Marketing communications strategy is a form of promotion of a region. The Office of Culture and Tourism of the Padang City is responsible for the promotion of Pasumpahan Island. This study aims to determine the marketing communication strategy Office of Culture and Tourism of Padang City in promoting Pasumpahan Island. The purpose of this study is to reveal the form of sales promotion, advertising, public relations, forms of direct marketing, and internet marketing in the promotion Pasumpahan Island. This study used a qualitative method with case study approach. Data collection techniques included interviews, observations, and documents relevant to the marketing communication strategy of the Office of Culture and Tourism of Padang City in promoting Pasumpahan Island. The results showed that the sales promotion by the Office of Culture and Tourism of Padang City is directly and indirectly through advertising and internet marketing effective.


Sociolinguistic Conditioning of Phonetic Category Realisation in Non-Native Speech The realisation of phonetic categories reflects a complex relationship between individual phonetic parameters and both linguistic and extra-linguistic conditioning of language usage. The present paper investigates the effect of selected socio-linguistic variables, such as the age, the amount of language use and cultural/social distance in English used by Polish immigrants to the U.S. Individual parameters used in the realisation of the category 'voice' have been found to vary in their sensitivity to extra-linguistic factors: while the production of target-like values of all parameters is related to the age, it is the closure duration that is most stable in the correspondence to the age and level of language proficiency. The VOT and vowel duration, on the other hand, prove to be more sensitive to the amount of language use and attitudinal factors.


Abstract To test whether T cell receptor (TCR) peptide treatment can prevent immune dysfunction, excessive lipid peroxidation, and malnutrition caused by retrovirus infection, female C57BL/6 mice were infected with LP-BM5 retrovirus. Infection with retrovirus inhibited lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine release T helper 1 cells, stimulated cytokine secretion by T helper 2 cells, induced abnormal hepatic and cardiac lipid profiles, and produced excessive tissue lipid peroxidation with hepatic and cardiac vitamin E deficiency. Two weeks after infection, TCR peptides Vβ5.2, Vβ8.1, Vβ8.1 + Vβ5.2, Vβ8.1(N), and Vβ8.1© were injected to the mice at dose of 200 μg/mouse. Vβ8.1 and Vβ5.2 treatments largely maintained lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 and IFN-γ release, and prevented excessive IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α secretion. Concomitantly, these treatments normalized hepatic and cardiac lipid profiles, reduced tissue lipid peroxidation, and thereby significantly maintained vitamin E in the liver and heart. Vβ8.1 segments treatment did not prevent the immune dysfunction, abnormal lipid profile and lipid peroxidation, and vitamin E deficiency caused by the retrovirus infection. In conclusion, injection of intact TCR peptides during murine retrovirus infection largely prevented immune dysfunction by blocking the excessive stimulation of a T cell subset caused by retroviral superantigens. It also ameliorated malnutrition status by normalizing lipid profile, lipid peroxidation, and vitamin E deficiency. T cell immune dysfunction and its prevention by TCR peptide treatment is important in the therapy of vitamin E deficiency induced by retrovirus infection.


Review of dry season feeds and feeding as a threat to sustainable production of ruminant animal production in Nigeria. The concept of dry season nutrition and challenges posed on ruminant production such as reduction in general performance of animal, increased susceptibility to diseases, reduction in palatability and acceptability of available forage, reduction in digestibility of forage consumed, migration of flock and herd's men, overcrowding of available graze land, sales of animals at loss and increased cost of production were critically dealt with. strategies such as Forage conservation, utilization of crop residue, agro industrial by products, cultivated fodder crops, culling and sales of unproductive animals in the flock, utilization of browse plants, uses of concentrate feed, integration of ruminant production with crop production, improved pasture yield through fertilizer/manure application and supplementation of poor forages with nutrient supplements as means of ameliorating the adverse effects of dry season feed and feedings. Conclusively dry season feeds and feeding pose a great threat to ruminant animal production and for the sustainable production of ruminant animal products (wool, milk, meat, meat, hide and skin) and by-products (blood meal, bone meal and manure) efforts should be geared towards adoption of strategy recommend in the paper. Keywords: Ruminant animal, production, sustainable, dry season, feeds and feeding


To achieve a high oxygen permeation rate at medium and high temperature, an asymmetrically structured membrane, in which a thin dense layer (30 μm) made of La0.6Ca0.4CoO3−δ (LCC) and BaFe0.975Zr0.0...


In this paper we present simulations of moving rigid bodies immersed in a rarefied gas. The rarefied gas is simulated by solving the Bhatnager-Gross-Krook (BGK) model for the Boltzmann equation. The Newton-Euler equations are solved to simulate the rigid body motion. The force and the torque on the rigid body is computed from the surrounded gas. An explicit Euler scheme is used for the time integration of the Newton-Euler equations. The BGK model is solved by the semi-Lagrangian method suggested by Russo & Filbet [22]. Due to the motion of the rigid body, the computational domain for the rarefied gas (and the interface between the rigid body and the gas domain) changes with respect to time. To allow a simpler handling of the interface motion we have used a meshfree method for the interpolation procedure in the semi-Lagrangian scheme. We have considered a one way, as well as a two-way coupling of rigid body and gas flow. We use diffuse reflection boundary conditions on the rigid body and also on the boundary of the computational domain. In one space dimension the numerical results are compared with analytical as well as with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solutions of the Boltzmann equation. In the two-dimensional case results are compared with DSMC simulations for the Boltzmann equation and with results obtained by other researchers. Several test problems and applications illustrate the versatility of the approach.


The paper examines the Sino-Vietnamese approach to managing their border disputes and in particular the approach in relation to the South China Sea issues. The paper provides an overview on how China and Vietnam manage their border disputes in the period since full normalisation of their relations. The overview includes both progress made in terms of conflict management and challenges faced in terms of tension. In relation to the South China Sea the Sino-Vietnamese approach highlights how the two countries deal with their differences and manage them. This is followed by a discussion relating to two factors: first, the relevance and the possible implications of the Sino-Vietnamese experience; and second, the lessons drawn from it on the broader situation in the South China Sea. The paper is concluded by a summary of the main findings.


It has been long recognized that local tissue temperature may osculate due to vascular thermo-regulation under hyperthermic conditions. To effectively heat the target tissue while sparing its surroundings, it is necessary to understand and then to control the temperature oscillation. A model based on the pig kidney vasculature was developed to study the transient temperature variations in the kidney when subjected to heating in a thermal bath. In the medullary region, a vascular model previously developed in (Chen and Xu, 2000) was used to account for the conjugate heat transfer between the paired artery and vein, and their surrounding tissue. Considering that numerous small vessels exist in the cortex region, the Pennes bio-heat transfer equation was used for modeling in this region. A code was written to numerically compute the 3-D transient temperature distribution in the kidney subjected to heating. To examine the validity of the model, experiments were performed to measure the temperatures and perfusion rates using thermistor microprobes in the cortex of the preserved pig kidney. This model will be utilized for future studies to investigate the relationships among the local blood perfusion rate, the heating rate, and the tissue temperature oscillation.


BACKGROUND
Laboratory results are influenced by presence and severity of disease, as well as preanalytical factors, analytical variation, and biological variation. Biological variation data for urinary protein: creatinine ratio (UPC) and urine specific gravity (USG) in cats are lacking.

OBJECTIVES
Determine the biological variation of UPC and USG in cats.

ANIMALS
Eighty healthy client-owned cats.

METHODS
Prospective study. Urine was collected on days 0, 14, and 56 from all 80 cats to investigate the persistence of borderline or overt proteinuria or suboptimal urine concentration. In 15 of these cats, urine was collected weekly from day 0 to 42 to calculate the index of individuality (II) and reference change value (RCV), and on days 56 and 57 to evaluate day-to-day variability of UPC and USG.

RESULTS
Borderline or overt proteinuria (UPC ≥0.2) was present in 18/80 (23%) cats at baseline and persisted on 3 occasions in 2 months in 8/18 (44%) cats. Urine concentration was suboptimal at inclusion (USG <1.035) in 8/80 (10%) cats and at all 3 time points during 2 months in 3/8 (38%) cats. The II of UPC and USG indicated intermediate individuality. The 1-sided RCV was 82% for UPC and 36% for USG. Proteinuria substage was identical on 2 consecutive days in 13/15 (87%) cats, and urine concentrating ability remained the same in all 15 cats.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
A >82% increase in UPC in a healthy cat is not solely attributable to physiological and analytical variation. For USG, a decrease of >36% is considered clinically relevant.


We use laser high-order harmonics and a polarization-ratio-reflectance technique to determine the optical constants of copper and oxidized copper in the wavelength range 10-35 nm. This measurement resolves previously conflicting data sets, where disagreement on optical constants of copper in the extreme ultraviolet most likely arises from inadvertent oxidation of samples before measurement.


The thesis examines the process of urban regeneration currently underway in inner-city Johannesburg, paying particular attention to the roles social and private housing developers and privatised security services are playing in shaping the area. It also examines the lived reality of regeneration and focuses on the experiences of tenants living in newly-renovated residential buildings. It is based on a qualitative study involving interviews with various actors involved in regeneration and housing provision, including government officials, employees of agencies financing housing projects, housing providers, security and urban management personnel and tenants. It also draws on ethnographic accounts derived in the course of fieldwork. The thesis demonstrates the duality of the goals and agendas which the regeneration process is attempting to fulfil, and concludes that it is a contradictory, vernacular process. It shows how housing providers attempt to meet the demands of a market-based approach to housing and regeneration as well as respond to the social concerns and requirements which define the area. Drawing on the work of Lefebvre and Bourdieu, the thesis expands on the concepts 'spatial habitus' and 'spatial capital' to give theoretical structure to the discussion and demonstrate the mutually- determining relationship between habitus and space. Moving from the discursive realm to everyday reality, the effects urban management and security practices are having on the area and the ways people experience it are analysed. Urban management is also shown to be serving dual purposes, making the area safer but resulting in differential access to security and new boundaries of exclusion. Lastly, the significance of regeneration is analysed from tenants' perspectives, accounting for the variety of ways it both facilitates as well as hinders their rights to the city and experiences of urban citizenship, making it a transformative and developmental but also exclusionary and restricted, and thus vernacular, process.


Although a rare condition, Posterior Urethral Valves (PUVs) are the most common obstructive cause of chronic renal disease in children. In order to provide an early diagnosis, it is crucial to identify families with a high risk of developing this disorder. Here, we report a rare case of non-twin siblings with PUV. The first sibling was diagnosed at 2 months of age, presenting with renal insufficiency and managed properly. Despite the brother's history and general prenatal care, the second sibling presented with the same disorder, at 3 months of age, suffering from acute renal insufficiency, urinary tract infection and severe anemia, revealing even more important complications than the first sibling. We have reviewed the 12 cases of non-twin siblings previously reported in the literature, and noticed that in the majority of these families, late diagnosis was observed. Herein, we discuss aspects of management of the disorder, and highlight the importance of specific antenatal evaluation in boys with a positive family history.


Questions about what constitutes effective teacher education, compatible with today's changing educational demands, have become commonplace. This article is therefore an overview of ideas about the elements of effective teacher education in light of the 21st century demands. Drawing on literature and the authors' knowledge of teacher education in the East African context, the article argues the case for the different elements of effective teacher education programs that would help the region, and by extension other developing countries, meet their educational obligations in the 21st century. The paper also highlights the theoretical underpinnings of these elements and concludes with the implications of these elements to teacher preparation in East Africa.


This paper presents an overview of the architecture of Apple Computer's forthcoming color management system release. ColorSyncTM 2.0 is the first of a new generation of operating system based color management systems. The major goal of this architecture is to provide a scalable, flexible and extensible solution to managing color on the desktop for both the end user and application developer. The ambitious scope of this goal necessitated a level of complexity far beyond the first release of ColorSyncTM. ColorSyncTM 1.0 was introduced at MacWorld in January 1993. It is a "plug-in" framework which permits thirdparties to ship color-matching software which users may employ without the need for a complete proprietary environment. After this introduction, Apple then actively solicited feedback from third party developers for several months. An agreement was reached on the profile format at the FOGRA meeting at the Seybold conference in October 1993. This agreement lays the foundation for version 2.0 of the Extension software. Acceptance of the profile format has since been announced by several platform vendors. The ColorSyncTM 2.0 profile format incorporates significant changes from version 1 .0. The new format is a diskbased tagged-element structure allowing selective access to profile data whereas the ColorSync 1 .0 profile format is a memory resident structure. The 1 .0 default CMM uses algorithmic matching derived from work by Apple ATG. This method is relatively fast and accurate for monitors, but is less than optimal for printers. The new format supports use of multidimensional color lookup table transforms. ColorSyncTM 2.0 requires either a 68020 or later processor or a 601 PowerPC or later processor. In addition, a version of the Macintosh Operating System 7.1 or later is also required (which includes Apple's Component Manager). ColorSyncTM 2.0 relies on the Component Manager for the basis of the framework which allows plug-and-play capability for third party color-modeling implementations. ColorSyncTM 2.0 consists of an Extension file from which the resident dispatcher is installed at system startup and a separate Control Panel to provide the user control of the ColorSyncTM System Profile. The ColorSyncTM 2.0 architecture is divided into five parts; 1) the resident dispatcher, 2) profile management, 3) color conversion methods, 4) color modeling methods (CMMs), and 5) the ColorSyncTM profile format. The following sections describe each of these five parts individually. The profile manager, color conversion methods and color modeling methods are all implemented using the Apple Component Manager. Components are used to dynamically load and run executable object code on demand. In addition, the component manager provides database facilities to track each component in the system, allowing the resident dispatcher to call the appropriate component without forcing unreasonable memory requirements on each application. This paper places an emphasis on the profile format since this format provides crossplatform capabilities for color management systems.


The optimal formula for calculating the total number of hemocytes (HTN) of the Australian red-claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) has been established, which allows optimizing the time of counting HTN without re-ducing accuracy. Methodical recommendations on preparing a hemolymph sample, HTN calculation and differentiated calculation of hemocytes are given. It was found out that the differences in HTN are minimal when using different formulas, which is con-firmed by the analysis of variance F = 0.011, p = 0.998, the average values of HTN range from 2 384 to 2 427 cell/µl. Conducting multiple comparisons also demonstrated that the differences between the formulas are minimal: the significance levels between the formulas were p = 0.99. The optimal formula for the Australian red-claw crayfish is: HTN in 1 µl = N • 10, where N is the total number of hemocytes in 25 large squares of Gorjaev's chamber. The counting chamber should be clean, since when even small dust particles are found on the grid, hemocyte clusters can form and impede counting, or the result of the calculation will be incorrect, because the distribution
of hemocytes on the grid will not be uniform. After filling the chamber with hemolymph, it is recommended to wait
1-1.5 minutes so that the movement of the hemolymph stops and the hemocytes stop moving. It is recommended to use an anticoagulant, which prevents the rapid decay of cells and promotes their uniform distribution on the grid of the chamber without developing clots (clusters) that affect the accuracy of counting. Working with the whole hemolymph implies the speed and accuracy of the researcher's actions, since it quickly coagulates and forms clusters of hemocytes. In order to avoid confusion when counting cells located on the border between squares, Egorov's rule is applied. The optimal increase for counting is a 400-fold increase.


The essential features of transmission-line modeling (TLM) and its relevance to EMC problems are briefly described. The manner in which an EMC problem can be modeled using TLM is outlined, and three important applications are presented. Results are shown for a spherical dipole antenna placed near conducting walls, where a detailed model of the antenna and the surrounding space is used to determine the radiation resistance and its variation with proximity to the walls. The electromagnetic emission pattern from a typical device under test placed in a practical environment is determined by simulation. The current induced on wires placed on either side of a thin conducting plate is obtained by TLM, and the results are compared with measurements. Although a relatively coarse mesh of points has been used, the comparisons are very encouraging. Further developments to the code, which will allow a more efficient treatment of fine features and enhance the poser of the method to solve realistic EMC problems, are discussed. >


We establish the existence of ground states on ℝ𝑁 for the Laplace operator involving the Hardy-type potential. This gives rise to the existence of the principal eigenfunctions for the Laplace operator involving weighted Hardy potentials. We also obtain a higher integrability property for the principal eigenfunction. This is used to examine the behaviour of the principal eigenfunction around 0.


Like plantation slavery, Indigenous servitude on Bolivian haciendas raises crucial questions about the afterlives of colonial subjection. Engaging questions of colonialism, unfreedom, and emancipation across the Americas, this article examines how Quechua Bolivians remake landscapes defined by continued material traces of subjection and abiding racial inequalities. Rather than inhabiting this landscape as one of passive historical repetition, Quechua Bolivians use narratives and spatial practices to alter landscapes—including elderberry trees where kin were whipped, high mountain lakes constructed by forced laboring kin, and ravines and valley crevices that offered routes of escape from indentured labor and political violence. Such practices point to a politics of lo abigarrado (the motley), a term used to describe people whose labor itineraries and affective attachments have not been constrained by the frames of Mestizo citizenship and timeless Indigenous rootedness to place. Through this spatial poetics, Quechua families thwart nationalist paradigms of propertied redress to forge alternate plotlines of emancipation based on keeping time, and places, open to the demands of a violent past.


Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease with an increasing prevalence over the world.

Aim and Objective: This research aimed to analyze the effect of strawberries, Rome beauty apples, and their combination on the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels of Type 2 DM patients.

Materials and Methods: This study was experimental research with randomized pre- and post-test group design. The subjects were 44 patients with Type 2 DM divided into four groups, namely, K (control, no treatment), P1 (200 g/day strawberry), P2 (300 g/day Rome beauty apple), and P3 (combination of 100 g/day strawberries and 150 g/day Rome beauty apple) for 14 days.

Results: The results showed that the LDL-C level in DM patients was markedly high in all groups before the treatment. Treatment with only strawberry, Rome beauty apple and its combination significantly decreased the level of LDL-C compared to the control group. Furthermore, treatment with 300 g/day of Rome beauty apple exhibited a high decrease in LDL-C level compared to other treatment groups.

Conclusion: These findings suggested that strawberries, Rome beauty apples, and their combinations could be used as promising functional food for DM therapy by lowering LDL-C levels.


Irisin (Ir) is an adipomyokine that is involved in the regulation of metabolic processes. It also influences processes related to inflammation, including cancer. Initially, Ir was considered a hormone secreted by skeletal muscles in response to physical exercise. Further studies showed that Ir is also present in other healthy tissues, organs, and plasma. It influences the change in phenotype of white adipose tissue (WAT) into brown adipose tissue (BAT). It increases mitochondrial biogenesis and affects the expression of thermogenin (UCP1). This adipomyokine has also been found in many tumor tissues and in the serum of cancer patients. Studies are underway to determine the association between Ir and carcinogenesis. It has been confirmed that Ir inhibits in vitro proliferation, migration, and invasion. It is involved in the inhibition of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Additionally, Ir affects the expression of the transcription factor Snail, which is involved in EMT, and inhibits transcription of the gene encoding E-cadherin, which is characteristic of epithelial-derived cells. Many studies have been performed to determine the role of Ir in physiological and pathological processes. Further detailed studies should determine more precisely the effect of Ir on the body in health and disease.


Voltage operated calcium channels (VOCCs) are implicated in osteoblastic mechano- and hormonal transduction. Very little, however, is known about the expression of VOCCs in osteoblasts of load-bearing bones. Here we describe two types of whole-cell calcium current in rat femoral explant-derived osteoblasts. The first is high-voltage activated and sensitive to nifedipine, Bay K8644 and FPL 64176. The second is low-voltage activated and is sensitive to micromolar concentrations of Ni2+. The properties of these two currents are consistent with those of L-type and T-type calcium currents respectively. T-type currents were detected in most cells on the day of passage, the level of expression being significantly lower on subsequent days. L-type currents were also most common on the day of passage but were detected consistently throughout the 4-day period of study. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with non-specific primers directed against all L-type VOCC alpha 1 subunits and then with specific primers directed against sequences from rat brain alpha 1C (L-type), alpha 1D (L-type) and alpha 1G (T-type) VOCC subunits detected transcripts of appropriate size in all four cases. Products from the three sets of specific primer pairs (alpha 1C, alpha 1D, alpha 1G) were sequenced and were identical to their respective rat brain templates.


The author describes various types of systematic and random errors and gives a simple mathematical treatment of the random errors.


Object:The aim of this 6 week open-label study in outpatients
with major depression was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of
venlafaxine, a serotonine and NA reuptake inhibitor, and also to
investigate the effect on hopelessness and suicide ideation.

Method: The 33 patients who are diagnosed as major depression
by using structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, and who
had given the written informed consent and had Hamilton Rating
Scale for Depression score >16 were included in the study.
Patients recieved venlafaxine 75-300 mg/day. Severity and treatment
response evaluated using rating scales (Hamilton Depression
Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Scale) and Clinical Global
Impression and Clinical Global Improvement administered at
baseline and every two weeksd after the first week, in this 6 weeks
study. Side effects were also recorded at every evaluation.
Severity of hopelessness and suicidality were also evaluatied by
using rating scales (Beck Hopelessness Scale and Suicidal Ideation
Scale) at the begining and at the end of the study.

Results: The positive response was defined as end HAM-D-17< 50% of
pretreatment score, reduction of %6.7, %36.7, %80 and 93.3% of
the patients had HAM-D-17


CO2Image is a satellite demonstration mission, now in Phase B, to be launched in 2026 by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The satellite will carry a next generation imaging spectrometer for measuring atmospheric column concentrations of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The instrument concept reconciles compact design with fine ground resolution (50-100 m) with decent spectral resolution (1.0-1.3 nm) in the shortwave infrared spectral range (2000 nm). Thus, CO2Image will enable quantification of point source CO2 emission rates of less than 1 MtCO2/a. This will complement global monitoring missions such as CO2M, which are less sensitive to point sources due to their coarser ground resolution and hyperspectral imagers, which suffer from spectroscopic interference errors that limit the quantification.


Background: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli are among the major pathogens causing urinary tract infections. In the current study the uropathogenic E. coli were isolated from clinical samples of urine from Faisalabad region of Pakistan. The extensive use of antibiotics to treat such infections resulted in the emergence of Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of integrons and antibiotic resistance among pathogenic E. coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections. Methods: In this study, a total of 26 isolates were studied for phenotypic resistance by disc diffusion method and genotypic resistance by PCR. Results: Most of the isolates exhibited multiple drug resistance to ampicillin (100%), tetracycline (77%), streptomycin (81%), trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (65%), nalidixic acid (46%), ciprofloxacin (38%) and chloramphenicol (27%). The prevalence of the drug resistance genes was in following order: tetA (12%), tetB (65%), tem (58%), tem β lactamase (15%), sulI (4%), sul II (8%), gyrA (73%), catp (35%). The gene aadA1 was absent among the isolates. It was also found that class 1 integrons were present in 69% of multidrug resistant (MDR) isolates and the isolates were more resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol than isolates with no class 1 integrons. An instance of class 2 integrons was detected only in one isolate, but there was no instance of class 3 integrons in any of the isolates. Conclusions: This study revealed that class I integrons are widely present in pathogenic E. coli isolated from clinical samples of urine. Antibiotic resistance to multiple drugs is a serious emerging threat in developing countries like Pakistan.


Umpolung-based strategies play a significant role in organic synthesis. Particularly important are 1,3-dithiane linchpins, which serve as convenient acyl anion equivalents. The general synthetic accessibility and impressive reactivity of 1,3-dithianes have thus led to widespread application. Since the late 1970s, dithianes have featured prominently in our program directed toward the synthesis of complex natural and unnatural products, both for effective union of advanced fragments and for multicomponent linchpin couplings. In this Account, we present the evolution of dithiane chemistry in our laboratory.


Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for metal-molecule-metal junctions formed from three classes of molecules measured with a simple crossed-wire molecular electronics test-bed are reported. Junction conductance as a function of molecular structure is consistent with I-V characteristics calculated from extended Hückel theory coupled with a Green's function approach, and can be understood on the basis of bond-length alternation.


In the present times, the face of the workplace appears to have changed in a big way. The typical workplace of today witnesses a new form of diversity that is Generational Diversity. It has all the three working generations namely Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y co-existing, each contributing in its own way to the organization. As the attitudes, expectations, aspirations, values and behavioral moorings of these diverse generations are different the difficulties of their working together side by side under one roof is being faced by the organization. With The advent of generation Y and the fast pace of retirement of Baby Boomers the issues of knowledge and skill management has cropped up in the workplace and posing challenges to human resource managers and practitioners. Academic research relating to intergenerational skill and knowledge gap and its implications are rather scanty. In this changing workplace demographics scenario, the employers are finding it difficult to hire employees with relevant skills, knowledge and experience in light of the rapid changes in the technology and workplace practices. There is an urgent need to focus on this issue so that the intergenerational workplace diversities get addressed effectively. The present article is a review paper that seeks to examine the relevant issues arising out of this situation and provide suggestions for bridging the skill gap among the various generations working together


Abstract. Thermal properties of the building hull became an important topic of the last decade. Combining the thermal data with building models makes it possible to analyze thermal data in a 3D scene. In this paper we combine thermal images with 3D building models by texture mapping. We present a method for texture extraction from oblique airborne thermal infrared images. We put emphasis on quality assessment of these textures and evaluation of their usability for thermal inspections. The quality measures used for assessment are divided to resolution, occlusion and matching quality.


Purpose of review Primary aldosteronism is the most common form of secondary hypertension. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to cure of hypertension and prevention of cardiovascular complications. Recent genetic discoveries have improved our understanding on the pathophysiology of aldosterone production and triggered the development of new diagnostic procedures and targeted treatments for primary aldosteronism. Recent findings Different inherited genetic abnormalities distinguish specific forms of familial hyperaldosteronism. Somatic mutations are found not only in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), leading to primary aldosteronism, but also in aldosterone producing cell clusters of normal and micronodules from image-negative adrenal glands. Genetic knowledge has allowed the discovery of surrogate biomarkers and specific pharmacological inhibitors. Ageing appears to be associated with dysregulated and relatively autonomous aldosterone production. Summary New biochemical markers and pharmacological approaches may allow preoperative identification of somatic mutation carriers and use of targeted treatments.


Coronavirus disease [Covid 19] is an infectious communicable disease caus-ing severe causality among the world's population A communicable disease with high intense spread rates originated from China As a result the world has locked all its gates, lockdown prevails in the entire world Economy-the most affected sector in any country, daily life living is now restricted The main aim of this study is to test the knowledge and create awareness on various attributes that are related to the Indian economy among the Trichy popula-tion A self assessed questionnaire containing 14 questions about Indian economy during COVID 19 were framed and was shared through an online survey platform The questionnaire was passed to 109 individuals Responses from them were collected and were analysed through SPSS Many residents from Trichy are aware about various aspects that affect our economy Most of the responses from them were relevant and correct, emphasizing that they are already aware in these Fields Pandemic plays an important role in deciding a country's economy It shows its effects on all sectors of the government Mea-sures should be adopted by the citizens in order to escape from this economic fever © 2020, J K Welfare and Pharmascope Foundation All rights reserved


AIM
To investigate the neural network and cellular mechanisms of hippocampal epileptogenesis contralateral or ipsilateral to the side of acute tetanization (60 Hz, 2 s, 0.4 - 0.6 mA) of the posterior dorsal hippocampus (ATPDH).

METHODS
10 trains of the ATPDH were administered into the CA1 basal dendritic region of the right hemisphere at an interval of 10 minutes.

RESULTS
(1) The firing rate of CA1 single neuron in the right or the left hippocampus was inhibited respectively after the ATPDH, and the effects weakened gradually while the trains of the ATPDH increased. The inhibited firing rate and the transformed firing pattern from tonic one to clonic one were more obvious at the side contralateral to the stimulation (62.94% +/- 3.68%, 36.61% +/- 3.14%, P < 0.01). (2) Synchronous primary afterdischarges of depth EEG and single unit discharges were more commonly observed at the side ipsilateral to the ATPDH (P < 0.01). (3) Primary or secondary hippocampal network afterdischarges at high frequency were only found in CA1 region ipsilateral to the ATPDH. (4) Secondary afterdischarges of CA3 basal dendritic neural network were completely synchronized with those of subicular single neuron, which reoccurred and persisted several hours.

CONCLUSION
It is possible that post-inhibition bursting of single neuron and recurrent network seizures in the hippocampus contralateral to the artificial focus be the important manifestation of the formation of "epileptic networks" across from one hemisphere to another.


During early adolescence, peer influences play a crucial role in shaping learning and decision preferences. When teens observe what their peers are doing, they can learn and change their behavior, especially when they are taking risks. Our study incorporated an economical behavioral task and computational modeling framework to examine whether and how early male adolescents' risk attitudes change when they see information about their peers' choices. We recruited 38 middle school male students aged 12-15 years. The experiment consisted of three sessions: The first session and the third session were designed to evaluate the risk attitude of the participants. In the second session, participants were asked to guess the choices made by their peers, and then the computer gave them feedback on the correctness of their predictions. Each participant was randomly assigned to risk-taking or risk-averse peers. Our results revealed that teenagers who predicted risk-averse peers exhibited significant declines in their risk attitudes during the last session. On the other hand, participants with risk-seeking peers exhibited a significantly higher level of risk attitudes after predicting their peers. The data showed that these peer-biased changes in risk attitudes are proportional to the gap between teens' and their peers' risk perspectives. Results showed that their perspectives aligned closer after receiving the information, and approximately a third of the gap was eliminated. This shift may be part of an adaptive process that involves social integration.


Definitive endoderm (DE), the inner germ layer of the trilaminar embryo, forms gastrointestinal tract, its derivatives, thyroid, thymus, pancreas, lungs and liver. Studies on DE formation in Xenopus, zebrafish and mouse suggest a conserved molecular mechanism among vertebrates. However, relevant analysis on this activity in human has not been extensively carried out. With the maturity of the techniques for monitoring how human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) react to signals that determine their pluripotency, proliferation, survival, and differentiation status, we are now able to conduct a similar research in human. In this paper, we present an analysis of gene expression profiles obtained from two recent experiments to identify genes expressed differentially during the process of hESCs differentiation to DE. We have carried out a systematic study on these genes to understand the related transcriptional regulations and signaling pathways using computational predictions and comparative genome analyses. Our preliminary results draw a similar transcriptional profile of hESC-DE formation to that of other vertebrates.


In the past four decades, the scope of criminal law which stipulated by Chinese legislation has been constantly expanding, especially in the criminalization of specific economic acts related to market regulation, the criminalization of acts related to public safety, and the criminalization of acts related to the protection of citizens' personal rights. What's distinctive is that the establishment of criminal standards was further lowered by means of passing the specific judicial interpretation, therefore, expanding the establishing scope of established crime. Although the trend of criminalization was closed to succeed in reaching a consensus, there is still a need to reasonably define the scope of crime in terms of the modesty and restrained principle of penalty, and to make a double preparation for the surging increase in the future of minor offenses in terms of the entity and procedures. From the promulgation and enforcement of the Criminal Code in 1997, China enacted three separate criminal laws and 9 Revisions of the Criminal Code during the nearly 20 years. One of the main contents of the legislations is criminalization. How we should understand this orientation? Also, considering how this trend has changed and crashed with the whole criminal legal system would have an important meaning in the perfection of the future Chinese criminal Rule of Law. This article makes a brief introduction on this issue.


A fully CMOS-compatible vertical nanopillar gate-all-around transistor integrated with a transition-oxide-based resistive random access memory cell to realize 4F2 footprint has been demonstrated and systematically characterized. The nanopillar transistor exhibits excellent transfer characteristics with diameter scaled down to a few tens of nanometer. Three types of resistive switching behavior have been observed in the fabricated one-transistor one-resistor cell, namely, preforming ultralow-current switching, unipolar switching, and bipolar switching after forming process. A reset current of only 200 pA has been observed in the preforming ultralow-current switching, while for the unipolar and bipolar switching modes after forming process, good memory performance and operation parameter uniformity are demonstrated. Furthermore, reset current is found to decrease with reducing nanopillar transistor design diameter, which is beneficial for circuit power consumption consideration.


Histological studies provide evidence that the bronchial veins are a site of leakage in histamine-induced pulmonary edema, but the physiological importance of this finding is not known. To determine if a lung perfused by only the bronchial arteries could develop pulmonary edema, we infused histamine for 2 h in anesthetized sheep with no pulmonary arterial blood flow to the right lung. In control sheep the postmortem extravascular lung water volume (EVLW) in both the right (occluded) and left (perfused) lung was 3.7 +/- 0.4 ml X g dry lung wt-1. Following histamine infusion, EVLW increased to 4.4 +/- 0.7 ml X g dry lung wt-1 in the right (occluded) lung (P less than 0.01) and to 5.3 +/- 1.0 ml X g dry wt-1 in the left (perfused) lung (P less than 0.01). Biopsies from the right (occluded) lungs scored for the presence of edema showed a significantly higher score in the lungs that received histamine (P less than 0.02). Some leakage from the pulmonary circulation of the right lung, perfused via anastomoses from the bronchial circulation, cannot be excluded but should be modest considering the low pressures in the pulmonary circulation following occlusion of the right pulmonary artery. These data show that perfusion via the pulmonary arteries is not a requirement for the production of histamine-induced pulmonary edema.


Surabaya's vision to become a literacy city, initiated by the mayor, Tri Rishmaharini, led to the opening of 533 regional libraries by 2019. In 2020, Nginden Jangkungan Herbal Library was chosen as the best regional library in Surabaya, with facilities and infrastructure supporting various literacy activities. However, there is much that still can be developed, in terms of the visual and functional quality of its interior design. This research used the participatory design method combined with a regionalism approach. This method was used to engage the community to develop their library with their own strengths and resources. Meanwhile, a regionalism approach was adopted to develop the local potential of the library within a global perspective. The objective of this research was to enrich the use of local resources by utilizing them as part of the furniture design for the herbal library. There are many herbal plants on the surrounding site that can be used by the local community. Therefore, eco-print training was held to educate the community and provide a transfer of knowledge about the benefits of herbal plants other than for consumption. The results of this eco-print training were then used as a part of the library's furniture, such as for the upholstery, and were designed in a modern way. Through the participatory method, the community can further develop this eco-print potential for the development of various products that can support the literacy activities of the public library.
Keywords: literacy, participatory, regionalism, library, eco print


There is a host of pharmaceutical formulations of diclofenac, which ensures that it can be used orally, rectally, intrarectally, or topically. Objective - to comparatively analyze the pharmacokinetic parameters and time course of changes in the serum concentration of diclofenac potassium after oral administration in a dose of 50 mg as sachets or sugar-coated tablets.
Results. There is evidence that patients tolerate both its sachets and tablets equally well, as confirmed by subjective and objective observations. There are neither marked side effects nor considerable changes in laboratory tests and in the values of vital functions. Diclofenac potassium as early-action tablets (50 and 100 mg) exerts a very good analgesic effect in treating migraine since the plasma concentration of the drug peaks on an average of an hour of administration (range 0,33-2 hours) and the analgesic effect developed following 60-90 min. Conclusion. By comparing the rate of absorption, it may be concluded that diclofenac potassium as sachets will produce a much rapider analgesic effect. Thus, the high solubility of diclofenac potassium and its very good absorbability (as sachets in particular) make the drug a superior analgesic that has a rapid analgesic activity.


Background & Objective : Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are among the most toxic environmental pollutants and carcinogens known. Vehicular emissions resulting from rampant utilization of fossil fuel and other petrogenic resources have increased PAH levels in the environment. Renewed interests among scientists have emerged to determine the ecotoxicological potencies of PAH-rich soots derived from incomplete combustion of fuels used by the transport sector. Thus, the present study was carried out to investigate the kinds, concentrations, and embryotoxicity potential of the two categories of PAH-laden soot extracts obtained from public utility vehicle (PUV) tailpipes. Methodology : Two categories of soot from pure diesel and diesel-biodiesel blend-fuelled vehicles, were collected from tailpipes of public utility vehicles (PUVs) stationed in several terminals along Quezon City, Philippines. All samples were subjected to solid-phase extraction clean-up, followed by GC/MS spectrometric analyses to determine the kinds and concentrations of PAHs. The soot extracts were also prepared and used for the zebrafish embryo assay. Results & Conclusions : Results showed that both types of soot samples contained comparable levels of environmentally relevant PAHs. The diesel extracts contained 10 PAHs that registered higher average levels compared to only 4 in the fuel blend extracts. All undiluted extracts, whether from diesel or fuel blend soot, were embryotoxic to zebrafish embryos (ie., egg coagulation within 12 to 24 hrs). Extracts from both types of soot showed decreasing levels of toxicities upon dilution, in terms of the number of abnormalities and lethal endpoints observed. Overall, there was no marked difference between the two types of soot extracts in terms of toxicities and PAH kinds and levels. The results of the study could provide a benchmark for the development of a rapid-response model for predicting teratogenic potential of combustion-derived soots in a broad range of vertebrates.


OBJECTIVE
The urothelium is a pseudostratified cylindrical epithelium that lines the calices, renal pelvis, urethers, bladder, part of the urethra and part of the prostate ducts. Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is a malignant neoplasia that can appear in any site where urothelium is present, being the bladder the most frequently affected organ. We performed an analysis of our experience and conducted a literature-based metanalysis to evaluate the coexistence of tumoral lesions at different locations in the urinary tract.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Between 1983 and 1993, 397 patients with TCC lesions involving the upper urinary tract (UUT), bladder, urethra or prostate, were diagnosed and treated. Coexistence, either synchronic or metachronic, of several lesions in different sites of the urinary tract was considered as a multiple tumor.

RESULTS
Overall, 440 tumors were diagnosed in 397 patients. A single lesion appeared in 360 patients, while 37 presented multiple locations with a total of 79 tumors. The lesions were located at the following levels: 17 renal, 21 uretheral, 372 vesical, 13 in the urethra and 17 in the prostate ducts. According to the location, the frequency of single lesions was: UUT 58%, bladder 91%, urethra 8% and prostate ducts 35%. Synchronic UUT and intravesical tract tumors develops in 1% and 4% of patients with bladder TCC, respectively. Two percent of vesical tumors showed metachronic relationship with UUT tumors and the same rate was seen for intravesical lesions.

CONCLUSIONS
Urothelial UUT tumors have a typical nosologic entity with specific features. Their coexistence with vesical tumors is frequent. When tumors of the bladder occur after a UUT tumor the interval of highest incidence between diagnoses is 2-3 years, and there are no histological risk factors among them for prognosis. Transitional cell prostatic urethral tumors are most often secondary to histologically similar, poor prognosis, bladder tumors, and usually synchronic.


We investigated the effect of standardized ethanol extract from Curcuma longa L. fermented by Aspergillus oryzae (FTE) on lipid accumulation and lipolysis using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Treatment with FTE at 100 μg/mL significantly reduced lipid accumulation by 43% as quantified by Oil Red O dye and microscopic observation. Intracellular triglyceride content was also lowered by 60%. To determine the effects of FTE on lipolysis, levels of glycerol release and mRNA expression of lipases were measured. Incubation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with 60 and 100 μg/mL FTE dramatically elevated levels of free glycerol released into the medium by 58 and 77%, respectively. Likewise, treatment of mature adipocytes with FTE significantly increased cAMP level by reduction of phosphodiestersae-3B. Subsequently, FTE clearly increased hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) mRNA levels and decreased perilipin mRNA level via cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA), resulting in lipolysis.

Practical Applications
Turmeric (the common name for Curcuma longa L.) is an Indian spice derived from rhizomes of the plant Curcuma longa, a perennial member of the Zingiberaceae family cultivated in India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Turmeric has traditionally been used for the treatment of inflammation, menstrual disorders, dyspepsia, vomiting and cancer. In this study, FTE suppressed 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation and promoted lipolysis via upregulation of mRNA levels of HSL and ATGL by PKA phosphorylation. Our results suggested that FTE could be a candidate for antiobesity treatment through reduction of lipid accumulation and stimulation of lipolysis.


Introduction: Tumor markers are used for the detection of risk, population screening, diagnosis, staging and prognosis. The present study was commenced out to study efficacy of p53 and Ki67 as Prognostic marker in breast carcinoma and to find correlation of ER, PR, HER2neu with p53 and Ki67 in confirmed cases of carcinoma Breast at a Tertiary Care Hospital.
Materials and Methods: This was an observational study, undertaken on 50 confirmed cases of breast carcinoma diagnosed during September 2016 to July 2018. The histopathological grading of the breast carcinoma was done according to modified Bloom Richardson score. All the cases underwent immunohistochemistry for ER, PR, HER2neu, p53 and Ki 67 expression. The results were compiled and analyzed statistically.
Result: In patient presenting with p53 overexpression,73.3% cases were
Conclusion: The present study concludes that ER, PR reveals inverse relationship while p53 and Ki 67 showed direct relationship with tumor grade; and is also inversely correlated with ER, PR positivity. In young patients with carcinoma breast, the rates of mutation of Ki67 and p53 were higher, and higher frequency of metastasis, the patients who show increased Ki 67 expression have also got increased mitotic activity and less expression of ER, PR; thus carrying a poor prognosis and requires the treatment accordingly.

Keywords: Carcinoma Breast, p53, Ki67.


Tooth loss is common, and exploring the neuroplastic capacity of the face primary motor cortex (face‐M1) and adjacent primary somatosensory cortex (face‐S1) is crucial for understanding how subjects adapt to tooth loss and their prosthetic replacement. The aim was to test if functional reorganization of jaw and tongue motor representations in the rat face‐M1 and face‐S1 occurs following tooth extraction, and if subsequent dental implant placement can reverse this neuroplasticity. Rats (n = 22) had the right maxillary molar teeth extracted under local and general anesthesia. One month later, seven rats had dental implant placement into healed extraction sites. Naive rats (n = 8) received no surgical treatment. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) and recording of evoked jaw and tongue electromyographic responses were used to define jaw and tongue motor representations at 1 month (n = 8) or 2 months (n = 7) postextraction, 1 month postimplant placement, and at 1–2 months in naive rats. There were no significant differences across study groups in the onset latencies of the ICMS‐evoked responses (P > 0.05), but in comparison with naive rats, tooth extraction caused a significant (P < 0.05) and sustained (1–2 months) decreased number of ICMS‐defined jaw and tongue sites within face‐M1 and ‐S1, and increased thresholds of ICMS‐evoked responses in these sites. Furthermore, dental implant placement reversed the extraction‐induced changes in face‐S1, and in face‐M1 the number of jaw sites even increased as compared to naive rats. These novel findings suggest that face‐M1 and adjacent face‐S1 may play a role in adaptive mechanisms related to tooth loss and their replacement with dental implants. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:2372–2389, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


A typical quinolones antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) in aqueous solution was degraded by a gas-liquid discharge non-thermal plasma system. The discharge plasma power and the emission intensity of the excited reactive species (RS) generated in the gas phase were detected by the oscilloscope and the optical emission spectroscopy. The effects of various parameters on CIP degradation, i.e. input powers, initial concentrations addition of radical scavengers and pH values were investigated. With the increase of discharge power, the degradation efficiency increased but the energy efficiency significantly reduced. The degradation efficiency also reduced under high concentration of initial CIP conditions due to the competitive reactions between the plasma-induced RS with the degradation intermediates of CIP. Different radical scavengers (isopropanol and CCl4) on center dot OH and H center dot were added into the reaction system and the oxidation effects of center dot OH radicals have been proved with high degradation capacity on CIP. Moreover, the long-term degradation effect on CIP in the plasma-treated aqueous solution proved that the long-lived RS (H2O2 and O-3, etc) might play key roles on the stay effect through multiple aqueous reactions leading to production of center dot OH. The degradation intermediates were determined by the method of electrospray ionization (+)-mass spectroscopy, and the possible degradation mechanism were presented.


86 Our studies on the role of reactive oxygen species in melanoma and the transcriptional response to redox stress has led us to reconsider the role of heavy metals, in conjuction with that of ultraviolet light, in the pathogenesis of melanoma. Electroparamagnetic resonance, electron microscopy and other experimental techniques suggest that metal ions promote the conversion of melanin pigments in melanocytes and melanoma cells from an anti-oxidant to a pro-oxidant status. We hypothesize that this conversion may be an early pathogenic event which is accompanied by melanosomal disruption and ultimately a source of free radical generation. Previous results from our groups has described high levels of endogenous oxidative stress in several melanoma cell lines, which cause a widespread adaptive response involving increase of a key multifunctional protein redox effector factor-1(also known as apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease) that facilitates reduction and DNA binding and subsequent activation of many transcription factors . The involvement of selected heavy metals may be critical to such a process, not only because of its mediated ROS generation, but also because of its potential to interfere with Ref-1 redox reduction activities as well as Ref-1 mediated DNA base excision repair. In a test of such a hypothetical activation, human melanocytes treated with Cu or Cd salts and ultraviolet light evidenced phenotypic changes that resemble dysplatic nevi melanocytes in culture. Also, a re-examination of the non-genetic risk factors for melanoma has identified a large and neglected epidemiology implicating heavy metal exposure. Markedly increased risks for melanoma have been found for populations exposed to heavy metals: printers/lithographers (4 large studies), electrical industry workers ( 3 large studies), and in long term follow-up of hip replacements patients ( 2 large Scandanavian cohorts and a meta-analyses of largely USA reports). Clinical observations (imaging studies) and studies that document the importance of metallothionein expression in primary melanoma and prognosis offers ancillary support for the involvement of metal ions in the pathogenesis of melanoma. Based on these considerations and the high affinity of melanin pigment for metal ions, we propose a significant contribution to the etiology and pathogenesis of melanoma by divalent Cu and Co. This remains to be definitively established.


This document is the first of a two part report to be published by the Royal Society on the health effects of deployment of munitions containing depleted uranium in both the 1991 Gulf War, and more recently in the Balkans. Part I of the report is faithful to its title, its scope being limited to estimation of the amount of depleted uranium (DU) from munitions to which the soldiers could have been exposed, an evaluation of the radiocarcinogenic potential of DU (chemical toxicity will be considered along with environmental impacts in Part II), and a summary discussion of epidemiological findings with respect to uranium exposure, along with a suitable introduction to the problem and a number of conclusions and recommendations. Although the main body of the report consists of but 24 pages of text, which with references, a glossary, and acknowledgments brings the total length to only 30 pages, three appendices - one for each of the major topic areas - add another 50 pages to the document. Considering the brevity of the main report, the appendices are particularly welcome and provide a necessary enhancement. Although rather more technical in nature, like the main body of the report, the appendices are quite readable; indeed the entire report is marked with a degree of clarity in writing and organisation that is commendable. The 28 page Appendix 1, competently assembled by Drs Michael Bailey (National Radiological Protection Board) and Clive Marsh (AWE Aldermaston) provides a comprehensive in-depth consideration of exposures from battlefield use of DU, and appears to provide fully acceptable answers in this regard. The rather shorter 14 page Appendix 2, prepared by Professors Dudley Goodhead (Medical Research Council) and Jolyon Hendry (Christie Hospital) provides a fine general summary of the radiological risks from DU along with a specific risk evaluation for each of the three exposure levels developed in the previous appendix. In the third and final appendix, Professors Valerie Beral and Sarah Darby (University of Oxford) neatly provide in only six pages a brief review of epidemiological studies of uranium workers. Limited as this latter appendix is to occupational studies, it does not touch on various environmental studies in populations exposed to high background levels of uranium in drinking water, notably the recent Canadian study of more than 10,000 persons. But perhaps these studies, as well as greater consideration of UNSCEAR and BEIR V discussions and conclusions with respect to radioepidemiologic and risk aspects of DU specifically and alpha emitters generally, also conspicuously absent from this report, will be included in Part II of the report. There are no surprises in Part I; it is all straightforward standard science using techniques, data and references familiar to most radiation protection professionals, and does not stray from its basic mission, staying highly focused on the problem of radiologically induced cancers in soldiers with the potential for exposure to DU. Cancer risk evaluations are based exclusively on the 1990 International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) methodology, buttressed by the recent statements of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and quite clearly and unequivocally lead to the not unexpected conclusions that the risks of radiologically induced cancer from DU are very low indeed, and that even if the estimated doses are a factor of 100 too low, detection of any excess of cancer in a group of 10,000 soldiers followed for 50 years is unlikely. Commendably, the working group that prepared Part I stuck with a strict and focused application of ICRP methodology in the main body of the report, leaving the albeit brief discussion of uncertainties primarily to an appendix, thereby avoiding the appearance of a lack of definitive knowledge or scientific consensus with respect to risk estimation. On the other hand, the preparers of the report might have opted to meet head on in the main body of Part I the question the public and the media most want answered, namely the allegations that have been made in the press and electronic media, and by various individuals, with respect to various and sundry afflictions other than solid tumours and leukaemias suffered by soldiers and civilians alike, who may have had the potential for exposure to DU, if only to state in passing that the radioactive nature of DU is a most unlikely cause of such illnesses. But as this first part of the report considers only the potential radiological manifestations (i.e. radiocarcinogenesis) of DU exposure, perhaps this question will be addressed in Part II. There are a number of recommendations in the body of the report. Several appropriately call for better characterisation of the mechanisms of exposure to DU. One calls for long term follow-up of cancer incidence and mortality in veterans of the Gulf War (but, curiously, apparently not veterans of the Balkans), and raises the question of why the follow-up should be limited to cancer. Another recommendation calls for `...a review of all information on the ICRP systemic model as used to predict urinary excretion...' and for consideration of studies involving human volunteers to refine the model. Certainly, review of the ICRP model is appropriate, particularly in light of new data (including postmortem human data) that have been published subsequent to the ICRP model and that apparently were not considered specifically for this report. All in all, this report is a particularly well-done, concise evaluation of the potential radiological effects from DU in munitions, and as such it should prove of considerable value and interest to health physicists, radiation biologists, physicians, and other professionals, as well as to policy makers, the media, and most significantly, the potentially exposed cohort who hopefully will find solace in the logically developed conclusions of the report.


Presented is the analysis of the works at XIII Congress of International Federeation of prereinforced concrete construction (FIP). Scientific researches and technical solutions of reinforced concrete constructions realized in the developed countries have determined the main trends in perfection of concrete constructions in the next century (perfection of data on quality of constructive solutions of reinforcement with on-metallic fibrous materials, energy saving technologies of concrete production, development and investigation of perspective technical solutions)


AbstractThere is now a bewildering array of literature about trust, written from a variety of disciplinary orientations.2 However, much of the literature skirts around the fact that trust is closely tied to some ethical judgements. When we discuss trust and trustworthiness, our language spans the gap between fact and value, and that is sometimes forgotten when emphasis is given to the instrumental benefits of trust and trustworthiness. It is important to remember that sometimes trust is good not as a means to an end, but as something that is intrinsically important. Similarly, trustworthiness is inherently part of being a good human being, and focussing on trustworthiness as a means can impede attaining it either as an end or a means. A 'balanced scorecard' approach to evaluating organisational performance needs to take account of trust and trustworthiness as components of performance, as something of inherent value, not just as means to it. Further, in many contexts the assessments we make in coming to decisions require us to make judgements about trust and trustworthiness as a basic consideration, without coming to prior judgements about distinct 'factual' issues. This emerges in workplace negotiation, when negotiators have to make decisions about how frank and open to be with other parties.


Allocating the optimum amount of campaign resources to advertising is a critical question for political managers. This research presents the case of the 2016 Iowa Caucuses, in which over $46 million of broadcast television advertising was purchased on behalf of 21 Republican and Democratic candidates and run in eight media markets over 9 months. Using Federal Communication Commission (FCC)-derived data from more than 3,700 political advertising contracts, and responses to two waves of surveys among Iowa voters, this research considers the connection between advertising weight (adspend) and political outcomes in a media-saturated campaign. In contrast to some earlier studies, increasing levels of advertising spending did not serve to activate the interest of potential voters: while it was high to begin with, and went higher during the election period, the extra advertising was not associated with additional interest. However, increased advertising did result shifting of allegiances in the crowded Republican Caucus: in markets with heavy advertising, there was more churn in candidate preference. Additionally, overall adspend was correlated modestly with political outcomes: for the most part, high-spending candidates were the most successful in gaining support at the Caucuses.


Neurobiological oscillations are regarded as essential to normal information processing, including coordination and timing of cells and assemblies within structures as well as in long feedback loops of distributed neural systems. The hippocampal theta rhythm is a 3–12 Hz oscillatory potential observed during cognitive processes ranging from spatial navigation to associative learning. The lower range, 3–7 Hz, can occur during immobility and depends upon the integrity of cholinergic forebrain systems. Several studies have shown that the amount of pre-training theta in the rabbit strongly predicts the acquisition rate of classical eyeblink conditioning and that impairment of this system substantially slows the rate of learning. Our lab has used a brain-computer interface (BCI) that delivers eyeblink conditioning trials contingent upon the explicit presence or absence of hippocampal theta. A behavioral benefit of theta-contingent training has been demonstrated in both delay and trace forms of the paradigm with a two- to four-fold increase in learning speed. This behavioral effect is accompanied by enhanced amplitude and synchrony of hippocampal local field potential (LFP)s, multi-unit excitation, and single-unit response patterns that depend on theta state. Additionally, training in the presence of hippocampal theta has led to increases in the salience of tone-induced unit firing patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex, followed by persistent multi-unit activity during the trace interval. In cerebellum, rhythmicity and precise synchrony of stimulus time-locked LFPs with those of hippocampus occur preferentially under the theta condition. Here we review these findings, integrate them into current models of hippocampal-dependent learning and suggest how improvement in our understanding of neurobiological oscillations is critical for theories of medial temporal lobe processes underlying intact and pathological learning.


Two different forms of Akaike's information criterion (AIC) are compared for selecting the smooth terms in penalized spline additive mixed models. The conditional AIC (cAIC) has been used traditionally as a criterion for both estimating penalty parameters and selecting covariates in smoothing, and is based on the conditional likelihood given the smooth mean and on the effective degrees of freedom for a model fit. By comparison, the marginal AIC (mAIC) is based on the marginal likelihood from the mixed‐model formulation of penalized splines which has recently become popular for estimating smoothing parameters. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the use of mAIC for selecting covariates for smoothing in additive models is new. In the competing models considered for selection, covariates may have a nonlinear effect on the response, with the possibility of group‐specific curves. Simulations are used to compare the performance of cAIC and mAIC in model selection settings that have correlated and hierarchical smooth terms. In moderately large samples, both formulations of AIC perform extremely well at detecting the function that generated the data. The mAIC does better for simple functions, whereas the cAIC is more sensitive to detecting a true model that has complex and hierarchical terms.


BACKGROUND
Prostate cancer (PCa) represents the most common solid tumor affecting men and its early detection remains the best approach to improve survival rates. The assessment of serum levels of PSA is currently used for PCa screening but the low specificity of the test results in a high number of false positives. Other forms of PSA may be detected in the bloodstream including PSA associated with immunoglobulin M (PSA-IgM) which, alone or combined with PSA, has shown diagnostic accuracy for PCa.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study is to improve the diagnostic accuracy of PSA-IgM by developing a multivariable model which includes serum biomarkers and routine diagnostic parameters to obtain a predictive index useful in the post-screening clinical practice.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
One hundred sixty male patients with clinical suspect of PCa underwent a trans-rectal ultrasound guided first prostate biopsy with a standardized sampling scheme. To generate the model, we assessed the presence of PSA and PSA-IgM complexes in sera of patients and the prostate volume of each patient. A novel predictive probability for PCa (iXip) was obtained combining non-overlapping biomarkers normalized with diagnostic parameters.

RESULTS
The study population included 49 patients with PCa diagnosed at biopsy and 111 controls in which prostate biopsy showed the presence of benign prostatic hyperplasia, inflammation, atypical small acinar proliferation or high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. The iXip values for patients with PCa (mean ± SD=0.467 ± 0.160) were significantly higher (p-value < 0.001) than control subjects (mean ± SD=0.314 ± 0.098) and the iXip AUC (0.787) was significantly greater (p-value < 0.001) than the AUCs of each biomarker.

CONCLUSIONS
iXip shows a significant increase in diagnostic performance compared to PSA and PSA-IgM and its post-screening use may facilitate decision-making in recommending for biopsy clinically suspected patients.


Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have ushered in a new era of targeted therapy, particularly in the fields of immunotherapy and oncology. MAbs have been developed from murine antibodies to fully human antibodies, with significant improvements in immunogenicity and safety. Nevertheless, the safety of these agents is being paid close attention with relative side effects being reported. These side effects have caused many researchers' confidence in MAbs to waver. This review comprehensively summarizes the side effects of MAbs in clinical use, highlighting the prevention and management of adverse effects. Although many MAbs are well tolerated, with new MAbs continuing to be innovated, it is hard to ensure that every fresh stock of MAbs is absolutely safe. The clinical use of MAbs will face greater challenges in the future. Physicians should be on the alert for lethal side effects and treat them as soon as possible.


Cancer Data Base in the USA between 1993 and 2004, and showed an increase in stage 1 disease (1993, 50.6%; 2004, 59.5%), and a decrease in stage 2 and stage 3 (P ≤ 0.01). Stage 4 disease remained relatively constant throughout the 12-year period, similar to our study. In addition, the size of stage 1 tumors also decreased from a mean of 4.1 cm in 1993 to 3.6 cm in 2003. Similar to these reports, over time there has been a migration towards early T1a tumor stage in our cohort. Furthermore, approximately 75% of the patients were diagnosed without symptoms, which did not change over time. This might result from the use of sophisticated medical devices, including ultrasonograpy or computed tomography, that can detect even small renal masses. With regard to tumor nuclear grade, some articles suggested an increase in high-grade tumors, similar to our findings. Doeuk et al. suggested that there has been an increasing representation of Fuhrman grade 3 tumors over time, from 17.6% to 30.8%, and a decreasing proportion of Fuhrman grade 1 tumors, from 16.2% to 7.1%. Pichler also reported similar results. Although the two articles discussed possible reasons, including changes in pathological assessment, further molecular studies will be required. Although our study did not show significant trend in histopathology, Doeuk et al. reported that conventional RCC decreased from 85.3% to 74.7%, whereas papillary RCC increased from 1.3% to 13%. In contrast, Pichler et al. suggested that there has been a significant histological migration for chromophobe subtype from 1.1% to 4.3%. Our findings show a significant stage migration in patients with renal cancer. Small RCC increased over time, whereas 10% of the patients with RCC were detected through the diagnosis of distant metastasis. However, these results do not necessary represent Japanese RCC distribution, because the study was a single institutional study.


Objective: Share Market investment is a lively platform to invest in the various industries. The objective of the study is to identify investment behavior of the different age groups and to find out the difference in perception of Investors in the decision of investing on the basis of Gender. This study aims to gain knowledge about key factors that influence investment behavior and ways these factors impact investment risk tolerance and decision making process among men and women and among different age groups. The individuals may be equal in all aspects, may even be living next door, but their financial planning needs are very different. It is by using different age groups along with Gender that synergism between investors can be generated. In this context, demographics alone no longer suffice as the basis of segmentation of individual investors. Hence keeping this in mind, the present study is an attempt to find out Factors which affects individual investment decision and Differences in the perception of Investors in the decision of investing on basis of Age and on the basis of Gender. The study concludes that investor's age and gender predominantly decides the risk taking capacity of investors. Methodology: The study is based on secondary data sources. For the present study, a thorough review of existing empirical literature has been collected from various online databases & search engines such as SSRN& Google scholar were reviewed and various books on Investor behavior were reviewed from various existing literature, Academicians& researchers have identified various factors influencing the behavior of an individual investors. Findings: The paper identifies the importance given to the age factors influence in the investment sector and how it is plays the major role in the research papers on the investment behavior of the share market. Novelty/Application: Although various papers have studied the investment behavior among the generational group not many have been able to analyze the antecedents of generational group in depth and study the impact of each on investment decision making of the investor. The paper has attempted to study these in detail.


At the beginning of the 20th century malaria was a major problem of tropical medicine until eradication campaigns succeeded in reducing its occurrence. Its recent epidemic resurgence in Madagascar, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sudan shows the vulnerability of populations. The World Health Organization estimates that 110 million cases of malaria occur annually, most of them in Africa (90 million cases in sub-Saharan Africa). 1-2 million people die because of malaria. The matter is complicated by the resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine and other drugs. In some parts of the world the mosquitos have developed resistance to insecticides, which makes vector control more difficult. This serious situation prompted a ministerial conference on malaria in Amsterdam in 1992, which resulted in the declaration that the fight against malaria necessitates the participation of the community concerning water resources, sanitation, and general development. The transmission of AIDS is connected to sexuality having social, behavioral, and ethical aspects. The first cases occurred among hemophiliacs, homosexuals, and intravenous drug addicts. HIV-1 was identified in 1983 and HIV-2 in 1987. In June 1994 the number of AIDS cases were approximately 4 million in the world, more than 2.5 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In Mozambique, in June 1993, a total of 826 cases had been diagnosed. In the area of treatment, inverse transcriptase inhibitors and the use of azidothimidine (AZT) are promising, the latter having prevented maternal-fetal transmission during pregnancy and labor. The toxicity of AZT is a major drawback. There is hope that eventually a vaccine can be developed. WHO developed a global strategy for the prevention and fight against AIDS in 1985, which was revised and adopted in 1987 by the World Health Assembly. The strategy aims to prevent HIV infection, to reduce its social and individual impact, and to gather national and international forces.


This article introduces the concept of transcendental marketing, which is an emerging approach to marketing with the potential of attracting and keeping customers. In an attempt to develop theory around the concept, this article expands on the concept of transcendental management and provides illustrative empirical examples of how transcendental marketing is practiced at two different firms. Finally, a number of research propositions are developed regarding antecedents, contents, and outcomes of transcendental marketing.


OBJECTIVE
This study examines a model of treatment for substance abuse and dependence for patients with substance use disorders and concomitant psychiatric disorders. The model focuses on five interrelated sets of variables (social background, intake functioning. dual diagnosis treatment orientation, patients' change on proximal outcomes, and aftercare participation) that are hypothesized to affect dual diagnosis patients' 1-year posttreatment outcomes.

METHOD
A total of 981 male dual diagnosis patients completed assessment at intake, discharge and 1-year follow-up. The relative importance of each set of variables as predictors of outcome was estimated by constructing block variables and conducting path analyses.

RESULTS
Dual diagnosis patients had a higher abstinence rate at follow-up (39%) than at intake (2%); they also improved on freedom from psychiatric symptoms (from 60% to 68%) and employment (from 20% to 29%). At follow-up, patients in programs with a stronger dual diagnosis treatment orientation showed a higher rate of freedom from psychiatric symptoms (71%) than did patients in weaker dual diagnosis treatment oriented programs (65%); they also were more likely to be employed (34% vs 25%). More change on proximal outcomes and more aftercare participation were also associated with better 1-year outcomes. Patients with less severe psychiatric disorders improved more and responded better to dual diagnosis oriented treatments than did patients with more severe psychiatric disorders.

CONCLUSION
Treatment programs for substance use disorders that adhere to principles of dual diagnosis treatment obtain better outcomes for dual diagnosis patients, especially for patients with less severe psychiatric disorders.


1,4-Dihydroxy-2-naphthoyl coenzyme A (DHNA-CoA) synthase, or MenB, catalyzes a carbon-carbon bond formation reaction in the biosynthesis of both vitamin K1 and K2. Bicarbonate is crucial to the activity of a large subset of its orthologues but lacks a clearly defined structural and mechanistic role. Here we determine the crystal structure of the holoenzymes from Escherichia coli at 2.30 Å and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 at 2.04 Å, in which the bicarbonate cofactor is bound to the enzyme active site at a position equivalent to that of the side chain carboxylate of an aspartate residue conserved among bicarbonate-insensitive DHNA-CoA synthases. Binding of the planar anion involves both nonspecific electrostatic attraction and specific hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. In the absence of bicarbonate, the anion binding site is occupied by a chloride ion or nitrate, an inhibitor directly competing with bicarbonate. These results provide a solid structural basis for the bicarbonate dependence of the enzymatic activity of type I DHNA-CoA synthases. The unique location of the bicarbonate ion in relation to the expected position of the substrate α-proton in the enzyme's active site suggests a critical catalytic role for the anionic cofactor as a catalytic base in enolate formation.


Significance In the neocortex, while early sensory areas encode and process external inputs rapidly, higher-association areas are endowed with slow dynamics suitable for accumulating information over time. Such a hierarchy of temporal response windows along the cortical hierarchy naturally emerges in a model of multiareal primate cortex. This finding raises the question of why diverse temporal modes are not mixed in roughly the same way across the whole cortex, despite high connection density and an abundance of feedback loops. We investigate this question by mathematically analyzing the anatomically based network model of macaque cortex and theoretically show that three sufficient conditions of synaptic excitation and inhibition give rise to timescale segregation in a hierarchy, a functionally important characteristic of the cortex. A cardinal feature of the neocortex is the progressive increase of the spatial receptive fields along the cortical hierarchy. Recently, theoretical and experimental findings have shown that the temporal response windows also gradually enlarge, so that early sensory neural circuits operate on short timescales whereas higher-association areas are capable of integrating information over a long period of time. While an increased receptive field is accounted for by spatial summation of inputs from neurons in an upstream area, the emergence of timescale hierarchy cannot be readily explained, especially given the dense interareal cortical connectivity known in the modern connectome. To uncover the required neurobiological properties, we carried out a rigorous analysis of an anatomically based large-scale cortex model of macaque monkeys. Using a perturbation method, we show that the segregation of disparate timescales is defined in terms of the localization of eigenvectors of the connectivity matrix, which depends on three circuit properties: 1) a macroscopic gradient of synaptic excitation, 2) distinct electrophysiological properties between excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations, and 3) a detailed balance between long-range excitatory inputs and local inhibitory inputs for each area-to-area pathway. Our work thus provides a quantitative understanding of the mechanism underlying the emergence of timescale hierarchy in large-scale primate cortical networks.


To compare the effect of dynamic (DRT) and isometric (IRT) resistance training on glycemic homeostasis, lipid profile, and nitric oxide (NO) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Patients were randomly distributed into three groups: control (CTL; n=65), DRT (n=65), and IRT (n=67). Patients were tested for fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, oral glucose tolerance test, insulin resistance, lipid profile, leptin, insulin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, and NO were assessed pre- and post-intervention period. Patients underwent to strength and body composition assessments. Subjects allocated in both DRT and IRT groups took part in a 24-week resistance training program, three times per week. Each training session was approximately one hour before dialysis and consisted of 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions at low intensity. Total workload was higher in the DRT as compared with the IRT. This heightened workload related to better glycemic homeostasis in HD patients as measured by regulation of insulin, adiponectin, and leptin, while improvement of triglycerides, free-fat mass, and muscle strength. Additionally, NO levels were increased on DRT group. NO was significantly correlated with glucose intolerance (r=-0.42, p=0.0155) and workload (r=0.46, p=0.0022). The IRT group only improved strength (p<0.05). 24-week of DRT improved glycemic homeostasis, lipid profile, and NO in HD patients. Although IRT seems to play an important role in increasing strength, DRT might be a better choice to promote metabolic adjustments in HD patients. Clinical Trial http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-3gpg5w/; nº RBR-3gpg5w Novelty Bullets: -DRT might be a better choice for metabolic improvements in CKD patients. -Exercise-training might treat metabolic imbalance in CKD patients.


Background: Pancreatic infections due to Acinetobacter baumannii, a wider drug resistant gram negative bacillus, are unusual. Its management is complicated and should include surgical and antimicrobial treatments. Methods: A case report and review of the pertinent English-language literature are presented. Results: We report a case of a patient with a previous acute pancreatitis that developed an infected pancreatic pseudocyst requiring surgical and antimicrobial treatment. Conclusions: This etiology is unique in the literature, and given the emergence of multidrug resistance pattern, worldwide, initial empiric therapy with drugs such as quinolones and carbapenems is recommended, jointly with proper surgical management


Introduction: Fluoride is one of the most important materials in preventive dentistry. Although the prevalence of dental caries is inversely related to the concentration of fluoride in drinking water, there is a dose-dependent relationship between fluoride concentration in drinking water and the prevalence of dental fluorosis. Some studies have reported a possible association between fluoride and increased risk of bone fractures, decreased thyroid function, arthritis-like conditions, precocious puberty and osteosarcoma. The purpose of this review study was to evaluate the current status of systemic fluoride in dentistry by considering its advantages and potential side effects. Description: A search was run in PubMed, OVID Evidence-based Reviews, SCOPUS and Google Scholar from 1985 to May 2013 and available reference textbooks. Of all the papers, review articles and valid research papers on the systemic use of fluoride and its advantages and potential disadvantages were selected. Conclusion: It appears although the benefits of fluoride in combating dental caries are evident, the potential side effects of incorrect use of fluoride, especially its systemic use, should be taken into account. Incorporation of fluoride in to drinking water might lead to complications. With recent advances in new methods for controlling dental caries it is advisable to more carefully evaluate the systemic use of fluoride . Key words: Complications, Dental caries, Dental fluorosis, Fluoridation, Fluoride


Objective To construct the recombinant fowlpox virus (rFPV) for co-expressing the P1-2A-IL-18 gene of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) type O and P1-2A-3C gene of FMDV type Asia I. Methods Digest recombinant plasmids T-P1-2A-IL-18 and T-P1-2A-3C with restriction endonuclease, and clone the obtained P1-2A-IL-18 and P1-2A-3C genes into expression vector pUTAL. Chick embryo fibroblast(CEF) was co-transfected with the constructed recombinant plasmid pUTAL-P1-2A-3C-P1-2A-IL-18 and FPV, then monoclonal recombinant virus strains were selected by 3 cycles of BrdU pressure screening and identified by RT-PCR and indirect IFA. Results Restriction analysis proved that recombinant plasmid pUTAL-P1-2A-3C-P1-2A-IL-18 was constructed correctly. RT-PCR and indirect IFA showed that P1-2A-3C-P1-2A-IL-18 gene cassette was successfully expressed in CEF transfected with rFPV. Conclusion The rFPV for co-expressing the P1-2A-IL-18 gene of FMDV type O and P1-2A-3C gene of FMDV type Asia I was successfully constructed.


We have developed a cylindrical multi-terminal capacitive-conductive sensor that could be attached to the internal surface of cooling system pipe to evaluate capacitance and conductivity of heat transfer fluid. It was used as measuring system to diagnose insulating condition, by which was kept a insulating resistance of inner stack and at the same time was cooled electrochemical heat of reaction of FCEV(fuel cell electric vehicle) stack that used a compressed hydrogen gas reacting with oxygen in accordance with variation on thermal degradation of nonconductive heat transfer fluid. Also to assess diagnosis characteristics of heat transfer fluid, i.e. coolant, we have performed accelerated aging test using developed sensor attached to cooling system. Consequently, it was measured dielectric and electric resistance of coolant to estimate and analyse for dielectric properties by degradation condition.


System models used for iterative reconstruction affect the quality of computed tomography (CT) images. The imaging performance of the system models depends on the projectors, which implements forward- and back-projection. The system model based on a single projector is limited to improve image quality because each projector has both benefits and drawbacks. In this study, the effect of unmatched system models on iterative reconstruction was investigated by evaluating the image quality of reconstructed images. The unmatched system models composed of different projectors were used to perform iterative reconstruction. The image quality was evaluated in order to investigate the effect of the unmatched system models, and the imaging performance of the unmatched system models was compared with that of the matched system models by simulations and experiments with digital and anthropomorphic head phantoms. The results showed that the characteristics of CT images depended on the combinations of forward- and back-projectors, and the unmatched system models are able to improve the quality of the images obtained by using iterative reconstruction. The unmatched system models can be potentially used to improve the imaging performance of iterative reconstruction in CT systems.


Isolation and enumeration of phytase-producing bacterial flora in the foregut and hindgut regions of the gastrointestinal tracts of 10 culturable freshwater teleosts of different feeding habits, namely rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla catla), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), bata (Labeo bata), kalbasu (Labeo calbasu), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), climbing perch (Anabas testudineus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), have been carried out. Microbial culture of the gut mucosa on selected nutrient media following the enrichment culture technique was performed for bacterial isolation. The bacterial isolates were screened on the basis of their enzyme-producing ability. The bacterial population on the tryptone soya agar (TSA) plate was maximum in the hindgut region of bata, followed by mrigal and minimum in the foregut region of Nile tilapia. In modified phytase screening medium (MPSM), phytase-producing strains were recorded at higher densities in the foregut region of mrigal and grass carp and minimum in the foregut region of bata. In case of the hindgut, maximum phytase-producing strains were present in grass carp and mrigal and minimum in rohu. In general, in MPSM, the bacterial population was lower in the hindgut region of all the 10 species of fish examined. The phytase-producing ability of the selected 31 strains (16 from the foregut and 15 from the hindgut region) was determined by clearing zones on phytate-containing plates. Among these isolates, 22 strains (12 from the foregut and 10 from the hindgut region) were selected as potent phytase producers according to a quantitative enzyme assay. The highest phytase activity was observed in the bacterial strains LF1 and LH1 isolated from the fore and the hindgut regions of rohu respectively. Both the strains were identified as Bacillus licheniformis on the basis of phenotypic characteristics as well as 16S rDNA sequence analysis.


Software companies are now keen to provide secure software with respect to accuracy and reliability of their products especially related to the software effort estimation. Therefore, there is a need to develop a hybrid tool which provides all the necessary features. This paper attempts to propose a hybrid estimator algorithm and model which incorporates quality metrics, reliability factor, and the security factor with a fuzzy-based function point analysis. Initially, this method utilizes a fuzzy-based estimate to control the uncertainty in the software size with the help of a triangular fuzzy set at the early development stage. Secondly, the function point analysis is extended by the security and reliability factors in the calculation. Finally, the performance metrics are added with the effort estimation for accuracy. The experimentation is done with different project data sets on the hybrid tool, and the results are compared with the existing models. It shows that the proposed method not only improves the accuracy but also increases the reliability, as well as the security, of the product.


A research conception is developed to enable qualitative and quantitative research on the affect of culture on the curricular content of business and information systems degree programs. The frame raises the interconnected issue of globalizing business and information systems education (theories of organization, management, and employees' motivation, and the use of information systems) and the affects of a society's culture. The paper asserts that a society's culture affects the business and information systems curricula. The essay assumes that any organization is an infoscape (an information landscape). A person's culture shapes tacitly his or her understandings of the nature and functionality of an organization and its information systems and how to manage them. The conception, following Hofstede and Hofstede, presents an understanding of the Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance dimensions and four organizational views: the organization as Pyramid, Market, Machine, and Family. The conception also proposes a relation of organizational type to organizational governance styles: Monarchical, Feudal, Federal, and Anarchical. Finally, the conception also includes the relationship between organizational models and styles of managing organizations: Directive, Analytic, Conceptual, and Social.


Industrial agriculture results in environmental burdens due to the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Fungicides is a class of pesticides whose application contributes (among others) to human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The European Union aims to increase organic agriculture. For this reason, this work aims to analyze climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, (terrestrial) acidification, and freshwater eutrophication impacts of fungicides and calculate expected benefits to human health (per European citizen) and ecosystem quality (terrestrial) with life cycle assessment (LCA) during crop production. The Scopus database was searched for LCA studies that considered the application of fungicides to specific crops. The analysis shows how many systemic and contact fungicides were considered by LCA studies and what was the applied dosage. Furthermore, it shows that fungicides highly contribute to freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, and freshwater eutrophication for fruits and vegetables, but to a low extent compared to all considered environmental impacts in the case of cereals and rapeseed. Expected benefits to human health and ecosystem quality after fungicides elimination are greater for fruits and vegetables, ranging between 0 to 47 min per European citizen in a year and 0 to 90 species per year, respectively.