All clinical anthelmintics are markedly toxic to earthworms. This simple test may therefore be used for determining whether a given substance has any anthelmintic properties. It may also be used to determine the relative activity of different samples of a given drug. It could not be used to compare the clinical value of different anthelmintics, since this often involves factors other than simple vermicidal efficiency; such, for instance, as absorption, local and general toxicity, etc. For instance the highest vermicidal efficiency is possessed by substitutes that are not clinically available for this purpose; viz., mercuric chlorid, cupric sulphate, and mustard oil.

Aspidium, chenopodium, pelletierin, thymol, betanaphthol, and chloroform are highly effective. So is santonin in the presence of an appropriate solvent (bile-salts and sodium bicarbonate, simulating the intestinal fluid).

Somewhat less effective, but still quite toxic are kamala, kousso, and granatum. Spigelia is rather feeble.

Fresh (germinable) pumpkin seed and squash seed are quite highly efficient, the active principle being soluble in water and destroyed by boiling. In view of their cheapness, availability, and presumably low toxicity to men, renewed clinical interest in these is indicated.

Spices and "sharp" substances including mustard, pepper, onion and cantharidin are quite toxic. Their use in the preparatory treatment is therefore well justified (except of course cantharidin). Indeed, pepper potentiates or synergizes the effects of the more active anthelmintics.

Mixtures of the active anthelmintics give simple summation of efficiency. This may be useful for decreasing their toxic effects on the hosts. It would need to be determined by further animal experiments and clinical trial.

Oleoresin of aspidium appears to be quite stable, although the dry rhizome deteriorates. Different samples agree fairly in activity. The deposit that occurs in some oleoresins appears to have little if any influence in the activity.

Different samples of pelletierin tannate are also of fairly uniform activity. The "pelletierine tanret" is a secret preparation without any advantage.

Most substances that are toxic to earthworms produce a primary irritation or agitation, that results in the withdrawal of the worm from the neighborhood of the poison. This is observed with santonin, but is no more marked with this than with other anthelmintics.

By virtue of this effect, anthelmintics doubtless often "expel" the parasite when the concentration does not rise sufficiently high to kill the worm.


Several additions and extensions to the 10–20 System have been proposed. The major sets of proposals are reviewed here. The principal uses of these additional scalp recording sites are for clinical evoked potential testing and for acquisition of EEGs from very large numbers of scalp sites. Three separate systematic nomenclatures have arisen for filling in the half-step gaps in the 10–20 placements. These are compared and contrasted here.


Large sporting events affect criminal behaviour via three channels: fan concentration, self‐incapacitation and police displacement. I exploit information on football matches for London teams linked to detailed recorded crime data at the area level to estimate these effects empirically. I find that only property crime increases in the communities hosting matches but not violent offences. There is a negative away game attendance effect on crime which is due to voluntary incapacitation of potential offenders attending a match. Police displacement during home games increases property crime by 7 percentage points for every extra 10000 supporters in areas that are left underprotected.


ATP-sensitive potassium channels are thought to play an important role in preconditioning. possibly due to shortening of the action potential duration (APD). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the class III antiarrhythmic agent dofetilide on preconditioning at a dose that abolishes APD shortening during ischemia A pilot study was performed to find a dose of dofetilide that would abolish the APD shortening effect of preconditioning Anesthetized dogs were subjected to 5-min coronary occlusion (or sham) and 10-min reperfusion followed by 60-min coronary occlusion. Monophasic action potentials were recorded periodically throughout the experiment. Significant APD shortening was observed during the 5- and 60-min ischemic periods, although preconditioning did not further enhance APD shortening during the prolonged ischemia. Dofetilide (1 mg/kg + 0.01 mg.kg-1.h-1 iv) abolished the APD shortening effect of ischemia. The effect of this dose of dofetilide on the protective action of preconditioning was then determined. Preconditioning significantly reduced infarct size expressed as a percentage of the area at risk compared with nonpreconditioned hearts. Dofetilide had no effect on infarct size when given to nonpreconditioned hearts. In addition, dofetilide did not alter the protective effect of preconditioning. No differences in collateral blood flow during ischemia were observed for any group. This study shows that the class III antiarrhythmic agent dofetilide does not abolish preconditioning and that the cardioprotective effect of preconditioning is independent of APD shortening below baseline values.


The study examines the relationship between the Corporate Citizenship (CC) practices of leading firms in their industries and their level of advancement in CC. The study took a conceptual approach and used two cases not as empirical evidence but for illustration purposes. The main hypothesis was that CC practices of leading firms find expression from the fact that these firms tend to play two significant roles. First, leading firms in CC can set standards (pace-setting) of CC practice in their industry which would become a benchmark for other firms. Second, leading firms take up the challenge to catch up with the standards set by other firms in the industry in other aspects of CC where they are not leaders. The results show that the two cases used by the study have revealed how the CC practices of a leading firm in an industry under institutional isomorphism that manifests through pace setting, and catching-up can improve the general CC practices of an industry. As a practical recommendation, champions of CC like NGOs should target leading firms more as their practices are more likely to be replicated by other firms in the industry since the study has demonstrated that firms in the industry tend to copy leaders (innovators and early adopters) more than laggards.

 Key words: Corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, socially responsible behaviour of leading firms, institutional isomorphism.


PURPOSE
Visual perceptual learning occurs with the presentation of novel visual stimuli at retinal sites near the fovea to 20 degrees eccentricities. It was unclear if the magnitude and rate of visual learning were similar across the central visual fields or if visual learning decreased with increasing eccentricity. The robustness of learning across the visual fields may affect the magnitude of computer-aided visual recovery after visual brain injury. Therefore we determined if eccentricity was a factor that influenced perceptual learning.

METHODS
Subjects were trained to detect the presence or absence of a single line oriented differently (odd-element) from an array of lines that otherwise had the same orientation. The odd-element line was presented 3 degrees, 9 degrees or 18 degrees from fixation.

RESULTS
Perceptual performance improved during training trials with a similar magnitude and similar learning curve slopes at all 3 eccentricities. Pre- and post-training performance improved to a similar magnitude at 3 vs 9 degrees in 4 of 4 subjects tested and at 9 degrees vs 18 degrees in 4 of 5 subjects. In the fifth subject there was no post-training improvement in performance at 18 degrees.

CONCLUSION
Visual perceptual learning is similar across the extrafoveal central visual fields in almost all subjects.


OBJECTIVE
The aim: To compare the long-term effects of different angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Materials and methods: Of 445 consecutive patients with myocardial infarction, 76 (17%) patients had co-morbid conditions, as well as were found to be compliant with secondary prevention treatment and eligible for follow-up. These patients were assigned to ramipril, perindopril or zofenopril groups in complex management of post-MI period. Subsequently, the patients were followed-up prospectively for a period of up to 24 months.

RESULTS
Results: Patients of zofenopril group performed better in terms of post-MI biventricular remodeling and left ventricular function recovery. Also, patients receiving zofenopril showed benefits in terms of short-term and long-term mortality as compared with patients of ramipril and perindopril groups.

CONCLUSION
Conclusion: Zofenopril may have advantages over perindopril and ramipril in the complex management of post-MI patients in terms of prevention of negative myocardial remodeling, onset of congestive heart failure and major adverse events.


Abstract In many unrelated languages, the same anaphor is either subject to Condition A of the binding theory, or exempt from it but with specific interpretive properties. On the basis of French data and crosslinguistic comparisons, I first show that such exempt anaphors must be anteceded by logophoric centers. Elaborating on but modifying Sells 1987, I provide specific tests to argue that these logophoric antecedents can be classified into two kinds of perspective centers, attitude holders and empathy loci, thus reducing logophoricity to mental perspective. Next, I propose to derive the logophoricity of exempt anaphors from the following hypothesis: seemingly exempt anaphors are in fact bound by silent logophoric pronouns introduced by syntactically represented logophoric operators within their local domain. Crucially, this hypothesis, which is independently supported by exhaustive coreference constraints on locally cooccurring exempt anaphors, also accounts for their apparent exemption from Condition A, reanalyzed here as local binding by a silent logophoric binder.


ABSTRACT This study investigated how individual differences in linguistic knowledge and processing skills relate to individual differences in speaking fluency. Speakers of Dutch as a second language (N = 179) performed eight speaking tasks, from which several measures of fluency were derived such as measures for pausing, repairing, and speed (mean syllable duration). In addition, participants performed separate tasks, designed to gauge individuals' second language linguistic knowledge and linguistic processing speed. The results showed that the linguistic skills were most strongly related to average syllable duration, of which 50% of individual variance was explained; in contrast, average pausing duration was only weakly related to linguistic knowledge and processing skills.


Recently, tentative evidence for an excess of gamma rays at energies around 130 GeV has been reported from analyses of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The excess is potentially of great interest, as it could be associated with the pair-annihilation of Galactic dark matter and the subsequent production of monochromatic or internal bremsstrahlung gamma rays. The 130 GeV excess appears when an optimized selection of the target region of interest is employed, a procedure that depends upon the assumed dark matter density profile. For the profiles producing an appreciable signal, these target regions vastly overlap with the region corresponding to the so-called ``Fermi bubbles''. We argue that the tentative evidence for a line feature is likely due to hard photons in the Fermi bubbles regions, where the gamma-ray spectrum contains a spectral break in the energy range of interest (100–150 GeV). Although the origin of this broken power-law is unclear, it is probably related to standard astrophysical processes and not to dark matter annihilation. A broken power-law provides as good a fit as a line ``excess'', even within small energy windows, and a significantly better fit for large energy windows.


Compared with contact detection techniques, pavement crack identification with visual images via deep learning algorithms has the advantages of not being limited by the material of object to be detected, fast speed and low cost. The fundamental frameworks and typical model architectures of transfer learning (TL), encoder-decoder (ED), generative adversarial networks (GAN), and their common modules were first reviewed, and then the evolution of convolutional neural network (CNN) backbone models and GAN models were summarized. The crack classification, segmentation performance, and effect were tested on the SDNET2018 and CFD public data sets. In the aspect of patch sample classification, the fine-tuned TL models can be equivalent to or even slightly better than the ED models in accuracy, and the predicting time is faster; In the aspect of accurate crack location, both ED and GAN algorithms can achieve pixel-level segmentation and is expected to be detected in real time on low computing power platform. Furthermore, a weakly supervised learning framework of combined TL-SSGAN and its performance enhancement measures are proposed, which can maintain comparable crack identification performance with that of the supervised learning, while greatly reducing the number of labeled samples required.


Despite the low injury of endovascular interventions, there are a number of complications that significantly worsen the prognosis of patients. The most unfavorable complications in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction during primary percutaneous coronary intervention are stent thrombosis, coronary artery perforation, tamponade, complications at the arterial access site, distal embolism, development of the "no-reflow", stroke. The article is devoted to the study of the frequency of these complications in primary percutaneous coronary intervention in combination with manual thromboaspiration.


CSSH continues to range widely through space and time, probing pockets of evidence on comparable problems in the articulation of social groups and in their role in shaping and reshaping cultural expression. The selection is always of evidence that is descriptively rich enough to permit some testing of explanatory theory. In a methodological review article on recent trends in evolutionary thought, Conrad Kottak presses home a point which has been stressed in the journal from the start: 'Intensive analysis of single societies, without a comparative framework, describes, but cannot explain socio-cultural differences. Differences as well as similarities must be explained'(12:1:108). One of the problems scheduled for discussion in the coming year has occasioned some clashes of opinion this year. Abstractly, it could be styled the problem of conceptualizing continuity and discontinuity in society and culture. Nancie Gonzalez encounters it in trying to clarify and defend her own identification of a Black Carib community in which she has done fieldwork, as a virtually traditionless society of a form 'new under the sun'. Her own answer to her own question as to when a society ceases to be 'traditional' is in the Weberian tradition of contrasting validation by reference to the past with validation by the present (12:1: 3). In this regard it recalls Edward Shils' observations on the traditions of intellectuals in our very first issue (1:1: especially pp. 15-16). It might be worth while considering whether the method of S. N. Eisenstadt's observations on the dynamics of traditions (11:4: 451-75) might not be applicable, although they deal with complex societies and special kinds of elite leadership, to the small communities studied by fieldwork.


In this paper the architecture and the implementation of a complex fast Fourier transform (CFFT) processor using 0.8 /spl mu/m gallium arsenide technology is presented. The processor is based upon the CORDIC algorithm in which elementary functions use only add and shift operations instead of the more conventional multiply and add hardware. In this architecture functional primitives were designed and extensively simulated taking into account process variations and in particular up to /spl plusmn/3/spl sigma/ of threshold voltage variation. Issues pertaining to the design of a 1024 point CFFT processor with 16 bit data and operating up to 1 GHz are discussed.<<ETX>>


Abstract: In many nations, parents exhibit a variety of behaviors that favor sons over daughters. In this paper we provide evidence suggesting that in Indonesia there is no problem of "missing daughters" and that patterns of births, birth spacing and nutrition allocations do not suggest son preference during the cohorts born from 1940's to the 1990's. In contrast, gender differences in educational attainment and inheritance were quite prevalent in the recent past. These gaps have narrowed for secondary education and inheritance, and disappeared for primary education.


Rural landscapes face multiple challenges, but they can be attractive for developing nature-based tourism. Encouraging place-based participatory governance in local communities represents a relevant transdisciplinary landscape approach. In this study, we map (1) rural and touristic challenges and (2) coping strategies in peripheral–rural municipalities, and we (3) discuss the need for integration of local and regional-level actions. Two island and two mainland municipalities with different demographic profiles and different degrees of touristic specialization in the German Wadden Sea Region were selected as case studies. Through meetings and interviews we mapped perceived challenges and analyzed policies and other coping strategies. We then discuss the need for integration at multiple scales. Island municipalities were more exposed to tourism development challenges than mainland municipalities. Securing public services and welfare, and the sustainable conservation of ecological green infrastructures were particularly challenging. Applying a participatory approach was a coping strategy at the local level. However, there is a need for activities at multiple scales. In coping with rural development challenges, local level participatory approaches and regional planning complement each other. Combination and integration of local and regional-level concepts should be encouraged to support collaborative learning through evaluation.


The xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) protein is a subunit of transcription factor TFIIH with DNA helicase activity. TFIIH has two functions, in basal transcription and nucleotide excision repair. Mutations in XPD that affect DNA repair but not transcription result in the skin cancer-prone disorder, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). If transcription is also affected, the result is the multi-system disorder trichothiodystrophy (TTD), in which there is no skin cancer predisposition, or in rare cases, XP combined with Cockayne syndrome. Up till now there have been no reports of combined clinical features of XP and TTD. We have now identified two patients with some features of both these disorders. One of these, XP189MA, a 3-year-old girl with sun sensitivity, mental and physical developmental delay, has XPD mutations not previously reported, and barely detectable levels of nucleotide excision repair. The other, XP38BR, a 28-year-old woman with sun sensitivity, pigmentation changes and skin cancers typical of XP, has a mutation that has been identified previously, but only in TTD patients with no features of XP. The level of repair of UV damage in XP38BR is substantially higher than that in other patients with the same mutation. With both patients, polarized light microscopy revealed a 'tiger-tail' appearance of the hair, and amino acid analysis of the hair shafts show levels of sulfur-containing proteins intermediate between those of normal and TTD individuals. Our findings highlight the complexities of genotype-phenotype relationships in the XPD gene.


The purpose of this paper is to refer to the Lotka-Volterra model (predator-prey) in order to address cognitive functioning and particularly classification as a mental operation. Logistic regression is used and a model is determined for explaining classification functioning in children four years old. Results show evidence pointing to an on linear function of classification. The children's performance suggests a balance between the number of questions that the child makes and the mental operations that he must display to coordinate such information.


Salter-Harris type III fractures of the proximal humerus are rare injuries. We report a Salter-Harris type III anterior fracture-dislocation of the proximal humerus in a 10-year-old boy that was open reduced and internally stabilized. A bone scan performed during the initial hospitalization and at 2-year follow-up revealed devascularization and subsequent revascularization of the humeral head. At 2-year follow-up, the patient had full motion of the shoulder, no pain, and arm strength equal to that of the contralateral side. Four cases of Salter-Harris type III fractures of the proximal humerus have been previously reported; good early clinical outcomes were obtained in all. Despite devascularization of the epiphyseal fragment, excellent clinical outcomes may result.


Climate change has become a major challenge globally. Human activities have several direct and indirect impacts on health. In Nigeria, the impacts of climate change are more devastating due to their vulnerability and low coping capability. Studies on the impacts of climate change on health risks in Nigeria are scare. With this rationale, this study investigates the effects of climate change on health risks in Nigeria. Evidence abounds that climate change impacts in Nigeria arise from climate change-related causes such as increase in temperature, rainfall, sea level rise, extreme weather events and, especially, increased health risks. Health risks such as cerebra-spinal meningitis, cardiovascular respiratory disorder of elderly, skin cancer, malaria, high blood pressure and morbidity were identified as the direct consequences of climate change. The study concluded that government should raise awareness on adverse effects of climate change which is common among vulnerable groups, like women, children and rural dwellers in Nigeria.


BACKGROUND
Stent revascularization is perceived as superior to balloon angioplasty and surgical revascularization, but the paucity of stent publications precludes even historical comparison with surgical data.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Palmaz-Schatz stent revascularization of renal artery stenosis was successfully performed on 163 consecutive patients for poorly controlled hypertension or preservation of renal function. Of these, 145 were eligible for > or =6-month clinical follow-up of the effect of the procedure on renal function, blood pressure control, number of antihypertensive medications, and survival. At 4 years, systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly decreased (from 166+/-26 to 148+/-22 mm Hg and from 86+/-14 to 80+/-11 mm Hg, respectively; P<0.05), and blood pressure control was more facile in approximately half of the patients. Creatinine decreased or remained stable in approximately two thirds of the patients. The cumulative probability of survival was 74+/-4% at 3 years, with few deaths related to end-stage renal disease. Survival was good in patients with normal (92+/-4%) baseline renal function, fair (74+/-7%) in those with mildly impaired renal function, and poor (52+/-7%) in patients with elevated baseline creatinine levels (> or =2.0 mg/dL). The combination of impaired renal function and bilateral disease adversely affected survival.

CONCLUSIONS
Renal artery stent revascularization in the presence of normal or mildly impaired renal function had a beneficial effect on blood pressure control and a nondeleterious effect on renal function. Survival was adversely affected by renal dysfunction despite adequate revascularization. Early diagnosis and adequate revascularization before the onset of renal dysfunction could beneficially affect blood pressure control, preserve or prevent deterioration of renal function, and improve patient survival.


Every heartbeat is preceded by an electrical wave of excitation that rapidly propagates through the cardiac muscle, triggering mechanical contractions of cardiac myocytes. Abnormal propagation of this wave causes severe cardiac arrhythmias. The most dangerous of these is ventricular fibrillation, the leading cause of sudden death in the industrialized world. It is well established that ventricular fibrillation is a result of turbulent propagation of the electrical excitation wave. However, despite more than a century of investigation, the precise mechanism of its initiation and maintenance remains largely unknown. Novel experimental tools for the visualization of the excitation wave as well as advanced three–dimensional computer models of the heart, which have become available in recent years, have intensified attempts to solve the puzzle of ventricular fibrillation. These efforts have revealed significantly different manifestations of ventricular fibrillation, suggesting that multiple mechanisms are responsible for this arrhythmia. Several new hypotheses have been put forward recently that deviate considerably from Moe's standard hypothesis of fibrillation, which has dominated the field for almost four decades. One of the hypotheses that has been most actively discussed is the spiral–breakup (also called the restitution) hypothesis. This hypothesis may lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of the factors that cause this deadly arrhythmia and provide a constructive approach to the development of efficient antifibrillatory drugs.


The results of the development of a curd functional product with vegetable filler Melissa officinalis L. are presented. An analysis of the health status of the population carried out in recent years by the World Health Organization shows that the world community is facing acute questions related to the need to prevent the so-called "diseases of civilization", which include diseases of the cardiovascular system, oncology, diseases associated with impaired lipid metabolism and the gastrointestinal tract, al ergii, decreased immunity, disorders of the nervous system. According to experts, many of these diseases leading to death, disability or disability have a steady upward trend. Up to 44% of the population of our country suffer from cardiovascular diseases (as of December 2019), while more than 82% have functional disorders leading to them. Malignant neoplasms and precancerous conditions are observed in 39% of the adult population, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are found in more than 48% of the working population of the country. The solution to these problems may be the development of functional food products.


Using panel data from a sample of agriculture graduates from Southern land-grant universities, this paper examines factors associated with occupational attainment and income earnings among agricultural students after graduation. Findings indicate that college major and gender were the strongest predictors of occupational attainment, while educational attainment was the best single predictor of income earnings. Compared with their peers with only baccalaureate degrees, highly trained agricultural students earned higher income on their fmt full-time jobs after leaving college. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.


Results of optical investigations of SF6 high-current arc plasmas are presented. The experimental arrangement allowed measurements at arc currents up to 2.6 kA and at discharge pressures up to 100 kPa. The dependence of the electron density of the arc plasma on these parameters and the laser wavelength were determined using a Michelson interferometer and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Besides these measurements, the temperature in the arc core was determined using spectroscopic methods and the diameter of the arc was measured using an image converter camera. The results of the measurements were compared with calculated data supposing local thermodynamic equilibrium. It can be shown that there is a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results and those of other authors.


The cytoskeletal protein talin, which provides a direct link between integrins and actin filaments, has been shown to contain two distinct binding sites for integrin β subunits. Here, we report the precise delimitation and a first functional analysis of the talin rod domain integrin-binding site. Partially overlapping cDNAs covering the entire human talin gene were transiently expressed as DsRed fusion proteins in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing αIIbβ3, linked to green fluorescent protein (GFP). Two-color fluorescence analysis of the transfected cells, spread on fibrinogen, revealed distinct subcellular staining patterns including focal adhesion, actin filament, and granular labeling for different talin fragments. The rod domain fragment G (residues 1984–2344), devoid of any known actin- or vinculin-binding sites, colocalized with β3-GFP in focal adhesions. Direct in vitro interaction of fragment G with native platelet integrin αIIbβ3 or with the recombinant wild type, but not the Y747A mutant β3 cytoplasmic tail, linked to glutathione S-transferase, was demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance analysis and pull-down assays, respectively. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the in vivo relevance of this interaction by fluorescence resonance energy transfer between β3-GFP and DsRed-talin fragment G. Further in vitro pull-down studies allowed us to map out the integrin-binding site within fragment G to a stretch of 130 residues (fragment J, residues 1984–2113) that also localized to focal adhesions. Finally, we show by a cell biology approach that this integrin-binding site within the talin rod domain is important for β3-cytoskeletal interactions but does not participate in αIIbβ3 activation.


OBJECTIVE
Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) commonly is used to manage refractory cardiogenic shock after cardiac surgery, with 31% to 76% of patients successfully weaned off their ECMO. However, it is associated with high mortality rates, and 20% to 65% of weaned patients do not survive to hospital discharge. This study aimed to assess the incidence of ECMO weaning-related shock, the risk factors, and prognosis in the intensive care unit (ICU).

DESIGN
Retrospective observational cohort study.

SETTING
Surgical ICU of Cardiology Institute of Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (Paris-France).

PARTICIPANTS
Patients who were assisted with a peripheral VA-ECMO from January 2015 to December 2017 were included. Patients with venovenous, central, or right ECMO were excluded.

MEASUREMENTS
The authors collected data on patients' characteristics, during and after surgery. The indications for VA-ECMO implantation were ventricular dysfunction, primary graft dysfunction, and refractory cardiac arrest. Weaning-related shock was defined as the need to introduce or increase the dose of catecholamine at ECMO explantation or in the following week.

RESULTS
After weaning off VA-ECMO, 56 of 146 patients (38.4%) presented weaning-related shock: 55% were septic shocks, 12.5 % were caused by right ventricle failure, and 7.1% by hemorrhage. ICU mortality was 42% versus 8% in patients who did not present shock. Multivariate analysis showed that patients with pulmonary hypertension and those with norepinephrine before weaning were more likely to develop shock.

CONCLUSION
ECMO weaning-related shock is frequent in patients with refractory cardiogenic shock after cardiac surgery. This is most commonly caused by sepsis and causes higher mortality rates, calling for further evaluation.


Abstract Caries still represents the most widespread human disease. The pulp tissue sequelae of den tin caries are of utmost importance, because prevention of pulpal damage considerably reduces the need for extensive restorations and endodontic therapy. There is, however, considerable disagreement in the literature regarding how early the pulpal response to caries can be detected. The material in this article, gathered from the author's and his coauthors' earlier investigations, deals with pulp reactions from initial caries to increasingly extensive caries; caries in combination with attrition; the effect of carious den tin in experimental cavities of intact dentin; the effect of medicaments, restorative procedures and materials, and indirect pulp capping in the treatment of deep caries; microbiologic aspects of dentin caries; diagnosis criteria for treatment; light and electron microscopic study of teeth with carious exposure; periodontal disease and root caries in the geriatric population; pulp biopsies of teeth with periapical lesions, and the breakdown of the remaining pulp and its periapical sequelae. Pulpal reactions to initial caries detected as early as bacteria reach the dentinal tubules arc also discussed. As in medium and deep caries, this can be reversible following the removal of the infected dentin, except for irritation dentin and calcifications on the canal walls or free in the lumen. Bacteria remaining in dentinal tubules combined with iatrogenesis may be the reason for pulpal disintegration under deep restorations. Indirect pulp capping is not an acceptable procedure. Pain (or lack thereof) is not a predictable indicator of the inflammatory stage of the pulp. Root caries must be treated early to prevent pulpal destruction. Vital pulp tissue can be found in the roots of teeth with periapical radiolucencies that will ultimately show the presence of bacteria.


Chitosan-based tricomponent copolymers, chitosan-g-poly(e-caprolactone)-(g-poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)) (CS-PCL-POEGMA, CPP), are synthesized as multifunctional nanocarriers for antitumor therapy. 2-Bromoisobutyric acid and PCL are first site-specifically conjugated onto the hydroxy groups of chitosan backbone through conventional coupling chemistry to give CS-PCL-Br using sodium dodecyl sulfate–chitosan complex as an organosoluble intermediate. CPP-PCL-Br is further used for initiating the single electron transfer-living radical polymerization of OEGMA in the mixed solvent of dimethyl sulfoxide and lactic acid, yielding CPP. One-pot reaction of CPP with a small amount of NaN3 under the catalysis of Cu(I)Br/tris-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)amine converts the bromo ends of POEGMA grafts to azide functionality, which is used for conjugation of folic acid targeting moiety via azide–alkyne click reactions. The resultant tricomponent copolymers can assemble into spherical micelles with the capacity of coincorporating indocyanine green and Doxorubicin through electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, respectively. The dual-agent-loaded micelles display a combined effect for combating HepG2 cells when irradiated with near-infrared laser. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012


The electrical and electronic engineerings have used parallel programming to solve their large scale complex problems for performance reasons. However, as parallel programming requires a non-trivial distribution of tasks and data, developers find it hard to implement their applications effectively. Thus, in order to reduce design complexity, we propose an approach to generate code for hybrid architectures (e.g., CPU + GPU) using OpenCL, an open standard for parallel programming of heterogeneous systems. This approach is based on Model Driven Engineering (MDE) and the MARTE profile, standard proposed by Object Management Group (OMG). The aim is to provide resources to non-specialists in parallel programming to implement their applications. Moreover, thanks to model reuse ability, we can add/change functionalities and the target architecture. Consequently, this approach helps industries to achieve their time-to-market constraints which are confirmed here by experimental tests. Besides the software development at high-level abstractions, this approach aims to improve performance by using multi-GPU environments. A case study based on the Conjugate Gradient method gives clarity to our methodology.


A common problem in the annotation of open reading frames (ORFs) is the identification of genes that are functionally similar but have limited or no sequence homology. This is particularly the case for bacteriocins, a very diverse group of antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria and usually encoded by small, poorly conserved ORFs. ORFs surrounding bacteriocin genes are often biosynthetic genes. This information can be used to locate putative structural bacteriocin genes. Here, we describe BAGEL, a web server that identifies putative bacteriocin ORFs in a DNA sequence using novel, knowledge-based bacteriocin databases and motif databases. Many bacteriocins are encoded by small genes that are often omitted in the annotation process of bacterial genomes. Thus, we have implemented ORF detection using a number of published ORF prediction tools. In addition, BAGEL takes into account the genomic context, i.e. for each potential bacteriocin-encoding ORF, the sequence of the surrounding region on the genome is analyzed for genes that might encode proteins involved in biosynthesis, transport, regulation and/or immunity. These innovations make BAGEL unique in its ability to detect putative bacteriocin gene clusters in (new) bacterial genomes. BAGEL is freely accessible at: .


Solenoid-type microtransformers were fabricated by using a photo-definable thick photoresist and through-hole plating techniques to allow three-dimensional multilayer fabrication of the coils. Primary and secondary coils have a low-frequency inductance of 100 and 80 nH, respectively. Flux leakage is a serious problem on devices with coils on opposite sides of the toroid. Interleaved coils, however, have a coupling constant of 0.9 before falling off at frequencies above 500 kHz. The inductance begins to roll off at about 50 kHz because of core effects. The design has an insertion loss of -19.5 dB at 10 MHz.


Abstract. Water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) are essential in atmospheric particle formation, migration, and transformation processes. Size-segregated atmospheric particles were collected in a rural area of Beijing. Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy was used to investigate the sources and optical properties of WSOC. Sophisticated data analysis on EEM data was performed to characteristically estimate the underlying connections among aerosol particles in different sizes. The WSOC concentrations and average fluorescence intensity (AFI) showed monomodal distribution in winter and bimodal distribution in summer, with dominant mode between 0.26 to 0.44 µm for both seasons. The EEM spectra of size-segregated WSOC were different among variant particle sizes, which could be the results of changing sources and/or chemical transformation of organics. Size distributions of fluorescence regional intensity (region Ⅲ and Ⅴ) and HIX indicate that humification degree or aromaticity of WSOC was highest between 0.26 to 0.44 µm. The Stokes shift (SS) and the harmonic mean of the excitation and emission wavelengths (WH) reflected that π-conjugated systems were high between 0.26 to 0.44 µm as well. The parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) results showed that humic-like substances were abundant in fine particles (< 1 µm) and peaked at 0.26–0.44 µm. All evidence supported that the humification degree of WSOC increased in submicron mode (< 0.44 µm) and decreased gradually. Thus, it was conjectured that condensation of organics still goes on in submicron mode, resulting in the highest humification degree exhibit in particle size between 0.26 to 0.44 µm rather than < 0.26 µm. Synthetically analyzing 3-dimensional fluorescence data could efficiently present the secondary transformation processes of WSOC.


In most patients with suspected or confirmed pituitary adenomas (PAs), MRI, performed using T1- (with or without gadolinium enhancement) and T2-weighted sequences, provides sufficient information to guide effective clinical decision making. In other patients, additional MR sequences (e.g., gradient recalled echo, fluid-attenuation inversion recovery, MR elastography, or MR angiography) may be deployed to improve adenoma detection, assess tumoral consistency, or aid distinction from other sellar/parasellar lesions (e.g., aneurysm, meningioma). However, there remains a small but important subgroup of patients in whom primary or secondary intervention (e.g., first or redo transsphenoidal surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery) is limited by the inability of MRI to accurately localize the site(s) of de novo, persistent, or recurrent PA. Emerging evidence indicates that hybrid imaging, which combines molecular (e.g. 11C-methionine PET) and cross-sectional (MRI) modalities, can enable the detection and precise localization of sites of active tumor to guide targeted intervention. This not only increases the likelihood of achieving complete remission with preservation of remaining normal pituitary function but may mitigate the need for long-term (even lifelong) high-cost medical therapies. Here, we review published evidence supporting the use of molecular imaging in the management of PAs, including our own 10-y experience with 11C-methionine PET.


All around the world, indigenous groups experience a great amount of inequalities compared to their nonindigenous counterparts. This is apparent in Mexico, where indigenous groups face greater poverty, less access to social benefits, and less access to health services. The healthcare system of Mexico used to cater to the wealthier, nonindigenous population, ignoring the marginalized, disadvantaged indigenous population. There has been a lack of federal attention and aid to the healthcare of indigenous groups. They experience low funded healthcare facilities which lead to the shortage of human resources, medications, supplies, and infrastructure. This led to the lack of health services in indigenous communities. Less indigenous individuals had access to health coverage and benefits compared to nonindigenous individuals. Lastly, indigenous groups also faced lower quality health services as well. However, Mexico has been working on decreasing the disparity gap. There was the institution of a national program called Seguro Popular, which focused on providing universal health care. Mexico has also strengthened the National Register of Translators and Interpreters in indigenous languages and individual, separate projects were created to aid in alleviating the disparity between indigenous and nonindigenous populations in relation to healthcare.


Zhao, Liu, and Lee have proposed using a discreteevent (DE) model of computation as a programming model for distributed real-time embedded systems. The advantage of using DE is that it provides a semantic foundation that is simple, time-aware, deterministic and natural as a specification language for many applications. This programming model is based on a carefully chosen relationship between DE's model time and real time (physical time). We define here a criterion that preserves conservative execution (thus not requiring backtracking) while allowing for concurrent and distributed execution. The classic Chandy and Misra technique is one execution policy that satisfies the criterion, but the criterion explicitly allows many other alternatives. We discuss alternatives that offer more concurrency than Chandy and Misra and that exploit time synchronization to eliminate the need for null messages.


High output powers and wide range tuning have been achieved in a sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector laser with an integrated semiconductor optical amplifier. Tilted amplifier and anti-reflection facet coating are used to suppress reflection. We have demonstrated sampled grating DBR laser with a tuning range over 38 nm, good wavelength coverage and peak output powers of more than 9 mW for all wavelengths.


Articular cartilage is a load bearing and lubricating tissue in animal joints. Heterogeneous deformations arise in the structured and zonal tissue under the application of mechanical load. The character of these deformations is altered by degenerative joint disease. Here, we document an MRI‐based technique for determining deformations throughout the volume of the tissue based on displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) and a fast spin echo (FSE) readout. A DENSE‐FSE technique was designed to image cartilage at 9.4 Tesla in a deformed state during the application of cyclic mechanical loading. Artifact elimination arising from stimulated echoes and FSE was accomplished by radio frequency pulse phase cycling. The error of the technique was random and was quantified in terms of precision as better than 0.17% strain. Heterogeneous deformation field patterns in axial, transverse, and shear directions were quantified in a single tissue explant loaded in simple uniaxial compression. The technique is appropriate for documenting tissue deformations during applied physiologically relevant stress levels and loading rates. It may also be applied to characterize the micromechanical strain environment in normal, diseased, or regenerated cartilage in response to applied mechanical loading. Magn Reson Med, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The Late Eocene Nanchititla mafic dyke swarm consists of over one hundred vertical and parallel dyke segments emplaced in southern Mexico. Here, we present a geological and physical description of the dyke swarm, and discuss the emplacement mechanism at the regional and local scale. The host-rock is a continental sedimentary sequence interbedded with volcanic rocks at different levels. Measurements of the apparent Young´s modulus and Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) made with a Schmidt hammer at different levels of the host-rock sequence yielded values from 5 to 45 GPa and from 20 to 90 MPa, respectively. The stratified host rock is mechanically heterogeneous, composed of soft (siltstone) to strong (volcanic breccia) materials. This mechanical contrast has a local effect in the emplacement of dykes inducing sill formation, non-planar morphologies of the dyke walls, en echelon dyke segments, finger-like intrusions, and plastic deformation in some part of the host rock. The weaker siltstone-bearing sequences allowed heterogeneous interaction with the magmatic fluid; whereas stiffer sequences produced fractures parallel to dykes and brecciation. The general trend of the swarm indicates a NNE-SSW orientation of the minimum compressive stress during dyke emplacement, and the parallelism of the dykes with respect to strike-slip faults suggests that the left-lateral deformation regime prevailing in southern Mexico during the early Cenozoic might have influenced its general orientation. We propose that the Nanchititla mafic dyke swarm was emplaced by overpressure of the magma at a shallow crustal level, during the early stages of a non-coaxial transtensional deformation episode in southern Mexico.


Food constitutes the basic human need. Without food it is impossible to meet other needs. Changes in the modern world indicate that the problem of food security will steadily grow in importance in the future. The key question is therefore how to provide it, how to govern it. Despite its importance food security constitutes one of the less researched areas within international governance debate. It has never been ensured on the global level despite amazing progress of science and technology. What is more, the changing nature of threats to food security makes this goal even more distant. There are two contrasting views on that issue. In the first, the states are responsible for food security governance. This view is supported by the uniqueness of the agriculture, as a sector responsible for ensuring food. However, the growing limitations of states' ability to decide on its own agriculture and food policy due to globalization processes make this vision disputable. According to the second view, in the face of globalization processes the best way to ensure it is to enhance the global food security governance. This vision also is confronted with criticisms, however, there are strong arguments which support it. The paper deals with the problem of food security governance. Its main assumption is that national governance becomes ineffective to address all food security dimensions under the globalization processes. That is why new modes are needed. The main argument of the paper is that the global governance model can fill the governance gap in food security area at the national level.


Partial differential equations (PDEs) are among the most universal and parsimonious descriptions of natural physical laws, capturing a rich variety of phenomenology and multi-scale physics in a compact and symbolic representation. This review will examine several promising avenues of PDE research that are being advanced by machine learning, including: 1) the discovery of new governing PDEs and coarse-grained approximations for complex natural and engineered systems, 2) learning effective coordinate systems and reduced-order models to make PDEs more amenable to analysis, and 3) representing solution operators and improving traditional numerical algorithms. In each of these fields, we summarize key advances, ongoing challenges, and opportunities for further development.


Munirah;Work Ethic and Performance of Religious Teachers atIslamic Junior Government High School District of Anjir Muara, Regency of Barito Kuala, the Advisers are I: Dr. Hj. Nuril Huda, M.Pd. II: Dr. Hairul Hudaya, M.Ag.Thesis of Graduate Program UIN Antasari Banjarmasin, 2018.

Keywords: Work Ethic, Performance, Religious of Teachers

Efforts to improve the quality of education and learning can not be separated from a high work ethic and performance teacher a good teacher. The teacher's work ethic will affect the quality and productivity of the work he does. Teacher performance is also important in education. Performance can be interpreted as the achievement of work in accordance with applicable rules or standards. Based on preliminary observations by the author in educational institutions in the district Anjir Muara, despite government efforts welfare of teachers in order to improve the quality of education is already quite a lot, for example, with their teacher certification. However, there are still found teachers are more concerned about personal affairs than the obligations and responsibilities of the job, and the teachers just to meet the working hours, without thinking about how to improve the quality of education as a shared responsibility. Although education and training of teachers in order to improve the competence of teachers diligently carried out, but the reality on the ground continued to teach teachers to use the old way, then education will not run as expected.
The focus of the research was formulated based on the background of the problem, namely how the work ethic and the performance of PAI teachers in Islamic Junior Government High SchoolDistrict of Anjir Muara, Regency of Barito Kuala. The type of research used is field research with a descriptive qualitative approach. The source of the data in this study were PAI teachers as key informants, madrasah heads, students and TU staff as complementary informants. Data collection techniques used include interviews, observation, and documentation. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive techniques and the validity of the data was carried out through data triangulation techniques.
After analyzing the data obtained, the results of this study indicate that: First, the work ethic of PAI teachers in the Islamic Junior Government High SchoolDistrict, Barito Kuala District includes commitment to work, professionalism, high work culture and responsibility. Second, the performance of PAI teachers in the Islamic Junior Government High School in Anjir Muara District, Barito Kuala Regency in terms of the process the teacher has planned learning programs, carried out learning activities, and evaluated learning in accordance with established standards and in terms of results students have achievements.


THE NEURON Edited by H. Hyden. (Pp. viii + 393; illustrated, 140s.) Elsevier: Amsterdam/London/New York. 1967. This handsomely produced volume examines some of the more active growing points of modem neurobiology. It opens with an illuminating review of the history of the neurone (Dr. H. van der Loos) and reproduces Deiter's (1865) wonderful hand-dissection of individual nerve cells from the nucleus which now bears his name. Vixere fortes... .It is interesting to learn that already 135 years ago Ehrenberg (professor of zoology in the University of Berlin) was urging chemists-or neurochemists as they would now be called-to compartmentalize nervous tissue before making attempts at chemical analysis and not to be...'content to analyse simply ground-up brain and nerve substance'-a lesson which is just being learned today and which Professor Hyden has himself done so much to underline. Those who enter the field of electron microscopy in the nervous system (and those, too, who have worked in it for many years) are overwhelmed with the difficulties of interpretation which this tissue presents. In my experience it is only the young who are able to pronounce with assuredness on the character of every cell encountered. But all will read with pleasure and benefit from the masterly correlation of light and electron microscopic data presented by Professor Blackstad, and will note with interest the re-interpretation which even the experts in his unit have adopted. Good working criteria are, however, laid down for the beginner and they are well illustrated. An authoritative account of the micro methods used for detailed glia-neuronal analysis (so many of them developed by the Goteborg school) follows from Professor Hyden, who shows how the molecular biological approach may begin to be carried into the investigation of human disease. In his study of Parkinson's disease he finds a biochemical error established in the glia at an early stage, leading to the synthesis of an adenine-rich RNA. The fascinating problem of RNA neosynthesis and learning is also discussed, but these results are so revolutionary that their general acceptance will no doubt wait upon independent confirmation, especially as the experimental methods are pushed to the limits of their capacity. In a further chapter the late Dr. C. M. Pomerat discussed the contribution which cinephotographic analysis can make to the study of frictional activity of glial cells in vitro, and offers a study of myelination in progress which purports to show the actual migration of Schwann cell nucleus around a nerve fibre during the process. This section is particularly well illustrated. Direct evidence of bi-directional flow in axoplasm is presented and the mechanism of such flow discussed. Other contributions by Dr. J. Taxi and Dr. A. B. Norikoff deal with neuronal and synaptic ultrastructure, with enzyme localization at the electron microscopic level and with lysosomes in nerve cells. In these days when the relevance of what is being taught during a medical training is closely questioned, it is interesting to be reminded that the basic pathology of some conditions-for example, Pompe's disease; rheumatoid arthritis-can now be explained in terms of molecular biological concepts. For this reason, and because the book is clearly and unpretentiously written throughout, it can be warmly recommended not only to the research worker in basic neurological sciences but to the clinician who seeks an explanation-in readily understandable terms-of what is going on in fields generally closed to him.


Objective: The aim of the analysis was to present two cases of a late onset sepsis (LOS) caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae (KLE) recognized in prematurely delivered siblings, born within the interval of one year.
Study Design and Result: It was a retrospective study. The first child was born after 32 weeks of pregnancy and the gestational age of the second infant was 29 weeks of pregnancy and died in the course of sepsis without positive blood culture examination. In the second child, sepsis with the same clinical signs was diagnosed, the strains of KLE were isolated from the blood and from the mother's breast milk: the strains were identical, confirmed with PFGE.
Conclusion: Presented results suggest that the source of infections in both siblings was contaminated breast milk. The targeted therapy used in the mother allowed breastfeeding the child.


This article, informed by ethnographic research on media at the margins, proposes a shift in perspective at several different levels: 1) instead of focusing on individual technologies, our research should examine how grassroots communicators operating at the margins exist in a media ecology that offers different potentialities in each historical situation; 2) instead of trying to determine if the media technologies used at the margin are old or new, digital or not digital, we need to explore how embedded community communicators detect local information or communication needs and use available technologies to address these needs; 3) our research on media at the margins should shed light on how grassroots communicators re-invent, hybridize, converge, and bridge technologies from one platform to another. In sum, understanding media at the margins is about embracing complexity, maintaining the notion of media ecologies, and understanding how grassroots communicators, deeply embedded in local contexts, wedge media technologies into everyday life.


The interaction of water vapor and the water uptake behavior of atmospheric particles are often investigated as a function of relative humidity (0-100% RH) at ambient temperature. However, lower temperature studies are important to understand how atmospheric particles nucleate ice through various mechanisms including immersion freezing. Immersion freezing requires the formation of a condensed water droplet at lower temperatures prior to freezing. To better understand low-temperature water uptake behavior of marine and biologically relevant atmospheric particles, we have investigated water uptake of single atmospheric particles using a micro-Raman spectrometer coupled to an environmental cell for measurements at lower temperatures and as a function of relative humidity. These particles include sodium chloride, sucrose, Snomax, lipopolysaccharide, and laminarin. Particles range in size from 2 to 3 μm in diameter and can be monitored by using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy as a function of relative humidity at temperatures between 253 and 298 K. From the Raman spectra collected, we can determine a Raman growth factor defined as an increase in the intensity of the O-H stretch as a measure of the integrated water content of a particle compared to the dry particle. These data show that for lipopolysaccharide, laminarin, and Snomax, unlike simple saccharides such as sucrose and other soluble organics, as temperature decreases, water uptake begins at lower relative humidity and does not follow a solubility temperature dependence. This suggests that at lower temperatures the particles are adsorbing water on the surface rather than dissolving and absorbing water. Furthermore, repeated water uptake cycles cause a change in the morphology of some of these particles, which is shown to promote water uptake at lower relative humidity. These results give new insights into water uptake of these different marine and biologically relevant particles at low temperature at subsaturation relative humidity prior to droplet formation and immersion freezing.


Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the Relationship between Academic Procrastination with meta-cognitive beliefs of high school students in the city of Amole. Method: The study's samples were 374 high school students who were selected using the simple random sampling procedure. Data were collected using scales of Solomon & Rothblum Academic Procrastination and Wells & Cartwright - Hatton Meta-cognition. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the research instruments. Findings: Data were analyzed by t-test and stepwise regression. t-test indicated that there was significant difference between male and female students of academic procrastination, so procrastination of male is more than female. But there was not difference in meta-cognitive beliefs between two groups. Stepwise multivariable regression analysis revealed that among the components of meta-cognitive beliefs, cognitive uncertainty was stronger predictor for academic procrastination. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between male and female in meta- cognitive but significant difference in academic procrastination and cognitive uncertainty is useful in prediction of Academic procrastination.


This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Please check back later for the full article.

 The theoretical and ethnographic conceptualization of surrogacy around the world has seen it within the prism of labor and work. Such a purported identification has a lot to do with the ways in which the practice of carrying an artificially fertilized embryo in one's uterus for the express purpose of relinquishing the born child to the infertile couple is paradoxical to social theory. Against the universally socially exalted positioning of motherhood is the problematic practice of surrogacy, which defies social conventions. Thus, surrogacy as labor is a difficult proposition socially and morally, bringing forth questions regarding body work and intimate labor—all of which are represented within the practice of surrogacy.
 In thinking through the understanding of surrogacy as labor, it is important to trace its linkages with kinship, family, commerce, and medicine. Thus, surrogacy as labor is analyzed within the following themes: as linked to other forms of precarious labor that are also enmeshed in the often hostile worlds of money and intimacy (such as sex work and domestic labor); as a process of kin-making; and as the most legislated form of work, globally.


A method to realize the P2P network traffic classification based on the SVM is proposed. This method uses the network traffic statistical characteristic and SVM method that based on the statistical theory to classifies the different P2P traffic application. Mainly research on four kind of network traffic classification, in document sharing BitTorrent, in media flows PPLive, in network telephone Skype, in immediate communication MSN. Introduced P2P traffic classification overall framework based on the SVM. Described how gain the traffic sample and the processing method. And introduced the experimental results and constructs the traffic classifier. The experimental result confirmed the validity of proposed method; average precise rate is 92.38%.


An attempt is made to predict fatigue life under high-temperature low-cycle fatigue conditions with superimposed hold times. It is well recognized that a reduction in life in this region is caused by the nucleation and growth of cavities along grain boundaries. The cavities can be formed by vacancy clustering, dislocation pileup, and grain boundary sliding. The subsequent growth leads to grain boundary cracking and intergranular fracture. The possibility of unstable crack advance is given if the crack tip opening displacement becomes equal to a critical cavity configuration. To describe this configuration we postulate a power function for cavity growth. Experimental data and the predicted values show excellent agreement, indicating the important role of creep cavitation for creep-fatigue life prediction.


Rossby wave chromatography (RWC) is implemented in a linearized barotropic model as a tool to understand the response of the midlatitude jet to external forcing. Given the background zonal-mean flow and the space‐time structure of the baroclinic wave activity source, RWC calculates the space‐time structure of the upper-tropospheric eddy momentum fluxes. RWC is used to diagnose and understand the poleward shift of the jet in an idealized GCM using the convergence of the vertical EP flux in the upper troposphere as the wave activity source. The poleward-shifted jet is maintained via a selective ''reflecting level'' on the poleward flank of jet: for a given wavenumber, low phase speed waves are reflected but high phase speed waves are absorbed at the critical level on the polewardflank of jet. When the zonal-mean zonal wind increases on the polewardflank of the jet, a wider range of poleward-propagating waves encounter a reflecting level instead of a critical level on the poleward flank. The increased wave reflection leads to increased equatorward-propagating waves (and, therefore, poleward momentum flux) across the jet. Increases in wave phase speeds directly oppose the poleward shift because, in addition to the well-recognized effect of phase speed on wave dissipation in the subtropics, increased phase speeds imply more wave dissipation rather than reflection on the poleward flank via the selective reflecting level.


Background Although neoadjvuant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves the local control rate of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), it fails to significantly improve disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). We explored the efficacy of prolonged neoadjuvant chemotherapy (pNCT) without radiation and compared this schema with total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT). Material and methods Patients diagnosed with LARC and received TNT (4 cycles of induction CapeOX/FOLFOX followed with CRT) or pNCT (6~8 cycles of CapeOX/FOLFOX) between June 2016 and October 2021 were retrospective analyzed. All patients underwent total mesorectal excision (TME). A 1:1 propensity score match was performed to adjust baseline potential confounders. The tumor response, toxicity, recurrence-free survival (RFS) and OS were observed. Results A total of 184 patients with 92 patients in each group were finally enrolled. The median follow-up time was 35 months. TNT showed better pathological complete response (pCR) rate (25.0% vs 16.3%) and objective regression rate (73.9% vs 59.8%) than pNCT. TNT and pNCT produce similar 3-year RFS and OS rates in patients with mid-to-upper rectal cancer. TNT was associated with improved tumor responsiveness in all patients and improved 3-year RFS rates in those with low rectal cancer. Conclusion pNCT is an option for patients with mid-to-upper rectal cancer, but radiation is still necessary for low rectal cancer. To determine optimal schema for neoadjuvant therapy and patient selection, additional randomized controlled studies are needed.


Injection of isotonic fluid under heightened pressure 20--30 mm of Hg into the bed of the liver reveals inhomogeneity of the mechanical properties of the simple junction of heptacytes: the zone where the divergence of the contact surfaces is observed is interrupted by highly adhesive regions (HAR) where the normal distance between the membranes is preserved. The adhesive factor acts as an organizer of the inhomogeneity of the simple junction: when it is introduced in vivo, new HAR appear in the simple junction. On account of contact-tropic activity of adhesive factor we termed it--contactin.


DOE Contract No. DE-AC09-89SR18035 This paper was prepared in connection with work done under the above contract number with the U&_..-Department of Energy. By acceptance of this paper, the publisher and/or recipient acknowledges the U. S. Government's right to retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering this paper, along with the right to reproduce and to authorize others to reproduce all or


Evolution of software engineering practices consecrates a novel glide over on the progression of software from an elementary form to a more intricate and highly specialized one. As the current softwaredevelopment process faces conflicting demands and as the productivity remains quite unimpressive, there is a conspicuous need to search, cull down and adopt the best practices in the industry. Practices which have been indelibly commingled with its long history and practices, which define business requirements requirements that act as a conduit between the user needs and capabilities of software technologies. This beckons for an optimized implementation of successive software practices suggested by perspective software models and delineate methods for scrutinizing associated risks. Thus, this paper focuses on software evolution, software engineering practices, the need for improving a software process and measures to do the same.


In the group of 36 patients with acute ischemic stroke the study of the influence of arterial hypertension on the red cells and fibrinogen interaction was carried out in the aspect of the fibrinogen molecules contribution to this phenomenon, respecting the role of other plasma biochemical factors. Patients were divided into two clinical groups: with and without arterial hypertension. The quantitative fibrinogen molecules contribution to the inter-red cells connections in patients with arterial hypertension was lower than in the group without this accompanying disease (statistical significance was indicated for 80% and 60% of plasma dilution). The first group of patients was also characterized by a significant increase of IgA level (in comparison with the control group), whereas the red cells and fibrinogen interaction measured as a value of YSS was similar in both analyzed clinical groups.


Tech-focused third-party logistics providers have developed solutions to streamline shipping and order fulfilment to meet sellers' needs, often leveraging state-of-the-art information technology tools to do so. The logistics solutions that third party logistics services providers offer include receiving, storing, packing, and shipping services, including inventory management, kitting and assembly, postponement packaging, procurement and others. Digital technology has heavily revolutionized the logistics industry. The article highlights digital technology and third-party logistics service providers to understand how technology improves efficiency in the field of third-party logistics and supply chain industries. It includes GPS, Barcode, RFID, IoT, Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain. The framework suggests that performance will be higher when digital technology is used in logistics with the strengths inherent in the firm's logistics. The methodology adopted in this paper involves the review of published literature and discussing the opportunities for further research.


A potential level of agricultural productivity of formerly arable soils was assessed in a case study within the Poshekhonsky District of the Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, with the use of an actualized soil-ecological index (SEI). This index showed low and medium fertility levels in most of the studied arable soils during the period of 1988–1990, which was followed by agricultural abandonment of many arable lands. The re-assessment of post-arable varieties of the same soils in 2019 allowed us to identify multidirectional trends of evolutionary changes in soil properties over the three decades. Post-arable soils on loamy parent materials were characterized by the development of stable hydromorphic features, dehumification, a sharp decline in the supply of available nutrients and occasionally an acidification of humus horizons, which was reflected in the reduction of SEI values by 1.1–1.9 times over the study period. Post-arable sandy soils, on the contrary, were characterized by a predominance of progradation processes associated with increasing humus contents and decreasing acidity levels. The post-agrogenic evolution of soils including the development of new soil properties should be taken into account in agroecological assessments and prognoses of the agricultural production potential of soils under conditions of changing climate.


The study, an investigation into the antecedents of overall attitude towards advertising in general focused on the factors that influence consumers' perceived attitude towards advertising characteristics. The research effort is geared towards examining whether the institution of advertising and instrument of advertising are important construct in the study of overall attitude towards advertising in general. Cross sectional survey research with descriptive design was used. The principal instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument contained questions with multiple indicators relating to attitude towards advertising instrument, advertising institution and overall attitude towards advertising in general. Copies were administered to a convenience sample of 250 respondents. Out of the 180 instrument returned, only 147 copies were found valid hence used for analyses. All hypotheses were tested at 0.01 levels of significance using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient (r). The findings revealed that there was a joint contribution of the components of advertising institution and advertising instrument to overall attitude towards general advertising. This result is an indication that attitude towards advertising is a mediating variable through which advertising influences brand attitude and purchase intention. It is then concluded that attitude to advertising institution and advertising instrument are strongly predictors of overall attitude to general advertising. Since the research did not involve consumer characteristics of socio-demographic variable to determine its influence on overall attitude, there is need to recognize that future research in such area is necessary. Key w ords: Advertising Institution, Advertising Instrument, General Advertising, Overall Attitude


Introduction: Osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic bone diseases. The prevalence of osteoporosis in spine and femur bones of Iranian women is estimated to be 48.6%. The present survey aimed at investigating the effectiveness of an educational osteoporosis prevention programs in improving the awareness of employed women in shahroud. Methods: In this quasi experimental study, a group of 180 employed women having high school diploma or higher levels of education were chosen randomly from a list provided by the women's affair office. Data were collected through a valid and reliable questionnaire. After the pre-test, the participants were given a set of educational instructions through pamphlets, posters, lectures and slide shows by a gynecologist, a pathologist and an internist on the same day. The post-test was administered after 5 weeks to examine the effectiveness of the instructions. SPSS was use to analyze the results through paired t-test and Mc-Nemar test. Results: The findings indicated a significant difference between the groups' awareness prior to and after the program regarding the diseases and drugs which cause osteoporosis, preventive medicines, preventive factors, avoidable predisposing factors and, unavoidable predisposing factors (P<0.001). Conclusion: With regard to the low awareness of employed women of osteoporosis prior to the educational program, it seems essential to enhance the awareness of women to prevent this disease, to maintain health, to enhance quality of life and to maintain independence in the elderly age.


Abstract Visual acuity in the sheet-web building spider Badumna insignis (L. Koch 1872) (Araneae, Desidae) was examined in relation to its microhabitat. We examined, using histological techniques, the major structural and functional features of the visual systems, including external and internal ocular organizations, resolution, sensitivity, focal lengths and the field of view for each eye. Badumna insignis showed little differentiation in its ocular arrangement from the presumed ancestral condition in spiders, with poor visual acuity and a small field of view. Resolution and sensitivity were low, particularly in the secondary eyes. The AM eyes were enhanced showing larger fields of view and higher sensitivity, resembling that of nocturnal uloborids. These eyes appear adapted for close-range recognition, due to short-range focus and good visual overlap.


This article presents the findings of 2,415 posts collected from two prominent Australian Football League message boards that responded to a racist incident involving a banana being thrown at Adelaide Crows player, Eddie Betts, in August 2016. It adopts Bourdieu's concept of habitus to examine the online practice of fans for evidence of racist discourse and the extent to which this was supported or contested by fellow fans. The overall findings are that online debates about race in Australian Rules Football and wider Australian society remain divided, with some posters continuing to reflect racial prejudice and discrimination towards non-whites. However, for the vast majority, views deemed to have racist connotations are contested and challenged in a presentation centering on social change and racial equality


The aim of this study was to anlyze the factors that effect the succes of intermediation include capital, bank size, assets quality, operating expense, and net open position. The method used is descriptive with secondary data from financial statements 10 bank as a research object units. Data analysis technique is the panel regression, hypothesis testing while using t-test to examine the effect of partial variables and test-F to examine the effect of variables  simultaneosly with a significant level of 5%.  Based on the results it is concluded that partial CAR, SIZE, KAP, BOPO significant effect on LDR. While the PDN has effect not significant to LDR. Simultaneously, all independent variables significantly influence the level of influence of LDR. Keywords : LDR, CAR, SIZE, KAP, BOPO, PDN


In this study, the homotopy perturbation transform method (HPTM) is performed to give approximate and analytical solutions of nonlinear homogenous and non-homogenous time-fractional gas dynamics equations. Gas dynamics equations are based on the physical laws of conservation, namely, the laws of conservation of mass, conservation of momentum, conservation of energy etc. The HPTM is a combined form of the Laplace transform, the homotopy perturbation method, and He's polynomials. The nonlinear terms can be easily handled by the use of He's polynomials. The numerical solutions obtained by the proposed method indicate that the approach is easy to implement and accurate. Some numerical illustrations are given. These results reveal that the proposed method is very effective and simple to perform


SUMMARY The Pinskey Gill beds occur at the base of the Carboniferous succession in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria and rest unconformably on Silurian Bannisdale Slates. Their precise age has been uncertain. Five of the calcareous horizons exposed in Pinskey Gill have been examined for conodonts and a stratigraphically useful collection of 97 specimens has been extracted from one of these. The impoverished fauna of only five specifically identifiable forms is dominated by Bispathodus aculeatus aculeatus, B. stabilis and Clydagnathus unicornis , which suggest an age of upper K or lower Z on the coral/brachiopod scheme, i.e. around the middle of the Courceyan Stage. An almost identical fauna has also been extracted from between 33.55 and 36.58 metres depth in the Pinskey Gill borehole (see Holliday, Neves and Owens 1979) thus allowing a correlation between borehole and exposed succession.


The computation of accurate wide-band far-field scattering from a PEC cylinder for the TE polarization, using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, is considered in this paper. A number of contributions are reviewed. In particular, the practical issue of the placement of the transform surface has been considered and results presented.


C183 The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) pathway is emerging as a regulator of metastatic cancer cells. TGF-beta regulates cellular responses through activation of several signal transduction pathways including phosphorylation of the proteins Smad2 and Smad3. The phosphorylated Smads form a heterotrimer with Smad4 to engage over forty different transcription factors and signal transduction proteins through protein-protein binding interactions. TGF-beta acts through the Smads as a tumor suppressor but also acts through the Smads in malignant cancer as a tumor promoter that facilitates invasion, angiogenesis, and immune evasion. Strategies for inhibiting the tumor promoting signaling without inhibiting the tumor suppressor functions would be beneficial. We are testing the hypothesis that the distinct protein binding sites on Smad proteins are differentially important for binding to specific protein partners and, thereby, differentially important for cellular responses to TGF-beta. We have established that peptide aptamers, constrained peptides on a rigid protein scaffold, can bind to Smads and inhibit Smad-dependent transcription in cells (Oncogene 24: 3864-74 2005). We have described peptide aptamers that selectively inhibit transcriptional responses to TGF-beta, inhibit epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) or inhibit Smad4 dependent cell survival (Mol. Biol. Cell 17: 3819-31, 2006 and PNAS 103:18580-5, 2006). We report on our progress defining the roles of specific protein binding sites on Smad3 using small molecule inhibitors and Smad3 mutations. A quantifiable co-immunoprecipitation assay called LUMIER was used to establish that mutations on different regions of Smad3 selectively disrupt binding to some proteins and not others, identifying potential "hot spots" that might be targeted with small molecule ligands. We established assays for measuring the binding of over 20 different proteins to Smad3 in formats amenable to high throughput screening of chemical libraries. The initial screen identified 4-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-ylmethylene)- 2,4-dihydro-5-methyl-2-[4-(4-bromophenyl)-2-thiazolyl] -3H-pyrazol-3-one which binds directly and reversibly to Smad3 with an apparent Kd of ~2uM as measured by SPR. The inhibitor disrupts binding of some Smad protein interactions but does alter binding of others. The discovery of a chemical ligand that selectively disrupts Smad protein binding provides evidence that at least one specific functional site on Smad3 is druggable and provides a template for optimization to make more potent and selective compounds useful for in vivo testing. Supported by RO1 CA090875 to FMH and P30CA 014520.


Introduction: NSCLC is the leading cause of cancer related death in the US. Inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are active in only a subset of patients. Based on our recent observation of synergistic activity of dual inhibition of EGFR and Aurora-A pathways, we are investigating the combined activity of Aurora-A inhibition (MLN8237, Alisertib, A) and an EGFR antagonist (erlotinib, E) in patients with recurrent/refractory metastatic NSCLC. Objectives: Our hypothesis is that blockade of Aurora A kinase will sensitize lung cancers to erlotinib, since the oncogenic proliferative effects of Aurora A kinase are downstream of the hyperactive EGFR-Ras-MAPK signaling axis. The primary endpoints of the Phase 1 portion include: Safety and tolerability of the combination treatment and determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of A when given with E. The phase II primary endpoint is progression free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints include PK parameters, response rate and time to treatment failure. Methods: Patients with EGFR wild type NSCLC who have progressed after at least one line of treatment were enrolled. The inclusion/exclusion criteria are as expected for a phase I/II study. This study consists of a single center Phase I run-in with the standard 3+3 design, followed by multi-center single arm phase II, with early stopping rule for futility. E is administered orally with continuous daily dosing and A is also oral, given BID for 7 days followed by 14 day rest. Treatment schema consists of 4 dose levels: 1) E 100 mg, A 30 mg, 2) E 150 mg, A 30 mg 3) E 150 mg, A 40 mg 4) E 150 mg, A 50 mg. Dosing on the Phase II portion is based on the MTD from the phase I, and will follow a two stage design that allows for early termination if the primary end point of PFS is not met. Preliminary Data: To date we have completed the first three dose levels of the phase I portion of the study. One patient is enrolled in the final level of 50 mg dose of A. MTD has not been reached. In total, 10 patients (5 male/5 female) with a median age of 62 (Range: 30 to 74) have been enrolled. All patients have had multiple prior therapies (both chemotherapy and radiation). Two patients remained on study for six cycles of therapy; four patients progressed after three cycles and four patients after two cycles (treated at lower dose levels). Three patients remain on study. Two patients have experienced dose reductions of A due to fatigue which was not defined as DLT. Other toxicities include: alopecia (one patient, 50 mg of A), transient neutropenia and anemia. At least three patients have gone to receive other forms of therapy after progression on this trial. Seven patients treated on this protocol are alive. Conclusion: The combination of E and A appears to be tolerable in patients with EGFR wild type advanced NSCLC. Dose escalation in the last cohort (50 mg po bid for seven days) continues. Citation Format: Hossein Borghaei, Ranee Mehra, Samuel Litwin, Igor Astsaturov. Preliminary report of a phase I/II trial to assess safety and tolerability of an oral Aurora kinase A inhibitor, MLN 8237 (alisertib), in combination with erlotinib in patients with recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). [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 LB-170. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-170


This article examines the emergence in colonial Korea of a command economy for forestry products following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). It does so, first, by tracing the policy mechanisms through which the colonial state commandeered forest products, especially timber, firewood, and charcoal. Second, through an analysis of the wartime promotion of a "low temperature lifestyle," it offers a thumbnail sketch of the lived experiences and corporeal consequences of state-led efforts to rationalize fuel consumption. Considered together, these lines of analysis offer insight into not only the ecological implications of war on the Korean landscape, but also the bodily privations that defined everyday life under total war—what might be called the "slow violence" of caloric control.


This paper addresses approaches to verb argument structure from the point of view of the information which can be assumed to be lexically encoded in the verb. It explores ways in which speakers' sensitivity to verbs can be investigated experimentally across types of expressions, including idioms/non-literal language, and reports findings from recent empirical research in that domain. Keywords: lexically encoded information, verbs, argument structure, sensitivity, idiom processing


Solid tumor profiling assays need to deliver accurate and consistent results in the face of decreased quality and quantity of nucleic acids extracted from FFPE samples. Understanding the performance of a particular solid tumor profiling assay with FFPE tissue is critical, but with limited and non-renewable samples available to most assay-developers, the sample number used to understand this performance can be small. TruSight® Tumor 1701 is an Illumina-developed comprehensive solid tumor profiling panel targeting 170 genes using DNA and RNA from FFPE samples. In order to confirm the robustness of the assay with FFPE tissue, 2310 FFPE samples were brought in-house and evaluated. Quantity of both DNA and RNA extraction were determined by various methods, including AccuClear™, Qubit™ and Quantifluor® fluourometric assays. Overall, >95% of the samples achieved the minimum concentrations required for the TruSight® Tumor 170 assay. As a surrogate for DNA quality, we measured the amplification potential of the nucleic acid by assessing a ΔCq value using quantitative PCR after normalization to a fixed input mass. To assess RNA quality, we used the DV200 metric, which measures the percentage of RNA fragments >200 nucleotides in length. We examined ΔCq and DV200 values across different tissues and didn't find a significant difference between tissues. Finally, we assessed the ability of samples to pass the sample quality control (QC) metrics in the TruSight® Tumor 170 assay. These QC metrics ensure accurate variant calling, with a sensitivity and specificity of ≥95%. We found that samples that had a ΔCq value of ≤5 and a DV200 value of ≥20 achieved a QC success rate above 95%. This data highlights the need for further investigation into the methods for extraction, quantification and quality assessment of nucleic acids for solid tumor profiling and underscores the robustness of TruSight® Tumor 170 with FFPE samples. 1 For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Citation Format: Jennifer S. LoCoco, Li Teng, Danny Chou, Xiao Chen, Byron Luo, Jennifer Sayne, Ashley Adams, Naseem Ajili, Cody Chivers, Beena Murthy, Laurel Ball, Allan Castaneda, Katie Clark, Brian Crain, Anthony Daulo, Manh Do, Tingting Du, Sarah Dumm, Yonmee Han, Michael Havern, Chia-Ling Hsieh, Tingting Jiang, Suzanne Johansen, Scott Lang, Rachel Liang, Jaime McLean, Yousef Nassiri, Austin Purdy, Jason Rostron, Jennifer Silhavy, June Snedecor, Natasha Talago, Li Teng, Kevin Wu, Chen Zhao, Clare Zlatkov, Ali Kuraishy, Karen Gutekunst, Sohela De Rozieres, Matthew Friedenberg, Han-Yu Chuang, Anne C. Jager. Evaluation of quantity, quality and performance with the TruSight® Tumor 170 solid tumor profiling assay of nucleic acids extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5354. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5354


Ion implantation is an effective way to control performance in semiconductor technology. In this paper, the fabrication of 1~5 nm porous silicon by helium ion implantation was systemically studied, and the growth mechanism and regulation mechanism of helium bubbles in monocrystalline silicon at low temperatures were revealed. In this work, 100 keV He ions (1~7.5 × 1016 ions/cm2) were implanted into monocrystalline silicon at 115 °C~220 °C. There were three distinct stages in the growth of helium bubbles, showing different mechanisms of helium bubble formation. The minimum average diameter of a helium bubble is approximately 2.3 nm, and the maximum number density of the helium bubble is 4.2 × 1023 m−3 at 175 °C. The porous structure may not be obtained at injection temperatures below 115 °C or injection doses below 2.5 × 1016 ions/cm2. In the process, both the ion implantation temperature and ion implantation dose affect the growth of helium bubbles in monocrystalline silicon. Our findings suggest an effective approach to the fabrication of 1~5 nm nanoporous silicon, challenging the classic view of the relationship between process temperature or dose and pore size of porous silicon, and some new theories are summarized.


This thesis explores the UK Government's Department for Environment Food and Rural
Affairs' (DEFRA) 2-year pilot study into biodiversity offsetting (BDO) in England. The
objective is to investigate the socio-technical assemblages of biodiversity offsetting to
examine what it means to value biodiversity in practice, how the ensuing values
materialise and with what effects.
The thesis undertakes a multi-sited investigation of the DEFRA pilot study. Firstly I
explore the origins of the BDO assemblage focussing on two of its critical elements, the
policy standard of 'no net loss' of biodiversity and the central calculative device, the
DEFRA metric. I contextualise these conceptual and calculative technologies within the
wider socio-political milieus in which they were conceived, circulated and subsequently
took effect. The next three chapters present case studies built through diachronic
empirical engagements with three sites of the DEFRA pilot. These chapters trace the
assemblages of actual BDO negotiations, efforts to value biodiversity by actors in-situ,
and the tensions that threaten these processes. Lastly, I explore the value/s conflicts
appearing in these case studies through an empirical investigation of the BDO dispute as
it played out at the Business and Biodiversity Offsetting Programme (BBOP) conference
in London in June 2014.
I argue for an understanding of value making in conservation as a performative project
through which the values of nature are actively constructed and assembled via social,
political and technical processes that can be documented empirically. I emphasise that
biodiversity value does not therefore exist waiting to be captured but is actively
performed through the assemblages and practices of BDO. The thesis concludes by
discussing the implications of a valuation approach in conservation noting the necessary
occlusions this sustains and the important changes to biodiversity conservation policy
and practice it signals.
Keywords: Biodiversity offsetting, Conservation policy, English biodiversity offsetting
pilot, DEFRA, Assemblage, Performativity, Value


The current study investigates the water quality parameters of drinking water resources in District Neelam (DNLM), Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Northwestern Pakistan. The studied area has been recently reported with many waterborne diseases, which probed this analytical study. The samples were aseptically collected from springs, taps, and surface water bodies. The water quality parameters, such as physical, microbiological, anions, and heavy metals, were tested. Results showed that the electrical conductance (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS), were 974.60 µS/cm and 912.10 mg/L, respectively, exacerbating the quality of drinking water in DNLM. For microbial water testing, we used 3M-Petrifilms as a detection source, which could separate coliform bacteria from E. coli by creating unique surface chromophores. Out of sixty collected samples, 76% had bacterial contamination. Nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate (9.8, 15.0, and 15.1 mg/L), were also surpassing the safe limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for water quality measurement. The heavy metals, i.e., As, Cr, Cu, and Pb were also tested in current analysis. Pb and Cr (0.04 mg/L and 0.06 mg/L) exceeded from safe drinking water guidelines of the WHO and more than 50% of the collected samples had Pb as a major water pollutant in DNLM. Poor waste management, open sludge discharge, lack of municipality measures, and mineral leaching into the freshwaters of DNLM due to mining and metal extraction processes were the main sources of water pollution in the region. The inorganic pollutants were responsible for the sudden rise of different malignancies and other fatal diseases (vital organ failures and reproductive disorders) in the region, which has not been reported in the past. The current investigation yielded useful baseline data of the drinking water reserves of NW Pakistan that could help to develop techniques for the mitigation of water pollutants present in the region.


Field training is a composite part of student learning while studying at professional institutions. Students learn theoretical concepts in traditional classroom settings and for practical hands-on experience, higher educational institutions have to arrange on-campus laboratories, expert talks, meet and greet events, exhibitions, alumni interactions, industry interactions and off-campus industry visits, internships, and mentorship programs with sponsored industries. For all these activities, higher educational institutes have to make necessary arrangements, and most of the time, the arrangement of industry mentors is costly and a difficult process. Students enroll in the course of their study either in full-time mode or in part-time mode. Part-time students usually work in some organizations and in most cases related to their field of study. This research article aims at investigating the scope of using the industry experience of part-time students for the learning of full-time students as a supplementary instructional method in a structured way. A case study was conducted on electronics and telecommunication engineering students to train full-time students with necessary industry knowledge and standards with the help of part-time students while working in groups. Results show the effectiveness of the strategy adopted and proposes how part-time students working in engineering fields having practical hands-on experience can share their experience with full-time students through various activities. The paper also describes how the higher educational institutions can train their course offering departments, registration departments, and student success centers to design properly-structured activities to utilize the potential of their part-time students for the learning of their full-time students.


The effects of different culture medium on the germination rate and time of Bletilla striata Rchb.f.(Orchidaceae) seeds in different developmental phases,and multiplication of cluster shoots and rootage of plantlets was investigated.The results showed that the germination rate was positively correlated with the embryo age and the embryo rate of seeds,whereas the germination time was passively correlated with them.For the seeds with 16-week embryo age,the germination rate could be reach 84% on the medium added with 1 g/L Huabao-1 and 2 g/L Huabao-2.The germination rate of the seeds with embryo age more than 20 weeks wasn't affected by the culture medium element and could reach 100%.Moreover,its germination time only need 7 days.The best culture medium for multiplication of cluster shoots is 1/2 MS+4.0 mg/L 6-BA +0.2 mg/L NAA +100 g/L CM(coconut milk),on which the multiplication rate was 4.41.The medium with 1/2 MS+0.2 mg/L NAA was favorable to the growth of roots and the rate of rootage was 90%.