Extensive studies performed here showed that Tamoxifen Citrate nanosuspension primed with several rigorous steps including pre-milling, magnetic stirring, sonication, high pressure homogenization was highly stable in its nano-forms and thus has been successfully nanonized. Optimization of the surfactant i.e., Tween 80® (Polysorbate 80) and stabilizer i.e., Pluronic F-68® (polaxamer188) ratio has been performed, and after optimization by employing several analytical techniques, the suitable ratio of surfactant:stabilizer for calculated dose of Tamoxifen Citrate was found to be 15% Tween 80 and 5% Polaxamer188. This quotient has been arrived at after considering the outcome of all the evaluations performed on the tamoxifen citrate nanosuspension (TEMParticle size, diffraction studies, FTIR-stability of drug molecule in the nanoformultion, Zeta potential-surface charge on molecules). Any chemical interactions amid the excipients and/or changes in the active therapeutic moiety were absent. It has been verified by performing FT-IR on the nano-formulations and Zeta potential of the nanosuspension was found to be 8.06 mV which is in the required range of Zeta Potential of +30 to −30 mV for nanoparticles suspended in Nanosuspension. Particle size of nano-formulation has been found to be ∼70 nm.This is idyllic for intra venous administration of the said drug formulation.


Paper reprinted from ICSM '96. This paper evaluates a knowledge-based program understanding approach that generates first order predicate logic annotations of loops. An initial and partial evaluation of this approach was performed on an existing program of reasonable size. Plans in the knowledge base were designed by performing an analysis of the existing program. As a result the previous study did not demonstrate that the knowledge base generated for a given program is generally usable beyond that program. In this study, an extensive evaluation of the analysis approach is performed. Plans developed during the initial evaluation stage are used to analyze a set of 92 loops in five randomly selected Pascal programs. Results concerning the analyzed loops and utilization of the existing plans are given and discussed. These results generally show a good usability of the knowledge base beyond the original program.


John Ngamsa, Ph.D Department of Languages and Linguistics Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria E-MAIL:email@example.com TEL. NO: +2348022003333 ABSTRACT This paper investigates intersemiotic cohesion in the moving image text popularly known as film discourse. The investigation aimed at identifying the interaction pattern of visual verbal strands in an unfolding text of selected video films. The corpus of the study consists of six movie pictures and corresponding excerpts of conversation(s) from selected film scripts. Baumgarten (2008) theory of visual verbal cohesion and Ngamsa (2012) methodological consideration were adopted for the annotation and matching of deictic devices as both explicit-invitro and implicit--invivo . The findings of the paper therefore show that interaction of visual and verbal semiotic strands is always achieved at the point of convergence and at the instance of reference items, pronouns, adjectives and other extra linguistic features—signs and existents. The study finally recommends that film directors, screenplay writers and text linguists should explore the use of intersemiotic cohesive devices for explication of the moving image text.


Introduction The value of gonioscopy in the management of traumatic lesions of the anterior chamber angle has been stressed by Troncoso, 1 Thorpe, 2 and Scheie. 3 It is invaluable in recognizing peripheral anterior synechiae, occult hemorrages, exudates, small iridodialyses, peripheral iridoschises, cyclodialyses, and minute foreign bodies lodged in the recesses of the filtration angle. In the past several years, the author has made a routine practice of gonioscoping all eyes which had received blunt trauma. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the gonioscopic appearance of a characteristic defect of the anterior chamber angle noted during these observations, and to report the clinical course of a relatively unknown type of monocular glaucoma with which it may or may not be associated. Contusion Angle Deformity The deformity is characterized by an increased depth of the anterior chamber which is often measurable by slit-lamp examination (Fig. 1). Gonioscopy reveals


We present a tool dedicated to potentiometric measurements over a length longer than the usual scanning length of local probes techniques, with a submicronic resolution, suitable for use in cryogenic environment. The measurement is carried out by bringing a conducting tip in contact with the sample surface. We describe in detail the connecting procedure and the inertial system used to move the sample. To illustrate the possibilities given by this system, we have measured the instantaneous voltage profile modified by Joule heating of a metallic bridge crossed by a high current density, and we have probed the potential profile across a normal-superconducting junction.


Most of the world's 1500 active volcanoes are not instrumentally monitored, resulting in deadly eruptions which can occur without observation of precursory activity. The new Sentinel missions are now providing freely available imagery with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions, with payloads allowing for a comprehensive monitoring of volcanic hazards. We here present the volcano monitoring platform MOUNTS (Monitoring Unrest from Space), which aims for global monitoring, using multisensor satellite-based imagery (Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR, Sentinel-2 Short-Wave InfraRed SWIR, Sentinel-5P TROPOMI), ground-based seismic data (GEOFON and USGS global earthquake catalogues), and artificial intelligence (AI) to assist monitoring tasks. It provides near-real-time access to surface deformation, heat anomalies, SO2 gas emissions, and local seismicity at a number of volcanoes around the globe, providing support to both scientific and operational communities for volcanic risk assessment. Results are visualized on an open-access website where both geocoded images and time series of relevant parameters are provided, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the temporal evolution of volcanic activity and eruptive products. We further demonstrate that AI can play a key role in such monitoring frameworks. Here we design and train a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on synthetically generated interferograms, to operationally detect strong deformation (e.g., related to dyke intrusions), in the real interferograms produced by MOUNTS. The utility of this interdisciplinary approach is illustrated through a number of recent eruptions (Erta Ale 2017, Fuego 2018, Kilauea 2018, Anak Krakatau 2018, Ambrym 2018, and Piton de la Fournaise 2018–2019). We show how exploiting multiple sensors allows for assessment of a variety of volcanic processes in various climatic settings, ranging from subsurface magma intrusion, to surface eruptive deposit emplacement, pre/syn-eruptive morphological changes, and gas propagation into the atmosphere. The data processed by MOUNTS is providing insights into eruptive precursors and eruptive dynamics of these volcanoes, and is sharpening our understanding of how the integration of multiparametric datasets can help better monitor volcanic hazards.


Language is considered a defining property of humanity in ancient myths and in contemporary humanities disciplines such as philosophy and in linguistics. But there are competing views about what constitutes the capacity for language. One approach, known as the formal generative approach, regards the language capacity as autonomous from other cognitive abilities, and equates it with the syntactic ability to form an infinite number of sentences from finite means. Another, known as the functional approach, regards the language capacity as a non-autonomous symbolic system. From this perspective factors such as speech acts, narrative discourses, and frequency effects are as important as syntax for understanding the language capacity. Implications of work from these two perspectives for a broad range of disciplines, especially literary studies, are suggested.


The in vitro cultivation of Pneumocystis carinii in chick lung cell culture made it possible to observe the organism proceeding through its life cycle. It provided the foundation for extensive seroepidemiologic studies, for in vitro drug screening, and for essential biological, metabolic, and morphologic research. In vitro culture made possible the discovery of P. carinii antigenemia, its biochemical nature, and its relevance to subclinical and clinical infection. Its utility in the presumptive diagnosis of P. carinii pneumonia and in monitoring responses to drug therapy illustrate the value and clinical application of basic research.


The main goal of this paper is to define a collaborative innovation process as well as a supporting tool. It is motivated through the increasing competition on global markets and the resultant propagation of decentralized projects with a high demand of innovative collaboration in global contexts. It bases on a project accomplished by the author group. A detailed literature review and the action design research methodology of the project led to an enhanced process model for decentral collaborative innovation processes and a basic realization of a browser based real time tool to enable these processes. The initial evaluation in a practical distributed setting has shown that the created tool is a useful way to support collaborative innovation processes.


In the debate about biological dispositions or differential sex-role socialization, too much emphasis is given to an either- or dichotomy. We argue that the higher religiosity of women is likely the product of both biological and environmental influences by discussing: (1) the fallacy of nature "versus" nurture; (2) biological influences on religious outcomes; (3) biological influences on the predictors of religious involvement; (4) causality and confounding in social science; and (5) interdisciplinary models of biology-environment interplay.


Abstract The theory of growth of dry plumes is extended to include the effects of moisture in both the vapor and liquid forms. A relation determining the point at which a moist plume first condenses is derived. Numerical solutions of this relation indicate that, under most atmospheric conditions, condensation either occurs very close to the stack or not at all. A method for predicting whether or not condensation will occur for arbitrary conditions of atmospheric relative humidity and initial temperature excess and relative humidity of the plume is given. The special case where the plume is initially saturated, corresponding to cooling tower effluents, is considered in more detail.


REPORT OF A CASE A small pustule consistent with an arthropod bite developed on the left parietal scalp of a 3-month-old boy. A papule developed at the site, which slowly enlarged over the following month despite two courses of systemic antibiotics. On admission, the boy had left cervical lymphadenopathy (3×5 cm) with torticollis to the right, left posterior occipital lymphadenopathy, and a left parietal erythematous nodule (1×2 cm) with an eroded, crusted surface (Figure 1). The physical examination was otherwise normal. The complete blood cell count and differential and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were normal. A chest roentgenogram demonstrated left cervical lymphadenopathy. A skin biopsy specimen was obtained from the left parietal nodule on the scalp (Figure 2andFigure 3), which showed a suppurative and granulomatous dermatitis and folliculitis. The papillary and reticular dermis were composed predominantly of granulation tissue with occasional ruptured follicles surrounded by a marked neutrophilic


Urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, phosphate and oxalate in the condition of low-calcium diet, and the secretion of LH, FSH, testosterone and estradiol following LH-RH stimulation test have been determined in 26 men with active nephrolithiasis and in 14 healthy male subjects. Significantly higher urinary excretion of calcium and oxalate, and significantly lower excretion of magnesium was observed in men with nephrolithiasis as compared to healthy men. In addition, the patients with nephrolithiasis had significantly higher concentrations of testosterone, estradiol and FSH than the healthy controls. The results obtained suggest the participation of the gonadal hormones in the pathogenesis of active nephrolithiasis.


Steel industries around the world have been trying to improve the blast furnace efficiency in order to reduce energy consumptions and decrease the reducing agent rate. One of the most popular techniques of achieving this is by decreasing the thermal reserve zone temperature inside the blast furnace by the use of High reactivity coke. Due to its high reactivity, the reaction starting temperature of coke in the reversible Boudouard reaction is lowered, which results in the decrease of thermal reserve zone temperature. As a result, the reducing agent rate is decreased, resulting in lower energy requirements and also lesser greenhouse effects due to lower emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. This higher reactivity is achieved by adding certain substances into the coal blend which exhibits positive catalysis on the gasification reaction of coke. Also, due to the gradual shrinkage of coking coal reserves, there is a constant urge to improve existing techniques and develop innovative technologies to utilize non-coking and slightly coking coal as much as possible by blending with coking coal during carbonization in coke ovens. In order to achieve these, certain binders are to be added into the coal blend which will help to maintain the coke strength in spite of addition of non-coking coal.
In this research work, the briquetting technique was utilized for producing coke using non-coking coal up to 40%. The potential of different steel plant wastes and by-products like powdered iron ore, iron (III) oxide, LD Slag and sinter return fines were studied and the optimum proportion was obtained as 10%. The use of coal tar pitch and petroleum pitch binders were also studied extensively and their optimum proportions were obtained as 3% in case of coal tar pitch and 2% in case of petroleum pitch. Also, experiments were carried out to check the corrosion of coke oven bricks due to the reaction of silica in brick with the externally added iron ore. Later, lump coke was produced in a 7 kg oven by blending different iron-bearing additives into the coal and then carbonizing the mixture, in order to enhance the reactivity and strength of coke produced. The coke produced was tested and compared with conventional coke in terms of its reactivity, strength and porosity.


Remote control of aptamer function has allowed us to control protein function in space and time. Here, we propose a novel control system for aptamer function by radiofrequency magnetic field- (RFMF-) induced local heating of a gold nanoparticle conjugated with an aptamer. In this study, we used a 31-mer thrombin-binding aptamer (TBA), which can inhibit thrombin activity, as a model aptamer. We evaluated the RFMF control of the inhibitory activity of a gold nanoparticle-conjugated TBA. To evaluate the effect of RFMF on enzymatic activity, we utilized a complementary DNA strand that maintains the broken structure during the activity assay. We observed a decrease in the inhibitory activity of TBA after RFMF irradiation. It indicates that RFMF is capable of controlling the TBA structure. Because RFMF allows noninvasive control of aptamer function, this strategy is expected to be novel way of controlling aptamer drug activity.


Despite widespread use, the bootstrap remains a controversial method for assessing confidence limits in phylogenies. Opposition to its use has centered on a small set of basic philo? sophical and statistical objections that have largely gone unanswered by advocates of statistical approaches to phylogeny reconstruction. The level of generality of these objections varies greatly, however. Some of the objections are merely technical, involving problems that are found in almost all statistical tests, such as bias in small data sets. Other objections are really associated not so much with a rejection of the bootstrap but with the rejection of statistical methods in phylogeny reconstruction, which resurrects an old debate. The most relevant aspects of this debate revolve around the issue of whether or not an unknown parameter, such as a tree, can have probabilities (confidence limits) associated with it. The relevant statistical aspects are reviewed, but because this issue remains controversial within statistical theory, it is unreasonable to expect it to be anything else in phylogenetic systematics. An area of common ground between statistical and nonstatistical approaches emerges in the use of statistical likelihood as a measure of support for phylogenetic hypotheses. This common ground requires the abandonment of classical notions of confidence limits by statistically oriented systematists and the acceptance of probabilistic models and likelihood by opponents of statistical methods. There remains a small set of objections directly germane to bootstrapping phylogenies per se. These objections involve issues of random sampling and whether or not character data are independent and identically distributed (HD). Nonrandom- sample bootstrapping is discussed, as are sample designs that impose the HD assumption on characters regardless of evolutionary nonindependence and nonidentical distribution of those data. Systematists wishing to use the bootstrap have an alternative to making explicit and rather strong evolutionary assumptions; they can consider the issue of character sampling designs much more carefully. (Phylogeny; bootstrap; statistical inference; confidence; cladistics.)


Models with several levels of mixing (households, workplaces), as well as various corresponding formulations for $R_0$, have been proposed in the literature. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of the distribution of the population size within social structures, effect that can help plan effective interventions. We focus on the influence on the model outcomes of teleworking strategies, consisting in reshaping the distribution of workplace sizes. We consider a stochastic \emph{SIR} model with two levels of mixing, accounting for a uniformly mixing general population, each individual belonging also to a household and a workplace. The variance of the workplace size distribution appears to be a good proxy for the impact of this distribution on key outcomes of the epidemic, such as epidemic size and peak. In particular, our findings suggest that strategies where the proportion of individuals teleworking depends sublinearly on the size of the workplace outperform the strategy with linear dependence. Besides, one drawback of the model with multiple levels of mixing is its complexity, raising interest in a reduced model. We propose an unstructured \emph{SIR} ODE-based model, explicitly exhibiting social structure sizes. This reduced model, sharing the same growth rate as the initial model, yields a generally satisfying approximation of the epidemic. These results, robust to various changes in model structure, are very promising from the perspective of implementing effective strategies based on social distancing of specific contacts. Furthermore, they contribute to the effort of building relevant approximations of individual based models at intermediate scales.


The radio-isotope rhenium-labeled N-[2-(triphenylmethyl)thioethyl]-3-aza-19-ethyloxycarbonyl-3-[2-(triphenylmethyl)thioethyl] octadecanoate) ligand (188Re-MN-16ET) is a novel therapeutic agent under preclinical evaluation for hepatoma. A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometric analysis method and diode array detector (DAD) involving a T type splitter was developed to characterize this pharmaceutical in rat liver tissue solution and determine its biotransformation rate. The separation was accomplished on a C18 column (chromolith silica, 4.6 mm × 100 mm) using an acetonitrile–ammonium acetate buffer gradient as the mobile phase. The detection was achieved by DAD set at 250 nm and tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode. Re-MN-16ET displayed a retention time of 23.2 min and a transition ion pair corresponding to m/z 677 → 631 for multiple reaction monitoring. Its biotransformation reaction in rat liver homogenate proceeded for 90 min in a 37°C water bath. The characterization was conducted using aliquots that were extracted and concentrated from the reaction mixture for various incubation times. Re-MN-16ET exhibited a biotransformation half-life (t1/2) of 8–9 min in liver tissue solution and was almost completely exhausted after 90 min. Two of its metabolites, consisting of the Re-labeled carboxylic acid derivative, predominately, and its corresponding demetallized disulfide ligand were found in the liver homogenate, providing a metabolism pathway for the radiopharmaceutical.


The carcinogenic compounds such as DMBA known for having the ability to promote the DNA damage that affects the growth regulator genes. Therefore, uncontrolled cell growth will occur and change the immune system. Elephantopus scaber extract is considered as an alternative way of handling breast cancer since it capable to affect the work of the immune system. Hence, this study aims to determine the effect of E. scaber extract on quantitative changes of CD4 + , CD8 + T cells and proinflammatory cytokines CD4 + IFN-γ + and CD4 + TNF-α + after induction of DMBA and estrogen. In vivo experiments were carried out by using 5-6 weeks old of female mice BALB/c strain. The extract of E. scaber leaf powder was obtained from Material Medica Batu, Malang. The experimental animals were divided into five groups such as negative control group (K-), positive control group (K+), mice treated with E. scaber extract for a week (group 1), mice treated with E. scaber extract for 2 weeks (group 2), and mice treated with E. scaber extract for 3 weeks (group 3). Induction of DMBA and estrogen was conducted by injection of DMBA (7.12 dimetylbenz (α) anthracene) 0.56 mg.kgBW -1 and estradiol hormone 0.0504 mg.kgBW -1 . Mice were treated with E. scaber extract with a dose of 50 mg.kgBW -1 . Lymphocytes were isolated from spleen and observed the CD4 + , CD8 + T cells and proinflammatory cytokines CD4 + IFN-γ + and CD4 + TNF-α + T cells through flow cytometry analysis. One-way ANOVA (p <0.05) and SPSS were used to analyze this data. The results showed that the induction of DMBA and estradiol hormone affected mice fur loss. It also decreased the immune system by lowering the number of CD4 and CD8 T cells. However, E. scaber extracts increased the number of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α. Furthermore, the DMBA and estradiol induction also promoted the number of CD4 + IFN-γ + in the first week, but decreased the number of CD4 + IFN-γ + at weeks 2 and 3, then increase the number of CD4 + IFN-γ + . So, the treatment of E. scaber extracts demonstrated the ability to restore the homeostasis of the immune system in the first and second weeks.  Keywords: CD4 + , CD8 + , DMBA, estrogen, E.scaber, IFN-γ + , TNF-α +


Objective To evaluate 2 cases of implant loss after osseointegration using low-resonance frequency analysis. Patients Ten children were operated on consecutively with the non–skin-thinning implantation of bone-anchored hearing devices. A capsule report was completed with 2 children who experienced loss of their abutments 3 to 4 weeks after implantation. Intervention Eligible children for bone-anchored hearing device implantation were operated on and followed for a total of 1 year. Visits were planned for 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery. Each visit included clinical controls and a stability test with Osstell's resonance frequency analysis measurement, using stability values from 0 to 100 (representing a range of low to high stability, respectively). Of the 10 cases, two were performed as a 2-step, whereas the other 8 were performed as a 1-step non–skin-thinning procedure. Main Outcome Measure and Results Two of the children (1 two-step and 1 one-step) showed low-resonance measurements of 30 or less after surgery. Both of these children lost their abutments early after surgery. These children had no skin-related problems at the time of abutment loss. Conclusion It may be possible to predict abutment loss in children with primary resonance values lower than 30.


The paper addresses the problems of expansion planning of wind power plants in electric power systems. The Monte-Carlo simulation is used to estimate the wind power plants electricity output on the basis of wind velocities in the area. The general expansion problem is formed as a two level hierarchical multi-criteria problem. At the upper level of hierarchy consideration is given to the state policy of stimulating of power companies to introduce the renewable power sources. At the lower level power companies substantiate their decisions on expansion taking into account the state policy and coordinate these decisions with the neighboring companies. The approach is illustrated by the specific example of the two vertically- integrated power companies in the Baikal region with account for wind conditions in this area.


LPS stimulation provokes serious cellular stress with an increase of cytoplasmic reactive oxygen species (ROS). We have investigated, among the different cellular defenses, amyloidogenesis as common physiological response to attenuate oxidative stress. Optical and electron microscopic observations of the following LPS activated cell lines [insect (larval hemocytes, IPLB-LdFB and Drosophila Schneider's S2 cells); mouse (NIH3T3 embryonic fibroblasts); Human (Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC), neutrophils, and mesenchymal stem cells] reveal that, all are characterized by irregular profiles, cytoplasmic empty vacuoles or by cisternae containing fibrillar material. The compartmentalized fibrillar material shows staining properties typical of amyloid fibrils. LPS activation leads to ROS generation, resulting in pH acidification. Stimulated cells show pink cytoplasm in May-Grunwald Giemsa differential staining, giving a gross indication of a lower intracellular pH. Moreover the activation of amyloidogenesis is also linked with an extensive production of ACTH and α-MSH in all cultured cell types. We suggest that amyloidogenesis is a common, physiological cellular response to weak ROS, starting when other anti-stress cellular systems failed to restore homeostasis. The morphological evidence and/or functional characterization of synthesized amyloid fibrils could be an early indicator of oxidative stress that may lead to a general inflammatory process.


This paper studies the dynamics of credit supply when a negative shock impacts a substantial share of bank loans. The analysis exploits the 2014 collapse of energy prices, using the universe of Mexican commercial bank loans. The findings show that, after the drop in energy prices, the credit default swap spreads (CDS) of firms in the energy sector soared, and banks that were more exposed to the energy sector increased even more their exposure ex post, by supplying loans to their larger debtors in the energy sector at lower interest rates. An increase of one standard deviation in ex-ante exposure to the energy sector increased loan volume to borrowers in the sector by 18 percent and reduced loan rates charged by 6 percent, even though borrower's CDS spreads were widening. Highly exposed banks amplified this sector-specific shock to the rest of the economy by contracting lending to other sectors, with important real effects, as the borrowers could not switch credit suppliers. Finally, the energy price shock had a large negative impact on macro outcomes, especially in the capital-intensive secondary sector. Quantitatively, a one standard deviation increase in the exposure of a state's banks to the energy sector reduces its GDP by 1.8 percent.


The roentgen diagnosis of mitral stenosis and its differentiation from mitral insufficiency are more important than ever now that mitral commissurotomy is available. The ideal patient for mitral commissurotomy is one who has pure mitral stenosis, or at least no predominating insufficiency, with no involvement of any of the other heart valves, and who has pulmonary congestion but no right heart failure. Auscultation may be misleading because there may be a loud systolic murmur when the mitral valve is predominantly stenotic; surgery will benefit the patient. Roentgen examination is often of help. Radiographs furnish more exact information than fluoroscopy and provide a permanent record besides. We have found films in the anteroposterior and lateral positions most helpful, together with the right oblique. (The left oblique view is of little value for determining left ventricular enlargement.) Fluoroscopic examination is useful in detection of calcification of the valves. We have also been


The relationship between net water flux and osmotic gradients across the Necturus kidney proximal tubule was studied with stopped flow microperfusion technique. To minimize water movement induced by Na transport, perfusion solutions contained 62.5 mm/l. NaCl; at this concentration no net water movement is observed with isosmolar solutions. Mannitol was added to prepare perfusion solutions with gradients ±70 mOs/l. relative to plasma. With these gradients, water movement was symmetrical in both directions across the membrane: tubular volume decreased 46% with hypoosmolar perfusion fluid, and increased 51% with hyperosmolar fluid. The membrane water permeability coefficient, P f , is 0.15 x 10 –8 ml/(cm 2 sec. cm H 2 O). This coefficient permits calculation of net water movement ascribable to plasma protein osmotic pressure. The calculated value is approximately 1% of the fluid normally absorbed by the tubule. This conclusion was confirmed in separate experiments in which albumin was added to perfusion fluid to produce a protein concentration 67% higher than in plasma. Under these conditions, water was still absorbed from the tubule, indicating that proteins do not play a major role in water absorption.


Abstract. With the development of different sensors, such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS), inertial measurement unit (IMU), LiDAR, radar and camera, more localization information is available for autonomous vehicular applications. However, each sensor has its limitations in different circumstances. For example, visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) easily loses tracking in an open sky area where accurate GNSS measurements can be obtained. Sensors can complement each other by integrated their information in a multi-sensor fusion scheme. In this study, we proposed a visual-SLAM enhanced INS/GNSS localization fusion scheme for a high dynamic environment. Oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF (ORB) SLAM are used to pre-process image sequences from monocular camera, rescaled and refreshed after applying GNSS measurements, and convert to position and velocity information, which can provide updates to the system. The performance of the fusion system was verified through two field tests at different speed ranges (about 30–60 km/s), using a reliable reference system as ground-truth to assess the accuracy of the proposed localization fusion scheme. The results indicated that the proposed system could improve the navigation accuracy compared to INS/GNSS integration scheme and achieve which-lane level or even where-in-lane level.


Etiology of obesity is influenced not only by hormonal and metabolic but also psychological factors. With increasing number of eating disorders, the number of patients without visible psychopathic personal features increases, but some personality characteristics which increase vulnerability of human organism and probability of disease exist. Therefore, we pay attention to examinations and therapy of personal characteristics of the patient and his past history. The symptom of the patient is connected not only with special organic changes but also with social environment. Multicausal characteristic of obesity can be documented by case reports of patients in the group therapy within the Programme of Systemic Therapy of Obesity carried out in our Department. In all the case long-term or actual incongruence, which does not make possible the change of life style and active patient's participation in the therapy, necessary precondition for the reduction of weight and its keeping up, is present. The case report of R.K., in which the gradual process of change of subjective feeling and self-exploration of R.K. in the group therapy are documented, is elaborated in more detail. The resulting change of Self is the precondition for more effective intervention at the level of energetic intake--the energetic expenditure. The patient is able to take more responsibility for her food behaviour, smaller dependence on the estimation of other people increases the possibility of permanent change of life style.


In order to resolve the redundant information in High-tech project evaluation, a high-tech investment risk evaluation model combining a rough sets RS and the RBF neural network is presented. First using the rough set's powerful numerical analysis capabilities, this model does the attribute reduction on the evaluation index which reduces the training data of RBF neural network and simplifies the network structure. Then this model trains the data after reduction using the RBF neural network. Last applying this model to the High-tech project evaluation, the simulation results show that compared with the RBF neural network model, the hybrid model can achieve more satisfactory results such as speeding up the network operator speed, minimizing the evaluation error, and improving the evaluation precision.


Recent developments in metamodeling and model transformation techniques have led to increasing adoption of model-driven engineering practices. The increase in interest and significance of the model-driven approach has also accelerated its application in the development of large (distributed) IT systems to support (collaborative) enterprises. Shifting attention from source code to models enables enterprises to focus on their core concerns, such as business processes, services and collaborations, without being forced to simultaneously consider the underlying technologies. Different concerns are typically addressed by different models, with transformations between the models and ultimately to the source code. Although the model-driven approach offers theoretical benefits for the development, maintenance and evolution of enterprise computing systems, a number of issues for the practical application of the approach still exist. In order to solve these issues, further advances in models and model-driven methods (design concepts, languages, metamodels, profiles and specification frameworks) are necessary.

The International Workshop on Models and Model-driven Methods for Enterprise Computing (3M4EC) aims at helping the convergence of research on model-driven development and practical application of the model-driven approach in the area of enterprise computing. The workshop addresses questions with respect to the requirements on, concepts for, properties of, and experience with models and model-driven methods for enterprise computing in general and in specific application domains. Special attention is given to the application of the model-driven approach to enterprise service-oriented architecture computing.

This volume contains the proceedings of the first edition of the workshop, 3M4EC 2008, held on September 16, 2008, in Munich, Germany, in conjunction with the 12th IEEE International EDOC Conference – The Enterprise Computing Conference (EDOC 2008). Four papers were selected for oral presentation and publication, based on a thorough review process, in which each paper was reviewed by several experts in the field.


Physical education learning in Indonesia focuses on developing physical fitness, in which students are able to carry out daily activities without experiencing significant fatigue. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of physical fitness learning based on motion cards. This true experimental study used randomized pretest-posttest control group design as the same subject design. The population were 41 elementary schools in Singaraja, Buleleng regency. The participants involved were 262 students from 4 elementary schools which selected by a purposive random sampling technique. A test including physical fitness: squat thrust/burpee test, sit and reach, vertical jump, and push-up. Meanwhile, nontest included a formative class evaluation (FCE) questionnaire were used as research instrument. Data analysis was carried out by t-test 0.05 significance level. The result showed that t-count reached 2.31 which is above 0.05 and the average FCE score of students reached 2.82 (very good) from maximum score of 3.00. It can be concluded that physical fitness learning based on motion cards are proven to be effective in improving physical fitness learning outcomes of elementary school in Singaraja city, students feel impressed, gain new experience of motion that have not done before, learning and moving in a friendly atmosphere. Motion cards series were recommended to teach physical fitness activity for PJOK elementary school teachers. Keywords—physcial fitness, formative class evaluation (FCE), motion cards


Introduction Transgender women (TG) have the highest HIV prevalence in Guatemala (23.9%). Since 2007, the STI Sentinel Surveillance and Control (VICITS) strategy has provided STI diagnosis and treatment, behavioural change interventions and condoms to key populations in coordination with the Ministry of Health. We present key biological and behavioural characteristics of TG who attended VICITS clinics in Guatemala between 2007 and 2014. Methods TG ≥18 years old (yo), who had sex with a man in the last year and attended one of four VICITS clinics in Guatemala were included in the analysis. HIV and syphilis infection were diagnosed according to national guidelines. Sociodemographic data, risk behaviour, and biological data were collected. Data analysis was conducted in Stata 11.0. Results A total of 151 TG sought care at least once during 2007–2014 and 366 consultations were provided. Median age was 27 yo (IQR 23–34), 76.3% had secondary education or more, 77.7% reported sex work in the last year (75% for more than one year), 40.4% reported drug use at least once in lifetime with half of them reporting active use in the last 30 days - cocaine was the most common drug. Condom use in the last sexual relationship was 85.4%, 89% of the TG reported receptive anal sex and 88.8% oral sex in the last 30 days. Approximately 7.2% had a previous HIV diagnosis and 4.2% were newly diagnosed for a total HIV prevalence of 11%. Of those tested for syphilis, 3.9% had active syphilis infection. Conclusion We found high HIV and active syphilis prevalence among TG, suggesting that additional efforts and strategies for prevention among this group are needed. Due to the high proportion of receptive anal sex reported, surveillance of anal STI should be prioritised and conducted to provide appropriate and timely data to control the epidemic among key populations. Disclosure of interest statement We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.


This article considers how "the greatest negotiator of the twentieth century," Nelson Mandela, approached negotiating the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC), the dismantling of apartheid, and his own freedom after twenty-seven years of imprisonment. He employed classically good negotiation practices in the face of intense and violent opposition while confined in prison for life. If he could be successful, why cannot lawyers succeed when facing less daunting disputes?This article focuses on the period starting in 1985, when Mandela refused an offer to be released if he would condemn violence, until 1990, when President de Klerk gave his historic unbanning speech, Mandela was freed, and he gave his first speech as a free man.


Retroperitoneal fibrosis is a rare disease, typically with an insidious clinical course. It is thought that this disease process is perhaps an exaggerated reaction to an inciting inflammatory event. In this study, a case of retroperitoneal fibrosis is reported, in which the patient presented with typical symptoms of retroperitoneal fibrosis, along with some atypical vasculitic symptomatology. Retroperitoneal fibrosis is a disease process with an unknown etiology, which has been observed to be associated with a number of different possible inciting factors. Two factors that have been documented in the literature as being associated with retroperitoneal fibrosis include the use of beta-blocking agents, and connective tissue disease processes such as systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient discussed was using beta-blocker medication and also had signs and symptoms suggestive of a lupus syndrome. There are no reported cases of the combined association of beta-blocker usage, lupus, and retroperitoneal fibrosis.


There are observed inequalities in the distribution of socio-economic facilities in Nigeria. The paper examined the availability of some social infrastructural facilities in rural parts of Imo State. It equally examined the extent to which those facilities have promoted rural development in the State. Data were collected mainly from primary sources. A total number of 2,340 copies of questionnaire were administered in eighteen communities and all were retrieved for the analysis. Research findings revealed unevenness in the availability of potable water supply and telephone (analogue landline) facilities. However, the availability of electricity, educational and health facilities were largely indicated by respondents in the 18 study communities to be well spread across the State. The paper noted some rural development implications as the result of the Z-test of proportion statistics led to the rejection of the null hypothesis and the acceptance of the alternative, which is that, majority of rural areas in Imo State, have significant presence of social infrastructural facilities that enhance economic activities.


Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has long been implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS), though its mechanism of contribution remains unknown. Age-associated B cells (ABCs) are known to expand and persist following viral infection and are increased in MS patients. We hypothesize that EBV infection expands the number of ABCs and skews the population towards a Th1 inflammatory phenotype, leading them to function pathogenically in MS. To explore how the EBV-primed ABC population contributes to MS we have utilized the in vivo models of EBV, gammaherpesvirus 68 (gHV68), and MS, and MOG35–55 experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We observe that ABCs display distinct phenotypes during gHV68 infection and EAE: ABCs secrete anti-viral IFNg during gHV68 infection and IL10 during EAE. Intriguingly, latent gHV68 infection prior to EAE results in a heterogeneous ABC phenotype, with IL10 and IFNg-secreting subsets. As IFNg is pathogenic during EAE and MS, and IL10 is protective, the gHV68-EAE ABCs display a more pathogenic phenotype compared to EAE alone, corresponding to the enhanced clinical course during gHV68-EAE. Knocking out ABCs results in an amelioration of disease in gHV68-EAE, but not EAE alone, further substantiating that gHV68 infection drives ABCs towards pathogenicity. In MS patients we observe an increased number and altered inflammatory phenotype of circulating ABCs compared to age and sex-matched healthy controls. These findings indicate that gHV68 and EBV prime ABCs to contribute pathogenically during EAE and MS and suggest that ABCs may be a therapeutic target.


The Ipl protein consists of a single pleckstrin homology (PH) domain with short N- and C-terminal extensions. This protein is highly conserved among vertebrates, and it acts to limit placental growth in mice. However, its biochemical function is unknown. The closest paralogue of Ipl is Tih1, another small PH domain protein. By sequence comparisons, Ipl and Tih1 define an outlying branch of the PH domain superfamily. Here we describe phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PIP) binding by these proteins. Ipl and Tih1 bind to immobilized PIPs with moderate affinity, but this binding is weaker and more promiscuous than that of prototypical PH domains from the general receptor for phosphoinositides (GRP1), phospholipase C δ1, and dual adaptor for phosphoinositides and phosphotyrosine 1. In COS7 cells exposed to epidermal growth factor, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Ipl and GFP-Tih1 accumulate at membrane ruffles without clearing from the cytoplasm, whereas control GFP-GRP1 translocates rapidly to the plasma membrane and clears from the cytoplasm. Ras*-Ipl and Ras*-Tih1 fusion proteins both rescue cdc25ts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but Ras*-Ipl rescues more efficiently in the presence of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), whereas PI3K-independent rescue is more efficient with Ras*-Tih1. Site-directed mutagenesis defines amino acids in the β1-loop1-β2 regions of Ipl and Tih1 as essential for growth rescue in this assay. Thus, Ipl and Tih1 arebona fide PH domain proteins, with broad specificity and moderate affinity for PIPs.


It is a well accepted fact that nutrient limitation of plants affects the growth and survival of herbivores, generally leading to lower performance of herbivores feeding on nutrient stressed plants. The effect of plants' growing conditions on predatory organisms, feeding one trophic level up, has been much less studied, and there is a general consensus that such effects would be small as herbivores often show relatively strong homeostasis with respect to their nutrient content. Here, we challenge this view, and show from several examples that despite the fact that herbivores buffer much of the variance in nutrient stoichiometry of their food, effects of growing conditions of the primary producers can travel up the food chain. We discuss the implications of these findings, and argue that phosphorus limitation of secondary consumers might be more common in marine than in freshwater systems.


The effects of cell toxicity on the mutagenic response obtained in a quantitative suspension assay using the strains of Salmonella typhimurium developed by Ames et al [Mutat Res 31:347--364, 1975] were examined. Cell toxicity was shown to produce false-positive results when the cells were plated immediately with trace amounts of histidine in the overlay agar. Replacement of the overlay agar with one lacking histidine produced false-negative results when the cells were plated immediately after exposure to a frame-shift-type mutagen. The inclusion of an overnight growth period in brain-heart infusion broth before plating the cells on minimal medium permitted incorporation of mutations into the genome and also yielded constant titers. The addition of the regrowth period is shown to be necessary for obtaining valid results in a suspension assay.


— The data replication is a crucial process to increase the performance of distributed systems by replicating multiple replicas of same data at different sites. With the evolution of the cloud storage, many people are transferring their crucial data to the cloud storage. Replication is used in cloud storage systems to improve availability, replication factor, access time and storage efficiency. Replication factor of a file refers to the number of replicas or copies of that file in the system. Every file in HDFS is stored in the form of blocks. HDFS has a default replication factor of 3 for all file blocks. In our proposed strategy a novel replication algorithm is proposed it decides the replication factor based on the support values of the file block then we will find the Frequent Block Access Pattern of the popular files and the placement of the frequent access pattern of the file blocks is based on the local support values at each data nodes. According to the results of the performance analysis, the proposed strategy's algorithm outperforms the Hadoop distributed file system's replication process.


The Catalogue of the new Syriac manuscripts of Sinai by Mother Philothea completes the series of inventories devoted to the "New Finds" of 1975 and the previous publication of Sebastian Brock (1995). The current article focuses only on the parchment manuscripts of patristic, monastic or hagiographic content described in the Catalogue. It provides a study of each of them, proposing new identifications of texts and authors, specifying the dates and styles of wrinting and finally reconstituting the dismembered manuscripts sometimes scattered throughout Europe. The fragments, the majority of which are of Melkite origin, are a major contribution to the knowledge of this religous community


In this overview passivation mechanisms of high nitrogen steels (HNS) are decribed first and then the various corrosion properties related to general corrosion, pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion, intergranular corrosion (sensitization), stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement are summarized based on the present knowledge. The effects of nitrogen on pitting corrosion of stainless steels have been studied most systematically and a number of different mechanisms have been proposed for the effect of nitrogen on pitting and crevice corrosion related to observed synergistic interactions with Mo in the alloy. There is a fairly consistent agreement that N additions improve the pitting corrosion resistance of austenitic and duplex stainless steels by increasing the pitting potential or temperature in aqueous chloride solutions or by decreasing the weight loss in standard FeCl 3 test. There is much less results on the effects of nitrogen alloying on active dissolution or general corrosion, and almost no systematic studies on the effects of N content on environment sensitive cracking of these steels.


NICKY SAFITRI: AN ANALYSIS OF DISCOURSE MARKERS USED BY
THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE INFORMAL
SITUATION IN CONFESSIONS OF A
SHOPAHOLIC MOVIE DIRECTED BY P. J. HOGAN
In spoken interaction, speakers may frequently employ sets of linguistic
signals as strategies for implementing successful communication. They frequently
used discourse marker as the signal and pause the interaction. Discourse markers
are considered as cues or signals for the reader or the hearer that make cohesion
and coherence, but in fact, these markers are found in various grammatical forms
such as interjections, coordinate idea, conjunction.. etc. And it plays a very
important role for manage our conversation. I chose in Movie, because movie has
spoken language that represents real life conversation. And Confessions of a
Shopaholic was an interesting film because it adapted from the best selling novel
by Sophie Kinsella and has many moral values.
The aims of this research are to find what discourse markers that used by
the main characters in the informal situation in Confessions of a Shopaholics
movie, to find how the main characters used in the informal situation in
Confession of a Shopaholics movie, to find what the discourse marker are mostly
used by the main characters that movie.
The method of this research is Content Analysis method for analyzing and
collecting the data. The data is the form of words conversation by the mains
characters. It used because it is concerning with describing of the data used with
the context. The data of this research taken from a movie entitled Confessions of a
Shopaholic directed by P. J. Hogan. The main theory to analyze the data was
Schiffrin"s theory.
As the result of this research, the writer found 125 data which contain
discourse markers and about 16 data has been analyzed by the writer. All the data
belongs to six discourse markers as being proposed by Schiffrin, namely marker
of information management, marker of response, discourse connectives, marker of
cause and result, marker of temporal adverb, and marker of information and
participation. The main characters are Rebecca Bloomwood, Suze and Luke
Brandon used discourse marker to make coherent in their conversation turntaking.
It desire to open or close a conversation and for showing turns, joining
ideas together, showing attitude, and generally controlling communication, it
located in the beginning or in the last idea which also from the interlocutor of the
conversation and also stated with context of the situation there. The main
characters mostly used "oh" discourse marker as exclamation or interjection with
emotional stated such as surprise, and included in marker of information
management


Recent theories and studies have gradually clarified some of the psychological processes of middle age. Most interesting are the contributions that maintain different developmental processes for women and men. Three of the major theories in the area [1–3] seem to converge in proposing a process of gradual cross-sex transition in adulthood, the result of which may be a more integrated or androgynous personality structure in the second half of life. A different model of adult development, centered on midlife crisis, was proposed by Levinson et al. as a universal stage in men's life cycle [4]. Similar theory and research about women are not as conclusive. The present study investigated in depth the life history of twenty-five American career women at midlife. Such women sociologically combine feminine and masculine roles and may be considered as a test case for the theories. The transitions experienced by these women during their lifetimes were categorized into "masculine" or "feminine" types. It was found that they were distributed about equally between the two types of transitions, thus excluding a simple biological approach. Acute midlife crisis was reported by only about a third of the sample. It is proposed that the double role protects these women from acute crisis.


The ex post facto study examined the association between interpersonal deficits in peer relations and specific aspects of eating disorder (ED) psychopathology in psychiatrically-hospitalized adolescent girls and boys. Four hundred and ninety-two psychiatric inpatients (286 girls and 206 boys), aged 12 to 19 years, completed self- report instruments that generate assessments of peer relations, ED psychopathology, self-esteem, and depression. Associations between peer and ED variables were examined separately by sex and after controlling for levels of self-esteem and depression. Among males and females social-emotional isolation was positively related to body image dissatisfaction and binge eating both prior to and after controlling for low self-esteem and depressed mood. Among males, but not females, less social competence was related to greater body image dissatisfaction both prior to and after controlling for low self- esteem and depressed mood, and to dietary restriction prior to controlling for low self- esteem and depressed mood. Interpersonal deficits in peer relations are associated with ED psychopathology in both female and male adolescents even after accounting for depression and low self-esteem. Excluding males from research in this area may be problematic as relative to adolescent girls, adolescent boys' experiences with peers may be particularly impacted by ED-related psychopathology.


Engineering and applied mathematics disciplines that involve differential equations include classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and general relativity. Modelling a wide range of real-world situations sometimes comprises ambiguous, imprecise, or insufficient situational information, as well as multiindex, uncertainty, or restriction dynamics. As a result, intuitionistic fuzzy set models are significantly more useful and versatile in dealing with this type of data than fuzzy set models, triangular, or trapezoidal fuzzy set models. In this research, we looked at differential equations in a generalized intuitionistic fuzzy environment. We used the modified Adomian decomposition technique to solve generalized intuitionistic fuzzy initial value problems. The generalized modified Adomian decomposition technique is used to solve various higher-order generalized trapezoidal intuitionistic fuzzy initial value problems, circuit analysis problems, mass-spring systems, steam supply control sliding value problems, and some other problems in physical science. The outcomes of numerical test applications were compared to exact technique solutions, and it was shown that our generalized modified Adomian decomposition method is efficient, robotic, and reliable, as well as simple to implement.


Abstract:  The presence of certain motifs associated with pietism in the music of J. S. Bach has led some scholars to conclude that the composer was profoundly influenced by the 17th century movement within the German Lutheran Church. This essay argues that Bach was a Lutheran theologian, whose works can be understood only in the closest relationship to Martin Luther. Bach's commitment to Lutheran orthodoxy is evidenced by his erudite grasp of the writings of Luther and his long friendship with Eerdmann Neumeister. But it is in his music that Bach shows himself to be the true heir of the Lutheran tradition. This essay examines Bach's commitment to Scripture, his Christology and his soteriology.


Abstract Novel chromenyl α-aminophosphonic acid 4 and dialkyl chromenyl phosphonate 6 have been obtained. In addition, some novel types of chromene fused with phosphorus heterocycles such as chromeno[4,3-c][1,2]azaphospholes 5 and 7, chromeno[2,3-d][1,3,2]diazaphosphinine 8 and 1,2-oxaphosphinino[3,4-c]pyridine 10 have been synthesized. The methodology depended on treatment of 2-imino-2H-chromene-3-carboxamide (1) with some phosphorus esters. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 5 exhibited the most antioxidant activity with IC50 = 2.8 μg/mL in comparison with ascorbic acid as standard antioxidant. Also, compound 5 had significant cytotoxic effects against four cancer cell lines. Its IC50 values ranged between 4.96 and 7.44 μg/mL in comparison to doxorubicin (IC50 = 0.426–0.493 μg/mL). GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In vitro translation of blackgram mottle virus RNA in rabbit reticulocyte lysate resulted in synthesis of five major virus specific polypeptides with mol wt 90,000(p90), 82,000(p82), 42,000(p42), 39,000(p39) and 32,000(p32), respectively. The polypeptide p39 was identified as coat protein based on its electrophoretic mobility and immunoprecipitation with BMoV-antiserum.


It has been widely proven that modelling long-range dependencies in fully convolutional networks (FCNs) via global aggregation modules is critical for complex scene understanding tasks such as semantic segmentation and object detection. However, global aggregation is often dominated by features of large patterns and tends to oversmooth regions that contain small patterns (e.g., boundaries and small objects). To resolve this problem, we propose to first use \emph{Global Aggregation} and then \emph{Local Distribution}, which is called GALD, where long-range dependencies are more confidently used inside large pattern regions and vice versa. The size of each pattern at each position is estimated in the network as a per-channel mask map. GALD is end-to-end trainable and can be easily plugged into existing FCNs with various global aggregation modules for a wide range of vision tasks, and consistently improves the performance of state-of-the-art object detection and instance segmentation approaches. In particular, GALD used in semantic segmentation achieves new state-of-the-art performance on Cityscapes test set with mIoU 83.3\%. Code is available at: \url{this https URL}


Knowledge Transfer is a topic taught on MBA courses across the world and recognised as a professional discipline (e.g. the Institute of Knowledge Transfer), an academic discipline (e.g. the Journal of Knowledge Transfer), as an academic qualification (e.g. the Open University/AURIL Post Graduate Certificate in Knowledge Transfer) and as one of a select few key Government funded business support initiatives (e.g. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships – KTPs and Knowledge Transfer Networks - KTNs).

Within the public sector there is currently a debate regarding the use of the term Knowledge Transfer as it is considered by some that Knowledge Exchange more correctly describes the multi-directional sharing of knowledge (both explicit knowledge in the form of rules, theories and models and tacit knowledge in the form of skills, experience and understanding).

This research investigates the views of UK Universities in an attempt to gauge the feelings of KT Offices involved in the delivery of knowledge transfer based activities.


Concrete is the most undisputable material being used in infrastructure development throughout the world. The reduction in the cost of concrete production has resulted in the increased need to find new alternative materials. The aim of the study is to minimize the cost of concrete pavement. The alternative material, Used Foundry Sand which is generated by metal casting industry is partially replaced by natural sand. The fine aggregate has been replaced by used foundry sand accordingly in the range of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% & 50% by weight for M-20 grade concrete. Compressive and flexural strength tests are conducted for 7, 14, 28 days curing period, and compared with the conventional concrete. Maximum compressive and flexural strength are found for 20% replacement of used foundry sand (FA2) with respect to the conventional concrete (A0). The pavement slab thickness and construction cost reduced to 6 cm and 22% respectively in case of concrete FA2.


Angioplasty of coronary aorto-ostial lesions is considered to be troublesome with decreased acute and long-term results and high complication rates. We report a patient with an ostial right coronary artery lesion which was treated after failed PTCA with directional atherectomy as a rescue intervention. After a favorable angiographic and clinical outcome, plastic material was found in the AtheroCath's housing due to resection of the tip of the guide catheter.


Small molecules discovered during the recent years can be used to regulate the growth of embryonic stem cells (ES cells). Chicken blastodermal cells (cBCs) play an important role in both basic and transgenic researches as an important ES cell. However, the regulatory mechanism of small molecules involved in the self-renewal and pluripotency of cBCs remains unknown. This study revealed that the small molecule, SC1, can maintain cBCs in an undifferentiated, pluripotent state in serum- and feeder-free E8 media without leukaemia inhibitory factor. Furthermore, SC1 inhibits downregulation of pluripotency-related genes caused by retinoic acid and promotes the proliferation of cBCs. Furthermore, the results of this study indicated that SC1 functions by inhibiting ERK1 phosphorylation and promoting Akt phosphorylation, thus promoting the expression of pluripotency-related genes and maintaining the pluripotency of cBCs. The results also demonstrated that SC1 sustains the self-renewal capacity and pluripotency of cBCs cells by inhibiting ERK1 phosphorylation and promoting Akt phosphorylation. This kind of regulatory mechanism might be conserved in avian ES cells. Other molecules, similar to SC1, might provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that control the fate of stem cells and ultimately help in-vivo stem cell biology and therapy.


PSMs are an independent risk factor for biochemical recurrence in patients after radical prostatectomy. DKI quantifies the non-Gaussian nature of the real water molecule diffusion, and accurately reveals the changes in the microstructure of the tissue. Results of this study indicate that MD, Da , Dr, MK, Ka and Kr can be used to predict predicts positive margins after radical resection of localized prostate cancer.


The thesis investigates the least squares (LS) identification based adaptive control algorithm from implementation aspects. Possibility of implementing the algorithm in the situation with large measurement noise and relatively high order model is discussed. Issues as parameters tracking and insufficient excitation make the task even more challenging. The thesis analyse both two implementation solution methods: recursive least squares (RLS) and batched least squares identification algorithms. Advantages and drawbacks of both solutions are compared by experiments. The comparison between discrete and continuous model is another important issue discussed. For both recursive and batched implementation structures, the adaptive LQG controller design is integrated to accomplish closed-loop adaptive control systems. With support of methods and designs as GPMF low-pass filter, exponential forgetting factor, constant trace, numerical integration, estimation evaluation, and so forth, the closed-loop adaptive control systems achieves improvement in noise resistance and numerical robustness.


Population turnover, a key trait shaped by the organism's life history strategy, plays an important role in eco-evolutionary dynamics by fixing the timescale for individual birth and death events as well as in determining the level of demographic stochasticity related to growth. Yet, the standard theory of population genetics, and the models heavily used in the related data analysis, have largely ignored the role of turnover. Here we propose a reformulation of population genetics starting from the first principles of birth and death and show that the role of turnover is evolutionarily important. We derive a general stochastic differential equation for the frequency dynamics of competing birth-death processes and determine the appropriate turnover corrections for the essential results regarding fixation, establishment, and substitution of mutants. Our results reveal how both the absolute and relative turnover rates influence evolution. We further describe a deterministic turnover selection, the turnover flux, which operates in small populations. Finally, we analyse the evolution of mean turnover and show how it explains the key eco-evolutionary mechanisms underlying demographic transitions. In conclusion, our results explicitly show how competing life-history strategies, demographic stochasticity, ecological feedback, and evolution are inseparably intertwined, thus calling for a unified theory development starting from the underlying mechanisms of birth and death.


Large-scale resistive Hall-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the transition from Sweet-Parker (collisional) to Hall (collisionless) magnetic reconnection are presented; the first to separate secondary islands from collisionless effects. Three main results are described. There exists a regime with secondary islands but without collisionless effects, and the reconnection rate is faster than Sweet-Parker, but significantly slower than Hall reconnection. This implies that secondary islands do not cause the fastest reconnection rates. The onset of Hall reconnection ejects secondary islands from the vicinity of the X line, implying that energy is released more rapidly during Hall reconnection. Coronal applications are discussed.


In this paper, we focus on how the heterogeneous contact dynamics of mobile nodes impact the performance of forwarding algorithms in mobile opportunistic networks (MONs). To this end, we consider two representative heterogeneous network models, each of which captures heterogeneity among node pairs (individual) and heterogeneity in underlying environment (spatial), respectively, and examine the full extent of difference in delay performance they cause on forwarding algorithms through formal stochastic comparisons. We first show that these heterogeneous models correctly capture non-Poisson contact dynamics observed in real traces. We then rigorously establish stochastic/convex ordering relationships on the delay performance of direct forwarding and multicopy two-hop relay protocol under these heterogeneous models and the corresponding homogeneous model, all of which have the same average intercontact time of a random pair of nodes. In particular, we demonstrate that the heterogeneous models predict an entirely opposite ordering relationship in delay performance depending on which of the two heterogeneity structures is captured. We also provide simulation results including the delay performance of epidemic routing protocol to support the analytical findings. Our results thus suggest that the heterogeneity in mobile nodes' contact dynamics should be properly taken into account for the performance evaluation of forwarding algorithms. Our results will also be useful for better design of forwarding algorithms correctly exploiting the heterogeneity structure.


A 33-year-old Japanese man with atrial tachycardia visited our clinic. He regularly consumed daily alcohol with cola, one cup of regular coffee, and a candy containing 0.7 mg of caffeine per tablet. After stopping his caffeine intake, his arrhythmia ameliorated. Since caffeine might be associated with his arrhythmia, a caffeine load test (equivalent to his daily intake of caffeine) was performed for 4 days. Atrial tachycardia time from a Holter recording was 44.2 minute/day before the caffeine load, compared with 215.2 minute/day during the caffeine load. Plasma caffeine concentration before and during caffeine loading was 3.1 mg/dL and 5.4 mg/dL, respectively. Caffeine use seemed to be an important factor for his atrial tachycardia, since his arrhythmia became worse during caffeine load testing and was ameliorated after the cessation of caffeine.


Innovative techniques, such as environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, are now promoting broader biodiversity monitoring at unprecedented scales, due to the reduction in time, presumably lower cost, and methodological efficiency. Our goal was to assess the efficiency of established inventory techniques (live-trapping grids, pitfall traps, camera trapping, mist-netting) as well as eDNA for detecting Amazonian mammals. For terrestrial small mammals, we used 32 live-trapping grids based on Sherman and Tomahawk traps (total effort of 10368 trap-nights); in addition to 16 pitfall traps (1408 trap-nights). For bats, we used mist nets at 8 sites (4,800 net hours). For medium and large mammals, we used 72 camera trap stations (5208 camera-days). We identified vertebrate and mammal taxa based on eDNA analysis (12S region, with V05 and Mamm01 markers) from water samples, including a total of 11 3-km transects for stagnant water sampling and 7 small streams for running water sampling. A total of 106 mammal species were recorded. Building on sample-based rarefaction and extrapolation curves, both trapping grids and pitfall were successful, recording 91.16% and 82.1% of the expected species for these techniques (~22 and ~9 species), and 16.98% and 6.60% of the total recorded mammal species, respectively. Mist nets recorded 83.2% of the expected bat species (~48), and 34.91% of the total recorded species. Camera trapping recorded 99.2% of the predicted large and medium-sized species (~31), and 33.02% of the total recorded species. eDNA recorded 75.4% of the expected mammal species for this technique (~68), and 47.0% of the total recorded species. eDNA resulted in a useful tool that saves on effort and reduces sampling costs. This study is among the first to show the large potential of eDNA metabarcoding for assessing Amazonian mammal communities, providing, in combination with conventional techniques, a rapid overview of mammal diversity with broad applications to monitoring, management and conservation. By including appropriate genetic markers and updated reference databases, eDNA metabarcoding method can be extended to the whole vertebrate community.


The turbulent flow around a sphere was investigated in a stream wise meridian plane using two experimental techniques: smoke-wire flow visualization in wind tunnel at Re=5,300 and PIV measurements in a circulating water channel at Re=7,400. The smoke-wire visualization shows flow separation points near an azimuthal angle of 90°, recirculating flow, transition from laminar to turbulent shear layer, evolving vortex roll-up and fully turbulent eddies in the sphere wake. In addition, the mean flow pattern extracted by particle tracing method in water tunnel at Re=14,500 reveals two distinct comparable toroidal(not closed) vortices in the recirculation region. The mean velocity field measured using a PIV technique demonstrates the detailed wake configuration of close symmetric recirculation and near-wake configuration with two toroidal vortices, reversed velocity zone and vorticity contours.


Abstract Background Humoral response against sudden acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after two doses of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) has been proven to be less intense in maintenance dialysis patients as compared with healthy subjects, leading the French authorities to recommend a third injection in this population. Here we investigated the response to the third injection in two cohorts of haemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods Data from two prospective observational cohorts were collected. In the first ('systematic') cohort, patients from two HD centres (n = 66) received a third injection of BNT162b2, regardless of the response after two injections. In the second ('conditional') cohort, the injection was only prescribed to patients (n = 34) with no or low response to the previous two doses. In both cohorts, the third dose was injected 1–2 months after the second dose. Serology was performed after the second and third doses to assess anti-Spike immunoglobulin G (S IgG) antibody titre. Results In the systematic cohort, anti-S IgG was found in 83.3 and 92.4% of patients after the second and third doses of BNT162b2, respectively. In this cohort, 6/11 (54.5%) and 20/21 (95.2%) patients switched from non-responder to low responder and from low responder to high responder, respectively. In low and high responders to two doses, 50/55 (90.9%) at least doubled their anti-S IgG titre. Similar trends were observed in the conditional cohort. Conclusions In maintenance HD patients, humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 was boosted after a third dose of BNT162b2, allowing seroconversion in more than half of non-responders. These data may support an intensified vaccination protocol with a third dose of BNT162b2 in dialysis patients.


Two growth trials were conducted to evaluate the nutritional quality of several soybean products as constituents in diets for the gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata (L.). In a preliminary experiment, the fish were fed six diets containing different levels of solvent extracted soybean meal as a replacement for white fishmeal at four substitution levels: 10, 20, 30 and 40% of the fishmeal protein component. The diets supported less growth as the inclusion of soybean meal increased. However, significant reductions in growth were apparent at the 30% substitution level. All growth parameters followed the same trend. In the second experiment, six diets with 35% of the total protein contributed from differently processed soybean meals were tested. The products included three industrial full-fat meals heat processed for different periods, a solvent extracted meal and a soya protein concentrate. Protein digestibility coefficients were measured for all the experimental diets. All growth parameters of the fish fed the underheated full-fat meal, solvent extracted meal and soya concentrate were significantly lower than the control group. Protein digestibility coefficients were similar with no statistical differences (P < 0.05).


While not proven definitively, the hypothesis that intra-articular psoas tendon release allows fluid to track into the retroperitoneal space has been widely accepted. This study attempts to identify the path through which fluid enters the pelvis and retroperitoneal space. Six hemi-pelvis human cadaveric specimens were utilized for this study. 3 specimens underwent a capsulotomy and psoas tendon release, while 3 had only a capsulotomy. Arthroscopy fluid was combined with Barium and Methylene blue, and fluid was run at 50 mmHg for 2 hours. A gross dissection was performed at the end of the arthroscopy and the path of fluid flow into the pelvis and throughout the thigh was identified. All 6 specimens showed extravasation of fluid into the pelvis at the 5 minute mark. Specimens with a psoas tendon release showed an altered pattern of fluid flow. In all three of these specimens, the psoas muscle belly was bright blue, along with the remaining tendon. Two of the 3 specimens showed tracking of fluid along the vasculature in both directions. The volume of fluid tracking into the pelvis was increased following a psoas release. Arthroscopy fluid rapidly enters the pelvis following the initiation of hip arthroscopy, regardless of the status of the psoas tendon. Release of the psoas tendon allows fluid to diffuse into the psoas muscle and anterior medial thigh, tracking both proximally and distally along the neurovascular structures, and the volume of fluid tracking into the pelvis is increased following a psoas release.


Existing pollen identification methods heavily rely on the scale and quality of pollen images. However, there are many impurities in real-world SEM images that should be considered. This paper proposes a collaborative learning method to jointly improve the performance of pollen segmentation and classification in a weakly supervised manner. It first locates pollen regions from the raw images based on the detection model. To improve the classification performance, we segmented the pollen grains through a pre-trained U-Net using unsupervised pollen contour features. The segmented pollen regions were fed into a deep convolutional neural network to obtain the activation maps, which were used to further refine the segmentation masks. In this way, both segmentation and classification models can be collaboratively trained, supervised by just pollen contour features and class-specific information. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets were conducted, and the results prove that our method effectively avoids impurity interference and improves pollen identification accuracy (86.6%) under the limited supervision (around 1000 images with image-level labels).


The results of a mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal anthropometric survey of Sudanese children up to the age of sixteen years are reported. Weight velocity, height velocity, mid arm circumference velocity, and mid arm muscle circumference velocity, and the age at which 50% of females have reached menarche have been calculated. Growth velocities are lower than for English children and the puberty growth spurts occurs about one year later in Sudanese than in English children


Out-of-distribution (OOD) inputs can compromise the performance and safety of real world machine learning systems. While many methods exist for OOD detection and work well on small scale datasets with lower resolution and few classes, few methods have been developed for large-scale OOD detection. Existing large-scale methods generally depend on maximum classification probability, such as the state-of-the-art grouped softmax method. In this work, we develop a novel approach that calculates the probability of the predicted class label based on label distributions learned during the training process. Our method performs better than current state-of-the-art methods with only a negligible increase in compute cost. We evaluate our method against contemporary methods across $14$ datasets and achieve a statistically significant improvement with respect to AUROC (84.2 vs 82.4) and AUPR (96.2 vs 93.7).


Josephson junction-based superconducting logic families have been proposed to implement analog and digital signals, which can achieve low energy dissipation and ultra-fast switching speed. There are two representative technologies: DC-biased RSFQ (rapid single flux quantum) technology and its variants that achieve a verified speed of 370 Ghz, and AC-biased AQFP (adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron) that achieves an energy dissipation near quantum limits. Despite extraordinary characteristics of the superconducting logic families, many technical challenges remain, including the choice of circuit fabrics and architectures that utilize the SFQ technology and the development of effective design automation methodologies and tools. This paper presents our work on developing design flows and tools for DC- and AC-biased SFQ circuits, leveraging unique characteristics and design requirements of the SFQ logic families. More precisely, physical design algorithms, including placement, clock tree routing, and signal routing algorithms targeting RSFQ circuits are presented first. Next, a majority/minority gate-based automatic synthesis framework targeting AQFP logic circuits is described. Finally, experimental results to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework and tools are presented.


Abstract. A procedure for the parameterisation of drain flow hydrographs is proposed. This involves the derivation of empirical linear response functions, which are themselves parameterised. The parameters are the time and height of the peak, and the recession characteristics. The recession limb of the hydrograph can be approximated best by the Youngs (1985) analysis, which requires two parameters. The merit of this method is illustrated by an analysis of data from a drainage experiment at North Wyke, Devon, UK; this shows that the model fits the data very well. Keywords: Drainflow hydrographs; response functions


The Bibliography of Alaskan Geology, 1960-1964, is one volume of a series designed specifically for geologists and others who seek geological literature about Alaska. All entries listed were obtained from 5 volumes of the Bibliography of North American Geology (U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. Nos. 1196, 1197, 1232, 1233, and 1234). Under most major headings in the idex, subject material and references are listed according to 6 arbitrary geographic divisions which are currently used by the Alaska Geological Survey. They are based on bedrock geology, topography, and position, and are Arctic Alaska, W. Alaska, Interior Alaska, SW. Alaska, S.-central Alaska, and SE. Alaska. The 19 main divisions of the index are areal geology, earthquakes, economic geology, engineering geology, general, geomorphology, glacial geology and glaciology, historical geology, hydrogeology, maps, mineralogy, paleoclimatology, paleontology, petrology, physical geology, sedimentation stratigraphy, structural geology, volcanism, and volcancity. There is also a list of the serial publications cited. (616 refs.)


Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to study the decomposition process postmortem in rat lung tissue and provided a new method for the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI). The results demonstrated that, with the PMI increasing, the peak position of main absorbance bands showed no significant difference, but there was obvious variance of intensity: (1) The intensity of 1080 and 1241 cm(-1) related to nucleic acid tended to decrease. (2) The intensity ratio at Amide I (I1647) and II (I1541) decreased since death. The intensity of 1338 and 1313 cm(-1) increased lightly. (3) The intensity at 1460, 1400 and 1170 cm(-1) showed no significant difference. (4) A new band at 1120 cm(-1) appeared since 72 h after death and its intensity increased from 72 to 144 h postmortem. The authors' preliminary results suggest that it may be possible for FTIR to become an effective method to estimate the PMI in forensic practice.


To explore the responses of vegetation growth to change in terrestrial water storage in Southwest China, we analyzed the change trend and relationship between vegetation and terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) in Southwest China from January 2003 to December 2021 by using TWSA data of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experi-ment (GRACE) satellite and normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) data. The results showed that NDVI in Southwest China during the study period showed an overall upward trend. Meanwhile, TWSA showed a significant downward trend in central and southern Tibet, and a significant upward trend in northwest Tibet and southeast region of Southwest China. Results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that there were significant spatial differences in responses of NDVI to TWSA changes in Southwest China. NDVI had a significant negative response to TWSA changes in most regions of Tibet, but a significant positive response to TWSA changes in most regions of southeast region of Southwest China. Such differences were driven by climate change and topography.


The paper presents a new hybrid global optimization algorithm based on chaos search and complex method for nonlinear constrained optimization problems. To fit for chaos optimization algorithm, a constrained optimization problem is transformed into an unconstrained problem by penalty function method. The mapping mode of standard complex method is improved to solve the problem of low computational efficiency caused by the infeasible central point which leads to the algorithm restarting. The parallel chaos optimization algorithm is applied to generate the initial complex shape, which has higher efficiency than stochastic method. And then complex method is employed to accelerate the search velocity. Chaos fine search is used to jump out of the local optimum obtained from complex method. Taking advantages of the global search of parallel chaos optimum algorithm and the fast convergence of complex method, this algorithm overcomes the low convergence rate of chaos optimization algorithm and the local optimum of complex method. Finally, the high efficiency and stability of this hybrid algorithm is demonstrated by five benchmark functions.


Previous experiments from this laboratory indicated that normal kidneys may not have significant intrinsic ability to autoregulate their blood flow when renal arterial pressure is varied. However, in these earlier studies, the renal blood flow was less than that generally accepted as normal, and there was a possibility that the renal circulation had not been completely isolated. This could have resulted in extrarenal blood flow during the pressure-flow study. In the present experiments, renal blood flows were in the normal range at all pressure levels. This difference was achieved by rendering the animals areflex prior to the laparotomy. The pressure-flow relationship was studied under these conditions, and the resulting curves were slightly concave to the pressure axis in the lower pressure range, indicating only a mild degree of autoregulation, approximately the same degree as that found in other tissues. However, the renal blood flow still increased rapidly with each increase in perfusion pressure even in the range of so-called autoregulation. It was also shown that all the blood that passed through the perfusion system also passed through the kidney, eliminating the possibility of extrarenal blood flow.


The mechanical properties at room temperature and the creep resistance at room and elevated temperatures of Mg-Li alloy and composites reinforced by MgO/Mg2Si particles were studied. The (Mg-8Li) eutectic binary alloy is of better mechanical properties than those of the others. The strength, elastic modulus and hardness of composites are much higher than those of matrix alloys. The elongation of the composites is lower than that of the matrix, but it keeps a high level(>4%) and is much higher than that of the Mg-Li base composites reinforced with Al2O3 and SiC fibres. The creep resistance of the composites is significantly increased in comparison with the matrix, such as the creep rate of the composite is respectively 10% and 2% of that of matrix at room temperature and at 160 degreesC. The creep mechanism is also discussed.


We present the results of an unbiased asteroid survey in the mid-infrared wavelength with the Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard the Japanese infrared satellite AKARI. About 20% of the point source events recorded in the AKARI All-Sky Survey observations are not used for the IRC Point Source Catalog (IRC-PSC) in its production process because of the lack of multiple detection by position. Asteroids, which are moving objects on the celestial sphere, remain in these "residual events". We identify asteroids out of the residual events by matching them with the positions of known asteroids. For the identified asteroids, we calculate the size and albedo based on the Standard Thermal Model. Finally we have a brand-new catalog of asteroids, named the Asteroid Catalog Using Akari (AcuA), which contains 5,120 objects, about twice as many as the IRAS asteroid catalog. The catalog objects comprise 4,953 main belt asteroids, 58 near Earth asteroids, and 109 Jovian Trojan asteroids. The catalog will be publicly available via the Internet.


A new system for CO2 absorption and liquid scintillation counting (LSC) was designed and developed along with its inherent measurement protocol for radiocarbon analysis in gaseous emissions, fuels, and biobased products. CO2 is chemically trapped as a carbamate in a suitable absorbing solution (3-methoxy-propyl-amine), gravimetrically measured, and analyzed by LSC (using a QuantulusTM 1220) to determine the 14C content. The use of cryogenic traps and a pressure transducer in the system prevents the need for closed-loop recirculation or additional steps to maximize CO2 capture in a short amount of time. The choice of PTFE vials used both for CO2 pretreatment and subsequent LSC analysis provides the opportunity to significantly reduce the background counting down to 40% with respect to the low-40K glass vials. This upgrade resulted in improving the maximum detectable age back to 36,000 yr BP in routine measurements. This method therefore turns out to be flexible enough to be applied for 14C dating as well as to differentiate between modern and fossil carbon.


The possibility that 9-cis beta-carotene serves as a precursor for retinol in general, and particularly for 9-cis retinol, was studied in chicks, in which the 9-cis beta-carotene is preferentially accumulated. One week old chicks were fed a synthetic diet supplemented with 9-cis and all-trans beta-carotene mixtures, in which the 9-cis isomer content was 9, 19.1, 31.2, 40.8, 57.7 or 77.0%. It was found that an elevation in the dietary 9-cis beta-carotene level led to a decrease in the hepatic retinol stores, despite the increased level of total and 9-cis beta-carotene in the liver. HPLC chromatography revealed the presence of all-trans, 13-cis and 9-cis retinol in the livers. A high 9-cis beta-carotene diet brought about a significant, but very small, elevation in the part of the cis retinol isomers relative to the all-trans isomer. It was concluded that 9-cis beta-carotene has a low activity as a precursor of retinol in general. This decreased activity is not due to a low availability of the isomer to the enzymatic cleavage. It seems also that 9-cis beta-carotene is not an efficient precursor of 9-cis retinol.


Background: Occupational injuries are among the ten most common reasons of illness and death. In Pakistan, the circumstances are very grave like many other developing countries. So, it was inevitable to carry a study among industrial workers. Aims: To determine the morbidity patterns, socio-demographic determinants and to provide safe workplace environment to the industrial patients admitted in the Social Security Hospital, Lahore. Method: Cross sectional survey among industrial workers was conducted at Social Security hospital, Lahore. Total size of the sample was 385 which was distributed equivalently among all the indoor units of hospital. A structured questionnaire was administered, and data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. For quantitative variables like age, mean and standard deviation and for qualitative variables frequency and percentage was calculated. Chi square was applied among qualitative variables. Data was presented in the form of tables and bar graphs. Results: Mean +/- SD age was 32 +/- 7.5 years: 118(30%) of the sample was between 26-30 years. Majority of the patients, 366(95%), were men and 258(67%) were married. Majority of the sample, 158(41%), were illiterate. 318(83%) of the sampled patients were workers/laborers, 25(7%) had administrative duties, 17(4%) were working in office and 13(4%) skillful laborers. The incidence of injuries and accidents was remarkably high among the laborers 96(25%) followed by Gastroenteritis 50(13%), fever 50(13%) and cough & respiratory tract infections 38(10%). 298(77%) stated that most of these incidences were not reported at their workplace, 309(80%) were not using any personal protective equipment. Conclusion: Majority of the industrial patients were admitted due to accidents and injuries at their workplaces. Majority of them were young adults, married males. Unskilled labor was largely uneducated. Safety practices at workplace of the respondents were very poor. Keywords: morbidity patterns, industrial workers, social security hospital, personal protective equipment.


The past 230 years have seen great changes in atmospheric conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, due to pollutants released from biomass and coal burning as societies became industrialized and the fossil fuel burning that began to dominate energy consumption at the turn of the twentieth century. The changes from low pollution levels to biomass burning to fossil fuel burning are recorded in Greenland ice cores—the burning of different fuels releases chemical species that influence the oxidation capacity (or reactivity) of the atmosphere. The oxidation capacity of the atmosphere influences atmospheric concentrations of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Sulfate isotopes record this oxidation chemistry in the atmosphere, and these isotopically distinct molecules then precipitate in the Arctic's yearly snow cycles.


This distribution board is provided with: a main bar connected to a power supply line; a branch bar, which is branched from the main bar, and which supplies power to a load; a breaker, which is electrically connected to the branch bar, and which is configured to be electrically connected to the load, said breaker limiting to a predetermined set value a current to be supplied to the load; and a display unit, which is provided to the branched bar or the breaker, and which has a display for specifying a load that is planned to be connected to the breaker.


A range of physiological parameters (canopy light transmission, canopy shape, leaf size, flowering and flushing intensity) were measured from the International Clone Trial, typically over the course of two years. Data were collected from six locations, these being: Brazil, Ecuador, Trinidad, Venezuela, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. Canopy shape varied significantly between clones, although it showed little variation between locations. Genotypic variation in leaf size was differentially affected by the growth location; such differences appeared to underlie a genotype by environment interaction in relation to canopy light transmission. Flushing data were recorded at monthly intervals over the course of a year. Within each location, a significant interaction was observed between genotype and time of year, suggesting that some genotypes respond to a greater extent than others to environmental stimuli. A similar interaction was observed for flowering data, where significant correlations were found between flowering intensity and temperature in Brazil and flowering intensity and rainfall in Cote d'Ivoire. The results demonstrate the need for local evaluation of cocoa clones and also suggest that the management practices for particular planting material may need to be fine-tuned to the location in which they are cultivated.


In this letter, for the first time, application of dynamic threshold voltage MOSFET (DTMOS) with reverse Schottky barrier on substrate contacts (RSBSCs) for high voltage and high temperature is presented. By this RSBSC, DTMOS can be operated at high voltage (>0.7 V), and exhibits excellent performance at high temperature in terms of ideal subthreshold slope, low threshold voltage and high driving current.


The objectives of this research are 1) to design pattern by technique of silkscreen on the banana fibers integrated cotton cloth for women's working dress, 2) to design women's work dress from cotton blended with banana fibers by technique of silkscreen for female workers and, 3) to study the satisfaction of female workers for working dress which sewing from the cotton blend with banana fibers for female work uniform by technique of silkscreen. The samples of the study were 399 working females with ages between 21-60 years old in Bangkok's Sathon and Bang Rak district. The research instrument was the questionnaire and 12 prototypes of cotton blend with banana fibers for female work uniform by the technique of silkscreen consist of dress, coat, and skirt. The questionnaires were randomly distributed. The data was analyzed using statistical percentage, mean and standard deviation. The findings indicated that the majority of participants were 21-30 years old with married marital status, educated with Bachelor degree, working in the position of employees and have the average monthly income of 15,000-20,000 THB. Most of the participants have never purchased or wore the dresses or attires made from cotton blend with banana fibers. The decisive reasons for purchasing the working uniforms were personal preferences, the frequency of purchases was on the monthly basis and the prices of purchased working uniforms were between 500-1,000 bath each. The analysis of the satisfaction of participants toward the working females suggested the triangle pattern dresses is at the highest satisfaction rate followed by the circle, mixed and square pattern with the means of 4.47, 4.42, 4.26 and 4.07 respectively. The circle pattern coats is at the highest satisfaction followed by mixed, triangle and square pattern with means of 4.31, 4.22, 4.21 and 3.87 respectively. The circle pattern skirt is at the highest satisfaction rate followed by the mixed, triangle and square pattern with means of 4.18, 4.04 4.00 and 3.82 respectively. It was found that every pattern received the high degree of satisfaction.