The changes in the physicochemical properties and the anticancer activity of 10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) in the presence of Cucurbit (n = 7) uril(Q[7]) were studied by using UV absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and phase solubility method. The results revealed that in the acid solution (pH 2), the absorption band of the guest HCPT exhibited a progressively lower absorbance at λ265 nm, while a progressively higher absorbance at λ425 nm as the ratio of N(Q[7])/N(HCPT) was increased. A sharp isosbestic point at λ387 nm was consistent with a simple interaction between Q[7] and HCPT. The emission spectra of the guest HCPT also exhibited a progressive decrease in fluorescence intensity at λ558 nm with a violet shift when the ratio of N(Q[7])/N(HCPT) was increased. The measured data from both absorption spectrophotometric and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis fitted to a 2 : 1 host:guest complexation, yielded a calculated stable constants (β) of 1.549 x 10(13) L2 x mol(-2) and 0.907 x 10(13) L2 x mol(-2) respectively through Reactlab EQULLIBRIA software. The effect of Q[7] on the solubility of HCPT was investigated by using phase solubility method. Upon the addition of Q[7] concentration, the solubility of HCPT was enhanced step by step at the value of pH 2 and an about 250 times advance was attained when the concentration of Q[7] was 1 x 10(-3) mol x L(-1), while the Q[7]-HCPT inclusion complex made by total evaporation method can increase about 1 170 times compared to the pure HCPT. At the end, the mixtures of Q[7] and HCPT were tested in terms of cytotoxicity on the human lung cancer cell line A549 and human leukemia cell line K562 to compare their reactivity with the free HCPT and the comparative cytotoxic activity was got for A549 and K562.


Lowest seed yield was recorded in both the varieties (T21 and Bahar) of pigeonpea, in pot culture, due to waterlogging at post flowering, followed by waterlogging at flowering stage during both the years. A significant Interaction between varieties and waterlogging has been observed during 1991 for seed yield. Waterlogging (nine days). adversely affected the nitrogen content in seed and yield of pigeonpea genotypes than waterlogging of three days during both the years. Bahar has been identified as tolerant variety under waterlogged conditions.


More than a decade since the dawn of democracy, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. Civil and political citizenship may have – rhetorically at least – reduced the stark racial inequality in the relationship between citizen and state evident under apartheid. Some authors suggest a positive correlation between social citizenship and social equality. However, in post-apartheid South Africa, deep socio-economic inequalities continue to mar the democratic content of society. Although rights to welfare and social services are nominally in place and are enshrined in the constitution, scores of poor, black South Africans are unable to claim social citizenship, precisely as a result of their class position. Using, as a lens, community struggles in Soweto against the commodification of water, this article seeks to explore the relationship between citizenship and class. It does this by addressing the relationship between the state and its citizens within the context of service delivery, paying particular attention to the impact of prepaid water meters and to the strategies that were employed by community movements in Soweto's 'water war'. The key argument is that under the system of capitalism, class inequality will persist regardless of the extent of citizenship.


Studies of clinical cognitive screening tests began in the 1960s, and ten instruments have been reported in the English literature. In this study, we have compared the widely used Mini-Mental State Examination developed by Folstein with a reportedly enhanced version, the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination devised by Teng, using a sample of 250 patients (inpatients, outpatients, emergency). We have come to the conclusion that the modifications brought about by Teng result in a minor improvement of the validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination in a psychiatric patients in a general hospital.


AIM
Although it has been widely demonstrated that administration of Daikenchuto (DKT), a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, improves gastrointestinal (GI) motility in patients undergoing abdominal surgery, few studies have investigated the efficacy of perioperative DKT administration for relief of postoperative ileus (PI) in patients undergoing surgery for GI cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether perioperative administration of DKT relieves PI in patients with GI cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We performed a comprehensive electronic search of the literature (Cochrane Library, PubMed, the Web of Science and ICHUSHI) up to December 2016 to identify studies that had shown the efficacy of perioperative DKT administration for relief of PI in patients with GI cancer. To integrate the individual effect of DKT, a meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), and heterogeneity was analyzed using I2 statistics.

RESULTS
Seven studies involving a total of 1,134 patients who had undergone GI cancer surgery were included in this meta-analysis. Among 588 patients who received DKT perioperatively, 67 (11.4%) had PI, whereas among 546 patients who did not receive DKT perioperatively, 87 (15.9%) had PI. Perioperative administration of DKT significantly reduced the occurrence of PI (RR=0.58, 95% CI=0.35-0.97, p=0.04, I2=48%) in comparison to patients who did not receive DKT or received placebo.

CONCLUSION
The result of this meta-analysis suggests that perioperative administration of DKT relieves PI in patients undergoing surgery for GI cancer.


On the Resolution of Representational Diversity Joachim Hammer Department of Computer Science Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305 Dennis McLeoDepartment of Computer Science University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-0781 September 1995 1 Introduction A major problem that arises frequently when attempting to support information sharg among autonomous heterogeneous database systems is the occurrence of representational differences that exist among related data objects in different component systems. A collection of cooperating but heterogeneous, autonomous component database systems may be termed a multidatabase system (MDBS) [LMR90], or loosely-coupled federated database system [SL90]. Such cooperating systems attempt to support operations for partial and controlled sharing of data with minimal affect on existing applications. In this context, a key to supporting sharing involves folding of non-local data into the schema of an importing (local) component as gracefully as possible. Essential to achieving this is to support the resolution of semantic and representational (modeling) differences between the local and nonlocal perspectives. By resolving representational differences we mean two thin(1) determine as precisely as possible the relationships between sharable objects in different components, and (2) detect possible conflicts in their structural representations that pose problems when folding the non-local data into the local schema later on. In this chapter, we present an approach for resolving representational differences that preserves the autonomy of the participating databases. 2 Related Research Research in the area of collaboration among heterogeneous database systems (HDBSs) began only a decade ago [FS83, SBD + 81]. The term "heterogeneous databases" was originally used to distinguish work which included database model and conceptual schema heterogeneity from work in "distributed databases 1 " which addressed issues solely related to dist


Roles of aluminum components originating from aluminum sulfate (alum) in rosin sizing were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography. Handsheets were prepared with 1% alum and 1% anionic rosin emulsion, where the stirring time of pulp suspensions at pH 6.7 or pH 4.5 between the alum and size additions varied from 3 to 3000 min. Sizing effects of the handsheets prepared at pH 6.7 decreased rapidly as the stirring time proceeded, although the sizing appearance of the handsheets prepared at pH 4.5 was observed even at an addition interval of 50 hrs. Under the neutral papermaking conditions, the Al components once adsorbed on pulp fibers were immediately counteracted by OH- ions, followed by the Al desorption and the drop in rosin retention. On the other hand, the acidic circumstances preserved the Al retention and performance, resulting in higher rosin content and better sizing efficiency. The Al components present on pulp surfaces were then aggregated gradually, and the ability as a retention aid eventually became absent, although the Al content remained almost unchanged. However, the Al components that had lost the above function could make a great contribution to sizing appearance by tub-sizing the Al-containing handsheets with the same rosin emulsion. Therefore, alum in rosin sizing must play two individual roles in sizing response: a retention enhancer as which Al cations act at the wet end, and a sizing promoter as which non-ionic Al components perform in the dried paper sheet.


We present high angular resolution Very Large Array (VLA) and Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association (BIMA) observations of NH3, HCO+, HCN, and SO molecular emission and 1.4, 3.5, and 7 mm continuum emission toward the exciting source of the HH 80-81 system. This object is one of the few massive protostars known to be driving a collimated outflow. We report the first detection of SO 55-44 molecular emission toward the exciting source of HH 80-81, suggesting that this transition may be a good tracer of molecular gas near massive protostars. We also detected toward this source dust continuum emission at 1.4 and 3.5 mm. From the SO molecular emission and the dust emission we roughly estimated that the molecular mass associated with the circumstellar surroundings of the exciting source of the thermal jet is in the range 1-3 M☉. Weak and broad (2, 2) ammonia emission was also found in the direction of the jet, suggesting the presence of small amounts of molecular gas at high temperatures (>50 K). The VLA observations show the presence of three ammonia components toward the HH 80-81 region. The brightest component peaks at ~8'' northeast of the thermal jet and is associated with the H2O maser spots in the region. A second ammonia clump is located about 25'' northeast of the jet and is associated with Class I methanol masers. The third ammonia component is located 1' south of the thermal jet and may be a molecular core, yet without stellar formation. The BIMA observations show that the strongest emission in the HCO+ and HCN lines originates close to the H2O maser and covers the same spatial region and velocity range as the brightest ammonia component.


This paper empirically examines whether differences in cost of capital and liquidity between domestic and foreign investors are important factors that help explain the price difference between Chinese A shares on the domestic markets and their matching H shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange during the period of July 1993 and December 2003 . Using time-series analyses, w e find that for the majority of the companies that listed their shares on both markets, lower cost of capital and greater liquidity of the Chinese market explain partly the A to H share price premiums. This result is in contrast to the conventional wisdom that firms cross list on the market with lower cost of capital and greater liquidity. Our findings suggest that it is an interesting area for future research to examine the benefit and the impact of cross-listing for Chinese companies. Keywords : market segmentation, cross-listing, cost of capital, liquidity


Tospoviruses are now recognized worldwide as limiting factors in the production of a large number of horticultural crops. The economic impact of the type species of these viruses, the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), seems to be the highest because of its very broad host range, the current worldwide spread one of its most common vectors, the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and the abundance of Thrips tabaci in some solanaceous crops. The economic impact of recently described tospovirus species must still be assessed using reliable diagnostic tools. The spread of the tospoviruses and infection of the plant results from interactions between the plant, the vector and the virus. To better understand the epidemiology of tospoviruses, their interactions with various thrips species are reported.


Lu"lu Fatichatis Sholawat, 2017, "An Analysis Types of Speech Act Used by English Teacher in English Teaching Learning Process at MTs Al-Wahhab Bago Kradenan in Academic Year 2016/2017". Thesis. English Education Department, Islamic Education and Teacher Training Faculty, The State Islamic Institute of Surakarta.
Advisor : Dra. Hj. Woro Retnaningsih, M.Pd.
Key words : Speech Acts, Pragmatic, Qualitative Analysis,
English teaching
The purposes of this study was to identify the types of speech acts performed by the English teacher in English teaching and learning process at MTs Al-Wahhab Bago Kradenan on the basis of Searle"s theory of speech acts and to identify the most dominant kind of speech act. This research was descriptive-qualitative in nature. More specifically this research was classified as a case study. The object of this study was the utterances uttered by the English teacher of MTs Al-Wahhab Bago Kradenan during the teaching and learning practices.
The data were in the form of words, phrases, and utterances employed by the teacher. The researcher played the role as the primary instrument in which she was involved in all of the process of this research starting from the research design until the data report. The data were obtained through conducting observations accompanied by audio recording. The data were, then, transcribed into the written form, selected to fit the objectives of the study, recorded into the data sheets, interpreted and analysed using the theory of speech acts proposed by Searle. The data were analysed by using interactive qualitative method proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994). In addition, coding system was also applied to ease the researcher in classifying the data. the researcher used theoretical triangulation. The researcher compared the data of this research to the related theory. The researcher checked the data of speaker utterances based on the directive speech acts theory of Searle.
The research findings show that there were four kinds of speech acts performed by the teacher, namely, directives, representatives, expressive and commissives. The most frequently used speech acts were directives (63.004%), while the least frequent speech acts went to declarative (0.00%). It is because declarative perfome if the speaker has to have a special institutional role. Directives was mostly domiant used by English teacher in teaching learning process. Asking appeared to be the most dominant speech act. The use of directives was understandable since in restricted discourse like classroom setting, the relation between the teacher and the students was asymmetrical in nature. The teacher"s use of asking allowed the students to participate more actively in the lesson. By giving the question, the teacher can know whether the students understand or not about the lessons learned. Meanwhile, asking was employed to check the students" background knowledge.


Background: In 2011, the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria were published to standardize the assessment of bleeding events following PCI. However, the status of bleeding events as assessed using the BARC criteria is not established in Japan. The aim of this post-hoc analysis of the PRASFIT-ACS and PRASFIT-Elective trials was to re-classify the bleeding events from the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) criteria into the BARC criteria. Methods: Bleeding events had previously been assessed in both trials using the TIMI criteria. In the post-hoc analysis, the BARC criteria were applied retrospectively to each category of bleeding. Results: In PRASFIT-ACS, the incidences of severe bleeds (combined type 3 or 5 bleeds according to BARC criteria) were 43/685 [6.3%] with prasugrel and 37/678 [5.5%] with clopidogrel [HR 1.071; 95% CI 0.668–1.667]. Types 3 or 5 events occurred at a higher rate closer to the time of PCI, and then plateaued. In PRASFIT-Elective, Type 3 bleeding occurred in 10/370 (2.7%) patients in the prasugrel group and 12/372 (3.2%) in the clopidogrel group. There was a higher incidence of bleeding events in PRASFIT-ACS than in PRASFIT-Elective, particularly more severe bleeds (combination of type 3 or 5 events). Conclusions: The results obtained with the BARC criteria were similar to those reported using the original TIMI criteria. The incidences of type 3 or 5 events according to the BARC criteria were similar in the prasugrel and clopidogrel groups. Medical interventions might be needed during the acute period of PCI for ACS to reduce the risk of type 2 bleeding events in patients with low platelet aggregation.


Objective: This study aimed at providing a comprehensive genomic analysis of whole-genome sequence data obtained from V. cholerae isolates from different outbreaks in Uganda using bioinformatics approaches.
Results :The ten sequenced strains of V. cholerae were found to carry virulence-associated genes MakA, ctxA, ctxB, carA, carB, trpB, clpB, ace, toxR, zot, rtxA, ompW, ompR, gmhA, fur, hlyA, rstR, Type IV secretion system genes, T6SS genes vasA-L, vgrG-2, vgrG-3, vipA/mglA, and vipB/mglB; alsD; alsR; the flagella-mediated cytotoxin gene, makA; Type IV pilus genes tcpA-F, tcpH-J, tcpN, tcpP-T, and icmF/vasK; adherence genes acfA-D, IlpA, and quorum sensing system genes luxS and cqsA. Pathogenicity islands identified were VSP-1, VSP-2, VPI-1, and VPI-2. Antimicrobial resistance genes identified in the strains included strA and B, APH(3'')-I, APH(3'')-Ib, APH(6)-Id, APH(6)-Ic, murA, pare, dfrA1, floR, catB, and catB9. The strains also contained genes of the VC1786 integrative and conjugative element. SNP-based phylogenetic analysis revealed 218 shared SNPs in the strains, of these, 98 were missense. Gene enrichment analysis of the 98 SNPs revealed enrichment in genes that mediate transmembrane-signaling activity, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity, and phosphorelay response regulator activity.


The increase in twin births has created a requirement for biometric systems to accurately determine the identity of a person who has an identical twin. The discriminability of some of the identical twin biometric traits, such as fingerprints, iris, and palmprints, is supported by anatomy and the formation process of the biometric characteristic, which state they are different even in identical twins due to a number of random factors during the gestation period. For the first time, we collected multiple biometric traits (fingerprint, face, and iris) of 66 families of twins, and we performed unimodal and multimodal matching experiments to assess the ability of biometric systems in distinguishing identical twins. Our experiments show that unimodal finger biometric systems can distinguish two different persons who are not identical twins better than they can distinguish identical twins; this difference is much larger in the face biometric system and it is not significant in the iris biometric system. Multimodal biometric systems that combine different units of the same biometric modality (e.g. multiple fingerprints or left and right irises.) show the best performance among all the unimodal and multimodal biometric systems, achieving an almost perfect separation between genuine and impostor distributions.


Occupant footfalls are often the most critical source of floor vibration on the elevated floors of buildings.  In research facilities employing high resolution electron microscopes, this issue can be critical.  Modifications to reduce vibration impacts in completed buildings typically require major changes to the mass, stiffness or damping of the floor system. As such, vibration impacts on sensitive equipment need to be addressed during the design stage. There are various methods available for predicting vibration levels from footfalls. The Finite Element (FE) approach presented in The Steel Construction Institute (SCI) P354 and The Concrete Centre (CCIP) 016 methodologies, which considers the interaction of many modes, is generally accepted to be more accurate than other methodologies that rely on simple beam theory.  A case study is presented where measurements were performed on bare concrete floors, prior to completion of the Brimacombe Building addition at the University of British Columbia. The facility requires a low vibration environment to support world leading quantum materials research. The measured vibration levels are compared with the values predicted by the SCI P354 and CCIP 016 methodologies to assess the accuracy of the prediction methodology in the absence of damping inherent in completed buildings.


This research had the purpose of validating the Negative Fear Evaluation Scale (FNE) in Colombian population. The FNE evaluates the degree in which people experiment fear about the possibility of others judging them negatively. Likewise, this research had the purpose of validating the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD) that evaluates the subjective distress, the active avoidance or the escape desires that people with social phobia experiment. There were 471 participants of both genders, representing different social classes and educational levels. The sampling procedure was carried out at random, involved several stages and was done by conglomerates. It was found that the SAD scale showed an alpha of 0.85, whereas the FNE showed an alpha 0.66. This result raises the need to analyze reliability problems related to dichotomic inverse items and the educational level of the participants. The study suggests that psychometric evaluation instruments should use Likert scales and avoid the inclusion of reverse items.


Critical adaptation research has documented how climate change adaptation responses largely tend to maintain rather than change the status quo. Building and expanding on these literatures, this article draws on poststructuralist discourse theory, specifically its notion of political fantasy, to explore further how these prevalent techno-managerial approaches to adaptation operate and what it might be that makes them seem appealing. Based on an exploratory, qualitative analysis of how affect (emotions) and fantasy are at play in the German government discourse on adaptation, the article discerns four specific forms that fantasy takes in official documents: (1) fantasies of control and preparedness, (2) fantasies of objectivity and reason, (3) fantasies of a shared sense of place, and (4) fantasies about 'the good life'. These support the common narrative for how to adapt to climate change in the German context – primarily in a way that does not challenge or change the social order. The findings show that German adaptation policy is sustained and legitimised by fantasmatic elements that seek to speak to a-rational desires and provide important affective anchor points for collective identification, especially those evoking a shared sense of place. In other words, the German adaptation policy discourse is not constructed only at the level of rational argumentation, but very much so on the level of affect. In demonstrating this, the article makes the case for placing political fantasy into the analytical and theoretical vocabulary within critical adaptation research.


This paper describes three methods of preparing fluorescent microspheres comprising π-conjugated or non-conjugated polymers: vapor diffusion, interface precipitation, and mini-emulsion. In all methods, well-defined, micrometer-sized spheres are obtained from a self-assembling process in solution. The vapor diffusion method can result in spheres with the highest sphericity and surface smoothness, yet the types of the polymers able to form these spheres are limited. On the other hand, in the mini-emulsion method, microspheres can be made from various types of polymers, even from highly crystalline polymers with coplanar, π-conjugated backbones. The photoluminescent (PL) properties from single isolated microspheres are unusual: the PL is confined inside the spheres, propagates at the circumference of the spheres via the total internal reflection at the polymer/air interface, and self-interferes to show sharp and periodic resonant PL lines. These resonating modes are so-called "whispering gallery modes" (WGMs). This work demonstrates how to measure WGM PL from single isolated spheres using the micro-photoluminescence (µ-PL) technique. In this technique, a focused laser beam irradiates a single microsphere, and the luminescence is detected by a spectrometer. A micromanipulation technique is then used to connect the microspheres one by one and to demonstrate the intersphere PL propagation and color conversion from coupled microspheres upon excitation at the perimeter of one sphere and detection of PL from the other microsphere. These techniques, µ-PL and micromanipulation, are useful for experiments on micro-optic application using polymer materials.


The objective of this study was to evaluate how inter-annual changes in freshwater inputs have affected the decapod assemblages in the Guadiana estuary. Three major areas in the estuary were sampled during the summer, in 2001 (high inflow year and before the filling of the Alqueva dam), in 2002 (low inflow and after filling of the Alqueva dam), and in 2008 and 2009 (low inflow and after consolidation of the impacts of the Alqueva dam). A significant increase in total decapod densities was recorded for the entire estuary, but especially in the upper estuary, after the closure of the dam in 2002. Changes in salinity, turbidity and temperature, which were mainly due to changes in freshwater input and climatic influence (North Atlantic Oscillation index), had an important influence on the structure of the decapod crustacean assemblages. The major conclusions of the study were that, following the construction of the Alqueva dam and regularization of the freshwater inflow, the decapod crustacean community in the Guadiana estuary changed and a shift of the dominant decapod species to upper zones of the estuary happened. These changes, and the presence of the non-native Palaemon macrodactylus in 2008 and 2009, further enhance the importance of estuarine monitoring studies to improve ecologists' knowledge on distinguishing and understanding natural changes and anthropogenic impacts in the ecosystem.


Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, mediates a host of normal physiologic processes in the developing and the adult organism; these processes include embryogenesis, normal cell turnover, hormone-induced tissue atrophy, thymic cell involution, and tumor regression. In contrast to necrotic cell death, apoptosis occurs without the induction of inflammation. The factors controlling apoptosis within a single cell are complex and finely regulated, and apoptosis can be triggered or inhibited through numerous different pathways even within the same cell type. The role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of various disease states is an area of active investigation. Apoptosis may contribute to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) through several different mechanisms. For example, apoptotic death of functional cells may decrease organ function, or the inhibition of neutrophil apoptosis may prolong inflammation. The study of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of MODS is in its early stages, and current evidence is based primarily on cell culture and small animal models.


The lung parenchyma as a tissue has a rather unusual stress-strain relationship. A theoretical derivation of this relationship is presented which connects the surface tension and the tissue elastic stress in the alveolar septa with the alveolar geometry. The mathematical expression contains a few meaningful physical constants which can be determined by in vitro and in vivo experiments. With this stress-strain relationship, the general equations of lung mechanics are formulated, and solutions to some simpler problems are presented. First, the equilibrium of a lung subjected to a uniform inflation pressure (definition: alveolar air pressure - intrapleural pressure - pleural tension x mean curvature of pleura) is analyzed, and the stability of the equilibrium states with respect to small perturbations is examined. Second, an exact solution for a lung in a chest under the influence of gravity is presented; the solution is "exact," of course, for only a particular lung, but it can serve as a standard to check numerical procedures being developed in many laboratories. Finally, three types of possible atelectasis-planar, axial, and focal-are analyzed. The planar type can exist in a normally inflated lung, provided the layers of alveoli are forced to collapse toward a plane by some external agent. But axial atelectasis (alveoli collapse into a cylinder) can occur only if the dimension of all alveoli in the direction perpendicular to the axis is smaller than the resting dimension (at which the elastic tension in the alveolar septa vanishes). Similarly, focal atelectasis can occur only if the entire lung is smaller than the resting volume.


Mitigation of potentially hazardous and malodor compounds emitted from animal waste is needed to improve the sustainability of livestock agriculture. Bacteria control the generation of these compounds and also depend on the pH of manure. Influencing swine manure pH, especially on the liquid-air interface, may lead to a reduction of emission of odorous and hazardous compounds. The objective of this experiment was to test highly alkaline and porous (HAP) modified biochar with pH = 9.2 and red oak (RO) biochar with pH = 7.5 influence on swine manure pH acquired from the outdoor storage and deep pit storage under a barn. HAP and RO biochars were topically applied on the outdoor-stored (pH = 7.55), and pit (pH = 8.00) manures and spatial pH (every 1 mm of depth) were measured on days 0, 2, and 4. Results showed that HAP biochar increased outdoor-stored manure pH on day 4, particularly within the top 10 mm of depth, where pH ranged from 7.79 to 8.90, while in the case of RO pH ranged between 7.46 and 7.66, i.e., similar to control (7.57–7.64). Both biochars decreased pit-stored manure pH within the top 10 mm of depth (in comparison with the control pH of 8.36–8.47) to 8.19–8.30 (HAP), and 8.18–8.29 (RO) on day 4. However, differences were not considerable. The reason for the insignificant effect of biochars on pit manure was likely due to its higher buffer capacity in comparison with the outdoor-stored manure.


Inverted structures of common crystal lattices, referred to as antistructures, are rare in nature due to their thermodynamic constraints imposed by the switched cation and anion positions in reference to the original structure. However, a stable antistructure formed with mixed bonding characters of constituent elements in unusual valence states can provide unexpected material properties. Here, we report a heavy-fermion behaviour of ferromagnetic gadolinium lattice in Gd3SnC antiperovskite, contradicting the common belief that ferromagnetic gadolinium cannot be a heavy-fermion system. The specific heat shows an unusually large Sommerfeld coefficient of ~ 1114 mJ⋅mol− 1⋅K− 2 with a logarithmic behaviour of non-Fermi-liquid state. We demonstrate that the heavy-fermion behaviour in the non-Fermi-liquid state appears to arise from the hybridized electronic states of gadolinium 5d-electrons participating in metallic Gd–Gd and covalent Gd–C bonds. These results accentuate unusual chemical bonds in CGd6 octahedra with the dual characters of gadolinium 5d-electrons for the emergence of heavy-fermions.


Objective: Studies suggest that non-European immigrants to Canada tend to under use mental health services, compared with Canadian-born people. Social, cultural, religious, linguistic, geographic, and economic variables may contribute to this underuse. This paper explores the reasons for underuse of conventional mental health services in a community sample of immigrants with identified emotional and somatic symptoms. Method: Fifteen West Indian immigrants in Montreal with somatic symptoms and (or) emotional distress, not currently using mental health services, participated in a face-to-face in-depth interview exploring health care use. Interviews were analyzed thematically to discern common factors explaining reluctance to use services. Results: Across participants' narratives, we identified 3 significant factors explaining their reluctance to use mental health services. First, there was a perceived overwillingness of doctors to rely on pharmaceutical medications as interventions. Second, participants perceived a dismissive attitude and lack of time from physicians in previous encounters that deterred their use of current health service. Third, many participants reported a belief in the curative power of nonmedical interventions, most notably God and to a lesser extent, traditional folk medicine. Conclusion: The above factors may highlight important areas for intervention to reduce disparities in immigrant use of mental health care. We present our framework as a model, grounded in empirical data, that further research can explore.


Photocatalytic approaches in the visible region show promising potential in photocatalytic water splitting and water treatment to boost water purification efficiency. For this reason, developing cost‐effective and efficient photocatalysts for environmental remediation is a growing need, and semiconductor photocatalysts have now received more interest owing to their excellent activity and stability. Recently, several metal oxides, sulfides, and nitrides‐based semiconductors for water splitting and photodegradation of pollutants have been developed. However, the existing challenges, such as high over potential, wide band gap as well as fast recombination of charge carriers of most of the semiconductors limit their photocatalytic properties. This review summarizes the recent state‐of‐the‐art first‐principles research progress in the design of effective visible‐light‐response semiconductor photocatalysts through several modification processes with a focus on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Recent developments to the exchange‐correlation effect, such as hybrid functionals, DFT + U as well as methods beyond DFT are also emphasized. Recent discoveries on the origin, fundamentals, and the underlying mechanisms of the interfacial electron transfer, band gap reduction, enhanced optical absorption, and electron–holes separation are presented. Highlights on the challenges and proposed strategies in developing advanced semiconductor photocatalysts for the application in water splitting and degradation of pollutants are proposed.


Green alga Chlorella ohadii is known for its ability to carry out photosynthesis under harsh conditions. Using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM), we obtained a high-resolution structure of PSII at 2.72 Å. This structure revealed 64 subunits, which encompassed 386 chlorophylls, 86 carotenoids, four plastoquinones, and several structural lipids. At the luminal side of PSII, a unique subunit arrangement was observed to protect the oxygen-evolving complex. This arrangement involved PsbO (OEE1), PsbP (OEE2), PsbB, and PsbU (a homolog of plant OEE3). PsbU interacted with PsbO, PsbC, and PsbP, thereby stabilizing the shield of the oxygen-evolving complex. Significant changes were also observed at the stromal electron acceptor side. PsbY, identified as a transmembrane helix, was situated alongside PsbF and PsbE, which enclosed cytochrome b559. Supported by the adjacent C-terminal helix of Psb10, these four transmembrane helices formed a bundle that shielded cytochrome b559 from the surrounding solvent. Moreover, the bulk of Psb10 formed a protective cap, which safeguarded the quinone site and likely contributed to the stacking of PSII complexes. Based on our findings, we propose a protective mechanism that prevents QB (plastoquinone B) from becoming fully reduced. This mechanism offers insights into the regulation of electron transfer within PSII.


Background- Influenza virus is a common human pathogen that has caused serious respiratory illness and death. In April 2009 a new strain of Influenza virus A H1N1 began to spread in several countries around the world and India confirmed its first case on 16 May 2009. The 2013-2014 influenza season was marked by the resurgence of pandemic A/H1N1virus causing substantial morbidity and mortality around the world. Objective- The study of clinical presentation, morbidity profile and outcome of H1N1 influenza A in admitted children of a Tertiary health centre. Methods- 130 patients satisfying the WHO criteria of CAP were enrolled. Nasopharyngeal Aspirates of these patients were tested for H1N1 virus by using the Real Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction assay. Clinico-epidemiological profile and outcome of positive patients were analysed. Results - Twenty-three (17.7%) patients were confirmed (positive) for H1N1influenza A. Maximum 13(56.5 %) patients were in the age group 1-5 years. Male (73.9%) were affected more than Females (26.1%). The common symptoms were rapid breathing (100%), fever (82.6%) and cough (95.7%). Malnutrition was present in 10 (43.5%) cases. Total 3 (13.0%) patients were taken on mechanical ventilator, out of them no one survived. Conclusion - Clinician should consider H1N1 influenza A in the differential diagnosis of patients who presented with acute onset of fever, cough and breathlessness. The routine laboratory investigations in children with H1N1 influenza A were non-specific. There was no specific laboratory characteristic shown to have a significant association with the severity of illness or poor outcome. Poor prognostic factors as derived in the current study were the development of ARDS, need of mechanical ventilation and associated co-morbid illness.


Overoptimistic performance prediction is a very common feature of people's goal-directed behavior. In this study we examined overoptimistic prediction as a function of construal level. In construal level theory an explanation is set out with regard to how people make predictions through the abstract connections between past and future events, with high-level construal bridging near and distant events. We conducted 2 experiments to confirm our hypothesis that, compared with people with local, concrete construals, people with global, abstract construals would make predictions that were less overoptimistic. In Study 1 we manipulated construal level by priming mindset, and participants ( n = 81) predicted the level of their productivity in an anagram task. The results supported our hypothesis. In Study 2, in order to improve the generalizability of the conclusion, we varied the manipulation of the construal level by priming a scenario, and measured performance prediction by having the participants ( n = 119) estimate task duration. The results showed that high-level construal consistently decreased overoptimistic prediction, supporting our hypothesis. The theoretical implications of our findings are discussed.


We present NAMER, an open-domain Chinese knowledge base question answering system based on a novel node-based framework that better grasps the structural mapping between questions and KB queries by aligning the nodes in a query with their corresponding mentions in question. Equipped with techniques including data augmentation and multitasking, we show that the proposed framework outperforms the previous SoTA on CCKS CKBQA dataset. Moreover, we develop a novel data annotation strategy that facilitates the node-to-mention alignment, a dataset (https://github.com/ridiculouz/CKBQA) with such strategy is also published to promote further research. An online demo of NAMER (http://kbqademo.gstore.cn) is provided to visualize our framework and supply extra information for users, a video illustration (https://youtu.be/yetnVye_hg4) of NAMER is also available.


This work provides an understanding of the important role of some ionic channels in the functioning of vascular smooth tone in response to vasoactive substances. It covers the different types of ion channels in vascular smooth muscle and focuses on the ion channels that regulate excitation, contraction, coupling and maintenance of muscle tone. The text emphasizes the role of different types of Ca2+ and K+ channels in the regulation of muscle function. It also examines the possible implication of different types of ion channels in the regulation of muscle function; discusses the biophysical, pharmacological and modulation of ion channels in vascular smooth muscle cells; and describes the cross talk between vascular endothelial cell released factors and immune system based factors and the ion channels of vascular smooth muscle.


&NA; A semi‐empirical theoretical model of oxygen transfer is used to predict the rates of oxygen transfer to blood in hollow fiber membrane oxygenators over a wide range of inlet conditions. The predicted oxygen transfer rates are based on performance of the devices with water, which is more cost effective and easier to handle than blood for in vitro evaluations. Water experiments were conducted at three different flow rates to evaluate oxygen transfer performance in three commercially available membrane oxygenators. Data obtained from these experiments were used in a computer model to predict the rate of oxygen transfer to bovine blood at specified inlet conditions. Blood experiments were conducted at three different flow rates at a wide variety of inlet conditions, including different pH levels, hemoglobin concentrations, and oxyhemoglobin saturations for the three types of oxygenators. The measured and predicted oxygen transfer rates are closely correlated, which suggests that we have an accurate, reliable method for predicting oxygen transfer in hollow fiber membrane lungs. ASAIO Journal 1994; 40:990‐996.


Sequential clustering algorithms have been characterized as fast and straightforward methods which produce, as result, a single clustering. They have the drawback of being dependent on the order in which data patterns are input to the algorithm and, generally, produce compact and spherical clusters. The focus of the work is a group of sequential algorithms which includes the Basic Sequential Algorithmic Scheme (BSAS) and two of its variations, the MBSAS and the TTSAS. The paper investigates refinement strategies which aim to improve the performance of the three sequential algorithms based on two processes: merge and reassignment. Results from experiments conducted in various data domains (from UCI and synthetic) are presented and a comparative analysis is given as evidence of the benefits of sequential clustering algorithm coupled with a refinement procedure.


The authors briefly review the role of models as a means of encoding prior knowledge with which to interpret data. They then examine the specific case of synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images. They review the current state of SAR terrain clutter models, and their role in target detection. They present numerical results which demonstrate the consistency of a correlated gamma-distributed surface cross section model with SAR terrain data. They then review the theory of target super-resolution by the use of the singular-value decomposition (SVD). They emphasise the need to generalise the basic SVD technique in order to achieve success with SAR target data. Furthermore they demonstrate that the general SVD technique is a special case of a Bayesian reconstruction scheme which they interpret in terms of Shannon information theory. Numerical super-resolution results from simulated SAR data are presented.


Energy is a vital resource required for the operation of any business. Currently, the vast majority of businesses use electricity derived for non - renewable fossil fuels, which are expected to run out at its current rate of expenditure and causing substantial environmental damage threatening the future generations. In the UK if the current energy source used by small and medium enterprises (SME's) could be replaced by solar energy then damage to the environment can be prevented and reduce costs as solar cells become more efficient. Solar cells involve harnessing the energy fro m the sun to generate electricity. In this study a methodology has been developed to compare a model micro - business in Manchester, UK and Kurdistan, Iraq. The comparison shows quantatively that even though Kurdistan, Iraq is abundant in oil and gas its cli matic conditions favour the implementation of solar cells. Therefore, it is more feasible to replace the existing non - renewable fossil fuel sources with solar cells in Iraq due to greater solar radiation striking the earth's surface. Our research suggests that solar cells can replace a reasonable amount of the energy requirements even in Manchester, UK and a much higher proportion in Kurdistan, Iraq. Using existing 20% efficient silicon solar cells we can replace 28% and 88% of the energy requirements of th e micro business in UK and Kurdistan, Iraq respectively.


In 1988 and 1989, thousands of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) died in the North Sea from phocine distemper infection. The morphology of thyroid glands from 40 harbor seals found dead on the North Sea coastlines of Schleswig-Holstein, Federal Republic of Germany, during an epizootic of phocine distemper, was compared with the morphology of thyroid glands from five healthy harbor seals collected in Iceland. Thyroid glands from seven harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) found dead in 1990 on the North Sea coastlines also were evaluated. Colloid depletion and fibrosis were found in the thyroid glands of harbor seals which died during the epizootic, but not in animals from Iceland. Thyroid glands of the porpoises showed similar lesions, but to a lesser degree, than those observed in the North Sea seals.


Stroke is one of the major problems in medical and healthcare that can cause severe disability and death of patients especially for older population. Rehabilitation plays an important role in stroke therapy. However, most of the rehabilitative exercises are monotonous and tiring for the patients. For a particular time, they can easily get bored in doing these exercises. The role of patient's motivation in rehabilitation is vital. Motivation and rehabilitative outcomes are strongly related. Digital games promise to help stroke patients to feel motivated and more engaged in rehabilitative training through motivational gameplay. Most of the commercial games available in the market are not well-designed for stroke patients and their motivational needs in rehabilitation. This study aims at understanding the motivational requirements of stroke patients in doing rehabilitative exercises and living in a post-stroke life. Based on the findings from the literature review, we report factors that can influence the stroke patients' level of motivation such as social functioning, patient-therapist relationship, goal-setting, and music. These findings are insightful and useful for ideating and designing interactive motivation-driven games for stroke patients. The motivational factors of stroke patients in rehabilitation may help the game designers to design motivation-driven game contexts, contents, and gameplay. Moreover, these findings may also help healthcare professionals who concern stroke patient's motivation in rehabilitative context. In this paper, we reported our Virtual Nursing Home (VNH) concept and the games that we are currently developing and re-designing. Based on this literature review, we will present and test out the ideas how we can integrate these motivational factors in our future game design, development, and enhancement.


— Multatuli Museum has been established for several years and is visited by many tourists. However, in practice the Multatuli Museum often lacks museum guides when there is an increase in visits, so that visitors who are not accompanied by a tour guide do not get complete information. In addition, the lack of interest of the younger generation in visiting museum attractions so that by applying Augmented Reality technology to the Multatuli Museum is expected to attract visitors, especially the younger generation. Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that is able to insert 3D and 2D objects into a real environment in real-time to display a Virtual Guide at the Multatuli Museum. The author creates an animation in the form of a virtual guide for the Multatuli Museum using Blender software to create 3D animations and using Unity software to build the application as well as the Vuforia extension for Unity with C# programming language. The author uses the prototyping method as the application development method and uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as the system design. This research produces an Augmented Reality Application that can be used on Android smartphones. This application is capable of displaying 3D animations that provide information about the showrooms in the Multatuli Museum. Based on black box testing all features in the application are 100% running well. with this application visitors feel helped when the tour guide is limited and feel happy because there is still a Virtual tour guide who helps in the museum.


The genus Ocotea (Lauraceae) is distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Some species of this genus as O. puberula and O. quixos have been described in the literature, showing antibacterial activity. And Ocotea macrophylla showed anti-inflammatory activity with inhibition of COX-1, COX-2, and LOX-5. The purpose of this study was the phytochemical investigation of the plant species Ocotea notata from Restinga Jurubatiba National Park, Macaé, RJ, Brazil, and the search for antimycobacterial fractions and compounds. The crude extract was evaluated for antimycobacterial activity and presented 95.75 ± 2.53% of growth inhibition at 100 µg/mL. Then, it was subjected to a liquid-liquid partition and subsequently was chemically investigated by HPLC, revealing the major presence of flavonoids. In this process the partition fractions hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol are shown to be promising in the antimycobacterial assay. In addition, ethyl acetate fraction was chromatographed and afforded two flavonoids identified by MS and NMR as afzelin and isoquercitrin. The isolated flavonoids afzelin and isoquercitrin were evaluated for their antimycobacterial activity and for their ability to inhibit NO production by macrophages stimulated by LPS; both flavonoids isoquercitrin (Acet22) and afzelin (Acet32) were able to inhibit the production of NO by macrophages. The calculated IC50 of Acet22 and Acet32 was 1.03 and 0.85 µg/mL, respectively.


Large greenhouse experiments require frequent pot rotation to minimize the effects of variation in greenhouse climatic conditions. A manual rotation process is often cumbersome and labor-intensive. To increase the efficiency of the rotation process, we propose an inexpensive, modular system fabricated from widely available equipment typically used in materials handling applications.


Synthesizing nanocomposite materials using sol-gel methodology is a cheap and effective method for creating quality U3O8 particles. To some degree acids can influence the synthesis of the nanoparticles by catalyzing the reaction. This paper presents important details comparing different acids used as catalysts in nanocomposite synthesis versus time manipulation to determine if an acid catalyst is necessary for the synthesis of U3O8/SiO2 nanocomposites.


An open-tubular capillary chromatography system has been developed using a ternary mixed solvent solution, i.e., water–hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic solvent mixture as a carrier solution. The sys...


We report a systematic investigation of individual and multisite Hubbard-U corrections for the electronic, structural, and optical properties of the metal titanate oxide d0 photocatalysts SrTiO3 and rutile/anatase TiO2. Accurate bandgaps for these materials can be reproduced with local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation exchange-correlation density functionals via a continuous series of empirically derived Ud and Up combinations, which are relatively insensitive to the choice of functional. On the other hand, lattice parameters are much more sensitive to the choice of Ud and Up, but in a systematic way that enables the Ud and Up corrections to be used to qualitatively gauge the extent of self-interaction error in the electron density. Modest Ud corrections (e.g., 4 eV-5 eV) yield the most reliable dielectric response functions for SrTiO3 and are comparable to the range of Ud values derived via linear response approaches. For r-TiO2 and a-TiO2, however, the Ud,p corrections that yield accurate bandgaps fail to accurately describe both the parallel and perpendicular components of the dielectric response function. Analysis of individual Ud and Up corrections on the optical properties of SrTiO3 suggests that the most consequential of the two individual corrections is Ud, as it predominately determines the accuracy of the dominant excitation from O-2p to the Ti-3d t2g/eg orbitals. Up, on the other hand, can be used to shift the entire optical response uniformly to higher frequencies. These results will assist high-throughput and machine learning approaches to screening photoactive materials based on d0 photocatalysts.


We present two patients with symptoms typical of Poland's Syndrome: unilateral hypoplasia of the pectoral muscle and dysplastic anomalies of the ipsilateral upper limb. Additionally skeletal and G.U. tract abnormalities can be found. One of our cases shows stenosis of the ureterovesical junction which led to hydronephrosis and dilation of the ureter; in the other case the ventral portions of the 3rd and 4th right ribs are missing.


Abnormalities in reflex control of the circulation in heart failure are mediated by afferent and target organ alterations. Depression of afferent function is especially prominent in arterial baroreceptors. This depression is mediated by an augmentation of responses that are dependent on the action of Na+-K+-ATPase.


This paper sets out a framework for classifying and thinking about unconventional monetary policies, highlighting how they can be viewed within the overall context of monetary policy implementation. The framework clarifies the differences among the various forms of unconventional monetary policy, provides a systematic characterization of the wide range of central bank responses to the recent crisis, helps to underscore the channels of transmission and identifies some of the main policy challenges. In the process, the paper also addresses a number of contentious analytical issues, notably the role of bank reserves and their inflationary consequences.


We show existence of global solutions for the gravity water waves equation in dimension 3, in the case of small data. The proof combines energy estimates, which yield control of L related norms, with dispersive estimates, which give decay in L∞. To obtain these dispersive estimates, we use an analysis in Fourier space; the study of space and time resonances is then the crucial point.


The framework of the perturbed static path approximation is used to calculate the partition function of a finite Fermi system from a Hamiltonian with a separable two body interaction. Therein, the collective degree of freedom is introduced in self-consistent fashion through a Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation. In this way, all transport coefficients that dominate the decay of a metastable system are defined and calculated microscopically. Otherwise the same formalism is applied as in the Caldeira-Leggett model to deduce the decay rate from the free energy above the so called crossover temperature T(0).


The populace are concern about how their environment is impacted by spend or used engine oil. The spills from spend engine oil posed serious problems to the land and aquatic habitats. Efficient methods but low-cost technique for remediating spends engine oil contaminated soil and restorations of soil fertility are being explored. In response to used engine oil pollution to the soil, the present investigation examined the comparative biodegradation level of spend engine oil contaminated soil using fermented chicken droppings. The soil sample was collected from the uncontaminated site 10 cm below ground level. The sandy/loam soil was sieved with 2.5 mm mesh. A 4 kg of the soil was weighed into each bucket and contaminated with spend engine oil, the soil was contaminated with 150 ml of the spend engine oil at a ratio of 1:27. A 27 kg of chicken droppings was mixed with 27 liters of water in a ratio of 1 kg: 1L. The mixture was left for 7days to ferment and increase the microbial load. The contaminated soil was irrigated using an experimental design that included uncontaminated soil that was irrigated using normal water (positive control), contaminated soil that was irrigated using normal water (negative control) and contaminated soil irrigated using fermented chicken droppings (test). Five hundred mL of the chicken droppings mixture was used to irrigate the soil for 21 days at an interval of 3 days per irrigation. Thereafter, the irrigated soil was screened with gas chromatography linked with mass spectroscopy. There was an observed change in contaminant concentration without fermented chicken droppings. The percentage of differences in the concentrations was recorded in × 10–5% with the presence of Naphthalene and Acenaphthylene with the percent difference of 2.0 × 10–5% and 5.0 × 10– 5%. Result revealed an appreciable decrease in PAHs level compared to the positive and negative control. The findings suggest the positive effect and rapid uptake of the contaminant in the application of fermented chicken droppings.
J. Bio-Sci. 29(1): 01-09, 2021 (June)


Introduction. Today, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly associated with the presence or risk of developing type 2 diabetes (D2). The term "hepatogenic diabetes", proposed to refer to SD2 in patients with cirrhosis of the liver (CP), has acquired a new meaning, since this combination is of growing interest. The authors analyzed the current literature and summarized data on the pathogenesis, risk factors, and possible therapy of NAFLD.Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of L-ornithine-L-aspartate (HEPA-Merz, Merz Pharma GmbH & Co) in combination with biguanides in the treatment of NAFLD patients in combination with D2.Materials and methods. The study included 30 patients aged 26 to 60 years with a verified diagnosis of NAFLD of varying degrees of activity in combination with D2. All patients were prescribed combination therapy with the drug HEPA-Merz ("Merz Pharma GmbH and Co") at a dose of 3 grams 3 times a day in combination with biguanides. The examination was performed on the 1st, 28-th and 56-th days of treatment. In order to determine the effectiveness of therapy, we evaluated the dynamics of clinical symptoms (asthenovegetative, dyspeptic syndromes, pain syndrome in the ball system), biochemical parameters of liver function (changes in markers of cytolysis, cholestasis), lipidogram indicators, glucose levels, glycated hemoglobin, and ultrasound results of abdominal organs.Results. On day 56, asthenovegetative, dyspeptic and pain syndrome were stopped during therapy. Most patients showed a decrease in body weight from 3 to 5 kg. When evaluating changes in biochemical parameters on the 28-th day, the activity of ALT, AST, GGTP and glucose levels significantly decreased against the background of the therapy. On the 56th day of treatment, the activity of transaminases, bilirubin, GGTP and GFR in all patients were within the reference values.Conclusion. Understanding the multifactorial nature of NAFLD and the mechanisms of associated diseases, including D2, will allow us to assess the prognosis of the disease and prescribe adequate timely therapy. The effectiveness of the original ornithineaspartate (Merz Pharma GmbH & Co.) is manifested by a decrease in the processes of cytolysis of hepatocytes, normalization of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism.


There are occasions when tests performed before considering a patient for transplant are ambiguous and require further workup. One such condition is the presence of a positive virtual crossmatch (VXm) (anti-human leukocyte antigen [HLA-A]*26: 01 antibody in this case) with a negative complement-dependent cytotoxicity, Luminex, and flow crossmatch. To ascertain the nature of the antibody, the beads used in single-antigen bead assay (SAB) were treated by acid to denature the antigens and retested with the control and test sample. The mean fluorescence intensities (MFIs) from the patient sera with acid-treated beads increased considerably as compared to the regularly untreated SAB indicating additional antigen epitopes become available by the denaturation process. The MFIs of the antibodies from that of the control sera were reduced to half on testing with the acid-treated SAB assay, indicating that HLA antigen HLA-A*26 was susceptible to acid treatment. Therefore, results of VXm should be interpreted with caution.


We examine the use of the momentum distribution of recoiling nucleons to study the stopping power law of nuclear matter for incident nucleons with high energies. The dependence of the momentum distribution on the stopping power index is studied in detail for both leading nucleons and recoiling nucleons in p + d reactions. There are two regions where the momentum distribution of the recoiling nucleons is sensitive to the stopping power law. This sensitivity can be used to study the stopping power law experimentally.


The multireference Spin-Orbit (SO) Configuration Interaction (CI) method in its Lambda-S Contracted SO-CI (LSC-SO-CI) version is employed to calculate potential energy curves for the ground and low-lying excited states of the ArH(+) cation. For the first time, electric dipole moments are also computed in the approach, including SO coupling for transitions to the states responsible for the first absorption continuum (A-band) of ArH(+). On this basis, the partial and total absorption spectra in this energy range are obtained. It is shown that absorption in the A-band is dominated by the parallel A(1)Sigma(+)<--X(1)Sigma(+) transition. In the low-energy part of the band (<95 x 10(3) cm(-1)) the absorption is caused by the perpendicular B(1)Pi<--X(1)Sigma(+) excitation, but transitions to the b(3)Pi(0(+),1) states are also not negligible. The branching ratio Gamma for the final photodissociation products is calculated and it is shown to increase smoothly from 0 in the red tail of the band to 1 at E>or= 10(5) cm(-1). The latter value corresponds to the exclusive formation of the spin-excited Ar(+)((2)P(1/2)) ions, and thus leads to the inverse population of the Ar(+)((2)P(1/2)-(2)P(3/2)) ion states.


We report the existence of stable symmetric vortex-type solutions for two-dimensional nonlinear discrete dissipative systems governed by a cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We construct a whole family of vortex solitons with a topological charge S = 1. Surprisingly, the dynamical evolution of unstable solutions of this family does not alter significantly their profile, instead their phase distribution completely changes. They transform into two-charges swirl-vortex solitons. We dynamically excite this novel structure showing its experimental feasibility.


This study examines how Taiwan's central government has implemented since 2013 the Public Warning Cell Broadcast Service (CBS), which was an innovative type of disaster public warning system. The study attempts to shed light on citizens' assessment of CBS as well as gains insights from an expert focus group. Using the 2018 citizen satisfaction survey of the public alert and warning system, this study aims specifically to analyze the influence of information communication, information delivery frequency, quality of service, and age on citizens' assessment of CBS in Taiwan. The results of this study have implications for CBS assessment intended to improve citizens' experience of CBS use. In addition, the study draws upon the discussion among an expert focus group regarding risk knowledge, technical monitoring and warning service, dissemination and communication of warnings, and community response capability of CBS. Based upon the expert focus group discussion, this study identifies the main service advantages and challenges in the implementation process, so that future policy planners may draw lessons from the Taiwan experience.


This paper presents a polymer-bonded magnetic core (PBMC) for high-frequency converters. The material of the magnetic core is composed of polymer matrices and special magnetic powder. With these materials, lightweight, nonbrittle, low-cost magnetic cores can be produced with flexible shapes and different dimensions. The magnetic field of an EI-type PBMC used for fly-back converter is obtained using two dimensional (2-D) finite element analysis (FEA). The detailed energy conversion process is studied with 2-D, direct-coupled field-circuit, and time-stepping FEA. The electromagnetic power conversion of the converter is illustrated with circuit and field analysis result. A 100 W fly-back converter is implemented with a novel-developed PBMC. The analysis is verified by experimental results, and the application feasibility is validated with the PBMCs for power conversion.


In plasmas, Debye screening structures the possible correlations between particles. We identify a phase space minimum h* in non-equilibrium space plasmas that connects the energy of particles in a Debye sphere to an equivalent wave frequency. In particular, while there is no a priori reason to expect a single value of h* across plasmas, we find a very similar value of h* ≈ (7.5 ± 2.4)×10−22 J·s using four independent methods: (1) Ulysses solar wind measurements, (2) space plasmas that typically reside in stationary states out of thermal equilibrium and spanning a broad range of physical properties, (3) an entropic limit emerging from statistical mechanics, (4) waiting-time distributions of explosive events in space plasmas. Finding a quasi-constant value for the phase space minimum in a variety of different plasmas, similar to the classical Planck constant but 12 orders of magnitude larger may be revealing a new type of quantization in many plasmas and correlated systems more generally.


Given the RMS transmitter pointing error and the desired probability of bit error (PBE), it can be shown that an optimal transmitter antenna gain exists which minimizes the required transmitter power. Given the RMS local oscillator tracking error, an optimum receiver antenna gain can be found which optimizes the receiver performance. The impact of pointing and tracking errors on the design of direct-detection pulse-position modulation (PPM) and heterodyne noncoherent frequency-shift keying (NCFSK) systems is then analyzed in terms of constraints on the antenna size and the power penalty incurred. It is shown that in the limit of large spatial tracking errors, the advantage in receiver sensitivity for the heterodyne system is quickly offset by the smaller antenna gain and the higher power penalty due to tracking errors. In contrast, for systems with small spatial tracking errors, the heterodyne system is superior because of the higher receiver sensitivity. >


Using Chow and Denning's arguments applied to the individual hypothesis test methodology of Wright (2000) I propose a multiple variance-ratio test based on ranks to investigate the hypothesis of no serial coorelation. This rank joint test can be exact if data are i.i.d.. Some Monte Carlo simulations show that its size distortions are small for observations obeying the martingale hypothesis while not being and i.i.d. process. Also, regarding size and power, it compares favorably with other popular tests.


A brief review is presented of the last ten years of research on the study of the electronics and vibrational properties of organic molecular crystals by means of electron spectroscopies (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, synchrotron and classical UV photoemission, electron induced vibrational spectroscopy). It is suggested that polymers might also be considered as molecular solids. Different concepts are illustrated: (1)The physical meaning of a "band structure" for one-dimensional solids; (2) the electronic inter- and intra-molecular relaxation processes during the photoemission; (3) the contribution of electron induced vibrational spectra of molecular solids, compared to infra-red and Raman spectroscopies.


A facile synthetic route for the preparation of N-protected γ-amino β-keto esters from amino aldehydes and ethyl diazoacetate is described. The two component coupling is facilitated by tin(II) chloride followed by semipinacol rearrangement leading to the product in quantitative yield. The reaction is mild, instantaneous and compatible with Boc-, Fmoc- and Cbz-amino protecting groups.


Ages of syngenetic inclusions of peridotitic (P-type) and eclogitic (E-type) minerals in diamond show that episodes of diamond formation in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle correlate with important craton-forming events deduced from the surface geological record. The first major lithospheric diamond-forming episode at ca. 3.5 to 3.2 Ga closely followed formation of depleted roots under Paleoarchean continental nuclei and appears to have been a metasomatic event triggered by CO 2 -rich, probably subduction-derived fluids that produced P-type diamond associated with G-10 garnet-bearing harzburgite. The oldest E-type diamond-forming events are related to ca. 3.0 to 2.5 Ga accretion of Paleoarchean continental nuclei into composite Archean cratons involving subduction of intervening seafloor, partial melting of hydrated oceanic crust, and widespread formation of tonalite. Post-Archean P-type diamond has lherzolitic assemblages as mineral inclusions, and together with younger E-type diamond, records various Proterozoic modifications of the earlier cratonic roots. The E-type diamond source-rocks include progressively metamorphosed mafic rocks and garnet–clinopyroxene rocks representing the dense residue from partial melting of a hydrous mafic crust. Metamorphic diamond-bearing eclogite assemblages may contain coesite, demonstrating diamond formation in silica-saturated mafic rocks during ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism in Archean and Proterozoic subduction zones. Archean diamond-formation events deduced from isotopic studies on mineral inclusions are corroborated by the occurrence on several cratons of detrital macrocrystals of diamond in Mesoarchean and Neoarchean sedimentary rocks and of rare macro- and microcrystals of diamond in Neoarchean non-kimberlitic igneous rocks. As the contribution of a harzburgitic P-type diamond budget remains crucial to the economic viability of most kimberlites, area selection for diamond exploration should continue to concentrate on identifying >3 Ga microcontinental nuclei within Archean or Proterozoic cratons. The tectonic history of these nuclei should be investigated to ascertain whether the diamond content of an older harzburgitic root may have been enhanced by the addition of later generations of E-type or lherzolitic P-type diamond (or both) prior to sampling by potential kimberlites.


The toxicology of hydroquinone has been reviewed on a number of previous occasions. This review targets its potential for carcinogenicity and possible modes of carcinogenic action. The evaluation made by IARC (1999) of its carcinogenic risk to humans was that hydroquinone is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (Group 3). This evaluation was based on inadequate evidence in humans and limited evidence in experimental animals. The epidemiological information comes from four cohort studies involving occupational exposures. A cohort of lithographers, some of whom had worked with hydroquinone, had an excess of malignant melanoma based on five cases, but only two of the cases had reported exposure to hydroquinone. In a study of photographic processors the number of exposed individuals was uncertain and the numbers of cases of individual cancer sites were small. In view of the statistical power limitations of these studies for individual diagnostic categories of cancers, they are not considered to be informative with regard to the carcinogenicity of hydroquinone. A cohort of workers with definite and lengthy exposure to hydroquinone, during either its manufacture or its use, had low cancer rates compared with two comparison populations; the reason for the lower than expected rates is unclear. In a motion picture film processing cohort there were significant excess malignancies of the respiratory system among workers engaged in developing, where there was exposure to hydroquinone as well as other chemicals. There was no information on tobacco smoking habits and no dose-response relationship. Hydroquinone has been shown reproducibly to induce benign neoplasms in the kidneys of male F344 rats dosed orally either by gavage (25 and 50 mg/kg body weight) or diet (0.8%). The gavage study has been evaluated in considerable detail. This evaluation showed that all renal tubule adenomas and all cases of renal tubule atypical hyperplasia occurred in areas of severe or end-stage chronic progressive nephropathy and that the neoplasms were not otherwise confined to any particular part of the kidney. It is likely that the mode of carcinogenic action of hydroquinone is exacerbation of this natural disease process. Hydroquinone is mutagenic in vitro and in vivo, having caused genotoxicity or chromosomal aberrations in rodent bone-marrow cells. At least a portion, if not all, of the chromosomal effects are caused by interference by hydroquinone or its metabolites with chromosomal segregation, probably due to interaction with mitotic spindle proteins. However, the dose routes used to demonstrate these effects in almost all of the studies in vivo were intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injection, which were considered inappropriate. There were five studies by the oral route. These included a mouse bone-marrow cell micronucleus test in which a weak, marginally positive response was obtained following a single oral dose of 80 mg/kg body weight. The remaining oral route studies all showed no significant effect. They included a mouse bone-marrow cell micronucleus test in which there was no genotoxic activity after exposure to a diet containing 0.8% hydroquinone for 6 days; two 32P-post-labeling assays, one with targets of Zymbal gland, liver, and spleen in Sprague-Dawley rats, the other with the kidney as target in F344 rats; and the last oral assay was for 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine adducts in F344 rat kidney DNA. Thus, the evidence (and the database) for any genotoxic effect in vivo is sparse and none has been observed in kidney. While glutathione conjugates could be responsible for the tumor induction, careful histology seems to show that the most actively toxic of several glutathione compounds tested, 2,3,5-triglutathion-S-yl hydroquinone, targets a very specific region of the kidney, the outer stripe of the outer medulla (OSOM), whereas hydroquinone-associated adenomas are more randomly distributed and occur in the cortex as well as the medulla. A nongenotoxic mode of action that involves exacerbation of a spontaneously occurring rodent renal disease, chronic progressive nephropathy (CPN), is proposed and evaluated. This disease is particularly prominent in male rats and the evidence is consistent with an absence of any human counterpart; therefore, the increased incidence of renal tubule adenomas in hydroquinone-dosed male rats is without human consequence.


Objective Fasting may lead to changes in the microbiota and activity in the rumen. In the present study, the effects of fasting on rumen microbiota and the impact of fasting on in vitro rumen fermentation were evaluated using molecular culture-independent methods. Methods Three ruminally cannulated Holstein steers were fed rice straw and concentrates. The ruminal fluids were obtained from the same steers 2 h after the morning feeding (control) and 24 h after fasting (fasting). The ruminal fluid was filtrated through four layers of muslin, collected for a culture-independent microbial analysis, and used to determine the in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics. Total DNA was extracted from both control and fasting ruminal fluids. The rumen microbiota was assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Microbial activity was evaluated in control and fasting steers at various intervals using in vitro batch culture with rice straw and concentrate at a ratio of 60:40. Results Fasting for 24 h slightly affected the microbiota structure in the rumen as determined by DGGE. Additionally, several microorganisms, including Anaerovibrio lipolytica, Eubacterium ruminantium, Prevotella albensis, Prevotella ruminicola, and Ruminobacter amylophilus, decreased in number after fasting. In addition, using the ruminal fluid as the inoculum after 24 h of fasting, the fermentation characteristics differed from those obtained using non-fasted ruminal fluid. Compared with the control, the fasting showed higher total gas production, ammonia, and microbial protein production (p<0.05). No significant differences, however, was observed in pH and dry matter digestibility. Conclusion When in vitro techniques are used to evaluate feed, the use of the ruminal fluid from fasted animals should be used with caution.


CONTEXT
Whole-body vibration (WBV) training improves muscle strength and balance. Few studies have focused on the effects of WBV frequencies below 30 Hz. We aimed to investigate the effect of low-frequency WBV training on muscle activity, fatigue recovery, and oxygen consumption (VO2).

DESIGN
Prospective single-group, repeated-measures study.

METHODS
In this controlled laboratory setting study, 20 healthy adults (age 23.26 [1.66] y) performed half squats at 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 30-Hz WBV. Muscle activity was evaluated using the root mean square and peak electromyography amplitude of 6 muscles (iliocostalis, rectus abdominis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius) obtained via surface electromyography. VO2 was measured during the squats using a gas analyzer, and fatigue recovery was evaluated using measurements of lactate after the squats and after a recovery period. Statistical significance was set at P < .05, and analysis of variance was conducted to determine differences in muscle activity, fatigue, recovery, and VO2, with post hoc analyses as appropriate.

RESULTS
Of the 6 muscles measured, the muscle activity of the gastrocnemius alone significantly increased from 0 Hz at 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 30 Hz based on the root mean square values and at 4, 8, 12, and 30 Hz based on the peak electromyography amplitude values. There were no significant differences in the other muscles. There were no significant differences in VO2 or in lactate levels.

CONCLUSIONS
Low-frequency WBV during squat exercises significantly increased the activity of the gastrocnemius medialis only at specific frequencies in healthy young adults. Low-frequency WBV is safe and has the potential to increase muscle activity.


In two previous papers the author developed a second-order price adjustment (t\^atonnement) process. This paper extends the approach to include both quantity and price adjustments. We demonstrate three results: a analogue to physical energy, called "activity" arises naturally in the model, and is not conserved in general; price and quantity trajectories must either end at a local minimum of a scalar potential or circulate endlessly; and disturbances into a subspace of substitutable commodities decay over time. From this we argue, although we do not prove, that the model features global stability, combined with local instability, a characteristic of many real markets. Following these observations and a brief survey of empirical results for price-setting and consumption behavior in markets for "real" goods (as opposed to financial markets), we conjecture that Stigler and Becker's well-known theory of consumer preference opens the possibility of substantial degeneracy in commodity space, and therefore that price and quantity trajectories could lie on a relatively low-dimensional subspace within the full commodity space.


Serum levels of C1q, C4, C3, C5, factor B, and properdin were measured in patients with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). In the cases of acute HSP, 9 of 23 (39%) had a low CH50, and 5 of 17 (30%) a low properdin; C1q, C4, and C3 levels were not depressed. In 10 cases with chronic nephritis following HSP, complement components were normal except for 2 with reduced C4 and one with low properdin. These findings confirm that complement activation occurs in HSP; the low serum levels of properdin in the acute group indicate that there is activation of the alternative pathway in these patients.


The paper aims to present and assess the current situation of bioenergy production in Ukraine as well as provide insights into its development in the future. It is argued that the great potential of the Ukrainian agrarian sector could ensure not only food needs, but also could become a main source of production and accumulation of bioenergy in agro ecosystems. Under this perspective it can further the increase of energy safety.


Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is marked by alterations in emotional functioning, physiological reactivity, and attention. Neural reactivity to acoustic startle stimuli can be used to understand brain functions related to these alterations. Investigations of startle reactivity in PTSD have yielded inconsistent findings, which may reflect the heterogeneity of the disorder. Furthermore, little is known of how the common co-occurrence of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI; i.e., concussion) may influence neural reactivity. We examined the event-related potentials (ERPs) of combat veterans (n = 102) to acoustic startle probes delivered during viewing of pleasant, neutral, unpleasant, and combat-related pictures. Interview-based assessments yielded dimensional characterizations of PTSD and mTBI. The P3 ERP response to startle probes was reduced during all affective relative to neutral pictures but failed to be associated with a PTSD diagnosis. However, two separable domains of PTSD symptomatology were associated with startle ERPs regardless of the picture conditions. Maladaptive avoidance was associated with smaller N1, P2, and P3 amplitudes, while intrusive reexperiencing was associated with larger P2 amplitudes. There were no main effects of mTBI. Findings suggest that level of symptomatology rather than a formal diagnosis of PTSD better explains alterations in neural reactivity after traumatic events, while mild brain injuries have little impact. Avoidance symptoms of PTSD may dampen neural functions that facilitate reorientation to threat while intrusive reexperiencing of traumatic events appears to heighten sensory reactivity. Considering specific aspects of symptomatology provides insight into the neural basis of trauma-related psychopathology and may help guide individualization of clinical interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


The advent of technology has improved consumers' daily lives; but it has also affected some consumers, by engendering fear of complex technological products. Feelings of anxiety and fear lead to the avoidance of technology; and this fear is known as 'technophobia'. This study aims to establish whether gender differences in technophobia and the adoption of high-technology consumer products continue to exist in this digital age, or whether things have changed over time. The findings show that women are less optimistic than men; they exhibit higher levels of risk-aversion; and they have higher cognitive-processing than do men – when considering the purchases of high-technology products. The greatest challenge in stimulating the adoption of high-technology products is the perceived risk that a consumer experiences when making a purchasing decision. Although marketers tend to assume that in the modern digital age, men and women are consuming electronics in the same manner, this study shows that this is not necessarily the case; and as a new product is introduced to the market, marketers need to employ differentiating strategies, in order to target both men and women successfully.


The study was designed to evaluate the cardiotoxicity of Doxorubicin in Wistar rats and amelioration with Ascorbic Acid and Spirulina. Female rats were divided into four groups. Animals were slaughtered at the end of the experiments and collected blood for analysis. The biochemical assays showed significant (P


Abstract Every year, thousands of innocent victims—often women—leave their communities individually and in silence to escape the direct and indirect violence that criminal organizations exert. We explore and catalog the coping strategies these victims implement during what we call individual displacement. Then, we analyze in-depth interviews with women in Mexico—a country going through a severe insecurity crisis—to illustrate how individual, familial, social, and institutional coping occurs. We conclude by discussing how making visible individual displacement and understanding coping strategies can help governmental and non-governmental organizations develop interventions aimed at helping women going through this harrowing experience.


We present finite difference time domain simulation to analyze the optical absorption enhancement of metal-semiconductor-metal photo detectors employing double plasmonic grating structures. Simulation results show that the combination of a subwavelength aperture and double nano-structured metal grating results in up to 25 times enhancement in optical absorption, in comparison to MSM photodetector structures employing only a subwavelength aperture. This improvement of the absorption enhancement is due to the coupling out function of the bottom grating structure which distributes the light to both side of the subwavelength aperture.


Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the early effects of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and accompanying stay-at-home orders on restaurant demand in US counties.

Design/methodology/approach
The following two sets of daily restaurant demand data were collected for each US county: foot traffic data and card transaction data. A two-way fixed-effects panel data model was used to estimate daily restaurant demand from February 1 to April 30, 2020.

Findings
Results show that a 1% increase in daily new COVID-19 cases led to a 0.0556% decrease in daily restaurant demand, while stay-at-home orders were collectively associated with a 3.25% drop in demand. The extent of these declines varied across counties; ethnicity, political ideology, eat-in habits and restaurant diversity were found to moderate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders.

Practical implications
These results characterize the regional restaurant industry's resilience to COVID-19 and identify particularly vulnerable areas that may require pubic policies and managerial strategies for intervention.

Originality/value
This study represents a pioneering attempt to investigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on restaurant businesses.


An amorphous (Fe0.765Mn0.235)75P16B6Al3 and a polycristalline Ni0.784Mn0.216 sample which exhibit re-entrant-spin-glass properties have been studied by small-angle neutron scattering in a magnetic field. We observe at low-temperature a magnetic "structure" in all the directions of the scattering vector which can be attributed mainly to spin components perpendicular to the applied field. The structure in the two systems exhibits similar field dependence at constant T. The disappearance of this transverse scattering at a temperature lower than the Curie Point is ascertained by inelastic measurements.


We developed a new surface flow direction dataset named "Japan Flow Direction Map (J-FlwDir)" at 1-sec ( (cid:24) 30 m) resolution for the entire Japan domain, using "Kiban Chizu Joho" digital elevation model and "Kokudo Suchi Joho" water body layers. The calculation of flow directions for a large domain used to be di ffi cult due to errors in the input elevation data. We solved this problem by developing a new algorithm, which first calculates the initial-guess flow directions by the steepest slope method, and then ensures river connectivity by reversing the initial-guess flow directions when needed. The new flow direction data shows better consistency with the actual river networks compared to the previous HydroSHEDS flow directions. We also generated supplementary data layers such as flow accumulation area, adjusted elevation, and river width. The new flow direction dataset will be published online, and is expected to enhance any geoscience studies which rely on flow direction data.


During the five weeks from August 7 to September 10, inclusive, there have been reported in St. Louis City and St. Louis County 656 cases of encephalitis. It appears that the epidemic incidence for this area will not exceed a rate of about one case per thousand of population, and the reported extension of the infection to other places has thus far been remarkably slight. The case fatality rate will be about 20 per cent. Only 13 per cent of the cases have occurred among the 25 per cent of the population which is under 15 years of age, and 23 per cent of the patients have been in the age group 15 to 34 years, which comprises 35 per cent of the total population. The recovery rate in these two age groups has been relatively high, with about half as many deaths in proportion to the number of cases


Solvent-extracted soybean meal (SESBM) has been reported to cause subacute enteritis in certain fish species. Two 34-day experiments investigated the effects of SESBM and soy protein concentrate (SPC) on the intestinal mucus layer and development of subacute enteritis in the hindgut of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) at 22 and 18 °C. Fish were fed increasing levels of SESBM (Exp. 1: 0 g kg−1, 100 g kg−1, 200 g kg−1, 300 g kg−1) and SPC (Exp. 2: 0 g kg−1, 200 g kg−1, 300 g kg−1, 400 g kg−1). No visual signs of inflammation in the hindgut were observed in either experiment. However, increasing dietary SESBM significantly reduced mucus layer thickness. Neutral and acidic goblet cell mucin composition increased at 18 and 22 °C, respectively. A significant positive linear relationship was evident between goblet cell number and SESBM inclusion at 18 °C. SPC inclusion and water temperature had no significant effect on mucus layer thickness or mucin composition. However, at 18 °C, goblet cell numbers decreased with SPC inclusion. Results suggest the early stages of subacute enteritis may have been manifesting in SESBM fed fish. In the long term, mucus layer alterations associated with feeding SESBM may compromise fish health. Longer-term studies should investigate the effects of feeding SESBM to yellowtail kingfish, particularly at suboptimal water temperatures.


During investigations into sulfide- and selenide-amination reactions using the aminating agent o-mesitylsulfonylhydroxylamine, the monoclinic, (I), and orthorhombic, (II), polymorphs of ammonium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate, NH4+.C9H11O3S-, have been crystallized. Investigation of the hydrogen-bonding motifs within the two polymorphs shows that both contain N+-H...O- hydrogen bonds between the ammonium cations and the 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate anions. Polymorph (I) contains R(4)(4)(12) and R(4)(2)(8) graph-set ring motifs, while polymorph (II) contains the same R(4)(4)(12) ring motif in combination with an R(4)(3)(10) motif. The two hydrogen-bonding patterns result in slightly different packing structures for the two polymorphs, but both are based on a thick-sheet arrangement, in which the NH4+ cations are enveloped between two layers of 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate anions. In (I), the aromatic rings of the anions are approximately coplanar, giving parallel sheets, whereas in (II) the sheets are antiparallel and the anions pack in a herring-bone manner within the sheets, with angles of 78.76 (8) degrees between the planes of the aromatic rings.


Developing software systems to meet user-demanded functionality is critical. Achieving the design goals by providing the needed functionality is a necessary task, and it is about figuring out a proper set of quality attributes and implementing each one by reflecting a complete set of quality attributes. This study presents popular quality attributes of crisis software systems by conducting a literature review. Each crisis software system has been studied by concentrating on crisis management phases where the system is used, design purposes, and the data processing style. The findings of this research shed light on the crisis software development process by presenting a quality attribute-oriented perspective, addressing design challenges, and recommending to developers remedies to handle challenges.


We have performed ab-initio calculations of the structural, electronic, elastic and dynamical properties for the spinel compounds CdX2O4 (X=Al, Ga, In) using the plane wave pseudo-potential method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The calculated lattice parameters, elastic constants for these compounds are in good agreement with the previous calculated values. The computed direct band gaps of CdAl2O4, CdGa2O4 and CdIn2O4 are 2.90 eV, 1.92 eV and 1.16 eV, respectively. The lattice vibrations were calculated by direct method. The calculated phonon dispersion curves show that all compounds are dynamically stable in the spinel structure.We have performed ab-initio calculations of the structural, electronic, elastic and dynamical properties for the spinel compounds CdX2O4 (X=Al, Ga, In) using the plane wave pseudo-potential method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The calculated lattice parameters, elastic constants for these compounds are in good agreement with the previous calculated values. The computed direct band gaps of CdAl2O4, CdGa2O4 and CdIn2O4 are 2.90 eV, 1.92 eV and 1.16 eV, respectively. The lattice vibrations were calculated by direct method. The calculated phonon dispersion curves show that all compounds are dynamically stable in the spinel structure.


ABSTRACT Many tools assess the reactions of humans encountering familiar or unfamiliar partners or environments. Companion animals belong to our everyday environment and influence our lives. Whereas many standardized tools test companion animals' reactions to humans, few evaluate humans' reactions to companion animals. We present here a test with a guinea pig that can be applied to a wide range of people in the home environment. This standardized test and simple coding system enabled us to characterize individual behavioral profiles of children and compare them in relation to different factors (e.g., gender, age, pet ownership). We observed 59 children (32 girls, 27 boys), aged between 6 and 12 years old. Our results show that most children first looked at the guinea pig (72%), smiled when they saw it (49%), and then went directly towards it without looking at their parent (79%). Many children touched the animal without hesitation (86%). Moreover, this test reveals more than the mere interest of children in guinea pigs. Indeed, a cluster analysis differentiated four behavioral profiles that reflected aspects of the children's experience, gender, and lifestyles. When encountering the unfamiliar guinea pig, children could be "confident" (go straight to the animal and touch it; 64%), "anxious" (look at parent; 12%), "indirect" (hesitate and touch; 14%), or "careful" (emit vocal and/or verbal behaviors; 10%). The potential future application of this research is to compare behavioral profiles quantitatively over the long term, taking into account the development and experiences of people with typical development and those with atypical development (e.g., autistic disorders).


With the advancement of sequencing technology, the studies related to the complex nature of microbial communities are possible to be untapped. The goal of this study is to perform a comparison between the composition of bacteria between the gut of Malaysian indoor and street cats. For this research, stool samples of the cats were collected where the genomic DNA were extracted using DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit. The extracted DNA were sequenced by targeting the bacterial community using primers from V4 region of 16S rRNA. The raw data were analysed using QIIME2 to obtain the diversity, taxonomy, and differential abundance between the groups. Here, we found that indoor and street cats have similar alpha diversity (p > 0.05), with slight differences between the groups based on the bacterial composition. Likewise, the beta diversity suggest that the two groups are similar to each other. The genus Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Collinsella, Enterococcus, Cantenibacterium and Lactobacillus from phylum Firmicutes while were found to be more abundant in indoor cats while street cats had more of the phylum Actinobacteria from the genus of  Acinetobacter, Blautia, and Olsenella. Hence, we observed whether a cat is kept indoor or is a stray does not significantly cause a shift in their respective microbiota composition.