Introduction: Development of complementary medicine in the world, requires a detailed understanding of the fundamentals, principles and application of the right of the word, is inevitable. This study aimed to comprehensive review of the natural things in foundations of traditional medicine have been done. Method: This research study aims to collect an overview of theoretical principles of Iranian Traditional Medicine (Tbyyh Affairs) and the relevant texts from the Internet (Google, SID.ir, MEDLINE, Magiran, Iranmeddex) with the keywords, foudations, Iranian Traditional medicine in original references in Iranian Traditional medicine was done. Discussion: Theories and concepts of prevention, detection, recovery and treatment of diseases in traditional medicine based on holistic approach to the patient.Disorders in traditional medicine in the areas of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and environment are treated simultaneously.In this study, the definition of medicine from the perspective of Iranian scientists, the characteristics of traditional medicine, traditional medicine theory and concepts, definitions of health and illness, factors affecting view of physicians of Iranian history, the issues that they intended to medicine. Conclusion: Holism -oriented philosophy of traditional medicine is a key element in all cases, So while writing in the field of traditional medicine (both herbal medicines and treatments based on traditional methods) to theories and concepts and use them in any kind of traditional medicine and cultural background to be considered.According to the theories and concepts of traditional medicine, prevention, detection, recovery and treatment is often based on specific needs of each patient is individually.


Margin squeezes can be evaluated under a predation or a refusal-to-deal standard. Both Carlton and Sidak argue in favor of using the predation standard. However, should the conditions for an abusive refusal to deal be satisfied, then margin squeezes should be prohibited even when prices are not predatory. It is sufficient that they are exclusionary. According to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in linkLine, when a vertically integrated company is not subject to an obligation to supply, there cannot be a margin-squeeze case. However, the Court does not establish how to define a margin squeeze when there is an antitrust duty to supply. In those circumstances, the EC approach in the Deutsche Telekom case helps to identify a standard. In any event, remedies in margin-squeeze cases should make sure that incentives to eliminate double-marginalization are maintained.


Dear Editor:

A 78-year-old Japanese woman noticed a subcutaneous nodule on her neck. On physical examination, we found a reddish tumor, measuring 25×20 mm, on her neck and multiple small nodules on her chest and back (Fig. 1A). There were no enlarged lymph nodes. Her white blood cell count was normal, and other routine biochemical tests also yielded normal results. The bone marrow aspiration sample showed no evidence of increased blast cell count. Computed tomographic scan of the whole body showed no lymphadenopathy. Histopathological examination of tumor in the neck showed diffuse infiltration of histiocyte-like tumor cells with remarkable dyskaryosis in the dermis (Fig. 1B, C). Immunohistochemical studies revealed that tumor cells were positive for leukocyte common antigen, CD43, CD56, CD68 (Fig. 1D), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) (Fig. 1E) and negative for keratin, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, CD34, c-kit, CD3, CD4, CD5, CD7, CD8, CD20, CD21, CD138, granzyme B, S-100, and CD1a. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of primary granulocytic sarcoma (GS) without hematologic involvement was established. Patient was administered local irradiation (total, 30 Gy) and chemotherapy with etoposide. After 1 cycle of chemotherapy, the skin tumor on her neck regressed. During 5-week follow-up period, she did not develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Fig. 1

(A) Reddish tumor, measuring 25×20 mm, on the patient's neck. (B, C) Histological findings of the tumor: diffuse infiltration of histiocyte-like tumor cells with remarkable dyskaryosis in the dermis and adipose tissue (HE B: ×40, ...

GS is manifested as a tumor at the extramedullary site and consists of immature granulocytes. The skin lesions of GS are generally manifested as papules, nodules, tumors, or plaques. GS occurs in only 3% to 8% of leukemia patients and is often associated with AML and chronic myeloproliferative disorder1,2. GS can occur in one of the following 3 patterns: (1) with AML or other bone marrow and blood involvement, (2) as an isolated recurrence of AML or as a sign of blast transformation in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia or myeloid dysplasia, (3) before the development of systemic leukemia, as a harbinger of AML3. Primary GS in the absence of any past history of leukemia is rarely reported1,2,3,4; in these cases, systemic leukemia developed after the emergence of primary GS3.

Primary GS without hematologic disorders is commonly misdiagnosed as lymphoma or histiocytic, lymphoblastic, or lymphocytic leukemia. One study stated that the rate of misdiagnosis was 46% (71/154 cases)5. Therefore, immunohistochemical analysis should be performed to arrive at a correct diagnosis. MPO is the marker of myeloid lineage and is a useful marker of GS. Antibodies to lysozyme and chloroacetate esterase can also be used to arrive at a diagnosis. CD68 positivity of the tumor cells indicates that they are monocytic and of granulocytic lineage.

The prognosis of GS is poor, especially when associated with AML3. Byrd et al.5 stated that 97% of all primary GS patients who did not receive systemic chemotherapy later developed AML. Furthermore, 66% of the patients who received chemotherapy for the primary GS never developed AML5, suggesting that early systemic therapy is helpful in preventing AML development and increasing the overall survival5. Therefore, establishing an early, correct diagnosis and administering appropriate treatment are important aspects that dermatologists and hematologists need to bear in mind.


The diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection is currently based on immunological tests, but tests for IgM and IgG antibodies alone are often insufficient to estimate the risk of active disease, especially during pregnancy and in immunodeficient patients. Classically the study of anti-toxoplasma immunity involves titration of IgG antibodies, which reflect immunity to the parasite, and IgM antibodies which of present, reveal acute infection. However, technical advances have shown the limitations of these tests as tests for IgM can be positive because of residual specific IgM or even in subjects free of acute infection due to the existence of natural interfering IgM. In addition, IgM can be absent in children with congenital toxoplasmosis or subjects with secondary reactivation. The purpose of our study was to evaluated of IgA antibodies to T. gondii in serum samples which were positive in screening test. Our results confirm the diagnostic value of testing for anti-toxoplasma IgA antibodies. These antibodies are absent in uninfected subjects and are detected rapidly after primary infection. The determination of IgA complements IgM determination for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.


Raja Yoga is a method to connect one's self to the almighty God (Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa) through the means of tapa, brata, yoga, semadhi. This method is conceptualized in Astangga Yoga passed down by Rsi Patanjali. Terminologically, the practice of Raja Yoga is covered in local genius existed in Terunyan village, Bangli regency. It is done by the so called Teruna (a group of teenagers) as a part of sacred procession of Barong Brutuk dance. Essentially, Raja yoga can be seen in the Makemit process for 42 days with a set of rules, prohibition, and ritu- al they call Tirtha Kayan Teruna. The success of the Raja Yoga according to local condition is when the teruna achieves niyasa, or a condition where the body and soul become one with God in its system, not overtaking the trance as other sacred dances do in Bali.


The influence on Nickel-like Molybdenum soft-x-ray laser performance and stability of a low energy laser prepulse arriving prior to the main laser pumping pulses is experimentally investigated. A promising regime for 10 Hz operation has been observed. A four times increase in soft-x-ray laser operation time with a same target surface is demonstrated. This soft-x-ray laser operation mode corresponds to an optimum delay between the prepulse and the main pulses and to a prepulse energy greater than 20 mJ. We also show that this regime is not associated with a weaker degradation of the target or any reduced ablation rate. Therefore the role of preplasma density gradient in this effect is discussed.


Introductory Concepts Basic Definitions Polymerization and Functionality Polymerization Processes Molecular Architecture Classification of Polymers Plastics, Fibers, and Elastomers Polymer Nomenclature References Exercises Chain Dimensions, Structures, and Transitional Phenomena Introduction Polymer Chains: Structures and Dimensions Constitutional and Configurational Isomerism Crystallinity in Polymers Thermal Transitions in Polymers Regions of Viscoelastic Behavior Factors Affecting Tg Factors Affecting Tm Relation Between Tm and Tg Theoretical Treatment of Glass Transition Chain Movements in Amorphous State Thermodynamics of Rubber Elasticity References Exercises Polymers in Solution Introduction Thermodynamics of Liquid Mixtures Phase Equilibria in Poor Solvents Solubility Behavior of Polymers Swelling of Crosslinked Polymers Frictional Properties of Polymer Molecules In Dilute Solution References Exercises Polymer Molecular Weights Introduction Molecular Weight Averages Molecular Weights in Terms of Moments Molecular Weight Determination References Exercises Condensation (Step-Growth) Polymerization Introduction Rates of Polycondensation Reactions Number-Average Degree of Polymerization Control of Molecular Weight Molecular Weight Distribution (MWD) Nonlinear Step Polymerization Recursive Approach for Average Properties Polycondensation of AxB Monomers References Exercises Free Radical Polymerization Introduction Scheme of Radical Chain Polymerization Experimental Determination of Rp: Dilatometry Methods of Initiation Dead-End Polymerization Determination of Absolute Rate Constants Chain Length and Degree of Polymerization Chain Transfer Deviations from Ideal Kinetics Inhibition/Retardation of Polymerization Effects of Temperature Molecular Weight Distribution Polymerization Processes Living Radical Polymerization References Exercises Chain Copolymerization Introduction Binary Copolymer Composition-Terminal Model Multicomponent Copolymerization: Terpolymerization Deviations from Terminal Model Copolymerization ad Crosslinking Block and Graft Copolymerization References Exercises Ionic Chain Polymerization Introduction Ionic Polymerizability of Monomers Anionic Polymerization Anionic Copolymerization Cationic Polymerization References Exercises Coordination Addition Polymerization Introduction Ziegler-Natta Catalysts Mechanism of Ziegler-Natta Polymerization Kinetics of Ziegler-Natta Polymerization Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts Ziegler-Natta Copolymerization Metallocene-Based Ziegler-Natta Catalysts Immobilized Metallocene Catalysts Oscillating Metallocene Catalysts References Exercises Ring-Opening Polymerization Introduction Polymerization Mechanism and Kinetics References Exercises Appendix A: Conversion of Units Appendix B: Fundamental Constants Index


This study is achieved and published under the aegis of the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Bucharest, as a partner in the program co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development 2007-2013, developed through the project Pluri- and interdisciplinary in doctoral and post-doctoral programmes, Project Code: POSDRU/159/1.5/S/141086, its main beneficiary being the Research Institute for Quality of Life, Romanian Academy. Our contribution to the project development is based on a research topic oriented towards the possibilities of interdisciplinary intervention on the diabetic child, in the context of the permanent concerns of the diabetes care team to keep under control the evolution of this diagnosis.
The objective of the present paper is to highlight the opportunity for the child with type 1 mellitus diabetes of using the continuous glycemic monitoring system (CGMS) also during the development of physical education programmes, not only in domestic and school activities, as a support tool for adjusting the effort parameters and reducing the risk of hypoglycemia. The research took place within the Bucharest National University of Physical Education and Sports, in cooperation with the Bucharest DiabNutriMed Clinic of Diabetes, in the period between October and December 2014. As research methods, we used: bibliographic study, observation, computerized devices for continuous glycemic monitoring- DEXCOM G4 Platinum and also the case study. In this paper, we present the case of a diabetic child aged 6 years, who was diagnosed with this metabolic disease at 2 years and 6 months and who has been benefiting of a CGMS for about 2 years. His involvement in physical exercise programmes is put under the sign of the major risk of hypoglycemia, given the pronounced tendency of his body to have low glycemic values. The advantage of the electronic device he permanently carries, regardless of the type of activity performed, must also be emphasized in the case of his participation in motor activities, the more so as physical effort is a blood glucose-consumer. CGMS allows the teacher to find the initial, intermediate and final glycemic values without using the glucometer under conditions of precarious hygiene. Then, depending on the glycemic value displayed on the device screen during practice, the teacher chooses the physical exercises and establishes the effort dosing. In this way, the glycemic value that threatens the child's functional state is identified and the administration of carbohydrates in due time is facilitated, by reducing the risk of hypoglycemia and preventing the hypoglycemic coma. In conclusion, we appreciate as efficient the utilization of continuous glycemic monitoring systems in the case of physical exercise performed by the child with type 1 mellitus diabetes and we encourage the specialists in physical education and sports to get involved without reticence into the development of motor activities with this category of population.


Medication-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-known problem in clinical medicine. This paper reports the first development of a visual analytics (VA) system that examines how different medications associate with AKI. In this paper, we introduce and describe VISA_M3R3, a VA system designed to assist healthcare researchers in identifying medications and medication combinations that associate with a higher risk of AKI using electronic medical records (EMRs). By integrating multiple regression models, frequent itemset mining, data visualization, and human-data interaction mechanisms, VISA_M3R3 allows users to explore complex relationships between medications and AKI in such a way that would be difficult or sometimes even impossible without the help of a VA system. Through an analysis of 595 medications using VISA_M3R3, we have identified 55 AKI-inducing medications, 24,212 frequent medication groups, and 78 medication groups that are associated with AKI. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of VISA_M3R3 in the investigation of medication-induced AKI in particular and other clinical problems in general. Furthermore, this research highlights what needs to be considered in the future when designing VA systems that are intended to support gaining novel and deep insights into massive existing EMRs.


Hydrogen evolution by decamethylruthenocene (Cp*2RuII) was studied in detail highlighting that metallocenes are capable of photo-reducing hydrogen without the need of an additional sensitizer. Electrochemical, gas chromatographic and spectroscopic (UV/vis, 1H and 13C NMR) measurements corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the production of hydrogen occurs by a two-step process. First, the decamethylruthenocene hydride ([Cp*2RuIV(H)]+) is formed in the presence of an organic acid. Subsequently, [Cp*2RuIV(H)]+ is reversibly reduced via a heterolytic reaction with one-photon excitation leading to a first release of hydrogen. Thereafter, the resultant decamethylruthenocenium ion ([Cp*2RuIII]+) is further reduced leading to a second release of hydrogen by deprotonation of a methyl group of [Cp*2RuIII]+. Experimental and computational data show the spontaneous conversion of [Cp*2RuII] to [Cp*2RuIV(H)]+ in the presence of protons. Calculations highlight that the first reduction is endergonic (ΔG0 = 108 kJ·mol-1) and needs an input of energy by light for the reaction to occur. The hydricity of the methyl protons of [Cp*2RuII] was also considered.


Emphysematous bullae are closed air containing spaces in lung parenchyma that may severely compromise lung function in patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We describe a simple and minimally invasive procedure to decompress a large emphysematous bullae in a patient with advanced COPD and high surgical risk. Transthoracic decompression of the bulla was accomplished under short-acting anaesthesia and muscle relaxation resulting in significant symptomatic, radiological and functional improvement.


Certain suberitid and halichondrid sponges typically encrust gastropod shells that are often occupied by hermit crabs. In reports of the sponges in these associations the shell substrates are usually not identified. In this study, 643 Florida hermit-crab sponges, Spongosorites suberitoides, from the NE corner of the Gulf of Mexico were dissected and the shell substrate identified. Sponges were collected at shoreline or in shallow water near shore on Dog Island, Florida and in water 3-4 m deep in Apalachee Bay from January 1993 to January 1995. Twenty different gastropods were found, but three species - Cantharus cancellarius (72%), Nassarius acutus (11%), and Pyrgospira ostrearum (7.5%) comprised the substrate in over 90% of the sample. Some shells were small (<5 mm) and most were in good condition, showing no erosion or damage by the encrusting sponge. All shells were covered by sponge gemmules. The sponge also encrusts other mollusks (e.g., scaphopods) and other animate and inanimate substrates. The wide diversity of gastropod species found is inconsistent with any substrate specificity. Cantharus cancellarius may predominate because of its greater relative abundance in habitats where sponge reproduction or substrate colonization occurs, because of its behavior (e.g., typically non-burrowing), or because its rough texture of ridges and grooves provides a more optimal surface for sponge settlement and early growth.


Wave-particle duality relations express the fact that knowledge about the path a particle took suppresses information about its wave-like properties, in particular, its ability to generate an interference pattern. Recently, duality relations in which the wave-like properties are quantified by using measures of quantum coherence have been proposed. Quantum coherence can be generalized to a property called group asymmetry. Here we derive a generalized duality relation involving group asymmetry, which is closely related to the success probability of discriminating between the actions of the elements of a group. The second quantity in the duality relation, the one generalizing which path information, is related to information about the irreducible representations that make up the group representation.


landing troops in Norway would have been both to help secure the alliance's northern oank and to present a threat the Soviet Union would have had to counter. Advocates of such pressure argued that the forces the Soviet Union would have deployed to counter mobile NATO marines in the north would have been subtracted from whatever was available for the Central Front. Saddam Hussein's diversion of troops from the Saudi border to face the sea might be considered analogous. Similarly, it might be argued that the combination of carrier and land-based air attacks on Iraq recalled an important Cold War fact of life. If the Soviet Union had faced only a land-based air threat, Soviet air defenses could have been concentrated over a relatively narrow axis. Political pressure, moreover, might well have been employed to reduce the threat from West European bases and thereby further limit the defended sector. Naval air and cruise missile threats made any such concentration pointless because they could be mounted over a wide arc. They also probably made the high cost of trying to eject NATO tactical aircraft from Europe a pointless political expense—with an echo in the effect of the carriers on Saudi ofacial attitudes. All of these analogies can be taken too far. However, they do provide useful insights into the character and uses of sea power in wars, like the Cold War, which are often seen almost exclusively in ground contexts. There is one anal irony. In one respect the Gulf War was unlike any extension of the Cold War. The U.S. tactics had been adapted from Soviet ideas of deep battle. At the time, observers suggested that Iraq's defensive tactics were actually adapted from old British concepts typical of the NATO of the 1970s. So perhaps the U.S. success in Kuwait implied that Soviet troops would have done rather well had they pushed west in the 1970s.


Breathlessness is a common and challenging symptom in palliative care. A simple audit of 470 patients under the St Christopher's Hospice Homecare team found that 43% complained of breathlessness. Research has indicated that non-pharmacological management can be of benefit to terminally ill patients with breathlessness. Knowing that both nurses and physiotherapists each have core skills to offer these patients, the authors aimed to integrate and consolidate their approach to enhance best practice. The supportive care and advice of the clinical nurse specialist was combined with physiotherapy sessions. The aim of this collaborative approach was to reduce patient anxiety, maximize respiratory function and provide information to help patients understand, adapt and regain some control of their breathing. A leaflet containing simple written information for patients was developed and found to be useful. It was found that supportive professional relationships strengthened links between the multiprofessional team. Positive feedback has been received from patients and health-care professionals about the sessions and breathlessness leaflet. By establishing this combined approach the authors have contributed to significant practice development at St Christopher's Hospice.


This chapter first introduces kQ formulas of simple inductive and capacitive couplers by way of their equivalent circuits. We then derive the optimum load impedance formula that brings the coupler into play at its best efficiency. The formulas are finally generalized to a unified theory that can apply to any kind of coupler represented by a two-port reciprocal black box.


To our knowledge, the effect of Be and Y on the martensite transformation parameters in TiNi-based shape memory alloys was studied occasionally and mainly on a level of the technological additions. Recently, due to the development of non-conventio nal production technologies applied to the shape memory materials, both metals are found to be the appropriate canditates for production of the potential TiNi-based shape memory alloys in an initially amorphous structural state by means of the melt-spinning and injection casting techniques. First of all, the Be and Y attract attention due to satisfaction of the so-called "golden rules" known for the bulk amorphous alloy systems. We present the result of the experimental study regarding the systematic substitution of the main constituent elements Ti and Ni by Be and Y up to (2-10) at.%. In as-cast condition, all the Ti-Ni-Be and Ti-Ni-Y alloys undergo the dual B2 R B19' martensite transformation sequence, well resolved on the cooling run and often overlapping on the heating run. Both the TR and Ms transformatio n temperatures smoothly decrease with the Be or Y content, the slope to be higher for substitution of the Ti than the Ni. The ternary TiNiBe and TiNiY melt- spun ribbons produced in the standard technological condition are rather brittle and don't show a good metallic aspect. They are in the crystalline structural state and undergo the martensite transformation sequence similar to the bulk material but in the lower temperature range. The contribution of the chemical composition, microstructure and strain/stress field (caused by the difference in the atomic radii) to the martensite transformation temperatures is considered.


In the project "Conduct-by-Wire" which is founded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) cooperative maneuver based driving is examined. In this paper two different input devices (gesture recognition and tactile touch display) are compared in a simulator study with 29 participants. It shows that the major advantage of the gesture recognition is that there is no need for the driver to take his gaze off the road. In contrast, the number of gazes at the tactile touch display is significantly higher. The major advantage of the tactile touch display is that no input errors occurred during the test drives. Conversely, the gesture recognition was significantly worse. Nevertheless, further work is needed to decide which input device is the best.


The prostitution sector is becoming more international. After the fall of the Iron Curtain the number of prostitutes from eastern and central Europe in the Netherlands increased rapidly. This contribution presents the results of an empirical study on trafficking in women from central and eastern Europe, conducted by researchers of the University of Twente in close cooperation with a team of policemen and crime analysts of a special inter-regional criminal investigation department on organized crime from East Europe and Turkey. Based on empirical data from 1994 to 1996, police sources, information from local police units concerned with supervising prostitution, and interviews with victims and with persons involved in the prostitution business, special attention is given to the modus operandi and nature of the criminal groups involved. Although most of the women leave their country voluntarily, once in the Netherlands they have to work under bad conditions, are more or less imprisoned, and earn only a very small fraction of the amount of money they were promised in their home country. Not all arrested offenders for trafficking in women are members of organized crime groups. A more differentiated picture emerges from the data. The Dutch police files show small, loosely organized cliques of professionals as well as larger organized crime groups having their center in eastern and central Europe or in the Netherlands.


An in situ electron microscope study has been made of the nucleation and growth of crystals of Ar, Kr and Xe grown by vapour deposition on to cooled graphite and amorphous carbon substrates. In particular, the saturation density of nuclei has been measured as a function of temperature and gas arrival rate. An important feature of this experiment is that the relevant parameters for these systems, such as surface diffusion and cluster energies, are known theoretically. Consequently, it has been possible to attempt an absolute check on nucleation theory. The theory is found to hold within a factor less than 3 for Kr and Xe, a t all temperatures and arrival rates studied. Despite good agreement with the theory using the parameters for nucleation taking place on the bare graphite surface it is almost certain that growth of three-dimensional crystals does not occur until a strongly bound monolayer of adsorbed gas atoms approximately covers the substrate. The possible ways in which this feature may be understood are explored. In the case of argon the measured saturation densities (though less accurate) seem to be significantly below the theoretical values, and possible reasons for this are given.


Association rule mining was first introduced to examine patterns among frequent items. The original motivation for seeking these rules arose from need to examine customer purchasing behaviour in supermarket transaction data. It seeks to identify combinations of items or itemsets, whose presence in a transaction affects the likelihood of the presence of another specific item or itemsets. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for rare association rule mining. Detecting rare patterns in data is a vital task, with numerous high-impact applications including medical, finance, and security. This survey aims to provide a general, comprehensive, and structured overview of the state-of-the-art methods for rare pattern mining. We investigate the problems in finding rare rules using traditional association rule mining. As rare association rule mining has not been well explored, there is still specific groundwork that needs to be established. We will discuss some of the major issues in rare association rule mining and also look at current algorithms. As a contribution, we give a general framework for categorizing algorithms: Apriori and Tree based. We highlight the differences between these methods. Finally, we present several real-world application using rare pattern mining in diverse domains. We conclude our survey with a discussion on open and practical challenges in the field.


Gallant and Tauchen (1996) describe an estimation technique, known as Efficient Method of Moments (EMM), that uses numerical methods to estimate parameters of a structural model. The technique uses as matching conditions (or moments, in the GMM jargon) the gradients of an auxiliary model that fits a subset of variables that may be simulated from the structural model.This paper presents three Monte Carlo experiments to assess the finite sample properties of EMM. The first one compares it with a fully efficient procedure (Maximum Likelihood) by estimating an invertible moving-average (MA) process. The second and third experiments compare the finite sample properties of the EMM estimators with those of GMM by using stochastic volatility models and consumption-based asset-pricing models. The experiments show that the gains in efficiency are impressive; however, given that both EMM and GMM share the same type of objective function, finite sample inference based on asymptotic theory continues to lead, in some cases, to "over rejections," even though they are not as significant as in GMM.


Green composites constitute a loosely defined family of materials which are obtained from renewable resources and are degradable through action of living organisms. These materials offer a possible alternative to traditional non-biodegradable materials where recycling is unpractical or not economical. Renewable sources of polymeric materials offer an answer to maintaining sustainable development of economically and ecologically attractive technology. When a biodegradable material (neat polymer, blended product, or composite) is obtained completely from renewable resources we may call it a green polymeric material. Nature provides an impressive array of polymers which are generally biodegradable, and which have the potential to replace many current polymers as biodegradation is part of the natural biogeochemical cycle. Natural polymers, such as proteins, starch, chitin and cellulose are examples of such polymers. In addition, Natural rubber latex (NR) Poly lactic acid (PLA) from corn and polyalkanoates (PHA) from bacteria are other green polymers.Green nanomaterials or bio nanomaterials could be easily prepared from animals and plants. These nano sized materials' properties are comparable to perfect crystals. In most cases, aqueous suspensions of these nano crystallites are prepared by simple mechanical stirring and acid hydrolysis process. The object of this treatment is to dissolve away regions of low lateral order so that the water-insoluble, highly crystalline residue may be converted into a stable suspension by subsequent vigorous mechanical shearing action. During the past decade, many studies have been devoted to mimic biocomposites by blending natural bionanomaterials with various polymer matrices. In this chapter, the recent advances on the preparation and characterization of different type of green nano materials and their polymer nanocomposites are discussed and reported. Macro micro and nanocomposites based on fully renewable polymers (which can be called fully green composites) and their applications are discussed in detail.


In this letter, two types of compact low-loss monolithic coplanar waveguide (CPW) filters using air-gap overlay structures are presented. Vertical stacking in overlay structures offers size reduction. Furthermore, air-gap overlay structures do not require additional dielectric process and are free from dielectric losses. An X-band bandpass filter using air-gap overlaid artificial transmission lines showed 67% size reduction. A stepped-impedance low-pass filter using highly separated metal-air-metal (MAM) capacitors as low-impedance lines achieved not only size but also loss reduction. Small size, low loss, and simple process steps make the air-gap overlay structures very promising for monolithic CPW passive devices such as filters.


Abstract Purpose Inhomogeneous exposures to ionizing radiation can be detected and quantified with the dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) of metaphase cells. Complete automation of interpretation of the DCA for whole-body irradiation has significantly improved throughput without compromising accuracy, however, low levels of residual false positive dicentric chromosomes (DCs) have confounded its application for partial-body exposure determination. Materials and methods We describe a method of estimating and correcting for false positive DCs in digitally processed images of metaphase cells. Nearly all DCs detected in unirradiated calibration samples are introduced by digital image processing. DC frequencies of irradiated calibration samples and those exposed to unknown radiation levels are corrected subtracting this false positive fraction from each. In partial-body exposures, the fraction of cells exposed, and radiation dose can be quantified after applying this modification of the contaminated Poisson method. Results Dose estimates of three partially irradiated samples diverged 0.2–2.5 Gy from physical doses and irradiated cell fractions deviated by 2.3%–15.8% from the known levels. Synthetic partial-body samples comprised of unirradiated and 3 Gy samples from 4 laboratories were correctly discriminated as inhomogeneous by multiple criteria. Root mean squared errors of these dose estimates ranged from 0.52 to 1.14 Gy2 and from 8.1 to 33.3%2 for the fraction of cells irradiated. Conclusions Automated DCA can differentiate whole- from partial-body radiation exposures and provides timely quantification of estimated whole-body equivalent dose.


A robotic microscope was designed using a microcontroller with three stepper motors to control three-axis movement. Two 7 megapixel digital cameras controlled by the microcontroller capture images when the stage moves into position. Using 4 prisms, through focus time-lapse digital pictures of six views of Ambystoma mexicanum embryos (axolotl, a salamander) are taken every 5 minutes for 52 hours of early development, from fertilization to stage 20, i.e., neural tube closure. In-focus views [Gord83] of all sides of the embryo are calculated using several image fusion techniques. In the early embryo surface epithelial cells differentiate to form neural tissue and external skin tissue. Observing the whole embryo surface at cellular level will give a better idea of the stress and strain each cell undergoes and physical forces involved in cell differentiation, including waves of cell surface expansion or contraction Time-lapse photographs capture the dynamics of the embryo during development, that is lost in histological techniques that use non-living material.


This paper presents a reconfigurable logic circuit based on threshold elements consisting of floating-gate devices with a controlled floating gate. The aim of controlling a floating-gate voltage and charge is to increase the number of input variables that the threshold elements can handle. With more input variables, the threshold elements work more effectively. A circuit for threshold elements addressed here has a feedback loop with a switch that connects an output terminal of a CMOS inverter to its floating-input gate. Such a switch with leakage currents causes a problem that a floating gate is no longer insulated electrically. Also circuit techniques are introduced to compensate for weaknesses that originate in the problem. The reconfigurable circuit realizes five main functions: any symmetric function of seven input variables, any logic function of three input variables, partially symmetric functions, an 8-bit memory, and a wire function.


In 1998 the General Medical Council (GMC) charged two Bristol surgeons and their medical director with misconduct on the grounds that they had failed to recognise and act upon their poor outcome results.1 In September 1999, the enquiry set up to investigate the events at Bristol heard evidence from Professor Robert Anderson. He told the panel that a collection of hearts was housed at the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool and that many other hospitals had collections of organs for research purposes. His purpose was to explain how these had improved the results of paediatric cardiac surgery,2 but the Liverpool Echo and the national press picked up the story and presented it as a scandal. The Alder Hey Hospital was overwhelmed with enquiries from anxious and angry parents. Accounts of post mortem organ removal, examination and retention, which the medical profession had considered normal practice, rapidly became intertwined with the unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour of one Alder Hey pathologist, Professor van Velzen. The Secretary of State for health then ordered an enquiry, which was conducted by a Queen's Counsel (senior trial lawyer), Michael Redfern.

Redfern's report contains many important messages about job descriptions, management and the responsibilities of coroners.3 It is not just an account of an overzealous and dysfunctional pathologist. Nevertheless, the detailed descriptions of how parents felt they had been deceived and let down by doctors make disturbing reading. These, together with media phrases such as "ghoulish malpractice and gross mismanagement", "organs systematically stripped", and "return of the body snatchers"4 have left the profession hurt and bemused. Politicians are accused of talking up the story for their own ends. This was clearly a systems failure,5 yet the doctors involved have been reported to the General Medical Council. Apologies have been offered on behalf …


This video explores Gipsy's lived experience of chronic illness to give
 an introduction to disability politics. She invites the listener to
 investigate their own relationship to disability and able-bodied privilege
 and how this may show up in their narrative work. Gipsy shares with us the
 methodology (participant action research) that enabled her PhD research work
 (on young women's lived experience of chronic illness) to also be a tool for
 social change and to create a positive impact for participants by the
 collective coming together and sharing of stories.


Through examining cases of cross-border surrogacy in Israel and the United States, we offer the concept of genetic kinning defined as the narratives deployed by individuals that give prominence to genetic relatedness between offspring and parents to highlight immutable similarities between parents, and by extension, grandparents and ancestors. The deployment of genetic kinning narratives does not happen in a vacuum; instead, nation-state bodies emphasize genetic relatedness within the family unit, especially accentuated in cases of cross-border surrogacy where intended parents need to receive travel documents, including passports, and subsequently citizenship, for their children birthed through surrogacy. Genetic kinning is more emphasized for queer couples, where only one (or neither) of the fathers, or mothers as the case may be, is genetically related to the infant. We examine cases in Israel and the United States that we selected due to their wide media coverage and studied through their press presentations. We show that far from becoming less relevant, genetic relatedness becomes increasingly salient because of assisted reproductive technologies, including gamete donation and surrogacy, especially when families move across borders, presenting states bodies with the need to parse out descendance, family status/parentage, and national membership/citizenship.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 30-second all-out sprint interval exercise (SIE) vs. moderate aerobic exercise (MA) on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Six recreationallytrained males (age=23.3±1.4 yrs, weight=81.8±9.9 kg, height=180.8±6.3 cm) completed a sprint interval exercise session consisting of three repeated 30-second Wingate cycling tests separated by four minutes (duration ~11minutes) as well as a moderate aerobic exercise session consisting of 30-minute cycling at 60% heart rate reserve (HRR) in a random counterbalanced design. Baseline oxygen consumption (VO2) was determined by an average VO 2 from the final five minutes of a 30-minute supine rest period prior to each trial. Following each protocol, VO2 was measured for 30 minutes or until baseline measures were reached. EPOC was determined by subtracting baseline VO 2 from post-exercise VO 2 measurements. Energy expenditure (kJ) was determined by multiplying kJ per liter of oxygen by the average VO2 during recovery. EPOC values were significantly higher in SIE (7.5±1.3 L) than MA (1.8±0.7 L). SIE produced a higher recovery caloric expenditure (156.9 kJ) compared to MA (41.0 kJ) and remained significantly elevated (p=.024) over resting levels during the entire recovery period (30 minutes) compared to MA (6 minutes, p=.003). The energy required to recover from three repeated maximal effort 30-second Wingate cycling tests was greater than 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise. Future studies should examine the chronic effects of maximal effort sprint training protocol on cardiovascular fitness and body composition.


In this paper the new method for determining the number of super node in heterogeneous wireless sensor network based on evolutionary algorithms are presented. The network consisting of several resourcerich supernodes, used for data relaying, and a large number of energy-constrained wireless sensor nodes. The main contribution of this paper is to reach an optimum trade off between number of super node and efficiency. Simulation results show that our algorithm can quickly find a good solution.


Online surveys are increasingly common due to the myriad benefits they offer over traditional survey methods. One of the habitual inconveniences of Web surveys is that they are not probabilistic and it is not possible to measure the sampling error. This paper presents a probabilistic Web methodology to carry out a social study in a population distributed in education centers that have "multimedia" classrooms, with computers with connection to internet. The sampling design is probabilistic, and easy and cheap to implement. In addition, the proportion of a lack of answers concerning the required sample size is practically worthless, as it is only the one originated by the elimination of the answers of individuals in the filtration of the database. As an example of the application of the said methodology, we introduce the social study "Survey on the future perspectives of the students studying in high school in the district of the University of Valladolid" carried out in the year 2013 on a population of 11,276 high school students distributed in four provinces of Castilla y Leon (Spain).


The current centennial celebration of The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston spotlights not only a history of medicine, but a history of Texas as well. As fellow travelers across the rugged terrain of the past century, UTMB and Texas have shared times of prosperity and times of hardship; both have been gifted with growth and suffered sorrow and loss. Since its first day of class, on October 5, 1981, UTMB has grown from 23 students, one school, and one hospital to 2,360 students, four schools, seven hospitals, and two institutes. Since its first commencement class of three in 1892, UTMB has graduated more than 17,000 health science professionals during the past 100 years, and it is estimated that one in four doctors practicing in the state has trained at UTMB. Today, as UTMB stands on the threshold of its second hundred years, the health science center's first century of service is a history worthy of celebration.


Abstract We studied structural and dynamical properties of H+ absorbed in Mg2SiO4 by ab-initio molecular dynamics. We first calculated the T = 0 equation of state of pure forsterite as a function of pressure, and we determined the relative stabilities of the olivine, p-spinel, and spinel polymorphs. The results show that the ab-initio model successfully reproduces the known structural properties of the system. In the protonated phases, in agreement with experimental evidence, our computations show that H+ is absorbed preferentially in the β-spinel phase. The most stable absorption site is located close to the O1 atom, which is coordinated by five Mg2+ cations and not directly bound to Si. In addition to this stable absorption site, the computation reveals othe|r low-energy positions, forming an extended network of hydrogen bonds, that could play an important role in the diffusion of H+ in β-spinel. We analyze the dependence of structure and dynamics of the pure and protonated phases as a function of temperature and pressure.


Elasmobranchs play an important role in marine ecosystem and worldwide fisheries. Accurate and quantitative description of growth is crucial in modeling the demography and fisheries stock assessment. This study reviews the quantitative methods (asymptotic, non-asymptotic, and generalized), algorithms, and criteria for the model selection applied for growth modeling in elasmobranchs. We analyzed and contrasted the criteria for model selection, mainly between model selection using r 2 and information theoretic approach. In marine organisms, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) has been frequently used as a measure of the relative goodness of fit of different growth models, applied to data from different species such as: Dasyatis americana, Carcharhinus acronotus, Carcharhinus plumbeus, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, Malacoraja senta, Mustelus asterias and Mustelus mustelus. We suggest the use of AIC to select the best growth model in elasmobranchs studies.


Tourism security is linked to the well-being, physical, psychological and economic integrity of visitors, service providers and members of the host communities and plays a very important role when people choose a tourist destination, hence the need to analyze the scientific production associated with the topic. The present study aims to use bibliometric indicators to review the relevant literature related to tourism security in the period 2002-2021. The information and the main trends in this area are represented and mapped using the following software: EndNote, Excel, Bibexcel and VOSviewer. During the period analyzed, a total of 59 original articles were registered in the Sciencidirect and Scielo databases. The analysis indicates that the literature on tourism safety is growing gradually, however, it is considered insufficient; a total of 26 journals are included in the study where the journal Estudios y perspectivas en turismo is the leader in the field of research registering 24% of the total published research. As for the keyword analysis, the main lines of productivity are focused on the relationship between security and tourism, destination image, risk perception, public safety, customer satisfaction and Covid-19. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is a trigger for the growth of research related to the field of research under analysis. In conclusion, the limitation of this research is that only two databases were taken into account and that through the search strategy used, some works might not have been identified, in addition to the fact that the study can be expanded with the inclusion of other bibliometric indicators.


This document discusses a Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching
(GMPLS) Resource reSerVation Protocol with Traffic Engineering (RSVP-
TE) mechanism that enables the network to assign an upstream label for
a bidirectional Label Switched Path (LSP). This is useful in scenarios
where a given node does not have sufficient information to assign the
correct upstream label on its own and needs to rely on the downstream
node to pick an appropriate label. This document updates RFCs 3471,
3473, and 6205 as it defines processing for a special label value in
the UPSTREAM_LABEL object.


Objectives: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) remains the major cause of global mortality. This community-based study assessed CVD risk among female's ≥30 years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: All women living in the National Guard Residential City (n=616) received CVD screening and clinical and laboratory assessments from 1st of January to 30th of April 2015. The Framingham risk score was calculated for each individual and their readiness to make lifestyle changes was assessed. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors of CVD risk.

Results: Most participants (n=531; mean age, 42 ± 8 years) were in the low risk group (86%). The moderate (10%) and high (4%) risk groups (n=85) had a mean age of 49 ± 6.5 years. CVD risk was seven-fold (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 3.6%- 16.3%), six-fold (95% CI, 3%-14%) five-fold (95% CI, 2.4%-10.6%), two-fold (95% CI, 1.2%-5%), and almost three-fold (95% CI, 1.3%-5.4%) in women with diabetes, hypertension, family history of heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, and those who were junk food consumers compared to other women. Thinking of changing lifestyle was a protective factor.

Conclusion: CVD risk factors, including co-morbid conditions, inactive lifestyle, family history of chronic conditions, and smoking were associated with moderate to high CVD risk among participants. The findings also highlight the need to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary programs according to individual risk and readiness to change.


V magnitudes of Krzeminski's star and their interpretation are presented. We find Mprimary = 20.5 ± 3.5 Mg, M = 2.5 + 1.1 Me, sin i = 0.985 ± 0.02, and q = 0.12 ± o05. (NASA-CR-139570) PHOTOELECTRIC N74-31323 ,OBSERVATIONS OF KRZEMINSKI'S STAR, THE COMPANION OF CEN X-3 (Michigan Univ.) 15 p HC $4.00 CSCL 03A Unclas G3/30 46652 SVisiting Astronomer, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=1974002321


This paper explores the concept of instability suppression system and its performance in a BWR plant. The key idea adopted from the work of Aleksakov et al. (1980) is to utilize information provided by the in-core power monitoring detectors to guide movement of control rods in a way that suppress the global, regional and local instability. In the paper, effectiveness of a simplified suppression algorithm is characterized by implementing it on a real BWR model, using the RELAP5/PARCS coupled thermal-hydraulics and neutron kinetics code. Both forced power oscillations and realistic reactor transients (feedwater temperature transients, control rod drop) were analyzed. The results suggest that, without requiring any modifications for the in-reactor diagnostics and equipment, the proposed suppression system is capable of significantly mitigating the impact of core instability events on plant performance by maintaining the core parameters within the safe operational range.


: For high I / O performance, Solid State Drive (SSD)-based all Flash arrays (AFAs) are widely employed to larger scale storage systems. However, the aging problem of SSDs limits the lifetime and reliability of AFA. In order to extend the lifetime of AFA, we designed a capacity-based differential RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) scheme (CDiff-RAID). In the proposed scheme, the array is initialized by a group of SSDs with unequal capacities. The smaller SSDs suffer more erase operations and age quickly. To maintain the age differential, the worn SSDs are continually replaced by new SSDs. Compared with parity-based Diff-RAID, the age differential in our scheme is independent of workload and the time-consum-ing of reconstruction is greatly reduced. We also evaluated the I / O performance of CDiff-RAID using SSD simulators. The proposed scheme outperforms Diff-RAID scheme in sequential and random traces in most cases.


Objectives: Even if patients with terminal cancer hope to spend the rest of their lives at home, they are often unable to leave the hospital early due to their family caregivers' anxiety. This study aimed to investigate in Japan the discrepancies between the supports needed by and actually provided by palliative care unit nurses (PCUNs) to the family caregivers for discharge of patients with terminal cancer. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, self-administered questionnaires including 6-point Likert-type scales assessing the reasons for difficulties in transition to home-based care were distributed to 1227 PCUNs. Using paired t tests, the differences between the scores on perceived importance and actual supports to family caregivers were examined. The supports actually provided were classified by factor analysis. The relationships between the PCUNs' characteristics and mean scores on the supports in each category were examined using multiple regression analysis. Results: A total of 1023 (83.4%) completed questionnaires were returned. Scores on the actually provided supports for discharge to family caregivers were consistently and significantly lower than the corresponding scores on perceived importance for all 57 items (P < .001). Factor analysis revealed that the supports actually provided to the family caregivers had a 4-factor structure. Multiple regression analyses revealed that gaining experience in palliative care, receiving necessary training, cooperating with palliative care staff, and cooperating with local service providers were significantly associated with higher levels of actual supply of supports to family caregivers. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PCUNs need to be encouraged to provide further support to family caregivers for the discharge of patients with terminal cancer.


Abstract Incorporating games in teaching can help students retain material and become innovative problem solvers through engagement and enjoyment. Here we describe a new board game, "Taphonomy: Dead and Fossilized," and its use as an active learning tool (material available at doi: 10.18738/T8/NQV2CU). The educational objective is to teach the player about taphonomy and fossilization, while the gameplay objective is to preserve and recover the best fossil collection. Through competitive gameplay, students learn how chemical, physical, and environmental factors, as well as physiology and discovery biases can influence an organism's preservation and collection potential. The game is modeled after an Early Jurassic fossil deposit for scientific accuracy and relevance. The game was incorporated in undergraduate classroom activities in 20 colleges and universities across the United States. Survey results show that students and teachers were overwhelmingly positive about the game, stating that it was fun and helped them learn or strengthen their knowledge of fossilization. When analyzed statistically, we find that students' self-reported learning outcomes and opinions vary most significantly with college year, major, ethnicity, and race. White students and geoscience or STEM majors reported the highest levels of learning and enjoyment, with minorities and non-STEM majors responding less favorably. We suggest this game is most advantageous for use in upper-level paleontology classrooms, although it is still beneficial at lower levels. It is critical to use this game as part of a larger lesson plan and tailor it to fit the needs of an individual classroom. Modifications for time and class size, as well as follow-up discussion questions, are included.


The jaboticaba is a fruit that is native to Brazil, which has antioxidant activity and is known to have levels of bioactive compounds. This fruit is a berry with a lilac-coloured husk and white flesh; sweet and acid, which justifies its high levels of fresh consumption. The aim of this study was to contribute to the study of a new raw material in small agribusinesses. Jaboticaba- Sabara variety- was fractionated into three parts for pectin analysis: the skin, pulp and juice. The pectic substances of the jaboticaba were analysed. The degree of methoxylation was determined by titration and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Pectin extracted from the skin had a higher degree of esterification. The macromolecular composition, determined by high pressure steric exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), discriminated the pectins of high molar mass (skin) and low molecular weight (juice and pulp). The pectin from all the fractions presented homogalacturonan segments with a high degree of esterification, and ramnogalacturan side chains composed of galactose and arabinose. The jaboticaba pectins presented a high content of arabinose in the skin, whilst galactose was only found in traces in the juice, showing different proportions of monosaccharides, similar to commercial samples of apple pectin.


Scanning Deflectometry is a powerful method to measure optical figure quality of various optical components and systems in a simple way. This principle uses detection of slope deviations rather than optical path length variations. As an example, the design of a basic deflectometer for testing flat mirrors is presented.


Abstract We report a case of a 62-year-old female patient with Sjögren syndrome (SS) who developed multiple myeloma (MM) of the IgA κ-type. In 1986, the patient was admitted to our hospital with a facial rash, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and xerostomia. She was diagnosed as having discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and SS. She was treated with bromhexine hydrochloride for SS and with topical fluorinated steroid for DLE. In 1992, she developed compression fractures of the lumbar vertebrae and was readmitted to our hospital. DLE was not recognized. Laboratory findings revealed IgA 2046 mg/dl, IgG 529 mg/dl, and IgM 21 mg/dl. Anti-SS-A antibody was 1 : 32 and anti-SS-B antibody was 1 : 2. M protein of IgA κ was demonstrated by immunoelectrophoresis. Aspiration biopsy of the bone marrow revealed 20.2% plasma cells. A bone scintigram demonstrated many hot spots at the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. She was diagnosed as having SS and MM of the IgA κ-type. After chemotherapy for MM, the percentage of plasma cells in the bone marrow and the concentration of serum IgA decreased to 6.2% and 532 mg/dl, respectively. SS is frequently associated with benign monoclonal gammopathy or lymphoproliferative disorders, especially Waldenström's macroglobulinemia or malignant lymphoma. Although benign monoclonal gammopathy has frequently been observed in patients with SS, SS associated with MM is extremely rare.


Abstract. Cooperation refers to the relationship between two or more individuals that allows for the successful completion of common objectives. It does not simply consist of simultaneous and coordinated individual actions, but rather implies that the team is aware of the effort of the group and takes care to maintain the unity of that group. Emergency of the cooperation has been studied from two parallel and complementary perspectives: structural factors and dynamic factors. Structural factors show the network's features in which the individuals interact. This perspective includes variables like the number of individuals participating in the interaction and the relative close or remote distances between them, to this date there is evidence that these factors weighs on the cooperation emergency. The dynamic factors denote circumstances that are hard to predict, plan, or control, and which arise from the interaction between individuals. Some researches on the subject, emphasize the confidence (credibility), the empathy, the motivation, the shared knowledge, the reciprocal actions, etc. Nevertheless this researches are inconclusive. The necessary complementarity for the dynamic and structural characteristics for cooperation in business organizations is observed from these investigations, because of this, this study provides evidence that contributes to the identification of the dynamic factors that ease the Emergency of the cooperation in business organizations with greater performance. Some of the results mentioned the probability and the relevance of the reciprocal actions, versatility, and communication in the generation of good performances because of their greater capacity to generate cooperative behavior. Among other findings, the perceived relevance, the selective incentives and the emotional incentives are mentioned like conditions that in the long term do not influence the business organizations from the cooperative point of view. The combination of three techniques of qualitative research were used in this project: formulation of hypotheses through a literature review about the conditions that could explain the emergence of cooperative behaviors, structural analysis through an expert panel comprised of six experts who have worked with the problem of cooperation from the academic or business perspective, and a longitudinal case study made in a SMEs, which consisted in a non-participatory and direct observation in a natural setting developed during 24 months, without any intervention or modification. We hope the findings of the present investigation contribute and provide evidence from qualitative research (expert analysis and case study) with respect to the dynamic conditions that facilitate cooperation, and to glimpse future lines of research in the subject.


The current emissions regulations lead car manufacturers to look carefully for weight reduction. In the automotive industry the classic trial-and-error approach to design is becoming inadequate and techniques based on optimization are necessary to improve the design process. In this study a methodology to design a sport-car front hood is proposed. The process carried out could also be extended to car components characterised by a similar configuration.Starting from the geometry of the actual part, a design volume has been defined. The first step consists of a topology optimization performed considering the material as isotropic (aluminium properties): the output is a rough structure which accomplishes all the imposed targets. The interpretation of the topology results brings to a re-design phase aimed at realising a feasible component.The subsequent optimization step is dedicated to composite material structures and acts on the component plybook, varying thickness and orientation of each ply to find the best solution complying with targets. Finally, the component has to be reviewed from a technological point of view in order to be virtually delivered and to proceed with the prototype phase.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Urgency of the research. In the crisis conditions of quarantine, business modelling has become the subject of scientific debate and demand from businesses. Applying conservative approaches to business models has caused significant financial losses and depreciation of business value. Thus, value models that reflect the assessment of various business processes in monetary terms are becoming especially relevant. Therefore, managers understand the synergetic effect of the procedural approach to business processes construction and the component contribution of business processes in achieving the goals of the enterprise. The research purpose is the improving of the scientific principles and development of a methodical approach to improvement of scientific bases and the formation of a business model from a value point of view, which has practical significance for the formation of a vision of business development. Uninvestigated parts of general matters defining. In the conditions of social crisis and fluctuations, many tools of business development and its business modelling have lost their relevance. Businesses need to find the latest approaches to business structuring and development. Research methodology. The basis of the study is a systematic analysis and a comprehensive approach to the formation of methods for building a cost-effective business model of the enterprise. Analysis and synthesis were used to characterize approaches to business modelling and determine their features, and the dialectical method was used to formulate the essence of the category "business model". Using statistical methods allowed to get trends in the business and its modelling analysed. For a complex representation of the model, a graphical method was used (for visualization of the model) and economic mathematical modelling for the representation of the model, which has practical significance in the trends of digitalization of business processes. Results. The article substantiates that the formation of a value business model is a prerequisite for a radical rethinking of business approaches, creating the potential for its development and a starting point for innovation and change. After analysing different approaches to business modelling and to estimating the value of business on the basis of a systematic approach, a value business model is proposed, which consists of a value rhombus and a square of potential. This model includes all business processes of the enterprise and assesses the potential of business development. The mathematical expression of the components of the model that corresponds to the process approach and cost evaluation and can serve as a tool for forming a software product is proposed. The advantages of applying such a model in practice are substantiated. Practical implications. The business model and clear well-defined mechanisms of its formation are a necessary requisition for business development. Scientists are often inclined to think that a business model is a complex mathematical or econometric expression. However, in practice, it is the graphic visualization of the business structure that is important in terms of forming a deep understanding of business as a system and areas for improving its components. Value/originality. The proposed approach to business modelling can be used in the following areas: evaluation of business efficiency as an individual enterprise, and in comparison as well; assessment of investment attractiveness of the business; assessment of business potential and directions of its development; analysis of the market potential of the enterprise; strategic analysis of business development and determination of its competitive advantage; a basis for the software or systems of the Workflow class development.


Forest plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, carbon sequestration based on forest biomass is an important part in the global efforts to reduce emissions. Research on distribution of the biomass can deepen the understanding of the carbon cycle. Remote sensing with the characteristics of cyclical and regional coverage has become an effective means of forest biomass regional survey. we established regression model between NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and forest biomass based on Landsat TM and ETM data, on this basis, calculated forest biomass of 1970s, 1980s and 1990s in Changbai Mountain area of Heilongjiang, Combined with GIS software the spatial changes pattern of forest biomass of the study area was discussed, especially the trend of the forest biomass with elevation, slope, aspect changes respectively. It concluded that the spatial vertical distribution of forest biomass in the study area is: in the elevation of 300 meters the forest biomass is maximum, about 35%, the higher elevation the smaller forest biomass; the distribution of forest biomass with the slope of the descending order is the gentle slope> flat slope> incline slope> steep slope> urgent slope> dangerous slope; and forest biomass in the region of aspect less than 5° is the largest, reaching 28%. In the past three decades, forest biomass change with the aspect almost consistent, all emerged the following rules: forest biomass in southeast slope and southwest slope has the proportion of the smallest is about 7%.


Background:
 Cognitive conflict has been identified as an important factor for bringing about students' conceptual change. Researchers draw attention to the need to study not only cognitive factors related to cognitive conflict but affective factors as well. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of cognitive and non-cognitive aspects involved in cognitive conflict on students' conceptual change. Sample: Fifteen students, five from each of fourth, sixth and eighth grades, participated in the study. Seven students were male, and the rest were female. All students had high academic performance and were good at explaining their reasoning. Design and method: The study focused on gaining in-depth information, using semi-structured clinical interviews, about students' thinking when they were engaged in an inquiry process, which incorporated cognitive conflict using a scenario about floating and sinking. Students' initial conceptions related to the phenomenon of floating and sinking were first diagnosed and, subsequently, discrepant events were presented to challenge their initial conceptions. The 15 interviews were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative analysis method. Results: The results of this study showed that students' conceptual change was directly related to both cognitive and affective aspects of cognitive conflict. The results also showed that some students showed persistence on alternative frameworks even after their exposure to cognitive conflict. Conclusions: Cognitive conflict is an idiosyncratic, or personal event, that may not be experienced by all learners in the same way. Thus, the effect of cognitive conflict on learners' conceptual change is directly related to learners' ability to experience and feel the conflict when it is presented to them.


The effect of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) on the synthesis and properties of hybrid organic–inorganic ionogels was investigated using octakis(methacryloxypropyl) silsesquioxane (methacryl-POSS). Ionogels were prepared in situ by thiol-ene photopolymerization of triallyl isocyanurate with pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) in a mixture of imidazolium ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMImNTf2) and propylene carbonate (PC). Investigations included the kinetics of hybrid materials formation and selected physical and mechanical properties. The disadvantage of ionogels without the methacryl-POSS modifier is leakage and insufficient mechanical properties. Modifying the thiol-ene matrix by the addition of methacryl-POSS made it possible to obtain non-leaking ionogels with improved mechanical and conductive properties. The steric hindrance of POSS cages and high-density network formation played important roles in ionogel synthesis: decrease of polymerization rate (with almost no effect on conversion), as well as dimensions of the formed polymer spheres during dispersion polymerization (highly cross-linked polymer has poorer solubility in polymerizing medium at a similar conversion, and nucleation begins at lower conversion), an increase of glass transition temperature and puncture strength. Hybrid ionogels with high ionic conductivity in the range of 4.0–5.1 mS∙cm−1 with the maximum parameter for 1.5 wt.% addition of the methacryl-POSS were obtained, which can be associated with ion-pair dissociations in ionic liquid clusters caused by methacryl-POSS.


A floating-element capacitive MEMS shear stress flow sensor was fabricated and shown to successfully measure mean-turbulent skin friction in high-speed compressible duct flow. The sensor was designed for harsh environments (e.g. high-temperature, high-shear stress) with novel through-substrate interconnects for robust packaging and remote circuitry for capacitance measurement. This paper extends our previous work on the MEMS shear stress sensor design [1] and backside interconnect process development [2] to provide complete device fabrication and testing in a high-speed flow.


Feasible improvements in existing vaccines of the Expanded Programme on Immunization are reviewed. The toxicity of pertussis vaccines can probably be reduced and the immunogenicity increased by recently instituted improvements in purity and selectivity. Candidate vaccines containing inactivated pertussis toxin, with or without other components, are in use in Japan and in controlled trials elsewhere. Inactivated poliovirus vaccines have been improved over the past decade and presently show promise of inducing immunity with as few as two doses administered in infancy. At the same time, improved methods for delivering the oral poliovirus vaccine through mass vaccination campaigns are being increasingly employed throughout the developing world. Major improvements in the measles vaccine will probably come from the development of new stabilizers and the use of vaccines that are immunogenic in the presence of maternal antibody.


The physicochemical properties and cooking quality of Saechalssal bori (25% pearled ratio), which is a naked waxy barley, were investigated. The amylose, insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), soluble dietary fiber (SDF), total dietary fiber (TDF), and -glucan contents of Saechalssal bori were 5.2, 10.8, 9.5, 20.3, and 3.7%, respectively. Pasting temperature, peak and final viscosity, and setback of Saechalssal bori were , 383.2, 231.3, and 55.6 RVU, respectively. The water absorption, expansibility, and soluble solid of Saechalssal bori were 232.2, 405.3, and 3.5%, respectively. As the ratio of water to grain increased, L value increased, whereas a and b values were decreased. The sensory evaluation showed that wateriness and overall acceptability increased with increasing ratio of water to grain, resulting in determining 2.1 times as the optimum ratio of water to grain. The cooked Saechalssal bori prepared using optimum condition had hardness (1.2 kg), cohesiveness (4.0), springiness (1.0), gumminess (5.1), chewiness (5.3), adhesiveness (0.2 kg), and A/H (0.8), respectively.


Objective: Heart sound classification and analysis play an important role in the early diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular disease. To this end, this paper introduces a novel method for automatic classification of normal and abnormal heart sound recordings. Approach: Signals are first preprocessed to extract a total of 131 features in the time, frequency, wavelet and statistical domains from the entire signal and from the timings of the states. Outlier signals are then detected and separated from those with a standard range using an interquartile range algorithm. After that, feature extreme values are given special consideration, and finally features are reduced to the most significant ones using a feature reduction technique. In the classification stage, the selected features either for standard or outlier signals are fed separately into an ensemble of 20 two-step classifiers for the classification task. The first step of the classifier is represented by a nested set of ensemble algorithms which was cross-validated on the training dataset provided by PhysioNet Challenge 2016, while the second one uses a voting rule of the class label. Main results: The results show that this method is able to recognize heart sound recordings efficiently, achieving an overall score of 96.30% for standard signals and 90.18% for outlier signals on a cross-validated experiment using the available training data. Significance: The approach of our proposed method helped reduce overfitting and improved classification performance, achieving an overall score on the hidden test set of 80.1% (79.6% sensitivity and 80.6% specificity).


American suburban fiction is often viewed as satirical social commentary, critiquing its affluent, dull, and conformist cultural environment. In this thesis, however, I argue that a significant strand of such fiction, published between the early 1960s and the beginning of the twenty-first century, was concerned with broader existential themes, and was strongly influenced by European existentialism, particularly by Sartre's philosophy. While this influence is apparent in American urban fiction of the 1950s, for example in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (1952) and Richard Wright's The Outsider (1953), it is far more fully developed, and 'Americanized', in the suburban fiction of the 1960s – in John Updike's Rabbit, Run (1960), Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road (1961), and Walker Percy's The Moviegoer (1962), all of which, I argue, are fundamentally concerned with the notion of existential authenticity. I suggest that existentialist, and specifically Sartrean, themes are developed in subsequent fiction – from a concern with existential contingency in an increasingly threatening and violent suburban environment, apparent in such novels as Joyce Carol Oates' Expensive People (1968), John Cheever's Bullet Park (1969), Updike's Rabbit Redux (1971), and Ann Beattie's Falling in Place (1980), to an obsession with entropy, emblematic of the desire to escape existential freedom through stasis, in Joseph Heller's Something Happened (1974), Updike's Rabbit is Rich (1981), and the stories of Raymond Carver; and a retreat into solipsism portrayed in later twentieth-century fiction, in Heller's novel, but also Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe novels, published between 1986 and 2014 (The Sportswriter, Independence Day, The Lay of the Land, and Let Me Be Frank with You), and Chang-rae Lee's A Gesture Life (1999) and Aloft (2004). I argue that the spatial and conceptual indeterminacy of the suburbs, their liminality, engenders existential anguish and unease, thus making them an especially conducive cultural environment for these authors' thematic concerns, one in which they are able to explore the ideas central to Sartre's existentialism. Existential Suburbia traces the influence of Sartre's philosophy, developed primarily in Being and Nothingness (1943), on the authors of suburban fiction in this period, both directly and indirectly, and provides a thematic (rather than chronologically based) analysis of the novels and stories based on key Sartrean concepts. Finally, the thesis discusses the revisionist TV series Mad Men (2007-2015), set in the 1960s and heavily influenced by the stories of John Cheever, considering its concern with existential authenticity and gender relations.


Abstract - As there have been lately many worldwide resource challenges such as potential exhaustion of fossil fuels, sudden rise of oil price and ever-rising grain pricing due to global food crisis, there have been more interests focused on recycling vegetable oils and fats into clean natural fuel and producing new resources based on waste cooking oil as a part of reusing waste resources. An Experiment was performed by using ratio of 50:50, 75:25 (w/w) mixture of based rapeseed oil, camellia oil, and olive oil. 50:50, 25:75 (w/w) mixture of based palm oil. The result was that the oleic acid (C 18:1 ) got the lowest percentage of 42.8%, when we combined the mixture of rapeseed oil and soybean oil. While the highest percentage of 72.1% was when the mixture of camellia oil and rapeseed oil we re combined at 50:50 ratio. In 75:25 (w/w) case, mixture of rapeseed oil and soybean oil got the lowest. The highest ratio was the mixture of camellia oil and olive oil. Based on the component of palm oil, the total saturated fatty acid was decreased. It is expected that stabilizing oxidation through controlling of fatty acid after mixture and that liquidity at a low temperature. The acid value indicated that stabilizing oxidation got a range of highest to lowest. Camellia oil ranked as the highest, followed by olive oil, and the oil seeds as the lowest in rank. Controlling iodine value through mixture and improvement of stabilizing oxidation will provide a good quality. The quality of color has no significant change about mixture in ratio and maintenance. The reduction of the cost of refining process is expected by controling of mixture ratio at biodiesel production in the future.


Modern embedded platforms need sophisticated resource managers in order to utilize the heterogeneous computational resources efficiently. Moreover, such platforms are exposed to fluctuating workloads unpredictable at design time. In such a context, predicting the incoming workload might improve the efficiency of resource management. But is this true? And, if yes, how significant is this improvement? How accurate does the prediction need to be in order to improve decisions instead of doing harm? By proposing a prediction-based resource manager aimed at minimizing energy consumption while meeting task deadlines and by running extensive experiments, we try to answer the above questions.


Loose bodies are freely floating fragments of cartilage or bone inside the knee joint space. This is commonly seen in association with degenerative joint disease (DJD), direct or indirect trauma, synovial chondromatosis, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and size of the loose body may vary from few millimeters to few centimeters. Patients with loose bodies in knee joint presented to orthopaedists with knee pain, swelling and restricted movement, with intermittent locking or catching of the joint. This is managed surgically most of the times when it becomes symptomatic. The surgical technique most commonly utilized is arthroscopy. Open arthrotomy should be done when the loose bodies are very large/numerous/located in posterior joint space. In review of literature, we found very few cases of giant loose body in knee joint due to DJD reported in last 70 years. We are hereby reporting our case of 60-year-old male with a giant loose body of same size as of patella in the supra-patellar pouch of left knee joint and managed by arthrotomy to remove the giant loose body. Post-operatively patient recovered significantly over the period of 6-week follow-up. In conclusion, giant loose body should be removed through arthrotomy and all such cases should be thoroughly evaluated to diagnose the cause of giant loose body.


The main obstacle to using lipase as a catalyst in industrial scale biodiesel production is the cost and availability of the enzyme. To overcome this obstacle, the potential of using a whole cell biocatalyst (for at least partial in situ lipase production) was evaluated as a means to reduce the cost of the lipase. The reaction conditions for biodiesel production via transesterification between Jatropha curcas (physic nut) oil and methanol when catalyzed in the presence of lipase-producing Aureobasidium pullulans yeast cells was investigated. The appropriate conditions for optimal biodiesel production were found to be 1:3 oil:methanol molar ratio at 30°C with constant stirring at 250 rpm. Under these conditions a maximum fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) production level of 71.8% was obtained after 72 h. Keywords: Lipase, Aureobasidium pullulans , physic nut oil, biodiesel, green energy African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(27), pp. 4380-4386


Interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) is a classic inducer of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU). Although IRBP causes neuronal loss in susceptible animals, resistant animals such as Sprague-Dawley (SPD) rats can benefit from the evoked protective autoimmune responses. The aim of the present study was to analyze the neuroprotective effects of IRBP against light-induced photoreceptor degeneration. We immunized 75 male SPD rats with IRBP and the rats were then exposed to blue light for 24 hours (IRBP group). Seventy five rats were included in the control group. We found that the number of apoptotic cells in the outer nuclear layer (ONL) peaked on 1 day after light exposure, and the ONL thickness decreased significantly on day 3. OX42-positive cells appeared in the ONL immediately after light exposure, and their number peaked on day 3, and changed from resting ramified cells to activated amoeboid cells. Compared with the control group (n=75), the IRBP group showed less apoptotic cells, a thicker ONL, and reduced expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. These outcomes indicate the IRPB might protect retinal photoreceptors against light-induced injury.


Benchmarking heuristic algorithms is vital to understand under which conditions and on what kind of problems certain algorithms perform well. Most benchmarks are performance based, to test algorithm performance under a wide set of conditions. There is also resource- and behavior-based benchmarks to test the resource consumption and the behavior of algorithms. In this article, we propose a novel behavior-based benchmark toolbox: BIAS (Bias in algorithms, structural). This toolbox can detect structural bias (SB) per dimension and across dimension-based on 39 statistical tests. Moreover, it predicts the type of SB using a random forest model. BIAS can be used to better understand and improve existing algorithms (removing bias) as well as to test novel algorithms for SB in an early phase of development. Experiments with a large set of generated SB scenarios show that BIAS was successful in identifying bias. In addition, we also provide the results of BIAS on 432 existing state-of-the-art optimization algorithms showing that different kinds of SB are present in these algorithms, mostly toward the center of the objective space or showing discretization behavior. The proposed toolbox is made available open-source and recommendations are provided for the sample size and hyper-parameters to be used when applying the toolbox on other algorithms.


This paper describes a chemical model that calculates solute and solvent activities and solid-liquid equilibria in the Li-H-Na-K-Cl-OH-H2O system from dilute to high solution concentration within the 0 to 250 °C temperature range. The model coherently extends to Li the temperature-variable H-Na-K-OH-Cl-H2O model of Christov and Møller (2004b, p. 1309). The solubility modeling approach based on Pitzer's (1973, p. 268) specific interaction equations is used. All binary (LiCl-H2O and LiOH-H2O) and ternary (LiCl-HCl-H2O, LiCl-NaCl-H2O, LiCl-KCl-H2O, LiOH-NaOH-H2O, LiOH-KOH-H2O, and LiOH-LiCl-H2O) lithium subsystems are included in the model parameterization. The model for the LiCl-H2O system is parameterized using two different approaches: (1) with 4 ion interaction binary parameters (β(0), β(1), β(2), and Cϕ), and (2) with 3 ion interaction binary parameters (β(0), β(1), and Cϕ) and including neutral aqueous LiCl0(aq) species. Approach (2) provides a better fit of activity data in unsaturated binary solutions and accurately predicts solid solubilities up to 40 mol.kg−1 and up to 250 °C. Therefore, this approach was used to parameterize lithium chloride mixed systems. Temperature functions for the thermodynamic solubility product (as log Kosp) of 5 simple lithium salts (LiCl.2H2O(cr), LiCl. H2O(cr), LiCl(cr), LiOH. H2O(cr), and LiOH(cr)) are determined. The log Kosp values of 3 double lithium basic salts precipitating in the LiOH-LiCl-H2O system at 50 °C (3LiOH.LiCl(cr), LiOH.LiCl(cr), and LiOH.3LiCl(cr)) are also estimated using solubility data.


The nature of interaction between glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) and its tRNA substrate is unique in bacteria in that many bacterial GluRS are capable of recognizing two tRNA substrates: tRNAGlu and tRNAGln. To properly understand this distinctive GluRS-tRNA interaction it is important to pursue detailed structure-function studies; however, because of the fact that tRNA-GluRS interaction in bacteria is also associated with phylum-specific idiosyncrasies, the structure-function correlation studies must also be phylum-specific. GluRS from Thermus thermophilus and Escherichia coli, which belong to evolutionarily distant phyla, are the biochemically best characterized. Of these, only the structure of T. thermophilus GluRS is available. To fully unravel the subtleties of tRNAGlu-GluRS interaction in E. coli, a model bacterium that can also be pathogenic, determination of the E. coli GluRS structure is essential. However, previous attempts have failed to crystallize E. coli GluRS. By mapping crystal contacts of a homologous GluRS onto the E. coli GluRS sequence, two surface residues were identified that might have been hindering crystallization attempts. Accordingly, these two residues were mutated and crystallization of the double mutant was attempted. Here, the design, expression, purification and crystallization of an engineered E. coli GluRS in which two surface residues were mutated to optimize crystal contacts are reported.


PURPOSE
Health systems throughout the United States are under increased financial pressure to reduce operating cost. As a result, productivity models developed by third-party consultants are being used to optimize staff to treatment volumes. The purpose of this study was to critically evaluate productivity systems for radiation oncology.

METHODS
Staffing efficiency was evaluated using multiple productivity models. The first model evaluated staffing levels using equal weighting of procedure codes and hours worked. A second productivity model was developed using hours worked by job class and relative value units for each procedure code. A third model was developed using the measured procedure times extracted from the electronic medical record, which tracks the wait and treatment times for each patient for each treatment fraction. A MatLab program was developed to query and analyze the daily treatment data. A model was then created to determine any theoretical gains in treatment productivity.

RESULTS
Productivity was evaluated for six radiation therapy departments operating nine linear accelerators delivering over 40,000 treatment fractions per year. Third party productivity models that do not take into consideration the unique nature of radiation therapy can be counterproductive. For example, other outpatient departments can compress their daily schedule to decrease the worked hours. This approach was tested using the treatment schedule evaluation tool developed as part of this study. It was determined that the maximum possible savings for treatment schedule compression was $32,000 per year per linac. All annual cost savings would be lost if only two patients per year choose to be treated elsewhere because of limited or restricted appointment times.

CONCLUSION
The use of productivity models in radiation therapy can easily result in a loss of treatment revenue that is greater than any potential cost savings in reduced hours worked by staff.


This article deals with offshore wind energy conversion systems based on the squirrel cage induction generator with full scale back-to-back converter link, consisting of machine-side converter, DC-link and High Voltage Direct Current side converter. The machine-side converter is responsible for the maximum power point tracking, while the High Voltage Direct Current side converter is responsible for controlling the active and reactive power supplied to the grid. For connection to the mainland, a monopolar high voltage direct current transmission line with metal return is used with voltage source converters. This system consists of a generation-side converter, generation-side DC-link, high voltage direct current line, grid-side DC-link and grid-side converter. The generation-side converter is responsible for the voltage control on the generation-side DC-link, the active power control delivered to the grid and reactive power control in the PCC, while the grid-side converter is responsible for the voltage control on the grid-side DC-link and the active and reactive power control delivered to the grid. Simulation results have showed that the system is an efficient alternative to offshore wind energy conversion systems.


The length of the bridging alkylene chain between two calix[4]diquinone moieties determines the selectivity of the receptors for Group 1 metal ions. These redox-active receptors exhibit remarkable selectivity preferences and substantial electrochemical recognition effects towards Cs+ and Rb+ ions. The solid-state crystal structure of the Cs+ complex of a bis(calix[4]diquinone) derivative is shown (green: Cs+ , red: oxygen).


In Italy, from April 2021, healthcare workers were required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; if they refused it, an immediate unpaid suspension was implemented until they received the vaccine. Although there are numerous quantitative studies on the factors that influenced vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative research on the causes of vaccine refusal is still missing. This research aimed to investigate the phenomenon of nurses who refused to receive COVID-19 vaccination despite being required to do so, as well as the reasons behind their refusal. Furthermore, the actions of those who abandoned this stance were explored. This was a qualitative study involving the methodological approach of grounded theory. Twenty-four nurses were interviewed virtually via Zoom from May to July 2022. Anti-vax behavior—as emerged from nurses' experiences—was based on seven themes: (1) job satisfaction, (2) the main sources of information on COVID-19, (3) the reasons for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, (4) the attitudes of family members toward the COVID-19 vaccine, (5) previous experience with other vaccines, (6) firm opposition to the vaccine (unvaccinated nurses), (7) reluctant acceptance (vaccinated nurses). It was shown that it is imperative for health authorities to adopt timely, documented, transparent, and consistent communication when carrying out public health campaigns, especially for vaccination.


The effective dielectric response of linear composites containing graded material is investigated under an applied electric field . For the cylindrical inclusion with gradient dielectric function, , randomly embedded in a host with dielectric constant , we have obtained the exact solution of local electric potential of the composite media regions, which obeys a linear constitutive relation , using hypergeometric function. In dilute limit, we have derived the effective dielectric response of the linear composite media. Furthermore, for larger volume fraction, the formulas of effective dielectric response of the graded composite media are given.


Twenty-one derivatives of a lambda::mini-Mu phage containing point mutations in the Mu attachment regions were isolated after mutD mutagenesis and selection for relief from Mu-specific replicative interference of lambda growth. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the single left-end mutant had suffered a T----C transition at position 1 of the Mu sequence, while the remaining 20 right-end mutants contained single base-pair insertions or deletions within the terminal 19 base pairs. A genetic assay showed that the right-end mutations revealed by sequencing were necessary for relief of the replicative inhibition of lambda growth. The properties of these mutants suggest that the terminal 2-base-pair and subterminal 8-base-pair inverted repeats are important for Mu-specific replicative transposition.


The article investigates how lexemes within the lexical field "Money" are used in the Russian dialects of Old Believers spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay. The study addresses the use of recently borrowed names for monetary units as well as of the original Russian nouns. The dialectal material is compared with the data from the Dictionary of Contemporary Russian Colloquial Language and from a variety of dialectal dictionaries. Special attention is given to the names for Russian monetary units rublʹ and kopejka. The word kopejka has retained some of the original Russian figurative meanings and developed a new one. The fact that kopejka has not fallen into disuse in the figurative meaning is not surprising given that original Russian idioms are very well preserved in the dialects in question, including those with kopejka (the latter are analysed in the article). The study has demonstrated significant similarity between the Old Believers' dialects in South America and Russian varieties spoken in Russia with respect to the semantic field "Money". At the same time, the analysis has revealed several properties which are unique to the Old Believers' dialects. These include deviations in lexical meaning, in collocational and stylistic properties, and in usage.


In the intestine, the host must be able to control the gut microbiota and efficiently absorb transiently supplied metabolites, at the risk of enormous infection. In mammals, the inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-17A/F is one of the key mediators in the intestinal immune system. However, many functions of IL-17 in vertebrate intestines remain unclarified. In this study, we established a gene-knockout (KO) model of IL-17 receptor A1 (RA1), an IL-17A/F receptor, in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) using genome editing technique and the phenotypes were compared to wild type (WT) based on transcriptome analyses. Upon hatching, homozygous IL-17RA1-KO medaka mutants showed no significant morphological abnormality. However, after 4 months, significant weight decreases and reduced survival rates were observed in IL-17RA1-KO medaka. Comparing gene-expression patterns in WT and IL-17RA1-KO medaka revealed that various metabolism- and immune-related genes were significantly down-regulated in IL-17RA1-KO medaka intestine, particularly genes related to mevalonate metabolism (mvda, acat2, hmgcs1, and hmgcra) and genes related to IL-17 signaling (such as il17c, il17a/f1, and rorc) were found to be decreased. These findings show that IL-17RA regulated immune- and various metabolism-related genes in the intestine for maintaining the health of Japanese medaka.