A total of 97 burns swab collected from patients treated in burns unit of Al-Sader Hospital, Al-Najaf Province, during  the  period  five months (1/6/2014 to 1/11/2014). Only 75/97(77.31%) were positive bacterial culture on MacConkey agar medium compared with 22/97(22.68%) specimens gave negative bacterial growth. The results of microscopic, morphology culture, biochemical test and  Vitek-2 system revealed that 23/75(30.66%) isolates, were obtained as following 21/75(28%) Klebsiella  pneumonia e ssp pneumoniae and 2/75(2.66%) Citrobacter freundii were recovered from 75 positive specimens obtained aseptically from admitted patients in the burn unit. Out of these, 15/23     (65.21%)  were isolated from female patients and 8/23 (34.78 %) from male patients. Antimicrobial susceptibility were done using disk diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) strip test. Results  showed high degree resistance to most antibiotic under study and all tested isolates were at least resistant to three or more of antibiotic classes and then consider as multidrug resistant isolates (MDR) , At same time, ertapenem  revealed  maximum  effectiveness against K.  pneumonia e and C. freundii isolates with resistance rate reached to  (28.57%) and (0%) respectively. While cloxacillin, oxacillin, and carbenicillin were offered less effective among antibiotic through resistance 100%. 14(66.66%) of K. pneumoniae isolates gave high level of resistance to nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin with MIC ≥ 256 µg/ml and  MIC ≥32 µg/ml respectively compared with 1(50%) in C. freundii isolates and these  were considered as highly resistance. The PCR data showed that  aac(6')-Ib –cr gene high prevalence 15(71.42%) in K. pneumoniae isolates compared to 1(50%) in C. freundii no.2 . Also qnr B gene was positive in 10(47.61%) K. pneumonia e, while only 1 (50%) of C. freundii isolates was harbored qnr B gene. While qnr , qnr C and qnr D genes did not detect in this study.


What is the practical pedagogic value of the zone of proximal development? How might we draw from the writings of Vygotsky and Leont'ev with regard to understanding the process of children and young people's development as socialized intellectual beings? This article applies cultural-historical theory to classroom activity in order to reveal the potential for dynamic change in subjectivity, agency, cooperation and collaboration. After a detailed theoretical contextualization which links primary sources and the cultural-historical tradition to learning and development through classroom activity, an incident in a lesson is discussed and situated in its wider narrative of practical experimentation, diagnosis and implementation.


Understanding brain-behaviour correlates is challenging. Multimodal approaches increase the sensitivity to brain-behaviour relationships. Here we integrated grey matter density maps, structural connectivity metrics and functional connectopic (gradient) maps from 676 participants of the HCP, with the hypothesis that these more advanced measures of both structural and functional organisation would improve sensitivity to brain-behaviour associations. Our results show 1 component significantly associated with various behavioural measures including multiple measures of alcohol use. This component was composed of structural modalities. There was little shared variance between structural measures and functional gradients across the components.


There has been quest for organized and standardized procurement procedures in our Kenyan schools. PPOA to this effect introduced procurement manual for schools and colleges (2009) as a customized version of procurement act (2005) specifically for schools and colleges in Kenya. However there was a problem on the adoption of this manual to secondary schools in Kenya. The researcher felt interested in finding out the degree of adoption of this manual in Kenyan schools, sampling Gatanga sub county, Murang'a County. The researcher sampled Gatanga Sub County among many others since it has a track record of ranking among the best in Constituency Development funds management. In this study, the researcher was also interested in finding out the effects of competence of various procurement committee members, procurement methods used and political interference on adopting procurement manual for schools and colleges (2009). Gatanga subcounty has a total of 34 secondary schools from which the researcher carried out his study in 11 schools sampled according to their category .There are three categories of schools in Gatanga .These are Boarding schools offering full boarding facilities for boys and girls or separate, the next is day schools which are the majority and the last is mixed day and boarding schools which give students choice of either boarding or being day scholars. The researcher handled 76 participants in the procurement process. They include the school bursars, Deputy Principals who chairs procurement committee meetings, various heads of departments, and a user department member preferably catering department. The researcher used stratified sampling technique for his data collection. He also used questionnaires and interviews tools of data collection. Data was collected by dropping the questionnaires in targeted schools and arrangements made on how they will be collected later for data collection, processing and analyzing. Key Findings: The study revealed that adoption level is still low as reflected by the following adoption levels: Boys boarding schools at 25%, boys' day and boarding schools at 22%, girls boarding schools at 40%, mixed day schools at 10%, mixed boarding schools at 28% and Mixed


In amateur sports branches, one of the most important and big sports organizations for both athletes, coaches, and also for the countries is the Olympic Games and the other is the World Championships. The Olympic Games, which could not be held in 2020 but postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic in the world, and the 2021 World Wrestling Championship, which is included in the 2021 activity program of the United World Wrestling (UWW), were held in the same year with very short intervals. However, 72% of the wrestlers who participated in the Olympic Games either could not participate in the World Championship or were replaced with another athlete from the same country. In this study, some competition components and score analyses of the Men's Free Wrestling Competitions held in these two major sports organizations on the basis of Olympic weights were made and their similarities and differences were revealed. While 96 athletes participated in the Olympic Games Men's Freestyle Wrestling competitions in six Olympic weight categories and performed 114 competitions, in the World Championship Men's Freestyle Wrestling, 144 athletes performed 162 competitions in the aforementioned six Olympic weight categories. Average points per competition were 9.18 points at the Olympic Games and 9.62 points at the World Championships. In both championships, the highest number of wins was by points, and their rates were 69% in the Olympic Games, and 61% in the World Championships. In both championships, the finishing times of the competitions were recorded as the highest value in completing the normal time, and their rates were determined as 72% in the Olympic Games and 61% in the World Championships. The average times per competition were determined as 5 minutes 23 seconds in the Olympic Games and 4 minutes and 49 seconds in the World Championships. The frequency of technical points earned was determined as the highest frequency of 2 points in both championships and the average frequency of 2 points per match was 3.32 in the Olympic Games, while it was 3.39 in the World Championships. With these results, no statistically significant difference was observed in terms of the competition components analysed in the Olympic Games and World Championships (p>0.05). Keywords: Analysis, 2021 World Championships, Wrestling.


The present work of investigation analyzed, evaluate and discuss the use of the AP-73Q gassed emulsion and also the use of the 45/55 heavy ANFO. The results obtained using the explosive mixtures before mentioned have been good in terms of fragmentation and uniformity of this. To carry-out the different case-studies, also electronic caps to initiate the blasts were used. Also it must be mentioned that the use of air decks have been given good results charged within the blast holes of production. Taking into account the environmental impacts; induced by the rock blasting operation it must be emphasized that no toxic fumes are generated for the detonation the explosive mixtures before mentioned.


Galaxies which fall into clusters as part of the same infall halo can retain correlations due to their shared origin. N-body simulations are used to study properties of such galaxy subgroups within clusters, including their richnesses and prevalence. The sizes, densities and velocity dispersions of all subgroups with ≥ 8 galaxies are found and compared to those of the host clusters. The largest galaxy subgroup provides a preferred direction in the cluster and is compared to other preferred directions in the cluster. Scatter in cluster mass measurements (via five observables), along ∼ 96 lines of sight, is compared to the relation of the line of sight to this preferred direction: scatter in cluster velocity dispersion measurements show the strongest correlation. The Dressler-Shectman test (Dressler & Shectman 1988) is an observational method to detect cluster substructure. This test is applied to the cluster sample to see whether the substructure it identifies is related to these subgroups. The results for any specific line of sight seem noisy, however, clusters with large subgroups tend to have a higher fraction of lines of sight where the test detects substructure.


Significance Persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with mitochondrial liver injury. Mitochondrial quality control is established as a physiological adaptation to mitochondrial injury. This study provides a new insight into how HCV disrupts mitochondrial dynamics and evades apoptosis and innate immunity to sustain persistent viral infection. HCV promoted dynamin-related protein 1-mediated mitochondrial fission, followed by mitophagy. Interference of HCV-induced mitochondrial fission and mitophagy led to the suppression of virus secretion, a decrease in glycolysis and ATP generation, an increase in interferon synthesis, and an increase in apoptotic death of infected cells via enhanced apoptotic signaling. These observations implicate the functional relevance of altered mitochondrial dynamics in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease associated with HCV infection. Mitochondrial dynamics is crucial for the regulation of cell homeostasis. Our recent findings suggest that hepatitis C virus (HCV) promotes Parkin-mediated elimination of damaged mitochondria (mitophagy). Here we show that HCV perturbs mitochondrial dynamics by promoting mitochondrial fission followed by mitophagy, which attenuates HCV-induced apoptosis. HCV infection stimulated expression of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and its mitochondrial receptor, mitochondrial fission factor. HCV further induced the phosphorylation of Drp1 (Ser616) and caused its subsequent translocation to the mitochondria, followed by mitophagy. Interference of HCV-induced mitochondrial fission and mitophagy by Drp1 silencing suppressed HCV secretion, with a concomitant decrease in cellular glycolysis and ATP levels, as well as enhanced innate immune signaling. More importantly, silencing Drp1 or Parkin caused significant increase in apoptotic signaling, evidenced by increased cytochrome C release from mitochondria, caspase 3 activity, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. These results suggest that HCV-induced mitochondrial fission and mitophagy serve to attenuate apoptosis and may contribute to persistent HCV infection.


Spiking Neural Network (SNN) uses individual spikes in time field to perform as well as to communicate computation in such a way as the actual neurons act. SNN was not studied earlier as it was considered too complicated and too hard to examine. Several limitations concerning the characteristics of SNN which were not researched earlier are now resolved since the introduction of SpikeProp in 2000 by Sander Bothe as a supervised SNN learning model. This paper defines the research developments of the enhancement Spikeprop learning using K-fold cross validation for datasets classification. Hence, this paper introduces acceleration factors of SpikeProp using Radius Initial Weight and Differential Evolution (DE) Initialization weights as proposed methods. In addition, training and testing using K-fold cross validation properties of the new proposed method were investigated using datasets obtained from Machine Learning Benchmark Repository as an improved Bohte's algorithm. A comparison of the performance was made between the proposed method and Backpropagation (BP) together with the Standard SpikeProp. The findings also reveal that the proposed method has better performance when compared to Standard SpikeProp as well as the BP for all datasets performed by K-fold cross validation for classification datasets.


Confusion is a frequent psychiatric and behavioural manifestation of diffuse cerebral injury found in elderly patients that are severely ill or stressed. The hyperactive form is often recognised because of the psychomotor agitation. However, the hypoactive form is most frequent and has a worse prognosis. Despite, it is often under-recognised. Among contributing factors, anticholinergic agents and drug interactions are significant. Identification and treatment of the underlying cause of delirium is essential with a focus on non pharmacological approach. Antipsychotic agents are reserved for severe forms and where non pharmacological intervention fracases.


Trees of guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Sardar were planted in September, 2010 at 2.0 x 2.0, 2.0 × 1.5, 1.5 × 1.5, 2.0 x 1.0 and 1.0 × 1.5 m spacing in 6.0 x 6.0 m size blocks to determine the effect of planting distance on tree growth, light interception, chlorophyll content, leaves Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash (Potassium) (NPK), flowering, yield and quality parameters. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with four replications at Instructional Farm, Department of Horticulture, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Vegetative growth characters of guava plant thou not influenced at the early stage by plant density however, at later stage, it was significantly influenced by various spacing treatments. Difference in two measurements was taken as "gain" and pruning was done during 11 September (first); 12 February; 12 September and 13 February (fourth). Mean maximum gain of shoot (46.7, 67.1 and 76.5 cm, respectively) and (53.7, 77.2 and 90.4 cm, respectively) at 60, 120 and 180 days second to third pruning (September, 2011 to February, 2012) and third to fourth (February, 2012 to September, 2012) respectively were recorded under treatment T1 (2.0 × 2.0 m) and minimum recorded under treatment T5 (1 × 1.5 m). Similarly, after two years of planting maximum plant; E-W (1.19 m) and N-S (1.32 m), girth of stem (3.75 cm), leaf area (97.16 cm2), light interception below canopy (356 μ Mol / m2 S), flowers plant-1 (88.40), number of fruits plant-1 (17.20), fruit weight (77.50 g), yield plant-1 (1.32 kg) and TSS/acid ratio (33.14) recorded under 2.0 × 2.0 m spacing and minimum under 1.0 x 1.5 m spacing, maximum plant height (1.58 m),  leaf area index (LAI) (3.29) and estimated yield (5.72 t ha-1) were recorded under 1.0 × 1.5 m spacing and minimum plant height recorded under 2.0 × 2.0 m spacing. Further, trees spaced at 2.0 × 2.0 m produced better quality fruits as compared to other spacing treatment.

 Key words: Guava, Ultra High Density Planting (UHDP), planting spacing,


Background Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a major constraint in wheat production in tropics and subtropics. There is limited information available on GWAS and study on genomic prediction is completely lacking. To reveal the genetic markers associated with disease resistance, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for spot blotch disease in 141 spring wheat lines. Results Based on the testing under natural infection in three years at hot spots location in Pusa, India and Jamalpur, Bangladesh, the genotypes showed significant genetic variation for disease severity. Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) based 18637 polymorphic SNP markers and phenotyping from diverse environments, we identified 23 genomic regions across the genome ( p < 0.001) on 14 chromosomes associated with disease scores. Consistent with the previous reports, a most stable genomic region on chromosome 2B, 5B and 7D were detected across the environments. The new genomic region on chromosome 3D was also identified. We performed functional annotation with wheat genome assembly annotation (IWGSC Ref Seq v1.0) and identified NBS-LRR and 35 other plant defense-related protein families across multiple chromosome regions. Using a five-fold cross-validation scheme, we observed moderate prediction accuracy for 3 of 4 environments indicated that our model was able to successfully capture the quantitative variation underlying the SB variation in our population. Conclusions The GWAS based on the phenotypic data from PUSA India and BARI Bangladesh resulted in a total of 23 genomic regions on 14 chromosomes. The new genomic region appeared on chromosome 3D associated with Zinc finger protein that play important role in plant disease resistance. The genomic prediction model for spot blotch disease resistance in wheat was tested and obtained moderate prediction accuracy.


AIM
The aim of this study was to evaluate a newly developed resin (MTYA1-Ca) for direct pulp capping.

METHODOLOGY
The powder of MTY1-Ca is composed of 89.0% microfiller, 10.0% calcium hydroxide and 1.0% benzoyl peroxide and was mixed with liquid (67.5% triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, 30.0% glyceryl methacrylate, 1.0% o-methacryloyl tyrosine amide, 1.0% dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate, and 0.5% camphorquinone). The shear bond, diametral tensile, bending and compressive strengths were measured. The alkaline activity of the elute dissolved from MTYA1-Ca was calculated. Cell viability by MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity were evaluated from dental pulp fibroblast reaction to the eluate dissolved from MTYA1-Ca. Histopathological studies of the response to exposed dental pulp of beagle dogs were completed with Dycal as a control.

RESULTS
The physical properties of MTYA1-Ca were significantly superior to those of Dycal. It was impossible to measure these properties with Dycal because of poor physical properties. Both MTYA1-Ca and Dycal maintained high levels of alkaline activity (pH 10.96-12.20) over the 168-h duration of the study. Cell viability by MTT assay in the intact eluate of MTYA1-Ca was significantly higher than that of Dycal, whilst ALPase showed no difference between MTYA1-Ca and Dycal. A dentine bridge formed more slowly under MTYA1-Ca than under Dycal, but similar amounts had formed at 90 days.

CONCLUSIONS
MTYA1-Ca has the potential to be used as a direct pulp capping material.


Dynamic analysis techniques have been proposed to detect potential deadlocks. Analyzing and comprehending each potential deadlock to determine whether the deadlock is feasible in a real execution requires significant programmer effort. Moreover, empirical evidence shows that existing analyses are quite imprecise. This imprecision of the analyses further void the manual effort invested in reasoning about non-existent defects.
 In this paper, we address the problems of imprecision of existing analyses and the subsequent manual effort necessary to reason about deadlocks. We propose a novel approach for deadlock detection by designing a dynamic analysis that intelligently leverages execution traces. To reduce the manual effort, we replay the program by making the execution follow a schedule derived based on the observed trace. For a real deadlock, its feasibility is automatically verified if the replay causes the execution to deadlock.
 We have implemented our approach as part of WOLF and have analyzed many large (upto 160KLoC) Java programs. Our experimental results show that we are able to identify 74% of the reported defects as true (or false) positives automatically leaving very few defects for manual analysis. The overhead of our approach is negligible making it a compelling tool for practical adoption.


Fluting is a technological and morphological hallmark of some of the most iconic North American Paleoindian stone points. Through decades of detailed artifact analyses and replication experiments, archaeologists have spent considerable effort reconstructing how flute removals were achieved, and they have explored possible explanations of why fluting was such an important aspect of early point technologies. However, the end of fluting has been less thoroughly researched. In southern North America, fluting is recognized as a diagnostic characteristic of Clovis points dating to approximately 13,000 cal yr BP, the earliest widespread use of fluting. One thousand years later, fluting occurs more variably in Dalton and is no longer useful as a diagnostic indicator. How did fluting change, and why did point makers eventually abandon fluting? In this article, we use traditional 2D measurements, geometric morphometric (GM) analysis of 3D models, and 2D GM of flute cross sections to compare Clovis and Dalton point flute and basal morphologies. The significant differences observed show that fluting in Clovis was highly standardized, suggesting that fluting may have functioned to improve projectile durability. Because Dalton points were used increasingly as knives and other types of tools, maximizing projectile functionality became less important. We propose that fluting in Dalton is a vestigial technological trait retained beyond its original functional usefulness.


Quantum mechanical calculations using restricted and unrestricted B3LYP density functional theory, CASPT2, and CBS-QB3 methods for the dimerization of 1,3-cyclohexadiene (1) reveal several highly competitive concerted and stepwise reaction pathways leading to [4 + 2] and [2 + 2] cycloadducts, as well as a novel [6 + 4] ene product. The transition state for endo-[4 + 2] cycloaddition (endo-2TS, DeltaH(double dagger)(B3LYP(0K)) = 28.7 kcal/mol and DeltaH(double dagger)(CBS-QB3(0K)) = 19.0 kcal/mol) is not bis-pericyclic, leading to nondegenerate primary and secondary orbital interactions. However, the C(s) symmetric second-order saddle point on the B3LYP energy surface is only 0.3 kcal/mol above endo-2TS. The activation enthalpy for the concerted exo-[4 + 2] cycloaddition (exo-2TS, DeltaH(double dagger)(B3LYP(0K)) = 30.1 kcal/mol and DeltaH(double dagger)(CBS-QB3(0K)) = 21.1 kcal/mol) is 1.4 kcal/mol higher than that of the endo transition state. Stepwise pathways involving diallyl radicals are formed via two different C-C forming transition states (rac-5TS and meso-5TS) and are predicted to be competitive with the concerted cycloaddition. Transition states were located for cyclization from intermediate rac-5 leading to the endo-[4 + 2] (endo-2) and exo-[2 + 2] (anti-3) cycloadducts. Only the endo-[2 + 2] (syn-3) transition state was located for cyclization of intermediate meso-5. The novel [6 + 4] "concerted" ene transition state (threo-4TS, DeltaH(double dagger)(UB3LYP(0K)) = 28.3 kcal/mol) is found to be unstable with respect to an unrestricted calculation. This diradicaloid transition state closely resembles the cyclohexadiallyl radical rather than the linked cyclohexadienyl radical. Several [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement transition states were also located and have activation enthalpies between 27 and 31 kcal/mol.


Background: Non-compliance is considered a major concern that challenges health care providers after total knee replacement (TKR). Noncompliance may lead to increase pain, loss of muscle strength, increase swelling, loss of normal movement and functional limitations. Pedometer was found to increase physical activity compliance in many populations. However, pedometers effect on rehabilitation outcomes in patients after TKR was not examined yet.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of pedometer based intervention on patients' rehabilitation outcomes following TKR surgeries.
Design: Randomized controlled trial
Materials and methods: 20 TKR patients were randomized into: pedometer group (n=10) and control group (n=10). Both groups received the same rehabilitation program. However, pedometers were given to the pedometer group patients in day 1 after surgery for seven consecutive days. Outcome measurements included: knee range of motion (ROM) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).
Results: After seven days, knee flexion ROM and physical function scores were significantly increased and pain score and stiffness was significantly decreased in pedometer group compared with the control group.
Conclusion: Pedometer is a wide spread, cheap, conservative and easily used device that could be used to increase compliance and improve knee outcomes in patients after TKR.


The ability to synthesize nanostructures has become more significant during recent years due to the importance of their applications. In polymer chem. this trend is esp. true in the core/shell synthesis of structured particles. The synthesis route of core/shell particles with liq. cores is slightly different from the conventional emulsion polymn. systems because of the high hydrophobicity and low water soly. of the core oil. In this study this problem was overcome by the introduction of ultrasonic dispersion, which resulted in the direct introduction of core oil into micelles. In situ miniemulsion polymn. was used to create core/shell particles with liq. cores. The influence of surfactant concn. on particle size was investigated and it was shown that particle size could be controlled. Results were compared to classical miniemulsion results and trends were explained. The study was further expanded to the investigation of controlled miniemulsion polymn. techniques to control the mol. architecture of synthesized core/shell latexes. [on SciFinder (R)]


A statistically based model for describing the release from a population of polymer coated controlled release fertilizer (CRF) granules by the diffusion mechanism was constructed. The model is based on a mathematical-mechanistic description of the release from a single granule of a coated CRF accounting for its complex and nonlinear nature. The large variation within populations of coated CRFs poses the need for a statistically based approach to integrate over the release from the individual granules within a given population for which the distribution and range of granule radii and coating thickness are known. The model was constructed and verified using experimentally determined parameters and release curves of polymer-coated CRFs. A sensitivity analysis indicated the importance of water permeability in controlling the lag period and that of solute permeability in governing the rate of linear release and the total duration of the release. Increasing the mean values of normally distributed granule radii or coating thickness, increases the lag period and the period of linear release. The variation of radii and coating thickness, within realistic ranges, affects the release only when the standard deviation is very large or when water permeability is reduced without affecting solute permeability. The model provides an effective tool for designing and improving agronomic and environmental effectiveness of polymer-coated CRFs.


AIM
To explore the characteristics of diarrhea caused by acaroid mites.

METHODS
Acaroid mites in fresh stools of 241 patients with diarrhea were separated by flotation in saturated saline. Meanwhile, skin prick test, total IgE and mite-specific IgE were detected in all patients.

RESULTS
The total positive rate of mites in stool samples of the patients was 17.01 % (41/241), the positive rates of mites in male and female patients were 15.86 % (23/145) and 18.75 % (18/96), respectively, without significant difference (P>0.05). The percentage of skin prick test as "+++", "++", "+", "+/-" and "-" was 9.13 % (22/241), 7.47 % (18/241), 5.81 % (14/241), 4.98 % (12/241) and 72.61 % (175/241), respectively. The serum levels of total IgE, mite-specific IgE in patients with and without mites in stool samples were (165.72+/-78.55) IU/ml, (132.44+/-26.80) IU/ml and (145.22+/-82.47) IU/ml, (67.35+/-45.28) IU/ml, respectively, with significant difference (P<0.01). The positive rate of mites in stool samples in staffs working in traditional Chinese medicine storehouses or rice storehouses (experimental group) was 26.74 % (23/86), which was significantly higher than that (11.61 %, 18/155) in people engaged in other professions (chi(2)=8.97, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
Acaroid mites cause diarrhea and increase serum levels of total IgE and mite-specific IgE of patients, and the prevalence of diarrhea caused by acaroid mites is associated with occupations rather than the gender of patients.


Density Functional Theory (UB3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)) calculations of the affinity of the pentaaqua nickel(II) complex for a set of phosphoryl [OP(H)(CH3)(PhR)], imino [HNC(CH3)(PhR)], thiocarbonyl [SC(CH3)(PhR)] and carbonyl [OC(CH3)(PhR)] ligands were performed, where RNH2, OCH3, OH, CH3, H, Cl, CN, and NO2 is a substituent at the para-position of a phenyl ring.The affinity of the pentaaqua nickel(II) complex for these ligands was analized and quantified in terms of interaction enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs free energy (ΔG298), geometric and electronic parameters of the resultant octahedral complexes. The ΔH and ΔG298 results show that the ligand coordination strength increases in the following order: carbonyl < thiocarbonyl < imino < phosphoryl. This coordination strength order is also observed in the analysis of the metal-ligand distances and charges on the ligand atom that interacts with the Ni(II) cation. The electronic character of the substituent R is the main parameter that affects the strength of the metal-ligand coordination. Ligands containing electron-donating groups (NH2, OCH3, OH) have more exothermic ΔH and ΔG298 than ligands with electron-withdrawing groups (Cl, CN, NO2). The metal-ligand interaction decomposed by means of the energy decomposition analysis (EDA) method shows that the electronic character of the ligand modulates all the components of the metal-ligand interaction. The absolute softness of the free ligands is correlated with the covalent contribution to the instantaneous interaction energy calculated using the EDA method. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This study was carried out to determine the effect of the age of the leaves and fermentation on in vitro protein digestibility and biochemical properties of leaves powder of Moringa oleifera. A 6 × 2 × 2 factorial design with two ages of the leaves (one and seven-month-old leaves), six times of fermentation and two fermentation temperatures was used for this purpose. One and seven-month-old fresh leaves were dried at 45 ℃ for 24 h, crushed to 1000 μm then fermented at 30℃ and 37℃ for 120 hours with Lactobacillus plantarum A6 at 108 CFU/g. Samples were withdrawn every 24 hours for physico-chemical analyses. Results showed that 7 month-old leaves were richer in iron, proteins, polyphenols and phytates than one month old leaves. The phytates content dropped from 66.92% and 61.95% in the seven and one month-old leaves powders respectively fermented at 37℃, and from 54.15% and 67.95% in the seven and one month-old leaves powders respectively fermented at 30℃. Protein content increased by 26.34% and 24.48% for the 1and 7-month-old leaves powders respectively fermented at 37℃, and by 13.06% and 13.97% for the 1and 7month-old leaves powders respectively, fermented at 30℃. Iron availability increased from 35.97% to 40.57% and 20.74% to 30.98% for the 1and 7-month-old leaves powders respectively, fermented at 37℃ and from 35.97% to 39.79% and 20.76% to 23.72% for the 1and 7-month-old leaves powders respectively, fermented at 30℃. There was a negative correlation between pH, total and reducing sugar contents, time as well as fermentation temperature, whereas there was a positive correlation between total protein content and pepsic digestibility of protein and fermentation time. From these results, fermentation of M. oleifera leaf powder by Lactobacillus plantarum A6 increases protein content, pepsic digestibility of protein and availability of iron and reduces the phytates content of these powders.


This project was established to provide a means of conducting limited scope evaluations of numerous traffic control device issues. During the second year of the project, researchers completed assessments of three issues: an extinguishable Left Turn Yield sign, a red border Speed Limit sign, and dew-resistant sheeting. For the extinguishable Left Turn Yield sign, researchers evaluated the impacts of the sign on traffic conflicts and events at one site and evaluated the impact on crashes at the same site. For the red border Speed Limit sign, researchers evaluated the short-term impacts of a redesigned sign at four sites and the long-term impacts of adding a red border at three sites that were also evaluated in the first year. The short-term evaluation also included an assessment of the impacts of the sheeting type on the sign. The evaluations consisted of comparisons of before and after speed measurements. For the dew-resistant sheeting evaluation, researchers installed a sign fabricated from standard sheeting and from prototype dew-resistant sheeting and monitored the sign's performance in dew conditions with an automated camera that recorded images at regular intervals throughout the night. The results showed positive benefits for all three evaluations. Researchers recommend use of the extinguishable Left Turn Yield sign at signalized locations with high left-turn crash rates. Researchers recommend the red border be added to the standard Speed Limit sign at locations where the speed limit decreases at the approach to a city or town and there is a need to provide additional emphasis on the reduced speed limit. The dew-resistant sheeting is a prototype material and is not currently available for widespread use. Field evaluations should be conducted before it is implemented on a widespread basis.


Meniere's disease is characterized by the triad of fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo, and tinnitus and by endolymphatic hydrops found on post-mortem examination. The cause of Meniere's disease remains unclear. Numerous factors play a role in the development of hydrops and in the pathogenesis of related cochleovestibular dysfunction. This review highlights recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of symptom development in Meniere's disease by detailing the role of genetics, autoimmunity, endolymphatic fluid homeostasis, excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and cellular apoptosis. Emphasis is placed on reviewing the newly described animal models that exhibit endolymphatic hydrops. Recent findingsRecent evidence suggests that hearing loss might be explained in part by apoptosis of spiral ganglion neurons and that hydrops could represent an epiphenomenon rather than an initiating factor. In addition, the accepted guinea pig model described by Kimura has certain limitations. An animal model that would supplement and in some cases replace the surgically induced model is currently being sought. SummaryThese recent advances have expanded our understanding and will allow for the development of targeted therapeutic interventions aimed at preventing the progression oochleovestibular deterioration.


Oak Guan-bin was a young patriot who was actively engaged in activities at Shinminhoi, an anti-Japan secrete society, Young Students' Association, and Daehanmaeil Newspaper at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. He was one of the 6 persons, who were sentenced to imprisonment at the 105 Koreans conspiracy trial, and got out of prison in 1915 and engaged in business activities, and went to Shanghai as an exile after the March 1st Independence Movement in 1919. Of course, he participated in the independence movement but was not very active. He distinguished himself more in the activities in business and religion areas. He was a businessman inheriting Pyeongan-do merchants' disposition, and observed things Chinese while living all over China since he went to Shanghai, China as an exile. In order to assimilating into the mainstream society in China, which was key to success in business, he restored Chinese citizenship, married a Chinese woman, participated in the native place association and the ethnic Chinese committee, and joined the Kuomintang and assumed a party position of Shanghai district chapter. After he converted to Buddhism, he strengthened his position while interacting with celebrities of political, business, and Buddhist circles in Shanghai. Nevertheless, he seems not to have transformed himself into a Chinese completely. His support for the movement to reconstruct Goryeo Temple in Hangju and for independence movement that he developed came from his patriotism for the motherland. He also provided economic support for his teacher Ahn Chang-ho and Inseong School. As he began full-fledged business activities, he put economic articles dozens of time on Dongrip Newspaper and other domestic newspapers and spread his assertions on attaching great importance to international trade. He established trading companies and engaged in international trade. The companies he established included Yeodeok Yanghaeng, Baedal Corporation, Sandeok yanghaeng, Bulja Pharmaceutical Company. Due to his success in Bulja Pharmaceutical Factory, he was raised to the rank of successful businessmen. Bulja Pharmaceutical Factory was the one in which business and Buddhist faith were combined into one in line with his ideal. Originally he was a Christian believer, but he converted to Buddhism while experiencing diverse thoughts after he went to Shanghai as an exile. The decisive opportunity was his encounter with Taixu, a leader of Buddhist reform movement in China in November 1926. He supported Taixu's Buddhist reform movement with the money he earned in business, and in return, Taixu helped Oak Guan-bin to be elected a member of the executive committee of Chinese Buddhist Conference. This aspect must have been a strong background of his performing business in Shanghai. In addition, as he was equipped with superior business mind-set and acumen, he assimilated into the Shanghai mainstream society and was able to become a successful businessman who could be rarely seen among Koreans in Shanghai.


Monoterpenes are the simple chemical constituents of volatile essential oils found in a number of aromatic plants. Being biologically active they provide the donor plants a number of characteristics. These are also known to play an important role in allelopathy as evidenced from the sparse vegetation around the donor plants. A study was under-taken to explore the effect of some monoterpenes viz. citronellol, citronellal and linalool for their inhibitory effect towards two weedy species viz. Echinochloa crus-galli and Bidens pilosa. Germination and growth of test weed species measured in terms of seedling length and dry weight were drastically reduced in response to the treatment of monoterpenes. Not only growth even the content of chlorophyll was also found to be less in the treated plants compared to control. These observations suggest that monoterpenes affect the photosynthetic machinery of the treated plants. Eight-week-old plants of E. crus-galli were completely killed with 2 ml spray treatment of 400 mM of citronellol. Monoterpenes also caused a rapid electrolyte leakage in the cotyledons of Cassia occidentalis thereby depicting a severe effect on the membrane integrity. The study, therefore, concludes that monoterpenes being chemically the simpler compounds can be utilized for the purpose of managing noxious weeds either directly as bioherbicides or indirectly by serving as template for the synthesis of new herbicides.


The synthesis of TMV-RNA1 does not proceed via cell DNA. This conclusion is based on the following experimental evidence :2 DNA, isolated from healthy and infected tobacco leaves, has similar purine and pyrimidine composition, and no differences were observed in the uptake Of p32 into DNA of healthy and infected leaves, suggesting that no new cell DNA is formed following infection with TMV. Examination of the nucleic acid preparations obtained from infected tobacco leaves did not reveal the presence of D N-A-RNA hybrids; this might have been the case if the formation of viral RNA involved DNA.


Nickel(II) complexes of Schiff bases derived from salicylaldehyde and glycylaspartate or glycylglutamate were prepared and their structures were determined on the basis of electronic absorption and 1H NMR spectra. The relationship between structure of the chelates and stability of fused-ring systems was discussed in some detail, and was applied to a selective hydrolysis reaction of dimethyl glycylaspartate and glycylglutamate. Nickel(II) complexes of Schiff bases derived from salicylaldehyde and β-methyl glycylaspartate or γ-methyl glycylglutamate were obtained by a reaction between dimethyl glycylaspartate or glycylglutamate and bis(salicylaldehydato)nickel(II) in methanol containing sodium or potassium hydroxide.


An efficient procedure for ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction of crude polysaccharides from Trichosanthes Fructus (crude TFP) using response surface methodology (RSM) was developed. The Box–Behnken design was applied to optimize the effects of pH (X1), enzyme amount (X2), extraction temperature (X3), and liquid-to-solid ratio (X4) on the extraction. The statistical analysis indicated that the independent variables (X4, X2, and X3), the quadratic coefficients (X12, X22, X32, and X42), and the interaction coefficient (X1X3) had significant impact on the yield of crude TFP. The optimal conditions were determined as follows: pH 4.5, enzyme amount 5000 u/g, extraction temperature 45°C, and liquid-to-solid ratio 30 ml/g. The experimental yield of crude TFP was 6.58%, which was very close to the predicted yield of 6.71%. TFPI was then purified and characterized with Sephadex G-100 column, UV-Vis, GPC, and FT-IR. The average molecular weight of TFPI was calculated to be 1.49 × 105 Da. TFPI exhibited strong reducing power and possessed not only remarkable scavenging activities against ABTS•+ and DPPH radicals, but also high antitumor activities in C4-2, DU145, and PC3 cells. The results suggest that Trichosanthes Fructus and TFPI could be a novel potent natural medicine with antioxidant and antitumor activities.


To develop an online inspection system of rice exterior quality (head rice rate, chalk rice, crackle rice) based on computer vision. The system was developed after analyzing the optic characteristics of rice kernel in the platform of VC∿ ∿ 6.0 software. The five varieties of rice kernel Jinyou974, Gangyou182, Zhongyou205, Jiahe212, and Changnonggeng-2 were selected as experimental samples. The methods, such as gray transformation, automatic threshold segmentation, area labeling, were applied to extract single rice kernel image from collected mass rice kernel images. The chalk rice and crackle rice were inspected by the above methods. To inspect the head rice rate, the ten characteristic parameters, such as the area and perimeter of rice kernel, were selected as the inspection characteristic of head rice, and the method of principal component analysis was carried out to process substantive data. The optimal threshold of distinguishing head rice was made sure. The results showed that the accurate ratio of detecting crackle rice was 96.41%, the correct ratio of detecting chalk rice was 94.79%, and the accurate ratio of detecting head rice was 96.20%. The analysis indicated efficient discrimination from different rice exterior quality by computer vision.


Recent developments in wireless networks, MicroElectroMechanical systems technology and integrated circuits have enabled miniaturisation of micro/nano-sensor nodes. These low-power and intelligent nodes are placed in or around the human body in a strategic manner for numerous new, practical and innovative applications. These applications provide improved data speed, accuracy and reliable communication of sensors and actuators. This exciting new area of research based on miniaturised sensor nodes is called body area networks (BANs). With majority of applications in healthcare, BAN utilises IEEE 802.15.6 and IEEE 802.15.4j standards. A lot of work is going on to develop communication protocols for BANs. The design of an efficient medium access control (MAC) protocol is an important requirement for BANs applications and a considerable work has been done to achieve this. In this paper, we provide a survey on BAN with special attention given to energy-efficient MAC protocols, its classification and comparison. This paper also discusses an in-depth review on BAN applications and fundamental research challenges.


Brecht's dramatic theory helps demonstrate that the contours of contemporary Northern Irish drama have been reshaped. In this respect, Owen McCafferty's play Scenes from the Big Picture has Neo-Brechtian resonances. The audience is presented with fragments of lives of people, bits and pieces of a whole picture. This play exemplifies Brecht's idea of a didactic play in so far as the audience is called to learn about the Northern Irish Troubles from the play through the device of fragmentation: the uneven background of McCafferty's play - i.e. the Troubles - is peopled with traumatised individuals, proportionally fragmented. The play is built on fragmentation to mirror the fragmented environment as truthfully as possible, but it also sheds light to tensions between disruption and continuity giving the play a dialectical dimension that enables it to become didactic. This didactic dimension could not be completely reached without the intervention of the spectators and some awareness on the actors' parts.


Large-scale forest scenario models are widely used to simulate the development of forests and to compare the carbon balance estimates of different countries. However, as site variability in the application area often exceeds the variability in the calibration area, model validation is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the European Forest Information Scenario model (EFISCEN). As Switzerland exhibits high spatial and climatic diversity, it was taken as a case study. The model output was compared to measured data in terms of initialization, estimation of growing stock, stand age, increment, management, and natural mortality. Comparisons were done at the country level, but also for regions and site classes. The results showed that the initialization procedure of EFISCEN works well for Switzerland. Moreover, EFISCEN accurately estimated the observed growing stock at the country level. On a regional level, major differences occurred. In particular, distribution of the harvesting amounts, mortality, and age-class distribution deviated considerably from empirical values. For future model applications, we therefore propose to define the required harvesting level not per country, but to specify it for smaller regions. Moreover, the EFISCEN simulations should be improved by refining the mortality function and by incorporating more flexibility in forest management practices.


Prussian blue analogues hold great promise as cathodes in sodium ion batteries. Among Prussian blue analogues, manganese hexacyanoferrate is desirable because of its high working voltage, as well as its high specific capacity and low cost. However, poor cycling stability and unsatisfactory rate capability of manganese hexacyanoferrate, which are mainly caused by poor intrinsic conductivity, phase transition, side reactions, and transition metal dissolution, extremely limit its practical application. In this work, we demonstrate a high-rate and long-life MnHCF@PEDOT sodium ion battery cathode through a facile in situ polymerization method. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of the inhibited Mn/Fe dissolution, suppressed phase transition, and improved capacitive storage, the composite electrode exhibits a high capacity of 147.9 mA h g−1 at 0.1C, 95.2 mA h g−1 at a high rate of 10C, and 78.2% capacity retention after 1000 cycles. Furthermore, even at a low temperature of −10 °C, MnHCF@PEDOT still delivers a high capacity of 87.0 mA h g−1 and maintains 71.5 mA h g−1 (82.2%) after 500 cycles.


Since 1980 there has been a massive surge of interest in migration throughout the developed world, not least in Britain. This is due to several factors: the reversal of migration flows to metropolitan areas and the revival of rural population growth (counter-urbanization); the lessening influence of traditional economic constraints on migration patterns; expected changes in the development of society regarding housing, employment and the nature of households; and finally an overall reduction in the rate of natural population increase. This major two-volume research publication explores all of these issues. Volume 1 outlines the latest methodology for analysing the extent and impact of population movement, while this volume provides a detailed survey of population movement in the UK during the 1980s.


As qualitative research becomes increasingly recognized and valued, it is imperative that it is conducted in a rigorous and methodical manner to yield meaningful and useful results. To be accepted as trustworthy, qualitative researchers must demonstrate that data analysis has been conducted in a precise, consistent, and exhaustive manner through recording, systematizing, and disclosing the methods of analysis with enough detail to enable the reader to determine whether the process is credible. Although there are numerous examples of how to conduct qualitative research, few sophisticated tools are available to researchers for conducting a rigorous and relevant thematic analysis. The purpose of this article is to guide researchers using thematic analysis as a research method. We offer personal insights and practical examples, while exploring issues of rigor and trustworthiness. The process of conducting a thematic analysis is illustrated through the presentation of an auditable decision trail, guiding interpreting and representing textual data. We detail our step-by-step approach to exploring the effectiveness of strategic clinical networks in Alberta, Canada, in our mixed methods case study. This article contributes a purposeful approach to thematic analysis in order to systematize and increase the traceability and verification of the analysis.


The legislative regime in mainland China is often said to be pro-arbitration. Yet, the People's Courts retain significant jurisdiction to make rulings with regard to the arbitration process as well as the resulting arbitral award. This article examines a number of recent Chinese court decisions and considers how well the proarbitration rhetoric has played out in reality. The authors observe that certain aspects of the People's Courts' recent rulings are already in conformity with international norms, such as the arbitrability of tortious claims in China and its adherence to the doctrine of separability of the arbitration clause. Nevertheless, other aspects of the system remain troubling for foreign parties. These aspects include the Supreme People's Court's restrictive approach to intervention by or joinder of parties who are not signatories to the arbitration agreement, uncertainty over the "public policy" and "social and public interest" exceptions to enforcement of arbitral awards and the status of awards issued by foreign arbitration institutions in China.


In this paper an experiment involving mLearning using Short Message Service (SMS) is described. The experiment was designed after a study of the readiness of the participants in terms of mobile device ownership, mobile technology preferences, and learning styles. Qualitative data was gathered and analysed using an activity theory framework. The SMS scenario developed for the experiment is contentspecific and was provided as a commercial service in 'pull' mode. The study allowed to conclude that mobility support, information density, and information relevance were the factors which contribute most to creating mLearning value while cost was a major detractor.


The grammatical norm uses the adverbial locution "ne…que" to restrict the meaning of a verb to its completive element. the usage of the restrictive form belongs to formal speech. However, its form "n'a…qu'a" followed by an infinitive is subject to informal usage by ivorians, who change its meaning to go for expressive modalities like the interrogation, the exclamation and the imperative, according to the situation of enun- ciation envisaged.


This study was to formulate a gender-responsive agile leadership model during the Covid-19 pandemic. A systematic literature review using PRISMA methods and field research on 18 purposely selected mid-level managers was conducted. The research discovers that first, agile leadership characteristics can be classified into individual and organizational dimensions. Individual characteristics include the personal values of agile leaders with good personalities. Organizational characteristics are characteristics to maintain and bring the organization to face a fast-changing and uncertain world. Second, the characteristics of gender-perspective leadership in the Covid-19 era are the commitment to change the management system, organizational culture, and the quality of leadership to promote gender equity. Finally, the Gendered-Perspective Agile Leadership model in the VUCA era during the Covid-19 pandemic is a leadership model that can quickly respond to gender issues through management system change, organizational culture, and character development of leaders oriented to individual and organizational characteristics. Individually trained leader characters are supposed to be intelligent, optimistic, communicative, accountable and compassionate, while organizationally oriented leader characters are adaptive, responsive, innovative, flexible, and transparent. This paper uses thematic analysis to fill the gap of the gendered-perspective agile leadership model by exploring the characteristics of gendered- perspective agile leadership in the COVID- 19 era.


Background Cytokine network alterations contribute strongly to the initiation and perpetuation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The production of IL-10 and TNF-alpha, which are important regulators of inflammation is under genetic control and functional significance of a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the regulatory regions of IL10 and TNFA genes has been demonstrated 1,2. Objectives In the present study, we analyzed the involvement of two functional SNPs in the promoter region of IL-10 (-1082 A/G; rs1800896) and TNF-alpha (-308 G/A, rs1800629) genes in the susceptibility to SLE in Bulgarian population. Methods A case–control study was carried out on 154 SLE patients and 152 sex and age matched healthy subjects. The allele and genotype frequencies of rs1800896 and rs1800629 were determined using allele specific PCR and restriction fragment length RFLP-PCR assays, respectively. Results We observed significant differences in the genotype (p=0.001) and allele (p=0.002) frequencies of TNFA -308G/A SNP between SLE patients and controls. There was an increase of the TNFA -308 A allele (21.8% vs 12.5%; OR =1.95) and a higher frequency of heterozygous AG genotype (42.2% vs 22.4%; OR =2.52) in cases compared to controls (p<0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of TNFA -308 A allele in the genotype (AG+AA) was associated with 2.4 times higher risk of developing SLE (OR=2.417; p<0.001). Regarding the distribution of IL10 -1082 A/G polymorphism a higher frequency of IL10 -1082 G allele (40.9% vs. 33.9%; OR =1.36; p=0.072) and GG genotype (17.5% vs. 9.2%; OR =2.09; p=0.033) was observed in SLE patients compared to controls. When analyzing the influence of combined IL10/TNFA genotypes on SLE appearance, we found that the carriage of both high cytokine producing genotypes of two polymorphisms (IL10 -1082 GG and TNFA -308 AA/GA, respectively) significantly increased the risk of developing SLE with OR =7.94; p=0.006. Conclusions Our results suggest that combination of IL10-1082A/G and TNFA -308G/A polymorphisms strongly contribute to the SLE susceptibility in Bulgarian population, particularly due to their functional effect on inducible cytokine production. Carriage of each of the genotype associated with high production of IL-10 and TNFA independently lead to 2-fold higher risk of developing SLE, while combining them increases the risk up to 8 times. References Wesdendorp RG et al. Lancet 1997;349:170-3. Eskdale J. et al. Immunogenetics 1997; 46:120-128. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Wikidata has been increasingly adopted by many communities for a wide variety of applications, which demand high-quality knowledge to deliver successful results. In this paper, we develop a framework to detect and analyze low-quality statements in Wikidata by shedding light on the current practices exercised by the community. We explore three indicators of data quality in Wikidata, based on: (1) community consensus on the currently recorded knowledge, assuming that statements that have been removed and not added back are implicitly agreed to be of low quality; (2) statements that have been deprecated; and (3) constraint violations in the data. We combine these indicators to detect low- quality statements, revealing challenges with duplicate entities, missing triples, violated type rules, and taxonomic distinctions. Our findings complement ongoing efforts by the Wikidata community to improve data quality, aiming to make it easier for users and editors to find and correct mistakes.


Severe reduction in the β‐cell number (collectively known as the β‐cell mass) contributes to the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Recent pharmacological studies have suggested that increased pancreatic β‐cell proliferation could be due to specific inhibition of adenosine kinase (ADK). However, genetic evidence for the function of pancreatic β‐cell ADK under physiological conditions or in a pathological context is still lacking. In this study, we crossed mice carrying LoxP‐flanked Adk gene with Ins2‐Cre mice to acquire pancreatic β ‐cell ADK deficiency (Ins2‐Cre±Adkfl/fl) mice. Our results revealed that Ins2‐Cre+/‐Adkfl/fl mice showed improved glucose metabolism and β‐cell mass in younger mice, but showed normal activity in adult mice. Moreover, Ins2‐Cre±Adkfl/fl mice were more resistant to streptozotocin (STZ) induced hyperglycaemia and pancreatic β‐cell damage in adult mice. In conclusion, we found that ADK negatively regulates β‐cell replication in young mice as well as under pathological conditions, such as STZ induced pancreatic β‐cell damage. Our study provided genetic evidence that specific inhibition of pancreatic β‐cell ADK has potential for anti‐diabetic therapy.


Experiments based upon light-induced drift have yielded direct information on the rotational-state dependence of intermolecular interactions. Data were obtained for the change in collision rate ν upon rovibrational (J,v) excitation of HF in Ar, H2, HCl, CH4 and CH3F. It is found that J and v have independent influences on ν. For the dipole-dipole cases, ν decreases by up to 40% as JHF increases from 0 to 6. This is attributed to the increased averaging-out of the dipolar potential. A theoretical treatment based upon the first Born approximation yields good agreement with the HF-HCl data.


The diagnostic criteria for Barrett's disease have changed very considerably during the last 10 years. Classically, the definition asked for columnar epithelium in the lower esophagus extending for at least 3 cm proximally. Now, the diagnosis rests on the finding of specialised intestinal metaplasia, i.e. columnar epithelium with goblet cells, in the esophagus, regardless of the extension. This is important because it is this type of metaplasia that is associated with an increased risk for the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma is the tumor with the fastest rising incidence in the western world in recent years. The criteria of the current definition of Barrett's esophagus are described in detail and the implications this change in definition carries for screening and surveillance of patients is discussed.


Based on the nonequilibrium Green's function method and density functional theory calculations, we theoretically investigate the electronic transport properties of an anthraquinone-based molecular switch with carbon nanotube electrodes. The molecules that comprise the switch can convert between reduced hydroquinone (HQ) and oxidized anthraquinne (AQ) states via redox reactions. Our results show that the on-off ratio is increased one order of magnitude when compared to the case of gold electrodes. Moreover, an obvious negative differential resistance behavior at much low bias (0.07 V) is observed in the HQ form.


The educational process of physical education and sport in the initial stage of the primary education helps build the foundations for the positive attitude of the trainees towards sport, personal physical development and physical capacity, motivation, needs and interests. The purpose of this survey is to identify parents' willingness to encourage their children to participate in organized sports activities at school and beyond, and to determine the impact of physical activity on the development of personal traits in first grade students. The contingent of the survey is 30 parents of students in the first grade of "Vasil Levski" Secondary school – Troyan. To achieve this goal, the following tasks must be completed: 1. To investigate the parental capacity to provoke physical activity in children. 2. To identify certain personality traits of first grade students after undergoing physical activity. 3. To process the received data and formulate conclusions and recommendations for practice in physical activity. For the successful outcome of the survey the following methods were applied: literature review on the subject and the survey questionnaire method. Based on the answers received from parents to pupils in first grade, it can be concluded that, positive emotional communication of children during participation in sports activities influences the interaction and the way of communication with their relatives, strengthens their self-assessment, regulates social behavior, increases the tolerance towards loved ones and strangers, lowers aggressiveness and emotional lability, and last but not least - forms the basis of a healthy lifestyle.


The successful development of a tourist village can be achieved through the active participation and collaboration of all related stakeholders. Each stakeholder has certain roles that should be fulfilled in the process of developing and improving the village's potential. Belumbang Village, which was inaugurated as a tourist village during the COVID-19 pandemic, faces challenges in its development. This research aims to identify the existing conditions of tourism and analyse the role of stakeholders in the development of Belumbang Tourist Village. The method used in this research is a qualitative method with data collection techniques through observation, literature review, and interviews with stakeholders who are involved in the development of Belumbang Tourist Village. The results showed that most of the stakeholders have fulfilled their roles, but it has not been done optimally. Furthermore, several issues were identified, namely the uncertainty regarding the village regulations which regulates tourism activities in Belumbang Village, limited budget for the tourism development, lack of knowledge and awareness of tourism within the local community, and also an inactive partnership between stakeholders in terms of Belumbang Tourist Village development.
Keywords: tourist village, development, stakeholders, role


Roseomonas is a recently described genus of gram-negative coccobacilli formerly designated as "pink-coccoid" groups I through IV by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Ga) because of the organism's characteristic pink colonies. Since 1991 we have isolated Roseomonas from eight patients; in seven from blood cultures and in one from a skin lesion. The seven blood isolates were from patients with clinically significant underlying diseases who had central venous catheters in place; the majority were associated with polymicrobial catheter infections. Additional characteristics of their infections are described. The eight isolates had originally been identified by us as Centers for Disease Control (CDC) pink-coccoid group III. These organisms were re-identified using the criteria of Rihs et al, and all isolates fit most closely with Roseomonas gilardii. Antibiotic profiles were fairly homogeneous showing susceptibility to many antibiotics, but uniform resistance to cefoxitin, ceftazidime, and piperacillin. Attempts to determine whether the isolates were the same strain by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis suggested that 3 of the isolates were similar. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, however, demonstrated that each of the eight isolates was a unique strain.


Objective: Emotional and behavioral problems during childhood and adolescence add stress to any family and are a common challenge that parents, caregivers, and teachers face. Studies in this regard are limited in Australia. This study estimated the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among Australian children and examined a number of associated risk factors, including unhealthy family functioning. Method: The current study utilized data from a multistage stratified continuous survey conducted by the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health, during 2005-8. A computer-assisted telephone interviewing method (CATI) was employed. Among other data items, the surveys collected information on demographics, family functioning measured by the General Functioning Scale [1], and emotional and behavioral problems measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [2, 3]. Children aged 4-15 years (n = 7,210) from the surveys were included in this study. The SAS procedures SURVEYFREQ and SURVEYLOGISTIC were used for the analyses. Results: Emotional problems (12.1 percent), hyperactivity-inattention (11.1 percent), and conduct problems (9.6 percent) were the most prevalent, followed by peer problems (8.6 percent). Overall, 7.6 percent of the children were estimated to be at risk of developing clinically significant emotional and behavioral problems. After adjusting for several major demographic factors, unhealthy family functioning stood out as significantly associated with increased risks for emotional problems (odds ratio [OR] = 2.53; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.36-4.69), conduct problems (OR = 3.83; 95 percent CI = 1.88-7.84), peer problems (OR = 6.26; 95 percent CI = 4.43-11.42), and the overall risk of developing clinically significant emotional and behavioral problems (OR = 5.06; 95 percent CI = 2.42-10.58). Other demographic risk factors were also identified. Conclusions: Early interventions, services and support need to focus on children from unhealthy family functioning and certain demographic backgrounds.


Background: Scientific and medical progress in oncology has led to the introduction of new medicines in rapid succession. In addition, the development of new therapy modalities, the so-called "targeted therapies" such as e.g. monoclonal antibodies or tyrosinekinase-inhibitors ("small molecules"), has resulted in swift increases in medicine costs in oncology in hospitals. The fast and, to some extent, uncontrolled implementation of these expensive cancer medicines has affected hospital drug budgets. The development of a Horizon Scanning System (HSS) which aims at identifying and evaluating new drug therapies in oncology early on, i.e. before their routine introduction for cancer treatment, could prepare Austrian hospitals (hospital administrators and drug commissions respectively) for new anticancer medicines, and could contribute to making rational decisions and planning prospective budgets. The main components of such a Horizon Scanning System are the determination of relevant information sources for the systematic identification of emerging anticancer drugs, the establishment of a useful filtering and prioritisation instrument, the set up of a network of Austrian oncologists involved in the Horizon Scanning process and the definition of the parameters and the format of early assessment.
Objectives: This project was performed in order to develop a concept for the preparation of a HSS for anticancer drugs in Austria and to test the two important steps of identification and priority setting within a first feasibility study.
Methods: A literature and internet search based on the EUnetHTA WP7 HSS-review (overview of Horizon Scanning activities) was performed to identify existing Horizon Scanning Systems and relevant information sources for new anticancer drugs. Experts from established HSSs, mainly members of EuroScan, were contacted for information about their identification and prioritisation processes. Existing methods were then adapted to the needs of Horizon Scanning in oncology. Clinical experts were involved in the priority-setting process and the selection of new anticancer drugs for performing an early assessment. In a pilot run, we tested the feasibility of the concept.
Results: In a time period of three months about sixty selected information sources for oncology were scanned weekly to identify emerging anticancer drugs or drugs with an extension of indication in phase II/ III of clinical testing. Our scanning revealed 116 different anticancer drugs for which we extracted relevant data. Three clinical experts in oncology then independently applied seven prioritisation criteria with an underlying score to the potentially important anticancer drugs. We analysed their preliminary estimations by calculating a mean score. The number of anticancer drugs relevant to the Austrian health care system could thereby be reduced to five, although this result has to be interpreted carefully. Prioritisations by the experts clearly differed. Therefore, a final decision about which anticancer drugs should undergo early assessment was not feasible after calculating a mean score. Instead, a multistage prioritisation process must be used to reach a consensus between oncologists. In addition, our experts have commented on the proposed procedures of drug identification and prioritisation. Their suggestions mainly dealt with how drugs are identified (i.e. more restricted inclusion criteria) and who makes up the expert panel (more experts with expertise in specific tumour entities). Their input could now be used to optimize the Horizon Scanning System and serve as a basis for further discussions.
Conclusions: The establishment of a Horizon Scanning System for anticancer drugs is an important tool to prepare Austrian hospitals for new/ emerging medicines. In principle our first experiences with the Horizon Scanning System from the feasibility study were acceptable but several changes, especially regarding the collection of data on anticancer drugs and the priority setting process, were proposed by our experts. The next steps will be to work out an optimized, final concept with various stakeholders (e.g. hospital administrators, clinical experts, drug commissions) in consideration of the results of the feasibility study. Secondly, the Horizon Scanning System should be made standard practice to regularly provide Austrian hospitals (hospital management and drug commissions) with information about new/ emerging anticancer drugs to support their financial drug budget planning and rational decision making. Third, as an input for the international HTA-community, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for HTA will join EuroScan in 2008/ 2009.


Hypertension is one of the most frequent modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. Due to the increased risk of bleeding associated with it, hypertensive patients might benefit from an antiplatelet monotherapy following percutaneous coronary intervention.

 We sought to investigate the effect of 1-month DAPT followed by 23-month ticagrelor monotherapy (ticagrelor monotherapy) compared with the reference arm, 12-month DAPT followed by 12-month aspirin monotherapy (standard DAPT), on clinical outcomes in patients with hypertension undergoing PCI.

 This is a post-hoc analysis of the prospective, multi-center, open-label, all-comers, randomized controlled trial Global Leaders, that tested ticagrelor monotherapy versus standard DAPT in patients receiving PCI with biolimus A9-eluting stent. Patients were stratified by the hypertension status. The primary endpoint for the present analysis was the patient oriented composite endpoint (POCE - defined as composite of all-cause death, any stroke, any MI, or all revascularization) and safety endpoint of BARC type 3 or 5 bleeding, both at 2 years. Event rates are presented as Kaplan-Meier estimates (%).

 In Global Leaders 15,991 patients were randomized, 23 (0.14%) requested complete deletion of their data from the database and 54 (0.34%) had no information on hypertension status. Of the 15,914 (99.52%) included in the analysis 11,715 were hypertensive. In the non-hypertensive patients, comparing ticagrelor monotherapy with standard DAPT, no difference was found regarding POCE (12.17% vs. 12.13%, HR 1.004, 95% CI 0.843 to 1.195, p=0.965) nor bleeding (1.71% vs. 1.72%, HR 1.0, 95% CI 0.628 to 1.592, p=1.0, respectively). In hypertensive patients the experimental treatment of ticagrelor monotherapy resulted in less POCE (13.62% vs. 15.04%, HR 0.898, 95% CI 0.816 to 0.988, p=0.028, p for interaction=0.271) with similar bleeding (2.21% vs. 2.26%, HR 0.976, 95% CI 0.765 to 1.246, p=0.846), compared with the standard DAPT at 2 years.

 In this sub-group analysis of Global Leaders, in patients with hypertension undergoing PCI the experimental treatment of 1-month DAPT followed by 23-month ticagrelor monotherapy may offer ischemic protection without increasing bleeding. The results must be interpreted cautiously as there was no interaction between treatment strategy and the status of hypertension. Thus, the present results are hypothesis generating.

 ECRI - Astra Zeneca - Biosensors - Medicine Company


A nonparametric model that includes non-Gaussian characteristics of skewness and kurtosis is proposed based on the cubic market capital asset pricing model. It is an equilibrium pricing model but risk-neutral valuation can be introduced through return data transformation. The model complies with the put-call parity principle of option pricing theory. The properties of the model are studied through simulation methods and compared with the Black-Scholes model. Simulation scenarios include cases on nonnormality in skewness and kurtosis, nonconstant variance, moneyness, contract duration, and interest rate levels. The proposed model can have negative prices in cases of out-of-money options and in simulation cases that are different from real-market situations, but the frequency of negative prices is reduced when risk-neutral valuation is implemented. The model is more adaptive and more conservative in pricing options compared to the Black-Scholes model when nonnormalities exist in the returns data.


a ve Nihal CEVIK a * ABSTRACT Dutluca volcanics, which are known as Hallaclar Formation in regional scale in the study area (Kurshens- ky, 1976), are composed of hydrothermally altered andesite and basaltic andesite. In these rocks, sulfidic minerals such as pyrite, enargite and chalcosine, and oxide and hydroxide minerals such as magnetite, hematite and goethite were detected as opaque minerals. The presence of enargite in opaque mineral para- genesis, and the changes observed in structures and textures of opaque and silicate minerals indicate that examined volcanics have been altered by highly sulfidic hydrothermal solutions. During the hydrothermal alteration process, which indicates at least in two phases, a diffuse pyritization rich in H2S in reducing conditions and enargite mineral, which is known as pathfinder minerals in such processes, formed in the first phase. Later on; the extensive martitization developed in oxidizing conditions.


We present a variational formulation of electrodynamics using de Rham even and odd differential forms. Our formulation relies on a variational principle more complete than the Hamilton principle and thus leads to field equations with external sources and permits the derivation of the constitutive relations. We interpret a domain in space-time as an odd de Rham 4-current. This permits a treatment of different types of boundary problems in an unified way. In particular we obtain a smooth transition to the infinitesimal version by using a current with a one point support.


The Middle Miocene Mint Canyon and Caliente formations represent sedimentation after triple-junction extension in southern California. Sandstone and conglomerate petrology, combined with detrital-zircon analysis, determines provenance of the Mint Canyon and Caliente formations. These data indicate that most detritus is locally derived, rather than being derived from the Chocolate Mountains across the San Andreas fault. The Mint Canyon and Caliente formations received Proterozoic anorthosite-syenite-gabbro and Triassic Lowe plutonic detritus from the San Gabriel Mountains throughout their depositional history, but show variations geographically from more locally derived sources, including Pelona Schist from Sierra Pelona.Discriminant analysis of sandstone and conglomerate indicates strong correlation between the Mint Canyon and Caliente formations. Each group for the Mint Canyon Formation (schist (S), volcanic (V) and plutonic (P)) shows a distinct age peak (based on detrital zircons) from a nearby source rock. The plutonic group has a strong Lowe Pluton signal (220 Ma), the volcanic group has a strong Vasquez and related volcanics signal (25 Ma) and the schist group has a strong Lowe Pluton and Pelona Schist signal (220 Ma and 75 Ma). The Caliente Formation is less distinctive, but shows the same Lowe Pluton (220 Ma), unknown local plutons (150 Ma), volcanic (25 Ma) and schist (75 Ma) signals. All samples show Proterozoic anorthosite-syenite-gabbro and gneiss signals (1200 Ma and 1700 Ma) that are weaker to the west.This study supports the importance of integrated multi-method analyses. Conglomerate petrology, sandstone petrology and detrital-zircon analysis constrain drainage styles of Mint Canyon and Caliente provenance. Independently, each method provides limited provenance information about rock type or age, but together, they demonstrate correlation between the Mint Canyon and Caliente formations, and refine our understanding of source rocks and paleogeography.


Firstly,the basic principle and method of BP neural network are introduced in this paper,and an evaluation index system about the maintenance support capability in wartime is constructed based on influence factor analysis.Then the paper designs a neural network model about the maintenance support capability.The result is calculated and analyzed by using simulation software MATLAB.It is proved that the BP neural network can well resolve a complex nonlinearity relation problem and be suit to analyze and evaluate the inherent ability of equipment support in wartime.


Since most people spend 90% of their time indoors, the indoor environment has a determining influence on human health. In many instances, the air quality parameters are very different from those defined as healthy values. Using real-time monitoring, occupants or the building manager can decide and control behaviors and interventions to improve indoor air quality. The historical database is also useful for assisting doctors to support the medical diagnosis. The continuous tech-nological advancements notably, as regards, networking, sensors, and embedded devices have made it possible to monitor and provide assistance to people in their homes. Smart objects with great capabilities for sensing and connecting could revolutionize the way we are monitoring our environment. This chapter consists of a general overview of several real-time monitoring systems developed and published by the authors. In this chapter, the authors present several new open-source and cost-effective systems that had been developed for monitoring environmental parameters, always with the aim of improving indoor air quality for enhanced healthy buildings.


OBJECTIVES
We examined the effects of exposure to or interpersonal loss resulting from a terrorist attack on posttraumatic stress and alcohol consumption after we controlled for psychiatric history assessed before the attack.

METHODS
At baseline (1991-1992) and at 1- and 10-year follow-ups, an adult community sample of drinkers living approximately 12 mi (19.2 km) from the World Trade Center were evaluated for alcohol dependence and major depression. Of this group, 82.2% were assessed regarding the impact of the September 11, 2001, attacks, including proximity to the World Trade Center, interpersonal loss, posttraumatic stress, and alcohol consumption.

RESULTS
In regression models, interpersonal loss and past major depression, but not proximity to the World Trade Center, predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. Proximity and past alcohol dependence, but not interpersonal loss, predicted high levels of post-September 11 alcohol consumption. Past alcohol dependence did not modify the proximity-drinking relationship, and past major depression did not modify the loss-posttraumatic stress relationship.

CONCLUSIONS
Participants' responses to September 11 were specific to their type of exposure and not predetermined by their psychiatric history. A better understanding of responses to traumatic events should assist more-effective prevention and intervention efforts.


We report our analysis, using account data from a large discount brokerage firm, of the common stock investment performance of 166 investment clubs from February 1991 through January 1997. The average club tilted its common stock investment toward high-beta, small-cap growth stocks and turned over 65 percent of its portfolio annually. The average club lagged the performance of a broad-based market index and the performance of individual investors. Moreover, 60 percent of the clubs underperformed the index.


Studies in the rat have shown that prolonged inhibition of acid secretion by high doses of a histamine H2 antagonist is followed by a 20-30% increase in the number of parietal cells, and that this is paralleled by an augmentation of the maximum acid output. A similar effect has been shown after prolonged acid neutralization with high doses of an antacid. These trophic effects are not unexpected. An increase in gastric pH is followed by gastrin release, and the parietal cell mass may be augmented by repeated exogenous administration of gastrin or by endogenous hypergastrinaemia following surgery. To further evaluate whether a direct correlation exists between the magnitude of drug-induced hypergastrinaemia and parietal cell hyperplasia, rats were treated for 24 days with two acid inhibitors which differ markedly in the degree of acid inhibition and acute or chronic gastrin release. Six animals each were treated with either omeprazole (40 mumol/kg once daily), or atropine (3 mg/kg twice daily), or omeprazole combined with atropine or with placebo. On day 24, plasma gastrin was elevated more than 10-fold in both groups of rats treated with omeprazole but not in animals given atropine alone. As compared to placebo treatment, total parietal cell volume was significantly higher in animals treated with atropine (102 +/- 9 mm3 versus 140 +/- 18 mm3), but was unchanged in the other two groups. These studies demonstrate that marked prolonged drug-induced hypergastrinaemia does not necessarily exert trophic effects on parietal cells. Furthermore, the finding that omeprazole abolishes the effect of atropine suggests that omeprazole interferes with trophic actions on parietal cells.


Abrus precatorius L. Fabaceae, is an important medicinal plant used by the traditional healers for treating various illness. The main intention of this current work is find out the phytocompounds available in the petroleum ether fractions of Abrus precatorius leaves extract by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrum analysis. The Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrum of petroleum ether fraction of leaves of Abrus precatorius confirmed the existence of various phytoconstituents includes 2R-actoxymethyl-,3,3-trimethyl-4t-(3-methyl-2-buten-yl)-t-cyclohexanol (10.0%), tetracontane-1,40-diol(22.3%) and hexacosanol acetate (68.7%). The antioxidant activity of the petroleum ether fraction of Abrus precatorius was done by DPPH Scavenging assay. The petroleum ether fraction of Abrus precatorius showed good antioxidant activity which is due to the presence of various pytocompounds present in it and validate the make use of of this medicinal plant to treat various disease by traditional healers.


Epitaxial, n-type ZnO:Ga layers grown by laser molecular-beam epitaxy were investigated by Hall-effect and spectroscopic techniques. We have studied the effects of free carriers on their optical properties in the spectral range close to the fundamental energy gap. To precisely determine the absorption onset energies, line-shape analysis of the absorption spectrum was performed using a model taking the many-body effect due to the presence of high-density electron gas into account. As a result, donor doping gives rise to a systematic blueshift of the fundamental absorption edge, consistent with the Burstein–Moss effect. The Burstein–Moss shifting behavior of ZnO:Ga is compared with that in the case of ZnO:Al. The experimental data for ZnO:Ga agree very well with the theory developed by Sernelius et al. [Phys. Rev. B 37 (1988) 10244], while the data for ZnO:Al do not. The temperature-dependent spectroscopy allowed us to investigate the effect of free carrier also on an exciton-phonon complex. It was found that, at low temperatures, the spectrum had an abrupt onset followed by two asymmetric peaks, including the anti-Stokes phonon sideband, which is explained in terms of optical singularities.


Abstract Reworked Late Carboniferous palynomorphs are recorded from mudrocks within Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sandstone-prone horizons from five wells (26/28-A1, 26/28-A1Z, 35/19-1, 35/8-1 and 35/8-2) in the Porcupine and North Porcupine Basin area, offshore western Ireland. Reworked palynomorphs are recognized by their anomalous biostratigraphic age; differences in colour and preservation are less significant. The reworked palynomorphs are remarkably well preserved and are thermally relatively immature in comparison with in situ onshore palynomorphs of a similar age. This indicates that the source of the reworked palynomorphs was not the onshore Upper Carboniferous successions of the Irish mainland. They were probably derived, along with the associated sand, from the immediate basin margin to the east, as this is the only area where there is suitably aged material with an appropriate thermal history. Reworking of rift flank Late Carboniferous material was thus an important factor in the provenance of Mesozoic sandstone horizons throughout the Porcupine and North Porcupine basins and surrounding areas. The study demonstrates that the investigation of reworked palynomorphs can be an important aspect of provenance studies in general.


The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of the roughage-to-concentrate (R:C) ratio and the addition of live yeast (LY) on ruminal fermentation characteristics and methane (CH4) production. The experimental design was randomly allocated according to a completely randomized design in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement. The first factor was four rations of R:C at 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80, and the second factor was an additional four doses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (live yeast; LY) at 0, 2.0 × 106, 4.0 × 106, and 6.0 × 106 colony-forming unit (cfu), respectively. For the in vitro method, during the incubation, the gas production was noted at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The rumen solution mixture was collected at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h of incubating after inoculation. Cumulative gas production at 96 h was highest in the R:C ratio, at 20:80, while the addition of LY improves the kinetics and accumulation of gas (p > 0.05). Maximum in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) at 24 h after incubation were achieved at the R:C ratio 20:80 and the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which were greater than the control by 13.7% and 12.4%, respectively. Ruminal pH at 8 h after incubation decreased with an increased proportion of concentrates in the diet, whereas it was lowest when the R:C ratio was at 20:80. Increasing the proportion of a concentrate diet increased total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) and propionic acid (C3), whereas the acetic acid (C2) and C2-to-C3 ratios decreased (p < 0.05). TVFA and C3 increased with the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which was greater than the control by 11.5% and 17.2%, respectively. No interaction effect was observed between the R:C ratio and LY on the CH4 concentration. The calculated ruminal CH4 production decreased with the increasing proportion of concentrates in the diet, particularly the R:C ratio at 20:80. The CH4 production for LY addition at 6 × 106 cfu was lower than the control treatment by 17.2%. Moreover, the greatest populations of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi at 8 h after incubation were found with the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which were higher than the control by 19.0%, 20.7%, and 40.4%, respectively. In conclusion, a high ratio of roughage and the concentrate and addition of LY at 6.0 × 106 cfu of the total dietary substrate could improve rumen fermentation, improve feed digestibility, and reduce the CH4 production.


In this paper, we present the design and realization of active recursive filters on Silicon employing differential circuits. A noise analysis method dedicated to the optimization of differential circuits is also introduced. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2007.


Abstract Objective: To describe the frequency of albuminuria in overweight and obese children and adolescents and to relate it to the severity of obesity, pubertal staging, associated morbidities and the glomerular filtration rate. Method: Cross-sectional study including 64 overweight and obese children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years of age. Data collected: weight, height, waist circumference and systemic arterial pressure. Laboratory tests: lipid profile; glycemia and insulin, used to calculate the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA-IR); C-reactive protein; glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and albuminuria in an isolated urine sample (cutoff <30 mg/g). Creatinine was used to calculate the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2). Results: The mean age was 11.6 ± 3.4 years, 32 (50%) and 29 (45.3%) were male and prepubertal. Forty-six (71.9%) had severe obesity. The frequency and median (min/max) of the observed values for albuminuria (> 30 mg/g) were 14 (21.9%) and 9.4 mg/g (0.70, -300.7 mg/g). The mean eGFR was 122.9 ± 24.7 mL/min/1.73 m2. There was no significant correlation between body mass index, pubertal staging, insulin and HOMA-IR with albuminuria values and neither with eGFR. Children with albuminuria tended to have higher values of diastolic blood pressure (75.0 ± 12.2 vs. 68.1 ± 12.4, p = 0.071). Conclusion: Albuminuria, although frequent in children and adolescents with obesity, was not associated with other morbidities and the glomerular filtration rate in these patients.


Computational chemistry has become an established tool for the study of the origins of chemical phenomena and examination of molecular properties. Because of major advances in theory, hardware and software, calculations of molecular processes can nowadays be done with reasonable accuracy on a time-scale that is competitive or even faster than experiments. This overview will highlight broad applications of computational chemistry in the study of organic and organometallic reactivities, including catalytic (NHC-, Cu-, Pd-, Ni-catalyzed) and noncatalytic examples of relevance to organic synthesis. The selected examples showcase the ability of computational chemistry to rationalize and also predict reactivities of broad significance. A particular emphasis is placed on the synergistic interplay of computations and experiments. It is discussed how this approach allows one to (i) gain greater insight than the isolated techniques, (ii) inspire novel chemistry avenues, and (iii) assist in reaction development. Examples of successful rationalizations of reactivities are discussed, including the elucidation of mechanistic features (radical versus polar) and origins of stereoselectivity in NHC-catalyzed reactions as well as the rationalization of ligand effects on ligation states and selectivity in Pd- and Ni-catalyzed transformations. Beyond explaining, the synergistic interplay of computation and experiments is then discussed, showcasing the identification of the likely catalytically active species as a function of ligand, additive, and solvent in Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. These may vary between mono- or bisphosphine-bound or even anionic Pd complexes in polar media in the presence of coordinating additives. These fundamental studies also inspired avenues in catalysis via dinuclear Pd(I) cycles. Detailed mechanistic studies supporting the direct reactivity of Pd(I)-Pd(I) with aryl halides as well as applications of air-stable dinuclear Pd(I) catalysts are discussed. Additional combined experimental and computational studies are described for alternative metals, these include the discussion of the factors that control C-H versus C-C activation in the aerobic Cu-catalyzed oxidation of ketones, and ligand and additive effects on the nature and favored oxidation state of the active catalyst in Ni-catalyzed trifluoromethylthiolations of aryl chlorides. Examples of successful computational reactivity predictions along with experimental verifications are then presented. This includes the design of a fluorinated ligand [(CF3)2P(CH2)2P(CF3)2] for the challenging reductive elimination of ArCF3 from Pd(II) as well as the guidance of substrate scope (functional group tolerance and suitable leaving group) in the Ni-catalyzed trifluoromethylthiolation of C(sp(2))-O bonds. In summary, this account aims to convey the benefits of integrating computational studies in experimental research to increase understanding of observed phenomena and guide future experiments.


A pervasive argument in the literature on AIDS orphans in South Africa is that grandparents, who often care for their orphaned grandchildren, lack the material means to provide adequate care. This study investigated that claim in an area of ubiquitous poverty and very high unemployment. It is based on the analysis of data obtained from two surveys carried out by the HSRC in the semi-rural municipality of Kopanong in the Free State. The first study was a census which targeted the whole population. The second, smaller survey sampled households which accommodated orphaned and vulnerable children. Based on four proxy indicators for material care: possession of birth certificates, uptake of welfare grants, levels of school attendance, and the number of meals consumed daily, the study revealed that there was very little difference in the quality of care provided by grandparents and other carers, including biological parents. Indeed, since the old age pension is much higher than the child support grant and the foster care grant it may be that grandparents who are pensioners generally have higher incomes than most other adults. In line with the findings of other research, the study found that poverty is a major problem confronting all carers in the area. It concludes that interventions that primarily target orphans overlook the material needs of all poor children. It therefore joins the calls of other researchers for greater state support for all poor children, irrespective of whether they are orphans and who their carers are.


Purpose

Supply chain strategy is widely recognized as being a crucial component of a broader corporate strategy. However, the relationships between a firm's strategic supply chain focus, the tactical orientation of its suppliers, and the firm's performance, are less well understood. Much of what is known is also based on developed country contexts. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine relationships between a buying firm's supply chain strategy and operational dimensions of its suppliers in a developing country context.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation model is developed and tested using empirical data drawn from 296 organizations in India and Pakistan.

Findings

The results demonstrate a positive relationship between a firm's strategic supply chain focus (lean and responsiveness) and key supplier practices (quality, cost effectiveness, delivery, and flexibility), which in turn have a positive impact on firm performance (operational, quality and market, and financial).

Practical implications

The study paper offers supply chain managers in developing markets with insights that can shape effective supplier selection and management and lead to positive performance outcomes.

Originality/value

The results provide insights into supply chain strategy, and empirically validate the importance of the alignment between strategy and the ability of suppliers to execute in a corresponding manner. It also offers evidence of the impact of the buyer-supplier interface in a developing market context.