Objectives As we all know, cardiovascular disease is a kind of lifestyle related disease, but there is little study about the relationship between cardiovascular disease and oral health. Therefore, the objective of present study was to investigate the dental habits condition in an adult Taiyuan population, Shanxi province. And to study whether there is a relationship between oral care habits and hypertension. Methods 1371 subjects (477 male and 894 female, aged 28–77 years) who were from Yingze community participated physical examination and answered a questionnaire including medical history, lifestyle, dietary habit, oral health in 2008. All the subjects were followed up in 2010 and data including blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose (FPG), cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG), HDL-Cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C), waist/hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI). We payed more attention to investigate new cases were diagnosed with hypertension in under 2 years. The subjects were categorised according to the oral health habits and we used χ2 test to analyse the relationship between oral health, dental habits and new onset of hypertension. Results 1363 subjects (476 male and 887 female, aged 35–56 years) with complete examination data were included in this study. Compared with those who often use the toothpick, the subjects never use or use the toothpick sometimes had a lower proportion of developing hypertension (23.2% vs 19.5% vs 35.3%, p=0.002). About 28.2% subjects never use mouthwash in this study and they were tend to have a higher risk of developing hypertension (25.8% vs 15.6%, p=0.019). And binary logistic regression analysis showed that the age of beginning to brush influenced the occurrence of hypertension after carefully adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, lifestyle factors (total physical activity, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption) (OR=1.374 95% CI 1.148 to 1.643, p=0.001). The subjects brushed teeth at the age of 3–5 tend to have a low rate of new onset hypertension. Conclusions Brushing teeth regularly, such as keeping good oral care habits at the early age (3–5 years old), using mouthwash regularly and trying to avoid the use of toothpick, significantly reduces the risk of new onset hypertension in the Chinese population.


THESIS: Heterosexual masculinities: Examining the experiences and identities of male Resident Assistants STUDENT: Isabelle Jeffries DEGREE: Master of Arts in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education COLLEGE: Teachers College DATE: May, 2014 PAGES: 130 The purpose of this qualitative, in-depth interview, study was to understand the experiences of heterosexual male Resident Assistants (RAs) from a gendered perspective taking into account their leadership position and identity development. The significance of this particular topic is underrepresented in literature. Heterosexual male RAs have not been subjects for most masculinity studies and little research actually has considered the identities of heterosexual men as gendered individuals. Therefore, heterosexual males in a compassionate leadership position may suffer from being ignored and dismissed as not having developmental situations imposed upon them directly by this position. The results of this study include an understanding of how heterosexual male RAs identify their masculinities and the pressures they feel from societal gender norms. Implications include suggestions for how to advocate for male RAs and improve training to promote greater success for heterosexual men.


Drawing on a rich array of textual and visual primary sources, including medicine, satires, play scripts, dictionaries, natural philosophy, and texts on collecting wonders, this book provides a fresh perspective on monstrosity in early modern European culture. The essays explore how exceptional bodies challenged social, religious, sexual and natural structures and hierarchies in the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and contributed to its knowledge, moral and emotional repertoire. Prodigious births, maternal imagination, hermaphrodites, collections of extraordinary things, powerful women, disabilities, controversial exercise, shapeshifting phenomena and hybrids are examined in a period before all varieties and differences became normalized to a homogenous standard. The historicizing of exceptional bodies is central in the volume since it expands our understanding of early modern culture and deepens our knowledge of its specific ways of conceptualizing singularities, rare examples, paradoxes, rules and conventions in nature and society.


ABSTRACT While previous research has focused on the conflicts and division in Mitrovica, Kosovo, the present article explores how peace and conflict are intertwined in the post-war city by focusing on sites where communities live side by side in an otherwise segregated city. A key finding is that the most conflictual residential areas in northern Mitrovica also are places where what we call peace acts, peace issues and peace perceptions are found. Our research suggests that even in spaces in the city where a history of violence is entrenched, the situation can seldom be reduced to be seen only as purely conflictual; rather, these 'hotspots' often prove to be spaces where reproduction of peace – however quotidian – also occurs at the same time. This points us to the complexity of the realities of peace, where remnants of war and potential for a co-existing peace often overlap and are sometimes intrinsically intertwined.


In this work, an Algerian montmorillonite (Mt) is exchanged by different cations from the transition metals family, namely: Cu2+, Ni2+, Cr3+, Co2+, Fe2+ and Fe3+, it is used as a heterogeneous catalyst for Biginelli reaction. The exchanged cations are known for their catalytic properties in homogeneous catalysis. The main purpose is to study the effect of the exchanged cations on the yield and the kinetics of the reaction. The characterization of montmorillonite was carried out by XRD, which allows us to follow the evolution of the basal spacing d001 as a function of the exchanged cation and to show that the exchange operation has not altered the montmorillonite structure. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is determined by the titration of the exchanged cation by atomic absorption. The product of the reaction is characterized by NMR, IR and by the determination of the melting point. In addition, the importance of the introduction order of the reagents into the reaction medium has been demonstrated on the yield and the kinetics. Finally, the obtained results show that the exchanged montmorillonite is competitive with other costly heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts.


Many of the micromachines under consideration require computer support, indeed, one of the appeals of this technology is the ability to intermix mechanical, optical, analog, and digital devices on the same substrata. The amount of computer power is rarely an issue, the sticking point is the complexity of the software required to make effective use of these devices. Micromachines are the nanotechnologist's equivalent of "golden screws," in other words, they will be piece parts in larger assemblages. For example, a nanosatellite may be composed of stacked silicon wafers where each wafer contains hundreds to thousands of micromachines, digital controllers, generalpurpose computers, memories, and high-speed bus interconnects. Comparatively few of these devices will be custom designed, most will be stock parts selected from libraries and catalogs. The novelty wilt lie in the interconnections, for example, a digital accelerometer may be a component part in an adaptive suspension, a monitoring element embedded in the wrapper of a package, or a portion of the smart skin of a launch vehicle. In each case this device must inter-operate with other devices and probes for the purposes of command, control, and communication. We propose a software technology called weaves that will permit large collections of micromachines and their attendant computers to freely intercommunicate while preserving modularity, transparency, and flexibility. Weaves are composed of networks of communicating software components. The network, and the components comprising it, may be changed even while the software, and the devices it controls, is executing. This unusual degree of software plasticity permits micromachines to dynamically adapt the software to changing conditions and allows system engineers to rapidly and inexpensively develop special-purpose software by assembling stock software components in custom configurations.


In a prospective double-blind study 58 patients received 1000 mg of metronidazole vaginally 12--16 hours preoperatively and 500 mg intravenously during abdominal hysterectomy while 54 patients were treated with placebo. The lack of all operative site infections in the metronidazole group in comparison with 9 infections (17%) in the placebo group (P less than 0.01) proved the combined short-term vaginal and intravenous use of metronidazole to be efficacious in the prevention of posthysterectomy infections.


Civil engineering is changing and needs to change more. This paper attempts to put the evolution of technology and the development of engineering into its historical context, and with it the emergence of problems whose solutions extend beyond technology alone if they are to achieve systems-level solutions. The balancing of economic, social and environmental objectives, both now and into the future, has become known as sustainable development and this is increasingly a key driver at a range of organisational and spatial scales. It is argued that sustainable development is now absolutely central to the practice of civil engineering and this needs to be reflected in the education and training of civil engineers. The outcomes from an Institution of Civil Engineers Task Group to address these issues are reported. A systemsand process-based approach is advocated which depends on the development of specific attitudes, systems skills and domain knowledge. Some of the barriers to such an approach are recognised and ways of overcoming them are suggested and discussed.


Abstract. Terahertz science and technology promise many cutting-edge applications. Terahertz surface plasmonic waves that propagate at metal–dielectric interfaces deliver a potentially effective way to realize integrated terahertz devices and systems. Previous concerns regarding terahertz surface plasmonic waves have been based on their highly delocalized feature. However, recent advances in plasmonics indicate that the confinement of terahertz surface plasmonic waves, as well as their propagating behaviors, can be engineered by designing the surface environments, shapes, structures, materials, etc., enabling a unique and fascinating regime of plasmonic waves. Together with the essential spectral property of terahertz radiation, as well as the increasingly developed materials, microfabrication, and time-domain spectroscopy technologies, devices and systems based on terahertz surface plasmonic waves may pave the way toward highly integrated platforms for multifunctional operation, implementation, and processing of terahertz waves in both fundamental science and practical applications. We present a review on terahertz surface plasmonic waves on various types of supports in a sequence of properties, excitation and detection, and applications. The current research trend and outlook of possible research directions for terahertz surface plasmonic waves are also outlined.


Interstitial waters squeezed from modem sediments with a 100 psi pressure at laboratory temperature (23°C) are depleted in K and Ca and enriched in Mg when compared to the solutions obtained at in situ temperature (28°C). The changes are especially pronounced when the samples are refrigerated during transport back to the laboratory. The magnitude of the variation in chemical com@@position was dependent on the element being analyzed as well as the sediment used. The maximum observed depletion in the laboratory was about 12% per degree difference in temperature for potassium. Element ratios in the solutions were affected most seriously. The Mg/Ca and Na/K ratios increased 51 and 60% respectively. A water extraction method using sediment to water ratios of 1:2, 1:5, and 1:10 was compared with the pressure method. The total composition of the pore fluids obtained by squeezing is greater than expected, corresponding to a sediment to water ratio less than 1:5. The artificially squeezed sediments are yielding pore fluids which are more concentrated than the "in-place" solutions. The water extraction method yields results which are in agreement with the behavior predicted by the Donnan Principle. It is suggested that the values obtained by successive dilution analyses can be extrapolated to measured moisture contents and used to determine the elemental composition and element ratios in interstitial pore fluids.


The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) staff members 'recommend that the IASB confirm its view that financial statements should be presented from the perspective of the entity as a whole' [IASB (2014) Agenda Paper 10E Project - The Conceptual Framework. Reporting Entity - Perspective . London: The International Accounting Standards Board. May 2014. Available at: http://www.ifrs.org/Meetings/MeetingDocs/IASB/2014/May/AP10E-Conceptual%20 Framework.pdf (accessed 9 July 2014), para. 28], which implies adoption of the Entity Theory. This paper explains the value judgements and arguments supporting the main equity theories and their perspectives on financial performance and financial position. It identifies Residual Equity Theory, instead of Entity Theory, as the dominant equity theory in the 2010 IASB Framework and the 2013 IASB Exposure Draft. Hence, there is a discrepancy between the perspective from which the IASB thinks financial statements should be presented and the perspective actually underlying the definition, recognition and measurement of the elements of financial statements in the IASB's Framework and Exposure Draft. Finally, this paper argues for a careful reconsideration and justification of the equity theory the IASB chooses as the basis for its Conceptual Framework.


Experimental data pertaining to the possible participation of mineral nutrients, plant growth regulators, particularly gibberellic acid, carbohydrates and vernalization, in flowers or inflorescence initiation and plantlets elongation in "sundew" Drosera capillaris (a long-day plant) were obtained. The plantlets were cultivated in MS medium supplemented with 0.01 mg/L NAA, 0.01 mg/L GA3, 2% sucrose and 0.18% Phytagel under 12/12, 16/8 and 20/4 h (light/dark) photoperiodic conditions at 24-26°C for 90 days. Under very long day conditions (20/4 h) the flowering process was significantly increased (40-60%) when plantlets of D. capillaries were cultured on medium MS 1/10 and with addition of gibberellic acid (0.1 and 1.0 mg/L) and sucrose (4-6%). These factors not replace the effect of long days to induce flowering. Both foliar development and root formation was much greater on MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L IAA in all photoperiodic conditions.


In this paper, we present an approach to developing resources for a low-resource language, taking advantage of the fact that it is closely related to languages with more resources. In particular, we test our approach on Macedonian, which lacks tools for natural language processing as well as data in order to build such tools. We improve the Macedonian training set for supervised part-ofspeech tagging by transferring available manual annotations from a number of similar languages. Our approach is based on multilingual parallel corpora, automatic word alignment, and a set of rules (majority vote). The performance of a tagger trained on the improved data set of 88% accuracy is significantly better than the baseline of 76%. It can serve as a stepping stone for further improvement of resources for Macedonian. The proposed approach is entirely automatic and it can be easily adapted to other language in similar circumstances.


Chondromyxoid fibroma (CMF) is a rarely seen benign cartilaginous tumor, and cranial vault involvement is infrequent. These tumors show slow progression and have a low recurrence rate if total surgical excision is achieved. In this article, a case of rapidly progressing sellar CMF with its clinical, neuroradiologic, and pathologic features is reported.


The generation of ciliary waveforms requires the spatial and temporal regulation of dyneins. This review catalogues many of the asymmetric structures and proteins in the cilia of Chlamydomonas, a unicellular alga with two cilia that are used for motility in liquid medium. These asymmetries, which have been identified through mutant analysis, cryo-EM tomography and proteomics, provide a wealth of information to use for modelling how waveforms are generated and propagated. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Unity and diversity of cilia in locomotion and transport'.


Results are presented for five villages in the forest zone of Sierra Leone in which forest onchocerciasis was considered to be a significant health problem. All five villages were found to be hyperendemic and 85% (682/803) of persons were found to have at least one sign of onchocerciasis. The emergence of microfilariae from skin snips (iliac crest and/or canthus) or the presence of nodules accounted for 96.5% of all persons positive for onchocerciasis. The prevalence of nodules from all body sites was 70.5% and of elephantiasis, hanging groin and skin lesions (moderate and severe) was 0.4%, 0.3% and 5.3% respectively. Analysis of eye lesions (the most serious clinical manifestation of the disease) was restricted to persons aged 30 years and over since this gives a better indication of the public health importance of onchocerciasis than analysis in the overall population. This gave prevalence rates of onchocercal blindness of 4.5% (both eyes) and 2.8% (one eye only). Rates for the four potentially blinding eye lesions were sclerosing keratitis (4.1%), iritis (16.5%), optic atrophy (13.8%) and choroidoretinitis (14.4%). Rates in males were approximately twice as high as those in females.


The aim of this study was to examine the impact of dose rate on accuracy of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plan delivery by comparing the gamma agreement between the calculated and measured portal doses by pretreatment quality assurance (QA) using electronic portal imaging device dosimetry and creating a workflow for the pretreatment IMRT QA at hospital levels. As the improvement in gamma agreement leads to increase in the quality of IMRT treatment delivery, gamma evaluation was carried out for the calculated and the measured portal images for the criteria of 3% dose difference and 3 mm distance-to-agreement (DTA). Three gamma parameters: Maximum gamma, average gamma, and percentage of the field area with a gamma value>1 .0 were analyzed. Three gamma index parameters were evaluated for 40 IMRT plans (315 IMRT fields) which were calculated for 400 monitor units (MU)/min dose rate and maximum multileaf collimator (MLC) speed of 2.5 cm/s. Gamma parameters for all 315 fields are within acceptable limits set at our center. Further, to improve the gamma results, we set an action level for this study using the mean and standard deviation (SD) values from the 315 fields studied. Forty out of 315 IMRT fields showed low gamma agreement (gamma parameters>2 SD as per action level of the study). The parameters were recalculated and reanalyzed for the dose rates of 300, 400 and 500 MU/min. Lowering the dose rate helped in getting an enhanced gamma agreement between the calculated and measured portal doses of complicated fields. This may be attributed to the less complex motion of MLC over time and the MU of the field/segment. An IMRT QA work flow was prepared which will help in improving the quality of IMRT delivery.


The scattering of electrons by the thermal motion of the excess electronic potential of impurity ions is discussed. The excess potential is assumed as a screened Coulomb interaction of electrons with excess charges of impurity ions. The change in the electrical resistance of non-magnetic and substitutional dilute alloys due to this type of scattering is calculated at high temperature. It is assumed that the thermal motion of solute ions is quite similar to that of the perfect lattice. Calculated results are compared with the experimental deviations of the electrical resistance from Matthiessen's rule in cases of Cu-, Ag- and Au-based alloys. It is shown that the agreement between them is fairly good in most cases.


We demonstrate the first operation of CdZnTe room-temperature detectors in a liquid scintillator environment. This work follows conceptually the Heusser-type detector method of operating HPGe detectors in liquid nitrogen and liquid argon but instead for a far more practical room-temperature ensemble with the aim of achieving ultra-low background levels for radiation detection.


Background: Systemic immunoglobulin light chain-associated amyloidosis (AL) is a rare disorder associated with the production of monoclonal free light chain proteins. The aggregation of misfolded light chains leads to the extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils associated with proteoglycans and other serum-derived proteins. Amyloid deposits accumulate in abdominothoracic organs, notably the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, as well as peripheral nerves. This process results in cytotoxicity and ultimately to organ dysfunction. Presently, there are no radiotracers approved in the US for the quantitative detection and measurement of systemic AL amyloidosis.
 We have developed a synthetic peptide radiotracer, designated 124I-p5+14 that has been shown, in preclinical assays, to bind many forms of amyloid including AL, ATTR, and ALECT2 (Wall, J.S. et al. (2015) Molecules, 20, 7657). In 2018, a Phase 1, first-in-human PET imaging study began using 124I-p5+14 in patients with a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of AL amyloidosis. In addition, patients with other forms of systemic amyloidosis are also being recruited into this ongoing clinical study (NCT 03678259). To date, 30 patients have completed the PET/CT imaging study including 15 subjects with AL amyloidosis. The primary endpoint includes safety and dosimetry estimation with a secondary endpoint of patient- and organ-specific sensitivity of 124I-p5+14. Patients receive follow up contact by study staff on days 9 and 28 for safety and symptom assessment.
 Here we provide an update on the detection and quantitation of AL amyloid in patients, using 124I-p5+14 PET imaging. Additionally, we present a method, using PET imaging of the radiotracer, for differentiating patients with AL from those with transthyretin-associated (ATTR) amyloidosis.
 Methods: Patients >18 years of age with biopsy-proven amyloidosis with adequate renal function (Cr < 1.5 x ULN) and not requiring heparin therapy are eligible. Subjects received <2 mg of 124I-p5+14 (<2 mCi) administered as a single IV bolus. PET/CT images for the first three AL patients were acquired at 25 min, 50 min, 2 h, 3 h, 6h, 24 h and 48 h post injection. The second cohort of patients are imaged at both 6 h and 24 h post injection. PET image data are acquired using either a Biograph 16 or mCT PET/CT scanner using a low dose CT with 5 min bed positions for PET imaging to cover the full CT field of view. Images were analyzed using a region of interest method and the radioactivity in each organ measured (Bq/cc). The standard uptake value ratio for each organ was calculated using thoracic aorta blood pool as the reference tissue.
 Results: Blood pool clearance of the 124I-p5+14 was analyzed using a two-phase exponential equation which yielded an excellent fit to the data (R2 > 0.99 for all data), with estimated elimination half-life values of between 667.8 min and 746.7 min.
 Analysis of PET images indicated retention of 124I-p5+14 in the heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, bone marrow, lung, and adrenal gland of AL patients. Cardiac uptake of the radiotracer was observed in 70% of AL patients, with a mean myocardium:blood pool ratio of 2.2 ± 0.5 in positive images. Additionally, liver, spleen and kidney retention of 124I-p5+14 was observed in 38%, 61%, and 69% of AL patients, respectively. The patient-based sensitivity for AL patients is 93% (14/15). Using an ROC analysis of SUVR organ ratios it was possible to differentiate AL from ATTR patients with p = 0.002 and an AUC of 0.96. A cutoff value of 1.40 yielded a 100% sensitivity and 75% specificity for diagnosing ATTR relative to AL from the image data.
 Conclusion: PET/CT imaging of amyloidosis using 124I-p5+14 provides quantitative detection of systemic AL amyloidosis in multiple organ systems. In addition to detecting and monitoring amyloid burden, this technique can be used to differentiate the two major forms of systemic amyloidosis, ATTR and AL.
 Acknowledgments: This study was supported in part by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, through the Science Moving TowArds Research Translation and Therapy (SMARTT) program via the following contract(s) HHSN268201600011C, HHSN268201600012C, and HHSN268201600014C, as well as by contributions from Gerdau to the ACTP Gift Fund at the UTGSM and support from UHS. In addition, we thank Carmella Moody, PhD and Derry Ridgway, MD and the many patients for their support.

 Guthrie: Attralus Bio: Current Employment.


This paper analyses scale effects for actuator types which are strong candidates for micro-actuation: shape memory alloys (SMAs), electrostatic, electromagnetic and piezoelectric actuators. SMA actuators are studied in detail and compared to the other actuator types on a basis of force, response time, and power density. Much of the analysis is based on thermal aspects and scaling effects on both convective and conductive heat transfer, which is a quite novel approach. Results of this thermal analysis are effects on surface temperature and maximum current density of microactuators.


In this thesis we investigate some number theory problems, with special emphasis on Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions. We first use algebraic, and later analytic methods to solve our problems. In the first chapter we describe finite fields, define Legendre symbol and prove quadratic reciprocity law. In the second chapter we deal with \(p\)-adic fields. We study the ring of \(p\)-adic integers, \(\mathbb{Z}_{p}\), and field of its fractions, \(\mathbb{Q}_{p}\), and obtain some important results about the solutions of \(p\)-adic equations, whose coefficients are \(p\)-adic integers. In the third chapter, the objects of our observation are characters of finite abelian groups. We first consider characters in general, and then we concentrate on the characters of \(G(m)\), proving some of their properties. In the fourth, final, chapter, we prove the main goal of this thesis, Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions. More specifically, we give a proof of its stronger version, using methods of analytic number theory. We study the zeta function and the \(L\)-functions, and define the density of some subset of the set of prime numbers, and then, using obtained results, we prove the theorem mentioned above.


We present results on the realization of a multicolour microspherical glass light source fabricated from the erbium doped fluoride glass ZBLALiP. Whispering gallery mode lasing and upconversion processes give rise to laser and fluorescent emissions at multiple wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Thirteen discrete emissions ranging from 320 to 849 nm have been observed in the upconversion spectrum. A Judd-Ofelt analysis was performed to calculate the radiative properties of Er 3+ :ZBLALiP microspheres, including the radiative transition probabilities, the electric dipole strengths, the branching ratios and the radiative lifetimes of the transitions involved. We have also identified the primary processes responsible for the generation of the observed wavelengths and have shown that this material has an improved range of emissions over other erbium doped fluoride glasses.


We introduce a novel framework for adversarial training where the target distribution is annealed between the uniform distribution and the data distribution. We posited a conjecture that learning under continuous annealing in the nonparametric regime is stable irrespective of the divergence measures in the objective function and proposed an algorithm, dubbed {\ss}-GAN, in corollary. In this framework, the fact that the initial support of the generative network is the whole ambient space combined with annealing are key to balancing the minimax game. In our experiments on synthetic data, MNIST, and CelebA, {\ss}-GAN with a fixed annealing schedule was stable and did not suffer from mode collapse.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze radiographic signs of temperomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis and clinical TMJ symptoms in patients 6 years and 32 years after treatment with a Herbst appliance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fourteen patients were derived from a sample of 22 with Class II division 1 malocclusions consecutively treated with a banded Herbst appliance at the age of 12-14 years old (T1-T2). The subjects were reexamined after therapy at the ages of 20 years (T3) and 46 years (T4). The TMJs of the 14 patients were analyzed radiographically (conventional lateral tomography at T3 and cone-beam computed tomography at T4) and clinically/anamnestically at T3 and T4.

RESULTS
Six years after Herbst therapy, signs of osteoarthritis were seen in one patient. At the 32-year follow-up, two additional patients had developed signs of osteoarthritis. At the 6-year follow-up, TMJ clicking was present in two patients, though none of the patients reported TMJ pain. At the 32-year follow-up, six patients had TMJ clicking and one patient had TMJ pain.

CONCLUSIONS
This longitudinal very-long-term follow-up study after Herbst therapy revealed only minor problems from the TMJ. The TMJ findings 6 years and 32 years after Herbst treatment corresponded to those in the general population. Thus, in the very long term, the Herbst appliance does not appear to be harmful to the TMJ.


The need of ecological robots is imposed by the nowadays trend towards protecting the environment and the human factor. New researches in this area have arisen in the past years. In the next few lines an overview of the state of the art in this domain will be made, proposals go from robots designed to repair power line damage to robots for capturing photos of animals in the wild without human intervention. The main objective in this paper is to demonstrate the autonomous navigation of a mobile robot in a polluted environment. So far the research on robots used for detection of gas sources was focused mainly on indoor environments, but, in the recent years, a constant move towards the outdoor environment can be observed. There can be found several researches with different applications in the area of ecological robots.


Patch sharing technique, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first time proposed in the application of patch antenna array arrangement. With this approach, the distance between antenna unit cell can be decreased significantly, which the inter-element distance is assumed as a key parameter for beam forming and to control sidelobe level of antenna array. However, most of the time this distance is difficult to decrease due to the profile of antenna unit cell and taking into account of electromagnetic coupling between each unit. In this article, the authors would like to introduce two antenna arrays which are arranged in 1D and 2D separately with the proposed approach, simulated and measured results indicate that patch sharing technique works well.


A model of the Dutch Tri-floater semi-submersible platform equipped with the NREL 5MW wind turbine has been tested in the hydrodynamic and ocean engineering tank of Ecole Centrale Nantes under wind and wave loads. This paper aims at comparing the results obtained with numerical simulations with these experimental results. The numerical model is based on the FAST design code from NREL and a user defined platform load model for calculating hydrodynamic and mooring loads. This hydrodynamic model includes non linear hydrostatic and Froude-Krylov forces, diffraction/radiation forces obtained from linear potential theory and Morison forces to take into account viscous effects on the braces and heave plates.First the hydrodynamic model is calibrated against the results of free decay tests without wind. A good agreement is achieved by calibrating mooring properties and heave plates properties of the numerical model. Then a comparison of regular wave cases without wind is realised, and a fair agreement is observed for surge, heave and pitch motions of the floating system. Finally comparisons are realised for regular wave cases with a constant wind speed. A good agreement is observed for the steady state surge and pitch offset. Surge and heave motions also shown a good agreement, these degrees of freedom are not being strongly influenced by wind loading. For pitch motion, numerical simulations show differences around 0.4 rad/s wave frequency, for which model tests have shown a significant influence of wind loading on system motion.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


The outbreak of the coronavirus has upended people's lives with marginalized populations the most impacted. In Hong Kong, domestic workers face pressure from their employers who expect them to simultaneously keep the household clean and COVID-free, and to provide care duties to families, children and the elderly. Many workers have reported taking on additional workload, working longer hours and in some cases, continuing to work through their days off. Concurrently, domestic workers worry about their families back home who may have lost jobs or had fallen ill during the pandemic. Workers carry the additional financial burden to support and keep everyone afloat in this time of global health crisis. With few social protections and lack of policies to protect domestic workers in Hong Kong, they are left vulnerable, and their health and well-being severely affected. This paper seeks to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong. Through preliminary surveys and semi-structured interviews, the paper examines how domestic workers have adjusted to the 'new normal', and made use of varying strategies and resources to survive in this time of crisis. The paper also discusses the issues and challenges faced by domestic workers, and contemplates on the uncertainties of COVID-19 and lasting after effects of the pandemic on this community.


The effect of profound hypercapnia on acute hypoxic respiratory failure is evaluated. Eight dogs were subjected to oleic acid-induced acute respiratory failure. Four dogs were ventilated normally, and four dogs were made hypercapneic by rebreathing exhaled CO2. In the hypercapneic animals, heart rate and alveolar-arterial oxygen difference were significantly lower than in normocapneic animals, while mixed venous O2 cardiac index, oxygen delivery index, stroke volume index, and left ventricular stroke work were significantly higher. Mean arterial pressure was maintained at preinjury levels. Pulmonary and systemic vascular resistance increased in both experimental groups. There was no significant difference between groups for gravimetric determination of lung water. Cardiopulmonary performance in acute respiratory failure is improved with hypercapnia. This may be related to CO2-induced catecholamine release.


Abstract: This paper describes the design and implementation of a nonlinear control strategy for the control of the shaft speed of wind turbine systems. The proposed approach is based on input-output linearization techniques. Because wind turbine systems are highly nonlinear, feedback linearization constitutes a suitable optimal control design for those systems. Further, Electromechanical systems in general are good candidates for nonlinear control applications because the nonlinearities, being modeled on the basis of physical principles, are often significant and exactly known. The underlying design objective is to endow the wind turbine with high performance dynamics while maximizing power extraction when the wind turbine operates in the partial load regime. In addition to fulfilling the aforementioned control objectives, our control design aims to reduce the complexity of the control scheme, saving thereby the computation time of the control algorithm, which is an improvement over previous work found in the technical literature. Application of the proposed approach to an induction generator based variable speed wind turbine has led to optimum operations and maximization of power extraction when the wind turbine operates in the partial load regime. Keywords:


Direct write dispenser printing technology is a versatile and scalable manufacturing technique for additive deposition of novel materials. We present a versatile prototyping dispenser printer capable of rapid fabrication of unique microscale devices. A theoretical error analysis of the printer is performed to evaluate the repeatability and accuracy of the system. Additionally, we demonstrate two microdevice applications manufactured using the dispenser printer, including an electrochemical energy storage device and a thermoelectric energy harvester.


Access control is an important protection mechanism for information systems. An access control matrix grants subjects privileges to objects. Today, access control matrices are static they rarely change over time. This paper shows how to make access control matrices dynamic by means of workflows. Access rights are granted according to the state of the workflow. By this practice the risk of data misuse is decreased which is proven through an equation given in the paper. The concept of workflow is defined by Petri nets which offer a solid mathematical foundation and are well suited to represent discrete models such as workflows.


Geostatistical modeling for continuous point-referenced data has been extensively applied to neuroimaging because it produces efficient and valid statistical inference. However, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a neuroimaging characterizing the brain structure produces a positive definite (p.d.) matrix for each voxel. Current geostatistical modeling has not been extended to p.d. matrices because introducing spatial dependence among positive definite matrices properly is challenging. In this paper, we use the spatial Wishart process, a spatial stochastic process (random field) where each p.d. matrix-variate marginally follows a Wishart distribution, and spatial dependence between random matrices is induced by latent Gaussian processes. This process is valid on an uncountable collection of spatial locations and is almost surely continuous, leading to a reasonable means of modeling spatial dependence. Motivated by a DTI dataset of cocaine users, we propose a spatial matrix-variate regression model based on the spatial Wishart process. A problematic issue is that the spatial Wishart process has no closed-form density function. Hence, we propose approximation methods to obtain a feasible working model. A local likelihood approximation method is also applied to achieve fast computation. The simulation studies and real data analysis demonstrate that the working model produces reliable inference and improved performance compared to other methods.


The concept of codependence is examined. The history of the term is reviewed, and definitions from the current literature are given. Characteristics of codependence are listed, including denial, control, difficulty in trusting, low self-esteem, weak boundaries, and overreponsibility. Theories concerning the genesis of this condition are described. Problems with the concept are detailed, and questions for further study are generated. The conclusions support the need for caution in labeling and for recognizing the potential for misusing concepts that are in the early stage of development.


A review was conducted of literature addressing learning in work, focusing on relations between individual and collective learning published in nine journals during the period 1999—2004. The journals represent three distinct fields of management/ organization studies, adult education and human resource development; all publish material about workplace learning regularly. In total, 209 articles were selected for content analysis, containing a range of material including reports of empirical research to theoretical discussion. Eight themes of individual—collective learning were identified through inductive content analysis of this literature: individual knowledge acquisition, sense-making/reflective dialogue, levels of learning, network utility, individual human development, individuals in community, communities-of-practice and co-participation or co-emergence. The discussion highlights similar issues stated in the different journals about understanding individual—collective learning, the apparent lack of dialogue across the fields, the ontological and ideological differences among the themes of learning currently in circulation and the low frequency of analysis of power relations in the articles reviewed.


Several studies in recent times have linked gut microbiome (GM) diversity to the pathogenesis of cancer and its role in disease progression through immune response, inflammation and metabolism modulation. This study focused on the use of network analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify the biological interaction between the gut ecosystem and its metabolites that could impact the immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing second-line treatment with anti-PD1. Metabolomic data were merged with operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from 16S RNA-targeted metagenomics and classified by chemometric models. The traits considered for the analyses were: (i) condition: disease or control (CTRLs), and (ii) treatment: responder (R) or non-responder (NR). Network analysis indicated that indole and its derivatives, aldehydes and alcohols could play a signaling role in GM functionality. WGCNA generated, instead, strong correlations between short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and a healthy GM. Furthermore, commensal bacteria such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Rikenellaceae, Bacteroides, Peptostreptococcaceae, Mogibacteriaceae and Clostridiaceae were found to be more abundant in CTRLs than in NSCLC patients. Our preliminary study demonstrates that the discovery of microbiota-linked biomarkers could provide an indication on the road towards personalized management of NSCLC patients.


Failure of Lone Pine Reservoir to hold water admirably illustrates the result of complete disregard of geologic conditions. The earthfill dam, 101 feet high, built in 1934--36, proved satisfactory, but the reservoir developed serious leakage almost immediately and lost nearly half its stored capacity within one month. Silt-filled sinkholes, fissures, and openings were breached and an integrated ground-water system established by the pressure head of 74 feet of water in the lake. All attempts to "seal" the reservoir have failed.Rocks of the area consist of: an undifferentiated series of Permian Coconino-Kaibab beds; thin Triassic sediments; both the volcanic (?) member (Lower basalt) and the upper member (Gravels) of the Pliocene Bidahochi formation, and locally capped by the Quaternary (Upper) basalt. The reservoir is largely in the Coconino-Kaibab sandstones and limestones; salt beds possibly occur beneath this series. The dam abutments are of well-jointed Lower basalt that overlies an irregular limestone unit. A regional, gently northwest dipping homocline is interrupted along the west edge of the proposed reservoir basin by a subsidiary, north-south anticline.This study considers, first, the cause of the reservoir failure and second, the feasibility of so sealing its basin as to render it usable. All rocks involved permit leakage; the jointed basalt with interbeds of ash; the inherently permeable Coconino-Kaibab beds; their secondary fractures and dissolved condition of sinkholes and interconnected openings; and the possible occurrence of salt beds at depth. The regional structure and a deep static water level provide a natural "piping circuit."Reservoir sealing techniques, discussed in some detail, offer no sound economical solution for repair of Lone Pine Reservoir. Satisfactory undeveloped reservoir sites of similar capacity, available a few miles upstream, can be utilized for a cost similar to that of an attempted patching of Lone Pine Reservoir.


This chapter reviews the relevant surgical anatomy, clinical indications, and timing for surgical repair of the inferior alveolar and lingual nerve injuries. It will also present state-ofthe-art reconstructive surgery and examine the factors influencing success as well as the scientific literature for outcome studies after surgical repair.


This article contributes to the ongoing discussion on rural development programs aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South. The research question examines how the Smart Rural Communities (SRC) framework can support the SDGs as an international cooperation model. The article presents findings from fieldwork action research including a critical analysis of the hegemonic discourse on smart cities and provides final recommendations. Additionally, it introduces the concept of SRC. The fieldwork action research was conducted in post-conflict rural areas in Colombia's Bolivar region and remote settlements in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province. Led by Ayuda En Acción in collaboration with co-operatives such as Mundukide Foundation, Alecop, and LKS from Mondragon Co-operative Corporation, these interventions aimed to engage local communities through Living Labs. They utilized Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and social innovation to promote the well-being of rural residents. The article comprises (i) an introduction; (ii) a literature review; (iii) a presentation of the fieldwork action research in Colombia and Mozambique; (iv) findings from a SWOT analysis and policy recommendations for SRC Living Labs; (v) conclusions addressing the research question. The SRC framework offers valuable insights for international cooperation models striving to achieve the SDGs in the Global South.


Using data from the 2010 National Survey of College Graduates, this study investigates the managerial authority of native-born, college-educated racial/ethnic minorities. Asian Americans seem to be disadvantaged in that they are likely to supervise fewer employees than do comparable non-Hispanic whites. Yet, this gap is statistically explained by some basic demographic variables including age and education. On the other hand, African Americans and Hispanic whites do not appear to be disadvantaged in comparison to whites. Rather, these two minority groups supervise more employees than do comparable whites, after controlling for some basic demographic factors. Regarding wages, Asian Americans are advantaged in reference to whites, but African Americans and Hispanic whites are disadvantaged even after controlling for parents' education, major field of study, and college type, in addition to socioeconomic characteristics and region of residence. The implications of these findings for policy and research on racial/ethnic differentials are briefly discussed.


A millimeter-wave twist reflector design procedure is described. An effective dielectric constant for capacitive susceptance correction for a unidirectional planar grating at the interface of free space and dielectric material in the twist reflector environment is introduced. The loss factor of the dielectric material is taken into account for the prediction of twist reflector performance. With the introduction of these corrections experimental results are found to be in close agreement with the theory. Normalized curves for the design of twist reflectors in terms of grating parameters, dielectric substrate relative permittivity, and dielectric material thickness are presented. Experimental results are given. >


With the emerging IEEE 802.11n standard, the WLAN is poised as a promising ubiquitous networking technology to support multimedia applications where providing QoS becomes imperative. However, the 802.11 WLAN is not designed to support delay sensitive traffic. This problem is magnified during a handover and typically results in excessive handover latency and packet loss. In addition, a 802.11 WLAN handover process is predominantly based on the physical layer detection without QoS considerations. This often causes overloading of access points and consequently all its associated connections would suffer from high delay. The former can be resolved by reducing handover latency to achieve seamless handover and the latter can be mitigated by employing link layer detection in the 802.11 WLAN handover process and having an appropriate admission control scheme. Although the IEEE 802.11e standard supports prioritized QoS, it cannot guarantee strict QoS required by real-time services under heavy load. In this paper, we proposed an integrated load balancing scheme incorporating (i) QoS-based fast handover to support seamless handover by eliminating both detection and scanning phases from the 802.11 WLAN handover process; and (ii) soft admission control to protect QoS of existing connections when resources are low. This synergy allows us to perform QoS-related handover opportunistically and guarantees service QoS during and after handover respectively. Simulations showed that our proposed integrated load balancing scheme is capable of providing seamless handover and QoS provisioning for real-time VoIP services in terms of bounded delay and packet loss when considering multimedia traffic.


Editor ± We thank Byron and Dieppe for their comments. We would ®rst like to clarify some issues. The course that we offer is largely `delivered' by disabled people in that the knowledge, skills and attitudes that we aim to promote arise as a direct consequence of interactions between students and people with disability. Attitudinal learning is a key aim and is no less important than knowledge and skills acquisition. The number of aims and objectives relating to knowledge (eight), skills (®ve) and attitudes (two) does not re ̄ect their relative importance. Indeed, the categorization of aims and objectives under one or other heading is somewhat arbitrary. For example, establishing good communication with a disabled person has as much to do with attitudes and knowledge as with skills. To understand our use of the term `handicap', journal readers need to appreciate some of the terminology used in the context of chronic disease. Simply stated, `impairment' refers to a pathological process, `disability' to the functional consequences of the impairment and `handicap' to the social disadvantage resulting from disability. Recently, objections have been raised to the use of the terms `disability' and `handicap' which some consider to be pejorative and to have negative connotations. The alternative terms `enablement' and `participation' have been proposed and appear to be gaining in acceptance. As is clear from the letter by Byron and Dieppe, this is an issue about which some people feel passionate. To us, a more important issue relates to the charge that we have sinned by designing a topic that `®ts comfortably with the rest of [students'] medical training'. The inference is that making students uncomfortable promotes learning and a positive attitude. An opposing view is that creating discomfort can alienate students and faculty to such an extent that the material can be dismissed or subsequently deleted when the curriculum is reviewed. This is a particular risk in a content area which students have traditionally been slow to accept and value. We believe that student satisfaction with our topic is a success story and will help to ensure its continuation in the curriculum. A curious fact of life is that the most bitter disputes tend to involve those in pursuit of common goals. In the area of disability and rehabilitation, much energy is diffused on internal wrangling and name-calling. Opposing `camps', often coming from different professional disciplines, have coined terms such as `medical model' and `social model' with which to berate one another. With the heat that is generated, those involved can lose sight of the fact that people with chronic disease [whether referred to as `patients' or `customers' or `clients'] have functional problems [whether referred to as `disabilities' or `enablements'] and are socially challenged [whether referred to as `handicap' or `participation']. We should put away our models and our ideologies and get on with the task of helping students to deal effectively with people who have chronic disease.


Antibiotic susceptibility of the main isolates from the large intestine contents and pathological substrates of 12 patients after gastroectomy for stomach carcinoma was studied. Three of them developed esophagoenterostomy incompetence, 4 had intraabdominal abscesses and in 5 infection of the operation wound was stated. In all, 30 isolates of enterobacteria, 28 isolates of enterococci and 38 isolates of bacteroides were tested. Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates from various sources was practically identical, which showed that before surgical operations for stomach carcinoma it was necessary that data on the patients intestine microbiocenosis and antibioticograms of the main isolates should be available to correct severe dysbiotic disorders.


Primary liver cancer, which includes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and fibrolamellar HCC, is one of the most common malignancies and the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality, worldwide. Despite the development of novel therapies, the prognosis of liver cancer patients remains extremely poor. Thus, investigation of the genetic background and molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of this disease has gained significant attention. The Notch signaling pathway is a crucial determinant of cell fate during development and disease in several organs. In the liver, Notch signaling is involved in biliary tree development and tubulogenesis, and is also significant in the development of HCC and ICC. These findings suggest that the modulation of Notch pathway activity may have therapeutic relevance. The present review summarizes Notch signaling during HCC and ICC development and discusses the findings of recent studies regarding Notch expression, which reveal novel insights into its function in liver cancer progression.


This study deals with Logico Semantic Relation in CNN News text. The objectives of this study is to discover the types of Logico Semantic Relation of Clause Complex Used in CNN News and to know the dominant type of logical semantic systems interpreted in CNN News. The researcher applied qualitative approach and used content analysis design. The technique of collecting data was documentation. The data of the research was Logico Semantic Relation meanwhile the news text of CNN was as the data source of the research. The data were analyzed by data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. The findings showed that (1) The types of Logico Semantic Relation used in the five news texts of CNN were Expansion (Elaboration, Enhancement, and Extension) and Projection (Locution). The total number of Logico Semantic Relation was 201 or 100% which consisted of 153 items or 76,10% of expansion and 48 items or 23,90% of projection. (2) Expansion (Elaboration) was the most dominant type among all kinds of Logico Semantic Relation which appeared in 92 times or 45,80%. The second rank was projection (locution) that was 48 times or 23,90%. The third position was expansion (Enhancement) which occurred 33 times or 16,40%. Meanwhile, Expansion (Extension) appeared 28 times or 13,90%, and the last one was projection (idea), which had no percentage (0 times or 0.00%). The researcher concludes that there are two types of Logico Semantic Relation used in the CNN news text, those are Expansion (Elaboration, Enhancement, and Extension) and Projection (Locution). The most dominant type of Logico Semantic Relation that appears in the text is Expansion (Elaboration).


Malaria accounts for over 500,000 deaths each year.
While malaria is caused by multiple distinct parasites of the genus
Plasmodium, P. falciparum is responsible for the majority of
morbidity and mortality due to the disease. Despite this fact,
molecular tools for genetic experimentation in the parasite remain
underdeveloped. In particular, the ability to inducibly control
gene expression and edit the genome in a site-specific manner
present significant challenges. In addition, the building of
genetic constructs poses challenges due to the required vector size
and the high A+T richness of the P. falciparum genetic regulatory
elements. This work begins by presenting the first vector family
for use in the parasite made up of modular parts and encompassing
all selectable markers and replication technologies in current use.
It also discusses the development of a 2A like viral peptide tag
for use in expression of multiple differentially localizing
proteins from a single expression cassette. Based on this work, we
were then able to construct vectors to reconstitute the T7 RNA
polymerase expression system in P. falciparum, functionally
creating the first system for directed expression of non-coding RNA
in the parasite. We were then able to use this expression system to
adapt a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats
(CRISPR)/Cas9 system in the parasite and use it to achieve genome
editing at high efficiency at multiple loci. The data imply an
adaptable system to readily edit the genome of the parasite and
holds promise for the ability to create gene knockouts, perform
allelic replacements, and add regulatory elements into the parasite
significantly faster than has been previously demonstrated. This
also represents the first illustration of the functionality of a
CRISPR/Cas9 system in any non-bacterial pathogenic organism. In
addition, we were able to introduce the lac repression system in
order to regulate the T7 RNA polymerase dependent production of RNA
and have created the first inducible expression system for RNA in
any apicomplexan parasite. This work provides several new molecular
tools and frameworks to aid in the study of, and fight against,
malaria.


In this paper, we propose a new hybrid case based reasoning system based on rough set theory, formal concept analysis and fuzzy sets. This system applies rough set theory to assure minimally sufficient cases in its case base. It uses formal concept analysis to reveal knowledge of attribute dependencies in terms of concept lattices. Numeric attributes are transformed to be suitable for formal concept analysis using fuzzy sets.


The reaction of β-dicarbonyl compounds as ethyl acetoacetate with hydrazines is a well-established route for the creation of pyrazole derivatives. In this research, 4-hydrazinoquinazoline (4) reacted with ethyl acetoacetate in boiling ethanol it gives ethyl 3-oxobutanoate quinazolin-4-yl-hydrazone (5). Cyclization of the compound (5) in the presence of glacial acetic acid is passed to form 4-(5-hydroxy-3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)quinazoline(6). Furthermore, the reaction of phenylisothiocyanate compounds with hydrazines is a well-established way for the synthesis of tetrazinoquinazoline (8). The new compounds are confirmed by elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and mass spectra. In-vitro anti-tumor evaluation of the new compounds across three cell lines HepG2 (liver carcinoma), HCT-116 (colon carcinoma), and MCF-7 (breast carcinoma) indicats high anti-tumor activity. In addition, antimicrobial activity of specific synthesized compounds are screened against four bacterial species. Amongst four, two Gram-negative are Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa and gram-positive as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The antibacterial activity of Compounds (5) and (6) are greater comparing to standard drug (Amphicillin).


In this modified alizarin red-s method the fetuses were fixed in 10 per cent Neutral buffered formalin for 1 week. Reduced the potassium hydroxide digestion time to secure the muscular system and then stained with alizarin red-s. Excess stain was removed by fresh 4 per cent potassium hydroxide solution. Stained fetuses were cleared for 2 weeks by using two clearing agents. The primary ossification centers of the skull bones were clearly visible. The fetuses were preserved in glycerin.


This document reports on the workshop held on 23 July 2018 with participants of a range of organisations and communities with an interest in water knowledge in rural Belize. The workshop was convened as part of the project: 'Envisioning Emergent Environments: negotiating science and resource management in rural communities', funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. The workshop constituted a knowledge engagement/impact activity, following a period of anthropological research in Stann Creek and Toledo districts during 2017. The workshop brought a range of people and organisations together to update them about the project progress and to explore different views and perspectives on issues surrounding water resources and practices across government bodies, NGOs, research organisations and communities.


This study presents the production, characterization, and application of celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) extracts (aqueous, acidic, alcoholic, and ultrasound) on wool fibers and their characterization. The study aims to obtain an ecologically dyed wool support that possesses biocompatible and antimicrobial activities. The plant extracts were characterized based on pH, total polyphenol content, and berberine content. Ecologically dyed wool supports were characterized based on scanning electron microscopy, levelness index, color measurements, contact angle indirect biocompatibility, and antibacterial analysis. According to the obtained results, celandine extract can be considered a potential candidate for the sustainable dyeing and functionalization of wool fibers.


Degradation modeling and prognostics serve as the basis for system health management. Recently, various sensors provide plentiful monitoring data that can reflect the system status. A multitude of feature fusion techniques based on multisensor data have been proposed to generate a composite health index (HI) for prognostics, which can represent the underlying degradation mechanism. Most existing methods have used linear fusion models and neglected the practical requirements for HI construction, which are insufficient to reveal the nonlinear relations among features and difficult to obtain accurate HIs for complicated systems. This study proposes a novel feature fusion-based HI construction method with deep learning and multiobjective optimization. Multiple degradation features are fused by a deep neutral network (DNN). Several desired properties that the HIs should have for prognostics are adopted to formulate the objective functions of DNN training. To balance the spatial complexity and performance of the fusion model, a multiobjective optimization model is generated for training the DNN. Then, a generalized nonlinear Wiener process model is used to predict the remaining useful life with the resulted HIs. Finally, two cases are analyzed to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.


and Implications Benefit packages and working conditions are important to employees in the swine industry, just as is the salary level. Employees indicated that there are trade-offs between salary levels and the benefit packages and working conditions. For example, they indicated that incentive plans, on average, were equivalent to about $3,873 in salary to employees (Table 1). They also indicated that the provision of insurance as part of the employment conditions was important. The trade-off was that $1.00 of insurance premium was equivalent to about $2.59 in salary. While this level of trade-off was higher than expected, it does indicate that workers do value both salary and benefits and trade one for the other in evaluating compensation offers. There are two possible reasons for the high level of trade-off, one being the tax benefits of insurance premiums which are provided by the employer, and the second being that the employer may be able to obtain benefit packages in group policies such as major medical, dental, etc., at a lower rate than what the individual employee could receive on a single or family policy. Employee working conditions in the facilities were found to be important and significant. The value of working in a facility that had excellent environmental conditions in terms of dust and gases was worth about $10,000 over that of working in a facility that was ranked as good. The value of working in a good versus a fair rated facility was $7,900. Again, here, the values seem to be inflated, but the bottom line is that employees value working in facilities that have better environments and are willing to accept lower salaries in order to work in safer environments. Employees also indicated that the mere presence or availability of masks or respirators to wear in the production facility had a positive benefit.


Two types of capacitor-grade aluminum metallized polypropylene film were studied to investigate the factors that affect specific action integral and energy dissipation in the electrical explosion of a film, a phenomenon that occurs when a film is exposed to a high-density current pulse on the order of 107 - 108 A/cm2. The factors studied include film cross-sectional area, film length, film sheet resistance, and discharge circuit inductance. All film samples were subjected to a 2.5-kV capacitive discharge. The basic principles of the exploding-film phenomenon and the detailed effects of the stated factors are discussed.


Leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks and Henn.) is one of the most important diseases of wheat in Tigray region. Regular surveying,race analysis and searching resistant genes plays significant role to develop resistant varieties against leaf rust. Hence, this study was carried out to determine the distribution and intensity leaf rust, identify physiologic races and evaluate the reaction of commonly growing wheat varieties to virulent races of leaf rust. During the survey,108 farmers' wheat fields and experimental plots were assessed in five districts of Southeastern Tigray, of which 95 (88%) of the fields were affected with leaf rust. The overall mean incidence and severity of the disease were 48.4 and 18.2%, respectively. According to the North American system of nomenclature for P.triticina, characterization of 40 mono pustules resulted in the identification of 22 races. The broadest virulence spectrum was recorded from TKTT race, making all Lr genes except Lr9 ineffective. The variety evaluation revealed that, Mekelle-3, Mekelle-4, Picaflor, Dashin and local showed susceptible reaction to TKTT, THTT and PHTT races.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Heatynch protocol on plasma estrogen concentration in Murrah buffaloes and to evaluate if the Heatsynch protocol induces estrus in Murrah buffaloes. All treated animals responded to the treatment by displaying obvious signs of estrus. The mean plasma estrogen concentration among the individual buffalo was 191.9 ± 68.3 pg / ml after Estradiol benzoate (EB) injection. The plasma progesterone profile of these animals indicated that out of 16 animals 8 animals were acyclic before Heatsynch treatment (8/16) as plasma progesterone concentrations in these animals were basal (<0.24±0.01 ng/ml) for most of the sampling period during the course of treatment. Following Heatsynch treatment only two buffalo out of sixteen were acyclic (2/16) on the basis of their plasma progesterone profile. These results indicated that Heatsynch protocol is useful in inducing cyclicity in acyclic buffaloes. The seven buffalo out of sixteen (7/16) were conceived after treatment with Heatsynch protocol in summer. So, the treatment might have potential field application value to overcome poor estrus symptoms in summer.


Large intravenous doses of sodium borate, given to seven patients with brain tumors, caused development of temporary but consistent hypoxic-type abnormalities in the S-T segments and the T waves of the electrocardiogram. Correlation of these electrocardiographic changes with blood boron concentrations, determined up to 48 hours after boron injection, indicated that the changes were probably the result of damage by boron, present intracellularly in the myocardium. The intracellular concentrations which cause electrocardiographic abnormalities are considered to be of the order of 100 &mgr;g. per milliliter, similar to concentrations which have been shown to inhibit respiration in in vitro myocardial preparations.


Introduction: Chromium, like many transition metal elements, is essential to life at low concentrations yet toxic to many systems at higher concentrations. Toxic effects of chromium can be classified into sensitizing, caustic and carcinogenic effects. Chromium is one of the best known sensitizing agents; it causes allergic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and occupational asthma. There is sufficient evidence of the carcinogenicity of various chromium compounds in humans encountered via inhalation in industrial applications. Aim of work: to assess the carcinogenic potential of chromium exposure in tannery workers and study the possible mechanisms using 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) which is one of the major oxidative adducts formed by radical induced damage to DNA, TAC (total anti-oxidant capacity) as a biomarker of cellular oxidative stress and p53 as apoptotic regulatory protein. Materials and methods: This work was carried out in twelve small-to medium-sized tanneries, in Misr Al Kadema district in Cairo. The study comprised of two groups, an exposed group (45 male workers) and a matched control group (30 male workers). All workers were subjected to a detailed history including present, past, family and occupational history. Clinical examination was performed with special emphasis on chest and skin examination. Laboratory investigations were performed in the form of kidney function test (blood urea and serum creatinine), blood level of TAC, P53 and chromium. Also, urinary 8-OHdG was done. Results: we found a significant increase in chromium, TAC, p53 and urinary 8-OHG in the exposed group compared to their referent control. Significant positive correlation was detected between P53 with blood level of TAC. Conclusion: Our results revealed that tannery workers have increased level of blood chromium, and this increase is associated with oxidative damage especially oxidative DNA damage reflected by elevated TAC serum level and  urinary 8-OHG. Also, up-regulation or activation of serum p53 in tannery workers which was positively correlated with chromium (non-significant) and significantly positively correlated with TAC reinforce the possible relation between oxidative stress induced by chromium exposure and carcinogenesis


Background: Assessment of the ability to cope with regret can contribute to support strategies for health professionals. However, in Brazil, there are few instruments that evaluate this ability in the general context. The aim of the study was to adapt and validate the Regret Coping Scale for Healthcare Professionals (RCS-HCP) for Brazilian health professionals. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out with professionals linked to tertiary care hospital institutions. In the validation, the instruments were translated, and the psychometric properties were evaluated for validity and reliability. Validity was assessed using the following validities: content (judges' evaluation), criterion (correlation with Satisfaction With Life Scale – SWLS and Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 – SRQ-20) and construct validity (exploratory factor analysis using the method of Promax rotation, based on the slope graph and Kaiser criterion and confirmatory using the structural equation model). Reliability was measured using Cronbach's α coefficient and the test retested in a maximum period of 30 days. Reproducibility was calculated by intraclass correlation.Results: Three-hundred-forty-one professionals participated, with an average age of 38.6 ± 9.2 years, and 87 participated in a retest survey 30 days later. Exploratory factor analysis showed adequacy of the structure (KMO = 0.786) composed of three factors. In the confirmation, the performance was close to acceptable. Reliability was good for the maladaptive strategies (α = 0.834) and adequate for the problem-focused strategies (α = 0.717), but slightly too low for adaptive strategies (α = 0.595). Test-retest showed lower than expected values, with a Spearman-Brown coefficient of 0.703. Conclusions: The RCS-HCP scale showed satisfactory performance in relation to the properties evaluated.


The shortage of kidneys for transplantation is a universal problem. The non heart beating donor (NHBD) is one such source. This study evaluates the early graft function after kidney transplantation from NHBD. We report our experience with 126 kidney transplantations retrospectively. As a result, the kidney from NHBD over 50 years of age, led to the longer ATN and high PNF (13.8+/-12.6 days and 16.9% respectively). TIT more than 720 min or less had statistically correlated with the length of ANT (13.3 v. 8.4 days). Significant higher incidence of PNF (19.3%) was shown in the group of TIT more than 720 min with WIT of 20.8+/-31.6 min. Significant low flow by machine perfusion was resulted in PNF. In conclusion, we suggest that early and delayed graft function of kidneys from NHBD should be recognized as a separate clinical entity with its own significant effects.


The purpose of this study was to assess the sexual dimorphism of body proportions and body composition among 16-19-year-olds from South Asia (India) and Central Europe (Poland). The study group consisted of the results of anthropometric measurements of 2008 youths (16-19-year-olds). 1098 of them came from Kolkata (India) and 910 from Kraków (Poland). For each of the analyzed anthropometric characteristics, the index of sexual dimorphism was calculated, basing on mean and standard deviation values. The body height was one of the most dimorphic features, in both populations. Also, the dimorphism in body adiposity, upper and lower limb, as well as trunk adiposity, pelvi-acromial and frame indicators was similar in both populations. Limbs-to-trunk adiposity index and trunk-to-total adiposity ratio were more dimorphic among the South Asian population, while the muscle mass was notably more dimorphic in the Polish adolescents. Such differences in the values of the Mollison's index may have been associated with the discrepancies in overall body fat ratio, which is much greater in the South Asians. Additionally, it may be related to different models of sexual preferences and attractiveness perception in both, culturally significantly varying, populations.


Considering thermal environment aspects have a major impact not only on occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance but also on the productivity and satisfaction of the workers, the aim of the case study was to assess the thermal comfort of a group of 33 workers in an automotive industry company, starting with collecting data about the thermal environment from different workplaces, continuing with the analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort using the calculation of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) indices, according to provisions of the standard ISO 7730:2005, and comparing the results with the subjective perception of the workers revealed by applying individual questionnaires. The results of the study represent an important input element for establishing the preventive and protective measures for the analysed workplaces in correlation with the measures addressing other specific risks and, also, could serve as a model for extending and applying to other similar workplaces in future studies. Moreover, the mathematical model and the software instrument used for this study case could be used in further similar studies on larger groups of workers and in any industrial domain.


How does the genome become unstable during aging? The causal relationship between genomic instability and replicative aging is unclear. We reveal here that genomic instability at the budding yeast ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus increases during aging, potentially due to the reduced cohesion that we uncovered during aging caused by the reduced abundance of multiple cohesin subunits, promoting increased global chromosomal instability. In agreement, cohesion is lost during aging at other chromosomal locations in addition to the rDNA, including centromeres. The genomic instability in old cells is exacerbated by a defect in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair that we uncovered in old yeast. This was due to limiting levels of key homologous recombination proteins because overexpression of Rad51 or Mre11 reduced the accumulation of DSBs and largely restored DSB repair in old cells. We propose that increased rDNA instability and the reduced DSB repair capacity of old cells contribute to the progressive accumulation of global chromosomal DNA breaks, where exceeding a threshold of genomic DNA damage ends the replicative life span.


For pt.I see ibid., vol.43, no.3, p.261-7 (1997). This paper describes the methods, results and conclusions of a series of subjective tests which were performed at the Communications Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, to assess the audio quality of digital audio radio (DAR) systems in the presence of transmission errors. Testing has been performed in a laboratory environment on the hardware implementation of nine DAR systems. One of the systems operated in the AM broadcast band, five in the FM broadcast band, two in the L-band and one in the S-band. Testing was done in the presence of transmission errors generated by additive white gaussian noise, co-channel interference and five different multipath mobile channels. In addition, one system was tested with an interfering signal in the lower first adjacent DAR channel. The test results are presented and discussed, for each type of transmission impairments, in terms of (a) the E/sub b//N/sub 0/ ratios (D/U ratios for co-channel and adjacent channel interference) at the threshold of audibility (TOA) of transmission errors and at the point where transmission errors are so important that the audio quality is unacceptable (point of failure or POF) and (b) the failure margin which is a measure of how quickly DAR systems fail when the received signal power is reduced. A new parameter, labeled C/sub SP//N/sub 0/, is proposed to quantify the power efficiency of the overall DAR systems (i.e. source coding plus channel coding and modulation subsystems). The spectral efficiency of DAR systems is also presented and discussed.


Abstract : The War on Drugs has been waged for decades with little net effect on the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. High profit potential, poverty, and corruption within source countries coupled with steady US demand and porous borders have created what seems to have become a lasting condition. To-date, the immutable law of supply and demand has proven a more potent factor in governing the flow of illicit drugs than all the instruments of US national power combined. Current US strategy focuses a majority of effort on existential causes and on lower-level actors, expending resources without significantly affecting the drug trade itself. A shift in focus to profit, as the financial center of gravity, and to internal demand may have much greater impact on curtailing the drug trade and better serve long-term US national security interests. What is the nature of this war? What drives national policy? How do second and third order effects impact US interests and the way the United States is perceived? Is there a better alternative? This paper explores these issues in view of the current threat and in consideration of a future environment in which resources may be further constrained.


The objective of this paper is to introduce and investigate the issue of integrity in an INS/GPS navigation loop for autonomous land vehicle applications. The paper briefly outlines the standard fusion algorithm for the INS/GPS loop, while the focus is on the detection of possible faults both before and during the fusion process. The concept of fault detection focuses on the low frequency faults of the INS, caused by bias and drift, and the high frequency faults of the GPS unit caused by multipath errors and changes in satellite geometry.


Abstract. We explored the potentiality of time-lapse photography method to estimate the snow depth in boreal forested and alpine regions. Historically, the snow depth has been measured manually by rulers or snowboards, with a temporal resolution of once per day, and a time-consuming activity. In the last decades, ultrasonic and/or optical sensors have been developed to obtain automatic measurements with higher temporal resolution and accuracy, defining a network of sensors within each country. The Finnish Meteorological Institute Image processing tool (FMIPROT) is used to retrieve the snow depth from images of a snow stake on the ground collected by cameras. An "ad-hoc" algorithm based on the brightness difference between snowpack and stake's markers has been developed. We illustrated three case studies (case study 1-Sodankylä Peatland, case study 2-Gressoney la Trinitè Dejola, and case study 3-Careser dam) to highlight potentialities and pitfalls of the method. The proposed method provides, respect to the existing methods, new possibilities and advantages in the estimation of snow depth, which can be summarized as follows: 1) retrieving the snow depth at high temporal resolution, and an accuracy comparable to the most common method (manual measurements); 2) errors or misclassifications can be identified simply with a visual observation of the images; 3) estimating the spatial variability of snow depth by placing more than one snow stake on the camera's view; 4) concerning the well-known under catch problem of instrumental pluviometer, occurring especially in mountain regions, the snow water equivalent can be corrected using high-temporal digital images; 5) the method enables retrieval of snow depth in avalanche, dangerous and inaccessible sites, where there is in general a lack of data; 6) the method is cheap, reliable, flexible and easily extendible in different environments and applications. We analyzed cases in which this method can fail due to poor visibility conditions or obstruction on the camera's view. Defining a simple procedure based on ensemble of simulations and a post processing correction we can reproduce a snow depth time series without biases. Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) and Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) are calculated for all three case studies comparing with both estimates from the FMIPROT and visual observations of images. For the case studies, we found NSE = 0.917 , 0.963, 0.916 respectively for Sodankylä, Gressoney and Careser. In terms of accuracy, the first case study gave better results (RMSE equal to 3.951 · 10−2 m, 5.242 · 10−2 m, 10.78 · 10−2 m, respectively). The worst performances occurred at Careser dam located at 2600 m a.s.l. where extreme weather conditions occur, strongly affecting the clarity of the images. For Sodankylä case study, we showed that the proposed method can improve the measurements obtained by a Campbell snow depth ultrasonic sensor. According to results, we provided also useful information about the proper geometrical configuration stake-camera and the related parameters, which allow to retrieve reliable snow depth time series.


We define interacting sequential programs, motivated originally by constructivist considerations. We use them to investigate notions of implementation and determinism. Process algebras do not define what can be implemented and what cannot. As we demonstrate it is problematic to do so on the set of all processes. Guided by constructivist notions we have constructed interacting sequential programs which we claim can be readily implemented and are a subset of processes.


This dissertation project analyzes the different ways that, over time, gendered images, metaphors and hagiographical examples were used in sermons and other documents that the Church approved for publication (that is, what I am calling official Church discourses) to help it negotiate challenges to its cultural and ideological hegemony. I argue that beginning in the seventeenth century and continuing into the first half of the eighteenth preachers utilized the discursive openness of the Baroque in New Spain to articulate surprisingly flexible visions of gender. For example, some preachers portrayed exceptional, saintly women as manly, while others did not hesitate to describe how some men took on motherly, nurturing roles. As part of a larger Baroque aesthetic in which opposites and excesses were celebrated, unusual gendered language and associations provided a way for prelates to engage their audiences even while upholding, albeit paradoxically, received conventions.As enlightened ideas began to penetrate New Spain in the later part of the century, however, preachers' visions of gender evolved according to the prevailing reformist spirit. As with church architecture, paintings and other media, so also in sermons those stylistic elements which had formerly displayed the Baroque spirit were increasingly jettisoned in favor of new, more austere features, resulting, in the case of sermons, in less flexibility in how men and women were portrayed. While women could to an extent still aspire to imitate virtues associated with men, preachers' language about men grew significantly more masculinized and even militarized, often at the service of promoting the needs and interests of the Crown. Then, in the years preceding independence (1821), preaching once again changed course as the implications of some of the earlier changes grew clearer. Where reformers had promoted obedience to secular authorities and a close church-state alliance, later prelates became alarmed as the Crown began to chip away at traditional Church privileges and rational, sometimes even secular ideas and trends took hold in New Spain with a tenacity beyond the Church's ability to control. As a result, the high clergy responded by promoting moral renewal and reinvigorated obedience to legitimate authorities, by whom they often meant God, not the now-unreliable Crown. Women were the particular targets of clerical admonishments, not because they had strayed more than men, but because women, in a patriarchal society that emphasized female obedience, symbolized the dangers of excessive freedom. In the wake of independence and the struggles that followed it, however, it became clearer that not every church-state battle could be won, and preachers turned increasingly to women as idealized members of the devout sex, charged with fomenting devotion and moral virtue among their contemporaries, both female and male. Put another way, liberals after independence were not the only ones to assert a kind of republican motherhood : preachers countered with a vision of Catholic motherhood that had great resonance in Mexico even into the twentieth century.This dissertation offers contributions to the history of the Catholic Church in Mexico, suggesting some of the ways that the institution sought to strengthen and perpetuate its traditionally prominent role in Mexican society. Though historians of the Baroque and its various manifestations in New Spain sometimes use the floweriness or elaborateness of sermons to exemplify Baroque style, few studies have sought to examine in depth how the Baroque aesthetic of excess and opposites functioned discursively in sermons. Likewise, a handful of other historians have explored issues of the Enlightenment and the Church, but primarily from the point of view of internal reform efforts, and they have not used sermons as a source for understanding the ways that official ecclesiastical discourses were shaped and articulated. Sermons have been used by a small number of historians to build a picture of a Church that is neither monolithic nor fully reactionary, but their aim has been primarily to understand the Church's political role after independence, not the earlier struggles it faced in the late colonial period or the adaptations it made later in the nineteenth century. Finally, none of these students of the Church have been especially interested in gender as a key aspect of how ecclesiastical discourses were constructed. My dissertation addresses these lacunae.


Molluscs of Chella Bank and its surroundings were studied from 21 samples collected with a van Veen grab in the depth range 95-729 m. A total of 299 taxa were identified (77 live-taken), thus increasing by more than 95% the species of molluscs reported in the recently declared site of community importance "Sur de Almería-Seco de los Olivos". Two of the species are new records to Spanish waters and one to the Alboran Sea. The high species richness observed could be related to the location, the hydrological characteristics and the topographical heterogeneity of the area within the Alboran Sea. Four significant groups of samples were discriminated through multivariate analysis of quantitative data of live-taken molluscs: (I) bathyal muddy bottoms with buried rhodoliths; (II) bathyal muddy bottoms with coral rubble; (III) bathyal hemipelagic muddy bottoms and (IV) bathyal sandy bottoms. Molluscs were more diverse on coral framework bottoms than on sedimentary bottoms around Chella Bank. Most of the live-taken species are widely distributed along the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, and a few are strictly Mediterranean. The most striking feature was the occurrence of two species with planktotrophic larval development for which Chella Bank is the sole recorded locality in the Mediterranean (Episcomitra angelesae and Mitrella templadoi) and which elsewhere extremely rare (Mathilda spp.).


The crisis of tolerance between religious communities in various parts of the world is increasing, including in Indonesia. So it needs to be reaffirmed, with the existence of religious community organizations such as Nahdlattul Ulama which has a high flow of tolerance between religious communities, it must be used as a mecca/role model for tolerance. This study uses the literature search method combined with the latest information on religious tolerance. The results of the study stated that inter-religious tolerance can be achieved by implementing hablum minallah hablum minannas hablum mina nas and hablum minal alam as religious teachings in community empowerment, opening up business fields, trying to maintain the nation and state together, and maintaining relationships among people. In Indonesia, it seems that there will be no difficulties if all parties are aware of the religious values being taught, especially within the Nahdlatul Ulama environment which can be taken out and become a mecca for tolerance in various matters and various fields of life.


The present invention relates to a novel class of de (acetylglucosamine-yl) - bis (dehydro) deoxy derivatives may be too Pu Lanning. These derivatives have antibacterial activity mainly against gram-positive bacteria, such new compound is too Pu Lanning antibacterial substances can be obtained by chemical transformation.


For the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religions, Western Region's 1999 annual conference at the University of San Francisco, a book review panel entitled "Sexuality and Paradox: Buddhist Norms and Practices" was conducted. The discussion was of Bernard Faure's The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality (Princeton University Press, 1998). The panel participants included Jennifer Dumpert, Bruce Williams, Greg Petropoulos, John Thompson, and Joseph Thometz. Bernard Faure, the author, responded to the discussion. The panel was organized and moderated by Richard K. Payne. The following are written versions of the discussants' comments.


The electrophoretic mobility of the cells of Staph. aureus cultivated on the medium with ristomycin is markedly decreased at pH 3.0-5.0. This indicates that ristomycin added to the cultivation medium lowers the number of the phosphate groups in teichoic acids of the staphylococcal cell wall. The effect of ristomycin on the cells of the staphylococci was studied in vitro during the process of their incubation. It was shown that almost within the first minutes of the incubation ristomycin interacts immediately with the ionogenic groups of the cell wall and first of all with the phosphate groups of teichoic acids.


We present our experience with two cases of salmonella infected aortic aneurysms. The treatment of salmonella infected aortic aneurysms has been associated with a high mortality, primarily due to the rapidity with which the post-infective complications of salmonellosis develop. Early diagnosis, adequate anti-microbial therapy and improved vascular surgical methods have resulted in a better prognosis for salmonella infected aortic aneurysms.


Background: Even after following the multi-strategy approach of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in India for the last four decades, reducing malnutrition among children below 6 years has turned out to be a herculean task, because of the poor focus by Anganwadi workers (AWWs) on empowering community to manage malnutrition among the children at home level. Therefore, it becomes necessary to assess the role of the mothers in managing malnutrition in their children.

Objectives: To study the impact of sociocultural and economic factors of mothers on the nutritional status of their malnourished children in a rural area of Delhi, India.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted for a 6-month duration (July–December 2013) in a rural ICDS block (Narela) of Delhi. The 80 mothers of both the healthy and malnourished children (40 mothers in each group) were interviewed in depth via semi-structured interview schedule; and all these mothers were separately studied further by focus group discussion technique to explore their beliefs, opinions, and practices on malnutrition management in their children. All the collected data were finally triangulated and analyzed after applying X2-test from SPSS, version 22.0.

Results: The main reasons behind inadequate efforts made by mothers in nutritional management of their children were the following: sporadic nutrition and health education given by AWWs at Anganwadi centers (AWCs) and homes to mothers leading to a lack of nutritional knowledge (p < 0.05) and inadequate treatment-seeking behavior toward malnourished children (47.5%) and the poverty causing mothers to work outside home (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: AWWs need to focus urgently on their proper nutritional and health educational activities for mothers of malnourished children, regarding key messages on proper child-feeding practices and also the concerned government needs to provide more income opportunities to fathers of such children along with a targeted Public Distribution System.


Hydrogen peroxide (HP) decontamination is effective for a wide spectrum of pathogenic microorganisms. However, exposure to HP causes deleterious effects on some materials. The purpose of this study was to examine material compatibilities with ionized and vaporized hydrogen peroxide (iHP and VHP). With regard to iHP, 24 kinds of materials were exposed up to 100 cycles to iHP. The tested materials included plastics, metals, woods and plated or coated goods. The procedure of iHP decontamination was as following: gas time (11 min), dwell time (15 min) and aeration time (120 min). iHP decontamination caused some damage to copper, brass, chromium plate and galvanized iron immediately after exposure. Repeated iHP decontamination caused marked damage in stainless steel and urethane-, silicone- or epoxy-coating materials. Condensation of iHP decontamination posed severe damage for the material surfaces. With regard to VHP, 36 kinds of materials were exposed for up to 200 cycles to VHP decontamination. Under dry (dehumidified) conditions, VHP decontamination caused few changes on the surfaces of resin materials in dry conditions, although some resins began to develop hardening or softening. Discoloration was found in the stainless steel and changes in its coating materials. Bleaching was also observed in wooden materials. Under condensation conditions of VHP, nylon softened and butyl rubber hardened. Condensation of VHP caused material damage such as discoloration in the stainless steel, corrosion of zinc-plated steel, and air-bubbling under the color-steel sheet. The high concentrations of HP with condensation caused severe changes in metals and resins after repeated exposure. The VHP decontamination tests provided evidence that the material damage was more severe under condensation conditions than under dry conditions. Our results demonstrate the importance of condensation of HP when using it to decontaminate equipment.