Background Aromatase Inhibitors (AI) are an important component in adjuvant therapy in postmenopausal women with positive estrogenic receptors in breast cancer. They inhibit the enzyme Cytochrome P450 CYP19, which causes a loss of BMD and consequently an increase in the risk of fracture. In patients with early breast cancer (EBC) in treatment with AI, it is estimated that the risk of fracture is 11% at five years. FRAX is used to calculate the probability of fracture at 10 years. Within its limitations, it should be highlighted that among its risk factors it does not include medications such as AI and that the treatment threshold adapted to patients of the Spanish population is not currently valid. Objectives To determine if the therapeutic intervention thresholds according to the FRAX proposed by the NOF (National Osteoporosis Foundation) as well as of the NOGG (National Osteoporosis Guidelines Group) identify appropriately whether patients with early breast cancer have a high risk of fracture at the start of AI treatment. Methods Retrospective and descriptive study of 73 patients with EBC in treatment with AI sent to the medical oncology department of a tertiary hospital (Basurto University Hospital) for monographic consultation of osteoporosis for its diagnosis, control and monitoring in the period from 01/01/2006 to 31/12/2010. A questionnaire was conducted of the risk factors, BMD DXA and FRAX. The FRAX results are described in the basal visit and the incidence of fractures in this population in December 2012 (monitoring period of 2 to 7 years). The patients with densitometric osteopenia and high risk of fracture according to the FRAX and the patients with both densitometric and established osteoporosis received treatment with bone agents by the Osteoporosis Unit. Results The mean age of our series is 63 years (40-83). The median time from the start of the AI and the realization of the basal BMD is 4 months. The initial densitometry identified 36 patients (49%) with osteoporosis, 35 patients (48%) osteopenia and 2 patients (3%) normal. According to the FRAX applying the treatment thresholds of the NOF (FMO >= 20% and FC >=3%): 19 patients (25%) have high risk of fracture: 16 patients (21%) of FMO and 18 patients (23.6%) of FC. Applying the treatment thresholds of the NOGG in which the values vary according to age: 3 patients (4%) have high risk of fracture, 1 patient (1%) of FMO and 3 patients (4%) of FC. Of the 73 patients, 15 (20%) present fracture, all vertebral, with 5 (33%) of high risk by FRAX according to NOF and only 1 (6%) according to NOGG. Conclusions In our series, the treatment thresholds for the FRAX of the NOF are more sensitive by identifying a greater number of patients with high risk of fracture (25%) than the NOGG (6%). Of the patients with fractures of the study (20%), only 33% of them were identified previously as high risk according to the NOF and 6% according to the NOGG. Both thresholds clearly underestimate the risk of fracture. It is necessary to validate the FRAX in prospective studies that include AI as a risk factor and apply new validated cut-off points in our population. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


OBJECTIVE
Cerebral blood flow has been blamed as a factor in the negative effect of antiepileptic drugs on neurocognition. This study aimed to investigate whether valproic acid (VPA), used for the treatment of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), causes a change in cerebral blood flow in children.

METHODS
Included in this study were 33 children who were receiving VPA for IGE and 34 age-matched controls. Doppler and spectral measurements in common carotid artery (CCA), left and right internal CA (ICA) and external CA (ECA), anterior cerebral artery (ACA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) were performed and the maximum velocity (VM), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), resistive index (RI), pulsatility index (PI) and flow rate (FR) were calculated.

RESULTS
The mean age of drug and control groups were 9.33 plus or minus 2.11, and 9.74 plus or minus 2 years, respectively. Follow-up of patients was 17.7 plus or minus 3.2 months. The period of VPA treatment was 17.4 plus or minus 3.4 months. No statistically significant differences were found between control and VPA group for the VM, EDV, RI, PI, and FR values obtained from the bilateral ICA, ACA, and MCA.

CONCLUSIONS
The results showed that VPA in therapeutic doses did not affect anterior cerebral blood flow. However according to result, it is still difficult to conclude that neurocognitive deterioration is not observed in patients receiving VPA.


Background High-oncogenic-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is necessary, although insufficient, to promote cervical cancer. Like HPV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common pathogen with the capacity to promote epithelial neoplasms. We examined the association between cervical EBV, hrHPV, and cytology in female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods Women (n = 332) with known cervical cytology and hrHPV mRNA results were evaluated for cervical EBV DNA by conventional polymerase chain reaction. Prevalence ratios (PRs) were calculated to assess the relationships between EBV, hrHPV, and cervical cytology. Prospective analyses used risk ratios and time-to-event analyses to determine the association of EBV with hrHPV clearance and with abnormal cytology outcomes. Results Baseline prevalence of hrHPV and EBV was 29% and 19%, respectively. Higher EBV prevalence was found among women with older age, HIV, hrHPV, abnormal cytology, Mycoplasma genitalium infection, smoking habits, younger age at sexual debut, and less frequent condom use. At baseline, women with EBV had a higher prevalence of hrHPV infection than did EBV-negative women (52% vs. 24%; HIV-adjusted PR [95% confidence interval], 1.8 [1.3–2.6]). Epstein-Barr virus–positive women had a higher prevalence than did EBV-negative women of high-grade precancer (15% vs. 2%) and abnormal cytology (37% vs. 15%), although HIV- and hrHPV-adjusted associations were not significant (high-grade precancer: PR, 2.0 [0.7–5.9]; abnormal cytology: PR, 1.4 [0.9–2.2]). In prospective analyses, a marginal association was observed between baseline EBV detection and delayed hrHPV clearance. Conclusions Our data support a possible role for EBV as a high-risk marker or cofactor for HPV-mediated cervical cancer development.


This material is designed to provide general information in regard to the subject matter covered. It should be used with the understanding that we are not rendering legal, accounting or tax advice. Such services should be provided by the client's own advisor. Accordingly, any information in this document cannot be used by any taxpayer for purposes of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code.


This paper proposes a method to compare the neural excitation of four different cochlear implant electrodes by coupling finite-element analysis and computational neuroscience method. The goal is to identify the type of electrodes and electrode positions that will maximize the neural excitation of the human cochlea. Electrodes are moved translationally and rotationally in the inner cochlea based on straight and circular cochlea models. The four electrodes modeled are the banded electrodes, half banded electrodes, planar electrodes, and ball electrodes, and they were rotated from +180/spl deg/ to -180/spl deg/. The planar electrode generates the highest stimulation of the four electrodes for a given electrical power input. This paper also proposes means to compute directions which the electrode should point to in order to maximize the neural excitation of a human cochlea.


A twenty-seven-month study was conducted to evaluate the use of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) and mechanical methods to manage the growth of Hedge bamboo, Bambusa glaucescens , growing in proximity to power lines. Two formulations of the PGR paclobutrazol were tested; one as a foliar treatment, the other as a soil drench. Mechanical trimming was evaluated alone and in combination with the PGR soil drench. Both foliar treatment and soil drench resulted in comparable cost and acceptable bamboo height after a twenty-seven-month period. Mechanical trimming resulted in the least cost; however, height was not acceptable at twenty-seven months. Mechanical trimming in combination with PGR soil drench was effective during the first twelve months, but not during the second twelve months of the study.


After polymer flooding, it is necessary to find relay technology to retain oil yield. In this paper, laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate feasibility of secondary polymer flooding, in which injecting more polymer with higher concentration and relative molecular mass. It is necessary to determine enhanced recovery range and optimum concentration. With microscopic visible glass physical models, further start up of oil drops with secondary polymer can be observed distinctly. In the mean time, macroscopic heterogeneous core tests were carried out with permeability range of 2, 5 and 8. Polymer concentration effective and economical for flooding is optimized. Ii is shown that 3%~8% of further enhanced recovery and 20% decreased water cut can be obtained, and water profile can be improved to some extend after secondary polymer flooding. Thence, it is proved that secondary polymer injection after primary polymer can indeed further improve recovery and the technology of secondary flooding is feasible. Moreover, laboratory optimum concentration of 2200mg/L is determined. On the basis of laboratory results, from 2007 to 2008, filed trial with above optimum parameters were implemented. Up to 2008.12, water cut decreased from 92% to 83%, and cumulative increased crude oil of 5.71×104t.The success of secondary polymer flooding technology provides reference for the development of oil fields after primary polymer flooding in China and other regions in the whole world. Key words: secondary polymer flooding; feasibility study; microscopic mechanism; polymer concentration optimization; after polymer flooding


The aim of developing this project is to control the speed of DC motor. The main advantage in using a DC motor is that the speed-torque relationship can be varied to almost any useful form. To achieve the speed control an electronic technique called pulse width modulation is used which generates high and low pulses. These pulses vary the speed in the motor. For the generation of these pulses, a microcontroller (AT89c51) is used. As a microcontroller is used, setting the speed ranges as per the requirement is easy which is done by changing the duty cycles time period in the program. This project is practical and highly feasible in economic point of view, and has an advantage of running motors of higher ratings. This project gives a reliable, durable, accurate and efficient way of speed control of a DC motor


Green spaces can exist within and in close proximity to urban environments. These areas readily become habitats to mammals, amphibians, reptiles and other native species that may persist in confined areas within cities. Understanding the expanse of the area in which animals live, or their home range patterns, is important to better understand their ecology. In this study we investigated daily movements, seasonal home ranges and overlap of the Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius) in a peri-urban area in Budapest, Hungary. We used radio-telemetry to track 5 individual adult snakes within a total area of 125 ha consisting of different microhabitats between 2016 and 2019. Caspian whipsnakes distributed within an area of only 30 ha. We found that they cover on average daily distances of 11 - 39 m during vegetation period and less than 5 m during brumation period. The snakes used home ranges of 6 - 14 ha during vegetation periods and 0.04 - 0.28 ha during brumation periods, being the smallest for the underground localities during the brumation period. The Adaptive Kernel method gave the highest, LoCoH-R the smallest home range values. The percentage of home range overlap was found to be smaller during brumation periods when the snakes were underground than during vegetation periods when the snakes were found both, under and above ground. Caspian whipsnakes in Voroskővar currently have room for movement but it seems that the patches providing shelter (rocky places, burrows, shrubby areas) can limit their distribution, especially during the brumation period. Increased anthropogenic activities, and disturbances mainly in the wintering hiding areas may result in significant threat to the species.


The effect of severe plastic deformation on the corrosion and wear behaviour of composites has been studied. The composites based on an Al-Cu alloy (EN AW-2017) processed by powder metallurgy were severely plastically deformed using equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) to produce an ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure. Al 2 O 3 or SiC particles in two different fractions (5 or 15 vol.%) as well as sizes (fine or nano) were used as reinforcements. The corrosion behaviour was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization in NaCl solution. X-ray diffraction reveals the development of the texture as a function of ceramic particle fraction and introduction of massive plastic deformation. In agreement with (1), the multiphase material without additional heat supply shows no deterioration in the corrosion characteristics after ECAP. The wear behaviour was evaluated by oscillating friction and wear as well as scratch tests. The reinforced non-ECAP composites are more resistant against an oscillating friction movement whereas under abrasive load, the ECAP conditions behave the opposite.


Service-learning weds active academic learning with effective service to and in the community. This paper provides an overview of service-learning pedagogy within business education and identifies the stakeholders— students, faculty, community partners, and the academic institution at large— and the benefits that flow to them from its implementation. The paper then provides several examples of service-learning business projects and an approach to developing an international service-learning partnership using an example from the relationship between a small New England business university and the Quinn School of Business at University College Dublin.


This paper analyzed some existing problems of the present air-cargo forecast methods. Then it established the SVM (support vector machine) model for air-cargo demand forecasting. Taking the historical statistical data of Beijing to Shanghai cargo volumes from Jan-2005 to Mar-2006 as fitting and forecasting specimens, we can obtain the prediction model to optimize, which was compared with that of Brown cubic exponential smoothing, by analyzing fitting and forecasting effect of model for different number of input nodes respectively. The result showed that the fitting effect by the model based on support vector machine was better than that of Brown. The former has a higher forecasting accuracy.


FCS8894Span, a 1-page handout by Valerie Weyenberg and Karla P. Shelnutt, is the Spanish-language version of Healthy Living: Change Your Lifestyle Word Scramble (FCS8894). It provides an activity to familiarize program participants with lifestyle changes that can help prevent high blood pressure. Published by the UF Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, April 2010.


Twenty-eight enterectomy sites from 28 dogs were evaluated sonographically 6 months postoperatively or later. The longest time between the enterectomy and sonography was nearly 7 years. The enterectomy site was visible sonograpically in 22/28 (78.6%) dogs. The enterectomy scar typically appeared as mild focal intestinal wall thickening (90.9%) with altered (90.9%) or absent wall layering (9.1%) over a short distance of the bowel (median 1.2 cm, range from 0.6 to 2.5 cm). Intramural hyperechoic foci, most likely representing fibrosis or nonabsorbed suture material were noted in 63.6% of the visible enterectomy sites. A focal accumulation of intraluminal gas was often seen (81.8%) at the enterectomy site. Additional ultrasonographic features included the presence of an irregular hyperechoic rim bordering the enterectomy site (50%), and a focal deviation of the intestinal course (45.5%). These descriptive features may assist ultrasonographers in differentiating a previous enterectomy site from other focal intestinal changes.


I investigated the relationship among employee creativity, personal characteristics, and work environment characteristics in Taiwan's Hakka cultural and creative industries, specifically the clothing industry. I used snowball sampling to find participants who completed a questionnaire that was either self-administered or administered through telephone interviews, from which I obtained 86 responses for the analysis. I then performed analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and t test. The results reveal that employee creativity was significantly correlated to both personal cognitive style and work environment characteristics. However, the results do not reveal any significant differences in employee creativity with regard to demographic factors.


Some unusual extensions of the neural spines are reported for two ichthyosaurs from the Lower Jurassic of Germany. These processes are similar to those recently reported for the enigmatic marine reptile Hupehsuchus, from the Middle Triassic of China. There are insufficient data to determine whether the ichthyosaurian processes are homologous with those of Hupehsuchus, nor whether they represent ancestral features that were normally suppressed during ontogeny. The possibility that the processes are artificial rather than natural cannot be discounted.


Background The capacity to accurately measure and report antimicrobial consumption is an essential element of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Though days of therapy (DOT) and defined daily doses (DDD) are common metrics used to measure consumption, no established metric exists in children. Our aim was to model metrics of Meropenem consumption based on administration data in a tertiary children's hospital, and to analyse trends in Meropenem consumption and resistance over time. Methods Using an established electronic prescribing system, we extracted data on all Meropenem administrations from 2010 to 2016. Meropenem susceptibility of all Enterobacteriaceae isolates was extracted over the same period. Consumption was expressed as DOT per 1000 patient-days (DOT/1000 PD), DDD per 1000 patient-days (DDD/1000 PD). Time series analysis was undertaken to explore trends in both consumption and non-susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae to Meropenem. Results Meropenem consumption was highly seasonal and increased over time. Between 2010 and 2016 there was an increase of 17.2% (95% CI 13.3% to 20.1%) in DOT/1000 PD. DDD and DOT showed similar seasonal variation, and similar overall increases between 2010 and 2015 (Figure 1). Resistance in E. coli increased to Piptazobactam (from 12% to 32%, p<0.001), Ceftazidime (20% to 46%, p<0.001), and Meropenem (from 0.3% to 8%, p<0.001). Discussion Using electronic prescribing we were able to compare DDD and DOT as measures of antimicrobial consumption in children of all ages in a large tertiary children's hospital. In this single centre setting, DDD and DOT exhibited similar trends and may be considered equivalent measures. Time series analysis allows robust inferences regarding trends in Meropenem consumption and demonstrates an increase over the last 5 years. Contemporaneously there has been an increase in E. coli resistance to Piptazobactam, Ceftazidime and of significant concern, Meropenem.


In recent years, the field of recommendation systems has attracted increasing attention to developing predictive models that provide explanations of why an item is recommended to a user. The explanations can be either obtained by post-hoc diagnostics after fitting a relatively complex model or embedded into an intrinsically interpretable model. In this paper, we propose the explainable recommendation systems based on a generalized additive model with manifest and latent interactions (GAMMLI). This model architecture is intrinsically interpretable, as it additively consists of the user and item main effects, the manifest user-item interactions based on observed features, and the latent interaction effects from residuals. Unlike conventional collaborative filtering methods, the group effect of users and items are considered in GAMMLI. It is beneficial for enhancing the model interpretability, and can also facilitate the cold-start recommendation problem. A new Python package GAMMLI is developed for efficient model training and visualized interpretation of the results. By numerical experiments based on simulation data and real-world cases, the proposed method is shown to have advantages in both predictive performance and explainable recommendation.


Consumers, grocers, and distributors all want a year-round supply of fresh, highquality berries. Repeat-fruiting cultivars are being developed as a tool to meet that demand by extending the growing season for small fruit crops. To develop markets, cultivars, and production practices for repeatfruiting cultivars, research and extension professionals from many disciplines must communicate and collaborate. The objective of our workshop was to explore approaches for marketing and breeding repeat-fruiting species in both basic and applied terms as well as development of production practices. What marketing opportunities are available for small fruit crops outside of the standard growing season? What genes and/or traits lead to repeat-fruiting? What progress is being made toward development of new repeat-fruiting cultivars? How does production of repeat-fruiting cultivars differ from standard production practices? Are there specific production challenges that need to be addressed in future breeding programs? The articles published here provide information on breeding, producing, and marketing repeat-fruiting small fruit crops using day-neutral strawberry, primocane-fruiting blackberry, and primocane-fruiting raspberry as examples.


Interferometric virtual source (VS) redatuming crosscorrelates downgoing waves with the corresponding upgoing waves to convert records from surface-source gathers to virtual gathers at the buried receiver locations. The assumption is that the VS records show the reduced effects of overburden complexity and therefore provide improved seismic repeatability and image quality. In practice, however, the repeatability and quality of the redatumed data can be degraded by one-sided illumination and inadequate preprocessing. In the presence of complex near-surface structure for land redatuming, the intricate shallow structure and highly variable weathering layers introduce surface multiples, ground-roll/scattering noise, and interference among different wave modes that additionally contaminates the down- and upgoing wavefields. To address these issues, we have developed a new interferometric redatuming method based on crosscorrelation in the wavelet domain. Specifically, by transforming time-offset data into the local time-scale (TS) and local TS-wavenumber domains, we have designed and applied filters on the amplitude of the cross spectra in each domain to suppress the aforementioned artifacts and noise, while maintaining accurate kinematic information by retaining the original phase spectra. The new procedure involves forward wavelet transform of the source records, crosscorrelating the wavelet coefficients, filtering in the corresponding domains, and then inverse wavelet transformation to produce the VS records. Components associated with scattering noise and ground roll can be effectively suppressed because our designed filters tackle their features accurately in the local TS and local TS-wavenumber domains, respectively. We tested the method on data from 13 time-lapse surveys that included a significant repeatability problem across a 17-month survey gap, and we compared the results with results from the conventional VS methods. Our VS method produced the best improvement in imaging and repeatability, a positive step forward for land seismic monitoring.


Peat soil is one of the ecosystems which considerable potential in Riau Province to be developed as agricultural land. Besides low nutrient availability, other factors that inhibit the growth of plants on peat soil are higher organic acid content. To overcome this, dregs can be applied. The research has been conducted the experimental farm of Agriculture Faculty, University of Riau, Pekanbaru on April-Augst 2011. The experimental units were arranged in factorial completely rendomized design. The first factor is the dose of dregs consisting of three levels: D0 = without giving dregs, D1 = 2.5 tons/ha of dreg, and D2 = 5 tons/ha of dreg. The second factor is the dose of N, P, and K fertilizers consisting of three levels: P1 = recommended dosage, P2 = 1.5 x the recommended dosage, and P3 = 2 x recommended dosage. The results showed that the doses of dregs at 2.5 tons/ha and 5 tons/ha in general tended to increase the height, the maximum number of tillers, dry weight of roots, and plant canopy dry weight at age 48 HST, comparing to no dregs at each dose of N, P, and K fertilizers (1, 1.5 and 2 times the recommended dosage). Nutrient of N absorption by roots and canopy, respectively increased by 29.87% and 299.08%, nutrient of P absorption by roots and canopy increased by 13.89% and 239.52, and nutrient of K absorption by roots and canopy increased by 16.97% and 153% with the application of 5 tons/ha dregs followed by the application of N, P, K fertilizer with 2 times of the recommended dosage compared to the application of N, P, K fertilizer with 1 times of the recommended dosage that followed no dregs application. Keywords: peat soil, paddy, ameliorant dregs, NPK nutrient


A community-based support group has been organized for patients with coronary disease and their families. Participants differed from those in other groups because an extensive amount of time had elapsed between their first coronary event and their becoming active in the group. While many of the issues raised resembled those addressed by similar groups described elsewhere, the support patterns used by participants were also different. Of most significance was the fact that the patients were able to support their spouses and relieve long-standing anxiety. Implications for public health nursing include the development of groups for these chronically ill patients, focusing on the needs of the spouses, and structuring groups to encourage mutual support.


Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer that is caused by a disorder of the process that normally generates neutrophils. Function and dysfunction of neutrophils are key to physiologic defense against pathogens as well as pathologies including autoimmunity and cancer. A major mechanism through which neutrophils contribute to health and disease is oxidative burst, which involves rapid release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by a chemical reaction network catalyzed by enzymes including NADPH oxidase and myeloperoxidase (MPO). Due to the involvement of neutrophil-derived reactive oxygen species in many diseases and importance of NADPH oxidase and MPO-mediated reactions in progression and treatment of myeloid leukemia, monitoring this process and modulating it by pharmacological interventions is of great interest. In this work, we have evaluated the potential of a label-free method using ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) to monitor ROS production in neutrophil-like HL60 myeloid leukemia cells. Suppression of ROS was achieved by several drug candidates that target different parts of the reaction pathway. Our results show that UPE can report on ROS production as well as suppression by pharmacological inhibitors. We find that UPE is primarily generated by MPO catalyzed reaction and thus will be affected when an upstream reaction is pharmacologically modulated.


If you are responsible for meeting federal information security requirements such as FISMA, this book is all you need to know to get a system authorized. Now in the first full revision of FISMA since its inception in 2002, a new wave of stronger security measures are now available through the efforts of theDepartmentof Defense, Office of the Directory of National Intelligence, Committee for National Security Systems and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Based on the new FISMA requirements for 2011 and beyond, this book catalogs the processes, procedures and specific security recommendations underlying the new Risk Management Framework. Written by an experienced FISMA practitioner, this book presents an effective system of information assurance, real-time risk monitoring and secure configurations for common operating systems.Learn how to build a robust, near real-time risk management system and comply with FISMADiscover the changes to FISMA compliance and beyondGain your systems the authorization they need


This paper is referred to other literature on properties of metal fatigue testing methods and data analysis procedure methods. According to high cycle fatigue testing, double-wall-brazed-tube is loaded with different stimulated vibration force by shaking table and is forced to vibrate. In the experience, strain of key parts is measured with Electrical resistance Strain measurement Methods. By curve fitting of experimental data, we gain the fitting function of the specimen's fatigue life and draw its S-N curve. In accordance with the analysis of experimental data and S-N curves, it is concluded that fatigue properties of metallic materials can not fully reflect fatigue properties of a specimen and that the cross-sectional size of a specimen has much effects on its fatigue life.


This paper presents an ultra-low-power 72-Kb 9T static random-access memory (SRAM) with a ripple bit-line (RPBL) structure and negative bit-line (NBL) write-assist. The RPBL scheme provides over 40% read access performance improvement for VDD below 0.4 V compared with the conventional hierarchical bit-line structure. A variation-tolerant ripple-initiated NBL write-assist scheme with the transient negative pulse coupled only into the single selected local bit-line segment is employed to enhance the NBL, boosting efficiency and reducing power consumption. The 331 × 385 μm2 72-Kb SRAM macro has been fabricated in UMC 40-nm low-power CMOS technology and was tested with full suites of SRAM compiler qualification patterns. Error-free full functionality without redundancy is achieved from 1.5 V down to 0.33 V. The measured maximum operation frequency is 220 MHz (500 kHz) at 1.1 V (0.33 V) and 25 °C. The measured total power consumption is 3.94 μW at 0.33 V, 500 kHz, and 25 °C .


As a result of psychotic crises, Vincent van Gogh was hospitalized several times during a period of about a year and a half from December 1888 to May 1890. The author focuses on van Gogh's intense intrapsychic struggle during this relatively brief but critical time. He discusses how van Gogh's painting not only reflected his struggles but also enabled him, for a time, to stave off the hopelessness and despair that eventually overwhelmed him, culminating in his suicide. After reviewing possible factors in the artist's illness, the author agrees with others that the most persuasive explanation involves epileptic underpinnings.


A Working Group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is working on potential reforms to UNCITRAL's Model Procurement Law and its Guide to Enactment. This article, written by several advisors to the U.S. delegation to the UNCITRAL Working Group, reviews the Working Group's progress on several important fronts. The Working Group has reached initial consensus on a number of difficult procurement issues, including electronic commerce, reverse auctions and framework contracts, and significant progress has been made in a number or other areas, including the procurement of services, the strengthening of procurement remedies (known in the United States as bid protests), and the utilization of socioeconomic policy tools.


Purpose To propose and evaluate a comprehensive modeling approach combing radiomics, dosiomics and clinical components, for more accurate prediction of locoregional recurrence risk after radiotherapy for patients with locoregionally advanced HPSCC. Materials and methods Clinical data of 77 HPSCC patients were retrospectively investigated, whose median follow-up duration was 23.27 (4.83-81.40) months. From the planning CT and dose distribution, 1321 radiomics and dosiomics features were extracted respectively from planning gross tumor volume (PGTV) region each patient. After stability test, feature dimension was further reduced by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), yielding Radiomic and Dosiomic Principal Components (RPCs and DPCs) respectively. Multiple Cox regression models were constructed using various combinations of RPC, DPC and clinical variables as the predictors. Akaike information criterion (AIC) and C-index were used to evaluate the performance of Cox regression models. Results PCA was performed on 338 radiomic and 873 dosiomic features that were tested as stable (ICC1 > 0.7 and ICC2 > 0.95), yielding 5 RPCs and DPCs respectively. Three comprehensive features (RPC0, P<0.01, DPC0, P<0.01 and DPC3, P<0.05) were found to be significant in the individual Radiomic or Dosiomic Cox regression models. The model combining the above features and clinical variable (total stage IVB) provided best risk stratification of locoregional recurrence (C-index, 0.815; 95%CI, 0.770-0.859) and prevailing balance between predictive accuracy and complexity (AIC, 143.65) than any other investigated models using either single factors or two combined components. Conclusion This study provided quantitative tools and additional evidence for the personalized treatment selection and protocol optimization for HPSCC, a relatively rare cancer. By combining complementary information from radiomics, dosiomics, and clinical variables, the proposed comprehensive model provided more accurate prediction of locoregional recurrence risk after radiotherapy.


Abstract Spinal cord injury gradually spreads away from the epicentre of injury. The rate of degeneration on the rostral side of the injury differs from that on the caudal side. Rostral degeneration is an immediate process, while caudal degeneration is delayed. In this study, we demonstrated that the rostro-caudal differences in energy metabolism led to differences in the spread of degeneration in early thoracic cord injury using in vivo imaging. The blood flow at the rostral side of the injury showed ischaemia-reperfusion, while the caudal side presented stable perfusion. The rostral side had an ATP shortage 20 min after spinal cord injury, while the ATP levels were maintained on the caudal side. Breakdown products of purine nucleotides were accumulated at both sides of injury 18 h after spinal cord injury, but the principal metabolites in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and glycolytic pathway were elevated on the caudal side. Although the low-ATP regions expanded at the rostral side of injury until 24 h after spinal cord injury, the caudal-side ATP levels were preserved. The low-ATP regions on the rostral side showed mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production. Administration of 2-deoxy-d-glucose as a glycolysis inhibitor decreased the caudal ATP levels and expanded the low-ATP regions to the caudal side until 24 h after spinal cord injury. These results suggest that deficits in the glycolytic pathway accelerate the caudal degeneration, while immediate rostral degeneration is exacerbated by oxidative stress in early thoracic cord injury.


Personalized federated learning (PFL) learns a personalized model for each client in a decentralized manner, where each client owns private data that are not shared and data among clients are non-independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) However, existing PFL solutions assume that clients have sufficient training samples to jointly induce personalized models. Thus, existing PFL solutions cannot perform well in a few-shot scenario, where most or all clients only have a handful of samples for training. Furthermore, existing few-shot learning (FSL) approaches typically need centralized training data; as such, these FSL methods are not applicable in decentralized scenarios. How to enable PFL with limited training samples per client is a practical but understudied problem. In this article, we propose a solution called personalized federated few-shot learning (pFedFSL) to tackle this problem. Specifically, pFedFSL learns a personalized and discriminative feature space for each client by identifying which models perform well on which clients, without exposing local data of clients to the server and other clients, and which clients should be selected for collaboration with the target client. In the learned feature spaces, each sample is made closer to samples of the same category and farther away from samples of different categories. Experimental results on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that pFedFSL outperforms competitive baselines across different settings.


Source of material: The red-brown solution of 0.177 g (0.823 mMol) MeN{P(OMe)2}2 and 0.598 g (0.823 mMol) CpRu(PPh3)2Cl in 30 mlCHCb was refluxed with rapid stirring for four hours. The colour changed to yellow, the solvent was removed by vacuo to give a yellow oil which was crystallized from 15 ml THF to obtain red crystals (30%). CpRu(PPh3)2Cl reacts with HN{PPh2}2 (=dppa) to give the substitution product CpRu(dppa)C) (see réf. 1), but it does not react with the less nucleophilic diphosphine MeN{P(OMe)2)2· Instead, it forms a 1:1 solvate with C5H6, which has not been used, but which could be generated from the starting material by ß-addition. The ruthenium atom shows a distorted tetrahedral environment, the molecular parameters correspond to those of the analogous thf-solvate (see ref. 2). Atom distances: d(Ru(l)-P(l)): 2.323(1) A, á(Ru(l)-P(2)): 2.326(1) À, ¿(Ru(l)-Cl(l)): 2.436(1) À, d(Ru(l)-C(n)): 2.1926(5) À. The bond lengths and angles within the cyclopentadiene are comparable to the published ones (see réf. 3).


Male laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus; Wistar, Alderley Park) were housed as singletons or groups of three in units of two joined, but divided cages. Units were divided by different types of barrier that allowed different degrees of social contact across the barrier. Singletons were established either with another singleton as a neighbour on the other side of the barrier, or with a group of three as neighbours. Relative to group-housed animals, singly-housed rats showed reduced activity and a greater incidence of self-directed behaviours and behaviours apparently related to escape or seeking social information. Pathophysiological evidence was consistent with Baenninger's (1967) suggestion that tail manipulation in singletons is a surrogate social response, but was also consistent with an overall increase in self-directed activity, reflecting elasticity in time budgeting. Variation in the degree of increase in self-directed activity among singletons and the negative correlation between self-directed activity and organ pathology may have reflected differences in the ability of individuals to avoid an activity limbo. While reduced corticosterone concentration and organ pathology compared with grouped rats implied that separation may remove social stress, responses to contact with neighbours, and correlations between behaviours and organ pathology suggested that rats may actively seek social interaction. Broad differences in stress responses between single and grouped housing conditions may therefore be an inadequate yardstick to the animals' welfare. However, exposure to neighbours reduced the aggressiveness of singly-housed males when they were eventually introduced into an unfamiliar group, suggesting that a degree of exposure to neighbours (separation, but not isolation) may have some welfare benefits for laboratory-housed rats, depending on procedures.


Several methods are tested to extract positional information from light distributions generated in a monolithic block of scintillator read out by an APD array. The spatial resolution of photons impinging at 0deg and 20deg angle was studied in various regions of the block. The influence of the block thickness on the spatial resolution was also investigated as well as the effect of a black crystal coating. Finally the performances of detectors based on these continuous scintillator blocks are compared with a detector module based on an array of small scintillation crystals coupled individually to the pixels of the APD array


Error-related activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is thought to work in conjunction with lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) as a part of an action-monitoring network, where errors signal the need for increased cognitive control. The neural mechanism by which this mPFC–lPFC interaction occurs remains unknown. We hypothesized that transient synchronous oscillations in the theta range reflect a mechanism by which these structures interact. To test this hypothesis, we extracted oscillatory phase and power from current–source–density-transformed electroencephalographic data recorded during a Flanker task. Theta power in the mPFC was diminished on the trial preceding an error and increased immediately after an error, consistent with predictions of an action-monitoring system. These power dynamics appeared to take place over a response-related background of oscillatory theta phase coherence. Theta phase synchronization between FCz (mPFC) and F5/6 (lPFC) sites was robustly increased during error trials. The degree of mPFC–lPFC oscillatory synchronization predicted the degree of mPFC power on error trials, and both of these dynamics predicted the degree of posterror reaction time slowing. Oscillatory dynamics in the theta band may in part underlie a mechanism of communication between networks involved in action monitoring and cognitive control.


Stellarators offer a promising path towards fusion reactors, but their design and construction are complicated by stringent tolerance requirements on highly complex 3D coils. A potential way to simplify the engineering requirements for stellarators is to use simple planar toroidal field coils along with permanent magnet arrays to generate shaping fields. In order to ensure sufficient field accuracy while minimizing engineering complexity and system cost, new techniques are required to correct the field produced by the permanent magnet arrays to within requirements set by plasma physics. This work describes a novel correction method developed for this purpose. This analysis is applied to the design of a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator that employs a combination of permanent magnets and planar toroidal field coils to generate its magnetic field. Analysis techniques and initial results using the method for error correction on a proposed permanent magnet stellarator are shown, and it is demonstrated that the method successfully meets the design requirements of the project.


Vortex organization in the outer layer of a turbulent boundary layer overlying sparse, hemispherical roughness elements is explored with two-component particle-image velocimetry (PIV) in multiple streamwise–wall-normal measurement planes downstream and between elements. The presence of sparse roughness elements causes a shortening of the streamwise length scale in the near-wall region. These measurements confirm that vortex packets exist in the outer layer of flow over rough walls, but that their organization is altered, and this is interpreted as the underlying cause of the length-scale reduction. In particular, the elements shed vortices which appear to align in the near-wall region, but are distinct from the packets. Further, it is observed that ejection events triggered in the element wakes are more intense compared to the ejection events in smooth wall. We speculate that this may initiate a self-sustaining mechanism leading to the formation of hairpin packets as a much more effective instability compared to those typical of smooth-wall turbulence.


The research was conducted to see the development of KSPPS BMT Artha Barokah's financial performance in 2015-2019 by looking at aspects: capital, productive asset quality, efficiency, liquidity, cooperative identity as well as aspects of independence and growth.
The research is descriptive quantitative, namely by analyzing financial data and then the results are presented in the form of numbers. The variables studied were the financial performance of KSPPS BMT Artha Barokah with documentation techniques. For data analysis using the instrument of the Regulation of the Deputy for Supervision of the Ministry of Cooperatives and UKM for Health Assessment of Savings and Loans Cooperatives and Sharia Financing Number 07/Per/Dep.6/IV/2016.
From the research results, it is known that the financial performance of KSPPS BMT Artha Barokah in 2015-2019 is seen from: 1) The aspect of capital with the ratio of own capital to total assets is not healthy and the CAR is quite healthy; 2) The quality aspect of earning assets in the ratio of non-performing financing to the number of receivables and current financing, the ratio of risky portfolio financing is in the non-risk criteria while the PPAP ratio is doubtful; 3) The aspect of efficiency in the ratio of operational costs to services is less efficient, the ratio of fixed assets to total assets is good while the ratio of service efficiency is not good; 4) The liquidity aspect of the less liquid cash ratio and the less liquid financing to funds received ratio; 5) aspects of cooperative identity in high gross participation ratio and beneficial PEA ratio; 6) Aspects of independence and growth in low asset profitability ratios, low equity profitability ratios and less service operational independence ratios. Based on the results of the study, the financial performance of KSPPS BMT Artha Barokah was in the fairly healthy category although it had experienced a decline in several aspects.


At present, the "low-slow-small" aircraft represented by micro-UAVs has gradually entered the public's field of vision, but the abuse of micro-UAVs has made micro-UAVs a potential threat to urban public safety. Aiming at this threat, this paper designs a lightweight and flexible UAV bullet continuous launching device based on the design principle of remote triggering, compressed gas as the power source and continuous launch, by assembling glass marbles, metal balls, etc. as bullets and perform continuous launch. The program integrates the power system, the pressure regulating system, the launching system, the filling system and the auxiliary system. The drone is used as a platform to realize the interception and attack of the "low and small" aircraft, ensuring the safety of the city at low altitude.


Librarians are asked to downsize, economize and streamline, while they are also, simultaneously, expected to provide the fastest, latest and most expensive hardware and software so as to make the information marketplace accessible to their patrons. What most librarians have not realized, however, is that they are also asked, whether they like it or not, to bet on which of the various technologies will supercede the others. Understanding the corporate environment in which this future is decided is crucial if librarians are to be successful in meeting all these expectations. The author explores library‐related implications of the US Department of Justice's investigations into the operations of Microsoft and Intel and suggests that developing a broader understanding of information technology marketing is crucial to the short‐ and long‐term future of libraries.


An optimal design of a multi-layered plate structure to endure high-velocity impact has been suggested by using size optimization after numerical simulations. The NET2D, a Lagrangian explicit time-integration finite element code for analyzing high-velocity impact, was used to find the parameters for the optimization. Three different materials such as mild steel, aluminum for a multi-layered plate structure and die steel for the pellet, were assumed. In order to consider the effects of strain rate hardening, strain hardening and thermal softening, Johnson-Cook model and Phenomenological Material Model were used as constitutive models for the simulation. It was carried out with several different gaps and thickness of layers to figure out the trend in terms of those parameters' changes under the constraint, which is against complete penetration. Also, the measuring domain has been shrunk with several elements to reduce the analyzing time. The response surface method based on the design of experiments was used as optimization algorithms. The optimized thickness of each layer in which perforation does not occur has been obtained at a constant velocity and a designated total thickness. The result is quite acceptable satisfying both the minimized deformation energy and the weight criteria. Furthermore, a conceptual idea for topology optimization was suggested for the future work.


The paper presents the results of immunohistochemical and morphometric studies conducted to examine an association of the site, the expression of virus antigens, and the nature of morphological changes in the hypertrophic palatine tonsils in children. The distribution of CD3+ and CD20+ cells was explored in tonsillar tissue. The greatest changes were shown in the epithelium, the antigens of herpex simplex virus being more frequently detected than those of human papillomavirus. The presented data may be suggestive of the important role of viruses in the development of palatine tonsillar pathology, different protective reactions of various palatine tonsillar structures, which should be borne in mind during etiopathogenetic therapy.


Yearly seismic energy totals for many different regions of the earth show highs in 1965 and lows in 1967. Correlations found between totals for ridge systems and for the world are attributed to ambient stresses, which are close to those needed for failure in the lithosphere underlying those ridge systems. Energy highs for many different plate edges are thought to be the result of triggering by the large Alaskan earthquake of 1964. Other suggestions of triggering by major earthquakes are found in 1969 and 1971.


Markovian jump linear systems (MJLS) are an important class of dynamical systems that arise in many control applications. In this paper, we introduce the problem of controlling unknown (discrete-time) MJLS as a new benchmark for policy-based reinforcement learning of Markov decision processes (MDPs) with mixed continuous/discrete state variables. Compared with the traditional linear quadratic regulator (LQR), our proposed problem leads to a special hybrid MDP (with mixed continuous and discrete variables) and poses significant new challenges due to the appearance of an underlying Markov jump parameter governing the mode of the system dynamics. Specifically, the state of a MJLS does not form a Markov chain and hence one cannot study the MJLS control problem as a MDP with solely continuous state variable. However, one can augment the state and the jump parameter to obtain a MDP with a mixed continuous/discrete state space. We discuss how control theory sheds light on the policy parameterization of such hybrid MDPs. Then we modify the widely used natural policy gradient method to directly learn the optimal state feedback control policy for MJLS without identifying either the system dynamics or the transition probability of the switching parameter. We implement the (data-driven) natural policy gradient method on different MJLS examples. Our simulation results suggest that the natural gradient method can efficiently learn the optimal controller for MJLS with unknown dynamics.


The one-dimensional transport of the neutral reactive species in the planar reactor is studied theoretically to draw conclusions on the reactor performance at maximum etching rate. The etching rate is calculated as a function of the reactant flux entering the reactor for various flux densities of desorbing product from the etched surface. An influence of the mutual diffusion of reactant and product on the etching rate is shown together with respective concentrations of reactant and reaction product in the reactor. The theory is compared with experimental results corresponding to etching of aluminium by chlorine. A method of in situ monitoring of the etching rate uniformity is also presented.


2+ The dihydropyridine Ca 2+ channel blockers, previous study demonstrated that the Ca 2+ -sensing receptor (CaSR) was upregulated and the extracellular Ca 2+ -induced increase in [Ca 2+ ] cyt was enhanced in PASMC from patients with IPAH and animals with experimental pulmonary hypertension. Here, we report that the dihydropyridines (eg, nifedipine) increase [Ca 2+ ] cyt by activating CaSR in PASMC from IPAH patients (in which CaSR is upregulated), but not in normal PASMC. in 2+ ] cyt in IPAH-PASMC was concentration dependent with a half maximal effective concentration of 0.20 µ mol/L. Knockdown of CaSR with siRNA in IPAH-PASMC significantly inhibited the nifedipine-induced increase in [Ca 2+ ] cyt , whereas overexpression of CaSR in normal PASMC conferred the nifedipine-induced rise in [Ca 2+ ] cyt . Other dihydropyridines, nicardipine and Bay K8644, had similar augmenting effects on the CaSR-mediated increase in [Ca 2+ ] cyt in IPAH-PASMC; however, the nondihydropyridine blockers, such as diltiazem and verapamil, had no effect on the CaSR-mediated rise in [Ca 2+ ] cyt . Conclusions: The dihydropyridine derivatives increase [Ca 2+ ] cyt by potentiating the activity of CaSR in PASMC independently of their blocking (or activating) effect on Ca 2+ channels; therefore, it is possible that the use of dihydropyridine Ca 2+ channel blockers (eg, nifedipine) to treat IPAH patients with upregulated CaSR in PASMC may exacerbate pulmonary hypertension. ( Circ Res . 2013;4:640-650.) is upregulated IPAH-PASMC, contrib-uting to enhanced Ca signaling and PASMC


S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) is expressed and released by adipocytes, and is positively correlated with body mass index, however, the direct effects of S100B on adipocytes remain unclear. Bone marrow‑derived mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes, which is important for bone metabolism. The current study aimed to determine the effect of S100B on adipogenesis and osteogenesis. The mouse embryo cell line C3H/10T1/2 was used to build cell models with varying levels of S100B protein expression. Western blot analysis was performed to assess the expression of various marker proteins. Oil red O staining and alizarin red S staining were used to detect adipogenesis and osteogenesis, respectively. S100B overexpression was associated with a significant increase in oil red O staining and a significant reduction in alizarin red S staining. Runt‑related transcription factor‑2 and bone morphogenetic protein 2 expression levels were significantly increased in the S100B underexpression group, however not in the S100B overexpression group. By contrast, the expression levels of the adipogenesis markers peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor γ and CCAAT‑enhancer‑binding protein α was significantly increased in the S100B overexpression group, however not in the S100B underexpression group. Osteogenesis stimulation increased extracellular signal‑regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, and adipogenesis stimulation increased c‑Jun N‑terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation. The results suggest that S100B inhibits osteogenesis, however stimulates adipogenesis. The ERK pathway is involved in the regulation of osteogenesis, whereas the JNK pathway is involved in the regulation of adipogenesis.


This paper presents an integrated monitoring system for the driver and the vehicle in a single case of study easy to configure and replicate. On-board vehicle sensors and remote sensors are combined to model algorithms for estimating polluting emissions, fuel consumption, driving style and driver's health. The main contribution of this paper is the analysis of interactions among the above monitored features highlighting the influence of the driver in the vehicle performance and vice versa. This analysis was carried out experimentally using one vehicle with different drivers and routes and implemented on a mobile application. Compared to commercial driver and vehicle monitoring systems, this approach is not customized, uses classical sensor measurements, and is based on simple algorithms that have been already proven but not in an interactive environment with other algorithms. In the procedure design of this global vehicle and driver monitoring system, a principal component analysis was carried out to reduce the variables used in the training/testing algorithms with objective to decrease the transfer data via Bluetooth between the used devices: a biometric wristband, a smartphone and the vehicle's central computer. Experimental results show that the proposed vehicle and driver monitoring system predicts correctly the fuel consumption index in 84%, the polluting emissions 89%, and the driving style 89%. Indeed, interesting correlation results between the driver's heart condition and vehicular traffic have been found in this analysis.


Background Hepatitis C (HCV) infection is associated with musculoskeletal manifestations such as chronic widespread pain (CWP), sicca syndrome, polyarthritis and a reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Little data is available on the effect of treatment on these manifestations. This study measured changes in extra hepatic symptoms before and after antiviral treatment in a large UK patient cohort. Objectives – Investigate whether HRQOL and rheumatological symptoms are associated, or improve following antiviral therapy. – Investigate whether improvement is dependent on sustained viral response (SVR) after treatment. Methods 118 patients with HCV completed standard antiviral treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin and answered the hepatitis quality of life questionnaire (HQLQ) and a survey of symptoms affecting the spine, muscles, bones and joints before treatment and six months after finishing treatment. Outcome measures included presence/absence of CWP according to Manchester criteria, pain-intensity and life-impact scored on a visual analogue scale (VAS), and sicca symptoms using the Vitali questionnaire. Pre and Post treatment results were compared and tested against patient demographic data and serological markers such as presence/absence of sustained viral response (SVR) to treatment and rheumatoid factor. Results There was a significant improvement in 6 out of 12 HQLQ domains: Physical-functioning, Physical-disability, Social-functioning, Limitations and Health-distress due to hepatitis, and General-health. There was a significant decline in Positive well-being, Health-distress, and Mental-health, and no significant change in Body-pain, Motivation, or Vitality. After treatment there was a significant decline in CWP (26.3% of patients pre-treatment vs. 15.3% post, p=0.015), pain for more than three months (64.4% pre vs. 53.4% post, p=0.041), and agreeing with the statement "I ache all over" (23.7% pre vs. 13.6% post, p=0.029). Having CWP pre-treatment was significantly associated with worse pre-treatment pain intensity (5.7/10 with vs. 2.7/10 without, p>0.001) and Life-impact (5.0/10 vs. 2.1/10, p>0.001), though the average VAS pain scores and number of painful joints did not fall significantly post-treatment. Having CWP pre-treatment was significantly associated with worse scores in all HQLQ domains except Vitality, Health Distress, and Positive well being. A disappearance of CWP post-treatment was significantly associated with improvement in the Body-pain HQLQ domain (15.4 points better if CWP disappears vs. 4.28 better if CWP stays, p=0.037). There was an association between acheiving SVR and improvement in both HQLQ scores, and CWP, but these were not significant. There was a low number of patients with sicca symptoms, which fell without significance post-treatment (12.7% pre vs. 11% post), and was not associated with SVR. Conclusions Antiviral therapy significantly improves HRQOL and CWP symptoms in HCV patients, independently of SVR. In our sample, CWP was prevalent and demonstrably associated with HRQOL, but not fully accounted for by cryoglobulinaemia. Sicca symptoms were unaffected by treatment. Although a viral role in CWP cannot be deduced by these results, the impact of antiviral therapy on physical and social aspects of HRQOL is positive regardless. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


OBJECTIVE
To study correlation between urinary retinol binding protein (RBP) content and renal tubular damage.

METHODS
A total of 1 353 healthy people and 186 patients with renal tubular damage diagnosed by renal biopsy were enrolled. The indicators such as endogenous creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), creatinine(Cr), urinary retinol binding protein(RBP), urinary β(2)-microglobulin(β(2)-MG), urinary N-acety1-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), urine specific gravity(SG), urine osmolality of the 2 groups were examined and compared. Score of tubulointerstitial impairing and all indicators were analyzed by Spearman rank correlation analysis, and the sensitivity and specificity of indicators were calculated.

RESULTS
Renal tubular damage was positively correlated with urinary RBP, β2-MG, NAG (r=0.863, P<0.001; r=0.777, P<0.001; r=0.374, P=0.002, respectively), while negatively correlated with urine osmolaling, SG (r=-0.519, P<0.001; r=-0.624, P<0.001, respectively). The specificity and sensitivity for renal tubular damage of RBP were 91.03% and 72.06%.

CONCLUSION
RBP is an idea marker for renal tubular damage, and is useful to diagnose renal tubular damage and assess the extent of the damage.


Elucidation of the motor recovery mechanisms in stroke patients is important because such information could provide the scientific basis for stroke rehabilitation. The motor recovery mechanism after stroke, however, has not yet been clearly elucidated, but several suggested mechanisms have been proposed. These include the ipsilateral motor pathway from the unaffected motor cortex to the affected hand, peri-lesional reorganization, the recovery of a damaged lateral corticospinal tract, and contribution of the secondary motor area. Additionally, little is known about the motor recovery mechanism for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, for locomotor recovery, and for damage at the subcortical level. Therefore, we suggest that further research should be focused on the elucidation of motor recovery mechanisms in relation to the above topics. In the current study, we tried to review the literatures about the motor recovery mechanisms of the patients with stroke.


In an oil hydraulic vane pump for an automobile, it is very important that the vane doesn't separate from the camring inner race during the operation of the vane pump. The vane generally has not only the oil hydraulic force acting on the bottom face to contact to camring inner race but there is also an inertial force and viscous force. Because the oil hydraulic force is much larger than the other forces, the contact state between the vane tip and the camring inner race is sufficient. However, the contact state between the vane tip and the camring inner race is only affected by the inertial and viscous forces during the delivery of the vane pump, because the oil hydraulic force acting on the vane is in equilibrium. If the inertial force is larger than the viscous force, which happens when the vane is separated from the camring inner race, the delivery of the vane pump can become unstable or the volume efficiency can become decrease rapidly. Therefore, in this paper, the state of the contact between the vane and the camring is considered. The results show that the rotating speed of the shaft, the operating temperature of the oil, the clearance between the vane and the rotor, and the mass of the vane exert a great influence on the state of the contact between the vane and the camring.


This paper focuses on Byakudan-nuri, one of the traditional decoration techniques of Japanese Urushi (Urushi natural lacquer) crafts. Works produced by Byakudan-nuri express a unique luster color owing to painting gold or silver leaves along with highly transparent Urushi. The specific problem of Byakudan-nuri is the exfoliation of Urushi off the metal leaf surface, to solve a lot of repair work which is done nowadays. For Byakudan-nuri, silver leaf is preferred to a gold leaf. This paper tries to clarify the influence of the different kinds of metal leaves on the appearance and peel strength of works of Byakudan-nuri and, moreover, to elucidate the reason why silver leaf has been used more frequently for Byakudan-nuri until now. It was found out that the reason for the more frequent use of silver leaf in Byakudan-nuri is that silver does not seem to affect the appearance and peel strength in works produced by this technique.


The way a AGV in each zone in tandem AGV (Automated Guided Vehicles) systems handles the local request for transport while schedules effectively the global request for transport involving the pickup/delivery operation at the transfer point by cooperating a AGV in other zone, affect the traveling time of the AGV (and thus energy consumption), as well as the waiting time of each node in the system. So far, almost all studies on tandem AGV systems focus on the optimal number of partitioned zones (and thus the number of AGVs), the optimal location of nodes into zones, the optimal location of transfer points between each two zones, the design of AGV's direction to minimize the total handling flow or the traveling distance of AGV in each zone. This study presented a novel scheduling approach to effectively deal with global and local request by minimizing the total traveling time within the individual zone and the waiting time at the transfer points between zones based on the cooperating control of multi-agent. The proposed approach is verified at the AGV system for book printing process as the real-world experiment and it is showed that the scheduling for multi-agent based tandem AGV system is effective


Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot features leitmotifs as devices to induce the repetitiveness that is usually inherent in absurdist plays. Previous research, which included analysis of leitmotifs in a literary text, viewed leitmotifs as formalistic elements and such research seldom delved into their conceptual implications in regard to the text. This paper aims to provide insight into this opening by analyzing the leitmotifs used in Waiting for Godot. The purpose is to find out how these leitmotifs are used to convey and underscore some of the key concepts or ideas of the play. The theoretical lens is provided by the philosophy of absurdism, and some conceptual understandings of hope/hopelessness and colour/colourlessness aid in this regard as well. Findings from the discourse analysis of the text's leitmotifs have been viewed in light of such theoretical and conceptual understandings to reach an assessment of how the leitmotifs assist in the play's conveying of these ideas. This paper's analysis of the leitmotifs of Waiting for Godot shows that - these leitmotifs highlight the text's prominent and cyclical states of waiting and going as well as emphasize the exhibited futile natures of fate and sleep, and by such association, they enhance the portrayal of, in addition to bringing elevated focus on, the play's depiction of the absurdity, hopelessness and colourlessness pervasive in the world of the 'absurd'.


The need for improved wear and abrasion resistant steels for components in advanced fossil energy conversion systems is described. Desirable combinations of mechanical properties for these components are enumerated. A critical component, coal feeders, in coal gasification plants requires adequate room temperature toughness and high strength at both room and moderately elevated temperatures. Through modification of both composition and heat treatment, it has been shown that commercial secondary hardening matrix steels are promising candidates for this application. It is further shown that improvements can be achieved by the synthesis of new secondary hardening steels. A key feature of the design of these steels is the suppression, by composition control, of solid-state tempering reactions that (in commercial secondary hardening steels) lead to inadequate toughness. In other components for advanced coal technology, hot strength is not required but hardness and impact strength are. Modified medium-alloy, ultra-high-strength steels are described with combinations of strength and toughness achievable only in the high-alloy (and expensive) maraging steels.


There is a need for methods that can help predict and avoid fatigue failures of silicon nitride ceramic components. The fatigue threshold R-curve has been proposed as potential solution to this problem. In this study, the fatigue threshold R-curve for small, semielliptical surface cracks was calculated for a silicon nitride ceramic using the published bridging stress distribution developed from fatigue threshold tests on macroscopic crack specimens. To test the accuracy of the endurance strengths predicted using the fatigue threshold R-curve, fatigue tests were conducted using four-point bend beams of silicon nitride containing semielliptical surface cracks introduced by Knoop indentation. The effectiveness of the methodology was verified; indeed, 77% of the beams tested at stress levels above the predicted endurance strength failed within 107 cycles and 0% of the beams tested below the predicted endurance strength failed within 107 cycles. Furthermore, using the bridging stress distribution, which is thought to be a material property, the need for prohibitively difficult fatigue threshold experiments on small surface cracks is avoided. Accordingly, this methodology is potentially quite practical for use in the engineering design of ceramic mechanical components.


MAMMARY mTOR ACTIVITY DURING INTRAVENOUS GLUCOSE INFUSIONS INTO LACTATING DAIRY COWS Richelle V. Curtis Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Professor John P. Cant The effects of glucose on milk protein yield and mammary mTOR activity were studied in eight multiparous early lactation Holstein cows fed a TMR with 40% NDF content. Treatments were jugular infusions of either physiological saline (SAL) or approximately 900 g/d glucose (GLC) in a cross over design for two 6 d periods during which blood, milk and mammary tissue were sampled. GLC infusion increased plasma insulin but did not significantly increase plasma glucose and only tended to increase milk protein yields. NEAA and BCAA plasma concentrations significantly increased and decreased, respectively, with GLC treatments. Furthermore, reduction of the phosphorylation state of mTOR signalling protein 4EBP1, as well as reduction of total and phosphorylated S6K1 abundances resulted from the infusion of GLC. The expected increase in milk protein synthesis due to glucose infusion was not observed, presumably because protein synthesis was stimulated in muscle tissue rather than the mammary glands.


The purpose of this paper is to give a brief introduction to simulation languages. The paper contains a discussion on the hierarchy of computer languages and their relation to simulation, the advantages and disadvantages of using simulation languages, factors to consider when selecting a language, and some of the characteristics of the three most popular discrete simulation languages. A more thorough treatment of simulation languages and their use are contained in [2], [4], and [10].
 A significant portion of the effort in any simulation study is in programming the model to run on a digital computer. This programming occurs after the model has been defined. The selection of the language should, in general, be done prior to developing the model to be programmed because (i) there must be a comptibility between how the system is modeled and the computer language used and (ii) some simulation languages aid in the modelling process. The language selected is usually a general purpose language (higher level language) or a simulation language.


Since the 1970s, two major trends have emerged among developing countries: the rise of new democracies and the rush to free trade. For some, the confluence of these events suggests that a free-market economy complements a fledgling democracy. Others argue that the two are inherently incompatible and that exposure to economic globalization actually jeopardizes new democracies. Which view is correct? Bumba Mukherjee argues that the reality of how democracy and trade policy unravel in developing countries is more nuanced than either account. Mukherjee offers the first comprehensive cross-national framework for identifying the specific economic conditions that influence trade policy in developing countries. Laying out the causes of variation in trade policy in four developing or recently developed countries—Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa—he argues persuasively that changing political interactions among parties, party leaders, and the labor market are often key to trade policy outcome. For instance, if workers are in a position to benefit from opening up to trade, party leaders in turn support trade reforms by decreasing tariffs and other trade barriers. At a time when discussions about the stability of new democracies are at the forefront, Democracy and Trade Policy in Developing Countries provides invaluable insight into the conditions needed for a democracy to survive in the developing world in the context of globalization.


This study explored social justice education literature to argue for greater emphasis on equity and diversity courses in teacher education. Global migration has changed the demographics of Western schools, which more than ever are racially, sexually, and culturally diverse, requiring well-prepared teacher candidates who can support their future students' diverse needs. The author argues that teacher candidates exposed to in-depth social justice, equity, and diversity courses will develop competencies to help them better understand and apply the concepts of social justice, equity, and diversity. Also, teacher candidates will better understand students' academic progress, the teacher's role as an agent of change in the classroom, and students' heightened awareness of power, privilege, and oppression. Keywords : social justice, education, teacher candidates, diversity, equity


Internet of Things (IoT) is the most emerging field in Information Technology. IoT will make real-world objects into virtual objects and allows them to be sensed remotely. The IoT biological community is changing and getting to be appealing over a more extensive scope of controls, consequently their development in prevalent innovation. Security and protection are the key issues for IoT applications and still face some huge difficulties. Pervasive IoT gadgets have genuine security suggestions as they happen in extensive numbers, are topographically dispersed and can be hard to physically verify. These gadgets may contain touchy or economically profitable information making them appealing to different types of assault. It is discovered that a large portion of the gadgets is defenseless against assaults on hardware, firmware as well as web interface level. In this paper, vulnerabilities due to Insufficient Security Configurability, Insecure Firmware, Security Misconfiguration of IoT devices, recommendations for those vulnerabilities and an approach to reproduce those attacks is explained so as to provide better security to IoT Devices.


There is widespread belief that the high interest rates of the 1980s and 1990s in the developed world have been caused by high budget deficits. Yet, there is no conclusive evidence to support such a belief. This book systematically examines this and other questions relating to the behaviour of real interest rates in eleven developed countries. The results show that generalizations across the countries can be hazardous and strongly suggests that factors specific to individual countries are still of vital importance.


Message passing is a useful abstraction for implementing concurrent programs.
For real-world systems, however, it is often combined with other programming
and concurrency paradigms, such as higher-order functions, mutable state,
shared-memory concurrency, and locks. We present Actris: a logic for proving
functional correctness of programs that use a combination of the aforementioned
features. Actris combines the power of modern concurrent separation logics with
a first-class protocol mechanism -- based on session types -- for reasoning
about message passing in the presence of other concurrency paradigms. We show
that Actris provides a suitable level of abstraction by proving functional
correctness of a variety of examples, including a channel-based merge sort, a
channel-based load-balancing mapper, and a variant of the map-reduce model,
using concise specifications. While Actris was already presented in a
conference paper (POPL'20), this paper expands the prior presentation
significantly. Moreover, it extends Actris to Actris 2.0 with a notion of
subprotocols -- based on session-type subtyping -- that permits additional
flexibility when composing channel endpoints, and that takes full advantage of
the asynchronous semantics of message passing in Actris. Soundness of Actris
2.0 is proven using a model of its protocol mechanism in the Iris framework. We
have mechanised the theory of Actris, together with custom tactics, as well as
all examples in the paper, in the Coq proof assistant.


With more than one hundred years of history, the auto industry has entered a new business environment. Several mega trends will continuously sharpen auto industry in the future. These mega trends can be identified as over-capacity in developed markets, rising of emerging markets, globalization, technology advances, regulation and environmental consideration, and market fragmentation and product proliferation. To cope with these new business challenges, OEMs and their suppliers are striving to build up scale by consolidation and globalization, accelerating their pace to launch new products, utilizing platform and modularity strategy. They also emphasize their supply network management, develop technology off-line, and apply lean engineering and production. In this paper, a top-down approach is used to identify the evolution of reliability engineering in auto industry. To support auto industry business strategy, reliability engineering will move from Tool-Based, to Process-Oriented, and then to Principle-Centered. The focus of reliability engineering will also shift from reliability demonstration (measuring reliability) to reliability development (making reliability). Reliability engineering will evolve from verification driven, to requirements driven, then to customer driven, and finally to value driven. Accompanying this paradigm shift, more and more efforts will be invested in the earlier stages of product development when the decision-making has most impact on product reliability. In parallel, reliability engineering will more and more emphasize on system and multi-disciplinary (mechanical, hydraulic, electric and electronic, software and etc.) integration, life cycle ownership cost, and supply network management.


Diagnostic and therapy of acid-base disturbances are based today on so called blood-gas measurements. Recent research shows that these data can only give exact information about the acid-base status of the extracellular body compartment and that the more important intracellular space which is the aim of our clinical efforts is excluded from these measurements and still remains obscure for the clinician. Recent results could demonstrate that the arterial PO2 does not necessarily correlate with intracellular O2 tension. pH another parameter of the blood-gas analysis seems to behave in a similar way. Results, obtained with the DMO-method, an indicator distribution method for determination of the intracellular pH, are presented which show that simple interpretation of blood-gas analysis can lead to wrong conclusions and mistakes in therapy.


This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin content in soil under different cover crops with and without the application of nitrogen in the cover. The following cover plants were used: Crotalaria juncea (Crotalaria juncea L.), wild beans from Ceará (Canavalia brasiliensis Mart. ex Benth.), Guandú 'BRS mandarin' [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], millet 'BR05' [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.] and sorghum 'BR 304' [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. The absolute control of the experiment was the treatment without the use of cover crops, that is, the vegetation of spontaneous occurrence in the area. The experimental design was randomized blocks in subplots with three replications. Spore density, mycorrhizal colonization rate, easily extractable glomalin, and species present in the rhizosphere of the cover crops were determined. No differences were found in the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the different cover crops studied or in the values of spore density, root colonization, or glomalin content. Nitrogen application did not influence the mycorrhizal activity in the investigated cover crops. The most frequent species associated with cover crops were Scutellospora pellucida and Scutellospora persica in C. juncea; Gigaspora sp. on Sorghum; Glomus macrocarpum in Guandu; G. macrocarpum and Glomus clavisporum in millet; and Glomus microaggregatum and Glomus tortuosum in Spontaneous Vegetation.


Living (stained) benthic foraminifera were studied in the deepest part (116 m) of the classical marine study area, the Gullmar Fjord on the Swedish west coast. This is a silled fjord with a strongly stratified water column where stagnant conditions temporarily develop in the deeper parts. The aim of this study is to determine how the living foraminiferal assemblage develops with seasonal variations in bottom water hydrography and primary production in the surface water. From August 1993 to December 1994, monthly hydrographic and oxygen measurements were made. Parallel undisturbed sediment cores were taken using a Multiple-corer. Foraminifera from the >63 μm fraction were stained with Rose Bengal to separate living from dead specimens. Monthly values of the surface water chlorophyll a content were also available and give a measure of the primary production. During spring 1994 the dominant foraminiferal species, Stainforthia fusiformis, multiplied its population size by seven times during one month as a consequence of food input from the spring phytoplankton bloom. The abundance of this species correlates positively with the surface water chlorophyll a content. Populations of several other species also increased during the spring of 1994. A deep-water inflow in February 1994 may have triggered reproduction of several foraminiferal species, recognized as a temporary population decline. We also compared our results with Hoglund's (1947) foraminiferal study, performed in the same area in the summer of 1927. We found that a major alteration trending towards a more opportunistic low oxygen tolerant fauna has occurred since then.


Circulating malignant Sezary cells are a clonal proliferation of CD4+CD45RO+ T lymphocytes primarily involving the skin. To study the biology of these malignant T lymphocytes, we tested their ability to migrate in chemotaxis assays. Previously, we had shown that the neuropeptide neurotensin (NT) binds to freshly isolated Sezary malignant cells and induces through NT1 receptors the cell migration of the cutaneous T cell lymphoma cell line Cou-L. Here, we report that peripheral blood Sezary cells as well as the Sezary cell line Pno fail to migrate in response to neurotensin although they are capable of migrating to the chemokine stromal-cell-derived factor 1 alpha. This is in contrast with normal circulating CD4+ or CD8+ lymphocytes, which respond to both types of chemoattractants except after ex vivo short-time anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody activation, which abrogates the neurotensin-induced lymphocyte migration. Furthermore, we demonstrate that neurotensin-responsive T lymphocytes express the functional NT1 receptor responsible for chemotaxis. In these cells, but not in Sezary cells, neurotensin induces recruitment of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, and redistribution of phosphorylated cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase focal adhesion kinase and filamentous actin. Taken together, these results, which show functional distinctions between normal circulating lymphocytes and Sezary syndrome cells, contribute to further understanding of the physiopathology of these atypical cells.


Good corporate management will determine the development of a company. In addition, the necessary production planning is also required to achieve maximum profit. This study uses data from PTP Nusantara XIV (Persero) Awaya Garden, Teluk Elpaputih, Maluku Province Indonesia, which is engaged in the production of raw rubber. This research uses Fuzzy Mamdani method to predict the amount of rubber production based on the demand data, inventory and production of rubber per day in April 2016. From the research result obtained the exact amount of rubber production with the percentage of truth value equal to 87,83% and the resultant error is 12,17%.Keywords : Demand, Fuzzy Logic Mamdani Method, Inventory, Production.


Background : Prune Belly Syndrome is a rare congenital disorder comprising deficient anterior abdominal musculature, undescended testes and urinary tract abnormalities. In Nigeria, the incidence is unknown but majority of the few reported cases were seen in the South west region of the country. Despite its poor prognosis, a coordinated multidisciplinary management may prevent early mortality. Case Report : We report a 6-week old male infant brought to our health facility with the complaints of abdominal distension and abnormal feet since birth. Physical examination revealed a lax anterior abdominal wall, undescended testes, as well as bilateral talipes equinovarus. Radiologic evaluation showed urinary tract abnormalities such as dilated left ureter and pelvis and right multi-cystic, dysplastic kidney. The patient was treated with the appropriate antibiotic for culture-proven urinary tract infection after which he was referred to the Paediatric Surgeons. Few weeks after his discharge by the Paediatric Surgeons for subsequent follow-up in their clinic, the patient's sudden demise at home was reported to us. Conclusion : The sudden mortality of this infant has brought to the fore the gaps in treatment which could have affected his longevity. This report underscores the need for a coordinated multidisciplinary approach in the management of this rare congenital anomaly in order to improve survival outcome in a resource-limited setting.


Amensalism may be common between non-trophically linked animals in natural ecosystems, where variation among species in body sizes and foraging modes may give rise to one-sided interference. However, species and ecosystem-level consequences of animal-animal amensalism are largely unknown. In a Tibetan alpine meadow, dominant herbivorous grasshoppers trigger a death feigning anti-predator response of co-occurring grassland caterpillars despite posing no consumptive threat. We hypothesized that: 1) grasshoppers reduce the performance of caterpillars while incurring no cost to themselves; and 2) this amensalism reduces top-down control of plant composition and biomass. We tested these hypotheses by factorial manipulation of both herbivores within replicate field enclosures. Grasshoppers significantly suppressed caterpillar feeding, growth rate, survival, reproductive effort and delayed metamorphosis. In contrast, grasshopper performance was unaffected by the caterpillars. Suppression of caterpillar feeding decreased overall herbivore suppression of plant biomass by 58% and shifted the functional composition of the plant community (i.e. increased sedge: forb ratio). These results suggest that consideration of non-trophic interactions such as amensalism will help predict the consequences of species losses for the structure and functioning of ecosystems.


Concern regarding secular trend of declining age of menarche has increased in the last few decades. Prevalence of childhood and adolescents obesity in Indonesia has also increased lately while some studies suggest that increased body mass index associates with the early onset of puberty which known to be the risk factor of many health problems. This study aims to investigate whether age of menarche is associated with body mass index in adolescents in Palembang. Sample of this cross sectional designed study was elementary and junior high school girls from 8 schools in Palembang taken with stratified random sampling. A total of 388 respondents met the inclusion criteria. Age of menarche and body mass index got from the questionnaire and anthropometric examination were analysed using Chisquare test. Out of 388 respondents, 49.5% experienced menarche at the earlier age than the mean age of menarche of 12.36 years and 20.1% were classified as overweight and obese. The average menarcheal age of overweight and obese respondents was earlier than those classified as normal and underweight. This study proved that there is a highly significant association between age of menarche and body mass index with the p-value of 0.000 (Chi-square test). There is a highly significant association between body mass index during peripubertal period and the age of menarche. Strict monitoring on body mass index of elementary and junior high school girls is necessary to prevent early puberty.


The election of the Scottish National party as a majority government in 2011 is as challenging to the British state as it was unexpected. While explanations for SNP success focused on Labour's faulty campaign and poor leadership, the last half-century has seen the rise and rise of the nationalist agenda in Scotland. Scotland's politics are now more different from England's than at any time since the 1950s. The Scottish parliament is the effect of that change rather than its cause, while party competition between Labour and the SNP north of the border has shifted political gravity centre-left in contrast with England. It is not inevitable, however, that Scots would vote for Independence in a referendum. Nevertheless, Scotland is a more semi-detached country than at any point in the history of the Union, and the future of the British state, at least in its present form, cannot be taken for granted.


Magnitude estimation, a technique developed by psychology for obtaining ratio scaled values, was used to derive risk-income preferences of ninety-one central Indiana farmers. Both variability-income and bankruptcy-income measures were developed and related to farmers' socio-economic attributes. Wealth and education had limited effects compared with off-farm employment, percent debt and expected levels of income, percent debt and net worth growth. Magnitude estimation provided reliable estimates of preferences. Farmers gave greater importance to the bankruptcy-income measure of risk-income preferences, but only a small portion of the variation of either measure could be explained.


Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related death. It is commonly diagnosed at an advanced stage, when no curative options exist. Over the last decade, combination chemotherapy has shown a survival benefit compared with single-agent gemcitabine and has become established as first-line therapy in metastatic pancreatic cancer. The choice of frontline regimen, which is based on clinical factors, plays an important role in subsequent management. Limited second-line standard therapeutic options are available. Studies have not definitively established that chemotherapy with a fluoropyramidine (5-fluorouracil or capecitabine), gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, or a combination of oxaliplatin and irinotecan improves patient survival after the failure of first-line chemotherapy. Nanoliposomal irinotecan has been approved for use in patients who have progressive disease while on gemcitabine-based treatment. Although combination chemotherapy is associated with a modest survival benefit, this comes at the expense of increased toxicity and costs. Furthermore, the optimal sequencing of these agents in subsequent lines of treatment is unknown. Randomized controlled trials provide little evidence of greater benefit from second-line therapy compared with best supportive care alone. Therefore, treatment decisions should be patient-centered and based on functional status, medical comorbidities, and anticipated adverse effects. The clinical context and prior treatment-related toxicities have a significant influence on the choice of optimal salvage treatment. We review the published data focused on second-line treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer.


In Traite d'economie politique and Cours complet d'economie politique, Jean-Baptiste Say develops a critical argumentation with regard to corporations and other industrial regulations. According to Say, these regulations are barriers to entrepreneurial freedom and the progress of the arts. They are almost always tools of both individual and collective oppression, as well as sources of numerous economic, social, and political ills. In this article, we detail Say's argumentation in opposition to corporations, and show that it is part of a more general framework, that of the influence of institutions on the economy of societies and of machines on commerce. His critical analysis allows for the introduction of his conception of the necessary liberation of productive forces, which assumes the creation of a framework that is favorable to entrepreneurial freedom and the blossoming of productive forces (machines), which are the foundations of his political economy. JEL Codes : A11, B12, B30, K11, N01, P14, P16


This review is concerned with the modes of radioactivity and some other nuclear physics phenomena discovered comparatively a short time ago or long ago but simply less familiar that have something extraordinary about them either in terms of properties or in terms of observation (rare or even 'forbidden' occurrence, serendipitous discovery posing observational or interpretation challenges, requiring unique experimentation, or exotic in some other manner). The history of the discovery of such phenomena is presented, and their significance is discussed.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal cancers around the world. Precision oncology will be crucial for further improving the prognosis of HCC patients. Compared with traditional bulk RNA-seq, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables the transcriptomes of a great deal of individual cells assayed in an unbiased manner, showing the potential to deeply reveal tumor heterogeneity. In this study, based on the scRNA-seq results of primary neoplastic cells and paired normal liver cells from eight HCC patients, a new strategy of machine learning algorithms was applied to screen core biomarkers that distinguished HCC tumor tissues from the adjacent normal liver. Expression profiles of HCC cells and normal liver cells were first analyzed by maximum relevance minimum redundancy (mRMR) to get a top 50 signature gene feature. For further analysis, the incremental feature selection (IFS) method and leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) were conducted to build an optimal classification model and to extract 21 potentially essential biomarkers for HCC cells. Our results provided new insights into HCC pathogenesis that might be valuable for HCC diagnosis and therapy.


This paper describes an algorithm for computing the maximal set of XML functional dependencies (XFD) that is guaranteed to hold across a set of local systems, each with its own defined set of XFD. Our method is based on an axiom system that we have proved to be sound and complete. An implementation demonstrates its feasibility.


Abstract Autologous and allogeneic bone grafts remain the gold standard for repairing bone defects. However, donor shortages and postoperative infections contribute to unsatisfactory treatment outcomes. Tissue engineering technology that utilizes biologically active composites to accelerate the healing and reconstruction of segmental bone defects has led to new ideas for in situ bone repair. Multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogels were constructed by covalently binding silver (Ag+) core-embedded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Ag@MSN) to bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), which was encapsulated into silk fibroin methacryloyl (SilMA) and photo-crosslinked to form an Ag@MSN-BMP-2/SilMA hydrogel to preserve the biological activity of BMP-2 and slow its release. More importantly, multifunctional Ag+-containing nanocomposite hydrogels showed antibacterial properties. These hydrogels possessed synergistic osteogenic and antibacterial effects to promote bone defect repair. Ag@MSN-BMP-2/SilMA exhibited good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo owing to its interconnected porosity and improved hydrophilicity. Furthermore, the multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogel showed controllable sustained-release activity that promoted bone regeneration in repairing rat skull defects by inducing osteogenic differentiation and neovascularization. Overall, Ag@MSN-BMP-2/SilMA hydrogels enrich bone regeneration strategies and show great potential for bone regeneration.