Abstract Trabeculectomy remains a mainstay surgery for glaucoma. The necessity to raise a bleb and use of chemoadjuvants may result in bleb-related complications, such as bleb-fibrosis, bleb-leaks, bleb-related infections, overfiltration, or hypotony. This review highlights some of the latest developments in preventing and managing these complications, including anti-vascular endothelial growth factors, monoclonal antibodies for moderate reduction of fibrosis, newer surgical strategies for bleb leaks, an update from a randomized clinical trial highlighting the incidence and management of bleb-related infections, and various treatment strategies for an overfiltering bleb. In addition, other surgical interventions with less or no bleb-related complications will be discussed, including non-penetrating glaucoma surgeries, glaucoma drainage devices, or phacoemulsification.


This project is to observe the IFf behavior when precipitation inhibitor is created in
the solution. It is also aimed to identify the optimum concentration of surfactant,
alkali and acid. As the conventional ASP is always limited to fresh water, new
approach need to be applied as brine hardness becomes the biggest limitation in
ASP. In this project, it is suggested that by adding acid, precipitation inhibitor will
be accumulated from the related reaction and enable the conventional ASP to be
used with hard brine. The scope of study related to this project will be interfacial
tension itself, as well as the optimum concentration for the related chemical for the
best IFf retention. Different solutions with brine hardness at 35 000 ppm is
prepared, and 1FT measurement is done by using Spinning Drop Interfacial
Tensionmeter. All readings are taken at 30°C. The result showed that below
optimum concentration, the chemicals work successfully but failed when is in excess.


The apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain (ARC) protein is a unique antiapoptotic protein as it can suppress the activation of both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways. ARC levels are prognostic in AML (Carter BZ et al., Blood 2011) and inhibition of ARC sensitizes leukemic cells to chemotherapy-, to the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-737-, and to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in AML (Mak PY et al., ASH 2012 abstract #893). Here we investigated the connection between p53 and TRAIL in the antiapoptotic function of ARC in AML.

Confocal microscopic analysis of wild type p53 OCI-AML3 and Molm13 AML cells showed co-localization of p53 and ARC, suggesting possible functional interactions between the two proteins. Contrary to a previous report (Li YZ, Mol Cell Biol, 2008), the activation of p53 by nutlin3a did not decrease ARC levels in AML cells. This was confirmed by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis.

ARC knockdown (KD) in OCI-AML3 and Molm13 cells resulted in increased expression of basal and nultin3a-induced p53 and p53 target proteins, suggesting that ARC inhibits p53 expression and antagonizes its function. Consistent with this finding, ARC KD in AML cells sensitized these cells to nutlin3a-induced cell death (EC50 for ARC KD and control OCI-AML3 cells was 2.06 ± 0.50 µM and 4.86 ± 0.05 µM, respectively, and for ARC KD and control Molm13 cells 0.59 ± 0.03 µM and 1.09 ± 0.05 µM, respectively, at 48 hours) (p<0.05).

CRM1 is known to transport p53 from the nucleus into the cytoplasm and decrease p53 transcriptional activity (Kojima K et al., Blood 2013). DR5, the TRAIL receptor is also a known transcriptional target of p53. ARC also regulated the expression of CRM1 and TRAIL. CRM1 protein levels are lower in ARC KD cells than in their controls. Conversely, TRAIL mRNA levels were lower in ARC overexpressing (OE) and higher in ARC KD cells. The combination of nutlin3a and TRAIL synergistically induced cell death in OCI-AML3 and Molm13 cells cultured alone or co-cultured with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) (CI < 0.1), and this combination induced statistically significantly (P < 0.05) more cell death in ARC KD cells than in controls even when cells were co-cultured with MSCs. Similarly, combinations of nutlin3a and ABT-737 or TRAIL and ABT-737 synergistically induced cell death in AML cells cultured alone or co-cultured with MSCs (CI < 0.1). Cell death was more pronounced in ARC KD cells than in their respective controls (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the combination of TRAIL and ABT-737 synergistically induced cell death in KG-1 cells, and the cell death was significantly reduced in ARC OE KG-1 than the control cells.

Conclusions This study identifies novel mechanisms by which ARC suppresses cell death in AML cells. Specifically, ARC antagonizes p53 function by suppressing its expression and that of its target proteins and by increasing CRM1 levels, and ARC inhibits TRAIL expression. These findings suggest that combined p53 activation and ARC inhibition can augment apoptosis induction and sensitize AML cells to chemotherapeutic agents.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Testotoxicosis is a rare cause of peripheral precocious puberty in boys caused by constitutively activating mutations of the LHCG receptor. Affected males usually have normal gonadotropin profiles and fertility in their adult life. Here, we described the long-term follow-up of a 24-year-old young man with severe testotoxicosis due to a de novo activating mutation in the third transmembrane helix of the LHCGR (p.Leu457Arg). This patient was treated with different medications, including medroxyprogesterone acetate, ketoconazole, cyproterone acetate and aromatase inhibitor from age 2.5 to 9.5 years. His basal and GnRH-stimulated gonadotropin levels were continually suppressed during and after medical treatment. At adulthood, extremely high serum testosterone levels (>35 nmol/L), undetectable gonadotropin levels (LH < 0.15 IU/L and FSH < 0.6 IU/L) and oligozoospermia were evidenced. Despite his suppressed FSH levels and an unfavorable spermogram, the patient fathered a healthy girl and biological paternity was confirmed through analysis of microsatellites. Spontaneous fertility in a young man with severe testotoxicosis and chronic suppression of FSH levels reinforces the key role of high intratesticular testosterone levels in human spermatogenesis.


The problem considered in this paper is the design and analysis of a control system for semi-active suspensions in road vehicles. Three control strategies are tested: the two-state skyhook damping, the linear skyhook damping, and a newly-proposed control strategy based on two-state switching dampers. In order to assess and to compare the closed-loop performance of these control strategies, an evaluation method based on the describing-function is proposed. This evaluation approach provides, in the frequency-domain, a clear picture of the closed-loop performance on the body acceleration (comfort objective) and on the vertical load at the road-tire contact surface (handling objective). This evaluation method inherently provides a quantitative estimate of the degree of input/output non-linearity of the closed-loop system.


At present, most of the comparisons of reading performance (reading speed and reading comprehension) between Braille readers and print readers is focused on English, while there is little research on Chinese in this aspect. To obtain the comparisons, experiments were designed to test the reading performance of Braille readers and print readers, and then the test data were analyzed. The study reveals the differences between Braille readers and print readers in compulsory primary schools for students with visual handicap and sighted ones in Mainland China. It is found that the reading performance of Braille readers is generally lower than that of print readers, but the opposite is true in some instances, notably the average score of reading comprehension among students in sixth grade of primary school in the study. At the same time, it is suggested that the homophones among Chinese characters are among the important factors that have a great influence on the reading performance of Braille readers. From the perspective of the experimental data, the paper illustrates that finding ways to distinguish homophones in Chinese Braille will be one of the key problems to address in order to improve the reading performance of Braille readers.


A novel, precise, accurate, rapid and cost effective isocratic reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method was developed, optimized and validated for the simultaneous estimation of Montelukast Sodium (MON) and Desloratadine (DES) in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The drugs were estimated using Hypersil BDS C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μ particle size) column. The mobile phase composed of orthophosphoric acid and water in the ratio of 20:80 v/v, at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min was used for the separation. Detection was carried out at 280 nm. The linearity range obtained was 10 - 30 μg/ml for MON and 5 - 15 μg/ml for DES with retention times of 2.929 min and 4.439 min for MON and DES respectively. The correlation coefficient values were found to be 0.999. Precision studies showed % RSD values less than 2% for both the drugs in all the selected concentrations. The percentage recoveries of MON and DES were in the range of 99.59% - 99.82% and 99.60% - 99.80% respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.176 μg/ml, 0.587 μg/ml for MON and 0.087 μg/ml, 0.292 μg/ml for DES respectively. The method was validated as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The proposed validated method was successfully used for the quantitative analysis of commercially available tablet dosage forms.


Ambon City is located in coastal area of Ambon island. Economic contributon of fisheries sector to its PDRB was relativey high (about 15%) but the poverty level of itspopulation is high. Since coastal villages are the main players of the fisheries sector, its development approach to promote community welfare should be based on the characteristicsof the 32 coastal villages. This study was designed to develop a methodology for determining coastal village status in promoting integrated fisheries industry in Ambon City. This study uses 17 indicators representing three main variables comprising fisheries business, fisheries infrastructure and socio-cultural aspects of coastal communities. Based on score calculation, there are three categories of coastal villages, i.e. desa mina mula (TSS 2,39). The analysis concludes no village of mina politan, 30 villages of mina mandiri, and 2 villages of mina mula. Such diverse characteristics indicate that fisheries development approach should vary among villages to ensure development effectiveness.Kata kunci: coastal communities, fisheries development status, mina politan


East Australian and Tasman Sea volcanism has featured in Australian Plate dynamics since Tasman Sea - Coral Sea formation from 95 to 55 Ma. Migratory southward plume-related volcanism, the East Australian Plume System, was prominent after 35 Ma, but new studies reveal unusual features. 'Swell and pinch' episodes produced large central volcanoes in initial west-directed 'swells' followed by smaller volume fields in easterly 'pinches' in late activity. These episodes ('boomerangs') each lasted over 10-20 million years, as sidestepping bursts along four main plume lines. The Tasmantid submarine volcanic line shows a westerly 'swell' in concert with that in a major Queensland line. Reconstruction of Australian palaeoplate motions from the present dormant plume array match times of 'swell and pinch' activity, but not its bending. Each episode includes a less curved, precursory migratory line, erupted some 3 million years before the main migratory line. Plume lines projected back beyond 40 Ma give increasingly divergent plate paths depending on use of a Pacific or Indian hot-spot frame. Averaged plate paths coincide with Coral Sea - Louisiade spreading at 60 Ma, suggesting its potential role in originating the plume array. Precursor and main 'boomerang' activity may arise from separate initial plume pulses: lesser rift-related pulse followed by a stronger spreading-related pulse. An alternative possibility is a dual line plume progression caused by transfer of activity through loading and flexure. The west-bending 'swells' appear to reflect plume deflection during plume surges. Isotopic Sr, Nd and Pb relationships between East Australian Plume System and other Australian basalts suggest the plume array straddles the Indian and Pacific mantle domain boundary. Replacement of wedges of Indian-type mantle by Pacific-type mantle during northerly Australian Plate translation may focus dynamic flow vectors that contribute to west-bending 'boomerang' migratory volcanism.


Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has been validated as a promising target for cancer therapy. Several mTOR kinase inhibitors displaying potent antitumor activity due to their capability to inhibit both mTORC1 and mTORC2 have entered clinical trials. It has been recently reported that long term inhibition of mTOR led to activation of upstream receptor tyrosine kinases and Akt, which may attenuate the efficacy of mTOR kinase inhibitors. As a number of receptor tyrosine kinases and AKT are client proteins of Hsp90, we hypothesized that combination of inhibitors targeting mTOR and Hsp90 respectively would potentiate the anticancer activity. By calculating the Combination Index, mTOR kinase inhibitor AZD8055 and Hsp90 inhibitor AUY922 displayed synergistic effect against a panel of human breast cancer cells irrespective their ER, HER2 or PI3K status. The combination of sub-optimal concentration of these two drugs exerted significant antiproliferative activity, which is associated with enhanced cell cycle arrest but not induction of apoptosis. Down-regulation of either raptor or rictor by specific shRNA reinforced the antitumor activity of AUY922, indicating restraint of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 contribute to the synergistic activity of AZD8055 with AUY922. In T47D cells,long time exposure to AZD8055 led to restoration of phosphorylated AKT at T308 and GSK3β at S9, indicating reactivation of AKT, which was abrogated by AUY922 co-treatment. Moreover, phosphorylation of AKT at S473 was more significantly inhibited when cells were co-treated with AZD8055 and AUY922 than single agent treatment. We further revealed that AUY922 prevented feedback activation of PI3K upon AZD8055 treatment. As PI3K is not a client protein of Hsp90, block of PI3K activation by AUY922 might be due to down-regulation of upstream tyrosine kinase receptors. Accordingly, though the mRNA levels of EGFR, HER2, HER3 and HER4 increased after either single agent treatment or co-treatment, AUY922 not only inhibited the expression of tested tyrosine kinases, but more importantly, abrogated activation of HER2/HER3 induced by AZD8055 . In summary, the combination of catalytic mTOR inhibitor and Hsp90 inhibitor demonstrated synergistic activity against breast cancer cells, which is due to inhibition of tyrosine kinases expression and abrogation of feedback activation of HER2/HER3. As both AZD8055 and AUY922 are in clinical trials for breast cancer therapy, this study established a mechanistic rationale for a combination approach using AZD8255 and AUY922 in the treatment of breast cancer. Citation Format: Simeng Chen, Chenliang Guo, Jian Ding, Linghua Meng. Hsp90 inhibitor AUY922 abrogates mTOR inhibitor AZD8055-induced up-regulation of HER2/HER3 and potentiates antiproliferative activity in human breast cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 909. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-909


Abstract In this work we study the effect of metachronal waves on the flow created by magnetically driven plate-like artificial cilia in microchannels using numerical simulations. The simulations are performed using a coupled magneto-mechanical solid–fluid computational model that captures the physical interactions between the fluid flow, ciliary deformation and applied magnetic field. When a rotating magnetic field is applied to super-paramagnetic artificial cilia, they mimic the asymmetric motion of natural cilia, consisting of an effective and recovery stroke. When a phase difference is prescribed between neighbouring cilia, metachronal waves develop. Due to the discrete nature of the cilia, the metachronal waves change direction when the phase difference becomes sufficiently large, resulting in antiplectic as well as symplectic metachrony. We show that the fluid flow created by the artificial cilia is significantly enhanced in the presence of metachronal waves and that the fluid flow becomes unidirectional. Antiplectic metachrony is observed to lead to a considerable enhancement in flow compared to symplectic metachrony, when the cilia spacing is small. Obstruction of flow in the direction of the effective stroke for the case of symplectic metachrony was found to be the key mechanism that governs this effect.


The Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) instrument on the Synoptic Optical Longterm Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) telescope is capable of obtaining spectropolarimetry for the full Sun (or a select latitudinal range) with one arcsecond spatial resolution and 0.05 Angstrom spectral resolution. This is achieved by scanning the Sun in declination and building up spectral cubes for multiple polarization states, utilizing a beamsplitter and two separate 2k x 2k CCD cameras. As a result, the eastern and western hemispheres of the Sun are separated in preliminary VSM images by a vertical gap with soft edges and variable position and width. Prior to the comprehensive analysis presented in this document, a trial-and-error approach to removing the gap had yielded an algorithm that was inconsistent, undocumented, and responsible for incorrectly eliminating too many image columns. Here we describe, in detail, the basis for a new, streamlined, and properly calibrated prescription for locating and removing the gap that is correct to within approximately one arcsecond (one column).


OBJECTIVE
Schizophrenia is associated with several chronic physical illnesses and a shorter life expectancy, compared with life expectancy in the general population. One approach to improving the health of patients with schizophrenia is to improve the monitoring of physical health that occurs in psychiatric settings. The authors discuss a consensus panel's recommendations for improving the physical health monitoring of patients with schizophrenia who are treated in outpatient settings.

METHOD
A consensus meeting including psychiatric and other medical experts assembled on October 17-18, 2002, to evaluate the existing literature and to develop recommendations for physical health monitoring of patients with schizophrenia. Conference participants reviewed the literature in the following areas: 1) weight gain and obesity; 2) diabetes; 3) hyperlipidemia; 4) prolongation of the QT interval on the ECG; 5) prolactin elevation and related sexual side effects; 6) extrapyramidal side effects, akathisia, and tardive dyskinesia; 7) cataracts; and 8) myocarditis. Experts for each topic area formulated monitoring recommendations that were discussed by all of the participants until a consensus was reached.

RESULTS
Consensus recommendations included regular monitoring of body mass index, plasma glucose level, lipid profiles, and signs of prolactin elevation or sexual dysfunction. Information from monitoring should guide the selection of antipsychotic agents. Specific recommendations were made for cardiac monitoring of patients who receive medications associated with QT interval prolongation, including thioridazine, mesoridazine, and ziprasidone, and for monitoring for signs of myocarditis in patients treated with clozapine. Patients who receive both first- and second-generation antipsychotic medications should be examined for extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. Patients with schizophrenia should receive regular visual examinations.

CONCLUSIONS
The conference participants recommended that mental health care providers perform physical health monitoring that typically occurs in primary care settings for their patients who do not receive physical health monitoring in those settings. This change in usual practice is recommended on the basis of the conference participants' belief that this additional monitoring will result in the earlier detection of common, serious risk factors that could, without detection and intervention, contribute to impaired health of patients with schizophrenia.


The general clause of good faith was one of the innovations of the Brazilian Civil Code, enacted in 2002. It came into force in January 2003, in order to widespread ethics in private affairs. Indeed, good faith was applied in specific cases, such as the "theory of appearance" or the requirement of utmost good faith in insurance contracts. But in the Civil Code of 2002, heavily influenced by German, Italian and Portuguese codes, good faith is applied to provide operability, ethicity and sociality in private relations as well as in the enforcement of private law by courts. In this sense, good faith has been used to impose duties of consistency, information and cooperation between the parties of a transaction. The aim of this paper was to introduce an overview of good faith, its consecration in the Brazilian Civil Code and then to analyze its application in Brazilian Courts in the last ten years.


We develop a new discontinuous finite volume method for solving the Stokes equations on both triangular and rectangular meshes. An optimal error estimate for the approximation of velocity is obtained in a mesh-dependent norm. First order L2-error estimates are derived for the approximations of both velocity and pressure.


The present invention relates to a heuristic algorithm to classify the object. First acquisition algorithm is composed of a pattern recognition algorithm that is used to group GA and the object that is used to abstract a data stream associated with each object and measure the fitness of the chromosome genetic algorithm. The acquisition algorithm is applied to the training data set. The acquisition algorithm generates a classification algorithm, the classification algorithm is used to classify and categorize the unknown object. The present invention is useful in the area to monitor the process conditions complicated process to classify or detect the current or expected failures that occur in the financial market movements based on price fluctuations in other financial markets, the text or medical samples.


Background Recent studies have reported that sulforaphane (SFN) intake with cognitive training had positive effects on cognitive functions. However, it is still unknown whether SFN intake alone has beneficial effects on cognition as well as mood. We investigated whether a SFN intake intervention improved cognitive performance and mood states in healthy older adults. Methods In a 12-week, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT), we randomly assigned 144 older adults to a SFN group or a placebo group. We asked the participants to take a supplement (SFN or placebo) for 12 weeks. We measured several cognitive functions, mood states, and biomarkers before and after the intervention period. Results The SFN group showed improvement in processing speed and a decrease in negative mood compared to the placebo group. In addition, the SFN group exhibited a higher SFN-N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) level compared to the placebo group. However, there were no significant results in other biomarkers of oxidant stress, inflammation, or neural plasticity. Discussion These results indicate that nutrition interventions using SFN can have positive effects on cognitive functioning and mood in healthy older adults.


Objective@#To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in Shenyang.@*Methods@#The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 30 patients diagnosed with 2019-nCoV infection admitted to Shenyang sixth people's hospital on January 22, 2020 and February 8, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.@*Results@#Among the 30 cases, 21 were imported, including 17 from Hubei Province and four from other provinces. Nine cases were local infections. There were 18 men and 12 women, aging from 21 to 72 years with the median of 43 years. Eight cases had underlying diseases including hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and bronchitis. On admission, two (7%) cases were mild, 19 (63%) cases were ordinary, eight (27%) cases were severe, and one (3%) case was critical. Clinical manifestations mainly include fever, with or without upper respiratory tract symptoms, normal, decreased or slightly increased white blood cell counts, mainly decreased lymphocyte counts, normal or increased c-reactive protein, and normal procalcitonin. The computed tomography (CT) of the early stage of the lungs showed that multiple patchy ground glass shadows were mainly accompanied by consolidation, which often involved both lungs or multiple lobes of one lung. At the moment, the clinical treatment mainly included respiratory support, symptomatic treatment, antiviral treatment adn anti-bacterial treatment. By February 15, a total of nine cases were cured and discharged, including one mild case, six ordinary cases, and two severe cases. In the comparisons between mild/ordinary patients and severe/critical patients, the fever duration in the severe/critical group (median 11.5 d) was significantly longer than that in the light/normal group (median 2 d) (Z=-2.292, P=0.022), and the laboratory tests indicated elevated d-dimer levels (Z=-2.669, P=0.008) and more cases with neutrophilic/lymphocyte ratio > 3 (Z=-4.071, P 3 could be used as early warning indicators for severe cases.


The noise power available from any antenna which is conjugately matched is known from thermodynamic considerations to be equal to KT dfη where K is Boltzmann's constant, T is the effective temperature of the antenna, df is the bandwidth, and η is the antenna efficiency. This paper provides an alternative method of calculating the noise power available from any wire antenna in terms of the network parameters of the antenna alone. This provides a clear physical understanding of how the output noise power is built up from contributions of the noise voltages applied across different segments of any wire antenna placed in a noise field.


Primary objective: To evaluate risk factors for reduced survival in subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants and methods: A retrospective follow-up of three decades included 192 subjects with TBI. Cognitive testing was carried out on average 2 years after the injury (at mean age of 39.0 years), during the years 1966–1972. Cox's regression and logistic regression analyses were used and the survival of the subjects was compared with the general population using the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Results: Reduced survival was significantly associated with age at injury (p < 0.001) and vocational outcome (p = 0.003). Vocational outcome in turn was associated with age (p = 0.010), TBI severity (p < 0.001), cognitive impairment (p = 0.010), later TBIs (p = 0.007) and alcohol abuse (p = 0.015). Mortality in the younger patient group (age at death <40 years) was higher than in the general population (SMR 4.50, 95% CI = 2.02–10.01). Conclusions: A reduced working ability, influenced by age-, injury- and lifestyle-related factors, is associated with long-term survival after TBI. The mortality among younger patients is high, a finding which should be considered when planning the care after TBI.


Recent reflections by Inge Lehmann on her discovery of the inner core (Eos, January 20, 1987, p. 33; see also Bolt [1987, 1982]) remind us that this outstanding Earth scientist is now in her 100th year. The inner core boundary (ICB) is one of the three great seismic-compositional discontinuities that divide Earth into crust, mantle, core, and inner core. The other two discontinuities are well known by names honoring their discoverers, Andrija Mohorovicic and Beno Gutenberg. In this tradition, it is fitting that the ICB be called the Lehmann Discontinuity in honor of its discoverer.


t Frank Knox Memorial Fellow, Harvard Law School. This paper was commenced while the author was an LL.M. candidate at The University of Chicago Law School. Douglas G. Baird, Donald J. Black, Lloyd E. Ohlin, and Franklin E. Zimring made helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I Brown v. Board of Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 494-95 n.11 (1954) (citing K. Clark, Effect of Prejudice and Discrimination on Personality (1950) (paper delivered at Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth), revised and published as K. CLARK, PREJUDICE AND YOUR CHILD (1955); E. FRAZIER, THE NEGRO IN THE UNITED STATES (1949); G. MYRDAL, AN AMERICAN DILEMMA (1944): H. WITMER & R. KOTINSKY, PERSONALITY IN THE MAKING 13558 (1952); Brameld, Educational Costs, in DISCRIMINATION AND NATIONAL WELFARE 37, 44-48 (R. MacIver ed. 1949); Chein, What Are the Psychological Effects of Segregation Under Conditions of Equal Facilities?, 3 INT'L J. OPINION & ATTITUDE RESEARCH 229 (1949); Deutscher & Chein, The Psychological Effects of Enforced Segregation: A Survey of Social Science Opinion, 26 J. PSYCHOLOGY 259 (1948)). 1 See, e.g., San Antonio Indep. School Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 36-37 (1973) (dictum) ("where only relative differences in spending levels are involved and where . . . [the state apparently] provide[s] each child with an opportunity to acquire the basic minimal skills necessary for the enjoyment of the rights of speech and full participation in the political process," the state's education financing system is constitutional); Lujan v. Colorado State Bd. of Educ., 649 P.2d 1005 (Colo. 1982) (refusing to venture "amidst a raging controversy.., into the realm of social policy under the guise that there is a fundamental right to education which calls upon [the court] to find that equal educational opportunity requires equal expenditures for each school child," id. at 1018; holding unequal school finance violates neither state nor federal equal protection clauses, id. at 1023); Pauley v. Kelly, 255 S.E.2d 859, 878 (W. Va. 1979) (education is a fundamental right under state constitution; state constitution's equal protection clause prohibits discriminatory education finance unless justified by compelling state interest), on remand, N.Y. Times, May 15, 1982, at 8, col. 6 (midwest ed.) (W. Va. Cir. Ct. May 14, 1982) (school finance system favoring rich counties over poor counties held void under state constitution). 3 Rutter is a child psychiatrist; Maughan is a social worker; Mortimore is a developmental psychologist; Ouston is an educational psychologist and veteran schoolteacher; and


ObjectiveTo discuss current aspects of our understanding of the role of apoptosis in lung injury. Data SourcesReview of English language literature. Data SummaryApoptosis is a process that produces timely death in senescent cells. Apoptosis is important in developmental biology and in remodeling of tissues during repair. Many apoptosis pathways converge in intracellular protease cascades that lead to DNA cleavage and cell death. Apoptosis pathways can be triggered by surface receptors, which interact with soluble proteins or membrane-bound proteins, such as Fas ligand. Fas ligand accumulates in soluble form at sites of tissue inflammation and has the potential to initiate apoptosis of leukocytes, epithelial cells, and other parenchymal cells. Dysregulation of apoptosis pathways could contribute to the epithelial injury that is characteristic of acute lung injury in humans. The effects of Fas ligand are modulated by factors in lung fluids, such as cytokines (e.g., transforming growth factor-&bgr;, surfactant protein A, and angiotensin II) and a specific Fas ligand decoy receptor (DcR3). ConclusionStrategies to block apoptosis pathways could be useful in limiting some forms of acute lung injury in humans.


A review of 39 laryngeal papilloma patients at The Johns Hopkins Hospital revealed an incidence of subglottic and tracheal extension much higher than previously reported. Subglottic disease was present in 69% of patients and tracheal involvement in 26%. Factors associated with distal spread were the presence of subglottic papillomas, history of tracheostomy, total number of endoscopic resections, and the duration of disease. The relationship to the presence of viral antigen was cited. Detection and elimination of all papillomas is felt to be the key for the prevention of distal spread. The strategy of management is described.


Size and book to market ratio are both highly correlated with the average returns of common stocks. Fama and French (1993) argue that these effects are proxies for factors of risk. In this study, we test the three factor model of Fama and French and the Characteristic Model of Daniel and Titman (1997) on The French Stock Market. The sample is from July 1976 to June 2001. Yearly, we rank, independently, all stocks by size and book to market ratio. Then, we make another classification based on ex-ante HML, SMB or Mkt loadings. To test the two models, we use Daniel and Titman methodology to construct our characteristic-balanced portfolios. The characteristic-based model predicts that these portfolios should have an average return of zero. The factor model says that these returns should be positive. Our results reject the factor model with characteristic balanced portfolios that load on the HML, SMB and MKt factors. Moreover, the three factor model predicts that the intercepts of regressions of the returns of these characteristic-balanced portfolios on the Fama and French factor portfolios are indistinguishable from zero. In contrast, the alternative hypothesis of the characteristic model says that these intercepts should be negative. Our results are consistent with the factor pricing model and inconsistent with the characteristic-based pricing model. Because the size and the value premiums are relatively small, our conclusions must be interpreted carefully. In contrast, market premium allows more powerful tests of the two models.


The distribution of different Chlamydia trachomatis serovars in Hungary has not been reported previously. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution and prevalence of C. trachomatis serovars in a high-risk population by genotyping. The endocervical specimens of 484 female sex workers (FSWs) were screened for C. trachomatis by plasmid PCR. Genotyping was performed in all C. trachomatis-positive samples by PCR-based RFLP analysis of the omp1 gene. A total of 32 specimens (6.6 %) were positive for C. trachomatis. Age was an important risk factor for C. trachomatis infection in FSWs. The highest prevalence was detected in women under the age of 20 (18.8 %). All positive specimens were successfully genotyped and seven serovars were identified. The most prevalent was serovar D (34.4 %), followed by E (21.9 %), F (18.8 %), G (9.4 %), J (9.4 %), H (3.1 %) and I (3.1 %). A heterogeneous distribution of C. trachomatis serovars was observed in the study group, where the most common serovars were D, E and F comprising 75 % of the positive samples. This PCR-based RFLP method could be used in epidemiological studies on the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection to provide more information and to compare the serovar distribution among different cohorts.


This chapter deals with kernel methods as a special class of techniques for surrogate modeling. Kernel methods have proven to be efficient in machine learning, pattern recognition and signal analysis due to their flexibility, excellent experimental performance and elegant functional analytic background. These data-based techniques provide so called kernel expansions, i.e., linear combinations of kernel functions which are generated from given input-output point samples that may be arbitrarily scattered. In particular, these techniques are meshless, do not require or depend on a grid, hence are less prone to the curse of dimensionality, even for high-dimensional problems.
In contrast to projection-based model reduction, we do not necessarily assume a high-dimensional model, but a general function that models input-output behavior within some simulation context. This could be some micro-model in a multiscale-simulation, some submodel in a coupled system, some initialization function for solvers, coefficient function in PDEs, etc.
First, kernel surrogates can be useful if the input-output function is expensive to evaluate, e.g. is a result of a finite element simulation. Here, acceleration can be obtained by sparse kernel expansions. Second, if a function is available only via measurements or a few function evaluation samples, kernel approximation techniques can provide function surrogates that allow global evaluation.
We present some important kernel approximation techniques, which are kernel interpolation, greedy kernel approximation and support vector regression. Pseudo-code is provided for ease of reproducibility. In order to illustrate the main features, commonalities and differences, we compare these techniques on a real-world application. The experiments clearly indicate the enormous acceleration potential


The noninverting synchronous buck-boost converter is preferable to operate in buck and boost operating modes to obtain a high operating efficiency. However, the dead zone, which degrades the performance of the converter, will occur when the converter shifts from buck operating mode to boost operating mode or vice versa. Therefore, the origin of the dead zone is derived in this paper by analyzing the relationship between the voltage conversion ratio and the duty cycles of the switches. Based on this, a series of three-mode and four-mode modulation schemes are systematically derived to completely eliminate the dead zone. The ripple and average value of the inductor current under different modulation schemes are investigated to evaluate the performance of these modulation schemes. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modulation schemes, two implementations of a four-mode modulation scheme are presented and experimentally tested as the examples for all modulation schemes. Experimental results correspond well with the theoretical analysis in both implementations over the entire input voltage range.


Abstract We compared distributions of native nonweed, native weed, and exotic weed species based on a weed checklist for Mexico and for each of the 32 federal states. The national checklist contains 2,197 native and 617 exotic weed species. We calculated floristic similarity between states for native and exotic weeds and grouped the state floristic similarities by cluster analysis. The exotic and native weed species show different patterns both for distribution size and for geographic groupings. About 64% of the exotic species occur in eight or less states, whereas 36% of the native weed species occur in this limited range. Only 5.3% of the exotic species but 8.5% of the natives are recorded from 25 or more states. Native nonweed species have even more limited distributions than exotic weeds. The cluster analysis shows that the groupings based on the native weed flora are mostly coherent with general phytogeographical classifications. The grouping of the states for exotic weeds was different, and we propose that it may be related to climatic factors (particularly extreme minimum temperatures) and to management. The data do not support the hypothesis that exotic species have a superior, more general-purpose genotype than members of a well-developed, native weed flora. Additional index words: Invasive plants, weed distribution, weed phytogeography.


How to resolve the existence limitation of the traditional artificial immune detection system, how to realize the superiority complementarities of evolution algorithm about the traditional artificial immune detection technique, how to improve detection accuracy, efficiency and safety of system, in order to resolve these problems, the article has designed a model, which can mutually study by its learning robot among the different intrusion detection systems based on artificial immune principle. We define some concepts as following: e-learning, learning robot, suspected degree, backup rule storehouse and credible third party; and then give the logical structure of the primary intrusion detection system model, architecture of the artificial immune intrusion detection system based on e-learning and principle of the model;last explain and describe this mode and learning robot.


This paper gives a comprehensive and coherent view on permutability in the intuitionistic sequent calculus with cuts. Specifically we show that, once permutability is packaged into appropriate global reduction procedures, it organizes the internal structure of the system and determines fragments with computational interest, both for the computation-as-proof-normalization and the computation-as-proof-search paradigms. The vehicle of the study is a lambda-calculus of multiary proof terms with generalized application, previously developed by the authors (the paper argues this system represents the simplest fragment of ordinary sequent calculus that does not fall into mere natural deduction). We start by adapting to our setting the concept of normal proof, developed by Mints, Dyckhoff, and Pinto, and by defining natural proofs, so that a proof is normal iff it is natural and cut-free. Natural proofs form a subsystem with a transparent Curry-Howard interpretation (a kind of formal vector notation for lambda-terms with vectors consisting of lists of lists of arguments), while searching for normal proofs corresponds to a slight relaxation of focusing (in the sense of LJT). Next, we define a process of permutative conversion to natural form, and show that its combination with cut elimination gives a concept of normalization for the sequent calculus. We derive a systematic picture of the full system comprehending a rich set of reduction procedures (cut elimination, flattening, permutative conversion, normalization, focalization), organizing the relevant subsystems and the important subclasses of cut-free, normal, and focused proofs.


Purpose In youth, poor cardiorespiratory and muscular strength are associated with elevated metabolic risk factors. However, studies examining associations between strength and risk factors have been done exclusively in high income countries, and largely in Caucasian cohorts. The aim of this study was to assess these interactions in schoolchildren in Colombia, a middle income Latin American country. Methods We measured body mass index, body composition, handgrip strength (HG), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic risk factors in 669 low-middle socioeconomic status Colombian schoolchildren (mean age 11.52±1.13, 47% female). Associations between HG, CRF and metabolic risk factors were evaluated. Results HG and CRF were inversely associated with blood pressure, HOMA index and a composite metabolic risk score (p<0.001 for all) and HG was also inversely associated with triglycerides and C-reactive protein (CRP) (both p<0.05). Associations between HG and risk factors were marginally weakened after adjusting for CRF, while associations between CRF and these factors were substantially weakened after adjusting for HG. Linear regression analyses showed inverse associations between HG and systolic BP (β = −0.101; p = 0.047), diastolic BP (β = −0.241; p> = 0.001), HOMA (β = −0.164; p = 0.005), triglycerides (β = −0.583; p = 0.026) and CRP (β = −0.183; p = 0.037) but not glucose (p = 0.698) or HDL cholesterol (p = 0.132). The odds ratios for having clustered risk in the weakest quartile compared with the strongest quartile were 3.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.81–4.95). Conclusions In Colombian schoolchildren both poorer handgrip strength/kg body mass and cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with a worse metabolic risk profile. Associations were stronger and more consistent between handgrip and risk factors than between cardiorespiratory fitness and these risk factors. Our findings indicate the addition of handgrip dynamometry to non-invasive youth health surveillance programs would improve the accuracy of the assessment of cardio-metabolic health.


Abstract Statistical models such as the semi-parametric Cox's model allow to analyse failure time data in prospective studies. One key assumption of these models is the independence between observations. In fact, this assumption is not fulfilled in the case of clustered samples, where measurements on subjects (individual level) belonging to a same group (cluster level) may be correlated. Simulations have been managed to study the estimation accuracy and test power of four models for correlated survival data: naive Cox's model, marginal Cox's model, Cox's model including fixed cluster effect and frailty Cox's model. The most important results are the following: (i) the frailty model presented the best fit and was able to correctly hold severe censoring, e.g., until 60%, (ii) gamma and normal distribution assumption for the frailty led to similar estimation and test results for the regression coefficient but not for the variance estimate of the frailty and (iii) the benefits of using models taking into account the correlation were more important in the case of a small number of big clusters than in presence of many little clusters.


Author(s): Chang, Haoran | Abstract: In accordance with the government's scorched-earth policy, on November 12, 1938, a devastating fire was started in the city of Changsha, China. This military strategy calls for the intentional burning and destruction of all valuable resources, such as buildings, food, and transportation infrastructure, to prevent the invading enemy from utilizing them. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the governor of Changsha followed instructions from the Nationalist government to execute this scorched-earth policy. Yet officials mistakenly initiated the fire too quickly and destroyed the more-than-three-thousand-year-old city. In this fire, thousands of people lost their lives, and the majority of the city's buildings were destroyed. Referred to today as the Changsha Fire of 1938, or the Wenxi Fire, this event left Changsha one of the most damaged cities during World War II, alongside Stalingrad, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. Zhongshan Pavilion is one of the few architectural structures that survived the 1938 Wenxi Fire. As technology widely applied in cultural preservation, photogrammetry can play a significant role in preserving this structure for future generations. Yet this project intends to further the conversation about the role of photogrammetry in memory preservation by considering the Zhongshan Pavilion as a heterogeneous site. The resulting virtual 3-D model opens new potentialities in challenging historical narratives that are told in the singular voice (the state's) as presented at the physical site in Changsha. Rather than following the path of criticizing digitalization as an extension and magnification of fragmentedness and rootlessness, the constructed virtual 3-D model of Zhongshan Pavilion may expand the fixed and structured memory preserved in the physical location and bring vitality to the preservation of multiple memories in a new kind of public space.


We show that a quantum-mechanical N=2 supersymmetry is hidden in 4d mass spectrum of any gauge invariant theories with extra dimensions. The N=2 supercharges are explicitly constructed in terms of differential forms. The analysis can be extended to extra dimensions with boundaries, and for a single extra dimension we clarify a possible set of boundary conditions consistent with 5d gauge invariance, although some of the boundary conditions break 4d gauge symmetries.


The writer recently sat on a university committee formed for the express purpose of considering the role of modern and classical languages as a required part of the liberal arts core curriculum. The arguments here presented—both pro and con foreign language requirement—reflect the ideas and opinions primarily of colleagues outside the foreign language profession and provide numerous insights into the thoughts of those very individuals to whom we must repeatedly justify the foreign language requirement. An awareness of these arguments can prove most beneficial to foreign language teachers, administrators, and researchers at virtually every level of education.


Objective To validate and test a German version of the revised Parent Report of Children's Abilities questionnaire (PARCA-R). Methods Multicentre cross-sectional study. Parents of infants born <32 gestational weeks, completed the PARCA-R within three weeks before the follow-up assessment of their child at age two years. Infants were assessed using the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development 2nd edition (BSID-II). Pearson correlation between the Parent Report Composite (PRC) of the PARCA-R and MDI was tested. The optimal PRC cut-off for predicting moderate-to-severe mental delay, defined as MDI<70, was identified through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results PARCA-R and BSID-II data were collected from 154 consecutive infants [51% girls, mean (SD) gestational age 29.0 (2.0) weeks, birth weight 1174 (345) grams] at 23.2 (1.6) months of corrected age. The PRC score [70.5 (31.1)] correlated with the MDI [92.2 (17.3); R = 0.54; p < 0.0001]. The optimal PRC cut-off for identifying mental delay was 44 with 0.81 (0.54–0.96) sensitivity (95%-CI), 0.81 (0.74–0.87) specificity, area under the ROC curve of 0.840 (0.729–0.952). Conclusion The German version of the PARCA-R had good validity with the BSID-II and PCR scores < 44 proved optimal discriminatory power for the identification of mental delay at two years of corrected age.


Efficient lubricants should be able to build surface layers that result in low friction and high load bearing capacity. In this work we show how this can be achieved in aqueous media by means of adsorption of a diblock copolymer consisting of a cationic anchor block without side chains and an uncharged and hydrophilic bottle-brush block that protrudes into solution. Surface and friction forces were measured between negatively charged silica surfaces coated with adsorbed layers of the cationic diblock copolymer, utilizing the atomic force microscope colloidal probe technique. The interactions between the surfaces coated with this copolymer in water are purely repulsive, due to a combination of steric and electrostatic double-layer forces, and no hysteresis is observed between forces measured on approach and separation. Friction forces between the diblock copolymer layers are characterized by a low friction coefficient, μ ≈ 0.03–0.04. The layers remain intact under high load and shear due to the strong electrostatic anchoring, and no destruction of the layer was noted even under the highest pressure employed (about 50 MPa). Addition of NaCl to a concentration of 155 mM weakens the anchoring of the copolymer to the substrate surface, and as a result the friction force increases.


Background: Data regarding iodine deficiency disorder in Upper Egypt is rare and even limited. In this study, we aim to determine the status of variable patterns of thyroid disorders and find out the relationship between some risk factors like gender, age, family history and the occurrence of thyroid disorders among Qena population referred to our nuclear medicine clinic from January 2011 to the end of December 2012.
Methods: A retrospective hospital-based descriptive and analytical study was conducted on patients referred to our nuclear medicine clinic who complained of various clinical features related to the thyroid gland. The study was performed using data collected from the registration unit in the nuclear medicine clinic.
Results: A total of 46 patients (9 men and 37 non-pregnant women) were included. The collected variables were sex, age, family history, menstrual status of females, thyroid-related complaints, history of thyroidectomy and I-131 therapy. 43.5% of the patients were highly affected by thyrotoxicosis, followed by hypothyroidism (26.1%), simple nodular goiter (SNG) (17.4%) and differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) (13%). 80.4% of patients were female and 19.6% were male. The highest number of different thyroid diseases were reported in the age group of 20-49 years.
Conclusions: Different risk factors including sex, age, family history are highlighted in this study, but still the low levels of iodine in the soil and drinking water in Upper Egypt and bad nutrition are the most common factors that may cause goiter.


Sulfur is an underused by-product of the petrochemicals industry. Recent research into inverse vulcanisation has shown how this excess sulfur can be transformed into functional polymers, by stabilization with organic crosslinkers. For these interesting new materials to realise their potential for applications, more understanding and control of their physical properties is needed. Here we report four new terpolymers prepared from sulfur and two distinct alkene monomers that can be predictively tuned in glass transition, molecular weight, solubility, mechanical properties, and colour.


Vibration of vehicle system is a typical vibration of multi-degree freedom. The damping performance of multi-degree freedom seat suspension is important to ride comfort of vehicle occupants. Based on the multi-dimensional movement principle of parallel mechanism, it is built a new vehicle seat with 3-DOF suspension. It is Established a kinematics model and then analyzed the theory of the displacement of the parallel vehicle seat system. Finally, using ADAMS software to build the simulation models of seat suspension, it is showed that the seat vibration system has a good effort on vibration reduction.


The growing interest in deep learning approaches to video surveillance raises concerns about the accuracy and efficiency of neural networks. However, fast and reliable detection of abnormal events is still a challenging work. Here, we introduce a two-stream approach that offers an autoencoder-based structure for fast and efficient detection to facilitate anomaly detection from surveillance video without labeled abnormal events. Furthermore, we present post hoc interpretability of feature map visualization to show the process of feature learning, revealing uncertain and ambiguous decision boundaries in the video sequence. Experimental results on Avenue, UCSD Ped2, and Subway datasets show that our method can detect abnormal events well and explain the internal logic of the model at the object level.


A microanalytical variant for the determination of lipids and lipid groups in serum is described, by the application of chromatographis technique and densitometric measurement of the separated zones. The variant scheme is as follows: lipid extraction, distribution of the extract for determination into total lipids, total cholesterine and chromatographic separation of the lipid mixture. Sulphonamic acid, embeded in the layer is used in the carbonization of the zones from the chromatogram. The conditions of carbonization and densitometry are indicated. The accuracy and reproducibility of the analytical determinations according to the scheme presented meet the requirements. The calculation of the results from the densitogram in the adopted mg per 100 ml is through the usage of test established correction factors. Seven lipid indices could be determined in 0.2 ml serum and manipulation time analysis for 10 samples is two hours. A special advantage of the method proposed is the possibility of accurately studying the dynamic of the lipid group in different morbid states or at experimental work. The method could be adopted, without principal changes for analysis of tissue lipids.


BACKGROUND
Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is an autosomal-dominant skeletal dysplasia syndrome that is characterized by widely patent calvarial sutures, clavicular hypoplasia, supernumerary teeth, and short stature. CCD is caused by mutations in the transcription factor RUNX2, which is known to function as a major regulator of bone differentiation. Despite the characterization of 67 unique mutations in 97 individual cases, and the availability of animal models, no obvious genotype-phenotype correlation has emerged.

METHODS
We describe 3 new cases that were ascertained on the basis of a severe calvarial phenotype, that were associated with 3 novel mutations in the C-terminal region of RUNX2 distal to the DNA-binding runt domain. In addition, a review of all previously described cases was undertaken in an effort to standardize mutation nomenclature, characterize the position of known mutations relative to the runt domain, and explore the hypothesis that C-terminal mutations that preserve the runt domain may lead to more-severe craniofacial phenotypes.

RESULTS
Upon mutational analysis of RUNX2, we identified either frameshift or splice-site mutations that affect the C-terminal region of the resultant protein distal to the runt domain.

CONCLUSIONS
In the context of previously described mutations, these cases suggest that C-terminal mutations that preserve the DNA-binding runt domain while disrupting the SMAD 1,2,3,5 binding domain and the nuclear matrix targeting signal may be responsible for the severe phenotype observed.


Using Bayes's theorem, we derive a unit-wise recurrence as well as a backward recursion similar to the forward-backward algorithm. The resulting Bayesian recurrent units can be integrated as recurrent neural networks within deep learning frameworks, while retaining a probabilistic interpretation from the direct correspondence with hidden Markov models. Whilst the contribution is mainly theoretical, experiments on speech recognition indicate that adding the derived units at the end of state-of-the-art recurrent architectures can improve the performance at a very low cost in terms of trainable parameters.


Autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraparesis is rare.We present 4 patients with slowly progressive predominantly lower limb spasticity and ataxia. Only one patient had family history of ataxia but without any underlying diagnosis. All of them proved negative for the mutation of Spinocerebelalr ataxia genes SCA 1,2,3 and 6. All had mutation in the SPG 7 gene suggestive of autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraparesis. One of the heterozygous mutatnts showed a novel c1617delC, p(Val540fs) frameshift mutation in exon 12 of the SPG 7 gene. SPG7 mutation accounts for 1.5-7% of all the HSP but it is the cause of undiagnosed ataxia in 18.6% in a recent case series. SPG7 mutation should be remembered as an important cause of undiagnosed ataxia especially where next generation sequencing is not widely avaialbale or affordable.


The Be X-ray binary pulsar EXO 2030+375, first detected in 1985, has shown a significant detected X-ray outburst at nearly every periastron passage of its 46-day orbit for the past ~25 years, with one low state accompanied by a torque reversal in the 1990s. In early 2015 the outbursts progressively became fainter and less regular while the monotonic spin-up flattened. At the same time a decrease in the H$\alpha$ line equivalent width was reported, indicating a change in the disk surrounding the mass donor.
In order to explore the source behaviour in the poorly explored low-flux state with a possible transition to a state of centrifugal inhibition of accretion we have undertaken an observing campaign with Swift/XRT, NuSTAR and the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT). This conference contribution reports the preliminary results obtained from our campaign.


Microparticles are pharmaceutical dosage forms widely used because they may improve the therapeuticapplication of new and conventional drugs. In this work we make biodegradable microparticles withpoly (lactic-co-glicolic) acid as polymer loaded with naproxen. The best microencapsulation conditionsare experimentally determinate. We have found that the drug:polymer ratio, the isopropanol amount,the aqueous phase volume, the stir speed and the time of stir affect the microparticles characteristics. Inthe carragenin paw edema model, we have found that the microencapsulated naproxen at 5 mg/Kg and10 mg/Kg showed greater effect than free naproxen at 10 mg/Kg.


This research aims to study the morphological anatomical characteristics and geographical distribution of the species Horwoodia dicksoniae (Turrill) belong to Brassicaceae family in Iraq. The results were revealed the morphological characteristics of the root, stem, leaves, fruits and seeds, abaxial surface of the leaf characterized by covered with simple hairs. The fruits were circular in shape with wide wing and have one seed. The seeds were conical shape and pustular surface configuration. The anatomical characteristics of the root, stem, and leaf were studied and the cross-section of the root was characterized by thick periderm layer and cortex layer consisting primarily of parenchyma cells, stem cross section was characterized by thick layer of cuticle, as well as epidermis layer that followed the cuticle layer was double epidermis, but the layer of phloem is composed of rectangular cells and arranged in a continuous ring. Cross section of leaf was bifacial , leaf contains palisade cells in the form of a rectangle at the top surface of the leaf and irregular spongy cells at the low surface and distinguish the middle vein of the leaf as a circular shape. The epidermis was characterized by an Anisocytic type. The study of geographical distribution has been shown that the species is widespread in the desert region of Iraq.


A two-crystal X-ray spectrometer system has been implemented in the EAST tokamak to simultaneously diagnose high- and low-temperature plasmas using He- and H-like argon spectra. But for future fusion devices like ITER and Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), argon ions become fully stripped in the core and the intensity of the H-like lines will be significantly at high temperatures (Te > 5 keV). With increasing auxiliary heating power on EAST, the core plasma temperature could also reach 5 keV and higher. In such conditions, the use of a xenon puff becomes an appropriate choice for both ion-temperature and flow-velocity measurements. A new two-crystal system using a quartz 110 crystal (2d = 4.913 Å) to view He-like argon lines and a quartz 011 crystal (2d = 6.686 Å) to view Ne-like xenon spectra has been deployed on a poloidal X-ray crystal spectrometer. While the He-like argon spectra will be used to measure the plasma temperature in the edge plasma region, the Ne-like xenon spectra will be used for measurement in the hot core. The new crystal arrangement allows a wide temperature measurement ranging from 0.5 to 10 keV or even higher, being the first tests for burning plasmas like ITER and CFETR. The preliminary result of lab-tests, Ne-like xenon lines measurement will be presented.


Data outsourcing or database as a service is a new paradigm for data management in which a third party service provider hosts a database as a service. The service provides data management for its customers and thus obviates the need for the service user to purchase expensive hardware and software, deal with software upgrades and hire professionals for administrative and maintenance tasks. Since using an external database service promises reliable data storage at a low cost it is very attractive for companies. Such a service would also provide universal access, through the Internet to private data storedat reliable and secure sites. A client would store their data, and not need to carry their data with them as they travel. They would also not need to log remotely to their home machines, which may suffer from crashes and be unavailable. However, recent governmental legislations, competition among companies, and database thefts mandate companies to use secure and privacy preserving data management techniques. The data provider, therefore, needs to guarantee that the data is secure, be able to execute queries on the data, and the results of the queries must also be secure and not visible to the data provider. Current research has been focused only on how to index and query encrypted data. However, querying encrypted data is computationally very expensive. \emph{Providing an efficient trust mechanism} to push both database service providers and clients to behave honestly has emerged as one of the most important problem before data outsourcing to become a viable paradigm. In this paper, we describe scalable privacy preserving algorithms for data outsourcing. Instead of encryption, which is computationally expensive, we use distribution on multiple data provider sites and information theoretically proven secret sharing algorithms as the basis for privacy preserving outsourcing. The technical contributions of this paper is the establishment and development of a framework for efficient fault-tolerant scalable and theoretically secure privacy preserving data outsourcing that supports a diversity of database operations executed on different types of data, which can even leverage publicly available data sets.


The dynamic mechanical properties of high strength aluminum–scandium (Al–Sc) alloy are investigated using a compression split Hopkinson bar. Dynamic impact testing is carried out at nominal strain rates (abbreviated to strain rate hereafter) ranging from 1:2 � 10 3 to 5:8 � 10 3 s � 1 at room temperature. The effects of strain rate on the mechanical properties, microstructural evolution and fracture characteristics are investigated and the relationship between the mechanical properties of the alloy and its microstructure is explored. The measured strain– stress curves reveal that the dynamic mechanical behaviour of Al–Sc alloy is highly dependent on the strain rate. The flow stress, work hardening rate and strain rate sensitivity increase with increasing strain rate, but the fracture strain and activation volume decrease. The Zerilli–Armstrong fcc constitutive law is used to model the shear flow response of the Al–Sc alloy. A good agreement is found between the predicted and measured shear flow responses. The Al–Sc alloy specimens fracture as a result of shear band formation and crack propagation within the shear band. SEM observations indicate that the fracture features are dominated by a transgranular dimple-like structure. The density and depth of the dimples decrease with increasing strain rate. TEM microstructural observations reveal that the presence of Al3Sc precipitated particles in the matrix and at the grain boundaries prevents dislocation motion and leads to a significant strengthening effect. An analysis of the dislocation substructure indicates that a higher strain rate increases the dislocation density, thereby reducing the size of the dislocation cells. The variations of the dislocation cell structure reflect different degrees of strain rate sensitivity and activation volume, and correlate well with the impact flow stress– strain response.


The biological species concept suggests that species can be separated on the basis of reproductive isolation. However, because natural interbreeding capabilities are often unknown, differences in morphology are generally used to separate species. Alternatively, genetic dissimilarity is used to separate morphologically similar species. Many genetic markers, including the maternally inherited mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequence, cannot show interbreeding and therefore species status of groups may remain unresolved. In species of the genera Dahlica and Siederia (Lepidoptera: Psychidae: Naryciinae) the lack of morphological distinction and unknown interbreeding has led to unclear and unresolved taxonomic status. Mitochondrial DNA sequences suggest five sexual species to occur in Finland. However, their species status remains unconfirmed, due to a lack of knowledge on interbreeding, unclear morphological distinction and the limited variation in mitochondrial DNA. We combine three methods, a cross-mating experiment, an analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, and a detailed male genital morphological examination, to establish the species status of the five suspected species. All suspected species exhibit intraspecies mating preference, although several interspecies pairs readily produce offspring. The genetic analysis, however, fails to show hybrids or introgression, suggesting that both pre- and post-copulation mechanisms isolate the species reproductively. Morphological analysis of the male genitalia confirms that the species have diverged. Our results highlight the need of combining behavioural, morphological and genetic methods to determine species status in challenging taxonomic groups. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 112, 584–605.


School Management System-SMS (Sistem Pengurusan Sekolah) is a system developed by Ministry of Education Malaysia in order to reduce teachers' burden and for Educational Data Integration. SMS is a type of Management Information System (MIS) and is pivotal for efficient and effective running of schools in Malaysia. As SMS is newly introduced, no research on its use could be found yet; therefore, this research is crucial in providing information to MOE on the SMS success. The core of this research is to validate the relations of variables in DeLone and MacLean IS Success Model with teachers' perception towards the SMS success. Several Information System Success (ISS) evaluation theories will be discussed in this research as they are essential to describing the IS Success. Using a quantitative approach, the tool (survey questionnaire) was applied in a survey at Sekolah Kebangsaan Puncak Alam (2), Selangor with 56 respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Two types of statistical analysis were used on the collected data. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the demographic information and correlation analysis to find the relationship between variables. We found significant relationships between variables: system quality, information quality, use, user satisfaction and individual impact. The results supported the hypotheses made to answer all the research questions. The findings are essential for MOE to know the teachers' perception in the implementation of SMS in school.


Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) uses either X-ray fluoroscopy or ultrasound to localize and determine the end point of treatment. We report radiation doses to patients and personnel from the Storz Modulith lithotripter system recently installed in the Lithotripter Centre, St. Thomas' Hospital, London. The mean annual radiation dose to patients and staff was calculated at 0.73 mSv and 4.8 mSv, respectively.


In this study, communication between parents and teacher through a written
communication process called "joumaling" is examined regarding reading strategies
in relation to at-risk kindergarten students. This study took place in an upper class
elementary school with a high achieving student population. The test sampling was
gathered from the lowest quartile of achievement scores on a standardized test in one
self-contained kindergarten classroom. The sampling included four boys and one
girl, one of which was a second language student. The teaching strategies consisted
of small group and individual instruction conducted at school plus specific
assignments for parents and their child to complete together at home. The parents of
students involved in the study communicated their experiences through an electronic
or "take home journal."
Prior to and following eight weeks of instruction, the students were given
district literacy assessments in "alphabet recognition," "alphabet sounds," "concepts
of print," and "running records." All students showed improvement on each
assessment, particularly on alphabet sounds. Each student that participated in this
study moved from "at-risk" to "proficient" status in literacy at the kindergarten level.
It was concluded from this study that communication with parents through a
"joumaling technique" involving literacy strategies could improve the achievement of
at-risk kindergarten students.


The efficiency of several processes for pre-treatment of lignocellulose has been investigated to provide suitable feedstock for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Wet oxidation (with and without alkaline) has been investigated for wheat straw, birchwood, and willow treating 60 g/L. The conditions for willow and birchwood was selected based on the optimal conditions for wheat straw. Three different harvest years of wheat straw were included to evaluate the effect of crop variation from year to year. Comparative studies were made using steaming and steam explosion of wheat straw. Alkaline wet oxidation fractionated wheat straw efficiently into solubilised hemicellulose and a highly convertible cellulose fraction. High oxygen (12 bar) during treatment and low lignin in treated fibres resulted in highly convertible cellulose. Different optimal reaction conditions were found for different harvest years. For straw 1993 and 1997, the conditions were 185°C, 15 minutes resulting in 9-10 g/L solubilised hemicellulose and 63-67% cellulose convertibility. For straw 1994, the conditions were 195°C, 5 minutes resulting in 7.5 g/L solubilised hemicellulose and 96% cellulose convertibility. For willow, the optimal pretreatment was wet oxidation without alkaline using 185°C, 15 minutes (from 60 g willow/L). These conditions gave 8.2 g/L hemicellulose in solution and 50% cellulose convertibility, which was lower than that of wheat straw. High recoveries were obtained for willow compared to wheat straw. Addition of alkaline significantly decreased fractionation and degree of convertible cellulose. For birchwood, the best process conditions were hydrothermal treatment (without oxygen and alkaline). At 200°C and 15 minutes, 8 g/L hemicellulose was solubilised with high recoveries for both polysaccharides, however, poor cellulose convertibility was found (<30%). The addition of oxygen (wet oxidation) also resulted in a high fractionation but decreased the recoveries. Alkaline wet oxidation resulted in the highest cellulose convertibility but low content of solubilised hemicellulose (< 4 g/L). In general, formation of furfurals was avoided by adding alkaline to wet oxidation. In the absence of alkaline, furfural formation was higher (up to 130 mg/100 g wheat straw) than that of steam explosion (43 mg/100 g straw). Formation of carboxylic acids was highest during alkaline wet oxidation and highest for birchwood (up to 8 g/L). Minor amounts of phenolic compounds were identified after alkaline wet oxidation of wheat straw. However, some residual total organic carbon presumably high molecular weight components remained unidentified. ISBN 87-550-2533-1; 87-550-2535-8(internet) ISSN 0106-2840 Information Service Department, Risø, 1999


Abstract: This current study describes an object-based learning approach to teaching Don Quixote as part of the curriculum for Spanish majors at a small liberal arts college. In order to maximize students' engagement with the narrative and the material culture of the novel, students worked with rare books, collaborative translation using Google Docs, digital and computational reading of the novel with Voyant Tools, iPad apps, and objects at the campus museum. The juxtaposition of the narrative, the material book, and the digital surrogates and supplements created a student-directed environment that produced an invigorated approach to textual analysis and a refinement of close reading skills.


The mortgage crisis precipitated a long-lasting economic recession and sent millions of American homeowners into foreclosure. Now, as retail sales, consumer confidence and employment show encouraging progress almost three years after the recession's end, the housing market is slowly gaining some momentum.


The COVID-19 epidemic has changed patients' approach to dental treatments. While dentists worldwide have shown an excellent level of adaptability to face the new challenges presented by the unprecedented situation due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, dental patients have witnessed a sudden suspension of elective treatments and a slow resumption of dental care activities after several national lockdowns. In addition, the general climate of anxiety and fear due to the high COVID-19 risk and the high level of mortality has influenced the perception and attitudes of people towards dental activity, inducing many dental patients to avoid appointments to the dentist if not highly urgent. We present an overview of the current state of knowledge about dental patients' perception, perspective, attitude, and expectations towards a full resumption of regular dental treatments.


In absolute terms, the magnitude of childhood mortality and disability caused by injury has become a priority public health problem, recognized by developed and, more recently, developing countries worldwide. By the year 2020, injuries will constitute one of the most important, if not the leading, causes of disease burden worldwide.1 For this compelling reason alone, there is an urgent need for scientifically based knowledge with which to guide the development of effective injury prevention programs. This implies, at the very least, the presence of three important conditions: (1) the capacity to conduct relevant, well designed research in developing, as well as developed countries, (2) the existence of funding to support such research, and (3) the ability to effectively apply research findings to health policies and program development.

Underwood and Carter's Opinion in this issue points to the need all countries share in identifying "...initiatives of proven value". They argue that this is inhibited, not only by limited scientific support for community—or …


A method is proposed whereby any polynomial can be approximated in an equiripple manner by a rational function. The properties and construction of such a rational function are discussed. Some of the advantages of the proposed form are: 1) approximations with less than the maximum number of ripples can be obtained, 2) the location of the error extrema within the approximation interval can be specified, and 3) polynomials more general than a constant can be approximated. Several examples are used to illustrate the theory.


Dental caries is one of the most infectious diseases of childhood resulting in chronic progression rate. They are of different types and patterns being rampant caries, nursing bottle caries. These are known to spread from the mother to the baby during infancy. Early childhood caries in the presence of one or more decayed or filled tooth surfaces in any primary teeth in a child 72 months age or younger. It is generally associated with unusual dietary patterns. Caries in children are mainly caused by the bacteria Streptococcus mutans. One of the reasons identified for ECC in children is the improper feeding patterns in children and prolonged use of baby bottles for milk feeding, especially at night. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of ECC anterior teeth in children. A retrospective study was carried out using digital records of 731 subjects. These data were collected from DIAS and coded in MS Excel sheets. The collected data was analysed by computer software SPSS version 21 using Chi-square test and graphical illustration was done. From the above study, it was found that ECC was more prevalent in 2-4 years and predominantly in male children (54.61%). Therefore, from this study, it can be concluded that ECC is highly prevalent in the maxillary anterior teeth in children.


The development of the primary health care system in Greece has followed diachronically the development line of the general health care system. Very important steps have been made, but it is not possible to endorse that this is a well-organized, structured and effective subsystem, similar to those functioning in other countries. It is generally accepted that the way of organization and management of the primary health care system are determinants of the economic efficiency of the general health care system and citizens' satisfaction too. This review aims to define heath and health services and present the importance of the primary health care regarding the general health system according to the declaration of Alma-Ata. Also, it presents the organizational, operational and financial framework of primary health care in other countries of OECD, such as Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, France and United States of America. In addition, after a qualitative analysis of documents, articles, scientific publications and legislative framework this review presents the historical development of the primary health care system in Greece from the establishing of NHS until today, the way of organizing, operating and financing and also the serious problems which this sector faces in our country. Finally, this review presents a new model of integrated health care which is based on the Primary Health Care Networks, on the institution of family doctor and on the global budget, in order to contribute to the rationalization of health expenditure, to ensure the viability of the system, to improve the provided health services and to satisfy the needs of citizens.


AbstractTropical cyclones (TC) consist of a large range of interacting scales from hundreds of kilometers to a few meters. The energy transportation among these different scales—that is, from smaller to larger scales (upscale) or vice versa (downscale)—may have profound impacts on TC energy dynamics as a result of the associated changes in available energy sources and sinks. From multilayer tower measurements in the low-level (<120 m) boundary layer of several landing TCs, the authors found there are two distinct regions where the energy flux changes from upscale to downscale as a function of distance to the storm center. The boundary between these two regions is approximately 1.5 times the radius of maximum wind. Two-dimensional turbulence (upscale cascade) occurs more typically at regions close to the inner-core region of TCs, while 3D turbulence (downscale cascade) mostly occurs at the outer-core region in the surface layer.


Treatment of quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells with bombesin rapidly increased focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-associated tyrosine kinase activity in immune complexes. The effect was rapid (maximum at 2.5 min) and dose dependent (half-maximum response at 0.05 nm). Addition of vasopressin, lysophosphatidic acid, and sphingosylphosphorylcholine also elicited a rapid increase in FAK-associated tyrosine kinase activity. Addition of the selective Src inhibitor pyrazolopyrimidine directly to the in vitrokinase assay potently inhibited Src kinase activity induced by bombesin but did not affect the kinase activity of FAK measured by autophosphorylation or by synthetic substrate phosphorylation in paralell assays. In addition, Src activity was not detected in FAK immunoprecipitates using an optimal Src peptide substrate. Thus, agonist-induced tyrosine kinase activity measured in FAK immunoprecipitates is mediated by FAK activation rather than by co-immunoprecipitating Src. Bombesin-induced FAK activation is not dependent either on protein kinase C or Ca2+ mobilization but was completely blocked by treatment with cytochalasin D or by placing the cells in suspension. These findings indicate that FAK activation requires an intact actin cytoskeleton. Our results demonstrate that agonists that act via 7-transmembrane domain receptors stimulate FAK kinase activation.


AIM
To compare the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) between ever users and never users of metformin.

METHODS
Patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus from 1999 to 2005 were enrolled from Taiwan's National Health Insurance. A total of 340,211 ever users and 24,478 never users who were free from IBD on January 1, 2006 were followed up until December 31, 2011. Hazard ratios were estimated by Cox regression incorporated with the inverse probability of treatment weighting using propensity score.

RESULTS
New-onset IBD was diagnosed in 6466 ever users and 750 never users. The respective incidence rates were 412.0 and 741.3 per 100,000 person-years and the hazard ratio for ever versus never users was 0.55 (95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.60). A dose-response pattern was observed while comparing the tertiles of cumulative duration of metformin therapy to never users. The respective hazard ratios for the first (< 26.0 months), second (26.0-58.3 months) and third (> 58.3 months) tertiles were 1.00 (0.93-1.09), 0.57 (0.52-0.62) and 0.24 (0.22-0.26). While patients treated with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) without metformin were treated as a referent group, the hazard ratios for patients treated with OADs with metformin, with insulin without metformin (with/without other OADs) and with insulin and metformin (with/without other OADs) were 0.52 (0.42-0.66), 0.95 (0.76-1.20) and 0.50 (0.40-0.62), respectively.

CONCLUSION
A reduced risk of IBD is consistently observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who have been treated with metformin.


We report calculations of the energy spectra of shallow-acceptor impurities in quantum dots in the presence of external magnetic fields. We calculate the binding energies of the ground and excited acceptor states in the effective-mass approximation using a formalism based on a four-band model that includes the coupling of the spin to the magnetic field as well as the valence-band mixing. The potential of the acceptor is taken to be the screened Coulomb potential of a point charge, and we take into account the mismatch of the dielectric constant through the method of image charges. We present a complete analysis of the acceptor binding energies as a function of the lateral confinement of the quantum dot and as a function of the magnetic field strength. We also discuss the role of the mixing of heavy holes and light holes in determining the acceptor spectrum in the different regimes of confinement.


Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) are responsible for a highly fatal haemorrhagic disease (EEHV-HD), threatening the overall sustainability of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population. The viruses were first reported in tissue sections of a fatal case of an Asian elephant in 1988. In recent years, there has been a gradual increase in our understanding of the viruses highlighted by decoding their complete genome sequences. However, lack of an animal model and a cell culture system has restricted studies on the pathogenesis of the viruses, assessing control measures, and development of a vaccine. This project therefore aimed to achieve a better understanding of the viruses' pathogenesis studying several EEHV surviving and fatal cases, and to advise accordingly on the control measures.
The results revealed coincidence of highest blood viral load with clinical signs, viruses' shedding in trunk secretion during convalescence, complementary haematological tests to aid detection and clinical prognosis of EEHV infections and the inadequacy of famciclovir treatment to alter EEHV infections. Analysis of tissues from fatal cases detected viruses' co-infections (EEHV-1 and 4) and widespread organ distribution with liver, heart, mesenteric lymph node, thymus, and tongue having the highest viral load, thereby highlighting implications for EEHV diagnosis and future in vitro isolation. Further, this study isolated elephant endothelial cells and PBMCs and used these established elephant cells alongside common laboratory cell lines to assess their suitability for EEHV-1A isolation. Despite indication of limited increase in EEHV-1 DNA in PBMCs and mouse embryo fibroblast supernatants, conclusive in vitro virus replication could not be demonstrated.

In conclusion, the outcomes of this PhD study further advance our knowledge on pathogenesis of EEHV strains and provide new insights on their control to minimise their respective impact on the Asian elephant population.


Medical history explains that Persian physicians used scientific methods based on clinical experiences and observations for treatment from pre-Islamic time (before 637 AD) and centuries later (in the Islamic era). Rhazes was one of the Persian physicians acknowledged as a pharmacist, chemist and prominent scientific writer on various subjects of medicine and philosophy. In this study, we aimed to investigate clinical experiences, as well as the ethical and critical views of Rhazes in medical practice. Rhazes promoted ethics in the medical profession. He expressed critical key points about ancient written texts. He broke ancient physicians' taboos in medical theories and evaluated them based on his own experiences. He designed animal and preclinical evaluations for his theories and also performed the first clinical trials with control groups in the history. His critical views about medical sciences as well as his beliefs in experiments resulted in many medical, chemical and pharmaceutical findings. Therefore, in history, he can be considered as the pioneer in using trials and experiments for approving medical methods.


Abstract We conducted an 8-week feeding trial to determine the effects of dietary starch levels on growth performance, body composition, and digestive enzyme activities of juvenile soft-shelled turtles. Six fish meal-based diets containing 120, 180, 240, 300, 360 and 420 g kg−1 cornstarch were formulated. Body weight gain (BWG), crude protein concentration in whole body, as well as protease activity increased with increasing dietary starch levels until the highest at 240–300 g kg−1, but it was decreased at higher dietary starch content. In contrast, the feed conversion ratio, moisture content and hepatosomatic index were the lowest at 240–300 g kg−1 of cornstarch. The weight gain correlated significantly with the survival rate, the crude protein composition and the protease activity, but correlated negatively to the moisture content and the hepatosomatic index. The optimal dietary starch levels for the maximum BWG and maximum protease activity were 267.25 g kg−1 and 266.79 g kg−1, respectively. The α-amylase activity was the lowest at 120 g · kg−1 of cornstarch, and increased with increasing cornstrach content. The lipase activity and the amount of crude lipid in the turtles were not influenced by dietary cornstarch. Our results suggest that around 300 g kg−1 of cornstarch in diets is optimal for juvenile soft-shelled turtles.


We propose using a modification of the simple peak hour approximation (SPHA) for estimating peak congestion in multiserver queueing systems with exponential service times and time-varying periodic Poisson arrivals. This lagged pointwise stationary approximation (lagged PSA) is obtained by first estimating the time of the actual peak congestion by the time of peak congestion in an infinite server model and then substituting the arrival rate at this time in the corresponding stationary finite server model. We show that the lagged PSA is always more accurate than the SPHA and results in dramatically smaller errors when average service times are greater than a half an hour (based on a 24 hour period). More importantly, the lagged PSA reliably identifies proper staffing levels to meet targeted performance levels to keep congestion low.


The works of Confucius, like those of Shakespeare and other giants of thought, are unlimited in their pertinence and contain messages for every reader. The physician, especially if he is psychiatrically inclined, cannot help but find himself deeply interested in the structure of Confucian virtues which guide all of man's interpersonal relations, especially within the family where unquestioning devotion and reverence are the only sentiments permissible for children towards their parents and elders. This new edition of the works of the great Chinese philosopher by the two Professors Chai represents by itself the essence of noble Confucian conduct, since nothing could be more in keeping with the master's doctrines than for father and son to collaborate on a work of such profound scholarship. In fact, their translation of this ancient text is superior to most previous ones, inasmuch as the Chais have succeeded in their interpretation in bringing out the


Osteoarthritis of hip joints is one of the most common diseases limiting social functioning of patients. Pain and mobility disorders are major problems associated with the disease. The goal of the study was to compare the efficacy of surgical treatment in a selected group of patients using a modified Harris Hip Score questionnaire including questions regarding the pain, the type of gait disorders and the functional activity. Surgical treatment helped to reduce the pain and improve the gait quality and parameters as well as functional activities associated with putting on socks and shoes, climbing stairs, sitting and using public transportation. Following conclusions were drawn after the study: Surgical treatment leads to significant reduction in hip pain. Mobility improvement was observed in most analyzed patients in early post-operative period as a consequence of hip contracture and pain being eliminated. The walking speed and distance improved significantly during the first 3 months after the surgery. All patients were satisfied with the treatment.


Si quantum dots (SiQDs) based nanospheres (SiNSs) were prepared via a novel synthetic strategy. These SiNSs were demonstrated to possess unique dot spacing dependent photoluminescence (PL) up-conversion and surface dependent (N modified surface) down-converted PL. It was demonstrated that a small distance between SiQDs (<5 nm) is the necessary condition for the PL up-conversion of SiNSs, while the surface state of SiQDs will affect the maximum emission wavelength and the PL intensity. The as-prepared SiNSs feature excellent aqueous dispersibility, and their optical properties were found to be stable enough in a specified temperature and pH range.


Heavy metals (HMs) contaminate the soil through various natural and anthropogenic resources and are transported to the plant systems. These heavy metals are translocated within the plant system by the apoplast and symplast through various transporters such as HMAs, ZIP, ABC. HMs disturb plant metabolism, cause oxidative stress and nutrient dearth. Many researchers have applied exogenous minerals to alleviate these negative impacts caused by HMs. Minerals mitigate the HMAs induced negative impacts by the enhancement of biochemical reactions and physiological processes in plants. In the present article the role of exogenous mineral regulation under heavy metal toxicity is being discussed.


Background: Bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis (BSPDC) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormal calcium accumulation in the basal ganglia, dentate nucleus, and semioval center. Speech, voice, and swallowing abnormalities can be associated with the disease. However, there are a limited number of studies regarding the speech and swallowing characteristics of this disease in the literature. Lee-Silverman voice therapy (LSVT-LOUD) is a structured speech therapy method that can be used to treat neurogenic conditions. Aims: The main purpose of this article was to document the effects of LSVT-LOUD on voice and swallowing functions in a case of BSPDC. Design: Case report. Methods: A comprehensive voice and swallowing evaluation, including objective methods, was conducted before therapy and at post-therapy follow-ups (FU) after 3 months and 6 months. Results: The voice and swallowing parameters were substantially improved at the 3-month FU; at the 6-month FU, the improvement in swallowing function was still preserved; however, the improvement in voice function had regressed. Conclusion: LSVT-LOUD may improve the voice and swallowing functions of patients with BSPDC. However, long-term retention of the effects of LSVT-LOUD should be investigated in future studies.


This article attempts a tentative explanation of structural differences and similarities among contemporary Irish communities as described by anthropologists. Two ideal-typical case studies of community development are described in which the role of landlord-tenant relations is critical. In the first type, exemplified by County Clare, the structure of social relations was affected by disincorporating processes active through the colonial period. In the second type, exemplified by Teelin, a fishing community in southwest Donegal, such processes were much mitigated by forces both ecological and social. These ideal developmental types shed light on the contemporary rural Irish landscape, as well as on the effects of landlord-tenant relations on the social organization of local communities generally.


Four case studies of European protected areas are presented illustrating particular themes of management practice. The National Park of Abruzzo, Latium and Molise (Italy) serves as a model for zoning; the Bialowieza National Park (Poland) for monitoring; participatory management is exemplified in the Minorca Biosphere Reserve in Spain; and the Austrian Hohe Tauern National Park is a good example for visitor management.


Dielectric and pyroelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectric in the PMN-PT solid solution series have been investigated. Features of the diffuse phase transition in PMN-PT system, typical relaxor ferroelectric materials, were studied as a function of temperature and frequency. The transition temperature of the ceramics with PT~0.325 did not depend on the measuring frequency. This can best realized in a relatively random environment that apparently is provided by PMN-rich complex perovskites, including those containing Pb. The composition with PT>0.35 show the characteristics of a normal single phase ferroelectric material. Thus the studies revealed that the morphotropic phase boundary in the PMN-PT system is in the vicinity of PT~0.3 and it has a small curvature and as a result the compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary show two phase transitions, rhombohedral→tetragonal→cubic, when the samples are heated up to higher temperature. The best optimum compositions are observed near the morphotropic phase boundary.