Despite their ubiquity throughout his career, Ingres's portraits of women are generally understood to stand outside of, and in opposition to, the artist's academic practices and priorities. An examination of Ingres's Portrait of Madame Moitessier (1856) suggests rather that the portraiture lay at the crux of Ingres's particular relation to 'nature' and the 'ideal'. Portrait-making, with its attendant demands for verisimilitude and the insistent presence of the sitter's own body and desires, presented a challenge for the history painter, whose work was based upon a process of distillation from the studio model. And, while the portrait genre had long been haunted by the imagined threat of artistic servitude, Ingres responded to the problem of invoking the specificities of the sitter by simultaneously effecting her translation towards the general and by painting the portrait as history. In painting the portrait of Madame Moitessier in such terms, Ingres demonstrated how artistic practices and commitments which are generally understood to be mutually exclusive were instead, for Ingres, profoundly imbricated. Through an excavation of the processes and techniques used in the creation of the portrait of Madame Moitessier, this article argues that portraiture is the place to understand Ingres's notion of 'history painter' as something other than simply 'painter of history'.


To diagnose early-stage atherosclerosis, for the local evaluation of the elasticity of the arterial wall it is necessary to increase the spatial resolution in the axial direction of the artery to several millimeters, which corresponds to the size of the lesion on the surface of the arterial wall. For this purpose, we previously proposed a method for measuring the small change in thickness of the arterial wall during the cardiac cycle [H. Kanai et al..: IEEE Trans. UFFC 43 (1996) 791, H. Kanai et al..: IEEE Trans. UFFC 44 (1997) 752 and H. Hasegawa et al..: Electron. Lett. 33 (1997) 340]. The change in thickness cannot be measured from conventional B-mode or M-mode images because of its small amplitude of less than 100 micrometers. Though the change in thickness is useful for in vivo assessment of the local elasticity of the arterial wall, in some cases successful measurements based on only two consecutive echos fail because of the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the echos. To realize the practical use of the proposed method, this problem must be overcome. In this paper, we propose a method that is more robust in the presence of noise. In this method, more than two echos are employed to estimate their phase shift for reducing the influence of low SNR. Simulations provide an optimal value of the estimation period for each SNR. By evaluating the SNR of in vivo experimental data, the optimal estimation period is determined. In in vivo experiments using an optimal estimation period of 20 ms, the change in thickness can be measured with good reproducibility even in the case of a low SNR of 28 dB.


The aim of this research is to develop a GIS-based simulation for selecting the most suitable site of solid waste landfill which could help to minimize harmful impacts to the environment and society in the extreme sensitive and complex delta by an integration of geographic information system (GIS) and analysis hierarchy process (AHP) and nine criteria (distance from surface water; depth of ground water table; distance from residential area, land use, distance from main roads, geo-environmental and geotechnical characteristics, distance from historical and tourism sites, and distance from industrial zones). Different from most of the previous studies on the landfill site selection, geology-related criteria including soil types/lithology, soil permeability, and soil depth/soil thickness (soil-structure), which are called geo-environmental and geotechnical characteristics in this research, will be carefully considered, integrated, and evaluated. The AHP was employed to determine the weight of each criterion based on pair weight comparison and its matrix, while a land suitability index (LSI) score was calculated to determine the most suitable site. Moreover, the suitability map was also created which indicated very advantageous, advantageous, rather advantageous, and disadvantageous areas in the study area for landfill siting. Finally, the developed model could be used for supporting planners, managers, policy makers, and local government to make decisions on suitable and effective planning strategies for landfill site selection and could be applied anywhere and especially in other deltas around the world.


BACKGROUND
Because of limited experience worldwide, controversies about the laparoscopic treatment of liver hydatid cysts have not been resolved. The aim of this study was to describe the technical details of a laparoscopic method we developed in 1992 and report the initial results from an endemic area.

METHODS
Of the 30 consecutive patients with 33 liver hydatid cysts considered for laparoscopic treatment during a 6-year period at a university hospital in Turkey, conversion to an open procedure was required in 7 patients (23%) while 23 patients with 25 cysts were able to be treated laparoscopically.

RESULTS
By using a special trocar to suspend the cyst against the abdominal wall, laparoscopic simple drainage was performed in 16 patients (70%) and unroofing and drainage in 6 patients (26%). Pericystectomy was performed in 1 patient (4%). Complications were observed in 1 patient (4%) perioperatively and 4 patients (17%) postoperatively. Eleven patients (48%) were followed-up for a mean of 17 months (range, 3-72 months) and 1 recurrence (9%) was detected.

CONCLUSIONS
This report is a very large experience with the laparoscopic treatment of liver hydatid cysts in the literature. We have established a technique yielding a comparable morbidity and recurrence rate to open series in early follow-up. We advocate that it is a safe and simple technique with potentially a decreased risk of intra-abdominal spillage compared with the other laparoscopic methods described.


Parenteral amphotericin B has been considered as first-line therapy in the treatment of systemic fungal and parasitic infections, however its use has been associated with a number of limitations including affordability, accessibility, and an array of systemic toxicities. Until very recently, it has been very challenging to develop a bioavailable formulation of amphotericin B due to its physical chemical properties, limited water and lipid solubility, and poor absorption. This perspective reviews several novel oral Amphotericin B formulations under development that are attempting to overcome these limitations.


One of the well-known radiation-associated late-onset cancers is childhood thyroid cancer as demonstrated around Chernobyl apparently from 1991. Therefore, immediately after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident on March 2011, iodine thyroid blocking was considered regardless of its successful implementation or not at the indicated timing and places as one of the radiation protection measurements, in addition to evacuation and indoor sheltering, because a short-lived radioactive iodine was massively released into the environment which might crucially affect thyroid glands through inhalation and unrestricted consumption of contaminated food and milk. However, very fortunately, it is now increasingly believed that the exposure doses on the thyroid as well as whole body are too low to detect any radiation-associated cancer risk in Fukushima. Although the risk of radiation-associated health consequences of residents in Fukushima is quite different from that of Chernobyl and is considerably low based on the estimated radiation doses received during the accident for individuals, a large number of people have received psychosocial and mental stresses aggravated by radiation fear and anxiety, and remained in indeterminate and uncertain situation having been evacuated but not relocated. It is, therefore, critically important that best activities and practices related to recovery and resilience should be encouraged, supported and implemented at local and regional levels. Since psychosocial well-being of individuals and communities is the core element of resilience, local individuals, health professionals and authorities are uniquely positioned to identify and provide insight into what would provide the best resolution for their specific needs.


Receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) ligand (RANKL) and its receptor RANK play an essential role in osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast function by activating several signaling pathways. However, several lines of evidence suggest that RANK also transmits an unidentified signaling pathway(s) essential for osteoclastogenesis. To identify the novel pathway(s), we carried out a detailed structure/function study of the RANK cytoplasmic domain. A series of studies using numerous deletion/point mutants elucidated a specific 4-amino acid motif (535IVVY538) essential for osteoclastogenesis. This novel motif plays a crucial role in committing macrophages to the osteoclast lineage but is not implicated in osteoclast function or survival. Moreover, this motif does not activate the known RANK signaling pathways, indicating that it initiates a novel pathway(s). The identification of the novel motif not only provides critical insight into RANK signaling in osteoclastogenesis, but more importantly, the RANK motif and its downstream signaling pathways may represent specific therapeutic targets for various bone diseases, including postmenopausal osteoporosis.


SUMMARY Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world and a potentially important source of zinc (Zn) in the diet. The improvement of Zn content of rice is a global challenge with implications for both rice production and human health. The objective of the present study was to identify the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates and Zn application methods on Zn content of rice by evaluating rice production on native soils with different Zn availabilities in 2010/11. The results indicated that Zn application increased rice grain yield and Zn content in grains compared with the control; however, this effect was also affected by the native soil Zn availability, N fertilizer rate and Zn fertilizer application method. The native soil Zn status was the dominant factor influencing grain yield and grain Zn content in response to Zn fertilizer application. Grain Zn content ranged from 19·74 to 26·93 mg/kg under the different Zn statuses. The results also indicated that Zn application method has a significant influence on grain yield. Application of Zn fertilizer to the soil was more effective than the foliar spray on rice grain yield; however, the foliar spray resulted in a greater increase in grain Zn content when compared with soil application. Grain Zn content was affected by application method and displayed the following general trend: soil application + foliar spray > foliar spray > soil application. The experiments investigating the effect of N fertilizer rate combined with Zn application method showed a clear increase in both grain yield and Zn content as the N fertilizer level increased from 200 to 300 kg/ha. In addition, the results also indicated that N content and accumulation increased in all plant tissues, which suggests that Zn application might influence the uptake and translocation of N in rice plants. These results suggest that soil application in addition to a foliar spray of Zn should be considered as an important strategy to increase grain yield and grain Zn content of rice grown in soils with low background levels of Zn-associated diethylene triamine pentaacetate acid. Moreover, this process could be further strengthened by a high N application rate. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the potential of optimizing nutrient management using Zn fertilizer to obtain higher grain yields and higher grain Zn content in fields with low native Zn status.


Existing water purification management in Pakistan is insufficient as well as not up to the World Health Organization (WHO) set standards; and ultimately people are suffering. This problem has hit the world in general and Pakistan in particular. This study was designed to evaluate the concentration of arsenic in the Risalpur Cantonment, Pakistan. Various samples for a period of 6–8 months were analyzed using standard procedures. The concentration of pH, turbidity, nitrates, TDS, and total coliform were observed as 8.5, 0.4 NTU, 2 mg/L, 2600 mg/L and 7 MPN. Owing to economical test of alum and lime, they were used as coagulant dosages for the removal of arsenic. It was observed that by using 20 mg/L of alum and 20 mg/L of lime, more than 75% of arsenic can be removed respectively. The results of this study suggest that cost effective and efficient arsenic removal technique, using alum and lime should be adopted.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the short-term economic savings associated with the prevention of unintended pregnancies through California's Medicaid family planning demonstration project.

DATA SOURCES
Secondary data from health and social service programs available to pregnant or parenting women at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in California in 2002 and data on the quantity and type of contraceptives dispensed to clients of California's 1115 Federal Medicaid demonstration project.

STUDY DESIGN
The cost of providing publicly funded family planning services was compared with an estimate of public savings resulting from the prevention of unintended pregnancies.

DATA COLLECTION
To estimate costs and participation rates in each health and social service program, we examined published program reports, government budgetary data, analyses conducted by federal and state level program managers, and calculations from national datasets.

FINDINGS
The unintended pregnancies averted by California's family planning demonstration project in 2002 would have incurred $1.1 billion in public expenditures within 2 years and $2.2 billion within 5 years, significantly more than the $403.8 million spent on the project. Each dollar spent generated savings of $2.76 within 2 years and $5.33 within 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS
The California 1115 Medicaid family planning demonstration project resulted in significant public cost savings. The cost of the project was substantially less than the public sector health and social service costs which would have occurred in its absence.


This study focuses on the results of excavations of the Kyrgyz burial mounds at Chineta II, northwestern Altai. Local burials in this region are cremations accompanied by weapons, belt sets, and horse harness. They represent two stages of the local variant of the Kyrgyz culture – Yakonur (late 9th – early 10th centuries) and Ak-Tash (late 10th – 11th centuries). The findings demonstrate contact between the Kyrgyz immigrants and the Altai natives. At the Yakonur stage, they appeared to have coexisted peacefully, given that in the 9th–10th centuries Turks were allies of the Kyrgyz in their wars against the Uighurs. At the late stage, the nature of relationships changed, as evidenced by an intrusive Kyrgyz burial in a Srostki kurgan. This may be due to either hostility or to loss of knowledge about the ethnic attribution of the mound. If the latter is true, the Kyrgyz settlement of the Altai in the 11th century was not permanent.


GLP-1 is a peptide hormone which has been shown to have a variety of antidiabetic actions that could help to reduce glycaemia especially in Type 2 diabetic patients: (1) It produces glucose-dependent stimulation of insulin secretion, and (2) inhibition of glucagon secretion; (3) there is evidence that it increases the rate of (pro)-insulin synthesis and it may also increase insulin sensitivity; (4) it slows the rate of gastric emptying for liquid meals, and possibly also for solid meals; (5) it appears to act within the central nervous system to suppress appetite. These actions of GLP-1 oppose a number of the abnormalities that are commonly observed in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Many facets of Type 2 diabetes, therefore, could be envisaged as a consequence of a lack of GLP-1 effects; they appear to be corrected by the exogenous administration of this gut peptide in short-term experiments. Future activities will aim at the therapeutic exploitation of this pharmacological potential by modifying GLP-1 and its ways of administration to suit the practical needs of patients with Type 2 diabetes.


The study was conducted to develop the substitute substance of STS (silver thiosulfate) with cut Lilium longiflorum 'Georgia'. Ethylene inhibitors, AVG (aminoethoxyvinyl glycine) 0.6mM, AIB (α-aminoisobutyric acid) 5mM, and ethanol 2% treatment prolonged vase life longer than STS treatment. Anther removal treatment was more effective than stigma removal treatment. Combination treatment of GA₃ and BA 25㎎ㆍL?¹ was very effective for the inhibition of leaf yellowing. Chlorophyll content was maintained for a long time in contrast with control. The selected treatment for the prolongation of vase life was AIB 5mM + GA₃ 25 ㎎ㆍL?¹ + BA 25 ㎎ㆍL?¹ + anther removal treatment.


An electroneuromyographic examination of 132 patients with pseudohypertrophic and myosclerotic forms of myodystrophies, collagenoses, mucopolysaccharidoses, Marfan's disease, and Chernogubov-Ehlers-Danlos' disease was carried out. A relationship between the duration of the M-response potential and the state of the interstitial connective tissue of the skeletal muscles was revealed. This duration appeared to be longer in cases of proliferation, sclerosis, and fibrosis of the interstitial tissue, and shorter in cases of a deficiency of the collagen fibres and increase of their elasticity.


In an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) environment, the communication component is of high
significance as it supports interactions between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure.
Existing studies focus on the physical capability and capacity of the communication
technologies, but the equally important development of suitable and efficient semantic content
for transmission has received notably less attention. Using an ontology is one promising
approach for context modelling in ubiquitous computing environments. In the transport domain,
an ontology can be used both for context modelling and semantic contents for vehicular
communications. This research explores the development of an ontological framework
implementing a geosemantic messaging model to support vehicle-to-vehicle communications.
To develop an ontology model, two scenarios (an ambulance situation and a breakdown on the
motorway) are constructed to describe specific situations using short-range communication in
an ITS environment. In the scenarios, spatiotemporal relations and semantic relations among
vehicles and road facilities are extracted and defined as classes, objects, and properties/relations
in the ontology model. For the ontology model, some functions and query templates are also
developed to update vehicles' movements and to provide some logical procedures that vehicles
need to follow in emergency situations. To measure the effects of the vehicular communication
based on the ontology model, an agent-based approach is adopted to dynamically simulate the
moving vehicles and their communications following the scenarios.
The simulation results demonstrate that the ontology model can support vehicular
communications to update each vehicle's context model and assist its decision-making process
to resolve the emergency situations. The results also show the effect of vehicular
communications on the efficiency trends of traffic in emergency situations, where some vehicles
have a communication device, and others do not. The efficiency trends, based on the percentage
of vehicles having a communication device, can be useful to set a transition period plan for
implanting communication devices onto vehicles and the infrastructure.
The geospatial ontological framework and agent simulation may contribute to increase the
intelligence of ITS by supporting data-level and application-level implementation of
autonomous vehicle agents to share knowledge in local contexts. This work can be easily
extended to support more complex interactions amongst vehicles and the infrastructure.


SUMMARY In India, Tectona grandis is traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and lipiddisorder. In the present study, the antihyperglycemic and lipid lowering effect of ethanolic extractof bark of Tectona grandis (TG) was evaluated using alloxan induced diabetes in rats. Alloxan wasgiven at the dose of 140 mg/kg, i.p. After induction of diabetes, TG was administered for 42 daysp. o. and simultaneously different biochemical parameters like plasma glucose, liver glycogencontent, serum triglyceride, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were estimated.Diabetic control showed significant increase (P < 0.01) in plasma glucose, serum triglyceride,cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and significant decrease (P < 0.01) in serum HDL-cholesterol andliver glycogen content. Treatment with TG showed significant reduction (P < 0.01) in plasmaglucose when compared with diabetic control. The elevated levels of serum triglyceride andcholesterol levels were significantly reduced (P < 0.01) by TG. TG treatment for 42 days showedsignificant decrease in serum LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.01) and significant increase in serum HDL-cholesterol level (P < 0.01). Moreover, diabetic control there was significant decrease in liverglycogen content which was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by treatment with TG. Hence, fromthe result obtained in the present study it can be concluded that Tectona grandis has the potentialto treat diabetes condition and associated lipid disorder.Key words: Tectona grandis; Alloxan; Antihyperglycemic; Lipid lowering; Glucose; Glycogen


ABSTRACT Based on the view that "The meanings that we take most for granted are those where the complexity is best hidden", the paper attempts to describe the complex cognitive operations at work in the process of proverb understanding. The main goal is to build up a model capable of accounting for how proverbs mean and how speakers within a speech community understand them the way they do. Such a model is not a completely new one; rather, it is built out of a number of already existing models, namely Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Great Chain Metaphor Theory, Stereotype Theory and Metaphoric Integration Theory. Each of these theories reduces to an individual ingredient which fulfills a specific task within the broad model as a whole. The broad model is applied to two case studies in order to indicate how it works in the case of proverbs with simple metaphorical structures and in proverbs with complex metaphorical potential.


In the present work, we were interested in the study of the oscillatory phenomenon of ammonia-water two-phase flow inside the bubble pump of absorption-diffusion refrigerators. In fact, flow instability can reduce the efficiency of the bubble pump. The simulation of two-phase flow in the bubble pump is conducted by using the drift flow model. Balance equations of the drift flow model and their closure relationships, as well as the numerical method, were developed. The numerical resolution allowed defining the void fraction, the liquid and vapor velocities, the pressure, and the mixing enthalpy against time. The effect of heat flux received by the bubble pump is simulated in the transitional regime. Simulated results of the vapor, liquid, and mass velocities show a flow fluctuation at the beginning of the operation. The duration of the fluctuation increase from 6 s to 12 s by reducing the heat flux from 5 to 2 kW/m².The void fraction profile makes it possible to distinguish that the slug and churn regimes are those which dominate the pump's operating regime for a heat flux of 2 and 3 kW/m². The pumping action is influenced by the heat flux. A maximum of 10 kW/m² value of heat flux is defined for an obtained minimum of the pumping action.


In this paper, we study geometric properties of basins of attraction of monotone systems. Our results are based on a combination of monotone systems theory and spectral operator theory. We exploit the framework of the Koopman operator, which provides a linear infinite-dimensional description of nonlinear dynamical systems and spectral operator-theoretic notions such as eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. The sublevel sets of the dominant eigenfunction form a family of nested forward-invariant sets and the basin of attraction is the largest of these sets. The boundaries of these sets, called isostables, allow studying temporal properties of the system. Our first observation is that the dominant eigenfunction is increasing in every variable in the case of monotone systems. This is a strong geometric property which simplifies the computation of isostables. We also show how variations in basins of attraction can be bounded under parametric uncertainty in the vector field of monotone systems. Finally, we study the properties of the parameter set for which a monotone system is multistable. Our results are illustrated on several systems of two to four dimensions.


Mobile applications are increasingly being built using web technologies as a common substrate to achieve portability and to improve developer productivity. Unfortunately, web applications often incur large performance overhead, directly affecting the user quality-of-service (QoS) experience. Traditional techniques in improving mobile processor performance have mostly been adopting desktop-like design techniques such as increasing single-core microarchitecture complexity and aggressively integrating more cores. However, such a desktop-oriented strategy is likely coming to an end due to the stringent energy and thermal constraints that mobile devices impose. Therefore, we must pivot away from traditional mobile processor design techniques in order to provide sustainable performance improvement while maintaining energy efficiency. In this article, we propose to combine hardware customization and specialization techniques to improve the performance and energy efficiency of mobile web applications. We first perform design-space exploration (DSE) and identify opportunities in customizing existing general-purpose mobile processors, that is, tuning microarchitecture parameters. The thorough DSE also lets us discover sources of energy inefficiency in customized general-purpose architectures. To mitigate these inefficiencies, we propose, synthesize, and evaluate two new domain-specific specializations, called the Style Resolution Unit and the Browser Engine Cache. Our optimizations boost performance and energy efficiency at the same time while maintaining general-purpose programmability. As emerging mobile workloads increasingly rely more on web technologies, the type of optimizations we propose will become important in the future and are likely to have a long-lasting and widespread impact.


Adenovirus-based vectors are used today for gene transfer and vaccination. HAdV26 has emerged as a promising candidate vector for development of vaccines due to its relatively low seroprevalence and its ability to induce potent immune responses against inserted transgenes. However, data regarding the basic biology of the virus, like receptor usage or intracellular trafficking, are limited. In this work, we found that efficient infection of human epithelial cell lines by HAdV26 requires the expression of the αvβ3 integrin. By studying intracellular trafficking of fluorescently labeled HAdV26 in a cell clone with stably increased expression of αvβ3 integrin, we observed that HAdV26 colocalizes with αvβ3 integrin and confirmed that αvβ3 integrin expression facilitates efficient HAdV26 internalization. These results will allow further improvement of HAdV26-based vectors for gene transfer and vaccination. ABSTRACT Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are being explored as vectors for gene transfer and vaccination. Human adenovirus type 26 (HAdV26), which belongs to the largest subgroup of adenoviruses, species D, has a short fiber and a so-far-unknown natural tropism. Due to its low seroprevalence, HAdV26 has been considered a promising vector for the development of vaccines. Despite the fact that the in vivo safety and immunogenicity of HAdV26 have been extensively studied, the basic biology of the virus with regard to receptor use, cell attachment, internalization, and intracellular trafficking is poorly understood. In this work, we investigated the roles of the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), CD46, and αv integrins in HAdV26 infection of human epithelial cell lines. By performing different gain- and loss-of-function studies, we found that αvβ3 integrin is required for efficient infection of epithelial cells by HAdV26, while CAR and CD46 did not increase the transduction efficiency of HAdV26. By studying intracellular trafficking of fluorescently labeled HAdV26 in A549 cells and A549-derived cell clones with stably increased expression of αvβ3 integrin, we observed that HAdV26 colocalizes with αvβ3 integrin and that increased αvβ3 integrin enhances internalization of HAdV26. Thus, we conclude that HAdV26 uses αvβ3 integrin as a receptor for infecting epithelial cells. These results give us new insight into the HAdV26 infection pathway and will be helpful in further defining HAdV-based vector manufacturing and vaccination strategies. IMPORTANCE Adenovirus-based vectors are used today for gene transfer and vaccination. HAdV26 has emerged as a promising candidate vector for development of vaccines due to its relatively low seroprevalence and its ability to induce potent immune responses against inserted transgenes. However, data regarding the basic biology of the virus, like receptor usage or intracellular trafficking, are limited. In this work, we found that efficient infection of human epithelial cell lines by HAdV26 requires the expression of the αvβ3 integrin. By studying intracellular trafficking of fluorescently labeled HAdV26 in a cell clone with stably increased expression of αvβ3 integrin, we observed that HAdV26 colocalizes with αvβ3 integrin and confirmed that αvβ3 integrin expression facilitates efficient HAdV26 internalization. These results will allow further improvement of HAdV26-based vectors for gene transfer and vaccination.


Research for this article had the purpose of exploring medieval Armenian–Ethiopian connections. The investigations revealed three main contexts where Ethiopia and Ethiopians feature in the Armenian sources of the first millennium, without necessarily implying real-life encounters. Firstly, the earliest Armenian texts locate Ethiopia and discuss the genealogy of its people in line with the biblical account of the Diamerismos, as well as notions based on Eusebius of Caesarea's Chronicle translated into Armenian from Syriac in the fifth century. Each author, then, interpreted this information according to his narrative needs or the purpose of a given composition. The discussion of these sources reveals the circulation of classical and Hellenistic notions on Ethiopia and the Ethiopians in Armenian, too, such as the confusion between Ethiopia, Arabia, and India, as well as anthropological or spiritual features attributed to Ethiopians already by classical authors. Secondly, the article analyses a series of calendrical treatises, starting with one authored by the seventh-century polymath Anania Širakac'i, that passed on a short tale about a sixth-century gathering of scholars in Alexandria in order to determine the date of the Easter and establish tables for its calculation in the future. An Ethiopian wise man Abdiē was part of this international endeavour too, according to this tradition, and his presence marked Ethiopia as part of the eastern Mediterranean learned world, with its own cultural traditions. Armenian language hemerologia also preserved month names in Gǝʿǝz,  reproduced in the Appendix. Thirdly, the article draws attention to a completely new way of viewing Ethiopia in ninth- to eleventh-century Armenian anti-dyophysite (antiByzantine) treatises where the Armenian Church and its doctrines or ritual practices were imagined as part of a vast, non-dyophysite orthodox world that included the Ethiopian Church. Intriguingly, this argumentative technique, formulated in terms that one may callanti-colonial ante litteram, may be traced among Coptic and Syriac polemicists as well, a subject of research that would benefit from further analysis.


Period after Second World War was a time well known after the very large population movement from rural to urban areas which cause depopulation in numerous rural settlements in Serbia. Emigration from villages to towns decimated, in demographic sense, small settlements in the first place, and urban areas became bearers of the population growth. Some of the rural settlements had privilege of their geographic position and certain functions and that's why they attracted population from other places. In those settlements number of people who moved in (was not born there) was more than 50% of total population. In this paper this rural settlements will be discussed about.


The present study has been undertaken on phenology, pollen morphology, and the effect of environmental temperatureon pollen viability of four woody species (Cordia boissieri, Parkinsonia texana, Parkinsonia aculeate and Leucophyllum frutescens) in northeast Mexico. These four species started flowering from March till June during this month they are in fruiting stage. Large variations were observed on pollen morphology with respect to form, size, and surface ornamentations of pollen grains. The species varied widely in pollen viability percentage in response to the prevailing environmental temperatures. Although, at 23°C the species showed high pollen viability, Cordia boissieru (81.22%), Parkinsonia aculeate (80.11), Parkinsonia texana (79.40). and Leucophyla frutescens 73.79%) but with an incease in temperature pollen viability decreased down to about 60%). The temperature 23°C was found to be favorable for optimum pollen viability (80%) of all the species studied. With an increase in temperature, C. boissieri showed drastic decrease in pollen viability, while the pollen viability remained more or less stable, but decreased at 32°C.


This article describes an IBM-developed parallel software methodology called Integrated Manufacturing and Development (IMaD). IMaD is a super-scalable AIX application written in the C programming language and makes use of the Message Passing Interface (MPI). It is built specifically to support Product Engineering (PE) for full-scale integrated circuits (IC), like microprocessors, and encompasses failure, yield, and reliability design and analysis. Because an IC is constructed of smaller building-block circuits, many aspects of its behavior are learned from a local analysis of some subset of the IC. However, there are global aspects of an IC-such as its power-grid electrical distribution that require a full-scale formulation, solution, evaluation, and visualization. This sets the stage for some very large problems that demand enormous computational and memory resources. In answer to these demands, IMaD provides a parallel processing solution that incorporates novel methods of both topographic partitioning of the IC and of solving the global electrical simulation equations.


Two prolactin receptors (PRLRs) encoded by two different genes were identified in the fugu and zebrafish genomes but not in the genomes of other vertebrates. Subsequently, two cDNA sequences corresponding to two PRLRs were identified in black seabream and Nile tilapia. Phylogenetic analysis of PRLR sequences in various vertebrates indicated that the coexistence of two PRLRs in a single species is a unique phenomenon in teleosts. Both PRLRs in teleosts (the classical one named as PRLR1, the newly identified one as PRLR2) resemble the long-form mammalian PRLRs. However, despite their overall structural similarities, the two PRLR subtypes in fish share very low amino acid similarities (about 30%), mainly due to differences in the intracellular domain. In particular, the Box 2 region and some intracellular tyrosine residues are missing in PRLR2. Tissue distribution study by real-time PCR in black seabream (sb) revealed that both receptors (sbPRLR1 and sbPRLR2) are widely expressed in different tissues. In gill, the expression level of sbPRLR2 is much higher than that of sbPRLR1. In the intestine, the expression of sbPRLR1 is higher than that of sbPRLR2. The expression levels of both receptors are relatively low in most other tissues, with sbPRLR1 generally higher than sbPRLR2. The sbPRLR1 and sbPRLR2 were functionally expressed in cultured human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Both receptors can activate the beta-casein and c-fos promoters; however, only sbPRLR1 but not sbPRLR2 can activate the Spi promoter upon receptor stimulation in a ligand-specific manner. These results indicate that both receptors share some common functions but are distinctly different from each other in mobilizing post-receptor events. When challenged with different steroid hormones, the two PRLRs exhibited very different gene expression patterns in the seabream kidney. The sbPRLR1 expression was up-regulated by estradiol and cortisol, whereas testosterone had no significant effect. For sbPRLR2, its expression was down-regulated by estradiol and testosterone, while cortisol exerted no significant effect. The 5'-flanking regions of the sbPRLR1 and sbPRLR2 genes were cloned and the promoter activities were studied in transfected GAKS cells in the absence or presence of different steroid hormones. The results of the promoter studies were in general agreement with the in vivo hormonal regulation of gene expression results. The sbPRLR1 gene promoter activity was activated by estradiol and cortisol, but not by testosterone. In contrast, the sbPRLR2 gene promoter activity was inhibited by estradiol, cortisol, and testosterone.


The challenges of the ODL systems in contemporary world remains to extend its outreach to the hither to unreached geographically, economically, socially and also technologically. In countries like India, with a comparatively young population base and rich demographic dividends to be reaped for the next few decades, the ODL system has a significant role to play in building up the human capital, uniformly across geographical spaces. This study will focus to assess, from the end user perspective, the success and efficiency of the technological interventions of IGNOU through its Regional Centres and pan India coverage during the period of Pandemic. It will also focus on the challenges in digital inclusion of the masses, as we adopt and incorporate technologies for education. The Technology Accessibility Model (TAM) of Davis, which studies the user acceptance of information systems will be the basis to assess the 'user acceptability' of online counselling methods and other facilities used during the period of pandemic at two of the Regional Centres each of Delhi and Bihar to understand the impact of online initiatives and challenges for digital inclusion across geographical spaces. The study will be based on primary data and information collected through Google form questionnaire from students of some Post Graduate Programmes in the Regional Centres of Delhi and Bihar.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim of the study was to determine whether complete anonymity improves the response rates to a postal questionnaire. DESIGN--The study derived from a series of postal surveys on AIDS knowledge conducted on six different dates in 1986 and 1987. The sample was randomly divided into two, each group being sent the same questionnaire. One group was informed that the replies were anonymous, the other that they were not. The latter were sent reminders. SETTING--Recipients of the questionnaires were drawn from the Southampton electoral rolls. PARTICIPANTS--300 people in each survey (total 1800) were sent questionnaires, representing on each occasion a different 1:500 systematic sample. RESULTS--Response rate was 49% for the anonymous questionnaires and 51% for the numbered questionnaires. Reminders boosted the response in the numbered group to 72%. CONCLUSIONS--There is no evidence that anonymity improves response to postal questionnaires, but the use of reminders may do so.


The large installed base of large frame industrial gas turbines has prompted a number of replacement part offerings, in addition to the replacement parts offered by the OEM. Willett [1] proposed an economic model developed to evaluate gas turbine component alternatives for base load and cyclic duty operation. The improved method expands the capability of the earlier model by including risk level as a variable. Power plant operator value of alternative replacement turbine components for a popular large frame industrial gas turbines is evaluated. A baseline case is established to represent the current component repair and replacement situation, assuming no risk. Each of the modes of power plant operation is evaluated from a long-term financial focus. A short-term financial focus is evaluated for contrast and discussed briefly. Long-term focus is characterized by a nine-year evaluation period, while short-term focus is based on first year benefit only. Four factors are varied: part price, output increase, simple cycle efficiency increase, and additional risk. Natural gas fuel is considered at two different gas prices. Peak, off-peak, and spot market electricity prices are considered. Results are calculated and compared using net present value (NPV) criteria. A case study is presented to demonstrate the method's applicability to a range of different risk scenarios, from ill-fitting replacement parts to catastrophic turbine failure.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The immune response of random-bred mice to infection with a relatively avirulent strain of Plasmodium yoelii was measured in terms of parasitemia, splenomegaly, immediate and delayed hypersensitivity to a P. yoelii antigen preparation, resistance to challenge with a virulent variant of P. yoelii, and nonspecific resistance to L. monocytogenes. Avirulent P. yoelii produced a self limiting infection which resolved in 21 days. Peak parasitemia and splenomegaly were observed at 14 days, and infected mice were resistant to challenge with virulent P. yoelii from 7 days through at least 126 days. Mice infected with avirulent P. yoelii developed humoral immunity as judged by immediate hypersensitivity reactions and the capacity of their serum to passively protect normal mice against virulent P. yoelii. At no time did mice infected with the avirulent P. yoelii display evidence of cell-mediated immunity, as expressed by delayed-type hypersensitivity and increased resistance to L. monocytogenes. In fact, at the height of avirulent P. yoelii infection there was decreased resistance to L. monocytogenes in both liver and spleen, and the macrophages of the undisturbed peritoneal cavity were similarly defective. It was concluded that the defense mechanism of mice against P. yoelii is mediated by humoral factors in the absence of demonstrable cell-mediated immunity.


Light of various spectral regions (at low or high intensities) supplemented a short day (SD) in white light, or was used alone at high intensity. Two types of relation of wave length to photoperiodic reaction were found: Crucifers were sensitive to blue and infrared (even SD exposure promoted elongation and flowering) and did not respond to 520-700 mμ(so this region inhibited flowering in white light despite its blue component); other plants, e.g. Cosmos bipinnatus and Spinacia oleracea were sensitive to 520-700 mμand showed little or no response to blue and infrared. Flowering of day-neutral plants was not affected by wave length of supplementary light. All species showed strong response to supplementary blue and infrared radiation, by excessive elongation of a part such as internodes, leaves or petioles. The rate depended on light intensity and the process was inhibited by red or green. Light of restricted spectral regions also induced strong formative and biochemical effects. Infrared counteracted red light. 'Monochromatic' light of high intensity perhaps regulated auxin level, whereas the supplementary light might effect its activity or sensitivity to auxin.


Objective This study aimed to present the spectrum of thyroid dysfunction, including hormonal and ultrasound aspects, in a cohort of paediatric and adult patients diagnosed with inactivating parathyroid hormone (PTH)/PTH-related protein signalling disorders 2 and 3 (iPPSD). Methods The medical records of 31 patients from 14 families diagnosed with iPPSD between 1980 and 2021 in a single tertiary unit were retrospectively analysed. Biochemical, hormonal, molecular, and ultrasonographic parameters were assessed. Results In total, 28 patients from 13 families were diagnosed with iPPSD2 (previously pseudohypoparathyroidism [PHP], PHP1A, and pseudo-PHP) at a mean age of 12.2 years (ranging from infancy to 48 years), and three patients from one family were diagnosed with iPPSD3 (PHP1B). Thyroid dysfunction was diagnosed in 21 of the 28 (75%) patients with iPPSD2. Neonatal screening detected congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in 4 of the 20 (20%) newborns. The spectrum of thyroid dysfunction included: CH, 3/21 (14.2%); CH and autoimmune thyroiditis with nodular goitre, 1/21 (4.8%); subclinical hypothyroidism, 10/21 (47.6%); subclinical hypothyroidism and nodular goitre, 1/21 (4.8%); primary hypothyroidism, 4/21 (19%); and autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto and Graves' disease), 2/21 (9.6%). Thyroid function was normal in 7 of the 28 (25%) patients with iPPSD2 and in all patients with iPPSD3. Ultrasound evaluation of the thyroid gland revealed markedly inhomogeneous echogenicity and structure in all patients with thyroid dysfunction. Goitre was found in three patients. Conclusion The spectrum of thyroid dysfunction in iPPSD ranges from CH to autoimmune thyroiditis and nodular goitre. Ultrasonography of the thyroid gland may reveal an abnormal thyroid parenchyma.


For accurate fault detection and diagnosis, this paper focuses on the study of bearing vibration responses under increasing radial clearances due to investable wear and different bearing grades. A nonlinear dynamic model incorporating with local defects and clearance increments is developed for a deep groove ball bearing. The model treats the inner race-shaft and outer race-housing as two lumped masses which are coupled by a nonlinear spring formalized by the Hertzian contact deformation between the balls and races. The solution of the nonlinear equation is obtained by a Runge-Kutta method in Matlab. The results show that the vibrations at fault characteristic frequencies exhibit significant changes with increasing clearances. However, an increased vibration is found for the outer race fault whereas a decreased vibration is found for inner race fault. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account these changes in determining the size of faults.


Initial studies of Apollo rock samples concluded that the Moon was an anhydrous planetary body [1]. Recently there has been a change of opinion with several research groups detecting variable amounts of H 2 O in lunar mare glass beads [2], melt inclusions [3] and hydroxyl in lunar apatites [4-9]. The maximum amount of water detected thus far has been from mare basalt 12039 [10]. These authors also measured the D/H ratio of lunar apatites, with δD values ranging from – 215 ‰ to +1010 ‰ in the case of mare basalts and from +240 ‰ to +340 ‰ in the case of highlands anorthosite clast 14305. The water content of these samples varied from ~0 to 0.6 wt.%. Here we report δD values and hydroxyl contents of apatite grains from Apollo mare basalt 12064 and lunar mare basalt meteorite Miller Range MIL 05035.


Without using templates, seeds and surfactants, this study successfully prepared multi-oxide-layer coated Ag nanowires that enable tunable surface plasmon resonance without size or shape changes. A spontaneously grown ultra-thin titania layer onto the Ag nanowire surface causes a shift in surface plasmon resonance towards low energy (high wavelength) and also acts as a preferential site for the subsequent deposition of various oxides, e.g., TiO2 and CeO2. The difference in refractive indices results in further plasmonic resonance shifts. This verifies that the surface plasma resonance wavelength of one-dimensional nanostructures can be adjusted using refractive indices and shell oxide thickness design.


Over the three years period 1980–1982, 18 256 pregnancies in the Grampian Region of N‐E Scotland including the islands of Orkney and Shetland were screened for raised levels of maternal serum alpha fetoprotein (MSAFP) in the second trimester. Thirty six cases of fetal open neural tube defect in singletons were detected (18 anencephaly and 18 spina bifida). Four additional cases of open spina bifida were associated with normal MSAFP levels although two of these were detected by amniotic fluid AFP measurement when amniocentesis was carried out because of previous NTD history. A further three cases of open spina bifida and two of anencephaly occurred in unscreened pregnancies. The MSAFP screening programme alone was thus instrumental in reducing the birth incidence of open neural tube defects by 36 out of 45 cases (80 per cent) in singletons.


Free–floating thrombus of the ascending aorta is a rare disease entity which carries a potential risk of distal embolization with catastrophic consequences. We present the case of a 46–year–old patient with floating thrombus in the ascending aorta, likely caused by catheter injury, after a percutaneous coronary angiography with stent implantation at the circumflex artery and no antiplatelet agents. A 46–year–old female patient was admitted to the emergency room with acute chest pain radiating to the left arm for the past 3 days. She reported a history of cigarette smoking and a ST–elevation myocardial infarction with stent implantation at the level of the circumflex artery about 1 month before. The patient was not taking any antiplatelet therapy for explicit refusal. Transthoracic echocardiography showed an isoechoic lesion in the ascending aorta and no other abnormalities of the cardiac structure and function and of the valve systems. Transoesophageal echocardiography confirmed the presence of a coarse (17 mm 14 mm) isoechoic formation, with a large base of implantation at the level of the non–coronary aortic cusp, extending approximately 45 mm into the aortic vessel with a floating attitude (Panels A–C). Computed tomography angiography showed a pedunculated mass measuring 22 mm 22 mm 45 mm in ascending aortic lumen (Panels D and E). Intact intima and normal size of ascending aorta with no signs of aortic dissection or intramural haematoma were also reported. The patient underwent a thrombectomy (Panel F) and aortic replacement. A histopathologic examination revealed the mass to be a fibrin thrombus. The post–operative course was uneventful. No recrudescence or concomitant visceral or vascular embolism was observed. The patient was discharged with dual antiplatelet agents.


Producing cinnamoyl-CoA, and microorganisms that are genetically engineered with the operation metabolic pathways for producing pinosylvin by the action therefrom stilbene synthase is used in the production of pinosylvin. The cinnamic acid, accepting phenylalanine as a substrate, and by which the producing cinnamic acid L- phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) can be formed from L- phenylalanine. Preferably, if the PAL is receiving a tyrosine as substrate, to form a coumaric acid therefrom, the ratio of Km (phenylalanine) / Km (tyrosine) for said PAL is 1: less than 1, the microorganism, cinnamate - when producing 4-hydroxylase enzyme .Field


Objectives Lung cancer is the most common and lethal malignancy worldwide. CEP55 was found to be overexpressed in multiple types of cancer. However, the expression pattern of CEP55 and its clinical significance in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) have not been investigated by immunohistochemistry. Materials and methods In this study, we analyzed 203 primary NSCLC specimens from Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center to investigate the clinical role of CEP55 in lung cancer. Tissue microarray was successfully generated for immunohistochemical evaluation. The correlation between CEP55 expression and clinical characteristics and survival was analyzed statistically. The predictive effect of CEP55 and APOBEC3B (AP3B) coexpression in lung cancer patients' prognosis was evaluated. Results We found that the CEP55 expression was commonly elevated in NSCLC tissues and overexpression of CEP55 was correlated with unfavorable prognosis in the patients with NSCLC. Furthermore, the combination of CEP55 and AP3B expression was significantly predictive of clinical outcome in all NSCLC patients. Conclusion CEP55 may act as a useful and novel prognostic biomarker for NSCLC. Further studies into the mechanism of CEP55 are warranted.


The core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow structures of nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention due to their wide applications in various fields. Herein, we have successfully developed a facile strategy for the controlled synthesis of core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow structured ZIF-67@Co-LDH/SiO2 by using zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) as a self-sacrificing template. The mesoporous core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow nanostructured ZIF-67@Co-LDH/SiO2 material was obtained by controlling the reaction time under the protection of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide. In this research, SEM, TEM and PXRD were used to characterize the morphology, size, composition and structure of the obtained ZIF-67@Co-LDH/SiO2 material. The formation mechanism of the core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow structures was elucidated. Moreover, the unique structural characteristics and porosity enable the prepared core–shell/yolk–shell/hollow nanostructure ZIF-67@Co-LDH/SiO2 to exhibit good adsorption performance for Congo red.


The authors studied the effects on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) absorption of chronic administration and acute withdrawal of steroids in dogs. CSF absorption was measured by determining the amount of isotope (indium 111DTPA) recovered over a 4-hour period after injection into the cisterna magna. Resistance to CSF absorption was estimated by determining rates of low of Ringer's lactate infusion into the cisterna magna over a range of pressure gradients between CSF and sagittal sinus. Steroid withdrawal was associated with a marked reduction in CSF absorption and an increase in resistance to CSF flow. Dogs on steroids also showed reduced CSF absorption although the reduction was not statistically significant when compared with controls. The results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms of action of steroids on CSF absorption, the etiology of the benign intracranial hypertension syndrome and the use of steroids and in the control of intracranial hypertension.


Raman spectra of aerographite, graphite oxide, graphite flakes, and kish graphite were investigated with different laser excitation energies (wavelengths, λL), namely, 2.81 eV (442 nm), 2.41 eV (514 nm), 2.33 eV (532 nm), and 1.96 eV (633 nm). X-ray diffraction analysis showed that aerographite and graphite oxide are structurally disordered. The Raman spectra of both exhibit typical graphitic features, namely, G, D, D′, and 2D bands. The D and 2D bands exhibit a "blue-shift" with laser excitation energies, EL, while the G bands remain invariant. The intensity ratio between the D and G bands (ID/IG) ranges from 0.70 to 1.25 for aerographite and graphite oxide and from 0.04 to 0.24 for graphite flakes and kish graphite. The dependence of ID/IG on λL4 is linear for graphite flakes and kish graphite, while it saturates at the longest λL for aerographite and graphite oxide. A physical explanation of this unexpected saturation is proposed within the double resonant Raman scattering model, taking into account the disorder-induced changes of the phonon density of states.


In this paper, we propose a hybrid system for contextual and semantic indexing of Arabic documents, bringing an improvement to classical models based on n-grams and the TFIDF model. This new approach takes into account the concept of the semantic vicinity of terms. We proceed in fact by the calculation of similarity between words using an hybridization of NGRAMs-TFIDF statistical measures and a kernel function in order to identify relevant descriptors. Terminological resources such as graphs and semantic dictionaries are integrated into the system to improve the indexing and the classification processes.


Previous studies have shown that subjects with normal binocular vision adapt to prism‐induced phorias. However, there are conflicting reports as to the amount of adaptation shown to horizontal prisms. Some investigations found a greater amount of adaptation to base out prisms compared with base in, whilst others found the reverse and one study found no adaptation to base out prism at all. This study investigated the adaptation response to horizontal prisms at distance and near in a larger number of subjects (n = 40). The results confirmed our previous findings and showed that at distance the adaptation responses are asymmetrical, there being a significantly greater amount of adaptation to base out prism compared with base in, whilst at near the responses are virtually symmetrical. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.


In a typical aqueous nasal suspension manufacturing process, the homogeneity of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) dispersion in a premix vessel is determined merely by visual observation. In this study, to better demonstrate in-process control, Raman spectroscopy was developed as a process analytical tool (PAT) to monitor the real-time API dispersion homogeneity in the active premix process. The end-point variations of the API dispersion as a function of the surfactant type, surfactant concentration, and agitation speed were evaluated by dispersive Raman spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis for both lab-scale and pilot-scale batches. The optimal surfactant concentration and type were determined to be 0.2% surfactant A for the active dispersion based on a quantitative end-point comparison. In addition, a chemometric model was developed successfully for the real-time prediction of API concentration in the active premix, with a root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) of 5.4%. In conclusion, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a viable PAT tool to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the active premix homogeneity in an aqueous nasal suspension manufacturing process. In the future, this method can potentially be used in the commercial manufacturing process for in-process control of the dispersion homogeneity of the suspension. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Polymer flooding is a common enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method used to increase aqueous phase sweep efficiency by increasing viscosity. Estimating polymer viscosity for given reservoir conditions (i.e., oil viscosity, temperature, and brine composition) requires intensive laboratory work. There are existing empirical models to estimate polymer bulk rheology without prior laboratory work; however, they have many coefficients, simple brine composition, and lack physics-based regression boundaries. This study benchmarks the existing polymer empirical and machine learning (ML) models against a new data-driven model with some physics basis for common synthetic polymers. We cover a broad range of polymer concentrations, temperature, salinity, and hardness with an upper limit of 5,000 ppm, 120℃, 290,000 ppm, and 33,000 ppm, respectively. The data were preprocessed through data analytics techniques, and a model was developed with some physics basis by fitting Martin's equation for Carreau model coefficients. Our regression boundaries obey flexible polymers' physical and laboratory behavior. We benchmarked the bulk rheological model with existing models in the literature. We used the published models' coefficients and then tuned their coefficients for our data set for a fair comparison. We then investigated ML as a predictive tool without compromising overfitting the data using the simplest ML model (linear regression) all the way to artificial neural network (ANN) and hybrid ML models. This is the first study that comprehensively benchmarks polymer rheology models and proposes a simple, least number of coefficients, and tunable polymer-rheology model. We provide a predictive bulk rheology model that enables the user to accurately predict polymer viscosity without laboratory measurements and for a wide range of temperatures and brine compositions. Moreover, our study includes the recently common polymer SAV-10 that was not previously studied. We present a simple water viscosity model for a broad brine salinity and temperature range. Our study shows that ML techniques might provide deceptively high accuracy for small data sets, unless due diligence is done to avoid a high-variance model.


A 10‐year‐old boy fell from a tree and sustained blunt injury to his chest. He was brought to the hospital (6 h later) with difficulty in breathing and inability to speak. There was a bruise on the neck and extensive subcutaneous emphysema over the neck and chest and decreased air entry over the right hemithorax. Radiographs revealed a right‐sided pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and tracheal deviation. An intercostal drain (with underwater seal) was inserted and he was transferred to the operating room for bronchoscopy. Anesthesia was induced with IV midazolam and ketamine. The trachea was intubated orally and anesthesia maintained with spontaneous breathing of halothane in oxygen. Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy performed via the tracheal tube revealed no injury to bronchi or carina. Bronchoscopy through the tracheal tube withdrawn to the level of the vocal cords revealed a 1‐cm long posterior longitudinal tear approximately 2–3 cm below the cords. The surgeons planned a definitive tracheostomy distal to the traumatic tracheal opening. This was difficult and initially unsuccessful because of subcutaneous emphysema. A ureteric catheter was introduced through the tracheal tube and a tracheostomy tube mounted on the fiberoptic bronchoscope, which was then inserted through the surgical tracheostome. This followed the ureteric catheter into the distal trachea and the trachea was successfully cannulated. We review the mechanism of tracheal injuries with special reference to its occurrence in children with blunt injury. We discuss the airway management in these potentially life‐threatening injuries.


— Fractional Fourier Transform is a generalization of the classical Fourier Transform which is often symbolized as the rotation in time- frequency plane. Similar to the product of time and frequency span which provides the Uncertainty Principle for the classical Fourier domain, there has not been till date an Uncertainty Principle for the Fractional Fourier domain for a generalized class of finite energy signals. Though the lower bound for the product of time and Fractional Fourier span is derived for the real signals, a tighter lower bound for a general class of signals is of practical importance, especially for the analysis of signals containing chirps. We hence formulate a mathematical derivation that gives the lower bound of time and Fractional Fourier span product. The relation proves to be utmost importance in taking the Fractional Fourier Transform with adaptive time and Fractional span resolutions for a varied class of complex signals.


With rapid expansion of the numbers and sizes of text repositories and improvements in global connectivity, the quantity of information available online as free-format text is growing exponentially. Many large organizations create and maintain huge volumes of textual information online, and there is a pressing need for support of efficient and effective information retrieval, filtering, and management. Text categorization, or the assignment of textual documents to one or more pre-defined categories based on their content, is an essential component of efficient management and retrieval of documents. Previously, research has focused predominantly on developing or adopting statistical classification or inductive learning methods for automatically discovering text categorization patterns for a pre-defined set of categories. However, as documents accumulate, such categories may not capture a document's characteristics correctly. In this study, we propose a mining-based category evolution (MiCE) technique to adjust document categories based on existing categories and their associated documents. Empirical evaluation results indicate that the proposed technique, MiCE, was more effective than the category discovery approach and was insensitive to the quality of original categories.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of clusterin protein in bladder transitional cell carcinoma (BTCC) and it's association with tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis.

METHODS
A tissue microarray (TMA) containing 87 informative cases of BTCCs was constructed firstly. The methods of immunohistochemistry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end-labeling were then used to examine the expression of clusterin and Ki-67 protein and the status of cell apoptosis in BTCC, respectively, and the correlations between different markers and the clusterin expression associated with patients' clinico-pathological features were evaluated.

RESULTS
In TMA of 87 BTCCs, 37 (43%) cases were observed overexpression of clusterin. A significant association of clusterin expression with BTCC's pathological grade, as well as with tumors clinical stage was observed (P < 0.01), where the frequency of overexpression of clusterin in poor differentiated BTCCs (G(3), 71%) and tumors in more advanced stage (T(2-4), 62%) was significantly higher than that in well differentiated BTCCs (G(1-2), 29%) and tumors in early stage (T(a-1), 28%). In addition, a significant correlation between clusterin expression and tumors apoptotic index (AI) was evaluated (P < 0.01), in which 57% of BTCCs with overexpression of clusterin were observed a lower AI, while 72% of tumors with normal expression of this protein showed a higher AI, but no correlation between clusterin and Ki-67 expression.

CONCLUSIONS
The overexpression of clusterin is associated positively with BTCC's malignant clinical phenotypes including tumor's differentiation and invasive depth, and it is correlated inversely with AI of tumor cells.


Purpose of review The absolute burden of cardiovascular risk remains high despite currently available preventive and therapeutic options. In search for novel therapeutic leads, mounting evidence has linked the gut microbiota as well as their metabolites to the development of cardiometabolic diseases. Recent findings The intestinal microbiota influences the host via different metabolic pathways as inducer of endotoxemia, formation of trimethylamine-N-oxide, production of short chain fatty acids, and is a regulator in intestinal bile acid metabolism. Disruption of the gut microbiome may disturb the homeostasis of the microbial ecosystem to an alternative stable state associated with pathophysiological traits in microbiota and host. However, causality has not been shown yet. Summary We are just beginning to understand how the gut microbiota influence our cardiometabolic health and various innovative therapeutic options are in the developing (preclinical) phase. This review focuses on the current evidence whether and to what extent the intestinal microbiota are involved in cardiovascular disease and whether this is based on merely association or causal relations.


Two studies have tested the moderators between acute exercise and executive function gains. In study 1, 60 participants were assigned to 2 groups and performed a handgrip squeezing task at 30% of their maximal voluntary contraction or a stepping task to the cadence of a metronome. Rate of perceived exertions (RPE) and heart rate were measured at 30 s intervals. Trail-making test (TMT) was administered prior to task performance, following RPE = 6 and RPE = 9. In study 2, 83 participants were assigned to 1 of 5 groups. They performed either a handgrip squeezing task or a stepping task up to RPE = 6 or RPE = 9. Participants in the control group have not been engaged in any exercise tasks. Measures of executive function were administered at rest, immediately following exercise tasks, and after 15 min delay. Results from study 1 revealed that both the handgrip squeezing and stepping tasks improved TMT scores after RPE = 9 (p < .001). In study 2, executive function scores improved following the handgrip and stepping tasks regardless of the exercise intensity. The control condition resulted in similar results to that of the handgrip and stepping conditions. These findings help delineate the role of moderators in the acute exercise–cognitive gains linkage. Alternative "control" conditions must be tested for broader conclusions and implications.


In this report methods of multi-criteria efficiency evaluation are developed and implemented for ranking of the socio-economic systems of the EU regions. The socio-economic ranking problem is a multi-criteria non-convex optimization problem that is solved by the implementation of a new efficiency evaluation AOWI method.


The aim of the present study was to translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Perceived Autonomy Support: Exercise Climate Questionnaire that measures the autonomy support given by fitness instructors in accordance with the self-determination theory. In order to fulfill such purpose, it was collected a sample of 935 fitness exercisers, male (N = 344) and female (N = 591) in 16 different Health Centers in the area of Lisbon and west coast of Portugal. The analysis performed revealed that the translated version had an adequate internal, temporal, construct and predictive validity, supporting its use with Portuguese exercisers.


This paper discusses the usefulness of communication as a social skill for embodied robotic agents. We study a teacher-learner situation in a `meaningful' (hilly) environment. The learner uses the teacher as a model, i.e. learning to communicate means in this case that the learner tries to achieve a similarìnterpretation' of the environment to that of the teacher, on the basis of its own sensory-motor interactions. A simple imitative strategy (following and keeping-contact) is used as the social context in which associative learning takes place. A speciic scenario (`mother-child') is proposed and implemented as an example for a situation in which the ability to communicate is advantageous for an individual robot. The communication skill develops during the experiment using a non-supervised teaching approach. Physical experiments to test the validity of the learning architecture are reported. Results are successful in terms of the learning capacities, but they point out the limitation of imitation as a means of learning. However, our implementation of`social bonding' as a following strategy turns out to be a means to get insight into the other agent's perceptions and, as such, could be a useful starting point towards embodied communication in a social, and ecologicaìmeaningful' context.


Abstract

Introduction: Deficits in planning and prospective memory are common after brain injury and contribute to difficulties participating in everyday activities. Recent research has suggested that using non-contingent auditory alerts may facilitate a 'goal-review' process and improve performance on tasks that make demands on executive functions. This study investigated whether combining alerts with a brief goal management training (GMT) programme would improve performance on a complex virtual reality task.
Method: Twenty individuals with evidence of executive impairment completed two versions of the Removals Task, one trial with auditory alerts following a GMT session, and the other trial in standard, non-alerted conditions. Nineteen healthy controls were recruited to complete the task with no alerts or GMT.
Results: The brain-injury group were significantly poorer than the controls on some measures of the task in non-alerted conditions. GMT and auditory alerts did not improve performance (though a sub-group analyses revealed improvement for 6 participants on one task measure).
Discussion: Ceiling effects, brevity of the GMT procedure and paradoxical effects of the alerts on the measures are discussed as some possible reasons for failure to find significant differences. Sensitivity of the Removals Task to detect executive impairment and its efficacy as a potential cognitive rehabilitative assessment tool is investigated in light of differing findings between studies.
Conclusion: The Removals Task revealed differences in performance between individuals with executive dysfunction and healthy controls on some measures. While a sub-group of participants did show improvement in the alerted condition for one measure, GMT and auditory alerts failed to improve performance in the brain-injury group on the majority of task measures. Limitations of the current study are acknowledged and recommendations for future research are given.


The study investigates the use of a Directed Motivational Current (DMC) framework in a Saudi Arabian English as a foreign language (EFL) context. It explores the development and induction of a DMC in a higher education blended learning environment. It is based on a constructivist, descriptive, longitudinal case study. Data were gathered from female students enrolled in an English language master's program and encompassed three data sources: weekly student diaries, a focus group, and an online follow-up survey. The results reveal that the motivational behavior experienced by the students was linked to long-term identity goals, a prominent facilitative structure, and the generation of positive emotionality. The study emphasizes the importance of structuring engaging and autonomous learning environments that promote strong social well-being, clear group vision, and L2 competence. It also found that multiple initial triggering stimuli can provide the impetus to help ignite a group-DMC. The evidence also suggests a need for teacher-initiated re-triggers such as the use of games throughout the project as they create motivationally enhanced eudaimonic sensations that help sustain a DMC and enable the success of a project. The research highlights the educational value of using a DMC in EFL learning environments.


Free-standing nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber (NCNF) films based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were prepared simply by the combination of electrospinning and thermal treatment. We reused the nitrogen-rich gas generated as the byproduct of PAN at elevated temperature, mainly NH3, for surface etching and nitrogen doping. The as-obtained NCNFs exhibited a rougher surface and smaller diameter than pristine carbon nanofibers. Despite the decreased total N content, a significant increase in the content of pyrrolic-N was observed for the NCNFs. In application to electrochemistry, the free-standing NCNF films showed comparable catalytic activity with a close four-electron pathway to a commercial Pt/C catalyst in alkaline medium toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which can be attributed to the nitrogen doping and high hydrophilicity. More importantly, the ORR current density on the NCNFs only dropped 6.6% after 10,000 s of continuous operation, suggesting an enhanced long-time durability. In addition, the NCNFs also showed better electrocatalytic selectivity than Pt/C. Our work reveals a facile but efficient approach for the synthesis of free-standing NCNF films as a promising alternative to Pt-based electrocatalysts in fuel cells.


Objective: Models of ADHD consider the influence of situational factors on cognitive performance and symptoms. Method: The influence of acute physical exercise, stimulation through continuous fine motor movement, and performance-related reward on performance and ADHD symptoms was assessed. Thirty-six adults with ADHD and 36 healthy controls performed executive function tasks (EF-tasks) of inhibition, selective attention, and working memory with material close to daily life. Experimental manipulations aimed at increasing cognitive performance. Results: No significant effects were found, but there were indicators for ADHD-specific impacts: Reward resulted in higher reported hyperactivity. Acute physical exercise slightly tended to improve attention performance and subjective inattention. Conclusion: The manipulations may affect performance and especially symptoms in different ways. Potential symptom interactions and identification of factors that determine whether symptoms may be functional or detrimental for task performance could be future research interests.


New knowledge challenges long‐established practices of fish stocking and transfer because of increasing scientific consensus that the release of cultivated fish can pose risks to biodiversity; however, stocking can also improve fisheries, creating difficult decision trade‐offs regarding its use. Accordingly, controversy persists about fish stocking and transfer. No studies, however, have embraced a multinational perspective to understand the important governance dimensions of the success and failure of salmonid stocking and transfer policies. The present study has analysed the historical development and contemporary governance of the stocking and transfer of native and non‐native salmonids of the genera Salmo, Salvelinus, and Oncorhynchus in five legislative units around the North Atlantic Ocean: the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. The study is based on the analyses of published and unpublished literature, and a survey of experts. Current salmonid stocking policies and practices varied significantly among jurisdictions; the degree of policy change varied, from radical and rapid changes de jure and de facto in Atlantic Canada and Norway to incremental mostly de jure changes in France and Germany. Rapid policy change in Atlantic Canada, Norway, and partly in Sweden can be explained by the socio‐political importance of salmonid fisheries, stocking regulations based on policy objectives to conserve wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), well‐documented examples of the harmful consequences of transfers of non‐native species, and well‐developed vertical governance linkages. The policy changes resemble that of the 'punctuated equilibrium policy framework'. By contrast, France and Germany place less socio‐political emphasis on salmonids, have stocking regulations less directed at wild salmonids, more local‐level decision making, more species‐rich fish communities, and little evidence of adverse ecological impacts of the transfer and stocking of salmonids. This has led to small, incremental changes in stocking policy de facto that are reflective of the 'advocacy coalition policy framework'.


The picture of everyday life in besieged Nablus that emerges from this essay is one of simultaneous fragmentation and social cohesion: fragmentation in the class and generational tensions, factional power struggles, estrangement between townsmen and camp dwellers; social cohesion in the enduring family and solidarity networks, well-organized grassroots committees, and the unifying impact of Israeli military pressures. While shedding light on the radical cultural, demographic, and structural transformations underway, this closely observed personal narrative also conveys the sense of imprisonment that characterizes this virtually sealed off town subjected to individual and collective punishments, from targeted assassinations to selective curfews and the intentional destruction of infrastructure and architectural patrimony.


Metabolomics is used to assess the compliance and bioavailability of food components, as well as to evaluate the metabolic changes associated with food consumption. This study aimed to analyze the effect of consuming ready-to-eat meals containing a cocoa extract, within an energy restricted diet on urinary metabolomic changes. Fifty middle-aged volunteers [30.6 (2.3) kg m(-2)] participated in a 4-week randomised, parallel and double-blind study. Half consumed meals supplemented with 1.4 g of cocoa extract (645 mg polyphenols) while the remaining subjects received meals without cocoa supplementation. Ready-to-eat meals were included within a 15% energy restricted diet. Urine samples (24 h) were collected at baseline and after 4 weeks and were analyzed by high-performance-liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-mass-spectrometry (HPLC-TOF-MS) in negative and positive ionization modes followed by multivariate analysis. The relationship between urinary metabolites was evaluated by the Spearman correlation test. Interestingly, the principal component analysis discriminated among the baseline group, control group at the endpoint and cocoa group at the endpoint (p < 0.01), although in the positive ionization mode the baseline and control groups were not well distinguished. Metabolites were related to theobromine metabolism (3-methylxanthine and 3-methyluric acid), food processing (L-beta-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine), flavonoids (2,5,7,3',4'-pentahydroxyflavanone-5-O-glucoside and 7,4'-dimethoxy-6-C-methylflavanone), catecholamine (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol-sulphate) and endogenous metabolism (uridine monophosphate). These metabolites were present in higher (p < 0.001) amounts in the cocoa group. 3-Methylxanthine and l-beta-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine were confirmed with standards. Interestingly, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol-sulphate was positively correlated with 3-methylxanthine (rho = 0.552; p < 0.001) and 7,4'-dimethoxy-6-C-methylflavanone (rho = 447; p = 0.002). In conclusion, the metabolomic approach supported the compliance of the volunteers with the intervention and suggested the bioavailability of cocoa compounds within the meals.


Majonoside-R2 (MR2), an ocotillol-type saponin, is a dominant saponin component of Vietnamese ginseng. We have investigated the effect of MR2 on behavioral and pathophysiological changes caused by psychological stress such as the communication box paradigm-induced psychological stress (CBP stress), conditioned fear stress and social isolation stress in laboratory animals, and elucidated the possible neuronal mechanisms underlying the action of this compound. MR2 attenuated CBP stress- and conditioned fear stress-induced antinociception, had a protective effect against CBP stress-induced gastric lesions, and restored the hypnotic activity of pentobarbital decreased by CBP stress or social isolation stress to the level of the unstressed controls. Accumulating evidence strongly suggests the involvement of the central opioid, GABAA receptor and corticotropin-releasing factor mechanisms in the effect of MR2. Here we review the antistress effect of Vietnamese ginseng, especially focusing on the effect of MR2 on psychosomatic disorders caused by psychological stress.


SUMMARY 1. Ponto-Caspian peracaridans, and mysids and amphipods in particular, are among the most successful aquatic invaders. However, species differ in the trophic-status range of ecosystems they can invade while establishment rates and impacts can vary substantially between habitats. There is limited knowledge of the environmental factors and species characteristics that drive such variation in invasion success. 2. Here we test how trophic level and body stoichiometry vary among peracaridan species and in relation to body size. The amphipod Pontogammarus robustoides and the mysids Limnomysis benedeni and Paramysis lacustris were investigated in ecosystems differing considerably in productivity and nutrient supply, namely an N-limited eutrophic lagoon and P-limited mesotrophic lakes. 3. As revealed by stable isotope ( 15 N ⁄ 14 N) analysis, herbivory was inferred to be the main feeding mode of L. benedeni. In contrast, the mysid P. lacustris and the amphipod P. robustoides displayed a higher propensity for predatory feeding at larger body sizes, a pattern that was more pronounced in the eutrophic lagoon than in the mesotrophic lakes. 4. Their mean stoichiometric composition (P. robustoides C:N:P 108:20:1, L. benedeni 92:21:1 and P. lacustris 93:22:1) demonstrates that these peracaridans are rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen. They all exhibited the same ontogenetic pattern of reduced stoichiometric regulation during juvenile stages and stricter homoeostasis at older stages. 5. The higher P content in juveniles of all peracaridan species from the lagoon indicates higher potential somatic and population growth rates than those in the mesotrophic lakes. Such a difference may explain the substantially faster rates of invader establishment observed in the lagoon in comparison with lakes of low trophy. 6. Due to differences in ontogenetic and habitat-induced variation, the study species differed significantly in stoichiometric variability, which was lowest in L. benedeni and highest in P. robustoides. The ranges of species-specific variation in stoichiometric ratios corresponded to the trophic (by chlorophyll a) and nutrient stoichiometry (N:P) ranges of lentic waters successfully invaded by these species in Lithuania. 7. Stoichiometric plasticity, which should be associated with flexibility of feeding strategy, may enhance the potential of peracaridan species to successfully invade habitats with differing trophy and nutrient supply. The optimal feeding strategy should be omnivory with a propensity for predatory feeding, which can be adjusted with respect to ontogenetic nutrient demands and resource availability. Invading species may have a stronger effect on the local biota in ecosystems with high P levels, which promote growth, and N limitation that should favour predation.


Despite growing research on LGBT+ populations, few studies have examined transgender individuals' specific workplace experiences, whose voice is often subsumed in a wider category. This article presents the story of Kathrine, a female transgender food retail worker, and discusses the abusive, discriminatory and transphobic behaviour of customers, which has received limited attention in the sociology of service work literature. The article reveals the stigmatization of transgender employees by customers, which is expressed through micro-aggressions, such as mis-gendering, mocking and harassing, and is often neglected and/or tolerated by management. Kathrine discusses the coping strategies she utilizes to reduce the negative consequences of the stigma, and to negotiate and protect her gender identity. These include confronting and/or refusing to serve transphobic customers, reflecting her resilience towards discrimination and abuse. The article calls for further research to understand transgender service employees' experiences and the complexity and diversity of coping strategies used by stigmatized workers.


ABSTRACT This study was carried out investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of agricultural by-product feed (persimmon-pell + barley bran + fermented rice bran + activated carbon) on calves disease, growth and carcass characteristics of Korean native steer. A total of twenty Korean native steer were allocated into four feeding group and assigned to four dietary treatments: Control (normal concentrate as a basal diet), T1 (1% addition of by-product feeds), T2 (3% addition of by-product feeds) and T3 (5% addition of by-product feeds). The calf diarrhea was the highest at Control, while T3 was the lowest. The breath disease was the lowest at T2, occurrence with diarrhea and breath disease was the highest at Control. The daily gain was orderly ranked as T2(0.76kg) > T1(0.7kg), T3(0.70kg) > Control(0.67kg). The back fat thickness was orderly ranked as T2 > T3 > Control > T1, eye muscle area was orderly ranked as T3 > T1 >Control > T2. Grade of meat quantity was the highest at T1(2.3), but fat color, firmness and maturity tends to have a similar result. The marbling score and quality grade of T2 were the highest at 5.0 and 3.5, respectively. Based on the study, agricultural by-product feeds are able to many used for various purposes at disease reduce, increment of meat quantity and improvement of quality grade.(


The influence of mulch types (black polyethylene, red polyethylene, and straw-vetch in raised bed hill culture) on the chemical composition of'Northeaster' and 'Primetime' strawberry (Fragaria xananassa Duch.) fruit and plant parts was evaluated. Ascorbic acid (AA), malic acid, citric acid, and ellagic acid levels were higher in 'Primetime' than in 'Northeaster' fruits, while 'Northeaster' had a higher soluble solids content (SSC). Fruit grown on straw-vetch had lower SSC than did those grown on the polyethylene mulches. The AA content in the fruit of either cultivar was not affected by the mulch treatment. Fruit grown on the straw-vetch mulch had less red surface and flesh color but higher pigment intensity than fruit grown on the polyethylene mulches. Strawberry plants grown on straw-vetch mulch had the largest leaf area and the highest chlorophyll content, while plants grown on red polyethylene mulch had the smallest leaf area and lowest chlorophyll content. There were significant mulch ×cultivar interactions in fruit titratable acid (TA) and AA levels, sugars, citric and ellagic acid contents, leaf area and chlorophyll levels, and soluble carbohydrate and starch contents in leaves, petioles, crowns, crown-roots, and roots. TA was highest in 'Northeaster' fruit when grown on red polyethylene, whereas TA was highest in 'Primetime' fruit when grown on straw-vetch. The highest fruit citric acid levels were found in straw-vetch mulched plots of'Northeaster', and in black polyethylene mulched plots of'Primetime'. Ellagic acid accumulation was highest in 'Northeaster' fruit grown on black polyethylene, and in 'Primetime' fruit grown on red polyethylene or straw-vetch mulches. Fruit glucose content was highest in 'Northeaster', but lowest in 'Primetime', when grown on the straw-vetch mulch. There was a general tendency for soluble carbohydrate and starch levels in plant tissues to be lowest when the plants were grown in red polyethylene mulch and highest when grown in black polyethylene mulch. 'Primetime' contained higher total carbohydrate levels than did 'Northeaster' in all tissues tested.


We introduce new Godunov-type semidiscrete central schemes for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws and Hamilton--Jacobi equations. The schemes are based on the use of more precise information about the local speeds of propagation and can be viewed as a generalization of the schemes from [A. Kurganov and E. Tadmor, J. Comput. Phys., 160 (2000), pp. 241--282; A. Kurganov and D. Levy, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 22 (2000), pp. 1461--1488; A. Kurganov and G. Petrova, A third-order semidiscrete genuinely multidimensional central scheme for hyperbolic conservation laws and related problems, Numer. Math., to appear] and [A. Kurganov and E. Tadmor, J. Comput. Phys., 160 (2000), pp. 720--742].
The main advantages of the proposed central schemes are the high resolution, due to the smaller amount of the numerical dissipation, and the simplicity. There are no Riemann solvers and characteristic decomposition involved, and this makes them a universal tool for a wide variety of applications.
At the same time, the developed schemes have an upwind nature, since they respect the directions of wave propagation by measuring the one-sided local speeds. This is why we call them central-upwind schemes.
The constructed schemes are applied to various problems, such as the Euler equations of gas dynamics, the Hamilton--Jacobi equations with convex and nonconvex Hamiltonians, and the incompressible Euler and Navier--Stokes equations. The incompressibility condition in the latter equations allows us to treat them both in their conservative and transport form. We apply to these problems the central-upwind schemes, developed separately for each of them, and compute the corresponding numerical solutions.


Manipulation planning of cluttered objects involves a mixture of symbolic and geometric constraints which makes such planning very time consuming and often unsuitable for real applications. We propose to divide the geometric restrictions in two groups. The ones in the first group are used to generate a set of symbolic states used for planning. The evaluation of the ones in the second group is delayed after planning, and only relevant ones are evaluated when necessary. We demonstrate our proposal in a simple but effective implementation using pushing and grasping actions.


It has been known for many years that there is a 24-hour cycle of intraocular pressure (IOP) in normal subjects and in patients with glaucoma (Boyd and McLeod, i964; Drance, i963; DukeElder, I952; Ericson, 1958; Katavisto, I964; Langley and Swanljung, 195I; Maslenikow, 1904; Thiel, 1925). On the basis of infrequent measurements (generally two to four times per day), the highest pressures have been found in the morning upon awakening and the lowest values in the evening. In a recent report, we described the 24-hour pattern of IOP in normal subjects and in patients with glaucoma with measurements made hourly and, in some cases, every 20 minutes (Henkind, Leitman, and Weitzman, 1973). It was found that the lowest ocular tension occurred between 2 and 4 am, with the subsequent rise taking place during the latter third of the night's sleep period. It has been reported that adrenocorticoids may play a role in the pathogenesis of certain types of glaucoma (Armaly, I963; Becker, I967; Bernstein and Schwartz, I962). The plasma concentration of cortisol in man has also been shown to be at its lowest value during the early part of the nocturnal sleep period and to rise in an episodic manner during the latter half of the night (Boyd and McLeod, I964; Hellman, Nakada, Curti, Weitzman, Kream, Roffwarg, Ellman, Fukushima, and Gallager, 1970; Smith, Stempfel, Campell, Hudnel, and Richman, i962; Weitzman, Schaumburg, and Fishbein, i966). We have, therefore, carried out a study correlating the detailed 24-hour temporal relations between IOP and the episodic pattern of cortisol secretion in normal subjects and in patients with different types of glaucoma.


Facial aging is a gradual process that involves a complex interaction of several factors, including loss of subcutaneous volume, deep bone resorption and tissue laxity. To promote rejuvenation, it is extremely important to restructure the multiple layers of the face, initially by inducing collagen synthesis and tissue contraction. Thus, the combination of Poly-L-lactic Acid and Microfocused Ultrasound has proven to be increasingly effective for treating flaccidity and as a collagen biostimulating technique. This study carried out a stereophotogrammetric analysis with the 3D Vectra H2 software of a clinical case of association of Microfocused Ultrasound (Classys) with Poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra - Galderma) at the beginning of the treatment and 60 days later.


Liquid fuels and chemicals from biomass resources arouse much interests in research and development. Fast pyrolysis of biomass has the potential to effectively change solid biomass materials into liquid products. However, bio-oil from traditional pyrolysis processes is difficult to apply in industry, because of its complicated composition, high oxygen content, low stability, etc. Upgrading or refining of the bio-oil should be performed for industrial application of biomass pyrolysis. Often, the process would be done in a separate reactor downstream of the pyrolysis process. In this paper, a laboratory scale micro test facility was constructed, wherein the pyrolysis of pine and catalytic upgrading of the resulting vapors were closely coupled in one reactor. The composition of vapor effluent was monitored with a molecular beam mass spectrometer (MBMS) for the online evaluation of the catalyst performance. Catalysts from different origin were tested and compared for the effectiveness of pyrolysis vapor upgrading, namely commercial zeolites, Ni based steam reforming catalyst, CaO, MgO, and several laboratory-made catalysts. The reaction temperature for catalytic upgrading varied between 400 and 600 centigrade, and the gaseous residence time ranged from 0.1 second to above 2 second, to simulate the conditions in industrial application. It is revealed that somemore » catalysts are active in transform most of primary biomass pyrolysis vapors into hydrocarbons, resulting in nonoxygenated products, which is beneficial for downstream utilization. Others are not as effective, results in minor improvement compared with blank test results.« less


The authors report the case of a 25 year old man with unexplained pulmonary hypertension during his first hospital admission. However, a past medical history suggesting right arm vein thrombosis was obtained. Venography showed signs of thoraco-brachial compression. After heart-lung transplantation, pathological studies of the explanted organs showed changes of thrombo-embolic pulmonary hypertension. A spontaneous right arm venous thrombosis occurred during convalescence. The possibility of post-embolic pulmonary hypertension caused by venous thrombosis of the upper limbs is discussed.


In this work, the lacunary Keggin-type phosphotungstates of [PW9O34]9- (PW9) clusters were loaded onto the g-C3N4 nanosheets (NSs) to synthesize the phosphotungstate clusters-decorated 2D heterojunction photocatalysts by using the electrostatic-force driven self-assembly process. The surface charge polarity of g-C3N4 NSs was changed from a negative to a positive charge through the acidizing treatment. The positively-charged g-C3N4 NSs allowed the negatively-charged PW9 clusters to be adsorbed and deposited onto the g-C3N4 NSs, forming the PW9/g-C3N4 heterojunction NSs. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-VIS absorption spectra, respectively. The photocatalytic activity tests indicated that, upon simulated sunlight irradiation, the photocatalytic H2-generation rate of PW9/g-C3N4 heterojunction NSs (~23.8 μmol h−1) was ~3.3 times higher than that of the pure g-C3N4 NSs (~7.3 μmol h−1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of PW9 cluster-decorated g-C3N4 NSs could be attributed to the enhanced separation process of the photoinduced charge-carriers, due to the Z-scheme-mediate charge transfer behavior across their hetero-interface.