The purpose of the research – innovations are a direction for the development of the economy, based on this, an audit of innovatives phenomena is also required in order to check whether this innovation is really a novelty or plagiarism.

The methodology of the research – during the study, such methods as analysis, comparison, abstraction were used.

The practical importance of the research – at the moment, this type of audit, in principle, is very poorly developed not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the international market, and the introduction of a methodology for conducting this audit is a very important step towards a new era.

The results of the research – this work is of interest to specialists in the field of audit, accounting and financial accounting, as well as to scientists engaged in research in these areas.

The originality and scientific novelty of the research – the novelty of this work is to give a lever to the introduction of innovation audit in Azerbaijan, as well as to give a detailed explanation of the methodology for its implementation. Also, innovation processes will be described here to increase the interest of society in this, thereby contributing to an increase in the country's economic growth.


Acacia auriculiformis Indonesia comprised of 129 half-sib families obtained from 12 provenances. The study used 3 year-old plants, beginning from seedling. Parameters included growth traits genetic parameters were estimated. High variation among the A. auriculiformis families within provenance in the trial A. auriculiformis plant were 0.33 for height, 0.40 for diameter, 0.54 for stem form, 0.48 for wood color, 0.46 for stem form and wood color indicated substantial improvement on the traits and wood characteristics that would follow selection for this trait.


Targeting of drugs administered systemically relies on the higher affinity of ligands for specific receptors to obtain selectivity in drug response. However, achieving the same goal inside the bladder is much easier with an intelligent pharmaceutical approach that restricts drug effects by exploiting the pelvic anatomical architecture of the human body. This regional therapy involves placement of drugs directly into the bladder through a urethral catheter. It is obvious that drug administration by this route holds advantage in chemotherapy of superficial bladder cancer, and it has now become the most widely used treatment modality for this ailment. In recent years, the intravesical route has also been exploited either as an adjunct to an oral regimen or as a second-line treatment for neurogenic bladder. (Lamm, D. L.; Griffith, J. G. Semin. Urol. 1992, 10, 39-44. Igawa, Y.; Satoh, T.; Mizusawa, H.; Seki, S.; Kato, H.; Ishizuka, O.; Nishizawa, O. BJU Int. 2003, 91, 637-641.) Instillation of DNA via this route using different vectors has been able to restrict the transgene expression in organs other than bladder. The present review article will discuss the shortcomings of the current options available for intravesical drug delivery (IDD) and lay a perspective for future developments in this field.


It is important to look for alternative forms of physical movement of people and equipment in order to assure diagnosis and maintenance tasks, especially in an environment where workers are subject to danger. An evident and classical solution is the use of tele-operation and tele-robotics. If tele-operation helps to solve real and technical problems, it is still unable to assure appropriate remote diagnosis and maintenance. The use of virtual reality techniques with tele-operation can be the solution for effective remote maintenance and diagnosis. We show that inefficiency occurred with the use of tele-operation only in remote maintenance. We introduce our original new system where we use 2D-3D matching and virtual reality techniques with tele-operation to remotely collect machinery vibration data. We explain its structure, implementation and advantages. We finished by experimenting the system, measuring the different operating times and precision and discussing the results.


Facial Expressions induce a variety of high-level details on the 3D face geometry. For example, a smile causes the wrinkling of cheeks or the formation of dimples, while being angry often causes wrinkling of the forehead. Morphable Models (3DMMs) of the human face fail to capture such fine details in their PCA-based representations and consequently cannot generate such details when used to edit expressions. In this work, we introduce FaceDet3D, a first-of-its-kind method that generates - from a single image - geometric facial details that are consistent with any desired target expression. The facial details are represented as a vertex displacement map and used then by a Neural Renderer to photo-realistically render novel images of any single image in any desired expression and view. The Project website is: this http URL


To assess the hypothesis that aldosterone may have direct vasoconstrictive action, the acute effects of canrenoate potassium (Soldactone, S), an aldosterone antagonist, on hemodynamics and hormonal responses were determined before and after the intravenous administration of 2 mg/kg S in 11 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA), 9 patients with essential hypertension (EH), and 5 patients with renovascular hypertension (RVH). S caused a significant -12 +/- 2 mm Hg decrease in MBP in PA, -5 +/- 2 mm Hg in EH, and -4 +/- 1 mm Hg in RVH. Reduction in MBP was significantly higher in PA than in the others and there was a negative correlation between changes in MBP and basal PAC. The cardiac index did not change throughout the study in all groups, which led to a significant reduction in total peripheral resistance index (TPRI) in PA but not in the others. There was a significant correlation between changes in MBP and TPRI (r = 0.82, p less than 0.01). PRA did not change throughout the study, but PAC and cortisol were significantly elevated. There were no correlations between changes in MBP and hormonal responses. In conclusion, S resulted in a significant reduction of MBP mediated by a significant reduction of TPRI. These results suggest that aldosterone may have direct vasoconstrictive action and this extrarenal effect of aldosterone may be involved in the regulation of blood pressure.


Self-consistent 'band theory', based on density functional theory, is a useful approach to describing the electron glue which holds solids together. However, its powerful group theoretic and numerical techniques cannot be deployed for disordered states of matter. The self-consistent KKR-CPA is an analogous method which is able to deal with some of these interesting cases. In particular, we show how it describes random metallic alloys, treating all the classic Hume-Rothery factors: size-effect, electronegativity and electrons per atom ratio (e:a) on more or less equal footing and from first principles. Moreover, we use the KKR-CPA framework to analyse the instability of the disorder state to compositional ordering processes and hence provide a first principle description of the forces which drive order-disorder transformations.


We propose a model of narrow framing in insurance and test it using data from a new module we designed and fielded in the Health and Retirement Study. We show that respondents subject to narrow framing are substantially less likely to buy long-term care insurance than average. This effect is distinct from, and much larger than, the effects of risk aversion, or adverse selection, and it offers a new explanation for why people underinsure their later-life care needs. Disciplines Behavioral Economics This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/prc_papers/63 Narrow Framing and Long-Term Care Insurance Daniel Gottlieb and Olivia S. Mitchell


This research aimed to analyze the implementation of diversion in the investigation process, prosecution, and court examination of children in conflict with the law. Four police sectors (Biringkanaya police sector, Tamalanrea police sector, Tallo police sector, and Mariso police sector) have been chosen, including the state prosecutor's office and district court of Makassar cases in 2015. This research was carried out through document searches and interviews with investigators, public prosecutors, and judges. The result showed that the diversion had been applied to every step of the investigation, prosecution, and court examination, but the achievement and implementation could have been more optimal. Overall data from the four police sectors showed that during 2015 there were 74 (seventy-four) cases of children conflicting with the law, and 7 (seven) cases had succeeded in reaching a diversion agreement (9.46%). Public prosecutors had sought diversion at the level of examination at the prosecutor's office, but no agreement was reached. In the Makassar District Court in 2015, 223 (two hundred twenty-three) cases and 24 (twenty-four) went through the diversion agreement.


Raman microprobe spectroscopy was applied in studies of high-temperature air oxidation of a ferritic alloy (HT-9) in the absence and presence of zirconia coatings with the objective of evaluating the technique as a way to quickly screen candidate cladding materials and actinide-based mixed oxide fuel mixtures for advanced nuclear reactors. When oxidation was relatively uniform, Raman spectra collected using microscope optics with low spatial resolution were found to be similar to those collected with conventional Raman spectroscopy. These spectra could be used to identify major oxide corrosion products and follow changes in the composition of the oxides due to heating. However, when the oxidation films were comprised of multiple layers of varying composition, or with layers containing metallic phases, techniques with higher depth resolution and sensitivity to zero-valence metals were necessary. The requirements were met by combining Raman microprobe using different optical configurations and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.


Cumin is one of the important spices known for their distinctive aroma, cumin seeds are sprinkled over popular North African, Middle East, Western, Chinese, Indian, Cuban and Northern Mexican cuisines. The spice is native to middle-east,   Asian region, and now grown all over the world for its flavorful seeds. The plant is the small flowering herb belonging to the family of Apiaceae of the genus Cuminum, and scientifically known as Cuminum cyminum. It is an important condiment and spice crop grown in India for its aromatic-seed. India is the leading country in the world in production, consumption and export of cumin. It is grown in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Cumin is used as condiment for flavor and in medicines. Though cumin is one of the important spice crops with high economic returns, it has not yet gained commercial significance in most of the areas favorable for its cultivation.  RS-l variety of cumin plant is recommended for Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Cumin plays an important role in human health owing to their anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, antiviral activities. Furthermore, it is anti-diuretic and anti-oxidant.
Considering the above facts our study was carried out to observe & evaluate the effect of extracts from cumin against microbial population considering both bacterial & fungal forms. Cumin-acetone fractions were extracted with Soxhlet and considered for tests against Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and the fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium notatum, Mucor indicus). All the observations showed positive results by appearance of clear zone of inhibition on cultured petri plates for bacteria. However, Work on fungal species are on progress. Further, studies are going on MIC and analysis of the extract, which may provide us new ideas in the study of bio-active agents.


Research on the use of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) is a functional drink has been carried out. The purpose of this study was to find out the proximate analysis of fresh sea cucumber meat, to determine the best formulation of sea cucumber functional drinks, find out the antioxidative activity and identification of saponin from functional drinks. The best formulation of sand cucumber (H. scabra)functional drinks based on organoleptic tests is MFT1 sea cucumber functional drinks(20% seacucumber, 20% lemongrass, 20% sugar, 20% rosella flower, 10% citrus, and10% ginger). The functional drink has positive saponins. The antioxidant activity contained in these functional drinks is very weak because the IC50 value is greater than 200 ppm which is 1838 ppm.


We demonstrate that the temperature-dependent phase behaviors of parallel and perpendicular cylinder-forming block copolymers are governed by domain-domain segregation forces inherently present in block copolymer material itself. With increasing temperature, a parallel cylinder-forming block copolymer experienced a parallel cylinder straightening process before the order-disorder transition (ODT) and did not show long-range composition fluctuations near the ODT temperature due to the weak segregation forces between the block domains. A perpendicular cylinder-forming block copolymer with a strong segregation force between the block domains displayed cylinder orientation transition from perpendicular to parallel below the ODT temperature. On the other hand, a perpendicular cylinder-forming block copolymer material with an exceptionally strong segregation force between the block domains maintained its initial perpendicular cylinder orientation up to near the ODT temperature. In both cases of perpendicular cylinder-forming block copolymers, submicrometer-scale long-range composition fluctuations were observed well above the ODT temperature due to their intrinsically strong segregation forces between the block domains.


Gastrointestinal complications after aortic surgery are unusual; conse quently, their natural history has not been adequately defined. The authors reviewed 505 cases of aortic reconstruction done over a fourteen-year period in order to assess the clinical significance of postoperative gastrointestinal compli cations on outcome and to determine if there were preoperative or operative predictive factors for the development of such complications. There were 37 cases of gastrointestinal complications (7.3%). No significant difference was found between the complication rates after aneurysm resection versus aortic bypass for occlusive disease. Overall, the complication rates were: small bowel obstruction, 2.2%; gastrointestinal hemorrhage, 1.6%; small bowel ischemia, 1.2%; and colon ischemia, abdominal abscess, local trauma, pancreatitis, aor toenteric fistula and jaundice, each < 1%. More than one half of the complica tions occurred during the same hospitalization. Forty-three percent (16/37) were treated surgically, and these had a mortality of 44% (7/16) as opposed to 10% (2/21) for those with complications not requiring operation. Overall mor tality as a direct result of gastrointestinal complications was 24% (9/37) versus less than 5% for those patients not having such complications. Significant corre lation for gastrointestinal complications occurred with: emergency operation, and postoperatively, positive urine and blood culture, steroid administration, white blood cell count greater than 12,000, and creatinine greater than 1.5 (p < 0.05). When patients aged sixty or older were analyzed separately, signifi cant correlation was also found with ruptured aorta, emergency operation, inci dental GI operation, preoperative adhesions and postoperative fever (p < 0.05). Analysis by computerized logistic regression in this group showed that ruptured aorta, incidental GI operation, increased duration of surgery, higher age, and the use of bifurcation grafts were all of significance synergistically in the predic tion of gastrointestinal complications. The authors conclude the following: (1) The incidence of gastrointestinal complications after aortic surgery is low, but when these occur, the mortality is fivefold greater. (2) The occurrence of gastro intestinal complications may be predictable preoperatively in selected patients. (3) Those complications requiring operative intervention have a higher mortal ity.


Starting in 1986 and ending in 2001, the Norwegian cultural heritage management (CHM) underwent a re-organization. Following the revised Heritage Act of 1978 the protective devise needed revision. The 19 County Councils received increased authority after the Act in 1990, while the five archaeological government museums decreased their authority, and were set to focus solely on traditional cultural historic research. The restructuring changed the expert knowledge systems (i.e. institutionalized scientific knowledge) integrated in the CHM, and the process was met with suspicion in the academic community. By conducting a close reading of two central governance policy documents from the 1980's, the re-organization is analyzed in accordance with the methodology of ANT. It is argued that as the re-organization can be considered a success with respect to its political goals, it was nonetheless also a destructive event. The relational effects of the re-organization are then analyzed in relation to Bruno Latour's theory of political ecology. Here it is argued that the democratizing and distributional effects on the involved sciences (i.e. archaeology) can be read as an "ecologizing" event, and eventually, that the academic controversy is further proof of this. In the end, the author argues for the potential of CHM studies to enrich the larger discourse on modernity and the political practice of modernizing.


Herein, we report on the precise design of a modular fusion protein amenable to the construction of nanocapsules by nanoprecipitation. The central squid suckerin-derived peptide block provides structural stability, whereas both termini from spider silk fibroins make the protein highly soluble at physiological pH, a critical requirement for the nanoprecipitation process. With this design, nanocapsules consisting of fusion protein shells and oily cores with sizes in the range of 190-250 nm are built in a straightforward manner.


Glycoalkaloids are secondary metabolites that are characterised by an undesirable taste, and which are known to be toxic when consumed in large quantities. Some wild potato germplasms that are used for the introgression of genes encoding heat tolerance contain high concentrations of glycoalkaloids in the tubers. Breeding and selection should therefore take place to lower the glycoalkaloid content in potato tubers and DNA markers can significantly facilitate the selection process.  This study was designed to identify DNA markers associated with the total content of glycoalkaloids (TGA) in the potato tuber. Two segregating resource populations were constructed, one of 216 clones using the tetraploid clones Cara and LT7 as parents and one of 176 clones using the tetraploid parents NT8 and LT7. The two populations were characterised by divergent TGA-content of the parental clones, where LT7 was the mutual male parent with high TGA-content, and both Cara and NT8 the parental clones with low TGA-content. The populations were used, in replicates, to estimate genetic parameters for total glycoalkaloid (TGA) content in the tubers.  Besides TGA-content in the tubers, over thirty other agronomic and morphological traits were assessed for genetic characterisation of the two populations used. Among agronomic traits assessed were tuber dormancy, tuber weight and tuber number. Several traits were calculated based on data obtained, such as tuber size distribution and tuber number distribution. Morphological characteristics assessed included plant height, number of nodes on the main stem, and terminal leaflet shape.  In both populations, the parental clones differed markedly in TGA-content and the progeny population was normally distributed for this trait after logarithmic transformation. Broad sense heritability estimates for TGA-content were 0.54 in Cara x LT7 and 0.50 in NT8 x LT7 and the trait proved to be inherited in a non-dominant manner. The minimum number of genes contributing to TGA-content was estimated to be between 3 and 7. Broad sense heritability was also estimated for all other traits assessed. Heritability estimates that were similar in both populations ranged from 0.1 for the number of main stems to 0.5 for total tuber glycoalkaloid content. In both populations, most heritabilities estimated were about 0.3. Main agronomic traits, such as tuber dormancy, tuber weight, and maturity, appeared to be controlled by several additive genes. None of the traits recorded in this study showed a statistically significant genetic association with TGA-content. This suggests that tuber TGA- content may be genetically modulated without any significant adverse effects on other agronomic traits. The genetic parameters estimated in this study indicate that these populations are suitable for DNA-marker analysis for TGA-content in tubers.  Three hundred forty two Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) single primers or combinations of two of such primers were used to amplify random PCR products. Parental clones of both populations were used to identify polymorphic PCR products for further linkage analyses with TGA-content. In these analyses, two single ISSR markers were found to be significantly associated with TGA-content. A multiple regression analysis was also carried out using a 'stepwise' procedure. In this analysis TGA-content was the dependent variable whereas the polymorphic PCR products and all possible two-way interactions among them were the independent variables. The resulting best model consisted of an interaction between two loci in addition to a single locus effect. This interaction suggests that the expression of TGA-content is partially modulated by two interacting loci.  A single copy DNA marker for a morphological characteristic, leaflet vein depth, was generated using two ISSR-primers to generate random PCR products followed by the design of a Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) marker, A multiple regression analysis showed that the best model consisted of the ISSR-PCR product and a CAPS-PCR product. The results suggest that these products represent separate alleles at the same DNA locus. Vein depth is apparently controlled by one or several genes that modulates the lamina expansion, either during cell division or during cell elongation. Vein depth is shown to be regulated in an additive way and hence allelic differences are supposedly accountable for small differences in lamina growth. The feasible generation of a single copy DNA marker in tetraploids and its possible use in the study of tetrasomic inheritance are thereby demonstrated.


Narcissus flowers are used as cut flowers and to obtain high quality essential oils for the perfume industry. As a winter crop in the Mediterranean area, it flowers at temperatures ranging between 10 and 15°C during the day and 3–10°C during the night. Here we tested the impact of different light and temperature conditions on scent quality during post-harvest. These two types of thermoperiod and photoperiod. We also used constant darkness and constant temperatures. We found that under conditions of 12:12 Light Dark and 15-5°C, Narcissus emitted monoterpenes and phenylpropanoids. Increasing the temperature to 20°-10°C in a 12:12 LD cycle caused the loss of cinnamyl acetate and emission of indole. Under constant dark, there was a loss of scent complexity. Constant temperatures of 20°C caused a decrease of scent complexity that was more dramatic at 5°C, when the total number of compounds emitted decreased from thirteen to six. Distance analysis confirmed that 20°C constant temperature causes the most divergent scent profile. We found a set of four volatiles, benzyl acetate, eucalyptol, linalool, and ocimene that display a robust production under differing environmental conditions, while others were consistently dependent on light or thermoperiod. Scent emission changed significantly during the day and between different light and temperature treatments. Under a light:dark cycle and 15-5°C the maximum was detected during the light phase but this peak shifted toward night under 20-10°C. Moreover, under constant darkness the peak occurred at midnight and under constant temperature, at the end of night. Using Machine Learning we found that indole was the volatile with a highest ranking of discrimination followed by D-limonene. Our results indicate that light and temperature regimes play a critical role in scent quality. The richest scent profile is obtained by keeping flowers at 15°-5°C thermoperiod and a 12:12 Light Dark photoperiod.


Detrital thermochronology data is widely used in revealing the tectono-thermal evolution of drainage basins in orogen belts.Due to the impact of many factors,such as drainagetopographic features,the spatial distribution of erosion,the age-elevation relationship and so on,multiple solutions exist for the significance of detrital thermochronology data.Among such factors,the assumption of uniform spatial erosion maybe not rigorous.An inversion model was suggested to compute the tectono-thermal evolution of drainage basins using landform data and observed detrital thermochronology data.In this model,the distribution of altitudes is calculated using DEM data of drainage basins;slope angles are used to quantify spatial erosion rates for different altitudes;then different elevations′relative sand contribution ratios to detrital sample are determined.The detrital ages was acquired through apatite-fission-track(AFT)analysis.A variety of possible age-elevation relationships are randomly set,and the density distribution curve of detrital ages is calculated according to the settled relationships.Through the Chi-square test of observed and calculated age density distribution curve,the most probable age-elevation relationship is chosen which represents actual tectono-thermal evolution of drainage basin.The inversion model was used to investigate the evolution of drainage basins of Sangqu River and Gongrigabu River,which are two tributaries of Chayu River in southeastern Tibet.Two modern river sand samples from the catchments were analyzed by AFT method.The cooling ages of Sample CY from Sangqu River ranges from 5.8to 38.2Ma.The age range for another sample GR which from Gongrigabu River is 1.1~18.2Ma.Two age-elevation relationships derived from the catchments′inversion results show that tectono-thermal evolutions of two drainage basins are both divided into several phases. The different stage corresponds to different estimated exhumation rate.The drainage basin of Sangqu River was uniformly exhumed between 38and7 Ma,and the exhumation rate was about 0.14km/Ma;from 7Ma to present the basin was fast exhumed and the corresponding exhumation rate was about 1.62km/Ma.The drainage basin of Gongrigabu River was uniformly exhumed between 18 and 14 Ma,and the exhumation rate was about 0.32km/Ma;the basin was relatively stable afterward;since 8 Ma the exhumation rate increased to 0.21km/Ma during 8~5Ma,0.43km/Ma during 5~3Ma and 0.83km/Ma during3~1.1 Ma respectively.The observations of AFT ages across two tributaries of Chayu River lead to different tectono-thermal evolution of this area.First,the catchment of Gongrigabu River record younger cooling histories than Sangqu River.Second,the model result for Sangqu River is consistent with the exhumation rates previously reported in the same region through bedrock sample ages.It demonstrates that the inversion model in this paper can accurately uncover the tectono-thermal evolution represented by detrital thermochronology data.Therefore,in areas with high relief or covered with glaciers where bedrock samples are difficult to be obtained,detrital samples can be good substitute in revealing regional tectono-thermal evolution.


The complexity of monitoring and controlling a large-scale system, such as a communication network, is considered. Relevant literature is reviewed, with emphasis on both behavioral and nonbehavioral approaches to measuring complexity. A simulated large-scale network is described that is used in an experiment to assess the effect of network redundancy and number of systems levels on human fault-diagnosis performance. Experimental data are also used to evaluate two time-varying measures of task complexity (using analysis of variance and time-series analysis). The first measure is dependent on the structure of the system; the second measure is dependent on the strategy of the person controlling the system. Results suggest that this distinction is appropriate. In addition, results emphasize the different implications that complexity can have for normal system operation and human failure diagnosis performance. Although system design characteristics such as redundancy may help to avoid the short-term effects of failures, these same characteristics may have the dual effect of making the human supervisory controller's task more difficult.


A theoretical analysis, control and a simulation of a grid connected photovoltaic system using an output LCL filter is detailed in this paper. In order to reduce the complexity of the system, a linear voltage and current controllers have been developed for a three phase grid connected inverter. Those controllers simultaneously regulate the dc link voltage (the photovoltaic power is delivered to the grid) and the current injected to the grid (to operate at unity power factor). The adopting of an LCL filter configuration allows to use reduced values of inductances and to reduce the switching frequency emitted in the grid. The main goal is to ensure a reduction of the switching frequency which disturbs the local load and equipment. The simulation results show the control performance and the dynamic behavior of the inverter-LCL-grid combination.


Magnetic resonance is a relatively new imaging technique. Its applications are rapidly evolving. The authors discuss new applications for its use in the foot and ankle of the pediatric patient.


To improve children's academic achievements, parents often try to provide them with adequate nutrition or/and send them to attend extracurricular tutoring classes. The effect of extracurricular tutoring on students' performance has been well explored, whereas no rigorous empirical study was conducted to observe the relationship between breakfast and students' academic performance. Besides, little empirical evidence has been presented to compare the effect of breakfast and that of extracurricular tutoring on students' academic achievements. This study fills this gap by adopting the multiple linear regression model and Shapley Value Decomposition to analyze the academic quality monitoring data of 50,516 Year-3 students and 83,505 Year-8 students in Jiangsu, China. The results showed that both breakfast and extracurricular tutoring can improve students' grades, and breakfast was superior to the tutoring in efficacy. This conclusion is of great significance for planning family education strategies scientifically and improving family education efficiently. It is necessarily convincible for parents and educators to rationally understand the role of extracurricular tutoring and pay enough attention to breakfast in improving students' performance.


BACKGROUND
Pregnancy in SLE continues to be a challenge. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and chemerin are predictors of preeclampsia in the general population; however, their role as predictors of maternal-fetal complications in pregnant SLE patients has not been analyzed.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prognostic value of NLR and serum chemerin, to predict maternal-fetal complications in pregnant SLE patients, and compare both biomarkers among three study groups.

METHODS
Design: Analytical cross-sectional study of cases and controls with the following study groups: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), preeclampsia, and healthy. NLR and chemerin serum were determined between 20 and 25 weeks of gestation. Patients were evaluated every 4-6 weeks until pregnancy resolution. Maternal and fetal outcomes were registered. We employed Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to validate prognostic values.

RESULTS
Seventy pregnant patients were included: 20 with SLE, 20 with preeclampsia, and 30 healthy pregnant women; NLR values were 4 (2.3-5.6) in SLE, 6 (4.6-9.2) in preeclampsia, and 2.8 (2.1-2.9) in the group of healthy women (p = .0001). Chemerin levels were: 26 (15.3-56.2) in SLE, 96 (37.3-146.2) in preeclampsia, and 24.6 ng/mL (15.3-47.4) in the healthy group (p = .007) Maternal complications were observed in 11 (55%), 20 (100%), and 8 (26%) per group, respectively. Thrombocytopenia was the most frequent complication in all pregnant women, followed by hypertensive disorders. Fetal complications were registered in 12 (60%), 16 (80%), and 2 (6.7%), respectively. Congenital malformations and prematurity were the most frequent fetal complications. NLR had good diagnostic accuracy in predicting maternal-fetal complications (AUROC 0.715) p = .015, CI 95% 0.56-0.86, cut-off point level: 2.9, sensitivity 61%, specificity 78%, positive predictive value (PPV) 65%, negative predictive value (NPV) 75%. Regarding chemerin, a cut-off point level >43 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 72% AUROC 0.75, p = .001, CI 95% 0.61-0.89, PPV 51.7% NPV 87.8%, meaning that 51.7% of patients with chemerin levels >43 ng/mL have or will have preeclampsia.

CONCLUSION
The NLR may help predict maternal-fetal complications in SLE pregnancy, constituting a marker of subclinical inflammation. Chemerin levels may be associated with preeclampsia. These biomarkers could improve the care of SLE patients with timely intervention of potential complications during pregnancy.


In this thesis we study entanglement in one-dimensional critical quantum many-body systems and in particular we will focus on disconnected regions. Given a system in a pure state, to quantify the amount of entanglement between a multicomponent subsystem and the rest of the full system we can use as an entanglement measure the renowned entanglement entropy. However, if we are interested in the entanglement shared among the disconnected regions, the entanglement entropy fails to be a good quanti er. The reason is that the state of the subsystem is in general mixed once the rest is traced out, and the entanglement entropy is a good measure of entanglement only for pure states. A good measure of entanglement in mixed states is the logarithmic negativity, which is the quantitative version of Peres' criterion of separability. The main advantage of the negativity with respect to other entanglement measures is the simplicity of its de nition in terms of the density matrix describing the quantum state. Since the de nition does not require any variational calculus, it is much more easily computable than any other entanglement measure, and therefore we can obtain some results also in complicated settings such as many-body systems. We will be mostly interested in the con guration where the full system is divided into two parts, A and B. If we do not have access to the degrees of freedom in B, we can describe subsystem A through its reduced density matrix, where the degrees of freedom in B have been traced out. The residual subsystem in A will in general be left in a mixed state. Subsystem A is then divided again into two parts, A1 and A2, and we will be interested in the entanglement shared by these two components. Knowing the full density matrix, the logarithmic negativity can be easily computed from the eigenvalues of its partial transpose with respect to the degrees of freedom living in one of the two subsystems A1 or A2. However, the full density matrix of a many-body state is in general unaccessible, even numerically, since the size of the matrix grows exponentially with the size of the system. If we concentrate on critical systems whose low-energy physics can be described by a quantum eld theory, we can resort to its powerful tools to compute the entanglement properties. In particular the main tool is the replica trick. The entanglement entropy is obtained from the moments of the reduced density matrix, while the negativity can be computed from the moments of the partial transpose. However, even the computation of the integer-order moments is not an easy task, and exact analytical results are known only for the simplest quantum eld theories. Hence, throughout the thesis we will usually consider conformal eld theories, which have an enhanced set of symmetries and therefore allow for some exact computations. In the Introduction, we will try to frame this work by brie y reviewing some of the main topics in the literature of quantum many-body systems and quantum eld theories where entanglement plays a crucial role. We will also describe what are the main features that are requested to a `good' measure of entanglement, and we will review some of the main measures that have been considered so far in the context of quantum information. We will de ne the entanglement negativity and stress its main advantages, as well as its drawbacks. After reviewing some basic facts of conformal eld theories, we will give some technical details on the computation of entanglement entropy and logarithmic negativity in general quantum eld theories, which will be needed in the rest of the thesis. In Chap. 2 we will start the study of the entanglement of several disjoint disconnected regions by considering the entanglement that the union of these regions share with the rest of the system. We will compute the integer-order Rényi entropies of the subsystem from which the entanglement entropy can be obtained through the replica limit. Unfortunately, the exact analytic continuation to real order is still out of reach and therefore the entanglement entropy cannot be computed exactly. However numerical extrapolations allow to obtain some accurate estimates. In the remaining chapters we will focus on the entanglement shared between two non complementary disjoint regions, through the computations of the entanglement negativity in di erent settings. In Chap. 3, we will consider a global quantum quench starting from a conformal boundary state and evolving through a conformal evolution. A general formula for the mutual information and the logarithmic negativity for two adjacent and disjoint intervals is given in the spacetime limit. In Chap. 4 we focus on the XY chain and we recover a formula for the partial transpose as a sum of four fermionic auxiliary Gaussian density matrices, by generalizing some previous results for the reduced density matrix of spin systems and for the partial transpose of pure fermionc Gaussian states. Even if the computation of the negativity is still out of reach, we can obtain formulas for the integer-order moments of the partial transpose in terms of the correlation matrices relative to the two components and to the region in between them. In Chap. 5 we will study the entanglement negativity for a free Dirac fermion eld. Starting from the lattice results, we will obtain a path integral representation of the partial transpose which can be easily generalized to the continuum. With this representation of the partial transpose, we can construct all its integer-order moments and compute them for the simple conformal eld theory of the free fermion. Again, the computation of the negativity could not be accomplished due to technical di culties in the analytic continuation to real order. The same computation has been extended also to the modular invariant Dirac fermion and the Ising model, and the obtained formulas coincide with the ones already present in the literature. This analysis draws an interesting connection between some terms appearing in the formulas for the moments of the partial transpose (as well as of the Rényi entropies) found for the lattice models and the ones found for the corresponding theories describing their scaling limit. Whenever possible, all the analytical results will be checked against numerical calculations performed on simple free chain models. In Chaps. 2 and 3 we will consider bosonic Gaussian states, speci cally the harmonic chain in its ground state and out of equilibrium, while in Chaps. 4 and 5 we will consider fermionic systems, speci cally the XX and Ising spin chains, and the tight-binding model. Finally, we will draw some conclusions and discuss some open problems.


Macroscopic flow structure of circulating liquid-solid fluidized beds (CLSFB) is investigated over a wide range of liquid velocities and circulating solid mass fluxes. Two kinds of glass ballotini, having respective mean diameters of 93 μm and 182 μm, were employed as a bed material, which always exhibit particulate fluidization in a batch operation. From systematic measurements of static pressures in the CLSFB riser at various liquid velocities and circulating solid mass fluxes it is found that the axial distribution of solid holdup is always uniform throughout the riser. The liquid-solid slip velocity is found to become appreciably higher than that in batch liquid-solid fluidized beds. From visual observation, it is found that particles tend to form aggregates with irregular shapes at liquid velocity higher than the particle terminal velocity, indicating the transition of fluidization state from particulate to aggregative. The change of the fluidization states with the operating conditions is quantitatively characterized by a power spectral density distribution and a fractal dimension of local voidage fluctuation obtained from an image analysis of photographs taken through the riser wall for the different fluidization regimes. The results clearly indicated that the formation of larger scale aggregates takes place at a liquid velocity appreciably higher than the particle terminal velocity leading to a slight decrease of complexity in the microscopic spatial distribution of bed voidage.


Through a critical examination of British colonial policies in the Chittagong Hill Tracts ( CHT ) in Bangladesh, this article challenges the conventional wisdom that colonial administration had a benevolent strategy of 'protecting' indigenous peoples. To this end, this article specifically dispels three examples of such protectionist rhetoric advanced in the CHT by the British colonial administration: protection of hill peoples from external invasions, from the exploitation of dominant Bangalee groups, and from their own oppressive chiefs. I conclude that these protectionist policies were in fact motivated by self-interest and, therefore, often proved to be counterproductive for hill peoples by further empowering dominant Bangalees and tribal chiefs. Therefore, in engaging with the question of 'protection' of ordinary hill peoples in the CHT from ongoing oppression and marginalisation, we must consider new paradigms, beyond the colonial isolationist and seclusionist model of protection.


In early 2002, a bean-like whitish nodule 2 × 1 × 1 cm in size was diagnosed on the tongue of a female Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) kept in a zoological garden in the Czech Republic. The nodule was removed at surgery and histopathological examination revealed a specific granulomatous inflammation. The granuloma contained a necrotic mass surrounded by a variable layer of palisading epithelioid macrophages and multinucleated giant cells with a variable admixture of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Signs of mineralisation within the granuloma were not observed. Using Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining the presence of acid-fast rods (AFR) was determined and the presence of mycobacteria was confirmed by PCR. Four years later, this female died after multiple injuries caused by a male during mating. Necropsy and histopathological examinations revealed granulo- matous pneumonia and myocarditis with ZN-positive AFR within granulomas. Mycobacteria were cultured from 13 of 19 tissue samples: Mycobacterium intracellulare was confirmed by sequencing of isolates from multiple affected organs including the respiratory tract, tail muscle, inguinal lymph nodes and blood; Mycobacterium sp. were also isolated from the tongue. In addition, mycobacteria were detected in 15 (46.9%) of 32 environmental samples examined in both years. M. intracellulare was detected in water sediment from the female's terrarium in 2002, and in faeces and peat from the terrarium and in water sediment from the male terrarium in 2006. Except for M. intracellulare (n = 4), M. smegmatis (n = 1), M. a. hominissuis (n = 3), M. fortuitum (n = 2), M. interjectum (n = 1), M. peregrinum/alvei/septicum (n = 1) and Mycobacterium sp. (n = 2) were also isolated from different environmental samples.


The paper presents a mathematical model describing kinetic behaviour of the injected fuel stream in a Gasoline Direct Injection Engine. Mathematical analysis of the stream aims at calculating the time of the stream requires to reach the piston, rebound from it, and reach the electrodes of the spark plug. For the calculation model the total time needed to go a distance from injection moment to the sparking plug points reaching was divided into four stages. Calculated the total time permit define injection advance angle in relation to ignition advance angle. The analysis was elaborated for a establishes injections pressures and for the whole range of rotational speed. The results of the performed analysis were given in diagrams


In the delivery of health care services, variability in the patient arrival and service processes can cause excessive patient waiting times and poor utilization of facility resources. Based on data collected at a large primary care facility, this paper investigates how several sources of variability affect facility performance. These sources include ancillary tasks performed by the physician, patient punctuality, unscheduled visits to the facility's laboratory or X-ray services, momentary interruptions of a patient's examination, and examination time variation by patient class. Our results indicate that unscheduled visits to the facility's laboratory or X-ray services have the largest impact on a physician's idle time. The average patient wait is most affected by how the physician prioritizes completing ancillary tasks, such as telephone calls, relative to examining patients. We also investigate the improvement in system performance offered by using increasing levels of patient information when creating the appointment schedule. We find that the use of policies that sequence patients based on their classification improves system performance by up to 25.5%.


The Advanced Accelerator Concepts (AAC) Seminar Series 2020 (https://aacseminarseries.lbl.gov/), organized and hosted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, consisted of nine weekly sessions, each one dedicated to a particular topic of interest within the framework of advanced accelerator concepts research. The Seminar Series was a fully-remote event that provided a forum for the advanced accelerator community. The AAC Seminar Series was held in lieu of the AAC 2020 Workshop (https://aac2020.lbl.gov/), originally planned for June 2020 and canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception in 1982, the biennial AAC Workshop has become the principal US and international meeting for advanced particle accelerator research and development.


Osteoclasts (OCs) can adhere to a variety of substrate surfaces by highly dynamic actin‐based cytoskeletal structures termed podosomes. This tight attachment is established by a sealing zone (SZ), which is made of interconnected individual podosomes. Compared with scattered podosomes in various cell types, the architecture of the SZ is still unclear. Especially, ultrastructural studies on the details of the cytoskeletal structure of an OC have been challenging, because the high density of filaments in their podosomes obscure visualization of individual filaments. Therefore, to study this organization in more exact detail, we employed shearing open combined with replica electron microscopy. The present study provides several new details of the podosome and SZ structure, which were previously unrecognized: (a) the SZ consists of recognizable podosomes with a dense actin network of interpodosomal regions characterized by multiple layers of crossing, branching and anastomosing actin filament networks; (b) the Arp2/3 complex is distributed throughout the actin network of podosomes and SZ, indicating that actin polymerization is concentrated at these regions; (c) a close spatial relationship between the podosome and the dorsal membrane; and (d) a network of membranous organelles in close proximity to the podosomes in the SZ. Taken together, the present study reveals that a more complicated interpodosomal actin network among neighboring individual podosomes, which is more complicated than previously thought, appears to form the SZ. Indeed, individual podosomes are not an isolated structural unit from other organelles; and, in turn, their dynamism might affect the surrounding interpodosomal cytoskeletons, membranous organelles, and plasma membrane.


The MediaEvo Project aims to develop a multi- channel and multi-sensory platform for edutainment in cultural heritage for the realization of a digital didactic game oriented towards the knowledge of medieval history and society by means of the integration of human sciences and new data processing technologies. During the project it has been possible to test the possible interactions between historical research, morphological inquiries, data management systems and the definition of a virtual immersive platform for playing and educating. The platform has also proved to be a means for validating hypotheses and findings formulated by researchers. This paper introduces the theoretical questions related to the educative use of Virtual Reality technology and describes the steps of the reconstruction of the town of Otranto in the Middle Ages: data collection and integration, new historical acquisitions, organization of work, peripherals and software applications.


Morphology and fracture mechanisms in two nanoclay-filled epoxy systems were investigated using both microscopy and spectroscopy tools. Clay exfoliation was achieved using a series of sample preparation steps, and confirmed using wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Significant improvement in modulus was obtained when clay exfoliation was achieved. Incorporation of core-shell rubber (CSR) in both caly-filled epoxy systems leads to greatly enhanced fracture toughness. Optical microscopy and TEM observations of the CSR-modified nanocomposites suggest that CSR cavitation. shear yielding of the matrix, clay layer delamination. CSR bridging, crack bifurcation. and crack deflection are among the operative toughening mechanisms observed, depending on the nature of the epoxy matrix utilized.


Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer death in women. Despite extensive research, the precise mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis remain unclear. One of the reasons for this is due, at least in part, to a lack of a suitable animal model which can closely mimic the breast carcinogenesis in normal situations without using chemical carcinogens. We have developed an animal model of mammary gland carcinogenesis using a combination of oestradiol and testosterone, and succeeded in inducing a high percentage of female Noble rats to develop mammary cancer in a relatively short time (approximately 6 months). The results showed that androgens might work as a promoter to shorten the latency time of mammary gland carcinogenesis. Histopathological examination revealed that hyperplasia and dysplasia were first observed 2 months after treatment, in situ carcinoma after 3 months, and fully developed carcinoma of various forms including cribriform, papillary and camedo types were observed from 5 to 6 months after hormone implantation. Animals implanted with oestrogen or testosterone alone also developed mammary cancers, though with a lower overall incidence than the two hormones combined. They ranged from well differentiated to poorly differentiated forms with predominantly infiltrating ductal carcinoma. We have also observed a case of secondary cancer in the uterus. In addition to the high incidence of carcinoma, there was also a peculiar unexplained ipsilateral correlation between the site of hormonal implantation and the location of tumours, and the highest incidence of carcinogenesis was found to be in thoracic mammary gland. The study showed that both oestrogens and androgens are important in mammary cancer development. The animal model would prove to be a useful model for analysis of the mechanism(s) of hormonal carcinogenesis.


Obesity, a metabolic disease caused by multiple factors, has become a global health problem. In addition to nutrient intake and sedentary lifestyle, environmental pollutants exposure has been shown to be involved in obesity epidemics. Antibiotics, a new type of environmental pollutant, have been widely used in animal husbandry, aquaculture and microorganism. However, the effects of antibiotics exposure on fat metabolism and metabolic diseases are largely unknown. Methods: We screened major types of antibiotics to examine their effects on the differentiation capacity and thermogenic functionality of brown and beige adipocytes, and found that azithromycin, one major kind of macrolide antibiotics suppressed brown and beige adipocyte functionality. We thus examined azithromycin accretion in adipose tissues of obese patients that correlates with BMI by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and systematically explore the influences of azithromycin on adiposity and metabolic performance in mice under high diet. Results: Azithromycin (macrolides) inhibits the mitochondrial and thermogenic gene programs of brown and beige adipocytes, thus disrupting their mitochondrial function and thermogenic response. Consistently, azithromycin treatment are more prone to diet-induced obesity in mice, and this was associated with impaired energy expenditure. Importantly, azithromycin is more accumulated in adipose tissue of obese patients and correlates with BMI and body weight. Mechanistically, we found that azithromycin inhibits mitochondria respiratory complex I protein levels and increases reactive oxidative species (ROS) levels, which causes damage of mitochondrial function in brown and beige adipocytes. The deleterious effects of azithromycin can be ameliorated by antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Conclusions: Taken together, this work highlights the possible role of azithromycin in obesity epidemic and presents strategies for safe applications of antibiotics in the future.


Ustusorane D and penicisochromans B-D are natural isochromans isolated from Aspergillus ustus 094102 and Penicillium sp. PSU-F40, respectively. Herein, we report the syntheses of (-)-ustusorane D and (+)-penicisochroman B and the structures of penicisochromans C and D. The relative configuration of natural ustusorane D and the absolute configuration of natural penicisochroman B were determined. Two plausible structures for penicisochroman C were evaluated through synthesis, but their ¹H and ¹³C NMR data were not in agreement with those of the natural product. The structural revision and the determination of the absolute configuration of natural penicisochroman D were achieved. Structure-activity relationship studies of the synthetic compounds as well as a series of related isochromans indicated that the enone of the furanone moiety was essential for the cytotoxicity of these compounds toward HCT116 human colon cancer cells. Pseudodeflectusin, the related natural isochroman, suppressed cell growth and induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells.


Land law in the West Bank is a mess of multi-layered legal regimes representing the complicated political history of the region. From this confusion flow some of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today, such as the legitimacy of settlements and the legality of the security barrier. Whether one's concerns regarding the "Question of Palestine" are humanitarian or political, one fact is clear: the legal muddle of land law must be addressed. But addressing the law first requires that we understand what that law is. This paper is not an investigation of the relative legitimacy under domestic or international law of each of the innumerable changes that were made to land law over the course of multiple legal regimes. Rather, it attempts to develop a purely descriptive answer to the seemingly straightforward question: what is the state of land law? To do this, I reconstruct the law of land as much as possible, from the still-operative, sedimentary layers of Ottoman, British, Jordanian, Israeli, Palestinian and international law. In compiling this information, I hope to contribute to the efforts to fully understand where we are, so we can honestly assess where we may go from here.


Introduction: Clearly, there are some challenges and difficulties in fulfilling social accountability which should be identified and dealt with in order to reach the ultimate goal. The main objective of this study was to identify the challenges associated with social accountability. Methods: In this qualitative study, focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interview were used to obtain the opinions and experiences of 35 people with 4 focus groups of students, faculty members, patients and their companions in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Purpose-based sampling was performed. The participants asked "What is social accountability?" And then it continued with the more specific question, i.e. "What factors increase or decrease social accountability?" After identifying the categories and sub-categories, conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Overall, 97 codes were extracted from the text and five main categories were revealed: notification, sense of responsibility, practical education, and professional status and ethics. Conclusion: Since there are numerous challenges in the field of social accountability, it is essential that we understand the challenges and barriers and take effective steps to implement reforms.


Not so long ago, an alternative to American hegemony and progressive isolationism was elaborated by non-aligned segments of the international left. In the search for potentially usable models from the past, this paper will shed light on the New International Economic Order (NIEO). Promulgated as a United Nations resolution in 1974, and drafted by leaders in the Global South, the NIEO was one of the most widely discussed transnational governance reforms of the twentieth century. This paper will argue that the NIEO was an exercise in utopian realism that fundamentally depended on foregrounding the global security dilemma and defending the legitimacy and lasting utility nation-state. As a result of these commitments, the NIEO's proponents unwittingly self-limited their chances for long-term success on the international stage.


The study included 52 children. During endoscopy the contents of oesophagus, stomach and duodenum were collected with catheters, and additionally washings from the oral cavity and anal swabs or samples of faeces. Materials were inoculated on Sabouraud's media. The axenic strains of fungi were identified using own methods and others tests (API 20C, API 20C AUX). The activity of ketoconazole (K) was measured against 100 strains of Candida: C. albicans (91 strains), C. kefyr (4), C. famata (2), C. tropicalis (1), C. guilliermondii (1), C. glabrata (1). The strains susceptibility to K (RO4 1400 Janssen) was estimated with the own system based on the dose-response curves; the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were canculated. The low values of MIC indicate high susceptibility to K of examined Candida strains.


The authors describe a simple and low-cost process to achieve a bas-relief effect with normal X-rays, allowing observation of fine detail. No additional apparatus is needed and patient exposure is not increased.


The principal dielectric permittivity components in the nematic phase of 4-rc-hexyloxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl (60CB) were measured as functions of temperature at ambient pressure and as functions of pressure up to 100 MPa at several constant temperatures. The dielectric anisotropy is analized in the frame of the Maier-Meier equations. The pressure dependence of the order parameter is deduced. Preliminary results for the activation volume and activation enthalpy from the pressure and temperature dependences of the longitudinal relaxation times are obtained.


In this article we study the return to axi-symmetry for a flow generated after fractal plates in a circular wind tunnel. We consider two sets of plates: one orifice-like and one perforated-like. The mean velocity profiles are presented at different distances from the plate and we study the convergence of a flow rate based on these profiles. The return to axi-symmetry depends on how far was the original plate from an axi-symmetric design. It also depends on the level of iteration of the fractal pattern. In line with results for other flow properties [1, 2] It seems that there is not much to be gained by manufacturing fractal plates with more than three iteration levels.© 2012 ASME


Objective. To present a case that neuropathic pain following traumatic injury of the inferior alveolar nerve, which was relieved by the injection of BTX-A. Design. Case report. Setting. Tertiary care University hospital. Subject. A 62-year-old female was referred by her general dentist to our clinic due to numbness and pain over the left side of her lower lip and chin region. Intervention. Botulinum toxin type A injected into the middle of chin area subcutaneously. Results. At 1 month after BTX-A injection, the affected area had decreased in size. And at 2 months, the patient reported a slight decreased in pain, and CPT differences being sustained at a reduced level. Conclusions. This case report suggests an effective new modality for treating neuropathic pain after trigeminal nerve injury. A further randomized controlled study involving a large number of patients is needed.


Ventricular tachycardia (VT) secondary to myocardial infarction (MI) remain a major cause of sudden death in adults. Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), the first initiating beats of a portion of these arrhythmias, arise from triggered activity in the infarct border zone (BZ). At the cellular scale, spontaneous calcium release (SCR) events are a known cause of triggered activity and have been reported in cells that survive MI. At the tissue scale, fibrosis has been shown to play an important role in creating the substrate for VT. However, the interplay between SCR-mediated triggered activity and fibrosis upon VT formation in infarcted hearts has not been fully investigated. Here, we conduct in-silico experiments to assess how macroscopic and microscopic anatomical properties of the BZ can create a substrate for SCR-mediated VT formation. To study this question, we employ a stochastic subcellular-scale model of SCR events and action potential to simulate different cardiac preparations. Within 2D sheet models with idealized infarct scars and BZ we show that the probability of PVCs is higher, 55%, in preparations with thin conducting isthmuses (0.2 mm) transcending the scar. In an anatomically-detailed model of the rabbit ventricles with a realistic representation of intramural scars, we show that the heart's protective source-sink mismatch prevents ectopy. Furthermore, we demonstrate that fibrosis disrupts this antiarrhythmic mechanism making PVCs more likely. PVC probability is highest (≥ 25%) when fibrosis accounts for 60% and 90% of the BZ in the 2D sheet and the 3D anatomical model, respectively. Above these thresholds, PVC occurrence decreases because of: 1) the reduced number of myocytes in the BZ; 2) conduction block. Block is caused either by disconnection of BZ cells from the myocardium or due to source-sink mismatches at regions of rapid tissue expansion. Moreover, while outward propagation to healthy tissue may fail, PVCs traveling inward through the scar might encounter more favorable loading conditions. These PVCs may exit to the myocardium and reenter back at the region of block. Overall, our findings indicate that thin isthmuses and strands of myocytes interspersed with fibrosis can be arrhythmogenic. Ablation of these microscopic structures may prevent VT formation.


The metabolism of the estrogenic hormone is oxidative in nature in contrast to the reductive pathway for the neutral steroid hormones. It has been postulated that estrone is the precursor of estriol on the evidence that the required ketol intermediates are normal metabolites of the estrogenic hormone (2-4). However, it is equally true that enzymatic hydroxylation of chemically unreactive methylene groups is a common feature of steroid biochemistry (5), and thus estradiol might serve as the immediate precursor of estriol with the ketols formed by subsequent oxidation. To clarify this problem we have examined the metabolism of estrone and estradiol simultaneously in the same human subject. For this purpose, estradiol labeled with tritium in ring B and estrone-16-Cl4 were dissolved together and administered intravenously to three different patients. The ratio of weight as well as isotope of the two hormones was varied in each of the studies. Urine and blood collections were obtained at successive intervals immediately after the injections and the isotopic content of the metabolites was examined after purification to radiochemical homogeneity. The results of the three studies were completely concordant. It was shown that the rate of conversion of estrone to estradiol was slow, whereas the reverse reaction was quite rapid. It seems clear that estrone rather than estradiol is the major precursor of estriol, 2-methoxyestrone, and 16-epiestriol.


In their natural state within the body, normal cells use cellular respiration as their main source of ATP and energy. Carbohydrate deprived cells easily depend on the resulting ketone bodies for an alternative energy source. This natural evolutionary adaptation to starvation allows for survival of normal cells during times of fasting or famine. Cancer cells in contrast are defective in this respect, lacking the ability to utilize ketone bodies for energy and depend heavily on glycolysis for survival. The pancreas senses increased carbohydrate intake resulting in increased insulin secretion. Normal growth throughout the body depends on insulin, which by itself is also a potent growth factor which binds to cell membrane insulin receptors and stimulates mitosis via signal transduction and DNA synthesis, resulting in less
apoptosis or tumor cell death. Consequentially, carbohydrate restriction will increase tumor cell destruction. We are conducting a pilot study to examine the safety and tolerability of the ketogenic diet KD in patients with advanced cancer within the Veteran Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) oncology patient population.


Nonlinear systems subjected to Gaussian inputs are studied based on the Wiener-like stochastic functional Fourier series [1]. Analytic and nonanalytic cascade, bilinear, and feedback nonlinear structures are considered and their n th-order Fourier-Hermite kernels are calculated analytically. The characteristic kernel features thus revealed are discussed as a guide to interpret data from multidimensional cross-correlation experiments for nonparametric nonlinear system identification. The results are shown to be useful also for the mean-square-signal analysis of nonlinear systems whose structures and parameters are known a priori. For the feedback case, a certain approximation is employed for finding the n th-order closed-loop kernel. This is a generalization of the describing function technique, and using examples, the algorithm is compared to existing procedures for random-input nonlinear servosynthesis.


This article describes a large national research project that followed a range of multi-agency teams, within newly formed Children's Services in England, as they began to change and develop as a result of national and local policy changes. As the title suggests, the focus of the research was to observe the learning that was taking place and to offer approaches to facilitate the group learning. The approach is novel in that it employed a specific theoretical approach to the work; namely, the use of cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT), to analyse what was happening in the research sites and to structure and facilitate the intervention workshops. The findings reflect what was happening within teams, at individual, group and systemic levels. They also add to the body of knowledge that is accumulating in the application of activity theoretical approaches to work-place learning. Some of the findings are expanded to offer suggestions for similar teams to consider as they make transitions within ever-changing, expanding Children's Services. These include recommendations for professionals regarding the child and the wider context, aspects of professional role and focus of work, developing new tools, reconsidering existing rules, and examining values and pedagogic approaches in the work-place.


In this letter, we address the characterization of objects in 3-D sonar images of the water column obtained by a multibeam echo sounder. Compared with classic 2-D images from a monobeam echo sounder, these 3-D images provide finer scale observation of the pelagic biomasses and new tools to characterize 3-D distributions. By viewing object patterns as realizations of spatial point processes, we investigate descriptive spatial statistics. This method is then applied to 3-D fisheries acoustics data set for characterization of the distribution of pelagic fish schools. Reported experiments illustrate the relevance of the proposed descriptors. The comparison of our method with 2-D sonar data analysis further demonstrates the information gain from using 3-D sonar imagery.


The integration of heterogeneous wireless access technologies has numerous
 issues for multimedia applications, such as to smoothly continue over new
 connections without any service disruption during vertical handovers. We
 propose State-Aware Feedback extension to Datagram Congestion Control
 Protocol (DCCP) that meets QoS requirements of multimedia applications
 throughout the handover process. We consider movement of mobile subscribers
 among heterogeneous access technologies from highly unstable to more stable
 environment and model their mobility patterns as Uniform, Pareto, and
 Exponentially distributed. We present detailed analysis on the performance of
 proposed mechanism in terms of resuming transmissions during the handover
 process. In particular, we propose Markov model of TFRC capturing TCP
 timeouts, loss rates, and no-feedback timer expirations. We validate the
 proposed analytical model through simulations and show that it accurately
 predicts various congestion events that may happen during the handover
 process. We then evaluate the performance of S-TFRC via both simulations and
 analytical model and observe the sender rates and throughputs achieved. We
 also consider transmission delays and transmission rates as performance
 metrics and compare performance of S-TFRC with the standard TFRC. Our results
 show that S-TFRC is capable of providing better QoS to multimedia
 applications than standard TFRC by significantly reducing transmission delays
 and provides better throughput to multimedia applications.


This work was designed to study the body image of 3 groups of normal children (ns = 40) whose ages were 4 to 14 years with the assistance of a new projective technique, the tale of the ant from Royer. The data provide partial validation of this new procedure. Indicators of normal and pathological answers are given. Directions for research are suggested.


The autonomous differential equation in the title is derived in S.Srinivasan~\cite{ss05} (equation (E) in ~\cite{ss05}) in the context of certain discrete sums from the number theoretic considerations. These discrete sums are then estimated in terms of an integral involving the solutions of this differential equation; no analysis is done on this integral in ~\cite{ss05}. Our main objective is to consider this equation from the dynamical systems view point and describe all the orbits in the phase plane. The equation is singular in the sense that the coefficient of $\ddot{x}$ vanishes or becomes unbounded at a few points. This singularity puts a restriction on the initial data. The solutions that we obtain in explicit form are, however, smooth and satisfy the equation pointwise or in the limiting sense. The explicit form of solutions may also be used to analyse the integral in ~\cite{ss05}. The equation possesses an infinite number of equilibrium or critical points and there are periodic orbits surrounding each of them in a part of the phase plane. In the complement of this part of the phase plane, there are non-periodic orbits, any two of which have an infinite number of common points. This, however, is in great contrast with the fact that any two (distinct) orbits of a regular autonomous system are disjoint, thus bringing out the singular nature of the equation


ABSTRACT: Benzylidene hydrazide is a highly active moiety against Leishmania donovani, and has become a core structure for the design of new antileishmanial agents. The 5-nitrothiophen-2-yl-benzylidene hydrazide derivative presents a potent IC50 value. With this background, it is attempted to discern the structural and physicochemical requirements for the inhibition of Leishmania donovani. The techniques of quantitative structure activity relationship and docking are valuable molecular modeling tools for drug design. In the present study, 3-DQSAR of some Leishmania donovani inhibitors was carried out using VLife MDS, while interaction studies were carried usind Schrodinger molecular modeling interface. The developed QSAR models showed q2 = 0.9849, pred_r2 = 0.6770 with kNN analysis by stepwise forward and backward method. Docking study revealed important interactions of designed compounds with the active binding site of Leishmania donovani. Designed compounds were synthesis and screened against Leishmania donovani. Three compounds exhibited IC50 values lower than standard drugs. Brief SAR analysis revealed that substitution is important to the activity. KEY WORDS: benzylidene hydrazide derivatives, antileishmanial activity, 3D-QSAR, docking


Technology transfer is considered one of the main factors for innovation and enhancing productivity, then becomes a crucial policy in developing countries, including Vietnam. However, research has shown that innovation in Vietnam is under the expectation, especially at the enterprise level. One reason for this concern is the need for a stable supply of skilled employees to absorb, implement and re-distribute knowledge. Thus, this paper examines the issue from the perspective of employment law which mainly relates to the rights and obligations of employees and employers for the purpose of finding how these regulations might be supplemented to promote technology transfer. Legal recommendations are the primary outcomes of the paper.


The article analyzes the main social prerequisites for the implementation of the new industrial revolution in Russia, as well as the social risks arising in this process. The analysis of the main approaches to the understanding of the essence and the main consequences of the industry 4.0 is given, the role of various social groups playing a leading role in the implementation of the revolutionary technological leap is revealed. In this regard, the features of social processes affecting the scientific and technical intelligentsia, the sphere of research and development, innovative entrepreneurship in modern Russia are studied. The fourth industrial revolution is seen as a stage of socio-economic progress with its inherent social problems and risks, such as the widening of the gap between the income on capital and the income of hired workers; increasing income inequality between individual groups of employed and unemployed people within countries due to changes in the structure of the labor market; a significant increase in unemployment in certain segments of the labor market due to automation and robotization of labor and the disappearance of many professions; population aging due to increased life expectancy. It was noted that in Russia there are various basic social resources for successful entry into the process of the fourth industrial revolution, and conditions have developed for a fairly rapid qualitative renewal of the Russian economy and increasing its competitiveness, but there are significant social risks associated with insufficient maturity of individual elements of the social system.


Earlier work has shown that the friction of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE ) increases with increasing velocity and decreases with rise of temperature as though a relaxation process were involved. A study by microscopy, interference microscopy and electron microscopy of the friction tracks formed when PTFE slides on itself or on 'clean' glass shows that there are basically two friction regimes. At high speeds or low temperatures the friction is high (μ, = 0.07 to 0.3) and there is fairly massive transfer and movement of polymer. The details depend on the sliding conditions but in general the transfer is in the form of lumps, ribbons or sheets, the thickness generally exceeding a few tenths of a micrometre. At low speeds and moderate temperatures a very different behaviour is observed: the friction is low (μ < 0.07) and a thin film of PTFE is laid down or drawn over the surfaces. This film may show strong adhesion to the surfaces if they are clean. It is very fibrous and has a thickness varying between about 100 and 400 Å; in addition it has a highly oriented crystal structure. The low friction under these conditions is not due to poor adhesion but to easy shear of relevant units of the PTFE crystal. As the speed of sliding is increased or the temperature diminished the viscous force to shear the film increases until a stage is reached where the shear force exceeds the strength of the boundaries between crystals or grains. The higher friction is then accompanied by the transfer of relatively large fragments of PTFE. These two régimes in the frictional behaviour may thus be interpreted in terms of a relaxation time for intra-crystalline flow. The small change in friction at higher speeds suggests that the shear of larger units within the polymer is not appreciably rate dependent.


Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, highly malignant skin tumour of neuroendocrine origin that occurs predominately in elderly people in sun-exposed areas. It exhibits high levels of radiosensitivity and chemosensitivity both in vivo and in vitro. A variety of adverse prognostic factors have been identified which allow more aggressive therapy to be delivered to patients who are at higher risk of recurrence. The most powerful prognostic factor is the presence of nodal secondaries. Local disease should be excised, but there is some controversy over how wide the margins should be. Wide resection margins are not required provided postoperative radiotherapy is used. In the event of inoperable disease, patient refusal of surgery or frailty, radiotherapy can be used as the sole treatment modality, with a high likelihood of achieving local control. Patients with involved nodes have a higher risk of distant disease. Traditionally, involved nodes have been managed with resection but, currently, there are protocols exploring the use of synchronous chemoradiotherapy as definitive treatment. Although adjuvant chemotherapy has been used in this setting to reduce the risk of distant metastases, its role still remains under investigation. The presence of distant disease carries a grave outlook with responses to chemotherapy occurring frequently, albeit of short duration.


Optimized concrete elements have been developed using high-performance, self-consolidating, fibre-reinforced concrete (HPSCC) reinforced with high-strength, lightweight, non-corroding pre-stressed carbon fibre reinforced plastic tendons. This new type of thin-walled precast carbon FRP (CFRP) pretensioned HPSCC slab has been used in building facades and is under consideration for a range of other applications in buildings. However, it is well known that the bond strength between both steel and FRP reinforcements and concrete deteriorates at elevated temperature, and that HPSCC has a comparatively high risk of heat-induced concrete spalling. Reductions in bond strength, the occurrence of heat-induced concrete spalling, and their impacts on the load-bearing capacity of precast CFRP pretensioned HPSCC slabs during fire are not well understood. This paper gives insights into the fire behaviour of precast CFRP pretensioned HPSCC slabs by evaluating the influence of concrete mixture, slab thickness and the presence of local reinforcement (CFRP grids) in the prestress transfer zones. Selected results and analysis of a large scale fire resistance test on five HPSCC slabs are presented in this paper. It is shown that the occurrence of heat-induced concrete spalling resulted in sudden failure of the specimens, and that in cases where no spalling occurred failure was due to loss of bond strength.


Background: Asbestos-related diseases remain a significant occupational health problem in much of the world. Evidence of asbestos exposure is not always apparent in routine clinical evaluations of potentially exposed individuals, particularly in the initial stages of pathogenesis, so convenient biomarkers of exposure could be useful in the early identification of individuals at risk.
Methods and findings: Based on prior research, we examined serum levels of kinesin family proteins (KIF5A and KIF18A) and p53 autoantibodies in 198 asbestosexposed workers and 164 unexposed controls. Exposed individuals were significantly more likely to have increased KIF5A and decreased KIF18A compared to the unexposed controls; p53 autoantibodies and exposure were unrelated.
Conclusion: Serum kinesins may be useful biomarkers of asbestos exposure.


We demonstrate atomic four-wave mixing of two-component matter waves in a collinear geometry. Starting from a single-species Bose-Einstein condensate, seed and pump modes are prepared through microwave state transfer and state-selective Kapitza-Dirac diffraction. Four-wave mixing then populates the initially empty output modes. Simulations based on a coupled-mode expansion of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation are in very good agreement with the experimental data. We show that four-wave mixing can play an important role in studies of bosonic mixtures in optical lattices. Moreover, our system should be of interest in the context of quantum atom optics.


— BioEnergy is an archetypal appropriate technology and alternate source of energy in rural areas of China, and can meet the basic need for cooking fuel in rural areas. The paper introduces with an alternate mean of research that can accelerate the biogas energy production. Tithonia diversifolia or the Tree marigold can be hailed as mesophillic anaerobic digestion to increase the production of more Bioenergy. Tithonia diversifolia is very native to Mexico and Central America, which can be served as ornamental plants- green manure and can prevent soil erosion. Tithonia diversifolia is widely grown and known to Asia, Africa, America and Australia as well. Nowadays, Considering China's geographical condition it is found that Tithonia diversifolia is widely growing plant in the many tropical and subtropical regions of southern Yunnan- which can have great usage in accelerating and increasing the Bioenergy production technology. The paper discussed aiming at proving possibility that Tithonia diversifolia can be applied in biogas fermentation and its biogas production potential, the research carried experiment on Tithonia diversifolia biogas fermentation under the mesophilic condition (35 Celsius Degree). The result revealed that Tithonia diversifolia can be used as biogas fermentative material, and 6% concentration can get the best biogas production, with the TS biogas production rate 656mL/g and VS biogas production rate 801mL/g. It is well addressed that Tithonia diversifolia grows wildly in 53 Counties and 9 cities of Yunnan Province, which mainly grows in form of the road side plants, the edge of the field, countryside, forest edge, open space; of which demersum-natures can form dense monospecific beds -causing serious harm to agricultural production landforms threatening the ecological system as a potentially harmful exotic plant. There are also found the three types of invasive daisy alien plants - Eupatorium adenophorum , Eupatorium odorata and Tithonia diversifolia in Yunnan Province of China-among them the Tithonia diversifolia is responsible for causing serious harm to agricultural production. In this paper we have designed the experimental explanation of Biogas energy production that requires anaerobic environment and some microbes; Tithonia diversifolia taken into consideration while carrying experiments and with successful resulting of generating more BioEnergy emphasizing on the practical applications of Tithonia diversifolia . This paper aims at- to find a new mechanism to provide a more scientific basis for the development of this plant herbicides in Biogas energy and to improve the utilization throughout the world as well.


Effects of postimportation treatment of benzyladenine (BA) on vase life of imported anthurium fl owers was examined after receiving the fl owers in Japan and placing them either individually or together in vase solution. Cut anthuriums of two cultivars imported from Hawaii via air-freight were sprayed with 200 µg·mL -1 of BA upon arrival, and vase life of the fl owers were evaluated by numerating days before observing apparent discoloration at the distal end of spadix. BA treatment signifi cantly extended the vase life (by up to 22 d) in two cultivars in most cases during summer, but the effect was inconsistent in each cultivar when the test was done in winter. The effect of BA verifi ed in summer was either nullifi ed or signifi cantly diminished by placing 10 fl owers together in vase solution. In these tests, bacteria were isolated more frequently from the scape segments of bunched fl owers than those of individual fl owers. However, vase life was not affected when the vase solutions were inoculated with Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae. These results indicate that the postimportation BA treatment is mostly effective in extending the vase life of cut anthuriums during summer, but may not be reliable during winter in temperate regions. The preliminary evidence suggests that bacterial growth in vase solution be related to the loss of the effect of BA, but the pathogen of bacterial blight growing in the vase solution or invading the xylem of the scape is not responsible for the reduced longevity of imported anthuriums.


Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness globally; however, in terms of the irreversibility of blindness, it is the number one cause. Glaucoma treatment aims at slowing the progression and reducing the risk of further structural and functional damage as much as possible. A rare subset of glaucoma is juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) diagnosed in individuals between 3 and 40 years of age. The JOAG tends to have rapid progression and it is associated with higher intraocular pressure (IOP) and fluctuations compared to primary open-angle glaucoma. The IOP also tends to be refractory to medical therapy control and often requires surgical intervention. In the treatment of glaucoma, functional improvement is not an expectation. This is a case report of a JOAG patient with visual improvement following trabeculectomy. A 17-year-old female presented with a 4-year history of gradual visual loss in both eyes. Diagnosed elsewhere to have glaucoma with no known baseline IOP value and is already on travoprost. Visual acuity (VA) at presentation was counting finger (close to face right eye, 2 m left eye) and IOP were 22 and 19 mmHg, respectively. The patient subsequently underwent trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in both eyes at a single sitting. She had a marked improvement in vision postoperatively. At 6 weeks postoperative review, VA was 6/36 and 6/18 in the right and left eyes, respectively, and pressures were 9 and 8 mmHg, respectively. There is currently no proven mechanism to explain visual recovery; however, visual improvement may have resulted from some reversal of retinal ganglion cell damage following significant IOP lowering. Improvement in vision is not an expectation following treatment for glaucoma; however, some case reports have reported this occurrence following trabeculectomy. Hence, even in very advanced presentations, especially in young individuals as in this case, there should not be hesitation with surgical intervention following appropriate counseling.


This work deals with what is termed here as the criteria of idiomatic correction: there is a correct manner, a "good" way of speaking, as compiled in grammars or dictionaries, which is the shared model for all speakers. This criteria unifies the diverse varieties of language via a standard while, at the same time, distinguishing between what is "speaking properly" (educated, formal registers, pertaining to the higher classes) and "speaking badly" (dialectal and vulgar varieties pertaining to the lower classes). In contemporary Galiza, the dominant ideologies affecting the Galician language have incorporated this distinction. Although this fact implies a dignifying effect (our language is no longer "uneducated"), the fact is often overlooked that "educated" and "uneducated" speakers are not on an equal footing in terms of how "dignity" is shared out. This article looks at the communicative effect of the correction criteria as manifested in the linguistic practices of a young group of friends. Here, segments of interactions are analysed as examples of what this people do, and of what they say about language.


For pt.I see ibid., vol.1, p.76-80 (2002). In this paper, the interconnected model of an n-machine power system with FACTS devices installed, proposed by the authors in part I, is used to implement a decentralised/hierarchical control architecture. Such architecture allows damping in a very effective way the power system interarea oscillations obtaining a considerable improvement of the dynamic stability of the interconnected power system. The proposed architecture is tested on the IEEE three machine power system with a STATCOM installed obtaining good results.


This study is key competence port logistics companies analyze the priorities of evaluation factors. key competence index of NCS(National competency standard) was designed on the basis of the research model. The priorities of evaluation factors were analyzed using AHP method. The results of the analysis of 1 layer s key competence priorities are as follows: Interpersonal skills(0.217), communication skills(0.153), ability to develop problem(0.148), ability to understand the organization(0.103), and resource management skills(0.090), self-development ability and professional ethics(0.070), information skills(0.065), technical skills(0.049), numeracy skills(0.035).


Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based techniques have inspired research into lipidomics, a subfield of '–omics', which aims to identify and quantify large numbers of lipids in biological extracts. Although lipidomics is becoming increasingly popular as a screening tool for understanding disease mechanisms, it is largely unknown how the lipidome naturally varies by age and sex in healthy individuals. We aimed to identify cross-sectional associations of the human lipidome with 'physiological' ageing, using plasma from 100 subjects with an apolipoprotein E (APOE) E3/E3 genotype, and aged between 56 to 100 years. Untargeted analysis was performed by liquid chromatography coupled-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and data processing using LipidSearch software. Regression analyses confirmed a strong negative association of age with the levels of various lipid, which was stronger in males than females. Sex-related differences include higher LDL-C, HDL-C, total cholesterol, particular sphingomyelins (SM), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-containing phospholipid levels in females. Surprisingly, we found a minimal relationship between lipid levels and body mass index (BMI). In conclusion, our results suggest substantial age and sex-related variation in the plasma lipidome of healthy individuals during the second half of the human lifespan. In particular, globally low levels of blood lipids in the 'oldest old' subjects over 95 years could signify a unique lipidome associated with extreme longevity.