This paper will describe the problems and challenges in North Halmahera tourism development and describe the coordination, resources, disposition of executor and bureaucratic system in the process of tourism policy implementation by local government. This research used a qualitative method and case study approach. The method used in this research is qualitative with case study approach. This research conducted in Kakara Island, Tagalaya Island, Bobale Island, Kumo Island, Luari Beach, Paca Lake, Duma Lake, and Mamuya Hot Spring as the priority in North Halmahera Tourism Development Program by local government. The results of the evaluation indicate that the bureaucratic system, resources (human resources and sources of funding), the disposition of the commissioning and coordination was instrumental in the process of implementation of the policy on tourism. The implications of the implementation of tourism policy hampered are the lack of participation of the community and damage to facilities and access for tourism which threaten the sustainability of tourism. Thus, it can be noted that the challenges in the development of the leading tourist attraction in North Halmahera Regency are an effort to increase community participation through partnerships to achieve sustainable tourism. Keywords : Bureaucracy System, Coordination, Disposition, Resources, Tourism Policy


In the present study a well-defined clonal culture of Histomonas meleagridis was used to investigate whether turkeys can be infected orally with in vitro-propagated parasites in the absence of any vector. Therefore, two subsequent experiments were arranged to study the morbidity and mortality of a virulent strain of histomonads in turkeys following crop instillation of protozoa and a feed restriction for 5 h. Soon after infection, the parasites triggered total morbidity and mortality in a group of 14 turkeys, of which 10 birds were orally infected and the others were kept as in-contact birds. Administration of the same number of histomonads into either the cloaca or the crop of individually housed birds was investigated subsequently, to avoid any bird-to-bird transmission. All eight cloacally infected turkeys and six out of eight orally infected turkeys contracted severe histomonosis, with only two birds surviving the infection expressing no clinical signs. During pathological investigations, all birds showed pathognomonic lesions in the livers and caeca indicative for histomonosis, except the two turkeys that survived the infection. The results of the experiments verify for the first time the effective oral infection of 1-day-old turkeys with clonal in vitro-cultured H. meleagridis.


The southern boundaries of Tozeuma serratum A. Milne Edwards, Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin) and Processa profunda Manning & Chace, previously known only from the northwestern Atlantic, have been extended to Sao Paulo, Parana and Uruguay, respectively. Latreutes parvulus (Stimpson), previously not known beyond Sao Paulo has been found to as far south as the Province of Buenos Aires. A systematic account of these four species is furnished, based mainly on material collected by the R/V "Prof. W. Besnard". The 16 species of Alpheoidea whose southern boundaries occur in warm-temperate shelf waters of eastern South America belong to two distinct faunal assemblages: (1) Tropical species - Alpheus floridanus Kingsley, A. intrinsecus Bate, A. normanni Kingsley, Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin) Synalpheus longicarpus (Herrick), Ogyrides alphaerostris (Kingsley) (= O. occidentalis(Ortmann)), Exhippolysmata oplophoroides (Holthuis), Latreutes parvalus (Stimpson), Processa bermudensis (Rankin) and P. hemphilli Manning & Chace - which are largely restricted to coastal and inshore shelf waters less than 50 m deep; and (2) Subtropical species - Alpheus pouang Chris toffersen, A. puapeba Christoffersen, Merhippolyte americana Holthuis, Tozeuma serratum A. Milne Edwards, Processa guyanae. Holthuis and P. profunda Manning & Chace - which are largely restricted to the outer portion of the continental shelf within the studied area. Considering the temperature and distributional data available for each species, it is suggested that the poleward boundaries of O. alphaerostris are set by maximum summer temperatures of about 20oC required for the reproduction of the species, while the poleward boundaries of most of the tropical and subtropical species are set by minimum winter temperatures critical for their survival: about 15oC for A. floridanus, about 11oC for E. oplophoroides, about 9oC for A. pouang, L. parvulus, P. guyanae., P. guyanae and P. hemphilli, and P. profunda and about 8oC for A. puapeba and M. americana. It is further suggested that the shoreward boundaries of some of the subtropical species are set by maximum summer temperatures critical for their survival: about 20-22oC for A. puapzba and about 17-18oC for A. pouang and M. americana.


Roy, A. K., Wagner-Riddle, C., Deen, B., Lauzon, J. and Bruulsema, T. 2014. Nitrogen application rate, timing and history effects on nitrous oxide emissions from corn (Zea mays L.). Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 563-573. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions resulting from application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer contribute to the greenhouse gas footprint of corn production. In eastern Canada, corn is a major crop with most N fertilizer applied pre- or at planting. This timing of application results in a lack of synchrony of soil N supply and crop N demand. Matching the amount and timing of application to crop uptake has been suggested as a mitigation measure to reduce N losses, and is an integral part of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship program. This study examined the effect of timing, rate and history of urea-ammonium nitrate application on N2O emissions in corn in 2011 and 2012 at Elora, ON, Canada. Treatments were three N rates (30, 145 and 218 kg N ha-1); two timings (N injected in mid-row at planting and at the 8th leaf stage, V8); two histories (short-term: applying N rate treatments on plots that had received 145 kg N ha-1 in the previous year, and long-term: applying the same N rate to a given plot over the duration of the trial). N2O emissions were measured using static chambers. History of N application did not have an effect on N2O emissions or grain yield. In both years, cumulative N2O emissions during the growing season and corn yields increased significantly with increasing N application rates. In 2011, cumulative N2O emissions were significantly lower when N was applied as side-dress at V8 (0.88 kg N ha-1) compared with planting (2.12 kg N ha-1), with no significant impact on corn grain yield (average 9.1 Mg ha-1). In contrast, in 2012, limited rainfall reduced both N2O emissions and corn grain yield, and neither N2O emission (average 0.17 kg N ha-1) nor grain yield (average 6.7 Mg ha-1) was affected by timing of N application. Applying N as side-dress at V8 instead of at planting and using the recommended N rate were shown to be effective N2O emission mitigation practices without affecting corn yield during a typical wet spring in Ontario.


Abstract Switching transients resulting from the energisation of high voltage cable systems may have a significant effect on both the cables being switched as well as the power system components in the vicinity. The impacts of these transients on such cables are measured based on the stress arising as a result of the voltage and current peaks and the frequency of oscillatory transients. These quantities are typically obtained from a simulation by using a suitable cable model, normally with the capability to predict the transient behaviour in the range up to several 10 kHz. To obtain a cable model that enables the accurate determination of the switching transient behaviour of a cable system in service, comparison of simulated data with actual measured data is a vital process before the cable model is selected and then used for further transient analysis. Statistical studies are then carried out to simulate the stress experienced by the underground cable under study. In this paper, the authors have carried out studies on the suitability of various cable models available in PSCAD/EMTDC to investigate the ability of the two available frequency-dependent cable models in predicting the peak, frequency and oscillatory nature of current energisation transients resulting from the switching of an unloaded 132 kV underground cable. Using the most accurate cable model evaluated from the first stage of the study, a statistical analysis of over-voltage distribution to analyse the over-voltage stress at the sending and receiving ends of the cable is also presented. This study employed two different techniques based on probabilistic and deterministic approaches to measure the distribution of over-voltages at the sending and receiving ends of the cable.


This is one of the few English texts written for the general practitioner and the medical student which have been reviewed here. The expected disadvantage to the American physician of regional variation in terminology, techniques, and therapeutics which, though not serious, is a point in favor of American texts. As is characteristic of most English texts, it is exceptionally easily read without excessive verbiage, this book being unusually so because of the author's use of a conversational style. A good addition is several charts on differential diagnostic features of various types of pathology. The illustrations are quite standard but lacking is any bibliography to assist those who desire more detail than this book can offer and I feel this is important. There are many otolaryngologic texts written for the general practitioner and the medical student, but very few, including this one, would I call excellent.


This study involves an investigation of 185 subjects, aged 35--54 years, a representative sample of persons with chronic obstructive lung disease in a local Swedish population. Bronchial asthma was diagnosed in 86 persons, chronic bronchitis in 69 and a combination of bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis in 30. Reaginic bronchial allergy as a provoking factor was considered as definite when the case history, an intracutaneous test, a bronchial provocation test and a radioallergosorbent test were all positive with regard to one and the same allergen. This was found in 28% of the asthmatics. In 16% of the asthmatics, the diagnosis of reaginic bronchial allergy was not supported by all the four diagnostic criteria used but was considered as probable since the case history or the bronchial provocation test was positive in association with a positive RAST or intracutaneous test with the same allergen. Reaginic (IgE) antibodies in serum to mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) were found in 20 subjects, 18 of whom also had a positive intracutaneous test for house dust. Four of these 20 subjects had definite and 12 had probable reaginic bronchial allergy. One of the remaining four subjects had chronic bronchitis without asthma. The percentage of definite reaginic bronchial allergy may possibly be increased when reliable bronchial provocations with mite allergen can be performed. Increased IgE levels in serum were found in only eight of the 51 asthmatics with reaginic bronchial allergy and in two of the 65 other asthmatics.


Experimental data is crucial during the design and analysis of feedback control systems. Especially for LTI systems, the frequency domain has appeared to be a favorable domain to describe the dynamics of the system at hand. However, due to practical constraints, frequency response data can only be measured on a finite number of frequency points. On the other hand, system properties such as stability and performance can only be obtained by considering the frequency response behavior on a continuum of frequencies. An estimate for the behavior between the measured data points could be estimated via interpolation. However, the results of such an interpolation procedure heavily depends on the prior assumptions made. Different assumptions result in different interpolants. In order to minimize the number of prior assumptions, this paper focusses on a set description of all interpolants. A method is proposed to compute the envelope that contains the frequency response behavior of all possible underlying data-generating systems that corresponds to the measured plant behavior at the frequency grid points and prior assumption made upon the relative stability of the underlying system. It appears that the ratio between amount of relative stability and the chosen frequency grid-size is the key parameter that determines size of the uncertainty set.


Using sources mostly unpublished, this brief paper aims to review and expand a segment of the research field originally explored by Thomas H. Guback, whose pioneering work still represents a fundamental historiographical landmark for those who study the expansion of American motion pictures industry within the context of the American cultural diplomacy. Moving from the specific circumstances affecting post-war Germany, the cultural historian generally concludes that Hollywood and Washington represented, on the international scenario, a "coalescence of interests". However, for what concerns the kind of film to be distributed, business affairs and affairs of state were proved to be, practically if not theoretically, difficult to assemble. This is what emerges from the documents belonging to the Economic Cooperation Administration and its Advisory Committee on Motion Picture Guaranties, in charge of selecting the entertainment commercial films that would have had a financial support as part of a project called Informational Media Guaranty Program. Generally speculating, the idea presented is that the mentioned plan allowed American functionaries to cope with the alleged issue of potential negative influence of Hollywood on the foreign public without harming, at least directly, the principle of free expression, considered as sacred


The implementation of the Bologna Process enforced a significant change on traditional learning models, which were focused mainly on the transmission of knowledge. The results obtained in a first attempt at implementation of a cooperative learning model in the Soil Mechanics I course of the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, are presented and discussed. The students were confronted with situations recreating a professional atmosphere in Geotechnics. Mandatory project team assignments to be prepared in groups were implemented, where each student had to fulfil specific and rotational roles, namely, laboratory/informatics technician, analyst, reporter and coordinator. To assess the implemented model, several strategies were used: students' feedback; marks monitoring; questionnaires.


Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) has advanced the detection of fetal chromosomal aneuploidy by analyzing cell-free DNA in peripheral maternal blood. The statistic Z-test that it utilizes, which measures the deviation of each chromosome dosage from its negative control, is now widely accepted in clinical practice. However, when a chromosome has loss and gain regions which offset each other in the z-score calculation, merely using the Z-test for the result tends to be erroneous. To improve the performance of NIPT in this aspect, a novel graphic-aided algorithm (gNIPT) that requires no extra experiment procedures is reported in this study. In addition to the Z-test, this method provides a detailed analysis of each chromosome by dividing each chromosome into multiple 2 Mb size windows, calculating the z-score and copy number variation of each window, and visualizing the z-scores for each chromosome in a line chart. Data from 13537 singleton pregnancy women were analyzed and compared using both the normal NIPT (nNIPT) analysis and the gNIPT method. The gNIPT method had significantly improved the overall positive predictive value (PPV) of nNIPT (88.14% vs. 68.00%, p = 0.0041) and the PPV for trisomy 21 (T21) detection (93.02% vs. 71.43%, p = 0.0037). There were no significant differences between gNIPT and nNIPT in PPV for trisomy 18 (T18) detection (88.89% vs. 63.64%, p = 0.1974) and in PPV for trisomy 13 (T13) detection (57.14% vs. 50.00%, p = 0.8004). One false-negative T18 case in nNIPT was detected by gNIPT, which demonstrates the potency of gNIPT in discerning chromosomes that have variation in multiple regions with an offsetting effect in z-score calculation. The gNIPT was also able to detect copy number variation (CNV) in chromosomes, and one case with pathogenic CNV was detected during the study. With no additional test requirement, gNIPT presents a reasonable solution in improving the accuracy of normal NIPT.


ABSTRACT We have estimated source term and analyzed processes of atmospheric dispersion against atmospheric discharge of radioactive materials due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident by atmospheric-dispersion calculation using the Worldwide version of System for Environmental Emergency Dose Information (WSPEEDI). On the basis of this experience, we developed an atmospheric-dispersion calculation method that can respond to various needs for dispersion prediction in a nuclear emergency and provide useful information for emergency-response planning. By this method, if a release point, such as a nuclear facility, is known, it is possible to immediately obtain the prediction results by applying provided source term (released radionuclides, release rate, and release period) to the database of dispersion-calculation results prepared in advance without specifying source term. With this function, it is easy to compare results by applying many kinds of source term with monitoring data, and to find out the optimum source term. By preparing a database by this calculation with past long-term meteorological data, we can immediately get dispersion-calculation results for various source term and meteorological conditions. This database is useful for pre-accident planning, such as optimization of a monitoring plan and understanding of events to be supposed in considering emergency countermeasures.


Introduced mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) occur on many islands of the South Pacific, where they hybridise with the resident grey duck (A. superciliosa). In October 2007, we conducted systematic surveys of Lord Howe Island to estimate the abundance and distribution of grey ducks, mallards, and their hybrids. Hybrids were common in areas of high public use, particularly where there was mown or grazed grass. Phenotypic characteristics suggest that mallards are now dominant and have supplanted the native grey duck, with 81% of birds classified as mallard or mallard-like hybrids, 17% as intermediate hybrids and only 2% as grey duck-like hybrids. No pure grey duck were observed. These hybrids pose direct and indirect economic, social and environmental impacts to Lord Howe Island. A management program to remove mallards using trapping, shooting and opportunistic capture by hand was conducted in October 2007. Standardised indices of duck abundance before and after management indicates that the total population was reduced by 71.7%. Eradication of mallard and hybrids from Lord Howe Island is considered achievable with a program of education, monitoring, and continued control to prevent re-establishment.


The high incidence of workplace accidents in industry at both the global and national levels is closely associated with the worker behavioral factors, particularly those related to the worker personality factor. This study aims to analyze worker personality factor that affects worker compliance with work safety regulations in the industrial sector. This research employed a quantitative approach using analytical observation with cross sectional study. The data was gained through standardized questionnaires. The population involved all workers of PT. X from which 210 workers of manufacturing division were chosen as research sample by using purposive sampling technique. For descriptive statistical test, SPSS program was used to analyze the data, while for the statistic test, SEM test was chosen by using AMOS program. The results showed that worker conscientiousness traits through organizational commitment and occupational safety culture were the predictors of worker compliance with work safety regulations, that worker agreeableness traits through occupational safety participation were the predictors of worker compliance with safety regulations, and that worker neuroticism traits through occupational safety participation were the predictors of worker compliance with work safety regulations.


Respiratory diseases are become a universal concern due to its chronic nature and unwanted modern remedy which causes dose dependency and long term side effects. In Ayurveda Rasaushadhi, which translates into herbo-mineral formulation is the most important medication by its quick action in low doses with easier palatability. Bhagottar Gutika is one of them which contains Purified Mercury, Purified Sulphur, Piper longum, Terminalia Chebula, Terminalia Bellirica, Adhatoda Vasica, Clerodendrum serratum, Acacia Arabica in increasing quantity. This review article documents the indications, method of preparation, probable mode of action and properties of Bhagottar Gutika. This study concluded the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator and immune-enhancer effects of Bhagottar Gutika. So, it can be used as an effective medicine for bronchitis and bronchial asthma.


ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the effects of sampling time and depth on some soil properties in a natural olive grove. Soil samples were collected at 0–10 cm (S0) and 10–20 cm (S1) depths in February, May, August, and November between 2013 and 2015 in Cukurova University Campus, Adana, Turkey. The soil properties determined were soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N, soil C mineralization and rate (Cmin) under laboratory conditions, aerobic bacteria and fungi counts. Effect of soil depth on these properties was more significant than sampling time. SOC, TN, soil aerobic bacteria and fungi counts, and Cmin were generally decreased as soil depth increased. Carbon mineralizations in S0 and S1 were lowest in May 2014 and highest in May 2015. In general, there were no significant differences between depths and sampling times in soil bacteria counts and C/N while fungi counts in S0 were significantly higher in S1 in every sampling time (P < .05). SOC was significantly correlated with all soil properties in S1 and positively correlated with TN in both depths (P < .05). In conclusion, heterogeneity of soil properties was more comprehensible in depth than in sampling times.


Even with a sizable expansion in numbers, the typical professional meteorologist is a salaried governmental employee. This is in sharp contrast to several of the other professions. The predominant salary range of meteorologists is between $5,000 and $10,000 per year. Challenging opportunities exist for a few meteorologists to serve as consultants to industry. These consultants stand in a unique position of being some of the most active agents in expanding reliable uses of weather information and deserve encouragement by the entire profession. However, several limiting factors do exist which cause slow growth in this specialized field.


The infant who is small for gestational age (SGA) is more mature at birth than similar weight infants who are appropriate for gestational age (AGA). Whether the SGA infant behaves as does the larger gestationally equivalent infant, or whether there are specific changes related to intrauterine growth retardation is a matter of some interest in the understanding of the special needs of these infants. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) phototherapy study provided a large newborn population for whom birth weight, gestational age at birth, and, thereby, intrauterine growth were carefully assessed. Infants who weighed 2,000 g or more at birth were included in the study only when they became jaundiced, whereas infants who weighed less than 2,000 g at birth were routinely entered into the study. Consequently, this report will be limited to the lowbirth-weight population selected by birth weight. Too few SGA babies were present in the groups with greater birth weight to allow meaningful comparisons.
 PATIENT SELECTIQN
 All infants whose birth weight was less than 2,000 g were entered into the study at 24 ± 12 hours. Those excluded from the study were: (1) infants who died before 24 hours, (2) infants with serious congenital defects, and (3) infants whose mothers refused consent for study. The study population consisted of 922 infants surviving at 24 hours. Gestational age was calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period obtained from maternal history and also by the evaluation techniques of Dubowitz.25 Intrauterine growth was determined by plotting birth weight and gestational age on the Denver Intrauterine Growth Curves8; infants below the 10th percentile were considered SGA.


1. The Executive Secretary is circulating herewith, for the information of participants in the fifteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, a note identifying the needs and challenges evolving at different policy levels for the development of a comprehensive approach that adequately integrates biodiversity concerns and considerations in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD-plus).


Microfabrication techniques allow one to construct metal/polymer bilayers anchored at one end to a substrate and free to move at the other end. Electrically controlled 'fingers' were fabricated using the conducting polymer as an artificial muscle: doping and undoping the conjugated polymer causes a change in volume of this layer which results in bending of the bilayer. Grasping hands, fingers with sensing tips, and micropumps can be envisioned. Standing in the way of immediate fabrication are several materials challenges including layer adhesion, material compatibility, sacrificial layer improvement, and low-temperature processing techniques.


Abstract. The main purpose of this study is to develop a Geospatial Information System (GIS) model with the ability to assess the seismic damage to lifelines for two well-known hazards, including ground shaking and ground failure simultaneously. The model that is developed and used in this study includes four main parts of database implementation, seismic hazard analysis, vulnerability assessment and seismic damage assessment to determine the lifeline's damage probability. To consider uncertainty analysis in the model, Monte Carlo simulation is used based on 10,000 iterations. The results of hazard analysis indicated that peak ground acceleration is about 0.03 g to 0.3 g and there is slight to moderate damages to the desired infrastructure in the study area.


RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE
Hyperphosphatemia is associated with increased risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression and reduced antiproteinuric effects of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers. We investigated whether the phosphate binder sevelamer carbonate may enhance the antiproteinuric effect of RAS inhibitors in patients with CKD.

STUDY DESIGN
Phase 2, randomized, controlled, open-label, crossover trial.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Between November 2013 and December 2014, we enrolled 53 patients with CKD with estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs)>15mL/min/1.73m2 and residual proteinuria with protein excretion≥0.5g/24h despite maximal tolerated ramipril and/or irbesartan therapy from 2 nephrology units in Italy.

INTERVENTION
After stratification by serum phosphate level, ≤4 or>4mg/dL, patients were randomly assigned to 3 months of sevelamer (1,600mg thrice daily) treatment followed by 3 months without sevelamer separated by a 1-month washout period or 3 months without sevelamer followed by 3 months with sevelamer, also separated by a 1-month washout period.

OUTCOMES
The primary outcome was 24-hour proteinuria (n=49patients). Secondary outcomes included measured GFR (using iohexol plasma clearance), office blood pressure (BP), serum lipid levels, levels of inflammation and bone metabolism biomarkers, urinary electrolyte levels, and arterial stiffness.

RESULTS
Changes in proteinuria during the 3-month treatment with (from 1.36 [IQR, 0.77-2.51] to 1.36 [IQR, 0.77-2.60] g/24h) or without (from 1.36 [IQR, 0.99-2.38] to 1.48 [IQR, 0.81-2.77] g/24h) sevelamer were similar (P=0.1). Sevelamer reduced urinary phosphate excretion without affecting serum phosphate levels. Sevelamer reduced C-reactive protein (CRP), glycated hemoglobin, and total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels without affecting levels of office BP, measured GFR, fibroblast growth factor 23, klotho, intact parathyroid hormone, serum vitamin D, or other urinary electrolytes. Results were similar in the low- and high-phosphate groups. Sevelamer was well tolerated. Adverse events were comparable between treatment periods. One case of transient hypophosphatemia was observed during treatment with sevelamer.

LIMITATIONS
Short treatment duration, lower pretreatment proteinuria than expected.

CONCLUSIONS
3-month sevelamer treatment did not reduce proteinuria in patients with CKD on maximal RAS blockade. Amelioration of inflammation and dyslipidemia with sevelamer treatment raises the possibility that it may confer benefit in patients with CKD beyond reduction of proteinuria.

FUNDING
Sanofi (Milan, Italy).

TRIAL REGISTRATION
Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with study number NCT01968759.


The cell envelope of Escherichia coli B was investigated with the freeze-etching technique. A considerable gain in visible structural detail over more conventional electron microscopic techniques was obtained. The inner surface of the plasma membrane revealed a smooth surface sparsely studded with particles measuring from 5 to 10 nm in diameter, whereas the outer surface of the plasma membrane showed many more particles of corresponding diameter. The freeze-etched cell wall appeared to be a multilayered structure. The innermost layer could be observed as a profile studded with closely packed elements of about 10 nm in diameter. External to this layer was a smooth surface bordering the outermost cell wall layer. When frozen in the absence of glycerol the outermost surface observed in the cell wall was smooth, but when grown in the presence of glycerol it had a "wavy" appearance with small particles attached to it. The observations support current concepts on the ultrastructure of the enterobacterial cell envelope.


Prospective observations on 442 consecutive samples have confirmed that pregnancies with CNS malformations are regularly associated with an abnormal cellular content of amniotic fluid. A crude semiquantitative test of the cell content can give valuable clinical information in relation to borderline amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein values, and help to detect false positive AFP's.


In this study, methods were developed for the in vitro evaluation of the surgical performance characteristics of viscoelastic fluids, such as sodium hyaluronate (Healon). Sodium hyaluronate exhibited superior surgical performance to chondroitin-6-sulfate. The superior performance of sodium hyaluronate resulted in part from its high viscosity, which is 20 times greater than that of chondroitin-6-sulfate at shear rates on the order of 10 s-1. The gel-like character of sodium hyaluronate as evidenced by the creep flow behavior, was greater than that of chondroitin-6-sulfate and was important for maintaining depth in the anterior chamber. It was shown that a threshold of 80 poise for the shear viscosity (at approximately 10 s-1 was needed for useful performance in surgery. It was also shown that 0.42 USP units of hyaluronidase per 1.0 mg sodium hyaluronate produces a 90% decrease in the shear viscosity (at approximately 10 s-1) within approximately 2 1/2 hours. Use of sodium hyaluronate in conjunction with hyaluronidase would allow sodium hyaluronate to remain highly viscous during surgery, but would gradually become less viscous to facilitate aqueous outflow after surgery.


In the above paper by B. Friedland et al. (ibid., vol.38, no.2, p.370-3 (1993)), a proof is given that, in a control system designed with a full-state observer and state feedback control, the compensator transfer function is the same no matter how the closed-loop poles are distributed between the observer and the controller. The present author points out that a technique is known for computing the observer and controller feedback gains corresponding to all possible distributions of closed-loop poles between the observer and the controller. He further points out that the way the closed-loop poles are distributed can make an important difference to the closed-loop system behavior. In reply, Friedland et al. are grateful for the citation of the two references given and they point out further advantage of the controller-observer implementation. >


A simple and fast lossy compression and decompression algorithm for digital images is proposed. The method offers varying compression ratios (depending on dimensions of the image) and the acquired decompressed image is close to the original one. A selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality is allowed, making it possible to adjust degree of compression. Compared to JPEG, it provides us better compression ratio. The suggested method does not restrict itself to any particular type of image.


Abstract. This work presents the results of the absolute radiometric calibration of the sensor on-board the "Sistema Satelital de Observacion de la Tierra" (SSOT) using the vicarious approach based on in-situ measurements of surface reflectance and atmospheric retrievals. The SSOT mission, also known as FASat-Charlie, has been successfully operating for almost nine years ‒at the time of writing‒, exceeding its five-year nominal design life and providing multispectral and panchromatic imagery for different applications. The data acquired by SSOT has been used for emergency and disaster management and monitoring, cadastral mapping, urban planning, defense purposes, among other uses. In this paper, some results of the efforts conducting to the exploitation of the SSOT imagery for remote sensing quantitative applications are detailed. The results of the assessment of the radiometric calibration of the satellite sensor, performed in the Atacama Desert, Chile, using the data acquired and made available by the Gobabeb Station of Radiometric Calibration Network (RadCalNet), Namibia, are presented. Additionally, we describe the process for obtaining the absolute gains for the multispectral and panchromatic bands of the SSOT sensor by adapting the reflectance−based approach (Thome et al., 2001). The outputs achieved from the Atacama data collection have generated consistent results and average differences in the order of 3% with respect to the RadCalNet TOA reflectances. The presented results are an example of the benefits of having access to the RadCalNet data and how it increases the opportunity of conducting Cal/Val activities using endorsed calibration sites.


Heat shock proteins (Hsps) stabilize the newly synthesized polypeptide chains preventing them from aggregation. They contribute to systemic response under stress and thus behave as signaling molecules. Hsp70 has been detected on the surface of stressed cells. It translocates to the extracellular environment through the plasma membrane without causing cell death. But the interaction of the protein with the membrane leading to the export process remains elusive. Hsp70 has a tendency to generate channels within lipid bilayers, and this has been a driving force for studying protein-lipid interactions. Transport of these proteins across the membrane paves their pathways for performing the desired function. We have attempted to characterize how the interaction of Hsp70 with negatively charged phospholipids affects the structure of lipids. This study will help in explaining the transport mechanism of proteins that are devoid of defined signaling pathways. The interaction of amino acids of Hsp70 with the head and tail group leads to the rearrangement of the hydration layer in contact with the bilayers. Critical analysis of the results obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering along with QCM-D provides valuable insights to analyze the effect of Hsp70 adsorption on an anionic POPS lipid bilayer.


Bacteriocin is a protein substance possessing antimicrobial activities during the growth by great number of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria (Zacharof and Lovitt). It will destabilize the cytoplasmic membrane and kills bacteria. Various studies reported antibacterial activity of bacteriocin against Listeria and other Gram positive bacteria. Hence, there is a need to know the effectiveness of bacteriocin against drug resistant Gram negative bacteria especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the leading cause of Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI). Objective of the research was to find the efficacy testing of bacteriocin against multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to isolate and identify multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To extract and purify bacteriocin from lactobacillus acidophilus and to perform invitro efficacy testing of bacteriocin against multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conventional identification and antimicrobial susceptibility was performed based on conventional procedure. The study was done at the clinical microbiology laboratory of Saveetha Medical College and hospital during the period of January to June 2020. Total 60 samples were collected from both male and female and from all the age groups. Among that 60 samples 39% were woundswab, 29% were urine, 5% were pus, 3% were tissue culture, 3% of samples were tracheal culture. The strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected for this study shows resistance to cefepime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, imipenem, gentamicin, cotrimaxazole and piperacillin-tazobactam. Bacteriocins were protein in nature and simple proteins to particles resembling components of bacteriophage. The zone of inhibition formation is strong in vitro and can act against the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Disinfectants have ineffective in controlling the nosocomial infection in the spread of pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacteriocins not only can support the disinfectants, it can also be combined with antibiotics when purified and processed.

https://www.ijcmas.com/11-5-2022/M. Kavi Kumar, et al.pdf


Problem statement: Over the last 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always attempted to deepen the concept of "Islamic Art" in painting to exploit it for reinforcing its conceptual discourse. Hence, some painting genres have been categorized as Islamic art. Such genres may be remnants of previous centuries (Miniature, Illumination, Golo-Morgh, New Miniature and Qahvekhane'i paintings) or originate from sociopolitical events of the era with their idiosyncratic content and aesthetics. However, all of them have a similar representation in people's minds. Research objective: This study aims to identify articulated predications that convey Islamic meaning according to the regime's discourse. Research method: This study employed Laclau and Mouffe's discourse analysis as well as qualitative content analysis to identify all discourse elements of stated genres. Conclusion: The findings revealed that the genres of Iranian painting, traditional painting, revolutionary painting, and 'holy defense' painting respectively have the following predications: 1) revelatory, mystical, and epic; 2) moral, spiritual, and divine; 3) ideological, propagandistic, and justice-oriented; 4) idealistic, value-based, and resilience. The said predications are centered on the pivotal discourse of the dominant power, i.e., Shia Islam; therefore, all of them can be categorized as Islamic art. In different conceptual realms of historic–civil Islam, each of the said genres, theological–didactic Islam, ideologicalsovereign Islam, and political-ideological Islam, has enriched other discourse predications and helped achieve different political goals.


OBJECTIVES
To describe the role of illustrated medication instructions in pharmacy practice, the evidence for their use, and our experience with their implementation.

PRACTICE DESCRIPTION
PictureRx is applicable to all pharmacy practice settings.

PRACTICE INNOVATION
PictureRx enables pharmacists to rapidly produce evidence-based, illustrated medication instructions that are well understood by patients of all health literacy levels.

RESULTS
PictureRx has been studied in a number of settings. The tool was successfully deployed at a busy outpatient pharmacy and in a medical clinic for the underserved and was pilot tested among elderly community-dwelling Medicare recipients. In each of these settings, PictureRx was received favorably by patients, pharmacists, and other health care providers. It improved patients' satisfaction with the pharmacy and knowledge about their medications. Ongoing research is assessing whether PictureRx enhances medication management among Latinos.

CONCLUSION
PictureRx helps pharmacists address challenges related to low health literacy and can be implemented in a broad range of practice environments. Ongoing research will delineate the extent to which PictureRx reduces health disparities.


ABSTRACT Research into language breakdown in Arabic has been growing in the last two decades. The field, however, remains challenged by the lack of assessment materials, normative databases, and standards for categorising responses from participants with language impairment. The aim of this paper is to introduce a linguistically driven protocol for categorising responses from Arabic-speaking patients and healthy participants in language production tasks. The protocol is informed by Arabic morpho-syntactic/morpho-phonological features such as inflection for gender, person, and number; and on a larger scale agreement in noun phrases and verb phrases. The emerging error categories are applicable to different Arabic varieties and sub-varieties. The data supporting the resulting error categorisation protocol stem from responses from patients with aphasia performing various production tasks.


Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Helicobacter pylori infection is clearly correlated with gastric carcinogenesis. Therefore, the use of a new non-invasive test, known as the GastroPanel test, can be very helpful to identify patients at a high risk, including those with atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia. This study aimed to compare the results of GastroPanel test with the pathological findings of patients with gastric atrophy to find a safe and simple alternative for endoscopy and biopsy as invasive methods. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on patients with indigestion, who were referred to Motahari Clinic and Shahid Faghihi Hospital of Shiraz, Iran, since April 2017 until August 2017 for endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The serum levels of gastrin-17 (G17), pepsinogen I (PGI), and pepsinogen II (PGII), as well as H. pylori antibody IgG, were determined by ELISA assays. Two biopsy specimens from the antrum and gastric body were taken for standard histological analyses and rapid urease test. A pathologist examined the biopsy specimens of patients blindly. Results: A total of 153 patients with indigestion (62.7% female; mean age, 63.7 years; 37.3% male; mean age, 64.9 years) were included in this study. The G17 levels significantly increased in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) of the body (9.7 vs. 32.8 pmol/L; P = 0.04) and reduced in patients with antral CAG (1.8 vs. 29.1 pmol/L; P = 0.01). The results were acceptable for all three types of CAG, including the antral, body, and multifocal CAG (AUCs of 97%, 91%, and 88% for body, antral, and multifocal CAG, respectively). The difference in PGII level was not significant. Also, the PGI and PGI/PGII ratio did not show a significant difference (unacceptably low AUCs for all). The H. pylori antibody levels were higher in patients infected with H. pylori (251 EIU vs. 109 EIU, AUC = 70, P = 0.01). There was a significant relationship between antibody tests and histopathology. Conclusion: Contrary to Biohit's claims, the GastroPanel kit is not accurate enough to detect CAG; therefore, it cannot be used for establishing a clinical diagnosis.


In a former communication I had already occasion to notice that the rocks composing the Kuen-Lun range, near Shahidulla, chiefly consist of syenitic gneiss, often interbedded and alternating with various metamorphic and quartzose schists. Similar rocks continue the whole way down the Karakash river for about twenty-four miles. After this the road runs in a somewhat north-westerly direction, following a small stream leading to the Sanju (or Grimm) Pass. Here the rocks are chiefly true mica-schist, in places full of garnets. Near and on the pass itself chloritic and quartzose schists prevail, in which veins of pale green jade occur, numerous blocks containing this mineral having been observed near the top of the pass. All the strata are very highly inclined, often vertical—the slopes of the hills, and, in fact, of the entire range, being on that account rather precipitous, and the crests of the ridges themselves very narrow. To the north of the Sanju Pass, we meet again with metamorphic, mostly chloritic, schists, until we approach the camping-place Yám, where distinctly bedded sedimentary rocks cap the hills of both sides of the valley. These are dark, almost black, silky slates, resting unconformably on the schists, and are overlain by a grey, partly quartzitic sandstone, passing into conglomerate. The last rock contains particles of the black slates, and is therefore clearly of more recent date.


Gravitational lensing shear has the potential to be the most powerful tool for constraining the nature of dark energy. However, accurate measurement of galaxy shear is crucial and has been shown to be non-trivial by the Shear TEsting Programme. Here, we demonstrate a fundamental limit to the accuracy achievable by model-fitting techniques, if oversimplistic models are used. We show that even if galaxies have elliptical isophotes, model-fitting methods which assume elliptical isophotes can have significant biases if they use the wrong profile. We use noise-free simulations to show that on allowing sufficient flexibility in the profile the biases can be made negligible. This is no longer the case if elliptical isophote models are used to fit galaxies made up of a bulge plus a disc, if these two components have different ellipticities. The limiting accuracy is dependent on the galaxy shape, but we find the most significant biases (similar to 1 per cent of the shear) for simple spiral-like galaxies. The implications for a given cosmic shear survey will depend on the actual distribution of galaxy morphologies in the Universe, taking into account the survey selection function and the point spread function. However, our results suggest that the impact on cosmic shear results from current and near future surveys may be negligible. Meanwhile, these results should encourage the development of existing approaches which are less sensitive to morphology, as well as methods which use priors on galaxy shapes learnt from deep surveys.


Have performed experiments to compare the surface tension of water by the surface tension of alcohol use food dye. The research method is to perform a simple test. With a drop of food dye into water will make the water molecules become larger and when alcohol was dropped into the solution there will be a tug between water and alcohol with water or with alcohol-called cohesion. Tug between different molecules such as water to alcohol is called adhesion. Cohesion of water molecules is greater than the cohesion of the alcohol molecules. Cohesion of water is also greater than the adhesion between the two fluids. Competition between cohesion and adhesion molecules of water and alcohol lead to mutual attraction between water and alcohol resulting in vibrations when the fluid is met. The results obtained when this trial is water that has spilled food dye will move away from the alcohol and water colored parts that come into contact with alcohol will vibrate.


Obesity is an increasing problem worldwide. It is often associated with co-morbidities such as type II diabetes, atherosclerotic diseases, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The risk of these diseases can be lowered by relieving the systemic low-grade inflammation associated with obesity, even without noticeable weight loss. Bilberry is an anthocyanin-rich wild berry with known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the present study, a high-fat-diet-induced mouse model of obesity was used to investigate the effects of air-dried bilberry powder on weight gain, systemic inflammation, lipid and glucose metabolism, and changes in the gene expression in adipose and hepatic tissues. The bilberry supplementation was unable to modify the weight gain, but it prevented the increase in the hepatic injury marker ALT and many inflammatory factors like SAA, MCP1, and CXCL14 induced by the high-fat diet. The bilberry supplementation also partially prevented the increase in serum cholesterol, glucose, and insulin levels. In conclusion, the bilberry supplementation alleviated the systemic and hepatic inflammation and retarded the development of unwanted changes in the lipid and glucose metabolism induced by the high-fat diet. Thus, the bilberry supplementation seemed to support to retain a healthier metabolic phenotype during developing obesity, and that effect might have been contributed to by bilberry anthocyanins.


This paper presents the mathematical modeling, simulation, design and control of a two degree of freedom one legged hopping robot that can jump in place with a novel form of actuation, which is simpler to model and control than those previously reported in the literature. The hopper is pneumatically actuated using an on/off control valve by means of pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. The dynamic stability of the hopper using a PID controller is investigated in detail. It is shown through computer simulations that the proposed controller effectively meets the system's performance requirements, i.e., achieving a constant jumping height after a number of jumping cycles


The mixing process greatly influence the mixing efficiency, as well as the
 quality and the price of the intermediate and/or the final product. Static
 mixer is used for premixing action before the main mixing process, for
 significant reduction of mixing time and energy consumption. This type of
 premixing action is not investigated in detail in the open literature. In
 this article, the novel numerical approach called Discrete Element Method is
 used for modelling of granular flow in multiple static mixer applications (1
 - 3 Komax or Ross mixing elements were utilized), while the Computational
 Fluid Dynamic method was chosen for fluid flow modelling, using the Eulerian
 multiphase model. The main aim of this article is to predict the behaviour
 of granules being gravitationally transported in different mixer
 configuration and to choose the best configuration of the mixer taking into
 account the total particle path, the number of mixing elements and the
 quality of the obtained mixture. The results of the numerical simulations in
 the static mixers were compared to experimental results, the mixing quality
 is examined by RSD (relative standard deviation) criterion, and the effects
 on the mixer type and the number of mixing elements on mixing process were
 studied. The effects of the mixer type and the number of mixing elements on
 mixing process were studied using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Mathematical
 modelling is used for optimization of number of Ross and Komax segments in
 mixer in order to gain desirable mixing results. [Projekat Ministarstva
 nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31055]


In the context of Information-Centric Networking, Interest Flooding Attacks (IFAs) represent a new and dangerous sort of distributed denial of service. Since existing proposals targeting IFAs mainly focus on local information, in this paper we propose GNN4IFA as the first mechanism exploiting complex non-local knowledge for IFA detection by leveraging Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) handling the overall network topology.In order to test GNN4IFA, we collect SPOTIFAI, a novel dataset filling the current lack of available IFA datasets by covering a variety of IFA setups, including ~40 heterogeneous scenarios over three network topologies. We show that GNN4IFA performs well on all tested topologies and setups, reaching over 99% detection rate along with a negligible false positive rate and small computational costs. Overall, GNN4IFA overcomes state-of-the-art detection mechanisms both in terms of raw detection and flexibility, and – unlike all previous solutions in the literature – also enables the transfer of its detection on network topologies different from the one used in its design phase.


The thermal, mechanical, and corrosive properties for Cu50Zr40Ti10 (at. %) metallic glass were also investigated. The glass transition temperature Tg, onset crystallization temperature TX, and under-cooled liquid region △TX are 624.4, 691.1, and 66.7 K, respectively. The elastic strain, fracture strength, and elastic modulus are 2.13 %, 2099.78 MPa, and 86.85 GPa, respectively. The corrosion rates in 1 M HCl, 1 M NaCl, and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions open to air at 298 K are estimated to be about 0.4759, 0.1076, and 1.758×10-3 mm/year, respectively. The passive films can be observed in HCl and NaCl but not in H2SO4, the corrosion products in the former are looser than those in the latter, resulting in the better corrosion resistance in the latter than in the former.


This is the first of a series of notes on the spiders of Minorca. Data of three species are presented: Tegenaria pagana, Textrix coarctata and Malthonica balearica. A description and drawings of the male of M. balearica, hitherto unknown, are included. Taxonomical characters and afinities of this species are discussed. The characters defining the genus Malthonica are in need of revision, and it is shown that it bears resemblance to the Tegenaria picta-group.


Because psychiatric symptoms are frequently the earliest signs of CNS pathology, the author outlines the structural brain diseases that may underlie several psychiatric syndromes and describes the computerized axial tomographic (CAT) scan findings associated with those diseases. On the basis of an awareness of these conditions and a cost-benefit analysis, the following indications for CAT scanning of psychiatric patients are proposed: 1) confusion and/or dementia of unknown cause, 2) first episode of a psychosis of unknown etiology, 3) movement disorder of unknown etiology, 4) anorexia nervosa, 5) prolonged catatonia, and 6) first episode of major affective disorder or personality change after age 50.


In its ideal conception, the post-apartheid education landscape is regarded as a site of transformation that promotes democratic ideals such as citizenship, freedom, and critical thought. The role of the educator is pivotal in realising this transformation in the learners she teaches, but this realisation extends beyond merely teaching the curriculum to the educator herself, as the site where these democratic ideals are embodied and enacted. The teacher is thus centrally placed as a moral agent whose behaviour, in the classroom space particularly, should, ideally, represent and communicate the values we aspire to cultivate in post-apartheid South African society generally. Thus, this notion of what teaching encompasses fits broadly into the conception of a "practice" in the sense developed by Alasdair MacIntyre, in that it is a transformative activity the enactment of which not only benefits the practitioner, but also extends to and benefits the broader community as well. Furthermore, practices are grounded in features of social or moral life we hold to be significant and, importantly, it is only through their active cultivation that they can be made tangible and further developed. MacIntyre's theory of virtue is based on a three-fold interrelationship between practices, how they meaningfully narrate and shape an individual life, and how, in turn, this builds and sustains our moral and social traditions. Using these ideas to analyse post-apartheid South Africa, and the structural transformation paradox it is in, reveals the difficult and complex nature of a society that is in this transitional space. The claim is that attentiveness to practices in the educational space, and to the way they shape and inform moral and social traditions, is necessary to more fully understand and guide this societal transformation.


This investigation is based on 140 autopsy protocols of unsuccessful resuscitation procedures (Resuscitation Center of the Army Hospital, Hamburg); injections and closed-chest cardiac massage had been performed in every case. - Most of the patients had collapsed because of cardiac shock; patients with thoracic or abdominal injury were excluded from this study. In individual cases only, the following severe complications originated from the resuscitation procedures: fracture of a chest vertebra, serial fractures of ribs resulting in an unstable thorax, bilateral haemothorax, tension pneumothorax, rupture of kidney and of spleen (but not of liver). In one case the lesions caused by the resuscitation measures must be considered as responsible for the lethal outcome. Fractures of ribs and/or sternum were found in 45.9% of all cases, the frequency increasing with age. The number of fractured ribs ranged up to 16, mainly 3-8 ribs were fractured. Fractures of rib No. 1 and 8-12 were very rare. The fractures were located between the parasternal and axillary lines.--In a comparative study the site of rib fractures after heavy blunt thoracic injuries was preferably found in the dorsal region.


Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters have a key role in many biochemical processes and are essential for most life forms. Despite recent mechanistic advances in understanding the Fe-S cluster biosynthetic pathway, critical questions remain unresolved. Although human NFS1 and E. coli IscS share ∼60% sequence identity, NFS1 exhibits low activity and requires activation by the Friedreich's ataxia protein frataxin (FXN) for in vivo function. Surprisingly, structures of the human complex reveal three distinct quaternary structures with one form exhibiting the same subunit interactions as IscS. An architectural switch model has been proposed in which evolutionarily lost interactions between NFS1 subunits results in the formation of low-activity architectures; FXN binding compensates for these lost interactions and facilitates a subunit rearrangement to activate the complex. Here, we used a structure and evolution-guided approach to identify three conserved residues proposed to weaken interactions between NFS1 subunits and transplanted these amino acids into IscS. Compared to native IscS, the engineered variant had a 4000-fold weaker dimer interface and diminished activity that correlated with the absence of the second catalytic subunit. Remarkably, the addition of the FXN homolog to the engineered variant stimulated the decay of the Cys-quinonoid pyridoxal 5'-phosphate intermediate, shifted IscS from the monomeric to dimeric form, and increased the cysteine desulfurase activity, reproducing results from the human system and supporting the architectural switch model. Overall, these studies indicate a weakening of the homodimeric interface was a key development during the evolution of the eukaryotic system and provide new insights into the role of FXN.


Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the nature and incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to radiographic contrast media (oral and intravenous) reported during a 1½ years' period in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Methods: The study was an observational prospective study of ADRs to radiographic contrast media (oral and intravenous) observed during a period of 1½ years from July 2014 to October 2015 in Department of Radio Diagnosis at Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chromepet. The observations were analyzed for demographic profile, frequency, severity, causality, and temporal relationship of contrast administration to the occurrence of ADRs. Results: A total of 33 ADRs were observed for oral and intravenous radiographic contrast media administered for radiographic study for the above-mentioned period. It included 17 (51.5%) males and 16 (48.5%) females. Among the 33 ADRs, 19 (57%) were for oral and intravenous radiographic contrast and 14 (42%) for intravenous radiographic contrast alone. The most frequent ADRs were vomiting and nausea 16 (48%), skin rashes 9 (27%), and thrombophlebitis 9 (27%). As per Naranjo's algorithm and WHO causality assessment, all reactions are probable except in one patient who received intravenous contrast administration was possible. According to the Hartwig severity scale, 23 (69%) reactions were mild, 7 (21%) reactions were moderate, and 3 (9%) reactions were severe. There was no fatality observed. Adverse events required immediate treatment in 22 (66%). Most of the reactions, i.e., 21 (63%) appeared immediately after contrast administration. 12 (36%) reactions appeared within next 30 minutes after contrast administration. Conclusion: The common adverse reactions to radiographic contrast were mild in severity such as nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, and giddiness. Most of the reactions occur immediately after administration of contrast. The causality of majority of the ADRs is probable. Pharmacovigilance is an important tool in detection, reporting and thereby preventing ADRs due to radiographic contrast media.


There has been a steady increase in people with symptoms of depression over the past several years (since 2011). The further increase in stress and depression in the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an increase in unmet mental health needs. Many have turned to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies such as bright-light therapy, yoga, meditation, and dietary supplements like St. John's wort or folic acid. The reliability of evidence for use of CAM therapies for depression has remained low. There are few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the current literature and poor methodology in many of the trials that are available. This state of the science review examines current published guidelines, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and RCTs regarding use of CAM therapies in the management of depression.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has prognostic value in patients with chronic heart failure.

METHODS
Serum hsCRP levels were measured with high-sensitivity assay (IMMAGE Immunochemistry Systems) in 128 patients with CHF and 25 healthy control subjects. Cardiac troponin T (TNT) was measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on an Elecsys1010 automatic analyser. Cardiac events were defined as cardiac death and rehospitalisation because of worsening heart failure during the follow-up period.

RESULTS
Circulating levels of hsCRP and TNT were significantly higher in patients with CHF than in the 25 healthy people (p=0.0028, p=0.017, respectively) and increased with severity of CHF. During a mean follow-up period of 378 +/- 26 days, 42 (32.8%) of the 128 patients had cardiac events. Levels of hsCRP and TNT were significantly higher (p=0.00031, p=0.00047, respectively) and LVEF was significantly lower (p=0.0052) in patients with cardiac events than in patients without cardiac events. When multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was performed, we found that hsCRP, TNT, and LVEF were independent significant predictors of cardiac events in patients with CHF (hsCRP: hazard ratio [HR], 3.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.14-9.35; p=0.024; TNT: HR, 2.61; 95%CI, 1.96-4.31; p=0.012; LVEF: HR, 3.52; 95%CI, 2.36-10.37; p=0.024). When Pearson's correlation analyses were performed, we could find a positive correlation between hsCRP and TNT (r=0.493, p=0.0043) and a negative correlation between hsCRP and LVEF(r=-0.354, p=0.0051).

CONCLUSION
Serum hsCRP concentrations were elevated in patients with CHF and increased with severity of CHF. It was an independent significant predictor of cardiac events in patients with CHF.


The Middle Latency Response (MLR) is a neuroelectrical response that can be recorded in the far field using scalp electrode. Nowadays it is suppose to be one of the best evoked potential for evaluate lesion or dysfunction of the central auditory nervous system. The MLR waves occur between 10 and 80 msec (ms) after the stimulus onset. The Pa is the most reliable because it is the most visible and robust of this potential. Because of the big variability of the amplitude and the latency of the MLR waves it is not yet largely used in the clinical set. AIM: The purpose of this study was to establish the sensitivity and specificity of the MLR waves. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Individuals between 15 and 55 years old with lesion of the central auditory nervous system, with auditory processing disorders and normal one (control group) were evaluated using the MLR. RESULTS: The results showed that the amplitude difference of 30% held the better results, for the electrode as well as the ear effect. The ear effect was more efficient in detecting auditory processing disorder while the electrode effect was better for detecting the lesion.


Distributed constraint optimization (DCOP) is a useful framework for cooperative multiagent coordination. DCOP focuses on optimizing a single team objective. However, in many domains, agents must satisfy constraints on resources consumed locally while optimizing the team goal. These resource constraints may need to be kept private or shared to improve efficiency. Extending DCOP to these domains raises two issues: algorithm design and sensitivity analysis. Algorithm design requires creating algorithms that trade off completeness, scalability, privacy and efficiency. Sensitivity analysis examines whether slightly increasing the available resources could yield a significantly better outcome.
This thesis defines the multiply-constrained DCOP (MC-DCOP) framework and provides complete and incomplete algorithms for solving MC-DCOP problems. Complete algorithms find the best allocation of scarce resources, while incomplete algorithms are more scalable. The algorithms use mutually-intervening search; they use local resource constraints to intervene in the search for the globally optimal solution. The algorithms use four key techniques: (i) transforming constraints to maintain privacy; (ii) dynamically setting upper bounds on resource consumption; (iii) identifying the extent to which the local graph structure allows agents to compute exact bounds on resource consumption; and (iv) using a virtual assignment to flag problems rendered unsatisfiable by their resource constraints. Proofs of correctness are presented for all algorithms. Finally, the complete and incomplete algorithms are used in conjunction with one another to perform distributed local reoptimization to address sensitivity analysis.
Experimental results demonstrated that MC-DCOP problems are most challenging when resources are scarce but sufficient. In problems where there are insufficient resources, the team goal is largely irrelevant. In problems with ample resources, the local resource constraints require little consideration. The incomplete algorithms were two orders of magnitude more efficient than the complete algorithm for the most challenging MC-DCOP problems and their runtime increased very little as the number of agents in the network increased. Finally, sensitivity analysis results indicated that local reoptimization is an effective way to identify resource constraints that are creating bottlenecks.
Taken together these new algorithms and examination of the problem of sensitivity analysis help extend the applicability of DCOP to more complex domains.


The lucinid Codakia orbicularis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) is found in the shallow water seagrass beds of Thalassia testudinum in the Caribbean Sea. Their gills are colonized by a sulfur-oxidizing endosymbiotic gamma-proteobacteria. These bacteria oxidize sulfur compounds to generate energy used to fix carbon dioxide to create organic components via the Calvin Benson cycle, in order to provide metabolic substrates and energy to their host C. orbicularis.
In starvation condition, the bivalves were placed in artificial seawater without sulfur and organic components. In these dramatically conditions, nutrients for the both host bivalves and endosymbiotic bacteria are limited. Interestingly, in a previous proteomic study, it has been shown an over-expression of proteins involved in glycogen metabolism during starvation condition. This suggests that bacteria produce glycogen which can be use by bivalves.
In order to investigate the effects of starvation on the metabolism of endosymbiotic bacteria, we selected some genes involved in glycogen metabolism and in some key metabolic pathways. We analyzed by qRT-PCR the relative expression of genes in 5 bivalves in normal condition compared to 5 bivalves kept 1 or 2 months in starvation respectively. We aimed glgA, glgC, galU, glgP for glycogen metabolism; rbcl1, rbcl2 for glucose synthesis metabolism; and aprA, dsrA, soxB, fccB for sulfur metabolism.
The results showed an over-expression of galU during starvation and no expression was detected for glgA and glgC suggesting an activation of glycogen producing by UDP-Glucose pathway. Nevertheless, glucose synthesis metabolism seems to be down-regulated (decreased expression of rbcl1), whereas for sulfur metabolism, only dsrA was expressed and up-regulated.
These results are preliminary, and we are currently conducting a global transcriptomic study in order to identify the set of genes and metabolic pathways affected during a long-term starvation in this marine symbiotic model harboring sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.


Heterosis is most frequently manifested as the superior performance of a hybrid than either of the parents, especially under stress conditions. Nitric oxide (NO) is a well-known gaseous signaling molecule that acts as a functional component during plant growth, development, and defense responses. In this study, the Brassica napus L. hybrid (F1, NJ4375 × MB1942) showed significant heterosis under salt stress, during both germination and post-germination periods. These phenotypes in the hybrid were in parallel with the better performance in redox homeostasis, including alleviation of reactive oxygen species accumulation and lipid peroxidation, and ion homeostasis, evaluated as a lower Na/K ratio in the leaves than parental lines. Meanwhile, stimulation of endogenous NO was more pronounced in hybrid plants, compared with parental lines, which might be mediated by nitrate reductase. Proteomic and biochemical analyses further revealed that protein abundance related to several metabolic processes, including chlorophyll biosynthesis, proline metabolism, and tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolism pathway, was greatly suppressed by salt stress in the two parental lines than in the hybrid. The above responses in hybrid plants were intensified by a NO-releasing compound, but abolished by a NO scavenger, both of which were matched with the changes in chlorophyll and proline contents. It was deduced that the above metabolic processes might play important roles in heterosis upon salt stress. Taken together, we proposed that heterosis derived from F1 hybridization in salt stress tolerance might be mediated by NO-dependent activation of defense responses and metabolic processes.


In theory, interference with energy production in tumours with the non-cytotoxic drugs L-isoproterenol (Jones et al., 1979) and hydralazine (G. R. N. Jones, unpublished work; Jones et al., 1980) offers an attractive means of causing selective cancer destruction in vivo. The fall in the total adenine nucleotide content of the tumour mass has provided a useful index of necrosis in preliminary studies (Jones et al., 1978). In practice, however, the results of repeated treatments in adult Swiss mice bearing the solid S180 sarcoma have been a little disappointing. For example, even though growth was cut by 65%, total adenine nucleotide concentrations of the tumour were 0.9 f 0.3 and 1.1 f 0.5 nmol/mg wet wt. after treatment with hydralazine ( 5 m g h g daily, subcutaneously) for 2 and 4 days respectively (controls, 2.3 f 0.4 nmol/mg); these are higher values than those obtained 24 h after one single administration (G. R. N. Jones, unpublished work; Jones et al., 1980). On the other hand, acquisition of resistance to continuing anti-cancer therapy is also seen in other forms of management (e.g. Boesen & Davis, 1969; Brule et al., 1973; Harrap, 1976). The emergence of this refractory state can be explained in terms of the depletion of limited amounts of an endogenous factor involved in disruption of energy-yielding processes. Alterations in the tumour adenine nucleotide pattern brought about by hydralazine are basically similar to those produced by endotoxin (Jones et al., 1978), where uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation is followed by progressive injury in tumour mitochondria (Jones, 1979). Differences exist insofar as (a) drug-induced interference with energy production occurs more rapidly in response to either drug than to endotoxin, and (b) the energy charge (Atkinson & Walton, 1967) gradually returns to normal ir, the original tumour mass after drug treatment but not after endotoxin (Jones et al., 1980). Various explanations of tumour necrotization by endotoxin have been suggested (Jones, 1979), including the sequence (a) selective activation of phospholipase A, in tumour mitochondria, (b) local hydrolysis of phosphatides to lysophosphatides and fatty acids, including arachidonic acid, and (c) enzymic conversion of the latter to prostaglandins. Interference with oxidative phosphorylation could then arise both through prostaglandins acting as Caz+ ionophores (Kirtland & Baum, 1972; Malmstrom & Carafoli, 1975), and through lysophosphatides acting as uncoupling agents (Witter et al., 1957). Only the first of these mechanisms is indomethacin-sensitive. Two lines of evidence suggest involvement of arachidonic acid or its metabolites in drug-induced tumour injury. First, pretreatment of Swiss mice bearing the S 180 sarcoma in solid form with indomethacin ( 5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) may largely prevent changes in the tumour adenine nucleotide pattern brought about by hydralazine or L-isoproterenol at 1 h (Table 1). Similar effects were seen when animals given L-isoproterenol had been pretreated with the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors flurbiprofen (Boots) or Voltaren (CIBA; results not shown). Changes in the tumour adenine nucleotide pattern 4 h after intraperitoneal injection of endotoxin or the powerful tumour-promoter 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (Hecker et al., 1964) are also presented. In contrast, these responses were affected by indomethacin pretreatment only a little or not at all over 4 h (Table 1 ). Second, arachidonic acid itself also produced effects. Tumour-bearing mice (about 30g) were given the free acid (9096 pure; approx. 15 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) in olive oil (0.05 mi), and were killed 25-47 h later. The average energy charge from a total of 12 tumours was 0.69f0.036, which is well below the usual value (Table 1; see also Jones et al., 1980). In another animal, injected daily for 3 days and killed on the fourth, the tumour was overtly haemorrhagic and necrotic, while the total adenine nucleotide content, at 1.3 nmol/mg, had fallen to approximately half the control value. These preliminary data are fully consistent with the depletion concept outlined above. On this basis both the capacity of cellular phospholipids to provide prostaglandin precursors and the net yield of functional Ca2+ ionophores could influence the magnitude of the response of the tumour energy charge to hydralazine or L-isoproterenol. Since such normal tissues as liver (Lankin, 1973) and serum (Elmendorff, 1965) tend to be depleted of arachidonic acid in tumour-bearing animals and patients, a lower content of arachidonic acid might be anticipated in the re-acylated lysophosphatides of tumour cells surviving the initial treatment. Both this effect and a similar deficiency in daughter generations could explain the development of refractoriness to continued therapy.


We grew cucumber in pots in greenhouse for 9-successive cropping cycles and analyzed the rhizosphere Pseudomonas spp. community structure and abundance by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative PCR. Results showed that continuous monocropping changed the cucumber rhizosphere Pseudomonas spp. community. The number of DGGE bands, Shannon-Wiener index and Evenness index decreased during the 3rd cropping and thereafter, increased up to the 7th cropping, however, however, afterwards they decreased again. The abundance of Pseudomonas spp. increased up to the 5th successive cropping and then decreased gradually. These findings indicated that the structure and abundance of Pseudomonas spp. community changed with long-term cucumber monocropping, which might be linked to soil sickness caused by its continuous monocropping.


This review illustrates the use of experimental approaches combined with microscopy to study the biology of monogenean parasites. Studies of feeding, development, reproduction, and systematics have been based on gyrodactylids, flatworms infecting teleost fishes. In a contrasting system involving an amphibian host in a desert environment, analysis of adaptations to extreme conditions has focused on Pseudodiplorchis americanus. The unusual reproductive strategies, particularly the interactions between mother and offspring, are highlighted for both monogeneans. Species of Gyrodactylus are viviparous, maintaining up to three generations of embryos simultaneously in utero, and many of their reproductive specializations are related to progenesis. Embryo nutrition takes place via a metabolically‐active syncytial uterine lining that has close association with the parental gut. Microscopy has also proved an essential adjunct to molecular studies of speciation and host specificity. P. americanus is ovoviviparous and the adaptations for embryo maintenance are unique. The primary keratin‐type eggshell is replaced by a flexible secondary elastin capsule produced by the uterus; parental nutrients are transferred through cytoplasmic connections to the developing embryo. TEM has demonstrated unique adaptations of P. americanus to its micro‐environments, including secretion of tegumental vesicles that provide protection from digestive enzymes during migration through the host gut. This paper highlights the potential of monogeneans for studies of fundamental biological principles. Miscrosc. Res. Tech. 42:186–199, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The cost of producing electricity with solar photovoltaic (PV) has decreased drastically in the past 10 years, so much that the installed PV capacity has increased exponentially between 2010 and 2018. South Africa is endowed with a technical potential of 72 GW for PV rooftop systems, but the economic potential is largely unknown. As a result, the integrated resource plan assumes that an annual installation of 200 MW of distributed generation will be made between 2018 and 2030. This study evaluates the economic potential of rooftop PV systems in the residential sector within metropolitan cities in South Africa using financial metrics. The important financial metrics used to qualify an investment are net present value, internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period. An investment is expected to pay itself back in less than 10 years with a high rate of return (IRR). Households are classified into living standards measure so that it is easier to map customers to related tariffs. Using this method, the eight metropolitan municipalities will have PV economic potential of 11 GW in 2019 and 22.7 GW by 2030 if the current tariff grows at 5% and the tariff structure does not change.


Timber imports into China in the 1980s probably translocated the North American pest Dendroctonus valens (red turpentine beetle) into the country. It has since established itself vast tracts of ecologically and economically valuable pine forest in northern China, threatening reforestation and forest protection programmes in the country. The Chinese State Forestry Administration ranks the red turpentine bark beetle as the second most important national forest pest.


PPARγ is a member of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subfamily of nuclear hormone receptors. PPARγ has been showed to be a key regulator of adipocyte differentiation and lipid metabolism. The pattern of PPARγ gene expression in different growth stages and its relation with adipose deposition in pigs is studied. Fifteen female Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire pigs in 5 groups with 3 pigs in each grup, at live weight of 1, 30, 50, 70, and 90 kg were used to study the developmental gene expression of PPARγ in subcutaneous adipose tissue by means of semi-quantitative RT- PCR. The results showed the PPARγ mRNA levels of porcine adipose tissue increased as pigs grew and deposited fat from 1 to 90 kg live weight (P < 0.05). The present data indicated a close positive correlation between the levels of PPARγ gene expression and the fat deposition rate in pigs. The experiment showed the total adipose weight increased significantly with body weight (P < 0.05).


Chronic-wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-derived fatal neurodegenerative disease that has affected wild cervid populations on a global scale. Susceptibility has been linked unambiguously to several amino acid variants within the prion protein gene (PRNP). Quantifying their distribution across landscapes can provide critical information for agencies attempting to adaptively manage CWD. Here we attempt to further define management implications of PRNP polymorphism by quantifying the contemporary geographic distribution (i.e., phylogeography) of PRNP variants in hunter-harvested white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus, N=1433) distributed across Arkansas (USA), including a focal spot for CWD since detection of the disease in February 2016. Of these, PRNP variants associated with the well-characterized 96S non-synonymous substitution showed a significant increase in relative frequency among older CWD-positive cohorts. We interpreted this pattern as reflective of a longer life expectancy for 96S genotypes in a CWD-endemic region, suggesting either decreased probabilities of infection or reduced disease progression. Other variants showing statistical signatures of potential increased susceptibility, however, seemingly do so as an artefact of population structure. We also showed marked heterogeneity across the landscape in the prevalence of 'reduced susceptibility' genotypes. This may indicate, in turn, that differences in disease susceptibility among WTD in Arkansas are an innate, population-level characteristic that is detectable through phylogeographic analysis.


Given that climate variability and change present unprecedented challenges to the rail sector, efforts to produce relevant climate data/information for climate risk management and adaptive decision making in the rail sector are gaining traction. However, inadequate understanding of climate change impact and information needs raises several concerns for the sector. This paper addressed the question: What climate risk information services are needed to support the adaptation needs of the rail sector? Data from interviews, literature reviews, and workshops were used. The results show that changes in precipitation, temperature, sea-level rise, and thunderstorms are the top drivers of climate risk in the sector. Additionally, the need for tailor-made climate information to manage these changes is in high demand. Although insufficient, rail organizations use special protocols to manage climate risk. Understudied countries have operational and design standards formulated in metrics and codes related to specific critical weather conditions as part of their Natural Hazard Management process. However, desirable adjustments in the standards are currently based on past events rather than future climate conditions. Future climate change information is relevant for medium- to longer-term decisions, strategy, and policymaking. For operational and design standards, weather and climate information provided by national weather service agencies are used but they also refer to the European standards and databases. National level data/information is preferred for developing thresholds for standards yet pan-European level information is also relevant in filling in missing data gaps. Therefore, rail organizations operate on flexibility and a "use of best available data" policy. Understanding how climate information is used to support decision-making in the rail sector is by no means an easy task given the variety of decisions to be taken at different spatial and temporal scales. However, stakeholder engagement proved to be an important step to better inform tailor-made information that is user relevant.


We propose a framework that uses the available gene/protein interaction databases of the literature as a universal benchmark in order to globally assess the inference performances of gene network inference algorithms. We also developed an R software package for convenient use of the framework, which can also be used in general as a quick tool to search in the literature for available validations of interactions. We applied the proposed approach to 2 publicly available prostate cancer gene expression datasets and a large breast cancer gene expression dataset. The results revealed different aspects and superiority of algorithms that had not been compared previously in the available literature. Our approach allowed the assessing and comparing of the algorithms on a real dataset of a size of around 30,000 probes, which showed the strengths and weaknesses of the algorithms from different points of view rather than conventional approaches. We further show that our approach provides a unique advantage in assessing the performance of an inference method when applied to a new dataset and thus sheds light on the results of a de novo application, which would be obscure without our approach.


Tris(dimethylamino)stibine (I) reacts with aldehydes and ketones to give gem-diamines and enamines. The reaction with acetic anhydride gives NN-dimethylacetamide along with stibine oxide or tris(acetoxy)stibine. depending upon the conditions. Reactions of tris(dimethylamino)stibine (I) with carbon dioxide, phenyl isocyanate, and phenyl isothiocyanate afford the triscarbamato-, ureido-, and thioureido-derivative of stibine, as the result of insertion of the heterocumulenes across the antimony–nitrogen bonds in tris(dimethylamino)stibine.


BACKGROUND
Bcl-2 oncoprotein inhibits apoptosis, whereas bax protein promotes apoptosis by enhancing cell susceptibility to apoptotic stimuli. This study examined the bcl-2, bax and p53 expression in rectal adenocarcinomas and their relationship with tumor prognosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Paraffin-embedded 4-microm tumor sections obtained from patients with rectal adenocarcinoma who underwent colectomy for therapeutic reasons, were analyzed with a standard streptavidin biotin peroxidase method, using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. Patients were followed up for 1.5-83 (mean +/- SD: 47.19 +/- 6.2) months.

RESULTS
Positive immunoreactivity for bcl-2, bax and p53 was detected in 21 (37%), 28 (50%) and 45 (80%) tumors, respectively. Bax was co-expressed in 17 out of 21 bcl-2(+) cases, whereas p53 was co-expressed in 18 out of 21 bcl-2(+) and 17 out of 28 bax(+) cases. Loss of bax expression was associated with advanced stage and high grade tumors (p < 0.01). Local (n = 6) or distant (n = 5) tumor recurrence was established in 11 cases. All these cases were bax(+), bcl-2(-) and p53(+). Bax and p53 expressions were correlated with adverse outcome (p < 0.05) while bcl-2 presence did not influence survival. Bcl-2(-)/bax(+)/p53(+) cases showed lower survival than bax(+)/bcl-2(+)/p53(+) cases (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
In rectal adenocarcinoma, bax and bcl-2 proteins co-express frequently with p53. Co-expression of bax with p53 protein is associated with poor clinical outcome, especially in cases without concomitant expression of bcl-2.


Bioactive lipids are lipids with cell signaling functions. In the last two decades, they have become increasingly important in many fields of biology. They are the main diffusible mediators of inflammatory responses in tissues and regulate the polarity of cellular membranes. They are also critical for cell fate decisions during stem cell differentiation by inducing apoptosis or sustaining cell survival and polarity. The bioactive lipids discussed here belong to the classes of phosphoand sphingolipids. Mainly three different types of lipids and their function in stem cell differentiation will be reviewed in detail: phophatidylinositols (PIPs), lysophospholipids and eicosanoids, and the sphingolipid ceramide and its derivative sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P).


A wideband radar concept with a bandwidth of 3.2 GHz is investigated for automotive application. The wideband direct sequence spread spectrum concept at 24 GHz enables a high resolution with distance cells of less than 0.1 m and an accuracy in the mm-range, a high immunity against interferers and a strong channel separation. A laboratory demonstrator is realised and the feasibility of the concept is shown by way of measured results.


Background: Sarcopenia is the major health concern and common consequence of COVID-19 in the aging population. Moreover, this clinical condition has not been considered in usual physical rehabilitation practice and nor its exercise protocol is well defined, which requires a meaningful study in this field.Objective: To find and compare the low and moderate intensity aerobic training protocols on clinical and psychological effects in community dwelling COVID-19 asymptomatic older adults with Sarcopenia symptoms. Methods: By using computer random table method the eligible participants were randomized into two groups. First group received low-intensity aerobic training (LAT; n = 38) and the second group received moderate-intensity aerobic training (MAT; n = 38) for 8 weeks. Clinical (muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance) and psychological (kinesiophobia and quality of life) measures were measured at baseline, at 4th week, 8th week and at 6 month follow up. Results: Baseline demographic and clinical attributes show homogenous presentation among the study groups (p>0.05). After eight weeks of different aerobic trainings, and at the end of 6 months follow up, the hand grip strength, -3.0 (CI 95% -4.16 to -1.83), chair stand test -2.7 (-3.29 to -2.10), physical performance -0.08 (-0.10 to -0.05), kinesiophobia, 4.2 (3.25 to 5.14), and quality of life -5.7 (-8.4 to -2.9) shows more improvement (p<0.001) in LAT group than MAT group but in muscle mass both groups did not show any significant difference (p>0.05).Conclusion: This study reports that low intensity aerobic training exercises improve the clinical (muscle strength and physical performance) and psychological (kinesiophobia and quality of life) aspects than moderate intensity aerobic training in COVID-19 asymptomatic older adults with Sarcopenia symptoms. At the same time both types of aerobic training exercises have negligible or little role in increasing the muscle quantity - cross sectional area.


The theory of differential equations have diverged in two different directions in our century; the applied mathematical coordinate based presentation which has its origin in hand calculations, and the pure mathematical presentation based on coordinate free formulations, commutative diagrams and global analysis. Through various examples, we show that much can be gained by employing 'abstract' coordinate free formulations also in scientific/numerical computing. The origin of this line of work, was an attempt to design a software system for numerical solution of tensor field equations on parallel computers by using formal methods from pure computer science [2]. It was discovered that the pure abstract mathematical definitions was better suited for software design than the concrete coordinate based definitions, and that modern computer languages enables us to express and program various numerical algorithms directly within a coordinate free language. Later [3] we discovered very useful computational techniques for manipulating tensor indexes which are simple to program within the abstract framework, but cannot be conveniently expressed within a coordinate based formulation. Recently [4], we have shown that the Butcher theory for analyzing Runge-Kutta methods may be replaced by a coordinate free analysis based on Lie series and Lie groups. Through its geometric formulation and structural simplicity, this approach is interesting for investigating geometric ODE integrators (e.g. symplectic ODE methods).


The Web has made it possible for interested participants to assemble themselves into virtual educational communities. In this article we discuss the design of online scoring systems that might be used in computer-based educational contexts. The focus is on the design of the software that supports high psychometric and fairness standards. We first describe the system from the point of view of different participants and then discuss the design of the underlying database, which is at the heart of the system. We close with conclusions regarding the advantages of sound database design and online grading.


Objective With the gradual replacement of the ICD-9 coding system by the newer ICD-10 system, there is a need to critically evaluate how the system improves—or fails to improve—the coding of specific cleft and craniofacial anomalies. The following review examines the new system and the key components for practitioners who treat patients with such anomalies. Conclusions While seemingly beneficial in certain respects, the newer ICD-10 system remains far from ideal for cleft and craniofacial anomalies. With future iterations of the system, a more concerted effort to precisely code such anomalies is warranted, which will likely require input from key practitioners.


Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness. It is a public health problem. No race is exempted from getting glaucoma. In the United States there are more than 2 million people afflicted with this disease. Every effort should be made to detect those people at risk early, and adequately manage them to prevent blindness. Therefore, it is important than an awareness of this disease should be created among health care professionals and the general public. This will lead to the early detection and proper management of this disease to prevent blindness. Glaucoma is a group of ocular conditions that will lead to blindness if it is not controlled. Although our knowledge about this group of diseases has advanced much in the past few decades--as compared with earlier times--we still are ignorant about the finer points and details regarding the disease. A lot of basic and clinical research is required to further and completely understand it. Much research is being done toward better management of glaucoma. Many multicenter clinical trials are being conducted. Collection of data regarding glaucoma is ongoing and will contribute to a better understanding of glaucoma--and thereby better management of patients who develop glaucoma.


In modelling single species with discrete, non-overlapping generations, one usually assumes that the density at time t + .1 is a function of the density at time t: Nt+1 = f(Nt). The dynamical behaviour of this system depends on the parameters in the function f. It commonly changes, as a parameter increases, from a stable equilibrium through a series of bifurcations into stable cycles, to chaotic motion. It is implicit in the assumptions of the model that the population consists of identical individuals. In this paper it is shown that variation within the population can lead to a different route to chaos. Invasion of a mutant phenotype into a resident population can elicit intermittency. This kind of chaotic behaviour consists of regular motion most of the time with short intermittent periods in which the system fluctuates wildly.


Background: Mindfulness-based training (MSBT) is widely recommended for improving both physical and functional outcomes in chronic health problems. This presentation evaluates the quality of evidence supporting such recommendations.

Methods: A systematic narrative review identifies key meta-analyses and randomized trials evaluating MSBT for physical health problems. Key findings will be evaluated with respect to quality of conduct and reporting and the influence of conflicts of interest on results.
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Findings: Strong findings are claimed in meta-analyses for MSBT across a full range of chronic physical and mental health problems. However, when these meta-analyses are evaluated in terms of standard measures of quality and conflict of interest, a clear pattern emerges. Positive findings are largely limited to poor quality meta-analyses from authors with conflicts of interest. High-quality comprehensive meta-analyses fail to identify many benefits of MSBT versus other active treatments. In terms of RCTs, positive findings are largely limited to subjective self-report in comparisons with no treatment and inadequate control conditions. Overall quality of RCTs is low. Claims about MSBT influencing immune and brain function in any unique or clinically significant fashion are as yet unwarranted. Whether patients assigned to mindfulness training actually practice is seldom assessed and results are mixed. Under conditions in which MSBT is typically evaluated, acupuncture would appear effective.

Discussion: Clinicians and policymakers need to be alert to the overall poor quality of meta-analyses and randomized trials from promoters of MSBT. There is little need for further research comparing MSBT to no treatment or inadequate control conditions.