Type-2-diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global problem of medical, social and economic consequences. Physical activity is a vital therapy in patients with T2DM, but some of them cannot exercise for various reasons. The purpose of our pilot study was to determine whether a combination of neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) and insulin therapy could improve the management of T2DM patients with hemiplegia caused by an ischemic stroke. Fifteen immobile patients with T2DM on insulin therapy were enrolled in the study. NMES was applied to their lower limbs for 60 min, 5 days a week, over a period of 12 weeks. The intervention caused statistically significant reductions in the blood concentrations of glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol and low-density cholesterol in the participants. Furthermore, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels were significantly lower. More randomized clinical trials are needed to accurately measure the effect of NMES on T2DM treatment and to determine whether it can be an alternative for physical activity for immobile patients with T2DM.


2) Compliance once randomised Recruitment of the 100 eligible women (postmenopausal with early stage disease, vasomotor symptoms and/or a family history of osteoporosis or arterial disease) was achieved in one year. Patients were randomised to HRT or nothing for a period of six months. At the end of the study period, patients may continue with, or commence HRT if they wish to do so. The subsidiary aims of the study involved assessment of symptomatic benefit, lipid analyses and endometrial monitoring. The accrual rate for this trial was 38.3 per cent (100/261


Effects of normal aging on pre-attentive detection of changes in motion direction were evaluated. Young, middle-aged, and older subjects performed a visual central task while standard and deviant gratings varying in motion direction were presented outside the focus of attention. A greater negativity in the event-related potentials (ERPs) to deviants was observed in all groups at posterior sites within the N2 latency range. Visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) reached its peak between 145 and 165 ms irrespective of age. However, significant age-related changes observed in vMMN mean amplitude may suggest that the pre-attentive visual detection become less efficient in older subjects. This could lead to age-related deficits in switching attention to potentially salient visual changes.


The aim of this paper is to study the online tutoring styles of two teachers who each tutor a networked learning community (NLC), within the same workshop. The study is undertaking empirical work using a multi-method approach in order to triangulate and contextualize our findings and enrich our understanding of the teacher's involvement in these NLC's. We apply social network analysis (SNA) to visualise the social structure of the NLC, content analysis (CA) to identify learning and teaching processes, critical event recall (CER) to gather the teacher's personal experiences and intentions. This paper reports some of the current findings of our work and discusses future prospects. This study is part of a continuing international study that is investigating networked collaborative learning as a way to develop a rich descriptive body of evidence of tutoring and learning processes in e-learning.


A new experimental procedure combining usual isothermal DC charging and discharging with non-isothermal current measurements has been recently proposed. It is mainly suitable for very high insulating polymers and it was successfully applied to the study of space charge trapping and transport in low-density polyethylene. The analysis of the isothermal currents revealed the presence of different traps whose characteristic (de)trapping times can be deduced. The isothermal procedures allowed the selective charging of the sample. By choosing the charging field and the ratio of charge/discharge times, non-isothermal analysis permitted the differentiation of three or four peaks (at ≈50 C, ≈65 C, ≈70 C and ≈85 C) associated with charge detrapping from surface or near-surface (<20 µm) traps. These traps have activation energies between 0.21 and 1.54 eV. The mobility at 30 C is around 5×10-16 m2 V-1 s-1. Samples had to be conditioned before each experiment in order to obtain reproducible results.


A 7-year-old female patient with a new diagnosis of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency was treated for hyperammonemia with a standard protocol. Several days later, she developed ataxia, dysmetria, and dysarthria. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated pontine and extrapontine white matter changes consistent with osmotic demyelination. Classically described as a consequence of hyponatremia treatment, osmotic demyelination syndrome has rarely been associated with other entities. This case suggests a potentially serious complication of the standard therapy for hyperammonemia in patients with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.


SUMMARY
Early microscopists made detailed observations of the phenomenon of plasmolysis, many of which have passed into the historical record without comment. This review considers the significance of these observations in the light of recent cell-biological studies which are addressing the complex relationships between the plasma membrane (PM) and the extracellular matrix, as well as the interrelationships of the PM, endomembrane system and cytoskeleton. Emphasis is placed on the relative roles of Hechtian strand formation and PM vesiculation as mechanisms allowing the conservation of PM during a plasmolysis/deplasmolysis cycle. The behaviour of plasmodesmata during plasmolysis is considered in relation to the ability of cells to resume intercellular transport following deplasmolysis. Finally, the behaviour of cells during freeze-induced ptesmolysis is addressed.


Interest in the prediction of toxicity without the use of experimental data is growing, and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) methods are valuable for such predictions. A QSAR study of acute aqueous toxicity of 375 diverse organic compounds has been developed using only calculated structural features as independent variables. Toxicity is expressed as -log(LD(50)) with the units -log(millimoles per liter) and ranges from -3 to 6. Multiple linear regression and computational neural networks (CNNs) are utilized for model building. The best model is a nonlinear CNN model based on eight calculated molecular structure descriptors. The root-mean-square log(LD(50)) errors for the training, cross-validation, and prediction sets of this CNN model are 0.71, 0.77, and 0.74 -log(mmol/L), respectively. These results are compared to a previous study with the same data set which included many more descriptors and used experimental data in the descriptor pool.


In the Orcopampa district, southern Peru, the Calera vein and its splits comprise a complex multistage epithermal fissure vein system of early Miocene age hosted by slightly older silicic and intermediate volcanic rocks. The several veins of the district are hosted by normal faults that strike N 45 degrees E to east-west. The Calera vein system is the largest and economically most important yet discovered in the district. Produced ore and reserves contain over 40 million ounces of silver and 0.4 million ounces of gold.Five paragenetic stages as well as multiple episodes of fracturing, faulting, and hydrothermal brecciation are recognized. The early stage is defined by quartz + or - adularia + or - sericite + or - pyrite altered wall rock and by mineralogically similar veinlets. Altered wall rock rich in adularia borders the vein at depth and yields laterally to sericite-rich rock within a few meters of the vein, whereas altered wall rock with abundant sericite borders the vein in upper levels. Early-stage material is cut and brecciated by several substages of the Mn stage, which are characterized by abundant rhodonite and rhodochrosite containing bands composed largely of sphalerite and other sulfide minerals or tetrahedrite. Rich ores contain 10 2 to 10 3 ppm Te, mainly in hessite (Ag 2 Te). The Mn stage is followed by two quartz-rich substages; the second substage contains tetrahedrite. This quartz stage is in turn succeeded by the bonanza stage, which contains native gold, miargyrite, pyrargyrite, and several other silver sulfosalts and precious and base metal tellurides in quartz gangue; this stage contains about 50 percent of the precious metal values of the Calera system. Late quartz and sphalerite + galena veins with barite, marcasite, and stibnite and hydrothermal breccia dikes of the late stage are volumetrically minor.Ore shoots typically occur in zones of intense fracturing indicated by abundant stockwork veins and vein splits. Based on the form and zoning of the west-plunging main ore shoot, ore-forming fluids appear to have moved diagonally upward. Several superimposed stages have different distributions within the main ore shoot; the Mn stage is better developed at depth and the quartz stage is dominant in upper levels. The Au-rich ores of the bonanza stage are found preferentially in a zone of intersection of vein splits that appears to have controlled fluid flow. Mineralization throughout the district is very similar. The bonanza stage, however, has been identified only in the Calera vein.The paragenetic sequence has resulted from a series of progressively evolving hydrothermal fluids. Initial abundant rhodonite is replaced by rhodochrosite and eventually by quartz as the dominant gangue mineral. The base metal sulfide and tetrahedrite bands must have formed from compositionally very different hydrothermal fluids. The bonanza stage also represents a distinct fluid with much lower Ag/Au, relatively high a Te /a S , and low manganese content. The close spatial and temporal association with dacite dikes and flows, the relatively high Te content of the ores, and the high a Te /a S ratios implied by some of the phase assemblages suggest the involvement of deep-seated hydrothermal fluids.


A new perspective in criminology has emerged over the last three decades, a perspective with considerable potential to add to our understanding and control of crime. In the same way the invention of the microscope opened up a biological world scientists had not previously seen, this new perspective opens the world of small geographic features we had overlooked. Research has demonstrated that actions at these microplaces have strong connections to crime. Just as the microscope paved the way to new treatments and advances in public health, this new perspective in criminology is yielding improved ways of reducing crime. This new perspective shifts our attention from large geographic units, such as neighborhoods, to small units, such as street segments and addresses. This shift in the "units of analysis" transforms our understanding of the crime problem and what we can do about it. There are two aspects to this shift in units. The first shifts our attention from large geographic units to small ones. This we have just mentioned. The second shifts our attention from people to events, from those who commit crimes to the crimes themselves. Criminology has been primarily focused on people (Brantingham and Brantingham 1990; Weisburd 2002). Frank Cullen (2011) noted in his Sutherland Address to the American Society of Criminology in 2010 that the focus of criminology has been even more specific. He argued that criminology was dominated by a paradigm, which he termed "adolescence-limited criminology," that had focused primarily on adolescents. To what extent have person-based studies dominated criminology? Weisburd (2015a) examined units of analysis in all empirical articles published in Criminology between 1990 and 2014. Criminology is the highest-impact journal in the field and the main scientific publication of the largest criminological society in the world, the American Society of Criminology. He identified 719 research articles. Of the 719 articles, two-thirds focused on people as units of analysis. The next main units of study were situations (15 percent) and macrogeographic areas such as cities and states (11 percent). Eck and Eck (2012) examined the 148 research papers published in Criminology and Public Policy from its first issue in 2001 until the end of 2010, and the 230 articles published in Criminal Justice Policy Review during the same time period.


In this article, models are constructed of the compact jet in GRS 1915+105 during an epoch of optimal data capture. On 2003 April 2, the object was observed in the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray band (INTEGRAL), hard X-ray band (RXTE), near-IR (ESO/New Technology Telescope) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) (8.3 and 15 GHz). The source was in a so-called 'high plateau state'. The large radio flux provides high signal-to-noise ratios in the radio images. Thus, one can image the jet out to large distances (>1015 cm). This combined with the broad-band coverage make this epoch the best suited for modelling the jet. The parametric method that has been successfully utilized in the realm of extragalactic radio jets is implemented. The basic model is one where external inverse Compton (EIC) scattering of accretion disc photons by jet plasma provides the hard X-ray power law. Unlike active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets, it is found that the radio jet must be highly stratified in the transverse direction in order to produce the observed surface brightness distribution in the radio images. Various jet models are considered. The jet power is Q ≈ 3–4 × 1038 erg s−1 if the hard X-ray power-law luminosity is from EIC in the jet and Q ≈ 2–9 × 1037 erg s−1 if the X-rays are emitted from the accretion disc corona. These estimates indicate that the jet power can be as high as 60 per cent of the total X-ray luminosity.


Agricultural production cooperatives used to be the "stepchild" of the cooperative movement. Although they stem from a similar long tradition of agricultural service cooperatives, researchers such as Oppenheimer (1896) and Schiller (1969) observed early on that they were not attractive for farmers in villages characterised by family agriculture. In general, it was argued that they were not competitive at all with family farms, but also not corporate farms, thus having no role in agricultural development. Historically, agricultural production cooperatives were formed under specific conditions only. Most prominent were collective farms under the socialist regimes, which were often labelled "agricultural production cooperatives", although these were by no means of a voluntary nature. However, in recent years, agricultural production cooperatives have been observed in villages characterised by family agriculture. In Chongzhou County (Sichuan Province, China) they cover more than half of the total utilized agricultural area. This research analyses the conditions under which farmers voluntarily join such production cooperatives and how they assess their membership in them. We suggest that agricultural production cooperatives have a role to play in agricultural development after all.


In establishing a simulation program for hydraulic valves, it is always a big obstacle to incorporate correctly flow forces on valve body into the simulation program. This paper suggests a method to estimate flow forces on spool in proportional directional/flow control valves with spool structure. Furthermore, suggests a way to obtain simulation program for spool valves, in which flow force mechanism is fully reflected.


Collecting truthful subjective information from multiple individuals is an important problem in many social and online systems. While peer prediction mechanisms promise to elicit truthful information by rewarding participants with carefully constructed payments, they also admit uninformative equilibria where coordinating participants provide no useful information. To understand how participants behave towards such mechanisms in practice, we conduct the first controlled online experiment of a peer prediction mechanism, engaging the participants in a multiplayer, real-time and repeated game. Using a hidden Markov model to capture players' strategies from their actions, our results show that participants successfully coordinate on uninformative equilibria and the truthful equilibrium is not focal, even when some uninformative equilibria do not exist or are undesirable. In contrast, most players are consistently truthful in the absence of peer prediction, suggesting that these mechanisms may be harmful when truthful reporting has similar cost to strategic behavior.


Study of Maya economy has traditionally been dominated by hierarchical or vertical models, in which societal elites were thought to have had significant impact in the organization of production and exchange. We propose that evidence for strong elite regulation of lowland economy is lacking. Both inter-site and intra-site patterns better support the likelihood that many aspects of lowland economy were probably self-organized and not regulated by a centralized controlling group or groups. It is proposed that the spatial structure of important lowland resources played a significant role in Maya socioeconomic systems. While at one time tropical forests were viewed as homogenous and spatially redundant, more recent perspectives emphasize local mosaic or patchy zonation of important biotic and abiotic resources. Intensive craft production and non-centralized regional exchange of large quantities of economic goods were elements within a self-organizing system influenced more by resource structure than hierarchical elite regulation. In our view, the concept of heterarchy represents a better way of understanding Maya economy, as it avoids the a priori assumption that complexity must take a tiered hierarchical form. Throughout this chapter, the heterarchical perspective is used to view the character of lowland Maya centers, the hubs of elite control, from an economic standpoint.


Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer continues to increase and there is a need for health professionals to provide evidence-based information. The aim of this review was to determine whether nutritional supplementation, as a complementary and integrative therapy during oncology treatment, has either improved or adversely affected outcomes. A literature review and appraisal of the hierarchy of evidence until February 2010 were undertaken, excluding individual studies, animal studies, in vitro studies and anecdotal reports. The search results included 52 articles for inclusion. The summary of evidence was divided into four main sections: supplements that had a potential positive effect and no evident harm, supplements that had a potential positive effect but also had side-effects, supplements that had no effect, and supplements that had potential negative/harmful effects. There is a significant volume of evidence concerning nutrition related complementary therapies, however the evidence is generally weak and there are multiple variables making it difficult to extrapolate generalised recommendations for any one type of supplement. The challenge remains to provide strong evidence to support complementary and integrative therapy as part of integrated mainstream treatment therapies.


This paper presents the development of a leadership model for organizational leadership skills supported by Multivariate Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis. This is an innovative approach that formulates and develops a
mathematical model in order to describe, analyze and model variables to assess and rate the level of leadership of organizational leaders of the Area Metropolitana Centro Occidente AMCO.


SLEZINGR, M., PILAŘOVA, P., PELIKAN, P., ZELEŇAKOVA, M.: Verifi cation and proposal of the modifi cation of "The method for the establishment of the erosion terminant". Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun., 2012, LX, No. 6, pp. 303–308 The aim of the paper is to inform the professional public about a conducted experiment, its results and recommendations for further scientifi c assessment and practice. The experiment deals with the basis for a proposal of a prognostic method concerning reservoir bank line retreat caused by waves and the related bank erosion. During the experiment we found discrepancies between the assumed (calculated) values of the height level of erosion terminant (the point in the reservoir bank area where the erosion spontaneously stops) and the measured values. Therefore, we have reached the conclusion, which is presented in the paper, leading to a proposal for a modifi cation of the basic equation for the calculation of the erosion terminant.


We have deposited the bilayer consisted of the underlayer and the overlayer by using DC magnetron sputter on Single crystal MgO (001) substrate. This bilayer was fabricated at fixed annealing temperature and time. We have controlled agglomeration effect by changing of the bilayer thickness. Finally, we have made the self-organization and nano-structured film. In this processing, we have made nano-dot which consists of the underlayer and the overlayer, unlike the existing method called the agglomeration effect in the single layer. The underlayer has deposited using Ti, Cr and Co. And the overlayer has deposited with Ag. Through the analysis of Atomic force microscopy (AFM), the microstructure of underlayer is observed by AFM to confirm the formation of nano-dot. As the nano-dot through above processing, we have found that the nano-dot has the different shape. As a result, when we manufactured nano-dot through the agglomeration effect of bi-layer, the best matching material is Ti for underlayer. And also, we have found that MgO/Ti/Ag samples have been grown expitaxially toward the direction of MgO (001) by X-ray Diffraction analysis.


We investigate the effect of a deliberately introduced shape asymmetry on magnetization reversal in small, square-shaped, magnetic rings. The magnetization reversal process is investigated using the diffracted magneto-optical Kerr effect combined with micromagnetic simulations. Experimentally we find that the reversal path is sensitive to small (±1°) changes in the direction of the applied field. Micromagnetic simulations that reproduce the measured zeroth- and first-order loops allow us to identify the reversal mechanisms as due to different intermediate states, namely, the so-called vortex and horseshoe states. Based on our results we are now able to prescribe a methodology for writing a vortex state with specific chirality in these asymmetric rings. Such control will be necessary if patterned arrays of this kind are to be used as magnetic storage elements.We investigate the effect of a deliberately introduced shape asymmetry on magnetization reversal in small, square-shaped, magnetic rings. The magnetization reversal process is investigated using the diffracted magneto-optical Kerr effect combined with micromagnetic simulations. Experimentally we find that the reversal path is sensitive to small (±1°) changes in the direction of the applied field. Micromagnetic simulations that reproduce the measured zeroth- and first-order loops allow us to identify the reversal mechanisms as due to different intermediate states, namely, the so-called vortex and horseshoe states. Based on our results we are now able to prescribe a methodology for writing a vortex state with specific chirality in these asymmetric rings. Such control will be necessary if patterned arrays of this kind are to be used as magnetic storage elements.


In current large-scale supply chain networks, unexpected disruptions degrade the supply availability and network connectivity for modern enterprises. How to improve the robustness of supply chain networks is very important for modern enterprises. In this paper, we explore how to improve the robustness of supply chain networks from a topological perspective. Firstly, through the empirical data-driven study, we show that the directed betweenness metric is more suitable than the other topological metrics in evaluating the robustness of supply chain networks. Then, we propose a rewiring algorithm based on directed betweenness to improve network robustness under the impact of disruptions. The experimental results in the large-scale supply chain network show that the rewiring algorithm based on directed betweenness effectively improves the network robustness.


Purpose: The favorable types of the breast cancer-medullary, mucinous, papillary and tubular carcinoma are uncommon subtypes and their incidence in different series ranges between 2.0% and 8.0%, 1% and 2%. 0.3% and 3%, less than 2% of all breast cancers respectively. It has been reported that in western countries they have good prognosis and slow growth rate. Clinically, these tumors have lower frequency rate of axillary nodal involvement and better 5-year or lO~year surviral rate than the other common type of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: To determine the clinical characteristics and to evaluate the correlation between the progrostic factors and survival rate of these tumor, the medical record of 83 women with medullary, mucinous, papillary and tubular carcinoma treated at Korea Cancer Center Hospital between Jan. 1987 and Dec. 1997 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The incidences of medullary, mucinous, papillary and tubular carcinoma were 0.51%, 1.45%,0.71% and 0.14% of all breast cancer respectively. There were 1 case of local recurrence and 5 cases of systemic relapse during the period of follow-up (median follow-up peroid of 56 months). Overall 5-year survival and IO-year survival rate were 98.5% and 94.2% respectively. No significant difference in overall survival rate was detected according to histologic type of these tumors but disease-free survival was significantly lower in papillary carcinoma than the other types of these tumors (P=0.042). Standard prognostic factors of breast cancer such as tumor size, lymph node status, age of the patient and ER status did not affect the prognosis of these tumors. Conclusions: Medullary, mucinous, papillary and tubular carcinoma revealed very excellent prognosis in this study regardless of tumor size, lymph node status, age of the patients and ER status. (Korean J of Breast Cancer 1998;1:263.......272)


Rats were kept for 10 days (8 hours per day) in a chamber where acetaldehyde vapour concentration was 2.5-3.0 g/m3. The animal liver levels of prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha decreased, the activities of linoleoyl CoA desaturase and PG synthetases reduced. The content of arachidonic acid in the total lipid fraction increased. The decrease of PG synthesis under chronic alcoholic intoxication is supposed to be implemented through two mechanisms, one of which is acetaldehyde-mediated.


This paper investigates the influence of the silicon substrate on the ac characteristics of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFETs. It is shown for the first time that the presence of the substrate underneath the buried oxide results in two transitions (i.e., zero-pole doublets) in the frequency response of the output conductance. It is demonstrated that the appearance of these transitions, the position and amplitude of which strongly depend on the substrate doping, is caused by the variation of the potential at substrate-buried oxide interface, which we call the Floating Effective Back-Gate (FEBG) effect. A first-order small-signal equivalent circuit is proposed to support our observations.


Skills mismatch - the sub-optimal use of an individual's skills in their occupation - can be a source of dissatisfaction for workers and a brake for productivity growth. In our view, a difference in the level of skills within an occupation is not sufficient to infer that a skills mismatch exists. Since skills-mismatch is the result of a disparity between the supply and demand of labour, the quantifying of skills-mismatch must therefore be based on the mechanisms involved in this disparity. We propose to include in our measurement the level of education and field of study, which are key markers of an individual's skill level in the labour market. This makes it possible to identify, among individuals whose skill level differs from others within an occupation, those whose training profile can (or cannot) explain this situation. Through using the OECD PIAAC 2012 survey, this paper first identifies with data for France, individuals who present an apparent skills mismatch according to the framework proposed. Following an international comparison of "apparent skills mismatch rates", we conclude this study by observing how the different groups identified differ in terms of how they perceive their employment situation as well as their individual characteristics.


For a long time, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was thought to be a neuro-degenerative disease with selective involvement of the motor neuron system. However, it has recently been established that ALS is a multisystem disorder that not only involve the motor system but also affects cognition. A typical cognitive impairment in ALS is frontotemporal dementia: a clinical subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Furthermore, language impairment, including progressive non-fluent aphasia (PA) and semantic dementia (SD), which are also FTLD subtypes, have been linked to bulbar-onset ALS. Beside recent studies a Japanese paper published in 1893 gives an account of aphasia in bulbar-onset ALS. Interestingly, this was the first account of aphasia in Japan. Thus, language-related problems in ALS may have been overlooked, because evaluation of aphasic problems in ALS patients is difficult, mainly because of progressive bulbar or pseudo-bulbar palsy that results in and dysarthria. From a clinical point of view, progressing bulbar symptoms and medical interventions, such artificial ventilation make it difficult to evaluate language functions in ALS. However, we do observe frequent omission and paragraphia of kana letters, and syntactic errors in writing. Interestingly, some patients make exhibit errors exclusively in the case of kanji characters. Thus, evaluation of writing samples is important if order to identify language problems in ALS patients. The findings may also provide additional information such as dissociation between errors made in kana and kanji characters. The characteristic features of writing errors are thought to reflect the nature of aphasia including PA and SD, that are easily masked by dysarthria. In addition, writing errors can appear as "isolated agraphia" without aphasia and dementia. Pathologically, writing errors should indicate the brain regions involved by ALS, e.g., hemispheric dominance and frontal or temporal lobe involvement. In addition, selective involvement of Exner's writing center in the frontal lobe may be responsible for "isolated agraphia". Hence, further studies are required to determine the clinical significance of writing errors in ALS patients and their pathological correlation.


A 65-year-old female patient has been orally taking corticosteroids (8 pills of prednisolone) for a severe form of bronchial asthma. In 1979 Kaposi's sarcoma was diagnosed for the first time; the diagnosis has been histologically confirmed. Several times the patient has been effectively treated with prospidin. The disease course got worse from 1984 on: the eruptions disseminated and the condition recurred every 2-3 months. This case is remarkable because Kaposi's sarcoma has developed in a patient treated with corticosteroids for asthma for a long time.


This paper describes authors' achievements in the development, investigation, and application of cholinesterase biosensors based on ISFETs. Various biosensors for determination of concentrations of different toxic substances (organophos- phorous and carbamate pesticides, hypochlorite, glycoalkaloids) were designed on the basis of reversible and/or irreversible enzyme inhibition effects. The main analytical characteristics of the biosensors developed have been studied under different conditions and optimal experimental protocols for toxic substances determination have been proposed. Most of these biosensors show a high reproducibility and a good operational and storage stability. A quite good correlation with results obtained through routinely used standard methods as HPLC has been shown.


The authors report their experience concerning the outpatient echo Doppler mapping of peripheral venous circulation in the lower limbs. Out of a total of 240 patients examined, 190 showed monolateral venous insufficiency and 50 bilateral. These results were correlated to the age of the patients and showed that saphenous pathology tended to affect the entire vein in elderly patients, whereas only partial damage was observed in young patients. Varices seemed to appear with the first signs of the insufficiency of collateral veins before signs of saphenous insufficiency became manifest.


Schottky barriers of Ti, Cr, Au, Pd, Ni and Pt on n-type GaN epitaxial layers grown by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapour deposition on sapphire have been fabricated and characterized. Measurements were carried out using current - voltage (I - V), current - voltage - temperature (I -V - T) and capacitance - voltage (C - V) techniques. A modified Norde plot was used as one of the analysis tools for the I - V - T measurements. The barrier heights, ideality factors and effective Richardson constants are presented. Barrier heights of 0.88, 0.92, 0.99 and 1.08 eV for Au, Pd, Ni and Pt respectively were obtained from the modified Norde plot. Contacts of Ti and Cr exhibited only slightly rectifying characteristics. These results show that the barrier height on n-GaN increases monotonically, but does not scale proportionately, with increasing metal workfunction.


same patients may have been labelled 'hysterics, hypochondriacs or malingerers', Dr Awerbuch suggests that they now be categorised as 'somatising patients'. Whilst this formulation might allow some clinicians to move back inside their particular 'comfort zone', it may also mean that their patients are denied proper diagnosis and treatment. The specific examples of 'non-disease' and 'somatisation' provided by Dr Awerbuch are rather a mixed bag and deserving of further comment. His warning on the clinical misinterpretation of abnormalities frequently found in various imaging studies is timely. In the context of chronic spinal pain, the term 'soft tissue injury' is indeed epistemologically unsound. It signifies the state of ignorance of the clinician as to the true pathophysiological diagnosis, but gives no insight into the state ofmind ofthe sufferer. No diagnosis does not imply the presence of non-disease or


Objectives The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of Ba Duan Jin, a kind of traditional Chinese heath-care Qigong, for reducing blood pressure in hypertensive type II diabetic patients. Methods One hundred eighteen hypertensive type II diabetic outpatients were screened, and 78 eligible participants voluntarily enrolled in the study. Age- and sex- matched participants (aged 45-64 years) were randomly assigned to four groups. Group 1 (n = 20)received Ba Duan Jin intervention, Group 2 (n = 20), Group 3 (n = 19)received conventional walking or resistance training as the active comparators, and Group 4 (n = 19)served as control group. All participants were taking oral diabetes medication, and were asked to maintain their conventional diabetes care, including medication, diet, and exercise, during the study. Under the direction of certified instructor, participants of Group1 and Group2 performed Ba Duan Jin or resistance training for 30 minutes (30 minutes after lunch), 3 times a week for12 weeks. Meanwhile, participants of Group3 and Group4 walked or rested for 30min with the same music rhythm. Physical and hematologic measures were assessed before and after 12-week intervention. Results There were significant improvements in Group1 and Group2 of metabolic syndrome, including weight, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Apolipoprotein A1 and total cholesterol, as well as blood pressures. The improvements of Group1 were significantly higher than Group2, systolic pressure (-14.4 + /-2.3 mm Hg, -10.4 + /-2.5 mm Hg, respectively, P < 0.0001) and diastolic pressure (-10.6 + /-1.9 mm Hg, -7.4 + /-1.6 mm Hg, respectively, P < 0.01). While there were not significant improvements in Group3 (P > 0.05) and Group4 (P > 0.05). Conclusions 12-week intervention of Ba Duan Jin resulted in significant improvement in blood lipids and bloodpressure. These results suggest that BaDuan Jin may be an effective complementary therapy for hypertensive adults with type II diabetes.


Abstract—This paper presents an analytical study on the behavior of reinforced concrete walls with rectangular cross section. Several experiments on such walls have been selected to be studied. Database from various experiments were collected and nominal shear wall strengths have been calculated using formulas, such as those of the ACI (American), NZS (New Zealand), Mexican (NTCC), and Wood and Barda equations. Subsequently, nominal shear wall strengths from the formulas were compared with the ultimate shear wall strengths from the database. These formulas vary substantially in functional form and do not account for all variables that affect the response of walls. There is substantial scatter in the predicted values of ultimate shear strength. Two new semi empirical equations are developed using data from tests of 57 walls for transitions walls and 27 for slender walls with the objective of improving the prediction of peak strength of walls with the most possible accurate.


The authors study the evolution of a-CdTe:O samples with thermal annealing using XRD, RS, AES and ESCA techniques. The final compound mixture is quantified. All results obtained agree with the Cd-Te-O ternary phase diagram.


Cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in the classical pathway of bile acids synthesis in liver and is crucial for maintaining lipid homeostasis. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) and α1-fetoprotein transcription factor (FTF) are two major transcription factors driving CYP7A1 promoter activity in hepatocytes. Previous researches have shown that Prospero-related homeobox (Prox1) directly interacts with both HNF4α and FTF and potently co-represses CYP7A1 transcription and bile acid synthesis through unidentified mechanisms. In this work, mechanisms involved in Prox1-mediated co-repression were explored by identifying Prox1-associated proteins using immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry (IP-MS) methodology. Multiple components of the epigenetically repressive lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1)/nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylase (NuRD) complex, most notably LSD1 and histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), were found to be associated with Prox1 and GST pulldown assay demonstrated that Prox1 directly interacts with LSD1. Sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that Prox1 co-localizes with HNF4α, LSD1 and HDAC2 on CYP7A1 promoter in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, by using ChIP assay on HepG2 cells with endogenous Prox1 knocked down by RNA interference, Prox1 was shown to recruit LSD1 and HDAC2 onto CYP7A1 promoter and cause increased H3K4 demethylation. Finally, bile acids treatment of HepG2 cells, which significantly repressed CYP7A1 transcription, resulted in increased Prox1 and LSD1/NuRD complex occupancy on CYP7A1 promoter with a concurrent increase in H3K4 demethylation and H3/H4 deacetylation. These results showed that Prox1 interacts with LSD1 to recruit the repressive LSD1/NuRD complex to CYP7A1 promoter and co-represses transcription through epigenetic mechanisms. In addition, such Prox1-mediated epigenetic repression is involved in the physiologically essential negative feedback inhibition of CYP7A1 transcription by bile acids.


Implications of the (partial) feasibility of spectral factorability of two-dimensions (2D) parahermitian polynomial matrices, nonnegative on the unit bidisc, are explored. Specifically, we consider three issues connected with the problem of spectral factorization in two dimensions and investigate their relationship in the light of the 2D spectral factorability result mentioned. These are the extendability of 2D positive definite correlation sequences from a finite section of them, the network theoretic interpretations of parameterizations of extensions along with maximum entropy extension and finally the stochastic realization problem in 2D. The intent is not so much to present solutions but exposition of the issues.


After the guardrails are designed, the structural adequacy and safety criteria are determined by the relevant standards and full-scale crash tests. One of the widely used standards is European Norm 1317 (EN1317). Guardrail systems generally consist of rails and posts. The guardrails are more rigid around the posts, which are mounted on the ground or embedded in soil at certain intervals. Therefore, it is important for driver/passenger and roadside safety to determine the most critical point in terms of structural and safety performance and design according to the most unfavorable situation. With this motivation, in this study, the effect of different impact points on the structural and safety performance of the H1W4 guardrail was investigated by finite element (FE) analysis. For this purpose, first of all, the finite element models of the H1W4-A system were calibrated and validated with real crash test data. Then, with the help of the validated models, analyses were completed for different impact points as 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 meters with a half-meter difference for the standard 2-meter post spacing. In the light of the measured safety parameters such as Acceleration Severity Index (ASI), Theoretical Head Impact Velocity (THIV) and structural performance criteria such as working width (W) and exit angle (α), the critical impact point for the guardrail was determined. Contrary to what is generally known, crashing vehicles into flexible points (0.5 and 1.0 m) rather than impacting rigid points (1.5 and 2.0 m) creates a more negative situation in crash tests.


Current motion tables can hardly exhibit the capabilities of positioning with nanometer precision and carrying heavy loads simultaneously. This is mainly because that the driver used to drive the table cannot fulfill the requirements needed for driving an ultra precision system without sacrificing the power it can offer. In this research, the concept of a hybrid driver is introduced and tested. This driver is basically a combination of a linear amplifier and an on-off large power supply. Although there are still some defects need to be overcome, preliminary experimental tests have shown that this kind of driver does have potential to carry heavy loads to do fast and long distance positioning with nanometer precision and in-position vibration.


Genomic DNA contains many higher-order structural deviations from the Watson-Crick global average. The massive expansion and hypermethylation of the duplex triplet repeat (CCG)(n)(CGG)(n) has characteristic higher-order structures that are associated with the fragile X syndrome. We have used luminescent mineral nanoparticles of protein-sized cadmium sulfide in optical assays to detect anomalous DNA structures. The photoluminescence of these particles is sensitive to the presence and nature of adsorbates. We previously found that our nanoparticles bind the fragile X repeat well but do not bind to normal double-helical DNA. In this study, we have determined that these particles are also able to detect the hypermethylated forms of these triplet repeats. Therefore, these nanoparticles may form the basis for future optical assays of higher-order DNA structures, especially those associated with human disease.


This study was undertaken to characterise patients without overt heart failure and with a left ventricular ejection fraction > or = 40% 2-7 days following an acute myocardial infarction. Patients with an ejection fraction > or = 40% (n = 868) had a lower prevalence of anterior myocardial infarction (p < 0.001) and lower levels of N-terminal pro-ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide) (p < 0.001) than those with ejection fraction < 40% (n = 305). Patients with ejection fraction > or = 40% had smaller left ventricular volume and mass (p < 0.001). Pro-ANP levels did not correlate significantly with left ventricular volume or ejection fraction in this group. Among patients with ejection fraction < 40%; statistically significant correlations between pro-ANP levels and both ejection fraction and left ventricular endsystolic volume were found. 64% and 61% of patients in the two groups were given thrombolytic treatment. In this study, most patients with acute myocardial infarction had an ejection fraction > or = 40%. Pro-ANP levels were not correlated with the ejection fraction or left ventricular volume. Approximately two thirds of the patients received thrombolytic treatment.


Electroless plating process as a solution deposition method is a viable means of preparing conductive metal films on non-conducting substrates through chemical reactions. In the present study, the preparation and prop-erties of electroless Ni-plating on flexible silicone rubber are described. The process has been performed using a conventional Ni(P) chemical bath. Additives and complexing agents such as ammonium chloride and glycine were added and the reaction pH was controlled by NaOH aqueous solution. Ni deposition rate and crystallinity have been found to vary with pH and temperature of the plating bath. It was shown that Ni-films having the high crystallinity, enhanced adhesion and optimum electric conductivity were formed uniformly on silicone rubber substrates under pH 7 at 70 o C. The conductive Ni-plated silicone rubber showed a high electromagnetic interference shielding effect in the 400 MHz-1 GHz range.


Anatomically the female pelvis because of its reproductive function is broader than that of the male. The female, being genetically shorter than the male, has a shorter femur which, combined with the broad pelvis, results in a comparatively smaller collo-diaphyseal angle than the male. When relevant literature was reviewed mixed results were seen which appear to have been settled by this study. By the adoption of anatomical landmarks for measuring the angle as against the conventional methods this study guarantees comparable results.


Recently, researchers have recognised the benefits of learning from biological development in order to engineer self-organizing solutions to problems. Building upon previous work, this paper explores the application of the developmental metaphor to the problem of controlling single and multicellular development. In this paper, a summary of experiments performed using a multicellular test-bed model of biological development, the Evolutionary Developmental System (EDS), is presented. The EDS is shown to successfully evolve genetic regulatory networks that specify and control the behaviour of single cells and the construction of 3D multicellular geometric morphologies to explore self-organization and phenomena akin to biological cell differentiation in multicellular development.


Neural stem cell (NSC) engraftment therapies show increasing promise as potential cures for several of the diseases of the central nervous system. Traditionally, functional improvements after NSC engraftment have been attributed to replacement of lost neurons and astrocytes, remyelination and support of adjacent cells at risk. How grafted NSCs and their progeny integrate into recipient brain tissue and functionally interact with host cells is as yet not fully understood. In this thesis we have investigated the early and beneficial interactions between grafted NSCs and neural host cells. Initially the use of organotypic striatal slice cultures as an ex vivo experimental model to study integration of NSCs grafted to striatal tissue was evaluated. Using this model we recognized that NSC engraftment had a positive impact on the host tissue estimated by reductions of host cell astrogliosis, apoptosis and necrosis. Growth factor overexpression and serum free culturing conditions affected both the differentiation of the exogenous NSCs as well as their interactions with the host. We observed that one of the first and essential ways in which grafted murine as well as human NSCs integrate functionally into host neural circuitry and affect host cells, even before consummation of neuronal differentiation, is via gap-junctional coupling. In addition to providing a potential template for subsequent mature electrical coupling, the gap junctions permit exogenous NSCs to exchange ions and molecules with host cells and participate in host network activity, including synchronized calcium transients in fluctuating networks. In both murine and human NSCs grafted to slice cultures and rodent models of neurodegeneration, gap junction formation was associated with the rescue of host cells. Both in vitro and in vivo the beneficial actions of the NSCs were abrogated by suppressing gap junction formation and function via pharmacologic and/ or RNA-inhibition strategies. After mechanical injury to the host tissue and successive NSC engraftment the expression of connexins, the substrate for gap junction formation, changed significantly in both graft and host cells. The temporal connexin expression pattern suggested that a window of opportunity for successful host cell rescue by added NSCs exists. Finally we show that controlled hypoxic preconditioning of NSCs prior to engraftment is a reliable and clinically relevant method to increase NSC hemichannel expression and function and thereby improve the engrafted NSCs' ability to interact with and potentially rescue host cells at risk. ISBN 978-91-7457-046-5


Successful implementation of Information Systems requires user acceptance. The old approach of adapting users to the system is no longer acceptable as more middle and senior professionals and managers are becoming system users. Due to the increasing people cost component of systems implementation, there has been a recognition that the human-computer interface must be easier to learn to use and recall for the individual who is both a novice and discretionary computer user.
From the cognitive psychology literature, various principles can be applied to the interface design to improve learning and recall. These principles can be used by interface designers to improve the usability of the human-computer interface. Models of human-computer interaction have been devised by other researchers. However, to date there has been little available in the way of satisfactory methodologies or tools to allow designers to measure practically how an interface implementation performs with respect to both learnability and subsequent recall.
This thesis develops a framework for testing human-computer interface learning. The framework differs from previous attempts in that it defines a new criteria for quantifying human-computer learning and recall, as well as providing a simple and effective tool for use by designers to determine such learnability metrics during the design process. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of the framework, it is used to experimentally test an original prototype interface design which attempts to improve human learning speed and memory retention using elaborative learning techniques and the "generation effect". The framework was able to measure significant differences between interfaces with respect to recall performance, and has demonstrated its utility as a contribution to the field of interface usability evaluation.


This review article aims to reveal the meaning and importance of economic evaluation in Korean mental health sector. The global burden of neuropsychiatric disorders, as measured by loss of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), is estimated very high, irrespective of low mortality. There are several methods for such economic evaluation, including cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), cost-utility analysis (CUA), and cost-benefit analysis (CBA), but there is still a paucity of such studies in the mental health sector. Economic evaluations of mental health in Korea can provide a rational basis to plan a national health policy regarding the global burden of diseases caused by psychiatric disorders.


We show how methods of algebraic geometry can produce criteria for the identifiability of specific tensors that reach beyond the range of applicability of the celebrated Kruskal criterion. More specifically, we deal with the symmetric identifiability of symmetric tensors in Sym$^4(\mathbb{C}^{n+1})$, i.e., quartic hypersurfaces in a projective space $\mathbb{P}^n$, that have a decomposition in 2n+1 summands of rank 1. This is the first case where the reshaped Kruskal criterion no longer applies. We present an effective algorithm, based on efficient linear algebra computations, that checks if the given decomposition is minimal and unique. The criterion is based on the application of advanced geometric tools, like Castelnuovo's lemma for the existence of rational normal curves passing through a finite set of points, and the Cayley-Bacharach condition on the postulation of finite sets. In order to apply these tools to our situation, we prove a reformulation of these results, hereby extending classical results such as Castelnuovo's lemma and the analysis of Geramita, Kreuzer, and Robbiano, "Cayley-Bacharach schemes and their canonical modules", Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 339:443-452, 1993.


The matrix rectifier described in this paper can realizes three-phase AC voltages to a DC output voltage and can work as a power factor correction converter. The paper presents an SPWM control strategy based on virtual DC link for AC/DC matrix rectifier with high frequency link. The matrix converter in the paper can be equivalent to a virtual rectifier and a virtual inverter. The proposed control method has merits of simple control and easy realization. Also this modulation strategy has larger voltage utility. Finally MATLAB simulation verifies the feasibility of this modulation method.


Both faculty and students in the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University participated in a study to identify their beliefs about what clinical instructors should do to be effective and efficient teachers. In the first stage of a two-stage study, dental faculty members were asked to write out in as much detail as possible what things they believed clinical instructors should do when teaching. Similarly, junior and senior dental students were asked to describe what clinical instructor behaviors they believed enhanced their learning. All the descriptions were read and summarized, and a checklist of the behaviors was constructed. In the second stage both faculty and students were asked to respond to the importance of each behavior. The responses were factor analyzed, and the most important specific behaviors were identified. Five of the factors seem to describe dimensions of teaching of special importance for dental clinical faculty.


In this overview talk, I give highlights of the first three years of the LHC operations at high energy, spanning heavy-ion physics, standard model measurements, and searches for new particles, which culminated in the discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2012. I'll discuss what we found about the properties of the new particle in 10 months since the discovery and then talk about the future LHC program and preparations to the 2015 run at the center-of-mass energy of ~13 TeV. These proceedings are meant to be a snapshot of the LHC results as of May 2013 - the time of the conference. Many of the results shown in these proceedings have been since updated (sometimes significantly) just 4 months thereafter, when these proceedings were due. Nevertheless, keeping this writeup in sync with the results shown in the actual talk has some historical value, as, for one, it tells the reader how short is the turnaround time to update the results at the LHC. To help an appreciation of this fact, I briefly summarize the main changes between May and September 2013 in the Appendix.


A simple numerical technique (based on polynomial fitting) is presented which allows to determine the poles of a general low-pass, frequency asymmetric, prototype filter (both of even or odd order) with equiripple Cebycheff passband response. The zeros of the transfer function can be arbitrarily specified in the complex plane (however they must be symmetric with respect to the imaginary axis). Once the poles are known, the synthesis of the filter is carried out through the chain matrix polynomials, obtaining a general cross-coupled structure. As an example of application, the synthesis of a group delay equalized filters with a prescribed transmission zero in the lower stop band is presented.


The prostate is a small exocrine gland in men responsible for production of the liquid component of the seminal fluid. In North America, prostate cancer accounts for over 300,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths each year and it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Low-dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy is gaining interest as a viable treatment option for prostate cancer due to its low side effects and high benefits. The present manual approach for brachytherapy needle insertion and the inherent flexibility of the needles make it extremely difficult to achieve accurate and consistent dosimetry. In this paper, we present a new 5 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) manipulator capable of performing percutaneous needle insertion. The manipulator can perform orientation, insertion and rotation of the needle and linear motion of the plunger to drop radioactive seeds at targeted locations. The manipulator is an integral part of a system utilizing a mechanically rotated side-fire transducer to create 3D ultrasound images of the organ and utilizing 3D SLICER software to visualize those images. Experiments conducted in agar phantoms reveal an average RMS targeting error of 1.45mm at an average insertion depth of 75.78mm proving the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed robotic system for percutaneous needle insertion.


This paper presents a unique design concept for a dual-frequency,electronically steerable, MM-wave phased array antenna using Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology. Such an antenna design will be found most attractive for satellite communication and missile seeker applications, where size, weight and power consumption are the most stringent requirements. The block diagram of a dual-frequency (20 GHz/30 GHz), electronically steerable, phased array antenna using MMIC technology is shown in Figure 1. Specific details on the critical RF components are also shown in Figure 1. Because of the location of the radiating elements on the hemispherical surface, the antenna is inherently capable of providing electronic scanning over 360 deg. in AZ-plane and over plus/minus 60 deg. in EL-plane. This electronically steerable phased array antenna will generate multiple beams in the AZ-plane with consistent bandwidth and pattern symmetry. This design exploits true integration of printed circuit antenna technology, GaAs active device technology, MM-wave microstrip technology and printed circuit time delay phase shifting element technology. This design employs microstrip periodic structure transmission line sections as time delay phasing elements, which requires no input power. The printed circuit microstrip line sections will be used as feed networks. Two distinct dual- frequency, antenna element fabrication techniques, namely, stacked-patch element (Figure 2a) and collocated, interleaved-patch element (Figure 2b), were investigated in terms of cost, size, performance and complexity. Tradeoff studies performed seem to indicate that stacked-patch element approach will offer minimum size and weight. The physical dimensions shown in Figure 1 and 2 are computed for 20 GHz and 30 GHz operations. All the electronics, control circuits and RF MMIC circuits can be located within the hemispherical structure. The input power, overall system size and weight will depend on the antenna gain requirement, inter-element spacing, number of elements and phase shifter types. It is important to mention that delay line phasing networks using printed circuit periodic structures will provide optimum flexibility in phasing of the antenna elements with minimum loss. The proposed antenna architecture for a dual-frequency operation using a common aperture and MMIC technology seems to offer an antenna system with minimum cost, size, weight and power consumption.


Background Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM; TEM International GmbH, Munich, Germany) is a global coagulation test that guides evidence-based platelet transfusion in trauma patients. We evaluated ROTEM parameters for predicting mid-term (five days) platelet transfusion in trauma patients. Methods Maximum clot firmness and clot amplitudes after 5, 10, and 15 mins (A5, A10, and A15, respectively) of fibrin-specific ROTEM (FIBTEM) and extrinsically activated ROTEM (EXTEM) were retrospectively collected from 82 hospitalized, stable, non-bleeding trauma patients after successful initial resuscitation. Platelet-specific ROTEM (PLTEM) was calculated by subtracting FIBTEM from EXTEM. Platelet transfusions were reviewed for five days after ROTEM. Results The areas under the curve for FIBTEM, EXTEM, and PLTEM predicting platelet concentrate transfusion of >12 U at mid-term were 0.915–0.923, 0.878–0.896, and 0.551–0.735, respectively. FIBTEM and EXTEM parameters were comparable to those of fibrinogen, fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products, D-dimer, and antithrombin III. Strong correlations (r>0.7) were noted between platelet count and EXTEM (A5, A10, and A15) or PLTEM (A5), platelet function (per platelet count) and EXTEM (A10 and A15), and fibrinogen levels and all FIBTEM parameters. Conclusions FIBTEM and EXTEM can reliably predict mid-term platelet transfusion in trauma patients. FIBTEM, EXTEM, and PLTEM parameters correlate with conventional coagulation tests (platelets and fibrinogen).


In high-resoln. NMR, the transfer of longitudinal magnetization from one spin to another (A -> X) under the effect of cross relaxation NOE is often complicated by spin-diffusion pathways through other spins K in the vicinity (e.g., A -> K -> X). It is shown how these undesirable pathways can be quenched by manipulating the magnetization of the two sites A and X with doubly selective inversion pulses. The methods are illustrated by applications to Overhauser effects in the palindromic DNA d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2, which forms a B-type double helix. [on SciFinder (R)]


Nowadays, social media is quite famous for promotional media. Social media is now a business land for someone to promote and sell products, goods or services to social media users known as an online shop. The use of endorsements is one of the creative strategies in advertising that online shop sellers often use to introduce and disseminate product information that is owned widely and quickly. This research will focus on the influence of using endorsements on the sale of online shop businesses. This study examines the usefulness of endorsements to increase online shop sales for Tokikubytata. The research method used is descriptive with a qualitative data approach obtained from consumers and online shop owners through written interviews with questionnaires. The research process has several stages, starting from reading books about marketing endorsements, literature and research supporting references, understanding research backgrounds, collecting data, conducting a series of qualitative data analysis processes, and conducting written interviews and field observations. The result of this study show that endorsement is very influential in increasing the number of followers and buyers for Tokikubytata. Endorsement will help in increasing consumer confidence in the products marketed by Tokikubytata. Phenomenological studies in this study are a method used to explore that the phenomenon of endorsement can increase the number of followers for online shop.
Keywords: endorsement, Tokikubytata, online shop


This paper surveys the current debate on the morphome, drawing attention to underexplored theoretical possibilities and underexploited empirical tools. We distinguish three related but separate claims made by proponents of the morphome: that there exist morphological patterns mapping arbitrary sets of exponenda onto arbitrary sets of exponents; that such patterns do not suffer from a learnability disadvantage; and that all patterns of exponence are mediated by purely morphological categories belonging to an autonomous level of linguistic representation. We review the problems caused by the lack of positive criteria for morphomicity and by disagreements over the application of negative criteria. We present arguments for a learning bias in favour of realization patterns involving natural classes, and we call for greater use of wug-tests and artificial grammar learning experiments in research on this question. Competing morphological theories turn out to be exhibit a surprising amount of empirical overlap, and their implications for the learnability of morphomic patterns are less straightforward than usually assumed.


Using the IEEE 802.15.4 could be notice in various areas such as hospitals, agricultural, industrial, as well as smart homes. All the above-mentioned areas require devices that have a mechanism that consume low energies and low costs for communication. Thus, the purpose of fulfilling the needed requirements, IEEE 802.15.4 could be seen as effective and commercial solution. Various factors exist for studying the efficiency related to the wireless networks. Emulation could be define as a toll of high importance for designing and evaluating the implementation and the efficiency related to protocols, while the majority of real applications are considered to be of high difficulty with regard to the real applications. Concerning the presented paper, the main aim has been showing performance results, which are relates to IEEE 802.15.4 through use of octave simulations. The main task of the presented paper is analyzing the protocol's performance in various conditions as well as having the ability of checking the performance with regard to reliability in real-time. One of the aims of this study is analyzing the performance parameters, that are energy consumption rate, packet received ration as well as the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). All of the mentioned parameters studied in indoor and outdoor conditions the purpose of verifying the performance of the wireless protocol. The presented paper focus on 2 nodes in for the peer-to-peer communications, where one of the nodes acts as base-station or coordinator, while the other node is considered as router. The router include Xbee with sensors and Arduino, while the coordinator consist of Xbee receiver and adapter.


In this work we study some aspects of the Rastall gravity, it being the thermodynamics consistency of the model which the core of this paper; for this purpose we will consider the dynamical equations of Rastall model in a flat FLRW geometry. Under a holographic description it can be seen that this scenario for gravity contributes to the energy density of the fluid with an extra term that can be related to the deceleration parameter, providing a way to estimate the value of the Rastall parameter, termed as , at present time. By adopting a specific Ansatz for the term it is possible to determine that the behaviour of the Hubble parameter in Rastall gravity has a similar aspect to the CDM model at late times, but at thermodynamics level differs from the standard cosmology since the adiabatic behaviour for the entropy depends on the value of the parameter state, . However, the entropy has a positive growth and simultaneously its convexity condition can be guaranteed; when other contributions are considered such as matter production and chemical potential, the adiabatic expansion cannot be achieved, but the theory keeps its thermodynamics consistency. The chemical potential seems to have an interesting role since at the effective level we could have a cosmological constant or phantom expansion in the model.


A draft architecture of a software platform is proposed to support software
 components interoperability in energy production systems. The scope of the
 platform is to address the sustainability of energy production and use
 efficiency. A first prototype of this platform is under development in the
 framework of the French ANR Plate-Form(E)3 project. Interoperability issues
 have been faced to design the platform. Best available candidate technologies
 for implementing the platform are also discussed. One architecture for facing
 the basic interoperability issues is also presented. A real industrial
 application case example is proposed to show the potential use of the
 proposed architecture.


Student retention is an issue of perennial interest to educational institutions and is frequently a focus of pedagogical research and evaluation of programming, although some recent literature on factors affecting college student retention recommended attention to academic preparedness and student engagement as key variables influencing college student retention. This study explored the barriers and facilitators of retention and attrition of Helping Youth Pursue Education (HYPE) program participants in regular college programming, and the role of service supports and mentorship in improving the college experience of youth from underserved neighbourhoods. The qualitative research focused on how gains in interpersonal and problem-solving skills and connecting with one or more mentors at the College related to student success. The analysis revealed that, while the current program delivery model has resulted in steady improvement in outcomes relating to application, admission and student success for those who are "ready," more could likely be done to improve participant experience and outcomes. Recommendations for improvement focused on strategies for the early identification of HYPE program participants likely to enter post-secondary education, faculty and staff development to enhance program delivery, and consideration of other program amendments to improve outcomes. Further work is needed to explore reasons why students do not follow-through on their learning plans, and to find ways to encourage them to do so.


Fat-containing lesions of endocrine organs are rare. Distinguishing lipoadenomas of the thyroid gland from lipoadenomas of parathyroid glands can be challenging during intraoperative consultation. Our patient had a well-circumscribed tan-pink nodule present on the surface of the thyroid gland, exhibiting abundant fat interspersed between the cells, with ample eosinophilic cytoplasm arranged in trabeculae and solid sheets. Immunohistochemistry showed strong positivity for thyroglobulin confirming the origin of the nodule to be thyroid. Only few cases of lipoadenomas of the thyroid and parathyroid have been reported in the literature. There is considerable histologic overlap between the two, making it difficult to determine the site of origin. We briefly discuss the features that may be helpful in this distinction.


Big data technology has been widely used in entrepreneurial research in recent years. To explore the development trend and fundamental characteristics of big data in entrepreneurship (BDIE) research, we conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of BDIE based on 541 publications between 1993 and 2020 from Web of Science. On the one hand, this paper focuses on some essential characteristics of the BDIE publications, such as categories, citation, H-index, and the most cited publications. On the other hand, visual scientific maps are presented by bibliometric tools, i.e., Bibliometrix, VOS viewer, and CorTexT Manager, showing relationships between publications and knowledge structure in BDIE research. Finally, hot topics in current studies, knowledge, and limitations are discussed, guiding scholars to explore new research directions. This paper provides a relatively broad perspective for applying BDIE research, which contributes to understanding the evolution of BDIE research and inspires scholars in related fields.

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Abstract We have measured the IMF of the inner Galaxy using ~3000 OGLE-III microlensing events. Each event's timescale depends on both the lens mass, and the velocities and distances of the lens and source. New dynamical models were used provide the distribution of distances and velocities, and thereby measure the lens mass distribution. Using a power-law or log-normal parameterisation the resultant IMF is indistinguishable from local measurements by Kroupa or Chabrier respectively. The lenses lie in the inner Galaxy where the stars are mostly ~10 Gyr old and formed on a fast α-element enhanced timescale thereby constraining IMF variability with the properties of the collapsing gas cloud. Furthermore microlensing measures the stellar mass budget, including dark remnants, to low mass. Stars contribute most of the mass in the inner Galaxy with a low fraction remaining for dark matter. Reconciling this with local dark matter estimates requires a core or shallow cusp in its profile.


UNLABELLED
To typify São Paulo State sugarcane spirits, 37 chemical compounds were analyzed in 81 Brazilian sugarcane spirits (cachaça), which were produced in different cities from São Paulo State. Among these samples, 56 were distilled in copper alembics, and the other 25 were distilled in steel columns. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were performed with both chemical data sets. The chemical profiles of the cachaças distilled in the column apparatus formed 4 specific clusters, which correspond to 4 distinct geographic regions of São Paulo State. For the cachaças that were distilled in copper alembics, 2 cachaça clusters were formed; however, no correlation between their respective chemical similarities and geographical origins was observed.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
This study aims to differentiate the many sugarcane spirits that are produced throughout Brazil's São Paulo State using chemical analysis with chemometric tools. This contribution is expected to improve the production process of cachaças, map the regions that produce the best cachaças, and assure consumers about a product's provenance.


A fermentation process for production of super coiled plasmid DNA in E. coli for use as a DNA vaccine was developed. In the process a feed-back control nutrient feeding strategy based on pH and DO was used to regulate the cell growth rate by controlling the interactivity of the nutrient feed rate, pH and DO. The process increased the total yield of plasmid DNA by approximately 4 fold as compared to batch fermentation. The final cell yields of the process reached 56 gl −1 dry cell weights (OD550 nm 112) within 23 h. A plasmid DNA of 5.6 g l −1 was obtained by using an alkaline lyses method.


Background: Patients face complex treatment choices with a range of benefits/risks. Researchers seek new biomarkers to predict individualized risks/benefits. It is essential that biomarkers yield information useful to patients. Our prior research in metastatic breast cancer showed choice-based conjoint (CBC) allowed patients to express risk-benefit preferences. This study focused on patients with early stage breast cancer who received chemotherapy and quantified relative influence of benefit and specific toxicities on predicted treatment choice for common therapies. Methods: A CBC survey was developed and sent to patients. The survey showed 12 pairs of hypothetical treatment choices based on benefit/risk profiles similar to those of TC, AC, AC®T, and TAC to allow assessment of what drove selections. Choices included benefit (relative risk reduction range: 20%-50%) and likelihood of toxicities including: peripheral neuropathy (PN range: 0%-60% with degrees of severity/duration); congestive heart failure (CHF range: 0%-10%); and clinically relevant infection (CRI range: 5%-25%). Analysis (N = 417) allowed treatment choice prediction for any benefit/toxicity combination. Hypothetical biomarkers were modeled to determine shifts in toxicity/efficacy necessary to change treatment selection. Results: Severity of PN experience had significant influence in decisions. When simply asking patients for perceived impact of previous PN experience on a future decision, the majority who had mild/moderate PN felt a future decision would not be impacted by a similar experience. Conversely, a plurality (47%) who had prior severe PN would be less likely to take similar future treatment. With CBC, we examined the derived influence of risks/benefits on treatment decisions. Based on estimated benefit/risk profiles, 50% selected a regimen similar to TC > AC (22%) > AC→T (16%) > TAC (10%). Incremental benefit had substantial impact on selected regimen. The desire for a given regimen decreased with incremental increase for each toxicity; most dramatically for CHF. Patients with a perception of low recurrence risk had higher preference for a non-anthracycline based profile, while those with higher perceived recurrence risk had higher preference for a combined anthracycline/taxane based profile. Interestingly, PN-naive patients had higher preference for non-taxane based profile, whereas those who had prior PN had higher preference for some taxane-based profiles. With moderate/limited PN, substantially more PN-naive patients avoided a taxane profile (31%) vs. those who had experienced PN (18%). When focusing on likelihood of severe/irreversible PN, there was dramatic shift toward non-taxane based regimens: AC (53%) > TC (23%) > AC→T (20%) > TAC (3%). When modeling impact of biomarkers on therapy selection, as likelihood of PN in taxane profiles increased, the fraction that chose a non-taxane profile increased. As likelihood of CHF in anthracycline-based profile increased, the fraction that chose such a regimen decreased. Conclusion: Patients considered all information about benefit and risks when making treatment choices. The information effective hypothetical biomarkers could add impacted these choices. Personal experience with a given toxicity appeared to impact decision for future therapies. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P6-08-05.


Purpose – Owing to the cable flexibility, it is practically a lot easier to measure the high‐vibration frequencies of the cable than the fundamental vibration frequency. The objective of this study is to present a method to determine the cable tension based on frequency differences so that the effects of cable sag and bending stiffness can be included.Design/methodology/approach – The paper includes theoretical derivation, laboratory study to verify the method and practical application in a real bridge.Findings – It is suggested to measure the high‐vibration frequencies, and to use the vibration frequency difference to determine the fundamental vibration frequency of the cable and then to estimate the cable tension. The reliability of the method is verified by laboratory tests and the method is then applied to determine cable tensions in a real bridge.Originality/value – This paper provides theoretical derivations to demonstrate that under certain conditions, the frequency difference of a cable with sag a...


Interference Alignment (IA) has been considered a promising technique for spectral coexistence of different wireless systems in an underlay cognitive mode. Furthermore, Frequency Packing (FP) can be considered as an important technique for enhancing the spectrum efficiency in spectrum-limited satellite applications. In this paper, we consider a spectral coexistence scenario of a multibeam satellite and a monobeam satellite with the monobeam satellite as primary and the multibeam satellite as secondary. In this context, this paper focuses on examining the effect of FP on the performance of multi-carrier based IA technique. For this purpose, different IA techniques such as coordinated IA, uncoordinated IA and static IA have been considered. The effect of FP on the performance of different IA techniques in the considered scenario is evaluated in terms of system sum rate and primary rate protection ratio. It is shown that the system sum rate increases with the FP factor for all the techniques and the primary rate is perfectly protected with the coordinated IA technique even with dense FP.


The aim of this study was to look for possible gender differences in self-evaluation in adolescence, young adulthood, and full adulthood. Subjects were interviewed at three stages: in adolescence, 8 years, and 15 years later. Hypotheses were: (a) The connection between self-evaluation in adolescence and in adulthood is stronger in girls than in boys. However, for both boys and girls there is a strong connection between young adulthood and full adulthood ("the self-evaluation-triad" hypothesis); (b) The "schooling" factor has a different effect on the self-evaluation triad for boys and girls. Results showed that different psychosocial developmental pathways apply to boys and girls. Also, working girls with a negative self-evaluation in adolescence were more vulnerable to negative self-evaluation in adulthood.


Electoral communications in a digital environment are characterized by a low level of external control, the presence of multimedia opportunities for creating campaign messages, and the viral distribution of information about the candidate and his political program. The digital environment has powerful mobilization potential. This makes it possible to widely use the network opportunities for involving young people in the electoral process. At the same time, qualitatively new conditions are being formed for the implementation of pre-election communication, which is becoming more open, transparent, interactive. Any network user can ask a question, become a member of political discussions, leave comments, express his opinion on the candidate's personal page or on any connected Internet site. Taking into account the opinions of potential voters allows you to adjust the campaign process, make changes and clarifications in the election materials to achieve optimal voting results.In a digital environment, there are more opportunities to control and manipulate the consciousness of the electorate compared to traditional media. The purpose of manipulation is to covertly influence public consciousness, to change the social and behavioral attitudes of potential voters in a direction that is beneficial to the manipulator. Communicative strategy of manipulation is actively used to achieve optimal voting results in election campaigns. The purpose of the manipulation strategy is to covertly influence the public consciousness, to change the social and behavioral attitudes of the electorate in a direction favorable for the manipulator. Manipulation is often accomplished through myth-making. Political myths are capable of introducing into the public consciousness illusory models of the reality. In mythologized political communication knowledge of the world and an understanding of the facts of real life are replaced by images, symbols, fictions and legends. During the elections manipulation is already manifested in the myth that a politician chooses for himself. This is due to the ideological precepts of the leader and his personal characteristics. Representation of a myth is carried out using certain linguistic means and stylistic techniques that perform a manipulative function.The purpose of the study is to determine the manipulative potential of myth-making as a tool for constructing a positive image of a politician during elections, as well as to identify specific signals in the election communication of a politician, which are called "manipulation markers".One of the objectives of the study was to identify ways of representing the main strategies for manipulating electoral communications through myth-making. The strategies for reduction, strategies for increasing and strategies for theatricalization [1, p. 53–54] are analyzed. The study showed that the reduction strategy is represented primarily with the help of the myth of the enemy (about a conspiracy), the increasing strategy with the myth of the hero-savior, and the theatricalization strategy with the myths of the social ideal and of identity (unity).The empirical basis of the study was 142 videos of three candidates for the post of President of the Russian Federation (Pavel Grudinin, Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Ksenia Sobchak) containing elements of mythology. These videos were posted on YouTube video hosting during the 2018 presidential election campaign.The methods used are discourse analysis, content analysis, linguo-ideological and linguo-stylistic analysis of media text. The authors identified lexical, grammatical and stylistic markers of manipulation. These markers can be used by IT specialists in the development of computer software to determine the level of manipulativeness of the pre-election media text. The pilot project of such a software was recently developed by the team of the Laboratory of Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Research of the Siberian Federal University [2]. The authors show that the selection of manipulation markers depends on many factors, which include not only the type of discourse and the scope of the text, but also the subject of the text, the language in which communication is carried out, as well as extralinguistic factors that take into account the type of author, type of addressee, situation, time, place, etc.


Objectives: This study aims to present our mid-term experience of treating chronic iliac or femoral total occlusions via percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Patients and methods: Between January 2017 and August 2019, this single-center, retrospective study included 45 patients (40 males, 5 females; median age 60 years; range, 33 to 81 years) who underwent PTA due to chronic total occlusion. Results: Of the patients, eight had iliac and 37 had superficial femoral artery occlusion. The technical success rate was 95.5% with a mean follow-up period 17.2±0.4 months. Bail-out stenting was required in 10 (22.2%) of the lesions and only seven patients (15.5%) needed percutaneous reintervention at the end of follow-up. Following endovascular interventions, one patient (2.2%) developed seroma, while two (4.4%) developed infections and one (2.2.%) developed a pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery. Three patients (6.6%) underwent femoropopliteal bypass. A total of 42 patients completed the follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a primary patency rate of 83.3% and freedom from reintervention of 95.2% during 17-month follow-up. Conclusion: The endovascular treatment strategy of chronic total occlusions of the iliac and femoral arteries is acceptable with less morbidity and good patency rates. Cardiovascular surgeons should be encouraged in the field of endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial disease including chronic total occlusions.


From stereotypical views of Ireland as a peaceful and 'low crime' society, the media and policy makers now report the worsening of gun crime, in particular crimes of homicide committed by firearm. Despite this sometimes hyperbolic popular commentary, serious and fatal gun crime has indeed increased. In reacting through extraordinary legal measures, the Irish state adopts an unduly narrow perspective, predicated on a rational actor model; what this paper seeks to do is put forward two more profitable and persuasive means of analysis, by focusing on social deprivation and the expression of masculinity.


With the decrease in ideological voter behavior and weakening of party loyalty, voter behavior is gradually turning into a rational-based choice. This transformation changes both individuals' interest in politics and their opinions about politics. The individual does not approach politics emotionally. The individual considers politics as an action based on explicit, documentary, realistic and concrete outcomes. Politics that cannot respond to the expectations created by this situation are faced with a loss of interest and trust. Especially young voters lose their belief that politics is the only tool to solve problems. They are losing hope that it is an institution that can provide solutions to the problems of politics. Therefore, a negative view prevails both in the desire of young voters to take part in politics and in their perceptions about politics. It can be said that one of the main factors in the formation of this view is the language used by politics. This study examines the impact of the conciliatory and confrontational political language on the voters' view of politics. For this purpose, the perceptions of young voters, whose interest, participation and confidence in politics can be said to be the lowest, on politics depending on political discourse were analyzed. Students of Erciyes University Faculty of Communication participated in the study conducted with the survey method. The research identified the factors of confrontational and conciliatory discourse with the exploratory model. In order to examine the effects of these factors on the opinions of the participants about politics, the research model indicating the cause and effect relationship was applied. According to the results of the exploratory factor analysis carried out, while the factors of the conciliatory discourse were identified as "tolerance and common sense", "unifying" and "negotiation", the factors of confrontational discourse were determined as "belittlement and polarization", "threat and blame" and "stigmatization". In the study, it was concluded that the conciliatory wording generally strengthened the positive opinions of the participants about politics.


Zygomycetes cause serious invasive infections, predominantly in immunocompromised and diabetic patients with poor prognoses and limited therapeutic options. We compared the antifungal function of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) against hyphae of Rhizopus oryzae and R. microsporus, the most frequently isolated zygomycetes, with that against the less frequently isolated Absidia corymbifera. We then evaluated the effects of interferon (IFN)- gamma and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), alone or combined, on PMNL antifungal function against these zygomycetes. Both PMNL oxidative burst in response to hyphae and PMNL-induced hyphal damage were significantly lower in response to Rhizopus species than in response to A. corymbifera. Incubation of PMNLs with IFN- gamma and GM-CSF alone or combined for 22 h increased the PMNL-induced hyphal damage of all 3 species. The treatment of PMNLs with the combination of IFN- gamma and GM-CSF significantly increased the release of tumor necrosis factor- alpha in response to R. microsporus and A. corymbifera hyphae. IFN- gamma significantly reduced interleukin-8 release in response to all zygomycetes. Although Rhizopus species demonstrate a decreased susceptibility to the antifungal activity of human PMNLs, in comparison with A. corymbifera, IFN- gamma and GM-CSF augment the hyphal damage of all 3 zygomycetes, suggesting a role for IFN- gamma and GM-CSF in the management of invasive zygomycosis.


Successful exemplars can act as guides to help women navigate environments where they have traditionally been underrepresented. For an exemplar to be a guide, it is important for women to feel similar to the exemplar. When women identify with an exemplar, that person also can become a role model to promote belonging. Because men are overrepresented in many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, we aimed to understand when and why women might identify with a male scientist. Across five experiments, relative to control information, information about constraining masculine stereotypes for men in caretaking roles increased female participants' beliefs that a father and computer scientist had faced bias. Believing this father scientist had encountered mistreatment in turn encouraged feelings of empathy and identification with the scientist. Moreover, teaching women about masculine stereotypes enhanced interest in working with the scientist (Experiments 1b, 3a, and 3b) and attraction to his science and technology focused school (Experiment 3b). Although we did not find that our manipulation directly influenced belonging in STEM, identifying with the father scientist correlated with higher feelings of belonging. Thus, highlighting identity-based struggles (i.e., fatherhood difficulties) may be one strategy to help make male scientists more relatable and approachable. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684320972118


This article examines the performative and paradoxical relationship between masculine opposites—hard and soft, hypermasculinity and hypomasculinity—as presented through the figures of the Wild Man and Wimp. Rather than shifting from hard to soft at different historical moments, as has been argued by scholars such as Susan Jeffords, Fred Pfeil, as well as poet and activist Robert Bly, the article suggests that masculinity is bipolar, simultaneously exhibiting hard and soft modes. Tom Cruise offers a particularly indicative example, moving between hard and soft, Wild Man and Wimp, both on-screen and offscreen. In Magnolia, Cruise's movement from Frank T.J. Mackey's manic misogyny to Jack's emotional hysteria at his father's bedside presents masculinity as a performance, extending past the cinematic stage to his televisual performances to Oprah, Jay Leno, and Matt Lauer. Cruise offers a clear example where movement too far in either direction can undermine the male ''norm,'' yet underscores the bipolar nature of masculinity.


This article concerns the issues surrounding the "Recognition of the Quality of Handicapped Workers" in France, from both applicants" and decision-makers" points of view. While the latter strive to make "handicapped workers" into a sub-category of disabled persons, applicants" positions are often more ambivalent. In speaking of their experience, many of them use the notion of "situation of handicap," a term quite common in current French debates about disability that was not retained in the French law of 2005: even if they are bothered by a functional difficulty in certain professional situations, many still do not think of themselves as disabled persons. To understand these differences, we propose returning to the foundations of French employment policy in favour of disabled persons and exploring the variety of issues that dominate claims to recognition, without forgetting the essential interface role played by professionals in the field of disability. Our analysis is based on a field study on both sides of the counter at Departmental Centres for Handicapped Persons, with people working in the institutions and those requesting recognition of the quality of disabled worker.


Pregnant women of advanced maternal age (AMA) are vulnerable to exposure to the surrounding environment. Assessment of trace elements in pregnant women living in specific areas is important for biomonitoring. However, exposure levels and variation patterns during pregnancy remains controversial and attracts extensive public concern. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate exposure of 18 toxic and/or essential trace elements in maternal plasma and in paired cord plasma during pregnancy at AMA. A total of 48 pregnant women of AMA were recruited in Peking University Third Hospital from 2018 to 2021. Eighteen elements found in maternal plasma during the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd trimester of pregnancy and paired cord plasma were measured by 7700x ICP-MS (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) and Elan DRC type II ICP-MS (The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Waltham, MA USA). Concentrations of Pb, Se, Fe, Zn, and Mo all decreased during pregnancy, while Cu increased. Interestingly, concentrations of Rb decreased initially but then increased. Elements as Al, Co, Se, Cu, and Ni showed significantly lower levels in cord than in maternal plasma, while elements as Sr, Fe, Rb, Mn and Zn displayed significantly higher levels in cord than in maternal plasma. Moreover, positively- interacted clusters were found in Ni-Co-Cu-Al-Rb-Zn and Zn-Mn-Al-Pb in maternal blood. Similar positively-interacted clusters were found in Zn-Ni-Co, Zn-Ni-Fe, Mn-Al-Pb, Fe-Pb-Mn, Fe-Ni-Cu, and Rb-Cu-Sb-Fe-Mn in cord plasma. Furthermore, correlations between paired maternal and cord blood samples for As, Sr, and Mo were statistically significant, indicating that the fetus burden may reflect maternal exposure to some extent. Admittedly, levels of toxic and essential elements in our cohort study were comparatively lower than those in the scientific literature.