We have been studying a way to acquire high-quality textures in order to create a three-dimensional background in a virtual studio that uses real images. In this study, using the position and direction of a camera determined based on CAD data, we have designed a system that uses a camera mounted on a robot arm to shoot a virtual studio. For the shooting, the range in which the camera can move is specified; the camera moves within this range to shoot images from various positions and directions. By choosing the camera images closest to the CAD's polygon data, the system can acquire textures that appear to be the largest for each polygon. Data from experiments show that, although there are some measurement errors depending on actual camera positions and directions and discrepancies between CAD data and the shooting object, the system as a whole can automatically acquire the high-resolution textures for the polygon of CAD data.


CONTROL of venereal diseases can be attained only at the price of eternal vigilance in terms of case finding and treatment. The recent rising incidence of syphilis was anticipated and warned against by some of those who had a role during the "golden decade of syphilis control" beginning in 1936. 1 As activity in case finding developed and progressed in those years, the incidence of syphilis decreased. The even lessened incidence during the war years was contributed to by men entering the armed forces and the enforced hospitalization of prostitutes for so-called "rapid" treatment with oxophenarsine HCl (Mapharsen) given as an intravenous drip. When the veterans returned and the controlled treatment of prostitutes ceased, the incidence of syphilis rose quite markedly. Then penicillin, having become available, permitted adequate short-term and completed treatment, with the result of a lessened incidence of infectious relapse, thereby reducing the major reservoir of infection


UvrA is one of the key Escherichia coli proteins involved in removing DNA damage during the process of nucleotide excision repair. The relatively low concentrations (nanomolar) of the protein in the normal cells raise the potential questions about its stability in vivo under both normal and stress conditions. In vitro, UvrA at low concentrations is shown to be stabilized to heat inactivation by E. colimolecular chaperones DnaK or the combination of DnaK, DnaJ, and GrpE. These chaperone proteins allow sub-nanomolar concentrations of UvrA to load UvrB through >10 cycles of incision. Guanidine hydrochloride-denatured UvrA was reactivated by DnaK, DnaJ, and GrpE to as much as 50% of the native protein activity. Co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that DnaK bound denatured UvrA in the absence of ATP. UV survival studies of a DnaK-deficient strain indicated an 80-fold increased sensitivity to 100 J/m2 of ultraviolet light (254 nm) as compared with an isogenic wild-type strain. Global repair analysis indicated a reduction in the extent of pyrimidine dimer and 6–4 photoproduct removal in the DnaK-deficient cells. These results suggest that molecular chaperonins participate in nucleotide excision repair by maintaining repair proteins in their properly folded state.


As technologies related to sensor network are currently emerging and the use of GeoSensor is increasing along with the development of IoT technology, spatial query processing systems to efficiently process spatial sensor data are being actively studied. However, existing spatial query processing systems do not support a spatial-temporal data type and a spatial-temporal operator for processing spatial-temporal sensor data. Therefore, they are inadequate for processing spatial-temporal sensor data like GeoSensor. Accordingly, this paper developed a spatial-temporal query processing system, for efficient spatial-temporal query processing of spatial-temporal sensor data in a sensor network. Lastly, this paper verified the utility of System through a scenario, and proved that this system's performance is better than existing systems through performance assessment of performance time and memory usage.


Changes in modern healthcare's provision, complexity, and workforce demands provide a compelling rationale for an increasing emphasis on leadership development at all levels of training within the medical profession. Undergraduate medical education has traditionally focused on the development of clinical acumen with little emphasis on the development of leadership skills or on the operational and systemic issues surrounding healthcare delivery. Incorporating leadership education and competencies presents a number of challenges to medical schools, including defining the subject area, determining the specific skills and knowledge bases that should constitute the basis of the program, and optimizing training to be integrated into the existing clinical curriculum. We present a case study of the Medical Leadership Program at The University of Queensland School of Medicine that runs concurrent to the undergraduate medical degree. We outline the inception of the program, its aims, participant selection, and program components and reflect on the program to date.


Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are one of the most important plant parasitic nematodes which cause damage to crops. In recent years, using of medicinal plants has been considered to many scientists as effective methods for controlling nematodes. In this study, essential oils of Ecalyptus spp., Dorema ammoniacum and Ferula galbanifula were tested against the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) in vitro conditions. Essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. Five concentrations of each oil were used with three replications. The results was indicated direct relationship the degree of hatching inhibition and juvenile mortality with concentration oils. The essential oil of Ecalyptus spp. proved to be most toxicant with the LC50 values of 839 and 2122 ppm against eggs and juveniles, respectively. At the highest concentration (4000 ppm), degree of hatching inhibition by oil of Ecalyptus spp., D. ammoniacum and F. galbanifula were recorded 98.5, 93.9 and 90.3%, respectively. At the same concentration, juveniles mortality were obtained 98.8, 66.7 and 58.7%. The results demonstrated that the essential oils of these plants particularly, oil of Ecalyptus spp. can be considered as potential protestants against M. javanica.


Obesity has reached epidemiological proportions in Europe and the burden of diseases attributable to nutrition is substantial. Under the impetus of the World Health Organisation (WHO), member states have been urged to develop national action plans for nutrition and physical activity. This study describes what has been done in terms of nutrition policy at national level in the member states of the European Union right before its enlargement in 2004. It is a critical review of publicly available policy documents on nutrition and physical activity. The background idea was to assist the initiative of the Belgian food industry to play a proactive role in the development of a Belgian nutrition action plan. At the time of writing, in total six out of the fifteen EU member states namely Sweden, Finland, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, reported to have an operational national nutrition plan. By the end of the year 2004, another four countries are expected to have their plan finalised. In line with WHO guidelines, all nutrition plans in this study acknowledge the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and promote stakeholder involvement at some point. Most of the plans however, do not elaborate on their specific role and strategies that will be used to do so. It seems that stakeholder mobilisation is largely restricted to the implementation phases. All operational nutrition plans envisage reducing social disparities. Long-established vulnerable groups in society such as pregnant women, children and elderly are targeted. Considerable variability was observed for nutritional objectives and dietary recommendations between the different countries. Nutrition surveillance and monitoring activities seem to vary considerably between the different action plans. None of the countries except Denmark documents the theoretical foundations and development process of their nutritional surveillance system. National nutrition policy in Europe is clearly in a state of flux and the centre of gravity seems to move away from Scandinavia. Although the importance of nutritional surveillance, comprehensive approach to nutritional problems and stakeholder involvement is recognised by the action plans, the rationale, justification and mechanisms for it is vaguely described. Our findings call for increased efforts to strengthen the evidence base of public health nutrition policy. To achieve this however, systematic evaluations and proper reporting of which health and nutrition promotion strategies work in the different countries in the EU are urgently needed.


Shyness to sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) in cereal bait can persist in sub-lethally poisoned possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) populations for at least 2 years. We investigated the use of non-toxic cereal 'prefeed' and 'postfeed' as ways of inhibiting and overcoming such shyness. The postfeed result was also compared with changing to a non-cereal, gel-based 1080 bait. Prefeeding had a significant effect on the number of possums that became 'bait shy' following an approximate LD20 1080 dose, with 97% of non-prefed possums developing an aversion to 1080 cereal bait compared with only 22% of prefed possums. In contrast, postfeeding with cereal was relatively ineffective in reducing the number of 1080 bait-shy possums, with mortality of these possums being 30% compared with 0% of non-postfed possums. In contrast, the gel 1080 bait killed 64% of 1080 cereal bait-shy possums. These results suggest that 1080 bait shyness can be markedly reduced by prefeeding non-toxic bait to possums prior to each control operation. However, this may not be the most cost-effective control option, given the observed efficacy of follow-up baiting with 1080 gel.


The relations are established which allow the calculation of double-refraction walk-off angle for type I and type II processes of second harmonic generation. As an example these angles are calculated numerically in the case of second harmonic generation of 1064 nm from a Nd:YAG laser under phase-matched conditions for eight orthorhombic non-linear crystals: iodic acid, ammonium oxalate, lithium formate, potassium titanyl phosphate, calcium tartrate tetrahydrate, lithium gallium oxide, barium sodium niobate and potassium niobate.


The pleural mesothelial cell is an essential cell in maintaining the normal homeostasis of the pleural space and it is also a central component of the pathophysiologic processes affecting the pleural space. In this review, we will review the defense mechanisms of the pleural mesothelium and changes in pleural physiology as a result of inflammatory, infectious, and malignant conditions with a focus on cytokine and chemokine networks. We will also review the processes involved in the pathogenesis of pleural fibrosis.


This article reflects upon the reach of the contribution from
nursing in the management and development of public policies for
adequate assignment of resources that facilitate better healthcare
in the Colombian population.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate polymorphism of HLA class II haplotypic associations (HLA-DRB1, -DQA1, -DQB1) and DQCAR alleles in 78 Croatian patients with psoriasis. Patients were divided into two groups according to a family history of disease and age of onset: type I (positive family history and early onset) and type II (negative family history and late onset). The difference in frequency of HLA class II haplotypic associations between type I patients and controls was observed for the following combinations: HLA-DRB1*0701, -DQA1*0201, -DQB1*02 (23.6% vs. 7.2%; p < 0.001), HLA-DRB1*0701, -DQA1*0201, -DQB1*0303 (8.5% vs. 1.3%; p = 0.0018) and HLA-DRB1*1601, -DQA1*0102, -DQB1*0502 (2.8% vs. 9.3%; p = 0.06). The difference between type II psoriasis and controls for association: HLA-DRB1*1501, -DQA1*0102, -DQB1*0602 is not significant (20.0% vs. 8.9%; p = 0.06). The significantly higher frequency of DQCAR 113bp and 119bp alleles in patients with type Ipsoriasis is a result of linkage disequlibrium of these alleles with both HLA-DRB1*0701 haplotypic associations. Analysis ofDQCAR alleles in the HLA-DRB1*0701 haplotypic associations in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and matched controls did not reveal any difference in polymorphism of DQCAR alleles. These data suggest that HLA-DRB*0701 haplotypic combinations are associated with type I but not for type II psoriasis in the Croatian population. DQCAR polymorphism is not useful genetic marker to distinguish susceptible HLA class II haplotypic association.


In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the deposition of amyloid peptides is invariably associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. Silibinin (silybin), a flavonoid derived from the herb milk thistle, has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ac-tivities. However, it remains unclear whether silibinin improves amyloid (cid:1) (A (cid:1) ) peptide-induced neurotoxicity. In this study, we examined the effect of silibinin on the fear-conditioning memory deficits, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress induced by the intracerebroventricular injection of A (cid:1) peptide 25–35 (A (cid:1) 25–35 ) in mice. Mice were treated with silibinin (2, 20, and 200 mg/kg p.o., once a day for 8 days) from the day of the A (cid:1) 25–35 injection (day 0). Memory function was evaluated in cued and contextual fear-conditioning tests (day 6). Nitrotyrosine levels in the hippocampus and amygdala were examined (day 8). The mRNA expression of inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) and tumor necrosis factor- (cid:2) (TNF- (cid:2) ) in the hippocampus and amygdala was measured 2 h after the A (cid:1) 25–35 injection. We found that silibinin significantly attenuated memory deficits caused by A (cid:1) 25–35 in the cued and contextual fear-conditioning test. Silibinin significantly inhibited the increase in nitrotyrosine levels in the hippocampus and amygdala induced by A (cid:1) 25–35 . Nitrotyrosine levels in these regions were negatively correlated with memory performance. Moreover, re-al-time RT-PCR revealed that silibinin inhibited the overexpres- sion of iNOS and TNF- (cid:2) mRNA in the hippocampus and amygdala induced by A (cid:1) 25–35 . These findings suggest that silibinin (i) attenuates memory impairment through amelioration of oxidative stress and inflammatory response induced by A (cid:1) 25–35 and (ii) may be a potential candidate for an AD medication.


Wind speed prediction is an important issue in wind related engineering studies. However, the wind data has random behavior like other meteorological events. Therefore, it is difficult to apply conventional statistical approaches. On the other hand, wind speed data has an important feature; large fluctuations from a wind state to a significantly different level is relatively seldom. This feature leads to some patterns that should be exemined in detail. In this study, a novel approach for wind speed modeling using Mycielski algorithm that considers this important future is demonstrated. Developed procedure, predicts future values of wind data by analysing repeatings in the history of data and assumes that the history will be structurely repeated in the future. The prediction capability of the procedure is tested using wind speed data obtained from 2 cities in Turkey: İzmir and Antalya. Reasonable prediction results are obtained and analysis results are reported.


The purpose of this study is to know the risk of debt-based financing in Islamic banking in Indonesia by using a n accounting based calculation , those are N PF analysis, Credit risk Z-score and Altman Z-score. This study is telling about the risk of debt-based finacing on Indonesian Islamic banking using an accounting based measurement, those are NPF analysis, Credit Risk Z-score analysis and Altman Z-score analysis. The data was obtained from 2011 to 2015 from the website of each bank. The result is a risk on debt-based financing on Indonesian Islamic banking is low. The measurement using 3 accounting based measurement tool gives a consistent result, that is Indonesian Islamic banking use a debt-based financing have a high financial stability and a low risk. DOI: 10.15408/aiq.v9i2.4821


Purpose
The voluntary simplification (VS) movement has stemmed from Western societies and gained momentum in the 1980s, but the trend has failed to become a primary perspective for most consumers. The accompanying concepts of conscious consumption, minimalism and accepting that sometimes "less is more" are still vivid in the digital era. The purpose of this study is to provide a deep and recent understanding of the consumer comments about minimalism in Turkey and examine their associations with the prominent themes in the VS literature.

Design/methodology/approach
Consumer comments posted on online platforms were analyzed by content analysis and word frequency analysis.

Findings
Consumer comments were in parallel to the themes in the VS literature and were classified under personal growth, material simplicity, sustainability, proper technology usage and self-sufficiency categories. Personal growth, material simplicity and sustainability were the first three dimensions mentioned. The prominent sub-themes that emerge from data were psychological well-being, inner peace, freedom, meaningful experiences and getting rid of belongings. A word frequency analysis pointed out that "life" and "owning" were the evident words in the personal growth category, "purchasing things" were mostly mentioned in the material simplicity category and "plastic litter" and "excessive consumption" were the prominent concerns in the sustainability category.

Originality/value
VS required further research in different national contexts. Besides, an analysis of the dimensions of VS was needed. This study contributes by providing recent and rich findings from a developing country, connecting them with the VS themes in the literature and suggesting a conceptual framework enriched by sub-themes that emerged from data.


Experimental evidence suggests that people make time-inconsistent choices and display overconfidence about positive personal attributes. Do these features affect consumer behavior in the market? To address this question we use a new panel data set from three US health clubs with information on the contract choices and the day-to-day attendance decisions of 7,978 health club members over three years. Members who choose a contract with a flat monthly fee of over $70 attend on average 4.8 times per month. They pay a price per expected visit of more than $17, even though a $10-per-visit fee is also available. On average, these users forgo savings of $700 during their membership. We review many aspects of the consumer behavior, including the interval between last attendance and contract termination, the survival probability, and the correlation between different consumption choices. The empirical results are diffcult to reconcile with the standard assumption of time-consistent preferences and rational expectations. A model of time-inconsistent agents with overconfidence about future time inconsistency explains the findings. The agents overestimate the future attendance and delay contract cancellation whenever renewal is automatic.


The coadsorption of CO and hydrogen on a structurally well-defined Pt(35)Ru(65)/Ru(0001) monolayer surface alloy and, for comparison, on Ru(0001) were investigated by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS). The data reveal distinct modifications in the hydrogen adsorption behavior and also in the CO adsorption properties compared to adsorption of the individual components both on the mono-metallic and on the bimetallic surface. These modifications are discussed on an atomic scale, in a picture that involves adsorbate-adsorbate interactions and site-specific variations in the (local) adsorption properties of the bimetallic surface, due to electronic ligand and strain effects and geometric ensemble effects.


This talk concerns the conception of an OAI1 compliant service that can manage three different digital historical archives maintained by the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. This situation requires careful consideration of interoperability issues related to uniform naming, metadata formats, document models and access protocols for the different data sources.
In this talk we will present the design approach for the digital archives federation services to be developed in the Porta Europa Portal (PEP) Pilot Project. The PEP pilot project specialised portal should provide high quality information, selected according to the criteria of originality, accuracy, credibility together with the cultural and political pluralism derived from the EUI's profile. The information in Porta Europa will be: relevant, reliable, searchable and retrievable.
To test the feasibility and the impact of the PEP project the EUI committed itself to the development of a PEP prototype2 concerning historic topics. To this extent, among the various available digital historical archives three of them were chosen for the implementation of the pilot. Our approach in solving problems of standardization and interoperability in the PEP pilot project is based on two main issues:
Metadata standard ( Dublin Core3)
Protocols ( OAI-PMH )
The PEP (Porta Europa Portal) project refers to the integration of three digital libraries related to European history topics: Voices on Europe, Virtual Library and Biblio library catalogue.
Each of these data source is characterized by:
a collection of data objects (books, journals, documents, multimedia objects etc.) available locally or through the network
a collection of metadata structures
a collection of services (access methods, management functions, logging/statistics, etc.)
a domain focus (topic)
a community of users
Of course the need of integrating the three data sources comes from the topic (European history) and users community which are common to all three archives.
Voices on Europe; (http://wwwarc.iue.it/webpub/Welcome.html) Voices on Europe is an archive containing the electronic audio version and electronic transcriptions about a hundred of interviews given by outstanding politician and historians.
WWW-VL (Virtual Library) on European History Integration; (http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html) The Virtual Library (VL) is the Web oldest catalogue, conceived by Tim Berners-Lee. Unlike commercial catalogues, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of relevant links for specific areas in which they are expert. The EUI Library Web site contains the complete list of VLs belonging to the WWW VL History Project in the University of Lawrence/Kansas (USA) and mirrored at the European University Institute's Library.
Biblio (the EUI historical archives); (http://www.iue.it/LIB/Catalogue/) This is the library catalogue containing more than 250.000 bibliographic records. Access to resources is supported by INNOPAC, well known Library Automation System.
The PEP Pilot Project is being developed according to the following steps:
Analysis of the three data resources; in this part we first understand the current situation of the resources and we identify the main issues involved in each case. Each resource is characterised by different issues which are elicited and therefore faced. This phase end with a detailed description of the metadata formats, document models and access protocols for each of the data sources. The analysis revealed the strong points and the weakness of each digital library setting the basis for the definition of a common document description model.
Definition of the federation architecture (figure 1); the architecture of our federation service4 is structured in three layers: the data source layer where all information is stored with autonomy of representation and access interfaces, the adapter layer were special adapters have to be implemented to provide uniform access and transform the data source specific model into the global model of the federated system, and the federation layer which is responsible for global data integration using an on purpose database and is the OAI data provider and the User interface that will be the OAI service provider.
Data Source Layer: these are the archives (digital libraries) whose integration we deal with: Voices on Europe, Virtual Library and Biblio library catalogue.
Adapter Layer: this layer provides uniform access to the information, hiding the differences in the data models and query interfaces. Here the metadata are translated from the source specific model into the global model of the federated system.
The development of this work is the adoption of the Web services technical framework where a standardized mechanism would be used to describe, locate and communicate with each digital library. The main operation of this layer is the "extraction of data". This operation has to be automatic so that each interface has to be implemented specifically for the resource. As instance SQL queries could be used to extract data from some Data sources (Voices on Europe, Virtual Library) and some external tools such as Innopac tools could be used for the catalogue.
Federation Layer and User Interface: in this two layers is implemented the OAI-PMH, in details:
Data Provider (The Federation layer)
Service Provider (The User Interface)
Moreover the Federation layer has to describe Metadata of the three different resources in a common standard to allow in a second step to store them in a unique database.
To this extent a common metadata format (Meta Resource Card - MRC) must be devised for the three resources. To effectively address the interoperability issue, the Meta Resource Card should follow the unqualified Dublin Core Standard to define the common fields.
In the Federation Layer are implemented interoperability functions, the OAI compliant Data Provider, that is the core of pilot project. The User Interface will be OAI compliant Service Provider and it will use OAI harvesting to extract data. In a first period externally implemented interfaces such as Arc5 could be used as the Service Provider.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result from blunt force trauma, rapid inertial loading, or extracranial pressure (i.e., explosive blast). Much of the pathway between mechanical insult and neurological injury remains unclear, in part because data on the mechanical response of the brain are difficult to acquire in vivo. The physics of measuring harmonically-varying displacement fields in vivo using motion-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is well understood [1], yet to date data in the human brain have not been investigated in terms of strain and rotation. Here these kinematic quantities are examined and new light is shed on biomechanics of the living intact human brain as it is subjected to harmonic acoustic pressure load.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Nectins are immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that compose a family of four members. Nectins homophilically and heterophilically interact in trans with each other to form cell-cell adhesions. In addition, they heterophilically interact in trans with other immunoglobulin-like CAMs. Nectins bind afadin, an actin filament (F-actin)-binding protein, at its cytoplasmic tail and associate with the actin cytoskeleton. Afadin additionally serves as an adaptor protein by further binding many scaffolding proteins and F-actin-binding proteins and contributes to the association of nectins with other cell-cell adhesion and intracellular signaling systems. Nectins and afadin play roles in the formation of a variety of cell-cell junctions cooperatively with, or independently of, cadherins. Cooperation between nectins and cadherins is required for the formation of cell-cell junctions; cadherins alone are not sufficient. Additionally, nectins regulate many other cellular activities (such as movement, proliferation, survival, differentiation, polarization, and the entry of viruses) in cooperation with other CAMs and cell surface membrane receptors.


Abstract The development of dicamba-tolerant and other auxin-tolerant crops will enable the use of these effective herbicides in soybean and cotton at application timings such as at planting or over-the-top that are not currently possible. This research examined the effect of various factors on detection of postapplication amounts of dicamba in the air under field conditions by coupling a sample collection system with advanced chemical analysis of those samples. The quantity of dimethylamine salt of dicamba that was detected within 48 hr after application was two times greater (P < 0.05) than the quantity of diglycoamine salt formulation based on field studies in 2009. Regardless of application timing, the amount of detected dicamba was greatest during the 0 to 12 hr time period after application. However, the total detected after 48 hr was less for evening applications (5 micrograms [µg]) compared with midday (17 µg) or morning (14 µg) applications based on 2010 field trials. Average ambient air temperature (and other weather variables) correlated with higher detection levels of dicamba in the air in the field. Nomenclature: Dicamba, soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.


The internal charge behaviour of insulation layers of printed circuit boards is discussed. Internal charges due to ion impurities can move under adc electric field, and the internal electric field is determined by the charges. The charge behaviour is strongly influenced by temperature and humidity. We have newly developed an in-situ space charge measurement system that can measure the space charge profiles in an environmental chamber at 85°C and 85%. Larger levels of internal charge were observed at higher humidity, and the electric fields near the electrodes were increased. The in-situ space charge measurement system should contribute to the study of ageing phenomena of insulation layers of PCBs.


The energy transport of bursty bulk flows (BBFs) is very important to the understanding of substorm energy transport. Previous studies all use the MHD bulk parameters to calculate the energy flux density of BBFs. In this paper, we use the kinetic approach, i.e., ion velocity distribution function, to study the energy transport of an earthward bursty bulk flow observed by Cluster C1 on 30 July 2002. The earthward energy flux density calculated using kinetic approach QKx is obviously larger than that calculated using MHD bulk parameters QMHDx. The mean ratio QKx/QMHDx in the flow velocity range 200–800 km/s is 2.7, implying that the previous energy transport of BBF estimated using MHD approach is much underestimated. The underestimation results from the deviation of ion velocity distribution from ideal Maxwellian distribution. The energy transport of BBF is mainly provided by ions above 10 keV although their number density Nf is much smaller than the total ion number density N. The ratio QKx/QMHDx is basically proportional to the ratio N/Nf. The flow velocity v(E) increases with increasing energy. The ratio Nf/N is perfectly proportional to flow velocity Vx. A double ion component model is proposed to explain the above results. The increase of energy transport capability of BBF is important to understanding substorm energy transport. It is inferred that for a typical substorm, the ratio of the energy transport of BBF to the substorm energy consumption may increase from the previously estimated 5% to 34% or more.


This paper depicts a formulation of the global home electricity management problem, which consists in adjusting the electric energy consumption to the cost and availability variations of the power supply. A proposed global multi-layer solving approach includes first the computation of consumption/production coordination plans and then the dynamic matching to the actual consumption/production data. This paper focuses on the anticipative problem. It aims at computing the optimal set-points for the Home Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of a platform over a given planning horizon (typically 24h) according to inhabitant request and weather forecasts. These plans are computed using service models that include behavioral model of the thermal zone with its HVAC system, comfort and cost models. The computation of the optimal plans has been formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming problem. An application to a low consumption building, named PREDIS/MHI, is presented.


Key Points Deglycosylated SIV vaccine elicited protective response against heterologous SIV. SIV-specific CD8+ T cells did not account for the protective response. IL-15–responding NK and CD8+ T cells were associated with the protective response. Deglycosylated, live-attenuated SIV vaccines elicited protective immune responses against heterologous SIVsmE543-3, which differs from the vaccine strain SIVmac239 to levels similar to those across HIV-1 clades. Two thirds of the vaccinees contained the chronic SIVsmE543-3 infection (controllers), whereas one third did not (noncontrollers). In this study, we investigated immune correlates of heterologous challenge control in rhesus macaques of Burmese origin. Because depletion of CD8+ cells in the controllers by administration of anti-CD8α Ab abrogated the control of viral replication, CD8+ cells were required for the protective immune response. However, classical SIV-specific CD8+ T cells did not account for the protective immune response in all controllers. Instead, IL-15–responding CD8α+ cells, including CD8+ T and NK cells, were significantly higher in the controllers than those in the noncontrollers, before and after vaccination with deglycosylated SIV. It is well established that IL-15 signal transduction occurs through "trans-presentation" in which IL-15 complexed with IL-15Rα on monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells binds to IL-15 Rβ/γ expressed on CD8+ T and NK cells. Accordingly, levels of IL-15 stimulation were strongly affected by the depletion of monocytes from PBMCs, implying key roles of innate immune cells. These results suggest that intrinsic IL-15 responsiveness may dictate the outcome of protective responses and may lead to optimized formulations of future broadly protective HIV vaccines.


CYP2A6 is the principle enzyme metabolizing nicotine to its inactive metabolite cotinine. In this study, the selective probe reactions for each major cytochrome P450 (P450) were used to evaluate the specificity and selectivity of the CYP2A6 inhibitors methoxsalen, tranylcypromine, and tryptamine in cDNA-expressing and human liver microsomes. Phenacetin O-deethylation (CYP1A2), coumarin 7-hydroxylation (CYP2A6), diclofenac 4'-hydroxylation (CYP2C9), omeprazole 5-hydroxylation (CYP2C19), dextromethorphan O-demethylation (CYP2D6), 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin deethylation (CYP2B6), p-nitrophenol hydroxylation (CYP2E1), and omeprazole sulfonation (CYP3A4) were used as index reactions. Apparent K(i) values for inhibition of P450s' (1A2, 2A6, 2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4) activities showed that tranylcypromine, methoxsalen, and tryptamine have high specificity and relative selectivity for CYP2A6. In cDNA-expressing microsomes, tranylcypromine inhibited CYP2A6 (K(i) = 0.08 microM) with about 60- to 5000-fold greater potency relative to other P450s. Methoxsalen inhibited CYP2A6 (K(i) = 0.8 microM) with about 3.5- 94-fold greater potency than other P450s, except for CYP1A2 (K(i) = 0.2 microM). Tryptamine inhibited CYP2A6 (K(i) = 1.7 microM) with about 6.5- 213-fold greater potency relative to other P450s, except for CYP1A2 (K(i) = 1.7 microM). Similar results were also obtained with methoxsalen and tranylcypromine in human liver microsomes. R-(+)-Tranylcypromine, (+/-)-tranylcypromine, and S-(-)-tranylcypromine competitively inhibited CYP2A6-mediated metabolism of nicotine with apparent K(i) values of 0.05, 0.08, and 2.0 microM, respectively. Tranylcypromine [particularly R-(+) isomer], tryptamine, and methoxsalen are specific and relatively selective for CYP2A6 and may be useful in vivo to decrease smoking by inhibiting nicotine metabolism with a low risk of metabolic drug interactions.


INTRODUCTION
GERD reduces social activity and significantly affects the quality of life (QOL) of patients and the risk of complications (cancer of the esophagus, esophageal-gastric bleeding, strictures, perforation) is one of the most pressing problems of medicine of XXI century. The aim of the research is to evaluate the results of videolaparoscopic fundoplication at five years after surgery in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We studied results of videolaparoscopic antireflux surgery (VLAS) during 2009-2016 years in Department of Surgery and Endoscopy Faculty of postgraduate medical education Lviv National Medical University. We have gathered the group of 195 patients who underwent VLAS.

RESULTS
Among the complications of GERD, Barrett's esophagus was diagnosed in 9 (19.6 %), peptic ulcer of the esophagus in 10 (21.7 %), peptic stricture of the esophagus in 4 (8.7 %), esophageal-gastric bleeding in 23 (50.0 %) patients, including Malory-Weiss syndrome in 18, erosive ulcerous bleeding in 5 people. In 176 (90.2 %) patients completed Nissen fundoplication, in 14 (7.2 %) - Toupe, 5 (2.6 %) - Dor fundoplication. We use standart surgical techniques. The mean operative time was 95±25,2 minutes. In 2 patients after surgery capnothorax on left side had occurred and treated. The mean hospital stay was 3±2,4 days. There were no serious complications in the time of surgery and after it, as well as no conversions or repeated antireflux surgeries at five years after surgery.

CONCLUSION
Videolaparoscopic antireflux surgery for GERD is an equally effective alternative to medical therapy and should be offered to appropriately selected patients by skilled surgeons.


Summary Introduction: Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a common spice and precious herbal plant in Vietnam. It contains many bioactive compounds, especially phenolic compounds useful for human health. Hence, the extraction and application of these compounds in medical technology are necessary. Objective: The goal of this study is to determine the optimal extraction conditions with the assistance of microwave, for instance solvent/material ratio (ml/g), solvent concentration (%, v/v) and extraction time, on the extraction yield of ginger rhizome, such as total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (AC). Methods: The dried sample was extracted by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). TPC and AC of received extract were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and phenanthroline assay. The optimization process used response surface methodology (RSM) (Central composite face design, CCF) with major influencing factors including solvent concentration, solvent/material ratio and extraction time. Results: The results showed that the optimal extraction conditions were the ethanol concentration of 60%, ethanol/material ratio of 48.6/1 (ml/g), extraction time of 1 minute. Conclusion: The maximum TPC and AC peaked at 27.89±1.99 mg GAE/g dry matter and 12.24±0.04 mmol Fe/g dry matter (DM) at optimal extraction conditions. Besides, some factors strongly affected the extraction yield and interacted together.


Spanish universities have lately striven to boost English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes, since EMI is viewed as a lynchpin of the
 internationalization process. Thus, Spanish universities encourage the
 use of English, which in monolingual regions entails bilingualism as
 the desired outcome, whereas in officially bilingual regions trilingualism is the aim. Spain is a multilingual country in which some minority
 languages coexist with Spanish and English in the curriculum and this
 multilingualism ineluctably generates friction. This chapter analyses how
 the interaction between Englishization and multilingualism is perceived
 by society in general and the different university bodies in particular, the
 reactions encountered as regards the impact of Englishization on the L1,
 and whether there are differences across disciplines.


Higher order thinking skills (HOTs) namely analysis, evaluation, synthesis and creation involves more cognitive learning processes as compared to others. HOTs  in language classes are of great importance for university students in general and Thuy Loi university students in particular, as they help them have cognitive  academic language proficiency (CALP) to apply in their academic studies. However, as a matter of fact, it is noticeable that numerous classroom activities solely activates the most two lowest levels of cognition i.e remembering and understanding and a variety of language teachers do not give adequate attention to HOTs. Accordingly, this paper will provide an overview of HOTs in English classes and some examples of the application of HOTs in designing speaking activities for the first year students in English classes at Thuy Loi university so that the audience, English teachers can be aware of and utilize in their classes.


The  ethnographic  museum  of  Bordeaux  (France)  scheduled  an  exhibition  « Paroles  d'Afrique »  ("Words  from  Africa")  from October 2012 to May 2013. The items for the exhibition, properly scanned and contextualized, were brought together on a hypermedia platform, so as to retain a record of the exhibition. The hypermedia material was distributed with the exhibition catalogue and published on the museum website. The author was in charge of the creating the hypermedia platform. This paper outlines the approach to structuring the text, and explains the difficulties and successes encountered during the collection of the material. Keywords: ethnographic exhibition, hypermedia, « Paroles d'Afrique » (exhibition), standardization.


The possible association of patient safety events (PSEs) with the costs and utilization remains a concern. In this retrospective analysis, we investigated adult hospitalizations at a medical center between 2010 and 2015 with or without reported PSEs. Administrative and claims data were analyzed to compare the costs and length of stay (LOS) between cases with and without PSEs of the three most common categories during the first 14 days of hospitalization. Two models, including linear regression and propensity score-matched comparison, were performed for each reference day group of hospitalizations. Of 14,181 PSEs from 424,635 hospitalizations, 69.8% were near miss or no-harm events. Costs and LOS were similar between fall cases and controls in all of the 14 reference days. In contrast, for cases of tube and line events and controls, there were consistent differences in costs and LOS in the majority of the reference days (86% and 57%, respectively). Consistent differences were less frequently seen for medication events and control events (36% and 43%, respectively). Our study approach of comparing cases with PSEs and those without any PSE showed significant differences in costs and LOS for tube and line events, and medication events. No difference in cost or LOS was found regarding fall events. Further studies exploring adjustments for event risks and harm-oriented analysis are warranted.


This is the first comprehensive index to the scriptural passages used in the writings of Gregory of Nyssa. The arrangement is standard: on the left of each column the number of a biblical verse is given corresponding to a numerical reference on the right to the work, page and line where Gregory uses this verse. The index is based in the first place on the text of the Leiden critical edition. Works of Gregory which have not yet been published in this edition are referred to as they appear in Migne and in recent editions of individual writings. This index provides a helpful starting-point for the study of Gregory's relation to scripture since one can see at a glance which passages Gregory used repeatedly and in which work he did so. It may be thought that this information could be obtained easily from the indices of the various editions, which are necessary for the use of this index, but this is not in fact the case. Less than half of the published volumes of the critical edition have a biblical index. So the present reference work fills a real gap. It would be a still greater help if a distinction were made between full and partial quotation of scriptural verses and between actual quotation and allusion. It is true that only in one volume of the Leiden edition is this latter distinction attempted (vol. VI, In canticum canticorum, ed. H. Langerbeck, 1960). The attempt was abandoned in later volumes perhaps because most of the references are allusive. Still it would be desirable to be able to check if this is indeed the case in Gregory's writings generally. We have been so well served by the progressive publication of the Biblia Patristica, vols. I-IV, (Paris, 1975-87) that our expectations of works of this genre are elevated. Of course it would be unfair to require the same laborious exactness of discrimination in an index produced by an individual scholar as in an index produced by a team. Nevertheless while the Biblia Patristica has six distinguishing symbols added to its numerical references (vol. I, pp. 6f.), it is hard to be satisfied with none. Satisfied however we must be for some years yet until Gregory is included in the Biblia Patristica. In fine, this index is a timely tool for research into the biblical content of Gregory's thought. Its author entitles it a irdptpyov to the critical edition of the corpus (p. 9) and foresees the need to revise it once the critical edition is completed (pp. 10f.). In the interim it is the best Arbeitsinstrument of its kind and a welcome addition indeed.


Education can be a private good or a public good. The fact that one person's education can have positive or negative spillover effects on other people is often taken to be an argument for government intervention in the market for education. But public financing of education can produce negative externalities by creating perverse incentives, and a public monopoly on the delivery of education can discourage experimentation and turn schools into an outlet for intellectual fads and political propaganda. I review the arguments for thinking about education as a public good, and the associated arguments for giving the state a role in educating citizens. I conclude with a note of skepticism about the desirability of direct government involvement in education, even if it plays a limited role in financing it through vouchers, grants, or loans that can be redeemed at accredited schools.


A 19-year-old man presented with general malaise and a swelling in the right hip region and right thigh. The CT images were interpreted as an abscess of the thigh, but surgical exploration revealed a diffuse myositis, with panniculitis, necrosis and inflammation of muscle tissue, associated with an exacerbation of Crohn's disease. The disease responded well to pharmacotherapy, but later an enterocutaneous fistula developed in the direction of the hip, caused by Crohn colitis in the pelvic area, for which resection of the small intestine was carried out followed by a primary anastomosis. The primary treatment of myositis associated with inflammatory bowel disease is medicinal. Being alert to this very uncommon association may prevent unnecessary surgical intervention.


: The bone marrow transplant program at UNMC is currently one of the most active programs in the country. The benefits to patients who are cured of disease by transplantation cannot be measured. The large volume of clinical and basic science research related to transplantation has enhanced the academic stature of UNMC. The combination of patient care, education, clinical research, and basic science research provides an excellent model for the operation of an academic medical institution.


Background: Malignant transformation of craniopharyngiomas is quite rare, and the etiology of transformation remains unclear. The prognosis of malignantly transformed craniopharyngiomas is very poor. Case Description: A 36-year-old male had five craniotomies, five transsphenoidal surgeries, and two radiation treatments until 31 years of age after diagnosis of craniopharyngioma at 12 years of age. All serial pathological findings indicated adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma including those of a surgery performed for tumor regrowth at 31 years of age. However, when the tumor recurred approximately 5 years later, the pathological findings showed squamous metaplasia. The patient received CyberKnife surgery, but the tumor rapidly regrew within 4 months. The tumor was resected with the cavernous sinus via a dual approach: Transcranial and transsphenoidal surgery with an extracranial-intracranial bypass using the radial artery. Pathologic examination of a surgical specimen showed that it consisted primarily of squamous cells; the lamina propria was collapsed, and the tumor cells had enlarged nuclei and clarification of the nucleolus. The tumor was ultimately diagnosed as malignant transformation of craniopharyngioma. After surgery, he received combination chemotherapy (docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil). The tumor has been well controlled for more than 12 months. Conclusion: Serial pathological changes of the craniopharyngioma and a review of the 20 cases reported in the literature suggest that radiation of the squamous epithelial cell component of the craniopharyngioma led to malignant transformation via squamous metaplasia. We recommend aggressive surgical removal of craniopharyngiomas and avoidance of radiotherapy if possible.


Purpose To assess the validity and reliability of the Persian Outpatient Clinical Teaching Evaluation (OCTE) questionnaire, in order to evaluate clinical teaching for undergraduate medical students. Methods This was a methodological study conducted in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2018. To assess the validity of the questionnaire, ten academic staff who had received master's degrees in medical education were chosen by convenience sampling. The first draft of the Persian questionnaire was derived from the Ministry of Health's clinical teaching standards booklet. The questionnaire consisted of just 15 obligatory items in the first draft of the questionnaire. Subsequently, the questionnaire was modified to be used in teaching outpatient clinics. Content validity indices were calculated. Subsequently, the modified questionnaires were given to 92 academic staff in Imam-Reza Hospital's outpatient clinics. We applied principle component analysis (PCA) and Varimax rotation for exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In order to confirm the EFA, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used. Cronbach's alpha method, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and test–retest reliability were used to assess the reliability. Results The overall content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI), and impact score (IS) were 0.78, 0.79, and 3.26, respectively. Out of 92 academic staff, 85 participated. The Keizer-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy for data was 0.726 (p-value=0.0001). After the EFA, the 10-item questionnaire loaded on three factors. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was established by Cronbach's alpha of 0.89 and the ICC was 0.94. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation with a 2-week retest interval. Conclusion The study demonstrated that the Persian clinical teaching questionnaire had optimal psychometric properties. Thus, application of this questionnaire at outpatient settings can be helpful.


Functional protein delivery has created new opportunities for studying intracellular processes and discovering new therapeutics. To that end, researchers have pursued intracellular protein delivery by using an increasing number of methods. This focus review will highlight polymeric carriers that non-covalently bind and deliver protein cargo in vitro. The correlation between polymer-protein binding and delivery as well as the correlation between complex-membrane binding and delivery is reviewed. Finally, binding and its relation to the intracellular function of the protein post-delivery is considered. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the role that binding interactions play in the non-covalent protein-delivery landscape. Presently, the literature does not adequately resolve how binding throughout the process ultimately affects delivery. The field does contain preliminary insights that are expected to impact future delivery applications when developed further.


Volume Rendering methods employing the GPU capabilities offer high performance on off-the-shelf hardware. In this article, we discuss the various bottlenecks found in the graphics hardware when performing GPU-based Volume Rendering. The specific properties of each bottleneck and the trade-offs between them are described. Further we present a novel strategy to balance the load on the identified bottlenecks, without compromising the image quality. Our strategy introduces a two-staged space-skipping, whereby the first stage applies bricking on a semi-regular grid, and the second stage uses octrees to reach a finer granularity. Additionally we apply early ray termination to the bricks. We demonstrate how the two stages address the individual bottlenecks, and how they can be tuned for a specific hardware pipeline. The described method takes into account that the rendered volume may exceed the available texture memory. Our approach further allows fast run-time changes of the transfer function.


This article is an analysis of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) with special reference to the nationalisation debate that was controversially tabled by the recently suspended African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema. The thrust of the analysis is premised on institutionalist legislative theory which focuses on social development through legal means. The MPRDA was designed as a legal strategy to bring about social change that comprises development. The Malema debate on nationalisation therefore raises questions as to why the MPRDA has not worked, and whether law can be used to bring about economic growth in the mining sector. This article also attempts to assess this recently amended Act, including the challenges and prospects of ensuring effective legal implementation for South Africa's future.


The vomeronasal organ (VNO), because of its ability to detect pheromones, has an important role in many social and sexual behaviours in mammals. It also mediates defensive behaviours through detection of protein pheromone homologues. A detailed morphological description of the post‐natal development of the 'non‐sensory' epithelium (NSE) of the female rabbit is recorded. Histological techniques were used to study the NSE of the VNO in post‐natal development of female rabbits. The study focused on the following post‐natal ages: newborn, 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month (five animals each) beside to two adult animals. The rabbit VNO was surrounded externally by bony capsule and internally by cartilaginous capsule. NSE was pseudostratified columnar partially ciliated epithelium without goblet cells. In addition to basal cells, NSE contained ciliated and three types of non‐ciliated columnar cells (dark, pale and light). At birth, dark cells may have primary cilia. By 1 month, the cytoplasm became lighter with less free ribosomes. The pale cells had electron‐lucent cytoplasm, which contained a few organelles. Mitotic figures were observed in basal and columnar cells, particularly during the first 2 weeks of post‐natal development. Light columnar cells were common during the first week. Numerous leucocytes and a few nerve endings were detected intra‐epithelial. Scanning electron microscope revealed a gradual increase in height of microvilli of non‐ciliated cells. Ciliated cells had cilia and microvilli. Cells were arranged singly, in clumps or in a dense population of cells. The rabbit VNO‐NSE had a unique morphological structure.


Poor soil fertility and climate variability are major constraints to maize production in the Nigeria savannas. The application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) as adaptation strategy may enhance maize yield under climate change. In this study, the already calibrated and validated CERES-maize model in DSSAT was used to simulate the response of maize varieties to N and P in three agroecological zones. Similarly, the model, coupled with data for representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios, was applied to simulate maize yields for mid-century and end-of-century periods and to estimate the effect of use of N and P as a strategy for maize adaptation to climate change. Results of a 30-year sensitivity analysis showed that the optimum grain yields were obtained with application of 150 kg N + 30 kg P ha–1 to the two varieties in Kano and Zaria. In Abuja, the optimum grain yields were obtained with the application of 150 kg N ha–1 + 30 kg P ha–1 to SAMMAZ–15 and 120 kg N ha–1 + 30 kg P ha–1 to SAMMAZ–16. When P is not applied, the simulation results show that across all N rates, maize yield would decrease by 25%–52% and 32%–52% for the mid- and end-of-century, respectively, under RCP4.5 for both varieties. There would be a greater reduction under RCP8.5, with a decrease of 32%–59% and 52%–69% under mid- and end-of-century scenarios, respectively. When P is applied at 30 kg ha−1, the reduction in yield due to climate change is lower. Under RCP4.5, the yield would decrease by 9%–15% and 11%–21% for the mid- and end-of-century, respectively. There would be a reduction of 12%–21% and 32%–41% for mid-century and end-of-century, respectively, under RCP8.5 scenario. This suggests that the application of optimum P could reduce the impact of yield loss due to climate change.


Investigates the stability issue of a discrete-time control system, where a state-estimate feedback controller (SEFC), digitally implemented with a fixed-point format, is used. A tractable closed-loop stability related measure is derived with finite-word-length implementation consideration of the controller. The optimal realizations of the SEFC are defined as those that maximize this measure and can be shown as the solutions of a nonlinear programming problem. A sophisticated optimization strategy is presented to provide an efficient method for solving this problem, and a numerical example is given to illustrate the design procedure.


Channels with a sparse impulse response arise in a number of communication applications. Exploiting the sparsity of the channel, we show how an estimate of the channel may be obtained using a matching pursuit (MP) algorithm. This estimate is compared to thresholded variants of the least squares (LS) channel estimate. Among these sparse channel estimates, the MP estimate is computationally much simpler to implement and a shorter training sequence is required to form an accurate channel estimate leading to greater information throughput.


Summary The boundary between Gondwanaland and Laurussia can be traced from Portugal to southern New England using gravity and magnetic data. Further positional control using geochemistry and palaeomagnetism on rocks near the geophysical suture confirms its position. From Long Island to Florida the suture lies beneath the Coastal Plain and our interpretation relies only on geophysical data. This suture is marked by rift-associated rocks, back-arc intrusives, volcanic-arc rocks or remnants of oceanic crust. Onshore, between Cape Ann (near Boston) and Long Island Sound (near New York), the suture possibly follows the Clinton-Newbury fault. The arc-like swing to the W of the Chesapeake Bay region is probably the result of an indentation of the older Appalachian belts by the Mauritanian Reguibat prong during Carboniferous time. There are two major transform faults associated with the suture zone: N of Florida and W of Spain. Two satellite sutures can be identified on the eastern side of the Atlantic. In northeastern Senegal and Mauritania the major gravity high which parallels the Mauritanian orogenic belt is interpreted as locating the Taconic? collision between Gondwanaland and a western microplate. S of Brittany the Spanish microplate collided with Laurussia during Acadian time. These two satellite sutures were rejuvenated during the main late Palaeozoic compression between Gondwanaland and Laurussia.


Argument The history of ballooning has received considerable attention from historians examining the technological innovations behind it as well as from scholars interested in aeronautical anecdotes concerning launches and disasters. The cultural importance of this new machine, however, remains less fully analyzed. This essay explores one facet of that history through a discussion of the commodification of launches in France and Great Britain. These two countries, which have larger middling classes as well as a higher degree of commercialization in general, provided a fertile environment for aeronauts seeking to instruct and entertain an audience willing to fund ballooning. Balloonists had to invent ways to market this scientific discovery and determine how best to attract paying customers. The audience was entertained while simultaneously empowered to act as witnesses to what balloonists presented as a scientific experiment.


The Wuding River Basin is a first-class tributary of the Yellow River, and the quality of its water ecological environment has a profound impact on the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. In order to identify the source of nitrate pollution in the Wuding River Basin, surface water samples of the Wuding River were collected from 2019 to 2021, and the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of nitrate concentration in surface water in the basin were explored. Nitrogen and oxygen isotope tracer technology and the MixSIAR model were used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the sources of surface water nitrate and their contribution rates. The results showed that there were significant spatial and temporal differences in nitrate concentrations in the Wuding River Basin. In terms of time, the mean concentration of NO-3-N in surface water in the wet season was higher than that in the flat-water period; spatially, the mean concentration of NO-3-N in the downstream surface water was higher than that in the upstream. The spatial and temporal differences in surface water nitrate concentrations were mainly affected by rainfall runoff, soil types, and land use types. The main sources of nitrates in the surface water of the Wuding River Basin during the wet season were domestic sewage, manure, chemical fertilizers, and soil organic nitrogen, whose contribution rates were 43.3%, 27.6%, and 22.1%, respectively, and the contribution rate of precipitation was only 7.0%. There were differences in the contribution rate of nitrate pollution sources in surface water of different river sections. The contribution rate of soil nitrogen in the upstream was significantly higher than that in the downstream, which was 26.5%. The contribution rate of domestic sewage and manure in the downstream was significantly higher than that in the upstream, which was 48.9%. To provide a basis for the analysis of nitrate sources and pollution control in Wuding River and even rivers in arid and semi-arid regions.


Correspondence: Lawrence Helson SignPath Pharma, 1375 California Road, Quakertown, PA, 18951, USA Tel +1 215 538 9996 Fax +1 215 538 1245 Email firstname.lastname@example.com Background: The duration of the QT interval on the standard electrocardiogram (ECG) is measured from the beginning of the QRS complex (depolarization of the cardiac myocyte) to the end of the T-wave (completion of the repolarization phase of the cardiac myocyte). Repolarization is a result of currents generated by the outward flow of K+ through the K+ channels. Obstruction of ion flow in the channel leads to delayed repolarization, evidenced by a prolonged QT interval. Clinically, this is known as the long QT syndrome (LQTS), which, when expressed, can lead to severe cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. Obstruction of K+ ion flow can result from gene mutations (eg, the human ether-a-go-go-related gene [hERG]) resulting in phenotypic abnormalities in K+ channels and/or common structurally diverse drugs. These gene abnormalities or drug-induced changes result in decreased cardiac delayed-rectifier K+ current (I Kr , or KV11.1) in congenital or acquired LQTS, respectively. Increased risk of LQTS is a major drug development hurdle, and many drugs have been withdrawn during preclinical development, assigned black box warnings following approval, or withdrawn from the market. Autosomal recessive or dominant LQTS based upon 500 possible mutations in ten different genes coding for K+ channels has an incidence of 1:3000 or about 100,000 persons in the USA. Prolonged QT intervals or risk of LQTS occurs in 2.5% of the asymptomatic US population. The probability of cardiac death in patients with asymptomatic congenital LQTS who are concomitantly medicated with LQTS-inducing drugs appears to have increased. Methods: E-4031 (methanesulfanalide), terfenadine (Seldane), curcumin, liposomal curcumin, empty liposomes, empty liposomes vortexed with E-4031, or terfenadine and empty liposomes vortexed with curcumin were assayed for their effects on the K+-selective I Kr tail current inhibition using human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells stably transfected with the hERG gene via the whole-cell manual patch clamp technique. Results: E-4031, terfenadine, and curcumin inhibit I Kr channel following nM-to-μM exposures. Empty liposomes had no effect on I Kr . Both the liposomal curcumin formulation and vortexed mixtures of empty liposomes and curcumin prevented the I Kr inhibitory effect of curcumin in a dose-dependent manner. Empty liposomes vortexed with E-4031 prevented the effect of E-4031 to a lesser extent, while empty liposomes vortexed with terfenadine did not alter its I Kr inhibitory activity. Conclusion: Curcumin causes an inhibition of the hERG tail current density. The liposomal curcumin formulation, as well as a mixture of empty liposomes with curcumin or with E-4031, blocked drug-induced I Kr inhibition. However, empty liposomes mixed with terfenadine did not alter terfenadine's I Kr inhibitory effects. The liposomes protected against the inhibitory effect of some compounds on the K+-selective I Kr current, independent of their potency.


Web page recognition is a problem in the design of web crawler in theme search engine. This paper designs a web page recognition algorithm based on link analysis to solve this problem. The main idea of this algorithm is to get the relevant web page recognition model through a combination of link analysis and theme URL knowledge base, based on the idea of statistics and social network analysis. Through the experiment, the precision rate of this algorithm is over 93 percent, and the recall rate is up to 85.4 percent. So the experiment is significant, better than other web page recognition algorithm. Experimental results show the feasibility and effectiveness of this algorithm.


In some key database applications, such as data mining, a sequence of interdependent queries may be posed simultaneously to the DBMS. The optimization of such sequences is called multi-query optimization, and it attempts to exploit these dependencies in the derivation of a query evaluation plan (qep). Although it has been observed and demonstrated by several researchers that exploitation of dependencies speed up the query processing, limited research has been reported how to beneet from multi-query optimization, taking the capabilities of existing query optimizers into account. This is exactly the topic of this paper. Since existing optimizers are able to optimize queries in which a restricted number of basic operations appears, e.g., number of joins is limited to 10, and the optimization of a query is relatively expensive, we attempt to proot from multi query optimization under the condition that queries are passed only once and separately to the optimizer. We propose a two-step optimization procedure. In the rst step, we determine, on the basis of the dependencies between queries, in which order they should be speciied and what results should be stored. In the second step, each query is passed separately to an optimizer.


We present a 205 GHz serial direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS/SS) radar that employs time-domain digital correlation instead of frequency chirps or pulses to estimate a radar signal's time of flight. DS/SS radars offer much simpler range demodulation compared with FMCW or pulse compression radars, while still delivering excellent ranging performance. The demonstrated system offers 4.5 GHz of spread spectrum bandwidth leading to a range resolution of 3.3 cm. The radar is implemented in 28nm CMOS technology and consumes 614 mW.


Adjectives have always been considered the major lexical category that describes nouns and that it is gradable. However, many scholars claim that these characteristics are neither exclusive nor universal. In this paper, the traditional notion of adjectives is challenged, alongside their universality and independence as a lexical category. Firstly, an account of the main semantic and syntactic properties of adjectives is provided. Secondly, adjectives are analyzed from a nanosyntactic perspective, focusing on adjectives as projections of Place and Path and discussing the properties of deverbal adjectives. Finally, an account of languages that do are considered not to have adjectives is provided.


Recent research is exploring the case for cognitive or post-decision dissonance using the free-choice paradigm of Brehm (1956). Participants are repeatedly faced with a choice between items that they have given the same rating of liking, two items at a time, and it is found that items not chosen in one choice has a lower tendency of being chosen in a subsequent choice against a different alternative item. This tendency is interpreted as evidence for cognitive or post-decision dissonance. I argue that this interpretation of the evidence is invalid. Furthermore, I report a novel experiment in which participants were specifically asked to compare the items, allowing for a consistent interpretation of the evidence. I find no evidence of post-decision dissonance after a choice between items where one was viewed as more attractive than the other, but potentially some weak evidence of post-decision dissonance after a choice between items viewed as equally attractive.


Abstract The use of Population Viability Analysis has recently been criticized mainly because uncertainties in population predictions are often ignored. We analyzed the viability of Scandinavian wolverine Gulo gulo populations that allow for the inclusion of uncertainties in parameter estimates and stochastic effects on population dynamics. We used the insight gained from analyses of stochastic population models to quantitatively analyze different management options for the wolverine. These management options were based on data from an individual-based demographic study in the Sarek National Park, Sweden, and data from monitoring schemes in Norway and Sweden. Stochastic components in population dynamics of the wolverine were large. Strong density regulation occurred around the carrying capacity. According to the World Conservation Union (2001), the carrying capacity of populations must exceed 46 sexually mature (≥3-yr-old) females to be considered not vulnerable. Continuation of the current levels of offtake in Norway will lead to extinction of the wolverine over large parts of the country. Hence, current rates of mortality of female wolverine make the northern population endangered, whereas the southern population is classified as vulnerable. Management plans allowing harvest of individuals should be based on a proportional threshold harvest strategy. Only 40–60% of the surplus individuals exceeding a certain threshold for harvesting should be removed. Our analyses emphasized the importance of including estimates of precision in parameter estimates, including stochastic factors in recommendations based on Population Viability Analysis, and examining the robustness of the conclusions against variation in crucial parameters by sensitivity analyses.


In recent decades, a lot of interest in pharmaceutical industries to focus on 'Phytochemicals' and healthcare sectors to concentrate 'Phytonutrients' deriveed from natural products of plant origin. Solanum incanum L. is a roadside weed shrub and its ripened berries were treating various ailments. In the current decade, an attempted have been made for screening of Phytochemical and Phytonutrients values. Its leaves, stem, root and fruits of ethanolic extract were evaluated. In percent phytochemical Solanum incanum contains alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, steroids and triterpenoids. The maximum amount of Phytochemicals and Phytonutrients (Na, Al, Mg, Mn, P, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn) was recorded in fruit when compared with leaves, stem and root. They were analyze for their basic proximate composition, Vitamin, mineral elemental compositions and phytochemical profile to the results of this study suggested that, Plants play with altering environmental conditions to accalamize to these changes of its archetypes variations. This adaptation is accompanied by an unusual phytochemical diversity, especially for Phytochemicals and Phytonutrients.


This article presents the use of specific paths in structural equation models (SEMs) that allow separation and tests of both unique and common (latent) aspects of measured variables. Cross-sectional studies have established that problems in intimate relationships are related to drug use, but the direction of these effects is unclear and is best addressed by using SEMs with prospective data. Reciprocal effects between constructs of polydrug use and relationship quality were examined for 307 young women and 117 young men over a 4-year period while social conformity was controlled for. No cross-lagged effects were found between latent constructs, except for polydrug use, which increased later divorces for women. However, specific paths allowed tests of types of drug use and relationship quality as both predictors and consequences. There were 8 effects for women and 6 for men from specific measures of drug use that adversely affected aspects of relationship quality. Conversely, only one effect was found from relationship quality to drug use variables for both genders.


Introduction: The causes of Short Stature in children are different in different countries. It can vary from endocrine to non-endocrine. This study was conducted to identify the causes of short stature in children who are brought in Endocrine Out Patient Department of Kanti Children's Hospital.
Methods: This is a retrospective study done at Endocrine Out Patient Department of Kanti Children's Hospital for ten year duration. One Hundred and Twenty five Children who were brought with chief complain of not gaining height were included.  Children's were evaluated for causes of short stature.
Results: Male and Female ratio was 1.2:1. The commonest cause seen was Familial Short Stature 41(32.8%), Constitutional 22(17.6%), Hypothyroidism 20 (16%), Syndromic 13 (10.4%), Skeletal Dysplasia 10 (8%), Malnutrition 10 (8%), Chronic Diseases 7 (5.6%) and Growth Hormone Deficiency 2 (1.6%).
Conclusions: This study showed  Familial and Constitutional short stature as leading cause of short stature.  Hypothyroidism and Malnutrition account for significant percentage which are treatable cause. Down's syndrome(40%) and Turner Syndrome(7.6%) are the main genetic causes of short stature.


Karyotypes of two plants Daiswa hainanensis (Merrill) Takht. subsp. vietnamensis from Northern Vietnam were investigated. On using nucleotid-specific fluorochromes, heterochromatin blocks rich in AT- and GC-nucleotid pairs were revealed. Parameters and idiograms of these karyotypes are given. In the karyotype of one plant, a somatic abbreviation (a clearly marked morphological heteromorphism of homologues) was found. The karyotype of the other plant contains a supernumerary chromosome of euchromatin nature. Cytogenetic features of the genus Daiswa corroborate the correctness of A. L. Takhtajan's suggestion that Daiswa is a separate genus. The population polymorphism as a base for speciation in the process of phylogenesis is discussed.


A wafer-level sandwiched packaging technology is developed for micromechanical sensors such as inertial sensors, which comprise movable parts, e.g. spring-mass structures. Via a thin polymer intermediate layer of benzocyclobuene (BCB), a pre-micromachined silicon cap wafer is aligned bonded with the sensor-chip wafer. Prior to the BCB bonding, the sensor-chip wafer was formed by anodic bonding a Pyrex-7740 glass wafer to the silicon wafer with the sensing elements formed. This sandwich wafer level packaging can protect the formed micromechanical structures from damage or dirty during the saw dicing, and facilitates plastic molding device package. With the technique, various kinds of accelerometers have been high-yield and low-cost packaged.


An approach for adaptive control of blood pressure using sodium nitroprusside is presented. A modified stochastic model reference adaptive control algorithm with a time-varying reference model is developed and used for this purpose. An automatic adjustment of the reference model is proposed in order to optimize the performance of the closed-loop system while meeting clinical constraints imposed on the infusion rate and the mean arterial pressure. Extensive computer simulations show the robustness of the proposed controller in the presence of relatively high noise levels, over the full range of plant parameters and for large parameter variations.<<ETX>>


This article presents a literature review concerning the durability of self-compacting concrete (SCC), making a comparison between this new type of concrete and the vibrated concrete (VC). The degradation mechanisms that have been considered are: carbonation, chloride penetration, sulphate attack, frost durability and salt scaling, and fire resistance. The carbonation of SCC is not significantly deviating from the carbonation of VC. Cyclic wetting and drying in a chloride containing solution shows significantly lower chloride diffusion in SCC in comparison with VC. The initiation time for sulphate attack is prolonged in SCC compared with an equivalent VC due to a denser microstructure in SCC. Frost action in combination with de-icing salts is leading to similar mass losses in SCC as in VC. SCC has a high probability of spalling when exposed to fire even in a dry environment, so precautions shall be taken when SCC shall be used in situations where no fire spalling is accepted.


Two-day-old chicks were trained to discriminate between edible chick crumbs and arrays of colored beads glued to the floor of their cage. Normal chicks learned this task within a few minutes and retained it for at least 24 h. The role of several biochemical systems known to be required for other forms of early learning in the chick was explored in this task. Antagonists and inhibitors of these systems were used in the doses known to produce amnesia in a related passive avoidance learning model. Drugs were injected intracerebrally just before training, and retention was tested at various times subsequently. The protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin (240 nmol/chick) was without effect on retention at 30 min posttraining, but chicks were amnestic at 3 and 24 h. The protein kinases inhibitors melittin (1.2 nmol/chick) and 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine hydrochloride (100 nmol/chick) were without effect on retention at 30 min posttraining but were amnestic by 3 h. While these effects are similar to those found for one-trial passive avoidance training, neither the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists (+)-5-methyl-10, 11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a, d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine maleate (up to 15 nmol/chick) or DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (1.3 nmol/chick), both of which are amnestic for passive avoidance, nor the non-NMDA-glutamate receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2, 3,-dione (4 nmol/chick) were amnestic for the visual discrimination task. By contrast, the metabotropic glutamate receptor blocker (RS)- alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (300 nmol/chick) injected 5 min pretraining resulted in amnesia at 3 h posttraining. The implications of these findings for the putative "memory consolidation cascade" are discussed.


The pharmacological profile of nebivolol (N), a chemically novel beta-adrenergic antagonist, was assessed in investigations on isolated tissues, awake spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), closed-chest anesthetized dogs, and humans. In vitro, N was found to be a potent antagonist of beta 1-adrenergic receptors (A2 value, 5.8 X 10(-9) M) and only a weak beta 2-adrenergic antagonist (A2 value, 1.7 X 10(-6) M). The selectivity for the beta 1-adrenergic receptor was higher for N than for any of the reference compounds. In dogs--similarly with atenolol--N was more potent in blocking the isoprenaline (I)-induced increases in left ventricular performance than the I-induced decrease in arterial pressure. In dogs, as compared with propranolol, N (0.025 and 0.01 mg.kg-1 i.v.) increased cardiac output and stroke volume, lowered systemic vascular resistance, and had no significant effect on the variables related to left ventricular contraction. In contrast to other beta-adrenergic antagonists, N acutely lowered arterial blood pressure in SHR (1.25 mg.kg-1 i.p.) and in hypertensive patients (1 oral dose of 5 mg) for several hours. In healthy volunteers N (5 mg) lowered systemic vascular resistance during daily oral treatment and did not negatively affect left ventricular function. In conclusion, N is a potent and selective beta 1-adrenergic blocking agent with an interesting hemodynamic profile. In hypertensive subjects and SHR, a single dose lowers arterial blood pressure for substantial periods of time.


Current society is heavily influenced by science and technology, indicating the need to train generations with critical ability to analyze messages and make responsible decisions in the context in which they act. This is reflected in teaching in general, requiring the university to be a stimulating environment and not merely transmitting knowledge. The teaching-learning process in science education, in particular engineering, can not therefore be restricted to traditional methods. New practices and technologies, with diversified resources and strategies, have been necessary in the improvement of teaching. The present work had the objective of developing an active method for teaching in engineering, at the School of Engineering of Lorena, University of Sao Paulo. The results show that students crave experiences that develop transversal competences, and that the transmission of theoretical content loses its place for teaching that promotes a process of autonomous construction of knowledge.


The purpose of this article is to provide specific recommendations to enhance physician engagement in health care organizations. It summarizes the evidence on physician engagement, drawing on peer-reviewed articles and reports from the gray literature, and suggests an integrative framework to help health care managers better understand and improve physician engagement. While we examine some other international examples and experiences, we mainly focus on physician engagement in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Physician engagement can be conceptualized as an ongoing two-way social process in which both the individual and organizational/cultural components are considered. Building on several frameworks and examples, we propose a new integrative framework for enhancing physician engagement in health care organizations. We suggest that in order to enhance physician engagement, organizations should focus on the following strategies: developing clear and efficient communication channels with physicians; building trust, understanding, and respect with physicians; and identifying and developing physician leaders. We propose that the time is now for health care managers to set aside traditional differences and historical conflicts and to engage their physicians for the betterment of their organizations.


Although the usefulness of liquid biopsy as a biomarker in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been suggested, its usefulness in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) or tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapies has not been reported in detail. In this study, we investigated the clinical value of a cell‐free (cf)DNA quantification system targeting the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) promoter mutation in advanced HCC treatment. Plasma from 67 patients with advanced HCC, treated with TACE and TKI, was used for extraction of cfDNA. We defined cfDNA with the hTERT promoter C228T mutation as circulating mutant DNA (mutant DNA) and without the mutation as circulating wild‐type DNA (wild‐type DNA). We analyzed the changes in mutant and wild‐type DNA levels during HCC treatment and examined the relationship between changes in the cfDNA level and the clinical course. Mutant DNA was detected in 73.1% (49/67) of the patients during HCC treatment. In univariate analysis, factors associated with detection of mutant DNA before treatment were the intrahepatic maximum tumor diameter (P = 0.015) and protein induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKAII) (P = 0.006). The degree of mutant DNA change after TACE was significantly correlated with tumor volume (P < 0.001), reflecting the treated tumor volume. Responders with peak cfDNA levels within 1 week of TKI initiation had significantly better progression‐free survival than nonresponders (P = 0.004). Conclusion: Changes in blood hTERT promoter mutant DNA levels during TACE or TKI treatment indirectly reflect the amount of HCCs and are useful for predicting long‐term treatment responses.


Many colour maps provided by vendors have highly uneven perceptual contrast over their range. It is not uncommon for colour maps to have perceptual flat spots that can hide a feature as large as one tenth of the total data range. Colour maps may also have perceptual discontinuities that induce the appearance of false features. Previous work in the design of perceptually uniform colour maps has mostly failed to recognise that CIELAB space is only designed to be perceptually uniform at very low spatial frequencies. The most important factor in designing a colour map is to ensure that the magnitude of the incremental change in perceptual lightness of the colours is uniform. The specific requirements for linear, diverging, rainbow and cyclic colour maps are developed in detail. To support this work two test images for evaluating colour maps are presented. The use of colour maps in combination with relief shading is considered and the conditions under which colour can enhance or disrupt relief shading are identified. Finally, a set of new basis colours for the construction of ternary images are presented. Unlike the RGB primaries these basis colours produce images whereby the salience of structures are consistent irrespective of the assignment of basis colours to data channels.


We examine the possibility that Friedman-Robertson-Walker evolution is governed by an effective (rather then by the actual) energy density. A concrete example is provided by Regge-Teitelboim cosmology, where critical cosmology only requires subcritical matter density , and the age of a flat matter-dominated universe gets enhanced by a factor of . Dual to the mature dilute universe is the embryo universe, the evolution of both is governed by .


2011 Wetlands have the most abundant biodiversity, the highest carbon sequestration capacity, and the highest values for ecological services per unit area, of all the world's ecosystems. Practice has shown that establishing reserves is the most effective way of protecting typical ecosystems and their biodiversity, and saving rare or endangered wildlife. The Chinese government's policy is to protect wetland systems by establishing reserves that encompass a massive network of wetlands, including wetland nature reserves, internationally important wetlands, and wetland parks. Many are already established. The effect of protecting wetland nature reserves at the national level has not yet been reported. We used the latest database evaluating the protection value of wetland reserves, and remotely sensed wetland maps (1978–2008), developed by the same mapping specialists and based on the same classification system, and related environmental data, to evaluate the effects of protecting China's national wetland reserves over the last 30 years. We conclude that (i) the total area of wetland in the national wetland reserves has decreased over the last 30 years to 8152.47 km 2 , and just 8% of China's net decrease in wetlands; (ii) about 79% of the 91 national wetland reserves are in a poor condition. These are generally located around the Yangtze River, Eastern Coast, the Three Rivers Source, and Southwest China. Protection measures should be undertaken urgently in these areas. Only 15% of national wetland reserves are under sound protection, and these are generally located in the upper reaches of the Songhua River; (iii) although 88% of national wetland reserves are primitive (relatively natural), implying that the site selection has been scientific, a high percentage of national wetland reserves show early warning signs of decline and require urgent attention; (iv) based on our evaluation of protection effects and pressures on ecology, we have made a priority list of national wetland reserves, and propose several protection


Previous research has shown that training of match-to-sample tasks with AB compounds as samples and unitary C stimuli as comparisons (AB-C) leads to novel tasks with interchangeable stimulus elements: C-AB, AC-B, and BC-A (e.g., Markham & Dougher, 1993). These performances remained intact when, after subsequent C-D training, the C stimuli were replaced by novel D stimuli (D-AB, AD-B, BD-A). The present study was conducted to investigate if these performances will also be evident if an element of the ABC triad (A) is replaced by another triad element (B) rather than by a fourth stimulus (D). In Experiment 1, adults were trained on multiple AB-C tasks and tested for corresponding C-AB and AC-B performances. At that point, some subjects received A-B training followed by C-BB and BC-B probes. These probes were the same as the C-AB and BC-A probes except that the A element was replaced by an equivalent B element. Other subjects received A-D training followed by C-DB and BC-D probes. These probes were the same as the C-AB and BC-A probes except that the A stimuli were replaced by corresponding D stimuli. The C-BB and BC-B probes (A-B subjects) led to a massive performance breakdown whereas the C-DB and BC-D probes (A-D subjects) did not. The CBB and BC-B performances improved when, in Experiment 2, these probes were preceded by AB-BB probes. Experiment 3 demonstrated that A-B training generated class-consistent responding during AB-BB, C-BB, BC-B probes and subsequent probes with novel X stimuli (AB-XX, C-XX, XC-X ), but only when the AB-BB, C-BB, and BC-B probes were presented first. These findings indicate that elements of previously established sample-comparison configurations not only can be replaced by novel stimuli but also by same-class elements of the same or of different combinations.


The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high schools) and urbanicity (i.e., rural, town, suburb, city) were related to written school safety plans in the area of pandemic flu/disease threat scenarios. Through the use of a causal-comparative research design, archival data from a national survey in the United States for the 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2015-2016, and 2017-2018 school years were analyzed. Inferential statistical analyses of nationwide survey data revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in the incidence of written plans for pandemic flu/disease threat scenarios by school level and by urbanicity. All school levels represented in the study did not have a written plan for how to address pandemic flu/disease threat scenarios 60% or more of the time. About 60% of schools within the urbanicity groupings did not have a written plan. Implications and recommendations for future research were discussed. Given the recent COVID-19 pandemic, these numbers are expected to show dramatic improvements in the years to come. Policymakers should develop policies mandating written school safety plans and the necessary funding for them to be generated. Future researchers, however, should continue to address this area.


The endosporulation phase of Rhinosporidium seeberi is the part of the life cycle most vulnerable to drug therapy. The laminated body formed from the precleavage sporangium has double-membraned tubular and vesicular structures within concentric layers. Similar tubular structures are also found in the developing sporoblast. The development of trophocytes involves three distinct phases. The early trophocyte retains many of the characteristics of the sporoblast as well as endoplasmic reticulum and other radiating filamentous structures in the cell wall. The itermediate tropocyte is larger (20 mug to 30mug m) and contains lipid bodies and microbodies, whereas the mature trophocyte is smaller (7mug m to9mug m) and microbodies are sparse or absent.


Background and objective Accumulating evidence shows that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) possess great potential in the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa). Therefore, this study aimed to construct an lncRNA-based signature to more accurately predict the prognosis of different PCa patients, so as to improve patient management and prognosis. Methods Through univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, this study constructed a 4 lncRNAs-based prognosis nomogram for the classification and prediction of survival risk in patients with PCa based on TCGA data. Then we used the data of TCGA and ICGC to verify the performance of our prediction model. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted for detecting and validating our prediction model sensitivity and specificity. In addition, Cox regression analysis was conducted to examine whether the signature's prediction ability was independent of additional clinicopathological variables. Possible biological functions for those prognostic lncRNAs were predicted on those 4 protein-coding genes (PCGs) related to lncRNAs. Results Four lncRNAs (HOXB-AS3, YEATS2-AS1, LINC01679, PRRT3-AS1) were extracted after COX regression analysis for classifying patients into high and low-risk groups by different OS rates. As suggested by ROC analysis, our proposed model showed high sensitivity and specificity. Independent prognostic capability of the model from other clinicopathological factors was indicated through further analysis. Based on functional enrichment, those action sites for prognostic lncRNAs were mostly located in the extracellular matrix and cell membrane, and their functions are mainly associated with the adhesion, activation and transport of the components across the extracellular matrix or cell membrane. Conclusion Our current study successfully identifies a novel candidate, which can provide more convincing evidence for prognosis in addition to the traditional clinicopathological indicators to predict the PCa survival, and laying the foundation for offering potentially novel therapeutic treatment. Additionally, this study sheds more lights on the PCa-related molecular mechanisms.


The Effective Pre-school and Primary Education Project 3-11 (EPPE 3-11) is a largescale longitudinal study of the impact of pre-school and primary school on children's
developmental outcomes, both cognitive and social/behavioural. The study has been
following children from the start of pre-school (at age 3 years plus) through to the end of
primary school. Previous reports have focused on the educational and
social/behavioural outcomes of the EPPE 3-11 sample at the end of Year 5 (age 10) and
progress from the end of Year 1 (age 6) to the end of Year 5 (age 10) in primary school
(Sammons et al., 2007a; 2007b). The research also explored the predictive power of a
wide variety of child, parent, and family characteristics on attainment and development,
including the Early years home learning environment (HLE) during the years of preschool and aspects of the later HLE during Key stage 1 of primary school (Sammons et
al., 2002; 2003; Sylva et al., 2004).
This research builds on earlier reports (Sammons et al., 2007a; 2007b) by investigating
relationships between children's outcomes in Year 5 and aspects of pupils' selfperceptions and their views of primary school, measured in Year 5 (age 10) and in Year
2 (age 7) of primary school, controlling for background characteristics. These measures
have been derived from a self-report instrument completed by EPPE 3-11 children. The
analyses explored associations between children's progress and development over time
and their self-perceptions and views of primary school.