1. The effects of repetitive stimulation of primary afferents in lumbar dorsal roots on synaptic transmission in the dorsal horn (DH) were studied in a rat spinal cord slice-dorsal root ganglion (DRG)-peripheral nerve trunk preparation by the use of intracellular recording from neurons (n = 115) of the spinal dorsal horn (depth 147 +/- 139, mean +/- SD). All DH neurons were excited synaptically by electrical stimulation of the dorsal root or the peripheral nerve trunk. The electrical shocks were calibrated to produce activation either of large fibers (10-20 V, 0.02 ms) or the whole fiber population including unmyelinated afferents (supramaximal stimulus: > 35 V, 0.5 ms). Postsynaptic potentials induced by low intensity repetitive stimulation of primary afferents at frequencies below 5 Hz failed to produce a prolonged change in the resting membrane potential. In 97/115 DH neurons, slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP)--evoked by high intensity low-frequency repetitive stimulation (0.1-2 Hz) of primary afferents--summated, producing a prolonged cumulative depolarization. In the remaining 18/115 DH neurons, high intensity low-frequency stimulation produced a cumulative hyperpolarizing response. 2. In 22 of 97 neurons that responded to high intensity repetitive stimulation with a cumulative depolarization, wind-up in the firing of action potentials was recorded. In all but two experiments, neurons that responded with wind-up to stimulation of one root responded with wind-up to stimulation of the adjacent dorsal root. In 14/22 wind-up neurons, the synaptic response to high intensity stimulation of primary afferents was composed of a short latency EPSP, followed by an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP), followed by a slow EPSP. The decrease of the amplitude and duration of the IPSP obtained during train stimulation did not seem to contribute to facilitation of transmission induced by repetitive stimulation. 3. The wind-up in firing of action potentials was followed by a prolonged potentiation of synaptic transmission in tetanized synapses. A test of other, adjacent primary afferents revealed that these synapses in the neurons in the superficial laminae had not undergone potentiation. This "synaptic specificity" of post-wind-up potentiation suggested that the mechanism for the induction of stimulation-dependent changes in the excitability of the DH neuron is presynaptic to the recorded-from neuron. 4. In a concentration of 0.5 microM and higher, tetrodotoxin (TTX) applied to sensory neurons selectively blocked action potentials in large myelinated primary afferents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Today, it is a necessity to make use of information technologies in creating, distributing and accessing information resources. The electronic resources as products of the developing information technologies include bibliographical text databases, e-journals, e-books, open achieves and web sites. Today, Many printed material can be accesssed by electronically in readers. Furthermore, e-books have been increasingly preferred as a mode of reading because of its advantages such as portability, storage and rich content. Individuals who want to sustain their development on this mode of reading prefer screen reading. Because reading has become a necessity because of the developing information technologies. This study aimed to examine the views of students studying Turkish language teaching at an education faculty on e-books and screen reading. Action research, one of the qualitative research design, was used during the research. Data were analyzed by content analysis. Whereas 40.7% of the ones who have taken part in this study have expressed not knowing anything about e-books, 57.8% of the participants have claimed they have knowledge about the issue of e-books. 55.3% of the participants consider that e-books contribute to the habit of reading. 73% of the participants have expressed that they have no knowledge about screen reading.


We tried to develop an experimental system for quantifying piroplasm transmission in Theileria sergenti infection using a SCID mouse model, of which red blood cells (RBC) had been substituted with bovine (Bo). A mouse hybridoma cell producing antibody against Holstein RBC was established for distinguishing Holstein RBC from Japanese Black RBC by a immuno-staining method. T. sergenti piroplasms in RBC were stained by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. With the aid of these techniques the piroplasm transmission from one to another race of Bo-RBCs could successfully be quantified in SCID mice.


New microspheres having functional aldehyde groups have been prepared by radiation polymerization of acrolein solution containing hydroxyethyl methacrylate and glutalardehyde. The size distribution in the microspheres was narrow and average particle diameter was 1 - 2 micron. The binding ability of the microspheres to antigen increased by increasing the concentration of glutalardehyde. The preparation procedure of the microspheres is simple. The microspheres can be used for immunoresearch.


A new copper-catalyzed in situ generation of aryl thiolates strategy was successfully developed for the one-pot synthesis of substituted benzothiazoles from 2-iodoanilides using xanthate as a thiol precursor. A wide range of 2-iodoanilides with both electron-releasing and electron-withdrawing groups produced the corresponding benzothiazoles in good yields. Further, this one-pot protocol was successfully utilized for the synthesis of a potent antitumor agent 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-5-fluorobenzo[d]thiazole (PMX 610). Finally, the copper-catalyzed in situ generation of aryl thiolates strategy was successfully applied for the domino synthesis of substituted benzothiophenes from o-haloalkynyl benzenes using xanthate as a thiol precursor.


Modern gas turbines are working in a high temperature environment. The needs for cooling the first stage discs and airfoils are inevitable. In order to avoid overcooling it is necessary to have as much information of the temperature redistribution along the flow path as possible. This paper presents results from both a numerical and an experimental investigation of the temperature redistribution.The numerical part of this investigation is based on 3D Navier-Stokes calculations, where a single stage test turbine is modeled. Combined with an experimental testing of the calculated geometry the influences of the slot flow, which enters the main gas from a slot at the hub section between the stator and the rotor, are evaluated.The test turbine is working with air at low temperature, typically in the order of atmospheric conditions. In order to simulate the temperature distribution caused by the slot flow trace gas technique is used.The influence of three parameters, the slot mass flow, the velocity ratio and the pressure ratio, was studied.The main result of changing the slot mass flow is a change in the absolute value of the temperature minimum. In addition a slight dependence of the penetration depth was observed.The spanwise transport of the slot flow within the rotor is highly dependent on the velocity ratio. However, some distance downstream of the trailing edge, the core of the slot flow merges together for different velocity ratios.Varying the turbine stage pressure ratio, from 1.14 to 1.34, did not affect the spanwise transport. Since the pressure ratio is a representative of the main gas mass flow, a decreased pressure ratio results in a higher degree of cooling, as less main gas is present.Copyright © 2000 by ASME


The (6,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes have been preferentially synthesized from a one-dimensional array of C(60) inside single-wall carbon nanotubes (d≅ 1.5 ± 0.1 nm). The as-produced inner tubes have been extracted via sonication and density gradient ultracentrifugation methods and demonstrated to be dominated by (6,5) tubes by optical absorption, Raman scattering, photoluminescence, high-resolution transmission electron microscope observation, and a semi-empirical simulation (PM3).


ABSTRACT The repertoire of human cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) in response to influenza A viruses has been shown to be directed towards multiple epitopes, with a dominant response to the HLA-A2-restricted M158–66 epitope. These studies, however, were performed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of individuals selected randomly with respect to HLA phenotype or selected for the expression of one HLA allele without considering an influence of other HLA molecules. In addition, little information is available on the influence of HLA makeup on the overall CTL response against influenza viruses. Here, the influenza A virus-specific CTL response was investigated in groups of HLA-A and -B identical individuals. Between groups the individuals shared two or three of the four HLA-A and -B alleles. After in vitro stimulation of PBMC with influenza virus, the highest CTL activity was found in HLA-A2+ donors. A similar pattern was observed for the precursor frequency of virus-specific CTL (CTLp) ex vivo, with a higher CTLp frequency in HLA-A2-positive donors than in HLA-A2-negative donors, which were unable to recognize the immunodominant M158–66 epitope. In addition, CTL activity and frequency of CTLp for the individual influenza virus epitopes were determined. The frequency of CTLp specific for the HLA-B8-restricted epitope NP380–388 was threefold lower in HLA-B27-positive donors than in HLA-B27-negative donors. In addition, the frequency of CTLp specific for the HLA-A1-restricted epitope NP44–52 was threefold higher in HLA-A1-, -A2-, -B8-, and -B35-positive donors than in other donors, which was confirmed by measuring the CTL activity in vitro. These findings indicate that the epitope specificity of the CTL response is related to the phenotype of the other HLA molecules. Furthermore, the magnitude of the influenza virus-specific CTL response seems dependent on the HLA-A and -B phenotypes.


Background Physical activity was once perceived as potentially harmful for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but intervention trials in the past decade have shown that physical activity on the contrary is well tolerated in established RA. [1] Further, small, short-term intervention studies have in addition shown potential positive effects of physical activity/exercise on the symptoms of RA [2]. Objectives Prospectively investigate the long-term effect of physical activity on the prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in terms of disease activity, measured as DAS28, and pain, measured on the VAS-scale. Methods We used incident RA cases from the population-based EIRA-study with clinical follow-up in the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (2006–2010). We investigated the effect of self-reported physical activity 1 year after diagnosis (>150 min. of moderate/intense or >75 min intense activity/week), on the probability of remission (DAS28<2.6) and remaining pain (CRP<10mg/l and VAS-pain>20mm) after 3 years, using modified Poisson regression, adjusted for sex, age at diagnosis, BMI, education, smoking, physical activity before diagnosis and baseline level of DAS28/pain, respectively. Further, we estimated the longitudinal effect from assessment of physical activity, using mixed models, and also the effect of the combination of physical activity 5 years before/1 year after diagnosis in four groups (low-low, low-high, high-low and high-high). Results 555 RA-patients were included in this study, the mean age at diagnosis was 54 years and 74% was female. One year after diagnosis, when physical activity was assessed, the mean DAS28 was 2.92 and the mean VAS-pain was 30. We could not detect any effect of physical activity after diagnosis; the adjusted risk ratio for remission was 1.07 (95%CI:0.74–1.53) and for remaining pain 1.12 (95%CI:0.75–1.67). Similarly, no effect was found using longitudinal analysis (p-value for difference in DAS28, comparing active and non-active patients: 0.32, corresponding p-value for difference in VAS-pain: 0.71) or when we investigated the combination pattern of physical activity 5 years before RA-diagnosis and 1 year after. Conclusions In this prospective cohort study we did not find evidence of an effect of self-reported physical activity on the prognosis of RA, either measured as pain or disease activity. Such lack of improvement could e.g. occur if the effect of physical activity would be short-lasting. There is no reason to doubt the beneficial effect of physical activity on the general health of RA-patients, similar to the effect for the general population. References Ottawa Panel Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for Therapeutic Exercises in the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults. 2004 Stenstrom CH, Minor MA. Evidence for the benefit of aerobic and strengthening exercise in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Jun 15; 49(3):428–434. Disclosure of Interest None declared


In a distributed metacomputing environment, facilities for the movement of code from one server node to another are highly desirable. Often movement of code to data is preferable to the movement of data to code, particularly where the data is large. In this paper we describe our`Code Server' or database of Java byte code. We discuss design and implementation issues and results of performance benchmarking we have undertaken as well as performance for a practical image processing example. We also discuss how our implementation addresses issues such as name spaces, client-server communication and distribution. Our results show that code serving appears viable, but more work remains to identify a suitable general database schema for describing codes.


Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors. They are usually benign and slowly growing; however, they may show histologically malignant features categorizing them into grade II or III of World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Rhabdoid meningioma (RM) is an uncommon meningioma variant categorized as WHO grade III. The clinical course of RM is determined by local recurrences, invasion of adjacent brain and/or dura, widespread leptomeningeal dissemination, remote metastases and fatal clinical outcome. Herein we report a case with recurrent aggressive left occipital parasagittal region RM in which the patient initially declined radiation treatment. The tumor was resected four times in 5 years. Histopathological examination revealed a rhabdoid meningioma with metaplastic, papillary and chordoid differentiation. Six months after her fourth operation the patient died of progressive disease. RM is a rare subtype of malignant meningioma and the role of different adjuvant therapeutic options are still unknown. Clinical presentation, radiological features and pathologic findings of this uncommon tumor are discussed.


With the rapid development of computer technology and wide application of artificial intelligence, engineering practice puts forward a higher requirement to the computer's ability of dealing with and solving complex problems. At first, this paper mainly introduces the relative theories of distributed artificial intelligence, the concept of multiagent and the structure of multi-agent system. Then, it analyzes the problems which a single artificial intelligence meets in practice and discusses the basic principle of distributed artificial intelligence to solve the problem. Also, it illustrates the application of multi-agent in practice and summarizes the current development situation, main research direction and unsolved problems of multi-agent system. Finally, combining these aspects above, it discusses the future development trend of distributed artificial intelligence.


Introduction and aims Patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) are often managed conservatively. Clinical practice guidelines recommend treating these patients with the same pharmacological drugs as those who receive invasive treatment. We analyze the use of new antiplatelet drugs (NADs) and other recommended treatments in people discharged following an NSTE-ACS according to the treatment strategy used, comparing the medium-term prognosis between groups. Methods Prospective observational multicenter registry study in 1717 patients discharged from hospital following an ACS; 1143 patients had experienced an NSTE-ACS. We analyzed groups receiving the following treatment: No cardiac catheterization (NO CATH): n = 134; 11.7%; Cardiac catheterization without revascularization (CATH-NO REVASC): n = 256; 22.4%; percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): n = 629; 55.0%; and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG): n = 124; 10.8%. We assessed major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), all-cause mortality, and hemorrhagic complications at one year. Results NO CATH was the oldest, had the most comorbidities, and was at the highest risk for ischemic and hemorrhagic events. Few patients who were not revascularized with PCI received NADs (NO CATH: 3.7%; CATH-NO REVASC: 10.6%; PCI: 43.2%; CABG: 3.2%; p<0.001). Non-revascularized patients also received fewer beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB), and statins (p<0.001). At one year, MACE incidence in NO CATH group was three times that of the other groups (30.1%, p<0.001), and all-cause mortality was also much higher (26.3%, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in hemorrhagic events. Belonging to NO CATH group was an independent predictor for MACE at one year in the multivariate analysis (HR 2.72, 95% CI 1.29–5.73; p = 0.008). Conclusions Despite current invasive management of NSTE-ACS, patients not receiving catheterization are at very high risk for under treatment with recommended drugs, including NADs. Their medium-term prognosis is poor, with high mortality. Patients treated with PCI receive better pharmacological management, with high use of NADs.


Adrenal sexual dimorphism is thought to be important in explaining sex-related differences regarding prevalent diseases and the responses to stress and drugs. We report here that in CD1 mice there is marked sexual dimorphism affecting not only gland size and corticoid hormone secretion but also adrenal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), polyamine, and catecholamine levels in which testosterone appears to be a major determinant. Our results show that adrenal weight, ODC activity, and corticosterone and aldosterone secretion were higher in female than in male mice and that orchidectomy brought these male parameters closer to the values found in females. mRNA levels of steroidogenic proteins SF-1, Dax-1, steroid 21-hydroxylase, and aldosterone synthase appeared to be slightly higher in female than in male adrenals. Immunocytochemical analysis of adrenal ODC revealed that immunoreactivity was higher in females than in males and was located mainly in the cortical cells, and especially in zona glomerulosa, whereas no sex differences in ODC mRNA levels were observed. These results suggest that sex-associated differences in the expression of ODC in the mouse adrenal gland appear to be related mainly to posttranscriptional mechanisms. Combination treatment of mice with alpha-difluoromethylornithine (a suicide inhibitor of ODC) and a polyamine-deficient diet produced a marked decrease in adrenal polyamine and catecholamine levels and a significant reduction in plasma corticosterone and aldosterone concentrations that were not associated with a decrease in the mRNA levels of steroidogenic proteins. All of these data suggest a relevant role for testosterone, ODC, and polyamines in the mouse adrenal function.


BACKGROUND
Historically, persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) and long standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LSPeAF) have demonstrated limited clinical success despite hybrid approaches.

OBJECTIVE
We describe our experience with the endocardial-before-epicardial approach defined by a comprehensive endovascular approach preceding and guiding the epicardial approach which includes an extensive posterior wall ablation.

METHODS
40 patients were followed over a 12 month period. The procedure was performed in a single center. Patients had a mean duration of atrial fibrillation of 6.0 ± 4.5 years with 22.5% having undergone prior ablations. Mean age was 61.7 ± 7.9 years with a mean left atrial volume of 131.5 ± 46.9 mL. The endovascular procedure remained uniform with antral pulmonary vein isolation, posterior left atrial roof and right atrial cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) linear lesions with mapping and ablation of left atrial complex electrograms (CFAEs) and prior existing atrial arrhythmias. The epicardial procedure included a thorascopic approach with ganglionated plexus (GP) mapping and ablation, left atrial posterior wall ablation, directed CFAE ablation and left atrial appendage ligation. All patients received implantable cardiac monitoring.

RESULTS
All 40 patients remained in sinus rhythm at their 12 month follow-up. During the monitoring period, episodes of paroxysmal atrial arrhythmias including fibrillation were documented, without persistence, after discontinuation of oral antiarrhythmic medications.

CONCLUSION
The endo-before-epi approach resulted in improved management of persistent and long standing persistent atrial fibrillation over reported results for conventional approaches with no procedural complications, making this a promising option for the management of these arrhythmias.


Glutathione S-transferase(GST) is an enzyme with detoxification function.In order to study functions of glutathione S-transferase theta(GSTT) during preparation and synthesis of fibroin in Antheraea pernyi,expression of GSTT in silk glands of the fifth instar larvae was analyzed.Based on the nucleotide sequence of GSTT gene in Bombyx mori,the cDNA sequence of GSTT from A.pernyi was amplified.The open reading frame(ORF) of the GSTT cDNA from A.pernyi is 651bp long and encodes 216 amino acid residues(GenBank accession No.EU541490).The deduced amino acid sequence of GSTT shared 89% identity with B.mori GSTT.Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that expression of GSTT reached the highest level at the 4th day and then declined.This increased expression during the synthesis of fibroin suggests that GSTT is needed to remove excessive amino acids during fibroin synthesis so as to eliminate the toxic effect of excessive amino acids.


Based on a sample of (1310.6 +/- 10.5) x 10(6) J/psi events collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring, a partial wave analysis of the decay J/psi -> gamma phi phi is performed in order to study the intermediate states. Results of the partial wave analysis show that the structures are predominantly 0(-+) states. The existence of the eta(2225) is confirmed, and its resonance parameters are measured. Two additional pseudoscalar states, the eta(2100) with a mass of 2050(-24-26)(+30+75) MeV/c(2) and a width of 250(-30-164)(+36+181) MeV/c(2) and the X(2500) with a mass of 2470(-19-23)(+15+101) MeV/c(2) and a width of 230(-35-33)(+64+56) MeV/c(2), are observed. In addition to these three pseudoscalar states, the scalar state f(0)(2100), and three tensor states, the f(2)(2010), f(2)(2300) and f(2)(2340), are observed in the process J/psi -> gamma phi phi The product branching fractions B(J/psi -> gamma X) x B(X -> phi phi) are reported.


In the proposed paper, an attempt is made to estimate the proportion of unstated income for Russian households based on micro data. An overview of microeconomic approaches to estimating the scale of under-reported income is provided. These approaches are poorly represented in the national literature, so their strengths and weaknesses are also analyzed. A theoretical model of household consumer behavior is described that allows the size of under-reported income to be estimated. The structure of household incomes and expenditures is studied based on an RLMS sample for 2012. The model is estimated using household subsamples based on the type of household and household income. The estimation technique utilizes regression variables and random effects. The resulting subsample estimates were applied to the general population and compared with those obtained by other researchers using alternative methods and other data. A comparison is made to estimates of under-reported income developed for British households.


Potassium channel openers (KCOs) have been reported to activate ATP-sensitive potassium channels (K/sub (ATP)/) in cardiac muscle. The activation of this current accelerates the process of repolarisation of the cell and shortens the action potential duration (APD). In this study the authors analyse whether this effect is proarrhythmic or not. Indeed, there is a big controversy; in this sense supported by several studies. Based on experimental data, the authors formulated a mathematical description of the effects of two KCOs (pinicidil and nicorandil) on the ATP-sensitive potassium current. These models were introduced in a ventricular myocyte action potential description to carry out unicellular and multicellular simulations. Our results suggest that pinacidil shortens APD further than nicorandil, as reported in several experimental works. In a cellular tissue, both drugs increase the probability of unidirectional block and thus reentry.


Introduction: Nowadays, in the healthcare professions, evaluation of the soft skills is taken into account during student admission process. However, in the Iranian academic society, student admission is only based on scientific criteria and soft skills are not considered in accepting the students. Considering the significance of soft skills in the quality of dental care performance, this study was conducted to clarify viewpoints of the faculty members and students regarding evaluation of the soft skills in dental students admission. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this qualitative descriptive study consisted of the faculty members and dental students of Isfahan and Mazandaran Universities of Medical Sciences. The participants were selected through the purposive sampling method. The Data of the study were collected through semi-structured interviewsand data analysis was performed using conventional content analysis method. Results: Analysis of the recorded interviews of the participants in this study resulted in two main categories, namely the theoretical context of soft skills evaluation in admission of dental students and the practical context of soft skills evaluation in admission of dental students. In the theoretical context, most faculty members and dental students had favorable views of the need for soft skills evaluation in admission of dental students. Moreover, Regarding the practical context, the individuals pointed out several cultural-social challenges, such as the reduced justice and increased favoritism in admitting the students. In addition, they mentioned some executive challenges, including the difficulty of evaluating the soft skills, lack of soft skills training in pre-university education, and competence of the evaluators. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the participants expressed favorable views concerning evaluation of the soft skills during submission of dentistry students. Therefore, we recommend that the dental education planners provide appropriate practical context in coordination with the training measurement organization to evaluate the soft skills in admitting dental students by designing and implementing comprehensive research.


Climate Analysis Seoul (CAS) which provides gridded data relevant for thermal assessment was applied to one of the urban green areas, the Seonjeongneung, in Seoul, Korea. The thermal environment in the Seonjeongneung was evaluated from the CAS simulation for the five heat-wave issued cases during the last five years (2011~2015). The CAS has been improved continuously since it was developed. An updated version with a higher resolution of the CAS simulation domain and an addition of the vegetation information was used in this study. The influence of vegetation in the Seonjeongneung is estimated through the amount of the cold air generation (Q ca ) and air temperature deviation at each grid points, which are calculated by incorporating Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis on the simulation domain and meteorological analysis with the METeorology and atmospheric PHOtochemistry mesoscale MODel (MetPhoMod) in the CAS. The average amount of the cold air generation (Qca) at the Seonjeongneung is about 25.5 ㎥ m −2 h −1 for the whole cases, and this value is similar to the ones in a forest or a well-wooded region. The average value of the total air temperature deviation (TD) is −2.54℃ at the Seonjeongneung for the five cases. However, this cooling effect of the urban green area disappeared when the region is replaced by high-rise buildings in the CAS simulation. The Q ca drastically decreases to about 1.1 ㎥ m −2 h −1 and the average TD shows an increase of 1.14℃ for the same events. This result shows that the vegetation in the Seonjeongneung supposes to keep down temperature during the heat-wave issued day and the average cooling effect of the green region is 3.68℃ quantitatively from the TD difference of the two simulations. The cooling effect represented with the TD difference is larger than 0.3℃ within 200 m distance from the boundary of the Seonjeongneung. Further improvements of the thermodynamical and advection processes above the model surface are required to consider more accurate assessment of the cooling effect for the urban green area.


The aim of this work was to increase the concentration of substances with anti-mycobacterium activity in culture filtrates obtained from the dematiaceous fungus C10. An experimental design was employed to study the effect of glucose, potato infusion and Senna reticulata infusion. The anti-mycobacterium activity was determined by evaluating the growth of bacteria in culture medium containing "culture filtrate" (the products of the submerged fermentation of the fungus). It was observed that the concentrations of glucose 30 g/L, potato infusion 50% v/v and S. reticulata infusion 0% v/v (a better result was obtained not using S. reticulata infusion) were the best conditions for metabolites production. The influence of each variable was determined and it was possible to produce a mathematical model and a surface response to demonstrate the influence of the studied variables. In conclusion, we note that the culture medium had a great importance in the production of culture filtrate with anti-mycobacterial activity and that the experimental design showed to be a functional statistical tool for studying the influence of culture medium composition.


A full term newborn baby presented at the age of 2 days with a pedunculated mass arising from the mandibular gingiva and having difficulty in feeding. The mass was excised under general anaesthesia. Histopathology proved it to be a case of congenital epulis. The baby is doing well during follow-up one year after surgery.


The optimal management of insomnia in the primary care setting should be viewed as a public health problem that will require specific attention. Important recent strides in the understanding of insomnia, its consequences, and its treatment do not always provide a basis for management strategies in a setting with distinct practical limitations. A somewhat different research focus will be needed if the scientific advances are to be translated into practical improvements in therapy. In primary care today, multiple agendas compete for the physician's time. Therefore, it is necessary to view diagnosis and management in terms of both what is efficient and what is optimally effective. Much can be learned from experience with medical risk factors of broad prevalence, such as hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. Large outcome trials demonstrating the benefits of drug therapy were required before pharmacologic management became standard care in the primary care setting. For insomnia, specific issues that must be addressed include the components of diagnosis that will guide therapy and affect prognosis. How can the 10% of adults with insomnia in the primary care practice be subdivided to identify those most in need of therapy? Stated another way, what are the features of insomnia that predict risk? Is duration important? Severity? Frequency? Which treatments are most effective? Which are most efficient in terms of the time required of patient and practitioner? Do treatments for insomnia produce patient satisfaction? Do they prevent adverse outcomes, such as depression and automobile accidents? Studies are now addressing many of these questions. In selecting research priorities, however, the practical application of this information in the clinical setting is important if the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of patients suffering from insomnia and its consequences.


Performance of a catalytic plate reactor coated with different patterns of distributed layers of reforming and combustion catalysts is investigated for the endothermic methane steam reforming (MSR) coupled with the exothermic methane combustion to produce hydrogen. To simulate MSR, an experimentally validated surface microkinetic model for a nickel-based catalyst is implemented in reforming flow channels. Required thermal energy to the MSR sites is supplied by catalytic and gas-phase methane combustion (MC) carried out in the neighbouring parallel flow channels. To simulate combustion reactions, a reduced surface microkinetic model for the catalytic MC and power rate model for the gas-phase MC are implemented in combustion flow channels. The study considers two-dimensional domains for the coating layers of reforming and combustion catalysts and identifies the internal-diffusion limitations for the reforming-catalyst coating thicker than 50 μm and for the combustion-catalyst coating thicker than 5 μm. Results obtained for different patterns of distributed coatings of reforming and combustion-catalysts are evaluated against the results obtained for conventional continuous coating layers by comparing temperature distribution, conversion, yield, selectivity, H2/CO ratio, efficiency, effectiveness-factor and plate-thickness. The study finds that by optimizing the distributed coating layers of the combustion-catalyst not only improves the utilization of both the catalysts and hydrogen production by 5% but also reduces the maximum plate temperature and axial thermal gradients along with 74% less combustion-catalyst compared to the continuous coating design. The study also finds that optimized distributed coating layers of both reforming and combustion catalysts predicts the similar methane conversion and hydrogen production as with the continuous coating layers for the same inlet molar feed rate but with 28% less reforming-catalyst and 74% less combustion-catalyst. Further, the study reports that the influence of distributed coatings of reforming and combustion catalysts is more pronounced in improving the performance of a catalytic plate reactor designed with relatively thick plate.


Following a nonparametric approach, we suggest a time‐series clustering method. Our clustering approach combines the benefits connected to the interpretative power of the nonparametric representation of the time series, and the clustering and vector quantization informational gain produced by the adopted unsupervised neural networks technique, enhanced with the self‐organizing maps ordering and topological preservation abilities. The proposed clustering method takes into account a composite wavelet‐based information of the multivariate time series by adding to the information connected to the wavelet variance, namely the influence of variability of individual univariate components of the multivariate time series across scales, the information associated to wavelet correlation, represented by the interaction between pairs of univariate components of the multivariate time series at each scale, and then suitably tuning the combination of these pieces of information. In order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed clustering approach, a simulation study and an empirical application are shown. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Discharge by request: study on the perception of patients and professionals Discharge by request generates ethical and legal dilemmas in the day-to-day of a hospital. This study analyses the perception of patients and the multi professional team (doctors, nurses, social workers and psychologists) on discharge by request in a public maternity hospital in Fortaleza, Ceará. It is a documentary and bibliographic study that consists of a qualitative descriptive research , using simple observation and semi-structured interviews with 16 participants (eight professionals and eight patients) and content analysis based on Bardin's model. As a result of the axes of analysis in the process of discharge by request, it was found that from the professionals viewpoint the reason why patients ask for discharge by request is lack of family support; now, for the patients, fatigue and hospital stress are the main reasons why they ask for discharge by request. We conclude that to understand the perspective of the patient who asks for discharge by request, beyond its legal aspects, that is, in the validation of their autonomy, is a challenge for professional teams who act in the context of hospitalisation


Extra-ovarian yolk sac tumor arising in the omentum is extremely rare. As yolk sac tumor originated from the omentum has been rarely reported, its clinical information is very limited. The authors encountered a case of yolk sac tumor originated from the omentum, and reported the case herein. A 32-year-old woman was presented with developed low abdominal distension for a month. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were suggestive of ovarian malignancy with ascites and peritoneal seeding nodules. Explorative laparotomy was performed and then the findings from frozen biopsy of omentum were suggestive of poorly differentiated tumor though whether it was primary or metastatic was uncertain. Thus, staging laparotomy were performed. Histopathology confirmed that the tumor was a yolk sac tumor of omentum origin. Then, 6 cycles of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy at intervals of 3 weeks were performed using bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin regimen. Four-year outpatient follow-up thereafter showed no relapse.


Abstract Context. Global climatic changes are increasingly producing observable shifts in species distributions. It is widely believed that the northern distribution of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America is limited by cold winter temperatures and deep snow. Under all climate change scenarios, it is likely that the adverse effects of winter will diminish, which may result in a northward expansion of the distribution of white-tailed deer. Aims. The goal of this project was to quantify the drivers of white-tailed deer distribution identified from a set of climate and land cover variables. We wanted to forecast changes to the northern limit on white-tailed deer distribution under several climate change scenarios. Methods. We used an occupancy-modelling approach to identify the variables or combination of variables that best estimated the occupancy of white-tailed deer across a 140-site camera-observation network operating from 2013 to 2015. We validated our model using data from a mammal atlas from 1993. We used available data from climate change scenarios to predict and map changes to the northern limit of white-tailed deer distribution for three time horizons up to 2100. Key results. Our models indicated that both climate and land cover had a determining influence on the northern limit of white-tailed deer distribution in our study area. Variables describing winter climate, in particular temperature and snow depth, were most closely associated with the northern edge of white-tailed deer distribution, and land cover variables added explanatory power. Our predictions suggested that white-tailed deer distribution will expand northward, given the retreat of severe winters. Conclusions. White-tailed deer distribution is controlled by land-based habitat indicators and limited at a northern boundary by the severity of winter climate. Current CO2 emission scenarios indicate that winter conditions will no longer limit the northern distribution of white-tailed deer in our study area by the year 2100. Implications. Under all climate change scenarios, the influx of white-tailed deer to new northern environments will likely impact the dynamics of other wildlife populations. The management of species such as moose (Alces alces) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in these regions must anticipate the disruptive potential of white-tailed deer.


Abstract Public sector bodies own diverse, valuable but capital-intensive assets, which require the following of all the changes taking place in their environment and their trends (conducting market analyses), as well as the anticipation of future effects of present-day actions (decisions). It seems, however, that many public bodies/entities make decisions according to current needs, hardly ever conducting market analyses or market valuation of their assets. Today, both theory and practice offer a variety of methods - instruments supporting the process of decision-making concerning the creation of a rational structure of real property, sources of its financing, evaluation of the effectiveness of using individual fixed assets and their impact on the economic situation of each body/entity. The purpose of this paper is to present the nature and scale of the problem of asset management, as well as the main elements of the process of the management of real property owned by public entities, based on a case study of the biggest Polish cities. At first, we will outline the scale of the problem, including the gross value of buildings and structures and capital expenditures of the public sector. Then, we will present the definition of asset management and classification of real property as tools and conditions for effective asset management, as well as the results of empirical research conducted with officials responsible for property management in Poland's six largest cities.


Introduction: The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) defines national standards for delivering care after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Objectives: To improve appropriate use of secondary prevention measures and investigations after an AMI at the interface of primary and secondary care. Method:Criteria for this audit were selected from those devised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence: Audit of the Management of Post-MI Patients in Primary Care. A retrospective review was conducted of general practitioner (GP) records,for patients who were identified as being treated in hospital for AMI. Baseline audit data were collected in 2003 for patients treated for an AMI in 2001.Following a multifaceted intervention a re-audit was conducted in 2004 of patients treated for an AMI in 2002. Results :Data were collected for 340 patients from 78 practices for the baseline audit, and for 203 patients from 51 practices for the re-audit. Comparison of primary care trusts (PCTs) showed a variation in meeting the audit criteria at baseline and re-audit, but overall 9 out of 10 audit criteria were better achieved in the re-audit than at baseline. Conclusion :Baseline audit suggested standards of secondary prevention of CHD in post-MI patients were good overall, but there were variations in care between PCTs. Re-audit results suggest standards of care have improved overall after a multifaceted intervention.


Systematic measurements with a disk machine of the thickness of the hydrodynamic oil film between loaded rollers have been made with respect to load, rolling speed, sliding speed and oil viscosity. It has been found that the viscosity of greatest im portance with respect to film thickness is the viscosity of the oil at the surface temperature of the disks (tjs) ; the viscosity of the oil supplied by the lubricating jet and the viscosity attained by the oil on its passage through the pressure zone are unim portant. It has been shown that film thickness is independent of load at loads exceeding 7 x 107dyn cm-1, but is dependent upon the rolling speed u (the mean peripheral speed of the disks) as well as upon rjs. To within +15 % all the results are expressed by h* = 0-8[(m^ ) /100]0.5 where h% is the film thickness in microns when utjs is expressed in dyncm-1. Particularly is it noteworthy that this same expression remained true even when sliding was introduced. (The ranges of conditions covered by the experiments were loads from 7 x 107 to 2 x 108dyncm -1, rolling speeds from 32 to 1000 cm s-1, sliding speeds up to 480 cm s-1 and values of rjs from 0.14 to 1.19P.) It is also shown that an implication of the insensitivity to sliding is that on the entry side there is little frictional heating of the oil due to the sliding up to a point where the pressure approaches 1 x 109 dyncm-2. The experimental results, have been compared with the theory of the elastohydrodynamic lubrication at the conjunction of the disks. The theory disregards frictional heating and predicts a film thickness proportional to (zb/s)0.7 in contrast with the exponent of 0.5 given by experiment. Evidence is cited that the difference is not due to frictional heat but it is suggested that the discrepancy is due to a specific effect of speed upon the increase in viscosity which oils exhibit under pressure.


We study three pricing mechanisms' performance and their effects on the participants in the data industry from the data supply chain perspective. A win-win pricing strategy for the players in the data supply chain is proposed. We obtain analytical solutions in each pricing mechanism, including the decentralized and centralized pricing, Nash Bargaining pricing, and revenue sharing mechanism.


Bit interleaved coded modulation (BICM) because of its improved diversity over fast fading channels is an attractive transmission scheme for future wireless systems. For coded BICM systems, receivers need to employ max log MAP demodulators (demappers) that calculate soft-decision metrics i.e. log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for the decoder. The complexity of the calculation of these LLRs is exponential in the number of bits per symbol and moreover for systems exploiting spatial dimension (MIMO), the complexity further increases exponentially in the number of transmit antennas. In this paper we propose matched filter (MF) based low complexity max log MAP bit metrics for BICM single input single output (SISO) and low dimensional BICM MIMO systems using Gray encoded $M$-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) alphabets. For SISO systems, the maximum likelihood (ML) detector needs computation and comparison of minimum distances between the received symbol and $M$ constellation points on the complex plane for the calculation of each LLR. In this paper we show that these LLRs can be computed precisely from the MF output and therefore do not necessitate any minimum distance calculations. For low dimensional BICM MIMO systems, we further propose a MF based bit metric which successfully trims down one complex dimension of the system thereby reducing complexity. Both these metrics substantially reduce the number of calculations needed for each LLR without compromising the performance and MF being an integral part of all receiver structures facilitates their hardware implementation. Simulation results over Rayleigh fading channels verify similar performance of the simplified metrics as those of the original metrics but with a significant reduction in the complexity.


Medical imaging is required for a complete clinical evaluation to identify lung involvement or pulmonary embolism during SARS-CoV-2 infection or pulmonary and cardiovascular sequelae. Contrast media (CM) have undoubtedly been useful in clinical practice due to their ability to improve medical imaging in COVID-19 patients. Considering their important use, especially in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and that increased use of a medical tool could also be associated with its deeper knowledge, we chose to explore if new information emerged regarding CM safety profiles. We analyzed all Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) validated by Campania Pharmacovigilance Regional Centre from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021 and reported a CM (ATC code V08) as a suspected drug. We compared CM-related reporting between 2 years before (period 1) and 2 years during (period 2) the COVID-19 pandemic. From our analysis, it emerged that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, CM-related ADR reporting decreased, but a significant increase in reporting of serious cases emerged. Serious ADRs were mainly related to iodinated CM (V08A ATC) compared to magnetic resonance imaging CM (V08C ATC). Cutaneous and respiratory disorders were the most frequently reported in both periods. No new or unknown ADRs were reported in the overall study period.


Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis function is necessary for maintaining proper female reproductive cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the ovarian histomorphometric and histoarchitectural changes in neonatal, prepubertal and pubertal thymectomized female guinea pigs. A total of 30 female guinea pigs, sham-operated (n-5) and thymectomized (n-5) were studied in each group. The diameter and number of ovarian follicles among the thymectomized and sham operated female guinea pigs during estrus phase of estrous cycle was compared. Gonadal and accessory reproductive organs weights and microscopic features were studied in the sham operated guinea pigs and thymectomized. There were statistically significant changes in the number and diameter of follicles in the ovary in neonatal thymectomized female guinea pigs, but no significant changes were observed in prepubertal and pubertal female guinea pigs. Neonatal thymectomized female guinea pigs showed significant changes in their weight as well as changes in the microscopic features including reduced thickness of myometrium of uterus and less mucosal folding in the fallopian tube compared to the sham-operated group. But prepubertal and pubertal thymectomy did not affect the weight and microscopic features of gonads and accessory reproductive organs. Depending on the time of thymectomy, these results indicate morphological changes in the ovaries after thymectomy in females.


This study uses a global ocean eddy-permitting climate model to explore the export of abyssal water from the Southern Ocean and its sensitivity to projected twenty-first-century poleward-intensifying Southern Oceanwind stress. The abyssalflow pathways and transportareinvestigated usinga combinationofLagrangian and Eulerian techniques. In an Eulerian format, the equator- and poleward flows within similar abyssal density classes are increased by the wind stress changes, making it difficult to explicitly diagnose changes in the abyssal export in a meridional overturning circulation framework. Lagrangian particle analyses are used to identify the major export pathways of Southern Ocean abyssal waters and reveal an increase in the number of particles exported to the subtropics from source regions around Antarctica in response to the wind forcing. Both the Lagrangian particleand Eulerian analyses identify transients asplaying a key rolein the abyssal export ofwater from the Southern Ocean. Wind-driven modifications to the potential energy component of the vorticity balance in the abyss are also found to impact the Southern Ocean barotropic circulation.


Introduction Acute abdominal pain is a rare presentation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The effect on the gynaecological tract is not well known. We present a COVID-19 case admitted with abdominal pain and diagnosed to have ovarian cancer. Methods Clinical details were retrieved using electronic health record system. COVID-19 PCR swab test was performed using the Real-time SARS-CoV-2 Assay. Hematoxylin-Eosin, Martius Scarlett Blue stains, C3 and C4d immunohistochemical stains and RNAscope test were performed on the tube, ovary and omental tissue. Results A 46 yr old known asthmatic presented to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. On examination, she was febrile with a tender abdomen. Chest X-Ray showed bilateral patchy lower zone opacification. Abdominal ultrasound scan revealed a 151 × 148 × 55 mm pelvic mass. COVID-19 swab test requested just prior to the surgery came back positive. She had increased C-reactive protein with normal blood coagulation parameters. She underwent emergency unilateral salpingo-oopherectomy with omentectomy. Pathology revealed a high grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry showed a linear pattern of C4d complement localized to omental capillary endothelial cells. C3 stain was negative. Martius Scarlett Blue stain did not show microthrombi. RNAscope failed to reveal coronavirus in the tissue. Conclusion Our case contributes to the knowledge of atypical Covid-19 presentations. Complement split product C4d is a known pathological marker of antibody mediated rejection. While the presentation of ovarian cancer as acute abdomen could be co-incidental, C4d complement deposition in our case may suggest its role in COVID 19 pathogenesis.


Water transparency is an important factor affecting fish availability (underwater visibility) for diving birds. The diet of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo in relation to water transparency (range 1.4–4.0 m) was studied by pellet analyses at the submontane reservoir Dobczyce, Poland, from June to November. Although water transparency proved to be related to the birds' distribution, in the range of turbidities studied, no relationship was found with either fish species and fish size taken. Of 14 species in the diet, Roach Rutilus rutilus was dominant in all monthly samples (35–91% in 2002, 56–82% in 2004). Numbers of Great Cormorants and water transparency (range 0.4–1.4 m) were studied in the turbid lowland reservoir Goczałkowice during the migration period in autumn (August–November 2011 and 2012). Observations here suggest that the effect of water transparency on food uptake and habitat choice was only apparent below 0.6 m Secchi depth. The number of foraging Great Cormorants was not only affected by Secchi depth, but by a complex of factors (year, month, place, Secchi depth and water depth). We argue that, especially when the number of Great Cormorants is low, only highly detailed measurements of these factors (both spatially and as time series) can show the complex relationship between prey distribution, environmental conditions and the predator's behaviour.


Osteochondral defects of the talus are a challenging subject facing foot and ankle surgeons. The available treatment options have relatively good subjective outcomes; however, they are limited by the ability to reproduce hyaline cartilage, the need for multiple surgeries, and high morbidity. We present a new technique using DeNovo NT(®) juvenile allograft cartilage implantation introduced into a talar lesion arthroscopically in a single procedure to repair a posteriomedial talar osteochondral defects in a healthy, active 30-year-old female. The patient tolerated the procedure well. At the 6-month follow-up visit, the patient had returned to full activity, and at 24 months, she remained completely pain free.


Abstract Introduction: Sindbis virus (SINV) is a mosquito-borne Alphavirus known to infect birds and cause intermittent outbreaks among humans in Fenno-Scandia. In Sweden, the endemic area has mainly been in central Sweden. Recently, SINV infections have emerged to northern Sweden, but the vectorial efficiency for SINV of mosquito species in this northern region has not yet been ascertained. Objective: Mosquito larvae were sampled from the Umeå region in northern Sweden and propagated in a laboratory to adult stage to investigate the infection, dissemination, and transmission efficiency of SINV in mosquitoes. Materials and Methods: The mosquito species were identified by DNA barcoding of the cytochrome oxidase I gene. Culex torrentium was the most abundant (82.2%) followed by Culex pipiens (14.4%), Aedes annulipes (1.1%), Anopheles claviger (1.1%), Culiseta bergrothi (1.1%), or other unidentified species (1.1%). Mosquitoes were fed with SINV-infected blood and monitored for 29 days to determine the viral extrinsic incubation period. Infection and dissemination were determined by RT-qPCR screening of dissected body parts of individual mosquitoes. Viral transmission was determined from saliva collected from individual mosquitoes at 7, 14, and 29 days. SINV was detected by cell culture using BHK-21 cells, RT-qPCR, and sequencing. Results: Cx. torrentium was the only mosquito species in our study that was able to transmit SINV. The overall transmission efficiency of SINV in Cx. torrentium was 6.8%. The rates of SINV infection, dissemination, and transmission in Cx. torrentium were 11%, 75%, and 83%, respectively. Conclusions: Cx. torrentium may be the key vector involved in SINV transmission in northern Sweden.


Seed surface area is the basic ground for lint production in cotton and, hence, a starting point for genetic improvement in lint yield. Experiments on upland cottons were carried out under 2 temperature regimes (April sown, high temperature regime; June sown, moderate regime) for 2 years in the field to study their modifying effect on phenotypic expression and combining ability of lint weight per seed (LW/S), lint weight per unit seed surface area (LW/SA), lint weight per unit fibre length (LW/FL), lint frequency (LF), number of spinnable fibres per seed (F/S), and number of spinnable fibres per unit seed surface area (F/SA). Variation among cultivars for relative decrease in the basic lint traits under high temperature regime indicated their differences in heat sensitivity. Genetic variation for all basic lint traits was low over environments but high within environments. Temperature regime was a stronger source of variation in basic lint traits than year. Temperature regimes modified phenotype, ranking among parents, and combining ability of basic lint traits. Relative contribution of specific combining ability to total variation decreased under high temperature regime for all the basic lint traits, except LW/FL, with a corresponding increase in general combining ability due to either female or male parents. Relative contribution of general combining ability due to female parents for LW/S and LW/SA, and that due to male parents for LW/SA, LF, F/S, and F/SA, increased substantially under high temperature regime. High temperature regime was favourable for the expression of additive genetic variability. From the breeding point of view, F/S and F/SA were more useful traits.


Drawing on elements of postcolonial theory, the article analyses two novels of the GDR dealing with the so-called Herero War, which have been widely ignored by literary criticism so far: Ferdinand May's "Sturm uber Sudwest-Afrika" (1962) and Dietmar Beetz's "Flucht vom Waterberg" (1989). It points out their references to Lenin's concept of imperialism and explores their authentification strategies as well as the construction of the 'black' and 'white' characters plus the way the relations between them are depicted. Finally, it demonstrates to which extent the authors achieve their aim to present a critical view on the historic events – and how they occasionally fail to do so by unintentionally falling back on patterns dominating traditional colonial Literature.


Sound processing with loudspeaker driving depends critically on high quality electroacoustic transducers together with their relevant amplifiers. In this paper, the nonlinear effects of electrodynamic loudspeakers are investigated as regard the influence of the changes of their main descriptive parameters values. Indeed, while being operated nonlinear effects observed with loudspeakers are due to changes of such constitutive parameters. Regarding either current or voltage-drive, an original model based on Simulink® is presented, taking account of all the electrical and mechanical properties closely associated with nonlinear behaviours. Moreover, as such a Simulink® model may be combined with the PSpice® advanced software, the behaviour of both loudspeaker and amplifier can be exhaustively investigated and optimized. To this end, the amplifier is simulated thanks to the Orcad-Capture-PSpice® software prior to match with the loudspeaker model with the so-called SLPS co-simulator. Then, values of the current flowing through the loudspeaker can be determined and plotted considering voltage controlling. Obviously in this case current-drive has not to be assessed.

This way to proceed allows us to highlight any critical information especially due to the voice coil displacement, yielded velocity, and acceleration of the diaphragm. Indeed our approach testifies to the imperative necessity of mechanical measurements together with electrical ones. Then, considering a given amplifier-loudspeaker association with specific parameters changes of the latter, the entailed nonlinear distortion allows us to qualify and criticize the whole design. Such an original approach should be most valuable so as to match the best fitted amplifier with a given electrodynamic loudspeaker. Then non linear effects due to voltage and current-drive are compared highlighting the advantages of an apt current-controled policy.


Delicate filamentous projections 3-8 nm in thickness radiate laterally from the surface of microtubules in crayfish ventral axons and anastomose with similar filaments projecting from neighbouring microtubules and with unattached filaments in the axoplasmic matrix. Following Alcian blue treatment, a layer of alcianophilic material 5-30 nm thick was revealed on the axoplasmic surface of all intra-axonal structures, including microtubules, and the filamentous projections possessed significantly enhanced contrast. In Alcian blue-penetrated axons these prominent filamentous projections were organized into a conspicuous axoplasmic network connecting microtubules up to 350 nm apart. Intra-axonal alcianophilia was nearly abolished when connectives were stained in the presence of 0.1-0.2 M MgCl 2 , or when pretreated with hyaluronidase. The filamentous elements and the exterior surface of microtubules retained some degree of alcianophilia when stained at pH 5.5 and 4.1 but few deposits were associated with intra-axonal membrane systems. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the projecting filamentous elements and perhaps the exterior surface of the microtubule walls have, at least in part, a carboxylated polyanionic character.


This collection of provocative essays by one of the twentienth century's most distinguished theologians deals with topics as diverse as the right to work, nuclear war, the Olympic Games, and Judaism and Christianity-all within the frameWork of human rights. Jurgen Moltmann believes that the dignity of the human being is the source of all human rights; if this dignity is not acknowledged and exercised, human beings cannot fulfil their destiny of living as the image of God. In the first part, 'Human Rights', Moltmann urges Christians not to abandon the discussion of and the fight for human rights, but instead tore-examine human rights against a background of suffering and struggle. Part Two, 'Responsibility for the World and Christian Discipleship', considers Luther's doctrine of two kingdoms and Barth's doctrine of the lordship of Christ with respect to contemporary ethical and political decisions. Part Three, 'Christian Criticism of Religion' begins with a masterly analysis of religion and culture in Europe and then goes on to a theological critique of the American dream.


ABSTRACT This study examined how exposure to government health advisories on face mask-wearing and trust in government influenced people's compliance with the advisory overtime. We conducted a three-wave panel survey (N = 1,024; T1 in February, T2 in March, T3 in April 2020) in Singapore, where the government initially enforced wearing a face mask conditional on feeling sick, and then later revised its advisory to make mask-wearing mandatory regardless of sickness. Exposure to the initial advisory at T1 had cross-lagged effects on forming positive expectancy, normative, and self-efficacy beliefs on conditional face mask-wearing at T2. Government trust at T1 also had a cross-lagged effect on increasing supportive perceived norm for conditional mask-wearing, while reducing positive expectancy of nonconditional mask-wearing at T2. Exposure to the revised advisory and government trust at T3 were positively associated with outcome expectancy, perceived norm, and self-efficacy regardless of behavior type. Regarding nonconditional mask-wearing, the autoregressive links from T2 to T3 were insignificant for perceived norm and self-efficacy and even negatively significant for intention and behavior. This study offers theoretical and practical insights by documenting the complex and dynamic processes involved in health decision-making during a novel disease pandemic.


New challenges have been brought to fault-tolerant computing and processor architecture research because of developments in IC technology. One emerging area is development of architectures, built by interconnecting a large number of processing elements on a single chip or wafer. Two important areas, related to such VLSI processor arrays, are the focus of this paper; they are fault-tolerance and yield improvement techniques. Fault tolerance in these VLSI processor arrays is of real practical significance; it provides for much-needed reliability improvement. Therefore, we first describe the underlying concepts of fault tolerance at work in these multiprocessor systems. These precepts are useful to then present certain techniques that will incorporate fault tolerance integrally into the design. In the second part of the paper we discuss models that evaluate how yield enhancement and reliability improvement may be achieved by certain fault-tolerant techniques.


Minimum phone error (MPE) training of deep neural networks (DNN) is an effective technique for reducing word error rate of automatic speech recognition tasks. This training is often carried out using a Hessian-free (HF) quasi-Newton approach, although other methods such as stochastic gradient descent have also been applied successfully. In this paper we present a novel stochastic approach to HF sequence training inspired by recently proposed stochastic average gradient (SAG) method. SAG reuses gradient information from past updates, and consequently simulates the presence of more training data than is really observed for each model update. We extend SAG by dynamically weighting the contribution of previous gradients, and by combining it to a stochastic HF optimization. We term the resulting procedure DSAG-HF. Experimental results for training DNNs on 1500h of audio data show that compared to baseline HF training, DSAG-HF leads to better held-out MPE loss after each model parameter update, and converges to an overall better loss value. Furthermore, since each update in DSAG-HF takes place over smaller amount of data, this procedure converges in about half the time as baseline HF sequence training.


A special Issue of SIMULATION, which focuses on Organizational & Enterprise Simulation is planned for the second quarter of 2002. Organizational & Enterprise Simulation provides a reconsidering of existing business processes and existing organizational structures to determine what opportunities exist for improving efficiency and effectiveness within an organization, to make business cheaper, faster and more reliable. Organizational Simulation plays a crucial role when optimizing organizational design by analyzing the results of organizational simulation. Organizations and their business processes are too complex and dynamic to be understood and analyzed by flowcharting and spreadsheets alone. Sometimes organizations of competing/cooperating economic entities can exhibit surprising behavior. Simulation


Over the past century, conversion to agriculture has greatly reduced the global extent of coastal wetlands leading to degradation and loss of these ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how this land conversion affects the confluent soil organic and inorganic carbon (SOC and SIC) storage as well as their localizations in soil matrix. Here, we investigated these issues using wet sieving at two coastal saline–alkali sites in northern China. Conversion of marshes to cropland (>60 years) decreased the portion of large macroaggregates (>2 mm) and correspondingly increased the portion of microaggregates (0.053–0.25 mm) at both sites. Land conversion decreased SOC contents by 31–67% in all fractions (>2, 0.25–2, 0.053–0.25, and <0.053 mm) in the topsoil (0–15 cm) and subsoil (15–30 cm). In contrast, irrigation‐ and NH4HCO3 fertilization‐derived carbonates increased SIC storages in almost all fractions due to the saline–alkali soil conditions, especially for the subsoil. This increases in SIC almost offset and compensate for the SOC losses at both sites. Consequently, the irrigation‐ and NH4HCO3‐induced SIC accumulation should be included in the full C balance of saline–alkali soils. It should be noted, however, that the progressive loss of SOC due to cultivation will lead to soil degradation in fertility and ecological function, thereby hampering long‐term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. Therefore, the compensation of SIC for the loss of SOC is not sustainable in the longer term.


The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of short-term flushing with energy and protein sources on the reproductive performances of meat goats for 21 days. A total of 180 Spanish and their crosses with Boer goats (Spanish X Boer) were randomly assigned to 6 treatments consisting of 2 body condition score (BCS) classes (Low and High) and 3 flushing treatments consisting of no supplementation (control), supplementation with protein mixture (PM) and combination of protein and energy (PE) in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangements. The results indicated that the BCS class had significant effect on pregnancy (P < 0.01) and kidding rates (P < 0.05) in which does in high body condition class had higher pregnancy and kidding rates than those in the low condition. The number of does diagnosed as pregnant was 67 and 81 and as non-pregnant was 23 and 9 for Low and High BCS does, respectively. Likewise, there were 24 and 11 does that did not kid and 66 and 79 that did for Low and High BCS, respectively. Litter size and weight was greater (P < 0.05) for Spanish X Boer than for Spanish does.


AIM
Acylation of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid with an adequate acyl chloride in order to obtain cefotaxime sodium salt.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Cefotaxime sodium salt was synthesized by acylating 7-amino cephalosporanic acid with 2-[2'-chloracetamidothiazole-4-yl]-2-(syn)-methoxy-imino acetic chloride in four steps. The melting point was determined, and IR spectral analysis and elemental analysis were performed to confirm cefotaxime structure. The quantitative determination was performed.

RESULTS
The reaction conditions were established. The yield of the synthesis phases (73-80%) and actual yield (45-47%) were very good. The structure of the obtained cefotaxime sodium salt was confirmed by the IR spectral analysis and by elemental analysis (C, H, N). The melting point was 163 degrees C. The purity of the synthesized cefotaxime sodium salt was 98.9%.

CONCLUSIONS
Cefotaxime sodium salt was synthesized by acylation of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid with 2-[2'-chloracetamidothiazole-4-yl]-2-(syn)-methoxy-imino acetic chloride, in aqueous solution, then transformed into sodium salt with sodium 2-ethylhexanoate. The method proved to be very good, yields were good, it is reproducible and simple, and does not involve high risks, so it is also safe.


Bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) is a critical technology maintaining long-term human survival on the Moon or other extraterrestrial bodies. In the current study, we carried out a 370-day integrated high-closure experiment ("Lunar Palace 365" experiment) on the Earth in an upgraded ground-based BLSS experimental facility called "Lunar Palace 1". This experiment was designed to develop techniques to run and adjust system stability under long-term operation and crew shift change conditions. Eight volunteering crew members were divided into two groups with three time phases: Group I stayed in the cabin for the initial 60-day phase; Group II inhabited the cabin instead for a record-breaking duration of 200 days as the second phase; Group I re-entered the cabin, replaced Group II and stayed for the last 105 days. Our results demonstrated the BLSS had excellent stability with a material closure degree of 98.2%. Levels of O2, CO2 and trace harmful gases were well controlled within ranges optimal for crew health and plant production. The system exhibited a strong robustness and could quickly minimize effects of disturbances through self-feedback adjustments. The efficiency of plant production completely met the crew's need of plant-based food. The purification efficiency of domestic and sanitary wastewater was up to irrigation standards, and the recovery rate of urine and solid waste achieved 99.7% and 67%, respectively. These results are valuable for further optimization of the BLSS in a lunar base and computer simulations of similar systems.


Within this phase II trial of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, we have investigated the safety and efficacy of pentostatin (Nipent; SuperGen, San Ramon, CA) in refractory lymphoid malignancies. Pentostatin was administered at a dosage of 4 mg/m2 every week for the first 3 weeks, then every 14 days, followed by maintenance therapy of 4 mg/m2 monthly for a maximum of 6 months. We have previously reported the results in T- and B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and hairy cell leukemia This report focuses on the outcome in T-cell malignancies: T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Sézary syndrome, mycosis fungoides, and T-zone lymphoma. Of 92 patients with these diagnoses enrolled, 76 were evaluable for response and toxicity, ie, 25 of 28 with T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 21 of 26 with Sézary syndrome, 22 of 26 with mycosis fungoides, and eight of 12 with T-zone lymphoma. All patients had progressive and advanced disease. Sixteen patients (21%) died during the first 9 weeks of treatment: 12 of progressive disease, two of infectious complications thought to be unrelated to treatment, one of myocardial infarction, and one of renal failure related to administration of intravenous contrast. Major toxicity (grades 3 and 4) included infection in 10.5% of patients, nausea/vomiting in 5%, and hepatotoxicity in 3%. One patient (1.3%) achieved a complete remission and 15 (19.7%) a partial remission. Better results were achieved in patients with Sézary syndrome or mycosis fungoides (complete remission + partial remission = 33.4% and 22.7%, respectively) than in patients with T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (8%) or T-zone lymphoma (25%). We conclude that pentostatin is active in low-grade T-cell malignancies. Toxicities are mild to moderate at the dose schedule administered. Severe hematologic toxicity has not been observed. The efficacy at the present dose level is moderate. A higher dose might be necessary for some T-cell malignancies.


Evaporation heat transfer characteristics by pulsating flow in a plate heat exchanger have been investigated experimentally in this study. R-l34a is evaporated by receiving heat from the hot water in the plate heat exchanger. The pulsating frequency in refrigerant side of the plate heat exchanger is varied in the range of 5~25㎐. The operating pressure of R-134a and mass flux of hot water are also varied 0.6-0.9㎫ and 45-105㎏/㎡s, respectively. The experimental results indicate that evaporation heat transfer coefficient of pulsating flow is improved up to 6.3% compared with that of the steady flow at 10㎐ and Gw=45㎏/㎡s. It is also found that the evaporation heat transfer enhancement ratio is decreased with an increase in mass flux of hot water, and the evaporation heat transfer enhancement is little influenced by operating pressure of R-l34a.


The nonstarch polysaccharides (NSPs) in the total dietary fiber (TDF) from the sclerotia of Pleurotus tuber-regium (tiger milk mushroom) were fractionated by the sequential use of chemical solvents. About half of the TDF was solubilized and two major alkali-soluble fractions (1 and 4 N sodium hydroxide) that contained 126 and 293 g/kg TDF were obtained. Sugar analysis and infrared spectroscopy indicated that the NSPs in these alkali-soluble fractions were mainly beta-glucans and chitin. These alkali-soluble NSPs were further purified by anion-exchange chromatography followed by gel permeation chromatographic separation. Methylation analysis revealed that these purified glucans were highly branched and contained a mixture of sugar linkages of beta-1,3, beta-1,6, and beta-1,4. The potential use of these sclerotial beta-glucans as nutraceuticals was discussed.


Controlled vehicular Internet access protocol with QoS (CVIA-QoS) is a cross-layer solution for vehicular multihop networks spanning MAC and routing functions with infrastructure support. CVIA-QoS employs fixed gateways along the road which perform periodic admission control and scheduling decisions for the packet traffic in their service area. The CVIA-QoS protocol is based on CVIA protocol that was designed only for the best-effort traffic. The most important contribution of the CVIA-QoS protocol is providing delay bounded throughput guarantees for soft real-time traffic which is an important challenge especially for a mobile multihop network. After the demands of the soft real-time traffic is met, CVIA-QoS supports the best-effort traffic by allocating the remaining bandwidth


Multifunctional reduced graphene oxide (RGO) coated cloths were prepared through the thermal treatment of GO coated cloths without using any harmful reducing agent. The effect of heating temperature on the wetting properties of the cloths was also monitored through contact angle measurement. The highest contact angle 141° was observed for the RGO coated dense cloth while the highest contact angle exhibited by the RGO coated sparse cloth was 130°. The as prepared RGO coated cloths were utilized as a filter and an absorbent for oil/water separation. The RGO coated sparse cloth was utilized as a filter for the separation of an oil/water mixture while the dense cloth was utilized as an absorbent for the selective absorption of oil from water. RGO coated cloths were also explored as an antibacterial agent and the effect of the microstructure of coated cloths on their antibacterial properties was also investigated. The cloth with the dense structure exhibited higher antibacterial activity compared to the sparse cloth. A significant loss of percentage viability up to 98% was achieved using the RGO coated cloth, proving it highly efficient as an antibacterial agent, which makes it a suitable bandage material for the dressing of open wounds. Apart from being antibacterial, the RGO coated cloths are also hydrophobic in nature so they can protect wound from water and atmospheric moisture which is not possible with ordinary bandages.


A complex two-body effective interaction derived from the Skyrme interaction is used in the folding model (FM) and energy density model (EDM) to obtain the energy-dependent real and imaginary parts of the heavy-ion (HI) optical potential. A comparison of these calculated potentials and their predicted values for the elastic scattering cross section of 40Ca+40Ca(ECM=120 MeV) with the phenomenological data shows that the potentials are more accurately determined in the EDM. The effects of nuclear surface, Pauli-blocking, antisymmetrisation due to kinetic-energy density and exchange of the interaction matrix on the calculated FM and EDM potentials and their corresponding elastic scattering cross sections of 40Ca+40Ca are found to be significant. The role of real and imaginary potentials in 40Ca+40Ca scattering is also investigated.


Before one can repair a broken system ¿ computer, industrial machinery, automobile electronics or avionics - two related, but not identical, activities are required. First, one has to determine that the system is in fact faulty. Often the determination is made by the user though sometimes incorrectly. For confirmation and for better assurance, a test is run. The test is usually built-in (BIT) or external test using manual or automatic test equipment (ATE). Once it is confirmed that the system is faulty, the related activity of identifying that fault, or diagnosis, is also needed. While diagnoses utilize results of tests, they are not the same thing as tests. Knowing that a computer will not boot up is far from being able to identify the cause and to begin repairs.


The landlocked and fragile countries Mali, Niger, and Chad have suffered, to varying degrees, from Dutch Disease, with high export concentration in natural resource commodities and in a few foreign markets, and little development of their non-resource economies. The three countries' ability to create a sustainable path to economic growth and poverty reduction is inextricably linked to their connectivity with external markets, in the region and beyond. Thus, Mali, Niger, and Chad are first challenged by their geography -- their landlocked nature creates a barrier to market access beyond their immediate neighbors, while their vast and thinly populated lands serve to isolate the most vulnerable communities from external and internal markets. Adding to these geographic disadvantages, the incentive environment -- defined by high and variable customs common external tariff regimes resulting from multiple overlapping regional trade arrangements -- places a wedge between domestic and international prices that provides a disincentive to exports in favor of non-tradable and domestic-oriented sectors. By bringing greater coherence and convergence between the many common external tariff regimes in operation and the rationalization of their structures, and improving connectivity within and between markets, Mali, Niger, and Chad can better promote the reallocation of resources toward tradable goods and services, putting the countries on a path toward greater economic inclusion and sustainable growth.


The introduction of machine learning (ML) techniques to the field of survival analysis has increased the flexibility of modeling approaches, and ML based models have become state-of-the-art. These models optimize their own cost functions, and their performance is often evaluated using the concordance index (C-index). From a statistical learning perspective, it is therefore an important problem to analyze the relationship between the optimizers of the C-index and those of the ML cost functions. We address this issue by providing C-index Fisher-consistency results and excess risk bounds for several of the commonly used cost functions in survival analysis. We identify conditions under which they are consistent, under the form of three nested families of survival models. We also study the general case where no model assumption is made and present a new, off-the-shelf method that is shown to be consistent with the C-index, although computationally expensive at inference. Finally, we perform limited numerical experiments with simulated data to illustrate our theoretical findings.


Objective To investigate the effects of acidic fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor-β1 on the proliferation of porcine dental papilla cells. Methods Isolated porcine dental papilla cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 supplemented with aFGF and TGF β1. MTT colorimetric method was used to assess dose-effect and time-effect of aFGF and TGF β1 on the proliferation of pDPCs.All statistical analyses were performed with one-way ANOVA. Results Within 8 days,aFGF could significantly promote the proliferation of pDPCs with the concentrations between 5 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml,especially with the concentration of 10 ng/ml and 25 ng/ml,while the proliferation effects of TGF β1 sharply decreased at the dose varying from 5 ng/ml to 50 ng/ml. The effect was the strongest for the proliferation of pDPCs with the combination of 25 ng/ml aFGF and 10 ng/ml TGF β1. Conclusion The results suggested that in certain conditions,aFGF enhanced the proliferation of pDPCs while TGF β1 inhibited the proliferation . However,the promotive effects were achieved when the growth factors were used in combination. Supported by National 973 Project ( G1999054308 ).


Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent and associated with tissue damage, emotional distress, and psychiatric disorders. While often discussed in the context of Borderline Personality Disorder and suicide, research demonstrates that NSSI is distinct from these constructs and should be viewed as an independent diagnostic category. Recently, Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Disorder (NSSID) was included in the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a condition for further study. In this article, we describe the properties of a self-report measure designed to assess proposed criteria for NSSID. Undergraduate students at 2 large, public universities completed the NSSID Scale (NSSIDS) along with other measures of NSSI characteristics and psychopathology. Among participants with a history of NSSI, approximately half (54.55%) met diagnostic criteria for NSSID. Participants were most frequently excluded from an NSSID diagnosis on the basis of criterion A (frequency of NSSI) and criterion E (distress or impairment related to NSSI), while participants were least likely to be excluded from diagnosis on the basis of criterion D (NSSI method exclusions) and criterion F (diagnostic "rule-outs"). Consistent with previous literature, the most commonly reported precipitants to NSSI were negative feelings or thoughts (criterion C2). Participants who met criteria for NSSID reported more severe depression, anxiety, and NSSI than participants who engaged in NSSI but did not meet criteria for NSSID. These results support the use of the NSSIDS as a reliable and valid self-report measure of NSSID symptoms.


The article presents a review of the literature with a description of typical manifestations in the maxillofacial area in secondary, tertiary period of syphilis and the description of photo-images of the authors' clinical observations. In the secondary period of syphilis rashes can be found both on the skin and mucous membranes. In secondary reccurent syphilis the oral cavity is affected in 56% of the cases. Typical manifestations of this period are: roseola, papular and pustular syphilides. In the mouth the most frequently observed manifestation is popular syphilide or erythematous sore throat. The syphilitic papule of the mucous membrane of the mouth is flat, sharply demarcated, gets frequently eroded due to maceration or trauma. This papule is highly contagious element. Pustular syphilides are found mostly on the face and are a manifestation of a malignant course of the disease. Tertiary syphilis is a rare form of infection, which is observed as destructive injuries of organs and systems. The most frequent localization of gummy syphilide is the head. This article is highly revalent due to the high frequency of infection manifestation in maxillo-facial area, oral mucosa, and the high contagiousness symptoms, also affecting children.


A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a hardware security primitive, which can be used secure various hardware-based applications. As a type of PUFs, strong PUFs have a large number of challenge-response pairs (CRPs), which can be used for authentication. At present, most strong PUF structures follow a one-to-one input/output relationship, i.e., linear function. As such, strong PUF designs are vulnerable to machine learning (ML) based modeling attacks. To address the issue, a dynamically configurable PUF structure is proposed in this article. A mathematical model of the proposed dynamic PUF is presented and the design is proposed against the effective ML based attacks, such as deep neural network (DNN), logistic regression (LR) and reliability-based covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategies (CMA-ES). Experimental results on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) show that the proposed dynamic structure has achived good uniqueness and reliability. It is also shown that the dynamic PUF has a strong resistance to the CMA-ES attack. Due to the dynamic nature of the proposed PUF structure, an authentication protocol is also designed to generate recognizable authentication bits string. The protocol shows strong resistance to classical machine learning attacks including the new variant of CMA-ES.


Objective: We aimed to evaluate the role of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) and to investigate whether only the invasive coronary angiography (CAG) is sufficient in the diagnosis of the coronary artery disease (CAD) in women. Material and Methods: Sixty-four women (62±10 years) with known CAD were included in this study. They had echocardiography (ECHO), stress/rest gated MPS and invasive CAG. Coronary stenosis as of > 50 % in invasive CAG was accepted as significant. Gated MPS data were compared with invasive CAG and ECHO. Results: Invasive CAG results were abnormal in 34 patients, and normal in 30 cases. Myocardial ischemia was detected by gated MPS in 22/ 30 cases with normal invasive CAG, 6 had mild coronary stenosis in major coronary arteries ranging from 30% to 50% in invasive CAG. 16/ 22 women were diagnosed as metabolic syndrome according to MetSend Diagnostic Criteria and only 8 of 30 patients with normal invasive CAG had false positive MPS data on the reevaluation by a nuclear cardiologist. Conclusion: We think that invasive coronary angiography method is not sufficient alone in the diagnosis of CAD in women. Gated MPS study is recommended to achieve the final decision for myocardial ischemia in the cases with CAD and raw data must always be evaluated to avoid attenuation artifacts. Conflict of interest:None declared.


BACKGROUND
Intensive efforts have been implemented to improve the efficacy of platinum complexes especially with emerging cisplatin resistance and elevated cancer deaths. Platinum(IV) agents show better pharmacokinetics and decreased side effects compared to Platinum(II) agents.

METHODS
This review aims to summarize and categorize the strategies being employed to improve the efficacy of Platinum-based anticancer agents in recent years.

RESULTS
Nanoparticles and nanoplatforms offer a vast variety of strategies in targeting specific tumor types and delivering one or two lethal drugs simultaneously. Theranostic agents are being developed to achieve enhanced imaging and provide further insight into the activity of platinum containing chemotherapy. Moreover, photoactivation of Pt(IV) prodrugs specifically at the tumor site is gaining attention due to a controlled activity. A platinum agent formulated as large multi-activity complex is the most common strategy being employed.

CONCLUSION
Platinum(IV) agents offer great potential in targeting, increasing efficacy, and decreasing toxicity of Platinum-based anticancer agents. The strategies being employed are aiming to increase specificity and targeting as well as provide more potent agents.


This study utilizes data from 3008 adult individuals in Turkey and examines the direct and indirect relationships between the dimensions of (Islamic) religiosity and life satisfaction. We took a dual approach in examining the proposed web of relationships and treated (i) charitable giving and (ii) volunteering as mediators that account for the relation between dimensions of religiosity and life satisfaction. We provided empirical evidence that religious orientation determines the choice between charitable giving and volunteering. The results show that the adherents that use religion for social gains (inner peace and comfort) are more likely to volunteer (donate) but less likely to donate (volunteer). Further, our findings indicate that individuals that expect inner peace and comfort (social gains) from religion get more life satisfaction from donating (volunteering) whereas the life satisfaction of those adherents that use religion for social gains (inner peace and comfort) diminishes if they were to donate (volunteer).


PURPOSE
This study's intent is to test if the first 3 fractions of an IGRT protocol consisting of a kV orthogonal pair and subsequent CBCT are representative of all remaining treatment fractions.

METHODS
At our institution the standard IGRT protocol includes CBCT after kV imaging for the first 3 fractions followed by daily kV and weekly CBCT. We randomly selected 20 lung patients who have at least 8 CBCTs in the entire treatment course (total 187 sets of orthogonal kV images plus CBCT). Our evaluation criterion is the fraction of kV-vs-CBCT position mismatches in the first 3 fractions. An additional CBCT is acquired if only 1 fraction mismatches among the first three. We define as 'protocol eligible' (eGroup) the group of patients for whom the setups with kV images match within the pre-selected thresholds of 3, 4 and 5 mm those of the consecutive CBCTs for at least 60% of the fractions. A protocol ineligible (iGroup) is defined as the group of patients other than eGroup.

RESULTS
The fractions of patients in the eGroup were 70%, 85% and 95%, when the setup thresholds selected were 3, 4 and 5mm respectively. The sensitivities of determining iGroup from the first 3 fractions of kV and CBCT were 0.83, 1.0, and 1.0, and the specificities were 0.93, 0.94 and 0.89 with thresholds 3, 4 and 5 mm respectively.

CONCLUSION
The method suggested here well categorized cases for our kV-based on-line IGRT protocol. More patients are eGroup eligible if larger setup threshold is used. CBCT frequency in the on-line daily kV plus weekly CBCT protocol may need to increase for protocol ineligible patients. Also, our IGRT CBCT frequency could be decreased when position differences between kVs and CBCTs are less than 1.5mm, the average positional standard deviation of out kV-CBCT sets.


A piezoelectric transducer in a feedback circuit operating in a resonance state is the basis of a resonance sensor. Upon contact with a soft object a change in the resonance frequency reflects the acoustic impedance. Together with force measurement it is possible to obtain the elastic stiffness of the object. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concept of a hand-held resonance sensor for tissue stiffness measurement. A time derivative analysis of the force and the frequency change showed that a stiffness-sensitive parameter was independent of the impression speed. Soft tissue phantoms of gelatin were used in an experimental validation of the theory. A force indentation method was used as a reference method for assessing the gelatin's elastic stiffness. Results from the hand-held measurements showed that the stiffness parameter accurately measured the elastic stiffness of the gelatin (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.05). The stiffness parameter was weakly (on average R2 = 0.15) and non-significantly (p > 0.05, 14 out of 17) dependent on an impression speed parameter. On average, a small amount of the total variance was explained by the impression speed. In conclusion, soft tissue stiffness can be objectively measured with free-hand measurement with a resonance sensor. This study contributes a theoretical analysis and an experimental demonstration of the concept of a hand-held resonance sensor for stiffness measurements.


ABSTRACT Facilitating the circulation of resources and knowledge in territories is a key dimension in the transition to a circular economy. The purpose of this article is to identify the factors and dynamics of development of circularity at meso-economic level through the study of the eco-innovations on which it is based. We study collective methanization projects in the South-West of France. We use a mixed method, 'quantified narrative method' to characterize the development process of the projects via the nature of the resources mobilized and how they have been acquired. The analysis of the 167 resources mobilized highlights technological and organizational eco-innovation dynamics that support the development of circular economy in rural areas. Our results confirm the role of three eco-innovation factors: local resources, sectoral and institutional environments, i.e. place-based and extra-local factors. They also highlight the importance and interdependence of local and regional networks of project leaders, institutional actors and market actors. The construction of circularity results in exchanges between the agricultural and energy sectors, which intensify throughout the projects, thus reinforcing the effects of related variety. However, this circularity remains incomplete and could be reinforced through public policies designed to help these projects gain a stronger foothold.


A study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of oral nifedipine in hypertensive emergencies. Eleven consecutive patients with very high blood pressure requiring emergency reduction were included in the study. Nifedipine (10 mg) was given orally at 6-hourly intervals and blood pressure, pulse, serum electrolytes, urea, creatinine and uric acid were monitored. A reduction in blood pressure was noted within 10 minutes, with a significant reduction occurring within 30 minutes (reduction of systolic blood pressure by 8.11% and diastolic blood pressure by 9.38%). The maximum reduction in blood pressure occurred within 90 minutes (reduction of systolic blood pressure by 20.78% and diastolic blood pressure by 21.74%) and remained at this level for 4 hours, after which a mild increase in blood pressure was noted. At 6 hours, the reduction in blood pressure was 15.41% and diastolic reduction was 17.94%. The reduction in blood pressure was found to be directly correlated with the pre-treatment blood pressure. There was no significant alteration in the pulse rate or blood chemistry. No side-effects were noted during the study. It is suggested that oral nifedipine is a simple, effective and well-tolerated alternative to parenteral therapy in the management of hypertensive emergencies.