The theory of actual causality, defined by Halpern and Pearl, and its quantitative measure - the degree of responsibility - was shown to be extremely useful in various areas of computer science due to a good match between the results it produces and our intuition. In this paper, I describe the applications of causality to formal verification, namely, explanation of counterexamples, refinement of coverage metrics, and symbolic trajectory evaluation. I also briefly discuss recent applications of causality to legal reasoning.


Recently, aggression has been paid attention as a risk factor of mental health in college students in Japan, and then to cope and prevent an expression of aggression have been an important issue. To reduce aggression, improving life skills and increasing perceived social supports are considered to be effective. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships among aggression, life skills, social support, and mental health. Subjects were 545 college students (222 males, 323 females, mean age: 19.8±1.2 years). Japanese Version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Ando et al., 1999), Daily Life Skills Scale for College Students (Shimamoto et al., 2006), Japanese Version of Social Support Scale (Iwasa et al., 2007), and Japanese Version of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12; Nakasugi, 1987) were measured by questionnaire method. Covariance structure analysis showed that the life skills scores were positively related to the social support scores directly, and then, social support scores were negatively related to the GHQ12 scores directly, and negatively related to the GHQ12 scores via the aggression scores (GFI=.998, AGFI=.992, RMSEA=.000). These results suggest that improving life skills contributes to promote mental health and to reduce aggression via increasing perceived social support from "Family", "Friends", and "Significant other".


We determined hypocenters and focal mechanism solutions of aftershocks, and three-dimensional P -wave velocity structure in and around the focal area of the 1999 Izmit earthquake ( M w 7.4). Aftershocks form a 170-km-long narrow zone trending in an east-west direction along the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). They are not homogeneously distributed in the whole aftershock area, but consist of several clusters. There are three significant clusters in the aftershock activity: (1) near the hypocenter of the mainshock, (2) near 29.2° E in the Marmara Sea, and (3) east of 30.4° E. Focal mechanism solutions of aftershocks have various types. But they are similar to each other within each cluster. The P -wave velocity structure obtained has a distinct low-velocity area to the west of the mainshock hypocenter. The mainshock rupture area estimated by Yagi and Kikuchi (2000) lies outside this low-velocity area. There exists a high-velocity anomaly to the east of 30.4° E. This high-velocity area lies below the aftershock cluster distributed to the east of 30.4° E. This high-velocity anomaly extends to the shallower depth of the southern branch (Iznik-Mekece fault) of NAFZ. The Anatolian earthquake sequence that had migrated westward for the past 60 yr did not propagate into this southern branch. This suggests the possibility that the Anatolian earthquake sequence progressed to the west exploiting an area that might break more easily.


Successive euro zone crises suggest a need for a re-evaluation of currency union projects in Africa. I argue in related research (Masson, 2015) that the requirements for a sustainable monetary union are not adequately captured by the optimum currency area (OCA) and macroeconomic convergence criteria (or Maastricht criteria) which are given the most attention in plans for African monetary unions. Instead, the prerequisites for a successful monetary union require strong regional solidarity based on common approaches to policymaking that permit the creation of effective community institutions across a wide array of policy areas.


Improving the performance of organic optoelectronics has been under vigorous research for decades. Recently, polaritonics has been introduced as a technology that has the potential to improve the optical, electrical, and chemical properties of materials and devices. However, polaritons have been mainly studied in optical microcavities that are made by vacuum deposition processes, which are costly, unavailable to many, and incompatible with printed optoelectronics methods. Efforts toward the fabrication of polariton microcavities with solution-processed techniques have been utterly absent. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time strong light–matter coupling and polariton photoluminescence in an organic microcavity consisting of an aluminum mirror and a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) made by sequential dip coating of titanium hydroxide/poly(vinyl alcohol) (TiOH/PVA) and Nafion films. To fabricate and develop the solution-processed DBRs and microcavities, we automatized a dip-coating device that allowed us to produce sub-100 nm films consistently over many dip-coating cycles. Owning to the solution-based nature of our DBRs, our results pave the way to the realization of polariton optoelectronic devices beyond physical deposition methods.


At present there exists a great interest in the search for evidence of possible modification of the nucleon form factors inside the nuclear medium. Recent theoretical work predict changes in the form factors within the experimental limits. Importantly, the longitudinal to sideways transferred polarization ratio has been identified as being ideally suited for such studies, as these polarization observables are believed to be the least sensitive to most standard nuclear structure uncertainties while their ratio shows a high sensitivity to the ratio of the electric to magnetic form factors. The kinematic regime where the measurements have been undertaken is at relatively high energy and it is clear that relativistic effects in wave functions and operators are essential. In this work we focus on the analysis of polarized $^{16}O(\vec{e},e'\vec{p})^{15}N$ observables. Our aim is to explore a selected set of model dependences that could contaminate any attempt to infer medium modifications, mainly related to the description of FSI and to the role played by relativity.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of acute hypoxemia and hyperglycemia on retinal pH to understand hyperglycemia-induced changes in the normal intact cat retina.

METHODS
Spatial profiles of extracellular hydrogen ion (H+) concentration were obtained from the cat retina, in vivo, using pH-sensitive microelectrodes during normoxia (arterial partial pressure of oxygen [PaO2] = 114.5 +/- 7.9 mm Hg), normoglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 117 +/- 19 mg/dL), acute hypoxemia (PaO2 = 29.5 +/- 2.2 mm Hg), and acute hyperglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 303 +/- 67 mg/dL). An H+ diffusion model was fitted to the outer retinal data to quantify photoreceptor H+ production. The inner retinal pH was also examined.

RESULTS
Hypoxemia induced a mean acute panretinal acidification of 0.16 pH units that originated from a 2.55-fold increase in net photoreceptor H+ production. Hyperglycemia induced an acute panretinal acidification of 0.12 pH units; however, photoreceptor H+ production levels remained unchanged. Retinal pH changes followed the course of arterial PaO2 and blood glucose changes.

CONCLUSIONS
The increase in photoreceptor H+ production during hypoxemia confirms the importance of glycolysis in the retina. Hyperglycemia-induced pH changes resulted from either increased inner retinal H+ production or decreased H+ clearance/neutralization. Clinical Relevance The hyperglycemia-induced acidification that originates in the inner retina suggests that retinal acidosis may contribute to the development of diabetic retinal disease.


Raloxifene hydrochloride (RLX) shows poor bioavailability (<2%), high inter-patient variability and extensive gut metabolism (>90%). The objective of this study was to develop nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for RLX to enhance its bioavailability. The NLC formulations were produced with glyceryl tribehenate and oleic acid. The particle characteristics, entrapment efficiency (EE), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), in vitro drug release, oral bioavailability (in rats) and stability studies were performed. The optimized nanoparticles were 120 ± 3 nm in size with positive zeta potential (14.4 ± 0.5 mV); % EE was over 90% with the drug loading of 5%. The RLX exists in an amorphous form in the lipid matrix. The optimized RLX-NLC formulation showed sustained release in vitro. The RLX-NLC significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced oral bioavailability 3.19-fold as compared to RLX-free suspension in female Wistar rats. The RLX-NLC can potentially enhance the oral bioavailability of RLX. It can also improve the storage stability.


Real long-term interest rates are key determinants of longer-term saving and investment decisions, while their influence on business spending, household investment and the consumption of durable goods plays a key role in the business cycle and transmission of macroeconomic policies. The study of long term interest has become a significant global issue after the global financial crisis of 2008. This study therefore was conducted with the objective to establish the determinants of long term interest rates in Kenya. The study sourced data from secondary sources. The data was obtained from CBK, NSE and World Bank website for which data from 2002 to 2012 was obtained. The data extracted included central government debt, inflation rates, external debts and the interest rates. Data analysis involved preparation of the collected data, coding, editing and cleaning of
data in readiness for processing using SPSS and Microsoft office excel. In the analysis, multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between long term interest rates and the determinants. The study has established that long term interest rate is influenced by the annual inflation rates, the external debt and the central government debt. The results in the study findings indicate that there is a direct positive relationship between the long term interest rates and the determinants (annual inflation rate, central government debt and the external debt). An increase in these determinants leads to an increase in the long term interest rates. This study highly recommends to the potential investors in companies to use the Altman failure prediction model as an assessment tool. The results could raise certain questions about the state of a company and could ultimately result in an investor investing or purchasing a company that is profitable and well managed company since declining Z-score values depicts a failing company. The study recommends that the government of Kenya should reduce on the foreign borrowing in order to reduce the long term interest rate in the country to encourage local investment that will see the country finance most of its activities through internal borrowing. The study also recommends that the government of Kenya should establish price regulation law to the prices of the basic commodities to curb the ever rising inflation rates in the country that results in rise in the interest rate which in turn discourages borrowing by the
people.


Managing the memories of different communities and reinterpreting them at the local level to suit the logic of a particular political group, is an oft-observed phenomenon in the ongoing political processes of the country. Lesser known historical events associated with particular communities are searched out and converted into popular memory in a way that suits the political agenda of the concerned political forces. The article is focused on one such attempt of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party to search for space among the dalits of Uttar Pradesh by looking for heroes of their communities, creating warring identities against Muslim invaders, and relocating them in their broader project of constructing communal memories among Hindus as a whole, including the dalit castes.


An extensive monitoring study was conducted to determine the fate of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) during wastewater treatment and in the environment. Results showed that LAS was highly removed during activated sludge (99.3 ± 0.6%), lagoon (98.5 ± 1.8%), oxidation ditch (98.0 ± 4.2%), and rotating biological contact (96.2 ± 6.1%) treatment, with poorer removals observed at trickling filter (77.4 ± 15.5%) facilities. Concentrations of LAS in anaerobically digested sludge (10,462 ± 5170 μg/g) were one to two orders of magnitude greater than those observed for aerobically digested sludge (152 ± 119 μg/g), illustrating that LAS is rapidly degraded during aerobic sludge treatment. Receiving water concentrations of LAS in rivers of low effluent dilution were generally < 50 μg/L. Elevated river sediment concentrations of LAS were observed only below the outfall of trickling filter treatment plants (59.7-182.1 μg/g). Alkyl chain lengths of LAS averaged 12.0 carbon units in most environmental compartments, with the exception of sludge solids and river sediments, in which an enrichment of longer chain lengths was observed. Measured concentrations of LAS in river waters under critical low flow conditions were in agreement with PG-GRiDS model predictions [5], thus supporting the validity of the modeling approach.


Thermal desorption systems are designed to remove organic compounds from solid matrices such as soils, sludges and filter cakes without thermally destroying them. It is a separation technology, not a destruction technology. Since it is a thermal process, there is a common belief that temperature is the only significant parameter to be monitored. While it is true that better removal efficiencies are usually achieved at higher temperatures, other factors must be considered. Since the process is governed by mass transfer, heating time and the amount of mixing are also key parameters in optimizing removal efficiency. Thermal desorption have been successfully used for just about every organic contaminant found to date. It has also been used to remove mercury. In the present study, the numerical simulation has been performed to investigate the characteristics of heat transfer of LTTD(low temperature thermal desorption). The commercial software, AMESIM was applied for analyzing the heat transfer process in the LTTD.


A human hepatoma cell line, designated HCC‐T, was established. The tumor was surgically obtained from a Japanese male patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arising in a cirrhotic liver that had supposedly developed from nonAnonB (NANB) chronic hepatitis. HCC‐T exhibited a typical morphology of epithelial cells in culture. Population doubling time was 24 hours and HCC‐T cells had characteristics of malignant cells demonstrated by the ability to grow in a soft agar medium and transplantability to nude mice. The histologic condition of the tumor transplanted to a nude mouse showed similarity to the original tumor. A chromosome analysis showed that there were ten identifiable marker chromosomes and sex chromosomes with its modal number of 64. Alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) production was demonstrated by direct immunofluorescence study, but albumin or hepatitis B surface antigen were not detectable. The integration of hepatitis B viral DNA was not demonstrable in the genome of HCC‐T cells or the original hepatoma.


OBJECTIVE
To determine reduction in dose of tramadol and side effects in posthysterectomy patients on addition of diclofenac on rectal suppository.

STUDY DESIGN
Randomized double blinded placebo controlled study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from August 2004 to January 2006.

METHODOLOGY
Seventy ASA I and II females, aged 20 and above, who underwent elective abdominal hysterectomy, were included in this study. Patients received identical looking suppository of either 100 mg diclofenac sodium or placebo after induction of anaesthesia and then 12 hourly for 24 hours. General anaesthesia was standardized and tramadol was given by patient controlled intravenous analgesia delivery system in the recovery.

RESULTS
The mean dose + SD of tramadol used in first 24 hours was found to be 317 +153 mg in the placebo-tramadol group compared to 258 +192 mg in the diclofenac-tramadol group (p = 0.15, 95% CI = 1.24 to -1.34, 6.63). Seventeen (49 %) patients in the placebo-tramadol group and 14 (40%) in the diclofenac-tramadol group used rescue analgesia (p=0.47). Sedation score was similar in both the groups and there was no difference in the incidence of nausea and vomiting and use of antiemetics between the groups.

CONCLUSION
This study did not show any reduction in tramadol consumption, given via patient controlled intravenous analgesia when rectal suppository of 100 mg diclofenac was added.


This paper examines how identities are negotiated and spelled out in Gotland, the biggest island in Sweden. Since long Gotland have been a favorite summer destination. The yearly interaction between up to a million visitors that come to appreciate the islands perceived remoteness, endemism and archaism, and the less than 60 000 islanders striving to keep up to modern life expectancies, have petrified an old border between 'islander' and 'mainlander'. Since long, 'belonging' and the notion of 'islander identity' has been seen as growing out of place and the island condition. In recent years, however, the old categories have been reshaped in the context of migration and 'multiculturality'. One category of islanders have become 'gutar', presuming an original island status. A new "third space" have been created, inhabited by a new category of 'gotlanders', people of many origins that are neither islanders nor mainlanders. Thus not only local identity categories have changed; also the notion of multiculturality have been spelled out in a radically different way than in most urban centers in Sweden and other parts of North Europe. The paper argues that these recent changes notwithstanding, the relation to place, to the island and to the island life, is still the core of belonging and identity.


This paper considers the optimal multiuser detection problem for the vector Gaussian multiple access channel with multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO). A practical bit-loading and multiuser decision feedback scheme based on generalized decision feedback equalization (GDFE) is proposed. This GDFE-based detection scheme, when used with an optimized transmitter, achieves the extreme points in the multiple access channel capacity region.


A design of a nanoelectronic memory array, compatible with both the molecular switch (nanodevice) electrical characteristics and CMOS 45 nm semiconductor technology node is presented. The proposed transmission gate based CMOL (hybrid CMOS/MOLecular) memory cell does not suffer from the operational difficulties faced by the conventional CMOL cell. The control circuitry with improved multiplexer designs is introduced, and it shows that the required voltage levels to program the nanodevices can be achieved. Moreover, the proposed memory cell has the same area as the existing CMOL inverter cell allowing easier implementation of both logic and memory circuits on the same chip.


Objectives To study the protective effects and mechanisms of Huoxue Jiedu Huayu formula on cell pyroptosis through the NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β pathway in contralateral kidneys in 6-month-old unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) rats. Methods Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups: a Sham group, a unilateral nephrectomy group (UNX group), a UUO group, a UUO treated with spironolactone group (Spi group), and a UUO treated with Huoxue Jiedu Huayu formula group (HJHF group). After 6 months of oral drug intervention, blood and contralateral kidneys were collected for research. Results The morphology and function of the contralateral kidneys were essentially normal after unilateral nephrectomy. HJHF obviously decreased serum creatinine, urea, and inflammatory lesions and depressed cell pyroptosis based on the NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β pathway. Moreover, spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blocker, suppressed cell pyroptosis through SGK-1 and NF-кB. Conclusion HJHF and spirolactone inhibited excessive activation of MR and then reduced cell pyroptosis, which was dependent on the NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β pathway, to protect the contralateral kidneys of 6-month-old UUO rats.


Unsteady three-dimensional reacting flowfield generated by transverse hydrogen injection into a supersonic mainstream is numerically investigated using DES and finite-rate chemistry model. Comparisons are made with experimental results to investigate the turbulent reacting flow physics. The numerical OH distribution describes well the experimental OH-PLIF result, while the numerical ignition delay time shows some disparity due to the restricted available experimental data. The intermittency phenomena are identified by the comparative analysis between RANS and DES. Those effects are also quantified by the temperature distributions along streamlines and superimposed OH mass fraction along with time.


Background Accelerated atherogenesis leading to increased incidence of cardiovascular (CV) mortality has been reported in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The search of tools that may identify high-risk RA patients who may benefit from active therapy to prevent CV events is of major importance. Objectives To determine if the use of carotid ultrasonography (US) may improve the stratification of CV risk of patients with RA. Methods A set of 370 consecutive patients without history of CV events was studied to assess carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and plaques. As previously proposed, CV risk was calculated according to the modified SCORE (mSCORE) for RA that was adapted by the application of a multiplier factor of 1.5 in those patients fulfilling ≥2 of 3 specific criteria. Results The mean disease duration was9.8years, 250 (68%) had rheumatoid factor/anti-CCP positivity and 61 (17%) extra-articular manifestations. Forty-three were excluded because they had type 2 diabetes mellitus or severe chronic kidney disease. CV risk was categorized in the remaining 327 RA patients according to mSCORE: mild (96 cases; 29.3%), moderate (201; 61.5%) and high/very high risk (30; 9.2%). Only 5 patients were reclassified as having high/very high CV risk when the mSCORE was applied. Severe carotid US abnormalities (cIMT > 0.90 mm and/or plaques) were uncommon in patients with low mSCORE (13%). Nevertheless, in patients with moderate mSCORE severe carotid US abnormalities were observed in 63% of cases. Amodel that included a chart mSCORE risk ≥5% plus the presence of severe carotid US findings in patients with moderate mSCORE risk (≥1% and <5%) yielded high sensitivity for high/very high CV risk (93 [95% CI: 88- 96]). Conclusions Carotid US assessment may be useful to establish the CV risk in RA, in particular in patients with moderate mSCORE. Acknowledgements This study was supported by grants from "Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias" PI06/0024, PS09/00748 and PI12/00060 (Spain). This work was also partially supported by RETICS Program, RD08/0075 (RIER) from "Instituto de Salud Carlos III" (ISCIII) (Spain). Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This research dealt with analysis research. It aims to find out: (1) the errors in using cohesive devices in Essay writing written by students; (2) reasons of their errors; (3) the remedial teaching planned to solve the students' error.This descriptive exploratory study was conducted at the Second Semester of English Department Students of Cultural Sciences Faculty of Sebelas Maret University in the Academic Year 2014/2015. There were 48 students as the sample of this study. They are totally chosen as sample because there are two classes of second semester. The data were collected through observation, document analysis, questionnaire, and interview. The researcher used descriptive analysis as follows: (1) the researcher classified the error after the collecting the data; (2) the researcher identified the type of cohesive devices errors of all students' essay; (3) the researcher found the causes of errors.There are some research findings: (1) The students make errors in using reference and conjunction; (2) The cause of their error is intralingua error; (3) The remedial teaching is needed by the students. In this case, the researcher suggests to use project based learning.The result of this study implies that the Second Semester English Department Students of Cultures Sciences Faculty of Sebelas Maret University in the Academic Year 2014 /2015 have weaknesses in cohesive devices especially in reference cohesion, the most dominant error is misformation. However, the most dominant error in conjunction is misordering. At last, the teacher needs to apply remedial teaching to solve the students' error in using cohesive devices, the teacher should use the appropriate activities in writing class.Keywords: cohesive devices, error, intralingua, remedial teaching.


The Charter of the United Nations designates the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as one of the principal organs of the United Nations, assuming the "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security". It has the power to determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, to make recommendations, and decide what measures should be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security. This article addresses a number of issues concerning how the UNSC Resolutions are enforced at sea in accordance with applicable international law and makes special reference to the circumstances in East Asia, particularly the Korean Peninsula.


Titanium is the ninth most abundant element and the forth most common construction metal in the earth's crust. It's high strength, high-temperature performance, low density, high corrosion resistance and bio-compatibility makes it the ideal materials choice in a wide variety of applications. However, the global production and use of titanium are very small due to its high cost of production. Since 1946 when the titanium industry began to evolve following the commercialisation of the Kroll process, many attempts had been undertaken to reduce the cost of producing titanium. To date all the attempts failed commercially and only the Kroll and to a lesser extent the earlier Hunter processes are used commercially. One of the numerous process alternatives considered is electrowinning of molten titanium in an analogous way to aluminium electrowinning. This process is conceptually very attractive and if successful could provide the cost breakthrough required to make titanium affordable to a much larger market. The authors have tested this route experimentally, but could not produce pure titanium. The failure of electrowinning pure, molten titanium has been interpreted in terms of the analogy and differences between aluminium and titanium electrolysis resulting in a clear understanding of the fundamental obstacles that have to be overcome in order to develop such a process successfully.


The stabilization problem for a simple (unstable) planar system in the presence of input and output quantization and saturation is addressed. It is shown that global stability to a terminal set, the size of which can be arbitrarily reduced, is achieved by means of a hybrid output feedback control law, which reads out the plant only three values and delivers a control action composed of three values. Directions to extend the proposed results to a class of -dimensional systems are also provided. Simulation results complete the work.


Strain NL19T is a Gram-stain-negative, aerobic bacterium that was isolated from sludge of a deactivated uranium mine in Portugal. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain NL19T is a member of the genus Pedobacter and closely related to the strains Pedobacter himalayensis MTCC 6384T, Pedobacter cryoconitis DSM 14825T, Pedobacter westerhofensis DSM 19036T and Pedobacterhartonius DSM 19033T. It had a DNA G+C content of 40.8 mol%, which agreed with the genus description. The main fatty acids included C16 : 1ω7c, C14 : 1ω5c, C4 : 0, iso-C17 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0 3-OH. The main lipids present were phospholipids (60 %) and sphingolipids (35 %). The most abundant phospholipids included phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine. Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) was the only isoprenoid quinone detected. DNA-DNA hybridization similarities between strain NL19T and Pedobacter himalayensis MTCC 6384T, Pedobacter cryoconitis DSM 14825T, Pedobacter westerhofensis DSM 19036T and Pedobacter hartonius DSM 19033T were 15.3 , 16.2 , 11.5 and 16.0 %, respectively. Strain NL19T can also be distinguished from these four species based on gyrB and intergenic transcribed spacers (ITS) sequences and by some phenotypic traits such as NaCl tolerance, pH, growth temperature and carbon source utilization. Strain NL19Trepresents a novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter lusitanus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NL19T (=LMG 29220T=CECT 9028T). An amended description of Pedobacter himalayensis is also included.


BackgroundBreast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide, and depressive symptoms are disturbing side effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Physical activity and exercise have emerged as an alternative treatment in handling psychological distress throughout breast cancer survivorship. AimThe aim of this review was to present the results of (1) physical activity and (2) exercise interventions in terms of type and duration regarding depressive symptoms among breast cancer survivors during and after treatment. The hypothesis was that cancer survivors who are engaged with physical activity will demonstrate statistically significant lower levels of depressive symptoms when compared with non-exercising control groups. MethodsWe searched PubMed, Elsevier and Google Scholar for recent articles published between January 2011 and November 2016. Fourteen randomised control trials with 1701 patients in total were assessed. ResultsSignificant differences in levels were found between exercise intervention groups and control groups, while moderate aerobic exercise interventions with an optimal duration of ≥135 min for up to 12 weeks are significantly more beneficial in depressive symptoms when it comes to patients under treatment than resistance, aerobicandresistance training and yoga interventions. ConclusionsIt is concluded that when progressive exercise programmes are prescribed according to the individual needs, capabilities and preferences of breast cancer survivors, they offer a valid alternative to depression mood management throughout the course of survivorship.


The spectroscopic properties of liposomal curcumin in pH 7.0 sodium phosphate buffer were studied at various curcumin concentrations and temperatures. At 25 °C, liposomal curcumin exhibited much higher values than free curcumin in absorption maximum, fluorescence maximum, and fluorescence anisotropy. When curcumin concentration was increased from 2 to 20 μM, the values of fluorescence anisotropy of liposomal curcumin decreased gradually, consistent with the reduction of phase transition temperature of liposome. This observation revealed that liposomal curcumin can disrupt the packing of phospholipid bilayer and give a loose and disordered structure. On the other hand, as the temperature was increased from 25 to 80 °C, the relative intensity of maximum absorption of liposomal curcumin showed a more pronounced decrease above the phase transition temperature than lower temperatures, suggesting a weaker curcumin protection from the liquid crystalline phase of phospholipid bilayer than the rigid gel phase. However, it was observed that the fluorescence anisotropy of liposomal curcumin had higher values as the temperature increased. This phenomenon was explained as the result of location change of curcumin toward the core of phospholipid bilayer, although the structure of the phospholipid bilayer tended to be looser at higher temperatures.


Abstract Based on a dynamic, cultural-constructivist understanding of language and a multistage/multi-level methodological approach of discourse semantics, this contribution analyzes a section of selected texts concerning the migration discourse. In this context, the controversial term Leitkultur is given special emphasis. It turns out that within political discourse this term is closely linked to self-positioning and positioning others.


Research fronts (RFs) represent the most dynamic areas of science and technology and the topics that receive higher attention in a specific field. Their identification has become the focus of global scientific and technological competition. In this study, we performed an analysis of the In-Cites RFs from Web of Science (WoS) in seven Spanish universities as a case study in the period 2015–2019. Our purpose is threefold: (1) to develop a methodology for approximating the 'alignment' of scientific articles with the RFs, (2) to test if Highly Cited Papers (HCP) from these universities are more aligned with RFs than the rest of the output, and (3) to test if papers aligned with RFs receive more citations per document than those not aligned. The study uses a novel retrieval method, and the analysis is conducted using a coincidence method (comparison with a standard), in which Mann–Kendall's test and Pearson's correlation are used. The results show that there is alignment between output and the HCP and those better aligned, present greater mean ranks of citations per article. This study shows the usefulness of RFs for orienting the research priorities at the institutional level for the university.


We propose a new matrix learning scheme to extend relevance learning vector quantization (RLVQ), an efficient prototype-based classification algorithm, toward a general adaptive metric. By introducing a full matrix of relevance factors in the distance measure, correlations between different features and their importance for the classification scheme can be taken into account and automated, and general metric adaptation takes place during training. In comparison to the weighted Euclidean metric used in RLVQ and its variations, a full matrix is more powerful to represent the internal structure of the data appropriately. Large margin generalization bounds can be transferred to this case, leading to bounds that are independent of the input dimensionality. This also holds for local metrics attached to each prototype, which corresponds to piecewise quadratic decision boundaries. The algorithm is tested in comparison to alternative learning vector quantization schemes using an artificial data set, a benchmark multiclass problem from the UCI repository, and a problem from bioinformatics, the recognition of splice sites for C.elegans.


Today, users want more engaging and meaningful media experiences, especially localized to their context and community. Physical and virtual spaces are colliding, allowing mobile users to move between increasingly interactive and content-rich spaces, and to participate in co-creation of experiences that bring together digital and physical worlds. User demands and technology trends are pushing media companies to search for new technologies that engage with users, communities and spaces to create places for culture, entertainment and learning. FLAME is building a software-based 5G platform for the deployment of Future Media Internet (FMI) services across the city. 5G technologies and new network paradigms fulfil the strict requirements of the new trends of media services in terms of low latency, flexibility, high fidelity, etc. This whitepaper identifies these market trends and pays special attention to the offering of localised experiences in the city. This is one of the relevant media and entertainment use cases for 5G. The city is not only a place to live or to consume media content. The city is also a place to enjoy cultural experiences that involve media, to interact with other people, to learn about symbolic values (like the city's history) or to play games. In fact, one of the main city trends is the generation of content by users, who immediately share it via social networks. As described in this whitepaper, the project has deployed the FLAME platform on real smart city infrastructures to enable new media validation experiments. These experiments have confirmed the FLAME technical proposition for media services and have revealed insights into the way users interact with the city.


The desorption processes of ƒÀ-lactogloblin fouled on a stainless steel surface during caustic and enzymatic cleanings were analyzed using the model in which the free energy of activation for the rate constant of the first-order kinetics was assumed to obey a Gaussian distribution. The model well expressed both processes. This would indicate that the ƒÀ-lactogloblin molecules exist in various states and interact with the surface in various strengths corresponding to the states. The rate constant corresponding to the mean value of the free energy of activation was greater at the higher detergent concentrations for both the caustic and enzymatic cleanings.


A 28-year old woman had an ocular syndrome consisting of congenital lid and punctal anomalies, and corneal and chorioretinal dystrophy without facial dysmorphism.These combined malformations of the ocular adnexae and both anterior and posterior ocular segments have not been previously described and appear to represent a novel syndrome. Direct sequencing of PAX6 and the DNA-binding domain of FOXC1 failed to detect a mutation.


This LibGuide outlines the safe ways to use images from the Artstor Digital Library according to their Terms and Conditions of Use, how to identify the sources of images you are working with, and how to find and use images for publications.


This on-going MBA work shows what main problems a leading warehouse management faces nowadays and attempts to tackle one of the problems within the packing area. It also suggests ways to improve warehouse productivity that affects construction management performance using simulation technology. Research problem of allocating resources to two different prioritised packing lanes is addressed. A framework for a simulation model is developed to initiate the packing operations for both regular and important lanes which called VIP packing lanes. Case study of one of the warehouses located in Nuneaton, UK is considered. A logical diagram is developed to reflect the workflow in the packing area. A future work "As-Is" and "What-If" scenarios will be developed to manifest problem areas and try to fully utilize the resources between different packing lanes.


Phenotypic plastic responses allow organisms to rapidly adjust to environmental challenges. Although phenotypic plastic responses to predation risk have been reported for the ecological and genomic model organism Daphnia, their genetic basis is not well understood. Here, we characterized the transcriptional profile of Daphnia galeata when exposed to fish kairomones. First, we investigated the differential gene expression, identifying candidate transcripts being involved in shifts of life history traits. A total of 125 differentially expressed transcripts (40 up- and 85 downregulated) were identified. Second, we applied a gene coexpression network analysis to find clusters of tightly linked transcripts and reveal the genetic pathways underlying predator-induced responses. Our results showed that transcripts involved in remodeling of the cuticle, growth and digestion correlated with life history shifts in D. galeata . Furthermore, we compared our results with previous studies on other Daphnia species. This was achieved using an orthology approach on D. magna predator-induced response on the one hand, and reproduction associated genes in D. pulex on the other hand. The unique combination of methods including the comparative approach allowed for the identification of candidate transcripts, their functions and orthologs associated with predator-induced responses in Daphnia .


DOWN CONVERSION PRINCIPLE Down conversion is basic operation in communications and signal processing. Down-converters perform a transformation of radio frequency (RF) signal into a baseband signal centered at the zero frequency. Digital down converters are used in high performance equipment, providing ultimate quality: ideal mixer without non-linear distortions, phase noise or temperature stability problems, fully controllable filters and decimation, possibility of programmable digital channel equalization. However, digital down conversion requires high speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and real time data processing.


Cutaneous nocardiosis is a skin disease mainly caused by Nocardia brasiliensis and Nocardia asteroides. Here, we report a rare case of lymphocutaneous dermatosis in an 87-year-old Chinese man infected with Nocardia brasiliensis. An 87-year-old Chinese man presented at our hospital after suffering erythema, nodules, abscesses, ulceration, and pain in the left upper limb for 10 days. The patient was initially misdiagnosed as lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis. The results of gram staining, acid-fast staining, mass spectrograph revealed Nocardia brasiliensis and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequencing of samples showed that the patient had a Nocardia brasiliensis infection. Anti-infective therapy with sulfamethoxazole combined with amoxicillin clavulanate potassium was administered for 10 days, followed by sulfamethoxazole alone for 20 days. After 30 days of treatment, the abscess was treated with repeated pus extraction, debridement of erosion and ulcer, wet compress of povidone iodine solution and spectrum of multi-source instrument. The redness and swelling had subsided, and purulent secretion and ulceration had decreased. Lymphocutaneous nocardiosis can easily be misdiagnosed as sporotrichosis based on its clinical manifestations. However, mass spectrometry analysis showed Nocardia brasiliensis according to the fingerprint of the bacteria and 16S rRNA sequencing to identify bacterial DNA can assist with making a diagnosis. For patients with Nocardia brasiliensis, sulfamethoxazole combined with amoxicillin clavulanate potassium is an effective anti-infective treatment.


Although the ground is strewn with tantalizing clues, each contributing to an advance in understanding of this disease, no single answer to the problem of peptic ulcer has been found. Almost certainly many factors conspire to produce each ulcer and the most important factor differs from patient to patient. It is likely that acid-pepsin is always a factor in the production of an ulcer and no benign ulcer has so far been reported in the presence of complete achlorhydria. In some patients who secrete large quantities of acid, as in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome to be discussed later, this hypersecretion is probably responsible for the ulceration. However, most patients with gastric ulcer and many patients with duodenal ulcer secrete acid in normal amounts and at a normal rate. In a few patients with gastric ulcer it may even be difficult to demonstrate the secretion of any acid8s though some acid is always found. In Fig. i are seen results obtained with a single test of acid secretion; the general findings are similar whatever test is used. Patients with duodenal ulcer tend as a group to secrete more acid than normal and many secrete acid above the upper limit of the normal range: patients with gastric ulcer differ little from normal. Similar results are also found when pepsin is studied. Fig. 2 shows measurements of urinary pepsinogen, thought to be a measure of peptic cell mass, and the relationship between the three groups of subjects is seen to be the same as with acid secretion.


Background: The respiratory system is most affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). However, COVID-19 can appear in a variety of ways. It has found a link between higher liver enzymes and COVID-19 infection, implying that the virus can induce liver damage through direct hepatotoxic injury, medication toxicity, or an immune-mediated response. Materials and Methods: In the southern Iraqi province of Basra, a cross-sectional observational study is being conducted in a single center (Basra teaching hospital) to estimate the prevalence of liver damage among hospitalized patients and identify those at risk. Results: The study found that most of the patients have a normal liver function test at the time of diagnosis and or admission, but after hospitalization, there is a statistically significant increase in the liver enzymes that is positively related to the disease severity and cytokine storm and also lead to more extended hospital staying and further mortality. Fortunately, the degree of liver damage is of mild severity in the majority of patients. Still, the severe form of liver damage was also noticed in some patients, especially those with a higher degree of lung involvement and severely desaturates with raised inflammatory markers. Conclusions: Elevated liver enzymes are prevalent, but the majority is mild with COVID-19 disease. Liver function abnormalities, particularly increased levels of AST and ALT, are not only common in COVID-19, but they are also linked to poor outcomes, mainly if severe liver damage has occurred.


A portable multiwire gamma camera (MWGC) with enhanced imaging characteristics relative to conventional sodium iodide camera has been evaluated with 178Ta, a short-lived, generator-produced radioisotope (half-life 9.3 min). First-pass radionuclide angiography (FPRA) was performed and results were compared to those obtained with FPRA using a multicrystal camera (MCC) and 99mTc in 38 patients. The overall left ventricular count sensitivity (counts/mCi/sec/millisteradians [msr]) was significantly higher with MWGC/178Ta (176 +/- 132 versus 108 +/- 49, p less than 0.001) yielding images of higher statistics with higher resolution collimation (31 versus 63 msr). Left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.54 +/- 0.18 by MWGC and 0.54 +/- 0.18 by MCC with an excellent correlation between the two techniques (r = 0.94, s.e.e. = 0.06). The detection of wall motion abnormality was virtually identical with the two techniques. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility by MWGC was excellent (r = 0.99 and 0.99, respectively). Thus, this new technology provides first-pass studies of higher statistical quality and improved resolution, affording more precise assessment of left ventricular performance and likelihood of further substantial improvement by use of even higher doses of 178Ta.


Abstract : Accurate perception of position and self-movement is a critical factor for many tasks in aviation; particularly low-level flight, take off and landing. An especially demanding task of this kind is that of deck landings for rotary-wing aircraft, which are often conducted during the night. During night operations, ship-based lighting is used to assist the aircrew and flight-deck staff in the conduct of take-off and landing. While reasonably effective, the lighting systems currently employed by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were not designed specifically with the aim of enhancing aircrew visual perception. In two experiments a deck-edge light (DEL) system which provides a richer visual cueing environment for the aircrew than traditional point-source lighting systems was investigated in terms of its potential benefits for aircrew visual perception. These experiments could reveal no clear performance advantage for DELs over standard point-source lights. In both experiments, participants were asked to make ratings of their confidence in their judgments. Only a very weak relationship was found between accuracy and confidence, suggesting that care should be exercised when subjective ratings are interpreted in place of performance data. Further investigation is required in order to understand the potential of DEL systems for enhancing the safety of night operations.


Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI3) nanocrystals (NCs) exhibit favorable photophysics for a range of light emitting applications. A comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the nucleation and growth processes for these NCs is still elusive. Absorbance and fluorescence spectra were measured during a NC synthesis with kinetics limited by precursor solvation using a rapid sampling technique wherein syringe filters quench NC growth. The signal from well-capped NCs in the reaction mixture was isolated by the use of polar syringe filters, enabling spectroscopic observation of the surface ligation process. Our results indicate that the formation of these NCs involves a single stage of nucleation and growth, followed by a terminal surface ligation stage.


Abstract. In March 2017, ultraviolet (UV) radiation measurements with a multichannel GUV-2511 radiometer were started in Marambio, Antarctica (64.23º S; 56.62º W), by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) in collaboration with the Argentinian National Meteorological Service (SMN). These measurements were analysed and the results were compared to previous measurements at the same site with NILU-UV radiometer during 2000–2008 and to data from five stations across Antarctica. Measurements in Marambio showed lower UV radiation levels in 2017/2018 compared to those measured during 2000–2008. Also at several other stations in Antarctica the radiation levels were below average in that period. The maximum UV index (UVI) in Marambio was only 6.2, while, during the time period 2000–2008, the maximum was 12. In 2018/2019, the radiation levels were higher than in the previous year and the maximum UVI recorded in Marambio was 9.5. In Marambio, the largest variation of the UV radiation are during the spring and early summer when the stratospheric ozone concentration is at a minimum (the so-called ozone hole). Beside cloud cover, the strength of the polar vortex and the stratospheric ozone depletion are the primary factors that influence the surface UV radiation levels in Antarctica. As the recovery of the ozone layer is slow, the continuation of the measurements is crucial in order to be able to detect long-term changes in UV levels in Antarctica.


A large and complex codebase is evolving. Maintenance and change management become big problems. A more modular architecture is needed to improve maintainability. One of the improvement areas of the existing codebase is that, although it is divided into several building blocks, these building blocks are too intertwined. This report describes the approach of identifying the problems. It also gives the visualization to show how the code is intertwined. Besides providing problem analysis, the report also explains the solution de-sign and the implementation to solve the problems. Moreover, future works are also ad-dressed as recommendations, such as a way of working to prevent the problems from happening again and guidelines to understand the building blocks itself.


A facet model is used to predict the polarization states of light scattered from rough surfaces. The states are compared with experimentally determined elements from various types of rough substrates. The experimental data are found to be quite similar to what is predicted by the model.


This paper presents the modelling of a given microfluidic device, that is applied as a drop-on-demand printhead for different printing tasks. Piezoelectric bend mode actuators are used to eject a droplet from the respective nozzle on demand. The device is considered as a coupled system consisting of an electric, a mechanical and a fluidic part. The electric and mechanical parts of the piezoelectric actuator are described by conventional lumped elements, while the complex three-dimensional fluid analysis is performed by a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) free-surface modelling package. The model helps one to understand the fluid dynamics and thus to study different design and operating parameter aspects. The general approach to the problem of modelling a microfluidic device as presented here can also be applied in various other modelling tasks.


The draft assembly of the honey bee Apis mellifera genome sequence reveals that the 17 centromeric-distal telomeres are of a simple, shared, and canonical structure, with 3-4 kb of a unique subtelomeric sequence, followed by several kilobases of TTAGG or variant telomeric repeats. This simple subtelomeric structure differs from the centromeric-proximal telomeres on the short arms of the 15 acrocentric chromosomes, which are apparently composed primarily of the 176-bp AluI tandem repeat. This dichotomy between the distal and proximal telomeres may involve differential participation of the telomeres of the 15 acrocentric chromosomes in the Rabl configuration after mitosis and the chromosome bouquet in meiotic prophase I. As expected from the presence of canonical TTAGG telomeric repeats, we identified a candidate telomerase gene in the bee, as well as the silkmoth Bombyx mori and the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum.


We propose a new framework for quick and accurate partial image retrieval from a huge number of images based on a predefined distance measure. Finding partial similarities generally requires a huge amount of storage space for indexes due to the large number of portions of images. The proposed method extracts portions from each database image at a constant spacing, while it extracts all possible portions from a query image. In this way, the proposed method can greatly reduce the size of indexes while theoretically guaranteeing the same accuracy as exhaustive matching.


Female stress urinary incontinence is a highly prevalent disease with a broad range of surgical approaches with different percentages of success depending on the severity of the condition and the appropriateness of the technique in the indication. A few years ago, laparoscopy was introduced as another therapeutical possibility. The paper presents the Burch-like colposuspension through an extraperitoneal laparoscopic approach for the first time in our country, describing the technique and the preliminary results with a mean follow-up of over 6 months. Our preliminary results, as well as the more numerous from other authors seem to indicate that when a Burch-like colposuspension is indicated, extraperitoneal laparoscopic approach may be the ideal one once the learning curve for laparoscopic surgery is overcome.


Kinesins play an important role in many physiological functions including intracellular vesicle transport and mitosis. The emerging role of kinesins in different cancers led us to investigate the expression and functional role of kinesins in meningioma. Therefore, we re-analyzed our previous microarray dataset of benign, atypical, and anaplastic meningiomas (n = 62) and got evidence for differential expression of five kinesins (KIFC1, KIF4A, KIF11, KIF14 and KIF20A). Further validation in an extended study sample (n = 208) revealed a significant upregulation of these genes in WHO°I to °III meningiomas (WHO°I n = 61, WHO°II n = 88, and WHO°III n = 59), which was most pronounced in clinically more aggressive tumors of the same WHO grade. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed a WHO grade-associated upregulated protein expression in meningioma tissues. Furthermore, high mRNA expression levels of KIFC1, KIF11, KIF14 and KIF20A were associated with shorter progression-free survival. On a functional level, knockdown of kinesins in Ben-Men-1 cells and in the newly established anaplastic meningioma cell line NCH93 resulted in a significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation upon siRNA-mediated downregulation of KIF11 in both cell lines by up to 95% and 71%, respectively. Taken together, in this study we were able to identify the prognostic and functional role of several kinesin family members of which KIF11 exhibits the most promising properties as a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target, which may offer new treatment options for aggressive meningiomas.


In this paper we address the issue of managing different energy sources which supply green powered datacenters. The sources are scheduled based on a priority scheme, aiming to maximize the renewable energy utilization, minimize the energy used from the grid and optimize battery usage. Dynamic power capping technique is used to put a threshold on the drawn energy from the grid. The algorithm is implemented and tested in CloudSim simulator. Renewable energy is considered as solar energy. A workload scheduling algorithm is already implemented for higher renewable energy utilization. The results show that the proposed scheme is efficient and it is a promising direction in the field of the optimization in datacenters using renewable energy.


Embedding a vacuum spacetime (M,g) in a six-dimensional (pseudo-) Euclidean manifold leads to the problem of classifying a pair of symmetric and commuting second fundamental forms. A canonical classification is presented which is invariant under both Lorentz-transformations and rotations of basisvectors orthogonal to M.


We have carefully investigated the structural and electronic properties of coronene and some of its fluorinated and chlorinated derivatives, including full periphery substitution, as well as the preferred orientation of the non-covalent dimer structures subsequently formed. We have paid particular attention to a set of methodological details, to first obtain single-molecule magnitudes as accurately as possible, including next the use of modern dispersion-corrected methods to tackle the corresponding non-covalently bound dimers. Generally speaking, this class of compounds is expected to self-assembly in neighboring π-stacks with dimer stabilization energies ranging from -20 to -30 kcal mol(-1) at close distances around 3.0-3.3 Å. Then, in a further step, we have also calculated hole and electron transfer rates of some suitable candidates for ambipolar materials, and corresponding charge mobility values, which are known to critically depend on the supramolecular organization of the samples. For coronene and per-fluorinated coronene, we have found high values for their hopping rates, although slightly smaller for the latter due to an increase (decrease) of the reorganization energies (electronic couplings).


Contemporary gold trading is like other retails and online trading. However, according to Islamic business contract, gold is categorized under a special law of transaction items and it must follows a specific law of Islamic business transaction. This article focuses on how wadiah concepts can be applied in the contemporary gold trading. The legality of the wadiah concepts is utmost important to be verified before its implementation. The aims of this article is to substantiate the concepts of wadiah in contemporary gold trading based on the main sources of Islamic law transactions. The finding shows that the wadiah concept is permissible in Islam. Furthermore, the wadiah also play important role in contemporary gold trading. Hence, wadiah contract can helps to resolve the gold trading issues where the physical assets of gold are distance from the buyer.


Patterns of assortative mating are informative because they reflect the strength of social boundaries across groups. Ethnic homogamy is particularly important as it provides a useful measure of social cohesion in multi-ethnic societies. This paper investigates the patterns of interethnic marriage in Ghana using the census data of the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Ethnic homogamy is strong in Ghana with 12.3% of the sample being married to a spouse of a different ethnicity. The likelihood of being in an interethnic marriage varies widely by demographic characteristics. Younger people are significantly more likely to intermarry suggesting that ethnic boundaries tend to become more open over time. Educational attainment significantly increases the propensity for intermarriage supporting the hypothesis that education offers opportunities to join more ethnically diverse networks. Intermarriage is more prevalent in urban areas likely due to the greater ethnic diversity of urban populations. Ethnic minorities tend to intermarry more, which is consistent with the theory that smaller groups face greater marriage market constraints.


A new diagonally staggered grid configuration is proposed for the finite-difference time-domain analysis of elastic wave fields. The structure of the grid is the same as a standard staggered grid, but the diagonals of the standard grid lie parallel to the coordinate axes of the field of analysis in this new configuration. Adopting this grid configuration allows a natural implementation of antisymmetric stress boundary conditions, as is required when implementing free boundaries for example. In implementing these boundary conditions no virtual lattice around the analysis region is required, and so free surfaces with complex boundary shapes are easily treated. To date, free boundaries have usually been treated using the zero-stress formulation (ZSF), the vacuum formulation (VCF), etc. The ZSF is relatively precise, but requires the creation of virtual grids in the vacuum region. On the other hand, the VCF does not require the use of virtual grids, but accuracy and stability are reduced relative to the ZSF. Also, other methods of free boundary implementation have some demerits. The validity of the diagonally staggered grid is confirmed by comparing the calculation results of the present scheme with those derived by existing finite-difference methods for a model test problem.


objective. The aim of the research was to study the influence of diet with different contents of NaCl on the level of arterial blood pressure (BP), processes of myocardial remodeling in response to changes in nuclear transcription factor кB (NFкB) expression in the myocardium in rats. design and methods. Two groups of male Wistar rats have received a diet with normal (0,34 %; n = 8) and high (8,0 %; n = 8) content of NaCl for 2 months. BP was measured; urea, creatinine and sodium levels in blood serum and creatinine, protein and sodium levels in the urine were determined. The cardiac left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was calculated, morphological study of myocardium (lightoptical microscopy), including quantitative morphometry was carried out. The relative expression level of the NfкB gene was assessed in heart. results. The high-salt diet resulted in a significant increase of diuresis and sodium concentration in the urine. High diet levels of NaCl did not affect significantly BP and LVMI. However, there were changes in the myocardium structure in the high-salt diet group, including myocardium hypertrophy and hyperplasia of cardiomyocytes, perivascular fibrosis, angiospasm, increased thickness of the artery walls due to smooth muscle cells hypertrophy, their vacuolization, and vascular sclerosis. There was a 3,4-fold increase in NFкB gene expression level in myocardium in the high-salt group compared to the low-salt group. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the high consumption of sodium chloride can


Abstract A new manufacturing method for the cup-type composite flexspline for a harmonic drive was developed using adhesive joining technology to obviate the manufacturing difficulty of the conventional one-piece cup-type steel flexspline and to improve the dynamic characteristics of the flexspline. In this method, the boss, tube and tooth sections of the flexspline were designed and manufactured separately, and adhesively bonded. The tube section was manufactured with high strength carbon fiber epoxy composite material and its dynamic properties were compared with those of the conventional steel flexspline. The torque transmission capability of the adhesively-bonded joint was numerically calculated using the nonlinear shear stress-strain relationship which was represented by an exponential form. From the test results of the manufactured composite flexspline and the conventional steel flexspline, it was found that the manufactured composite flexspline had better torque transmission characteristics. Also, ...


A modification of the needle catheter jejunostomy technique employs a No. 11 needle and a 13-gauge catheter. Because it utilizes a larger tube, the new technique requires a subserosal saline injection and a small stab serosal incision. The large-needle catheter jejunostomy allows the administration of viscous whole liquid feedings as well as elemental diets. In addition, the larger catheter offers an opportunity to vary the constituents of the infusion solution to specific patient needs, thereby broadening the uses of jejunal catheter feeding.


Background. Poor nutrition practices result in malnutrition, a public health concern that affects a third of children globally. In Zimbabwe, ~27.6% of children under-5 years old are stunted. Some of these children spend long hours in early childhood development centres (ECDCs). Children can receive half to two-thirds of their daily food intake while in care, making ECDCs an ideal entry point to influence child nutrition positively. There are no specific nutrition guidelines for ECDCs in Zimbabwe.
Objective. The study aimed to investigate food provision at ECDCs of the Northern-Central District of Harare.Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional study with an analytical component was conducted in 15 ECDCs. Fifteen ECD managers (ECDMs) and 14 food handlers (FHs) were included in the study. An observational checklist allowed recording of food preparation and hygiene practices. The Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of the menu was calculated using the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 9-group DDS sheet.Results. Inadequate food storage facilities and food handling practices were observed. Staff had minimal nutrition-related training. Staff displayed a positive attitude towards their role in providing healthy meals. Barriers to serving healthy meals were inadequate funds, children's food preferences, unrealistic parental expectations, and external factors. The mean DDS score for menus was 2.8. Meals consisted mainly of starchy items, legumes and meat, and lacked fruit and dairy items.Conclusion. National guidelines can improve children's dietary intake while in day care. In alignment with Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, food provision at ECDCs should be a priority.


Users submit queries to an online database via its query interface. Query interface parsing, which is important for many applications, understands the query capabilities of a query interface. Since most query interfaces are organized hierarchically, we present a novel query interface parsing method, StatParser (Statistical Parser), to automatically extract the hierarchical query capabilities of query interfaces. StatParser automatically learns from a set of parsed query interfaces and parses new query interfaces. StatParser starts from a small grammar and enhances the grammar with a set of probabilities learned from parsed query interfaces under the maximum-entropy principle. Given a new query interface, the probability-enhanced grammar identifies the parse tree with the largest global probability to be the query capabilities of the query interface. Experimental results show that StatParser very accurately extracts the query capabilities and can effectively overcome the problems of existing query interface parsers.


We show that a risk-based approach to mammography screening for German women can help detect breast cancer in women ages 40–49 years with increased risk and reduce screening costs and burdens for low-risk women ages 50–69 years. However, before recommending a particular implementation of a risk-based mammographic screening approach, further investigations of models and thresholds used are needed. In Germany, it is currently recommended that women start mammographic breast cancer screening at age 50. However, recently updated guidelines state that for women younger than 50 and older than 70 years of age, screening decisions should be based on individual risk. International clinical guidelines recommend starting screening when a woman's 5-year risk of breast cancer exceeds 1.7%. We thus compared the performance of the current age-based screening practice with an alternative risk-adapted approach using data from a German population representative survey. We found that 10,498,000 German women ages 50–69 years are eligible for mammographic screening based on age alone. Applying the 5-year risk threshold of 1.7% to individual breast cancer risk estimated from a model that considers a woman's reproductive and personal characteristics, 39,000 German women ages 40–49 years would additionally be eligible. Among those women, the number needed to screen to detect one breast cancer case, NNS, was 282, which was close to the NNS = 292 among all 50- to 69-year-old women. In contrast, NNS = 703 for the 113,000 German women ages 50–69 years old with 5-year breast cancer risk <0.8%, the median 5-year breast cancer risk for German women ages 45–49 years, which we used as a low-risk threshold. For these low-risk women, longer screening intervals might be considered to avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures. In conclusion, we show that risk-adapted mammographic screening could benefit German women ages 40–49 years who are at elevated breast cancer risk and reduce cost and burden among low-risk women ages 50–69 years. Prevention Relevance: We show that a risk-based approach to mammography screening for German women can help detect breast cancer in women ages 40–49 years with increased risk and reduce screening costs and burdens for low-risk women ages 50–69 years. However, before recommending a particular implementation of a risk-based mammographic screening approach, further investigations of models and thresholds used are needed.


Cooperatively acting pairs of cis-regulatory elements play important roles in many biological processes. Here, we describe a statistical approach, compositionally orthogonalized co-occurrence analysis (coCOA) that detects pairs of oligonucleotides that preferentially co-occur in pairs of sequence regions, controlling for correlations between the compositions of the analyzed regions. coCOA identified three clusters of oligonucleotide pairs that frequently co-occur at 5' and 3' ends of human and mouse introns. The largest cluster involved GC-rich sequences at the 5' ends of introns that co-occur and are co-conserved with specific AU-rich sequences near intron 3' ends. These motifs are preferentially conserved when they occur together, as measured by a new co-conservation measure, supporting common in vivo function. These motif pairs are also enriched in introns flanking alternative "cassette" exons, suggesting a role in silencing of intervening exons, and we showed that these motifs can cooperatively silence splicing of an intervening exon in a splicing reporter assay. This approach can be easily generalized to problems beyond RNA splicing.


"Successful Food Packaging Design" features insights from professionals working within food packaging graphics design, and essays exploring the practical and psychological issues governing successful work. It also takes three international design groups working in the field as case studies for in-depth analysis, following the designers through the process, from brief to launch. "Successful Food Packaging Design" showcases the most delectable international food packaging graphic design: from designer lines such as Phillippe Starck's bottled water, to the pop kitsch of Japanese sweet wrappers, super-branded icons to in-house lines and own brands, this book will satisfy the most insatiable of graphic consumer's appetites. It is a must-consume for designers working within the field of food packaging as well as those from the wider field with a hunger for visual stimulation. Now available in paperback "Successful Food Packaging Design", this book was titled "Eat Me" in its original hardback.


There was no significant combined effect (P > 0.05) of the physico-chemical properties of the underground deep tube well water on increasing the nutrient contents of the nursery ponds' bottom soil. But the combined effect of seven chemical properties of bottom soil showed significant (P < 0.05) influence on increasing the amount of chemical constituents of pond water except pH and exchangeable K. Electric conductivity, pH and exchangeable Ca of deep tube well water had inverse correlations with chemical properties of pond bottom soil but only dissolved O2 was directly correlated with all the properties of pond bottom soil. All the correlation values between pH and chemical properties of bottom soil of nursery ponds were inversely significant (P < 0.05) in nature. Dissolved O2 and phosphate P of water had almost direct correlations with bottom soil properties of nursery ponds where dissolved O2 had significant (P < 0.05) correlation with pH of bottom soil.


Snooker can be an attractive life-long physical activity, given its popularity across all age groups in Asia and Europe. However, scientific research on the cueing movement is limited. This case study presented the biomechanical profiles of the cueing movement in an elite male snooker player (age 37 years old, height 173 cm, body mass 70 kg). Kinematics of the upper limb and cue stick, were examined in five selected snooker tasks (warm-up, stun, top spin, back spin, and stop shots) using the Vicon motion capture system. Ground reaction forces and centre of pressure characteristics were recorded using two Kistler force platforms. Results showed that the cueing movement was contributed primarily by elbow flexion/extension and much less wrist flexion/extension. The high degree of cue stick position overlap between the practice swing and final stroke indicated high level of cueing precision. Weight transfer between feet revealed a slight lean towards the left foot throughout the final stroke, confirming that the elite player was able to maintain high stance stability when executing the cueing movement. Results presented in the present study can serve as a reference for practitioners and scientists to detect error, enhance training, and improve performance in snooker. For practical applications, snooker players are advised to stabilise their shoulder during the cueing movement and deliver the cue stick primarily via elbow movements.


Abstract Phylogenetic inference and molecular taxonomy are becoming increasingly important approaches to classical morphological systematics and marine ecology. The number of molecular markers suitable for such goals is quite high, but general use restricts the list to a few of them, mainly mitochondrial (namely cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI and Cytochrome b), especially in copepods. The ribosomal cistronic regions have been widely used for broad phylogenetic analyses in different taxa. Among them, the internal transcribed spacers (ITS rDNA) are powerful tools for phylogenetic reconstructions at the different taxonomic levels, although not yet extensively used for copepods. In the present work, we tested the suitability of ITS2 rDNA marker to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of calanoid copepods using sequences retrieved from GenBank, complementing the phylogenetic positions of the species studied with their morphological and ecological traits. Through ITS2 rDNA we provided the first molecular evidence for the invasive calanoid Pseudodiaptomus marinus from the Mediterranean Sea (Lake Faro, Sicily, Italy), and compared it with the GenBank ITS2 sequences for P. marinus from Korea and other calanoid species. The divergence of the sequences of our P. marinus from those of Korean specimens was quite prominent (4.4%) and allowed us to hypothesise either a new forma living in the Mediterranean or a cryptic species. This study highlights the appropriateness of ITS2 for phylogenetic reconstructions and species identification, as well as for barcoding, meta-barcoding and phylogeographic approaches, and evidences the need for a more thorough knowledge of ribosomal regions in copepods from different sites.


Defective blood specimens used to screen congenital metabolic diseases in newborns cause specimens to be rejected and necessitate that a heel stick be performed again. Such results in delayed diagnoses and family complaints. The purpose of this project was to reduce the incidence of blood specimen rejection. The project was carried out from March 1, 2006 to February 28, 2007. Project team members identified the causes of specimen problems using onsite observation, document review and quizzes on specimen collection knowledge. Three causes were found, including incorrect blood collection procedures, lack of pre-job training and continuing education, and disorganized blood collection work station. Five strategies were proposed to reduce the rejection of blood specimens: (1) establish standard operating procedures for blood specimen collection done to screen for congenital metabolic diseases; (2) design blood specimen collection training courses; (3) make a list of common errors encountered in blood specimen collection; (4) designate a specific person to organize the work station and (5) maintain an accurate monthly record of specimens rejected. After the completion of the project, the objective was achieved. The percentage of the rejected specimens fell from 19.5% to 3.8% per month and nurse scores on specimen collection knowledge increased from 68 to 92. In order to ensure the correctness of blood specimen collection, appropriate pre-job training and periodical on-job training courses for staff are further suggested.


Both scientific progress and individual researcher careers depend on the quality of peer review, which in turn depends on paper-reviewer matching. Surprisingly, this problem has been mostly approached as an automated recommendation problem rather than as a matter where different stakeholders (area chairs, reviewers, authors) have accumulated experience worth taking into account. We present the results of the first survey of the NLP community, identifying common issues and perspectives on what factors should be considered by paper-reviewer matching systems. This study contributes actionable recommendations for improving future NLP conferences, and desiderata for interpretable peer review assignments.


Objectives. To evaluate the efficacy of a novel, real-time sensor network for routine monitoring of racial and economic disparities in fine particulate matter (PM2.5; particulate matter ≤ 2.5 µm in diameter) exposures at the neighborhood level. Methods. We deployed a dense network of low-cost PM2.5 sensors in Chicago, Illinois, to evaluate associations between neighborhood-level composition variables (percentage of Black residents, percentage of Hispanic/Latinx residents, and percentage of households below poverty) and interpolated PM2.5. Relationships were assessed in spatial lag models after adjustment for all composition variables. Models were fit with data both from the overall period and during high-pollution episodes associated with social events (July 4, 2021) and wildfires (July 23, 2021). Results. The spatial lag models showed that racial/ethnic composition variables were associated with higher PM2.5 levels. Levels were notably higher in neighborhoods with larger compositions of Hispanic/Latinx residents across the entire study period and notably higher in neighborhoods with larger Black populations during the July 4 episode. Conclusions. As a complement to sparse regulatory networks, dense, low-cost sensor networks can capture spatial variations during short-term air pollution episodes and enable monitoring of neighborhood-level inequities in air pollution exposures in real time. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(12):1765-1773. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307068).


Gamma-ray spectrometry was conducted on outcrops of marine shale and chalk deposited in the Cretaceous Western Interior seaway. Study of the Cenomanian-Turonian Greenhorn cyclothem of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah showed that profiles of gamma-ray spectra are useful in evaluating organic carbon content, interpreting paleoenvironments, and correlating otherwise homogenous sequences of marine shale. Gamma-ray spectra provide estimates of total gamma radiation and K, U, and Th contents. Th/U and K/U ratios can be used to estimate relative abundances of detrital minerals and organic matter, whereas the Th/K ratio is an indicator of clay mineralogy. Variations in these ratios reflect both local depositional processes and widespread events that can be correlated for hundreds o kilometers across lithofacies boundaries. Profiles of total gamma radiation can be used to help map shale facies. Spectrometer surveys can be used to show directions of sediment transport, to indicate proximities of paleoshorelines, and to aid in estimation of lateral and temporal variations in paleosalinity. Outcrop profiles can be compared directly with well logs of gamma-ray spectra. Gamma-ray spectrometry of shale outcrops is a versatile technique. Results can be interpreted in the field, the sampling program can be modified as it progresses, and the effects of event deposits such as bentonites and bone beds can be characterized. If lead shielding is used to keep sample mass and geometry constant, reproducible results can be obtained even from shales that contain below-average concentrations of K (< 2%), U (< 2 ppm), and Th (< 10 ppm). End_of_Article - Last_Page 542------------


While the youngest known supernova remnants, such as Cassiopeia A, have been proven to be able to accelerate cosmic rays only up to ∼1014 eV at their present evolutionary stages, recent studies have shown that particle energies larger than a few PeV (1015 eV) could be reached during the early stages of a core-collapse Supernova, when the high-velocity forward shock expands into the dense circumstellar medium shaped by the stellar progenitor wind. Such environments, in particular the type IIn SNe whose progenitors may exhibit mass-loss rates as high as 10−2M yr−1 [1], could thus lead to γ-ray emission from π0 decay in hadronic interactions, potentially detectable with current Cherenkov telescopes at very-high energies. Such a detection would provide direct evidence for efficient acceleration of CR protons/nuclei in supernovae, and hence new insights on the long-standing issue of the origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays. In that context, the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) has been carrying out a Target of Opportunity program since 2016 to search for such an early very-high-energy γ-ray emission towards nearby core-collapse supernovae and supernova candidates (up to ∼ 10 Mpc), within a few weeks after discovery. After giving an overview of this H.E.S.S. Target of Opportunity program, we present the results obtained from the July 2019 observations towards the transient AT2019krl, originally classified as a type IIn supernova, which occurred in the galaxy M74 at ∼ 9.8 Mpc. Although its nature still remains unclear, the derived H.E.S.S. constraints on this transient are placed in the general context of the expected VHE γ-ray emission from core-collapse supernovae.


One of the main interests in the molecular biosciences is in understanding structure-function relations and X-ray crystallography plays a major role in this. ACORN can be used as a comprehensive and efficient phasing procedure for the determination of protein structures when atomic resolution data are available. An initial model can automatically be built by ARP/wARP followed by REFMAC for refinement. The alpha helices and beta sheets occurring in many protein structures can be taken as starting fragments for structure solution in ACORN. ACORN, along with ARP/wARP followed by REFMAC, can be an ab initio method for solving protein structure for which data are better than 1.2 A (atomic resolution). Attempts are here made in extending its applications to real data at 1.45 A resolution and also to truncated data at 1.6 A resolution. Two previously known structures, congerin II and alkaline cellulase N257, were resolved using the above approach. Automatic structure solution, phasing and refinement for real data at still lower resolutions for proteins of various complexities are being carried out. Data mining of the secondary structural features using PDB is being carried out for this new approach for 'seed-phasing' to ACORN.


Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause disease in the central nervous system (CNS) during both primary infection and reactivation. Rapid and adequate diagnosis of VZV have previously been hampered by the shortcomings of standard virological methods, such as isolation and serology. Earlier reported cases of CNS manifestations of VZV infection have, therefore, mostly been noted in connection with, or shortly after, onset of vesicular rash. Several studies have recently been described of cases of VZV-induced CNS disease occurring as the only sign of viral reactivation, with the diagnosis aided by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and other methods of genome detection. A prospective study was performed using PCR on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain samples received for routine diagnosis of possible VZV infection during a 2-year period. Samples from 8 (7 from CSF, 1 from brain) of the 260 patients investigated (3.1%) were found to be positive for VZV-DNA. All 8 had a presumed reactivated VZV infection according to serological and clinical analysis. Their CNS manifestations ranged from meningitis to severe encephalitis, and only in 3 of these patients was a vesicular rash present. Thus, VZV-DNA detection in the CSF was an unexpected finding for the clinician and, in 2 cases, antiviral treatment with aciclovir was initiated only because of the PCR evidence of CNS infection. VZV should be considered as a possible causative agent of infection in patients with CNS disease of suspected viral origin, even in the absence of skin manifestations. Rapid diagnosis by PCR amplification of VZV-DNA from CSF might allow for early and adequate antiviral treatment.


The study was carried out during the period 1999-2011 at the Institute of Agriculture - Kyustendil, Bulgaria. The growth, reproductive characteristics and fruit quality of 'Van' sweet cherry trees, grafted on clonal rootstocks: 'P-7', 'Karamy', 'Hybrid 2', 'SL-64' and seedlings from 'Vladimir' and 'Mahaleb 20-86' were studied. The trees on 'SL-64' were used as a control. The trees were planted in the spring of 1999 at distances of 5.50×5.0 m, formed in free-growing crowns and grown without irrigation. After thirteen years, the biggest trunk cross-sectional area had the trees grafted on 'Hybrid 2' and the smallest on 'Mahaleb 20-86'. The trees crown volume was reduced by 14.9% for 'Vladimir', 21.4% for 'P-7', 22.6% for 'Hybrid 2', 27.8% for 'Mahaleb 20-86', and 35.9% for 'Karamy', when compared to 'SL-64'. The row strips were not occupied by the trees, which allow optimizing planting distances. 'P-7' had the highest root-suckering ability, followed by 'Vladimir'. Trees grafted on 'Vladimir' had the best vitality, while those on 'Karamy' were with the highest mortality rate. The highest productivity had the trees on 'SL-64' and the lowest on 'Karamy'. Productivity was also good for 'P-7' and 'Vladimir', which was confirmed by the data for yield efficiency and the quantity of fruit 1 m-3 of the crown volume. No significant differences were found in the average weight and fruit size as well as in their chemical composition (dry matter, total sugars and acids) among tested rootstocks.


Acquired hepatocerebral degeneration (AHCD) is an acquired, extrapyramidal, neurodegenerative condition, encountered in patients with cirrhosis. It is an uncommon and usually irreversible condition, resulting in widespread cerebral, basal ganglia and cerebellar damage. We describe here four cases of AHCD, with varying presentations, highlighting the need for increased awareness of this condition, to avoid diagnostics delays and unnecessary management.


Goals of health care are patient safety and quality patient outcomes. Evidence based practice (EBP) is viewed as a tool to achieve these goals. Health care providers strive to base practice on evidence, but the literature identifies numerous challenges to implementing and sustaining EBP in nursing. An initial focus is developing an organizational culture that supports the process for nursing and EBP. An innovative strategy to promote a culture of EBP was implemented in a tertiary center with 152 critical care beds and numerous specialty units with diverse patient populations. A multi-disciplinary committee was developed with the goal to use evidence to improve the care in the critical care population. EBP projects were identified from a literature review. This innovative approach resulted in improved patient outcomes and also provided a method to educate staff on EBP. The committee members have become advocates for EBP and serve as innovators for change to incorporate evidence into decision making for patient care on their units.


The results of several experiments conducted using the fault-injection-based automated testing (FIAT) system are presented. FIAT is capable of emulating a variety of distributed system architectures, and it provides the capabilities to monitor system behavior and inject faults for the purpose of experimental characterization and validation of a system's dependability. The experiments consists of exhaustively injecting three separate fault types into various locations, encompassing both the code and data portions of memory images, of two distinct applications executed with several different data values and sizes. Fault types are variations of memory bit faults. The results show that there are a limited number of system-level fault manifestations. These manifestations follow a normal distribution for each fault type. Error detection latencies are found to be normally distributed. The methodology can be used to predict the system-level fault responses during the system design stage. >


Since the adhesion of resin composites to calcium silicate-based cement is considered challenging. Therefore, the best adhesion strategy should be indicated. This review aimed to assess the effect of different adhesive systems on the bond strength of resin composite to calcium silicate-based cement through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The subsequent PICOS framework used was: population, calcium silicate-based cement; intervention, use of self-etch adhesive systems; control, use of total-etch adhesive systems; outcome, bond strength; study design, in vitro studies. The literature search was conducted independently by two reviewers up to 18 February 2021. Electronic databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Science, SciELO, Scopus, and Embase) were searched for applicable articles. In vitro manuscripts studying the effect of adhesive systems on the bond strength of calcium silicate-based cement were considered. The meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager Software version 5.3.5 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). Bond strength comparisons were made considering the type of calcium silicate-based cement (Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA), Biodentine™, or TheraCal LC®). A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 7321 studies were retrieved in databases searched. After full-text evaluation, 37 eligible papers were assessed for qualitative analysis, leaving a total of 22 papers for the quantitative analysis. According to the meta-analysis, the bond strength values of resin composite materials to MTA and TheraCal LC® cement were favored when a total-etch adhesive system was used (p ≤ 0.02). On the other hand, the meta-analysis of the bond strength of resin-based materials to Biodentine™ calcium silicate-based cement was similar between both approaches (p = 0.12). The in vitro evidence suggests that the bond strength of resin-based materials to both MTA and TheraCal LC® cement was preferred by using the total-etch adhesive strategy. However, when bonding to Biodentine™, the use of self-etch or total-etch strategies displayed promising results. Given the lack of evidence related to the chemical interaction of self-etch adhesive materials with the bioceramics, if self-etch adhesives are used for bonding resin-based restorations to calcium silicate-based cement, a pretreatment with phosphoric acid could be recommended.


We report on the retrieval of PAN (CH 3 C(O)OONO 2 ) in the upper tropical troposphere from limb measurements by the remote-sensor MIPAS-STR on board the Russian high altitude research aircraft M55-Geophysica. The measurements were performed close to Aracatuba, Brazil, on 17 February 2005. The retrieval was made in the spectral range 775–820 cm −1 where PAN exhibits its strongest feature but also more than 10 species interfere. Especially trace gases such as CH 3 CCl 3 , CFC-113, CFC-11, and CFC-22, emitting also in spectrally broad not-resolved branches, make the processing of PAN prone to errors. Therefore, the selection of appropriate spectral windows, the separate retrieval of several interfering species and the careful handling of the water vapour profile are part of the study presented. The retrieved profile of PAN has a maximum of about 0.14 ppbv at 10 km altitude, slightly larger than the lowest reported values ( y constituents measured by MIPAS-STR (HNO 3 , ClONO 2 , HO 2 NO 2 , PAN), the in situ instruments aboard the Geophysica provide simultaneous measurements of NO, NO 2 , and the sum NO y . Comparing the sum of in-situ and remotely derived NO+NO 2 +HNO 3 +ClONO 2 +HO 2 NO 2 +PAN with total NO y a deficit of 30–40% (0.2–0.3 ppbv) in the troposphere remains unexplained whereas the values fit well in the stratosphere.


In order to study the effect of planting density and nitrogen rate on weeds biomass and some of the agronomic traits in grain maize 640, an experiment was conducted in 2013 at the research field of Khosroshahr Jahad-e-Keshavarzi in Nojedeh village based on factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replications. First factors was included crop density at three levels (8, 10 and 12 plants per square meter) and second factor was involved nitrogen fertilizer at three levels (100, 200 and 300 kg per hectare). Results demonstrated that augmentation of density caused reduction in weeds biomass (27.2%) and enhanced grain weight per square meter (28.2%) and in cob diameter. Increase of nitrogen lead to augmentation in 300-grains weight, ear diameter and cob diameter. Enhancement of maize density until 10-12 plants per unit of area simultaneous with the use of nitrogen fertilizers recommend as a technique to prevent redaction of yield due to weeds competition. According to the results, it can be stated that the appropriate density for this genotype of maize is 12 plants per square meters that, proper yield can be achieved with 300 kg nitrogen. Also, more weeds can be grown with reduction in number of maize plants per area unit and eventually will be lead to reduction in maize grain yield.


The literature on Lesotho's politics and political parties, particularly after 2012, focuses on their alliances and coalitions, their relationships with the military and the seemingly instability of coalitions. There is less focus on intra-party instability and its impact on political party electoral performance. This article uses a critical literature review to analyse the poor electoral performance of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in the October 2022 elections and how this is a consequence of its internal conflicts. The ABC experienced intra-party conflicts that increased with the removal of its leader, Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, in 2020. The argument advanced in this article is that the ABC experienced a dramatic decline in electoral support in October 2022, with the drastic loss of forty seats, as a result of its internal conflicts. The party's support had grown gradually since its formation in 2006 but dropped suddenly and dramatically in the 2022 elections. This article will contribute to the scholarship on the analysis of the electoral performance of political parties in the continent.


Hysteromyoma is a common benign tumor in females. While pregnancy with submucous hysteromyoma is rare in the clinical setting, it often results in abdominal pain, red degeneration, abortion, placental abruption, premature rupture of membranes, premature delivery, fetal malformation, postpartum hemorrhage, and endometritis because of the tumor location, which in turn increases the incidence of cesarean section and hysterectomy. Submucosal myomectomy is not recommended during pregnancy because of the risk of miscarriage, bleeding, and premature delivery. Moreover, whether submucous myoma should be removed during cesarean section remains controversial. Thus, this study aims to review the diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy with submucous myoma.


A commercial liquid chromatograph was evaluated and found useful for analysis of carbamate pesticides. Liquid chromatography retention times for 23 carbamate pesticides are given. The ultraviolet detector required 20 to 1500 ng for the pesticides studied to give a 25 percent full-scale recorder response.