Background Despite numerous studies and meta-analyses the prognostic effect of cardiac rehabilitation is still under debate. This update of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcome Study (CROS II) provides a contemporary and practice focused approach including only cardiac rehabilitation interventions based on published standards and core components to evaluate cardiac rehabilitation delivery and effectiveness in improving patient prognosis. Design A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods Randomised controlled trials and retrospective and prospective controlled cohort studies evaluating patients after acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery bypass grafting or mixed populations with coronary artery disease published until September 2018 were included. Results Based on CROS inclusion criteria out of 7096 abstracts six additional studies including 8671 patients were identified (two randomised controlled trials, two retrospective controlled cohort studies, two prospective controlled cohort studies). In total, 31 studies including 228,337 patients were available for this meta-analysis (three randomised controlled trials, nine prospective controlled cohort studies, 19 retrospective controlled cohort studies; 50,653 patients after acute coronary syndrome 14,583, after coronary artery bypass grafting 163,101, mixed coronary artery disease populations; follow-up periods ranging from 9 months to 14 years). Heterogeneity in design, cardiac rehabilitation delivery, biometrical assessment and potential confounders was considerable. Controlled cohort studies showed a significantly reduced total mortality (primary endpoint) after cardiac rehabilitation participation in patients after acute coronary syndrome (prospective controlled cohort studies: hazard ratio (HR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20–0.69; retrospective controlled cohort studies HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.53–0.76; prospective controlled cohort studies odds ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.48), but the single randomised controlled trial fulfilling the CROS inclusion criteria showed neutral results. Cardiac rehabilitation participation was also associated with reduced total mortality in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (retrospective controlled cohort studies HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54–0.70, one single randomised controlled trial without fatal events), and in mixed coronary artery disease populations (retrospective controlled cohort studies HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.36–0.77; two out of 10 controlled cohort studies with neutral results). Conclusion CROS II confirms the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation participation after acute coronary syndrome and after coronary artery bypass grafting in actual clinical practice by reducing total mortality under the conditions of current evidence-based coronary artery disease treatment. The data of CROS II, however, underscore the urgent need to define internationally accepted minimal standards for cardiac rehabilitation delivery as well as for scientific evaluation.


The scattering processes between the quasiparticles in the spin-up superfluid and the quasiparticles in the spin-down normal fluid are added to the other relevant scattering processes in the Boltzmann collision terms. The Boltzmann equation has been solved exactly for temperatures just below Tc1. The shear viscosity component of the A1-phase drops as C1 (1 − T /Tc1)1/2. The numerical factor C1 is in fairly good agreement with the experiments.


Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Serum levels of homocysteine have been related to increased cortical and hippocampal atrophy. We aimed to determine the serum levels of homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Blood levels of homocysteine and its biological determinants, folate, and vitamin B12 were measured in 51 patients who were diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease according to DSM-IV criteria and compared with the serum levels obtained from 49 control individuals. Results: The mean serum homocysteine concentration was significantly higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease than the controls (20.4 ± 16.5 µmol/L v 14.5 ± 5 µmol/L; P= 0.02). There were no statistically significant differences between the mean serum levels of vitamin B12 (P=0.6) and folate (P= 0.3) in the patients and the controls. There was no correlation between age and serum homocysteine concentration in both groups (P= 0.8). Conclusion: Serum homocysteine concentration was significantly higher in the patients with Alzheimer's disease. This biomarker might be considered as a predictor of cognitive performance. Iran J Med Sci 2009; 34(3): 181-185.


The multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) model is popular for analyzing financial time series data. However, statistical inferences for MGARCH models are quite challenging, owing to the high dimension issue. To overcome this difficulty, we propose a network GARCH model that uses information derived from an appropriately defined network structure. This decreases the number of unknown parameters and reduces the computational complexity substantially. We also rigorously establish the strict and weak stationarity of the network GARCH model. In order to estimate the model, a quasi-maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) is developed, and its asymptotic properties are investigated. Simulation studies are carried out to assess the performance of the QMLE in finite samples, and empirical examples are analyzed to illustrate the usefulness of network GARCH models.


In the present work, well ordered, N-doped mesoporous carbon (MCN) sorbent
 with uniform mesoporous wall, high surface area and pore volume has been
 fabricated using the simple polymerization reaction between ethylene diamine
 and carbon tetrachloride in mesoporous silica media. The structural order and
 textural properties of nanostructured materials were studied by XRD,
 elemental analysis, and nitrogen Adsorption-desorption experiment. Adsorption
 of Chromate over various porous adsorbents such as mesoporous carbon (MC),
 N-doped mesoporous carbon (MCN), and amino modified mesoporous carbon (AMC)
 was studied from solutions with different concentration, temperature and pH
 in polar (water) solvent. The adsorption isotherms of Chromate were in
 agreement with Langmuir model, moreover, the uptake capacity of Chromate over
 MCN was much higher than amino modified mesoporous carbon (AMC) and pristine
 mesoporous carbon adsorbent.


I am replying to the critical analysis by Jansen and Utzelmann of one of my essays (Blutalkohol 30, 65-95, 1993). I reject their arguments; this underpins, once again, the unsatisfactory prognosis of expert opinion on DWI-offenders. Emphasis should be placed on general preventive measures with rules for behaviour rather than on efforts of assessing the driver's personality, which seems more just only at first sight.


In networking ECUs in heavy-duty vehicles, it is the J1939 protocol that plays a key role. J1939 networks are based on the CAN bus (high-speed CAN per ISO11898); they are primarily used in powertrain and chassis components. The protocol creates a uniform basis for communication between electronic control units, and it supports the plug-and-play principle. Special J1939 tools and software components spare developers from needing to train in the details of the J1939 protocol, and they improve the quality of the development process.


This study examines spatial pattern and organization of intra-urban trips in Ogun State, Nigeria. Data on intra-urban travels for various purposes were collected from 2,100 households in 14 selected urban centres through questionnaire survey. The percentage distribution technique was used to establish the aggregate proportion of intra-urban trips to different land uses on weekdays and weekends' basis. The variation in intra-urban trips for different purposes was examined using analysis of variance while interrelationships between the trips were examined through correlation technique. Intra-urban trips are generated for work, school, religious, recreation, shopping, social and others [errands, pleasure visit, etc].Work and school trips dominate with 34 and 35% of aggregate trips respectively. Religious trips follow with 14% while other trip types feature in lower proportion: shopping [7%], social [4.12%], recreation [3%] and others [2%]. Trips for different purposes are positively correlated (r≥0.9, P≤0.01) although significant variation exists in their number for different purposes across the cities. (F=4.142, P≤0.01). About 90% and 95% of work and school trips respectively in each urban centre are generated on week days .About 66% of recreation trips, 84% of religious trips 96% of social trips and over 50% of trips categorized as others are generated on weekends in different urban centres. Shopping trips feature remarkably across weekdays and weekends. There is high positive relationship between weekday and weekend trips (r=0.99, P≤0.01). The study recommends the need to closely monitor the relative location of work and educational land uses in relation to residences in an attempt to manage intra-urban commuting on weekdays. The detail characteristics of recreation, religious, and social trips are recommended for effective management of intra-urban trips on weekends. Interdependent nature of intra-urban trips calls for holistic approach to general intra-urban trips planning. Key Words : Intra-urban trips, urban trips organization, trip generation, trip planning, weekend trips, weekday trips.


The quality of machine translation is often dependent on the quality of lexical transfer from a source language to a target language. In this work we present an automatic method to translate specialized terms. The proposed approach is based on two steps: (1) extraction of candidates for translation into web pages, (2) identification of the most relevant candidates by using web-mining techniques.


The costal and crural parts of the diaphragm were separately stimulated in anesthetized dogs. Stimulation of the costal part increased the dimensions of the lower rib cage, whereas stimulation of the costal part decreased the dimensions of the lower rib cage. It is concluded that the diaphragm consists of two muscles that act differently on the rib cage.


During December of the year 2000 the Public Archaeological Department of Jordan announced discovery of the new oldest Church in the World, the St. George Church. It dates from the Roman period of A.D. 230. This has been proved through an analysis of the writing and symbols found in the mosaic floors of the church. This important site is located in the northern part of Jordan, 24 kilometers east of the famous city of Gerasa, in a small town named Rihab. Rihab may be the lost old Roman of Thantia, one of the commercial League of Ten cities established by Pompey, which were given a considerable degree of autonomy and were subject to the Roman governor of Syria.


Thermoelectric elements using environment-friendly materials with high thermoelectric conversion efficiency and of these thermoelectric elements can be increased by using a structure combining n-type and p-type semiconductors. From the above point of view, attention was directed at ZnO as a candidate n-type semiconductor material and investigations were made. As the result, a dimensionless figure of merit ZT close to 0.28 (1073K) was obtained for specimens produced by the PCS (Pulse Current Sintering) method with addition of specified quantities of TiO2, CoO, and Al2O3 to ZnO. It was found that the interstitial TiO2 in the ZnO restrains the grain growth and CoO acts onto the bond between grains.


The Lagrangian and Eulerian surface current signatures of a low-mode internal tide propagating through a turbulent balanced flow are compared in idealized numerical simulations. Lagrangian and Eulerian total (i.e. coherent plus incoherent) tidal amplitudes are found to be similar. Compared to Eulerian diagnostics, the Lagrangian tidal signal is more incoherent with comparable or smaller incoherence timescales and larger incoherent amplitudes. The larger level of incoherence in Lagrangian data is proposed to result from the deformation of Eulerian internal tide signal induced by drifter displacements. Based on the latter hypothesis, a theoretical model successfully predicts Lagrangian autocovariances by relating Lagrangian and Eulerian autocovariances and the properties of the internal tides and jet. These results have implications for the separation of balanced flow and internal tides signals in the sea level data collected by the future Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission.


Abstract In a non-monetary economy, one of the main mechanisms for the storage of wealth is debt. For people living on the margins of the major urban societies of the Bronze Age Near East, debt and credit offered means of participating in larger aspects of economic life yet simultaneously allowed elites to gain access to their bodies, their family members, and their property as means of wealth storage. This paper seeks to explore how debt and credit were used to entangle marginal and liminal groups but also, perhaps, offered these same groups opportunities for resistance or for integration into larger polities. Textual evidence for debt and credit can allow us the opportunity to gain access to different information about the lives of marginal and liminal people. Using the Late Bronze Age Syrian city of Ugarit as a case study, this paper will explore some of the possible ways that the debt and credit mechanisms attested in the administrative record reflect practices through which marginal and liminal individuals became integrated into a larger Ugaritic society.


Researchers in machine learning are now interested not only in accuracy but also in scalability of methods. Although scalability of learning algorithms is a trending issue, scalability of feature selection methods has not received the same amount of attention. In this research, a preliminary attempt to study the scalability of three well-known filterbased feature selection methods will be done. For this sake, several new measures are introduced, based not only in accuracy but also in execution time and stability and the results will be presented according to them.


Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in patients with a small prostate volume (≤30 mL). Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated 1,135 patients who underwent HoLEP at two institutions between July 2007 and March 2020. Patients who were not evaluated for the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) before or after HoLEP were excluded. We divided patients into two groups according to estimated prostate volume (ePV): ≤30 (n=198) and >30 mL (n=539). The patient characteristics, IPSS, peak urinary flow rate (Qmax), postvoid residual urine volume (PVR), and other data were compared before and after surgery in each group and between the two groups. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with the efficacy of HoLEP in the group with ePV ≤30 mL. Results A total of 737 patients were included in this retrospective study. ePV (23.4 mL vs. 50 mL; p<0.001) and PVR differed significantly between the two groups. The IPSS, IPSS-quality of life, PVR, and Qmax significantly improved after HoLEP in both groups. Improvements in the IPSS, IPSS-quality of life, Qmax, and PVR were greater in the >30 mL group (p<0.001), whereas operation time and morcellation time were significantly shorter in the ≤30 mL group. In the multivariate analysis, age <70 years was independently associated with improvement by HoLEP. Conclusions HoLEP is an effective treatment for patients with a small prostate, even though the extent of improvement after HoLEP was greater in those with a larger prostate.


The first volume addresses the fundamental concepts used in the treatment of single-degree-of-freedom systems. Subjects covered include the mathematical model of the system, stability of motion, and the principal approximate analytical methods used to describe both harmonic and non-harmonic oscillat


BPEL is the de facto standard for business process modeling in today's enterprises and is a promising candidate for the integration of business and Grid applications. Current BPEL implementations do not provide mechanisms to schedule service calls with respect to the load of the target hosts. In this paper, a solution that automatically schedules workflow steps to underutilized hosts and provides new hosts using Cloud computing infrastructures in peak-load situations is presented. The proposed approach does not require any changes to the BPEL standard.  An implementation based on the ActiveBPEL engine and Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud is presented.


As a setting for potential tuberculosis (TB) transmission and contact tracing, aircraft pose specific challenges. Evidence-based guidelines are needed to support the related-risk assessment and contact-tracing efforts. In this study evidence of TB transmission on aircraft was identified to update the Risk Assessment Guidelines for TB Transmitted on Aircraft (RAGIDA-TB) of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Electronic searches were undertaken from Medline (Pubmed), Embase and Cochrane Library until 19 July 2013. Eligible records were identified by a two-stage screening process and data on flight and index case characteristics as well as contact tracing strategies extracted. The systematic literature review retrieved 21 records. Ten of these records were available only after the previous version of the RAGIDA guidelines (2009) and World Health Organization guidelines on TB and air travel (2008) were published. Seven of the 21 records presented some evidence of possible in-flight transmission, but only one record provided substantial evidence of TB transmission on an aircraft. The data indicate that overall risk of TB transmission on aircraft is very low. The updated ECDC guidelines for TB transmission on aircraft have global implications due to inevitable need for international collaboration in contract tracing and risk assessment.


The aim of this study is to assess the suitability of 5 mm millennium multileaf collimator (MMLC) for volumetric‐modulated arc therapy (VMAT)‐based lung stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Thirty lung SBRT patient treatment plans along with their planning target volumes (ranging from 2.01 cc to 150.11 cc) were transferred to an inhomogeneous lung phantom and retrospectively planned using VMAT technique, along with the high definition multileaf collimator (HDMLC) and MMLC systems. The plans were evaluated using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG‐0813) treatment planning criteria for target coverage, normal tissue sparing, and treatment efficiency for both the MMLC and HDMLC systems using flat and flattening filter‐free (FFF) photon beams. Irrespective of the target volumes, both the MLC systems were able to satisfy the RTOG‐0813 treatment planning criteria without having any major deviation. Dose conformity was marginally better with HDMLC. The average conformity index (CI) value was found to be 1.069±0.034 and 1.075±0.0380 for HDMLC and MMLC plans, respectively. For the 6 MV FFF beams, the plan was slightly more conformal, with the average CI values of 1.063±0.029 and 1.073±0.033 for the HDMLC and MMLC plans, respectively. The high dose spillage was the maximum for 2 cc volume set (3% for HDMLC and 3.1% for MMLC). In the case of low dose spillage, both the MLCs were within the protocol of no deviation, except for the 2 cc volume set. The results from this study revealed that VMAT‐based lung SBRT using 5 mm MMLC satisfies the RTOG‐0813 treatment planning criteria for the studied target size and shapes. PACS numbers: 87.53.Ly, 87.53D, 87.56.jk


We investigated the equivalence of the T-duality for a bound state of D2 and D0-branes with the Nahm transformation of the corresponding gauge theory on a 2-dimensional torus, using the boundary state analysis in superstring theory. In contrast to the case of a 4-dimensional torus, it changes a sign in a topological charge, which seems puzzling when regarded as a D-brane charge. Nevertheless, it is shown that it agrees with the T-duality of the boundary state, including a minus sign. We reformulated boundary states in the RR-sector using a new representation of zeromodes, and show that the RR-coupling is invariant under the T-duality. Finally, the T-duality invariance at the level of the Chern-Simon coupling is shown by deriving the Buscher rule for the RR-potentials, known as the 'Hori formula', including the correct sign.


Higher-order topological insulators have attracted great research interest recently. Different from conventional topological insulators, higher-order topological insulators do not necessarily require spin-orbit coupling, which makes it possible to realize them in spinless systems. Here, we study phonons in 2D graphyne family materials. By using first-principle calculations and topology/symmetry analysis, we find that phonons in both graphdiyne and $\gamma$-graphyne exhibit a second-order topology, which belongs to the specific case known as real Chern insulator. We identify the nontrivial phononic band gaps, which are characterized by nontrivial real Chern numbers enabled by the spacetime inversion symmetry. The protected phonon corner modes are verified by the calculation on a finite-size nanodisk. Our study extends the scope of higher-order topology to phonons in real materials. The spatially localized phonon modes could be useful for novel phononic applications.


Specifying the positions and lengths of faults existing around the Atomic Power Plants should be made based on the scientific foundations. It is very important to investigate the positions and lengths of faults existing in the borders of land and sea for assuring safety, since many of the Atomic Plants are built close to the shore. Airborne Gravity Gradient (AGG) survey with simultaneous measurements of the laser scanner data was conducted to investigate the fault structure in the northern part of the Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, with special reference to the existence of faults assumed to extend thorough land from sea. The survey was flown in February 2016 at an altitude of 150m above terrain along north-south survey lines and east-west tie lines, spaced 250m and 2,500m apart, respectively. A differential GPS system was employed for flight path recovery. The observed gravity gradient data were processed and vertical and horizontal derivation gravity maps were created. The characteristics of the distribution of vertical and horizontal derivation gravity anomalies were summarized as follows: (1) A border of the between high and low vertical derivation gravity anomalies is clearly distributed in the central northern part of the study area extending toward the sea. Considering geological studies (Geological survey of Japan, 1957; JAPC, 2015), the distribution of this border of the between high and low vertical derivation gravity anomalies is consistent with that of the Komagi fault and F12 fault with dipping to the southeast direction. There is anomaly found continuously from land through sea, it is suggested that Komagi fault and F12 fault are the series of faults. (2) A steep negative vertical derivation gravity anomaly, which is intercalated by positive vertical derivation gravity anomalies, is situated in the central part of the study area from land through sea. Comparing with the geological maps (Kubo et al., 2007; Yoshioka et al., 2001), this negative vertical derivation gravity anomaly may be implied the existence of fault and structural boundary, which is located at the border of the Hitachi metamorphic rock and the Abukuma metamorphic rock. In this AGG survey, we succeeded to find the fault and the structural boundary in the borders of land and sea lying continuously, which has been previously considered to exist separately in land and sea.


Contacts between high critical field superconductors and semiconductor nanowires are important in the context of topological quantum circuits in which superconductivity must be sustained to high magnetic fields. Here we demonstrate gate-tunable supercurrent in NbTiN-Ge/Si core/shell nanowire-NbTiN junctions. We observe supercurrents up to magnetic fields of 800 mT. The induced soft superconducting gap measured by co-tunneling through a quantum dot is 220 {\mu}eV. To improve contact transparency, we deposit an aluminum interlayer prior to NbTiN and observe a systematic change in the device pinch-off voltages with aluminum thickness. We inform future multi-step device fabrication by observing that aluminum anneals with the Ge/Si nanowire at 180{\deg} celsius, the baking temperature of common electron beam lithography resists.


The paper analyses the issues surrounding the planned implementation of the Gulf Dinar among the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – the United Arab Emirates, the State of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the state of Kuwait. The paper will begin with laying down the foundation of attempting to draw any similarities and differences in terms of each country's economic fundamentals. It will then assess the grand idea for a monetary union by looking at the pros and cons, intra-regional trade, labour and capital movement and the political will of all six GCC countries. Updated issues that may have hampered the introduction of the Gulf Dinar will then be analysed by looking at the economic convergence criteria and its implications. Comparison with the European Monetary Union will be made throughout the paper, where necessary. The paper ends will then come out with a number of suggestions that may improve the implementation of the Gulf Dinar. Lastly, the paper will discuss the political implications of the implementation of the Gulf Dinar as the sole currency for the Gulf countries.


Some recent work on the magnetooptical properties of magnetic insulators and semiconductors is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on understanding the atomic origin of the Faraday and Kerr effects in terms of molecular-orbital energy levels. The classes of materials discussed are chromium trihalides, orthoferrites, garnets, ferrites, chromium spinels, and divalent europium compounds.


The paper reviews existing allocation mechanisms in the five tuna regional fisheries management organizatins and shows that although they have adopted different approaches all have failed to prevent overcapacity and, or some stocks, overexploitation. As an alternative, it is proposed that each tuna regional fishing management organization establish total allowable catches by species and area, and then allocate non-transferable and permanent country shares (as a proportion of the total harvest) to member countries. Each country would be free to use or sell its annual allocation of fish that would be determined by the permanent country shares, but the sales could only be to fellow member countries. A two-tier allocation to countries of permanenet shares of a total allowable catch, and then annual harvest allocations to vessels of member countries, offers the promise of mitigating, and possibly overcoming, the twin problems of overcapacity and overexploitation in the highly migratory and high seas tuna fisheries.


Functionalizing polymersomes remains a challenge due to the limitation in reaction conditions applicable to the chemistry on the surface, hindering their application for selective targeting. In order to overcome this limitation, functionalization can be introduced right before the self-assembly. Here, we have synthesized a library (32 examples) of PEG-b-PS and PEG-b-PDLLA with various functional groups derived from the amine-functionalized polymers, leading to functionally active polymersomes. We show that polymersome formation is possible via the general method with all functionalized groups and that these handles are present on the surface and are able to undergo reactions. Additionally, this methodology provides a general synthetic tool to tailor the functional group of the polymersome right before self-assembly, without limitation on the reaction conditions.


The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the chemical composition present in aerial parts of Prosopis farcta in petroleum ether and hydro-methanol extracts through LC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS and GC-MS techniques respectively for the first time. The plant samples were collected form northeast of Iran during maturity stage. LC-MS/MS profile revealed 47 phenolic compounds in hydro-methanol extracts, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and their glycoside derivatives. Flavonoid-O-glycosides (19), flavonoid aglycones (11), phenolic acid derivatives (9), flavonoid-C-glycosides (4), and flavonoid-O, C-glycosides (1) were dominant class phenolics in all studied parts. The extracts contained a significant amount of major compounds, including gallic and vanillic acids, luteolin, apigenin, phloridzin, and vicenin-2. Also, GC-MS analysis of petroleum ether extracts showed that fatty acids, organic acids, steroids, terpenoids, and hydrocarbons were the group of major compounds in all parts. Twenty-four, 27, and 25 components were identified, which represent 99.2%, 96.1%, and 99.4% of the total composition in fruits, leaves, and stems, respectively. These results suggested that other genetic resources of P. farcta can be further explored to screen genotypes with high bioactive compounds and purification of phytochemical compounds, which are valuable to produce, expand, and develop natural antioxidants in production of bio-medicine and food.


This chapter asks the questions of whether traditional marketing tools and practices are sufficiently reflexive to deal in the international environment and how we might refine our understanding of cross-cultural environments. Starting from the vantage point that "international" occurs within national boundaries rather than across them, this chapter conducts a qualitative ethnographic study of Arabic and North African people who participate in a visible "street culture" on the streets of France. This ethnographic project models consumption habits in these groups. It asks why they consume certain things, what value or meaning discourses are articulated through these things within their group, and what cultural, social, or personal relevance or symbolism this kind of consumption represents. It also unravels the broader social discourses spun out of these symbolisms and "meaning-makings." Based on the data discussed, a conceptual model is then offered to explain the process the marketing message undergoes and how meaning is transformed when taken from one cultural context to another. Some conclusions are drawn on how postcolonial analysis provides a new tool for our understanding and practice of international marketing.


Available performance data for micro propellers are very lacking. Prediction of micro propeller performance is made difficult due to the small Reynolds numbers (less than 50,000) at which the propellers operate. A test rig was designed and built at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in order to measure the static performance of micro propellers. A load cell and torque transducer measure the thrust and torque, respectively, created by a propeller. These results are then used to find the static thrust and power coefficients. Eighteen two-bladed propellers from different manufacturers and two threebladed propellers were tested with diameters ranging from 2.25 in. to 5 in. The hovering capabilities of the propellers were also analyzed.


Episodes of erratic sinus rhythm (ESR), assumed to be as a high-degree of non-respiratory sinus arrhythmia with normal p-waves, are seen on Holter recordings in the elderly and cardiac patients. ESR increases heart rate variability (HRV) and may confound its predictive value. We hypothesized that a triplet of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals represented by (N/sub 1/N/sub 2/N/sub 3/N/sub 4/) is ESR if N/sub 1/N/sub 2//N/sub 2/N/sub 3/ and N/sub 2/N/sub 3//N/sub 3/N/sub 4/ are both outliers in the distribution of NN-interval ratios. The time spent in ESR in each ten-minute segment was visually estimated using a heart-rate tachogram of NN intervals (HRTACH) and compared with the calculated values. A total of 858 ten-minute segments in six randomly selected 24-Hour recordings of older adults were examined. A qualitative test of the algorithm yielded a positive predictive value of 0.83 and a negative predictive value of 0.87 for 552 positive tests. Results suggest that the method can identify subjects with and without ESR in RR-interval files.


We conducted winter surveys of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) along the Atlantic Coast (December 1986-March 1987) and Gulf Coast (December 1987-March 1988) of the United States to identify specific wintering sites. A total of 222 Piping Plovers was observed on the Atlantic Coast (about 14% of the entire Atlantic Coast breeding pop- ulation) and 1508 on the Gulf Coast (about 56% of the entire Great Lakes/Northern Great Plains breeding population). Highest Atlantic Coast estimates occurred in Georgia (N = 105; 47.5%), whereas the most plovers on the Gulf Coast occurred in Texas (N = 834; 55.3%). The survey included 1422 km of barrier beach on the Atlantic Coast (69% of the coast) and 1283 km on the Gulf Coast (50% of the coast). The greatest potential for locating more plovers in the United States is in South Carolina and Louisiana. However, a large percentage of the North American breeding population (particularly on the Atlantic Coast) probably winters outside the United States, thus future surveys should explore the Caribbean and Mexico. Received 28 April 1989, accepted 21 Nov. 1989.


Abstract : The methods and approaches introduced so far for estimating the operating characteristics of item response categories require the Old Test, or a set of items, whose operating characteristics are known. To generalize these methods to apply for the situation where we start to develop a new item pool, i.e., there is no 'Old Test,' an approach is made by assuming that the tentative item pool has a substantial number of equivalent items, even though their common item characteristic function is not known yet. It is observed that, within the type of item characteristic function which is strictly increasing in the latent trait, Theta, with zero and unity as its two asymptotes, the area under the square root of the item information function is a constant value, pi. The item characteristic function which provides a constant item information is searched and discovered, and is named the constant information model. Using this model, it is observed that the subset of equivalent binary items can be used as a substitute for the Old Test, and those methods and approaches are generalized in the present situation. It is discovered that, for once, items with low discrimination power have a significant role. (Author)


Energy underpins the development and enables investment, innovation, and new industries that drive jobs, inclusive growth, and the shared prosperity of entire economies. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have led to a sharp rise in energy prices, increasing concerns about energy shortages and energy security, and slowing progress toward universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030. The purpose of the article is to study key trends and trends in the development of the global energy sector. Ex-post-economic analysis was used during the retrospective analysis. The conducted analysis made it possible to single out three main trends in the development of the global energy sector: decarbonization, digitalization, and decentralization. The results of the evaluation of statistical information on the development of alternative energy allowed us to draw the following conclusions. The global weighted average current cost of electricity for solar photovoltaic and onshore wind decreased by 77% and 35%, respectively, between 2010 and 2018. Global electricity production from renewable energy sources also increased by 7% in 2018. led by China, which accounted for nearly 37% of offshore wind growth and 44% of solar PV growth. However, significant progress in the use of renewable energy sources is still concentrated in the power industry. The share of renewable energy sources in the transport and heating sectors is still limited, although showing moderate growth. The study of forecast indicators confirmed the steady trend of growth in the demand for renewable energy. Between 2018 and 2030, global demand for renewable energy is projected to grow by 64%. The results of the provided research can be used further in the study of the development of various sectors of the energy industry, in particular, alternative electricity, wind energy, etc.


This is a review of cases of perinatally diagnosed congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) with associated malformations with regard to time of diagnosis, side of hernia, associated malformations, and outcome. The authors analyzed the data of CDH cases with associated malformations from records of the I. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Semmelweis University Faculty of Medicine, Budapest, between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2005. The observed period was analyzed in two parts. The pre‐ and postnatal examinations verified CDH in 100 cases, 71% of which were associated with other malformations. In 52% (37/71) CDH was diagnosed before the 24th week of gestation. The rate of early diagnosed cases doubled in the second period. Ten percent (7/71) of cases were verified postnatally. Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of right‐sided hernia was 6% (2/34) while in the second period it was 19% (7/37). The association with cardiovascular, chest, and craniofacial anomalies doubled in the second period, while association of central nervous system anomalies halved. Chromosome anomalies were verified in four cases. Pregnancy was terminated in 53% (34/64) and 13% (4/30) of newborn infants survived the perinatal period. Intrauterine or intrapartum death occurred in 8% (5/64) of cases. The prevalence of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and craniofacial anomalies doubled, while that of central nervous system malformations decreased. The prevalence of other associated malformations has not changed significantly between the two periods. The improvement of technical facilities and accumulated experience make it possible to identify a higher number of associated malformations before the 24th week of gestation. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We investigate the dynamics and geometry of dielectric breakdown paths of needle defects of arbitrary residual resistivity in an otherwise homogeneous medium using a time-dependent electrical-circuit model. The circuit model consists of a semi-infinite lattice of capacitors in parallel with resistors that break down to a lower (residual) resistance. The breakdown occurs if the local field across a resistor exceeds a critical value for a breakdown delay time. We consider cases where the initial resistance is infinite or finite and where the residual resistance is finite or zero. We consider the model for the case where the applied field reaches the critical value adiabatically. We find that, as in the quasistatic case, the breakdown grows either one dimensionally or spreads with a fractal dimension (bifurcates) depending on the values of residual resistance and breakdown delay time. Also, we find that the propagation velocity of the needle oscillates spontaneously. We give the phase diagram for bifurcation and oscillations. We derive a simplified recursive map approximation to explain this behavior.


Abnormalities in dopamine production and receptor function have been described in human essential hypertension and rodent models of genetic hypertension. All of the five dopamine receptor genes (D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5) expressed in mammals and some of their regulators are in loci linked to hypertension in humans and in rodents. Under normal conditions, D1-like receptors (D1 and D5) inhibit sodium transport in the kidney and the intestine. However, in the Dahl salt-sensitive and spontaneously hypertensive rats, and humans with essential hypertension, the D1-like receptor-mediated inhibition of sodium transport is impaired because of an uncoupling of the D1-like receptor from its G protein/effector complex. The uncoupling is genetic, and receptor-, organ-, and nephron segment-specific. In human essential hypertension, the uncoupling of the D1 receptor from its G protein/effector complex is caused by an agonist-independent serine phosphorylation/desensitization by constitutively active variants of the G protein-coupled receptor kinase type 4. The D5 receptor is also important in blood pressure regulation. Disruption of the D5 or the D1 receptor gene in mice increases blood pressure. However, unlike the D1 receptor, the hypertension in D5 receptor null mice is caused by increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, apparently due to activation of oxytocin, V1 vasopressin, and non-N-methyl D-aspartate receptors in the central nervous system. The cause of the activation of these receptors remains to be determined.


Fishing prospects in West Seram regency from year to year more and more promising. It can be seen from the results of fisheries production is increasing. Fish production in2009 increased by 1,828 tons or 9.5 percent from the previous year, with the potential of fish resources around 592,008.7 tons of new and utilized approximately 2.71 percent.This condition is caused by a lack of such infrastructure is supported by a fishing vessel, which is still dominated by boats and outboard motors around 99 percent. This mayreflect that most fishermen in West Seram still relatively fishermen.In an effort to increase the income of fishermen, fishery busineses rurehe (pole And Line) in the District of West rurehe (pole And Line) in the District of West Seram District of West Seram belong in household scale industries (home industry) and the efforts of hereditary existed long ago. Based on the results of research in the field, until nowrurehe industrial fisheries (pole and line) has yet to show the maximum results it can be seen from the amount of production obtained are still below the average in the amount of 482.8 tons / year. This condition is a portrait of the ability of the fishermen are still far in producing tuna in the District of West Serum District of West Seram, this isbecause in addition to lack of knowledge about ways of catching (experience at sea, the low level of education of fishermen, thus affecting the mindset of fishermen in thearrest, as well as the low level of wages of fishermen, lack of technologically which is used also affects tuna arrest method used in this study is a descriptive and quantitativemethods. By using Data Analysis panel. The results showed the variables Age does not have an influence on the increase fishermen's income, variable production has a very strong influence on the increase in the income of fishermen. Technology variables also have a strong influence on the increase in revenue.


IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee) is a leading technology for wireless sensor network, it is a medium access control and physical layer standard specially designed for short range wireless communication. Zigbee is used in applications that require low rate, secure networking, low complexity and power saving consumption. Generally Zigbee is typically used for environmental monitoring applications such as remote control monitoring system, health care device, home automation, electrical meter with in home displays, traffic management system etc. Routing protocol in zigbee has been classified on the basis of their route deterministic protocols such as ZRP, AODV and these protocols are designed considering inherent capacity constraint i.e. power, memory, bandwidth etc. In Zigbee Network On increasing the traffic load. The ratio of successfully data delivery is reduced, by which we not get efficient performance and throughput. For enhancing the performance and throughput of Zigbee different researcher has proposed different algorithm and methods which are summaries below in this paper.


Objective The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety for particular regimen and dosage in venous thromboembolism (VTE) patients with renal insufficiency. Methods English language searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science (inception to May 2021). RCTs evaluating anticoagulants for VTE treatment at acute phase, extension phase, and VTE prophylaxis in patients with renal insufficiency and reporting efficacy (death, recurrence, or occurrence of VTE) and safety (bleeding) outcomes were selected. The methodological quality of each study included was assessed at the outcome level using the risk-of-bias assessment tool developed by the Cochrane Bias Methods Group. Results Twenty-one trials that involved 76,574 participants and 8,972 (11.7%) patients with renal insufficiency were enrolled, including 10 trials on VTE treatment in acute phase (3–12 months), four trials on VTE treatment in extension phase (6–36 months), and seven trials for VTE prophylaxis. For acute VTE treatment, compared with dabigatran etexilate, apixaban (RR 5.90, 95%CI 1.00–34.60) and rivaroxaban (RR 6.18, 95%CI 1.17–32.75) were significantly associated with increased risk of death or recurrence. For extension treatment of VTE, aspirin had the highest probability of the most effective and safest treatment, followed by apixaban. For VTE prophylaxis, compared with enoxaparin, desirudin was associated with lower risk of VTE occurrence (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.34–0.91), but had higher risk of bleeding than dabigatran etexilate. Conclusion The network meta-analysis informs the optimal choice of anticoagulants and their particular dosage for treatment and prophylaxis of VTE patients comorbid renal insufficiency. Systematic review registration www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42021254086.


This article proposes a rotordynamic identification method using the accelerating sweep frequency excitation method. The computational fluid dynamics transient solution combined with the moving grid method is utilized to obtain the transient flow field of the seal excited by the whirling rotor with an accelerating frequency. Rotordynamic coefficients at swept frequencies are obtained by analyzing the transient response force acting on the rotor. Rotordynamic coefficients of three published experimental seals including a labyrinth seal, a fully partitioned pocket damper seal and a honeycomb seal are identified to validate the proposed method. The results show that the predicted rotordynamic coefficients are all well agreement with the trend of experimental data. Compared with the existing numerical models based on transient solutions, the central processing unit consumption of the proposed method is substantially reduced by 98% when achieving the same frequency resolution. In addition, the impact of the exciting acceleration on the identification accuracy is also illustrated.


Background Loneliness is associated with many mental health conditions, as both a potential causal and an exacerbating factor. Richer evidence about how people with mental health problems experience loneliness, and about what makes it more or less severe, is needed to underpin research on strategies to help address loneliness. Methods Our aim was to explore experiences of loneliness, as well as what helps address it, among a diverse sample of adults living with mental health problems in the UK. We recruited purposively via online networks and community organisations, with most interviews conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 consenting participants face-to-face, by video call or telephone. Researchers with relevant lived experience were involved at all stages, including design, data collection, analysis and writing up of results. Findings Analysis led to identification of four overarching themes: 1. What the word "lonely" meant to participants, 2. Connections between loneliness and mental health, 3. Contributory factors to continuing loneliness, 4. Ways of reducing loneliness. Central aspects of loneliness were lack of meaningful connections with others and lack of a sense of belonging to valued groups and communities. Some drivers of loneliness, such as losses and transitions, were universal, but specific links were also made between living with mental health problems and being lonely. These included direct effects of mental health symptoms, the need to withdraw to cope with mental health problems, and impacts of stigma and poverty. Conclusions The multiplicity of contributors to loneliness that we identified, and of potential strategies for reducing it, suggest that a variety of approaches are relevant to reducing loneliness among people with mental health problems, including peer support and supported self-help, psychological and social interventions, and strategies to facilitate change at community and societal levels. The views and experiences of adults living with mental health problems are a rich source for understanding why loneliness is frequent in this context and what may address it. Co-produced approaches to developing and testing approaches to loneliness interventions can draw on this experiential knowledge.


The study examined both the levels and the profiles of performance on measures of various abilities by children from Chicano and non-Hispanic White families of diverse socioeconomic levels, home language backgrounds, and family sizes. Measures were obtained when the children (N = 171) were 2 years and 6 months of age. Five ability areas were studied: verbal, reasoning, quantitative, memory, and motor–measured by the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. Results revealed ethnic group differences in both (a) the absolute levels of performance in some ability areas and (b) the shapes of the profiles formed by the configuration of performance across the various ability areas. These ethnic group differences in performance were explained (statistically) on the basis of a combination of effects associated with ethnic group differences in socioeconomic status and home language.


The emergence of Pakistan - the first secessionist state at the very beginning of decolonisation - coincided with the onset of the cold war. Only due to massive American aid and political patronage could the new and artificial state survive. The article retraces the transformation of this state into a military dictatorship and, presently, a state of crisis. This twofold transition can only be understood through an analysis of the fundamental importance of the army apparatus not only politically, but also socially and economically: The army is one of the largest landowners; it runs its own industries and banks; it constitutes an economic empire of its own. At the same time it has evolved as and into a parallel society that reaches into the most remote corners of Pakistan's highly stratified, tribal as well as feudal society. Yet, this expansion has its price: Profound involvement in the anti-Soviet Jihad and in the establishment of the Taliban regime combined with the unchecked growth of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) has led to a state of crisis. It has become increasingly unclear where the general's authority ends, and where the ISI's power and the fundamentalist's involvement or resistance begin.


Background: Little is known about the burden of atopic dermatitis (AD) encountered in US primary care practices and the frequency and type of skin care practices routinely used in children. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of AD in children 0 to 5 years attending primary care practices in the United States and to describe routine skin care practices used in this population. Design: A cross-sectional survey study of a convenience sample of children under the age of 5 attending primary care practices for any reason. Setting: Ten primary care practices in 5 US states. Results: Among 652 children attending primary care practices, the estimated prevalence of ever having AD was 24% (95% CI, 21–28) ranging from 15% among those under the age of 1 to 38% among those aged 4 to 5 years. The prevalence of comorbid asthma was higher among AD participants compared to those with no AD, namely, 12% and 4%, respectively (P < .001). Moisturizers with high water:oil ratios were most commonly used (ie, lotions) in the non-AD population, whereas moisturizers with low water:oil content (ie, ointments) were most common when AD was present. Conclusions: Our study found a large burden of AD in the primary care practice setting in the US. The majority of households reported skin care practices that may be detrimental to the skin barrier, such as frequent bathing and the routine use of moisturizers with high water: oil ratios. Clinical trials are needed to identify which skin care practices are optimal for reducing the significant burden of AD in the community.


Harris criterion expresses that the critical exponent is not changed as a function of disorder. The role of defects induced by α-irradiation in changing the critical exponent is discussed in this paper. The exponent does not remain unchanged in irradiated (Bi,Pb)-2223 superconductors, but it does not follow any increasing trend as the irradiation is increased.


Polymacromonomers with polyolefin branches were successfully synthesized by free-radical homopolymerization of polyolefin macromonomer with a methacryloyl end group. Propylene-ethylene random copolymer (PER) with a vinylidene end group was prepared by polymerization using a metallocene catalyst. Then, the unsaturated end group was converted to a hydroxy end group via hydroalumination and oxidation. The PER with the hydroxy end group was easily reacted with methacryloyl chloride to produce methacryloyl-terminated PER (PER macromonomer; PERM). The free-radical polymerization of thus-obtained PERM was done using 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitorile) (AIBN) as a free-radical initiator. From NMR analyses, the obtained polymers were identified as poly(PERM). Based on gel permeation chromatography (GPC), the estimated degree of polymerization (Dp) of these polymers were about 30. Thus, new class of polymacromonomers with polyolefin branches was synthesized.


Tutorials and videos developed by librarians at Bloomsburg University and other institutions as well as database vendors, to demonstrate effective searching and use of library resources.


OBJECTIVES
This study aims to compare the clinical results and repair integrity of two of the commonly used transosseous-equivalent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair techniques, which are the knotless and the medial knotted suture bridge, for patients with full-thickness medium to large-sized rotator cuff tears.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The study included 121 patients (55 males, 66 females; mean age 56.7±7.3 years; range, 39 to 72 years) with cuff tears. In total, 64 shoulders were operated on using the conventional medial knotted suture bridge technique (group A) and 57 shoulders were operated on using the knotless suture bridge technique (group B). The Constant score, visual analog scale (VAS) and active forward flexion angle were assessed preoperatively and after a minimum of 12 months postoperatively. Postoperative rotator cuff integrity was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after a mean of 19±4.7 months.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, gender, body mass index, and anteroposterior extension of the tear on the sagittal MRIs. Postoperatively, the mean Constant score increased from 32.3±8.5 points to 84±11.6 points in group A and from 31.3±9.3 points to 86.4±8.7 points in group B (p<0.001), while the mean VAS score decreased from 6.0±1.0 to 1.3±1.2 in group A and from 6.4±1.0 to 1.0±0.8 in group B (p<0.001). According to the control MRIs, the re-tear rate was 10.9% (n=7) in group A and 8.8% (n=5) in group B. No statistically significant difference was found in either the clinical scores or re-tear rates between the groups (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION
In comparison to the medial knotted technique, less time-consuming and simpler knotless technique provides similar satisfactory outcomes after a minimum of one year postoperatively.


This paper presents the performance analysis of DFIG based off shore wind farm feeding to large power system through a hybrid HVDC link. The hybrid HVDC link consists of a line commutated converter based inverter and voltage source converter based rectifier. The active and reactive power of off shore station is controlled using voltage source converter based rectifier controller and the dc line voltage is maintained constant at line commutated inverter station control. The hybrid HVDC transmission system gives many advantages over conventional HVDC transmission systems. Time domain method based on non linear model simulation using MATLAB is performed to analyze the performance of the studied system


This research examined social media's role in understanding perceptions about the spaces in which individuals interact, what planners can learn from social media data, and how to use social media to inform urban regeneration efforts. Using Twitter data from 2010 to 2018 recorded in one U.S. shrinking city, Detroit, Michigan, this paper longitudinally investigated topics that people discuss, their emotions, and neighborhood conditions associated with these topics and sentiments. Findings demonstrate that neighborhood demographics, socioeconomic, and built environment conditions impact people's sentiments.


Parasites may mediate ecosystem functioning through a number of direct and indirect mechanisms, but the importance of parasitism at the ecosystem scale is poorly understood. Measuring the density of free-living and parasitic consumers in units that are directly comparable provides a first step toward understanding the importance of parasitism to ecosystem processes. I sampled 2 streams in the New Jersey Pine Barrens seasonally for 1 y to measure the biomass density of all major consumer groups, including macroparasites infecting fish and macroinvertebrates. Parasites made up a small percentage of consumer biomass in Pine Barrens streams, representing just 0.00643 to 0.00733% of total consumer biomass annually. These low values contrast with higher estimates from other aquatic ecosystems, where parasite biomass exceeds that of some free-living consumers. The mean biomass densities of all consumer groups differed significantly between the 2 streams, perhaps because of stream characteristics, such as productivity or pH. Comparison of parasite biomass density in these 2 streams with that in 3 other types of aquatic ecosystems reveals substantial variation both within and among ecosystem types. Methodological differences among published studies complicate comparisons of parasite biomass across ecosystems. I reviewed the methods used in previous studies on parasite biomass and argue for a consistent and transparent method for future research. Comparing the biomass of free-living and parasitic consumers is a first step toward understanding the ecosystem-level importance of parasitism, but more work is needed to understand the specific mechanisms by which parasites influence ecosystem processes and the magnitude of parasite effects.


The natural exponential families (NEF) play an important role in many fields of statistics. Two subclasses of NEF have interesting mathematical properties and have therefore been investigated by many researchers. These two subfamilies contain the distributions with quadratic variance function (NEF-QVF) and with cubic variance function (NEF-CVF), respectively. In estimation theory, the variance of an unbiased estimator is of eminent importancewhenever it is necessary to evaluate its accuracy. In many cases, however, it is difficult to calculate the variance because of its complicated form. In such cases one can use a lower bound of the variance as approximation. The best known lower bounds for unbiased estimators are the Cramér–Rao bound (by Rao, 1945 and Cramér, 1946), Bhattacharyya bound (by Bhattacharyya, 1946, 1947), Hammersley–Chapman–Robbins bound (by Hammersley, 1950 and ChapmanandRobbins, 1951) andKshirsagar bound (byKshirsagar, 2000). TheBhattacharyya andKshirsagar bounds, respectively, are generalizations of the Cramér–Rao and Hammersley–Chapman–Robbins bounds. Several authors such as Shanbhag (1972, 1979), Pommeret (1996),Mohtashami Borzadaran (2001), Tanka and Akahira (2003) and Tanaka (2006) derived some useful properties and characterizations of the Bhattacharrya bounds for NEF, NEF-QVF and NEF-CVF. This paper presents explicitly the Bhattacharyya and Kshirsagar bounds for some examples (normal, gamma, exponential, negative binomial, Abel and Takacs distributions) from NEF-QVF and NEF-CVF. The aim is twofold, first we want to illustrate by the examples that the bounds maywell be used as approximation of unknown variances and secondly we want to compare the two bounds to show that sometimes the calculation of the Bhattacharyya bound is sufficient since the Kshirsagar bound is only marginally larger but much more difficult to compute.


: It is postulated that some metapsychological concepts, once popularized, acquire the reified status of a Myth which may outlive its usefulness and/or validity and yd remain influential beyond its time.

Ten psychoanalytical 'myths' relating to femininity, mothers and motherhood are to examined in the tight of historical, social and theoretical developments:

1. The myth of the castrated mother

2. 'Anatomy is destiny'

3, Female passivity and masochism

4. Baby = penis

5. Femininity is unfulfilled before motherhood

6. Maternal instinct

7. There is a right way to mother

8. Asocial, antisocial or sociable infant?

9. Mother-baby symmetry of needs

10. Mothering the exclusive, full-time commitment of the biological mother.

Two contrasting modes of mothering are formulated, each illustrating different elements of these myths.

The conclusion is that a theoretical framework describing or prescribing femininity and/or motherhood a single, static entity, inevitably obscures the complex Variations between women and mother, in their personal and historical development over time, Adherenre to outdated myths prejudices our psychotherapeutic work with female patience.


As large language models (LLMs) expand and become more advanced, so do the natural language processing capabilities of conversational AI, or "chatbots". OpenAI's recent release, ChatGPT, uses a transformer-based model to enable human-like text generation and question-answering on general domain knowledge, while a healthcare-specific Large Language Model (LLM) such as GatorTron has focused on the real-world healthcare domain knowledge. As LLMs advance to achieve near human-level performances on medical question and answering benchmarks, it is probable that Conversational AI will soon be developed for use in healthcare. In this article we discuss the potential and compare the performance of two different approaches to generative pretrained transformers—ChatGPT, the most widely used general conversational LLM, and Foresight, a GPT (generative pretrained transformer) based model focused on modelling patients and disorders. The comparison is conducted on the task of forecasting relevant diagnoses based on clinical vignettes. We also discuss important considerations and limitations of transformer-based chatbots for clinical use.


We introduce a non-linear shape prior for the de- formable model framework that we learn from a set of shape samples using recent manifold learning techniques. We model a category of shapes as a finite dimensional manifold which we approximate using Diffusion maps, that we call the shape prior manifold. Our method computes a Delaunay triangulation of the reduced space, considered as Euclidean, and uses the resulting space partition to identify the closest neighbors of any given shape based on its Nystrom extension. Our contribution lies in three aspects. First, we propose a solution to the pre-image problem and define the projection of a shape onto the manifold. Based on closest neighbors for the Diffusion distance, we then describe a variational framework for manifold denoising. Finally, we introduce a shape prior term for the deformable framework through a non-linear energy term designed to attract a shape towards the manifold at given constant embedding. Results on shapes of cars and ventricule nuclei are presented and demonstrate the potentials of our method.


OBJECTIVES
1) To describe stressful life events as experienced by a sample of young Black men with high blood pressure (HBP) living in inner-city Baltimore, Maryland; and 2) to examine the effect of cumulative stressful life events on substance use, depression, and quality of life.

METHODS
Data were obtained over 48 months by interview from 210 men in an HBP management study.

RESULTS
Stressors repeatedly occurring over time included death of family member or close friend (65.2%), having a new family member (32.9%), change in residence (31.4%), difficulty finding a job (24.3%), and fired or laid off from work (17.6%). Involvement with crime or legal matters was reported at least twice during the 48 months by 33.3% of men. When a cumulative stressful life events score was calculated by summing the number of events experienced at 6-month points over 48 months and tested for its relationship with the health outcomes, the findings of multivariate analyses revealed significant associations between cumulative life stressors and depression and quality of life. No significant relationship was found between stressful life events and substance use.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that cumulative stressful life events have a negative effect on mental health and quality of life in young Black men with HBP. Future study should focus on developing interventions to assist individuals in managing distress related to stressful events with necessary community resources.


As the climate emergency gathers pace there is a growing imperative to reduce carbon emissions and move to a low carbon economy. Such shifts in global economics and politics will inevitably take time and therefore there is also a pressing need to identify immediate actions that can help limit or reduce carbon emissions.

Soils store large quantities of carbon. However, chemical, physical and biological properties limit the amount of carbon that any particular soil can store. It may be possible to alter soil properties such that the carbon sequestration potential of a soil is increased without causing a reduction in (or even increasing) other important ecosystem services delivered by the soil.

Soil aggregates are widely acknowledged to play an important role in the storage of carbon in soil. One limiting factor for aggregate formation in some soils is the amount of iron oxide present; the iron oxide is an important binding agent, holding aggregates together.

Ochres comprise a variety of poorly crystalline iron (III) oxides and form in a number of environments such as mine drainage when water moves to increasingly oxygenated environments and dissolved iron (II) is oxidised and precipitates from solution. In many countries these ochres are treated as wastes and are landfilled.

In batch experiments in which soil was amended with 0, 0.5 or 5% by mass ochre and shaken with water in a ratio of c. 1:5 (g:mL) ochre amendments reduced the concentration of dissolved organic carbon released into solution by almost a factor of 2. In experiments that are more realistic of field deployment of ochre amendments to increase soil carbon sequestration in which soils were amended with 0, 0.5 or 5% by mass ochre and kept moist for c. 9 weeks with treatments comprising presence/absence wheat and presence/absence earthworms, ochre amendments reduced the concentration of cold water extractable carbon by a factor of 2 and hot water extractable carbon by a factor of 1.3.

In this presentation the above results together with additional results relating to impacts on other soil properties will be presented. The data confirm the potential of waste iron ochres as a soil amendment to increase soil carbon sequestration though further work with more soil types and a variety of ochres is needed and the carbon footpring of applying the amendments needs to be calculated. Whilst methods such as these may provide vital time to transition to low carbon lifestyles, it is the move to such lifestyles that must be the ultimate solution to the climate emergency.


April 6, 2009, marked the fifteenth anniversary of the beginning of the Rwandan Genocide. In 1994, international outcry was not immediately forthcoming, but the commitment made by the United Nations Security Council for an international criminal tribunal to bring those who were responsible for the genocide to justice was an important statement condemning the actions of many Rwandans. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ("ICTR") had many legal issues to face, but the most important, by far, was an exploration of the law of genocide at international law. The ICTR was the first international court to try an individual for genocide, and it has continued with an unprecedented number of genocide charges. Jean-Paul Sartre argued that "[genocide] itself is as old as humanity." The international law that prohibits genocide, though, is only sixty-one years old. It took fifty of those years before an individual was found guilty under the relatively young international law. The contributions of the ICTR to developments in the law of genocide are unquestionably significant. And while judicial decisions are considered a subsidiary means for determining rules of international law, they are essential to any understanding the law's application.  Genocide has been described as "the crime of crimes." "Attacks on groups defined on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity and religion have been elevated [...] to the apex of human rights atrocities" through international law. This elevated status exists because of the special intent required for an individual to be responsible for the commission of genocide. The legal analysis of this "special intent" is one of the most important aspects of all ICTR jurisprudence. Concern arose early within the ICTR that the Tutsi of Rwanda did not constitute a "protected group" under the 1948 Genocide Convention . Determining what did constitute a "protected group" under the Convention became an ongoing concern for the Tribunal. Ultimately, the question to be answered is what is the appropriate way to define "protected groups" under the 1948 Genocide Convention , and how will this definition impact proceedings before the International Criminal Court ("ICC"). By analyzing the jurisprudence of the ICTR, the accompanying jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ("ICTY") and academic commentary, this article will explore the issue of protected groups. More specifically, the four terms used in the Convention will be analyzed, followed by a discussion on the use of an objective or subjective approach to defining genocide. Although ICTR case law tends not to be as well-reasoned as much of the ICTY case law, the former is still significant and may more accurately represent the ongoing debate regarding the precise and appropriate meaning of the terms found in the Convention . The world turned a blind eye to Rwanda in 1994. As Boutros Boutros-Ghali stated, "[f]or us, genocide was the gas chamber - what happened in Germany. We were not able to realize that with the machete you can create a genocide."  The experience in Rwanda and the jurisprudence of the ICTR will forever shape notions of genocide at international law and will hopefully protect groups like the Tutsi of Rwanda from such atrocities in the future.


We have studied the determination of lactic acid with the Du Pont ACA and the suitability of plasma as a sample. Blood collected in sodium fluoride! potassium oxalate Vacutainers and separated in 15 mm provided acceptably stable plasma. With a 40-,J sample of plasma, results are linearly related to concentration to 20 mmol/liter. Standard deviations were 0.16-0.22 mmol/liter for day-to-day precision. When lactate was added to 53 samples, an average of 99.11% was recovered analytically. Results for plasma lactate (y-axis) agreed with those on plasma filtrates by the Calbiochem "Rapid Lactate" method (n, 92; slope, 1.025; y intercept, -0.086 mmol/liter; standard error, 0.23 mmol/liter). Perchioric acid filtrates can also be analyzed, but fluoride-stabilized plasma is simpler to use.


Focusing on the Brussels urban environment, this paper investigates spatial mutations produced by key critical transitions to accommodate new social and living conditions for collective purposes. Using CAD re-drawings, a systematic comparison of residential schemes identifies the evolutionary mechanism that connects manifold changes in the city and domestic spaces. This analysis defines a genealogical framework to observe how specific residential archetypes have shaped Brussels' sociocultural identity and distinguishes contemporary housing initiatives dealing with current and future challenges. While during the 19th century, interwar, and postwar periods, spatial features evolved from individual, single-family houses to residential schemes bearing collective, egalitarian dwellings, contemporary initiatives are relevant for their experimental solutions, translating into housing design new collective ways of living. This trajectory demonstrates that collective housing provides new insights for designing future types of urban housing. Brussels contemporary housing can shed light on the fact that current crises generated by urban issues, such as demographic growth, migratory and gentrification dynamics, affordability and the COVID-19 pandemic, are accelerating the transition towards the 21st-century city. Eventually, the Belgian capital now has the opportunity to combine two crucial questions, such as typological innovation and sustainability, to successfully approach the coming transition period from social and environmental perspectives.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a coherence analysis to evaluate the resilience for a critical infrastructure (CI). This is the new way to evaluate the CI and demonstrate that the authors need to pass from the protection towards resilience. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use two approaches for this research. First is a consequence-based approach to evaluate the resilience. This approach has been used many times for evaluating the interdependencies between CIs. The second is a systemic approach to characterize the system and doing the coherence analysis. Findings – This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the coherence in a context of CIs protection. The coherence analysis in resilience is a new concept and the first result to the application seems very good for the user of the research. Originality/value – The originality of this paper is the coherence analysis applied to a resilience evaluation. The criteria for coherence analysis is innovative and it is a new way to con...


Erythema Multiforme is an Acute Mucocutaneous disorder which is characterised by Ulceration, Erosions & bleeding then blistering of cutaneous lesions over the body. In this case study a 35 years old male patient had multiple erythematous papulus over the retroauricular regions which evolved into vesicles & coarse to form erythematous plaques over the upper limb, lower limb, Abdomen, chest, back & genitals and also vesicles developed over the lips which rupture to form crusts. This episode was mainly related to repeat drug intake of NSAIDs with different classes (Propionates & Arrylacetates) & doses for a chest pain as a daily regimen excisional biopsy of ruptured lesions was performed; the diagnosis was confirmed as Erythema Multiforme major. The patient was treated with Antibiotics & steroids in a tapering dose for more than 1 and half month to control & completely cure the disease.


This study demonstrates a novel electrochemical method for sensitive determination of biological thiols including homocysteine, cysteine, and glutathione based on rational functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with synthetic triptycene orthoquinone (TOQ). Unlike previous strategies used for the functionalization of the carbon nanotubes to fabricate new kind of electrochemically functional nanostructures, the method demonstrated here is essentially based on understanding of the redox properties inherent in the SWNTs themselves. It is demonstrated that the electrochemical oxidation of the thiols at the SWNT-modified electrode is redox-mediated by the quinone-like functional groups at the tube ends and that the low density of such functional groups leads to a follow-up oxidation of the thiols at a more positive potential at the electrode. To mimic the redox properties of the SWNTs and thus to increase the catalytic sites onto the SWNTs, we rationally choose the synthetic TOQ and attach such a compound onto the SWNTs. As a result, it is found that the rational attachment of TOQ onto the SWNTs substantially results in a sufficient electrocatalysis toward the thiols at a low potential of 0.0 V with enhanced sensitivities (i.e., almost by a factor of 10-fold) for the determination of such kind of species in relative to those at the SWNT-modified electrode. The high sensitivity and the good stability as well as the high reproducibility of the TOQ/SWNT-modified electrodes substantially make them very useful for reliable and durable determination of the biological thiols.


The program focuses on predicting the lives of two types of strain-tolerant and oxidation-resistant thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems that are produced by commercial coating suppliers to the gas turbine industry. The plasma-sprayed TBC system, composed of a low-pressure plasma-spray (LPPS) or an argon shrouded plasma-spray (ASPS) applied oxidation resistant NiCrAlY or (CoNiCrAlY) bond coating and an air-plasma-sprayed yttria partially stabilized zirconia insulative layer, is applied by both Chromalloy, Klock, and Union Carbide. The second type of TBS is applied by the electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) process by Temescal. The second year of the program was focused on specimen procurement, TMC system characterization, nondestructive evaluation methods, life prediction model development, and TFE731 engine testing of thermal barrier coated blades. Materials testing is approaching completion. Thermomechanical characterization of the TBC systems, with toughness, and spalling strain tests, was completed. Thermochemical testing is approximately two-thirds complete. Preliminary materials life models for the bond coating oxidation and zirconia sintering failure modes were developed. Integration of these life models with airfoil component analysis methods is in progress. Testing of high pressure turbine blades coated with the program TBS systems is in progress in a TFE731 turbofan engine. Eddy current technology feasibility was establishedmore » with respect to nondestructively measuring zirconia layer thickness of a TBC system.« less


Seeds of six species of genus Phelipanche (Pomel) Sojak in Bulgaria as Ph. arenaria (Borkh.) Pomel, Ph. purpurea (Jacq.) Sojak, Ph. mutelii (Shultz) Pomel, Ph. ramosa (L.) Pomel, Ph. nana (Reut.) Sojak and Ph. oxyloba (Reut.) Sojak are investigated. Internal and external volumes of the seeds are calculated on the basis of measured seed parameters. The ornamentation of the internal tangential cell walls of the testa is described. Analytical key by the seed morphology is compiled.


Abstract
Background: The incidence of nucleus drop or intraocular lens (IOL) drop as the complication of phacoemulsification increases due to the increased frequency of phacoemulsification. Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) followed by endofragmentation and secondary IOL implantation is the choice of procedure for management. This study aims to determine the frequency, outcomes, and complication of PPV in the case of nucleus drop or IOL drop in the Department of Ophthalmology, Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia – Rumah Sakit Cipto Mangunkusumo (FKUI-RSCM)
Methods: This study is a retrospective descriptive study conducted in the Vitreoretinal Division of the Department of Ophthalmology, FKUI - RSCM. Research data was taken from the medical records of all nucleus drop or IOL drop patients underwent PPV in January 2017-December 2017.
Results: There were 19 cases studied. The incidence of nucleus drop occurred in phacoemulsification surgery techniques (94.7%) and ECCE techniques (5.3%). Vitrectomy surgery was performed ≤2 weeks in 31.6% and >2 weeks in 68.4% after the patient first arrived at the vitreoretinal clinic. Most pre-PPV visual acuity was 1/60-6/60 (47.1%). In the final follow-up, visual acuity improved from 6/45 to 6/6 occurred in 42.2% of cases. Complication after PPV and secondary IOL implantation include elevated IOP (10.5%), IOL decentration (5.3%), corneal decompensation (5.3%), macular edema (5.3%), and retinal detachment (5.3%).
Conclusion: Nucleus drop or IOL drop generally occurs in phacoemulsification cataract surgery techniques. Improved visual acuity was achieved after PPV and secondary IOL implantation at the end of the follow-up period. Most common post-PPV complication is elevated IOP.


After graduating in Edinburgh and working there for two years, Geoffrey Christopher Irvine ("Geoff") returned to Kenya, where he had been born, and worked in Kikuyu and Tumutumu Hospitals before succeeding his father as medical superintendent of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa Chogoria Hospital. His visionary leadership took an already excellent rural hospital, which had been founded and then developed over 30 years by his father, Dr Clive Irvine, to a new level of comprehensive health care for the community.

TB and leprosy control programmes were started in remote rural areas, with donor financing. Well ahead of his time, Geoff visualised integrated curative and preventive primary health programmes, which resulted in dramatic improvements in child and maternal health. A network of 30 clinics was established, each supported by a local health committee, offering daily curative …


PvdQ, an acylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, has been shown to have at least two functions. It can act as a quorum quencher due to its ability to degrade long-chain N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs), e.g. 3-oxo-C12-HSL, leading to a decrease in virulence factors. In addition, PvdQ is involved in iron homeostasis by playing a role in the biosynthesis of pyoverdine, the major siderophore of P. aeruginosa. In accordance with earlier studies on RNA level, we could show at the protein level that PvdQ is only expressed when iron is present at very low concentrations. We therefore set out to investigate the two functions of PvdQ under iron-limiting conditions. Gene deletion of pvdQ does not affect growth of P. aeruginosa but abrogates pyoverdine production, and results in an accumulation of 3-oxo-C12-HSL. Phenotypic analyses of our DeltapvdQ mutant at low iron concentrations revealed that this mutant is impaired in swarming motility and biofilm formation. Additionally, a plant and a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model demonstrated that the deletion of pvdQ resulted in reduced virulence. None of the phenotypes in the present study could be linked to the presence or absence of AHLs. These results clearly indicate that under iron-limiting conditions PvdQ plays a major role in swarming motility, in biofilm development and in infection that is more likely to be linked to the pyoverdine pathway rather than the LasI/LasR/3-oxo-C12-HSL quorum-sensing circuit.


This study aims to examine the concept of incorporeality of God according to al-Ghazālī and Maimonides. Due to the existence of 'human-like' attributes and actions in the Hebrew Bible, it entails to various interpretations towards anthropomorphic verses within Muslim and Jewish society. During the golden age of Islamic civilization, fellow Jews and Christian were seen to be engaged in theological discourse with Muslim scholars. The emerging trend during that time in inculcating rational interpretations into religion has triggered scholars to be engaged in the inter-theological dialogue. Prior to this critical situation, alGhazālī and Maimonides were seen playing vital roles in affirming the incorporeality of God and refuting anthropomorphism in their respective religions. Therefore, this study will highlight their methods in affirming the incorporeality of God. In sum, it can be observed that al-Ghazālī employed kalām's method of arguments on jawhar fard while Maimonides' methods reciprocate Aristotle's argument on the theory of motion. Through their propositions, both scholars denounced God to be associated to any form of substance, accident and body. Both argued that God is an incorporeal being that does not possess any forms or figures. However, Maimonides arguing through the theory of motion led to the concept of God as the First Mover. Meanwhile al-Ghazālī opposed against the former concept and argued that God particularized (mukhaşşiş) of every creations. In sum, it is apparent that the argument of incorporeality that serves as the fundamental proposition is essential in having the right understanding on the concept of God. Despite having the similarities in arguing on the incorporeality of God, both alGhazālī and Maimonides differ in comprehending the concept of God.


Nosocomial infections with Staphylococcus aureus necessitate the prompt recognition of the infectious chain as well as a rapid investigation and exclusion of infectious sources. Conventional typification procedures (e.g. phage typing) and genotyping methods with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) are labor-intensive and time-consuming and can be performed only in a few laboratories. A new attractive typing technique for S. aureus utilizes the polymorphism of the coagulase (coa) gene as an epidemiological marker. This typing method is performed with primers, homologous to a conserved region within the coa gene, in order to amplify the sequences encoding the C-terminal region of this molecule. Since the number of repetitive sequences varies within the coa gene, the resulting PCR products of individual strains can be of different lengths. We have assessed the coa gene length polymorphism in 150 strains of S. aureus. By the sizes of the PCR products these strains could be categorized into 10 subgroups. AluI restriction analysis of the PCR products resulted in a significantly higher degree of discrimination. Since the repeated sequences, consisting of 81 base pairs, possess a high variability of the nucleotides, a characteristic restriction fragment length polymorphism (coa-RFLP) pattern is yielded. Overall, we could distinguish 64% of the clinical isolates by RFLP analysis; in strains sharing identical antibiograms, 56% could be distinguished. 46% oxacillin-resistant strains, some of which originated from epidemic outbreaks, could be discriminated by their RFLP pattern. Comparing these results with those obtained from the PFGE method, isolates which differed by their coagulase gene RFLP also differed by their PFGE patterns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to assess the association between plethysmographically measured vasospasms during stepwise cooling and recovery, as an index for digital ischaemia, and nailfold capillaroscopic pattern (NCP) severity in patients with primary or secondary RP, including SSc.

METHODS
In 381 consecutive patients with suspected RP without a history of digital ulcers, NCP (assessed by widefield videocapillaroscopy), fingertip photoelectric plethysmography during cooling and recovery and clinical characteristics were analysed. NCPs were graded as follows: normal, non-specific, early and active. The mean ischaemic time was defined as the mean time of perfusion loss during cooling and recovery of five fingers.

RESULTS
In the patients with loss of perfusion during cooling and recovery, the NCP was normal in 152, non-specific in 96, early in 61 and active in 39 patients. The mean ischaemic time was positively associated with the severity of NCP, with P < 0.05 for each two- or three-grade increase and independent of underlying SSc. The difference was most pronounced during recovery.

CONCLUSION
We demonstrate that the degree of vasospasm and ischaemia provoked by stepwise cooling and recovery are positively associated with NCP in patients with RP of different aetiologies and without a history of digital ulcers.


The compact circuit simulation model HiSIM-SOI for Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI)-MOSFET solves the three surface potentials of the SOI-MOSFET accurately without sacrificing simulation time. Depending on device structure and biasing conditions the SOI-MOSFET device may operate in partially depleted (PD) or fully depleted (FD) modes and a smooth transition between these modes is prerequisite for a good compact model. HiSIM-SOI is verified to fulfill these requirements and to cover all the operational regions of SOI-MOSFETs. It is also demonstrated that the floating-body effect, which determines key SOI-MOSFET properties like the kink effect or the history effect, can be accurately captured within the model calculation in a simple way without introducing an additional node in the compact model. Furthermore, HiSIM-SOI correctly reproduces measured data of both body-contact and floating-body devices.


Countries and cities around the world have resorted to unprecedented mobility restrictions to combat COVID 19-transmission. Here we exploit a natural experiment whereby Colombian cities implemented varied lockdown policies based on ID number and gender to analyse the impact of these policies on urban mobility. Using mobile phone data, we find that the severity of local lockdown rules, measured in the number of days citizens are allowed to go out, does not correlate with mobility reduction. Instead, we find that larger, wealthier cities with a more formalized and complex industrial structure experienced greater reductions in mobility. Commuters are more likely to stay home when their work is located in wealthy or commercially/industrially formalized neighbourhoods. Hence, our results indicate that cities' employment characteristics and workfrom home capabilities are the primary determinants of mobility reduction.


A novel graph-based evolutionary optimisation technique for arithmetic circuit synthesis is proposed. Symbolic verification of the generated circuit structures is introduced to accelerate the time-consuming evolution process. The evolutionary graph generation (EGG) system based on the proposed technique can successfully generate the optimal 16-bit constant-coefficient multiplier within /spl sim/2.2 h.


This study is the second one done under the SINPA Zambia project in Solid Waste
Management. SINPA Zambia is a capacity building project on Local Government in
Zambia and has been working with the Kitwe City Council (KCC) as a pilot. The
project identified solid waste management as one of the 5 key areas where the KCC
needed help in terms of capacity building. The first report was meant to establish the
current situation in SWM in the City of Kitwe. It established that there was no
information on the quantities and types of solid waste that was being generated in the
city. Without information like that it would be difficult for the KCC to be able to plan
properly and also to work out strategies of dealing with the problem of SWM. This
was even more important given the fact that the KCC was going through a very
difficult period financially. As a result one of the key recommendations from that
report was the need for a follow up study which was going to establish not only the
amount of SWM generated but also what types are generated and the sources where
they are coming from.


A simple demountable home-made spark gap switch is described. The device can be used in switching up to 50 kV and provides reliable operation.


The study investigated the impacts of tropical cyclone (TC) Fantala (11th to 27th April, 2016) to the coastal areas of Tanzania, Zanzibar in particular. Daily reanalysis data consisting of wind speed, sea level pressure (SLP), sea surface temperatures (SSTs) anomaly, and relative humidity from the National Centres for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) were used to analyze the variation in strength of Fantala as it was approaching the Tanzania coastal line. In addition observed rainfall from Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) at Zanzibar office, Global Forecasting System (GFS) rainfall estimates and satellite images were used to visualize the impacts of tropical cyclone Fantala to Zanzibar. The results revealed that, TC Fantala was associated with deepening/decreasing in SLP (from 1012 - 1010 mb) around the north-western Madagascar and coastal Tanzania, whereas the mean SSTs was greater than 28°C and an SSTs anomaly ranged from 0 to 2.3°C. The vertical wind shear which ridged at Mozambican Channel and over north-eastern Madagascar was high enough (12 - 15 ms-1) to support the intensifying of Fantala. The thermodynamic and dynamic conditions of Fantala influenced heavy rainfall of greater than 170 mm over most stations in Zanzibar. Moreover, Fantala disrupted the temporal variability of 2016 March to May (MAM) seasonal rainfall. Besides, more than 420 people were homeless, at least 3330 houses were destroyed, and about 2 people died. As for mainland Tanzania Fantala resulted in a death of 12 people in Kilimanjaro and Arusha, more than 315 houses were washed away by flooding leading to 13,933 people being homeless. Conclusively the study calls for an extensive research work based on examining and forecasting the TCs rainfall impacts and their contribution during the two rainfall seasons of OND and MAM in Tanzania.


The dichlorvos–ammonia (DV–AM) method is a sensitive method for distinguishing aflatoxigenic fungi by detecting red (positive) colonies. In this study, the DV–AM method was applied for the isolation of aflatoxigenic and atoxigenic fungi from soil samples from a maize field in Mexico. In the first screening, we obtained two isolates from two soil subsamples of 20 independent samples and, in the second screening, we obtained two isolates from one subsample of these. Morphological and phylogenic analyses of the two isolates (MEX-A19-13, MEX-A19-2nd-5) indicated that they were Aspergillus flavus located in the A. flavus clade. Chemical analyses demonstrated that one isolate could produce B-type aflatoxins, while the other produced no aflatoxins. These results demonstrate that the DV–AM method is useful for the isolation of both aflatoxigenic and atoxigenic Aspergilli.


In clinical practice in children, the need of surgical
management of large bone defects might be relatively frequently
encountered, either due to loss integrity of the bone column in
comminuted fractures, or after ostectomy in cases of bone
tumour resection. This experimental animal model study
evaluates radiographic healing of segmental femoral defects in
miniature pigs based on determination of the callus: cortex
ratio at 16 weeks after ostectomy. Materials and Methods In the
miniature pig model (n = 18) iatrogenic segmental bone defect
(ostectomy) was created in the centre of diaphysis of the left
femur. Osteotomized bone was stabilized using a five-hole 4.5
mm titanium LCP (Synthes Switzerland) and four 4.5 mm titanium
locking screws inserted bicortically, leaving central plate
hole (at the level of the segmental bone defect) empty. In
animals of group A (n = 6), the defect was filled with
autogenous cancellous bone graft harvested from tuberculum
majus humeri of the left humerus. In animals of group S (n =
6), the segmental bone defect was filled with newly developed
cylindrical (20 mm x 15 mm) mechanically self-supporting
resorbable nanocomposite scaffold from hydroxyapatite (HAP) and
0.5% collagen (1:1). In animals of group S + MSCs (n = 6), the
iatrogenic femoral defect was filled with the same HAP and 0.5%
collagen (1:1) scaffold seeded with mesenchymal stem cells
(MSCs). Results and Discussion The size of the formed callus
was significantly larger (p < 0.05) in animals after
transplantation of an autogenous cancellous bone graft (group
A, callus : cortex ratio of 1.77 +/- 0.33) compared to animals
after implantation of the HAP and 0.5% collagen (1:1) (group S,
callus : cortex ratio of 1.08 +/- 0.13), or in animals after
implantation of the scaffold seeded with MSCs (group S + MSCs,
callus: cortex ratio of 1.15 +/- 0.18). No significant
difference was found in the size of callus between animals of
group S and group S + MSCs. Unlike a scaffold in the shape of
the original bone column, a freely placed autogenous cancellous
bone graft may allow the newly formed tissue to spread more to
the periphery of the ostectomy defect.


Many examples of the appearance of similar traits in different lineages are known during the evolution of organisms. However, the underlying genetic mechanisms have been elucidated in very few cases. Here, we provide a clear example of evolutionary parallelism, involving changes in the same genetic pathway, providing functional adaptation of RH1 pigments to deep-water habitats during the adaptive radiation of East African cichlid fishes. We determined the RH1 sequences from 233 individual cichlids. The reconstruction of cichlid RH1 pigments with 11-cis-retinal from 28 sequences showed that the absorption spectra of the pigments of nine species were shifted toward blue, tuned by two particular amino acid replacements. These blue-shifted RH1 pigments might have evolved as adaptations to the deep-water photic environment. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that one of the replacements, A292S, has evolved several times independently, inducing similar functional change. The parallel evolution of the same mutation at the same amino acid position suggests that the number of genetic changes underlying the appearance of similar traits in cichlid diversification may be fewer than previously expected.