We assessed the status of P53 in 32 surgically treated non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) by using yeast functional assay. For functional assay, total RNA extracted from fresh-frozen specimens was reverse transcribed and P53 cDNAs were PCR-amplified using Pfu DNA polymerase (Stratagene). The transcriptional competence of the P53 cDNA was then tested in a yeast reporter strain. 20 of the 32 (69%) NSCLC patients contained mutant P53 in the yeast functional assay with the higher frequency in squamous cell carcinoma (14/17, 82%) than in adenocarcinoma (5/10, 50%) and large cell carcinoma (3/5, 60%) (p<0.01, chi2 test). No significant difference was observed with respect to the TNM. Preliminary survival analysis showed that patients scoring positive for the yeast test had shorter disease-free survival (median = 10 months) than those that scored negative (median > 21 months). Our results suggest that yeast functional assay is not only an improved method to examine the status of P53, but might hopefully improve understanding of the role of mutant P53 in the clinical evaluation of NSCLC.


Inflammation is the body's defensive action against various stimuli such as physical or chemical or infectious agents. Acute inflammation and their mediators help in tissue repair and healing. If the inflammation aggravates chronically, non-resolved, dysregulated immune system, results release of various inflammatory mediators such as free radicals (ROS and RNS), cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and proteolytic enzymes produced by innate and adaptive immune cells activate transcriptional factors (NF-KB,STAT3 and HIF-1α) results in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, immunosuppression, genetic instability, invasion and metastasis. Oncogenes related to cancer activate inflammatory mediators such as chemokines and cytokines, which alters the inflammatory tumor microenvironment, promotes tumor progression. This article highlights about the role of inflammation and oncogenes activate inflammatory mediators in tumor progression.


The paper presents the experimental results of saturation of the carbon material containing nanotubes with hydrogen from the gas. The dependences of hydrogen concentration from pressure (from 0 to 8 atmospheres), at the same temperature for adsorption (-30 degrees Celsius) and different temperatures for desorption were obtained. The temperature has an influence on sorption-desorption process and sorption properties of carbon material. The amount of residual hydrogen depends on saturation parameters.


Nd와 Pr이 함유된 염산용액에서 PC88A와 D2EHPA에 의한 두 금속의 분리에 적합한 조건을 조사하기 위해 용매추출실험을 수행하였다. 본 연구의 실험조건에서 Nd의 분배계수가 Pr의 분배계수보다 컸다. PC88A와 D2EHPA로 추출하는 경우 금속과 추출제와의 농도비의 증가가 두 금속의 추출 및 분리에 큰 영향을 미쳤다. D2EHPA의 비누화율과 초기 pH는 두 금속의 추출에는 큰 영향을 미치지만, 분리인자에는 큰 변화가 없었다. 【Solvent extraction experiments have been performed to investigate an optimum condition to separate Nd and Pr from chloride solutions using PC88A and D2EHPA. In our experimental ranges, the distribution coefficients of Nd were higher than those of Pr. In both of PC88A and D2EHPA extractant system, our results indicated that the increase in concentration ratio of extractant to metal had a great effect on the extraction and separation of the two metals. In extraction with saponified D2EHPA, the initial pH of the aqueous solution and saponification degree had some effect on the extraction of the two metals but little effect on the separation factor.】


We show that for a class of penalty functions, finding the global optimizer in the penalized least-squares estimation is equivalent to the 'exact cover by 3-sets' problem, which belongs to a class of NP-hard problems. The NP-hardness result is then extended to the cases of penalized least absolute deviations regression and a special class of penalized support vector machines. We discuss its implication in statistics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first formal documentation on the complexity of this type of problem.


Electrospray ionization with in-source collisionally induced dissociation has been used to probe the gas phase stability of an oligonucleotide duplex and its complexes with some minor groove binding drugs. On the basis of the arguments developed in detail by Drahos et al. (J. Mass Spectrom. 1999; 34:1373), this type of experiment can also be described as 'thermal denaturation in the gas phase'. We found that the gas phase denaturation curves were very similar to the solution phase denaturation curves determined by the traditional UV spectrophotometric method and, by analogy with the melting temperature T(m) which characterizes the stability in solution, we define a melting voltage V(m) to characterize the stability in the gas phase. A comparison of the T(m) and V(m) relative values suggests that the structure of the complexes is conserved during the electrospray process which transfers the ions from the solution to the gas phase.


In the present study, the amylase enzyme producing potential of four different Aspergillus species was analyzed. The extracted amylase enzyme was purified by diethyl amino ethyl (DEAE) cellulose and Sephadex G-50 column chromatography and the enzyme activity was measured by using synthetic substrate starch. The partially purified enzyme exhibits maximum activity at the optimum pH (7.0), temperature (60 to 70°C) and substrate concentration (1.5 to 2.0%) under standard assay conditions. Among the four different Aspergillus species examined, Aspergillus flavipes showed maximum production of amylase. The characteristics of the partially purified enzyme such as optimum pH and temperature were also favourable for industrial applications. Keywords: Aspergillus species, Sephadex G-50, column chromatography, diethyl amino ethyl (DEAE) cellulose


To cope with the changing environment, Iran's banking system should recognize the needs and expectations of the customers. The main target of this research is to recognize which dimensions of service quality are more important for Iranian customers and the extent to which customers' expectations of quality of services are met. In this regard, numerous studies were considered to develop the conceptual model of this research. Then, this model was modified based on the recommendations of some banking experts and university lecturers. The Statistical population of this research includes customers in ten different commercial banks in ten different provinces of the country. This population was classified based on the provinces and banks and then customers were taken from each class randomly. Finally, 555 questionnaires were collected. To analyze the data, ANOVA and Structural Equation Modeling techniques were conducted by SPSS and LISREL soft ware. Findings indicate a positive relationship between dimensions of service quality and customers' perception of the quality


Regardless of the economic, social and environmental impacts caused by wild animal trafficking worldwide, the suitable destination of seized specimens is one of the main challenges faced by environmental managers and authorities. In Brazil, returning seized animals to the wild has been the most frequent path in population restoration programs, and has been carried out, as a priority, in areas where the animals were captured. However, in addition to the difficulty in identifying the locations of illegal captures, little scientific knowledge is available on the future viability of the source‐areas to global climate change. Thus, the current work aims to evaluate the impacts of climate change on the main source‐municipalities for animal trafficking in Brazil, referred to herein as source‐areas. For this, using ecological niche modeling, the environmental suitability of the source‐areas for illegal animal captures was evaluated in two scenarios at two different time horizons: optimistic (RCP 26) and pessimistic (RCP 85) emission scenarios in both 2050 and 2070 projections. Moreover, the source‐areas were compared with the Brazilian Federal protected areas, used here as the control group. According to the results, Brazilian source‐municipalities are not always the best option for maintaining the most seized species in the future simulations, and, therefore, seem not be the best option for projects that aim for the return of these animals to the wild. In this sense, despite the genetic and ecological issues inherent in translocation projects, our results suggest that population restoration programs for seized species need to be rethought, and furthermore other suitable areas could be considered for truly ensuring the survival and maintenance of overexploited populations in the long term.


The change in intracellular (ICAPs) and extracellular (ECAPs) potentials of unmyelinated axons of Lumbricus terrestris under the effect of Chloramine-T (CT) and N-Bromsuccinimide (NBS), applied extracellularly, is studied. Delay of the repolarization phase of ICAPs was found under the effect of NBS, as well as slight decrease of the amplitude of ICAPs and ECAPs, with an insignificant decrease in the propagation velocity of the excitation. The first (V') and second (V") time derivatives and the total ionic current (Ii) are calculated from the intracellular action potential in norm and under the effect of NBS. A delay of the inactivation phase of the inward sodium current and a decrease of the amplitude of the total ionic current, calculated from ICAP, were found. Under the effect of CT there was a decrease in the amplitude of the action potentials, without a delay in the repolarization phase and the propagation velocity of the excitation decreases. CT leads to lasting inhibition of the excitability of the axon under prolonged impact (20 min).


The metacognitive listening strategy has an important role in the process of enhancing English listening comprehension. This article reviewed six empirical studies related to the impact of metacognitive listening strategy use while learners tried to improve their listening comprehension in different environments. The findings showed that learners used some metacognitive listening strategies to help them to comprehend the listening text tasks. It also indicated that various factors affect learners" successful learning on their listening comprehension improvement. It can be concluded that the metacognitive listening strategy has had a positive impact while they are used regularly in the language learning process.


Unbalanced translocation involving both chromosome 3p duplication and 11q deletion in the same patient is extremely rare; only 1 live-born case was reported previously. This karyotype was also detected during prenatal diagnosis of 2 different pregnancies in a Taiwanese family which were both terminated. In all 3 cases, only standard karyotyping was done to detect the abnormal karyotypes. Here, we report a 4-year-old boy with cleft palate, atrial septal defect, and hypotonia with gross and fine motor delay. Oligonucleotide-based array comparative genomic hybridization showed copy number gain from 3pter to 3p24.2 (approximately 24.5 Mb) and copy number loss from 11q25 to 11qter (approximately 5.8 Mb). This de novo unbalanced translocation event involving a terminal 3p duplication and a terminal 11q deletion provides candidate genes for further investigation of dosage effect leading to the patient's multiple phenotypic abnormalities. Genotype-phenotype correlation is difficult to make in this case due to the large number of genes involved. However, the description of such cases together with precise gene-level mapping of chromosomal breakpoints will add to further refinement of candidate genes to be investigated for terminal imbalances in 3p and 11q when more similar cases are reported.


This paper present the design of a cogeneration plant with a Stirling engine, generating electricity using the residual energy as heat of the hot gases from a domestic or industrial furnace outlet. First, the ideal method for calculating the energy needs of hot water of an industrial establishment, taking into account the domestic hot water used in the different devices of the building and the hot water used for heating. Second describes the furnace, to determine the residual heat that will use the Stirling engine to run. In third place is calculated the Stirling engine in accordance with the settings selected and the elements that compose it. Once known operation, the engine is analyzed kinetically and thermodynamically to make their modeling. Finally, technology is analyzed to transform the mechanical energy from Stirling engine into energy that can be used in the building where the installation is implemented. Once created whole process, the calculation of the installation for practical application in a real industrial local becomes, showing the magnitude of the energy obtained and the dimensions of the installation.


The classical dynamic lot size problem without backlogging is in practice usually solved with the aid of various heuristics. Most heuristics are sequential techniques, i.e. the future demand is considered period for period, and a decision whether to have a set-up or not in a certain period is taken without regarding the future demand. The average performance of a lot sizing heuristic will depend on the demand process. We assume that a typical demand will look like a sequence of independent identically distributed random numbers, and we derive a sequential lot sizing rule with optimal average performance under such circumstances. The optimal decision rule is compared to the Silver-Meal heuristic. We also analyze the situation when the decision rule is allowed to look ahead one period.


Nuclear energy holds the promise to provide vast amounts of reliable baseline electricity at commercially competitive costs with modest environmental impact. However, the future of nuclear energy lies beyond the current generation of light water reactors. Future reactors will be expected to provide additional improvements in safety, maintain high reliability, use uranium resources more efficiently, and produce lower volumes of less toxic solid wastes. Several advanced reactor concepts are under development to meet these demands. In most cases, these designs translate into higher operating temperatures and longer lifetimes, more corrosive environments, and higher radiation fields in which materials must reliably perform. This issue focuses on the materials challenges that will determine the feasibility of these advanced concepts and define the long-term future of nuclear power.


The rapidly changing conditions of a modern unstable society change all spheres of human activity, including education. The increasing complexity of the educational process leads to an increase in the burden on higher education teachers. The implementation of pedagogical activities is accompanied by a number of difficulties, some of which are largely experienced by teachers, difficult to solve and become life difficulties. Life difficulties related to professional activity affect the state of health and worsen it. The work attempts to identify the relationship between the life difficulties of university teachers and the presence of chronic diseases.


We investigated ultrasonic tinning of physical vapor deposited (PVD) Al rear contacts on ptype passivated emitter and rear cells and n-type back junction cells, respectively. By means of electroluminescence (EL) imaging after ultrasonic tinning we identified small local damage of the cells' rear side passivation only at the positions where the soldering irons were initially placed on the Al. Though measured interconnector peel force was < 1 N/mm and hence lower then required by the standard DIN EN 50461, we obtained power degradation < 5 % after 400 thermal cycles, 2000 h in damp heat test and 20 cycles in the humidity freeze test, respectively, which is double the load demanded by the IEC 61215 standard. EL images revealed no local degradation induced by the climate tests. The microstructure of the tinned PVD Al is investigated by secondary electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.


OBJECTIVES
To study associations between education, occupational position, and incidence of ischemic heart disease (ICD-9 410-414).

METHODS
A cohort of 151,471 male and female members of a German statutory health insurance company aged between 25 and 65 years was investigated. The cohort comprised all members between 1987 and 1996. Information on ischemic heart disease was derived from clinical diagnosis. Education, training, and occupational position according to the British Registrar General defined the indicators of social status.

RESULTS
After adjustment for age and length of observation period, education and training as well as occupational position were associated with the incidence of ischemic heart disease in both men and women. Whereas a gradient was observed in men regarding education and training (odds ratios (OR): 3.41-6.02) men with lower occupational position had higher risk estimates as compared to the highest occupational status group (OR: 1.73-3.05). Among women a gradient was observed concerning education and training (OR: 1.75-3.78). With regard to occupational status position female members of the highest group showed the lowest risk as compared to the lower status groups (OR: 1.58-2.19).

CONCLUSIONS
Social inequality in ischemic heart disease morbidity was observed among male and female members of a German statutory health insurance. Findings are of importance for health policy and call for preventive action.


A structural evaluation was made of 90 miles of city streets in Plainfield, New Jersey, to determine their life expectancy and rehabilitation requirements. Evaluation was made by a nondestructive test procedure based on measuring the dynamic deflections of the pavement surface and the curvature of the deflection basin. These tests were carried out at 200-ft intervals along the outer wheelpaths in each traffic lane for purposes of structural evaluation. The different pavement subgrade systems were replaced by mathematical models, and the measured surface deflections were used as the input to calculate parameters of each layer in the model. The results of the nondestructive tests were then calibrated with results from in situ destructive tests to validate the relation between modulus of elasticity and California bearing ratio (CBR). The minimum overlay required for the desired future life expectancy was calculated on the basis of both CBR methodology and criteria of allowable subgrade strain. It was found that the subgrade strain methodology was the most simple, economical, and practical to apply and gave more consistent results for the local conditions encountered. The methodology and applications developed from this study are presented in detail. (Author)


Although extensive experimental studies have been made of the effects of ligation of the coronary arteries, apparently no review of the effects of exercise following experimental cardiac infarction has been made. Knowledge of the effects of exercise at varying intervals after ligation should give information that could be transferred to the treatment of human beings. Accordingly a series of experimentally produced infarcts in dogs was studied as to the effects of regulated exercise. Kolster 1 observed dogs living seventeen months after ligation of the ramus descendens anterior. Miller and Matthews 2 kept dogs alive for ninety days after ligation of the left coronary artery. Both described infarcts, and Miller and Matthews 2 observed marked thinning of the ventricular musculature near the apex. Smith 3 observed the electrocardiographic changes following ligation of the ramus descendens anterior in dogs living up to sixty-three days. He is the first author to mention the


The form of Hamiltonian and Diffeomorphism constraints in Sen-Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi variables is well known for the spacelike 3+1 ADM foliation. It is also known that Sen-Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi connection can be introduced only in 3 dimensional space and does not work for $D > 3$. The reason it works in $D = 3$ is due to existence of isomorphism between $so(3)$ algebra and $R^3$ space with vector product. It turns out that similar isomorphism exists between $so(2,1)$ algebra and $R^3_{2,1}$ space algebra with respect to its vector product. By using this isomorphism we find both analog of Sen-Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi connection for timelike 3+1 foliation and corresponding forms of Gauss, Diffeomorphism and Hamiltonian constraints. We then combine spacelike and timelike foliation constraints into the generalized form of the Hamiltonian and Diffeomorphism constrains using generalized Sen-Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi connection variables. We prove that Immirzi parameter is covariant with respect to timelike-spacelike ADM foliation change as in both cases in self-dual Ashtekar case it disappears in Hamiltionian constraint keeping it polynomial.


The present study was conducted to find the impact of environmental awareness on environmental attitudes. The research was done on 600 respondents, both males and females in the city of Dehradun and near by areas, in state of Uttarakhand, India. The objective was to study the respondent's level of environmental awareness, to measure their level of environmental attitudes and to observe the impact of environmental awareness on environmental attitudes and its dimensions. Also a comparison was made between the environmental awareness and environmental attitudes on two groups' males and females. The total sample was equally divided into two groups' males and females. Stratified random sampling was used and all the subjects were matched on gender, socio-economic status and age group. Environmental Awareness Test (EAWT) by Yeshodhara was used to assess the environmental awareness of the subjects. Taj Environmental Attitude Scale (TEAS) by Haseen Taj was used to measure the environmental attitudes of the respondents. Mean, S.D. and ANOVAs' were used to infer findings and prove the proposed hypothesis. The findings revealed a significant difference in environmental attitudes of the respondents of the three levels of environmental awareness (high, medium & low) and also a significant difference in environmental attitudes of the two groups' males and females taken in study.


Abstract In 1996, the USDA began reporting cattle-on-feed placements in various weight groups, which should provide information regarding expected slaughter timings and improve fed cattle price forecasts and marketing strategies. Private data were collected to obtain the necessary degrees of freedom to test statistical relationships between placement weight distributions, beef supply, and fed cattle prices. Use of placement weights improved beef supply forecasts only at a one-month horizon; it contributed nothing to price forecast accuracy or returns from selectively hedging.


The authors investigated the effectiveness of various commonly used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) indices of exaggeration and malingering in detecting suspected malingering in a military sample of 121 enlisted men. To maximize external validity, only men undergoing psychological evaluation were used as participants. Forty-one participants were identified as suspected malingerers through multiple criteria and were contrasted with schizophrenic-spectrum and clinic outpatient groups. To improve internal validity, the 41 suspected malingering participants were asked to retake the test without exaggerating. Results revealed that there were many false positives and fewer, but nonetheless many, false negatives with standard malingering indices. It appeared that the Gough Dissimulation scale (Gough, 1947) might hold the most promise as a measure of malingering, but other scales are also useful. Individual comparisons between different samples and implications for MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 1989) are presented.


AIMS
To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and safety of the bioprosthetic or native aortic scallop intentional laceration to prevent iatrogenic coronary artery obstruction (BASILICA) technique during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in an initial cohort at a single European centre.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Between August 2018 and March 2020, BASILICA was attempted in 23 leaflets in 21 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI (age 78 ± 6 years, 52% women). The index procedure was performed for 21 degenerated bioprosthetic leaflets (90%, 9.2 ± 2.6 years after implantation) and 2 native leaflets (10%). BASILICA was performed for a single leaflet in 19 (90%) patients and for both leaflets in 2 (10%) patients. The median total procedure time was 82 (interquartile range [IQR] 70 - 131) min, and BASILICA time (sheath-in to laceration) was 45 (IQR 35 - 67) min. A cerebral embolic protection device was used in 20 (95%) patients. BASILICA was feasible in all but one patient (95%) and resulted in effective prevention of coronary obstruction in 19 patients (90%). One patient developed a non-flow-limiting ostial lesion after BASILICA and TAVI and was treated by additional coronary stenting. No mortality or stroke were observed until 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS
The feasibility, efficacy and safety of BASILICA in this early single-centre experience was consistent with the initial proof-of-concept reports. Further validation by ongoing multicentre registries remains warranted.


Delaying grapevine budbreak through viticultural management practices is a promising method to prevent spring freeze damage for small vineyards. However, in cool-climate regions, delaying budbreak can potentially delay fruit development and maturation, negatively impacting wine quality. In this three-year study, 2017–2019, we evaluated the impacts of delaying budbreak on wine volatile and nonvolatile composition for Vitis vinifera c.v. Lemberger at a cool-climate site, and we related treatment impacts on wine composition to consumer perception. We also assessed if treatment impacts were similar across vintages, or if seasonal weather conditions were more important for wine composition than delaying budbreak. We evaluated four treatments each year: a control (C) (no delayed budbreak strategy applied), a vegetable oil-based adjuvant (Amigo®) applied at either 8 % or 10 % (v/v) concentration during dormancy (A8, A10), and late pruning conducted shortly after budbreak (1–4 leaves unfolded) of apical buds (LP).  Delays in budbreak between treatments and C vines ranged from 5 days (A8, 2017) to 23 days (LP, 2017) across the 3 years. Furthermore, berry colour change, one of the parameters used to assess véraison, started later in LP vines than in C vines each year. Within each vintage, we found that delayed budbreak treatments, especially LP, had lower concentrations of several volatile compounds than C wines. Furthermore, LP wines tended to have higher monomeric anthocyanins relative to C wines, ranging from 18 % (2019) to 36 % higher (2018). Results from consumer discrimination testing broadly reflected differences in wine chemical composition: consumers perceived LP wines as different from C or A8, depending on the year, and all treatments were different in 2019. However, we found that vintage impacted wine composition more than the delayed budbreak treatments. Of the 49 volatile and nonvolatile compounds detected every year, about half showed significant vintage effects, while only three were consistently different by treatment. Together, our results suggest that delaying grapevine budbreak at a cool-climate site can impact wine chemical composition and perception, especially if phenological delays are still present around véraison; however, seasonal weather conditions remain a more important driver of wine chemical composition than relatively small changes in phenological development.


Dietmar Rothermund, Violent Traders: Europeans in Asia in the Age of Mercantilism (New Delhi: Manohar), 2014, pp. 197, Price: ₹ 695.


The authors review the results obtained by them during the Visnjan School of Astronomy 2003. Measures of the δ Scuti pulsating variable V1644 Cygni has been obtained on two consecutive nights by means of a SSP-5A photoelectric photometer attached to a 0.1m f/10.5 Maksutov telescope. Data has also been remotely collected on V4743 Sgr (Nova Sgr 2003 nr.3) by means of the 0.3m f/9 (plus unfiltered SiTe 1024 back-illuminated CCD) reflector of the Osservatorio Astronomico de Mallorca.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of arthroscopic Bony Bankart repair using a One Anchor Double Fixation Technique. Materials and Method: Seventeen patients with a Bony Bankart lesion were treated using the One Anchor Double Fixation Technique (OADF Technique). There were 13 males and 4 females. The average age was 24 years (range 17-42). The average follow-up period was 22.3 months. One 3.0 mm suture anchor with doubly loaded sutures was inserted into the glenoid rim. One suture strand was passed the around the small bony fragment and tied first. Another suture strand was passed through the capsule and tied over the bony fragment. The result was measured using Rowe's evaluation index & KSS score. The glenoid defect & bony fragment were measured by 3D-CT scan. Results: Rowe's evaluation index on the final follow-up showed an overall improvement from an average of 54 (range, 23-71) to 83.4 (range 71-90). Of the 17 cases, 13 were excellent, 3 were good, and 1 was fair. KSS scores showed improvement from an average of 71 (range 49-82) to 92.5 (range 82-94). There were no cases where pain continued to the final follow-up, and no cases being re-dislocated during the follow-up period. For six cases, we confirmed the bony healing of the bony Bankart lesion by CT. Conclusion: Bony Bankart lesion repair using this new method achieves excellent clinical results with low recurrence rates and is considered another choice for bony Bankart lesions.


With more than 19 million confirmed cases and over 700 thousand case-fatalities around the world, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had changed the dynamics of human lives globally. Different Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques are widely used across scientific disciplines, including public health since the mid-1960s. Previous studies found that GIS was actively used in infectious disease mapping. Recently, GIS has been playing a critical role in understanding the spatial clustering and transmission trend of the ongoing COVID-19.3 However, it can be argued that the applications of GIS technologies could have provided more insights for research and practice in the context of COVID-19.


This study attempted to ascertain the needs of the upper class youth in private universities in Nigeria, using undergraduate students at Babcock University as samples. A self-structured questionnaire, consisting of simple and direct questions, was administered to 400 randomly selected students. The students were asked to rank some general youth needs, identified through review of literature, according to their preferences. The responses were analyzed, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Utilizing the simple percentile and weighted mean score, the needs of the upper class youth in private universities in Nigeria were ascertained, in descending order of importance, as follows: devotion to and closer relationship with God, self discovery, empowerment, affection, attention, involvement, deliverance from evil forces and role models/mentors. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the management of private universities in Nigeria should go beyond the routine academic and social activities and emphasize intentional acquisition of basic life skills as well as character and spiritual development geared toward enhancing deeper devotion to and relationship with God among the students. Keywords: character development, private universities, self discovery, skill acquisition, spiritual development, youth empowerment, youth needs


During the donor-side photoinhibition of spinach photosystem II, the reaction center D1 protein cross-linked with the antenna chlorophyll binding protein CP43 of photosystem II lacking the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) subunit proteins. The cross-linking did not occur upon illumination of photosystem II samples that retained the OEC33, nor when OEC33-depleted photosystem II samples were reconstituted with the OEC33 prior to illumination. These results suggest that the D1 protein, CP43 and the OEC33 are located in close proximity at the lumenal side of photosystem II, and that the OEC33 suppresses the unnecessary contact between the D1 protein and CP43. Previously we presented data showing the D1 protein located adjacent to CP43 on the stromal side of photosystem II [Ishikawa et al. (1999) BIOCHIM: Biophys. Acta 1413: 147]. The present data suggest that the spatial arrangement of the D1 protein and CP43 at the lumenal side of photosystem II in spinach chloroplasts is similar to that at the stromal side of photosystem II and is consistent with the assignment of these proteins recently proposed on the crystal structures of the photosystem II complexes from cyanobacteria [Zouni et al. (2001) Nature 409: 739, Kamiya and Shen 2003 PROC: Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 100: 98]. Moreover, the data suggest that the binding condition and positioning of the OEC33 in the photosystem II complex from higher plants may be different from those in cyanobacteria.


Disruptive innovation opens up new technological cycle and a new cycle of business innovation, because it is not intended to support the existing and established core technology, with strong well-established company in this market, and it aims to completely change the technology radically to undermine the market. Each of the above concepts of innovation in their own way successfully draws attention to is actually the same phenomenon-change of technological cycles or economic cycles, the depth of the changes in the economic system. Therefore, they can be considered as homogeneous, interchangeable concepts. This article is devoted to analysis of formation and development of "disruptive" innovation. We analyzed the factors of success and failure "disruptive" strategies. On the basis of experience in the development of disruptive strategies based on demand creation, a comparison of innovative models being implemented in various industry markets. Keywords : disruptive innovations, developing countries, demand, production cycle, technology, disruptive strategy, innovative product JEL Classifications : O30, Q55, O18, R11


Educators are called to favor digital literacy, introducing the different technological tools for educational purposes since they are part of the daily use of children. Augmented reality and the Stellarium program are powerful tools for teaching astronomy, since they allow observing the stars, constellations and solar system, facilitating the explanation of celestial phenomena to the educator. The objective of this study was to analyze the educational intervention with augmented reality and the Stellarium program, in the development of astronomical language, specifically the semantic and morphosyntactic aspect of the solar system, stars and constellations, for five-year-old boys and girls. The educational intervention was carried out in the Didactic Classroom of the University of Playa Ancha and applied to the children of the Major Transition Level, of three municipal establishments: Liceo San Felipe and the Almendral and Jose Bernardo Suarez Schools. Through a quasi-experimental study (pre and post test), the progress of the fifty-three boys and girls who participated in the study through two tests was analyzed. The results obtained evidenced the progress in scientific language by recognizing elements of the universe —semantic aspect— expressing ideas and explanations about astronomical events —morphosyntactic aspect— that children knew in the educational intervention.


O 25 5O 1 OO 25 O 5 OO To provide a method of reducing an intrinsic harsh/astringent taste of protamine and a protamine Salt and effectively using a fat absorption suppressive effect of these. A complex is formed by reacting at least one of acidic mac romolecular Substances. Such as alginate and polyglutami nate, and gum arabic which are capable of forming a complex reducing harsh/astringent taste and dissociating protamine having a lipase inhibitory activity by pepsin treatment, with protamine or a protamine salt.


The ambrosia beetle, Platypus quercivorus, is an insect vector of the Ascomycete fungus, Raffaelea quercivora, the causal agent of Japanese oak wilt disease. In this study, we compared the nucleotide sequences (937–955 bp) of the nuclear 28S rDNA fragment, including the D1 and D2 expansion segment, among local populations of the beetle in Japan. Sequence analysis of 81 beetles from 32 collection sites ranging from the Ryukyu Islands to northern Honshu Island showed seven types of sequences, many of which were separated among different geographic areas. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these sequence types were separated between two deeply divergent genetic groups, suggesting the necessity for taxonomic reexamination of this species. DNA typing of beetles and oak wilt status at the collection sites indicated that several genetically divergent beetle populations are associated with the incidence of the disease. This is the first investigation of genetic variation in the ambrosia beetle across Japan.


ABSTRACT The Ovid local holdings feature can be very beneficial to library patrons. This article describes the use of the feature for one academic health sciences library. Topics covered include how the function works, how it was implemented, how it is updated, the impact of electronic journals, and benefits and drawbacks of use. Also included are suggested enhancements to the system.


The phonological processes known as 'lenition' have traditionally been explained as articulatory effort reduction. However, such a motivation for lenition has never been directly demonstrated; in addition, there are reasons to doubt the articulatory explanation.This paper focuses on a particular type of lenition (intervocalic spirantization of voiced stops) and presents two experiments that investigate what role, if any, perceptual considerations might play in lenition. Experiment 1 shows that spirantization of intervocalic voiced stops is a less perceptually salient change than devoicing of intervocalic voiced stops (an unattested process). Using the line of reasoning of Steriade's P-map hypothesis, perceptual facts offer an alternative to the articulatory account: lenition of intervocalic voiced stops yields spirants rather than voiceless stops because the latter change is perceptually highly salient. The results of Experiment 2 show that the perceptual facts differ by place of articulation, such that the difference between stops and spirants is greater for labials than for dorsals. These results do not match the attested typology; if anything, languages are more likely to spirantize labials than they are to spirantize dorsals. Thus, perceptual facts have the potential to explain some, but not all, of the typology of lenition.


We report on the first error-free terahertz (THz) wireless communication at 0.310 THz for data rates up to 8.2 Gbps using a 18-GHz-bandwidth GaAs/AlGaAs field-effect transistor as a detector. This result demonstrates that low-cost commercially-available plasma-wave transistors whose cut-off frequency is far below THz frequencies can be employed in THz communication. Wireless communication over 50 cm is presented at 1.4 Gbps using a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode as a source. Transistor integration is detailed, as it is essential to avoid any deleterious signals that would prevent successful communication. We observed an improvement of the bit error rate with increasing input THz power, followed by a degradation at high input power. Such a degradation appears at lower powers if the photodiode bias is smaller. Higher-data-rate communication is demonstrated using a frequency-multiplied source thanksto higher output power. Bit-error-rate measurements at data rates up to 10 Gbps are performed for different input THz powers. As expected, bit error rates degrade as data rate increases. However, degraded communication is observed at some specific data rates. This effect is probably due to deleterious cavity effects and/or impedance mismatches. Using such a system, realtime uncompressed high-definition video signal is successfully and robustly transmitted.


Standard transformations for converting non-Gaussian raw data to the Gaussian domain are reviewed. Once the appropriate transformation is determined, conversion formulas are developed so that only the raw data's mean and variance are required to convert any future data points to the Gaussian domain. With the input parameters represented in terms of the Gaussian distribution, techniques from multivariate statistics are used to generate statistically correlated sets of parameters. The method used to generate input parameters for Monte Carlo simulations is examined. The technique is based on the relatively easy generation of statistically independent observations and their relationship to the more general case of statistically dependent observations by way of the parameters' correlation matrix. A method called deterministic tracking of model parameters is developed. Using the definition of an isodensity contour for a p-variate normal density function, an expression is derived to calculate the most probable setting of input parameters, given that a subset of these parameters was first fixed to specific values. A simple but realistic three-variable example of the methods developed is shown. >


In this study, we sought to explore the prevalence of depression and fatigue in colorectal cancer patients during and after treatment to examine how these variables affect quality of life (QoL). In total, 170 patients with colorectal cancer participated in this study. The study population was divided into two groups: one receiving treatment and another that had finished treatment. The results showed that depression and fatigue measurements were higher in patients receiving treatment. Depression was a strong and significant predictor of QoL in both groups, whereas fatigue was not, with the exception of the symptom score. These findings underscore the importance of early detection and management of depression and fatigue during the treatment and survival stages of patients with colorectal cancer. Our findings indicate that health care professionals should provide appropriate nursing intervention to decrease depression and fatigue and enhance patient QoL.


The ability of neural networks to recognize facies logged by two different service companies on the same well is demonstrated. Two main tests are conducted: (1) train the network with one service company and test it with another service company's data; and (2) train the network with both service company's data and test on each service company's data.<<ETX>>


The authors have described the first case of Kikuchi's disease in Bulgaria. The present study gives the clinicopathologic algorithm compiled by them to make the correct diagnosis and differentiate Kikuchi's disease from systemic lupus erythematosus lymphadenopathy.


We present a novel space-time exemplar-based method for image sequence restoration. We have designed a locally adaptive estimation framework which relies on the analysis of the bias-variance trade-off. It allows us to select on-line the best adapted filtering space-time neigh-borhood at each pixel. Furthermore, it involves an original space-time exemplar-based restoration which improves the overall performance. This method is unsupervised and requires no motion estimation. It nevertheless can be combined with motion estimation to cope with very large displacements due to camera motion. Experiments show that this method is able to drastically improve the quality of highly corrupted image sequences. Quantitative results on standard image sequences demonstrate that our approach outperforms other recent methods.


My works 'untitled 2007/2013' (2013) and 'Untitled' (2007) presented as part of a group show.

Within a group exhibition, artists Sean Edwards, Lynn Fulton, Adrian Schindler & Eulalia Rovira and Lucy Vann present work that when seen in relation to one another, speak about the body's relationship to architecture. The artists in some way visibly digest their surroundings; we witness the actions that lead towards the manifestation of the work itself, as it exists in its present state.

The exhibition considers looking as a fundamental action ingrained with a sense of internal movement; a back and forth quality between subject and the gaze of the artist and viewer. Works present material as adaptable, with an ability to morph, suggesting we think through the surrounding environment in the same way; objects and spaces, functioning to our own evolving needs.


The advent of high-brightness, fast-switching Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) has facilitated Visible Light Communication (VLC) as a new form of Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) over the visible light spectrum. In VLC, these LEDs serve a dual purpose of communication on top of general illumination. The biggest challenge facing VLC lies in finding the "killer application" that will propel the technology to widespread adoption. One of the ways we believe this can be achieved is by integrating VLC with pre-existing Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) backbones. Although there has been some preliminary research in this area, specifically involving 10Base-T over VLC, none have explicitly dealt with Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) over VLC. In this thesis, we investigate the implementation of analog transmission of 100Base-TX over VLC in an amplifyand-forward approach, which we coin as Ethernet over Light (EoL). We present the design of a VLC transmitter and accompanying receiver developed for EoL, and include a comprehensive channel model to analyze this Ethernet-VLC link. Equalization techniques were explored to overcome the various shortcomings associated with the EoL channel, and to improve the performance of the overall system. This VLC-LAN solution proved to be a viable alternative for providing a wireless broadcast link wherever LEDs would be deployed for illumination in an indoor setting.


One of the most significant tasks for loss reduction and reliability improvement in active distribution networks is feeder reconfiguration. Uncertainty associated with load, generation and reliability parameters in active distribution network requires distribution system operators (DSOs) to consider risk management in distribution network reconfiguration. On the other hand, by employing several forms of reward/penalty schemes in active distribution networks, DSOs have been exposed to financial risk for providing reliable service to the customers. In such circumstance, DSOs can do network reconfiguration in a way that the minimum cost can be spent in the minimum risk. This study presents risk-based reconfiguration of electric distribution networks in presence of reward/penalty scheme with considering load and generation uncertainty. Scenario theory and particle swarm optimisation are used for risk modelling and optimisation problem solving, respectively. To verify the proposed method, it was implemented in a real distribution network.


A patient with primary biliary cirrhosis is reported in whom UV phototherapy alone was repeatedly effective in controlling severe pruritus. Symptomatic relief was sustained by introducing cholestyramine at a low dosage, despite previous failure of the drug alone to produce any therapeutic benefit, even in large doses. Bile acid concentrations were measured in sera, urine and suction blister fluid from skin exposed to ultraviolet light before, during and following treatment. The findings suggest that phototherapy reduces cutaneous bile acid levels which can subsequently be maintained by low dose cholestyramine. Routine liver function tests remained unaltered. This combination of phototherapy and cholestyramine may he useful in controlling severe pruritus in primary biliary cirrhosis when the drug alone is not tolerated or is ineffective.


ABSTRACT This article considers how The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016) – the adaptation of the Henry VI tetralogy and Richard III for the BBC – establishes a norm of white masculinity at the heart of its representation of political power, and uses deviations from this norm to mark out a series of others over the course of its three parts. Paying particular attention to class, nation, gender and race as the multiple lines of marginalization through which otherness is manufactured, the article considers how the production of difference serves to bolster The Wars of the Roses' conservative semiotics of identity. It focuses primarily on how the "costume" of hair is used to manifest otherness in performance, examining the intersection of production choices made in conjunction with the underlying misogyny of the plays, and conducting an analysis of how ordered and disordered hair is designed to embody national, classed, gendered and racial difference. Ultimately, the production choices that construct identity in The Wars of the Roses are argued to be gatekeeping processes, determining who or what counts as "British" in an imagined medieval past, and also in contemporary Shakespearean performance.


ABSTRACT Background Stroke survivors with aphasia often experience reduced psychosocial well-being. Intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) are an ideal model in which to treat persons with aphasia (PWAs) to improve both cognitive-linguistic impairments and psychosocial well-being. Aims To investigate the impact of a university-based ICAP on psychosocial well-being using measures of depression, aphasia-related quality of life, and communicative participation. Methods & Procedures Thirty-seven PWAs (13 females, 24 males; mean age of 65 years; mean time post onset of 60 months) participated in a university-based ICAP across six ICAP sessions. Psychosocial outcome measures were administered before and after participating in an ICAP including: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Assessment of Living with Aphasia (ALA), and Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI). Paired samples t-tests were used to compare pre- and post-ICAP performance on each measure, and Pearson's r correlation coefficients were used to evaluate potential relations between measures, as well as relations between measures and demographic and treatment variables. Outcomes & Results Depression, as measured by the GDS, significantly decreased pre- to post-ICAP. Pre-treatment scores for the GDS and ALA were significantly correlated. Change scores for the GDS were predictive of change scores for the ALA and CETI. PWAs who had the lowest educational attainment showed the greatest change on the GDS and ALA. Conclusions Results suggest that the ICAP service delivery model has the potential to improve psychosocial well-being by reducing depression and improving quality of life. Findings provide preliminary evidence that the ICAP model can be efficacious when implemented in a university setting.


The LEK94 is a Ni-base superalloy single crystal (SX) of the second generation, a materials class which is important for its high temperature creep resistance (>1000°C) in first stage blades of low-to-medium pressure gas turbines. Monocrystalline Ni-base superalloy SXs have a two-phase microstructure consisting of small cubes (' phase with the ordered L12 crystal structure, cube edge length: 500 nm), separated by thin channels (γ phase with fcc solid solution structure, channel width: 20 nm). The microstructural evolution during high temperature and low stress tensile creep has been thoroughly investigated previously, mainly for [001] loading, both in terms of dislocation activity (filling of γ channels, formation of dislocation networks, cutting of the γ' phase) as well as phase coarsening (rafting, topological inversion). Other loading geometries have received less attention.
The present work studies high temperature and low stress creep deformation of the superalloy LEK 94 at temperatures around 1000°C, where rafting occurs. Differences between loading under different uniaxial, biaxial and triaxial stress states are discussed. Stereo-microscopy and g∙b analysis in the scanning transmission electron microscopy mode (STEM) are combined for microstructural analysis. The focus is set on the role of dislocation interactions with the aging microstructure. Both development in STEM characterization methods, as well as the roles of phase coarsening, γ channel filling, microstructural heterogeneity and γ' phase cutting are discussed.


Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool to estimate accurately the aerodynamic loads on wind turbine blades at the expense of high requirements like the duration of computation. Such requirements grow in the case of blade shape optimization in which several analyses are needed. A fast and reliable way to mimic the CFD solutions is to use surrogate models. In this study, a machine learning technique, the support vector regression (SVR) method based on a set of CFD solutions, is used as the surrogate model. CFD solutions are calculated by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation with the k-epsilon turbulence model using a commercial solver. The support vector regression model is then trained to give a functional relationship between the spanwise twist distribution and the generated torque. The smooth twist distribution is defined using a three-node cubic spline with four parameters in total. The optimum twist is determined for two baseline blade cases: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase II and Phase VI rotor blades. In the optimization process, extremum points that give the maximum torque are easily determined since the SVR gives an analytical model. Results show that it is possible to increase the torque generated by the NREL VI blade more than 10% just by redistributing the spanwise twist without carrying out a full geometry optimization of the blade shape with many shape-defining parameters. The increase in torque for the NREL II case is much higher.


Effects of fusaproliferin (FUS) on membrane potential (EM), electrolyte leakage, enzymes activity and respiration of roots, were studied in two maize cultivars (Zea mays L.), differing in their susceptibility to this toxin. In short-term experiments (≤ 6 h), EM has been rapidly and significantly depolarized by FUS. The rapidity of EM depolarization in tolerant cv. Lucia was more expressive in comparison with susceptible cv. Pavla, but the extent of EM depolarization was higher in cv. Pavla. In both maize cultivars, higher depolarization of EM was registered in cells of root zone I. In long-term experiments after the first EM depolarization, which occurred during the first 6 h of FUS treatment, gradual depolarization continued up to 24 h and was represented not only by the active component (EP) but also by the passive component (ED) of EM. The decrease in EM and ED was followed by a loss of K+ ions from FUS treated roots of both cultivars. The leak of K+ ions from the root cells of both root zones as well as both maize cultivars increased with the time of FUS treatment and was significantly higher in susceptible cv. Pavla than in tolerant cv. Lucia. FUS treatment of maize roots resulted in a significant decrease of root respiration which was higher in susceptible cv. Pavla than in tolerant cv. Lucia.The analysis of enzyme activities revealed that FUS significantly stimulated POD activity in both maize cultivars. SOD activity was significantly increased only in susceptible cv. Pavla, while APX activity was not affected by the presence of FUS. GST activity was specifically induced by FUS only in tolerant cv. Lucia.Due to the observed correlation between the extent of depolarization and the sensitivity of the studied maize cultivars to fusaproliferin, the EM parameters should be used for rapid screening of FUS-resistant cultivars for agricultural practice.


This work estimates the power dissipated by solid-state phase changes in the transition layer of the mantle. Earlier studies have shown these transitions occur by nucleation and growth, and that dislocations are induced in the matrix around the grain during growth. The small-scale flow allowed by the dislocations dissipates power as a sample transforms. This dissipation is easily found in high-pressure experiments by studying the growth of an isolated grain in a rigid, perfectly plastic solid, and using the observed dislocation densities to infer the yield stress. Extrapolation of this result to the mantle raises a difficulty. If the deviatoric stress depends on the strain rate, the high shear stresses inferred around the grains in the experiments may not occur at the low dilatation rates typical of the transition layer. This difficulty is treated here by studying growth in two limits. Either the growth rate is determined by: (i) the kinetics of interface propagation, or (ii) the kinetics of matrix deformation. In case (i) it is argued that the deviatoric stress in the matrix can be taken as independent of strain rate, and the problem of extrapolation is trivial. It is shown that some form of layered convection is likely in case (i), because the yield stress inferred from experiments is such that if all the volume flow in the mantle were to cross the transition layer, the extra power loss would exceed the total viscous dissipation outside the transition layer. In case (ii), the difficulty of extrapolation is significant, and a test is given to identify this case in practice. Such ' slip-controlled ' growth is shown to have a characteristic signature: if the pressure is fixed, the volume of an isolated spherical grain grows exponentially with time if the matrix is isotropic, and the deviatoric stress is a functional of the strain history. The small-scale flow can then be used as a rheometer.


In the last 50 years, population and incomes have increased steadily throughout much of the Sunbelt. This paper assesses the relative contributions of rising productivity, rising demand for Southern amenities and increases in housing supply to the growth of warm areas, using data on income, housing price and population growth. Before 1980, economic productivity increased significantly in warmer areas and drove the population growth in those places. Since 1980, productivity growth has been more modest, but housing supply growth has been enormous. We infer that new construction in warm regions represents a growth in supply, rather than demand, from the fact that prices are generally falling relative to the rest of the country. The relatively slow pace of housing price growth in the Sunbelt, relative to the rest of the country and relative to income growth, also implies that there has been no increase in the willingness to pay for sun-related amenities. As such, it seems that the growth of the Sunbelt has little to do with the sun.


The aims of this thesis were to determine the epidemiology of ALS in the Netherlands, to determine the familial aggregation of ALS with Parkinson disease (PD), dementia, and vascular diseases, and to determine the association between several environmental and lifestyle factors and risk for sporadic ALS. We studied this in a population-based case-control study in the Netherlands, which is called the Prospective ALS study the Netherlands (PAN). The Netherlands provide ideal circumstances for a population-based study, since it is a densely populated country with 16.6 million inhabitants as of January 1, 2010 and an area of 41,528 km2, it has a well-developed infrastructure, and it has easy accessibility of health care to all inhabitants. Our study fulfilled the predefined criteria for a population-based case-control study to yield class I evidence on exogenous risk factors in sporadic ALS; i.e. a large number of newly diagnosed patients using multiple sources of cases ascertainment and with a diagnosis of ALS made applying established criteria, the use of randomly selected population-based and matched controls, high response rates, the use of detailed questionnaires accounting for exposure for disease onset, the quantification of exposures, the blinding of persons gathering the data on diseases status to ensure the uniform effort to gather information equally from affected and unaffected individuals, the blinding of participants and individuals gathering the data as to the hypotheses being tested, and the meticulous attention to avoid recall bias and confounding.


This article uses the records of monastic account books to assess the level of prices in Russia in the second half of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The data from these books allow us to construct salt and rye price series, and identify prices of other goods for single years. The resulting numbers demonstrate that the prices remained largely unchanged. The exceptions were the mid-1640s and the early 1660s, when the price fluctuations were driven by the failed financial reforms. The available data shows the prices did not change synchronically in Russia and Europe. Our assumption, therefore, is that Russia stood apart from the price revolution of Western Europe in the seventeenth century


Several studies have demonstrated the benef its of using cover crops to maintain or improve soil quality and crop productivity. However, the effects of this management with organic common bean in conditions of savannah are still unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of legumes, mucuna (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) HUTH, jack or pig bean (Canavalia ensiformis), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in monoculture and intercropped with pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) R. Br. 1810, on grain production in common bean in organic production under systems of conventional and no-tillage soil management. The experiment was conducted with the cultivar BRS Pontal, arranged in a randomized block design. Bean plants were evaluated 90 days after germination, recording the number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod (NGV), number of grains per plant (NGP), weight of 100 grains (M100G) and grain production. The results showed that the number of pods, number of grains and grain yield of common bean in the organic system were influenced by the cover crops and soil management. Mucuna associated with millet and no-tillage system was outstanding, producing the best performance in these parameters. The highest grain yield was observed with the mucuna associated with maize in the no-tillage system. The average productivity of organic grain was 3.8 Mg ha-1. The cluster analysis showed a remarkable effect of soil management systems on bean production components.


Crimping is used in production of large diameter submerged-arc welding pipes. Many researches are focused on crimping in certain manufacturing mode of welding pipe. The application scopes of research achievements become limited due to lack of uniformity in theoretical analysis. In order to propose a crimping prediction method in order to control forming quality, the theory model of crimping based on elastic-plastic mechanics is established. The main technical parameters are determined by theoretical analysis, including length of crimping, base radius of punch, terminal angle of punch, base radius of die, terminal angle of die and horizontal distance between punch and die. In addition, a method used to evaluate the forming quality is presented, which investigates the bending angle after springback, forming force, straight edge length and equivalent radius of curvature. In order to investigate the effects of technical parameters on forming quality, a two-dimensional finite element model is established by finite element software ABAQUS. The finite element model is verified in that its shapes error is less than 5% by comparable experiments, which shows that their geometric precision meets demand. The crimping characteristics is obtained, such as the distribution of stress and strain and the changes of forming force, and the relation curves of technical parameters on forming quality are given by simulation analysis. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the effects of length of crimping, technical parameters of punch on forming quality are significant. In particular, the data from simulation analysis are regressed by response surface method (RSM) to establish prediction model. The feasible technical parameters are obtained from the prediction model. This method presented provides a new thought used to design technical parameters of crimping forming and makes a basis for improving crimping forming quality.


Wellbeing of healthcare workers is crucial for the effective functioning of primary health systems. This study aimed to examine the association between occupational stress and subclinical depression among primary healthcare workers, and to establish the foundation for future preventive strategies.A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tai'an City, Shandong Province, China. Data were collected from 832 medical staff in primary health institutions using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The participants completed the Challenge and Hindrance-Related Self-Reported Stress (C-HSS) Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between occupational stress and subclinical depression among primary healthcare workers.The prevalence of subclinical depression among primary healthcare workers was 11.66%. Participants with subclinical depression have a significant higher level of occupational stress (including challenge-stress and hindrance-stress). Regression analysis result indicated that higher level of occupational stress was significantly associated with more severe subclinical depression, and the risk of subclinical depression remained after adjusting other covariates (OR = 4.57, 95%CI, 3.14–6.63). The association between challenge-stress and subclinical depression was not statistically significant when controlling for hindrance-stress. Subgroup analysis showed that male healthcare workers who perceived higher level of challenge stress were more likely to develop subclinical depression than female healthcare workers.The level of subclinical depression among Chinese primary healthcare workers was high, and occupational stress especially hindrance stress may contribute to subclinical depression. Findings were also robust in subgroup analysis after adjusting for other covariates. These findings emphasize the importance of occupational stress psychosocial interventions to decrease the risk of developing depression among the primary healthcare workers.


Feature selection (FS) methods can be used as a preprocessing step to eliminate meaningless features, and also as a tool to reveal the set of optimal features. Unfortunately, as detailed in Chapter 6, such methods are often sensitive to a small variation in the traffic data collected over different periods of time. Thus, obtaining a stable feature set is crucial in enhancing the confidence of network operators. This chapter describes a robust approach, called global optimization approach (GOA), to identify both optimal and stable features, relying on a multi-criterion fusion-based FS method and an information-theoretic method. GOA first combines multiple well-known FS methods to yield possible optimal feature subsets across different traffic datasets and then uses the proposed adaptive threshold, which is based on entropy to extract the stable features. A new goodness measure is proposed within a random forest framework to estimate the final optimum feature subset. The effectiveness of GOA is demonstrated through several experiments on network traffic data in spatial and temporal domains. Experimental results show that GOA provides up to 98.5% accuracy, exhibits up to 50% reduction in the feature set size, and finally speeds up the runtime of a classifier by 50% compared with individual results produced by other well-known FS methods.


Polymer solar cell morphology is sensitive to both heat and time. By thermally annealing polymer solar cells the morphology of the devices can be altered causing immediate changes in device performance. Blending PCPDTBT:PCBM with P3HT:PCPDTBT combines the absorption characteristics of each to create a more even absorption spectrum. Subjecting PCPDTBT:PCBM, and P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM polymer solar cells to thermal annealing as well as recording device performance through time has shown that P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM devices react positively to thermal annealing (increasing from 0.8% to 1.4%) while PCPDTBT:PCBM devices have varied reactions. Furthermore, the P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM devices have achieved efficiencies of 1.6% in AM 1.5 compared to 1.5% in PCPDTBT:PCBM devices.


Polymerized soybean oil (polySOY) and isotactic poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) were melt blended to increase the toughness of PLLA in an all renewable blend. The polySOY samples were prepared by crosslinking soybean oil by the addition of a free radical crosslinking agent or by heating the oil in the presence of oxygen. Soybean oil is relatively nonreactive compared to other vegetable oils, and conjugation of the double bonds within the fatty acid chains of the soybean oil triglyceride prior to crosslinking led to significantly increased reactivity. Poly(isoprene-b-L-lactide) block copolymers were used to compatibilize the blends due to the high degree of immiscibility between PLLA and polySOY. The blending of polySOY and PLLA resulted in significant improvements in the tensile toughness of the blend compared to neat PLLA. The blend morphology was dependent on the polySOY gel fraction or weight-average molar mass; the polySOY characteristics were key indicators of the tensile toughness.


Contemporary center right parties in Europe are often known for their ideological focus on 'bread and butter' issues such as the free market economy and law and order, alongside their promotion of traditional institutions and values in society. However, the strategies they use to emphasize the immigration issue are less discussed in academic literature, as are the issue's electoral implications for this party family in different economic contexts across the 21st century. The central research question of this dissertation investigates the electoral success of center right parties and how they are able to prosper electorally from emphasizing immigration in different economic contexts, often at the expense of populist radical right parties. The dissertation focuses on center right parties rather than the center left, as the center right is spatially and ideologically closer to the populist radical right on a number of issues.
This dissertation tests an original aggregate level theoretical framework of 'strategic emphasis' that features a dynamic game of party competition. The theory argues that immigration is not an issue 'owned' solely by populist radical right parties, but one that can also help today's center right parties to prosper electorally. This theory proposes a discussion of the relative electoral success of center right parties in two different economic contexts, showing how in certain situation they can perform better electorally than the radical right when they emphasize immigration, as opposed to adopting specific positional stances on immigration. The central story in this dissertation is not about spatial positions in the form of anti-immigrant sentiment driving electoral success for center right parties. Rather, it is about issue salience and the emphasis that center right parties place on immigration in their party strategies that determines their electoral fortunes in the 21st century.
This theory is then tested in three separate empirical chapters (Chapters 5, 6 and 7), which draws on the ParlGov dataset on European national parliamentary elections that has been merged with the Whitefield-Rohrschneider expert survey on party positions. The Chapel Hill Expert Survey data is also utilized. Chapter 7 comprises a case study analysis of four research cases derived from the results of the large N comparative analysis in Chapter 5.
Chapters 5 and 6 set out an original contribution to knowledge in two different economic contexts, demonstrating through statistical models the electoral success of the center right. The findings show that when they emphasize the immigration issue, center right parties tended to perform better than populist radical right parties in different contexts, in times of economic crisis (2008-13) and particularly in times of economic stability (1999-2007). Drawing on a research design consisting of four case studies (Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and France), Chapter 7 investigates qualitatively how center right parties' emphasis on immigration affects their electoral success in economic bad times and how in some cases, this strategy allows them to perform better electorally than the populist radical right. However, the case studies show that there are restrictions to center right party electoral success. For example, when center right parties are (i) incumbents and (ii) do not emphasize immigration; this allows the populist radical right to achieve electoral success at their expense. 'Challenger' center right parties (specifically non-incumbents and those in opposition) tended to perform better electorally and further underlined incumbency-punishment patterns in the context of greater voter volatility.
The dissertation argues that there may be a 'new electoral winning formula' in the 21st century, whereby specific center right parties profit electorally through strategically emphasizing the immigration issue, rather than on traditional issues such as law and order alongside the free market that the center right tend to be more historically associated with. These findings have implications for contemporary party politics, in showing the potential for center right parties to perform electorally well on the immigration issue and has important implications for the state of contemporary liberal democracy across Europe.


Abstract. We present two new potential evaporation datasets for the United Kingdom: a
historical dataset, Hydro-PE HadUK-Grid, which is derived from the HadUK-Grid
gridded observed meteorology (1969–2021), and a future dataset, Hydro-PE UKCP18 RCM, which is
derived from UKCP18 regional climate projections (1980–2080).
Both datasets are suitable for hydrological modelling and provide Penman–Monteith potential evapotranspiration parameterised for short grass, with and without a correction for
interception on days with rainfall. The potential evapotranspiration calculations have been formulated to closely follow the methodology of the existing Meteorological Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System (MORECS) potential evapotranspiration, which has historically been widely used by hydrological modellers in the United Kingdom.
The two datasets have been created using the same methodology to allow seamless modelling from past to future. Hydro-PE HadUK-Grid shows good agreement with MORECS in much of the United Kingdom, although Hydro-PE HadUK-Grid is higher in the mountainous regions of Scotland and Wales. This is due to differences in the underlying meteorology, in particular the wind speed, which are themselves due to the different spatial scales of the data. Hydro-PE HadUK-Grid can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5285/9275ab7e-6e93-42bc-8e72-59c98d409deb (Brown et al., 2022)
and Hydro-PE UKCP18 RCM can be
downloaded from
https://doi.org/10.5285/eb5d9dc4-13bb-44c7-9bf8-c5980fcf52a4 (Robinson et al., 2021).


A composite control strategy is outlined for a large class of multilink manipulators with one flexible link. The controller design is based on the inverse dynamics of the rigid manipulator and the use of a closed-loop shaped-input filter to reduce or eliminate the vibrations of the flexible link and to reject external disturbances. Both simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of this design strategy. The design algorithm is a linear one, but the simulation results show that it is robust enough to compensate for vibrations in the full nonlinear system.<<ETX>>


Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, the burden of CRDs is set to worsen due to an increase in smoking prevalence and household air pollution. Chest physiotherapy (CP) and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) are used to manage CRDs in Africa, but distinguishing between these terms is not clear common among health-care professionals (HCPs) and patients. Here, we provide clarity on the differences between PR and CP to facilitate a greater understanding of PR and remove barriers to research and implementation of PR across Africa. CP is a treatment aimed at clearing secretions within airways of the lungs, while PR, through exercise training, education and self-management, treats extrapulmonary or systemic impairments. We know that there is a need for PR among people living with CRDs in Africa. However, health professionals' knowledge and training in PR remains insufficient. To implement PR services for people with CRDs in Africa, a strong understanding of what PR is, and its evidence base are needed. The development of PR in Africa will start by filling the gaps in knowledge, awareness, advocacy, and training.


It has been reported that some rheologic abnormalities are associated with diabetes. However, it is difficult to realize the condition of microcirculation in men. We developed an intra-vital video-microscopic system (IVVMS) to observe microcirculation directly on the bulbar conjunctiva. Using this system, we investigated the effect of intravenous glucagon administration on microcirculatory parameters such as the internal diameter of venules, flow velocity and flow volumes in diabetic patients. Blood viscosity and rheology factors were also examined before and after glucagon administration. The time required for erythrocytes to pass through pores of 5 microm diameter, as well as whole blood viscosity were decreased significantly after glucagon administration. Flow volumes of venules were increased significantly by glucagon. Leukocyte counts, platelet counts and fibrinogen did not change after glucagon administration. However, plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide and cyclic-AMP were increased. In conclusion, glucagon administration improved blood fluidity and modified the microcirculation in patients with diabetes mellitus.


Purpose: A novel electromagnetictracking system is being used for real‐time tracking during treatment delivery. On board cone‐beam CTimaging is routinely being used for real‐time imaging and localization. Concurrent use of these two modalities might prove beneficial for correlating imaging and tracking information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the presence of the electromagnetictracking system on the CBCTimage quality. Method and Materials: A commercial CT performance phantom (Catphan, Phantom Laboratory, Salem, NY) containing various image quality assessment tools was imaged using a kilovoltage on‐board cone‐beam CT system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto). An electromagnetictracking system (Calypso® 4D Localization System, Calypso Medical, Seattle, WA) uses an electromagnetic array for tracking transponder positions. The imaging quality assessment phantom was imaged with and without the electromagnetictracking system in place. To quantify the effect on the image quality, the CT number accuracy, spatial integrity, image uniformity, high and low contrast resolution were compared. Results: CT number accuracy, spatial linearity and high contrast resolution were unaffected by the presence of the array. The visibility of the 1% cylindrical low contrast resolution targets was 15 mm and 7 mm for with and without the array respectively. The inherent streaking artifacts degraded the low contrastimage quality significantly. Conclusion: Presence of an electromagnetic array significantly degrades CBCT low contrast resolution while other image performance parameters are minimally affected. For imaging human anatomy, algorithms to improve image quality may need to be developed. Conflict of Interest: This work is supported in part from a grant from Calypso Medical Systems.


Post-transfusion thrombocytopenic purpura (PTTP) is an acute, severe, and transient condition occurring in patients about one week after transfusion, presumably owing to a common soluble platelet antigen in the donor blood that stimulates formation of a complementfixing isoantibody in the recipient. Antigen-antibody complexes are formed and become fixed to recipient platelets, which are then prematurely destroyed. In 1961 Schulman' described two patients with the PTTP syndrome and identified a complement-fixing antibody to a heterologous platelet antigen in their serum which he named PIA'. Other studies have shown that this antibody agglutinates platelets from 980% of normal people. Subsequently described patients have also lacked the PIA' antigen and had formed isoantibodies, while later reports2 have implicated other antigens as well. Twenty-one cases of PTTP have been reported, most in multiparous women,3 most of whom had no history of transfusion. We report the first case of PTTP developing in a patient known to have had multiple uneventful transfusions.


Why do we sleep? This question is still unsolved, although sleep is such a fundamental behavioral state in all organism with a nervous system. Several physiological mechanisms, like memory consolidation, metabolic waste clearance, or immune system boosting, depend on sleep but none was sufficient to answer yet, why our consciousness has to shut off every night.
The nematode and model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has a minimalistic nervous system of exactly 302 neurons. Still, it provides three different types of sleep, which are linked to either-or one of two sleep neurons. The sleep-active neuron RIS controls developmentally-regulated lethargus sleep and environment-stimulated L1 arrest sleep. Stress-induced sleep (SIS) depends on the interneuron ALA. The clear structure of the nervous system, next to the straightforward genetic accessibility of C. elegans, made it an easy choice to use the worms for exploring sleep on a molecular level.
To investigate what defines RIS and ALA on the molecular level, I obtained different transcriptomes for both neurons. I got one transcriptome, which was based on RNA sequencing of fluorescence-activated cell sorted (FACS) RIS neurons. Additionally, Cao et al. (2018) used single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA sequencing to publish a data set of 42'035 single cell transcriptomes, spanning all C. elegans L2 cells. From this data set, clusters representing RIS and ALA could be identified and used for the generation of transcriptomes for both cells, respectively.
The transcriptomes provided me with genes enriched in RIS, which were potentially important in sleep control in this neuron. I used mutated alleles of these genes for a behavioral sleep screen. A nonsense-allele of the invertebrate-type lysozyme ilys-4 and a gain-of-function allele of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) let-23 caused worms to sleep more in L1 arrest. Both were known to express in ALA, but I was able to confirm their additional expression in RIS via fluorescent reporters. I also showed the let- 23(gf) phenotype mainly depends on RIS.
SIS was known to be mediated via LET-23 in ALA. I used genetic ablations of ALA and RIS, and a RIS-specific knock-out of let-23 to demonstrate that SIS is also highly
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Introduction
dependent on LET-23 signaling in RIS. Calcium imaging revealed that ALA activates broadly over the time span of SIS, while RIS activity correlates with individual sleep bouts of SIS. This is likely mediated via EGF signaling in ALA and RIS, as overexpression of EGF activated both neurons and caused movement quiescence of the worms. Next, I used optogenetic manipulation to show that ALA is able to activate RIS. This may function to some extent via the ALA neuropeptides encoded by flp-24, as shown in an overexpression experiment. I could confirm that worms survival after cellular stress is affected by ALA-induced sedation, but discovered survival does not depend on the RIS-induced sleep bouts.
In this thesis, I showed that SIS depends on EGF receptor signaling in RIS, besides the known pathway in ALA. RIS seems to be the major controller of sleep in the worm, as I now discovered that it is involved in all types of sleep in C. elegans. Furthermore, I demonstrated that stress-induced EGF receptor signaling acts parallel in ALA and RIS, which inherit different mechanistic properties and thus provide a discrete response. ALA sedates the worm, while RIS activity causes sleep bouts. This dual system allows the worm to fine-tune the behavioral response to cellular stress. Sedation and sleep representing distinct but interacting pathways in C. elegans might be a general principle, which also holds true in other organisms.


Abstract We prove the vanishing and non-vanishing theorems for an intersection of a finite number of q-complete domains in a complex manifold of dimension n. When q does not divide n, it is stronger than the result naturally obtained by combining the approximation theorem of Diederich-Fornaess for q-convex functions with corners and the vanishing theorem of Andreotti-Grauert for q-complete domains. We also give an example which implies our result is best possible.


Background: Patients with injection drug use (IDU) have increased risk of developing infective endocarditis (IE), however data of these patients are scarce and need to be explored further. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes among patients with IDU-IE.Methods: Data of adults with IDU-IE and non-IDU-IE, treated between 2008-2017 at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm were obtained from the Swedish National Registry of Infective Endocarditis. Clinical characteristics, microbiological results, treatment durations, results from echocardiography and in-hospital mortality were compared between the groups. Results: In total, 165 (32%) of the included patients had IDU-IE. Patients with IDU-IE were younger than the patients with non-IDU-IE (mean age IDU-IE: 41.6 years; non-IDU-IE: 64.3 years; P<0.01). No difference in distribution of genders was observed, 33% women in both groups. History of previous IE (n=49, 30%) and vascular phenomena (n=101, 61%), were more common among patients with IDU-IE while prosthetic heart valves (n=83, 23%) and known valvular disease (n=78, 22%) were more common among patients with non-IDU-IE (P<0.05). Aetiology of Staphylococcus aureus (n=121, 73%) and tricuspid (n=91, 55%) or pulmonary valve (n=7, 4%) vegetations were more common among IDU-IE (P<0.05). The overall incidence of IDU-IE decreased during the study period, while the incidence of definite IE increased (P<0.01). Conclusions: Patients with IDU-IE were younger, frequently presenting with right-sided vegetations and S. aureus aetiology, and were less frequently treated with surgery. Patients with IDU-IE had higher prevalence of vascular phenomena and history of previous IE, aspects that are important for improved management of this population.


In this present research work, the development of biodegradable scaffolds loaded with Vancomycin micropartricles was carried out for the treatment of Osteomyelitis. Characterization Vancomycin Loaded microparticles and evaluation of the microparticles loaded scaffolds and also to carry out In-vitro release studies. Vancomycin hydrochloride microparticles were prepared with the help of double emulsion method. HPMC and Polaxomer 407 has been taken as the main polymers for the preparation of the microparticles. Chitosan was taken as the major polymer for the preparation of scaffolds for its greater biocompatibility and biodegradability. The preparation was done with the help of the solvent casting method. The formulation was taken for further characterization and evaluation studies. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Differential scanning calorimetry were carried out for the pure vancomycin drug, and the chitosan polymer X-ray diffraction was carried out to check the crystallinity of the prepared scaffolds. The particle size, zeta potential and polydispersity index for vancomycin loaded microparticles were found to be 577.0±102.5 nm, 1624 mv and 0.254. The maximum and sustained release rate of the drug was found to be 95.6±0.478, at 16th Hr. By taking all the reports, a conclusion can be drawn that, the formulated VLM biodegradable scaffolds will show burst release at the initial time of administration, which is essential for the wound healing activity and will be sustained throughout the process of treatment of osteomyelitis.


A comparative clinical study to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Khadira aristadi Kashayaand Navaka Kashayain the management of Vicharchika. A single blind Controlled comparative clinical study with pre test and post test design. Conducted in DhanvantariAyurveda medical college Hospital; Siddapur, Karnataka.40 patients suffering from Vicharchika/ Dermatitis of either sex were selected for the study.Selected patients were treated under two groups; A and B. Group A with oral administration of Khadira aristadi Kashaya, in a dose of 30 ml before food twice a day with sukhoshna jalaas anupanaand the same is continued for 30 days. Group B with oral administration of Navaka Kashaya, in a dose of 30 ml before food twice a day with sukhoshna jalaas anupanafor 30 days .The response following the intervention was assessed on 1st,15th, 21st, and 30thdays to find out the progress of theCondition in both the groups.Further the change observed by the completion of the treatment was subjected to paired and unpaired t test to know the statistical significance. By using paired t test both the group parameters were statistically highly significant (P<0.001).Mean wise group A shows more improvement than group B.By Using unpaired t test: group A is showing more relief (%) in Pidaka, Kandu, Shyavataand Sravaalso statistically proved. In Kandurelief was statistically highly significant (P<0.001) and Pidakaand Sravastatically significant (P<0.005) in these parameters. Final conclusion of this comparative clinicalstudy is Group A is more effective than Group B (Khadira aristadi Kashayais more effective than Navaka Kashaya) in the management of Vicharchika.


This paper has dealt with the effect of non ionized surfactant and water mixture on drag reduction and heat transfer enhancement in a circular pipe flow with experimentally. The test section was consisted of stainless steel pipe with inside diameter of 16mm. The wire coil was used to increase heat transfer in a pipe and the non ionized surfactant(Oleyl Dihydroxyethyl Amine Oxide, ODEAO) was used to reduce the drag force of water mixture with surfactant. The main parameters of this experiment were diameter and pitch of wire coil and the ratio of test section length and horizontal wire coil length. In this experiment, the acquired results were 1) Drag reduction effect existed in this ODEAO-water mixture, 2) Friction factor and heat transfer were increased with insertion the heat transfer enhancement coil, 3) With increasing of pitch ratio, heat transfer was decreased, and 4) Heat transfer was decreased by the decreasing of inserting coil diameter.


This paper demonstrates optical gain at 1.5 m in Si-nanocrystal-sensitized, Er-doped silica waveguide using a commercial, low-cost 470 nm LED in top-pumping configuration. Experimental evidence of full inversion with maximum possible gain of 3 dB/cm is presented. Possible application of Si-nanocrystal-sensitized, Er-doped silica for silicon-based microphotonics is also presented.


Background: Idiopathic post-partum intussusception is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain and the Aetiology is unknown. As the post-partum acute abdomen provides diagnostic challenges, the rare idiopathic post-partum intussusception would be an extremely difficult pre-operative diagnosis without a high level of suspicion or imaging. Case Presentation: A 25-yearold black African woman presented with a gradual onset abdominal pain and vomiting of 5 days duration, post-vaginal delivery. A diagnosis of small bowel obstruction was made and she was resuscitated with intravenous hydration and nasogastric suction. An abdominal ultrasound 72 h from admission revealed intestinal intussusception as the cause. A laparotomy confirmed an ileo-ileal intussusception with no lead point. Following reduction, resection of a 30cm gangrenous ileum with primary anastomosis of viable ends was undertaken. Conclusion: The case highlights the importance of assessing abdominal pain in the puerperium in a similar manner to that done in a non-pregnant state, to avoid delay in diagnosis.


This review presents the results of randomized placebo controlled trial, aimed at studying the efficiency of modern non sedative antihistamine desloratadine in allergic rhinitis (AR). It is proven demonstratively that the application of desloratadine in comparison with placebo is accompanied by reduction in total symptoms scores, total nasal symptoms score and improvement in nasal airflow patency. In addition, the advantage of desloratadine versus placebo was established for reducing of nasal eosinophil levels. The acquired data confirm that the efficiency of desloratadine for AR corresponds to IA level of evidence. Key words: desloratadine, allergic rhinitis, randomizeplacebo_controlled trial.


Study ObjectivesBronchoscopic procedures to ablate endobronchial lesions (EBL) from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are frequently complicated by hemorrhage because of the vascular nature of the metastases. After ablation, recurrence of symptoms from the EBLs is common. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), because of its mode of action, may be a safer and a more effective alternative in the nonemergent management of EBL from RCC. MethodsMedical records of patients undergoing PDT at the authors' institutions between December 2005 and December 2008 were reviewed and patients undergoing treatment for EBLs from RCC were identified. Procedure-related complications, 30-day mortality, and efficacy of PDT measured by recurrence in symptoms and the need for additional interventions on the treated EBLs were reviewed. ResultsEleven patients underwent a total of 13 treatments with PDT. Hemoptysis, with or without symptomatic airway obstruction, was the most common presenting symptom. The most common location for the EBLs was the lobar or segmental bronchi. Six patients had undergone other interventions (rigid bronchoscopy, mechanical debridement, or argon plasma coagulation) before treatment with PDT, with recurrence in symptoms. No immediate complications were seen with PDT and none of the patients had recurrence of symptoms or required airway interventions during the 30-day follow-up. Four patients died at a median of 4 months (range: 3 to 6 mo) after PDT and all deaths were due to progression of cancer and none of the deaths were due to airway complications. ConclusionsPDT is a safe and effective option for the management of hemoptysis or airway obstruction caused by EBLs from RCC.


Recently a ubiquitous sensor network which collects our environmental information gets increasingly popular, a visualization application is necessary for users to manage complicated wireless networks, however, these applications are developed individually for wireless communication standard or a type of wireless device. Therefore, users are forced to adopt and use the application individually according to the target of the wireless network. In this paper, we propose a visualization platform for wireless network environments using augmented reality technology, and evaluate the effectiveness of the platform. From the result of the evaluation, we have confirmed the proposed platform has availability for visualization and management of wireless networks.


Nematodes, belonging to the family Thelastomatidae, are parasites of saprophytic terrestrial arthropods, mainly cockroaches. American cockroach Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus, 1758) has high environmental adaptability, and has been spread worldwide by human activity. There are several reports of thelastomatid parasitic nematodes of P americana in the world. Here, the thelastomatid nematode Hammerschmidtiella diesingi (Hammerschmidt, 1838) (Oxyuridomorpha: Thelastomatidae), isolated from P americana is recorded for the first time in Japan. Through morphometrics, DIC and SEM observations, we confirmed that specimens of the present study agree with previous records of H. diesingi. DNA sequencing of the partial D2/D3 LSU expansion segment of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene revealed that H. diesingi from Japan matches with H. diesingi from other countries. Our contributions are very useful and fundamental for further analysis of the cockroach and parasite relations.


A vast amount of textual web streams is influenced by events or phenomena emerging in the real world. The Social Web forms an excellent modern paradigm, where unstructured user generated content is published on a regular basis and in most occasions is freely distributed. The present book deals with the problem of inferring information or patterns in general about events emerging in real life based on the contents of this textual stream. We show that it is possible to extract valuable information about social phenomena, such as an epidemic or even rainfall rates, by automatic analysis of the content published in Social Media, and in particular Twitter, using Statistical Machine Learning methods. By examining further this rich data set, we also propose methods for extracting various types of mood signals revealing how affective norms evolve during the day and how significant events emerging in the real world are influencing them. Lastly, we present some preliminary findings showing several spatiotemporal characteristics of this textual information as well as the potential of using it to tackle tasks such as the prediction of voting intentions.