In applications such as digital libraries, stock tickers, traffic control, or supply chain management, composite events have been introduced to enable to capture rich situations. Composite events seem to follow a common semantics. However, on closer inspection we observed that the evaluation semantics of events differs substantially from system to system. In this paper, we propose a parameterized event that defines the detailed semantics of composite event operators. We introduce composite event operators that support explicit parameters for event selection and event consumption. These parameters define how to handle duplicates in both primitive and composite events. The event algebra EVA forms the foundation for a unifying reference language that allows for translation between arbitrary event composition languages using transformation rules. This translation, in turn, allows for a meta‐service that can federate heterogeneous event‐ based systems. Our approach supports the seamless integration of event‐based applications and changing event sources without the need to redefine user profiles. The event algebra is exemplified in the domain of transportation logistics.


This project visualizes the history and current presence of oil in our everyday surroundings in order to facilitate long-term urban sustainability and energy innovation. Designers and citizens around the world want buildings and cities to be more sustainable and ecological. While their initiatives to reduce energy use are relevant, they often concentrate on individual structures rather than larger global flows, and on technological approaches disconnected from history, society, and culture. They fail to build a new ecological mind-set, a widespread popular culture of sustainability. An older culture already characterizes our cities: petroleum has shaped our modern world. To make a new world, we must first understand the pervasiveness of petroleum; how its production, consumption, and physical and financial flows have shaped cities and rural landscapes such as the Rotterdam/Antwerp area; and how oil companies, governments, and citizens co-constructed an oil-based modern culture over the last 150 years. This project allows practitioners of the built environment and the general public to map how the petroleum revolution has driven architectural and urban design and how it has shaped both our behavior in and our perception of our cities. We seek to increase popular awareness as a foundation to develop new sustainable solutions.


DIII-D experiments show that the resistive wall mode (RWM) can remain stable in high β scenarios despite a low net torque from nearly balanced neutral beam injection heating. The minimization of magnetic field asymmetries is essential for operation at the resulting low plasma rotation of less than 20 krad s−1 (measured with charge exchange recombination spectroscopy using C VI emission) corresponding to less than 1% of the Alfvén velocity or less than 10% of the ion thermal velocity. In the presence of n = 1 field asymmetries the rotation required for stability is significantly higher and depends on the torque input and momentum confinement, which suggests that a loss of torque-balance can lead to an effective rotation threshold above the linear RWM stability threshold. Without an externally applied field the measured rotation can be too low to neglect the diamagnetic rotation. A comparison of the instability onset in plasmas rotating with and against the direction of the plasma current indicates the importance of the toroidal flow driven by the radial electric field in the stabilization process. Observed rotation thresholds are compared with predictions for the semi-kinetic damping model, which generally underestimates the rotation required for stability. A more detailed modeling of kinetic damping including diamagnetic and precession drift frequencies can lead to stability without plasma rotation. However, even with corrected error fields and fast plasma rotation, plasma generated perturbations, such as edge localized modes, can nonlinearly destabilize the RWM. In these cases feedback control can increase the damping of the magnetic perturbation and is effective in extending the duration of high β discharges.


Sunn Pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton, is the most important pest of wheat and barley in Iran and throughout the Middle East. In this study, different isolates of Beauveria bassiana from overwintering areas in the centre of Iran were collected. In this research, a total of 510 soil samples and cadavers were taken under plants harbouring overwintering Sunn Pest in Semnan, Qum, Kerman and Markazi provinces. The collections were done in late summer and winter 2015 and 2016. The pathogenic fungi were isolated from soil by insect bait method using larvae of wax moth ( Galleria mellonella ). Data on longitude, latitude, elevation, temperature, soil type and entomopathognic fungi present were recorded for each site. Results indicate that entomopathognic fungi were isolated from 257 of the 510 soil samples, with only Beauveria bassiana and two species Isaria farinosa and Isaria fumosorosea (50.4%). Environmental and geographical impact studies indicated the fungi preferred soil with lower soil temperatures. Significantly more isolates were found at 2300 meters elevation although some were present at 1900 to 2100 meters.


Deepening and generalization of existing knowledge about rare diseases and congenital anomalies are becoming relevant in modern medical practice. Understanding the features of prenatal morphogenesis of the spine and spinal cord, as well as postnatal changes of the cartilaginous spine, is necessary to interpret the severity of pathologies and predict their complications. The purpose of the study was to analyze and summarize the information of sources of scientific literature on the congenital spine development defects, their classification and interpretation in alphabetical order. This study is a continuation of our previous studies on the congenital development defects of the human skeleton. The embryological development of vertebrae is complex, so errors in the laying and formation of their basic structures can lead to various types of congenital malformations. Disorders of the spine are associated with changes in the number of vertebrae (occipitalization, thoracolization, lumbalization, sacralization); change in the shape of the vertebrae: vertebrae or wedge-shaped vertebrae (with developmental delay in the anterior parts), spondylolysis (with delayed development of the vertebrae in the posterior parts); impaired development of arches and vertebral bodies. Congenital malformations of the spine can be single, multiple, or mixed. Spinal abnormalities are not always noticeable at birth; they may manifest during growth in the form of deformities or neurological disorders. Common spinal deformities are scoliosis, kyphosis, lordoscoliosis or kyphoscoliosis. In addition to congenital malformations of the spine, a number of concomitant abnormalities should be considered, such as thoracic, intravertebral, cardiac, and urogenital. The severity of congenital malformations of the spine is divided into moderate (require serious treatment, but not life-threatening); severe (to save the child's life, it is necessary to urgently carry out treatment); lethal (incompatible with life anomalies, the child dies during childbirth or in the womb). Conclusion. Treatment of congenital malformations of the spine is long and comprehensive, requires a clear plan and the involvement of specialized specialists, including pediatric orthopedists and neurosurgeons. Based on the analysis of literature sources, an attempt was made to summarize the existing information on congenital malformations of the spine and their classification and interpretation according to the alphabet was proposed


This study aimed to summarize the available data on the ethnomedicinal and phytopharmacological activities of Heliotropium indicum L. based on database reports. For this purpose, an up-to-date literature search was carried out in the Google Scholar, Scopus, Springer Link, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, PubMed, Chem Spider, Elsevier, BioMed Central, and patent offices (e.g., USPTO, CIPO, NPI, Google patents, and Espacenet) for the published materials. The findings suggest that the plant contains many important phytochemicals, including pyrrolizidine alkaloids, indicine, echinitine, supinine, heleurine, heliotrine, lasiocarpine, acetyl indicine, indicinine, indicine N-oxide, cynoglossine, europine N-oxide, heleurine N-oxide, heliotridine N-oxide, heliotrine N-oxide, heliotrine, volatile oils, triterpenes, amines, and sterols. Scientific reports revealed that the herb showed antioxidant, analgesic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antituberculosis, antiplasmodial, anticataract, antifertility, wound healing, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, antihyperglycemic, anthelmintic, diuretic, antitussive, antiglaucoma, antiallergic, and larvicidal activity. In conclusion, in vitro studies with animal models seem to show the potential beneficial effects of H. indicum against a wide variety of disorders and as a source of phytotherapeutic compounds. However, clinical studies are necessary to confirm the effects observed in animal models, determine the toxicity of the therapeutic dose and isolate the truly bioactive components.


Mycoplasmas are possible HIV cofactors, contributing to the evolution of AIDS. Our knowledge about mycoplasma prevalence in HIV-infected subjects has considerably increased due the development of specific detection assays. A new mycoplasma, Mycoplasma penetrans, has been identified and has been shown to be associated with HIV infection, at least among individuals with homosexual practices. We and others investigated the properties of M. fermentans and M. penetrans concerning cell colonization, cell invasion and cytopathogenicity. The molecular components which are involved in the interaction between these bacteria and immune cells are beginning to be identified and characterized. Membrane lipoproteins of these wall-less prokaryotes are key components in their interaction with B cells and surface capsular material may contribute to their defense from the host immune response.


Smart Home market players aim to deploy component-based and service-oriented applications from untrusted third party providers on a single OSGi execution environment. This creates the risk of resource abuse by buggy and malicious applications, which raises the need for resource monitoring mechanisms. Existing resource monitoring solutions either are too intrusive or fail to identify the relevant resource consumer in numerous multi-tenant situations. This paper proposes a system to monitor the memory consumed by each tenant, while allowing them to continue communicating directly to render services. We propose a solution based on a list of configurable resource accounting rules between tenants, which is far less intrusive than existing OSGi monitoring systems. We modified an experimental Java Virtual Machine in order to provide the memory monitoring features for the multi-tenant OSGi environment. Our evaluation of the memory monitoring mechanism on the DaCapo benchmarks shows an overhead below 46%.


The Ly49 receptors are type II C-type lectin-like membrane glycoproteins encoded by a family of highly polymorphic and polygenic genes within the mouse natural killer (NK) gene complex. This gene family is designated Klra, and includes genes that encode both inhibitory and activating Ly49 receptors in mice. Ly49 receptors recognize class I major histocompatibility complex-I (MHC-I) and MHC-I-like proteins on normal as well as altered cells. Their functional homologs in humans are the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors, which recognize HLA class I molecules as ligands. Classically, Ly49 receptors are described as being expressed on both the developing and mature NK cells. The inhibitory Ly49 receptors are involved in NK cell education, a process in which NK cells acquire function and tolerance toward cells that express "self-MHC-I." On the other hand, the activating Ly49 receptors recognize altered cells expressing activating ligands. New evidence shows a broader Ly49 expression pattern on both innate and adaptive immune cells. Ly49 receptors have been described on multiple NK cell subsets, such as uterine NK and memory NK cells, as well as NKT cells, dendritic cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and cells of the adaptive immune system, such as activated T cells and regulatory CD8+ T cells. In this review, we discuss the expression pattern and proposed functions of Ly49 receptors on various immune cells and their contribution to immunity.


Some aspects of the collecting and storage serial observations of the environment is considered. The paper considers the creation of a storage subsystem and climate data collection, which


Several sympathomimetic agents have been associated with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ephedrine, a sympathomimetic drug that has a high potential for abuse and can be readily obtained without a prescription in unrestricted quantities, has rarely been associated with stroke. We report ephedrine-related stroke in three patients. One patient developed a thalamic infarct after ingesting known quantities of ephedrine as street-purchased "speed" for weight loss. Two patients had fatal intracranial hemorrhages after ingesting unknown quantities of ephedrine; one of them had a history of drug abuse, and one lacked a history of ephedrine use or drug abuse. Ephedrine appears to predispose to both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The mechanisms responsible for the different cerebrovascular complications remain to be proven. Restriction of ephedrine availability should be considered.


In recent years there has been rapid development in technology which has made human life easier in several aspects. LPG is a need of every household but many accidents happen every year due to domestic gas leakage, so it should be used carefully. As safety and security is the most important factor we have proposed a LPG leakage detection and smart gas booking system. In our daily life, we don't know exactly the status of LPG gas completion which leads to inconvenience. Along with the leakage detection we also designed feature of sending message to user about the cylinder requirement. In this proposed system MQ-2 is gas sensor used to sense the LPG leakage gas and has high sensitivity to LPG and also response to natural gas. It offers quick response time and accurate detection. The additional advantage of the system is that it continuously monitors the level of the LPG present in the cylinder using level sensors and reduces the work load of gas agency.


Harmful algae blooms (HABs) regularly occur in the Great Lakes in Canada, particularly in Lake Erie. These HABs produce a toxin called microcystin, which can cause liver damage, numbness, and vomiting in both humans and animals (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2017). Lake Erie experienced one of its worst HABs in 2019. These HABs do not show signs of slowing down. Calm winds and rainfall around farmlands cause HABs as evaporated nutrients from fertilizers drain into bodies of water. Runoff from fertilizers on farmland also causes HABs. Figure 1 displays satellite images showing a severe HAB in Lake Erie.


Rationale Standard peritoneal glucose solutions may induce the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Preliminary data suggest that AGE formation may be less with the use of polyglucose solutions (icodextrin). Therefore, we investigated whether the use of icodextrin for the long dwell would result in a reduction in plasma and dialysate levels of the AGE products N∊-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) and N∊-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL). Patients and Methods 40 patients were randomized to treatment with standard glucose solutions (1.36%) and icodextrin for the long dwell during a 4-month study period; 32 patients completed the study. CML was assessed by stable isotope dilution/tandem mass spectrometry. Results CML levels in plasma increased significantly in patients treated with icodextrin (0.146 ± 0.056 at start vs 0.188 ± 0.069 μmol/mmol Lys at the end of the study, p < 0.0001) but did not change in the control group (0.183 ± 0.090 vs 0.188 ± 0.085 μmol/mmol Lys). The same held true for CML levels in dialysate (0.28 ± 0.09 at start vs 0.33 ± 0.11 μmol/mmol Lys at the end of the study, p < 0.025). No change was observed in patients treated with the control solutions (0.31 ± 0.11 at start vs 0.31 ± 0.07 μmol/mmol Lys). Conclusion Contrary to the hypothesis, plasma and dialysate levels of CML increased in patients treated using icodextrin for the long dwell.


Purpose: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a key regulator of growth, differentiation, and survival of epithelial cancers. In a small subset of tumors, the presence of activating mutations within the ATP binding site confers increased susceptibility to gefitinib, a potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor of EGFR. Agents that can inhibit EGFR function through different mechanisms may enhance gefitinib activity in patients lacking these mutations. Mevalonate metabolites play significant roles in the function of the EGFR; therefore, mevalonate pathway inhibitors may potentiate EGFR-targeted therapies. Experimental Design: In this study, we evaluated the effect of lovastatin on EGFR function and on gefitinib activity. Effects on EGFR function were analyzed by Western blot analysis using phosphospecific antibodies to EGFR, AKT, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. Cytotoxic effects of lovastatin and/or gefitinib were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and flow cytometry. Results: Lovastatin treatment inhibited EGF-induced EGFR autophosphorylation by 24 hours that was reversed by the coadministration of mevalonate. Combining lovastatin and gefitinib treatments showed enhanced inhibition of AKT activation by EGF in SCC9 cells. The combination of 10 μmol/L lovastatin and 10 μmol/L gefitinib treatments showed cooperative cytotoxicity in all 8 squamous cell carcinomas, 4 of 4 non–small cell lung carcinoma and 4 of 4 colon carcinoma cell lines tested. Isobologram and flow cytometric analyses of three representative cell lines with wild-type EGFR ATP binding sites confirmed that this combination was synergistic inducing a potent apoptotic response. Conclusions: Taken together, these results show that targeting the mevalonate pathway can inhibit EGFR function. They also suggest the potential utility of combining these clinically relevant therapeutic approaches.


1. The technical problems underlying the estimation and analysis of the total prenatal mortality in a mammal are reviewed, with particular reference to the rabbit. 2. The material consisted of 7137 wild rabbits, of which 5089 were females. These comprise eleven series, according to the year, locality and treatment, particulars of which are given. 3. The experimental error in counts of corpora lutea was investigated and the technique critically examined. The changes in size of the corpus luteum during pregnancy were measured and a growth curve constructed. The mean number of corpora lutea in a litter, as determined from macroscopic counts, was found to be significantly lower at the beginning and end of pregnancy than in the middle. If this is due to omissions in the counts it represents a maximum error of 6.8% of corpora lutea. Microscopic counts of the corpora lutea in freehand sections of 180 pairs of ovaries of pregnant animals were made as a control. These revealed a total error in the original counts of 6.4% of the corpora lutea, affecting 25.6% of the litters, but this was distributed evenly throughout gestation. 4. Corpora lutea atretica formed from unruptured follicles are present in 16% of the pairs of ovaries, and comprise less than 2% of all corpora lutea. They are formed at the same time as the normal corpora lutea, and there is no evidence that any are formed subsequently during pregnancy in the rabbit. 5. It is estimated that 0.23% of the follicles which ovulate produce two embryos through the liberation of two ova. 6. Transperitoneal migration of 0.37% of ova, affecting 2% of the litters, was found to occur. The probability of migration either from left to right or from right to left appeared to be equal. 7. Significant changes in the mean number of implantation sites in the uteri counted at successive stages of pregnancy were observed, and particularly a decline at the end of gestation. They are of the same order as those in the mean number of corpora lutea, which they will tend to compensate so far as estimates of loss of ova before implantation are concerned. It is by no means clear that these are due to experimental error in the counts. 8. Estimates of the loss of embryos before implantation are based on the difference between the number of corpora lutea in the ovaries and of implantation sites in the uteri, and estimates of the loss after implantation on the difference between the number of implantation sites and of developing embryos. No significant relation has been found between the loss before and after implantation respectively, and it is concluded that the loss suffered after implantation is distributed independently of that which occurs before implantation.


The design and production of biodegradable composite materials that are similar to polymers from petroleum products in performance characteristics, but at the same time have a biodegradable ability, is one of the ways to solve the environmental problem associated with the polymer waste disposal. Scientists around the world are conducting research on obtaining a biodegradable composite material from organic raw materials. The composition development of composite materials includes the optimal ratio selection of fillers, plasticizer and solvent. The material preparation technology involves the raw materials preparation, the mixing order at given temperatures, and the suspension drying until a film structure is formed. The study aimed at preparing samples of biodegradable composite materials based on potato starch and polyvinyl alcohol in different ratios and to study their structure, water absorption, vapor permeability, and mechanical properties. As a result of processing the experimental data, the authors determined that sample of a biodegradable composite material with a 5:1 ratio of starch and polyvinyl alcohol had the best values for water absorption and vapor permeability. Sample 4 demonstrated the best strength characteristics values (a 4:2 ratio of starch and polyvinyl alcohol). There are microphotographs of surface samples in the work, proving the fact that for samples containing potato starch and PVA in 5:1 and 5:2 ratio, the surface is more uniform, the amount of seals is small. Decrease in the polyvinyl alcohol content leads to the increase in the surface defects number. A man can use the resulting biodegradable composite materials to the film packaging materials development to solve environmental problems with the polymer waste disposal.


Objectives To understand the influence of the white coat on patient satisfaction, opinions about medical clothing, perception about confidence, empathy and medical knowledge and the satisfaction and comfort level of physicians in consultation. Setting An interventional study was conducted with a representative sample of the population attending primary care in central Portugal. Participants The sample was composed by 286 patients divided into two groups exposed or not to a doctor wearing a white coat. The first and last patients in consultation every day for 10 consecutive days were included. Interventions Every other day the volunteer physicians consulted with or without the use of a white coat. At the end of the consultation, a questionnaire was distributed to the patient with simple questions with a Likert scale response, the Portuguese version of the 'Trust in physician' scale and the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy - Portuguese Version (JSPPPE-VP scale). A questionnaire was also distributed to the physician. Outcomes Planned and measured primary outcomes were patient satisfaction, trust and perception about empathy and secondary outcomes were opinion about medical clothing, satisfaction and comfort level of physicians in consultation. Results The sample was homogeneous in terms of sociodemographic variables. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of satisfaction, trust, empathy and knowledge perceived by the patients. There were differences in the opinion of the patients about the white coat, and when the physician was wearing the white coat this group of patients tended to think that this was the only acceptable attire for the physician (p<0.001). But when the family physician was in consultation without the white coat, this group of patients tended to agree that communication was easier (p=0.001). Conclusions There was no significant impact of the white coat in patient satisfaction, empathy and confidence in the family physician. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov ID number: NCT03965416.


Memory is more than what we can consciously recall about events from the past, says Daniel Siegel in his work The developing mind, where he defines memory as »the way past events affect future function« (1999). Since memory is a function of the brain that develops out of interpersonal relationships and repeated patterns of children's interactions with their caregivers, past experiences become »remembered« in various modalities of memory and affect? They directly shape not just what children recall, but how the representational processes develop, which help to organize affective experience and form expectations of relationships. Research revealed that implicit elements of memory influence the structure of autobiographical narratives, which have been found to differ dramatically across the various attachment patterns (Main & Hesse, 1999). Thus, securely attached individuals usually view their relationships positively and experience intimacy as a self-enhancing process which includes concern and empathy for other. On the contrary, people who have never experienced safety in childhood have extremely negative expectations of relationships and view intimacy as strange or even dangerous undertaking. In healing the pain and distortion of traumatic memory secure attachment relationship with the therapist is a prerequisite. However, the effects of this security may take time to develop and influence other relationships, because traumatic memories and affects cannot simply be extracted from distorted attachment patterns. The main goal of our presentation is to illustrate how one secure, safe relationship can trigger not only the intrapsychic process of change and reintegration of traumatic memories, but also change in repetitive patterns of intergenerational transmission of insecure bonding and change in parental marital relationship. To illustrate these processes, we will trace a complex story of a family which started to unfold in the therapist's office when a first secure woman to woman relationship was formed. In the ensuing process the young and the old generation started to reveal and cure the previously unnoticed and disregulated affects of denied and »forgotten« abuse and violence.


The Impression section of a radiology report summarizes crucial radiology findings in natural language and plays a central role in communicating these findings to physicians. However, the process of generating impressions by summarizing findings is time-consuming for radiologists and prone to errors. We propose to automate the generation of radiology impressions with neural sequence-to-sequence learning. We further propose a customized neural model for this task which learns to encode the study background information and use this information to guide the decoding process. On a large dataset of radiology reports collected from actual hospital studies, our model outperforms existing non-neural and neural baselines under the ROUGE metrics. In a blind experiment, a board-certified radiologist indicated that 67% of sampled system summaries are at least as good as the corresponding human-written summaries, suggesting significant clinical validity. To our knowledge our work represents the first attempt in this direction.


The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys Stål, 1855) is an invasive polyphagous species that threatens fruit growing both in the United States and Europe. Many pesticide active ingredients have been studied in H. halys management, but for sustainable fruit growing, which implies the reduction of chemical harm to the environment, new safe insecticides should be implemented into the practice. For this purpose, novel green insecticide based on natural polyphenols of species Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni and Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott 1821 was developed. Stevia leaves (SLE) and Aronia pomace (APE) aqueous extracts were prepared using the ultrasound-assisted extraction method. Optimal extraction conditions for bioactive compounds (total polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and flavan-3-ols, respectively) and antioxidant activity were determined using response surface methodology. Bioactive compounds rich SLE and APE were encapsulated in calcium alginate microparticles by the ionic gelation method. Physicochemical characteristics (morphology, size, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and swelling) of microparticles showed very good properties with especially high encapsulation efficiency. Fitting to simple Korsmeyer–Peppa's empirical model revealed that the underlying release mechanism of polyphenols is Fickian diffusion. SLE loaded microparticles showed very good pesticidal efficiency against Halyomorpha halys, especially on younger larval stages after both contact and digestive treatment. Microparticles loaded with APE did not achieve satisfactory digestive efficiency, but a certain toxic impact has been observed at contact application on all H. halys growth stages. Microparticles loaded with SLS exhibited prolonged insecticidal action against H. halys and could be a potential candidate as a green insecticide whose application could increase fruit growing safety.


For the purpose of ergonomic human-machine interaction and geometrical design of hand held haptic devices, a kinematic model that represents the functional anatomy of different human hands is desired. It is the goal of this paper to present a kinematic hand model that is based on human physiology and that is easily adaptable to represent various real human hand sizes. This is achieved by exploiting body proportions to derive finger segment lengths from the hand length. A partial hand model validation, involving index- and middle finger validation using a group of subjects, indicates that the use of body proportions offers a good estimate of finger length from a given hand length. Model estimated fingertip positions over a motion trajectory remain within reasonable limits when compared with experimental data for this subject group. The model is promising for usage in practical situations since only hand length, which is easy to measure or to obtain from literature, is required as an input. Phalange lengths, which are sparsely available from literature and difficult to measure, are generated by the model.


To elucidate the mechanism of radiation-induced cancers, molecular analysis of cancers in atomic bomb (A-bomb) exposure is important. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are thought to be caused by the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation, and gammaH2AX (serine 139 phosphorylated form of histone H2AX) is reported to be a significant marker for DSBs. In the present study, we performed immunohistochemical analysis of gammaH2AX in gastric cancers (GCs) from 66 exposed and 47 non-exposed patients who developed GC after the bombing. Of the 47 GCs from non-exposed patients, 6 (13%) cases showed nuclear positive staining for gammaH2AX, whereas of the 66 GCs from exposed patients, 20 (30%) cases were positive (P=0.0405). However, among stage I GC, there was no significant difference in gammaH2AX expression frequency between exposed patients and non-exposed patients. Among exposed patients, stage II-IV cases were more frequently positive for gammaH2AX than stage I cases (P=0.0197). Among GCs from non-exposed patients, gammaH2AX staining showed no significant association with Lauren's classification, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis or TNM stage. These results suggest that the characteristics of tumor cells differ between GCs from exposed and non-exposed patients. DSBs may be involved in progression of GC in exposed patients.


Background: Fructosamine (FA) is the product of a reaction between glucose (sugar) and albumin (protein). It is used to monitor the short-term glycemic changes in patients with diabetes and may have a role in conjugation with glycated hemoglobin.

Aims & Objective: Fructosamine test is used to evaluate the average amount of glucose in blood over a period of 2–3 weeks. FA is a useful indicator to measure the peripheral metabolic function in patients with thyroid disorders. As serum thyroid function tests, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum FA ratios occupied our attention, their inconsistency in the subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism, overt hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism in relation to the euthyroid healthy control subjects was studied here.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 100 patients with overt hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism attending the medical OPD and radioimmunoassay laboratory of the Department of Biochemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India.

Results: The mean glycated hemoglobin level was higher in study group than in controls, and it was not statistically significant. The mean serum FA level was higher in patients with overt hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism and lower in those with hyperthyroidism than that in controls. It was found to be highly statistically significant.

Conclusion: The FA values, which are largely higher than FPG and HbA1c values, indicate a higher propensity to glycation and a decrease turnover of the proteins in the patients with overt hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism; contrary results were observed in individuals with hyperthyroidism.


This study presents and compares parametric and non parametric methods for regionalization of sediment loads. These latter are correlated to watershed physiographic characteristics and precipitation regime. Data from 24 small dams located in Central Tunisia are used. First, parametric methods (Principal Component and Discriminant Factorial Analyses) were used to identify the most important factors which affect sedimentation. Then, the non parametric method of Neural Networks is used to estimate sediment loads. The predominant factors which affect sedimentation and sediment loads were found to be the watershed average slope and the flow coefficient. Compared to results obtained by existing parametric methods, sediment load estimates generated by the developed Neural Networks model were found to be much closer to observed values.


The paper presents the mathematical model of cortical spreading depolarisation and its effect on inverse neurovascular coupling. The paper considers the potassium ion channels present in the neuron-astrocyte blood vascular network to access the role of potassium ions during spreading depolarisation and associated inverse neurovascular coupling. Simulation of our proposed mathematical model confirms the experimental results that an increase in concentration of potassium ions beyond 20mM in the perivascular space essentially leads to vasoconstriction and hence inverse neurovascular coupling. The propagatory nature of depolarizing potassium waves has been unraveled though our proposed mathematical model.


Application of data mining techniques to the WWW (World Wide Web), referred to as Web mining, has been the focus of several research projects and papers. One of several possibilities can be its application to distance education. Taken as a whole, the emerging trends in distance education are facilitating its usability on the Internet. With the explosive growth of information sources available on the WWW, Web mining has become suitable for keeping pace with the trends in education, such as mass customization. In this paper, we define Web mining and present an overview of distance education. We describe the possibilities of application of Web mining to distance education, and, consequently, show that the use of Web mining for educational purposes is of great interest.


Economic insecurity is generally conceived as a feeling of concern about the material conditions that may prevail in the future in case of adverse events, like job loss or sickness. The welfare state turns a set of individual risks (including sickness, job loss and others mining economic security) into social risks by way of social protection. As a consequence, lower economic insecurity is expected  where the welfare state is stronger. This paper explores this connection empirically, using official statistics as well as economic insecurity measures proposed in the literature. The analysis is run on a selection of European countries, whose social protection systems differ considerably in terms of social spending levels, kinds of risks covered and rules for accessing social protection.


A line X tester mating set was obtained by crossing 20 diverse genotypes (female) with 3 well adapted genotypes (male) of Asiatic cotton. Sixty Fts alongwith 23 parents were evaluated over three locations for 10 quantitative characters. The gca and sca variances showed the predominant role of additive type of gene action in the inheritance of plant height, bolls, seed-cotton yield, seed yield, lint yield and ginning (%), whereas both additive and nonadditive components of genetic variance were important in the inheritance of halo length. However, nonadditive genetic effects were predominant in the inheritance of days to flower initiation, seed and lint indices. The best general combiners for most of the characters were SD-5, RG-10, RG-8 and K7. No association between per se performance and sea effect was observed. The parent and hybrids did not show consistent performance over locations for plant height, bolls, seed-cotton yield, seed yield and lint yield.


The RAC2 gene encoding GTPases involve cellular signaling of actin polymerization, cell migration, and formation of the phagocytic NADPH oxidase complex. Oncogenic mutations in the RAC2 gene have been identified in various cancers, and extensive research is in progress to delineate its signaling pathways and identify potential therapeutic targets in breast cancers. This paper explored developing a bioinformatics model system to understand the RAC2 gene expression pattern concerning estrogenic receptor status in breast cancers. We have used the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line to identify RAC2 gene expression. To simplify the development of model system with one dataset, we retrieved the microarray dataset GSE27515 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) for the differential gene expression analysis. Then, network analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, volcano plot, ORA, and the up/downregulated genes were used to highlight genes involved in signaling network pathways. We observed that the RAC2 gene is upregulated in the GSM679722, GSM676923, and GSM679724 downregulated in the samples GSM676925, GSM676926, and GSM676927 from the GEO dataset. Our observation found that the RAC2 gene is upregulated in the estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancers and downregulated in ER-positive breast cancer, involving pathways such as focal adhesion, MAPK signaling, axon guidance, and VEGF signaling pathway.


Natasha Korda's Afterword addresses this Special Issue's contribution to the now considerable body of scholarship documenting female performance at every level of society across early modern England and Europe. In the wake of such scholarship, originating over a century ago, Korda asks why the case for the canonical significance of female performance practices still needs to be made. Tracing the "separate, but not equal" status conferred on female performance by the first wave of scholarship in the field, Korda then turns to the revisionist, second wave of scholarship, emerging in the 1980s and 90s and influenced by feminist and performance studies, which sought to establish that the "all-male stage" was more the exception than the rule in light of the heterogeneous landscape of female performance found outside of London and on the European continent. Building on this recovery and inclusion of a broad range of female performance practices, this volume seeks to make the case for their canonical significance, and in the process defines new lines of inquiry indicative of a third wave of scholarship in the field. The essays collected here not only demonstrate the profound and transformative influence of female performance on both canonical and (hitherto) non-canonical plays and on the performance styles of boy-actors, but illuminate the gendered ideologies underlying the process of canon-formation itself. In so doing they point the way toward a newly conceived canon defined by unexpected lines of influence that range across periods, geographic boundaries, generic divisions, and genders.


Introduction: Smoking progressively alters the properties of airway mucus. Altered mucus responds differently to airflow interaction when coughing and may modify bioaerosol production. Objective: Characterize the cough bioaerosol in smokers to understand its relation to the transmission of tuberculosis (TB). Method: Cough aerosol was assessed in seven long-term smokers and compared with the aerosol of 44 non-smokers. Measurement of the size and number of cough droplets was accomplished using a laser diffraction system. Results: Long-term smokers emitted up to two orders of magnitude more droplets of all sizes than non-smokers when coughing. Conclusions: The number of droplets emitted by smokers when coughing could help to better understand the etiological association between smoking and TB. Optimal control of bioaerosol in smokers with TB, especially those with multiple and extreme drug resistance TB, might strengthen existing core TB control strategy. Acquired knowledge would lead to the development of informed public health policies, more effective practices and/or products to optimize TB control.


Abstract Background Among the many medical challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, management of the majority of patients in community outpatient settings is crucial. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes among confirmed COVID-19 cases who were managed at three settings: two outpatient settings and one inpatient. Methods A retrospective database cohort study was conducted in a large Israeli Health Maintenance Organization. All COVID-19 cases diagnosed between 28 February 2020 and 20 July 2020 were included. Cases in the community settings were managed through a nationwide remote monitoring center, using preliminary telehealth triage and 24/7 virtual care. Outcome parameters included hospital admission, disease severity, need for respiratory support and mortality. Results About 5448 cases, aged range 0–97 years, were enrolled; 88.7% were initially managed as outpatient either at home or in designated hotels, 3.1 and 2.1% of them, respectively, later required hospitalization. The main reason for hospitalization was dyspnea; 12 were diagnosed with severe disease; 56 patients (1.3%) died, five (0.1%) of whom were initially allocated to the outpatient settings. Conclusions Care for appropriately selected COVID-19 patients in the community provides a safe and effective option. This can contribute to reducing the hospitalization burden, with no evidence of increased morbidity or mortality.


The potential population growth of the parasitoid Muscidifurax uniraptor Kogan & Legner was determined in laboratory conditions (25±1oC, 70±10% R.H. and 14h of photophase). Thirty 0 to 24h old females of the parasitoid were individualized with 15 house fly pupae, 24 to 72h old. The survival of immatures of M. uniraptor was 97.2%. Female longevity was estimate in 13.17 days (mean), with intrinsic rate of natural increase of 0.22; liquid rate of reproduction of 119.01; finite rate of increase of 1.24; mean generation time of 21.93 days and duplication time of 3.18 days. These values demonstrated that M. uniraptor has a high potential of population growth.


Smartphone is one of the telecommunications media that can be used anytime and anywhere. To be able to support the activity of its users, smartphone users install the application on their smartphone. When installing an application, there are permissions provided by the application about data that will be collected. However, many users choose to ignore and do not read the application permission since it is too long or difficult to understand, hence they accept the apps permissions without thinking and consequently leads to security problems. This study aims to determine the factors that affect users in reading apps permissions that have been provided by an application before they install the application. Data were collected from 292 respondents who were active in using smartphones. The data analysis method used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results of the study show that the factors that influence the user in reading the app permissions before they install the application are coping self-efficacy and personal responsibility.


This study investigates the motives for and favoured investment modes of internationalisation of Indian services sector firms. Further, this study examines capabilities and resources and how companies deploy these in international markets. This entails understanding how the companies adapt to host markets and the mechanisms which trigger dynamic capability adoption. Finally, this study analyses the effects of the external market on their internationalisation motives. This study's relevance is significant given increasing investments from emerging and transition economies, which form a third of global investments today compared to less than ten percent two decades ago. This coupled with the notion that emerging market companies lack the pre-existing capabilities required for internationalisation, is probed in this study. Internationalisation theories have been sourced from a western context based on developed market companies' investment into other developed or emerging market countries; in this context, this study provides evidence of a subaltern view in reference to the internationalisation of emerging market firms.

The empirical material consists of five Indian service sector firms with significant international presence in the Information Technology, Telecom and Hospitality service sectors. The research adopts an interpretivist cum constructivist approach to understanding their internationalisation motives using a qualitative exploratory case-study based research method. Data was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews (elite interviews) with the decision makers of the companies under study. This was supplemented with email questionnaires from former employees who had worked in overseas locations. This was further supplemented with secondary data towards reliability and triangulation purposes.

Findings from this thesis illustrate that the firms studied are heterogeneous in nature about their internationalisation motives. There is divergence in managerial learning across host markets in the adaption of internationalisation for the creation of competitive advantage. In analysing the internationalisation motives of these companies, this study extends the existing theoretical understanding behind the concept of multinational companies. This study also makes a theoretical contribution towards the understanding of fast capability acquisition by Indian service sector firms towards rapid internationalisation while developing a competitive advantage in foreign host markets.


The purpose of this research was to determine whether changes in the presentation format of items in a computer display could be used to alter the impact of specific cognitive biases, and to add to the knowledge needed to construct theory-based guidelines for output design. The problem motivating this study is twofold. The first part of the problem is the sub-optimal decision making caused by the use of heuristics and their associated cognitive biases. The second part of the problem is the lack of a theoretical basis to guide the design of information presentation formats to counter the effects of such biases.
An availability model of the impact of changes in presentation format on biases and heuristics was constructed based on the findings of a literature review. A six-part laboratory experiment was conducted utilizing a sample of 205 student subjects from the college of business. The independent variable was presentation format which was manipulated by altering the visual salience or visual recency of items of information in a visual computer display. The dependent variables included recall, perceived importance, and the subjects' responses to three judgment tasks.
The results clearly demonstrate that changes in presentation format can be used to alter the impact of cognitive biases on human decision making. The results also provide support for the availability model, with the exception of the proposed influence of learning style. Learning style was found to have no significant impact on decision making whether alone or in combination with changes in presentation format.
The results of this investigation demonstrate that by using our knowledge of cognitive processes (e.g., the visual salience effect, the visual recency effect, and the availability heuristic), presentation formats can be altered in order to moderate the effects of certain biases and heuristics in human decision making. An understanding of these results may be useful in improving DSS design.


Four cases of leukaemoid reactions to tuberculosis, notwithstanding the presence of Auer's rods in the myeloblasts, have previously been reported. A fifth case of disseminated tuberculosis in which Auer's rods were similarly observed, is described. However, we believe that this association does not mean that Auer's rods occur as part of a leukaemoid response, but rather that it indicates the simultaneous presence of acute leukaemia and tuberculosis.


The present study examined the association between guideline-derived asthma control and health-related quality of life, assessed using the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), in patients with uncontrolled asthma whose treatment was directed towards achieving the highest possible level of control. The present randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study compared the efficacy of fluticasone propionate (FP) and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination (SFC) in achieving two composite, guideline-derived measures of control: total control (TC) and well-controlled (WC) asthma. Not achieving these levels was classed as not well-controlled (NWC). Doses were augmented until patients achieved TC or reached the maximum dose. This dose was maintained for the remainder of the study. AQLQ was assessed at baseline and at each clinic visit. AQLQ scores improved throughout the study, reaching near-maximal levels in patients achieving TC and WC, and 52-week mean scores in the three control groups were statistically significantly different. Clinically meaningful improvements (mean change from baseline) were: TC group (SFC 1.9, FP 1.8), WC (SFC 1.5, FP 1.5) and NWC (SFC 1.0, FP 0.9). In conclusion, the treatment aimed at controlling asthma improves the health-related quality of life to levels approaching normal. The difference in Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire scores between total control and well-controlled confirms that patients distinguish even between these high levels of control.


To evaluate and compare the extent of LD in cattle, 1536 SNPs, mostly localized on BTA03, were detected in silico from available sequence data using two different methods and genotyped on samples from 14 distinct breeds originating from Europe and Africa. Only 696 SNPs could be validated, confirming the importance of trace-quality information for the in silico detection. Most of the validated SNPs were informative in several breeds and were used for a detailed description of their genetic structure and relationships. Results obtained were in agreement with previous studies performed on microsatellite markers and using larger samples. In addition, the majority of the validated SNPs could be mapped precisely, reaching an average density of one marker every 311 kb. This allowed us to analyze the extent of LD in the different breeds. Decrease of LD with physical distance across breeds revealed footprints of ancestral LD at short distances (<10 kb). As suggested by the haplotype block structure, these ancestral blocks are organized, within a breed, into larger blocks of a few hundred kilobases. In practice, such a structure similar to that already reported in dogs makes it possible to develop a chip of <300,000 SNPs, which should be efficient for mapping purposes in most cattle breeds.


In 2008, total worldwide energy consumption was 474 exajoules (474×1018 J) with 80 to 90 percent derived from fossil fuels(1). This is equivalent to an average power consumption rate of 15 terawatts (1.504×1013 W). Most of the world's energy resources are from the sun's rays hitting Earth. Some of that energy has been preserved as fossil energy; some are directly or indirectly usable, for example via wind, hydroor wave power. The term solar constant is the amount of incoming solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area, measured on the outer surface of Earth's atmosphere, in a plane perpendicular to the rays. The solar constant includes all types of solar radiation, not just visible light. The estimates of remaining non-renewable worldwide energy resources vary, with the remaining fossil fuels totalling an estimated 0.4YJ (1YJ = 1024J) and the available nuclear fuel such as uranium exceeding 2.5YJ. Fossil fuels range from 0.6-3YJ if estimates of reserves of methane are accurate and become technically extractable. The twentieth century saw a rapid twenty-fold increase in the use of fossil fuels. Between 1980 and 2006, the worldwide annual growth rate was 2%(1). According to the US Energy Information Administration's 2006, the estimated 471.8EJ total consumption in 2004 was divided as follows, with fossil fuels supplying 86% of the world's energy, see Figure 1. Coal fuelled the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th century. With the advent of the automobile, airplanes and the spreading use of electricity, oil became the dominant fuel during the twentieth century. The growth of oil as the largest fossil fuel was further enabled by steadily dropping prices from 1920 until 1973.


Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) may impart substantial morbidity and mortality, and novel imaging modalities are now available to aid in early diagnosis of this clinically silent disease. A better understanding of the clinical experience with CS is important. Twenty-eight patients were diagnosed with the aid of multimodality imaging techniques and were treated by a multidisciplinary team. Demographics, symptomatology, imaging, and therapeutic interventions were compiled from our referral center. In patients with CS, nuclear and MR techniques were often the first studies performed. Echocardiographic findings differed widely. Immunosuppressive therapy and cardiac devices were frequently used. Importantly, isolated CS was not an infrequent finding.


The study focused on the influence of forensic evidence on the case processing of assault and robbery incidents. The study utilized a prospective analysis of official record data that followed cases in five jurisdictions from the time of police incident report to final criminal disposition. The results indicated that forensic evidence was collected in less than a third of all robbery and assault cases. Forensic evidence did not impact case outcomes for either robbery or assault cases. Cases in which there is physical evidence are no more likely to reach conviction than those without such evidence. However, the availability of victim and/or witness accounts were found to predict movement through various stages of the criminal case process. Thus, locating and encouraging victims and witnesses to provide testimony appears to enhance case solvability. In addition, variables associated with the perceived seriousness of the offense impact case progression.


Three aligned, electrospun fiber scaffolds with unique surface features were created from poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). Fibers without surface nanotopography (smooth fibers), fibers with surface divots (shallow pits), and fibers with surface pits (deeper pits) were fabricated, and fiber alignment, diameter, and density were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Whole dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were isolated from rats and placed onto uncoated fibers or fibers coated with laminin. On uncoated fibers, neurite outgrowth was restricted by fibers displaying divoted or pitted nanotopography when compared to neurite outgrowth on smooth fibers. However, neurites extending from whole DRG cultured on laminin-coated fibers were not restricted by divoted or pitted surface nanotopography. Thus, neurites extending on laminin-coated fibers were able to extend long neurites even in the presence of surface divots or pits. To further explore this result, individual neurons isolated from dissociated DRG were seeded onto laminin-coated smooth, pitted, or divoted fibers. Interestingly, neurons on pitted or divoted fibers exhibited a 1.5-fold increase in total neurite length, and a 2.3 or 2.7-fold increase in neurite branching compared to neurons on smooth fibers, respectively. Based on these findings, we conclude that fiber roughness in the form of pits or divots can promote extension and branching of long neurites along aligned electrospun fibers in the presence of an extracellular matrix protein coating. Thus, aligned, electrospun fibers can be crafted to not only direct the extension of axons but to induce unique branching morphologies.


A field experiment was conducted near Davis, CA, during the 2003 and 2004 summer growing seasons to compare weed control, yield, and fruit quality in different irrigation and tillage systems in processing tomato. Trial design was a subplots with the main plots as subsurface drip irrigation or furrow irrigation, subplots were standard tillage or conservation tillage, and sub-subplots were herbicide or no herbicide. The hypothesis was that subsurface drip irrigation could limit surface soil wetting and thus inhibit germination and growth of weeds equal to or better than standard tillage and/or herbicides. In both 2003 and 2004, weed densities in the subsurface drip irrigation treatments were over 98% lower than the levels in furrow irrigation treatments. In addition, weed densities were lower in the subsurface drip–conservation till–no herbicide treatment than in any of the furrow irrigation treatments, including the furrow irrigation–standard tillage–herbicide treatments. The time required for a hand-hoeing crew to remove weeds was 5 to 13 times greater in furrow irrigation treatments compared to subsurface drip irrigation treatments. Weed biomass on beds at tomato harvest was 10 to 14 times greater in the furrow systems as compared to the subsurface drip irrigation systems. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of subsurface drip irrigation in controlling weed germination and growth, compared to tillage or herbicide applications. Tomato yield was higher in the subsurface drip irrigation treatment compared to furrow irrigation in 2004. Herbicide treatment increased yield in 2004, but only in the furrow irrigation treatment in 2003. Fruit brix level was not related to treatment in 2003, but was lower in the subsurface drip irrigation plots in 2004. These results indicate that subsurface drip irrigation can reduce weed competition in conservation tillage systems, without requiring herbicide applications. Nomenclature: Tomato, Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. Additional index words: Arid regions, cropping systems, fertigation, hand weeding.


A simple and fast gas chromatographic method was used for the simultaneous determination of fluoroacetamide and tetramine. The samples were extracted with acetone and the extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. A megabore capillary column coated with FFAP and a nitrogen-phosphorous detector were used to obtain satisfactory selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limits and average recoveries were 5 ng and 69.1% for fluoroacetamide and 1 ng and 89.8% for tetramine.


Objective: This study aimed to evaluate complex cognitive function, manual dexterity and psycho-physiological parameters in tradesmen working outdoors in the mining industry during summer and winter. Methods: Twenty-six males working in a mining village in the north-west of Australia were assessed pre- and post-an 11-h shift at the start, middle, and end of a 14-day swing in summer (average daily temperature: 33.9°C, 38% RH; n = 12) and winter (24.3°C, 36% RH; n = 14). Results: Working memory performance did not differ between seasons, over the swing or shift (p ≥ 0.053). Processing efficiency and manual dexterity performance did not differ between seasons (p ≥ 0.243), yet improved over the course of the swing (p ≤ 0.001) and shift (p ≤ 0.001). Core temperature, heart rate, thermal comfort, rating of perceived exertion and thermal sensation were not significantly different between seasons (p ≥ 0.076); however, average shift dehydration was greater in winter compared to summer (1.021 ± 0.005 vs. 1.018 ± 0.006; p = 0.014). Conclusion: The ability to self-regulate the intensity of activity likely helped outdoor workers to thermoregulate effectively, minimising thermal strain during their swings and shifts, in turn explaining unaltered cognitive function and manual dexterity performance between seasons. Regardless of season, workers should receive education on dehydration and workplace risks to protect their health.


This research paper investigates the applicability of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis using panel data from 183 countries between 1990 and 2019. The analysis employs a model incorporating a quadratic equation for per capita income. Methodological concerns, including simultaneous bias is addressed. Results support the existence of an EKC for both the full-sample panel and the high-income panel. The estimated tipping points, representing income levels where environmental improvement begins, for the full sample panel aligns with or below previous studies, and those for the high-income panel are higher than earlier estimates. Low- and middle-income countries, EKCs are not established in at least one of the models in each income panel, i.e. CO2 emissions are expected to continue increasing. These results implies that comprehensive strategies are needed that address both economic growth and environmental improvements, especially in low- and middle-income countries.


It is described a desquamative interstitial pneumonia in a three months old infant, in whom the diagnosis was established by necropsy. It is the 5th case younger than six months of age, published in the literature. The clinical and pathologic features of disease are briefly reviewed.


A pattern deformational model is proposed in this paper. Pattern deformations are categorized into two types: local deformation and structural deformation. A structure-preserving local deformation can be decomposed into a syntactic deformation followed by a semantic deformation, the former being induced on primitive structures and the latter on primitive properties. Bayes error-correcting parsing algorithms are proposed accordingly which not only can perform normal syntax analysis but also can make statistical decisions. An optimum Bayes error-correcting recognition system is then formulated for pattern classification. The system can be considered as a hybrid pattern classifier which uses both syntactic and statistical pattern recognition techniques.


This thesis describes the role of short sea shipping within the transportation network in the European Union. It examines the existence of externalities relating to congestion, infrastructure, air pollution, noise, and accidents in the transportation sector. It evaluates the level of these externalities and also their effects on the Community. It then explains current attempts to internalize these factors, or incorporate them into the cost of transportation that the user pays. It concludes that current efforts are lacking and do not produce the most beneficial situation for the citizens of Europe. Consequently, the thesis investigates other possible methods of internalization that may produce more advantageous results and analyzes their possible effects on the transportation sector. The value of short sea shipping is examined in regards to the previously mentioned externalities. It concludes that, with the exception of the emission of sulfur dioxide, maritime transportation outperforms other modes of transportation by producing relatively few external effects. The current status of the short sea shipping industry is then described, followed by a discussion of intermodal transportation and the initiative within the European Community to increase the use of intermodal transportation. Two case studies are then reviewed, which demonstrate the economy of intermodal transportation solutions compared to all-road alternatives. The thesis concludes by summarizing the benefits of short sea shipping. Some of the obstacles which prevent the realization of the full potential of short sea shipping are discussed. Suggestions for improving the current situation are included as well as a description of some of the measures adopted by the European Commission to increase the use of short sea shipping as an alternative to road transportation. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Hauke L. Kite Powell Title: Research Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Lecturer, Department of Ocean Engineering


The paper focuses on personal determinants (self-esteem, coping strategies, locus of control) of subjective economic well being. On the first stage of research the most effective subjective economy related predictors of satisfaction with life and happiness were found. Future changes expectations turned out to be the best subjective economy related predictor of happiness, while satisfaction with standard of living explained the biggest percent of variance in satisfaction with life. On the second stage psychological correlates of subjective economic well-being' components were determined. The study also contributes to investigation of the problem of distinction between the cognitive and affective aspects of subjective quality of life.


The electronic throttle body (ETB) is a fundamental actuator for regulating the air mass coming into an internal combustion engine; hence, it is used to control the engine torque in any modern drive-by-wire configuration. To cope with the nonlinear and discontinuous dynamics of this automotive device, in this paper a novel discrete-time model reference adaptive control (MRAC) method is designed and experimentally tested on an ETB installed on a 2-L engine. The control strategy extends the class of the minimal control synthesis (MCS) algorithms for discrete-time systems by adding an explicit discrete-time adaptive integral action and an adaptive robust term. An in-depth experimental investigation shows that the proposed control method is a viable solution as it is robust with respect to nonlinear torques acting on the plant, and it guarantees better performance than those provided by other MRAC strategies especially for small reference signals around the limp-home position where plant nonlinearities strongly affect the ETB dynamics.


The water-soluble 43,000-dalton fraction (WS43) of the human lens has been shown to be heterogeneous. It appears to contain, in addition to actin, components related to the crystallins. Immunoblot reactions indicate that this polypeptide fraction is composed of dimers containing beta- and gamma-crystallin components. It has been estimated that 10-30% of this fraction arises by dimerization of gamma-crystallin. A possible route for the formation of the 43,000-dalton fraction is suggested by the observation that photolysis of gamma-crystallin with light greater than 295 nm leads to polymer formation, including the 43,000-dalton fraction. The polymerization products react with anti-WS43. The results suggest that photochemical reactions may lead to the accumulation of polymers of some of the crystallins with aging of the human lens. Similar covalently linked polypeptides have previously been shown to be present in the high molecular weight aggregates associated with cataract formation.


In this paper, we have investigated the design parameters of RF CMOS switch, which will be used for the wireless tele-communication systems. A double-pole four-throw double-gate radio-frequency complementary-metal-oxide-semicon- ductor (DP4T DG RF CMOS) switch for operating at the 1 GHz is implemented with 45-nm CMOS process technology. This proposed RF switch is capable to select the data streams from the two antennas for both the transmitting and receiving processes. For the development of this DP4T DG RF CMOS switch we have explored the basic concept of the proposed switch circuit elements required for the radio frequency systems such as drain current, threshold voltage, resonant frequency, return loss, transmission loss, VSWR, resistances, capacitances, and switching speed.


Purpose: In the present study, the purpose was to examine the results of optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements in patients diagnosed with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) by comparing them with healthy controls. Materials and Methods: A total of 114 eyes were evaluated in this study (27 patients and 30 control group participants). After detailed biomicroscopic examinations of all participants by the same ophthalmologist, both eyes were evaluated by OCT. The retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL) and macular thickness were calculated from OCT. Results: No statistically significant differences were detected between the demographic data of the patient and control groups (p > 0.05). When OCT findings were evaluated, macular thickness and volume were not different between the groups (p > 0.05). With respect to RNFL, the left eye superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal quadrants, as well as the left eye's total measurements were found to be thicker than those of controls (p < 0.05). In both eyes, the left eye nasal quadrant and APIS total score were negatively correlated, the total RNLF measurement of the right eye and APIS motivation subscale score were negatively correlated, central macular thickness and the APIS motivation subscale score were positively correlated, and the APIS substance use characteristics subscale score and left eye temporal quadrant RNLF measurement were positively correlated. Conclusion: Our study is the first to evaluate addiction severity and OCT findings in MUD. However, this study needs to be supported by further studies so that OCT findings, which can be used as an effective method for demonstrating possible neurodegeneration in methamphetamine use disorder, gain importance.


The natural gas sector plays a significant role in the energy sector. In Ukraine, natural gas accounts for about 30 % of the total consumption of energy resources, while in the Czech Republic only about 16 %. The article presents a comparative analysis of the natural gas sector in Ukraine and the Czech Republic in 2010–2019. The dynamics of changes in the production and consumption of natural gas in the discussed countries is presented. The structure of primary energy consumption, including natural gas, in 2018 and 2019 was analyzed. The analysis also covered the import of natural gas to Ukraine and the Czech Republic for own demand. Ukraine still has to import natural gas to meet its own demand, but in recent years, there have been drastic changes in the import of natural gas – and import dependency decreased by about 24 % in the analyzed period [1,2]. On the other hand, in the Czech Republic, the import of natural gas fluctuated within a limited range, and the import dependence increased by about 27 % compared to 2010 [1,3,4]. The article also deals with the problems of the gas pipeline system supplying natural gas from Russia to European countries.
Keywords: Energy resources; Natural gas; Natural gas import.


Introduction Disease relapse and resistance to chemotherapy represent challenging issues for Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) patients. PI3K/AKT and RAF/MEK/ERK pathways are constitutively activated in the majority of HL patients, thus representing attractive therapeutic targets. Previous results from our phase II study indicate that combining the PI3K/AKT inhibitor perifosine with the RAF/MEK/ERK inhibitor sorafenib can achieve significant clinical responses in relapsed/refractory HL. The present study was therefore aimed at characterizing the in vitro and in vivo activity and mechanism(s) of action of a novel PI3K/ERK dual inhibitor AEZS-136 (AEterna Zentaris GmbH, Germany, EU). Methods Four HL cell lines (L-540, SUP-HD1, KM-H2 and L-428) were used to investigate the in vitro effects of AEZS-136 on cell growth, cell cycle distribution, gene expression profiling (GEP), and apoptosis. Live cell imaging experiments were performed to asses the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Western blotting (WB) was used to assess the effects of AEZS-136 on MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways as well as apoptosis. The antitumor efficacy of AEZS-136 was investigated in vivo in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice. Results Exposure of L-540, SUP-HD1, KM-H2 and L-428 cell lines to AEZS-136 induced a marked, early and time-dependent dephosphorylation of PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways that was associated with a significant time and dose-dependent cell growth inhibition [80 ± 3% (mean ±SEM) in the L-540 and SUP-HD1 responsive cell lines] and S phase cell cycle arrest. Indeed, upon AEZS-136 treatment the mean (±SEM) percentages of cells in S phase were reduced by 3-fold (13 ± 1%) as compared to control (33 ± 2%). Significant levels of cell death, as assessed by AnnexinV/PI staining, were only observed in L-540 (62 ± 9 vs 14 ± 3%, P ≤.0001) and SUP-HD1 (46 ± 2% vs 15 ± 2%, P ≤.0001) cell lines and were associated with severe mitochondrial dysfunction (up to 40%, P ≤.001). While no activation of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage were observed in L-540 and SUP-HD1 cells treated with AEZS-136, a potent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed upon AEZS-136 treatment (up to 90%, P≤.0001). Pretreating cells with the ROS inhibitor YCG063 strongly inhibited AEZS-136-induced ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death, whereas the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VADfmk did not. Since ROS generation has been implicated in mediating necroptosis, we tested if blocking programmed necrosis with Necrostatin-1 could prevent AEZS-136-induced cytotoxicity. When L-540 cells were treated with AEZS-136 in the presence of Necrostatin-1, cell death and ROS generation were completely prevented, suggesting that cell death was mechanistically related to necroptosis. Additionally, HL cells responsive to AEZS-136-induced cell death showed a pronounced JNK activation whose inhibition by the JNK inhibitor SP600125 reduced cell death and ROS generation. Furthermore, AEZS-136-increased JNK phosphorylation was inhibited by Necrostatin-1 or YCG063, suggesting that ROS-dependent necroptosis was linked to JNK. Interestingly, GEP analysis of L-540 and SUP-HD1 cell lines, but not KM-H2 and L-428 cells, indicated that AEZS-136 treatment induced upregulation of genes involved in positive regulation of cell death. In addition, in KM-H2 and L-428 cells, AEZS-136 strikingly induced the expression of the immediate early response 3 (IER3). Silencing of IER3 restored sensitivity of KM-H2 and L-428 cells to AEZS-136-induced necroptotic cell death, suggesting that IER3 acts as the signaling molecule that mediated AEZS-136-resistance to oxidative cell death. Finally, in vivo experiments were conducted to investigate the antitumor activity of AEZS-136. Treatment of NOD/SCID mice bearing L540 tumor nodules with increasing dose of AEZS-136 (30 – 60 mg/Kg body weight, PO, 5 days/2 weeks) resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of tumor growth (mean TGI of 70%, P ≤.0001) compared to vehicle-treated controls. No mice experienced any apparent treatment-related toxicity. Conclusions The PI3K/ERK dual inhibitor AEZS-136 demonstrates a potent antitumor activity against HL cell lines by targeting aberrant expression of MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways. These data support further clinical evaluation of AEZS-136 in refractory/relapsed HL patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


ABSTRACT Rotaviruses are internalized into MA104 cells by endocytosis, with different endocytic pathways used depending on the virus strain. The bovine rotavirus UK strain enters cells through a clathrin-mediated endocytic process, while the simian rhesus rotavirus (RRV) strain uses a poorly defined endocytic pathway that is clathrin and caveolin independent. The viral surface protein VP7 and the spike protein VP4 interact with cellular receptors during cell binding and penetration. To determine the viral protein that defines the mechanism of internalization, we used a panel of UK × RRV reassortant viruses having different combinations of the viral structural proteins. Characterization of the infectivities of these reassortants in MA104 cells either transfected with a small interfering RNA (siRNA) against the heavy chain of clathrin or incubated with hypertonic medium that destabilizes the clathrin coat clearly showed that VP4 determines the pathway of virus entry. Of interest, the characterization of Nar3, a sialic acid-independent variant of RRV, showed that a single amino acid change in VP4 shifts the route of entry from being clathrin dependent to clathrin independent. Furthermore, characterizations of several additional rotavirus strains that differ in their use of cellular receptors showed that all entered cells by clathrin-mediated endocytosis, suggesting that diverse VP4-cell surface interactions can lead to rotavirus cell entry through this endocytic pathway.


Abstract : The goal of this research has been to develop an immune-based gene therapy that combines targeted cytotoxicity with reversal of local tumor immune suppression to eradicate prostate cancer cells. Reversal of local tumor immune suppression was achieved in vitro by blocking the over expression of TGF-beta2 produced by prostate cancer cells using TGF-beta2 phosphorothinate oligonucleotide antisense. We have been developing a gutless adenovector with extended transgene expression that we think will have enhanced safety for pre-clinical and clinical use. Our gutless adenovector DNA backbone contains the cytotoxic gene under the control of an improved prostate specific promoter and a marker GFP gene for detection in in vivo studies. Our improved PSA promoter/enhancer presents 19-fold higher transcriptional activity compared to native PSA promoter/enhancer and has no loss of tissue specificity. Using Apo2L/TRAlL, a TNF-a related cytokine with less systemic toxicity, we have demonstrated selective cytotoxicity in our highly aggressive androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line (CL1). Further in vivo studies are being conducted to evaluate the overall efficacy and safety of Apo2L/TRAIL gene therapy in combination with TGF-beta2 antisense for prostate cancer treatment.


The site was originally set up as a research facility as part of the Natural Environment Research Council's Lowland Catchment Research (LOCAR) Thematic Programme (Wheater and Peach, 2004). This was created to improve the science required to support current and future management needs for permeable lowland catchments through an integrated and multi-disciplinary experimental and modelling programme. As part of the LOCAR work an infrastructure of long-term facilities was established in three catchments, the Pang-Lambourn, Frome-Piddle and Tern (Adams et al., 2004). The Boxford Research Site was one of several sites selected in the Pang-Lambourn catchment.
The site is currently the main focus for the Groundwater-Surface Water (GW-SW) Interaction Project of the British Geological Survey (BGS) Groundwater Science Program. This has significantly developed upon the existing LOCAR infrastructure and resulted in multiple recent publications including: Allen et al. (2010), Lapworth et al. (2009) and Abesser et al. (2008).
Since the site was established in 2002, BGS work has predominantly been centred on Westbrook Farm. Recently, however, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) acquired the land immediately to the south of the farm. This included approximately 500 m of additional river bank and adjacent wetlands - allowing scope for research over a greater area and more varied terrain. The CEH site is known as the Lambourn Observatory. Previous research in the observatory has focussed on the wetlands to the north (Prior and Johnes, 2002) and south (Atkins, 2005) of the Lambourn.


Nonspherical spindle-shaped hematite/polymer hybrid nanoparticles (SPNPs) were synthesized via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The long axis of the SPNPs was 370 ± 65 nm, and the short axis was 80 ± 15 nm with an aspect ratio of 4.6-4.7. The SPNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to estimate the content of grafted polymer. Light-scattering measurement was used to detect the particle size distribution of SPNPs in water and in cell culture medium. HeLa cells internalized the SPNPs within 1 h, and the uptake reached equilibrium in 8 h. These observations contribute to better understanding of the interactions between nonspherical nanoparticles and cells, which may have implication for designing drug delivery vehicles.


A new biorefinery concept is proposed that integrates the novel LX-Pretreatment with the fermentative production of L-(+)-lactic acid. Lignocellulose was chosen as a substrate that does not compete with the provision of food or feed. Furthermore, it contains lignin, a promising new chemical building material which is the largest renewable source for aromatic compounds. Two substrates were investigated: rye straw (RS) as a residue from agriculture, as well as the fibrous digestate of an anaerobic biogas plant operated with energy corn (DCS). Besides the prior production of biogas from energy corn, chemically exploitable LX-Lignin was produced from both sources, creating a product with a low carbohydrate and ash content (90.3% and 88.2% of acid insoluble lignin). Regarding the cellulose fraction of the biomass, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation experiments were conducted, comparing a separate (SHF), simultaneous (SSF) and prehydrolyzed simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF) approach. For this purpose, thermophilic B. coagulans 14-300 was utilized, reaching 38.0 g L−1 LA in 32 h SSF from pretreated RS and 18.3 g L−1 LA in 30 h PSSF from pretreated DCS with optical purities of 99%.


In this paper we report the first results of an annotation exercise of argument coercion phenomena performed on Italian texts. Our corpus consists of ca 4000 sentences from the PAROLE sottoinsieme corpus (Bindi et al. 2000) annotated with Selection and Coercion relations among verb-noun pairs formatted in XML according to the Generative Lexicon Mark-up Language (GLML) format (Pustejovsky et al., 2008). For the purposes of coercion annotation, we selected 26 Italian verbs that impose semantic typing on their arguments in either Subject, Direct Object or Complement position. Every sentence of the corpus is annotated with the source type for the noun arguments by two annotators plus a judge. An overall agreement of 0.87 kappa indicates that the annotation methodology is reliable. A qualitative analysis of the results allows us to outline some suggestions for improvement of the task: 1) a different account of complex types for nouns has to be devised and 2) a more comprehensive account of coercion mechanisms requires annotation of the deeper meaning dimensions that are targeted in coercion operations, such as those captured by Qualia relations.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the value of employing the small intestinal feeding tube in treating high position intestinal obstruction of newborn infant.

METHOD
Five newborn infants (3 males and 2 females; 1 premature infant and 4 fully-mature infants; 2 had membranous atresia of duodenum, 1 had annular pancreas, and 2 had proximal small intestine atresia; 1 infant had malrotation). The duodenal membrane-like atresia and the blind-end of small intestine were removed and intestinal anastomosis was performed, which was combined with intestinal malrotation removal. Before the intestinal anastomosis surgery, the anesthetist inserted via nose a 6Fr small intestinal ED tube, made by CREATE MEDIC CO LTD of Japan[

REGISTRATION NUMBER
the State Food and Drug Administration-instrument (Im.) 2007-NO.2661620]. Twenty-four hours after surgery, abdominal X-ray plain film was taken and patients were fed with syrup; 48 hours later, formula milk was pumped or lactose-free milk amino acids were given by intravenous injection pump through the feeding tube. The amount of milk and fluids was gradually increased to normal amount according to the condition. In initial 3 days the intravenous nutrition was given and one week after operation, the infants were fed through mouth in addition to pumping milk through the tube and stopped infusion. Ten to 22 days after operation, the tube was removed and the infant patients were discharged.

RESULT
All the five infants showed that the feeding through the nutrition tube was accomplished and the time of venous nutrition was reduced and fistula operation was avoided. None of the infants on question was off the tube and no jaundice exacerbation was found and the liver function was also found normal. At the very beginning, the tube was occasionally blocked by milk vale in one infant and after 0.9% sodium chloride solution flushing patency restored. After that, the feeding tube was washed once with warm water after feeding. In one infant vomiting occurred due to enough oral milk. The photograph of upper gastrointestine did not show anastomomotic stricture or fistula, or intestinal obstruction. After pulling out the tube, the symptoms disappeared and then the patient was discharged. One child was found to have diarrhea with no lactose nutrition liquid and given compound lactic bacteria preparations for oral administration, the symptom disappeared. In the 5 cases, the shortest hospital stay was 10 days and the longest was 22 days, the average stay was 16 days. Three to 5 days after operation the weight restored to birth weight, the weight had increased, when discharged, to an average of 5.5 g (kg·d).

CONCLUSION
The small intestinal feeding tube was very effective for the postoperative nutrition maintenance of high position intestinal obstruction in newborn infants.


In this paper, we consider the problem of test design for real-time fault detection and diagnosis in the space shuttle's non-toxic orbital maneuvering system and reaction control system (NT-OMS/RCS). For demonstration purposes, we restrict our attention to the aft section of the NT-OMS/RCS, which consists of 160 faults (each fault being either a leakage, blockage, igniter fault, or regulator fault) and 128 sensors. Using the proposed tests, we are able to uniquely isolate a large number of the faults of interest in the NT-OMS/RCS. Those that cannot be uniquely isolated can generally be resolved into small ambiguity groups and then uniquely isolated via manual/automated commands. Simulation of the NT-OMS/RCS under various fault conditions was conducted using the TRICK R © modeling software.


This essay explores the complex literary and personal relationship between the writers Marie de Mirabeau and her daughter, known as Gyp. The rarity of such mother-daughter couples in the male-dominated literary field of nineteenth-century France raises questions about mothers, and women, as literary mentors during this period. To what extent did the literary relations between Marie de Mirabeau and Gyp conform to, or stray from, the codified behavior expected of them in society? Given that both women were breaking with class and gender codes in pursuing a remunerative profession, what types of compensatory strategies did each develop to avoid further social and sexual marginalization? In furnishing a 'maternal' example to her daughter in the professional realm, did Marie supply her with certain advantages that men could not? How important, finally, was Marie's influence on her daughter's success? These questions are addressed through a comparison of the literary itineraries of these two "bas-bleus."


Background: Right ventricular (RV) fractional area change and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) are recognised methods for assessing RV function. However, the way in which these variables are affected by varying degrees of pulmonary hypertension (PH) has not been well characterised. Methods: RV end-systolic area (RVESA), RV end-diastolic area (RVEDA), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and TAPSE were collected from a database of 190 patients who had been referred to the PH clinic for evaluation. Results: The mean (SD) age of the study population was 56 (17) years; 82 men were included with a mean (SD) PASP of 54 (33) mm Hg (range 16–150), RVESA of 14 (9) cm2, RVEDA of 24 (9) cm2, RV fractional area change of 44 (18)% and TAPSE of 2.06 (0.69) cm. Receiver-operating characteristic curves identified TAPSE <2.01 cm, RV fractional area change <40.9%, RVESA >12.3 cm2 and RVEDA >23.4 cm2 as abnormal values with PH. Finally stratification of patients into sub-groups according to their PASP allowed means and standard deviations to be reported for each echocardiographic variable. Conclusion: This analysis provides a range of normal variables of RV size and function, not previously published, that can be used in routine evaluation and follow-up of patients with PH.


When primate infants are reared during the first half-year of life in an environment in which their mothers face uncertain requirements for food procurement (variable foraging demand [VFD]), long-lasting behavioral and neurodevelopmental consequences ensue, including increases in timidity and social subordinance as well as alterations in stress-related neuroendocrine profiles. We examined the nature and persistence of the effects of VFD rearing by exposing VFD-reared and normally reared adolescent bonnet macaques to a mild fear-provoking stimulus 2 years after the end of differential rearing. VFD-reared subjects at baseline were less gregarious than normally reared monkeys. VFDs also were considerably less responsive to the fear stimulus, and their behavior and affect returned to baseline levels more quickly than normally reared subjects. The extent and persistence of the sequelae of VFD rearing suggest parallels with predisposing factors in human anxiety disorders.


OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to determine the rate of compliance with hospital guidelines for alarm limits for pulse oximetry in preterm infants on oxygen therapy. METHODS. All infants admitted to the nurseries at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, with gestational age <32 weeks or birth weight <1500 g between August 2005 and February 2006 were eligible for inclusion. Data on the alarm limits set for infants on oxygen therapy were collected prospectively. The target saturation range recommended in written hospital guidelines was 88% to 92%, with alarm limits set at 85% and 94%. RESULTS. Data were prospectively collected for 144 subjects with mean (SD) gestational age 29.3 (2.4) weeks and birth weight 1226 (354) g; 1073 alarm limits were collected when infants were on oxygen. The lower alarm limit was set correctly 91.1% of the time. In contrast, the upper alarm limit was set correctly only 23.3% of the time: 76.5% of the time it was too high, and 23.8% of the time it was set at 100%. Infants with an upper alarm limit set correctly on a particular day had a significantly lower birth weight, gestational age, postmenstrual age, and postnatal age than infants who had the upper alarm limit set too high. Use of assisted ventilation, higher inspired oxygen concentrations, and more frequent changes in inspired oxygen concentration were all associated with improved odds of having an appropriately set upper alarm limit. CONCLUSIONS. This study suggests that current guidelines regarding the upper pulse oximeter alarm limit for infants receiving oxygen might be commonly exceeded, although compliance might be better for infants at higher risk of adverse outcomes. However, there might be less variation from guidelines for the lower alarm limit.


A new method for the determination of trace niobium and tantalum in soil and geochemical exploration samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with solvent extraction flow injection was proposed. The niobium and tantalum were extracted with the mixed solvent of MIBK and TBP at 1 mol.L-1 HF and 4 mol.L-1 H2SO4. Experiment conditions and manifold parameters were investigated in detail. The detection limits were 0.5 x 10(-12) g.L-1 and 0.8 x 10(-12) g.L-1. The proposed method was rapid, simple and accurate, it has been applied to the determination of trace niobium and tantalum in national standard samples. The results were in good agreement with certified values with precisions of 4.5% and 5.1% RSD (n = 10). The sample throughput for niobium and tantalum is 20.h-1.


Nupela pocsii Buczko & Wojtal, sp. nov., a new species from the Retezat Mountains (S. Carpathians), is described. High asymmetry (along apical and transapical axes and in raphe pattern) and small dimensions are the most characteristic features of this taxon. Nupela pocsii was found during paleolimnological research in early Holocene sediment of Lake Brazi. Seven other representatives of the genus Nupela were detected in high-resolution diatom analyses of three lake sediment sequences of the Retezat Mts: Nupela fennica (Hustedt) Lange-Bertalot, N. imperfecta (Schimanski) Lange-Bertalot, N. impexiformis (Lange-Bertalot) Lange-Bertalot, N. lapidosa (Krasske) Lange-Bertalot, N. paludigena (R. P. Scherer) Lange-Bertalot, N. vitiosa (Schimanski) Siver & Hamilton and an unidentified Nupela Vyverman & Compere species. Our results suggest high diversity of oligotraphenic species in these mountain lakes during their ontogeny, which began 17,000-15,000 years ago. In addition to the newly described species this is also the first record of N. paludigena in European lakes, although its occurrence was previously documented by SEM and LM from Lake Saint Anna without correct identification.


Abstract Distortion of the size spectra measured with a forward mattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) under different transit time modes—"inhibit", "normal", and "delayed"—was evaluated using the theoretical analyses by Baumgardner and Spowart and the results of the response time and beam intensity profile measurements of the NOAA FSSP. The Baumgardner and Spowart work is extended to correct the FSSP atmospheric aerosol data collected under the "inhibit" or "delayed" mode. A correction algorithm is developed using the non-negative least squares (NNLS) method to reconstruct the original size distribution from a distorted one measured with an FSSP under the inhibit or delayed mode. A lognormal fit to the corrected size spectra was able to successfully recover from the original size distributions from the distorted artificial ones obtained from the theoretical simulation of the FSSP performance. When the actual test flight data for atmospheric aerosols measured with the NOAA FSSP under the inhibit and delayed ...


In recent years, speech-language pathologists and audiologists have been made more aware of the need of infection control procedures. Routine use of clinical equipment may spread infection. Audiometers and tympanometers are included in this clinical equipment. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of bacterial growth on the earphone cushions of audiometers and probe cuffs tympanometers, which had been brought in for annual calibration. Twenty earphone cushions and a probe cuff form five tympanometers were swabbed and inoculated into culture plates which grew various types of bacteria. Mannitol Salts (MSA), T-soy, and T7 were three types of agar plates used to grow bacteria. Ten of the earphone cushion were then disinfected with a commercially available disinfectant towelette and inoculated onto culture plates isolating the same bacteria. Results showed that all 20 earphones cushions and four probe cuffs showed microbial growth. Nine of the 10 earphone cushions that were disinfected exhibited a noticeable decrease in bacterial growth. It was conclude form this study that bacteria can survive on the earphone cushions of audiometers and probe cuffs of tympanometers. It was also found that disinfecting equipment significantly reduces the growth of bacteria and decreases the risk of spreading injections to clients and clinicians. Based on these findings, a disinfecting procedure should be implemented following every use of audiometer earphone cushion and probe cuffs of tympanometers in all settings.