In this paper we investigate the use of Langevin Monte Carlo methods on the probability simplex and propose a new method, Stochastic gradient Riemannian Langevin dynamics, which is simple to implement and can be applied to large scale data. We apply this method to latent Dirichlet allocation in an online mini-batch setting, and demonstrate that it achieves substantial performance improvements over the state of the art online variational Bayesian methods.


In this interview, Jane Bennett discusses her highly influential notion of vibrant matter, which is her term for the idea that the locus of agency is always a human/nonhuman assemblage. In other words, there is an impetus to action in humans and animals, but the impetuses of "things" also contribute. Long interested in environmental studies, Bennett has written on the Hegelian dialectic of faith and enlightenment in order to examine the relationship between nature and the state. In a related project, she defines a modern political enchantment in terms of an animate materialism that she traces in ancient atomism and in Gilles Deleuze. She associated enchantment with sensibility, hoping to encourage a different repertoire of sense encounters with the assemblages in which humans participate. Sensibility is the level at which Bennett undertakes political ecology, which she defines as the art of persuading people—at the levels of perception and sensibility as well as reason—that they are Earthlings. Her current project considers the possibility that a kind of materialism informs Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Bennett's previous monographs include Unthinking Faith and Enlightenment: Nature and the State in a Post-Hegelian Era; Thoreau's Nature: Ethics, Politics, and the Wild; The Enchantment of Modern Life: Attachments, Crossings, and Ethics; and Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things.


This paper proposes a system, entitled Concealer that allows sharing time-varying spatial data (e.g., as produced by sensors) in encrypted form to an untrusted third-party service provider to provide location-based applications (involving aggregation queries over selected regions over time windows) to users. Concealer exploits carefully selected encryption techniques to use indexes supported by database systems and combines ways to add fake tuples in order to realize an efficient system that protects against leakage based on output-size. Thus, the design of Concealer overcomes two limitations of existing symmetric searchable encryption (SSE) techniques: (i) it avoids the need of specialized data structures that limit usability/practicality of SSE in large scale deployments, and (ii) it avoids information leakages based on the output-size, which may leak data distributions. Experimental results validate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms over a spatial time-series dataset (collected from a smart space) and TPC-H datasets, each of 136 Million rows, the size of which prior approaches have not scaled to.


The built environment sector faces many challenges in terms of urbanization, energy efficiency, climate and demographic changes, etc. In addition, future today unknown challenges. Meeting these and create sustainable, attractive cities and regions cannot be done without the knowledge of architects, engineers and urban planners. Characteristic of a sustainable built environment is that there are many actors involved, both for professionals, policy makers and concerned parties. Among all these, the construction client has a significant role, a position that largely allows for the influence and change in attitudes, behaviors and procedures required for managing a sustainable transition. The paper consists of three parts, a basic survey of client's role's future challenges in managing construction projects based on questionnaire and interview studies, and a part where national and international examples are investigated. The third part develops new models of explanation. Although there is consensus on the importance of long-term and sustainable approach to urban development, much remains before this is reflected in the processes and patterns of organization for project implementation and management of the built environment. Ex. the short-term effectiveness in individual construction projects combined with long-term innovation to support sustainable development. An important question is how the understanding of social structures and activities can be integrated with technical and scientific knowledge for the assessment of costs in relation to public benefit. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the IPMA.


Auroral kilometric radiation occurs in regions of depleted plasma density in the polar magnetosphere. These emissions are close to the electron cyclotron frequency and appear to be connected to the formation of high pitch angle electron populations due to the conservation of the magnetic moment. This results in a horseshoe type distribution function being formed in velocity space where electrons are magnetically compressed as they descend towards the Earth's atmosphere. Satellites have observed that radio emissions occur in conjunction with the formation of this distribution and show the radiation to have propagation and polarization characteristics of the extraordinary (X-mode) plasma mode with emission efficiency observed at ∼1–2%. To investigate this phenomenon a laboratory experiment, scaled to microwave frequencies and lab dimensions by increasing the cyclotron frequency, was constructed whereby an electron beam propagated through a region of increasing magnetic field created by five independently variable solenoids. Results are presented for two experimental regimes of resonant coupling, 11.7 and 4.42 GHz, achieved by varying the peak magnetic field. Measurements of the experimental radiation frequency, power and efficiency were undertaken as a function of the magnetic compression. Results showed the radiation to be polarized in the near cut-off transverse electric radiation modes, with efficiency of emission ∼1–2%, peak power outputs of ∼19–30 kW and frequency close to the cyclotron frequency. This represented close correlation between the laboratory radiation efficiency, spectra, polarization and propagation with that of numerical predictions and the magnetospheric observations.


World History to 1500 (HIST-101) This page is designed to help you find books, articles, and evaluate web sites on a topic in world history occurring up to 1500.


Good syndrome (GS) is a rare entity that associates the existence of thymoma with immunodeficiency. Gastrointestinal symptoms is one of the most common clinical manifestations. However, colorectal ulcers in GS were extremely rare. Herein, we present a case of GS presenting with diarrhea and colorectal ulcers to inform readers.


The protein value of feed grains for ruminant rations is currently described in modern feeding systems in terms of total protein, potentially degradable protein, and potentially undegradable protein. Progress is being made towards full standardisation of methods to measure these components, although it is a goal yet to be achieved. Whereas in the future it is desirable that protein value be defined in terms of individual amino acid availability at the intestine, in the immediate term it can best be described by the rate and extent of degradability of protein in the rumen and the availability in the intestine of the rumen undegraded protein. Refining the methodology for measuring these characteristics is important, but it is equally important that the existing methods be validated using in vivo experimentation.


GANGRENE of the small bowel and ascending colon commonly follows occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery. Such intestinal necrosis is preventable by early arterial reconstructive surgery, but diagnosis of mesenteric occlusion is notoriously difficult. Most occlusions are due to thrombosis of the vessel and are inherently unfavorable, but a significant number are caused by emboli and can be cured by embolectomy. The following case illustrates several features of acute mesenteric artery occlusion by embolus and indicates an alternative method of restoring arterial patency. Report of a Case A 55-year-old white housewife was admitted to the Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital on March 21, 1963, two hours following a sudden onset of severe midepigastric cramping pain accompanied by nausea and diarrhea. She was known to have rheumatic heart disease with auricular fibrillation and had recovered well from a right hemiparesis two years previously. There was a striking lack of abnormal physical findings


The objective of this study was to determine the most suitable saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) values as input into DRAINMOD among a range of K data sets developed for the drainage experiment site in North Central Ohio using seven different K estimation methods. The K methods evaluated were monolith, core, auger-hole, MUUF soil database, and using the Hooghoudt, Kirkham, and van Schilfgaarde equations with water table drawdown and drainage discharge data. Simulations using DRAINMOD (Version 4.6) were conducted for the years 1962-1964 and 1967-1971, and runoff and drain discharge predictions were compared with measured discharges. The analyses showed that none of the K estimation methods provided the smallest deviation in discharges when individual years were considered, except for drain discharge in 1967-1971. For 1967-1971, the simulation results with the van Schilfgaarde equation produced the smallest average deviation. The simulations with the van Schilfgaarde equation also produced the smallest deviation in runoff in three of the five years that also had the smallest drain discharge deviation. Overall, the simulation results with the van Schilfgaarde equation produced the smallest total deviation for both drain discharge and runoff over all eight test-years. The rank order (smallest to largest total deviation) of the K methods for drain discharge was van Schilfgaarde, Hooghoudt, and Kirkham equations, followed by auger-hole, monolith, core methods, and then the MUUF soil database. The rank order of the K methods for runoff was van Schilfgaarde, Hooghoudt, Kirkham, auger-hole, MUUF soil database, core, and monolith. Where drain discharge and water table depth measurements are available or practical to obtain, using the hydraulic conductivity values estimated with the van Schilfgaarde equation in DRAINMOD may provide more reliable modeling results.


Culture-specific items (CSIs) are difficult to translate since they are related to cultural knowledge and cultural background of the given culture. The distance and differences between two different cultures determine the extent of the gain or loss that will be exprienced by the CSIs as they are translated. From Indonesian into English The purposes of this research were to identify the translation procedures applied in translating CSIs which caused loss and gained in the translation process and to identify how the translator compensated the loss in translating CSIs. The method used was qualitative descriptive method. The result shows that loss is more prevalent than gain although the translator has enough knowledge on the source text culture as he has spent some years doing some researches in Banyumas society. There are two kinds of losses found in this research; inevitable and avertable losses. Translation procedures used which result in loss in translation are translation by a more general word (subordinate), translation by a more neutral/less expressive word and translation by cultural substitution. Gain is realized mostly through the creativity of the translator when they are able to explain the culture-specific items for effective communication. In order to compensate the loss that might have occurred, translator uses some translation procedures. They are translation by loan word with explanation, translation by paraphrase using related word, and translation by paraphrase using unrelated word. In short, gain in translation for better communication is not easy to achieve especially in the case of translating CSIs.


The literatures on stakeholder engagement by companies and organizational learning give little consideration to the power (or influence) of stakeholders to affect the process or content of organizational learning. These literatures generally assume that common ground between companies and their stakeholders can be established as a prerequisite for learning, that learning is a quasi-autonomous process unaffected by the motives or power of stakeholders, and that actors have the power to fulfil roles that are critical in fostering learning. The paper seeks to address these omissions, examining how and why stakeholder power and organizational learning interact, drawing on comparative case studies of the environmental management practices found in two major companies. The evidence from these cases suggests a complex relationship between the ambition of company goals, the structure of learning, and the influence of stakeholders on the process and outcomes of learning. Exploitative learning routines were effective when stakeholder influences converged, whereas explorative learning took place without convergence but the implementation of this learning was hampered. We suggest that this raises important issues for companies that seek to undertake both exploitative and explorative learning and that future studies of organizational learning should take more explicit account of the effects of stakeholder power.


Purpose of review The fact that multiple sclerosis (MS) predominantly affects women has been recognized for many years. As the age at diagnosis is decreasing, and treatment options are becoming more complex, increasing numbers of women are facing decisions about the use of disease modifying therapy (DMT) in and around pregnancy. Recent findings New data are rapidly becoming available, particularly regarding the safety of therapies in both pregnancy and breastfeeding. Effective treatment and suppression of relapses is key to ensuring good outcomes in the longer term for the woman, however this must be balanced against individual risk of relapse and risks to the fetus. Women should be advised that it is possible to breastfeed while taking selected DMT. Summary In this review, we discuss evidence surrounding the safety of DMTs in both pregnancy and breastfeeding, and use this knowledge to suggest approaches to pregnancy and family planning in women with MS.


The nanocrystalline Ni3Fe powders were obtained via wet mechanical alloying route in argon atmosphere. As process control agent (PCA) the benzene (C6H6) was used. In order to release the internal stresses an annealing at 350 °C for 4 hours was performed. Alternatively, the nanocrystalline Ni3Fe powder was subjected to a process of incipient recrystallization at 600 °C for 30 minutes in vacuum. The recrystallised powders have a crystallite size of 30 nm. The magnetic properties (the frequencies dependence of permeability and magnetic losses) were investigated in AC field of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 T. It was found that the polymerization process has a strong influence over the magnetic properties of compacts. If the polymerization was performed by heating the powders into a mould, generally we observed a positive influence over the permeability but a negative influence over the magnetic losses.


An asymptomatic 57-year-old man was referred for evaluation of a 10 mm pale pink subepithelial polypoid lesion of the distal oesophagus; the lesion was found incidentally during an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) revealed a heterogeneous, although primarily hypoechogenic, well-circumscribed lesion, located in the submucosa. Owing to the absence of endosonographic features, which would have allowed for a precise diagnosis, EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed; however, the cytology was inconclusive because of the lack of cellular representation. We chose to remove it by cap-assisted endoscopic mucosal resection. However, due to its shape and deep location, complete removal was not achieved. A macrobiopsy was taken, and histological examination, of all oesophageal layers except the adventitia, revealed many irregularly dilated lymphatic vessels, beneath normal squamous epithelium. These findings are consistent with the diagnosis of lymphangioma. A follow-up EUS did not reveal any changes. The patient is currently asymptomatic and is under surveillance.


This report examines the issue of innovation in the flight catering industry.
Using a variety of research methods, it seeks to identify the role that the three
main stakeholders - suppliers, flight caterers and airlines – play in this
process. It identifies that airlines have been pre-eminent in initiating
innovation and have largely been concerned with service improvements.
Suppliers have focused largely on new product development. Flight caterers
have been less involved.
 Findings from this study also demonstrate the highly contingent nature of the
innovation process in firms associated with flight catering. Little evidence
emerged that service innovation was different to product innovation, but the
type of product may be influential. The size of the company also affects the
process. The survey of managers helps to explain this diverse practice as it
demonstrated a divergence of opinion on many issues. The only factors
influencing the innovation process on which there was high level of agreement
was the importance of the organisation culture, the role of a product
champion, and the need for market research. There was also some support
for the notion that large firms have a more formal innovation process.


Abstract Background Though some studies have reported navigated high tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a useful procedure to correct knee deformity. There is still great controversy whether navigated HTO can achieve better accuracy of limb alignment and greater clinical outcomes. Current meta-analysis was conducted to investigate whether better radiographic outcomes and clinical outcomes could be acquired in navigated HTO compared with the conventional procedure. Method We conducted a literature search in the electronic databases, including Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. We identified studies published before August 2020. We also checked the references of the related articles for any relevant studies. We strictly followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematics reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines in this review. This research was performed using Review Manager 5.4 software. Results Fourteen articles were included, involving 1399 knees. Our meta-analysis indicated that patients undergoing navigated HTO had significantly better outcomes in outliers of aimed limb alignment (RD=−0.24, 95% CI: =−0.34 to −0.13, p < 0.01), outliers of aimed tibial posterior slope (TPS) (RD=−0.41, 95% CI: −0.51 to −0.30, p < 0.01), Range of Motion (ROM) (MD = 6.37, 95%CI: 0.83–11.91, p = 0.02), and American knee society knee score (AKS knee score) (MD = 3.88, 95%CI: 1.37–6.39, p = 0.002). No significant differences were found in Lysholm score (MD = 1.30, 95%CI: −0.31 to 2.90, p = 0.11), American knee society function score (AKS function score) (RD = 1.42, 95%CI: −0.15 to 2.99, p = 0.08), complications (RD=−0.01, 95% CI: = −0.05 to 0.04, p = 0.77), delayed union (RD=−0.01, 95% CI: = −0.02 to 0.03, p = 0.59), and reoperation (RD = 0, 95% CI: −0.09 to 0.10, p = 0.98) between the two groups. The operation time in the navigated group was 15.46 min longer than in the conventional group. Conclusion Navigated HTO provided more accurate and reproducible radiographic outcomes in the correction of the malalignment than conventional techniques, and there is no difference in the risk of complications compared with conventional HTO. However, it is unclear whether navigation HTO can achieve better clinical results. More randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with high quality, large sample size, and sufficient follow-up period are required.


We developed electrical circuit based model for the different components of the cerebral circulation, what allowed us to simulate cerebral blood flow in a variety of cerebrovascular disorders. This approach allowed us to derive a set of equations by which relative maximum, or fractional flow reserve, can be defined and calculated in three relevant sites: the stenotic artery, in the veins related to the stenotic artery, and in the collateral circulation of the affected region of the brain. Our results create theoretical basis for the entirely new approach to cerebrovascular disorders that currently emphasise anatomical identification of the disease to guide the treatment, such as the degree of arterial luminal stenosis obtained from various imaging modalities. In doing so, we directly address an urgent need for stroke experts to advance the care of their patients, since current approach of stroke treatment has not been meaningfully successful. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eee.20.10.8877


The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) covers different events, being one of them body rocking, mouthing, and complex hand and finger movements [1]. The traditional methods for recording the number of occurrences and duration of stereotypes are inadequate and time consuming. Therefore, it was used a commercial system with accelerometers sensors that records the movement of wrist and sends the collected data through a wireless network to the computer. Statistical methods were used to characterize the signal acquired from a previously expressed stereotypy. The parameters that were analyzed are: RMS, Standard Variation, Peaks and Valleys. At the end, the proposed methodology facilitates to identify behavioral patterns special relevant when studying interaction skills in children with ASD. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.


ISBN 0 85003 677 1 The Agricultural Research and Extension Network is sponsored by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of DFID. We are happy for this material to be reproduced on a not-for-profit basis. The Network Coordinator would appreciate receiving details of any use of this material in training, research or programme design, implementation or evaluation.


We study how data abundance affects the informativeness of financial analysts' forecasts at various horizons. Analysts forecast short-term and long-term earnings and choose how much information to process about each horizon to minimize forecasting error, net of information processing costs. When the cost of obtaining short-term information drops (i.e., more data becomes available), analysts change their information processing strategy in a way that renders their short-term forecasts more informative but that possibly reduces the informativeness of their long-term forecasts. We provide empirical support for this prediction using a large sample of forecasts at various horizons and novel measures of analysts' exposure to abundant data. Data abundance can thus impair the quality of long-term financial forecasts.


Learning to be successful in social interactions is one of the hallmarks of late childhood and early adolescence. Children who lack social initiative may be hesitant to engage in the social practice necessary to become socially skilled and successfully integrated into social networks. Lack of social integration may be manifested as poor social acceptance for these youth who tend toward shy behavior. Poor social acceptance, furthermore, may lead to decreases in self-esteem as the importance of social integration increases in developmental importance. Data from the Adolescent Development Research Program (ADRP) at the University of Georgia were used to assess the relationships among shyness, social acceptance, and self-esteem during the transition to adolescence. Three waves of data were collected from adolescents aged 11 to 15 years, their parents, and a favorite teacher between April 1994 and December 1997. Structural equation modeling via LISREL 8.54 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 2003) was used to test the relationship of shyness to both social acceptance and self-esteem and to also test social acceptance as a possible mediator of the relationship between shyness and self-esteem three years later. Also, the moderating influence of parents' positive problem solving on the relationship of shyness to both social acceptance and self-esteem was assessed using two-group analyses involving high and low problem-solving groups. Shyness showed a negative association with social acceptance one year later and accounted for a residual decline in self-esteem over the last two waves of the study. Social acceptance, however, was not supported as a mediator of the relationship between shyness and self-esteem, but showed a trend toward moderating this relationship. Parents' positive problem solving did not moderate the relationship of shyness to self-esteem. Youth with high problem-solving fathers and mothers, however, showed a significant negative association between shyness and self-esteem three years later when self-esteem at time 2 was included as a predictor. Results suggest the importance of encouraging social exploration in late childhood and early adolescence and the possible dangers of excessive parental involvement during these years. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My father completed his Ph.D. in 1966, the year after I was born. I am the last of five children, and my mother had her hands full with all of us. Over my last four years at University of Georgia, my father's perseverance in completing his Ph.D. has served as an example and inspiration to me. I do not know if I would have had the strength …


This paper investigates long-term relationship that links stock prices of three major North African stock markets: Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia . The paper shows, there is strong evidence of multivariate and bivariate nonlinear long-term relationship between stock prices of these markets. Nonlinear cointegration between stock prices imply portfolios in these markets are inefficient (systematic risk cannot be diversified away), as movement in the price of one market influence the movement in another market in a predictable direction and disproportionately.


The diagnosis of functional constipation (FC) is usually straightforward. Almost 95% of childhood constipation is functional in nature. The remaining 5% can be attributed to wide variety of conditions. Many of these etiologies are obvious by history and examination and many have other specific symptoms besides constipation. It is especially important to look for presence of any symptoms or signs that might suggest an organic etiology (red flag). FC can usually be diagnosed with a through history and physical examination (Rome III criteria), diagnostic tests are usually not required in most children with FC. Further testing is necessary when an organic etiology is suspected children who do not seem to respond to conventional treatment should have blood tests to look for organic etiologies such as hypercalcemia, hypothyroidism and celiac disease and children suspected of having Hirschsprung disease should have an evaluation consisting of anorectal manometery, barium enema, rectal biopsy.


A recent Italian legislation has established the Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM) for any working environment. In regards to schools, adequate acoustic comfort targets are required in terms of noise control and acoustic quality. Schools must comply with the Italian technical standard UNI 11532 for their reverberation time (T), clarity (C50) and speech intelligibility (STI). In classrooms, the following values are required: T 0dB, and STI>0.6. In sports facilities such as gyms, the CAM requirements are T -2 dB, and STI> 0.5. To achieve these objectives, the insertion of acoustic treatments is often unavoidable. The new requests for classrooms are leading acousticians to propose sound correcting interventions in many educational buildings. Acousticians typically use the perfectly diffused theory to calculate the minimum amount of needed sound-absorbing material to comply with current legislation. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the optimal position in which to place the minimum amount of sound-absorbing treatments to reach the CAM in some university classrooms. These classrooms have a marble floor and plastered walls and, at 1.0 kHz, have T values between 2.5 s and 4.5 s, C50 between 3 dB and -0.5 dB, and STI between 0.34 and 0.47. Using an acoustic software, it was possible to estimate the minimum quantity and the optimal placement of the sound-absorbing panels to insert in each classroom to reach the CAM.


Recent adoption to the usage of renewable resources has emerged as a consequence of the threats posed by the decreasing amount of fossil fuels and the increase in the level of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. This harnessed renewable energy needs to be stored in an energy storage device. One amongst the most prominently used energy storage devices is the ultracapacitor (UC). To ensure proper deployment and safer long-term operation, the dynamic behavior of the UC has to be observed carefully which is done by estimating the parameters of the UC online, which can be further used in the deduction of the state of health (SOH) and the state of charge (SOC) of the UC. The equivalent circuit model used for the purpose of estimation is demonstrated. Then the parameter estimation is done using the marginalized Kalman filter technique. This technique is implemented in MATLAB and the results are attached. The effectiveness of the method is validated by comparing the acquired results with the results that are obtained by employing other online parameter estimation techniques.


The authors acknowledge the legislative transformation of local government in Botswana and South Africa but warn that decentralisation requires more than tokenism. In essence, democratisation at local state level demands the genuine commitment and accountability of key stakeholders such as the state, organs of civil society and the general public, in decentralising and sustaining political-administrative powers. Decentralisation in the context of this article should be conceived as an instrument that balances power relations, more particularly for the locals to plan, make decisions in resource allocation and become the forerunners in prioritising development needs. This article seeks to evaluate decentralisation processes, particularly mechanisms to consolidate the functioning of the local government with a view to ascertaining the extent to which such processes and mechanisms engender people-centred democracy through an accountable and transformative leadership. This is critical at a time when state revenues are on the decline thus threatening to compromise requisite political-administrative support for local government.
In conclusion, the article draws critical lessons that could strengthen the intergovernmental relations as a precursor to render local government effective, adaptive and sustainable and further promote participatory governance. The article further posits that the dysfunctional nature of local governments is not solely caused by the lack of financial resources but rather in part by the lack of political will of leadership. Nevertheless, it is feared that central governments could use the global adverse economic conditions as a pretext to cut back requisite support for local government and render it helpless and irrelevant.


The paper yields retrieval formulae of the directional distribution of a stationary k-flat process in ℝ d if its rose of intersections with all r-flats is known. Cases k = d −1, 1 ≤ r ≤ d - 1 for arbitrary d and d = 4, k = 2, r = 2 are considered. Some generalizations to manifold processes in ℝ d are made. The proofs use the methods of harmonic analysis on higher Grassmannians (spherical harmonics, integral transforms).


Understanding consumers' response to price has become an important issue for managers of public sport and leisure services as they shift their dependence on revenue from government sources to user fees. Employing an experimental design, we manipulated participants' price expectations for the race entry fee of a 10K road race. Subjects were divided into six groups and provided with information relating to a different service outcome. Subsequent price expectations were elicited on the basis of the information provided in each message. Results indicated that messages including the cost of service provision information, information suggesting the loss of services, and information suggesting personal loss, significantly raised subjects' price expectations. One practical implication of these findings is that managers of public sport and leisure services considering price increases for their services should introduce them by outlining the purpose and the costs and benefits associated with the increase. Further, ...


Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) is a chronic autoimmune disease with ominous end organ manifestations significantly affecting the kidneys and joints. One of the most frequent manifestations is glomerulonephritis (GN), a renal disease distinguished by inflammation of the glomeruli that often leads to end stage kidney failure. Treatments often have severe side effects. Rose hip (RH) is derived from Rosa canina L. and has been used as a medicinal plant for centuries; it contains numerous beneficial constituents, and has the capacity to counter lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Methods: Nephritis was induced in 129/svJ strain mice using anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies (anti-GBM). The experimental group was fed whole RH preparation (100mg/kg body weight per day) by oral gavage from D5 to D10; the control group was fed the diluent used to dissolve RH (10 mice per group). Mice were sacrificed on D11 and phenotyped for disease. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and proteinuria were measured; flow cytometry of kidneys was performed on both groups.  Results: RH treatment decreased proteinuria, blood urea nitrogen, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+Gr-1+ (neutrophil), and CD11b+CD11c+ (myeloid cells) compared with nephritis control. The presence of vitamin C was confirmed. RH largely maintained its total antioxidant capacity and some vitamin C content for 24 hours, as well as at least 7 days after preparation. Conclusion: Our preliminary results confirmed that RH has antioxidative properties, significant anti-inflammatory effects, and may be useful in managing glomerulonephritisKeywords: Rose hip, glomerulonephritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus, proteinuria, blood urea nitrogen, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+Gr-1+(neutrophil), and CD11b+CD11c+ (myeloid cells)


The increasing use of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for monitoring a wide spectrum of applications, along with the challenges of "big data" streaming support they often require for data analysis, is nowadays pushing for increased attention to the emerging edge computing paradigm. In particular, smart approaches to manage and analyze data directly on the network edge, are more and more investigated, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered edge computing is envisaged to be a promising direction. In this article, we focus on data centers (DCs) and supercomputers (SCs), where a new generation of high-resolution monitoring systems is being deployed, opening new opportunities for analysis like anomaly detection and security, but introducing new challenges for handling the vast amount of data it produces. In detail, we report on a novel lightweight and scalable approach to increase the security of DCs/SCs, which involves AI-powered edge computing on high-resolution power consumption. The method—called pAElla—targets real-time malware detection (MD), it runs on an out-of-band IoT-based monitoring system for DCs/SCs, and involves power spectral density of power measurements, along with autoencoders. Results are promising, with an F1-score close to 1, and a false alarm and malware miss rate close to 0%. We compare our method with State-of-the-Art (SoA) MD techniques and show that, in the context of DCs/SCs, pAElla can cover a wider range of malware, significantly outperforming SoA approaches in terms of accuracy. Moreover, we propose a methodology for online training suitable for DCs/SCs in production, and release open data set and code.


FexNi1−x(O)OH has been proven to be an efficient, earth-abundant and nonprecious catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the weak binding of oxygenated intermediates and the exposure of a few active sites on NiFe hydroxides considerably hinder their catalytic activity. Based on the fact that the W6+ ions possess higher valency. and similar ionic radius with respect to the Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ni2+ ions, which can modulate the (NiO6) crystal structure and enhance the interaction of block electrons, we have tried to introduce a trace amount of W6+ into FexNi1−x(O)OH. To our surprise, the target product Fe0.03W0.03–Ni LDHB exhibited the lowest overpotential of 205(±3) mV at 10 mA cm−2, Tafel slope of 60 mV dec−1, and no obvious decrease in the electrocatalytic activity after more than 50 hour operation or 3000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical studies revealed a synergistic interplay among tungsten, iron and nickel for producing a favorable local coordination environment and electronic structure, which enhanced the OER performance.


1. Immobilization of gating charge was examined in Myxicola giant axons dialysed with Cs+. 2. With increasing pulse durations the ratio QOFF/QON decreases to as little as 0.25 with a time constant of 3.2 msec determined from composite data. Na inactivation time constants measured in the same axons ranged from 0.8 to 1.5 msec. A slow component of QOFF tends to appear as QOFF/QON decreases. 3. Both QON and QOFF may be decreased by a prepulse with no change in their time course. In this case the time course of the decrease is similar to that observed for INA. 4. The normalized steady‐state charge immobilization curve is shifted in the depolarized direction by 15‐‐20 mV from the normalized Na inactivation curve.


This paper reports the first experience on applying progressive vortex pumping (PVP) as an artificial lift solution in the oil industry. From a conceptual point of view, progressive vortex pumps are rotodynamic devices that elevate fluid mixtures by converting kinetic energy to potential energy, which is a result of an inducing vortex within each pumping stage. The solution proposed in this paper was inspired by pumps used in the automotive industry (Lochman and Bryce 1980; Yu 1995) and adapted for pumping multiphase mixtures from oil-producing reservoirs. The pilot installation of this technology occurred in an onshore field, located northeast of Brazil. There is a brief description about some specificities of the progressive vortex pump (including features of the production scenario, surface and subsurface installations, and the results observed during the first 4 months of operation), which was installed in an unprecedented way in an oil production well. This paper also addresses some relative advantages of PVP over other artificial lift pumping methods, such as electric submersible pumping (ESP). However, overall efficiency needs to be improved when compared to competing methods such as ESP.


In order to investigate the effects of heat treatment on the thermoelectric motive force (EMF) of type R thermocouples, the changes of EMF in the freezing points of aluminum and silver cells were measured with the immersion depth of themocouples. With the variation of heat treatment methods before use, it was found that the EMF values were different from each other, maximum at and at . Additionally a thermocouple, which was not heat-treated fully, showed an EMF difference with the immersion depth even though it was located on the region maintained at the constant temperature. The measured differences were about maximum at the Al freezing point and at the Ag freezing point. It was recongnized that a thermocouple for the precise temperature measurement should be heat-treated carefully before service. In this report, the proper heat treatment methods for the type R thermocouple were given on the basis of the obtained experimental results.


We have examined a sample of 13 sub-Eddington supermassive black holes hosted by galaxies spanning a variety of morphological classifications to further understand the empirical fundamental plane of black hole activity. This plane describes black holes from stellar-mass to supermassive and relates the mass of an accreting black hole and its radio and X-ray luminosities. A key factor in studying the fundamental plane is the turnover frequency, i.e., the frequency at which the radio continuum emission becomes optically thin. We measured this turnover frequency using new Very Large Array observations combined, when necessary, with archival Chandra observations. Radio observations are in the range of 5–40 GHz across four frequency bands in B configuration, giving high spatial resolution to focus on the core emission. We use Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to fit the continuum emission in order to find the turnover frequency. After testing for correlations, the turnover frequency does not display a significant dependence on either the mass or mass accretion rate, indicating that more complicated physics than simple scaling and optical depth effects are at play, as has been suggested by recent theoretical work.


E-voting is flattering more stimulating chore over whole the world. It's essential for Pakistan to contrivance it because of the unlawful implication of some dynamic peoples in Pakistan. E-voting is key component of E-government which is the practice of technology to enhance their access to and provision of government services to value populaces, business partners and Hires of Nation-state. E-voting is emergent phase of E-government towards democracy. E-voting is direct/ connected voting mechanism. Requisite of e-voting system is where people can vote without any delinquent and consumption of time, forged, secure and no one can operate the result. Such surroundings can be shaped through some automatic process which can't be indignant. The study will provide an overview of E-Voting system, identifies its issues and limitations that why it's not implemented yet in Pakistan. At the end we have proposed some notions that how to make possible the implementation of e-voting in Pakistan. It is basically designed for G2C concept.


In everyday English parlance, God's name is simply "God." In the Hebrew Bible, however, the God of Israel has a personal proper name, similar to "Susan" or "Teddy": the four-lettered name YHWH, also known as the Tetragrammaton (Greek for "four letters"). This name is by far the most common designation for God in the Hebrew Bible. Four texts within this body of literature give special attention to God's disclosure of the divine name to humankind: in Gen 4:25–26 shortly after the creation of the first humans; and in Exod 3, Exod 6, and Ezek 20 at the time of God's emancipation of the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt. English translations obscure the prominence of God's name by replacing Hebrew YHWH with the common noun "Lord," written in small caps. As it turns out, this practice has an ancient pedigree: already in the Second Temple era, spoken recitations of the Hebrew Bible replaced Hebrew YHWH with the Hebrew word for "Lord," adonay, and written manuscripts marked the name YHWH with special orthography. Later Christian copies of the Greek Old Testament would bring the oral tradition directly into the text itself, substituting Greek κύριος, "Lord," for YHWH. These customs probably trace back to the influence of several other biblical texts, including the fourth commandment of the Decalogue (Exod 20:7//Deut 5:11) and Lev 24:16. The Talmud (Pes. 50a) also records a rabbinic interpretation of Exod 3:15 according to which God says "This [YHWH] is my name to conceal."
 But God has other names in the Hebrew Bible, too. Several names are formed by joining YHWH together with a second word, for example: YHWH ṣebaoth, a phrase that is usually translated into English as "the Lord of hosts"; or again, another example: YHWH elohim, translated "the Lord God." The second part of this compound name is also an important name for God in its own right. The word elohim in Hebrew means "god" or "gods." It is technically a plural noun, although most of the time in Hebrew it refers to a single divine agent. It is also typically a common noun similar to the English word "god"; that is, it signifies one among a class of divine beings. However, also as in English, Hebrew elohim occasionally functions as a proper name: capital-G God. Another Hebrew noun for god, eloah, shares a similarly dual purpose: mostly it is a generic word for divinity but sometimes it is the caption for the one God of Israel (i.e., YHWH).
 These two names—YHWH and its compound forms as well as elohim in its usage as a name—cover the majority of instances when the Hebrew Bible names God. A few other divine titles are name-like but not, properly speaking, names. The first among these is the word Shadday, but also the series of so-called "el-epithets" found in the book of Genesis: El Elyon, El the Creator of Heaven and Earth, El Roi, and El Olam.


In its sustainable tourism agenda for 2030, the UN World Tourism Organization has embraced three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of these, specifically SDG 8, highlights the need to pursue decent work and growth. Nevertheless, despite the growing recognition of this target and although there is a growing number of writings lamenting the precarity characterizing many tourism-related jobs, the topic of tourism-related work continues to receive sparse attention in the considerable volume of academic literature on tourism and sustainability. This paper attempts to redress this neglect. First, by providing a review of extant studies on tourism labor, we seek to explain why this research lacuna continues to exist. We then examine organizational and technological aspects of tourism governance, which hinder attempts to establish decent work and improve dignity in the tourism industry worldwide. By acknowledging the volatile and liminal status of tourism work and future labor market prospects, we arrive at the following question: what should sustainable tourism work look like? This leads us to suggest that the development of a human-centered research agenda, which focuses on workers' agency and resources, offers a promising research avenue for expanding on the tourism and sustainability research agenda.


The disintegration process of liquid fuel within combustion chambers is one of the most important parameters forefficient and stable combustion. Especially for high pressures exceeding the critical value of the injected fluids the mixing processes are not fully understood yet. Recently, different theoretical macroscopic models have been introduced to understand breakdown of the classical two phase regime and predict the transition from evaporation to a diffuse-mixing process. In order to gain deeper insight into the physical processes of this transition, a parametric study of free-falling n-pentane droplets in an inert nitrogen atmosphere is presented. Atmospheric conditions varied systematically from sub- to supercritical values with respect to the fluid properties. An overlay of a diffuse lighted image with a shadowgram directly in the optical setup (front lighted shadowgraphy) was applied to simultaneously detect the presence of a material surface of the droplet as well as changes in density gradients in the surrounding atmosphere. The experimental investigation illustrates, that the presence of a material surface cannot be shown by a direct shadowgram. However, reflections and refractions caused by diffuse ambient illumination are able to indicate the presence of a material surface. In case of the supercritical droplet injections in this study, front lighted shadowgraphy clearly revealed the presence of a material surface, even when the pre-heated droplets are released into a supercritical atmosphere. This detection of the droplet interface indicates, that the droplet remains subcritical in the region of interest, even though it is injected into a supercritical atmosphere. Based on the adiabatic mixing assumption recent Raman-scattering results in the wake of the droplet are re-evaluated to compute the temperature distribution. Presented experimental findings as well as the re-evaluation of recent Raman scattering results are compared to thermodynamic models to predict the onset of diffuse-mixing and supercritical disintegration of the droplet. Additionally, a one dimensional evaporation model is used to evaluate the validity of the adiabatic mixing assumption in the estimation of the droplet temperature. The presented findings contribute to the understanding of recent theoretical models for prediction of spray and droplet disintegration and the onset of diffuse-mixing processes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ILASS2017.2017.4635


Aims. We carried out observations of the small jovian satellite Amalthea (J5) as it was being eclipsed by the Galilean satellites near the 2009 equinox of Jupiter in order to apply the technique of mutual event photometry to the astrometric determination of this satellite's position. Methods. The observations were carried out during the period 06/2009−09/2009 from the island of Maui, Hawaii and Siding Spring, Australia with the 2m Faulkes Telescopes North and South respectively. We observed in the near-infrared part of the spectrum using a PanStarrs-Z filter with Jupiter near the edge of the field in order to mitigate against the glare from the planet. Frames were acquired at rates >1/min during eclipse times predicted using recent JPL ephemerides for the satellites. Following subtraction of the sky background from these frames, differential aperture photometry was carried out on Amalthea and a nearby field star. Results. We have obtained three lightcurves which show a clear drop in the flux from Amalthea, indicating that an eclipse took place as predicted. These were model-fitted to yield best estimates of the time of maximum flux drop and the impact parameter. These are consistent with Amalthea's ephemeris but indicate that Amalthea is slightly ahead of, and closer to Jupiter than, its predicted position by approximately half the ephemeris uncertainty in these directions. We argue that a ground-based campaign of higher-cadence photometry accurate at the 5% level or better during the next season of eclipses in 2014-15 should yield positions to within 0. �� 05 and affect a corresponding improvement in Amalthea's ephemeris.


This paper presents an algorithm based on fuzzy theory for the formation flight of the multi-quadrotors. For this purpose, the mathematical model of N-quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles is presented using the Newton-Euler formulation. The strategy of the formation flight is based on a structure composed by a sectorial fuzzy controller and the linear systems whose state variables are the position and velocity of the ith quadrotor. The stability analysis is described as a generalized form for N-quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles and it is based on the Lyapunov theory. This analysis demonstrates that the closed-loop system is globally asymptotically stable so that the quadrotors unmanned aerial vehicles reach the consensus. Numerical simulation demonstrates the robustness of the proposed scheme for the formation flight even in the presence of disturbances. Finally, experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed algorithm for the formation flight of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles.


The current systematic review compared whether combined exercise and nutrition interventions are effective in preventing or improving sarcopenia in frail older adults and healthy older adults. Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL were searched for randomized controlled trials. Of the 1,596 citations, 22 trials (N = 1,767) were included in the final sample. In frail older adults, significant improvement after combined exercise and nutrition interventions was observed in seven indicators: skeletal muscle index, 0.16 kg/m2; handgrip, 1.41 kg; knee extension strength, 0.24 Nm; five-repetition chair-stand test, -1.89 sec; gait speed, 0.06 m/s; Short Physical Performance Battery, 0.43; and Timed Up and Go test, -0.56 sec. In healthy older adults, two indicators improved and showed statistically significant differences: handgrip, 2.15 kg; and 6-Minute Walking Test, 9.71 m. Combined exercise and nutritional interventions can improve skeletal muscle quality, strength, and physical performance in frail and healthy older adults. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, xx(x), xx-xx.].


Calanoid copepods have two swimming gaits, namely cruise swimming that is propelled by the beating of the cephalic feeding appendages and short-lasting jumps that are propelled by the power strokes of the four or five pairs of thoracal swimming legs. The latter may be 100 times faster than the former, and the required forces and power production are consequently much larger. Here, we estimated the magnitude and size scaling of swimming speed, leg beat frequency, forces, power requirements, and energetics of these two propulsion modes. We used data from the literature together with new data to estimate forces by two different approaches in 37 species of calanoid copepods: the direct measurement of forces produced by copepods attached to a tensiometer and the indirect estimation of forces from swimming speed or acceleration in combination with experimentally estimated drag coefficients. Depending on the approach, we found that the propulsive forces, both for cruise swimming and escape jumps, scaled with prosome length (L) to a power between 2 and 3. We further found that power requirements scales for both type of swimming as L3. Finally, we found that the cost of transportation (i.e., calories per unit body mass and distance transported) was higher for swimming-by-jumping than for cruise swimming by a factor of 7 for large copepods but only a factor of 3 for small ones. This may explain why only small cyclopoid copepods can afford this hydrodynamically stealthy transportation mode as their routine, while large copepods are cruise swimmers.


Daily traffic congestion on freeway networks around the world continues to increase, with detrimental effects on travel times, traffic safety, fuel consumption and environmental pollution. The annual cost of traffic congestion on European roads is estimated to approach 100 b€ or 1% of the GDP. Traffic congestion is only partly due to high demand, since the appearing congestion degrades the expensive infrastructure capacity essentially at the only times it is actually needed, i.e. during the daily peak periods. Traffic control measures, if properly designed and deployed, may lead to substantial savings of travel time, fuel consumption and environmental impact, along with an improvement of traffic safety. The presentation will outline the related traffic control problems and methods, with a focus on optimal control and feedback approaches. More specifically, the areas of macroscopic traffic flow modeling, local and coordinated ramp metering, variable speed limit control, mainstream traffic flow control, merging traffic control and route information and guidance will be addressed, along with the presentation of some selected field results.


Background The use of combination antiretroviral therapy (CART) has improved the prognosis of HIV-related diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In the pre-CART era, HIV-infected individuals usually presented DLBCL of primary extranodal origin and advanced stage, unlike non-HIV-infected individuals. In the CART era, studies conducted before the introduction of immunochemotherapy pointed outcomes of HIV-infected patients to be approaching those of non-HIV-infected patients. Recently, studies have reported the lack of influence of HIV-infection in the prognosis of Burkitt's lymphoma treated with immunochemotherapy. Nevertheless, there is scarce information comparing the clinical presentation and outcome of DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy between non-HIV-infected patients and HIV-infected patients in CART era.

Methods We retrospectively studied two series of DLBCL patients treated with RCHOP; 81 HIV-infected patients included in a Spanish multicentre trial and 84 non-HIV-infected patients diagnosed in our institution between 2002 and 2010. Demographic, HIV-infection, and DLBCL data on each case were collected. DLBCL cases were classified in nodal and extranodal according to a previously reported definition (JCO 2005). Continuous and categorical variables are presented using descriptive statistics. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and compared using the log-rank test. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results The median follow-up of HIV-infected patients was 6.5 years and of non-HIV-infected patients was 4.6 years. Non-HIV-infected patients were older at the time of DLBCL diagnosis than HIV-infected patients, median age (range) 62 years (24-80) and 44 years (24-74) respectively; (P<0.001). HIV-infected series had a higher percentage of males (81%) than non-HIV-infected (52%); (P<0.001). There were differences between HIV-infected patients and non-HIV-infected patients regarding the following features: B-symptoms (53% vs. 26%; P<0.001), III and IV Ann Arbor stages (71% vs. 52%; P=0.011), and ECOG performance status higher than 2 (51% vs. 26%; P=0.001). There was a trend for more HIV-infected patients (61%) to have high LDH levels at DLBCL diagnosis than non-HIV-infected patients (45%); P=0.057. On the other hand, the percentage of patients with intermediate-high/high International Prognostic Index, two or more extranodal involvement, and bulky disease was similar in both HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected patients. No differences were observed between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected series in terms of nodal and extranodal presentation. HIV-infected patients were classified according to the time of CART onset; before immunochemotherapy (69%) and concomitantly with RCHOP (31%). More patients receiving CART prior to immunochemotherapy presented undetectable viral load at lymphoma diagnosis (43%) than patients to whom CART was initiated with DLBCL treatment (4%); P=0.001. Time of CART onset had no effect on the presentation of the remaining clinical features, as well as in CD4-lymphocyte counts at DLBCL diagnosis. Non-HIV-infected patients tended to have a better complete response (CR) rate than HIV-infected patients (81% vs. 69%; P=0.071). Within HIV-infected patients the time of CART onset did not influence the achievement of CR to RCHOP. The overall survival (OS) was better in non-HIV-infected patients (5-year OS 74%; 95%CI: 64-84%) than in HIV-infected patients (5-year OS 56%; 95%CI: 45-67%); P=0.009. No differences in disease free survival (DFS) were observed between HIV-infected (5-year DFS 72%; 95%CI: 60-84%) and non-HIV-infected patients (5-year DFS 73%; 95%CI: 62-84%). In HIV-infected patients time of CART onset neither had impact in OS nor in DFS. Nodal and extranodal DLBCL cases showed similar OS and DFS.

Conclusions In the CART era, DLBCL of HIV-infected patients still have aggressive features but the incidence of extranodal involvement equalizes that of non-HIV-infected patients. The prognosis of DLBCL treated with RCHOP is worse in HIV-infected than in non-HIV-infected patients.

Supported in part by grants EC11-041 and RD12/0036/0029 RTICC from Instituto Carlos III, Spain.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians promote and help manage breastfeeding. However, research has shown that they are not adequately prepared. To address this gap, a 2-week mandatory lactation rotation program was developed for first-year pediatric residents. Research aim: The aim of the study was to provide a lactation education program and to measure the residents' knowledge and perceived confidence regarding breastfeeding. Methods: This longitudinal self-report pretest/posttest study was conducted with a convenience sample of 45 first-year pediatric residents. Each resident spent a minimum of 50 hours with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. To measure breastfeeding knowledge and clinical confidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics' Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum pretest was used 4 times: first and last day of the rotation and at 6 and 12 months postrotation. Results: Test and confidence scores were evaluated. Statistically significant differences in knowledge were found between test 1 when compared with tests 2, 3, and 4 (p < .001). No significant differences were found between tests 2, 3, and 4 (p > .05). The abilities to "adequately address parents' questions" and to "completely manage common problems" were significant, with confidence increasing in tests 2, 3, and 4 (p < .001). Conclusion: As a result of an innovative, comprehensive educational lactation program, the pediatric residents' knowledge and perceived confidence related to breastfeeding significantly increased.


Despite recent breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment, congenital heart defects (CHDs) continue to be the leading cause of death among newborns. Fetal echocardiography is the most effective and non-invasive method for the prenatal diagnosis of CHDs. However, the challenge of obtaining standard views can lead to a low diagnostic accuracy. To explore new methods for training, the combined use of cardiovascular casting, computed tomography (CT) scanning, and virtual ultrasound generation methods was studied to preserve the cardiac structures of a fetus in digital form. The feasibility of the proposed workflow was verified by testing three fetal heart specimens collected after the termination of pregnancy. As a result, the anatomical structures were imaged clearly by a CT scan after cardiovascular casting, and the virtually generated ultrasound images based on the use of the Public software Library for UltraSound imaging research (PLUS) toolkit successfully demonstrated both the standard views and the views with diagnostic values for the visualization of the cardiovascular structures. This solution provides great data extensibility while being simple and cost-effective for end users. Therefore, the proposed method could provide a promising educational system for trainees to understand standard views of fetal echocardiography and the corresponding anatomical correlations.


A negative ion plasma is produced by introducing a small amount of SF6 gas into a low-temperature ( approximately=0.2 eV) potassium plasma produced in a Q machine. The density ratio of negative to positive ions is continuously varied in the range up to more than 0.9999, where there appears a remarkable decrease in electron shielding for potential variations, yielding a clear effect on plasma collective phenomena. By introducing fullerene (C60)particles into the Q-machine plasma, we can produce a plasma including large negative C60 ions. This ultrafine particle plasma might prove very attractive in fields of materials science.


Objective: examination of development of the business environment in the Central and Eastern European Visegrad Group /Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland and Hungary/ in the last ten years, 2004-2014, by determining its influencing factors, and comparison of the results with the experience of the Russian Federation. Methods: approximation of the business environment with the help of five business-entity oriented indicators and analysis of relationship between them and their influencing factors, i.e. areas of competitiveness in the definition of the Heritage Foundation, based on correlation analysis, time series co-integration model and a specific panel co-integration model. Research results: the characteristic feature of the business environment in the Visegrad Group was adapting to integration into regional and global value chains. The main influencing factors of these changes were fiscal, trade and investment freedoms, to a lesser extent - freedom from corruption, as well as membership in the European Union. The development in the Russian Federation was focused on concentration of business activities improving all indicators of the business environment and being caused by third factors. Scientific novelty: first major complex study on the business environment in the Visegrad Group and in Russia, published in the Russian Federation. Practical value: better insight in the development of the business environment in the Central and Eastern European economies and in Russia, which can be used in macroeconomic policies of the Russian Federation


Objectives To investigate patient characteristics predictive of response to secukinumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with axial manifestations. Methods In a post-hoc analysis from the MAXIMISE trial (NCT02721966) in patients with PsA and axial manifestations, we tested the hypothesis that the OR of the effect of treatment on the primary endpoint of the trial (Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) 20 responder status at week 12) would be different depending on 12 prespecified predictor variables. We applied a two-model logistic regression approach, a main effects and an interaction model. Results The OR (95% CI) for ASAS20 response for the presence of nail dystrophy was 3.2 (95% CI 0.93 to 10.99) in the secukinumab 150 mg group and 5.0 (95% CI 1.47 to 17.19) in the secukinumab 300 mg group compared with the placebo group (p=0.029). Odds of being a responder were similar in men and women in the secukinumab groups, though men fared worse than women in the placebo group (p=0.039). Current smokers were less likely to be ASAS20 responders compared with never smokers regardless of the treatment group (p=0.589). Conclusion Nail dystrophy was identified as a predictor of response to secukinumab in patients with PsA with axial manifestations in the MAXIMISE trial. These findings may be explained by the nail-entheseal concept as part of the axial phenotype in PsA .


All hypertension, in one sense, is endocrine in origin. For the 5% of hypertension that is secondary to a specific mechanism, the majority can be attributed to an endocrinopathy, either too much (Cushing's syndrome, primary aldosteronism, renovascular disease, pheochromocytoma) or too little (renal parenchymal disease). For the 95% of hypertension that remains idiopathic or primary, the multiple environmental factors that act upon a genetic predisposition almost all mediate their effects through hormonal pathways (Figure 1). Since endocrinologists are more likely to deal with the 5% of hypertension that is secondary (Table 1), this review will cover their diagnosis and management in greater detail than the 95% categorized as primary hypertension.


In addition to the well-characterized BRCA1 and BRCA2 hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes, many other syndromes that are associated with genetic mutations predispose individuals to an increased risk of breast and gynecologic malignancies. Many mutated genes encode for tumor-suppressor products and are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Mutations markedly increase an individual's lifetime risk of cancers in different organ systems, depending on the associated syndrome. These syndromes include Lynch syndrome, the most common hereditary cause of endometrial cancer, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, which increases the risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical adenoma malignum. Li-Fraumeni syndrome and Cowden syndrome increase the risk of breast cancer, and Gorlin syndrome increases the risk of ovarian fibromas. With advances in genetic testing, clinicians' knowledge and awareness of the numerous additional genes associated with breast and ovarian cancers, such as ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2, are rapidly expanding. Radiologists have essential roles in patient management, which include developing optimal screening protocols for these patients and closely monitoring them for the development or recurrence of disease-specific malignancies. Radiologists' roles continue to increase and evolve as more mutations are identified and high-risk imaging screening recommendations expand to identify these patients. Understanding the epidemiologic, genetic, and pathophysiologic features and the cancers associated with these syndromes enables radiologists to appropriately contribute to patient management, ensure accurate and timely diagnosis, and make syndrome-specific imaging recommendations. ©RSNA, 2020.


Carbonate platforms are sensitive recorders of environmental change through geologic time. Climatically induced changes in sea level or changes in subsidence are expressed through migration of sediment belts that are recorded in the accumulating sedimentary succession. Changes in nutrient levels are recorded in shifts in the biotic community and, if eutrophic levels are reached, platforms may drown due to breakdown in carbonate production (Follmi et al., 1994). Our group has been focusing on the ∼60 Ma Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous period, which was originally considered to have had uniform greenhouse conditions (Fischer, 1982). Available climate proxy data, however, such as oxygen isotope data (δ18O) from deep sea cores, the paleontologic data (e.g., Frakes et al., 1992), and the 87Sr/86Sr and carbon isotope data of Jurassic and Cretaceous carbonates (Jenkyns and Wilson, 1999), indicate that there were major cooling and warming events that likely affected global ice volume, sea level, and the accumulating sedimentary and microfossil record of carbonate platforms.

Numerous carbonate platforms were developed within the tropical–subtropical belt of the circumequatorial Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Tethys Ocean. Many of these platforms have comparable shapes, sizes, facies, subsidence rates, and geologic structure to the present-day Bahamas Banks, a commonly used modern-day analogue (e.g., Bosellini, 2002, and references therein). In addition, the outcropping Tethyan platforms provide important clues to the poorly known subsurface Mesozoic carbonates that underpin the modern Bahamas platform. The Tethyan platforms were characterized by high rates of sedimentation (from 100 m/myr; D'Argenio et al., 1999) and exhibit meter-scale shallowing-upward cycles or parasequences generated during high frequency, small sea-level fluctuations within the Milankovitch band (Strasser, 1991; Schulz and Schafer-Neth, 1997; Lehmann et al., 1999; Strasser et al., 1999; Immenhauser et al., 2004; Husinec and …


Applying a 2.5-D hybrid simulation, we have studied the particles acceleration caused by magnetic reconnection. The results show that the reconnection process will not only heat all the particles, but also accelerate a few particles to comparatively high velocities (about 2.0v A). Such selective accelerating makes the velocity distribution of all particles change from the Maxwellian distribution to a shell or quasi-shell distribution. In addition, this shape varies with the change of particle positions. In order to study the accelerating process occurring near the X-type neutral point, we have observed the time-variation of velocities and positions of selected particles. Among the particles are flowed out inside the reconnection region, some are trapped in the magnetic mirror, with a convolution radius that outsteps the width of the reconnection region. These particles can thus construct the low speed part of the fluid near the boundary of out flow regions. On the other hand, there are three kinds of drifting trajectory of particles entering the reconnection region beside the X-type neutral point: flee along the field lines, be trapped in the magnetic mirrors, and traverse the local field lines. The ratios of particles undergoing the three kinds of trajectory are about 70%, 20%,10%, respectively.


The effect of fasting on blood metabolites and glucose metabolism in the chicken was studied. Parameters of glucose metabolism were estimated in vivo using a single injection of [2-3H]-glucose or [6-3H]-glucose in combination with [U-14C]-glucose. Plasma glucose, blood lactate and blood acetoacetate levels were not significantly changed in chickens fasted for 72 hours. Pyruvate levels in chickens fasted for 24 hours were higher than those observed in blood from birds fasted 0 to 72 hours. Further, the lactate to pyruvate ratio was lower in chickens fasted for 24 to 72 hours than in fed chickens. Fasting chickens for 24 or 72 hours resulted in three- to fivefold increase in blood beta-hydroxybutyrate levels and a significant increase in beta-hydroxybutyrate to acetoacetate ratio. Plasma levels of alanine and serine were increased after a 24 hour fast but were not further changed when fasting was extended to 72 hours. Plasma aspartate and glutamate levels were not significantly changed in chickens fasted for 24 hours but were markedly decreased in chickens fasted for 72 hours. Plasma levels of glycine were significantly lower in chickens fasted 24 or 72 hours than in fed birds. Glucose replacement rates estimated with [2-3H]-glucose in chickens fasted 0,24 and 72 hours were 14.3, 9.1 and 9.4 mg glucose/minute/kg body weight, respectively. Fasting up to 72 hours did not influence the total body glucose mass in the chickens. The degree of glucose-carbon recycling in 24-hour fasted chickens estimated by using [2-3H]- and [U-14C]-glucose or [6-3H]- and [U-14C]-glucose averaged 42% to 52% and 27% to 30%, respectively. These observations indicate that rate of glucose utilization in the chicken is rapid and that substantial recycling of glucose carbon occurs in fasted chickens.


Being a major devastating hazard, the study of landslides in Nepal Himalaya is very essential. For controlling and mitigate measures, understanding the behaviors and distribution of landslides over the temporal and spatial range is indispensable. The current study is carried out in the Rangun Khola watershed of western Nepal which spreads from Mahabharat Range (2,500m) to Dun valley covering an area of 489.39 km2. Polygon-based landslide inventory within the temporal range of 18 years (2003 to 2020 AD) was prepared by using temporal series of Google Earth Pro, Sentinel-2 images, and Landsat images, which were verified during the field visit. The number of landslides and area covered in different spatial units and temporal intervals were analyzed using the Q-GIS. In total, 494 landslides were identified and the area covered by the landslide was 0.47% of the total study area. Landslides in this area are highly dynamic with different activity states and temporal fluctuation. The number of landslides were highest, i.e., 143, in 2005 and the Upper Siwalik region consist of a large number of landslides making them highly prone to landslide events. The presence of thrust and faults was also found to be influencing the landslides and size distribution. The study will be useful for further researches to map susceptibility and hazard and also for policymakers to understand landslide status to reduce the risk.


This paper describes a cooperative search and rescue exercise where an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is used by a military rescue team for extraction and evacuation of a casualty from an unsafe man-made disaster area. This experimental validation was performed within a full-scale emergency response exercise organized on June 2019 by the Chair of Safety, Emergencies and Disasters at Universidad de Málaga (Spain). With this purpose, we adapted the skid-steer Rambler robot to carry a stretcher with appropriate roll-in and locking mechanisms. The mission consisted of two phases: first, extraction from the hot zone was performed with remote teleoperation using a dummy; second, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) to an aeromedical evacuation point was done with sightline teleoperation moving an actual volunteer. The realistic one-shot exercise was performed by actual rescue personnel with no previous experience with the robotic system. The paper shares insight and lessons learned from this concept validation experience.


Alexithymia is an emotion regulation problem that may be related to suicidality, especially in patients with SUD.The study aimed at estimating the prevalence of alexithymia in Moroccan psychoactive substances users, and to establish the links between alexithymia and suicidal ideation and behaviors, anxiety and depression in drug-dependent patients.We also aimed to elucidate if alexithymia predicts suicidal thoughts and behaviors in these consumers. The study included 451 consecutively admitted patients with substance use. Consumers were examined with the Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)Among substance-dependent individuals, 72.7% was identified as a group with alexithymia. Current age and age at first substance use were lower in the alexithymic group (p<0.01).The mean STAI-Y state and C-SSRS scores were higher in the group with alexithymia (p<0.01). There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean scores for anxiety traits (p<0.05) and no significant difference in terms of mean scores for depression. All of the scores correlated significantly with.Addicted patients with alexithymia could be targeted at preventing the onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviorThe present study also evokes that whenever an emotional regulation disorder is observed, the possibility of anxio-depressive symptomatology and suicidality (ideation and behavior) needs to be assessed.


This report addresses important factors associated with the design of steel reinforcement in terms of layer configuration, bond characteristic, climatic effect, and others relative to an assessment of the suitability of the CRCP 8 program to represent and predict steel stresses in continuously reinforced concrete (CRC) pavement systems. It was necessary to instrument an actual section of CRC pavement for concrete and steel strains as they fluctuated under climatic and seasonal changes. The steel rebars were instrumented in a manner that would limit disturbance of the bond between the steel and the concrete, yet allow for precise measurements of the steel strain at various distances from the crack face. Other field sections containing Grade 70 steel were also included in this study. Crack spacing and crack width data were collected and reported. In light of this emphasis, a key aspect of the steel design considerations is how important parameters - such as the steel surface area, degree of bond, the grade of steel, and the amount of steel - relate to the maximum width that transverse cracks will be allowed to open over the design life of the pavement. Inherent in configuring the reinforcement in CRC pavement to perform a safe level below its yield limit is the maintenance of the transverse crack widths below specified levels to ensure adequate stiffness at the transverse cracks. Crack width data varied as a function of the distance from the pavement surface, and it was noted in the report that the vertical position of the steel within the slab affects this variation and consequently should be a consideration in determining the vertical position of the reinforcing layer in construction.


Dense passage retrieval has been shown to be an effective approach for information retrieval tasks such as open domain question answering. Under this paradigm, a dual-encoder model is learned to encode questions and passages separately into vector representations, and all the passage vectors are then pre-computed and indexed, which can be efficiently retrieved by vector space search during inference time. In this paper, we propose a new contrastive learning method called Cross Momentum Contrastive learning (xMoCo), for learning a dual-encoder model for question-passage matching. Our method efficiently maintains a large pool of negative samples like the original MoCo, and by jointly optimizing question-to-passage and passage-to-question matching tasks, enables using separate encoders for questions and passages. We evaluate our method on various open-domain question answering dataset, and the experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Data centers consume an extraordinary amount of electricity, and the rate of consumption is increasing at a rapid pace. Thus, energy efficiency in data center design is of substantial interest since it can have a significant impact on operating costs. The server cooling infrastructure is one area which is ripe for design innovation. Various designs have been considered for air-cooled data centers, and there is growing interest in liquid-cooled server designs. One potential liquid-cooled solution, which reduces the cost of cooling to less than 5% of the information technology (IT) energy use, is a chiller-less or warm water-cooled system, which removes the chiller from the design and lets the cooling water supply vary with changes in the outdoor ambient conditions. While this design has been proven to work effectively in some locations, environmental extremes prevent its more widespread implementation. In this paper, the design and analysis of a cold water storage system are shown to extend the applicability of chiller-less designs to a wider variety of environmental conditions. This can lead to both energy and economic savings for a wide variety of data center installations. A numerical model of a water storage system is developed, validated, and used to analyze the impact of a water storage tank system in a chiller-less data center design featuring outdoor wet cooling. The results show that during times of high wet bulb operating conditions, a water storage tank can be an effective method to significantly reduce chip operating temperatures for warm water-cooled systems by reducing operating temperatures 5–7 °C during the hottest part of the day. The overall system performance was evaluated using both an exergy analysis and a modified power usage effectiveness (PUE) metric defined for the water storage system. This unique situation also necessitates the development of a new exergy definition in order to properly capture the physics of the situation. The impacts of tank size, tank aspect ratio, fill percentage, and charging/discharging time on both the chip temperature and modified PUE are evaluated. It is determined that tank charging time must be carefully matched to environmental conditions in order to optimize impact. Interestingly, the water being stored is initially above ambient, but the overall system performance improves with lower water temperatures. Therefore, heat losses to ambient are found to beneficial to the overall system performance. The results of this analysis demonstrate that in application, data center operators will see a clear performance benefit if water storage systems are used in conjunction with warm water cooling. This application can be extended to data center failure scenarios and could also lead to downsizing of equipment and a clear economic benefit.


A Differential Hall Effect method has been developed that allows to determine of the dopant activation level of SiGe alloys in the surface region. The technique is first optimised in terms of etch rate (∼ 1A/min), surface roughness, strain and stoichiometry stability during etch. We then show that this DHE method allows to experimentally access the dopant activation of ultra-shallow surface layers of less than 0.5 nm.


Aquatic ecosystem services are important for human wellbeing, but they are much less studied than terrestrial ecosystem services. The objectives of this study are to broaden, itemize and exemplify the human-nature interactions in modeling the future provision of aquatic ecosystem services. We include shared socioeconomic and representative concentration pathways, used extensively in climate research, as drivers of change for the future development of the Baltic Sea. Then we use biogeochemical and ecosystem models to demonstrate the future development of exemplary supporting, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services for two distinct combinations of regionally down-scaled global climate and socioeconomic futures. According to the model simulations, the two global futures ( " Sustainable well-being " vs. " Fossil-fuelled development " ) studied lead to clearly deviating trajectories in the provision of marine ecosystem services. Under the " Sustainable well-being " -scenario primary production decreases by 20%, catches of demersal fish increases and the recreation opportunities increase significantly by the end of the ongoing century. Under the " fossil-fuelled development " -scenario primary production doubles, fisheries focus on less valued pelagic fish and the recreation possibilities will decrease. Long-term projections of aquatic ecosystem services prepared for alternative global socioeconomic futures can be used by policy makers and managers to adaptively and iteratively adjust mitigation and adaptation effort with plausible future changes in the drivers of water pollution.


Background: Long-term hospitalization of preterm neonates and maintaining a secure intravenous line for them to provide nutrition and drugs are serious problems among some specialists. The purpose of this study was to compare the two types of IV access: peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) and conventional peripheral IV line. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 117 preterm neonates with birth weight less than 1500 g were divided into the PICC line (57 cases) and peripheral IV line (60 cases) groups. The early outcomes including the duration of catheterization, catheter-related infection, and mortality rate of the neonates were compared for both groups. Results: The mean birth weights in the PICC and peripheral IV groups were 1061±183g and 1054±217 g, respectively (P=0.7). Sepsis with positive blood culture was reported in 8 cases in the PICC group and 7 cases in the peripheral IV group (P=0.9). Moreover, 7cases with a positive catheter tip culture (colonization) were found in the PICC group. Mortality rates in the PICC and peripheral IV line groups were 6 and 5, respectively (P=0.9). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, PICC does not increase the risk of sepsis and mortality rate in the neonates. Considering many advantages of the PICC line including its durability, it can be recommended for very low birth weight neonates.


Loughborough University makes extensive use of digital signage to display rapidly changing information to its staff, students and visitors. Within the library, digital signage displays show PC availability, study and meeting room bookings, IT support information and details of forthcoming events. To drive the displays small, inexpensive and low powered Raspberry Pi computers are used. The low cost and ease of use of the Raspberry Pi based solution has allowed the Library to have far more displays in use than would otherwise be possible, which provides for an enhanced user experience in the building. This paper describes how Raspberry Pi's can be used to drive displays, shows some of the cost savings that can be made and looks at some potential future applications of cheap, digital signage.


Study Design: Retrospective cohort review. Objective: To determine whether preoperative cord rotation is independently correlated with C5 palsy when analyzed alongside measures of sagittal balance and foraminal stenosis. Summary of Background Data: Postoperative C5 palsy is a well-documented complication of cervical procedures with a prevalence of 4%–8%. Recent studies have shown a correlation with preoperative spinal cord rotation. There have been few studies, however, that have examined the role of sagittal balance and foraminal stenosis in the development of C5 palsy. Methods: A total of 77 patients who underwent cervical decompression—10 of whom developed C5 palsy—were reviewed. Sagittal balance was assessed using curvature angle and curvature index on radiographs and magnetic resonance image (MRI). Cord rotation was assessed on axial MRI. C4–C5 foraminal stenosis was assessed on sagittal MRI using area measurements and a grading scale. Demographics and information on surgical approach were gathered from chart review. Correlation with C5 palsy was performed by point-biserial, &khgr;2, and regression analyses. Results: Point-biserial analysis indicated that only cord rotation showed significance (P<0.01). There was no statistical significance shown with surgical approach, sex, or age. In addition, changes in sagittal balance did not correlate with presence of C5 palsy. Logistic regression model yielded cord rotation as the only significant independent predictor of C5 palsy. For every degree of axial cord rotation, the likelihood ratio for suffering a C5 palsy was 3.93 (95% confidence interval, 2.01–8.66; P<0.05). Conclusions: This supports the independent capability of preoperative cord rotation to predict postoperative C5 palsy. Lack of correlation with measures of neuroforaminal stenosis potentially points to mechanisms other than direct compression as the etiology. In addition, the lack of correlation with postoperative changes in sagittal balance hints that measures of curvature angle and curvature index may not be appropriate to accurately predict this complication. Level of Evidence: Level 3.


Xanthomatous bone tumor, isolated or multiple, occurring in the absence of the Schuller-Christian syndrome is rare. Recognition of this unusual lesion has proceeded apace with delineation of the Schuller-Christian syndrome. Bony tumors such as those described by Zeyland and Dega and by Krogius, which seem to be classic examples of giant cell tumor with secondary lipoid deposition, bear no resemblance to the type of tumor here described. REPORT OF A CASE An Italian boy aged 12 noticed pain and swelling of the left tibial tuberosity five or six weeks before he was first examined, on Oct. 26, 1936. The boy had always been physically active. He remembered no severe injury to his leg or knee, but he had bumped his knee a week previously, while playing football. He had sharp pain on direct pressure over the tibial tuberosity. There was no pain in the left thigh. A diagnosis of Osgood-Schlatter


Purpose: To evaluate the results and long-term complications of glaucoma drainage devices (GDD) in pediatric patients (0–15 years). Methods: Retrospective cohort study was conducted on 17 implanted glaucoma drainage devices from July 1994 to April 2007 in 14 patients (17 eyes). In two patients (3 eyes) a Molteno GDD (MGDD) was implanted, and in 12 patients (14 eyes) an Ahmed GDD (AGDD) was used. We studied the demographic and glaucoma related patient data, as well as the probability of surgical success. The time which intraocular pressure (IOP) was controlled and the postoperative complications were also studied. Results: Of the fourteen patients, 9 (64.28%) showed congenital glaucoma, and 5 (35.71%) aphakic glaucoma. The pre-aqueous drainage device median IOP was 29.82 mmHg (SD: 6.98), and 14.05 mmHg (SD: 7.57) postoperative. The median follow-up was 3.14 years (3 months to 8.3 years). Success of aqueous drainage device was defined as an IOP less than 21 mmHg with or without medication on the last two follow-up visits, and without severe complications or further glaucoma surgery. Using a Kaplan–Meier analysis there was success in 76%, 63% and 55% at the six months, 1–3 years and 4–8 years, respectively. The GDD was a failure in


To evaluate radiation-induced hepatic injuries (RIHI), magnetic resonance image (MRI) was conducted on 12 patients,1 to 6 months after radiotherapy on regions including the liver. T1-weighted and T2-weighted image (T1WI, T2WI), and gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA)-enhanced T1WI were obtained. Within 1 week, these MRI studies were repeated after chondroitin sulphate iron colloid (CSIC) administration. MRI findings and total irradiation doses were compared. Abnormalities were seen on one or more types of MRI in 7 patients. The total dose of irradiation was 40 or more Gy in these patients, and 40 or less Gy in those who showed no abnormal MR findings. Plain T2WI of the 7 cases showing MRI abnormalities demonstrated a slightly higher signal intensity (SI) in the irradiated areas in 2, an iso SI in 2, a slightly lower or lower SI in 3 cases. The irradiated and nonirradiated areas were clearly demarcated on GdDTPA-enhanced T1WI in 4 cases. Following CSIC administration, the irradiated areas became more marked in 3 cases. A clear demarcation between the 2 areas was obtained with double contrast MRI in the 7 cases. The present study indicates that MRI may be a useful noninvasive means of evaluating RIHI.


Aims: Emotions and how to deal with them are part of the human personality and affect her health. Ability to evaluate and express our emotions, emotion regulation of ourselves and the others and operation of emotion is called "emotional intelligence". This study aimed to determine the effect of emotional intelligence component training on self-efficacy enhancement and reduction of occupational stress. Materials & Methods: The semi-experimental research was done on Tehran municipality employees in 2010. Purposeful cluster sampling was done and 30 people who had a high score of occupational stress and low occupational stress were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Data collected by the Self-Efficacy Beliefs Questionnaire developed by Scherer and colleagues and the Occupational Stress Inventory developed by Philip L. Rice. Data were analyzed by software SPSS 16 using descriptive statistics and independent T-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Findings: Self-efficacy mean score of experimental group was 64.9±6.2 in posttest which had a significant difference with pre-test score (51.9±8.5) of this group (t=5.1; p=0.05). The mean score of general symptoms of stress of experimental group was 25.7±6.8 in post-test which was significantly different from its pre-test score (32.1±5.6). A negative correlation was observed between self-efficacy increase and occupational stress symptoms reduction (r=0.223; p=0.033). Conclusion: Teaching emotional intelligence components can increase the belief of self-efficacy and reduce the syndromes of occupational stress.


A number of postoperative complications in Macaca nemestrina suggested possible adrenal insufficiency secondary to chronic stress. Adrenal function was assessed by use of plasma 17-hydroxycorticoids, total eosinophil counts, and ACTH-response tests. Surgery or anesthesia resulted in a rise in plasma 17-hydroxycorticoids and a fall in total eosinophils in the majority of monkeys, and all of these animals demonstrated at least a 50% decrease in the total eosinophil count 4 hr following the intramuscular administration of ACTH. However, in three monkeys this type of response did not occur following one or both of the tests that were done. These three animals, unlike the others, presented one or more of the following complications during the poststress period: lethargy, failure to eat properly, diarrhea, and diuresis. These findings indicate that the stress of captivity may deplete adrenal reserve and alter normal physiological responses. primates (Macaca nemestrina); primates, adrenal reserve in primates, to...


Steroid receptors existing outside the nucleus are increasingly being recognized in many organs and cell types, impacting the biology of bone, the heart and blood vessels, and the central nervous system. Some controversy exists as to the nature of the receptors at the plasma membrane. However, compelling evidence has been advanced that at least some classical steroid receptors mediate steroid ligand actions originating as signaling from the cell surface. Here I review the recent findings in this evolving field emphasizing the in vivo impact of these receptor pools with a focus on estrogen receptors.


In recent studies, global Hopf branches were investigated for
delayed model of HTLV-I infection with delay-independent parameters.
It is shown in [8,9] that when stability switches occur,
global Hopf branches tend to be bounded, and different branches can
overlap to produce coexistence of stable periodic solutions. In this
paper, we investigate global Hopf branches for delayed systems with
delay-dependent parameters. Using a delayed predator-prey model as
an example, we demonstrate that stability switches caused by varying
the time delay are accompanied by bounded global Hopf branches. When
multiple Hopf branches exist, they are nested and the overlap
produces coexistence of two or possibly more stable limit cycles.


A multi-functional bleaching equipment for laboratory use was developed. The setup allowed the bleaching of four pulp samples at the same time. The bleaching setup works for traditional oxygen and ozone bleaching, using caustic soda and calcium hydroxides as bleaching additive. This newly developed setup allows creating the tests as flexible as possible, for multiple wood fiber-based pulps. The installation work to change from chemical to gas bleaching can be done in a couple of minutes. The new trial setup showed improvements for the second and third bleaching stage using oxygen and ozone gas. For Kraft pulp using caustic soda as bleaching agent the Kappa number could be reduced by over 97.8%. Calcium hydroxide as bleaching agent resulted in a reduction of 90.0%. Both bleaching agents allowed an increase in L* brightness and tensile index of up to 74.1% and 80.1%% respectively for caustic soda and 17.6% and 80.1% respectively for calcium hydroxide as bleaching agent. For straw and coffee filter pulp an increase in L* brightness of up to 58.6% and an increase of the tensile index of up to 67.0% could be achieved without using bleaching agents. Recycled pulp showed an increase in tensile index of up to 71.5% but a decrease of 1% for the L* brightness. Original Research Article Dölle and Honig; AJOCS, 4(2): 1-12, 2018; Article no.AJOCS.40620 2