Mycobacterium tuberculosis belonging to Beijing sublineage (BL) is associated with high tuberculosis (TB) transmission, multidrug resistance, and adverse treatment outcomes. Sri Lanka experiences an increase in the number of travellers/workers to and from high TB-burden countries, and there is risk of getting BL strains imported into the country. In this context, a cohort study was conducted to assess the prevalence of BL strains among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients in the Kandy district of Sri Lanka (a popular tourist destination) and its association with patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The study population included sputum smear-positive PTB patients diagnosed from February 2018–July 2019. Fresh sputum samples were collected for culturing and conducted polymerase chain reaction using BL-specific primers. Among the 101 patients recruited, presence of BL strains could be ascertained in 94 patients of which 24 (26%; 95% CI: 18%–35%) had BL strains. Prevalence of BL strains was higher among those with high sputum smear grades (2+ and 3+) (P < 0.05) and those who had travelled abroad (P < 0.05). The prevalence was also higher among young people (aged <35 years). Treatment success rates were similar in patients with (83%) and without BL strains (83% vs. 81%; P value = 0.8375). The prevalence of BL strains in Kandy, Sri Lanka, was high compared to previously reported figures in Sri Lanka, and the percentage drives closer to the countries in South East Asia. International travel raises itself as an emerging issue in BL transmission urging the need of policies and practices in immigration/emigration strategies. The study findings have the potential to alter the TB epidemiology in the country and might represent the situation in other underexplored countries as well. Therefore, it is important to monitor the trends and factors related to the prevalence of Beijing strains globally and make decisions as a whole.


This paper presents some preliminary results of an investigation into the seasonal variation of extractable n utrients in the soils of Signy Island. In an examination of British soils Allen & Grimshaw (1962) found that extractable phosphorus and ammonium -nitrogen concentrations increased as a result of prolonged freezing. In view of the importance of such phenomena to the soils of subpolar regions experiments were carried out on Signy Island over a complete season. Signy Island is particularly suitable for such a study because of the prolonged freeze during the winter months, and the oscillation of the soil temperatures around 0 °C during the rest of the year.


The 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases and Condition identified the gingivitis case by the presence of gingival inflammation at one or more sites and agreed upon bleeding on probing as the primary parameter for diagnosis of gingivitis. Clinical gingival health is generally associated with an inflammatory infiltrate and a host response consistent with homeostasis. The molecules that play a role in the pathogenesis are divided into two main groups: those derived from the subgingival microbiota (i.e., microbial virulence factors) and those derived from the host immune-inflammatory response. The immune system is essential for the maintenance of periodontal health and is categorized as innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. Innate immunity reflects the capacity of the host to defend against infectious attacks. Understanding the disease processes is important for the development of improved treatment strategies.


The blockchain technology enables mutually untrusting participants to reach consensus on the state of a distributed and decentralized ledger (called a blockchain) in a permissionless setting. The consensus protocol of the blockchain imposes a unified view of the system state over the global network, and once a block is stable in the blockchain, its data is visible to all users and cannot be retrospectively modified or removed. Due to these properties, the blockchain technology is regarded as a general consensus infrastructure and based on which a variety of systems have been built.This article presents a study and survey of permissionless blockchain systems in the context of secure logging. We postulate the most essential properties required by a secure logging system and by considering a wide range of applications, we give insights into how the blockchain technology matches these requirements. Based on the survey, we motivate related research perspectives and challenges for blockchain-based secure logging systems, and we highlight potential solutions to some specific problems.


Abstract This work aimed to study the performance of three different induced air flotation units (flotation column, flotation tank and centrifugal flotation in hydrocyclone) for the treatment of a synthetic dairy effluent. Under continuous operation, it was possible to achieve removal efficiencies of milky material in suspension up to 90%, both for the flotation column and the flotation tank units. Using the centrifugal flotation unit in hydrocyclone, it was possible to decrease up to 45% of all suspended material in the effluent, with a clarified flow rate approximately three times greater than those found for the previous flotation units. In the centrifugal flotation unit, better results were obtained for air flow rate ‐ feed flow rate ratios (Qair/QL) greater than 0.15, and for underflow ‐ overflow ratios (Qu/QO) lower than 1.0.


All Phase II studies with diglycoaldehyde with leukemia and solid tumors have been reviewed. The dose schedules employed ranged from 1.5 to 2.0 g/m2/day for 3 to 5 days. The most common side effects have been gastrointestinal (nausea and vomiting), which occurred in 22% of the patients. Renal toxicity (rise in BUN, creatinine, and urinary proteins) was seem in 17% of the patients treated. Other infrequent toxicities include hypocalcemia (9%) and local complications such as phlebitis. Leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, positive Coombs' test and impairment in coagulation profile were also reported. In contrast to the hints of therapeutic efficacy described during Phase I trials, in phase II trials no activity was noted among 96 patients with solid tumors and only minimal antileukemic action among 49 other patients. These disappointing Phase II trials coupled with prominent toxicities have prompted the decision to terminate further clinical testing. This report summarizes all clinical observations as an example of circumstances which curtail clinical testing of anticancer drugs.


A CMOS Gm-C filter with variable cutoff frequency applicable for using in the direct conversion receiver is designed. The designed filter comprises the CMOS differential transconductors, and the gm of the transconductor is controlled by the bias voltage. This configuration can compensate variant of the cutoff frequency which could be generated by external noises, and also be used in multiband receiver. As a results of HSPICE simulation, the control range of the cutoff frequency is and the gain control range is . The layout of the designed 5th-order Elliptic low-pass filter is performed to fabricate a chip using CMOS processing parameter.


Recent advances in the neurobiology and neurogenerative diseases have attracted growing interest in exosomes and their ability to carry and propagate active biomolecules as a means to reprogram recipient cells. Alterations in exosomal protein content and nucleic acid profiles found in human biological fluids have been correlated with various diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In ALS pathogenesis, these lipid-bound nanoscale vesicles have emerged as valuable candidates for diagnostic biomarkers. Moreover, their capacity to spread misfolded proteins and functional non-coding RNAs to interconnected neuronal cells make them putative mediators for the progressive motor degeneration found remarkably apparent in ALS. This review outlines current knowledge concerning the biogenesis, heterogeneity, and function of exosomes in the brain as well as a comprehensive probe of currently available literature on ALS-related exosomal proteins and microRNAs. Lastly, with the rapid development of employing nanoparticles for drug delivery, we explore the therapeutic potentials of exosomes as well as underlying limitations in current isolation and detection methodologies.


Macrophytes are one of the most important components of primary producers in lacustrine environments. Charophytes represent the most threatened group of macrophytes and are included in many European Red-Lists. Thus, finding and preserving charophyte diversity hotspots is important for European macrophyte conservation strategies. Within the framework of a general project aimed at investigating aquatic plant diversity of Italian volcanic lakes (IVL), a field survey carried out in 2009-2010 recognized high charophyte diversity. Overall, 17 species of charophytes, which correspond to 50% of Italian stoneworts and 30% of the European species, were recorded. Nevertheless, only four IVL out of the nine lakes investigated can be considered Chara -dominated lakes. Three Chara -vegetation belts characterized the Chara dominated IVL, as in other pristine deep calcareous European lakes. A Chara aspera belt grew at a lower depth, followed by a Chara polyacantha belt at a medium depth and a Chara globularis dominated belt at a higher depth, up to the maximum growing depth. The most common species was Chara globularis , whereas seven species were rare. Sixteen of the 17 species found belong to the IUCN threatened categories throughout Europe. The most interesting taxa are Nitella hyalina , Nitella gracilis and Lychnothamnus barbatus . Nitella hyalina is extinct in Switzerland and Great Britain, critically endangered in the Balkans and in Germany. Nitella gracilis is extinct in Denmark and endangered in the Balkans, Sweden and Switzerland. The Lychnothamnus barbatus population found in Martignano is the only one known in Italy. Lakes Vico, Martignano, Bolsena and Bracciano host from 18% to 44% of European charophytes. The high number of species in each lake allows the selection of these lakes as European hotspots of charophyte diversity. Therefore, the IVL can be a reference system for the conservation of aquatic species that are typical of Italian and European deep lakes.


Nowadays, mobile technologies have changed the patient routine health care and management. With a large amount of mobile health applications developed, massive and valuable health data are possibly collected with a smart mobile phone in hand. Facial color images are recently proved to be available and effective for health condition diagnosis both in modern medicine and ancient medicine perspectives. One significant issue of facial color health condition diagnosis system is color management, in which its primary procedure is to obtain reliable and device-independent facial color images in the wild. The solution is known as utilizing color correction technology to recover the intrinsic color properties of facial skin. However, current color correction approaches are hard to meet the need of mobile health management in the wild, due to some limitations of precision-challenged algorithm, inconvenient color imaging device, strong scenario assumption, and so forth. Therefore, in this paper, we consider several facial skin color characteristics and show that it is valuable to build facial color related correction model for facial color images in the wild. Then we propose two kinds of facial color correction strategies to realize the facial color management of mobile health in the wild. The first one is reference-based approach, and the other one is skin-based approach without requirement of colorchecker. Experimental results with qualitative and quantitative assessments on the indoor and outdoor scenarios demonstrate that the proposed reference-based approach is more outstanding than our previous method and other color constancy methods. In addition, given a facial color image only, the skin-based method can still achieve effective results compared with other color constancy methods.


A new possibility for measurements of glass transition point, fictive temperature and activation energy of viscous flow in the glass transition range is shown by using a contactless horizontal optical dilatometer and pressed powder samples. The results are compared with ones, obtained with bulk samples and vailable online xxx eywords: ilatometry lass transition traditional differential contact dilatometer.The possibility for a correct measurement of the activation energy of sintering, Esin, is also highlighted by means of glasses with different compositions and various crystallization trends. In glasses with low crystallization trend Esin decreases with the temperature rise in the whole sintering range; in glasses with higher crystallization ability, Esin, starts anomaly to increase with the beginning of the phase formation. As a result, at low heating rates the densification is partially intering inhibited.


Gravity drainage is normally characterized as a slow but efficient process, leading to a low remaining oil saturation. If the reservoir has a large oil column and a high vertical permeability, then efficient recovery may be achieved through the gravity drainage process that accompanies a stable gas cap expansion. An extensive experimental program was conducted to characterize the flow properties of the gravity drainage process where oil is displaced by gas in the presence of an initial water saturation. The experiments described here were designed to give endpoint saturations, oil relative permeabilities, and gas relative permeabilities for the gas-displacing-oil gravity drainage situation. No single test provides all of these parameters required for performance prediction. Long core gravity drainage tests, as well as porous plate and centrifuge tests, were performed at simulated reservoir conditions. The long core drainage tests were conducted in a vertical coreflood apparatus in which in-situ oil and water distributions were monitored regularly using both x-ray and microwave scanning systems. The experimental results support the following conclusions with regard to high permeability, unconsolidated sands: • Residual oil saturation to the gravity drainage process (S org) is low, 3-10% and is somewhat insensitive to rock properties. This level of saturation is achieved through film drainage and may require considerable time and suitable conditions (oil column height and fluid density differences). • Sorg is not sensitive to fluid properties such as viscosity, interfacial tensions, and spreading coefficient for the limited systems studied. • Sorg does not depend on initial water saturation within a reasonable range. • kro and krg depend on rock properties. • Conventional gas flood tests give higher Sorg (average 30%), even at high volume (1000 PV) and/or low rate gas injection, and do not represent the gravity drainage process. These laboratory findings were validated by a subsequent coring operation, using a low invasion water-based mud, in the secondary gas cap of the Ubit field, offshore Nigeria, that had been in production for twenty-five years. The residual oil saturations to gravity drainage found in the secondary gas cap agreed well with laboratory results. However, the observed S org was not achieved in the simulation of the field history when detailed geological description and the lab measured k ro was used. Adjustment of kro by an order of magnitude near the Sorg was necessary to match the Sorg distribution observed in the secondary gas cap. It was found that the low kro close to Sorg was an artifact due to capillary end effects, not fully accounted for in initial modeling. Subsequent lab tests were designed to generate appropriate data for reservoir management. Adjustment of kro was justified when data were reanalyzed, taking P c into consideration, and bringing laboratory measurements, field observations, and reservoir simulation into complete agreement.


How much matter is there in the universe? Does the universe have the critical density needed to stop its expansion, or is the universe underweight and destined to expand forever? We show that several independent measures, especially those utilizing the largest bound systems known-clusters of galaxies-all indicate that the mass-density of the universe is insufficient to halt the expansion. A promising new method, the evolution of the number density of clusters with time, provides the most powerful indication so far that the universe has a subcritical density. We show that different techniques reveal a consistent picture of a lightweight universe with only approximately 20-30% of the critical density. Thus, the universe may expand forever.


Online smooth trajectory generation for industrial mechatronic system is addressed in this paper. Two modified nonlinear tracking differentiators are proposed to generate the smooth trajectory from a rough reference (step and ramp, etc.), with bounded velocity and acceleration. Computer simulations performed on a mechanical system affected by nonlinear dynamic friction demonstrate the effectiveness and the improved performance of the proposed approaches.


The electrical integrity of superconducting magnets that go through a resistive transition (quench) is an important consideration in magnet design. Numerical quench simulation leads to a coupled thermodynamic and electromagnetic problem, due to the mutual dependence of material parameters. While many tools treat the electromagnetic field problem and the thermodynamic one independently, more recent developments adopt a strongly coupled approach in a 3-D finite-element environment. We introduce a computationally efficient weak electromagnetic-thermodynamic coupling within an integrated design environment for superconducting magnets.


The purpose of this project thesis is to optimize a set of production lines in a local company, which produces agricultural chemicals, in terms of balancing the workload requirements throughout the production season. The scope of it is limited to three production lines and dealing only with the herbicide products, excluding the insecticides.
The aim was to manually balance the schedule, making a set of modifications in order to achieve a more even workload distribution in the lines. The start point is the current Master Production Schedule (MPS) from which the downsides on working hour's distribution were checked for further improvement.
The objective was achieved, substantially decreasing the oscillations on workforce demand and compressing the production without any blank week in-between. Therefore, the outcome of a new MPS, still meets the demand and also would allow more orders to be taken and produced at the end of the season. With this improvement and this new chance of taking in new orders, the company could have more income and satisfy more customers.


During combustion of the nitrocellulose film, a significant amount of the toxic gases is released at the initial stage of the fire. This complicates the safe evacuation of film and photo storage personnel. The exact qualitative and quantitative composition of toxicants is unknown. Therefore, the assessment of the toxicity of combustion products of the above film is an urgent task. The purpose of the study is to experimentally determine the specific formation coefficients and partial density of the most hazardous toxic gases released during nitrocellulose film combustion. Modernization of a small-sized experimental setup was conducted, which allows to estimate the phosgene concentration. The composition of the film combustion products was experimentally studied. Experimental methods were are used for measuring and processing the combustion parameters of substances and materials, as well as the methods for analyzing the results obtained. During the experiments, the partial densities and specific formation coefficients of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, and nitrogen dioxide were obtained. Hydrogen cyanide and phosgene were found to be the most hazardous toxicants. The maximum weight is estimated related to the film placed in a room of a given volume, at which the partial densities of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene and nitrogen dioxide do not reach the critical values for humans. The results obtained will allow expanding the database of combustible load on the specific coefficients of formation of the above compounds, which is used in the calculation of fire risks in the storage of film and photographic documents. During combustion of the nitrocellulose film as the most hazardous combustible load in these rooms, it is necessary to consider the time of blocking escape routes by carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, and nitrogen dioxide.


CONCLUSIONS: UTUC has a distinct DNA methylation pattern that is distinguishable from normal urothelial tissue. UTUC-speci fi c DNA methylation probes can be used to differentiate muscle-invasive UTUCs.


This study investigating the impact of wind on sea level rise (SLR) using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) at Coastal Area, Sabah. The mean sea level (MSL) and four meteorology parameters namely; wind direction (WD), wind speed (WS), rainfall and mean cloud cover. These meteorological parameter and MSL were monitored regularly each month over a period from January 2007 to December 2016 at three different locations which is Kudat, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Due to small amount of data set, both method the input data were divided into 80 % for training and 20% for testing data respectively.In this study, two scenarios were introduced; the scenario 1 (with wind) WD and WS as input parameter while scenario 2 (without wind)rainfall and mean cloud cover to predict sea level at each stations. Then by using previous monthly sea water level records the model was performed by predicting SLR for1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 30 years, and 50 years ahead in the future. The performance of the models was evaluated according to three statistical indices in terms of the correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error (RMSE) and scatter index (SI). Investigation results indicate that, when compared to measurements, for 50 years prediction, all three models in scenario 2 perform well (with average values of R = 0.6, RMSE = 0.2 cm and SI = 0.4).


Background : Psychological characteristics of patients may have a significant impact on achieving and maintaining asthma control. Aim : to study psychological features of asthmatics depending on the degree of disease control. Methods: 179 patients (78% women) were examined. The mean age was 44±1.2 years old, the mean duration of the disease was 6±0.8 years. Asthma Control Test (ACT), the test «The motivation to success» by T. Ehlers, the methods of diagnosis of the degree of readiness to risk by G. Schubert, tye questionnaire to identify the depression (CES-D), the questionnaire Symptom Checklist-90-Revised by L.R. Derogatis (SCL-90-R) were used. Results: The patients were divided into groups depending on the degree of asthma control. The 1st group included 77 patients with controlled mild-to-moderate asthma; the 2nd group consisted of 102 patients with uncontrolled mild (14%), moderate (66%) and severe (20%) asthma. The patients of the 1st group were found to be more careful (-19.66±14.34 against -8.05±1.9 by G. Shubert test), highly motivated to success (21.33±1.45 against 16.62±0.36 by T.Ehlers test). The patients of the 2nd group had big values of somatization (SOM), aggressiveness (HOS) by SCL-90-R and depression by CES-D (23 persons had clinical depression). The degree of asthma control correlated negatively with the values of SOM scales (r=-0.46) and O-C (obsessiveness – compulsion, r=-0.29) of SCL-90-R test. Conclusion : Astma control depends on psychological characteristics of the patient9s personality. The levels of readiness, motivation to success, emotional state and the tendency to obsessiveness have the biggest influence on the asthma control.


Introduction Medical education involves training necessary to become a physician or a surgeon. This includes various levels of training like undergraduate, internship, and postgraduate training. Medical education can be quite complex, since it involves training in pre-clinical subjects (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry), the para-clinical subjects (microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and forensic medicine), and a discrete group of clinical subjects that include general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ear, nose and throat specialization, paediatrics, cardiology, pulmonology, dermatology, ophthalmology, and orthopaedics, and many other clinical specializations and super specialities (cardio-thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, etc.). Training medical students involves both classroom teaching and practical applications. Classroom teaching is usually confined to didactic lectures, where the teacher unilaterally disseminates the information. This kind of teaching was recently noted to be not very effective in producing better quality medical graduates. The present study aims to introduce problem-based learning (PBL) to teach microbiology to undergraduate medical students and evaluate their perception towards such type of learning. Methods A total of 159 students were included in the study. An informed and oral consent was obtained from each participant, and the study was approved by the institutional ethical committee. All the students included in the study were grouped into 14 groups of 11-13 students. Students were carefully grouped ensuring that each group had a good mix that included different levels of achievers. Students were given a detailed introduction to the exercise before they started it. A questionnaire that consisted of 11 points was given to the students and they were asked to give feedback (strongly disagree, disagree, agree to some extent, agree, strongly agree) both on the functioning of PBL and the tutor performance during PBL. Results The study included a total of 159 students. Among the study participants, 55 (35%) were male and 104 (65%) were female. There was a positive response towards PBL being instrumental in improving cognitive skills as evidenced by the results (females (59%) and males (29%)) (p=0.191). We found that 61% females and 30% males felt that PBL was the best learning technique, as compared to traditional teaching (p=0.241). Most students were happy with the number of students in a group (females (63%) and males (34%)), but a few students felt that there would have been an improvement in the learning process if the groups were smaller (<10 students) (p=0.239). A positive response was given by the students regarding the feedback encouragement provided by the tutor (females (43%) and males (27%)) (p=0.253). Tutor evaluation by the students revealed some interesting observations, which include an agreement by most students that the tutor had completely avoided traditional teaching (females (55%), males (32%)) during the PBL sessions (p=0.001). Conclusion Most students liked PBL as it encouraged group discussions and presentations, which helped in retaining information and improving cognitive skills.


A woman, aged 57, reported a considerable loss of vision in her right eye within approx. 60s after lying down. She regained her vision in the upright position within approx. 90s. The Ganzfeld ERG, recorded in the upright position, showed a moderately reduced amplitude, but was entirely absent when recorded in the supine position, closely correlated to the subjective fading of the vision. Although all other clinical tests revealed no further hint to the cause of this remarkable amaurosis fugax, a temporary hypoxy of the retina due to circulatory deficiencies is suspected.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the value of thrombospond in Type I domain-containing 7A (THSD7A) and M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) in primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) and to explore the relationship between their antibody levels and prognosis.

METHODS
Renal tissues in 128 patients with membranous nephropathy in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were collected from February 2015 to August 2017, including 108 patients with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN group) and 20 patients with secondary membranous nephropathy (SMN) (SMN group). Indirect immunofluorescence method was used to detect the expression of PLA2R antigen in kidney tissues,and the glomerular expression of THSD7A antigen was examined by immunohistochemistry and indirect immunofluorescence. The serum levels of anti-PLA2R antibodies and THSD7A antibodies were also detected by ELISA. According to the results of PMN examination,the patients were also divided into a PLA2R-related membranous nephropathy group and a THSD7A-related membranous nephropathy group.

RESULTS
The positive rate of PLA2R in the renal tissues in the PMN group was higher than that in the SMN group (78% in the PMN group, 35% in the SMN group, P<0.01),while the positive rate of anti-PLA2R antibody in the PMN group was also higher than that in the SMN group (50% in the PMN group, 25% in the SMN group, P<0.05).The serum level of anti-PLA2R antibody was positively correlated with 24 h urine protein (r=0.254, P<0.05) and negatively correlated with serum albumin (r=-0.236, P<0.05). The expression of THSD7A was positive in glomeruli in 7 cases of the PMN group (6%) by immuno-histochemistry, and which was positive in 1case of the SMN group (5%).The serum levels of anti-THSD7A antibody in the PMN group were higher than those in the SMN group [(0.49±0.26) pg/mL in the PMN group,(0.34±0.27) pg/mL in the SMN group, P<0.05]. There was no difference in the clinical characteristics between the PLA2R-related membranous nephropathy group and the THSD7A-related membranous nephropathy group.

CONCLUSIONS
PLA2R and THSD7A are the target antigen of PMN, and the associated autoantibodies are helpful for the differential diagnosis of PMN. The anti-PLA2R antibody levels can reflect the severity of the disease and evaluate the effect of treatment. The incidence of THSD7A membranous nephropathy is low, and monitoring the serum anti-THSD7A antibody levels can assess patients' condition and predict disease outcome.


Based on the results of communication with the head of PAUD IT Putera Zaman and SMPN-2 Sumberpucung Malang, as well as field surveys were conducted, some of the problems that can be identified are as follows: 1) the deficiency of intensive communication between school with the student's parent; 2) the deficiency of intensive communication between School with stakeholders, such as donatours. The efective communication should be made based on IT (Information Technology) i.e. via SMS Gateway implementation, so intertwined intensive communication between stakeholders interest in PAUD IT Putera Zaman and SMPN-2 Sumberpucung. The implementation of SMS Gateway has been done by identifying the system requirement and data collection of PAUD IT Putera Zaman's and SMPN-2 Sumberpucung's stakeholder. SMS Gateway has been designed and implemented using a combination of Kalkun Application System as contact management and SMS, and Gammu SMS Daemon used as processing of the SMS program such as receiving, storing, and transmitting the messages through GSM modem. The database used is managed by using MySQL to store the existing messages. SMS Gateway with the existing system has been successfully implemented in the PAUD IT Putera Zaman and SMPN-2 Sumberpucung Malang. Result of performance test shows that this sistem could send the message up to 72 message per minute, and received up to 70 message per minutes.


Abstract The system Na2O-CaO-MgO Al2O3-SiO2-H2O is proposed to model phase equilibria and mineral parageneses for low-temperature metamorphism of basaltic rocks. Univariant reactions marking the transitions between various sub-greenschist facies are identified and some have been experimentally determined. The introduction of Fe2O3 into the model system at fixed FeO/MgO ratio creates continuous reactions for facies boundaries and discontinuous reactions for invariant points of the model system. Both qualitative and quantitative effects on P-T displacement and phase compositions are discussed. The X Fe3+ isopleths for epidote were plotted to exemplify the transition from the zeolite through prehnite-pumpellyite to prehnite-actinolite facies. T-X Fe 3+ relations were established for continuous and discontinuous reactions relating such facies transitions. Because of the common occurrence of two or three Ca-Al hydrosilicates in low-grade metabasites, an isobaric Al-Ca-Fe3+ projection from chlorite may be used to illustrate mineral assemblages and compositions of the coexisting Ca-Al silicates in the presence of quartz, albite, and chlorite. Reported occurrences in several classic burial metamorphic terrains and ocean-floor metabasites in ophiolites are described. Only the composition of a mineral from a buffered assemblage can constrain the intensive properties for metamorphism; previously reported compositional trends for pumpellyite and epidote with increasing metamorphic grade are oversimplified.


Methemoglobinemia is life-threatening and bears pathognomonic signs difficult to diagnose in real time. Local anesthetics are widely used and are known for eliciting this condition. We report a case of methemoglobinemia secondary to self-administered use of benzocaine spray. A 27-year-old woman was found to be in respiratory distress during postoperative recovery. After desaturation persisted, arterial blood gas yielded a methemoglobin level of 47%. The patient was successfully treated with intravenous methylene blue. Review of the events revealed self-administered doses of benzocaine spray to alleviate discomfort from a nasogastric tube. We review this case in detail in addition to discussing methemoglobinemia and its relevant biochemistry, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and medical management. Given the recognized risk of methemoglobinemia associated with benzocaine use, we recommend its removal from the market in favor of safer alternatives.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between childhood emotional trauma experience, trait anger, & dysfunctional anger expression, and to find out the structural relationship of childhood emotional trauma experience, attachment & dysfunctional anger expression, The results were as follows. First, childhood emotional trauma is predictable variable of attachment, trait anger & dysfunctional anger expression. Second, attachment is also predictable variable trait anger & dysfunctional anger expression, and the score of not only anger-in, but also anger-out was the best high score in fearful type. Finally, the structural equation model analying the partial mediating effect of attachment on childhood emotional trauma experience & dysfunctional anger expression fit in the group. These findings suggest that childhood emotional trauma have influence on maladaptive anger expression indirectly through mediation of insecure attachment. (Korean J Str Res 2009;17:81∼89)


A quasi-TEM (transverse electromagnetic) analysis of multiconductor planar lines embedded in a layered structure involving lossy iso/anisotropic electric and/or magnetic materials is achieved. Conditions under which a quasi-TEM assumption is valid are theoretically determined. An efficient spectral-domain analysis is used to determine the complex capacitance and inductance matrices characterizing the transmission system. computation of the inductance matrix is reduced to the computation of an equivalent capacitance matrix when media characterized for a fully general permeability tensor are present. It is also shown that most actual monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) microstrip-type structures (where semiconductor substrates are present) and possible future applications including lossy magnetic materials can be analyzed by using the simple quasi-TEM model. The validity of the results has been verified by comparison with full-wave theoretical and experimental data on microstrip lines on magnetic substrates and slow-wave structures. >


Uterine leiomyomata are the commonest neoplasms of the female reproductive system in the procreative age. In these cases operation is still a treatment of choice. The procedure's range depends on: number, size and localisation of the myomas, patient's age and possession of children. Currently uterine leiomyomata are removed more frequent by endoscopic operations. We present the technique of laparoscopic myomectomy taking into consideration very important problem--patients' qualification this procedure. We pay attention to necessity of precise closing the wound in layers after removed myoma, which seems to prevent uterine rupture during pregnancy and labour. We also present some controversial aspects of using GnRH analogues. In summary we emphasise benefits of laparoscopic myomectomy particularly for women in the procreative age, who are planning pregnancy.


ABSTRACT
The role of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy in prostate cancer is well known. PSMA is also overexpressed in the neovasculature of a number of solid tumors, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Several studies have demonstrated the diagnostic utility of PSMA PET imaging in the setting of RCC. To date, no PSMA radioligand therapy of RCC patient has been reported according to literature. Here, we report our experience treating a patient with metastatic RCC with 177Lu-PSMA I&T radioligand therapy, but unexpected imaging findings with rapid washout of 177Lu-PSMA from the tumor.


We examine the interaction between market volatility, liquidity shocks, and stock returns in 41 countries over the period 1990–2015. We find liquidity is an important channel through which market volatility affects stock returns in international markets and we show this is distinct from the direct volatility–return relation. The influence of the liquidity channel on the link between market volatility and returns is stronger in markets exhibiting higher levels of market volatility and lower trading volume. It is also stronger in countries with better governance, no short-selling constraints, and more high-frequency trading and during crisis periods.


A 130-item personality inventory (the Psychological Screening Inventory, Lanyon, 1970) was used to obtain a novel measure of perseveration coupled with affirmative set. Acquiescent Perseveration (AP), a quantitative behavioral metric, is the sum of the lengths of True (T) response runs 4 and longer, doubling T runs 9 and longer. With male subjects, a one-way ANOVA comparison of heterogeneous organics with five non-organic control groups (normals, neurotics, sociopaths, personality disorders, and schizophrenics) showed mean AP differences greater than .001 versus every control group. The measure, requiring no scoring key, was successfully cross-validated with six similar female groups. AP means for non-organics showed no increase across 5 decades of age. In small supplementary studies AP was related inversely to Shipley Abstraction (Shipley, 1940, 1946) scores and directly to the Halstead-Reitan Impairment Index (Reitan & Davison, 1974). AP, uncorrected for age, IQ or education, matches the best single cognitive neuropsychological tests in distinguishing organics from psychiatric patients. Inventory response sequences contain previously unrecognized latent data sensitive to neuropathology.


Edmund Husserl's critique of using the natural scientific method to investigate meaningful human experience remains relevant to recent debates in psychology. Discursive Psychology (DP) claims to draw upon phenomenological insights to critique quantitative psychology for studying theoretical concepts rather than the actual practices of the lived social world. In this paper, I will argue that DP overlooks the important distinction that can be made between the theoretical attitude and the natural scientific attitude in Husserlian Phenomenology and hence, once again, loses sight of the meaningfully constituted life-world. In doing so, I will demonstrate the continued relevance of Husserl's critique of natural science to the discipline of psychology.


The recognition of handwritten digits has aroused the interest of the scientific community and is the subject of a large number of research works thanks to its various applications. The objective of this paper is to develop a system capable of recognizing handwritten digits using a convolutional neural network (CNN) combined with machine learning approaches to ensure diversity in automatic classification tools. In this work, we propose a classification method based on deep learning, in particular the convolutional neural network for feature extraction, it is a powerful tool that has had great success in image classification, followed by the support vector machine (SVM) for higher performance. We used the dataset (MNIST), and the results obtained showed that the combination of CNN with SVM improves the performance of the model as well as the classification accuracy with a rate of 99.12%.


Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid isolated from Cannabis sativa which, given its claimed beneficial properties and therapeutic potential, has lately aroused considerable attention from the scientific community. Starting from the little literature evidence, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the topical administration of CBD, with particular focus on the influence of vehicle-related aspects on the skin permeation process. This could provide useful information for the design of suitable drug delivery systems which could be used in developing topical medicines and cosmetics. In vitro human skin permeation studies were conducted using modified Franz diffusion cells to compare the performance of four solutions and two semisolid formulations. The Hildebrand solubility parameter was used to better understand the thermodynamic aspects implied in the partitioning process of the cannabinoid compound into the skin. It was interestingly found that a hydrophilic gel, mostly consisting of propylene glycol (79%, w/w), can be an optimal choice for the topical administration of CBD. Moreover, the feasibility of the preparation of CBD-loaded (trans)dermal patches, made with new printing technology, was also demonstrated.


Indigenous medical practices have been the subject of much attention in the literature of various disciplines to date but the specificity, mode of action and clinical efficacy of most traditional plants have not been established in a manner consistent with standards of modern pharmacognosy and pharmacology. In order to find antimicrobial lead compounds and to provide scientific validation for the use of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schum.& Thonn.) in traditional medicine . Extensive chromatographic separation of stem bark and leaf extracts led to the isolation of three distinct compounds. Anti-microbial spectrum of these obtained compounds revealed that stigma-5, 22, diene-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus (32 mm), Streptococcus pyrogenes (30 mm) and Candida tropicalis (30 mm). It is therefore recommended for further work for a possible development of new drugs.


After exploiting all causal therapies there are other therapeutic methods only for soothing, viz. anodyne drug therapy using peripheral or central efficient analgesics, opiates and opioids as well. Procedures with destructing the pain-sensitive nerve path (chemical neurolysis using a method like conduction anaesthesia) and blockage of the sympathetic trunk and plexus coeliacus are preferred against intrathecal rhizolysis. Operative: Percutaneous cervical chordotomy. If insufficient analgesia results by these methods patients may get a peridural long acting catheter for applying local anaesthetics and/or opioide/opiate. Special importance is attached to the psychological care of all these patients.


This paper presents a fully coupled solution in the time-domain, using the finite-differences method to the system of equations that model the dynamic behavior of the riser, blow out preventer and casing strings, when connected for well drilling/completion – the model is suitable to evaluate wellhead fatigue, even when the amplitude of oscillation and accelerations of the BOP are high. Sensibility analysis is used to show the effect of changing the Riser Top Tension to the resulting maximum values of wellhead bending moment and casing stress ranges. For the case where the rig is oscillating around a fixed position and there is no current, using a regular wave, the results show that there are some wave periods for which an increase in the Riser Top Tension reduces the maximum wellhead bending moment and the max casing stress range, therefore increasing fatigue life of the casing and wellhead. The effects of varying the weight of the BOP and soil parameters and the effect of the phase difference between the wave and first order vessel motion are analyzed. The proposed solution can also be used to perform riser and casing analysis during drift-off/drive-off.


Many state FFA associations conduct summer camps focusing on leadership and personal development for FFA members. Interestingly, little research has been conducted on the impact or outcomes of these common activities. The purpose of this split-plot factorial repeated-measures experiment was to assess the level of campers' learning of the curriculum taught during small group breakout sessions and to study the effects of the learning style of camp Small Group Leaders on student knowledge gain of camp curriculum measured by pre-test and post-test scores. Analysis of variance was utilized to test null hypotheses using an F-ratio to determine the significance (α = .05). Although there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores, the interaction of test scores and SGL learning style failed to produce a statistically significant interaction; therefore, there was no significant treatment effect by SGL learning style. Recommendations for camp leaders in response to study results include regular summative assessments of the camp experience, annual evaluations of Small Group Leaders and campers, and the formation of instructional standards and learning goals. Further research was recommended in the impact of teacher learning styles on student academic performance in informal educational settings.


This essay explores the role of sounds in the antebellum city, challenging our customary emphasis on the visible and the designed or intentional in the cultural landscape. It examines the ways in which nineteenth-century Americans interpreted ambient urban sounds, ranging from industrial noises to articulate speech, as parts of a continuum that paralleled the cues of social order and disorder. Then as now, discussion of urban environmental reform was inextricably entwined with ideals of identity and social roles. The implication is that any study of place—of the ways that environments can enrich the self and society—must engage these intangible aspects of urban experience.


In-network data storage and retrieval is one of the most important problems in wireless sensor networks. Many schemes have been proposed to solve this problem. However, most of them do not take the frequencies of event and query into consideration. In fact, the frequencies of event and query are very important factors in real applications of in-network data storage and retrieval. In this paper, we introduce a virtual-ring-based data storage and retrieval scheme, which is called VRS, to solve the problem. VRS divides the whole sensor network field into some virtual rings. According to the frequencies, one of the virtual rings is selected out as the rendezvous ring, which plays the role of a bridge between the information consumers and the information producers. Extensive experiments have been done to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, VRS. Simulation results show that VRS outperforms the existing work in load balance, delay of data storage and retrieval, and the lifetime of the sensor networks.


It has been suggested that imbalances in gut microbiota are related to diseases associated with metabolism, the central nervous system, etc. Therefore, analysis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by gut microbiota is very important as an indicator of causation, demonstrating the effects on the host due to changes in the gut microbiota. We developed a HPLC method for the determination of SCFAs in mouse feces. After homogenization, the SCFAs in mouse feces and 2-ethylbutyric acid (internal standard) were derivatized with 2-nitrophenylhydrazine (2-NPH) in the presence of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide. The 2-NPH derivatives of SCFAs and the internal standard were separated on a reversed-phase column (octadecyl silyl column) by gradient elution using phosphoric acid (pH 2.5)-acetonitrile at 50°C and detected by absorbance measurement at 400 nm. The recovery of the method was 90-115%, with a precision (relative standard deviation) of 1.3-7.7%. The determination of SCFAs by the present method can provide useful information for biological and clinical research.


Phytate is largely unavailable to monogastric animal such as swine, poultry and fish, as they lack of sufficient endogenous enzymatic activity to hydrolyze phytate. The result is the elimination of precious nutrients that would be beneficial to their growth; furthermore, they will excrete most of the indigestive phytate which can contribute to phosphorus being over applied to the land. Phosphorus has a beneficial impact on vegetative growth on land as well as marine vegetation, causing an increased growth of weeds. This enhanced vegetation consumes large amounts of oxygen, resulting in the loss of aquatic life and ultimately contributes to water pollution and eutrophication of ground water and aquatic environment. Phytase, a type of histidine acid phosphatase hydrolyzes phytin phosphorus and when present in an animal's digestive tract, benefits the animal while reducing total phosphorus levels in manure. Computer modeling has been used to identify and examine the active site of phytase. The factors influencing the ligand binding strength in the active site were analyzed and computational site directed mutagenesis experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of mutations on the binding strength before and after mutation. From the directive results of computational studies, point mutation was introduced by site directed mutagenesis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The activity was measured by kinetic characterization with phytate as a substrate. Decrease in KM notable in all functional mutants indicates that all mutant shows increment in substrate binding. Two functional mutants showed improvement in phytase activity and thermostability.


Yellow passion fruit presents seasonal production and occurs in the winter and summer harvest seasons. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of two different harvest seasons on the quality of yellow passion fruit ( Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Degener) juice, in seven maturation stages. The experiments were constituted of two harvest seasons (EP 1 and EP 2) and seven maturation stages, with 10 repetitions. The results were evaluated through the Tukey test at a 5% probability level. In EP 1, characterized by lower temperatures and lower total precipitation, the fruits presented higher Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), total soluble solids content (TSS), dry matter and TSS/TTA ratio, and lower pH, until the ripening stage of 65% yellow color of the peel, when compared with EP 2. After this stage no difference in TSS content between harvest seasons was found. However, the juice of totally mature fruits presented lower contents of dry matter and TSS/TTA ratio in the EP 1 season, as well as higher acidity. It was concluded that yellow passion fruit can be harvested with 65% yellow color of the peel in harvest season EP 1, due to the maintenance of chemical quality; however, in harvest season EP 2, the fruits showed an increase in the TSS/TTA ratio until the mature stage.


The adhesion of twenty-six Lactobacillusstrains to two intestinal cell lines (Caco-2P and IEC-18) and 21 Bifidobacteriumstrains to Caco-2P cells was investigated. Non-specific adherence was determined on the surface of culture plates. The effect of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) on epithelial cells, and bacterial adhesion were investigated by Na-n-butyrate treatment. The adherence of LAB and bifidobacteria greatly varied in a strain-dependent manner. The adherence of LAB was better to IEC-18 cells than to Caco-2P cells, and bifidobacteria adhered better to Caco-2P cells than the LAB. Some strains adhered well or even better to the background than to the cells, which queries the specificity of adhesion of these strains. Na-n-butyrate treatment stimulated the differentiation of IEC-18 cells and therefore increased the number of adherent bacteria, probably because only the cell surface increased not the number of epitopes.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the curative effect of long-time retention of scalp needle in the treatment of vascular dementia (VD) patients, and its influence on P300.

METHODS
Sixty-five cases of VD patients were randomly divided into acupuncture group (n = 33) and medication group (n = 32). For patients of acupuncture group, Duxil tablets were taken orally, scalp-points Dingzhongxian (MS 5), Ezhongxian (MS 1) and bilateral Dingpangxian I (MS 8) were punctured separately with the filiform needles retained for 10 h, once daily for 8 weeks. Patients of medication group were asked to take Duxil tablets orally, one tablet/time, twice daily for 8 weeks. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Hastgawa dementia scale (HDS) were used to evaluate the patients' abilities of orientation, calculation, immediate and remote memory and speech. Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Scale was used to evaluate their daily life ability. The latency and amplitude of event-related potential P300 of electroencephalograph (EEG) were analyzed before and after the treatment.

RESULTS
After the treatment, of the 33 and 32 cases in acupuncture and medication groups, the controlled, markedly effective, effective and ineffective cases were 2 and 1, 9 and 4, 18 and 16, 4 and 11, respectively; with the total effective rates being 87.88% and 68.75% separately. The total effective rate of acupuncture group was obviously higher than that of medication group. Self-comparison showed that MMSE and HDS scores of both acupuncture and medication groups increased significantly in comparison with their individual pre-treatment values (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), while ADL of both groups decreased significantly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Before treatment, compared with normal people, the latencies of P300 in two groups increased significantly (P < 0.01), while the amplitudes of two groups decreased significantly (P < 0.01). After the treatment, the situations of two groups were corrected apparently (P < 0.05). The effects of acupuncture group were significantly superior to those of medication group in MMSE, HDS and ADL scores and the latency of P300 (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Long-term retention of scalp acupuncture needles can improve VD patients' intelligence, ADL ability and EEG.


We use Bessel beam optical traps to self-position arrays of microsphere objectives near surfaces. Pulsed laser illumination of these objectives is used to perform near-field direct-write subwavelength optical nanopatterning with 100 nm feature sizes.


As one of the first novels written, Samuel Richardson's Clarissa serves as an important social text with which to examine the eighteenth century. Most theoretical studies of the emergence of novelistic discourse have interpreted the rise of the new genre as a reflection of other broader socio-economic changes. This study focuses on the role of the novel in bringing about such changes--in articulating particular attitudes, beliefs, and opinions that have come to be associated with the middle class. The study involves an examination of Clarissa, Lovelace, and the Harlowe family as representatives of particular ideologies, or understandings of history, with the novel itself reflecting the historical instability and ideological insecurity of the eighteenth century.


Young medical graduates are bound to become researchers, as medical science implies constant studying. Documenting, collecting and processing medical data involve a certain degree of computer literacy. The development of computer-assisted tools and their implementation in all medical fields imposes an evaluation of the level of computer use in research. A number of 85 PhD students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Tg. Mures were presented with a questionnaire in order to evaluate their knowledge of computer use. The results were quantified by devising evaluation scores. Correspondence between answers was tested using Friedman's correspondence test. After the initial questionnaire, the subjects attended a course in which computer-aided solutions were presented, followed by a new evaluation questionnaire. The conception and application of a questionnaire-based qualitative study to assess the level of knowledge regarding the use of information technologies applied in medical research has proved that there are researchers who do not use computers to aid them in their research. Testing the researchers by means of a questionnaire for evaluating the level of acceptance of information technologies in computer-assisted medical (epidemiological and clinical) research has shown that resistance to computer use in research is not significant.


Cognitive radio is a promising technology for the future wireless spectrum allocation to improve the utilization rate of the licensed bands. However, the cognitive radio network is susceptible to various attacks. Hence, there arises a need to develop a highly efficient security measure against the attacks. This paper presents a beamforming‐based feature extraction and relevance vector machine (RVM)‐based method for the classification of the attacker nodes in the cognitive radio network. Initially, the allocation of the Rayleigh channel is performed for the communication. The quaternary phase shift keying method is used for modulating the signals. After obtaining the modulated signal, the extraction of the beamforming‐based features is performed. The RVM classifier is used for predicting the normal nodes and attacker nodes. If the node is detected as an attacker node, then communication with that node is neglected. Particle swarm optimization is applied for predicting the optimal channel, based on the beamforming feature values. Then, signal communication with the normal nodes is started. Finally, the signal is demodulated. The signal‐to‐noise ratio and bit‐error rate values are computed to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the RVM classifier method are higher than the support vector machine classifier. The proposed method achieves better performance in terms of throughput, channel sensing/probing rate, and channel access delay. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Disability sport is growing around the world with momentum and is described as a "movement" (Bailey, 2008; DePauw & Gavron, 2005). While there are more similarities than differences with sport management for able-bodied athletes and those with disabilities, there are additional needs and considerations for persons with disabilities (DePauw & Gavron, 2005). The noticeable visibility of individuals with disabilities in society, including sport, raises concerns about the degree to which sport management academic programs have modified their curricula to ensure that individuals working in the sport management field are prepared to deal with the uniqueness of disability sport. This paper (a) discusses theoretical perspectives toward understanding and thinking about disability, (b) explores ways to enhance sport management curricula through infusion of disability sport, (c) reflects upon current social practices for curriculum integration of athletes with disabilities in sport, and (d) acknowledges infusion of disability sport businesses, organizations and events.


This work presents a finite difference technique for simulating three-dimensional free surface flows governed by the Upper-Convected Maxwell (UCM) constitutive equation. A Marker-and-Cell approach is employed to represent the fluid free surface and formulations for calculating the non-Newtonian stress tensor on solid boundaries are developed. The complete free surface stress conditions are employed. The momentum equation is solved by an implicit technique while the UCM constitutive equation is integrated by the explicit Euler method. The resulting equations are solved by the finite difference method on a 3D-staggered grid. By using an exact solution for fully developed flow inside a pipe, validation and convergence results are provided. Numerical results include the simulation of the transient extrudate swell and the comparison between jet buckling of UCM and Newtonian fluids.


The ability of deaf high school students to recall propositions and inferences from prose was examined and compared with that of hearing students. Students were asked to read and then write a given story. The hearing students recalled significantly larger numbers of propositions than deaf students, but both deaf and hearing students recalled similar numbers of story inferences in their written narratives. The interaction between the deaf students' reading comprehension levels and their narratives revealed that better readers were more accurate in recalling explicit propositional information but were not different in recalling implicit content. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.


In the content of this one article reference to the procedure is made of calibration of incubators; procedure for which a technical norm doesn't exist specifies and that the electrophysiology group designed in the frame of a project approved by COLCIENCIAS that has as principal aim credit a laboratory of calibration / test of medical equipment.


Normal skull thickness has been measured in a general hospital population of 300 blacks and 200 whites in America. In both groups, there is a rapid increase in skull thickness during the first two decades of life, followed by a small uniform increase reaching a peak in the fifth and sixth decades. The sex differences are variable, but in certain age groups the females in both races have significatly thicker parietal and occipital bones than their male counterpart. The frontal bone is thicker in the white male than in the black, and the parietooccipital thicker in the blacks than in the whites. Some suggestions are offered to explain the sex and racial difference noted.


Korean spruce (Picea koraiensis Nakai) is one of the most important wood resources for pulp and paper industry. However, a long production cycle is required for spruce to obtain mature timber, which may negatively influence the biomass production. In this study, fiber morphology, chemical composition, and pulping properties of Korean spruce with different tree ages and vertical locations were investigated. The results show that, along with the increase of tree ages, the contents of extractives, lignin, and pentosan increase to different extents. There are also some differences of pulping properties with different tree ages. As a pulpwood, the Korean spruce with tree ages of around 22 to 32 years is more suitable for kraft pulping, compared to that with 32-46 years. In addition, the middle segment of the bole had better pulp strength properties than the upper or lower bole segments.


Wireless network communication standards have become very common due to the huge benefits of their application. The use of radio waves to create networks has reduced infrastructure costs and increased the mobility of devices. The advantages of wireless communication (WLAN) also pose a challenge to the security of transmitted data. However, the use of a wireless signal poses certain threats to network security. The aim of the study was to analyse problems related to the security of WLAN 802.11. and assess its resistance to various attack strategies. It was assumed that wireless networks have an insufficient level of security. The assumed assumption is verifiable due to the ability to monitor events in networks. In order to verify the hypothesis, a number of experiments have been carried out in laboratory conditions, concerning the currently used WLAN protections from the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The electromagnetic waves used for communication are available to the public at a distance of a few / several dozen metres from the communicating devices. It is easy to monitor air traffic using a network card that operates in monitor mode. The communication itself cannot be secured in any way, so data encryption is one way of secure transmission. During the research, the applied security features were successfully broken with the help of publicly available tools. The obtained results are distinguished by a high level of objectivity and reliability in the assessment of applied wireless network security. It was shown that there are still imperfections in the security and it is possible to break the security measures. The consequences of attacks are very serious and lead to a breach of each of the attributes of secure information. Practice has shown that it is impossible to create a wireless network that is fully secure. The findings of the study should be used to develop methods to improve information security, as well as to raise users' awareness of existing threats. Not all users of wireless networks are aware of how easy some of the commonly used security features are to break.


Social interactions among a group of friends will typically have a certain recurring rhythm. Most people interact with their own circle of friends at a range of different rates, and through a range of different modalities (by phone, instant messaging, face-to-face meetings etc.). When these naturally recurring interactions are maintained effectively, people feel at ease with the quality and stability of their social network. Conversely, when a person has not interacted with one of their friends for a longer period than they usually do, a problem can be identified in that relationship which may require action to fix. We present Stay-in-touch, an ambient information system which provides peripheral cues to the user which serve as occasional recommendations of which of their friends they should contact soon in order to keep their social network in a healthy state.


Global land evapotranspiration (E) between 1982 and 2011 was estimated by using a canopy conductance‐based process E model (Air Relative Humidity‐Based Two‐Source model) [Yan et al., 2012]. To analyze the impact of precipitation forcing on E, an ensemble of six E data sets was derived from a driving ensemble of six precipitation data sets (i.e., Global Historical Climatology Network, Global Precipitation Climatology Centre, Climate Research Unit, Global Dataset of Meteorological Forcings, Global Precipitation Climatology Project, and Delaware). The result shows that ensemble average E over global land had an annual mean of 64.8 ± 0.8 × 103 km3 yr−1 and a significant linear trend of 4.6 mm per decade (p < 0.01). Significant partial correlations were found between the ensemble average E and its three controlling variables (i.e., precipitation (Pr), vegetation leaf area index (Lai), and potential evaporation (Ep)). These correlations explained 95% of the interannual variation of global land E with Pr as the dominant forcing contributing 37% variation of E; i.e., global land E was slightly sensitive to Pr than Lai and Ep. Pr, Lai, and Ep all showed increases of 8.8 mm (p < 0.01), 0.4 m2 m−2 (p < 0.01), and 2.0 mm (p < 0.1) per decade, respectively, which characterized a favorable environment for the increase of E over past 30 years. Both negative Multivariate El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Index (MEI) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) displayed an increasing trend. The La Niña phase tended to be dominant from 1982 to 2011 and caused a significant increase of land Pr and further enhanced land E. Impacts of ENSO and corresponding Pr variation require attention to increase the understanding of the interannual variation of global land E.


BACKGROUND
Women with early-stage ovarian cancer may be asymptomatic or present with nonspecific symptoms. We examined health care utilization prior to ovarian cancer diagnosis to assess whether women with higher utilization differed in their prognosis and outcomes compared to women with low utilization.

METHODS
Using Medicaid, Medicare, and New York State Cancer Registry data for ovarian cancer cases diagnosed in 2006-2015, we examined selected health care visits that occurred 1-6 months before ovarian cancer diagnosis. We used multivariable-adjusted logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for associations of sociodemographic factors with number of prediagnostic visits and number of visits with tumor characteristics, and Cox proportional hazards regression to examine differences in survival by number of visits.

RESULTS
Women with >5 vs 0 prediagnostic visits were statistically significantly less likely to be diagnosed with distant vs local stage disease (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54-0.96), and women with 3-5 or >5 vs 0 prediagnostic visits had better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80-0.96 and HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83-0.98, respectively). In stratified analyses, the association with improved survival was observed only among cases with regional or distant stage disease.

CONCLUSIONS
Women with high health care utilization prior to ovarian cancer diagnosis may have better prognosis and survival, possibly because of earlier detection or better access to care throughout treatment. Women and their health care providers should not ignore symptoms potentially indicative of ovarian cancer and should be persistent in following up on symptoms that do not resolve.


The breadth of animal hosts that are susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and may serve as reservoirs for continued viral transmission are not known entirely. In August 2020, an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 occurred in multiple mink farms in Utah and was associated with high mink mortality and rapid viral transmission between animals. The outbreak's epidemiology, pathology, molecular characterization, and tissue distribution of virus within infected mink is provided. Infection of mink was likely by reverse zoonosis. Once established, infection spread rapidly between independently housed animals and farms, and caused severe respiratory disease and death. Clinical signs were most notably sudden death, anorexia, and increased respiratory effort. Gross pathology examination revealed severe pulmonary congestion and edema. Microscopically there was pulmonary edema with moderate vasculitis, perivasculitis, and fibrinous interstitial pneumonia. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of tissues collected at necropsy demonstrated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in multiple organs including nasal turbinates, lung, tracheobronchial lymph node, epithelial surfaces, and others. Whole genome sequencing from multiple mink was consistent with published SARS-CoV-2 genomes with few polymorphisms. The Utah mink SARS-CoV-2 strain fell into Clade GH, which is unique among mink and other animal strains sequenced to date and did not share other spike RBD mutations Y453F and F486L found in mink. Localization of viral RNA by in situ hybridization revealed a more localized infection, particularly of the upper respiratory tract. Mink in the outbreak reported herein had high levels of virus in the upper respiratory tract associated with mink-to-mink transmission in a confined housing environment and were particularly susceptible to disease and death due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Author Summary The recent emergence and worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus has resulted in worldwide disease and economic hardship. The virus, known as SARS-CoV-2 is believed to have originated in bats and has spread worldwide through human-to-human virus transmission. It remains unclear which animal species, other than humans, may also be susceptible to viral infection and could naturally transmit the virus to susceptible hosts. In this study, we describe an outbreak of disease and death due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in farmed mink in Utah, United States. The investigation reveals that mink can spread the virus rapidly between animals and that the disease in mink is due to the viral infection and damage to tissues of the upper and lower respiratory system. The determination that mink are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 indicates the need for strict biosecurity measures on mink farms to remediate mink-to-mink and human-to-mink transmission for the protection of mink, as well as prevent potential transmission from mink to humans.


OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine the sensitivity pattern of P. aeroginosa against floroquinolones antibiotics.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out at Microbiology Research Laboratory Center of Biotechnology and Microbiology [COMBAM], University of Peshawar, from September 2011 to April 2012. A total of 296 samples were collected from local hospital in Peshawar and screened for P. aeroginosa. Samples were collected from different wound infections such as post operative wound, diabetic foot, fire arm injuries, road traffic accidents, acute and chronic osteomylitis, abscess and bed sores. The samples were collected by sterile swab sticks from different wounds.
RESULTS: Out of 296 samples P. aeroginosa was isolated from 100 samples. The frequency of P. aeroginosa in wound infections was 33%. Out of 100 samples, 64 were collected from male patients and 36 from female patients. The patient age was ranged from 11 to 88 years. Infection rate was greater in age range of 31-60 years (63%) followed by age range of 11-30 (28%) and age range of 60 and above had infection rate of 9%. Out of 100 isolates, 12% showed resistance to all antibiotics. None of the antibiotics showed 100% sensitivity to all the isolates.
CONCLUSION: This study gives an insight to the current state of sensitivity pattern of P. aeroginosa to quinolones antibiotics. There is a need for controlling the emergence of multi drug resistant organisms in the hospitals and community acquired infections.


The analytical resolution of different derivatives of cis c(6)Phe (cyclohexane analogs of phenylalanine) was tested by HPLC using the mixed 10-undecenoate/3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate of amylose bonded on allylsilica gel as the chiral stationary phase. The same chiral support has allowed the enantioseparation of racemate cis-4 on a semipreparative column (150 x 20 mm ID) with a mixture of n-hexane/2-propanol/chloroform as the mobile phase. Some 200-300 mg of the optically pure enantiomers were isolated and transformed into the N-benzyloxycarbonyl amino acids. The X-ray diffraction structure of (1R;2R)-4 is reported.


Air tra?c has been growing rapidly for the past few decades and will continue to do so. Airports need to be able to coop with this increase, and thus increase their own capacity. However, due to the landing and departure operations, which take place at low altitudes, high noise levels are generated and a?ect the neighboring communities. This in turn limits the growth of airports that are located near inhabited areas, due to the restrictions on noise levels set by governments for airports. In order to reduce the aircraft noise, a number of solutions have been developed. Some of these solutions are on the aircraft level while the others are on the airport level. A number of solution implemented on the aircraft level are for example, noise e?cient engines and noise reducing fairings. The airport level knows the development of noise abatement operational procedures, such as the CDA. However, there are downsides to such a procedure, like the limitations that it only allows vertical optimization or ?ight at night. Therefore, a new noise abatement procedure has been developed called HeNAP, which stands for Helical Noise Abatement Procedure. As the name suggests it is a procedure where the descent approach is performed by means of a spiral. This allows the aircraft to perform a ?yover the inhabited areas at a higher altitude and perform a descent near the airport by means of a spiral. This would reduce the noise levels perceived by the inhabitants. Earlier research showed a decrease in noise levels but an increase in fuel consumption and time; however, it was never optimized with respect to these factors and at closely inhabited airports. Therefore: The aim of this project is to develop noise-optimal HeNAP approach trajectories using methods from optimal control theory. The noise bene?ts of the optimal HeNAP trajectories need to be assessed through comparison with conventional noise abatement procedures. In addition, an analysis needs to be made of the operational consequences of introducing HeNAP procedures. For this purpose, a GPOPS-based environmental optimization framework for HeNAPs was created. By performing the research on the HeNAP and validating it at the same time, a set of research goals are investigated during this thesis: • Develop a code for optimizing the HeNAP trajectories within GPOPS . • Assess the in?uence of changing multiple variables such as the altitude, the helical radius and number of spirals performed before landing on the environmental optimization of HeNAP's with respect to noise impact, fuel usage and time. The framework that is created in GPOPS for the HeNAPs combines a number of models in order to generate noise, namely, a noise model and an aircraft model. This combination results in noise generation of the trajectory ?own, and is processed further in a model that calculates the impact of the noise on inhabited areas. By means of sleep disturbance doseresponse relationship, the impact is converted into the number of awakenings. All of the models interconnect such that a gradient-based optimization is performed to optimize the HeNAP procedure. With the usage of Optimal Control Theory, the cost function, consisting of a weighted noise factor and fuel contribution, is minimized by means of a dynamic process in order to ?nd the optimal controls of the problem. With the help of the Radau pseudospectral method, the dynamics of the problem is accurately approximated. This allows the continuous problem to be discretized to change the in?nite-dimensional problem into a ?nite-dimensional nonlinear programming problem. This can be solved with a numerical solver and results in optimal controls and states that form the HeNAP trajectory. To assess the di?erent changes in altitude, radius and number of spirals and impact of the resulting solutions on the environment, for the majority of the time a single-phase optimization is used. However, in order to assess sections of the HeNAP trajectory, multi-phase optimization is sometimes used as well. The help of these optimizations simulates di?erent HeNAP routes until the most favorable one is found. A case study is performed in a highly inhabited area around Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. During this case study, a number of routes are simulated and investigated. Di?erent altitudes, radii and number of spirals are compared while adhering to the di?erent airspace regulations. Over 300 simulations have been performed, as this was an intensive trial and error process, eventually resulting in a number of cases over four di?erent optimization problems. These problems are de?ned as followed, minimum time optimization problem, minimum fuel optimization problem, minimum time and noise abatement optimization problem and ?nally minimum fuel and noise abatement optimization problem. The cases that are solved for these problems are as followed: • Case 1: is a CDA procedure that is performed at an altitude of 7000 ft and minimum ILS approach distance of 6.2 NM. • Case 2: is the ?rst HeNAP simulation and is run with an altitude of 7,000 ft and one spiral. • Case 3 the altitude is changed from 7000 ft to 10,000 ft. • Case 4 the altitude of case 3 is still in e?ect and the number spirals is changed from 1 to 2. The results of these cases are all comparable throughout the di?erent optimization problems. All of them reveal that the CDA procedure is the most favorable procedure as it has the least number of awakenings, fuel consumed and time needed to land. However, when relocating the population around the airport to the ?rst part of the trajectory it yields better results. Case 3 is then the most favorable case, with promising results. The changes in altitude for the HeNAP showed that by having a higher initial altitude the number of inhabitant awakened is reduced, however when the number of spirals is increased this e?ect is dismissed. The following recommendations might help improve/show more of the HeNAP possibilities. The ?rst recommendation that can be given, is to use the results that are found within this thesis and use them as a basis for the same research but within another area that might be less inhabited than the area around AAS and where the night-curfew is also in e?ect. Another recommendation that can be made is to add the wind and weather conditions to the GPOPS tool in order to get results that are more realistic and increase the reliability of the results and feasibility of the trajectories performed. A ?nal recommendation is to introduce better methods to avoid local minima within the GPOPS tool, this result in unnecessary delays. Nevertheless, the HeNAP procedure has great future possibilities only not within the Netherlands.


BACKGROUND: Maintaining the patency of extracranial-to-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass is critical for long-term stroke prevention. However, reports on the factors influencing long-term bypass patency and quantitative assessments of bypass patency are limited. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively evaluate blood flow in EC-IC bypass using four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and investigate factors influencing the long-term patency of EC-IC bypass. METHODS: Thirty-six adult Japanese patients who underwent EC-IC bypass for symptomatic internal carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusive disease were included. We examined the relationships between decreased superficial temporal artery (STA) blood flow volume and perioperative complications, long-term ischemic complications, patient background, and postoperative antithrombotic medications in patients for whom STA flow could be quantitatively assessed for at least 5 months using 4D flow MRI. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 54.7 ± 6.1 months. One patient presented with a stroke during the acute postoperative period that affected postoperative outcomes. No recurrent strokes were recorded during long-term follow-up. Two patients died of malignant disease. Seven cases of reduced flow occurred in the STA, which were correlated with single bypass (P = .0294) and nonuse of cilostazol (P = .0294). STA occlusion was observed in 1 patient during the follow-up period. Hypertension, age, smoking, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus were not correlated with reduced blood flow in the STA. CONCLUSION: Double anastomoses and cilostazol resulted in long-term STA blood flow preservation. No recurrence of cerebral infarction was noted in either STA hypoperfusion or occlusion cases.


There is supposedly a high correlation between learning and character. The process(es) like character-building, competence, knowledge & personality are all unidirectional, and critical of the attitude of positivity. We need to assure there is a right alignment towards positive aspect of knowledge generation, which virtuously prepares a learner for right metamorphosis. A previous work by principal author –in terms of Thareja's AUM model maps the pathway in terms of right 'Alignment', full 'Utilisation', and needed stimulus of 'Metamorphosis' to this edge of character. Out of which character & knowledge were considered as two most important factors for learning process. We know that the ability to acquire knowledge was considered as primary to that of good character but sound character would definitely reinforce the effective use of knowledge. This paper attempts to analyse both the factor simultaneously.


The process through which children learn about the world and develop perceptual, cognitive and motor skills relies heavily on object exploration in their physical world. New types of assistive technology that enable children with impairments to interact with their environment have emerged in recent years, and they could be beneficial for children's cognitive and perceptual skills development. Many studies have reported on brain computer interface (BCI) research. However, a conventional electroencephalography (EEG) system is generally bulky and expensive. It also requires special equipment and technical expertise to operate successfully. In this study, a compact low-cost EEG system was used to detect signals related to movement intention and control a mobile robot control. EEG signals of three non-disabled adults were acquired by the BCI system and the movement intention was classified during physical movement and motor imagery. The average classification accuracies achieved during testing were 56.4% for the motor imagery and 72.7% for the physical movement. The results show moderate classification accuracy for the motor imagery; however, the classification accuracy for the physical movement was high for all the subjects. Even though further improvement of the system is still needed, the experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of a BCI-based robotic system that is affordable and accessible for many people including children with disabilities.


Rings of ganglion-free circular muscle from cat intestine show, in addition to circling conduction, waves which are transmitted along the long axis of the intestine at about 0.7 cm/sec. and in bands about 1.2 mm in width. Evidence against the mechanical pull hypothesis for transmission include the facts that strips of the circular muscle do not respond to brief stretches, conduction may occur through a clamped region which does not pass a mechanical wave, electrical responses may persist under tensions at which shortening does not occur, and drugs may cause some dissociation of electrical and mechanical responses. It is concluded that conduction is independent of mechanical pull. Intracellular electrodes recorded resting potentials with a mean value of 40 mv, conducted action potentials with a mean of 22 mv. Conducted responses fail to follow at intervals less than about 1 second, whereas single fibers may give multiple responses 0.3 seconds apart and double spikes only 40 msec. apart.


Inthecontext of the spatialities of Europeanisation, we demonstrate the manoeuvrability of states through the selection and deployment of geopolitical positioning strategies. Specifically, we highlight how geographic quantities (territory, location, resources, natural conditions) are bundled together to substantiate a mutable national interest as well as underpin the advocacy by states of particular geopolitical positionings. We argue that the diplomatic use of geographic quantities in state-led efforts to structure and shape international interactions has demonstrable geopolitical consequences. Using the case study of Iceland, one of the first casualties of the international financial crisis, we examine this state's geopolitical repositioning towards 'EUrope' through use of geographical uniqueness and concomitant reaffirmation of Nordic closeness. We expose the diplomatic challenges to the use of geographical categories such as uniqueness in geopolitical (re)positioning towards the emerging 'EUropean' order.


Two-dimensional (2D) nonlayered nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention for electronic and optoelectronic applications recently because of their distinct properties. In this work, we first employed a facile one-step method to synthesize 2D nonlayered cadmium sulfide selenide (CdS xSe1- x, x = 0.33) nanosheets with a highly crystalline structure and then we introduced a generic spin-coating approach to fabricate hybrid nanomaterials composed of PbS quantum dots (QDs) and 2D CdS xSe1- x nanosheets and demonstrated their potential for high-performance broadband photodetectors. Compared with pure 2D CdS xSe1- x nanosheet photodetectors, the photoelectric performance of the PbS/CdS xSe1- x hybrid nanostructure is enhanced by 3 orders of magnitude under near-infrared (NIR) light illumination and maintains its performance in the visible (Vis) range. The photodetector exhibits a broadband response range from Vis to NIR with an ultrahigh light-to-dark current ratio (3.45 × 106), a high spectral responsivity (1.45 × 103 A/W), and high detectivity (1.05 × 1015 Jones). The proposed QDs/2D nonlayered hybrid nanostructure-based photodetector paves a promising way for next-generation high-performance broadband optoelectronic devices.


DNA nuclear content was assessed in human breast carcinomas (n = 132) using image cytometry. Optical density histograms of Feulgen stained cell imprints from fresh tissue samples, subsequently frozen for immunocytochemical assays, were determined by the SAMBA system and used for the DNA index, the ploidy balance (PB) and the proliferation index (PI) computation. The three parameters were correlated to (i) histological data (tumour grade, vascular and/or lymph node invasion) and to (ii) growth fraction (Ki67), hormone receptor antigenic sites (ER, PR) and intramedullar (bone marrow) biopsies and anti-KL1-positive epithelial cells. It was shown that 57% of breast carcinomas were aneuploid. Aneuploidy PI significantly correlated to the criteria of poor prognosis such as high tumour grade, vascular and lymphatic invasion and to increased Ki67-positive cells, and the absence of or low ER and PR. Since image cytometry is easy to handle and perfectly suitable for current diagnostic practice in pathology departments, particularly for tumour cell ploidy assessment and standardized analysis of immunostaining procedures with morphological control of the preparation, we conclude that image cytometry, as performed with the SAMBA, must be regarded as a relevant tool for prognosis evaluation and therapy guidance in individual patients.


Whole-body control (WBC) is a generic task-oriented control method for feedback control of loco-manipulation behaviors in humanoid robots. The combination of WBC and model-based walking controllers has been widely utilized in various humanoid robots. However, to date, the WBC method has not been employed for unsupported passive-ankle dynamic locomotion. As such, in this article, we devise a new WBC, dubbed the whole-body locomotion controller (WBLC), that can achieve experimental dynamic walking on unsupported passive-ankle biped robots. A key aspect of WBLC is the relaxation of contact constraints such that the control commands produce reduced jerk when switching foot contacts. To achieve robust dynamic locomotion, we conduct an in-depth analysis of uncertainty for our dynamic walking algorithm called the time-to-velocity-reversal (TVR) planner. The uncertainty study is fundamental as it allows us to improve the control algorithms and mechanical structure of our robot to fulfill the tolerated uncertainty. In addition, we conduct extensive experimentation for: (1) unsupported dynamic balancing (i.e., in-place stepping) with a six-degree-of-freedom biped, Mercury; (2) unsupported directional walking with Mercury; (3) walking over an irregular and slippery terrain with Mercury; and 4) in-place walking with our newly designed ten-DoF viscoelastic liquid-cooled biped, DRACO. Overall, the main contributions of this work are on: (a) achieving various modalities of unsupported dynamic locomotion of passive-ankle bipeds using a WBLC controller and a TVR planner; (b) conducting an uncertainty analysis to improve the mechanical structure and the controllers of Mercury; and (c) devising a whole-body control strategy that reduces movement jerk during walking.


The purpose of this research was to identify concerns and issues related to quality of life in long-term female cancer survivors and to discuss the implications of these issues for nursing. Data were collected by mailed questionnaire to 188 female long-term cancer survivors whose mean age was 61 years. Respondents were recruited through a Michigan tumor registry. The newly developed Long-Term Quality of Life (LTQL) instrument was used to measure quality of life in four domains: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. We hypothesized that physical concerns would be minimal, whereas psychological, social, and spiritual areas would encompass salient issues. Our hypotheses were supported, with the lowest levels of quality of life found in the areas of spiritual/philosophical views, diet and exercise habits, and social/emotional support; the highest area of quality of life was physical, i.e., the absence of somatic concerns. Long-term survivors have resolved many of the physical concerns resulting from their illness and treatment. However, nursing interventions can still improve quality of life in the psychological, social, and spiritual areas. A multipurpose support group for survivors is recommended, including "exercise partners" to support regular exercise, group discussions of spirituality and philosophical views of life, and community service activities with women's organizations and/or newly diagnosed women.


Data pertaining to lightning currents actually measured in tower structures, counterpoises, and ground wires on 132-kv lines during 1933–36 are presented in this paper. It is concluded that stroke currents rarely exceed 150,000 amperes, although 220,000 amperes has been indicated, and that currents as high as 60,000 amperes measured in the overhead ground wires indicate the necessity of adequate shielding of the line at station entrances.


Background: In this study, a prognostic model based on pyroptosis-related genes was established to predict overall survival (OS) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods: The gene expression data and clinical information of HCC patients were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Using bioinformatics analysis, this predictive signature was constructed and validated. The performance of predictive signature was assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Results: A total of 3 pyroptosis-related genes (BAK1, GSDME, and NOD2) were used to construct a survival prognostic model, and experimental validation performed using an experimental cohort. The prognosis model exhibited good performance based on the AUC (AUC: 0.826 at 1 years, 0.796 at 3 years, 0.867 at 5 years). The calibration plots showed excellent calibration.Conclusion: In this study, a novel prognostic model based on three pyroptosis-related genes is constructed and used to predict the prognosis of HCC patients. The model can accurately and conveniently predict the 1- 3-and 5-year OS of HCC patients.


Background . In the process of studying productive Domanik deposits of the Frasnian-Famennian, numerous uncertainties arise in identifying their effective thickness. Although several approaches have been recently proposed for identifying promising intervals in Domanik sediments, e.g. determination of the effective thickness using gas logging during geological and technical studies, the use of the interpretation method presented in the article and other methods continue to develop. Therefore, studies aimed at increasing their efficiency remain to be relevant. Aim . To develop basic methodological approaches to interpretation of well logging data with the purpose of identifying promising Domanik deposits rich in mobile hydrocarbons. Materials and methods . Geological and geophysical data obtained when investigating the wells of the according to published data of geological and geophysical resources of drilled wells in the Buzuluk depression were used to build the main well logging dependencies. In addition, the materials of core and geophysical studies of wells in the Volga-Ural oil and gas basin conducted by Gazprom Neft (PJSC) were used. Extended well logging data were collected for the wells under consideration. A number of tests and core studies, including geochemical experiments, which were carried out in deposits of Fran age, the density of resources of 5—10 samples per 1 meter of core. Results . For the first time, basic methodological approaches for identifying effective oil-saturated strata in Domanik sediments according to well logging data were developed. The developed approaches are based on the integration of geological-geophysical and geochemical data characterizing the material and mineralogical composition of rocks, the content of organic matter, the group composition of hydrocarbons and the genesis of reservoirs. In the section under study, rocks saturated with hydrocarbons were identified. The hydrocarbons were different in terms of group composition, which determined their mobility. Boundary values were obtained when interpreting data obtained by well logging methods for Domanik rocks containing mobile and stationary hydrocarbons. The proposed methodological approaches were tested on other wells in the Domanik deposits in the Orenburg region. As a result of repeated practical application and testing of the developed methodology, its effectiveness was confirmed. Conclusions . The proposed basic methodological approaches for interpretation of well logging data when identifying effective oil-saturated strata were substantiated by the geological-geophysical and geochemical properties of Domanik deposits.