Data visualization is one of the most powerful tools to explore, understand and communicate patterns in quantitative information. At the same time, good data visualization is a surprisingly difficult task and demands three quite different skills: substantive knowledge, statistical skill, and artistic sense. The course is intended to introduce participants to key principles of analytic design and useful visualization techniques for the exploration and presentation of univariate and multivariate data. This course is highly applied in nature and emphasizes the practical aspects of data visualization in the social sciences. Students will learn how to evaluate data visualizations based on principles of analytic design, how to construct compelling visualizations using the free statistics software R, and how to explore and present their data with visual methods.


The study deals with the evolution of the disinvestment policy with respect to the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) since 1991 and examines two issues specifically – development of legal perspective on disinvestment through important cases and valuation methods of shares/assets adopted in the Strategic Sales of CPSEs. The study outlines the evolution of disinvestment policy, the institutional structure, the role of different bodies/agencies in disinvestment process and the key Supreme Court decisions related to disinvestment. Following broad areas are covered in the study: • Disinvestment Procedures; the methods adopted for disinvestment with a particular focus on the decision making process in case of Strategic Sale of a Company and Public Offerings. • Valuation Methods; a brief account of the methods used for carrying out the valuation of a company along with some findings/comments on the same. • Legal Issues; the stand taken by the Supreme Court in dealing with matters related to Disinvestment of CPSEs. • National Investment Fund; creation of a Disinvestment Proceeds Fund keeping in line with the objectives of the Disinvestment Policy. The study mentions the useful experiences gained in the course of evolution of the policy. It also attempts to relate the recommendations made by different researchers and Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the issue of valuation to the process of disinvestment and makes concluding observations.


BACKGROUND
COVID-19 has high mortality rate mainly stemming from acute respiratory distress leading to respiratory failure (ARF ). Aim of the study is evaluating the management of severe ARF due to COVID-19 pneumonia using non-invasive ventilatory support (NIVS), studing safety and effectiveness of non-invasive ventilatory support (NIVS).

METHODS
This is a retrospective, multicenter study. Primary outcomes were NIVS failure with intubation rate and hospital mortality . Secondary outcomes were: hospital stay and factors related to NIVS failure and mortality. These outcomes were compared with patients intubated and admitted to ICU.

RESULTS
162 patients were hospitalized because of severe respiratory failure ( PaO2/FiO2 ratio < 250 ). 138 patients were admitted to Respiratory Intermediate Care Unit (RICU) for a NIVS trial. One hundred patients were treated successfully with NIVS (74.5%); 38 failed NIVS trial (27.5%). In-hospital mortality was 23.18% in RICU group and 30.55% in ICU group. Patients with NIVS failure were older, had a lower number of lymphocytes, a higher IL-6 , lower PaO2, PaCO2, PaO2/FiO2 ratio, higher respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate at admission and lower PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 ratio and higher RR after 1-6 hours . Multivariate analysis identified higher age, C-reactive protein as well as RR after 1-6 hours and PaO2/FiO2 ratio after 1-6 hours as an independent predictor mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
NIVS is a safe and effective strategy in the treatment of severe ARF due to COVID 19 related pneumonia, that reduces mortality and length of hospital stay in the carefully selected patient.


This paper builds on the Extension program planning framework presented by Seevers, Graham, Gamon, and Conklin (1997) in an effort to enhance and improve program planning in Extension. Using the 4-H Youth Development Program as an example, the paper considers the importance of program theory of change and theory of action in program planning, and the need for the translation of research into practice in order to elucidate the theory. In addition, the paper explores the utility of "umbrella" program models, based on sound theory and translated research, for guiding and supporting the program planning efforts of local Extension professionals. Umbrella program models have important implications for the renewed utility of the Seevers et al. (1997) framework, as well as Extension program planning training needs. Implications that extend beyond the 4-H Youth Development Program to other Extension program areas are explored as well.


This paper provides a short overview of the HLF-funded Pre-Raphaelite Experiment, where Manchester Art Gallery trialled new ways of engaging audiences with historic collections through user-generated interpretation. The year-long programme brought families, community groups, schools and volunteers together to re-evaluate one of the city's highly valued but potentially insufficiently-understood cultural assets. In a significant departure to the Gallery's standard approach to interpretation, one room was transformed into an evocative environment designed to focus responses on four key Pre-Raphaelite works. The experiment completion comes at a time where cultural organisations are challenging more 'traditional' interpretation models in order to engage visitors in a more collaborative dialogue. As well as getting closer to their audiences, Manchester's approach of working with targeted groups provided a series of learning points to inform future strategies for collective interpretation. It has helped evidence the case for long-term action research and creating a culture of experimentation, evaluation and development.


Objectives : Evodia officinalis DODE (EO), an herbal plant, has been widely used in traditional Korean medicine for the treatment of vascular diseases such as hypertension. The crude extract of EO contains phenolic compounds that are effective in protecting liver microsomes, hepatocytes, and erythrocytes against oxidative damage. But EO has been little found to have an anti-inflammatory activity. We investigated anti-inflammatory activity of EO in RAW 264.7 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods : Cytotoxic activity of EO on RAW 264.7 cells was investigated by using 5-(3-caroboxymeth-oxyphenyl)-2H-tetra-zolium inner salt (MTS) assay. The nitric oxide (NO) production was measured by Griess reagent system. And proinflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA kit. The levels of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression were measured by flow cytometer. Results : EO decreased LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells. The inhibitory activity of EO on LPS-induced NO release is probably associated with suppressing TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 formation. These results indicate that EO has potential as an anti-inflammatory agent. Moreover, EO decreased TNF-α-induced IL-8, IL-6 production, and ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression in HUVECs. Conclusions : EO inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammation via decreasing cytokines production and adhesion molecules expression. These results indicate that EO has potential as an anti-inflammation and anti-artherosclerosis agent.


As the number of leads, or pins, on the dual-in-line package (DIP) increases, its size increases rapidly. DIPs are becoming up to 50 times bigger than the chips themselves, thus defeating the gains of miniaturization resulting from IC advances. A pin-grid array package with leads protruding from the bottom, can handle 256 leads in an area of about 3 square inches. New packages that are becoming available for integrated circuits are described, and the way in which these packages are attached to printed circuit boards is considered. Small-outline integrated circuits, plastic leaded chip carriers, ceramic leaded chip carriers, leadless ceramic chip carriers, and pin-grid arrays are covered. It is pointed out that if metal leads could be eliminated entirely, electrical signal delay and nonuniformity could be greatly reduced. A technique for doing this is tape-automated bonding in which chips may be applied directly to printed-circuit boards.


bodies is a rare event. A perforation of the gastrointestinal tract is difficult to accurately and quickly diagnose when there is no peritonitis or abscess formation. Patients often present with no symptoms. The discovery of a foreign body on a radiological examination of the abdomen may be made incidentally. Moreover, a history of ingestion is usually difficult to obtain. Foreign bodies after perforation have been reported to migrate to any intra-abdominal site and to extraabdominal sites in rare cases. We report one case of young man with ingested needle in which perforated silently and migrated to the lesser omentum. A 23-year-old man presented with an incidental foreign body. He has no definite ingestion history or psychiatric disorder, but was a heavily drinker. An abdominal plain X-ray showed a needle in the upper abdominal area. Computed tomography revealed the foreign body to be located beneath the liver and in the lesser omentum. The patient underwent a laparoscopic examination performed in the supine position. After creating a pneumoperitoneum by CO gas insufflation at 12 mmHg, 3 trochars (two 5-mm and 12-mm) were introduced at each subcostal and supraumbilical area. Surgical management using laparoscopic extraction was successful. The patient was discharged in good health on the 3 day after the procedure. Laparoscopy can be used to remove ingested foreign bodies when surgery is indicated. (J Korean Surg Soc 2006;70:317-320)


As objects with a biography, artifacts—acquired by individuals or institutions, displayed in museums or privately appreciated—gain different meanings during production, acquisition, deposition in archaeological contexts, recovery, and analysis. This article examines the artifacts recovered from Calatagan, Philippines, to understand the layers and dynamic meanings of objects as commodities, mortuary goods, archaeological data, museum objects, and private collection items. It demonstrates the influence of archaeological practice in the Philippines on the interpretation of the Calatagan sites and artifacts. By understanding how meanings are produced, this article illumines different contexts in which artifacts are utilized and create multiple experiences for people.


A novel financial metric denominated unit financial impact indicator (UFII) is proposed to minimize the payback period for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems investments and quantify the financial efficiency of allocation and sizing strategies. However, uncontrollable environmental conditions and operational uncertainties, such as variable power demands, component failures, and weather conditions, can threaten the robustness of the investment, and their effect needs to be accounted for. Therefore, a new probabilistic framework is proposed for the robust and optimal positioning and sizing of utility-scale PV systems in a transmission network. The probabilistic framework includes a new cloud intensity simulator to model solar photovoltaic power production based on historical data and quantified using an efficient Monte Carlo method. The optimized solution obtained using weighted sums of expected UFII and its variance is compared against those obtained by using well-established economic metrics from literature. The efficiency and usefulness of the proposed approach are tested on the 14-bus IEEE power grid case study. The results prove the applicability and efficacy of the new probabilistic metric to quantify the financial effectiveness of solar photovoltaic investments on different nodes and geographical regions in a power grid, considering the unavoidable conditional and operational uncertainty.


Aims to identify, and review critically, some of the hidden assumptions in the conventional control engineering curriculum, to stimulate debate within the control community. Topics addressed include the role of mathematics; the philosophy of engineering; the use of computer-based tools; and the aspirations and requirements of students and employers. The article is prompted by a number of current issues in control engineering education, including: how to improve the structure and content of our curricula, and how to recruit more students to study control engineering; the implications for control education of the increasingly rapid pace of technological change-in particular, the role of computers and computer-aided control system design tools; the (at times acrimonious) debate within the control engineering profession on fuzzy and intelligent control; and the role of so-called "nontechnical subjects" in engineering education.


This essay argues that cognitive approaches to literature are less widely used than they might be if they offered a hermeneutic practice in addition to providing insight about the ways in which texts are produced and read. It offers a history of the spatial metaphors of surface and depth that structure Jameson9s interpretive practice in The Political Unconscious , arguing that Jameson deploys spatial metaphors in order to negotiate aporiae that are not reconcilable in theory.


Treatment of the tridentate (NN′N) N-alkylaminopyrazoleligands bis[2-(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)ethyl]ethylamine (ddae), bis[2-(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)ethyl]isopropylamine (ddai) and bis[2-(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)ethyl]tert-butylamine (ddat) with [PdCl2(CH3CN)2] in a 1:1 M/L ratio in CH2Cl2 produces [PdCl2(NN′N)]. Treatment of the corresponding ligand with [PdCl2(CH3CN)2] in a 1:2 M/L ratio in the presence of AgBF4 in CH2Cl2/methanol (6:1) gives [PdCl(NN′N)](BF4). The complexes [PdCl2(NN′N)] were again obtained when the complexes [PdCl(NN′N)](BF4) were heated under reflux in a solution of NEt4Cl in acetonitrile, which means that ligands ddae, ddai and ddat in complexes 1–6 are hemilabile. These PdII complexes have been characterised by elemental analyses, conductivity measurements and IR and 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopy. The 1H NMR spectroscopic studies for compounds [PdCl2(NN′N)] give evidence of κ2(Npz,Npz) coordination in acetonitrile and κ3(Npz,Namino,Npz) coordination in methanol. The X-ray structure of the complex [PdCl(ddae)]Cl·H2O has been determined. The PdII is coordinated to the ddae ligand by two nitrogen atoms of the pyrazolyl groups and one nitrogen atom of the amine, along with one chlorine atom, in a slightly distorted square-planar geometry. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006)


The effect of aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos on epididymal sperm count, seminal pH, sperm motility, sperm mortality and abnormality of spermatozoa in male Swiss albino mice were studied. Mice were treated with 0.1ml of aqueous leaf extract daily up to 30 days and killed after 10, 20 and 30 days of exposure. Mice after 30 days treatment showed highly significant decrease in sperm count, seminal pH and sperm motility (P<0.001), while, highly significantly increase in sperm mortality and their abnormality (P<0.001) were observed compared to control groups of mice. These observations suggest that the aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos cause antifertility effects among male mice.


The clinical and laboratory findings of a patient with juvenile acid maltase deficiency are presented. The patient died from respiratory muscle weakness at age 31 years. Muscle biopsy shortly prior to his death showed remarkable vacuolation affecting exclusively type I fibres and mild myopathic changes of both types of muscle fibres, while the muscle biopsy at age 26 years had shown no evidence of acid maltase deficiency.


This paper argues for the pursuit of social science research as a moral enterprise. The paper builds on the experience gained by the author during a 14-months post-graduate fieldwork project in a provincial town of Masvingo in southern Zimbabwe. Central to the research process is the need for participation, integrity and responsibility on the part of researchers. In deciding what is appropriate behaviour by the researcher there is need to take into account both local and global expectations and demands. Good and effective researchers should possess what Adjibolosoo terms positive human factor attributes such as integrity, loyalty, accountability, responsibility, motivation, honesty, wisdom, vision, dedication, commitment, creativity, skills, knowledge,understanding and trustworthiness. Ethically driven research entails establishing caring
relationships and a concern for the well being of respondents. The paper also raises issues pertaining to the problematic of a man studying women, the politics of fieldwork and research as a political process, how a researcher positions himself/herself in order to engage policy makers and the powerful. Research it is argued should be founded on the basis of mutual respect. This means the avoidance of deception, dishonesty and pretence in fieldwork settings. A researcher without a caring ethic will find it hard to understand fieldwork challenges and observations.Ethical caring is the foundation on which trust between researcher and respondents is built in the course of research.


In this study, the authors developed a smart, high power of disinfection machine using IoT technology. This disinfection machine generates super fine fog from H2O2 solution by utilizing pressure-swirl airblast atomizer. This machine sprays the H2O2 fog into the air inside the operating room in hospitals to disinfect and make the environment clean. The operation of the disinfection machine is totally remote controlled via mobile application using Bluetooh Low Energy (BLE) communication technology. All operating parameters are remotely, real time monitored and controlled. In addition, the machine operation history of are fully collected and stored both on a memory card in control circuit board and on cloud database. Furthermore, the heat generation from the integrated circuits (ICs) or chip and electronic components on the control printed circuit board (PCB) is also studied in order to prevent the overheating of the components which cause malfunction or instability of the machine. The results show that the temperature of all the electronic components on the control PCB during working is within the temperature allowance, and the disinfection machine works well.


Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) technology for energy storage has been a NASA power system concept for many years. Compared to battery-based energy storage systems, RFCS has received relatively little attention or resources for development because the energy density and electrical efficiency were not sufficiently attractive relative to advanced battery systems. Even today, RFCS remains at a very low technology readiness level (TRL of about 2 indicating feasibility has been demonstrated). Commercial development of the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells for automobiles and other terrestrial applications and improvements in lightweight pressure vessel design to reduce weight and improve performance make possible a high energy density RFCS energy storage system. The results from this study of a lightweight RFCS energy storage system for a remotely piloted, solar-powered, high altitude aircraft indicate an energy density up to 790 wh/kg with electrical efficiency of 53.4% is attainable. Such an energy storage system would allow a solar-powered aircraft to carry hundreds of kilograms of payload and remain in flight indefinitely for use in atmospheric research, Earth observation, resource mapping, and telecommunications. Future developments in the areas of hydrogen and oxygen storage, pressure vessel design, higher temperature and higher pressure fuel cell operation, unitized regenerative fuel cells, and commercial development of fuel cell technology will improve both the energy density and electrical efficiency of the RFCS.


This essay considers the tensions informing Nietzsche's reflection on intertwined issues of nature, art, sexuality, and the feminine. Through the figure of Dionysus, Nietzsche articulates a suggestive understanding of generation as the upsurge of nature in its transformative movement. The juxtaposition of Luce Irigaray's elaboration of the Dionysian calls for an interrogation of Nietzsche's work regarding (1) the sublimation of nature into art and of sexuality or sensuality into artistic drives, (2) the oblivion of sexual difference in the coupling of Apollo and Dionysus, and (3) the disappearance of love from the scene of creativity and procreation and, concomitantly, the emphasis on suffering and dismemberment.


The authors propose a class of robust focusing matrices for the coherent signal-subspace method, a novel approach for the estimation of directions-of-arrival of wideband sources. The new class of focusing matrices has robustness against size variations of focusing sectors obtained by preliminary group angle estimates. To quantify information loss due to source focusing, a new measure, termed 'relative efficiency index', is introduced and its properties are proved. This index is then used to assess statistical sufficiency of the coherently averaged covariance matrix, a data-reduced statistic on which the coherent signal-subspace method is based. Sensitivity issue as well as estimation performance comparisons for various classes of focusing matrices, based on simulations and relative efficiency index, are also presented.


Purpose
To unlock social media's value, this study aims to integrate insights from several theoretical perspectives and the relevant literature, developing an extended social media analytics framework. It identifies the stages underlying the social media analytics process and tests the framework in three important and interconnected areas: social media (Twitter), new product adoption (iWatch and Google Glass) and social media analytic techniques (text mining and sentiment analysis).

Design/methodology/approach
Based upon a systematic review of different research approaches, theories and media types, this paper presents and tests an extended framework in three important and interconnected areas mentioned above.

Findings
This paper offers a theory-driven social media analytics framework. It validates the framework by providing concrete processes, examples, evidence and insights related to three chosen areas mentioned above, thereby helping managers create effective and efficient social media and new product development strategies.

Originality/value
This paper integrates insights from theories of the middle range (Merton, 1949), Campbell's (1965) model of sociocultural evolution and Fan and Gordon's (2014) social media analytics framework, developing its own extended social media analytics framework and validating it in three important and interconnected areas mentioned above. This paper demonstrates not only how the proposed framework can be applied to the context of new product development, but also how social media are transforming research approaches (qualitative, quantitative and mixed method) and the very nature of business itself (increased importance of digital business).


This paper describes the development of the high fidelity GPS simulator Loral. The simulator will build upon existing ground system simulator software, and will take advantage of actual GPS spacecraft software developed by the satellite and payload manufacturers. Using multiprocessor computers, the system will simulate the entire satellite constellation to provide training in managing GPS worldwide navigation performance. At the same time, up to 4 complete satellite simulations can be run simultaneously to train in routine and anomalous operations of the satellites and satellite subsystems. Finally, all ground resources outside the walls of the RIGS are simulated. The simulator's user interface will allow instructors to easily input all types of anomalies to test the reaction of the students. The simulator will allow GPS operators to train individually, or as a unit, in handling true "day-in-the-life" scenarios prior to becoming certified. In addition, this paper discusses how the simulator will allow high fidelity testing of control system upgrades, reducing the need for operational resources during test. Finally, it discusses how the simulator can be adapted to support other less traditional applications.


While characterized by numerous environmental risks directly or indirectly caused by anthropogenic interventions, the Tisza Valley has an important potential to get its natural capital enriched through landscape scale adaptive management. In this paper, the current and potential ecosystem services are identified for the deep floodplains of the Tisza Valley by means of hydrodynamic modeling results and a detailed land cover analysis. Meanwhile, the agricultural suitability and environmental sensitivity of the study areas are analyzed, and the results of this phase of the research will provide a background for the quantification of the natural capital of the study areas.


The high minimum light requirement of eelgrass Zosfera marina L. suggests that this species has difficulty in maintaining a positive carbon balance except under high fight conditions. The carbon balance of Z. marina can be studied by following seasonal changes in non&ructural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves, however, little is known about the seasonal variation in NSC reserves in seagrasses or the influence of shading on NSC reserve content and distribution. Seasonal changes in eelgrass NSC reserves were measured in a shallow coastal lagoon, Chfncoteague Bay, Maryland/Virgima, USA, near the southern edge of this species' distributional range. Concentrations of sugar varied seasonally in leaves, rhizomes and roots, with maxhnum concentrations occurring in the rhizomes. In contrast, starch concentrations did not vary with the season, but were highest in the roots. Seasonal peaks in rhizome NSC reserves parallel the spring and fall bimodal growth patterns observed for Z. marina in the region. Total NSC reserves change from an estimated 52 to 73 g mJ in June to 4 to 18 g rns2 in January, or a decrease of 75 to 92 %. Experimental shading for 3 wk in the spring reduced (p c 0.001) sugar but not starch concentrations in leaves (48%), rhizomes (40%) and roots (51%). ln addition, shading reduced (p e 0.05) leaf biomass (34 %), root and rhizome biomass (23 %) and density (27 Yo). Potential NSC reserve storage during shading was reduced by an estimated 86%. Spring appears to be an important time for both growth and storage of NSC reserves in 2. marina, and the NSC reserves are generally depleted throughout the remainder of the year. Turbidity during thts springtime 'window of opportunity may jeopardize subsequent snrvival as a result of inadequate NSC reserves to maintain a positive carbon balance during the rest of the year.


Cucurbitacin B (CuB) isolated from Cucumis melo by using a PC12 cell bioassay system exhibited significant nerve growth factor (NGF)‐mimic or NGF‐enhancing activity in PC12 and primary neuron cells. It was also demonstrated pro‐neurogenesis effects in ICR and APP/PS1 mice and improved memory deficit of APP/PS1 mice. Its possible mechanism includes significant induction of the phosphorylation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), protein kinase C (PKC), phospholipase C (PLC) and inhibition of cofilin. ChemProteoBase profiling, binding assay and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) were used to determine the target protein. Results revealed that CuB could affect actin dynamics as an actin inhibitor but did not bind with GR. The protein level of cofilin in PC12 cells after treating 0.3 μM and different temperatures was significantly higher than that of control group. Other neurotrophic signalling pathways, such as TrkA/TrkB, were analysed with specific inhibitors and Western blot. The inhibitors of TrkA, PLC, PKC, Ras, Raf and ERK1/2 significantly decreased the percentage of PC12 cells with neurite outgrowth and shortened the length of neurite outgrowth induced by CuB. CuB significantly induced the phosphorylation of TrkA, ERK and CREB. The phosphorylation of these proteins was obviously decreased by their specific inhibitors. These results suggest that cofilin is a candidate target protein of CuB in PC12 cells and that the GR/PLC/PKC and TrkA/Ras/Raf/ERK signalling pathways play important roles in the neuroprotective effect of CuB.


Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) is a snowball-type sampling method used to survey hidden populations. To date, analyses of RDS data have primarily consisted of estimating population proportions and their variance because of the special complexities RDS data pose for regression analysis. This paper discusses those complications, focusing on the role of homophily (differential affiliation) in the recruitment process and respondent clustering at multiple potential levels of aggregation. It proposes two techniques for confronting these problems: entering recruiter characteristics directly into recruit-level regression models and estimating fixedor random-effects models at the levels where significant clustering is observed. An empirical example demonstrates the modeling process, and a six-step procedure for regression modeling of RDS data is presented.


In wireless orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, coarse frame synchronization and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values are two crucial parameters for OFDM receivers. In this paper, we develop a coarse timing estimator to overcome the plateau phenomenon by using delayed correlation between two estimated SNR values. The training symbol is designed for multiple pieces instead of two parts to mitigate the Doppler effect for SNR estimation. Compared with the Minn's scheme, our proposed scheme has smaller estimation variance both in EVA and ETU channels, which can also provide an estimated SNR value in the time domain. The obtained SNR value can be further reused to carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation or decoding for system performance improvement.


The phylogeny of the Circum-Mediterranean Tipula (Acutipula) maxima species group (Diptera, Tipulidae) is analysed on the basis of 35 morphological characters. Including T. (A.) luctuosa Mannheims, the group comprises 18 species. The subspecies T. (A.) maxima balcanica Vermoolen and T. (A.) transcaucasica latifurca Vermoolen are raised to species rank. The subspecies T. (A.) maxima pseudogigantea Strobl is no longer recognized as a valid taxon. The females of the species T. (A.) cretensis Vermoolen and T. (A.) cypriensis Vermoolen are described for the first time and details of their terminalia are illustrated. A key to the species of the maxima group is presented and their distribution is briefly discussed.


Background: we demonstrated the influence of Ventilatory inefficiency over exercise capacity in COPD (Resp Care 2012; 57: 583)

Purpose: to show ventilatory efficiency as a different mechanism affected in GOLD I-II patients.

Methods: 23 Gold I-II patients, mean age, FEV1/CVF, FEV1 and DCO of 65, 63.6, 84 and 60.5% respectively, compared with16 normal individuals. A stress test measuring Power, VO2max, Anaerobic threshold, Oxygen pulse, Ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2), expiratory flow limitation (EFL) and dynamic hyperinflation (DEELV) was performed comparing both groups. Correlations between EFL, DEELV and VE/VCO2 were calculated in patients with hyperinflation.

Results: COPD patients ended the test with leg fatigue and dyspnea (Borg 5 and 4) with normal Power, VO2max, Anaerobic threshold and Oxygen pulse (mean: 83, 82, 48.5 and 91% respectively), without difference with controls.

COPD patients presented an increased VE/VCO2 (mean 35.9) in oposition to controls (32.4) p < 0.005. 13 patients presented hyperinflation (mean 0.17 L). No significant correlation between EEFL, DEELV and VE/VCO2 was suggested (r 0.16 and 0.47).

Conclusions: Ventilatory efficiency is a different mechanism tampered during exercise in COPD patients, proposing another pathophysiological way to influence their exercise capacity.

![Figure][1] [1]: pending:yes


Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of the square target with finite length is simulated using a three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulation in this paper. The incident dose, the impact angle and the implanted energy on the target surface are investigated. The results show that the sheath around the square target with finite length becomes spherical rapidly during PIII. And the three-dimensional sheath width is small apparently compared with the one simulated by two-dimensional PIC. And it is found that the three-dimensional ion dose is not evenly distributed on the target surface during simulation time (50 ω -1 pi ) in this work. The dose is smallest in the center of the target, and it is largest near the corner. This is due to spherical sheath where ions are focused and accelerated into near the corner. In the central zone, the ion incidence is nearly normal to the surface, and the impact average energy exceeds 90% of the maximum. But the impact angle near the corner is always nearly 45°, and the implanted energy is only about 50% of the maximum.


BACKGROUND
People are more physically active in neighborhoods that are well designed for walking and bicycling. Building infrastructure for safer cycling is one way to promote physical activity. On-road bike lanes are one type of infrastructure hypothesized to positively impact levels of cycling. The first on-street bike lane was painted in New Orleans, LA during the spring of 2008.

METHODS
In November of 2007 and again in November 2008, trained observers conducted manual counts of cyclists riding on St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans, LA. The data collected included the number of men, women, adults, and children riding a bicycle with traffic, against traffic, and on sidewalks.

RESULTS
Data showed a 57% increase in the average number of riders per day (P < .001). There was a 133% increase among adult female riders (P < .001) and a 44% increase among adult male riders (P < .001). The percentage of cyclists riding in the correct direction, with the flow of traffic, increased from 73% to 82% (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS
Bike lanes can have a positive impact in creating a healthy physical environment. Future research should include other streets for comparison purposes and surveys to determine whether riders are substituting biking for nonactive forms of transportation.


ABSTRACT Strength and flexibility, important components of a training and their maximal values are obtained through specific tests. However, little information about the damage effect in a skeletal muscle is known. The aim was to verify a serum CK changes 24 h after a lengthening and static flexibilizing routine and a maximal dynamic strength tests. The sample, was by 14 subjects (man and women, 28 ± 6 yr.), control group (CG N = 7) and experimental group (EG N = 4) that was submitted a lengthening routine (EG-LG), a static flexibilizing routine (EG-FLEX) and a 1-RM test (EG-1-RM). The anthropometrics were obtained by digital scale with stadiometer. The blood samples were obtained using the IFCC method with reference values 26-155 U/L. The De Lorme and Watkins technique was used to access maximal dynamic strength through bench press and leg press. The static flexibilizing routine consisted in three 20 seconds sets until the point of maximal discomfort. The lengthening was done in normal movement amplitude during 6 seconds. In analysis inter groups was a significant difference (p < .05) in the values of GE-1RM (D = 118,7 U/L, p= .02) when compared to the GC. We concluded that only maximal strength dynamic test was capable to raise the CK serum levels 24 h after exercise Key Words: Lengthening, Static Flexibilizing, 1-RM, Creatine Kinase


Mycorrhizal colonization of grafted grapevines was studied during early establishment of an experimental rootstock vineyard to determine rootstock variability forming functional mycorrhizas. Roots of 10 different rootstocks were examined for the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi at the end of the second growing season (1998), and at the time of veraison (onset of ripening) of the third (1999) and fourth (2000) growing seasons. The fine root length density (primary roots with intact cortex) increased in 6 of 10 rootstocks over time. Only one rootstock, Riparia Gloire, showed a marked decrease in fine root length density in 2000, when vines carried their first significant fruit crop. AM colonization was generally above 60% of fine root length for all rootstocks, although significant differences due to rootstock and time of sampling were evident. Rootstocks imparting greater vigor to the scion, particularly Ruggeri 140, Kober 5BB, and SO-4, had consistently higher levels of root colonization by AM fungi. The proportion of roots containing arbuscules at veraison declined from 1999 to 2000 in those rootstocks carrying the highest crop loads. While AM colonization of different rootstocks was positively correlated to yield, the proportion of roots with arbuscules was negatively correlated to yield in 2000. Results of this study show that small differences in the ability to form mycorrhizas exist among rootstocks, but other factors, including crop load and soil moisture, have a large influence on root colonization by AM fungi.


Techniques for interfacing the nervous system using chronically implanted electrodes are turning into invaluable tools for neurophysiological research and treatment of neurological disorders. These methods have been developed and refined over the last decades. However, they still suffer from deteriorating electrical capabilities and the fact that they inevitably damage the tissue into which they are implanted, thus interrupting the very circuits aimed to be studied or stimulated. This problem could be alleviated by constructing truly biocompatible interfaces, which causes minimal damage during implantation, and minimal chronic tissue reactions. This thesis is aimed at identifying which factors that gives rise to these reactions, and finding ways to construct implants that as far as possible integrate these factors. As it was hypothesized that electrodes should be ultraflexible, the problem of how to implant such structures with positional control into soft tissue, such as the brain, had to be solved. To this end, we developed a novel gelatine based vehicle, into which the electrodes were embedded. This vehicle permits any structure, even nanoscaled, to be implanted. Furthermore, the gelatine coating was shown to have highly biocompatible. We also show that the number of electrodes placed in a rat brain does not greatly affect the resulting tissue reactions to each implant. This means that a large number of brain areas can be interfaced simultaneously without risking a snow-balling tissue reaction. We have explored the effect of the density discrepancies between electrodes and the neural tissue on the ensuing tissue reactions. We show that when an electrode with a density close to that of the tissue is constructed the chronic glial scar is almost completely eliminated. This surprisingly strong effect shows that even the minute inertial forces arising from movements of the animal are enough to stimulate a substantial glial scarring. The fourth paper is a qualitative assessment of the cells immediately interfacing the implants. We find a substantial cell population between the astrocytic scar and the implants, which for the most part is constituted by stromal cells. These cells may provide the missing link between the degree of tissue reactions and the deterioration of electrode recording capabilities. In total, this thesis has provided fundamental knowledge about how to design a fully biocompatible neural implant. The discovery that inertial forces are a major factor in the glial scar formation suggests that it is possible to develop neural implants that cause minute tissue reactions, which can enable valid long-term neurophysiological recordings. (Less)


Today, demands for high speed digital communication are getting bigger due to wide deployment of 4G mobile communications and mobile TV services. Requirement for high speed data processing makes forward error correction crucial. LDPC is one of the most popular error correcting codes. In this paper, we propose a novel LDPC decoder for the China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) standard. The LDPC decoding is carried out iteratively, which leads to relatively long decoding latency. Also, due to long code words, the amount of required memory is huge. To resolve these issues, we propose a novel Overlapped Message Passing (OMP) algorithm with an efficient resource sharing technique. Using the proposed method, we find the best permuted parity check matrix of the CMMB to improve the throughput while minimizing the memory requirement. Using the OMP algorithm only, we could improve the performance by 10%. To avoid potential memory access conflicts, a memory grouping technique to improve pipelining performance is also proposed. By applying all the techniques that we propose in this paper, we could improve the performance up to by 451.


data za minimalno invazivni terapijski zahvat. Abstract. Low back and radicular pain make a significant health concern. They are also one of the leading, medically related, causes for missed work. Furthermore, expenses for surgery are often very high. Adequate diagnosis of low back and radicular pain involves detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the lumbar spine and the nerve structures, as well as handling with C-arm. The purpose of these procedures, with the use of short-acting local anesthetic, is to an-esthetize specific nerve endings in order to verify which anatomical structures are true pain generators. This is important because low back pain can be caused by vast palette of spine disorders. The most common include degenerative intervertebral disc disease, changes in the zygapophyseal (facet) joints, damaged sacroiliac joint or disc herniation. Depending on the different anatomical structures that can cause the low back and radicular pain, one can use several minimally invasive diagnostic procedures. Each minimally invasive diagnostic procedure, with which we confirm the exact cause of low back pain or radicular pain, consequently pre-disposes patients for minimally invasive therapeutic intervention.


UNLABELLED
Remote monitoring of chronic diseases can improve health outcomes and potentially lower health care costs. The high number of the patients, suffering of chronically diseases, who wish to stay at home rather then in a hospital increasing the need of homecare monitoring and have lead to a high demand of wearable medical devices. Also, extended patient monitoring during normal activity has become a very important target.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
In this paper are presented the design of the wireless monitoring devices based on ultra low power circuits, high storage memory flash, bluetooth communication and the firmware for the management of the monitoring device.

RESULTS
The monitoring device is built using an ultra low power microcontroller (MSP430 from Texas Instruments) that offers the advantage of high integration of some circuits. The custom made electronic boards used for biosignal acquisition are also included modules for storage device (SD/MMC card) with FAT32 file system and Bluetooth device for short-range communication used for data transmission between monitoring device and PC or PDA.

CONCLUSION
The work was focused on design and implementation of an ultra low power wearable device able to acquire patient vital parameters, causing minimal discomfort and allowing high mobility. The proposed wireless device could be used as a warning system for monitoring during normal activity.


Failure to recognise the effects of the changed operating conditions and carry out further reinforcement of the network when needed, resulted in the breakdown of the four 110 kV cables supplying the CBD in Auckland. The author discusses the development of Auckland's CBD in relation to the power supply and soil resistivity effects on underground cables. The sequence of events leading to the failure, and the changes that should be implemented as a result regarding training and management within the power industry, are briefly discussed.


This 2-part longitudinal study uses quantitative content analysis of newspapers to investigate gender dynamics in producing news on equality in sports. It analyzes differences in Title IX coverage by reporter gender to determine whether female journalists advocated more aggressively for women's equality than their male counterparts did. The study's first part uses content analysis of volume and placement of articles about Title IX, by journalist gender, and discusses the implications of how patterns of volume and placement have changed over time. The second part identifies advocacy and opposition frames used in the conflict over Title IX; applies content analysis of frames used, by journalist gender; and discusses implications of reporting differences and changes over time for equality. Evidence suggests that, first, social control; then a feminist perspective; and, most recently, a postfeminist worldview among female journalists influenced coverage of the law.


Recently, we have used a torsional oscillator to observe supersolid fractions up to 20 % in confined helium samples. To characterize these constrained samples further we measure the solid pressure in a narrow pancake cell. We can fit the pressure data well to the functional form p = p0 + aT2 + bT4. The term proportional to the temperature square indicates that crystalline disorder exists in the solid samples. The disorder term in the pressure can be reduced by sample annealing, i.e. holding the sample at a temperature close to the melting temperature. Secondly, when we hold the temperature fixed for an extended period of time, the pressure relaxes in a way similar to an exponential decay. The characteristic time constant of decay rises at low temperatures. The low temperature relaxations also reduce the disorder term in the pressure equation.


Objective To demonstrate a clear link between predicted blood shear forces during valve closure and thrombogenicity that explains the thrombogenic difference between tissue and mechanical valves and provides a practical metric to develop and refine prosthetic valve designs for reduced thrombogenicity. Methods Pulsatile and quasi-steady flow systems were used for testing. The time-variation of projected open area (POA) was measured using analog opto-electronics calibrated to projected reference orifice areas. Flow velocity determined over the cardiac cycle equates to instantaneous volumetric flow rate divided by POA. For the closed valve interval, data from quasi-steady back pressure/flow tests was obtained. Performance ranked by derived maximum negative and positive closing flow velocities, evidence potential clinical thrombogenicity via inferred velocity gradients (shear). Clinical, prototype and control valves were tested. Results Blood shear and clot potential from multiple test datasets guided empirical optimization and comparison of valve designs. Assessment of a 3-D printed prototype valve design (BV3D) purposed for soft closure demonstrates potential for reduced thrombogenic potential. Conclusions The relationship between leaflet geometry, flow velocity and predicted shear at valve closure illuminated an important source of prosthetic valve thrombogenicity. With an appreciation for this relationship and based on our experiment generated comparative data, we achieved optimization of valve prototypes with potential for reduced thrombogenicity. Competing Interests None declared. Financial Disclosure This research has been done on a pro bono basis by all authors. Graphical Abstract Visualization of water jetting through closed mechanical heart valve under steady flow. Under pulsatile conditions, similar jet patterns near valve closure and leaflet rebound are likely. Dynamic metrics for several valves assessed in vitro are important in prediction of comparable blood cell damage and potential life-threatening thrombotic outcomes. Red star indicates moment of valve closure. CENTRAL MESSAGE A derived laboratory metric for valve closing flow velocity offers a way to rank valve models for potential blood damage. These results provide new insight and a mechanistic explanation for prior clinical observations where aortic and mitral valve replacements differ in thrombogenic potential and anticoagulation requirement. The study suggests a path forward to design and evaluate novel mechanical valve models for future development. As multiple modifications to mechanical and bioprosthetic valves have not resolved chronic shortcomings related to thrombogenicity and durability, a new development avenue was required to lead to eliminate thrombogenicity in the former and extend durability in the latter. PERSPECTIVE Prosthetic mechanical valve devices cause blood cell damage. Activation of the coagulation cascade is initiated by dynamic valve function. Design innovation focusing on valve closure behavior may reduce valve thrombogenic potential. Our study demonstrates that valve design can be empirically optimized with emphasis on that phase. SIGNIFICANCE Emphasis on open valve performance has encouraged a long-standing bias while under appreciation of the closing phase vital to identification of potential thrombogenic complications persist. Our multiple data sets are useful in challenging this bias. Dynamic motion(s) of mechanical valves and derived regional flow velocity are impacted by valve geometry. Focus on valve closure dynamics may lead to the development of potentially less thrombogenic prototype valves. Laboratory experiments support the supposition that valve regional flow velocity is associated with valve thrombogenic potential. This study compares three clinical valves and two experimental prototypes.


Background The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of nasal bone fractures on nasal aerodynamic flow patterns using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Methods A three-dimensional model of nasal cavity with a nasal bone fracture was constructed from computerized tomography (CT) scans of a patient with use of software Mimics 13.0 (The Materilize Group, Leuven, Belgium). CFD simulations were performed using Fluent 6.3 (ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, PA) with a turbulent flow model. Numerical results were presented with velocity, streamline, and pressure contour distributions in left and right nasal cavities and were compared with those of a healthy one. Possible outcomes on functional performances or patencies of the nose were also examined and discussed. Results For the nose with a nasal bone fracture, distributions of velocity contours showed there was more airflow in the right nasal cavity than in the left one, especially for inspiration status. In the left cavity, the airflow was redirected irregularly and there were also more circulations with larger sizes, higher pressure jumps, and greater wall shear stresses. Flow partitioning in the right and left cavities was noticeable with a larger nasal resistance compared with the healthy one. When the inspirational flow rate was increased, pressure jump from the nostril to the nasopharynx increased faster. Conclusion The aerodynamic flow was redistributed greatly for the nose with a nasal bone fracture compared with the healthy one, which might affect local normal nasal functions. Such physical assessments of nasal airflow based on a model from the patients' CT scans may help clinicians determine the best treatment in advance.


Light is a key factor in plant ecophysiological modeling because of its crucial effects on plant growth and development. However, solar light quantity and quality change with environmental factors such as sky condition and solar elevation. When passing through a tree crown, light is modified by its interaction with the phytoelements, leaves and axes. This leads to a variability of light quantity and quality within the crown, with consequences on light-related processes such as photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis. We evaluated the effects of positional (depth within the crown) and environmental (sky condition, solar elevation) factors on light quantity and quality within the crown of the tropical evergreen mango tree. Functional relationships were modeled between morphogenetically active radiation variables that describe light quality [narrowband red (Rn), narrowband far-red (FRn), the ratio ζ=Rn : FRn, and UVA-blue (UVA-BL)] and light quantity [photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and relative transmitted PPFD (TrPPFD)]. Light quantity and quality varied within the mango tree crown in a wide range similar to that of a forest. This variability was structured by the depth within the crown as well as by sky condition and solar elevation. Linear relationships linked Rn, FRn and UVA-BL to PPFD, and non-linear relationships linked ζ to TrPPFD. These relationships were strong, accurate and unbiased. They were affected by positional and environmental factors. The results suggested that these relationships were shaped by the characteristics of incident solar light and/or by the interactions between light and phytoelements. Two consequences of interest emerged from this research: i) the modeled relationships allow to infer light quality, that is difficult and time-consuming to simulate, from light quantity modeling within a tree crown, and ii) sky condition and solar elevation should be considered to improve light modeling within a tree crown.


This essay considers the R2P principle as expressed by the African Union's (AU) Constitutive Act of 2000, the United Nations (UN) World Summit's outcome document of 2005, and recent civilian protection mandates issued for peacekeeping operations by the UN Security Council. Examining how these three international mechanisms have sought to establish and operationalise the norm, the author argues that the AU should make greater efforts to bring R2P implementation into line with the UN Charter in order to secure the legitimacy of regional interventions in Africa. Reflecting on the experience of the AU Mission in Sudan between 2004 and 2007, the importance of clear mandates and sufficient capacity to the success of R2P interventions is emphasised. The use of force by peacekeepers—its feasibility and potential extent—is analysed and placed within the context of peacebuilding in the R2P continuum. The essay also argues for better coordination between the UN Security Council and the world body's Economic and Social Council, as well as with the AU's Peace and Security Council, to ensure a reliable supply of adequate peacebuilding resources to Africa and proper consideration of security and reconstruction matters.


Background: Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is a serious disease that needs rapid diagnosis for an accurate treatment. The most important etiological agents are: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Overall pathogen detection rate in patients with ABM in Chile is 83%. Aim: To evaluate a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) protocol for simultaneous detection of several pathogens in patients with ABM. Material and methods: We designed and evaluated a multiplex PCR protocol for simultaneous specific genes identifications of S pneumoniae (iytA and ply genes), N meningitidis (ctrA, crgA) and H influenzae (bexA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from pediatric patients with suspected diagnosis of ABM. Sensitivity, specificity and minimum detection levels of DNA were determined. Amplifications ofrDNA 16S gene was done to confirm extraction of bacterial DNA. Results: Ninety nine CSF samples were studied, 90 from children with fever and negative CSF culture, and 9 from ABM and positive culture patients. The PCR protocol had a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value 100% and negative predictive value 99%. Conclusions: We observed a high concordance (89%) between bacteriological cultures and the PCR protocol results. This diagnostic tool could increase identification of agents in specific settings such as patients previously treated with antibiotics


Red-bed basins with rich hydrocarbon source rocks are widely distributed in south China, such as Banshi Basin in southern Jiangxi, which may have very good prospects for oil and gas exploration. However, due to poor ground conditions, and complex geological structures, seismic exploration and conventional electromagnetic methods cannot provide useful information for hydrocarbon evaluation. This study uses the wide field electromagnetic (WFEM) method to investigate the distribution and geoelectric characteristics of the target stratum of a red-bed basin in Jiangxi province, China. The inversion results demonstrate that the WFEM method could quickly delineate the favorable area and determine the location of the parametric well, confirming that the WFEM method is an effective geophysical exploration method for evaluating hydrocarbon resources in red-bed basins.


2008 Global Financial Crisis is considered by many as one of the most
serious crises ever seen in the world finance history. Yet, thanks to the
quick response of policy-makers in contrast to the Great Depression of
1929, the crisis did not hit as destructive as expected. However, we have
not seen any fundamental suggestion to avoid the future crises of the
same kind or even more devastating ones though the vital suggestion of
the Vatican about Islamic finance as solution to financial crises. This paper
is intended to draw the attention of economists and finance experts to the
Islamic finance as an alternative system of crisis preventive nature. After
giving the highly important saying of the Prophet Muhammad -so-called Six
Items Hadith-, we will try to extract some basic principles that can be taken
into consideration in financial transactions. This two sentences Prophetic
saying or hadith is so comprehensive that it expresses exactly 80 kinds of
exchanges. According to that hadith, out of these 80 kinds of exchanges, 46
sales include a religiously forbidden "interest". Interest is a value transfer
from one party to another in loans or exchanges, particularly in the finance
sector without any corresponding real value in the underlying assets,
resulting in financial or economic crises.
Keywords: Financial Crisis, Interest, Islamic Finance, Six Items Hadith.


The natural product of the Red Sea sponge Verongia sp., identified as 3,5,8-trihydroxy-4-quinolone, was found to be a potent inhibitor of the RNA-directed DNA synthesis of the reverse transcriptases (RTs) of human immunodeficiency viruses type 1 and type 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2, respectively). This inhibition was unaffected by the nature of the primer template used for DNA synthesis. The DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity was inhibited to a lesser extent, whereas the ribonuclease H (RNase H) function associated with both HIV RTs was only slightly inhibited. The inhibition by the trihydroxyquinolone is reversible and noncompetitive with respect to both substrates--dTTP and the template primer poly(rA)n.oligo(dT)12-18. The inhibitor binds HIV-1 RT with a high affinity (Ki = 0.46 microM). This compound was shown also to inhibit the catalytic activities of the RT of murine leukemia virus, establishing the general inhibitory effect on retroviral RTs. Introductions of acetyl or methoxy moieties at positions with potential activity have generated three synthetic analogs of the natural compound. Only one analog, 5,8-dimethoxy-4-quinolone, exhibited an inhibition potency similar to that of the unmodified compound. Analysis of the three analogs has led us to the conclusion that the hydroxyl group at the ortho position to the carbonyl group in the pyridinone ring is a key structural element for the inhibitory activity. Thus, it could well be that the inhibitor interacts with the enzyme through a hydrogen bond of this hydroxyl group. We hope that the identification of the inhibitory site of the compound might be an important step toward the rational design of new potent anti-HIV RT drugs.


Forssman's antigen is present in the thymus, bursa of Fabricius, normal peripheral nerve, peripheral nerve affected with the disease of fowl-paralysis, and in diffuse and nodular lymphocytoma-tissues of the chicken.
 The sera of rabbits injected intravenously, with aqueous suspensions of normal peripheral nerves and peripheral nerves affected with the disease fowl-paralysis of the chicken, contain two additional antibodies. One of these is directed toward an alcohol soluble antigen which is similar to brain-lipoid-antigen. The other is specific for a water soluble antigen present only in aqueous suspension of chicken's nerve-tissue.
 No antigenic differences were found between the normal and pathological deposits of lymphoid tissue of the chicken.
 No antibody response was obtained after intravenous injection of dogs, pigeons or sheep with tissue-suspensions of diffuse and nodular lymphocytoma of the chicken.


This memorandum is submitted on behalf of seven professors of linguistics—Hana Filip, PhD.; Georgia M. Green, PhD.; Jeffrey P. Kaplan, PhD., J.D.; Jason Merchant, PhD.; Barbara Partee, PhD.; Roger Shuy, PhD.; and Thomas Wasow, Ph.D.—for the purpose of challenging the plaintiff's argument that Secretary Clinton's appointment violated the plain meaning of the Ineligibility Clause.
More particularly, we will show that on the point at issue here, the meaning of the Ineligibility Clause is not plain. The plaintiff's interpretation represents only one of several possible readings. The clause can also be reasonably read in a way that permits a Senator or Representative's eligibility for appointment to be restored by reducing the salary of the position in question to what it was when the Senator or Representative's term began.
The ambiguity in the Ineligibility Clause relates to the phrase "shall have been encreased." Plaintiff's argument assumes that a position's salary has been increased during a Senator or Representative's term if at any point in that term the salary went up, even if it later went back down by the same amount. This interpretation corresponds to what linguists would refer to as an "experiential" reading. But the language can also be under-stood to have a "resultative" reading. On the latter interpretation, the salary can be said to "have been increased" only if it went up and stayed up through the time of the appointment. This reading of "have been encreased" is comparable to the interpretation of "I have caught a cold" as meaning that the speaker had gotten sick and was still sick.
The resultative reading of the Ineligibility Clause is the same in substance as the government's "on net" interpretation; the difference is merely a matter of how the interpretation is described. What we hope to do here—or at least one of the things—is to explain why this interpretation is a plausible one and therefore why the Ineligibility Clause is ambiguous.


Sugarcane is one of the most important cultivated plants for more than a millennial. In Indonesia, especially in Java, sugarcane is also a part of symbolic local culture. In fact, during the Dutch colonialism sugarcane had given substantial wealth to the Dutch and in the early 1930s the export revenue of sugar from Indonesia was the second largest in the world. The status of sugarcane now is still important for Indonesia even though Indonesian status now is one of the largest sugar importing countries in the world. One of major problems for such contradicting path of history is that the continuously lowering Indonesian productivity of sugarcane since the last 45 years. The main conventional choice for sugarcane productivity improvement is, among others, maintaining high dosage of chemical fertilizer. The choice of using high dosage chemical fertilizer such as urea, for example, is not only costly in term of monetary spending but also is costly in term of environmental costs such as water, air, and soil pollutions. In fact agriculture is classified as one of the most polluted sector. This article shares the results of the case study that has been conducted one year (2017-2018) in sugarcane plantation in Bunga Mayang, Lampung Province, Indonesia. The experiment took full recommended dosage application of inorganic N, P, K, fertilizer as experimental control. The results showed that there were no significantly difference in the productivity of sugarcane between the application of full dosage of inorganic N, P, K fertilizer and the half-dosage of inorganic N, P, K fertilizer in combination with 60 l per ha of Black Soldier Fly (BSF)'s liquid biofertilizer. The results implied very important implications for future research, new agricultural practices and new development policy agenda. One of the most important policy implications is how to build a circular economic structure between rural-urban regions where now food and other agricultural products flow from rural to urban regions and create food and other organic wastes in cities. In the next system the circular structure will create no-organic waste that will pollute cities and other areas but cities will become agriculture regional source of biofertilizer produced by BSF's biofertilizer industry which will fertilize the country sides environments.


Although semi-dense Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) has been becoming more popular over the last few years, there is a lack of efficient methods for representing and processing their large scale point clouds. In this paper, we propose using 3D line segments to simplify the point clouds generated by semi-dense SLAM. Specifically, we present a novel incremental approach for 3D line segment extraction. This approach reduces a 3D line segment fitting problem into two 2D line segment fitting problems and takes advantage of both images and depth maps. In our method, 3D line segments are fitted incrementally along detected edge segments via minimizing fitting errors on two planes. By clustering the detected line segments, the resulting 3D representation of the scene achieves a good balance between compactness and completeness. Our experimental results show that the 3D line segments generated by our method are highly accurate. As an application, we demonstrate that these line segments greatly improve the quality of 3D surface reconstruction compared to a feature point based baseline.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the impact and risk factors associated with an abnormal exercise test (ET) in systemic inflammatory rheumatic disease (SIRD) patients before commencing supervised physical exercise.

METHODS
A total of 235 SIRD patients were enrolled in three controlled clinical trials, including 103 RA, 42 SLE and 57 AS patients. The control group consisted of 231 healthy, sedentary subjects matched for age, gender and BMI. All performed an ET, according to Bruce's or Ellestad's protocol. Cardiovascular disease risk factors, medications, comorbidities and details of each SIRD were assessed.

RESULTS
SIRD patients had a higher percentage of abnormal ETs compared with the control group, especially exercise hypertensive behaviour, higher oxygen consumption, higher resting heart rate and heart rate at the first minute of recovery, and chronotropic incompetence (C-Inc) (P < 0.001). The disease itself was involved with higher likelihood of having an abnormal ET [Odds ratio (OR) = 12.0, 95% CI: 2.5, 56.7; P = 0.002 for SLE; OR = 13.56, 95% CI: 6.16, 29.8; P < 0.001 for RA; and OR = 4.31, 95% CI: 1.17, 15.8; P = 0.028, for AS]. Each 10-year increment of age increased the chance of having an abnormal ET by 13% (P = 0.008) in AS patients, as well as hypertension (OR = 7.14, 95% CI: 1.61, 31.6; P = 0.01). Regarding C-Inc, age played a protective role (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.99; P = 0.043) in SLE, and ASDAS-ESR was associated with a higher risk in AS (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 0.93, 8.0; P = 0.067).

CONCLUSION
Our results showed a higher prevalence of abnormal ETs in asymptomatic cardiovascular SIRD patients, and the disease itself was associated with a higher likelihood of having an abnormal test, emphasizing the relevance and need of performing it before starting supervised physical exercise.


This research was carried out to determine the effects of different additions (urea and molasses) used with Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) silage  on fermentation, in vitro gas production, microbiological properties, in vitro digestibility parameters, and relative fodder quality (RFQ) in silages made  under laboratory conditions. The Italian grass (Lolium multiflorum L.) used in the study was chopped to an approximate size of 2–3.0 cm. Amounts of 0, 2,  and 4% molasses and 0, 0.5, and 1% urea were added to the fresh material as a percentage of dry matter. Because of the urea, crude protein (CP) of  Italian ryegrass silage increased, but the content of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) decreased.  While the addition of urea decreased the acetic acid and butyric acid concentrations of the silage, it increased the pH, lactic acid, and ammonia (NH3)  content. Molasses addition increased in vitro gas production and organic matter digestibility (OMD); urea increased metabolic energy (ME) and the net  energy lactation (NEL) values of silages. Urea and molasses both increased in vitro digestibility parameters, microbial protein production and synthesis,  and relative fodder quality of the silage. As a result of the research, it was determined that urea and molasses could be used at contents of 1.5% and 4%,  respectively, in Italian ryegrass silage.


The subject before us has acquired renewed significance in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the tumult and violence that has been on the increase ever since, but also what followed the advent of the Arab Spring in many Muslim countries. Conflicts that engulf countries and communities rarely, if ever, end by clean endings. They leave behind a host of issues, including the urge to take revenge by the aggrieved parties − hence a vicious circle of violence follows. Post-conflict justice requires careful management, such that measure- for -measure justice may not be the right option in one's quest to restore peace. The spirit of peace and willingness to give and take, admission of truth and forgiveness may be among the more effective means of healing and moving forward. What role, if any, is there in the midst of all this for Islam's guidelines on repentance, amnesty and forgiveness is the main subject I address in the following pages. Amnesty, pardon and forgiveness are the means, in Islamic theology and law, as also in most other world traditions, of relieving someone from punishment, blame, civil liability or religious obligation. The same result is often achievable by recourse to certain other methods such as reconciliation, arbitration, and judicial order. This article focuses on an exposition of Islamic law provisions on amnesty ('afwa). The fiqh positions explored here derive, for the most part, from the Qur'an (normative teaching), or Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, and general consensus (ijma') of scholars across the generations. Yet instances are found where fiqhi interpretations of the relevant scripture are reminiscent of historical settings and conditions of their time, which may, upon reflection, warrant further scrutiny and interpretation more in tune with the contemporary conditions of Muslims.


Rhizome plants are often used as ingredients or traditional ingredients such as temuireng, temulawak and temumangga. Such rhizomes have the same color, shape, and smell characteristics. In this study, the types of rhizomes were classified based on their color into three classes, namely temuireng, temulawak, and temumangga. The color of the rhizome was captured using the camera. The image feature extraction process was carried out to obtain the color characteristics of the image by calculating the RGB value of the image. The obtained values were classified using several machine learning methods, namely Decision Tree, Naive Bayes, and KNN. This study used 120 data for all classes with the ratio of training data and test data was 70% and 30% respectively. In the initial stages of classification, data cleaning was carried out, before training and test data were used to create a classification model. From the classification results, the accuracy value of each method was obtained and then the method with the best accuracy can be selected. Result showed that the optimal method for classifying three types of temulawak (temuireng, temulawak and temumangga) based on RGB color features was using the KNN method with an accuracy of 87.5% that similar to previous researcher who used SVM method.


The changes in heart rate induced by the stimulation of arterial chemoreceptors by apneic asphyxia and left atrial - intracarotid injections of sodium cyanide were investigated in anesthetized artificially ventilated and paralysed monkeys. Apneic asphyxia and sodium cyanide injection caused tachycardia, bradycardia, or both in monkeys paralysed with decamethonium bromide and tachycardia only, in monkeys paralysed with gallamine. In both groups, the tachycardia was abolished by prior administration of propranolol and the bradycardia, by atropine. Prior ventilation with 100% O2 abolished the heart rate responses produced by apnea. Recording of phrenic efferent activity showed that the neural discharge increased in response to apneic asphyxia and sodium cyanide injections. It remained so during the manifestation of tachycardia, bradycardia, or no change in heart rate, suggesting that even though "higher centres" may have an important influence in the heart rate responses elicited, central respiratory drive may not be the only mechanism. The present results show that in the nonhuman primate, arterial chemoreceptor stimulation elicits both cardioacceleratory and cardioinhibitory reflexes, and the net effect of their stimulation on heart rate depends upon the balance between these opposing mechanisms.


Integrated high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA was frequently detected in the genomes of cervical carcinoma cells. The HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins disrupt the functions of tumor suppressors p53 and Rb; thus, understanding the mechanism by which HPV E6 and E7 gene expression is regulated in cancer cells is highly relevant to cancer biology. Brg1 is a catalytic subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes that function in the transcriptional regulation of certain cellular genes. Here, we show that knockdown of Brg1 in HeLa cells leads to cell cycle arrest, p53 and Rb protein accumulation and, interestingly, downregulated expression of HPV18 E6 and E7 genes. Brg1 binds the HPV18 LCR in a JunB- and p300-dependent manner and is required for efficient recruitment of RNA polymerase II to the HPV18 LCR. The function of Brg1 in HPV18 gene regulation is unique given that its homolog Brm does not play a role in this regulatory pathway, and this may help design target-specific intervention strategies.


A new method of interactive Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is presented. In order to settle the problem that in the cases for the ship designers sometimes it is difficult to make a decision when facing so complex ship form schemes. The conventional AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) is adopted, but it mostly depends on the designer's subjective and leads to the systematic error. The new method can obtain the accurate result with the rigid least square method as a tool, making full use of the AHP and the objective information entropy, which reflects the inherent attribute. When applied in the practice, it is proved to be effective, practical and dependable for future ships' complex Decision Systems (DS).Copyright © 2006 by ASME


RAON is a heavy-ion accelerator complex that is being constructed in Daejeon, Korea. The superconducting linear accelerator of RAON will provide various heavy-ion beams with a maximum power of 400 kW. In order to determine the design requirements of the underground facility for the accelerator, we considered the radiation's influence on the soil and the ground-water under the condition of long-term operation of the accelerator. A source term for prompt neutrons generated by heavy-ion beams losses along the beam lines at a rate of 1 W/m was applied to obtain the activation level of nearby material outside the tunnel by using the simulation codes MCNPX and SP-FISPACT. This report presents the analysis and the result for the tunnel shielding condition obtained from the assessment.


Communication is central to most interactions between organisms. There is currently considerable controversy about the evolution, function and even about the most basic definition of communication. The controversy is linked to definitional ambiguities and disagreements. Here we discuss how some recent disagreements can be resolved and offer a clear set of definitions. Central to our approach is a definition of communication as being a trade between one organism (the informer) and another (the perceiver). The informer exerts influence on the perceiver through the communication process, and the perceiver experiences a change in its informational state (that is, gains information) as a consequence of detecting the communication. We define both influence and information explicitly and delineate between signalling, deceptive communication, and situations where perceivers respond to cues rather than signals. We demonstrate how our definitions allow resolution of conflicts arising in recent publications on the definitions on communication and related terms.


The hybrid manufacturing (HM) process combines the precision of computer numerical control (CNC) and the freeform capability of additive manufacturing to expand the versatility of advanced manufacturing. The intent of this paper is to explore the relationship between HM processing parameters and mechanical properties of the final parts manufactured by one type of HM process that combines laser metal deposition (LMD) and CNC milling. The design of experiment (DOE) is implemented to explore the Ti-6Al-4V thin-wall structure fabrication process with different HM build strategies. Vickers hardness, tensile test, and microstructure analyses are conducted to evaluate the mechanical property variance within the final parts fabricated according to the DOE matrix. Finally, a prediction model of yield strength at 0.2% offset for Ti-6Al-4V parts built through the aforementioned HM process was obtained by an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, which revealed the significant factors are build height within each LMD process, laser energy input, and the interaction of build height within each LMD process to the preheating condition.


Entropy measures have become increasingly popular as an evaluation metric for complexity in the analysis of time series data, especially in physiology and medicine. Entropy measures the rate of information gain, or degree of regularity in a time series e.g. heartbeat. Ideally, entropy should be able to quantify the complexity of any underlying structure in the series, as well as determine if the variation arises from a random process. Unfortunately current entropy measures mostly are unable to perform the latter differentiation. Thus, a high entropy score indicates a random or chaotic series, whereas a low score indicates a high degree of regularity. This leads to the observation that current entropy measures are equivalent to evaluating how random a series is, or conversely the degree of regularity in a time series. This raises the possibility that existing tests for randomness, such as the runs test or permutation test, may have similar utility in diagnosing certain conditions. This paper compares various tests for randomness with existing entropy-based measurements such as sample entropy, permutation entropy and multi-scale entropy. Our experimental results indicate that the test statistics of the runs test and permutation test are often highly correlated with entropy scores and may be able to provide further information regarding the complexity of time series.


Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope, we have resolved individual red giant branch stars in the outskirts of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891, down to ∼2 mag fainter than the tip of the red giant branch. The data set allows investigation of the stellar populations in the outer regions of an analogue galaxy to the Milky Way. We discuss the properties of the stellar populations located at ∼10 kpc above the galaxy disc. We find that these extraplanar stellar populations exhibit a broad red giant branch star colour distribution, suggestive of a large spread in heavy element abundance. The mean stellar metallicity at this height from the galaxy disc, derived using the mean colours of red giant branch stars, is [Fe/H] ≈-0.9, a full ∼0.5 dex more metal rich than the mean metallicity of the non-rotationally supported stars in the inner haloes of the Galaxy and Andromeda. This suggests that metal-poor stars are not the dominant stellar component in the outskirts of massive spiral galaxies.


The glucose transporter of rat brain was examined by the use of cytochalasin B, a potent inhibitor. The dissociation constants (Kd) of D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding in various membrane fractions were about 100 nM. Solubilization and partial purification of glucose transporter were carried out by procedures of DE 52 column chromatography, Bio Gel HT column chromatography and Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography from postnuclear membrane fraction. Purified transporter, reconstituted in lipid vesicles, showed D-glucose-specific transport activity with a Michaelis constant (Km) of 7 mM. The molecular weight was estimated to be about 200K by gel filtration in the presence of 0.1% Triton X-100. The subunit molecular weight was estimated to be 45K by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after photoaffinity labeling using [3H]cytochalasin B as a covalent probe, indicating that rat brain glucose transporter is a tetramer.


Trihedral corner reflectors are the preferred canonical target for SAR performance evaluation for many radar development programs. The conventional trihedrals have problems with substantially reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) at low grazing angles, unless they are tilted forward, but in which case other problems arise. Consequently there is a need for better low grazing angle performance for trihedrals. This is facilitated by extending the bottom plate. A relevant analysis of RCS for an infinite ground plate is presented. Practical aspects are also discussed.


Terminal ventriculostomy is one of the methods used in surgical treatment of syringomyelia. The procedure is well tolerated and may be used in cases in which atlanto-occipital decompression is too serious an operation. The author used the method in treatment of 10 patients with different stages of syringomyelia. In 5 cases the time of follow-up was 12--20 months, in 2 of them the result was very good with very great improvement, in 3 improvement was slight but the progression of the disease was halted. In 5 cases with shorter follow-up improvement was observed in 3 and no improvement immediately after the operation in 2 cases. Further follow-up of these patients will show whether the results of the operation will be permanent.


This paper develops an efficient method based on traffic flow distribution and splitting for traffic engineering in the MPLS networks. We define flow distribution as selecting one of the available label switch paths (LSPs) to carry one aggregated traffic flow. Flow splitting is, however, the mechanism designed for multiple parallel LSPs to share one single aggregated flow. Our studies show that flow distribution and flow splitting approaches readily solve the routing problems such as bottleneck and mismatch problems. An algorithm based on network bandwidth utilization is also proposed to integrate both approaches. The simulation results at the end of the paper demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.


Improving the quality of education is the main priority in developing educationin
Indonesia. One of the factors that determine the quality of education is the teacher.
Improvement of the quality of educationis characterized by increased students"
achievement, and it"scan only be achieved through teaching professionalism of teachers.
Therefore, toimprove the quality of education, the first step that must be conducted is to
improve the teaching professionalism of teachers. The purpose of this study is to describe the
determinant factors that determine the professionalism of teachers" teaching. The study used
descriptive research design. Samples were 90 teachers and 28 principals in East Java, taken
by using a quota random sampling technique. The data collected by question naires,
interviews, and documentation, and analized by descriptive statistics, correlation, and
qualitative data analysis. The results showed that there are six strategies to improve the
professionalism of teachers" teaching, namely use proper supervision approach, effective
supervision techniques, positive super vision principles, and supported by good facilities,
good media, competent supervisors, and relevant places. The collaborative approach is the
most appropriate supervision approach, but it also needs to be adapted to the characteristics
of the teachers. The most effective technique provide learning experiences widely for
teachers, and its implementation is based on the positive principles, for example, democratic,
scientific, cooperative, creative, and constructive. The good facilities, relevant media,
competent supervisors, and good places also contribute to the professionalism of teachers"
teaching. The use of positive principles is the most decisive factor to improve the
professionalism of teachers" teaching. The professionalism of teachers" teaching include the
ability to know the learners" characteristics, mastery of the oryand principles of learning,
curriculum development capabilities, the quality ofthe learning process, ability to develop the
learners"potency, communication skills, evaluation skills, mastery of material, personality,
and ability to develop themselves.


Male rabbits were brought to ejaculate with the artifical vagina 6 times a week and from this the weekly sperm output was calculated. Testicular biopsies were taken 3 times, once in a 4-week interval from the same rabbits. The volumetric proportion of primary spermatocytes (method 1), all round spermatids (method 2) and round spermatids of stage 1 of the cycle (method 3) were determined from the biopsied tissue and with this and the corrected testicular volume the maximal sperm production was calculated. The correlations between the calculated sperm production and the actually counted sperm output was 0.80 with method 1,0.77 with method 2, and 0.66 with method 3. The best method to determine the maximal sperm production from testicular tissue is by counting the number of spermatids at stage 1 of the cycle, but in cases with reduced spermatogenesis it is difficult to get enough of these tubular sections, method 2 is therefore sometimes easier to apply.


The world of business has changed significantly. Human resources management (HRM) now has become part of the organization's strategic decision making process, where human capital is becoming the core of a firm's ability to achieve superior performance. The competitive edge of an organization exists within the quality of its people. Since literatures have proven that values affect human behaviour, enriching organizational environment and an alignment of individual values with organizational values is important in order to have a long term organization's sustainability. The existing system of beliefs and values that shaped the model for management now is seems to be not effective enough for the current management environment. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to clarify the concept of values in management from the perspective of human resources. This paper discusses the need to primarily shift from an existing system of employees to value based management. This new approach of leadership tool will be discussed from HRM perspective and will be proposed to be improved in the area of performance appraisal. A survey of literatures from relevant fields is carried out to justify the main issue related to the relationship between values and the effective performance appraisal. This paper proposed an integrated conceptual framework of effective performance appraisal by testing values as the mediating effect of values in management in the context of HRM perspective for further empirical work.


This paper details the design and simulation of a novel position control mechanism for marine operations or inspection in extreme, hostile, or high-speed turbulent environments where unprecedented speed and agility are necessary. The omnidirectional mechanism consists of a set of counter-rotating blades operating at frequencies high enough to dampen vibrational effects on onboard sensors. Each rotor is individually powered to allow for roll control via relative motor effort and attached to a servo-swashplate mechanism, enabling quick and powerful manipulation of fluid flow direction in a hull's coordinate frame without the need to track rotor position. The mechanism inherently severs blade loads from servo torques, putting all load on the main motors and minimizing servo response time, while exploiting consistent blade momentum to minimize the corresponding force response time. The mechanical design and kinematic analysis of each subsystem is presented, followed by kinematic and hydrodynamic analysis of the hull and surrounding fluid forces during various blade maneuvers. Special maneuvers are verified using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software. Finally, a controller is constructed with decoupled parameters for each degree of freedom.


During seed production, nutrients (nitrogen) and climatic conditions (water) can affect their physiological quality. Therefore, the influence of common bean cultivation with the use of more sustainable techniques such as co-inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and the reduction of the irrigation depth on the quality of the seed produced, should be analyzed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological quality of seeds coming from the common bean cultivation submitted to inoculation and co-inoculation with Rhizobium tropici and Azospirillum brasilense under two irrigation depths. The experiment conducted in the field consisted of randomized blocks with a split-plot design with two irrigation depths as plots (recommended and 75% of the recommended) and five forms of nitrogen supply as subplots (control non-inoculated with 40 kg ha- 1 of nitrogen in topdressing; control non-inoculated with 80 kg ha- 1 of N in topdressing; A. brasilense inoculation with 40 kg ha-1 of N in topdressing; R. tropici inoculation with 40 kg ha-1 of N in topdressing; and co-inoculation of A. brasilense and R. tropici with 40 kg ha- 1 of N in topdressing). Common bean cultivation with 40 kg ha-1 of N in topdressing without inoculation provides satisfactory physiological quality of seeds, and there is no need to apply higher doses of nitrogen and inoculation. Bean seeds can be produced with the recommended 75% depth, without decrease their quality.


ABSTRACT Background Iatrogenic factors play an important role in H. pylori eradication failure, whereas it can be easily missed. Therefore, we aimed to investigate and analyze these related iatrogenic factors of H. pylori eradication failure. Methods A total of 508 patients who experienced H. pylori eradication failure were included in this study conducted from December 2019 to February 2022. All the patients filled out a questionnaire including demographic characteristics, duration of treatment, regimens, dosage, and time intervals in rescue treatment. Results In the first-line treatment, 89 patients (17.5%, 89/508) used at least one antibiotic with high resistance rate in triple therapy and 57 patients (11.2%, 57/508) used two antibiotics with high resistance rates or other not recommended antibiotics in quadruple therapy. In the rescue therapy, 85 regimens were repeatedly used as salvage regimens in 58 patients (22.6%, 58/257) and 178 regimens containing antibiotics with high resistance rates were repeatedly used in 85 patients (33.1%, 85/257). Conclusion To decrease the risk of H. pylori eradication failure, iatrogenic factors need to gain more attention. Clinicians should enhance their education and training to standardize the treatment regimens, better manage the H. pylori infection, and improve the eradication rate eventually.


The major commercial fish species of Lake Victoria at the present time are Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus and Rastrineobola argentea. The contribution of Caridina nilotica in their diet was studied in the Tanzanian waters of Lake Victoria between March, 1999 and January, 2002. Stomach samples were collected during routine bottom trawl surveys in Tanzania. The results show that haplochromines dominate the diet of Nile perch, followed by C. nilotica, R. argentea, juvenile Nile perch, fish remains and other prey. Caridina nilotica predominance in diets decreased as size of the Nile perch increased, as this species switched to haplochromines. Larger perch also feed on their own juveniles. The importance of C. nilotica in the diet of L. niloticus was relatively greater in deeper water than that in shallower stations. The diet of O. niloticus was predominantly algae followed by C. nilotica, dagaa, Chaoborus, Odonata and others. O. niloticus has shifted its diet from strictly herbivory to a more omnivorous diet, feeding opportunistically on the most available food material. The overall diet of R. argentea was predominantly copepods, followed by Chaoborus, Cladocera, C. nilotica, Chironomids and insects. In the present food web, C. nilotica is an important food source for the fish stocks of Lake Victoria. The sustainability of the fisheries of Lake Victoria depends among other things on the abundance and availability of C. nilotica.


Subclinical inflammation is linked to comorbidities and risk factors, consolidating the diagnosis of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, hepatic steatosis, and some types of cancer. In this context, the role of macrophages is highlighted as a marker of inflammation as well as for the high power of plasticity of these cells. Macrophages can be activated in a wide range between classical or proinflammatory, named M1, and alternative or anti-inflammatory, also known as M2 polarization. All nuances between M1 and M2 macrophages orchestrate the immune response by secreting different sets of chemokines, while M1 cells promote Th1 response, the M2 macrophages recruit Th2 and Tregs lymphocytes. In turn, physical exercise has been a faithful tool in combating the proinflammatory phenotype of macrophages. This review proposes to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms in which physical exercise can help control inflammation and infiltration of macrophages within the non-communicable diseases scope. During obesity progress, proinflammatory macrophages predominate in adipose tissue inflammation, which reduces insulin sensitivity until the development of type 2 diabetes, progression of atherosclerosis, and diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In this case, physical activity restores the balance between the proinflammatory/anti-inflammatory macrophage ratio, reducing the level of meta-inflammation. In the case of cancer, the tumor microenvironment is compatible with a high level of hypoxia, which contributes to the advancement of the disease. However, exercise increases the level of oxygen supply, favoring macrophage polarization in favor of disease regression.


A spectrofluorimetric approach has been developed and validated for determination of sulfur-containing drug; ixabepilone in raw powder, vials and human plasma. This approach studies the quenching effect of IXA on the fluorescence intensity of acetoxymercuric fluorescein (AMF) reagent at λem of 530 nm and λex of 500 nm. All the parameters that can affect the reaction as pH, AMF solution concentration, temperature, time and solvents were studied and optimized. The linearity range of the studied approach was 20-100 ng mL-1 with correlation coefficient of (r = 0.9998). The proposed approach was validated and approved regarding to ICH guidelines in terms of accuracy, precision, linearity, LOD and LOQ, with mean percentage recovery of 99.79 and RSE% of 1.64. The previously obtained resultes were already statistically compared with that of established reported methods indicating no significant differences in accuracy and precision. Finally, the proposed approach is easy, sensitive, and inexpensive so it is suitable for routine determination of IXA in raw powder, vials and human plasma with no need for any prior separation or sample extraction.


BackgroundLiver cirrhosis, which lacks a specific therapy, induces a substantial economic burden and affects quality of life. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles that are secreted by cells transfer bioactive molecules to regulate metastasis and have attracted immense interest as a therapeutic option for liver cirrhosis. Therefore, in this study, we explored the efficacy and dose of exosomes derived from rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (Exos-rBMMSC) in a hepatic cirrhosis rat model. ResultsFour weeks after exosome therapy, NLRP3, GSDMD, cleaved caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 expression levels in the 200 μg and 400 μg Exos-rBMMSC groups were significantly decreased compared to those in the liver cirrhosis group (P<0.05). Similar results were observed in the hepatic function assay; serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were decreased, and albumin was increased. The histopathology results showed that 200 μg and 400 μg of Exos-rBMMSC significantly relieved collagen deposition, while 100 μg of Exos-rBMMSC induced no marked improvements compared to those in the liver cirrhosis group. The localization of PKH67-labelled Exos-rBMMSC was verified microscopically, and these particles coexpressed PCNA, NLRP3, GSDMD and Caspase-1. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that Exos-rBMMSC accelerate hepatocyte proliferation and relieve liver fibrosis, which may be a promising therapeutic strategy for liver cirrhosis.