Objective This study was aimed to explore the changes of expression of E-selectin on the cerebrovascular endothelium in the central nervous system with the inflammation and to evaluate the roles of dexamethasone. Methods Fifty-four mice were randomly divided into the following groups: endotoxin (20 μg/20 μl of saline) group, endotoxin (20 μg/20 μl of saline) plus dexamethasone [i.p.,1 mg/(kg·12h)] group, saline group and controls. The information of E-selectin expression in the cerebrovascular endothelium was obtained by observing brain tissue sections staining with the immunohistochemical method. HE staining on brain tissue sections was also performed to observe the profile of the brain inflammation reaction induced by endotoxin. Results A weak expression of E-selectin was found in the control group [(13.7±2.7)%]. The administration of saline [(13.5±5.6)%] did not affect E-selectin expression. As compared to the saline group, E-selectin expression in the endotoxin group was significantly enhanced at day 1 [(31.8±10.5)%, t = 3.77, P0.01] and day 2 [(26.8±9.6)%, t=2.94, P0.05] with the inflammation reactions including the brain edema, intravascular adhesion, extravascular infiltration of lymphocytes and neutrocytes, and enlarged surrounding interstitium of vascules. After 3 days of the endotoxin injection, the E-selcetin expression [(15.7±9.9)%, t=0.47, P0.05] was similar to that of the saline group, and the inflammation reaction was mildened. The E-selectin expression was progressively declined during the first 3 days of the injection (F=4.08,P0.05). As compared to the endotoxin group, the E-selectin expression in the endotoxin plus dexamethasone group was significantly inhibited at day 1 [(13.0±12.4)%, t=2.16, P0.05] and day 2 [(8.8±6.0)%, t=2.64, P0.05], and the inflammation reactions were significantly blocked by the injection of dexamethasone. No differences in the expression of E-selectin were found among the endotoxin plus dexamethasone group (at day 1, 2 and 3) , the saline group and controls (all P0.05). Conclusion The over-expression of E-selectin on vessel endothelial cells of brain may be involved in the process of inflammation of the central nervous system. Dexamethasone may inhibit the brain inflammatory reaction, possibly through its inhibition of the E-selectin expression on vessel endothelial cells.


This paper considers the use of Robust PCA in a CUR decomposition framework and applications thereof. Our main algorithms produce a robust version of column-row factorizations of matrices $\mathbf{D}=\mathbf{L}+\mathbf{S}$ where $\mathbf{L}$ is low-rank and $\mathbf{S}$ contains sparse outliers. These methods yield interpretable factorizations at low computational cost, and provide new CUR decompositions that are robust to sparse outliers, in contrast to previous methods. We consider two key imaging applications of Robust PCA: video foreground-background separation and face modeling. This paper examines the qualitative behavior of our Robust CUR decompositions on the benchmark videos and face datasets, and find that our method works as well as standard Robust PCA while being significantly faster. Additionally, we consider hybrid randomized and deterministic sampling methods which produce a compact CUR decomposition of a given matrix, and apply this to video sequences to produce canonical frames thereof.


This interim final rule with comment period revises the list of procedures that are covered when furnished in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in accordance with section 1833(i)(1) of the Social Security Act. We published our proposed deletions and additions in the Federal Register on November 26, 2004. In this interim final rule, we respond to public comments and make final additions to and deletions from the current list of Medicare approved ambulatory surgical center (ASC) procedures.


Trajectories of prosocial behavior and physical aggression between 6 and 12 years of age were identified for a sample (N=1,025) of males. The trajectories were then used to predict school dropout and physical violence at age 17. Using a group-based semi-parametric method, two trajectories of prosociality (low and moderate declining) and three trajectories of physical aggression (low, moderate, and high declining) were obtained. Only a small minority (3.4%) of the boys were characterized by both high aggression and moderate prosociality. Physical aggression predicted both school dropout and physical violence, but contrary to expectations, prosocial behavior did not have additive or protective effects.


We study the Dp-brane dynamics near NS5-branes with constant electromagnetic field. In the framework of effective Dirac-Born-Infeld action, we investigate the effect of the electromagnetic field on the Dp-brane dynamics. The radial motion of the Dp-brane on the transverse directions of NS5-branes can be mapped to a rolling tachyon in a constant NS B-munu background. In the near throat region, the classical motion can be identified with the rescaled hairpin. After constructing the boundary state of the rescaled hairpin, we discuss the closed string emission of the Dp-brane and find that the energy of the closed string emission is always finite in the presence of constant electric field. Taking the winding strings into account, the emitted energy is divergent, indicating that the emitted winding strings carry away most of the energy.


The U.S. Navy has been interested in podded propulsion for over 20 years and has conducted model experiments on several designs in order to define their powering performance and other hydrodynamic characteristics. The model test drag data on several of these designs are analyzed and presented in terms of drag coefficient and pod residuary resistance. The model powering tests form a data base for estimating thrust deduction and wake fraction.
 Podded propulsion frees the designer from the constraints imposed by the traditional propeller support arrangements to offer advantages with regard to better hull design for lower resistance, improved propeller inflow, and more efficient propellers. Compared to the traditional design, some podded designs are predicted to reduce the delivered power at the propeller by as much as 20%. The design objectives, design constraints and reasons for improved performance are discussed for each of the podded designs that are presented.


Recently, there has been significant progress in studying neural networks to translate text descriptions into SQL queries. Despite achieving good performance on some public benchmarks, existing text-to-SQL models typically rely on the lexical matching between words in natural language (NL) questions and tokens in table schemas, which may render the models vulnerable to attacks that break the schema linking mechanism. In this work, we investigate the robustness of text-to-SQL models to synonym substitution. In particular, we introduce Spider-Syn, a human-curated dataset based on the Spider benchmark for text-to-SQL translation. NL questions in Spider-Syn are modified from Spider, by replacing their schema-related words with manually selected synonyms that reflect real-world question paraphrases. We observe that the accuracy dramatically drops by eliminating such explicit correspondence between NL questions and table schemas, even if the synonyms are not adversarially selected to conduct worst-case attacks. Finally, we present two categories of approaches to improve the model robustness. The first category of approaches utilizes additional synonym annotations for table schemas by modifying the model input, while the second category is based on adversarial training. We demonstrate that both categories of approaches significantly outperform their counterparts without the defense, and the first category of approaches are more effective.


The ongoing development of gender stereotype news research calls for developing an instrument to tap into the ethnicity context. This study analyzes the gender stereotype news in the context of the ethnicity to develop and validate the scale. The deductive method of item generation has been employed in the study. In total three studies were conducted. The first study is based on the 12 experts' ratings of the items for the content and constructs validity. A survey of (N = 227) was conducted in January to February 2017 for the second study for the scale construction and inter-item consistency, reliability and factor analysis were analyzed. For the third study, a survey of (N = 222) was conducted for the scale validation and convergent and criterion-related validity were analyzed. Based on the findings of experts all 14 items were retained, however, one item was deleted in the result of the factor analysis. To analyze convergent validity, we used the accurate depiction of facts (AF) as a predictor of gender stereotype news. While the one possible outcome of media believability (MB), was used to measure criterion-related validity. The findings suggest proposing the final 13-item scale of the gender stereotype news in the context of ethnicity (GSN).


Introduction Overly broad laws criminalising HIV and/or STI non-disclosure, exposure and/or non-intentional transmission exist in countries across the globe. Although some laws are HIV-specific, many prosecutions take place under general criminal or public health laws which allow for STI-related prosecutions. Although most attention has focused on HIV-related prosecutions, a growing number of prosecutions and new or proposed laws also relate to other STIs. Methods A desk review of criminal proceedings, policy documents and newspaper reports related to HIV and STI-related laws and prosecutions in 2014–15. Results Most reported HIV-related prosecutions continue to take place in North America, but are also being reported in every region of the world. Whilst international and local advocacy has delivered significant challenges to inappropriate and overly broad HIV-specific laws in a number of jurisdictions, and the science of HIV risk, harm and proof has had a significant impact on law and policy in some North American and Western European jurisdictions, new overly broad HIV-specific or STI-related laws continue to be proposed or enacted. Many HIV-related laws and prosecutions continue to inappropriately focus on spitting or non-disclosure even when no transmission is alleged, whilst others ignore the HIV prevention effect of condoms and/or antiretroviral therapy. In addition, laws and prosecutions for other STIs, including for gonorrhoea, herpes, and syphilis, as well as sexually transmitted hepatitis B and C, and potentially even Ebola, are increasing. Conclusion Criminal justice actors and law- and policymakers struggle with the science around HIV and STI risks, harm and proof, and are unaware of the unintended deleterious impacts of such laws and prosecutions. Scientists and clinicians have a key role to play to influence individual cases and broader laws and policies relating to prosecutions for HIV and STIs non-disclosure, exposure and/or transmission in order to improve both public health and human rights. Disclosure of interest statement The HIV Justice Network is funded by Monument Trust, UK. No pharmaceutical grants were received in the development of this study.


Significance Our findings represent a fundamental advance in general understanding of the mechanisms of exocytosis in polarized epithelial cells that are crucial for the establishment and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity. Moreover, our data also improve the knowledge on the machinery regulating polarized trafficking of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, a class of lipid-associated proteins playing diverse vital functions, unraveling an unexpected role of calcium in their apical sorting. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) are lipid-associated luminal secretory cargoes selectively sorted to the apical surface of the epithelia where they reside and play diverse vital functions. Cholesterol-dependent clustering of GPI-APs in the Golgi is the key step driving their apical sorting and their further plasma membrane organization and activity; however, the specific machinery involved in this Golgi event is still poorly understood. In this study, we show that the formation of GPI-AP homoclusters (made of single GPI-AP species) in the Golgi relies directly on the levels of calcium within cisternae. We further demonstrate that the TGN calcium/manganese pump, SPCA1, which regulates the calcium concentration within the Golgi, and Cab45, a calcium-binding luminal Golgi resident protein, are essential for the formation of GPI-AP homoclusters in the Golgi and for their subsequent apical sorting. Down-regulation of SPCA1 or Cab45 in polarized epithelial cells impairs the oligomerization of GPI-APs in the Golgi complex and leads to their missorting to the basolateral surface. Overall, our data reveal an unexpected role for calcium in the mechanism of GPI-AP apical sorting in polarized epithelial cells and identify the molecular machinery involved in the clustering of GPI-APs in the Golgi.


The British Columbia Supreme Court held that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy constitutes sex discrimination under the Human Rights Act, even though it is not discrimination against all women. The case involved a woman whose offer of employment as a secretary was withdrawn when her employer learned that she was pregnant and would have to go on maternity leave in one month's time.


We study amenable actions on graphs having infinitely many ends, giving a generalized answer to Ceccherini's question on groups with infinitely many ends. A.1 Statement of the result An action of a group G on a set X is amenable if there exists a G-invariant mean on X, i.e. a map μ : 2 = P(X)→ [0, 1] such that μ(X) = 1, μ(A∪B) = μ(A) + μ(B) for every pair of disjoint subsets A, B of X, and μ(gA) = μ(A), ∀g ∈ G, ∀A ⊆ X. An isometric action of a group G on a metric space (X, d) is proper if for some x0 ∈ X, and every R > 0, the set {g ∈ G | d(x0, gx0) ≤ R} is finite. The aim of this note is to give a short proof of the following result: Theorem A.1. Let X = (V,E) be a locally finite graph with infinitely many ends. Let X = V ∪ ∂X be the end compactification. Let G be a group of automorphisms of X. Assume that the action of G on V is amenable and there exists x0 ∈ V such that the closure of Gx0 contains ∂X. Then there is a unique G-fixed end in ∂X, and the action of G (as a discrete group) on V is not proper. A deep result of Stallings [74] says that G has infinitely many ends if and only if G is an amalgamated free product Γ1∗AΓ2 or HNN -extension HNN(Γ, A, φ) with A finite (with min{[Γ1 : A], [Γ2 : A]} ≥ 2, not both 2, in the amalgamated product case; and min{[Γ : A], [Γ : φ(A)]} ≥ 2, not both 2, in the HNN case). In particular, if G has infinitely many ends, it contains non-abelian free subgroups, hence is non amenable. Tullio Ceccherini-Silberstein asked whether


CONTEXT
Although overuse injuries are gaining attention, epidemiologic studies on overuse injuries in male and female collegiate athletes are lacking.

OBJECTIVE
To report the epidemiology of overuse injuries sustained by collegiate athletes and to compare the rates of overuse and acute injuries.

DESIGN
Descriptive epidemiology study.

SETTING
A National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS
A total of 1317 reported injuries sustained by 573 male and female athletes in 16 collegiate sports teams during the 2005-2008 seasons.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
The injury and athlete-exposure (AE) data were obtained from the Sports Injury Monitoring System. An injury was coded as either overuse or acute based on the nature of injury. Injury rate was calculated as the total number of overuse (or acute) injuries during the study period divided by the total number of AEs during the same period.

RESULTS
A total of 386 (29.3%) overuse injuries and 931 (70.7%) acute injuries were reported. The overall injury rate was 63.1 per 10 000 AEs. The rate ratio (RR) of acute versus overuse injuries was 2.34 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.05, 2.67). Football had the highest RR (RR = 8.35, 95% CI = 5.38, 12.97), and women's rowing had the lowest (RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.51, 1.10). Men had a higher acute injury rate than women (49.8 versus 38.6 per 10 000 AEs). Female athletes had a higher rate of overuse injury than male athletes (24.6 versus 13.2 per 10,000 AEs). More than half of the overuse injuries (50.8%) resulted in no time loss from sport.

CONCLUSIONS
Additional studies are needed to examine why female athletes are at greater risk for overuse injuries and identify the best practices for prevention and rehabilitation of overuse injuries.


This research aims to propose a novel sub-optimal decentralised blanket coverage control algorithm, namely, 'one-Barrier-to-Blanket Coverage Algorithm' (BBCA) as well as a novel k-barrier coverage control algorithm, namely, 'one-to-k Barrier Coverage Algorithm' (1-kBCA) for self-deployed autonomous wireless sensor networks in the obstacle-free and convex deployment area. The motion coordination schemes developed in this research are based on the nearest neighbour techniques. Research indicates that simple motion coordination schemes have resulted in the powerful and intelligent control algorithms to achieve the desired coverage. Since the algorithms were developed based on simple local rules, they are indeed computationally efficient and ease the communication overheads. What is more, the superiorities of the proposed algorithms are nonetheless related to their uniformity, flexibility, simplicity, scalability as well as reliability. Instead of theoretical proofs as solid mathematical frameworks, computer simulations also have been presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.


Aim: This study investigated the tooth movement of complete dentures processed by microwave activation and conventional processing method in water bath. Methods: Twenty maxillary complete dentures were fabricated and randomly assigned to 4 groups (n=5): Group I: Classico conventional heat-curing acrylic resin processed by microwave polymerization; Group II: Classico resin processed in water bath at 74°C for 9 h (control-group); Group III: QC-20 fast heat-curing acrylic resin processed in boiling water for 20 min; Group IV: Onda-Cryl microwave acrylic resin processed at the same conditions of Group 1. Metallic referential pins were placed on the incisal border of the central incisors, buccal cusp of the first premolars, and the mesiobuccal cusp of the second molars. Transversal and anteroposterior distances were measured before and after the complete dentures processing with a linear optical microscope (Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan) accurate to 0.0005 mm. Data were subjected to ANOVA and Tukey's test at 5% significance levels. Results: Inside each group, dentures showed some tooth movement but without statistical difference before and after the polymerization. Conclusions: Dentures processed by microwave energy presented similar performance to those subjected to conventional cycles in water bath for most of distances evaluated.


The probability distributions of the order parameter for two models in the directed percolation universality class were evaluated. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed for the one-dimensional generalized contact process and the Domany-Kinzel cellular automaton. In both cases, the density of active sites was chosen as the order parameter. The criticality of those models was obtained by solely using the corresponding probability distribution function. It has been shown that the present method, which has been successfully employed in treating equilibrium systems, is indeed also useful in the study of nonequilibrium phase transitions.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of defensive medicine among doctors of Civil Hospital and Jinnah Hospital Karachi and to introduce it towards the community of doctors. Material And Methods: 200 doctors from different wards of Civil Hospital Karachi and Jinnah Hospital Karachi played crucial role in filling of Performa which was especially designed for this research. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Site of Study: Civil and Jinnah Hospital Karachi. Duration: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Results: 47.9% doctors already knew about defensive medicine while 52.1% didn't. 40.7% doctors avoid invasive procedures while 50.3% don't. 92.4% of doctors care for high risk patients while 7.6% avoid caring for them. 109 out of 190 doctors agree and 30 doctors strongly agree about the practice of defensive medicine, 34 doctors are neutral and the rest of them disagree with its practice. Mostly ordered tests are CBC 78.9%, urine D/R 3.2%, 1.1% stool D/R, 1.6% MRI, 2.2% CT scan, 1.1% UCE, 2.7% blood cultures, 0.5% LFTs 9.1% other tests and the doctors with experience of 10 or 15 years are found ordering only CBC mostly. Conclusions: The conclusion obtained from the results shows that most of the participants were experienced doctors but many of them were unaware of the defensive medicine and in spite of that too great number of doctors strongly believe in its practice. Majority of the doctors were found caring for high risk patients. However the prevalence and practice of defensive medicine reduced among doctors having experience of more than 5 years.


Both crizotinib and ceritinib are recommended as first-line theray for NSCLC with ROS1 rearrangements, with the latter having stronger infiltration ability across blood-brain barrier. Here we report for the first time that a brain metastatic adenocarcinoma patient with CD74-ROS1 rearrangement was sensitive to crizotinib but resistant to ceritinib. Intracranial progression happened after 7 months of crizotinib, and sencond-line lorlatinib resulted in partial response and a PFS of 8 months. Upon lorlatinib resistance, repeated NGS detection of ctDNA from peripheral blood showed BRAF p.V600E, CD74-ROS1 and ROS1 pG2032R. Then, Trametinib, dabrafenib, and cabozantinib was administered to the patient. However, disease progressed very quickly and the patient passed away only one month later, with a overall survival of months. The last ctDNA test, one week before death of the patient, found that BRAF p.V600E disappeared, leaving only CD74-ROS1and ROS1 pG2032R,with a very high frequency. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a ROS-1 rearrangement lung cancer patient that is sensitive to crizotinib but resistant to ceritinib, and BRAF p.V600E as resistant mechanism for lorlatinib.


The garlic and its principle sulfur compound, diallyl disulphide (DADS) have been claimed to have hypoglycemic action and are beneficial in achieving glycemic control in diabetes mellitus (DM). The actual mechanism how the DADS regulates glucose level in DM is not clearly established though it is known that DADS do influence insulin action probably by improving insulin half-life. A study was undertaken to assess the influence of DADS on glucose utilization in isolated alloxan diabetic liver tissues and to compare DADS action with standard hypoglycemic drug, metformin. The study included four groups: group-1 (normal control liver tissues), group-2 (alloxan diabetic liver tissues), group-3 (Metformin exposed alloxan diabetic liver tissues) and group-4 (DADS exposed alloxan diabetic liver tissues). The liver tissues of groups 3 and 4 were incubated respectively with metformin (4 mg/g liver) and DADS (4 mg/g liver) for one hour at 37°C. The results showed significant raise (p<0.01) in glucose utilization and lactate production in group 4 liver tissues as compared to group 2 suggesting influence of DADS on the glucose utilization promotional effect of DADS which is quite comparable with metformin. The influence of glucose utilization by DADS is through increasing glycolysis in liver as well as its utilization through hexose mono phosphate (HMP) pathway as suggested by increased hexokinase (HK) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activities. Study signifies the use of DADS as adjuvant therapy for glycemic control in DM.


We report the case of a 46 year-old woman presenting an acquired angioedema. Angioedema is an C1 inhibitor deficiency. Patients present recurrent non inflammatory swelling of the head and extremities and recurrent attacks of severe abdominal pain. This clinical presentation is non specific : investigation of complement is useful for diagnosis. Laboratory testing show low serum levels of C4 with normal levels of C3. Low C1 esterase inhibitor confirm the diagnosis. If acquired angioedema, a cause must be searched.


Background

The common cold is one of the most widespread illnesses and is a leading cause of visits to the doctor and absenteeism from school and work. Trials conducted since 1984 investigating the role of zinc for the common cold symptoms have had mixed results. Inadequate treatment masking and reduced bioavailability of zinc from some formulations have been cited as influencing results.

Objectives

To assess the effect of zinc on common cold symptoms.

Search methods

We searched CENTRAL (2010, Issue 2) which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1966 to May week 3, 2010) and EMBASE (1974 to June 2010).

Selection criteria

Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials using zinc for at least five consecutive days to treat, or for at least five months to prevent the common cold.

Data collection and analysis

Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality.

Main results

We included 13 therapeutic trials (966 participants) and two preventive trials (394 participants). Intake of zinc is associated with a significant reduction in the duration (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.56 to -0.38) (P = 0.001), and severity of common cold symptoms (SMD -0.39; 95% CI -0.77 to -0.02) (P = 0.04). There was a significant difference between the zinc and control group for the proportion of participants symptomatic after seven days of treatment (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.2 to 1.00) (P = 0.05). The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of developing a cold (IRR 0.64; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.88) (P = 0.006), school absence (P = 0.0003) and prescription of antibiotics (P < 0.00001) was lower in the zinc group. Overall adverse events (OR 1.59; 95% CI 0.97 to 2.58) (P = 0.06), bad taste (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.91 to 3.64) (P < 0.00001) and nausea (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.44 to 3.23) (P = 0.002) were higher in the zinc group.

Authors' conclusions

Zinc administered within 24 hours of onset of symptoms reduces the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people. When supplemented for at least five months, it reduces cold incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics in children. There is potential for zinc lozenges to produce side effects. In view of this and the differences in study populations, dosages, formulations and duration of treatment, it is difficult to make firm recommendations about the dose, formulation and duration that should be used.

Plain Language Summary

Zinc for the common cold

The common cold is often caused by the rhinovirus. It is one of the most widespread illnesses and is a leading cause of visits to the doctor and absenteeism from school and work. Complications of the common cold include otitis media (middle ear infection), sinusitis and exacerbations of reactive airway diseases. There is no proven treatment for the common cold. However, a medication that is even partially effective in the treatment and prevention of the common cold could markedly reduce morbidity and economic losses due to this illness.

Zinc inhibits rhinoviral replication and has been tested in trials for treatment of the common cold. This review identified 15 randomized controlled trials, enrolling 1360 participants of all age groups, comparing zinc with placebo (no zinc). We found that zinc (lozenges or syrup) is beneficial in reducing the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people, when taken within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. People taking zinc are also less likely to have persistence of their cold symptoms beyond seven days of treatment. Zinc supplementation for at least five months reduces incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics for children with the common cold. People taking zinc lozenges (not syrup or tablet form) are more likely to experience adverse events, including bad taste and nausea. As there are no studies in participants in whom common cold symptoms might be troublesome (for example, those with underlying chronic illness, immunodeficiency, asthma, etc.), the use of zinc currently cannot be recommended for them. Given the variability in the populations studied (no studies from low- or middle-income countries), dose, formulation and duration of zinc used in the included studies, more research is needed to address these variabilities and determine the optimal duration of treatment as well as the dosage and formulations of zinc that will produce clinical benefits without increasing adverse effects, before making a general recommendation for zinc in treatment of the common cold.


Aerospace engineering has always had the need for various natural environment parameters to be used as inputs in research and engineering analyses used in the design and development of aircraft and launch/reentry vehicles. Although winds are indeed the main natural environment parameter used as inputs in vehicle design, the thermodynamic atmospheric parameters and models are also of great value and much needed as inputs. This paper will help the design engineer, chief engineer, or project manager understand the role that these thermodynamic parameters/models play.


Abstract We studied the zircon U–Pb ages, Hf isotopes, and whole-rock and mineral chemistry of metagranitoids from the Subansiri region of the Eastern Himalaya to constrain their emplacement age, origin and geodynamic evolution. The investigated metagranitoids have high SiO2, Na2O + K2O, Rb, Zr and low Fe2O3, Nb, Ga/Al ratios with fractionated rare earth element patterns [(Ce/Yb)N = 6.46–42.15] and strong negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.16–0.44). They are peraluminous (molar A/CNK = 1.04–1.27) and calc-alkaline in nature, with normative corundum (1.04–3.61) and relatively high FeOt/MgO ratios in biotite (c. 3.38), indicating their affinity with S-type granites. The time of emplacement of the Subansiri metagranitoids is constrained by zircon U–Pb ages between 516 and 486 Ma. The zircon grains have negative εHf(t) values ranging from −1.4 to −12.7 and yield crustal Hf model ages from 1.5 to 2.2 Ga, suggesting the occurrence of a major crustal growth event in the Proterozoic and re-melting of the crust during the early Paleozoic. The geochemical data in conjunction with the U–Pb ages and Hf isotope data suggest that the Subansiri metagranitoids were produced by partial melting of older metasedimentary rocks in the Indian passive margin. Supplementary material: Hf isotope results for the Mud Tank zircon standard acquired during the experimental period are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4299830


The hybrid concrete structures investigated in this project are beams composed by layers of different types of concrete. Normal density concrete (NC) is used as top (and bottom) layer combined with a layer of fibre reinforced lightweight concrete (FRLWC). Hence, the beams have low weight and the NC layer fulfil requirements for ductility in compression. Steel fibres are added to improve the performance of LWC. The intention was to investigate the structural behaviour.The work was divided into an experimental study and a numerical verification. Small-scale tests constitute the basis for obtaining design parameters used in the design of the larger hybrid beams. These beams were subjected to a 4-point bending test in order to study the performance in terms of both shear and bending actions. The numerical verification is based on results from the uniaxial tension test (UATT) in terms of numbers of fibres at the critical section and corresponding load-displacement response. These results are used directly in analyses of the hybrid beams that experienced shear failure.This study shows that the concept of combining NC and FRLWC in one cross-section is working well. No problem with the bond between the layers of concrete was registered. Important aspects for ensuring satisfactory bond were curing conditions and a rough and clean surface for the substrate. Efficient interaction between the materials was ensured as the overlay of stronger normal concrete attracts external forces and governs the behaviour of the hybrid specimen.Steel fibre reinforcement of the lightweight concrete increased the ductility in tension and the amount of conventional shear reinforcement might be reduced or even completely avoided for some types of structural members. However, the structural performance of fibre reinforced concrete strongly depends on the fibre distribution and orientation, which are governed by the behaviour of the fresh concrete and boundary conditions (like the mould and steel bars).The material properties of the FRLWC are investigated through small-scale tests: the uniaxial tension test, the 3-point bending test and compressive test on concrete cylinders/cubes. These tests provided information about the tensile strength, Young's modulus, the residual flexural tensile strength and the compressive strength. Through 4-point bending tests on hybrid beams, the shear resistance and moment capacity were investigated. Fibre counting was carried out in order to relate the performance to the number of fibres crossing the critical section, which turned out to have a considerable influence on the performance of the FRLWC. Based on results from the UATT and initiation of diagonal cracks on hybrid beams subjected to shear failure, the tensile strength of the FLRWC increase with increasing number of fibres.Regarding the 4-point bending tests on hybrid beams, the types of failure were in general as expected. However, the beams without stirrups designed for moment failure experienced shear failure. The remaining moment beams experienced flexural failure and the ultimate load agreed with the calculated moment capacity. The shear beams also behaved as expected, but in calculations the shear resistance of the lightweight concrete was under-estimated according to Eurocode 2. Use of fibre reinforcement should increase the shear resistance, but the fibre contribution was questionable for the beams with 0.5% fibre reinforcement. There was large deviation in the results but in general the ultimate load/load level at initiation of diagonal crack increased with increasing number of fibres. Hence, calculations taking into account the number of fibres on the critical section provided the best agreement with the achieved results.Numerical analyses are carried out in order to verify the method of using small-scale results as direct input to analyses of larger beams. Based on number of fibres and the load-displacement response, basic material properties were obtained from the uniaxial tension test. These parameters were in turn used directly as material properties for the FRLWC in the analyses of hybrid beams. In general, the results showed good agreement between analyses and test specimens/beams. One important aspect is that the input data were not calibrated in order to achieve better agreement between analyses and test results. A study of the effect of crack bandwidth was also carried out. The results indicated that the use of square element size as crack bandwidth is a proper choice for the FRLWC in the shear zone of the hybrid beams. Using the square element size as crack bandwidth is also suitable for notched small-scale specimens when the FE model is adapted to the size of the notch.The Ph.d. project shows that the concept of hybrid concrete beams is a promising approach for a new type of structure. The concept provides low self-weight of the structure, practical solutions in the construction phase and good premises for more efficient building.


Determination of ground and building characteristics is important to provide against earthquakes. KTU Farabi Hospital is located in Trabzon and approximately 150 km distance from the North Anatolian Fault which is the most dangerous fault system in Turkey. In this study, 10 microtremor recordings were collected in the building and ground. The measurements taken in the building were recorded at (-2)nd, 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th floors and repeated day and night except 1st and 7th floors. The recordings were evaluated with Geopsy program according to Nakamura Method. The predominant frequencies were obtained averagely 1.66 Hz for the building and 7.65 Hz for the ground. The resonance risk is low because these two average frequencies are not close to each other. The damping ratios were calculated by using Half Power Method. The damping ratios are matching with the predominant frequencies and averagely 0.09% for the building and 0.23% for the outside points. Finally, the horizontal components of the all measurements were divided by each other to detect transfer function of the building to Floor Spectral Ratio Method. According to this dividing it can be said that the predominant frequencies are almost the same with the predominant frequencies obtained from Nakamura Method.


This study investigated the effects of fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (CHS) isolated from sea cucumber on glucose metabolism and insulin signaling in the liver of insulin-resistant C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HFSD). Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned into six groups: control; HFSD; 1 mg RSG/kg·body weight (RSG); 80 mg CHS/kg · body weight (CHS); 20 mg CHS+1 mg RSG/kg · body weight (20 CHS+RSG); and 80 mg CHS+1 mg RSG/kg · body weight (80 CHS+RSG). Blood glucose, insulin parameters, glucose metabolism-related enzymes activities and insulin-signaling transducers in the liver were analyzed at 19 weeks. Results showed that CHS significantly decreased body weight gain, adipose tissue weight, and fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels in insulin-resistant mice. Rosiglitazone (RSG) is an effective thiazolidinedione hypoglycemic agent, and CHS synergistically enhanced the effect of RSG. CHS feeding normalized the activities of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, glycogen phosphorylase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and increased glycogen reserves in the liver. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that CHS promoted the mRNA expression of insulin receptors (IR), insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS-2), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (PKB), and glycogen synthase (GS) in the liver of insulin resistant mice, and inhibited glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3β) mRNA expression. The results suggested that CHS treatment improved glucose metabolism by modulating metabolic enzymes and promoting the PI3K/PKB/GSK-3β signaling pathway mediated by insulin at the transcriptional level. These results provided strong justification for the development of CHS as a functional food.


Overexpression and/or amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer and predicts response to anti-HER2 therapy in breast cancer. The prognostic relevance of moderate expression of HER2 is unclear. Data of 9872 patients with primary nonmetastatic breast cancer from the cancer registries of Magdeburg and Halle, Germany, were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 5907 patients with complete data sets including follow-up were eligible for analysis. HER2 status was determined as recommended by international guidelines. Of 5907 patients investigated, 5023 (68.4%) had HER2 0 and 1+ expression and 884 (12.0%) had HER2 (2+)/HER2- expression. Patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+) and HER2 (2+) tumors had a shorter median disease-free survival (DFS; P<0.0001) and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS; P=0.019) than HR+ patients with HER2 (0/1+) tumors. Among patients with HR- breast cancer there was no significant difference between HER2 (2+) and HER2 (0/1+) tumors. In multivariate analysis after adjustment for other prognostic factors, HER2 (2+) status remained an unfavorable prognostic factor for DFS (hazard ratio (HR)=1.217, 95% CI=1.052-1.408; P=0.008) but not for BCSS (HR=1.045, 95% CI=0.926-1.178; P=0.474). The HER2 (2+) status is an unfavorable prognostic factor for survival of patients with HR+ breast cancer. The impact of anti-HER2 therapy in this group of patients should be evaluated.


from vesicoureteric reflux over a period of 15 years in this area cystourethroscopy, with measurement of the submucosal ureter and calibration of the urethra, has been a routine part of the investigation. The length of the intramural ureter is of considerably less value than that of the submucosal ureter. I consider these endoscopic procedures to be invaluable in helping to decide if reflux is likely to disappear spontaneously or not and therefore a great help in determining a rational programme of treatment. If the length of the submucosal ureter is over 0 5 cm and the bladder and urethra otherwise normal the reflux will almost certainly disappear spontaneously. This, as Dr Edwards has pointed out, may well take longer than two years, but with the confidence of a normal cystourethroscopic examination and an adequate submucosal ureter no arbitrary time limit need be set for "failed medical treatment." About 60°'0 of children come into this class. Cystourethroscopy is also invaluable in revealing defects which may escape radiology, and I believe that operation should be recommended early when it is clear that no amount of time will result in a spontaneous cure-for example, poorly developed trigone with widely separated gaping ureters, absence of any submucosal ureter, ureter opening into a diverticulum, varieties of duplex, etc. Rare cases of distal obstruction may on occasions escape detection by radiology. I have found that on cystourethroscopic examination about 25 0O of children are recommended as candidates for operation. In about 15 / in whom the submucosal ureter is about 0 5 cm or less, the age of the child and severity of reflux, as well as social, geographical, and temperamental factors, play a large part in the planned treatment of the child. In the child with established renal scarring I consider cystourethroscopy to be mandatory if conservative treatment is planned, as only by this examination can the early resolution of reflux be forecast. This examination will spare a few children with established scarring from operation, but I consider that it is unjustifiable to await further evidence of renal scarring before recommending operative treatment as factors other than infections alone are involved in the production of renal damage, especially where there is intrarenal reflux. In conclusion, I suggest that cystourethroscopy should be a routine in the assessment of children with vesicoureteric reflux as it allows a fairly accurate prediction of the disappearance or otherwise of the reflux to be made. This will allow treatment to be planned with confidence, reduces exposure to radiation, and should prevent further renal damage in those who have already sustained scarring.


The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical and physical properties of samples of propolis collected from apiaries in Genç, Karlıova and Solhan districts of Bingöl Province, which is important in the beekeeping sector in Turkey. In the experiment, fatty acids and derivatives of the propolis samples were analysed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis techniques. As a result, 10 fatty acids and 49 volatile components were detected in these samples. These results will contribute to the standardization of propolis produced in Bingöl, Turkey, and to future studies on determining the chemical composition of propolis.


Data-driven approaches are highly relying on the representativeness of the dataset used for training the algorithms. For Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) applications, a lack of representativeness will result in detecting new operating conditions (that have not yet been observed during the period used for training) as faults. This is particularly a challenge for PHM in critical systems, for which long and consistent datasets with all operating conditions are generally not available.

Among the many data-driven approaches applied to PHM, Deep Learning has recently brought promising results, enabling an automation of traditional PHM tasks, including signal processing, feature engineering and signal monitoring. Yet, as the parameters to optimize in a Deep Neural Networks are numerous, the training requires also huge datasets: another quality that critical system datasets are often missing.

When a fleet of systems is monitored, however, a solution to compose more representative and bigger training datasets is to combine condition monitoring data from systems with similar operating conditions. Identifying similar operating conditions would, traditionally, require comparing the distances and the distributions of multi-dimensional time series, a computationally intensive task worsened by the curse of dimensionality.

In this paper, we propose to use a deep neural network, designed for measuring similarities between the training and the testing datasets: a Hierarchical Extreme Learning Machine (HELM). HELM have demonstrated excellent abilities to jointly learn features and monitor deviations from the training data. Training first this network on individual systems, HELM can be used to identify other systems with similar operating conditions. Afterwards, the same network can be trained again with this representative dataset composed of condition monitoring data of several systems, to monitor more efficiently the health of the individual systems. Any deviation in the algorithm output would signify that the system is not anymore in operating conditions seen in the training fleet, and is likely experiencing a fault.

The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the usage of the same architecture twice in a bi-level framework: first, for selecting the representative datasets from a fleet of systems and second, using the selected datasets to train the health monitoring algorithm. This approach achieves good performances on both tasks. Learning from the fleet attenuates the impact of changing operating conditions (\eg summer/winter trends), and improves the quality of the fault detection.

The approach is tested on a fleet of 112 power plants, some of which experienced a stator vane failure.


The achievements of quantum computation theory, e.g. Shor's factoring algorithm, motivate efforts to realize quantum computers. Among systems proposed for quantum computing, macroscopic superconducting circuits of Josephson junctions appear promising for integration in electronic circuits and large-scale applications. Recently, a superconducting tunnel junction circuit was designed and a sufficiently high quality factor of quantum coherence has been obtained. This indicates that decoherence need not be among the obstacles in building quantum computers with macroscopic Josephson circuits. In this paper we present the setup of some elementary quantum logic with macroscopic Josephson qubits, strengthened by some simulation work, and then study the feasibility of implementing Shor's quantum factoring algorithm on them. It is shown that it would be eventually possible to build a 2-dimensional Josephson qubit array, possibly accompanied by classical computing components, capable of performing useful quantum computations.


Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are serious illnesses associated to high mortality and unsatisfactory therapeutic treatments. In search for new therapies, it has become evident that stem cells could be a possible option for patients with AKI and CKD.

The evidence of the renoprotective effect of bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in experimental model of AKI, prompted us to study the effect of stem cells isolated from sources that are more accessible as cord blood (CB) and amniotic fluid. Infusion of hCB-MSCs in immunodeficient mice with AKI ameliorated renal function and tubular structure, prolonging survival. Moreover, transplanted hCB-MSCs localized in peritubular areas, limiting oxidative stress and apoptosis. By virtue of stem cell capacity to produce growth factors, hCB-MSCs were able to induce the pro-survival factor Akt in tubular cells and subsequently their proliferation.

Using the well-established model of AKI in immunodeficient mice, we studied the pro-regenerative effect of amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells. Infusion of hAFS cells in cisplatin-mice improved renal function and limited tubular damage, although not to control level, and prolonged animal survival. These cells engrafted injured kidney predominantly in peritubular region and through a paracrine mechanism are able to exert an anti-apoptotic effect, to activate Akt and stimulate proliferation of tubular cells. We enhanced the therapeutic potential of hAFS cells by cell pre-treatment with GDNF, which markedly ameliorated renal function and tubular injury by increasing stem cell homing to the tubulointerstitial compartment.

In AKI models, the renoprotective effect of BM-MSCs is well established, however the role of these stem cells in model of CKD is controversial and not demonstrated so far. Therefore, we tested the effect of BM-MSCs in a model of adriamycin-induced nephropathy. Repeated infusions of BM-MSCs limited podocyte loss, and normalized distribution of parietal epithelial cells along the Bowman's capsule, reducing glomerulosclerosis. Moreover, through the local release of growth factors as VEGF, BM-MSCs were able to provide a local prosurvival environment that limited glomerular inflammation and microvascular rarefaction.


Wind turbine output energy varies over time with local wind speed and is typically inconsistent with grid power demand. Without energy storage, the resulting difference between rated (peak) power and average power output leads to over-sizing of electrical generator and transmission lines. This conventional arrangement can be avoided if wind turbines can be coupled with energy storage to eliminate the output variations and instead produce their average power on a continuous basis. This would allow a smaller, lower-cost, constant-speed generator and a reduced capacity transmission system sized only for average power output. To accomplish this goal, this study discusses a concept for a storage system for a 5 MW off-shore wind turbine, which integrates a spray-based compressed air energy storage with a 35 MPa accumulator. The compressor employs a liquid piston for air sealing and employs water spray to augment heat transfer for high-efficiency. The overall compression is proposed in three stages with pressure ratios of 10:1, 7:1, and 5:1, all operated at 1 Hz to maintain moderate liquid surface acceleration. Based on a simple and fundamental description of the system, compression efficiency was found to be strongly dependent on droplet surface area, which can be achieved through either high mass loading or small drop sizes. The simulations also show that direct injection spray can increase overall three-stage compression efficiency to as high as 89%, substantially better than the 27% associated with a conventional adiabatic compression at the same pressure ratio. In addition, this study introduces a key performance parameter, termed the Levelization Factor, which can be used to quantify the impact of storage on wind energy systems. However, experiments and simulations based on 3-D geometries with design details are needed to determine the potential of this concept.


Background: Sea buckthorn (SBT) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), rich in calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins, which can potentially prevent and treat osteoporosis. However, no research has been conducted to confirm these hypotheses. QiangGuYin (QGY) is a TCM compound used to treat osteoporosis. There is a need to investigate whether SBT enhances QGY efficacy. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore whether SBT enhances QGY efficacy by inhibiting CKIP-1 and Notum expression through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The study also aimed to explore the active components of SBT. Methods: Experimental animals were divided into control, model, QGY, SBT, SBT + Eucommia ulmoides (EU), and SBT + QGY groups. After treatment, bone morphometric parameters, such as estrogen, PINP, and S-CTX levels, and Notum, CKIP-1, and β-catenin expression were examined. Screening of SBT active components was conducted by molecular docking to obtain small molecules that bind Notum and CKIP-1. Results: The results showed that all the drug groups could elevate the estrogen, PINP, and S-CTX levels, improve femoral bone morphometric parameters, inhibit Notum and CKIP-1 expression, and promote β-catenin expression. The effect of SBT + EU and SBT + QGY was superior to the others. Molecular docking identified that SBT contains seven small molecules (folic acid, rhein, quercetin, kaempferol, mandenol, isorhamnetin, and ent-epicatechin) with potential effects on CKIP-1 and Notum. Conclusion: SBT improves bone morphometric performance in PMOP rats by inhibiting CKIP-1 and Notum expression, increasing estrogen levels, and activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, SBT enhances the properties of QGY. Folic acid, rhein, quercetin, kaempferol, mandenol, isorhamnetin, and ent-epicatechin are the most likely active ingredients of SBT. These results provide insight into the pharmacological mechanisms of SBT in treating osteoporosis.


Epidemiological studies suggest that carotenoids may play a role in human breast carcinogenesis. To identify an anticarcinogenic mechanism, a laboratory model for examination of biologic effects is required. Efficacy of tetrahydrofuran (THF) for delivery of beta-carotene to a human mammary epithelial cell line has not been reported, and biologic effects of carotenoids on normal mammary epithelial cells or mammary epithelial cell lines have not been described. In these studies, we examined MCF-10A cells treated with 0.04%, 0.10%, and 0.35% THF (vol/vol) for morphological signs of toxicity and determined effects of THF on cell proliferation over a seven-day period. Cells treated with THF demonstrated a reduction in mean number of cells per dish (p < 0.05) but still underwent a 3.2- to 4.0-fold increase in cell number over the seven days. MCF-10A cells were also treated with a 7 mumol/l solution of beta-carotene and examined for morphological changes and effects on cell growth. Exposure to this concentration of carotenoid did not significantly affect proliferation but did induce the formation of cytoplasmic vacuoles similar to those seen in differentiating mammary epithelial cells. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed a beta-carotene concentration of 0.004 nmol/10(6) cells in the treatment group. The effects of beta-carotene and the non-provitamin A carotenoid canthaxanthin were also examined in the in vitro cultures of primary human mammary epithelial cells obtained from reduction mammoplasties of two individuals. Exposure to these carotenoids induced morphological changes consistent with cellular differentiation and had a dramatic effect on the proliferative life span of these cells. Thus carotenoids may directly affect the proliferative capacity and differentiation of mammary epithelial cells, which may be among the chemoprotective activities of these compounds.


An antibody was raised in rabbits to the small active fragment of human factor VIII, obtained by Ca2+ dissociation of a human factor VIII preparation made from a multidonor plasma pool. After absorption, the antibody neutralized the factor VIII coagulant activity of normal human plasma, but did not precipitate with any plasma or plasma fractions or neutralize von Willebrand factor (vWF) activity as measured by ristocetin aggregation of fixed washed platelets. Immune beads were prepared by CNBr binding of the partially purified rabbit antibody to 1% agarose beads. Non‐immune beads were prepared with IgG fractions obtained from the rabbits before immunization and used throughout as a control. The amount of factor VIII coagulant activity (VIII:C) removed from plasma by immune beads was time‐dependent and proportional to the amount of beads used, but all of the VIII:C could not be readily removed. Removal of VIII:C by immune beads parallelled removal of factor VIII:antigen, but less vWF activity was removed. Immune beads could be blocked or saturated by treatment with large amounts of normal plasma, but not by von Willebrand disease plasma and only by some haemophilic plasmas.


The invention provides a video reproducing device and a video reproducing method. A television personal computer (40), when acquiring video data (43) for reproducing a video content, extracts a section containing a predetermined type of scene from within the video content, and displays, when instructed to reproduce the video data, a picture framing area and a time line. The time line includes blocks specifying the section containing the predetermined type of scene together with this type of scene, and an indicator indicating a reproducing point is displayed on the time line.


2 techniques for measuring the size and shape of the uterine cavity are presented and considerations of uterine size variations on the design of IUDs are briefly discussed. In the first method hysterograms were studied with an intrauterine "bow" in place. 1 X-ray was taken with .5 ml of Etherodol as a marker and a second X-ray was taken with an additional 4 ml of contrast media. The 2 pictures were exactly superimposed and the width and length of the fundus widith and length of the "bow" and the width of the endometrial cannula at its tip were measured. The second measured the width and length of the uterine cavity and the width of the cannual. Error in the pictorial measurements was attributed to the quantity of contrast medium injected uterine contraction and relaxation insufficient tension applied to the cervix during injection of the contrast medium and extreme flexion of the corpus. More accurate measurements of the uterine cavity were obtained when the known "bow" dimensions were projected as a reference point than when the known width of the endometrial cannual was used as a reference in calculation. IUD designs which are more commodious to the shape of the uterine cavity show lower pregnancy rates and incidence of side effects.


In this study, we present detection algorithms of characteristic points of the QRS and T waves based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) with splines. This technique can handle any integer scale and the analysis is not restricted to scales that are powers of two, which allows to use a wide range of scales and to more efficiently reduce noise and artifacts. Evaluation of the QRS detection algorithm performance has been done in eight ECG data files of the MIT-BIH database, and the accuracy has been of 99.5%. Evaluation of the detection algorithms of the QRS wave onset and offsets of QRS and T waves has been done in the CSE multi-lead measurement database, and the measurements were within the tolerance limits for deviations with respect of the manual measurements determined by the CSE experts. Therefore, the proposed algorithms to detect characteristic points of the QRS and T waves based on this technique allow the evaluation of the CWT in more scales, are robust to noise and artifacts and have the accuracy of a human expert.


Abstract We studied White-throated Jacamars (Brachygalba albogularis) at Manu National Park, Peru, finding a mean population density of 0.8 groups per km of suitable streamside habitat, and taking the first recordings of its song. Observations at nests provided the first evidence of cooperative breeding in the genus Brachygalba, as well as information on foraging tactics, prey selection, and provisioning behavior.


TMA went into this session looking to attack insurer network inadequacy and health plans' use of care-impeding prior authorization demands. On both fronts, medicine scored solid legislative wins that will make it easier for patients and physicians to know who's in network, and provide needed transparency on preauthorization requirements. And on surprise billing, medicine turned what could've been a disastrous bill into something more palatable.


WLAN technology is likely to be a part of future wireless broadband communication systems. As the wireless unlicensed radio traffic increases, the need for good solutions to co-existence problems caused by interference becomes apparent. In this paper the performance of a hypothetical WLAN operating at 17 GHz, using decentralized dynamic channel allocation, is assessed in regard to its susceptibility to external interference. Three different interference cases are studied. The first case is narrowband static interference. The second case is wideband interference, similar to the interference caused by a spread spectrum system. The third case is agile interference caused by a frequency hopping system. In all cases the WLAN and the interferers are located in the same geographical location. The results suggest that the chosen channel allocation algorithm, adaptive frequency allocation, provides excellent channel plans within seconds from start-up as long as the interference is static. It is however not, as it is defined here, able to perform well when the interfering devices use frequency hopping technology.


A rare bilateral severe keratomalacia occurred in an emaciated alcoholic, 57-year-old white man with acute necrotic pancreatitis. The patient had a 10-year history of chronic alcoholism. Laboratory and clinical findings were consistent with the diagnosis of a fat malabsorptive and malnutrition syndrome secondary to chronic and acute alcoholic pancreatitis. Visual acuity of both eyes was limited to light perception. Bilateral corneal necrosis after acute pancreatitis has not previously been reported.


The exploration of highly efficient, stable and cheap water oxidation electrocatalysts using earth-abundant elements is still a great challenge. Herein, alkaline-stable cationic Ni(ii) coordination polymers (Ni-CPs) were successfully obtained under hydrothermal conditions, which could stabilize the incorporation of Fe(iii) to form Fe-immobilized Fe@Ni-CPs. The newly developed Ni-based CPs were used for the first time as an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction in strong alkaline media.


Indian coast harbors richly diverse and critical coastal habitats like coral reefs and mangroves. Mangroves form one of the most important ecosystems of coastal and marine areas. It safeguards the ecology of the coastal areas and provides livelihood opportunities to the fishermen and pastoral families living in these areas. In real sense, mangrove is the Kalpvriksh (divine tree which fulfills all the desires) for the coastal communities. The restoration and plantation of mangroves have received a lot of attentions worldwide. To assess the impact of mangrove plantation activities and to monitor the mangrove regeneration and restoration in various villages, a joint study under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) was taken up by Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC) and Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG) in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat State. The major objective of this study was to monitor the increase in mangrove cover in coastal areas of Gulf of Kachchh using the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data of 2005, 2011 and 2014. The mangrove regeneration was monitored using multi-temporal Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) LISS-III and LISS-IV digital data covering Gulf of Kachchh region. The multi-temporal IRS LISS-III data covering Gulf of Kachchh of October-2005, November-2011 and LISS-IV data of April-2014 was analyzed. The mangrove density and mangrove area in different talukas was estimated based on the analysis of IRS LISS-III digital data. The mangroves have been delineated based on the pink colour observed on satellite images and the area was estimated in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The taluka or block-level mangrove areas were estimated and changes in the areas were monitored during the period of six years from 2005 to 2011. It was observed that the areas where mangrove regeneration activities were carried out with active participation of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), mangrove density as well as mangrove area have substantially increased in the Gulf of Kachchh region.


The nature of job of the Extensionists requires them to be in contact with the farmers and other stakeholders involved in the agriculture. Emotional Intelligence plays an important role in providing effective and efficient extension services. Therefore, the present study was conducted to understand the emotional intelligence as the component of competency mapping of the extensionists. The zones of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) were selected using simple random sampling without replacement method. 20 KVK from each zone was selected randomly and 3 Extensionists from each KVK were selected by using simple random sampling technique. The total sample size was 240. The study revealed that majority of the extensionists were having average level of emotional intelligence. Kruskall Wallis test found significant difference among the different zones of extensionists of KVKs. Mann whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference between the extensionists based on the gender in terms of their emotional intelligence.


The purpose of this paper is to briefly evaluate and to give some information about the 15th International Society of Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI 2015), which was held in Bogazici University on June 29 - July 4, 2015.  ISSI 2015 hosted more than 300 participants and it is pleasing that large number of audiences have shown interest in the Conference. 54% of the full papers and research in progress papers and 66% of the posters and ignite talks were accepted to be presented in the Conference. When the countries of the researchers that were contributed to the Conference were examined, it was realized that people from Republic of China, The United States of America, Canada, Spain and The Netherlands were in the top of the list in terms of the number of contributions. Selected papers will be published in Scientometrics which is an ISSI 2015 special issue. The next International Society of Scientometrics and Informetrics Conference will be held in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, in 2017.


The article is dedicated to analysis of actual questions of administrative law regulation in field of the disabled people education. The author covered separate problems in the given field and presented reasoned offers of possible ways of their solution. The author underlined positive aspects of inclusive education development in the country and pointed conditions of its effective introduction and functioning in the future.


Materials such as graphite exhibit step edges that affect their frictional behavior. Recent experimental studies found that an atomic force microscope tip can experience either an assisting force that facilitates sliding or a resistive force that impedes motion as it scans down a step. Here, an atomistic model is used to show that tip shape affects its trajectory on a graphite step edge, which determines the potential energy, and thus the frictional behavior. The relationship between trajectory and potential energy is confirmed using density-functional theory, which provides insight into the origin of the energy barrier at a step edge.


Defective motile cilia are responsible for a group of heterogeneous genetic conditions characterised by dysfunction of the apparatus responsible for generating fluid flows. Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is the prototype for such disorders and presents with impaired pulmonary mucus clearance, susceptibility to chronic recurrent respiratory infections, male infertility and laterality defects in about 50 % of patients. Here we report biallelic variants in LRRC56 (also known as ODA8), identified in two unrelated consanguineous families. The phenotype comprises laterality defects and chronic pulmonary infections. High speed video microscopy of cultured patient epithelial cells showed severely dyskinetic cilia, but no obvious ultra-structural abnormalities on routine transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Further investigation revealed that LRRC56 interacts with the intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein IFT88. The link to IFT was interrogated in Trypanosoma brucei. In this protist, LRRC56 is recruited to the cilium during axoneme construction, where it co-localises with IFT trains and facilitates the addition of dynein arms to the distal end of the flagellum. In T. brucei carrying LRRC56 null mutations, or a mutation (p.Leu259Pro) corresponding to the p.Leu140Pro variant seen in one of the affected families, we observed abnormal ciliary beat patterns and an absence of outer dynein arms restricted to the distal portion of the axoneme. Together, our findings confirm that deleterious variants in LRRC56 result in a human disease, and suggest this protein has a likely role in dynein transport during cilia assembly that is evolutionarily important for cilia motility.


Analytic QCD (anQCD) models are those where the QCD running coupling has the physically correct analytic behaviour, i.e., no Landau singularities in the Euclidean regime. We present a simple anQCD model in which the discontinuity function of the running coupling at high momentum scales is the same as in the perturbative QCD (just like in the anQCD model of Shirkov and Solovtsov), but at low scales it is replaced by a delta function which parametrizes the unknown behavior there. We require that the running coupling agrees to a high degree with the perturbative QCD coupling at high energies, leaving just one free parameter in the model. The latter is fixed by requiring the reproduction of the correct value of the semihadronic tau decay ratio.


The Catholic Church is built, on the one hand, upon a hierarchical structure and vertical relationships, with stratified duties, centered around an organizational culture which is based on strict obedience to institutional directives and which has a monopoly on the administration of the goods and resources concerning salvation. On the other hand, since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has proposed to incorporate lay people into God's Kingdom, a development which represents an opening to the active participation of diverse groups and a redistribution of access to the goods of salvation. Analysts may take a position one way or the other regarding their definition of the Church, and some even state the existence of a dominant church and a people's church. In contrast to both these perspectives, this paper looks at a methodological and theoretical model for studying diversity within Catholic unity. The model is based on the concept of the 'transversalized institution' as it is applied to the way in which Guadalajara's diocese functions.


Background: The emergence of the Corona Virus (COVID-19) and its consequences that have led to fears, worries, and anxiety among individuals worldwide. The present study is an attempt to design and develop the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to understand and complement the clinical efforts of practising dentists in the frontline, in preventing the spread and treating of COVID-19 cases with emergency dental problems. While doing so, Hans Selye's theory of stress model, General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is used to demonstrate the stages of response among the practising dentists as the point of departure. Aim: This paper examines the effects of COVID-19 outbreak on practising dentists in terms of their mental health, specifically psychological stress and anxiety using FCV-19S on a nine-item onedimensional scale with robust psychometric properties that measured anxiety and fear aspects. Methods: This paper is the result of the analysis of data gathered using online purposive and convenient sampling survey-based study among practising dentists (n=126) using Google forms from 25th March 2020 to 25th May 2020. The items of the FCV-19S were constructed based on an extensive review of existing scales on fears, professional validations and a pilot study. Various psychometric tests were conducted to ascertain its reliability and validity properties. Also, other properties evaluated using both classical test theory and Rasch model were satisfactory on the nine-item scale. Results: Despite having a high standard of knowledge and practice, dental practitioners around the country are in a state of stress and fear while working in their respective clinics due to the COVID-19 pandemic effects on humanity. However, there was no significant difference between the gender of practising dentists about their apprehension of personal safety from COVID-19. But it was noted that there was a significant difference between the gender of practising dentists regarding their confidence level to live with COVID-19 and their performance as the 'p'-value was. 046. (Table-4) and. 001 (Table5) respectively. Conclusion: The analysis of the data demonstrated a significant difference between male and female gender among the practising dentists regarding the stress level due to COVID-19, which is a matter for concern, as the Hippocratic Oath does not permit such gender discrimination in ethical standards. The FCV-19S, a nine-item scale, has robust psychometric properties. It is reliable and valid in assessing fear of COVID-19 among the practising dentists and will also be useful in allaying COVID-19 fears among individuals with dental problems.


We optimize the magnetic and structural properties of Ni(Co,Cu)MnSn Heusler alloys for the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) by means of density functional theory combined with Monte Carlo simulations of a classical Heisenberg model. NiMnSn alloys show a drop of magnetization at the martensitic phase transition, which leads to the inverse MCE. We find either disordered or frustrated magnetic configurations directly below the martensitic transition temperature. However, the jump of magnetization at the magnetostructural transition is small as the austenite is in a ferrimagnetic state and not fully magnetized. For Co and Cu substitution, the structural phase transition temperature shifts to lower temperatures. In particular, Co substitution is promising, as the magnetization of the austenite increases by additional ferromagnetic interactions, which enhances the jump of magnetization.


Background: Dietary interventions are the first-line treatment for patients with gastroparesis. It is unclear which diets are the most efficacious as well as clear guidance as to which diets should be recommended to adult versus pediatric patients. We plan to conduct this systematic review to assess the literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of dietary interventions on clinical outcomes in adult and pediatric patients with gastroparesis. Methods: We will search PubMed and EMBASE databases, evaluating randomized control trials and cohort studies that reported dietary interventions in gastroparesis. Our primary outcomes are to evaluate changes in symptom-specific patient-reported outcomes, changes in perception of quality of life, and changes in gastric emptying time. Data collected from the studies will be analyzed using meta-analysis. Depending on the outcome, we will use quantitative summary estimates (e.g., standardized mean difference with 95% Confidence Intervals, 95%CI) or dichotomous outcomes (e.g., odds ratio and 95%CI).Discussion: This review will explore the use of dietary interventions in the treatment of both adult and pediatric patients with gastroparesis, which has yet to be published in the literature. By assessing what has been investigated by researchers as effective non-pharmacologic treatments in patients, and providing a comprehensive overview of treatment options, healthcare providers will be able to better guide patient care. Furthermore, this review will act as a means to provide direction for future research. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration ID: CRD42020210536.


Abstract. Data derived from instruments on board the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and CloudSat satellites as well as meteorological parameters from reanalysis are used to explore situations when moist aerosol layers overlie stratocumulus clouds over the southeast Atlantic during the biomass burning season (June to October). To separate and quantify the impacts of aerosol loading, aerosol type, and humidity on the radiative fluxes (including cloud top cooling), the data are split into different levels of aerosol and moisture loadings. The aerosol classification available from the CALIPSO products is used to compare and contrast situations with pristine air, with smoke, and with other (non-smoke) types of aerosols. A substantial number of cases with non-smoke aerosols above clouds are found to occur under similar meteorological conditions to the smoke cases. In contrast, the meteorology is substantially different for the pristine situations, making a direct comparison with the aerosol cases ambiguous. The moisture content is enhanced within the aerosol layers, but the relative humidity does not always increase monotonously with increasing optical depth. Shortwave (SW) heating rates within the moist aerosol plumes increase with increasing aerosol loading and are higher in the smoke cases compared to the non-smoke cases. However, there is no clear correlation between moisture changes and SW absorption. Cloud top cooling rates do not show a clear correlation with moisture within the overlying aerosol layers due to the strong variability of the cooling rates caused by other meteorological factors (most notably cloud top temperature). No clear influence of aerosol type or loading on cloud top cooling rates is detected. Further, there is no correlation between aerosol loading and the thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere nor the cloud top height.


This discussion followed the two talks, one by John Barker on "Grains or Molecules, Thermal or Non-Thermal," the second, by Louis d'Hendecourt on "The Particle/Thermal Approach to the Physics of Emission from Interstellar PAHs." The presentations discussed the factors involved in the process of absorption of an ultraviolet photon by a PAH molecule or ion, followed by infrared and/or visible emission. Model calculations were presented for various stages of those sequential events, as a function of PAH size. The material presented applied to large molecules in general and was not restricted to the PAH case. The models sought to investigate the radiative, and nonradiative intramolecular processes, including dissociation, that are competitive for conversion of the absorbed ultraviolet photon energy. The essential differences between the Barker and d'Hendecourt approaches were brought out by estimations of the range of physical parameters which delimited the approximate validity of a thermal treatment using Boltzmann statistics or the Planck function as compared with a more formally correct quantum statistical (i. e. non-thermal) approach to energy conversion and dissipation. It was concluded that the thermal approximation was reasonably satisfactory at high (absorbed) photon energies in explaining conversion to an infrared emission situation, but was unsatisfactory at low energies, when the (vibrational) excitation of the excited molecule was of the same order of magnitude as the emitted infrared photons. It was also not valid for discussions of the competitive unimolecular dissociation of excited PAHs, such as dehydrogenation and fragmentation. In those cases the quantum statistical approach was required.


Abstract Blanchard's Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans blanchardi) in the central portion of their range show minimal capacities for freezing tolerance and survive overwinter by using terrestrial hibernacula where they avoid freezing. However, frogs may exhibit greater freeze-tolerance capacity at high latitude range limits, where winter climate is more severe. We studied freezing tolerance, glucose mobilization during freezing, and hibernacula microclimates of cricket frogs in southeastern South Dakota, at the northwestern limit of their range. Cricket frogs from South Dakota generally survived freezing exposure at −1.5 to −2.5°C for 6-h periods (80% survival), but uniformly died when exposed to these same temperatures for 24-h freezing bouts. Hepatic glucose levels and phosphorylase a activities increased significantly during freezing, but hepatic glucose levels during freezing remained low, only reaching levels approximating those prior to freezing in freeze-tolerant species. Moreover, muscle glucose and hepatic glycogen levels did not vary with freezing, suggesting little mobilization of glucose from hepatic glycogen stores during freezing, contrasting with patterns in freeze-tolerant frogs. Temperatures in soil cracks and burrows potentially used for hibernacula were variable, with some sites remaining above the freezing point of the body fluids throughout the winter, some sites dropping below the freezing point for only short periods, and some sites dropping below the freezing point for extended periods. These data suggest that cricket frogs in South Dakota, as in other portions of their range, survive overwinter by locating hibernacula that prevent freezing, although their toleration of short freezing bouts may expand the range of suitable hibernacula. These data also suggest that overwinter mortality may be high at the northern range boundary and might limit cricket frogs from expanding their range northward.


Concern about the growth in adolescent problem behaviours (e.g. delinquency, drug use) has led to increased interest in positive youth development, and a surge in funding for 'after school programs.' We evaluate the potential of youth sport programs to foster positive development, while decreasing the risk of problem behaviours. Literature on the positive and negative outcomes of youth sport is presented. We propose that youth sport programs actively work to assure positive outcomes through developmentally appropriate designs and supportive child–adult (parent/coach) relationships. We also highlight the importance of sport programs built on developmental assets (Benson, 1997) and appropriate setting features (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002) in bringing about the five 'C's of positive development (competence, confidence, character, connections, and compassion/caring: Lerner et al., 2000). An applied sport-programming model, which highlights the important roles of policy-makers, sport organizations, coaches and parents in fostering positive youth development is presented as a starting point for further applied and theoretical research.


ABSTRACT An increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been suggested for World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed workers. The authors reviewed the results from nocturnal polysomnograms (PSGs), to investigate diagnostic differences between WTC-exposed and -unexposed subjects. Six hundred fifty-six nocturnal PSGs performed at our sleep center were reviewed, 272 of them in former WTC workers. Seven diagnostic categories were compared between the 2 groups by bivariate and logistic regression analyses. The WTC group had a significantly higher predominance of the male gender, but slightly lower body mass index (BMI). There was no significant difference in the distribution of PSG diagnoses between the 2 groups in unadjusted (p = .56) or adjusted (p = .49) analyses. The authors did not identify a significant difference in PSG diagnoses between the WTC-exposed and -unexposed subjects. OSA was significantly associated with age, BMI, and gender in this patient population.


The seabed is considered as the biggest museum in the world that is rich with unique shapes of underwater cultural heritage. Over years, entire cities have been swallowed by the waves in Alexandria. Heracleion was the main Egyptian trading centre, which was completely submerged 2700 years ago in the western part of Abo Qir bay. Recently, the quick urban and coastal development in abo Qir raises numerous critical urban issues, which need tending to secure the urban development while ensuring sustainable conservation of the submerged city of Heracleion. The main objective of the research is to provide long term of the conservation measures for this unique city and its waterfront for future generation. This study suggests a framework for applying sustainable conservation, by respecting the economic, social, environmental, and urban dimensions of the submerged city and its waterfront. Furthermore, this study investigates the community perception for the proposed conservation projects in achieving the sustainable development through a questionnaire.


This report describes the technical and economic effects incurred by a flexographic label printer who changed the type of ink and cleaning agent used in its print shop. The changes were incurred as the best way to eliminate all hazardous materials. The company's corporate management mandated the switch out of concern for its employees, and with the intention of limiting possible future waste liability. Hence, the traditional alcohol-based inks and alcohol solvent cleaning agents gave way to water-based inks and an aqueous cleaner. From a technical point of view, there is general agreement in this shop that the water-based inks yield better quality labels. Labor is reduced largely because the water-based inks are more easily removed from the pans, rollers and plates. Ink splashes and spills are also quickly removed by sponging either with water or the aqueous cleaner. As a result of these process modifications, solvent emissions to the plant air have been reduced about 80%. The toxicity of the gaseous and liquid wastes have also been reduced by approximately 90%. Hazardous liquid wastes have been eliminated while wastewater sent to the sanitary sewer has increased. Solid wastes have remained relatively unchanged. From an economical point of view, major savings develop with water-based inks at the studied facility because the majority of the liquid wastes do not require disposal as hazardous agents. The inks are presently acceptable to this location's local public waste treatment plant, and the cleaning towels and wipers are now either rinsed within the plant or sent to a commercial laundry. Formerly they had to be labeled as hazardous and segregated for special disposal. Though untreated ink washes are acceptable to the waste treatment plant, the company has chosen to filter theirs through a special absorbent to remove all color. The used absorbent is acceptable in the local landfill. These changes, at least for this company, involved no capital expenditures. With the levels of various alcohols evaporated during printing now greatly reduced, the employees enjoy a cleaner and healthier plant environment. This report was submitted in partial fulfillment of Contract No. CR-815829 by the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, under sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report covers a period from September 1989 to December 1992, and work was completed as of 19 December 1992.


Hong Kong is situated in an intraplate area of low to moderate seismicity, where recorded strong-motion accelerograms are scarce. As part of the seismic design process, dynamic time-history analysis is sometimes required for assessing the seismic performance of structures. Hence, earthquake accelerograms representative of various local design hazard levels are needed. This study aims to develop a methodology for building up a database of earthquake accelerograms for the Hong Kong region which can be used for the analysis and design of a variety of structural and geotechnical systems. An outline of the previous probabilistic seismic hazard analysis studies conducted for Hong Kong is first presented and several design earthquake scenarios are determined, which contribute most to the local seismic hazard given a specific return period. The median response spectra and conditional mean spectra of the selected earthquake scenarios for reference rock sites are then derived based on the component attenuation model. The conditional mean spectra are then used as the target spectra for the selection and scaling of recorded accelerograms sourced from the available global database. Finally, a suite of conditional mean spectra–compatible accelerograms for rock sites is presented, from which event-specific and site-specific accelerograms are generated through dynamic site response analysis.


The path planning algorithm is to find a path that takes the robot from the start state to the goal state while avoiding collisions with obstacles. In path planning, various applications have been used such as animation, medicine, aircraft, etc. The purpose of this study is to design a new sampling method by integrating sampling methods based on goal biasing, Gaussian and Boundary and then implementing it in path planning problems using the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree* (RRT*) algorithm. We call this sampling method the integration sampling method. The path planning algorithm using this integration sampling method is implemented in the Labview programming language. The algorithm parameters in Labview can be modified to observe the output performance of the RRT* algorithm. The test was carried out in an environment of obstacle clutter, SquareField BW, and traps, where the test was carried out 20 times for each obstacle. The test was conducted to compare the path distance and computation time of the RRT* algorithm using the integration sampling method, against the RRT* algorithm using the Gaussian, and Boundary sampling method. Based on the test results, it is found that the RRT* algorithm using the integration sampling method can produce a shorter path than the RRT* algorithm using the Gaussian method and the RRT* algorithm using Boundary sampling. Comparison of the resulting computational time is faster than the Gaussian integration method. However, a comparison with Boundary shows that Boundary requires less time than integration. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree* algorithm integration method is superior to the Gaussian method and the Boundary method. TELEKONTRAN, VOL. 9, NO. 2, OKTOBER 2021 DOI : 10.34010/telekontran.v9i2.5675 p-ISSN : 2303 – 2901 e-ISSN : 2654 – 7384 130 TELEKONTRAN, VOL. 9, NO. 2, OKTOBER 2021


The energy test method is a multi-dimensional test of whether two samples are consistent with arising from the same underlying population, through the calculation of a single test statistic (called the T-value). The method has recently been used in particle physics to search for samples that differ due to CP violation. The generalised extreme value function has previously been used to describe the distribution of T-values under the null hypothesis that the two samples are drawn from the same underlying population. We show that, in a simple test case, the distribution is not sufficiently well described by the generalised extreme value function. We present a new method, where the distribution of T-values under the null hypothesis when comparing two large samples can be found by scaling the distribution found when comparing small samples drawn from the same population. This method can then be used to quickly calculate the p-values associated with the results of the test.


the acoustic power at difference angle and distance were measure for four different ages of Green Turtles and three species of fish using modified echo sounder V1082. The echo signal from TVG output was digitized at a sampling rate 1MHz using analog to digital converter (Measurement Computing USB1208HS). Animals were tied with wood frame to ensure it can't move away from the sound beam. The scatter value for fish demonstrates echo strength is different and depends on the angle of measurement. The lowest acoustic power of fish was recorded from their tail. The finding show that, there is significant difference between fish and turtles aged 12 to 18 years at 4.5 meter and 5 meter. The carapace and plastron of sea turtle gives high backscattering strength compare to other side. The high value obtained probably because of the hard surface of the carapace and plastron. This result is considered important in determining the best method of separating sea turtle and fish. Through this result, revealed that size, surface and animal angle play important role in determining acoustic strength value.


We compare three different methods of control system design for controlling dynamical systems: Q-parameterization theory, H/sub /spl infin// synthesis and servo control system design. The three controllers are designed such that the robustness and performance goals are satisfied and the system response has the same settling time in all three designs. A two degree-of-freedom magnetic micro-levitation positioner is used for the discussion. We show theoretically and experimentally that with modern robust control, Q-parameterization and H/sub /spl infin// synthesis, one can achieve robust stability and robust performance, while with the servo control, it is difficult to achieve these goals. We also show that, with the Q-parameterization theory we can obtain a controller of lower order than the H/sub /spl infin// controller and achieve the robust stability and performance goals. Several experiments were performed on the system with the three different controllers.


Transmembrane-4 L-six family member-1 (TM4SF1) is a small plasma membrane glycoprotein that regulates cell motility and proliferation. TM4SF1 is an attractive cancer target because of its high expression in both tumor cells and on the vascular endothelial cells lining tumor blood vessels. We generated mouse monoclonal antibodies against human TM4SF1 in order to evaluate their therapeutic potential; 13 of the antibodies we generated reacted with extracellular loop-2 (EL2), TM4SF1's larger extracellular, lumen-facing domain. However, none of these antibodies reacted with mouse TM4SF1, likely because the EL2 of mouse TM4SF1 differs significantly from that of its human counterpart. Therefore, to test our antibodies in vivo, we employed an established model of engineered human vessels in which human endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFC) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are incorporated into Matrigel plugs that are implanted subcutaneously in immunodeficient nude mice. We modified the original protocol by (1) preculturing human ECFC on laminin, fibronectin, and collagen-coated plates, and (2) increasing the ECFC/MSC ratio. These modifications significantly increased the human vascular network in Matrigel implants. Two injections of one of our anti-TM4SF1 EL2 monoclonal antibodies, 8G4, effectively eliminated the human vascular component present in these plugs; they also abrogated human PC3 prostate cancer cells that were incorporated into the ECFC/MSC Matrigel mix. Together, these studies provide a mouse model for assessing tumor xenografts that are supplied by a human vascular network and demonstrate that anti-TM4SF1 antibodies such as 8G4 hold promise for cancer therapy.


Sustainable tourism may be regarded most basically as the application of the sustainable development idea to the tourism sector. Essentially, sustainable tourism involves the minimization of negative impacts and the maximization of positive impacts. The development of sustainable rural tourism has become a priority of national tourism policies and / or strategies in many countries. Ecotourism is the ideal model of sustainable tourism. It involves an emphasis on nature- based attractions, educational interactions with these attractions and management practices that make every reasonable effort to achieve environmentally and socio-culturally sustainable outcomes. Ecotourism is advanced as a strategy to help address economic and social problems in local communities and as an appropriate and effective tool of environmental conservation. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on circumstances typical for the particular case and type of tourism that is being developed. Impact analysis, increased community awareness and involvement in the decision – making process are the key future issues that must be addressed. For the credibility of ecotourism as the conscience of sustainable tourism to be established and maintained, it is necessary to implement a modified comprehensive ecotourism model that embraces both hard and soft ecotourism. In according to Tourism Development Strategy of Albania, the tourism must be developed in a way that is sustainable: culturally, socially, environmentally and economically. Referring to the analysis of the present situation and development toward the future for Korca's rural areas, ecotourism and familiar tourism are most appropriate types.


Among the four subclasses, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) against myeloperoxidase (MPO) IgG, IgG3 subclass was associated with severe disease. This study aimed to investigate some aspects of the in vitro pathogenic potential of MPO-ANCA of IgG3 subclass. IgG from plasma of 10 consecutive patients with positive MPO-ANCA was divided into the IgG poor in IgG3 and the IgG rich in IgG3 with protein A. Then, the ability to influence the oxidation activity of MPO, the ability to induce respiratory burst of neutrophils, and the ability to reverse the binding between ceruloplasmin (CP) and MPO were compared between the two fractions. The avidity of the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG rich in IgG3 was higher than that of the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG poor in IgG3 in 7 out of 10 patients. At the same antigen-binding level, the level of respiratory burst of neutrophils induced by the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG rich in IgG3 was significantly higher than that induced by the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG poor in IgG3 (1429.70 ± 137.85 vs. 1321.70 ± 244.51, P = 0.049, expressed by the mean fluorescence intensity); the binding level between MPO and CP after adding the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG rich in IgG3 was significantly lower than after adding the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG poor in IgG3 (0.599 ± 0.214 vs. 0.777 ± 0.353, P = 0.010, expressed by A 405); there was no significant difference in the MPO activity between adding the MPO-ANCA-positive IgG poor in IgG3 and rich in IgG3 (P = 0.217). In conclusion, MPO-ANCA of IgG3 subclass might have stronger ability to reverse the inhibition of MPO by CP than other subclasses.