This study sheds additional light on the relationship between public work complexity and the choice between different public procurement procedures. In particular, the analysis examines in detail the role of project complexity as one of the main determinants in the choice between auction and negotiation. The analysis is based on a dataset provided by the Italian Authority for the Surveillance of Public Procurement (avcp) which contains detailed information on each public work procurement contract tendered by Italian municipalities over the period 2007 and 2012. The dataset is extended by adding information on the political structure of municipalities and social capital endowment at local level; moreover information on important legislative interventions occurred over the sample period have been included. The study analyzes which factors affect the probability of choosing negotiation as awarding procedure; among those factors it includes an ad-hoc measure of complexity built by surveying technicians, with experiences in public works, employed in public or private sectors (municipalities public servants/managers, public servants/managers employed in the avcp and engineers and architects from the private sector). Main results suggest that more complex projects are more likely to be awarded by negotiated procedures. In particular, estimates suggest that an increase in work complexity from the 25th to the 75th of its distribution induces an increase in the probability of choosing negotiation of about 5 per cent. Over all, empirical findings are robust to the inclusion of several control variables related to various political characteristics and social capital endowments of municipalities.


A theory for asymmetric current-voltage characteristics, in particular negative differential conductance, for double quantum dots with strongly correlated electron states is formulated. By expressing the double quantum dot in terms of its many-body eigenstates, a diagrammatic technique for Hubbard operator nonequilibrium Green's functions is employed. The Green's function for the double quantum dot is calculated beyond mean field theory, and it is found that the spectral weights of the conductive transitions in the double quantum dot redistribute dynamically (bias voltage dependent). The resulting asymmetric current-voltage characteristics and negative differential conductance is discussed in terms of the relative level spacing in the two quantum dots and the hopping rate between the quantum dots. Numerical results of the current-voltage characteristics are presented and compared to experiments.


A compound of formula (I) and salts and solvates thereof, in which: R0 represents hydrogen, halogen or C1-6 alkyl; R1 represents hydrogen, C1-6alkyl, C2-6 alkenyl, C2-6 alkynyl, haloC1-6alkyl, C3-8cyloalkyl, C3-8cycloalkylC1-3alkyl, arylC1-3alkyl or heteroarylC1-3alkyl; R2 represents an optionally substituted monocyclic aromatic ring selected from benzene, thiophene, furan and pyridine or an optionally substituted bicyclic ring attached to the rest of the molecule via one of the benzene ring carbon atoms and wherein the fused ring A is a 5- or 6-membered ring which may be saturated or partially or fully unsaturated and comprises carbon atoms and optionally one or two heteroatoms selected from oxygen, sulphur and nitrogen; and R3 represents hydrogen or C1-3 alkyl, or R1 and R3 together represent a 3- or 4-membered alkyl or alkenyl chain. A compound of formula (I) is a potent and selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine 3'5'-monophosphate specific phosphodiesterase (cGMP specific PDE) having a utility in a variety of therapeutic areas where such inhibition is beneficial, including the treatment of cardiovascular disorders.


This article discusses: the doctrinal content of the group of ideas known as 'new public management'(NPM); the intellectual provenance of those ideas; explanations for their apparent persuasiveness in the 1980 s; and criticisms which have been made of the new doctrines. Particular attention is paid to the claim that NPM offers an all-purpose key to better provision of public services. This article argues that NFM has been most commonly criticized in terms of a claimed contradiction between 'equity' and 'efficiency' values, but that any critique which is to survive NPM's claim to 'infinite reprogrammability' must be couched in terms of possible conflicts between administrative values. The conclusion is that the ESRC'S Management in Government' research initiative has been more valuable in helping to identify rather than to definitively answer, the key conceptual questions raised by NPM.


There is a growing interest in both Kant's conception of philosophy and contemporary metaphilosophy, understood as philosophical inquiry into philosophy, its aims, purpose, subjects, structure, practice and methods. Kant has not contributed to metaphilosophy qua contemporary discipline, but his direct analyses of what philosophy is and how it is to be done can be identified with general subjects and problems constituting the research field of metaphilosophy. Several aspects of Kant's conception of philosophy and its metaphilosophical value are the subject of current debates, such as the taxonomy of philosophy, relation between empirical and non-empirical philosophy, relation between philosophy and its history, conceptual analysis, deductive reasoning and philosophical disagreement.


This study explores nonfatal violent victimization of Hispanic college students using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. It compares annual victimization rates characterizing Hispanic students to non-Hispanic students and similarly aged Hispanics not enrolled in college. Results suggest a dramatic decline in student violent victimization rates for Hispanic and non-Hispanic students as well as Hispanics not enrolled in college over the past several years. Differences in the rates of violent victimization among Hispanic college students are identified, including factors related to characteristics of the victim, offender, and criminal incident. Finally, results are discussed in terms of their implications on future research as well as campus policies and administration.


Biomass utilization is vital for developing sustainability in the bioenergy sector. In this work the effects of high ash content on the heating properties of wood chips were evaluated. In an analysis of 450 wood chips samples, the ash content, moisture content, and gross calorific value were determined, and a generalized linear model was created to identify the relationship between the gross calorific value and the ash content of the wood chips. The mean ash content of the analyzed wood chips samples was 2.64%, the mean moisture content was 38.8%, and the mean gross calorific value was 19.43 MJ kg-1. Statistical analyses showed that 49% of the gross calorific value variability was due to the ash content variability. A one percent increase in ash content resulted in a 0.11 MJ kg-1 decrease of gross calorific value. The estimated costs of ash disposal at various ash contents were calculated. Burning wood chips with 5% ash content would lead to depositing an extra 5.6 megatons in the US or 21.2 megatons in the EU, compared to burning wood chips with 2.5% ash content.


We report a 13-year-old girl with acute pulmonary edema due to severe acute Mitral
regurgitation because of rupture of Mitral valve´s posteromedial papillary muscle. She
had normal mitral valve with necrotic posteromedial papillary muscle, classic
aneurysms in left coronary artery, neutrophilic infiltration in the wall of medium-sized
vessel of kidney and positive perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (PANCA)
a diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa. She treated successfully with mitral valve
replacement. (Rawal Med J 2008;33:112-114).


The exact solution of the spin one-half Falicov-Kimball model, with random hopping between the lattice sites, is used to explain the anomalous magnetic response of Yb-based valence-fluctuating intermetallic compounds. The anomalous behavior arises from an entropy-driven local-moment--nonmagnetic transition of unhybridized Yb ions in these materials which can also be used to explain the observed metamagnetism and resistivity anomalies.


This paper focuses on the geometric phase of entangled states of bipartite systems under bilocal unitary evolution. We investigate the relation between the geometric phase of the system and those of the subsystems. It is shown that (1) the geometric phase of cyclic entangled states with nondegenerate eigenvalues can always be decomposed into a sum of weighted nonmodular pure state phases pertaining to the separable components of the Schmidt decomposition, although the same cannot be said in the noncyclic case, and (2) the geometric phase of the mixed state of one subsystem is generally different from that of the entangled state even if the other subsystem is kept fixed, but the two phases are the same when the evolution operator satisfies conditions where each component in the Schmidt decomposition is parallel transported.


The integrated circuit (IC) delayering workflow is heavily reliant on operator experience to determine the processing end point, which is the ideal point on an IC where processing should be terminated, to optimize region of interest imaging. The current method of end point detection during IC delayering utilizes qualitative correlation between dielectric film color and dielectric thickness observed via optical microscopy to guide decision making. The goal of this work is to quantify this relationship using computer vision. In the field of computer vision, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been successfully applied to capture spatial relationships within images. Given this success, a CNN was trained for thickness estimates of dielectric films using optical images captured during processing for eventual automated end point detection. The trained model explained 39% of the variance in dielectric film thickness with a mean absolute error of approximately 47 nm.


We read with interest the article on the impact of gender on outcomes in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).1 In their analysis of four controlled clinical trials, the authors found a higher burden of AS in female patients and less improvement in outcome measures compared with men, 'despite women having a later disease onset and shorter disease duration'. They conclude that the mechanism behind this observation is …


Different approaches to the generation of pharmacophore models—pharmaco‐phore discovery—are compared, and analyzed in detail at the level of their conceptual basis, their theoretical foundations, and the algorithms used to implement them. Strengths and weaknesses of each are discussed, with the aim of pointing toward future developments in this field.


We present the first record of Epicadus trituberculatus (Taczanowski, 1872) from the Northeast Region of Brazil. The new record is based on six specimens observed in two areas of montane semi-deciduous tropical forest located in two municipalities: Guaramiranga and Pacatuba, Ceará state, Brazil. Of the six specimens observed we collected manually only three to preserve as voucher material. In Brazil, E. trituberculatus has a wide distribution range, which extends from the Atlantic Forest, Amazon, and Cerrado biomes and the Pampa ecoregion. With the new record there are currently six known species of Epicadus in northeastern Brazil.


This paper introduces an approach for protocol performance estimation directly from a formal model of the protocol. By using the approach presented in this paper, performance of a protocol can be quickly estimated at an early stage of protocol design. The simplicity of analysis, achieved by deterministic analysis, and the tight integration of the performance model, called the performance reachability graph (PRG), with the formal specification makes the approach in this paper a very useful protocol design-time tool. The approach provides a two way path between the specification model and the performance model. In one direction, the tight coupling between the specification and the performance models allows a protocol designer to get quick estimates of performance from the specification. In the other direction a designer can use the performance estimates to quickly identify portions of the specification responsible for undesired performance characteristics and consider changes to the specification to improve the overall performance.


A novel polypeptide (Mere15) was purified from Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange, gel filtration and reversed phase chromatography. Mere15 exhibited selective cytotoxicity to several human cancer cells. In vivo study showed that Mere15 significantly suppressed the growth of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 xenograft in nude mice. The mechanism was associated with a G2/M phase arrest followed by apoptosis, including membrane blebbing, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, externalization of phosphatidylserine, chromosome condensation and DNA fragmentation. Western blot analysis showed that the intrinsic pathway was involved in Mere15-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that Mere15 may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma.


Accessible summary Rates of violence, self-harm, absconding and other incidents threatening patients and staff safety vary a great deal by hospital ward. Some wards have high rates, other low. The same goes for the actions of staff to prevent and contain such incidents, such as manual restraint, coerced medication, etc. The Safewards Model provides a simple and yet powerful explanation as to why these differences in rates occur. Six features of the inpatient psychiatric system have the capacity to give rise to flashpoints from which adverse incidents may follow. The Safewards Model makes it easy to generate ideas for changes that will make psychiatric wards safer for patients and staff. Abstract Conflict (aggression, self-harm, suicide, absconding, substance/alcohol use and medication refusal) and containment (as required medication, coerced intramuscular medication, seclusion, manual restraint, special observation, etc.) place patients and staff at risk of serious harm. The frequency of these events varies between wards, but there are few explanations as to why this is so, and a coherent model is lacking. This paper proposes a comprehensive explanatory model of these differences, and sketches the implications on methods for reducing risk and coercion in inpatient wards. This Safewards Model depicts six domains of originating factors: the staff team, the physical environment, outside hospital, the patient community, patient characteristics and the regulatory framework. These domains give risk to flashpoints, which have the capacity to trigger conflict and/or containment. Staff interventions can modify these processes by reducing the conflict-originating factors, preventing flashpoints from arising, cutting the link between flashpoint and conflict, choosing not to use containment, and ensuring that containment use does not lead to further conflict. We describe this model systematically and in detail, and show how this can be used to devise strategies for promoting the safety of patients and staff.


NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ powders were synthesized by a solvothermal method. The effects of an amount of NaF, solvothermal temperatures, and solvothermal time on the up-conversion emission and the phase transition were investigated. Hexagonal rods (beta-form) with well-defined facets were obtained at the solvothermal condition of 210 degrees C and 24 h, whereas cubic nanocrystals (alpha-form) were produced at the low solvothermal temperature and short solvothermal time. These results demonstrated that the high solvothermal temperature of 210 degrees C supplied the enough thermodynamic energy to activate the alpha --> beta transformation, while long solvothermal time was necessary to complete the kinetic process for this phase transition. An amount of NaF obviously contributed to the phase transition, particle size, and the particle morphology. The beta-form with irregular shapes was superior to the well-defined beta-form in the emission intensity due to the enhanced surface scattering. This work suggested that the beta-form could not be obtained through its own nucleation and growth in the solutions during the solvothermal treatment, but could be produced through the alpha --> beta phase transition.


The number of XML documents produced and available on the Internet is steadily increasing. It is thus important to devise automatic procedures to extract useful information from them with little or no intervention by a human operator. In this paper, we investigate the efficacy of an unsupervised learning approach, namely self-organising maps (SOMs), for the automatic clustering of XML documents. Specifically, we consider a relatively large corpus of XML formatted data from the INEX initiative and evaluate it using two different self-organising map models. The first model is the classical SOM model, and it requires the XML documents to be represented by real-valued vectors, obtained using a "bag of words" (or better a "bag of tags") approach. The other model is the SOM for structured data (SOM-SD) approach which is able to cluster structured data, and it is possible to feed the model with tree structured representations of the XML documents, thus explicitly preserving the structural information in the documents. The experimental results show that the SOM model exhibits quite a poor performance on this problem domain which requires the ability to encode structural properties of the data. The SOM-SD model, on the other hand, is able to produce a good clustering and generalization performance.


Interest in the possibility of igniting flammable gases and dust by using light gained momentum some 25 years ago when the use of fibre-optic transmission and laser techniques began to be explored. Since that time, there has been a considerable amount of work exploring the various mechanisms for ignition that can occur. Inevitably the challenge has been to find the minimum light levels that can cause ignition and some generally accepted results have emerged. The remaining task is to convert these results into a code of practice, which will allow the techniques to be used safely.


Underwater acoustic spiral sources are able to generate spiral acoustic fields where the phase depends on the bearing angle. It allows to estimate the bearing angle relatively to a receiver by subtracting the phases of a spiral and a circular wavefront, and can be used to estimate bearing angles with a single hydrophone/projector pair, e.g., for unmanned underwater vehicles localization. The developed spiral source comprises four monopoles/quadrants and it will be shown that the spiral source behavior is linear, which means that the generated acoustic signals are the sum of the four acoustic signals from each separate monopole, for any amplitude value. This work presents two calibration methods for spiral acoustic sources and the linearity evaluation for the used spiral source. Unlike the calibrations performed on signal reception, the two proposed calibration methods adjust the phase of the emitted signals to form the acoustic spiral field. The first calibration method rectifies the phase of one quadrant based on the contribution of the four quadrants. This method was tested and presented a performance lower than the performance of the calibration on the receiving side. After evaluating the linearity, a new calibration approach is suggested. This new approach uses the signals from separate quadrants instead of the contribution of the four quadrants. This method needs to be tested experimentally to check its validity.


Appreciation of the glomerular microcirculation as a specialized microcirculatory bed, rather than as an entirely separate entity, affords important insights into both glomerular and systemic microvascular pathophysiology. In this review we compare regulation of permeability in systemic and glomerular microcirculations, focusing particularly on the role of the endothelial glycocalyx, and consider the implications for disease processes. The luminal surface of vascular endothelium throughout the body is covered with endothelial glycocalyx, comprising surface‐anchored proteoglycans, supplemented with adsorbed soluble proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and plasma constituents. In both continuous and fenestrated microvessels, this endothelial glycocalyx provides resistance to the transcapillary escape of water and macromolecules, acting as an integral component of the multilayered barrier provided by the walls of these microvessels (ie acting in concert with clefts or fenestrae across endothelial cell layers, basement membranes and pericytes). Dysfunction of any of these capillary wall components, including the endothelial glycocalyx, can disrupt normal microvascular permeability. Because of its ubiquitous nature, damage to the endothelial glycocalyx alters the permeability of multiple capillary beds: in the glomerulus this is clinically apparent as albuminuria. Generalized damage to the endothelial glycocalyx can therefore manifest as both albuminuria and increased systemic microvascular permeability. This triad of altered endothelial glycocalyx, albuminuria and increased systemic microvascular permeability occurs in a number of important diseases, such as diabetes, with accumulating evidence for a similar phenomenon in ischaemia–reperfusion injury and infectious disease. The detection of albuminuria therefore has implications for the function of the microcirculation as a whole. The importance of the endothelial glycocalyx for other aspects of vascular function/dysfunction, such as mechanotransduction, leukocyte–endothelial interactions and the development of atherosclerosis, indicate that alterations in the endothelial glycocalyx may also be playing a role in the dysfunction of other organs observed in these disease states. Copyright © 2012 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present a detailed study of thermal transport in the disordered Fermi liquid with short-range interactions. At temperatures smaller than the impurity scattering rate, i.e., in the diffusive regime, thermal conductivity acquires nonanalytic quantum corrections. When these quantum corrections become large at low temperatures, the calculation of thermal conductivity demands a theoretical approach that treats disorder and interactions on an equal footing. In this paper, we develop such an approach by merging Luttinger's idea of using gravitational potentials for the analysis of thermal phenomena with a renormalization group calculation based on the Keldysh nonlinear sigma model. The gravitational potentials are introduced in the action as auxiliary sources that couple to the heat density. These sources are a convenient tool for generating expressions for the heat density and its correlation function from the partition function. Already in the absence of the gravitational potentials, the nonlinear sigma model contains several temperature-dependent renormalization group charges. When the gravitational potentials are introduced into the model, they acquire an independent renormalization group flow. We show that this flow preserves the phenomenological form of the correlation function, reflecting its relation to the specific heat and the constraints imposed by energy conservation. The main result of our analysis is that the Wiedemann-Franz law holds down to the lowest temperatures even in the presence of disorder and interactions and despite the quantum corrections that arise for both the electric and thermal conductivities.


c Reviparin reduced a composite endpoint of death, reinfarction, stroke, and ischemia at 7 and 30 days after acute MI Yusuf S, Mehta SR, Xie C, et al. Effects of reviparin, a lowmolecular-weight heparin, on mortality, reinfarction, and strokes in patients with acute myocardial infarction presenting with STsegment elevation. JAMA 2005;293:427–36. c A glucose-insulin-potassium infusion did not reduce mortality, cardiac arrest, or cardiogenic shock after acute MI Mehta SR, Yusuf S, Diaz R, et al. Effect of glucose-insulinpotassium infusion on mortality in patients with acute STsegment elevation myocardial infarction: the CREATE-ECLA randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2005;293:437–46.


Deuterioxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OD)2, DAp) was prepared from CaO, P2O5, and D2O in H2O and CO2 free air at 298K. The obtained DAp was identified as apatite single phase by a powder XRD technique. The deuterioxyl group was found by IR and MAS-NMR techniques, but hydroxyl group was not. Further, MAS-NMR measurement suggested the DAp had no tightly-bonded OD group. The deuterioxyl group was not substituted with hydroxyl group at 298K by stirring in distilled water for 7 days. From TG-MS measurement, dried DAp powder released deuterium in two rapid steps and in a slow step up to 873K. High-temperature XRD measurement showed large thermal expansion for DAp due to lattice defect led by heating. High-temperature IR spectra showed release of deuterioxyl group without substitution by hydroxyl group above 333K. Deuterioxyl group in DAp was easily released by heating, and DAp changed into oxyapatite.


Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has improved the outlook of HIV-infected patients, but it has several side effects, particularly when it is used during pregnancy. Prior to the advent of HAART, HIV-infected women were at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This report describes hospital use among pregnant HIV-infected women in the United States in the HAART era and compares hospitalizations for select morbidities in pregnant HIV-infected vs. uninfected women. In 2003, the majority of HIV-infected pregnant women were hospitalized in urban hospitals in the South and had Medicare or Medicaid as the expected payer. HIV-infected pregnant women had longer hospitalizations and incurred higher hospitalization charges than uninfected women. In addition, HIV-infected pregnant women were more likely to be hospitalized for major puerperal sepsis, sexually transmitted infections, urinary tract infections, bacterial infections, liver disorders, and preterm labor/delivery than uninfected women, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbid conditions. No significant differences were observed in the rates of preeclampsia and antepartum hemorrhage in the two groups. HIV-infected pregnant women in the United States in the era of HAART remain at higher risk for several morbidities and adverse obstetrical outcomes than uninfected women.


Increasing knowledge of plant genome sequences requires the development of more reliable and efficient genetic approaches for genotype–phenotype validation. Functional identification of plant genes is generally achieved by a combination of creating genetic modifications and observing the according phenotype, which begins with forward-genetic methods represented by random physical and chemical mutagenesis and move towards reverse-genetic tools as targeted genome editing. A major bottleneck is time need to produce modified homozygous genotypes that can actually be used for phenotypic validation. Herein, we comprehensively address and compare available experimental approaches for functional validation of plant genes, and propose haploid strategies to reduce the time needed and cost consumed for establishing gene function.


A search for Lorentz violation in electrodynamics was performed by measuring the resonant frequency difference between two counterpropagating directions of an optical ring cavity. Our cavity contains a dielectric element, which makes our cavity sensitive to the violation. The laser frequency is stabilized to the counterclockwise resonance of the cavity, and the transmitted light is reflected back into the cavity for resonant frequency comparison with the clockwise resonance. This double-pass configuration enables a null experiment and gives high common mode rejection of environmental disturbances. We found no evidence for odd-parity anisotropy at the level of δc/c ≲ 10(-14). Within the framework of the standard model extension, our result put more than 5 times better limits on three odd-parity parameters κ(o+)(JK) and a 12 times better limit on the scalar parameter κ(tr) compared with the previous best limits.


GPS Positioning has numerous applications in the field of navigation and Geodesy.GPS positioning is mainly based on the different Geodetic Datum. This paper mainly discusses the improved datum conversion equations for the conversion of World Geodetic System (WGS-84) to Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), vice versa and the reduction of errors introduced while datum conversion. By applying the different filters like Least Squares Algorithm (LSA), Kalman Filter (KF) and Modified Kalman Filter (MKF) a considerable improvement in consistency has been observed. Comparatively Modified Kalman Filter gives better accuracy in positioning.GPS coordinates data samples are collected in different environments like heavy traffic area, tall buildings area are taken to validate the results.


&NA; The clinical and pathological features, including ultrastructural and immunocytochemical findings, of 2 cases of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the uterus are reported. One patient had pulmonary metastases at the time of hysterectomy: she developed pelvic recurrence and died 3 mth after operation. The other patient was well and apparently free of disease 6 mth after hysterectomy. Histologically both tumours resembled pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma, and the diagnosis of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma was confirmed only after electron microscopic and immunocytochemical studies. Hormone receptor assay for estrogen and progesterone was positive in both tumours. Anti‐estrogen treatment was started in one case but was ineffective.


The geomagnetic daily variation at mid-to-low latitudes, referred to as the geomagnetic Sq field, is generated by electrical currents within the conducting layers of the ionosphere on the dayside of the Earth. It is enhanced in a narrow equatorial band, due to the equatorial electrojet. The upcoming ESA Swarm satellite mission, to be launched end of 2013, will consist of three satellites in low-Earth orbit, providing a dense spatial and temporal coverage of the ionospheric Sq field. A Satellite Constellation Application and Research Facility (SCARF) has been set up by a consortium of research institutions, aiming at producing various level-2 data products during the Swarm mission. The Dedicated Ionospheric Field Inversion (DIFI) chain is a SCARF algorithm calculating global, spherical harmonic models of the Sq field at quiet times. It describes seasonal and solar cycle variations, separates primary and induced magnetic fields based upon advanced 3D-models of the mantle electrical conductivity, and relies on core, lithospheric and magnetospheric field models derived from other SCARF algorithms for removing non-ionospheric fields from the data. The DIFI chain was thoroughly tested on synthetic data during the SCARF preparation phase; it is now ready to be used for deriving models from real Swarm data.


The use of automated generated code tools has been increasing in the last years mainly because it helps engineers to faster and better develop documented software in comparison with hand coded development. Nowadays, there are many tools available from different vendors. However, the most used tools for critical environments and real-time applications are the Rational Rose Real Time (RRRT) and the Rational Rhapsody. Recently, National Instruments, the LabVIEW software vendor, has released a toolkit to develop C code from its visual programming language. This represented a breakthrough for LabVIEW developers, allowing verification of what is being properly developed. Mathworks, the Matlab software vendor, has provided a similar toolkit to the LabVIEW. A case study comparing source codes generated by CASE Tools with hand coded was presented at the ITNG 2008 Conference. In this case study, authors have concluded that hand-made source code is less complex than CASE tools source codes. However, the cost/benefit becomes better when using CASE tools. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an insight about automated generated code using Model Based Development (MBD) tools (LabVIEW, Matlab, and Rational Rose Real Time). The case study presents the modeling of a 100 points sine wave application. A comparison between code metrics is performed, in order to verify which tool best fits into your project.


Supporting biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is key from both a conservation and ecosystem services perspective. Planting flower margins along crop field edges is one of the most established approaches to try and improve habitat and resources for insect pollinators on farms. Whilst there is growing evidence that these margins can result in increased pollinator abundance and diversity on farms in the short-term, there is little data looking at how these margins perform over longer periods. This study looked at the utilization of pollinator-friendly margins over time in an agricultural landscape in Hungary. 'Operation Pollinator' seed mixes with 12 species, were used at 96 farms in Hungary from 2010 to 2018. Insect pollinators were recorded on the sown flower margins and control margins (with naturally occurring vegetation) using walked transects. Repeated sampling of the margins was done over several years so that data was collected on margins from 0 (planted that season) to 7 years old. The abundance of pollinators in the Operation Pollinator flower margins was greater than in control margins for all groups recorded (honey bees, bumble bees, mining bees, trap-nesting bees, hoverflies and Lepidoptera). The biggest relative increase in abundance was in honey bees (768% increase in average abundance in the flower margin compared to the control across all observations), with mining (566%) and bumble bees (414%) showing the next largest increases. The abundance of bumble bees, trap-nesting bees and Lepidoptera in the margins did not vary with the age of the margin. Honey bees, mining bees and hoverflies all decreased in abundance with increasing margin age, as did flower abundance. The results suggest that for some pollinator groups, regardless of age, flower margins provide important resources in the agricultural landscape. However, this is not universally true and for certain pollinator groups, some re-sowing of the margins may be needed to sustain longer-term benefits.


Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is a very rare antibody-mediated autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction. Therapy can be divided in symptomatic treatment and immunosuppressive treatment. Symptomatic treatment with amifampridine is the only therapy currently authorized for use in LEMS patients. In the Netherlands the first choice drug is amifampridine base in an extended release formulation instead of the currently authorized amifampridine phosphate. This formulation has lower costs and is possibly safer due to lower peak concentrations. Other therapy used in LEMS patients is prescribed off-label and is based on experience in patients with myasthenia gravis. In many cases pyridostigmine is added as symptomatic treatment. In almost half of patients immunosuppressive therapy is started, mostly corticosteroids with or without azathioprine. Intravenous immunoglobulins and plasma exchange are used as emergency treatment.
Currently no randomized clinical trials with new therapies are ongoing or announced in patients with LEMS, although multiple new therapies for myasthenia gravis are being investigated. These future therapies can be differentiated in symptomatic and immunomodulating drugs. The immunomodulating drugs can be further differentiated in early stage drugs which target the B-cell, later stage drugs which target the circulating antibodies and targeted therapy which have a disease-specific target. Some early and later stage immunomodulating drugs show promising results in myasthenia gravis although high cost and uncertain long term safety may be limiting for incorporating these drugs in LEMS treatment guidelines.
Clinical trials in LEMS patients are lacking due to the rarity of the disease and we suggest the following requirements for future trials of potential new treatments: Sufficient power by performing multicenter or n-of-1 trials when appropriate, a cross-over design to reduce the number of patients and using a LEMS-specific quantitative primary outcome measure like the 3TUG score.


Just as the international community was late in discovering the significance of the judiciary for the success of peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, international agencies were also late in identifying corruption as a key reason why the Bosnian judicial agencies were not working. The steps taken eventually to address the situation, including introducing reformed judicial admission, discipline and dismissal regimes, were not strategic, but reactive in nature. Notably, the international community initially adhered to the idea that these reforms should be domestically 'owned' and 'led', and that the resulting laws should resonate well with pre-existing legal–cultural paradigms; but as this process did not produce the desired results, the Office of the High Representative and the Independent Judicial Commission chose gradually to increase their involvement, eventually assuming almost complete control over the process. The process culminated in the firing of almost the entire Bosnian judiciary and the imposition of an internationalized structure for judicial appointments and dismissals. Although this policy stood in stark contrast to the values of local ownership and local leadership, it has essentially produced positive long-term results.


Building-automation systems enable building administrators and inhabitants to monitor and control their buildings from within the building itself, as well as from outside using remote access tools. In recent years, many such control systems have been developed for both residential and nonresidential buildings, with increasing levels of functionality. Due to the growing number of building-automation system manufacturers, which use different network and communication protocols with no interoperability, it is often not possible to integrate the use of components from different manufacturers in a single building. To overcome this major limitation, we have developed a multilayer architecture for building-automation, designed to allow remote management of buildings, while making it possible to use components from different manufacturers. Our architecture implements an advanced secure interface for building-automation software, using secure event-handling and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). The architecture is designed to provide energy consumption and monitoring applications with an interface protecting their privacy.


The Helium-4 nucleus is more similar to the Hydrogen atom of atomic physics. In the case of hydrogen atom, there are many energy levels which were experimentally seen and theoretically explained using non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In this note, we use a central potential to derive the energy levels of Helium-4 nucleus. The ground state and the first few energy levels agree pretty well with experiment. The same potential can be used with nuclei like Oxygen-17 and many more nuclei.


The notion of "environment" took on a plethora of meanings in the 1960s, encompassing both the natural and the man-made, locating the concept within the complex connections between objects, cities, users, and systems. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum entered the fray as they reframed their legacy of decorative arts collections through the new paradigm of design. The museum took on the legibility of environment as a key problem in the reshaping of its mission and collections—particularly with respect to architecture. Through its inaugural exhibition, MANtransFORMS, the museum resisted the social-scientization of "environment" by highlighting the continuities between architecture and everyday objects, and the agency of the layperson in shaping and interpreting their milieu.


Interventions are central to causal learning and reasoning. Yet ultimately an intervention is an abstraction: an agent embedded in a physical environment (perhaps modeled as a Markov decision process) does not typically come equipped with the notion of an intervention -- its action space is typically ego-centric, without actions of the form `intervene on X'. Such a correspondence between ego-centric actions and interventions would be challenging to hard-code. It would instead be better if an agent learnt which sequence of actions allow it to make targeted manipulations of the environment, and learnt corresponding representations that permitted learning from observation. Here we show how a meta-learning approach can be used to perform causal learning in this challenging setting, where the action-space is not a set of interventions and the observation space is a high-dimensional space with a latent causal structure. A meta-reinforcement learning algorithm is used to learn relationships that transfer on observational causal learning tasks. This work shows how advances in deep reinforcement learning and meta-learning can provide intervention-centric causal learning in high-dimensional environments with a latent causal structure.


Abstract. In this paper we apply a classification method to learn geographic regions using Location Based Services (LBS) in IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). We assume that the information in Local Network (cellular network) can be freely exchanged with Global IP Network (IMS) and the information can be gathered in a data base. LBS in the IMS also provide location information for the data sets. Statistic classification methods are applied to the data sets in the data base. Depending on the information provided by the users, they are divided into different user groups (event classes) using Type Filters (TF). Then discriminant analysis is applied to the position information offered by LBS in IMS to determine the geographic regions of the different classes. The learned geographic regions can be used to inform the users in this region or other regions over IMS. This kind of service can be used for any location-based events.


Summary Objective To evaluate the specific components of setting up a simple multicentre clinical study four years after the new UK law on clinical trials was implemented in 2004. Design Timelines associated with activating a randomized multicentre trial in lung cancer patients using an investigational medicinal product (statins) were prospectively recorded. Setting 84 trial centres in the UK. Main outcome measures The time taken to go through the three stages necessary to activate a trial at a centre was examined: that is, the time from when Site Specific Information was electronically transferred to a participating centre until local research ethics committee (LREC) or research and development (R&D) approvals were obtained, and a signed Clinical Trials Site Agreement (CTSA) was received. Results It took at least six months to obtain LREC approval in 21% of centres and R&D approval in 52% of centres. Twelve centres (14%) took at least 12 months to obtain R&D approval. 31% of centres took at least three months to return a signed CTSA. Although 52% of centres took at least six months to be activated, 13% were able to complete all three stages in two months or less. Conclusions While some centres can activate trials relatively quickly, there is considerable variation the time taken to set up a trial, much of which is due to the delay in obtaining R&D approval. This is having a major adverse effect on UK health research. There is a national need to streamline the process for considering multi-centre non-commercial clinical trials, in particular, having fixed timelines for R&D assessment. Without this, the costs of trials will increase because of extended duration, and the time to answer a research question and alter clinical practice will be significantly prolonged.


Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (EC 184.108.40.206) is a zinc-binding protein that specifically binds to a DNA strand break in a zinc-dependent manner. We describe here the cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of a cDNA fragment encoding the two putative zinc fingers (FI and FII) domain of the human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identified the amino acids involved in metal coordination and analyzed the consequence of altering the proposed zinc-finger structures on DNA binding. Disruption of the metal binding ability of the second zinc finger, FII, dramatically reduced target DNA binding. In contrast, when the postulated Zn(II) ligands of FI were mutated, the DNA binding activity was only slightly affected. DNase I protection studies showed that the FII is involved in the specific recognition of a DNA strand break. These results demonstrate that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase contains a type of zinc finger that differs from previously recognized classes in terms of both structure and function.


Multi-carrier modulation is an attractive technique for fourth generation .OFDM is based on multicarrier modulation technique. In OFDM system the bit stream is divided into many different sub channels. An efficient and distortionless scheme for peak power reduction in OFDM is proposed. In this paper, a set of mapping where the actual transmit signal is selected. From this set of signal reduced PAPR. Simulation results are shown. The lowest PAPR is compared with conventional work. It is also compared BER to SNR and best result is achieved.


We sought to characterize vestibular schwannoma (VS) pseudoprogression after radiosurgery to assess its incidence, causative factors, and association with radiation-induced adverse effects. We performed a retrospective study of VS treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery during 2005-2009. Seventy-five patients had at least 24 months of clinical and radiographic follow-up (median, 29 months) and were included. Tumor response was calculated volumetrically using Gamma plan software on consecutive MRIs. All treatment plans were reviewed for dosimetry characteristics. Forty-nine VS (65%) were stable or regressed after treatment. Seventeen (23%) underwent pseudoprogression, with onset of enlargement at 6 months. Seven (9%) remained larger than initial treatment volume at last follow-up. Nine (12%) had persistent growth. Three patients underwent subsequent microsurgery. One patient required intervention at 3 months for cystic enlargement; otherwise, all patients with progressive enlargement had stable VS until at least 24 months. Twenty-six patients (34.7%) developed nonauditory adverse radiation effects after treatment, including cranial neuropathy, ataxia, and hydrocephalus. There was no statistical association between onset of clinical deterioration and tumor response. Volume changes in the first 24 months after radiosurgery rarely herald treatment failure. Any volume change after 24 months is indicative of treatment failure. Pseudoprogression does not appear to be independently linked to radiation-induced morbidity, and there are no patient-related or radiosurgical parameters that predict tumor response.


The authors develop Bayes estimators for the true binomial survival probability when there exist multiple sources of prior information. For each source of prior information, incomplete (partial) prior information is assumed to exist in the form of either a stated prior mean of p or a stated prior credibility interval on p; p is the parameter about which there is a degree of belief regarding its unknown value, i.e., p is treated as though it were the unknown value of a random variable. Both maximum entropy and maximum posterior risk criteria are used to determine a beta prior for each source. A mixture of these beta priors is then taken as the combined prior, after which Bayes theorem is used to obtain the final mixed beta posterior distribution from which the desired estimates are obtained. Two numerical examples illustrate the method. >


Against the background of the realist and expressionist film theories it is argued in this article that directors of films/videos on the environment should work in a more realistic style. The purpose should be to develop closer contact between the viewer and the environment. A brief descrip tion of realism and expressionism as two dominant styles in filmmaking and of Direct cinema and cinéma vérité is given, and the implications of these styles for the relationship Image/environment are discussed.


The dominant theory of the budgetary process (Fenno, 1966; Wildavsky, 1964) emphasized stable budgetary roles in the making of incremental choices over time. But while the traditional theory has been unusually successful, at least two major problems have developed over the last decade. First, recent empirical research has reconsidered the role of partisanship in the budgetary process. And second, more recent descriptive analyses of the appropriations process have suggested that the institutional roles identified by Fenno and Wildavsky changed to a considerable degree during the 1970s. What, then, is the status of the traditional theory of the budgetary process? We analyze this question by updating Fenno's analysis of the tie period FY48 through FY84 and examining both the changing nature of institutional roles and the influence of partisanship in the play of those roles over time. The analysis is used to reinterpret the traditional theory—especially the traditional interpretations of the roles of advocate, guardian, and appeals court as well as the influence of partisanship—in light of events that have occurred since the original development of Wildavsky and Fenno's model.


The mortality in thyroid operations during the last fifty years has decreased so extensively that in nontoxic goiters it is almost negligible, while in the toxic types it is only from 2 to 5 per cent. Various factors have brought about these reductions. Owing to the invention of the artery clamp by Paeon 1 and the researches of Streckeisen 2 and Kocher 3 on the blood supply of the thyroid gland, hemorrhage has been removed as the prime cause of death. Rose 4 called attention to the importance of tracheal compression, and the possibility of asphyxia due to tracheal obstruction. The role of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury as a possible contributory cause of death was emphasized by Seitz. 5 Today, the earlier operation, the better preoperative preparation, the use of gas and oxygen and of local anesthesia, the improved operative technic and the important changes in after-treatment have aided greatly


Mang et al. report the observation of a cubic (Nd,Ce)2O3 impurity phase grown epitaxially in annealed samples of electron-doped Nd2-xCexCuO4 (NCCO) and argue that our observed magnetic scattering in NCCO [Nature 423,522(2003)]is due entirely to (Nd,Ce)2O3. Here we show why this is incorrect.


Von Recklinghausen's disease, now classified as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1), is a relatively frequent autosomal dominant disorder and has clinical manifestations, such as cafe-au-lait spots, freckling, generalised cutaneus neurofibroma, Lisch nodules, short stature, optic glioma and central nervous system tumours. In adults, anaemia in the course of NF-1 is usually due to gastrointestinal tumour bleeding. Association of NF-1 and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia is unusual. Here, we report a 48-year-old woman with NF-1 presenting as autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. We also reviewed the literature about the association of NF-1 and autoimmune diseases.


Background: Pregnancy causes hemodynamic changes and extracellular matrix structures, collagen sclera associated with refractive status. The addition of refractive status to high retention rates in myopia may result in permanent viscosity and blindness. Pregnant women should be aware of this condition. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with maternal knowledge about eye health in pregnancy among pregnant women at Gunungpati community health center, Semarang.

Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional design conducted at Gunungpati community health center, Semarang, Central Java. A sample of 53 pregnant women was selected for this study by simple random sampling. The dependent variable was maternal knowledge about eye health in pregnancy. The independent variables were gestational age, maternal education, eye disorder, refraction status, history of eye examination, and informational exposure. The data were collected by questionnaire. Percent of good knowledge by the independent variable status (i.e. "exposed" and "non-exposed" groups) was compared to result in Prevalence Ratio, which was then tested by chi square.

Results: 69.8% pregnant women had poor knowledge, 30.2% had good knowledge about eye health in pregnancy. None of the pregnant women received information of eye health in pregnancy from health personnel. Maternal knowledge about eye health in pregnancy was higher among pregnant women with high education (PR= 2.31; 95% CI= 1.60 to 3.35; p< 0.001), presence of refraction status (PR= 8.12; 95% CI= 6.42 to 10.28; p= 0.007), younger gestational age (PR= 0.43; 95% CI= 0.11 to 1.68; p= 0.215), absence of eye disorder (PR= 0.86; 95% CI= 0.07 to 10.12; p= 0.903), and history of eye examination (PR= 1.17; 95% CI= 0.10 to 13.87; p= 0.903).

Conclusion: Maternal knowledge about eye examination in pregnancy is associated with education, refraction status, gestational age, eye disorder, and eye examination.

Keywords: eye examination, knowledge, refraction status, eye disorder, pregnant mother


SUMMARY
Insertion and deletion (indels) have been recognized as an important source generating tumor-specific mutant peptides (neoantigens). The focus of indel derived neoantigen identification has been on leveraging DNA sequencing such as whole exome sequencing, with the effort of using RNA-seq less well explored. Here we present ScanNeo, a fast-streamlined computational pipeline for analyzing RNA-seq to predict neoepitopes derived from small to large-sized indels. We applied ScanNeo in a prostate cancer cell line and validated our predictions with matched mass spectrometry data. Finally, we demonstrated that indel neoantigens predicted from RNA-seq were associated with checkpoint inhibitor response in a cohort of melanoma patients.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
ScanNeo is implemented in Python. It is freely accessible at the GitHub repository (https://github.com/ylab-hi/ScanNeo).


This is an important book, if only because it summarizes the views and experience of Professor Luria, the dean of Soviet neuropsychologists. For this reason any disappointment that one may express with regard to its contents needs to be backed by argument. The book falls into three sections: a review of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology as they relate to organic disorders of mental function; a correlation of such disorders with lesions of different cortical regions; and lastly, a description of the methods of clinical examination employed, eg, aphasia, apraxia, and memory disturbances. In the first section the burden of discussion concerns the localizationist's and antilocalizationist's theories of mental function. Professor Luria's solution to this controversy is given by reference to the Pavlovian system of cortical analyzers, which he describes as "dynamically localized." Some of the important clinical material relevant to problems of localization is sketchily presented, eg, the questions posed by


The primary goal of this paper is to portray how the value orientations and priorities can direct us to new pedagogical cores and innovations and leadership. First of all, we will examine how the students' value orientations and priorities become a pertinent factor in conceiving new teaching practices that enhance the amiable learning atmosphere and guides us to new ideas and leadership. Second of all, we will focus on how value orientations and priorities expand our current knowledge and comprehension of the students' learning styles and demands and gravitate teachers and students to the concept of emotional intelligence; this then leads students and teachers to new international and interdisciplinary environment(s) and to new teaching and learning practices. In addition, our aim is to address the students' value orientations and priorities and apply them to steer us to design new learning environment(s) and to the transformational and primal leaderships. Furthermore, our intent is to render how value orientations guide to the emotional intelligence, which then directs to new practices, ideas and innovations. Moreover, we will share specific examples of successful pedagogical innovations that lead to the emotional intelligence and were guided by the students' value orientations and priorities. Throughout this paper we will remit the following vital question: how do we link the value orientations together with the emotional intelligence and the transformational and primal leaderships?


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of LBP among nurses in a typical Nigerian Specialist Hospital.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for LBP among nurses in a typical Nigerian Hospital. A department-to-department enquiry was conducted using a self structured valid and reliable questionnaire.

RESULT
Four hundred and eight respondents (148 [36.27%] males and 260 [63.73%] females) participated in the study. The 12 month prevalence of LBP was 300 (73.53%). LBP was more prevalent among female nurses (68%) than the male nurses (32%). It was also associated with occupational hazard and poor knowledge of back care ergonomics. The prevalence of LBP in MMSH is comparable to levels recorded abroad. However, in this study LBP did not feature as a major cause of sickness absence in the work place

CONCLUSION
It was concluded that poor back care ergonomics is the major predisposing factor of LBP.


Abstract. KM3NeT is a future research infrastructure in the deep seas of the Mediterranean housing a large scale neutrino telescope. The first phase of construction of the telescope has started. Next step is an intermediate phase realising a detector volume of about one-third of the final detector volume. We report on calculations of the sensitivity of the KM3NeT detector to showering neutrino events, the strategy to optimise the detector to a cosmic neutrino flux analogous to the one reported by the IceCube Collaboration and the results of this strategy applied to the intermediate phase detector.


Seven cases of primary lung lymphoma were analyzed for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus DNA sequences by the polymerase chain reaction. The series included: four cases of diffuse, small lymphocytic lymphoma; one case of diffuse, intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma; one case of diffuse, small cleaved cell lymphoma; and one case of large cell, immunoblastic lymphoma. The latter occurred in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A 200-bp sequence of the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 gene was used as a template for PCR amplification. The only tumor that contained Epstein-Barr virus sequences was the immunoblastic lymphoma. These findings support previous observations that small lymphocytic lymphomas of the lung are not related to Epstein-Barr virus infection. In contrast, some large cell lymphomas may represent Epstein-Barr-virus--associated lymphoproliferative disorders.


Cerrado is a biome whose evolution is intimately influenced by constant fire events. Although many species are capable of dealing with this predictable impact, many others may be negatively affected, resulting in community changes after fire. Using ants as bioindicators of changes in biodiversity and environmental conditions, this study evaluated the effects of fire in two Cerrado vegetation types: "cerrado" sensu stricto, a xeric savanna, and wetland "veredas", a mesic vegetation on floodable soils, where water concentrates and ultimately flows towards rivers. We examined the effects of fire on both habitats in two independent sites, but with special consideration to the wetlands, which are not fully adapted to fire. Ant sampling was conducted twice before and twice after a fire event, using 288 baits and 416 pitfall traps (soil and arboreal), and 16 hand collections along three random replicate transects per area. Ant species richness and abundance were resilient to fire, and exhibited a remarkably consistent seasonal variation at unburned and burned sites. On the other hand, the fire markedly changed the ant species composition. In the wetlands, the fire spread underground due to the high concentration of peat. The impact on ant assemblages was substantial and visually perceptible for some species like Camponotus rufipes , which suffered a considerable reduction in the number of individuals after fire in this habitat. In the cerrado, a similar result was observed for Crematogaster nr. obscurata, which disappeared after fire. The wetland vegetation having little adaptation to fire, plus low resilience in the ant community resulted in a severely changed fauna, both in guild predominance and species composition, and return to an original state is uncertain.


The majority of people who have nonspecific chronic spinal pain (nCSP) report comorbid insomnia. However, in current treatment strategies for nCSP, insomnia is usually not addressed. Considering the bidirectional interaction between pain and sleep and its underlying psychophysiological mechanisms, insomnia may increase the risk of developing adverse physical and psychological health outcomes and should thus no longer be left untreated. As suggested by previous pilot studies, adding cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) to the contemporary evidence-based biopsychosocial physical therapy approach may also improve pain outcomes in nCSP. This manuscript aims to provide practical guidelines on hybrid physical therapy, including the combination of following components: (1) pain neuroscience education (eg, to reconceptualize pain) and cognition-targeted exercise therapy (eg, graded exposure to functional daily life movements), and (2) CBT-I (sleep psychoeducation, behavioral and cognitive therapy, correction of sleep hygiene, and relaxation therapy) can be deployed for the management of patients who have chronic spinal pain.


Observed and simulated climate trends across South Africa in the period 1980–2014 are studied. Observed CRU3/CAMS (Climate Research Unit v3 / Climate Analysis and Monitoring System) air temperatures have increased by 0.02°C·yr −1 while NOAA/SODA sea temperatures have risen by 0.03°C·yr −1 in the Agulhas Current. A poleward expansion of the South Atlantic high in NCEP2/MERRA (National Center for Environmental Prediction v2 / Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications) has produced a trend toward south-easterly flow which contributes to a moist-east/dry-west pattern. Observed CHIRPS2 rainfall and NDVI vegetation fraction show no appreciable trend except near Cape Town where drier conditions in the period 1980–2014 correspond with enhanced coastal upwelling. CMIP5 model projections for rainfall up to 2050 reflect drying, except in the eastern coastal plains. While inter-annual fluctuations of South African rainfall overshadow linear trends, temperature increases account for 32% of observed variance. Keywords : South Africa, climate change, satellite era


Background: In the earlier study which we have conducted, we observed that: among the patients who were histologically positive for HER2 and received anti-HER2 therapy, only those with HER2-positive circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have benefited. We also demonstrated that CTC enumeration with a modified cut-off is a valuable prognostic tool for HER2-positive MBC patients, and formulated the criterion for evaluating CTCs HER2 status. Although the number of cases was not adequate enough so as to make the persuasion of the statistical analysis limited, it was still a valuable innovative study worthy of further exploring. Purpose: we conducted a prospective study in order to find out whether HER2 expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) influenced anti-HER2 therapy in those HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Trial design Patients: All the patients randomly enrolled in the trial were diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, and the metastasis of all eligible subjects can be measured or evaluated, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score is 0 to 3. Each patient had a pathology report confirmed that this was a HER2-positve patient by the means of an immunohistochemistry (IHC) score or a fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) ratio, the researcher was also informed of the histological type, nodal status, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) statuses. All of the patients would receive a new line or a new cycle of systematic therapy which must include the anti-HER2 therapy. The blood sample (10 ml) was drawn with an interval of Detection method: CTC isolation, enumeration and characterization were performed by using the CellSearch technology. HER2 expression intensity in CTC was given a score of 0, 1+, 2+, or 3+, according to the trial we have conducted previously, the CTC HER2 positive criterion was defined as >30% of CTCs over-expressing HER2 (3+). Statistical method: PFS was measured as the time between the baseline CTC assessment and the documentation of disease progression or death. Patients who were alive without progression at the time of analysis, PFS was calculated by the most recent follow-up evaluations. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated based on the CTC levels at baseline and the HER2 status of CTC, the curves were compared using the log-rank test. Present accrual and target accrual: 174 eligible patients were enrolled during September 2010 to April 2013, 76 patients were detected with CTC 3 1, 50 patients received a new line or a new cycle of anti-HER2 therapy within 7days. Among the 50 patients, 40 patients received Trastuzumab and others received Lapatinib. With the ongoing of the trial, we'll continue following up with PFS and other data of the patients. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr OT1-1-04.


The purpose of this study was to investigate which factors affect diffusion of tax return filing online (e-return) in Finland. Another aim was to develop an adoption forecast for the service. Finally, customer categorization was suggested in order to enable e-return deliver more public value by accommodating the needs of different customer groups. Diffusion of Innovations theory, Bass Diffusion Model and Service Process Analysis were used as theoretical base for the study. E-return user satisfaction survey conducted by Finnish Tax Administration was used for statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. In addition, e-return in Finland was benchmarked against leading practices from Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands. Another comparative study was conducted with a popular business-to-customer service with similar characteristics – e-billing in TeliaSonera. As a result of the study, we discovered that the diffusion of e-return is dependent on such variables as perceived attributes of e-return system, interpersonal communication channels, performance of related services, and extent of Tax Administration's promotion efforts. In addition, we classified taxpayers in four main categories based on taxpayers' demographics and personal income tax filing needs. The first category, which accounts for 60% of all population, represents those who accept tax assessment decision without making any deductions. The second category, which covers another 36% of taxpayers, consists of individuals who make few deductions. Another 2.5% of taxpayers make speculative deductions that involve consultations with friends or professionals, e.g. healthcare-related deductions. The last 1.5% is the wealthiest taxpayers who use financial advisors for asset management and taxation. Based on our analysis, we prepared recommendations for improving the e-return service in Finland. The recommendations can be split into two groups: recommendations aiming at increasing the attractiveness of e-return for potential adopters (e.g. introduction of instant tax assessment feature online), and recommendations meant to discourage people from submitting tax return in paper (e.g. paper form service processing fee).


We evaluated the incidence of postoperative complications following anterior locking plate fixation of distal radial fractures. We investigated whether there is an association with the patient's age, severity of the fracture or surgeon's experience. The medical records of all patients treated with anterior locking plate for a distal radial fracture between 2016 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Radiographs were evaluated regarding Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen/Orthopaedic Trauma Association (AO/OTA) classification, Soong grade and dorsal screw prominence. Six-hundred and three distal radial fractures treated with anterior locking plate fixation in 599 patients were included. The overall postoperative complication incidence was 11%. Secondary surgery was performed in 9%. No statistical significance in the incidence of complications was found regarding age, AO/OTA type or surgeon experience. Level of evidence: IV


P-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide (p-nc-3C-SiC:H) is a promising material for the window layer due to its wider bandgap of 2.2 eV and lower light absorption than conventional p-a-Si:H to reduce light absorption loss in the range of 400–600 nm. However, since large amount of atomic hydrogen is generated under the deposition condition of p-nc-3C-SiC:H by VHF-PECVD, it gives damage to the surface of the n-c-Si by etching. In this study, we investigated the effects of deposition conditions of p-nc-3C-SiC:H on the properties of n-type c-Si heterojunction solar cells with the structure of Al/Ag/ITO/p-nc-3C-SiC:H/a-Si1−xCx:H/n-c-Si/n-a-Si:H/Al. It was found that it is needed to keep higher deposition rate to avoid etching of an a-Si1−xCx:H buffer layer, which is a passivation layer and protective layer against atomic hydrogen etching of the crystalline silicon surface. At high deposition pressure of 800 Pa, we successfully deposited p-nc-3C-SiC:H films at higher deposition rate without the degradation of the electrical property. Under the optimized conditions, high efficiency of 17.0 % (Voc = 0.638 V, Jsc = 35.95 mA/cm2, Fill factor = 0.742) was achieved without any anti-reflection layers and textures.


Rhodococcus sp. R14-2, isolated from Chinese Jinhua ham, produces a novel extracellular cholesterol oxidase (COX). The enzyme was extracted from fermentation broth and purified 53.1-fold based on specific activity. The purified enzyme shows a single polypeptide band on SDS-PAGE with an estimated molecular weight of about 60 kDa, and has a pI of 8.5. The first 10 amino acid residues of the NH2-terminal sequence of the enzyme are A-P-P-V-A-S-C-R-Y-C, which differs from other known COXs. The enzyme is stable over a rather wide pH range of 4.0–10.0. The optimum pH and temperature of the COX are pH 7.0 and 50 C, respectively. The COX rapidly oxidizes 3b-hydroxysteroids such as cholesterol and phytosterols, but is inert toward 3a-hydroxysteroids. Thus, the presence of a 3b-hydroxyl group appears to be essential for substrate activity. The Michaelis constant (Km) for cholesterol is estimated at 55 lM; the COX activity was markedly inhibited by metal ions such as Hg and Fe and inhibitors such as p-chloromercuric benzoate, mercaptoethanol and fenpropimorph. Inhibition caused by pchloromercuric benzoate, mercuric chloride, or silver nitrate was almost completely prevented by the addition of glutathione. These suggests that -SH groups may be involved in the catalytic activity of the present COX.


Customer Experience develops through a journey of touchpoints. However, little is known on the role of touchpoints in contributing to customer loyalty, which is the final aim of Customer Experience Management. This study provides an examination of the relative and moderating role of frequency and positivity of exposure to more than twenty touchpoints and their interplay in contributing to customer loyalty. An online survey on more than three thousand consumers is run with reference to retail banking. Results show that only a small number of touchpoints is significantly related to customer loyalty. Findings point companies' attention to invest their efforts in managing both the frequency and positivity of specific touchpoints.


The main aim of the present paper is to investigate the influence of multiple winglets on hang-glider climbing performance. The study aims to optimize the CL3/2/CD parameter. The investigation was performed both numerically and experimentally starting from airfoils and winglet shape design. Given the shape of a real hangglider wing under aerodynamic load the first phase of the work concerned the main geometric characteristics of winglet design : number of winglets, airfoils, planform shape, twist. A 3D wing model was built and using the indications obtained from the design, different sets of winglets were built. The wing model was built to enable winglets to be applied to the wing tip without changing the wing span and aspect ratio. The tests carried out on  the hang glider model showed an improvement in wing performance of about 15%. However, the model reproduced a full scale wing flying under aerodynamic load and, according to the model builders, it showed a positive twist angle (leading edge up). This could mean that the winglets were more efficient because the original wing showed a strong tip vortex, A new model wing with an elliptical planform was therefore built to verify this further. The test results on the elliptical wing did not show the same improvement in performance obtained with the hang glider model. Nevertheless, compared to the original elliptical wing an improvement was still found.


The main theme of this dissertation is a challenge to the traditional paradigm of optimal control for the management of renewable resources. That is not to say that optimization should not be the goal but rather, previous modeling and policy have presumed that managers have greater control and knowledge of marine systems than is the case. All models make simplifying (and false) assumptions but assuming control and knowledge in marine systems is not benign. In a dynamic control problem, one must actually control the variable of interest and know or learn the system's parameters. I discuss reasons why managers may not control harvests and cannot know system parameters and consider possible remedies to the historically sub-optimal management of marine resources. Marine resources are observed imperfectly and are often held as common property. In this dissertation I explore the feasibility of management plans when naturalcapital stock dynamics are unobservable and when political structures constrain the implementation of optimal management. Resource managers are faced with conflicting user groups and limited information. In three chapters I study constrained management In my first chapter, Jobs or Resources? I consider the political economy implications of technological under various management scenarios. I show that typical management targets will require the retirement of inputs as technology progresses. This is particularly problematic for fisheries in which labor is involved in management decisions. This can lead to false inference about the health of the stock. For the second chapter, Natural Resource Collapse: Technological Change and Biased Estimation , I show that unexpected fisheries collapse may be linked to unobserved technological change. Unexpected collapse of natural resources is of great concern to policy makers. The literature and popular press have attributed collapse to the lack of well-defined property rights and policies that pay inadequate attention to random environmental variability. Both the literature and policy makers have overlooked how unobserved technological change can obscure the depletion of natural- capital stocks. The paper shows that even if property rights are well-defined and random fluctuations are small, modest increases in technical efficiency conceal the depletion of stocks. Using the most general model of surplus production in a single-species fishery I show analytically that proportional growth of the fish stock is overestimated when even one period of technological change is ignored. Through simulations, I find that standard statistical tests overestimate the productivity of the fish stock. I show that collapse is inevitable if technology increases without bound and that the path to collapse is not observed until stocks are low and declining rapidly. In the third chapter, Marine protected areas as a risk management tool I consider a potential fix to the inference problems highlighted in the second chapter and in other work such as Carson and Murray (2005). When parameter uncertainty is significant, I show that even in an otherwise deterministic world, expected payoffs can be increased by using simple spatial closures. Though optimal fleet size and reserve size combinations exist, a spatial closure can increase expected payoff even if the fleet-size is chosen to be too large or too small. The benefit of closures is not limited to hedge against stock collapse but is of value even when stock size is large and steady-state catches are relatively high


Theoretically, Italy has nine national libraries, although there are two «central» national libraries in Florence and Rome. Too great a number, as all states in the world maintain only one national library with a view of a) collecting by legal deposit the national publishing output and b) compiling the national bibliography. More than one million euros are wasted yearly because of task overlapping and the duplication of structures and services provided by the two national libraries. Unifying them would provide a remedy to a technical and professional anomaly. It would also contribute to the efficiency, the mission and the authoritativeness of the now incoherent and loose Italian library system.


ABSTRACK Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill) is no stranger to the community as a tomato vegetable crops play an important role in the nutrition community. This study aims to determine the cause of Fusarium wilt disease and the incidence of disease. This study was conducted in farmers' fields in the village of Tumaratas, Raringis, and Kopiwangker from February to April 2014 This study used a survey method or field observation purposive sampling. Materials and tools used in this study is the tomato crop land, plants Fusarium wilt disease, PDA, CLA media, antibiotics, distilled water, 95% alcohol, petridish, parafilm, test tube, needles ose, spirit lamp, analytical scales, tweezers, cutter, masking tape, autoclave, laminar air flow, rack culture, cover glass, glass objects, microscope, digital cameras, and stationery. The results showed the fungus that causes Fusarium wilt disease infecting tomato plants in the District of West Langowan is Fusarium sp. The incidence of Fusarium wilt disease on tomato plants in the District of West Langowan is Tumaratas village average of 6.16%, the village Raringis average of 8.66%, and the average village Kopiwangker 9.61%. The highest incidence of the disease an average of 13.66% while the lowest incidence of tomato plants with an average of 4.33%. Keywords : Tomato plant, Fusarium sp.


Examination of a collection of over 80,000 Plant Nod-like receptors (NLRs) revealed an overwhelming sequence diversity underlying functional specificity of pathogen detection, signaling and cooperativity. The NLR canonical building blocks—CC/TIR/RPW8, NBS and LRR—contain, however, a number of conserved sequence motifs showing a significant degree of invariance amongst different NLR groups. To identify these motifs we developed NLRexpress—a bundle of 17 machine learning (ML)-based predictors, able to swiftly and precisely detect CC, TIR, NBS, and LRR motifs while minimizing computing time without accuracy losses—aimed as an instrument scalable for screening overall proteomes, transcriptomes or genomes for identifying integral NLRs and discriminating them against incomplete sequences lacking key motifs. These predictors were further used to screen a subset of ∼34,000 regular plant NLR sequences. Motifs were analyzed using unsupervised ML techniques to assess the structural correlations hidden underneath pattern variabilities. Both the NB-ARC switch domain which admittedly is the most conserved region of NLRs and the highly diverse LRR domain with its vastly variable lengths and repeat irregularities—show well-defined relations between motif subclasses, highlighting the importance of structural invariance in shaping NLR sequence diversity. The online NLRexpress webserver can be accessed at https://nlrexpress.biochim.ro.


Recent technological developments in the field of magnetic resonance imaging have resulted in advanced techniques that can reduce the total time to acquire images. For applications such as relaxation time mapping, which enables improved visualisation of in vivo structures, rapid imaging techniques are highly desirable. TAPIR is a LookLocker-based sequence for high-resolution, multislice T1 relaxation time mapping. Despite the high accuracy and precision of TAPIR, an improvement in the k-space sampling trajectory is desired to acquire data in clinically acceptable times. In this thesis, a new trajectory, termed line-sharing, is introduced for TAPIR that can potentially reduce the acquisition time by 40 %. Additionally, the line-sharing method was compared with the GRAPPA parallel imaging method. These methods were employed to reconstruct time-point images from the data acquired on a 4T high-field MR research scanner. Multislice, multipoint in vivo results obtained using these methods are presented. Despite improvement in acquisition speed, through line-sharing, for example, motion remains a problem and artefact-free data cannot always be obtained. Therefore, in this thesis, a rapid technique is introduced to estimate in-plane motion. The presented technique is based on calculating the in-plane motion parameters, i.e., translation and rotation, by registering the low-resolution MR images. The rotation estimation method is based on the pseudo-polar FFT, where the Fourier domain is composed of frequencies that reside in an oversampled set of non-angularly, equispaced points. The essence of the method is that unlike other Fourier-based registration schemes, the employed approach does not require any interpolation to calculate the pseudo-polar FFT grid coordinates. Translation parameters are estimated by the phase correlation method. However, instead of two-dimensional analysis of the phase correlation matrix, a low complexity subspace identification of the phase correlation matrix is employed. This method is beneficial because it offers sub-pixel displacement estimation without interpolation, increased robustness to noise and limited computational complexity. Owing to all these advantages, the proposed technique is very suitable for the real-time implementation to solve the motion correction problem.


Willis's Dictionary is a famous publication in the world of botany and horticulture. It is a comprehensive and indispensable reference to the generic and family names of flowering plants and ferns. The entries attempt to cover all published generic names from 1753 onwards and published family names from 1789, together with a number of supra- and infra-familial taxa where these have not been based on family or generic names. The generic names include many variant spellings and inter-generic hybrids. Brief characters of subfamilies are usually given. The treatment of the families and higher taxa of the Pteridophyta is based on the classification scheme proposed by Pichi-Sermolli. The synopses of the Bentham & Hooker and Engler & Prand systems are retained. This eighth edition is now published in paperback in order to make it available to a wider readership, not only of professional botanists, but also students and serious amateurs.


It would be desirable to regenerate bone vertically in a predictable way; such a technique would allow for more favorable implant - crown ratio and better esthetics for implant placement. Traditionally, several techniques has been proposed for this purpose including GBR with particulated bone and block bone graft using mandible or illium however, the efficacy of these techniques has not been firmly established because they have some week points or complications each other that it is difficult to draw firm conclusion for superiority. In recent years, We have treated 11-cases of vertical deficiency of alveolar bone using thin block and chip bone graft technique and the postoperative results showed good prognosis with few complications. So we report the results of its treatment and cases with review of literature.


We review our main findings on the size distribution of the largest neutral segments in a sequence of N randomly charged monomers. Upon mapping to one--dimensional random walks (RWs), this corresponds to finding the probability distribution for the size L of the largest segment that returns to its starting position in an N--step RW. Using analytical, exact enumeration, and Monte Carlo methods, we reveal the complex structure of the probability distribution in the large N limit. In particular, the size of the longest neutral segment has a distribution with a square-root singularity at \ell\equiv L/N = 1, an essential singularity at \ell = 0, and a discontinuous derivative at \ell = 1/2.


. This study included 30 patients with abdominal stab wounds and splenic injuries who had undergone thromboelastography. All patients were divided into two groups (15 patients in each). Group A included individ-uals admitted to a healthcare institution within an hour after injury; Group B comprised patients who arrived to a healthcare institution more than one hour after injury. We found that splenectomy in patients with penetrating splenic injury causes changes in hemostasis manifesting as an increase in all thromboelastography parameters. These parameters correlated with the time to hospitalization: patients admitted to hospital within an hour after injury demonstrated thromboelastography changes on day 3 postoperatively and later with restoration regis-tered by day 7 postoperatively. Patients who arrived to hospital later had more pronounced thromboelastography changes that were observed already 1 day postoperatively with restoration on day 10. Patients in both groups matched for age, gender, type of injury, blood loss, and overall performance. Competing interests. The authors declare no competing interests. Funding. research


The crystalline structure, surface morphology, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of 0~10wt% Ho2O3 doped (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics prepared by conventional solid state method were studied using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, LCR measuring system and ferroelectric property test systems aiming for ceramic capacitor applications. It is found that proper amount of Ho2O3 can refine grains of the system. With the increase of Ho2O3 doping content, the average grain size of (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics decreases. When Ho2O3>8 wt%, (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 based ceramic samples are multi-phase compounds with typical perovskite structure accompanied by the appearance of cylindrical grains. The Ho3+ ions substitute the host A sites and B sites of (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 perovskite lattice, resulting in the lattice distortion of the system and the change of the relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss at room temperature. With the increase of Ho2O2 doping content, the relative dielectric constant at room temperature of the system increases first and then decreases. The maximum of relative dielectric constant at room temperature can be found in the 1 wt% Ho2O3 doped (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics. When Ho2O3>1 wt%, the maximum of relative dielectric constant ermax decreases and the temperature corresponding to the maximum of relative dielectric constant Tm shifts toward lower temperature with the increase of Ho2O3 doping content. The (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics with high Ho2O3 content show relaxor-like behavior which is characterized by the typical diffuse phase transition and frequency dispersion of dielectric constant. However, the (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics with low Ho2O3 content do not exhibit permittivity frequency dispersion. According to the P-E hysteresis loops of Ho2O3 doped (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics, the ferroelectricity was increased and then decreased with the increase of Ho2O3 doping content. With the increase of Ho2O3 doping content, the P-E relationships turn out to be straight lines, implying the paraelectric phase for (Ba0.75Sr0.25) TiO3 ceramics with high Ho2O3 content.


A single shallow ridge electroabsorption modulator monolithically integrated with a buried-ridge-stripe dual-core spot-size converter at the input and output port was fabricated by combining quantum-well intermixing and dual-core integration techniques simultaneously, using only a two-step low-pressure metal-organic vapor phase epitaxial process, conventional photolithography, and a chemical wet etching process. The optical insertion loss of the modulator in the on-state and the dc extinction ratio between 0 and -3 V at 1550 nm was -7.5 and 16 dB, respectively. The 3-dB modulation bandwidth was more than 10.0GHz in electrical-optical response


In this paper, we investigate the problem of stabilization for sampled-data fuzzy systems under variable sampling. A novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) is defined to capture the characteristic of sampled-data systems, and an improved input delay approach is proposed. By the use of an appropriate enlargement scheme, new stability and stabilization criteria are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Compared with the existing results, the newly obtained ones contain less conservatism. Some illustrative examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method and the significant improvement on the existing results.


Translation plays an important role in the transfer of knowledge between cultures, languages and nations different. As an activity to transfer the message or purpose contained in one language into another language appropriately and naturally, translation work becomes complex. Therefore various approaches were initiated to understand the process translation, including the theory of translation ideology. The terms domestication and foreignization in translation are two terms put forward is often referred to as an ideology or translation strategy. Domestication is a strategy which is used to reduce the "alienation" of the term from the source language, thus the reader feel like a translation is not a translation product. While foreignization is on the contrary, this strategy is more towards the source language to introduce the term or foreign culture to the target audience. In practice, translators cannot be separated from both, but different biases are often based on the purpose of translation and who is the user of the translation. This article provides a brief overview of the ideology of translation and how important this theory is to raise awareness translation about the impact of their choice on the translation result.


Summary The article dealt with the assessment of somatic changes of the students at the Slovak University of Technology (STU), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME), specifically expressed by Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) during the years 2007 and 2013. In total 2228 men were involved in the study and measured upon their entry at the university. It was found out that the values of BMI belonged to the category of average range measured for adults (from 22.96 kg.m-2 to 24.60 kg.m-2) and indicates standard values. Statistically significant differences (p<0.01) were discovered between the years 2011 (23.70 kg.m-2) and 2012 (24.60 kg.m-2), 2012 (24.60 kg.m-2) and 2013 (22.96 kg.m-2). In 2012 participants achieved in average the highest values (BMI = 24.60 kg.m-2), which borders with a moderate overweight. In the contrary, in 2013 the students achieved the lowest values of BMI (22.96 kg.m-2). A slight increase of average BMI values may be observed from the first test in 2007 until 2012. The predominance of standard weight was measured at 71% of the total number of monitored students and the predominance of overweight was measured at 22% of students from the total number of university students. The observation of WHR numbers makes us conclude that during our seven year study no significant differences were discovered in the first five years. The values were stable and from the mean point of view, they do not indicate the risk of development of diseases relating to overweight and obesity. In 2012 and 2013 a slight decrease of WHR values was detected < 0.85. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were discovered between the years 2010 (0.854) and 2011 (0.864), and also between 2011 (0.864) and 2012 (0.843). The lowest mean value of WHR was measured when performing the last test in the year 2013 (0.823). There was a statistically significant difference at p<0.05 within the years 2012 and 2013. The highest mean value was discovered in 2011 (0.864). However, the average values achieved in a group of students were lower than 1.0, which can be evaluated as a set with no risk of obesity and overweight disease development.


Bacterial wilt and brown rot caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most dreaded diseases causing 30 to 70% yield loss in India. The disease is both tuber and soil borne. A field trial was conducted following split plot design in the year 2008 to 09 and 2009 to 10 under All India Co-ordinated Potato Research Project in Central Farm, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India with chemical soil amendments in main plots (M1 = application of bleaching powder 7 days prior to planting, M2 = application of bleaching powder at the time of planting, M3 = no bleaching powder application) and different physical, chemical and bio-agent treatments in the subplots (T1 = large sized tuber, T2 = tuber treatment with Bacillus subtilis (106 cfu/ml),T3 = tuber treatment with boric acid, T4 = tuber treatment with Bacillus subtilis + boric acid, T5 = tuber treatment with streptocycline (0.015%), and also 4 times basal drenching with streptocycline (0.015%), T6 = control). Observations on plant wilt at 75 days after planting and yield of healthy and rotten tubers at harvest were recorded. Soil application of bleaching powder at the rate of 12.5 kg/h irrespective of other treatments significantly reduced wilting of plants in comparison to control. Among the treatments, tuber treatments with streptocycline combined with basal application of the same antibiotics at 10 days interval for four times after planting resulted in minimum wilting (3.83%) of plant and significant increase in tuber yield (18.21t/h) followed by tuber treatment with B. subtilis along with 3% boric acid (17.31t/h) recoded to be the second best treatment in reducing the wilting (9.55%) and increase in yield over control.

 Key words: Bacterial wilt, disease, management, coastal plains.


The pressure-induced structural transition in amorphous TiO2 nanoparticles has been studied in a spherical model of different diameters of 2, 3 and 4 nm under non-periodic boundary conditions. We use the pairwise interatomic potentials proposed by Matsui and Akaogi. Models have been compressed from 3.8 g cm−3 up to very high density (i.e. high pressure) in order to investigate the pressure-induced structural changes. We found the change from the low-density amorphous (lda) form with ZTi–O ≈ 6.0 to the high-density amorphous (hda) one with ZTi–O ≈ 7.0 to be like those observed in practice. We found that the transition pressure is nanoparticle size dependent due to the surface effects. In order to compare and highlight the features of such transition in nanoparticles, we also present the results for the same transition in the amorphous TiO2 models containing 3000 atoms under periodic boundary conditions, which could be considered as bulk counterparts. Structural properties of nanoparticles at 700 K have been analysed in detail through the partial radial distribution functions, interatomic distances, coordination number and bond-angle distributions. Moreover, we also show the radial density profile in nanoparticles.


A retrospective, cross-sectional study of children with bronchiolitis aged 1 to 24 months during an ED visit between 2019 and 2021 was performed. Chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis was used to compare groups. The gamma coefficient was used to measure the association of variables through time. Bronchiolitis cases decreased by 75% from 2019 to 2020 and rose back to prepandemic levels by 2021. Radiographs (gamma -0.443), steroids (gamma -0.298), and bronchodilators (gamma -0.414) decreased during the study period (P < .001). Laboratory studies (gamma 0.032), viral testing (gamma 0.097), antibiotic use (gamma -0.069), and respiratory support (gamma 0.166) were unchanged. The decrease in steroids and bronchodilators was related to a clinical pathway that discouraged their use. Respiratory support remained unchanged. The COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021) seems to have had little effect on the severity or resource utilization associated with bronchiolitis but may have unraveled a potential bronchiolitis phenotype that may have been more prominent during the pandemic.