155 Background: The objectives of this implementation study were to 1) identify and address the evidentiary, contextual, and facilitative mechanisms that serve to retard or promote the transfer and uptake of consultation recording use in oncology practice, and 2) follow patients during the first few days following receipt of the consultation recording to document, from the patient's perspective, the benefits realized from listening to the recording.

METHODS
Nine medical and 9 radiation oncologists from cancer centers in three Canadian cities (Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg) recorded their primary treatment consultations for 228 patients newly diagnosed with prostate or breast cancer. The Digital Recording Use Semi-Structured Interview (DRUSSI) was conducted at two days post-consultation and at 1-week post-consultation. Each oncologist was given a feedback letter summarizing the consultation recording benefits reported by their patients.

RESULTS
Sixty-nine percent of patients listened to at least a portion of the recording within the first week following the consultation. Consultation recording favourableness ratings were high: 93.6% rated the intervention between 75-100 on a 100-point scale. Four main areas of benefit were reported: 1) Anxiety reduction; 2) Enhanced retention of information; 3) Better informed decision making; and 4) Improved communication with family members. Eight fundamental components of successful transfer and uptake of consultation recording practice were identified.

CONCLUSIONS
Implementation research and additional randomized trials are needed to facilitate the transfer and uptake of consultation recording use so that far more patients and significant others may realize the associated benefits.


BACKGROUND
With increasing pressure on the Earth's finite resources, there is significant demand for environmentally sustainable practices in foodservice. A shift to sustainable foodservice operations can decrease its environmental impact and may align with consumer expectations.

OBJECTIVE
This systematic review explored consumer expectations (attitudes pre-intervention) and responses (behaviour, cognitive attitudes and affective attitudes post-intervention) towards environmentally sustainable initiatives of foodservice operations.

METHODS
A systematic search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted across MEDLINE, EMABASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases. English and full text research articles published up to November 2019 were identified. Consumers' expectations and responses to interventions were extracted. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).

RESULTS
Thirty-four studies were included and given the heterogeneity of the studies; results were synthesized narratively. The main outcomes analyzed included changes in behaviour and attitudes (cognitive and affective) including knowledge and satisfaction. Intervention strategies were interpreted and categorized into three groups: food waste reduction, single-use item and packaging waste reduction, and initiatives related to menu, messaging and labelling. Most studies resulted in significant pro-environmental changes towards decreasing food waste, decreasing single use-item and packaging waste, and engaging consumers in sustainable eating.

CONCLUSIONS
There are a range of successful environmentally sustainable strategies that when implemented by foodservices can have a mostly positive impact on consumer attitudes and responses. However, positive consumer attitudes did not always translate to changes in behavior. Foodservices should carefully consider implementing interventions which support changes in consumer behavior.


The multidrug regimen, cyclosporine, corticosteroids, and azathioprine, is used in transplantation centres to prevent organ rejection. Several clinical studies have shown that cyclosporine and corticosteroids to cause increases in low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, with subsequent development of atherosclerosis. The overall objective of the studies upon which this thesis is based was to investigate the aetiology and management of hypercholesterolaemia in transplanted patients. The highly differentiated HepG2 hepatocytic cells were used in tissue culture to study LDL catabolism. The results show cyclosporine and hydrocortisone (as an example of corticosteroids), either alone or combined, to decrease LDL catabolism due to a decrease in the synthesis of mRNA of the LDL receptor. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase inhibitors can compensate for the reducing effect of cyclosporine and hydrocortisone. Two of the major complications of corticosteroid therapy are impaired glucose tolerance and Cushing's syndrome, associated with a great risk of complication by insulin-resistant non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Moreover, nephropathy is one of the long-term complications of diabetes mellitus, and associated with a risk of progression to renal failure necessitating transplantation. Troglitazone, a thiazolidinedione compound that is used in the treatment of insulin- resistant NIDDM, was examined to investigate its effect on LDL catabolism. The results showed troglitazone to increase LDL catabolism by increasing the synthesis of the LDL receptor mRNA. This effect may be due to an activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg), as troglitazone is one of the PPAR gamma activators. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have recently been shown to activate PPARs but they also inhibit the release of different inflammatory mediators and cytokines. The results obtained in HepG2 cells , showed NSAIDs, particularly flufenamic acid and indomethacin, to enhance LDL catabolism by increasing the synthesis of LDL receptor mRNA. This effect may be due to an activation of PPARs. The conclusion to be drawn from the studies is that, after organ transplantation, cyclosporine and hydrocortisone decrease hepatic LDL receptor activity, which can be counteracted by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). Also troglitazone, due to its increase in hepatic LDL receptor activity, should be well suited for use after organ transplantation of diabetic subjects. In addition to their anti-inflammatory effects, NSAIDs might be useful in controlling hypercholesterolaemia induced atherosclerosis. The hypocholesterolaemic effect of troglitazone and NSAIDs might provide a theoretical basis for the development of new strategies for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. (Less)


Purpose This research was performed to inquire the reliability and validity of internal rotation and external rotation of shoulder joint using smart phone and goniometer to healthy subjects. Methods Universal goniometer and two android application, hysical tools YMED ROM and goniometer developed by Nagomi.aqu was used to collect the data from 30 healthy subjects in age of 20s, 15 male and 15 female, from S University in Busan, Republic of Korea. As a procedure, all subjects were properly stretched before the experiment. The active internal and external rotation of right arm of each subject were measured and 3 raters measured each subject 5 times with 3 different tools, overall 15 times for each subject. And each rater were blindfolded to conceal the results from other raters. SPSS 20.0 software were used to process all statistics, and intraclass correlation coeffienct (2.k) model were used to calculate the reliability and pearson correlation coefficient validity were used to calculate the validity. Results As the result, intrarater reliability of 3 raters showed high reliability (ICC>0.9). Interrater reliability showed high reliability in all measurement (ICC>0.9), validity of measuring tools showed very high correlation in both active internal and external rotation of shoulder joint. Conclusion This research showed the value measured with goniometer application using gyroscope of smartphone is reliable. Peculiarly, the value of both reliability and validity of external rotation was higher than that of internal rotation


The present studies have demonstrated the levels of N-methyl histamine in tears from normal physiological states, pathological states and contact lens wear. Histamine was significantly increased in closed eye tears compared with both open and reflex tears. Tears from other ocular conditions had low levels of histamine except for environmental hypersensitivity, which contained significantly elevated levels compared to normal tear types. Interestingly, tears from asymptomatic contact lens wearers had significant levels of histamine whereas tears from contact lens adverse events had lower levels, possibly reflecting a change in histamine metabolism.


Introduction: Acute pancreatitis is a standout amongst the most widely recognized cause for hospitalization in the United States, representing around 220,000 cases for each year. Among the new cases, 80% are interstitial and 20% are necrotizing. Methodology The study was conducted From March to May 2016, in Owaisi Hospital, a 1000 bedded teaching hospital, situated in Hyderabad, providing specialized tertiary level health care services to all strata of people. Patients visiting the outpatient department of general medicine in owaisi hospital were selected for the present study, the patients selected has a history of pancreatic enzymes elevation for more than a year. Aims And Objectives : This planned study has been attempted with the accompanying targets, to concentrate on the predominance of amylase and lipase levels in acute pancreatitis patients and to assess the etiologic proof as diagnostic marker in patients with acute pancreatitis. Results: the total of 60 patients were included in the study with the history of pancreatitis, which includes 37 females and 23 males, along with the inter group evaluation of serum lipase, amylase and hemoglobin levels. Conclusion: it can be concluded that the serum amylase , lipase , SGOT and SGPT levels are increased which is associated with the decreased hemoglobin levels in both males and women, hence we conclude that the Males are more prone to acute and chronic pancreatitis than female.


Multifold seismic reflection and geologic mapping in part of the eastern branch of the East African Rift system of northern Kenya reveal a major rift structure containing at least 3 km of Neogene sediment fill beneath Lake Turkana. This includes a series of half-graben basins, with centrally located quaternary volcanic centers, which are linked end-to-end by structural accommodation zones. Whereas the geometry of rifting is similar to that of the nonvolcanic western branch of the East African Rift system, the Turkana half-grabens are much smaller and may reflect extension of a thinner lithosphere or development of more closely spaced fracture patterns during rift evolution, or both.


Forest restoration treatments seek to increase resilience to wildfire and a changing climate while avoiding negative impacts to the ecosystem. The extent and intensity of treatments are often constrained by operational considerations and concerns over uncertainty in the trade-offs of addressing different management goals. The recent (2012–15) extreme drought in California, USA, resulted in widespread tree mortality, particularly in the southern Sierra Nevada, and provided an opportunity to assess the effects of restoration treatments on forest resilience to drought. We assessed changes in mixed-conifer forest structure following thinning and understorey burning at the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in the southern Sierra Nevada, and how treatments, topography and forest structure related to tree mortality in the recent drought. Treatments had negligible effect on basal area, tree density and canopy cover. Following the recent drought, average basal area mortality within the watersheds ranged from 5 to 26% across riparian areas and 12 to 44% across upland areas, with a range of 0 to 95% across all plots. Tree mortality was not significantly influenced by restoration treatments or topography. Our results suggest that the constraints common to many restoration treatments may limit their ability to mitigate the impacts of severe drought.


The anaerobic intestinal setting of warm-blooded animals is considered E. colfs main habitat. However E. coli transmission to new hosts requires the release of bacterial cells to an aerobic environment; we postulate that E. coli uses aerobic respiration to multiply in fecal matter during this phase of the cycle. To test this idea, we incubated fresh chicken fecal matter in aerobic and anaerobic settings and showed that E. coli counts increased significantly when fecal matter was incubated in the presence of oxygen. Our results suggest that aerobic growth in fecal matter outside of the host may be a crucial phase of E. coli 's natural cycle. This feature may extend to pathogenic members of the Enterobacteriaceae family.


A 80-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of coughing, hemosputum and dyspnea. As a chest X-ray showed infiltrates of the right lung, he was diagnosed as bacterial pneumonia and treated with antibiotics. However, after a few days, he exhibited hemoptysis and developed severe dyspnea, while laboratory findings showed rapid elevation of the serum creatinine level (5.55 mg dL). Computed tomography (CT) revealed large areas of ground glass opacity in the right lung, hence the hemoptysis was considered to be due to alveolar hemorrhage. As he had been diagnosed as chronic renal failure a few years before this admission and we also noticed that interstitial pneumonia with a slightly elevated level of C-reactive protein had existed from that time, ANCA-associated vasculitis was suspected to be the underlying pathogenesis. Accordingly, he was started on methylprednisolone pulse therapy and temporary hemodialysis resulted in improvement of dyspnea and renal function. PR3-ANCA was 12.4 EU, so he was diagnosed as PR3-ANCA-associated vasculitis. After a few days, he suddenly complained of abdominal pain, developing hypotension and anemia. Abdominal CT showed an irregular low-density mass in the right muscle, so he was diagnosed as rectus muscle hematoma. Surgery was performed and a massive hematoma was found in the rectus muscle without any ruptures of macroscopic vessels in the abdomen. Bleeding could not be stopped followed by multiple organ failure and the patient died four days postoperatively. Rectus muscle hematoma is an uncommon cause of acute abdomen, and has been reported in about 100 cases in Japan. It occurs because of a tear in epigastric vessels and is usually managed conservatively with a good prognosis, although hemodynamically unstable cases require surgery. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of rectus muscle hematoma complicated with ANCA-associated vasculitis.


Antioxidants can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body cells. This study was conducted in order to determine if there is any relationship between electrical current conductivity and antioxidant property of the ten Malaysian medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to measure the antioxidant property of the herbal extracts, as well as to measure the ability of the herbal extracts to conduct an electrical current. Ten herbs were selected randomly, Strobilaunthus crispa, Pereskia sacharosa, Ehretia laevis, Plectranthus ambinicus, Orthosiphon staminous, Androghophis panculata, Persicaria odorata, Clinacantus nutans, Curry leaves and Frankincense. They were identified and prepared for extraction. The methanol extracts were obtained by ultrasonification extraction method. The antioxidant property was carried out using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy (DPPH) reagent. The pH was measured using a pH meter and the phytochemical elements were also tested. Finally the electrical current conductivity was measured using a basic electrical circuit connection and the calculations of each herbal extract were obtained. The results show that all the extracts have significant amount of electrical conductivity ranging from (0.06 – 0.12 O?cm). All the extracts consist of high antioxidant property and that these extracts contain abundant amount of elements. This study found that there is a relationship between the electrical current conductivity and the antioxidant property. This introduces a possible new tool, which is electrical current conductivity as a predictor for the antioxidant property.


A new particle bounce model has been proposed and compared with the previously published experimental data. By considering the relationship between contact deformation mechanics and contact surface energy, it is possible to calculate both the energy required to break the contact surface and the unrecoverable energy contained in the bulk plastic deformation zone when the material yield point is exceeded. Energy spent to deform the local asperities between the contact surfaces was also found to be important when the incident kinetic energy is small. The present model considers the breaking of the contact surface, plastic deformation, and local asperity deformation, to be the major energy loss mechanisms during the impaction process. Both the elastic and plastic deformations have been treated, thus making it possible to calculate the coefficient of restitution over a wide range of particle incident speeds.


Thermodynamic property of triple helix and the mechanism of inhibition of mRNA transcription by triple helix formation are summarized in this review. I also mention on the artificial DNA bending system in which the antiparallel triple helix motif and synthetic linker consisting of polyether nucleotide units are utilized as the bender. Systematic analysis of this system revealed the anisotropic flexibility of DNA. Thus, DNA seems to be more flexible in minor groove direction as compared to that expected from the classic elastic coil and elastic rod model of duplex DNA.


The fabrication of a semiconductor heterojunction photocatalyst is a key aim of the visible light photocatalytic field owing to its central role in the enhancement of photogenerated charge separation and quantum efficiency. Herein, a new mixed valence vanadium oxide composite with the VO2@V6O13 heterojunction is fabricated through the facile and direct combustion of an ethanol solution composed of ammonium metavanadate and diethyl imidazole. XRD and TEM analyses reveal the structural evolution at the interface between VO2 and V6O13, which manipulates the electronic structure of the composites. The composition and chemical state of the composites are obtained by using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, the detailed energy band structure has been confirmed by the analysis of the UV/Vis absorption spectra and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy valence band spectra. The mixed valence vanadium oxides readily narrow their energy gap (1.4–2.5 eV), which enables the efficient utilization of visible light and the improvement in charge separation rate. Thus, the photocatalysts with the VO2@V6O13 heterojunction demonstrate improved photocatalytic activity and structural stability in the degradation of atrazine pesticide under visible light irradiation, which is an effective solution for the problem of remnant pesticides for future agriculture. Furthermore, this facile and straightforward method has promising applications in the fabrication of other heterostructure photocatalysts.


Severe limitation of sodium intake in the dog leads to an approximate twofold increase in adrenal secretory rate of aldosterone, as determined by isolation of the steroid from adrenal venous blood. The rate of secretion of hydrocortisone remains unchanged. The administration of large amounts of potassium appears to be ineffective in altering adrenal secretion of aldosterone or of hydrocortisone. It is postulated that the increased urinary aldosterone associated with increased potassium intake described by others may be due to altered renal handling of the steroid.


Background. Although HBV infection is a serious health issue worldwide, the landscape of HBV genome dynamics in the host has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to determine the continuous genome sequence of each HBV clone using a single-molecule real-time sequencing platform, and clarify the dynamics of structural abnormalities during persistent HBV infection without antiviral therapy. Patients and Methods. Twenty-five serum specimens were collected from 10 untreated HBV-infected patients. Continuous whole-genome sequencing of each clone was performed using a PacBio Sequel sequencer; the relationship between genomic variations and clinical information was analyzed. The diversity and phylogeny of the viral clones with structural variations were also analyzed. Results. The whole-genome sequences of 797,352 HBV clones were determined. The deletion was the most common structural abnormality and concentrated in the preS/S and C regions. Hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe)-negative samples or samples with high alanine aminotransferase levels have significantly diverse deletions than anti-HBe-positive samples or samples with low alanine aminotransferase levels. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that various defective and full-length clones evolve independently and form diverse viral populations. Conclusions. Single-molecule real-time long-read sequencing revealed the dynamics of genomic quasispecies during the natural course of chronic HBV infections. Defective viral clones are prone to emerge under the condition of active hepatitis, and several types of defective variants can evolve independently of the viral clones with the full-length genome.


A new method has been developed to check the correct behaviour of the frontend electronics of the LHCb muon detector. This method is based on the measurement of the electronic noise rate at different thresholds of the front-end discriminator. The method was used to choose the optimal discriminator thresholds. A procedure based on this method was implemented in the detector control system and allowed the detection of a small percentage of front-end channels which had deteriorated. A Monte Carlo simulation has been performed to check the validity of the method.


Recently, research on logistics caught more and more attention. One of the important issues on logistics system is to find optimal delivery routes with the least cost for products delivery. Numerous models have been developed for that reason. However, due to the diversity and complexity of practical problem, the existing models are usually not very satisfying to find the solution efficiently and convinently.In this paper, we treat a real-world logistics case with a company named ABC Co. ltd., in Kitakyusyu Japan. Firstly, based on the natures of this conveyance routing problem, as an extension of transportation problem (TP) and fixed charge transportation problem (fcTP) we formulate the problem as a minimum cost flow (MCF) model. Due to the complexity of fcTP, we proposed a priority-based genetic algorithm (pGA) approach to find the most acceptable solution to this problem. In this pGA approach, a two-stage path decoding method is adopted to develop delivery paths from a chromosome. We also apply the pGA approach to this problem, and compare our results with the current logistics network situation, and calculate the improvement of logistics cost to help the management to make decisions. Finally, in order to check the effectiveness of the proposed method, the results acquired are compared with those come from the two methods/ software, such as LINDO and CPLEX.


"Starting with the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, humanity is experiencing a new societal type, the information society. The emergence of computers, the Internet, digital information, artificial intelligence and digital devices with the ability to automatically process information, work autonomously, or even form networks with other devices, cyber and virtual space and so on have led to a technological explosion and the digitalization of societies. Under these circumstances, the digitalization and virtualization of many human activities and relationships in all societal domains constitutes a postmodern "game changer" of societies. Consequently, digitalization has major repercussions at the level of security and the international security environment. We are witnessing a transition from the nuclear century to the digital century, through the emergence of a new type of human confrontation, the digital confrontation. This new type of confrontation manifests itself both in virtual space, through what we so often hear as cyber war, and in real space, through digitalization of defence and the battlefield. Thus, if the security environment of the 20th century was characterized by globalization under the auspices of the nuclear threat, is it appropriate to consider that the 21st century will be characterized by de-globalization under the auspices of the digital threat?"


OBJECTIVES
Machine learning models used to predict postoperative mortality rarely include intraoperative factors. Several intraoperative factors like hypotension (IOH), vasopressor-inotropes, and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time are significantly associated with postoperative outcomes. The authors explored the ability of machine learning models incorporating intraoperative risk factors to predict mortality after cardiac surgery.

DESIGN
Retrospective study.

SETTING
Tertiary hospital.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 5,015 adults who underwent cardiac surgery from 2008 to 2016.

INTERVENTION
None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The intraoperative phase was divided into the following: (1) CPB, (2) outside CPB, and (3) total surgery for quantifying IOH only. Phase-specific IOH parameters (area under the curve for mean arterial pressure <65 mmHg), vasopressor-inotropes (norepinephrine equivalents), duration, and cross-clamp time, along with preoperative risk factors ,were incorporated into the models. The primary outcome was mortality. The following 5 models were applied to 3 intraoperative phases separately: (1) logistic regression, (2) random forests, (3) neural networks, (4) support vector machines, and (5) extreme gradient boosting (XGB). Mortality was predicted using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Of 5,015 patients included, 112 (2.2%) died. XGB model from the outside-CPB phase predicted mortality better with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88(0.83-0.94); positive predictive value, 0.10(0.06-0.15); specificity 0.85 (0.83-0.87) and sensitivity 0.75 (0.57-0.90).

CONCLUSION
XGB machine learning model from IOH outside the CPB phase seemed to offer a better discrimination, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value compared with other models. Machine learning models incorporating intraoperative adverse factors might offer better predictive ability for risk stratification and triaging of patients after cardiac surgery.


This paper focuses on the different interpretations of the Brazilian Education Law of 1966, with special attention to its article 33, reformed in 1997, which regulated the implementation of religious studies in public schools in Brazil. This regulation referred to schools of elementary and secondary levels that are administered by State Governments, through their Secretaries of Education, thus leaving to the States the task of applying the law. We are here considering two specific cases, that of the State of Sao Paulo and that of the State of Santa Catarina, showing how these different interpretations of the law conditioned the possibilities of religious agents to act in the process of capacitating teachers as well as in the definition of the contents of the curricula.


The relationship between the structure and thermodynamic properties of schoepite, an important uranyl phase with formula [(UO2)8O2(OH)12]·12H2O formed upon corrosion of UO2, has been investigated within the framework of density functional perturbation theory (DFPT). Experimental crystallographic lattice parameters are well reproduced in this study using standard DFT. Phonon calculations within the quasi-harmonic approximation predict standard molar entropy and isobaric heat capacity of S0 = 179.60 J mol-1 K-1 and C0P = 157.4 J mol-1 K-1 at 298.15 K, i.e., ∼6% and ∼4% larger than existing DFPT-D2 calculations. The computed variation of the standard molar isobaric heat capacity with water content from schoepite (UO3·xH2O, x = 2.25) to dehydrated schoepite (x = 1) is predicted to be essentially linear along isotherms ranging from 100 to 500 K. These findings have important implications for the dehydration of layered uranyl corrosion phases and hygroscopic materials.


The following paper examines the part-time work in Metropolitan Lima in 2008. The overall objective is to identify the determinants of the incidence of part-time work in Lima. We worked with one Probit econometric model, measured by the National Survey of Households (NSH), which explores the job characteristics of people. This will determine the presence of part-time workers in the areas of trade, health, education and communication; also realized that this group has completed university studies and incomplete, and the woman has a probability of 83,11397% more than men of working part time.


Scintigraphic and gammagraphic (gamma-camera) techniques have been applied in diagnosing "hot" non-TSH dependent thyroid nodules. On the basis of frequent uneven accumulation of isotopic tracer observed in scintigraphic studies it was concluded that the structure of these nodules is heterogeneous. In some cases paradoxical patterns have been obtained following the dynamic tests of suppression and stimulation of the thyroid: after the administration of thyroid preparations paranodular thyroid tissue appears, while TSH administration causes an increase in the iodine uptake by the nodule. Ultrasonographic and gamma-camera studies have been carried out in 50 cases of "hot" autonomic thyroid nodules previously diagnosed by scintigraphy. Ultrasonographic studies revealed a weaker echogenicity in some cases and an intensified echo in the other. Sometimes by using this technique it was possible to demonstrate the occurrence of heterogeneous structures suggesting a cystic degeneration of the nodule. Paranodular thyroid tissue, invisible in scintigraphic scanning, could usually be observed by applying gamma-camera. It was concluded that both gamma camera and ultrasonographic studies confirm heterogeneous structure of intranodular tissue producing paradoxical patterns in scintigraphic scanning, with the latter technique usually aiding the detection of paranodular thyroid tissue without the necessity of application of the TSH test.


A thermal analysis, which can be implemented on a small computer system, has been developed for PPM (periodic permanent-magnet)-focused rod-supported TWT (traveling-wave tube) helix structures. The method fully accounts for the variable thermal conductivity of several of the materials used in helix assemblies and considers the nonuniform geometry of the various elements of the structure along the direction of heat flow. Including the effects of the thermal interface resistances, accurate predictions can thus be made of the thermal behavior of the circuit for a given power dissipation on the helix, and the influence on the helix temperature rise of the thermal and geometrical parameters of the various elements of the structure can be easily examined. An experimental test shows good agreement with the computed results and indicates that the method can be used to estimate the thermal interface resistance of experimental helix assemblies. >


Fresh cut flower supply chains are aware of the need for reducing spoilage and increasing customer satisfaction. This paper focuses on a part of the cut rose supply chain, from auction house to several end customers. A new business mode is considered that would allow end customers to subscribe to florists and have a continuous supply of bouquets of roses. To make this business mode feasible, we propose to benefit from real-time information on roses' remaining vase life. First, a quality-aware modeling technique is applied to describe supply chain events and quality change of cut roses among several supply chain players. Then, a distributed model predictive control strategy is used to make up-to-date decisions for supply chain players according to the latest logistics and quality information. This approach provides a tool for multiple stakeholders to collaboratively plan the logistics activities in a typical cut rose supply chain based on roses' estimated vase life in real time. The proposed approach is compared with a currently used business mode in simulation experiments. Results illustrate that the new business mode and the planning approach could reduce unmet demand and spoilage in a cut rose supply chain.


The seasonal influence on Haemonchus contortus infection in lambs and seasonal influence on response to treatment with albendazole was evaluated. Worm free lambs were artificially infected with 10,000 L3 of Haemonchus contortus in both seasons. Egg output was evaluated before and after treatment in the two seasons. There was no significant difference in the levels of haemonchosis in the lambs for both seasons. However there was a significant difference in egg output between the dry season and wet season after treatment with albendazole. The lower egg output in the dry season may not necessarily be as a result of response to albendazole treatment, other factor such as hyperbosis may have equally contributed. However, repeated deworming in the wet season has been recommended for effective control of haemonchosis.


An attempt was made to evaluate the nutritional status of ebiripo using cocoyam/soyflour/soyresidue blends. Ebiripo fortified with 40% soyflour was significantly higher in protein (28%) and fat (8.4%) than the other ebiripo samples. Unfortified ebiripo was the highest in ash (7.23%) and total carbohydrate (28.77%). Ebiripo fortified with 10% soyflour was significantly higher in K (1.53%) and Ca (0.62%).

Generally, unfortified ebiripo was higher in general acceptability and ebiripo fortified with soyflour was better accepted than ebiripo fortified with soy residue. The Journal of Food Technology in Africa Volume 7 No.1, 2002, pp. 30-32

 KEY WORDS: Ebiripo, Fortified, soyflour, soyresidue.


Stephen Lane Wood was born in Providence, Utah, on July 2, 1924. From an early age, he had a keen interest in nature and wildlife. At age 14, Steve went to Nevada to visit his brother-in-law, T. O. (Ted) Thatcher, a specialist in scolytid systematics, who sent him into the woods to begin an insect collection for a class project. Steve dug his pocketknife into a pinhole in an aspen tree and eased out a small beetle, Trypodendron retusum (LeConte). In Steve's words, "The attraction was immediate and permanent." His interest in natural history lead him to attend Utah State University where he received his B. S. degree in 1946 and M. S. degree in 1948, majoring in Entomology. His Masters thesis was a survey of the Scolytidae of Logan Canyon in Utah and their host plants (publication #1). He received his Ph.D. in 1953 from the University of Kansas with a dissertation on a taxonomic revision of the North American Cryphalini (publication #4). During his graduate studies Steve met and interacted with the leaders in the field of bark beetle systematics, which highlighted his burgeoning career (Fig. 1).

Figure 1.

International Congress of Entomology, Montreal, Quebec. Left to right: Boyd Thomas, Canadian Forestry Service, worked on larval Scolytidae; Steve Wood; Karl Schedl, Austria, world authority on Scolytidae; W. H. (Bill) Anderson, Washington D. C., worked ...

After graduation, Steve joined the staff of the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Ontario, and remained there for three years until family considerations and the call of the Utah mountains inspired him to change employment. In 1956, he accepted the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and remained there until his death. After retirement, Steve continued his association and his research at BYU at the Monte L. Bean Life Sciences Museum as Professor Emeritus and Curator of Coleoptera Emeritus until ill health forced him to terminate his activities in 2008.

Steve served on a number of university committees and professional assignments. He was editor of the Great Basin Naturalist for many years and created the Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs series. He was a visiting Research Professor of Entomology at universities in San Jose, Costa Rica and Merida, Venezuela. He was the principal faculty planner in the development of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum on the BYU campus and was the Curator of the Coleoptera collection in the Life Science Museum until his retirement (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

1978, Steve working on BYU collection, obviously not on bark beetles!

Steve authored or co-authored 109 publications on scolytid and platypodid systematics and described and named over 1000 species as new to science. His collection, containing many thousands of specimens, was housed in 300 large museum drawers in the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. He donated his collection to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D. C. In April and early May, 2009, the collection was consolidated into 160 drawers and was transported to the Smithsonian. Steve also built a library of thousands of published articles pertaining to scolytid systematics and biology which was donated to the Smithsonian Institution along with the specimen collection.

During his career, Steve assisted with, or was involved with, several large projects. Probably the most important were a study of the bark and ambrosia beetles of North and Central America, which culminated in the publication of a large monograph in 1982, and a study of the bark and ambrosia beetles of South America, which culminated in the publishing of another large monograph in 2007. The 1982 monograph mentioned above is the standard taxonomic reference for these important forest insects and will likely continue so for decades to come. Likewise, the 2007 South American monograph will likely not be repeated for decades. Other projects included a study of the Scolytidae of Sri Lanka, which Steve expanded into a study of the Scolytidae of India, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Ceylon National Museum and a study of the Scolytidae of China, supported by a travel grant from the U. S. National Academy. This latter grant was used to bring Dr. Yin Hui-fen from Beijing to BYU. Neither of these latter two studies were completed and published due to financial constraints but preliminary manuscripts for both were prepared.

In 1981, I contacted Steve and suggested that we unite our efforts and compile a catalog of the world species of Scolytidae and Platypodidae. This collaboration resulted in the publication, in 1987, of a bibliography containing references to over 25,000 research articles, and in 1992, of a complete catalog of the Scolytidae and Platypodidae of the world.

Throughout his career, Steve was actively involved in collecting and observing bark beetle habits. He collected in at least 19 foreign countries, most Canadian Provinces, 25 states in Mexico, and in all contiguous states in the US except Washington and Vermont (Fig. 3). In 1972, he spent two weeks in New Guinea and two weeks in Australia and, in1976, he spent two weeks in India and six weeks in Sri Lanka collecting beetles for the Smithsonian Institution. He collected in Venezuela, Colombia, Finland, Central America, Japan and Russia (Fig. 4). His publications are replete with personal observations on the gallery pattern, site attacked, host plant, behavior, and other biological observations of the species treated.

Figure 3.

Dr. Stephen Wood collecting scolytines in Mexico. Photo courtesy of Ladd Livingston who, as an undergraduate student, accompanied Steve in Mexico.

Figure 4.

1978, Steve examining photo enlargements of bark beetle parts. On the desk is a tray of beetles he has collected from all areas of the world.

Steve passed away on July 1, 2009, at the age of 84 in Provo, Utah of age-related causes. His influence on the systematics of the bark and ambrosia beetles of the world is immeasurable and will be felt for decades to come.


With the world aflame with the spirit of war it may seem of little moment and of minor concern to discuss such a prosaic subject as the status of drugless healers in the United States. Past experience, however, suggests that it is during times when international affairs absorb public interest and thought or in times of national stress when public attention is focused on large specific problems of economics or on general governmental matters that successful efforts are frequently made to break down the legal and other conventional barriers which protect a civilized society from ill conceived and unpractical reforms. That drugless healers recognize the psychologic advantages of seeking favor in times of general stress or in periods of governmental transition and are alert to put forward energetic efforts to gain ground under such circumstances was well illustrated in Illinois recently. On the death of the governor, the lieutenant governor


Abstract.
 Increasing populations of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter cormorants) are of concern regarding the displacement of other species from breeding colonies, but little is known about such interactions. Agonistic interactions between ground-nesting cormorants and American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos; hereafter pelicans) were investigated and compared to those involving cormorants and Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus). Also, a survey of cormorant eggs in nests of other ground-nesting species was conducted. Of 158 agonistic interactions between cormorants and pelicans, 83% were threat displays, 9% attempts to steal nest material and 8% involved some form of physical contact. Pelicans defended their nests less frequently and engaged in fewer physical contacts (8%) in colonies mixed with cormorants compared to areas with only pelicans (33%). Herring Gulls engaged in more physical contact (26%) with cormorants in a mixed colony than when nesting only with other gulls (4%). Cormorant eggs were found in 1–26% of Herring and Ring-billed Gull (L. delawarensis) nests searched in the Great Lakes, and 0.3% of Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) nests at one location. The results indicate cormorants routinely engage in agonistic interactions with other ground-nesting birds; however, the type and importance of interactions varies. Site- and species-specific evaluation of interactions involving cormorants and other birds is recommended before taking management steps to reduce nest site competition.


BACKGROUND
Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare histiocytic disease entity related to juvenile xanthogranuloma. It is a systemic condition, usually occurs in adult, characterized by infiltration of foamy histiocytes within the bone and soft tissues.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We report a case of 13-year-old female patient who first presented with multiple osteolytic lesions of the jaws followed by bilateral symmetrical bone lesions affecting the lower extremities, as well as brain and abdominal involvement. Histological findings of the jaw lesions showed lipid-storing CD68 (+), CD1a (-) histiocytes with Touton type giant cells.

CONCLUSION
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Erdheim-Chester disease with jaw bone lesions occurring as initial presenting symptom.


This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of the Doctor
of Philosophy of the University of Dhaka.


This paper examines innovations for bridging gender gaps in agricultural value chains in Africa. It focuses on innovative platforms for addressing gender gaps, considering women contribute up to 40 percent of labor in agricultural production. Women remain at the bottom of value chains and face gender-specific constraints attributable to gender and social norms, discriminatory beliefs and practices, gender-blind designs and delivery of technologies and innovations which impede women s participation in value chains. Consequently, women are unable to adjust to challenges and opportunities of technological progress, commercial orientation, and global integration. This paper suggests that gender-sensitive technological and institutional innovations is essential to promote women s participation in agricultural value chains and bridge the gender gap while upholding gender-specific outcomes. The study shows that women rely on alternative institutional innovations and arrangements such as group-based approaches in order to improve their participation in value chains which implies the call for policies that nurture and strengthen these kinds of institutions. Integrating research, designing value chain interventions and monitoring and evaluation with a gender lens is essential in order to accelerate women s participation in value chain development programmes, while allowing them to be role models and spearhead their own empowerment. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge the financial support from the Center for Development Research under PARI project


Purpose: The purpose of this research was to test the influence of consumer knowledge management on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty through service quality and psychological involvement. Design/methodology/approach: The participants (N = 396) were recruited through a convenience sampling technique from non-profit sport clubs in Iran. Data were analyzed with the Structural Equation Modeling using Mplus 7.4. Findings: The results revealed that the effects of service quality on psychological involvement were dependent on consumer knowledge management. Furthermore, there were the mediating effects of service quality and psychological involvement in the relationships between the consumer knowledge management and loyalty. Practical implications: The research findings provide valuable insights for non-profit sport club managers seeking to better attract and retain their consumers by demonstrating the importance of investing in consumer knowledge management initiatives. Managers should thus integrate knowledge orientation into their marketing and relationship management strategies and apply the strategy into consumer knowledge within club services. Originality/value: This study empirically highlights the important role of knowledge from, for and about the consumer on perceived service quality and loyalty building among the non-profit consumer base.


The Method of Moments (MoM, also referred to as the Boundary Element Method outside of electromagnetics [1]) is a well-known and oft-used technique for complex electromagnetics simulations based on a numerical approach to Maxwell's equations. Results can be very accurate, but as it requires solving a dense matrix equation it is very computationally intensive. MoM has traditionally been used for narrow-band antenna simulations, but thanks to advances in processing power and in the technique itself, it is slowly becoming feasible to perform simulations of electrically large objects and of diverse scenarios over a broad frequency band.


A view mechanism can help handle the complex semantics in emerging application areas such as image databases. This paper presents the view mechanism we de ned for the DISIMA image database system. Since DISIMA is being developed on top of an object-oriented database system, we rst propose a powerful object-oriented view mechanism based on the separation between types (interface functions) and classes that manage objects of the same type. The image view mechanism uses our object-oriented view mechanism to allow us to give di erent semantics to the same image. The solution is based on the distinction between physical salient objects which are interesting objects in an image and logical salient objects which are the meanings of these objects.


This work introduces additions to the corpus ChoCo, a multimodal corpus for the American indigenous language Choctaw. Using texts from the corpus, we develop new computational resources by using two off-the-shelf tools: word2vec and Linguistica. Our work illustrates how these tools can be successfully implemented with a small corpus.


BACKGROUND
Waiting time is an important indicator of patient satisfaction and the quality of care. The aim of this study is to determine the waiting time in physician offices in Tehran, Iran.

METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study. The target population of this study consisted of specialist and subspecialist offices in Tehran. We used a census sampling method to study the population. Data of 5475 physicians was extracted from data banks, of which 43.4% were not accessible. Thus 3098 cases were included and analyzed. We conducted telephone interviews to gather data, which was subsequently analyzed using SPSS software.

RESULTS
Out of the 3098 physicians interviewed, 2585 were specialists (83.4%); the remaining were subspecialists. The mean waiting time for a patient's first visit to a specialist was 4.30 days (SD = 8.10) and for subspecialists it was 7.61 days (SD = 13.98).

DISCUSSION
The average waiting time in our study was less than a week for specialists and almost a week for subspecialists. The health system in Iran has not established a complete referral system and with this situation, waiting time may have adverse effects on the health of patients. Thus studying and managing waiting time in some medical specialties or regions is a priority in our country.


Adjustable compression wrap devices (ACWD) are a heterogenic group which makes it difficult to match them to individual patient in their best way, we tried to characterize these products by their technical features. We bought four different ACWD and compared them regarding construction and handling. ACWD show obvious advantages including self-management, self-application, re-adjustability and standardization of the compression therapy. Basically, all systems are one or more low stretch bandages that encircle the lower leg and adhere to itself with velcro. Some allow for a selective adjustment during the course of the application because in these systems the individual bands mutually intermesh. In others, the bandages must always be opened from proximal to distal in order to retighten individual segments. In addition only one enables the user to control the compression pressure of each segment by a built-in-pressure system. Different technical features of the four ACWDs make it difficult to compare them. For effective compression easy handling, selective adjustments and a reliable pressure control seem to be the most important aspects.


Abstract:This article engages with an extended ethnographic vignette that centers on negotiations between a Moroccan educational association and a UN agency over a possible future project collaboration. After a phase of meandering in the conversation, a "polished" story told by the NGO team leader marks a turning point in negotiations and manages to convince agency representatives. The article discusses the use of such polished stories in relation to other, less polished and arguably more authentic narrative practices, that is, stories that gradually emerge when collaborators make sense of the past or coconstruct visions of the future. It adopts the concept of the community of practice with its focus on social learning and the constant negotiation of meaning among participants in combination with recent approaches in the interdisciplinary study of narrative practices that argue for the productive coexistence of different narrative activities in the same event. In the case at hand, different narrative practices in concert served the sharing of knowledge and ultimately persuasion, while increasing intersubjective understanding between participants in the meeting.


The ruthenium dye N3, cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylato)-ruthenium(ii), deposited on Ag(111) by ultra-high vacuum electrospray ionization is investigated using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of single molecules reveals vibronic excitations that are related to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). Switching of N3 may be induced and modifies the energy of the negative ion resonance as well as the vibrational progression. Moreover, charging of the molecule is induced at reverse bias. These data suggest a surprisingly weak electronic coupling of N3 to the Ag substrate. A double-barrier model reproduces the essential spectral features.


The arterial media is modeled as a periodic array of cylindrical smooth muscle cells residing in a matrix comprised of proteoglycan and collagen fibers. Using Brinkman's model to describe transmural flow through such a fibrous media, we calculate the effective hydraulic permeability of the media and the wall shear stress on smooth muscle cells. Two interesting results are obtained: first, the wall shear stress on smooth muscle cells is on the order of 1 dyne/cm2, which is the range known to affect endothelial cells in vitro; second, the flow resistance due to smooth muscle cells is not negligible compared to the resistance due to the fiber matrix.


In Symons sweet orange (SSwO) seedlings grown at 26oC/22oC, Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) pre-immunizing isolate PB61 was detected by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in new roots and shoots as early as 8 days post inoculation (dpi): much earlier than the 44 dpi for detection by ELISA previously reported. First detection of the virus was usually 3 to 6 days earlier by RT-PCR than by direct tissue blot immunoassay, and in young tissue rather than old tissue. The virus was never detected in the oldest leaves. Monitoring CTV movement in 180 SSwO seedlings of two sizes, held in a glasshouse at about 26oC, first detected the virus at 20 dpi in small plants, 20-40 days earlier than in large ones. The frequency of detection of CTV was higher in new roots (16.1%) than in young shoots (8.9%), suggesting that the virus initially followed the direction of photo-assimilate transport. The titer of isolate PB61 was monitored in mature red and white grapefruit trees in the field at Dareton (NSW, Australia) from spring to autumn. In Marsh and Thompson grapefruits, PB61 was consistently detected throughout not only the previous season's flush but also the latest flush (hardened, the leaves fully expanded). This suggests that generally PB61 is evenly distributed in these cultivars. The situation for the red grapefruits (Star Ruby and Rio Red) was more variable. In late spring, both the previous season's flush and the latest, hardened flush were consistently positive for the virus. However, by early autumn, the immature summer flush was strongly positive for CTV, while detection in the spring flush was sporadic. Budwood of red grapefruits supplied at this season may thus be negative for CTV. One month later, the summer flush had matured and all flushes were once again strongly positive. These findings have resulted in changes in the distribution dates within the Australian Citrus Budwood Scheme to ensure that all budwood is effectively pre-immunized with PB61. Index words . CTV preimmunizing isolate, virus movement, virus titer. Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) has been endemic in Australia since the late 1800s (7). In the 1950's, grapefruit stem pitting almost wiped out the grapefruit industry. Subsequent research (6, 8) led to the use of mild strain cross protection (MSCP), which has effectively maintained commercial grapefruit production in Australia for the past 35 yr. Uniform distribution within the tree of a pre-immunizing CTV isolate is important for the success of MSCP. The virus must also be able to quickly invade new growth flushes. Any part of a citrus tree that is virus-free, even temporarily, provides a site for an aphid to introduce a severe CTV isolate. Establishment of challenge isolates in islands of virus-free tissue could ultimately result in the breakdown of MSCP (14). Few studies have investigated the movement of CTV isolates within plants during the early post-infection period. In general, these have studied only a small number of plants, and conclusions were based on symptom expression or ELISA. Price (17), Tolba et al. (19), and Chakraborty and Chenulu (4) showed that 8 days post-inoculation (dpi) was the minimum time required for CTV to move from lime inoculum to virus-free lime plants. Gafny et al . (9) monitored the movement of two severe CTV isolates within 8 mo-old sour orange seedlings by ELISA, and first detected CTV infection in the basal parts of the plants and in the root system at 44 dpi, and in the upper parts at 51 to 58 dpi. Analysis by ELISA, however, requires large amounts of tissue, which reduces the number of times each plant can be tested and therefore limits the amount of data that can be collected. Lee et al . (15) used ELISA to study the distribution of CTV within the young shoots 40 Fifteenth IOCV Conference, 2002—Citrus Tristeza Virus of grapefruit and sweet orange trees in Florida and South Africa. In general, CTV was more evenly distributed in sweet orange than in grapefruit trees in Florida, but occasionally very young flushes were found to be CTV-free. In South Africa, CTV was evenly distributed throughout both grapefruit and sweet orange trees. In Australia, difficulties have been experienced in pre-immunizing red grapefruits with the mild isolate PB61 (3). The percentage success of pre-immunization was much lower for red grapefruit than for the white Marsh grapefruit (MGF) and pink Thompson grapefruit. CTV could not be detected in the stems of some plants infected with particular subisolates PB244, PB245 and PB246 (derived from the severe grapefruit stem-pitting isolate PB219), but was easily detected in the feeder roots of those same plants (20). Occasionally, buds from Marsh grapefruit trees pre-immunized with mild isolate PB61 also tested negative for the virus. Together, these findings indicate either an uneven distribution of CTV within plants or failure of the virus to replicate. This has significant implications for distribution of pre-immunized budwood. This study investigated the movement and distribution of CTV in citrus plants and whether uneven distribution of the pre-immunizing CTV isolate may contribute to the breakdown of MSCP in grapefruit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Movement of mild isolate PB61 within Symons sweet orange (SSwO) seedlings. Eight 8 mo old SSwO seedlings grown in 15 cm pots of UC mix (50 peat:50 sand) with added fertilizer (1), were grown in a growth cabinet at 26°C/22°C (16 h light/8 h dark). Two seedlings were inoculated with two pieces of SSwO bark (about 1 cm in length), infected with mild CTV isolate PB61. Virus-free brown citrus aphids ( Toxoptera citricida ) were raised on young shoots of virus-free SSwO seedlings in a cage at about 26°C. Virus-free apterous aphids were fed on young shoots of SSwO seedling infected with pre-immunizing CTV isolate PB61 for 24 h to acquire the virus, and 50 were then transferred to the young leaves of each of five SSwO seedlings for 24 h to transmit the virus. A control SSwO seedling was treated with 50 virus-free apterous aphids. About 10 mg each of old leaf, young leaf, old bark and feeder root was sampled every 3 days. Virus was assayed both by direct tissue blot immunoassay (DTBIA) using a slight modification of the method of Garnsey et al. (10) and by reversetranscription polymerase-chainreaction (RT-PCR) using nucleic acid prepared by a rapid microextraction method (see below). For DTBIA, alkaline phosphatase-conjugated IgG against coat protein (CP) of CTV (Sanofi PhytoDiagnostics, Libourne, France) was used at 1:500 dilution. Presence of the antigen resulted in development of a brown color: a weak positive reaction (a few brown dots in the phloem) was scored as "+"; reaction of about half the phloem with brown dots was scored as "++"; a strong positive (phloem fully brown) was scored as "+++". The rapid micro-method to extract total nucleic acid (TNA) from CTV-infected leaf, bark, and feeder root tissue, was modified from Mathews et al. (16), and is fully reported elsewhere (12, 20). RT-PCR was conducted in a Hybaid TouchdownTM thermal cycler with primers to the coat protein gene (11). Reverse transcription was conducted according to the manufacturer's recommendations (Promega Corporation). PCR was based on Gillings et al. (11), except we used Taq DNA polymerase from Gibco BRL Life TechnologiesTM and included a touchdown phase in the amplification. Fifteenth IOCV Conference, 2002—Citrus Tristeza Virus 41 Monitoring the time frame of CTV infection in young feeder roots and young shoots of SSwO seedlings. Mild (PB33, PB61 and PB65) and severe (PB155, PB219 and PB235) CTV isolates/subisolates were graft-inoculated to SSwO seedlings (20-30 plants for each experiment). Seedlings were of either 1 to 1.5 mm stem diameter as measured 10 cm above the soil (referred to as "small") or 2.5 to 3.5 mm stem diameter (referred to as "large"). All conditions were essentially the same within each experiment. Plants were grown in the glasshouse at about 26°C, and the CTV status of young shoots and feeder roots was monitored periodically (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 180 dpi) using DTBIA. Distribution of pre-immunizing isolate PB61 in grapefruit trees in the field. Two cultivars of red grapefruit (Star Ruby, 15 trees, and Rio Red, 14 trees), one white grapefruit (Marsh, 11 trees) and one pink grapefruit (Thompson, seven trees) pre-immunized with mild isolate PB61 and planted in Budwood Blocks 2 and 3 at Dareton, NSW, were sampled seasonally to monitor the distribution of CTV. Three to five shoots of the previous season's flush (mature), and of the latest flush (either mature or immature) for each tree, were sampled randomly each time, on four occasions throughout the growing season. The CTV status of each tree was assessed using DTBIA. RESULTS Movement of PB61 within SSwO. In SSwO seedling M-1, inoculated by grafting, CTV was detected in both young leaf tissue and young feeder roots (but not in other tissues tested) at both 8 and 11 dpi by RT-PCR assay (Fig. 1), although the DTBIA results were negative. By 14 dpi, both RT-PCR and DTBIA detected the virus in young leaf tissue, young feeder roots and old bark (Fig. 1). Monitoring for the presence of CTV continued up to 80 dpi. CTV was not detected in the oldest leaves by either method during this period. In contrast to seedling M-1, the other graft-inoculated seedling (M2) remained CTV-negative by both detection methods through 80 dpi (during which period the plant was monitored every 3 days) and remained negative at the final assay at 106 dpi. Both pieces of inoculating bark were confirmed to be CTVpositive at the time of inoculation, but only one was found positive (though weakly so) at 80 dpi. Bark and a young shoot adjacent to the inocula were negative. Furthermore, Mexican lime seedlings inoculated with bark chips from M-2 at 80 dpi also displayed no symptoms and CTV could not be detected within these indicator plants. Lack of infection was not due to po


Introduction: Iron overload is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in
patients with β-thalassemia. The Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of genetic markers (HFE mutations C282Y and H63D) among Egyptian β-thalassemic
Children and its effect on their iron status. Patients and Methods: 59 β-thalassemic children attending the pediatric hematology clinic in Menoufiya University Hospital (23 thalassemia major, 23 thalassemia intermedia and13 thalassemia trait) with 50 apparently healthy,
Egyptian children (control group) were screened for the prevalence of these two mutations by digestion of PCR products (RFLP). Serum ferritin level was measured by ELISA.
Results: Neither carrier status for the C282Y allele nor homozygous status for the H63D allele were detected in any of the thalassemic children or the 50 controls. The H63D heterozygous state was detected in 15 (25.4%) thalassemic patients with an allele frequency of 12.71% and in 11 (22%) controls with an allele frequency of 11%. with no significant difference between the thalassemic groups and the controls. The prevalence of carriers for the H63D mutation was 26.1% with an allele frequency of 13.04% in patients with either β- thalassemia major or intermedia, while in β- thalassemia trait the prevalence of this mutation was 23.1% with an allele frequency of 11.54%. There were significant higher levels of the mean yearly serum ferritin in both β-thalassemia major and intermedia patients who are heterozygotes for the H63D mutation compared to those without this mutation. The mean serum ferritin levels were positively correlated with the age of the patients. On the other hand, the prevalence of iron -induced complications was not statistically different between patients carrying or not carrying this mutation (among TM and TI). Conclusions: There is no difference in the prevalence of H63D mutation between β-thalassemic patients and the normal children and the presence of a heterozygous H63D status and older age are two risk factors for iron overload in Egyptian β-thalassemic children
Abbreviations: RFLP= Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, HCV=Hepatitis C Virus, ALT = Alanine aminotransferase, AST =Aspartate aminotransferase Keywords : Thalassemia, iron overload, hereditary hemochromatosis, HFE gene Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics Vol. 9 (2) 2008: pp. 149-160


Indicators of objective functioning, such as everyday competence or sensory and sensorimotor functions, typically show pronounced declines in very old age. However, less is known about how very old adults perceive their abilities across multiple domains of health and functioning and to what extent changes in perceived functioning mirror changes in objective functioning. We compared changes in perceived versus objective health and functioning indicators among very old adults (n = 124; baseline age between 87 and 97 years, M = 90.56 years, SD = 2.92 years) across 11 measurement occasions, spanning approximately 5 years. Functioning was assessed by self-reports (subjective health, subjective movement ability, subjective vision, and number of perceived symptoms) and by objective and mostly performance-based tests (everyday competence, visual acuity, chair stand test, and grip strength). All objective measures exhibited a significant mean-level decline across 5 years, whereas most subjective indicators did not reveal significant mean-level changes. Interindividual variation in intraindividual change patterns was considerable in most domains. Correlations between trajectories of the different indicators were mostly weak, and predicting late-life changes in subjective functioning by time-varying objective functioning indicators accounted for only modest amounts of variance. Our findings suggest that there is a somewhat paradoxical pattern of discrepant late-life change trends in subjective versus objective indicators of health and functioning. We argue that a differentiated understanding of the fourth age is required and that common health definitions frequently applied to old and very old age need to be challenged. (PsycINFO Database Record


Stress among the employees is a major current problem that leads to burn out among them and leads to stress. All activities are also designed to keep their mind active all the time, which helps to restore normal function.
NEED FOR STUDY:
Job stress among the hospital workers is important because care takers are become stressed due to the working area, time spent and other problems. The investigator in the hospital use laughter therapy engages the working personnel to promote their life and reduction in job stress.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To identify socio demographic variables of working personnel in selected hospital.
2. To assess the pre test level of stress among the working personnel in selected hospital.
3. To evaluate the post test level of stress after laughter therapy among the working personnel in selected hospital.
4. To determine the effectiveness of laughter therapy on reduction of stress among the working personnel in selected hospital.
5. To find association between the post test level of stress with selected socio demographic variables.
METHODOLOGY:
Research approach: Quantitative approach.
Study setting: Working personnel works at Dr.G.D.Boaz Memorial Hospital, Santhoshapuram.
Study population: Working personnel with job stress at Dr.G.D.Boaz Memorial Hospital, Santhoshapuram.
Sample size: 60 samples.
Design: Pre experimental one group pre test and post test design.
Sampling technique: Random sampling technique (Lottery Method).
Tool: Job Stress Scale.
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE:
Data were collected from selected samples in Dr G.D Boaz Hospital, Santhoshapuram at Chennai. There are 60 samples collected and divided in to two groups. In pre test the level of job stress was assessed by Job stress scale. Each group 30 samples were given laughter therapy for ten days the same was followed for the second group also. After the intervention the post test was conducted.
DATA ANALYSIS:
Demographic variables were analyzed with descriptive (mean, median and standard deviation) and clinical variables were inferential statistics (Chi-square and paired 't' test).
RESULTS:
Effectiveness is shown as decreases in stress level by undergo the technique of laughter therapy. So it decreases in stress level was viewed as difference post test – pre test level. It reveals that mean increase = 1.4 and S.D difference was 6.4and effectiveness shown as decreases in stress level.
DISCUSSION:
Laughter therapy is a one of the modifying factor to reduce stress among the working personnel in the hospital. So that the investigator hypotheses was proved in this study.
CONCLUSION:
This study concluded that psychiatric nurse's role in managing with laughter therapy and reduce job stress and promote well being is mandatory. Through laughter therapy, the study results shows that mean increase =1.4 and S.D difference was 6.4 and effectiveness shown as decreases in stress level reflects the effectiveness of laughter therapy.


: As the growing of the consumer market of personal drones, technologies are needed to monitor drones in the airspace. Radar has been proven to be a suitable tool for the detection and surveillance of the drone. One of the main obstacles in drone detection is the interference of the birds; since two targets share the same flight level, ground speed, and size. In this Final Year Project research, the impact of principal component analysis(PCA) on the classification of birds and drones is investigated and demonstrated. The whole project was built and tested on the L band staring radar dataset. Several different algorithm of PCA is implemented first and a classifier is trained based on support vector machine(SVM). The SVM classifier is used to demonstrate the impact of PCA preprocessing on classification. The impact of preprocessing is evaluated by the results such as training time cost, confusion matrix and general accuracy of classification. Finally, the different performance of PCA preprocessing algorithm is demonstrated and the reason of these result is concluded. It shows that PCA preprocessing can be an efficient way to increase the performance of the classifier when facing the radar spectrogram data.


The Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model is widely utilized in hysteresis modeling and compensation of piezoelectric actuators. For systems with rate-independent hysteresis, the inverse PI model is analytically feasible and it can be adopted as a feedforward compensator for the hysteretic nonlinearity of piezoelectric actuators. However, for the rate-dependent PI model, the applicable valid inversion methodology is not yet available. Although simply replacing all the rate-independent terms in the conventional inversion law with the rate-dependent terms can achieve acceptable results at very slow trajectories. However, a large theoretical modeling error is inevitable at fast trajectories, which is investigated through simulations. This paper proposes a new direct approach to derive the inverse PI model directly from experimental data. As no inversion calculation is involved, the proposed direct approach is efficient and the theoretical modeling error can be avoided. In order to validate the accuracy of the direct approach, a number of experiments have been implemented on a piezo-driven compliant mechanism by utilizing the inverse PI model as a feedforward controller. The tracking performance of the mechanism is significantly improved by the direct approach.


Pleural fluid (PF) proteins either derive from serum by diffusion or are locally secreted within the pleural space. Another hypothetical origin is a leakage of lung secretory proteins across the visceral pleura. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the occurrence, sources, and determinants in PF of CC16, a small-size and readily diffusible protein of 16 kDa secreted by bronchiolar Clara cells. CC16 concentration was determined by a sensitive latex immunoassay in serum and PF of 117 subjects (86 exudates and 31 transudates) and, for purpose of comparison, in ascites samples from another group of 38 subjects (7 exudates and 31 transudates). CC16 was also studied in serum and PF of normal rats and in rats with pleural exudate induced by alpha-naphthyl-thiourea (ANTU). The levels of CC16 in PF and ascites were highly correlated with that in serum, suggesting a diffusional exchange across the pleural/blood and peritoneal/blood barriers. Whereas CC16 occurs at similar levels in ascites and serum, the protein was found to be more concentrated in PF than in serum in both humans (geometric mean in microg/L, 26.2 versus 14.6, p < 0.0001) and rats (213 versus 16.2, p < 0.001). A local synthesis of CC16 appeared unlikely in view of the lack of CC16-immunostaining in pleura of both species. The only plausible explanation for these findings is that CC16 in PF originates from two sources: diffusion from plasma and a leakage from the lung into the pleural space across the semipermeable visceral pleura. This interpretation is supported by a markedly increased leakage of CC16 in experimental exudates induced by ANTU and the finding of high CC16 concentrations in human transudates associated with congestive heart failure, two conditions wherein PF has been shown to arise from the interstitial spaces of the lung.


As a generic model system of an asymmetric binary-fluid mixture, hexadecane dissolved in carbon dioxide is considered, using a coarse-grained bead-spring model for the short polymer, and a simple spherical particle with Lennard-Jones interactions for the carbon dioxide molecules. In previous work, it has been shown that this model reproduces the real phase diagram reasonably well, and also the initial stages of spinodal decomposition in the bulk following a sudden expansion of the system could be studied. Using the parallelized simulation package ESPResSo on a multiprocessor supercomputer, phase separation of thin fluid films confined between parallel walls that are repulsive for both types of molecules are simulated in a rather large system ( 1356 x 1356 x 67.8 A{3} , corresponding to about 3.2-million atoms). Following the sudden system expansion, a complicated interplay between phase separation in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the walls is found: In the early stages the hexadecane molecules accumulate mostly in the center of the slit pore, but as the coarsening of the structure in the parallel direction proceeds, the inhomogeneity in the perpendicular direction gets much reduced. Studying then the structure factors and correlation functions at fixed distances from the wall, the densities are essentially not conserved at these distances, and hence the behavior differs strongly from spinodal decomposition in the bulk. Some of the characteristic lengths show a nonmonotonic variation with time, and simple coarsening described by power-law growth is only observed if the domain sizes are much larger than the film thickness.


A sensitive and economic method of screening for liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer was developed using serum alkaline phosphatase and carcinoembryonic antigen. The upper limit of normal for alkaline phosphatase and carcinoembryonic antigen did not represent the optimal levels for use in predicting liver metastases. However, with alkaline phosphatase greater than 135 I.U., and/or carcinoembryonic antigen greater than 10 ng/ml, sensitivity was 88%: 23 of 26 patients with liver metastases fulfilled either or both criteria. The false-positive rate was 12%. Liver scanning, alone, demonstrated metastases in only 69% of 35 patients with liver metastases. The combination of alkaline phosphatase and carcinoembryonic antigen can be used economically to screen for liver metastases, and to determine which patients should undergo a liver scan.


UNLABELLED
The prognostic information provided by preoperative serum CEA, CA 19-9 antigen assays as compared with the classical prognostic factors (age, sex, tumor infiltration, tumor stage (Dukes') and R-classification) in 495 patients with colorectal carcinoma was analysed.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Survival function estimates were calculated according to Kaplan-Meier. The patients were separated into two groups according to the preoperative marker levels. Fixing specificity at 100% for healthy people, cut off levels were calculated. Survival curve differences were assessed using the log-rank-test. Multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression analysis was performed. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to assess the survival rate of patients with colorectal carcinoma and high versus low levels of tumor-associated antigens according to tumor stages. The study was performed on the frozen sera (stored at -80 degrees C) of 495 patients with histologically proven colorectal carcinoma.

RESULTS
The Dukes' stages (log-rank chi-square = 231.9; P < 0.0001) represent the best prognostic factor besides the preoperative values of CA 19-9 (log-rank chi-square = 162.5). CEA shows a log-rank chi-square of 71.4. Thus, CEA and CA 19-9 can be used to discriminate two groups of patients with significantly different survival times (P < 0.0001). The importance of different parameters in providing additional prognostic information was evaluated by multivariate analysis (Cox's model). Estimated relative risks of death adjusted for tumor stage were 5.5 for Dukes' stage A versus Dukes' stage B/C and Dukes' stage B/C versus Dukes' stage D, respectively and an increasing relative risk of 27.5 for Dukes' stage A versus Dukes' stage D (P < 0.001). The relative risk for preoperative CA 19-9 serum concentrations (> or = 60 U/mL versus < 60 U/mL) was 2.3 (P < 0.001) for preoperative CEA concentrations (> or = 4 ng/mL versus < 4 ng/mL) 1.4 (P < 0.07). For CEA the 2-years survival rates in the group of patients with preoperative serum concentrations > or = 4 ng/mL versus < 4 ng/mL and Dukes' stage D were 16% versus 38%, in Dukes' stage B/C 73% versus 91% and in Dukes' stage A 100% versus 98%. For CA 19-9 the 2-years survival rates in the group of patients with preoperative serum concentrations > or = 60 U/mL versus < 60 U/mL and Dukes' stage D were 10% versus 39%, in Dukes' stage B/C 58% versus 87%. In the group of patients with Dukes' stage A with serum levels > or = 60 U/mL a 2-year survival rate of 100% was found. In the corresponding group only one patient exists.

CONCLUSION
The postoperative Dukes' classification provides the best prognostic information besides the preoperative values of CA 19-9. The predictive information provided by the preoperative CA 19-9 serum level is additional to that obtained from the other factors investigated.


We use data from the COHERENT CsI[Na] scintillation detector to constrain sub-GeV leptophobic dark matter models. This detector was built to observe low-energy nuclear recoils from coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. These capabilities enable searches for dark matter particles produced at the Spallation Neutron Source mediated by a vector portal particle with masses between 2 and 400 MeV/c 2 . No evidence for dark matter is observed and a limit on the mediator coupling to quarks is placed. This constraint improves upon previous results by two orders of magnitude. This newly explored parameter space probes the region where the dark matter relic abundance is explained by leptophobic dark matter when the mediator mass is roughly twice the dark matter mass. COHERENT sets the best constraint on leptophobic dark matter at these masses.


We have tracked the structural evolution of the monoolein bicontinuous cubic phase under in meso crystallogenesis conditions. Significantly, all measurements have been carried out in situ within a crystallisation plate reproducing the exact conditions during a crystallisation trial. The structure of the MO cubic phase, doped with a small concentration of amyloid-beta peptide, was measured 1 day, 5 days, 7 days and 21 days after addition of PACT crystallisation screen, which systematically varies cation, anion, pH and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The components of the screen had a significant impact on the structure of the cubic phase. We have rationalised the structural variation with respect to the effect of the individual screen components. Specifically addition of higher Mw PEG effected a transition from a diamond cubic phase (QIID) to a gyroid cubic phase (QIIG) across the majority of the plate and the QIIG phase became more prevalent with time. The effect of individual salts was correlated with their position in the Hofmeister series. Changes in pH and buffer system had a more minor effect on mesophase structure. We have discussed the implications of the observed structural changes with respect to the putative mechanism of protein crystal growth within a lipidic cubic phase.


For calibration for three-phase power/energy comparator with class degree of 0.01, a standard equipment with the uncertainty better than 0.01% will be essential. In this paper the relevant work in NIM is reported, including composition of the equipment, influence among phases and comprehension of uncertainty.


Objective Aneurysms associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are pseudo-aneurysms and the pathology is unique to HIV vasculopathy. We report outcomes of endovascular therapy for HIV iliac artery aneurysms in a series of patients to augment the sparse literature on these aneurysms. Methods The records from January 2010 to December 2013 of all patients treated for HIV-related iliac artery aneurysms were extracted from a prospectively maintained database at our institution. Results Preprocedural, periprocedural, and postprocedural data were retrieved for five black patients (three males and two females), who were treated for HIV-associated iliac artery aneurysms. All patients underwent endovascular therapy. There were seven aneurysms (three common iliac arteries, three internal, and one external). Pain was a common presenting feature, and two patients presented with rupture. One patient was receiving antiretroviral therapy, and one patient was receiving treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. Three patients had significant weight loss. The average hemoglobin value was 8 g/dl. Six aneurysms were managed with covered stents and one (internal iliac artery) with coil embolization. There were no procedure-related complications, and only one patient required a blood transfusion. Symptoms resolved in all patients. One re-intervention was required for stent thrombosis after 30 days. Conclusion Endovascular therapy for the HIV-associated iliac artery aneurysm has good short-term results and avoids pelvic dissection with its associated morbidity and mortality.


Predaceous ladybirds are important natural enemies of many insect pests in terrestrial ecosystems such as peatlands, which are habitats for specialized cold-adapted plants. Ladybird assemblages of pristine peat bogs have not yet been assessed. In total, 15 ladybird species were recorded in peat bog in Belarus by using entomological sweep net. The present study shows low diversity, evenness and species richness of ladybird assemblages. However, a small number of species were present in high numbers. These are Coccinella hieroglyphica, Chilocorus bipustulatus, Coccinulla qutuordecimpustulata and Hippodamia tredecimpunctata. Ladybird abundance was positively related to shrub cover and number of vascular plant species, and negatively related to herb cover. In terms of ladybird diversity, only shrub cover had a significant negative effect.


With product miniaturization, the requirement on good forming quality and high dimensional accuracy of micro parts is increasing dramatically. In micro bending process, the springback, a critical factor for the accuracy of micro-bent parts, is significantly affected by size effects. In view of the strong influence of material properties on springback behavior, this paper first reviews the influences of three size-dependent factors on material properties, including foil thickness, grain size and thickness to grain size ratio. Afterwards, the review on the influences of these factors on springback behavior are presented, aiming at enhancing the understanding of relevant size effects and proposing a quantitative analysis approach to evaluate the dimensional accuracy of micro-bent parts.


This thesis investigates optimization of the control of electrical and thermal equipment by using numerical, FEM and CFD modelling in combination with dynamic simulation models. The thesis focuses on the production of electrical strips and the control system with the aim of reducing losses and improving magnetic properties. Several parameters and factors contribute to core losses. Thickness deviations in strip production, strip's grain sizes, high levels of impurities in the core, orientation, ageing, surface oxidation, overloading, and hot spot temperature (HST) are among the reasons for losses in the core. Some of the losses occur during strip cutting and core assembly. This dissertation focuses on the reduction of losses in the cold rolling and annealing in manufacturing steps, building factor in design of core sizes and HST managing in operation stages. The cold rolling process has a direct influence on the accuracy of the strip thickness and magnetic ageing of sheets. Some disturbances such as eccentricity, working rolls gap deviation, shape and edge deflections have to be removed in order to achieve accurate thickness. Thickness measurement makes up an important portion of loss evaluation in electrical equipment. Impurities and dirty strip surfaces in the cold rolling step can increase the carbon content of strips that pass through the annealing furnaces after cold rolling. The slab should be cleaned before reeling and rewinding. As the strip passes through the annealing furnaces, the temperature should be homogenous over the entire strip. According to simulations of furnace and strip temperature computed in the COMSOL environment, homogenous temperatures could be achieved using high electrical power reflectors which are equipped with molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) electrical heating elements to replace the gas fired burners that are currently used. Modelling of the cold rolling process is conducted in order to find the correlation between control system parameters. A multivariable mathematical model for the rolling process is derived here, which reveals the interactions of the influencing variables. This approach provides numerically efficient algorithms, which are necessary for running in a real-time environment. A control model is applied in the MATLAB environment in order to determine the strip thickness at online-offline state using a robust algorithm (ANN). The critical problem in the thickness control loop is analysed, and an adaptive control algorithm is proposed. A number of control methods are investigated to improve the final strip properties. Cold rolled strip thickness deviations, eccentricities and shape defects are compensated. The simulation results are verified with measurement data and the most significant sources of disturbances are detected. Optimization of annealing, cold rolling (manufacturing of strip process), clamping, cutting and pressuring of connections (building of core process) resulted in a reduction of 0.01%in iron losses, from the nominal power in a large scale power transformer (250 MVA, 230/63 kV). This is equivalent to a reduction of around 20% in no-load losses of large scale power transformers. Finally, to solve the hottest spot problem in large scale electric power transformer, a new apparatus, oil spraying, is proposed and analysed using ANT algorithm. ISSN 1651-4238 ISBN 978-91-86135-33-1


IN spite of all that has been written about the treatment of lacrymal obstruction and of all that has been done for patients suffering from it, few of us can remain satisfied with the results obtained. I have been treating these cases by the newer, or what one may term the " short-circuiting ' method (or dacryocystorhinostomy) for some years past, and I propose to recount the results I have so far attained. A few remarks on the general question will precede discussion of the actual cases. (1) AEtiology.--Judging from the cases published and from my own experience any obvious or gross pathological condition in the nose is rarely found, though some observers state that in these cases definite intranasal disease is common. Among the conditions I have met associated with lacrymal obstruction are: (a) Lupus of the nose, (b) empyema of the anterior ethmoidal cells, (c) tuberculosis of canaliculi and lacrymal sac, and (d) chronic nasopharyngeal catarrh. Apart from these conditions which cause obstruction, in obvious ways, how are the great bulk of cases of lacrymal obstruction to be explained ? I am inclined to regard the obstruction as due to the cumulative effects of recurring attacks of acute or subacute nasal catarrh: for I find that a very large


The first half of the book is about spelling, the second about computers. Chapter Two describes how English spelling came to be in the state that it's in today. In Chapter Three I summarize the debate between those who propose radical change to the system and those who favour keeping it as it is, and I show how computerized correction can be seen as providing at least some of the benefits that have been claimed for spelling reform. Too much of the literature on computerized spellcheckers describes tests based on collections of artificially created errors; Chapter Four looks at the sorts of misspellings that people actually make, to see more clearly the problems that a spellchecker has to face. Chapter Five looks more closely at the errors that people make when they don't know how to spell a word, and Chapter Six at the errors that people make when they know perfectly well how to spell a word but for some reason write or type something else.

Chapter Seven begins the second part of the book with a description of the methods that have been devised over the last thirty years for getting computers to detect and correct spelling errors. Its conclusion is that spellcheckers have some way to go before they can do the job we would like them to do. Chapters Eight to Ten describe a spellchecker that I have designed which attempts to address some of the remaining problems, especially those presented by badly spelt text. In 1982, when I began this research, there were no spellcheckers that would do anything useful with a sentence such as, 'You shud try to rember all ways to youz a lifejacket when yotting.' That my spellchecker corrects this perfectly (which it does) is less impressive now, I have to admit, than it would have been then, simply because there are now a few spellcheckers on the market which do make a reasonable attempt at errors of that kind. My spellchecker does, however, handle some classes of errors that other spellcheckers do not perform well on, and Chapter Eleven concludes the book with the results of some comparative tests, a few reflections on my spellchecker's shortcomings and some speculations on possible developments.


The toxin, previously described as a "non-toxic" toxin, was isolated from the scorpion venom of Tityus serrulatus (Ts), responsible for the most severe and the highest number of accidents in Brazil. In this study, the subtype specificity and selectivity of Ts4 was investigated using six mammalian Nav channels (Nav1.2→Nav1.6 and Nav1.8) and two insect Nav channels (DmNav1 and BgNav). The electrophysiological assays showed that Ts4 specifically inhibited the fast inactivation of Nav1.6 channels, the most abundant sodium channel expressed in the adult central nervous system, and can no longer be classified as a "non-toxic peptide". Based on the results, we could classify the Ts4 as a classical α-toxin. The Ts4 3D-structural model was built based on the solved X-ray Ts1 3D-structure, the major toxin from Ts venom with which it shares high sequence identity (65.57%). The Ts4 model revealed a flattened triangular shape constituted by three-stranded antiparallel β-sheet and one α-helix stabilized by four disulfide bonds. The absence of a Lys in the first amino acid residue of the N-terminal of Ts4 is probably the main responsible for its low toxicity. Other key amino acid residues important to the toxicity of α- and β-toxins are discussed here.


Unusual development of sandur sedimentary succession, an example from the Pleistocene of S Poland An atypical lithological development of outwash deposits in the Carpathians Foreland (S Poland) shows lower and middle parts of the sedimentary succession that are characterized by sinuous palaeochannels. This channel facies consists of laterally accreted sands derived from side bars. The sedimentary environment was a proglacial system of anabranching channels, presumably of anastomosed type. The outwash channel pattern was most probably controlled by the raising base level of the fluvial system. Both proglacial and extraglacial waters were dammed by a sandur within a small upland valley. Aggradation and progradation of the glaciofluvial deposits resulted in progressive rising of the dammed lake level. The low hydraulic gradient of the outwash streams resulted in a sinuous planform as well as a low-energy style of deposition. Afterwards, the rising lake water was drained off through a low watershed and the entire valley became filled with outwash sediments. The bedrock morphology thus became buried and a typical unconfined sandur with a braided channel network developed during the last phase of the glaciomarginal sedimentation (upper part of the sedimentary succession under study).


With power networks undergoing an unprecedented transition from traditional power systems to modern electric grids integrated with renewable energy sources, maintaining frequency stability of generators in modern power systems has become one of the major concerns. Targeting this issue, in this paper, we propose a novel frequency restoration strategy in photovoltaics (PV)-connected power systems using decentralized dynamic state estimation technique and PV power plant as a contingency power source. When a sudden increase in load demand occurs, the output power of PV panels is increased in order to compensate for the shortage of real power capacity of the generator, in order to restore the frequency of a certain generator bus bar. An unscented Kalman filter-based decentralized dynamic estimation is utilized in this study to estimate the frequency of a selected generator bus bar with local noisy voltage and current measurement data acquired by using phasor measurement units. Solar luminous intensity may vary over a period of time in different seasons, weather conditions, etc., which causes the variations in the output power of PV power plants. This irradiance uncertainty is also considered in this study. The proposed control strategy not only incorporates the frequency deviations of a generator bus-bar, but also takes into account the tie-line power deviations under disturbances. Simulation results demonstrate the capacity of proposed control schemes in restoring the frequency of generator bus-bars and also maintaining the tie-line power flowing between adjoining areas at it scheduled value.


Prior studies on product recommendation agents (RAs) have been based on the effort-accuracy perspective in which the amount of effort required to make a decision and the accuracy of such decisions are two dominant antecedents of user acceptance of RAs. The current study extends the effort-accuracy perspective by considering trade-off difficulty, a type of negative emotion that arises when attainment of one's goals is blocked by the attainment of other goals; consequently, one must make trade-offs among the conflicting goals. Many product purchase choices for which RAs are used require users to make trade-offs among conflicting product attributes. A key feature of RAs, the preference elicitation method (PEM), often compels users to make explicit trade-offs. We examine whether an RA's PEM generates trade-off difficulty, which, in turn, affects users' evaluations (i.e., perceived amount of effort and perceived accuracy of recommendations) and the resultant acceptance of the RA. Trade-off difficulty influences users' evaluations of an RA via perceived control over execution of the RA PEM. In addition, the decision context in which users employ a PEM moderates the degree to which that PEM generates trade-off difficulty. Specifically, a PEM generates a greater degree of trade-off difficulty in a choice context that leads to a loss than in a choice context that leads to a gain. Consequently, users exert more effort to cope with trade-off difficulty in a loss condition. Because users voluntarily spend more effort, the negative influence of perceived effort on users' acceptance of an RA---which is supported in prior studies---decreases in a loss condition. A laboratory experiment was conducted using two between-subject factors: two RAs, one that employed a trade-off-compelling PEM and the other a trade-off-hiding PEM, and two decision contexts, one of which was a loss condition and the other a gain condition. The results supported all of the hypotheses.