The mechanical properties of biodegradable construction materials were investigated, and their possible methods of performance evaluation were introduced. Even though poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) has a higher elongation at break than most biodegradable polyesters, its extensive application is limited because of relatively slow biodegradation speed. To accelerate the biodegradation of PBAT, starch was melt-mixed with PBAT. According to previous studies, their biodegradation speed increased with addition of starch to polyesters but tensile strength of the blends significantly decreased. To overcome the drawback, organoclay was added to the blends in this study. Addition of 1wt% orgaoclay into the blends improved the tensile modulus and tensile strength. Nanocomposite materials made by mixing PBAT, starch and organoclay can be applied to vegetation mats which normally require keeping its function until seeds sprout and plants settle in soil, and their production process was introduced in this study. Additionally, the performance evaluation of possible biodegradable construction materials was summarized by systematical methods. The requirement conditions for vegetation mats was first arranged and then transferred into required performance. The test performance was classified based on the KS ISO standards from non-biodegradable plastic test methods. Finally, the environmental performance was proposed by evaluating the life cycle assessment of biodegradable construction materials from the production of raw materials to the decomposition of vegetation mats. Index Terms—Life cycle assessment, Organoclay, Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate, Starch, Vegetation mat.


We assessed changes in neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoreactivities when neonatal rat chromaffin cells were cultured in a medium containing nerve growth factor (NGF), or the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX), examining whether their expression was correlated with the morphological changes induced by NGF and DEX. All of the chromaffin cells in culture were tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunopositive regardless of whether they extended processes. TH-immunoreactive materials of NGF-treated chromaffin cells were distributed in all the cytoplasmic processes, even at the tips of growth cones. The percentage of NPY-positive chromaffin cells did not change markedly when treated with NGF or DEX throughout the 14 days in culture. The proportion of VIP-positive chromaffin cells increased gradually in the NGF-treated group and that of ChAT-positive cells in the group was similar to VIP. The morphological alterations induced by NGF were not correlated with the changes in proportions of NPY-, VIP- or ChAT-positive chromaffin cells. The percentages of VIP- or ChAT-immunopositive chromaffin cells in the NGF-treated group showed much greater increases than those in the DEX-treated group. These findings suggest that NGF might modulate the phenotypic changes of neuropeptides and amines in rat chromaffin cells.


Until now, cutaneous lymphoma limited to the subcutaneous fat has been described as being derived only from T cells. Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma has been reported as a rare, postthymic neoplasm with various associations, including dermatomyositis. Furthermore, primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma of the leg is defined by a diffuse dermal infiltrate of neoplastic B cells with extension to both the papillary dermis and the subcutaneous fat. We report a case of a patient with dermatomyositis who developed a cutaneous lymphoma of B-cell origin restricted to the subcutis, the first of its kind reported in the literature. This malignancy spared the dermis and epidermis, and we suggest that this is a unique variant of primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma of the leg.


This report is an update of an earlier version produced in January 2010 (see Carrington et al. 2010) which remains as an ePrint through the project's home page. The report provides an introduction to our analyses of extant secondary data with respect to violent acts and incidents relating to males living in rural settings in Australia using data which were available in public data bases at the time of production. It clarifies important aspects of our overall approach primarily by concentrating on three elements that required early scoping and resolution.


Social work principles include cultural competence and cultural awareness as major matters for effective social work practice. Religion is one of the strands for non-discriminatory practice. However religious competence has not been referred as such. This essay seeks to comment on an observed need in the UK for further development and implementations of social work principles and practice. The religious diversity in the UK shows demand for multi-faith and multi-religious education, knowledge and awareness, which will promote effective social work practice.


Design Engineering is considered in all their details as an engineering road-map that implementing companies must adhere to. Therefore, designers must consider sustainable standards in engineering designs in general and designs for energy-related parts of buildings. For the purpose of disseminating sustainable energy designs, the analytical require study of performance construction in terms of energy consumption, knowledge of the sources of this energy. The extent to basic electrical and mechanical designs are simulated to the energy performance requirements of a sustainable methodology. For this reason, this research paper sheds light on a survey study of the extent to which projects conform in terms of implementation and design to methodological standards in the performance of sustainable energy by relying on a group of experts and specialists in this field. Therefore, the researcher has adopted a set of standards that simulate the burning environment and in an open questionnaire whose outputs have turned into a closed questionnaire to include a group of specialized experts to reach the importance of organizing these standards to be part of the Iraqi construction electrical projects


Detailed simulation studies have been performed investigating the properties of the nominal ATLAS monitored drift tube (MDT) chamber gas (Ar/CO2-93/7) in presence of magnetic field. Results of the effect of magnetic field varying from 0.1 T to 1.5 T on muon tracks passing at different distances from the tube anode wire will be discussed. The simulation was based on the use of MAGBOLTZ and GARFIELD programs. Emphasis is given to the reliability of the second simulation program, which has been verified with comparisons of precision measurements provided in the bibliography.


The chief venous diseases which may have notable or costly economic consequences are, on the one hand, varicose veins and phlebitis (superficial and deep) with their sequelae of chronic venous insufficiency and of ulcers, and, on the other hand, pulmonary embolism and its prevention. The incidence of the former is higher and treatment is very costly. The cost of leg ulcers only in Britain is estimated at 600 million pounds per year. Pulmonary emboli have notable economic consequence because of the cost of preventive and essential measures against such events, which are often fatal.


A ten-month-old infant who presented with regression of milestones and seizures was noted to have a gibbus deformity in the upper thoracic region. She was diagnosed to have spine and central nervous system tuberculosis by culture of pus from the paravertebral abcess which showed a growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The mother, who had been having recurrent episodes of Urinary tract infection, was diagnosed to have Urinary TB proven by culture. Spinal tuberculosis, though rare, can be encountered in infancy and should be kept in mind while treating infants presenting with related symptoms.


Immunotherapy alone or chemo-immunotherapy has recently been recommended for treating advanced lung carcinoma in patients without driver mutations. However, the efficacy of immunotherapy and molecular mechanism in large-cell lung cancer (LCLC) remains unclear. Here, we reported a rare case of multiple fulminant postoperative body and mouth metastases in LCLC treating with combination immunotherapy. Initially, the patient was diagnosed as early stage LCLC and underwent a radical resection of the right lower lobe. Just one month later, multiple fulminant body and mouth lesions appeared in the right upper arm, right elbow, right waist, and tongue root. Meanwhile, serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) concentration dramatically increased from 12.12 to 30.14 ng/ml. Immumohistochemistry findings demonstrated moderate PD-L1 expressions with tumor proportion score (TPS), while next-generation sequencing indicated moderate tumor mutational burden (TMB) levels and gene mutations in PBRM1 L1230P and TP53 L194R of both foci. Besides, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I (HLA-A*02:03, HLA-B*55:02 and HLA-C*12:03) were detected in the right upper arm metastasis, which may facilitate malignant postoperative metastases in this case. Notably, this patient received combination therapy with anti-PD-1 antibody sintilimab plus anlotinib, and achieved a partial response for at least 12 months. Using an integrated computational method, the mutant peptide TEIPENDIPL derived from PBRM1 L1230P was predicted to be a specific neoantigen and could still be presented by HLA-B*40:01. This case suggests that immunotherapy plus antiangiogenic drug may provide an alternative therapeutic option for advanced LCLC patients without common gene mutations.


This paper highlights revisions to multifactor productivity (MFP) growth and related variables in the business sector and in individual industries, which resulted from the historical revision of the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) released October 1, 2012, revisions to the labour productivity accounts released October 12, 2012, and changes in the estimation of capital input that were made in order to improve its consistency in industry MFP growth estimates. The multifactor productivity program produces indexes of MFP and related measures (output, capital input, labour input and intermediate inputs) for the business sector, broad economic sub-sectors, and their constituent industries. The MFP program divides growth in labour productivity into its key determinants: capital intensity (changes in capital per hour worked), investment in human capital, and MFP, which includes technological change, organizational innovation and economies of scale.


Explosions emanating from terrorist attacks or military weapons cause damage to civilian and military facilities. Understanding the mechanical behaviour of reinforced concrete structures subjected to blast is of paramount importance for minimizing the possible blast damage. A full-scale experimental program consisting of six reinforced concrete slabs with compressive strengths of 60 MPa, 50 MPa and 40 MPa, measuring 1.0 m × 1.0 m × 0.08 m, and subjected to 2.7 kg of non-confined plastic bonded explosive, was conducted in blast test area of Science and Technology Aerospace Department (Brazilian Air Force). This paper compares experimentally measured peak displacement values with theoretical values. Theoretical analysis was carried out using single degree of freedom (SDOF) models. The comparison showed that SDOF analysis worked very well in predicting the reinforced concrete slab peak displacement against blast effects. Qualitative analysis after the experiments showed that the blast wave shape generated by the cylindrical explosive was not uniformly distributed on the slabs for the standoff distance of 0.927 m∕kg1/3.


The growing popularity of remote fitness has increased the demand for highly accurate computer vision models that track human poses. However, the best methods still fail in many real-world fitness scenarios, suggesting that there is a domain gap between current datasets and real-world fitness data. To enable the field to address fitness-specific vision problems, we created InfiniteForm, an open-source synthetic dataset of 60k images with diverse fitness poses (15 categories), both single- and multi-person scenes, and realistic variation in lighting, camera angles, and occlusions. As a synthetic dataset, InfiniteForm offers minimal bias in body shape and skin tone, and provides pixel-perfect labels for standard annotations like 2D keypoints, as well as those that are difficult or impossible for humans to produce like depth and occlusion. In addition, we introduce a novel generative procedure for creating diverse synthetic poses from predefined exercise categories. This generative process can be extended to any application where pose diversity is needed to train robust computer vision models.


The same reference positron lifetime spectra of polyurethane, measured in temperature range 112 to 390 K, were analyzed with three theoretical models: the "conventional" model with three exponential decay component of discrete values of lifetimes, a model with one discrete exponential component and two "packages" of exponentials with log-normal distribution of annihilation rates, and a model considering positronium slow localization, positronium internal relaxation as well as "delayed" formation of positronium. It turns out that the two latter models fit to the experimental data with the same excellent quality, in spite of the fact that in both models the ratio of intensities related to para-positronium and ortho-positronium was constrained to be as 1:3.


This study analyzed the effects of restricting the response space and selfevaluation on students' handwriting quality in two beginning handwriters and two experienced handwriters. Students executed letters with and without using a transparent overlay, in a multiple-baseline-across-letters design. The use of the transparent overlay included drawing letters in a space restricted by the transparency; overlaying a model letter on top of the written letter and; evaluating if the two letters matched. Letter quality immediately improved when overlays were used, and handwriting quality maintained when the writing response was not restricted by the overlay transparency. Prompting and feedback were delivered contingent on on-task behavior. Analysis was based on three different measurement systems.


Complement offers a first line of defence against infection through the opsonization of microbial pathogens, recruitment of professional phagocytes to the infection site and the coordination of inflammatory responses required for the resolution of infection. Staphylococcus aureus is a successful pathogen that has developed multiple mechanisms to thwart host immune responses. Understanding the precise strategies employed by S. aureus to bypass host immunity will be paramount for the development of vaccines and or immunotherapies designed to prevent or limit infection. To gain a better insight into the specific immune evasion mechanisms used by S. aureus we examined the pathogen's interaction with the soluble complement inhibitor, C4b-binding protein (C4BP). Previous studies indicated that S. aureus recruits C4BP using a specific cell-wall-anchored surface protein and that bound C4BP limits complement deposition on the staphylococcal surface. Using flow-cytometric-based bacterial-protein binding assays we observed no interaction between S. aureus and C4BP. Moreover, we offer a precautionary warning that C4BP isolated from plasma can be co-purified with minute quantities of human IgG, which can distort binding analysis between S. aureus and human-derived proteins. Combined our data indicates that recruitment of C4BP is not a complement evasion strategy employed by S. aureus .


We have performed detailed calculations of the intensity ratio R = z/(x + y) for Ne8+ ions over the range of electron densities from 109 to 1013 cm−3, using a steady-state collisional-radiative model based on an electron velocity distribution which includes both Maxwellian isotropic and monoenergetic beam components. The polarization and anisotropic angular distribution of the emitted lines are taken into account.


The purpose of this two-part paper is to introduce researchers to the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) approach for detecting and measuring rater effects. The researcher will learn how to use the Facets (Linacre, 2001) computer program to study five effects: leniency/severity, central tendency, randomness, halo, and differential leniency/severity. Part 1 of the paper provides critical background and context for studying MFRM. We present a catalog of rater effects, introducing effects that researchers have studied over the last three-quarters of a century in order to help readers gain a historical perspective on how those effects have been conceptualized. We define each effect and describe various ways the effect has been portrayed in the research literature. We then explain how researchers theorize that the effect impacts the quality of ratings, pinpoint various indices they have used to measure it, and describe various strategies that have been proposed to try to minimize its impact on the measurement of ratees. The second half of Part 1 provides conceptual and mathematical explanations of many-facet Rasch measurement, focusing on how researchers can use MFRM to study rater effects. First, we present the many-facet version of Andrich's (1978) rating scale model and identify questions about a rating operation that researchers can address using this model. We then introduce three hybrid MFRM models, explain the conceptual distinctions among them, describe how they differ from the rating scale model, and identify questions about a rating operation that researchers can address using these hybrid models.


Abstract Background The critical task of researchers conducting double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled homeopathic pathogenetic trials is to segregate the signals from the noises. The noises are signs and symptoms due to factors other than the trial drug; signals are signs and symptoms due to the trial drug. Unfortunately, the existing tools (criteria for a causal association of symptoms only with the tested medicine, qualitative pathogenetic index, quantitative pathogenetic index, pathogenic index) have limitations in analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator, resulting in inadequate segregation of the noises. Hence, the Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index are proposed for analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator. Methods The Jaccard similarity index is the ratio of the number of common elements among the placebo and intervention groups to the aggregated number of elements in these groups. The Noise index is the ratio of common elements among the placebo and intervention group to the total elements of the intervention group. Homeopathic pathogenetic trials of Plumbum metallicum, Piper methysticum and Hepatitis C nosode were selected for experimenting with the computation of the Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index. Results Jaccard similarity index calculations show that 8% of Plumbum metallicum's elements, 10.7% of Piper methysticum's elements, and 19.3% of Hepatitis C nosode's elements were similar to the placebo group when elements of both the groups (intervention and placebo) were aggregated. Noise index calculations show that 10.7% of Plumbum metallicum's elements, 13.9% of Piper methysticum's elements and 25.7% of Hepatitis C nosode's elements were similar to those of the placebo group. Conclusion The Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index might be considered an additional approach for analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator, resulting in better noise segregation in homeopathic pathogenetic trials.


Satellite retrievals of environmental parameters can enable a global scale understanding of various atmospheric phenomena. Validation of these retrievals using in situ and other correlative measurements is critical to the success of our accurate interpretation of such phenomena. In this paper, we analyze the effect of dust on AIRS and IASI operational level 2 profiles using data obtained from the 2009–2011 AEROSE campaigns. We find that the presence of dust in the AIRS and IASI measurements biases the cloud‐cleared radiances by as much as 4 K. In addition, we find that the temperature and surface temperature retrievals resultant from these cloud‐cleared radiances show 2 to 3 K spurious oscillations throughout the troposphere.


Small-medium reactors (SMRs) are going to be important players in the worldwide nuclear renaissance. The economy of scale plays against the development of this kind of reactors, even if sometimes its influence is overestimated so that SMRs appear to have a levelized unit electricity cost significantly higher than large reactors (LRs). However, the economy of scale applies only if SMR designs are similar to that of LRs, but this is not the case since the small size allows,for original design solutions not accessible to large sized reactors. The literature already presents studies showing how, under certain assumptions, the capital cost and the operation and maintenance cost of a site provided by one large reactor is quite similar to another site composed offour SMRs providing the same power output. However, the literature still lacks this kind of analysis on the decommissioning cost. The paper fills this gap, investigating the cost breakdown of a decommissioning project and providing a literature review about its cost estimate techniques and managerial approach. This paper identifies and briefly discusses the different cost drivers related to the decommissioning phase of a nuclear plant focusing the attention on those critical ones in the comparison between SMR and LR (economy of scale, multiple units in a single site, technical savings, and decommissioning strategy-"immediate decommissioning" or "deferred decommissioning"). The International Reactor Innovative and Secure reactor is used as the example of a SMR to quantify the effect of these drivers, but the analysis and conclusions are applicable to the whole spectrum of new small nuclear plants. The results show that when all of these factors are accounted for in a set of realistic and comparable configurations, and with the same power installed on the site, the decommissioning costs of a SMR with respect to a LR drop from three times higher to two times. If more than one large reactor is considered, the gap increases since the large reactor investment also reaps advantages from site sharing.


Assessing competencies of students with special educational needs in learning (SEN-L) poses a challenge for large-scale assessments (LSAs). For students with SEN-L, the available competence tests may fail to yield test scores of high psychometric quality, which are—at the same time—measurement invariant to test scores of general education students. We investigated whether we can identify a subgroup of students with SEN-L, for which measurement invariant competence measures of adequate psychometric quality may be obtained with tests available in LSAs. We furthermore investigated whether differences in test-taking behavior may explain dissatisfying psychometric properties and measurement non-invariance of test scores within LSAs. We relied on person fit indices and mixture distribution models to identify students with SEN-L for whom test scores with satisfactory psychometric properties and measurement invariance may be obtained. We also captured differences in test-taking behavior related to guessing and missing responses. As a result we identified a subgroup of students with SEN-L for whom competence scores of adequate psychometric quality that are measurement invariant to those of general education students were obtained. Concerning test taking behavior, there was a small number of students who unsystematically picked response options. Removing these students from the sample slightly improved item fit. Furthermore, two different patterns of missing responses were identified that explain to some extent problems in the assessments of students with SEN-L.


Abstract Three vortices in a polar air stream are analyzed using detailed mesoscale observations and conventional synoptic data. In their mature stages, the vortices exhibited wind, temperature and precipitation patterns similar to the larger extratropical cyclones that form on the polar front. Each of the three vortices interacted with the polar front to form an "instant occlusion." There is evidence that, in the three cases studied in this paper, a vortex supplied the low-pressure center, occlusion and cold front to the "instant occlusion".


In many contexts, decision-making situations call for examination of local detail without losing awareness of global context. Knowledge will be more useful if organized and presented accordingly. Fisheye view methods are one way of effective knowledge presentation and have been used in displaying various knowledge structures. This study explores an application of the fisheye view concept on World Wide Web site design. A related experiment and following empirical tests are described.


Abstract : Several years ago there was a cartoon in the paper that parodied the U.S. Army's newest tank, the M-1. In the cartoon, the weight of the tank was listed at 73 tons with a proviso provided by the Pentagon stating that six of those tons were the owner's manual. The Washington Post's 1986 article on Struggling to Understand Manual-ese noted several examples of problems with poorly worded documentation that accompanies most of the consumer electronics products, e.g., VCRs. A local hospital recently issued a user's manual to assist the staff in interfacing with the hospital computer. For various reasons, the hospital had three different types of computer terminals that were networked to a central server. Rather than spend the money necessary to develop software for a single set of interface commands, three different sets of instructions, a unique set for each computer terminal, were compiled into a user's manual. The user was expected to learn and remember each set of appropriate interface commands. For example, to clear the screen at terminal 1 the user pressed the ALT-F2 keys; for terminal 2, the PAUSE key cleared the screen; and for terminal 3, the CLEAR key cleared the screen. The lack of any systematic approach to the design and development of technical information contributes to inefficient operation and ineffective maintenance performance. Data and techniques exist that demonstrate improved performance.


We study the problem of maximum likelihood estimation for $3$-dimensional linear spaces of $3\times 3$ symmetric matrices from the point of view of algebraic statistics where we view these nets of conics as linear concentration or linear covariance models of Gaussian distributions on $\mathbb{R}^3$. In particular, we study the reciprocal surfaces of nets of conics which are rational surfaces in $\mathbb{P}^5$. We show that the reciprocal surfaces are projections from the Veronese surface and determine their intersection with the polar nets. This geometry explains the maximum likelihood degrees of these linear models. We compute the reciprocal maximum likelihood degrees. This work is based on Wall's classification of nets of conics from 1977.


TO test whether mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in microglial activation, pure microglia prepared from 1- to 3-day-old rat brains were activated with either 10 0 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or 5 nM synthetic β-amyloid (Aβ) (25-35). The patterns of MAPK activation following LPS and Aβ treatment were very similar. Three MAPK subtypes, p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N- terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) were activated within 1 5 min and the activities of p38 and ERK were rapidly reduced to background level within 3 0 min while that of JNK was maintained for over 1 h. Both inhibitors of p38 (SB203580) and ERK pathway (PD098059) reduced LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) release and A β-induced tumor necrosis factor α-(TNF-α) release. Furthermore, co-treatment of SB203580 and PD098059 additively reduced NO and TNF α-release. These results suggest that MAPK, at least p38 and ERK, mediate LPS-, and Aβ-induced microglial activation.


Nowadays new technologies, and especially artificial intelligence, are more and more established in our society. Big data analysis and machine learning, two sub-fields of artificial intelligence, are at the core of many recent breakthroughs in many application fields (e.g., medicine, communication, finance, ...), including some that are strongly related to our day-to-day life (e.g., social networks, computers, smartphones, ...). In machine learning, significant improvements are usually achieved at the price of an increasing computational complexity and thanks to bigger datasets. Currently, cutting-edge models built by the most advanced machine learning algorithms typically became simultaneously very efficient and profitable but also extremely complex. Their complexity is to such an extent that these models are commonly seen as black-boxes providing a prediction or a decision which can not be interpreted or justified. Nevertheless, whether these models are used autonomously or as a simple decision-making support tool, they are already being used in machine learning applications where health and human life are at stake. Therefore, it appears to be an obvious necessity not to blindly believe everything coming out of those models without a detailed understanding of their predictions or decisions. Accordingly, this thesis aims at improving the interpretability of models built by a specific family of machine learning algorithms, the so-called tree-based methods. Several mechanisms have been proposed to interpret these models and we aim along this thesis to improve their understanding, study their properties, and define their limitations.


This paper considers the sources that inform W.B. Yeats's conception of Unity of Being. Yeats expresses this concept in religious terms and syncretically aligns his 'Christ'—his Unity of Being—with an amalgamation of belief and philosophical systems. In this paper, I focus on a triad of influences that Yeats frequently drew together: Dante, Blake, and the Upanishads. Through a reading of images from the poems 'Ego Dominus Tuus' and 'The Phases of the Moon', this paper hopes to enrich existing literature on Yeats' religious self-conception as it stood at the publication of the second edition of A Vision . This article will explore how, since Yeats considered his pre-occupation with Unity of Being to be the origin of A Vision , the abovementioned poems are further connected to the background of Yeats's fictional characters Michael Robartes and Owen Aherne through references to 'Rosa Alchemica' and Yeats's play, Calvary .


Autoxidation, the free radical chain reaction that nominally inserts O2 into hydrocarbons to give peroxides, is primarily responsible for the degradation of all organic materials. Peroxyl radicals propagate autoxidation mainly by abstraction of labile H-atoms from the hydrocarbons, whereas radical-trapping antioxidants (RTAs) inhibit autoxidation by donating an H-atom to the peroxyl radical to give a nonpropagating radical. As such, a detailed understanding of the kinetics and thermodynamics of H-atom transfer (HAT) reactions to peroxyl radicals, and the effects of sterics, electronics, and medium thereupon, is key to understanding the mechanisms and products of autoxidation and the ability of RTAs to inhibit it. Due to their relatively weak O-H and N-H bonds, phenols and aromatic amines have long been utilized as RTAs, but only phenols have been extensively optimized to maximize their reactivity. Amines offer greater structural variability owing to their trivalent central nitrogen atom. Simply linking the two aromatic rings of a diarylamine to afford a phenoxazine offers profound differences in HAT reactivity: 1000-times greater than diphenylamine and 10-fold more reactive than α-tocopherol, Nature's optimized phenolic RTA. Thus, phenoxazines are an exciting scaffold for RTA development. Indeed, we have recently shown that ring substitution of phenoxazine or 2,4-diazaphenoxazine can yield compounds that undergo barrierless HAT reactions with peroxyl radicals. Amines also have the distinct advantage that they can react with peroxyl radicals to yield nitroxides, which can inhibit autoxidation in a catalytic manner utilizing the substrate itself as the stoichiometric reductant. Herein we provide an account of our recent efforts to understand how they manage this feat, which have revealed at least four mechanisms depending on the specific reaction conditions (i.e., saturated hydrocarbons at elevated temperatures, unsaturated hydrocarbons, acidic media, aqueous media/lipid dispersions). We also reiterate how their impressive RTA activity translates from solution to mammalian cell culture, wherein we have demonstrated that diarylamines and their derived nitroxides are potent inhibitors of ferroptosis, a recently characterized form of cell death associated with lipid peroxidation (autoxidation). In addition to phenols and amines, organosulfur compounds have long been used as antioxidants. The prevailing view has been that they undergo ionic reactions with product peroxides, preventing the initiation of further chain reactions. In recent years, we have found that many organosulfur compounds exhibit very good RTA activity. In particular, sulfenic acids (RSOH) and hydropersulfides (RSSH) are found to be among the best HAT agents known, particularly to peroxyl radicals where secondary orbital interactions are found to play a significant role. Consequently, oxidation of the sulfenic acid to a sulfinic acid greatly diminishes its HAT reactivity to peroxyls. Polysulfides and their oxides also undergo direct reactions with peroxyl radicals, thereby inhibiting autoxidation, but do so by homolytic substitution reactions. These insights suggest that the RTA activity of organosulfur compounds may be as important to the inhibition of hydrocarbon autoxidation, if not more so, than their ionic reactions.


Microbes can affect processes from food production to human health. Such microbes are not isolated, but rather interact with each other and establish connections with their living environments. Understanding these interactions is essential to an understanding of the organization and complex interplay of microbial communities, as well as the structure and dynamics of various ecosystems. A common and essential approach toward this objective involves the inference of microbiome interaction networks. Although network inference methods in other fields have been studied before, applying these methods to estimate microbiome associations based on compositional data will not yield valid results. On the one hand, features of microbiome data such as compositionality, sparsity and high-dimensionality challenge the data normalization and the design of computational methods. On the other hand, several issues like microbial community heterogeneity, external environmental interference and biological concerns also make it more difficult to deal with the network inference. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of emerging microbiome interaction network inference methods. According to various assumptions and research targets, estimated networks are divided into four main categories: correlation networks, conditional correlation networks, mixture networks and differential networks. Their scope of applications, advantages and limitations are presented in this review. Since real microbial interactions can be complex and dynamic, no unifying method has captured all the aspects of interest to date. In addition, we discuss the challenges now confronting current microbial associations study and future prospects. Finally, we highlight that the research in microbial network inference requires the joint promotion of statistical computation methods and experimental techniques.


This research derives its importance from the scientific framework that Is rich in theoretical approaches in the field of sociology, management systems and governance,and then from the field framework related to the reality of managing social welfare institutions in Morocco, its developments in legal and financial aspects and the current repercussions on the level of social welfare. it also aims to raise the level of social welfare for the beneficiary groups, by evaluations the efforts made in managing these institutions based on an exact scientific approach, method and tools. As a result, we will try to answer in this scientific study, the answer to the following problematic question. «To what extent is the sociological approach adopted in the current legal system of social welfare institutions in Morocco and what is impact on the profitability of these institutions» It is efforts that Is divided into two parts, the first is theoretical and the second is methodological and field, in which we focus on the sociological study of the current reality of the legal and financial system for the management, and evaluations of social welfare institutions in Morocco and the reflection of this evaluations on the profitability of these institutions, especially for the elderly and the time allotted for completion. Keywords: Socıologıcal Reading, Socıal Welfare Instıtutıons, Management Systems.


1. The acetylcholine (ACh) sensitivity of muscle fibres at the neuromuscular junction of the frog was investigated in preparations in which the nerve terminals could be clearly seen. 2. ACh released iontophoretically from a micropipette that was precisely positioned at various points along the muscle fibre in the vicinity of the synapse showed that the peak chemosensitivity (up to 1900 mV/nC) is confined to an area of postsynaptic membrane within a few micra of the nerve terminal; a tenfold decline in sensitivity was obtained when the ACh was released only 5 to 10 μm from the terminal's edge. It is estimated that most of the response obtained when ACh is released within 40 μm from the terminal (the area covered in this study) is due to diffusion to the immediate postsynaptic area. The extrasynaptic chemosensitivity of the muscle membrane was too low to be measured with the present methods. 3. The accuracy with which micropipettes could be positioned in synaptic areas and the clarity of viewing nerve terminals were improved by bathing the tissue in collagenase, which reduced the amount of connective tissue. The distribution of chemosensitivity remained unchanged by such treatment. The ACh response was not detectably altered when nerve terminals were lifted off the muscle, exposing the subsynaptic muscle surface.


In this article, the attitude of Swedish women clergy towards clerical garb is discussed. How can women dress so as to be regarded as "true" women and at the same time as serious ministers? Originally, clerical garb was designed for men, but attempts have been made to achieve transition to garments more suitable for women. One alternative is the attire designed for women clergy worn by the pioneer generation ordained in 1960, among others by Margit Sahlin. Today, many kinds of attire have been designed for women ministers. One crucial question discussed by my informants concerns the issue of how feminine their clerical garb may be allowed to appear. And what is "feminine" in this context? Can women clergy wear high-heeled shoes and put on make-up? Another crucial point is what comfortable clerical attire means to women. Yet another question concerns the violation of norms relating to clerical garb. Do such norms exist? If so, what do they prescribe? For example, can a woman priest combine a clerical collar with a flowery dress, as one of my informants once did? The theoretical inspiration of the article derives from gender studies, studies of uniforms, and gender and fashion studies.


ABSTRACT Introduction: The oral route still represents the most popular way of administering drugs; nowadays oral administration faces new challenges, in particular with regards to the delivery of APIs that are poorly absorbed and sensitive to degradation such as macromolecules and biotechnological drugs. Nanoparticles are promising tools for the efficient delivery of these drugs to the gastrointestinal tract. Areas covered:Approaches and techniques for the formulation of drugs, with particular focus on the preparation of polysaccharide nanoparticles obtained by non-covalent interactions. Expert opinion:Polysaccharide-based nanoparticulate systems offer the opportunity to address some of the issues posed by biotechnological drugs, as well as by small molecules, with problems of stability/intestinal absorption, by exploiting the capability of the polymer to establish non-covalent bonds with functional groups in the chemical structure of the API. This area of research will continue to grow, provided that these drug delivery technologies will efficaciously be translated into systems that can be manufactured on a large scale under GMP conditions. Industrial scale-up represents the biggest obstacle to overcome in view of the transformation of very promising results obtained on lab scale into medicinal products. To do that, an effort toward the simplification of the process and technologies is necessary.


Summary A major barrier to the practical utilization of large, complex models of biochemical systems is the lack of open‐source computational tools to evaluate model behaviors over high‐dimensional parameter spaces. This is due to the high computational expense of performing thousands to millions of model simulations required for statistical analysis. To address this need, we have implemented a user‐friendly interface between cupSODA, a GPU‐powered kinetic simulator, and PySB, a Python‐based modeling and simulation framework. For three example models of varying size, we show that for large numbers of simulations PySB/cupSODA achieves order‐of‐magnitude speedups relative to a CPU‐based ordinary differential equation integrator. Availability and implementation The PySB/cupSODA interface has been integrated into the PySB modeling framework (version 1.4.0), which can be installed from the Python Package Index (PyPI) using a Python package manager such as pip. cupSODA source code and precompiled binaries (Linux, Mac OS/X, Windows) are available at github.com/aresio/cupSODA (requires an Nvidia GPU; developer.nvidia.com/cuda‐gpus). Additional information about PySB is available at pysb.org. Contact firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Interoperability potential concerns the preparation level of an enterprise to establish an efficient collaboration with possible partners. In order to improve their interoperability, enterprises need to know witch level of maturity they have achieved. This article proposes a complete maturity model composed by a methodology and a reference set of parameters to measure interoperability potential. In order to clarify the proposal, an example of application in a real case is described.


The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) process is at present a not fully elucidated mechanism of deterioration. It is a surface process that implies a corrosion and stress synergy, but the most practical consequence is that stress corrosion cracking can modify the mechanical characteristics of the metal causing brittle failure. Previously, we present some results about stress corrosion cracking, crack propagation rate or, even, crack arrest conditions in High Strength Steels. This kind of steels is usually used in prestressed and postensioned structures. These wires are of eutectoid composition and cold drawn. It is well established that failures occur when the wires are in contact with electrolytes of specific compositions while under stress. In the case of concrete, the electrolyte is its pore solution and the stress levels result from the different loads applied due to structural requirements. In this work we suggest some improvements of the Mechanism of SCC based in the Surface Mobility of vacancies on the crack surface proposed by Galvele. Improvements consist in incorporating the electrochemical corrosion as one of the sources for the creation of vacancies and some mechanical effects, both produce synergic effect in the crack propagation rate and they are important for a more comprehensive explanation of the process. On the other hand, the Fracture Toughness change when the steel corrodes, questioning the idea that is an intrinsic characteristic of the material. The reduction in the fracture toughness of steel wires when they are in contact to aggressive media involve that the material becomes less damage tolerant, which implies that it is necessary to detect defects of smaller size, as for example, small notch, pits or superficial cracks.


This paper examines the determinants of economic insecurity in advanced industrial societies. Based on data collected in 13 European democracies, it shows that people's sense of economic security is affected by individual-level attributes such as human capital, recent experiences in the labor market and perceptions of the national economy, but also by cross-national differences in levels of social protection and dependence on the international economy. People who encounter difficulties in the labor market and who live in countries with lower levels of social protection experience significantly higher levels of economic insecurity. Moreover, the results show that the effects of globalization on people's sense of job insecurity are contingent on their country's exposure to the world economy. Greater exposure to trade increases the mitigating effects social protection has on people's sense of economic insecurity. Acknowledgments: This research was supported by NSF grant SBR-9818525. The survey data used in the study come from ICPSR Study No. 6518. The original collector of the data, ICPSR, ZA and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for uses of this collection or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses. I am grateful to Sean Bolks and Silvia Mendes for their help. This paper was first presented at the Political Economy Research Colloquium (PERC), Department of Government, Cornell University. I am grateful to the seminar participants for their insightful comments. Address all correspondence to: Christopher J. Anderson Department of Political Science Binghamton University, SUNY Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA (607) 777-2462 [voice] -2675 [fax] email@example.com [e-mail]


The paper discusses a survey study that examined the involvement of fathers in parenting and its relationship with their children's development. A total of 468 adolescents who participated in the study had responded to questionnaires on aspects of fathers' parenting. Analysis of correlation coefficient between fathers' involvement in parenting and academic achievement and self concept of the adolescents were performed. Frequency count, percentage and mean were also calculated to examine the parenting involvement among fathers. Results indicated that fathers were perceived by their children as responsible and supportive of their mothers. However, the respondents felt that their fathers were unfriendly and had little communication with them. They also expressed that their fathers did not help them in their school works. The correlation between fathers' involvement in parenting and their children academic performance and with the their self concept was rather low. This implies that the role of father in parenting need to be examined further. However, as the majority (75 percent) of the respondents were Malay and they came from low SES (< RM 1000) therefore the results are only reflect the Malay low income group. Studies with more representative sample are therefore recommended to verify the support the present findings.


With the passage of the most significant change to the international tax rules since the early days of the income tax in the 1910s, the debate as to the merit of these changes has been ongoing. Academic commentary on the law known as the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) has been largely negative, with the law being criticized for reducing equity, benefiting wealthier business owners at the expense of individuals in the long term (while also increasing the deficit) and adding to complexity and tax planning opportunities.

These critiques give rise to the question of how best, and under what criteria, to evaluate the changes brought about by the tax law. This paper analyzes the tax law changes adopted in the TCJA that impact cross-border investment by measuring them under a "second best" approach – one that acknowledges that any international tax regime will necessarily involve a trade-off in maximizing different goals and making a choice between the inefficiencies introduced by any set of rules to allow for a more measured and realistic consideration of the benefits of the new law relative to the possible alternatives. The analysis indicates that many of the international tax law changes introduced by the TCJA closely followed proposals made by economists in the years leading up to the law's passage. The divergence between the theory of what the law was intended to do and its results to date provides lessons for economists engaging in policymaking.


Cerebral venous drainage is generally believed to be regulated primarily by hydrodynamic forces. To gain further insight into the regulation of this process, we investigated the response of blood flow velocity and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the internal jugular veins (IJVs) to local hemodynamic shifts. All procedures and assessments were performed on patients (n = 30) undergoing embolization of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The procedure efficiency was verified by the postembolization reduction in time-averaged maximum blood flow velocities, as well as the elevation of pulsatility index and resistance index in the arterial feeders. In cerebral veins, the dominant IJV pressure remained unchanged during the procedure. At the same time, AVM embolization caused a significant reduction in maximal CSA (84 ± 7.6 to 68 ± 7.7 mm(2), P < 0.05) and minimal CSA (68 ± 7.0 to 51 ± 7.0 mm(2), P < 0.01) of the IJV located ipsilateral to the AVM, while the maximal linear blood flow velocity in the IJV remained unchanged (71 ± 4.9 and 85 ± 8.4 cm/s, P = 0.098). Consistent with previously published studies, the data obtained provide further evidence of active regulation of the venous outflow, probably mediated by certain neurogenic and/or endothelium-dependent mechanisms.


In his interesting article (MJA June 27) Professor Shearman is impressed because he cannot identify the excess deaths attributable to oral contraceptive (OC) use in the Australian mortality statistics. We have recently published an analysis of trends in cardiovascular disease mortality in England and Wales and one of our major conclusions was that examination of deathrates for cardiovascular diseases is not a particularly appropriate method for detecting the vascular risks of OCs. Those readers who are interested in this problem may find our paper helpful. Among the points which must be taken into account in analysis include the following. 1. OCs are shown to be clearly related only to venous thromboembolism myocardial infarction and thrombotic stroke. The data for hemorrhagic stroke while reasonably convincing are less consistent and any increase in risk in OC users is probably small. 2. The Royal College of General Practitioners Study provides only 1 set of estimates of relative risk; findings in the numberous other studies should not be ignored. 3. OC use is concentrated among those under age 25 while cardiovascular disease is concentrated among those 35 or older. Furthermore almost all evidence linking OC use to fatal cardiovasxular disease relates to women over 30. 4. Cardiovascular diseases have a complex multifactorial etiology. A favorable change in 1 risk factor could quite easily counteract an unfavorable trend in another. 5. There have been many changes over the years in the formulation of OCs and in the way they are used. For example we now have data which suggest that older women with recognized cardiovascular risk factors are only very infrequently given OCs. Such changes in prescribing practice could profoundly modify the proportion of cardiovascular deaths which might be pill-induced. Apart from questioning where the excess deaths are Professor Shearman makes a number of other points in his paper which will not be discussed here. Latest reports from the Royal College of General Practitioners Study and the Oxford Family Planning Association Study draw attention to the fact that fatal cardiovascular complications from pill use are strongly concentrated in those over 35 and especially in those who smoke. Accordingly we believe that on the basis of known cardiovascular risks many young women may unnecessarily be deprived of the benefits of OC use. (authors modified)


This study deals with plasma polymer films deposited on silicon substrates using tetravinylsilane monomer. The deposition technique was plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Nanoindentation was used as a method to investigate mechanical properties of samples prepared at different RF powers. The Young's modulus and hardness of thin films were estimated from load-displacement curves. The nanoscratch test was employed to determine the critical normal load needed for film delamination, as a parameter describing adhesion to the substrate. AFM images of scratches were carried out to correlate the data with nature and shape of scratches.


The interrelationships in healthy young adult males among 1) Harvard step test score, 2) urinary excretion rates of a) mucoprotein constituents (nondialyzable nitrogen and hexosamine) and b) 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and 3) urine volume have been analyzed statistically by the technique of partial linear correlation for conditions of rest and submaximal work. At rest there was a marked dependence of metabolite excretion upon urine volume, without a significant relation to step test score. During exercise the volume dependence decreased, while the correlation of metabolite excretion with step test score became significant. It is hypothesized that metabolite excretion rates during exercise are maintained at the highest levels in those individuals whose cardiac and renal circulatory responses are most efficient. Submitted on May 10, 1956


Few studies have been published on the taxonomy, biology and ecology of the fish fauna of the rivers and reservoirs from the Brazilian Caatinga. Considering the importance of fish surveys as subsidies for future studies and fishing resources management, the purpose of the present study was to assess the fish assemblage of the two largest reservoirs in the middle Acarau river basin, the Paulo Sarasate and the Edson Queiroz reservoirs, state of Ceara, Northeastern Brazil. Eight nycthemeral samplings were performed with gillnets (mesh size ranging from 3 to 12 cm between opposite knots) during rainy and dry season between 2010 and 2012. We captured 1,626 specimens belonging to three orders, nine families and 17 species, six of which are endemic to the Caatinga. Approximately 30% of the species observed were non-native and had been introduced for stocking purposes.


The mobility rights of migrants have been presented as universal and non-discriminatory in United Nation declarations, protocols and conventions. These inherent rights are often placed in opposition to states' sovereign right to control their borders. The international refugee regime has faced challenges to the defence and advocacy of human rights. The right to seek asylum has faced questions of security, and terrorism. Politicians have successfully re-framed asylum seekers as active 'threats' to the social, cultural and economic security of the state and campaign to enforce the protection of the state. By de-linking the border from the territorial boundaries of the state, Canadian officials have excluded, deterred and halted the movement of asylum seekers seeking refuge in Canada, adding to the surmountable geographic barriers the state holds to resettlement.


Summary
Highly purified preparations of the isometric mushroom viruses 1 and 4 were made by a combination of differential centrifugation, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. Purified preparations of MV1 virions (25 nm diam.) sedimented at 130S contained one capsid polypeptide of mol. wt. 24400 and two species of double-stranded RNA of mol. wt. approx. 1.4 × 106. MV4 particles (35 nm diam.) had a sedimentation value of 140 to 145S, contained one capsid polypeptide of mol. wt. 63800 and two species of dsRNA of mol. wt. 1.5 × 106 and 1.4 × 106. MV1 and MV4 were antigenically unrelated.


In a wide range of sexually reproducing marine organisms, males and females co exist through niche separation to reduce intraspecific competition and maximize survival; however, sexual segregation in mesopelagic cephalopods is poorly understood. To evaluate ontogenetic differences in diet and habitat partitioning between juvenile female and male jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas, we determined age and maturity, quantified stable isotope ratios along gladii bulk tissue and individual amino acids (AAs), and analyzed morphometrics of feeding apparatuses. D. gigas of 24 to 33 cm gladius length (GL) were collected in the northern Humboldt Current. Results showed that females had larger feeding apparatuses than males and higher δ15N values in bulk tissue and trophic AAs, but relatively similar source-AA δ15N values at same GLs. These results indicate that females catch prey of higher trophic position at earlier maturing stages than males, but tend to share similar habitat. This behavior likely reduces intraspecific competition, promotes ontogeny of sexual niche partitioning, and maximizes energy intake. Our study reveals that sexual segregation in feeding habits occurs in juvenile D. gigas during ontogenesis in the northern Humboldt Current, a strategy that can help elucidate its complex population dynamics and adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions.


The aim of the article was to study for 12 months the adherence to drug therapy and the incidence of cardiovascular risk factors in Yakutia patients who underwent Q-positive myocardial infarction.Materials and methods. The analysis included 113 patients from Yakutsk with Q-positive acute myocardial infarction, the average age is 59 [51;64] years old.Results. The following conclusions are obtained: The majority of patients of Yakut nationality who underwent Q-positive myocardial infarction have a high incidence of cardiovascular risk factors. Among the examined patients of this category after 6 months was received a low adherence to prescription drugs: clopidogrel /ticagrelor (by 9.9%), ACE inhibitors / sartans (by 18%), β-adrenoblockers (by 24.6%), statins (by 46.7%). For the 12th month after a second consultation, there was an increased adherence to taking the statins by 33.3% and beta-blockers by 17.8%. AH is a well-controlled risk factor, in most patients there is an effective reduction in high blood pressure values from the first months. The mean of total cholesterol, cholesnerol — LDL and the frequency of hypercholesterinemia, hypercholesterinemia LDL for 12 months after a recent MI is decreased, but the target values were not achieved due to low adherence to taking statins.Conclusion. Due to the low adherence to drug therapy and the insufficient correction of risk factors for CVD after MI there was noted repeated hospitalizations for repeated ACS, decompensation of CHF, and fatal cases/outcomes, regardless of ethnicity, which requires intensification of the measures for dispenserization, at the primary level health.


The paper reports on an investigation into the application of the B method of formal software development. Six case studies are described, each exploring a different aspect of the use of the B methodology and toolkit. The case studies are drawn from a diverse range of applications and address different aspects of the software development lifecycle. The notation, method and tool support are assessed and conclusions are drawn concerning the use of B and formal methods generally.


In a far‐reaching clarion call for attention to addiction in the midst of the COVID‐19 pandemic, Pete Nielsen, CEO of the California Consortium of Addiction Professionals and Programs (CCAPP), urges policymakers to recognize that the isolation required in shelter‐in‐place will fuel even more deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide. In The Disease of Addiction Thrives on Isolation, released this month, Nielsen warns that these deaths were already "on track to break records in the number of victims in our state this year," and goes on to say that those "who survive this year will face a second wave of death due to tobacco related diseases and or relapse to drug of choice unless tobacco is routinely treated in substance use disorder."


Background: Intermittent infusion hemodiafiltration (I-HDF) using repeated infusion of ultrapure dialysis fluid through a dialysis membrane or sterile nonpyrogenic substitution fluid was developed to prevent a rapid decrease in blood pressure by increasing the patient's circulating blood volume, to enhance the plasma refilling rate by improving peripheral circulation, and to enhance solute transfer from the extravascular space to the intravascular space by enhancing the plasma refilling rate. Furthermore, the effect of fouling caused by attachment of proteins to the membrane as a result of ultrafiltration can be reduced by backflushing of the membrane with the purified dialysate in I-HDF. Although there have been several clinical trials of I-HDF, there have been no comparisons of the clinical significance of and indications for I-HDF with those of conventional hemodialysis (HD). Objective: The aim of this multicenter randomized controlled crossover trial was to compare the clinical significance of I-HDF with that of HD in Japan. Method: Patients were randomized to receive HD, I-HDF, and HD (group A) or I-HDF, HD, and I-HDF (group B) in that order for 14 weeks each. The sample size of 70 was determined based on the operability and patient availability. Treatment outcomes were evaluated 5 and 14 weeks after the start of each treatment period. The patients received 4-h treatment sessions with no changes in session duration or anticoagulant therapy during the study. I-HDF was performed using a GC-110N dialysis machine. Two hundred milliliters of ultrapure dialysis fluid were infused at a rate of 150 mL/min by backfiltration every 30 min during treatment. The first and last infusions were performed 30 min after the start and 30 min before the end of treatment, respectively. The total estimated infusion volume per session was 1.4 L (i.e., 200 mL × 7 infusions). I-HDF is a type of online HDF with a small fluid replacement volume. An ABH-P polysulfone membrane hemodiafilter was used for I-HDF and a class 1 or 2 hemodialyzer with a polysulfone membrane not coated with vitamin E and approved by the Japanese reimbursement system was used for HD. The primary outcomes were the Short Form-36 version 2 summary scores for quality of life and the visual analog scale scores for clinical symptoms. Secondary outcomes were vital signs, number of interventions, and pre-treatment blood test results. These variables were evaluated 1 week before at the start of the study, and at 5 and 14 weeks after the start of each treatment period. The removal characteristics of the various solutes were evaluated when possible on the first day of each treatment period. All patients provided written informed consent to participate. Results: Thirty-two patients in group A and 32 patients in group B completed the trial. There were no differences in the primary or secondary outcomes between I-HDF and HD. Serum α1-microglobulin (MG) levels at 14 weeks were significantly lower for I-HDF than for HD. During treatment, the removal rates for urea and creatinine, which are low molecular weight substances, were significantly lower during I-HDF than during HD. In contrast, the β2-MG and α1-MG removal rates were significantly higher during I-HDF than during HD. Furthermore, there was significantly less albumin leak during I-HDF than during HD. The solute removal results reflect the difference in pore size between the hemodiafilter used for I-HDF and the hemodialyzer used for HD and the difference in convective transport attributable to filtration between the 2 methods. Conclusions: These findings show that the removal rates of low molecular weight substances are significantly lower and those of medium to high molecular weight substances are significantly higher with I-HDF than with HD. They also indicate that there is significantly less albumin leak during I-HDF than during HD, meaning that I-HDF may be a particularly suitable dialysis modality for patients with malnutrition and the elderly in Japan.


The oxygen isotope compositions of diagenetic carbonate minerals from the Lower Jurassic Inmar Formation, southern Israel, have been used to identify porewater types during diagenesis. Changes in porewater composition can be related to major geological events within southern Israel. In particular, saline brines played an important role in late (Pliocene-Pleistocene) dolomitization of these rocks.

Diagenetic carbonates included early siderite (δ18OSMOW=+24.4 to +26.5‰δ13CPDB=−1.1 to +0.8‰), late dolomite, ferroan dolomite and ankerite (δ18OSMOW=+18.4 to +25.8‰; δ13CPDB=−2.1 to +0.2‰), and calcite (δ18OSMOW=+21.3 to +32.6‰; δ13CPDB=−4.2 to + 3.2‰). The petrographic and isotopic results suggest that siderite formed early in the diagenetic history at shallow depths. The dolomitic phases formed at greater depths late in diagenesis. Crystallization of secondary calcite spans early to late diagenesis, consistent with its large range in isotopic values.

A strong negative correlation exists between burial depth (temperature) and the oxygen isotopic compositions of the dolomitic cements. In addition, the δ18O values of the dolomitic phases in the northern Negev and Judea Mountains are in isotopic equilibrium with present formation waters. This behaviour suggests that formation of secondary dolomite post-dates the tectonic activity responsible for the present relief of southern Israel (Upper Miocene to Pliocene) and that the dolomite crystallized from present formation waters. Such is not the case in the Central Negev. In that locality, present formation waters have much lower salinities and δ18O values, indicating invasion of freshwater, and are out of isotopic equilibrium with secondary dolomite. Recharge of the Inmar Formation by meteoric water in the Central Negev occurred in the Pleistocene, and halted formation of dolomite.


Research focused on human position tracking with wearable sensors has been developing rapidly in recent years, and it has shown great potential for application within healthcare, smart homes, sports, and emergency services. Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) with Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) is one of the most promising solutions within this domain, as it does not rely on any additional infrastructure, whilst also being suitable for use in a diverse set of scenarios. However, PDR is only accurate for a limited period of time before unbounded errors, due to drift, affect the position estimate. Error correction can be difficult as there is often a lack of efficient methods for calibration. HeadSLAM, a method specifically designed for head-mounted IMUs, is proposed to improve the accuracy during longer tracking times (10 min). Research participants (n = 7) were asked to walk in both indoor and outdoor environments wearing head-mounted sensors, and the obtained HeadSLAM accuracy was subsequently compared to that of the PDR method. A significant difference (p < 0.001) in the average root-mean-squared error and absolute error was found between the two methods. HeadSLAM had a consist lower error across all scenarios and subjects in a 20 h walking dataset. The findings of this study show how the HeadSLAM algorithm can provide a more accurate long-term location service for head-mounted, low-cost sensors. The improved performance can support inexpensive applications for infrastructureless navigation.


A 22-year-old man, who had received aortic valve replacement with a 21 mm of Carpentier-Edward S.A.V Bioprosthesis for aortic regurgitation at 19 years of age, was readmitted to our hospital because of a new systolic murmur and his chest roentgenogram showed remarkable cardiomegaly. Cardiac catheterization showed a 55 mmHg pressure gradient across the bioprosthesis. Under the diagnosis of primary tissue failure, reoperation was undergone. At reoperation, the sewing ring and leaflets of the prosthesis were covered with pannus, which adhered to leaflets, and the thickness of these leaflets was seen. It was thought that these changes caused aortic stenosis. Primary tissue failure due to pannus formation has been reported a little, but if bioprosthesis is implanted in the supra-annular position, pannus formation may occur because cusps of bioprosthesis are attached to the host's annulus.


We construct an L∞-algebra on the truncated canonical homology complex of a symplectic manifold, which naturally projects to the universal central extension of the Lie algebra of Hamiltonian vector fields.


In the present communication we propose {a) to set forth certain con clusions arrived at after the study of the tubercnlo-opsonic power of the blood in a very considerable number of tubercular patients; ( ) to show that we have in the measurement of the tuberculo-opsonic power of the blood and tissue fluids a method which may be exploited in the diagnosis of tubercular infection. Technique Employed.—The technique employed by us in the measurement of the tuberculo-opsonic power of the blood was essentially that described by one of us in conjunction with Douglas.* In each case the white corpuscles required for the tests were derived from blood from the finger received into a solution of 05 per cent, citrate of soda in 085 NaCl, and rewashed after centrifugalisation in a considerable volume of 085 NaCl, and then again centrifugalised. Of the " blood-cream," obtained by skimming off the upper layer of the corpuscular sediment, one portion was in each case mixed in a capillary tube with one volume of serum and one volume of a suspension of tubercle bacilli which had been centrifugalised in such a manner as to free it from bacillary clumps. After incubation at 37° for 15 to 20 minutes films were made on slides prepared with emery paper.f These films were, after fixture in saturated corrosive sublimate, stained with boiling carbol-fuchsin, decolourised with 2 per cent, sulphuric acid, and counter-stained with methylene blue after washing in 1 in 1000 sodium carbonate. The standard of comparison employed was obtained by mixing in each case the same " blood cream " and tubercle suspension with " pooled normal serum.


There is a tradition in contemporary analytic metaphysics of looking to fundamental particle physics for an accurate list of universal properties. The central candidates for such properties are electric charge, color charge, and mass. Tim Maudlin has recently argued against a number of metaphysical theories within this tradition (Aristotelian and Platonic theories of universal properties, trope theory, the theory of natural sets, etc.) on the grounds that the general formalism of our current best fundamental physics–i.e., fiber bundles–precludes the notion of universal property used in these metaphysical theories. Consequently, Maudlin calls for a "wholesale revision" of the theory of universals. This paper argues, contra Maudlin, that the fiber bundle formalism does allow for the possibility of some universal properties, and thus a wholesale revision of this metaphysical theory is not yet warranted.


The United Kingdom has "serious weaknesses" in its ability to handle and respond to infectious disease emergencies, MPs have warned.

Slowness to respond, poor coordination among various expert bodies, delays in organising research, and a lack of speed in manufacturing vaccines were all exposed by the recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in west Africa, says a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.1

The committee praised the government for its "leading contribution" to the fight against the disease in west Africa and for the practical support it provided in building and staffing treatment centres and deploying troops, helicopters, and an aviation support ship.

The west African outbreak, which began in late 2013 but …


In an experiment done with the SFM-facility at the CERN-ISR, we have studied events with a high pT particle (π+, π-, K-, p) produced at θ = 20° and θ = 45°. The distribution of leading fragments of the spectator jet in the same rapidity hemisphere as the trigger depends strongly on the kind of trigger particle involved. These distributions agree with predictions from dimensional counting rules, if parton scattering via vector gluon exchange is assumed for the large pT process. The average charge of the fastest particle (jet leader) in the away jet is ≃ 1/3 independent of the trigger charge, a value expected if 3 valence quarks participate in the hard scattering process. For transverse momenta of ≃ 2 GeV/c the ρ0/π± production ratio is near unity.


Introduction: Despite strong evidence that antithrombotic drugs in atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) patients reduce stroke risk, previous emergency department (ED) pre-novel anticoagulant (NOAC) studies have shown that most discharged patients are not optimally treated. This study sought to determine baseline antithrombotic management in AF patients, and appropriate antithrombotic prescription upon ED discharge since the introduction of NOACs. Methods: Consecutive AF patients discharged by the ED physician from three academic EDs in Toronto, Canada were retrospectively identified using ECG data. Primary AF was defined as AF in patients ≥18 years without congenital heart disease or other acute medical conditions. All management and disposition decisions were left to the discretion of the emergency doctor. Results: From July 2012 to October 2014, 691 patients with primary AF were identified. Of these, 34.4% (n=238) had new onset AF and 66.4% (n=459) were discharged home directly from the ED. Of those with previously known AF (n= 453), 44.2% (n=200) were on anticoagulation at ED arrival (warfarin 59.5%, dabigatran 23.0%, rivaroxaban 11.5%); 25.6% (n=116) on antiplatelets, and 29 (6.4%) on both. Based on 2012 Canadian AF guidelines, 60.1% of those who should have received anticoagulation were receiving it. In discharged patients meeting de novo criteria for anticoagulation (n=130), 20.0% (n=26) were started on anticoagulation and 23.1% (n=30) on antiplatelets. In patients with CHADS2 score ≥ 2 (n=61), 26.2% (n=16) were started on anticoagulation. Warfarin (73.1%) was most commonly prescribed followed by dabigatran (15.4%) and rivaroxaban (11.5%). Age was the only inverse independent predictor for appropriate anticoagulation (OR 0.92 per 5 year of age 95% CI 0.89-0.95, p Conclusion: Our study shows a persistent gap in the antithrombotic treatment of ED AF patients irrespective of their risk.


Amyloid fibrils and plaques are detected in the brain tissue of patients affected by Alzheimer's disease, but have also been found as part of normal physiological processes such as bacterial adhesion. Due to their highly organized structures, amyloid proteins have also been used for the development of nanomaterials, for a variety of applications including biomaterials for tissue engineering, nanolectronics, or optical devices. Past research on amyloid fibrils resulted in advances in identifying their mechanical properties, revealing a remarkable stiffness. However, the failure mechanism under tensile loading has not been elucidated yet, despite its importance for the understanding of key mechanical properties of amyloid fibrils and plaques as well as the growth and aggregation of amyloids into long fibers and plaques. Here we report a molecular level analysis of failure of amyloids under uniaxial tensile loading. Our molecular modeling results demonstrate that amyloid fibrils are extremely stiff with a Young's modulus in the range of 18e30 GPa, in good agreement with previous experimental and computational findings. The most important contribution of our study is our finding that amyloid fibrils fail at relatively small strains of 2.5%e4%, and at stress levels in the range of 1.02 to 0.64 GPa, in good agreement with experimental findings. Notably, we find that the strength properties of amyloid fibrils are extremely length dependent, and that longer amyloid fibrils show drastically smaller failure strains and failure stresses. As a result, longer fibrils in excess of hundreds of nanometers to micrometers have a greatly enhanced propensity towards spontaneous fragmentation and failure. We use a combination of simulation results and simple theoretical models to define critical fibril lengths where distinct failure mechanisms dominate. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


A novel distributed model predictive control algorithm for continuous‐time nonlinear systems is proposed in this paper. Contraction theory is used to estimate the prediction error in the algorithm, leading to new feasibility and stability conditions. Compared to existing analysis based on Lipschitz continuity, the proposed approach gives a distributed model predictive control algorithm under less conservative conditions, allowing stronger couplings between subsystems and a larger sampling interval when the subsystems satisfy the specified contraction conditions. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness and advantage of the proposed approach.


One of the most frequent problems in crystallization is poor quality of the crystals. In order to overcome this obstacle several methods have been utilized, including amino-acid substitutions of the target protein. Here, an example is presented of crystal-quality improvement by leucine-to-methionine substitutions. A variant protein with three amino-acid substitutions enabled improvement of the crystal quality of the histone chaperone SET/TAF-Ibeta/INHAT when combined with optimization of the cryoconditions. This procedure improved the resolution of the SET/TAF-Ibeta/INHAT crystals from around 5.5 to 2.3 A without changing the crystallization conditions.


Filtering half masks belong to the group of personal protective equipment in the work environment. They protect the respiratory tract but may hinder breath and suppress speech. The present work is focused on the attenuation of sound by the half masks known as "filtering facepieces", FFPs, of various construction and filtration efficiency. Rather than study the perception of speech by humans, we used a generator of white noise and artificial speech to obtain objective characteristics of the attenuation. The generator speaker was either covered by an FFP or remained uncovered while a class 1 meter measured sound pressure levels in 1/3 octave bands with center frequencies 100–20 kHz at distances from 1 to 5 m from the speaker. All five FFPs suppressed acoustic waves from the octave bands with center frequencies of 1 kHz and higher, i.e., in the frequency range responsible for 80% of the perceived speech intelligibility, particularly in the 2 kHz-octave band. FFPs of higher filtration efficiency stronger attenuated the sound. Moreover, the FFPs changed the voice timbre because the attenuation depended on the wave frequency. The two combined factors can impede speech intelligibility.


Lithium-ion battery which widely used as portable power sources with high energy density is greatly being increased due to the development and popularity of portable electronic device and vehicle. Lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO 2 ) and their derivatives are promising positive cathode materials for next generation of lithium-ion batteries. LiNiO 2 potentially offers a higher capacity at about 200 mAh/g. However it is more difficult to synthesized stoichiometric LiNiO 2 because of the loss of lithium from host structure during high temperature calcination due the high vapor pressure of lithium and capacity fade when charging up to a high voltage (> 4.0V vs Li + /Li) during deintercalation of lithium ion that affected cycling. The review is focused the electrochemical performance by substitution or effect doping of LiNiO2 and their derivative by other metals as a cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.


Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by multiple contractures with an estimated frequency of 1 in 3,000 births. With improving diagnostic methods, increasing numbers of fetuses with arthrogryposis are found. The pathogenetic mechanisms are relatively well known but the epidemiology and genetics of the prenatally lethal forms of arthrogryposis are less well known. In this study we collected all cases of a multiple contractures diagnosed in Finland during 1987–2002 including live born infants, stillbirths, and terminated pregnancies. Ninety‐two cases of 214 suffered intrauterine demise (68 selective pregnancy terminations and 24 stillbirths) and 58 died in infancy. In 141 out of these cases the diagnosis could be included within lethal arthrogryposes, with a prevalence of 1 in 6,985 (1.43/10,000) births. Of these, 59 had spinal cord pathology at autopsy and thus were of neurogenic origin. Thirty‐nine cases had lethal congenital contracture syndrome (LCCS) clinically characterized by total immobility of the fetus at all ultrasound examinations (12 weeks or later), multiple joint contractures in both upper and lower limbs, hydrops, and fetal death before the 32nd week of pregnancy. LCCS is noted as a unique Finnish disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 25,250 (0.40/10,000) births and is a major cause of lethal arthrogryposis in Finland. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The present paper provides a physically sound numerical modeling of liquid flows experimentally observed inside a vertical circular cylinder with a stationary envelope, rotating bottom and open top. In these flows, the resulting vortex depth may be such that the rotating bottom disk becomes partially exposed, and rather peculiar polygon shapes appear. The parameters and features of this work are chosen based on a careful analysis of the literature. Accordingly, the cylinder inner radius is 145 mm and the initial water height is 60 mm. The experiments with bottom disk rotation frequencies of 3.0, 3.4, 4.0 and 4.6 Hz are simulated. The chosen frequency range encompasses the regions of ellipse and triangle shapes as observed in the experimental studies reported in the literature. The free surface flow is expected to be turbulent, with the Reynolds number of O(105). The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is adopted as the numerical approach, with a localized dynamic Subgrid-Scale Stresses (SGS) model including an energy equation. Since the flow obviously requires a surface tracking or capturing method, a volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach has been chosen based on the findings, where this method provided stable shapes in the ranges of parameters found in the corresponding experiments. Expected ellipse and triangle shapes are revealed and analyzed. A detailed character of the numerical results allows for an in-depth discussion and analysis of the mechanisms and features which accompany the characteristic shapes and their alterations. As a result, a unique insight into the polygon flow structures is provided.


Purpose To determine whether (1) the in vitro expression of epithelial basement membrane components nidogen-1, nidogen-2, and perlecan by keratocytes, corneal fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts is modulated by cytokines/growth factors, and (2) perlecan protein is produced by stromal cells after photorefractive keratectomy. Methods Marker-verified rabbit keratocytes, corneal fibroblasts, myofibroblasts were stimulated with TGF-β1, IL-1α, IL-1β, TGF-β3, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA, or PDGF-AB. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect expression of nidogen-1, nidogen-2, and perlecan mRNAs. Western blotting evaluated changes in protein expression. Immunohistochemistry was performed on rabbit corneas for perlecan, alpha-smooth muscle actin, keratocan, vimentin, and CD45 at time points from 1 day to 1 month after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Results IL-1α or -1β significantly upregulated perlecan mRNA expression in keratocytes. TGF-β1 or -β3 markedly downregulated nidogen-1 or -2 mRNA expression in keratocytes. None of these cytokines had significant effects on nidogen-1, -2, or perlecan mRNA expression in corneal fibroblasts or myofibroblasts. IL-1α significantly upregulated, while TGF-β1 significantly downregulated, perlecan protein expression in keratocytes. Perlecan protein expression was upregulated in anterior stromal cells at 1 and 2 days after −4.5 or −9 diopters (D) PRK, but the subepithelial localization of perlecan became disrupted at 7 days and later time points in −9-D PRK corneas when myofibroblasts populated the anterior stroma. Conclusions IL-1 and TGF-β1 have opposing effects on perlecan and nidogen expression by keratocytes in vitro. Proximate participation of keratocytes is likely needed to regenerate normal epithelial basement membrane after corneal injury.


Although splenomegaly in children with sickle cell anemia is common, massive enlargement associated with thrombocytopenia and very severe anemia is rare. In such patients, splenectomy has been followed by increase in platelet count and hemoglobin concentration. This suggests that an acquired hypersplenism aggravated the hemolytic process. The present report concerns a 6-year-old boy with sickle cell anemia demonstrating this unusual association. Studies were done in an effort to define the nature of the acquired extracorpuscular defect (hypersplenism). We also observed improvement after splenectomy as previously noted by others.1-6 Report of Case The patient is a 6-year-old Negro male born Oct 18, 1957. He was admitted to Milwaukee County General Hospital for the first time in February, 1960. At that time the hemoglobin concentration was 5.9 gm%, and the peripheral smear revealed microcytosis and marked hypochromia. Iron therapy was begun and by March, 1960, the hemoglobin had risen to 7.0


Universal kriging relies on a random function model formulation whereby the regionalized variable is decomposed into a trend and residual component. While the theory is well established, the actual practice of UK remains challenging in particular when dealing with complex trend cases, large datasets and/or difficult to infer spatial covariance functions. In this paper, we reformulate the least-square formulation of UK in the presence of an exhaustive image (termed training image), deemed representative for the spatial variation of the modeling domain. We demonstrate how this new form of universal kriging with training images (UK-TI) need not rely on a random function model and can be written in a purely empirical form, directly lifting the required estimates from the training image. We present Monte Carlo studies comparing traditional UK with this new form under various complex trend variation. We present applications to various environmental data sets and propose fast implementations in the Fourier domain.


A comparative analysis of contraceptive use among females in Northwest and Southwest Nigeria was undertaken to assess the possibility of attaining the 50% contraceptive prevalence rate aim of the National Population Policy by the year 2000. Secondary data from the 1995 Sentinel Survey of the National Population Commission was employed to facilitate the analyses. This was based on 3950 and 3158 women from the Northwest and Southwest respectively, aged 15-49 years. Information from the 1990 NDHS was used for further comparisons.

Results show that proportion of women currently contracepting was 6.9% in the Northwest compared to 16.3% in the Southwest. Using logistic regression analysis, increase in the likelihood of current use of contraceptives in the two regions was associated with increasing level of education, increasing number of living children and more importantly when " husbands " approve of family planning. However, while results show that women living in urban areas of the Southwest are more likely to contracept, increase in the use of contraceptives in the Northwest was associated with being resident in rural areas of the Northwest. Furthermore, in the Northwest, more women who got married under the age of 20 years have increased their contraceptive use levels.

The general results show that attainment of the 50% contraceptive prevalence level by the year 2000 is not feasible. The 50% level was only attained among the surveyed women whose husbands approved of family planning. This further supports the call for men to be active participants in family planning programmes. Also, more resources should be invested in education to enhance economic productivity and hasten the demographic transition. Lastly, information, education and communication strategies of family planning programmes should be further strengthened in the rural areas where the bulk of the population lives. A special target group in the Northwest is women aged less than 20 years. IFE PsychologIA Vol 9, No1 2001, pp. 148-172


Archaeomagnetic field intensity in Finland (Lat. 61°N, Long. 22° E) has been determined for the past 6400 years with the Thellier technique of bricks, potsherds and baked clays. The normalized archaeointensity curve for Finland, based on 23 mean values, shows an increase from ∼4360 BC to the maximum at AD 500, after which it decreases to the present value. The high intensity at AD 500 as found in Finland, but not in Bulgaria and Japan, is not a consequence of the applied Thellier technique since we are able to reproduce the known field intensities in the laboratory, and some of the dated bricks yield values which are in broad agreement with Nurmijarvi Magnetic Observatory data. We also show that variations in grain size of the magnetic carriers, cooling rate or magnetic refraction are unlikely to cause systematic errors in intensity larger than a few percent. Based on results of self-made bricks we show that the archaeointensity, however, depends on the angle between the laboratory and ancient field directions. If these are not aligned errors up to ±10% in archaeointensity can occur and are probably caused by anisotropy of remanence or by other factors not yet understood. The high intensity at AD 500 in Finland can be modelled by a radial nondipole field source at the core-mantle boundary producing enhanced field at higher latitudes (Finland) and relatively weaker fields at lower latitudes (e.g. Bulgaria and Japan). Extrapolation of the present field (IGRF 1990) back in time shows similar field behaviour.


Ceratocystiopsis is a fungal genus that has been assigned to the Ophiostomatales, fungi known for their association with various bark beetles and other arthropods. The mitochondrial genome of Ceratocystiopsis pallidobrunnea has been characterized and compared with other members of the genus Ceratocystiopsis and Ophiostomatales. At 29 022 bp, the mitogenome of C. pallidobrunnea is the smallest reported so far for this genus. Gene arrangement was observed to be conserved for this group of fungi and mitogenome variation appears to be mostly due to the absence and presence of introns. The long-term goal is to apply mitogenomes to resolve taxonomic issues within the Ophiostomatales and within the various genera that comprise the Ophiostomataceae.


ABSTRACT The growing number of persons aged 65 and older, combined with their greater reliance on care outside the family unit, has contributed to the rapid growth of older people residing in assisted living (AL) communities. Given the increased attention paid to service standards in older adults' housing models, this qualitative study was conducted in AL to generate residents' perspectives on service and meaning-in-life outcomes. Utilizing the attributes of service quality through a transition theory lens, the data revealed empathy and responsiveness as most essential to the perceptions of service and meaning-in-life among residents. Theoretical results from this study suggest that linking current service theory to meaning-in-life outcomes would be of benefit to AL service standards research. Practical application of the research outcomes revealed how appropriate personalized attention provided in a timely manner to residents is critical to their well-being, and to their successful transition to AL.


This paper concerns the principles of mediation in the resolution of disputes in the Religious Courts. Settlement of divorce in a religious court is a part of the procedural procedure in a religious court because divorce case is part of civil law. The settlement follows civil procedural law in general in addition to other provisions stipulated in the procedural law of religious justice. Mediation in a divorce case will assist the parties in resolving and finding a middle ground for the interests of both sides so as not to harm one party and ended up with a win-win solution (mutually beneficial). For this reason, it is necessary to pay attention to the principles in achieving peace efforts, namely; the principle of deliberation, the principle of mutual forgiveness, the principle of respecting others, and the principle of justice.


We explore association between the levels of total cholesterol (TC) and uric acid (UA) to the middle upper arm circumference (MUAC), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) amongst seemingly healthy university students in Kediri, Indonesia aged 17-23 years (n= 150); no history of major previous diseases were found (i.e. metabolic syndrome). TC and UA measured from the capillary blood; standardised anthropometry measurements were done by trained medical doctors. Correlation, linear regression, independent t-test or Mann-Whitney analysis were performed with the level of significance of p<0.05. We found higher TC (p= 0.053), UA (p<0.001), MUAC (p= 0.009), HC (p= 0.865) and WC (p=0.001) in males than in females. TC was significantly correlated to the UA with prevalence of hypercholesterolemia of 46.7% and hyperuricemia of 30% of all participants. All anthropometry was significantly correlated to the TC and UA in males (p< 0.001); TC and UA were strongly corresponded to all anthropometry parameters in males. Hypercholesterolemia and hyperuricemia could be found amongst the seemingly healthy young adults in Indonesia; in males these are strongly correlated to the higher MUAC, WC and HC. Daily physical activity and proper healthy diet might help to decrease these cardiovascular disease risk factors.


We show that it is necessary to go beyond the BCS (rainbow-ladder) approximation to split the $\eta$ and $\eta'$ masses from the $\pi$ and K masses. We determine the self-consistent set of one-quark-loop diagrams both for the Schwinger-Dyson quark mass gap equation and for the Bethe-Salpeter quark-antiquark boundstate equation. We identify the dominant diagrams, and we focus on the boundstate equation. We detail the Bethe-Salpeter equation, adding the dominant new diagram to the BCS kernel. The relevant numerical techniques are also discussed. The ideal cases of one, two and three light flavors, relevant to lattice QCD are also explored, together with the case of realistic current quark masses.


A momentum balance approach is used to extract the drag from flowfield computations for wings and wing/bodies in subsonic/transonic flight. The drag is decomposed into vorticity, entropy, and enthalpy components which can be related to the established engineering concepts of induced drag, wave and profile drag, and engine power and efficiency. This decomposition of the drag is useful in formulating techniques for accurately evaluating drag using computational fluid dynamics calculations or experimental data. A formulation for reducing the size of the region of the crossflow plane required for calculating the drag is developed using cut-off parameters for viscosity and entropy. This improves the accuracy of the calculations and decreases the computation time required to obtain the drag results. The improved method is applied to a variety of wings, including the M6, W4, and Ml65 wings, Lockheed Wing A, a NACA 0016 wing, and an Elliptic wing. The accuracy of the resulting drag calculations is related to various computational aspects, including grid type (structured or unstructured) , grid density, flow regime (subsonic or transonic), boundary conditions, and the level of the governing equations (Euler or Navier-Stokes ). The results show that drag prediction to within engineering accuracy is possible using computational fluid dynamics, and that numerical drag optimization of complex aircraft configurations is possible.


The title compound, [Cu2(C4H4O4)(C15H11N3)2(H2O)2](NO3)2·2H2O, was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. The dinuclear copper complex is located on a crystallographic inversion centre. The CuII ion is pentacoordinated in a tetragonal–pyramidal geometry, with one O atom of a succinate dianion and three N atoms of a 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine ligand occupying the basal plane, and a water O atom located at the apical site. In the crystal structure, O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding links the molecules into a chain parallel to the a axis.