Hydatidosis is the most important global parasitic infectious disease both in humans and animals, which can lodge at different organs of the host, such as liver, lung (even heart), and brain which may lead to death. Surgery is the main method for the treatment of hydatidosis. In surgical therapy of hydatidosis, the use of sporicidal agents is very important since these agents inactivate live protoscolices and prevent recurrence of infection. Presently, numerous scolicidal chemical agents have been administrated to inactivate the hydatid cyst contents. Recently, there has been a high tendency among researchers to evaluate and present herbal plants as alternative option due to inexpensiveness, availability, low side effects, and toxicity. This study aimed to evaluate the scolicidal effect of hydro alcoholic Taxus baccata L. extract in vitro for the first time. The scolicidal activities of the extract were tested in concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 mg/ml following 10, 30, and 60 min of incubation, and the experiments were performed in triplicate. Viability of protoscolices was confirmed by 0.1% eosin vital staining. The data were analyzed in SAS software (version 9.4). The results showed that the hydroalcoholic extract of Taxus baccata L. at the concentration of 150 mg/ml led to killing 66.6% of protoscolices at 60 min. according to the results of this investigation, it is recommended to use this plant as a scolicidal plant. The findings of the present study showed that Taxus baccata L. had potent scolicidal effects. However, further studies are required to evaluate the efficacy of Taxus baccata L. in vivo.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with western medicine for treatment of essential tremor.

METHODS
Sixty cases of essential tremor were randomly divided into two groups, 30 cases in each group. The combined acupuncture and medication group was treated with acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Taixi (KI 3), etc. and oral administration of Propranolol; the medication group was treated with oral administration of Propranolol only. The comprehensive effects and the scores of tremor were observed after 30 days of treatment in the two groups.

RESULTS
The total effective rate of 90.0% (27/30) in the combined acupuncture and medication group was obviously higher than that of 56.7% (17/30) in the medication group (P < 0.01), the tremor score of the combined acupuncture and medication group was obviously better than that of the medication group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Acupuncture combined with oral administration of Propranolol has better therapeutic effect on essential tremor than that of oral administration of Propranolol only.


The dynamic and steady state behavior of highly entangled polybutadiene solutions has been studied in shearing flow using high-spatial-resolution particle tracking velocimetry. In Couette geometry, the velocity profile is approximately linear upon the imposition of a step shear rate, but becomes significantly curved at later times, and attains the steady shape only after more than 100 strain units. In steady state, local shear rate varies smoothly across the gap and there is no shear banding. The constitutive relation is constructed from local stress and local shear rate extracted from velocity profiles. This procedure is not affected by the common problems of slip and edge instabilities as encountered with cone and plate geometry. The constructed constitutive curve is clearly monotonic for all tested solutions with entanglement numbers up to 47, notwithstanding a local power law index in the stress plateau as small as 0.01. The slope of the stress plateau is sensitive to both the chain polydispersity and entanglement number. Transient shear banding was observed under imposition of step shear in cone and plate geometry. This banding, however, disappears at longer times, which again confirms a monotonic steady state constitutive relation.


Living labs have emerged on the crossroads of the open innovation and user innovation frameworks. As open innovation systems, living labs consist of various actors with each playing their specific role. Within this article, we will take an open innovation perspective by analyzing the knowledge spill-overs between living lab actors through three in-depth innovation case studies taking place within the LeYLab living lab in Kortrijk, Belgium. The results illustrate how living labs foster the three open innovation processes of exploration, exploitation, and retention. From our analysis, we conclude that living labs are particularly useful for exploration and, to a lesser extent, exploitation. In terms of retention, living labs seem to hold a large potential; however, the success and the nature of the innovation processes depend on the sustainability of living labs, the number of innovation cases, and the alignment of these cases with the living lab infrastructure. Based on these findings, a concrete set of guidelines is proposed for innovating in living labs and for setting up a living lab constellation. Innovation happens because there are people out there doing and trying a lot of different things.


The current study tested whether "suffocation sensations" (respiratory loads) are automatically evaluated in a negative way by people fearing these sensations. It was found that, after having been primed with a slight respiratory load, participants with high suffocation fear (n=15) reacted more quickly to suffocation words and more slowly to positive words than participants with low suffocation fear (n=21). However, the effect was present only in participants who had noticed the primes. The findings are relevant to the cognitive model of panic disorder because automatic negative appraisal of sensations may play a role in initiating a panic attack.


Studies of ion confinement in Doublet III show that the ion thermal diffusivity chi i exceeds the neoclassical value by a factor of two to four at r=0.2a increasing to a factor of ten at r=0.7a. It appears that chi e and chi i are always closely equal, suggesting turbulence underlies the diffusion. Scaling data for energy confinement time dependence on heating power, density, current, and toroidal field are reviewed to constrain the formulation of a transport model based on turbulence. A model based on trapped electron turbulence is proposed which produces the correct scaling behavior of tau E in both low and high collisionality regimes.


Background and aims: Deoxyribozymes are oligoribodeoxynucleotides that catalyze reactions such as cutting RNA and have diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Deoxyribozyme 10-23 includes a catalytic domain dependent on a fixed 15-nucleotic (mer) cation and two variable binding arms that cause the specificity of enzymes. Lactose operon is used in the white-blue screening process. This operon includes three polycistronic genes. In this study, a deoxyribozyme against α-peptide beta-galactosidase gene in the lactose operon was designed.
Methods: pGEM-T map was obtained from addgene server and α-peptide gene sequence was determined. Then, using expasy website proper protein frame in comparison with various reading frames was determined. In this step, whole sequence was reversed and mRNA sequence was achieved. Secondary structure with the lowest free energy was gained using mfold server. Considering the fact that 10-23 deoxyribozyme has cutting capability between a unpaired purine and pairs pyrimidine; an AC was selected in ribosome binding site in the untranslated region and then 9 open bases on either side of it was used as a binding arms. Investigation of the absence of similar sequences in host bacteria was performed by NCBI server. Finally, activity and binding of deoxyribozyme was predicted by the mfold server.
Results: The results of this study showed that the designed deoxyribozyme had a relatively high Tm with two 9-nucleotide arms, which increased its effectiveness.
Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to control the expression of lacZ gene as a biomarker.


A simple method which allows rapid, reproducible biotyping of Candida albicans isolates, and is suitable for use in any diagnostic medical microbiology laboratory is described. This system comprises three tests, the API ZYM system, the API 20C system, and a plate test for resistance to boric acid. The system differentiated a possible 234 biotypes, of which 33 were found amongst the 130 isolates of C. albicans taken from oral, genital and skin sites. Major biotypes found amongst oral and non-oral isolates were similar, although differences were found amongst minor biotypes. The new system was found to be reproducible, discriminatory, reasonably fast (48 h), easy to perform, and had no requirement for specialised equipment. Hence this biotyping system is suitable for use in diagnostic microbiology laboratories for epidemiological investigations of C. albicans infections.


With the inception of the modem era of avian immunology in the mid-1950s following the discovery of the role of the bursa of Fabricius (BF), steady and persistent research has been conducted by scientists. Findings that have advanced our knowledge of humoral immunity (HI) include the distinct role of B cells in antibody production, explanation of antibody diversity by gene rearrangement and conversion, identification of a bursal secretory dendritic cell and dendritic cells of the spleen, characterization of cytokine factors, and mapping of MHC class II genes. Numerous experiments have been conducted to evaluate the HI responses of poultry through antibody titer determination and quantitation of immunoglobulin concentrations in the humors. Antibody studies have included the genetics of HI regarding both quantity and persistence of responses as influenced by multiple genes and MHC haplotypes. In the past decade, emergence of monoclonal antibody reagents to identify cell surface markers on B cells and accessory cells has allowed for discrimination of HI functions of cells by immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and other techniques. The signaling mechanisms of avian B cells are becoming better understood. Continued work in avian immunity has led to more advances in identification, characterization, and gene sequencing of important cytokines. Additional work is required to identify and sequence genes for many more cytokines that have direct effects on B cells. A brief history of research published on avian B cells is presented with an examination of some of the important research findings reported in recent years.


Background: Given indications of widening disparities in mortality for people with serious mental illness, understanding and reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and improving health-related quality of life is an urgent public health priority. This study examined CVD risk factor clustering, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and their correlates among people with SMI who were overweight/obese (i.e., BMI ≥ 25) and living in supportive housing. Methods: Baseline data were used from participants enrolled in a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of a peer-led healthy lifestyle program. univariate analyses were used to describe the distribution of individual risk factors and the cumulative number of CVD risk factors. Bivariate and regression analyses were used to explore correlates of individual CVD risk factors, the cumulative number of risk factors, and HRQoL Physical and Mental Health Composite Scores. Results: Participants were 48.7 years old, on average (sd = 11.6) and the majority identified as male (57.3%) and as racial/ethnic minorities (82%; primarily non-Hispanic black). Most participants (75.4%) had at least two co-occurring CVD risk factors and almost half (46.7%) had three or more, most commonly obesity, smoking, and hypertension. Prevalence of individual risk factors, particularly smoking and diabetes, varied by demographic and clinical characteristics. Identifying as female, older age, and taking second generation antipsychotic medication were associated with having more co-occurring CVD risk factors, while having completed high school was associated with fewer risks. Number of co-occurring CVD risk factors, identifying as female, and greater psychiatric symptoms were negatively associated with physical HRQoL. Older age, lower psychiatric symptoms, and greater internal locus of control were positively associated with mental HRQoL.Conclusion: Even when compared to other studies examining CVD risk among individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, our study sample generally had higher rates of clustering of multiple risk factors, highlighting the need for urgent intervention among those living in supportive housing. Demographic and clinical factors further identify those who may have the highest risk as well as factors that may adversely affect perceived health status and functioning. Reducing CVD risk and improving HRQoL will likely require expanding access to quality care, adapting intervention approaches to subpopulations, and providing increased support to facilitate health behavior change and perceived control for modifiable risk factors.Trial Registration: This trial was registered through ClinicalTrials.gov on June 26, 2014. The registration number is NCT02175641.


ABSTRACT
 Among phytophagous insects, the Cicadomorpha are important economically because they damage crops by sucking plant sap and by transmitting plant pathogens, such as Spiroplasma citri and Xylella fastidiosa to citrus. In Argentina little knowledge exists about this subject. The aim of this work was to study the diversity of Cicadomorpha associated with citrus orchards in Entre Ríos province, and their seasonal fluctuation in relation with climatic and phenological conditions. A total of 1,554 specimens belonging to 28 species of Cicadomorpha were collected with yellow sticky traps in sweet orange (Citrus × sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and tangerine (Citrus unshiu Marc) orchards. The Shannon index and the Simpson index suggested a similar trend in the distribution of the dominant species in both crops. In the orange orchard, Cicadomorpha populations increased in the summer coincidently with temperature increases. On the other hand, a significant increase in abundance during the winter months was coincident with increase of early sprouts of the citrus plants. Entre Ríos province represents a new distribution record for 13 species. Tangerine is a newly recorded host-plant for 16 species studied, and eight species are reported for the first time on 'Valencia Late' orange.


The influence of the several digitalis bodies on the blood pressure in both man and animals has been the subject of considerable study. It is now quite generally agreed that strophanthus, amorphous strophanthin and ouabain do not exert any direct vasoconstrictor action when administered to man in therapeutic doses, and the present tendency is to regard both digitalis and digitoxin as similarly devoid of such action. There is, however, still some divergence of opinion in regard to the latter drugs, and it is my purpose to review the essential literature relating to this question and also to present the results of a careful study of a small group of cases. Gottlieb and Magnus 1 reviewed the literature in support of the view that digitalis increased the blood pressure, and recorded a series of animal experiments which has done more, perhaps, than any other study to lead to the belief that


I feel justified in presenting at the outset of this paper the abstract prepared and read at the meeting of the American Neurological Association in 1928. This outlines the scope of the complete study, which by reason of its bulk cannot be published in the periodic literature, and may be offered in monograph form later. Following this abstract it is my intention to include here but one chapter in this more extended study. The chapter on "phenomenology" has been selected for presentation from four case histories, to be followed by a general consideration of the phenomena observed in the accompaniments of chronic parkinsonian encephalitis, so far as oculogyric crises are concerned. In this, a detailed picture derived from personal observation and interpretative meaning of the 200 cases reported in the literature will be sketched. Emphasis is put on the "dissolution of function" conceptions of evolutionally oriented points of view, notably


Since Ghana's oil discovery in 2007, the question of how the resource will benet aected communities and who holds the responsibly is still a subject of debate. Will the benets be negotiated by local actors or will benets ow automatically from the state and oil companies? Guided by the actor-oriented theoretical foundation, the paper qualitatively examines how dierent actors have emerged in the Western Region of Ghana to negotiate for benets from the oil nd. Two qualitative case studies were conducted on sher folks and youth groups to examine the processes, dynamics and outcomes of their negotiations. The results show that disenfranchised youth and sher folks, who feel dispossessed of their livelihood, have resorted to social mobilisation and contentious political bargaining strategies to negotiate for their benefits and to channel their grievances. Alternative livelihoods, jobs for locals and improvement in social infrastructural development are the primary requests of the local actors. The paper concludes that local actors' interests are varied and negotiations are largely unregulated. Local actors constantly accuse oil companies for not prioritising their needs. State coherent policies and structures to mediate the negotiation processes between local actors, companies and the state are therefore recommended to avoid violent conicts. Keywords : Local Actors, Negotiation, Local Benets, Oil and Gas, Ghana


Background Our objective was to evaluate and review the current literature on the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the elderly. Methods We selected recent peer-reviewed articles addressing ageing, cancer treatment in the elderly, and lung cancer treatment in the elderly. We defined elderly as over the age of 70. Results The population is ageing dramatically throughout most of the world. Given that situation, clinicians are seeing and being asked to treat more elderly patients that have NSCLC. Elderly patients are less likely to participate or be allowed to participate in prospective or retrospective studies of treatments for NSCLC. Elderly patients are also less likely to be staged appropriately for their advanced tumors, and are less likely to be referred for surgery or adjuvant therapy after surgery. When treatment is tailored to patient comorbidities but not to age, the data support survival and outcomes comparable to those of younger patients. Conclusions Data are limited on the treatment of elderly patients with NSCLC. No data exist to support limiting recommendations for treatment based on age alone. Treatments should be determined on an individual basis.


BackgroundIntegration and implementation of Personal Health Records (PHR) in the healthcare system offers the opportunity for improved care for patients. Older adults, who often face a larger number of chronic diseases, could particularly benefit from a transparent and improved healthcare process. However, confident and self-determined use of a PHR requires a high degree of digital and content-related competence. At the same time, older adults may have little experience of using digital technology. This study aimed to assess the attitudes of older adults towards the PHR and their requirements for development of an eLearning platform designed to enable older adults to use the PHR. MethodsTo answer the research questions, semi-structured interviews with older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) were conducted. A focus group was also set up, consisting of older adults. Sociodemographic data, previous knowledge about the PHR and willingness to use technology were additionally collected by using standardized validated questionnaires and self-developed questionnaires. ResultsWhile previous knowledge about the PHR was relatively low within the study population, general attitudes towards the PHR were mostly positive. The study participants mainly expressed hope for improved care, such as better communication and avoidance of duplicate examinations. At the same time, the potentially large amount of data in the system, as well as possible incomprehensibility of the content, were mentioned as concerning factors. In terms of requirements for the eLearning platform, usability was the aspect most frequently mentioned by the participants. The subjects emphasized that the platform should consider the requirements of older adults in particular. In terms of content, help with the use of the PHR and information about its general conception, as well as access authorization, were named. ConclusionWhile the general attitude of older adults towards the PHR was relatively positive, there is a high demand for an eLearning platform enabling the target group to successfully use the PHR. Such a platform could facilitate implementation of the PHR and help older adults to actively participate in their healthcare. During development, the specific needs of the target group should be considered to ensure accessibility and usability.


The classification and management of solid pancreatic neoplasms has expanded significantly in recent years because of advances in immunohistochemical markers, molecular diagnostics, and therapeutics. Solid pancreatic masses are subdivided into 1) ill‐defined, scirrhous, and stroma‐rich (ductal adenocarcinoma) and 2) well circumscribed, cellular, and stroma‐poor (including neuroendocrine neoplasms, acinar cell carcinoma, pancreatoblastoma, and solid‐pseudopapillary neoplasm). Definitive diagnosis, particularly of stroma‐poor, circumscribed tumors, requires the incorporation of radiologic and cytologic findings, along with the judicious use of (broad, but limited) immunohistochemical panels (pancytokeratin and neuroendocrine [synaptophysin], acinar [trypsin], and solid‐pseudopapillary neoplasm [β‐catenin] markers), along with unstained slides. Depending on the initial results, immunohistochemical panels should be expanded to include more confirmatory (acinar and neuroendocrine) markers. This ensures that adequate material is available for definitive diagnosis/subclassification and, in some cases, grading, and/or molecular studies, particularly of grade 3 neuroendocrine neoplasms and mixed‐lineage tumors. The objective of this review is to expand the understanding of the cytomorphology of solid pancreatic neoplasms using an integrated, multidisciplinary approach in their diagnosis. Knowledge and understanding of recent updates in the classification of solid pancreatic neoplasms ensures that cytopathologists appropriately triage specimens, judiciously use and interpret ancillary studies, and incorporate these results in reporting.


We investigated the vascularization of the amygdala of the dog using various contrast agents injected into the internal carotid and vertebral artery. Subsequent clearance of the tissues gives us an opportunity to study the finest capillary network in the amygdala. The corticomedial part of the amygdala has a good vascularization given by the rostral and caudal choroid arteries. The rostral choroid gives off a rich capillary net to the nucleus centralis (NCE), its pars lateralis (NCEL) and pars medialis (NCEM). Nucleus medialis (NM) is poorly vascularized compared to the central nuclei. The massa intercalata (MI) also has a delicate artery around which there is a fine net of capillaries. Nucleus corticalis (NCO) and area enthorhinalis (AER) are better vascularized by the subpial blood vessel. The caudal choroid, a branch of the caudal cerebral artery is a source of subpial capillaries. The basolateral part of the amygdala is very well vascularized by the rostral choroid artery, a branch of the middle cerebral, especially the nucleus basolateralis (NBL) and nucleus lateralis posterior (NLP). The nucleus basomedialis (NBM) is poorly vascularize by the rostral choroid artery . The amygdala, is served by the middle cerebral artery, via its branch, the rostral choroid, and the caudal cerebral artery via its branch the caudal choroid artery. Every amygdala nucleus has its own central artery around which is formed a rich net of capillaries.


[1] We present a reconstruction of tropical South American temperature anomalies over the last ∼1600 years. The reconstruction is based on a highly resolved and carefully dated ammonium record from an ice core that was drilled in 1999 on Nevado Illimani in the eastern Bolivian Andes. Concerning the relevant processes governing the observed correlation between ammonium concentrations and temperature anomalies, we discuss anthropogenic emissions, biomass burning, and precipitation changes but clearly favor a temperature‐dependent source strength of the vegetation in the Amazon Basin. That given, the reconstruction reveals that Medieval Warm Period– and Little Ice Age–type episodes are distinguishable in tropical South America, a region for which until now only very limited temperature proxy data have been available. For the time period from about 1050 to 1300 AD, our reconstruction shows relatively warm conditions that are followed by cooler conditions from the 15th to the 18th century, when temperatures dropped by up to 0.6°C below the 1961–1990 average. The last decades of the past millennium are characterized again by warm temperatures that seem to be unprecedented in the context of the last ∼1600 years.


The response of the euryhaline amphipod Grandidierella lignorum to changing freshwater inflow was investigated in three estuaries with differing river discharges. In the Kariega and Keiskamma estuaries an increase in the density of G. lignorum was correlated with an increase in river inflow. The sharp reduction in salinity during flooding is suggested as a possible trigger which stimulates G. lignorum to rise into the water column. The position of stations along the Kariega and Keiskamma estuaries, together with seasonal effects, also influenced G. lignorum abundance. In the Great Fish estuary, which has a continuous large freshwater input, changes in the abundance of G. lignorum were not correlated with inflow. Possible reasons for this anomalous situation, as well as the biological implications of becoming part of the zooplankton during flooding, are discussed.


The aim of the study is conducting methodologically sound, cross-sequential analyses of the creativity development of children attending different school systems. Culture-free tests of creativity (ideational fluency and flexibility) and intelligence were administered in 5 cohorts (two kindergarten and first three elementary school years), which were retested in three consecutive years. Samples include 244 Luxembourg and 312 German children enrolled in educational systems with obligatory kindergarten and 6-year comprehensive elementary school versus optional kindergarten, 4-year comprehensive elementary school and educational placement thereafter. Results demonstrate (1) linear increases in intelligence, (2) declines of divergent performances after school enrollment in both samples, (3) increases in divergent performances up to the 5th elementary school year in Luxembourg and up to the 3rd elementary school year in Germany (i.e., the next to last school year before educational placement) followed by a second creativity slump. Cross-sequential results confirm discontinuities in the development of divergent productions in childhood.


Background

Toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) is increasingly studied due to a rise in application in various products. Various studies on AgNP toxicity with terrestrial and aquatic organisms confirmed their negative effects. In our previous experiments, strong variability was observed in the reproduction of Collembola in different seasons. To investigate the effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) on the reproduction of Collembola in different seasons, Folsomia candida were exposed to AgNP and silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) at a concentration of 30 mg/kg dry soil for 28 days. The reproduction tests were repeated during different seasons throughout one year in order to assess if animals' sensitivity varied with the season.

Results

Significantly lower reproduction was found in the control in winter with only 101 (± 7) juveniles per adult, compared to 126-158 individuals in other seasons. Strong toxic effects (inhibition of reproduction by up to 50%) were observed during summer, spring and autumn in both treatments. However, AgNP showed no toxic effects on the reproduction of F. candida in winter. The relative toxicity of both substances varied with the seasons: AgNP were more toxic than AgNO 3 in spring and summer, and less toxic in autumn and winter.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that seasonal effects on the reproduction of Folsomia candida are significant. Moreover, we demonstrated the reproductive toxicity of AgNP in soil at a much lower concentration than reported thus far. These effects can mainly be attributed to soil conditions, which raises concern whether these commonly used test substrates are really protective.


An unusual and undescribed foliar blight of tall fescue was observed in a home lawn and in turf grass research plots near Griffin, GA in May and June, 2000 and 2001. Isolation from lesions yielded mycelium of a basidiomycete with hyphal characteristics (binucleate cells, absence of clamp connections) associated with Laetisaria and Limonomyces spp. Isolates from blighted tall fescue and an isolate of Limonomyces roseipellis formed a clade distinct from isolates of Laetisaria fuciformis based on ribosomal DNA sequences. These data, in conjunction with cultural morphology, indicate that the basidiomycete from tall fescue represents a biotype of Limonomyces roseipellis that lacks clamp connections. In a controlled environment, isolates of the biotype induced foliar blight in the fescue cvs. Kentucky 31 and Rebel III. Histological observations revealed that the fungus colonized leaf surfaces as branched hyphae and aggregated hyphal strands. Penetration occurred via stomatal pores on the abaxial leaf surface. Colonization of leaf tissues was inter- and intracellular, with no evidence of papilla formation in response to invading hyphae. The name "cream leaf blight" is proposed for this new disease of tall fescue.


We consider a cooperative network where the communication between a single source-destination pair is assisted by the transmission of relays. In the considered cooperative model, once a node requires cooperation, it broadcasts a claim for cooperation message. Under high mobility conditions or in some special scenarios this is the natural procedure to discover the potential relays. However, when there is a large number of nodes that can potentially serve as a relay, a multiple relay access control (MRAC) problem turns up and the relay transmissions must be organized in an effective manner. We introduce this problematic and propose three different strategies to manage this severe competitive channel. In these strategies either the source, the destination or both trigger the cooperative process. The methodology employed makes the results and conclusions valid for a wide range of cooperative scenarios, and hence, useful for a wide range of applications.


shrimp DTU Orbit (01/05/2019) Developing a protocol for testing low phytic acid soy meal based feed on Pacific white shrimp Soy meal is an attractive alternative to more traditional protein sources for shrimp feeds due to its relatively low cost. However, 75% of the P in soybean grains is in the form of phytic acid (PA) which is not digestible by monoand a-gastric animals such as shrimp. This leads to environmental detriment caused by the excess P in the waste of the animals. For this reason, soy meal is not commonly used in aqua cultural animal feeds. Low PA (LPA) soybean varieties have been developed using genetic mutations which have up to 75% lower PA content than conventional varieties. In this study, a low error protocol was developed for studying the effect of LPA soy meal based feeds on the growth and environmental quality of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Three different methods, differing in tank and population size and chemical analysis protocols, were compared to divine a low error testing method. It showed that using five shrimp over six weeks and a higher capacity ortho-P testing protocol had lower error and should be favored for studying the difference in water quality levels. However, none of the tested methods were particularly favorable for studying the effect of LPA soy meal based feeds on shrimp growth. It was suggested, that the meal effect on shrimp growth can be studied by either vastly increasing the population size (>100 shrimp/aquarium) or decreased (1 shrimp/aquarium) to account for shrimp death and variation in size between individuals.


Radiocesium has been deposited after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident and affix to the soils inland. The soils flowed into Lake Teganuma through Ohori River. Field observation was carried out to quantify radiocesium, associated with sediments, transported around Lake Teganuma and Ohori River from October 2011 to March 2014. We quantified the sediment transported to Ohori River and found that the total radiocesium stock in Ohori River was 2,190 MBq which was mostly attached to the fine-grained sediment of silt in 2012. The radiocesium, transported as a suspended sediment in the Ohori River watershed, was approximately 10 percent of the total fallout of 2 TBq. The total flux of radiocesium in Ohori River were 3,800 MBq in 2012 and reduced to 6.65 MBq in 2013. These results denote that most of the radiocesium-polluted sediments were transported downstream in 2011 and sharply decreased after 2012. When a similar study was conducted in Abukuma River, only 1% of the total fallout was calculated indicating transport was 10 times that of the Abukuma River. This is attributed to be urbanization of Teganuma basin in comparison to the Abukuma basin, thus more cesium were transported in a shorter time period.


Ion channels are major signaling proteins spanning the plasma membrane where they enable the diffusion of specific ions into and out of a variety of cells. Voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) are responsible for the depolarization phase of neuronal action potentials and their activity is required for neurite extension and neurotransmitter release. Aberrant expression of VGSCs has recently been implicated in cancer. Overexpression of VGSCs appears to be associated with increased motility and invasive potential in vitro, whereas treatment with pharmacological agents that block Na+ currents, significantly reduce invasion. We have recently identified functional VGSCs in SW480, SW620, and HT29 colon cancer cells and examined their role in invasion. Electrophysiological techniques were employed to confirm functional expression of the SCN5A isoform in colon cancer cells. The more invasive SW620 cell line has a higher current density and increased protein expression compared to the less invasive SW480 and HT29 cell lines. Furthermore, we used RNA interference and VGSC blockers (tetrodotoxin and lidocaine) to inhibit channel expression and activity, respectively, and demonstrated a loss of invasive potential. Conversely, treatment with veratridine, a neurotoxin that prevents complete inactivation of VGSCs, increased Na+ influx and led to higher invasive potential. In addition to colon cancer cell lines, the expression of Nav1.5, the protein encoded by SCN5A, was examined in colon cancer patient samples by immunohistochemistry. Expression of this channel was restricted to the lumen of colon cancer specimens when compared to their normal matched controls. The contribution of this channel to metastatic behavior has not been previously demonstrated in colon cancer. To facilitate a further understanding of the mechanism by which this channel induces invasive potential, we have analyzed the involvement of SCN5A in activation of the MAPK pathway, which is deregulated in many cancers. Coincidentally, this pathway is also activated after depolarization in neurons during neurogenesis. Lastly, we show that SCN5A participates in the regulation of a colon cancer transcriptional network important for invasion. Taken together, our data suggest that VGSCs contribute to the metastatic potential of colon cancer cells through activation of the MAPK pathway and transcriptional regulation of genes important for the invasion process. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5292.


The American Ornithologists' Union is deeply honored to present the 2016 Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award to Dr. John Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University. Under his leadership, the Cornell Lab has grown into a powerhouse for conservation that brings bird science to the public through enormously influential education and outreach programs. As head of the Cornell Lab since 1995, Dr. Fitzpatrick has made possible many programs with important conservation applications, such as the Avian Knowledge Network and eBird, which supports an ever-growing army of projects harnessing its open data and species distribution models. For example, the Nature Conservancy is using eBird data in real time to manage water levels in flooded fields in the Central Valley of California in order to optimize these habitats for shorebirds. He has played a key role in creating the Lab's extensive web resources for deepening public understanding of conservation. He has also been a staunch supporter of many collaborative programs with conservation outcomes, including production of the annual State of the Birds report. Fitzpatrick has worked with federal officials at many levels, from engaging with the secretary of the interior to serving on federal endangered-species recovery panels. Fitzpatrick served as AOU president (2000–2002) and has been actively involved in the AOU and in an array of other scientific and conservation organizations for many years. He has also cultivated a vibrant future of bird conservation through his teaching and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students. His former students have moved into leadership positions in prominent conservation organizations, including the American Bird Conservancy and the National Audubon Society. Fitzpatrick received his B.A. in biology from Harvard University in 1974 and his Ph.D. in biology from Princeton University in 1978. His subsequent posts included executive director and senior research biologist at the Archbold Biological Station in Florida, and bird curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. His work on the ecology of Florida Scrub-Jays has helped slow the decline of this threatened species. The AOU has previously (1985) recognized Fitzpatrick and his longtime collaborator Glen E. Woolfenden for their work on Florida Scrub-Jays. It is exceptional for an ornithologist to be twice honored by the AOU with a senior award, as these rare cases recognize two disparate contributions to ornithology. In recognition of the depth and breadth of his accomplishments in conserving birds and their habitats, the American Ornithologists' Union is proud to name Dr. John Fitzpatrick as the recipient of the 2016 Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award. Award criteria. The Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award, established in 2005, recognizes extraordinary


With this work, we pretend to present, after a bibliographic review effort, a critical thinking about the initiatives of the government of the State of Amazonas in the promotion of the investments in innovation, and map the main economic sectors which are being benefited from the application of the public resources for promoting innovation. The results of this study allow concluding that the preoccupation and the interest of the regional companies - mainly the information technology, phytocosmetics, phytotherapy, and food companies - in running for public bids, like economic subsidy programs, may stimulate the appearing of new companies in the referred sectors and even promote the technological expansion and adding value to regional products.


Scholars have argued for the importance of industrial accidents and urban precarity in laying the groundwork for the European welfare state in nineteenth-century France. Given the central role that farming played in French economic, political, and cultural life, however, agricultural insurance was among the first and most frequently debated aspects of nineteenth-century attempts to apply insurance to the "social question." This article explores what François Ewald has termed the "insurantial imaginary" of agricultural insurance by examining debates about which threats could or should be insured and who should insure them. Despite widespread consensus on the virtues of expanding insurance into the countryside, there remained huge areas of disagreement: What counted as an insurable risk in agriculture? How should that risk be assessed? And whose responsibility was it to insure such risks—that of private individuals or the French state? This article argues that the repeated failures of the various proposals designed to protect peasants against the vagaries of nature had as much to do with practical impediments as they did with ideas about the "naturalness" of certain dangers. This perception of the "natural" would inform the construction of the French welfare state.


The "Good Surgical Practice" document by Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) England, in line with GMC's "Good Medical Practice" emphasises the importance of "clear operative notes for every procedure". The importance of clear documentation is well-established, facilitates effective handover and represents a legal document. A study was conducted to assess current documentation standards, including a survey amongst core surgical trainees on the use of a proforma for documenting cholecystectomies.

 A retrospective review of cholecystectomy operation notes collected from hospital database was performed between February 2022 and July 2022. Operative documentation was compared to the guideline published by RCS England. Specific information relevant to cholecystectomy operation were reviewed; critical view of safety/Calot's triangle, number and type of clips, gallbladder dissection difficulty and spillage of bile/stones. Compliance to RCS standards was considered satisfactory at ≥80%.

 109 typed operation notes were reviewed. Majority of information including date and time (100%), procedure name (99%), name of surgeon and assistant (100%), operative findings (100%) and post-operative care instructions including VTE prophylaxis (92%) were clearly documented. Shortfalls in documentation included priority of operation (63%), intraoperative complications (66%), gallbladder dissection difficulty (53%), anaesthetist name (52%), removal of ports under vision (33%) and local anaesthetic details (70%). Survey of eight core surgical trainees found a consensus that a proforma would improve understanding and documentation of the procedure.

 The use of an operation note proforma in cholecystectomies could improve patient care and compliance with RCS guideline, and act as a learning modality for surgical trainees.


Glucose metabolism is evaluated before and after the operation in 51 patients (41--men, 10--women), operated on account of the complicated chronic pancreatitis. The distal pancreatic resection (50% of the gland) was performed in all cases. The middle age of the patients is 41.2+/-7.9. Body mass index (BMI) was 23.7+/-3.4 kg/m2. After distal pancreatic resection 33.33% of patients with chronic pancreatitis didn't have glucose metabolism disturbances. In 27.45% of patients diabetes mellitus was diagnosed for the first time after the operation. At the same time, in 5.8% of cases the worsening from the light to the moderate form of diabetes mellitus was observed. As far as blood glucose level (glycemic control) doesn't have any prognostic value in predicting diabetes mellitus in early postoperative period, it is necessary to recommend regular supervision by the endocrinologist to the patient after discharge. All patients with chronic pancreatitis should be carefully investigated so as to detect glycaemic disorders. It is recommended to determine fasting blood glucose level, glycemia throughout the day, glycated hemoglobin, 24 hours' glucosuria. It is also essential to perform an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).


Achieved a parliamentary system, as one of the most prominent systems parliamentary great success in the application in England, after the political and constitutional developments during the long, proven through which the basic principles for the establishment of this system and of the duality of the executive branch and the separation flex between the authorities based on balance and mutual control between the two the legislative and executive branches. Which made a lot of states to rely on this system, including the Republic of Iraq in accordance with the Constitution of 2005 and the Kurdistan Region - Iraq, according to the laws of a constitutional nature, but what we observe that the basic principles of this system has afflicted a lot of bugs and sparked Problems big in the nature of the existing system in the Kurdistan Region to make it in the end a parliamentary system skewed, especially as the legal reality and applied in this region may demolition of equality between the two due to Enlarge role of the president of the region and the exercise of de facto authorities, causing it to lose a lot of the basics of the parliamentary system, so that has become the reality of this system depend on the fact that the role of the president of the region in this system.


To investigate the role of CD4 + helper T (Th) cells in the memory CTL-mediated anti-tumor immunity, the RAG-1 gene knock out mice were adoptively transferred with OT-1 cells to generate the memory CTL, the C57BL/6 mice immunized with the epitope peptide of OVA specific Th cells and with different adjuvants were adoptively transferred with these memory-CTLs, and then the animals were challenged with tumor cells EG7. It was found that although the simple immunization of mice with the epitope peptide of the OVA specific Th cells could generate more effect CTL, but this effect was not so strong enough to resist completely the challenges with tumor cells. Nevertheless, the memory CTL-mediated anti-tumor immune effect required the helps of Th1 and Th2 cells. The cross-regulation between Th1 and Th2 cells seemed to be beneficial for the host to generate more effector CTL for mounting an efficient anti-tumor response. It concluded that the interaction between Th1 and Th2 cells might be more important than the single subset of Th cells in the memory CTL-mediated anti-tumor immune response. More attention should be paid in this regard for the future studies.


Motivation: During cancer stage transition, a master regulator (MR) refers to the key gene controlling cancer initiation and progression by orchestrating the associated target genes (termed as its regulon). Due to their inherent importance, MRs can serve as critical biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and therapeutic targets. However, it is challenging to infer key MRs that might explain gene expression profile changes between two groups due to lack of context‐specific regulons, whose expression level can collectively reflect the activity of likely MRs. There is also a need to design an easy‐to‐use tool of MR identification for research community. Results: First, we generated cancer‐specific regulons for 26 cancer types by analyzing high‐throughput omics data from TCGA, and extracted noncancer‐specific regulons from public databases. We subsequently developed a web server MR4Cancer, integrating the regulons with statistical inference to identify and prioritize MRs driving a phenotypic divergence of interest. Based on the input gene list (e.g. differentially expressed genes) or expression profile with two groups, MR4Cancer outputs ranked MRs by enrichment testing against the predefined regulons. Gene Ontology and canonical pathway analyses are also conducted to elucidate the function of likely MRs. Moreover, MR4Cancer provides dynamic network visualization for MR‐target relations, and users can interactively interrogate the network to produce new hypotheses and high‐quality figures for publication. Finally, the presented case studies highlighted the performance of MR4Cancer. We expect this user‐friendly and powerful web tool will provide researchers novel insights into tumorigenesis and therapeutic intervention. Availability and implementation: http://cis.hku.hk/MR4Cancer Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


PURPOSE
The main objective is to examine the perception Quebec nutrition students have of the future of the profession based on critical incidents they have reported.

METHODS
An electronic questionnaire was sent to the 158 nutrition students graduating from the three Quebec universities offering a nutrition program. The critical incident technique was chosen as the qualitative method. A theme and subtheme table was devised from the analysis of the incidents and entered into Excel to synthesize the data. Results: Positive incidents were associated with the recognition of other professionals and clients, an understanding of the scope of the profession and related opportunities, and the impact of nutrition interventions. Negative incidents mainly pertained to lack of recognition, competition, the realization that employment opportunities are limited, work conditions, and the ability to assert their roles as dietitians. Most of the incidents reported occurred during practicums.

CONCLUSIONS
Leadership competencies should be developed to help dietitians take their place on care teams and create a space for themselves in the public sphere. Furthermore, practicum experiences are fundamental in the development of the image students have of the profession.


The article is devoted to investigation of the existential mode of death in B. Humeniuk's Blokpost collection. The place of creativity of the writer among other works about war in modern Ukrainian literature is investigated. The focus is on traditional images and mythologems, which the writer are rethinking, giving them new shades of meaning. The mode of death in the writer's creative work is interpreted by the specificity of the image of temporal-spatial unity, in particular the text traces a linear time stream, which reflects the forms of past memory, the category of eternity and the specifics of national memory in the life after the war. It is revealed that in most of the poems of the Blokpost collection there is a change of locus (crossing the threshold of the house, transition from the world of the living to the world of the dead). The modus of death is explored through the philosophical categories of existentialism, as the heroes of B. Humeniuk's works are found themselves every time in boundary situations that change the perception of life and death. The writer is characterized by an ontological perception of death, which is projected into the system of everyday priorities of the characters. It is determined that death is only a link in the cycle of being, since it is always life-changing. Therefore, the creativity of the writer is characterized by a life-affirming pathos, which speaks of the humanistic direction of the text. Much attention is focused on the attitude of heroes and narrators to death, in particular death acquires the following antinomic features: sacrificial death and senseless death.


Harmonic content of the line current of mains-connected equipment destined for use in Europe is regulated by IEC 1000-3-2. This standard defines four different classes for electronic equipment (class A, B, C, D). These classes establish different current harmonic limits depending on the use of the electronic equipment. Class A and class D are applied to equipment classified in the field of consumer electronics such as television receivers, personal computers, home electrical appliance, audio equipment, etc. This paper presents the analysis and design procedure of the input section of electronic equipment classified as class A. This novel analysis describes how to select the values for the filter in order to improve the margin of compliance.


The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has recently become an important adjudicator of patent infringement disputes, and the administrative law judges (ALJs) on the ITC are widely viewed as experts on patent law. This Article empirically examines the performance of the ITC in patent claim construction cases. The Article also compares the performance of the ITC on claim construction with that of federal district courts of general jurisdiction. This study does not find any evidence that the patent-experienced ALJs of the ITC are more accurate at claim construction than district court judges or that the ALJs learn from the Federal Circuit's review of their decisions. When considered in the context of previous studies, the results of this study hint at three possible explanations for the lack of evidence: (1) trial judges (including the ALJs of the ITC) cannot master claim construction, especially without a technical background; (2) the Federal Circuit's claim construction case law is poorly articulated; or (3) claim construction is inherently indeterminate.


For many youth, the recreation/drop-in center is a nonthreatening, relatively unstructured place to play sports and hang out in an otherwise high-risk urban area. Although numerous studies have shown a positive relationship between these recreation programs and risk reduction for youth, little work has addressed the creative ways that youth negotiate these surroundings. Drawing on cultural studies and interactionist approaches to youth that focus on the many levels of everyday experience and relations, this article reports findings from an ethnographic study of a center in a low-income area in urban southern Ontario. The research shows how youth in this drop-in center context maintained an informal culture of nonviolence by creating a set of "tolerance" rules that allowed diverse groups to coexist in a limited social space. Issues surrounding resistance were also evident in this study. On one hand, youth living in a marginalized area were resistant to the dominant negative influences that exist outside the center. On the other hand, by creating their own informal culture within the center, the youth took power in an organization otherwise dominated (administratively) by adults. These findings inform theory surrounding the lived experiences of youth while addressing issues of resistance that are central to mainstream work on youth culture.


Background: Breast-cancer metastasis suppressor 1 (BRMS1) gene encodes for a predominantly nuclear protein that differentially regulates the expression of multiple genes, leading to suppression of metastasis without blocking orthotopic tumor growth. The aim of the present study was to evaluate for the first time the prognostic significance of BRMS1 promoter methylation in cell free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in plasma of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Towards this goal, we examined the methylation status of BRMS1 promoter in NSCLC tissues, matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues and corresponding cfDNA as well as in an independent cohort of patients with advanced NSCLC and healthy individuals. Methods: BRMS1 promoter methylation was examined in 57 NSCLC tumors and adjacent non-cancerous tissues, in cfDNA isolated from 48 corresponding plasma samples, in cfDNA isolated from plasma of 74 patients with advanced NSCLC and 24 healthy individuals. Results: BRMS1 promoter was highly methylated both in operable NSCLC primary tissues (59.6%) and corresponding cfDNA (47.9%) but not in cfDNA from healthy individuals ( 0%), while it was also highly methylated in cfDNA from advanced NSCLC patients (63.5%). In operable NSCLC, Kaplan-Meier estimates were significantly different in favor of patients with non-methylated BRMS1 promoter in cfDNA, concerning both DFI (p=0.048) and OS (p=0.007). In advanced NSCLC, OS was significantly different in favour of patients with non-methylated BRMS1 promoter in their cfDNA (p=0.003). Multivariate analysis confirmed that BRMS1 promoter methylation has a statistical significant influence both on operable NSCLC patients9 DFI time and OS and on advanced NSCLC patients9 PFS and OS. Conclusions: BRMS1 promoter methylation in cfDNA isolated from plasma of NSCLC patients provides important prognostic information and merits to be further evaluated as a circulating tumor biomarker. Citation Format: Ioanna Balkouranidou, Maria Chimonidou, Georgia Milaki, Emily Tsaroucha, Stelios Kakolyris, Danny Welch, Vasilis Georgoulias, Evi Lianidou. Breast cancer metastasis suppressor-1 promoter methylation in cell free DNA provides prognostic information in non-small cell lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3826. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3826


Poultry have four types of cone in the retina of the eye, and this means that they probably see colour differently from trichromatic humans. Notwithstanding the fact that humans and birds have maximum sensitivity in a similar part of the spectrum (545–575nm), poultry are likely to perceive light from various types of lamp at a different intensity from humans because they are more sensitive to the blue and red parts of the spectrum. Although colour has been confounded with illuminance in many trials, wavelength has an unquestionable effect on poultry production and behaviour. Growth and behaviour responses depend principally on retinal photoreception, whereas photosexual responses are mainly influenced by hypothalamic light reception. In turkeys and chickens growth under red illumination is inferior to that under blue or green light, and this may be a result of birds exposed to red light being more active and showing more aggression than birds exposed to shorter wavelength radiation. In contrast, the easier penetration of longer wavelength radiation to the hypothalamus makes red light more sexually stimulatory than blue or green, although the hypothalamic photoreceptors are more sensitive to blue/green light when illuminated directly. Egg production traits, however, appear to be minimally affected by wavelength.


BackgroundGlyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) have previously been considered safe to humans. However, emerging evidence indicates that GBHs can disrupt the host microbiota and influence human health. To build upon our previous findings of gut dysbiosis and other adverse health effects resulting from low-dose exposure of GBHs (glyphosate and Roundup) in Sprague-Dawley rats, in particular pups during early development, we explore potential effects of GBHs on urinary metabolites and their interactions with gut microbiome in the same animal model.MethodsGlyphosate and Roundup (equal molar for glyphosate) were administered in drinking water at the USA glyphosate ADI guideline (1.75mg/kg bw/day) to the dams (F0) starting from the gestational day (GD) 6 through the life-course of both dams and their pups (F1) (males and females). Urine samples were collected from F0 dams after pups' weaning and F1 pups at PND 70 and 125. The urine metabolites of 61 urine samples (14 from F0 dams and 30 from F1 pups) were profiled using non-targeted liquid chromatography – high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). We further used supervised clustering analyses combined with random forest feature selection to evaluate differences in urine metabolome profiles between experimental groups.ResultsOverall urine metabolite profiles significantly differed between dams and pups and between female and male pups. When pups were stratified by sexes, Roundup and glyphosate exposure resulted in significant and distinctive changes in metabolite profiles. Specifically, both supervised clustering analysis and random forest feature selection methods identified a significant increase of homocysteine, a known risk factor of cardiovascular disease in both Roundup and glyphosate exposed pups, but in males only. Correlation network analysis between gut microbiome and urine metabolome pointed to Prevotella, a commensal genus with higher loading in male pups, to be negatively correlated with the level of homocysteine.ConclusionsThis study provides initial evidence that exposures to commonly used GBH, at a currently acceptable human exposure dose, is capable of modifying the urine metabolites in both rat adults and pups. The strong link between Prevotella-Homocysteine suggests the potential role of GBHs in modifying the susceptibility of homocysteine related diseases like cardiovascular disease or inflammation through commensal microbiome.


In 2015 Yawuru people began the slow and emotional journey to repatriate their 'Old People' whose skeletal remains had been taken from their Country by collectors working mostly for museums. One group of ancestors were young pearlshell divers who had been sold to the Dresden Museum in Saxony, Germany, in 1895 by pearlers. Their bodily traumas revealed the brutal treatment they endured before their untimely deaths. The journey brought the Yawuru and Karajarri elders and the curators of the Ethnographic Museums of Saxony together in their quest to find out what had happened to these people and to rehumanise our ancestors who had, for so long, been treated as objects in the museum collections. This article presents our reflections on the journey back to Germany to retrieve the ancestors, the development of our 'Wanggajarli Burugun' ('We are coming home') project and the findings from our research into the slavery of the early pearling days in and around Broome, Western Australia. It also reveals the emotional journey of our community as they delved into the trauma of this formerly unknown colonial practice of 'bone-collecting', and how, through the spirit of mabu liyan and a process of culturally informed engagement process we were able to address the dark deeds of the past to lead the journey to healing and reconciliation.


The deposition of dust, soil, and microfibers resulting from the surroundings, as well as the growth of minute pollens like moss and fungi, contributes toward photovoltaic (PV) module soiling. Soiling is a widely recognized factor that significantly reduces the power production by acting as a barrier for effective light absorption by the module. The estimated loss in the irradiance and power can be determined with the help of a soiling ratio (SR) parameter, which is the ratio of the short-circuit current (Isc) or the maximum power produced (Pmax) by a soiled module to a clean one. The measured SR is normally not constant throughout a day but changes with the position of the Sun and the amount of dust on the module. This paper proposes an empirical equation to determine the SR at any instant of time of the day based on the Sun's angle of incidence on the module and a single SR value measured at the mid of the day. First, an indoor experiment was done to examine the angular loss dependence of two totally different dust colors for the same SR at normal light incidence. Next, in an outdoor experiment, the SR of an artificially soiled module was measured over the course of the day for three conditions of high, medium, and low daily average irradiance due to variation in cloudiness. Then, an empirical equation is introduced based on an incident angle modifier for soiled and cleaned PV modules. The proposed equation was further used to determine the SR. Finally, the average residuals between the measured and the modeled SRs were determined with the help of root-mean-square deviation. The results showed that the modeled SR was determined with a deviation of ±0.21% and ±0.28%, respectively, for high- and medium-irradiance days, whereas the deviation increased to ±1.04% in the case of low irradiance due to clouds.


Soft corals of the class Octocorallia (order Alcyonacea) are well known as prolific organisms and they are popular among researchers as one of the important natural resources as many valuable metabolites were isolated from this marine organism. This study is about isolation and characterization of lead pharmace.utical metabolites of four main genera of soft corals; Sarcophyton, Lobophytum, Nephthea and Sinularia. The samples were collected from the three main coastal waters of Sabah; 1) Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, 2) Tun Mustapha Marine Park, and 3) Tun Sakaran Marine Park.
All the collected samples were extracted and profiled using Thin Layer Chromatography
(TLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Fractions with interesting
profile were further isolated and purified to get pure compounds. As a result, a total of 37
compounds of four chemical skeletons; cembranes, lobanes, sterols and germacrane were
isolated. Isolated compounds were then subjected into bioassays including anti-microbial,
cytotoxicity assay and photodynamic therapy assay. Most of cembranes and lobanes are
active against E. coli, Salmonella typhii, S. enteritidis, S. thphymunium, Staphalococcus
aereus and Vibrio cholera, at a concentration of 30 ~g. Cembranes also showed
cytotoxicity against P-388 murine leaukemia cells and showed interesting activity against
HL60 promyelocytic leukemia cells (from ATCC) in the photodynamic therapy assay.


The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether blue-on-yellow (B/Y) perimetry using a screening program can detect early glaucomatous change before it is evident with standard white-on-white (W/W) screening tests. The subjects included 25 normal, 20 ocular-hypertensive and 27 early glaucomatous eyes. From our results, even in normal subjects, B/Y perimetry alone demonstrated abnormal points in the nasal field in 10 eyes (40%). The Armaly central screening program was thought to be superior to the Armaly full-field program, because the former has less probabilities to detect a false-positive scotoma in the nasal field than the latter. In glaucomatous eyes, more abnormal points were detected by B/Y perimetry than by W/W perimetry. The screening program of B/Y perimetry is more advantageous than conventional tests in detecting early glaucomatous visual field defects.


In a pilot study, 14 Gulf War veterans were randomly selected from a large list of those with unexplained illness, to compare the functional integrity of the peripheral and central nervous system with a group of 13 healthy civilian control subjects using predetermined outcome measures. The controls were matched closely for age, sex, handedness, and physical activity. Outcome measures included scoring of symptoms and clinical neurological signs, quantitative sensory testing of heat, cold and vibration sensibilities, motor and sensory nerve conduction studies on upper and lower limbs, needle EMG of distal and proximal muscles and multimodality evoked potential (visual, brainstem, and somatosensory) studies. Three measurements, all related to peripheral nerve function (cold threshold (P = 0.0002), sural nerve latency (P = 0.034), and median nerve sensory action potential (P = 0.030) were abnormal in the veterans compared with the controls. There may be a dysfunction in the veterans but more studies are required to investigate the findings further and to characterise the dysfunction if confirmed.


Abstract Larvae and pupae of the Australian lycaenid butterfly, Jalmenus evagoras Donovan (Lepidoptera; Lycaenidae), are protected from parasites and predators by attendant ants. In return, the juveniles of J. evagoras secrete to the ants a solution containing substantial amounts of sugars and amino acids. Larvae of J. evagoras were reared from hatching until adult eclosion either with or without ants. Experiments were performed to examine whether fifth (final) instar larvae attempt to compensate for the nutrient loss to ants, by consuming more food, digesting food more efficiently, or extending development time. The presence or absence of ants had no effect on the feeding rate, efficiency of digestion or development time of fifth instar larvae. Larvae with ants converted a smaller proportion of ingested food into biomass, and consequently grew less than their counterparts without ants. Thus fifth instar larvae of J. evagoras do not appear to compensate for the nutrient loss to ants. Possible reasons for the failure to compensate are discussed.


Background : There is a globalworry about the increase in the rate of caesarean section despite attempts to reduce the rising trend especially in developing countries where the figures are competing seriously with those for developed counties. Objective : The study assesses the current caesarean section rate in the hospital, compare it with past figures and appraise the indications for the Caesarean sections. Materials and Method : Case records of all cases of caesarean section managed in the hospital over a three-year period (1st of January 2006 to 31st of December 2008) were analyzed. Results : A total of 4005 deliveries were undertaken during the study period (1st of January 2006 to 31st of December 2008.Out of which 736 were caesarean section giving an incidence of Caesarean section to be 18.4%. The commonest indication is previous Caesarean section, accounting for 19.6%. This is followed by obstructed labour (11.7%) and presumed foetal distress (7.9%). Conclusion : There is a rising trend in caesarean section rate. There is need for more comprehensive audit, taking into consideration the opinion of the consultants and patients if the rate should be curbed. There is also need to improve facilities to pick true foetal distress before embarking on Caesarean section. Key words : Caesarean Section, Indications, Fetal Distress, Obstructed Labour, Nigeria, Running Heade r: Indications for Abdominal Delivery


Two hundred thirty-seven young adults from an American university completed a questionnaire designed to test several normative implications of attachment theory. As predicted, the majority of participants (60%) used their parents as primary attachment figures but were in the process of transferring attachment-related functions from parents to peers (best friends and romantic partners). The transfer of these functions the parents to peers was found to be a function of the duration of the peer relationship. Furthermore, factors that generally promote the development of attachment formation in infancy (such as caregiving, trust, and intimate contact) were found to be positively associated with the development of attachment in adult relationships. Additional variables were identified that may facilitate peer attachment formation: secure working models of attachment and the perceived security of the peer. It is argued that future investigations into the role of attachment formation and transfer are critical for a comprehensive description of attachment dynamics in adult relationships.


The API Global Sourcing Strategies 2010 Conference, held in Berlin, included topics covering new developments in the field of global sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This conference report highlights selected presentations on development in Eastern API markets, specifically India and China, factors influencing changes in global API sourcing, and risk mitigation in API sourcing.


We report a case of a 54 years old man, treated with Methylphenidate (Ritalin) because of narcolepsy, who was referred with suspected vertebro-basilar insufficiency. In the hospital, apnoea during sleep attacks were observed. A polysomnography showed marked obstructive sleep apnoea with a disturbed hypnogram, but during the apnoeas the oxygen saturation only decreased by three to six percent. If a patient suspected for obstructive sleep apnoea has only small desaturations, an oximetry can be insensitive as the only "sleep examination", and a full polysomnography is recommended.


Photoperiod manipulation is a widely used technique in commercial aquaculture to
influence endogenous rhythms in fish, which enables industry to control events such as
reproductive timing, maturation and growth. The ability to use photoperiod manipulation
to influence these events has benefited commercial industry by improving production of
fish, thereby generating increased economic benefits. The majority of photoperiod
manipulation research has being applied to temperate species, whereas recently these
techniques have also been successful in sub-tropical and tropical species. Photoperiod
manipulation research on barramundi has demonstrated conflicting results, and
clarification is required as to whether using extended day length is effective in enhancing
growth of juvenile barramundi. This thesis confirms photoperiod manipulation to be
effective at enhancing growth of juvenile barramundi. In the majority of experiments,
continuous light (24L:0D) significantly increased wet weight, total length and SGR
weight and length of juvenile barramundi when compared to rearing fish under 12L:12D.
In addition, growth increases observed in fish reared under 24L:0D occurred without
significant increases in feed intake, demonstrating higher feed conversion efficiencies
compared to fish reared under 12L:12D.
As the Australian barramundi industry currently only uses photoperiod manipulation to
manipulate spawning events, this research enables commercial farmers to use this
technique to improve growth as well. To confirm photoperiod manipulation techniques
were applicable and effective in commercial conditions, a commercial scale experiment
was undertaken, with juvenile barramundi demonstrating significant increases in growth
when reared under 24L:0D supplied by artificial lighting.


Distributed computing and data mining are two elements essential for many commercial and scientific organizations. This article presents metadata of a distributed data mining system based on combining local models created in distributed nodes into global models. This metadata is divided into following categories: primal, derivative, work and test data for local and global models.


This paper aims to shed light on regularities underlying German stress assignment. The results of a pseudoword production task suggest that rhyme complexity of the final syllable is a strong predictor of main stress position in German. We also found that antepenult rhyme complexity and orthographic rhyme structure have significant effect on stress assignment. In general, the effects seem to be probabilistic rather than categorical. Our results suggest that phonological theories of German word stress need to allow for multiple probabilistic factors, including syllabic structure of all stressable syllables and orthographic coding.*


The Dharma: The religion of enlightenment-An exposition of Buddhism. By Paul Caruso Fifth Edition, revised and enlarged. Open Court Publishing Co., Chicago, Kegan, Paul, Trench, Treubner & Co., London, 1907. Pages 169. That every man is a lamp unto himself is a favorite principle of Buddhism. This principle evidently appeals with power to the author of this book, which is an attempt to set forth the essential teachings of Buddhism. The merits of Buddhism are numerous, according to the view here held. It has no dogmas and no revelation. It has no personal authority of any kind. There is no conflict between science and religion in Buddhism, because Buddhism does not deal with ultimate things, or at least does not dogmatize about them. The author thinks that modern psychology confirms the Buddhist view of the soul, that it is phenomenal rather than a distinct and permanent entity in Itself, Buddhism denies the notion that there is an independent personal self and that the welfare of the self is the main purpose of existence. Nirvana is the cessation of individual existence. The self is identified with the truths of which it eonsists-c-whatever this identification may mean. Nirvana is the surrender ofself to the truth. Buddhism is the religion of deliverance from evil through enlightenment. It is not difficult to recognize the points of contact between Christianity and Buddhism in this exposition, or in any other which gives any adequate view of Buddhism, but one is constrained to feel that the author, in interpreting the moral side of Buddhism, reads a good deal of Christianity into it, and interprets Buddhism from the point of view of the environment ,and consciousness created in a Christian civilization and through a Christian literature. The book, as a brief exposition of the principles of Buddhism, is to be heartily commended. E. Y. MULLINS.


The AC-based capacitance measuring circuits are widely used in electrical capacitance tomography. In the circuit, the desired exciting and measuring signals are alternative current (AC) ones that should have a zero direct current (DC) component. However, because of the non-deal characteristics of the operational amplifiers and other electronic components, DC biases, i.e., nonzero DC components always exist in actual AC signals. The DC biases have negative influences on capacitance measurement. In the paper, theoretical analysis was carried out and a method of compensating the effect of the DC bias was introduced. A digital AC-based capacitance measuring system was constructed to implement the compensation method. Experimental results show that the signal-to-noise ratio of the system is improved by employing the proposed method.


This bedside-to-bench study aimed to systematically investigate the value of applying BMP2-loaded calcium phosphate cement (BMP2-CPC) in the restoration of large-scale alveolar bone defects. Compared to deproteinized bovine bone (DBB), BMP2-CPC was shown to be capable of inducing a favorable pattern of bone regeneration and bone remodeling accompanied by active osteoclastogenesis and optimized biomaterial resorption when applied in reconstructive periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) surgery. To verify the regulatory role of osteoclasts in the BMP2-CPC-induced pattern of bone regeneration, in vitro and in vivo studies were designed to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Our results revealed that osteoclasts played a multifaceted role (facilitating osteogenesis, bone remodeling and biomaterial resorption) in the BMP2-CPC-induced bone regeneration. Osteoclasts contributed to the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by secreting calcium ions, CTHRC1 and PDGF-B. Moreover, the increased osteoclasts promoted the remodeling of new bone and BMP2-CPC resorption, leading to a harmonized replacement of biomaterials with mature bone. In conclusion, the in vitro and in vivo experimental results corresponded with the clinical results and showed the optimized properties of BMP2-CPC in activating osteoclast-driven bone regeneration and remodeling, thus indicating the highly promising prospects of BMP2-CPC as an ideal therapeutic for alveolar bone defects.


For CD-ROM or DVD-ROM servo system design, it is desired to maximize the average bit rate subject to the constraints imposed by the servo motor, control circuits, decoding electronics, and other limitation factors. The bit transfer, which is governed by the scanning of the disc and the design of the speed profile of the spindle motor, is thus of paramount importance. In this paper, the speed profile design is formulated as an optimization problem and four different speed profiles are designed to maximize the bit transfer rate while accounting for different control constraints. All the designs are verified using a CD-ROM experimental setup. The design/analysis results are closely matched with the experimental data.


Objective: The aim was to identify changes in food, nutrient intake, and diet quality on a low-fat vegan diet and associations with changes in body weight and body composition.
 Methods: Overweight adults (n=244) were randomly assigned to follow a low-fat vegan diet (n=122) or make no diet changes (n=122) . Main outcome measures were changes in food intake, macro- and micronutrient intake, and dietary quality as measured by AHEI-2010, analyzed from 3-day diet records, and associations with changes in body weight and body composition. A repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) model, Spearman correlations, and linear regression were used for statistical analysis.
 Results: The intervention group's AHEI-20increased by 6.0 points on average in contrast to no significant change in the control group (treatment effect +7.2 [95% CI +3.7 to +10.7]; p<0.001) . Increase in AHEI-20correlated with reduction in body weight (r=0.14; p=0.04) , fat mass (r=-0.14; p=0.03) , and HOMA-IR (r=-0.17; p=0.02) , after adjustment for changes in energy intake. Fruit, vegetable, legume, meat alternative, and whole grain intake significantly increased in the intervention group. Intake of meat, fish and poultry; dairy products; eggs; nuts and seeds; and added fats decreased. Decreased weight was most strongly associated with increased intake of legumes (r=‑0.38; p<.0001) and decreased intake of total meat, fish, and poultry (r=+0.43;p<.0001) . Reduced fat intake was associated with reduced body weight (r=+0.15; p=0.02) and, after adjustment for changes in BMI and energy intake, with reduced fat mass (r=+0.14; p=0.04) .
 Conclusions: Diet quality as measured by AHEI-20improved on the low-fat vegan diet, which was associated with improvements in weight and metabolic outcomes. Increased legume intake was the strongest single food group predictor of weight loss.

 H.Kahleova: None.


Chaetomium globosum Kunze Ex. Fries has been identified as a potential antagonist of Bipolaris sorokiniana and Ascochyta rabiei. Nine isolates of this biocontrol agent were characterized based on RAPD technique using 40 random primers of OPB and OPM series, out of which 24 primers gave a total of 356 amplification products, showing 91% polymorphism. RAPD analysis revealed that C. globosum isolates taken under study formed genetically two distinct clusters, with isolates Cg2, Cg3 and Cg4 in one cluster and the remaining isolates in another cluster, which in turn was grouped separately into two subclusters separating isolates Cg6 and Cg8 from Cg1, Cg5, Cg7 and Cg9. Similarity matrix indicated that Cg1 and Cg2 were genetically distinct as they showed only 29.4% similarity followed by Cg2 and Cg7 showing 31.1% similarity, while isolates Cg7 and Cg9 were found to be genetically similar with 68.9% similarity index.


In order to evaluate the influence of sex hormones on breast cancer risk, a population‐based case‐control study was conducted in Denmark, including 1,486 cases diagnosed over a one‐year period. These were identified from the files of the nation‐wide clinical trial of the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group and the Danish Cancer Registry. The control group was an age‐stratified random sample of 1,336 women from the general population. Data on risk factors were collected by self‐administered (mailed) questionnaires. The major findings included a trend (p = 0.001) toward decreasing risk with increasing age at menarche in pre‐menopausal women, trends toward increasing risk with continued menstrual cycles after the age of 50 in pre‐ and post‐menopausal women (p‐values of 0.01 and 0.002 respectively), and a trend (p = 0.002) toward increasing risk with increasing duration of non‐contraceptive sex hormone usage in post‐menopausal women. Information on brand names made it possible to examine types of hormones used, which showed an RR of 1.36 (95% CI 0.98–1.87) for sequential therapy with oestrogen and progestagen and RR = 2.31 (95% CI 1.37–3.88) for combined oestrogen‐androgen treatment. These results should be interpreted with caution, however, needing verification from other studies. No significant association was observed between breast cancer and self‐reported height and weight.


The complexity of modern software systems has grown enormously in the past years with users always demanding for new features and better quality of service. Besides, software is often embedded in dynamic contexts, where requirements, environment assumptions, and usage profiles continuously change. As an answer to this need, it has been proposed the usage of self-adaptive systems. Self-adaptation endows a system with the capability to accommodate its execution to different contexts in order to achieve continuous satisfaction of requirements. Often, self-adaptation process also makes use of runtime model evaluations to decide the changes in the system. However, even at runtime, context information that can be managed by the system is not complete or accurate; i.e, it is still subject to some uncertainties. This work motivates the need for the consideration of the concept of uncertainty in the model-based evaluation as a primary actor, classifies the avowed uncertainties of self-adaptive systems, and illustrates examples of how different types of uncertainties are present in the modeling of system characteristics for availability requirement satisfaction.


The CO emission within a few kiloparsecs of the Sun is dominated by a small number of very large molecular complexes, including those associated with the Orion Nebula (Thaddeus 1982), M16 and M17 (Elmegreen, Lada, and Dickinson 1979), and NGC7538 (Cohen et al. 1980). These complexes have masses from several 105 to 106 MQ and are generally very well-defined objects. They are also well endowed with HII regions, stellar clusters and associations, masers, and other Population-I objects whose distances can be measured. The complexes are thus valuable probes of the large-scale structure of the Galaxy.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of analogical instruction as compared to the lecture approach on concepts of rates of chemical reactions on grade 11 students' achievement and attitude. A quasi-experimental posttest only control group design setting was utilized, to compare the effectiveness of two teaching methods, with 72 students in the fall semesters of two consecutive academic years. Two existing classrooms  students, taught by the same teacher at a government school (Yehibret Fire Preparatory School) in Wolliso Zone, Oromiya region in Ethiopia, were categorized as a control group (n=35) in 2017/18 and an experimental group (n=37) in 2018/19 academic years. In control group (CG), students were taught in lecture/ usual way of teaching chemistry while the experimental group (EG) students were received the treatment based on the six steps in 'Teaching With Analogy' (TWA) model with 'Focus–Action-Reflection' (FAR) guide and during the analogical instruction fourteen analogies were used. An equal amount of instruction was given over a period of five weeks (two hours per week, total 10 hours) for both groups and the concepts of rate of reaction involving definition of reaction rate, effects of nature of reactants, surface area, concentration, temperature and catalyst on the rate of reaction have been studied. In both groups, rate of reaction concepts test (RRCT) consisted of 20 two-tier multiple choice questions  administered as a post-test after each instruction. A semi-structured interview was also conducted to six EG and six CG students (who selected using stratified sampling technique) to have detail information on their conceptual understanding of rates of reactions, however, six EG students were also interviewed to assess the effect of the analogy approach on students' attitude towards the concepts of rates of reactions. Only the experimental group students were performed the students' generated analogy worksheet. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 software was used to analyze the quantitative data of the study. The independent samples t-test analysis of the post-tests scores of both groups and students' interviews showed that the analogy-based learning was effective means in enhancing students' achievement and attitude towards the concepts of rate of reaction. Therefore, it can be said that high school chemistry teachers can often use analogical instruction to improve  students' conceptual understanding and attitude towards the concepts of rates of reactions.


Objectives: In this study, we assessed the effects of the National Health Insurance Coverage Denture Project for the Elderly on the improvement of oral health-related quality of life (QOL) and satisfaction. Methods: Individuals aged ≥75 years (n=121) participated in the project at dental clinics or public health centers in Busan City, South Korea. Baseline and post-intervention follow-up surveys (personal interview) were conducted between October 2013 and April 2014. Results: Significant improvements were demonstrated in all seven Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP14) subscales at follow-up. Functional limitation showed the most improvement (2.81 points) followed by physical functionality, physical pain, psychological discomfort, social isolation, mental function, and social function. In addition, participants with no income who were required to pay for their expenses, reported higher satisfaction. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the rate of improvement on the OHIP-14 ten score increased in cases where participants who had to pay for their expenses (odds ratio [OR], 2.98; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16, 7.66) but decreased for patients who received partial dentures (OR, 0.34; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.89), patients who expressed previous satisfaction with denture costs (OR, 0.37; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.97), and patients who had previous denture experience (OR, 0.43; 95% CI: 0.16, 1.12). Conclusions: Despite the short period (2 years), the National Health Insurance Coverage Denture Project for the Elderly was able to demonstrate significant improvements in oral health-related QOL. Therefore, the establishment and integration of this project is recommended to maintain and improve the QOL for the rapidly aging population.


Abstract Vocalizations are important in anuran communication, especially during the breeding season. Calling affects spatial organization of males at breeding sites, promotes attraction of new individuals to the chorus, and attracts mature females for reproduction. We describe four distinct vocalizations (advertisement calls, sporadic calls, and two types of aggressive calls) emitted by adult males of Scinax fuscomarginatus. With the exception of the advertisement call, the remaining descriptions are novel. We also describe calling sites, calling season, and nightly calling activity. Fieldwork was made in a fragment of Cerrado (Estação Ecológica de Itirapina), Municipalities of Itirapina and Brotas, State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. At this ecological station, S. fuscomarginatus exhibits a complex acoustic repertoire, social interactions and a prolonged reproductive pattern similar to observations of congeneric species at other localities.


The conservation of crop genetic resources is an international priority and requires the continued collection and characterization of farmer varieties. We collected and characterized maize and upland rice populations cropped by farmers in Panama's Azuero region. The objective of our study was to evaluate the crop genetic diversity of farmer varieties of maize and upland rice grown by poor farmers in Panama. We found that: (1) farmers' naming practices only partially corresponded to genetic relationships and were the strongest for rice populations; (2) farmers' classification of populations as 'modern' or 'traditional' was reflected in phenotypic differences; (3) Panamanian maize populations were molecularly distinct from populations collected elsewhere in Latin America; and (4) heterogeneous rice populations were common and heterogeneity was often due to admixture of recognized farmer varieties. Our results indicate that poor farmers in Panama continue to farm 'traditional' varieties that harbour genetic diversity of interest. There has, however, been substantial adoption of 'modern' varieties.


The paper proposes a method to analyze the sources. Under complicated environments, for example, there are different types of sources existing in the far field or more than one source in the same direction, common array processing methods do not consider these situations. But they will bring difficulty when we want to acquire the characteristics of these sources. Some sources may be indistinguishable in space, but they may be distinguishable in time-frequency domain, which we can use while analyzing the sources. The paper adopts spatial filtering and time frequency distribution (TFD) to deal with these situations. Spatial filtering can keep the sources in a particular direction from being interrupted by sources in other directions and extract the original signals in that direction, while TFD is used to analyze the extracted signals in time-frequency domain to get some information of signals of the sources, such as the frequency range. Simulation results prove the effectiveness of the method.


Online speech recognition is crucial for developing natural human-machine interfaces. This modality, however, is significantly more challenging than off-line ASR, since real-time/low-latency constraints inevitably hinder the use of future information, that is known to be very helpful to perform robust predictions. A popular solution to mitigate this issue consists of feeding neural acoustic models with context windows that gather some future frames. This introduces a latency which depends on the number of employed look-ahead features. This paper explores a different approach, based on estimating the future rather than waiting for it. Our technique encourages the hidden representations of a unidirectional recurrent network to embed some useful information about the future. Inspired by a recently proposed technique called Twin Networks, we add a regularization term that forces forward hidden states to be as close as possible to cotemporal backward ones, computed by a "twin" neural network running backwards in time. The experiments, conducted on a number of datasets, recurrent architectures, input features, and acoustic conditions, have shown the effectiveness of this approach. One important advantage is that our method does not introduce any additional computation at test time if compared to standard unidirectional recurrent networks.


Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in exothermic polymerisation characteristics and a range of mechanical properties in PMMA/HA composites (of varying HA concentrations) against a control sample of pure PMMA. Methods Specimens of pure PMMA, and 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent HA composites were made according to the specification of appropriate testing standards using the flask and packing method. Exothermic polymerisation testing was conducted on respective samples using an internal j-type thermocouple temperature sensor. The rate of temperature change and maximum temperature in relation to time were recorded. Mechanical tests included tests of flexural strength and modulus, compressive strength and modulus, tensile strength and modulus and shear strength. All specimens were kept in a controlled environment prior to testing, which was performed on a LIoyd® LR30K universal testing machine, and recorded in computer-generated logs. Results Exothermic polymerisation testing revealed a decrease in mean maximum temperature values with increasing HA content. The mean exothermic temperatures of all six groups were above 100 ̊C, with small relative temperature reductions as the HA percentage increased. The results of mechanical testing revealed that there was a significant reduction in flexural strength in the range between pure PMMA and 15 percent HA and no statistical difference in flexural modulus. There was a notable trend toward a decrease in compressive strength as HA percentage increased, achieving statistical significance at 20 and 25 percent HA, with no statistical difference in compressive modulus between samples. The tensile strength test results no significant difference between pure PMMA and composites containing up to 15 percent HA. A significant difference was noted between the 20 percent- and 25 percent HA composites and those of lower HA concentration with an increased failure risk as HA concentration was increased above 10 percent. There was a tensile modulus peak at 15 percent HA, and a significant difference between 15 percent HA composites and pure PMMA and the 10 percent HA composite. Shear strength was noted to decrease with HA percentage, with significant reduced strength between the 15 percent HA composite and pure PMMA, as well as between the 20 and 25 percent HA composites and composites of less than 10 percent HA. Conclusions The study revealed that the addition of HA to pure PMMA negatively affects the mechanical strength measured in compression, bending or shear. Tensile, compression and flexural moduli showed a gentle increase with the addition of increasing amounts of HA. The peak values were noted at 15 percent for tensile modulus and 25 percent for compressive and flexural moduli. It was recommended that the best compromise across all properties (mechanical and thermal) should be based upon the context of composite use. It was further recommended that PMMA/HA composite materials with 10 – 15 percent HA be investigated further, with due cognisance of the limitations of the present study. The researcher recommended replication of the study using a larger sample size, more refined methodology and the incorporation of additional tests, including shear modulus testing, impact resistance, bioactivity and composite degradation.