Biodentine TM ,represented a novel bioactive tricalcium silicate cement ,that is introduced into dentistry. It was suggested to be biocompatible, having optimal working and setting time, excellent workability with superior adhesion to tooth structure. Biodentine TM was proved to maintain pulp as a vital tissue and enhance dentinal bridging, as alternative to Mineral trioxide aggregate that can be provided with a better handling characteristics and shorter working time. Moreover, dental pulp cells have the potential to differentiate into odontoblast-like cells and enhanced reparative dentine.In the present study "Biodentine TM " was directly applied on the dental pulp of cultured tooth of (36) human maxillary first premolars and (36) human maxillary first primary molar tooth . After various culture periods (2,14 and 28) days, the interaction of the material with dental pulp tissue was analyzed on tissue cultures. The effect of this material on TGFB1 expression on pulp tissue was studied by immunohistochemical investigation. The results illustrate that Biodentine TM" induced mineralized foci formation early after its application as direct pulp capping material in permanent and primary teeth. The mineralization appeared beneath the reparative dentine. Biodentine TM shows a highl significant increment of TGF- β1 expression by pulp cells (P< 0.01) in both permanent and primary teeth. Conclusions : When "Biodentine TM " was applied as direct pulp capping material for permanent and primary teeth, it induced an early form of reparative dentine synthesis, probably due to a modulation of pulp cell for expression TGF-β1. Keywords : Transforming growth factor(TGF), Biodentine, pulp cells


Untargeted toxicological screening is an analytical challenge, given the high number of molecules and metabolites to be detected and the constant appearance of new psychoactive substances (NPS). The combination of liquid chromatography with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS/MS) in a data-dependent acquisition mode generates a large volume of high quality spectral data. Commercial software for processing MS data acquired during untargeted screening experiments usually compare measured features (mass, retention time, and fragmentation spectra) against a predefined list of analytes. However, there is a lack of tools for visualizing and organizing MS data of unknown compounds. Here, we applied molecular networking to untargeted toxicological screening. This bioinformatic tool allows the exploration and organization of MS/MS data without prior knowledge of the sample's chemical composition. The organization of spectral data is based on spectral similarity. Hence, important information can be obtained even before the annotation step. The link established between molecules enables the propagation of structural information. We applied this approach to three clinical and forensic cases with various matrices: (a) blood and a syringe content in a forensic case of death by self-injection, (b) hair segments in a case of drug-facilitated assault, and (c) urine and blood samples in a case of 3-methoxyphencyclidine intoxication. Data preprocessing with MZmine allows sample-to-sample comparison and generation of multisample molecular networks. Our present study shows that molecular networking can be a useful complement to conventional approaches for untargeted screening interpretation, for example for xenobiotics identification or NPS metabolism elucidation.


In 1984 a young British DNA scientist was sexually assaulted in her San Francisco cottage. A year later, and hundreds of miles away, she was brutally murdered. The alleged rapist was the only suspect, but he could not be linked to the crime until 15 years later when the newest DNA techniques provided a vital clue.


A novel approach for gesture recognition based on motion history images is proposed in this paper for one- shot learning gesture recognition task. The challenge here is to perform satisfactory recognition operations with only one training example of each action, while no prior knowledge about actions, foreground/background segmentation, or any motion estimation and tracking are available. In the proposed scheme motion history imaging technique is applied to track the motion flow in consecutive frames. The information of motion flow is later utilized to calculate the percent change of motion flow for an action in different spatial regions of the frame. The space-time descriptor computed this way from the query video is a measure of the likeness of a gesture in a lexicon. Finally, gesture classification is performed based on correlation based and Euclidean distance based classifiers and the results are compared. Through extensive experimentations on a much diversified dataset the effectiveness of employing the proposed scheme is established.


Sexually reproducing organisms often rely on various traits to judge the attractiveness of potential mates. Many mate choice preferences and traits have evolved through selection by those organisms' ancestors, with traits having been either costly (detrimental to survival) or non- costly in the environment of their evolutionary adaptation. A general mathematical analysis of the evolution of traits used in mate choice is presented. The analysis builds on a combination of Price's covariance equation and Wright's method of path analysis, and includes a set of Monte Carlo simulations. The usefulness of the mathematical analysis is demonstrated through the de- velopment of a small but important set of hypotheses and implications for the human species: (1) costly traits used in mate choice by humans should be generally less common and more attractive to the other sex than non-costly traits; (2) costly traits should be disproportionately less common in human females than in males; and (3) some harmful human mental disorders, such as schizo- phrenia, may have co-evolved as costs of attractive mental traits. It is also shown that similar analyses can be easily employed by evolutionary psychologists to theorize about the evolution of complex mate choice traits, and to test the resulting theories with modern humans through the method of path analysis.


Abstract Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV) is a novel virus transmitted by white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera (Hováth) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Due to low virus transmission efficiency by the planthopper, researchers are frequently confronted with shortage of viruliferous vectors or infected rice plants, especially in winter and the following spring. To find new ways to maintain virus-infected materials, viral rice plants were stored at –80°C for 45 or 140 d and evaluated as virus sources in virus transmission by the vector. SRBSDV virions were not degraded during storage at –80°C as indicated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcription real-time PCR detection. The planthopper nymphs fed on the infected thawed plants for 48 h survived at about 40% and showed positive detection of SRBSDV, but they lost the virus after feeding for another 20 d (the circulative transmission period) on noninfected plants. Transmission electron microscope images indicated broken capsid of virions in infected thawed leaves in contrast to integrity capsid of virions in infected fresh leaves. These results show that low temperature storage of SRBSDV-infected rice plants cannot sustain virus transmission by white-backed planthopper.


Background: Radiation therapy has an established role in the multimodal management of rectal cancer. Despite consensus on the benefit of radiation therapy, the optimal timing of radiation administration—neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant—has been much debated and is not yet established. Our group has recently shown that race and ethnicity correlate with rectal cancer outcomes. Our objective was to investigate the impact that race and ethnicity may have on rectal cancer outcomes in relation to timing of radiation therapy. Methods: We used the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program (CSP) to identify patients who underwent curative surgical resection for rectal adenocarcinoma from 1988-2006. Patients were stratified by race and ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic, and Asian) and timing of radiation therapy (neoadjuvant or adjuvant). Clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared and survival curves were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Of the 7,908 surgically resected patients identified from CSP, 39% (n=3,107) received radiation therapy. Among the patients receiving radiation therapy, the majority of patients received adjuvant radiation therapy (58%; n=1,789). Stratified by race and ethnicity (white, n=1,613; black, n=283; Hispanic, n=608; Asian, n=435), there was no difference in overall survival based on neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant timing of radiation therapy for black patients (median survival [MS] 4.1 vs. 4.9 years, respectively; p=NS) and Hispanic patients (MS 7.6 vs. 6.9 years, respectively; p=NS). However, overall survival was significantly improved for neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant timing of radiation therapy in Asian patients (MS 10.6 vs. 6.5 years; p Conclusions: This is the first report to identify racial and ethnic differences in benefit derived from radiation therapy for rectal cancer. We observed that neoadjuvant radiation compared to adjuvant radiation selectively improved survival in white and Asian patients, but not Hispanic and black patients. The reasons for these differences in treatment efficacy between racial and ethnic groups warrant further investigation to optimize timing of therapy and achieve maximum therapeutic benefit in patients with rectal cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):B80.


The paper explores two Belgian art exhibitions that took place in Buenos Aires in 1946 and 1948: the Exposición de arte belga moderno and the Exposición de arte belga contemporáneo. Although these exhibitions appear to be part of the same cultural initiative showcasing Belgian art in Argentina after World War II, a closer examination reveals that they were distinct endeavors with differing institutional frameworks and objectives. The study offers a detailed analysis of the institutional context and discourse surrounding both exhibitions from a Belgian viewpoint. Specifically, it delves into the roles of Louis Piérard, the Argentine Commission for Intellectual Cooperation, the Belgian community in Buenos Aires, and the Belgian ministries of Foreign Affairs and Public Education. As such, it unravels the meaning and impact of the exhibitions in a post-war context. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates how these exhibitions reflect Belgium's evolving approach to international cultural diplomacy.


Abstract Since the 1990s, the Chinese party-state has attempted to teach its youth how to think and speak about the nation through a "patriotic education" campaign waged in schools, the media and on public sites. The reception of these messages by youth of different social backgrounds remains a disputed issue, however. Drawing on a multi-sited field study conducted among rural and urban Han Chinese youth attending different types of schools, this article explores the effects of the patriotic education campaign on youth conceptions of the nation by examining the rhetoric high-school students employ when asked to reflect upon their nation. The study reveals that a majority of youth statements conform to the language and contents of the patriotic education campaign; however, there are significant differences in the discursive stances of urban youth and rural youth and of those attending academic and non-academic, vocational schools. These findings call into question the party-state's current vision of China as a "unified" national collectivity. They highlight the existence of variances in the sense of collective belonging and national identity of Chinese youth, while underscoring the importance of social positioning and perceived life chances in producing these variances.


Abstract : The U.S. Army Research Laboratory has discovered a process that will allow tank gun barrels to be produced with tighter tolerance in their centerline contour. Improved centerline uniformity translates into improved shooting consistency from barrel to barrel. This article describes the approach taken and the lessons learned, from searching for and acquiring a program sponsor, through planning and execution of hardware development, test validation, and preparation for transition to implementation.


Background The introduction of tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) blockers in the treatment of rheumatic diseases has significantly changed patient prognosis. Nonetheless, it is important to optimise their use whenever possible due to their high cost and possible side effects. This abstract aims to evaluate if tapering doses is a cost efficient strategy. Purpose To describe the cost savings achieved from optimised etanercept and adalimumab in rheumatology patients and to verify that dose reduction or increased administration interval do not compromise treatment effectiveness. Material and methods A retrospective study was conducted between September 2014 and September 2015 in rheumatology patients receiving etanercept or adalimumab who did not interrupt treatment during the study period and received optimised treatment. The pharmacy department database and medical history were reviewed. Dispensations to optimised patients were collected retrospectively, bearing in mind that they received a lower than usual dose, or a longer administration time interval than described in the data sheet (for etanercept >50 mg every 7 days or administration interval over 7 days vs adalimumab 40 mg or administration interval over 14 days). The savings obtained were calculated by subtracting the total annual amount using the standard scheme from the actual amount based on dispensations. To check treatment effectiveness, the Disease Activity Score (DAS28) was used, provided patients had maintained the optimisation schedule throughout the study period. Results Of the 48 patients treated with etanercept or adalimumab, 22 (46%) were optimised, 11 (ankylosing spondylitis), 10 (rheumatoid arthritis) and 1 (psoriatic arthritis). Optimisations corresponded mainly to etanercept: 10 patients 25 mg every 7 days and 3 patients 50 mg for over 7 days; 9 patients received adalimumab for over 21 days. All patients had a DAS28 <2.6, without relapses. Total savings per year compared with standard dose were 118 649.3€. Conclusion Increased administration interval or dose reduction (etanercept) to optimise the use of anti-TNFα is a cost efficient strategy. No conflict of interest.


The room temperature photoluminescence property of ZnO particles embedded in sol–gel silica was investigated. Three ZnO emissions at about 3.25 eV (ultraviolet (UV)), 2.8 eV (blue), and 2.45 eV (green) were observed. The blue and green emissions were ascribed to interstitial zinc and oxygen vacancy defects in ZnO. At heating temperatures above 900°C, the interaction of ZnO with SiO2 gave rise to Zn2SiO4, which enhanced the green emission markedly by limiting the oxidation process of oxygen vacancy. Heating in low oxygen pressure was found to enhance the UV emission substantially. The effects of heating temperature and ambient on blue and green emissions were also discussed.


Porter's generic competitive strategies have been hypothesized by many researchers to have an influence on performance, profitability and customer satisfaction. Amongst stiff competition, it is important that appropriate strategies are used to ensure this aim is achieved. This study was set to determine the effect of Porter's Generic Competitive Strategies (cost leadership, Differentiation and Focused strategies) on Profitability of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. This study has applied explanatory research design and employed purposive sampling technique in the selection of the respondents because the scope of this study was limited to marketing department of CBE at head office. Thus, the sampling size and the population of the study were all one hundred twenty one (121) marketing department staffs working at head office. The study used a questionnaire to gather primary data from the respondents and review of published documents collect secondary data. Data collected was analyzed for descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (correlation and regression) by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software version 20. The findings indicated that there was a significant correlation between cost leadership strategy and profitability which was measured by foreign exchange rate, operating expense and nonperforming loan. There was also a significant correlation between differentiation strategy and profitability which was measured by brand position and quality of products/services. Regarding to technological advancement, convenient ATM service and Secured banking system had a significant positive effect on profitability. However, Automated Financial Services and Cardlinked banking services had no a significant effect on profitability of the bank. It can also be indicated that there was a significant effect of focus strategy and profitability which was measured by IFB and e-banking as focus strategy variables. The study recommended that CBE should minimize the rate of nonperforming loans and the bank should be advanced in banking technology such as enhancing digital banking services. It is also recommended that similar studies be carried out in private commercial banks in Ethiopia for comparison purposes and similar research studies should also be conducted in other economic sectors.


Adult fast-twitch mammalian skeletal muscle can acquire a markedly increased resistance to fatigue if it is suitably conditioned by long-term stimulation [7]. This discovery has revived interest in the possibility of diverting skeletal muscle from its normal function to perform in a cardiac assist role. There are a number of ways in which we can try to harness the power of conditioned skeletal muscle for cardiac assistance [3,11]. In all cases, the goal is a level of partial assistance that restores a reasonable quality of life while improving, or at least preventing further deterioration in, the condition of the patient's own heart.


Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin, is essential for health and plays an important part in vision, bone growth, reproduction, regulating the immune system, cell function, and skin health. Due to the advances in technology and the expansion of its uses, LC technologies are being studied for effectiveness in detecting and quantifying vitamin A in an effort to help determine the amount of vitamin A in various types of samples. For this reason, an Expert Review Panel agreed on June 29, 2011, at the "Standards Development and International Harmonization: AOAC INTERNATIONAL Mid-Year Meeting," to approve "Determination of Vitamin A in Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals by UPLC-UV" as AOAC Official Method 2011.07. To move from First to Final Action status, it was recommended that additional information be generated for all types of infant formulas and adult nutritional formula matrixes at varied concentration levels, as indicated in the standard method performance requirements. International units or retinol equivalents typically represent the concentration of vitamin A in food and supplements. However, for the purpose of this method, the concentration represented is presented in microg/100 g.


A case of BIPP induced artefacts on computerized tomography (CT) is presented. Because of the value of CT as a non-invasive intra-cranial investigation, the use of radio-opaque materials in the site to be investigated is to be avoided. In cases likely to require the use of CT, a substitute for BIPP packs in ear surgery is now required.


Success of a Q&A forum depends on volume of content (questions and answers) and quality of content (are the questions asked relevant, answers provided correct etc). Community participation is essential to create and curate content. Since their inception in 2008, stack exchange based forums have been able to engage a large number of users to create a rich repository of good quality questions and answers. In this paper, we wish to investigate the "activeness" of users in the stackexchange network particularly from a perspective of content creation. We also attempt to measure how the forums' incentive mechanism has enabled user's activeness. Further, we investigate how user's have diffused to other parts of the stack exchange network over time, hence bootstrapping new forums.


Article Details: Received: 2020-07-07 | Accepted: 2020-11-05 | Available online: 2021-03-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.01.60-63 This article reviews the advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives to the surgical castration of piglets. Producers use castrations against boar taint which is present in the meat. Alternative methods could be immunocastration, production with entire male pigs or castration with anesthesia and/or analgesia. Production with entire male pigs means to feed pigs to lower carcasses, as the boar taint is very low at that time. But this method is not suitable for all especially If pigs need to be fattened up to 180-200 kg. Castration with anesthesia and analgesia reduces pain and is suitable for welfare but the cost of anesthesia and analgesia is high for some producers. The expense of immunocastration is also higher than for entire pigs but advantages of this method are higher meat percentage, better carcass quality, improved feed conversion ratio. Keywords: castration, immunocastration, boar taint, entire male pigs, castration with anesthesia or analgesia References Adam, J.L. (1977). Boar odour in entire males after slaughter. Agricultural Research in the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Annual Report of the Research Division, 1976–1977. Giffin, B. J., Allison, J. R., Martin, S., Ward, P. and Tschopp, A. (2008). Consumer acceptance of the use of vaccination to control boar taint. Proceedings 20th Int Pig Vet Soc Cong, Durban, South Africa. Aluwe, M., Langendries, K. C. M., Bekaert, K. M., Tuyttens, F. A. M., De Brabander, D. L., De Smet, S. and Millet, S. (2013). Effect of surgical castration, immunocastration and chicory-diet on the meat quality and palatability of boars. Meat Science, 94(3), 402–407. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.02.015 Aluwe, M., Tuyttens, F. A. M. and Millet, S. (2015). Field experience with surgical castration with anaesthesia, analgesia, immunocastration and production of entire male pigs: performance, carcass traits and boar taint prevalence. Animal: an international journal of animal bioscience, 9(3), 500. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1751731114002894 Aluwe, M., Vanhonacker, F., Millet, S. and Tuyttens, A. M. (2015). Influence of hands-on experience on pig farmers' attitude towards alternatives for surgical castration of male piglets. Research in Veterinary Science, 103, 80–86. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2015.09.019 Batorek, N., Candek-Potokar, M., Bonneau, M. and Van Milgen, J. (2012). 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Early immunocastration of male pigs with Improvac® – Effect on boar taint, hormones and reproductive organs. Vaccine, 29(51), 9514–9520. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.10.014 Candek-Potokar, M., Skrlep, M. and Zamaratskaia, G. (2017). Immunocastration as alternative to surgical castration in pigs.  Theriogenology,  6, 109–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68650 D'Souza, D. N. and Mullan, B. P. (2003). The effect of genotype and castration method on the eating quality characteristics of pork from male pigs.  Animal Science,  77(1), 67–72. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1357729800053650 Dostalova, A., Koucký, M. and Průsova, V. (2008). Výkrm kanecků v podminkach ekologickeho zemědělstvi. Mudrik, Z., Dvorak, J. Metodika zemědělskeho poradenskeho systemu. Dunshea, F. R., Colantoni, C., Howard, K., McCauley, I., Jackson, P., Long, K. A. and Hennessy, D. P. (2001). Vaccination of boars with a GnRH vaccine (Improvac) eliminates boar taint and increases growth performance. Journal of animal science, 79(10), 2524–2535. doi: https://doi.org/10.2527/2001.79102524x Fredriksen, B., Johnsen, A. M. S. and Skuterud, E. (2011). Consumer attitudes towards castration of piglets and alternatives to surgical castration.  Research in veterinary science, 90(2), 352–357. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2010.06.018 Hennessy, D. and Newbold, R. (2004). Consumer attitudes to a boar taint vaccine, Improvac (R)–A qualitative study. In  Proceedings of the 18th IPVS congress, Hamburg, Germany, 612 p. Holinger, M., Fruh, B. and Hillmann, E. (2015). Group composition for fattening entire male pigs under enriched housing conditions – Influences on behaviour, injuries and boar taint compounds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 165, 47–56. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.01.016 Holinger, M., Fruh, B., Stoll, P., Graage, R., Wirth, S., Bruckmaier, R. and Hillmann, E. (2018). Chronic intermittent stress exposure and access to grass silage interact differently in their effect on behaviour, gastric health and stress physiology of entire or castrated male growing-finishing pigs. Physiology & behavior, 195, 58–68. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.07.01 Huber-Eicher, B. and Spring, P. (2008). Attitudes of Swiss consumers towards meat from entire or immunocastrated boars: A representative survey.  Research in veterinary science,  85(3), 625–627. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2008.03.002 Viske, D., Lagerkvist, C. J. and Carlsson, F. (2006). Swedish consumer preferences for animal welfare and biotech: a choice experiment. AgBioForum 9(1), 51–58. Mellor, D. J. and Stafford, K. J. (2004). Animal welfare implications of neonatal mortality and morbidity in farm animals. The veterinary journal, 168(2), 118–133. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2003.08.004 Mellor, D. J. and Gregory, N. G. (2003). Responsiveness, behavioural arousal and awareness in fetal and newborn lambs: experimental, practical and therapeutic implications.  New Zealand veterinary journal,  51(1), 2–13. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2003.36323 Moberg, G. P. (2000). Biological response to stress: implications for animal welfare.  The biology of animal stress: basic principles and implications for animal welfare, 1, 21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851993591.0001 Needham, T. and Hoffman, L. C. (2015). Physical meat quality and chemical composition of the Longissimus thoracis of entire and immunocastrated pigs fed varying dietary protein levels with and without ractopamine hydrochloride.  Meat science, 110, 101–108. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2015.06.01 Nemethova, S. (2018). Vplyv trieslovin na kvalitu a nutricne zloženie masa kancekov. Nitra: SPU. Prunier, A., Bonneau, M., Von Borell, E. H., Cinotti, S., Gunn, M., Fredriksen, B. and Velarde, A. (2006). A review of the welfare consequences of surgical castration in piglets and the evaluation of non-surgical methods. Animal Welfare Journal, Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, 15, 277–289. Seiquer, I., Palma-Granados, P., Haro, A., Lara, L., Lachica, M., Fernandez-Figares, I. and Nieto, R. (2019). Meat quality traits in longissimus lumborum and gluteus medius muscles from immunocastrated and surgically castrated Iberian pigs. Meat science, 150, 77–84. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2018.12.004 Telles, F. G., Luna, S. P. L., Teixeira, G. and Berto, D. A. (2016). Long-term weight gain and economic impact in pigs castrated under local anaesthesia.  Veterinary and Animal Science, 1, 36–39. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vas.2016.11.003 Tuyttens, F. A., Vanhonacker, F., Langendries, K., Aluwe, M., Millet, S., Bekaert, K. and Verbeke, W. (2011). Effect of information provisioning on attitude toward surgical castration of male piglets and alternative strategies for avoiding boar taint.  Research in Veterinary Science,  91(2), 327–332. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.01.005 Tuyttens, F. A., Vanhonacker, F., Verhille, B., De Brabander, D. and Verbeke, W. (2012). Pig producer attitude towards surgical castration of piglets without anaesthesia versus alternative strategies. Research in Veterinary Science, 92(3), 524– 530. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.02.017 Von Borell, E., Baumgartner, J., Giersing, M., Jaggin, N., Prunier, A., Tuyttens, F. A. M. and Edwards, S. A. (2009). 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Following a brief introduction, an examination is presented of the factors which define the fracture toughness, R-curve relationships, and the extent of stable crack extension. Use is made of the compliance calibrations for a center cracked sheet and a compact tension specimen to show how configuration influences the shape of the R-curve in specimens of equivalent width and identical thickness. The change in the shape of the R-curve is shown to affect stable crack extension and the G-curve tangency requirement to result in differing toughness levels in the different configurations. In support of the analytical results, tests have been conducted on two high strength aluminium alloys to establish the variations in the shape of R-curves, using both compliance-indicated and measured absolute values of crack length. Various toughness values which highlight the influence of plastic deformation on toughness have been calculated.


The pivots of irrigation or the swiveling banisters of irrigation are metallic mobile devices with an important size intended for automatic irrigation of cultivated wide fields, they are composed by a central tower, mobile tower and a set of spans. In our country, these devices are made by a company having a complete line of production with a good level of integration of local raw materials including its production. However these devices do not really answer in global needs of a local market, indeed, the shape and the size of the produced and proposed model how is only the once receipts with the production unit. This work consists in clearing tools to modify and develop other models of more adapted pivots to reach this goal we proceed at first to checking the optimality of the shape of the current span, then, we propose the possibility of the weight reduction of this span by using the technique of the variation of geometrical form of the element defining the structure while assuring the quality of the product. The obtained results establish effective tools in the development of new pivots of irrigation; this also show the possibility of modification of the current geometrical configuration and gives relative importance of the choice of the geometrical variables and objectifs functions. In conclusion we were able to propose three models how in theory answer our aims.


In the most advanced seismic codes earthquake loads are often defined by means of pseudo-acceleration Response Spectra (RS) and the use of modal superposition analysis method is strongly encouraged. The effectiveness of the design procedures is thus limited by the underlying hypotheses, such as the linearity of the system and the reliability of the modal correlation coefficients used to combine the modal responses for MDOF systems. On the other hand, linear systems response statistics could be easily computed by using stochastic analysis tools, once a stochastic characterization of the seismic action is provided. In this paper a few-parameters analytical model for the definition of Power Spectral Density functions (PSD) coherent with Response Spectra is proposed. Closed-form relationships between the parameters involved in the definition of the PSD and the RS defined by several international seismic codes are provided. The reliability of this tool is assessed by means of a numerical campaign by comparing stochastic analysis and Monte-Carlo simulations. By using the proposed approach, the seismic action can be defined both in terms of RS and in terms of PSD, and, therefore, the engineer can choose the most appropriate analysis tool for his purpose.


Deep neural networks often suffer from poor generalization caused by complex and non-convex loss landscapes. One of the popular solutions is Sharpness-Aware Minimization (SAM), which smooths the loss landscape via minimizing the maximized change of training loss when adding a perturbation to the weight. However, we find the indiscriminate perturbation of SAM on all parameters is suboptimal, which also results in excessive computation, i.e., double the overhead of common optimizers like Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD). In this paper, we propose an efficient and effective training scheme coined as Sparse SAM (SSAM), which achieves sparse perturbation by a binary mask. To obtain the sparse mask, we provide two solutions which are based onFisher information and dynamic sparse training, respectively. In addition, we theoretically prove that SSAM can converge at the same rate as SAM, i.e., $O(\log T/\sqrt{T})$. Sparse SAM not only has the potential for training acceleration but also smooths the loss landscape effectively. Extensive experimental results on CIFAR10, CIFAR100, and ImageNet-1K confirm the superior efficiency of our method to SAM, and the performance is preserved or even better with a perturbation of merely 50% sparsity. Code is availiable at https://github.com/Mi-Peng/Sparse-Sharpness-Aware-Minimization.


The relationship between manufacturing strategy and operational performance was studied within the ambit of world class manufacturing. The study investigated the extent to which manufacturing strategies were being applied in the case of an alcohol manufacturer in Zimbabwe as well as in the Zimbabwean manufacturing industry as whole. The derivation of manufacturing strategies for successful manufacturers; and the linkage of these strategies to corporate strategies of the firms was assessed. The study evaluated the involvement of manufacturing managers in strategy development; and determined the manufacturing strategies being employed. Data from the alcohol manufacturer and a sample of forty members of the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries' (CZI) manufacturing firms were used. Ninety percent of the manufacturers had a corporate strategy and there was a significant relationship between existence of corporate strategy, manufacturing strategy and operational performance. The alcohol manufacturer had no documented manufacturing strategy but considered two competitive priorities (cost and quality) in planning. The study also revealed that manufacturing firms used a combination of competitive priorities in coming up with manufacturing strategy, with corporate strategy being derived from manufacturing strategy. This study recommends that manufacturing priorities drive the strategic management process necessitating the presence and input of manufacturing technical managers in the strategy formulation process.


Abstract Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiological process of uremia and its complications, particularly in cardiovascular disease. The level of oxidative stress markers is known to increase as chronic kidney disease progresses and correlates significantly with the level of renal function. Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are major modes of renal replacement therapy for end-stage renal disease patients, but unfortunately they are also accompanied by increased oxidative stress. Successful kidney transplantation, however, results in near normalization of the antioxidant status and lipid metabolism by eliminating free radicals despite the surge of oxidative stress caused by the surgical procedure and ischemic injury to the organ during the operation. This success is associated with both improved renal function, reduced cardiovascular complications and overall improved morbidity and mortality. Measuring oxidative stress markers such as malondialdehyde is promising in predicting allograft survival and delayed graft function.


The objective of this study was to assess the effects of proteasome inhibition on the development of burn-induced hypermetabolism. Rats underwent 30–40% total BSA scald burn or sham injury. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (0.1 mg/kg) or vehicle (n = 10) was administered i.p. 3× weekly starting at 2 hours (early bortezomib, n = 20) or 48 hours (late-bortezomib, n = 13) postburn. Body weights were determined weekly. Resting energy expenditures (REE) were measured at days 0 (baseline), 7, 14, 21, and 42 postburn. At day 42, blood and pectoral muscle were harvested. Routine blood chemistry parameters were analyzed. Proteasome content, proteasome peptidase activities, and ubiquitin–protein conjugates were measured in muscle extracts. As compared with sham-vehicle-treated animals, specific proteasome activities were increased after burn and vehicle treatment. Bortezomib treatment inhibited proteasome activities and increased ubiquitin–protein conjugates after sham and burn injury. Bortezomib treatment did not affect REE after sham procedure. REE significantly increased by 47% within 7 days and remained elevated until day 42 after burn and vehicle treatment. After early-bortezomib treatment, burn-induced increases in REE were delayed and significantly reduced by 42% at day 42, as compared with vehicle treatment. With late-bortezomib treatment, burn-induced increases in REE were also delayed but not attenuated at day 42. Mortality was 20% with vehicle, 65% (median survival time: 1.875 days) with early-bortezomib and 25% with late-bortezomib treatment after burns (P < .05 early-bortezomib vs vehicle and late-bortezomib). Proteasome inhibition delays development of burn-induced hypermetabolism. Although proteasome inhibition early after burn injury reduces the hypermetabolic response, it significantly increases early burn-associated mortality.


Five-year follow-up data show that implantation of a trifocal IOL with centralized apodized diffractive rings provides good functional vision across all distances with good patient-reported outcomes. Purpose: To report the 5-year visual, refractive, and patient-reported outcomes following implantation of a trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) during cataract surgery. Setting: Csolnoky Ferenc University Hospital, Veszprém, Hungary. Design: Prospective, longitudinal, single-center, interventional study. Methods: 100 eyes of 50 patients underwent bilateral implantation of a trifocal IOL during cataract surgery. Preoperative corrected distance (CDVA) and postoperative uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), CDVA, uncorrected (UIVA) and corrected (CIVA) intermediate and uncorrected (UNVA) and corrected (CNVA) near visual acuity were collected. All subjects were seen at day 1, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months, and at year 5. Contrast sensitivity, slitlamp photography, and quality of vision questionnaire were performed at months 3, 6, 12, and 24 and at year 5. Of these 50 patients, 41 completed their 5-year follow-up. Results: At year 5, 74 eyes of 37 patients were analyzed. The mean postoperative UDVA was 0.02 ± 0.10 (logMAR). The mean CDVA was −0.04 ± 0.07. The mean UIVA was 0.04 ± 0.09. The mean CIVA was 0.00 ± 0.08. The mean UNVA was 0.09 ± 0.09. The mean CNVA was 0.05 ± 0.07. Mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity values were in the upper third range of the age-matched normal values. Conclusions: 5-year prospective study data showed that bilateral implantation of a diffractive–refractive trifocal IOL with centralized diffractive rings provided good functional vision at all distances. There was high level of spectacle independence and patient satisfaction with minimal levels of dysphotopsia.


Twins have always fascinated medical research even before the discovery of DNA and the understanding of the differences between identical and non‐identical twins. Dermatology with the benefit of being able to visualize phenotypes was one of the first specialities reporting on the fascinating concordance in identical (MZ) twins in the 1920's. Over the last 20 years, the heritability of skin diseases using twins has been clearly demonstrated, across a wide variety of traits including melanoma, polymorphic light eruption, psoriasis, eczema and acne. Other rarer diseases have also been shown to have a significant genetic basis such as lupus, sarcoidosis and lichen sclerosus. Following evidence of heritability for many skin disease the next step was Genome‐Wide Association Studies (GWAS) which are uncovering new genes in large twin cohorts. The twin model is also ideal for the new field of epigenetics, investigating subtle differences in DNA methylation within discordant MZ pairs for a disease, as well as differences in CNVs. Twins are also valuable for examining differences in gene function via RNA expression in twins discordant for a skin trait or disease.


Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging has previously been used to visualize normal anatomic structures and pathologies in both ex vivo and in vivo human prostates. Based on the relative displacement amplitudes in ARFI images and comparison with histological slides and McNeal's zonal anatomy, it seems that the central zone (CZ) is stiffer than other anatomic zones, and prostate cancer (PCa) is stiffer than normal tissue in the peripheral zone and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Since displacement amplitudes in ARFI images are determined by both the underlying tissue stiffness and the amplitude of acoustic radiation force, one question that arises is: how are the relative displacements in ARFI images related to the underlying tissue stiffness? In this study, co-registered three-dimensional (3D) ARFI datasets and shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) datasets were acquired to investigate the relationship between displacement amplitudes in ARFI images and the underlying tissue stiffness. Six freshly excised human prostates were collected and imaged. The lateral time-to-peak (TTP) algorithm was used to reconstruct the tissue stiffness. Linear regression was performed between ARFI displacement amplitudes and the inverse of the corresponding reconstructed shear moduli. Five types of prostatic tissues were identified in ARFI images, and their stiffnesses were quantified.


Criticality of rheology for heavy oil recovery is the main purpose of this paper supported by different results. The Bingham Plastic, Power Law and Herschel Bulkley rheological models have been adopted for the purpose of this paper. Rheological characterisation was carried out for different temperatures. Rheological behaviour of non-Newtonian heavy oil for different shear rates is analysed in this paper. Effective shear and bulk viscosities for different flow rates are compared for all rheological models. Using the horizontal well productivity model, the drawdown values for all rheological models are determined. Similarly for the sand management purpose the critical rates of Newtonian and these three non-Newtonian fluids are plotted to determine the critical drawdown values for each type of fluid. Impact of drainage profile on the effective viscosities is also compared for different drainage profiles. Shear rate models are proposed in this paper for Bingham Plastic, Power Law and Herschel Bulkley rheological models. The new Micro-PVT equipment is also introduced for determining the PVT properties and rheological behaviour of heavy oil. Nomenclature


Using a structural equation model, this article demonstrates a novel approach to studying the distribution of class-based political power in advanced capitalist democracies. Situated within a theoretical discussion of pluralism and class dominant theories of political power, the article begins with a critique of the literature's existing measurements of political democracy. After showing the limitations of these indices, particularly their inability to measure the distribution of class-based political power over time, the article then presents an alternative measurement of democratic governance, one that is consistent with the general thrust of class dominant perspectives in sociology. The results of a structural equations model shows that, within the advanced capitalist democracies, class compromise manifests in a country's prevailing rates of union density, voter participation, incarceration, and income inequality. Finally, applying this model to individual countries, the article ends by creating an index of class compromise for 15 advanced capitalist democracies from 1980 to 1999.


Purpose Our previous study has shown that AVE 0991, a nonpeptide analogue of Ang-(1-7), ameliorates cognitive decline and inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome of astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease model mice. Additionally, several studies have suggested that activation of autophagy appears to effectively inhibit the progression of neuroinflammation. However, it is unclear whether AVE 0991 can modulate astrocyte autophagy to suppress neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease. Materials and Methods APP/PS1 mice and Aβ-treated primary astrocytes were used as the research objects in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Water maze test was used to evaluate cognitive function of mice, Nissl staining and immunofluorescence staining was used to assess neuronal damage. ELISA kits were used to detect the levels of Ang-(1-7) and Aβ in the cortex, and qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of cortical inflammation-related mediators. The expression of autophagy-related proteins in cortex were detected by Western blot. The upstream molecular responses involved in inflammation inhibition by AVE 0991 were validated by means of using the Mas1 antagonist and autophagy inhibitor. Results We found that 30 days of intraperitoneal administration of AVE 0991 improved. Aβ deposition, neuronal death, and cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 Alzheimer's disease model mice. Moreover, AVE 0991 treatment greatly suppressed astrocyte-mediated inflammation and up-regulated the expression of autophagy. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of AVE 0991 on the expression of inflammatory factors was reversed by 3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor. Conclusion These findings suggest that regulation of autophagy is critical for inhibiting astrocyte neuroinflammatory responses and demonstrate a potential neuroprotective mechanism by which AVE 0991 could suppress neuroinflammatory responses by enhancing autophagy.


Law Number 12 Year 1995 on Penitentiary states that "The guilty child, Children who are guilty, then the guidance will be held on child prisoners." The placement of a child who is guilty into a Child Prisoners is carried out separately in accordance with their respective status that is criminal children, state children and civil children. These status differences become the reasons for guidance which held to them. However, there are still child prisoners who placed in adult penitentiary. This research is normative, because this research is a legal research which conducted by examining library materials or secondary data. This research aims to examine the extent of specific legislation, either vertically or horizontally, and includes laws that are equal or belong to the same field which regulates the fostering of child prisoners in Penitentiary. From the results of research on the Guidance of the Rights of Child Prisoners in Adult Prison, The pattern of guidance of Prisoners has been established in the Decree of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Indonesia No. M.02-PK.04.10 of 1990. In this letter explained that the pattern of guidance of prisoners of both child prisoners and adult inmates must be implemented in an integrated manner that is personality guidance and independence building for child prisoner. The obstacle that's in the fostering of child prisoners in adult prisons is the absence of special staff to handle child prisoners. This is because most of the prison officers are law graduates, while the balance of handling in guidance is very important torealize maximumguidance of childprisoners.Adultpenitentiariesare far from viable means, as neither the building physical nor cleanliness does not support the lives of children adult prisons.


We experimentally demonstrate optomechanical motion and force measurements near the quantum precision limits set by the quantum Cramér-Rao bounds. Optical beams in coherent and phase-squeezed states are used to measure the motion of a mirror under an external stochastic force. Utilizing optical phase tracking and quantum smoothing techniques, we achieve position, momentum, and force estimation accuracies close to the quantum Cramér-Rao bounds with the coherent state, while the estimation using squeezed states shows clear quantum enhancements beyond the coherent-state bounds.


The monthly variations in the physico-chemical parameters and zooplankton abundance were followed from December, 2003 to March 2004 in Makwaye (Ahmadu Bello University Farm) Lake, Samaru, Zaria. In this lake, all physico-chemical parameters investigated showed wide variations within the months except hardness, which exhibited highly significant variation both between stations and within months. Chemical variables including Na, Mg, Zn, Pb, Fe, K and Cu showed significant variations within the months. Three groups namely Cladocera (32.62%), Rotifera (29.33%) and Copepoda (38.05%) were observed. These indicated low species richness


Commercially available power meters and sensors have measurement ranges up to several watts. Accurate measurements with these devices require periodic calibration with traceable standards. Conventional calibrations typically take place in the 1mW to 10mW range. This range can be extended downwards for highly sensitive diode sensors by means of a calibrated attenuator. Raising the calibration level above 10mW, to calibrate higher power sensors well above their noise floor, has been more of a problem. For example, one calibration technique separates the front end attenuator from the sensor, and calibrates the two devices independently. However, this creates measurement uncertainty when the data is combined. This app note describes a basic technique for generating an accurate 100 mW power source. The technique extends the advantages of a lower power calibration to higher power units. Calibration is a relatively simple operation with excellent and traceable accuracy. The resulting standard can be an integral part of a TEGAM System IIA Power Sensor Calibration System, which allows accurate SWR/Return Loss measurements, as well as creation of sensor calibration factors.


The present study investigated the effects of question prompts in scaffolding novice instructional designers solving ill-structured, instructional design problems in a Web-based learning environment. The effects of question prompts were studied under different prompting conditions (Question-Elaboration vs. Question-Guidance), taking into consideration various levels of learners' prior knowledge and experience. The study employed a comparative, multiple-case study design using the technique of think-aloud protocols, which were followed by interviews. Eight graduate students from the program of Instructional Design and Technology participated in the study. While the qualitative findings supported the previous research on the advantages of question prompts in scaffolding ill-structured problem solving, they also shed light on the specific cognitive and metacognitive functions, as well as limitations, of question prompts in different conditions. The study has implications for designing instructional scaffolds for supporting ill-structured problem solving of various domains in a Web-based learning environment.


Introduction: Diabetes mellitus comprises a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia. The metabolic dysregulation associated with DM causes secondary patho-physiological changes in multiple organ systems. The brainstem auditory electric responses represent a useful, non invasive and simple procedure to detect both acoustic nerve and CNS damage. Material & Methods: The study was carried out in the department of ENT, JNMC from 2008 -2010. The study included two groups, (i) diabetic group (n=25) (ii) Control group (n = 25). Diabetic group included patients attending Endocrinology OPD and ward. The equipment used for recording evoked response audiometry is IHS-BERA. Model number TH72312HT. Year of manufacture 2006. Results: Mean age of control group was 45.7 years. In the study group 13 (52%) were males where as 12 (48%) were females. Mean age of study group was 46.8 years. There is no significant difference between age groups of controls and cases. Significant difference was found in latencies of wave III and interpeak III-V while highly significant difference was found in latencies of wave V and interpeak I-III, I-V between control and study group at 70 dB. Highly significant difference was found in latencies of wave III, V and interpeak I-III and I-V while significant difference was found in interwave III-V between control and study group at 80 dB. Significant difference was found in latencies of wave V and interpeak III-V while highly significant difference was found in wave III and interpeak I-III, I-V between control and study group at 90 dB. Conclusion: BERA is a simple, non-invasive procedure to detect early impairment of acoustic nerve, and CNS pathways, even in the absence of specific symptoms. This study suggests that if BERA is carried out in diabetic patients; involvement of central neuronal axis can be detected earlier.


This study provides first-hand proteomic characterisation of Cu-pretreatment-induced augmentation of ultraviolet B toxicity in the cyanobacterium Anabaena doliolum Bharadwaja. Of the three treatments (i.e. Cu, UV-B and Cu + UV-B) tested, the UV-B treatment of Cu-pretreated Anabaena produced a greater inhibition of oxygen evolution, 14C fixation, ATP and NADPH contents than UV-B alone. Proteomic analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE), MALDI-TOF MS/MS and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of Cu, UV-B, and Cu + UV-B treated Anabaena exhibited significant and reproducible alterations in 12 proteins. Of these, manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), iron superoxide dismutase (Fe-SOD) and peroxiredoxin (PER) are antioxidative enzymes; ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCo), phosphoribulokinase (PRK), flavodoxin (Flv), plastocyanin (PLC), phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), phycocyanin (PC) and phycoerythrocyanin α-chain (PC α-chain) are linked with photosynthesis and respiration; and DnaK and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) are associated with cellular processes and light signalling, respectively. However, when subjected to a high dose of UV-B, Cu-pretreated Anabaena depicted a severe down-regulation of DnaK, NDPK and Flv, probably because of inevitable oxidative stress. Thus, the augmentation of UV-B toxicity by Cu can be attributed to the down-regulation of DnaK, NDPK and Flv.


This paper examines the involvement of the angels in the creation of Adam as an example of mythopoetic activity in Islam. This involvement takes the form of the angels' reaction to Adam's creation and to Adam's superior knowledge. These themes also developed within an anti-Gnostic polemic; the figure of the First Man is important for Gnosticism no less than for Judaism or Islam, yet their visions of this figure differed greatly. The relations between Adam and the angels is an important refraction of the differences between these religions. Comparison of tales from three Islamic genres—tafsīr, ta'rīh and qisas al-anbiyā'—with rabbinical legends shows that, contrary to expectations, Islamic material provides a more mythic conception of these themes than does Jewish midrash.


small-size artificial satellite system planed by the Satellite Technology Research Center(SatTReC) in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(KAIST). For the control of attitude and transition of the orbit, the system has adopted a RHM(Resisto-jet Head Module), which has a very simple geometry with a reasonable efficiency. An axisymmetric model is devised with two coil-resistance heaters using xenon(Xe) gas, and the minimum required specific impulse is 60 seconds under the thrust more than 30 milli-Newton. To design the module, seven basic parameters should be decided: the nozzle shape, the power distribution of heater, the pressure drop of filter, the diameter of nozzle throat, the slant length and the angle of nozzle, and the size of reservoir, etc. After quasi one-dimensional analysis, a theoretical value of specific impulse is calculated, and the optima of parameters are found out from the baseline with a series of multi-physical numerical simulations based on the compressible Navier-Stokes equations for gas and the heat conduction energy equation for solid. A commercial code, COMSOL Multiphysics is used for the computation with a FEM (finite element method) based numerical scheme. The final values of design parameters indicate 5.8% better performance than those of baseline design after the verification with all the tuned parameters. The present method should be effective to reduce the time cost of trial and error in the development of RHM, the thruster of NEXTSat-1.


This paper describes a joint industry/university collaboration to develop a prototype system to provide real time monitoring of an airport ground transportation vehicle with the objectives of improving availability and minimizing field failures by estimating the proper timing for condition-based maintenance. Hardware for the vehicle was designed, developed and tested to monitor door characteristics (voltage and current through the motor that opens and closes the doors and door movement time and position), to quickly predict degraded performance, and to anticipate failures. A combined statistical and neural network approach was implemented. The neural network "learns" the differences among door sets and can be tuned quite easily through this learning. Signals are processed in real time and combined with previous monitoring data to estimate, using the neural network, the condition of the door set relative to maintenance needs. The prototype system was installed on several vehicle door sets at the Pittsburgh International Airport and successfully tested for several months under simulated and actual operating conditions. Preliminary results indicate that improved operational reliability and availability can be achieved.


A reconfigurable triple-band antenna operating at 17.21, 23.54 and 29.27 GHz using MEMS switches is presented. The reconfigurable triple-band dipole is firstly designed assuming ideal switches (ON/OFF). The effects of the two MEMS switches on different cantilever bridge materials on the antenna performance are studied. The design is performed using the 3D electromagnetic simulator. Optimization of MEMS bridge materials is required to obtained low insertion loss.


Naming latency experiments in which monosyllabic items are read aloud are based on the assumption that the vocal response is not initiated until the phonology of the entire syllable has been computed. Recently, this assumption has been challenged by A. H. Kawamoto, C. T. Kello, R. Jones, and K. Bame (1998), who argued instead that the reading-aloud response begins as soon as the initial phoneme is computed. This view would be refuted by evidence of anticipatory coarticulation effects on the initial phoneme due to the nature of the following vowel in the speeded reading-aloud task. The authors provide such evidence.


Worldwide, flow regimes are being modified by various anthropogenic impacts and climate change induces an additional risk. Rising temperatures, declining snow cover and changing precipitation patterns will interact differently at different locations. Consequently, in distinct climate zones, unequal consequences can be expected in matters of water stress, flood risk, water quality, and food security. In partic- ular, river ecosystems and their vital ecosystem services will be compromised as their species richness and composition have evolved over long time under natural flow conditions. This study aims at evaluating the exclusive impacts of cli- mate change on river flow regimes in Europe. Various flow characteristics are taken into consideration and diverse dy- namics are identified for each distinct climate zone in Eu- rope. In order to simulate present-day natural flow regimes and future flow regimes under climate change, the global hy- drology model WaterGAP3 is applied. All calculations for current and future conditions (2050s) are carried out on a 5 0 ◊ 5 0 European grid. To address uncertainty, bias-corrected climate forcing data of three different global climate mod- els are used to drive WaterGAP3. Finally, the hydrological alterations of different flow characteristics are quantified by the Indicators of Hydrological Alteration approach. Results of our analysis indicate that on the European scale, climate change can be expected to modify flow regimes remarkably. This is especially the case in the Mediterranean (due to drier conditions with reduced precipitation across the year) and in the boreal climate zone (due to reduced snowmelt, increased precipitation, and strong temperature rises). In the temperate climate zone, impacts increase from oceanic to continental. Regarding single flow characteristics, strongest impacts on timing were found for the boreal climate zone. This applies for both high and low flows. Flow magnitudes, in turn, will be predominantly altered in the Mediterranean but also in the Northern climates. At the end of this study, typical future flow regimes under climate change are illustrated for each climate zone.


Paper presented in VI Animal Nutrition Research Workers Conference, 13 to 16th September, at Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubneshwar.


Not so long ago, numerous banks in Tanzania have commenced using of digital technologies to influence business transactions; however, there is little understanding on the perceived benefits of these products on the performance of the banks. The study scrutinized the perceived benefits from using E-Banking and its relationship on banking performance in Tanzania taking CRDB and NMB banks as the case study. The specific objectives of the research were three and they include;(i) look on benefits of internet banking and its effect on banking performance, (ii) to assess the perceived benefits of mobile banking and how it impacts the banking performance and (iii) to determine the perceived benefits of ATM services and how it impacts on banking performance. The study adopted a quantitative research design whereby a questionnaire was distributed to 352 banks customers in Mwanza region in an attempt to arrive to a larger sample of respondents. A simple random sampling technique was used in this study so as to allow an equal chance of participants to fill up in the questionnaire and to reduce the elements of bias. The regression results on the overall model showed that the model accounted for adjusted R2 value of 51.3% of the variance explained by the indicator; and the F-statistic of 124.391 which was significant as p = .000. With respect to individual variables, the results of the study brought out forward that the benefits of internet banking were positively related to banks performance although the effect was moderate. Similarly, ATM teller machines and mobile banking had positive and significant effects on the banking performance. In the end it was recommended for commercial banks to improve awareness to customers on some of the e-banking product like internet banking, in addition the commercial banks are supposed to maximize the number of e-banking product so as to minimize congestion on banking premises, and to place banking facilities to various locations to ease access by customers.


This paper investigates the potential impacts of climate change on water resources in northern Tuscany, Italy. A continuous hydrological model for each of the seven river basins within the study area was calibrated using historical data. The models were then driven by downscaled and bias‐corrected climate projections of an ensemble of 13 regional climate models (RCMs), under two different scenarios of representative concentration pathway (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The impacts were examined at medium term (2031–2040) and long term (2051–2060) in comparison with a reference period (2003–2012); the changes in rainfall, streamflow, and groundwater recharge were investigated. A high degree of uncertainty characterized the results with a significant intermodel variability, the period being equal. For the sake of brevity, only the results for the Serchio River basin were presented in detail. According to the RCM ensemble mean and the RCP4.5, a moderate decrease in rainfall, with reference to 2003–2012, is expected at medium term (−0.6%) and long term (−2.8%). Due to the warming of the study area, the reduction in the streamflow volume is two times the precipitation decrease (−1.1% and −6.8% at medium and long term, respectively). The groundwater recharge is mainly affected by the changes in climate with expected percolation volume variations of −3.3% at 2031–2040 and −8.1% at 2051–2060. The impacts on the Serchio River basin water resources are less significant under the RCP8.5 scenario. The presence of artificial structures, such as dam‐reservoir systems, can contribute to mitigate the effects of climate change on water resources through the implementation of appropriate regulation strategies.


A university governing board's influence on institutional policy is undeniable. Educating board members about student affairs issues is essential to ensuring a well-informed, effective board. This study examined the relationship between student affairs and the board's student affairs committee (SAC). An 89-item survey was developed and administered to 1,100 NASPA voting delegates with a 33% return rate. The survey focused on Goodale's (1997) four broad areas of responsibilities for the SAC as well as membership, agendas, and their orientation. The results showed significant differences between public and private institutions in the number with a SAC, issues discussed, having a clear mission or charge and having a student voting member. As a result of the study, five recommendations were made to enhance the effectiveness of the SAC.


The aims of the book: This book is aimed at a range of teachers of mathematics and numeracy including those who are committed to addressing issues of social justice in their classrooms and want some ideas for how to go about pursuing this objective. It is also aimed at those who are intrigued by the idea that the terms 'social justice' and 'teaching mathematics' can be strung together in the same sentence and wish to find out more. The ideas behind the book are based on the premise that conventional approaches to teaching mathematics, whilst encompassing much excellent practice, do not adequately address all learners' needs, or the needs of society as a whole. Many students feel alienated from a subject too often presented as a collection of rules and procedures to be applied in contrived and unrealistic contexts. Whilst 'standards' and examination results may appear to be rising, the perceived lack of relevance and meaning of mathematics for many students leads them to choose not to study the subject beyond the compulsory stage (currently up until age 16). The disempowering and individualistic ways in which it is commonly taught mean that negative attitudes and anxiety towards mathematics, exhibited by large sections of the general public, are perpetuated from one generation to the next. Significant differences persist between the mathematical achievements of various groups within society. Mathematical achievement and the socioeconomic background of students remain inextricably linked. The starting point for this book is therefore that the status quo in mathematics education, as described above, must not be taken as given. The book proposes alternative ideas and approaches to teaching mathematics with the potential to change and improve the current situation. What is teaching mathematics for social justice? The term 'social justice' is a seemingly uncontentious one. After all, who would argue for 'social injustice'? However, it has been interpreted in many different ways by various authors and it is important to establish precisely how it will be used, in the context of mathematics teaching, within this book. Teaching mathematics for social justice is taken here as encompassing the following five aspects of practice: • Adopting collaborative problem-solving approaches to learning mathematics that promote discussion and the engagement of all learners; • Recognising and building upon mathematics learners' real-life experiences so that they appreciate the relevance and meaningfulness of the subject; • Encouraging learners to engage in mathematical activities that enable them to develop greater understanding of their social, cultural, political and economic situations; • Facilitating mathematical investigations that develop learners' agency, enabling them to make decisions about the direction of their learning and to take part in social action; • Developing a critical understanding of the nature of mathematics and its position and status within education and society. Background to the book In May 2013, a research group was established comprising five teacher researchers, all based in London comprehensive schools, and myself as university-based researcher. Over the next 15 months we worked collaboratively, adopting a participatory action research methodology, to develop teaching ideas and approaches that were aimed at translating theories on teaching mathematics for social justice into classroom practice. Details of the research element of the project can be found in various journal articles and my doctoral thesis (see links from the following website: http://maths-socialjustice.weebly.com/). The teacher researchers felt strongly that our experiences, ideas and classroom tasks that we developed, should also be shared more widely amongst mathematics teachers. Hence this book! Since the ideas originated collaboratively from the whole group, we agreed that I should edit the book but that all royalties would be donated to Global Justice Now, an organisation whose aims resonate with those of the research group. One of the central ideas underpinning the project was that the development of teaching ideas and approaches should be informed by recent research findings. The group spent a significant amount of time engaging with research relevant to teaching mathematics for social justice, before planning and evaluating teaching ideas and approaches. The key research ideas that the group focused on have been summarised in six short research articles spread throughout the book. These are designed to provide insight and guidance for mathematics teachers in order to help them to further research and develop their own classroom practice. I would urge readers of the book to engage with these research articles as well as the teaching ideas and learning activities described in the task sheets and teachers' notes. The structure of the book: Teaching ideas and learning activities developed by the research group have been organised into seven projects within the book. Each project includes a series of classroom tasks and teachers' notes that reflect the discussions that took place during research group meetings. Given the focus of the book, it is particularly important to stress that the task sheets are not designed to be used in isolation and they should be used in conjunction with the teachers' notes. It is a combination of the ideas from the task sheets and the input of the teacher, informed by the teachers' notes (and the research articles), which will result in students engaging in activities with the potential to address issues of social justice in the mathematics classroom. It is anticipated that the classroom activities will be suitable for students in Key Stages 3 and 4 mathematics classrooms, for those studying the new core mathematics curriculum, and for those on post-compulsory numeracy courses. The opportunities for learning in each unit are therefore summarised in a non-specific way so that they can be adapted to different curricula. The notes and rich questions, as well as the possible extensions, are designed to capture as much as possible of the experiences of the research group. They are written in a style that allows teachers to use the ideas in a flexible, creative and non-prescriptive way. The teachers' notes include brief case studies that provide further insight into the activities the students engaged in by capturing some of the experiences of three of the teacher researchers: Anna, Brian and Rebecca (pseudonyms). I hope you make good use of, and are inspired by, the ideas in this book and that your interest in teaching mathematics for social justice does not stop here! Pete Wright Lecturer in Mathematics Education UCL Institute of Education


This paper describes a comprehensive and innovative approach by The National Aviation and Transportation (NAT) Center, in the area of aviation and intermodal transportation education, training and applied research. Through national and international partnerships, the Center's efforts focus on the analysis of aviation and intermodal transportation systems; airport and environs simulation and modeling; human factors; fiscal and administrative issues; energy and the environment; conflict resolution; and other areas essential to creating an integrated transportation system which is seamless, yet sensitive to both the needs of the public (government) and private (business) sectors and their customers. The NAT Center's 105 acres (adjacent to Brookhaven Calabro Airport), including an over $100 million construction program, is dedicated to providing a facility to the study of aviation and intermodal transportation and giving the United States the ability to lead in the next crucial area of international competition, moving prople, products and information faster, cheaper, smarter and safer. This Long Island, New York facility provides a broad-based educational platform in academic instruction, training and applied research and the first of three buildings opened on September 1, 1994. When the master plan is fully implemented and all construction is completed, 3,000 students will be part of the first international campus dedicated to the study of aviation and intermodal transportation.


Although the Nigerian government has tried to stamp out child marriage with the enactment of the Child Rights Act 2003 (CRA), the practice of child marriage is still very prevalent among the Hausa-Fulani (predominant Muslim tribe) who occupy Northern Nigeria and where Sharia law is in force. While the CRA is a law with sharp teeth, it has no bite because each state in Nigeria has to enact the CRA under its own state laws before it is enforceable. What this means is that a social evil such as child marriage can be practised in a state which has yet to pass the CRA as a domestic law. While this article presents arguments outlining the reluctance of some of Nigeria's Northern states to enact the CRA, the author maintains that the right of the girl child in relation to marriage is not adequately protected. This inadequacy lies in Part 1 Section 61 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a result, this article proposes three steps to legally ensure the protection of a girl child against child marriage: firstly, Part 1 Section 61 of the 1999 Constitution should be modified; secondly, there should a uniform age set for a child in all of Nigeria's legislation that deals with children; thirdly, while pressure should be put on all Nigerian states which are yet to domesticate the CRA, there is a need for a new act (Prohibition of Child Marriage Act) which, if enacted, should automatically apply to all states in Nigeria in order to legally protect the girl child.


Automated video tracking is useful in a number of applications such as surveillance, multisensor networks, robotics and virtual reality. In this paper we investigate an approach to tracking based on fusing the output of a collection of video trackers, each attending to a different feature or cue on the target. We show both theoretically and experimentally that the method used to prune the growth of target hypotheses can have a great impact on the trackers performance, and indirectly, change the benefit of using linear score combination as opposed to a non-linear rank combination for fusion. We also show that the rank-score graph defined by Hsu and Taksa can be used to select a subset of features to fuse to reduce classification error.


AbstractPassive microwave radiometer data over the ocean have been widely used, but data near coastlines or over lakes often cannot be used because of the large footprint with mixed signals from both land and water. For example, current standard Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) products, including wind, water vapor, and precipitation, are typically unavailable within about 100 km of any coastline. This paper presents methods of correcting land-contaminated radiometer data in order to extract the coastal information. The land contamination signals are estimated, and then removed, using a representative antenna pattern convolved with a high-resolution land–water mask. This method is demonstrated using SSM/I data over the Great Lakes and validated with simulated data and buoy measurements. The land contamination is significantly reduced, and the wind speed retrieval is improved. This method is not restricted to SSM/I and wind retrievals alone; it can be applied more generally to microwave radiometer m...


This paper presents how analysis can be used in the design and the design verification process for towed equipment. Analysis of a seismic gun array has been carried out and points out the challenges that need to be addressed in order to obtain an assessment of the system. It is shown how analysis should be carried out to obtain proper design verification. Applicable rules and design criteria are presented and discussed. The work shows the importance of carrying out a coupled hydroelastic analysis of towed equipment. The strong effect of waves and currents to positioning of equipment is shown.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The present invention relates to a novel type of non-corrosive geopolymer cement in which said cement comprises a metakaolin or a mixture of metakaolin and an aluminosilicate that is not thermally activated, in a weight ratio within the range extending from around 40:60 to around 80:20, and an alkaline silicate solution having an M2O/SiO2 molar ratio within the range extending from 0.51 to 0.60, M representing Na or K and also the use of a superplasticizer comprising a crosslinked polymer of acrylic acid in the manufacture of geopolymer cement.


A three-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) model is developed and used to model a compact ECR plasma source. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique is used to model the microwave fields which excite the plasma at 2.45 GHz. The PIC technique is used to model the dynamics of both the electrons and ions in the plasma. The grid structure used is constructed using the cylindrical coordinate system. Techniques which permit stable numerical solutions in the cylindrical coordinate system are developed and described. The electromagnetic fields and the plasma dynamics are solved in a self-consistent manner. A compact ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) plasma source used for the generation of ions for materials processing is simulated. This source has a plasma size of 3.6 cm in diameter and 3 cm in height. Simulation results of microwave power absorption, plasma potential, and microwave electric fields are presented. Distributed computing techniques are explored to handle the large computer memory requirements and the long computer simulation times associated with the three-dimensional particle-in-cell plasma model. >


A sequence-to-sequence learning with neural networks has empirically proven to be an effective framework for Chinese Spelling Correction (CSC), which takes a sentence with some spelling errors as input and outputs the corrected one. However, CSC models may fail to correct spelling errors covered by the confusion sets, and also will encounter unseen ones. We propose a method, which continually identifies the weak spots of a model to generate more valuable training instances, and apply a task-specific pre-training strategy to enhance the model. The generated adversarial examples are gradually added to the training set. Experimental results show that such an adversarial training method combined with the pre-training strategy can improve both the generalization and robustness of multiple CSC models across three different datasets, achieving state-of-the-art performance for CSC task.


The 20 year conflict in northern Uganda between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis. Agencies working in the sector of psychosocial support over the years have developed a concept to work closely with community members who are made responsible for many of the community based activities. This article describes the experiences of these community volunteer counsellors (CVCs).


The compaction rate of suspended mud depends not only on the sediment concentration but also on the turbulent intensity. This effect appears to be due to the turbulence plugging micro-channels used in the dewatering process. The compaction rate decreases by a factor of up to 10 with increasing stirring or turbulence in the inhibited settling (fluid mud) range. Our findings are based on the results of laboratory experiments where this effect was measured directly, and on observations of the suspended sediment stratification cycle at tidal frequency in the Normanby River estuary, Australia.


In most of the Universities, results are published on web or send via PDF files. Currently many of the colleges use manual process to analyze the results. Sadly the college staff has to manually fill the student result details and then analyze the rankings accordingly. Our proposed system will extract the data automatically from PDF and web, create dynamic database and analyze data, for this system make use of PDF Extractor, Pattern matching techniques, data mining, Web mining technique and sorting technique.


With appropriate reallocation of central resources, the ability to maintain an erect posture is not necessarily degraded by a concurrent motor task. This study investigated the neural control of a particular postural-suprapostural procedure involving brain mechanisms to solve crosstalk between posture and motor subtasks. Participants completed a single posture task and a dual-task while concurrently conducting force-matching and maintaining a tilted stabilometer stance at a target angle. Stabilometer movements and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The added force-matching task increased the irregularity of postural response rather than the size of postural response prior to force-matching. In addition, the added force-matching task during stabilometer stance led to marked topographic ERP modulation, with greater P2 positivity in the frontal and sensorimotor-parietal areas of the N1-P2 transitional phase and in the sensorimotor-parietal area of the late P2 phase. The time-frequency distribution of the ERP primary principal component revealed that the dual-task condition manifested more pronounced delta (1–4 Hz) and beta (13–35 Hz) synchronizations but suppressed theta activity (4–8 Hz) before force-matching. The dual-task condition also manifested coherent fronto-parietal delta activity in the P2 period. In addition to a decrease in postural regularity, this study reveals spatio-temporal and temporal-spectral reorganizations of ERPs in the fronto-sensorimotor-parietal network due to the added suprapostural motor task. For a particular set of postural-suprapostural task, the behavior and neural data suggest a facilitatory role of autonomous postural response and central resource expansion with increasing interregional interactions for task-shift and planning the motor-suprapostural task.


We studied the incidence of Hemophilus influenzae meningitis at the Columbus Children's Hospital (CCH) during the following intervals: Period A (1942 to 1950), Period B (1951 to 1959), and Period C (1960 to 1968).
 Other investigators have reported an increase in the incidence of influenzal meningitis, but there has been no predictable relationship to the number of hospial admissions. Thre was a 399% increase in the number of patients with H. influenzae meningitis at the CCH from Period A to Period C, roughly proportional to the rise in total hospial admissions during he same time.
 Children under 5 years of age constitute the major population at risk. Incidence stated in terms of population at risk appears to be a reliable method of comparing experience in specific geographic areas during specific periods of time. The experience at the CCH, using this method, indicates a significant increase in this disease without comparable increases in meningitis caused by other bacteria.


The concept of collaborative design has recently come under renewed attention in the field of computer aided architectural design support. Although collaborative design deals with the same aspects of cooperation by various participants in the design process as previously studiedin, for example, concurrent engineering and multi-disciplinary design, it nevertheless puts a different research emphasis. Collaborative design looks at how the process can be improved in such a way that collaboration –working together in a manner to enhance each participants contribution to the design– emerges from the process. In engineering design practice, thismeans a shift forward in the design process where engineers are asked earlier for their input in the design solution. For CAAD research, the phenomenon of collaborative design poses the question how design tools and environments can be made in such a way that collaboration will occur. In this paper, the aims is to describe the concept of collaborative design in architecture, and to give an outline of the perceived requirements in the organisation of design and Computer Aided Design Support to achieve collaborative design.


Background and purpose: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is an increasing burden worldwide. The biopsychosocial factors associated with CLBP have not yet been investigated in Burundi. The aim of this study was to investigate the biopsychosocial factors that influence the CLBP-related outcomes of self-reported pain intensity, limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs), and social participation (SP) restrictions in a Burundian sample population.Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study of 58 adults with non-specific CLBP from Bujumbura city. Measures of pain intensity, ADL limitations, SP restrictions, and biopsychosocial factors were analyzed with descriptive, inferential, and correlational statistics.Results: The biopsychosocial factors found to be associated with CLBP outcomes were body mass index (BMI), education level, gender, healthcare coverage, depression, trunk muscles endurance, and perceived exertion. Self-reported pain intensity was found to be significantly associated with a sub-university education level, depressiveness, high perceived exertion, low spine extensor muscles endurance, and low abdominal muscles endurance (p range, <0.001 to <0.05). Greater disability, in terms of ADL limitations and SP restrictions, was associated with sub-university education level, female gender, lack of healthcare coverage, high BMI, depressiveness, low spine extensor muscles endurance, and low abdominal muscles endurance, and high perceived exertion (p range, <0.001 to <0.05). Conclusions: This study provides evidence of biopsychosocial factor associations with CLBP-related pain, ADL limitations, and SP restrictions in Burundi. Significantly associated factors were consistent with factors that have been associated with CLBP outcomes in high-income countries, with the addition of lack of healthcare coverage as a significant factor in Burundi. Evidence-based management of CLBP in Burundi should incorporate a biopsychosocial model.


The present paper aims to present an overview of the labor market in Romania, from at least two main points of view. We used data provided by the annual Romanian Statistical Yearbook in order to analyze the evolution of wages in Romania for a timeframe of ten years, as well as to study the evolution of the number of employees in different type of companies, by dimension. The first part of the paper consists in presenting a theoretical background with references to the labor market, while the second part presents the case study on the evolution of representative indicators for the proposed subject.


In this paper an approach to using the UML for developing safety critical systems is presented. We describe how safety analysis may be performed on a UML system model and how this analysis can derive safety requirements for classes in the system. We show how these requirements can be expressed in the form of safety contracts using the OCL. This makes it possible to reason about the safety of individual elements of the UML model and thus makes it easier to safely change the UML design, as well as facilitating maintenance and reuse of classes or components in the system. A tool is also described which has been developed to automate some aspects of this analysis.


Analyses of the Kuyunjik (Kouyunjik) relief and other data suggest Phoenicia probably did not build ships with rams before the Battle of Salamis. A review of Greek literature, iconography, and archaeology suggests the naval ram may have been a Greek invention, appearing at the earliest in the 6th century BC and possibly as late as the 5th century. Its evolution may have led to a shift from laced to pegged mortise‐and‐tenon joinery in Greek shipbuilding as well as the development of the wineglass‐shaped hull and heavier framing. It may also have influenced the development of large‐scale bronze‐casting in Greece. © 2008 The Author


Growth factor receptor internalization occurs at sites of transient membrane contacts The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has fundamental roles in physiology and cancer. It is rapidly internalized (endocytosed) from the cell surface upon ligand binding and activation and can either sustain its signaling by being recycled back to the plasma membrane or get delivered to the lysosome where it is degraded (1). After much debate, it is currently thought that EGFR endocytosis involves clathrin-mediated (CME) and nonclathrin (NCE) mechanisms depending on the ligand concentration and cellular context, with the molecular details of the latter route poorly defined (1, 2). On page 617 of this issue, Caldieri et al. (3) report that the NCE pathway involves transient endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–plasma membrane contacts formed close to the sites of EGFR internalization.


Introduction: In recent years, nanoemulsions have been investigated as potential drug delivery vehicles for transdermal and dermal delivery of many compounds especially hydrophobic compounds in order to avoid clinical adverse effects associated with oral delivery of the same compounds. Droplet size and surface properties of nanoemulsions play an important role in the biological behavior of the formulation. Areas covered: In this review, current literature of transdermal and dermal delivery of hydrophobic compounds both in vitro as well as in vivo has been summarized and analyzed. Expert opinion: Nanoemulsions have been formulated using a variety of pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. In many cases of dermal and transdermal nanoemulsions, the skin irritation or skin toxicity issues on human beings have not been considered which needs to be evaluated properly. In the last decade, much attention has been made in exploring new types of nanoemulsion-based drug delivery system for dermal and transdermal delivery of many hydrophobic compounds. This area of research would be very advantageous for formulation scientists in order to develop some nanoemulsion-based formulations for their commercial exploitation and clinical applications.


Understanding of animal spatial behavior is essential for informed management decisions. In southern Africa, reintroduction of lions (Panthera leo) to small reserves (<1000 km2 ) has increased since the early 2000s, however studies on their ranging behavior in these enclosed systems remain lacking. We applied Time Local Convex Hull (T-LoCoH) methods to study the home range establishment and utilization of 11 lions reintroduced to Dinokeng Game Reserve, South Africa, during 2011 through 2014. Lions established home ranges close to their release sites and during the following 3 years their home range sizes continued to increase, but in each individual case the size remained smaller than half of the reserve area (<70 km2 ). Space use strategies differed between the core and the entire home range, with higher frequency of visits found in core areas. Exceptionally high rates (>60 separate visits) around the largest dam and along rivers suggest the importance of water and its surrounding vegetation in the lions' space utilization pattern. The home range size did not differ with season or sex of the individuals, whereas shifts in locations of home ranges revealed differences in the response of the 2 sexes to territorial conflicts and management interventions. Our study shows a dynamic home range utilization pattern and highlights the importance of both fine-scale space use patterns (frequency and duration of visits) and broad-scale home range changes in understanding the ranging behavior of reintroduced animals.


A completely new phase diagram, the electron number diagram, has been developed for aqueous redox systems. The electron number diagram is a transformed potential-pH diagram in which potential is replaced by its thermodynamic conjugate, the number of electrons. The relationship between electron number diagrams and potential-pH diagrams, which provide complementary information, is explained in thermodynamic and geometric terms. Electron number diagrams show any similarities to metallurgical T-x diagrams. Because electron number is a conserved quantity, material balances can be performed on electron number diagrams, and process trajectories can be followed. The mass and electron balance equations are derived, and electron number diagrams are used to illustrate a variety of process trajectories. The diagrams are of particular value in describing the complex phase chemistry involved in aqueous corrosion, hydrometallurgical ore processing, nuclear waste disposal, geochemical processes and some fuel sulfur removal processes. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of complex aqueous redox systems was the basis for algorithms for construction of generalized chemical potential diagrams, potential-pH diagrams and electron number diagrams. Extremely efficient computer programs based on the algorithms were used to construct diagrams for a variety of systems, including the following which include two active redox elements: the aqueous U-C, Cd-Te andmore » Ga-As systems. Extension of these algorithms to systems of arbitrary complexity is also discussed.« less


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and radiographic joint damage (using the Ratingen Score [RS]) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS
The study was carried out in 767 patients with early RA. Standard clinical data, RS, and BMI were evaluated at baseline and after 3 years. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed in rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive and RF-negative patients to determine the influence of BMI (<25 versus > or = 30 kg/m(2)) on considerable joint damage (RS > or = 7) after 3 years, adjusting for sex, age, disease duration, and disease activity (using the Disease Activity Scale in 28 joints [DAS28]).

RESULTS
Patients of normal weight already had significantly more joint damage at study entry than obese patients (mean RS 4.5 versus 2.4; P = 0.004) and experienced significantly more progression than obese patients (RS 3.4 versus 1.3; P = 0.011). At 3 years, their RS score was twice as high as that of the obese patients (7.5 versus 3.7; P < 0.001). Multivariate regression analyses in both serologic groups revealed significantly higher odds of RS > or = 7 in RF-positive patients of normal weight than in RF-positive obese patients (odds ratio [OR] 3.3), but not in RF-negative patients. Male sex (OR 1.6), osteoporosis (OR 2.0), C-reactive protein levels >15 mg/liter versus <5 mg/liter (OR 2.6), and disease activity (DAS28 > or = 5.1 versus <3.2; OR 1.9) were independently associated with RS > or = 7.

CONCLUSION
BMI provides a risk estimate of joint damage in RA patients. Further studies are needed to elucidate the association between BMI, RF, and joint damage in RA and the possible role of adipose tissue.