: Due to liver amounts of blood supply through the hepatic artery and portal vein, digestion and detoxification it is prone to various diseases including benign and malignant. Objective: To examine the characteristics of various liver lesions by using triple phase CT as diagnostic modality, to distinguish from benign malignant hepatic lesions and to calculate the effectiveness by associating triple-phase CT findings with histopathological, clinical or postoperative findings. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and duration: In the Radiology department of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology (CPEIC), Multan for one year duration from October 2017 to October 2018. Methods: A total of 100 patients were included in this cross-sectional study in the Department of Radiology. A triple-phase CECT was performed in all patients and their accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results: Triple phase CT is an excellent diagnostic method for the characterization and better evaluation of hepatic masses with 91.3% sensitivity, 97.8% specificity, 91.3% PPV and 97.3% PPV. 8% (p value <0.001, kappa value 0.847). Malignant hepatic lesions were 93%, 93.3%, 92.5%, PPV and NPV, 94.9% and 90.2%, respectively, by triple-phase CT, respectively. Conclusion: High-precision triple-phase CT useful for reliable diagnosis of liver damage. It has an indispensable role in the characterization, evaluation and differentiation of benign and malignant liver lesions that help to guide the appropriate treatment plan with adequate surgical classification. It is also useful to reach a diagnosis of primary malignancy in multiple hepatic metastases of unknown primary origin.


Secondary fracture healing is known to be accelerated by the process of periosteal callus formation that can be induced by flexible fracture fixation in connection with loading of the injured extremity. The purpose of this study was to compare the healing of experimental fractures of long bones in sheep under early weightbearing with that of fractures under delayed, steadily increasing weightbearing. Differences in the quality of fracture healing were described by biomechanical (rigidity of fracture, indentation stiffness of callus) and histologic methods. Prevention from early, full weightbearing resulted in a higher flexural rigidity of the fracture, an increased mechanical stiffness of the callus tissue, and an enhanced bone formation at the healing front. Although early loading of a fresh fracture initiated an enormous amount of periosteal callus, the healing of the osteotomy was significantly delayed, and the quality of the newly formed tissue was reduced as compared with fractures with a reduced loading situation. A reduction of load transfer by delaying full weightbearing is advantageous for the healing of fractures stabilized with flexible fixation systems.


Turbo-vapor compressors (TVCs) are used to create a vacuum pressure in the evaporator of a novel combined cycle for electricity and freshwater production invented by Amin Mobarak. A novel design conceived of a TVC is introduced to increase the efficiency, allowable mass flow rate and reduce costs and losses. The system consists of a single axial compressor rotor followed by a single axial turbine rotor, which drives the upstream compressor, allowing high flow rates. A quasi-3D design is carried out for the TVC to calculate the flow velocity components and angles and ensure that the turbo-vapor turbine work is equal to the turbo-vapor compressor work. A preliminary design of the low-pressure power turbine (LPT) is done to examine the size and number of stages. The (LPT) size is twice the size of TVC at typical cycle operating conditions. A three-stage design is the most appropriate choice for the number of stages. It satisfies the accelerating relative flow condition at the last stage over a range of flow coefficients. A quasi-3D design is carried out for the LPT's last stage to ensure a multi-stage power turbine's safe design.


We demonstrated that the ball-milled slag-SiC mixture is an effective catalyst to grow pyrrolic nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs) by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) method. N-MWCNTs synthesized at 800 °C, 850 °C and 900 °C were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TEM characterizations revealed the presence of a bamboo-like structure, a typical feature of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes. The presence of nitrogen was confirmed by the N1s XPS spectrum. Furthermore, a deconvolution of the N1s spectra revealed the presence of N-pyrrolic defects. This nitrogen functionality is investigated concerning the presence of silicon carbide material. Giant nanotubes with large diameters were obtained when SiC was added to the slag to be used as a substrate for N-MWCNTs synthesis. From Raman spectroscopy, the appearance of the D-band was observed, indicating the presence of topological defects that were also observed by TEM. XRD and TEM characterizations demonstrated the presence of Fe3C and α-Fe nanoparticles. The N-MWCNTs fabricated here could be used into (electro)catalytic applications or for reinforcing ceramic nanomaterial or polymers.


Gastrointestinal endoscopy has revolutionized the diagnosis and management of many gastrointestinal diseases and is now an integral part of the evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in children and adolescents. Endoscopic gastrointestinal procedures are now common in most major pediatric centres and they can be safely performed in small infants, including newborns. Over the past few years, experts in committees and scientific societies have been working to establish indications for performing gastrointestinal endoscopy in children. With the development of pediatric gastroenterology new diseases emerged and indications for performing endoscopies had changed. The aim of the present review article is to summarize the most recent data on the indications for performing endoscopy in the most common pediatric gastrointestinal disorders.


Drainage is a major disturbance affecting wetlands, as drains lower water tables and convert lentic habitats to lotic ones. Consequently, invertebrate communities in drained wetlands are likely to differ from those in unimpacted wetlands. This study investigated the effect of hydrological restoration on invertebrate communities in small drains in a New Zealand fen. Invertebrates were collected over 4 summers from 10 drains within the wetland, one of which was blocked as part of a restoration program. The sampling protocol thus represented a Before‐After Control‐Impact experiment. Invertebrate community composition varied over the 4 years, but variability was greatest in the manipulated drain before and after it was blocked. Relative abundance of the amphipod Paraleptamphopus decreased after blockage, whereas those of the midges Chironomus zelandicus and Tanypodinae increased. Relative abundances of these taxa in control sites were unchanged. Hydraulic restoration thus had a demonstrable impact on the invertebrate communities. The invertebrate community of the blocked drain was compared to that of natural wetlands in undisturbed catchments. Similarity was very low prior to drain blockage, but increased following drain blockage. Invertebrate communities in the restored drain were more similar to those of low pH wetlands than high pH wetlands. Given the goal of restoring the communities to those similar to natural conditions, this was a beneficial result. These results, coupled with studies that showed a decline in the cover of alien pasture grasses around the blocked drain, suggest that drain blockage represents a cost‐effective way of restoring wetland plant and aquatic invertebrate communities, especially where connectivity allows for the natural recruitment of these organisms into restored areas.


Suaeda aralocaspica, a desert annual halophyte in the family Chenopodiaceae, produces two morphologically distinct types of seeds on the same plant. The two types of seeds were separated and analysed for oil content and fatty acid composition in order to evaluate and compare their potential as a source of edible oil. No significant differences in the oil content and statistically significant differences in fatty acid composition were found between dimorphic seeds. Seed oil content of this species was > 29% on a dry weight basis. Both types of seeds contain ca. 93% unsaturated fatty acids, with linoleic (> 68%) and oleic acid (> 20%) being the most abundant. High seed oil content and significant percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids make S. aralocaspica a promising halophyte as a source of high-quality edible oil.

 Key words: Linoleic, seed oil, Suaeda aralocaspica, unsaturated fatty acid.


Neural networks (NNs) are developed for estimating the error variances of individual infrared and microwave atmospheric temperature and humidity profile retrievals, thus potentially significantly improving their assimilation into numerical weather prediction models. Currently, most assimilation processes require error covariance matrices that are typically estimated over diverse profile ensembles. In addition to these "ensemble error variances," this work explores the estimation of "sample error variances" that are relevant to a single sample of the ensemble (that is, an individual profile retrieval and its error at each pressure level). This analysis is facilitated by considering an individual profile retrieval as the most likely sample from a distribution of retrievals, given an individual sensor observation vector. The sample error variance is defined as the variance of this distribution. The approach described in this paper does not attempt to compute these retrieval distributions explicitly, as this is computationally prohibitive for hyperspectral sounders. Instead, NNs are trained to estimate the variances of these distributions directly. Examples over ocean utilizing AIRS/AMSU soundings on the NASA Aqua satellite and those from a proposed hyperspectral microwave sounder show that the predicted sample error variances agree well with the true sample error variances as determined by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts analyzes colocated to the sensor observations. Furthermore, simple quality indicators derived using thresholding of the sample variance estimates compare favorably to AIRS Level-2 Version-5 quality flags.


This research concerns the possibility of using reclaimed asphalt pavement as a substitute for conventional aggregate in cement concrete mixtures for roads and airfield applications. The advantages of using reclaimed asphalt pavement as a replacement for natural aggregates are presented. Economic and environmental aspects are indicated, including the reduction in the consumption of natural non-renewable sources of mineral aggregates, as well as reduction in transport costs and emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. The consistency of this recycled material with the idea of sustainable development in the construction industry is emphasized. The test results of the used reclaimed asphalt and the assessment of the effect of its amount on the change in mechanical, physical and strength parameters of cement concrete are presented. It has been shown that the addition of reclaimed concrete reduces selected parameters of cement concrete, but it is possible to use it in structures with less traffic load, taking into account the sustainable development policy.


The article considers the development of the Russian guided missiles and space vehicles industry for a long-term taking into account changes of the space technology research and development and procurement by «Roscosmos» corporation and the current trends of global space technology market. Special attention was aimed at differentiating the development of various segments of the market. The author considers the hypotheses of the peculiarity of innovative development and innovations spreading in space industry based on his ideas about the essence of innovative processes and innovation capital circle-flow, which has been developed in his previous works. It enables the author to show that until late 1980s, guided missiles and space vehicles industry was an innovative manufacture sector, but today a significant part of the industry's main segments are involved only in the creation of local innovations. Its results bring added value in related industries that are not part of space technology manufacturing. Furthermore, the research is aimed at solving the problem of estimating the long-term perspectives of Russian guided missiles and space vehicles industry, as well as the space market. The main challenge is to get forecast estimates taking into consideration the inconstant government funding and financial limits of Russian federal space program for 2016-2025 years' period.


Abstract. To evaluate satellite rainfall estimates of Tropical Rain Measurement Mission (TRMM) level 3 output (3B42) (TRMM_3B42) over Iran (20°–45° N, 40°–65° E), we compared these data with high-resolution gridded precipitation datasets (0.25°×0.25° latitude/longitude) based on rain gauges (Iran Synoptic gauges Version 0902 (IS0902)). Spatial distribution of mean annual and mean seasonal rainfall in both IS0902 and TRMM_3B42 from 1998 to 2006 shows two main rainfall patterns along the Caspian Sea and over the Zagros Mountains. Scatter plots of annual average rainfall from IS0902 versus TRMM_3B42 for each 0.25°×0.25° grid cell over the entire country (25°–40° N, 45°–60° E), along the Caspian Sea (35°–40° N, 48°–56° E), and over the Zagros Mountains (28°–37° N, 46°–55° E) were derived. For the entire country, the Caspian Sea region, and the Zagros Mountains, TRMM_3B42 underestimates mean annual precipitation by 0.17, 0.39, and 0.15 mm day−1, respectively, and the mean annual rainfall spatial correlation coefficients are 0.77, 0.57, and 0.75, respectively. The mean annual precipitation temporal correlation coefficient for IS0902 and TRMM_3B42 is ~0.8 in the area along the Zagros Mountains, and ~0.6 in the Caspian Sea and desert regions.


Simplex is a turbopump that is being developed at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) by an in-house team. The turbopump consists of a single-stage centrifugal impeller, vaned-diffuser pump powered by a single-stage, axial, supersonic, partial admission turbine. The turbine is driven by warm gaseous oxygen tapped off of the hybrid motor to which it will be coupled. Rolling element bearings are cooled by the pumping fluid. Details of the configuration and operating conditions are given by Marsh. CFD has been used extensively to verify one-dimensional (1D) predictions, assess aerodynamic and hydrodynamic designs, and to provide flow environments. The complete primary flow path of the pump-end and the hot gas path of the turbine, excluding the inlet torus, have been analyzed. All CFD analyses conducted for the Simplex turbopump employed the pressure based Finite Difference Navier-Stokes (FDNS) code using a standard kappa-epsilon turbulence model with wall functions. More detailed results are presented by Garcia et. al. To support the team, loading and temperature results for the turbine rotor were provided as inputs to structural and thermal analyses, and blade loadings from the inducer were provided for structural analyses.


Simulation is the technique by which a physical system can be represented mathematically by a computer program for the solution of a problem. Computing speed and software quality advances over the last 20 years have made flight simulation particularly effective in modeling the flight environment, and it is now an integral part of the aviation scene in the civil, military, manufacturing, and research fields. Aeronautical standards suggest performing piloted simulations during Flight Control System (FCS) development. As a minimum, the following simulations shall be accomplished: (a) piloted simulations using computer simulation of the FCS prior to hardware availability, and (b) piloted simulations using actual FCS hardware prior to first flight [1]. Compared to the flight environment, simulation gives close control of the conditions under investigation, and allows specific flight situations, some of which are rare or hazardous, to be available on demand. Compared to the use of aircraft for these activities, simulation causes no pollution, noise or other disturbance. For all but the simplest aircraft, flight simulation is also substantially less expensive than the use of the aircraft itself. Finally, simulators can be used at intensive rates of operation by day and night, and can carry out any exercise or function which is included in their data base irrespective of location, weather, and time of day or season of the year. With rapid advancements in avionics systems, advanced cockpit controls, advanced cockpit displays, flyby-wire technology and more, the need to move expediently from concept to certification is a fundamental requirement for a successful aircraft development project. The use of


Speaking with the People's Voice: How Presidents Invoke Public Opinion. By Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2014. 195 pp. Scholars who study the discourse of America's contemporary presidents are familiar with the rhetorical presidency, the idea that presidents often circumvent Congress, instead appealing directly to public opinion to garner support for their presidential vision. As Jeffrey P. Mehltretter Drury notes in his exhaustive review of the extant literature on the rhetorical presidency, academic scholarship frequently evaluates presidential leadership success based on persuasive appeals to public opinion and the subsequent changes in public opinion polls following the communication event (p. 6). In Speaking with the People's Voice, however, Drury argues that a "complementary explanation" for evaluating presidential leadership involves examining how "presidential rhetoric might serve not only as leadership of public opinion but also as leadership by public opinion, in which public opinion is the means of leadership" (p. 9). His book, therefore, reframes the conventional practice of studying how presidents outline their policy agendas through their rhetorical appeals to public opinion, advancing the case that scholars should explore how presidents exercise their leadership through "invoked public opinion," which Drury defines as "the rhetorical representation of the beliefs and values of US citizens" (p. 12). Scholars in the communication, political science, and presidential studies fields will find that this book does, in fact, provide new insight into how contemporary presidents exercise their leadership, even as they cast the rhetorical presidency to fit present-day exigencies. After establishing the requisite background justifying his study in the first half of the introductory chapter, Drury provides readers with a brief synopsis on argumentation theory and the three argumentative patterns he employs in his study of modern presidential rhetoric and invoked public opinion: bandwagon appeals, identity appeals, and contra populum appeals. Most argumentation theorists will already be familiar with the bandwagon appeal. Drury describes the identity appeal as a pattern in which the "president invokes a public opinion shared by his audience as a catalyst for further agreement" while defining contra populum ploys as those "appeals 'against the people' [that] function to correct the invoked public opinion by means of alternative decision-making criteria" (p. 19). The book applies each appeal in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, respectively, by examining nationally televised presidential speeches from both Democratic and Republican presidents. Drury provides a well-articulated discussion of the rhetorical situations that prompted presidents to address the public via television (although readers familiar with the speeches included in this analysis should revisit them, given the innovative application of the three argumentative patterns). …


Abstract Many studies have demonstrated that vocabulary size plays a key role in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). In recent years, mobile game-based learning (MGBL) has been considered a promising scheme for successful acquisition and retention of knowledge. Thus, this study applies a mixed methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess the effects of PHONE Words, a novel mobile English vocabulary learning app (application) designed with game-related functions (MEVLA-GF) and without game-related functions (MEVLA-NGF), on learners' perceptions and learning performance. During a four-week experiment, 20 sophomore students were randomly assigned to the experimental group with MEVLA-GF support or the control group with MEVLA-NGF support for English vocabulary learning. Analytical results show that performance in vocabulary acquisition and retention by the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Moreover, questionnaire results confirm that MEVLA-GF is more effective and satisfying for English vocabulary learning than MEVLA-NGF. Spearman rank correlation results show that involvement and dependence on gamified functions were positively correlated with vocabulary learning performance.


Diabetes is complicated. Living with diabetes is more complicated. People with diabetes are tasked with learning to manipulate their own physiology in an effort to mimic normal physiology. It took evolution millions of years to sort this out, so it is not difficult to imagine why it would be hard for patients with diabetes.

That diabetes is complicated is not news. To help patients manage diabetes, we have created systems to help them understand their illness. The entire field of diabetes education has emerged, and we have shown remarkable progress and success. However, research during the past 10–15 years has shown that we are still struggling with the most vulnerable of our patients. One marker of vulnerability is low literacy.1

Educators know that patients with low literacy struggle more to learn many diabetes concepts, and at least one study has suggested that patients with low literacy are less likely to have good control of their blood glucose.2 Subsequent studies have tried to untangle the relationship between low literacy and poor diabetes control. The primary hypothesis behind this research is that people with low literacy are less likely to understand self-management tasks. If one does not understand a task, he or she is unable to implement the correct self-management behavior. This theory is supported by research documenting the relationship between literacy and knowledge about health topics.1

One problem in this area of research is that knowledge, as we measure it in most studies, is not always related to health outcomes. This does not fit the paradigm of literacy and health research and raises questions about how best to help our patients if improving knowledge does not improve health outcomes. One possibility is that we are measuring the wrong knowledge. If we are asking about knowledge of pathophysiology or …


Background : Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may impair cognitive function in epileptic patients. Oxcarbazepine (OXC, Trileptal) is a recently developed AED. The effect of oxcarbazepine (OXC, Trileptal) monotherapy on cognitive function was studied prospectively in patients with partial or generalized epilepsies. Methods : A total of 22 patients were started on OXC monotherapy and 18 out of them completed a 1-year follow-up. Nine patients didn't have any previous history of anticonvulsant medications. OXC was administered 600 to 1,500 mg twice daily after 10 to 14 days of titration period. We used neuropsycological assessments (verbal learning and memory, visual memory, digit span, Trail Making, and verbal fluency) and auditory event-related potentials (P300) for the evaluation of cognitive function before and 1 year after OXC treatment. Results : Twelve patients became seizure free and 6 patients showed the reduction in monthly seizure frequency. The adverse effects of medication were mild weight gain, GI problems, dizziness, fatigue and headache etc., but they were transient. In particular one patient experienced a feeling of alertness and clear-headedness with continuation of the medication. Neuropsycological tests showed a significant improvement of performance in verbal learning, word recognition and Trail Making test of type A. P300 latencies were significantly shortened, but their amplitudes were not changed. Conclusions : Even though many variable factors such as the age at onset of epilepsy, etiology of epilepsy, seizure frequency, seizure type, epileptic process itself and dosage of antiepileptic drugs influence cognitive function of epileptic patients, OXC at least does not seem to be harmful or rather slightly beneficial for cognitive functions.


Although G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are often categorized in terms of their primary coupling to a given type of G α protein subunit, it is now well established that many show promiscuous coupling and activate multiple signaling pathways. Furthermore, some agonists selectively activate signaling pathways by promoting interaction between distinct receptor conformational states and particular G α subunits or alternative signaling proteins. We have tested the capacity of agonists to stimulate Ca 2+ release, cAMP accumulation and changes in extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) at the human α 1A -adrenoceptor. Signaling bias factors were determined by novel application of an operational model of agonism, and compared to the reference endogenous agonist, norepinephrine; values significantly different from 1.0 indicated an agonist that promoted receptor conformations distinct from that favored by norepinephrine. Oxymetazoline was a full agonist for ECAR and a partial agonist for Ca 2+ release (bias factor 8.2), but failed to stimulate cAMP production. Phenylephrine showed substantial bias towards ECAR versus Ca 2+ release or cAMP accumulation (bias factors 21 and 33 respectively), but did not display bias between Ca 2+ and cAMP pathways. Cirazoline and A61603 displayed bias towards cAMP relative to Ca 2+ release (bias factors 7.4 and 8.6). Interestingly, epinephrine, a second endogenous adrenoceptor agonist, did not display bias relative to norepinephrine. Our finding that phenylephrine displayed significant signaling bias, despite being highly similar in structure to epinephrine, indicates that subtle differences in agonist-receptor interaction can affect conformational changes in cytoplasmic domains and thereby modulate the repertoire of effector proteins that are activated. 2 -AR. Results were expressed as % basal ECAR and n values represent cells grown in different flasks before plating into the transwell cups.


Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of interferential current implementation following total knee arthroplasty surgery. Design: Double-blind randomized controlled study. Setting: Orthopedics and traumatology in-patient clinic. Participants: From an initial enrollment of 132 patients, 113 who met the study inclusion criteria were randomly separated into two groups: the interferential current group (n = 57) and the sham current group (n = 56). A total of 98 patients completed the study: 49 in the interferential current group and 49 in the sham group. Intervention: Patients in the interferential current group received interferential current treatment for 30 minutes, twice a day for five days postoperatively. For the patients in the sham interferential current treatment group, the same pads were applied to the patients for the same time periods but no electrical stimulation was applied. Main outcome measures: Patients were assessed in respect of pain, range of motion (ROM), edema, and the amount of paracetamol used at baseline and on the 5th and 30th days after surgery. Results: No significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of pain, ROM, and edema at days 0, 5, and 30. At the end of the 5th day, the amount of paracetamol used was significantly lower in the interferential current group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, both groups showed significant improvements in pain, ROM, and edema with no significant difference between the groups. Although there was a significant difference in paracetamol intake of the two groups, this cannot be argued as showing the effectiveness of interferential current.


COVID-19 has raised concerns over safety in the personal care service industry in regards to disease transmission and infection control. The industry has suffered under new orders and directives issued by public health officials. Personal service establishments (PSEs) rely on clients going to establishments to receive services that often involve close proximity between the client and service provider, something that is recommended against to prevent COVID-19 transmission. PSEs have since adjusted their operations to accommodate for the pandemic, however its impacts on the perceptions of hygiene and sanitation in these establishments remained to be assessed.


Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate incidence and influencing factors of complications related to central venous catheters (CVCs) in the Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Xi'an Children's Hospital.Methods: We analyzed the complications of all children that had CVCs and were hospitalized between June 2020 to February 2021. A total of 334 CVCs were inserted in 310 children.Results: We noted 102 (30.54%) CVCs-related complications. Complications related to CVCs insertion were infection of catheter (13.17%) and malposition of catheter (8.38%), occlusion of CVCs (2.99%), accidental removal (0.6%), puncture site exudate (4.79%), central venous thrombosis (0.6%). Infection mainly due to Staphylococcus epidermidis. 88 cases (24.55%) of CVCs were extubated due to complications. Analysis of the frequency of maintenance-related complications except for center vein thrombosis showed no differences between the jugular, femoral and subclavian vein access (P > 0.05). It was found that the duration of the catheterization use was critical for the occurrence of CVCs-related infections, puncture site exudate, occlusion (P < 0.05). Suture-off, bleeding of insertion site, and the maximum channels of intravenous infusion in patients were dominant risk factors of catheter-related complications. Conclusion: The risk factors of complications during catheter indwelling are suture-off, bleeding of insertion site and the maximum channels of intravenous infusion in patients. Therefore, strict aseptic operation in various operations, control of the infusion channel, effective fixation of the central venous catheter, reduce the malposition and pull of the catheter, and reduce the infiltration of blood at the puncture point, are particularly important to prevent the complications related to the central venous catheter.


Electroless Ni (EN) plating method is employed to metallize Y2O3-doped AlN ceramic substrates with different surface morphologies, including the as-received, polished, and etched AlN. The EN-plated AlN substrate is bonded with the Cu foil to form a sandwich-like AlN-EN/Cu/EN-AlN assembly by hot pressing in vacuum with a pressure of 6.5 MPa for 30 min. The bonding strength of the joint is determined by the adhesive abilities of EN/AlN and EN/Cu interfaces. Bonding between the Cu foil and the EN film is achieved by the interdiffusion of Cu and Ni atoms to form a solid solution interlayer, while the EN film is adhered on the AlN substrate mainly by the mechanical interlocking through the rough interface, etched holes, and open pores. At the bonding temperatures lower than 400/spl deg/C, no reaction occurs between the Cu foil and the EN film. Increasing bonding temperature enhances the interdiffusion of Cu and Ni to form a strong bonded solid solution interlayer. However, the depletion of the element Ni in EN film results in the formation and enlargement of the pores at EN/AlN interface, which makes a poor adhesion between EN film and AlN substrate. An optimum bonding temperature is observed around 600 and 700/spl deg/C for various surface conditions of AM substrates. Theoretical calculations of the residual thermal stresses in AlN, EN, and Cu layers with respect to the bonding temperatures are related to the variation of the bonding strengths. The relations of the adhesion strengths, interfacial morphologies, elemental distribution, and calculated residual stresses is proposed.


In the rat tail flick test, ip LA 6 mg/kg, icv DLA 60 micrograms and icv or with morphine 5 micrograms exhibited significant analgesia. But with either LA 40 micrograms or DLA 60 micrograms was inactive. Naloxone (4 micrograms icv) which antagonized morphine analgesia failed to alter the analgesia induced by LA and DLA. Microinjection of DLA 20 micrograms or morphine 5 micrograms into the periaqueductal gray (PAG) or nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) produced markedly analgesic activity. The effects of electrolytic and kainic acid (0.8 micrograms) lesions of the PAG and NRM on the analgesia elicited in the rat from ip LA, icv DLA and morphine were also evaluated. No change in baseline tail flick latency was observed following lesions of the PAG and NRM. But lesions of the PAG and NRM significantly attenuated the analgesia mediated by LA, DLA and morphine. These results suggest that supraspinal sites, especially the PAG and NRM, are involved in the analgesic action induced by LA, DLA and morphine.


Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has proved to be a powerful tool not only for imaging but also for nanofabrication. SPM-based nanofabrication comprises manipulation of atoms or molecules and SPM-based nanolithography. SPM-based nanolithography, referred to as scanning probe lithography (SPL) in this review, holds good promise for fabrication of nanometer-scale patterns as an emerging generic lithography technique that STM, AFM, and SNOM are directly or otherwise used to pattern nanometer-scale features under appropriate conditions. Patterning methods including mechanical SPL, electrical SPL, thermal SPL, and optical SPL, are described in terms of SPL mechanisms. The newly developed variations of the above-mentioned SPL methods such as dip pen nanolithography, nanoshaving and nanografting, replacement lithography, constructive nanolithography, nanojet lithography, and electrostatic lithography, are also illustrated respectively. Analyses of prospective application of these SPL methods are presented finally.


We describe a 44 year-old woman with dissection of the distal third of the basilar artery presenting with subarachnoid haemorrhage. She was treated with a Neuroform stent (Boston Scientific), the first stent designed for intracranial navigation and recently approved by the FDA to treat wide-necked cerebral aneurysms and allow reconstruction of the internal lumen. In our patient, the dissection involved the origin of the anterosuperior cerebellar artery and the origin of the right posterior cerebral artery. The stent was positioned without complications during or after the procedure. Intra and periprocedural thrombolytic therapy was given followed by an antiaggregant (100 mg Aspirin) for a year after treatment. Subsequent angio-MR and angiographic monitoring disclosed resolution of the dissection and normalization of the basilar artery lumen. She currently lives a controlled but normal life.


BACKGROUND
Novel angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptides from egg white protein can be rapidly screened by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). In this study, several peptides with higher ACE-inhibitory activity were prepared from egg white protein by enzymatic hydrolysis with Alcalase, purified with Sephadex G25, identified by LC/MS/MS and their structure determined by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.

RESULTS
Peptide sequences DHPFLF, HAEIN and QIGLF that showed ACE-inhibitory activity were investigated further for their stability in gastrointestinal solution and for changes in their secondary structure in solution mixtures. QIGLF exhibited the highest activity (IC(50)=75 µmol L(-1)) and was resistant to digestion by proteases of the gastrointestinal tract. The CD spectrum of QIGLF showed the presence of the α-helix conformation.

CONCLUSION
Three peptides were identified by LC/MS/MS and synthesised by Fmoc solid phase synthesis. Of the three, only the peptide sequence QIGLF was a potential ACE inhibitor, with an IC(50) value of 75 µmol L(-1) . Moreover, QIGLF showed low gastrointestinal enzyme susceptibility and contained a relatively high amount of α-helix.


In facing the developmental tasks of early adulthood, good emotional regulation is required in order to effectively manage emotions while dealing with various demands. Especially among young adult women, as young adult women tend to have more demands in early adulthood compared to young adult men. The demands of these developmental tasks are best faced by having good emotional regulation in order to avoid psychological issues while fulfilling developmental tasks. The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between father attachment and emotional regulation in young adult women The research method employed is quantitative with a correlational design. The research included 213 participants, specifically young adult women aged 18-25 years, who were unmarried and employed, selected through incidental sampling method. The scale used to measure father attachment is the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), and the scale used to measure emotional regulation is the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The data analysis method employed was Spearman's Rho. The research results indicate a significant positive relationship between father attachment and emotional regulation in young adult women (r= 0,285 and sig.=0,000). The more secure the attachment between fathers and young adult women, the higher the emotional regulation they possess. Thus, the hypothesis in this research is accepted. It is hoped that young adult women can continue to develop emotional regulation effectively to cope with the demands of early adulthood and prevent the emergence of issues during this developmental stage.


In many countries, local managers and clinicians have been given responsibility to set health priorities and allocate resources accordingly. Although tools have been suggested for use in aiding this process, knowledge of these tools within health regions is lacking and comparative analysis in the literature is limited. Several approaches to priority setting are critiqued from both practical and theoretical perspectives, and a tangible way forward for such activity is provided. The approaches analysed include: needs assessment, core services, economic evaluation including quality-adjusted life year league tables, and programme budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA). Needs assessment fails to recognize underlying economic principles of opportunity cost and the margin, while core services ignores the margin and has had limited impact in practice. Economic evaluations can consider marginal costs and benefits, but cannot always be used to inform decisions in a timely manner. PBMA is based on underlying economic principles and can pragmatically respond to objectives related to both efficiency and equity. Although PBMA is not without challenges, from an economic perspective, it does seem to 'get the thinking right', and, importantly, as a process, can incorporate some of the other approaches to priority setting discussed in this paper.


High-frequency modes in the 525-550 kHz range with toroidal mode numbers n = 3-7 were excited after the sawtooth crash during ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating. Based on the stability analysis using the NOVA-K code, these modes were found to be consistent with ellipticity-induced Alfven eigenmodes (EAEs) excited in the EAE gap located at the q = 1 surface. A change in the safety factor after the sawtooth crash was essential for the excitation of EAEs in the core region of the plasma. The high-frequency modes were stabilized by the neutral beam injection at 350 keV using negative-ion-based neutral beam (NNB) injectors. Stability analysis using the NOVA-K code has shown that NNB-injected ions enhance the damping of the EAEs and tend to stabilize them.


This article analyzes the operation and subsequent failure of TiVo in Australia. Drawing on actor-network theory, we unpack the TiVo assemblage throughout our paper, and look at the various human, technical, and institutional interventions that constituted it and constrained its possible futures. This analysis will be conducted by tracing how TiVo attempted to establish itself as a viable social and technical assemblage and assessing its influence on "new locales of regulation, new practices, new ethical stances, and new institutions." Our approach offers an inclusive analytical lens by considering how a collection of actors—large and small, human and nonhuman—were actively involved in assembling and disassembling the network required by TiVo for an ongoing presence in Australia. It also contributes to a growing body of work that outlines the usefulness of ANT to media studies scholarship.


This paper describes a robust method for the determination of pitch in voiced speech. The spectral autocorrelation function measures the regular harmonic spacing. in the spectrum of the speech signal by applying an autocorrelation to the power spectral density. It is shown that this method is capable of accurate pitch tracking in additive noise. The preprocessing is critical for good performance and in this case the speech spectrum is flattened by obtaining the residual from linear prediction analysis of the original speech. Application of suitable post-processing enables this method to operate over a wide range of human pitch down to very low signal noise ratios.


Purpose : To study the cytogenetic effects of fractionated radiotherapy in peripheral blood lymphocytes of five cancer patients. In vitro experiments were performed in parallel using the same dose range and a comparison was made of the induced frequencies of stable and unstable chromosome aberrations. The object was to clarify the use of an in vitro calibration curve for immediate and retrospective dosimetry in cases of radiation accidents. Materials and methods : Patients were exposed to 60 Co γ-rays at a single dose of 11.5 cGy each day up to a total dose of 57.5 cGy, given in 5 days. For measurement of chromosome aberrations, blood was collected from patients before irradiation and after each exposure. Blood taken before treatment was used as a control and for in vitro irradiation experiments in the dose range 8-50 cGy. Chromosome aberration frequency (stable as well as unstable) was determined using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay with specific DNA libraries for chromosomes 1, 4 and 8 and a pancentromertic probe for the whole genome. Giemsa-stained preparations were used to score unstable aberrations following in vivo and in vitro exposure. Results : A linear dose-response curve was determined for both dicentrics and translocations. The in vivo frequency of translocations was higher than for dicentrics. Dose-response curves generated for translocations following in vivo and in vitro irradiation yielded similar frequencies. In contrast, for dicentrics, in vitro irradiation yielded a higher frequency when compared with data generated following in vivo exposure. Conclusions : For dose reconstruction purposes, translocations frequency seems to be a more adequate end-point than the scoring of dicentrics. The established in vitro calibration curve for dicentrics may underestimate absorbed radiation dose in cases of protracted exposure.


Changes in society organization of rural villages in our country are caused by aging society and lessening of economic activity population aggravates the economy of rural villages. With this, it joins in with the aging of village community center, the representative center space of the rural village and therefore, it is a point of view where the change is necessary in the size and the side of function. The research which it sees is made on-the-spot inspection and literature investigation compensate in behalf of 25 administrative village community centers led in the object by grasping present status and drew up the layout sketches and plane surface degrees of the village community centers. By referring to the photographs and the topographical maps taken in the spot, it was able to divide the village community centers into side of arrangement, side of plane surface and side of form and managed to seize the characters, problems and improvable directions of each of them. The research result could be used as a guidable provision and be applied in the fundamental research in developing model of village community centers during space planning in the future.


Noradrenaline (NA) exerts an important neuromodulatory role within diverse neuronal networks and is also likely to be a target for oestrogen in the brain. Distinct, highly organized sub-populations of brainstem NA neurons express oestrogen receptors (ERs) and some of these display species differences. A number of genes expressed by NA neurons, ranging from transcription factors to co-released neuropeptides, are influenced by oestrogen and may have roles in the predominant enhancement in NA activity in response to oestrogen. The effects of oestrogen on genes involved directly in NA biosynthesis are less clear, although promoter transgenic work suggests oestrogen to have a powerful influence upon tyrosine hydroxylase gene transcription. In addition to direct actions on NA neurons, evidence suggests that oestrogen also regulates adrenergic receptor expression and function within the ER-rich hypothalamus as well as the cerebral cortex. Together, these investigations point to a multifaceted pre- and postsynaptic regulation of NA transmission by oestrogen. While the hypothalamic neuronal networks controlling reproduction remain the principal site of investigation of oestrogen regulated NA transmission, the role of oestrogen and NA and their potential interactions in cortical functioning are becoming of equal interest.


Spin reorientation process in the quasi-one-dimensional easy-plane antiferromagnet on a stacked triangular lattice has been considered theoretically and studied in an experiment on CsMnBr3. The second-order phase transition associated with the flip of two pairs of sublattices has been shown to persist if the magnetic field is canted at an angle phi from the basal plane. The field and angular dependences of the magnetic torques measured at T=1.8 K, although in qualitative agreement with the classical theory, demonstrate a strong effect of quantum fluctuations.


Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) mutations are causative for a subset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases. These mutations lead to structural instability, aggregation and ultimately motor neuron death. We have determined crystal structures of SOD1 in complex with a naphthalene-catechol-linked compound which binds with low micro-molar affinity to a site important for oxidative damage-induced aggregation. SOD1 Trp32 oxidation is indeed significantly inhibited by ligand binding. Our work shows how compound linking can be applied successfully to ligand interactions on the SOD1 surface to generate relatively good binding strength. The ligand, positioned in a region important for SOD1 fibrillation, offers the possibility that it, or a similar compound, could prevent the abnormal self-association that drives SOD1 toxicity in ALS.


The preference of grazing herbivores to feed on grass regrowth following savanna fires rather than on unburnt grass swards is widely recognised. However, there is little information on which factors govern patterns of resource selection within burnt areas. In this study, we attempted to disentangle the effects of different habitat and grass sward characteristics on the utilisation of post-fire regrowth by nine species of ungulates in a fire-dominated woodland savanna in north Cameroon. We used resource-selection functions based on logistic regression. Overall, the resource-selection functions identified the time elapsed since burning as the most influential parameter in determining probability of use by ungulates, as most species strongly selected swards that were recently burned. This pattern might be related to nutrient levels in the grass sward. In addition, most species selected areas with high grass cover and avoided grass swards with high amounts of dead stem material. This is likely to increase bite mass and, hence, intake rates. The avoidance of high tree cover by some species may suggest selection for open areas with good visibility and, hence, reduced risk of predation. Body mass seemed to have no effect on differential selection of post-fire regrowth, irrespective of feeding style.


The philosophy of science can provide fruitful contributions to other areas of philosophy. In this paper, I argue that the application of work on the nature of theories helps to resolve a long-standing dispute on the philosophy of mind over mindreading. The Theory Theory and the Simulation Theory are two competing accounts of how it is that we explain and predict the actions and mental states of others. I discuss each view as well as some of their weaknesses. I suggest that the difficulties each faces depend in part on the notion of theory supposed to be at issue. After introducing an alternative notion of theory, a model-based view, I try to show that the problems of both views are diminished and that a synthesis results.


Background:New antiretroviral drug classes provide opportunities to explore novel regimens. Methods:HIV+ adults (<50 copies/mL) receiving atazanavir (ATV) were randomized to raltegravir (RAL) 400 mg + ATV 300 mg twice daily (q12h) for 4 weeks followed by RAL 800 mg + ATV/ritonavir 300/100 mg once daily (q24h) for 4 weeks or vice versa. Validated assays quantitated RAL and ATV plasma concentrations. Primary endpoint was geometric mean ratio (GMR) of ATV minimum concentration (Cmin) for q24h/q12h. Equivalence was 90% confidence interval (CI) of GMR lying between 0.80 and 1.25. Participants could consent to a total 48-week follow-up. Results:Twenty-five men, mean age 45 (range, 35–57) years, were evaluated. ATV and RAL demonstrated considerable pharmacokinetic variability. There was no period or sequence effect for pharmacokinetic parameters (P > 0.1 all measures). Ninety percent CIs of ATV GMR Cmin [1.30 (90% CI: 1.08 to 1.58)] and RAL GMR Cmin [0.48 (90% CI: 0.31 to 0.75)] demonstrated nonequivalence. Seventy-six percent consented to follow-up. There were no serious adverse events and no discontinuations due to adverse events over 48 weeks; HIV RNA remained undetectable. Conclusions:In virologically suppressed adults, regimens comprising ATV plus RAL were efficacious and safe. ATV q12h troughs were lower than ritonavir-boosted atazanavir q24h; RAL q24h troughs were lower than q12h.


Converted reformer gas on the shell side of a heat exchanger was cooled by water on the tube side. In addition to hydrogen and nitrogen, the gas contained substantial quantities of CO 2 and water vapor. The tubes were integral finned of C-steel. Condensate from the gas stream filled the space between fins, while CO 2 from the stream dissolved into the water. Maximum gas velocity was of the order of 150 ft/s. In the areas of highest gas velocity the fins had disappeared completely. In more or less stagnant gas areas the fins were corroded but still present, attack in intermediate areas ranging between the two extremes. The difference in corrosive attack between various areas clearly demonstrates the relatively modest effect of pure corrosion under these circumstances. On the other hand, the maximum velocity is about half the threshold velocity cited in the literature for steel. The synergistic effect of corrosion and erosion is therefore unmistakable. It may be assumed that impact of water droplets continuously removes the corrosion layer and thus accelerates the process. The corrosive effect of CO. at ambient temperatures is often belittled, but should not be, especially when assisted by high-velocity gas. Incidentally, the use of finned tubing in an environment producing condensate is absurd since condensation removes any heat-transfer advantage of the fins. Recalculation in fact showed that the fins were unnecessary.


Numerous Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous tracksites are found in the Maestrazgo UNESCO Global Geopark; sauropod and ornithopod tracks are abundant and there are some rare stegosaurians and theropods. The Lower Cretaceous ichnite sites are dominated by ornithopod tracks, while only one Upper Cretaceous site, containing theropod tracks, has been documented. Seven of these sites are classified as Assets of Cultural Interest, the highest level of protection established in Spanish legislation, and three of them are open to visitors to promote education and geotourism.


A robot designed for prostate brachytherapy implantations has the potential to greatly improve treatment success. Much of the research in robotic surgery focuses on measuring accuracy. However, there exist many factors that must be optimized before an analysis of needle placement accuracy can be determined. Some of these parameters include choice of the needle type, insertion velocity, usefulness of the rotating needle and rotation speed. These parameters may affect the force at which the needle interacts with the tissue. A reduction in force has been shown to decrease the compression of the prostate and potentially increase the accuracy of seed position. Rotating the needle as it is inserted may reduce frictional forces while increasing accuracy. However, needle rotations are considered to increase tissue damage due to the drilling nature of the insertion. We explore many of the factors involved in optimizing a brachytherapy robot, and the potential effects each parameter may have on the procedure. We also investigate the interaction of rotating needles in gel and suggest the rotate-cannula-only method of conical needle insertion to minimize any tissue damage while still maintaining the benefits of reduced force and increased accuracy.


Learning is enhanced when learners exercise choice over task-relevant features (e.g., feedback schedule) compared to when the opportunity for choice is denied. Lewthwaite et al. (2015) showed that learning is also enhanced with choice over aspects irrelevant to the to-be-learned motor task (e.g., ball colour [Exp 1] and artwork selection [Exp 2]). Lewthwaite and colleagues argued that such choices could not be used in a way to benefit task-related processes and therefore, the learning benefits from choice must be motivational in nature. However, other researchers have provided evidence that task-related processes such as error estimation play a role in the learning benefits associated with choice; which makes one question the extent to which choice over task-relevant features compares to choice over irrelevant features. These results extend from Carter et al. (2016) by investigating how different levels of choice affected error estimation and motor learning. Participants practiced a waveform matching task in one of three choice groups: Task-Relevant (feedback schedule), Task-Irrelevant (colour of arm wrap and game to play once the experiment was over), and No-Choice. The Task-Irrelevant and No-Choice groups were matched to the feedback schedule of a participant in the Task-Relevant group. Results showed that the Task-Relevant group demonstrated superior retention and transfer performance, as well as superior error estimation abilities in transfer (P's < .05). Contrary to the motivation-based conclusions of Lewthwaite and colleagues, our findings suggest that task-relevant choices are more effective for learning than task-irrelevant choices, presumably due to the acquisition of accurate error estimation abilities.


Abstract. With the increasing use of natural gas, gas emissions (predominantly methane) from natural gas infrastructure are exacerbating the greenhouse effect. Therefore, it is crucial to detect natural gas leaks in a timely manner. The remote sensing of plants offers the potential to identify leakage from the reflectance responses of the plants to elevated concentrations of natural gas in the soil. Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is directly related to photosynthesis and is thus proposed to track the impact of natural gas leakage on vegetation growth. In order to explore the feasibility and advantage of SIF for detection of natural gas leaks, a field experiment of natural gas microleakage is performed, and soybean and grass are chosen as the test plants. Sixteen plots, eight with soybean and eight with grass, are established, and four of each plant are chosen for the injection of natural gas into the soil. The other plots act as controls. We present weekly ground measurements of canopy spectra over plots of gassed and ungassed soybean and grass. SIF at 760 nm (F760) and other published vegetation indices are calculated and analyzed. The indices can identify grasses under natural gas microleakage stress throughout the whole experiment, whereas only F760 can identify soybeans under natural gas microleakage stress during the later stage of the experiment. When the canopy chlorophyll content of soybean is at high levels, F760 can still increase along with it, whereas other indices fail to increase because of saturation. The results suggest that the F760 index can stably and reliably identify plants under natural gas microleakage stress. Therefore, in the future, the location of leakage of natural gas can be detected by monitoring the F760 of plants with hyperspectral remote sensing.


The signature kernel is a positive definite kernel for sequential data. It inherits theoretical guarantees from stochastic analysis, has efficient algorithms for computation, and shows strong empirical performance. In this short survey paper for a forthcoming Springer handbook, we give an elementary introduction to the signature kernel and highlight these theoretical and computational properties.


It has been suggested that when the variance assumptions of a repeated measures ANOVA are not met, the df of the mean square ratio should be adjusted by the sample estimate of the Box correction factor, ɛ. This procedure works well when ɛ is low, but the estimate is seriously biased when this is not the case. An alternate estimate is proposed which is shown by Monte Carlo methods to be less biased for moderately large ɛ.


The objective of the study was the evaluation of a screening service for fetal abnormality using early ultrasound scanning to date and establish viability of the pregnancy combined with maternal serum α‐fetoprotein estimation at 16 weeks and thereafter selective detailed scanning at 18–20 weeks based on clinical indication. The study was designed to be retrospective, emphasizing the possibility of diagnosis. Early scans were performed by radiographers and radiologists, detailed ones by radiologists and obstetricians with subspecialty training in prenatal diagnosis. The study was carried out in the ultrasound department of a large University Hospital. The subjects studied were all cases of abnormality identified pre‐ or postnatally in women delivering in the hospital over 4 years and to whom the screening service applied. Information was obtained from ultrasound and maternity records, birth notifications, pathology and autopsy reports and a special needs register. Cases were classified as not detectable, potentially detectable and usually detectable. Major fetal anomalies numbered 255 (total deliveries 19 497), a prevalence of 1.3%; 130 (51%) were diagnosed by ultrasound with 64%; before 24 weeks and 36% later. Eleven chromosomal anomalies (4%) were diagnosed by genetic methods and 114 (45%) anomalies were not diagnosed antenatally. The sensitivity of the program was 37% before 24 weeks. Chromosomal anomalies, lesions of the central nervous system and cardiac defects were most common, followed by lesions of the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. A large proportion of the detected and detectable anomalies were lethal. The implementation of a policy of routine scans at 18–20 weeks for fetal abnormality would be justified if it led to improved obstetric decision‐making, reduction in child handicap and less parental suffering. A routine stun applied to our population might not have achieved these except in a comparatively small number of cases. Copyright © 1995 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology


Abstract Serotonin is an important neuromessenger used in a variety of signaling pathways throughout the animal kingdom. In insects, serotonin has been demonstrated to mediate feeding and feeding-related behaviors. In this study, serotonin antibody was localized in cells and processes throughout the central nervous system (CNS) and midgut of female horse fly Tabanus nigrovittatus Macquart. In the CNS, immunoreactivity was localized in cells and processes throughout the brain and ventral nerve cord. In the midgut, a fine network of immunoreactive processes was observed running along the outer surface of the midgut, with a decrease in innervation toward the posterior region of the midgut.


The principle of non-refoulement is often described as the cornerstone of refugee law. It prohibits States from expelling people from their territories to States where their life or freedom would be threatened. The principle of non- refoulement is, however, not only enshrined in refugee law. The United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System has developed a protection from refoulement that is considerably broader than the protection granted under international refugee law. It is also broader than the human rights protection provided by the ECtHR. This article will show that the UN Treaty Bodies' approach to the principle of non-refoulement gives a much clearer framework for rejections of migrants at a State's frontier.


We present nonsingular, homogeneous and isotropic bouncing solutions of the conformal Galileon model. We show that such solutions necessarily begin with a radiation-dominated contracting phase. This is followed by a quintom scenario in which the background equation of state crosses the cosmological constant boundary allowing for a nonsingular bounce which in turn is followed by Galilean Genesis. We analyze the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in this background. Our results show that the fluctuations evolve smoothly and without any pathology, but the adiabatic modes form a blue tilted spectrum. In order to achieve a scale-invariant primordial power spectrum as required by current observations, we introduce a light scalar field coupling to the Galileon kinetically. We find two couplings which yield a scale-invariant spectrum, one of which requires a fine tuning of the initial conditions. This model also predicts a blue tilted spectrum of gravitational waves stemming from quantum vacuum fluctuations in the contracting phase.


Simulation of dam breach process has significant influence on the evaluation of consequence of dam breach flood. In this study, research progresses on the numerical modeling of earth-rock dams' breach process are summarized, especially the latest research results of the author's research team in recent years. However, there still has a considerable gap in the versatility of computer software and visualization technology of dam breaching process. It is suggested that more efforts should be made in the future to study the detailed physically based numerical model for core dam and concrete face rockfill dam; further, more attention should be paid to the application of visualization technology in dam breach process simulation. Finally, the universal and friendly visualization computer software that can accurately simulate the dam failure process and flood routing for earth-rock dams is sorely needed.


We provide spectroscopic evidence for the charge density wave (CDW) phason mode at ≈0.93 THz in the two-leg, spin-1/2 ladders of Sr14Cu24O41 using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. We find that annealing in an oxygen atmosphere or doping with a low concentration of Co (≾1%) does not affect the CDW phason mode. However, Co doping at higher concentrations (10%), wherein the Co enters the ladder layers, destabilizes the CDW. We believe that the suppression of the CDW phase is due to an increase in intraladder overlap integrals through the shrinkage of interplane distance upon Co doping.


The theory of nonlinear optimization traditionally studies numeric computations. However, increasing attention is being paid to involve computer algebra into mathematical programming. One can identify two possibilities of applying symbolic techniques in this field. Computer algebra can help the modeling phase by producing alternate mathematical models via symbolic transformations. The present paper concentrates on this direction. On the other hand, modern nonlinear solvers use more and more information about the structure of the problem through the optimization process leading to hybrid symbolic-numeric nonlinear solvers. This paper presents a new implementation of a symbolic simplification algorithm for unconstrained nonlinear optimization problems. The program can automatically recognize helpful transformations of the mathematical model and detect implicit redundancy in the objective function. We report computational results obtained for standard global optimization test problems and for other artificially constructed instances. Our results show that a heuristic (multistart) numerical solver takes advantage of the automatically produced transformations. New theoretical results will also be presented, which help the underlying method to achieve more complicated transformations.


Phytoplankton forms the basis of aquatic food webs, and shifts in community composition reflect changes in environmental conditions. Despite the accepted importance, the processes behind maintaining spatial and temporal community structure and biodiversity at the base of the aquatic food web remain poorly described and understood. A recognized challenge hampering validation of ecological models and meta-analysis is the scarcity of large phytoplankton data sets. Compared to other aquatic data, harmonization of quantitative phytoplankton data sets from different sources and academic institutions has remained a major challenge. Here we demonstrate and examine processes used to compile and harmonize a large multi-sourced phytoplankton data set covering 40 yr of monitoring and over 15 000 quantitative samples from the Baltic Sea. We show differences in the quality of data among countries and analyze autocorrelation scales in field data. Phytoplankton community composition showed positive autocorrelation at a temporal scale of less than 30 d and had a recurrent pattern at a yearly interval. Both total biomass and community composition showed a positive spatial autocorrelation, but the extent of the data determines the autocorrelation scale and strength. We introduce a new strategy to select the best performing model to assess regional taxon richness in phytoplankton field data. The Weibull 4-parameter model showed both the best fit with data and robust parameter estimates at varying sample size.


PURPOSE
To assess the longitudinal vision-related quality of life among patients with CRB1-associated inherited retinal dystrophies.

METHODS
A longitudinal questionnaire study included 22 patients with pathogenic CRB1 variants. The National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (39 items, NEI VFQ-39) was applied at baseline, two-year follow-up, and 4-year follow-up. Classical test theory was performed to obtain subdomain scores and in particular 'near activities' and 'total composite' scores. The Rasch analysis based on previous calibrations of the NEI VFQ-25 was applied to create visual functioning and socio-emotional subscales.

RESULTS
In total, 22 patients with pathogenic CRB1 variants were included, with a median age of 25.0 years (IQR: 13-31 years) at baseline and mean follow-up of 4.0 ± 0.3 years. A significant decline at 4 years was observed for 'near activities' (51.0 ± 23.8 vs 35.4 ± 14.7, p = 0.004) and 'total composite' (63.0 ± 13.1 vs 52.0 ± 12.1, p = 0.001) subdomain scores. For the Rasch-scaled scores, the 'visual functioning' scale significantly decreased after 4 years (-0.89 logits; p = 0.012), but not at 4-year follow-up (+0.01 logits; p = 0.975). The 'socio-emotional' scale also showed a significant decline after 2 years (-0.78 logits, p = 0.033) and 4 years (-0.83 logits, p = 0.021).

CONCLUSION
In the absence of an intervention, a decline in vision-related quality of life is present in patients with pathogenic CRB1 variants at 4-year follow-up. Patient-reported outcome measures should be included in future clinical trials, as they can be a potential indicator of disease progression and treatment efficacy.


TNFα is a cytokine produced by immune cells and by tumor cells. The soluble forms of membrane TNF receptors 1/2 (sTNF-R1/2) act as decoy to neutralize TNFα, and are highly abundant in cancer patients. Elimination of sTNF-R1/2 may therefore unmask endogenous TNFα, to presumably exert anti-neoplastic effects and reverse resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune Apheresis (IA) is a procedure designed to specifically capture sTNF-R1/2 from plasma by passing it over an affinity column. Here we employed Immunicom's LW-02 Immunopheresis® device for removal of sTNF-R1/2 from plasma of cancer patients.In cohort A, patients with melanoma, RCC, NSCLC or TNBC refractory to standard therapy were treated with IA only. IA treatment of 2 plasma volumes was done x3/week, for three treatment cycles (4 weeks each) up to a total of 36 treatments. Cohort B patients currently receive concurrent IA and Nivolumab therapy (240mg q2 weeks starting on week 5). sTNF-Rs removal and circulating inflammatory biomarkers were measured by immuno-assays, such as multiplex cytokine detection and mass cytometry. Pre- and post-treatment tumor biopsies were analyzed for tumor markers and TILs by immunohistochemistry.Cohort A included six patients (3 Melanoma and 3 TNBC): three patients completed full study regimen, and three others were withdrawn due to clinical progression. AEs included chills (4/6), fever (2/6), anemia (6/6), central line thrombosis (1/6) and pulmonary embolism (1/6) All were Grade 2 except G3 anemia (1/6). There were no treatment related SAE's. sTNF-Rs levels were significantly reduced, followed by enhanced detection of TNFα, and IFNγ in some cases. In two patients, CD8 counts and PD-1 and PD-L1 expression were increased. Congruently, blood mass cytometry showed reduction in Treg subsets and differential increase of CD8 subsets following treatment.The use of Immunicom's LW-02 Immunopheresis® device in combination with Terumo BCT Spectra Optia Apheresis System is safe and efficient in the removal of sTNF-Rs from blood plasma. Subsequent immuno-assay analyses indicated formation of inflammatory response which may facilitate effects of immunotherapy, yet to be investigated in cohort B.NCT04142931Sheba Medical Center Ethics Committee, 6136-19Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this abstract and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor of this journal


The challenge faced nowadays is to design a scalable and robust multicast routing protocol in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). The use of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is to be achieved with fast progress of computing techniques and wireless networking techniques. MANET is used because wireless devices could self-configure and form a network with an arbitrary topology. The difficulty is in achieving the group membership management, multicast packet forwarding, and the maintenance of multicast structure over the dynamic network topology for a large group size or network size. Robust and Scalable Geographic Multicast Protocol is used for handling multicasting in mobile ad hoc networks. Virtual architectures are used in this protocol. MANETs have unstable wireless channels and node movements. Scalability and efficiency of group membership management is performed through a virtualzone-based structure. The location service for group members is integrated with the membership management. The control messages as well as the data packets are forwarded along efficient tree-like paths. Geographic forwarding is used to achieve further scalability and robustness. Source tracking mechanism is designed for handling flooding of information. Other than that, emptyzone problem faced by most zone-based routing protocols is efficiently being handled. Overall advantages are higher delivery ratio in all circumstances, with different moving speeds, node densities, group sizes, number of groups, and network sizes. This has minimum control overhead and joining delay.


Agribusiness is the foundation of Pakistan's economy as it contributes 18.9 percentto the nation's GDP. Buffalo is a significant investor with a populace of 38.8 million heads. Theprofitable characteristics of Nili Ravi wild ox are inimitable with some other buffalo breeds on theplanet, while the conceptive qualities are still nadir. The most widely recognized regenerative issuesexperienced are postponed time of pubescence, helpless estrus articulation, low ripeness with AI,deferred baby blues anestrous, and irregularity. These attributes have made it amazingly hard toincrease quick hereditary advancement in this variety. Conceptive biotechnologies assume a key job inbreed improvement by bypassing these obstacles. For this study eighty animals were selected andslaughtered due to reproductive issues and reproductive tracts were collected from the slaughterhouseand observe the tract grossly (texture and shape, any exudate, ovarian structures). Then cut the uterinetissue sample with the size of 2 × 2 × 2cm was fixed in formalin 10% for histopathology. Afterprocessing microscopy was performed to find histopathologic changes (Endometrial epithelium,uterine gland, and inflammatory cells and caruncles status). The grading of animals is labeled asNormal (-), Mild (+), Moderate (++), and Severe (+++) on basis of the degree of infection. The whiteside test was negative for 40% of samples while 60% of animals are positive with different degrees ofaffection. Endometrial epithelium erosion is absent in 31.43% of animals while 68.67% of animalshave erosions. Atrophy of uterine glands was absent in 41.43% of animals while 58.67% of animalscontained atrophy of glands. 11.43% of animals were negative for inflammatory cells while 88.66% ofanimals were positive for inflammatory cells. 20% of animals had normal caruncles while 80% ofanimals had swelled caruncles. Discharge was collected for the white side test from the cervix. 62.86%of animals had serious discharge while 37.14% of animals had a purulent discharge. The color andtexture of the tract are divided into two categories pale and pale reddish with swelling. 54.74% had apale color while 45.26% had a pale and reddish with swelling. In conclusion, 60% of animals wereaffected by endometritis including mild, moderate, and severe. Histopathological parameters and thenature of exudate also showed a significant relationship with endometritis which was indicated by thewhite side test. The treatment of endometritis should be done after the white side test beforeinsemination. In this way, we can improve reproductive performance and conception rate. Furtherstudies are warranted to perform the culture sensitivity test and treat the animals with intra-uterine andsystemic antibiotic therapy.


For decades, the study of literary and philosophical modernism concerned solitary figures like the flaneur, the exile, and the lonely genius, but recently the group formations that fostered modernist movements have emerged into view. The essays in Modernist Group Dynamics: The Poetics and Politics of Friendship pursue this new direction in modernist scholarship, exploring the ways artists and intellectuals worked in concert and in conflict. Placing group formations, with all their promises and problems, at the centre of our study allows the contributors-scholars from around the world-to reconsider some of the best-known figures of European modernism, to analyze collaborations across national boundaries, and to recover modernist groups in unexpected contexts like the so-called Third World.


This report describes LIP, the Livermore Interpolation Package. Because LIP is a stand-alone version of the interpolation package in the Livermore Equation of State (LEOS) access library, the initials LIP alternatively stand for the ''LEOS Interpolation Package''. LIP was totally rewritten from the package described in [1]. In particular, the independent variables are now referred to as x and y, since the package need not be restricted to equation of state data, which uses variables {rho} (density) and T (temperature). LIP is primarily concerned with the interpolation of two-dimensional data on a rectangular mesh. The interpolation methods provided include piecewise bilinear, reduced (12-term) bicubic, and bicubic Hermite (biherm). There is a monotonicity-preserving variant of the latter, known as bimond. For historical reasons, there is also a biquadratic interpolator, but this option is not recommended for general use. A birational method was added at version 1.3. In addition to direct interpolation of two-dimensional data, LIP includes a facility for inverse interpolation (at present, only in the second independent variable). For completeness, however, the package also supports a compatible one-dimensional interpolation capability. Parametric interpolation of points on a two-dimensional curve can be accomplished by treating the components as a pair of one-dimensionalmore » functions with a common independent variable. LIP has an object-oriented design, but it is implemented in ANSI Standard C for efficiency and compatibility with existing applications. First, a ''LIP interpolation object'' is created and initialized with the data to be interpolated. Then the interpolation coefficients for the selected method are computed and added to the object. Since version 1.1, LIP has options to instead estimate derivative values or merely store data in the object. (These are referred to as ''partial setup'' options.) It is then possible to pass the object to functions that interpolate or invert the interpolant at an arbitrary number of points. The first section of this report describes the overall design of the package, including both forward and inverse interpolation. Sections 2-6 describe each interpolation method in detail. The software that implements this design is summarized function-by-function in Section 7. For a complete example of package usage, refer to Section 8. The report concludes with a few brief notes on possible software enhancements. For guidance on adding other functional forms to LIP, refer to Appendix B. The reader who is primarily interested in using LIP to solve a problem should skim Section 1, then skip to Sections 7.1-4. Finally, jump ahead to Section 8 and study the example. The remaining sections can be referred to in case more details are desired. Changes since version 1.1 of this document include the new Section 3.2.1 that discusses derivative estimation and new Section 6 that discusses the birational interpolation method. Section numbers following the latter have been modified accordingly.« less


Background: Breast cancer is a major life-threatening public health problem of great concern. Long-term increases in the incidence of the disease are being observed in both industrialized and developing world. Methods: During 1995-99, 137 biopsy proven breast cancer cases underwent surgical treatment at Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa. Of these cases, records of 125 were retrieved and analyzed to assess the pattern and treatment outcome of the disease. Results: The median age of females was 40 years. The median duration of the presenting symptom on admission was nearly 1 year. Clinically, majority of cases had stage III disease. Invasive ductal carcinoma was the most frequent type. Eighty-nine (71.2%) patients underwent modified radical mastectomy. During a short follow-up, 50 (45.9%) of 109 patients were seen with recurrences. Only 4 cases were seen at 5 or more years. Conclusion: In our series, breast cancer affected mainly young women; patients presented excessively late a probable contributor to the high rate of early relapse. Follow-up was poor. Public education on the importance of regular self breast examination to detect breast cancer should be emphasized.


Phytosterols or stanols are large group of compounds found exclusively in plants. These are naturally present in plants and are structurally similar to cholesterol. A daily intake of 3 g of phytosterol (or their reduced form stanols) is associated with consistent and reproducible reduction in LDL cholesterol concentrations upto 10% and reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 20% over a lifetime. Studies have concluded that the effective doses for reduction of cholesterol are between 1.5 and 3g/day, leading to decrease in 8% and 15% of LDLcholesterol. The principal mechanism of action is based on interference with the solubilization of the cholesterol in the intestinal mucosa. Several studies have validated the cholesterol lowering effect of phytosterols and stanols along with its role in prevention of coronary heart diseases. Phytosterols and stanols fortified foods and formulations should pave the greater use of such ingredients for promotion in human health.


In order to investigate the effect of application rate of cadmium on tree growth and cadmium accumulation in fruit tree, one year old pear trees were transplanted into plastic container containing sand. Then, pear trees were cultured with nutrient solution containing 1 to 20 mg・L-1 of cadmium. Growth of shoot was severely suppressed by elevated cadmium concentrations. Decrease of dry weight of old roots with thicker than 2 mm in diameter was more severely affected by elevated cadmium concentrations in nutrient solution than those of other parts of pear trees. Elevated cadmium concentrations in nutrient solution resulted in increase of tissue contents and the highest concentration was observed in young roots followed by old roots, barks, woods, and leaves. The cadmium contents in young roots were much higher than those of other parts of pear trees. Cadmium detected in young roots was 53~82% of total amounts accumulated in pear trees. Uniform chlorosis in newly developed leaves and defoliation, localized necrosis in bark and necrosis in buds were observed in treatments of elevated cadmium concentrations.


The incidence of chancroid in Rotterdam has increased by more than five-fold during 1977-78. In a retrospective study of 53 patients with chancroid seen at this clinic during this period, the results of smears were positive in 82% and of cultures in 84% (of those for whom cultures had been performed). Symptoms were generally mild. Treatment with co-trimoxazole was highly effective clinically, as confirmed by in-vitro sensitivity studies.


STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE The pygmy sperm whale appears to be distributed worldwide in temperate to tropical waters (Caldwell and Caldwell 1989; Bloodworth and Odell 2008). Sightings of these animals in the northern Gulf of Mexico (i.e., U.S. Gulf of Mexico) occur primarily in oceanic waters (Figure 1; Mullin et al. 1991; Mullin and Fulling 2004; MazeFoley and Mullin 2006). Pygmy sperm whales and dwarf sperm whales (Kogia sima) are difficult to differentiate at sea, and sightings of either species are often categorized as Kogia sp. Sightings of this category were documented in all seasons during GulfCet aerial surveys of the northern Gulf of Mexico from 1992 to 1998 (Hansen et al. 1996; Mullin and Hoggard 2000). The difficulty in sighting pygmy and dwarf sperm whales may be exacerbated by their avoidance reaction towards ships, and change in behavior towards approaching survey aircraft (Würsig et al. 1998)). In a study using hematological and stable-isotope data, Barros et al. (1998) speculated that dwarf sperm whales may have a more pelagic distribution than pygmy sperm whales, and/or dive deeper during feeding bouts. Diagnostic morphological characters have also been useful in distinguishing the 2 Kogia species (Barros and Duffield 2003), thus enabling researchers to use stranding data in distributional and ecological studies. Specifically, the distance from the snout to the center of the blowhole in proportion to the animal's total length, as well as the height of the dorsal fin, in proportion to the animal's total length, can be used to differentiate between the 2 Kogia species when such measurements are obtainable (Barros and Duffield 2003). The Gulf of Mexico population is provisionally being considered a separate stock for management purposes, although there is currently no information to differentiate this stock from the Atlantic Ocean stock(s). Additional morphological, genetic and/or behavioral data are needed to provide further information on stock delineation.


The kidney is a major target of toxic compounds. Susceptibility of the kidney to toxic effects of compounds is attributed to the unique morphologic and physiologic features of this organ. Renal development and maturation begins in the fetal period and continuous throughout the postnatal period. The effects of noxious compounds on the kidney are influenced by the state of renal development and maturation. Therefore, to asses the renal toxic potential of a compound in fetuses and infants, the development and maturation of the kidney should be taken into account. Renal development and maturation involves both morphological and functional aspects. Renal development begins in the fetus and proceeds to partial functional capacity before birth. After birth, the kidney continues morphologic and functional maturation during the postnatal period of infancy. The fetal or infant kidney is vulnerable to the renal toxicity of certain compounds due to its morphological and functional characteristics. On the other hand, the infant kidney is sometimes more tolerant to nephrotoxic compounds compared to the adult kidney because of its immature glomerular filtration, concentrating capability and active transportation. Design and interpretation of studies in fetuses and infants regarding renal toxicity should include careful consideration of the state of renal development and maturation and of the mechanisms of renal injury.


Volvulus is a very rare condition which consists of the rotation of the small intestine and the proximal colon around the superior mesenteric artery, leading to complete intestinal obstruction and ischemic vascular damage. The frequency of this condition is 1 in 6000 live births. We report a case of midgut vovulus with malrotation with a prenatal diagnosis at the end of the week 33. We describe the importance of prenatal echotomographic diagnosis which offers the possibility of performing differential diagnosis. Additionally, it is important to remember that the prognoses of these patients depend on the length of remaining intestine, the location of the intestinal obstruction, the presence of meconium peritonitis, the possibility of associated malformations, but above all, on birth weight and level of prematurity.


SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 For households, water supply, power supply, pipeline gas and centralized heating are necessaries to maintain the normal life of a family. For Chinese urban families, water, electricity, gas, warm services are often provided by different government utility companies. Aimed at the shortage of the manual measurement of the above mentioned services' consumptions, a new mechanism using network metering devices is proposed in this paper. Based on the general network measurement mechanism and through analysis, this paper proposes using meter communication network as the public communication network of various metering devices, forming wireless mesh network by metering devices, constituting a virtual private network by the power company's network, and accessing to metering network based on SCEP protocol and certificates of devices. Under this new network measurement mechanism, a network routing optimization strategy, a data acquisition protocol based on IPv6 and a mesh network management system are designed, and preliminary experiments have been carried on. Experimental results show that the proposed mechanism can realize functions through the network, including the control of multi-measuring devices, topology discovery, data acquisition, fulfilling the multi-meter data acquisition system via network.


FOR MANY centuries it has been observed that patients with disease of the liver at times lapse into a deep sleep and die. It also has been recognized for a long time that some of these patients exhibit peculiar nervous and mental reactions prior to going into the state of unconsciousness known as "hepatic coma." For these reasons some relationship between the liver and the brain was postulated early. For many years little attention was paid to this type of coma, chiefly because it was nearly always fatal and to most observers simply represented the terminal phase of a hopeless disease. Chester Jones 1 in 1936 first emphasized the value of glucose in the treatment of liver failure. Although spontaneous recovery from hepatic coma had been reported prior to this time, since 1936 it has been observed not infrequently, and interest in this subject has mounted. A few years later


Regular facial clinical testing (G. Freyss) and surface integrated electromyography was employed to quantitatively assess the course of 12 hypoglossofacial anastomoses. Recovery was complete after an average period of 4 months, the time before conducting anastomosis (2 to 14 months after onset of facial paralysis) not affecting the quality of results obtained. Age significantly influenced recuperation of remaining tone, but this was always superior to 70 p. cent in relation to the other half of the face. Motor recovery was not affected by age, and was a mean of 51 p. cent after one year (50 to 70 p. cent when compared with the normal half of the face). Lingual sequelae were minimal, early physical therapy compensating for the inevitable resulting synkinesis. Results after hypoglossofacial anastomosis are compared with those obtained by faciofacial anastomoses (published in 1980). The former is a simpler and more rapid technique which produces more constant results and leads to earlier recovery (4 instead of 9 months after faciofacial anastomosis. Tone is also improved and motility satisfactory.


Good approximations for the radiative transition rates, conduction band to heavy-hole band and conduction band to light-hole band, which are continuous over a wide range of temperature and electron and hole Fermi levels (degenerate and non-degenerate) and in which photon multiplication may be included, are developed for direct gap III - V semiconductors. They are based on the band structure and wavefunctions of the simple isotropic three-band approximation to Kane's band structure and depend solely on the effective masses at the zone centre, the energy gap and the dielectric constant. They are compared with more accurate calculations based on the diagonalization of the matrix of the four-band model with higher and lower bands taken into account by perturbation theory. Application to (0.0 < x < 0.25) and (0.17 < x < 0.26) shows that over the whole range of materials, Fermi levels (-0.25 to 0.40 eV) and temperatures (80 - 400 K) the agreement is never worse than 20% and usually considerably better. Results are given in detail for InSb and . It is also shown that in degenerate material, when the penetration of the hole Fermi level into the valence band is greater than that of the electron Fermi level into the conduction band, the transition rate to the light-hole band can exceed that to the heavy-hole band. These approximations are eminently suitable for use in modelling semiconductor effects and devices.


Background The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate current studies available reporting the antibiotic spacer combined with Ilizarov methods in the treatment of infected nonunion of tibia and to perform meta-analysis of bone results and infection recurrence to assess the efficacy of an antibiotic spacer combined with Ilizarov methods. Methods The MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and CBM (Chinese Biological Medicine) databases were searched for articles published between January 2000 and July 2020. Assessment of study quality was performed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Effect size and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the main outcome. Heterogeneity was assessed. Fixed-effect modeling and Stata version 15.1 were used to analyze the data. Sensitivity analyses were conducted with the evidence of heterogeneity. Results 11 studies involving 210 patients with infected nonunion of tibia were finally included in our meta-analysis. Bone results and infection recurrence were analyzed based on the single-arm meta-analysis. The average of external fixation index (EFI) was 46.88 days/cm in all studies included. The excellent rate in bone results and the rate of infection recurrence was 65% (95% CI: [0.22, 0.97], I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.932) and 6.99% (95% CI: [0.052, 0.325], I2 = 0.0%, P = 1.000) in patients with infected nonunion of tibia treated with an antibiotic spacer combined with Ilizarov methods. Conclusions Our meta-analysis revealed that the patients with infected nonunion of tibia treated with an antibiotic spacer combined with Ilizarov methods had a high rate of excellent bone results and a low rate of infection recurrence. Therefore, combining the antibiotic spacer with Ilizarov methods may be an applicable choice for repairing and reconstructing infected nonunion of tibia.


Objective This study was done to determine the feasibility and potential utility of whole-body PET using the glucose analogue 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) for the detection of primary malignancies and metastatic lesions. Materials and Methods This was a prospective, nonrandomized study of whole-body FDG-PET imaging carried out at a large university teaching hospital in Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. The study group consisted of all patients referred for PET imaging (87) with a suspected diagnosis of primary or recurrent malignancy and who had eventual histological confirmation of their lesions. Results In the 87 patients, whole-body PET studies were positive (presence of focal FDG uptake relative to surrounding tissues uptake) in 61 of 70 patients (87%) with subsequent biopsy-confirmed primary or recurrent malignant lesions, including carcinomas of breast, lung, ovary, prostate, colon, urinary bladder, and gallbladder origin, as well as malignant melanoma, carcinoid, osteosarcoma, lymphoma, and spinal cord astrocytoma. The PET images revealed no focal hypermetabolism at the known site of tumor in patients with primary prostate carcinoma (two), microscopic ovarian carcinoma (two), breast carcinoma (one), low-grade carcinoid tumors (two), and one patient with recurrent microscopic osteogenic sarcoma. The PET studies detected the primary lesion in 15 of 17 patients with breast carcinoma and in 6 of 6 patients with primary lung carcinoma. Of the 17 patients with benign biopsies, 13 patients had FDG-PET studies without focal areas of uptake. Conclusion Because of the high glycolytic rate of malignant tissue, the whole-body FDG-PET technique has promise in the detection of a wide variety of both primary and metastatic malignancies. The presence of FDG uptake in benign inflammatory conditions may limit the specificity of the technique. The sensitivity for the detection of malignant lesions was 87% and the positive predictive value was 94%. The whole-body FDG-PET method is promising both in determining the nature of a localized lesion and in defining the systemic extent of malignant disease.


The previous version of the automatic nuclear emulsion scanning system had a limit on read-out speed of several microscope views per second (views/s). This was due to unavoidable mechanical vibration when microscope stage was stopped to acquire tomographic images along the optical axis in emulsion. To overcome this limit, we succeeded in developing optics synchronized to stage movement so that tomographic images can be acquired without stopping a stage. This new system, S-UTS, is now operative with scanning speed of 50 views/s, or 72 cm2/h, with high efficiency and sub-μm precision. It plays an essential role in the OPERA experiment at CERN.