Recently, the layering of augmented reality information on top of smartphone applications has created unprecedented user engagement and popularity. One augmented reality-based entertainment application, Pokémon Go (Pokémon Company, Tokyo, Japan) has become the most rapidly downloaded in history. This technology holds tremendous promise to promote ambulatory activity. However, there exists the obvious potential for distraction-related morbidity. We report two cases, presenting simultaneously to our trauma center, with injuries sustained secondary to gameplay with this augmented reality-based application.


OBJECTIVE: To review the role of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for protease inhibitors in the treatment of HIV infection. DATA SOURCES: Primary articles were identified using MEDLINE (1966–October 2000), EMBASE (1987–October 2000), AIDSLINE (1980–October 2000), Current Contents, PubMed, and Medscape. Further articles were identified from bibliographic review of primary articles and review papers. Abstracts presented at the World AIDS Conference, Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, and Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections were also identified from 1997 to 2000. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All English-language, prospective clinical trials, as well as selected retrospective studies and case series, pertaining to therapeutic drug monitoring of protease inhibitors were included. DATA SYNTHESIS: A number of clinical studies have found a good relationship between concentration and pharmacologic response and/or toxicity as well as wide interpatient variability in the pharmacokinetics of protease inhibitors. There also is some preliminary evidence of the usefulness of plasma drug concentrations to guide dosage adjustments of protease inhibitors in patients with liver dysfunction. Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence of a relationship between drug concentrations and resistance. CONCLUSIONS: A number of clinical studies support the usefulness of TDM of protease inhibitors. However, before TDM can be of the most value, further evaluation requires simplified and standardized assays to be performed routinely by clinical laboratories; determination of the appropriate target concentration and therapeutic range, as well as the best predictor of pharmacologic response; and refined interpretation of plasma drug concentrations. Randomized, controlled clinical trials of patient outcomes are needed to assess the clinical utility of TDM for protease inhibitors.


ABSTRACT This study examined contributions of different types of sport activities to the development of elite youth soccer performance. Match-play performance of 44 German male players was assessed by expert coaches twice, 24 months apart (age 11.1–13.1 years), based on videotaped 5v5 matches. Player pairs were matched by identical age and initial performance at t1. Each player was assigned to a group of either "Strong" or "Weak Responders" based on a higher or lower subsequent performance improvement at t2 within each pair (mean Δperformance 29% vs. 7%). A questionnaire recorded current and earlier amounts of organised practice/training and non-organised sporting play, in soccer and other sports, respectively. Group comparison revealed that "Strong Responders" accumulated more non-organised soccer play and organised practice/training in other sports, but not more organised soccer practice/training. Subsequent multivariate analyses (multiple linear regression analyses (MLR)) highlighted that higher resultant match-play performance at t2 was accounted for R2adj = 0.65 by performance at t1, together with more non-organised soccer play and organised engagement in other sports, respectively, and greater current, but less earlier volume of organised soccer. The findings suggest that variable early sporting experience facilitates subsequent soccer performance development in German elite youth footballers.


This study aimed to visualize a pig character targeting the golden pig in Geuknakjeon of Bulguksa Temple. As for a pig, it is included in this list of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals and controls Haeshinjang. Today, the characters market is enjoying rapid growth due to diversification of platforms. However, we do not see many characters made out of Korean traditional cultures and customs. This study first looks into significance of pigs that are often observed in Korean traditional culture and then offers possibilities of their being transformed into contemporary characters. In order to achieve the research goals, the study shed new light on the golden pig in Bulguksa Temple. As making contemporary applications to <The Golden Pig>, the study proceeded with work of visualization. As for a face of a character, the study focused on that of the pig but regarding a body, the study applied a man's body. After all, the study came up with this SD character in a second-proportioned figure. This study discuses formative characteristics of existing Buddhist cultural assets and uses the character for improving understanding on Korean traditional culture. In the future, the study will propose ideas on animation contents development targeting infants and children.


This work describes some recent results on the biomedical use of infrared (IR) images under three aspects. One is the use of thermal imaging for 3D modelling of the human body with special focus on the reproduction of the breast geometry. Such technique could be used for breast reconstruction or choose of external prosthesis to be used for temperature calculations. Secondly, they can be used for identification of the limits of visibility of the internal masses and tumours on the skin surface temperature. The final aspect is on the use for early diagnoses of breast diseases.


This paper presents the design and implementation of a digital signal processor (DSP)-based generator control unit (GCU) for a variable frequency synchronous generator with brush-less exciter. A novel model-based control algorithm is proposed to better account for the wide operating frequency range and various load conditions. In addition to the model-based inner-loop exciter field current regulator and outer-loop generator voltage regulator, the control algorithm also adopts a generator-model-based d-axis current feed-forward loop to compensate for the load disturbance. Simulation and test results show a considerable performance improvement for the new controller when compared to the existing controllers, including better dynamics, better damping stability margin, and more uniform response over the operating range.


Some pundits argue that public support for Social Security privatization is unaffected by stock market downturns. Others worry that majorities might flip with each major market swing. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses support a third perspective, consistent with theories of a rational public, where citizens update their opinions in reasonable ways in response to changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor's 500 index, and an average of the major markets. Therefore, the stock market affects Social Security privatization attitudes, particularly when movements in the markets remind citizens of the risks inherent in investing. These findings open new possibilities and create new challenges for including the public in policy debates.


Abstract. Rahayu HSP, Muchtar, Saidah. 2019. The feasibility and farmer perception of true shallot seed technology in Sigi District, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Asian J Agric 3: 16-21. Shallot is one of horticultural commodities that plays a significant role in both national and regional economy. A fluctuating supply of shallot influences the inflation level. Shallot production is currently still facing many problems, including high production cost. The high shallot production cost mostly goes to expenses for labor and seed while Indonesian shallot is mainly produced from the bulbs seed. This high-cost production causes a lower shallot competitiveness. Therefore, introduction of True Shallot Seed (TSS) technology, which lowers the cost for shallot seed, could be an ideal option to improve the shallot competitiveness in Indonesia. However, the shallot farming feasibility and the farmer's perception of this technology are two critical aspects that need to be considered in the adoption of this new technology. This research aimed to study the potency of true shallot seed development in Central Sulawesi based on the TSS's farming feasibility and farmer perception on TSS. The research was conducted in Sigi District, Central Sulawesi. The results showed that the farming of shallot using TSS was feasible, and within 14.9 t.ha-1 productivity, the Revenue-Cost Ratio was 3.15 while the Benefit-Cost Ratio was 2.15. The perception was examined based on three aspects namely technical, economic, and social aspects. The results showed that farmers were interested in planting true seed of shallot based on its high productivity, lower production cost, and market acceptance of the product; while in the social aspect, the extension and farmer group's support still need to be improved for development of TSS.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

We have previously shown that a human soluble cell conditioned media (CCM) from hypoxia-induced, potentially multipotent cells, grown in a perfusion bioreactor system inhibits tumor cell growth in vitro and in two animal models. Here we present data that indicate that a low molecular weight sub-fraction from the CCM has an increased anti-oncogenic activity. This activity was demonstrated in orthotopic pancreatic models, nRAS melanoma assays and over 10 additional human cancer cell lines in vitro. In an orthotopic BxPC3 pancreatic cancer model, there was a statistically significant improvement in survival following weekly intravenous injections of 0.1ml of sub fractioned CCM, as well as a significant improvement with 0.5ml intraperitoneal injections post-resection, as measured by Kaplan Meier analysis (p<0.05) (figures below). Uveal and nRAS melanoma cancer cell growth was inhibited by greater than 90% in in-vitro proliferation assays. The mechanism of action of the CCM is the induction of apoptosis through the upregulation of Caspase 3 and 9, as demonstrated by immunostaining of Annexin V and immunoblot ayalysis. In a Miapaca nude mouse daily dose study, tumor mass and metastatic extent was substantially reduced in treated mouse versus the control. Further, in a BXPC3 nude mouse daily dose study, 60% (p<0.05) of treated mice were tumor free after four weeks of treatment, while only 10% were tumor free in the control group . Little or no apparent drug toxicity was observed. These results indicate that the CCM sub-fraction could be a useful raw material for a treatment for a large range of neoplastic diseases.

Citation Format: Emmett Pinney, Mayra Montes-Camacho, Kayler Brintle, Christian Posch, Rhiana Menen, David Easter, Michael Bouvet, Robert Hoffman, Gail Naughton. Sub-fractions of conditioned medium, from hypoxia-induced cells with multipotent potential, exhibit a significant anti-oncogenic activity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2265. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2265


Context: The nature of the work in saw mills carries a huge risk as the workers are exposed to various life-threatening hazards. Aims: This study was conducted to know the "Work place Wellbeing" of the saw mill workers, occupational Hazards identification and Risk assessment (HIRA) including hazard communication, occupational accidents, injuries and diseases. Settings and Design: The study was a cross sectional study amongst workers of saw mills. Methods and Material: A total of 219 saw mill workers were interviewed. "Work place wellbeing", was studied by using the "Workplace Wellbeing Questionnaire - Black Dog Institute" which includes four areas of workplace wellbeing viz. (1) Work satisfaction, (2) Organizational respect for the employee, (3) Employer care, and (4) Intrusion of work into private life. Reliability analysis was done and Cronbach's alpha was found. Association was found between the work place wellbeing and other demographic and occupational variables. Statistical Analysis Used: Proportions and Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Scores of all the participants fall in the medium scale for "work satisfaction". For "respect", 93.6% fall in the medium scale. In "employer care" 97.7% fall in medium category. All the workers scored in the medium scale for the "intrusion in private life". None of the scores were in low scale for any domain. Injury as an event was reported by 8.22%. Specific disease prevalence was highest for back ache as 72.1%. Hazard communication was done in 40% workers. Conclusions: We found poor working positions at work place and they did suffer from various medical morbidities at the work place.


Positive parenting is hampered by social-contextual risks—lack of income, education, and support, as well as maternal mental illness—but current models do not examine the effect of each factor in concert with the others. Using structural equation modeling and a community sample ( N 5 202) of African American mothers diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, we examined the direct and indirect effects of poverty, maternal education, social support, material and social stress, current mental health, and psychiatric history on positive parenting attitudes, involvement in children's education, and authoritative parenting style. The strongest predictors of parenting attitudes were stress and current mental health. Parenting attitudes were the strongest predictors of parent involvement and style but stress and current mental health were also predictive. Involvement was also predicted by maternal education and social support.


The regulation of human natural killer (NK) activity by IgG described previously by us depends on the ability of cytophilic molecules of monomeric IgG (mIgG) to inhibit the subsequent killing of NK-sensitive targets. Highly purified NK cells obtained from human peripheral blood are able to directly bind mIgG as well as antigen-complexed IgG through its Fc region. The demonstration that NK cells bear labile cytophilic IgG, a property which usually has been attributed to L cells, indicates that mIgG-induced inhibition of NK activity is mediated by direct interactions between the inhibitory ligand and cytotoxic effector cells. The Fc receptor (FcR) mediating downregulation of NK cytotoxicity appeared to be FcR gamma III, previously found to be selectively expressed on NK cells and granulocytes. In studies of unidirectional cross-inhibition of mIgG binding to NK cells by various anti-CD16 monoclonal antibodies, binding characteristics of mIgG or complexed IgG were similar. Thus, the FcR gamma III for mIgG appear to be indistinguishable from receptors responsible for binding of polymeric IgG on human NK cells. The negative regulation of NK activity by mIgG was not attributable to inhibition of conjugate formation between effector cells and K532 targets, but rather to inhibition of a post-binding event involved in killing of conjugated targets. The data presented suggest that the Fc gamma RIII on human NK cells can either mediate killing against IgG antibody-coated target cells or, upon interaction with cytophilic monomeric ligand in soluble form, induce inhibition of NK activity.


Malaria, caused by plasmodium species has great impact on human generations. Each year 300–500 million of people are diagnosed and 1 million die of the disease. Malaria probably become endemic about 10,000 years ago and it has affected human genome by strong selective pressure. Several human genetic diseases are thought to be the outcome of this pressure. Our current research is focused on understanding natural host defense mechanism of this disease, especially effect to human fetal hemoglobin expression to plasmodium species. Other investigator indicated growth of Plasmodium falciparum is retarded in the cell containing human fetal hemoglobin in vivo (Nature, 270:171), and transgenic mouse (transgenic of human fetal hemoglobin and knockout of mouse beta-major gene) infected with Plasmodium has longer survival compare to control.(Blood, 92:2520). Here we use transgenic mouse express human fetal hemoglobin (human Gamma globin) which simulate human hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (PNAS86:7033) to investigate fetal hemoglobin itself has a protective effect on Plasmodium infection in vivo. We injected 1,000 Plasmodium.yoelii infected RBCs to transgenic mouse expressing human fetal hemoglobin (n=5) and C57BL6J mouse (n=8). Blood smears obtained daily and smears were stained with Giemsa. Parasitemia is calculated from about 1000 RBCs. 5 days after injection, infected RBCs was 26.4 ±4.7% for C57BL6J and 32.6± 17.3% for human fetal hemoglobin transgenic mouse. We couldn't show significant difference between these groups. And 60% of C57BL6J mice (3 of 5) were recovered from illness. In contrast, 20% of transgenic mouse (1of 5) was recovered from illness. These results demonstrates only human fetal hemoglobin expression is not enough to contribute defense mechanism against plasmodium species.


Abstract The resin transfer moulding process (RTM) allows the industrial production of large FRP parts. In this technique layers of reinforcements (mats, woven rovings) are inserted into the mold cavity and resin is injected to fill the closed mold applying external pressure. Due to the strong interdependence between mold design, filling behavior and part quality it is most important to control the cavity pressure as the major influencing process parameter. A simple model is proposed to represent the pressure distribution during mold filling. It is based on Darcy's law for flow of liquids through a porous media and can be applied to single type or combinations of different reinforcements.


Incidental bycatch of seabirds in commercial fishing activities is known to cause declines in seabird populations. However, the full impacts on the ecology of seabirds, including effects on seabird distribution and behavior, through the association with fisheries are not fully understood. We developed a novel method to integrate fine-scale GPS tracking data from the foraging trips of 25 white-capped albatross Thalassarche steadi within sub-Antarctic New Zealand with fishing effort distribution data to (1) quantify fine-scale overlap between individual albatrosses and individual vessels and (2) characterize behavioral changes in albatrosses when they are associated with fishing vessels. Overlap between vessels and albatrosses occurred in 68% of tracks. However, albatrosses demonstrated high variability in foraging trip destinations and association rates with fishing activity, both between and within individuals. Eight tracks never overlapped a fishing vessel. Of the 17 tracks that did overlap, a range of 2 to 73% of foraging effort on each trip occurred while overlapping a fishing vessel. Albatross foraging behavior was characterized by a significantly slower and straighter path when overlapping vessels. This study highlights the utility of GPS tags to examine the fine-scale distribution of seabirds in relation to fishing activity, revealing how effects of fisheries on marine megafauna may extend beyond mortality and injury as well as population numbers. However, results are currently constrained, not only by limited tracking data sets, but also by the quality (spatiotemporal resolution) and availability of fishing effort data. Critical conservation issues related to the effects of fisheries on threatened marine megafauna cannot be fully addressed without comparative data sets with resolution equal to GPS tags.


Previously, we showed that diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) suppressed pulmonary clearance of Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) and inhibited the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages and their response to Listeria in the secretion of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and IL-12. In this report we examined the effects of DEPs and/or Listeria on T-cell development and secretion of IL-2, IL-6, and interferon (IFN)-gamma. We exposed Brown Norway rats to clean air or DEPs at 50 or 100 mg/m3 for 4 hr by nose-only inhalation and inoculated with 100,000 Listeria. Lymphocytes in the lung-draining lymph nodes were isolated at 3 and 7 days postexposure, analyzed for CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and measured for cytokine production in response to concanavalin A or heat-killed L. monocytogenes. Listeria infection induced lymphocyte production of IL-6. At 7 days postinfection, lymphocytes from Listeria-infected rats showed significant increases in CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and the CD8+/CD4+ ratio and exhibited increased production of IFN-gamma and IL-2 receptor expression compared with the noninfected control. These results suggest an immune response that involves the action of IL-6 on T-cell activation, yielding Listeria-specific CD8+ cells. DEP exposure alone enhanced lymphocyte production of both IL-2 and IL-6 but inhibited lymphocyte secretion of IFN-gamma. In rats exposed to 100 mg/m3 DEPs and Listeria, a 10-fold increase occurred in pulmonary bacterial count at 3 days postinfection when compared with the Listeria-only exposure group. The isolated lymphocytes showed a significant increase in the CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and the CD8+/CD4+ ratio and exhibited increased IL-2 responsiveness and increased capacity in the secretion of IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-gamma. This T-cell immune response was sufficient to allow the Brown Norway rats to clear the bacteria at 7 days postinfection and overcome the down-regulation of the innate immunity by the acute DEP exposure.


Two statistical models are comapared in the classification of crops recorded on color aerial photographs. A theory of error ellipses is applied to the pattern recognition problem. An elliptical boundary condition classification model (EBC), useful for recognition of candidate patterns, evolves out of error ellipse theory. The EBC model is compared with the minimum distance to the mean (MDM) classification model in terms of pattern recognition ability. The pattern recognition results of both models are interpreted graphically using scatter diagrams to represent measurement space. Measurement space, for this report, is determined by optical density measurements collected from Kodak Ektachrome Infrared Aero Film 8443 (EIR). The EBC model is shown to be a significant improvement over the MDM model.


Abstract I present an overview of our ongoing project aimed at building a new generation of velocity dispersion profiles ad rotation curves for a representative sample of Galactic globular clusters, from the the radial velocity of hundreds of individual stars distributed at different distances from the cluster center. The innermost portion of the profiles will be used to constrain the possible presence of intermediate-mass black holes. The adopted methodology consists of combining spectroscopic observations acquired with three different instruments at the ESO-VLT: the adaptive-optics assisted, integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph SINFONI for the innermost and highly crowded cluster cores, the multi-IFU spectrograph KMOS for the intermediate regions, and the multi-fiber instrument FLAMES/GIRAFFE-MEDUSA for the outskirts. The case of NGC 6388, representing the pilot project that motivated the entire program, is described in some details.


Background Morning stiffness exhibits a circadian rhythm. Its assessment is subjective and no method has been introduced yet to measure it quantitatively. Morning stiffness may cause a delay in response to a stimulus and this delay in response time can be measured electrophysiologically (1,2). Objectives To quantify morning stiffness and to determine the relationship between disease activity and morning stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods 27 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (23 female, 4 male; with a median age 55.00 [24-74] years) were enrolled. Premotor reaction and response times of the participants were measured electromyographically. Premotor time is the interval between the stimulation and the beginning of muscle activation. Motor time is the interval between the beginning of muscle activation to perform a prespecified task and fulfillment of that task. Each subject was seated on a chair with the back supported and forearms on the lap. A button was located on a vertical platform placed in front of the patient at arm's length. With a surface stimulation electrode, a painless electrical stimulus of 5 mA was applied on the shoulder of the non-dominant side. The patient was asked to press the button in response to the stimulus. The active recording surface electrode was placed over the anterior fibers of the deltoid muscle and the reference surface electrode was placed over the acromion on the dominant side. Recordings were performed twice at 8:00 AM and 17:00 PM on the same day. Grip strength was measured by a dynamometer. Quality of life and pain were evaluated by health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) and visual analogue scale (VAS), respectively. DAS28 was also evaluated. Results Motor time, grip strength, VAS and HAQ measurements improved significantly improved in the evening (Table 1). There was positive correlation between DAS28 and both duration (r=0.448, p=0.019) and severity (r=0.574, p=0.002) of morning stiffness, HAQ (r=0.553, p=0.003) and VAS (r=0.580, p=0.002). Table 1. Change in motor time, grip strength, VAS, HAQ during the day 8 AM 5 PM p-value Premotor time (ms) 1222.19±146.98 1211.00±151.09 0.749 Motor time (ms) 528.81±275.70 428.65±158.33 0.026 Grip strength (bar) 0.29±0.18 0.32±0.18 0.004 VAS 6.07±2.84 3.93±3.35 <0.001 HAQ 0.91±0.77 0.54±0.57 0.002 Conclusions This is a preliminary trial to quantify morning stiffness. We observed a decrease in the motor reaction time in the evening which may be due to amelioration of stiffness during the day. We believe that this electrophysiological method may permit assessment of morning stiffness more objectively. References Ozyemisci-Taskiran O, Gencay-Can A, Gunendi Z, Beyazova M. A Single Dose of Indomethacin Does Not Prolong Premotor Reaction Time in Young, Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study. Turk J Rheumatol 2012;27(1):24-30. Dickstein R, Hocherman S, Amdor G, Pillar T. Reaction and Movement Times in Patients with Hemiparesis for Unilateral and Bilateral Elbow Flexion. Phys Ther. 1993;73:374-380. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4958


In this paper we investigate application of the recently developed margin-based feature elimination (MFE) method for feature selection in support vector machines to high-dimensional, small sample size data from the DNA microarray domain. We compared the performance of MFE to the well-known recursive feature elimination (RFE) method. Our results show that MFE outperforms RFE in terms of generalization accuracy and classifier margin, especially for low frequency of SVM retraining during the feature elimination process, which is practically necessitated for very high-dimensional feature spaces.


AIM
Attempt to compare the occlusion condition in groups of children with different body posture.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
336 children aged from 8 to 14 years were investigated. The subjects were selected in orthodontic clinics (237 children) and at schools (98 children). All participants were divided into groups with different body posture according to Kasperczyk's point method. The comparison of the occlusion quality was performed with the use of a scale developed by Emmerich-Popłatek.

RESULTS
The studied group comprised following number of persons: 12 (3.56%) with no malocclusion, 37 (10.98%) with mild, 162 (48.37%) with moderate and 124 (37.09%) with severe malocclusion. In relation to the body posture, 52.67% of the participants had correct posture, 45.53 % had a faulty posture of mild degree and 1.78% of severe degree. A considerable differentiation of the occlusion condition was discovered within the three groups. In view of a small number of participants with a faulty posture of considerable degree (n=6) the comparative analysis of the occlusion condition was performed between the group with a correct body posture and group with faulty posture (created by combining group 2 and 3). The result of the analysis suggests a significant differentiation of the occlusion condition between the groups mentioned above (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION
Children with faulty postures present more intense malocclusions than children with a correct body posture. Results of this type suggest the need for interdisciplinary look at people with malocclusions whose therapy should involve body posture correction.


Noise may be considered a factor of environmental degradation that affects not only the quality of life of human beings, but also the whole spectrum of living creatures. The Living Natural Reserve of the Arzila wetland, integrated in the European Net of Biogenetic Reserves, is likely to be crossed bya highway connecting Montemor-o-Velho to Ameal (Arzila), about 13 km west of Coimbra, Portugal. In this article the evolution of noise in the wetland is analyzed, taking into consideration the probable impact of the new highway. A marked increase in the level of continuous noise that may negatively affect the animal life inside the wetland is forecasted.


Summary Increased awareness of chronic kidney disease stimulates an interest towards early detection and prevention. The true prevalence of kidney injury varies from 10 to 40%, mostly depending on the methodology of the study and the population enrolled. A screening strategy targeting the highest risk groups, those with diabetes or hypertension, family history of diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease, is likely to be most efficient and cost effective. Quantification for albuminuria should be performed using laboratorymethods or albumin to creatinine ratio and should be monitored at regular intervals. The most correct equations calculating glomerular filtration rate differ in separate populations, and the most accurate equations in patients with high cardiovascular risk are MDRD and CKD-EPI. Markers of early kidney damage have association with other target organs damage, even in subclinical or preclinical mode. Individuals at stage 4 and 5 chronic kidney disease, with higher levels of proteinuria, proteinuria together with haematuria, rapidly declining glomerular filtration rate, or poorly controlled hypertension should be referred to a nephrologist in order to identify the cause, provide recommendations, slow progression, or treat complications.


In the design of underwater electro acoustic transducer, power factor improvement circuit is more required rather than impedance matching if the driving power amplifier has little inner resistance. Many research results have been focused on the power matching circuit designing for transferring maximum power in the wideband. There are few results in the designing study on the power factor improvement for the wide band underwater electro acoustic transducer. In this paper, we set up a new design method on the power factor improvement for the wide band electro acoustic transducer, and confirm its feasibility by the experiments.


INTRODUCTION: Patients with chronic renal failure usually require exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) to alleviate anaemia resulting from inadequate epo production by the kidneys. Although this treatment is effective, recombinant EPO could cause hypertension, its antibodies, and other side-effects. EPO gene therapy is more attractive since it could be more economical and more convenient for the long-term management of the disease. As targets for gene therapy, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are more easily expanded, lower immunogenic, and more stable for expressing exogenous genes than other cells. Here we describe an approach of transplantation of the erythropoietin gene modified mesenchymal stem cells beneath the renal capsule to treate Wistar rats with relative erythropoietin deficiency. METHODS: we constructed an EPO-expressed vector pGenesil-HRE-EPO directed by hypoxia response element (HRE)/SV40 promoter, and transduced it into MSCs prepared by adherently culturing rat bone marrow. The EPO-gene modified MSCs (Epo+) in vitro growed normally and stably secreted high level of functional EPO in hypoxia condition, which produced from 3.23 × 10(5) to 9.98 × 10(5) mIU of EPO per 10(6) cells per 24 hr. To determine the role of these MSCs to treate renal anemia in vivo, EPO+, EPO (vector pGenesil-1 or normal) MSCs were injected into rats with renal anemia beneath the renal capsule, the skin, or in muscles (4 × 10(7) cells/rat). Renal anemia rats had been induced by feeding with adenine, whose hematocrit levels were at 33.5 +/− 4.1%, the plasma Epo concentration was 6.5 ± 1.7 mU/ml. EPO concentration was determined by ELISA. During whole experiment, we measured rat body weight and blood pressure, and obtained blood samples regularly. RESULTS: 2wk after transplantation, the hematocrit levels in anemia rats injected Epo+ MSCs beneath the renal capsule, the skin, or in muscles markedly increased to 67.2 ± 5.9%, 61.5 ± 5.7%, and 53.8 ± 5.2%, and 10wk after transplantation to 68.0 ± 5.6%, 52.7 ± 5.8%, and 40.6 ± 5.5%, respectively. Moreover, the plasma Epo concentration of anemic rats injected Epo+MSCs beneath the renal capsule, the skin, or in muscles was considerably increased to 158 ± 35 mU/ml, 136 ± 36 mU/ml, and 114 ± 42 mU/ml at 2 wk, whereas that of anemic rats injected EPO MSCs was not increased significantly. All rats injected Epo+MSCs did not have polycythemia or severe hypertension. Survival time of anemic rats injected Epo+MSCs beneath the renal capsule is longest among anemic rats. Histological examination by fluorescent microscopy showed that implanted MSCs beneath the renal capsule survived best. CONCLUSIONS: EPO gene-modified mesenchymal stem cells can be transplanted in renal anemia rats, and can produce sufficiently active EPO to correct anemia. Transplantation of the cells beneath the renal capsule is best.


Recent efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop a moment-based, scale-bridging [or high-order (HO)–low-order (LO)] algorithm for solving large varieties of the transport (kinetic) systems have shown promising results. A part of our ongoing effort is incorporating this methodology into the framework of the Eulerian Applications Project to achieve algorithmic acceleration of radiation-hydrodynamics simulations in production software. By starting from the thermal radiative transfer equations with a simple material-motion correction, we derive a discretely consistent energy balance equation (LO equation). We demonstrate that the corresponding LO system for the Monte Carlo HO solver is closely related to the original LO system without material-motion corrections. We test the implementation on a radiative shock problem and show consistency between the energy densities and temperatures in the HO and LO solutions as well as agreement with the semianalytic solution. We also test the approach on a more challenging two-dimensional problem and demonstrate accuracy enhancements and algorithmic speedups. This paper extends a recent conference paper by including multigroup effects.


Worldwide, urban rivers suffer various degrees of ecological degradation. Rehabilitating heavily modified urban rivers requires holistic approaches, including environmental flow management. We examine the case of Lower Yongding River, Beijing's mother river, which had dried up since the 1980s and is undergoing a flow replenishment experiment, receiving 342 million m3 of water during 2019–2020 for ecosystem enhancement. Considering the massive cost of replenishment, we address the urgent need to evaluate its outcomes and inform future management through an interdisciplinary modeling approach under the circumstance of severe data shortage. We simulated the study reach's landscape evolution under five flow scenarios and assessed their ecological effects using the CAESAR-Lisflood model and habitat suitability index method. Despite overall minor morphological differences across scenarios, individual reaches presented pronounced physical changes. Higher-flow scenarios shaped a distinct channel in certain reaches, but historic channel modifications by mining and farming caused minimal responses in others. Additionally, higher-flow scenarios generally created larger and more evenly distributed habitat areas but showed a low payback given the higher flow volumes needed. Targeted channel-floodplain geomorphological restoration is essential for flows to generate desired ecological outcomes. The demonstrated modeling framework offers great promise, informing future rehabilitation actions for heavily modified urban streams.


We studied the effect of densification on the vibrational dynamics of a Na(2)FeSi(3)O(8) glass. The density of vibrational states (DOS) has been measured using nuclear inelastic scattering. The corresponding changes in the microscopic, intermediate-range, and macroscopic properties have also been investigated. The results reveal that, in the absence of local structure transformations, the Debye level and the glass-specific excess of vibrational states above it have the same dependence on density, and the evolution of the DOS is fully described by the transformation of the elastic medium.


A high prevalence of metronidazole resistance in Helicobacter pylori is reported in developing countries. This study examined whether migrants referred for diagnostic gastroscopy at a United Kingdom centre (n = 54), had a higher prevalence of metronidazole resistance than subjects born in the United Kingdom attending endoscopy (n = 46). Records of nitroimidazole treatment prescribed in the United Kingdom was obtained in 83 patients to find out if there was an association between H pylori metronidazole resistance and previous ingestion of either metronidazole or tinidazole. The prevalence of metronidazole resistant isolates varied according to country of birth: Bangladesh (90%, 27 of 30), other countries (67%, 16 of 24), and United Kingdom (37%, 17 of 46) (p < 0.001). Among those born in the United Kingdom, women were more likely to harbour resistant H pylori than men (54% v 18% respectively, p = 0.01) and more likely to have a history of previous nitroimidazole ingestion (41% v 11% respectively, p = 0.02). Patients previously exposed to either metronidazole or tinidazole were more likely to harbour resistant strains (84% (27 of 32) v 41% (21 or 51), p < 0.0001). The distribution of gastroduodenal disease, assessed endoscopically, was not affected by metronidazole resistance status.


Gesture plays an important role for recognizing lecture activities in video content analysis. In this paper, we propose a real-time gesture detection algorithm by integrating cues from visual, speech and electronic slides. In contrast to the conventional ldquocomplete gesturerdquo recognition, we emphasize detection by the prediction from ldquoincomplete gesturerdquo. Specifically, intentional gestures are predicted by the modified hidden Markov model (HMM) which can recognize incomplete gestures before the whole gesture paths are observed. The multimodal correspondence between speech and gesture is exploited to increase the accuracy and responsiveness of gesture detection. In lecture presentation, this algorithm enables the on-the-fly editing of lecture slides by simulating appropriate camera motion to highlight the intention and flow of lecturing. We develop a real-time application, namely simulated smartboard, and demonstrate the feasibility of our prediction algorithm using hand gesture and laser pen with simple setup without involving expensive hardware.


In the paper we present the first lower bounds for the asymptotic competitive ratio of multidimensional semi-on-line bin packing. We give the lower bound 1.3871. . . for the case of multidimensional on-line bi n packing problem where repacking is allowed with the arriving of a new element, but the number of such repackable elements are bounded by a finite constant per a new arriving element. The result is valid in every d-dimension. Our results improve the lower bound of 4/3 by Coppersmith and Raghavan given in [4] for the on-line hypercube packing problem.


Weak and vulnerable, almost by definition1, minorities have all too often been oppressed and presented in many societies throughout the ages. Prominent examples in pre-modem European history include the Jews and the Muslims-especially under the Inquisition in Spain and, in more recent times, the Bosnians and Kosovars in the Balkans, the Hutus in Rwanda Burundi and the Chechins in the Russian Republic. Not infrequently however, minorities, far from being oppressed and persecuted, have themselves turned oppressors and persecutors of numerically superior but militarily weak majority groups. Recent or current examples of this second scenario include the Tutsis of Rwanda Burundi, the Zionists in Palestine and the Apartheid regime of South Africa. Rapid advances in the techniques and technologies of control, both physical and psychological, since the Second World War have rendered this hirtherto rather exceptional scenario an increasingly feasible and it is needless to say, an exceedingly dangerous possibility.


Abstract : This dissertation research emphasizes explicit Building Block (BB) based MO EAs performance and detailed symbolic representation. An explicit BB-based MOEA for solving constrained and real-world MOPs is developed the Multiobjective Messy Genetic Algorithm II (MOMGA-II) which is designed to validate symbolic BB concepts. The MOMGA-II demonstrates that explicit BB-based MOEAs provide insight into solving difficult MOPs that is generally not realized through the use of implicit BB-based MOEA approaches. This insight is necessary to increase the effectiveness of all MOEA approaches. In order to increase MOEA computational efficiency parallelization of MOEAs is addressed. Communications between processors in a parallel MOEA implementation is extremely important, hence innovative migration and replacement schemes for use in parallel MOEAs are detailed and tested. These parallel concepts support the development of the first explicit BB-based parallel MOEA the pMOMGA-II. MOEA theory is also advanced through the derivation of the first MOEA population sizing theory. The multiobjective population sizing theory presented derives the MOEA population size necessary in order to achieve good results within a specified level of confidence. Just as in the single objective approach the MOEA population sizing theory presents a very conservative sizing estimate. Validated results illustrate insight into building block phenomena good efficiency excellent effectiveness and motivation for future research in the area of explicit BB-based MOEAs. Thus the generic results of this research effort have applicability that aid in solving many different MOPs.


In shallow estuaries, artificial substrates provide a means of assessing the response of the diatom community to water chemistry. The shallow St Lucia Estuary was historically connected to the Mfolozi River at the mouth. This connection was severed during the early 1950s due to sediment input from the agriculturally impacted Mfolozi River. A connection has recently been re-established and the potential impact of dissolved inorganic nutrients from the Mfolozi River needs to be determined, as it may alter the ecological integrity of the St Lucia Estuary which forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This study found that the epilithic algal biomass and diatom species composition grown on glass slides were good indicators of nutrient enrichment in the estuary. Over a 28-day study period an above-average rainfall event resulted in an increase of nutrient-enriched freshwater flow into the estuary. No significant biomass differences were recorded in either the natural phytoplankton or microphytobenthos communities because of high variability. By contrast, the epilithic algal biomass accumulation on the glass slides was highest following the freshwater input. Statistical analyses indicated that the accumulation of the epilithic community on the glass slides was mostly affected by DIN and salinity. Diversity index scores for both the natural phytoplankton and microphytobenthos were variable, while the epilithic diatom index scores consistently declined from Day 7 (H' = 1.2) to Day 28 (H' = 0.7). These data indicate that epilithic algae grown on glass slides can be used as an effective monitoring tool to detect nutrient-induced changes as a supplementary method in this highly variable estuary.


The rapid speed of technological advances, communication and the current market are constantly questioning the role of designers in society [2]. This context leads to novel questions about design students' curricular profile in the 21st century. Nowadays and following the Bologna Plan, education is changing its focus from acquiring information to learning how to use this information competently, which involves an evolution from ""being"" and ""knowing"" to ""knowing how to do"" [8]. At the same time, competency assessment is becoming increasingly present in the field of design where competencies are considered a differential factor among professionals [7]. One of the most outstanding aspects in the study of competencies is the revaluation of creativity as a key factor in employability and the management of an uncertain future [3]. This article defines the competencies that current and future creative professionals must develop in order to successfully perform the role they play in the design field. Fifteen professionals and design students were interviewed in order to define these creative competencies. The research concludes with the identification and definition of ten creative competencies, an initial list that shall remain open to constant review. One way to keep it updated is through an online platform created to collect data on an international scale. The main contribution is to establish a dialogue between the creative competencies in academics and the professional world to ensure design education is constantly updated.


The activity of the erector splnae muscles and the changes In lumbar curvature were measured In 11 subjects In a range of commonly adopted postures to see If there were any consistent trends. Surface electrodes were used to measure back muscle activity and lumbar curvature was measured using electronic Inclinometers. The results showed that many commonly adopted postures reduced the lumbar lordosls when compared with erect standing or sitting, even at the expense of Increasing the back muscle activity.


and colon, there was little chance of a return to normal, whatever form of treatment was adopted. rr. J. LIVINGSTONE said that there were two types of colitis: a dysenteric type, which started suddenly and sometimes became progressively more acute, in other cases becoming chronic and settling down to ulcerative colitis as they knew it, and another more benign type with an insidious onset. He had seen 14 cases of the acute dysenteric type; the majority of these patients had died. His own feeling was that in these cases ileostomy should be undertaken in the first fortnight. Dr. J. PAULLEY agreed with Dr. Avery Jones about the personality pattern in these cases. In dealing with them by psychotherapy the chief success was obtained in young men, next in middle-aged men, next in young women, and the poorest results were in middle-aged unmarried women. Mr. DICKSON WRIGHT said he had always thought this to be an allergic disease. Every case he saw had had long spells of medical treatment. He thought that removal of the colon was desirable in view of the incidence of carcinoma. Dr. HARDY, in reply, said that he did not believe the disease to be precancerous. He had now seen well over 300 cases and only three of malignant disease, two of them not in his own series. He also contested the idea of a specific personality; similar personality traits were recognizable in the old cases of mucomembranous colic, now almost unknown, and also in Crohn's terminal ileitis.


Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the most lethal of the gastrointestinal malignant tumors. Chronic inflammation leads to cancer development and progression. Interleukin-8 (CXCL-8) is a CXC chemokine, which plays an important role in neutrophil chemotaxis and activation. We previously reported that CXCL-8 was produced by a variety of human carcinoma cells and tissues, and that CXCL-8 promoted proliferation in pancreatic carcinoma cells (SUIT-2). In the present study, we analyzed whether various cytokines affect cell proliferation by CXCL-8 expression in pancreas carcinoma cells. All examined pancreatic carcinoma cells expressed CXCL-8 and TNFRII mRNA constitutively in RPMI-1640 medium without FBS. TNF-alpha, LIF, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, or IFN-beta enhanced the expression of CXCL-8 mRNA, but IL-10 did not in Hs-700T cells. Actinomycin D suppressed and cycloheximide augmented CXCL-8 mRNA which was induced by TNF-alpha or not. The half-life of CXCL-8 mRNA was 36.5 min by TNF-alpha and 35.2 min by no stimulation. In our previous study, LIF promoted cell growth in Hs-700T cells. LIF induced CXCL-8 mRNA in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Addition of recombinant CXCL-8 did not induce cell growth of Hs-700T. Anti-CXCL-8 IgG significantly suppressed cell growth. CXCL-8 would act as an autocrine growth factor in Hs-700T cells, which expressed CXCL-8 mRNA highly without stimulation. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), NF-kappaB inhibitor, suppressed cell proliferation in Hs-700T cells. These results suggest that CXCL-8 plays a pivotal role in progression of pancreatic cancer, and its expression is influenced by inflammatory cytokines in pancreatic tumor microenvironment.


In the first part of the paper oscillating phenomena are discussed which one can observe on different levels in anorganic and organic systems. This discussion will be performed from physical, biorhythmic, control, and general system theoretical point of view. Especially biorhythmic phenomena are taken into account by the stated classification scheme. In the second part four numerical procedures for biomathematical analysis of biorhythmic oscillations are explained. The analysis is understood as determination of the number of harmonic suboscillations which set up the whole process, and calculating the values of frequency, amplitude, and phase of these suboscillations. To perform the mentioned four numerical procedures computer programs are available which are written in ALGOL.


We present the carbon dioxide and water flux data along with associated meteorological data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Watershed Research Center, on the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed from 1997 through 2006. Measurements were collected from a shrub and grass community using the Bowen ratio energy balance systems and were presented in 20‐min time steps. Meteorological and Bowen ratio data were imported into spreadsheets for quality control and calculations of carbon dioxide and water fluxes. The data are available at http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/dap/.


Purpose of review The current article describes the current status of the use of cytokines and immune-checkpoint inhibitors as therapeutic strategies toward HIV remission. Recent findings Clinical trials using IL-2 and IL-7 showed increased levels of circulating T cells, although no reduction to the viral reservoir was observed. Studies in nonhuman primates (NHP) demonstrated that experimental IL-15 administration increased proliferation and cytotoxicity of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific CD8+ T cells, and promoted their localization to the lymph node (LN) B cell follicles. Immune checkpoint modulators targeting programed cell death-1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4, successfully used in oncologic diseases, have shown potential to restore HIV-specific function in early stage clinical trials, while also transiently increasing plasma and cell-associated viral RNA. Due to the complexity of the mechanisms regulating HIV persistence, it is very likely that combinatorial approaches, including cytokines with immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs), will be needed to achieve HIV remission. Summary The present review covers approaches based on cytokine agonists and immune checkpoint inhibitors that have shown promise toward therapeutic pathways for HIV remission. These strategies have been tested preclinically in animal models of HIV infection to determine their safety, activity, and mechanisms of action, with the goal to inform the design of the most synergistic combinatorial strategies. Several of these interventions are included in ongoing or planned clinical trials in HIV infection; these trials will elucidate the clinical efficacy of these innovative immunotherapy approaches toward HIV remission.


Abstract Background The data presented here originated from field expeditions carried out between 2017 and 2018, within the framework of Forest-Eco2 project: "Towards an Ecological and Economic valorisation of the Azorean Forest". The project aimed to quantify the ecological value of the Azorean forests, including carbon accumulation and to design and propose measures that could further enhance forest sustainability. For that, 90 forest plots were sampled on three Azores islands - São Miguel, Terceira and Pico - equally distributed into natural forest, exotic woodland and production forest. The aim of this report is to further expand knowledge on biodiversity trends enclosed in the different forest types present in the Azores, by providing a list of the occurrences of the 105 different vascular plant taxa together with a brief characterisation of their origin and life-form. New information We provide an inventory of indigenous and non-indigenous vascular plant taxa from 90 forest stands. A total of 105 taxa were identified and registered, belonging to 60 families, 91 genera, 101 species and four subspecies. A total of 35% of the taxa were endemic, 27% native and 38% non-indigenous, including 19% of invasive taxa. Endangered and vulnerable taxa were registered, including Elaphoglossumhirtum (Sw.) C.Chr., Lactucawatsoniana Trel. and others which were considered by the authors a priority for conservation (e.g. Arceuthobiumazoricum Wiens & Hawksw., Bellisazorica Hochst. ex Seub., Saniculaazorica Guthnick ex Seub., Platantheramicrantha (Hochst. ex Seub.) Schltr.). Our records provide detailed and updated knowledge of Azorean Forest flora and highlight the role of natural forests as indigenous plant diversity hotspots and exotic woodland as a source of invasive taxa within the Archipelago.


In this paper, trade policy formation is incorporated into an economic geography model. The political setup used is a modified version of that introduced by Grossman and Helpman (1994) in which policy makers may be influenced by lobbying contributions. On the basis of the underlying trade framework, lobbying activity is performed in benefit of capital interests. Optimal policy outcomes indicate that the largest countries and countries that are disadvantaged by trade regulation favour trade liberalisation. Moreover, the optimal domestic policy is more open to trade when the local and global competition facing domestic firms is less fierce, the welfare dependency on manufacturing imports is larger and when there is a more intense preference for variety in consumption. It is shown that lobbying influence on policy is increasing in the concentration of capital ownership in the population. It is also revealed that, in the cases when domestic special and general interests do not coincide, lobbying activity is performed to liberalise trade. In addition, this actually implies that the presence of lobbying influence on policy raises the long-run national welfare.


In contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, secretory proteins of Gram-positive bacteria only need to traverse a single membrane to enter the extracellular environment. For this reason, Gram-positive bacteria (e.g. various Bacillus species) are often used in industry for the commercial production of extracellular proteins that can be produced in yields of several grams per liter culture medium. The central components of the main protein translocation system (Sec system) of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria show a high degree of conservation, suggesting similar functions and working mechanisms. Despite this fact, several differences can be identified such as the absence of a clear homolog of the secretion-specific chaperone SecB in Gram-positive bacteria. The now available detailed insight into the organization of the Gram-positive protein secretion system and how it differs from the well-characterized system of Escherichia coli may in the future facilitate the exploitation of these organisms in the high level production of heterologous proteins which, so far, is sometimes very inefficient due to one or more bottlenecks in the secretion pathway. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the various steps of the protein secretion pathway of Gram-positive bacteria with emphasis on Bacillus subtilis, which during the last decade, has arisen as a model system for the study of protein secretion in this industrially important class of microorganisms.


Human Activity Recognition (HAR) based on wear-able device has become a hot topic of research due to its wide range of applications in health-care, fitness and smart homes. However, the classification of some activities with similar sensor readings, such as standing and sitting, is usually more challenging for the design of efficient activity recognition algorithms. Considering the inconsistent performance of different classifiers, which can provide information complementary for individual classifier, we propose a novel multi-classifier fusion method based on belief functions (BFs) theory for HAR. Specifically, at first, four classifiers are trained using time-domain and frequency-domain features to obtain basic belief assignments (BBA) of activity, respectively. Then, three assessment criteria are utilized to evaluate the reliability of the classifiers and a scoring matrix is constructed. Next, the algorithm of Belief Function based the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (BF-TOPSIS) is employed to calculate the weighting coefficients for each classifier. Finally, the discounting and Dempster's rules are adopted to combine the multiple classifiers and further decision making. Several experiments were conducted to illustrate the performance of the proposed method using the UCI smartphone dataset, and the results show that the proposed method is more accurate than the state-of-art methods.


Introduction As patients become increasingly involved in their medical care, physician-patient communication gains importance. A previous study showed that physician self-disclosure (SD) of personal information by primary care providers decreased patient rating of the provider communication skills. Objective The objective of this study was to explore the incidence and impact of emergency department (ED) provider self-disclosure on patients' rating of provider communication skills. Methods A survey was administered to 520 adult patients or parents of pediatric patients in a large tertiary care ED during the summer of 2014. The instrument asked patients whether the provider self-disclosed and subsequently asked patients to rate providers' communication skills. We compared patients' ratings of communication measurements between encounters where self-disclosure occurred to those where it did not. Results Patients reported provider SD in 18.9% of interactions. Provider SD was associated with more positive patient perception of provider communication skills (p<0.05), more positive ratings of provider rapport (p<0.05) and higher satisfaction with provider communication (p<0.05). Patients who noted SD scored their providers' communication skills as "excellent" (63.4%) compared to patients without self-disclosure (47.1%). Patients reported that they would like to hear about their providers' experiences with a similar chief complaint (64.4% of patients), their providers' education (49%), family (33%), personal life (21%) or an injury/ailment unlike their own (18%). Patients responded that providers self-disclose to make patients comfortable/at ease and to build rapport. Conclusion Provider self-disclosure in the ED is common and is associated with higher ratings of provider communication, rapport, and patient satisfaction.


A nonlinear loop mirror can be used as a solid state saturable loss element. The transmission characteristics of the different embodiments of this mirror are shown to change significantly when it is used in the soliton-forming wavelength range. The implications for its use in a laser cavity are discussed. >


Transfusion transmitted infection (TTIs) is still a concern associated with blood transfusion as hepatitis B and hepatitis C remains a major public health problem in a country like Bangladesh. The trends of the prevalence of HBsAg and HCV infection among the healthy blood donors even in a tertiary level hospital could be a guide for planning and implementing programs for preventive measures. All samples of a total 18,381 unit of blood were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies at Apollo Hospitals Dhaka over a period of 5 years (2007-2011). The prevalence of HBV and HCV infection was calculated by year to demonstrate the trends. The overall sero prevalence rate of HBV and HCV among all blood donors at Apollo Hospitals, Dhaka during 2007 to 2011 was 1.42% and 0.10% respectively. There was decreasing trend observed in sero prevalence of HBV (1.77% vs 1.64%) and HCV (0.13% vs 0.02%) over five years of time, although this change was not statistically significant (p=0.16 for HBV and p=0.20 for HCV). However, a significant decreasing trend was observed in the sero prevalence of HBV among blood donors aged 30 years and above, which was 1.04% in 2011 against 1.73% in 2007 (p=0.04). The decreasing trend in the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection might be the result of improvement in donor recruitment and selection, replacement donation exclusion in transfusion services, and possibly decreasing HBV infection prevalence in general population. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pulse.v6i1-2.20330 Pulse Vol.6 January-December 2013 p.27-32


Eutaleola nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Euteleia Marcus, 1938 (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata), a secondary homonym of Euteleia Raffray, 1904 (Arthropoda: Coleoptera). Eutaleola is a monospecific genus of Pasytheida e, found in warm shallow waters on both sides of the Atlantic and in deeper waters of the eastern Pacific. Brazilian material of Eutaleola evelinae (Marcus, 1938) comb. nov. is described and illustrated.


A switched capacitor bandgap voltage reference circuit capable of sub-1-V operation is presented. The proposed circuit generates a sub-1-V reference voltage with a switched capacitor operation, offering several performance advantages over the current-mode sub-1-V counterpart. The proposed design provides an improved supply rejection and outperforms in the presence of process variation. In addition, the circuit does not require a start-up circuit and the associating trimming circuitry is simplistic and cost effective. The proposed sub-1-V switched capacitor BGR can be a practical sub-1-V reference candidate in ultra deep sub-micron CMOS processes.


One of the recurring ideas in the criticism of the Universalistic School of African philosophy against ethno-philosophy is the emphasis on culture and collective thought. Very recently, African philosophers of the hermeneutic school, have argued that African philosophy must be hermeneutical, that is, an individual interpretation of one's cultural symbols, mediated by one's understanding and self-understanding. This makes the thoughts of philosophers like Placid Tempels, Alexis Kagame and Leopold Senghor valid thoughts for inclusion into the corpus of African philosophy. This piece, further argues that African philosophy is an ontologico-existential hermeneutics. The hermeneutical method that is described as ontological and existential is based on the universal character of philosophy and the African context as the locus for philosophical reflection. Using the historical and analytical methods of inquiry, it argues that hermeneutics is the instrument for analyzing the African philosophical experience.


The author considers a gas of fermions with parabolic dispersion and N spin-components (or spin S, N=2S+1) with SU(N) symmetry in one dimension interacting via a delta -function potential. The model is integrable and its solution has been obtained by Sutherland in terms of N nested Bethe ansatze. He analyses the discrete Bethe ansatz equations and classifies their solutions according to the string hypothesis. The thermodynamic Bethe-ansatz equations are derived for arbitrary band-filling for both repulsive and attractive interaction in terms of the thermodynamic energy potentials for the classes of eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. These equations are then discussed in several limiting cases, e.g. S=1/2, the ground state (T to 0), for vanishing interaction strength, for strong coupling, in the high-temperature limit, and the large-N limit.


In this paper, we define and introduce some new concepts of the higher order
 strongly generalized preinvex functions and higher order strongly monotone
 operators involving the arbitrary bifunction and function. Some new
 relationships among various concepts of higher order strongly general
 preinvex functions have been established. It is shown that the optimality
 conditions of the higher order strongly general preinvex functions are
 characterized by a class of variational inequalities, which is called the
 higher order strongly generalized variational-like inequality. Auxiliary
 principle technique is used to suggest an implicit method for solving higher
 order strongly generalized variational-like inequalities. Convergence
 analysis of the proposed method is investigated using the
 pseudo-monotonicity of the operator. It is shown that the new parallelogram
 laws for Banach spaces can be obtained as applications of higher order
 strongly affine generalized preinvex functions, which is itself a novel
 application. Some special cases also discussed. Results obtained in this
 paper can be viewed as refinement and improvement of previously known
 results.


Apparatus is described for measuring the thermal conductivity of insulating materials. A constant current is passed through a rectangular sheet of stainless steel foil in such a manner that the rate of generation of heat per unit area can be computed from electrical measurements. Identical sample slabs are placed against opposite sides of the heater, and the combination is enclosed in a plastic film and immersed in a bath having constant and uniform temperature. When thermal equilibrium is reached, the temperature drops across the central portions of the sample slabs are measured with differential thermocouples. The elementary one-dimensional form of the Fourier heat transfer equation is used to compute the thermal conductivity from the observed quantities. In pre liminary tests with representative insulating materials equilibrium is reached within 15 min. It is estimated that the apparatus is capable of giving measure ments accurate to within 2%, and experimental results are not inconsistent with this estimate. Thermal conductivity values are reported for polystyrene and a cork-rubber composition at mean temperatures ranging from liquid nitrogen temperature up to room temperature. Differential thermocouple techniques are discussed. The characteristics of the apparatus make it especially suitable for academic laboratory instruction and for low-temperature measurement.


Bi2.2-xPbxSr2Ca2.2Cu3Oy silver sheathed ((Bi, Pb)-2223/Ag) tapes with different Pb doping amounts, x = 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, are prepared by the powder-in-tube method. X-ray diffraction analyses manifest that the tape with x = 0.5 has more Pb-rich phase than that of a tape with x = 0.4. For the tape with x = 0.6, there is a large amount of Ca2PbO4 phase and a small amount of Pb-rich phase. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy observations show that the Pb-rich phase with nanometre order of magnitude is embedded in the (Bi, Pb)-2223 grain matrix of samples. The magnetic field dependence of the critical current density of the tape with x = 0.5 is noticeably improved at 77 K, and its irreversibility line is also shifted to higher temperatures and magnetic fields in comparison with the tape with x = 0.4, which is usually considered as the standard Pb doping level in preparing (Bi, Pb)-2223/Ag tapes. The resistivity measurement of the normal state reveals that the anisotropy of the tape with x = 0.5 is also decreased compared with the tape with x = 0.4. The enhanced flux pinning seems to mainly originate from the fine Pb-rich phase particles themselves and the extra defects induced by the larger Pb-rich phase particles.


With the advent of digital images the problem of keeping picture visualization uniformity arises because each printing or scanning device has its own color chart. So, universal color profiles are made by ICC to bring uniformity in various types of devices. Keeping that color profile in mind various new color charts are created and calibrated with the help of standard IT8 test charts available in the market. The main objective to color reproduction is to produce the identical picture at device output. For that principles for gamut mapping has been designed


To attract more users to mobile packet services, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) operators have been prompting flat-rate packet services. Since usage does not incur cost, flat-rate users tend to stay online longer and occupy most of the radio channel resources. We consider a UMTS network serving two types of user connections: normal user connections (NUCs) and flat-rate user connections (FRUCs). Our goal is to maximize the revenue of the operator by giving a priority to NUCs over FRUCs without discontenting the flat-rate users, in order not to lose the flat-rate users to other operators. Uplink FRUCs may be asked to subrate or suspend transmission when the radio network is fully utilized. Four combinations of scheduling techniques, including queueing, guard channels (GCs), preemption, and rate adaptation, have been studied, and analytic models using Markov processes were used to evaluate their performances. We proposed a cost function representing the revenue loss due to both blocked NUCs and lost flat-rate users. The system parameters used in our analysis are based on realistic operation data. Our analytic results indicate that the revenue loss can be minimized by using waiting queues (WQs) and preemption. Rate adaptation is ineffective in minimizing the revenue loss because subrated connections are less efficient in using the radio spectrum. GCs for NUCs are unnecessary when a WQ or preemption is used. This paper may be valuable for UMTS operators in serving flat-rate users.


Editor's Note: Randall J. Olson, MD, is the John A. Moran presidential professor and chair of ophthalmology, and director of the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City. He recently spoke with Ophthalmology Times on his approach to cataract surgery.


Abstract Background Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at increased risk of developing challenging behaviour. Challenging behaviour may be partially explained by low individual communicative competences. However, communication involves at least two partners, thus outcomes may also vary according to each interaction partners' abilities. We therefore investigated the degree to which the interplay between individual and classmates' communication skills predicts changes in challenging behaviour among students with ID. Methods This study used a longitudinal design with two measurement points across one school year. Challenging behaviour and communication skills were measured by teacher reports in 1125 students with ID attending special needs schools. Applying a multilevel approach, we investigated (1) whether higher individual communication skills at the first measurement were related to a subsequent decrease in challenging behaviour and (2) whether this effect was moderated by classmates' levels of communication skills. In addition, we examined (3) if classroom communication skills were indirectly related to a decrease in challenging behaviour by influencing individual communicative abilities. Results Higher individual communication skills at the first measurement were significantly related to a decrease in general challenging behaviour over the school year. This effect was not moderated by classroom‐level communication skills. However, classmates' communication skills exerted an indirect influence by enhancing individual communicative abilities. Further analyses suggested classroom contextual effects related to a decrease in several sub‐domains of challenging behaviour. Conclusions The study results suggest that both individual communicative competences and those of the classroom context are relevant to understanding challenging behaviour development in ID. Perspectives for counteracting such behaviour in light of the present findings are discussed.


Recent trains have broadband train communication networks to improve train operation safety and to provide passengers with multimedia services. Compared to glass optical fiber, plastic optical fiber (POF) has a large diameter; it also provides the good durability and maintainability necessary to railway applications. This paper suggests an All-IP broadband train communication network that connects all devices in the train through a POF interface. Performance tests according to Korean railroad standards shows that this POF interface is usable in the range of vibration and temperature conditions encountered in trains. A dedicated Layer-2 switch with the POF interface is developed for the construction of the All-IP train communication network. A prototype 1Gbps train communication network was set up in a trial-run of train on a metro line using the developed Layer-2 switch and POF. On-track tests indicated the feasibility of the POF train communication network. POF has an additional advantage of economic feasibility, and it is expected to start a trend toward broadband train communication networks using POF.


The Paris Agreement that was sealed in December 2015 signaled to all parts of societies all over the world that climate related issues are to be given an even greater focus than before. The building and real estate sectors have already had a strong commitment to finding new solutions for energy efficiency. There are plenty of studies on energy efficient building techniques and maintenance and on the effects of occupant behavior. While some studies also include the effects of workplace design this is still a field were more research is called for.This study focuses energy-related behavior among occupants in office buildings and the effects of different workplace designs. It also tests for differences in employer attitudes to general climate issues and to taking part of energy saving activities as effects of workplace design. A singletenant office building with a traditional workplace layout with small rooms is compared to a single-tenant building with an activity-based open workplace layout, considering both quantitative aspects of energy consumption and occupant behavior and attitudes to climate and to energy savings. The study is conducted in Sweden - where data on two single-tenant office buildings are provided by a real estate company - and includes interviews as well as surveys with tenant employees conducted in early 2016. The preliminary results of a statistical analysis show that workplace design is an important factor to consider when promoting an energy saving behavior among tenant employees. This finding is of importance for the industry as well as for policy makers, as it gives grounds for promoting activity-based workplace layouts in an attempt to lower energy consumption and costs. This type of workplace layout seems to promote collective attitudes and behaviors among occupant employees that have importance for building energy efficiency.


OBJECTIVE
To illustrate the use of decision-analytic modeling to assist decision making in organizational innovations.

STUDY SETTING/DATA SOURCES
Regarding an organizational innovation (shared care in hearing aid provision) available evidence from different sources was synthesized.

STUDY DESIGN
A probabilistic Markov model was constructed.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION
We modeled the long-term cost-effectiveness of different organizational formats of shared care as opposed to the current organization. We assessed the expected value of perfect information (EVPI) for several groups of parameters in the model.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
The current organization had the highest probability of being cost-effective. Additional research is worthwhile, especially on access to care and safety (sensitivity to detect pathology).

CONCLUSIONS
Decision-analytic modeling in an early stage of organizational innovation is a valuable tool to facilitate evidence-based decision making.


The aims of this paper is to analyse the codes of ethics of the most important companies operating in the food sector, in order to appreciate the attribute, the contents and the language of the code and then try to understand the aptitude of the code for assuring that moral values move the companies' actions and strategies. The code of ethics is a basic tool of corporate governance, through which rules of corporate behaviour are defined and communicated internally and externally from the company. Many international researches about codes of ethics – summarised in the theoretical framework – are a starting point for this paper. In particular, our paper is focused on the language used in the codes in order to outline the most important issue regulated in these tools: principle and value, normative issue, and so on. The research considers the codes of the ten big companies that dominate the food market (the "Big Ten"): Associated British Foods (ABF), Coca-Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Mondelēz International (ex Kraft Foods), Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever. The analysis examines the vocabulary of each code in order to identify the "bag of words" by extrapolating the special words and the ethical and moral values that characterize the codes. We want to identify the most important information with regard to the issues regulated in the code and we expect to evaluate to what extent the language used, which contains the ethical and moral values of the sector, can represent a status both at the individual company level both at the sector level. Specifically, we arise the following research questions: RQ1: Are there differences among the contents and the languages used in the codes of ethics of the "Big Ten" analysed? RQ2: What are the most important matters regulated in the codes? and the most important values considered? RQ3: Can be matters and values considered at company level or at the sector level? It is possible to define a model for contents and language of codes of ethics for the food sector? European Scientific Journal August 2017 /SPECIAL/ edition ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e ISSN 18577431 411


Writing is a core skill that learners are expected to develop in their early school years and use effectively throughout their later school years. Historically, writing has been considered the purview of grade school education, yet there is evidence that learners seem to lack basic writing skills even at the university level. Unfortunately, the challenges posed by the volume of data created when students write have hampered writing researchers' attempts to study the impacts of grade school writing initiatives in depth. This chapter introduces two novel approaches to academic writing activities that hold the potential to enhance writing competence and make it easier for researchers to understand the impact of writing interventions. The first uses mobile devices in a situated learning context, and the second uses a mixed-initiative writing system in the classroom.


This is a descriptive-exploratory study, carried out at the Center for Integrated Medical Care NAMI and the Dendê community from January to June 2005. The purpose was to investigate maternal knowledge on care and information about malnutrition. The informants were six mothers of malnourished children. Data collection was developed through semistructured interviews and participant observation. Research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Fortaleza on the advice of Report N. 023/2005. The analysis was performed through classification and comprehension, resulting in the emerging themes: Behavior and feeding of malnourished children; Perception and feelings of the family in relation to the malnourished child; and the care and knowledge of families regarding malnutrition. The results showed that in a social group, apparently homogeneous, there is heterogeneity among children and families belonging to the same social strata, as well as different behaviors. It was concluded that despite the complexity of the approach on the intervention, these factors represent inequalities on health and enables search for strategies to overcome them.


The strong cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka BP) provides a rigorous test of climate models' ability to simulate past and future climate changes. We force an atmospheric general circulation model with two recent global LGM sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions, one suggesting a weak and the other a more pronounced cooling, and compare the simulated land surface temperatures (LSTs) to reconstructed data. Our results do not confirm either SST reconstruction. The cold SST data set leads to good agreement between simulated and observed LSTs at low latitudes, but is systematically too cold at mid‐latitudes. The opposite is true for the warm SST data set. Differences between the simulated LSTs are caused by varying land surface albedos, which is lower for the warmer SST reconstruction. The inconsistency between reconstructed and simulated climate points to a potentially significant bias in the proxy reconstructions and/or the climate sensitivity of current climate models.


Purpose: Gelatin-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite is similar to inorganic nanostructure of bone. To make a scaffold with osteoinductivity, bone marrow derived stem cells from rabbit femur were impinged into the nanocomposite. This vitro study was to test osteogenic differentiation of the stem cells in the nanocomposite, which was made by authors. Material & Methods: Gel-HA nanocomposite with 10g of HA, 3 g of Gel has been made by co-precipitation process. Bone marrow was obtained from femur of New Zealand White rabbits and osteogenic differentiation was induced by culturing of the BMSCs in an osteogenic medium. The BMSCs were seeded into the Gel-HA nanocomposite scaffold using a stirring seeding method. The scaffolds with the cells were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), colorimetry assay, biochemical assay with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) diagnostic kit, osteocalcin ELISA kit. Results: Gel-HA nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated with relatively homogenous microscale pores (20-40μm). The BMSCs were obtained from bone marrow of rabbit femurs and confirmed with flow cytometry, Alizarin red staining. Attachment and proliferation of BMSCs in Gel-HA nanocomposite scaffold could be identified by SEM, ALP activity and osteocalcin content of BMSCs. Conclusion: The Gel-HA nanocomposite scaffold with micropores could be fabricated and could support BMSCs seeding, osteogenic differentiation.


The application of a micro-lens array for optical inspection of large-scale windows is proposed for on-line operation. With a micro-lens array, the planarity of laminated windows can be inspected. Another technique, based on the use of a computer-generated hologram, was studied in order to facilitate the inspection of small-scale deformations in security windows.


We report the detection of class I methanol maser at the 36.2 GHz transition toward the nearby starburst galaxy Maffei 2 with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Observations of the 36.2 GHz transition at two epochs separated by ∼4 yr show consistencies in both the spatial distribution and flux density of the methanol emission in this transition. Similar to the detections in other nearby starbursts the class I methanol masers sites are offset by a few hundred pc from the center of the galaxy and appear to be associated with the bar edges of Maffei 2. Narrow spectral features with line widths of a few km s−1 are detected, supporting the hypothesis that they are masing. Compared to other nearby galaxies with the detections in the 36.2 GHz methanol maser transition, the maser detected in Maffei 2 has about an order of magnitude higher isotropic luminosity, and thus represents the first confirmed detection of class I methanol megamasers. The spatial distribution of the 36.2 GHz maser spot clusters may trace the rotational gas flow of the galactic bar, providing direct evidence that the class I methanol maser is related to shocks induced by galactic bar rotation. A tentative detection in the 6.7 GHz class II methanol maser (at a 5σ level) is also reported. This is comparable in luminosity to some of the 6.7 GHz maser sources detected in Galactic star-forming regions. The 6.7 GHz methanol emission appears to be associated with star formation activity in a smaller volume, rather than related to the larger-scale galactic activities.


Background Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been shown to improve skin thickness, as assessed by the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), in patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) in retrospective analyses of different cohorts (1). In addition, oral cyclophosphamide (CYC) had a favorable impact on mRSS in SLS-I (2). Objectives Our objectives were to: 1. Assess the impact of MMF and CYC on the mRSS in a randomized controlled trial of MMF vs. oral CYC in patients with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease (SLS II) over 24 months, and 2. Compare the improvement in mRSS in the SLS I vs. SLS II cohorts at 6 and 12 months. Methods 142 patients with SSc-ILD were randomized in the SLS II. Patients received MMF (≤3 g daily) for two years or oral CYC (≤2 mg per kilogram of body weight) for one year followed by placebo twice daily for an additional year. In addition, we compared the change in mRSS in the dcSSc subset in the SLS-II vs. SLS-I oral CYC (≤2 mg per kilogram of body weight) and matching placebo prescribed for 1 year. Results The baseline (mean± SD) disease duration was 2.6±1.8 years and mRSS was 14.0±10.6 for CYC and 15.3±10.4 for MMF groups in the SLS II; 58.5% were classified as dcSSc and 42.5% were classified as limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc). Both treatments were associated with improvement in mRSS over the period of 24 months but there was no statistically significant between 2 groups at any time points in the dcSSc and lcSSc subsets (p>0.05 for all comparisons). The mean improvement in the CYC group was 1.4 vs. 2.0 in the MMF group in the lcSSc subset and 8.0 vs. 6.3 in the dcSSc subset at 24 months. For our second objective, there was no statistical difference in the baseline mRSS scores in the dcSSc in SLS-I (mean disease duration=3.1 years) and SLS-II (mean disease duration=2.5 years) trials (Table). In addition, the change in mRSS at 6- and 12-month period was similar in the SLS-II pooled (MMF+ CYC) and SLS-I CYC groups (Table; p>0.05). In contrast, SLS-II pooled and SLS-I CYC groups showed statistically significant improvement at 12-month period vs. SLS-1 placebo group (p<0.05).Table 1. Mean change in mRSS in the dcSSc subset in the SLS-1 and SLS-2 SLS-2 pooled group SLS-1 CYC group SLS-2 pooled and SLS-1 CYC groups SLS-1 Placebo group N N N N Baseline 83 20.8 49 21.6 132 21.1 46 20.4 6 month 69 −2.4† 45 −2.7† 114 −2.6† 43 −2.6† 12 month 66 −5.5† 43 −5.3† 109 −5.4*† 37 −1.7* †P<0.05 for for mRSS at follow up vs. baseline within each group. *P<0.05 for SLS-II pooled and SLS-I CYC groups compared to SLS-1 Placebo group. Conclusions In the SLS II, 2 years of daily MMF and 1-year of CYC were associated with clinically important improvements in mRSS in the dcSSc over 24 months. The change in mRSS in the SLS-II paralleled that in the SLS-I CYC group and was significantly superior to the SLS-I placebo group. These data support the use of MMF or CYC for management of skin fibrosis in early dcSSc. References Le et al Ann Rheum Dis 2011 Tashkin et al NEJM 2006 Acknowledgement SLS I and SLS II were funded by NIH/NHLBI Disclosure of Interest None declared


Saccharomyces pastorianus is an interspecies hybrid between S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus. The identification of the parental species of S. pastorianus enabled the de novo reconstruction of hybrids that could potentially combine a wide array of phenotypic traits. Lager yeasts are characterized by their inability to decarboxylate ferulic acid present in wort, a phenotype also known as Pof- (phenolic off-flavor). However, all known S. eubayanus strains characterized so far produce clove-like aroma specific of 4-vinyl guaiacol, a decarboxylated form of ferulic acid. This study explored a non-GMO approach to construct Pof- S. eubayanus variants derived from the parental strain S. eubayanus CBS 12357. To rapidly screen a population of UV-mutagenized cells two complementary assays were developed. The first assay was based on the difference of light absorption spectra of ferulic acid and 4-vinyl guaiacol, while the second was based on the difference of sensitivity of Pof- and Pof+ strains to cinnamic acid. The S. eubayanus variant HTSE042 was selected and was confirmed not to produce 4-vinyl guaiacol. Whole genome sequencing revealed that this variant lost the subtelomeric region of the CHRXIII right arm that carried the two clustered genes SePAD1- SeFDC1 whose deletion in a naïve S. eubayanus strain (CBS 12357/FM1318) resulted in an identical phenotype. Subsequently, the Pof- variant was crossed with a Pof- S. cerevisiae partner. The resulting hybrid was not able to convert ferulic acid demonstrating the undisputable value of the mutagenized variant HTSE042 to eventually construct S. cerevisiae × S. eubayanus hybrids with phenotypic characteristics of S. pastorianus.


In theory, Canada is one nation. 'Nationalisms' shows that the reality is more complex. English Canada, Quebec, and First Nations groups have distinct identities, as does Newfoundland. The First World War divided English Canada and Quebec over conscription, and the Second World War also tested Canada's national fault lines. The Quiet Revolutions made the 1960s and 1970s a period of excitement, cultural experimentation, and even violence, which was quashed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Legally, Quebec is a province but after referendums in the 1980s and 1990s, its struggle for independence was successful in everything but name.


Abstract CALLMANDER, M.W., J. MAZUMDAR & C.E. JARVIS (2019). Typification and nomenclature of the western Indian Ocean islands ferns and lycophytes described in Linnaeus filius's Supplementum plantarum. Candollea 74: 223–234. In English, English abstract. Carl Linnaeus filius (1741–1783) published 16 new species names of ferns and lycophytes in Supplementum plantarum in 1782. Nine of these new taxa originated from the western Indian Ocean islands and were based on collections cited as "Sonnerat per Thouin" or "Thouin" in their protologues. Correspondence between André Thouin (1747–1824) and the younger Linnaeus indicates that those new names were based on a set of 50 collections that Thouin shipped to Linnaeus f. in 1779 and were in reality collected by Philibert Commerson (1727–1773) and not Pierre Sonnerat (1748–1814). Original material has been located in Linnaeus filius's herbarium (now in LINN-HS) and duplicates have been located in the Thouin herbarium (now MPU) and in G, P, P-LA and SBT. We formally designate lectotypes for five fern and two lycophyte names described by the younger Linnaeus in Supplementum plantarum: Acrostichum punctatum L. f., Acrostichum viviparum L. f., Adiantum furcatum L. f., Adiantum repens L. f., Lycopodium gnidioides L. f., Lycopodium verticillatum L. f., and Polypodium pica L. f. A lectotype is additionally designated for Asplenium daucifolium Lam., the currently accepted name for Acrostichum viviparum. Received: June 13, 2019; Accepted: November 18, 2019; First published online: December 2, 2019


In recent years, there has been an increased effort to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education. In accordance with the international trend, programming has become an increasingly growing focus in European education. With over 9.5 million iOS downloads, ScratchJr is the most popular freely available introductory programming language for young children (ages 5-7). This paper provides an overview of ScratchJr, and the powerful ideas from computer science it is designed to teach. In addition, data analytics are presented to show trends of usage in Europe and and how it compares to the rest of the world. Data reveals that countries with robust computer science initiatives such as the UK and the Nordic countries have high usage of ScratchJr.


: Two dogs with cloudy aqueous humor due to accumulation of lipid and lipoprotein had concurrent hyperlipemia and anterior uveitis. In 1 dog, serum and aqueous humor had similar lipoprotein electrophoretic patterns, and in the other dog, the patterns were different. The therapeutic approach included symptomatic treatment of the uveitis and reduction of dietary fat intake. Clearing of fat from aqueous humor followed control of the uveitis.


Previous studies reported discrepant white matter diffusivity in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on the base of Glasgow Coma Scale, which are unreliable for some TBI severity indicators and the frequency of missing documentation in the medical record. In the present study, we adopted the Mayo classification system for TBI severity. In this system, the mTBI is also divided into two groups as "probable and symptomatic" TBI. We aimed to investigate altered microstructural integrity in symptomatic acute TBI (<1 week) by using tract-based spatial statics (TBSS) approach. A total of 12 patients and 13 healthy volunteers were involved and underwent MRI scans including conventional scan, and SWI and DTI. All the patients had no visible lesions by using conventional and SWI neuroimaging techniques, while showing widespread declines in the fractional anisotropy (FA) of gray matter and white matter throughout the TBSS skeleton, particularly in the limbic-subcortical structures. By contrast, symptomatic TBI patients showed no significant enhanced changes in FA compared to the healthy controls. A better understanding of the acute changes occurring following symptomatic TBI may increase our understanding of neuroplasticity and continuing degenerative change, which, in turn, may facilitate advances in management and intervention.


Determination of particles size is important in pharmaceutical research and manufacturing of drug delivery system in nano scale. This study was carried out to evaluate particles size of nano polymer particles, composed of Eudragit RL 100, and nano liposomes, composed of hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Dynamic light scaterring was used to determine nano particles size. The results showed that, dilution ratio influenced differently on the determined nanoparticles.  Liposomal suspension, which was diluted to count rate less than 170 kcps, had statistically significant larger particle than that, which had greater count rate. Polymer particles, which were diluted to count rate less than 126 had statistically significant larger particles than that, which had greater count rate.
Keywords
Particle size, nano polymer particle, nano liposomes, dynamic light scattering (DLS).
References
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