Data on the volumetric liquid-side gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient, k(L)a, in a Multi-stage Agitated Contractor (MAC) are reported for three gas-liquid systems (air-water, helium-n-octane, and air-Monoethylene Glycol (MEG)). k(L)a (s(-1)) was determined using a dynamic method with moderately soluble gaseous tracers (acetylene for water and MEG and methane for n-octane). The observed response curves could be described accurately by coupling the single phase residence time distribution models for gas and liquid phase (Breman et al., (1,2)), via interfacial gas-liquid mass transfer. All k,a data could be correlated with an average relative deviation of 11.3% by a combination of Calderbanks' relation(3) for k(L) (m s(-1)) and a modified type of Calderbanks' relation(3) for the interfacial area, a (m(-1)), which takes a combined effect of the superficial gas velocity (u(G)) and the liquid viscosity (eta(L)) on a into account: a = 51.1(P/V)(0.286) sigma(-0.19)(u(G)/v(b))((0.127+21.1 eta L)) with g = acceleration of gravity (= 9.81 m(2) s(-1)), P/V = volumetric power input (W/m(-3)), v(b) = bubble rise velocity (m s(-1)) and the experimental conditions ranging from: superficial gas velocity u(G) = 0.01-0.09 m s(-1), stirring speed (N) = 10-36.7 rev s(-1), eta(L) = 0.00041-0.021 N m(-2) s, surface tension (sigma) = 0.02-0.073 N m(-1), liquid density (rho(L)) = 684-1113 kg m(-3), gas density (rho(G)) = 0.16-1.205 kg m(-3) and liquid diffusion coefficient (L-L) = 1.3 x 10(-10)-3.5 x 10(-9) m(2) s(-1). The overall influence of u(G) on k(L)a in this relation is such that k(L)a is hardly affected by u(G) both for water and n-octane, whereas, in contrast, k(L)a is predicted to increase significantly with increasing u(G) for the more viscous monoethylene glycol, The general applicability of the proposed relation for a has to be confirmed by measurements for other liquids and by measurements on a larger scale.


Bismuth is a critical metal broadly used in cosmetic, medicine and metallurgy. However, its scarcity in Earth's crust may impair further applications. An alternative is to recover bismuth from secondary sources. In this work, a methodology to extract bismuth from safety valves of discharged gas cylinders is proposed. Extraction and purification of bismuth were carried out using aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) prepared with poly(ethylene oxide) polymer or poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymer (L35) and electrolytes (NaNO3, NH4NO3, sodium citrate or Na2SO4). The influence of iodide extractant concentration, tie-line length, electrolyte nature and polymer hydrophobicity on the bismuth extraction behavior were evaluated. Bismuth was significantly recovered in the absence of extractant, and its extraction depends on the ATPS composition, macromolecule and electrolyte nature. After three consecutive extractions bismuth was obtained with high purity (94.7%), resulting on a recovery of 38.5 g of bismuth per 1.00 kg of fusible plug, using L35 + NH4NO3 + H2O ATPS, without any extractant.


Skid resistance is defined as the friction between pavement surfaces and vehicle tires. Lower skid resistances were observed as the vehicle speeds the water film thicknesses were increased according to the analysis results using computer modeling. The lift force is calculated from the analysis results and depends on vehicle speeds and the water film thickness. A modified IFI(international friction index) skid resistance prediction model was developed to reduce the differences between the IFI resistance prediction model and the actual skid resistance. The correlation analysis results between the IFI prediction model and the actual skid resistance revealed that the R² using the modified IFI prediction model was 0.64 whereas the R² using the conventional IFI prediction model was 0.49. This presents the modified prediction model is better than the conventional one. An improved precise prediction model is to be obtained if water film thicknesses are considered in the modified prediction model.


A new method for switching the capacitors in the DAC capacitor array of a successive approximation register (SAR) ADC is presented. By splitting the MSB capacitor into b - 1 binary scaled sub-capacitors, the average switching energy of the array can be reduced by 37% compared to a conventional switching method. A formal solution of the switching energy in four different switching methods is included, and the equations are verified using HSPICE simulations of a 10b capacitor array in a 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process.


Educational Experience of Scheduled Castes and Tribes Malavika Karlekar IT is flattering that even eight years after the publication of "Higher Education and the Scheduled Castes" I continue to be pilloried for my views. While some have branded me a reactionary, Krishna Kumar ("Educational Experience of Scheduled Castes and Tribes'', Economic and Political Weekly, September 3-10, 1983) finds my suggestion that all things being equal, the student who is from a Sans- kritised background should be given preference in access to a reserved seat, full of "facile candour". Is this a compliment or a loaded criticism? (The COD says that while facile means ready and fluent it can also be used in a derogatory fashion.) When, in his preceding arguments he has talked of the problems of retention of the SC/ ST students and later of the advantages of bourgeois values among a select group of the oppressed, one may, in all humility, hope that the point goes to honesty.


Two compelling principles, the Reasonable Range Principle and the Preservation of Irrelevant Evidence Principle, are necessary conditions that any response to peer disagreements ought to abide by. The Reasonable Range Principle maintains that a resolution to a peer disagreement should not fall outside the range of views expressed by the peers in their dispute, whereas the Preservation of Irrelevant Evidence (PIE) Principle maintains that a resolution strategy should be able to preserve unanimous judgments of evidential irrelevance among the peers. No standard Bayesian resolution strategy satisfies the PIE Principle, however, and we give a loss aversion argument in support of PIE and against Bayes. The theory of imprecise probability allows one to satisfy both principles, and we introduce the notion of a set-based credal judgment to frame and address a range of subtle issues that arise in peer disagreements.


The purpose of this study is to compare stringency of and compliance with environmental requirements in upstream sector of oil and gas in law of Iran and the USA. This study is conducted using the inter-spinned mix method (qualitative – quantitative). In the qualitative part, library studies are used. In the quantitative part, the studied society is a group of six professionals in the field of oil and gas, who filled out a questionnaire consisted of 34 questions prepared by the Worley Parsons in a similar research approved by jurisdictions of ten countries. The questions are prepared by a team of experts with international experience. The components of stringency and compliance with law during the phases of approval, operation, and closure of a hydrocarbon project are studied using the Delphi method. At the level of stringency, the environmental assessment in the US is carried out with 10 times more human resources and 26 times more costs than in Iran. In the US, with 13 scores, it is more stringent than Iran with 5 scores. In the project closure phase, Iran does not put in place any obligations for rehabilitation and restoration. At the level of compliance, the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) is mandatory in both countries. In Iran, the list of violations and their consequences will not be published. The US regulatory mechanisms of restoration are an appropriate model. Totally, Iran gains 29 and the United States 42 scores. The recommendations are based on these two scores.


The impact of serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccines on carriage is not completely understood. Using whole-genome sequencing data, we assessed the diversity and distribution of MenB vaccine antigens (particularly FHbp) among 1,514 meningococcal carriage isolates recovered from vaccinated and unvaccinated students at three U.S. universities, two of which underwent MenB-FHbp mass vaccination campaigns following meningococcal disease outbreaks. ABSTRACT Carriage evaluations were conducted during 2015 to 2016 at two U.S. universities in conjunction with the response to disease outbreaks caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B and at a university where outbreak and response activities had not occurred. All eligible students at the two universities received the serogroup B meningococcal factor H binding protein vaccine (MenB-FHbp); 5.2% of students (181/3,509) at one university received MenB-4C. A total of 1,514 meningococcal carriage isolates were obtained from 8,905 oropharyngeal swabs from 7,001 unique participants. Whole-genome sequencing data were analyzed to understand MenB-FHbp's impact on carriage and antigen genetic diversity and distribution. Of 1,422 isolates from carriers with known vaccination status (726 [51.0%] from MenB-FHbp-vaccinated, 42 [3.0%] from MenB-4C-vaccinated, and 654 [46.0%] from unvaccinated participants), 1,406 (98.9%) had intact fHbp alleles (716 from MenB-FHbp-vaccinated participants). Of 726 isolates from MenB-FHbp-vaccinated participants, 250 (34.4%) harbored FHbp peptides that may be covered by MenB-FHbp. Genogroup B was detected in 122/1,422 (8.6%) and 112/1,422 (7.9%) isolates from MenB-FHbp-vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, respectively. FHbp subfamily and peptide distributions between MenB-FHbp-vaccinated and unvaccinated participants were not statistically different. Eighteen of 161 MenB-FHbp-vaccinated repeat carriers (11.2%) acquired a new strain containing one or more new vaccine antigen peptides during multiple rounds of sample collection, which was not statistically different (P = 0.3176) from the unvaccinated repeat carriers (1/30; 3.3%). Our findings suggest that lack of MenB vaccine impact on carriage was not due to missing the intact fHbp gene; MenB-FHbp did not affect antigen genetic diversity and distribution during the study period. IMPORTANCE The impact of serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccines on carriage is not completely understood. Using whole-genome sequencing data, we assessed the diversity and distribution of MenB vaccine antigens (particularly FHbp) among 1,514 meningococcal carriage isolates recovered from vaccinated and unvaccinated students at three U.S. universities, two of which underwent MenB-FHbp mass vaccination campaigns following meningococcal disease outbreaks. The majority of carriage isolates recovered from participants harbored intact fHbp genes, about half of which were recovered from MenB-FHbp-vaccinated participants. The distribution of vaccine antigen peptides was similar among carriage isolates recovered from vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, and almost all strains recovered from repeat carriers retained the same vaccine antigen profile, suggesting insignificant vaccine selective pressure on the carriage population in these universities.


Aims. We investigate the propagation of transverse magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave fronts through a coronal plasma containing a braided magnetic field.
Methods. We performed a series of three dimensional MHD simulations in which a small amplitude, transverse velocity perturbation is introduced into a complex magnetic field. We analysed the deformation of the wave fronts as the perturbation propagates through the braided magnetic structures and explore the nature of Alfvénic wave phase mixing in this regime. We considered the effects of viscous dissipation in a weakly non-ideal plasma and evaluate the effects of field complexity on wave energy dissipation.
Results. Spatial gradients in the local Alfvén speed and variations in the length of magnetic field lines ensure that small scales form throughout the propagating wave front due to phase mixing. Additionally, the presence of complex, intricate current sheets associated with the background field locally modifies the polarisation of the wave front. The combination of these two effects enhances the rate of viscous dissipation, particularly in more complex field configurations. Unlike in classical phase mixing configurations, the greater spatial extent of Alfvén speed gradients ensures that wave energy is deposited over a larger cross-section of the magnetic structure. Further, the complexity of the background magnetic field ensures that small gradients in a wave driver can map to large gradients within the coronal plasma.
Conclusions. The phase mixing of transverse MHD waves in a complex magnetic field will progress throughout the braided volume. As a result, in a non-ideal regime wave energy will be dissipated over a greater cross-section than in classical phase mixing models. The formation rate of small spatial scales in a propagating wave front is a function of the complexity of the background magnetic field. As such, if the coronal field is sufficiently complex it remains plausible that phase mixing induced wave heating can contribute to maintaining the observed temperatures. Furthermore, the weak compressibility of the transverse wave and the observed phase mixing pattern may provide seismological information about the nature of the background plasma.


Objective:To describe and assess the results of central inset L-shaped posterior pharyngeal flap (PF) for treatment of velopharyngeal incompetence. Methods:This study included 12 patients who were diagnosed as persistent velopharyngeal insufficiency. L-shaped central inset superiorly based PF was harvested from oropharynx and inserted into the soft palate through a transverse full-thickness palatal incision 1 cm behind the posterior margin of the hard palate, then the flap was spread 1 cm horizontally and 1 cm in the anteroposterior direction in soft palate. Before and after surgery, patients were assessed by examination, video: nasoendoscopy, and speech assessment. Results:Postoperative speech assessment showed significant improvement in the nasal emission, resonance, intraoral pressure, and articulation defects. Grade 4 velopharyngeal valve closure (complete closure) could be achieved in all patients. No patients showed dehiscence (partial or total) of the flap and no obstructive sleep apnea reported. Conclusions:The new used L-shaped PF could properly correct velopharyngeal functions (closure and speech) in patients with persistent velopharyngeal insufficiency with no reported complication.


IBM Mwave/sup TM/ has developed a radically new approach for real-time video and graphics processing. A scalable array of processing elements (PEs) is configured as a "folded array" for effective execution of matrix and transpose operations. The single chip Mwave Folded Array Signal Transform processor (MFAST) is a scalable DSP that provides 10+ billion 16-bit operations-per-second@50 MHz, sustainable during algorithm execution. This paper describes key M.F.A.S.T. elements and a bounded 18-22 cycle 8/spl times/8-pixel 2-D discrete cosine transform (DCT) program, verified on VHDL and functional simulator models.


OBJECTIVEMultimodal reperfusion therapy (MMRT) has been advocated for the treatment of acute basilar artery occlusion (ABAO). We aimed to identify prognostic factors in patients with ABAO who underwent MMRT. METHODSClinical and radiological data from consecutive ABAO patients were analyzed. All patients underwent MMRT on an emergency basis. Stroke subtypes were categorized according to TOAST (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) criteria. Good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 3 or less and poor outcome as a score of 4 or more at 30 days poststroke. RESULTSTwenty-four patients were included (18 men, 6 women) with a mean age of 54.7 years (age range, 26–70 years). Six patients died (25%), and 8 of the surviving 18 patients (44%) achieved a modified Rankin Scale score of 3 or less at 30 days. We could not identify any clinical or radiological variables that were associated with a greater likelihood of good or poor outcome at 30 days other than the presence of good collateral circulation, which was associated with better outcome on univariate analysis. CONCLUSIONMMRT resulted in high survival and good outcome rates. We could not identify prognostic factors in patients with ABAO treated with MMRT other than the presence of collateral flow. Our results imply that patients should not be excluded from treatment based on clinical or radiological parameters, and that all patients with ABAO should be given the chance to benefit from therapy.


Researchers have recently proven the ability of computer simulation to predict the behaviour of cerebral aneurysms. Accurately simulating the flow of blood within the aneurysm helps researchers to predict the growth pattern of the aneurysm and the danger of rupturing. As this tool is further developed into a practical diagnostic tool, it is expected to dramatically improve the ability of surgeons to weigh the results of alternate treatment methods. The simulation method used, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), provides much more information than current diagnostic tools, including particularly shear stress levels at various stages of the cardiac cycle, which help to pinpoint areas of aneurysm formation and growth.


The percentage of cell number of 3 types of male anterior pituitary cells was counted in autopsy cases with liver cirrhosis and cases that died of other conditions. These cases were then compared. In liver cirrhosis, acidophils (somatotrophs and mammotrophs) showed a tendency to increase in cell percentages. Immunocytochem‐istry also revealed the increase in the number of somatotrophs and mammotrophs in liver cirrhosis. Comparison of protein sythesis in cirrhotic liver and in healthy liver, in vitro, revealed that in the cirrhotic liver tissue protein synthesis was markedly depressed and GH for protein synthesis became more necessary than in a non‐cirrhot‐ic state. The disturbed protein synthesis and hypoproteinemia were suggested as causative factors of increased acidophils of the anterior lobe of the hypophysis.


BACKGROUND
Pain is common in advanced malignancy but also prevalent in other non-malignant life-limiting diseases such as advanced heart disease; end stage renal failure and multiple sclerosis. Patients with renal or liver impairment need specific consideration, as most analgesics rely on either or both for their metabolism and excretion.

SOURCES OF DATA
Recent evidence-based guidelines and the systematic reviews that have informed their recommendations.

AREAS OF AGREEMENT
The principles of the WHO (World Health Organisation) analgesic ladder are commonly endorsed as a structured approach to the management of pain. For neuropathic pain, the efficacy of different agents is similar and choice of drug more guided by side effects, drug interactions and cost.

AREAS OF CONTROVERSY
Evidence supporting the WHO analgesic ladder is disputed and alternatives suggested, but no overwhelming evidence for an alternative approach exists to date.

GROWING POINTS
Alternative approaches to the WHO analgesic ladder, new analgesic agents, e.g. rapid onset oral/intranasal fentanyl.


Abstract. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is of great value for studying air mass and its changes. In this paper, we studied the spatial-temporal changes of AOD and its driving factors based on spatial autocorrelation model, gravity model and multiple regression analysis in Jiangsu Province from 2007 to 2016. The results showed that in terms of spatial distribution, the southern AOD value is higher, and the high-value aggregation areas are significant, while the northern AOD value is lower, but the low-value aggregation areas constantly change. The AOD gravity centers showed a clear point-like aggregation. In terms of temporal changes, the overall AOD in Jiangsu Province increased year by year in fluctuation. In terms of driving factors, the total amount of vehicles, precipitation and temperature are important factors for the growth of AOD.


Background: Despite its well-established efficacy and its increasing use, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a controversial treatment. Lack of clarity in the issues related to its use in special patient populations (for example, in children, in adolescents, in pregnant women, in the elderly, and in the medically ill) often contributes to the debate about the use of ECT. Method: The literature on ECT use in special patient populations is reviewed, together with the commonly associated high-risk medical conditions in clinical practice. Specific reference is made in each case to the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the procedure. Results: Much of the literature surveyed consists of case studies, although a few controlled trials are available. In general, ECT use in special populations is relatively safe and extremely effective. In small case series, ECT use in children and adolescents is effective but requires further systematic study. In pregnant women, ECT is very effective, and with proper medical care, it is relatively safe in all trimesters of pregnancy, as well as in the postpartum period. The frail elderly are particularly good candidates for ECT because they are often unresponsive to or intolerant of psychotropic medication. Medical conditions that should receive particular attention during a course of ECT are disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), cardiovascular, and respiratory system. With modern anesthesia techniques and careful medical management of each high-risk patient, most can successfully complete a course of ECT. The process of obtaining informed consent also requires special consideration in this group of patients because their capacity to consent to treatment may be compromised. Conclusions: With careful attention to each patient's medical and anesthesia needs, ECT is an effective and relatively safe procedure in high-risk special patient populations.


Active ageing is defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The design of active ageing policies intersects with different overarching societal challenges, especially ageing populations, social rights and sustainability. However, there are no previous attempts to review active ageing policies in the light of these challenges and the international policy objectives and targets that are guiding the international community. The aim of this study is to systematically identify, review and analyse all national and regional policies on active ageing adopted in Italy, by applying a conceptual framework derived from main international policy initiatives in the three areas. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a case study analysis was carried out per each relevant national institution and regional government. Standardised interviews were combined with policy document search, selection and analysis. Second, we performed a policy analysis in the light of a conceptual framework adopted. This latter was composed by nine policy domains, selected and integrated from principles and objectives of three overarching international frameworks on ageing—i.e., the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), social rights—i.e., the European Pillar of Social Rights and sustainability—i.e., the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Results pointed out that out of the identified nine policy fields, the major intervention areas by Italian policy makers concerned labour market participation, life-long learning, social and economic inequalities, health and well-being. Less attention had been given to issues such as gender and equal opportunities and sustainable cities. This systematic policy review is a milestone for understanding how active ageing policies contribute to address major societal challenges and what domains need further policy development.


The MERMAID program will be used to isochronise the nominal magnetic field of the VINCY Cyclotron. This program simulates the response, i. e. calculates the magnetic field, of a previously defined model of a magnet. The accuracy of 3D field calculation depends on the density of the grid points in the simulation model grid. The size of the VINCY Cyclotron and the maximum number of grid points in the XY plane limited by MERMAID define the maximumobtainable accuracy of field calculations. Comparisons of the field simulated with maximum obtainable accuracy with the magnetic field measured in the first phase of the VINCY Cyclotron magnetic field measurements campaign has shown that the difference between these two fields is not as small as required. Further decrease of the difference between these fields is obtained by the simulation model calibration, i. e. by adjusting the current through the main coils in the simulation model.


Distance learning is the fastest growing segment of postsecondary education. Almost 3 million students took at least one online course in fall 2005, an increase of more than 800,000 over the previous year (Allen and Seaman 2006). At the same time, questions persist about the quality of online learning. In one recent study, about two-fifths of senior academic officers at U.S. degree-granting higher education institutions expressed a belief that distance learning is inferior to face-to-face learning (Allen and Seaman 2006). Although some studies show that distance education learners benefit from their experiences to the same degree as campus-based learners (Dutton, Dutton, and Perry 2002; Neuhauser 2002), most of the work demonstrating positive outcomes in distance learning has focused on older students, who are often more motivated and have the self-discipline to manage effectively the unstructured nature of the distance learning environment (Dibiase 2000; Hardy and Boaz 1997).


Novel ternary fluoro-germano-tellurite (GTS) glasses doped with Er3+ ions with 0.5 mol% and 1.0 mol% were fabricated by a conventional melt and quenching method and investigated using methods of optical spectroscopy. The room-temperature absorption spectrum was recorded and analyzed to determine radiative transition rates, radiative lifetimes, and branching ratios of Er3+ luminescence. Decay curves of Er3+ luminesccence were recorded and analyzed. Temperature dependences of emission spectra and absorption spectra in the region from RT (room-temperature) up to 675 K were studied in detail. The contribution of competing radiative and nonradiative processes to the relaxation of luminescent levels of Er3+ was assessed. Absolute and relative sensitivity were established utilizing the comprehensive model based on thermally coupled 2H11/2/4S3/2 excited states of erbium. The high quantum efficiency of the first erbium-excited state and value of gain coefficient indicate that GTS:Er glass system can be considered as conceivable NIR (near infrared) laser material as well.


Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was encountered as one of the most common infections transmitted through blood transfusion to thalassemic patients. After the discovery of new generations of antiviral drugs labeled direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drug since 2014, promising results were reported compared to older regimen of Peginterferon with or without ribavirin (RBV). Objective: The main objective of the study is to assess the hepatitis C viral status of multitransfused beta-thalassemia major patients and the sustained viral response rate to different modalities of therapy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in Erbil Thalassemia Center. A sample of all children and adolescent (18 years or younger) patients of beta-thalassemia major with HCV antibody positive were reviewed according to the available medical records in the center. They were divided into two groups ( first who received interferon ([IFN] ± RBV and second who received sofosbuvir (SOF) and daclatasvir [DCV]) for the aim of the study. Results: Among registered 695 patients with thalassemia major screened for HCV antibody, 659 children and adolescents were included and 186 were tested seropositive (28.22%), and they had been submitted to polymerase chain reaction analysis with HCV-RNA identified in 110 (59.13% of initially ELISA test positive). IFN-dependent therapy was given to 87 patients, while sofosbuvir and DCV for remaining 21 patients, sustained viral response was 100% among those received latter therapy with no reported relapse compared to former regimen of 44.3% sustained response and 6.33% relapse rate. Conclusion: DAA drug has a promising therapeutic result replacing the old therapy of IFN-RBV among thalassemic patients with 100% response rate in the study group.


This paper presents a maximum likelihood based approach to data
fusion for electromagnetic (EM) and electrical resistive (ER) tomography.
The statistical maximum likelihood criterion is closely linked
to the additive Fisher information measure, and it facilitates an appropriate
weighting of the measurement data which can be useful with
multiphysics inverse problems. The Fisher information is particularly useful for inverse problems which
can be linearized similar to the Born approximation. In this paper, a
proper scalar product is defined for the measurements and a truncated
Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) based algorithm is devised which
combines the measurement data of the two imaging modalities in a way
that is optimal in the sense of maximum likelihood. As a multiphysics problem formulation with applications in geophysics,
the problem of tunnel detection based on EM and ER tomography
is studied in this paper. To illustrate the connection between the
Green's functions, the gradients and the Fisher information, two simple
and generic forward models are described in detail regarding two-dimensional
EM and ER tomography, respectively.


Single Aurivillius phase Bi3−xLaxTiNbO9 (LBTN-x, x=0.00, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00) ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction method. When x≤0.50, the ceramics are normal ferroelectrics, while LBTN-0.75 and LBTN-1.00 showed typical relaxor behavior, which could probably be attributed to the disordering induced by the La3+ partly substituting for Bi3+ in Bi2O2 layers. The dielectric relaxation of LBTN-0.75 and LBTN-1.00 were fitted using the Vogel–Fulcher relationship, and the results suggest that both of them are analogous to a spin glass with thermally activated polarization fluctuations above a freezing temperature.


We reported a new family of water insoluble, biocompatible and biodegradable cationic arginine and phenylalanine based poly(ester amide)s (Arg-Phe-PEAs) for potential biomedical applications. The Arg-Phe-PEA consists of 3 building blocks: amino acids, diols, and dicarboxylic acids and was prepared from both l-arginine and l-phenylalanine amino acids by solution polycondensation. The structure and properties of Arg-Phe-PEAs were characterized by standard physicochemical methods. In vitro biological tests of the Arg-Phe-PEAs included enzymatic biodegradation, cell attachment and proliferation, and macrophage inflammation tests. The enzymatic biodegradation tests showed that the biodegradation rate of Arg-Phe-PEAs can be controlled by regulating the polymer composition (the ratio of Arg to Phe). The cellular tests indicated that the bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) have very good cell attachment and proliferation on the Arg-Phe-PEA surface. The in vitro inflammation data showed that the Arg-Phe-PEAs induced far lower inflammatory response than FDA approved biomaterials. By a nano-precipitation method, Arg-Phe-PEAs were formulated into nanoparticles (NPs) with particle sizes below 200 nm. The protein release profiles from Arg-Phe-PEA NPs showed that the introduction of arginine significantly enhanced the protein encapsulation efficacy and changed the protein release rate compared with pure phenylalanine based poly(ester amide)s (Phe-PEAs).


This study used a national sample of PhD students in clinical psychology (N = 1,034) to explore when students decided to pursue their graduate degree, reasons for their decisions, and associated satisfaction. Results indicated that immediately after completing their undergraduate degree, 57% of current graduate students reported postponing graduate studies, 10% went directly to a terminal master's program, and 33% went directly to a clinical psychology PhD program. A variety of reasons for these decisions were documented. Individuals who postponed graduate school were significantly more satisfied with their decision than individuals who went directly to a terminal master's program and reported less frequent thoughts of withdrawal from their program than individuals who went directly to a clinical psychology PhD program. Implications for undergraduate advisors are discussed.


Design of nacelle and intake for an aero engine is highly complex and always a compromise between contradicting design goals. The intake has to provide air for the engine with minimal pressure loss at all flight conditions like take-off, cruise, approach, or crosswind. Further the airflow has to be evenly distributed to allow satisfying operation of the fan, and the nacelle should produce as less drag as possible. Taking this into account, the ideal lip shape alternates between thin to minimize drag during cruise and thick contour to cover the requirements at off-design conditions.To efficiently deal with these contradicting geometric design demands, a multi-objective optimization problem in 2D is defined. The major aim is to simultaneously minimize inner peak Mach number at off-design and outer peak Mach number at cruise conditions, i.e., two different flight conditions are taken into account which are evaluated in parallel. Three different parametric models are introduced to describe design changes, a first model, using superellipses and polynomials, a second one based on Class-Shape-Transformation, and a B-spline approach. To check the robustness of the design process, design of experiments for all three parameterization approaches have been performed. Based on these results proper design bounds are derived to ensure reliable CAD model generation, meshing and CFD analysis.Optimization results from a multi-objective genetic algorithm demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach. Compared to an existing design based on human experience, the designs found are better with respect to both objectives.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Courtship displays are an important component of animal reproduction, and divergence in these displays can play an integral role in promoting or maintaining reproductive isolation between species. The courtship behaviour of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) has been extensively characterized. In Japan, there are two lineages of threespine stickleback that are genetically differentiated and reproductively isolated when found in regions of sympatry. We have previously shown that males of the Pacific Ocean lineage perform the zig-zag dance, while sympatric males of the Japan Sea lineage perform a different dance, which we have termed the rolling dance (Kitano et al., 2007, Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 91: 671-685). As a first step towards understanding the role of the courtship display in female mate choice and sexual isolation between this sympatric pair, we conducted a more detailed analysis of divergence between the courtship displays of the Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea males. Kinematic analysis revealed that the tempo of the zig-zag dance is two times faster than the tempo of the rolling dance. A detailed analysis of head movements during the courtship dance revealed that the Japan Sea males erect their gill covers, extend their red throats, and open their mouths more frequently during the rolling dance than the Pacific Ocean males do during the zig-zag dance. These results demonstrate that there is extensive divergence between sympatric Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea males in both the motor patterns and the tempo of their courtship displays. Thus, the Japanese sympatric stickleback pair provides a good system to study the role of courtship behaviour in speciation, as well as the genetic mechanisms that underlie the divergence of kinematics and motor patterns in courtship behaviour.


Research issues concerning human interaction with computers have become crucial because of dramatic increases in the number of computer users who have no formal mathematical, engineering, or computer science training. This review focuses on the state of the art in Software Psychology--the study of human factors in computer systems. One area of software psychology, the psychology of programming, is picked for an in-depth discussion of research results. This area was selected for its interest to the readers of the PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE. The review then discusses the methodological issues involved in performing experimental research in software psychology. Future trends are discussed both for the programming research reviewed here and for the whole field of software psychology. The conclusions identify multidisciplinary training and research as critical to further progress in this field.


BACKGROUND
 Uncontrolled asthma poses substantial negative personal and health system impacts. Web-based technologies, including smartphones, are novel means to enable evidence-based care and improve patient outcomes.

 OBJECTIVE
 The aim of this study was to design, develop, and assess the utilization of an asthma collaborative self-management (CSM) platform (breathe) using content based on international evidence-based clinical guidelines.

 METHODS
 We designed and developed breathe as a Web-based mobile health (mHealth) platform accessible on smartphones, tablets, or desktop with user-centered design methods and International Organization for Standardization–certified quality development processes. Moreover, breathe was envisioned as a multifunctional, CSM mHealth platform, with content based on international clinical practice guidelines and compliant with national privacy and security specifications. The system enabled CSM (patient, provider, and breathe) and self-monitoring of asthma patients through (1) assessment of asthma control, (2) real-time access to a dynamic asthma action plan, (3) access to real-time environmental conditions, and (4) risk-reduction messaging. The data collection protocol collected user data for 12 months, with clinic visits at baseline and 6 and 12 months. Utilization outcomes included user interactions with the platform, user impressions, self-reported medication use, asthma symptom profile, reported peak flow measurement, and the delivery and impact of email reminders.

 RESULTS
 We enrolled 138 patients with a mean age of 45.3 years to receive the breathe intervention. Majority were female (100/138, 72.5%), had a smartphone (92/138, 66.7%), and had a mean Asthma Control Test score of 18.3 (SD 4.9). A majority reported that breathe helped in the management of their asthma. Moreover, breathe scored 71.1 (SD 18.9) on the System Usability Scale. Overall, 123 patients had complete usage analytics datasets. The platform sent 7.96 reminder emails per patient per week (pppw), patients accessed breathe 3.08 times, journaled symptoms 2.56 times, reported medication usage 0.30 times, and reported peak flow measurements 0.92 times pppw. Furthermore, breathe calculated patients' action plan zone of control 2.72 times pppw, with patients being in the green (well-controlled) zone in 47.71% (8300/17,396) of the total calculations. Usage analysis showed that 67.5% (83/123) of the participants used the app at week 4 and only 57.7% (71/123) by week 45. Physician visits, email reminders, and aged 50 years and above were associated with higher utilization.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Individuals with asthma reported good usability and high satisfaction levels, reacted to breathe notifications, and had confidence in the platform's assessment of asthma control. Strong utilization was seen at the intervention's initiation, followed by a rapid reduction in use. Patient reminders, physician visits, and being aged 50 years and above were associated with higher utilization.

 CLINICALTRIAL
 ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01964469; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01964469


A single-molecule switch works at room temperature In molecular electronics, researchers combine atomic control of molecular structure with high-precision nanofabrication techniques to connect individual molecules to tiny electrodes (1). The aim is to understand electrical transport, such as conductivity in individual molecules, and to uncover phenomena with practical utility in nanoelectronic devices. On page 1443 of this issue, Jia et al. (2) report robust, room-temperature optoelectronic switching of a single molecule connected to conducting carbon (graphene) contacts. In terms of the magnitude of the switching effect, its reversibility, and stability at room temperature, the results represent the state of the art for single-molecule electronics.


BACKGROUND
Thyroid disorders are the second most common of the endocrine diseases. With regards to Hypothyroidism, it has a slow indolent course over the years, before its diagnosis. Most of the patient, on adequate treatment with biochemical euthyroid status, have generalised symptoms that affect their quality of life. Several tools to assess quality of life in thyroid disorders have been validated and recommended for use for those patients in clinical follow ups. ThyPRO 39 is one of a recently developed thyroid-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaires applicable to patients with benign thyroid disorders (BTD). The purpose of this study was to predict the thyroid-related quality of life (QoL) instrument ThyPRO 39 in patients with Hypothyroidism, who were rendered euthyroid with thyroid replacement therapy prior to the administration of study tool and to assess the internal reliability of this scale in our population.

METHODS
A sample of 52 patients undergoing maintenance treatment for Hypothyroidism who visited the outpatient Endocrinology clinics at Lady Reading Hospital was studied. They were interviewed for their baseline demographic details and details on ThyPRO 39 questionnaire were recorded after a written informed consent. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS 25. The Internal reliability of the ThyPRO 39 scale was assessed for multi-item scales using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

RESULTS
The ThyPRO 39 scale demonstrated good response across the whole range of QoL aspects in patients with hypothyroidism. Internal reliability for ThyPRO 39 scale was satisfactory. Cronbach's Alpha in our study was 0.928, which was comparable to the results of other studies.

CONCLUSIONS
We suggest implementing this measurement tool as a patient-reported outcome in clinical studies in our indigenous population and further more to utilise it as a screening tool for QoL in clinical management of Hypothyroidism in our routine medical consultations.


Over the past decade, herbal and ayurvedic drugs have become a subject of world importance, with both medicinal and economical implications. A regular and widespread use of herbs throughout the world has increased serious concerns over their quality, safety and efficacy. Thus, a proper scientific evidence or assessment has become the criteria for acceptance of herbal health claims. Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. is a tree belonging to family Simaroubaceae, indigenous to Central and Southern India. Commonly it is known as a plant of H eaven. The traditional claims, phytochemical investigations and pharmacological evaluation and some ayurvedic formulations provide the backbone to make this tree as a plant of Heaven. This is not wrong to say that it is largactil because it has number of activities. This review article explores the traditional knowledge or claims along with pharmacognostical, phytochemical, pharmacological and future aspects of this plant. Over many centuries humans have been mining the bounties of nature for discovering new phytoconstituent that have been used for the treatment of number of diseases; many such treatments are useful even today as modern day medicine. Emerging evidence also suggests that search is still continuing for harnessing active compounds from nature in combating human illnesses and it also leads the path to search out new active natural and novel semisynthetic or synthetic compounds.


The UKIEG annual conference is a networking event for a multidisciplinary audience of academics, policy makers and industry experts with an interest in improving indoor environments for health and wellbeing. The indoor built environment can have a profound effect on the health, wellbeing and comfort of building occupants; particularly for more vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and those with reduced mobility due to illness.

This conference brought together research and case studies to help shed light on this important topic. The conference included invited speakers, presentations and discussion, a poster session and networking opportunities. The UKIEG AGM took place during the lunch break.

The conference was supported by the HEMAC network and MEARU, and marked the first time the annual UKIEG conference was held in Scotland since it's launch in 2003.

The conference included 10 oral and 10 quick-fire / poster presentations, on topics including indoor air quality, occupant control, comfort and perception, ventilation performance and green infrastructure.

Recordings of the presentations are available on the HEMAC website here: https://hemacnetwork.com/resources/


Enhancing technologies increases the use and growth of information technology. As we can see the growth of data which is increasing rapidly in every single minute. This exponential growth in data is one of the reason for the generation of rapid data. Stored data is processed to extract worth from inaccurate data to form a way for the parallel and distributed processing for Hadoop. All the nodes in Hadoop are assumed to be in homogeneous nature but it is not same as it looks like, in cloud different configuration systems are used which represents it logically. So data placement policy is used to distribute data on the basis of power of node. Dynamic block placement strategy is used in Hadoop, this strategy work as the distributing input data blocks to the nodes on the basis of its computing capacity. The proposed approach balance and reorganize the input data dynamically in accordance with each node capability in an heterogeneous nature. Data transfer time is reduced in the proposed approach with the improvement in performance. Block placement strategy, page ranking algorithm and sampling algorithm strategies are used in the proposed approach. The data placement strategy used works as decreasing the execution time and improving the performance of the clusters which are of heterogeneous nature. Big data are handled using Hadoop. Small files are handled using applications on Hadoop so that the issue of performance can be reduced on the Hadoop platform. Better performance improvement is shown in the proposed work.


Climate has always had a very important role in life on earth, as well as human activity and health. The influence of relative humidity (RH) in controlled environments (e.g. industrial processes in agro-food processing, cold storage of foods such as fruits, vegetables and meat, or controls in greenhouses) is very important. Relative humidity is a main factor in agricultural production and crop yield (due to the influence on crop water demand or the development and distribution of pests and diseases, for example). The main objective of this paper is to estimate RH [maximum (RHmax), average (RHave), and minimum (RHmin)] data in a specific area, being applied to the Region of Castilla-La Mancha (C-LM) in this case, from available data at thermo-pluviometric weather stations. In this paper Artificial neural networks (ANN) are used to generate RH considering maximum and minimum temperatures and extraterrestrial solar radiation data. Model validation and generation is based on data from the years 2000 to 2008 from 44 complete agroclimatic weather stations. Relative errors are estimated as 1) spatial errors of 11.30%, 6.80% and 10.27% and 2) temporal errors of 10.34%, 6.59% and 9.77% for RHmin, RHmax and RHave, respectively. The use of ANNs is interesting in generating climate parameters from available climate data. For determining optimal ANN structure in estimating RH values, model calibration and validation is necessary, considering spatial and temporal variability.


Glossalgia is considered to be a pluricausal disease accompanied by paresthesia and tongue sensitivity disorder by the segmental type, combined with changes in salivation, taste and bulbar phenomena. Patients suffer from burning sensation, pin sensation, dry sore throat, and numbness of the tongue (as if the tongue is "peppered", "burned", etc.). Depression of salivary glands function is observed in patients suffering from paraesthesiae in the tongue frequently. These phenomena may be explained by the disorder of nerve and reflex pathways that ensure regulation of the secretory process and neurotransmission from the tongue surface. The treatment of patients suffering from glossalgia accompanied by xerostomia is complex and includes active cooperation of dentist, neurologist, endocrinologist and gastroenterologist. However, despite the variety of suggested methods and ways of this pathology treatment, all of them have an insufficient degree of efficiency. Therefore, the search of more efficient and perspective methods remains up to date.The objective of the research was to increase the efficiency of glossalgia treatment by affecting the secretory apparatus of major and minor salivary glands. 17 female patients at the age of 37-62 having severe xerostomia with glossalgia were examined and treated. The method of glossalgia accompanied by xerostomia treatment approved by the authors consisted of bougienage of parotid and submandibular salivary glands ducts, successive alternating administration of chlorhexidine solution and rose seed oil into glands twice a week during one month, electrophoresis of nivalin for major salivary glands (10 sessions every other day), prescription of "No-Spa" in the first 7 days from the initiation of treatment. It was objectively proved that the immediate results after the termination of treatment were characterized by increasing of general secretion, elimination of the tongue paresthesia in most patients. Thus, we consider the stimulation of secretory activity of salivary glands in patients suffering from glossalgia to be a necessary component of complex treatment of this category of patients.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of fetal bovine serum (FBS) and heat-inactivated FBS (HI-FBS) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and zymosan-induced procoagulant activity of equine and canine mononuclear cells.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Mononuclear cells from 18 horses and 3 dogs.

PROCEDURES
Cells were incubated with various concentrations of FBS, HI-FBS, LPS, zymosan, polymyxin B, and anti-LPS-binding protein monoclonal antibody or combinations of these constituents. A 1 stage recalcification assay was used to determine procoagulant activity.

RESULTS
Addition of FBS to media significantly increased procoagulant activity; equine and canine cells were stimulated by 1% and 10% FBS, respectively. Coincubation of cells with FBS and polymyxin B did not reduce this effect, suggesting that the response was not attributable to LPS contamination. Addition of HI-FBS to media did not stimulate procoagulant activity of equine or canine cells, and the sensitivity of the equine cells to LPS was significantly increased by HI-FBS. This increased LPS sensitivity was reduced 40% with monoclonal antibody directed against human recombinant LPS-binding protein. Increasing concentrations of HIFBS significantly increased LPS- and zymosan-induced procoagulant activity of canine cells.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Procoagulant activity production in equine and canine mononuclear cells was significantly increased by addition of FBS, whereas heat inactivation of FBS eliminated this effect. Heat inactivation did not eliminate the function of serum proteins involved in enhancement of LPS and zymosan-induced procoagulant activity. Results suggest that HI-FBS can be used as a source of serum proteins that increase the sensitivity of mononuclear cells to bacterial and yeast cell wall components.


Orthorhombic AgInS2 nanoplate and nanoparticle were synthesized using pyridine and 1-dodecanethiol as the solvent. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), field-emission transmission electron microscope (FETEM), and the possible growth mechanism of AgInS2 was also proposed by the exploration of reaction temperature and time. Meanwhile, the band gap of AgInS2 were calculated by the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum, and the photocatalytic activity was also investigated. Those experimental results indicate that the reaction temperature, reaction time and solvent have an influence on the phase and morphology of AgInS2, and both AgInS2 nanoplate and nanoparticle have some ability on photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes under visible light irradiation.


Evaluation of tumor-host interaction and intratumoral heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is gaining increasing attention in modern cancer therapies because it can reveal unique information about the tumor status. As tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the major immune cells infiltrating in TME, a better understanding of TAMs could help us further elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for cancer development. However, the high-dimensional and heterogeneous data in biology limit the extensive integrative analysis of cancer research. Machine learning algorithms are particularly suitable for oncology data analysis due to their flexibility and scalability to analyze diverse data types and strong computation power to learn underlying patterns from massive data sets. With the application of machine learning in analyzing TME, especially TAM's traceable status, we could better understand the role of TAMs in tumor biology. Furthermore, we envision that the promotion of machine learning in this field could revolutionize tumor diagnosis, treatment stratification, and survival predictions in cancer research. In this article, we described key terms and concepts of machine learning, reviewed the applications of common methods in TAMs, and highlighted the challenges and future direction for TAMs in machine learning.


The recent interest in biologically oriented psychiatry has opened up new opportunities for collaboration between psychiatry and neurology. Traditionally neurologists emphasized neuronal pathways and lateralizing signs, while psychiatrists' main interest was feeling states and emotions. Increasingly, both specialties are becoming aware of the complexity of the nervous system and the frequency with which neuronal disturbances and psychological conflict interact and influence treatment and outcome. The most important factor in facilitating an increased number of consultations and generating research protocols involves achieving a certain mutuality and complementary role between two disciplines. Traditionally there has been a fair amount of antagonism, primarily because of each specialty's insistence that its vantage point of view was correct. The consultation-liaison psychiatrist is in the ideal position to bring about a rapprochement. To achieve this, it is paramount that the psychiatrist understand and be conversant in the neurologist's language.


An analysis is given of the phenomenon of direct synchronisation of a sinewave oscillator to a rectangular pulse. The effect of an applied step function is investigated first, and the pulse is then considered as the application of a step, followed by its removal. By considering the action of the nth pulse in an applied pulse train, expressions are derived for most of the important effects, in terms of pulse size and frequency difference, both inside and outside the synchronising band. These include the synchronising bandwidth, the phase while synchronised, the form of the transient after application of the first pulse, beats and pulling effects just outside the synchronising band, and the waveform of the beats. The case in which the sinewave frequency is close to a large harmonic of the p.r.f. is also considered.


We are developing a grid information service, RGIS, that is based on the relational data model. RGIS supports complex queries written in SQL that search for compositions (using joins) of resources. For example, we might ask it to find a Linux cluster with a certain bisection bandwidth and total memory. Such queries can be expensive to execute, however, and so we have developed several approaches that leverage our CIS schema to let us trade off between the number of results returned and the execution time. We describe two of them: scoped queries and approximate queries. Scoped queries constrain search to a network neighborhood, returning all matching results in the neighborhood. Approximate queries reduce the number of joins done by replacing collective constraints with constraints on individual resources, returning a subset of all the possible results in the grid. Scoping, approximation, and nondeterminism (described elsewhere), can be combined. We describe scoped and approximate queries, how they are implemented, and present performance evaluations for two examples. The evaluation suggests that scoping and approximation can greatly reduce query times while still returning a useful number of results.


We compute the emission of linear momentum (kicks) by both gravitational and electromagnetic radiation in fully general-relativistic numerical evolutions of quasi-circular charged black hole binaries. We derive analytical expressions for slowly moving bodies and explore numerically a variety of mass ratios and charge-to-mass ratios. We find that for the equal mass case our analytical expression is in excellent agreement with the observed values and, contrarily to what happens in the vacuum case, we find that in presence of electromagnetic fields there is emission of momentum by gravitational waves. We also find that the strong gravitational kicks of binaries with unequal masses affect the electromagnetic kicks, causing them to strongly deviate from Keplerian predic-tions. For the values of charge-to-mass ratio considered in this work, we observe that magnitudes of the electromagnetic kicks are always smaller than the gravitational ones.


Abstract The protective antigen (PA) component of anthrax toxin translocates the catalytic moieties lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF) into the cytosol. The proteolytically activated 63 kDa form of PA (PA63) has the ability to oligomerize and bind LF/EF. PA has four distinct domains performing specialized functions; whereas the function of domains I, II and IV has been well characterized, domain III has no known role in the biological activity of PA. Here we report the role of amino acid residues lining an exposed hydrophobic patch of domain III in the biological activity of PA. The residues Phe[552], Phe[554], Ile[562], Leu[566] and Ile[574] were individually substituted with alanine and the effect was studied. All mutant PA proteins except Phe552Ala were equally active as wildtype PA in exhibiting a toxic phenotype to J774A.1 cells in the presence of LF. Substitution of Ala for Phe[552] reduced the ability of PA to intoxicate cells by more than 250-fold. However, Phe552Ala was equally active in receptor binding and susceptibility to trypsin and chymotrypsin as wildtype PA, the activities that have been shown to be essential for the biological activity of PA. This mutated PA protein had a decreased ability to bind LF, oligomerize on cells and to induce release of [86]Rb+ from Chinese hamster ovary cells. These results suggest that the residue Phe[552] in PA plays an important role in LF binding and oligomerization. Our study provides a basis for further exploration of the biological significance of domain III of PA.


Background and Aim: Low bone mineral density (BMD) has recently been recognized as a potential health problem in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our aim was to investigate the familial resemblance of BMD in pediatric patients with IBD. Patients and Methods: In this population-based study from western Sweden, we assessed 144 children with IBD, 83 with ulcerative colitis, 45 with Crohn disease, 16 with indeterminate colitis, and their parents (136 mothers and 130 fathers) with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). After adjustment for sex, age, weight, height, and parental IBD, we correlated the BMD of the patients to the BMD of their mothers, fathers, and the midparent value ([mother's BMD + father's BMD]/2) at different skeletal sites and calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) to evaluate the extent of familial resemblance. Results: The BMD of the children with IBD was clearly related to the BMD of their parents. The strongest correlation was found in the femoral neck with r = 0.55 (P < 0.001, 95% CI 0.41–0.66) between BMD of the children and the midparent value. The group of children with IBD had an odds ratio of 5.96 for decreased BMD (lumbar spine z score < −1 standard deviation) given that decreased BMD was diagnosed in both parents. Conclusions: We conclude that BMD in children and adolescents with IBD is significantly related to that of their parents. In a clinical setting, it may be helpful to assess the parents of children with IBD with DEXA to interpret the children's DEXA measurements.


This caused them to rally around the church and to be, therefore, less prone to follow the divisive influence of individuals desirous of leadership. Their spirit might be characterized by the parting words of one of their great leaders, Jacques de Rore: "Endeavor always to build up one another" (p. 12). One is impressed again and again with their courage and dedication in the face of the severest measures of their opponents. Oddly, while there are several useful extra features in the book—a calendar of principal dates, two maps of Anabaptist locations, and twenty-one pages of documents in translation—there is no index! This is an omission difficult to understand.


The drivers for curricular change in medical education such as the addition of innovative approaches to teaching, inclusion of technology and adoption of different assessment methods are gaining momentum. In an effort to understand how these changes are impacting and being implemented in gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, neuroanatomy/neuroscience, and embryology courses, surveys were sent out to course directors/discipline leaders at allopathic Medical Schools in the United States during the 2016‐2017 academic year. Participants in the study were asked to comment on course hours, student experiences in the classroom and laboratory, amount of faculty participation, the use of peers as teachers in both the classroom and laboratory, methods used for student assessment and identification of best practices. Compared to data published from a similar survey in 2014, a number of changes were identified: (1) classroom hours in gross anatomy increased by 24% and by 29% in neuroanatomy/neuroscience; (2) laboratory hours in gross anatomy decreased by 16%, by 33% in microscopic anatomy, and by 38% in neuroanatomy/neuroscience; (3) use of virtual microscopy in microscopic anatomy teaching increased by 129%; and (4) the number of respondents reporting their discipline as part of a partially or fully integrated curriculum increased by greater than 100% for all four disciplines. Anat Sci Educ 11: 7–14. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.


Dear editor With great interest, I have read the article by Zhang et al, who conducted an open-label randomized clinical study to assess the effects of fluoxetine on neurological markers and cognition in patients with vascular cognitive impairment no dementia (VCIND). The authors found that fluoxetine may enhance cognition in certain cognitive domains and serum concentration of BDNF and VEGF in patients with VCIND. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the authors on trying to improve the disease path of patients with VCIND. Nevertheless, there are several methodological limitations that I would like to communicate with the authors. The authors correctly raised concerns about the open-label study design and small sample size but did not discuss their implications. The choice of an open-label study can introduce information bias, as participants are aware of their treatment. That knowledge can potentially influence their performance during the study (ie, on cognitive tests). The openlabel choice is especially surprising since the drug that was tested, fluoxetine, is mostly prescribed as a pill and could therefore have been easily paired up with a placebo pill. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial would have led to more convincing results and, I believe, would not have caused serious practical issues. Furthermore, the authors calculated a sample size of 50 (25 treatment and 25 control) to detect a "clinically meaningful difference in cognition between the two groups". This calculation is based on Serdar et al, aiming at 80% statistical power and 5% significance level and assuming a standardized effect size of 0.8. I would argue that a standardized effect size of 0.8 is rather optimistic in the present study, and a more conservative effect size resulting in a larger sample size should be preferred. The authors also fail to discuss that due to loss of follow-up, the final sample size is effectively 47 instead of 50 and, thus, does not meet their required sample size at the 12week follow-up. The study is therefore underpowered even with the optimistic sample size calculation of 50 participants. While inclusion and exclusion criteria are discussed and the study was conducted at Xiangyang Central Hospital, it is not clear what the study population is. Clarifying whether the study participants entered the study from specific departments, ie, neurology, geriatric or memory clinic, or rather any hospital admission would give better insight into the generalizability of the results. If the study population was sampled from specific departments, this would greatly impair the generalizability of the results to the general VCIND population. Individuals with VCIND who do not seek help in the hospital might not benefit from the drug as individuals who have complaints and do seek help in hospitals for their condition. Hence, the study population should be clearly defined, and recommendations based on the results of this study should be formulated for the specific study population.


PURPOSE
To evaluate and describe cross-sectional imaging findings in patients with pathologically confirmed primary hepatic angiosarcoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Findings from imaging examinations in 13 patients with pathologically confirmed primary hepatic angiosarcoma were retrospectively reviewed (computed tomographic [CT] images obtained in 10 patients and magnetic resonance [MR] images obtained in five patients were available for review). Two gastrointestinal radiologists evaluated lesion number, size, attenuation and signal intensity characteristics, and the pattern and degree of contrast material enhancement. Medical records were reviewed for clinical features associated with angiosarcoma.

RESULTS
Angiosarcoma appeared as multiple nodules (n = 6), as dominant masses (n = 6), or as a diffusely infiltrating lesion (n = 1). Multiple nodules were hypoattenuating at unenhanced and contrast material--enhanced CT (six of six patients). When dominant masses were encountered at MR imaging, T2-weighted MR imaging demonstrated heterogeneous internal architecture (four of four patients) similar to that of hepatocellular carcinoma. Multiphase contrast-enhanced CT and MR images showed dominant masses to have heterogeneous and progressive enhancement (three of three patients). Clinical features associated with angiosarcoma included splenic metastases (six of 13 patients), thrombocytopenia (seven of 13 patients), disseminated intravascular coagulation (four of 13 patients), and hemolytic anemia (three of 13 patients).

CONCLUSION
Primary hepatic angiosarcoma exhibits a spectrum of appearances that reflect its varied pathologic features.


Background The study aimed to show the relationship between a large number of circulating metabolites and subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and subclinical markers of CVD in the general population. Methods and Results In 2278 individuals free from CVD in the EpiHealth study (aged 45–75 years, mean age 61 years, 50% women), 790 annotated nonxenobiotic metabolites were measured by mass spectroscopy (Metabolon). The same metabolites were measured in the PIVUS (Prospective Investigation of Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors) study (n=603, all aged 80 years, 50% women), in which cardiac and carotid artery pathologies were evaluated by ultrasound. During a median follow‐up of 8.6 years, 107 individuals experienced a CVD (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure) in EpiHealth. Using a false discovery rate of 0.05 for age‐ and sex‐adjusted analyses and P<0.05 for adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors, 37 metabolites were significantly related to incident CVD. These metabolites belonged to multiple biochemical classes, such as amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides. Top findings were dimethylglycine and N‐acetylmethionine. A lasso selection of 5 metabolites improved discrimination when added on top of traditional CVD risk factors (+4.0%, P=0.0054). Thirty‐five of the 37 metabolites were related to subclinical markers of CVD evaluated in the PIVUS study. The metabolite 1‐carboxyethyltyrosine was associated with left atrial diameter as well as inversely related to both ejection fraction and the echogenicity of the carotid artery. Conclusions Several metabolites were discovered to be associated with future CVD, as well as with subclinical markers of CVD. A selection of metabolites improved discrimination when added on top of CVD risk factors.


A method of inducing slow gradual constriction of a renal artery is described. A metal constrictor is partially filled with ameroid, a hydroscopic material. Over a period of weeks, the ameroid expands, causing increasing obstruction to the renal artery. Data revealed a progressive decrease in function as measured by p-aminohippurate, inulin, and creatinine clearance on the affected side with an increase in function in the contralateral side.


The role of small heat-shock proteins inEscherichia coli is still enigmatic. We show here that the small heat-shock protein IbpB is a molecular chaperone that assists the refolding of denatured proteins in the presence of other chaperones. IbpB oligomers bind and stabilize heat-denatured malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and urea-denatured lactate dehydrogenase and thus prevent the irreversible aggregation of these proteins during stress. While IbpB-stabilized proteins alone do not refold spontaneously, they are specifically delivered to the DnaK/DnaJ/GrpE (KJE) chaperone system where they refold in a strict ATPase-dependent manner. Although GroEL/GroES (LS) chaperonins do not interact directly with IbpB-released proteins, LS accelerate the rate of KJE-mediated refolding of IbpB-released MDH, and to a lesser extent lactate dehydrogenase, by rapidly processing KJE-released early intermediates. Kinetic and gel-filtration analysis showed that denatured MDH preferentially transfers from IbpB to KJE, then from KJE to LS, and then forms a active enzyme. IbpB thus stabilizes aggregation-prone folding intermediates during stress and, as an integral part of a cooperative multichaperone network, is involved in the active refolding of stress-denatured proteins.


Six compounds of the type [CpMo(CO)3R] (R = Cl (1), CH3 (2), CF3 (3)) and [CpMo(O2)(O)R] (R = Cl (4), CH3 (5), CF3 (6) (Cp = η5-cyclopentadienyl)) have been synthesised and characterised. The crystal structures of [CpMo(CO)3CF3] and [CpMo(O2)(O)CF3] are compared to their literature known chloro and methyl derivatives. The influence of the groups R on the performance as epoxidation catalysts is examined. DFT calculations, IR-spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography help to explain differences in reactivity and enable a rational design of active molybdenum tricarbonyl and oxo-peroxo complexes.


Weathering processes weaken and break apart rock, freeing nutrients and enhancing permeability through the subsurface. To better understand these processes, it is useful to constrain physical properties of materials derived from weathering within the critical zone. Foliated rocks exhibit permeability, strength and seismic anisotropy–the former two bear hydrological and geomorphological consequences while the latter is geophysically quantifiable. Each of these types of anisotropy are related to rock fabric (fractures and foliation); thus, characterizing weathering‐dependent changes in rock fabric with depth may have a range of implications (e.g., landslide susceptibility, groundwater modeling, and landscape evolution). To better understand how weathering effects rock fabric, we quantify seismic anisotropy in saprolite and weathered bedrock within two catchments underlain by the Precambrian Loch Raven schist, located in Oregon Ridge Park, MD. Using circular geophone arrays and perpendicular seismic refraction profiles, anisotropy versus depth functions are created for material 0–25 m below ground surface (bgs). We find that anisotropy is relatively low (0%–15%) in the deepest material sampled (12–25 m bgs) but becomes more pronounced (29%–33%) at depths corresponding with saprolite and highly weathered bedrock (5–12 m bgs). At shallow soil depths (0–5 m bgs), material is seismically isotropic, indicating that mixing processes have destroyed parent fabric. Therefore, in situ weathering and anisotropy appear to be correlated, suggesting that in‐place weathering amplifies the intrinsic anisotropy of bedrock.


The 'second series' of the Giornale degli Economisti commenced in 1890. It revealed a notable change in editorial direction from the earlier series, which was a direct result of Alberto Zorli being joined by leading liberal intellectuals, Ugo Mazzola, Antonio de Viti de Marco and Maffeo Pantaleoni, as the Journal's proprietary directors. In regard to economic science, the second series saw the Journal establish itself as the leading Italian distributor of the new marginalism. In regard to politics, it became a leading advocate for liberal policy. To that end, the Journal published a special feature from 1891 entitled 'cronaca', which critically chronicled practical developments in Italian public policy, public finances and the state of the economy. In 1893 Pareto took over from Ugo Mazzola as author of the chronicles, a role he continued to perform until 1897. His contributions were, overwhelmingly, critical of interventionist and militaristic actions of the Italian Government. The purpose of this paper is to place Pareto's chronicles in their historical context and search for comments that hint at the subsequent development of sociological theory. This will be achieved by: interpreting Pareto's 'cronaca' with reference to political developments in Italy from the 1880s to 1897; identifying practical illustrations in the 'cronaca' concerning liberty and the extreme left in Italian society; and identifying three broad consistencies between Pareto's 'non-scientific' 'Cronaca' and his scientific 'General Sociology'.


The present study examined whether prosocial reasons to comply with anti-COVID measures were related to pro-environmental behaviours (PEB), as both have in common that they were/are mostly performed to help others. We investigated two mediating psychological mechanisms: perceived interdependencies between the self and others, and reduced climate change psychological distance. Latent class analyses applied to data from an online study conducted in France, Switzerland, the UK, and Spain (Ntot = 967) revealed five different 'environmental' profiles. Path models showed that prosocial reasons for complying with anti-COVID measures were related to the most congruent profiles (the 'strongly committed', frequent PEB/strong pro-environmental intentions, and the 'strongly disengaged', infrequent PEB/low intentions) through a reduced vs. heightened psychological distance of climate change. Prosocial reasons were not related to the three other profiles. However, a reduced vs. heightened psychological distance between COVID-19 and the self was related to perceived interdependencies, which were then related to the two most incongruent profiles: the 'well-meaning' and the 'committed to private PEB'. We discuss these results to the extent that they inform on (a) the relevance of using a profile-approach, (b) the way to measure the psychological distance of different global crises, and (c) the relevance of pursuing research on perceived interdependencies as predictors of PEB.


During recent years, various studies have demonstrated that indoor chemical pollution causes health problem and also negatively affect the performance of work by occupants. Building materials have been concerned as indoor chemical sources. Some of guidelines and certification system has been developed and resulted as dramatic decrease of harmful indoor chemicals such as formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds. Also, Home furniture and electrical devices has been concerned as one the primary influence the indoor chemical concentration in residential spaces. It is found that various kinds of electric home appliances have a significant source of chemical emission in indoor environments. In this study, the methodologies of detecting harmful chemicals from various kinds of products has been developed with large chamber measurement system and suggest some of the evaluation method for the chemicals from the home appliances as TV sets.


BACKGROUND
bis-heterocycles especially those contain pyrazole moiety displayed much better antibacterial activity than mono heterocycles.

OBJECTIVE
we interested herein to synthesis a series of new bis-pyrazoles and investigate its antimicrobial agents.

METHOD
A novel series of bis-pyrazole derivatives has been synthesized in good yield by coupling reaction of cyanoacetic acid {4-[(2-cyano-acetyl)-hydrazonomethyl]-benzylidene}-hydrazide with a number of diazonium salts of aromatic amines in DMF in the presence of NaOH. Refluxing of the produced hydrazones with hydrazine-hydrate in ethanolic solution afforded the respective bis-pyrazoles. On the other hand, reaction of bis(cyanoacetic acid hydrazide) derivative with a diversity of hydrazonoyl chlorides in dioxane under reflux in the being of bis-pyrazoles.

RESULTS
All the structures of all products were discussed and assigned via both all possible spectral data as well as the elemental analysis. In addition, the results of the antimicrobial activity examination of selected derivatives revealed a high strength of some tested compounds compared to standard bactericides and fungicides utilized. Molecular docking of the newly synthesized compounds into the Enoyl ACP reductase active site supported the in vitro antimicrobial activity. All the compounds could fit in the enzyme binding pocket with significant binding affinities (-7.040 to -9.141 Kcal/mol).

CONCLUSION
The good results of the antimicrobial examination of the new synthesized bis-pyrazoles is the considerable evidence of the importance of bis-heterocyclic compounds which encourage us to continue to design and synthesis a novel series with potent biological activity in the future.


In distributed environments, access control decisions depend on statements of multiple agents rather than only one central trusted party. However, existing policy languages put few emphasis on authorization provenances. The capability of managing these provenances is important and useful in various security areas such as computer auditing and safeguarding delegations. Based on the newly proposed logic, we define one type of authorization provenances. We exemplify the applications of these provenances by a case study.


Using narrative inquiry as a methodological basis, this study explores the co-construction process in professional identity formation for youth services practitioners. This investigation contributes to the articulation of what it means to become a professional and the role of higher education in facilitating this process. The research aims are furthered through repeated, extended (60-90 minutes), in-depth, discursive interviews, emails, and developed narratives with six professionally qualified practitioners. Although the participants are not representative of the whole range of youth services practitioners, they do give a spread of experiences and roles, whilst allowing the research to capture the richness of each of the individual practitioner's experience and the affordances of their developing "narrative capital." A particular feature of this study is this richness of experiences and the multi-layered nature of the participants' individually constructed, professional identities. Rather than identifying themselves as belonging to a community of practitioners, with commonly held norms, knowledge, and practices, greater emphasis is placed on a more individual, personal-professional selfhood. In particular, the value placed on critical practice underpinned by a commitment to "right action" and social good is a central emerging theme, as are the affordances of personalised narrative capital.


Mitochondrial porin, the voltage-dependent anion channel, plays an important role in metabolism and other cellular functions within eukaryotic cells. To further the understanding of porin structure and function, Neurospora crassa wild-type porin was replaced with a deletion variant lacking residues 238-242 (238porin). 238porin was assembled in the mitochondrial outer membrane, but the steady state levels were only about 3% of those of the wild-type protein. The strain harbouring 238porin displayed cytochrome deficiencies and expressed alternative oxidase. Nonetheless, it exhibited an almost normal linear growth rate. Analysis of mitochondrial proteomes from a wild-type strain FGSC9718, a strain lacking porin (ΔPor-1), and one expressing only 238porin, revealed that the major differences between the variant strains were in the levels of subunits of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of the electron transport chain, which were reduced only in the ΔPor-1 strain. These, and other proteins related to electron flow and mitochondrial biogenesis, are differentially affected by relative porin levels.


Multiband fusion involves combining an image having high spatial and low spectral resolution with another image having low spatial and high spectral resolution—resulting in a single multiband image with high spatial and spectral resolutions. In classical variational techniques, this problem is formulated as the minimization of an objective function consisting of two quadratic data-fidelity terms and an edge-preserving regularizer; the former account for blur, resolution mismatch and additive noise. In this work, we explore a constrained formulation of this problem where the regularization function is minimized subject to hard constraints on the data fidelity. Unlike the penalty approach, the advantage is that the user has direct control on the data fidelity of the reconstruction. We come up with an efficient ADMM solver for this constrained optimization problem. Moreover, for convex regularizers, we prove that that the ADMM iterates converge to an optimal solution (this is somewhat standard but requires the verification of certain technical conditions). To our knowledge, the use of constrained optimization for image fusion is novel. The proposed framework is shown to model the observations well and its fusion quality is competitive with state-of-the-art methods.


LE BOURDAIS, D. M. Nation of the North: Canada since Confederation. Pp. x, 270. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1954. $5.00. After disposing of the history of the preceding century in two introductory chapters, Mr. Le Bourdais divides the period subsequent to confederation into three eras, each dominated, in a way that would be impossible in the United States, by an outstanding statesman. Macdonald, Laurier, and King had, all three, a steadfast determination not to allow any consideration whatever of principle or emotion to deflect them from policies essential to the preservation of Canadian unity. This story of their success is, therefore, concerned in the main with political history. Mr. Le Bourdais, journalist rather than trained historian, presents a compact, yet comprehensive and readable narrative. It includes many shrewd appreciations of the dramatis personae of Canadian life. The author has his likes and dislikes. Particularly in respect of the later years, when the account becomes more and more journalistic, he writes as an observer &dquo;indebted


Real time obstacle avoidance is one of the intelligent tasks for intelligent mobile robots. Mobile robots should possess the ability to act autonomously in the presence of uncertainty and to adjust their action based on sensed information. They also should be capable of accepting high level mission oriented commands, integrate several kinds of data, including task specification, able to handle information about their own state and the state of the environment too, and be capable of reasoning under uncertainty without human intervention. The proposed technique is a behavior-based approach that blends subset navigational behaviors such as reflexive, potential field and wall following techniques. We discuss each approach separately and present a technique for adaptive navigational behavior switching that is conditional based on the availability of sensory information locally and globally. Our navigation control strategies are developed fully in the FMCell environment. We present some simulation results from FMCell software.


Previous theoretical and experimental work has put forward 50-period semiconductor superlattices as fast, true random number generators at room temperature. Their randomness stems from feedback between nonlinear electronic dynamics and stochastic processes that are intrinsic to quantum transitions. This work theoretically demonstrates that shorter superlattices with higher potential barriers contain fully chaotic dynamics over several intervals of the applied bias voltage compared to the 50-periods device which presented a much weaker chaotic behavior. The chaos arises from deterministic dynamics, hence it persists even in the absence of additional stochastic processes. Moreover, the frequency of the chaotic current oscillations is higher for shorter superlattices. These features should allow for faster and more robust generation of true random numbers.


The purpose of this study was to describe the application of LKPD to improve mathematics learning outcomes about time units in class III students. The type of research used is Classroom Action Research (CAR) which is carried out in three cycles, each cycle consisting of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection stages. . The subjects of this study were students of class III SD Muhammadiyah 02 Noyontaan in the 2019/2020 academic year, totaling 21 students. The method used is through the application of LKPD. Where each cycle is carried out 2 meetings. Each cycle consists of four activities, namely planning, implementing actions, observing and evaluating, and reflecting. Based on the research results, the results achieved in each cycle have increased. In the first cycle the average score was 75, and only 15 students or 75% of the students passed. In cycle II the average score is 75, students who complete 15 people or 70%. In cycle III, the average score of 84 students who completed 21 people or 100%. Based on the results obtained, it can be seen that the application of the learning model using LKPD can improve the mathematics learning outcomes of grade III students of SD Muhammadiyah 02 Noyontaan


In this contribution the formation of bioinorganic assemblies between the basic globular protein lysozyme and aqueous aluminium species including Al13-mer, Al30-mer and colloidal aluminium hydroxide have been explored and comparison made to previous interaction studies performed with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Specific charge-stabilised bioinorganic assemblies involving aluminium species and lysozyme were observed to form in contrast to the gel like structures formed on interaction of BSA with aluminium species. As demonstrated by infrared spectroscopy (structural assignment, 2D correlation spectroscopy), interactions mostly involve acidic surface groups of the proteins (Asp, Glu), with strong complexation and deprotonation in the case of BSA interacting with Al13 and Al30 and through hydrogen bonding for lysozyme interacting with the same species and aluminium hydroxide particles interacting with both biomolecules.


The present study expands the existing literature and supplements today's knowledge on the relationship between personal, psychosocial and lifestyle factors and depressive symptoms among adolescents. The study aimed to investigate the variety of depressive symptoms predictors—personal resources, adverse school and family, health, lifestyle-related (sense of coherence, self-esteem, school involvement, negative acts at school, family stress and violence, psychosomatic health complaints, physical activity, smoking, alcohol) as well as gender, employing hierarchical linear regression analysis in a large representative sample of adolescents (N = 2212) in Kaunas, Lithuania. Four blocks of predictors were employed in hierarchical linear regression analysis. In the final model 64.9% of depressive symptoms were explained by all the predictors. Sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms (standardized regression coefficient β = −605, p < 0.001 in the first model and β = −263, p < 0.001 in the final model after adjustment for all other independent variables) and accounted for 36.6% of variance. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that depressive symptoms among adolescents have multifactorial origins with many predictors showing significant effect seizes. Therefore, high sense of coherence and self-esteem, school involvement, higher levels of physical activity would be protective and influence lower levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Exposure to negative acts at school and negative experiences in the family, psychosomatic health complaints, smoking would increase the probability of depressive symptoms. Girls are more prone to depression as compared to boys.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of Excimer laser surgery, using either epithelial laser in situ keratomileusis (Epilasik) or laser-assisted epithelial keratectomy as surgical techniques, on the basis of a topoaberrometric study of patients with compound myopic astigmatism. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in the Anterior Segment Service of "Camilo Cienfuegos" International Center of Pigmentary Retinitis. Eighty eyes from 40 patients with compound myopic astigmatism (-1 to -6 dioptres) were studied, with a minimal follow-up of 6 months. Visual acuity without correction, keratometry, dynamic refraction, cycloplexic refraction, corneal topography, pachymetry, tonometry, biomicroscopy, study of the tear and funduscopy were all evaluated. The corneal waterfront analysis software was used for all the cases. Lasek was the chosen technique for right eyes whereas Epilasik was used for left eyes, using optimized refractive keratectomy in both procedures. RESULTS: In those cases treated with Lasek technique, visual acuity without correction changed from 0,12 to 0,93; preoperative sphere average changed -2,77 to -0,08 dioptres at the postoperative phase, the cylinder went from -79 to -0,37 dioptres, spheral aberration at 6mm slightly changed from 0,22 to 0,24 um and the coma varied from 0,19 to 0,20 um. In the cases subjected to Epilasik, visual acuity without correction varied from 0,07 to 0,93; the preoperative sphere average modified from -3,79 to 0,01 dioptres in the postoperative period, the cylinder went from -1,25 to -0,35 dioptres, spheral aberration at 6mm changed from 0,26 to 0,39 um, and the coma varied from 0,19 to 0,22 um. As to confocal microscopy, it was observed that recovery was faster in cases operated on with Epilasik technique. Revista Cubana de Oftalmologia.2010; 23(1)15-26 http://scielo.sld.cu 17 CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in visual acuity was statistically significant in both techniques and the decrease in the average sphere and cylinder was very similar; however, the variation in the spheral aberration and the coma was not significant. From the anatomical viewpoint, the eyes operated on by the Epilasik technique recovered more rapidly.


Abstract: The Commission of the (Catholic) Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has issued an opinion on the ethics of synthetic biology (synbio). Examining synbio from religious and more general ethical perspectives, it examines synbio's potential pros and cons, as well as whether it is ethical in and of itself. Its conclusions mirror those of the ethical mainstream; namely, that synbio may present humanity with opportunities for both great advancement and great destruction. It suggests a prudent approach, and calls for regulation to be used to encourage positive outcomes while reducing the likelihood of negative ones.


Introduction: Contractile myofibroblast accumulation has been implicated in pathological lung remodeling. We have reported the involvement of insufficient autophagy, a process of lysosomal self-degradation, in myofibroblast differentiation. Insufficient mitophagy, the selective autophagic degradation of mitochondria, results in increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. ROS is involved in the process of myofibroblast differentiation through the modulation of cell signaling pathways. Methods: To explore the regulatory role of mitophagy in ROS production and its involvement in myofibroblast differentiation, human lung fibroblasts were used in vitro. Transfection of PINK1 and Parkin siRNA were performed to inhibit mitophagy. DCFH-DA and MitoSOX Red were used to evaluate ROS production, and NAC and MitoTEMPO were employed for inhibition of ROS. Wortmannin and AG1296 were used to inhibit PI3K-Akt pathway and PDGF receptor (PDGFR) tyrosine kinase, respectively. Results: Inhibition of mitophagy via PINK1 and Parkin knockdown increased mitochondrial ROS production and induced myofibroblast differentiation, which was inhibited by treatment with anti-oxidants. Mitophagy inhibition activated PI3K-Akt pathway, and both wortmannin and Akt1/2 kinase inhibitor abrogated myofibroblast differentiation. PDGFR-mediated signaling was partly responsible for myofibrobalst differentiation in the setting of insufficient mitophagy, as elucidated by anti-oxidants and AG1296 treatments. Conclusion: These findings suggest insufficient mitophagy-induced ROS production with subsequent PDGFR-PI3K-Akt activation is a potent underlying mechanism for myofibroblast differentiation in the pathogenic sequence of fibrotic lung disorders.


A series of ditopic ligands bearing terpyridyl and polyamine coordination sites have been prepared. Complexes with RuII bound to the terpyridyl sites of many of these ligands have been prepared. RuII complexes of these ligands appear vulnerable to nucleophilic displacement of the polyamine portion of the ligand by BH4 –. A limited study of the coordination chemistry of the polyamine portion of the RuII complexes has been conducted, including the synthesis and characterization of RuII–CoIII heterodinuclear complexes in which the CoIII centre is coordinated by a cyclam macrocycle. The CoIII centre in these systems is unexpectedly labile – it can be removed from the polyamine upon treatment with ethane-1,2-diamine.


Consideration of how the practitioner uses the package insert leads to constructive suggestions relating to the content and format of the insert. These suggestions primarily relate to the handling of adverse experience reporting. It is suggested that the practicing physician remain the targeted audience for the package insert


Concrete mixtures are normally poured in single layers without intentional changes in the mixture properties within the thickness of the layers.

 In this research paper, alternative approach is introduced with Functionally Layered Concrete (FLC) composites, which have their known functions to achieve the maximum performance index.

 The performance index can be defined as the ratio of characteristics to the consumption of resources, fibres and additives. The steel fibre, polypropylene fibre, and silica fume are used in cement composites to make multilayer samples on which mechanical properties evaluations are conducted and compared to that of Mono-Layered Concrete (MLC) samples.

 It is observed from the results that FLC samples have superior mechanical characteristics compared to MLC samples in terms of compressive strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus.

 Given that the use of fibres/additives in FLC composites is diminished, acquiring better mechanical performance with minimised consumption of resources would be possible via functionally layered composite method.


An improved LSA model is proposed, and it is applied to face recognition. Firstly, the model is established to represent the map between the pixels residing at images of various resolutions; after that, parameters of the model are obtained from original image and its wavelet decomposition results to decide the map; finally, the identified map is used to estimate images at finer resolution from coarser versions. Parameters of the model about testing image and about training images are compared to classify the testing image. Experimental results show that images estimated by presented model are more similar to target images than those estimated by LSA model. The face recognition system based on the presented model is robust to illumination.