This volume represents the founding act of a proposal for training, didactic, study and research work which aims at enhancing historical knowledge in the field of education and educational professionalism. The contributions intend to highlight the identity and usefulness of history and, in particular, of the history of education, not only for every education level, but for the life of local communities itself. At the same time, the authors aim at suggesting a desirable development of the history of education by adopting a Public History approach. This way, academic knowledge can actually be brought into contact with educational contexts, much more so than it has been done so far, in order to respond, together with other disciplines, to the emerging social needs. The Public History of Education, intended this way, can create new profitable relationships between formal and informal education, between the past and present of educators and teachers, between the world of research, cultural institutes (above all, museums) and society.


Anti-discrimination laws by themselves have proven ineffective at countering discrimination against women and workers with caring responsibilities. This paper recommends ways that anti-discrimination laws could be made more effective by combining them with tools of information such as guidance materials. It examines the possible reasons for non-compliance and how different types of guidance materials could help address each of these compliance barriers. Ultimately, however, to achieve equality, organisations have to look internally and produce local and contextual information about how discrimination manifests and can be addressed, and this requires more than the provision of information by external agencies.


Background: In this review, we describe the growth of (very) preterm infants or (very) low-birth-weight infants from birth until adulthood. Methods: A systematic analysis of growth of these infants is thwarted by different definitions (classification by gestational age or birth weight) used in the literature. Results: The early postnatal period of these individuals is almost invariably characterized by substantial growth failure. In the majority of preterm infants this is followed by a period of catch-up growth, which starts in early infancy and usually stops at 2–3 years of age, although in some cases it may continue into adolescence. Catch-up growth is usually incomplete, so that infants born preterm remain shorter and lighter than term-born peers during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Disproportionate catch-up growth in height and weight may lead to an altered body composition in adulthood, especially in females. Conclusion: Though early catch-up growth has shown to be beneficial for neurodevelopmental outcome, it is also associated with adverse metabolic consequences in adulthood. As the first generation of (very) preterm infants is now reaching young adulthood, future follow-up studies on these effects are warranted.


Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers (owner's manuals, user guides, etc.), or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology and writing conventions.


Water samples were collected from river Indus over 591 km2 from Kashmor to Keti Bandar/Shah Bandar in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, during 2008 and 2009 on seasonal bases. These samples were analyzed for 12 water quality variables including physical and chemical parameters. Then correlation study was carried out and correlation co-efficient "r" was determined using correlation matrix to identify the highly correlated and interrelated parameters. Regression model were developed to test the significant 'r' and P-value test was carried out to test the significance of the pair of parameters. F-test was also used to examine the joint-effects of several independent variables without taking into account the separate effects of each variable. The comparison of the observed and predicted values of different parameters using regression equation suggested that the regression model provide useful means of rapid and easier monitoring of water quality of a river in a region.

 Key words: Regression model, correlation coefficient, river indus, monitoring, physico-chemical parameters.


Purpose
This study investigated nonadjacent dependency learning in Cantonese-speaking children with and without a history of specific language impairment (SLI) in an artificial linguistic context.

Method
Sixteen Cantonese-speaking children with a history of SLI and 16 Cantonese-speaking children with typical language development (TLD) were tested with a nonadjacent dependency learning task using artificial languages that mimic Cantonese.

Results
Children with TLD performed above chance and were able to discriminate between trained and untrained nonadjacent dependencies. However, children with a history of SLI performed at chance and were not able to differentiate trained versus untrained nonadjacent dependencies.

Conclusions
These findings, together with previous findings from English-speaking adults and adolescents with language impairments, suggest that individuals with atypical language development, regardless of age, diagnostic status, language, and culture, show difficulties in learning nonadjacent dependencies. This study provides evidence for early impairments to statistical learning in individuals with atypical language development.


We study the distributed (Δ + 1)-vertex-coloring and (2Δ − 1)-edge-coloring problems. These problems are among the most important and intensively studied problems in distributed computing. Despite very intensive research in the last 30 years, no deterministic algorithms for these problems with sublinear (in Δ) time have been known so far. Moreover, for more restricted scenarios and some related problems there are lower bounds of Ω(Δ) [Göös et al. 2014; Hirvonen and Suomela 2012; Kuhn and Wattenhofer 2006; Szegedy and Vishwanathan 1993]. The question of the possibility to devise algorithms that overcome this challenging barrier is one of the most fundamental questions in distributed symmetry breaking [Barenboim and Elkin 2009, 2011; Göös et al. 2014; Hirvonen and Suomela 2012; Kuhn 2009; Panconesi and Rizzi 2001]. In this article, we settle this question for (Δ + 1)-vertex-coloring and (2Δ − 1)-edge-coloring by devising deterministic algorithms that require O(Δ3/4log Δ + log*n) time in the static, dynamic, and faulty settings. (The term log*n is unavoidable in view of the lower bound of Linial [1987].) Moreover, for (1 + o(1))Δ-vertex-coloring and (2 + o(1))Δ-edge-coloring we devise algorithms with Õ(√Δ + log* n) deterministic time. This is roughly a quadratic improvement comparing to the state-of-the-art that requires O(Δ + log*n) time [Barenboim and Elkin 2009; Kuhn 2009; Panconesi and Rizzi 2001]. Our results are actually more general than that since they apply also to a variant of the list-coloring problem that generalizes ordinary coloring. Our results are obtained using a novel technique for coloring partially colored graphs (also known as fixing). We partition the uncolored parts into a small number of subgraphs with certain helpful properties. Then we color these subgraphs gradually using a technique that employs constructions of polynomials in a novel way. Our construction is inspired by the algorithm of Linial [1987] for ordinary O(Δ2)-coloring. However, it is a more sophisticated construction that differs from that of Linial [1987] in several important respects. These new insights in using systems of polynomials allow us to significantly speed up the O(Δ)-coloring algorithms. Moreover, they allow us to devise algorithms with the same running time also in the more complicated settings of dynamic and faulty networks.


This is the first scientific study on Mary Sandrucci, who has been director of the Pediatric Clinic of the University of Turin from 1965-1966 up to 31 December 1989. Prof. Sandrucci led major studies on congenital heart disease, was the first Italian and among the first in Europe to describe phocomelia cases, to report on valuable studies antibiotics, uric acid, pediatric nephrology, nuclear medicine and genetics. She promoted the development of pediatric specialties, but at the same time promoted the study and practice of paediatrics as a whole. This study describes the past half century of medicine, history of Italian pediatrics and progress of the conquest of rights and equal opportunities for women.


The earliest investigations into the properties of stored blood for purposes of transfusion clearly revealed the necessity for careful filtration of such material before use. That fibrin particles, clumps of white blood cells or disintegrated platelets, and even small blood clots were to be expected in blood stored over a relatively few hours was quickly apparent.1However, a few deaths with multiple pulmonary emboli from this material were reported before the extreme importance of adequate filtration of stored blood and plasma was fully appreciated. A common method of filtration in the early days was that of simply pouring the blood through several layers of ordinary sterile gauze.This method, of course, was clumsy, open to contamination and inadequate in removing small particulate matter. Furthermore, considerable cotton lint was always added to the filtrate. Undoubtedly, many of the so-called pyrogenic reactions to transfusions in the early days of blood storage


Background There is widespread prejudice in veterinary medicine that gout does not occur in non-human mammalians. However, we recently discovered monosodium urate crystals in the synovial fluid obtained from a few dogs and a cat. Since it is the definitive and gold standard to diagnose gout, we report these cases as newly emerging diseases in companion animals. Case Presentation Four dogs and one cat were presented at our hospital because of lameness due to an unknown cause. Even after the routine examinations, including radiographic imaging, laboratory examination, and arthrocentesis, we were unable to find a clear cause of polyarthritis. However, we later discovered monosodium urate crystals in the synovial fluid of the animals, confirmed by polarized microscopy. In one of the two dogs treated with immunosuppressants, the disease relapsed, and the other did not show any symptoms for 3 months. The other two dogs were treated with xanthine oxidase inhibitor, where one died, and the other did not show any symptoms for 3 years. The cat was treated with drainage and intra-articular dexamethasone injection, but the disease recurred after 6 months. Conclusion This is the first report to confirm that articular gout can occur in dogs and cats. Care must be taken not to neglect needle-shaped materials in the synovial fluid. Gout should also be included in the differential diagnosis of arthritis and further research is needed in these animals.


The aim of this article is to critically examine, from a legal perspective, the relationship between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The IEA was established in 1973 in response to the global oil crisis. It currently has 29 member states. Its original mandate has been expanded to include ensuring reliable, affordable, and clean energy. IRENA was established in 2009. Its main objective is to promote sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy. With 138 member states, and many more in the process of accession, IRENA is becoming a truly universal organization. Both the IEA and IRENA focus their attention on sustainable energy. Is there an institutional overlap or an unnecessary duplication in scope? Are IRENA's activities in sustainable energy, which seemingly parallel those of the IEA, justified by its aims and global reach? By addressing these and related questions, the article discusses whether the relationship between the IEA and IRENA can be seen as competition or collaboration. The relationship is analysed within the context of the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.


This case study reviews a project that involved the selection and installation of a new information system for unifying four auto parts distribution centers within an overall corporate system. The system consists of local area networks joined together in a wide area network utilizing Fractional T1s and frame relay technology. The project included the implementation of a warehouse management system with radio frequency bar code scanners integrated with inventory, operating and other software for enhancing overall warehouse management.


Objective.
To assess the course and outcomes of COVID-19 in recipients of allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

Materials and Methods.
The retrospective study included 44 adult recipients (allogeneic – 33 [75%] and autologous – 11 [25%] of HSCT who diagnosed with COVID-19 after transplantation. Group mostly represented by acute leukemia – 18 (41%) and lymphoma – 10 (22.7%). The median follow-up time since the development of COVID-19 was 231 days (1–818 days), after HSCT – 507.5 days (14–3723 days). Overall and progression-free survival was assessed using the Kaplan–Meier and Log-Rank method. We also evaluated the characteristics of the course of a new coronavirus infection.

Results.
Median time for the development of COVID-19 from the moment of HSCT was 122.5 days (-1–3490 days). Twelve patients (27.2%) were in grade 3–4 neutropenia at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, 16 (36.4%) patients were in grade 1–2 neutropenia. Sixteen (48.4%) allo-HSCT recipients had active graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) at the time of COVID-19 development. Disease severity was mild in 19 (43.2%) and moderate in 13 (29.5%) patients. Overall, 200-day survival from the onset of COVID-19 was 78.8% (95% CI [63.1–88.4]). Anemia (p = 0.02) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.01) significantly decrease OS in patients with COVID-19 after HSCT. Patients with GVHD at the time of COVID-19 onset had a better survival rate (p = 0.02). The timing of COVID-19 development after HSCT did not affect outcomes.

Conclusions.
The key points of the course of COVID-19 in HSCT recipients are the presence of cytopenia and graft-versus-host disease. Overall survival was 78.8%.


In this study, aniline-based monomer, N,N′-(propane-1,3-diyl)bis(2-aminobenzamide), (PAB), was synthesized and characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The electropolymerization of the monomer was performed on glassy carbon electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The effects of solvent, dopant, scan number, and scan rate on the electropolymerization and properties of the poly(PAB) films were investigated. The modified electrode was also characterized by Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The capacitive properties of the poly(PAB) films were firstly tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The highest specific capacitances (C sp) of poly(PAB) films were obtained as C sp = 6.22 mF cm−2 in 0.1 M lithium perchlorate/acetonitrile (ACN) for [PAB]0 = 20 mmol dm−3 and C sp = 16.9 mF cm−2 in 1 mol dm−3 sulfuric acid for [PAB]0 = 5 mmol dm−3 at the scan rate of 5 mV s−1 from CV measurements. This study is novel because it was the first study on capacitance performances of poly(PAB) films in the literature.


A complete evaluation of reflux operations depends on measurements of preoperative and postoperative clinical symptoms such as dysphagia and heartburn, assessment of quality of life and objective measurements of 24-hour oesophageal pH monitoring and manometry. Quality of life can be measured with questionnaires such as the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the Psychological General Wellbeing Index (PGWB) and the Reflux-related Visual Analogue Scale (RVAS). Failure of treatment is indicated by persistent symptoms such as heartburn, need for antisecretory medication, and new symptoms such as severe dysphagia. The advantages of laparoscopic operations are mainly a quick recovery and a good cosmetic results. Good short-term cure of symptoms is reported in 90%-97% of patients who have laparoscopic fundoplication. The long-term clinical outcome is equal to or better than that of open operations. Several clinical studies have shown that laparoscopic fundoplication is effective in improving symptom ratings and the quality of life.


Purpose: Our pilot study, "No Ke Ola Pono o Na Kane", used an existing peer-led, health-activated support group model employing the traditional Hawaiian practice of the "hale mua" (men9s house) to address health disparities in colon cancer screening among Native Hawaiian men (kane). The hale mua historically provided an opportunity for dialogue among kane about the methods used to sustain families, training needed for the initiation of young men into manhood, and for teaching the traditions of culture and family. Using a community-based approach, we repurposed and integrated this cultural practice into the study to promote health and well-being among Hawaiian men, including the use of Fecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT) in kane over age 50 who have not been screened for colon cancer. Background: In Hawai'i, Hawaiian men have one of the highest death rates from colon cancer and are diagnosed at later stages compared to other racial/ethnic and gender groups. Early and regular screening for precancerous lesions can prevent 90% of colon cancers. However, Hawaiian men have limited access and are not as likely as other groups to be screened. Data from the Hawai'i Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS), show that more than 58% of Native Hawaiian men over age 50 have never been screened for colon cancer. Research has demonstrated that community-based social networks may help Hawaiian men adopt healthy behaviors including colon cancer screenings. However, few studies have focused on utilizing existing social networks to promote colon cancer screening among Native Hawaiian men. Methods: Our pilot study was conducted statewide in Hawaii in 2015 over a 16 month period. Study staff adapted an existing peer-led model and recruited community volunteers to help deliver the intervention. Using a community participatory approach, No Ke Ola Pono o Na Kane9s education and discussion sessions were directed by a set of 3 Native Hawaiian facilitators including: 1) an Alaka'i (leader); 2) a Kokua (scribe/support person); and 3) a Kauka (physician). The sessions were delivered through use of a standardized set of education and training materials. The session topics included: 1) a No Ke Ola Pono o Na Kane overview 2) Colorectal/Na'au Health, 3) Lung Health, and 4) Oropharyngeal/Po'o and Pu'u Health. Each community site offered at least 3 of the 4 sessions. Each session9s health education component was delivered using a large printed flip chart. The flip chart content followed a standardized structure which included: 1) facilitator instructions; 2) a Mo'olelo, a Hawaiian proverb that frames the health topic; 3) key facts; 4) a health-related discussion question; and 5) a wrap-up and evaluation. This standardized structure minimized the need for rigorous training for men to conduct the sessions confidently. Results: During the first year, a total of 170 kane attended one or more of the 20 statewide sessions. Attendance at each session averaged between 15-20 men, with 59% of men age 50 or over. Data from a survey of the 63 men attending the colon health session showed that 90% improved their knowledge about colon health, and approximately 50% (N=31) had not had a doctor discuss colon health or screening with them. Twenty five of the 63 kane who attended the colon sessions were eligible to take the FIT, five had been previously screened and 12 completed the tests with negative results. The overall session evaluations demonstrated that more 90% of men liked the hale mua approach and benefited from talking with other men about their health. Conclusions: This pilot study provided the initial proof-of-principal for our strategy to utilize the hale mua and social support to recruit Hawaiian men to participate in a colon screening education program and to adopt use of the FIT. The pilot data can be used to develop a larger randomized trial that examines how participation and content of sessions is associated with screening uptake. Citation Format: Kevin Cassel, Claire Hughes, Paula Higuchi, Pebbles Fagan, Palama Lee, S. Kalani Brady. Pilot study to improve colon cancer screening for Native Hawaiian men. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A24.


The
acquisition of a target firm in a transaction financed by cash is a cash
merger. Announcements of cash mergers release the positive signal that the
acquirer possesses cash reserves. As stock prices rise, informed traders may
obtain abnormal returns by purchasing call options, selling put options or
purchasing stock. This paper constructs a theoretical model in which call buy
volume forms the upper bound of the final stock price, put sell volume forms
the lower bound of the final stock price and stock purchase volume reveals the
final stock price.


Dragonflies demonstrate unique and superior flight performances than most of the other insect species and birds. They are equipped with two pairs of independently controlled wings granting an unmatchable flying performance and robustness. In this paper it is studied the dynamics of a dragonfly-inspired robot. The system performance is analyzed in terms of time response and robustness. The development of computational simulation based on the dynamics of the robotic dragonfly allows the test of different control algorithms. We study different movement, the dynamics and the level of dexterity in wing motion of the dragonfly. The results are positive for the construction of flying platforms that effectively mimic the kinematics and dynamics of dragonflies and potentially exhibit superior flight performance than existing flying platforms. X ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF A DRAGONFLY-INSPIRED ROBOT .. 1


OBJECTIVE
To explore the surgical procedure and effectiveness of total spondylectomy and spine reconstruction through posterior approach to treat thoracolumbar vertebra tumor.

METHODS
Between June 2004 and July 2008, 14 cases of thoracolumbar vertebra tumor underwent one-stage total spondylectomy through posterior approach and spine reconstruction with posterior pedicle screw system and bone graft. There were 11 males and 3 females with a mean age of 47.2 years (range, 36-60 years). The disease duration was 3-15 months. Affected segments included T3 in 1 case, T4 in 3 cases, T8 in 3 cases, T9 in 2 cases, T10 in 3 cases, T12 in 1 case, and L1 in 1 case. The postoperative pathological results were 3 cases of bony giant cell tumor, 1 case of osteoblastoma, 2 cases of osteosarcoma, and 8 cases of metastatic tumor. According to Tomita et al. grading system, there were 1 case of type II, 5 cases of type III, 3 cases of type IV, and 5 cases of type V. According to Frankel classification of preoperative spinal cord function, 3 cases were rated as grade B, 4 as grade C, 5 as grade D, and 2 as grade E.

RESULTS
Wound healing by first intention was obtained in all cases, and no blood vessel and nerve injury occurred. Fourteen patients were followed up 11-64 months (mean, 32.5 months). The local pain was relieved significantly. At 6-8 months after operation, the X-ray films and CT showed that bone graft fusion at Bridwell I grade was achieved. At 10 months, the postoperative spinal cord function was improved from grade B to grade D in 2 cases, from grade C to grade D in 1 case, and the other 9 cases reached grade E. The patients had normal walking function. Two patients died of liver metastasis and brain metastasis at 11 and 15 months postoperatively, respectively; 1 patient with osteoscarcoma died of lung metastasis at 16 months; and 1 case of osteoscarcoma developed local recurrence at 8 months postoperatively. Internal fixation was reliable without loosening and breakage and the spine was stable.

CONCLUSION
Total spondylectomy and spine reconstruction through posterior approach is an effective method with advantages of relative minimal injury, radical tumor excision, low local recurrence, and adequate spinal cord decompression.


A sixty nine-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of further examination of hypercalcemia. On July 1990, she complained of general fatigue and loss of appetite. She was pointed out to have hypercalcemia (15.1mg/dl), urolithiasis, and renal insufficiency. CT films of the chest showed swelling of the mediastinal lymphnodes and CT of the abdomen nephrocalcinosis. Ga-scintigraphy demonstrated an abnormal accumulation of gallium in the mediastinum. Levels of the parathyroid hormone was normal. Levels of the serum calcium (13.7mg/dl), angiotensin converting enzyme (30.4IU/L) and 1.25 (OH)2D (87PG/ml) were elevated. Giant cells were found in the biopsy specimen of the lung. A significant relationship between the serum calcium and creatinine were observed (r = 0.76, p < 0.02). Proximal fractional reabsorption of sodium showed to be suppressed (47.7%), and distal fractional reabsorption of sodium showed to be normal (88.4%). From these findings hypercalcemia and urolithiasis was suggested to result from sarcoidosis. The hypercalcemia and renal insufficiency improved with corticosteroid therapy.


This paper describes a method for the quantitative detection of biochemical binding events onto microstructured and functional surfaces on a truly single molecular level. The classic Streptavidinbiotin system is used to provide the last detection step and the binding is visualized via gold-nanoparticles in a SEM. We showed that this allows a spatial resolution down to the nanometer scale. It also allowed us to proof the spot size dependence of binding kinetics according to the theorem of Ekins in one single experiment. The method allows to analyze any binding event on a planar surface and is enabling to measure surface densities of functional groups like the amount of BSA molecules on a blocked glass surface.


Cognitive Radio (CR) allows for usage of licensed frequency band by unlicensed Secondary Users (SU)s. However, these SUs need to monitor the spectrum continuously to avoid possible interference with the licensed Primary users (PU)s. In order to avoid causing harmful interference to a PU that is in operation, spectrum sensing is needed for the CRs. One of the great challenges of spectrum sensing is to detect the presence of the PU with little information about the channel and the signal transmitted from the PU. Cooperative spectrum sensing has been shown to greatly increase the probability of detecting the PU. Cooperative spectrum sensing refers to the spectrum sensing methods where local spectrum sensing information from multiple SUs are combined for PU detection. Distributed spectrum sensing methods have the potential to increase the spectral estimation reliability and decrease the probability of interference of CRs to primary communications. This paper considers the performance of a distributed Bayesian detection system consisting of N sensors and a fusion center, in which the decision rules of the sensors have been given and the decisions of different sensors are mutually independent conditioned on both hypotheses. Theoretical analysis on the performance of this fusion center is carried out. We obtain the conditions for the fusion center such that achieves the minimum average cost of making a decision for the overall system is smaller than the local risk of each sensor. The performance of our detector is compared to the traditional AND, OR and Majority decision fusion rules and numerical results show that AND, OR and Majority decision fusion rules are the special cases of the Bayesian fusion rule. In addition, we derive a lower bound for the risk of the fusion center for any given priori probability of hypothesis.


Privileged structures can bind to a diverse range of targets with high affinities, thus benefiting the discovery of novel bioactive agents. 8-Hydroxyquinoline derivatives represent an important type of "privileged structure", possessing a rich diversity of biological properties. Numerous encouraging investigations have demonstrated that this privileged structure should be further exploited for therapeutic applications in the future. In view of its predominance, and on the basis of our research interest in this scaffold, an updated and detailed account of the pharmacological properties of 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives, as well as recent insights from structural biology, are described. Finally, some outlooks on current issues and future directions in this field of research are also provided.


Objectives: This study was aimed to investigate the knowledge and practice about COVID-19 among adults living in capital of Telangana, India. Methods: A cross sectional web based online study was conducted over a period of 3 months from April to June using structured self- administered online questionnaires. We targeted adults living in Hyderabad using convenience sampling technique. A total of 384 respondents completed the study questionnaires. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the status of knowledge, attitude, and practices. Results: Most of the respondents were male (65.1%) aged between 21-30 years (220 out of 384). The most common source of information for the COVID-19 was social media (50.7%). Almost 78% of the respondents were known that COVID-19 associated with dry cough, body pains and fever. Also majority of them were knew that disease can transfer from the infected patients (87%), while most of them (85%) were agreed that wearing facemask can help in controlling the infection. Almost all (92%) of the respondents agreed that isolation and treatment of COVID-19 patients may help in controlling the spread of virus. There was a significant difference among the attitudes of the participants about covid-19 (p Key words: COVID-19, Knowledge, Attitudes, Clinical symptoms, Flue, Fever, Respiratory failure.


In order to increase the performance of the preferred Ferritic 430 SS for manufacturing automobile and motor-cycle exhaust systems. The aluminizing coating on the surface of bare steel was applied by hot-dipping method in a molten pure aluminum. The high temperature oxidation of the aluminized steel was cyclically studied at 900 °C and 1000 °C in static air. The degradation of intermetallic layers during cyclic oxidation were analyzed by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The crack perpendicular to the specimen surface rapidly propagated through the FeAl and Fe3Al layers due to a thermal expansion mismatch upon cooling to room temperature. The accumulation of voids generated crack at the interface between the aluminide layer and the steel substrate. Oxygen is allowed to penetrate into the aluminide layer crack, rapidly forming alumina oxide and closing the crack. Some of the aluminide layers peeled off due to this rapid growth. Thus, the protective Al2O3 layer degraded and later, the substrate was oxidized subsequently to form iron-rich oxide (Fe2O3) at 1000 °C.


Quantum "crystallization" in a two-dimensional (2D) two-electron quantum dot in a magnetic field is considered. Energy spectra and wave functions of electron relative motion is calculated by numerical diagonalization of the total Hamiltonian on the basis of single-particle eigenfunctions. Numerical diagonalization on the basis of the harmonical oscillators centered in the classical equilibrium value of relative coordinate is also used. The range of values of external parameters (the steepness of the confining potential α and magnetic field B) causing electron quantum "crystallization" is calculated.


Background Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) are opportunistic pathogens and serve as a large reservoir of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). Characterization of SCCmec in MR-CoNS can generate useful information on the mobilization and evolution of this element. Methodology/Principal Findings Non-repetitive MR-CoNS clinical isolates (n = 84; 39 S. epidermidis, 19 S. haemolyticus, 9 S. hominis, 6 S. capitis, 4 S. warneri, 2 S. cohnii, 2 S. saprophyticus, 1 S. kloosii, 1 S. simulans and 1 S. massiliensis) were collected. All isolates could grow on plates with 4 mg/L cefoxitin and all had mecA as detected by PCR. Strain typing using RAPD and ERIC-PCR revealed that almost all isolates were of different strains. SCCmec typing was performed using multiplex PCR published previously. For isolates in which SCCmec could not be typed, the mec complex classes were determined by additional PCR and the ccr genes were amplified with published or newly-designed primers and then sequenced. SCCmec types were assigned for 63 isolates by multiplex PCR and were assigned for 14 other isolates by PCR targeting mec and ccr. Among 77 isolates with determined SCCmec types, 54 had a single type, including type III (n = 19), IV (n = 14), V (n = 10), II (n = 2), I (n = 1), VIII (n = 1) and five unnamed types (n = 7), while 23 isolates had two types, III+V (n = 12), II+V (n = 8), II+IV (n = 2) or IV+V (n = 1). The five unnamed types were assigned UT1 (class A mec, ccrA1/ccrB4), UT2 (class C1 mec, ccrA4/ccrB4), UT3 (class A mec, ccrA5/ccrB3), UT4 (class C2 mec, ccrA2/ccrB2 plus ccrC1) and UT5 (class A mec, ccrA1/ccrB1 plus ccrC1). Conclusions/Significance SCCmec types III, IV and V were prevalent in MR-CoNS and many isolates could harbor more than one type. Several new types of SCCmec were identified, highlighting the great genetic diversity and the need of developing classification schemes for SCCmec in MR-CoNS.


PurposeIn order to understand the mechanism of colorectal cancer occurrence and development, we screened related core genes and provided new targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer.MethodsWe downloaded CRC-associated gene expression profile of GSE110233 from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. There were 26 samples in this dataset, all the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with p<0.05 and fold change ≥1 or ≤-1 were identified. Gene ontology (GO) and "Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes" (KEGG) were used to search for these DEG enrichment methods. In addition, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was also used to construct visual interactions between proteins. At last, we used GEPIA to conduct the survival analysis 4 down-regulation and 8 up-regulation genes for clarify the potential effects on CRC.ResultsA total of 866 differentially expressed genes were obtained, including 360 up-regulated genes and 506 down-regulated genes. These genes were involve in Cell proliferation; Extracellular exosome; Protein binding; Chemokine activity. Genes were mainly involved in the KEGG pathway termed Cell cycle; PI3K-Akt signaling pathway; Mineral absorption; MicroRNAs in cancer; Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. We finally found 12 hubgenes by PPI connective degree whom named PRKACB, FGFR2, FGFR3, CKB, TIMP1, CCNA2, CCNB1, CDC20, CDC6, CCND1, CDK4 and CDK1.ConclusionBioinformatics is helpful for comprehensive and in-depth study of the occurrence and development mechanism of diseases, to screen possible core targets, and to provide a reliable basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer.


The microsolvated complexes of formanilide, generated in a supersonic expansion, have been observed by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Three 1 : 1 and one 1 : 2 formanilide-water adducts have been observed and their structures characterized by the measurement of isotopologue rotational spectra. In one of the monohydrated complexes and in the dihydrated complex, formanilide adopts a cis-configuration. In these species water closes sequential cycles with the cis amino and carbonyl groups through a network of N-HO and O-HO hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, in these complexes cis-formanilide has almost the same non planar configuration observed in the monomer. In the two monohydrated complexes detected with trans-formanilide, a planar skeleton is detected with water interacting solely with either the amino (N-H··O bond) or the carbonyl group (O-HO[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond). The observed tunnelling splittings show a rich intermolecular dynamics in those complexes. The results seem to indicate that complexation with water switches the configuration of formanilide from trans, which is more stable for the bare monomer, to cis, which is more stable for the hydrated complexes.


This study was conducted to investigate the perception of the management of food service in schools. The subjects consisted of 271 school dietitians in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas. The questionnaire included the food temperature management and the frequency of the food quality confirmation. The sanitation performance of the delivery workers was evaluated with a 5-point Likert scale. The food items for which the proper temperatures while they were being received were difficult to maintain were as follows: ready-to-use vegetables, 49.8%; frozen foods, 30.3%; and fish paste, 27.7%. The frequencies of the food quality confirmation whenever the foods were received were as follows: for beef, 87.5%; pork, 84.5%; chicken, 84.1%; eggs, 73.4%; seafood, 59.4%; and processed foods, 52.8%. The total mean score of the dietitian-perceived sanitation management performance of the delivery workers was 3.86/5.00. The school dietitians said the percentage of the mixed delivery of food items in vans was 80.4%. The percentage of the dietitians who thought this mixed delivery influenced food sanitation and quality was 92.3%. Therefore, safe foods should be supplied to schools with a thorough inspection process and hygiene education, and professional research is required on the appropriate inspection process.


Royal jelly is secreted by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of 5-15 days worker honeybees (Apis mellifera). Royal jelly is a thick and milky bee product with high nutritional value. Besides the nutritional functions on queen and worker larvaes, it also has a very important role on the specific functions of queen bees. Due to its important biological properties, royal jelly has been used in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industry especially for the last 50-60 years as a functional and nutraceutical food. The studies have shown that royal jelly has antioxidant, antidiabetic, antitumor, neurotrophic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hypotensive, hepatoprotective, antihypercholesterolemic, hypoglycaemic and effects on the reproductive system and fertility. These activities are attributed to the bioactive components it contains such as major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), jelleins and royalisin peptides and 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA). Especially MRJPs are considered an important factor in the development of queen bees. The aim of this study is to summarize and update physicochemical and bioactive properties of royal jelly, characterization and functions of royal jelly proteins (RJPs) and peptides.


Disaster control and disaster relief in Germany are public tasks. But the government has shifted the responsibility of the administration of these tasks to the 16 states, the so called "Lander", because the EFG is a federal republic. The same is valid for the civil defense and the civil protection in the case of military or international risks. The 16 states are also responsible for the legislation of rescue service, fire fighting service and disaster control (natural and technical disasters). Counties and district-free cities are responsible for the organisation of these services. The German system is based on the principle of subsidiary between official and private institutions. A lot of official and private relief organisations are responsible for the execution of disaster relief tasks. In Germany the following organisations exist: Official (GO): Technisches Hilfswerk (THW/Federal Technical Support Service), Feuerwehren (Fire Brigades/professionals and volunteers) Academie of Emergency Planning and Civil Defense Private (NGO): Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland (ASB/Workers' Samaritan Association Germany), Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbruchiger (DGzRS, German Lifesaving Association), Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK/German Red Cross), Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH/St. John's Ambulance), Malteser Hilfsdienst (MEID/Maltese-Relief-Organisation). ASB, DRK, JUH and MHD are specialised in the field of rescue, medical and welfare services and medical disaster relief. 80% of the German rescue service and 95% of the German disaster medical relief are realised by these NGO's. NGO's and GO's employ more than 1.2 million volunteers and appr. 100,000 professionals. Rescue service is carried out by professionals, disaster relief by volunteers. The German constitution allows to call the federal army in case of disaster, to support the disaster relief organisations (for example: flood Oder River 1997, train-crash "ICE" 1998). In all counties and district free cities disaster control staffs are set up by the administration. During disaster relief operations a operational command is on site. Most of the counties and district free cities, medical executives, rescue staff executives along with fire executive officers are responsible for the medical rescue organisation. All emergency physicians and medical executives have attended special training or a 520 hours-training-course (Paramedics). All volunteers of the medical service in the disaster relief organisations are trained in separate special courses (90 hours). Over the last years, civil protection, disaster relief and rescue services in the FRG have been reorganised. In 1997, the civil protection was reformed by a new federal act. Disaster relief of the "Lander" is supported by Federal Government with about 9000 vehicles and a budget for training. Emergency physicians have to take part in a (80) eighty hours lasting course on emergency medicine from an interdisciplinary point of view; they are only allowed to do rescue missions after having proved basic experience in emergency medicine as well as having completed a (18) eighteen-months-postgraduate training period at least. Senior emergency physicians receive and additional (40) forty-hours-lasting theoretical and practical training-after three years practice in rescue services as a minimum. There are special training courses offered for Medical and Non-Medical Personal to cope with disaster situation by different institutions and organisations.


Purpose
The steadily growing popularity of additive manufacturing (AM) increases the demand for understanding fundamental behaviors of these processes. High-speed imaging (HSI) can be a useful tool to observe these behaviors, but many studies only present qualitative analysis. The purpose of this paper is to propose an algorithm-assisted method as an intermediate to rapidly quantify data from HSI. Here, the method is used to study melt pool surface profile movement in a cold metal transfer-based (CMT-based) AM process, and how it changes when the process is augmented with a laser beam.

Design/methodology/approach
Single-track wide walls are generated in multiple layers using only CMT, CMT with leading and with trailing laser beam while observing the processes using HSI. The studied features are manually traced in multiple HSI frames. Algorithms are then used for sorting measurement points and generating feature curves for easier comparison.

Findings
Using this method, it is found that the fluctuation of the melt surface in the chosen CMT AM process can be reduced by more than 35 per cent with the addition of a laser beam trailing behind the arc. This indicates that arc and laser can be a viable combination for AM.

Originality/value
The suggested quantification method was used successfully for the laser-arc hybrid process and can also be applied for studies of many other AM processes where HSI is implemented. This can help fortify and expand the understanding of many phenomena in AM that were previously too difficult to measure.


This article represents the first attempt to summarize the knowledge about the structure and functional properties of green algae cellulose since 1885, when cellulose of algal origin was first described. Here, I systematically discuss the unique structural characteristics of Cladophora cellulose. This specific interest in Cladophora filamentous green algae is justified by unwanted global socio-environmental problems associated with seasonal blooms by these algae. Thus, the physicochemical properties and the use of this unique material are discussed in a broad context. Several high-tech applications wherein the use of Cladophora cellulose is highly beneficial are highlighted.


This paper presents findings of a Linguistic Analysis of Mobile Phone Companies' Slogans: a case of Vodacom and Tigo in Tanzania. It specifically aimed at analysing linguistics forms used in constructing mobile phone companies' slogans and examining the type of illocutionary acts portrayed by the slogans. A total of 25 slogans were collected from online websites of the Tigo and Vodacom mobile phone companies using documentation method and analysed using content analysis. The findings indicate that slogans from mobile phone companies mostly use sentences and, in some instances, phrases and words. Also, the findings revealed that the dominant illocutionary speech acts embedded in the slogans is assertive which intends to change the beliefs of the customer.   The other illocutionary speech acts identified are directive which requires the customers to take action in regard to the services and products advertised; and commissive which shows a promise for better services and products for opting customers. Conclusively, mobile phone companies prefer to use sentences and, in few instances, paired phrases to construct the slogans. The constructed slogans largely portray assertive acts which are complemented by commissive and directive acts. The complementation is what makes mobile phone companies have more than one slogan for communicating a complete intended message.


Abstract

The adoption of standard agreements from the beginning of their birth up to now raises controversy both regarding the existence and validity of the standard contract. The Civil Code does not specifically set up standard agreements. This writing is focused on two issues, namely the validity of the agreement with the standard clause connected with the principles of sharia and the legal consequences of the lack of freedom of contract. This research is a normative research that refers to legislation and jurisprudence by using both primary and secondary legal materials. The legal material is collected through literature study and then analyzed qualitatively. This study concludes: first, agreement with conventional standard clause is no longer question whether or not the agreement is valid, but more important is the fairness of the contents of the standard clause and in the corner of sharia standard contract tends to lead to injustice. Secondly, normatively there is no legal effect due to the lack of freedom of contract in the agreement.


BACKGROUND: Sickness absence can predict job satisfaction in many systems;whereas job satisfaction drives active participation in decision-making processes and is a bed-rock for effective patient care among healthcare workers.AIM:The objectives of this study were to determine the predictors of sickness absence and job satisfaction and their relationship among staff of a hospital in Calabar,Nigeria.METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional analytic hospital-based study involving 324 healthcare workers of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.The study used a semi-structured pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire, developed and standardized by the researchers. Data generated was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for windows version 18, descriptive and regression statistics, with the p-value set at 0.05.RESULT: Thirty-five (10.8%) of the respondents were physicians, 42(13.0%) nurses, while non-clinician health workers constituted 55.9%.Their average age was 37.05±8.84 years with a slight preponderance of female over male (1.4:1). There were statistically significant associations between duration of sickness absence and job satisfaction (p=0.002). Following logistic regression, occupation was found as an independent predictor of job satisfaction. Participants who were non-clinician health workers, {Odds Ratio3.3;95% Confidence interval 1.505- 7.261} were significantly more likely to have job satisfaction compared with the clinicians.CONCLUSION: The study found a high level of dis-satisfaction with the job using specific parameters in the work setting for assessment.The institution of a safety unit in the Hospital,adjustment of work schedules together with the supply of ergonomic-oriented work equipment to check discomfort at work are recommended.


The metric system has been legal in Canada since the Weights and Measures Act of 1873. The SI unit system (Systeme International d'Unites) is an expanded version ofthe metric system. In 1970 the White Paper on Metric Conversion in Canada proposing the adoption of the SI unit system was unanimously endorsed by Parliament. Metric units are used by approximately 98% of the world's population. The International System of Units (SI) replaces the Imperial systems and all former versions of the metric system. The initial 1978 target date for conversion suggested by Metric Commission Canada sector 9.10 Health and Welfare was rescheduled to November 1981 at a joint meeting of Provincial health representatives and spokespersons for the health related professions held in Winnipeg, March, 1981. Veterinary services are included under the Agriculture sector at the Federal and Provincial levels. There have been no specific guidelines received from the Metric Commission Canada regarding introduction of SI units into veterinary medicine. The introduction of SI units into medicine and the scientific literature (2, 3) indicates the goal for veterinary medicine. Veterinary teaching institutions, diagnostic and research laboratories have the opportunity to coordinate the introduction of the SI unit system in Canada. In July 1981, the Canadian Association of Veterinary Pathologists agreed upon a suggested conversion date of June, 1982. The editors of the Canadian Veterinary Journal and the Canadian Journal of Comparative Medicine have adopted SI nomenclature (3). This paper is presented as an introduction to the SI unit system. The "SI Manual in Health Care" (2) and "How to write SI units" (1) are available through the national and provincial metrication offices. The use of SI internationally will reduce confusion by providing a TABLE I


Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic autoimmune skin disease that usually causes disfiguring scarring, dyspigmentation, and atrophy. Despite a range of available topical and systemic therapies, the treatment of DLE remains a therapeutic challenge, especially in some refractory cases. Here, we reported three male patients with long‐term chronic lesions of unilateral facial localized DLE, who failed to have their disease controlled with many previous topical/systemic treatments, showed rapid and well response to intralesional injections of betamethasone (2 mg/mL, 0.2 mL/site) monotherapy once every 2 weeks for two, two, and four times of treatment, respectively. Intralesional betamethasone may provide a safe and effective alternative in the management of refractory localized DLE skin lesions.


An anthology of writings from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries designed to illustrate the life and thought of Italians for students and the general reader. It offers a broad sampling of humanist work by educators, statesmen, philosophers, churchmen and courtiers translated into English. This is a reprint of a book first published in 1965.


Power system stability can be affected by many factors, such as the growth of demand, the use of more large-capacity generators installed at remote locations, longer transmission lines, and the heavier power flow on tie-lines. The techniques of monitoring and estimation of power system stability are key issues to prevent power outages. This chapter describes the small-signal stability assessment with phasor measurements. Particularly, the stability of the interarea low-frequency oscillation mode is investigated by adopting the method to identify the oscillation dynamics with a simple oscillation model. The filtering approach improves the accuracy of the estimated eigenvalues. The stability can be evaluated successfully by the filtering approach. The chapter compares two filtering methods namely, discrete wavelet transformation (DWT)-based filtering and fast Fourier transformation (FFT)-based filtering by focusing on the accuracy of the mode identification. It also discusses stability assessment based on phasor measurements and based on frequency monitoring.


Power has become a critical issue for field-programmable gate array (FPGA) vendors. Understanding the power dissipation within FPGAs is the first step in developing power-efficient architectures and computer-aided design (CAD) tools for FPGAs. This article describes a detailed and flexible power model which has been integrated in the widely used Versatile Place and Route (VPR) CAD tool. This power model estimates the dynamic, short-circuit, and leakage power consumed by FPGAs. It is the first flexible power model developed to evaluate architectural tradeoffs and the efficiency of power-aware CAD tools for a variety of FPGA architectures, and is freely available for noncommercial use. The model is flexible, in that it can estimate the power for a wide variety of FPGA architectures, and it is fast, in that it does not require extensive simulation, meaning it can be used to explore a large architectural space. We show how the model can be used to investigate the impact of various architectural parameters on the energy consumed by the FPGA, focusing on the segment length, switch block topology, lookuptable size, and cluster size.


Recreational sport diving is becoming an increasingly popular sport for women. Women now comprise approximately 25% of the diving community according to Divers Alert Network statistics. In the diving literature it has been stated that women are at a greater risk for decompression sickness than men. Most of these statements were derived from high-altitude (hypobaric environment) studies rather than from a scuba diving (hyperbaric) environment. Data from the naval diving and salvage training center were analyzed, and it was found that women are not more susceptible to decompression sickness than men during dives between 4 and 10 atmospheres. More specific studies on sport diving should be completed on factors contributing to underwater decompression sickness in both men and women.


Islam is on the march in the Middle East. For the past few years, in every Mideast election, the Islamic parties have won: in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and in Iraq and Tunisia in 2010. In 2011, they won again in Turkey and Morocco, and in Egypt the Islamist parties confirmed an overwhelming victory in the first parliamentary elections since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood won the biggest share with the hard-line Salafist al Nour Party of Light. The youth groups that staged the demonstrations that toppled Mubarak took only seven seats. What are the implications for US policy and its ideals of self-determination and human rights? Will the liberals triumph, or will the Egyptian people face a hard-line Islamic future? This article attempts to answer these questions.


This communication describes the use of a methanethiosulfonate derivative of an imidazolidine nitroxide, methanethiosulfonic acid S-(1-oxyl-2,2,3,5,5-pentamethyl-imidazolidin-4-ylmethyl) ester, IMTSL, for site-directed pKa determination of peptides by electron paramagnetic resonance. This spin label is covalently attached to the thiol group of unique cysteines incorporated into peptide structures. The tertiary amine nitrogen N3 of the label readily participates in proton exchange reactions, which are monitored through changes in EPR spectra of nitroxide moiety. Using EPR at 95 GHz (W-band) isotropic magnetic parameters of this nitroxide, both Aiso and giso, were calibrated in solvents of different polarity and pH. Two different linear correlations between Aiso and giso for acidic and basic forms of IMTSL were observed, making it possible to differentiate effects of local polarity from N3 protonation on nitroxide EPR spectra. Titration of a synthetic P11 peptide fragment of the laminin B1 chain illustrates the utility of this method.


BACKGROUND: Cubital tunnel syndrome is the second most common cause of peripheral nerve entrapment in the upper extremity, trailing only carpal tunnel neuropathy. While the roof of the cubital tunnel is most often formed by Osborne's ligament, the anomalous, evolutionary remnant muscle, the anconeus epitrochlearis, has been previously identified as a potential cause of cubital tunnel syndrome. CASE REPORT: A 45-year-old female physical education coach noted bilateral upper extremity pain, numbness, paresthesias, and early onset exercise fatigue originating at the medial elbow and radiating down the ulnar nerve distribution. Sonographic evaluation showed evidence of a hypertrophic anconeus epitrochlearis in the right upper extremity causing compression of an enlarged, bifid ulnar nerve. The patient was treated with 3 separate ultrasound-guided hydrodissection injections, which resulted in complete resolution of her symptoms and a decrease in the ulnar nerve cross-sectional area on sonographic evaluation at 24-week follow-up. CONCLUSION: A hypertrophic anconeus epitrochlearis can cause cubital tunnel syndrome and ultrasound-guided hydrodissection is a potentially efficacious surgery-sparing treatment option. KEY WORDS: Cubital tunnel syndrome, hydrodissection, ulnar neuralgia, ultrasound


ABSTRACT This videography shows how consumers in the Reunion Island (France) promote a local Dodo beer towards an iconic status through their identity work. An alternative approach to Holt's theorising on iconic brands is taken on two levels. First, the videography contributes by offering a non-American, postcolonial and creole aspect of a brand myth-making, as well as the 'promotion' of the brand by the local consumers and multi-ethnic community. Second, the consumers' voice in citing the brand is examined (Nakassis, 2012. American Anthropologist, 114(4), 624–638.). Based on the findings, the citing of the brand happens in two different ways: when including it into personalised identity narratives and when producing new brand tokens, thus nurturing the brand ontology further.


The Purpose of current research to test the effect of Strategic Leadership Patterns as an independent variable in the innovation performance as a dependent variable, in the Baghdad Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, and then try to come up with a set of recommendations that contribute to enhancing the innovation performance of the researched organization. And based on the importance of the research topic in the researched organization, and the importance of the research organization to society, a descriptive-analytical approach was adopted in its achievement, and the research was applied in the Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Directorate in Baghdad, and the research targeted an intentional quota sample of leaders and military ranks, and data were collected from (145) respondents representing a community. The research is exclusively and comprehensive, represented by (director of the directorate, assistant director of the directorate, directors of departments, assistants of department directors, divisional directors, unit officials), by adopting the questionnaire that included (45) paragraphs, and using personal interviews and field observations as tools to help in collecting them. The research adopted the program (Amos V.25, Spss V.26) with the adoption of descriptive statistical methods (linearity test, normal distribution test, confirmatory factor analysis, building variables models, arithmetic mean, percentages, standard deviation, relative importance, coefficient of variation, And the correlation coefficient (Pearson coefficient, and the simple and multiple regression coefficients) to test its hypotheses, and the research concluded the most prominent result represented in the validity of its hypotheses, the existence of a positive positive effect of strategic leadership patterns on innovation performance, as well as the availability of the two variables, practice, interest, and adoption.


Losing By Winning: America's Challenge Waging Counterinsurgency Warfare is an analytical study of America's experience waging counterinsurgency warfare in the PhilippineAmerican, Vietnam and Iraq Wars. In each war, counterinsurgency warfare was applied to achieve the strategic objectives of American Foreign Policy as outlined by the President of the United States at the outset of each war. Initially, large swaths of the American electorate and political class favored achieving the strategic objectives of each war studied. Over time, as counterinsurgency tactics were put to use, and made headway towards achieving the strategic objectives of the conflict, public support for each war precipitously declined over time and either jeopardized the ability of the United States to complete its counterinsurgency campaign or lose them altogether. This occurred because images of atrocities and perceptions of violations of the laws of warfare (both real or imagined) were formed in the minds of Americans which created a political dynamic where the American public and their elected leaders in Washington D.C. could no longer legitimize continuing to support the ongoing war. The analytical insights drawn from this study give one an understanding of the unique challenges that confront the United States in employing counterinsurgency warfare to achieve the strategic objectives of the United States in the wars its fights.


The assembly and maintenance of actin-based mechanosensitive stereocilia in the cochlea is critical for lifelong hearing. Myosin-15 (MYO15) is hypothesized to modulate stereocilia height by trafficking actin regulatory proteins to their tip compartments, where actin polymerization must be precisely controlled during development. We identified a mutation (p.D1647G) in the MYO15 motor-domain that initially maintained trafficking, but caused progressive hearing loss by stunting stereocilia growth, revealing an additional function for MYO15. Consistent with its maintenance of tip trafficking in vivo, purified p.D1647G MYO15 modestly reduced actin-stimulated ATPase activity in vitro. Using ensemble and single-filament fluorescence in vitro assays, we demonstrated that wild-type MYO15 directly accelerated actin filament polymerization by driving nucleation, whilst p.D1647G MYO15 blocked this activity. Collectively, our studies suggest direct actin nucleation by MYO15 at the stereocilia tip is necessary for elongation in vivo, and that this is a primary mechanism disrupted in DFNB3 hereditary human hearing loss.


A field study has been conducted during autumn season of  2016 at Karbala province of  Hindiaby mung bean plant Vigna radiate L. is a local category to study the interrelated effect of both the Mycorrhiza  fungi (Glomusmosseae(and the Rhizobia bacteria (R.leguminosarum)Under levels of water stress. Three treatments of irrigation are used ; (S1 irrigation every 5 days and S2 irrigation every 10 days and S3 irrigation every 15 days) and four levels of Bio fertilizer are used (without inoculation) (C0)and (Rhizobium inoculation) (R) and (mycorrhiza inoculation)(M) and (the interaction between mycorrhiza and Rhizobium) (M+R).  A split plot in randomized complete block design is used with three replications to do this experiment. Treatments of irrigation are used as main plots while Bio fertilizer levels are used as sub-plot. Least significant difference (LSD) at 5% probability is used to compare between the means.
   The results showed irrigation every 5 days (S1) was superior in having  the highest average of (The dry weight of the root, number of pod per plant, number of  seeds per pod ,100 seeds weight ,seed yield ,Biological yield) Amount(0.78 gm. Plant-1, 31.33 pods. Plant-1 , 8.45 seed .pod-1 , 3.82 gm ,3.77  tan .ha-1 , 7.37tan .ha-1) respectively. without significant difference between them treatmentof irrigation 10 days (S2) in 100-seed weight3.50  gm. Moreover treatment Bio fertilizer (R+M) significantly gives the highest means for yield and yield components (0.89 gm. Plant-1, 33.64pods. Plant-1, 8.42  seed .pod-1, 4.10 gm , 4.00 tan .ha-1, 7.70 tan .ha-1) respectively. The interaction among (R+M)S1,(R+M)S2 and(M)S1 significantly give the highest means for all plant characteristics


We read with interest the important study by Li et al., who found transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the most common de novo malignancy in Chinese renal transplant recipients. Based on their findings, the female sex, the Chinese herb containing aristolochic acid exposure and immunosuppression are markedly associated with the development of TCC. They suggested that standard surgical intervention followed by good surveillance and dose reduction of immunosuppressants are very important for the early diagnosis and treatment of TCC. Our previous results were consistent with their data and we totally agreed with the recommendation of long-term regular cystoscopic surveillance and prophylactic synchronous bilateral nephroureterectomy in patients who had undergone renal transplantation in the Chinese population. Multiple clinical studies in renal transplant recipients indicated proliferation signal inhibitors (PSI), such as sirolimus, were associated with a reduced incidence of cancer compared with patients who received a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) such as cyclosporin. The low incidence of malignancies in PSI-treated patients might be explained by the directly anti-tumor effects or potential of anti-angiogenesis. Conversion from CNI to PSI has been shown to lead to the regression of Kaposi's sarcoma and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in renal transplant recipients. There is no study to investigate the anticancer properties of PSI-based regimens in post-transplant TCC, however increasing evidence supports the potential of conversion from CNI to PSI in the management of patients with multiple malignancies after renal transplantation. We suggest that a PSI-based and CNI-free strategy should be recommended in Chinese patients who undergo renal transplantation.


Abstract China's influence in neighboring Central Asian states is growing at a fast pace. Since the launch of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative to accelerate China's engagement in Central Asia and beyond, nearly all Chinese activity in this region has been gathered under OBOR. OBOR now seems to cover a plethora of spatially and temporally expanding state and privately driven projects. In this paper, I discuss large- and small-scale Chinese farm enterprises in Tajikistan, in which discussions around China's "global land investments" and OBOR intersect. Beneath abstract conceptualizations of OBOR and the Chinese presence in Central Asia, my analysis shows that Chinese land investments in Tajikistan are shaped by Chinese dynamics of agrarian change and are contingent upon country-specific conditions. Rather than state-led endeavors as is often assumed, the main Chinese actors in Tajik agriculture are capitalist yet partially state-embedded enterprises driven by profit-oriented goals. Chinese farm enterprises tap into specific market demands that are either unanswered or underdeveloped in Tajikistan, or which have emerged due to the growing number of Chinese consumers in Tajikistan. The nature and drivers of Chinese land acquisitions in Tajikistan shed light on the various, sometimes competing, factors driving China's broader foreign "land rush," in Central Asia (and beyond).


A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR method was developed for the identification of Escherichia coli strains in the normal human intestinal microflora. Bacteria amounting to approximately one tenth of a colony were added directly to the PCR mixture and disrupted by heating. Taq polymerase was added and PCR was run using a single 10nt primer. The PCR products were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which gave complex band patterns suitable for computer-aided cluster analysis using the Pearson products moment correlation coefficient (i) and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The intestinal E. coli flora of five infants followed from birth to 6 months' age was analyzed by RAPD. Two isolates were considered to be members of different strains if showing less than 80% similarity in this analysis, as strain differentiation based on this cut-off point coincided largely with strain grouping based on multilocus enzyme electrophoreis. This RAPD method should, thus, be suitable for epidemiological studies of the intestinal E. coli flora.


This paper examines the relative merits of two dominant economic instruments—"green" taxes and tradable permits—for reducing pollution. Theoretically, the two instruments share many similarities, and on balance, neither seems preferable to the other. In practice, however, most countries have relied more on taxes than on permits to control pollution. The analysis suggests a number of lessons to be learned from country experiences regarding the design and implementation of both instruments. While many, particularly European countries, currently have long-term programs involving environmental taxes, a willingness to experiment with tradable permits seems to be growing, especially given the Kyoto protocol emission targets.


Background and purpose: Nausea and vomiting are amongst annoying side effects of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. Appropriate use of medications is important for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). In this regard, several guidelines have been proposed. The aim of this study was to investigate the adherence with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for control of CINV in Ramsar Emam Sajjad Hospital. Materials and methods: This concurrent observational study was carried out in 100 patients with cancer who were receiving either in-patient or outpatient chemotherapy. Relevant patients' demographic data, chemotherapy regimens and antiemetics were collected. NCCN guideline version 2013 was used as criterion for appropriate treatment. Results: The mean age of patients was 55.72 ±16.67 years old in male and 50.75 ±13.52 years old in female. The most common types of cancers were breast (25%), colon (21%) and gastric (12%). The rate of adherence to the antiemetic NCCN guidelines according to the type of drug and dosage of prescriptions were 77% and 6%, respectively. The guidelines were fully executed only in 5% of the patients. Non-adherence was mostly due to the lack of aprepitant and failure to comply in doses. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that in most cases the NCCN guidelines were not implemented. High cost of drug supply is believed to be a major cause of non-compliance with aprepitant


Using positions data on bond futures, I document that speculators' spread trades contain private information about future economic activities and asset prices. Strong steepening trades are associated with negative payroll surprises in subsequent months and can predict asset markets' reaction to future payroll releases, suggesting that speculators hold superior information about future payrolls. Steepening trades can also predict the rise of stock prices within a few hours before subsequent FOMC announcements, implying that the pre-FOMC stock drift is driven by informed speculation. Overall, evidence highlights spread traders' superior information and its important role in explaining announcement returns and pre-announcement drifts. JEL Classification: E32; E43; G12; G14


This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of how families care for their pre-school age children. In contrast to all existing studies, we analyze the child care decisions of households with non-working mothers as well as those with working mothers or mothers in job training or educational programs. Our source of data is the Fifth Follow-Up of the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72). In the first part of the paper, we present a statistical portrait of the utilization of non-parental forms of child care, as well as the parental expenditures on and costs associated with such care. By and large, our estimates of the incidence of non-parental child care utilization, the hours used, the distribution of types of care chosen, and the expenditures on such care by households with working mothers corresponds with estimates derived from previous surveys. We also find that households with non-working mothers, make substantial use of non-parental forms of child care. Such households disproportionately use center-based care (e.g., child care centers and nursery schools) and spend non-negligible shares of total family income on these services for their pre-school children. We also find that the utilization of non-parental care among households with non-working mothers is concentrated among households which are black, have lower levels of income, and are female-headed. In the second half of the paper, we examine the sensitivity of the inferences drawn for estimates of parental demand functions for child care, of models of child care mode choice, and of equations characterizing the determination of the hourly cost (or price) of non-parental child care to the sample restrictions present in previous studies. We examine whether the estimates from those studies generalize to all households by conducting a systematic verification analysis of the estimates found in the previous literature compared to the population of all households. Based on these comparisons, we find clear evidence that the child care demand of households with working mothers are selectively different from the population of all households with pre-school age children. Moreover, we find important differences in the inferences about the effects of various variables on parental child care decisions based on an analysis of all households versus samples of households with working mothers only. In contrast to previous studies, we find significant effect of state regulations governing child care providers on the utilization of non-parental child care. States which limit the child-to-staff ratios of licensed day care centers and/or impose minimum educational requirements on providers of less-formal family day care centers are found to have substantially lower rates of non-parental care utilization and the presence of such regulations significantly increase the cost of non-parental care. In addition, while previous estimates suggest that the demand for non-parental child care services increases with the level of income from sources other than the mother's labor earnings, among all households, increases in income lead to increases in the demand for parental care. We also examine whether the structure of child care decisions systematically differs if a mother works as compared to when she does not, a question which could not be addressed with previously available data sets. We present estimates of child care demand equations conditional on the mother's work decision and which allow for the endogeneity of the mother's work choice. We find evidence consistent with structural differences in child care demand by the mother's work status. Moreover, the results indicate that the child care demand of households with non-working mothers is more price sensitive than when the mother works and that the demand-deterring effects of state child care regulations we find in the analysis of all households is primarily due to the adverse effects such regulations have on households with non-working mothers.


The Aurora kinases, a family of mitotic regulators, have received much attention as potential targets for novel anti-cancer therapeutics. Several Aurora kinase inhibitors have been described including ZM447439, which prevents chromosome alignment, spindle checkpoint function and cytokinesis. Subsequently, ZM447439-treated cells exit mitosis without dividing and lose viability. Because ZM447439 inhibits both Aurora A and B, we set out to determine which phenotypes are due to inhibition of which kinase. Using molecular genetic approaches, we show that inhibition of Aurora B kinase activity phenocopies ZM447439. Furthermore, a novel ZM compound, which is 100 times more selective for Aurora B over Aurora A in vitro, induces identical phenotypes. Importantly, inhibition of Aurora B kinase activity induces a penetrant anti-proliferative phenotype, indicating that Aurora B is an attractive anti-cancer drug target. Using molecular genetic and chemical-genetic approaches, we also probe the role of Aurora A kinase activity. We show that simultaneous repression of Aurora A plus induction of a catalytic mutant induces a monopolar phenotype. Consistently, another novel ZM-related inhibitor, which is 20 times as potent against Aurora A compared with ZM447439, induces a monopolar phenotype. Expression of a drug-resistant Aurora A mutant reverts this phenotype, demonstrating that Aurora A kinase activity is required for spindle bipolarity in human cells. Because small molecule-mediated inhibition of Aurora A and Aurora B yields distinct phenotypes, our observations indicate that the Auroras may present two avenues for anti-cancer drug discovery.


Background:  Despite a decreasing global neonatal mortality, the rate in sub-Saharan Africa is still high. The contribution and the burden of surgical illness to this high mortality rate have not been fully ascertained. This study is performed to determine the overall and disease-specific mortality and morbidity rates following neonatal surgeries; and the pre, intra, and post-operative factors affecting these outcomes.
Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study; a country-wide, multi-center observational study of neonatal surgeries in 17 tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. The participants were 304 neonates that had surgery within 28 days of life. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and the secondary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative complication rates.
Results: There were 200 (65.8%) boys and 104 (34.2%) girls, aged 1-28 days (mean of 12.1 ± 10.1 days) and 99(31.6%) were preterm. Sepsis was the most frequent major postoperative complication occurring in 97(32%) neonates. Others were surgical site infection (88, 29.2%) and malnutrition (76, 25.2%). Mortality occurred in 81 (26.6%) neonates. Case-specific mortalities were: gastroschisis (14, 58.3%), esophageal atresia (13, 56.5%) and intestinal atresia (25, 37.2%). Complications significantly correlated with 30-day mortality (p <0.05). The major risk predictors of mortality were apnea (OR=10.8), severe malnutrition (OR =6.9), sepsis (OR =7. I), deep surgical site infection (OR=3.5), and re-operation (OR=2.9).
Conclusion: Neonatal surgical mortality is high at 26.2%. Significant mortality risk factors include prematurity, apnea, malnutrition, and sepsis.


The effective end use of ALM products depends on establishing a dynamic business model. The model should encompass end-to-end service from design to selection of technology and a viable means for the supply and demand paradigm to function. This paper presents research into the concept for a Design for ALM technology platform, in which the process for realising a design from concept to manufacturing and distribution using ALM technologies is managed and supported through appropriate environments. A technology selector is included as part of the process/material selection environment to select appropriate ALM technologies. Further, the paper presents, as part of the platform, a trade environment based on e-business principles where the supply and demand of ALM products is matched over a virtual trading system. The concept of the platform provides an opportunity for the entire ALM business community to function in a competitive and mutually beneficial environment. The paper essentially outlines a blueprint where all the components of the supply chain can effectively appropriate value.


Corynebacterium vaginale (Haemophilus vaginalis) does not reduce potassium tellurite. When a 1% aqueous solution of tellurite is added to starch agar plates previously inoculated with vaginal discharge material, other starch-fermenting and most non-starch-fermenting bacteria rapidly reduce tellurite to produce black or gray colonies. This test is a useful adjunct to methods for rapid presumptive identification of C. vaginale. C. vaginale is more susceptible to tellurite inhibition than a variety of other gram-positive bacteria.


PURPOSE
To assess long-term toxicity and primary tumor changes for Stage I/II non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients after treatment with lung SBRT using the modified dynamic conformal arc (MDCA) planning technique.

METHODS
Clinical and radiograph data from electronic health records of 15 NSCLC patients treated with lung SBRT utilizing the MDCA technique between October 2011 and July 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. MDCA uses a coplanar beam arrangement, patient body center for the beam isocenter, and six partial rotation conformal arcs to target the tumor. Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines for treatment parameters were followed. Most patients received 5 radiation fractions (Range: 3 to 7 fractions) with 48 hours between each fraction. Median total dose was 60 Gy (range: 45 to 70 Gy).

RESULTS
Median follow-up was 18 months (range: 6-51 months). Median age was 72.5 years (range: 48-90 years). Post-treatment findings included fatigue (n = 5) and chronic chest wall pain (n=1). Seven patients reported respiratory symptoms, which included: cough (n = 4), dyspnea (n = 5), and hemoptysis (n = 1). No patients deaths or grade ≥4 toxicity were recorded. Radiographic scarring was seen on computed tomography (CT) imaging in 6 patients. Local control rate was 93.3% (n = 14) and 1 patient had local recurrence.

CONCLUSION
Our results were very similar to RTOG 0236 findings reported by Timmerman et al. - our local control rate was 93.3% compared to their 3-year primary tumor control rate of 97.6%. Toxicity rates were also similar - RTOG 0236 constitutional symptoms and pulmonary/upper respiratory symptoms rates were 36.4% and 60.0%, respectively, while ours were 33.3% and 46.7%, respectively. We were limited by a small sample size and relatively short follow-up but our findings support the use of the MDCA technique for lung SBRT treatment of Stage I/II NSCLC.


The present work confirms the conclusion of Friedländer and others that the giant fibres mediate the end-to-end shortening reaction in the earthworm. The chief concern has been to investigate Stough's claim that the median giant fibre conducts impulses only in the direction from head to tail and the lateral giants only in the reverse direction. Two methods have been employed. (a) The nerve cord was exposed at each end of the worm, and electrical records taken simultaneously from the two extremities when the surface of the worm was touched at different places. The results were usually a train of impulses in one or other giant fibre, and it was found that whenever an impulse appeared at one end of a given fibre, it always appeared at the other end of the same fibre. Each fibre, therefore, when it conducted at all, always conducted in both directions. Sensory nerves from the head appeared only connected to the median giant, since stimulation anterior to the clitellum never resulted in lateral fibre activity. Similarly, the tail appeared only to join with the lateral giant fibres. (b) Stough's own method was used, and his observations confirmed, extended and re-interpreted. Either the median or both lateral fibres were divided in one segment. The success of this operation could be judged by leading off the giant fibre responses from the undissected worm (figure 5). Next day, when the worm had recovered, the shortening reflex was observed when the worm was touched at the head, the tail, or in the middle. The shortening was either throughout, or was arrested at the operation site, depending upon whether the active giant fibre was the intact or the damaged one. The results are summarized on p. 119. From both the head and the tail Stough's observations are confirmed, and it is agreed that impulses from the head are conducted back by the median giant alone. The absence of impulses in the laterals might be due to contrary one-way conduction as Stough assumes, or to the absence of their sensory connexion with the head. But (a) above shows that the latter is correct, and the same must be concluded from touching the middle region of the worm, which apparently Stough did not do, for this part connects with the lateral giants, and thus affords a demonstration that these fibres may also conduct antero-posteriorly. The difference in function of the separate giant fibres, therefore, is probably related to their difference in sensory distribution.


Cardial achalasia (cardiospasm, megaesophagus) represents the failure or lack of relaxation capacity of the inferior esophageal sphincter; it is the second esophageal disease and is considered a premalignant lesion. Treatment of achalasia is surgical but palliative, considering the lack of an etiopathogenic therapy for this moment. We present a retrospective study done on 19 patients (10 males and 9 females, with a mean age of 49 years) operated in "Colentina" Surgical Clinic in the period of 1996-1999 for achalasia (presenting symptoms-dysphagia, regurgitation, weight loss) by extramucosal esocardiomyotomy practiced on a length of 5-10 cm, by thoracic approach, followed by the Mark Belsey IV antireflux procedure. Results were good, without reflux pathology or dysphagia in the postoperative evolution.


The past few years have seen a proliferation of search engines for the World Wide Web (WWW), as well as a growing number of specialized subject directories geared to the needs of health care professionals. Yet documentation on scope, coverage, and search features is often uneven at best; and even documented search features may not perform as advertised. This paper will present a group of sample searches to assist users in gauging database size, determining default search operators, and testing for the presence of advanced search features such as case sensitivity, stemming, and concept mapping for medical topics on English-language web sites.


Although subclavian vein stenosis is a well-known complication of haemodialysis subclavian catheters, little is known about its causes. Catheter-related infection is the most common complication of this technique, but its role in the genesis of late subclavian stenosis has not been established. We retrospectively analysed 80 subclavian catheterizations in a total of 54 chronic haemodialysis patients from a single center. Sixteen catheters had to be removed because of a well documented catheter-related infection: three catheter-related sepsis (2 with ipsilateral phlebitis), seven isolated fever with catheter tip colonization which disappeared after catheter removal, and six exit-site discharge with positive culture. For comparison we matched 14 contemporaneous catheters which were electively removed without evidence of infection and with a negative culture of the catheter tip. A venogram of the ipsilateral arm was performed in all the cases after more than 6 months of catheter removal. Both groups were remarkably similar with respect to age, sex, side of insertion, number of inserted catheters, time of indwelling, and time elapsed from removal to venography. Definite subclavian stenosis was three times more common among patients with previous catheter-related infection (75% versus 28%; P < 0.01). Interestingly, both patients with ipsilateral phlebitis showed total occlusion of the subclavian vein. Although all diabetic patients of the study (n = 6) suffered a catheter-related infection, the incidence of late subclavian stenosis was not more common than in non-diabetic infected patients. In summary, subclavian haemodialysis catheter-related infection is a major risk factor for the development of late subclavian vein stenosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Along with the emergence of Web 2.0 there is a need for accessing information in a continues and secure way using whatever device available for doing so. In such a context, access to information resources must be done in a secure and robust way through services that come up as a new paradigm for programming and organizing operations. This paper presents an approach for retrieving critical and non critical data with different security constraints by coordinating services. Thanks to contracts describing the logic of a services based application running in a dynamic environment, it is possible to associate a personalized secure behavior in an orthogonal way. Contracts ensure, for example, integrity and authentication of services at execution time in the presence of exceptions and make applications aware of their execution context.


Films of indium tin oxide (ITO) are ubiquitous in display applications as they combine optical transparency and good electrical conductivity. Thin ITO films are often difficult to characterize optically as they are often inhomogeneous and have complicated optical absorption spectra. In this work, we have used variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) to gauge the thickness, grading, and surface roughness of ITO films ranging from a few tens of nm to hundreds of nm thick on glass substrates. A two Lorentz oscillator model is used, with one oscillator representing the interband absorption in the UV end of the spectrum, and the second oscillator modeling the Drude-like free carrier absorption in the infrared. The Drude parameters obtained from the analysis of the films can be used to estimate the electrical (D.C.) conductivity of the film from the simple Drude model for free carriers. We present results for several films from 7 to 40 nm thick, and compare the nominal electrical resistivity of these films to the resistivity derived from the VASE measurements.


Gross domestic product (GDP) is an important economic indicator that aggregates useful information to assist economic agents and policymakers in their decision-making process. In this context, GDP forecasting becomes a powerful decision optimization tool in several areas. In order to contribute in this direction, we investigated the efficiency of classical time series models and the class of state-space models, applied to Brazilian gross domestic product. The models used were: a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) and a Holt-Winters method, which are classical time series models; and the dynamic linear model, a state-space model. Based on statistical metrics of model comparison, the dynamic linear model presented the best forecasting model and fit performance for the analyzed period, also incorporating the growth rate structure significantly.


Studies on the elastic behavior of muscovite revealed that some specimens were found to be elastically isotropic in the basal plane while some others exhibited pronounced anisotropy. X-ray topographic examination of these crystals revealed a corrugated structure of the basal plane of muscovite in 'anisotropic' samples. If measurements are carried out on corrugation-free samples, no noticeable anistropy of the elastic behavior in the basal plane is observed.


The world is a triadic meta-system: nature - society - man, in which all components are linked by material, energy, and information relationships. These system subjects and their relationships are civilization structures represented by a "community" in our planetary House, i.e., Ecos (from the Greek 'oikos' – dwelling in various zones of the earthly oecumene). Civilization is a set of socio-natural factors, the system of life, and cultural-and-mental relations in the eco-system in its certain evolution stage. Regional and mental features (like apartments in an apartment house) characterize certain historical and geographical types of civilization, among which the Atlantic, East-Eurasian, and Islamic ones stand out. All of them are in different stages of their evolution and differ in their material level, the organization of social life, and the target vision of their arrangement.
The current stage of the civilization development is characterized by a thorough transformation of all its types under the influence of regular cyclicality and change in the dominant factors of socio-natural relations in the planetary House, given the qualitatively new features of modernity - massive digitalization as a way of integrating the real (material and power energy) and verbal (subtle-energy and information) worlds.


Saccades constitute a major source of artifacts and confounds in brain imaging studies. Whereas some artifacts can be removed by omitting segments of data, saccadic artifacts cannot be typically eliminated by this method because of their high occurrence rate even during fixation (1-3 per second). Some saccadic artifacts can be alleviated by offline-correction algorithms, but these methods leave nonnegligible residuals and cannot mitigate the saccade-related visual activity. Here, we propose a novel yet simple approach for diminishing saccadic artifacts and confounds through experimental design. We suggest that specific tasks can lead to substantially less saccade occurrences around the time of stimulus presentation, starting from slightly before its onset and lasting for a few hundred milliseconds. In three experiments, we compared the frequency and size of saccades in a variety of tasks. Results of Experiment 1 showed that a foveal change-detection task reduced the number and sizes of saccades, relative to a parafoveal orientation-discrimination task. Experiment 2 replicated this finding with a parafoveal object recognition task. Experiment 3 showed that both foveal and parafoveal continuous change detection tasks induced fewer and smaller saccades than a discrete orientation-discrimination task. We conclude that adding a foveal or a parafoveal continuous task reduces saccades' number and size. This would lead to better artifact correction and enable the omission of contaminated data segments. This study may be the first step toward developing saccade-free experimental designs.


One of the more well-known unsolved problems in number theory is the Collatz (3n + 1) Conjecture. The conjecture states that iterating the map that takes even n ∈ N to n 2 and odd n to 3n+1 2 will eventually yield 1. This paper is an exploration of this conjecture on positive integers of the form 2kb − m and 3kb − 1, and stems from the work of the first author's Senior Seminar research. We take an elementary approach to prove interesting relationships and patterns in the number of iterations, called the total stopping time, required for integers of the aforementioned forms to reach 1, so that our results and proofs would be accessible to an undergraduate. Our results, then, provide a degree of insight into the Collatz Conjecture.


Abstract Dissolved noble gas samples were taken during a pilot study in the Saguenay Fjord, Quebec, Canada, in order to determine the contribution of different air‐sea gas exchange mechanisms in an estuary and to assess the contribution of tidal fronts to the aeration of subsurface waters. The noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe span a large range of molecular diffusivities and solubilities and hence constitute a useful probe of various gas exchange and bubble injection processes. Samples were taken at flood tide upstream and downstream of an energetic tidal front that is generated by a hydraulically controlled flow over a shallow sill at the entrance to the Fjord. The results are interpreted with the help of hydrographic measurements of density and currents along cross‐sill transects describing the physical forcing at the sill. High gas saturations downstream of the sill indicate the aeration of water within the frontal region. An inverse model is used to compare the contribution of bubble injection in the front to diffusion across the air‐sea interface. The large ratio of completely 'trapped' bubbles to diffusion suggests that bubbles injected by waves breaking in the front contribute significantly to air‐sea gas exchange with 76% for He, 79% for Ne, 56% for Ar, 47% for Kr, and 35% for Xe. Water samples were analyzed for helium isotopes and tritium in order to explore the possibility of constraining ventilation time scales. The relationship between tritium and salinity revealed two end‐member waters: a freshwater component from the Saguenay River of 23.6 ± 0.5 TU, likely a residual of bomb‐produced tritium, and a seawater end‐member of approximately 1.5 TU originating in the subpolar Atlantic. An unexpected contribution of radiogenic 4He was detected in the deep waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary, likely a consequence of out‐gassing from old, uranium and thorium rich granitic terrain.