BACKGROUND
This study aimed to investigate the associations of hyperfiltration and hypofiltration with prediabetes and prehypertension.

METHODS
The study subjects included 99 140 people aged 20-89 years who underwent health checkups in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The prevalence of hyperfiltration [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) above the age-/sex-specific 95th percentile] and hypofiltration (eGFR below the age-/sex-specific 5th percentile) was compared among stages of prediabetes (fasting plasma glucose <100, 100-109, 110-125 and ≥126 mg/dL for no prediabetes, Stage 1 prediabetes, Stage 2 prediabetes and diabetes, respectively) and prehypertension [blood pressure (BP) <120/80, 120-129/80-84, 130-139/85-89 and ≥140/90 mmHg for no prehypertension, Stage 1 prehypertension, Stage 2 prehypertension and hypertension, respectively).

RESULTS
The prevalence of hyperfiltration increased with increasing stage of prediabetes [odds ratios (ORs): 1.29, 1.58 and 2.47 for Stage 1 prediabetes, Stage 2 prediabetes and diabetes, respectively] and prehypertension (ORs: 1.10, 1.33 and 1.52 for Stage 1 prehypertension, Stage 2 prehypertension and hypertension, respectively). Hypofiltration was not associated with prediabetes or prehypertension.

CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of glomerular hyperfiltration increased with increasing stages of prediabetes and prehypertension. Therefore, kidney function should be monitored in subjects with prediabetes or prehypertension. In subjects with hyperfiltration, earlier treatment of hyperglycemia and high BP may be necessary to prevent the development of kidney damage.


Background and objectives: Vasospasm-related injury such as delayed ischemic neurological defect (DIND) or cerebral infarction is an important prognostic factor for aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage can achieve a better outcome in aneurismal SAH patients after coiling or clipping remains the subject of debate. Here, we report a meta-analysis of the related available literature to assess the effect of continuous CSF drainage on clinical outcomes in patients with aneurismal SAH. Methods: Case-control studies regarding the association between aneurismal SAH and CSF drainage were systematically identified through online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Elsevier Science Direct, and Springer Link). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined for the eligible studies. The fixed-effects model was performed when homogeneity was indicated. Alternatively, the random-effects model was utilized. Results: This meta-analysis included 11 studies. Continuous CSF drainage obviously improved patients' long-term outcome (odds ratio [OR] of 2.86, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37–5.98, P < 0.01). CSF drainage also reduced angiographic vasospasm (OR of 0.35, 95% CI, 0.23–0.51, P < 0.01), symptomatic vasospasm (OR of 0.32, 95% CI, 0.32–0.43, P < 0.01), and DIND (OR of 0.48, 95% CI, 0.25–0.91, P = 0.03), but there was no significant difference between the CSF drainage group and the no CSF drainage group on shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (SDHC) prevention (OR of 1.04, 95% CI, 0.52–2.07, P = 0.91). Further analysis on lumbar drainage (LD) and external ventricular drainage (EVD) indicated that LD had a better outcome (OR of 3.11, 95% CI, 1.18–8.23, P = 0.02), whereas no significant difference in vasospasm-related injury was detected between the groups (OR of 1.13, 95% CI, 0.54–2.37, P = 0.75). Conclusion: Continuous CSF drainage is an effective treatment for aneurismal SAH patients; lumbar drainage showed lower complications, but more well-designed studies are required to verify and consolidate this conclusion.


The HIPPAM of Leran Desa is a village-owned company that works to provide clean water for the people of Leran Village. The process of recording meters and water payments for HIPPAM still uses a manual system (notebook and simple application on Microsoft Excel), so that errors often occur such as inaccurate data and not responding to excel documents. Not only that, but the payment process takes a lot of time so it is less efficient. For this reason, a web-based payment system is needed that can solve these problems and simplify the process of payment for water from the Leran village HIPPAM, so that the resulting data are minimal errors and reduce long queues in the payment process, this system can be used by customers to view bill payments, and filing a complaint if there is a problem in the HIPPAM water either about the water meter or service. This research consists of analysis and design, while the methodology used to develop the system is SDLC (system development life cycle). The results of this research are in the form of a system design and analysis document that will be used to develop this HIPPAM payment system. The analysis document contains functional requirements analysis and non-functional requirements analysis, for the design document there is DFD design or data flow diagrams and user interface design.


Aim: This study analyzes the effects of retrospective stressful life events on current depression among Chinese older people and how these effects are moderated by social support. Stressful life events comprise bereavement, divorce, health adversities, accidents, and financial losses due to fraud. Data and Method: Data were drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) of the 2015 panel, and responses from 9,619 older people aged over 60 years were used. The least-squares regression method was applied to measure the linear effects. Propensity score matching minimized selection bias and enabled the measurement of the net effects of stressful life events. The bias-corrected matching estimator was also used to correct the inexact matching bias from propensity score matching. Result: Experienced stressful life events and exposure to cumulative stressful life events were found to lead to depression in older people. When older people experienced stressful life events but with more social activities, and higher satisfaction and frequent contact with children, their depressive levels were lower. The results of the propensity score matching showed that stressful life events resulted in depression in older people. Furthermore, individuals with family support were able to moderate stressful life events effects; however, the moderating effects of social activity separately were negligible. In sum, with the moderating role of family support and social activity, the average differences in older people depression caused by stressful life events decreased. Conclusion: Experiencing stressful life events is detrimental to the psychological health of the older people. Social support, including family support and social activity, has buffered detrimental effects on depression caused by stressful life events. Interpretations: The study underscores the need to supply effective interventions for the older people who experienced stressful life events. First, society should improve the capability of community care centers to supply mental health services. Second, family members should pay attention to mental condition of older people, and specific support should concord with the needs of Chinese older people. In addition, support suppliers can move from being confined to kinship relationships to close relationships, such as the community partners and neighbors.


After the Introduction (pp. 1-22), the course falls into two parts, "Meditation on the dictum [μE\έτα τo πâv]-the difference between beings and Being" (pp. 23-93), and "The originary utterance of Being in the fragmentary saying of Anaximander" (pp. 94-123). The Introduction, each chapter of Part One, and the first subdivision of Part Two ends with a "recapitulation'; here only the last will be treated separately.


Textural properties are among one of the fundamental characteristics especially important to be understood before suitable application(s) of a kaolin can be determined as they have direct influence on the other properties such as plasticity, brightness, firing and rheological behavior. This paper presents an investigation on the textural properties of aplitic kaolin from Kinta Valley. Two degritted kaolin samples from different location of Kinta Valley were measured for their particle size distribution by laser diffraction method. The samples were then classified into different size fractions followed by examination of their morphological property by various techniques which X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). Generally, the kaolin can be classified into two different types based on the fine fraction content which may be consists of; i) delaminated platy kaolinite, or ii) tubular shaped halloysite. These fine fractions however constitute only to minor amount or not more than 12 % of the clays, as both clay consist predominantly of coarse book like kaolinite stacks. The degree of crystallinity of kaolinite samples shows a positive correlation to its particle size during examination by XRD, but FTIR spectrum shows a high degree of crystallinity for all kaolinite samples regardless of their particle size. Slight presence of halloysite is sufficient to give an adverse effect on the clay crystallinity index measured from XRD pattern. Sorting of the clay into different size and morphological fraction creates a product with less variation in properties between individual particles, and with more potential for tailoring or engineering of their properties.


A case of severe ventricular ischaemia induced by hyperventilation which occurred in a woman aged 44 years is presented. The ischaemia was confirmed by echocardiography and scintigraphy and coronary arteriography revealed spasm in the proximal segment of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery.


Water law has two important dimensions. The first is theoretical— in textbooks, treatises, statutes, administrative codes, and case law. Here, the law is portrayed as a technical system for the distribution and use of a scarce natural resource. More importantly though, water law is manifest in the rivers themselves where gravity, precipitation, and climate govern, ignoring the demands of legislators, judges, and bureaucrats. The practice of manipulating and distributing water in the real world is fraught with practical difficulties and tough policy choices. Understanding this dual existence is essential because the law as written often looks vastly different from the water it purports to distribute. Nowhere is the dichotomy more obvious than in the regulation of instream water rights. On paper, instream rights are the legal equal of any other right to use water in Oregon. In practice, however, applications to transfer consumptive uses instream are met with skepticism and are often held to a different standard. A deeper understanding of the context and origins of this skepticism, and of the standard itself are necessary to achieve greater streamflow protection without sacrificing respect for established water use. This Comment illustrates the confluence where the law of instream rights meets the realities of water regulation in Oregon. It explores both the challenges facing streamflow protection and creative solutions to address these challenges. As the first state in the country to enact positive law on


This interpretive study documents experiences of teachers regarding the impact of parental participation on the learning process of Foundation Phase learners during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The period investigated stretched from the "hard" lockdown in South Africa instituted on 26 March 2020, until the reopening of the physical classroom for Foundation Phase learners on 24 August 2020. A qualitative approach was taken to generate data from participants who taught Grade 1 classes during 2020, using a self-constructed questionnaire with openand closed-ended items. The study population was localised to the Mangaung municipal area in the Free State, South Africa. The theoretical framework of socio-constructivism informed the inquiry. The key elements in this learning theory are the learners, curriculum, teachers and society. During the mentioned period, learners were deprived of the two key inputs of teachers and society, leading to an intensified dependency on parental involvement as a source of guidance. The questionnaire afforded teacher respondents the opportunity to voice their concerns, frustrations, successes and recommendations for future management of similar situations. Coding of the responses identified the theme of communication to emerge. Further thematic analysis refined the findings to indicate that teachers deemed parental involvement essential in i) providing technological support for their children;and ii) interpreting the tasks set for their Grade 1 learners. Barriers to effective communication as perceived by teachers were i) the language barrier where parents were unable to speak the language of learning and teaching of the school;ii) the digital divide posed by parents without effective digital support;and iii) the schooling level of parents who could not interpret the assignments for their children. The recommendation is that going forward, i) parents should have access to and embrace technological advances to support their children's learning;ii) themselves practice a learning culture at home, and iii) model positive values to their children by active involvement in their learning.


Fire and Mud: Eruptions and Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines is an absorbing monograph on the events before, during, and after the June 15, 1991, climactic eruption of Pinatubo, along with a compilation of numerous scientific studies that provide great insight into the structure and behavior of the volcano. Many seismologists are no doubt familiar with the story of the Philippine and USGS volcanologists and seismologists who risked their lives monitoring Pinatubo's activity and, ultimately, with a combination of skill, nerve, and luck, issued evacuation warnings that saved untold thousands of lives. This book captures that drama, with a public (not to mention the US military) generally oblivious to the potential hazard, and scientists frantically trying to maintain the inflow of information (seismic data, gas emissions, deformation, visual observations, etc.) while struggling to keep abreast of what that information implied so as to permit their eventual life- saving decision making...


The migration method of a mobile agent affects the entire performance of the distributed system. Most of the existing migration methods have the slow-witted structures due to the fixed order migration that cause the subsequent accumulation of the task results. They can induce various problems such as the failure of host, network obstacles, service absence, and increased traffic resulting in the inefficient operation of the mobile agent. In this paper, we propose the new migration method using the object replication to solve these problems. The proposed model is simply composed of only three components: the Mobile Agent Client, Naming Agent Server, and Mobile Agent Server. The Mobile Agent Client performs the object replication according to the acquired object information (the number of replications) from the Naming Service Management Module. The main function of the naming service given by the naming agent is to provide information regarding the object replication and the location transparency of servers in the distributed network environment. We also suggest the replication algorithm and the migration model of the replicated mobile agent object using the naming service. The experiments analyzing the performance of our method and the sequential migration method are performed and the results are compared to guarantee the effectiveness of our approach


The influence of economics interacting with measurement requirements on the recent evolution of ocean measurement systems is noted, particularly with respect to the costs of operating ships. The logical future course of this evolution toward remote-data-access systems, i.e., unattended systems from which data are accessible during the observation period, is noted. The concept of program reliability is differentiated from system reliability. Two measures of system effectiveness are defined: data-acquisition cost efficiency (bits/$) and systemcost-access index (bits/$-day). A hypothetical measurement problem is approached through two unattended systems, one a remote-data-access concept and one a data-isolated concept. The various measures of merit derived illustrate the economic and operational superiority of the remote-data-access concept under the conditions defined.


Apart from "different syndrome complexes in the same disease" and "the same syndrome complex in different diseases", another relationship between disease and syndrome complex is "analogous syndrome complex in the same disease" which means that the patients who suffer from the same disease manifest the common basic syndrome complex in spite of slight differences in their accompanying symptoms. So we can use a basic Chinese herb formula to treat these patients through slightly modifying the prescription for the sake of their accompanying symptoms when giving the medicine to each patient. The principle of "analogous syndrome complex in the same disease" emphasizes the homogenicity of disease and syndrome complex, further integrating "treatment based on the disease-diagnosis" and "treatment based on the syndrome complex-differentiation". It is important to study the principles of "analogous syndrome complex in the same disease and treating the same disease with analogous methods". This will be beneficial to both interpretation of the connotation of syndrome complex with modern science and technique, and development of the advantages of syndrome differentiation treatment and individualized treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. The clinicians should fully understand the theory of "formula corresponding to the syndrome complex" and treat the patients based on syndrome differentiation.


Purpose – This study attempted to determine whether the dimensions of TQM practices are predictors of school climate.It aimed to identify the level of TQM practices and school climate in three different categories of schools, namely high, average and low performance schools. The study also sought to examine which dimensions of TQM practices contributed the most to school climate.Methodology – A survey was administered to 691 teachers from 24 secondary schools to obtain information on TQM practices and school climate. Descriptive statistics was used to examine the level of TQM and school climate and inferential statistics (correlation coefficient and multiple regression) was used to examine relationships between the variables.Findings – There were significant differences between the levels of TQM practices in the three different categories of schools.High performance schools showed a higher level of TQM practice and school climate, followed by average performance schools and low performance schools.There was a significant positive relationship between the variables on the level of TQM practices and school climate.TQM was a predictor of school climate contributing to 40 percent of the variance towards school climate. For the dimension of TQM practices, staff involvement, commitment of the top management and continuous improvement were the main predictors of school climate.Significance – The findings contribute significantly to knowledge by proposing the Excellent School Model which can guide teachers and school administrators in implementing quality management in education.


For co-transformation of two plasmids, both have to possess different antibiotic selection markers. If that is not the case, normally the gene of interest (GOI) is subcloned into another vector. Here we introduce a fast and easy method to exchange the antibiotic resistance cassette (ARC) in only two PCR steps. Method Summary To shuttle the antibiotic resistance cassette (ARC) from one vector to another, one can amplify the ARC of interest and use the resulting PCR-product as a primer pair for the next amplification step. Simply remove parental DNA template by DpnI digestion, transform PCR product directly in E. coli cells, select transformants on an appropriate agar plate and isolate target vector by plasmid preparation.


Node-RED is a visual tool based on the flow-based programming paradigm and built on NodeJS, which is used for developing IoT systems. In Node-RED, the developer can follow her own personal flavour for wiring devices and online services together, and the same system can be developed in many different ways. Each day, the Node-RED community submits to users novel solutions, and even if there exist frameworks for testing Node-RED flows, they are not supported by a systematic testing technique. Hence, the freedom granted by Node-RED may hinder the understandability of the produced artefacts and the detection of faults. In this work, we propose a preliminary version of an approach for developing and testing a Node-RED system starting from a UML model of its dynamic and static aspects. A JSON object representing the Node-RED system is generated from the model, while executable Javascript test scripts relying on the Mocha test framework are generated from selected portions of the model, enriched with control points to perform checks over the system properties. We believe that a model produced with our approach may help in the early system validation by detecting faults and deviations from its expected behaviour.


The present study compared the microdialysis ethanol outflow-inflow technique for estimating blood flow (BF) in skeletal muscle of humans with measurements by Doppler ultrasound of femoral artery inflow to the limb (BFFA). The microdialysis probes were inserted in the vastus lateralis muscle and perfused with a Ringer acetate solution containing ethanol, [2-3H]adenosine (Ado), and D-[14C(U)]glucose. BFFA at rest increased from 0.16 +/- 0.02 to 1.80 +/- 0.26 and 4.86 +/- 0.53 l/min with femoral artery infusion of Ado (AdoFA,i) at 125 and 1,000 microg . min-1 . l-1 thigh volume (low dose and high dose, respectively; P < 0.05) and to 3.79 +/- 0.37 and 6.13 +/- 0.65 l/min during one-legged, dynamic, thigh muscle exercise without and with high AdoFA,i, respectively (P < 0.05). The ethanol outflow-to-inflow ratio (38.3 +/- 2.3%) and the probe recoveries (PR) for [2-3H]Ado (35.4 +/- 1.6%) and for D-[14C(U)]glucose (15.9 +/- 1.1%) did not change with AdoFA,i at rest (P = not significant). During exercise without and with AdoFA,i, the ethanol outflow-to-inflow ratio decreased (P < 0.05) to a similar level of 17.5 +/- 3.4 and 20.6 +/- 3.2%, respectively (P = not significant), respectively, while the PR increased (P < 0.05) to a similar level (P = not significant) of 55.8 +/- 2.8 and 61.2 +/- 2. 5% for [2-3H]Ado and to 42.8 +/- 3.9 and 45.2 +/- 5.1% for D-[14C(U)]glucose. Whereas the ethanol outflow-to-inflow ratio and PR correlated inversely and positively, respectively, to the changes in BF during muscular contractions, neither of the ratio nor PR correlated to the AdoFA,i-induced BF increase. Thus the ethanol outflow-to-inflow ratio does not represent skeletal muscle BF but rather contraction-induced changes in molecular transport in the interstitium or over the microdialysis membrane.


Abstract Objective The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of symmetrical and asymmetrical directional microphone settings on speech recognition, localisation and microphone preference in listening conditions with on- and off-axis talkers. Design A within-subjects repeated-measure evaluation of three hearing aid microphone settings (bilateral omnidirectional, bilateral directional, asymmetrical directional) was completed in a moderately reverberant laboratory. An exploratory analysis of the potential relationship between microphone preference and unaided measures was also completed. Study Sample Twenty adult listeners with mild to moderately severe bilateral hearing loss participated. Results The directional and asymmetric microphone settings resulted in equivalent benefits for sentence recognition in noise, word recall, and localisation speed regardless of the speech loudspeaker location (on- or off-axis). However, localisation accuracy was significantly worse with the asymmetric fitting than the directional setting when speech was presented from the rear hemisphere. Listeners who always preferred directional microphones had significantly poorer unaided speech recognition than those who preferred the omnidirectional setting for one or more listening condition. Conclusions Benefits from directional and asymmetric processing were small in the current study, but generally similar to each other. Unaided speech recognition in noise performance may have utility as a clinical predictor of preference for directional processing.


The induction of hypercoagulability is one of the pathophysiological mechanism in patients with a severe presentation of the SARS-CoV-2 infection that can contribute to death. A considerable number of SARS-Cov-2 infected individuals could be asymptomatic and they don't need medical treatment. We reported autoptic evidences of COVID-19 trombotic fatal lesions in a asymptomatic COVID-19 patient after negative conversion.This study provides evidences that an appropriate diagnostic screening for thrombotic complications and the early treatment recommendations of antithrombotic drugs could represent an important topic even in asymptomatic individuals.


The Hartree-Fock (HF) crystal orbital method for polymers with an arbitrary number of basis functions per unit cell has been is outlined. Starting from the HF energy bands and crystal orbitals it is briefly shown, how one can correct the energy band structure for correlation using the inverse Dyson equation in its diagonal approximation. For the self energy occurring in the Green's matrix formalism the computationally simple Moeller-Plesset 2 (many body perturbation theory in second order) expression has been used. For seven homopolypeptides, poly(Gly), poly(Ala), poly(Ser), poly(Thre), poly(Leu), poly(iLeu) and poly(Val) the correlation corrected band structure calculations were performed. The results obtained are compared to the previous LDA calculations for the same systems. In agreement with general experience the fundamental gap values are much larger than the too small LDA values. The correlation corrections decrease the gap by 2-3 eV, but they are still larger by ∼3 eV than the values which can be estimated on the basis of intermediate exciton theory.


Design variability due to within-die and die-to-die variations has potential to significantly increase the maximum operating clock period and the leakage power of the system in future process technology generations. When minimizing total energy of an MPSoC system, the variations in both the clock period and the leakage power of the multiple cores have to be taken into account. This paper targets system level task allocation to stochastically minimize the total energy of the system running multiple applications on MPSoC under process variation. In this work, we first introduce an integrated model for the total energy of the system which incorporates all the factors — dynamic energy, variations in leakage energy and variations in clock frequency. Our model shows very close correlation with the energy of the system computed using empirical methods. The proposed energy model enables efficient computation in the task allocation tools without requiring highly expensive stochastic analysis. We apply this model in allocating tasks in the embedded system benchmark suites on MPSoC. In addition, we propose a technique for allocating tasks that maximizes the energy yield of the system over an interval of energy constraints rather than a single energy constraint. In our experiments, we show that using our technique, we improve the average yield of the system significantly. Our experiments show that we can reach up to 5.3 times improvement in average yield of the energy constraints which translates into 0.6 increase in yield of the energy constraints on average.


It is well established in the field of biomaterials that hydroxyapatite (HA) may provide interesting osteoconductive properties. In this study, we investigated the osseointegrational effect of a 50/50 vol % composite of HA nanoparticles and poly-D,L-lactic acid (PDLLA) coated on model titanium bone implants in an in vivo animal model. The aim is to evaluate how the addition of HA to PDLLA may improve the bone formation and initial fixation of the implant. Two titanium implants coated with the PDLLA/HA composite and pure PDLLA, respectively, were implanted bilaterally in proximal part of humeri with a 2-mm peri-implant gap in 10 sheep. After 12 weeks, the remains of the coatings were present on 20.3 and 19.8% of PDLLA/HA composite- and PDLLA-coated implants, respectively. It was observed that newly formed bone (39.3%) and fibrous tissue (58.3%) had replaced the PDLLA/HA composite, whereas pure PDLLA was replaced almost completely by fibrous tissue (96.2%). Consequently, the PDLLA/HA composite-coated implants were better fixated as confirmed by push-out tests. Using quantification of peri-implant tissue and implant fixation as parameters, the present findings, therefore, clearly reveal that the addition of nanoparticulate HA to a PDLLA coating on titanium implants increases osseointegration.


New very fast artificial time-dependent techniques for isentropic inviscid steady transonic flows are applied to turbine cascades. An explicit dissipative finite volume scheme with splitting of the space operators is used. The efficiency of the new technique is tested for turbine blades with a relatively thick rounded supersonic trailing edge, and is compared with that of other classical methods. Different models used to apply the Kutta condition and to predict the base pressure accounting for the separation occuring in that region are fully described and tested. For a comparable accuracy, the new method is found to be faster than most of the classical numerical techniques generally applied to similar problems.


Naturalism is one of the best-studied literary movements in (Dutch) literary history. Ton Anbeek formulated in 1982 eight characteristics of Dutch naturalist fiction. Working within the digital library environment Nederlab, we test these characteristics by applying LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) to a corpus of naturalist fiction and a reference corpus of other fiction from the same period. We confirm some of Anbeek's claims (naturalist novels are about nervous characters experiencing a process of disenchantment), fail to confirm some (we find no evidence for the role of determinism), and cannot test some others (e.g. the naturalist author despises bourgeois society). We do find some new 'negative' characteristics of Dutch Naturalism: subjects that occur significantly less in naturalist than in non-naturalist texts. Among these are words related to work, achievement and money. These findings intuitively fit with our idea of a naturalist character but require further study.


Centrifugal intensification of condensation heat transfer in the rotor-stator cavities of a stator-rotor-stator spinning disc reactor (srs-SDR) is studied, as a function of rotational velocity ω, volumetric throughflow rate φ and average temperature driving force ΔT. For the current range of ω, heat transfer from the vapour bubbles to the condensate liquid is limiting, due to a relatively low gas-liquid interfacial area aGL. For ω > 84 rad s−1, a strong increase of aGL, results in increasing the reactor-average condensation heat transfer coefficient hc from 1600 to 5600 Wm−2K−1, for condensation of pure dichloromethane vapour. Condensation heat transfer in the srs-SDR is enhanced by rotation, independent of the vapour velocity. The intensified condensation comes at the cost of relatively high energy dissipation rates, indicating condensation in the srs-SDR is more suited as a means to supply heat (e.g. in an intensified reactor-heat exchanger), rather than for bulk cooling purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Molybdenum (Mo) isotopes are frequently used to investigate ocean and lake (paleo-)redox conditions. In the frame of mineral ressources, only few studies have been performed regarding Mo-Re-Os isotopes. The aim of this study is to understand the source, processes and mobility of metals concentrations using Mo isotopes on molybdenites in different ore deposits. The present study focuses on the Azegour skarn (Morocco). Located in the High-Atlas, the Azegour site is one of the rare Mo-W-Cu exploited skarns (three historic mines). It is formed by a granitic intrusion (271±3Ma) in cambrian volcano-sedimentary serie composed by schists, volcanic complex (andesites, pyroclastites) and carbonate formations (calcareous and dolomites). The skarn takes place in the carbonate formations where pyroxenites and grenatites occured. The grenatites being the Mo-bearing minerals in the form of molybdenites. Molybdenites sampling has been performed in the main mine (Azegour) and in the Tizgui mine (1km north of the Azegour mine). The Mo isotopic composition has been determined on molybdenites using a MC-ICP-MS Neptune after aquaregia dissolution and adjustment to [Mo] = 1µg.g-1. The δ97/95Mo ratios have been normalized to NBS3134 and a reproducibility of 0.07‰ (2σ) is reached. Presently, we have analysed 12 molybdenites from Azegour and 2 from Tizgui and 14 others are in progress. Regarding the first 14 samples, the δ97/95MoNBS ratios vary between -0.40 and 0.32‰ for Azegour and between 0.08 and 0.30‰ for Tizgui. It is worth noting that variations can occur either at the whole site (difference of about 0.72‰) but also at the cm scale in the same sample (here the largest observed difference is up to 0.40‰). Regarding the Azegour skarn, there is no direct relationship for explaining the Mo fractionation in molydbenites between the facies or the two sites of sampling. Different processes will be discussed to explain the observed variability (redox conditions prevaling during the molydbenites deposits, late metamophism phase...). Further investigations using Pb and S isotopic compositions will help deciphering the oxidation state and the origin of molybdenites regarding the possible different fluids.


In this paper, a systematic multi-objective fuzzy modeling approach is proposed, which can be regarded as a three-stage modeling procedure. In the first stage, an evolutionary based clustering algorithm is developed to extract an initial fuzzy rule base from the data. Based on this model, a back-propagation algorithm with momentum terms is used to refine the initial fuzzy model. The refined model is then used to seed the initial population of an immune inspired multi-objective optimization algorithm in the third stage to obtain a set of fuzzy models with improved transparency. To tackle the problem of simultaneously optimizing the structure and parameters, a variable length coding scheme is adopted to improve the efficiency of the search. The proposed modeling approach is applied to a real data set from the steel industry. Results show that the proposed approach is capable of eliciting not only accurate but also transparent fuzzy models.


The present work demonstrates the feasibility of estimating blood glucose level using a micros trip antenna strapped on a patient's arm. Some promising success has been shown by the RIT ETA Lab research group that an antenna's resonant frequency can track, in real time, changes in glucose concentration. However, these changes in antenna response are unique to an individual. An equivalent circuit model has been developed to represent the input impedance with changing glucose levels. From a first set of measurements of input impedance in real time on a patient, the circuit elements are determined by curve fitting, in terms of the change in glucose level and incorporated into the expression for input impedance of the equivalent circuit. The glucose level is estimated iteratively from subsequent measurements of the input impedance on the same patient. The estimates, represented in the Clarke's Error Grid, compare well with the measurements made by a traditional blood glucose meter.


Abstract This study aims to reveal the relationship between place attachment, place satisfaction and word-of-mouth communication. The context of the study is a street with emerging cafes in a small city that serves as the most important alternative for locals and visitors to spend their leisure. The data obtained from 443 individuals who participated in the survey were tested through PLS-SEM. The findings indicate that place dependence, place affect, and place social bonding directly influence place satisfaction, which is an important antecedent of word-of-mouth communication. These dimensions of place attachment indirectly affect the word-of-mouth communications of individuals, whereas place identity does not have a direct or indirect effect. Within this context, indirect-only mediation and complementary mediation roles of place satisfaction were discovered. These findings are discussed within the context of the study, and both theoretical and practical contributions are introduced.


Simple Summary Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a prevalent hematological malignancy which is characterized by rapid cancer cell growth and aggressive progression. The standard treatment is R-CHOP, which offers limited prognosis improvement for only 60% of patients. This study aimed to identify DLBCL tumor markers and to explore cytotoxic medicine. The results demonstrated significant upregulation of G9a/EHMT2 mRNA in DLBCL. Niclosamide effectively suppressed G9a expression, modulated autophagy-related gene expression (p62, BECN1, and LC3), and impeded DLBCL cell proliferation. Analysis of clinical specimens and patients' information revealed a positive correlation between G9a protein levels and DLBCL staging, indicating its potential as a prognostic biomarker. Our study provides valuable insight that highlights the potential of G9a as a therapeutic target and niclosamide as a potential treatment to combat DLBCL. Abstract Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a malignant lymphoid tumor disease that is characterized by heterogeneity, but current treatment does not benefit all patients, which highlights the need to identify oncogenic genes and appropriate drugs. G9a is a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation to regulate gene function and expression in various cancers. Methods: TCGA and GTEx data were analyzed using the GEPIA2 platform. Cell viability under drug treatment was assessed using Alamar Blue reagent; the interaction between G9a and niclosamide was assessed using molecular docking analysis; mRNA and protein expression were quantified in DLBCL cell lines. Finally, G9a expression was quantified in 39 DLBCL patient samples. Results: The TCGA database analysis revealed higher G9a mRNA expression in DLBCL compared to normal tissues. Niclosamide inhibited DLBCL cell line proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner, reducing G9a expression and increasing p62, BECN1, and LC3 gene expression by autophagy pathway regulation. There was a correlation between G9a expression in DLBCL samples and clinical data, showing that advanced cancer stages exhibited a higher proportion of G9a-expressing cells. Conclusion: G9a overexpression is associated with tumor progression in DLBCL. Niclosamide effectively inhibits DLBCL growth by reducing G9a expression via the cellular autophagy pathway; therefore, G9a is a potential molecular target for the development of therapeutic strategies for DLBCL.


The lost No Siala Pale culture cause conflict epidemic which spread in Sigi Regency. Therefore, a method to bring yearn peacefulness back is needed. The most effective method are drama performance and empowerment of art community. Through drama performance, No Siala Pale is able to cultivated again. In the other side, conflict is able to muted with empowerment of art community. It is evidenced by reducing frequency of conflict in Kotarindau Village from 20 in 2013 to 2 in 2014. Kotarindau community that was once accustomed to art, now back to preserve the culture and keep the peace. It can only be achieved after the Art Community Tamunggu Dolo empowered again. Thus, we recognize that Tamunggu Dolo is a cultural savior and hero of peace. Keywords: conflict, culture, No Siala Pale, drama, Art Community.


In this study, the authors investigate a decentralised ℒ 1 adaptive controller design for a class of large-scale non-linear systems, with stable linear part and with interconnected non-linearities and unmodelled dynamics. The decentralised adaptive identifiers are presented to design the decentralised ℒ 1 adaptive control scheme. The local ℒ 1 adaptive controller for each subsystem ensures uniformly bounded transient tracking for subsystem's input and output, simultaneously. The controlled closed-loop decentralised adaptive system can recover the performance of the closed-loop large-scale centralised reference system by increasing the adaptation rates of local controllers. Simulation results for two inverted pendulums on carts are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.


It is well known that the problem of finity and infinity is the basic problem of mathematics, and it is also the basic problem of Philosophy. From the perspective of philosophy and mathematics, this paper comprehensively reviews and analyzes Hegel's view of dialectical infinity, introduces Engels'discussion on infinity, deeply analyzes the characteristics of the thought of actual infinity, and points out: Hegel's thought of real infinity is completely different from the thought of actual infinity, the Being of infinity (objective infinity) is not equal to the completed infinity (subjective infinity), the mathematical limit is a real infinity, and real infinity is the inner law of infinite things and truth; the view of actual infinity views the objective material world from the viewpoint of static rather than motion, denying the contradiction between finity and infinity, so it is actually a downright idealist. In this paper, the author puts forward the Infinite Exchange Paradox, which strongly questions the idea of actual infinity in Hilbert Hotel Problem, and points out the internal irreconcilable contradiction in the idea of actual infinity. At the same time, we made a detailed comparison of Hegel's view of infinity and the view of mathematical infinity, and on this basis, the author gives a complete definition of the view of dialectical infinity: abandoning the wrong aspects of the potential infinity and actual infinity, and actively absorbing correct aspects of both, that is, not only to recognize the existence and knowability of infinite objectivity, but also to admit the imcompletion of infinite process. The reexcavation of Hegel's view of dialectical infinity and the criticism of the actual infinity thought aim to find possible philosophical solutions for Russell's Paradox and the problem of Continuum Hypothesis.


A proxy re-encryption scheme enables a proxy to re-encrypt a ciphertext and designate it to a delegatee. Proxy re-encryption schemes have been found useful in many applications, including e-mail forwarding, law-enforcement monitoring, and content distribution. Libert and Vergnaud presented the first construction of unidirectional proxy re-encryption scheme with chosen ciphertext security in the standard model in PKC 2008. In this paper, we show the insecurity of Libert and Vergnaud's scheme against chosen public key attack. We note that this insecurity is not considered in the original model proposed by Libert and Vergnaud's, but we argue that our attack is very realistic and important in this scenario. Furthermore, we present a new and efficient construction proxy re-encryption (PRE) scheme. We provide chosen public key and chosen ciphertext attack security analysis for our scheme and compare their performance.


Based on highly accurate multiquadric quasi-interpolation, this study
 suggests a meshless symplectic procedure for two-dimensional time-dependent
 Schr?dinger equation. The method is highorder accurate, flexible with
 respect to the geometry, computationally efficient and easy to implement. We
 also present a theoretical framework to show the conservativeness and
 convergence of the proposed method. As the numerical experiments show, it
 not only offers a high order accuracy but also has a good performance in the
 long time integration.


* Abbreviation:
 RAD — : reactive airways disease

A resident presenting on rounds introduces her patient as "a 15-month-old with RAD. He's had 2 days of wheezing, and we started albuterol and steroids." A presentation like this is frequently heard on pediatric units despite the vagueness of the term "reactive airways disease," commonly referred to as "RAD." The term is often used as a substitute for asthma in young children on asthma medications when pediatricians are reticent to use the "A word." Yet RAD has no accepted definition and does not add any specificity to the medical vocabulary. The reluctance to use the term "asthma" in a patient in whom asthma medications are being administered, no matter the age, is perplexing. In a field whose terminology is extensive enough to constitute its own language, it is surprising that we have allowed such a term to slip into the medical lexicon.

Recently, members of the Canadian Thoracic Society Asthma Clinical Assembly partnered with the Canadian Pediatric Society to reevaluate clinical practice surrounding the diagnosis and management of asthma in preschoolers.1 Their position paper asserts that RAD, and other vague and nondiagnostic terms, be abandoned. Accordingly, we call on the analogous pediatric and respiratory societies in the United States and around the world to discourage the continued use of "RAD" across medical settings and …

Address correspondence to Lindsey C. Douglas, MD, MS, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, 3415 Bainbridge Ave, Bronx, NY 10467. E-mail: douglas{at}montefiore.org


In Arabidopsis thaliana, the final step of floral organ abscission is regulated by INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA): ida mutants fail to abscise floral organs, and plants overexpressing IDA display earlier abscission. We show that five IDA-LIKE (IDL) genes are expressed in different tissues, but plants overexpressing these genes have phenotypes similar to IDA-overexpressing plants, suggesting functional redundancy. IDA/IDL proteins have N-terminal signal peptides and a C-terminal conserved motif (extended PIP [EPIP]) at the C terminus (EPIP-C). IDA can, similar to CLAVATA3, be processed by an activity from cauliflower meristems. The EPIP-C of IDA and IDL1 replaced IDA function in vivo, when the signal peptide was present. In addition, synthetic IDA and IDL1 EPIP peptides rescued ida and induced early floral abscission in wild-type flowers. The EPIP-C of the other IDL proteins could partially substitute for IDA function. Similarly to ida, a double mutant between the receptor-like kinases (RLKs) HAESA (HAE) and HAESA-LIKE2 (HSL2) displays nonabscising flowers. Neither overexpression of IDA nor synthetic EPIP or EPIP-C peptides could rescue the hae hsl2 abscission deficiency. We propose that IDA and the IDL proteins constitute a family of putative ligands that act through RLKs to regulate different events during plant development.


Clinical providers may underestimate the role of management of diseases that can occur with obesity, termed co‐morbid conditions, distinct from disease that arise as a result of obesity, co‐morbidities. Many of these conditions are associated with iatrogenic weight gain, and can interfere with weight loss outcomes in children and adolescents with obesity. Management of co‐morbid conditions, and thoughtful selection of medications associated with weight neutrality or weight loss may increase the effectiveness of obesity treatment strategies. The aim of this commentary is to summarize the literature and discuss considerations for obesity treatment in the context of the more complicated patient, which often requires strategic management of co‐morbid conditions and minimizing iatrogenic weight gain.


A facile approach was proposed to decorate silver nanoparticles on sulfonated polystyrene microspheres (denoted as SPS@Ag composite microspheres), in which polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) served both as the reductant and stabilizer. In this approach, first, sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) microspheres were synthesized via the sulfonation of monodisperse polystyrene (PS) microspheres in the concentrated sulfuric acid, which were used as the active template cores. Upon the electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged –SO3H groups and the positively charged [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions, silver precursor-[Ag(NH3)2]+ ions were easily adsorbed onto the surfaces of sulfonated polystyrene microspheres. These [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions were in situ reduced to metallic Ag nanoparticles and simultaneously protected by PVP, forming the stable SPS@Ag composite microspheres. During the reaction, neither additional reducing agents nor stabilizers were needed. Moreover, by simply adjusting the concentration of [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions, the size of Ag nanoparticles and the surface coverage of SPS with Ag nanoparticles can be easily tailored. Finally, it has been proven that these as-synthesized SPS@Ag composite microspheres were the ideal active substrates for the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for the trace detection trace of the antibiotics (i.e., penicillin G sodium and chloramphenicol), and showed an enhanced antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) as well.


This report, prepared for the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, builds on, and continues the exploration begun in the 2013 report by Bagley and Rai, "The Nagoya Protocol and Synthetic Biology: A Look at the Potential Issues." In particular, it considers current challenges for the intellectual property protection of synthetic biology outputs, implementation issues concerning the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and possible interactions between the requirements of the Protocol and the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). It also explores emerging concerns regarding synthetic biology and digital genetic information misappropriation in relation to non-commercial research projects. Finally, it presents highlights of negotiations in the World Intellectual Property Organization Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore, that may relate to both the Nagoya Protocol and TRIPS and thus may be relevant for researchers, particularly those working in the area of synthetic biology.


One-sided matching is concerned with the allocation of indivisible objects to a set of agents, in the absence of monetary transfers. In contrast to many real-life scenarios such as shift scheduling or course assignment, traditional matching mechanisms assume that agents precisely know their preferences. However, preferences over alternatives may change over time due to idiosyncratic reasons or as a function of earlier outcomes. My research focuses on the theoretical investigation of dynamic matching markets, along with the experimental study of various matching mechanisms in such dynamic environments. In particular, I design and analyze truthful sequential mechanisms in settings with dynamic ordinal preferences to further elucidate a principled approach to decision making in dynamic models of resource allocation and ll the current gap between stochastic reasoning models and the game-theoretical elements of the matching theory.


Background Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is the most prevalent chronic rheumatic disease in childhood. Disease activity can persist for many years, even through adulthood. Objectives To evaluate disease activity and health status in a cohort of young adults with JIA. Methods In order to identify patients with persistent active disease or in Clinical Remission off medication (CR) according to Wallace criteria all young people (over 18 year old), followed in our Transitional Care Clinic, were assessed by clinical examination [including registration of number of joints with swelling, tenderness and limited range of motion (LROM), number of active joints] and laboratory parameters. Physician's global assessment of disease activity measured on a 10 cm VAS, Quality of life according to the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), physical disability and discomfort by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were also recorded. Results 335 consecutive JIA pts (F 237) were evaluated: 39 (11.6%) systemic arthritis, 117 (34.9%) persistent oligoarticular, 48 (14.3%) extended oligoarticular, 80 (23.8%) polyarticular JIA (21 were RF positive), 37 ERA (11%), 14 psoriasic JIA (4.1%). Median age at disease onset was 7.0 yrs (mean 7.8, range 0.1-16.0). Median disease duration was 21.9 yrs (mean 22.7, range 7-51). 237/335 pts were on antirheumatic medication: 134 with biological therapy (BT), 167 with one or more DMARDs and 125 with NSAIDs. Out of the 134 treated with BT 90 were also treated with one or more DMARDs. 98 pts were off medication: 66 of them (67.3%) were inactive and 73 had physician's VAS <1 cm. In total 40.2% (135/335) presented active joints, ranging from 48.6% (12/39) systemic JIA to 28.5% (4/14) psoriasic JIA. All 335 pts received also SF-36 physical score (median 56, mean 62, range 1-99) and SF-36 mental score (median 61, mean 623, range 12-100). In total 149 pts (44.4%) had a pathological HAQ ranging from 69.2% of systemic onset JIA (median 0.625, mean 0.8, range 0-3) to 29% of persistent oligoarticular JIA (median 0.0, mean 0.2, range 0-1.6). Conclusions Our results support that a substantial proportion of the young adults with JIA had an active disease or was on CRM (still needing antirheumatic therapy) and patient-reported health status was not completely satisfactory in a significant number of them. These results suggest that JIA is not a self-limiting disease and therefore ideally all young pts should be followed by both pediatric and adult rheumatology as a part of a transitional care program. References Selvaag AM, et al. Disease progression into adulthood and predictors of long-term active disease in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2014;0:1-6. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Because of a long-term research interest in pitted rock petroglyphs, we were interested and somewhat concerned several years ago when Minor (1975) published his paper The Pit and Groove Petroglyph Style in Southern California . Our interest was in the description of the southern California examples, the distribution data, and the fact that someone was working with this material in a systematic way. Our concern was focused primarily on the proposal that a meaningful interpretation for the pitted rock features could be found in the extant Luiseno ethnographic literature.


An underground water supply pipeline system is an integral part of urban infrastructure. The safety, stability, reliability, and efficiency of this water system are critical for the daily work and livelihood of the people dependent on it. However, with the development of cities in China, the water supply systems in urban communities require constant re-building and improvement, which complicates the system. Considering the defects of obsolete design, lack of information, and irregularity of the constructions over the years, the maintenance of underground pipelines in older communities is onerous and arduous. In this work, the older pipeline system at the Taibai campus of Northwest University, Shaanxi Province, was taken as one typical old urban community and investigated by different measures. Detection was performed from the available concentrated water supply wells to surrounding areas combining electromagnetic induction, geophysical method by ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and acoustic detection methods. Applying the integrated detection method and considering known pipeline network designs, the properties and complex relationships of different pipeline materials (cast iron, polyethylene (PE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)) were determined. In addition, a spatial distribution map of the pipes from wells and the main input water supply pipelines was achieved. The results suggest that the integrated detection scheme combining these three methods provides an effective approach to analyze complex water supply pipelines in older communities, in which each single detection method has more uncertainties. The study provides valuable references for similar communities in many developing countries.


ABSTRACT The limits and nature of the passive behavior exhibited by modified martensitic stainless steels (MMSS) is studied in brine solutions at different temperatures using electrochemical methods and the point defect model (PDM), in an environment at pH is 3 and temperatures up to 150°C, using autoclaves with CO2 gas up to 2.8 MPa. The results show that passivity on the MMSS is characterized by the metal cation vacancy diffusivity (D) which indicates that the passivity up to temperatures of 75°C is more stable than at higher temperatures up to 150°C. The value of D is used to describe the transition between the passive layers at the threshold temperature of 75°C; at which exhibits the largest stability. MMSS specimens passivated at 75°C exhibit higher passivity stability in experiments performed at 25°C, when compared the pre passivation, suggesting that the change experienced at 75°C is at least partially irreversible.


Abstract Objectives Loneliness is seen as an important problem, contributing to serious health problems. As a baseline measurement for the evaluation of a community project aimed at reducing loneliness in Rotterdam, loneliness was measured, as well as potential correlates. This article describes models of social and emotional loneliness among older adults. Methods This study was conducted among 3,821 randomly selected community dwelling citizens of 65 years and older. Loneliness was measured by using the Jong-Gierveld loneliness questionnaire/scale. As potential correlates demographic, health and psychological and social variables were included. Data were subjected to multiple hierarchically regression analysis. Results Emotional loneliness was reported by 60% and social loneliness by 47% of the sample. Women were more emotionally lonely than men , while men reported more social loneliness than women. Emotional social support and quality of life were strongest in predicting emotional loneliness and social capital in the neighbourhood, companionship and instrumental support were strongest predictors for social loneliness. Demographic variables predicted variability in emotional loneliness. Conclusions The strength of the correlates differed between the two dimensions of loneliness. In the design of interventions to prevent and reduce loneliness among older adults, strategies should be developed aimed at the specific dimensions of loneliness.


In the years since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, eleven men have served as president of the United States, arguably the most powerful nation on earth. Yet none of them has been able to effect any significant change in the stalemate between the United States and Cuba, its closest neighbour not to share a land border. Fifty Years of Revolution features contributions from an international Who's Who gallery of leading scholars. The volume adopts a uniquely nonpartisan attitude, a departure from this topic's generally divisive nature. Emerging from a series of meetings, conference panels, and lectures, the book coheres more strongly than the typical essay collection. Organised to analyse--not describe--Cuba's foreign relations, the work examines sanctions, the embargo, regime change, Guantanamo, the exile community, and more. Drawing from personal experiences as well as recently declassified documents, these essays update, summarise, and explain one of the prickliest political issues in the Western Hemisphere today.


Summary Gitelman syndrome is a rare hereditary nephropathy, which causes chronic metabolic alkalosis with low potassium and magnesium levels. There is no known coherence between Gitelman syndrome and Type-1 diabetes but patients with both diseases that develop diabetic ketoacidosis might present with normal acid status and receive incorrect treatment. In our case report the patient was known with both diseases and quickly diagnosed and treated but the condition is rare and previously only described in two other case reports.


In this commentary, the crisis that hit Iceland in late 2008 and involved the collapse of the country's entire banking system is discussed briefly and its impact on regional employment levels is outlined. Currently, unemployment is highest in south-west Iceland, including Reykjavik. Fisheries-dependent communities have performed better, but fisheries management is yet again a major issue in the political arena. We trace the origins of the Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) system and speculate about its role in the series of events that eventually led to the downfall of the banks. Ongoing attempts to reform the fisheries management system are discussed. These include the re-establishment of open-access coastal fishing and the gradual recall of ITQs by the state. Finally, some issues regarding the future of Iceland's economy are discussed briefly.


Recent text-to-image (T2I) diffusion models have achieved remarkable progress in generating high-quality images given text-prompts as input. However, these models fail to convey appropriate spatial composition specified by a layout instruction. In this work, we probe into zero-shot grounded T2I generation with diffusion models, that is, generating images corresponding to the input layout information without training auxiliary modules or finetuning diffusion models. We propose a Region and Boundary (R&B) aware cross-attention guidance approach that gradually modulates the attention maps of diffusion model during generative process, and assists the model to synthesize images (1) with high fidelity, (2) highly compatible with textual input, and (3) interpreting layout instructions accurately. Specifically, we leverage the discrete sampling to bridge the gap between consecutive attention maps and discrete layout constraints, and design a region-aware loss to refine the generative layout during diffusion process. We further propose a boundary-aware loss to strengthen object discriminability within the corresponding regions. Experimental results show that our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art zero-shot grounded T2I generation methods by a large margin both qualitatively and quantitatively on several benchmarks.


Data center cloud computing distinguishes computational services such as database transactions and data storage from computational resources such as server farms and disk arrays. Cloud computing enables a software-as-a-service business model where clients may only pay for the service they really need and providers may fully utilize the resources they actually have. The key enabling technology for cloud computing is virtualization. Recent developments, including our own work on virtualization technology for embedded systems, show that service-oriented computing through virtualization may also have tremendous potential on mobile sensor networks where the emphasis is on information acquisition rather than computation and storage. We propose to study the notion of information-acquisition-as-a-service of mobile sensor networks, instead of server farms, for cyber-physical cloud computing. In particular, we discuss the potential capabilities and design challenges of software abstractions and systems infrastructure for performing information acquisition missions using virtualized versions of aerial vehicles deployed on a fleet of high-performance model helicopters.


Regulation of microtubule dynamics is essential for diverse cellular functions, and proteins that bind to dynamic microtubule ends can regulate network dynamics. Here we show that two conserved microtubule end-binding proteins, CLIP-170 and EB3, undergo phase separation and form dense liquid-networks. When CLIP-170 and EB3 act together the multivalency of the network increases, which synergistically increases the amount of protein in the dense phase. In vitro and in cells these liquid networks can condense tubulin. In vitro in the presence of microtubules, EB3/CLIP-170 phase separation can co-condense tubulin all along the microtubule. At this condition microtubule growth speed increases up to two-fold and depolymerization events are strongly reduced, compared to conditions with phase separation deficient networks. Our data show that phase separated EB3/CLIP-170 networks impact microtubule growth dynamics beyond direct protein-microtubule interactions.


Background and Aim : Nosocomial infections have increasingly resulted in death and the patients should bear high treating costs. About 25 percent of all nosocomial infections have been reported from ICUs. Members of the medical team, especially nurses, could play an important role in prevention and control of nosocomial infections. This research has been done to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of ICU nurses working in teaching hospitals of Tabriz. Material and method : In this descriptive research, 115 nurses working in ICU units with at least one year working experience were selected as samples. The data collection tool was a self-made questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitude and also included a behavioral check list. Content validity was established. Reliability was examined by test-retest (for nowledge and attitude section) and split-half technique (for practice section). Results : Findings showed that 93.9% of nurses had average knowledge and 94.7 % had positive attitude towards nosocomial infections control. Almost all nurses (99.1%) had moderate practice to control nosocomial infections. There was not a statistically significant relationship between knowledge, attitude, and practice and demographic characteristics of samples (P>0.05). Conclusion : Considering the average level of knowledge and practice of most nurses, paying more attention by authorities to this specific topic is essential in order to apply the necessary actions for training of nurses.


The present study was designed to evaluate the preliminary phytochemical profiles and pharmmacological activities of different extractives (methanol and chloroform) of the leaves and stems of Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merr. Preliminary phytochemical screenings demonstrated the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, gums and amides and reducing sugar in leaves and stems. Significant α-amylase inhibitory activities were found by the methanol (66.67%) and chloroform (70.63%) extracts of leaves of G. procumbens as compared to the standard drug acarbose (95.45%) at a concentration of 400 μg/ml. In the castor oil-induced diarrhea, the maximum inhibition of defecation was found by the chloroform fraction. During the anxiolytic activity test which was performed by open field and hole cross method, different extractives of leaves and stems of G. procumbens (500 mg/kg bw) reduced the total count of square crossed and hole crossed to a considerable extent in comparison to the control groups. In antipyretic assay, both extracts reduced the temperature to a significant extent in comparison to the standard group.
Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 22(1): 79-84, 2019


Reinforcement learning (RL) is a machine learning approach that trains agents to maximize cumulative rewards through interactions with environments. The integration of RL with deep learning has recently resulted in impressive achievements in a wide range of challenging tasks, including board games, arcade games, and robot control. Despite these successes, there remain several crucial challenges, including brittle convergence properties caused by sensitive hyperparameters, difficulties in temporal credit assignment with long time horizons and sparse rewards, a lack of diverse exploration, especially in continuous search space scenarios, difficulties in credit assignment in multi-agent reinforcement learning, and conflicting objectives for rewards. Evolutionary computation (EC), which maintains a population of learning agents, has demonstrated promising performance in addressing these limitations. This article presents a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art methods for integrating EC into RL, referred to as evolutionary reinforcement learning (EvoRL). We categorize EvoRL methods according to key research fields in RL, including hyperparameter optimization, policy search, exploration, reward shaping, meta-RL, and multi-objective RL. We then discuss future research directions in terms of efficient methods, benchmarks, and scalable platforms. This survey serves as a resource for researchers and practitioners interested in the field of EvoRL, highlighting the important challenges and opportunities for future research. With the help of this survey, researchers and practitioners can develop more efficient methods and tailored benchmarks for EvoRL, further advancing this promising cross-disciplinary research field.


Estradiol binds covalently to normal leukocytes during phagocytosis. The binding involves three cell types, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes and at least two reaction mechanisms, one involving the peroxidase of neutrophils and monocytes (myeloperoxidase [MPO]) and possibly the eosinophil peroxidase, and the second involving catalase. Binding is markedly reduced when leukocytes from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), severe leukocytic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and familial lipochrome histiocytosis are employed and two populations of neutrophils, one which binds estradiol and one which does not, can be demonstrated in the blood of a CGD carrier. Leukocytes from patients with hereditary MPO deficiency also bind estradiol poorly although the defect is not as severe as in CGD. These findings are discussed in relation to the inactivation of estrogens during infection and the possible role of estrogens in neutrophil function.


The use of heterocaryons in the maintenance of slime stocks of Neurospora crassa, and a method for the reisolation of slime from heterocaryons Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. This technical note is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: http://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol4/iss1/14 Figure 3 shows o growth curve for a typical culture. The dry weight increases ot first slowly, and then more rapidly, as the conidia germinate. As maximum germination is apprwched, the growth rate becomes lineor and remains so until II to 12 hours, when branching begins to occur. This culture would produce 100 grams of hyphoe, wet weight, at 12 hours from 3-i/2 liters of medium. (U. S. Public Health Service Traineerunder grant 2G-714).--Adolphus Busch III Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Brown, I.R. and 0. J. Gillie. A Convenient design of growth tube. From talks to other Neurosporo workers we understand that the original form of growth tube designed by Ryan, Beadle and Tatum is still widely used. We have designed a growth tube, shown in the accompanying illustration, which we believe after more than a year's use to be more convenient for the following reasons. The form of the ends allows easy cleaning and the diameter of the ends and the chimney permits the use of dental cotton wool rolls os convenient plugs. These dental rolls (Numbers 4 and I) ore supplied by Cottrell and Co., l5/17 Charlotte Street, London, W. I. Although pyrex tubing is not normally supplied to sufficiently precise inside diameters


Background As newly available antidiabetic drugs (ADs) are used more commonly as initial hypoglycemic choice for early stage diabetes patients, there is an urgent need to investigate how these agents may differ in treatment durability relative to metformin. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk of treatment adjustment among newly treated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients receiving an oral AD as initial monotherapy. Methods T2DM patients registered in the National Health Insurance Program who were newly prescribed an oral AD were identified. Time to treatment addition or switch to alternative antidiabetic therapy was determined using the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Results The median time to treatment adjustment was shorter for sulfonylureas (SUs), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, alphaglucosidase (AG) inhibitors, and thiazolidinediones (TZDs) compared to that for metformin. Initiation of therapy with SUs or DPP-4 inhibitors was associated with a significantly higher risk of both treatment addition and switching than with metformin (HR 1.49 versus 1.47 for overall treatment adjustment, respectively). In contrast, among incident users of AG inhibitors or TZDs, only the hazard of switch was substantially increased compared to metformin starters (6.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.77–6.64 and 7.31, 95% CI 6.35–8.42, respectively). When addition and switch events were collectively assessed, the risk of treatment adjustment was significantly elevated in all non-metformin cohorts. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that the durability of metformin as an initial monotherapy was superior to that of other ADs, including newer classes of antidiabetics, and appeared to be more effective in delaying treatment adjustment in real-world clinical practice.


This essay is a consideration of the importance of experience and the exegetical possibilities of the allusive nature of the biblical text. It explores the way in which the space was explored by mystics in their visionary experience. In this the interpretative subjects insert themselves into the text as active participants in that which the text describes, so that understanding of the text comes about through experiencing what happens when that imaginative process of identification with the subject matter of the text takes place. The final part of the essay reflects on the way in which, in the modern world, experience of life and the struggle for social justice have informed the way in which the text has functioned as a catalyst for interpretative insight and social change. In the theology of liberation there is a stress on the recognition of the events of one's life and the circumstances in which one lives as ingredients in the exegetical process, so that what one undergoes and learns thereby informs the understanding of the text. The essay is a plea that the widely canvassed view of exegesis which regards it as an exact interpretative science in which meaning can be pinned down by reference to ancient contexts needs to be complemented by a more experienced-based, more imaginative, form of exegesis. What unites these different appeals to experience in exegesis is the importance attached to the contribution of the interpreting subject to exegesis of the biblical text.


The Lambert 1, Hryhor, and Sundance fields in Oldham County, Texas, produce oil from the Middle Pennsylvanian Canyon granite wash. Canyon granite wash conglomerates and sandstones have a maximum thickness of approximately 450 ft (140 m) and were derived from granitic rocks of the Bravo dome. The sediment was transported across carbonate platforms by streams and deposited into the Oldham trough as fan deltas. The granite wash deposits consist primarily of imbricated gravels and cross-stratified sands. Debris-flow deposits are also present. The sediment is dominantly feldspar, granitic rock fragments, and quartz. Carbonate cement averages 5% of the bulk composition. The overall geometry of the granite wash deposits is lobate. Parts of the reservoir show high lateral variability with no continuity between wells on 40-ac spacing. These reservoir facies are thus limited in areal extent and drainage area. However, some intervals can be correlated between wells, which suggests that part of the reservoir may be simulated as layered with no crossflow. The reservoir conglomerates and sandstones have an average porosity of 18% and an average permeability of 75 md/ft. Reasonable net-pay cutoff values in these granite wash reservoirs are 9.5% for porosity and 1.5 md for permeability, and were established bymore » crossplots and cumulative volume capacity.« less


Scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) are a diverse and ecologically important group of angiosperm-associated insects. As conventionally understood, scarab beetles comprise two major lineages: dung beetles and the phytophagous Pleurosticti. However, previous phylogenetic analyses have not been able to convincingly answer the question whether or not the two lineages form a monophyletic group. Here we report our results from phylogenetic analyses of more than 4,000 genes mined from transcriptomes of more than 50 species of Scarabaeidae and other Scarabaeoidea. Our results provide convincing support for the monophyly of Scarabaeidae, confirming the debated sister group relationship of dung beetles and phytophagous pleurostict scarabs. Supermatrix-based maximum likelihood and multispecies coalescent phylogenetic analyses strongly imply the subfamily Melolonthinae as currently understood being paraphyletic. We consequently suggest various changes in the systematics of Melolonthinae: Sericinae Kirby, 1837 stat. rest. and sensu n. to include the tribes Sericini, Ablaberini and Diphucephalini, and Sericoidinae Erichson, 1847 stat. rest. and sensu n. to include the tribes Automoliini, Heteronychini, Liparetrini, Maechidiini, Scitalini, Sericoidini, and Phyllotocini. Both subfamilies appear to consistently form a monophyletic sister group to all remaining subfamilies so far included within pleurostict scarabs except Orphninae. Our results represent a major step towards understanding the diversification history of one of the largest angiosperm-associated radiations of beetles.


Increasing use of ICT technologies in medical practices has led to a number of studies examining their use in rural as well as urban settings. The purpose of this study is to examine how GPs in rural and urban practice group and prioritise the driving forces for ICT adoption. Correlation and factor analysis was performed on the data sets (198 GPs, 122 Rural - 76 urban) obtained by means of a survey questionnaire. Not only do the results show that the drivers can be 'simplified' from 16 to 2 or 3, but they also show that there are differences both in the grouping and priorities placed on certain drivers between rural and urban GPs. Whereas rural GPs consider that there are 3 distinct underlying reasons for ICT adoption (medical/business efficiency, external pressure, enhanced communication), urban GPs couple external pressure with enhanced communications as a single driver for ICT adoption.


This paper proposes an integrated approach for data warehousing of the educational metadata in the area of open educational resources (OER). The aim is designing an architecture that integrates automatic metadata extraction and rule-based methods to better utilize the OER. This architecture helps synchronizing metadata from the resulting repository with versatile OER Web-based resources. Therewith, the approach to data warehousing involves an extract-transform-load (ETL) process. The proposed architecture, as our experimentation shows, in terms of data management and process flow, improves performance in handling OER metadata. This rule-based architecture allows for automatic extraction and classification of metadata in a number of pre-defined categories. These metadata categories are available through a web portal.


We introduce a constrained optimization method for policy gradient reinforcement learning, which uses a virtual trust region to regulate each policy update. In addition to using the proximity of one single old policy as the normal trust region, we propose forming a second trust region through another virtual policy representing a wide range of past policies. We then enforce the new policy to stay closer to the virtual policy, which is beneficial if the old policy performs poorly. More importantly, we propose a mechanism to automatically build the virtual policy from a memory of past policies, providing a new capability for dynamically learning appropriate virtual trust regions during the optimization process. Our proposed method, dubbed Memory-Constrained Policy Optimization (MCPO), is examined in diverse environments, including robotic locomotion control, navigation with sparse rewards and Atari games, consistently demonstrating competitive performance against recent on-policy constrained policy gradient methods.


Collection and analysis of audit data is a critical component in many computer-related activities, such as debugging, measurement, and detection. Data is required to be correct and to be delivered in a timely fashion. Additionally, the data should be sparse to reduce the amount of resources used to collect and store it. At the same time, the data must contain the necessary attributes with respect to the goal of the collection. The production of audit data depends directly on the deployed data collection mechanisms. Adequate mechanism knowledge is thus a critical resource for software developers, security officers, and system administrators and operators. This report aims at providing a clear and concise picture of how data collection mechanisms work. It provides a detailed explanation of generic data collection mechanism components and the interaction with the environment, from initial triggering to output of log data records. Furthermore, it provides a taxonomy of mechanism characteristics based on previously published theoretical results [43, 44]. Guidelines and hints for mechanism selection are provided and examples of application fields that benefit from proper mechanism knowledge are presented. An extensive appendix contains 50 surveyed mechanisms. We believe that the classification and the guidelines can be used to assist system administrators and operators in performing resource efficient mechanism selection. The guidelines and the classification can also be used when a specific type of data collection is desired. For example, it is easy to find out what mechanisms collect samples for execution profiling, and what mechanisms that can be reconfigured without the need for restart. This is a valuable source of information that reduces the need to browse multiple manual pages and whitepapers to find the desired mechanism. Furthermore, by using the selection guidelines, we can obtain a more resource efficient data collection and obtain a more accurate data analysis


Erving Goffman presented a sociological analysis of the relationship between a
performance and life in his book The presentation of self in everyday life. I decided to link his
view to Croatian youth, music they listen to and a phenomenon of music festivals. According
to Goffman, performance refers to all the activity of an individual which occurs during a
period marked by his continuous presence before a particular set of observers which has some
influence on them (Goffman, 1959:22). Using this definition to try to anthropologically
deconstruct a festival, clash the impression of a visitor with the one of an employee at such a
venue and emphasize the importance of such phenomena among young people in Croatia,
while relating it to a plethora of topics and issues adolescents face during their youth and
growing up period, will be the main point of this thesis. Being liminal, neither here nor there,
betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention and
ceremonial (Turner, 1969:95) is the term that perfectly reflects both conditions: the
maturation phase as well as working on a festival. On a more convoluted level, festivals
reflect the individual's state of mind and mirror the person's internal struggles – similar to
those every adolescent goes through during the period of transition from childhood into
adulthood.


Pollen data from a 625 cm sediment core from Crescent Island Crater, a subbasin of Lake Naivasha, Kenya, provide an 1100-year record of vegetation change at a mean time resolution of 15 years. Earlier data from the same core show a record of lake depth (and thus inferred rainfall variation) in the form of changing sedimentary facies, supported by salinity inferences based on diatom and chironomid assemblages. Stratigraphic variation in the abundances of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and chlorophyte algae generally supports the reconstructed lake depths. Woody Afromontane and woodland plant taxa decreased relative to Poaceae (grasses) during low rainfall periods, and increased during high rainfall periods. A decrease in the extent of lower montane forest coincident with favourable climatic conditions after about ad 1700 was probably caused byKikuyu immigration and population expansion around that time, as indicated by simultaneous appearance of the food crop Zea mays (maize). Increases in ruderal herbaceous and exotic tree pollen during the twentieth century indicate increased local landscape disturbance during the colonial period. There is little direct pollen evidence for accelerating clearance of the montane forest during recent decades.


Although modern scholars generally refer to Demetrius III as Eukairos, all the Greek manuscripts of Josephus' War and Antiquities reponed by Niese, as well as all editors since Niese, read Akairos in the three places the nickname is found. Attestations of Eukairos (Greek and Latin Table of Contents, Latin manuscripts of Antiquities, and early editions) are best explained as secondary developments in the transmission of the text. The influence of the Greek editio princeps, which unjustifiably prints Eukairos in all three places in Josephus' text, accounts for the appearance of the nickname in all editions of Josephus' works until the mid-nineteenth century and hence for its use in modern scholarship. Since Josephus is our only source for the nickname, Demetrius III should never be identified as Eukairos. If a nickname is to be used, it should either be Akairos or one (or more) of the official names found on the ruler's coinage.


Changes in the parameters of an n-dimensional system of equations induce changes in its solutions. For a class of such systems, we determine the qualitative change in solutions given certain qualitative changes in parameters. Our methods and results are elementary yet useful. They highlight the existence of a common thread, our "own effect" assumption, in formally diverse areas of economics. We discuss several applications; among them, we establish the existence of efficient equilibria in English auctions with interdependent valuations, and a version of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem for an n × n trade model.


According to electro-optical sampling theory, we propose a new method to detect the spatiotemporal field of a single-shot terahertz pulse by spectral holography for the first time. The single-shot terahertz pulse is coupled into a broadened chirped femtosecond pulse according to electro-optical sampling theory in the detecting system. Then the reference wave and the signal wave are split by Dammann grating and spread into the interference band-pass filter. The filtered sub-waves are at different central-frequencies because of the different incident angles. These sub-waves at different central-frequencies interfere to form sub-holograms, which are recorded in a single frame of a charge coupled device (CCD). The sub-holograms are numerically processed, and the spatiotemporal field distribution of the original terahertz pulse is reconstructed. The computer simulations verify the feasibility of the proposed method.


Recent studies of interstellar neutral (ISN) hydrogen observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) suggested that the present understanding of the radiation pressure acting on hydrogen atoms in the heliosphere should be revised. There is a significant discrepancy between theoretical predictions of the ISN H signal using the currently used model of the solar Lyman-α profile by Tarnopolski & Bzowski (2009, TB09) and the signal due to ISN H observed by IBEX-Lo. We developed a new model of evolution of the solar Lyman-α profile that takes into account all available observations of the full-disk solar Lyman-α profiles from SUMER/SOHO, provided by Lemaire et al. (2015, L15), covering practically the entire 23rd solar cycle. The model has three components that reproduce different features of the profile. The main shape of the emission line that is produced in the chromosphere is modeled by the kappa function; the central reversal due to absorption in the transition region is modeled by the Gauss function; the spectral background is represented by the linear function. The coefficients of all those components are linear functions of the line-integrated full-disk Lyman-α irradiance, which is the only free parameter of the model. The new model features potentially important differences in comparison with the model by TB09, which was based on a limited set of observations. This change in the understanding of radiation pressure, especially during low solar activity, may significantly affect the interstellar H and D distributions in the inner heliosphere and their derivative populations. Corresponding author: Izabela Kowalska-Leszczynska firstname.lastname@example.com


INTRODUCTION: The synergisms of control andtelecolUMunkation systems have paved the roadtowards increasingly interesting fields such as teleassistance and telemedicine, and one other inter esting applicationof these technologies may be in the field of prostheses Nowadays, we are used to high-tech prostheses whose sensor s or microprocessots, on one hand, enhance the performance of the prosthesis itse/f,, while, on the other, can also cause problems which requit e the intervention oía specialised technician The numetous benefits pt ovided by telecommunication fot piosthesis wearers are obvious for those patientswho would othetwise havebig problems in getting to the specialised centers, even just fot a simple check-up It is also important to consider the savings in money and time, since many patients bear not only travelling expenses, but are sometimes t equit ed to stay for days at a time at the specialised centets I he ideal solution would be to carry out as many telematic operations as possible thtough audio-videodata connection, which entails a much lower cost and much less inconvenience, evenwhen consideting a trip of only a few kilometres This ptoject originates from the necessity of 'NAIL, which has numetous centet ssmead out thr oughout the entit e Italian ter I itory, to concenti ate specific technical services in a limited numbel of centet s to whkh teference is made for each clinical case By going to the closest INAIL Centel, equipped with videocommunication apparatus, the patient will be able to carry out operations that he normally would have had to carry out at the Prosthesis Center, ranging from the periodic check-up of the condition of the prosthesis, such as: the status of the batteties, the condition of the cosmetic sleeve, a control of the sensor s and their calibr ation, to more complex cases of calibration or modifications in the fimction of the pi o sthesis itself, by means of the vatiation of specific patameter s Even the analysis of the &en omyogt aphie signal can be carried out at a distance, thus allowing the technical-rehabilitative crew to evaluate various solutions befot e aslcing the patient to rettun to the


Research in analysis of microblogging platforms is experiencing a renewed surge with a large number of works applying representation learning models for applications like sentiment analysis, semantic textual similarity computation, hashtag prediction, etc. Although the performance of the representation learning models has been better than the traditional baselines for such tasks, little is known about the elementary properties of a tweet encoded within these representations, or why particular representations work better for certain tasks. Our work presented here constitutes the first step in opening the black-box of vector embeddings for tweets.Traditional feature engineering methods for high-level applications have exploited various elementary properties of tweets. We believe that a tweet representation is effective for an application because it meticulously encodes the application-specific elementary properties of tweets. To understand the elementary properties encoded in a tweet representation, we evaluate the representations on the accuracy to which they can model each of those properties such as tweet length, presence of particular words, hashtags, mentions, capitalization, etc.Our systematic extensive study of nine supervised and four unsupervised tweet representations against most popular eight textual and five social elementary properties reveal that Bi-directional LSTMs (BLSTMs) and Skip-Thought Vectors (STV) best encode the textual and social properties of tweets respectively. FastText is the best model for low resource settings, providing very little degradation with reduction in embedding size. Finally, we draw interesting insights by correlating the model performance obtained for elementary property prediction tasks with the high- level downstream applications.


Parity theories are used to study the "rand" / "dollar" rate. Interest rate parity results suggest that in about 20% to 26.7% of cases, investing in USA would have yielded higher interest returns than investing in South Africa. In 73.3% to 80% of cases, investing in South Africa would have yielded more interest returns. The PPP theory suggests rand undervaluation relative to the dollar, thereby justifying revaluation / appreciation in all cases, while the interest rate parity theory suggests rand undervaluation in 73.3% to 80% of cases and overvaluation in 20% to 26.7% of cases. Cointegration tests suggest significant (at 5% but not at 1%) long run PPP, which is consistent with the high correlation (0.97) between the two countries' price levels.


Abnormality of hepatic function has been described in a number of disorders that do not involve the liver primarily.* In rheumatoid arthritis,† subacute bacterial endocarditis,‡ sarcoidosis,§ convalescent malaria,∥ and other diseases characterized by increased serum levels of gamma globulin, this is manifested most prominently in the flocculation tests of liver function. Other tests considered to measure parenchymal hepatic function may show little deviation from the normal in patients with these diseases.8 There have been scattered references to the occurrence of abnormality of the thymol turbidity and cephalin flocculation in patients with disseminated lupus erythematosus.∥ A number of observers ¶ have reported that the gamma globulin fraction of the serum of patients with this disease is elevated. The present study of patients with lupus erythematosus is one of a series of studies of hepatic function in nonhepatic disease. Observations on other interesting and possibl related serological phenomena in lupus erythematosus


Structural integrity assessment technique for pavement system is studied considering the uncertainties among the material properties. The artificial neural networks technique is applied for the inverse analysis to estimate the elastic modulus based on the measured deflections from the FWD test. A computer code based on the spectral element method was developed for the accurate and fast analysis of the multi-layered soil structures, and the developed program was used for generating the training and testing patterns for the neural network. Neural networks was applied to estimate the elastic modulus of pavement system using the maximum deflections with and without the uncertainties in the material properties. It was found that the estimation results by the conventional neural networks were very poor when there exist the uncertainties and the estimation results could be significantly improved by adopting the proposed method for generating training patterns considering the uncertainties among material properties.


In a survey of adolescents aged 14–17 years, we found that 25% already have experience of sexual contact and they do not know the methods of contraception and neglect condoms. About 77.6% of sexually active adolescent girls had genital infection, including HPV 52.7%, highly oncogenic types 37.9%, and mixed infections 51.4%. Adolescents are extremely vulnerable to HPV-related diseases. Cervical cancer takes the 2nd place in the structure of cancer in women in KHMAO-Ugra and the 1st place at the age of 30 years. Since 2009, girls have been vaccinated against HPV in Ugra. Over 10 years, there was a 39% decrease in the incidence of anogenital warts. We meet with parents, provide information about the risks of HPV infection, expose myths, and discuss the safety and effectiveness of HPV vaccines. Our goal is to win the trust of parents in vaccines, resist anti-vaccine propaganda, increase motivation, and reduce the number of refusal.