BACKGROUND
Neurocognitive changes are common after cardiac operations. The acute post-operative period is a critical time when significant neurologic changes may be detected and appropriate therapy initiated promptly. Formal neuropsychologic testing in this situation however is impractical so other means of early detection are required. The goal of this preliminary study was to determine whether simple, standardized, serial nursing neurologic evaluations using the Neurologic Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) could be helpful in screening patients for neurologic injury in the immediate post-operative period.

MATERIAL/METHODS
Details of the intra-operative and post-operative anesthetic management were obtained during report and nurses subsequently scored acute post-operative patients in the CTSICU using the NICE every half hour for the first five hours. Finally, a chart review was performed to determine the neurologic outcome of the patients.

RESULTS
The time to achieve the lower NICE scores which reflect mainly brainstem function was the same whereas the time to achieve NICE scores>4 was prolonged in patients with neurocognitive dysfunction. The effect of intra-operative factors on the times to achieve NICE scores was different for the higher and lower scores. The times to reach NICE scores correlated with outcome variables including the time in ICU and time of intubation.

CONCLUSIONS
Standardized, serial nursing neurologic assessments of post-operative cardiac patients may be a useful tool for early identification of patients with neurologic injury. They may also provide useful information complementing the data obtained from detailed neuropsychologic testing on the neurologic effects of cardiac operations.


BACKGROUND
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines represent an important strategic opportunity to prevent cervical cancer in low-middle income countries, such as India. The economic evaluation of HPV vaccines is crucial to inform public-health decisions; however, the scarce economic evaluations from India have focused on the value for money of bivalent vaccines and took a healthcare perspective. The aim of this study is to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of all available HPV vaccines in India.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The Papillomavirus Rapid Interface for Modelling and Economics (PRIME) model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination of 12-year-old girls in India, from both healthcare and societal perspectives. Cervical cancer cases, deaths averted and the incremental cost per Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) averted were reported as primary outcomes. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to handle any uncertainty or variability in the results.

RESULTS
Compared with no vaccination, the incremental cost per DALY averted was USD 362.78 for nonavalent vaccine, USD 393.16 for quadrivalent vaccine and USD 432.24 for bivalent vaccine from a healthcare perspective. From a societal perspective, the incremental cost per DALY averted was USD 334.28 for nonavalent vaccine, USD 364.67 for quadrivalent vaccine and USD 403.75 for bivalent vaccine. Assuming constant prices per dose for all vaccines, the nonavalent vaccine dominated both quadrivalent and bivalent vaccines, indicating that it is the more cost-effective strategy.

CONCLUSION
Vaccinating girls against HPV is a cost-effective strategy to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and mortality due to cervical cancer in India.


The recent interest of occupational medicine for chronobiology has been mainly devoted to the fields of energy expense and nutrition, work performance, social and work organization. However, experimental studies of chronotoxicology have showed that the effects of noxious agents vary according to biological time of exposure, nature of toxic agents, and target organ. This fact indicates that the different responses to xenobiotics depend on the temporal variation of susceptibility, which represents a characteristic of each living species. In some instances, the biological differences of susceptibility have been regarded as a consequence of the different capability of the organs to biotransform the xenobiotics itself. Another aspect of chronotoxicology seems to be of great interest for the occupational toxicology. In fact, the evaluation of the toxicological risk in work environment is based, in addition to the environmental monitoring, on the measure of indices both of exposure and effect. Recently, it has pointed out the importance of the knowledge of the temporal behaviour of these indices to avoid misinterpretations of the results. These considerations may lead to a new and wider approach to the evaluation of environmental risk.


Several techniques exist for determining blood flow to the organs. Most of these techniques are indirect and do not measure blood flow as an instantaneous function of time. A non-invasive technique for measuring blood flow in a specific vessel, transcutaneously, is based on ultrasonic Doppler methods. The authors examine the electronics of a pulsed Doppler flowmeter. All the electronic circuits of a directional 4 MHz pulse wave (PW) Doppler velocimeter with a peak frequency follower have been constructed and tested.


The aim of this paper is to look at the joint impact of culture and institutions on economic development by operationalizing the cultural and institutional multipliers conceptualized in the literature. The study uses regression analyses to estimate the two multipliers which are key in an understanding of the interaction of culture and institutions. As for culture, two layers are distinguished, deep culture (values) and a slow-moving cultural layer (beliefs). The cross-country empirical analyses, including IV estimations, provide evidence that the two cultural layers "behave" differently. Deep culture is not a substitute for (better) institutions, however, high-quality institutions can substitute improvement in deep culture, while in the majority of countries, in which institutions are not of high quality, institutions complement improvement in deep culture. Contrary to that, the slow-moving layer does not appear to be a significant determinant of development once institutions are controlled for. But what is more, no sign of interaction with institutions has been detectable. These findings shed light on the unique role of deep culture in economic development.


Background Drug users are regarded as a high-risk population of HIV infection. Non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) is internationally regarded as an effective biomedical prevention against HIV but still a small-scale pilot project in China at present. The aim of this study was to understand drug users' perceptions, demands and suggestions for nPEP service in China. Methods Nineteen eligible drug users were recruited in this qualitative study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted by trained interviewers. All of the interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic framework analysis. Results Most of participants had not heard of nPEP and none of them had used this service. After being informed basic knowledge of nPEP, about half of the participants reported willingness to use it. The facilitators included scare of HIV infection and regarding nPEP as a remedial measure in emergency. The barriers included low willingness for fatigue and lethargy after taking drugs, high price and side effects of nPEP medication, long course of nPEP treatment, and fear of privacy disclosure. Most of the participants thought the availability of nPEP would not increase the occurrence of unprotected intercourse and supported the routinization of nPEP services. Most participants chose social media for nPEP propaganda and pharmacies for providing nPEP. Conclusions It is imperative to strengthen propaganda and education of nPEP among drug users, and to encourage them to proactively use nPEP after exposure. Price regulation, side effect management and privacy protection need to be managed well when nPEP is routinized.


The study of wetlands is particularly important as these systems act as natural water purifiers and thus can act as sinks for contaminated particles. Wetland sediments are important as they provide an indication of potential contamination across temporal and spatial scales. The current study aimed to investigate the distributions of selected metals and nutrients in different sites in relation to sediment depth, and identify relationships among sediment metals. Significant differences in nutrient (i.e., N, P) and metal (i.e., K, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, B) concentrations were found across study sites, whereas nutrients (i.e., N, P) and metals (i.e., Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn) were significantly different with sediment depths. When compared against Canadian sediment standards, most of the assessed metals were within the "no effect" level across the different sites and depths. The K, Ca, and Mg concentration showed extreme contamination across all sites and depths. The enrichment factor values for K, Ca, and Mg showed extremely high enrichment levels for all sites and sediment depths. The Na, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and B concentration showed mostly background enrichment levels. All sediments across the different sites and sediment depths indicated deterioration of sediment quality. Pearson correlations suggest that most metals might have originated in a similar source as that of Mn and B, owing to a lack of significant differences. These results provide baseline information for the general management of the Nylsvley Wetland in relation to sediment metal pollution. The specific sources of metal contaminants also require further elucidation to further inform management efforts.


Abstract Comparisons of TIROS-viewed severe storm clouds are made with radar, sferics, and surface cloud and weather observations. Where available, the radar and sferics observations show an excellent correlation with the storm-producing cloud systems. As expected, the clouds are found to be larger than the radar echoes whereas the reliable sferics fixes closely outlined the cloud area. In the cases investigated, the cloud patterns producing severe weather are conspicuous and distinctive. They are medium scale neph systems characterized by strong brightness and well defined borders and are either isolated from other clouds or separated by a break in the cloudiness at the periphery.


Five biomimetic mono- or dinuclear nickel complexes featuring Ni(I) or Ni(II) sites were studied by X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy and DFT calculations. Ni K-edge XANES spectra and Kβ main and satellite emission lines were collected on powder samples. The pre-edge absorption transitions (core-to-valence excitation) and Kβ2,5 emission transitions (valence-to-core decay) were calculated using DFT (TPSSh/TZVP) on crystal structures. This yielded theoretical ctv and vtc spectra in near-quantitative agreement with the experiment, showing the adequacy of the DFT approach for electronic structure description, emphasizing the sensitivity of the XAS/XES spectra for ligation/redox changes at nickel, and revealing the configuration of unoccupied and occupied valence levels, as well as the spin-coupling modes in the dinuclear complexes. XAS/XES-DFT is valuable for molecular and electronic structure analysis of synthetic complexes and of nickel centers in H2 or COx converting metalloenzymes.


A review is given of the most common errors made in the estimation of the parameters of acid-base balance. Especially important are the systematic errors, for instance in handling the blood before estimation, by use of incorrect standard solutions or poor temperature control during the measurement of the pH. By paying attention to these details, it is possible to obtain excellent precision in final measurement in the standard apparatus.


Recently, B.-Y. Chen discovered a technique to find the relation between
 second fundamental form and the warping function of warped product
 submanifolds. In this paper, we extend our further study of [24] by giving
 non-trivial examples of warped product pointwise hemi-slant submanifolds.
 Finally, we establish a sharp estimation for the squared norm of the second
 fundamental form ||h||2 in terms of the warping function f. The equality case
 is also investigated.


Introduction. Recently, much attention has been paid in the literature to the primary assessment of the pharmacological effect of various drugs using in vivo and in vitro tests. Great interest in determining the antioxidant activity (АА) of drugs, including herbal remedies, medicinal plant materials and their biologically active substances (BAS). It is known that such an officinal medicinal plant, like dioica nettle, is rich in natural antioxidants (АО) in its phytochemical composition: flavonoids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, etc. In some publications, there is information about the АА of nettle leaves and preparations based on it. However, information on the comparative characteristics of the use of various methods for determining the АА of this type of medicinal plant material and the results obtained are not found in the scientific literature. Aim. The aim of this work was a comparative determination of the АА of medicinal plant raw materials of nettle dioica by various methods. Materials and methods. The object of the study was the finished crushed raw material of dioica nettle leaves ( Folia Urticae ) in filter bags produced by a domestic manufacturer. AA of water and water-alcohol extracts was determined titrimetrically according to the method developed by T. V. Maksimova with co-authors; the ability to inhibit the autooxidation of adrenaline in vitro . The Paramecium caudatum cell culture was also used as a biological model to determine the АА of aqueous extracts from the studied raw material on a living cell. The determination of the qualitative and quantitative composition of phenolic AO was determined by HPLC-DMD-MS. Results and discussion. The total АА of water and water-alcohol extracts from dioica nettle leaves was determined using various techniques recommended in the literature. The effect of the extractant polarity on the value of АА was investigated and an inversely proportional relationship was revealed. It was found that the highest content of АО in the extraction is observed when using 96% ethanol as an extractant. Evaluation of the АА of the test object by the biological method was carried out in accordance with the values of the index of biological activity. HPLC-DMD-MS analysis of water-methanol extraction from nettle leaves showed the presence of 17 substances – representatives of the group of phenolic compounds. Conclusion. Using four independent methods, the prospects of using dioica nettle leaves and preparations based on it as a source of AO are shown. The data obtained undoubtedly open up new possibilities for the use of a long-known plant and confirm the feasibility and prospects of its use for obtaining new dosage forms.


AIM To investigate the prevalence and association of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS SA comprehensive literature search was completed from inception until October 2016. Studies that reported prevalence, relative risks, odd ratios, hazard ratios or standardized incidence ratio of H. pylori among ESRD patients were included. Participants without H. pylori were used as comparators to assess the association between H. pylori infection and ESRD. Pooled risk ratios and 95%CI was calculated using a random-effect model. Adjusted point estimates from each study were combined by the generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird. RESULTS Of 4546 relevant studies, thirty-seven observational studies met all inclusion criteria. Thirty-five cross-sectional studies were included in the analyses to assess the prevalence and association of H. pylori with ESRD. The estimated prevalence of H. pylori among ESRD patients was 44% (95%CI: 40%-49%). The pooled RR of H. pylori in patients with ESRD was 0.77 (95%CI: 0.59-1.00) when compared with the patients without ESRD. Subgroup analysis showed significantly reduced risk of H. pylori in adult ESRD patients with pooled RR of 0.71 (95%CI: 0.55-0.94). The data on the risk of ESRD in patients with H. pylori were limited. Two cohort studies were included to assess the risk of ESRD in patients with H. pylori. The pooled risk RR of ESRD in patients with H. pylori was 0.61 (95%CI: 0.03-12.20). CONCLUSION The estimated prevalence of H. pylori in ESRD patients is 44%. Our meta-analysis demonstrates a decreased risk of H. pylori in adult ESRD patients.


Summary – A new genus, Paradolichodera gen. n., is proposed for a heteroderid species parasitising the rush Eleocharis gracilis on the banks of a lagoon near Christchurch, New Zealand. The slender body of the second-stage juveniles (a = 61-79) makes the type species, P. tenuissima sp. n., unique among known Heteroderidae species. The females weakly tan after death and retain eggs. The cysts are elongate-ovoid with rounded posterior end, a circumfenestral vulva area in terminal position, an indistinct anus and a cuticle with faint striation anteriorly and punctations posteriorly. The male body is not twisted, a cloacal tube is present and phasmids are lacking. Morphologically, the new genus is closest to Dolichodera in the subfamily Punctoderinae. A phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1-rRNA sequence of P. tenuissima sp. n. shows a close relationship to Punctodera and Globodera.


Teenage schoolgirls in Le Roy, New York, captured the attention of the U.S. public in 2011 and 2012 when they developed acute motor and vocal tics. Dramatic images of the girls' involuntary movements were briefly seen on national news and social media before clinical neurologists diagnosed the girls with "mass psychogenic illness" and required their retreat from media as part of the cure. Drawing from perspectives in medical and linguistic anthropology as well as the anthropology of expertise, we interrogate how this diagnosis, called "mass hysteria" in a previous generation of Freudian psychology, came to be favored over attribution to a potential environmental cause. Neurologists countered the evidential vagueness of environmental claims by suggesting that material proof of psychological origin could lie in fMRI data, contributing to a public narrative on female adolescent brains and rural U.S. communities that foreclosed environmental inquiry.


As the study of Latin literature over the last twenty years has been challenged by the rise of modern literary theories and a decline in the study of the language, Latinists have begun to examine their own disciplinary tradition and the tools of their trade. One of the vital keys to the history of classical scholarship is the genre of commentaries. These line-by-line guides to the text represent readings that focus on issues ranging from textual criticism and factual notes to rhetoric and aesthetics. Combining issues of gender, literary theory and philology, I analysed the interpretative strategies at play in commentaries of the Latin elegiac poetess Sulpicia (Corpus Tibullianum 3.13-18) in my Ph.D. thesis. Commentaries might seem an 'innocent genre', but these readings are also coloured by the different interpretative communities of the commentators and by their particular contexts. Such colourings, captured in these supposedly objective scholarly and pedagogical works, in turn influence the way we think about classical texts. Furthermore, these contemporary colourings very often surface in the treatment of issues of gender and sexuality, and my study of an elegiac poetess in commentaries has accordingly proved a useful litmus test. My Rome Scholarship enabled me to explore in greater depth some of the issues raised by and in the Renaissance commentaries on Sulpicia, and, in particular, the very first commentary on Sulpicia by the so-called obscure humanist Bernardino Cillenio (1475). Through archival research in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and the Angelica I have been able to find five unpublished and virtually undiscussed poems by this humanist, as well as several references to him in contemporary sources (for example Corna, Sabellico and Zavarise). Cillenio's own poems do indeed shed important light on his intellectual horizon and context that are useful to the analysis of his commentary. For example, the five unpublished poems are dedicated to the cultural patron Federico de Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and as such offer an important new dimension to Cillenio's position in cultural society. Studies of the different editions of Cillenio's commentary have proved most interesting also. A richly decorated version of the commentary was owned by the Chigi family and a later manuscript-version has interesting tabulation, in the case of Sulpicia's poems offering important information as to what a contemporary reader found worthy of indicating. Through a closer look at this material, as well as at other contemporary commentaries on Roman elegy, the first conclusion one may draw is that Cillenio, in his schoolmasterly manner, completely glossed over any issues of femininity or female sexuality. This is a major contrast to, for example, Poliziano's commentary on Ovid's Epistula Sapphus (1481), where the femininity in question is at the core of his commentary. The second conclusion I would like to point out is that a closer investigation of Cillenio's poetry and references to him in contemporary sources makes him much less of an obscure humanist than scholars have thought so far.


Assessment in STEM education is a difficult activity. It requires teachers to have the competence of designing a competency assessment tool (CDCAT). This article proposes the model of CDCAT. The components and behavioral indicators of the CDCAT were proposed based on analyzing the thinking process when designing an assessment tool. The model was built through a rigorous multi-step research process that ensures the value and reliability of the model. The pilot of 53 science pre-service teachers also showed that the model has a guiding effect on the design of the assessment tool in teaching science.


Autophagy is a crucial metabolic pathway that sustains cellular homeostasis in health and that can also play either a protective or a destructive role in disease. During the last decade, progress made in understanding of the molecular basis of autophagy has uncovered an exciting opportunity to target it for the treatment of several human illnesses. In fact, there is emerging interest in autophagy-modulating and autophagy- targeted therapy with a variety of pharmacologic agents. However, to develop effective autophagy-targeted therapy, it is essential to identify the pharmacologic key targets in the autophagy pathway. In this chapter, we reviewed the cases of success and pitfalls of activating or inhibiting autophagy attempting therapeutic intervention of diseases, including cancer, neurologic disorders, and infectious diseases. In all these histopatho-logic states, autophagy is considered as the principal cellular mechanisms of defense and immunochemical homeostasis. In the last section of this chapter, we discuss main directions that may be of particular use in the future investigations, including a promissory avenue for autophagy modulation for organelle-targeting therapy through a promotion of parallel damage in lysosomal and mitochondrial membranes.


Results are presented for modeling the deposition of Ag and rutile TiO2. The model can be used to examine the effect of varying experimental parameters, such as the substrate bias in the magnetron and the stoichiometry of the deposition species. We illustrate how long time scale dynamics techniques can be used to model the process over experimental time scales. Long time dynamics is achieved through an on-the-fly Kinetic Monte Carlo (otf-KMC) method, which determines diffusion pathways and barriers, in parallel, with no prior knowledge of the involved transitions. Using this otf-KMC method we have modeled the deposition of Ag and TiO2 for various plasma deposition energies, in the range 1 eV to 100 eV. It was found that Ag {111} produces the most crystalline growth when deposited at 40 eV. TiO2 growth showed that at energies of 1 eV and 100 eV a porous structure occurs with void formation. At deposition energies of 30 eV and 40 eV, a more dense and crystalline rutile growth forms. The results show that deposition energy plays an important role in the resulting thin film quality and surface morphology.


A recursive algorithm is presented to improve the spatial resolution of 3-D Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) images in a four-shell realistic head model. In this algorithm, the low spatial resolution image derived from the standardized low resolution electromagnetic tomography algorithm (sLORETA) is chosen to be the initial estimate for the Focal Underdetermined System Solver (FOCUSS), and a shrinking strategy is adopted for adjusting the source space during iteration process in FOCUSS. Images are presented with improved spatial resolution and the algorithm effectiveness is verified on simulated data by setting two perturbations in the movement and visual regions of the brain


Recently significant progress has been made in 3D detection. However, it is still challenging to detect small contour objects under complex scenes. This paper proposes a novel Attention-based Multi-phase Multi-task Fusion (AMMF) that uses point-level, RoI-level, and multi-task fusions to complement the disadvantages of LiDAR and camera, to solve this challenge. First, at the feature extraction phase, AMMF uses the Low and High-level Fusion with Matching Attention (LHF-MA) and efficient FPN (eFPN) to perform point-level fusion for cross sensors and single sensor, respectively. Instead of merging each level and using expensive 3D CNN like other methods, LHF-MA fuses low-level spatial location and high-level contextual feature of 2D CNN customized feature extractors and ignores the fusion of middle levels, reducing the computational cost. Then, at the proposal generation phase, Progressive Proposal Fusion (PPF) with learned attention map is used to perform coarse-to-fine RoI-level fusion, instead of only combining coarse-grained features at high-level of network. PPF using progressively increasing IoU thresholds could avoid overfitting and improve the performance. Note that the matching attentions and learned attention maps are utilized to weigh the priority of different sensors. Moreover, to solve the sparseness of point-wise fusion between LiDAR BEV and RGB image, AMMF uses multi-task fusion that generates pseudo-LiDAR from camera by depth estimation task, to guide this point-wise fusion. Finally, AMMF performs excellently for detecting small contour objects like pedestrians, cyclists, and distant cars. On the KITTI, AMMF finishes 3.62% improvements in the moderate instance for pedestrians. It achieves a 2.21% improvement in the >50 instance of LEVEL_2 level for vehicle on the Waymo Open Dataset. And AMMF is further verified on our customized dataset consisting of challenging scenarios like strong illumination and heavy shadow cases.


Surface acoustic wave (SAW) cavities have been widely applied as electronic bandpass filters, sensors, microfluidic tweezers, and, in recent years, as devices for coupling with quantum systems. Here we propose a novel method of analyzing acoustic Fabry–Pérot spectra, by analogy with optical cavities, to determine the free surface velocity and attenuation of SAW waves, as well as the reflection of interdigital transducers (IDTs), all of which are crucial design parameters. In our experiment, two-port SAW resonators, consisting of two IDTs laterally separated by a free surface cavity length, are used to generate SAWs on 128° Y-X lithium niobate that are trapped between the two IDTs which also act as Bragg reflectors. Resonant cavity peaks can be observed through the electrical ${S}_{{11}}$ (reflection) spectrum measured on one IDT. The free spectral range and linewidths of cavity peaks are then measured to obtain the free surface SAW velocity, SAW propagation attenuation coefficient, and IDT reflection phase and amplitude. Our method of analyzing Fabry–Pérot spectra provides an intuitive approach for determining key characteristics of SAW waves and cavities.


Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic enzyme defect affecting 1:10 000–20 000 newborn children every year. The amino acid phenylalanine (Phe) is not depleted but accumulates in tissues of several organs, which leads to severe medical conditions. A promising concept to restore the metabolism of the affected patients will be to orally administer the defective enzyme which will remove Phe in the intestine. Herein, capsosomes, a multicompartment carrier consisting of thousands of liposomes embedded within a polymeric carrier, are employed as encapsulation platform for this purpose. It is shown that the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lyase can be entrapped within the liposomal compartments with preserved activity, demonstrated by the conversion of Phe into trans‐cinnamic acid (t‐ca). With the aim to mimic the dynamic environment in the intestine, the Phe conversion is performed in a microfluidic set up in the presence of human intestinal epithelial cells with applied intestinal flow and peristaltic motions. It is also shown that the microreactors are neither internalized by the cells nor exhibit inherent cytotoxicity while concurrently converting Phe into t‐ca. Taken together, the first active extracellular multicompartment microreactor is reported using the relevant enzymes and settings toward the treatment of the medical condition PKU.


Background: Data heterogeneity and methodologic errors hinder the ability to draw clinically meaningful conclusions from studies using the BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module patient-reported outcome measure. In this systematic review, the authors evaluate the quality of BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module administration in relation to the BREAST-Q version 2.0 user's guide and the reporting of key methodology characteristics. The authors also describe a framework for improving the quality of BREAST-Q data analysis and reporting. Methods: The authors conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Ovid HAPI databases to identify articles on the BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module to assess postmastectomy breast reconstruction outcomes. The authors registered the protocol before study implementation on Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/c5236) and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data on mode of BREAST-Q administration, time horizon justification, and sample size calculation were collected. Results: The authors included 185 studies in the analysis. Errors in BREAST-Q administration were identified in 36 studies (19.5 percent). Appropriate administration of the BREAST-Q could not be determined in 63 studies (34.1 percent) because of insufficient reporting. Time horizon for the primary outcome was reported in 71 studies (38.4 percent), with only 17 (9.2 percent) reporting a sample size calculation. Conclusions: The authors identified important yet actionable shortcomings in the BREAST-Q literature. Researchers are encouraged to review the BREAST-Q user's guide in the study design phase to mitigate errors in patient-reported outcome measure administration and reporting for future trials using the BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module. Adhering to these guidelines will allow for greater clinical utility and generalizability of BREAST-Q research.


The agricultural produce that flows to the urban markets, currently, has an inherent systemic problem, a disorganized sector that causes wastage and destruction of food in transit, resulting ironically in unbalanced demand and supply ratio. It is not the lack of food as much as it is the power to deliver it in a safe and timely fashion to the consumer. Studies have shown that currently, about 30-40% of food that is grown in India is wasted. Out of the many reasons like infrastructure, middlemen, and unregulated pricing, the most important is the safe flow of this commodity to and from a given location. This supply chain problem could be solved using technology. With around 75% of the population owning cell phones, designated pick-up and drop-off locations could be marked and alerted to the potential user. In this paper we propose to develop a user-friendly mobile application that could be used by the farmers and transporters in a way that is mutually beneficial. Help the farmers to get the best out of their product thereby increasing their standard of living,facilitate proper distribution ofagriculturalproducts to the right consumers, avoidspoilage of perishable farm products intransit, and reduce the gap between supplyand demand and bring down prices to areasonable level.


ABSTRACT Voice over IP (VoIP) technology is being extensively and rapidly deployed. Flexibility and cost efficiency are the key factors luring enterprises to transition to VoIP. Some security problems may surface with the widespread deployment of VoIP. This article presents an overview of VoIP systems and its security issues. First, we briefly describe basic VoIP architecture and its fundamental differences compared to PSTN. Next, basic VoIP protocols used for signaling and media transport, as well as defense mechanisms are described. Finally, current and potential VoIP attacks along with the approaches that have been adopted to counter the attacks are discussed.


We propose an unsupervised strategy for the selection of justification sentences for multi-hop question answering (QA) that (a) maximizes the relevance of the selected sentences, (b) minimizes the overlap between the selected facts, and (c) maximizes the coverage of both question and answer. This unsupervised sentence selection can be coupled with any supervised QA model. We show that the sentences selected by our method improve the performance of a state-of-the-art supervised QA model on two multi-hop QA datasets: AI2's Reasoning Challenge (ARC) and Multi-Sentence Reading Comprehension (MultiRC). We obtain new state-of-the-art performance on both datasets among systems that do not use external resources for training the QA system: 56.82% F1 on ARC (41.24% on Challenge and 64.49% on Easy) and 26.1% EM0 on MultiRC. Our justification sentences have higher quality than the justifications selected by a strong information retrieval baseline, e.g., by 5.4% F1 in MultiRC. We also show that our unsupervised selection of justification sentences is more stable across domains than a state-of-the-art supervised sentence selection method.


Here we investigate the optimal finger design for low concentration thin film c-Si solar cells using 2D TCAD simulation. The Si cell studied has a 2μm absorber layer and 1μm emitter layer with 185μm finger spacing. We confirmed the TCAD model by matching 1 sun simulation to experimental data. The solar concentration studied is from 1 to 60 suns and the finger spacing is from 185μm to 1000μm. We observe that there is an optimal number of suns and finger spacing where the efficiency is maximized. Results show efficiency is maximized at 15 suns and 700μm finger spacing and with this design the efficiency increases from 14.68 % to 17.37%.


DNA replication from oriP of Epstein-Barr virus is mediated by the virus replication factor EBNA1 and cellular factors and occurs approximately once in each cell cycle. We have identified a minimal oriP element that is necessary and sufficient for DNA replication. We transfected plasmids containing several oriP fragments into HeLa cells expressing EBNA1 and analyzed their replication during four days after transfection using the methylation sensitive restriction endonuclease DpnI. All the oriP fragments containing the four EBNA1-binding sites known as the dyad symmetry sequence (DS) initiated DNA replication. The sequences flanking DS were not essential for DNA replication, but deletion of two or three EBNA1-binding sites in DS significantly reduced or totally abolished its replication activity. These results indicated that the four EBNA1-binding sites in DS constitute the minimal oriP element for DNA replication and suggest that DNA replication is initiated by recruitment of cellular replication factors onto or near the minimal oriP by EBNA1. We also found that the minimal oriP initiated DNA replication in mouse fibroblasts expressing EBNA1 but worked only at reduced efficiency, suggesting species specificity in DNA replication machineries.


The use of computational tools in the humanities for science 2.0 practices is steadily increasing. This paper examines current research practices of a group of philosophers studying the history of philosophical concepts. We explain the methodology and workflow of these philosophers and provide an overview of tools they currently use in their research. The case study highlights a number of fundamental challenges facing these researchers, including: (i) accessing known relevant research content or resources; (ii) discovering new research content or data; (iii) working collaboratively rather than individually. We propose a mash-up of search, visualization, and awareness tools addressing these challenges and discuss the design of the mash-up, its implementation, and evaluation with the target users. Through our case study, we demonstrate the benefits of a user-centered design approach, as well as the benefits of the concrete mash-up for historians of philosophy, and, importantly, the limitations of these tools for conducting historical and philosophical research.


Background and Objective: Incidence of coronary heart disease is three to four folds higher in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to non-diabetic patients. It has been proposed that the composition of lipid particles in diabetic dyslipidemia is more atherogenic than other types of dyslipidemia. This study was conducted to assess serum lipid profile in type diabetes male and female patients. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 50 T2DM patients with history more than ten yrs diabetes. Diabetic patients with overt complications and patients on drugs like diuretics, steroids, oral contraceptives and beta blockers etc are excluded from study. Results: The serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly raised in both males and females. Conclusion: Hyperlipidaemia is a common finding among DM patients. DM patients should be screened and appropriate management should be instituted to reduce the risk of CHD and atherosclerosis.


Investigates the stages that precede a disaster, switching the emphasis from the role of the emergency services to the responsibilities of management. Investigates three UK disasters: the collapsing colliery tip at the Welsh village of Aberfan in 1966; a collision at an automatic railway crossing at Hixon in England in 1968, between a large road transporter, carrying a transformer, and a train; and a fire at Summerland holiday leisure complex on the Isle of Man — all these events included large loss of life. Concludes that in modern times disasters arising from unknown or unsuspected sources are very rare but depend on information being correctly assessed.


The clinical and hematological profile of 53 patients in whom primary myelofibrosis (PMF) had been diagnosed during the last 15 years was evaluated. Median age was 64 years (range 17-86). Thirty-five patients were males and 18 females. The most frequent symptoms were associated with the hypermetabolic state, anemia and splenomegaly. The latter was found in 96% of patients, while 83% had hepatomegaly and 9% had lymphadenopathy. Thirty-three patients had anemia at the time of diagnosis. The leukocyte and platelet counts were normal or moderately high in most cases. Myelemia was found in 83% of patients, with circulating erythroblasts in 72%. The most common biochemical abnormalities were the increased serum LDH (84%) and hypocholesterolemia (62%). Bone marrow aspirate was not analyzable in most cases. Bone marrow biopsy showed myelofibrosis in hypercellular phase in 22 patients, myelofibrosis without osteosclerosis in 17, and myelofibrosis with osteosclerosis in 14. The median survival of the series was 3.8 years; 34 patients had died at the time of the analysis. The major causes of death were infection, cardiovascular complications and hemorrhage. In 4 patients the evolution from PMF to acute leukemia was observed.


We describe the development of a permanent-magnet (PM) brushless DC motor for driving high-speed embroidery machines by employing advanced design and analysis techniques. In the design of the motor, magnetic field finite-element analyses accurately calculate the key motor parameters such as the air-gap flux, back electromotive force (EMF), and inductance. Using the numerical magnetic field solutions, a modified incremental energy method calculates the self and mutual inductances of the stator windings. A phasor diagram is derived to compute the motor's steady-state characteristics. To predict the dynamic performance and increase the prediction accuracy, a Simulink-based model simulates the motor performance with the real waveforms of applied phase voltage, back EMF, and current. The motor prototype tested with both a dynamometer and a high-speed embroidery machine validated the theoretical calculations.


This paper deals with the design of the secure network of the Enhanced Internet of Vehicles by using the Blockchain Governance Game. The BGG is the system model of the stochastic game to find best strategies towards preparation for preventing a network malfunction by an attacker. The paper applies the stochastic game model into the connected vehicle security. This research helps for whom considers the enhanced secure IoV architecture with the BGG within the decentralized network.


Properties of gas-condensate reservoirs are particularly difficult to study due to the composition and phase changes of light components that occur during the reservoir depletion. At the first stage of their discovery, these reservoirs behave like gas reservoirs during depletion. Once the dew point pressure is reached at reservoir conditions of pressure and temperature a retrograde condensation phase develops in the reservoir. Liquid condensation in the formation can result in severe loss of well deliverability and therefore of gas and condensate recovery, which will certainly lead to a loss of income. In this study, the performance of horizontal wells and vertical wells in gas condensate reservoirs is investigated under various depletion schemes. The expected low drawdown pressure for horizontal well, compared to vertical well for the same flow rate, considerably reduces retrograde condensation. A reservoir simulator is used to compare liquid saturation profiles for horizontal and vertical wells in gas condensate reservoirs. The influence of the horizontal well length section and reservoir thickness on horizontal well productivity, and condensate recovery were also studied. Another factor investigated in this study is the effect of drilling a horizontal well in a gas condensate reservoir that has already been developed by vertical wells. To illustrate the productivity increase due to the use of horizontal wells in gas condensate reservoirs, Djebel Bissa field (Figs. 1 and 2) data are presented and discussed using a compositional single well model (VIP simulator). The main results of this investigation are as follows: A smaller pressure drawdown for a horizontal well compared to that of a vertical well, eliminates or reduces liquid condensation in the reservoir. Layers with higher capacity (kh) values contain the most liquid accumulations.


In this work, a new architecture for binary arithmetic coding is presented in the context of the new AVC/H.264 standard for video coding. Among the new technologies included in AVC/H.264 a context adaptive binary arithmetic coder (CABAC) is used that outperforms the baseline entropy coder in a significant manner. In this work we justify the need for a new architecture that implements the unique characteristics of CABAC that are not found in other implementations of arithmetic coding. We show that a fast architecture is needed that combines short cycle time and application-aware scheduling in order to accomplish with the high computational demands. A number of optimizations are introduced that allow processing several symbols per cycle and reduce data binarization overhead. Implementation results are shown for a Virtex-II FPGA and the main conclusions are presented.


Many observers have considered the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the most significant health care overhaul since Medicare, in the tradition of Great Society programs. And yet, in opinion polls, Americans across the political spectrum repeatedly express their strong support for Medicare, alongside their disapproval of the ACA. This feature of American public opinion is often seen as a contradiction and often explained as "incoherence," a mere feature of Americans' "muddled mind." In this article I argue that what explains this seeming contradiction is not any peculiarity of Americans' psychology but rather the grip of the corporate class on the political process and on key social institutions (e.g., mass media, judiciary), no less extraordinary today than in the past. I also argue that ordinary Americans, like millions of their counterparts in the world, would eagerly support a single-payer national health program that speaks to their interests rather than to those of the 1 percent. I will describe the ACA, compare it to Medicare, explain the concept of single payer, and conclude that the task is not to persuade presumably recalcitrant Americans to support the ACA but rather to organize a mass movement to struggle for what is right and join the rest of the world in the road toward health justice.


We study post‐merger organizational integration using linked employer–employee data. Integration is implemented by reassigning a small number of high‐skilled workers, especially in R&D and management. Workforce mixing is concentrated to establishments set up after merger, rather than to previously existing establishments. Worker turnover is high after merger, but new hiring yields stable total employment. Target employees have higher turnover and reassignment, particularly if the target firm is small relative to the acquiring firm. These findings might suggest that integration is costly, but can be achieved by focusing on key employees. Alternatively, the reassignment of a few key employees is sufficient for achieving integration.


Poultry is one of the main sources of protein in the United States and in 2014 Americans ate approximately 100 lbs per person. However, consumption of poultry products is strongly associated with foodborne illness from Campylobacter. In the first study, chitosan, caprylic acid and their combination were evaluated as a coating treatment for the reduction of Campylobacter jejuni on poultry products. For the initial screening trials, chitosan of three different molecular weights (15-50 kDa, 190-310 kDa and 400-600 kDa) was evaluated at three concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%) and separately, caprylic acid was tested at 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% using chicken skin pieces. From these initial screenings a solution of 2% medium molecular weight (190-310 kDa) chitosan was chosen for continued evaluation, as was 1% and 2% caprylic acid. To determine short term and long term efficacy of the 2% chitosan, 1% caprylic acid, 2% caprylic acid individually and in combination wingettes were inoculated with Campylobacter, coated with a given treatment and sampled at 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days. The 2% chitosan and both 1% and 2% caprylic acid continually reduced Campylobacter counts starting at day 3 through day 7. The combination of either 1% or 2% caprylic acid plus 2% medium molecular weight chitosan continuously reduced Campylobacter starting at day 0 through day 5. In the second study Lactobacillus spp. isolates with in-vitro anti-Campylobacter activity were evaluated for their efficacy as a protective culture when applied to chicken wingettes. An original 13 isolates of Lactobacillus were screened, resulting in the selection of 4 isolates for further evaluation. Wingettes were inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni and treated with either a Lactobacillus broth culture or a BPD control, followed by sampling at days 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7. All isolates were able to reduce Campylobacter counts by day 3, however two isolates produced more consistent reductions. These two isolates were combined with a 2% chitosan solution (190-310 kDa) and applied as a coating treatment for evaluation of increased efficacy. The combination of 2% chitosan plus either Lactobacillus isolate failed to increase the efficacy.


This paper describes the significance in human, scientific, and technical terms of the first experiment of robotic telesurgery effected between the Telerobotics Laboratory of the Politecnico di Milano and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, in Pasadena California, on 7 July 1993. An Italian surgeon controlled from the U.S. A. an Italian robot in the Telerobotics Laboratory in such a way that the robot performed a biopsy, on a model containing the organs of a pig, carrying out an aspiration of organic material and two incisions for the commencement of the surgical operation of laparoscopy. Transmission was effected by means of a double satellite link with three stations -- one in Italy, one in New York and one in Pasadena -- and two geostationary satellites, the first over the Atlantic and the second over the United States.


A design space is presented for metamorphic malware. Metamorphic malware is the class of malicious self-replicating programs that are able to transform their own code when replicating. The raison d'etre for metamorphism is to evade recognition by malware scanners; the transformations are meant to defeat analysis and decrease the number of constant patterns that may be used for recognition. Unlike prior treatments, the design space is organized according to the malware author's goals, options, and implications of design choice. The advantage of this design space structure is that it highlights forces acting on the malware author, which should help predict future developments in metamorphic engines and thus enable a proactive defence response from the community. In addition, the analysis provides effective nomenclature for classifying and comparing malware and scanners.


Abstract The study of space and motion in space as well as its further verbalization remains one of the topical issues of present-day linguistic research, though motion in personal space still needs a more detailed analysis. This paper analyzes English verbalization of movement in communicative space from a cognitive linguistic perspective. It aims at revealing specific features of the constructions under study by applying such a theoretical tool of cognitive linguistics as image schemas.


Abstract Nine Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti), between 1 and 1.5 years old and kept at Zoo Dresden, developed local and systemic infections with various opportunistic pathogens within a period of 4 months. Affected birds died peracutely without preceding symptoms or showed various clinical signs, including separation from conspecifics, reduced food intake, lethargy, dyspnea, swelling of the salt glands, and ocular discharge. One bird showed central nervous signs, including seizures. Pathologic examination of deceased birds revealed severe necrotizing inflammation of the mucous membranes and deep structures of the glottis, trachea, nasal sinus, and conchae and granulomatous inflammation of the salt glands. Further findings were airsacculitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, and myositis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the predominant pathogen in 7 cases. Six penguins died or were euthanatized, whereas 3 penguins that received systemic antibiotic treatment with tobramycin (10 mg/kg IM q24h for 10 days) showed rapid clinical improvement. Insufficient turnover rate of the filtration system, biofilm formation on pipe surfaces, and other factors are assumed to have promoted pathogen buildup in the pool water and subsequent infection.


PAYS, BASTION AND FORTERESSE CATHOLIQUE? CONSTRUCTION OF THE MEANING OF THE PROPER NAME POLOGNE IN PRESS DISCOURSE This paper is part of a broader study on the social meaning sens social of the proper name Pologne Poland created in the media production. The analysis of press discourse makes it possible to observe the recurrence of the adjective catholique Catholic in the co-occurrences of this toponym. The aim of this paper is, firstly, to examine the syntactic entourage of the name Pologne in which the adjective catholique appears and, secondly, to analyse, on the paradigmatic axis, reformulations of the toponym Pologne where this adjective appears in the diaphoric network. This approach results in the description of the micro-field of the lexico-discursive profile of the name Pologne.


Three-dimensional finite element (FE) calculations using ABAQUS version 5.5.9 were compared to neutron diffraction measurements of a loaded, pre-cracked beryllium compact tension (CT) specimens. The objective was to validate the FE results with the experimental {open_quotes}elastic strain{close_quotes} measurements. Then the FE calculations could be used to study residual stress and other aspects of these problems in the unloaded state and the crack tip stress in the loaded state which is hard to measure experimentally. A graded FE mesh was focused on the regions containing high strain gradients, the smallest elements were approximately 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 0.4 mm. A standard 20-node brick element model was complemented by a model with 1/4-point elements at the crack tip. Since the neutron diffraction measurements provided a volume average of approximately a cube of edge 3.0 mm, various averaging (or integrating) techniques were used on the FE results. Several integration schemes showed good agreement with the experimental results.


Background and objective The 52-week IRIDIUM study demonstrated the efficacy of indacaterol acetate/glycopyrronium bromide/mometasone furoate (IND/GLY/MF) versus IND/MF and salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (SAL/FLU) in patients with symptomatic asthma, despite long-acting β2-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids (LABA/ICS) medium-dose or high-dose, predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) <80% and at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Here, we present data from a post hoc analysis of the IRIDIUM study in the Asian subpopulation. Methods This post hoc analysis evaluated improvements in lung function, asthma control and reduction in asthma exacerbations with IND/GLY/MF medium- (150/50/80 µg) and high-dose (150/50/160 µg) versus IND/MF medium- (150/160 µg) and high-dose (150/320 µg), all one time per day and SAL/FLU high-dose (50/500 µg) two times per day, in Asian patients from the IRIDIUM study. Results In total, 258 patients (IND/GLY/MF medium-dose, 52; IND/GLY/MF high-dose, 52; IND/MF medium-dose, 51; IND/MF high-dose, 51; SAL/FLU high-dose, 52) were included. IND/GLY/MF medium- and high-dose showed greater improvement in trough FEV1 at week 26 versus respective doses of IND/MF (Δ, 100 mL and 101 mL; both p<0.05, respectively), and SAL/FLU high-dose (Δ, 125 mL; p=0.0189, and 136 mL; p=0.0118, respectively), which were maintained over 52 weeks. Both doses of IND/GLY/MF showed greater improvement in morning and evening peak expiratory flow versus respective doses of IND/MF and SAL/FLU high-dose at week 52. The changes in Asthma Control Questionnaire-7 scores from baseline were comparable in all treatment groups. IND/GLY/MF medium- and high-dose showed greater reductions in severe (34%, 69%), moderate or severe (18%, 54%) and all exacerbations (21%, 34%) compared with SAL/FLU high-dose over 52 weeks. Conclusion One time per day, single-inhaler IND/GLY/MF improved lung function, reduced asthma exacerbations and provided comparable asthma control versus IND/MF and SAL/FLU in Asian patients with inadequately controlled asthma despite LABA/ICS. The results of this analysis were consistent with the overall population in the IRIDIUM study.


This article considers a heuristic approach for developing products for extreme environments. The authors propose a set of heuristics for exploring environment and product features throughout the design probing process. The proposed strategy is exemplified through several cases, with special emphasis placed on a project that considers developing new products for aluminium electrolysis shop floor environments. These heuristics are presented as an approach for dealing with large amounts of uncertainty in an early-stage product development setting.


This paper proposes an implementation scheme for programming language interpreters that addresses both modular design of memory management system and execution efficiency. Modularity let the language designer and the application programmer incorporate the most effective algorithm in their systems. Modular implementations of memory management systems can be used as a base for empirical analysis of various memory management systems. The proposed system offers an abstract interface that can be used to implement various memory management algorithms. Our specialization technique takes the implementation of the interpreter and the application bytecode and generates their specialized versions whose memory management interface calls to the given memory management system. Benchmark results show that specialization technique eliminates the 5-10% overhead and our system works as efficiently as hand-tuned programming language system.


Adult male muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) secret musk from their scent glands to attract females for seasonal mating. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether the changes in energy metabolism related to musk secretion during the breeding and non-breeding seasons are mediated by adiponectin. We found that the secretion of musk during the breeding season was markedly greater than that during the non-breeding season. The serum adiponectin concentration measured using an ELISA kit was higher during the breeding season than during the non-breeding season. Glandular cells, interstitial cells, epithelial cells and glandular cavities were detected in scent glands using histological methods. Immunohistochemical methods were used to show that AMP-activated protein kinase-gamma-1 (AMPKG1), and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) were more strongly expressed in glandular cells during the breeding season than the non-breeding season, whereas the immunoreactivity for acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) was stronger during the non-breeding season. Consistent with these qualitative results, RNA-Seq analysis indicated that the expression of AdipoR1 mRNA was not significantly different during the two seasons. However, AMPKG1 and GLUT1 mRNA levels were higher in scent glands during the breeding season than during the non-breeding season, whereas ACC1 mRNA levels notably decreased during the breeding season. These results suggest that greater musk secretion requires additional energy, which may be provided by an adiponectin-mediated increase in β-oxidation and glucose absorption.


On April 26, 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union exposed about 200 people to large doses of total-body radiation. Thirteen persons exposed to estimated total-body doses of 5.6 to 13.4 Gy received bone marrow transplants. Two transplant recipients, who received estimated doses of radiation of 5.6 and 8.7 Gy, are alive more than three years after the accident. The others died of various causes, including burns (the cause of death in five), interstitial pneumonitis (three), graft-versus-host disease (two), and acute renal failure and adult respiratory distress syndrome (one). There was hematopoietic (granulocytic) recovery in nine transplant recipients who could be evaluated, six of whom had transient partial engraftment before the recovery of their own marrow. Graft-versus-host disease was diagnosed clinically in four persons and suspected in two others. Although the recovery of endogenous hematopoiesis may occur after exposure to radiation doses of 5.6 to 13.4 Gy, we do not know whether it is more likely after the transient engraftment of transplanted stem cells. Because large doses of radiation affect multiple systems, bone marrow recovery does not necessarily ensure survival. Furthermore, the risk of graft-versus-host disease must be considered when the benefits of this treatment are being weighed.


Customer relationship management is the Process of acquiring customers by understanding their Requirements, retaining customers by fulfilling their requirements more than expectation and attracting new customer specific strategic marketing approaches. The customer relationship management (CRM) recognizes the long-run value of potential customers. It increased revenues, profits, and shareholder value is the result of marketing activities directed towards developing, maintaining, and enhancing successful company–customer relationships. This paper provides an extensive review of the literature regarding on CRM principles. This review aims to increase the understanding of the different perspectives and the various types and levels of CRM principles. And also this paper aims to explore the life cycle of customer relationship management, and various benefits of customer relationship management. CRM principles provide a strategic and tactical focus for identifying and realizing sources of value for the customer and the firm and can guide organizational process.


In response to an alarming increase in skin cancer rates, much work is being done to find causes, identify populations at risk, and appropriately modify behaviors and protective strategies. The causes of nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers are multifactorial; however, the evidence implicating ultraviolet radiation as a major factor is mounting. Sunlight consists of four important wavelengths. Two of them, UVA and UVB, are the most harmful because they cause direct cellular trauma and immunologic suppression. Sunburn is a delayed prostaglandin-mediated erythema that implies severe damage to DNA in a cumulative fashion. Avoidance recommendations include activity planning strategies, apparel choices, and sunscreen use. Clothing is generally protective and hats should cover highly exposed areas. Special apparel products incorporate UV protection into the fabric and offer an additional strategy for workers and enthusiasts who frequently venture into the outdoors. A sunscreen is a topical agent that provides protection against UV radiation. Specifics of sunscreen classification and labeling by the Food and Drug Administration are covered in this article, along with selection and application strategies for outdoor adventurers and travelers. Whereas ultraviolet radiation avoidance and sunscreen use are vital, public education will remain the cornerstone of an effective plan to reduce skin cancer rates.


Meteoroids are natural particles with origins from comets, asteroids, and planets from within the solar system. On average, 33 metric tons (73,000 lb) of meteoroids hit Earth everyday with velocities ranging between 20 and 72 km/s. However, the vast majority of these meteoroids disintegrate in the atmosphere and never make it to the ground. The Moon also encounters the same meteoroid flux, but has no atmosphere to stop them from striking the surface. At such speeds even a small meteoroid has incredible energy. A meteoroid with a mass of only 5 kg can excavate a crater over 9 m across, hurling 75 metric tons (165,000 lb) of lunar soil and rock on ballistic trajectories above the lunar surface. Meteoroids with particle sizes as small as 100 micrometer (1 Microgram) can do considerable damage to spacecraft in Earth's orbit and beyond. Impacts can damage thermal protection systems, radiators, windows, and pressurized containers. Secondary effects might include partial penetration or pitting, local deformation, and surface degradation that can cause a failure upon reentry. The speed, mass, density, and flux of meteoroids are important factors for design considerations and mitigation during operations. Lunar operations (unmanned and manned) are also adversely affected by the meteoroid flux. Ejecta from meteoroid impacts is also part of the lunar environment and must be characterized. Understanding meteoroid fluxes and the associated risk of meteoroids impacting spacecraft traveling in and beyond Earth's orbit is the objective of the Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) located at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). One of the MEO's programs is meteoroid impact monitoring of the Moon. The large collecting area of the night side of the lunar disk provides statistically significant counts of meteoroids that can provide useful information about the flux of meteoroids in the hundreds of grams to kilograms size range. This information is not only important for characterizing the lunar environment associated with larger lunar impactors, but also provides statistical data for verification and improving meteoroid prediction models. Current meteoroid models indicate that the Moon is struck by a sporadic meteoroid with a mass greater than 1 kg over 260 times per year. This number is very uncertain since observations for objects in this mass range are few. Factors of several times, higher or lower, are easily possible. Meteor showers are also present to varying degrees at certain times of the year. The Earth experiences meteor showers when encountering the debris left behind by comets, which is also the case with 2 the Moon. During such times, the rate of shower meteoroids can greatly exceed that of the sporadic background rate for larger meteoroids. Looking for meteor shower impacts on the Moon at about the same time as they occur on Earth will yield important data that can be fed into meteor shower forecasting models, which can then be used to predict times of greater meteoroid hazard on the Moon. The Geminids are one such meteor shower of interest. The Geminids are a major meteor shower that occur in December with a peak intensity occurring usually during the 13th and 14th of the month and appearing to come from a radiant in the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are interesting in that the parent body of the debris stream is an asteroid, which along with the Quadrantids, are the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The Geminids parent body, 3200 Phaethon, is about 5 km in diameter and has an orbit that has a 22deg inclination which intersects the main asteroid belt and has a perihelion less than half of Mercury's perihelion distance. Thus, its orbit crosses those of Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury. The Geminid debris stream is by far the most massive as compared to the others. When the Earth passes through the stream in mid-December, a peak intensity of approx. equal 120 meteors per hour can be seen. Because of the Geminids' relatively large intensity and unique origin, it is important to monitor and gain information about the Geminids so as to improve their forecasts and understand their contribution to the meteoroid environment in Earth's orbit and at the Moon. It is the purpose of this Technical Memorandum (TM) to document two lunar observing periods coinciding with the Geminid meteor showers that occurred in 2006 and 2010.


A novel enzymatic amperometric method is described for the determination of oxalic acid in urine. An amperometric biosensor was made by immobilizing oxalate oxidase on the surface of a chromium(III) hexacyanoferrate-modified graphite electrode by using a bovine serum albumin and glutaraldehyde cross-linking procedure. The enzyme biocatalyzes oxalate decomposition in the presence of oxygen into carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide. The oxalate concentration, which is proportional to the amount of hydrogen peroxide, was determined amperometrically by measuring the current resulting in the reduction of hydrogen peroxide at a very low working potential (0.05 V versus the Hg ¿Hg2Cl2¿ 3M KCl electrode), which minimized the influence of the possible interferences present in human urine. All experiments were performed with succinic buffer, pH 3.8, containing 0.1M KCl and 5.4mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. In an aqueous solution of pure oxalic acid, the biosensor showed good linearity in a concentration range of 2.5-100 microM without the use of a dialysis membrane. For untreated urine samples, a high correlation (R2 = 0.9949) was obtained between oxalate concentrations added to urine samples and oxalate recoveries calculated for determinations with the described oxalate biosensor.


From the beginning of Turkish Republic till date, Turkish Education System (TES) has been steered by a handful of politicians and civil servants, who enjoy maximum centralized authority. Over the years, therefore, centralized management has repeatedly been blamed for the deadlocks hampering progress in the TES. Turkish scholars often seem to find intellectual shelter in extolling decentralization, supposedly the exact opposite of centralization, as a panacea for all the dilemmas facing education. Indeed, in academic writings about the issue, scholars generally refer to decentralization unquestioningly as the transfer of authority and power from the center to the periphery. While there is a prevalent faith among Turkish scholars in the curative characteristics of decentralization, the broader literature suggests that decentralization neither helps solve educational deadlocks nor necessarily means an effective transfer of authority. Moreover, national idiosyncrasies often define the extent and direction of decentralization, as well as its effectiveness, as can be seen in different implementations in several countries throughout the world. On another note, the decentralization discourse centered on the education sector also has direct implications on Turkish politics, since the accusations of dictatorship leveled against the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) have been strengthened by its tight grip on policy-making power in education. The following article attempts to build a dual argument, asserting that decentralization is not a solution to the dilemmas facing the TES and that the ruling JDP is no dictator.

 Key words: Centralization, decentralization, the ruling JDP government.


In the literature, there is a scarcity of greener analytical approaches for colchicine (CLH) analysis. As a result, efforts were made in this study to develop and validate a greener reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique for CLH analysis in traditional extracts (TE) and ultrasonication-based extracts (UBE) of commercial Unani formulations, commercial allopathic formulations, and Colchicum autumnale Pleniflorum (L.) obtained from Egypt and India. This new technique was compared to the regular normal-phase HPTLC method. The greenness profile of both methods was estimated using the Analytical GREENness (AGREE) approach. In the 100–600 and 25–1200 ng/band ranges, regular and greener HPTLC procedures were linear for CLH analysis, respectively. For CLH analysis, the greener HPTLC method was more sensitive, accurate, precise, and robust than the regular HPTLC method. For CLH analysis in TE and UBE of commercial Unani formulations, commercial allopathic formulations, and C. autumnale obtained from Egypt and India, the greener HPTLC method was superior in terms of CLH content compared to the regular HPTLC method. In addition, the UBE procedure was superior to the TE procedure for both methods. The AGREE scores for regular and greener reversed-phase HPTLC methods were found to be 0.46 and 0.75, respectively. The AGREE results showed excellent greener profile of the greener HPTLC method over the regular HPTLC technique. Based on several validation criteria and pharmaceutical assay findings, the greener HPTLC method is regarded as superior to the regular HPTLC approach.


BACKGROUND
Osteonectin/secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is expressed in periodontal ligaments. Therefore, a better understanding of the action of SPARC on periodontal ligament cells could help to elucidate remodelling and repair mechanisms in periodontal tissue. In the present study, we examined the effects of human platelet-derived SPARC (hp-SPARC) on the expressions of SPARC and osteoprotegerin/osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor (OPG/OCIF), alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) production and DNA synthesis in cultures of human periodontal ligament (HPL) cells.

METHODS
HPL cells at the sixth passage were exposed to hp-SPARC. The expression of OPG/OCIF and SPARC mRNAs was examined by Northern blot analysis. The protein levels for OPG/OCIF and MMP-2 were determined by Western blot analysis. ALPase activity was measured by the method of Bessey et al. DNA synthesis was estimated by incorporation of [3H] thymidine.

RESULTS
Hp-SPARC enhanced OPG/OCIF synthesis at the protein and mRNA levels. Hp-SPARC also enhanced DNA and MMP-2 synthesis dose-dependently, but had little effect on ALPase activity and SPARC mRNA expression.

CONCLUSION
SPARC may play a role in remodelling and repair of periodontal tissue by promoting proliferation and MMP-2 production. It may also regulate osteoclast formation through OPG/OCIF in periodontal ligament cells.


Using genomic in situ hybridization to chromosomes, we identified introgressed segments in a tetrageneric hybrid of Triticum, Avena, Thinopyrum, and Secale, which conferred high resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust, powdery mildew, and root rot to wheat. The disease-resistance traits of the hybrid originated from three wild related genera of Triticum, namely Avena, Thinopyrum, and Secale. The new breeding system that combined traditional wide hybridization with anther culture was efficient and rapid in creating wheat germplasms resistant to major diseases.


To acquire larger samples for answering complex questions in neuroscience, researchers have increasingly turned to multi-site neuroimaging studies. However, these studies are hindered by differences in images acquired across multiple scanners. These effects have been shown to bias comparison between scanners, mask biologically meaningful associations, and even introduce spurious associations. To address this, the field has focused on harmonizing data by removing scanner-related effects in the mean and variance of measureXments. Contemporaneously with the increase in popularity of multi-center imaging, the use of multivariate pattern analysis has also become commonplace. These approaches have been shown to provide improved sensitivity, specificity, and power due to their modeling the joint relationship across measurements in the brain. In this work, we demonstrate that the currently available methods for removing scanner effects are inherently insufficient for MVPA. This stems from the fact that no currently available harmonization approach has addressed how correlations between measurements can vary across scanners. Data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is used to show that considerable differences in covariance exist across scanners and that the state-of-the-art harmonization techniques do not address this issue. We also propose a novel methodology that harmonizes covariance of multivariate image measurements across scanners and demonstrate its improved performance in data harmonization, which further facilitates more power for detection of clinically relevant associations.


"Women, Work, and Success: Fin de Siècle Rhetoric at Sophie Newcomb College," identifies a kairotic moment in the current conversation about gender in all-women's colleges. We look to a now-closed (a year after Hurricane Katrina in 2006) women's college in New Orleans to understand how faculty, students, and alumnae used rhetoric at the fin de siècle and early part of the twentieth century to construct a successful vision for women's education. In calling their public rhetorics "epideictic," we note that they were strategic rhetoricians who praised the institution of women's education in documents like the student and alumnae-run magazine, The Newcomb Arcade, and in promises made by faculty in their speeches about education, and even in alumnae's oral histories that were supposedly more candid. Together, we've written this article because it affords the field of Feminist Rhetoric with historical data and documents from female students and alumnae who were making a case for women's education when it was in its incipience. The research we have done will help modern-day rhetoricians see and reflect upon the rhetorical foundations of women's education in the South and in general, to then go forth to interpret the broader future of women's education and an expanded sense of women's gender.


RESULTS: Patients undergoing implant-based reconstruction, subjected to the new protocol, demonstrated a decreased length of stay. Utilizing standardized surveys, improvements in pain control were demonstrated with a percentile ranking change from 88 to 99 percentile, pain management summary score improvement from 62 to 99 percentile, and improvement in pain control ranking from 27 to 99 percentile.


There is increasing concern among financial regulators that changes in the distribution and frequency of extreme weather events induced by climate change could pose a threat to global financial stability. In order to assess this risk, we develop a simple model of the propagation of climate-induced shocks through financial networks. Weshow that the magnitude of global risks is determined by the interplay between the exposure of countries to climate-related natural hazards and their financial leverage. Climate change induces a shift in the distribution of impacts towards high-income countries and a thus larger amplification of impacts as the financial sectors of high-income countries are more leveraged. Conversely, high-income countries are more exposed to financial shocks. In high-end climate scenarios, this could lead to the emergence of systemic risk as total impacts become commensurate with the capital of the banking sectors of countries that are hubs of the global financial network. Adaptation policy, or the lack thereof, appears to be one of the key risk drivers as it determines the future exposure of high-income countries.


Purpose: To investigate the effects of topical application of Tagetes erectus hydroalcohol extract as a dermal antioxidant agent and evaluate its capacity to prevent ultraviolet (UV)–induced oxidative damage. Methods: The plant flower was extracted with aqueous ethanol (60 %). Female Lacca mice were divided into five groups of 24 animals each. Group I was un-irradiated control (neither UV exposure nor any treatment received). Group II was irradiated control and received 5 min UV exposure twice a day. Groups III, 1V and V received both UV exposure and treatment of different concentrations of the extract, 4 h. prior to UV exposure. The degree of protection was quantified using biochemical tests (lipid peroxidation and glutathione level) and histopathological assessment. Results: The results showed that 2% topical extract treatment reduced the effect of UV light-induced photoaging on mice skin by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) level by up to 50 % and increasing glutathione (GSH) level 3-fold (p < 0.01) compared to UV-irradiated control group. Histopathological evaluation also indicated a photo-protective effect on the extract-treated mice skin as no signs of histological changes were seen after UV exposure. Conclusion: Topical application of T .erectus has a potential for preventing oxidative damage by UV irradiation. Keywords: T.erectus , Photo-ageing, skin wrinkles, Antioxidants, Oxidative damage, UV radiation


In this paper we introduce a quantitative measure of the excitement of sports games. This measure can be thought of as the variability of the expectancy of winning as a game progresses. We illustrate the concept of excitement at soccer games for which the theoretical win expectancy can be well approximated from a Poisson model of scoring. We show that in the Poisson model, higher scoring rates lead to increased expected excitement. Given a particular strength of a team, the most exciting games are expected with opponents who are slightly stronger. We apply this theory to the FIFA World Cup 2006 games, where the winning expectancy was independently estimated by betting markets. Thus, it was possible to compute the expected and the realized excitement of each given game from the trading data.


Insulin resistance of skeletal muscle glucose transport is a key-defect for the development of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. However, it is known that both an acute bout of exercise and chronic endurance exercise training can bring beneficial effects on insulin action in insulin-resistant states. However, little is currently known about the molecular effects of acute exercise on muscle insulin signaling in the post-exercise state in insulin-resistant organisms. This review provides new insight into the mechanism through which acute exercise restores insulin sensitivity, highlighting an important role for inflammatory proteins and S-nitrosation in the regulation of insulin signaling proteins in skeletal muscle.


The ocean mesoscale eddy–atmosphere (OME-A) interaction through the eddy-induced sea surface temperature anomaly can feedback on ocean dynamics in various ways (referred to as the OME-A thermal feedback). In this study, the influence of the OME-A thermal feedback on the upper-ocean haline structure is analyzed based on high-resolution coupled simulations. In the Oyashio Extension where pronounced surface temperature and salinity fronts are collocated, the haline stratification in the upper 200 m is significantly enhanced by the OME-A thermal feedback. This enhancement is mainly attributed to the weakening of the upward eddy salinity transport in response to the OME-A thermal feedback. The OME-A thermal feedback influences the vertical eddy salinity transport through its differed impacts on the mesoscale buoyancy and temperature anomaly variances. As temperature and salinity in the Oyashio Extension are strongly compensated for their effects on buoyancy, the dissipation of the mesoscale buoyancy anomaly variance b′2 by the OME-A thermal feedback is considerably weaker than that estimated from the mesoscale temperature anomaly alone, i.e., (gαT′)2, with g the gravity acceleration and α the thermal expansion coefficient. Correspondingly, the vertical eddy buoyancy transport (w′b′) is weakened by the OME-A thermal feedback to a lesser extent than its thermal component (gαw′T′). The different responses of w′b′ and gαw′T′ to the OME-A thermal feedback are reconciled by the reduced vertical eddy salinity transport.


This article attempts to address the problematics of identity and power relations as they arise in the practice of subtitling. Specifically, the article asks questions about how subtitling can play an active part in the shaping of identity by mediating between the local, the national and the global, and how the subtitler can be an agent in adjusting the power relations between cultural constituencies. These questions are considered in the context of a diglossic society, not only because issues about language, identity and power relations are inextricably involved in discussions about diglossia, but also because diglossia is a common experience for many subtitlers and film audiences. The possibility is explored that the subtitler can create a hybrid language that redefines the rigid roles assigned to the local dialect and the national language and revises our codes for reading subtitles. Examples from Hong Kong are used to illustrate these points.


The ultimate goal of workflow management is to implement the right person executes the right activity at the right time. To make enterprises more competitive, time-related restrictions of business processes should be considered in workflow models. A workflow model, which considers time related factors, requires time specification and verification before it goes into production so as to guarantee the time coordination in workflow executions. Through extending time attributes for the elements in WF-nets, this paper investigates the integration of the time constraints imposed on business processes into their workflow models and the new nets are called TCWF-nets. Based on analyzing the schedulability of business activities, a time consistency verification method is put forward to assure safe time interactions between activities during workflow executions. The schedulability analysis method can not only check for the time feasibility of its execution for a given workflow schedule when the time constraints are imposed on business processes, but also give an optimal schedule to guarantee the minimum duration of workflow execution for a specific case. Research results show that this method supports the time modeling and analysis in business processes, and has an important value in enhancing time management functionality as well as the adaptability to dynamic business environments of current WFMS.


The aim of the present clinic paper is to demonstrate an innovative design for the effective molar intrusion using TRAP appliance. Since its inception, Transpalatal Arch (TPA) has been modified to meet the various needs of orthodontic tooth movement and marathon of the modification continues still now. The applications of the transpalatal arch involve the three-dimensional control of the molar to active tooth movement of the molar as well. The design involves the usage of the properties of Niti open coil spring along with acrylic pad in TPA to bring about the effective molar intrusion.


This article explores representations of European solidarity in the aftermath of crisis-like events between 2007 and 2017 in the Croatian and Serbian broadsheet press, as well as their resonance with the discursive construction of Europe and Europeanisation. In order to achieve this goal, corpus-based discourse analysis is performed over a large collection of ca. 20,000 articles, originating in four newspapers. The results demonstrate that discourses on European solidarity rose to particular prominence in 2008–2009, 2011–2013, and 2015. This constitutes a dialectical relation with discourses on crises: the global financial crisis, European debt crisis, and migration crisis – especially the latter – redefined the notion of European solidarity, reflected in Croatian and Serbian discourses as a value promoted by the EU core and related mostly to the EU members. In Serbia, the solidarity discourses were of particular local importance during the first phase of the global financial crisis, coinciding with the country's application for the EU candidacy, and later losing significance. In Croatia, the notion of European solidarity seems to become more relevant for domestic actors after the 2013 EU accession.


This lecture, delivered in the "Transcending Tragedy" series at Fordham University in New York City, in February, 2002, presents reflections on the recent experience of international terrorism. A temporal unfolding of meanings experienced during and after the September 11th attacks is described beginning with that fateful morning and concluding with the changed post-9/11 world. This analysis reveals the fragility and plasticity of the social dimension of individual experience as well as our responsibility to create a global order of peace in the face of inimical difference.


This work develops a microcalcifications' detection system in mammograms by using difference of Gaussians filters (DoG) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The digital image processing proposed show the basic wavelet-based behavior of DoG as a mother function frequently used in several vision tasks, and in this case, used in order to enhance the microcalcifications' traces in standard mammograms and further to achieve its detection via ANN. In order to achieve this, a segmentation algorithm is implemented for reaching a threshold in already processed images, and finally, the resultant information is given to the ANN. The neural network used to perform the detection is a hybrid feedforward-Kohonen one, implemented with a hard-limit transfer function in the first layer and a self-organizing map (SOM) responsible for microcalcifications' topologic adjustment in the second layer. Basically, this clustering method gave us a robust solution of the problem and the detection was performed efficiently. There are no considerations relative to morphologic analysis of microcalcifications for diagnosis in this work.


Tagging whales with implantable satellite transmitters creates the possibility of disturbing the animals. Between 2003 and 2005, behavioral observations of humpback whales during tag deployment operations were conducted off the coast of Brazil from the flying bridge of a speedboat. The speed achieved by each whale during pursuit was registered by GPS receivers onboard two inflatable zodiac boats. Respiratory frequencies were significantly lower (n = 15, p < 0.05) before (mean = 0.89 ± 0.06 blows/min) compared with after (1.39 ± 0.15) tagging. The same effect was observed for the speed of each animal (mean = 10.96 ± 0.44 km/h and 12.54 ± 0.57 km/h; n = 13, p < 0.05). Both variables were positively correlated with the duration of the pursuit (n = 21, r = 0.88, p < 0.05; n = 13, r = 0.94, p < 0.01) and with each other (n = 26, r = 0.65, p < 0.01). Acute responses were observed in 50% of the 28 tag deployments. Pursuits were shown to generate a longer effect than tagging. We suggest that the behavioral changes presented here are short-term disturbances because the tagging operation ends quickly and is not a repeated procedure. However, protocols must be developed to guarantee the maintenance of the animals' welfare during operations.


Diatoms are single-celled microalgae that possess a nanostructured, porous biosilica shell called a frustule. This study characterized the micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) emission of single living cells of the photosynthetic marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana in response to UV laser irradiation at 325 nm using a confocal Raman microscope. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum had two primary peaks, one centered at 500-510 nm, which was attributed to the frustule biosilica, and a second peak at 680 nm, which was attributed to auto-fluorescence of photosynthetic pigments. The portion of the μ-PL emission spectrum associated with biosilica frustule in the single living diatom cell was similar to that from single biosilica frustules isolated from these diatom cells. The PL emission by the biosilica frustule in the living cell emerged only after cells were cultivated to silicon depletion. The discovery of the discovery of PL emission by the frustule biosilica within a single living diatom itself, not just its isolated frustule, opens up future possibilities for living biosensor applications, where the interaction of diatom cells with other molecules can be probed by μ-PL spectroscopy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Introduction: Skull is the preferred bone for identification of sex of the deceased as it resists decomposition, mutilation and fire. Cranial Index, Nasal Index and Orbital Index are commonly used for sexual dimorphism of skull. Previous studies present large variations in these indices due to genetic and environmental factors, racial and ethnic differences, different measurement methods and sample size. To know the reliability of these indices for sexual dimorphism of the skull, the present study was conducted. Materials and Method: The study was performed on 98 adult Indian skulls consisting of 60 male and 38 female skulls of known age and sex. Parameters measured were Cranial Index (CI), Nasal Index (NI) and Orbital Index (OI) which were expressed in descriptive statistics i.e. mean, range and standard deviation. For all the three indices, 'identification points' and 'demarking points' were calculated and then percentage of skulls identified by these points were recorded. Results were compared with available literature. ResultsIn the present study, mean CI in male and female skulls was 74.68±4.21 and 77.12±4.92 respectively while their NI was 50.76±5.61 and 56.86±6.65 respectively. In male skulls the mean OI was 87.47±8.09, while it was 87.88±5.55 in female skulls. The identification points and demarking points were calculated for all these three indices. Using identification points of CI and NI, 5% to 33% skulls were identified correctly as male or female. However, no sex could be determined from demarking points of three indices. Conclusion: None of the three indices namely CI, NI or OI were promising individually in identifying sex as a very low percentage of skulls could be identified. The study concludes that the reliability of these three cranial indices is doubtful in sexual dimorphism of the skull.


Magnetically treated water (MTW) was used to stimulate the germination process of Pinus tropicalis M. seeds. This species of Pinus is an endemic of the western part of Cuba and at present is threatened due to a visible decrease that has been detected in its populations. The main cause of this decrease is the low seedling production at nurseries, since the germination percentage of this species rarely exceeds 50%. To carry out our work, normal water (water + ions) was treated using 1200 G isotropic strontium magnets. This was done in two forms: statically and dynamically. The MTW was applied to the samples as irrigation water and as water for imbibition during 24 h. The results showed an increase in the germination percentage up to 70-81% with respect to the control samples (43%) as well as greater seedling growth after germination. The best results were obtained while the treated water was applied dynamically and statically with initial inbibition. In this last case the germination percentages reached 81%, which represents an increase of 88 % compared to the control samples (43%).


The Menor Preço Brasil application, based on a version developed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, was launched in 2019 with the aim of expanding digital services to citizens. This application provides information on the nearest establishments and their product prices based on issued invoices. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, this application adapted its service to facilitate access to prevention products. We are not aware of any other similar government application that uses individual invoice data to support citizens in finding products closer to them at better prices. This study aims to verify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of the Menor Preço Brasil app service. To this end, it investigates both the correlation between confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Brazil and the changes in the application's functionalities with the variation in citizens' queries to the application. It is a quantitative approach. For this purpose, Bai and Perron's method of identifying multiple structural breaks and regression models are employed. The results indicate five structural breaks in the number of queries to the application, and that a 1% increase in COVID-19 cases led to a 0.2% increase in queries. These results confirm that user behavior related to the Menor Preço Brasil application was influenced not only by changes in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases but also by those in the app's features and inflation rates. The literature also tends to consider the relevance of the relative effects of risk aversion on behavior, especially in the relationship with the tax authorities. This study reinforces the position of the initial relevance of risk aversion and when trust gradually strengthening the aversion to losses diminishes. The public sector has progressively increased the availability of digital services over time, and the results of this study underscore their significance in coping with extreme situations, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and other challenges to accessing goods and services.