Family Planning Perspectives Family dynamics and attachment also play a role: If parents appropriately supervise and monitor their children, and if the adolescents feel connected to their parents, they are less likely to engage in sexual risk-taking. Family values about sexual behavior and contraceptive use, and family sexual behaviors, also have an impact on the adolescents' behavior. Moreover, peers' norms and behavior regarding sex and contraceptive use affect an individual's sexual and contraceptive behavior, as do adolescents' partners' support for contraception. Turning to the teenagers themselves, their age and hormone levels, their attachment to school and religious institutions, their engagement in other problem or risk behaviors, their emotional wellbeing, the characteristics of their relationships with romantic partners, any past history of sexual abuse, and their own sexual beliefs, attitudes, skills and motivations all affect their sexual or contraceptive behavior. In addition, Emerging Answers reviewed 73 studies measuring the impact of diverse types of programs. There was particularly strong evidence that four groups of programs are effective at reducing sexual risktaking or pregnancy: •sex and HIV education programs with certain qualities; •some clinic-patient protocols that focus on sexual behavior; •service learning programs that include both intensive voluntary service and ongoing small-group discussions about the service; and •the Children's Aid Society–Carrera programs (CAS-Carrera programs), which include multiple youth development components, health services and close relationships with the staff. In addition, Emerging Answers found weaker evidence that a few other programs were effective. Douglas Kirby is senior research scientist at ETR Associates, Santa Cruz, CA. The author thanks Karin Coyle, Jill Denner and Sarah Brown for their comments on an early version of this viewpoint. Understanding What Works and What Doesn't In Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking


Increasingly, physicians are engaging in medical leadership roles and eager to learn about the opportunities it provides for them, patients and society at large. Yet, only in six of the 195 countries in the world explicitly delivered a set of skills that physicians must have to be effective medical leaders. Furthermore, little is known about effective strategies and tactics for developing medical leadership on a national level. Led by an international group of experts, this study identifies developmental approaches of six countries to the making of national medical leadership. Next to a systematic literature review, archival data and fifteen semi-structured interviews have been thematically analyzed. First, we provide insights in different definitions of medical leadership used in various countries. Second, we propose a developmental phasing model consisting of four distinct phases. We also show fourteen factors that facilitate and/or impede the making and implementation of national medical leadership, and we present nine 'interventions' that can stimulate medical leadership development. We do so in order for international healthcare networks to enable more opportunities for patients, through medical leaders who better learn how to optimize the quality of (inter)national healthcare provision.


Bulk sampling of a number of horizons within the upper part of the Speeton Clay Type section has produced teeth and other remains of sharks and rays from several poorly studied horizons. At least 10 shark and two ray species were recorded, with two sharks, Pteroscyllium speetonensis and Palaeobrachaelurus mitchelli, being described as new. The oldest occurrences of the family Anacoracadae and the genus Pteroscyllium, as well as the youngest occurrence of the genus Palaeobrachaelurus, were recorded. The palaeoenvironmental significance of the faunas is briefly discussed.


Psoralea corylifolia is one kind of traditional Chinese medicine used in China widely. In this study, we sequence the complete chloroplast genome of P. corylifolia, which is 153,114 bp in size and includes a pair of inverted repeats regions of 25,557 bp interspersed by a small single copy of 17,885 bp and a large single copy of 84,115 bp region. Approximately 98 simple sequence repeats, 14 forward, 2 reverse, 2 complement, 32 palindromic and 49 tandem repeats are identified in the P. corylifolia chloroplast genome. The chloroplast genomes of P. corylifolia and three Glycine species are conserved in gene order and content, but show high diversity within intergenic spacers. P. corylifolia with three Glycine species in Papilionoideae fall into the same clade based on 75 conserved coding-protein genes phylogenomic analysis. Moreover, four chloroplast DNA regions (ycf1, matK, accD, ndhF) can serve as the barcodes. In general, our findings will dedicate to better comprehension of the genome aspect as well as evolutionary status of P. corylifolia.


Sialic acids are the most abundant terminal carbohydrate moiety on cell surface glycoconjugates in eukaryotic cells and are of functional importance for many biological ligand-receptor interactions. It is a widely accepted view that sialic acids cannot be efficiently taken up from the extracellular space by eukaryotic cells. To test this assumption, we cultivated two recently identified human hematopoetic cell lines which are hyposialylated due to a deficiency in de novo sialic acid biosynthesis in the presence of N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc), the most frequently found sialic acid. Surprisingly, NeuAc medium supplementation rapidly and potently compensated for the endogenous hyposialylation in a concentration-dependent manner, resulting in the presentation of cell surface sialoglycans involved in cell adhesion, virus infection and signal transduction. We provide several lines of experimental evidence that all suggest that NeuAc was neither extracellularly incorporated nor degraded to a less complex sugar before uptake. Importantly, NeuAc induced a marked increase in intracellular CMP-NeuAc levels in both human cell lines and in primary cells regardless of the prior sialylation status of the cells. Studies employing 9-[3H]NeuAc revealed an uptake consistent with the observed incorporation of unlabeled NeuAc. We propose the existence of an efficient uptake mechanism for NeuAc in eukaryotic cells.


L O S A N G E L E S — Older women are less likely to attempt vaginal birth after cesarean delivery and more likely to fail when they do, Sindhu K. Srinivas, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation. Dr. Srinivas of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, presented a retrospective study of 25,005 women who were offered the option of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) delivery at 17 community and university hospitals from 1996 to 2000. While 13,706 women (55%) attempted VBAC, 11,299 (45%) had an elective repeat cesarean section. "We found as women got older, they attempted [VBAC] much less frequently than other women, but they also failed more," Dr. Srinivas said. "Biologically why that is the case, we are not quite sure." Maternal age did not appear to be associated with risk of complications such as uterine rupture, bowel and bladder injury, blood transfusion, sepsis, and neonatal death. VBAC-related complication rates remained relatively constant in all age groups studied by Dr. Srinivas and her colleagues. The youngest patients, 922 women ages 15 to 20 years, served as a reference group. A majority of these women—699—chose VBAC. The largest cohort included 17,415 women, ages 21 to 34 years, 9,801 of whom elected VBAC. Compared with the youngest women, those in this group were about half as likely to attempt VBAC (adjusted odds ratio 0.46) and somewhat more likely to have a failed VBAC (adjusted odds ratio 1.74). Among 5,574 women ages 35 to 39 years, 2,710 chose VBAC. The likelihood of a woman in this age group electing VBAC was about a third that of the youngest mothers (adjusted odds ratio 0.37). For mothers in their upper 30s, VBAC was more than twice as likely to fail (adjusted odds ratio 2.12). The oldest group comprised 1,165 women at least 40 years of age. Only 496 in this group opted for VBAC (adjusted odds ratio 0.27), and VBAC was again more than twice as likely to fail (adjusted odds ratio 2.21). All these ratios were highly statistically significant. The adjusted odds ratios for complications were 1.1 for ages 21-34, 1.03 for ages 35-39, and 0.91 for women 40, none of which approached statistical significance. Dr. Srinivas' group adjusted the odds ratios to control for factors such as race, insurance type, university hospital, chronic hypertension, preeclampsia, diabetes, prior vaginal deliveries, induced or augmented labor, low birth weight, gestational age, and number of previous cesarean sections. Some characteristics varied considerably among age cohorts. Black women accounted for two-thirds of all the teenaged mothers. Medicaid covered two-thirds of the teenaged mothers but only 10% of women over the age of 35. The youngest women also were more likely to give birth at a university hospital. The occurrence of preeclampsia ranged from 3% to 4% across the age groups. Diabetes and chronic hypertension each increased with age: diabetes ranged from 2% to 10% and hypertension ranged from 1% to 6%. The proportion of women who had previous vaginal deliveries increased from 19% in the youngest group to 31% of women age 40 years and older. Conversely, Pitocin use declined from 32% of all the youngest women to 15% in the oldest cohort. VBAC Is Viable Option After Fetal Demise, Study Suggests


This study looked at the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the revenues of small businesses operating in industrial sectors and at the extent to which these businesses changed or adjusted their business activity, or changed the extent to which they utilized open innovation tools and implement innovation promotion processes. The findings show that, despite COVID-19's far-reaching impact in all areas of life, the revenues of most small businesses in industrial sector were not adversely affected by the pandemic, and most of them did not change or adjust their business activities or the extent to which they employed open innovation tools and engage in innovation promotion processes. The findings also indicate that small businesses, most of whose revenues derive from subcontracting work to other businesses business to business (B2B) and from long-term agreements, are likely to cope better during periods of economic difficulty and under conditions of economic uncertainty. The findings also show that businesses that are active in the international markets have succeeded in adapting that activity to the changing demands and various trade restrictions. This study's theoretical contribution lies in its focus on small businesses in the industrial sector and its examination of how the subcontracting strategy and international operations help such businesses contend with problems and conditions of economic uncertainty. On the practical plane, the findings suggest that policymakers should foster programmes that assist small businesses with these work strategies, which can help them survive, enhance their stability and thereby also promote the economy's ability to withstand crisis situations


Glial encapsulation of chronically implanted neural probes inhibits recording and stimulation, and this signal loss is a significant factor limiting the clinical viability of most neural implant topologies for decades-long implantation. We demonstrate a mechanical proof of concept for silicon shank-style neural probes intended to minimize gliosis near the recording sites. Compliant whiskers on the edges of the probe fold inward to minimize tissue damage during insertion. Once implanted to the target depth and retracted slightly, these whiskers splay outward. The splayed tips, on which recording sites could be patterned, extend beyond the typical 50-100 micron radius of a glial scar. The whiskers are micron-scale to minimize or avoid glial scarring. Electrically inactive devices with whiskers of varying widths and curvature were designed and monolithically fabricated from a five-micron silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, and their mechanical functionality was demonstrated in a 0.6% agar brain phantom. Deflection was plotted versus deflection speed, and those that were most compliant actuated successfully. This probe requires no preparation for use beyond what is typical for a shank-style silicon probe.


The random forest (RF) algorithm is among the most commonly applied machine learning algorithms in remote sensing. In this study we tested a new approach to improving the accuracy of RF algorithm when applied to multispectral derived bathymetry by increasing predictor numbers and improving hyperparameter tuning. This approach goes beyond previous work that only applied an auto-tuning hyperparameter and linearized reflectance. We tested our experimental approach on the Gili Islands of Indonesia by comparing the optimized RF to basic RF algorithms used to determine water depth from multispectral imagery. The findings of this study indicate that the optimized RF approach was particularly advantageous in high-dimension data: errors in water depth prediction accuracy improved by 46% after optimization.


Human N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) is polymorphic and may associate with cancer risk by modifying susceptibility to cancers from carcinogen  exposure. NAT2 capacity varies in humans and is often subdivided into rapid and slow acetylator phenotypes. This study aimed to describe the genetic pattern of NAT2 in hepatocellular carcinoma patients and detecting if there is variation of the pattern of polymorphism compared to liver  cirrhotic patients and normal healthy controls. This study included 50 newly diagnosed untreated hepatocellular carcinoma patients, 25 patients having liver cirrhosis and 25 age and sex- matched healthy subjects as a control group. All subjects were investigated for liver function tests, tumor markers [Alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) and CA19-9] and NAT-2 genotyping using PCR-RFLP technique. The results of this study  revealed high prevalence of slow acetylator phenotype in HCC (56%) and cirrhotic (68%) groups versus 16 % in control group. However, the rapid acetylator was the highly prevalent phenotype among the control group (56%) versus (8%) for each of HCC and cirrhotic groups. Of note, one of slow acetylator phenotypes (M3/NAT2*7) was only detected in HCC cases (22%) and AFP levels were significantly higher in those cases. Moreover, 40% of HCC patients were heavy smokers, 85% of them showed to have NAT2 slow acetylator phenotype, which could suggest a role of smoking in HCC. These results suggest that NAT2 polymorphism may exert a strong effect on individual susceptibility to HCC particularly in heavy smokers. NAT2*7 phenotype showed a significant correlation with HCC cases and should be further studied. Also, NAT-2 polymorphism pattern should be studied on a larger scale to know its distribution in the Egyptian  population. Keywords : NAT2 polymorphism, HCC, smoking, tumor markers .


Resulting from cross-breeding a horse and a donkey, the mule influenced southeast Brazil's economic development perhaps more so than any other domesticated animal; the mule served as the key transport vehicle during both Brazil's 18th century gold era and 19th century coffee era. In enabling mining and agriculture products to traverse mountainous terrain to reach port cities near São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the mule played a central role in the region's economic and ecological history. Although the mule has not been southeast Brazil's primary transport method since the train's arrival in the 1870s, rural and urban dwellers still employ the mule over short distances near two protected landmasses despite declining generational interest and use. More recently, with increasing leisure use as a companion animal, the mule stimulates tourism and local economic patterns via large gatherings while serving as a cultural symbol of Brazil's patrimony.


Summary This study focuses on the cultural and political context from which stemmed the French translation of the British Merchant. The paratextual and macrostructural interventions that characterised Le négotiant anglois clearly demonstrate that the translator, Véron de Forbonnais, used his work to set out his own epistemological method and his way of looking at inter-state relations. With the book, Forbonnais had distanced himself from Gournay by rejecting the idea that in order for France to prosper in a situation of international competition the government needed to adopt a muscular strategy that included the adoption of a navigation act modelled on the one enacted by Britain in 1660. At the same time, Forbonnais warned French decision-makers that signing commercial treaties with the maritime powers might also be prejudicial to national economic interests. Forbonnais supplied qualified French readers not only with an annotated edition of the British Merchant but also with a translation of Davenant's Of the Use of Political Arithmetick. In so doing, he proposed to his audience a type of governance based on a competent use of statistics. In conclusion, I will argue that in Le négotiant anglois Forbonnais anticipated the key political and economical tenets of his project of 'monarchie commerçante', which he later set out in the Principes et observations æconomiques (1767) in order to counter the rise of the epistemology and plans for a 'royaume agricole' put forward by the physiocratic movement.


Behaviors and characteristics of partial discharges in SF6 gas filled void are investigated under oscillating lightning impulse voltage (OLI) and switching impulse voltage (OSI). The negative and positive PD sequences under impulses are described and analyzed under the applications of uniform and non-uniform background fields. Four types of discharge pulses in sequences are distinguished by their magnitudes, waveforms and time interval and well interpreted by a charge memory physic model. The distribution of PD points under OLI and OSI in normalized phase range (φN, Im) are proposed to describe the occurrence of PD under periodic oscillation impulses statistically. It is indicated that the discharges with low magnitudes are distributed in the relative large ranges of phase and the discharges with high magnitudes are mainly distributed in the relative narrow ranges of phase. By experimental results, the influences of the gas pressure and the void dimension ratio are studied and it is concluded that both the increases of these two factors could bring the obvious restrictions on PD activity under oscillating impulses.


In order to estimate the efficiency of an evaporative heat exchanger having mini channel, the equations to calculate heat exchanger properties, those are air temperatures and water temperatures etc, are derived from the governing equations based on the Navier-Stokes equation, even though there are several assumptions to make problem simplify. There are three heat transfer zones at the mini channel heat exchanger depending on the water condition. So, there are three governing equations and solutions to calculate the properties. As the results of this study, the equations to calculate a saturation point and a dry point are derived to evaluate an evaporative heat exchanger having micro channel. It is supposed to predict and evaluate the performance of a mini channel heat exchanger with evaporation of liquid.


The aim of study presents a graduate employability model that uses Bayesian methods to search the most important factor of graduate employability, and to compare the accuracy of each algorithm under Bayesian methods including Naïve Bayesian Simple, Naïve Bayesian, Averaged One-Dependence Estimators, Averaged OneDependence Estimators with subsumption resolution, Bayesian networks, and Naïve Bayesian Updateable. The results show that 3 factors with a direct effect on employability are the work province, occupation type, and times find work.


The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse is an animal model of human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Most NOD mice show insulitis at several weeks of age, and 60-90% of the female mice develop overt diabetes after 20-30 weeks of age. NOD mice share many features of human IDDM. As in human IDDM, the disease development in NOD mice is controlled by a number of disease susceptibility or resistant genes (Idds), including the major histocompatibility complex locus. Cumulative evidence suggests that Thl CD4+ T cells play a critical role in the autoimmune process leading to beta cell destruction. In addition to CD4+ T cells, CD8+ cells and B cells also participate in the pathogenesis. There are several candidate antigens recognized by autoreactive T cells such as glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), insulin and heat shock protein (HSP) 60. Treatment by these antigens suppresses IDDM development in NOD mice, suggesting that they may initiate the autoimmune process of NOD mice.


In the current research, Rhodium (III) Oxide (Rh2O3) nanoparticles were produced in various sizes using ultrasonic waves and by adding various concentrations of linoleic acid as capping agent. Using X–Ray Diffraction (XRD) methods, phytochemical and structural characteristics of the produced samples were studied and the mean particle size was calculated by Debye – Scherer equation. The phytochemical characteristics of the produced nanoparticles were studied by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR). The surface morphology of these structures shows that the Rhodium (III) Oxide (Rh2O3) nanoparticles are formed in a spherical shape.


The purposes of this research, using the Parse method, were to discover the structure of sacrificing something important and to expand the theory of human becoming. The core concepts of relinquishing the cherished, shifting preferred options, and fortifying affiliations were discovered during the process of extraction-synthesis using synopses of dialogues from 10 church parishioners. The structure, sacrificing something important is relinquishing the cherished while shifting preferred options amid fortifying affiliations is the central finding of this study, adding to the theory of human becoming, stimulating further research, and informing nurses about this universal lived experience of health.


To the Editor.— I am writing to correct certain information in the article entitled "Academic Dismissal: Due Process: Part II" by Henry R. Arkin, JD, 1 in which Scott E. Ewing's case against the Regents of the University of Michigan is discussed. At the time the article appeared, the university had appealed the case to the US Supreme Court. On Dec 12, 1985, the Supreme Court reversed the unanimous opinion of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and held that the university had not acted arbitrarily in dismissing Mr Ewing after he failed the National Board of Medical Examiners examination part I on his first attempt. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court did acknowledge that "other students with even more academic deficiencies were uniformly allowed to retake the test" and that "Ewing is the only student who, having failed the test, was not permitted to retake it." The court


Color is an important indicator for evaluating the quality of natural rubber (NR). Light-colored standard rubbers are widely used in high-grade products and have high economic value. This paper first introduces the history and test standards of the standard light-colored rubber. The origin of color deepening in NR processing, color substances, and its biosynthetic pathway are reviewed. Then, the discoloration mechanism of NR is studied from the perspectives of enzymatic browning (caused by polyphenol oxidase and polyphenols) and non-enzymatic browning (including Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation). Finally, the strategies to control the discoloration of NR will be described.


Larval settlement in wave-dominated, nearshore environments is the most critical life stage for a vast array of marine invertebrates, yet it is poorly understood and virtually impossible to observe in situ. Using a custom-built flume tank that mimics the oscillatory fluid flow over a shallow coral reef, we isolated the effect of millimeter-scale benthic topography and showed that it increases the settlement of slow-swimming coral larvae by an order of magnitude relative to flat substrates. Particle tracking velocimetry of flow fields revealed that millimeter-scale ridges introduced regions of flow recirculation that redirected larvae toward the substrate surface and decreased the local fluid speed, effectively increasing the window of time for larvae to settle. Regions of recirculation were quantified using the Q-criterion method of vortex identification and correlated with the settlement locations of larvae for the first time. In agreement with experiments, computational fluid dynamics modeling and agent-based larval simulations also showed significantly higher settlement onto ridged substrates. Additionally, in contrast to previous reports on the effect of micro-scale substrate topography, we found that these topographies did not produce key hydrodynamic features linked to increased settlement. These findings highlight how physics-based substrate design can create new opportunities to increase larval recruitment for ecosystem restoration.


Indonesian forestry challenges in attributional land-use conflicts of overlapping villages and state forests have affected community livelihoods and forest sustainability for decades. This empirical research uncovers the socio-economic attributes of villages in order to gain a better understanding of people−forest relationships in order to guide improved forest management and governance for long-term sustainability. Data were obtained from 69 villages located in the forest management unit of Lakitan Bukit Cogong in South Sumatra Province. Spatially-explicit quantitative measurements and qualitative approaches were employed to explore the interrelationships between human footprint, village development, and conflict resolution strategies over two decades. The results confirmed that utilization of forest areas as part of the village territory (such as for building settlements, public/social infrastructure facilities, plantations and agricultural fields) has long been administered without permits, destabilizing forest functions. Moreover, aspects such as human population size, proximity of villages to the national road and sub-district capital, and the transmigration settlement units have an impact on the Human Footprint Index and Village Development Index. Furthermore, our analyses identified three distinctive forms of conflict based on village type: (1) villages which are administratively included in the forest area; (2) villages for transmigration settlement; and (3) villages adjacent to company management concession areas. In these villages, the clarity of land/forest boundaries and property rights are predominant conflict issues. Several recommendations are proposed to support sustainable forest development; namely, controlling human activities in the forest, improving village management governance, and resolving associated conflicts.


BACKGROUND: The study was undertaken to develop a potential new markers for distinguishing minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in children. We hypothesized that matrix metalloproteinase-9/neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (MMP-9/NGAL) is a better marker of focal sclerosis in the glomerulus then matrix metalloproteinase-9/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-9/TIMP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-2/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 MMP2/TIMP-2. METHODS: The present study used a sample of 36 children and adolescents subdivided into two groups: I – 20 children with MCNS, subjected to examination twice: A – in relapse of nephrotic syndrome, before treatment and B – after regression of proteinuria; II – 16 children with FSGS. MMPs and TIMPs and NGAL levels were measured in the urine using ELISA kit. MMP-9/TIMP-1, MMP-2/TIMP-2 and MMP-9/NGAL ratios were calculated. RESULTS: Median NGAL/cr. was significantly higher in MCNS and FSGS patients when compared to healthy controls. Both, NGAL and MMP-9 urinary levels were significantly elevated in FSGS subjects, as compared with control subjects. Contrary to FSGS children, in MCNS group, before treatment only NGAL/cr., but not MMP-9/cr. was increased. Urinary concentrations of NGAL and MMP-9 were highly associated with each other (NGAL/cr. vs. MMP-9/cr., r = 0.485, p < 0.01). Median urine MMP-9/NGAL ratio in FSGS patients was significantly higher than in patients with MCNS. We also found that significant increase in MMP-9/NGAL was associated with FSGS [odds ratio (OR) – 9.0; confidence interval (CI) 1.97–41.07]. CONCLUSION: MMP-9/NGAL ratio may serve as differentiation marker between MCNS and FSGS in nephrotic children.


The present material is based on the research project "Mobilization of female innovative entrepreneurial potentials MobI UP ", sub-project at the BTU Cottbus, Chair of Prof. Dr. Christiane Hipp, public funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) from October 2007 until March 2010. The purpose of the material is the transfer of the results and implications of this project.


OBJECTIVES
Despite the improved survival rate for patients with cancer in the United States, there is a need for successful intervention programs that can raise awareness about cancer risks among healthy young adults. This research experimentally examines how conflict in a digital game called "Re-Mission™" (HopeLab, Redwood City, CA) may influence young adults' perception of cancer risk, their motivation to get protected from cancer, and their intention to seek cancer-related information from their doctors.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
"Re-Mission" is a game in which players control a nanorobot that goes inside patients' virtual bodies to fight cancer cells. Two days after completing a baseline survey, participants (n=48) played "Re-Mission" at either low or high conflict (i.e., low or high level of obstacles and challenges in the game). Then, participants completed a post-experience survey.

RESULTS
Participants in the high conflict condition experienced an increase in perceived susceptibility to and severity of cancer. They also increased their intentions to seek information by talking with a physician. Conflict also blocked any decrease in protective motivation.

CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that by virtually experiencing the consequences of cancer cell behavior, young adult players of "Re-Mission" increased in perception of cancer risks, protective motivation, and intentions to seek cancer-related information. In practice, health interventions should not only disseminate visual information about cancer, but also give the public the opportunity to virtually experience the consequences of cancer in order to understand the risks and become motivated to get protected. Implications for future research are also discussed.


We compare the properties of gas flows on both the near and far side of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) disk using Hubble Space Telescope UV absorption-line observations toward an active galactic nucleus behind (transverse) and a star within (down-the-barrel) the LMC disk at an impact parameter of 3.2 kpc ?> . We find that even in this relatively quiescent region gas flows away from the disk at speeds up to ∼ 100 km s - 1 ?> in broad and symmetrical absorption in the low and high ions. The symmetric absorption profiles combined with previous surveys showing little evidence that the ejected gas returns to the LMC and provide compelling evidence that the LMC drives a global, large-scale outflow across its disk, which is the likely result of a recent burst of star formation in the LMC. We find that the outflowing gas is multiphase, ionized by both photoionization (Si ii and Si iii) and collisional ionization (Si iv and C iv). We estimate a total mass and outflow rate to be ≳ 10 7 M ☉ ?> and ≳ 0.4 M ☉ yr − 1 ?> . Since the velocity of this large-scale outflow does not reach the LMC escape velocity, the gas removal is likely aided by either ram-pressure stripping with the Milky Way (MW) halo or tidal interactions with the surrounding galaxies, implying that the environment of LMC-like or dwarf galaxies plays an important role in their ultimate gas starvation. Finally we reassess the mass and plausible origins of the high-velocity complex toward the LMC given its newly determined distance that places it in the lower MW halo and sky-coverage that shows it extends well beyond the LMC disk.


Exposure of 10π-electron benzazaphosphole 1 to HCl, followed by nucleophilic substitution with the Grignard reagent BrMgCCPh afforded alkynyl functionalized 3 featuring an exocyclic -C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C-Ph group with an elongated P-C bond (1.7932(19) Å). Stoichiometric experiments revealed that treatment of trans-Pd(PEt3)2(Ar)(i) (Ar = p-Me (C) or p-F (D)) with 3 generated trans-Pd(PEt3)2(Ar)(CCPh) (Ar = p-Me (E) or p-F (F)), 5, which is the result of ligand exchange between P-I byproduct 4 and C/D, and the reductively eliminated product (Ar-C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C-Ph). Cyclic voltammetry studies showed and independent investigations confirmed 4 is also susceptible to redox processes including bimetallic oxidative addition to Pd(0) to give Pd(i) dimer 6-Pd2-(P(t-Bu)3)2 and reduction to diphosphine 7. During catalysis, we hypothesized that this unwanted reactivity could be circumvented by employing a source of fluoride as an additive. This was demonstrated by conducting a Sonogashira-type reaction between 1-iodotoluene and 3 in the presence of 10 mol% Na2PdCl4, 20 mol% P(t-Bu)Cy2, and 5 equiv. of tetramethylammonium fluoride (TMAF), resulting in turnover and the isolation of Ph-C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C-(o-Tol) as the major product.


Infectious diseases are major leading cause of death in all parts of the world,
because of the appearance of new multi drug resistant microbes. Therefore, the discovery of potential
drug for effective treatment will help the slaughter of the microbes. The aim of the present study is to
evaluate the presence of photochemical and antimicrobial activities of various crude extracts of leaves,
fruits and root bark of Atalantia monophylla and Atalantia racemosa against human pathogens by using
well diffusion method.

Antimicrobial properties of the various extracts of Atalantia monophylla and Atalantia racemosa
were studied against some human pathogenic microbes such as Gram-positive Bacteria, (Bacillus
subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) Gram-negative Bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) and human opportunistic fungal pathogens (Candida albicans
and Aspergillus niger). All the extracts were comparable with standard drugs (Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin,
Nystatin. and Amphotericin B). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal
/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) values were determined through a microdilution method.
The phytochemical analysis of these plant extracts were carried out using standard mthods.

Methanolic leaf extract of A. monophylla has showed excellent antimicrobial activity against
S. aureus (40mm). As well, the A. racemosa methanolic leaf extract shows notable inhibitory activity
against S. aureus (38mm). At the same time, the least inhibition was observed in aqueous extract of
A. monophylla against E.coli (9mm). The MIC ranged from 0.78 µg/mL to 50 µg/mL and MBC/MFC
1.56 to 50 µg/mL were recorded. Phytochemical analysis of alkaloids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids,
tannins, terpenoids, phenolics and cardiae glycoside were recorded in various extracts of A. monophylla
and A. racemosa respectively. Flavonoids, phenolics and cardiac glycoside were present only in
methonalic leaf extract of A. monophylla.

The result of this study concluded that methanolic leaf extract has possessed novel compounds
with significant antimicrobial properties. Hence, we recommend this plant for further studies on
the isolation and characterization of that lead antimicrobial potential molecule.


Rapid detection of heavy metals in solution is necessary to ensure human health and environmental protection. Some heavy-metal compounds are present in solution as compounds instead of as ions owing to their low ionization. Therefore, the development of sensor devices for the detection of heavy-metal compounds is important. In this study, as a proof of concept, we propose a sensor device using graphene and a chelating agent, which were used to develop an identification technique for three types of cadmium compounds. Pristine-graphene and two types of chelator-modified graphene-based sensors were successfully used to detect cadmium compounds at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1000 μM. The detection time was less than 5 min. The three type of graphene-based sensors responded differently to each cadmium compound, which indicates that they detected cadmium as a cadmium compound instead of as cadmium ions. Furthermore, we successfully identified cadmium compounds by operating these three types of sensors as a sensor array on the same substrate. The results indicate that sensors that focus on heavy-metal compounds instead of heavy-metal ions can be used for the detection of heavy metals in solution.


Background: The role of estrogen receptor beta (ER-b) in human breast cancer remains unclear. There is no consensus regarding the clinical utility of an ER-b assay. Some studies have suggested that ER-b may oppose actions of estrogen receptor alpha (ER-a) in breast cancer cells and clinical evidences indicate that loss of ER-b expression is associated with a poor prognosis and resistance to endocrine therapy. Tumor expression of the Ki67 antigen is used to assess the prognosis of cancer patients. A change in the expression of Ki67 after short-term exposure of patients to therapeutic agents is frequently used as a proliferation marker of treatment efficacy. The association between ER-b and HER-2, the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 used in the clinical setting as a prognostic and predictive marker, in breast tumors remains unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the expression of Ki-67, HER-2, ER-a and ER-b in postmenopausal women with invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC), prior and after tamoxifen and anastrozole in neoadjuvant short-time treatment. Material and Methods: Patients were double-blind randomized in a prospective placebo controlled study with three neoadjuvant hormone therapy (HT) groups. To determine the clinical significance of the tumor cell proliferation during endocrine therapy for breast cancer, we measured the expression of Ki67 in tumor biopsy samples taken before and after 26 days of presurgical treatment with anastrozole 1mg/day (n= 25) or tamoxifen 20mg/day (n= 24) or placebo (n=29) in 78 patients with primary palpable IDC (stage II and III). Pre and post HT samples were disposed in tissue micro array blocks and submitted to immunohistochemical essay. Biomarkers status (Ki-67, HER-2, ER-a and ER-b) were obtained comparing each immunohistochemical evaluation of pre and post-surgery samples using semi-quantitative Allred9s method. Statistical analysis were performed using the GEE (General Estimation Equations) and Anova tests with significant p Results: Randomization was adequate. HER2 did not show any variation in the three groups evaluated. With positive ER-b (Allred9s score 3 to 8), only anastrozole group showed a significant reduction in KI-67 status from 4.46 in the pre-treatment to 3.15 in post treatment samples (p=0.0130). Positive ER-a breast cancers showed a significant reduction in KI-67 status in tamoxifen and anastrozole groups, and this reduction was correlated to a positive ER-b score. Discussion: Clinical management of breast cancer is guided by assessment of some tumor parameters. One of these is estrogen receptor status. With the discovery of ER-b, definition of ER status is potentially more complex. Our study brings new data about the short-time exposure to endocrine therapy. The role of ER-a may be different when co-expressed with ER-b and ER-b signaling may be a therapeutic target in these tumors. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-06-07.


Throughout human evolutionary history, cooperative contact with others has been fundamental for human survival. At the same time, social contact has been a source of threats. In this article, we focus on one particular viable threat, communicable disease, and investigate how motivations to avoid pathogens influence people's propensity to interact and cooperate with others, as measured by individual differences in generalized social trust. While extant studies on pathogen avoidance have argued that such motivations should prompt people to avoid interactions with outgroups specifically, we argue that these motivations should prompt people to avoid others more broadly. Empirically, we utilize two convenience samples and a large nationally representative sample of US citizens to demonstrate the existence of a robust and replicable effect of individual differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity on generalized social trust. We furthermore compare the effects of pathogen disgust sensitivity on generalized social trust and outgroup prejudice and explore whether generalized social trust to some extent constitutes a pathway between pathogen avoidance motivations and prejudice.


This study compared the effectiveness of the ITT Night Vision Viewer with the Wide Angle Mobility Lamp (WAML) as low-vision mobility devices for people experiencing night blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Both engineering bench testing and functional evaluations were used in the assessments. Engineering evaluations were conducted for (1) consistency of the manufacturer's specifications, (2) ergonomic characteristics, (3) modifications of devices, and (4) pedestrian safety issues. Twenty-seven patients with RP conducted rehabilitation evaluations with each device that included both clinical and functional tests. Both devices improved nighttime travel for people with night blindness as compared with nighttime travel with no device. Overall, the WAML provided better travel efficiency-equivalent to that measured in daytime. Recommendations have been developed on ergonomic factors for both devices. Although some participants preferred the ITT Night Vision Viewer, overall most participants performed better with the WAML.


Universal banking is widely held to enjoy comparative advantages in corporate finance. Recent theories of financial intermediation argue that 'insider systems' are better suited to effectively deal with long-term growth and moral hazard problems. However, little attention (if any) is usually paid to corporate governance problems that are specific to universal banking. How can banks' ownership structure and agency problems influence their ability to address longterm growth and moral hazard problems? Under which institutional arrangements, incentives and constraints can universal banking effectively realize its potential? The paper looks at such issues through the experience of interwar Italy. The evolution of universal banking in the 1920s emerges as heavily exposed to potentially serious problems of moral hazard and conflicts of interest, due to inefficient corporate governance, lack of external controls and a moral-hazard-enhancing institutional set-up. These factors may distort bank managers' incentives, affect strategic trade-offs and lead to unsound banking. The findings are consistent with that part of corporate governance literature which points to the potential for moral hazard and conflicts of interest inherent to universal banking and emphasise the conditional and historically-specific nature of its alleged benefits.


Objective: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a small circular single-stranded DNA virus that causes postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome in pigs. Cloning of the PCV2 genome in a plasmid allows the construction of infectious clones. Our objective was to clone single PCV2 genomes from an isolate containing a mixture of strains, in a plasmid in order to obtain pure PCV2 strains. Methods: PCR amplification of PCV2 genomes and cloning followed by restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing. Transfection and PCV2 titration on PK-15 cells. Results: Single-copy PCV2 genomes from three Belgian PCV2 strains were cloned. Unexpectedly, agarose gel analysis revealed that additional circular DNA species were generated in Escherichia coli. Restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing showed that the circular DNA species were truncated and derived from the plasmid containing the PCV2 genome. Mutagenesis of the PCV2 replicase gene abolished the formation of these DNA species. The infectious clones were transfected in PK-15 cells and pure PCV2 viral strains were obtained. Conclusion: Infectious clones were obtained that can be used for antigenic mapping and mutagenesis. In addition, our findings suggest that the replicase protein was expressed in E. coli and involved in the generation of the truncated DNA species.


This book presents a new and innovative theory on the origin of the Germanic languages. This theory presents solutions to four pivotal problems in the history of Germanic with critical implications for cultural history: the origin of the Germanic writing system (the Runic alphabet), the genesis of the Germanic strong verbs, the development of the Germanic word order, and etymologies for key elements of the Germanic lexicon. The book proposes that all four problems can be solved if it is hypothesized that over 2,000 years ago the ancestor of all Germanic languages, Proto-Germanic, was in intensive contact with Punic, a Semitic language from the Mediterranean. This scenario is explored by focusing on linguistic data, supported by an interdisciplinary mosaic of evidence. This book is of interest to anyone working on the linguistic and cultural history of the Germanic languages.


The role of the nappy and nursing habits as possible risk factors of urinary tract infection (UTI) were analysed in a prospective case‐control study. Cases entered hospital due to their first UTI attack. Children hospitalized for some other reason, mainly upper respiratory infections or elective surgery, served as controls matched for age and sex. Cases and their controls (208 girls and 184 boys) used nappies day and night. The odds ratios for risk of contracting UTI according to different nappy types used prior to the first UTI diagnosis were 0.95 for all‐in‐one (superabsorbent) nappies (95% CI 0.62‐1.46), 1.04 (0.69‐1.57) for standard disposable nappies and 1.00 (0.46‐2.16) for washable cotton nappies. The type and number of nappies used daily as well as the number of defecations per day were similar in UTI patients and the controls. There were no significant differences in the frequency of buttock washes nor in the daily time spent without nappy. The use of cotton nappies practically finished during the study. The type of nappy used or other nursing habits with the baby appeared to be insignificant risk factors for UTI during nappy age. The use of modern nappies has become so thoroughly commonplace that the true impact of nappy type on any condition during infancy is difficult or even impossible to evaluate in a case‐control setting.


This paper presents the features and evaluation of a digital signal processor/personal computer-based simulator which allows the simultaneous simulation of two linear systems in real time. A desire to gain the ability to evaluate hydrogenerator governors (speed controllers) in forms completely equivalent to that which could be used to control actual hydrogenerators is the primary motivation for this work. The simulator is designed so that one linear system may be conceptualized as an error controller while the second system may be thought of as a plant under control. The simulator is specialized in that it allows direct entry of the hydrogenerator system parameter values of one of two linearized hydrogenerating system plant models. An option to enter the gains of a generic PID controller also exists. This PID controller may be utilized to simulate a governor for a hydrogenerator, thus allowing the real-time simulation of a closed-loop speed-controlled hydrogenerating system. Simulation accuracy is established by comparing computed results to those computed by an accepted "standard" software package. An IBM-compatible personal computer and a modified Texas Instruments TMS320C30 digital signal processor evaluation module are the primary hardware used. >


The defoliation and fruit dehiscence of cotton plants were evaluated by applications of Ethephon (rates: 0.96, 1.44 and 1.92kg/ha). Thidiazuron (0.075kg/ha) and the mixture of both Ethephon plus Thidiazuron (0.48 + 0.05, 0.96 + 0.05, and 1.44 + 0.05kg/ha, respectively). The mixture of the products was done in the sprayer tank. Observations of the cotton plants were carried out at seven and fourteen days after application of the products. Except for the application of Ethephon at the rate of 0.96kg/ha, it was observed that the three treatments were effective in promoting cotton defoliation. It was also verified that Ethephon at the rates of 1.44kg/ha accelerated fruit dehiscence while Thidiazuron did not. Antagonic action of the products was observed when applied in mixture. The isolated application of the products or the mixture had no effect on cotton yield.


Background: This study was conducted to standardize the written informed consent form for transfusion to establish the recipient's self-determination and safe blood tra nsfusion procedures of hospitals. This survey focused on doctors' acknowledgment on informed consent before c onducting a transfusion and its current situation.Methods: Data collection was conducted in 11 tertiary hospitals from Feb ruary 2010 to March 2010 with random sampling among the 30 hospitals that have a blood transfusion c ommittee. The survey was carried out in the division of medical services that supports blood transfusion or in the blood transfusion committee of each hospital. The questionnaires focused on the necessity of written consent and its contents before transfusion. Also, informed consent forms were collected when a hospital already had an informed content form.Results: The majority of hospitals (94.9%) agreed about the necessity of informed consent. However, only 6.7% of hospitals were obtaining informed consent before transfusion . The contents of the written form were the necessity of blood transfusion (94.9%), the adverse effects of transfusion (84.1%) and beneficiary of the transfusion (64.6%). Twenty-eight point two percent of the medi cal institutions were obtaining informed written consent forms and keeping them in the medical records. The problems for obtaining informed consent before a transfusion was insufficient standardized forms (40.4%) and a lack of time (33.9%).Conclusion: Though doctors agreed to the provision of information through c onsent forms, there were no standardized procedures and forms. Therefore, this study introd uced the written form to medical institutions and academies. Also, it was applied to hospitals as an evaluation i ndex in 2010. The written informed consent form can contribute to the safety of blood transfusions in the medic al area. (Korean J Blood Transfus 2010;21:236- 45)󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏Key words: Informed consent, Transfusion, Self-determining


This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro nematicidal effect of metabolites produced by actinobacteria strains, aqueous extracts from fresh and dry biomass of leguminous plants (sunn hemp, pigeon pea and Gliricidia sepium), liquid residue from sisal (Agave sisalana Perrine ex Engelm) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) to control Scutellonema bradys. Strains of actinobacteria and leguminous plants (sunn hemp, pigeon pea and gliricidia) were evaluated against S. bradys in yam plants. Strains AC-92, AC-12, AC-50 and AC-52 showed nematicidal effect against S. bradys under in vitro conditions. The aqueous extracts from the fresh biomass of sunn hemp, gliricidia and pigeon pea are more efficient than the aqueous extracts of the dry biomass of these plants for control of S. bradys under in vitro conditions. The liquid residues from sisal and cassava, in concentrations above 20 %, also have nematicidal effect against S. bradys under in vitro conditions. The green manures (sunn hemp, pigeon pea and gliricídia) and actinobacteria strains, singly or in combination, are effective for the management of S. bradys in yam crop.


The paper develops an overlapping generations model incorporating a realistic depiction of the credit constraints facing home buyers to explain why home ownerships rates have declined in New Zealand since 1990 despite a significant relaxation of credit constraints. The model focuses attention on the role of property investors in the property market, and suggests changes in credit constraints mainly affect the tenure decisions of individual households, but not the aggregate level of house prices. The model suggests the decline in real interest rates is likely to be the cause of the rise in house prices and the decline in home ownership rates since 1990.


Using HPLC method was studied the component composition of phenolic compounds of the fractions from extracts of the seven Saussurea DC species, grown in Siberia: S. controversa DC, S. latifolia Ledeb., S. parviflora (Poir.) DC, S. frolovii Ledeb., S. amara (L.) DC, S. salicifolia DC, S. daurica Adams. In samples S. amara, S. frolowii, S. daurica, S. salicifolia, S. latifolia, S. controversa a significant amount of syringin (up to 25.0 mg/g of extract) was found. Phenol carboxylic acids are chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, syringic, oxybenzoic and salicylic acids with a predominance of chlorogenic acid (up to 53.3 mg/g). Isocvercitrine is identified in S. parviflora, S. amara, S. salicifolia and S. frolowii, cynaroside in S. daurica and S. frolowii, hyperoside in S. salicifolia and S. parviflora; rutin in S. amara, S. controversa and S. parviflora. In S. salicifolia ethylacetate fractions avicularin was found for the first time. The content of flavonoids in seven Saussurea species from 28.1 to 133.2 mg/g of extract was changed.


The introduction of adhesive categories revived interest in the study of properties of pushouts with respect to pullbacks that started over thirty years ago for the category of graphs. Adhesive categories - of which graphs are the "archetypal" example - are defined by a single property of pushouts along monos that implies essential lemmas and central theorems of double pushout rewriting such as the local Church-Rosser Theorem. The present paper shows that a strictly weaker condition on pushouts suffices to obtain essentially the same results: it suffices to require pushouts to be hereditary, i.e. they have to remain pushouts when they are embedded into the associated category of partial maps. This fact however is not the only reason to introduce partial map adhesive categories as categories with pushouts along monos (of a certain stable class) that are hereditary. There are two equally important motivations: first, there is an application relevant example category that cannot be captured by the more established variations of adhesive categories; second, partial map adhesive categories are "conceptually similar" to adhesive categories as the latter can be characterized as those categories with pushout along monos that remain bi-pushouts when they are embedded into the associated bi-category of spans. Thus, adhesivity with partial maps instead of spans appears to be a natural candidate for a general rewriting framework.


Interpolation is a foundational concept in scientific computing and is at the heart of many scientific visualization techniques. There is usually a tradeoff between the approximation capabilities of an interpolation scheme and its evaluation efficiency. For many applications, it is important for a user to navigate their data in real time. In practice, evaluation efficiency outweighs any incremental improvements in reconstruction fidelity. We first analyze, from a general standpoint, the use of compact piece-wise polynomial basis functions to efficiently interpolate data that is sampled on a lattice. We then detail our automatic code-generation framework on both CPU and GPU architectures. Specifically, we propose a general framework that can produce a fast evaluation scheme by analyzing the algebro-geometric structure of the convolution sum for a given lattice and basis function combination. We demonstrate the utility and generality of our framework by providing fast implementations of various box splines on the Body Centered and Face Centered Cubic lattices, as well as some non-separable box splines on the Cartesian lattice. We also provide fast implementations for certain Voronoi-splines that have not yet appeared in the literature. Finally, we demonstrate that this framework may also be used for non-Cartesian lattices in 4D.


As part of an effort to update its core computer engineering courses, Boise State University has developed course material to effectively transition students in a Microprocessors course through both the assembly and C languages. It was found that teaching both languages in the same course provides benefits not found in teaching them separately. The material has been developed to promote both a thorough understanding of microprocessors, and greater productivity that allows students to do more intriguing and relevant projects. The course presents just enough C, at a very low level and in a specific topic order, to enable the students to better comprehend microprocessors and how they can control a broad range of devices. The updated Microprocessors course is currently in its fourth iteration.


The Least Mean Square Adaptive Filter is frequently encountered in wide variety of applications like signal processing, measurement and analysis of continuously changing parameters and signal analysis. The direct form of LMS Adaptive Filter does not support pipelining due to its recursive behavior. Thus modified Delayed LMS Adaptive Filter is preferred in which delays are decomposed so that pipelining is applied to power consuming blocks. Literature survey on the architectures of LMS Adaptive filter reveals that earlier works focused on the implementation using systolic architectures that gave rise to large adaptation delay. This arise a need for designing the LMS Adaptive filter with low adaptation delay. In this project, power efficient hardware architecture of modified delayed LMS Adaptive filter has been designed and implemented. The design of modified Delayed LMS Adaptive Filter is done after implementing pipelined architecture of Error Computation Block and Weight Update Block. The two important blocks involve the use of partial product generator and adder-tree structure which together perform the high-complexity operation. Adder-tree structure uses Carry-look ahead adder whose internal generate and propagate signals contribute to high power consumption. Hence further modification is made in the adder-tree structure by utilizing ripple-carry adder instead of carry-look ahead adder. This modification results in approximately 24% reduction in power relative to existing modified DLMS. Further power optimization is done by replacing adders with 4:2 compressors. The area complexity is also reduced as the number of required 4:2 compressors are less when compared to the requirement of adders. This modification results in 39% reduction in power relative to existing modified DLMS without degradation of steady-state-error performance. This implementation of power-optimized modified DLMS is done using Xilinx ISE Design Suite 14.2.


Swedish small- and medium sized enterprises, with limited organizational resources and financial endurance, are facing new challenges when trying to expand their current domestic business to a new venture in the emerging Russian market. Many small enterprises that try to enter the Russian market have failed to survive. This thesis sets out to examine the underlying causes that have enabled a sample of Swedish small- and medium sized enterprises to be successful on the Russian market.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of medicinal-cake-separated moxibustion combined with acupuncture on back-leg activities and plasma substance P (SP) levels in patients with lumbar disc herniation, so as to reveal its mechanism underlying pain relief.

METHODS
A total of 114 patients with lumbar disc herniation were randomly divided into control group (n=56) and treatment group (n=58) according to a random digits table. Patients of the control group were treated by manual acupuncture stimulation of main acupoints Jiaji (EX-B 2), Huantiao (GB 30, affected side), Chengshan (BL 57, affected side), Kunlun (BL 60, affected side), and supplemented acupoints Yanglingquan (GB 34), Weizhong (BL 40) and Zusanli (ST 36) in combination with wheat-flour-cake separated moxibustion at the main acupoints, and patients of the treatment group were treated by medicinal-cake [Chuanwu (Radix Aconiti), Caowu (Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii), Ruxiang (Olibanum), etc. ]-separated moxibustion in combination with manual acupuncture stimulation of the same acupoints mentioned above. Acupuncture treatment was conducted for 30 min, followed by moxibustion for 15 min. The treatment was given once daily for 10 days. The patients' back-leg functional activity ability was assessed using straight-leg raising test, and the pain state assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, respectively. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by using "Crite- ria for Diagnosis and Outcome Evaluation of Clinical Disorders or Syndromes of Chinese Medicine" issued in 1994 and plasma SP content was detected by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS
After the therapy, the back-leg activity score and JOA score of both groups were significantly higher than those of pre-treatment in the same one group (P<0. 05, P<0. 01), and those of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). The VAS score of the treatment group was re- markably lower than that of the control group (P<0. 01). After the treatment, the plasma SP content was markedly lower in the treatment group than in the control group (.P<0O. 05 ) .

CONCLUSION
Medicinal-cake-separated moxibustion therapy can ame- liorate pain severity and functional activity of the back-leg pain patients with lumbar disc hernia, which may be related to its effect in reducing blood SP level.


Open access: http://isainsmedis.id/ Antibiogram and biofilm formation among extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates in Sanglah General Hospital, Bali, Indonesia Ichlazul Ma'ruf1, Made Agus Hendrayana2, I Dewa Made Sukrama2, Ni Nengah Dwi Fatmawati2* Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), and has a high level of resistance to antibiotics first, second, extended-spectrum cephalosporins, and monobactam which are a serious threat to public health worldwide. Besides, it is known that this bacterium can form biofilms as virulence factors that contribute to drug resistance. This study aims to determine the antibiotics susceptibility patterns and the capacity of K. pneumoniae to form biofilms. Methods: K. pneumoniae was isolated from clinical specimens (urine, sputum, pus, blood, and others) for the period 2018-2019. Bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed using the Vitek Compact 2 (bioMérieux®) test in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of Sanglah General Hospital. Biofilm formation was checked using the tissue culture plate method (TCP). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 for Windows. Results: Most of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae showed resistance to antibiotics. The susceptible profiles were only towards ertapenem (97.50%), meropenem (97.50%), amikacin (95.00%), and tigecycline (87.50%). The TCP method detected 72 (90.00%) as biofilm producers among 80 clinical isolates, while 8 (10.0%) as non-biofilm producers. Among the biofilm-producer bacteria, there were 6 (7.50%) as strong, 37 (46.25%) moderate, and 29 (36.25%) weak biofilm-producer isolates. Conclusions: Most ESBL-producing K.pneumoniae clinical isolates in Sanglah General Hospital demonstrate multiple resistance to antibiotics and as biofilm producers. However, further research is needed to be conducted using a molecular approach to see the ESBLand biofilm-encoded genes.


The success of NASA's future space missions and the development of portable, commercial instrument packages will depend greatly on miniaturized components enabled by the use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Both of these application markets for miniaturized instruments are governed by the use of MEMS components that satisfy stringent power, mass, volume, contamination and integration requirements. An attractive MEMS vacuum pump for instruments requiring vacuum conditions is the Knudsen Compressor, which operates based on the rarefied gas dynamics phenomenon of thermal transpiration. Thermal transpiration describes the regime where gas flows can be induced in a system by maintaining temperature differences across porous materials under rarefied conditions. This pumping mechanism provides two overwhelmingly attractive features as a miniature vacuum pump — no moving parts and no working fluids or lubricants. Due to favorable power, volume and mass estimates a Knudsen Compressor fabricated using MEMS fabrication techniques (lithography, deep reactive ion etching) and new materials (silicon, aerogel) has been completed. The experimental testing of this MEMS Knudsen Compressor device's thermal and pumping performance are outlined in this manuscript. Good agreement between experiments and numerical predictions using a transitional flow analysis have also been obtained although simple simulations based on the aerogel's structure are difficult to perform.


Left ventricular contractile function was evaluated in twenty patients with coronary artery disease before and during handgrip by use of Vpm, VCEIO and Vmax (obtained with a simplified calculation) from high-fidelity pressure measurements. In eight patients the response to handgrip was characterized by an increase of the contractile indices accompanied by small changes of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (not exceeding + 4 mm Hg) and was considered normal. Twelve patients who showed abnormal or pathologic reaction to isometric exercise repeated handgrip after administration of 0.4 mg of spray nitroglycerin. Thus eight patients normalized their response to exercise, while in four we observed again a pathologic reaction to handgrip. It is concluded that is a useful and simple manoeuvre for a better evaluation of left centricular function in patients with coronary artery disease; the repetition of the test after administration of nitroglycerin can be useful in identifying those patients with greatest contractile reserve.


A description is given of the FFTF Document Control and Information Retrieval System. The system utilizes a mini-computer along with various microfilm equipment and is designed to accommodate an anticipated 50 million pages of text and 750,000 drawings. The system is simple, uncluttered, eliminates duplication, and provides quick retrievability of documents for all technical and administrative personnel.


In this work, the influence of a wide range anodizing temperature (5–30 °C) on the growth and optical properties of PAA-based distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) was studied. It was demonstrated that above 10 °C both structural and photonic properties of the DBRs strongly deteriorates: the photonic stop bands (PSBs) decay, broaden, and split, which is accompanied by the red shift of the PSBs. However, at 30 °C, new bands in transmission spectra appear including one strong and symmetric peak in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region. The PSB in the MIR region is further improved by a small modification of the pulse sequence which smoothen and sharpen the interfaces between consecutive low and high refractive index layers. This is a first report on PAA-based DBR with a good quality PSB in MIR. Moreover, it was shown that in designing good quality DBRs a steady current recovery after subsequent application of high potential (UH) pulses is more important than large contrast between low and high potential pulses (UH-UL contrast). Smaller UH-UL contrast helps to better control the current evolution during pulse anodization. Furthermore, the lower PSB intensity owing to the smaller UH-UL contrast can be partially compensated by the higher anodizing temperature.


Traditionally, subsurface models are created based on reservoir characterization, then simulated and calibrated via history matching (HM) to honor data, generate forecasts, and quantify uncertainties. However, this approach is time consuming for unconventional projects with aggressive schedules. On the other hand, purely data-driven approaches such as decline curve analysis (DCA) are fast but not reliable for yet-to-be-observed flow regimes, e.g., boundaries or other effects causing late-time changes in productivity decline behaviors. We propose a physics-informed unconventional forecasting (PIUF) framework that combines simulations and data analytics for robust field applications. We apply Data-Space Inversion (DSI) to incorporate physics from a large ensemble of prior simulation models to generate posterior forecasts within a Bayesian paradigm. We also quantify the consistency of simulated physics and observed data by computing the Mahalanobis distance to ensure that the appropriate prior ensemble is employed. In lieu of history-matched models, a statistical relationship between data and forecast is learned; then posterior sampling is applied for data assimilation and direct forecasting in DSI. DSI reduces the dimensions of time-series (and other) data using parameterization like Principal Component Analysis. We implemented DSI within a tool that is connected to a vast database of observations for thousands of unconventional Permian Basin wells and a large ensemble of fracture simulations. We apply it to rapidly generate probabilistic forecasts (e.g., oil production rate, gas oil ratio) for unconventional wells and show that DSI can provide robust long-term forecasts based on early-time data when compared with DCA. We show that DSI yields robust uncertainty quantification with a manageable number of simulations compared with simple machine-learning methods like K-Nearest-Neighbors. We illustrate how data error and volume impact DSI forecasts in meaningful ways. We also introduce a DSI enhancement to generate posterior distributions for model parameters (e.g., hydraulic fracture height) to derive subsurface insights from data and understand key performance drivers. Our cloud-native implementation stores data (observed and simulated) in the cloud while the algorithm is implemented as a microservice that is efficient and elastic for the analysis of many wells. The overall framework is useful for rapid probabilistic forecasting to support development planning and de-risk new areas as an alternative to DCA or HM.


Visual input powerfully modulates the dynamics of tactile orientation perception. This study investigated the transfer of the tilt aftereffect (TAE) from vision to somatosensation. In a visual tilt adaptation paradigm, participants were exposed to clockwise or anticlockwise visual tilt, followed by three brief tactile two-point stimuli delivered on their forehead. In a two-alternative forced choice task, participants had to indicate whether the haptic stimulus was tilted to the right or left. Repeated exposure to oriented visual gratings produced a tactile TAE, such that the subsequent tactile stimuli appeared tilted toward the opposite direction. To assess the origin of this effect, the experiment was repeated with the head tilted. Adaptation to a gravitationally tilted grating but with the head tilted so that the grating was retinally vertical induced a robust tactile aftereffect suggesting that the visuotactile TAE is due to spatiotopic rather than retinotopic adaptation.


"Reasoning and expert system" is one of the three elective modules of the "preliminary learning on artificial intelligence" toward the new General High School Curriculum Standard, teaching of which has close relation with the knowledge view and skill view of Cognitive Apprenticeship. Probing into the feasibility and implementation of Cognitive Apprenticeship in the teaching of "Reasoning and expert system" can provide some reference for the teachers.


Abstract Scott McCloud and Will Eisner based their foundational studies of graphic narrative aesthetics on black and white line drawing. Much of what provides character psychology in Gaiman's The Sandman Overture, however, is the color and the nature of the shading, the different styles of drawing, the shapes of panels, and the palette chosen for scenes. I would like to show how Gaiman, Williams, and Stewart project the psychology of Dream and of other characters through scenery, through character portraits against typifying backgrounds, through visualization of the self as multiple, through panel shapes, and through symbolism. Williams and Stewart use their art to show us Dream's fears and shortcomings and mental patterns and explain much that was not explicit in The Sandman. Thanks to the overwhelmingly dense and rich artwork of this collaboration with Gaiman, we get separate but consilient views of the characters through actions, words, and pictures.


There are still many problems to be faced in the field of heart transplantation. Acute and chronic rejection are still the major medical obstacles. In this review, we describe recent research in this field undertaken in our laboratory. The induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and MHC class II antigen resulting from rejection can be visualized in vivo by radioimmunoscintigraphy. This non-invasive method is sensitive for detecting early rejection and allows quantitative assessment of rejection. Short-term administration of monoclonal antibodies to ICAM-1 and leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) results in an indefinite acceptance of cardiac allografts by induction of antigen-specific tolerance, as evidenced by acceptance of the secondary skin allografts. The characteristics and possible mechanisms of this tolerance induction are discussed. Immunohistopathologic features of graft coronary arteriopathy are shown. Adhesion molecules, cytokines, and growth factors are associated with intimal hyperplasia and phenotypic transformation of smooth muscle cells in the allograft coronary arteries. Dramatic reduction in this intimal hyperplasia was demonstrated by antisense gene therapy targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 2 kinase. We hope that these investigations will contribute to the improvement of the management of patients who undergo heart transplantation.


To assess factors responsible for the dyspnea of pregnancy, serial treadmill exercise tests were performed in 14 normal women during the course of pregnancy. The method allowed measurement of ventilation, oxygen consumption, and alveolar gas partial pressures at minute intervals during exercise. The stress of the test was such that a normal subject should develop no dyspnea. Five of the subjects experienced dyspnea during the test at some time during their pregnancy; in two dyspnea was severe. Dyspnea was most likely to occur when the alveolar carbon dioxide tension was minimum, but did not correlate with the absolute level of ventilation or with the relationship of ventilation to the maximum ventilatory capacity. Subjects with high alveolar carbon dioxide tensions during exercise when not pregnant seemed most prone to develop dyspnea during pregnancy.


On December 26, 2004, a devastating tsunami arising from an earthquake which had its epicentre near Indonesia in the Indian Ocean attacked many countries along the Indian Ocean: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The tsunami resulted in more casualties than any in history. As of mid-February, 2005, an estimated 214,000 people were dead, 142,000 reported missing, and more than 3,400 injured. A natural phenomenon, tsunamis are giant sea waves caused by a submarine earthquake or slope collapse into the sea bed. The giant sea waves reach the coast after traveling thousands of miles at speeds of 300-600 mph and making inroads at great force into the shoreline. Waves lash out at built structures, plants, trees and human habitations causing massive flooding and destruction.


Abstract Ephemeral gully erosion is responsible for heavy damage to agricultural land and causes sedimentation and drainage network formation in most regions. Ephemeral gully length, width and depth were measured over a 5-yr period in an area of about 120 ha of heavy soils cultivated with durum wheat in Sicily (Italy) in order to quantify the soil losses and to examine, by statistical analysis, the relationships between this kind of erosion, precipitation and the characteristics of the watersheds. Ephemeral gully formation was observed for 4 yr out of five in the study area. A mean length of about 36 m ha −1 yr −1 and mean soil losses of 3·3 m 3 ha −1 yr −1 were measured. The channel depth reached a maximum value (>1 m) 3 yr out of four. In the examined soils, this kind of erosion occurs when the moisture content of the soil is high: regression analysis indicates that the soil moisture content can be expressed by the amount of precipitation for 3 days. In the observation period, the minimum 3-day rainfall which gave rise to channel formation was 51 mm; since the 51 mm return period is less than 2 yr, the risk of erosion is high. Mean depth and width, which are the channel characteristics that vary the least between the different years, seem to be controlled by the soil, crop and field characteristics, whereas the precipitation regime seems mainly to influence their number and length. Regression equations were performed to estimate ephemeral gully surface area and soil losses measuring the length alone. Length measurement by the global position system is sufficiently accurate and fast. The influence of watershed surface area and length on ephemeral gully erosion indicates that a reduction in field area and length may be an effective measure to reduce this kind of erosion.


Abstract. Near-surface wind speed is typically only measured by point observations. The actively heated fiber-optic (AHFO) technique, however, has the
potential to provide high-resolution distributed observations of wind speeds, allowing for better spatial characterization of fine-scale
processes. Before AHFO can be widely used, its performance needs to be tested in a range of settings. In this work, experimental results on this
novel observational wind-probing technique are presented. We utilized a controlled wind tunnel setup to assess both the accuracy and the precision
of AHFO under a range of operational conditions (wind speed, angles of attack and temperature difference). The technique allows for wind speed
characterization with a spatial resolution of 0.3  m on a 1  s timescale. The flow in the wind tunnel was varied in a controlled
manner such that the mean wind ranged between 1 and 17  m s−1 . The AHFO measurements are compared to sonic anemometer measurements and
show a high coefficient of determination (0.92–0.96) for all individual angles, after correcting the AHFO measurements for the angle of
attack. Both the precision and accuracy of the AHFO measurements were also greater than 95 % for all conditions. We conclude that AHFO has the
potential to measure wind speed, and we present a method to help choose the heating settings of AHFO. AHFO allows for the characterization of
spatially varying fields of mean wind. In the future, the technique could potentially be combined with conventional distributed temperature sensing
(DTS) for sensible heat flux estimation in micrometeorological and hydrological applications.


MGNREGS is a mammoth employment programme, launched more than a decade ago in the rural diaspora of the Indian sub-continent, with a massive annual budget of Rs.60,000crore, aimed at eradicating rural poverty and unemployment in one stroke, targeting a multitude of mainstream rural workers, as well as vulnerable categories such as the adivasis, the aged, the differently abled and disabled persons. Acclaimed as a model by most other countries, MGNREGS entitles every worker with wage employment for 100 days, augments their income and forms the base for a sustainable rural livelihood. With a plethora of studies made on the impact of this scheme on poverty eradication, the present study conducted in early 2019, concentrates on its impact on the primitive and nomadic tribal groups in Attappadi , a tribal- prominent block in Palakkad district of Kerala State. Conducted primarily thro' Case studies, the present research highlights the role of the scheme in achieving not only the intended outcome, but also its unintended outcome. The study has profiled the role of the scheme in not only providing livelihood to all the workers, but also in restoring the normal life of persons with disabilities such as mental depression, speech and visual impairment.The mentally and physically challenged workers, who were hitherto confined to their homes or settlements and were a frustrated lot, are now able to ease their depression, while working, and interacting with fellow workers, and find cheer and solace in their company.
Besides, it has provided physical safety, economic security, and social status to the deserted women, divorcees, and children with disabilities. Though living in poverty, the fellow workers have proved that they have concern and commitment for not only their distraught co-workers but also for their distressed family members. By sharing the work of the weak and the vulnerable at the worksite, they have demonstrated that "humanitarianism" exists amidst destitution and deprivation and "compassion and camaraderie" are the primary assets of the workers, than poverty and backwardness.


This study focuses on the way of parents involving themselves in supporting their children learn English. In order to encourage children to learn better as English language learners, some parents send their children to have a continual program in non-formal institutions after schooling time. A common reason is that parents have the low capability in training their children to speak English or at least utter some meaningful words or phrases. Small scale survey by using open and closed-ended questionnaire was conducted among respondents from two elementary schools in Palangka Raya, Indonesia. They were, first, parents whose children learn English formally in SDIT Al-Furqan Palangka Raya and MIN Langkai Palangka Raya and take English course privately at home or courses center, and, second, the children as students. The questionnaires are focused on the students' attitude and motivation towards learning English and parents' opinions and involvement in learning the process, mainly practicing English at home. The result offers teachers some important points to consider in the teaching of English, especially the way to work with children and to build a positive relationship with parents in the regard of better learning.


The study of galaxy evolution hinges on our ability to interpret multiwavelength galaxy observations in terms of their physical properties. To do this, we rely on spectral energy distribution (SED) models, which allow us to infer physical parameters from spectrophotometric data. In recent years, thanks to wide and deep multiwave band galaxy surveys, the volume of high-quality data have significantly increased. Alongside the increased data, algorithms performing SED fitting have improved, including better modeling prescriptions, newer templates, and more extensive sampling in wavelength space. We present a comprehensive analysis of different SED-fitting codes including their methods and output with the aim of measuring the uncertainties caused by the modeling assumptions. We apply 14 of the most commonly used SED-fitting codes on samples from the CANDELS photometric catalogs at z ∼ 1 and z ∼ 3. We find agreement on the stellar mass, while we observe some discrepancies in the star formation rate (SFR) and dust-attenuation results. To explore the differences and biases among the codes, we explore the impact of the various modeling assumptions as they are set in the codes (e.g., star formation histories, nebular, dust and active galactic nucleus models) on the derived stellar masses, SFRs, and A V values. We then assess the difference among the codes on the SFR–stellar mass relation and we measure the contribution to the uncertainties by the modeling choices (i.e., the modeling uncertainties) in stellar mass (∼0.1 dex), SFR (∼0.3 dex), and dust attenuation (∼0.3 mag). Finally, we present some resources summarizing best practices in SED fitting.


Interactive devices can support personal remembering to benefit well-being. These designs require insight into what brings the past to mind, and how people relate to such cues. Prior work focused on mementos in the home; instead, this paper presents a diary and interview study of involuntary memory cueing in everyday life. Data was collected from fifteen adult individuals, using sentence completion diaries, combined with debriefing interviews. Qualitative analysis of the data showed that these participants were relying on everyday physical objects like food items for cueing memories during everyday life, locations and (repeated) activities, while digital items and photos were shown to be less frequent stimulants. Meaningful relations to memory cues can be partially explained from a memory cueing perspective. We discuss how design for remembering can benefit from our insights, through careful trade-offs in timing, exposure to cues, and supporting a process of personal attachment with items invoking memories.


Fifty-six patients with ovarian cancer (three stage IC, nine stage II, 33 stage III and II stage IV) were treated with carboplatin 350 mg m−2 i.v. day 1 and chlorambucil orally 0.15 mg kgm−1 days 1–7 inclusive, repeated every 28 days for eight courses. The regimen was well tolerated and was virtually free of nephro- and neurotoxicity. Grade III or IV hematology toxicity occurred in 18 patients but only 31 or 330 courses administered were delayed. Of 40 assessable patients eight achieved a clinical/radiologic complete response and 17 a clinical/radiologic partial response. Actuarial survival at 50 months was 65% for stage II patients, 27% for stage III patients and no stage IV patients survived beyond 20 months. Forty-two per cent of patients with residual disease less 2 cm survived 50 months, compared with 44% of patients with moderate volume (2–5 cm) residual disease and 6% of patients with bulk residual disease. This is an active, well tolerated regimen. However, only patients with small volume residual disease have a significant chance of prolonged survival.


Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is effective for the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), especially in advanced stages which are refractory to conventional therapy. Despite of the regular use in clinical therapy, rodent models for basic research into DBS are not routinely available. The main reason is the geometry difference from rodents to humans, imposing larger problems in the transfer of the stimulation conditions than from primates to humans. For rodents, the development of miniaturized mobile stimulators and stimulation parameters, as well as improved electrode materials and geometry are desirable. The impedance of custom made, cylindrical (contact diameter 200 μm, length 100 μm), platinum/iridium electrodes has been measured in vivo for two weeks to characterize the influence of electrochemical processes and of the adherent cell growth at the electrode surface. During the encapsulation process, the real part of the electrode impedance at 10 kHz doubled with respect to its initial value after a characteristic decrease by approximately one third at the second day. An outlook is given on further investigations with different electrode designs for long-term DBS.


Influence of three cage shapes viz (i) rectangular ii) square, and (iii) circular on growth and production of Mystus cavasius (local name: gulsha) was studied in earthen pond conditions for a period of 120 days. Each of nine cages, which were made of polyethylene nets, had same internal area (1.80 m3) and stocked with M. cavasius fry at the rate of 300 m-3, following a completely randomized design. Fishes were fed with a commercial floating pellet feed (Mega 002) initially at the rate of 25% of average body weight, with a gradual reduction to 8%. Significantly higher (P<0.05) average weight gain (AWG) of 13.49 ± 0.14 g, with specific growth rate (SGR) of 1.87% day-1, and the survival rate of 89.41% were recorded for gulsha reared in the circular cage compared to the other shapes. Rectangular and square cages resulted in a similar (P>0.05) AWG of 10.29 ± 0.10 and 10.43 ± 0.25 g with survival rate of 80 and 83.61%, respectively. A significantly higher (P<0.05) average total production of 4.05 ± 0.21 kg/m3 was obtained with circular cage compared to a similar production of 2.72 ± 0.28 and 3.08 ±0.29 kg/m3 (P>0.05) in rectangular and square cages, respectively. In case of lengthweight relationship (LWR), the coefficient of determination values (r2) was 0.86, 0.90, and 0.85 in square, circular and rectangular cages, respectively indicating a good linear regression between length and weight in circular cages than square and rectangular cages. Taken together, these results indicate that circular cage is the best for growth, survival and production of gulsha culture in pond condition.
Ann. Bangladesh Agric. (2020) 24(2): 59-68


The phase spectra obtained by the classical closed loop autoregressive model (2AR) and by an open loop autoregressive model (ARXAR) were compared to shed light on the need of introducing causality in the assessment of the delay between RR and arterial pressure oscillations. The reliability of the two approaches was tested in simulation and real data setting. In simulation, the coupling strength of a bivariate closed loop process was adjusted to obtain a range of working conditions from open to closed loop. In open loop condition, 2AR and ARXAR phases were comparable and in agreement with the imposed delay. In closed loop condition, ARXAR model returned the imposed delays, while 2AR showed an intermediate value of delay. Real data were chosen to represent comparable physiological condition. The use of cross spectrum for calculating the delay from arterial pressure to RR oscillations seems adequate only in particular condition of open-loop relationship as it happens during head up tilt in young healthy subjects.


Children tend to inherit their parents' social class through the types of jobs they get. However, digital technologies are now transforming the way labour markets work. Candidates are increasingly screened using algorithmic decision making. Skills are validated with online tests and customer feedback ratings. Workplace communications take place over digital media. Could these transformations be undermining the advantages that have accrued to workers with posh accents, family connections, and expensively acquired educational qualifications? We examine this question with survey data from the online (remote) platform economy, a labour market segment in which these digital transformations have progressed furthest (N = 983). The results reveal that online platform workers come largely from privileged class backgrounds. Class also influences (via education) what types of online occupations workers do, from professional services to data entry. However, class background has surprisingly little influence on job quality, which is instead shaped by individual digital metrics such as feedback ratings. These findings cannot be fully reconciled with theories of a shift towards meritocracy nor with theories of a persisting influence of class origins. Instead, labour market digitalization may be decoupling inherited occupation from job quality.


This paper examines the following questions: (1) Do early pioneer species have a greater impact on the survival and growth of different successional native trees compared to the shrub Rhodomyrtus tomentosa? (2) Do canopy treatments affect soil nutrients and light availability? (3) What is the mechanism underlying the interaction between nurse species and target species? Degraded shrubland sites (Heshan, Guangdong, China), under moist subtropical conditions were studied. About 1-year-old seedlings of Pinus massoniana, Schima wallichii, Schefflera heptaphylla, Castanopsis hystrix, Cryptocarya chinensis and Castanea chinensis were transplanted under the canopy of R. tomentosa, Dicranopteris dichotoma and in open interspaces without vegetation. Survival and growth were recorded from the first growing season after planting. Leaf gas exchange, water potential, soil physicochemical characters and irradiation were then measured. Canonical redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to evaluate the relationships between environmental factors and seedling survival and growth conditions. Both R. tomentosa and D. dichotoma canopy treatment facilitated seedling survival and growth either directly or indirectly. Irradiance/radiation was considered the most important resource (factor) for seedling growth in subtropical regions, however, soil nutrients and species are yet to be examined simultaneously with irradiance/radiation under field conditions. We conclude that early successional species facilitates the survival and growth of late successional species in subtropical shrublands. However, further predictions of successional trajectories remain elusive and are influenced by stochastic processes, including arrival order, shade tolerance, physiological character of the colonizing species and their competitive interactions.


Violent typhoons continue to have catastrophic impacts on economies and welfare, but how they are responding to global warming has yet to be fully understood. Here, an empirical framework is used to explain physically why observations support a tight connection between increasing ocean warmth and the increasing intensity of supertyphoons in the western North Pacific. It is shown that the energy needed for deep convection is on the rise with greater heat and moisture in the lower tropical troposphere but that this energy remains untapped when air pressure is high. Accordingly, tropical cyclone formation is becoming less common, but those that do form are likely to reach extreme intensities from the discharge of stored energy. These thermodynamic changes to the environment most significantly influence the upper portion of extreme typhoon intensities, indicating that supertyphoons are likely to be stronger at the expense of overall tropical cyclone occurrences in the western North Pacific.


BACKGROUND
HIV-infected patients with poor virologic control and multi-drug resistant virus have limited therapeutic options. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the safety, immunologic effects, and antiviral activity of peripheral lymphocytes transferred from an elite controller, whose immune system is able to control viral replication without antiretroviral medications, to an HLA-B*2705-matched progressor.

METHODS
Approximately 22 billion cells were collected from an elite controller by lymphaphersis and infused within 6 hours into a recipient with a pre-infusion CD4+ T cell count of 10 cells/μL (1%) and HIV plasma viral load of 114,993 copies/mL.

RESULTS
Donor cells were cleared from the recipient's peripheral blood by day 8. A transient decrease in viral load to 58,421 (day 3) was followed by a rebound to 702,972 (day 6) before returning to baseline values by day 8. The decreased viral load was temporally associated with peak levels of donor T cells, including CD8+ T cells that had high levels of expression of Ki67, perforin, and granzyme B. Notably, recipient CD8+ T cells also expressed increased expression of these markers, especially in HIV-specific tetramer positive cells.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the adoptive transfer of lymphocytes from an HIV-infected elite controller to an HIV-infected patient with progressive disease may be able to perturb the immune system of the recipient in both positive and negative ways.


Effective dialogue generation for task completion is challenging to build. The task requires the response generation system to generate the responses consistent with intent and slot values, have diversity in response and be able to handle multiple domains. The response also needs to be context relevant with respect to the previous utterances in the conversation. In this paper, we build six different models containing Bi-directional Long Short Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) based encoders. To effectively generate the correct slot values, we implement a copy mechanism at the decoder side. To capture the conversation context and the current state of the conversation we introduce a simple heuristic to build a conversational knowledge graph. Using this novel algorithm we are able to capture important aspects in a conversation. This conversational knowledge-graph is then used by our response generation model to generate more relevant and consistent responses. Using this knowledge-graph we do not need the entire utterance history, rather only the last utterance to capture the conversational context. We conduct experiments showing the effectiveness of the knowledge-graph in capturing the context and generating good response. We compare these results against hierarchical-encoder-decoder models and show that the use of triples from the conversational knowledge-graph is an effective method to capture context and the user requirement. Using this knowledge-graph we show an average performance gain of 0.75 BLEU score across different models. Similar results also hold true across different manual evaluation metrics.