Lymphoglandular bodies (hyaline bodies or lymphoid globules), when found in cytology smears from fine-needle aspirates, have long been accepted as being diagnostic of lymphoid tissue. To investigate the validity of this association as it relates to malignant tumors, we examined cytologic smears from 132 fine-needle aspirates of malignant neoplasms. Three experienced observers independently scored Diff-Quik-stained smears as to cellularity and number and size of lymphoglandular bodies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Results of the fine-needle aspiration biopsies revealed 6 of 104 nonlymphoid malignancies with easily identifiable lymphoglandular bodies (defined as > 2 lymphoglandular bodies per high-power field) and 3 with numerous lymphoglandular bodies (> 10 per high-power field). These tumors consisted of two cases of small-cell carcinoma, four non-small-cell carcinomas, one ganglioneuroblastoma, one melanoma, and one seminoma. The tumors had few, if any, lymphocytes. Of the 28 lymphomas, 5 had easily identifiable lymphoglandular bodies and 19 had numerous lymphoglandular bodies. Although lymphoglandular bodies in the background of cytologic smears taken from malignant tumors are useful in alerting the pathologist to the possibility of lymphoma, there are exceptions.


Edentulous patients wearing a conventional complete denture often request a fixed restoration for functional, esthetical and/or psychosocial reasons. For these patients implant-supported fixed dental prostheses are a prosthetic means of choice. However, after years of edentulism often a marked resorption of the alveolar crest has taken place, asking for bone augmentation before implant placement. Thus, fixed implant reconstructions are time and cost intense and stressful for the patient. This case report documents the immediate fixed reconstruction in the edentulous maxilla after ridge augmentation with a cortical cancellous bone graft from the iliac crest and implant placement. A CAD/CAM-system was used for implant planning and the fabrication of a drilling guide. The prosthetic reconstruction was inserted immediately after implant placement.


This study dealt with the behavior of pile-abutment joints in integral abutment bridges. Two types of pile-abutment joints were proposed to strengthen its rigid action. One was fabricated with transverse rebars which penetrated the H-pile in the abutment. The other was composed of stud shear connectors on the flanges of the H-pile. Three half scaled pile-abutment joint specimens were fabricated and loading tests were performed to evaluate the behavior of proposed joints. The results showed that the initial stiffness in elastic region of all specimens was sufficient to be applied for the integral abutment bridges. However, the performances of the proposed joints were shown to be more effective in rigid action compared to the joints types suggested by the Integral Bridge Design Guideline. The results from stiffness, strength, rotation and crack propagation tests supported this matter.


In the lower Proterozoic Sariolian Group of eastern Finland, the metasedimentary Urkkavaara Formation possesses the attributes of a glaciogenic deposit. Within the formation, four members have been established—a lower siltstone-argillite member, a graded sandstone member, an upper siltstone-argillite member, and a diamictite member. The lowest three members contain lonestones. The upper siltstone-argillite member passes gradually over 1 m into a massive diamictite.

Many lonestones in the siltstone-argillite members are clearly dropstones. These members, and their association with diamictite, constitute strong evidence for a glaciogenic origin for the formation. The vertical transition of siltstone-argillite into diamictite indicates a similar "raining-down" mechanism of deposition for the diamictite. The thickness of the formation, 30 to 60 m (minimum), suggests deposition from icebergs, rather than from seasonal ice, for the laminated members and the diamictite. The graded sandstone member is interpreted to be a result of turbidity current deposition near a glacial terminus. A glaciomarine environment is suggested.

Lonestone-bearing units and diamictites in the Soviet Union just east of Finland have recently been reinterpreted as glaciogenic deposits. There appears, therefore, to have been an early Proterozoic continental glaciation about 2,500 to 2,300 m.y. ago on the Baltic Shield, approximately the same time that early Proterozoic glaciation occurred in North America.


This paper studies symbolic abstractions for nonlinear control systems using logarithmic quantization. With a logarithmic quantizer, we approximate the state and input sets, and then construct a novel discrete abstraction for nonlinear control systems. A feedback refinement relation between the constructed discrete abstraction and the original system is established. Using the constructed discrete abstraction, the safety controller synthesis problem is studied. With the discrete abstraction and the abstract specification, the existence of a safety controller is investigated, and the algorithm is proposed to compute the abstract controller. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the obtained results.


As a Non-Governmental Organization, Green School Bali takes its role not only to educate young generation, but also to creat awareness about environmental issue. This study used qualitative research and theory of discourse analysis. All data collected both from Green School Bali annual report and also print and online sources. The researcher found out that Green School Bali has played a role in the implementation of mobilization by providing schools and all the attributes in it that were very concerned and also supported the elements of sustainability for a better long-term life. Secondly, Green School Bali also has acted as a service delivery actor by directly involving in maintenance efforts as well as counseling about the importance of maintaining the environment. Thirdly, as a catalyst, Green School Bali has succeeded in inspiring many groups to care about environment. And as a partner, Green School Bali has established cooperation with several parties to support sustainable lifestyles and also raise the global public awareness of the sustainability system.


A "split beam" transducer arrangement was adapted for the existing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment device, Sonablate-200/sup TM/ (manufactured by Focus Surgery Inc., Indianapolis, IN) for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. In the split beam configuration the HIFU beam is divided into several beams to create a larger treatment volume per ultrasound exposure which can reduce the overall treatment time. The objective of current study was to compare the necrosis volume and temperature patterns produced from "single beam" and "split beam" operating configurations. Experiments were performed on different test objects including Mylar strip, plexiglass, turkey breast tissue (in-vitro) and in vivo dog prostates. The results showed that the split beam configuration created larger lesion volume for the same exposure time while keeping the temperature near the rectal wall at the safe levels. Thus split beam transducer (SET) configuration should be effective and efficient in clinical application for the prostate cancer treatment.


Understanding chromatin interactions is important since they create chromosome conformation and link the cis- and trans-regulatory elements to their target genes for transcriptional regulation. Chromatin Interaction Analysis with Paired-End Tag (ChIA-PET) sequencing is a genome-wide high-throughput technology that detects chromatin interactions associated with a specific protein of interest. Previously we developed ChIA-PET Tool in 2010 for ChIA-PET data analysis. Here we present the updated version of ChIA-PET Tool (V3), is a computational package to process the next-generation sequence data generated from ChIA-PET experiments. It processes the short-read data and long-read ChIA-PET data with multithreading and generates the statistics of results in a HTML file. In this paper, we provide a detailed demonstration of the design of ChIA-PET Tool V3 and how to install it and analyze a specific ChIA-PET data set with it. At present, other ChIA-PET data analysis tools have developed including ChiaSig, MICC, Mango and ChIA-PET2 and so on. We compared our tool with other tools using the same public data set in the same machine. Most of peaks detected by ChIA-PET Tool V3 overlap with those from other tools. There is higher enrichment for significant chromatin interactions of ChIA-PET Tool V3 in APA plot. ChIA-PET Tool V3 is open source and is available at GitHub (https://github.com/GuoliangLi-HZAU/ChIA-PET_Tool_V3/).


Reiter proposed a semantics for knowledge-based Golog programs with sensing where program execution can be conditioned on tests involving explicit references to what the agent knows and does not know. An important result of this work is that reasoning about knowledge after the execution of actions can be reduced to classical reasoning from an initial first-order theory. However, it is limited in that tests can only refer to what is known about the current state, knowledge about knowledge is not considered, and the reduction does not apply to formulas with quantifying-in. This is in large part due to the choice of the underlying formalism, which is Reiter's version of the situation calculus. In this paper we show that, by moving to a new situation calculus recently proposed by Lakemeyer and Levesque, we cannot only reconstruct Reiter's foundations for knowledge-based programs but we can significantly go beyond them, which includes removing the above restrictions and more.


Many inverse problems are most naturally formulated as implicit problems where data cannot be expressed in closed form as a function of the unknown model parameters. Notable examples are cases where the data satisfy a partial differential equation with model parameters as constants. When the problem can be recast as an ordinary explicit inverse problem the price to be paid is often that the functional relationship between data and model cannot be formulated in closed form. The consequence is typically that a computer time intensive numerical algorithm is needed to perform the forward calculation, thereby making an iterative solution of the problem unreasonably time consuming or impossible. In this paper we present a probabilistic procedure to solve rather general, implicit inverse problems through Monte Carlo sampling of feasible solutions. Our starting point is a probabilistic formulation of inverse problems, and our goal is to produce near-independent samples from the posterior distribution in model space. From these samples important information on the model and its resolution can be obtained. The proposed algorithm is applied to an implicit real-data problem involving analysis of the fluid motions at the Earth's core-mantle boundary from geomagnetic data.


The microbiological monitoring and classification in Europe is based on faecal indicator E. coli monitoring in live bivalve mollusc. As a result of the implementation of the microbiological threshold defined by European legislation since 01/01/2006, almost all A quality areas have disappeared, and most areas show B quality. Percentage-wise, the C quality category is more frequently observed for areas with burrowing bivalves like clams and cockles. From these results, a few elements can be pointed out : - firstly : the contamination levels are different between the burrowing and non burrowing bivalves. Thus, it is important to examine separately the evolution for each type of species. The evolution since 1989 shows for the oyster and mussels an improvement of the quality from 1989 to 2002. Since then, a decrease is observed (less A quality areas and some more C quality areas), confirmed by statistical analysis for some points. For cockles and clams, an increasing number of zones have sufficient data to assess their quality (thanks to continuous improvements in the monitoring network). - Secondly : the contamination situation and its evolution are very different from one area to another and should be examined closely for each area, - Thirdly : the alert monitoring has increased since 2004, and has become now an important part of the monitoring. Preventative alerts alone account for 32 %.


It seems self-evident that people prefer painful experiences to be in the past and pleasurable experiences to lie in the future. Indeed, it has been claimed that, for hedonic goods, this preference is absolute (Sullivan, 2018). Yet very little is known about the extent to which people demonstrate explicit preferences regarding the temporal location of hedonic experiences, about the developmental trajectory of such preferences, and about whether such preferences are impervious to differences in the quantity of envisaged past and future pain or pleasure. We find consistent evidence that, all else being equal, adults and children aged 7 and over prefer pleasure to lie in the future and pain in the past and believe that other people will, too. They also predict that other people will be happier when pleasure is in the future rather than the past but sadder when pain is in the future rather than the past. Younger children have the same temporal preferences as adults for their own painful experiences, but they prefer their pleasure to lie in the past and do not predict that others' levels of happiness or sadness vary dependent on whether experiences lie in the past or the future. However, from the age of 7, temporal preferences were typically abandoned at the earliest opportunity when the quantity of past pain or pleasure was greater than the quantity located in the future. Past-future preferences for hedonic goods emerge early developmentally but are surprisingly flexible.


Erroneous local geometric realizations in some parts of a network due to the sensitivity to certain distance-measurement errors with respect to some neighboring sensor locations is a major problem in wireless sensor-network localization, which may, in turn, affect the reliability of the localization of the whole or a major portion of the sensor network. This phenomenon is well described using the notion of ¿flip ambiguity¿ in rigid graph theory. In this paper, we present a formal geometric analysis of flip-ambiguity problems in planar sensor networks via quantification of the likelihood of flip ambiguities in arbitrary sensor neighborhood geometries. Based on this analysis, we establish a robustness criterion to detect flip ambiguities in such neighborhood geometries. In addition to the analysis, the established robustness criterion is embedded in localization algorithms to enhance the reliability of the produced location estimates by eliminating neighborhoods with flip ambiguities from being included in the localization process.


This article examines how an individual-level academic performance measurement system interacts with the collective self in a collectivist cultural context. The qualitative study of a Vietnamese public university involved 53 interviews, participant observations, and document analysis. The findings show that performance measurement systems in the university produced both an autonomous self and a collective self. They do so by measuring individual performance and suggesting that individuals are autonomously responsible and able to influence such performance. Thus, although a performance measurement system is typically imposed by others (which shows one's dependence on others and subjection to their power), the nature of the performance measurement system is such that it promotes individual actions and a sense of individual performance. Therefore, people feel they have control over "their" performance. However, while trying to control such performance, they depend more on others whose recognition appears to link with such performance measurement systems.
 Data Availability: Data are not available for confidentiality reasons.
 JEL Classifications: I2; M41; M48; P2.


Crayfish were collected from 3 sites on Polecat Creek, Coles County, Illinois in early spring, early summer, and late summer of 1972. Pesticides were extracted from the crayfish tissue in a one step procedure utilizing a Florisil elution column. Analysis was by electron capture gas chromatography. Pesticide residues in the nannogram range were analyzed and background contamination was an important consideration. Sources of background contamination were investigated and teflon stopcocks, Florisil, and residues on "cleaned" glassware were found to be major contamination sources. Distilled water used in flushing glassware should also be considered a potential contamination source. Aldrin, dieldrin, and ppʹ DDE were identified and quantitated in all samples tested. Heptachlor epoxide was identified in several samples as were peaks that corresponded to either heptachlor or lindane. No ppʹ DDT was found. No significant differences were found in pesticide levels of aldrin, dieldrin, or ppʹ DDE with respect to time or location.


The authors ascertained 46 families with multiple incidences of autism (41 with two and five with three autistic probands). Classical segregation analyses revealed a maximum likelihood estimate of the segregation ratio of p = 0.19 +/- 0.07. This is not significantly less than 0.25, the expected value for autosomal recessive inheritance. However, it is significantly less than 0.50, the expected value for autosomal dominant inheritance. The polygenic threshold model was tested and rejected over a full range of values of heritability and ascertainment probability for these families. These results are most consistent with the hypothesis of autosomal recessive inheritance in this subset of 46 families with multiple incidences of autism.


An asynchronous non-iterative algorithm has been developed for the time-dependent atomic dynamics in laser-plasma simulations. This model, which includes all ionization fractions, gives a good description of the distribution of the charge states in both the ionization and the rapid recombination stages. It can be combined with the hydrocode directly to predict the behaviour of laser-plasma. We have incorporated this model with a two-dimensional Eulerian code to simulate the recombination Li-like Si laser and obtained a result that agrees with experiment.


We compare regional climate change scenarios (temperature and precipitation) over eastern Nebraska produced by a semiempirical statistical downscaling (SDS) technique and regional climate model (RegCM2) experiments, both using large scale information from the same coarse resolution general circulation model (GCM) control and 2 × CO2 simulations. The SDS method is based on the circulation pattern classification technique in combination with stochastic generation of daily time series of temperature and precipitation. It uses daily values of 700 mbar geopotential heights as the large-scale circulation variable. The regional climate model is driven by initial and lateral boundary conditions from the GCM. The RegCM2 exhibited greater spatial variability than the SDS method for change in both temperature and precipitation. The SDS method produced a seasonal cycle of temperature change with a much larger amplitude than that of the RegCM2 or the GCM. Daily variability of temperature mainly decreased for both downscaling methods and the GCM. Changes in mean daily precipitation varied between SDS and RegCM2. The RegCM2 simulated both increases and decreases in the probability of precipitation, while the SDS method produced only increases. We explore possible dynamical and physical reasons for the differences in the scenarios produced by the two methods and the GCM.


When systems are complex and critical, and when we are interested in their dependability properties (reliability, availability in its many forms, etc.), only simulation can be used for their analysis: if the system is complex, analytical and numerical procedures are in general useless. In this situation, the main difficulty relies in the rare event problem: if the system is critical, catastrophic failures have small probabilities to occur (but huge consequences, making their study critical as well). In this talk we briefly describe the two main families of Monte Carlo techniques that are used today in the area: Importance Sampling and the specific Zero-Variance approach, and Splitting procedures. Some examples will illustrate the presentation.


An Afghan hound was presented with recurring episodes of weakness progressing to seizures after exercise. Insulinoma was diagnosed by demonstrating excessive insulin secretion in the presence of hypoglycemia. A pancreatic mass was identified and removed during an exploratory laparotomy. Surgical and pathological findings, diagnosis, and clinical management are discussed.


SUMMARY Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and scene depth estimation from 2-dimensional (2D) images are major tasks in computer vision. However, using conventional 3D reconstruction techniques gets challenging in participating media such as murky water, fog, or smoke. We have developed a method that uses a continuous-wave time-of-flight (ToF) camera to estimate an object region and depth in participating media simultaneously. The scattered light observed by the camera is saturated, so it does not depend on the scene depth. In addition, received signals bouncing o ff distant points are negligible due to light attenuation, and thus the ob- servation of such a point contains only a scattering component. These phe-nomena enable us to estimate the scattering component in an object region from a background that only contains the scattering component. The problem is formulated as robust estimation where the object region is regarded as outliers, and it enables the simultaneous estimation of an object region and depth on the basis of an iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) optimization scheme. We demonstrate the e ff ectiveness of the proposed method using captured images from a ToF camera in real foggy scenes and evaluate the applicability with synthesized data.


DNA methylation controls several cellular processes, from early development to old age, including biological responses to endogenous or exogenous stimuli contributing to disease transition. As a result, minimal DNA methylation changes during developmental stages drive severe phenotypes, as observed in germ-line imprinting disorders, while genome-wide alterations occurring in somatic cells are linked to cancer onset and progression. By summarizing the molecular events governing DNA methylation, we focus on the methods that have facilitated mapping and understanding of this epigenetic mark in healthy conditions and diseases. Overall, we review the bright (health-related) and dark (disease-related) side of DNA methylation changes, outlining how bulk and single-cell genomic analyses are moving toward the identification of new molecular targets and driving the development of more specific and less toxic demethylating agents.


Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) forms a membranous network that extends throughout neurons. SER regulates intracellular calcium and the posttranslational modification and trafficking of membrane and proteins. As the structure of dendritic SER shifts from a tubular to a more complex, branched form, the movement of membrane cargo slows and delivery to nearby spines increases. Here we discovered changes in the structural complexity of SER that have important functional implications during long-term potentiation (LTP) in adult rat hippocampus. By 2 hours after the induction of LTP with theta-burst stimulation, synapse enlargement was greatest on spines that contained SER. More spines had an elaborate spine apparatus than a simple tubule of SER. The SER in dendritic shafts became more complex beneath spines with both polyribosomes and SER, and less complex along aspiny dendritic regions. The findings suggest that local changes in dendritic SER support enhanced growth of specific synapses during LTP.


Viruddha Ahara is a valuable concept mentioned in Ayurveda. Ayurveda says that a specific diet and its combinations that interfere with the metabolism and have properties opposite to that of the tissue are called Viruddha Ahara or incompatible diets. The present article aims to review the role of Viruddha Ahara in female infertility. Acharya Charaka has mentioned that such types of inconsistent diet can lead to many diseases like impotence, visarpa, blindness, ascites, insanity, fistula in ano, coma, intoxication, abdominal distension, stiffness in the neck, anaemia, indigestion, various skin diseases, intestinal disorders, swelling, gastric irritations, fever, rhinitis and infertility. Hence it is clear that Viruddha Ahara can lead to disorders up to infertility and thus impacts Shukra dhatu.


Proceedings of the NICFD 2016 Seminar October 19th and 20th, Villa Monastero, Varenna, Italy Preface This volume contains the papers presented at NICFD 2016: 1st International Seminar on Non-Ideal Compressible-Fluid Dynamics for Propulsion & Power held on the 19th and 20th of October, 2016, at Villa Monastero, Varenna, Italy. The conference website is nicfd2016.polimi.it. NICFD 2016 promoted the exchange of scientific knowledge and fostered the interaction among researchers and professionals in the field of non-ideal compressible-fluid dynamics, with special emphasis on topics related to propulsion and power applications. The conference themes range from theoretical foundations to advanced numerical and experimental practices and applied technologies. Key themes are: experiments; fundamentals; numerical methods; optimization and UQ; critical and supercritical flows; turbulence and mixing; multi-component fluid flows; applications in ORC power systems; applications in supercritical CO2 power systems; steam turbines; cryogenic flows; condensing flows in nozzles; cavitating flows; super/trans-critical fluids in space propulsion. Four keynote lectures reviewed the state-of-the-art and illustrated future studies and applications: Non-Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics: A Challenge for Theory by Prof. Alfred Kluwick, TU Wien, Austria; Cavitation Instabilities in Turbopump Inducers by Prof. Seung Jin Song, Seoul National University, Korea; Industrial applications of turbomachinery operating on non-ideal fluids by Dr. Douglas Hofer, GE Global Research, USA; Wall bounded turbulence in flows with strong property gradients by Prof. Rene Pecnik, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. The proceedings gather 27 papers reporting on cutting-edge research activities in NICFD for propulsion and power. The review paper by Prof. Alfred Kluwick opens the collection and provides the perspective on past discoveries, the context of present activities and the roadmap of future challenges in this new, exciting scientific field. We would like to thank all the participants to NICFD 2016 and the members of the Scientific Committee, for providing guidance during the organisation of the conference and for managing the revision of the papers. We thank all reviewers for their invaluable help to attain the high scientific quality of the contributions collected here. The conference was supported in part by the European Research Council under ERC Consolidator Grant N.617603, NSHOCK Project (crealab.polimi.it) Varenna, October 2016 Prof. Alberto Guardone, Politecnico di Milano, ChairmanProf. Piero Colonna, Delft University of Technology, Co-chairDr. Andrew Wheeler, Cambridge University, Co-chairGiorgia Cammi, Politecnico di Milano, Program ManagerDavide Vimercati, Politecnico di Milano, Submission Manager Invited keynote lectures Non-Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics: A Challenge for Theory by Prof. Alfred Kluwick, Wien Technical University, Austria Abstract: The possibility that rarefaction as well as compression shocks may form in single phase vapours was envisaged first by H. A. Bethe (1942), The theory of shock waves for an arbitrary equation of state, Technical Report No. 545, Office of Scientific Research and Development. However, calculations based on the Van der Waals equation of state indicated that the former type of shock is possible only if the ratio of specific heat at constant volume cv to universal gas constant R is larger than about 17.5 which he considered too large to be satisfied by real fluids. This conclusion was contested by P. A. Thompson, (1971) A Fundamental Derivative in Gas Dynamics, Physics of Fluids 14 pp. 1843–1849, who showed that the type of shock capable of forming in arbitrary fluids is determined by the sign of the thermodynamic quantity Γ = v3/(2a2)(∂2P/∂v2)s, which he referred to as the fundamental derivative of gasdynamics. Here v, p, s and a denote specific volume, pressure, entropy and the speed of sound. Thompson and co-workers also showed that the required condition for the existence of rarefaction shocks, that Γ takes on negative values, is indeed satisfied for several fluorocarbon vapours. This finding spawned a burst of theoretical studies elaborating on the unusual and often counterintuitive behaviour of flows with rarefaction shocks present. This produced results not only of a theoretical nature but results also suggesting the practical importance of Non-Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics (NICFD) in general. The present talk addresses some of the challenges encountered in connection with the theoretical treatment of the associated flow behaviour. Weakly nonlinear acoustic waves of small but finite amplitude serve as a starting point. Here mixed rather than strictly positive nonlinearity generates a wealth of phenomena not possible in perfect gases. Examples of steady flows where these nonclassical effects play a decisive role (and which may be useful also for future experimental work) are quasi 1D nozzle flows and transonic 2D flows past corners. The investigation of dissipative effects reveals completely different mechanisms for the regularisation of shock discontinuities in unconfined and confined flows. As a final example of nonclassical phenomena in NICFD the problem of laminar boundary layers with constant pressure gradient will be considered. In contrast to the classical Howarth problem solutions do not necessarily terminate in the form of a Goldstein singularity but may be continued beyond the point of zero wall shear. The local flow behaviour then is governed by an equation of Fisher type which describes the transition from strictly steady to unsteady periodic flow exhibiting early signs of the onset of turbulence. Cavitation Instabilities in Turbopump Inducers by Prof. Seung Jin Song, Seoul National University, Korea Abstract: Turbopumps deliver liquid fuel and oxidizer into the main combustion chamber in liquid rocket engines and are usually composed of radial pumps driven by axial turbines. Turbopumps operate under extreme environments characterized by high speeds, high pressures, cryogenic temperatures, and steep temperature gradients. Therefore, turbopumps are the critical devices which determine the success of liquid rocket systems. To prevent cavitation in the pumps, turbopumps deploy inducers, and, yet, the inducers themselves undergo cavitation. This cavitation can have thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, and even rotordynamic consequences. This talk will present such issues which arise in turbopump development efforts. Industrial applications of turbomachinery operating on non-ideal fluids by Dr. Douglas Hofer, General Electric Global Research, USA Abstract: Many industrial turbomachinery applications involve fluids that are not amenable to ideal gas assumptions. The classical application is steam turbines where both pressures above ∼ 20 bar and condensing liquid in the low pressure turbine leads to significant departures from the ideal gas relationships. In aviation engines and industrial gas turbines the high temperatures result in dissociation effects that render the ideal gas assumptions invalid. The processing of hydrocarbons frequently involves the intersection of non-ideal fluids and turbomachinery with applications ranging from gas compression to multiphase pumping. The emergence of closed loop power cycles using supercritical CO2 as a working fluid brings another set of challenges for the industry to understand including operation of turbomachinery very near the critical point and potential for liquid and solid condensation. This talk will touch on each of these areas and provide an overview of industrial practice and open questions where further research is needed. Wall bounded turbulence in flows with strong property gradients by Prof. Rene Pecnik, Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands Abstract: Turbulent fluid flows with large gradients of thermo-physical properties can occur in a wide range of engineering applications, such as in flows with strong heat transfer at the wall, high-speed flows and in application with dense gases. The mean velocity, near-wall turbulent structures and mixing of scalar fields are greatly affected by near wall gradients in fluid properties. In order to study these effects, we will use direct numerical simulations with different constitutive relations for density and viscosity as a function of temperature, to mimic a wide range of fluid behaviours and to develop a generalised framework for studying scaling laws and turbulence modulations in variable property flows. The first part of the presentation will be on mean velocity scaling. Based on observations we will discuss a velocity scaling that is solely based on the semi-local Reynolds number. This scaling is able to collapse velocity profiles irrespective of near-wall density and viscosity gradients. In the second part, we will outline how near-wall density and viscosity gradients alter the Reynolds stress generation mechanism and inter-component energy transfer among turbulent stresses. In the last part of the presentation we will discuss how these effects alter heat transfer in turbulent pipe flows with fluids close to the vapour liquid critical point. In addition to that, we will also refer to recent advances in turbulence research for dense gases made by other researchers. Scientific Committee of NICFD 2016 Prof. Paola Cinnella, Arts et Métiers ParisTech ENSAM, France Dr. Pietro Congedo, INRIA Bordeaux, France Dr. Douglas Hofer, GE Global Research, USA Dr. Christos Markides, Imperial College London, United Kingdom Dr. Rene Pecnik, TU Delft, The Netherlands Dr. Steffen Schmidt, Technische Universiteit Munich, Germany Prof. Toru Shimada, JAXA, Japan Dr. Andrea Spinelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Dr. Emile Touber, Imperial College London, United Kingdom Dr. Teemu Turunen-Saaresti, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland Prof. Rosaria Vetrano, Von Karman Institute, Belgium


One of the villages that was developed as a tourist village is Permis Village and Rajik Village, South Bangka Regency, which are one of the villages that are members of the Fisheries, Plantation and Culture Cluster. Permis and Rajik Villages have development potential when viewed from a geographical and accessibility aspect. From a geographical aspect, Permis Village and Rajik Village are villages that are supported by the beach or the sea. From the aspect of accessibility, Permis Village and Rajik Village will be built a National Bridge connecting South Sumatra with Bangka. Based on this, this study aims to explore the potential for the development of Permis and Rajik Villages as local and cultural tourism villages based on studies of supply and demand aspects so that they are able to provide recommendations for future Village development. The approach used in this research is mixed methods, including qualitative methods to study supply aspects, community characteristics and policies, as well as quantitative methods to assess tourism demand aspects. The results showed that the Permis Village and the Rajik Village had the potential to be developed as local and cultural tourism villages.


The RiskCalc v3.1 model powers the next-generation of default prediction technology for middle market, private firms. With RiskCalc v3.1, Moody's KMV answers an important challenge faced by our customers: "How can we support our decision-making process for extending loans, managing portfolios and pricing debt securities when there is little available market insight into a firm's prospects, as is the case for middle market credits?"


Background B- and T-cell activation are one of the pathogenic mechanisms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). After repeated antigenic stimulation, T-cells undergo different modifications, leading to the differentiation into effector memory T-cells (CCR7-CD45RA-) and highly experienced memory T-cells (CCR7-CD45RA+). Similarly, down-modulation of CD28 may lead to the expansion of the CD28neg T-cells, a subpopulation with peculiar effector activities (1). Recent studies showed that memory CD4+ T-cells are increased in the peripheral blood of SLE patients, whereas contradictory data are reported on CD28 neg T-cells (2). Peripheral transitional B-cells (38high24high) are immature B-cells transiting to secondary lymphoid organs, where their maturation into follicular or marginal zone B-cells is driven by a stimulating factor called BLyS. This population is expanded in patients with SLE (3). The anti-BLyS therapy agent belimumab is approved for treatment of SLE. Objectives The aims of this study were to characterize B- and T-cell phenotype in a cohort of patients with SLE, according with disease activity, and to analyse their modifications therapy with belimumab. Methods Phenotypic analysis of peripheral blood B and T lymphocytes was made by flow-cytometry. First, a cross-sectional study on 51 consecutive SLE patients (F/M: 48/51; median age: 35 years; anti-dsDNA: 16 UI/ml; C3: 79 mg/dl; C4: 10 mg/dl) was performed. Second, 18 patients treated with belimumab were longitudinally followed. Disease activity was evaluated by SLEDAI-2K score. Results SLE patients were divided in two groups according disease activity: patients with SLEDAI-2K ≥6 (n:13) had a higher percentage of circulating CD4+T-cells with CD28neg phenotype: median value (25th-75th percentile)=13 (5–19) vs 3 (1–5) % of CD4+ T-cells, p<0.01), as well as of those with an effector memory (37 (29–40) vs 18 (12–27) % of CD4+ T-cells, p<0.01), highly experienced memory phenotype (9 (7–12) vs 1 (1–3) % of CD4+ T-cells, p<0.01), and of B-cells with a transitional phenotype (3 (0.5–5) vs 0.2 (0–0.4) % of CD19+ cells, p=0.02), in comparison with patients with low disease activity (n:38). After 6 months of treatment with belimumab, no significant variation in the T-cell subset was observed, but there was a reduction in the number of circulating naïve B-cells (from 49 (30–71) to 21 (11–36) % of CD19+ cells; p<0.01). Among these patients, the proportion of transitional B-cells, was raised (as compared with normal controls) at baseline in 3/11 patients with SLEDAI-2K ≥6, and 0/7 with low disease activity. After 6 month of therapy, their number normalized in 2 of these 3 patients. Conclusions CD4+ T-cells subpopulations displaying phenotype characteristics of effector lymphocytes, and transitional B-cells are expanded in peripheral blood of patients with active SLE. Therapy with belimumab may inhibit the production of transitional and naïve B-cells. References Strioga M, et al. Immunology 2011. Ugarte-Gil M, et al. Lupus 2016. Jacobi AM, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2008. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Aims The evidence-base for the optimal duration of parenteral antibiotics in paediatric uncomplicated acute haematogenous osteomyelitis (PUAHO) before switching to oral antibiotics is limited. Here we review current practice at a district general hospital (UK); patient/carer experience; and recommendations by regional experts. Methods Patient medical notes, laboratory and radiological results were reviewed for all children <16 years with a diagnosis of osteomyelitis at a district general hospital in the UK between 1st July 2013 and 1st August 2014. Demographic and clinical details were recorded in a secure anonymous database. A literature review and email survey of regional paediatric microbiology, infectious disease and orthopaedic experts was undertaken. Semi-structured telephone interviews with carers was conducted and transcripts analysed using a qualitative framework. Results 5 patients were diagnosed with osteomyelitis. 1 was secondary to a supracondylar fracture and 1 had septic arthritis and so were excluded from clinical analysis but included in the telephone survey. The duration of parenteral antibiotics varied from 3–6 weeks and continued for >14 days after normalisation of inflammatory markers and resolution of clinical signs. Regional experts confirmed "there is considerable variability in practice and limited evidence when to switch antibiotics" (range of minimum duration of parenteral antibiotics 2–6 weeks). They highlighted concerns regarding oral antibiotic compliance and that some carers are not comfortable switching early especially if they believe their child has a serious infection. From the telephone survey carers reported they found "multiple opinions for the duration of treatment confusing." Multiple cannulas (>10) and trips to the hospital caused significant anxiety and disruption for family and school life. Carers would find oral antibiotics preferable "so long as they work," although one carer found the administration of them more challenging. Conclusions There is currently no consensus and considerable variation in regional practice for the management of PUAHO. Unnecessary prolonged courses of parenteral antibiotics can have adverse financial and patient/carer experience implications. This study highlights the pressing need for robust evidence regarding the optimal duration of parenteral antibiotic therapy in PUAHO. The UK multicentre DINOSAUR study on the management of paediatric osteomyelitis is likely to provide further evidence.


People have been using the digital technology domain to seek solutions to combat neglected tropical diseases. Aside from feasibility and effectiveness, WHO has pointed out the importance of having an overview that pinpoints the lacking infrastructure for scaling up and sustaining digital proposals. This research demystifies the untapped digital data in combating neglected tropical disease and aims to provide an overview for people to take strategic action. Who are all the stakeholders in this elimination procedure? What are the needed data to tackle this disease? How can digital innovation best interfere with the current disease elimination flow? The researcher has chosen the content of Kenya and the neglected disease of Schistosomiasis as the subject. Building on numerous expert interviews and the literature review, the footprint of disease combating related data has been systematically analyzed from different angles. With a holistic view, this series of analyses poses as a step-by-step guide for the strategic planning of complicated neglected disease or health-related issue in low-resource setting countries. An example of a new Schistosomiasis diagnostic device, SODOS, is presented at the end to showcase the effectiveness of the analyzing approach.


At the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP in Leuna, Germany, representatives from politics, research and industry opened a novel pilot plant for the mild processing of rapeseed to increase the addedvalue potential of rape as a raw material. Based on a biorefinery, the plant not only delivers high-grade, pre-raffinate-quality rapeseed oil, but also a highgrade, protein-rich rapeseed kernel concentrate, secondary plant substances dissolved in ethanol and rapeseed hulls, which represent further products. The plant was built as part of the joint research project EthaNa, which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).


Using a large sample of 3,541 companies drawn from 30 countries over the period 2002 to 2010 we analyse the impact of strategic shareholdings on different elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We find that total strategic or closely held equity holdings adversely affect the environmental, social and governance scores provided by ASSET4. However, this effect is largely driven by entrenched and undiversified holdings such as family and corporate cross-holdings whereas diversified institutional investments typically have an insignificant impact. The influence of undiversified holdings includes particularly strong negative impacts on measures that include climate change, environmental management, business ethics and human rights. Thus the impact of ownership on CSR performance differs depending on both the type of owner and the type of CSR.


We present an algorithm for the visualisation of time series. To that end we employ echo state networks to convert time series into a suitable vector representation which is capable of capturing the latent dynamics of the time series. Subsequently, the obtained vector representations are put through an autoencoder and the visualisation is constructed using the activations of the bottleneck. The crux of the work lies with defining an objective function that quantifies the reconstruction error of these representations in a principled manner. We demonstrate the method on synthetic and real data.


This paper pertains to the reduction of measurement errors due to drift in rate gyros used for tracking the position of moving vehicles. In these applications, gyros and odometry are often used to augment GPS when GPS reception is unavailable. Drift in gyros causes the unbounded growth of errors in the estimation of heading, rendering low-cost gyros almost entirely useless in applications that require good accuracy for more than just a few seconds or minutes. Our proposed method, called "Heuristic Drift Reduction" (HDR), applies a unique closed-loop control system approach to estimate drift in real-time and remove the estimated drift instantaneously from the gyro reading. The paper presents results of experiments, in which a gyro-equipped car was driven hundreds of miles on highways, rural roads, and city streets. HDR reduced the average heading error over all of these drives by one order of magnitude.


My point of departure in the book Meeting Needs was the conviction that the concept of needs has moral force, but the force has been dissipated and anyway made hard to see by multiple complications including but not confined to multiple abuses. I now think that is only half the problem.


Leverage is an important risk factor which has been ignored in the asset pricing literature. This paper attempts to broaden the focus of the current asset pricing literature by forming portfolios mimicking the leverage factor. Leverage is a vital risk factor that explains stock returns. We also undertake several robustness checks. We employ three models of performance measurement including the CAPM, the Fama-French three factor model and Fama- French-Carhart four factor model. We construct a five factor model using an additional factor mimicking portfolio for leverage. Our five factor model explains the variations in stock returns better relative to the other asset pricing models.


Canaan Banana is an African liberation theologian who was prominently involved in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. He has written an article 'The Case for a New Bible' in which he argues that the Christian Bible should be rewritten so that it can be relevant for people in postcolonial societies. Banana is concerned that there are oppressive texts in the Bible that continue to be used by people to legitimise the oppression of others. He argues that these texts should be removed. Banana is also concerned that the Bible contains revelation which relates to only one people and that religious experiences of other peoples ought to be added to the Bible. Banana has raised important concerns about the Bible which must be addressed by scholars if the Bible is to be relevant in an appropriate way for postcolonial times. Banana boldly makes a proposal to rewrite the Bible to make it relevant and authoritative. Banana has highlighted some important problems that need new and creative solutions. The present article will discuss the problems related to the Bible as seen by Banana, discuss the solutions which Banana proposes for the problems and then critique his proposals. Insights from biblical studies related to hermeneutics, biblical theology and canon formation will be used to propose other solutions to these problems.


Background: Job burnout, defined as a syndrome derived from prolonged exposure to stressors at work, is often observed in health care workers. Shift work and job satisfaction are considered two of the occupational risks for burnout in nurses. Nurses have stress and health complaints. In addition, nurses are likely to job burnout.
Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of job burnout and its association with work schedules and job satisfaction among Iranian nurses in a public hospital.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in one of the largest Iranian public hospitals among 362 nurses (response rate: 80.44%) in Tehran, Iran. The Maslach burnout inventory (MBI-22) and demographic factors questionnaire were used in the present study. The relationship between job burnout with work schedules and job satisfaction was investigated with multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results: The mean age and work experience of the participants were 36.14 ± 8.59 and 15.23 ± 9.30 years, respectively. The result indicated a relatively high prevalence of burnout (particularly, personal accomplishment) among the study population. In general,
64.4% of participants reported low personal accomplishment level. The nurses engaged in shift work reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion (odds ratio (OR) = 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.006 - 1.041, P-value = 0.008); there was no relationship
between workschedules with depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The result showed significant relationship between job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion (OR = 0.945, 95% CI = 0.928 - 0.963, P-value < 0.001) and personal accomplishment (OR = 1.003, 95% CI = 1.014 - 1.058, P-value = 0.001).
Conclusions: The current study revealed that the Iranian nurses are exposed to a considerable risk of personal accomplishment. Also, job burnout is in association with shift working and low job satisfaction level. In this regard, working pressure, type of job and income may affect job burnout. Ergonomic interventional programs are recommended to improve the working conditions.
Keywords: Circadian Rhythm, Burnout, Occupational Health, Job Satisfaction


In this paper an overview of our developments towards industrialization of thin film silicon PV modules is presented. Amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells have been developed in medium size single-chamber R&D KAI-M PECVD reactors. High initial efficiencies of 10.6 % and stabilized of 8.6 % could be achieved for a 1 cm 2 a-Si:H p-i-n solar cell of 0.20 m thick i-layer deposited on TCO from Asahi U type (SnO 2 ). On our in-house developed LPCVD ZnO we could further improve the stabilized a-Si:H p-i-n efficiency to a similar level of 8.5 %. Incorporating such cells in commercial available front TCO of lower quality still leads to high initial mini-module aperture efficiencies (10 × 10 cm 2 ) of 9.1% and stabilized ones of 7.46% (independently measured by ESTI JRC-Ispra). Transferring the processes from the KAI-M to the industrial size 1.1×1.25 m 2 KAI-1200 R&D reactors resulted in a-Si:H modules of 110.6 W using commercial TCO, respectively 112.4 W when applying in-house developed LPCVD front ZnO. Both initial module performances have been independently measured by ESTI laboratories of JRC Ispra. A typical temperature coefficient for the module power of -0.22 %/°C (relative loss) has been deduced from temperature dependent I-V characteristics at ESTI laboratories of JRC Ispra. Finally, micromorph mini-modules of 10 % initial aperture efficiency have been fabricated.


The invention belongs to the field of oil field oil production equipment, and particularly relates to a communication-capable glass fiber sucker rod used on a windlass type oil sucking machine, and a preparation device and a preparation method of the communication-capable glass fiber sucker rod. The communication-capable glass fiber sucker rod comprises a sucker rod main body, wherein the sucker rod main body is of a multilayer structure and is sequentially provided with a communication cable, a glass fiber inner layer, an electric heating layer, a winding glass fiber layer A, a winding glass fiber layer B, a glass fiber outer layer and an epoxy resin layer from inside to outside; the glass fiber inner layer is bonded on the outer side of the communication cable through epoxy resin; the electric heating layer is made of an electric heating belt; the electric heating belt is wound on the outer side of the glass fiber inner layer so as to form the electric heating layer; the winding glass fiber layer A and the winding glass fiber layer B are sequentially wound on the outer side of the electric heating layer; the winding directions of the winding glass fiber layers A and B are opposite; the glass fiber outer layer is bonded on the outer side of the winding glass fiber layer B through epoxy resin; the epoxy resin layer is positioned at the outermost side of the sucker rod; the fiber directions of the glass fiber inner layer and the glass fiber outer layer are both parallel to the axial line of the sucker rod.


This article studies the rate of convergence of the weak Euler approximation for Itô diffusion and jump processes with Hölder-continuous generators. It covers a number of stochastic processes including the nondegenerate diffusion processes and a class of stochastic differential equations driven by stable processes. To estimate the rate of convergence, the existence of a unique solution to the corresponding backward Kolmogorov equation in Hölder space is first proved. It then shows that the Euler scheme yields positive weak order of convergence.


Objective: Square contingency tables that arise in dependent samples where the row and column variables have same level. Some specific models used in the analysis of these kinds of tables. These models are mostly in the symmetrical pattern. In this study, the models are introduced for two dimensional square contingency tables where the departure from the symmetry structure is observed. Models described in this paper assume ordinal categories for the contingency table. Material and Meth ods: Asymmetry and skew symmetry models used when the symmetry structure is distorted in analysis of square contingency tables are shown on a 280 cancer patient's dataset and the results are di s- cussed. SPSS and SAS programs are used in the analysis of these models. The interpretations are made with the parameter estimation for the best fitting model. Results: Symmetry models do not hold for the data. While the sub models of asymmetry and skew symmetry models hold for the data, the best fitting model is determined as the uniform skew symmetry model for the cancer data. The odds ratio under uniform skew smmetry model is estimated as 1.34. Conclusion: The agreement between the cytological and pathalogical diagnosis of uterine cancer is 74% suggesting the high agreement. A cytological diagno- sis recorded as suspicious is not considered as diagnostic of cancer unless supported by pathological d i- agnosis. As it is expected perfect agreement between the cytological classification and pathological cla s- sification in terms of accurate diagnosis, the off-diagonal cells should be studied as well. This could be done with the anaysis of square contingency tables.


An evaluation of all children and adolescents admitted to an acute psychiatric unit over a three-month period was undertaken to determine the presence of bipolar disorder. The findings indicated that bipolar disorder was the most common diagnostic entity. This disorder had not been recognized in most of these youngsters previously, although almost all of them have had past psychiatric contacts. The vast majority of youngsters experiencing delusions and/or hallucinations, and the vast majority of court-remanded adolescents also appeared to be suffering from the disorder. It was concluded that bipolar disorder has to be ruled out in all youngsters admitted to acute care psychiatric units.


Transmit beamforming can improve the performance of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. For FDD systems, the beamforming matrix must be quantized and fed back to the transmitter side. Different compact quantization codebooks have been designed to reduce the overhead of the feedback channel. In this paper, we compare the performance of two different quantization methods for a fixed codebook: vector- wise quantization based on householder reflection and the joint matrix quantization. The vector-wise quantization decomposes the matrix codeword into vectors using the Household transform. We find that vector-wise quantization can outperform joint matrix quantization due to the unbalanced gain of spatial eigen- mode of the MIMO channel. We also proposed a recursive sphere chordal distance quantizer (SCDQ) to reduce the computational cost of the matrix quantization. Simulation results are provided to verify our findings.


An operational system for deducing and imaging the vertical distribution of the electron density in the local ionosphere has been recently developed. The electron density profile is deduced from combined ground‐based measurements of the total electron content, ionospheric vertical incidence soundings, and empirically obtained values of the O+‐H+ ion transition height. The topside profile is permitted to take one of several forms: Exponential, Chapman, or Epstein. An evaluation of the above mentioned ionospheric profilers is needed in order to determine which one of them provides the best representation of the current ionospheric conditions. For this purpose, we use electron density profiles obtained from ionograms recorded by the topside sounders onboard the Alouette and ISIS satellites. Every profile has been fitted with each of the above mentioned theoretical ionospheric profilers and the corresponding approximation errors calculated. The results have been analyzed with respect to local time, geomagnetic latitude, season, magnetic and solar activity, ion transition height, and the ionospheric density peak characteristics. It has been found that, in the majority of cases, the best fit is provided by the exponential profiler, followed by the Chapman profiler. Also, while some influence of the underlying physical drivers on the topside electron density profile is detected, it is the use of ionospheric characteristics that offers more reliable selection criteria for the most appropriate profiler.


Using generalized Heckman's model and NPD data, this study specified a meat demand model incorporating health concern and demographics. Estimated model established empirical linkages between health concerns and meat consumption. Beef and pork were negatively linked to health concerns, whereas chicken, turkey and fish were positively associated with health concerns.


This article tries to reveal the clash of value between April and Frank as the main characters in Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road. Using the theories of gender role, power and motherhood, the analysis shows that April and Frank have different values even though they live in the same time, the1950s. The differences of values create a clash between them and it affects their relationship as husband and wife. April Wheeler as the strong character in this novel has modern values from her era while her husband expects her to follow the value of the1950s. These differences make them unable to fulfill their partner's expectation. It can be concluded that because their values conflict each other, they have difficulties in their marriage life.


Three neonates with rectal perforations probably caused by the use of the rectal thermometer, are reported. The dangers of this condition and the difficulty of diagnosis even at laporatomy are emphasised. It is suggested that since the axillary temperature in the neonate is an adequate reflection of the core temperature the routine use of the rectal thermometer, except in exceptional circumstances, should cease.


Background The situation with a treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is complicated in Ukraine. Mainly due to financial reason biological therapy is hardly accessible for Ukrainian patients. Nevertheless, some patients with JIA receive biologics within governmental programme. Clinical data of these patients were scattered and not systematized until 2014. The Task Force of Ukrainian Association of rheumatologists, by analogy to other European registries, has developed a registry of JIA patients receiving biologics. Ukrainian register of JIA patients is an observational, prospective, non-interventional clinical study. Objectives The main aim of Ukrainian register of JIA patients is an assessment of long-term safety, efficacy and cost of biological treatment of JIA. in the routine clinical practice. Methods 33 clinical sites from different regions of Ukraine are participating. Inclusion criteria: i) diagnosis of JIA: ii)age ≤2 years old, iii)planned start of biological therapy due to JIA; iv)negative screening for tuberculosis; v)provided informed consent. Patients have undergone standard clinical assessment every 3 months. Disease activity is measured using JADAS27 in all age groups. ANA, HLAB27, RF and anti-CCP detection are highly recommended. Uveitis and other comorbid conditions should also be fixed. Results 339 patients were enrolled into the study during 3 years. 64% of patients are girls. Mean age–10.98±4.41 years, with mean disease duration –5.81±3.48 years. The duration of the period between diagnosis and biologics start was 54.31±40.28 months. Comorbid conditions were found in 41.03% patients. In 14.65% of the patients uveitis was diagnosed. Most common JIA subtypes in patients receiving biologics are pJIA with negative RF (45%), sJIA (20%), enthesitis-associated JIA (11%) and persistent oligoarthritis (11%). 67.3% of enrolled patients received adalimumab (ADA); 27.9%>tocilizumab (TOZ) and 4.8%>etanercept, respectively. During observational period biologics was discontinued in 19.8% of patients due to different reasons: adverse events were observed in 6.7% (ADA) and 16.7% (TOZ), insufficient efficiency of 23.3% (ADA) and 33.3% (TOZ), remission - 6.7% (ADA); drug absence - 63.3% (ADA) and 50% (TOZ), respectively. Comparative analysis of ADA and TOZ efficacy was performed in the 144 patients with pJIA with negative RF. Administration either ADA or TOZ resulted in statistically significant reducing of disease activity according to JADAS27. In ADA group after 3 months of administration JADAS27 decreased from 16.3±10.3 to 10.0±7.8 (p<0.00001). In TOZ group after 3 months of administration JADAS27 reduced from 22.2±12.2 to 13.1±9.1 (p=0.0012). The functional disability of the patients also statistically significant decrease in both treatment group starting from 3 months of administration: 1.1±0.8 to 0.7±0.7 (p=0.0081) in ADA and 1.6±1.0 to 1.0±0.7 in TOZ, respectively. Conclusions Ukrainian national registry of JIA patients provides real-life long-term data concerning safety, efficacy, outcomes and comparative analysis of biologics in Ukrainian population of JIA patients. Data collection continues and the data received expected to be a background for clinical decision-making in future. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between the principles of a culture of peace and leadership education. It argues that leadership should be informed by the values of a culture of peace. This, in turn, compels leadership education to teach mindsets, values and competencies aligned with a culture of peace.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the evolution of leadership theory within the context of an increasingly complex world. It then uses United Nations materials to identify principles for a culture of peace as it is now widely acknowledged by the world community. Identifying correspondence between both theoretical realms the paper identifies peace leadership education goals that are supported by established peace organizations and by philosophical and psychological scholarship.

Findings

The paper establishes a direct link between the values of a culture of peace and leadership that is adequate as well as successful to address the complexity of today's world. It also identifies key principles that need to be adopted by leadership education to prepare students to become effective leaders. The paper also explores essential educational tools for leadership educators.

Practical implications

The theoretical framework presented in this paper can be used to adjust leadership education to give practical guidance for aspiring leaders. It is also useful for peace and conflict studies programmes interested in developing peace leaders.

Originality/value

The interrelationship between leadership studies and peace and conflict studies constitutes a new field of academic inquiry. The present paper is one of the first in the field and is intended to further establish this new disciplinary orientation.


Properties of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors from two kidney-one clip hypertension and control rats were studied to determine whether or not alterations in the receptor contribute to the decreased responsiveness of two kidney-one clip rat hearts to adrenergic stimulation. The number and affinity of the beta-receptors were assessed by the binding of [3H]DHA in an enriched ventricular membrane fraction obtained from the rat hearts 3 and 4 weeks after the application of the clip. In the rats with 3 weeks of development of hypertension no significant difference was found neither in the number nor in the affinity of receptors (30.9 +/- 5.3 fmol/mg protein, KD: 1.62 +/- 0.43 nM) compared to the control rats (33.3 +/- 6.3 fmol/mg protein, KD: 2.21 +/- 0.59 nM). In rats with 4 weeks of development of hypertension, there was an increased number of receptors (54.7 +/- 3.7 fmol/mg protein, KD: 1.41 +/- 0.17 nM) compared with control rats studied in paralleled conditions (40.0 +/- 2.3 fmol/mg protein, KD: 1.13 +/- 0.12 nM). These results suggest that the reported beta-adrenergic subsensitivity in this model of hypertensive rats could be mediated by a biochemical mechanism other than a direct alteration of the beta adrenergic receptors, and that there is a compensatory increase in the density of receptors during the development of the hypertension.


To use the tremendous hardware resources available in next generation multiprocessor systems-on-chip (MPSoC) efficiently, rapid and accurate design space exploration (DSE) methods are needed to evaluate the different design alternatives. In this paper, we present a framework that makes fast simulation and performance evaluation of MPSoC possible early in the design flow, thus reducing the time-to-market. In this framework and within the transaction level modeling (TLM) approach, we present a new definition of the timed programmer's view (PVT) level by introducing two complementary modeling sublevels. The first one, PVT transaction accurate (PVT-TA), offers a high simulation speedup factor over the cycle accurate bit accurate (CABA) level modeling. The second one, PVT event accurate (PVT-EA), provides a better accuracy with a still acceptable speedup factor. An MPSoC platform has been developed using these two sublevels including performance estimation models. Simulation results show that the combination of these two sublevels gives a high simulation speedup factor of up to 18 with a negligible performance estimation error margin.


Mouse acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) plays important physiological roles in defense and nutrition. AMCase is composed of an N-terminal catalytic domain (CatD) and a C-terminal chitin-binding domain (CBD). We expressed CatD of mouse AMCase as a recombinant fusion protein with Protein A and V5-His in Escherichia coli (Protein A-CatD-V5-His), evaluated its functional properties and compared them to the full-length AMCase (Protein A-AMCase-V5-His). Under our experimental conditions, the chitinolytic activity of both proteins against 4-nitrophenyl N,N'-diacetyl-β-d-chitobioside was equivalent with regard to their specific enzymatic activities, optimal pH and temperature as well as to the pH and temperature stability. CatD bound to chitin beads and cleaved the N-acetylglucosamine hexamer, colloidal and crystalline chitin as well as the shrimp shell, and released primarily N,N'-diacetylchitobiose fragments at pH 2.0. These results indicate that the primary structure of CatD is sufficient to form a proper tertiary structure required for chitinolytic activity, recognize chitin substrates and degrade them in the absence of a CBD. Our recombinant proteins can be used for further studies evaluating pathophysiological roles of AMCase in different diseases.


One difficulty of programming multicore processors is achieving performance that scales with the number of cores in the system. A common performance optimization is to increase inter-core parallelism. If the application is sufficiently parallelized, developers might hope that performance would scale as core count increases. Unfortunately for some applications, such as operating system kernels, parallelization reveals inter-core communication as a performance bottleneck. When data is updated on one core and read or written on other cores, the cache coherence protocol serializes accesses to the data. The result is that each access to the shared data can take hundreds to thousands of cycles, depending on how many cores are contending for the data. This dissertation focuses on optimizing communication bottlenecks caused by updateheavy workloads, where a data structure is frequently updated but rarely read. Such data structures are commonly used for operating system kernel bookkeeping, such as LRU lists, reverse maps in virtual memory, and file system notification queues. This dissertation identifies bottlenecks in the Linux kernel caused by update-heavy data structures, presents a general approach for optimizing communication in update-heavy data structures, and presents a library called OpLog that embodies this approach and helps developers achieve good scalability for update-heavy data structures. OpLog achieves scalability by logging update operations in per-core logs, and combining the logs only when required by a read to the data structure. Measurements on a 48-core AMD server show that applying OpLog to update-heavy data structures in the Linux kernel significantly improves application performance under certain workloads. Thesis Supervisor: Robert Morris Title: Professor


We calculate the thermal partition functions of open strings on the S-brane backgrounds (the bouncing or rolling tachyon backgrounds) both in the bosonic and superstring cases. According to [9], we consider the discretized temperatures compatible with the pure imaginary periodicity of tachyon profiles. The "effective Hagedorn divergence" is shown to appear no matter how low temperature is chosen (including zerotemperature). This feature is likely to be consistent with the large rate of open string pair production discussed in [5] and also emission of closed string massive modes [8]. We also discuss the possibility to remove the divergence by considering the space-like linear dilaton backgrounds as in [27].


The purpose of the article was to examine the physical activity perceptions and behaviors of older adults who were active participants in a statewide senior games (i.e., North Carolina Senior Games; NCSG) program with its focus on year-round involvement through activities in local communities. A random sample of 440 older adults (55 years and older) completed a questionnaire in 2006 about their participation in community-based senior games. A uniqueness of this study is its focus on active older adults, which provides insight into how to maintain physical involvement. Older adults who were most active perceived the most benefits from senior games but did not necessarily have the fewest constraints. This study of NCSG as an organization designed to promote healthy living in communities offered an example of how a social-ecological framework aimed at health promotion can be applied.


We analyse a problem of anti-plane shear in a bimaterial plane containing a semi-infinite crack situated on a soft imperfect interface. The plane also contains a small thin inclusion (for instance an ellipse with high eccentricity) whose influence on the propagation of the main crack we investigate. The problem can be considered as modelling bimaterial ceramics which are joined with a thin adhesive substance. An important element of our approach is the derivation of a new weight function (a special solution to a homogeneous boundary value problem) in the imperfect interface setting. The weight function is derived using Fourier transform and Wiener-Hopf techniques and allows us to obtain an expression for an important constant σ0 (which may be used in a fracture criterion) that describes the leading order of tractions near the crack tip for the unperturbed problem. We present computations that demonstrate how σ0 varies depending on the extent of interface imperfection and contrast in material stiffness. We then perform perturbation analysis to derive an expression for the change in the leading order of tractions near the tip of the main crack induced by the presence of the small defect, whose sign can be interpreted as the inclusion's presence having an amplifying or shielding effect on the propagation of the main crack.


This paper discusses the developmental continuum of play and its relationship to drama. The functions of drama therapy as a form of child psychotherapy are illustrated through case material, focusing on wish fulfillment, psychic integration, reenactment of past traumatic experiences, transformation from passivity to activity, separation of fantasy and reality, fusion with the idealized or hated parent, defense and mastery. The value of drama therapy is not only in the abreaction it provides, but in the chance to articulate the fantasies through play, experience the working through of the conflicts, and connect the past to the present.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most fatal malignancies due to the existence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the difficulty to maintain an effective drug accumulation in deep GBM lesions. Here we present a novel biomimetic nanogel system that can be precisely activated by near infrared (NIR) irradiation to achieve facilitated BBB crossing and deep tumor penetration of drugs. Synthesized by crosslinking pullulan and poly(deca-4,6-diynedioic acid) (PDDA) and loaded with temozolomide and indocyanine green (ICG), the nanogels are inert to endogenous oxidative conditions but can be selectively disintegrated by ICG-generated reactive oxygen species upon NIR irradiation. Camouflaging the nanogels with apolipoprotein E (ApoE) peptide-decorated erythrocyte membrane further allows prolonged blood circulation and active tumor targeting to secure sufficient tumor accumulation. The precisely controlled NIR irradiation on tumor lesions excites ICG and concurrently activates the cumulated nanogels by deforming the nanogels and triggering burst drug release for facilitated BBB permeation and infiltration into distal tumor cells. These NIR-activatable biomimetic nanogels showed a great potency in orthotopic GBM-bearing mouse models that completely suppressed the tumor growth with significantly extended survival.


Software product quality can be defined as the features and characteristics of the product that meet the user needs. The quality of any software can be achieved by following a well defined software process. These software process results into various metrics like Project metrics, Product metrics and Process metrics. Software quality depends on the process which is carried out to design and develop software. Even though the process can be carried out with utmost care, still it can introduce some error and defects. Process metrics are very useful from management point of view. Process metrics can be used for improving the software development and maintenance process for defect removal and also for reducing the response time. This paper describes the importance of capturing the Process metrics during the quality audit process and also attempts to categorize them based on the nature of error captured. To reduce such errors and defects found, steps for corrective actions are recommended.


Contrary to Asian countries, the agricultural sector in Africa had not benefited from the green revolution success. After a long time of disinterest in the agriculture sector in Africa, several voices arise now in favour of greater efforts towards this sector. Several studies tend to show the crucial role of agriculture in African countries' growth and highlight the huge need of increasing the productivity in this sector. If increase in agriculture productivity requires both an expansion of irrigated areas and the adoption of high yield varieties, those innovations and their high development could be the source of negative health (and environmental) effects. Using a mega-analysis, this paper highlights first the links between health, disease and development and then agricultural productivity. The literature review shows that the negative effect of bad health was not systematically checked, and that the intensity of this effect depends of the disease, but also of the work productivity and the existence or not of a coping process. The second part of the paper focused on the development of high intensive agriculture as a risk factor for farmers' and rural inhabitants' health. This survey shows that whether irrigation and fertilizer and pest intensive use could be considered as highly health (and environmental) risk factors, appropriate control measures (such as for examples systematic maintenance of irrigation canals, alternate wetting and drying of irrigated fields or integrated pest management) considerably reduce this risk, while at the same time, increase the agriculture productivity.


BACKGROUND
COVISHIELD, ChAdOx1 nCoV- 19 Corona Virus Vaccine was granted emergency use authorization (EUA) as the first vaccine in India in January 2021. Knowing what to anticipate after vaccination will reduce vaccine hesitancy in the public. This study aimed to identify and measure the adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Goa Medical College, starting on February 21 till May 23, 2021. A total of 418 people were enrolled. We collected the data using the Microsoft Form and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and R-program.

RESULTS
Of the 418 vaccine recipients, the incidence rate of AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunization) was 54.31%. Fever, fatigue, and headache were the most commonly reported systemic AEFIs. Among these, 54.7% of AEFI were mild, 42.38% were of the moderate category, and only 2.96% were of grade 3 severity. None of the AEFIs were severe enough for hospitalization. Most of them developed symptoms within 24 hours of the first dose. Complete recovery from AEFIs took a median time of 24 hours.

CONCLUSION
Most of our study findings were consistent with the phase 1, 2/3 trials findings of Oxford-AstraZeneca's ChAdOx1 vaccine. The AEFI symptoms were considered immune reactions to the vaccine. The AEFIs were more common among younger individuals and females. The chance of missing a serious adverse event like a thromboembolic phenomenon cannot be ruled out. We observed low AEFI rates with COVISHIELD in the Indian population compared to Oxford-AstraZeneca's ChAdOx1 vaccine in the UK-based population, which can be explained by pre-existing immunity against adenovirus in the Indian population. However, based on the study findings, we may interpret that the COVISHIELD, Serum Institute of India, carries a good safety profile overall.


Asarinin, an isomer of sesamin, has attracted attention because it has stronger biological properties than sesamin. The research on the conversion of sesamin into asarinin is limited. In this study, solid acid catalysts were screened and applied to promote the conversion of sesamin into asarinin in sesame oil. The results showed that citric acid loaded on zeolite beta (CTAH) was the optimal catalyst for asarinin production among the prepared catalysts. Characterization showed that CTAH had the greatest pore volume, largest surface area and strongest acid content. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the reaction conditions for asarinin yield using CTAH. The optimal reaction conditions were as follows: temperature, 85 °C; time, 2.7 h; catalyst amount, 1.6%. The predicted and experimental values of asarinin yield were 50.79 and 51.80 mg/100 g, respectively. The peroxide value and color in sesame oil samples treated with CTAH were clearly improved. In short, CTAH is a solid acid catalyst with potential application in the industrial conversion of sesamin into asarinin and in the improvement of sesame oil.


The article deals with the history of the complex of buildings of the Mandryka Central Military Clinical Hospital located in Moscow's Serebryany and ArivoniKilsply lanes. Famous historical figures, physicians and writers whose names are associated with the buildings of the hospital are listed. In 2014, the Moscow government commission decided to recognize the architectural monuments of the building of the surgical hospital and the income house of MD S.M.Rudnev and the inrnmp hnus of A. R.Lednitskv. currently Dart of the architectural ensemble of the hospital.


Background & Objective: To review oncological outcomes of laparoscopic extralevator abdominoperineal excision (LAP-ELAPE) for low rectal cancer.In locally advanced low rectal cancer, ELAPE which is en-bloc resection of levator muscles along with the tumor in a prone position has significantly decreased the rate of having either positive circumferential resection margin (CRM) or tumor perforation. The aim of the study was to determine the oncological outcomes of laparoscopic extralevator abdominoperineal excision (LAP-ELAPE) for low rectal cancer.
Methods: This retrospective study was performed at Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Lahore. Patients who underwent ELAPE for low rectal and anal cancer from January 2014 to December 2019 were selected. Data was collected using an electronic database through a hospital information system.
Results: A total of 82 patients were included in the study having a median age of 39 years. Clinically preoperative tumor sizes were T2:2, T3:65, T4:15. Neo-adjuvant chemo radiotherapy was administered to 79 (96.3%) patients. Pathologically tumor sizes were T0:12, T2:15, T3:50, T4:5 with 79.2% (n=65) R0 resections. The mean operative time was 340.36±64.51 minutes and the mean blood loss was 99 milliliters. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.58±4.64 days. Seventeen (20.7%) cases had pathological circumferential resection margins positive (pCRM<1mm). However, tumor perforation was found in 8(9.8%) patients. Ninety days mortality was none while 36 patients experienced recurrence (local: 23, distant: 30, local + distant 17). The median survival time was 53.00±2.69 months.
Conclusion: For locally advanced low rectal cancer, ELAPE has evolved as a safe oncological procedure with acceptable outcomes.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7619
How to cite this: Bakhtiar N, Nasir I, Shah MF, Ihtisham-Ulah, Shakeel O, Khattak S, et al. Laparoscopic extralevator abdominoperineal resection for low rectal cancer: The myth of reinventing the wheel. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7619
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Neutron stars and black holes have the strongest gravity, and hence--according to Einstein9s general theory of relativity--curve space-time the tightest, of all known objects in the universe. Observations by NASA9s Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) are now providing the first direct measurements of the orbital motion of matter in these strongly curved space-times. These observations provide insights into the fundamental properties not only of space-time but also of matter itself.


Clustering is concerned with the discovery of interesting groupings of records in a database. Of the many algorithms have been developed to tackle clustering problems in a variety of application domains, a lot of effort has been put into the development of effective algorithms for handling spatial data. These algorithms were originally developed to handle continuous-valued attributes, and the distance functions such as the Euclidean distance measure are often used to measure the pair-wise similarity/distance between records so as to determine the cluster memberships of records. Since such distance functions cannot be validly defined in non-Euclidean space, these algorithms therefore cannot be used to handle databases that contain discrete-valued data. Owing to the fact that data in the real-life databases are always described by a set of descriptive attributes, many of which are not numerical or inherently ordered in any way, it is important that a clustering algorithm should be developed to handle data mining tasks involving them. In this paper, we propose an effective evolutionary clustering algorithm for this problem. For performance evaluation, we have tested the proposed algorithm using several real data sets. Experimental results show that it outperforms the existing algorithms commonly used for discrete-valued data clustering, and also, when dealing with mixed continuous- and discrete-valued data, its performance is also promising.


Domestication and selective breeding for rapid-growth have impaired the cardiorespiratory system of salmonids, which might compromise their capacity to tolerate environmental stressors, such as heat waves. Exercise training by swimming has been proposed as a potential tool to enhance growth, cardiac function and disease resilience in farmed fish and thereby improves aquaculture production. However, whether exercise training could also improve cardiac robustness against heat waves, which are becoming more common and cause severe challenges to aquaculture, remains unknown. Here, we trained juvenile rainbow trout at three different training velocities: 0.06 m*s-1 (or 0.9 body lengths per second [bl*s-1]; control group), 0.11 m*s-1 (or 1.7 bl*s-1; medium speed group) and 0.17 m*s-1 (or 2.7 bl*s-1; high speed group) for 5 weeks, 6h per day, 5 days per week. Measuring maximal heart rate (fHmax) during acute warming, we demonstrated that training at 1.7 bl*s-1 was optimal in order to increase the temperature at which fHmax reached its peak (Tpeak) as well as the upper thermal tolerance of the cardiovascular function (arrhythmia temperature, TARR), up to 3.6°C as compared to the control fish. However, more intensive training did not provide similar improvement on thermal tolerance. Both training regimes enhanced the ventricular citrate synthase activity which may provide higher aerobic energy production capacity for ventricles. Further mechanistic studies are needed to understand the complex interactions between training intensities and changes in thermal tolerance. Although not conclusive on that point, our findings present a valid training programme for hatchery salmonids to increase their cardiac thermal tolerance and consequently probably also their capacity to tolerate heat waves, which has a direct application for aquaculture.


For a robot to move autonomously in an unknown dynamic environment, a real-time motion generation is necessary. Especially, safety motion generations are important. There are a lot of methods for making safe motion. For example, it is popular to check only around the robot with additional sensors and avoid obstacles detected by the sensors, though, the coordination problem between global trajectory making and local obstacle avoidance should be accrued in this way. It is also popular to estimate the size of obstacles to be large, though adequate width of the dilatation is different by environment. Another approach would be to determine candidates of the safe trajectory from the layout of obstacles as a generalized Voronoi diagram and then randomly search for an appropriate trajectory. This approach can acutualize the global trajectory making and local obstacle avoidance at the same time. However, it may be sufficient if a local generalized Voronoi diagram is available for limiting the sampling area. Based on this idea, this paper explains Voronoi-based StRRT composed of an StRRT subjected to biasing extraction of sample points toward the border of a generalized Voronoi diagram and proposes the efficient method of applying StRRT to the omnidirectional mobile robots. Finally, it shows the possibilities of this method for practical situations.


A re-evaluation of the "most dreadful monster" originally described by the "Apostle of Greenland" Hans Egede in 1741 suggests that the missionary's son Poul probably saw an unfamiliar cetacean. The species seen was likely to have been a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) or one of the last remaining Atlantic grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) either without flukes or possibly a male in a state of arousal.


A study of some aspects of homeostasis and hemodynamics in surgical interventions for chronic coronary insufficiency helped reveal a difference in the nature of their changes depending upon the severity of the course and outcomes of the operation. With the latter running an uneventful course there is observed, as a rule, a moderate rise of the blood catecholamines level and their abundant passage with urine, which appears as a prognostically favourable sign. In operations complicated by the "syndrome of low cardiac ejection" terminating lethally there was definable, on the contrary, a high blood catecholamines content in conjunction with their reduced passage with urine. This was considered a prognostically adverse sign.


A revised geological map and lithostratigraphic correlation chart are presented for Carboniferous–Lower Jurassic strata in the East Irish Sea Basin (EISB) and contiguous basins of the NW–SE- to NNW–SSE-trending Clyde Belt. The significance of the exceptionally thick Triassic succession (4375 m) is documented in relation to other Triassic rifts of NW Europe. Basin margin faults within the Clyde Belt are basement-controlled and located either along the margins of exposed and concealed Ordovician–early Devonian buoyant granites, or orthogonal to earlier Paleozoic structures. Four basic and markedly different structural styles have been identified from seismic interpretation. The styles comprise: solitary Caledonoid-trending folds (typically elongate centroclines) with minimal NW–SE faulting (style 1); synthetic and antithetic fault systems in single NW–SE half-graben on the fringes of the Clyde Belt (style 2); linked half-graben with large tilted fault blocks and stacked Permo-Triassic halite detachments in the centre and north of the EISB (style 3); and small step-faulted tilt blocks without thick Permo-Triassic halites, but again forming linked half-graben, in the south and on the fringes of the EISB (style 4). The styles are largely independent of the age of the basin-fill, except style 3 which is restricted to Permian–Lower Jurassic successions.


Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the clinical safety of the floor mat, a device intended to reduce severity of injury in falls from the bed or at the bedside. Methods: Fifteen participants with a range of gaits and fall risk were video-recorded as they approached and entered a hospital bed and then as they exited and walked away. For 10 participants, a 1-inch-thick floor mat with a beveled edge was used as a fall protection device at the bedside. The videos were coded and analyzed for the purpose of determining the mechanisms by which the floor mat affected balance and gait while participants ambulated to and from the bed. Permission has been received from all patients. Results: The bedside floor mat caused elderly patients with impaired and normal gaits to lose balance and, in some cases, stumble while ambulating onto the floor mat. Eight of 10 patients had difficulty exiting the bed because they placed their heels on the beveled edge of the mat closest to the bed, which shifted their center of gravity back as they were attempting to stand. Furthermore, walkers and mobile intravenous stands maneuvered onto the floor mat were unbalanced and unstable, further jeopardizing patient safety. Conclusions: The bevel-edged, bedside floor mat is a potential hazard for ambulatory patients, especially those with impaired gaits, using walkers and pushing mobile intravenous stands.


Abstract. Mustikasari IA, Withaningsih S, Megantara EN, Husodo T, Parikesit. 2019. Population and distribution of Sunda porcupine (Hystrix javanica F. Cuvier, 1823) at designated area of Cisokan Hydropower, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20:  762-769. One of the endemic species of Indonesia is the Sunda porcupine (Hystrix javanica). Sunda porcupine is a big rodent which has unique defense mechanism behavior using its quills. This research was conducted in the designated area of Cisokan Hydropower (PLTA Cisokan), in West Java, Indonesia. The method in this study is qualitative to determine the total population and distribution. Data collection techniques were carried out by sign surveys (burrow, footprints, quills, food sites, and feces), camera traps, and semi-structured interviews. The result shows the number of porcupine populations in the designated area of Cisokan Hydropower is 6-29 individuals. Porcupine population is distributed in five regions, namely the first region consisting of Pasir Gagak, Cigintung, Batu Sahulu and Batu Nunggul; the second region is Batu Tumpeng and Batu Wulung; the third region is Curug Japarana; the fourth region consists of Sarongge and Cadas Gantung; and the fifth region is Pongpok. Based on the type of land cover, the porcupine population is commonly found in the types of shrub/huma /ladang, talun, and natural forests.


In the present study the influence of various physic-mechanical factors was taken into consideration to achieve the maximum yield from three new sources of pectin. Three different fruit peels obtained from sapodilla, banana, and muskmelon were included in the study. Among the three fruits investigated in the study, banana recorded highest (10.5%), while sapodilla (4.7%) and muskmelon (4.4%), subsequently. The detailed extraction study with major influencing factors on pectin yield provided comprehensive data for the three new sources, which could become an effective raw material for low-cost pectin manufacturing. The variation in yield occurred due to the different physic-mechanical procedures used to extract pectin from these fruits. The study elaborates the effect of major influencing factors and their collaborative effect on yield of pectin from three new sources while confirming the effects through already two known sources (Apple and orange). The study was evaluated through statistical method to fully comprehend the commutative and individual effects of variables. The results indicated that different variables (Mechanical procedures (MP), pH level, and boiling method (BM)) have significant impacts on the yield of all five fruits. Hence it was concluded from the study that pectin can be extracted from these new sources effectively by applying desired variables of extraction procedure.


Here, we present the synthesis, physicochemical, and preliminary biological characterization of micellar polymer-betulinic acid (BA) conjugates based on N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer carriers, enabling the controlled release of cytotoxic BA derivatives in solid tumors or tumor cells. Various HPMA copolymer conjugates differing in the structure of the spacer between the drug and the carrier were synthesized, all designed for pH-triggered drug release in tumor tissue or tumor cells. The high molecular weight of the micellar conjugates should improve the uptake of the drug in solid tumors due to the Enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Nevertheless, only the conjugate containing BA with methylated carboxyl groups enabled pH-dependent controlled release in vitro. Moreover, drug release led to the disassembly of the micellar structure, which facilitated elimination of the water-soluble HPMA copolymer carrier from the body by renal filtration. The methylated BA derivative and its polymer conjugate exhibited high cytostatic activity against DLD-1, HT-29, and HeLa carcinoma cell lines and enhanced tumor accumulation in HT-29 xenograft in mice.


Many studies in recent years have addressed the notable ways that Internet features such as blogs and search engines have democratized the community of information seekers and providers, however, fewer investigations have addressed the darker element that has emerged from that same democratic sphere. That is, the huge resurgence and transformation of racist communities across cyberspace. This article presents a new theory of information laundering to explain the process by which racial hate speech is becoming legitimized through a borrowed network of online associations. This Internet-specific theory builds upon research of "information-based" racist propaganda to explain how today's search engines, social networks, and political blogs unwittingly enable purveyors of bigotry to infiltrate into mainstream spaces of public discourse.