INTRODUCTION: Optimizing women's health after pregnancy holds potential to beneficially impact subsequent pregnancy outcomes. We compare postpartum care utilization for women at an academic medical center and affiliated community health centers. METHODS: Administrative encounter data were examined for women who received prenatal care and delivered from 2006–2010 to identify health care encounters within 2 months after delivery, and among women who enrolled in hospital-affiliated primary care practices prior to delivery to examine utilization in the 2 years after delivery. Univariate and multivariate models were built to identify predictors of care utilization. RESULTS: Among 8,749 and 4,439 women receiving prenatal care at the academic center and affiliated health centers, respectively, most returned for an obstetric postpartum visit (86% vs 79%, P<.0001), and additionally some had encounters with primary care (7% vs 12%, P<.0001), other outpatient clinics (13% vs 14%, P=.094), the emergency department (2% vs 3%, P<.0001), or hospital admissions (1.7% vs 1.9%, P=.41) during the initial 2 months postpartum. Among the 3,743 and 2,034 women with previously established primary care, the majority sought primary care (79% vs. 84%, P<.0001) and other outpatient services (71% vs 74%, P=.019) in the 2 years after delivery—with increasing age, having a chronic health condition, and accessing care at a community health center increasing the odds of utilizing postpartum primary care. CONCLUSION: After pregnancy most women utilize the obstetric postpartum visit and primary care, emphasizing the opportunity to optimize preconception health care at these encounters. A community-based care delivery model may facilitate primary care utilization after pregnancy.


A porous material is manufactured by weaving polycarbonate fibres through a tow of carbon fibres which has been pre-impregnated with an epoxy resin. A second layer of pre-impregnated carbon fibres are superimposed on the woven layer and the epoxy resin is cured to bond the fibres together. A ceramic slurry is applied and allowed To penetrate through the second layer of fibres and part way through the woven layer of fibres to a controlled depth before being dried to form a mask. A thermoplastic powder is then applied to the unmasked region of the woven layer of fibres and sintered. Finally the mask and the polycarbonate fibres are removed chemically to produce a porous material which comprises a sintered thermoplastic layer reinforced with carbon fibres through which channels are provided.


Abstract This paper examines the development of the 'space tourism' industry, a concept which primarily denotes the development of space technology for recreational or leisure purposes. It will first theoretically locate space tourism with relevant streams of the mobilities literature, primarily research on aeromobilities and tourism mobilities. It will then summarise existing literature on space tourism, focusing especially on the different models of space tourism that have been proposed and the subtle but important differences between them. The analysis then explores the perceptions of feasibility of space tourism from those within the space sector, the anticipated changes to living these forms of space tourism would bring with them, and the comparisons with existing forms of mobility that are drawn by many in the space sector when attempting to 'sell' the value and potential of space tourism. In the final part of the paper, we explore many of the implicit assumptions held by this nascent industry, the uncertain position of the passenger within these conceptions of future space tourism, and identify avenues for future research into this emerging form of mobility.


Most plant viruses are transmitted by insect vectors. We present an alternative method for the introduction of infectious viral DNA that uses the ability of Agrobacterium to transfer DNA from bacterial cells to plants. Cauliflower mosaic virus was chosen to develop this method because it is the best characterized plant DNA virus and can be introduced into plants via aphids, virus particles, viral DNA, or suitably treated cloned DNA. We show that systemic infection of turnips results from wounding and inoculation with strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in which more than one genome of cauliflower mosaic virus have been placed tandemly in the T-DNA of the tumor-inducing plasmid. Thus such constructions allow escape of the viral genome from the T-DNA once inside the plants. The combined use of the tumor-inducing plasmid and viral DNA opens the way to molecular biological approaches that are not possible with either system alone.


Introduction: The objective of the study was to learn about the concepts of violence among medical undergraduate students in the state of Bahia, their personal experiences with the phenomenon and advice regarding case referral. Method: a qualitative research was carried out with 20 undergraduate medical students from public institutions in the state of Bahia. The data were collected via the web through an electronic file made available by Google Forms. The students were informed about the page address through an e-mail. Results: Most of the students said that the topic of "Violence against Children" was addressed during their undergraduate years. Shared conceptions by most of the students on the subject are related to the definitions of violence as physical injuries inflicted on the victims, but broader definitions of social and subjective perception, encompassing different dimensions of the phenomenon were also identified. The most frequently cited feelings experienced in situations of violence were the following: helplessness, fear, sadness, unpreparedness, compassion, empathy, anger and rage. The difficulties that the students encountered in approaching the victims of violence stem from the lack of preparation in the training and from the positions related to the physicians themselves, such as fear of involvement and accountability. The inherent characteristics of children and distrust in protective services were also mentioned. Conclusion: Although the students reported having contact with the topic during graduation, most of them evaluated the training as insufficient. The lack of professional preparation to approach the medical-social issues, such as violence, has been partially attributed to the biologicist bias of the medical training. In this sense, we highlight the understanding of violence as an essentially social and historical phenomenon, to the detriment of the different dimensions of the illness that imply in the health-disease process. From this perspective, this bias obscure the recognition of the different manifestations of violence as objects of healthcare work, suggesting a need for a broader approach in medical education, which can help to contemplate the complexity of the subject. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. Universidade Católica do Salvador, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. ORIGINAL ARTICLE


To assist forest managers in balancing an increasing diversity of resource objectives, we developed a toolkit modeling approach for sustainable forest management (SFM). The approach inserts a meta-modeling strategy into a collaborative modeling framework grounded in adaptive management philosophy that facilitates participation among stakeholders, decision makers, and local domain experts in the meta-model building process. The modeling team works iteratively with each of these groups to define essential questions, identify data resources, and then determine whether available tools can be applied or adapted, or whether new tools can be rapidly created to fit the need. The desired goal of the process is a linked series of domain-specific models (tools) that balances generalized "top-down" models (i.e., scientific models developed without input from the local system) with case-specific customized "bottom-up" models that are driven primarily by local needs. Information flow between models is organized according to vertical (i.e., between scale) and horizontal (i.e., within scale) dimensions. We illustrate our approach within a 2.1 million hectare forest planning district in central Labrador, a forested landscape where social and ecological values receive a higher priority than economic values. However, the focus of this paper is on the process of how SFM modeling tools and concepts can be rapidly assembled and applied in new locations, balancing efficient transfer of science with adaptation to local needs. We use the Labrador case study to illustrate strengths and challenges uniquely associated with a meta-modeling approach to integrated modeling as it fits within the broader collaborative modeling framework. Principle advantages of the approach include the scientific rigor introduced by peer-reviewed models, combined with the adaptability of meta-modeling. A key challenge is the limited transparency of scientific models to different participatory groups. This challenge can be overcome by frequent and substantive two-way communication among different groups at appropriate times in the model-building process, combined with strong leadership that includes strategic choices when assembling the modeling team. The toolkit approach holds promise for extending beyond case studies, without compromising the bottom-up flow of needs and information, to inform SFM planning using the best available science.


Evaluation of anthropogenic and climatic impacts on lake size variation is important for maintaining ecosystem integrity and sustaining societal development. We assumed that climate and human activity are the only drivers of lake-size variation and are independent of each other. We then evaluated anthropogenic and climatic effects on hydrological processes, using a multivariate linear model. Macro-economic data were used to describe the anthropogenic impact on lake surface area in our approach. Ebinur Lake is a shallow, closed, saline lake in arid northwest China; it has shrunk at a rapid rate over the past half century. Using our new method, we explored temporal trends of anthropogenic and climatic impacts on the lake over the past 50 years. Assessment indices indicate that the model represents observed data quite well. Compared with the reference period of 1955-1960, impacts of climate change across the catchment were generally positive with respect to lake area, except for the period from 1961 to 1970. Human activity was responsible for a reduction in lake surface area of 286.8 km2 over the last 50 years. Our approach, which uses economic variables to describe the anthropogenic impact on lake surface area, enables us to explain the lake responses to climate change and human activities quantitatively.


The key analytical and policy question examined in this paper is whether multinational companies and their overseas investment need to be regulated at the national and/or at the international level, in order to address market failures, and to enhance their potential contribution to world welfare. The paper examines, from a developing country perspective, two kinds of regulatory regimes: first, the current regime and second, a new regime proposed by the European community and Japan at the WTO (ECJ) to institute fresh global rules of the game which will effectively allow multinationals unfettered freedom to invest where they like, whenever they like, how much and in what products. The central conclusions of the paper are, first, that ECJ, despite its important concession of confining itself to only one source of external finance namely FDI, is a flawed proposal from the perspective of both developing and developed countries. Its shortcomings are particularly serious with respect to developing countries as it essentially ignores the developmental dimension altogether. Secondly, it is emphasised that although the current post-Uruguay Round FDI regime is to be preferred in relation to the ECJ, the former has, nevertheless, severe deficits from a developmental perspective. Thirdly, the paper suggests that instead of laissez faire, globalisation and integration of the world economy is more likely to be promoted on a sustainable basis by suitable national and international regulation of MNC activities and the incentive structure facing their executives. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.


THE DETECTION and quantitation of steatorrhea is currently receiving much emphasis in clinical medicine. Although it is generally accepted that chemical stool analyses are the most accurate means to evaluate this condition, the more recently introduced isotopic fat procedures are easier to perform and give similar data provided that they are carried out in accordance with certain precise criteria. 1-4 However, both of these methods, chemical and radioactive, involve 48- to 72-hour fecal collections which impose serious limitations on their availability in many hospitals. The present report describes a new technique involving external body counting which obviates this difficulty and at the same time provides additional data including the rate of fat absorption. Method and Materials Without prior blocking of the thyroid gland, after an overnight fast, the patient receives a test meal containing approximately 100μc of triolein I 131 in 8 oz (236.6 ml) of a half-milk, half-cream mixture.


Optical bistability (OB) and optical multi-stability (OM) of a four-level Λ-type atomic system with two fold lower levels inside a unidirectional ring cavity is investigated. The effect of quantum interference arising from spontaneous emission and incoherent pumping on OB and OM is discussed. It is found that the threshold of OB and OM can be controlled by quantum interference mechanisms. In addition intensity of coupling field and the rate of an incoherent pumping field on behavior of OB and OM are then discussed.


Introduction: Optimal management of clinical stage IIIA-N2 non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is controversial. This study examines whether neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus surgery improves survival rates when compared with other recommended treatment strategies. Methods: Adult patients from the National Cancer Database, with clinical stage IIIA-N2 disease definitively treated between 1998 and 2004 at American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer accredited facilities, were included in the study. Treatment was defined as neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus either lobectomy (NeoCRT+L) or pneumonectomy (NeoCRT+P), lobectomy plus adjuvant therapy (L+AT), pneumonectomy plus adjuvant therapy (P+AT), and concurrent chemoradiation (CRT). Median follow-up and overall survival (OS) were defined from date of diagnosis to last contact. Five-year OS was estimated using Kaplan–Meier methods. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical, and facility characteristics. Results: Median follow-up was 11.8 months for 11,242 eligible patients. Five-year OS was 33.5%, 20.7%, 20.3%, 13.35%, and 10.9% for NeoCRT+L, NeoCRT+P, L+AT, P+AT, and CRT, respectively (p < 0.0001). On multivariable analysis, the estimated hazard ratio was 0.51 (CI: 0.45–0.58) for NeoCRT+L; 0.77 (0.63–0.95) for NeoCRT+P; 0.66 (0.59–0.75) for L+AT; 0.69 (0.54–0.88) for P+AT; and 1.0 (reference) for the CRT group. Comorbidity did not attenuate the relationship between treatment and survival. Conclusion: This large study demonstrates that patients with clinical stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC, who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by lobectomy, were associated with an improved survival.


The principal component prsuit with reduced linear measurements (PCP_RLM) has gained great attention in applications, such as machine learning, video, and aligning multiple images. The recent research shows that strongly convex optimization for compressive principal component pursuit can guarantee the exact low-rank matrix recovery and sparse matrix recovery as well. In this paper, we prove that the operator of PCP_RLM satisfies restricted isometry property (RIP) with high probability. In addition, we derive the bound of parameters depending only on observed quantities based on RIP property, which will guide us how to choose suitable parameters in strongly convex programming.


Tartary buckwheat is an ancient annual dicotyledonous herb, which is widely distributed around the world, specifically in the high altitude area of southwestern China and in the hill region of Himalayan. The plantlet regeneration of tartary buckwheat via somatic embryogenesis or multiple shoot induction was investigated in two different tartary buckwheats, Yuanzi and Xichang. The regeneration ability of Yuanzi was better than Xichang tartary buckwheat, and the hypocotyls were better than cotyledons as tartary buckwheat plantlet regeneration explants via somatic embryogenesis. The most suitable medium for callus induction was Murashige and Skoog basal medium added 2 mg/L 2, 4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 1 mg/L Kinetin, which could reach up to 98.96% callus induction percentage. The plantlet regeneration percentage from callus of tartary buckwheat could reach up to 55.77%, which induced on 2.0 mg/L Benzyladenine and 1.0 mg/L KT in MS basal medium. In addition, maximum of multiple shoot induction percentage was 69.05%, which was observed in case of Yuanzi tartary buckwheat in MS basal medium with added 3.0 mg/L 6-BA and 1.0 mg/L Thidiazuron. Roots induction of regenerated plants were achieved on 1/2 MS basal medium with added 1mg/L Indole-3-Butytric acid, which has 75% survival after transferred regenerated plants to soil under field conditions.


As a fundamental study of zeolite crystallization from aluminosilicate solutions, the critical radii of nuclei of zeolite A and the amorphous phase were estimated based on the nucleation rates determined in our previous studies and the classical theory of homogeneous nucleation.The calculated critical radii of nucleus of zeolite A crystals were 0.4–0.8 nm under the conditions examined, and its diameter is found to be almost equal to the half of the edge length of a unit cell of zeolite A crystals. Meanwhile the radii of the critical nucleus of the amorphous phase were 0.8–1.6 nm with the surface energy of 12–23 mJ·m–2.These calculated results imply the following phase transformation processes. For the case of zeolite A nucleation, several growth units assemble together and result in a formation of a zeolite A nucleus. In the case of the amorphous phase, a greater number of growth units are needed for nucleation and the induction time of the nucleation of the amorphous phase is shorter than that of zeolite A probably due to the random structures of the amorphous phase.


Nowadays, there are lots of classic and alternative method that has been used to obtain and compute transfer function for a linear network. Although, problems still occur especially in the number of nodes, loops and simultaneous equations that need to be solved by this approaches. A proposed approach called NIRE (Network-Impedance Relationship Equation) will solve these problems by developing fixed equations for obtaining transfer function, rather than to extract its nodes, loops or simultaneous equations of its network. In this approach, the only required parameters are the network's impedance connections which will be taken from two sources which are from the input terminal and output impedance. The approach has been developed in an algorithm using software called MATLAB. It can be adapted in a computer-based application and also can be introduced as an alternative method in obtaining transfer function for educational purpose.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide public health concern without major therapeutic breakthroughs over the past decades. Developing effective treatment options and improving the prognosis of TBI depends on a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying TBI. This study performed a comprehensive analysis of 15 RNA expression datasets of rat TBIs from the GEO database. By integrating the results from the various analyses, this study investigated the biological processes, pathways, and cell types associated with TBI and explored the activity of these cells during various TBI phases. The results showed the response to cytokine, inflammatory response, bacteria-associated response, metabolic and biosynthetic processes, and pathways of neurodegeneration to be involved in the pathogenesis of TBI. The cellular abundance of microglia, perivascular macrophages (PM), and neurons were found to differ after TBI and at different times postinjury. In conclusion, immune- and inflammation-related pathways, as well as pathways of neurodegeneration, are closely related to TBI. Microglia, PM, and neurons are thought to play roles in TBI with different activities that vary by phase of TBI.


In 1939 when Auden wrote his wry lines, Time that 'Worships language and forgives / Everyone by whom it lives' had not yet 'Pardoned Kipling and his views', nor was exoneration imminent. Despite the patriotic fervour of the ensuing war years, liberals continued to regret colonialism's excesses, the anticolonialist struggle was a left-wing cause, and intellectuals were sceptical about the British Empire. T. S. Eliot's praise for Kipling's vision of imperial responsibility in a 1941 essay met with opposition from prominent writers and critics who considered Kipling's view of life to be incompatible with the principles of civility and were repelled by the bullying self-righteousness and racial vanity of his imperialism. The reactions to Eliot's apologia secured Kipling's reputation as 'the prophet of British imperialism in its expansionist phase' (Orwell). During the following decades those who argued for his recognition as a major artist although he had long since achieved popular acclaim as a 'classic', he had not been admitted to the canon did so by pronouncing his social and political ideas irrelevant to evaluating his complex techniques and explorations of 'permanent human and moral themes'. By the mid-1960s, Western scholars whose discomfort at European aggression and conceit was receding in the aftermath of statutory decolonization, had compiled a balance-sheet of colonialism which provided critics with a permit for expressing sober satisfaction at empire's achievements. Contributors to the concerted reappraisal around Kipling's centenary year freely infused their 'disinterested literary assessments' with esteem for his idealistic commitment to empire and firm grasp of political realities. Now that the ideological right is on the offensive in the West, an even more favourable climate exists for Kipling's rehabilitation, and the ending of copyright on his works in 1987 produced a plethora of paperback editions with new introductions and appreciations which are frequently buttressed with exculpations of his imperialist vision. Such readings draw on and abet the anti-anti-imperialism fostered by Western ideologues eager to impugn post-colonial regimes, honour the colonialist legacy bequeathed by Europe, and justify the continuing asymmetry between the hemispheres. At a time when politicians, journalists, and entertainers have joined in the 'refurbishment of the empire's tarnished image', the vindication of Kipling's textual affirmations and denigrations has been completed. When the British Prime Minister announces that she is 'a faithful student of Kudyard Kipling', she is not deferring to his literary virtuosity. When critics proffer a


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of Bushen Huoxue Decoction (BSHXD) combined with moxibustion on inflammation and urinary symptoms in prostate cancer (PC) patients.

METHODS
A total of 87 patients with PC admitted to the Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 08/2019 to 12/2021 were collected for this retrospective study. There were 42 patients treated with conventional treatment regimens who were regarded as the control group (CG). The remaining 45 patients treated with BSHXD and moxibustion were considered the experimental group (EG). The quality of survival of patients was assessed through the C30 and PR25 subscales of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ). Patients' urinary symptom changes were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF)-α were measured by Elisa assay before and after the treatment. The maximum urinary flow rate and residual urine volume of the patients were compared before and after the treatment. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting the progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

RESULTS
There was no statistical difference in the total response rate between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). Patients in the EG had a higher QLQ-C30 and maximum urinary flow rate scores than those in the CG after the treatment. The residual urine volume, IL-6, TNF-α, QLQ-PR25, and IPSS scores in the EG were lower (P<0.05). The multi-factorial regression analysis revealed that the Gleason score and the pre-treatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level were independent risk factors for the development of CRPC in patients (P<0.05). We plotted the receiver operating characteristic curves for predicting CRPC based on the indicators of patients. The area under the curve for Gleason score and the pre-treatment PSA level were 0.665 and 0.827, respectively, and 0.935 for the combination.

CONCLUSION
BSHXD combined with moxibustion had no effect on patients' progressive values of CRPC and did not enhance their outcomes. It was effective in improving their lower urinary symptoms, inflammation, and quality of life.


Zeugodacus cucumis and Bactrocera jarvisi are pests of fruit and vegetable crops and cause damage to horticulture industries. Immature stages of these two fruit fly species have been intercepted in New Zealand a number of times. Identification to species was not possible using morphological characters; thus, it is important to develop an assay for their species‐level identification. Here, the real‐time PCR assays for rapid identification of Z. cucumis and B. jarvisi were developed and validated. The PCR protocols demonstrated their specificity by amplifying the two target species successfully, with no cross‐reactions observed in the tested tephritid species. The in silico test of the primer and probe binding sites of the two assays also demonstrated the assays' specificity by no mismatches present in the binding regions of the target species, but 1–4 mismatches in the binding regions of the non‐target fruit fly species. The thresholds of detection for the two assays are as low as 10 copies/µl of the target DNA, indicating that the assays have a very high sensitivity. The application of the real‐time PCR assays has greatly assisted in routine pest identifications at the New Zealand border and surveillance programme. Therefore, the assays have the potential to be used by diagnostic agencies and research organizations worldwide.


In our paper we are introducing social anthropological perspective on autism (autistic spectrum disorders), as the topic which is in line with the tradition of the social anthropology interested in the studies of subject formation in the societies of the so called West. In the centre of our interest stand representations of autism as representation of the subjects. Autism is the disorder which does not have any visible somatic displays. Autistic behavior could then be very easily exchanged for eccentricity, not willingness of the person to enter the social interaction or for the sign of the other mental disorder. We look on autism as an example of the discursive practice. This mean an interconnected ensemble of the representations and acting, which is bringing to live by subjects and also creates this subjects. We stand on the Michel Foucalt's approach to study of the formation of subject in the Western Societies. By the discursive analysis of the of the Czech web sites dedicated to the autism we would like to describe which representation present contemporary science about autism, supporting organization through their practices and also parents of autistic children, or autistic people themselves. This pages create a field, where is possible to follow a discursive play between various truths about autism. This pages is trying to be a guide for creating and representing of specific subjectivity. This subjectivity is not coherent and one, but contains multiple contradictions, which lay autism on the scale from illness to the identity.


Along with the asymptotic distribution, expressions for the asymptotic bias and asymptotic dispersion matrix of the preliminary test maximum likelihood estimator for a general multi-sample parametric model (when the null hypothesis relating to the restraints on the parameters may not hold) are derived and compared with the parallel expressions for the unrestricted and restricted maximum likelihood estimators. This study reveals the robustness property of the preliminary test estimator when the assumed restraints may not hold.


Aims: This mass spectrometry study investigated the diffusion of hydroxyl and calcium ions from a calcium hydroxide intracanal medicament (Pulpdent®) when used alone or mixed in equal parts with a steroid–antibiotic paste (Ledermix®). Materials and Methods: The pH (using pH meter) and calcium ion concentration (using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry) of the diffused medicaments were assessed using endodontically prepared human extracted teeth with either a sealed or a patent apex, at time intervals of 1, 3, 8, 24, and 168 h. Statistical Analysis: A one-way ANOVA was used to explore differences between and within groups, with Tukey–Kramer/Games–Howell posttests. Results: In both situations tested, Pulpdent® showed greater release of both calcium and hydroxyl ions than when mixed in equal parts with Ledermix®. Greater initial release of both ions occurred in roots with a patent apex, but by 1 week there was no significant difference between the two. If a 50:50 combination of Pulpdent® paste and Ledermix® paste is used, there is a lower release of calcium ions and hydroxyl ions than using Pulpdent® paste alone. Conclusion: With both Pulpdent® paste alone and Pulpdent® paste mixed equally with Ledermix® paste, the major pathway for movement of hydroxyl ions and calcium ions is diffusion through the dentine of the root, with the apex playing only a minor role.


To determine the effects of physiological alterations in endogenous angiotensin II (ANG II) activity on basal renal sympathetic nerve activity and its arterial baroreflex regulation, the effect of ANG II receptor (AT1) blockade with losartan was examined in conscious rats consuming low, normal, or high sodium diet that were instrumented for the simultaneous measurement of arterial pressure and renal sympathetic nerve activity. Intravenous losartan decreased arterial pressure in low (-27 +/- 4 mmHg) and normal (-15 +/- 2 mmHg) but not in high sodium diet rats (-5 +/- 2 mmHg). When arterial pressure had been restored to the prelosartan value with methoxamine infusion, renal sympathetic nerve activity was decreased in low (-27 +/- 4%) and normal (-20 +/- 3%) but not in high sodium diet rats (-5 +/- 2%). Arterial baroreflex regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity was shifted to a lower pressure (arterial pressure at midrange) in low (-8 +/- 2 mmHg) and normal (-7 +/- 2 mmHg) but not in high sodium diet rats (0 +/- 2 mmHg). Intracerebroventricular losartan did not significantly decrease arterial pressure but decreased renal sympathetic nerve activity in low (-28 +/- 5%) and normal (-20 +/- 4%) but not in high sodium diet rats (-2 +/- 2%). Arterial baroreflex regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity was shifted to a lower pressure (arterial pressure at midrange) in low (-7 +/- 2 mmHg) and normal (-5 +/- 1 mmHg) but not in high sodium diet rats (0 +/- 2 mmHg). These results indicate that physiological alterations in endogenous ANG II activity tonically influence basal levels of renal sympathetic nerve activity and its arterial baroreflex regulation.


Cisplatin resistance is a major clinical problem in the clinical management of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients. Resveratrol is a natural phytoestrogen with antitumor activities. Whether resveratrol can overcome cisplatin resistance and prevent metastasis in OSCC cells is not known. In this study, we first examined the anti-metastatic capacity of resveratrol and then explored the underlying mechanisms using a cisplatin-resistant human OSCC cell line (CAR). The results demonstrated that at a non-toxic dose range (25 to 75 µM), 24-hr treatment of resveratrol was able to suppress the migration and invasion capacities of CAR cells dose dependently. Interestingly, 50 µM resveratrol treatment could significantly down-regulate the expression of the phosphorylated forms of ERK and p-38, in addition to those of MMP-2 and MMP-9. At the same time, the expression levels of phosphorylated ERK together with those unphosphorylated forms of ERK, p38, and JNK were all insignificantly altered. In conclusion, the signaling cascade for resveratrol's suppression of cisplatin-resistant human oral cancer CAR cells was revealed and summarized. Also the rapid effectiveness in suppressing metastatic behaviors of drug-resistant oral cancer cells of non-toxic resveratrol might extend its application to the drug-resistant oral cancer treatment in the near future. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Based on the evidence we provided in the study, we have proposed a model recording the possible pathway for resveratrol inhibiting the metastasis of cisplatin-resistant oral cancer cells. We suppose this signaling pathway may work in other cancer cell lines, and can be helpful in full understanding of the drug-resistance.


This article analyzes in detail the cost reduction in immediate breast implant reconstruction (direct-toimplant) without the use of acellular dermal matrix. In fact, the use of acellular dermal matrix, although facilitating breast implant reconstruction, requires higher costs that are not always accessible. In our plastic surgery unit, we have to face the lack of sufficient acellular dermal matrix in breast reconstruction, and thus we often have to resort to alternative techniques. As the authors have well described, when we are to reconstruct a medium-large breast (C to D cup), we perform a skin-reducing mastectomy and reconstruction with prostheses according to the Bostwick technique,2 where we use a dermal flap to cover the lower pole of the prosthesis. This technique, established over the years, offers good coverage of the prosthesis with excellent aesthetic outcomes. The contralateral breast is reduced by reductive mastoplasty according to the technique most widely used.3 When the authors discuss the surgical technique, they offer an interesting possibility; that is, to use the lower flap of the mastectomy to cover the lower third of the prosthesis. In our clinical practice, we do not use this technique, as we try to obtain a cover of the implant with the serratus muscular fascia or with the muscle itself. Because coverage may be difficult, we often find that breast implants are slightly smaller than initial estimates. This implies a limit on the use of our technique in medium-large breasts. Thus, in our clinical protocol we perform an immediate reconstruction with prosthesis after skin-sparing mastectomy or after nipple-sparing mastectomy in medium-small breasts, whereas in large breasts we always use a skin-reducing mastectomy. In fact, with small prostheses, we always have a covering with the muscle fascia or muscle. For surgical training, we have always been skeptical of covering the lower pole with the lower flap of the mastectomy. One-stage breast reconstruction with implants is a challenge for the plastic surgeon, and in our experience the management of complications was difficult. We ask the authors whether they undertake a patientselection protocol in their clinical practice4 to perform a breast reconstruction with prosthesis and the cover with a lower flap of the mastectomy. Specifically, we would like to know whether the thickness of the lower flap is evaluated before surgery or intraoperatively. We would like to know about the thickness of the flap and whether they have ever been faced with precarious and insufficient cover regarding thickness. DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000003836


A temporary oversupply of crude oil in the world has resulted in a decided reduction of exploration effort in North America. The term "temporary" usually refers to a shorter period of time than we are now facing, though, and the word "oversupply" seems inappropriate, too, when the vast world demand the next decade will produce is considered. It is proposed here to at-tempt an analysis of the situation which will enable us to forecast the reaction of industry management to this problem and, more particularly, to show what part the science of geophysics will have in future oil and gas exploration on this continent.


Biological and heterogenous catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction often exhibit a high degree of electronic delocalization that serves to minimize overpotential and maximize selectivity over hydrogen evolution. Here, we report a molecular iron(II) complex that achieves a similar feat as a result of strong metal–ligand exchange coupling. This interaction promotes an open-shell singlet electronic structure that drives the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO with over 90% selectivity and turnover frequencies of 100,000 s−1 at low overpotentials, with no degradation over 20 hours. The decrease in the thermodynamic barrier engendered by this strong metal–ligand exchange coupling enables homogeneous CO2 reduction catalysis in water without compromising reaction selectivity.


In this paper, we compare the theoretical performance of two design methods that allow simultaneous phase matching of two arbitrary X(2) processes along with the capability of adjusting their relative strength. The crystal of these 1-D aperiodic gratings is chosen to be the orientation-patterned gallium arsenide (OP-GaAs), which has been recently used in several devices for high power infrared beam generation. These single gratings placed in an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) or an optical parametric generator (OPG) can simultaneously phase match two optical parametric amplification (OPA) processes, OPA-1 and OPA-2, for converting the 2.1-μm pump laser radiation into the long-wave infrared (8-12 μm) in an idler-efficiency enhanced scheme. The first aperiodic grating design method (Method-1) relies on generating an aperiodic grating structure that has domain walls located at the zeros of the summation of two cosine functions each of which has a spatial frequency that equals one of the phase-mismatches of the two processes. In this method some of the domain walls are discarded considering the minimum domain length (Dmin) that is achievable in the production process. The second design method (Method-2) relies on discretizing the crystal length with samples with a length that is much smaller than Dmin and testing each sample's contribution in such a way that the sign of the nonlinearity maximizes the magnitude sum of the real and imaginary parts of the Fourier Transform of the grating function at the relevant phase-mismatch spatial frequencies. Also, during the procedure, the smallest domain length is imposed to be Dmin. In this paper, we present the results of Method-2 which we find that it produces a similar performance as Method-1 in terms of the maximization of the magnitudes of the Fourier peaks located at the phase-mismatches of the nonlinear processes while adjusting their relative strength. To our knowledge, we are the first to propose such aperiodic OP-GaAs gratings for efficient long-wave infrared beam generation based on simultaneous phase matching.


The small intestine (SI) represents the largest mucosal barrier between the environment and the host. As such, the SI limits both normal and pathogenic microbe invasion and must balance immune tolerance and activation. CD8ab T cells constitute a dominant lymphocyte population in the SI and contribute to both of these processes but detailed investigation into their in situ behavior in response to various stimuli is lacking. We visualized Ag-specific CD8 T cell migration in the SI using two-photon microscopy to understand CD8 T cell immunosurveillance. We found that pathogen-specific CD8 T cells are initially slowed early after infection but regain motility directly after Ag clearance. At a memory time point, CD8 T cells exhibited slower migration concurrent with acquisition of a resident memory phenotype. Current studies are focused on determining what is required for CD8 T cell motility throughout the course of infection. Additionally, as tolerance reversal and expansion of self-specific CD8 T cells has recently become a focus of cancer therapy, we characterized in situ behavior of self-specific CD8 T cells. Using a mouse expressing a model Ag in the SI as a self-protein, we observed self-specific CD8 T cells before and after tolerance reversal. Tolerant CD8 T cells migrate significantly faster than pathogen-specific cells at acute time points after infection. Contrastingly, ex-tolerant CD8 T cells were comparable to pathogen-specific CD8 T cells indicating that indeed their in situ scanning behavior had been altered upon tolerance reversal. These observations have provided valuable insight into CD8 T cell motility within the SI and can inform targeted treatment options and vaccines to ensure effective immunosurveillance of this tissue.


The purpose of this study is possibility of the heavy rainfall prediction using instability index. The convective instability index using this study is Convective Available Potential Energy(CAPE) concerned the growth energy of the storm, Bulk Richardson Number(BRN) concerned the type and strength of the storm, and Sotrm Relative Helicity(SRH) concerned maintenance of the storm. To verify the instability index, the simulation of heavy rainfall case experiment by Numerical Weather Prediction(NWP) model(MM5) are designed. The results of this study summarized that the heavy rainfall related to the high instability index and the proper combination of one more instability index made the higher heavy rainfall prediction.


When a group of experts is involved in the design
of a new product as a team, consensus and Group
decision making (GDM) techniques able to deal
with complex descriptions are required. In addition,
individual decisions based on human sensory
perception, such as color, smell or taste, are usually
qualitative and made under uncertainty. In this paper
we consider a methodology based upon qualitative
reasoning techniques for representing and
synthesizing the information given by a group of
experts in order to capture the sensorial aspects of
the alternatives. A real application of the proposed
GDM method to chocolates design has been conducted
throughout 2012 with the Chocolate Chef
Oriol Balaguer's team. We present the results obtained
by applying the proposed methodology to
aggregate experts' opinion during a creative session.
In this session, some members of Oriol Balaguer's
team tested and evaluated combinations of
black chocolate with six different fruits, considered
as alternatives, to select the best combination for
the design and creation of a new cake.


This article gives some goodness of fit tests for the Geometric distribution. The tests used in this study are Anderson Darling test, Cramer-von Mises test, Kolmogorov Smirnov test, test based on partition of Chi-square and some new alternatives based on smooth tests. The performance of these tests is compared by simulation study according to type-I errors and powers of tests. The power comparisons indicate that the modified version of smooth test statistic has the highest power value of test for Negative Binomial, Binomial and Poisson distributions. Also, Kolmogorov Smirnov, Anderson Darling, Cramer-von Mises and  test statistics can be preferred for large sample sizes. Keywords : Anderson Darling test, Cramer-von Mises test, Kolmogorov Smirnov test, Chi-square test . Normal 0 21 false false false TR X-NONE X-NONE


Tour operators have important role in development of tourism and people participating in tourism. Especially in developing countries, tour operators have significant part in number of tourists and the increase on tourism revenue. They also have a natural effect on the development and marketing of destinations. In this context, social media accounts of incoming tour operators with biggest tourist volume in Antalya have been analyzed. Antalya which has a significant role in Turkish tourism, hosted 20% of the tourists in Turkey in 2016. In this regard, a content analysis has been applied. The twitter accounts of 10 tour operators which have the biggest tourist volume in Antalya have been analyzed. The number of tweets, the content of tweets, topics, destinations in Antalya, the percentage of tweets related both to Antalya and Turkey has been analyzed.


Summary: Benign idiopathic neonatal convulsions and partial benign childhood epilepsy, the most frequent types of childhood benign epilepsy, are both characterized by partial seizures. This study was performed to determine whether any kind of benign epilepsy with partial seizures occurs in the age range between these two syndromes. We identified 17 cases of benign epilepsy with partial seizures from a review of 442 records collected in a 5‐year period in which seizures occurred between 8 days and 3 years of age. Six patients with onset before 6 weeks of life had clinical features characteristic of benign idiopathic neonatal convulsions, and appeared to be a delayed type of this syndrome. Eleven patients had clinical features characteristic of partial benign childhood epilepsy. In the age range between occurrence of these two recognized epileptic syndromes, we identified no case of partial epilepsy with favorable outcome.


RATIONALE: Cardiac myocyte hypertrophy is the main compensatory response to chronic stress in the heart. p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) family members are effectors for extracellular signal-regulated kinases that induce myocyte growth. RSK3 contains a unique N-terminal domain that mediates RSK3 binding to the muscle A-kinase anchoring protein (mAKAPβ) scaffold. We have previously published that disruption of RSK3-mAKAPβ complexes using a competing peptide inhibited the phenylephrine-induced hypertrophy of neonatal ventricular myocytes in vitro. In vivo, RSK3 gene deletion in mice attenuated the concentric cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload. We hypothesize that RSK3 anchoring to mAKAPβ in myocytes is required for cardiac hypertrophy in vivo.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are gene therapy vectors in development for the treatment of human diseases owing to their nonpathogenic capability for transducing non-dividing cells and their long-term transgene expression. We have used a recombinant AAV2/9 vector to express a mAKAPβ RSK3-binding domain (RBD)-GFP fusion protein under the control of the cardiac myocyte-specific cardiac troponin T promoter. 3 day-old C57BL/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally with either AAV-RBD-GFP or AAV-GFP control virus. At 8 weeks of age mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction to induce pressure overload (TAC) for two weeks. Cardiac hypertrophy was attenuated in mice injected with the AAV-RBD-GFP virus (biventricular weight indexed to tibial length (mg/mm): 7.7, 8.6, and 9.2 for AAV-RBD, AAV-GFP and non-injected TAC cohorts, respectively; p<0.05 vs. both controls). Echocardiography both corroborated the inhibition of hypertrophy and revealed no deleterious effect on cardiac function attributable to the AAV-RBD-GFP vector.

CONCLUSIONS: Anchored RSK3 regulates pathologic myocyte growth. AAV can successfully deliver a competing peptide inhibiting pathological hypertrophy and should be investigated further as a prevention and/or treatment for heart failure.


Despite the reduced read length, the so-called Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) of second-generation has allowed rapid and complete genome characterization of many species. MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies), a portable third-generation NGS device, enables sequencing of long DNA fragments at low cost. Here we used a low-coverage MinION sequencing in combination with short-read NGS to improve genome assembly. We tested this possibility by using MinION R9.0 with Rapid 1D kit and MiSeq with >300X paired-end 300 bp reads (Illumina, Inc.) for the genome assembly of a Streptococcus agalactiae clinical isolate (2.2 Mb). With as few as 1,171 MinION reads that covered the genome at 2.4X (the longest read being 186 Kb long), the hybrid assembly combining MinION and Illumina reads increased the N50 by 4.9-fold compared to the assembly using Illumina data alone. Almost 50% of the genome was represented into a single contig (1.02 Mb). Besides, this allowed the full reconstruction of mobile elements, including a plasmid, and improved gene annotation. Taken together, our results support that shallow MinION sequencing combined with high-throughput second-generation NGS constitutes a cost-efficient strategy for the assembly of whole genomes.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the predictive validity of induction assessment scores of family medicine residency program for performance in final year of residency.

STUDY DESIGN
Psychometric (predictive-validity) study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from 2008 to 2014.

METHODOLOGY
All family medicine residents were evaluated. Family Medicine Residency induction assessment scores were used as independent predictor variables, whereas resident assessment scores during the final year residency program were used as dependent or outcome variables. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 19. Linear regression was used to determine predictive validity of induction scores as independent variables with outcome variables at 95% confidence level.

RESULTS
There were 33 residents. MBBS scores accounted for 30.1% of variance in final year Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) scores; whereas, induction written test accounted for 37.1% of variance in final year written test. Induction communication skill scores did not correlate with in-training communication skill scores or with the final year OSCE scores. Induction professionalism scores accounted for 13.7% of the variation in final year OSCE scores, but not with in-training continuous professionalism scores.

CONCLUSION
Induction knowledge scores have acceptable predictive value for future knowledge and its application. Other valid and reliable assessment methods, such as multiple mini-interviews, should be explored for assessment of noncognitive domains at induction.


Pyruvate dehydrogenase multi-enzyme complex (PDHC) is member of a family of multienzyme complexes that catalyse the irreversible decarboxylation of various 2-oxoacid substrates to their corresponding acyl-CoA derivatives, NADH and C02. 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes hold key points in primary energy metabolism: PDHC in glycolysis, the oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDC) in the citric acid cycle, the branched-chain oxoacid dehydrogenase complex (BCDC) in amino acid catabolism, the glycine dehydrogenase complex (GDHC) in the glycine cleavage system and acetoin dehydrogenase complex (ADHC) in acetoin metabolism. Malfunctioning of a 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex in man leads to a broad variety of clinical manifestations, e.g. lactic acidosis (PDHC-deficiency) or maple syrup urine disease (BCDC-deficiency).PDHC consists of multiple copies of three enzymes: 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase or Elp-component, dihydrolipoyl acyltransferase (E2p) and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3). The E2 component plays a central role in the complex, both catalytically and structurally. It consists of multiple domains (from N- to C-terminus, 1-3 lipoyl domains, an EI/E3-binding domain and a catalytic domain) connected by flexible linkers, allowing a high degree of flexibility of the individual domains. In gram-negative bacteria, the C-terminal catalytic domain forms a cubic core of 24 subunits. Multiple copies of the peripheral components Elp and E3 are non-covalently attached to this core. Three-dimensional structures of the different components and domains of PDHC have been solved by X-ray crystallography or NMR.E1 catalyses the rate limiting step in the overall complex reaction; the reductive acylation of the lipoyl groups of E2 utilising thiamin diphosphate (ThDP). The El-component exists either as a homodimer (α 2 or heterotetramer (α 2 β 2 ), depending on the type and source of the complex. There is strikingly little sequence similarity between homodimeric and heterotetranieric E1 or even between homodimeric E1o and homodimeric E1p. An exception to this is the so-called "ThDP-binding motif', that has so far been found in all known ThDP dependent enzymes. Until quite recently EI was by far the least characterised component of the complex. This lack of (structural) information was largely due to the lack of a stable form of the enzyme: when resolved from the complex, E 1 is unstable. To obtain a better insight into the structure and functioning of the El-component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex from A. vinelandii and its interactions within the complex, a PhD project was started in 1995. The results of this project are presented in this thesis.


The concentration and indeed mixing of particle suspensions are important procedures in microfluidic processes. Relying on diffusion for mixing leads to unreasonably long mixing times, and enhancing or avoiding it by promoting chaotic mixing typically relies on complex geometries. Concentric circular and elliptical single-phase unidirectional transducers (SPUDTs) were used to focus the SAW, with a straight SPUDT as a benchmark for comparison. Due to the increased wave intensity and asymmetry of the wave, we found both circular and elliptical SPUDTs concentrate particles in under one second, one order of magnitude faster than the straight SPUDT and several orders of magnitude faster than conventional microscale devices. The concentric circular SPUDT was found to be most effective at a given input power since it generated the largest azimuthal velocity gradient within the fluid to drive particle shear migration. On the other hand, the concentric elliptical SPUDT generated the highest micromixing intensity due to the more narrowly focused SAW radiation that substantially enhances acoustic streaming in the fluid.


The aim of this study was to investigate the light and scanning electron microscopic structure of filiform papillae in adult mice. Light microscopic examination revealed that the papillae were covered with stratified squamous epithelium and had a core of connective tissue. Filiform papillae were observed on the dorsal surface of the tongue, located between the apex of the tongue and the vallate papillae. Three different types of filiform papillae were observed in three different areas: cylindrical in the anterior part of the tongue, large conical on the intermolar eminence, and small conical in front of the vallate papilla in the posterior part of the tongue. In scanning electron microscopic examination, epithelial cell-margin thickening was recognizable. Micropits and microridges were observed on the surface of the epithelial cells of the filiform papillae.


Engineering education is rapidly changing. The adoption of active learning in all its forms requires educators to keep abreast of the pedagogical changes whilst at the same time supporting staff and students in moving away from stereotypical behaviours and encouraging inclusive approaches to interactions in order to ensure an equitable education for all. As part of the design of a new integrated framework at UCL, the Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP), [i] the design team took steps to ensure that inclusion was considered at every stage, from the themes of group Challenges to consideration of design and professional skills. The intent was to help all students engage as widely as possible with the technical challenges and ensure that no group of students was adversely affected by any of the changes that would be introduced. The move to a more intensive team-based learning environment was considered a possible threat, in particular to women students. Specifically the design team did not frame any of the measures as being for women students, but focused on creating inclusive team environments. A widely used assessment tool, StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Rath, 2007), was introduced for all students in week one of term one. Over the five years of the IEP a series of feedback surveys, focus groups and reflections from staff and students have contributed to the refining and development of the IEP. This paper presents insights into the programme and the introduction of STRENGTHS, and first results from the team working focus groups. In particular the paper considers how inclusion and the professional confidence of women (and men) is being addressed and evaluated. This is a work in progress and the programme is subject to ongoing review and adjustment. [i] Further information on the Integrated Engineering Programme can be found at http://bit.ly/2HYis86


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy is becoming a widespread treatment for advanced heart failure. Implantation of an LVAD introduces complications that contribute to high rates of rehospitalization. This study examines the presenting signs and symptoms in LVAD patients at the time of readmission and explores the prevalence of psychosocial factors that are significantly associated with readmissions in this patient population.

METHODS
This is a retrospective review of 226 patients who had an LVAD implanted at a single transplant center. Data were extracted from individual electronic health record review and analyzed for readmissions within 6 months of discharge from the index hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS
Post-LVAD readmission rates are high and occur more frequently in destination therapy (DT) patients. Anxiety and depression are significant predictors of readmission. These factors negatively affect post-LVAD quality of life, particularly in DT patients.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
By understanding the etiologies and factors related to readmission after an LVAD, nurse practitioners can identify and address these issues before they result in rehospitalization to improve post-LVAD quality of life. With these considerations, ongoing nonemergent discussions of goals of care and quality of life are imperative because more patients will be offered the choice of an LVAD as a potentially life-long treatment.


A facile method to prepare monodisperse speckled colloids has been developed via one-step seeded polymerization from noncross-linked latex particles. It was found that both cross-linking agents in the added monomer mixture and charged initiation species are essential for the formation of speckles on composite latex particle surface in seeded polymerization. The size and number density of speckles on the surface are tunable by adjusting the concentration of surfactant. A possible mechanism for the formation of such speckled colloids has been proposed based on a series of control experiments. Speckled colloidal particles were used as substrates for the adsorption of tobacco mosaic virus, and a much stronger adsorption was observed compared to smooth particles, implying a potential application of these speckled particles in virus collection and more.


Home health care have an important meaning of life guarantee for the elderly and sub-healthy groups. In this paper, it is adopted to design a new model of home health care system that wearable wireless data acquisition technology and emotion recognition algorithm-based on physiological signals. Test results show that the system realized physiological signal acquisition under the natural state, physical health care, emotional state recognition and message alarm. The system has a low cost, both physical and mental health care characteristics, which can be widely used in modern rural and urban households.


Objective
To prepare and study the distribution of magnetic nanoliposomes of Sesquiterpene-Rich Fraction from Cichorium glandulosum (SRF-MLN) (under magnetic field) in the main organs of mice.

Methods
The SRF-MLN was prepared by ethanol injection-sonication precipitation method. The quality of its pharmaceutical properties was investigated by the active ingredient lactucin. The drug concentration and distribution of lactucin in different tissues and organs including whole blood, liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney were evaluated with Sesquiterpene-Rich Fraction from Cichorium glandulosum (SRF-LP) as a control.

Results
The prepared SRF-MLN was spherical and monodispersed with an average particle diameter of 65 ± 1 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 91.3%  ± 1.5% (RSD% = 1.5), and drug loading rate of 4.7%  ± 0.3% (RSD% = 0.7). Dispersion coefficient PDI was 0.157 and Zeta potential was -17.5 mV. The lactucin concentration of SRF-MLN after 10 min of intravenous injection in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney was significantly higher than that of SRF-LP group. The AUC0-12h values of liver tissue were obviously higher than other tissues and MRT was significantly prolonged under the action of the magnetic field (p<0.01).

Conclusion
The prepared SRF-MLN can change the distribution of drugs in different tissues and organs, prolonging the action time of the drugs in the body, and it has certain specificity under the action of applied magnetic field.


The topic that I am going to address is specific with regard to specialty, and I do recognize that we have a significant number of nonsurgical members. Of the nonsurgical members, I beg your indulgence; on the other hand, you may wish to use some of what I'm about to say as ammunition in your future interaction with surgeons. Nolan's book, The Making of a Surgeon , was published in 1968. In that book, he detailed the development of a surgeon primarily from the standpoint of the rigors of surgical residency training. In doing so, Bill Nolan gave us and the public at large a rather narrow view of a surgeon, having passed over the early development and having not gone far enough to examine that evolution beyond a short period of training. His book is not unlike the plethora of movies, Gross Anatomy , etc, that capitalize on detailing the rigors


Pentazocine or pethidine was administered to healthy parturients up to the time of delivery using a self-demand (self-administration on demand) intravenous apparatus, the Cardiff Palliator. Good analgesia was obtained with both drugs. The patients receiving pethidine exhibited side-effects (nausea, vomiting and drowsiness), whereas there were no side-effects among those receiving pentazocine. Apgar and neurobehavioural scores of the babies of mothers in both groups were the same and did not differ from those of a third group of babies, the mothers of whom had received 4-hourly intramuscular pethidine on demand according to the usual hospital routine. The self-administration technique proved a safe and effective means of providing analgesia during labour and delivery, with pentazocine having a decided advantage over pethidine because of its lack of side-effects.


We present a bioactuator powered by insect dorsal vessel tissue which can work for a long time at room temperature without maintenance. Previously reported bioactuators which exploit contracting ability of mammalian heart muscle cell have required precise environmental control to keep the cell alive and contracting. To overcome this problem, we propose a bioactuator using dorsal vessel tissue. The insect tissue which can grow at room temperature is generally robust over a range of culture conditions compared to mammalian tissues and cells. First, we confirm that a dorsal vessel tissue of lepidoptera larva Ctenoplusia agnata contracts spontaneously for at least 30 days without medium replacement at 25 degrees C. Using the dorsal vessel tissue cultured under the same conditions, we succeed in driving micropillars 100 microm in diameter and 1000 microm in height for more than 90 days. The strongest displacement of the micropillar top occurs on the 42(nd) day and is 23 microm. Based on these results, the contracting force is roughly estimated as 4.7 microN which is larger than that by a few mammalian cardiomyocytes (3.4 microN). Definite displacements of more than 10 microm are observed for 58 days from the 15(th) to the 72(nd) days. The number of life cycles can be roughly calculated as 7.5 x 10(5) times for the average frequency of about 0.15 Hz, which is no less than that of conventional mechanical actuators. These results suggest that the insect dorsal vessel tissue is a more promising material for bioactuators used at room temperature than other biological cell-based materials.


OBJECTIVE Whether dietary habits early in life can affect risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in adulthood is unknown. We evaluated the relationship between dietary patterns during adolescence and risk of T2DM in midlife. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We examined the 7-year incidence of T2DM in relation to dietary patterns during high school among 37,038 participants in the Nurses' Health Study II cohort, who completed a food-frequency questionnaire about their diet during high school. Dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate relative risk (RR) and 95% CI. RESULTS The prudent pattern, characterized by healthy foods, was not associated with risk of T2DM. The Western pattern, characterized by desserts, processed meats, and refined grains, was associated with 29% greater risk of T2DM (RR 1.29; 95% CI 1.00–1.66; P trend 0.04), after adjusting for high school and adult risk factors comparing extreme quintiles, but was attenuated after adjusting for adult weight change (1.19; 0.92–1.54). Women who had high Western pattern scores in high school and adulthood had an elevated risk of T2DM compared with women who had consistent low scores (1.82; 1.35–2.45), and this association was partly mediated by adult BMI (1.15; 0.85–1.56). CONCLUSIONS A Western dietary pattern during adolescence may increase risk of T2DM in later life, partly through adult weight gain. Preventive measures should be aimed at developing healthy dietary habits that begin in early life and continue through adulthood.


Talipes equinovarus is a most common congenital defect. Today it is not only clinicians and physicians who desire to understand the details of diagnosis and treatment, but also the parents of affected children, as because of the inherent economic and emotional burden of a clubfoot diagnosis but also for proper compliance with treatment protocols to prevent future reoccurrences. The cause of this condition is less known. Different mechanisms have been proposed i.e., neurological, bony, muscular, connective tissue and vascular. However the only evidence is that the milder cases are associated with posture within uterus. There is a proof available for the aetiology of congenital Talipes equinovarus genetically. Complex segregation analysis suggests that the most likely inheritance pattern is a single gene of major effect operating against a polygenic background. Spina bifida is type of birth defect where there is an incomplete closing of the spinal column and meninges around the baby's spinal cord. There are four types of spina bifida: Occulta, closed neural tube defects, meningocele and myelomeningocele. The most usual location is the lumbosacral region. Meningomyelocele is the most severe form. The diagnosis by a simple ultrasound can be correct especially if abortion is considered, and a prenatal MRI scan should be done prior to counselling and before considering the surgical treatment. A Pregnant women underwent a routine ultrasound examination at 19 weeks of gestation. Ultrasound of fetus showed lower midline lesion suspect of meningomyelocele. More ultrasounds were done which showed spina bifida with congenital Talipes equinovarus of right lower limb. Pregnancy was terminated at 19 plus weeks I/V/O. On physical examination of aborted fetus a 2 X 2 X 1 cm midline mass was seen in lumbosacral region covered with meninges.


Abstract. Working in the theory "ZF + There is a nontrivial elementary embedding j : V → V", we show that a final segment of cardinals satisfies certain square bracket finite and infinite exponent partition relations. As a corollary to this, we show that this final segment is composed of Jonsson cardinals. We then show how to force and bring this situation down to small alephs. A prototypical result is the construction of a model for ZF in which every cardinal μ ≥ ℵ2 satisfies the square bracket infinite exponent partition relation . We conclude with a discussion of some consistency questions concerning different versions of the axiom asserting the existence of a nontrivial elementary embedding j: V → V. By virtue of Kunen's celebrated inconsistency result, we use only a restricted amount of the Axiom of Choice.


A real-time failure analysis technique for ULSI circuits using photon emission is proposed. This technique utilizes a photon detection system combined with a circuit tester. Improved failure detection is achieved because the tester can bias arbitrary blocks in the ULSI chip. Detecting and correct process defects and design errors improves the reliability of the ULSI chip. >


Introduction Macrophages play an important role in the immune response to injury. However, a broader role in repair and regeneration has been reported. While macrophage ablation impairs epithelialisation and reduces scar formation in skin repair model in mammals, it impairs the regeneration of the limb in axolotl and of the fin in adult zebrafish. This discrepancy is likely due to the high plasticity of macrophages, which can adopt various phenotypes and functions. Here we used the zebrafish larva to study the role of pro-inflammatory, M1-like macrophages during caudal fin regeneration. Materials, methods and results Using 4D confocal microscopy and double transgenic larvae to visualise macrophages and TNF-α producer cells, we showed that initially most recruited macrophages expressed TNF-α (referred as M1-like). However TNF-α expression was transient and decreased from 24 h post amputation, due to the recruitment of a second wave of non-inflammatory macrophages (referred as M2-like) and to a local phenotypic conversion of macrophages. We demonstrated that TNF-α expressing macrophages were crucial for fin regeneration as early depletion of macrophages blocked blastema formation and regeneration process, while the depletion of late M2-like macrophages did not. We then turned our attention to the trophic control exerted by M1-like macrophages on the regeneration process and investigated the role of TNF-α signalling. Using a combination of morpholino knock down strategy and parabiosis experiments, we showed that TNFR1 played a necessary and direct role in the induction of fin regeneration by expanding blastemal cell. Conclusion In summary the present data strongly suggest that TNF-α producing macrophages stimulate blastemal cell proliferation through the TNFR1 activation, revealing a new insight into the mechanism of caudal fin regeneration.


The seismic correlation length prior to the Lushan earthquake(April.20,2013) has been studied by use of single-link cluster(SLC) analysis.The catalogs used were downloaded from China Earthquake Networks Center(CENC,http://www.csndmc.ac.cn).The earthquakes were located in an area centered in the mainshock(30.3N°,103.0°E) and ranging 27°~33° to 100°~106° from 5 years before the mainshock to its origin time.We selected 3.5 as the minimum magnitude and checked the completeness of the catalogs used prior to the mainshock using the Gudengberg formula,which shows good completeness above magnitude 3.5.The results showed that the growing correlation length of earthquakes for moderate-size earthquakes,which had been observed prior to the mainshock nearly two years ago to the origin time,can be fitted well by the power law.At the same time,we have developed a method to test whether or not the result obtained is simply caused by data selection to produce the desired pattern.We selected a time interval before the mainshock in which no great earthquake occurred and several years later when the greater earthquake occurred.The catalogs in the time interval will be analyzed using the same method as the catalogs prior to the mainshock study to check whether the correlation length shows an increase with the power law.We cannot find an obvious increasing process by the power law.For the preparation and occurrence stages of the earthquake process,characterized as a self-organized critical phenomenon,to test directly for growing spatial correlation lengths prior to large earthquakes is an independent approach to detect critical point behavior in observed seismicity.The results from this paper showed that the self-organized critical point characteristic was observed prior to the Lushan 7.0 earthquake.The studies in this paper illuminate the notion that the growing seismic correlation length by the power law represents a physical process of critical-point characteristics in the source area preparing for a great earthquake.In future work,the predictive power of growing correlation length should be tested.In an area,the grid search technique can be applied to extract regions of growing correlation length systematically from a data set.The estimates for occurrence time,epicenter,and magnitude of expected mainshock may then be obtained from the fitting parameter,critical region,and value of correlation length.For a further reduction of uncertainties in a predictive approach,it also appears promising to combine the concepts of growing correlation length and other predictive methods.


Interior permanent magnet (IPM) machines are widely adopted as traction motors in electric vehicles (EVs), with their vibration and noise issues obtaining more and more research attentions. The radial magnetic force harmonics applied on the stator, are the main factor of electromagnetic (EM) vibration in electric machines. Relationship between open-circuit magnetic field and corresponding EM force behavior of IPM machines have been extensively investigated and well revealed, while the contribution of armature reaction field to EM force is still not well understood. In this paper, onload magnetic field harmonics in a typical 160kW, 48-slot, 8-pole IPM motor, are analyzed by analytical method and finite element tools, to investigate their contributions to radial EM force harmonics, respectively. Frozen permeability (FP) technique is utilized to extract and highlight the influence of armature reaction on EM force. The zeroth-mode EM force harmonics of three typical peak operating conditions of the motor are analyzed and corresponding radial acceleration responses are calculated. It is interesting to find that the armature field not only can increase the amplitude of the zeroth-mode vibration via generating EM force harmonics with existing time order compared with that of PM field, but also inducing additional zeroth-mode force harmonics with different time orders. The analyses results indicate clearly that armature reaction is more influential than open-circuit PM field in terms of inducing 0th mode EM vibration under peak operations with high current loading in IPM traction motors.


Twisted bilayer graphenes with magical angle exhibit strongly correlated electronic properties because of the isolated flat band at the Fermi level. We studied the twisted bilayer graphene with substrates on both layers. The substrate induce Kekul$\acute{e}$ distortion for each graphene layer. The systems are investigated by both continuous Dirac Fermion model and tight binding model. The two investigations give similar conclusion that isolated flat band with ultra-narrow bandwidth could appear.


Fusarium oxysporum is a well-known fungus that causes a major commercial plant disease in the world. Due to the issue, the antifungal activity of Catharanthus roseus stems extract as bio-organic fungicide against F. oxysporumon Capsicum annum seedling was studied. The spore suspensions of F.oxysporum and C. roseusstems extract were prepared to study the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) tests in the laboratory. The application of C. roseus stems extract at the concentrations of 100, 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 µg/mL against F. oxysporum were included in the in-vitro study. For in-vivo test, F. oxysporum on C. annum seedlings were applied with the plant extract at concentrations of 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 µg/mL in greenhouse study. The result showed that the extractwith2,000 µg/mL has higher significant difference (p<0.05) inhibited the growth of F. oxysporum plant fungal compared to other concentrations of MIC tested. The MFC test indicated that day nine was
proven to have high negative impact of the fungal than day six. In in-vivo study, the antifungal activity showed 100% effect of disease injury for the growth of C. annum plant species in green house. The result also showed that the concentration of C. roseus stems extract at 2,000 µg/mL has significantly higher (p<0.05) activity against F. oxysporum on the seedlings compared to other concentrations. Thus, the
study indicated that C. roseus stems extract has novelty of bio-organic compounds that contribute to the development of new antifungal agents to protect crop plants from fungal disease which also safe to environmental ecology compared to other commercial chemical fungicide which is highly used nowadays.


Ready-to-Read Level 3 Reading Proficiently Rich vocabulary More-challenging stories Longer chapters Harriet Tubman was born a slave. But she always knew that someday she would be free. After realizing her dream Harriet decided she had to help others find freedom too. So she became a guide on the Underground Railroad. Little did this courageous woman know just how many people she would help.


Federated Learning (FL) allows edge devices to collaboratively learn a shared prediction model while keeping their training data on the device, thereby decoupling the ability to do machine learning from the need to store data in the cloud. Despite the algorithmic advancements in FL, the support for on-device training of FL algorithms on edge devices remains poor. In this paper, we present an exploration of on-device FL on various smartphones and embedded devices using the Flower framework. We also evaluate the system costs of on-device FL and discuss how this quantification could be used to design more efficient FL algorithms.


In this paper, we propose a novel volume visualization system enabling local transfer function specification through direct painting or sketching on the rendered image, in a WYSIWYG style. Localized transfer functions are defined on scalar topology regions specified by the user. Intelligent and fast feature inference algorithms have been developed to convert user's input to the region specification and to achieve desirable feature styles with the local transfer functions. In our system, users can not only manipulate the color appearance of the object volume, but also apply style transfer and generate various illustration styles with a unified input gesture. Without manual transfer function editing and without parameter specification, our system is capable of generating informative illustrations that intuitively highlight user specified local features.


Donkey-hide gelatin is an important traditional Chinese medicine made from donkey skin. Despite decades of effort, identifying the animal materials (donkeys, horses, cattle and pigs) in donkey-hide gelatin remains challenging. In our study, we aimed to identify marker peptides of donkey-hide gelatin and its adulterants and develop a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to identify them. Theoretical marker peptides of four animals (donkeys, horses, cattle and pigs) were predicted and verified by proteomic experiments, and 12 species-specific marker peptides from donkey-hide gelatin and its adulterants were identified. One marker peptide for each gelatin was selected to develop the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. The applicability of the method was evaluated by investigating homemade mixed gelatin samples and commercial donkey-hide gelatin products. Using the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method, the addition of cattle-hide gelatin and pig-hide gelatin to donkey-hide gelatin could be detected at a level of 0.1%. Horse-hide gelatin was detected when added at a level of 0.5%. Among 18 batches of donkey-hide gelatin products, nine were identified as authentic, and eight of the remaining samples were suspected to be adulterated with horse materials. These results provide both a practical method to control the quality of donkey-hide gelatin and a good reference for quality evaluations of other medicinal materials and foods containing protein components.


A recent study (Takahashi et al., Neuron, 2022) concluded LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposon activation drives cerebellar ataxia and neurodegeneration. This position was based on L1 upregulation in ataxia telangiectasia (AT) patient cerebellum samples, as measured by RNA-seq, and observation of ataxia and neurodegeneration in mice where cerebellar L1 expression was induced via dCas9-CRISPR. Here, a re-analysis of the RNA-seq data, which were obtained by rRNA depletion rather than polyA+ selection, revealed a high fraction (38.4%) of intronic reads. Significantly (p=0.034) more intronic reads were present in the AT data than the matched controls. This finding provides an alternative and robust explanation for a key result reported by Takahashi et al.: intronic L1 sequences are abundant in pre-mRNAs, and more pre-mRNAs were retained in the AT libraries. This apparent batch effect deserves further examination, as claims of L1-mediated pathogenesis could shape future efforts to treat AT by trying to attenuate L1 activity.


Several years of academic and industrial research efforts have converged to a common understanding on fundamental security building blocks for the upcoming vehicular communication (VC) systems. There is a growing consensus toward deploying a special-purpose identity and credential management infrastructure, i.e., a vehicular public-key infrastructure (VPKI), enabling pseudonymous authentication, with standardization efforts toward that direction. In spite of the progress made by standardization bodies (IEEE 1609.2 and ETSI) and harmonization efforts [Car2Car Communication Consortium (C2C-CC)], significant questions remain unanswered toward deploying a VPKI. Deep understanding of the VPKI, a central building block of secure and privacy-preserving VC systems, is still lacking. This paper contributes to the closing of this gap. We present SECMACE, a VPKI system, which is compatible with the IEEE 1609.2 and ETSI standards specifications. We provide a detailed description of our state-of-the-art VPKI that improves upon existing proposals in terms of security and privacy protection, and efficiency. SECMACE facilitates multi-domain operations in the VC systems and enhances user privacy, notably preventing linking pseudonyms based on timing information and offering increased protection even against honest-but-curious VPKI entities. We propose multiple policies for the vehicle–VPKI interactions and two large-scale mobility trace data sets, based on which we evaluate the full-blown implementation of SECMACE. With very little attention on the VPKI performance thus far, our results reveal that modest computing resources can support a large area of vehicles with very few delays and the most promising policy in terms of privacy protection can be supported with moderate overhead.


Calves inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and fed either a high-roughage or high-concentrate diet were evaluated for rumen proliferation and fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7. Calves fed the high-roughage diet had lower mean rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations and higher rumen pH values than did calves fed the high-concentrate diet. Despite these differences in rumen conditions, the calves fed the high-roughage diet did not have greater rumen populations of E. coli O157: H7 and did not exhibit increased or longer fecal shedding compared with the calves fed the high-concentrate diet. Two calves shedding the highest mean concentrations of E. coli O157:H7 were both fed the high-concentrate diet. There was a significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation between fecal shedding and rumen volatile fatty acid concentration in calves fed a high-concentrate diet. The effects of diet on E. coli O157:H7 proliferation and acid resistance were investigated using an in vitro rumen fermentation system. Rumen fluid collected from steers fed a high-roughage diet, but not from steers fed a high-concentrate diet, supported the proliferation of E. coli O157:H7. Rumen fluid from steers fed a high-concentrate diet rapidly induced acid resistance in E. coli O157:H7. The impact of diet on fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 is still unclear and may depend on dietary effects on fermentation in the colon and on diet-induced changes in the resident microflora. However, rapid development of acid tolerance by E. coli O157:H7 in the rumens of calves fed high-concentrate diets, allowing larger populations to survive passage through the acidic abomasum to proliferate in the colon, may be one factor that influences fecal shedding in cattle on feed.


Umqombothi (a South African indigenous beer) is an important dietary beverage for many undernourished, low-income consumers in rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Umqombothi was brewed using optimal conditions earlier obtained and compared to the customary beer brew (CB) and mixed raw ingredients (RI). The products were evaluated for proximate compositions, minerals, amino acids, B-group vitamins, and sugar compounds. The optimised beer brew (OPB) was relatively higher in energy (165 kcal), crude protein (8.6%), and ash content (1.0%). The CB had the highest concentration of sodium (299.8 mg/kg), magnesium (1170.5 mg/kg), potassium (2993.8 mg/kg), and phosphorus (2100.7 mg/kg). Glutamic acid was the highest detected amino acid, with concentrations of 1.5 g/100 g, 1.5 g/100 g, and 1.6 g/100 g in the RI, CB, and OPB, respectively. The OPB contained a higher concentration of the two forms of vitamin B3, nicotinamide (0.2 µg/g) and nicotinic acid (0.7 µg/g) in comparison to the CB. The concentration of the antioxidant, mannitol, was 0.4 mg/g, 0.2 mg/g, and 2.0 mg/g in the RI, CB, and OPB respectively. Overall, OPB displayed a desirable nutritional profile compared to the CB.


— In the present time, energy crises is considered a severe problem across the world. For the protection of global environment and maintain ecological balance, energy saving is considered one of the most vital issues from the view point of fuel consumption. As the industrial sectors everywhere continue efforts to improve their energy efficiency, recovering waste heat losses provides an attractive opportunity for an emission free and less costly energy resource. In the other hand the using of solar energy has become more insistent particularly after the high gross of prices and running off the conventional energy sources. Therefore, it is essential that we should endeavor for waste heat recovery as well as solar energy by making significant and concrete efforts. For these reasons this investigation is carried out to study and analyze the performance of a power plant working by a combined cycle in which heat recovery system generator (HRSG) gets its energy from the waste heat of a gas turbine unit. Evaluation of the performance of the plant is based on different thermal efficiencies of the main components in addition to the second law analysis considering the exergy destructions for the whole components. The contribution factors including the solar as well as the wasted energy are considered in the calculations. The final results have shown that there is significant exergy destruction in solar concentrator and the combustion chamber of the gas turbine unit. Other components such as compressor, gas turbine, steam turbine and heat exchangers having insignificant exergy destruction. Also, solar energy can contribute by about 27% of the input energy to the plant while the energy lost with exhaust gases can contribute by about 64% at maximum cases.


Anthropoid primates are distinguished from other mammals by having relatively large primary visual cortices (V1) and complex facial expressions. We present a comparative test of the hypothesis that facial expression processing coevolved with the expansion of V1 in anthropoids. Previously published data were analysed using phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of our study suggest a pattern of correlated evolution linking social group size, facial motor control and cortical visual processing in catarrhines, but not platyrrhines. Catarrhines that live in relatively large social groups tended to have relatively large facial motor nuclei, and relatively large primary visual cortices. We conclude that catarrhine brains are adapted for producing and processing complex facial displays.


As a celebrity scientist with regular weekly radio and television programs in Australia and the United Kingdom, Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki has heard a galaxy full of questions related to modern science.Do lemmings actually jump off cliffs? (They don't.) Did we really go to the moon? (Of course.) Does chocolate give you zits? (Never has. Never will.) Did Einstein fail school? (Nope.)Dr. Karl has labeled this endless stream of questionable queries "Great Mythconceptions." Now, in his book of the same name, the good doctor seeks to set inquisitive minds straight on the most intriguing questions he's been asked.Does the soul weigh 21 grams? Can you apply a mathematical code to the Bible to predict future events? Do we really use only 10 percent of our brain? Does a duck's quack echo? Can mosquitoes really infect you with the AIDS virus? The funny facts and dizzying discoveries in "Great Mythconceptions" answer countless questions that have been asked for years. The book also features humorous black-and-white illustrations that reinforce each revelation. Each section concludes with bonus tidbits that delve deeper into related aspects of each question.


Abstract When New Zealand's 'third-way' Labour government came to power in 1999 it placed a greater policy and funding emphasis on the arts and culture. Like other 'promotional states' (Cloonan 1999) the Labour government sought to support the domestic popular music industry through a voluntary radio quota. Drawing on qualitative research, this article describes the ways in which the state, through New Zealand on Air, negotiates and leverages domestic popular music artists onto commercial radio. In this process, state agents mobilise social networks to 'join-up' commercially appropriate artists to radio programmers. The success of this programme is based upon state agents developing an institutional isomorphism with existing music industry practices. Even so, popular music makers contest New Zealand on Air's sympathetic policy settings by citing forms of institutional exclusion.


A new type of engine concept is proposed, namely a rotating disk cylinder engine. Unique secondary rotors with grooves act as guide vanes for a working fluid to power a main rotor with multiple cylindrical pistons. Currently, no literature exists on the proposed device and the modelling thereof. The aim of this paper is to determine the dynamic and thermodynamic behaviour of the machine so that recommendations can be made for further research work. A transient as well as a steady‐state thermodynamic model is developed for an adiabatic expansion process using first and second law analysis with air as ideal gas. The model is compared with experimental results of a piston engine driven by compressed air. Results show that the secondary rotor's angle of rotation is not a linear function of the main rotor's angle of rotation, which suggests a limitation in terms of operating speed. Furthermore, for constant power, the efficiency increases as the inlet pressure and speed decrease, while for constant efficiency, the power increases as the inlet pressure and speed increase. Results show the advantage of using three secondary rotors as it drastically decreases the pressure requirement for a constant torque output. The speed and inlet pressure of the device is, however, limited by the mass and material properties of the rotors as well as the effects of leakage. These limitations have not been considered in this initial analysis of the device and are recommended for future work.


The production of essential oils from natural sources is highly profitable nowadays.People worldwide start to realize the important of healthy awareness.Highly demand of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) oil and citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus) oil due to its uses.Here,a modern and an alternative method,microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD is approach.The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of MAHD on the extraction of essential oils.The essential oils from ginger and citronella grass were studied and results were compared with the conventional HD in terms of extraction yield,extraction time,cost of operation and chemical composition.MAHD was provided higher quantitative in short of time.MAHD resulted in similar citronella oil recovery for 60 min to that obtained by 90 min of HD (1.17%, v/w).Same as ginger essential oil,MAHD required extraction time period of 30 min for recovering 0.88% yield of essential oil of ginger, instead of HD required 90 min of extraction time for recovering same percentage yield.Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the extracted essential oils indicated that the use of microwave irradiation recover high total peak area (%).MAHD was found to be a green technology.


Deer keds are hematophagous ectoparasites (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) that mainly parasitize Cervidae. These flies are particularly important for animal health due to the occurrence of numerous pathogenic microorganisms. They may also attack humans and their bites may cause allergenic symptoms. The aim of the study was to identify the molecular characteristics of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Bartonella spp. pathogens detected in Lipoptena spp. sampled both from the hosts and from the environment. For identification of Bartonella spp and B. burgdorferi s. l., the primers specific to the rpoB and flaB gene fragments were used, respectively. The overall prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. DNA in Lipoptena cervi was 14.04%, including 14.8% infection in the tested group of winged specimens. The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp. was 57.02%. The presence of these bacteria was detected in 53.5% of specimens of L. cervi and 75.7% of L. fortisetosa. The phylogenetic analysis showed five new haplotypes of the rpoB gene of Bartonella sp. isolated from L. cervi/Lipoptena fortisetosa. We also identified one new haplotype of B. afzelii and three haplotypes of B. burgdorferi isolated from winged specimens of L. cervi. This is the first study to detect the genetic material of B. burgdorferi s.l. in L. cervi in Poland and the first report on the identification of these bacteria in host-seeking specimens in the environment.


Treating wastewater on site via bioremediation and mechanical methods can save energy by reducing the stress on a large central water treatment facility to process greywater. Development of such systems will depend on characterization of this wastewater in order to properly design the system and test its performance. The purpose of this research was to develop and test a greywater system to be used for cleaning greywater from a hair salon. The system that was tested uses bioremediation, the process of using organisms to consume and break down pollutants. The experimental apparatus is a constructed greywater system using readily available parts. It is unique in that it is exclusively gravity fed with exception of the sump pump to provide the initial input. It is a three-trough system that flows from a top-center trough, then down to two adjacent troughs via aeration siphons. The study included two phases, a short-term study consisting of four variations, and a 16-day "batch" study. These four variations included (1) a baseline assessment, (2) no plants with only a biofilter, (3) no biofilter with plants only, and (4) a complete system incorporating both plants and biofilter.


Road Traffic Accidents in developing countries are a serious concern in terms of safety and economy. RTAs share a considerable amount of overall life, resource, and productivity losses. It has become essential to monetize RTAs to aid the policymakers, economists, and the state government to efficiently select the cost-effective countermeasure for the safety of road users. The costs can be utilized in framing cost-effective safety measures and policies. This paper focuses on estimating the overall costs of Road Traffic Accidents in the city of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Pakistan, by using the Human Capital Approach to estimate the monetary amount that the Road Traffic Accidents have cost to the cities in the year 2016. The research has categorized the costs into 5 main components, namely: medical costs, property damage costs, loss output, human loss, and administrative costs. A total of 10187 incidents have been recorded in the cities involving 12573 victims and 18136 vehicles. Results suggested that a total of pkr 2.183 billion has been incurred by the State of Pakistan with a loss of about 0.0074% to the GDP. The breakdown of the costs was as follows: Medical costs (pkr 93,898,640), and it comprises 4.26% of the total cost; Property damage costs include vehicular and property damage repair (pkr 214,840,463), and it comprises 9.84% of the total cost; Loss output (pkr 1,316,000,000), and it comprises 60.27% of the total cost; Human costs (pkr 473,584,345), and it comprise 21.69% of the total cost; Administrative costs (pkr 85,730,725), and it comprises 3.92% of the total cost.