Peanut seeds contain approximately 50% oil on a dry weight basis, making them a high fat food. Reduction of the oil content would make peanuts a more desirable food to fat conscious consumers. Removal of existing oil by processing is not feasible for in-shell peanuts, the dominant product of the North Carolina-Virginia area. To reduce oil content in in-shell peanuts, a genetic solution must be found. However, while reduced oil content is a desirable objective, changes in oil must not be accompanied by significant decreases in any of the desirable aspects of peanut flavor. Because the impact of selection for low or high oil on flavor is not known, it would be useful to know in what form dry matter is being stored in the seed, particularly if it is not being stored as oil. Screening of 584 accessions identified two lines (PI 269723 and PI 315608) with high and two (Robusto 2 and Robusto 3) with low oil contents, each pair differing in sugar content. The four parents were crossed in diallel fashion to investigate patterns of inheritance. General combining abilities (GCA) for oil content closely followed values of the parental lines. One low oil parent (Robusto 2) had a correspondingly elevated GCA for sugar content, but neither low oil parent had the effect of elevating starch in progeny. Reciprocal cross differences were found for starch and sugar contents, suggesting influences of cytoplasmic genes on those traits. These lines serve as resource material for researchers interested in the genetic and physiological aspects of the oil-sugar-starch relationship in peanuts.


Aim: To evaluate the effect of Averrhoa bilimbi fruit extract against Dalton's ascitic lymphoma (DAL) induced in Swiss albino mice. Materials and Methods: DAL cell line was injected via intraperitoneal to Swiss albino mice and was treated with A. bilimbi fruit extract for 15 days. Then, the animals were sacrificed on 15th day to test hematological parameters, body weight, and tumor volume. The in vitro growth inhibition effect of A. bilimbi fruit extract on DAL cell line was also studied using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results and Discussion: The A. bilimbi fruit extract showed promising anti-lymphoma activity in Swiss albino mice. Treatment of A. bilimbi normalized the hematological parameters significantly (**P < 0.01) by decreasing the high level of white blood cell and by increasing the levels of red blood cells and hemoglobin count when compared with DAL control mice. The treated mice group with A. bilimbi fruit extract resulted in significant (P < 0.01) decrease in body weight when compared with the control. The MTT assay also has shown a significant growth inhibition percent (97.96%) for the fruit extract treatment. Conclusion: The current study revealed the anti-lymphoma activity of the A. bilimbi fruit extract against DAL cell line induced Swiss albino mice.


The fundamental criticism of the analyses of relations between the allocated sources into healthcare system and general indicators of health status (represented by mortality) form a concept of avoidable mortality. The concept is a result of a reaction of many specialists in this field. The efficient concept of avoidable mortality that consists of treatable and preventable mortality components should provide prominent information that is not directly absorbed in the metrics of general mortality rate traditionally used for measuring the healthcare systems' outputs. Permanent evaluation of the concept is based on confrontation of actual and relevant facts and supported by significant evidence from analytical outputs. This evaluation may help to form an efficient tool for measuring the amenable mortality with system connections as within health care system so in social policy, long-term health care policy, etc. The aim of this article is an analysis and evaluation of avoidable mortality development at conceptual and evaluative level and a specification of advantages and limitations that result from this concept. The analyses' outputs represent a valuable platform for revision of strategic framework of the Slovak healthcare as well as for formation of targeted policies that focus on increase of healthcare system efficiency.


A dilemma faced by forecasters is that data are not all sampled at the same frequency. Most macroeconomic data are sampled monthly (e.g., employment) or quarterly (e.g., GDP). Most financial variables (e.g., interest rates and asset prices), on the other hand, are sampled daily or even more frequently. The challenge is how to best use available data. To that end, the authors survey some common methods for dealing with mixed-frequency data. They show that, in some cases, simply averaging the higher-frequency data produces no discernible disadvantage. In other cases, however, explicitly modeling the flow of data (e.g., using mixed data sampling as in Ghysels, Santa-Clara, and Valkanov, 2004) may be more beneficial to the forecaster, especially if the forecaster is interested in constructing intra-period forecasts.


This study examined whether the impact of divorce on psychological well-being varies depending on marital quality in the first year of marriage. Participants included Black and White American couples who completed interviews in year 1 of their marriages and again 16 years later after 46% had divorced (N = 517). Linear regression models were estimated separately for Black and White men and Black and White women. Results revealed that that the link between divorce status, marital quality (positive or negative) and psychological well being depended on whether one was a) male or female, and b) Black or White American.


Purpose: One of the main objectives of periodontal reconstructive surgery is the coverage of exposed roots that occur due to gingival recession. and Aestheic concerns are usually the reason to perform root coverage procedure. This case report was performed to evaluate the effect of root coverage using subepithelial connective tissue graft(SCTG) on Miller's Class I marginal tissue recession. Materials and Methods: One patient, with two Miller's class I marginal tissue recession on both maxiallay canines, was treated with root coverage using SCTG (modified Nelson's technique). At baseline, the following measurements were recorded: 1) recession depth; 2) width of keratinized giniga. At 9, 10 months post-surgery, all clinical measurements were repeated. Result: 1) The mean root coverage from baseline to 9, 10 months post-surgery was 92.3%. 2) The mean recession depth decreased from 6.5 mm to 0.5 mm. 3) The mean width of keratinized gingiva increased from 1.25 mm to 3.5 mm. Conclusion: Within the above results, root coverage using SCTG is an effective procedure to cover Miller's class I marginal tissue recession defect. Also, patient with aesthetic concern could be satisfied with this result. (J Korean Acad Periodontol 2008;38:91-96)


The flow of a stratified fluid toward a line sink in a rotating channel of finite width and depth is studied. The withdrawal flow is shown to be established by a set of Kelvin shear waves trapped within a distance of Nh/fn from the right-hand side wall (f > 0) looking in the direction of propagation, where n = 1, 2,… is the vertical mode number. In addition there are a set of waves (Poincaré modes) which propagate away from the sink with a cross-channel modal structure. The withdrawal flow has a boundary-layer structure: far from the right-hand wall the flow resembles that of McDonald & Imberger (1991), whereas close to the right-hand wall the development of the vertical structure of the withdrawal flow resembles that of the non-rotating case due to the presence of Kelvin shear waves. In a narrow channel Kelvin shear waves dominate the establishment of the withdrawal flow. The withdrawal flow is investigated for large times compared to the inertial period, where it is shown that the width of the boundary layer is of the same order as the distance downstream from the sink. The flow within the boundary layer is unsteady as the withdrawal layer thickness δ continues to collapse indefinitely, while outside the boundary layer it is steady with δ ∼ fL/N, L being the horizontal lengthscale downstream from the sink. A scaling analysis is developed for the narrow channel case in which the cross-channel velocity can be ignored. The results are applied to actual field data, where it is shown that the effect of rotation may explain why previous non-rotating theories have been inaccurate in predicting withdrawal layer thickness.


Abstract Fish, being an important native of the aquatic ecosystem, are exposed to multipollution states and are therefore considered as model organisms for ecotoxicological studies of aquatic pollutants, including metal toxicity. We investigated oxidative stress (OS) in liver, kidney and gill tissues through antioxidant enzyme activities and genotoxicity induced in whole blood and gill tissues through comet assay and micronucleus (MN) test in Cyprinus carpio after 96-hour in vivo static exposure to potassium dichromate at three sublethal (SL) test concentrations, including SL-I [93.95 mg/L, i.e. one quarter of half-maximal lethal concentration (LC50)], SL-II (187.9 mg/L, i.e. one half of LC50), and SL-III (281.85 mg/L, i.e. three quarters of LC50), along with a control. The 96-hour LC50 value for potassium dichromate was estimated to be 375.8 mg/L in a static system in the test species. Tissues samples were collected at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours postexposure. Results indicated that the exposed fish experienced OS as characterized by significant (p < 0.05) variation in antioxidant enzyme activities, as compared to the control. Activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase increased, whereas activity of catalase decreased with the progression of the experiment. The mean percent DNA damage in comet tail and MN induction in gills and whole blood showed a concentration-dependent increase up to 96-hour exposure. The findings of this study would be helpful in organ-specific risk assessment of Cr(VI)-induced OS and genotoxicity in fishes.


The increase in distributed generation and the increasingly pro-active role of mass consumers demand "smart" distribution networks. To this aim, regulation too must innovate, in order to promote innovative and additional infrastructural investments.This paper develops, first, a methodological framework addressing the relevant drivers for the regulation of distribution network investments. In the light of this framework, we then perform a critical overview of the British and Italian regulatory approach to distribution network investments. Finally, we discuss some policy insights for the Italian regulator.


The present invention relates to methods and compositions effective in lowering blood pressure. The compositions comprise, as active ingredients, an effective amount of a combination of lycopene and a carotenoid, e.g., lutein. In a preferred embodiment, the lycopene and lutein together provide a synergistic therapeutic effect at lowering blood pressure. The compositions can further comprise additional agents such as carotenoids and other phytochemicals found in tomato oleoresin.


We have used continuous density gradients made with Percoll-Stractan mixtures to study the effect of deoxygenation on AA and SS cell density. Red cell density is directly correlated with the intracellular hemoglobin concentration and inversely correlated with red cell volume. We find that AA cells become less dense (swell) when deoxygenated under all conditions and that SS cells either become more dense or maintain constant density (shrink or maintain constant volume) when deoxygenated. The response of SS cells is affected by the pH. the amount of potassium present. and the characteristics of the cells (that is. reversibly or irreversibly sickled cells). Irreversibly sickled cells become denser when deoxygenated under all conditions. Below pH 7.25 and at physiologic potassium concentrations (5 meq/liter). reversibly sickled cells become denser when deoxygenated. Furthermore. they remain denser than the CO control cells even after CO is added and the


A lot of studies has supported the principal role of mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which originates from the ventral tegmental area and projects mainly to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, in producing the rewarding effect of addiction drugs including ethanol (EtOH). Since the molecular target of EtOH to the neuron remain unclear, it is important to identify of cells specifically activated by EtOH in the rewarding system. In the present study, we investigated the characterization of activated cells induced by EtOH in the ventral tegmental area. First of all, activated cells in the ventral tegmental area using FACS were prepared from c-Fos-EGFP-Rp110a (cFos-TRAP) mice, which were chronically treated with EtOH. The activated cells expressed tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transpoter (DAT), indicating the activation of dopaminergic neurons by EtOH. In addition, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a1 (ALDH1a1) in the activated cell was recognized by chronic treatment with EtOH. It has been reported that ALDH1a1 synthesizes GABA in dopaminergic neurons, and plays an important role in the balanced control of dopamine and GABA co-release. Here we found that chronic treatment with EtOH enhanced ALDH1a1 immunoreactivity in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. These results suggest that chronic treatment with EtOH may increase the expression of ALDH1a1, and subsequently promote GABA synthesis specifically in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Furthermore, chronic treatment with EtOH may induce drug addiction by an imbalance between dopamine and GABA in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area.


For any finite link $L$ in $\mathbb{R}^3$ we prove the existence of a high-energy complex-valued eigenfunction of the hydrogen atom such that its nodal set contains a union of connected components diffeomorphic to $L$. This problem goes back to Berry, who constructed such eigenfunctions in the case where $L$ is the trefoil knot or the Hopf link and asked the question about the general result.


A necessary blanking-time used to prevent a short circuit in the inverter phase leg, finite turn-on and turnoff times of switching devices, and forward voltage drops of switching devices and anti-parallel diodes are known to cause load dependent distortion to inverter output voltages. The objective of this paper is to gain the understanding how the overall effects of the above-mentioned factors affect the circulating current generation between the parallel-connected two-level voltage source inverters. To meet this objective, a circulating current model taking these effects into account is developed. The model, which is an average model in nature, gives an analytical way to consider the significance of these effects to the circulating current generation. To verify the validity of the developed model, the circuit simulation results are shown and compared with the analytical results. The illustrations show that the results obtained with the developed model are in good agreement with the circuit simulations.


Urinary tract infection (UTI) was infection by microorganisms in the urinary tract. Treatment of UTI required supportive therapy and adequate antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance was the solution in the treatment of UTI, so it is important to assess the factors of bacterial resistance and strategies to control the incidence of resistance by choosing antibiotics in accordance with the pattern of sensitivity of germs obtained. This study aimed to determine the pattern of bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics in patients with UTI in RSD dr. Soebandi Jember. This research used descriptive research design by taking secondary data that was medical record data of urine culture examination and sensitivity test to antibiotics in UTI patients who have been diagnosed in inpatient and outpatient room RSD dr. Soebandi Jember between the period January 1, 2014 until November 30, 2017. The results of this study obtained 57 samples of urine positive bacteria, which found 18 types of bacteria that caused UTI. Of the 18 types of bacteria, there were 16 Gram negative bacteria and 2 Gram positive bacteria. Five bacteria divided among others E. coli on 24 samples, K. ornithinolytica on 5 samples, K. pneumoniae on 4 samples, B. cepacia on 4 samples, and E. cloacae on 3 samples. The results of bacterial sensitivity to antibiotic pattern showed the highest sensitivity level ie amikacin, fosfomicin, netilmicin, gentamicin, and nitrofurantoin. While the results of patterns of bacterial resistance to antibiotics based on hormonal levels of cephalotin, cephazolin, ampicillin, sulphametoxazole, and trimetoprim.
Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Bacterial sensitivity, Antibiotics


With users increasingly adopting Internet-enabled cellular phones and other handheld devices, vendors are looking for platform-independent wireless technologies to help these devices effectively access Internet content and services, and communicate with each other. WAP is designed to address small devices' technical limitations and work with a variety of wireless platforms. WAP (the Wireless Application Protocol) offers a scalable, extensible protocol stack that handles security, the establishment of sessions, and other aspects of mobile communications. Proponents and many industry observers are touting WAP as the technology that will become the standardized basis and future of the mobile Internet.


The mechanical behavior of epoxy matrix composites filled with nanosized silica particles and styrene-butadiene rubber is discussed. Scanning electron microscopy analysis and tensile test carried out at different crosshead speeds on the silica-styrene-butadiene rubber epoxy nanocomposites indicated the absence of particle aggregation and a reinforcing effect in terms of increased elastic modulus, yield, and ultimate strength. The results of wear test in pin-on-disc mode and hardness test on Rockwell R scale showed that the nanosized silica particles could improve the wear resistance of the epoxy matrix even though the content of the filler is at a relatively low level (1.0-2.0 wt%). This makes it possible to develop novel type of epoxy-based material with improved wear resistance for various applications. About 40-70% increase in impact strength has been noticed due to addition of 0.5-1.5 wt% of styrene-butadiene rubber in 1.0 wt% silica-filled epoxy composite. A good correlation between mechanical properties and weight contents of the filler materials, hardness and ultimate strength, and hardness and wear rate has been observed.


Industry 4.0 introduced the application of various remote sensing and intelligent or autonomous decision-making to the manufacturing floors. One of the most important aspects is the maintenance of the machinery and equipment preemptively so that their breakage does as minimal damage (in downtime, safety, etc.) as possible. Analyzing the machinery data with machine algorithms (especially artificial neural networks (ANN)) plays a crucial role. However, designing and training ANN algorithms is still a time-consuming and complex process with various remaining issues, including generalization, the necessity for large datasets, and high time complexity. As a result, a few decades ago, neuroevolution was developed to improve the ANN construction process. Recently, it has gained considerable attention alongside a rise in computational power. In this paper, we use the power of neuroevolution to design a specific type of ANN called an autoencoder (AE) which can be used for a particular type of task, such as anomaly detection (AD). Our proposed method, has shown promising results. Our approach achieved a peak test accuracy of 75% in 0.4 quantiles and an area under the curve (AUC) of 73% in AD on the predictive maintenance dataset. Our proposed method can serve as a starting point for further research.


Biologically active complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) with novel ONO, NNO and SNO donor pyrazinoylhydrazine-derived compounds have been prepared and characterized on the basis of analytical data and various physicochemical studies. Distorted octahedral structures for all the complexes have been proposed. The synthesized ligands and their complexes have been screened for their antibacterial activity against bacterial species Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonae. The activity data show the metal complexes to be more active than the parent free ligands against one or more bacterial species.


In the case of tb6 patient who Was operated upon, the existence of true hypertrophy of thellip was manifest. It cannot, therefore, be included among the instances in which the thickening is due to an increase in the size of the natural glands of the part, and which are stated by Mr. Bryant (Practice of Surgery; vol. i, pp. 492-3), to be often found both in the upper and lower lip.With regard to the presence of, sacculi, the cases of the patient,; her mother, and brothers and sisters, bear a very close resemblance to those related by Mr. Jardine Murray (Britishz and For-eign AfMedical Clirurgical Review, vol. xxvi, p. 502, et seq.) After enumerating the conditions on which he considers that the sacculi were not dependent -as hare-lip, erratic development of tooth-sacs, arrested formation of lower lip, and peculiarity of development of fraenum-Mr. Murray seems somewhat to incline to the supposition of their being due to intra-uterine disease of the labial glands. Probably, our present knowledge of teratology is not sufficiently precise to enable us to arrive at an accurate conclusion with regard to this vice of conformation: but, as perhaps throwing some light upon the subject, I would ask your attention to what occurs when the lip is in the position of " pouting." In this condition you may notice that the surface of the normal lip presents a slight depression on each side of the mesial line. It is obvious that an arrest of development of the miuscular tissue in these situations would occasion these natural depressions to become more marked, and this, I am inclined to believe, is really what has occurred in the cases in point. In conclusion, permit me to draw your attention to the fact that it would almost seem as though we had here an example of a malformation arising in a family, and present thus far in two generations only.


Aim: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro effect of aqueous extract of Clinacanthus nutans leaves and the juice on the activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT), cytochrome P (CYP) 3A4, and CYP2E1 in human liver microsomes (HLMs). Materials and Methods: The herb-drug interactions of the leaf extracts and juice were determined by a specific enzyme activity of CYP isoforms with specific probe substrate using spectrophotometry. CYP3A4 activity was measured for aminopyrine-specific metabolite (formaldehyde) at 415 nm. CYP2E1 activity was determined using p-nitrophenol-specific metabolite (p-nitrocatechol) at 535 nm. UGT activity was quantified through the consumption of p-nitrophenol by UGT at 405 nm. Results: Results obtained showed that the juice and aqueous extract of C. nutans leaves exhibited significant inhibition (P < 0.05) in CYP3A4 and CYP2E1 activity in HLMs. The aqueous extract of C. nutans showed statistically significant (P < 0.05) activation on UGT activity at the concentration of 1000 ng/mL as compared to the negative control. Conclusion: There is a possibility that herb-drug interaction could occur with C. nutans through inhibitory effects on CYP3A4 and CYP2E1. The leaf preparation also activated UGT catalyzed metabolism which may result in a reduction of the potency of the drug metabolized by UGT pathway.


We compared HPV genotypes among squamous cervical cancer samples from a public hospital (n = 55) and a private clinic (n = 35 cases) of Santiago. Paraffin-embedded specimens were analyzed by PCR followed by an immunoenzimatic assay. Reverse line blotting was used for the identification of 36 HPV genotypes. We found HPVDNAm 94.4% of all cancers. Single mfections: HPV16: 40.0%, (clinic 37.1%, hospital 41.8%) VPH18:7.8% (clinic 2.9%, hospital 10.9%); single+multiple mfections: VPH16: 61.1% (clinic 53.1%, hospital 71.7%), VPH18: 34.4% (clinic 21.9%, hospital 45.2%). HPV16 orHPV18 occurredin 75.6% of cases, higher in the hospital than the clinic (87.3%-95% CI: 84.9-96.3 - and 57. l%-95% CI: 46.6-66 - respectively, p = 0.002). Other genotypes in single mfections: HPV 26, 31, 33, 45, 58, 67; in co-mfections: HPV 35,52,56,59 and 66. HPV16 but specially HPV 18 were significantly more frequent in the public hospital; 75.6% of squamous cervical cancer were associated to the vaccine preventable HPV16/18.


We present an artifact study that explores how people examine visual representations of data in non-work contexts, resulting in a proposed Promoter–Inhibitor Motivation Model of visualization use in casual contexts. We propose that user goals direct visualization use tasks, but the strength of user motivation is modified by promoting and inhibiting factors. Based on the duration and frequency of use for reported artifacts, we hypothesize that artifact use patterns depend on how promoters and inhibitors change over time, and we propose a six-stage model of artifact use. We hypothesize that the differences in how these artifacts were used ultimately reveals how promoters and inhibitors can be manipulated to promote frequent and long-duration visualization use. This model provides a cognitive framework for visualization designers and suggests new research directions.


INTRODUCTION
Iris melanoma, even when a malignant tumor, has a slow progressive course. Surgical treatment is easy because of localization of the tumor but can be accompanied by a range of complications, from photophobia to cosmetic problems.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed the records of 11 patients with iris melanoma treated by surgical excision with posterior limbus incision. Conventional iridectomy was performed in nine cases and iridocyclectomy in two cases.

RESULTS
There were seven females and four males ranging in age from 27 to 76 years. Histologically, 10 tumors were composed of B spindle cells and one was mixed. For all patients, followed up for 1-5 years, final visual acuity was more than 6/10. One patient complained of photophobia and cataract developed in one 76-year-old woman at the end of follow-up.

CONCLUSION
Because of the good prognosis of iris melanoma, conservative treatment can be given in most of cases (without local complications). Surgical resection confirms diagnosis after histopathological examination, with good final functional result thanks to scleral tunnel incision, which induces less astigmatism than corneal incisions. In the future, these findings will have to be confirmed by a corneal topography study before and after surgery.


Abstract This article is devoted to the publication of the Scythian barrow Semykina Mogila, to the South of the town of Dnieprorudnoye, in the Zaporozhie Region, which was excavated in 1974 and which had contained two funerary structures looted in antiquity. This analysis is devoted to the burial of a warrior in the lateral catacomb: the grave goods from this burial included a set of bronze arrowheads and a silver phiale. The silver phiale which had been standing next to the funeral feast has been the subject of detailed research. The phiale from Semykina Mogila has features in common with finds from Bashova Mogila in Thrace, from the Kuban region (now in the Maikop Museum) and in the cache within Chmyreva Mogila as regards its decoration, technique of manufacture, dimensions and, in part, weight. This enables us to date it to the first half of the 4th century BC, most probably the first quarter of that century. The date of the funerary complex can be determined as falling in the last quarter of the 4th century or even the turn of the fourth and third century BC on the basis of the shape of the funerary structure, the location of the monument within a group of barrows in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River and the arrowheads. Consequently the silver phiale from the Semykina Mogila barrow belongs to a period, somewhat earlier than the date of the burial by at least two or three decades and at most by almost a century. Finally finds of metal phialai in barrows from the Scythian period in the North Pontic region are considered.


In this article some of the findings emerging from a research network investigating the socio-economic, biological and psychological circumstances that contribute to human capability and resilience over the life course [www.ucl.ac.uk/capabilityandresilience] are reported. The network, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), brought together scientists from diverse disciplines including experts from psychology, psychiatry, sociology, economics, epidemiology, geography, and social policy. The diverse backgrounds of the team reflect the complexity of the topic, which has to be tackled from different angles in order to generate a better understanding of the factors and processes that make it possible for individuals to lead healthy and rewarding lives.


An experiment was conducted to address age-related differences in lexical access, spreading activation, and pronunciation. Both young and older adults participated in a delayed pronunciation task to trace the time course of lexical access and a semantic priming task to trace the time course of spreading activation. In the delayed pronunciation task, subjects were presented a word and then, after varying delays, were presented a cue to pronounce the word aloud. Older adults benefited considerably more from the preexposure to the word than did the younger adults, suggesting an age-related difference in lexical access time. In the semantic priming pronunciation task, semantic relatedness (related vs. neutral), strength of the relationship (high vs. low), and prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony (200 ms, 350 ms, 500 ms, 650 ms, and 800 ms) were factorially crossed with age to investigate age-related differences in the buildup of semantic activation across time. The results from this task indicated that the activation pattern of the older adults closely mimicked that of the younger adults. Finally, the results of both tasks indicated that older adults were slower at both their onset to pronounce and their actual production durations (i.e., from onset to offset) in the pronunciation task. The results were interpreted as suggesting that input and output processes are slowed with age, but that the basic retrieval mechanism of spreading activation is spared by age.


Associated with globalization, transformation and mobility all around the world may result in positive and negative impacts on welfare of the countries as well as on psycho-social and economic positions of the individuals. Especially in under developed and developing countries, such effects are more evident. The individuals living in these countries are forced to leave their homeland and become refugees in some other countries due to social, economic, psychological and environmental effects. Migration process has become a threat for physical, psychological, social, economic and cultural development of these children at present and in the future. This study is a content analysis on the position of Syrian children and how they are mentioned in three mainstream newspapers in Turkey (March-April-May 2016). These newspapers are Star, Hurriyet and Cumhuriyet. Only headlines were analyzed and columns were not taken into consideration. News from these papers are categorized according to subjects and contents and then sub-categories were composed. How Syrian children in Turkey have been generally mentioned, on which occasions they have been mentioned and which of their problems have been stated in printed media were analyzed in this study.


BACKGROUND
Leaf-cutting ants collect plant fresh material for the cultivation of their mutualistic fungus. Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) cause great economic losses through their foraging activity, mainly in agriculture. The main control method is the application of granulated toxic baits incorporated with an active ingredient (AI). The present goal is to evaluate the effect of caffeine on in vitro growth of the mutualistic fungus and on the survival of the leaf-cutting ants, aiming to verify the potential toxicity of this secondary metabolite over these organisms.

RESULTS
Three distinct patterns of fungal growth correlated with caffeine concentration were observed: (1) no effect (0.01% caffeine); (2) intermediate growth reduction (0.05% caffeine); (3) drastic growth reduction (0.10 and 0.50% caffeine). The highest caffeine concentration causes fungus death in the first week. As for insect survival, caffeine does not seem to exert any effect. The treatments with diet containing caffeine showed similar values of M50, irrespective of caffeine concentration.

CONCLUSION
As caffeine was shown to reduce growth of the mutualistic fungus of Atta sexdens rubropilosa, but with no conclusive effect on insect survival, a hypothetical explanation for the selection of different Coffea species by this leaf-cutting ant species might be associated with caffeine toxicity to the fungus.


This study modeled an elliptical diaphragm in a push-pull electrostatic speaker using the average displacement, specific impedance and equivalent radius to predict the frequency response in terms of sound pressure level (SPL). We also fabricated a prototype of an electrostatic speaker based on an elliptical diaphragm with fixed rim measuring 32 mm (semi-major axis) by 30 mm (semi-minor axis). The speaker was then used to analyze the frequency-response characteristics associated with resonance modes and displacement curves using the optical measurement, and obtain the SPL curves in an anechoic chamber using the acoustic measurements. The experiment results revealed that the predicted curves were in good agreement with the measured displacement and SPL curves. These curves of the electrostatic speaker were strongly affected by air radiation impedance. When our speaker was implemented in an over-ear electrostatic headphone, we obtained solid bass response and a frequency response typical of high-fidelity headphones.


BACKGROUND
Herbal medicines, products and therapies are a subject of great public interest both nationally and worldwide. Use of herbal therapy is most common among women and patients with chronic health problems.

AIM
This paper reports a study to determine the prevalence of herbal therapy use among women over 65 years who live independently in the community, and to compare the socio-demographic characteristics and health status of older women who use herbal therapies and those who do not.

METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study. Random samples of 385 older participants took part in structured interviews at five primary health care centres in Turkey between September and December 2002.

RESULTS
Herbal therapies were used by 48.3% of the sample in the previous 12 months. No differences in demographic characteristics were found for users and non-users. We found that herbal therapy use was substantially higher among older women who: (1) reported any disability in activities of daily living, (2) had poor self-reported health, (3) had very frequent physician visits, and (4) had chronic conditions such as cardiac problems, diabetes, stroke, cancer, asthma, pneumonia or urinary problems.

CONCLUSIONS
It is important for community health nurses to be knowledgeable about the use of herbal therapies when providing care to older women because of possible interactions with other treatments, delays in seeking care, and poor quality products.


—Next-generation mobile networks will rely on their autonomous operation. Virtual Network Functions empowered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can adapt to varying environments that encompass both network conditions and the cloud platform executing them. In this view, it becomes paramount to understand why AI/ML algorithms made a decision, to be able to reason upon those decisions and, eventually, take further decisions related to e.g. , network orchestration. In this paper, we present ATHENA , an ML-based radio resource scheduler for virtualized Radio Access Network (RAN) system. Our real-software implementation shows that the proposed ML-based approach can outperform the baseline solution. We discuss how additional re-orchestration actions can be taken by analyzing our scheduling decisions and learning from the past.


Macrodomains, enzymes that remove ADP-ribose from proteins, are encoded by several families of RNA viruses and have recently been shown to counter innate immune responses to virus infection. ADP-ribose is covalently attached to target proteins by poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs), using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) as a substrate. This modification can have a wide variety of effects on proteins including alteration of enzyme activity, protein–protein interactions, and protein stability. Several PARPs are induced by interferon (IFN) and are known to have antiviral properties, implicating ADP-ribosylation in the host defense response and suggesting that viral macrodomains may counter this response. Recent studies have demonstrated that viral macrodomains do counter the innate immune response by interfering with PARP-mediated antiviral defenses, stress granule formation, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Here, we will describe the known functions of the viral macrodomains and review recent literature demonstrating their roles in countering PARP-mediated antiviral responses.


This book is a study of the use of monkeys as a tourist attraction in Japan. Monkey parks are popular visitor attractions that display free-ranging troops of Japanese macaques to the paying public. The parks work by manipulating the movements of the monkey troop through the regular provision of food handouts at a fixed site where the monkeys can be easily viewed. This system of management leads to a variety of problems, including proliferating monkey numbers, park-edge crop-raiding, and the sedentarization of the troop. In addition to falling visitor numbers, these problems have led to the closure or fencing in of many parks, calling into question the future of the monkey park as an institution. Published in 2011 by Brill. ISBN: 9789004187931 (paperback).


Acute chest pain is one of the most common reasons for presentation to the emergency department. Although most etiologies of chest pain are easy to clinically ascertain with routine history, physical, and laboratory examinations, we present an important benign cause of acute chest pain that may mimic acute coronary syndrome.


The extension of silicon photonics towards the mid infrared (mid-IR) spectral range has recently attracted a lot of attention. The development of photonic devices operating at these wavelengths is crucial for many applications including environmental and chemical sensing, astronomy and medicine. Recent works regarding the development of Ge-rich SiGe waveguides on graded buffer layers will be presented. It will be shown that these waveguides demonstrate low loss and strong mode confinement for a large range of wavelengths and that they have a good potential for being a major building block of mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits.


Thin epitaxial layers of NiInGaAs formed by solid state reaction of Ni on (100) In0.53Ga0.47As are used as metal source and drain regions for In0.53Ga0.47As metal oxide field effect transistors. Here, the authors present a structural and chemical analysis of this phase. The stoichiometry of the layer was determined as Ni2In0.53Ga0.47As. Transmission electron microscopy revealed an abrupt interface and a detailed x-ray diffraction analysis showed that the layer is of a hexagonal lattice, which grows epitaxially with the orientation relations of {100}InGaAs||{100}NiInGaAs; ⟨011¯⟩InGaAs||[001]NiInGaAs. Only one domain can be observed in this epitaxial growth. Understanding the structure of these layers is a crucial step not only in their incorporation into InGaAs based devices but also a step toward novel devices.


This study was carried out by visiting 20 towns/ villages in Ijebu-division of Ogun State, where a total of 5,043 pigs were observed for various disease conditions. Blood and faecal samples and skin scrapings were collected from 137 sick animals, of which 3.65% were positive for the presence of Trypanosoma brucei. The following gastrointestinal nematode eggs were found in the faecal samples evaluated: Ascaris sp. (45.26%), Strongyles (10.22%), Strongyloides sp. (5.11%) and Trichuris sp. (2.92%). Sarcoptes scabiei which was the only ectoparasite of pigs encountered in this study accounted for 12.41% of the 137 skin scrapings collected. A total of 606 out of 5,043 animals were found to be clinically sick. Identified disease conditions include wound infection (33.50%), diarrhoea (22.11%), piglet anaemia (15.84%), mange (10.89%), tail sore (6.44%), foot rot (4.95%), mastitis (2.97%), metritis (1.82%) and pneumonia (1.49%).  Keywords: Prevalence, Swine Diseases, Parasites, Ogun State.


Objective: COVID-19 is a new emerging disease since December 2019 that later was announced by WHO as a global pandemic. Radioimaging appearance of COVID-19 is varied yet dominantly showed as a ground glass appearance in CT-imaging. Lung abscess in COVID-19 is an extremely rare case, therefore it needs further discussion. Method: We report a 39 year-old male patient of COVID-19 with lung abscessResult: This case report describe a COVID-19 patient who showed a very rare clinical manifestation; lung abscess. The patient showed negative result of TB molecular test. Chest tube insertion procedure was performed in this patient who showed an improvement after abscess being drained. Conclusion: Lung abscess may occur in COVID-19. Abscess drainage procedure may improve clinical condition of COVID-19 patient.


The authors have developed a new technology that enables use of lubricating oil (LO) semi-permanently and reduces LO consumption. This technique always keeps LO clean, just as the kidneys of animals always keep their blood clean. It is, therefore, called a kidney system. The key element of the kidney system is a new type of filter, called a nephron filter. This filter completely removes oxidized LO, which is very sticky and thus increases friction in cold and motionless engines. Diesel engines for emergency electric power fail in many tests of starting which may result from high friction caused by the cold and sticky products built up in LO during the long periods of engine stop. This paper proposes a method that ensures starting of emergency diesel engines by use of a kidney system.


During our routine postmortem examination, we found a female infant with "True Cyclopia." The two entire eye balls had fused completely to form one midline organ. The infant was a female who weighed 2910 g. The gestation period was 35 weeks. Infant lived for a short period of less than 20 minutes. The birth was a product of a 4(th) pregnancy.


The toxicity of standard triple-therapy immunosuppressive regimens has been identified as a possible factor in the failure to extend long-term renal allograft survival despite a continued decline of acute rejection rates. The result has been increasing focus on the use of mycophenolate mofetil-based, low-toxicity immunosuppressive regimens, which have been shown in randomized studies to have the potential to improve long-term graft survival. This Clinical Update discusses the likely risks and benefits for switching the immunosuppressive regimen in clinical practice.


The effects of recombinant human Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on collagen biosynthesis were studied in vitro using dermal fibroblast cultures. Both forms of IL-1 and TNF-alpha induced a dose-dependent inhibition of both types I and III collagen synthesis, as measured by radioimmunoassay, gel electrophoresis, or collagenase-sensitive material. This effect was accompanied by a significant release of prostaglandin E2 into the culture medium. However, indomethacin, a potent inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis, could not prevent the inhibitory effect of the three cytokines on collagen synthesis. Measurement of type I and type III procollagen mRNA levels in IL-1 treated cells revealed that both IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta were potent enhancers of procollagen gene expression at pretranslational level. On the other hand, TNF-alpha was found to reduce the steady-state levels of type I and III procollagen mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Quantitation of IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha transcripts following TNF-alpha treatment of fibroblasts indicated that this cytokine can induce IL-1 beta gene expression in these cells. By contrast, TNF-alpha mRNA remained at a constant level after TNF-alpha exposure. These data suggest that IL-1 and TNF-alpha, two cytokines that share several biologic activities, modulate collagen deposition in dermal fibroblasts by mechanisms that are clearly different: TNF-alpha appears to act at a transcriptional level to inhibit collagen synthesis, whereas IL-1 inhibitory action involves important translational regulation, still unknown, that counterbalances its stimulatory effect on procollagen mRNA levels. Moreover, our data suggest the existence of local fibroblastic cytokine production that may be involved in the modulation of extracellular matrix deposition.


We introduce an MRI technique named CARDI, for in-vivo assessment of pulsatile fluid dynamics in the surface paravascular spaces of the pial arteries. A pair of pulsed gradient spin echo was used to detect the slow flow of CSF while suppressing the fast flow of adjacent arterial blood. Waveform of CSF over a cardiac cycle is revealed. The shape of the CSF waveforms closely resembles the pressure waveforms of the artery wall, suggesting that CSF dynamics is tightly related to artery wall mechanics. The comparison of CSF waveforms in an aging group revealed a significant age-dependency of the CSF waveforms.


SCHOOLTHY: Automatic Menu Planner for Healthy and Balanced School Meals is a decision support tool that addresses the multi-objective menu planning problem in order to automatically produce meal plans for school canteens. Malnutrition is a widespread problem nowadays and is particularly serious when it affects children. In our environment, nutrition experts design healthy and balanced meal plans for children manually, which leaves significant room for improvement in terms of convenience and efficiency. SCHOOLTHY is presented herein as a proposal to improve and facilitate the work of these professionals. We focus on offering healthy and balanced meal plans that not only satisfy the recommended energy and nutrient intakes, but that also have a minimum cost and maximum variety of courses and food groups. Quantitative analyses that compare the meal plans yielded by SCHOOLTHY for meal plans designed by experts at hand and served in regional schools demonstrate the suitability of the proposal. Finally, we note that, thanks to its flexibility, SCHOOLTHY might be easily adapted to deal with other environments, such as hospitals, prisons and retirement homes, among others.


BEGINNING in 1948, infants admitted to the premature nursery of the Infants' Hospital (Children's Medical Center) were routinely given penicillin and either sulfadiazine or streptomycin in relatively large doses for the first 5 to 10 days following admission. The effect upon mortality appears to have been favorable.1During the same period, similar antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents have been prescribed for certain infants admitted to the premature nursery of the Boston Lying-in Hospital in whom early rupture of membranes, suspected or actual infection in the mother, or abnormal pulmonary ventilation suggested actual or potential infection in the infant. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of this regimen upon the aerobic flora of the nasopharnynx in the premature infants cared for in these two nurseries. Cultures from the nose and throat are frequently sterile during the first 24 hours after birth.* Torrey and Reese3pointed out that


The purpose of this project was to create a reliable, 3D sensing and visualization system for unattended monitoring. The system provides benefits for several of Sandia's initiatives including nonproliferation, treaty verification, national security and critical infrastructure surety. The robust qualities of the system make it suitable for both interior and exterior monitoring applications. The 3D sensing system combines two existing sensor technologies in a new way to continuously maintain accurate 3D models of both static and dynamic components of monitored areas (e.g., portions of buildings, roads, and secured perimeters in addition to real-time estimates of the shape, location, and motion of humans and moving objects). A key strength of this system is the ability to monitor simultaneous activities on a continuous basis, such as several humans working independently within a controlled workspace, while also detecting unauthorized entry into the workspace. Data from the sensing system is used to identi~ activities or conditions that can signi~ potential surety (safety, security, and reliability) threats. The system could alert a security operator of potential threats or could be used to cue other detection, inspection or warning systems. An interactive, Web-based, 3D visualization capability was also developed using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). The intex%ace allows remote, interactive inspection of a monitored area (via the Internet or Satellite Links) using a 3D computer model of the area that is rendered from actual sensor data.


Many countries are developing or starting to develop National Geographic Information Infrastructures (NGIIs). The Netherlands Council for Geo-information stimulates the development and further implementation of the NGII in the Netherlands. The publication of the visionary Ravi-document Structuurschets in 1992, promoting the establishment of four uniquely defined and interlinked core datasets (registration of parcels, natural persons, enterprises, and buildings) pushed the development of the Dutch NGII. In 2001 the original vision has almost completely been brought into practice. This accomplishment may be explained by the close interaction between the geo-information sector and the broader national political arena. This paper presents an overview of the interaction between policy makers within the national government and the geo-information sector. It will show that the geo-sector's focus should not only be on creating consensus within the sector but also should be aimed at influencing the national political arena at large. The paper will give attention to the concept of Authentic registers (registers of core datasets). This concept is to a large extent based on the framework of the Dutch NGII and is now a key component of the national egovernment policy.


ABSTRACT: This paper uses survey data from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces to examine the impact of remittances on rural poverty reduction and on rural households' living expenditure. The paper shows that remittances play an important role in rural poverty reduction. The paper also finds that rural households mainly use remittances for current consumption living expenditure rather than for investment living expenditure such as health and housing.


This supplement to ORNL/TM-8579 contains experimental results for leach tests and alpha-radiolysis tests made on FUETAP concretes containing Savannah River Plant waste. The results, presented in two sections, consist of both the raw data and calculated values for individual experiments. This information is summarized and analyzed in Sections 5 and 7 of ORNL/TM-8579.


The vast majority of reduced‐order models (ROMs) first obtain a low dimensional representation of the problem from high‐dimensional model (HDM) training data which is afterwards used to obtain a system of reduced complexity. Unfortunately, convection‐dominated problems generally have a slowly decaying Kolmogorov ‐width, which makes obtaining an accurate ROM built solely from training data very challenging. The accuracy of a ROM can be improved through enrichment with HDM solutions; however, due to the large computational expense of HDM evaluations for complex problems, they can only be used parsimoniously to obtain relevant computational savings. In this work, we exploit the local spatial coherence often exhibited by these problems to derive an accurate, cost‐efficient approach that repeatedly combines HDM and ROM evaluations without a separate training phase. Our approach obtains solutions at a given time step by either fully solving the HDM or by combining partial HDM and ROM solves. A dynamic sampling procedure identifies regions that require the HDM solution for global accuracy and the reminder of the flow is reconstructed using the ROM. Moreover, solutions combining both HDM and ROM solves use spatial filtering to eliminate potential spurious oscillations that may develop. We test the proposed method on inviscid compressible flow problems and demonstrate speedups up to a factor of five.


913 Retrieval Number: F7436038620 /2020©BEIESP DOI:10.35940/ijrte.F7436.038620 Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering & Sciences Publication Abstract—Taking into consideration of continuously increasing consumption of the electricity and perturb towards environmental issues, renewable energy sources have been broadly used for generation of electricity. A Hybrid Energy System can be elucidated as systems which consist of various energy sources such as wind, solar, fuel cell, diesel generator and storage systems such as batteries to store energy are integrated and interconnected to satisfy the load energy demand. This paper infers the generation of electricity by utilizing the Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES). This paper presents the modelling and future challenges of the HRES.


Extrusion, classified as a high temperature/short time process (HTST), is an important food processing technique used worldwide for the production and modification or improvement of quality of various products. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of wheat bran addition to corn grits (ratio grits:bran = 80:20) on properties of extrudates. Wheat bran are readily available and low cost by-product, and contain a large amount of dietary fibers. Prepared samples with 15% of moisture content were extruded in the laboratory single screw extruder at temperature profile 135/170/170 °C, using screw with compression ratio 4:1 and die with 4 mm diameter. Obtained extrudates were air-dried, and expansion ratio, bulk density, texture, viscosity and fibre content were determined.
The obtained results showed that addition of wheat bran to corn grits resulted in decrease of expansion ratio (ER) and fracturability, whereas bulk density (BD) and hardness of extrudates increased. Extrusion process resulted in increase of water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI), but in decrease of peak, hot and cold viscosity. Addition of wheat bran to corn grits resulted in increase of fibre content, and extrusion cooking didn't significantly influence fibre content. The obtained extrudates can be used as final products or as modified flours in bakery industry.


This article presents a recent breakthrough in the use of machine learning in semiconductor FA. For the first time, cell-internal defects in FinFETs have not only been detected and diagnosed, but also refined, clarified, and resolved using cell-aware diagnosis along with root cause deconvolution (RCD) techniques. The authors describe the development of the methodology and evaluate the incremental improvements made with each step.


In order to find a peptide panel to differentiate close hypertensive conditions a case-control study was designed for 64 women from 4 groups: preeclampsia (PE), chronic hypertension superimposed with PE, chronic hypertension, and healthy individuals. Chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry and subsequent bioinformatic analysis showed several patterns in the changes of the urine peptidome. There were 36 peptides common for four groups. Twenty two of them 22 belonged to alpha-1-chain of collagen I, nine peptides were from alpha-1-chain of collagen III, two from alpha-2-chain of collagen I, one from alpha-1/2-chain of collagen I, one from alpha-1-chain of collagen I/XVIII and one from uromodulin. Patients with hypertensive disorders had 34 common peptides: 12 from alpha-1-chain of collagen I, 10 from fibrinogen alpha-chain, eight from alpha-1-chain of collagen III, and 4 per other types of collagen. Comparative analysis revealed 12 peptides, which could be used as a diagnostic panel for confident discrimination of pregnant women with various hypertensive disorders.


It's been almost 6 months since there is a word that has spread all over the world faster than wildfires, and it's not just one of the most talked about topicbut the most feared one too, Yes, it's none other than "corona". Hearing the word itself strikes fear in all people around the globe.
So what is this corona or COVID-19 really?COVID 19 is ainfectious disease caused by newly discovered strain of coronaviruses, theSARS-CoV-2. Corona virus was reported from china in late December and early January from the state of Wuhan in china. Corona virus was found in some of the earliest known cases which were having a link to a wholesale wet food market in Wuhan. The word corona brought its terror in India on 30th January 2020 in Kerala.  The patient was a student, studying in the city of origin and had come back to the country due to the pandemic. Since January this virus has been spreading and is been reported all over the world. Corona has become a fear that has not spared anyone from its impact. The day to day life of all people around the worldbeen impacted since.  This virus is a mutant form of corona that is novel corona virus- covid19. Corona virus pandemic has taught us that there are various lessons to be learnt in the existing pandemic situation. Corona has brought our attention to the fact that there needs to be a lot of improvement around us. A different view and perspective has come to light about the existing health care plan of our country. The foundation of health care system with health care provider has come to stakes. It's high time that we look into the existing health services and strength them at core level. Survival of the fittest is one of the oldest proverb in medical science  and now in times like this it has been held true. Survival has become a key element in the present scenario.


The new method for analysing the non-integer kinetics order in thermoluminescence, reported recently by Moharil and Kathuria (1983) is discussed. The assumption that all traps are filled at high doses is considered to be invalid. A tentative calculation using their original data supports this argument and indicates the importance of the parameters As/A0.


A single medium, containing standard basal salts and three common carbon sources (sucrose, mannitol, and sodium lactate) is proposed to replace nitrogen-free media in common use for isolating dinitrogen-fixing bacteria. Eight commonly isolated genera of dinitrogen-fixing bacterial exhibited growth on this combined carbon medium that equalled or bettered growth on other carbon-containing media. Combined carbon medium also yielded the highest counts of putative dinitrogen-fixing bacteria from three southern Alberta soils. A survey of the bacteria isolated aerobically from the Burdett soil on combined carbon agar indicated that, at higher dilutions, 75% of the isolates exhibited acetylene reduction. These bacteria were identified as Azospirillum spp., Bacillus polymyxa, B. macerans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Erwinia herbicola, and Enterobacter cloacae. The inclusion of yeast extract in combined carbon medium is considered essential to supply organic growth factors and may supply "starter" nitrogen that promotes growth without inhibiting acetylene reduction.


Spatial fingerprints of climate change on tree species distribution are usually detected at latitudinal or altitudinal extremes (arctic or alpine tree line), where temperatures play a key role in tree species distribution. However, early detection of recent climate change effects on tree species distribution across the overall temperature gradient remains poorly explored. Within French mountain forests, we investigated altitudinal distribution differences between seedling (≤50 cm tall and >1 yr old) and adult (>8 m tall) life stages for 17 European tree taxa, encompassing the entire forest elevation range from lowlands to the subalpine vegetation belt (50–2250 m a.s.l.) and spanning the latitudinal gradient from northern temperate to southern Mediterranean forests. We simultaneously identified seedlings and adults within the same vegetation plots. These twin observations gave us the equivalent of exactly paired plots in space with seedlings reflecting a response to the studied warm period (1986–2006) and adults reflecting a response to a former and cooler period. For 13 out of 17 species, records of the mean altitude of presence at the seedling life stage are higher than that at the adult life stage. The low altitudinal distribution limit of occurrences at the seedling life stage is, on average, 29 m higher than that at the adult life stage which is significant. The high altitudinal distribution limit also shows a similar trend but which is not significant. Complementary analyses using modelling techniques and focusing on the optimum elevation (i.e. the central position inside distribution ranges) have confirmed differences between life stages altitudinal distribution. Seedlings optima are mostly higher than adults optimum, reaching, on average, a 69 m gap. This overall trend showing higher altitudinal distribution at the seedling life stage in comparison to the adult one suggests a main driver of change highly related to elevation, such as climate warming that occurs during the studied period. Other drivers of change that could play an important role across elevation or act at more specific scales are also discussed as potential contributors to explain our results.


The focus and inclusion of gay men in academic literature has fluctuated throughout the years. The purpose of the present rapid review was to establish the predominant discourses and research gaps in the literature surrounding gay men's sexual relationships within five high-impact sexuality journals. Further, we include the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality to gain insight into the rhetoric of gay men's sexual relationships from a Canadian context to determine if there were any differences compared to the larger five journals. The present analysis used a rapid review design, and search criteria based on Hirsh's h-index. All articles in each of the six selected journals were examined over an eight-year period, from 2011–2018 with 336 articles identified and included in the thematic analysis. The results yielded the following key categories: a) sexual risk behaviours; b) need for interventions, harm/ risk reduction, and prevention measures; c) minority stress; d) sexual scripts and masculinity; e) Internet use and online dating; f) mental health concerns; g) sexual satisfaction and sexual well-being; h) previous non-consensual sexual experiences/interpersonal violence; and i) sexual diffi culties. These categories are further explored and areas for future research are discussed.


Using a single lens design for a paraxial mode converter, we implement a controlled-not gate based on a Michelson interferometer in which the photon polarization acts as the control bit and the first order transverse mode as the target. We also build a parity sorter which can be useful for quantum information processing.


The project reported in this thesis was concerned with the ultilization of re-cycled polystyrene granulates as lightweight aggregate for use in concrete. A manufacturing process for the conversion of polystyrene waste from the packaging industry into chemically coated expanded polystyrene aggregate was developed by Building Systems Technology (Bsn Pty. Ltd. When the treated polystyrene aggregates are incorporated into fresh mortar or concrete they are uniformly and evenly distributed in the cement paste or the mortar matrix. The polystyrene aggregate produced by BST was used to establish the workability, strength, deformation, bond strength, and the functional properties of the concrete. The properties of the concretes made with the polystyrene aggregate were compared with concretes made with normal weight aggregates of equivalent mix proportions using General Purpose Portland (Type GP) cement. It was found that it is generally feasible to manufacture structural grade lightweight concrete from treated re-cycled polystyrene aggregate. No reduction was observed in the compressive and tensile strengths, and the modulus of elasticity of concretes made with the polystyrene aggregate, and cured in water over a period of about one year. The maximum cylinder compressive strength of concrete made with the treated polystyrene aggregate satisfied the strength requirement of medium strength structural reinforced concrete. This investigation has shown that structural grade polystyrene aggregate concrete having saturated surface-dry density of 1800 kg!m3 to 2400 kg/m3 can be produced with cylinder compressive strength up to 32 MPa. The test results have shown that, for a stress/strength ratio of 30% of the 28-day cylinder compressive strength, the creep strain of polystyrene aggregate concrete compares well with concrete made with normal weight aggregates. The functional properties such as impact resistance and freezing and thawing durability of concrete is improved when polystyrene aggregate is incorporated. From the conclusions derived, design recommendations are suggested. Limitations of the investigation and suggestions for future work are presented.


Molecules with synergistic effects often enhance the benefits of cancer therapy. We observed that the major catechin of green tea, (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), induced retinoid X receptor-γ (RXRγ) expression in the SK-Ch-A1 cholangiocarcinoma cell line and in two colon carcinoma cell lines (LoVo and the derivative multi-drug resistant LoVoMDR). On this basis, we analyzed the effects of EGCG in combination with an RXRγ ligand, 6-OH-11-O-hydroxyphenantrene (IIF), or with a ligand of retinoic acid receptor, all-trans-retinoic acid (RA). IIF alone and in combination with EGCG activated the retinoic X response elements and induced the germ cell nuclear factor. In parallel, EGCG induced 67 kDa laminin receptor expression alone and in combination with IIF. We observed a synergistic growth inhibition with EGCG and IIF in combination at lower doses. These effects were accompanied by apoptosis activation through the mitochondrial pathway. Moreover, in LoVo cell line we observed an induction of Forkhead box O3 expression, another molecule involved in apoptosis activation. Finally, metalloproteinase activity and extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) expression were inhibited and tumor cell invasion was strongly reduced in the SK-Ch-A1 cell line after treatment with EGCG and IIF. In conclusion, the use of specific RXR ligands in combination with catechins could open a new perspective in gastrointestinal tumor chemoprevention.


This paper aimed at establishing the treatment of gender-nonconforming learners in Namibian schools. The provision of education in Namibia is based on the principles of non-discrimination and equal access to quality education for all as stipulated in the Namibian constitution. Even though there is growing evidence on the mistreatment of gender-nonconforming learners in schools world wide, there is a paucity of literature on the treatment of gender-nonconforming learners in the Namibian education context. This paper employed a case study design as a transformative research method informed by the social identity perspective. One hundred and eighty-two teachers were randomly sampled into the study, and one deputy Director of Special Programs and Schools, one deputy Director of Diagnostic, Assessment and Training Services, one regional school counsellor and one inclusive education officer at the National Institute for Educational Development were purposively sampled. The findings revealed that societal, religious, and cultural beliefs in schools were determinants of how gender-nonconforming learners were treated in some schools. A supplementary framework for the implementation of inclusive education policy (SFIIEP) was developed from the findings of this study. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture align the SFIIEP to the inclusive education policy implementation to enable open discussion of sex education topics during life skills lessons, creation of supportive learning environments, and establishment of anti-bullying policies with specific measures on curbing homophobic bullying as well as strengthening the psychological support to learners.


3D is the one of the current world in the spotlight as part of the future earnings of the business sector. Existing flat 2D and stereoscopic 3D to change the 3D shape and texture make walking along the dimension of the real world and the virtual reality world by making it feel contemporary reality of coexistence good show. 3D for the interest of the people has been spreading throughout the movie which is based on a 3D Avata. 3D TV market of the current conglomerate of changes in the market pioneer in the 3D market, further leap into the era of the upgrade was. At the same time, however, the modern man of the world, if becoming a necessity in the smartphone craze new innovation in the IT market mobile phone market and also has made. A small computer called a smartphone enough, the ripple velocity and the aftermath of the innovation of the telephone, the Internet as much as to leave many issues. Smartphone smart phone is a mobile phone that can be several functions. The current iPhone, Android. In addition to a large number of Windows Phone smartphones are released. Above the overall prospects of the future and a business service model for 3D facial expression as input avatar virtual 3D character on camera on your smartphone camera to recognize a user's emotional expressions on the face of the person is able to synthetic synthesized avatars in real-time to other mobile phone users matching, transmission, and be able to communicate in real-time sensibility fused video communication services to the development of applications.


INTRODUCTION
This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic response to injected human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (HUCBMSCs) among albino rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus.

METHODS
Control group (GI; n = 25) rats were fed with standard rat diet. Rats with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus without (GII; n = 25) and with (GIII; n = 25) differentiated HUCBMSC implantation were the test groups. Rats were sacrificed in Week 11 following implantation. Liver biopsies were sectioned and stained in order to highlight both the presence and function of impregnated cells in the liver tissue.

RESULTS
Haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections in GI and GII rats showed normal liver architecture while GIII rats showed presence of cell clusters inside the liver tissue and around the central veins. Cell clusters with blue cytoplasm were present in sections in GIII rats but absent in GI and GII rats, indicating the presence of injected differentiated HUCBMSCs. The anti-human insulin immunostaining of GIII rats showed clusters of cells within the liver parenchyma and around central veins, indicating that these cells were active and secreting insulin.

CONCLUSION
UCBMSCs are proficient in differentiating into insulin-producing cells in vivo under specific conditions and, when transplanted into the liver of albino rats with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus, were able to secrete insulin and partially control the status of diabetes mellitus in rats.


The aim of this research work is to develop textile-based resistive soft pressure sensing structures. In order to achieve this aim, two conductive knit fabrics are separated by non-conductive mesh fabric. Working mechanism of the sensors rely on gradual contact of the conductive fabrics through the mesh fabric thereby changing the electrical resistivity of the structure. Proposed sensors are compliant, flexible and easy to produce. The initial electrical resistance of the soft resistive sensors was measured before any applied load. It was observed that sensors were non-conductive. This indicates that sensing structures could also be utilized as flexible pressure switches. Effect of mesh size on sensitivities and working range of the sensors are also investigated. It was found that while bigger mesh size contributes the higher sensitivity, it reduces the working range of the sensor. However, this property can be utilized to adjust sensitivity and working range of the sensor for targeted applications.


The author presents 536 cases of vascular tumors of the orbit. The most common orbital vascular lesions are cavernous hemangioma, capillary hemangioma, and lymphangioma. The hemangiopericytoma are less frequent than the three other types. The clinical and paraclinical characteristics of the most frequent tumors are analyzed and the various possibilities of treatment are discussed.


The Stoner-Wohlfarth hysteresis model can describe very well the hysteresis curves since the assumptions of the model are compatible with the studied samples. These conditions are (i) single domain particle size and (ii) inexistence of interactions between the particles. These conditions are obtained in Nd2Fe14B magnets with nanocrystalline grain size below 200 nm and with high Nd, which promotes a paramagnetic phase at the grain boundaries. In the present study, both isotropic and anisotropic NdFeB magnets are modeled.


Purpose
The sharp rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) with its associated effect on financial institutions in Ghana has become very alarming. This has led to the collapse of distressed institutions and associated repercussions such as loss of private savings, investments, businesses and livelihoods. The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that the monetary policy rate can be used to influence NPLs in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach
Using quarterly data spanning from 2000 to 2016, the authors used the autoregressive distributed lag econometric approach to estimate the effect of monetary policy on the percentage growth of NPLs in Ghana. The results are presented for both short-run and long-run periods.

Findings
In the short run, the authors find evidence of no statistically significant effect of monetary policy on the percentage growth of NPLs. However, in the long run, the authors find a statistically significant effect of monetary policy on the percentage growth of NPLs.

Practical implications
The authors recommend that policymakers should focus on building a strong financial environment, so that monetary policy can be used to influence the commercial bank's interest rate. In effect, this will help reduce the growth of NPLs, reduce risk and attract competitors into the financial market, increase asset base, increase credit to support viable ventures and subsequently boost economic growth in Ghana.

Originality/value
The paper shows its value by using quarterly data whereas most literature have considered annual data. Also, the paper includes a policy variable measured by the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) as the key variable of interest which is normally not the case with most studies.


Theoretical uncertainty limits our ability to extract cosmological information from baryonic fields such as the thermal Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect. Being sourced by the electron pressure field, the tSZ effect depends on baryonic physics that is usually modeled by expensive hydrodynamic simulations. We train neural networks on the IllustrisTNG-300 cosmological simulation to predict the continuous electron pressure field in galaxy clusters from gravity-only simulations. Modeling clusters is challenging for neural networks as most of the gas pressure is concentrated in a handful of voxels and even the largest hydrodynamical simulations contain only a few hundred clusters that can be used for training. Instead of conventional convolutional neural net (CNN) architectures, we choose to employ a rotationally equivariant DeepSets architecture to operate directly on the set of dark matter particles. We argue that set-based architectures provide distinct advantages over CNNs. For example, we can enforce exact rotational and permutation equivariance, incorporate existing knowledge on the tSZ field, and work with sparse fields as are standard in cosmology. We compose our architecture with separate, physically meaningful modules, making it amenable to interpretation. For example, we can separately study the influence of local and cluster-scale environment, determine that cluster triaxiality has negligible impact, and train a module that corrects for mis-centering. Our model improves by 70% on analytic profiles fit to the same simulation data. We argue that the electron pressure field, viewed as a function of a gravity-only simulation, has inherent stochasticity, and model this property through a conditional-VAE extension to the network. This modification yields further improvement by 7% , it is limited by our small training set however. We envision that our method will prove useful in problems beyond the specific one considered here 5 5 We make our code publicly available at this URL. Data products, trained models, and hyperparameter SQL databases will be shared upon reasonable request.. We make our code publicly available at this URL. Data products, trained models, and hyperparameter SQL databases will be shared upon reasonable request.


Human skeleton joints are popular for action analysis since they can be easily extracted from videos to discard background noises. However, current skeleton representations do not fully benefit from machine learning with CNNs. We propose "Skepxels" a spatio-temporal representation for skeleton sequences to fully exploit the "local" correlations between joints using the 2D convolution kernels of CNN. We transform skeleton videos into images of flexible dimensions using Skepxels and develop a CNN-based framework for effective human action recognition using the resulting images. Skepxels encode rich spatio-temporal information about the skeleton joints in the frames by maximizing a unique distance metric, defined collaboratively over the distinct joint arrangements used in the skeletal image. Moreover, they are flexible in encoding compound semantic notions such as location and speed of the joints. The proposed action recognition exploits the representation in a hierarchical manner by first capturing the micro-temporal relations between the skeleton joints with the Skepxels and then exploiting their macro-temporal relations by computing the Fourier Temporal Pyramids over the CNN features of the skeletal images. We extend the Inception-ResNet CNN architecture with the proposed method and improve the state-of-the-art accuracy by 4.4% on the large scale NTU human activity dataset. On the medium-sized N-UCLA and UTH-MHAD datasets, our method outperforms the existing results by 5.7% and 9.3% respectively.


The Royal Meteorological Society believes that every student should leave school with the basic climate literacy that would enable them to engage with the messages put forward by the media or politicians, or to make informed decisions about their own opportunities and responsibilities.

Through 2019/ 2020, students, the media and academics became increasingly vocal in demanding that more climate change be taught in UK schools. With a rigid National Curriculum and exam specifications, part of the problem lies in students (and teachers) not realising the relevance of concepts and processes they have actually been taught in school to understanding climate change and the broad spectrum of impacts, mitigation and adaptation issues associated with it. In addition, weather and climate are commonly perceived as being amongst the harder topics in geography and so, even when they are taught at all, geography teachers are used to teaching weather, climate and climate change separately, not highlighting the close ties and links between the topics.

With this in mind, the Royal Meteorological Society has developed a full scheme of work for 11-14 year old students which integrates climate change thinking into weather and climate lessons. Hard copy teacher’s guides have been distributed to schools throughout the UK, free of charge, with associated teaching resources being made available online. Recognising the importance of teacher understanding, the resources are accompanied by CPD materials for teachers.

In 2021, we hope to build on this work by developing resources and teacher training materials for science teachers and students.


Close to charge neutrality, the low-energy properties of high-quality suspended devices based on atomically thin graphene layers are determined by electron–electron interactions. Bernal-stacked layers, in particular, have shown a remarkable even–odd effect with mono- and tri-layers remaining gapless conductors, and bi- and tetra-layers becoming gapped insulators. These observations—at odds with the established notion that (Bernal) trilayers and thicker multilayers are semi-metals—have resulted in the proposal of a physical scenario leading to a surprising prediction, namely that even-layered graphene multilayers remain insulating irrespective of their thickness. Here, we present data from two devices that conform ideally to this hypothesis, exhibiting the behavior expected for Bernal-stacked hexa- and octa-layer graphene. Despite their large thickness, these multilayers are insulating for carrier density |n| < 2–3 × 1010 cm−2, possess an energy gap of approximately 1.5 meV at charge neutrality—in virtually perfect agreement with what is observed in bi- and tetra-layer graphene—and exhibit the expected integer quantum Hall effect. These findings indicate the soundness of our basic insights on the effect of electron interactions in Bernal graphene multilayers, show that graphene multilayers exhibit unusual and interesting physics that remains to be understood, and pose ever more pressing questions as to the microscopic mechanisms behind the semimetallic behavior of bulk graphite.


Infectious diseases pose a constant and serious threat to human life. One way to prevent infectious disease spread is through active surveillance: monitoring patients to discover disease incidences before they get out of hand. However, active surveillance can be difficult to implement, especially when the monitored area is vast and resources are limited. Incidences of infectious disease that arrive with visitors from abroad are a further challenge. When faced with imported incidences and a large region to monitor, it is critical that public health authorities precisely allocate their sparse resources to high-priority areas to maximize the efficacy of active surveillance. In this paper, the difficulties of active surveillance are considered, and we offer a computational framework to address these challenges by modeling and mining the spatiotemporal patterns of infectious risks from heterogeneous data sources. Malaria is used as an empirical case study (with real-world data) to validate our proposed method and enhance our findings.


world politics ever since. A better appraisal of the importance of the population statistics which I and a few others had so carefully prepared, together with an indication of their bearing on the political situation, might have changed the whole course of international relations in the Near East. I hope and pray that our politicians to-day will not display the same indifference to vital statistics as they did in Palestine twenty-six years ago. -I am, etc.,


Big data ecosystems contain a mix of sophisticated hardware storage components to support heterogeneous workloads. Storage components and the workloads interact and affect
each other; therefore, their relationship has to consider when modeling workloads or managing storage. Efficient workload modeling guides optimal storage management decisions,
and the right decisions help guarantee the workload's needs. The first part of this thesis
focuses on workload modeling efficiency, and the second part focuses on cost-effective
storage management.Workload performance modeling is an essential step in management decisions. The
standard modeling approach constructs the model based on a historical dataset collected
from one set of setups (scenario). The standard modeling approach requires the model to
be reconstructed from scratch with every time the setups changes. To address this issue,
we propose a cross-scenario modeling approach that improves the workload's performance
classification accuracy by up to 78% through adopting the Transfer Learning (TL).The storage system is the most crucial component of the big data ecosystem, where the
workload's execution process starts by fetching data from it and ends by storing data into
it. Thus, the workload's performance is directly affected by storage capability. To provide
a high I/O performance in the ecosystems, Solid State Drive (SSD) are utilized as a tier or as a cache on big data distributed ecosystems. SSDs have a short lifespan that is affected
by data size and the number of writing operations. Balancing performance requirements
and SSD's lifespan consumption is never easy, and it's even harder when interacting with
a huge amount of data and with heterogeneous I/O patterns. In this thesis, we analysis
big data workloads I/O pattern impacts on SSD's lifespan when SSD is used as a tier or as
a cache. Then, we design a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based I/O pattern controller
that manages workload placement and guarantees cost-effective storage that enhances the
workload performance by up to 60%, and improves SSD's lifespan by up to 40%. The designed transfer learning modeling approach and the storage management solutions improve workload modeling accuracy, and the quality of the storage management
policies while the testing setup changes.


The advent of online video streaming applications and services along with the users' demand for high-quality contents require High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), which provides higher video quality and more compression at the cost of increased complexity. On one hand, HEVC exposes a set of dynamically tunable parameters to provide trade-offs among Quality-of-Service (QoS), performance, and power consumption of multi-core servers on the video providers' data center. On the other hand, resource management of modern multi-core servers is in charge of adapting system-level parameters, such as operating frequency and multithreading, to deal with concurrent applications and their requirements. Therefore, efficient multi-user HEVC streaming necessitates joint adaptation of application- and system-level parameters. Nonetheless, dealing with such a large and dynamic design space is challenging and difficult to address through conventional resource management strategies. Thus, in this work, we develop a multi-agent Reinforcement Learning framework to jointly adjust application- and system-level parameters at runtime to satisfy the QoS of multi-user HEVC streaming in power-constrained servers. In particular, the design space, composed of all design parameters, is split into smaller independent sub-spaces. Each design sub-space is assigned to a particular agent so that it can explore it faster, yet accurately. The benefits of our approach are revealed in terms of adaptability and quality (with up to to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4\times$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn><mml:mo>×</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="costero-ieq1-3004735.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> improvements in terms of QoS when compared to a static resource management scheme), and learning time (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$6 \times$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6</mml:mn><mml:mo>×</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="costero-ieq2-3004735.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> faster than an equivalent mono-agent implementation). Finally, we show that the power-capping techniques formulated outperform the hardware-based power capping with respect to quality.


Space weathering is an important surface process that occurs on the Moon and other airless bodies, especially those that have no magnetic field. The optical effects of the Moon's space weathering have largely been investigated in the laboratory for lunar samples and lunar analogues. However, duplication of pristine regolith on Earth is not possible. Here we report on space weathering from the unique perspective of the "Yutu" rover, which was part of theChang'e-3 (CE-3) mission, building on our previous work. Measurement of the visually undisturbed uppermost regolith as well as locations that have been affected by rocket exhaust from the spacecraft by the Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS) revealed that the returned samples provide biased information about the pristine lunar regolith. The uppermost surficial regolith is much more weathered than the regolith immediately below, and the finest fraction is rich in space weathered products. These materials are very dark and attenuated throughout the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) wavelengths, hence reducing the reflectance and masking the absorption features. The effects on the spectral slope caused by space weathering are wavelength-dependent: the visible and near-infrared continuum slope (VNCS) increases while the visible slope (VS) decreases. In the visible wavelengths, the optical effects of space weathering and TiO2 are identical: both reduce albedo and blue the spectra. This suggests that a new TiO2 abundance algorithm is needed. Optical maturity indices are related to composition and hence only locally meaningful. Since optical remote sensing can only sense the uppermost few microns of regolith and since this surface tends to be very weathered, the interpretation of surface composition using optical remote sensing data needs to be carefully evaluated. Sampling the uppermost surface is suggested.


The continuous advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) and photovoltaic technology has promoted the development of indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) that powers wireless devices. Nowadays, the CsPbX3 perovskite has received widespread attention because of its high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in an indoor environment and suitable band gap for IPVs. In this work, we regulated the thickness of the photoactive layer (to optimize the carrier transport process without affecting indoor absorption) and bromine substitution (to adjust the band gap and improve the quality of the film) to reduce trap-assisted carrier recombination. A CsPbI2.7Br0.3 perovskite cell with excellent performance was obtained, which is superior to c-Si cells in a low-light environment. The optimized device achieved PCE values of 32.69 and 33.11% under a 1000 lux fluorescent lamp and white light-emitting diode (WLED) illumination. The J-V hysteresis of the device is also effectively suppressed. Moreover, it has a steady-state output power of 7.76 μW (0.09 cm2, and can be enhanced by enlarging the areas), which can meet the consumption of many small wireless devices. It is worth noting that the optimized device has excellent applicability to be used in a complex indoor environment.


A key operational component of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) is the use of nonmedically trained interviewers to collect biomeasures in a national in-home survey of health and aging. Few studies have integrated in-home biomeasure collection using nonmedically trained interviewers on a large scale. In this article, the authors discuss their approach to using nonmedically trained interviewers to collect biomeasures in the home. The article focuses on activities that impact the ability to integrate biomeasures into survey research, including developing field methods, recruiting and training interviewers, and monitoring data collection activities. In addition, cooperation rates and measures of interviewer productivity and data quality are provided to evaluate the authors' approach.


To the Editor: —Some years ago, English surgeons in India found that if rubber goods were kept in a closed receptacle containing a small quantity of oil they were kept soft and pliable. A suitable receptacle can be made by taking a tin bread box with a close fitting lid. A tinsmith can fit into it one or two perforated trays, the lower one sufficiently high to prevent oil from touching it. In India a 5 gallon oil tin answers for the bread box. In the bottom of the box a few spoonfuls of kerosene oil, just enough to cover the bottom, are placed, and then the trays for the rubber are put in. The box should be marked, "Do not shake." I have used the oil method, and know that rubber apparatus so cared for has a period of usefulness much longer than usual.


Personally controlled health management systems (PCHMS) often consist of multiple design features. Yet, they currently lack empirical evidence on how consumers use and engage with a PCHMS. An online prospective study was designed to investigate how 709 consumers used a web-based PCHMS to manage their physical and emotional wellbeing over five months. The web-based PCHMS, Healthy.me, was developed at UNSW and incorporates an untethered personal health record, consumer care pathways, forums, polls, diaries, and messaging links with healthcare professionals. The two PCHMS features that consumers used most frequently, found most useful, and engaging were the social features, i.e. forum and poll. Compared to participants who did not use any PCHMS social feature, those who used either the poll or the forum were 12.3% more likely to visit a healthcare professional (P=0.001) during the study. Social network analysis of forums revealed a spectrum of social interaction patterns - from question-and-answer structures to community discussions. This study provides a basis for understanding how a PCHMS can be used as a socially-driven intervention to influence consumers' health behaviours.


Background Acute Trusts are an important provider of care for patients who may be in their last months of life; emergency admission may indicate underlying clinical decline. Acute admission processes are not generally designed to manage care for this group. Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust participated in an ECIP-funded End of Life Care Project in 2016/2017 to improve quality of care for this group of patients. Method An acute physician and a consultant in palliative medicine reviewed 26 deceased patient records using a method designed to uncover clinical system issues and to create a 'common language' between the specialities. This review included focus on patients with clinical uncertainty of recovery. An acute and an elderly care physician carried out 'Plan Do Study Act' tests of change using the AMBER care bundle in the AMU and an elderly care ward for a total of 26 patients. Results Qualitatively, the review showed that doctors struggled to recognise patients at risk of dying and viewed palliation as an 'all or nothing' approach to care. Tests of change showed an improvement from 75% to 100% recognition of expected deaths; 15% to 42% awareness of what is important to the patient; 53% to 78% preferred place of care recorded; 85% record of what family feels is important. 96% of patients had ceilings of treatment documented. 62% of patients were discharged. Discussion The numbers are small. Qualitative feedback is initial conversations in AMU set the scene for the whole admission. Feedback was positive however time implications at the 'front door' can present a challenge. Redesign of the process to 'protect' time may be required. Conclusions This is an important topic. Early recognition of clinical uncertainty, honest conversations can set the scene for the whole admission potentially resulting in improved patient and staff experience.


Objective: The characteristics of the novel corona virus ailment 2019 (COVID-19) vs influenza were not described, such as blood test data. As a result, we compared the diagnostic features of COVID-19 and flu, along with blood test data. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. We enrolled individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, and had they undergo blood tests. In comparing, we enlisted an equal percentage of participants who'd been identified with flu that had blood tests. Results: During the course of the study, 228 people were identified of COVID-19 (men:women ratio, 123 [54.0 percent]:105 [46.0 percent]; age, 54.68 18.98 years). We also enlisted the help of 228 flu clients (male:female, 129 [56.6 percent ]:99 [43.4 percent ]; age, 69.6 21.25 years). Clients with COVID-19 had a vastly greater age range of 15 to 70 years (vs. 71 years), respiratory problems, as well as ennui than someone with flu. Nevertheless, discomfort, a body temperature greater than 38.1oC, as well as a white blood cell count greater than 9000/lL were far more prevalent in flu patient populations. Conclusions: Our findings are helpful in distinguishing COVID-19 from flu, so they'll be remarkably helpful for future practice as we understand to interoperate with COVID-19. Keywords: Medical aspects, COVID-19, influenza, Critical respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, blood test, malaise, respiratory problems, leukocytosis, vomiting.