Compared with their corresponding bulk phases,nanoscale rare earth luminescent materials have come forth a lot of new luminescent phenomena such as the red shift of CTS, the broadening of emission peaks, the increase of quenching concentration, the changes of fluorescent lifetimes and quantum efficiency. Investigating and understanding these materials is not only of academic interest but also of technological importance for advanced phosphor applications. Therefore, in this article, progress on the study of nanoscale rare earth luminescent materials has been reviewed. Firstly, summing up the luminescent characteristic of nanoscale rare earth luminescent particles different from those of bulk materials; secondly, summarizing the preparation and spectrum properties of 1D nanoscale rare earth luminescence materials; thirdly, introducing the patterning of luminescent thin films and assemblies in the mesopore template of 2D nanoscale rare earth luminescence materials; finally, the future development trend for the nanoscale luminescent materials is fore-(casted.) That is to say, in preparation, both nanoscale rare earth luminescent materials with good crystal shape, high brightness, nonaggregating, and narrow particle size distributing and ordered array luminescent devices composed of nanowires, nanotubes, nanorods and so on need to be developed. In fundamental studies, more efforts need to be done on the spectra properties rooted in their surface and interface effects. In applications, the key problems of low luminescent brightness and low stabilities must be resolved.


This autoethnographic arts-based research focuses on working with the possibilities and limitations of guitar to inspire a wider, less conventional approach on the instrument and to increase its resourcefulness and accessibility within the context of music therapy. The primary research question is: how can my personal exploration of the limitations and possibilities of guitar inform my music therapy practice? This research focuses on bringing insight into relationships between guitar, limitations, perception, resourcefulness, creativity, music therapy, social justice, strength and disability. Practice and experimentation with unconventional techniques, approaches and guitar modifications have been undertaken and documented and have been informed by literature around music therapy, posthumanism, creativity and disability studies. Guitars, ideas and approaches have been compiled in musical compositions to represent the research findings. Ideas have been implemented and inspired from my work with participants with different needs, limitations and guitar playing approaches. This research has revealed wider possibilities and resources for the guitar in music therapy practice for both therapist and participant, highlighted the strength and creative potential in interdependence for therapy, music and social relations and displayed how creativity can challenge and reflect oppressive structures.


In the context of a canonical agency model, we study the payoff implications of introducing optimally structured incentives. We do so from the perspective of an analyst who does not know the agent's preferences for responding to incentives, but does know that the principal knows them. We provide, in particular, tight bounds on the principal's expected benefit from optimal incentive contracting across feasible values of the agent's expected rents. We thus show how economically relevant predictions can be made robustly given ignorance of a key primitive.


This bachelor thesis engages in the question of silence in the writings of Fenno-Swedish modernists Mirjam Tuominen and Gunnar Bjorling, silence being understood as both a poetic theme and a question of literary form. Alongside this exposition runs a discussion about the possibilities and impossibilities of interpretation in the field of academic literary studies. This query is connected to the different ideological positions of the two writers, conjoined by ideas about anti-comprehensibility. Considering certain weaknesses of classical hermeneutics as well as the theory of deconstruction, especially in the case of reading poetry, this thesis tries to point out possible routs for a practice of a more dynamic interpretation, with special regard to understanding the trope of silence in the modernist poetry of Tuominen and Bjorling.The composition explicitly applies a "method of wandering" inspired by Maurice Blanchot's understanding of the priests of Dionysus in Holderlin's writings – maundering in the holy night – as a metaphor for a critique-in-the-creating. This complies to Theodor W. Adorno's idea of the aporetic situation of the interpreter and the unsolvable conflict between scientific discourse and art understood as a medium of truth in a more radical sense. The study aspires to perform a dialogue between different faculties of interpretation, and to make this dialogue viewable, so that the question of understanding remains ambiguous in line with the poetics of Tuominen and Bjorling. The results that follow bare the mark of aporia, but points towards a possible reading of silence (in Bjorling's and Tuominen's writings) as connected to a certain kind of sensibility and confidence in the immanence of truth in existence.


The syndrome polyglandular autoimmune is defined as the coexistence of an or several primary alterations of the endocrine glands whose nature is autoinmune and it is associated with other immunologic pathologies, with the presence of circulating specific antibodies organ directed against the white organs, in the daily medical practice it is an entity little suspected, in this work we present a typical case of this affection what maintains us alert in the diagnosis of this affection


The current-voltage characteristics of a plasma (seeded argon) in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) electric power generator, reveal a sudden transition in the plasma current from a low current (thermal) to a high current (low-voltage arc) mode at applied voltages between 20 V and 50 V for an electrode separation of approximately 2·5 cm. In the experiments described, the high electron current densities at the transition originate at a relatively cold graphite cathode (< 1500 K) and the electric field intensity E at the cathode before transition is only of the order of 105 V cm−1, for argon seeded with alkali compounds and at gas temperatures between 2000 and 3000 K. Taking the experimental conditions and results, it is suggested that the arc transition is due to a thermal instability in the relatively cool gas layer adjacent to the cathode. The gas layer acts like a resistive layer of high thermal capacity subjected to potential and temperature gradients.


Just when we thought we finally understood methylene blue (MB) after it has been used clinically for more than a century, the old properties are revived and therefore possible new indications appears. Nitric oxide (NO) stimulates soluble guanylate cyclase, which converts guanosine triphosphate into cyclic guanosine monophosphate. Increases in cGMP concentration, in turn, through a cascade of protein kinases, induce smooth muscle relaxation and vasodilation. Methylene blue (MB) has direct inhibitory effects on nitric oxide synthases (NOS), both constitutive and inducible and blocks accumulation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) by inhibiting the enzyme guanylate cyclase. Also, MB blocks the iron-containing enzymes such as xanthine oxidase and has antioxidants effects. New indications are therefore described in relation with MB as in the vasoplegic syndrome following cardiopulmonary bypass in humans and in the settings of cardiac arrest in animals.


We describe a newborn boy with a gastric heterotopia located in the nasopharynx, which caused airway obstruction soon after delivery. Gastric heterotopia is an uncommon lesion generally found throughout the alimentary tract, but nasopharynx is an exceptional location. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of gastric heterotopia located in the nasopharynx, and the first one presenting in a newborn with symptoms at birth and with an associated central nervous system mass.


Oil reserve is defined as an estimate of how much oil can ultimately be recovered. This broad definition is also called oil in place. It includes undiscovered or "yet to find" reserves. It's based on the probability of finding reserves in certain geological areas. It also assumes that new types of technology will make it economically feasible to extract the oil. Nigeria oil and gas reserves have increased to 37 billion barrels. It can also be said that reserves are those quantities of petroleum claimed to be commercially recoverable by application of development projects to known accumulations under defined conditions and it must satisfy four criteria which must be: discovered through one or more exploratory wells, recoverable using existing technology, commercially viable and remaining in the ground. These conditions have actually be met by some oil producing countries but how long will they rely on it to maintain a stable economic growth and development. No matter the trillion of barrels of oil stored by most countries in the world especially Nigeria will still not guarantee continuous growth in economic stability since the rate of usage is far more than that of discovery. This paper brings to the notice of everyone the current petroleum reserves for some developed and developing countries which will guarantee them a partial stable economic growth and development. Experience shows that initial estimates of the size of newly discovered oil fields are usually too low. As years pass, successive estimates of the ultimate recovery of fields tend to increase. The term reserve growth refers to the typical increase in estimated ultimate recovery that occurs as oil fields are developed and produced. We are currently in an energy crisis. Fossil fuels are the lifeblood of our society and for many others around the world. Our supply has a finite end, which may make some countries to make friend with those in the Middle East due to high oil reserves. See Tables 1 and 2. Despite these reserves, fossil fuels will run out one day and it is important to find other means of getting the energy we need to continue our society as we know it. That is the renewable sources of energy.


Infants born extremely prematurely present significant clinical and population health challenges. Advances in clinical monitoring can potentially drive improvements in survival and long-term outcomes in this vulnerable population. In this study, a multi-function catheter with ECG, pressure, and temperature sensors is developed and the performance and ideal lead location are tested in a rat model. The ECG signals, transdiaphragmatic pressure, and core body temperature of the rat were recorded from a modified multi-electrode gastric feeding tube with one pressure sensor at the tip and another pressure sensor and temperature sensor at 6 cm from the trip.
 The ECG signals were obtained from esophageal electrodes in multiple locations and eventually, optimal electrode locations were identified at 4 and 6 cm from the tip of the feeding tube. Reliable pressure signals at a pressure range of 0-0.2psi (0-14 cm H2O) were obtained from pressure sensors placed above and below the diaphragm. A core temperature of ~41°C was recorded from the temperature sensor which was elevated relative to the rectal temperature measurements due to the experimental setup used.
 Our multifunction catheter proved to provide a reliable, strong, high resolution and low noise ECG signal from the esophageal electrodes in an animal model equivalent in size to the preterm infant. In addition, continuous pressure and temperature recordings can simultaneously be extracted, with all 3 sensors contained within a less than 3 mm diameter tube as is routinely used in this population. Integration of these multiple components into a feeding tube, which is already universally used in this population purely for nutrition, will provide significant advances in vital sign monitoring while reducing risk to vulnerable preterm infants.


In this paper, we conduct research on modern music composition development direction under the digital and computer background. We can hear the music work, at ordinary times is the musician and sound engineer through three different stages of product created by mutual cooperation. The development of computer music has impact to the music every aspect of life, including various music creation process, cause the changes of some design principles. This change may be denied the traditional, also may be denied the traditional that is on the development of traditional principles. We integrate the concepts and principles of the digital perspective to propose our methodology on issues of computer music development that holds vital significance and meaning.


Recent neuronal experiments have shown that a population of firing neurons may carry not only mean firing rate but also fluctuation and synchrony. In order to theoretically examine this possibility, we have investigated responses of neuronal ensembles to three kinds of inputs: mean, fluctuation and synchrony driven inputs. Equations of motion for mean firing rate, fluctuation and synchrony in neuron ensembles described by the rate-code model, are derived with the use of the augmented moment method which was previously proposed for a study of stochastic ensembles with finite populations. Results calculated by the augmented moment method are in good agreement with those by direct simulations. It has been shown by the independent component analysis of our results that information on mean firing rate, fluctuation and synchrony may be independently conveyed in neuron populations. The calculated input-output relation of mean firing rates is shown to have higher sensitivity for larger multiplicative noise, as recently observed in prefrontal cortex.


The untapped potential of offshore wind is vast, and will be critical in the global transition to renewable energy and carbon neutrality. Although Australia's waters are home to enough wind energy to cover its entire electricity needs, the lack of a regulatory framework has prevented the establishment of an offshore wind industry. However, with the passage of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021, there are now significant opportunities for the offshore generation of renewable energy, as well as the transmission of electricity within—and beyond—Australian waters. Framed by consideration of the global and regional context, this paper provides a meaningful perspective on the potential for offshore wind energy in Australia, outlines the new regulatory framework which will enable it to be realised, and highlights key points of contact with contemporary issues of ocean law and policy.


Advances in ubiquitous sensing, computing and wireless communication technologies are leading to the development of cyber-physical systems (CPS), which promise to revolutionize the way we interact with the physical world. CPS applications, such as healthcare monitoring, may involve many users and objects scattered over a wide area. One critical function of CPS is object search in the physical world through the cyber sphere that enables interaction between the cyber and physical spheres. Some of the previously proposed physical object search engines use RFID tracking, and others collect the information of object locations into a hierarchical centralized server. The difficulty of widely deploying RFID devices, the centralized search, and the need for periodical location information collection prevent CPS from achieving higher scalability and efficiency. To deal with this problem, we propose a Social-aware distributed Cyber-Physical human-centric Search engine (SCPS) that leverages the social network formed by wireless device users for object search. Without requiring periodical location information collection, SCPS locates objects held by users based on the routine user movement pattern. Moreover, using a social-aware Bayesian network, it can accurately predict the users' locations even at the occurrence of exceptional (i.e., non-routine) events (e.g., raining) that break user movement pattern. Thus, SCPS is more advantageous than all previous social network based works which assume that user behaviors always follow a certain pattern. Further, SCPS conducts the search in a fully distributed manner by relying on a distributed hash table (DHT) structure. As a result, SCPS achieves high scalability, efficiency and location accuracy. Extensive real-trace driven simulation results show the superior performance of SCPS compared to other representative search methods including a hierarchical centralized method, a decentralized method, and two social network based methods. The results also show the effectiveness of different components of SCPS.


Shape memory alloys exhibit a high damping capacity in the mktensite state. Results obtained from both DMA and cyclic tests under tension-compression load show that the martensite damping capacity in NiTi SMAs is a function of both strain amplitude and annealing temperature. Internal friction due to movements of martensite twin boundaries within both elastic (accommodation) and inelastic (reorientation) ranges as a function of strain ampli- tude seems to be consistent. A critical annealing temperature exists for deformed NiTi SMAs in order to obtain a high martensite damping capacity. Under tension-compression cyclic loading, the martensite damping decreases as the number of cycles increases, and it tends to stabilize with further cycling.


Despite considerable interest in the enediyne family of antitumor antibiotics, assembly of their polyketide core structures in nature remains poorly understood. Discriminating methods to access enzyme-bound intermediates are critical for elucidating unresolved polyketide and nonribosomal peptide biosynthetic pathways. Here, we describe the development of broadly applicable techniques for the mild chemical release and analysis of intermediates bound to carrier proteins (CPs), providing access to these species even in sensitive systems. These techniques were applied to CalE8, the polyketide synthase (PKS) involved in calicheamicin biosynthesis, facilitating the unambiguous identification of enzyme-bound polyketides on an enediyne PKS. Moreover, these methods enabled the preparation of fully unloaded CalE8, providing a "clean slate" for reconstituted activity and allowing us to demonstrate the preferential accumulation of a PKS-bound octaketide with evidence of programmed processing control by CalE8. This intermediate, which has the expected chain length for enediyne core construction, could previously only be indirectly inferred. These studies prove that this polyketide is an authentic product of CalE8 and may be a key precursor to the enediyne core of calicheamicin, as it is the only programmed, enzyme-bound species observed for any enediyne system to date. Our experimental advances into a generally inaccessible system illustrate the utility of these techniques for investigating CP-based biosynthetic pathways.


Mature CD4+Vβ5+ T cells that recognize a peripherally expressed endogenous superantigen are tolerized either by deletion or TCR revision. In Vβ5 transgenic mice, this latter tolerance pathway results in the appearance of CD4+Vβ5−TCRβ+ T cells, coinciding with Rag1, Rag2, and TdT expression and the accumulation of Vβ-DJβ recombination intermediates in peripheral CD4+ T cells. Because postthymic RAG-dependent TCR rearrangement has remained controversial, we sought to definitively determine whether TCR revision is an extrathymic process that occurs in mature peripheral T cells. We show in this study that Rag deletion in postpositive selection T cells in Vβ5 transgenic mice blocks TCR revision in vivo and that mature peripheral T cells sorted to remove cells bearing endogenous TCRβ-chains can express newly generated TCRβ molecules in adoptive hosts. These findings unambiguously demonstrate postthymic, RAG-dependent TCR rearrangement and define TCR revision as a tolerance pathway that targets mature peripheral CD4+ T cells.


Purification of primary aluminum from sodium has been made by filtering of the melts through inert filters made of grafitized materials. Aluminum A85 and A7 was filtered under vacuum by gravity when poured from ladle to ladle. Purification decreased the content of sodium by an order. The stability of filtering materials was satisfactory. A possible mechanism of sodium removal from liquid aluminum is discussed.


Although a South African Aviation Corps existed for a few months in 1915, and although several South Africans saw action in World War I as members of Britain's Royal Flying Corps, the history of the South African Air Force (SAAF) – the world's second oldest air force – strictly speaking only dates back to 1 February 1920.  In this article, a review is provided of the history of the SAAF, with specific reference to its operational deployments in the 1920s; the difficult years of the great depression and its aftermath and impact on the SAAF; the very important role played by the SAAF in the course of World War II (for example in patrolling South Africa's coastal waters, and in taking part in the campaigns in East Africa and Abyssinia, as well as in North Africa, Madagascar, Italy, over the Mediterranean and in the Balkans); the post-war rationalisation; its small but important role in the Korean War; the acquisition of a large number of modern aircraft and helicopters from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s; the impact that sanctions had on the SAAF; the SAAF's role in Northern Namibia and in Angola during the war years, 1966–1989, and the SAAF in post-apartheid South Africa.  Throughout the article, historiographical matters are mentioned by means of references – either in the text or in footnotes – to the most important available sources.


This paper presents a novel solution to the inverse Frobenius-Perron problem of reconstructing an unknown nonlinear and ergodic map from causal sequences of probability density functions generated by the map. The original solution to this problem successfully reconstructs members of the canonical map class (i.e., a subset of the piecewise linear semi-Markov maps), provided all the map's branches are monotonically increasing. The original solution constructs a matrix estimate of the map's Frobenius-Perron operator, which governs the evolution of density functions under iteration of the map, from the density sequences. The one-dimensional map is reconstructed from this matrix. In contrast, the proposed solution constructs a higher-order matrix estimate of the Frobenius-Perron operator. A member of the newly proposed class of generalized hat maps, a superset of the canonical maps, is constructed from this matrix estimate. The proposed solution successfully distinguishes between increasing and decreasing map branches and enlarges the class of maps that can be successfully reconstructed to canonical maps with any subset of decreasing branches. When used to reconstruct any piecewise linear semi-Markov map, the proposed solution generates a map with consistent invariant density and power spectrum mode characteristics, regardless of the unknown map's canonicity or branch monotonicity. Numerical examples that illustrate the proposed solution's characteristics are presented.


The article describes the portrait genre in the painting of the famous Dagestan artist A. Avgustovich. Examples of his creative searches and innovative incarnations, which expanded the artistic and stylistic structure of the Dagestan fine arts of the 1960s, are given. The emotional-psychological and figurative-specific characteristics of the disclosed characters, the richness and variety of the used means of artistic expression are investigated.


Courses CVT 20. Cardiovascular Anatomy. 2 Hours. This course will provide the student with basic cardiovascular terminology, knowledge of congenital heart defects, veins, arteries, coronary vessels and the conduction system. The students will learn cardiac and vascular anatomy in relationship to various cardiovascular procedures. Prerequisite: Admission to the advanced cardiovascular technology program. LEC.


A simple algorithm is described to target any desired operation point for simple one-dimensional and two-dimensional dynamical systems. What makes the algorithm unique is the fact that it targets any desired point, not merely a stable/unstable fixed point of the dynamics. It is shown how the method may be applied to the logistic map and the H\'enon map. Generalisations to the case of n-dimensional dynamical systems are discussed.


Objective: To report a case of unintentional overdose of dofetilide due to patient misinterpretation of the prescribed dose. Case Summary: A 50-year-old white male unintentionally ingested dofetilide 5000 μg instead of the prescribed dose of 500 μg because of a simple mathematical calculation error. The patient was given activated charcoal in the emergency department and also received 1 dose of magnesium sulfate 2 g and 1 dose of potassium chloride 80 mEq by mouth. He was admitted to the intensive care unit for cardiac monitoring for 1 day and was discharged when his QT/QTc interval was stable. Discussion: During recent years, studies have focused on errors that occur while medications are in the control of health care professionals. As health care delivery shifts from inpatient to outpatient settings, the burden of proper medication use also shifts from providers to patients. Low health literacy and lack of understanding of instructions have been cited as important root causes of medication errors in the outpatient setting. Effective communication with patients who have limited health literacy offers the potential to improve their understanding about their medical problems and treatments. Dofetilide, a class III antiarrhythmic agent, is highly regulated due to safety concerns. The drug is efficacious in the maintenance of normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. Cardiac toxicity is of utmost concern when treating dofetilide overdose. The mainstay of treatment focuses on supportive care and prevention of drug absorption. Conclusions: Medication errors will not cease to occur unless patients understand their dosing instructions and health care responsibilities. This case highlights the need for the monitoring of patient understanding, especially when drugs with high safety risk are being used.


Some Characteristics of Nocturnal Bird Migration in Israel According to Radar Monitoring The present study is aimed at obtaining radar data on nocturnal bird migration over central Israel to be used for improvement of air traffic safety in complicated ornithological settings. The data obtained, together with the radar monitoring procedure previously developed (Dinevich et al. 2004), resulted in establishing a radar network over Israel that forwards information on bird movements to air traffic control stations every 15-30 minutes. The results of radar monitoring of nocturnal bird migration over central Israel are presented (1998-2002) enabling to determine a number of characteristics which are of importance for air traffic control, including average and maximum flight altitudes, altitudes of maximum bird density, the dominant directions and velocity of bird flights. The average flight altitude was found to be mainly within the limits of 1800 to 2000 m in autumn and of 2400 to 2900 m in spring. The absolute maximum altitude was estimated at 5700 m in spring and at 5200 m in autumn. Average altitudes of maximum bird density are considerably higher in spring (ca 1500 m) than in autumn (ca 1000 m). The study of flight directions and speed of over of 20 000 bird echoes showed that the dominant direction of migration was 183° in autumn and 6° in spring. Within the altitude band of 0 to 500 m, deviations from the dominant migratory route were observed, being approximately 135° in autumn and 315° in spring, which can be explained by intensive migration of songbirds from the Mediterranean Sea towards winter-quarters in autumn and back in spring. Cases of reverse migration were relatively rare and were not characteristic for the nocturnal bird migration over central Israel. The average speed of bird flights was found to be around 14 m/s in spring and 13 m/s in autumn, the minimum and maximum flight speed being 8 m/s and 18 m/s, respectively.


Design process determines 80% of the whole environmental impact generated by a product or service. This paper intends to describe a simplified renewed procedure for the analysis and selection of materials capable of providing fast and reliable information to those designers that are interested to minimize the life-cycle environmental burden of products and services, the so called EcoAudit. The here presented EcoAudit procedure assesses the burden associated to a component/product by means of a customized set of environmental impact indicators, without exploring all parameters that are usually provided by a LCA study. The set of environmental impact indicators that are here adopted for this purpose are the energy consumption (energy breakdown in terms of direct and indirect contributors, MJ per functional unit), the global warming potential (in terms of CO2 equiv per functional unit) and the end of life possibilities (in terms of effective practicable scenarios, i.e. of recycling). The first two indicators may be intended as ''key environmental performance indicators'' (''KEPIs''). This approach allows a fast preliminary ranking of materials and processes identifying the most relevant critical phases of a system, making the ecodesign process really starting. The integration within the Cambridge Engineering Selector 2009 EcoAudit tool allows to search and browse materials data, calculating the environmental load in a real time. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MH200918]


Migraine is a painful condition that predominantly affects women. Aside from the headache pain, migraine sufferers can experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and increased levels of stress, anger, and apprehension both during and between attacks (the cycle of migraine). Moreover, migraine is associated with the impairment of social, family, and work-related activities. Unfortunately, clinicians tend to focus treatment on the frequency and severity of migraine and often fail to address the overall functional impairment associated with this disorder. The goal of this review is to highlight the cycle of migraine and discuss its impact on the health and well-being of women. The frequency and severity of migraines, including interictal symptoms, should be considered when deciding on the most appropriate migraine therapy. Attention should also be given to the potential association between migraine and the physiological and hormonal changes that occur during menarche, pregnancy, or perimenopause. Healthcare providers should ask specific questions and be encouraged to expand dialogue with patients to reveal the full impact that migraine has on the daily activities of women both during and between attacks. This can help improve treatment strategies for the patient, with the goal of substantially improving symptoms, interictal distress, and the performance of their daily activities.


As more packages or chips are integrated into a single system in recent electronic designs, power/ground planes tend to contain numerous and diverse features than ever, such as via holes, small apertures, plane gaps, etc. Although dimensions of these features are usually very small compared to the power/ground planes, their influence on the power delivery network cannot be neglected. However, power/ground plane analysis methods using square or rectangular meshes, such as multilayer-finite difference method, can generate large number of unit cells for small features in a large design. Multi-scale structures can be effectively meshed by using triangular mesh scheme, which can then be solved using finite element method (FEM). However, it is difficult to include external circuit elements to FEM, since the equivalent circuit model of FEM is not physically intuitive. In this article, a new modeling method, multilayer triangle element method, which is efficient for solving multi-scale and multilayer power/ground plane structures with external circuit elements, is presented.


The paper presents an application of the Variance Gamma distribution to price multivariate derivatives. The paper focuses on the practical implementation of the model in a multivariate setting. Several calibration procedures are discussed and applied to examples. In particular, we focus on the pricing differences for several exotic structures between the MultiVariate Variance-Gamma Model and the MultiVariate Black-Scholes Flat Volatility Model.


JESD204B compliant low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), and source-series-terminated (SST) transmitters in 28 nm FD-SOI CMOS technology are presented with 1.1 pJ/bit and 1.7 pJ/bit at 12.5 Gb/s, respectively. An external 6.25 GHz single-ended clock, which is terminated internally with mid-common-mode termination, is used for half-rate operation in both designs, which can achieve open eye diagrams at 12.5 Gb/s data rate. Both transmitters are measured and compared in terms of design complexity, power consumption, area, and signal integrity performance. From architecture selection to circuit design, power consumption is minimized while maintaining the maximum data rate that the JESD204B standard supports. High-speed standard cell ESD diodes are employed for the pads to achieve >1kV HBM ESD protection, while adding 200 fF parasitic capacitance.


Trait-based invasiveness studies typically categorize exotic species as invasive or non-invasive, implicitly assuming species form two homogenous groups. However, species can become invasive in different ways (e.g. high abundance, fast spread), likely relying on different functional traits to do so. As such, binary classification may obscure traits associated with invasiveness. We tested whether: (1) the way invasiveness is quantified influences its correlation with functional traits; and (2) different demography-based metrics are better explained by different sets of traits. Using a case study of 251 herbs exotic to Victoria, Australia, we quantified species' invasiveness using 10 metrics - four continuous, demography-based dimensions of invasiveness (spread rate, local abundance, geographic and environmental range sizes) and six binary classifications of invasiveness (based on alternative sources and invasion criteria). We examined the correlation between species' invasiveness and a set of four traits known to relate to plant demography and invasion. Then, we examined whether different demographic dimensions of invasiveness were better explained by different sets of traits. We found that the way invasiveness was quantified was important: different traits explained each invasiveness metric, and some traits showed opposite effects across metrics. Species with fast spread were either tall with small seeds (i.e. good colonizers), or had heavy, animal-dispersed seeds. Plants with large environmental range had greater plasticity for some traits. Locally abundant plants had low SLA and heavy seeds (i.e. strong competitors). Animal dispersal was also key to reach large geographic range. No traits were consistently related to the six binary classifications. Our results indicate that exotic plants are invasive in different ways and rely on different combinations of traits to do so. Some traits (e.g. seed mass) had complex relationships with invasion: they promoted, hampered or had no influence on different dimensions of invasiveness. Our findings are consistent with the notion that plant species use strategies which may be near-optimal under some, but not all, ecological conditions. Compared to binary classifications of invasiveness, the use of invasiveness dimensions advances clearer hypothesis-testing in invasion science.


This manuscript investigates the structural and electrical properties of a Ba0.75Bi0.25Ni0.7Mn0.3O3 (BNMO) perovskite compound synthesized through the sol–gel method. The orthorhombic crystal structure of the sample is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The electrical conductivity of BNMO is found to increase with frequency, indicating the presence of local charge carriers. The AC electrical conductivity follows Jonscher's equation, exhibiting a plateau at low frequencies and a power-law behavior at high frequencies. The activation energy for conduction is determined to be 0.654 eV. Impedance spectroscopy reveals the presence of grain and grain boundary contributions, which are modeled using an R–CPE combination circuit. Analysis of the electrical modulus demonstrates non-Debye type relaxation and indicates the presence of charge carrier hopping between Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions. The activation energy obtained from the relaxation peaks of the modulus is found to be 0.674 eV. The dielectric constant exhibits high values that increase with temperature. This observation suggests that the capacitance behavior holds promising potential for energy storage applications, making it a suitable candidate for various technological uses.


Although education is considered as one of the most effective approaches in terms of addressing sustainability challenges and formulating solutions, traditional education methods remain inadequate in this regard. This is because these methods are based on passive and teacher-centred approaches to learning. In this context, the experiential education and active learning framework, grounded in John Dewey's constructivism and pragmatism, is an alternative to traditional educational approaches, emphasizing student participation and supporting praxis.

This qualitative research aims to evaluate the impacts of an experiential and active learning framework on learner's knowledge of local and global sustainability challenges. This has been undertaken through fieldwork conducted in cooperation with the South African Eco-Schools Programme. The main focus of the study is at the primary school level, primarily Grades 6 – 7. Data has been collected through semi-structured and unstructured interviews with teachers, educators, learners and academics, as well as observations of workshops, learning activities and school grounds. A review of relevant documentation, including school portfolios and Eco-School documents, was also undertaken.

Research results demonstrate that the South African education system still experiences major problems in providing a quality education for all learners, due mainly to existing socio-economic problems. It was found that teacher guidance was crucial to the success of education for sustainability, especially in the context of significant social problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and resulting high percentage of orphans in schools, as well as limited resources for learning. Therefore, the Deweyan paradigm, which is grounded in learner-centred concepts and considers teachers only as facilitators, might be applicable elsewhere in South African context, however cannot be considered as an efficient approach within the scope of the study. Further, findings indicated that classroom education, which incorporates real-life stories and narratives, followed by active involvement and experiments, give the best education results, in relation with learning local and global sustainability challenges. Significantly, the major contribution of experiential and active learning approaches in South African primary schools is to an improvement in the quality of basic education, especially with regard to basic skills such as literacy and numeracy.


Fecundity and some other reproductive characteristics of tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi females are studied for the first time in the area at southeastern Kamchatka on the materials collected in spring and summer aboard research vessels (in 2016 and 2019) and fishing boats (in 2020). The females with new eggs prevailed in the catches. The size of functional sexual maturity was determined as 79 mm. The implemented fertility was estimated as 93.4 ± 28.1.103 eggs in 2016 and 115.7 ± 24.5.103 eggs in 2019, on average. Reproductive effort and K/r-coefficient were evaluated; their relatively high values confirmed r-strategy of tanner crab reproduction.


This study was carried out on the Vidlic Mountain, eastern Serbia. The herb layer was surveyed in permanent plots on two localities: in a naturally regenerated beech forest and in a Douglas-fir plantation, in spring, summer and autumn 2011, 2012 and 2013. Air temperature, air humidity and soil moisture were measured. Species richness, Shannon's diversity index and Pielou's evenness index were calculated for each plot. Comparison of the abundances of species common to both forest stands was done using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The compositional gradient of the species data was examined using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and the species-environment relationship was analyzed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Soil moisture and the total herb cover significantly differed in the naturally regenerated beech forest and Douglas-fir plantation. Floristic similarity between the surveyed forest stands was 28.12%. Although the dominant canopy species is known to be the strongest predictor of the herb layer, the model that includes all of the analyzed environmental factors explains the largest amount of the species variability. The species best fitted to this model are Dryopteris filix-mas, Galium odoratum, Pulmonaria officinalis, Sanicula europaea , Pteridium aquilinum and Rubus caesius . The analyzed forest stands are examples of two different post-disturbance regeneration strategies. Having in mind the limitations of this study, we can conclude that the naturally regenerated beech forest recovers faster: its herbaceous layer indicated nearly natural conditions, with only a few pioneer and disturbance-tolerant species. The herb layer in the Douglas-fir stand is still in the early seral stage, i.e. establishment. Key words : beech; Douglas-fir; overstory effect; temperate forests Received : July 27, 2015; Revised : September 29, 2015; Accepted : October 3, 2015; Published online : April 18, 2016


One of the distinct features of this century has been the population of older adults which has been on a constant rise. Elderly people have several needs and requirements due to physical disabilities, cognitive issues, weakened memory and disorganized behavior, that they face with increasing age. The extent of these limitations also differs according to the varying diversities in elderly, which include age, gender, background, experience, skills, knowledge and so on. These varying needs and challenges with increasing age, limits abilities of older adults to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) in an independent manner. To add to it, * Corresponding Author's Email: email@example.com. Nirmalya Thakur and Chia Y. Han 62 the shortage of caregivers creates a looming need for technology-based services for elderly people, to assist them in performing their daily routine tasks to sustain their independent living and active aging. To address these needs, this work consists of making three major contributions in this field. First, it provides a rather comprehensive review of assisted living technologies aimed at helping elderly people to perform ADLs. Second, the work discusses the challenges identified through this review, that currently exist in the context of implementation of assisted living services for elderly care in Smart Homes and Smart Cities. Finally, the work also outlines an approach for implementation, extension and integration of the existing works in this field for development of a much-needed framework that can provide personalized assistance and user-centered behavior interventions to elderly as per their varying and ever-changing needs.


Objective: This study analyzed the effectiveness of filling the root canal with calcium hydroxide paste using the Lentulo spiral at different speeds. Methods: Thirty mandibular premolars after root canal preparation were divided in three groups. Calcium hydroxide paste was inserted in the root canals with a Lentulo spiral at 5,000 rpm (G1), 10,000 rpm (G2) and 15,000 rpm (G3). The optical density was determined by the use of the digital radiography system Kodak Dental RGV-5000. Results: The highest optical density obtained in the apical third was in G3 and in the middle and cervical third in G1. Statistical difference (Kruskal-Wallis Anova) was observed (p 0.05). Conclusion: Different speeds are necessary for the correct filling of the root canal with calcium hydroxide paste. The 15,000 rpm speed was more effective in filling the apical third and 5,000 rpm speed was more effective in filling the cervical and middle thirds.


Gibberellic acid (10 muM) causes lettuce hypocotyl cells to elongate by 400-500% more than water controls in 72 hr. Kinetic data indicate that whereas in water controls cell elongation occurs between 24 and 48 hr, in gibberellic-acid-treated material it starts at 8 hr and continues to 72 hr. Dry weight of the cell wall shows a corresponding increase with cell elongation. Two-hour pulse labeling with [(14)C]glucose, however, indicates a peak in the incorporation of label in the wall fraction at 8 hr, when growth has only just begun, and a progressive decline later, when elongation is occurring at maximum rate. The peak coincides with extensive dictyosomal activity, proliferation of endoplasmic reticulum and polyribosomes, and connections between the endoplasmic reticulum and plasmalemma in both water- and gibberellic-acid-treated hypocotyls. At later times, the cells contain only a thin layer of cytoplasm and no special cytological features are observed. These observations indicate that, although cell growth in lettuce hypocotyls is accompanied by wall synthesis, nevertheless the cells undergo their most rapid polysaccharide and protein synthesis prior to extension growth. They also explain the earlier reported "enhanced sensitivity" of lettuce hypocotyls to gibberellic acid application at 8 hr after the beginning of the experiment.


Agricultural mechanics holds an important place in agricultural education programs. Teacher efficacy in regards to teaching agricultural mechanics is also important. We used a questionnaire to survey agricultural education teachers in Iowa regarding agricultural mechanics. Spearman Rho correlations were used to determine the magnitude of the relationship between teachers' perceived competency to teach agricultural mechanics skills and the adequacy of tools and equipment available to teach agricultural mechanics skills in school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. Correlations between tool adequacy and perceived competency to teach agricultural mechanics skills were identified as statistically significant (p < .05) in all 54 content areas addressed within the instrument. The results of the present study aligned with prior research regarding perceived competency and available teaching resources. The possibility exists that a lack of competency in a given skill area may result from, or may result in, a lack of adequate tools and equipment available to teach within that particular skill area. Perhaps the converse is instead true. We recommend that program stakeholders work to ensure that teachers are competent, and have access to adequate tools and equipment necessary, to teach agricultural mechanics.


The process that triggered spontaneous recurrence of methamphetamine (MAP)-induced paranoid-hallucinatory psychosis, a phenomenon known as flashbacks, was studied in 41 subjects with flashbacks, along with 84 subjects with a history of previous MAP psychosis but no flashbacks. Plasma levels of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine, and their respective metabolites were assayed in 28 of the 41 flashbackers, 16 of the 84 non-flashbackers, 9 subjects with persistent MAP psychosis, and 28 healthy controls comprised of 20 MAP users and 8 non-users. None of the 28 controls had become psychotic. The 41 flashbackers had experienced significantly greater frequencies of threatening events and frightening paranoid-hallucinatory states during previous MAP use than the 84 non-flashbackers. The dominant factor that triggered flashbacks was a mild fear of other persons. The 41 flashbackers may have encoded threatening experiences as frightening images. Repeated MAP use with threatening experiences may induce sensitization to frightening images. Plasma NE levels during flashbacks were significantly higher than the levels during periods of normalcy, and the NE levels in the 20 user and 8 non-user controls. The 9 subjects with persistent MAP psychosis had significant higher levels of NE than the user and non-user controls. The 16 non-flashbackers had significantly higher MHPG levels than the user controls. The findings suggest that MAP use may induce changes at pharmacological levels in the process underlying sensitization to frightening images. We suggested that when the flashbackers experienced a mild fear of other persons, MAP-induced sensitization to frightening images may have been actualized. Thus, the flashbacks may have been caused through increased noradrenergic hyperactivity.


Finding a high-performance low-Pt bipolar electrocatalyst in actual direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) remains challenging and desirable. Here, we developed a crystalline PdPtCu@amorphous subnanometer Pd-Pt "dual site" layer core-shell structure for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and alcohol (methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and their mixtures) oxidation reaction (AOR) in an alkaline electrolyte (denoted D-PdPtCu). The prepared D-PdPtCu/C achieved a direct 4-electron ORR pathway, a full oxidation pathway for AOR, and high CO tolerance. The ORR mass activity (MA) of D-PdPtCu/C delivered a 52.8- or 59.3-fold increase over commercial Pt/C or Pd/C, respectively, and no activity loss after 20000 cycles. The D-PdPtCu/C also exhibited much higher AOR MA and stability than Pt/C or Pd/C. Density functional theory revealed the intrinsic nature of a subnanometer Pd-Pt "dual site" surface for ORR and AOR activity enhancement. The D-PdPtCu/C as an effective bipolar electrocatalyst yielded higher peak power densities than commercial Pt/C in actual DAFCs.


High-performing on-chip instruction caches are crucial to keep fast processors busy. Unfortunately, while on-chip caches are usually successful at intercepting instruction fetches in loop-intensive engineering codes, they are less able to do so in large systems codes. To improve the performance of the latter codes, the compiler can be used to lay out the code in memory for reduced cache conflicts. Interestingly, such an operation leaves the code in a state that can be exploited by a new type of instruction prefetching: guarded sequential prefetching.The idea is that the compiler leaves hints in the code as to how the code was laid out. Then, at run time, the prefetching hardware detects these hints and uses them to prefetch more effectively. This scheme can be implemented very cheaply: one bit encoded in control transfer instructions and a prefetch module that requires minor extensions to existing next-line sequential prefetchers. Furthermore, the scheme can be turned off and on at run time with the toggling of a bit in the TLB. The scheme is evaluated with simulations using complete traces from a 4-processor machine. Overall, for 16-Kbyte primary instruction caches, guarded sequential prefetching removes, on average, 66% of the instruction misses remaining in an operating system with an optimized layout, speeding up the operating system by 10%. Moreover, the scheme is more cost-effective and robust than existing sequential prefetching techniques.


As a potential alternative to lead-bearing soldering technology, conductive adhesive technology has attracted more and more attention of the electronics industry. This new technology can offer numerous advantages over traditional soldering technology. However, some critical limitations of this technology, such as lower electrical conductivity and unstable contact resistance during elevated temperature and humidity aging, have slowed its potentially wide applications in electronics industry. In this study, innovative organic corrosion inhibitors were discovered and introduced into a typical ECA formulation. With the incorporation of small amount of the additives, obviously lower bulk resistivity of ECAs and significantly stabilized contact resistance on Sn surfaces could be achieved. Contact angle and FTIR characterization indicated the affinity and interaction between the corrosion inhibitors and the metal surfaces. A barrier passivation layer could form on Sn surfaces during the processing for ECA with the effective corrosion inhibitors. X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed that such a passivation layer could protect the Sn surface and prevent oxidation and corrosion under the elevated temperature and humidity environment.


The outcome could be improved by targeting RLAI treatment at
specific patient groups and optimizing the dose. RLAI should be
quickly titrated to an effective dose in patients known to be
responsive to antipsychotic treatment. The high frequency of co
medication in our sample indicates a certain level of
pharmacoresistance. In spite of this, a significant decrease in
concomitant medication was observed. Therapeutic drug
monitoring is another possibility for optimizing treatment with
RLAI.


Abstract Four species of isorophinid edrioasteroids, Ulrichidiscus forbesi n. sp., Neoisorophusella whitesidei n. sp., Postibulla westergaardi n. sp., and Parapostibulla graysoni n. sp., are described from unnamed unit 1 of the Golf Course Formation, Dornick Hills Group, Lower Pennsylvanian (Morrowan), at Forbes Ranch, north of Marietta, southern Oklahoma. This locality is the first report of edrioasteroids attached to extraformational clasts, and they exhibit extremely high specimen density and the highest taxonomic diversity known from the post-Ordovician. The associated fauna consists of the stemless crinoid Paragassizocrinus tarri, serpulid worm tubes, and the acrothoracic barnacle boring, Rogerella, along with a few brachiopods, rugose corals, and other open marine organisms. Edrioasteroids show no preference for clast type, size, or shape. Intraspecific spatial competition is shown by polygonal specimen outlines in highly crowded conditions, whereas interspecific competition results in specimen overgrowth in a predictable manner.


Abstract: The present article seeks to analyze human rights from a gender perspective. To do so, it goes back to the past to explain the development of the society of rights and women's rights. The analysis starts from the premise that human rights are social products and therefore will reflect and represent the values and interests of the society that produced them, in this case, capitalist society. One of the values of this society is patriarchy and the idea of the superiority of men as a social actor in relation to women. This value is represented in human rights that nevertheless have universality as one of its characteristics: the idea that all people are subjects of such rights independently of any identities. Therefore, the legal text in which human rights were coined affirms an equality that does not exist in practice, since women are violated and their rights are violated every day, in addition to the gender inequality present throughout the world. As an example and materialization of this reality, the Campo Algodonero Case, introduced to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, appears as the first case of the Court to mention femicide, showing the vulnerability of women's life and integrity.


The numerical simulation and experimental results of a shaped reflector hybrid antenna (SRHA) structure are presented. The SRHA design was optimized for a scan range of plusmn3deg for a broadside of 45deg in elevation to maintain a gain of more than 38 dBi and low side-lobes. The designed SRHA has an aperture size of less than 60 times 70 m2 and an offset structure for a low profile to meet the need for a mobile satellite platform. The antenna geometry and reflector surface was determined by a geometrical optic (GO) method and the radiation pattern was obtained by physical optic (PO) analysis. A microstrip horn array was used as a feeder and was composed of eight elements. The number of array elements was chosen so as to maximize antenna performances, such as gain and efficiency, without overdesign. The SRHA breadboard, including a shaped reflector and a feed horn array, was fabricated and measured. The measured results showed good agreement with the simulation and met the performance required of SRHA.


The clinical signs and pathological findings of clinical Q fever in dairy goats in the Netherlands are described. The disease is characterized by endemic or epidemic abortion in late pregnancy, stillbirth, or the birth of weak kids. These consequences of Coxiella burnetii infection appear to have increased during recent years in the Dutch dairy goat population. Detection of the agent in placental tissue by immunohistochemistry has proven diagnostically useful.


In the light of an increased concern for environmental education (especially in the context of sustainable development) in the UK, this study used questionnaire surveys to explore the understanding of 170 practising primary school teachers, 120 primary trainees and 88 secondary science trainees in four areas: biodiversity, the carbon cycle, ozone and global warming. A methodological innovation in this research was the prior identification of basic scientific explanations of each area for a primary teacher and the use of these as benchmarks for judging understanding. Knowledge of the component parts of these explanations was tested in the questionnaires. Hence the study was able to identify those underpinning science concepts which were well understood, and those which were not so well understood. The frequencies of several misconceptions, uncovered in earlier interviews and also included in the questionnaires, are also reported. It is suggested that both the basic explanations and the difficulties of unde...


Introduction Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder with a variable cardiac phenotype and a defined risk of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). To-date however, there is no accepted tool for risk prediction in FD and the ESC calculator in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specifically excludes lysosomal storage diseases. Data on the prevalence of VA and SCD are restricted to single centre studies and registry data. These have identified individual risk factors including age, QRS duration>120 ms, left atrial dilatation (LA), late gadolinium enhancement on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging (LGE), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of these risk factors in a Regional FD centre and to examine known markers associated with increased cardiac mortality in FD to comprehensively assess risk. Methods This was a retrospective cross sectional observational study of patients with a proven diagnosis of FD (genetic and clinical markers) attending the Regional Centre for Rare Diseases in Birmingham between 2012–16. As part of routine annual assessment, patients underwent 12-lead ECG, 24 hour holter monitoring, transthoracic echocardiography and multi-parametric CMR. The cohort was divided into 2 groups: 1) a high risk group defined by presence of either VA (≥3 consecutive ventricular beats at a rate ≥120 beats per minute) or SCD; 2) all other patients. In addition to the above 5 risk factors, genotype (cardiac variant v non-cardiac variant), high sensitivity troponin (HS Tn) and NT pro-B natriuretic peptide were included. The frequency and significance of each of these proposed risk factors was studied. Fisher's exact test was used to perform statistical analysis. Results In total 57 patients (male gender 42%, age mean 47±18 years.) were studied, of whom 13 patients had a documented VA and 2 patients suffered SCD. 11/13 in high risk group were on ERT (7±6 years.) and 21/44 in the remainder (6±3.8 years.). Identified risk factors and prevalence are outlined in Table 1. Male gender, age>50, LVH, LGE, QRS>120 ms were all more frequent in those with VA or SCD but risk was also associated with increased HS Tn and NT pro-BNP. The presence of a cardiac variant genotype did not appear to influence risk. Outcome These data confirm specific demographic, electrical and structural risk factors for VA and SCD in FD, although these are also present in those without arrhythmic events. Large multi-centre prospective studies are needed to further define the relative importance of these risk factors and their potential inter-relationship. Abstract 49 Table 1 Risk Predictors Patients with VA or SCD Patients without VA/SCD P value Male gender 9/13 (69%) 15/44 (34%) 0.05 Age>50 years 11/13 (85%) 20/44 (45%) 0.02 Left ventricular hypertrophy 13/13 (100%) 19/44 (43%) 0.0002 Presence of LGE 7/10 (70%) 12/38 (32%) 0.03 QRS duration>120 ms 7/13 (54%) 12/38 (32%) 0.03 Dilated left atrium 6/13 (46%) 9/44 (20%) 0.08 Stage ≥3 CKD 4/13 (31%) 11/44 (25%) 0.72 Classical variant 10/13 (77%) 30/44 (68%) 0.73 Positive HS troponin (>25 ng/L) 8/8 (100%) 16/33 (48%) 0.01 BNP >400 (ng/L) 10/13 (77%) 14/42 (33%) 0.009


Abstract Using a survey approach, we ask consumers to reveal their preferences over pricing schemes that may differ in terms of the average price of consumption, the amount of price variation, and the probability of being rationed. We find that consumers dislike pricing schemes that vary prices more but that they are willing to trade off price variation and rationing. Surprisingly, they are not willing to trade off an increase in price variation for a decrease in expected prices. We discuss the implications of these findings for firm pricing policies.


This paper experimentally investigates the unique behavior of transconductance (gm) in the Schottky-barrier metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (SB-MOSFETs) with various silicide materials. When the Schottky-barrier height (SBH) or a scaling parameter is not properly optimized, a peculiar shape of gm is observed. Thus, gm can be used as a novel metric that exhibits the transition of the carrier injection mechanisms from a thermionic emission (TE) to thermally assisted tunneling (TU) in the SB-MOSFETs. When the local maximum point of gm is observed, it can be expected that an incomplete transition occurs between TE and TU in SB-MOSFETs. When a dopant-segregation (DS) technique is implemented in the SB-MOSFETs, however, the carrier injection efficiency from the source to the channel is significantly improved, although the SBH is not minimized. As a consequence, the peculiar shape of the gm disappears, i.e., a complete transition from TE to TU can be enabled by the DS technique.


Chaotic transport in a laminar fluid flow in a rotating annulus is studied experimentally by tracking large numbers of tracer particles for long times. Sticking and unsticking of particles to remnants of invariant surfaces (Cantori) around vortices results in superdiffusion: The variance of the displacement grows with time as t γ with γ=1.65±0.15. Sticking and flight time probability distribution functions exhibit power-law decays with exponents 1.6±0.3 and 2.3±0.2, respectively. The exponents are consistent with theoretical predictions relating Levy flights and anomalous diffusion


OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) in the compression area during orthodontic relapse in rat molars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty Wistar rats (6 weeks old) underwent orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) of the left first maxillary molar for 21 days, followed by removal of the force device. The contralateral maxillary molar served as a control with no mechanical force stimuli. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 1, 3, 7, and 14 days of relapse after force withdrawal. Tooth relapse and alveolar bone parameters were measured using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Maxilla sections were obtained for haematoxylin and eosin (HE), immunohistochemical staining [EMMPRIN, nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)] and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Correlation analyses were then performed.

RESULTS
After force removal, nearly 79.88% of the total relapse occurred within the initial 3 days. The number of osteoclasts clearly increased while the alveolar bone density decreased on the pressure side on Day 3 of relapse. Moreover, the EMMPRIN expression level significantly increased on Day 1, peaked up on Day 3 and decreased on Days 7 and 14. Statistically, a strong positive correlation was found between EMMRPIN expression and the osteoclast number and RANKL and VEGF expression.

CONCLUSION
EMMPRIN was highly expressed on the pressure side during the orthodontic tooth relapse, which could be involved in osteoclastogenesis and alveolar bone resorption in association with RANKL and VEGF expression.


This paper reports the design, calibration and application of multiplexed arrays of piezoresistive field-effect transistor stress sensors fabricated in a standard complementary-metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. Two complementary arrays of 256-current mirror sensor cells provide high spatial density stress mapping with approximately 300 pts/mm2 using only a 1.5 μm process. The arrays are sequentially scanned by an on-chip counter, producing efficient stress measurement, and the sensors resolve normal and shear stresses on the surface of the die with resolution below 1 MPa. The CMOS sensor chips have been used to map stress over a large portion of the die in chip-on-beam and encapsulated chip-on-beam samples, as well as a ceramic dual-in-line package with its cavity filled with underfill material. Finite-element simulation results correlate well with the measured stress distributions. The experimental results from these chips are used to validate finite-element simulation models, and the array designs can be used as subarrays in much larger test chips.


Can a relativistic quantum field theory be consistently described as a theory of localizable particles? There are many known issues with such a description, indicating an answer in the negative. In this paper, we examine these obstructions by tracing how they (partially) subside in passing to an approximation of ordinary quantum mechanics in the non-relativistic regime. We undertake a recovery of the characteristic features of non-relativistic quantum mechanics beyond simply the Schrödinger equation. We find that once this is achieved, there are persisting issues in the localizability of particle states. A major focus is on the lingering discrepancy between two different localization schemes in quantum field theory. The non-relativistic approximation of the quantum field theory is achieved by introducing an ultraviolet cutoff set by the Compton scale. The other main undertaking of this paper is to quantify the fate of ground state entanglement and the Unruh effect in the non-relativistic regime. Observing that the Unruh temperature vanishes in the naive limit as the speed of light is taken to infinity motivates the question: is the Unruh effect relativistic? It happens that this is closely related to the former issues, as ground state entanglement causes obstructions to localizability through the Reeh–Schlieder theorem.


The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-awareness of managers (defined as agreement between self and other leadership ratings) would moderate relationships between (a) aspects of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behavior, and (b) transformational leadership behavior and managerial performance. Multisource data were collected from 63 managers (who responded about their emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behavior), 192 subordinates (who rated their manager's transformational leadership behavior and performance outcomes), and 63 superiors of focal managers (who rated managerial performance). Results indicated that correlations between emotional intelligence aspects, leader behavior, and performance varied as a function of self-awareness of managers. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.


Human bone marrow contains a population of non-hematopoietic stromal stem/progenitor cells (BMSCs), which play a central role for bone marrow stroma and the hematopoietic microenvironment. However, the precise characteristics and potential stem cell properties of defined BMSC populations have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Using standard adherent colony-forming unit fibroblast (CFU-F) assays, we have previously shown that BMSCs were highly enriched in the nonhematopoietic CD271pos/CD140alow/neg fraction of normal adult human bone marrow. In this study, we demonstrate that prospectively isolated CD271pos/CD140alow/neg BMSCs expressed high levels of hematopoiesis supporting genes and signature mesenchymal and multipotency genes on a single cell basis. Furthermore, CD271pos/CD140alow/neg BMSCs gave rise to non-adherent sphere colonies (mesenspheres) with typical surface marker profile and trilineage in vitro differentiation potential. Importantly, serial transplantations of CD271pos/CD140alow/neg BMSC-derived mesenspheres (single cell and bulk) into immunodeficient NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice showed increased mesensphere numbers and full differentiation potential after both primary and secondary transplantations. In contrast, BMSC self-renewal potential decreased under standard adherent culture conditions. These data therefore indicate that CD271pos/CD140alow/neg BMSCs represent a population of primary stem cells with MSC phenotype and sphere-forming capacity that fulfill stringent functional stem cell criteria in vivo in a serial transplantation setting.


The creation of the European single economic market led to an unprecedented increase in economic activity between firms and individuals across the European Economic Area (EEA). This necessitated the development of a payment services and processing infrastructure to match the increasing activity and to cater to the challenges of a single market. Prior to this, there were differences in the payment services regime of EU countries with regard to efficiency, security, execution times and fees. In fact, at this time, national payment systems were faster compared with processing times between states. Owing to these challenges, the EU introduced a regulation to promote the adoption of the payment processing system and the introduction of mechanisms for the management of any associated risk. The article assesses the circumstances and value surrounding the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) with respect to the activities of the facilitators and the consumers of the services.

First, the article describes the payment services infrastructure and the elements making up the payment services regime. This part considers the payment services framework and examines the functions of payment facilitators/schemes making up the payment space. From the discussion in this section, it is clear that the regime was instituted to promote the emergence of a seamless payment service platform to facilitate an effective and efficient payment services regime. Secondly, the article discusses the development of the regime from PSD1 to PSD2. This part of the article briefly touches on the impact of the UK's exit from the EU on the payment services regime. Thirdly, it assesses specific changes introduced by PSD2, discusses their effect and suggests ways of achieving a sustainable payment system for firms and customers. Specifically, the article considers the changes as it affects consumer protection, competition, market efficiency and security. Here, the article evaluates the impact of the activities of different parties with respect to the promotion of an efficient payment services regime. This article concludes by reiterating the improvements in payments services and highlights the opportunities for payment institutions and customers in ensuring the continued development and improvement of the payments services regime.


Federated learning suffers in the case of non-iid local datasets, i.e., when the distributions of the clients' data are heterogeneous. One promising approach to this challenge is the recently proposed method FedAUX, an augmentation of federated distillation with robust results on even highly heterogeneous client data. FedAUX is a partially $(\epsilon, \delta)$-differentially private method, insofar as the clients' private data is protected in only part of the training it takes part in. This work contributes a fully differentially private modification, termed FedAUXfdp. We further contribute an upper bound on the $l_2$-sensitivity of regularized multinomial logistic regression. In experiments with deep networks on large-scale image datasets, FedAUXfdp with strong differential privacy guarantees performs significantly better than other equally privatized SOTA baselines on non-iid client data in just a single communication round. Full privatization of the modified method results in a negligible reduction in accuracy at all levels of data heterogeneity.


A marketing and utilization survey of some forest plants tubers sold in Abeokuta markets was conducted. Four markets were chosen namely, Itoku, Kuto, Adatan and Iberekodo with ,35, 25, 20, and 20 herb sellers respectively. Hundred percent enumerations of questionnaire were administered in the Markets. The number of respondents in Itoku, Kuto, Adatan and Iberekodo were 20, 20, 16, and 15 respectively. The survey revealed that 21 plant tubers were sold and utilized for medical purposes. The tubers are used to cure 14 ailments/disease conditons and symptoms among which are malaria, convulsion, dizziness, pile, rheumatism, cough and stroke. Due to their perishable nature, these tubers are either stored in a ventilated areas or buried in the ground. The survey also revealed that married people (48%) engaged fully in the business to support their dependants.Most of them are (55%) illiterates since the business has been associated with the aged over the years. The price of each plant tuber ranged from N10 to N50; the cost of each tuber in all the four markets were the same. It is recommended that more work be done on the contribution of these forest plant tubers to the national economy and the likely consequences of their unregulated exploitation.


Manganese (Mn), administered intranasally in rats, is effectively taken up in the CNS via the olfactory system. In the present study, Mn (as MnCl(2)) dissolved in physiological saline, was instilled intranasally in rats at doses of 0 (control), 10, 250, or 1000 microg. At the start of the experiment each rat received an intranasal instillation. Some rats were killed after one week without further treatment (the 1-w group), whereas the remaining rats received further instillations after one and two weeks and were killed after an additional week (the 3-w group). The brains were removed and either used for ELISA-determination of the astrocytic proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S-100b or histochemical staining of GFAP and S-100b, microglia (using an antibody against the iba1-protein) and the neuronal marker Fluoro-Jade. There were no indications that the Mn induced neuronal damage. On the other hand, the ELISA showed that both GFAP and S-100b decreased in the olfactory cortex, the hypothalamus, the thalamus, and the hippocampus of the 3-w group. The only effect observed in the 1-w group was a decrease of S-100b in the olfactory cortex at the highest dose. The immunohistochemistry showed no noticeable reduction in the number of astrocytes. We assume that the decreased levels of GFAP and S-100b are due to an adverse effect of Mn on the astrocytes, although this effect does not result in astrocytic demise. In the 3-w group, exposed to the highest dose of Mn, increased levels of GFAP and S-100b were observed in the olfactory bulbs, but these effects are probably secondary to a Mn-induced damage of the olfactory epithelium. Our results indicate that the astrocytes are the initial targets of Mn toxicity in the CNS.


Retrons are bacterial genetic elements comprised of a reverse transcriptase (RT) and a non-coding RNA. The RT uses the non-coding RNA as a template, generating a chimeric RNA/DNA molecule in which the RNA and DNA components are covalently linked. Although retrons were discovered three decades ago, their function remained unknown. In this study we report that retrons function as anti-phage defense systems. The defensive unit is composed of three components: the RT, the non-coding RNA, and an effector protein. Retron-containing systems are abundant in genomic "defense islands", suggesting a role for most retrons in phage resistance. By cloning multiple retron systems into a retron-less Escherichia coli strain, we show that these systems confer defense against a broad range of phages, with different retrons defending against different phages. Focusing on a single retron, Ec48, we show evidence that it is a "guardian" of RecBCD, a complex with central anti-phage functions in the bacterial cell. Inhibition of RecBCD by dedicated phage proteins activates the retron, leading to abortive infection and cell death. Thus, the Ec48 retron forms a second line of defense that is triggered if the first lines of defense have collapsed. Our results expose a new family of anti-phage defense systems abundant in bacteria.


Yuniyarti Arsitasari. R0314060. Continuous Midwifery Care on Mrs. I Aged 29 Years Old at Community Health Center of Setabelan, Surakarta. The Study Program of Diploma III in Midwifery Science, the Faculty of Medicine, Sebelas Maret University. Background: The coverage of health aids by health workers of Community Health Center of Setabelan was 86.80%, and that of active family planning acceptors was 76.65%. Continuous midwifery care was required by Mrs. I with moderate anemia gestation, normal maternal delivery, normal postpartum, neonate with icteric of Level I, and calendar system contraception. Implementation: During the gestational period, Mrs. I was supplemented with Fe tablets of Fe 60 mg and food containing iron substance and nutrition. The delivery was normal with the first stage observation of labor, the second stage observation of labor, the third active stage management of labor, and the fourth stage observation of labor. The postpartum was normal. Observation was done on the postpartum danger signs and breastfeeding complications. Counseling of early family planning was performed. In the neonatal care, the infant was found to have icteric of Level I. It was handled by increasing the frequency of breast milk administration to the infant and exposing the infant to the morning sunlight. Counseling on calendar system contraception was performed. Evaluation: Mrs. I's Hb level increased from 8.3 gr/dL to 11.2 gr/dL. Her delivery was normal and spontaneous for five hours and forty minutes. No complications were found during the postpartum period. The infant's icteric disappeared on Day 7. She chose calendar system contraception. Conclusion and Recommendation: The care extended to Mrs. I was effective. A gap was found in the family planning contraception selection. Mrs. I is expected to be wiser by choosing long-term family contraception such as IUD. Keywords: Midwifery care, continuous, Community Health Center of Setabelan


This article describes a new body stereotaxic system that defines a fiducial point by means of a skin localization device placed directly on the patient. The system uses a rectilinear stereotaxic frame to guide the needles along the calculated path. A method for calculating paths that require angulations from one scan slice to another is described, as well. The system was tested in a foam phantom and shown to be intrinsically accurate in vitro to within 2 mm in both the x and y axis.


A growing body of evidence supports the use of fractals to approximate the heterogeneous structure of soil. Fractal models of transport processes in soil indicate that the fractal dimension and the upper limit to fractal scaling (denoted ξ) determine flow rates and scaling properties. A two‐dimensional Monte Carlo simulation of soil aggregation is used to identify the key processes which may lead to fractal‐like scaling in the soil matrix. A bonding law is developed which parameterizes the relative importance of chemical bonding to binding by microbial by‐products and fungi. We investigate the sensitivity of the fractal dimension and ξ to the nature of the bonding law, and to aggregate fragmentation, initial particle size distribution and mechanical restructuring. Fractal‐like structures result from the aggregation process. However, the measured fractal dimension is insensitive to the detailed form of the bonding law. The factor that most sensitively influences the fractal dimension is found to be mechanical restructuring such as would arise from the action of roots, soil fauna and natural weathering. By contrast, ξ is most sensitive to the bonding law. The results suggest that the fractal dimension and characteristic diameter of aggregates should be uncorrelated, and that increased binding by microbial by‐products and fungi should produce larger, less dense, aggregates.


A continuously scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (CSLDV) system is capable of efficient and spatially dense vibration measurements by sweeping its laser spot along a scan path assigned on a structure. This paper proposes a new operational modal analysis (OMA) method based on a data processing method for CSLDV measurements of a structure, called the lifting method, under white-noise excitation and applies a baseline-free method to identify structural damage using estimated mode shapes from the OMA method. The lifting method enables transformation of raw CSLDV measurements into measurements at individual virtual measurement points, as if the latter were made by use of an ordinary scanning laser Doppler vibrometer in a step-wise manner. It is shown that a correlation function with nonnegative time delays between lifted CSLDV measurements at two virtual measurement points on a structure under white-noise excitation and its power spectrum contain modal parameters of the structure, that is, natural frequencies, modal damping ratios, and mode shapes. The modal parameters can be estimated by using a standard OMA algorithm. A major advantage of the proposed OMA method is that curvature mode shapes associated with mode shapes estimated by the method can reflect local anomaly caused by small-sized structural damage, while those estimated by other existing OMA methods that use CSLDV measurements cannot. Numerical and experimental investigations are conducted to study the OMA method and baseline-free structural damage identification method. In the experimental investigation, effects of the scan frequency of a CSLDV system on the two methods were studied. It is shown in both the numerical and experimental investigations that modal parameters can be accurately estimated by the OMA method and structural damage can be successfully identified in neighborhoods with consistently high values of curvature damage indices.


Objectives: The measurement of VO2max is important for assessing the cardiovascular capacity of the body. Cardiovascular fitness is one of the factors affecting physical fitness and plays a key role in endurance exercise performance. However, measuring VO2max requires maximal exercise tests that may not be feasible to everyone. Hence, it is remarkable to find a method that can contribute to estimate VO2max without the need for physical activity and with the help of allometric equations. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the selected allometric equations for the measurement of VO2max (maximal oxygen uptake) in Iranian youth aged 18-25 years to calculate the maximal aerobic power of individuals. Methodology: The present study was conducted on 44 young male volunteers aged 18-25 years in Hamadan (Iran). After measuring the anthropometric variables, direct measurement of respiratory gases was used to measure VO2max and then to compare with the value obtained from selected allometric equations. Results: The current study aimed to determine the validity of three allometric equations for predicting VO2max specific to Iranian youth using the direct measurement of respiratory gases. The findings indicated potent correlation between the three VO2max prediction equations of Neville's, VO2max = 0.244 × m0.699, Weibel's, VO2max = 93 × m0.849 and Beunen's, VO2max = 1.94 × m0.75 (R = 0.66-0.68, sig = 0.000) and direct measurement of aerobic power. Conclusion: Since easy calculation of VO2max is of great importance and weight can be measured easily in human research, especially in sports and healthcare centers, some of the allometric predictive models of VO2max using weight measurement as an alternative to physical activity may seem to be employed by studies related to epidemiology or cardiovascular health promotion, as well as by sports coaches at talent identification centers for young people. Also, due to the high correlation (R = 0.66-0.68) obtained from the direct measurement of respiratory gases and selected allometric equations, these can be used to estimate the aerobic power of young people with high validity and no longer need to boring maximal exercise tests.


Color is frequently used in urban outdoor spaces, but little research has studied its psychological effects. This study explores the influence of sidewalk floor color on the restorative walking experience in a busy, inner city street lacking natural greenery. We used an achromatic street view image with no vegetation or trees as control. Red, green, and blue were used as "artificial" intervention colors in the sidewalk ground plane to generate 3 visual stimuli. Participants (n=66) rated the perceived restorativeness of the scene and their subjective mood on viewing each image via an online survey. The results indicate "artificial" green ground color, e.g. provided by paint or colored material, promoted a more restorative walking experience enhancing hedonic tone and arousal and increased relaxation more than red ground color. All three color-interventions improved perceived restorativeness and arousal. This study advances the understanding of the psychological impact of color in urban design.


The piezoelectric actuator demonstrates superior characteristics of high displacement resolution, miniature size, high-frequency response, strong power, no generate heat etc, So it is used in nano systems widely. But its inherent hysteresis, creep and non-linearity affect positioning accuracy seriously. In this paper, through the investigative experiment of a large travel piezoelectric actuator worktable's creep characteristics, creep characteristic curve and the rules of the piezoelectric actuator creep were found. Based on the rules of the piezoelectric actuator creep characteristics, the piezoelectric actuator creep resistance driving method of two-level reversely applied voltage could remarkably reduce the creep error of system, namely, applying stepped voltage reversely according to two stages. The experiments show that the creep error of the system has been reduced from 3.80% to 0.26%, the period of creep tends to be stable, and also has been shortened within 10 seconds. This driving method make the quick and precise piezoelectric actuator positioning control with large displacement become possible. It also provides further scientific method to amend and reduce the creep effect of piezoelectric actuator, and improves the positioning accuracy of the system.


BACKGROUND
Thyroid hormone (TH) deficiency has been associated with increased cholesterol gallstone prevalence. Hypothyroidism impacts hepatic lipid homeostasis, biliary secretion, gallbladder motility and gallstone (LITH) gene expression, i.e. potential factors contributing to cholesterol gallstone disease (CGD). However, how TH deficiency may propel gallstone formation is still poorly understood. Therefore, we performed molecular studies in a CGD mouse model under lithogenic conditions and modulation of TH status.

METHODS
Male three months old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a control (eu), a hypothyroid (hypo), a gallstone (litho) and a gallstone+hypothyroid (litho+hypo) group and treated for two, four and six weeks (n=8/treatment period). Gallstone prevalence, biliary composition and cholesterol crystals, hepatic expression of genes participating in cholesterol, bile acid (BA) and phosphatidylcholine synthesis (Hmgcr, Cyp7a1, Pcyt1a) and canalicular transport (Abcg5, Bsep, Abcb4) were investigated.

RESULTS
Increased cholesterol gallstone prevalence was observed in hypothyroid mice under lithogenic diet after four and six weeks of treatment (4 weeks: 25% vs. 0%; 6 weeks: 75% vs. 37.5%). Interestingly, neither the composition of the three main biliary components, cholesterol, BAs and phosphatidylcholine nor the hepatic expression of genes involved in synthesis and transport could explain the differences in cholesterol gallstone formation in the mice. However, TH deficiency resulted in significantly increased hydrophobicity of primary BAs in bile. Furthermore downregulation of hepatic sulfonation enzymes Papss2 and Sult2a8 as well as diminished biliary BA sulfate concentrations in mice, were observed under hypothyroid conditions all contributing to a lithogenic biliary milieu as evidenced by microscopic cholesterol crystals and macroscopic gallstone formation.

CONCLUSIONS
We describe a novel pathogenic link between TH deficiency and CGD and suggest that the increased hydrophobic character of biliary BAs due to the diminished expression of hepatic detoxification enzymes promotes cholesterol crystal precipitation and finally enhances cholesterol gallstone formation in the bile of hypothyroid mice.


As the reader might appreciate after reading Fletcher's 1953 views, in 1918 Fletcher had taken on the toughest problem of all: to quantify and model how we hear and understand speech. This understanding allowed AT&T Bell Labs engineers to develop the necessary specifications of what was to become the largest telephone network in the world. The problems that Fletcher and his colleagues studied were so complicated, and took so many years, that it has been difficult to appreciate the magnitude of their accomplishments. It is therefore understandable why his work has had such a great impact on our lives. Almost single-handedly he created the fields of communication acoustics and speech and hearing as we know them today. Everyone who has ever used the telephone has reaped the benefit provided by this man and his genius. von Békésy, Davis, Stevens, and Zwicker are some of the names that come to mind when we think of hearing. Bell invented the telephone, and Edison made it into a practical device. Harvey Fletcher may not be as well known as these men today, but his scientific contributions to the fields of telephony, hearing, and human communication are absolutely unsurpassed. Given this present opportunity to reflect back on this great man, I would describe Harvey Fletcher as the singular intellectual force in the development of present-day communication acoustics and telephony.


Background: Many patients with essential blepharospasm also show dry eye signs and symptoms. Botulinum toxin A is an effective treatment for reducing spasms in these patients. In this investigation, the effect of botulinum toxin A injections on tear function and on the morphology of the ocular surface in patients suffering from blepharospasm in combination with a dry eye syndrome was investigated. Methods: Botulinum toxin A injections were applied to 16 patients with blepharospasm. All patients complained of dry eye symptoms and had reduced tear break up time values. A subjective questionnaire and ocular examinations including tear break up time, Schirmer test without local anaesthesia, and rose bengal staining were evaluated before, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after injection. Impression cytology was performed before, 1 month, and 3 months after botulinum toxin A treatment. Results: Although all patients were relieved of blepharospasm after botulinum toxin injections, only three noticed an improvement in dry eye symptoms. Eight patients noticed no difference and five complained of worsening. Tear break up time was found to be increased 1 week and 1 month after injections. Schirmer test measurements were reduced up to 3 months. Rose bengal staining slightly increased 1 week after injections. Impression cytology showed no definite change in conjunctival cell morphology 1 month and 3 months after botulinum toxin A injections. Conclusion: In the patients presented here suffering from blepharospasm and dry eye, botulinum toxin A injections were effective in relieving blepharospasm but were not successful in treating dry eye syndrome.


Particulate matters generated during cooking contain various carcinogens. These particles consist of both ultrafine particles (nanoparticle) and coarse particles. Exposure and risk-assessment studies often use particle mass concentration as dosimetry, which ignores the impact of ultrafine particles due to their insignificant mass compared to coarse particles. This study aims at characterizing the cancer risk toward cooking-generated particulate matter using Hong Kong homes as an example. A risk-assessment scheme modified from an existing risk model was developed to consider the cancer risk contributed from both fine ultrafine and coarse particles. Exposure assessment was conducted based on particle concentration data measured in 16 Hong Kong homes. The predicted cancer risk was then compared to the cancer incidence rate in Hong Kong to examine its appropriateness. It was found that the ultrafine particles contribute a much higher risk than that of coarse particles, and the modified risk-assessment scheme gives an estimate much closer to the incidence rate than the conventional scheme. Use of grease extractor cannot completely contain the particles, and a significant portion of particles can be transported from kitchens to other regions of the homes. The modified risk assessment scheme can serve as a tool in assessing environmental quality as well as setting up design and ventilation guidelines and exposure standards on particulate matters.


Objective: The objective of this study was to observe changes in spermatogenesis in the testes of albino rats exposed to lead acetate.
Study Design: An experimental animals study
Place of Study and Duration: This study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy, Islamic International Medical College Rawalpindi and at National Institute of Health Islamabad from January to April, 2009.
Materials and Methods: Male adult rats were exposed to lead acetate with intraperitoneal dose of 4mg/Kg body weight for 5 days a week for 6 weeks. The animals in groupAwere used as control. The animals of groups B were treated with lead acetate with specified dose for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks the animals of subgroup B were
sacrificed. The results of these two groups were then compared.
Results: After six weeks, it was observed that the number of spermatogenic cells had decreased in the test groups as compared with control group (p


This study was performed to develop and evaluate cookies prepared with various amounts (0 g, 12.5 g, 25 g and 37.5 g) of mealworm powder to serve as not only sports snacks but also for the general population as a new protein source. In the chromaticity of mealworm cookies, lightness and yellowness decreased whereas redness increased with more mealworm powder. The hardness of the mealworm cookies increased as more mealworm powder was added. In sensory evaluation, higher preference was shown with the measure of color, taste, and overall preference for mealworm cookies prepared with 50% mealworm powder (MP2). For the general composition of MP2, the moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash were higher compared with the control cookie. For the mineral contents of MP2, the contents of Ca (33.44 mg/100 g), P (225.13 mg/100 g), Mg (82.21 mg/100 g), Na (246.22 mg/100 g), and K (503.49 mg/100 g) were higher compared with the control cookie. The essential amino acids (valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, and histidine) in MP2 were also higher compared with the control cookie. It was concluded that MP2 can be used as a new protein source for not only the maintenance of muscle but also for the prevention of muscle loss in old people.


Spectral clustering has been widely used in various aspects, especially the machine learning fields. Clustering with similarity matrix and low-dimensional representation of data is the main reason of its promising performance shown in spectral clustering. However, such similarity matrix and low-dimensional representation directly derived from input data may not always hold when the data are high dimensional and has complex distribution. First, the similarity matrix simply based on the distance measurement might not be suitable for all kinds of data. Second, the low-dimensional representation might not be able to reflect the manifold structure of the original data. In this brief, we propose a novel linear space embedded clustering method, which uses adaptive neighbors to address the above-mentioned problems. Linearity regularization is used to make the data representation a linear embedded spectral. We also use adaptive neighbors to optimize the similarity matrix and clustering results simultaneously. Extensive experimental results show promising performance compared with the other state-of-the-art algorithms.