gametes of adult animals and are considered stem cells of the germline. Since their proliferation in vitro correlates well with the schedule of developmental changes in vivo, they might be interesting research tools for genomic imprinting, germ-cell tumors and fertility. Furthermore, once primordial germ cells are separated and placed on a feeder layer with cytokines, they become cultured pluripotent cell lines called embryonic germ (EG) cells. EG cells share several important characteristics with embryonic stem (ES) cells as they can also contribute to the germ line of chimeras. To investigate the characteristics of PGCs and establish rabbit EG (rEG) cells, we cultured rabbit PGCs (rPGCs) in vitro with various combinations of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and forskolin on inactivated mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeder layers. The present study found PGC proliferation in early cultures and induction of rEG-like colonies. These cells expressed pluripotent markers, such as alkaline phosphatase activity, OCT-4, Sox-2 and SSEA-1, in the undifferentiated state; however, the cells did not develop into a teratoma when injected into the kidney capsules of SCID mice, although the restricted differentiation potentials to neural cells were determined via embryoid body formation. From these characteristics and further characterization of the germ stem cell markers Vasa, SCP-1 and SCP-3, we suggested that these were hybrid cells with characteristics somewhere between PGC and EG cells.


Introduction Klotho (KL) is expressed as a hormone and a transmembrane protein. Mice low in KL develop sarcopenia and emphysema. Limited data exists in smokers, who may develop a similar phenotype. Aims 1) To compare serum KL levels (sKL) before and after attempted smoking cessation; 2) to evaluate the effect of smoking on muscle KL in an animal model. Methods We measured sKL in 13 smokers before and after attempted smoking cessation, 7 patients with COPD were studied 1 week apart as controls. Judged by exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) 8 patients quit. Gastrocnemius KL (mKL) was measured in mice exposed to 77 weeks of either smoke or sham air. KL levels were log transformed. Differences were assessed by t-test, relationships by Pearson's and response to cessation by Wilcoxon. Results In successful quitters sKL rose from 2.80 (0.19) to 3.02 (0.14) pg/ml; p=0.04 but did not change in those continuing to smoke (p=0.81). There was no change in sKL measured 1 week apart in controls (p=0.84). Comparing the differences between repeat measurements in controls to those attempting smoking cessation, those successful in smoking cessation had a greater rise on repeat assessment (0.22 (0.25) v 0.00 (0.05) pg/ml; p=0.04), but those unsuccessful did not; p=0.34. Smoke-exposed mice (n=19) had lower mKL than the sham air group (n=9); p=0.001. Conclusions Muscle KL is reduced by smoking in mice. Successful smoking cessation is associated with a rise in sKL, while unsuccessful quit attempts yield an intermediate picture. We have shown that fat free mass improves with smoking cessation [Hopkinson, Resp Res 2007 (8):25], however, ongoing smoking abstinence is difficult. It is therefore of interest that smoking induces KL suppression, which may explain phenotypic features in COPD.


This paper reports two studies with similar methodology. Students completed the NEO Personality Inventory - Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) and three different intelligence measures (Baddeley, 1968; Philips & Rawles, 1976; Wonderlic, 1992) soon after arriving at the beginning of their course. These scores were then related to a reliable graphological analysis of their hand-writing in exam scripts few months later (Study 1) and twenty-months in another (Study 2). Results showed that the 14 graphological variables factored into two interpretable factors called dimension (size, width, pressure, percentage used etc) and details (loops above, below, dotted i's, crossed t's). Correlation and regression analyses in both studies showed fewer associations with the Big Five personality variables than maybe expected by chance. Graphological variables did correlate with both participants' gender and intelligence, but the pattern was different in the two studies reinforcing the idea that chance factors were influential. Thus, once again, despite attempts to use both psychometrically valid personality measures and reliably measured hand writing factors collected under non-self-conscious conditions there appears to be no robust relationship between graphology and personality. ©2003 Individual Differences Research Group. All rights reserved.


This study focused on the reproductive biology of the velvet swimming crab, Necora puber (L.), and its implications for managing the fishery in the Orkney Islands, UK. According to gonadal observation, 50% of the population became sexually mature at 43.8 mm carapace width (CW) for females and 52.8 mm for males. Ovigerous females were observed from January to July, with peak occurrence in spring. Clutch size (N) ranged from 5000 to 278,000 eggs, and was related to CW by the equation: N × 10 3  = 0.0026 × CW 2.5169 , displaying considerable variability, possibly due to the fringe location of the population related to its general species distribution. Reinstatement of the closed season, coinciding with the peak moulting period, is recommended. The minimum landing size is appropriate for the population in terms of sexual maturity. The common practice of discarding recently moulted and ovigerous individuals should be incorporated into the fishing regulations.


The high power laser PHELIX is currently installed at the heavy ion accelerator facility GSI-Darmstadt. It will deliver several kJ energy in pulses of 1 to 10 ns length, with variable pulse shaping and up to one petawatt power in 500 fs, using chirped pulse amplification. In combination with the high power ion beam from the SIS synchrotron at GSI, which is expected to deliver pulses of up to 1 kJ beam energy in the near future, a variety of unique experiments will become possible with the PHELIX laser. These include basic research of ion beam interaction with hot, dense laser produced plasmas, investigation of intense laser generated particle beams and their acceleration, X-ray backlighting of ion beam generated plasmas at solid state density, and others. This research will be of relevance to equation-of-state (EOS) physics, astrophysics, atomic and plasma physics, and in the field of inertial confinement fusion. The setup of the pulsed power system for the 315 mm glass main amplifiers and Faraday rotators follows closely the design of the Nova and Phebus lasers. The main capacitor bank will store an energy of up to 4 MJ and is switched with ignitrons. The discharge circuit, grounding scheme, and dump system are discussed and the structure of the control system, monitoring and data acquisition is described.


It is shown that, arbitrarily close to the Cauchy data that a 'conical' singularity induces on a surface, there exist Cauchy data which are the limit of a family of regular Cauchy data, the limit of whose developments is a spacetime with a curvature singularity (i.e. not just a quasi-regular singularity). This result is used to formulate a notion of stability for quasi-regular singularities. It is shown that certain 'cone-like' singularities are unstable in this sense.


Background Real-world performance of COVID-19 diagnostic tests under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) must be assessed. We describe overall trends in the performance of serology tests in the context of real-world implementation. Methods Six health systems estimated the odds of seropositivity and positive percent agreement (PPA) of serology test among people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by molecular test. In each dataset, we present the odds ratio and PPA, overall and by key clinical, demographic, and practice parameters. Results A total of 15,615 people were observed to have at least one serology test 14–90 days after a positive molecular test for SARS-CoV-2. We observed higher PPA in Hispanic (PPA range: 79–96%) compared to non-Hispanic (60–89%) patients; in those presenting with at least one COVID-19 related symptom (69–93%) as compared to no such symptoms (63–91%); and in inpatient (70–97%) and emergency department (93–99%) compared to outpatient (63–92%) settings across datasets. PPA was highest in those with diabetes (75–94%) and kidney disease (83–95%); and lowest in those with auto-immune conditions or who are immunocompromised (56–93%). The odds ratios (OR) for seropositivity were higher in Hispanics compared to non-Hispanics (OR range: 2.59–3.86), patients with diabetes (1.49–1.56), and obesity (1.63–2.23); and lower in those with immunocompromised or autoimmune conditions (0.25–0.70), as compared to those without those comorbidities. In a subset of three datasets with robust information on serology test name, seven tests were used, two of which were used in multiple settings and met the EUA requirement of PPA ≥87%. Tests performed similarly across datasets. Conclusion Although the EUA requirement was not consistently met, more investigation is needed to understand how serology and molecular tests are used, including indication and protocol fidelity. Improved data interoperability of test and clinical/demographic data are needed to enable rapid assessment of the real-world performance of in vitro diagnostic tests.


Infant twins sustained severe circumoral and pharyngeal burns from a concentrated solution of benzalkonium (Zephiran) chloride prescribed for treatment of candidiasis. This report emphasizes the unnecessary hazard accompanying use of a potentially toxic drug-especially when prepared in error by the pharmacist-when a safer drug (nystatin) is available for treatment of oral candidiasis. Risks from use of a prescription drug for other than the intended patient are also highlighted by this episode of poisoning.


Abstract rhG-CSF is increasingly used for stimulation of granulopoiesis and stem cell mobilization in healthy donors for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, a possible association between thrombosis and rhG-CSF administration has been reported. For that reason, in this study, we investigated the effect of rhG-CSF on platelet aggregation in whole blood of 10 healthy volunteers. Three concentrations of rhG-CSF solution (1, 10 and 100 ng/ml) were prepared. Each concentration of rhG-CSF solution and a control diluent without rhG-CSF were incubated with whole blood. Incubation with rhG-CSF solutions would result in 0.1, 1.0 and 10 ng/ml rhG-CSF concentrations in the blood. After incubation, aggregation responses were evaluated with ADP (5 and 10 μM) and collagen (2 and 5 μg/ml) in whole blood. When compared to control, preincubation with all dilutions of rhG-CSF augmented aggregation of platelets induced by ADP and collagen in a statistically significant manner (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). There was also a relationship between rhG-CSF concentration (1, 10 and 100 ng/ml) and augmentation of platelet aggregation response (p < 0.0001 for 5–10 μM ADP; p < 0.0001 for 2–5 μg/ml collagen). In conclusion, this study with an in vitro model showed that rhG-CSF administration may lead to platelet hyperaggregability.


Mediators are intermediate variables in the causal pathway between an exposure and an outcome. Mediation analysis investigates the extent to which exposure effects occur through these variables, thus revealing causal mechanisms. In this paper, we consider the estimation of the mediation effect when the outcome is binary and multiple mediators of different types exist. We give a precise definition of the total mediation effect as well as decomposed mediation effects through individual or sets of mediators using the potential outcomes framework. We formulate a model of joint distribution (probit‐normal) using continuous latent variables for any binary mediators to account for correlations among multiple mediators. A mediation formula approach is proposed to estimate the total mediation effect and decomposed mediation effects based on this parametric model. Estimation of mediation effects through individual or subsets of mediators requires an assumption involving the joint distribution of multiple counterfactuals. We conduct a simulation study that demonstrates low bias of mediation effect estimators for two‐mediator models with various combinations of mediator types. The results also show that the power to detect a nonzero total mediation effect increases as the correlation coefficient between two mediators increases, whereas power for individual mediation effects reaches a maximum when the mediators are uncorrelated. We illustrate our approach by applying it to a retrospective cohort study of dental caries in adolescents with low and high socioeconomic status. Sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the robustness of conclusions regarding mediation effects when the assumption of no unmeasured mediator‐outcome confounders is violated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Mine tailings have often to be stabilized by mixing them with cementing agents. In this study, the pore structure of gold tailings stabilized with Portland cement was evaluated by means of mercury intrusion porosimetry. The investigation was conducted on samples prepared with different fractions of tailings and cement as well as on samples activated with elevated temperature curing and chemical (CaCl2) addition. It was observed that all mixed samples exhibit a mono-modal pore size distribution, indicating that the cement-stabilized tailings are characterized by a single-porosity structure. The results also showed that the higher fraction of tailings and cement leads to a dense and finer pore structure. The total porosity of mixture samples decreases with increasing curing temperature and CaCl2 concentration due to the acceleration of hydration reaction.


We consider stochastic population processes (Markov jump processes) that develop as a consequence of the occurrence of random events at random time intervals. The population is divided into subpopulations or compartments. The events occur at rates that depend linearly on the number of individuals in the different described compartments. The dynamics is presented in terms of Kolmogorov Forward Equation in the space of events and projected onto the space of populations when needed. The general properties of the problem are discussed. Solutions are obtained using a revised version of the Method of Characteristics. After a few examples of exact solutions we systematically develop short-time approximations to the problem. While the lowest order approximation matches the Poisson and multinomial heuristics previously proposed, higher-order approximations are completely new. Further, we analyse a model for insect development as a sequence of E developmental stages regulated by rates that are linear in the implied subpopulations. Transition to the next stage competes with death at all times. The process ends at a predetermined stage, for example, pupation or adult emergence. In its simpler version all the stages are distributed with the same characteristic time.


Abstract : A linear viscoelastic solid is subjected to a given deformation history. A portion of the work done by the stresses during this deformation is converted into heat, while the remaining por ion increases the internal energy (per unit volume) of the solid. A fraction of the i crease in internal energy can be recovered by sub ecting the solid to a ppropriate future deformation. The paper is concerned with the question of maximizing the recoverable energy by means ofAN OPTIMUM FUTURE EFORMATION. It is shown that the determination of the optimum deformation requires the solution of an integral equa ion of the Wiener-Hopf type. This equation is solved in the case where the relaxation modulus is given as a sum of exponential functions. The maximum recoverable internal energy is then expressed as a functional of second degree of the given deformation history. It is observed that the maximum r coverable energy provi es a lower bound to the internal energy of the solid. It is hoped that use could be made of the concept of maximum recoverable energy in studies concerned with t e t ermodynamics of linear viscoelasticity. (Author)


Structural and conformational organization of chicken liver fatty acid synthetase has been probed using its fluorescent coenzyme, NADPH. Three NADPH binding sites per mole of the enzyme complex, of apparently identical dissociation constant (KD = 0.6 muM) can be titrated at temperatures above 12 degrees. These results are in disagreement with the earlier studies of Hsu and Wagner (Hsu, R. Y., and Wagner, B. J. (1970) Biochemistry, 9, 245-251) in which four such sites could be titrated. At 12 degrees, the composite sites split into two subsets: a pair of sites with a KD of 0.3 muM and a third site with a Kd of 1.1 muM. At lower temperatures (5 degrees or 2 degrees), the site with weak affinity disappears, leaving a pair of sites with a Kd of 0.5 muM. Similar observations were made when the enzyme was modified with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, a specific and selective inhibitor of fatty acyl-CoA deacylase (s) of the pigeon liver enzyme complex (Kumar, S. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5150-5158). Partial modification with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride elicits a NADPH binding response similar to the binding observed at 12 degrees, i.e. two sets of binding sites with nonidentical dissociation constants. Further modification corresponding to the complete loss of deacylase function results in a set of two apparently identical binding sites, and the third site is not available for titration. The modified enzyme retains the two reductase functions as measured by the model substrates, acetoacetyl-N-acetylcysteamine and crotonyl-CoA. Furthermore, the addition of acetyl- and malonyl-CoA (100 muM each) to the modified enzyme lowers the NADPH binding affinity by a factor of 3. Other observations show that the quantum yield, as measured by the ratio of fluorescence intensity of bound and free NADPH, changes with temperature and ionic strength. Lowering the temperature from 30 degrees to 2 degrees increases the enhancement ratio by 50%, whereas increase in ionic strength from 0.05 to 0.2 M potassium phosphate lowers it to 50% of the original level. Measurement of NADPH binding in the presence of NADP+, NADH, NAD+ and adenosine-2'-monophospho-5'-diphosphoribose demonstrates that NADP+ shows competitive behavior for NADPH sites (KD = 10.6 muM), whereas NADH and NAD+ show noncompetitive (KD (apparent) = nearly 600 muM) and rather complicated interactions implicating nonspecific conformational alteration of the enzyme complex. The behavior of adenosine 2'-monophospho-5'-diphosphoribose is intermediate between NADP+ and NADH. These data are discussed in terms of substrate-mediated conformational changes and the moles of each of the reductase enzymes per mole of the enzyme complex, the polarity of the NADPH binding region, and the probable structure of the nicotinamide moiety when bound to the enzyme.


Self-regulation is an essential aspect in the practicality of electronic systems, ranging from household heaters to robots for industrial manufacturing. In such devices, self-regulation is conventionally achieved through separate sensors working in tandem with control modules. In this paper, we harness the reversible actuating properties of liquid crystal oligomer network (LCON) polymers to design a self-regulated oscillator. A dynamic equilibrium is achieved by applying a thermally-responsive and electrically-functionalized LCON film as a dual-action component, namely as a combined electrical switch and composite actuating sensor, within a circuit. This hybrid circuit configuration, consisting of both inorganic and organic material, generates a self-regulated feedback loop which cycles regularly and indefinitely. The feedback loop cycle frequency is tunable between approximately 0.08 and 0.87 Hz by altering multiple factors, such as supplied power or LCON chemistry. Our research aims to drive the material-to-device transition of stimuli-responsive LCONs, striving towards applications in electronic soft robotics.


Abstract Out of the four fundamental interactions in nature, electromagnetics is one of them along with gravitation, strong interaction and weak interaction. The field of electromagnetics has made much of the modern age possible. Electromagnets are common in day-to-day appliances and are becoming more conventional as the need for technology increases. Electromagnetism has played a vital role in the progress of human kind ever since it has been understood. Electromagnets are found everywhere. One can find them in speakers, doorbells, home security systems, anti-shoplifting systems, hard drives, mobiles, microphones, Maglev trains, motors and many other everyday appliances and products. Before diving into the education system, it is necessary to reiterate its importance in various technologies that have evolved over time. Almost every domain of social life has electromagnetic playing its role. Be it the mobile vibrators you depend upon, a water pump, windshield wipers during rain and the power windows of your car or even the RFID tags that may ease your job during shopping. A flavor of electromagnetics is essential during primary level of schooling for the student to understand its future prospects and open his/her mind to a broad ocean of ideas. Due to such advancements this field can offer, study on such a field is highly beneficial for a developing country like India. The paper presents the scenario of electromagnetic education in India, its importance and numerous schemes taken by the government of India to uplift and acquaint the people about the importance of EM and its applications.


This article discusses two key issues in REDD+ design and implementation at the national
level – carbon rights, and benefit sharing. Both carbon rights and benefit sharing can be understood
as new legal concepts (although they build on existing law), and as legal concepts
they offer a framework for addressing related areas of REDD+ policy. Many countries are
currently considering how to manage carbon rights and benefit sharing issues, including
Cambodia and Kenya. Both of these countries host existing forest carbon projects and are
also in the process of designing national REDD+ programmes. This article uses a conceptual
framework for carbon rights and benefit sharing derived from legal analysis to consider
the cases of both Cambodia and Kenya, and also includes a general discussion of the challenges
countries might encounter when considering how to manage carbon rights and benefit
sharing in the context of REDD+ implementation.


Alice is a novel programming environment for building 3D virtual worlds. The graphical programming interface of Alice allows beginning programmers to learn about concepts such as object-oriented design and recursion without the need to struggle with syntax errors. This paper discusses the opinions of Alice from 84 students who took an introductory programming course (CS1) that covered both Alice and Java in the same term. Fifty students (59.5%) responded on the survey that the prior experience with Alice helped them to learn Java later in the term. Fifty-six students (66.7%) recommended continued use of Alice in the course although many suggested reducing the amount of time spent on Alice. While these numbers could be interpreted as a positive result, they have actually discouraged our department from continuing to use Alice in CS1. The number of students who were not sure that Alice was helping with their understanding of Java later in the term was simply too great to justify continued coverage of Alice in the course.


The authors' purpose in raising these issues and questions is not to provide answers for the profession. We recognize that answers must be derived from a process that includes input from many individuals, and from many sectors of the profession. We also recognize that the pharmacist practicing today realizes that the health care system is changing. We believe that the code of ethics supporting our profession must be revised to reflect these changes to provide more meaningful guidance for pharmacists confronting difficult contemporary issues and dilemmas. We have tried to show that pharmacists working in the HMO setting may face unique problems that must be considered by a revised code of ethics. We are pleased that APhA has begun this process of revision.


Cells shape and position the nucleus by transmitting forces from the cytoskeleton onto the nuclear surface. In response to these forces, the nucleus can deform and/or it can move. Nuclear movement will occur when there is a net differential in mechanical force across the nucleus, while nuclear deformation will occur when mechanical forces overcome the mechanical resistance of the various structures that comprise the nucleus. In this talk, I will describe our efforts to 1) identify the sources of mechanical forces and quantify the magnitude of mechanical force generation on the nucleus, 2) understand the mechanical response of the nucleus to these forces, and 3) uncover the relevance of nuclear force transfer in cell and tissue function.


The Constitution has mandated the provisions governing agrarian problems, namely in Article 33 paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution states "Earth and water and the natural resources contained therein are controlled by the State and used for the greatest prosperity of the people". Number 5 of 1960 Basic Agrarian Regulations as a juridical basis for national land law. But in subsequent developments many laws and regulations that were never requested by the agrarianlaw were issued. The character of land law products is always in line with the development of political configurations though. Responsive characters emerge during democratic political configurations, while conservative characters emerge during a bureaucratic authoritarian political configuration. To realize democratic political configuration characterized by a responsive legal product, the Government and the legislative body must inevitably pay attention to and implement the implicit values contained in regulations and policies.


Maternal cortisol plays an important role in foetal development and is often used to measure stress. In addition to stress, prenatal and post-partum women experience a mix of positive and negative emotions. However, few studies have examined the relationship between cortisol and maternal psychological health or how these relationships change from the prenatal to the post-partum periods. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between maternal cortisol and stress, happiness, and depression components of psychological well-being, in late pregnancy and early post-partum. The study used a repeated measure design with 41 women; 21 women completed all data collections. As expected, maternal salivary cortisol increased from awakening to 30 minutes after awakening during pregnancy. Levels of salivary cortisol were lower at post-partum. Stress, happiness and depression were significantly correlated at both prenatal and post-partum measurements. Prenatal cortisol awakening response was correlated with happiness. Maternal psychological well-being and cortisol did not differ by parity, race or employment. Maternal cortisol could potentially serve as a biochemical marker of maternal psychological well-being. Interventions to decrease maternal stress may promote maternal psychological well-being. Longitudinal studies with larger sample and diverse ethnicities may increase our understanding of the role of cortisol in foetal and maternal health. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study sought to assess, with optical coherence tomography (OCT), presumably culprit atherosclerotic lesions of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) in patients with acute coronary syndromes
(ACS).
Background: Atherosclerotic lesions of SVGs have been studied in vivo with angioscopy and intravascular ultrasound. However, imaging with OCT, which has a higher resolution than intravascular ultrasound and better penetration than angioscopy, has not been conducted systematically.
Methods Using a nonocclusive OCT technique, we performed angiography and OCT of culprit SVG lesions in patients with unstable angina (UA), ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and non-STEMI. Fibrous and fatty tissue, calcification, thrombus, and plaque rupture were defined according to OCT objective criteria.
Results: Twenty-eight SVGs (average age 14.6 years) in 26 patients were imaged. Lesions on angiography were complex (96.4%), with ulceration in 32.1% and thrombus in 21.4%. OCT disclosed a fibrofatty composition in all lesions, calcification in 32.1%, plaque rupture in 60.7%, and thrombus in 46.4%. Thrombus was progressively more frequent across groups (UA to STEMI, p=0.003; UA vs. myocardial infarction, p=0.006). A thin fibrous cap was marginally more frequent in myocardial infarction patients (UA vs. myocardial infarction, p=0.06; STEMI 100% vs. non-STEMI 53.3% vs. UA 20%, p=0.03). OCT features of friability were present in 67.9% of SVGs not correlating with clinical presentation.
Conclusions: OCT of culprit lesions of old SVGs in patients with ACS demonstrates fibrofatty composition, relatively thin fibrous cap, plaque rupture, and thrombus, which correlate with the clinical spectrum of ACS. This suggests that similar mechanisms with native vessels' atherosclerosis may be involved in SVG-related ACS.


The present invention provides an ultraviolet wavelength region of the laser beam can shorten the processing time of the laser processing apparatus and processing method. This laser processing apparatus includes a control means, the control means outputting a first event signal having a periodical waveform and a second event signal having a periodical waveform synchronizing with the first event signal; a first laser light source, the first laser source and the first event signal is emitted in synchronization with a first pulsed laser beam of the ultraviolet region of wavelengths; a second laser light source, the second laser light source and the second event signal is emitted in synchronization with the second pulsed laser beam of ultraviolet region wavelength ; the said first pulse laser beam and said second pulse laser beam converged to the same point of the converging optical system, and a holding means, the holding means is held in the workpiece receiving pulsed laser beam converged by the converging optical system the irradiation position.


Abstract Purpose: This study aims to gain insights into occupational exposure of medical staff to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to provide effective precautionary measures to protect them against risks arising from blood-borne pathogens. Methodology: Data on 46 confirmed HIV-infected patients were analyzed statistically. Results: Medical staff were exposed to blood-borne pathogens in 45 cases, and most were female and probationary nurses. Risks of occupational exposure of medical staff to HIV increased continuously as more HIV-infected patients were admitted by hospitals each year. Conclusion: Medical staff should receive information about HIV blood-borne pathogen infection of patients, shorten the window period for HIV exposure, and practice specified precautionary measures and cut down risks of exposure to HIV.


The withdrawal of the Maize Board in 1996 meant that farmers could no longer rely on its pre-planting price or "voorskot" for price discovery and price risk management. Some have claimed (UNCTAD, 2007) that the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) can provide these functions. We test this claim and analyse the implications of it. To do so, we build on an acreage response model developed earlier by Chavas and Holt (1990) by allowing for a futures market as well as accounting for farmer heterogeneity and the relative impact of price risk and yield risk. We first establish farmers' responsiveness to risk by determining their risk aversion and, more specifically, whether they exhibit decreasing aggregate risk aversion (DARA). We find that farmers are risk averse and display positive wealth effects, which may be due to DARA. We can say little about how farmers have reacted to the price discovery function of expected prices both before and after the withdrawal of the Maize Board. However, we can conclude that farmers have responded less to price risk post-1996, even though prices were more volatile during this period. This supports UNCTAD's (2007) claim. Combined with the finding of positive wealth effects the policy implication is that an improvement in the financial position of farmers as well as their access to futures markets can help reduce the impact and disutility of risk and, hence, improve their welfare without the need for regulation.


We have constructed a recombinant, fully human IgA1 monoclonal antibody, UBS-54/IgA1, against the tumor-associated Ep-CAM molecule and compared its tumor-killing capacity with its IgG1 counterpart in in vitro assays. The data show that phage display-derived fully human IgA1 antibodies efficiently recruit immune effector cells that express the Fc receptor for IgA, FcalphaRI (CD89). UBS-54/IgA1-mediated killing of tumor cells by isolated polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and in whole blood was found to proceed without the necessity to preactivate effector cells with cytokines. In addition, the IgA1 anti-Ep-CAM human monoclonal antibody (huMab) triggered phagocytosis of tumor cells by monocyte-derived macrophages. Strikingly, simultaneous addition of IgA1 and IgG1 anti-Ep-CAM antibodies did not result in enhancement of tumor cell killing unless the effector cells were stimulated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The lack of an additive effect could be attributed to an inhibitory effect of IgG on IgA-mediated tumor cell killing through binding of IgG1 to the inhibitory FcgammaRIIb receptor expressed by PMNs. These results show that IgA1 antitumor huMabs are capable of recruiting the large population of peripheral blood PMNs for tumor cell killing. This population is not effectively recruited by IgG type antibodies, currently the antibodies most frequently used for clinical application. In addition, the data suggest that a combination of IgG1 and IgA1 antitumor huMabs may collaborate in tumor cell killing in patients treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.


The classic graphic novel. A can of crab meat turns out to be a small clue to a big mystery! Tintin meets Captain Haddock in his escape and his plan to track down the crooks takes him to an exotic desert city.


The recovery of rat muscarinic receptor number from the effects of a specific alkylating ligand, N-[4-(2-chloroethylmethylamino)-2-butynyl]-2-pyrrolidone (BM 123), in three tissues is presented as an exponential function of time. No significant difference was found in the recovery rate constants derived from analysis of recovery time courses in corpus striatum, cerebral cortex and ileal longitudinal muscle. The single rate constant (0.021/hr) was also independent of amount and duration of BM 123 dose. Additional analysis of agonist-defined high and low affinity subsites in cortex revealed that recovery of these populations also followed similar time courses although the alkylation proceeds more slowly for the high affinity sites. The rate constant for recovery of both subsites was 0.029/hr. Recovery from BM 123 alkylation occurred in NG108-15 neuroblastoma X glioma cells. The presence of cycloheximide in the recovery medium did not significantly inhibit this recovery process in the clonal cell line, suggesting that de novo receptor synthesis is unnecessary for regeneration of unalkylated receptors.


Early diagnosis is the key point in the management of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). There are no reports in the literature comparing the serum cystatin C levels in patients with acute PTE and normal volunteers. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed 50 acute PTE patients and 45 healthy volunteers with normal renal function. The serum cystatin C level was significantly higher in the PTE group than in the non-PTE group [1.08 mg/dL (IQR 0.79-1.56) and 0.85 mg/dL (IQR 0.77-1.03), respectively, p=0.017]. When determining the presence of PTE, the highest value of sensitivity and specificity was set at a cut-off value of 1.15 mg/dL with 93.3% specificity, 46.0% sensitivity, 88.5% PPV and 60.9% NPV. In the multivariate model cystatin C was significantly associated with the presence of PTE (OR: 12.34, 95% CI 2.64-57.75).In conclusion, cystatin C may be an indicator of acute PTE in patients with normal renal function.


-----------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT----------------------------------------------------------Distributed computing is a science which solves a large problem by giving small parts of the problem to many computers to solve and then combining the solutions for the parts into a solution for the problem. As the increasing amount of data is collected in mobile wireless networks for emerging pervasive applications, datacentric storage provides energy-efficient data dissemination and organization. One of the approaches in data centric storage is that the nodes that collected data will transfer their data to other neighbouring nodes that store the similar type of data. However, when the nodes are mobile, type-based data distribution alone cannot provide robust data storage and retrieval, since the nodes that store similar types may move far away and cannot be easily reachable in the future. Reliable storage of data with concurrent read/write accesses still appears to be a challenging problem in mobile ad hoc networks.


Obstructive pneumonitis, the opacity that develops distal to an obstructing endobronchial lesion or external compression, is actually a combination of atelectasis, bronchiectasis with mucus plugging, and true parenchymal inflammation. In the majority of cases, it is usually not possible to determine whether infection is present or not from the radiographic findings alone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacteriology of obstructive pneumonitis and the influence of this result on the treatment of patients. From March 1992 to February 1993, 26 consecutive patients (20 men and six women) with obstructive pneumonitis were investigated. The obstructive pneumonitis had been caused by malignant tumors in 24 and benign lesions in two. Chest ultrasound (US) and US-guided percutaneous transthoracic aspirations were undergone to obtain specimens for microbiologic examination. Microorganisms were isolated from seven of nine febrile patients and two of 17 nonfebrile patients. A total of 16 bacterial strains are detected in obstructive pneumonitis (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, viridant streptococci, Bacteroides fragilis, two Peptostreptococcus species, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas maltophilia, Streptococcus sanguis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacteroides thetaiotamomicrons, Bacteroides intermedius, Bacteroides species, Veillonella species, aerobic gram-positive bacilli, and Escherichia coli). In five cases the isolates were monobacteriae, and in the remaining four cases, cultures yielded more than one bacteria. The results of aspirate cultures led to changes in the initial antibiotic trial in seven of nine patients, and fever subsided thereafter. Pneumothorax occurred in one cases as the sole complication. The pathogen causing obstructive pneumonitis is very heterogeneous, and polymicrobial infection is common.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This study is focused focuses on the impact of discharges of small rivers on the delivery and fate of fluvial water and suspended matter at the north-eastern part of the Black Sea under different local precipitation conditions. Several dozens of mountainous rivers inflow into the sea at the study region, and most of them, except for the several of the largest, have small annual runoff and limitedly affect adjacent coastal waters to a limited extent under average climatic conditions. 10 However, the discharges of these small rivers are characterized by a quick response to precipitation events and can dramatically significantly increase during and shortly after heavy rains, which are frequent in the considered area. The delivery and fate of fluvial water and terrigenous sediments at the study region under average climatic and rain-induced flooding conditions were explored and compared using in situ data, satellite imagery, and numerical modelling. It was shown that the point-source spread of continental discharge dominated by several large rivers during under average climatic 15 conditions can change to the line-source discharge from numerous small rivers situated along the coast in response to heavy rains. The intense line-source runoff of water and suspended sediments forms a geostrophic alongshore current of turbid and freshened water, which induces the intense transport of suspended and dissolved constituents discharged with river waters in a north-western direction. This process significantly influences water quality and causes active sediment load at large segments of the narrow shelf at the north-eastern part of the Black Sea as compared to average climatic discharge conditions. 20


ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present investigation was to develop and optimize bilayered sustained release matrix tablets of Valsartan. The tablets contained an immediate releasing layer with the loading dose of the drug and a sustaining layer with maintenance dose of drug prepared by wet granulation method. The immediate releasing layer is directly compressed on to the sustaining layer. Sodium starch glycholate was used as super disintegrant and Eudragit RSPO and Eudragit RLPO were used as polymers. The drug polymer interaction was investigated by FTIR and DSC and their results directed further course of formulation. Valsartan tablets were evaluated for various post compression parameters like Tablet hardness, Friability, Weight variation, Drug content and In vitro dissolution. The results were found to be within the acceptable limits. A 32 full factorial design was applied to systematically optimize the drug release profile. The amounts of Eudragit RSPO (X1) and Eudragit RLPO (X2) were selected as independent variables. The time required for 90% (t90%) drug dissolution was selected as dependent variable. The formulations F1 to F4 showed that the drug release was concentration dependent and followed first order kinetics. While the formulations F5 to F9 showed that drug release followed zero order kinetics. Formulation F9 was selected as an optimized one where the drug from immediate layer was released with in15 min and then sustained for a period of 12 hrs. Kinetic treatment to the in vitro release data revealed that the drug release followed zero order non – fickian diffusion with n value greater than 0.45.


The regular gussian assumption of the error terms is employed in dynamic time series models when the underlying data are not normally distributed, this often results in incorrect parameter estimations and forecast error. As a result, this paper developed maximum likelihood method of estimation of parameters of an autoregressive model of order 2 [AR (2)] with power-exponential innovations. The performance of the parameters of AR (2) in comparison to normal error innovations was evaluated using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and forecast performance metrics (RMSE and MAE). Both real data sets and simulated data with different sample sizes were used to validate the models. The results revealed that, it is more appropriate and efficient to model non-normal time series data using AR (2) exponential power error innovations.