Background: In neonates, securing femoral arterial access is challenging
and time consuming even in experienced hands. Data on frequency and risk
factors of ALAP and PFAO are scarce in neonates with CHD. We
investigated frequency and risk factors of acute loss of the arterial
pulse (ALAP) and permanent femoral arterial occlusion (PFAO) in neonates
with congenital heart disease (CHD) underwent ultrasound˗guided femoral
arterial access (US˗GFAA). Methods: We divided the patients into groups
according to the presence of ALAP and PFAO. We obtained data related to
patient characteristics and access variables of US˗GFAA from our
database of pediatric cardiac catheterization between August 2017 and
May 2021. We used an echocardiography˗S6, 12˗MHz linear probe, 21˗gauge
needle, and a 0.018"guidewire for arterial access. A 4˗French sheath
(7cm) was placed in all patients. Results: US˗GFAA was obtained in
323(98.8%) of the 327 neonates. We identified ALAP in 130(40.2%)
patients and PFAO in 19(5.9%) patients. Median weight was 3.05(IQR:
2.80˗3.40) kg, first attempt success rate was 88.2% and median access
time was 46 sec (IQR: 23˗94). Logistic regression analysis identified
coarctation of the aorta (Odds ratio: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.30˗4.66; P=0.006)
as independent risk factor for ALAP, but did not identify any
independent risk factors for PFAO. Conclusion: This study showed that
coarctation of the aorta is an independent risk factor for ALAP in
neonates with CHD underwent US˗GFAA and placed a 4˗French sheath.
Although most cases of ALAP resolve in the early period, the frequency
of PFOA remains high despite effective treatment.


Purpose

– This study aims to examine whether the integrated reports prepared in accordance with the King III Code of corporate governance regulation are providing the information intended of an integrated report, i.e. to communicate the "ability of an organisation to create and sustain value". Second, it explains the behaviour of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) when responding to the regulation to publish an integrated report. The King III Code of corporate governance requires companies listed on the JSE to prepare annually an integrated report or provide reasons for not doing so.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses legitimacy theory to formulate two alternative propositions on how JSE-listed companies may disclose information relating to a number of capitals, as described by the International Integrated Reporting Committee, in response to the King III Code. Annual/integrated reports of the top 25 JSE listed companies for the years 2009/2010 and 2011/2012 are content-analysed for the presence of information on capitals. The change in the extent of disclosure of capitals is analysed using t-tests to test the propositions.

Findings

– The results show that the introduction of integrated reporting in South Africa has resulted in an increase in the extent of disclosure of human, social and relational, natural and intellectual capital information of the listed companies. The increment in the disclosure of social and relational capital is statistically significantly greater than the increment in the disclosure of other capitals. The findings indicate that JSE-listed companies are adopting a legitimation strategy based on symbolic management when preparing integrated reports.

Practical implications

– This study sheds light on the relevance of regulating corporate reporting within a setting where companies are already voluntarily reporting on social, environmental, human, intellectual and natural capital information. Findings have implications for policymakers who have mandated or considering mandating integrated reporting. To the South African policymakers, in particular, this study highlights the need for incorporating, within the listing rules, minimum requirements in relation to the nature and content of an integrated report.

Originality/value

– This paper provides the first initial evidence on the impact of the introduction of integrated reporting regulation, followed by limited guidance to preparers, on the nature and extent of disclosure of capitals. This study extends the work of Solomon and Maroun (2012) by explaining disclosure practices of South African-listed companies in relation to information on relational, human and intellectual capital.


The Einstein theory of general relativity reduces as a first approximation to the old Newtonian theory and provides a satisfactory amount of such small effects as the notion of the perihelion of Mercury and the gravitational deflection of light. The greatest triumph of the theory, however, is that the field equations themselves determine the notion of an n-particle system - as a first approximation the Newtonian attraction. In this way the separate concepts of matter, field and field - matter interaction are not distinct in general relativity. Unified field theory seeks to extend general relativity so that other force fields such as electromagnetism are included in the formalism with gravitation. Such a theory, to be successful, must as a first approximation both reduce to the Newtonian - Maxwell field theories and imply the Newtonian - Lorents equations of motion. The exact form of, or higher approximation to, the field equations would be expected to give deviations from this Maxwell theory just as general relativity deviates from the Newtonian theory. Indeed the electromagnetic and gravitational fields may not be separable except as an approximation. It is reasonable to expect that a unified field theory with these characteristics would increase our understanding of matter and provide an improved basis for a new quantum theory. Taking the so-called affine standpoint one looks for a simple Lagrangian, constructed from the affine connection alone, from which a possable unified field theory can be derived by a variational principle. For a non-symmetric affine connection the simplest Lagrangian seems to be the determinant of a linear combination of the two tensors which result by contracting the curvature tensor. It is found that this Lagrangian gives rise to only two different sets of field equations, one set constituting Schrodinger's theory and the other a new theory, four both sets identify relatlons or conservation laws can be derived and these provide a powerful tool In suggesting possible interpretations of the theories. The next stop is to seee if the approximate form for small fields of either set of field equations contains a subset which could be identified as Maxwell's equations. While Schrodinger's theory is satisfactory on this point the new theory is not and so must be discarded. Schrodinger's a theory contains a factor λ which must be identified as the cosmological constant. From observations of the solar system this constant must be very small. Consequently Schrodinger's theory cannot differ greatly from Einstein's 'weak' theory which may be obtained formally from Schrodinger's by putting λ equal to zero. Also since the conservation law for Schrodinger's theory contains a Lorents term with λ as a multiplicative constant it looks as if the smallness of λ is effectively going to remove electromagnetic effects. This conclusion is supported by the fact that both Einstein's 'weak' and 'strong' theories fail to give equations of motion of a particle system containing force terms other than the gravitational ones. It is difficult to see how Schrodinger's theory with such a small λ could give a significantly different result. All these arguments mean that the new affine theory, Schrodinger's theory, and Einstein's theories each fail to give a satisfactory unified field theory. For the sake of completeness we derive the detail form for the conservation laws of the new theory. These are found to be of similar form as those found by Schrodinger for his theory. Also the solution of Einstein's 'strong' and 'weak' equations for a static spherically symmetric field are discussed. It is known that in the magnetic case (no electric field) whereas the weak equations have solutions corresponding to a magnetic pole with mass, the strong equations require the mass to be zero. An argument is given to show that in the general combined electric-magnetic case the weak equations may allow the presence of an independent mass parameter, whereas the strong equations, as is known, require the mass to be zero. All this has been concerned with a non-symmetric affine connection, Part II of this thesis is concerned with a new theory which involves a symmetric affine connection and a non-symmetric metric tensor. Thus the affine approach, according to which the affine connection alone characterises the structure of space, is discarded. The theory developed has a superficial resemblance to a recent theory of Kurgunoglu but it is far simpler and has a quite different interpretation. The form of the conservation laws not only helps to suggest an interpretation of the theory but also plays a part in the derivation of the field equations themselves. The new theory does in first approximation contoan a Maxwell-like subset. The suggested exact form for Maxwell's equations involves in a complicated way both the gravitational and eleotromagnatic field quantities. The field equations can be solved almost exactly for a static spherically symmetric field and the solutions may be interpreted as a stationary charged particle with mass. A structure parameter is involved and from its influence on the electrostatic field and charge distribution it may be interpreted as the radius of the particle. The gravitational mass of the particle contains a positive contribution which it is reasonable to suppose is the electrostatic energy. For large distances the electrostatic field falls off exponentially and the best models for the elementary particles will depend upon just how slow this fall off must be to fit observation. The theory also requires that in regions where the field is small the currant vector must not vanish since it also acts as the electromagnetic potential. A finite mass for the photon is predicted, the precise value being inversely proportional to the effective range of the electromagnetic field. For ranges of the order of 1000 Km it is approxinately 10 -44 gms. Finally the field equations are found to require a slowly moving n-particle system to be subject to the usual Newtonian - Lorents force terms.


This chapter investigates the expression of associated motion and directional motion in the form of serial verb constructions (SVCs). In a sample of 124 languages with SVCs, 80% have motion SVCs. The most common types are directional SVCs, in which a path-of-motion verb combines with another motion verb, and prior associated motion SVCs expressing motion prior to the activity or state predicated by the other verb in the construction. Concurrent motion and subsequent motion are much less common. In a prior motion SVC, the motion verb nearly always precedes the other verb, and the figure on the path of motion is the subject. In a directional SVC, the path-of-motion verb nearly always follows the other verb, and the grammatical function of the figure on the path of motion can vary according to the semantics of the main verb in the construction.


Attributed to the unique topological complexity and elegant beauty, Borromean systems are attracting intense attention. However, at present, the construction of Borromean linked organic polymers remains a challenge. To address this formidable challenge, we developed a supramolecular-synthon-driven approach to fabricate Borromean linked organic polymer. The solvothermal condensation reaction of a judiciously selected trigonal pyramidal building block, 1,3,5-Tris(4-aminophenyl)adamantane, with linear dialdehyde building blocks allowed the construction of two rare covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with high crystallinity and robustness. Structure refinement unveiled the successful formation of entangled 2D➙2D Borromean arrayed structures. Both the two COFs were of microporosity and thus demonstrated the potentials for gas separation. The successful synthesis of the first two Borromean linked organic polymers paves the avenue to expand the supramolecular-synthon-driven approach to other building blocks and topologies, and broadens the family and scope of COFs.


This report provides an assessment of recent investigations into endocrine disruption in fresh and saltwater species of fish. Most work to date has concen-trated on reproductive endocrine disruption. Laboratory studies have shown a variety of synthetic and natural chemicals including certain industrial intermediates, PAHs, PCBs, pesticides, dioxins, trace elements and plant sterols can interfere with the endocrine system in fish. The potency of most of these chemicals, however, is typically hundreds to thousands of times less than that of endog-enous hormones. Evidence of environmental endocrine disruption ranges from the presence of female egg proteins in males and reduced levels of endogenous hormones in both males and females, to gonadal histopathologies and intersex (presence of ovotestes) fish.

Overt endocrine disruption in fish does not appear to be a ubiquitous environmental phenomenon, but rather more likely to occur near sewage treatment plants, pulp and paper mills, and in areas of high organic chemical contamination. However, more wide-spread endocrine disruption can occur in rivers with smaller flows and correspondingly large or numerous wastewater inputs.

Some of the most severe examples of endocrine disruption in fish have been found adjacent to sewage treatment plants. Effects are thought to be caused prima-rily by natural and synthetic estrogens and to a lesser extent by the degradation products of alkylphenol poly-ethoxylate surfactants. Effects found in fish near pulp and paper mills include reduced levels of estrogens and androgens as well as masculinization of females, and has been linked to the presence of β-sitosterol, a plant sterol. Effects seen in areas of heavy industrial activity typically include depressed levels of estrogens and androgens as well as reduced gonadal growth, and may be linked to the presence of PAHs, PCBs, and possibly dioxins. At this time, however, there is no clear indication that large populations of fish are being seriously impacted as a result of endocrine disruption, although additional work is needed to address this possibility. (PDF contains 63 pages)


OBJECTIVE
To review the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of juvenile granulosa cell tumor of the ovary (JGCT).

METHODS
To review four patients with JGCT treated in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1983 to 2002.

RESULTS
JGCT is rare and most of the patients are adolescent or children. Solid pelvic mass with ascites and pleural effusion were mainly clinical feature. The levels of estrogen of the four patients were normal. Diagnoses were made by pathology. All 4 patients were at stage I and treated with surgery and combined chemotherapy. Two patients with high mitotic index progressed and died after 10 and 14 months, and the others without high mitotic index obtained a complete remission for 25 and 32 months.

CONCLUSIONS
The diagnosis of JGCT is made by pathology definitely. The prognosis is poor when patient has high mitotic index. Cytoreductive surgery is the treatment of choice and combination chemotherapy may be helpful to improve the prognosis of JGCT.


Challenging behaviour is a label often given to people with learning disabilities when their behaviour challenges the system around them (Department of Health, 1993). There are numerous ways of understanding challenging behaviour. Given the mutual dependence between community learning disability teams and community support services in supporting people with learning disabilities, it was considered interesting to make explicit some of the ideas and assumptions that might enable or disable teams to work in consistent ways. This study draws on the research of Haydon-Laurelut, Nunkoosing and Millett (2014) and Nunkoosing and Haydon-Laurelut (2011).

Six support workers at day centres for adults with learning disabilities (referrers) and six clinical psychologists working at community learning disability teams (responders) took part in semi-structured interviews. The interviews asked about their understandings of challenging behaviour in the context of making and receiving referrals. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings suggested that the support workers and clinical psychologists had quite similar ways of understanding challenging behaviour, which was an unexpected finding. They both used dominant discourses to talk about their understandings, as well as acknowledging that challenging behaviour is a social construction. These understandings were acknowledged to occur within the system or network around the person. Although there were shared understandings, still a schism existed in terms of how the services viewed each other. It was considered that something other than 'understanding' may be at the root of these differences and the suggestion made that the impact of emotions and relationships not being fully attended to and a common sense of powerlessness in the network could be important.

Implications of the findings on an individual, service, policy and societal level were considered as well as ideas for future research. A critical review is provided in the final part of this thesis.


Background: There is a significant geographic variation in anesthesia provider supply. Lower supply in rural communities raises concerns about access to procedures that require anesthesia in rural areas. State policies related to certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) practice may help to alleviate rural supply concerns. Objectives: To estimate the association between state CRNA policy and anesthesia provider supply especially in rural communities. Research Design: Repeated cross-sectional design using ordinary least squares and 2-stage least squares regressions. Subjects: All counties in the United States from 2010 to 2015. Measures: Dependent variables include anesthesia provider counts per 100,000 people, calculated separately for anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and their sum. Key variables of interest include state-level CRNA policy based on scope of practice (SOP) regulations and Medicare opt-out status. Results: Opt-out status and less restrictive SOP regulations were consistently correlated with a greater supply of CRNAs, especially in rural counties. Furthermore, we found that anesthesiologists and CRNAs tend to be complements to each other, but less restrictive SOP and opt-out status tend to weaken the importance of this relationship. Conclusions: State regulations may lead to increased supply of CRNAs in rural communities. However, the design of our study makes causality difficult to assert. So, it is also possible that states set CRNA policy as a response to counts of anesthesia providers in rural areas. Furthermore, given supply of anesthesiologists and CRNAs are complementary to one another, improving access to anesthesia services may require addressing issues pertaining to the supply of all anesthesia provider types.


Broccoli (Brassica oleracea), green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and bok choy (Brassica chinensis) were fumigated with nitric oxide (NO) gas in air or in nitrogen for 2 hours at 20 oC (68.0 °F), then stored at 20 oC in humidifi ed air containing 0.1 μL.L–1 (ppm) ethylene. The postharvest life of all vegetables was extended by NO although the concentration of NO required and the magnitude of the extension varied between produce ranging from 14% for green bean to more than 50% for broccoli. NO uptake by produce from air was not signifi cantly different than from nitrogen at the lower effective NO concentrations, but NO uptake was less from air at the highest concentration used for broccoli. Application of NO in an air atmosphere is considered a feasible, more convenient treatment regime for horticultural produce than use of a nitrogen atmosphere.


Plain lightweight wall panels with steel fibre and expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads, used as lightweight aggregate are tested to ascertain the structural behaviour mechanism at ultimate state. Wall samples of four (4) different sizes are prepared comprising two (2) samples for each size. Samples height and thickness are fixed to 600mm and 40mm respectively, so that all samples would have a constant slenderness ratio (SR) of 15. The width is made to vary as 320mm, 400mm, 560mm and 800mm, giving different aspect ratios (AR) of 1.875, 1.5, 1.07 and 0.75 respectively. Steel fibre lightweight concrete has a compressive strength, fcu of 14.29N/mm2. The ultimate carrying strength of the wall panel ranges from 100kN to 138kN and the highest strength is from the wall panel with aspect ratio of 1.5. All wall samples deformed in a single curvature profile with maximum lateral displacement of 6.92mm happened at mid-height of the panel. Carrying capacity of wall panel is calculated to be inversely proportional to the aspect ratio.


The amplification of intense light pulses in resonance active media with an optical Stark effect and coherence effects is examined theoretically. In the course of the amplification, the pulse may go through a stage of an incoherent Stark quasisoliton. The envelope of this quasisoliton has an approximately constant, highly asymmetric shape. The energy of the quasisoliton is approximately constant. Upon further amplification, the Stark quasisoliton "breaks up" into a train of shorter pulses. Over a sufficiently long amplification distance, a true soliton may form in the active medium. In general, this true soliton is not the same as a standard π pulse in a medium without a Stark effect.


Background Recent developments in our understanding of the interactions between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and cellular components have improved treatment approaches for various human diseases including cancer, vascular diseases, and neurological diseases. Although investigation of specific lncRNAs revealed their role in the metabolism of cellular RNA, our understanding of their contribution to post-transcriptional regulation is relatively limited. In this study, we explore the role of lncRNAs in modulating alternative splicing and their impact on downstream protein-RNA interaction networks. Results Analysis of alternative splicing events across 39 lncRNA knockdown and wildtype RNA-sequencing datasets from three human cell lines: HeLa (Cervical Cancer), K562 (Myeloid Leukemia), and U87 (Glioblastoma), resulted in high confidence (fdr < 0.01) identification of 11630 skipped exon events and 5895 retained intron events, implicating 759 genes to be impacted at post-transcriptional level due to the loss of lncRNAs. We observed that a majority of the alternatively spliced genes in a lncRNA knockdown were specific to the cell type, in tandem, the functions annotated to the genes affected by alternative splicing across each lncRNA knockdown also displayed cell type specificity. To understand the mechanism behind this cell-type specific alternative splicing patterns, we analyzed RNA binding protein (RBP)-RNA interaction profiles across the spliced regions, to observe cell type specific alternative splice event RBP binding preference. Conclusions Despite limited RBP binding data across cell lines, alternatively spliced events detected in lncRNA perturbation experiments were associated with RBPs binding in proximal intron-exon junctions, in a cell type specific manner. The cellular functions affected by alternative splicing were also affected in a cell type specific manner. Based on the RBP binding profiles in HeLa and K562 cells, we hypothesize that several lncRNAs are likely to exhibit a sponge effect in disease contexts, resulting in the functional disruption of RBPs, and their downstream functions. We propose that such lncRNA sponges can extensively rewire the post-transcriptional gene regulatory networks by altering the protein-RNA interaction landscape in a cell-type specific manner.


This paper presents a comprehensive quality metric for color moving pictures which is based on a spatio-temporal vision model and on the opponent-colors theory. The metric is used to assess the quality of MPEG compressed video streams and is compared with a grayscale video quality metric.


Epitaxial (Pr0.5Ba0.5MnO3)1−x:(CeO2)x (PBMO:CeO2, x = 0, 10%, 20%, 35%, and 50% stands for the molar ratio of the CeO2 secondary phase) vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) thin films were successfully fabricated on single crystalline (001) (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. With increasing x, a structural transition induced by the vertical strain from the CeO2 secondary phase was observed at 20% ≤ x ≤ 35% by reciprocal space mapping. What's more, it is not only the enhancement of magnetoresistance that was observed but also the increasing magnetization. The maximum magnetization and magnetoresistance were achieved at x = 35%, which are almost 4.7 times (at 20 K) and 1.6 times (at 110 K) as high as those at x = 0%, respectively. Such great enhancement of magnetization can be attributed to the vertical strain induced structural transition. Our research indicates that the structural transition induced by the introduction of secondary phase CeO2 plays an important role in improving the magnetic and transport properties of VAN thin films.


A high-speed atomic force microscope (HS-AFM) requires a specialized set of hardware and software and therefore improving video-rate HS-AFMs for general applications is an ongoing process. To improve the imaging rate of an AFM, all components have to be carefully redesigned since the slowest component determines the overall bandwidth of the instrument. In this work, we present a design of a compact HS-AFM scan-head featuring minimal loading on the Z-scanner. Using a custom-programmed controller and a high-speed lateral scanner, we demonstrate its working by obtaining topographic images of Blu-ray disk data tracks in contact- and tapping-modes. Images acquired using a contact-mode cantilever with a natural frequency of 60 kHz in constant deflection mode show good tracking of topography at 400 Hz. In constant height mode, tracking of topography is demonstrated at rates up to 1.9 kHz for the scan size of 1μm×1μm with 100×100 pixels.


This paper provides a survey of the development and role of economic indicator analysis in measuring and analysing business cycles. Our major objective is to highlight the usefulness of leading and coincident indexes of economic activity, both for forecasting purposes and as an aid to macroeconomic policy. We show that the analysis of business cycles can be facilitated by distinguishing between classical cycles (which involve fluctuations in the level of aggregate economic activity) and growth cycles (recurring fluctuations in the rate of growth of economic activity around its trend). Many recent theoretical and empirical studies have concentrated on deviations from trend (that is, growth cycles) to the exclusion of classical cycles. We also argue for the use of a range of indicators, combined in a composite index, rather than using a single series such as gross domestic product as a proxy for the business cycle. We illustrate our survey with empirical evidence on the business cycles of the United States and Australia.


BACKGROUND
Ultrasonographic studies in healthy volunteers showed that the external anal sphincter (EAS) and internal anal sphincter (IAS) thicknesses were inversely related at rest. The functional importance of the two sphincters in continence control was demonstrated in the relationship between the sum of the thicknesses of the two sphincters and the anal canal resting pressure. The aims of the present study were to assess the morphometric appearance of the anal sphincters by endosonography in faecally incontinent patients and to contrast this with that of older healthy subjects.

METHODS
Twenty-eight female patients with neurogenic faecal incontinence (FI) were studied. An older group of 7 healthy women, aged 41-75 years, and a young group of 11 nulliparous healthy women, aged 20-23 years, served as control groups. Anal endosonography was performed with a radial rotating endoprobe, with the subject in the left lateral position. Conventional anal manometry was performed in all subjects.

RESULTS
The EAS in the FI group was thicker than the EAS in the old (p < 0.04) but did not differ from the EAS in the young. The IAS thickness in the FI group did not differ from that in the older group. In both these groups the IAS was thicker than in the young women (p < 0.01). The anal pressures in the FI group were reduced compared with the normal groups (p < 0.04). There was a direct relationship between the two sphincters in FI (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
The increased thickness of the IAS in the FI group does not seem to compensate for function and results in a failure of the sphincter mechanism to maintain continence, whereas in healthy elderly subjects the increased IAS thickness appears to be compensatory and important for continence control.


Gabrielson, Paul W., and Kraft, Gerald T. The marine algae of Lord Howe Island (N.S.W.): the family Solieriaceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta). Brunonia 7: 2 17-5 1 (1 984). The red algal family Solieriaceae is represented by the three genera Solieria, Meristotheca and Eucheuma at Lord Howe Island (31 "33'S.,159"05'E.). Each genus is represented by two species, one of which is widespread geographically and the other newly described. The new species (Solieria anastomosa, Eucheuma deformans, Meristotheca procumbens) are characterized vegetatively and reproductively, as are the three previously described species [Solierra robusta (Greville) Kylin, Eucheuma serra (J. Agardh) J. Agardh, Meristotheca papulosa (Montagne) J. Agardh]. Mychodea halymenioides Zanardini, which is based on a Lord Howe specimen, is placed in synonymy with Meristotheca papulosa. Partly as a result of the Lord Howe study, the Solieriaceae is recircumscribed using a suite of characters that is taxonomically more useful than that currently delimiting the family.


Purpose: This work describes the clinical management and outcomes in cases of presumed infectious endophthalmitis following intravitreal injection at a tertiary academic medical center. Methods: A retrospective review took place of eyes that presented to the Duke Eye Center over a 9-year period and were diagnosed with intravitreal injection–related endophthalmitis. Clinical presentation, management, microbiologic yield, visual outcomes, and complications were abstracted from medical records. Results: Of 23 eyes diagnosed with postinjection endophthalmitis, 52.2% underwent anterior chamber tap (33.3% of which first underwent dry needle vitreous tap), 47.8% underwent needle vitreous tap, 17.4% underwent neither, and none underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for initial management. Subsequent PPV was performed in 6 eyes (26.1%). Mean visual acuity (VA) improved by 50 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters at 6 months. Eyes that underwent initial anterior chamber tap had worse presenting VA than those that did not (P = .01). Eyes undergoing subsequent PPV had worse VA at presentation (P = .02) and at 6 months (P < .001). Eyes presenting with VA of hand motion (20/8000) or worse were more likely to undergo subsequent PPV (P = .02). Conclusions: Eyes with intravitreal injection–related endophthalmitis presenting with VA of hand motion or worse were more likely to undergo subsequent PPV. Future studies with larger cohorts may reveal whether earlier vitrectomy should be considered in these patients.


After disambiguating the word, the author explores the blues primarily not as a genre of music but as a sensibility or orientation toward the world. In doing so, he is taking seriously suggestions made by a host of writers, most notably, Ralph Waldo Ellison, Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, and Cornel West. As such, the focus is on the blues as an extended family of somatic practices bearing upon expression (or articulation). At the center of these practices, there is in the blues (to modify Foucault's words) always the patient yet exuberant work of giving articulate form to our impatience for human freedom. But here the distinction between practices of emancipation, by which a people throws off their political domination, and practices of freedom, by which they tirelessly work to make their freed self truly their own, is crucial. In this, the author is guided by an insight provided by Toni Morrison's Beloved: "Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another" (1987: 95). As "an art of ambiguity", the blues turns out to be also an art of ambivalence: the task of claiming ownership of one's freed self is one demanding, not only learning to live with irreducible ambiguity but also working toward "an achievement of ambivalence".


Updated information and services can be found at: (1844 articles) Transplantation (4939 articles) Immunobiology (3667 articles) Clinical Trials and Observations Articles on similar topics can be found in the following Blood collections


I appreciate this opportunity to present several studies of the  results of the cloud seeding program carried out by the Alberta  Weather Modification Co-op over the period 1956-1968. The public  interest created in this science by this program was a major factor  in the decision of the Alberta Government to support the  development of weather modification in Alberta. Many of you will  have read about this program in the article by Dr. Irving P. Krick  and Newton C. Stone covering this work in their recent Journal Weather Modification paper. This gives you some background......


Background: Bone marrow failure that results in pancytopenia causes aplastic anemia clinically. Aim: To determine the frequency of positive microRNAs in plasma of patients with aplastic anemia. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Methodology: Aplastic patients were assessed for microRNAs level and patients were considered positive if the level was ≥2 Results: Majority 20(66.7%) of the patients was aged ≤30 years with only 10(33.3%) patients aged above 30 years. There were 22(73.3%) male and 8(26.7%) female patients with a male to female ratio of 2.8:1. Severe, very severe and non-severe aplastic anemia was recorded in 18(60%), 4(13.3%) and 8(26.7%) patients respectively. Taking a cut-off value of ≥27 IU/mL, 15(50%) patients were positive for microRNAs. Conclusion: It was concluded that a substantial proportion of patients with aplastic anemia were positive for microRNAs and the observed frequency increased with increasing severity of disease which suggested potential role of microRNAs in the diagnostic workup and management of aplastic patients. Keywords: Aplastic Anemia and Micro-RNAs.


Prior to this study it was discovered that MsrB1 from Mus musculus expressed in Escherichia Coli binds cobalt(II) (hereafter cobalt) in cobalt-supplemented growth media, and it had further been demonstrated that the His-tag was not responsible for this metal uptake. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cobalt on the growth of E. Coli in culture, characterize the metal-uptake and metal-binding site of cobalt-substituted MsrB1 by UV-visible spectroscopy and to gain structural information about the protein by high resolution NMR spectroscopy. The effects of cobalt on growth of E. Coli were studied by growing cultures in Lysogeny broth (LB) and minimal (M9)-media supplemented with different concentrations of cobaltdichloride (CoCl2) and monitoring culture growth by optical density (OD) measurements. Growth rates were found to decrease with increasing concentrations of CoCl2. To study the cobalt-uptake of MsrB1, the protein was recombinantly expressed in E. Coli in different cobalt-supplemented growth media, and the purified protein analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy. Cobalt-uptake was demonstrated in all cases by characteristic absorption peaks owing to the cobalt-ligand complex, and the wavelengths of these peaks matched those of a tetrahedral four-coordinated cobalt-Cys complex. It was argued that these four Cys residues should be the same that constitute the zinc(II)-binding site of MsrB1, indicating that cobalt simply replaces zinc as a structural metal ion in cobalt-substituted MsrB1 (Co-MsrB1). It was argued that the intracellular concentration of cobalt in E. Coli should be significantly higher than zinc, and that this together with similar ionic radii for cobalt and zinc leads to the formation of Co-MsrB1. MsrB1 expressed in nickel(II)-supplemented LB did not lead to formation of Ni-MsrB1, which was argued to result from nickel not being released directly into the cytosol in E. Coli. Co-MsrB1 was produced by zinc-starvation of E. Coli followed by expressing the protein in zinc-free minimal medium supplemented with CoCl2. To investigate if pH-titratable groups could be detected, the protein was dialyzed against buffers with pH 4.9-11.5 and the molar extinction coefficient was found from UV-vis absorption spectra in the different pH. Two titration curves were observed, but assignment of the titrations to specific residues could not be made. Further, Co- and Zn-MsrB1 was dialyzed against buffers with metal chelating agents to remove the metal ions from the two proteins. Cobalt was successfully removed at pH 5.0 and 5.5, while removal of zinc from Zn-MsrB1 was not detected, demonstrating that zinc is more tightly bound to the Cys-ligands than cobalt. To study the ratio of formation of Co-MsrB1 and the native zinc-form Zn-MsrB1 in CoCl2-supplemented growth media, the molar extinction coefficient of Co-MsrB1 was determined, and the concentration of Co-MsrB1 in purified protein samples from protein expression in different growth media was determined. The Co-MsrB1:Zn-MsrB1 ratio was found to be 0.2 in M9 medium supplemented with 10 µM CoCl2, 0.1 in LB supplemented with 50 µM CoCl2 and 0.03 in LB supplemented with 10 µM CoCl2. From 2D- and 3D-NMR experiments on 13C- and 15N-enriched Co-MsrB1, a 70 % backbone assignment and 50 % side chain-assignment was accomplished using Computer Aided Resonance Assignment (CARA). The four structural Cys-residues of the native protein was not found, while the other three Cys-residues of MsrB1 were assigned, confirming that the same Cys-residues are responsible for coordination of cobalt and zinc in MsrB1. Many strongly shifted signals were observed in 1D 1H spectra of Co-MsrB1, some as far upfield as 350 ppm and downfield as -80 ppm, and it was argued that most of the unassigned residues should be found outside the spectral width of the 2D and 3D-NMR spectra. To gain further structural information about Co-MsrB1, pseudocontact shifts (PCSs) were determined for the assigned HN-atoms of Co-MsrB1 by using the published chemical shifts of for Zn-MsrB1. The PCSs were analyzed by AnisoFit using three conformers and the mean conformer of the published Zn-MsrB1 structure, and the best correlations between observed and calculated PCSs were found for conformer 3. The PCSs were plotted against their hypothetical distance to cobalt using the structure of Zn-MsrB1, and a very good PCS-distance proportionality was found, indicating that Co-MsrB1 and Zn-MsrB1 have the same overall fold and structure. The AnisoFit calculations and PCSs of the N-terminus suggested that the N-terminus spends significant time in the proximity of the metal-binding site, and it was argued that this proximity ensures high catalytic efficiency due to the short distance between the catalytic and resolving Cys-residues.


The paper presents the characteristics of the germination process in Lotus corniculatus L. and Coronilla varia L. pollen. We made estimates on the length of pollinic tubes in the dynamics of germination (after 1, 2, 24, 48 and 72 hours since the inoculation on medium), according to the glucidic concentration of the nutritive mediums used in this experiment. We pointed out the maximum lengths of the pollinic tubes, correlated to the lengths of flower stiles from the two taxons. Achieving a certain length of the pollinic tubes is very important, because the fertilization of ovules is thus ensured and, implicitly, the fructification of the respective taxons. We also referred to the way of the emergence of pollinic tubes from the two taxons. The bicellular pollen-type of the two Fabaceae is shown by pointing out the generative cell in the pollinic cell, which, after the mitotic division, produces two spermatic cells having the value of immobile male gametes. We have also shown the type of anomalies of the pollinic tubes and the frequency of these anomalies during the process of pollen germination at the two taxons from the Fabaceae family. The obtained results were correlated to pollen germinating potential of the two taxons, to geographic spreading area, and to native resistance of the two taxons to various abiotic factors. Although the phylogenetic connection between the two investigated taxons is very tight, there are distinctive traits of the germinating process, which have a diagnosis value and may represent valuable genetic and physiological indicators.


The North Norwegian Health Net is a comprehensive scheme to connect all health-care institutions in the area to a national computer network. Services available include telemedicine, email and Web access. A general practitioner has responsibility for ensuring that the clinical information is correct. Medical departments are responsible for the content of their own Web pages. All institutions require authorization before connection to ensure data protection and security. Changes in communication between primary- and secondary-care sectors are being monitored. To date the implementation of the network programme has gone smoothly.


The thesis addresses the development of efficient numerical techniques for the simulation of the surface SHG phenomena from nanostructures and metasurfaces. Chapter 2 is dedicated to the development of a numerical approach based on the transfer matrix method for modeling of surface SHG from multilayer structures. The performance of the developed transfer matrix method is tested for several exemplary stacks. Chapter 3 is devoted to the development of a fully finite-element numerical method for efficient modeling of surface SHG effects. This method treats the surface nonlinear polarization as the deltasurface source embedded into the respective interfaces between two media. It is shown that the proposed method allows modeling of surface nonlinear effects from arbitrary-shaped all-dielectric and plasmonic isolated nanoparticles, as well as metasurfaces. Chapter 4 focuses on the numerical investigation of the symmetry properties of the bulk and surface nonlinear tensors in noncentrosymmetric semiconductors, which result in specific signatures in the polarization-resolved far-field SHG pattern. It is demonstrated that under the plane-wave illumination of a slab of a noncentrosymmetric III-V semiconductor the differences arise in the angular dependence of the emitted second-harmonic radiation on the angle of the crystal axis rotation. The results are then extended to the case of an illumination by a linearly polarized tightly-focused Gaussian beam and the specific signatures of surface and bulk nonlinearities are also obtained in the polarization-resolved far-field SHG patterns. Finally, Chapter 5 is devoted to the numerical studies of the surface SHG from multilayer structures of different possible compositions. Using the developed transfer matrix method the optimal geometry of the multilayer structures is sought for the efficient surface-driven SHG. The achievable SHG conversion efficiency is analysed both in nonperiodic and periodic multilayer structures.


This study aimed to investigate the effect of triangulation-based metacognitive learning strategy on students' chemistry literacy and learning achievement. This study was conducted by using a pretest-posttest control group design. The participants of this research were two classes of 10th grade natural science students of Senior High School in Pasuruan, Indonesia. One class was taught using triangulation-based metacognitive learning strategies consisting of four steps (Preparing, Doing, Checking, and Assessing & Following-Up) abbreviated to MLS-PDCA, and another was taught using expository learning strategy (ELS). Data was collected by pretest and posttest. Based on the data analysis, it was known that the N-gain averages of students' chemistry literacy were 54% in MLS-PDCA class as the middle category and 38% in the ELS class as middle category. N-gain averages of learning achievement were 56% in experiment class as middle category and 40% in ELS as middle category. Mann Whitney U and independent sample t-test showed that the improvement of students' chemistry literacy and learning achievement in MLS-PDCA class was more significant than in the ELS class. It can be concluded that MLS-PDCA can enhance the students' chemistry literacy and learning achievement in senior high school.


This paper presents the main results obtained in the Agencies for PErception in environmental monitoring (APE) Project, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and aimed at studying the employment of advanced distributed artificial intelligence techniques in developing cooperative multiagent systems oriented to support environmental monitoring applications. In particular, this paper describes issues about communication between perceptive agents and two implemented multiagent systems for monitoring electromagnetic fields and for pollutant evaluation.


Background : Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are key models for interrogating the biology of tumor cells that poorly survive in vitro. In particular, over the last decade, immunodeficient mouse models have been extensively used to assess the in vivo growth potential of human leukemia, to provide insights into its biology, and to perform preclinical validation of therapies. Still, only a fraction of the cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are able to engraft into mice, and the biological and clinical correlates of the ability to generate PDXs are unknown. Methods: Primary AML harvested from 52 patients at diagnosis (n=37, 71%), at relapse after treatments (n=15, 29%), or both (n=6) were purified and infused into non-irradiated NOD-SCID γ-chain null (NSG) mice. Upon leukemia engraftment, assessed by multiparametric flow cytometry, mice were sacrificed and leukemic cells were isolated, characterized, and reinfused in serial recipients, in up to four serial passages. Gene expression profile was analyzed using Illumina microarray, and deregulated genes and processes identified by pairwise LIMMA analysis and classified using Gene Ontology (GO) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) curated databases. The mutational asset of infused AML was assessed through targeted resequencing, using a custom panel comprising 192 targets and based on the Agilent Haloplex HS technology. Results: Twenty-six out of 52 primary AML samples (50%) generated xenografts. Engraftment and growth kinetics of the human leukemic cells were highly consistent among littermates, and specific for each tested leukemia. Circulating leukemic cells were firstly detected in the peripheral blood of animals at a median time of 22.5 days (range 14 - 150). In vivo growth allowed expansion of infused AMLs in bone marrows and spleens of the animal, with a median fold increase of 3.5 (range 0.1 - 351.4). The gene expression profile of xenografts was reproducible amongst littermates and recapitulated the features of parental AML: genes deregulated in xenografts accounted for 9.1% of the transcript assessed, with substantial overlap in the genes and processes deregulated in each of the studied cases. GO and GSEA demonstrated the selective deregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation (CDC20, AURKA), syster chromatyde organization (CENPF CEP170) and myeloid differentiation (AZU1, MPO, MYADM, CTSG). Of note, the ability to generate xenografts was conserved when AML cells were challenged at different time-points during the clinical history of the patients, with leukemia harvested at relapse after transplantation displaying a more aggressive behavior. Similarly, upon serial transfer AML exhibited an accelerated growth kinetic. Engraftment in mice significantly correlated with poor patient prognosis: AML engrafters had dramatically lower leukemia free-survival rates compared to non-engrafters (median 5.9 vs. 21.8 months after induction chemotherapy, p=0.0022, Fig. 1A), confirmed also by multivariate analysis (p=0.002). Also the mutational profile differed greatly between engrafters and non-engrafters, as summarized in Fig. 1B. In particular, while the presence of an aberrant karyotype was not associated with PDX generation, FLT3 internal tandem duplication, DNMT3A and NPM1 mutation were all significantly associated to engraftment (p=0.0244, p=0.009 and p=0.0437 respectively). In particular the co-occurrence of mutations in these three genes, recently reported to confer very poor prognosis to AML patients (Papaemmanuil et al, NEJM 2016), markedly enhanced the ability to generate PDXs (Fig.1C). Conclusion: These data show that engraftment into immunodeficient mice mirrors the biology of primary human leukemia, providing a proxy to select cases with a higher chance to generate PDXs. Further comparisons between AML capable or not to generate PDXs might provide novel markers of leukemia aggressiveness and rationales for targeted therapies. Disclosures Bonini: TxCell: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Molmed SpA: Consultancy. Ciceri: MolMed SpA: Consultancy.


Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA), defined by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA), associated with thrombocytopenia and ischemic lesion in microtrombic target organs, are hematological emergencies that require urgent intervention1. In MAHA, a non-immune anemia occurs due to intravascular hemolysis, secondary to endothelial cell aggression, platelet thrombi and fibrin, with consequent vascular lesion2, resulting in increased LDH (lactic dehydrogenase), presence of schizocytes,3 indirect hyperbilirubinemia, low haptoglobin, reticulocytosis and negative Coombs Double test.1‒8 Due to the severity and the underdiagnosis of TMA, requiring early treatment, patients with anemia and thrombocytopenia without definite cause should be investigated early. The study aims to propose a flowchart for management and / or referral to a reference center, in cases of anemia with thrombocytopenia.


We discuss in detail and from the geometrical point of view the issues of gauge invariance and Lorentz covariance raised by the approach proposed recently by Chen et al. to the proton spin decomposition. We show that the gauge invariance of this approach follows from a mechanism similar to the one used in the famous Stueckelberg trick. Stressing the fact that the Lorentz symmetry does not force the gauge potential to transform as a Lorentz four-vector, we show that the Chen et al. approach is Lorentz covariant provided that one uses the suitable Lorentz transformation law. We also make an attempt to summarize the present situation concerning the proton spin decomposition. We argue that the ongoing debates concern essentially the physical interpretation and are due to the plurality of the adopted pictures. We discuss these different pictures and propose a pragmatic point of view.


The time-dependent photoconductive current response of semi-insulating GaAs is probed based on one-dimensional simulations, with a focus on the lock-on phenomenon. Our results capture most of the experimental observations. It is shown that trap-to-band impact ionization fuels local field enhancements, and photon recycling also plays an important role in pushing the device towards lock-on above a 3.5 kV/cm threshold field. The results compare well with actual data in terms of the magnitudes, the rise times, and the oscillatory behavior seen at higher currents. Moving multiple domains are predicted, and the response shown depended on the location of the photoexcitation spot relative to the electrodes.The time-dependent photoconductive current response of semi-insulating GaAs is probed based on one-dimensional simulations, with a focus on the lock-on phenomenon. Our results capture most of the experimental observations. It is shown that trap-to-band impact ionization fuels local field enhancements, and photon recycling also plays an important role in pushing the device towards lock-on above a 3.5 kV/cm threshold field. The results compare well with actual data in terms of the magnitudes, the rise times, and the oscillatory behavior seen at higher currents. Moving multiple domains are predicted, and the response shown depended on the location of the photoexcitation spot relative to the electrodes.


The development of cytoarchitectonics of the brain rudiments in mammals is accompanied by the formation of an intracerebral vascular network. The relationship between these two processes is insufficiently clear. We studied the development of blood vessels and cytoarchitectonics in the neocortical rudiment of 6- to 13-week old human embryos. The light and electron microscopy methods were used, as well as histochemical visualization of NADPH-diaphorase in the vessel cells. The endothelium proliferation was evaluated using antibodies to proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Starting from week 8 of development, the tangentially oriented vessels formed a intraneural network in the ventricular zone of the rudiment, which appears to restrict the motility of neuroepithelial cells. The basal membrane was initially absent, and the neuroepithelial cells were in direct contact with the endothelial cells. During week 9 of development, the tangentially oriented vessels appeared in the intermediate zone. Formations similar to glial legs with short regions of the basal membrane adjoined the walls of inter- and intraneural vessels (note that, according to the published data, glial fibrillary acidic protein is not yet visualized at this stage). Angioarchitectonics depended little on the cell population density in different zones of the rudiment; specifically, the cortical plate did not contain tangentially oriented vessels until week 12-13 of development. The data we obtained suggest that the blood vessels fulfill a special morphogenetic function in the developing neocortex.


The binding of killer cell Ig-like Receptors (KIR) to their Class I MHC ligands was shown previously to be characterized by extremely rapid association and dissociation rate constants. During experiments to investigate the biochemistry of receptor-ligand binding in more detail, the kinetic parameters of the interaction were observed to alter dramatically in the presence of Zn(2+) but not other divalent cations. The basis of this phenomenon is Zn(2+)-induced multimerization of the KIR molecules as demonstrated by BIAcore, analytical ultracentrifugation, and chemical cross-linking experiments. Zn(2+)-dependent multimerization of KIR may be critical for formation of the clusters of KIR and HLA-C molecules, the "natural killer (NK) cell immune synapse," observed at the site of contact between the NK cell and target cell.


Solanum lyratum Thunb is a traditional Chinese medicinal with a significant clinical outcome for tumor treatment; however, chemicals or fractions separated from the herb did not exhibit strong and comparable efficacy. To investigate the potential synergy or antagonism among chemicals in the extract, we obtained the compounds solavetivone (SO), tigogenin (TI) and friedelin (FR) from the herb. The anti-tumor effects of these three monomer compounds alone or in combination with the anti-inflammatory compound DRG were also tested in this study. SO, FR and TI used alone did not inhibit the proliferation of A549 and HepG2 cells, but the combination of the three achieved 40% inhibition. In vitro anti-inflammatory analysis showed that DRG had a stronger anti-inflammatory effect than TS at the same concentration, and the combination of DRG with SO, FR or TI inhibited the anti-tumor effect of DRG. This is the first study that documented the synergistic and antagonistic interactions between different compounds in a single herb.


Age of information is a new network performance metric that captures the freshness of information at end-users. This paper studies the age of information from a scheduling perspective. To that end, we consider a wireless broadcast network where a base-station (BS) is updating many users on random information arrivals under a transmission capacity constraint. For the offline case when the arrival statistics are known to the BS, we develop a structural MDP scheduling algorithm and an index scheduling algorithm, leveraging Markov decision process (MDP) techniques and the Whittle's methodology for restless bandits. By exploring optimal structural results, we not only reduce the computational complexity of the MDP-based algorithm, but also simplify deriving a closed form of the Whittle index. Moreover, for the online case, we develop an MDP-based online scheduling algorithm and an index-based online scheduling algorithm. Both the structural MDP scheduling algorithm and the MDP-based online scheduling algorithm asymptotically minimize the average age, while the index scheduling algorithm minimizes the average age when the information arrival rates for all users are the same. Finally, the algorithms are validated via extensive numerical studies.


Novel imaging techniques and biomarkers have emerged as surrogate markers of carotid plaque vulnerability. In parallel, statins' administration in patients with established carotid atherosclerosis not requiring revascularization have reduced the consequent cerebrovascular events. This is not only attributed to the lipid-lowering properties of statins, but to their pleiotropic actions as well. The aim of the present literature review was to summarize the stabilizing effects of statins on carotid plaques based on imaging modalities and biomarkers proposing an alternative approach of their implementation. Moreover, we assessed the perioperative use of statins in patients undergoing carotid revascularization and the impact of aggressive vs. conventional statin therapy. Recent studies using: 1) ultrasound indices of plaque echogenicity, 2) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scan for plaque inflammation assessment or 3) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan quantifying intraplaque hemorrhage, and lipid rich necrotic core (LRNC) have shown quite promising results for the objective evaluation of carotid plaque vulnerability. Based on those imaging modalities a growing number of studies have demonstrated a very modest carotid plaque regression of statins, while their stabilizing impact is disproportionally higher. Other studies assaying several biomarkers (e.g. inflammation, etc.) have confirmed a statin-induced carotid plaque stabilization. All the aforementioned benefits followed a dose-dependent pattern of statins, on the top of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target in current guidelines. In case of symptomatic patients with carotid atherosclerosis suitable for revascularization, robust evidence implicates a significant statin-related reduction of perioperative cardiovascular risk only in patients undergoing endarterectomy.


ABSTRACT Although uncommon, cryoablation of tumors can result in collateral damage to adjacent organs resulting in difficult-to-treat perforation and fistulization. Full-thickness closure of defects has been described with the use of over-the-scope clips. We describe the case of a 56-year-old woman who underwent cryoablation of renal cell carcinoma of her transplanted kidney that was complicated by cryoinjury to her sigmoid colon with subsequent nephrocolic fistula and abscess formation resistant to conservative treatment. We report a case of successful abscess drainage and use of over-the-scope clip for closure of an iatrogenic renal graft nephrocolic fistula.


In the present time in the Russian Arctic and freezing seas there's the growth of industrial activity. In addition to the traditional navigation in the ice-infested waters the development of the new offshore hydrocarbon deposits is planned. New production and uploading platforms and high-tonnage tankers appear in the Arctic. Widening of the sea activities in the Arctic, the implementation of comprehensive technical projects and the need to ensure their safety made it necessary to develop and introduce principally new information and logistics system a system aimed at "managing ice conditions" or the so-called "Ice Management" (IM). The vast experience of the informational support of the ice navigation is accumulated in Russia, many components of the IM are developed and implemented in the active practice. The paper presents the summary of such experience. The concept of development the IM on the Shtokman Gas Condensate Field is discussed.


Preparing undergraduate nursing students for the nursing profession via distance education has created the challenge of finding innovative ways to teach clinical skills online. As intravenous (IV) pump devices are commonly used in clinical settings, gaining competence in their use is of particular importance for nursing students. The purpose of the present research was to develop, refine, implement and evaluate an online IV pump emulator (IVPE) modelled on the actual IV pumps used in on-campus nursing laboratories, with the specific aim of evaluating student's learning outcomes along with their perceptions of device use. Using a quasi-experimental design method including a longitudinal element, the implementation and evaluation was undertaken among undergraduate nursing students using the online IVPE, an actual IV pump, or a combination of the two. In Stage 1, a prototype online IVPE was developed and evaluated using Remote Access Laboratory (RAL) technology. In Stage 2, the prototype online IVPE underwent preliminary evaluation by first year undergraduate nursing students (n = 20) to assess its functionality, perceptions of use, and equivalence in learning outcomes compared to nursing students using an actual IV pump. In Stage 3, a more comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation was conducted with refined methods and an improved version of the online IVPE. A larger sample of first year undergraduate nursing students (n = 179) was divided into online only, on-campus only and online + on-campus user groups. In the final stage, retention of competency in actual IV pump use was evaluated among a sub-sample of Stage 3 participants (n = 102) as they progressed into the next year of their program. No significant differences in learning outcomes were found between the online only and on-campus only groups, thus demonstrating equivalency of the online technology with the traditional face-to-face training with an actual IV pump in a simulated laboratory. Significantly better learning outcomes were evident among the combined group, who trained with both forms of the IV pump, compared to the online only and on-campus only groups. At the 26-week follow-up testing period, the combined group showed superior learning outcomes on some activities and completed the activities on the actual IV pump faster than the other two groups. A high percentage of participants, regardless of group, reported feeling confident using the actual IV pump. In summary, the online IVPE was shown to produce equivalent learning outcomes to traditional training methods, and superior learning outcomes when used in conjunction with face-to-face training; thereby contributing to more competent nurses responsible for the preparation and administration of IV infusions. Recommendations on the viability of including the IVPE as an online resource in undergraduate nursing programs locally and internationally are provided.


This review article gives an overview of the recent developments in the synthesis strategies of supported gold-based bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts. The catalytic efficiency of these supported bimetallic nanoparticles, similar to monometallic nanoparticles, depends on their structural characteristics, but with added complexities because of the presence of the second metal. We discuss three major structural features of supported bimetallic nanoparticles, namely (a) size, (b) composition and (c) nanostructure, all of which play a crucial role in the resulting overall catalytic performances of the materials. Selected literature examples, where these three parameters have been extensively studied and controlled by changing the synthesis strategies, are analyzed and presented. A specific objective of this article is to motivate researchers to characterize these supported nanoparticles more thoroughly to investigate their structural features in detail and design based on this knowledge suitable and innovative synthesis strategies to control these properties. Because of the sheer number of examples in this field of research, this paper focuses only on gold–palladium bimetallic nanoparticles; however we are convinced that the broader scientific message could be extended to other bimetallic catalyst compositions.


PURPOSE
The first generation 3D optical CT scanner OCTOPUS has been modified. The modified scanner has a new developed user control panel written in Labview which provides more flexibility to optimize mechanical control and data acquisition technique. The total scan time has been significantly reduced from initial 10 hours to ∼ 4 hours.

METHODS
The modified scanner is developed from OCTOPUS by adding a 50/50 beam splitter, 4 broadband (400-750nm) dielectric mirrors and an identical photodetector as the original one. A 25mm diameter filter with central wavelength 630nm is attached to each of the photodetectors to remove ambient light. The laser source is HeNe Laser with wavelength 632.8 nm. All these optical components are aligned well and mounted on a single movable frame. The frame can move vertically along the water tank to allow laser beam covering the whole dosimeter. To test the modified scanner, the sinogram of a homemade phantom with two plastic rods (7 mm diameter) has been generated by combining two sets of projection data acquired from perpendicular photodetectors. We also studied a single field irradiation (4cm x 4cm) generated from a linear accelerator with 6 MV x-ray beam using an 11cm diameter and 8 cm height PRESAGE dosimeter.

RESULTS
The sinogram shows that the combined data from two photodetectors match well. By setting the same window/level value using ImageJ, the optical density of irradiated square field obtained using the modified scanner shows comparable contrast, sharpness and uniformity as OCTPUS. Isodose distribution among OCTOPUS, the modified scanner and Eclipse plan agree well at the 90%, 75%, 50% isodose lines.

CONCLUSION
By comparing results obtained using the modified scanner and OCTOPUS, we have evaluated that the modified scanner can achieve comparable dose reconstruction quality as OCTOPUS while reducing total scan and reconstruction time to ∼4 hours.


Canadian Museum of Nature scientist Kathy Conlan has donned her diving gear in places such as Cambridge Bay and Resolute Bay to learn more about the ecosystem which flourishes under the ice of the Arctic Ocean. In this video clip, you can see a litle bit of this unique environment, which is home to plants, and a surprising diversity of animals including sea stars, anemones, urchins, snails and clams, to name but a few. The complex interactions between plants and animals here extends to larger vertebrates such as fish, seabirds and mammals, as well as to the people who live in the Arctic and have traditionally maintained a close relationship with their environment. Scientists predict that the warming Arctic climate will have profound impacts on this entire Arctic marine ecosystem.


BACKGROUND
Ageing populations show a propensity for reduced food intake, which impacts nutritional adequacy. Nutrition guidelines for residential care homes (RCHs) are currently based on serve size of core food groups and do not consider nutrient density. The present study aimed to investigate the weight of foods served/consumed compared to recommended serve sizes and to compare energy and protein intake with individual requirements.

METHODS
This was an observational study of older adults living in four RCHs. Dietary intake was estimated through the difference between weighed reference meals and a single, double-weighed 24-h food plate waste collected from each participant. FoodWorks9® (Xyris® Software, Brisbane, Australia) was used to calculate energy, protein and serves of core food groups from food intake and the menu provided to recommended serve sizes. Individual intake was compared with nutrition guidelines and estimated energy and protein requirements.

RESULTS
Across 420 participants, 9.8% completed a main meal (lunch or dinner). The servings provided [248 g; interquartile range (IQR) = 206-290 g] were less than the recommended servings for a main meal (306 g = protein/starch/two vegetables), with 157 g (IQR = 109-221 g) consumed. The menu provided for minimum serves of all core food groups except for dairy. Median energy intake (n = 389) (5272 kJ day-1 , IQR = 4229-6720 kJ) and protein intake (47.3 g day-1 , IQR = 35.9-60.8 g) were less than estimated requirements (8181 kJ day-1 , IQR = 7300-9338 kJ day-1 ; 76.7 g day-1 , IQR = 66.7-90.8 g).

CONCLUSIONS
Nutritional needs were not met in this cohort. The findings of the present study highlight the need for smaller, nutrient-dense meals and revised menu standards to ensure nutritional adequacy in this vulnerable population.


textabstractWhen the indirect costs form a part of an economical evaluation, a standardised method for measuring production losses, as a result of illness, is required. Standardisation will increase the comparability and transparency of the results. The Health and Labour Questionnaire (HLQ) is designed to collect quantitative data on the relation between illness and treatment and work performance. The HLQ data permits the estimation of production losses (costs) of paid and unpaid labour. It contains also an indicator for impediments for paid and unpaid labour, one of the indicators for quality of life.

The HLQ is divided into 4 modules to collect data about absence from work, reduced productivity at paid work, unpaid labour production and impediments to paid and unpaid labour. The modular structure permits the omission of questions that are not applicable to the study population. The questionnaire is suitable for self-assessment. This manual is a user guide for the HLQ. The scoring- and valuing methods are presented. Furthermore a survey of norm-scores for several groups of respondents is given. The manual contains also information with regard to feasibility and validity of the HLQ. Finally, the procedural aspects for using the questionnaire are given. Currently we are working on a short form version of the HLQ.


Accurately decoding brain activities is both a challenge for machine learning and a potential vehicle for gaining insight into complex cognitive brain states and their dynamics. In this brief note, we will touch upon selected recent directions of our research where machine learning techniques help to analyze brain measurements from EEG, fNIRS and fMRI typically targeting BCI applications. We owe these steps that we are summarizing mainly to activities of members of the BBCI team and their collaborators. Clearly, unavoidably and intentionally this abstract will have a high overlap to prior own contributions as it reports about and discusses these novel ideas and directions.


A 24-year-old man from Ecuador presents to your clinic with dyspnea on exertion, bruising, and petechiae. He is noted to be pancytopenic with ANC 430, hemoglobin 7.4 g/dL (reticulocyte count 0.9%), and platelets 18 000. His BM biopsy is hypocellular for age. Ultimately, he is diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia. He is the only child of 2 South American parents without any matches in the unrelated donor registry, including cord blood. He is red cell- and platelet transfusion-dependent. He has been recommended therapy with antithymocyte globulin and cyclosporine but declined it. He seeks recommendations about new alternatives to this regimen to improve his chance of response.


This simple study aims to contribute to the keeping of the Jordanian popular heritage moreover; it attempts to investigate to what level the Jordanian popular song has reached. It also comes to show the influence of the song on developing the general musical sense for the whole society within the Arab Musical frame. This study also comes to explain the importance of the heritage Music, the necessity of saving this kind of music from loss and the necessity of making it widely spread.This have been archived in this study through showing one of the Jordanian popular singing moulds (Al-Hijeni ) and studying the origin and the development of popular music which is performed in weddings. Another way of spreading this kind of music is shown to be through writing down the musical tunes for the (Al- Hijeni ). The Jordanian researcher was interested in making the concept of the popular song in Jordan clear. He concentrated on its importance for the coming generation to come. Also, studied the Jordanian Folklore as a very important element of the heritage. It is considered a core issue because it is the case of roots and branches. Researchers also called for adopting modernization to connect between the classical music and the modern one.


India's growth rate has been increasing in this global economy.  Organization plays a major role in it. Every organization has some unique climate to satisfy the employees and to retain them. Organizational climate is considered a molar concept. In this highly competitive world, Employees are expecting management support and a friendly atmosphere in order to continue their career in their respective organization. Back in the year of 1930's organization climate is a synonym for the corporate environment. Whenever employees feel they are not satisfied with the job and the climate of an organization, they are ready to switch over the job. Employee's migration affected the organization, especially talented employees. To retain the talented employees every organization should look into each and every nook and cranny to satisfy the employees need. The organizational climate is one of the ways to retain talented employees. This research paper, therefore, identifies the role of organizational climate & Talent Retention in promoting sustainable development at organizations and identifies the relationship between organizational climate and talent retention, to find out the impact of talent retention on organizational climate and to identify the most preferred organizational activities offered by employers to retain a talented employee with particular reference to Chennai using descriptive survey research design. The research hypothesis was tested using Statistical tools such as Correlation, Multiple Regression, and Weighted Mean Average. 277 respondents were analyzed using a Systematic Random sampling method. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between organizational climate and talent retention. Internal Promotion & Friendly Environment influences more in an organizational climate to retain a talented employee. Flexibility & Physical comfort are the most preferred organizational activities offered by employers to retain a talented employee. Hence it is proved that organizational climates drive the talented employees to retain in the organization.


Gastric emptying of a 51Cr labelled solid meal was studied before and at least 6 months after operation for pyloric-prepyloric ulcer disease. All patients underwent an antrectomy, selective gastric vagotomy but 10 were randomized to a gastroduodenostomy and 12 to a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy. There was no significant difference in the emptying rate between patients studied preoperatively (T 75 = 48 +/- 21.8 min) and those investigated after a Billroth I gastroduodenostomy (T 75 = 45 +/- 15.8 min). However, the emptying rate was significantly retarded in the Roux-en-Y patients as compared to those studied preoperatively (T 75 + T 50 + T 25). In the former group, an initial retardation of emptying of the meal was most apparent (T 75 = 89 +/- 81.7 min). Due to a high standard deviation, the difference between the Roux-en-Y and gastroduodenostomy groups did not reach statistical significance. Our results would indicate that retarded gastric emptying is not a regular phenomenon after a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy provided that a selective gastric vagotomy had been performed and the investigation been carried out at least 6 months after the operation.


Does studying the law reduce bias from stereotypes in legal decision-making? Psychological, psychometric, and jurisprudential theory suggest that the answer depends on the form of the relevant legal doctrine: Learning legal rules, which provide explicit direction as to the correct outcome of a case, should reduce the impact of stereotyping; learning legal standards, which require decision-makers to draw inferences from the facts of a case, should not. The results of two experimental studies involving undergraduates and law students provide strong support for this theory. In each, consistent with the predictions of the Stereotype Content Model, participants tended to decide cases for the party that was rated by an independent sample to be associated with stereotypically warmer traits unless the participants had learned legal rules and were deciding cases with facts to which those rules applied. Learning legal standards did not moderate this effect. The findings provide additional support for the distinction between rules and standards in law and can inform the public policy decisions between which is most beneficial.


Many cases of nasal allergy and bronchial asthma are accompanied with a severe inflammation in the region of the nasopharynx (nasopharyngitis). The local treatment improved the condition of the nasal allergy or bronchial asthma. This mechanism is explained by the irritability of the inflammation of the nasopharynx in which the host scarcely noticed its existence. The existence of this inflammation can only be proven by the direct examination (swab) of mucous membrane wall of the nasopharynx. The stimulation of the nasopharynx causes the excitment of the organism through the autonomic nervous system or in some other form. The serum fraction (IgA) and eosinophilia accompanied by the nasal allergy will also be corrected by the local treatment of nasopharyngitis to its normal condition at the same time.


The problem of tuning stabilizers in multimachine power systems has been formulated here as a sequence of optimization problems. Both quadratic and linear programming problems have been considered. In the former case, stabilizers with complex zeros have been included in the compensator model. In each case a particular measure of the stabilizers' gain has been defined. The constraints have been written to represent the region allowed for eigenvalue shifting together with specific constraints. The objective has been to shift the lightly damped eigenvalues associated to the system electromechanical modes. The results have shown that the quadratic programming formulation may be an important auxiliary tool for stabilizers tuning.


Communiy development is one of the guideline citivity concept on society and corporation have to apply it. This research aims to know the participation of sosiety at Semuntai Village on appllaying community development; to know correlations among age, education, knawledge, income, the people is preception about the mediators and cosmopolitan in applying community development in Finnantara Intiga corporation. This is a description structure interview method on 78 household and data analyzed using Chi square. The participation of people mostly different and has a high correlation to the level of education. On the other hands, level of age factor, knowledge, income, people perception on the mediator's action and cosmopolitan didn't show high correlation to the participation of society in programme community development. Keyword : Participation, Community, Community Development, Semuntai


This study observes the change of small intestine mucosa paneth cell by changing the amount of radiation to rat. It uses the rat(Wistar) of 250-300g as the experimental animal and irradiation equipment is Gammacell 3000Elan System. and the irradiation is conducted for 500Rad group for 34sec., 1000rad for 68sec., and 1500Rad for 102sec. once on the whole body of each group, eachgroup is anesthetized with ether after 24hours. its small intestine is extrated and then it is observed by transmission electronic microscopy. The experimental results are as follows : 1. 500 Rad Group The Slightly elongated form of mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum are observed in 500 Rad group. 2. 1000 Rad Group Golgi apparatus is appeared as the extended plasmodium, secretory granules exist only external membrane due to the self-fusion, the number of mitochondria that are changed as L-type are reduced, rough endoplasmic reticulum is distributed with the expanded form. 3. 1500 Rad Group The number of Golgi apparatus and granules is remarkably reduced, mitochondria is changed into C-type and free ribosomes can be observed instead of the reduction of rough endoplasmic reticulum.


In Italy, Ecotoxicology has found a place with the Legislative Decree n. 152 (May 11, 1999), emanated in fulfilment of the Directives 91/271/CEE "urban waste-water treatment" and 91/676/CEE "protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources". This decree in reality goes beyond (actually anticipating the content of the Framework Directive on Water, still under way of elaboration), and charges the Regions with the duty to identify, for all and each water body, the class of quality on the basis of a chemical and biological monitoring and their classification according to the environmental quality objectives. To this aim, for all water bodies (lakes, rivers, groundwater, coastal waters) the ecological, chemical, and environmental status must be assessed by measuring specific parameters. This paper briefly summarises the role of biological monitoring in the classification of waters in five different categories, ranking from High to Foul Environmental status.


This is a unique dictionary, of interest to a wide audience in the object technology world. Engineers may find it helps clarify inconsitencies and differences they find in oo methodologies. Further, it may help their understanding of the local "guru" (whose obscure terminology may sometimes seem like a goal in itself). Anyone involved in object technology will benefit from this book: the project of clarifying and unifying the OO world will hopefully advance because of it.


The complex antenna factor (CAF) of a dipole antenna with a balun can be determined from the effective length and the input impedance of the antenna element and the S-parameters of the balun. The effective length and the input impedance are calculated by a numerical method such as the method of moments. The S-parameters are measured using a network analyzer with its thru-, reflect-, and line-conditions (TRL) calibration. Alternatively, the CAF can be determined by a modified three-antenna method on a ground plane. In the present paper, the systematic uncertainties of the two methods are estimated in the frequency range of 30-1000 MHz in order to clarify the potential for application of the two methods and to determine areas for improvement. The CAF values determined by these two methods are compared, and the results of this comparison indicate the validity of the uncertainty estimations. In the measured balun method, the TRL measurement should be improved in the low-frequency range (30-100 MHz), and in the three-antenna method, the antenna positioning should be improved.


In the last few years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with compact digital cameras, have become a cheap and efficient alternative to classic aerial photogrammetry and close-range photogrammetry. Low-altitude photogrammetry has great potential not only in the development of orthophoto maps but is also increasingly used in surveying and rapid mapping. This paper presents a practical aspect of the application of the custom homemade low-cost UAV, equipped with an action camera, to obtain images from low altitudes and develop a digital elevation model of the excavation. The conducted analyses examine the possibilities of using low-cost UAVs to deliver useful photogrammetric products. The experiments were carried out on a closed excavation in the town of Mince (north-eastern Poland). The flight over the examined area was carried out autonomously. A photogrammetric network was designed, and the reference areas in the mine were measured using the Global Navigation Satellite System-Real Time Kinematic (GNSS-RTK) method to perform accuracy analyses of the excavation 3D model. Representation of the created numerical terrain model was a dense point cloud. The average height difference between the generated dense point cloud and the reference model was within the range of 0.01–0.13 m. The difference between the volume of the excavation measured by the GNSS kinematic method and the volume measured on the basis of a dense point cloud was less than 1%. The obtained results show that the application of the low-cost UAV equipped with an action camera with a wide-angle lens, allows for obtaining high-accuracy images comparable to classic, compact digital cameras.


Many scientific high performance codes that simulate e.g. black holes, coastal waves, climate and weather, etc. rely on block-structured meshes and use finite differencing methods to iteratively solve the appropriate systems of differential equations. In this paper we investigate implementations of an extremely simple simulation of this type using various programming systems and languages. We focus on a shared memory, parallelized algorithm that simulates a 1D heat diffusion using asynchronous queues for the ghost zone exchange. We discuss the advantages of the various platforms and explore the performance of this model code on different computing architectures: Intel, AMD, and ARM64FX. As a result, Python was the slowest of the set we compared. Java, Go, Swift, and Julia were the intermediate performers. The higher performing platforms were C++, Rust, Chapel, Charm++, and HPX.


Australian financial institutions remained healthy throughout the global financial crisis and their deposits were guaranteed by the Federal Government. Nevertheless, demand for currency increased abnormally quickly in late 2008, resulting in an additional $5 billion (or 12 per cent) of Australian banknotes on issue by the end of that year. The rise in currency demand began in mid October 2008, around four weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and concurrently with policy responses of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Federal Government. The surge in currency demand did not have any destabilizing effect on the banking system – indeed bank deposits also rose during the period. However, the rise in currency demand did raise some issues for the RBA's banknote distribution operations. Traditional methods of currency demand suggest a role for interest rate reductions and the Federal Government stimulus payments to households in explaining the increase in currency holdings. We estimate that these factors can only account for around 20 per cent of the observed increase in currency holdings. The remainder of the rise could be due to an increase in precautionary holdings by people concerned about the liquidity or solvency of financial institutions and by financial institutions as a contingency. This is consistent with the disproportionate rise in demand for high-denomination banknotes at this time.


Outliers in weights and activations pose a key challenge for fixed-point quantization of neural networks. While they can be addressed by fine-tuning, this is not practical for ML service providers (e.g., Google or Microsoft) who often receive customer models without training data. Specialized hardware for handling activation outliers can enable low-precision neural networks, but at the cost of nontrivial area overhead. We instead propose overwrite quantization (OverQ), a lightweight hardware technique that opportunistically increases bitwidth for activation outliers by overwriting nearby zeros. It has two major modes of operation: range overwrite and precision overwrite. Range overwrite reallocates bits to increase the range of outliers, while precision overwrite reuses zeros to increase the precision of non-outlier values. Combining range overwrite with a simple cascading logic, we handle the vast majority of outliers to significantly improve model accuracy at low bitwidth. Our experiments show that with modest cascading, we can consistently handle over 90% of outliers and achieve +5% ImageNet Top-1 accuracy on a quantized ResNet-50 at 4 bits. Our ASIC prototype shows OverQ can be implemented efficiently on top of existing weight-stationary systolic arrays with small area increases per processing element. We imagine this technique can complement modern DNN accelerator designs to provide small increases in accuracy with insignificant area overhead.


Transportation is a very complex event which compromises animal welfare and meat quality. Even though important research works have been reported related to animal transport and welfare, many questions are still remaining to be addressed, particularly on the effect of transport time, vibration and climatic conditions.

The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the effects of handling and transport on animals' welfare. The main methodologies employed comprehensive field measurement to collect data, observations, video filming for behavioural study and modeling. The thesis is structured into 3 papers. Paper I focuses on the modelling the dynamic performance of heart rate during loading for transport. Paper II and III are dealing with vibration and effect of transport on welfare of cattle and pigs' respectively.

The model developed to describe the heart rate performances fits and successfully simulates the heart rate. The heart rate increased rapidly from resting value to peak value and then remains under stress, partially under stress or fully (100%) recovered.

The speed, road conditions and standing orientations of animals had effect on level of vibrations. In all road types and speeds, standing orientation of animals facing in driving direction generally exposed to higher horizontal and lateral vibrations than animal facing perpendicular to the driving direction. The three common resonance frequencies identified were 1.3, 5.1, and 12.6 Hz in the second peak at 23Hz in vertical direction on tarmac road at the speed of 85km/h.

Cortisol concentration level elevated during short transport time and decreased with an increase of transport time. Highest and lowest glucose concentrations for winter and summer were at 8 h and 12 h transport time respectively. Concentrations of lactate and creatine kinase positively correlated with transport time. The pH24 values correlated with transport time during summer. Behaviours such as lying, sitting, rooting, smelling, panting, fighting, restlessness, change of position and vocalization correlated with transport time.

The overall conclusion from the study was that transport and handling had significant effects on animal welfare. The model developed described well the dynamic response of heart rate of the animals during loading for transport.


Through fifteen essays that work from a rich array of primary sources, this collection makes the novel claim that early modern European women, like men, had a youth. European culture recognised that, between childhood and full adulthood, early modern women experienced distinctive physiological, social, and psychological transformations. Drawing on two mutually shaped layers of inquiry — cultural constructions of youth and lived experiences — these essays exploit a wide variety of sources, including literary and autobiographical works, conduct literature, judicial and asylum records, drawings, and material culture. The geographical and temporal ranges traverse England, Ireland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, and Mexico from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. This volume brings fresh attention to representations of female youth, their own life writings, young women's training for adulthood, courtship, and the emergent sexual lives of young unmarried women.


Since Ancient Days, human beings have exchanged money for goods, or even some goods for other kind of goods. The goods that were exchanged characterized the different ages through History. Today, we are in the so-called Information Age and, therefore, a core part of current interactions take place around data exchanges. Serge Abiteboul et al.'s "Data on the Web" aims at laying the foundations for data exchange in those applications which deal with semistructured data.


Autoantibodies have become an important diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of connective tissue diseases (CTD) and for defining certain subgroups of these diseases. According to the reationship between clinical symptoms and the specificity of autoantibodies they can be classified into two major groups: (1) marker antibodies which are highly specific for a particular disease entity and (2) symptom specific autoantibodies associated with certain clinical expressions or subgroups. Titers of autoantibodies can vary from low to high but do usually not correlate with the status of disease activity. In order to interpret the significance of autoantibodies in CTD and to predict the course of disease it is necessary not only to identify single autoantibody specificities but to consider the combination in which they appear.


Twenty feral hogs (Sus scrofa) from a newly discovered population on Fort Riley Army Base (Kansas, USA) were shot and examined from November 1993 through February 1994 to assess the health of the population. The hogs were generally healthy, although serologic evidence indicated that some individuals had been exposed to parvovirus, enterovirus, and swine influenza. We found no indications of brucellosis, pseudorabies, or porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome. Lung worms (Metastrongylus spp.), round worms (Ascaris suum), and whipworms (Trichuris suis) were found in nine, four and two of the hogs, respectively. Seven hogs had infestations of lice (Haematopinus suis). Fence-line contacts were documented between four wild boars and domestic sows, and in three cases wild boars entered pens containing domestic sows. We recommend that hogs be examined periodically from this and other wild populations to monitor health status since new animals may enter populations through deliberate translocation, escape from shooting preserves or domestic swine producers, or dispersal from other feral populations.


This article seeks to compare the effect of gendered perceptions of labour on women's presence in the workforce in early 20th-century colonial India, as nascent industry sprang up in several parts of the country, and towards the end of the 20th century. We compare the entry and exit of women workers in the mill industry of South India in the first half of the 20th century with the informalisation of labour in the fish processing industry, whose workforce was predominantly women, in the 1990s. The regulation of women's work by means of protective laws that sheltered them from "hazardous" work and mandated benefits such as creches at the workplace and maternity benefits conditioned women's employment in multiple ways, ranging from how they were resented and mistreated by male workers and how organised unions debated and finally championed equal wages for equal work to how women got excluded altogether. After independence, protective laws and regulations grew in number and women's participation in the labour force steadily came down. One way to cross the hurdle to women's large-scale employment raised by protective legislation is to employ women on informal terms. This means walking the thin line, on the part of employers, between observing the law on contract workers and their benefits in letter and complying with the law in spirit. The fish processing industry that came up along the Indian coastline is a good example of informality at the workplace mediated by gender. Differences in gender perceptions across India's culturally varied regions explains why most workers in the fish processing industry hail from one single state, Kerala.


This report describes the histologic, immunologic, and ultrastructural features of a distinctive spindle‐cell tumor of the female breast interpreted as pure myoepithelioma. By light microscopy, The tumor showed the mammary parenchyma replaced by bundles of fusiform cells, which cytoplasms contained myosin and actin, demonstrated immunologically. Ultrastructurally, The spindle cells were joined by mature desmosomes and presented parallel bundles of microfilaments and remnants of basal lamina.


We envision a self-sovereign community that defines itself from the grass roots, bottom up, in a decentralized manner. In a different paper we show how a digital community can grow by using a trust graph and maintaining a bound on the number of fake identities. In another paper we show how this trust graph can integrate into a consensus protocol, to maintain a distributed ledger of the history of the community, while maintaining governance over the list of members. Next, we show in this paper how the community can maintain self-sovereignty over the economy, by transferring the role of minting money to the hands of every registered member of the community. Such minting serves both as the origin point of sovereignty over the economy, as well as a form of universal basic income.
Yet, a distributed construction of an online community which is bigger than the reach of personal acquaintances is strongly susceptible to sybils. This paper assumes that the community has some means for occasionally exposing sybils. It then shows, based on this assumption, that there are means to balance back the economy such that all money minted by sybils is eventually retrieved and liquidated, so that - asymptotically - the amount of money minted equals the number of genuine identities, multiplied by the amount of time they were minting. Furthermore, we argue that this approach can serve as an incentive mechanism that deters the creation of sybils and incentivizes sybil hunting.