BACKGROUND
There is a lack of data on molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in Asia, but this is not an indication that MIH is rare in the Asian population. Early identification of MIH is important as affected teeth frequently display post-eruptive enamel loss which would result in rapid caries progression.

AIM
This objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of MIH in Singaporean children.

DESIGN
Patients were recruited from 30 schools across Singapore. All children were examined by a single dentist, and the judgement criteria used were based on the 2003 European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry criteria.

RESULTS
A total of 1083 children; average age of 7.7 ± 0.3 years were examined. One hundred and thirty-five children (12.5%) had MIH. A significantly higher proportion of children of the Malay ethnicity had MIH, compared to Chinese children (P = 0.02). Post-eruptive enamel breakdown and the presence of atypical restorations were correlated with increasing number of MIH teeth/child (Rho= 0.599, P < 0.001) and the cumulative enamel opacity colour score (Rho = 0.601, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest the role of ethnicity in MIH occurrence and that MIH severity may be influenced by the number of MIH teeth/child and the cumulative enamel opacity colour score.


BACKGROUND Colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare tumor that demonstrates aggressive growth pattern with ingrowth into the tract, metastasis to the other organs, and invasion to the surrounding organs; these clinical characteristics result in poor prognosis. Surgical resection appears as an effective approach; however, because it is difficult to accurately diagnose NEC during the early stage and owing to its aggressive growth pattern, development of a reliable standard chemotherapy regimen and management strategies are essential. CASE SUMMARY Here, we report the case of patient with NEC showing an aggressive growth pattern that resulted in the rupture of the tumor to the outside the colon after stenting of the internal colonic stenosis. In addition, the tumor invaded into the duodenum, thereby causing duodenal stenosis that required an additional stent in the duodenum. This aggressive growth pattern is one of the main features of the NEC that is different from adenocarcinoma. To clarify the clinical characteristics, we reviewed 60 recently reported cases, including data on tumor location, size, treatment, and prognosis. CONCLUSION We consider that the information presented here is of great significance for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of symptoms of the patients with NEC.


Systemic deficiency of PIKfyve, the evolutionarily conserved phosphoinositide kinase synthesizing cellular PtdIns5P and PtdIns(3,5)P2 and implicated in insulin signaling, causes early embryonic death in mice. In contrast, mice with muscle‐specific Pikfyve disruption have normal lifespan but exhibit early‐age whole‐body glucose intolerance and muscle insulin resistance, thus establishing the key role of muscle PIKfyve in glucose homeostasis. Fat and muscle tissues control postprandial glucose clearance through different mechanisms, raising questions as to whether adipose Pikfyve disruption will also trigger whole‐body metabolic abnormalities, and if so, what the mechanism might be. To clarify these issues, here we have characterized two new mouse models with adipose tissue disruption of Pikfyve through Cre recombinase expression driven by adipose‐specific aP2‐ or adiponectin (Aq) promoters. Whereas both mouse lines were ostensibly normal until adulthood, their glucose homeostasis and systemic insulin sensitivity were severely dysregulated. These abnormalities stemmed in part from accelerated fat‐cell lipolysis and elevated serum FFA. Intriguingly, aP2‐Cre‐PIKfyvefl/fl but not Aq‐Cre‐PIKfyvefl/fl females had severely impaired pregnancy‐induced mammary gland differentiation and lactogenesis, consistent with aP2‐Cre‐mediated Pikfyve excision in nonadipogenic tissues underlying this defect. Intriguingly, whereas mammary glands from postpartum control and Aq‐Cre‐PIKfyvefl/fl mice or ex vivo mammary gland explants showed profound upregulation of PIKfyve protein levels subsequent to prolactin receptor activation, such increases were not apparent in aP2‐Cre‐PIKfyvefl/fl females. Collectively, our data identify for the first time that adipose tissue Pikfyve plays a key role in the mechanisms regulating glucose homeostasis and that the PIKfyve pathway is critical in mammary epithelial differentiation during pregnancy and lactogenesis downstream of prolactin receptor signaling.


The focus of the paper is to review an early episode from the modern history of the politics and the arts: the XVIII th century French reception of the debate on the role of luxury and the arts and sciences in "free" states, as it unfolds in two of David Hume's essays: Of the Rise and the Progress of the Arts and Sciences (1742) and Of Refinement in the Arts (1752). The paper will try to address the reception of Hume's ideas about arts and luxury in France by focusing particularly on Jean-Francois de Saint-Lambert's (1716-1803) essay on "Luxury", published in the volume IX of the Encyclopedia of Diderot & D'Alembert. The main thesis is that Saint-Lambert was a continuator of Hume in France. Throughout the discussion, the paper will try to survey the development of the luxury-civilization-arts complex, which is now part of the traditional XVIII th century view on the role of arts and sciences in free, "civilized", societies. Moreover, the discussions of Hume and Saint-Lambert on luxury and the arts will unfurl another significant debate in the XVIII th century, the debate about "civilization".


Several population studies have found an inverse association between flavonoid intake and risk of cardiovascular disease. These studies have resulted in the hypothesis that dietary flavonoids protect against cardiovascular disease. Many in vitro studies, studies using animal models and human intervention trials have been carried out to investigate how flavonoids might provide protection. Emerging and largely consistent evidence suggests that flavonoids can improve endothelial function and may reduce blood pressure. In vitro studies show that a variety of flavonoids cause vasorelaxation of isolated arteries from rats. In human intervention trials, flavonoids derived from tea and cocoa or dark chocolate - both rich sources of catechins - have been found to improve endothelial function acutely and with regular ingestion. The evidence for benefits of flavonoids from other dietary sources is less clear. Improvements in endothelial function could contribute to lower blood pressure. Population studies have associated higher intake of tea and chocolate with lower blood pressure. Short-term intervention studies in humans have shown blood pressure lowering with cocoa or dark chocolate, but short-term regular ingestion of tea has not been found to lower blood pressure. The long-term effects of regular ingestion of a flavonoid-enriched diet on endothelial function and blood pressure have yet to be assessed. In addition, there is evidence that flavonoid metabolism is an important factor influencing the biological activity and effects of dietary flavonoids, but further studies are needed to investigate this area.  2006 Society of Chemical Industry


The Dallas (Texas) Public Schools established the first school-based health center in the United States in 1969. In 1993 a partnership between two school principals, a school mental health professional, and the medical director of the county mental health center was the impetus for the first comprehensive school-based mental health center in Texas. In 1995 the programs joined together as Youth and Family Centers (YFCs) to provide physical health, mental health, and other support services to students and their families. The 10 strategically located school-based centers are directed by licensed mental health professionals employed by the district who lead a multidisciplinary team of physical health and mental health providers. Students served by the YFCs have fewer discipline problems, course failures, and school absences.


ABSTRACT The Bacillus cereus pathogenic spectrum ranges from strains used as probiotics to human-lethal strains. However, prediction of the pathogenic potential of a strain remains difficult. Here, we show that food poisoning and clinical strains can be differentiated from harmless strains on the basis of host colonization phenotypes.


Software testing consumes a significant portion of software effort. Program entities such as branch or definition-use pairs (DUPs) are used in diverse software development tasks. In this study, the authors present a novel evolution-based approach to generating test data for all definition-use coverage. First, the subset of DUPs, which can ensure the coverage adequacy, is computed by a reduction algorithm for the whole DUPs. Then they apply a genetic algorithm to generate test data for the subset of DUPs. Furthermore, the fitness of an individual depends on the matching degree between the traversed path and the definition-clear path of each target DUP. They also investigate the coverage and the size of test cases of test data generation by applying the authors' approach on 15 widely used subject programs. The experimental results show that their approach can reduce the size of test cases that generated without affecting the coverage rate.


Numerical simulations running on very large High Performance Computer clusters still suffer from the I/O bottleneck. The cost of communication can overwhelm the cost of computation, and scales inversely with the number of processors used in the cluster. In previous work we have developed a multiresolution data model to help improve performance for visualizations of very large multi dimensional scientific data sets. In our approach, the data is represented as a multi level hierarchy. Reconstructive error analysis is used to identify regions in the data where the data loss is greatest. We have incorporated this data model into the OpenGGCM solar wind simulation environment. In this paper, we demonstrate that this approach can reduce the I/O and improve the overall performance of a large numerical simulation environment.1


Abstract In predicting the impact of human disturbance on coastal wetland environments and understanding ecological response to changing intertidal conditions, there is a need to understand the relationship between species distribution and elevation dependent tidal inundation. The intent of this paper is to examine the relationship between vegetation distribution patterns and the extent of tidal inundation modelled using fine scale elevation data. Field surveys were undertaken at Towra Point, Botany Bay, Australia using high precision global positioning system (GPS) and theodolite survey to record species location and obtain horizontal mapping accuracy required for modelling localised wetland topography. Species survival and growth is governed by physiological factors that are determined by tidal inundation frequency and extent. The coupling of local tidal parameters with a detailed wetland elevation survey enabled the modelling of inundation extent. Species distributional ranges at Towra Point corresponded with modelled tidal extent, and results indicated the presence of species zonation. Fine scale representation of localised terrain features within the surface model also demonstrated the impact of altered topography on vegetation distribution patterns. The spatial analysis methods applied in this study depicted variations in inundation patterns under the differing tidal phases that influence physiological conditions throughout the wetland.


Objective:F or the purpose of investigating the herbal resources of Dokdo island, this study was designed. Method: For the first time, we searched the native plants of Dokdo island from research data. And we examined herbological books on the plants of Dokdo island. Result: The native herbaceous plants in Dokdo island were 27 family and 73 species, and the medicinal plants were 49 species among them. The woody plants in Dokdo island were 12 family and 13 species, and the medicinal plants were 10 species among them. The main medicinal parts of medicinal plants were the whole body of herbs, roots, and seeds in order. The herbal medicines with cold or cool nature were 45 species, they took the top nature of the herbal medicines. According to the properties and principal action of native herbal medicines in Dokdo island, the major parts were classified into drugs for clearing away heat, eliminating toxin, activating blood flow and removing blood stasis, urination, removing heat from the blood and stopping of bleeding. The number of native herbal medicines with small toxicity in Dokdo island were 7 species. Conclusion: For the purpose of preserving the native plants of Dokdo island, we should recognize not only medical benefits but also matters that demand special attention.


Naturally derived extracellular matrix scaffolds can effectively promote tissue repair and regeneration due to their remarkable bioactivity. However, their rapid degradation leads to the decrease of mechanical retention and the failure of physical support in vivo which limit their applications. In this paper, we modified a classic extracellular matrix scaffold - small intestinal submucosa (SIS) - by a silk fibroin (SF) layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to replace the existing chemical crosslinking methods for improving its mechanical and structural stability. Experimental results showed that the SF LbL surface functionalized SIS scaffold had tunable mechanical properties and degradation rate by adjusting the number of layers of the SF deposited on the surface. For biological responses, in vitro NIH3T3 fibroblast culture studies demonstrated that SF surface modification did not affect the excellent biocompatibility of the SIS. In vivo subcutaneous implantation results showed that the SF modification could effectively extend the residence time of the SIS in the body, and elicit a more moderate inflammatory response compared to the traditional glutaraldehyde chemical crosslinking. Furthermore, we found that SF modification could maintain the ability of bioactive components of the SIS to regulate the transformation of M1 into M2 in macrophages in vivo. This SF LbL modification strategy offers a green process for the development of high-performance extracellular matrix-based scaffolds with tunable biodegradability.


Pre-echo is a well-known artefact of transform coding at low bit rates. In this paper we present a new method to address this problem. The input signal is assumed to be coded in two stages: in time domain first, and then in transform domain. This is for instance the case in CELP+transform embedded coding. The first stage reconstructs a signal that is usually free of pre-echo. Therefore transform coding can exploit this reconstructed signal as side information for pre-echo detection and reduction. The proposed method is implemented as an adaptive limiter at the decoder side and does not need transmission of auxiliary data. It is part of the recently standardized ITU-T G.729.1 coder, in which it is used in two separate subbands. Experimental test results show that this method has a significant impact on quality in G.729.1 with very small complexity.


This paper describes the structural optimization of a high speed, 35mm tip diameter radial turbine wheel in a Variable Geometry Turbine (VGT) system, subjected to the wide range of aerodynamic loads experienced during the full operating cycle. VGTs exhibit a wide range of unsteady flow features, which vary as the nozzle vanes rotate through different positions during operation, as do the magnitudes and frequencies of the resulting pressure fluctuations experienced by the downstream turbine blades. The turbine wheel typically passes through a number of blade natural frequencies over their operating cycle, and there are a number of potential conditions where these unsteady aerodynamic loads can lead to resonant blade vibration. The focus of this work is on the development of a pragmatic design approach to improve the structural characteristics of a radial turbine blade with respect to High Cycle Fatigue (HCF), informed by detailed time-accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) prediction of the unsteady pressure loads, coupled with FE vibration analysis to quantify the resulting blade vibration magnitudes. Unsteady CFD simulations are performed to determine the time-accurate pressure loads on the blades, and the results are used as input to forced response analysis to determine the peak alternating stress amplitudes. The detailed analysis results are then used to guide a subsequent parametric study in order to investigate the influence of key geometric parameters on the structural performance of the blade, with the optimum design identified through the use of a Goodman Diagram. The results quantify the influence of both blade thickness distribution and hub fillet details on the vibration characteristics of radial turbines.


In anticipation of the eagerly awaited landing of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory on that planet's Gale Crater this August, planetary scientists are continuing to evaluate the various terrains the spacecraft's main payload—the car-sized Curiosity rover—might encounter as it gathers data on Mars's geology and climate while searching the landscape for signs of life. Scientists are conducting detailed investigations of Gale Crater's regional geologic context, interior dune fields, mineralogy, sediments, and surface roughness based on data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO, launched in 2005), the Mars Odyssey satellite (launched in 2001), and other missions. Several researchers summarized their findings in the session "Roving on Mars: Current and Future Sites," held on 21 March during the 43rd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in The Woodlands, Tex.


There are many reagents and techniques by which EDTA can be estimated in water as well as in Raw material. We standardized more quick and easy method for EDTA estimation. It has been reported that PA forms charge transfer complex with compounds. The stability of charge transfer complex depends upon the nature of compound, but mostly these are unstable. PA and EDTA complex show absorbance maximum at 450nm. The aim of our present study was to standardize an alternative method to estimate EDTA in water sample and in pure form by using the complex absorbance property at 450 nm. The 8,12,18,20 and 24 ppm concentration levels were prepared from standard stock solution of EDTA. PA of concentration 0.5gm in 100ml was prepared in chloroform. In each flask 1ml of PA was added and make up the volume of each flask with acetonitrile. The Standard plot was prepared by using EDTA -SALT and recorded Optical density at 450nm (Fig 01). The concentration level of PA was always high then EDTA-SALT in reaction mixture. However excess PA did not interfere at this wave length (450nm).
 The EDTA alone Did not show any absorbance in the range of 220 – 400 nm, but EDTA-PA complex showed an absorbance maximum at 450nm(Fig-02).We also checked the necessary optimization factors time ,temperature  and solvent effect, which are directly or indirectly effect the stability and formation of EDTA-PA complex. Stability study of complex with time, temperature and Solvent Effect are represented respectively in Fig 03, Fig 04 and Fig 05.


BACKGROUND
This paper describes an infrequent case of an intraosseous mucocele after chin augmentation using a nasal osseocartilaginous graft. Diagnostics, therapy, and clinical course of this rare complication are discussed based on our own experience and a review of the current scientific literature.

CASE REPORT
Radiological examination of a 22-year-old patient revealed an oval lucent area approximately 3x1 cm in size with sclerotic rim. Cartilaginous material directly fused to the cyst wall was detected during surgery. The results of histological examination indicated parts of a cyst wall lined with respiratory epithelium located over normally maturing cartilaginous tissue. Postoperative long-term drainage with consecutive reduction of the cyst lumen was followed by cystectomy and concurrent osteoplasty and onlay graft.

DISCUSSION
This case presented here is-as far as we know-one of three manifestations of a respiratory implantation cyst published. Its origin is most likely based on epithelium-like cells that have been incompletely removed from the resected nasal hump. Although severe complications of this technique have rarely been described, the surgeon must be aware of possible long-term side effects and should meticulously remove adherent nasal mucosa from the graft.


Stack Overflow is home to a large number of technical questions and answers. These answers also include comments from the community and other users about the answer's validity. Such comments may point to flaws in the posted answer or may indicate deprecated code that is no longer valid due to API changes. In this paper, we explore how comments affect answer updates on Stack Overflow, using the SOTorrent dataset. Our results show that a large number of answers on Stack Overflow are not updated, even when they receive comments that warrant an update. Our results can be used to build recommender systems that automatically identify answers that require updating, or even automatically update answers as needed.


Extended drought affects the production and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), one of the world's most important food crops. Breeding for increased drought resistance is becoming increasingly important due to the rising demand for food production. Four old traditional Croatian wheat cultivars were used in the present study to examine the early antioxidant response of flag leaves to desiccant-stimulated drought stress and to identify drought-tolerant cultivars accordingly. The results indicate that the enzymatic antioxidant system plays the most significant role in the early response of adult wheat plants to drought stress and the removal of excessive H2O2, particularly GPOD and APX. Nada and Dubrava cultivars revealed the strongest activation of the enzymatic defense mechanism, which prevented H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Additionally, the Nada cultivar also showed increased synthesis of proline and specific phenolic compounds, which both contribute to the increased stress tolerance. Among the cultivars investigated, cultivar Nada has the broadest genetic base, which may explain why it possesses the ability to activate both enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense mechanisms in an early response to drought stress. This suggests that old traditional wheat cultivars with broad genetic bases can be a valuable source of drought tolerance, which is especially important given the current climate change.


Eight limonoids, named moluccensins R-Y (1, 2, 5-10), and six known compounds, including 6-hydroxymexicanolide (3), were isolated from the seeds of an Indian mangrove, Xylocarpus moluccensis, collected in the estuaries of Andhra Pradesh. The absolute configuration of moluccensin V (7) was confirmed by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The (1)H and (13)C NMR data for 6-hydroxymexicanolide (3) was assigned for the first time, and the 6R absolute configuration established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Moluccensin R (1), 6R-hydroxymexicanolide (3), and 2-hydroxyfissinolide (4) exhibited marked antifeedant activity against the third-instar larvae of Brontispa longissima at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. The most potent compound tested was 2-hydroxyfissinolide (4), with an AFC(50) (concentration for 50% antifeedant activity) value of 94 μg/mL at 24 h.


Two New York soils were incubated under conditions permitting control of the partial pressure of oxygen in a stream of gas passing continuously through the soil sample. Ammonium and nitrate salts and organic materials were added in various amounts and combinations and distribution of inorganic nitrogen determined at the end of each experiment. In two experiments the N¹⁵ tracer was used to determine accurately the fate of added nitrate. Immobilization of added inorganic nitrogen occurred whether or not ample nitrogen was available to the soil population, probably due to preferential assimilation. Reduction of nitrate to ammonia was almost negligible at all oxygen concentrations, though slightly higher under anaerobic conditions than otherwise. Denitrification of added nitrate was inversely related to partial pressure of oxygen, but was of appreciable magnitude even under fully aerobic conditions. No evidence of nitrogen loss from the soil was obtained when ammonium salts were added. The experimental findings are compatible with the theory that nitrous oxide in the earth's atmosphere arises from the soil, and that denitrification is of major importance in the nitrogen cycle.


Purpose To assess the possibilities of ultrasound examination of the lungs in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pathological changes Materials and methods 65 patients (50 women and 15 men) with suspected novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), underwent ultrasound and MSCT of the lungs with an interval of no more than 24 hours, were included at the study The patients were divided into two groups: The 1st group included 48 patients at the stage of the onset and progression of pneumonia, the 2nd group - 17 patients with signs of recovery - normalization of oxygen saturation on spontaneous breathing, decrease in body temperature (below 37 5°C) Results Changes in the lungs detected by ultrasound and MSCT were compared, and the correlation of these changes with lung function, assessed by blood saturation, the need for oxygen insufflation, non-invasive and mechanical ventilation, was studied In patients without signs of recovery, ultrasound severity corresponded to the severi-ty of MSCT In patients with signs of recovery, the US-severity is less than the MSCT severi-ty by at least 25% in most cases When comparing patients with signs of recovery and those at the onset of the dis-ease, significant differences in ultrasound severity were revealed (1 17 versus 2 1, respec-tively, p = 0 01) It is important that the differences in MSCT severity in these groups are not significant A correlation was found between the degree of respiratory failure and ultrasound se-verity both in the general group of patients and in subgroups The higher the degree of res-piratory failure, the greater the US-severity, P = 0 00001 Conclusion Ultrasound of the lungs allows one to suspect COVID-19 pneumonia, which is especially important during a pandemic In patients at the onset and peak of pneumonia, the ultrasound severity of the disease, assessed by the area of the lesion, corre-sponds to the severity of MSCT In patients with signs of recovery, ultrasound severity is significantly less than the severity of MSCT and is more strongly correlated with impaired lung function


ABSTRACT The political and economic landscape of Alberta, Canada, is deeply affected by fossil fuel extraction, thus limiting progress toward energy transition. Although transition is slowed by resistance to renewable energy technologies, public perspectives on these projects are diverse, with localized sensitives that are often not well understood. To improve our understanding of support and opposition to wind energy development, we draw on concepts of energy democracy, distributive and procedural justice. Utilizing a factorial survey experiment, and latent class analysis to measure these concepts with a sample of 401 large-scale agricultural landowners, we identify three distinct groups of individuals with unique preferences that are grounded in how individuals view and support wind energy. Contrasting most respondents with moderate views on wind projects, we identify a distinct group of supportive landowners when community benefits are well defined. A third group is defined largely by opposition to wind energy whereby justice concerns are associated with distancing their land from the impacts of wind turbines. Our conclusions identify the value of careful and transparent project design in consultation with local communities and affected landowners to avoid opposition noted here and in previous studies.


We have used the RXTE and INTEGRAL satellites simultaneously to observe the high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) IGR J19140+0951. The spectra obtained in the 3-80 keV range have allowed us to perform a precise spectral analysis of the system along its binary orbit. The spectral evolution confirms the supergiant nature of the companion star and the neutron star nature of the compact object. Using a simple stellar wind model to describe the evolution of the photoelectric absorption, we were able to restrict the orbital inclination angle in the range 38°-75°. This analysis leads to a wind mass-loss rate from the companion star of ∼5 x 10 -8 M ⊙ yr -1 , consistent with an OB I spectral type. We have detected a soft excess in at least four observations, for the first time for this source. Such soft excesses have been reported in several HMXBs in the past. We discuss the possible origin of this excess, and suggest, based on its spectral properties and occurrences around the superior conjunction, that it may be explained as the reprocessing of the X-ray emission originating from the neutron star by the surrounding ionized gas.


We can obtain the position of any point on earth easily, accurately and quickly as geocentric coordinates (X, Y, Z) or geodetic coordinates (O, λ, h) in the World Geodetic System (WGS84) coordinate system with global positioning system (GPS) technique widely used in engineering studies today. However, we need to convert the ellipsoid height (h) to orthometric height to be able to use it in the applications. In this study, radial basis functions (RBF) and modified quadratic shepard (MQS) interpolation methods were used to determine orthometric heights from GPS measurements in two different study fields. It has been observed that multiquadric interpolation method gave better results when statistical values of test points in the study fields were considered.


It is well understood that heat stress causes bleaching in corals. Much work has focused on the way heat stress disrupts corals' symbiotic relationship with endosymbiotic algal dinoflagellate, Symbiodiniaceae, a process called bleaching. However, the damage to the coral tissue that occurs during the bleaching process and, importantly, the factors that contribute to subsequent recovery, are not well understood. I hypothesize that the host tissue damage created by heat stress initiates cascades of wound healing factors that maintain epithelial integrity. These factors may be found to contribute to the coral's potential capacity to recover. In this study, I present evidence that heat stress causes damage to the coral host tissue and that collagen is present in the gastrodermis of heat-stressed corals. I found that, during the early stages of bleaching, an important transcription factor for wound healing, Grainyhead, is expressed throughout the gastrodermis, where the cellular and tissue rearrangements occur. Lastly, using phylogenetics, I found that cnidarian Grainyhead proteins evolved three distinct groups and that evolution of this protein family likely happened within each taxonomic group. These findings have important implications for our study of coral resiliency in the face of climate change.


The Regency Apartment is a new apartment with Superblock concept that first time implemented in Surabaya. With the concept of combining mall, office, hotel, and apartment in on place this Superblock had established a great welcome from Surabaya people. Since so many apartments come into town, it is important to understand the factors affecting consumer buying decision to make these apartments are easier to sell. To understand the problem, the writer use factor analysis method by spreading the questionnaire to the people that already buy apartment in The Regency. The result of this research is saying that now Surabaya people want to have apartment as an alternative to stay than a house. This phenomena will explained further in the research.


ABSTRACT Background: The breastfeeding practice of primiparous mothers in developed and developing countries is influenced by various factors. The breastfeeding factor for primiparous mothers is closely related to their initial experience of giving breast milk to success and failure in achieving exclusive breastfeeding. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influence primiparous mothers in giving exclusive breastfeeding. Subjects and Methods: This scoping review uses an electronic bibliographic database method. Articles were obtained from 5 databases, namely Science Direct, PubMed, EBSCO, Wiley and ProQuest conducted systematically from 2009 to 2019. Articles used in this scoping review were described in the Prefered Reporting System of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flowchart. Results: Based on 8 articles from 421 articles obtained showed that internal factors come from the mother herself and external factors that come from outside the mother were related in giving exclusive breastfeeding. Internal factors include the initial response of primiparous mothers in exclusive breastfeeding, maternal psychology when giving exclusive breastfeeding, coping with primiparous mothers during the process of giving exclusive breastfeeding, commitment of primiparous mothers to exclusive breastfeeding. Maternal external factors include social support for primiparous mothers in providing exclusive breastfeeding and socio-culture to primiparous mothers in providing exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusion: The most influential internal factor is the primiparous mother's psychological factor. The most influential external factor is socio-culture. There are still many countries that adhere to socio-culture which can hinder the process of exclusive breastfeeding. Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, internal factors, external factors, mother Correspondence: Hairiana Kusvitasari. Universitas 'Aisyiyah Yogyakarta. Jl. Ringroad Barat No.63, Mlangi Nogotirto, Gamping, Rice Field Area, Nogotirto, Kec. Gamping, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region 55592, Indonesia. Email: email@example.com: Mobile: 082251977627 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.03.04


Based on overall analysis, influence of policy support on the performance of agricultural
public companies and dependence of the performance of agricultural public companies on policy
support in china are dealt with, accordingly some suggestions are proposed.


Abstract Objectives In our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), patients are screened for colonization with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and decolonized if positive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our NICU significantly limited its visitor policy. We assessed for a difference between S. aureus colonization rates before and after the visitor policy change, which coincided with the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases in New York City (NYC). Methods We calculated rates of newly S. aureus colonized NICU patients during January to June 2020 and compared rates pre- and post-implementation of the new visitor policy. Additionally, we obtained the weekly incidence of COVID-19 in NYC and assessed for a correlation between COVID-19 rates and S. aureus colonization. Results The number of newly colonized patients per thousand patient days was 4.65 pre- and 3.95 post-implementation of the new visitor policy. The difference was not statistically significant (p=0.66). Furthermore, there was no correlation between the incidence of COVID-19 in NYC and the rates of S. aureus colonization in our NICU (R2=0.02). Conclusions Our results suggest that limiting visitation of patients is not associated with a decrease in S. aureus colonization rate. Hospital unit leaders may need to focus on other strategies in order to reduce colonization.


We introduce and formalize a novel constrained path optimization problem that is the heart of the real-time ad serving task in the Yahoo! (formerly RightMedia) Display Advertising Exchange. In the Exchange, the ad server's task for each display opportunity is to compute, with low latency, an optimal valid path through a directed graph representing the business arrangements between the hundreds of thousands of business entities that are participating in the Exchange. These entities include not only publishers and advertisers, but also intermediate entities called "ad networks" which have delegated their ad serving responsibilities to the Exchange. Path optimality is determined by the payment to the publisher, and is affected by an advertiser's bid and also by the revenue-sharing agreements between the entities in the chosen path leading back to the publisher. Path validity is determined by constraints which focus on the following three issues: 1) suitability of the opportunity's web page and its publisher 2)suitability of the user who is currently viewing that web page, and 3) suitability of a candidate ad and its advertiser. Because the Exchange's constrained path optimization task is novel, there are no published algorithms for it. This paper describes two different algorithms that have both been successfully used in the actual Yahoo! ad server. The first algorithm has the advantage of being extremely simple, while the second is more robust thanks to its polynomial worst-case running time. In both cases, meeting latency caps has required that the basic algorithms be improved by optimizations; we will describe a candidate ordering scheme and a pre-computation scheme that have both been effective in reducing latency in the real ad serving system that serves over ten billion ad calls per day.


Similar to purchasing any commodity, the consumer has the sole responsibility for what products he/she may buy. Often the decision to buy a particular product hinges on several factors, namely the content composition displayed on the product label; an approval seal from an accredited regulatory body; date of manufacturing or expiry; packaging; or brand of the product. The decision of what to buy becomes challenging for an average Ghanaian consumer, who is also semi-literate and does not have a clear understanding of the implications of his/her decision. This study reports an analysis of the fourteen most popular brands of bottled water produced and distributed in Ghana. Using multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to evaluate bottled water brand preference in the Ghanaian market. The goal is to ascertain which of the brands is best for the Ghanaian consumer, based on the content composition displayed on the bottle. The results suggest that displayed mineral constituent on bottled water can be used to select the best water on the Ghanaian Market.


Powder neutron diffraction measurements have been undertaken on Pd2TiIn over the temperature range 4-300 K. Previous measurements of the bulk magnetic properties indicated a magnetic transition in the neighbourhood of 110 K. The neutron measurements reveal a structural phase transition at 92 K. The transition appeared to be of first order, and no evidence was found of any long-range magnetic order below 92 K. However, the existence of ferrimagnetic order, involving the Pd and Ti atoms, could not be ruled out. The results are discussed in terms of the stability of the magnetic moment and the presence of spin fluctuations.


We investigate the electron states and optical absorption in square- and hexagonal-shaped two-dimensional (2D) HgTe quantum dots and quantum rings in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The electronic structure is modeled by means of the $sp^3d^5s^*$ tight-binding method within the nearest-neighbor approximation. Both bulklike and edge states appear in the energy spectrum. The bulklike states in quantum rings exhibit Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in magnetic field, whereas no such oscillations are found in quantum dots, which is ascribed to the different topology of the two systems. When magnetic field varies, all the edge states in square quantum dots appear as quasibands composed of almost fully flat levels, whereas some edge states in quantum rings are found to oscillate with magnetic field. However, the edge states in hexagonal quantum dots are localized like in rings. The absorption spectra of all the structures consist of numerous absorption lines, which substantially overlap even for small line broadening. The absorption lines in the infrared are found to originate from transitions between edge states. It is shown that the magnetic field can be used to efficiently tune the optical absorption of HgTe 2D quantum dot and quantum ring systems.


This paper investigates the two‐dimensional flow problem through an anisotropic porous medium containing several intersecting curved fractures. First, the governing equations of steady‐state fluid flow in a fractured porous body are summarized. The flow follows Darcy's law in matrix and Poiseuille's law in fractures. An infinite transversal permeability is considered for the fractures. A multi‐region boundary element method is used to derive a general pressure solution as a function of discharge through the fractures and the pressure and the normal flux on the domain boundary. The obtained solution fully accounts for the interaction and the intersection between fractures. A numerical procedure based on collocation method is presented to compute the unknowns on the boundaries and on the fractures. The numerical solution is validated by comparing with finite element solution or the results obtained for an infinite matrix. Pressure fields in the matrix are illustrated for domains containing several interconnected fractures, and mass balance at the intersection points is also checked. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Low profile and light weight are very important for practical applications of a spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) coupler, especially at low frequencies. In this paper, we propose and design an ultra-thin, light-weight SSPP coupler based on broadside coupled split ring resonators (BC-SRRs). The size of BC-SRR can be far less than λ/100 and can extremely well control the reflective phases within a subwavelength thickness. Due to the broadside capacitive coupling, the electrical size of BC-SRR is dramatically reduced to guarantee the ultra-thin thickness of the SSPP coupler. The weight of the SSPP coupler is reduced by a low occupation ratio of BC-SRR in the unit cell volume. As an example, a C-band SSPP coupler composed of phase gradient BC-SRRs is designed, fabricated, and measured. Due to the ultra-small size and low occupation ratio of BC-SRRs, the thickness of the coupler is λ/12 and the surface density is only 0.98 kg/m2. Both simulation and experiment results verify that the coupler can achieve high-efficiency SPP coupling at 5.27 GHz under normal incidence.


The increasing deployment of cloud computing resources around the world is rising the interest in models for resource selection based on QoS (quality of service) and security requirements of requested services. These models should take into account features of the computing as well as the network resources for service delivery. In this paper we design a cloud service trust model to facilitate joint selection of computing and networking resources. We leverage on trust to represent the confidence in QoS and security features implemented by computing and networking providers. Then we define a service trust, also called end-to-end trust, representing the trust in both its computing and networking resources. Key aspect of the proposed model is that it puts network and computing resources at the same level for an effective service evaluation and therefore resource selection. The model requires monitoring information about computing and networking sites and considers two alternative network monitoring systems. S...


This article was made based on an observation on the application of a Local Culture-Based Project in Balinese Language and Religious Literature Study Program of Denpasar State Hindu Dharma Institute. The basic reason for the application of this Project-Based Learning method is that, students were less motivated in following the EFL course. Students found that English would give a very minimum support for Balinese language and culture. English as a foreign language seems to be a threat for Balinese language sustainability. Therefore, the writer would show the students their actual connection in which English as a world dominant language could empower the existence of local culture including the language itself. (Regmi, 2013) stated that people should consider that the present existed local language that is used to pass the local context and culture on from generation to generation will die. Therefore, its integration to English as a world dominant language is one of the effective ways to preserve the local culture. Writer then designed project task which deal with local Balinese Culture. Students were asked to make a "Multilingual Pictured Folklore Book" during EFL course. Methodological triangulation (e.g. survey, interview and observation) were applied to co nfirm the students" respond toward the application of the Project. The result shows that PBL approach implemented in the present study was proven effective in improving the students" interest in learning English. Besides, the students gave a positive respo nse toward the application of the Project.


In this paper, we consider additive stochastic nonparametric regression models. By approximating the nonparametric components by a class of orthogonal series and using a generalized cross-validation criterion, an adaptive and simultaneous estimation procedure for the nonparametric components is constructed. We illustrate the adaptive and simultaneous estimation procedure by a number of simulated and real examples.


China's footprint in Africa's media sector over the last decade has reached dimensions that make it impossible to go unnoticed. In South Africa, one of the countries where this imprint is most diversified, Chinese media have been engaged in a varied range of activities, including content production and distribution, infrastructure development, direct investment in local media and training of journalists. Building on previous exploratory studies by the authors, this paper addresses an unresolved question in the study of China's media internationalization: the impact on journalism. Using data from 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews with editors, journalists and policy makers, we investigate how much influence Chinese media exercise on journalism in South Africa. We present responses along three dimensions: consumption of and attitudes towards Chinese media, impact on local journalism and views about South Africa–China relations. Our data offer evidence that, despite having substantially increased their presence, Chinese media are far from having a profound impact on media professionals. While some interviewees report the adoption of some Chinese media in their daily news consumption, scepticism towards China, and by extension its media, dominates. We discuss these findings in the context of Chinese state-owned media's attempts to increase their discursive power globally.


Objective To explore the risk factors for progressing stroke.Methods 26 patients with progressive stroke were comparatived with 26 patients with steady stroke.Both of data were analyzed etrospectively.Results The results showed that cases of progressing stroke complicated by angiostenosis,hypertension,diabetes,blood lipid level and fibrinogen than those of patients with steady stroke(P0.01).Conclusion Angiostenosis,hypertension,diabetes,lipid and fibrinogen are risk factors for progressing stroke.Smoking、Infection and fever are the correlation factors.


Carotid artery atherosclerosis is a major cause of ischemic stroke. For more than 30 years, future stroke risk and carotid stroke etiology have been determined using percent diameter stenosis based on clinical trials in the 1990s. In the past 10 years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have been developed to detect carotid intraplaque hemorrhage. By detecting carotid intraplaque hemorrhage, MRI identifies potential stroke sources that are often overlooked by lumen imaging. In addition, MRI can dramatically improve assessment of future stroke risk beyond lumen stenosis alone. In this review, we discuss the use of heavily T1-weighted MRI sequences used to detect carotid intraplaque hemorrhage. In addition, advances in ciné imaging, motion robust techniques, and specialized neck coils will be reviewed. Finally, the clinical use and future impact of MRI plaque hemorrhage imaging will be discussed.


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

Background: Overexpression of COX-2 has been associated with worse outcome in NSCLC. In C30203, we found that administration of the selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib in addition to chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC improved outcome (progression free and overall survival, PFS, OS) in pts with moderate to high COX-2 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). C30801 was designed to prospectively confirm that finding.

Patients and Methods: Pts with NSCLC (stage IIIb with pleural effusion, IV 6th ed) were pre-registered and biopsy specimens analyzed for COX-2 by IHC. Pts with COX-2 expression > or = 2, PS 0-2 and normal organ function were eligible. Chemotherapy was determined by histology: carboplatin (AUC = 6), pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) d 1, q21 days for pts with non-squamous NSCLC; carboplatin(AUC=5.5) d1, gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) d 1,8 for pts with squamous histology. Randomization was to celecoxib (400 mg bid) (Arm A) or placebo (Arm B). The primary endpoint was to demonstrate improvement in PFS in patients with COX-2 index >=4 with hazard ratio of 0.645.

Results: The study was halted by the DSMB for futility after 312 of the planned 322 pts were randomized. The current analysis is based upon the first 300 pts. There were no significant differences between the groups (Table). There was a possible harmful effect for COX-2 inhibition in the COX-2 2-3 subset (OS HR = 1.75, p =.0977). Toxicity was similar for both arms. Subset analyses evaluating histology, chemotherapy regimen, incremental COX-2 expression did not demonstrate any advantage for COX-2 inhibition.

Conclusions: 1. COX-2 expression by IHC failed to select pts who could benefit from selective COX-2 inhibition. 2. COX-2 inhibition did not significantly increase toxicity associated with chemotherapy or increase cardiovascular morbidity. 3. We will evaluate other possible determinants of toxicity and response to COX-2 inhibition.

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Citation Format: Martin J. Edelman, Xiaofei Wang, Lydia Hodgson, Richard T. Cheney, Maria Baggstrom, Thomas Sachdev, Ajeet Gajra, Erin Bertino, Karen Reckamp, Julian Molina, Joan Schiller, Kisha Mitchell-Richards, Paula Friedman, Jon Ritter, Everett Vokes, Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Phase III randomized, placebo controlled trial of COX-2 inhibition in addition to standard chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC):CALGB 30801 (Alliance). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr CT238. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-CT238


A self consistent and time-dependent particle code has been developed to simulate the beam-wave dynamics in a gyrotron oscillator. The code is first applied to investigate the effect of the self-consistent field profile on the scaling of the cavity-filling rate with beam current. The fixed-field theory predicts that the transient-wave growth rate depends linearly on the beam current. The simulation results agree with the theoretical prediction at low beam currents. As the beam current increases, the modified field profile changes the nature of the gain scaling from linear to nonlinear. At higher beam currents, the excited wave is observed to exhibit the behavior of the modulated oscillation, due to unequal couplings to the forward- and backward-going waves by the beam. Associated with such amplitude modulation is a periodic variation of the self-consistent field profile. At still higher beam currents, the system becomes chaotic, showing the effect of periodic doubling. Simulation results are presented for the efficiency, the self-consistent field profile, and the scaling of the transient growth rate with the beam current. >


To date, it has generally been assumed that most contemporary uses of Spanishestar 'be.loc' arose some time after the use of ser 'be', and that the former eventuallytook over most uses of the latter. Previous analyses of diachronic changein estar claim that the usage of this verb became generalized as a result of somereanalysis or grammaticalization change, presumably taking over the resultstate and locative uses of ser. In this paper we wish to go one step further andinvestigate the questions of how adjectival passive estar + participle emerged inSpanish and how it extended its usage at the expense of ser based on an empiricalanalysis of data coming from a large corpus of Spanish texts from the 12th tothe 20th century. We propose that the first and most frequent usesof estar determined the way the participial construction emerged and furtherextended itself, gradually usurping uses of ser, and that the language changemechanism which drove this development was analogy. More specifically, weargue that this development was driven by the analogical relations establishedbetween participles appearing with this verb and locative prepositional phrases.


``The Technology of Automated Multiphasic Health Testing (AMHT)'' was examined in Davos, Switzerland, during September 14-18, 1970, at the first international conference supported by the Engineering Foundation. The 159 conference members from 14 different nations discussed AMHT on the basis of its involvement in the use of automated laboratory equipment and medical instruments in combination with computers to provide numerous accurate and reliable tests as well as other procedures to a large number of people with a minimum of highly trained personnel. Topics covered in the plenary sessions included ``AMHT in Perspective,'' ``Recent Progress in AMHT,'' ``Utilizing AMHT in Developing Countries,'' ``The Role of the Engineer in AMHT,'' ``AMHT in Patient Surveillance and Patient Management,'' ``How to Organize and Operate an AMHT Facility,'' and ``Device Safety.'' A special session was presented on ``Clinical Chemistry.'' Evening workshops were held on ``Quantitative Neurological Evaluation,'' ``The Role of the Engineer in AMHT,'' ``Trend Detection in Cardiology,'' ``Automatic Cytology,'' and ``Blood Chemistry Measurements?New Approaches to Automation.'' Conference proceedings will be published by the Engineering Foundation.


Quantum chemical analysis was carried out to model metabolism of glitazone class of drugs through oxygen transfer process to the sulfur atom of thiazolidinedione ring with different oxidants such as H(2)O(2), HOONO, and C4a-hydroperoxyflavin. Complete optimization (geometric and energy parameters) of all the required structures and transition states on the reaction path was carried out using MP2(full)/6-31+G(d,p). Charge and second-order delocalization analyses of important structures were carried out using the NBO method. The effect of solvent on the oxygen transfer to sulfur of thiazolidinedione was studied by including one, two, or three explicit water molecules. These calculations revealed that explicit solvent (water) effectively contributed in the sulfoxidation of thiazolidinedione and led to remarkable reduction in the energy barrier by ∼10 kcal/mol as compared to the gas phase. These results were found to be consistent with previously reported S-oxidation of dimethyl sulfide. When explicit water molecules were included, solvent molecules stabilize the charge separation at the transition state via specific interactions, and oxidation occurs via stretching of the O-O bond of oxidants and gradual formation of S-O bond. This study is helpful in understanding the metabolite generation due to the S-oxidation process in the glitazone series of antidiabetic drugs under physiological conditions.


It has been known for nearly a decade that deterministically modeled reaction networks that are weakly reversible and consist of a single linkage class have trajectories that are bounded from both above and below by positive constants (so long as the initial condition has strictly positive components). It is conjectured that the stochastically modeled analogs of these systems are positive recurrent. We prove this conjecture in the affirmative under the following additional assumptions: (i) the system is binary, and (ii) for each species, there is a complex (vertex in the associated reaction diagram) that is a multiple of that species. To show this result, a new proof technique is developed in which we study the recurrence properties of the n-step embedded discrete-time Markov chain.


Abstract : As William Penn noted centuries ago, time might be our most precious resource but it is also one that we have trouble managing effectively. While cost-performance trade-offs get a lot of emphasis in developmental acquisition efforts, schedule or cycle time is also an important part of the cost-schedule-performance triad that determines outcomes. Note that the terms cycle time and schedule will be used interchangeably in this article to mean the total time required from program initiation until Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Acquisition cycle time continues to be a hot topic. Over years, many have argued that it simply takes too long to get capability to the warfighter and that fundamental reform is needed to address this issue. More recently, we see the imperative to deploy capabilities faster in light of cyber and asymmetric threats. Several studies have validated this notion that it is taking longer now than in past decades to develop and field Department of Defense (DoD) weapon systems. Despite all the attention and reforms, the issue has not gone away. In fact, it may even be more problematic now than in the past because of program complexity, use of new and advanced materials, software-intensive designs, advanced manufacturing techniques and many other factors.


Several methods for testing VLSI chips can be classified as signature methods. Both conventional and signature testing methods apply a number of test patterns to the inputs of the circuit. The difference is that a conventional method examines each output, while a signature method first accumulates the outputs in some data compression device, then examines the signature - the final contents of the accumulator - to see if it agrees with the signature produced by a good chip. Signature testing methods have several advantages, but they run the risk that masking may occur. Masking is said to occur if a faulty chip and a good chip behave differently on the test patterns, but the signatures are identical. When masking occurs, the signature testing method will incorrectly conclude that the chip is good, whereas a conventional method would discover that the chip is defective.
 This paper gives theoretical justification to the use of several signature testing techniques. We show that for these methods, the probability that masking will occur is small. An important difference between this and other work is that our results require very few assumptions about the behavior of faulty chips. They hold even in the presence of so-called correlated errors or even if the circuit were subject to sabatoge.
 When we speak of the probability of masking, we use the probabilistic approach of Gill, Rabin and others. That is, we introduce randomness into the testing method in a way which can be controlled by the designer. Thus, one theorem assumes that the order of the input patterns - or the patterns themselves - is random; another assumes that the connections between the chip and the signature accumulator are made randomly, and a third assumes that the signature accumulator itself incorporates a random choice.
 Most of the results of this paper use a particularly simple and practical signature accumulator based on a linear feedback shift register.


Conventional plot tile lines were installed at a depth of 4 ft and a spacing of 60 ft. Shallow and controlled drainage plots represent drainage water management. Controlled tile lines were the same design as the conventional. Shallow plot tile lines were installed at a depth of 2.5 ft with a spacing of 40 ft. All plots were designed to have a maximum drainage coefficient of 0.75 in./day. The controlled drainage boards are typically removed in mid-April prior to planting to allow free flow to reduce the height of the water table for improved trafficability. The boards are replaced after planting.


Interleukin 4 (IL-4) is a cytokine that is involved in the differentiation of B and T lymphocytes. In this report, we describe the identification of a novel gene, N.52, which was cloned from the murine pre-B cell line R8205 grown in the presence of IL-4 for 48 hr. Although N.52 expression is detectable at low levels in unstimulated R8205 cells, the level of N.52 dramatically increases after only .4 hr exposure to IL-4 and remains at a high .level up to 48 hr. Although N.52 expression is low or absent in normal spleen B and T cells, its expression can be induced by the differentiation signals delivered by LPS in B cells and by Con A in T-cell hybrids. While N.52 mRNA is absent in all highly differentiated organs, it is detectable in stem cell harboring lymphoid tissues such as bone marrow, fetal liver, and thymus. Furthermore, N.52 mRNA is expressed at strikingly high levels in the testis, specifically in differentiating male germ cells. It is induced by differentiation signals triggered by the combination of cyclic AMP and retinoic acid in teratocarcinoma F9 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that N.52 is a developmentally regulated gene whose expression in cells of the immune and reproductive systems may be controlled by stimuli that induce differentiation.


Natural fibers play an important role in developing high performing fully biodegradable composites which will be a key material to solve the current ecological and environmental problems. Due to enormous advantages of composites reinforced with natural fibers, a study on pine needles reinforced urea-resorcinol-formaldehyde composites has been made. Present investigation has revealed that urea-formaldehyde resin in 1.0: 2.5 ratio exhibits optimum mechanical behavior whereas in case urea-resorcinol- formaldehyde resin, the best mechanical behavior was shown by 1.0: 1.0: 2.5 ratios. However, reinforcing of this resin with pine-needles of 1 cm size and evaluation of their mechanical properties showed that mechanical properties increase with reinforcement. These results were further supported by the SEM and thermal studies.


Continuously increasing municipal renovation and roadbed excavation produced a considerable quantity of solid waste each year such us miscellaneous fill mixed with broken pavement fragments and brickbats, which resulted in a series of urban environment and soil resource issues. Comprehensive recycling technology for soil modification to attain the strength requirements of subgrade fillings from the related road construction codes is necessary and even urgent, since the usual soil replacement is not the economic and environment-friendly method. The field investigation and laboratorial tests hereby had been completed to confirm the application potentials of typical soil specimens selected from different locations. The experimental results indicate some of specimens can be reused as subgrade fillings in road construction immediately and others should be treated by soil amelioration. To further certify the practicality of this recycled technology and broaden its range of application, three typical reutilization and treatment techniques, cold recycling, soil solidification and dynamic consolidation are introduced into engineering projects.


In this paper, we present a fully-automated subcortical and ventricular shape generation pipeline that acts on structural magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of the human brain. Principally, the proposed pipeline consists of three steps: (1) automated structure segmentation using the diffeomorphic multi-atlas likelihood-fusion algorithm; (2) study-specific shape template creation based on the Delaunay triangulation; (3) deformation-based shape filtering using the large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping for surfaces. The proposed pipeline is shown to provide high accuracy, sufficient smoothness, and accurate anatomical topology. Two datasets focused upon Huntington's disease (HD) were used for evaluating the performance of the proposed pipeline. The first of these contains a total of 16 MRI scans, each with a gold standard available, on which the proposed pipeline's outputs were observed to be highly accurate and smooth when compared with the gold standard. Visual examinations and outlier analyses on the second dataset, which contains a total of 1,445 MRI scans, revealed 100% success rates for the putamen, the thalamus, the globus pallidus, the amygdala, and the lateral ventricle in both hemispheres and rates no smaller than 97% for the bilateral hippocampus and caudate. Another independent dataset, consisting of 15 atlas images and 20 testing images, was also used to quantitatively evaluate the proposed pipeline, with high accuracy having been obtained. In short, the proposed pipeline is herein demonstrated to be effective, both quantitatively and qualitatively, using a large collection of MRI scans.


ABSTRACT da Silva Dias, F.J.; Valente Marins, R., and Parente Maia, L., 2013. Impact of drainage basin changes on suspended matter and particulate copper and zinc discharges to the ocean from the Jaguaribe River in the semiarid NE Brazilian coast. This study aims to understand the fluvial contribution to the estuary and thence to the ocean and the behavior of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) and particulate Cu and Zn during spring tide cycles and during the dry and rainy seasons in 2005, 2006, and 2008, at the Jaguaribe River Estuary, NE Brazil. The distribution of metals concentrations in SPM during dry and rainy seasons suggests a lithogenic origin of aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu), as a result of erosion and leaching of soils in the drainage basin due to anthropogenic drivers, such as urbanization, shrimp farming, and agriculture. Anthropogenic drivers also affect Zn flows associated with SPM during the dry season. The highest discharges of SPM and particulate metals occurred during rainy periods due higher freshwater volumes observed in the estuarine channel. The results strongly suggest that the high variability of discharges typical of semiarid drainage basins can be underestimated with the use of secondary data, showing the necessity of obtaining data in situ.


Higher Education in the UK appears to be in a state of flux with ever changing policy for the recruitment and funding of home and EU students. As the market becomes more competitive the recruitment of international students studying specialist Master's programmes is expanding, introducing greater variability into the educational supply chain. This study has investigated the factors affecting academic success, and reviewed recruitment from a supply chain perspective. The study has then focused on the importance of having the required underpinning knowledge to study on specialist Master's programmes in achieving academic success.

A quantitative methods approach has been adopted, aligned with a realist ontology and positivist epistemology to carry out the investigation. The current criteria used for entry to the programmes at Northumbria were compared with similar HEIs. Expert opinion was used to determine the underpinning knowledge students were expected to have when enrolling on to specialist Master's programmes and this was verified on newly enrolled post graduate students through the survey method using a test. The results were then used to identify variations in underpinning knowledge in the educational supply chain and investigate the use of a model to predict academic success.

The criteria for entry to specialist Master's programmes was identified as having varying levels of both English and academic qualifications. The level of underpinning knowledge known by graduating Northumbria undergraduate and enrolling international postgraduate students was found to be similar and can be linked to academic success.

This study has contributed to knowledge by confirming that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between underpinning knowledge and academic success. A contribution to practice has been made by using supply chain theory to identify the variation in student underpinning knowledge entering the educational supply chain and providing a test that can be used to predict academic success.


This qualitative case study aimed to examine faculty members' perceived behaviour regarding the use of technology in their classrooms. The behavior was examined within the framework of the decomposed theory of planned behavior. The theory states that technology integration behaviour is directly related to intention and perceived behaviour control and indirectly related to attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. Data sources included semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 faculty members who participated in a faculty technology mentoring programme implemented at a large public university in Turkey over a semester of 4 months' duration. The data analysis revealed that the factors affecting faculty members' planned technology integration behaviour were related to their intentions, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control, as explained in the theory. Faculty members identified a number of student-related, faculty-related and contextrelated challenges in technology integration. The recommendations arising from the study are to support and sustain faculty members' technology integration in higher education classrooms.


For periodically forced nonlinear oscillators permitting escape from a potential well a relation is observed between two well-known phenomena, the period-doubling cascade leading to the chaotic escape of the resonant attractor and the complex dynamics associated with the creation of a structurally unstable homoclinic orbit. The particular homoclinic orbit is identified as that created at the initial change of the period one Birkhoff signature of the invariant manifolds of the hilltop saddle. The primary resonant attractor may thus be viewed as the period one simple Newhouse orbit. Significant subharmonic and superharmonic escape events may likewise be associated with nearby Birkhoff signature changes. Significant information about the global dynamics may thus be obtained with little numerical effort by inspection of the signatures of the invariant manifolds of the hilltop saddle.


Food insecurity is a complex public health problem affecting millions of people globally. It leads to negative health outcomes in the afflicted population and the society at large. There is a self-perpetuating vicious cycle between food insecurity and chronic health conditions like diabetes. It is important for healthcare professionals to be aware of its existence, to be able to recognize it, and to work with their patients to find solutions for it. Simultaneously, the providers should advocate for their patients and make program administrators, policymakers, and legislatures aware of this crisis. During the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, when economies have been badly affected and many people have lost their jobs, this subject has arguably assumed much greater importance. In this article, we discuss the magnitude of the problem, its relation to diabetes mellitus, and the role that a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) can play in mitigating this problem.


In addition to morphine-selective mu 2 and enkephalin-preferring delta sites, recent evidence supports the presence within the central nervous system of a common site with very high affinity for both enkephalins and opiates termed the mu 1 site. This concept of a common, very high affinity site for multiple neurotransmitters is a unique concept in neuropharmacology, differing from classical transmitter systems which possess multiple receptor classes for a single transmitter. This review will address both the biochemical and pharmacological evidence supporting the existence of this site.


This paper presents the tuning of a proportional-integral (PI) damping controller for static var compensator (SVC) to enhance the dynamic stability of power systems over a wide range of voltage-dependent load models. The gains settings of the PI controller are tuned using the eigenvalues assignment technique. A closed formula was derived to allocate the electro-mechanical mode eigenvalues to a prescribed value. Tuning of SVC damping controllers traditionally assumes that the system loads are voltage dependent with fixed parameters. However, the load model parameters are generally uncertain. This uncertainty behavior of load model parameters can de-tune the gains of the PI controller; consequently, SVC damping controller tuned with fixed gain-settings can be adequate for some load models but contrarily can reduce system damping and contribute to system instability with loads having other models. The effect of typical load model parameters on the tuning gains of SVC PI damping controller is investigated and it is found that load models have a considerable influence on the PI controller tuning gains. The time domain simulations performed on the system show that the SVC damping controller tuned at fixed load models reduce the system damping under other load parameters and could lead to system instability. Index Terms: Load Model, Static Var Compensator, Proportional-Integral Damping Controller, Dynamic Stability, Eigenvalues Assignment.


Degradation of algal pigments during grazing by planktonic protozoa was examined using batch cultures of 6 protozoan species (3 chates, 3 heterotrophic djnoflagellates). Pigment losses due to grazer activity were compared with algal cell losses to determine plglnent degradation efficiencies. Chlorophylls a and c were degraded (i.e, converted to phaeopigments or to colorless compounds) with high efficiencies (294 %) in nearly all experiments. Degradation efficiencies for carotenoids were variable (reaching maxima of 38 to 103%), indicating that chlorophylls are intrinsically more labile than carotenoids in the presence of grazers. Algal species and carotenoid identity appeared to have little effect on degradation efficiency. Rather, grazers were the main source of variability, with small (<25 pm) protozoa (Amphidinium sp., Gymnodiniunl sp., Uronema sp.) able to degrade carotenoids more efficiently than large (>80 pm) protozoa (Favella sp., Strornbjdlnopsis acuminatum, Noctiluca scintillans). Regardless of grazer size, little algal pigment was found In the dissolved (<0.7 pm) phase, demonstrating that pigment removed from the particulate phase was truly degraded and not simply repackaged as colloidal (or smaller) material. Degradation of carotenoids varied during experiments. increasing as much as 5-fold over time Such increases suggested that, during the later stages of incubation~, protozoa were reingesting pigmented waste particles or digestulg pigments more extensively in response to decreasing food concentrations. These data indicate that small protozoa degrade ingested algal carotenoids and, by extension, ingested organic matter more extensively than large protozoa. Microzooplankton size structure may have a strong influence on the efficiency of organic matter recycling in microbially dominated planktonic systems.


The OECD/Nuclear Energy Data Bank was established by its member countries as an institution to allow effective sharing of knowledge and its basic underlying information and data in key areas of nuclear science and technology. The activities as regards preserving and transferring knowledge consist of the: — Acquisition of basic nuclear data, computer codes and experimental system data needed over a wide range of nuclear and radiation applications. — Independent verification and validation of these data using quality assurance methods, adding value through international benchmark exercises, workshops and meetings and by issuing relevant reports with conclusions and recommendations, as well as by organising training courses to ensure their qualified and competent use. — Dissemination of the different products to authorised establishments in member countries and collecting and integrating user feedback. Of particular importance has been the establishment of basic and integral experiments databases and the methodology developed with the aim of knowledge preservation and transfer. Databases established thus far include: — IRPhE – International Reactor Physics Experimental Benchmarks Evaluations, — SINBAD – a radiation shielding experiments database (nuclear reactors, fusion neutronics and accelerators), — IFPE – International Fuel Performance Benchmark Experiments Database, — TDB – The Thermochemical Database Project, —more » ICSBE – International Nuclear Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluations [1], — CCVM – CSNI Code Validation Matrix of Thermal-hydraulic Codes for LWR LOCA and Transients [2]. This paper will concentrate on knowledge preservation and transfer concepts and methods related to some of the integral experiments and TDB.« less


Creativity, one of the cornerstones of students' 21st-century skills, is regarded as an important learning outcome of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education. Meanwhile, problem-based digital making (DM), which combines the child-friendly programming activities of DM with problem-solving elements, is an emerging instructional design to facilitate STEAM learning. This qualitative case study examines the implementation of a problem-based DM instructional program that used the block-based programming tool Scratch to cultivate the participants' creativity. Fifty-four middle school students (aged 10–14 years) in Hong Kong participated in the program, which totaled 10 contact hours over five consecutive weeks. Through triangulating students' DM artifacts, video recordings, field notes, and interviews, the researchers characterized the students' creative expression, examined the role of problem-based DM in encouraging creative work, and investigated the use of Scratch for mediating student creativity. The results showed that problem-based DM activities fostered students' creative expressions in the dimensions of novelty, utility, aesthetics, and authenticity. While Scratch mediated the way the students presented their solutions, it had limitations that hindered the students' digital artifact construction. The findings provide theoretical insights for framing creativity and offer practical implications for the implementation of problem-based DM in K–12 contexts.


A variety of computer systems called virtual patients are available in medical education today. Virtual patients are designed to emulate realistic clinical cases on a computer, and help students to practice diagnosis and clinical reasoning. They are used as an integral part of the curriculum in many medical schools. However, the technologies currently used to build virtual patients present limitations. Feedback has to be edited manually by medical experts, and the feedback provided is often not adapted to each student's interactions with the virtual patient. This makes creating and editing a virtual patient time-consuming, and limits its pedagogical impact. Indeed, relevant feedback is crucial to help students assess and reflect on their performance, reflect on their decisions and improve their clinical reasoning skills. This paper presents research on automatic feedback generation for virtual patients, using semantic web technologies. To generate feedback, a computer model has been designed to represent virtual patients and students' interactions, using semantic web technologies. The use of semantic web technologies allows a computer readable connection between medical conditions, their symptoms and the corresponding examinations. Some of these connections can be pulled from existing linked data available on the web, which would facilitate the creation and maintenance of virtual patient data. A survey has been conducted to determine the most useful types of feedback for medical students. Relating this encoded knowledge to data describing the student's choices of examinations allows the automatic generation of such feedback in virtual patients.


Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is an uncommon, non-familial, non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis, which involves skeletal system and soft tissue usually in middle aged and elderly patients. The characteristic radiologic features include bilateral, symmetric cortical osteosclerosis of the diaphyseal and metaphyseal parts of the long bones, or bilateral symmetrically abnormal intense (99m)Technetium labelling of the metaphyseal-diaphyseal region of the long bones, and computed tomography scan findings of "coated aorta" or "hairy kidneys". ECD in childhood with osteolytic lesion is extremely rare. We describe an unusual case with an expansile lytic bone lesion at presentation in a case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.


This work presents a novel approach to describing spectral properties of graphene layers with well-defined edges. We microscopically analyze the boundary problem for the continuous Bogoliubov–de Gennes–Dirac equations and derive the Green functions for normal and superconducting graphene layers. Importing the idea used in tight-binding models of a microscopic hopping that couples different regions, we are able to set up and solve an algebraic Dyson equation describing a graphene–superconductor junction. For this coupled system we analytically derive the Green functions and use them to calculate the local density of states and the spatial variation of the induced pairing correlations in the normal region. Signatures of specular Andreev reflections are identified.


Pulsatile tinnitus may result from turbulent flow within the internal carotid artery (ICA). Atherosclerotic carotid stenosis is a rare but well-known cause of pulsatile tinnitus. The classical treatment was endarterectomy or ligation for proximal ICA disease or stenting for distal ICA lesions. Endovascular techniques offer new ways to treat atherosclerotic vascular stenosis lesions. We describe two cases of pulsatile tinnitus caused by stenosis within the petrous segment of the ICA and treated by stent-assisted angioplasty.


Ground-state capture cross sections in e+-H2 scattering are calculated in the energy region 10-1000 eV using the first Born approximation. The approximation employed by Sural and Mukherjee (1970) in predicting the first Born capture cross section is found to be unjustified. Present capture cross sections for incident positron energies E>or=30 eV are in good agreement with the measured data.


Labor pain is one of the most severe pains. Labor is a complex and individual process with varying maternal requesting analgesia. Labor analgesia must be safe and accompanied by minimal amount of unwanted consequences for both the mother and the child, as well as for the delivery procedure. Epidural analgesia is the treatment that best meets these demands. According to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology and American Society of Anesthesiologists, mother's demand is a reason enough for the introduction of epidural analgesia in labor, providing that no contraindications exist. The application of analgesics should not cease at the end of the second stage of labor, but it is recommended that lower concentration analgesics be then applied. Based on the latest studies, it can be claimed that epidural analgesia can be applied during the major part of the first and second stage of labor. According to previous investigations, there is no definitive conclusion about the incidence of instrumental delivery, duration of second stage of labor, time of epidural analgesia initiation, and long term outcomes for the newborn. Cooperation of obstetric and anesthesiology personnel, as well as appropriate technical equipment significantly decrease the need of instrumental completion of a delivery, as well as other complications encountered in the application of epidural analgesia. Our hospital offers 24/7 epidural analgesia service. The majority of pregnant women in our hospital were aware of the advantages of epidural analgesia for labor, however, only a small proportion of them used it, mainly because of inadequate level of information.


This paper deals with an improved bonding approach of surface-bonded fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors for airship envelope structural health monitoring (SHM) under the strain transfer theory. A theoretical formula is derived from the proposed model to predict the strain transfer relationship between the airship envelope and fiber core. Then theoretical predictions are validated by numerical analysis using the finite element method (FEM). Finally, on the basis of the theoretical approach and numerical validation, parameters that influence the strain transfer rate from the airship envelope to fiber core and the ratio of effective sensing length are analyzed, and some meaningful conclusions are provided.


This thesis will show that Walter Moers' novel Der Schrecksenmeister, published in 2007, challenges the convention of the academic canon discussion. Der Schrecksenmeister is a work of fantasy literature; this is not a prestigious genre in the German academic field, and as a result, fantasy literature is not considered part of the literary canon. Due to its high level of intertextuality, however, I believe that this novel makes a claim for its own canonization. One of my research questions is therefore – Which pretexts, or intertextual precursors, are inscribed into Moers' novel? This intertextuality connects Der Schrecksenmeister with already canonical authors and novels, and is the key that serves to open the literary canon.
 To begin with, the phenomenon of intertextuality must be defined. Due to the fact that this phenomenon is the subject of a major debate, intertextuality is a murky concept. After a short survey of the various definitions, I will then classify the phenomenon and narrow the definition down for the purpose of this thesis. I use two major works on intertextuality: an anthology by Ulrich Broich and Manfred Pfister entitled Intertextualitat. Formen, Funktionen, anglistischen Fallstudien, and Peter Stocker's work on intertextuality, Theorie der intertextuellen Lekture. In my opinion, these works define intertextuality very clearly, work against the inaccuracy of the concept in general and provide a consistent definition. Furthermore, in order to make the concept of intertextuality useful for the analysis of this novel, the form and function of the phenomenon are formulated.
 Additionally, the term "canon" is defined. This concept is also the object of a contentious discussion. For this reason, the general definition of canon is the starting point and must be subsumed under the definitions of the main canon types which are important for this thesis – the "Muster- oder Spitzenkanon" (main or high canon) and "Subkanon" (subcanon). Following this, the connection between intertextuality and canon is discussed.
 In the analysis, three themes in the novel are chosen to show the form and functions of the intertextuality present in Moers' text. First, I discuss the motif of talking animals, then the motif of trees, and last but not least the theme of adaption or pastiche of Gottfried Keller's story Spiegel das Katzchen. The aim of my analysis is to show the variety of forms and functions of intertextuality, and therefore its importance in this novel. Moreover, the authors and works inscribed into Moers' story must be classified in order to make a statement about their membership in the academic canon. The result of this analysis is important for the discussion of the canon in the thesis.
 The last part of this thesis deals with the relationship between intertextuality and canon in this novel. The results of the analysis clearly show the basis of Der Schreckensmeister's close ties to already canonized works. All of the older works discussed inscribed into Moers' novel and discussed in the thesis are…


Introduction: Cornea is anterior transparent layer of eye and important for image formation. Keratitis (corneal inflammation) and resulting corneal ulcer is important clinical challenge in ophthalmology. Prompt treatment requires identification of organism involved. Insight regarding types of organisms involved, patient demography, antibiotic sensitivity greatly helps in better patient management.
Materials and Methods: Patients with clinical diagnosis of 'Corneal ulcer', attending Department of Ophthalmology GMERS Medical College, Gandhinagar were selected for this observational study. Total 79 patients were studied. Detailed history and ocular examination were undertaken for each patient. Corneal scrapings from corneal ulcer were taken for pathological and laboratory study to identify type of organism and its antibiotic sensitivity. Data was arranged in tables for analysis. Diverse types of organisms and their frequency of occurrence was calculated. Patients were selected as per predefined criteria. Study recruitment was done after informed consent. Institutional ethics committee clearance was obtained.
Discussion: Corneal ulcer is important and serious ophthalmic problem contributing to significant portion of total blindness burden in our country. Understanding types and varieties of organisms gives insight regarding local community conditions. Antibiotic sensitivity study gives accurate guideline regarding precise use of antibiotic thereby shortening treatment period and minimizing antibiotic resistance. Comparison about various similar studies were carried out to elucidate findings.
Results: Patient demographics tables and graphs were prepared and analysis presented.

Keywords: Antibiotic, Community demography, Corneal ulcer, Organisms, Sensitivity.


Abstract : Much of our understanding of the Arctic Ocean and its interactions with climate is well founded conceptually and has been reproduced in numerical models. The observational basis remains, however, inadequate to identify critical processes and geographical regions, to quantify the parameters used in models, or to verify many aspects of the model results. The primary goal of this program has been to improve our understanding of the roles of small-scale and mesoscale processes within the Arctic Ocean system through participation in field activities and analyses of the resulting data. A secondary goal has been to provide modelers with information suitable for improved parameterization and validation. Specific objectives contributing to this goal have included: (1) Describe upper layer physical oceanographic conditions in the Arctic Ocean with the geographical emphasis on the Eurasian Basin and topical emphases on small-scale and mesoscale features. (2) Assess the influence, through estimation of the spatial distributions of mean and internal wave shear and their influence on mixing, on the Arctic Warm Water layer of vertical mixing associated with the peripheral slope boundary currents. (3) Assess, through description and physical reasoning, possible influences of mesoscale features such as fronts and eddies on the horizontal transfer of heat and dissolved material from the peripheral slope currents to the interior basins. (4) Improve, through integration of the above and through collaboration with researchers who are carrying out concurrent tracer analyses of the Arctic Ocean, processes and rates by which the central Arctic Ocean basins are ventilated.


The mobile-Health (mHEALTH) is the application of digital technology in health care services to bring the health care services into a digital format and to introduce the culture of digitalization in health-related matters. There are many varieties of health apps available to purchase from apps stores which are really helpful for patients. Around 325,000 mHEALTH applications are available now. Development of tiny sensor networks that can be implanted inside or outside the human body gave a novel development in the field of mHEALTH. The sensor devices can access the vital parameters from the human body and can be sent to any near-by personal devices through any of the network protocols like Bluetooth, Zigbee etc. The sensor devices change the mHEALTH application more dynamic and ensure the consistency of data by the real time monitoring. The paper proposed a new architecture for mHEALTH with multiple sensors to monitor the vital signals of patients in a palliative clinic and proved that the architecture is more efficient and consistent than existing mobile health applications.


An algorithm for time delay estimation in an asynchronous direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system which exploits the structure of the system better than previously known algorithms, is presented. The different algorithms are compared through simulation and asymptotic analysis (large number of vector samples). For a typical scenario it is shown that the proposed algorithm decreases the standard deviation of the time delay errors with a factor of approximately 2.


Gilbert damping in precessional spin dynamics has been investigated in defect-controlled epitaxial grown Fe$_3$O$_4$$(111)/$YSZ films by all-optical pump-probe measurements. It is demonstrated that the perpendicular standing spin wave (PSSW mode) is exclusively observed in the annealed film without atomic defects. The numerical simulation results confirm the presence of a standing wave in addition to the coherent magnetic precession (Kittel mode). The intrinsic damping constant $\alpha_0=0.063\pm0.010$ of the annealed Fe$_3$O$_4$ film was found to be strikingly larger than that of the as-grown film of $\alpha_0=0.039\pm0.004$. Our work has demonstrated that the PSSW mode leads to the enhancement of the Gilbert damping associated with the emergence of an additional energy transfer channel from the excited magnon to the uniform spin precession in the defect free Fe$_3$O$_4$.


Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that the Wuda granule (WDG) could promote the recovery of gastrointestinal (GI) function after gynecologic abdominal surgery. This trial aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of WDG in the rapid recovery of GI function in patients after laparoscopic intestinal resection in the setting of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)-based perioperative care. Methods We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Thirty patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either the WDG group or the placebo group in a 1:1 ratio. The patients received WDG or placebo twice a day in addition to ERAS-based perioperative care, starting on post-operative Day 1 until Day 3. The primary outcomes were time to first bowel movement and time to first tolerance of solid food. The secondary outcomes were time to first flatus, length of hospital stay (LOS), and post-operative ileus-related morbidity. Adverse events were also recorded. Results There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The median time to first bowel movement was significantly decreased in the WDG group compared with the control group (27.6 vs 50.1 h; P < 0.001), but the median times to first flatus (22.9 vs 25.1 h; P > 0.05) and LOS (5.0 vs 5.0 days; P > 0.05) were not statistically different. The occurrence rates of post-operative nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and abdominal pain were similar in the two groups. No adverse events occurred in any patients. Conclusions The addition of WDG to ERAS post-operative care after laparoscopic intestinal resection can safely promote the rapid recovery of GI function.


The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the attitudes of Yemeni EFL students towards using Eliademy as a learning tool. The second goal was to explore any similarities and differences between graduate and undergraduate students and between males and females in terms of their attitudes towards using Eliademy as a learning tool. This study employed a quantitative approach. One hundred and twenty students of the fourth level of the B.Ed. program and forty students enrolled in the M.Ed. program at the Department of English in the College of Education at Sana'a University in Yemen participated in this study during the academic year 2017 /2018. Data were collected using a questionnaire whose analysis revealed a positive attitude towards using Eliademy as a learning tool. The findings of this study indicated that the highest mean average among the five components of the attitude scale was the Behavioral Engagement (BE) (M= 4.09), followed by Developing Language Skills (M= 4.04) and the Linguistics Confidence (M= 3.92). Finally came the Attitude to Learning Linguistics with Technology (M= 3.76) and the Technology Confidence (M= 3.56). This study concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean of the undergraduate and graduate students towards using Eliademy as a learning tool in favor of the graduate students. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between male and female students in terms of their attitudes towards using Eliademy. This study ends with some pedagogical implications and directions for future research studies.


: The use of gelatinol as a basic diluent for perfusion caused hypermagniemia (an increase in total magnesium plasma level-MgT-to 1.72 and in its ionized fraction -Mg2+- to 0.93 mmol/l) which persisted in the early postoperative period. Normal or elevated MgT plasma level does not exclude possible lowering in Mg2+ level.