The Author on the basis of his personal experience, underlines the importance of the histological examination on cervical target biopsy performed on cytological and colposcopical indications. With this integrated iter it is possible to reduce false negative and positive findings and consequently to obtain a non correct diagnosis and to plane a more precise therapy.


Objectives In recent years, with the rapid development of competitive sports, people pay more attention on the athletes' nutrition, especially those with adjust physiology function, targeted to improve the body under hypoxic conditions the sports ability of the substance. However, the exercise supplements with improving the body anti-fatigue capability and safe and effective exercise supplements is still rare. Pine pollen which is a medicinal plant plays a very important role in our country, since the ancient times, people have been put it for food and drug on the market for it can adjust the function of human physiology body physiology. This experiment chooses pine pollen to observe the mice hypoxia and and resist fatigue related metabolic indices of changes after the short-term continuous treatment, in order to provide the theory basis of taking pine pollen for coaches and athletes. Methods In the experiment, 40 healthy kunming mice are divided into two groups, which are hypoxia group and anti-fatigue e experimental group, each group 20 mice. Every large groups is divided into the treatment group and control group, each group take 10 mice. Give medicine mice pine pollen 4 g/kg/day for three consecutive weeks by irrigating stomach; The control group give normal saline into stomach. We put weight on mice tails of both the control of fatigue group and dosage group, then let them swim to exhaustion for once time. At last we observe the influence of the ability of resisting lack of oxygen in mice, exhaustion of sexual swimming and related blood biochemical index stamina when given drug. Results In the hypoxia experiment, compared with control group, the mice's survival time was significantly extended (p<0.01), average extend rate was 36.58%, the longest time to live is improved by 10.11 min. In the anti-fatigue experiment, compared with the control group, the mice of treatment group's exhaustion swimming time was significantly extended (p<0.01). The treatment group is 30.42% longer than the control group, exhaustion swimming maximum time improve 6.95 min than the control group. Mice in the long time exhaustion after swimming, haemoglobin content, blood sugar levels and lactate dehydrogenase activity than control group (p<0.05), And the two groups of mice's weight gain no significant difference (p>0.05). Conclusions In the hypoxia experiment, compared with control group, the mice's survival time was significantly extended (p<0.01), average extend rate was 36.58% indicates that the extended pine pollen has hypoxia role, indicates the pine pollen delay fatigue condition by the increasing hypoxia tolerance. n resist fatigue experiment, give medicine mice compared with the control group, there are significant differences in the time of swimming and exhaustion of HB, blood sugar, CK which indicates the pine pollen has certain anti-fatigue effect, it also indicates the pine pollen may have the function of nutritional therapy anaemia. This study found that pine pollen can significantly improve the content of the haemoglobin in mice (p<0.05), this may be because pine pollen is rich in protein and iron, and ensure that the red and haemoglobin can be increased, which can improve the body's aerobic oxidation ability and the ability to clear lactic acid and myocardial and Ge muscle produce protection. Also this study found that pine pollen in mice can significantly improve the blood sugar concentration (p<0.05), this may because pine pollen is rich in simple sugars and polysaccharide. The experimental results show that the pine pollen can significantly enhance mice immediately after exercise the activity of LDH (p<0.05), this may be its important mechanism of fatigue. In hypoxia and resist fatigue experiments, give medicine group and control group mice's weight all have growth, but the growth is within the normal scope gr. Treatment group compared with the control group, the weight growth has not seen the obvious difference (p>0.05), which shows that pine pollen has no effect to weight. Also it indicates the pine pollen may reduce weight.


This communication deals with a case of idiopathic retinal detachment of short duration which became available for pathologic study. The number of cases in which eyes have been enucleated within three months after the onset of an idiopathic detachment is small, and because of the greater efficiency of the modern therapeutic methods the number is not likely to increase in the near future. The rarity of such pathologic reports may justify this paper. REPORT OF A CASE History. —A man, aged 54, of Anglo-Saxon ancestry, had spent most of life in the Far East doing office work. He had had a moderate degree of myopia all his life and had worn lenses varying from —1.75 to —2.50 for each eye. About the middle of February 1934 he noticed small black spots in front of the right eye. On March 2 he became aware of a defect in the


Including a large number of predictors in the imputation model underlying a multiple imputation (MI) procedure is one of the most challenging tasks imputers face. A variety of high-dimensional MI techniques can help, but there has been limited research on their relative performance. In this study, we investigated a wide range of extant high-dimensional MI techniques that can handle a large number of predictors in the imputation models and general missing data patterns. We assessed the relative performance of seven high-dimensional MI methods with a Monte Carlo simulation study and a resampling study based on real survey data. The performance of the methods was defined by the degree to which they facilitate unbiased and confidence-valid estimates of the parameters of complete data analysis models. We found that using lasso penalty or forward selection to select the predictors used in the MI model and using principal component analysis to reduce the dimensionality of auxiliary data produce the best results.


A practical, sensitive and specific method for the assay of antibodies to insulin in human plasma has been developed. This method involves competition for insulin antibody between a constant, trace amount of I-125-insulin and increasing concentrations of unlabeled insulin standard. The insulin standard is prepared from the soluble form of therapeutic insulin that the patient has been receiving. The quantity of antibody is calculated arbitrarily from the amount of unlabeled insulin required to displace 25 per cent of bound I-125-insulin from the antibody. The result is expressed as microunits of insulin antibody per milliliter of plasma. Since this is not the absolute amount of antibody present but does indicate a relative, quantitative immunologic response of each patient to the antigen, insulin, the result is referred to as an antibody index. The method has a precision of 20 per cent and sensitivity of 1 μU./ml. The coefficient of variation is significantly less at higher antibody indices: 8 per cent in the 1,001 to 80,000 range and 22 per cent in the 0.08 to 40 μU./ml. range. Therapeutic subcutaneous doses of Lente or Sulphated insulin do not interfere with the antibody assay, whereas the interference from Regular insulin continues for several hours. The antibody index declines after withdrawal of insulin therapy and has a half-life of approximately eighteen days. There is no diurnal variation in antibody index. Three newborn infants of insulin-treated diabetic mothers were found to have insulin antibodies.


UNLABELLED
The purpose of this study was to validate experimentally a simple method to quantify tissue glucose utilization with the brain reference index (BRI) using 14C-deoxyglucose and assess its clinical feasibility for myocardial PET.

METHODS
To validate the BRI method, glucose utilization in myocardial and skeletal muscle was studied in rats with 14C-deoxyglucose after increasing doses of oral glucose loading. To assess clinical feasibility of the method, the BRI was applied to nine patients undergoing myocardial PET and compared to rMGU measured by the deoxyglucose model of Sokoloff et al. and by Patlak graphical analysis. The normal range of myocardial FDG uptake expressed as the BRI was estimated with four normal volunteers.

RESULTS
In skeletal muscle, a dose-dependent increase of glucose utilization was observed during oral glucose loading with doses up to 4 mg/g. In the myocardium, glucose utilization increased with a glucose loading dose of up to 1 mg/g without increasing further at greater glucose doses. Ratios of maximal glucose utilization in glucose-loaded rats to 19-hr fasted rats (controls), expressed as the BRI for left and right ventricular myocardium and skeletal muscle were 4.16, 3.74 and 7.39, respectively. Glucose utilization of right ventricular myocardium was approximately 70% of left ventricular myocardium for all glucose-loaded conditions. For patients, the BRI correlated with rMGU; four of these patients had a constant plasma glucose concentration.

CONCLUSION
Myocardial BRI is a sensitive indicator of rMGU that does not require dynamic data acquisition or constant plasma glucose concentrations.


The Munake grape cultivar produces uniquely flavored and high-quality fruits. Despite the numerous beneficial agronomic traits of Munake, there are few genetic resources available for this cultivar. To address this knowledge gap, the entire genome was sequenced using whole-genome sequencing approaches and compared with a Vitis vinifera L. reference genome. This study describes more than 3 million single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 300,000 insertion and deletion (InDel), 14,000 structural variation (SV), and 80,000 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers (one SSR per 4.23 kb), as well as their primers. Among the SSRs, 44 SSR primer pairs were randomly selected and validated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), allowing discrimination between the different Munake cultivar genotypes. The genetic data provided allow a deeper understanding of Munake cultivar genomic sequence and contribute to better knowledge of the genetic basis behind its key agronomic traits.


The study aims to determine Personal Growth and Trait Anxiety among Higher Secondary Students were chosen for the study. A random sampling technique was adapted for the selection of sample the schools selected for this study is divided into different status namely government and private schools. Then random convenient sampling technique was adopted to select the sample 300 students were taken for the study 150 students were drawn from government schools ,150 students were taken from private schools. The students studying in XI standard were chosen as the sample. Personal data sheet developed by the investigator. Personal Growth Initiative Scale by Christine Robitschek (2011), Trait anxiety by Charles D. Speilberger, (1983). Were used to collect data. Results were statistically analyzed through Descriptive Analysis, Differential Analysis, Relational Analysis, and Chi-square Analysis in this study for the personal growth and trait anxiety. Personal growth and Trait Anxiety are negatively correlated to each other and gender as an impact on Personal Growth and Trait Anxiety among Higher Secondary Students.


Background Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) affects the genitourinary system. Although treatment of KIRC in early stages can be highly successful, this type of cancer is difficult to detect until later stages of disease that are less easily treatable. Previous studies have focused on tumor cells, but have ignored the contributions of the tumor microenvironment. Methods We analyzed KIRC gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas with the ESTIMATE algorithm to identify differentially expressed genes. Through protein–protein interaction network analysis, we identified clusters and picked genes from the clusters for further analysis. Differential expression, Kaplan–Meier, and univariate Cox analyses were used to select prognostic biomarkers. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) analysis were used to explore the immune characteristics of these genes as biomarkers. Results Through the ESTIMATE algorithm and other system biology tools, TNFSF13B was identified as a prognostic biomarker. TNFSF13B is highly expressed in tumors, and high expression of TNFSF13B leads to poor prognosis. Further GSEA and TIMER analysis revealed that the expression of TNFSF13B was related to the immune signaling pathway and lymphocyte infiltration. Our findings strongly suggest that TNFSF13B may be a potential biomarker or target related to the tumor microenvironment for KIRC.


Upon rehydration of desiccated Tortula ruralis, RNA synthesis is immediately resumed; this resumption is quicker in moss recovering from slow drying than from rapid drying. Newly synthesized RNA enters the protein synthetic complex almost immediately upon rehydration, reaching control steady state levels within 2 hours after slow drying and 6 hours after rapid drying. RNA synthesized in the 1st hour following the readdition of water enters into polysomes much earlier after slow drying than after rapid drying. The RNA components of the protein synthetic complex are stable to desiccation at either slow or rapid speeds, although more so following the former drying regime. Immediately upon rehydration, these conserved RNA are readily utilized for protein synthesis, and continue to be so at least 4 hours thereafter. Hence, the speed of desiccation affects the rate at which RNA is synthesized upon subsequent rehydration, as well as the mode of utilization of that RNA.


Social capital is a determinant for unequal regional development and is needed in human, social, economic, and political fields. The capital, such as trust, social networks, and community norms or values has advanced to include factors that have direct and important impacts on regional development. Therefore, this study analyzes social capital as a basis for development in Sangatta city, East Kutai Regency, and also identifies the supporting and inhibiting factors. A qualitative descriptive method was used to collect information about real and current situations, which were then analyzed according to Moleong's technique that focused on field processes. The results showed that public trust in regional development displayed strong support in terms of facilities, education, and health. Also, the norms or values in society were formed from diverse ethnic groups, religions, and regional origins. Therefore, the complexity of forming social networks based on kinship and common political views has an impact on efforts to support or hinder regional development. The supporting factor for regional development in North Sangatta is that the area is a center for offices, government, and the economy. It is also the main location in East Kutai to attain work or business opportunities. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factors were limited budgets, population, and the suboptimal implementation of regional regulations. Consequently, these factors are the realities experienced in making social capital a basis for regional development in Sangatta city.


To solve the problem of conventional fossil energy, utilization of renewable energy is growing rapidly. Solar energy as an energy source is infinite, and a variety of research is being conducted into its utilization. To change solar energy into electrical energy, we need to build a solar power plant. The efficiency of such a plant is strongly influenced by meteorological factors; that is, its efficiency is determined by solar radiation. However, when analyzing observed generation data, it is clear that the generated amount is changed by various factors such as weather, location and plant efficiency. In this paper, we proposed a solar power generation prediction algorithm using geographical factors such as latitude and elevation. Hence, changes in generated amount caused by the installation environment are calculated by curve fitting. Through applying the method to calculate this generation amount, the difference between real generated amount is analyzed.


Weakly supervised Video Anomaly Detection (VAD) using Multi-Instance Learning (MIL) is usually based on the fact that the anomaly score of an abnormal snippet is higher than that of a normal snippet. In the beginning of training, due to the limited accuracy of the model, it is easy to select the wrong abnormal snippet. In order to reduce the probability of selection errors, we first propose a Multi-Sequence Learning (MSL) method and a hinge-based MSL ranking loss that uses a sequence composed of multiple snippets as an optimization unit. We then design a Transformer-based MSL network to learn both video-level anomaly probability and snippet-level anomaly scores. In the inference stage, we propose to use the video-level anomaly probability to suppress the fluctuation of snippet-level anomaly scores. Finally, since VAD needs to predict the snippet-level anomaly scores, by gradually reducing the length of selected sequence, we propose a self-training strategy to gradually refine the anomaly scores. Experimental results show that our method achieves significant improvements on ShanghaiTech, UCF-Crime, and XD-Violence.


Abstract In this work, nickel oxide was fabricated on glass substrate at 450 °C by spray pyrolysis technique. The NiO layers were obtained with 0.05M molarity, which were deposited by various deposition rates 20, 40, 60 and 80 ml. The effects of deposition rate on the structural, electrical and optical properties were examined. All fabricated NiO thin films were observed a nanocrystalline a cubic structure with a strong (111) preferred orientation, it is only phase was observed in all deposited NiO. The film elaborated with 60 ml have a minimum value of crystallite size was 15.8 nm. All NiO thin films have an average transmittance is about 70 % in the visible region. The NiO thin films have a verity in the band gap energy from 3.34 to 3.51 eV because the effect of deposition, the minimum value was found at 80 ml, this condition have a lowest Urbach energy. The NiO thin films have an electrical resistivity was decreased from 0.625 to 0.152 (Ω.cm) with increasing the deposition rate from 20 to 80ml. The best results of NiO thin films are obtained in the deposition NiO films by 40 and 80 ml.


When studying the relationship between population dynamics and socioeconomic development, 4 important considerations must guide the inquiry. Changes in growth of population or distribution of population, the determinants of such change, the consequences and implications of such change and the political implications of such change must always be recognized and analyzed. This study, then, aims at a more complete evaluation and analysis of the interrelationships between nutrition and development by bringing into focus the many networks which exist between demographic factors, food supply, the agricultural reality on a national level and political factors. Demographic, nutritional and agricultural data are presented in support of the study's most forceful assertion which states that if population and agricultural production growth rates are increasing proportionately, but yet half of the national population is still starving, the problem is not strictly demographic in nature. The author proposes that more stress be given to the distribution of nutrition and the quality of nutrition in future population and nutritional planning, since these are indeed the keys to economic and social development.


Blood formation, or haematopoiesis, originates from haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), whose functions and maintenance are regulated in both cell- and cell non-autonomous ways. The surroundings of HSCs in the bone marrow create a specific niche or microenvironment where HSCs nest that allows them to retain their unique characteristics and respond rapidly to external stimuli. Ageing is accompanied by reduced regenerative capacity of the organism affecting all systems, due to the progressive decline of stem cell functions. This includes blood and HSCs, which contributes to age-related haematological disorders, anaemia, and immunosenescence, among others. Furthermore, chronological ageing is characterised by myeloid and platelet HSC skewing, inflammageing, and expanded clonal haematopoiesis, which may be the result of the accumulation of preleukaemic lesions in HSCs. Intriguingly, haematological malignancies such as acute myeloid leukaemia have a high incidence among elderly patients, yet not all individuals with clonal haematopoiesis develop leukaemias. Here, we discuss recent work on these aspects, their potential underlying molecular mechanisms, and the first cues linking age-related changes in the HSC niche to poor HSC maintenance. Future work is needed for a better understanding of haematopoiesis during ageing. This field may open new avenues for HSC rejuvenation and therapeutic strategies in the elderly.


Recent research has documented associations between subjective health ratings and objective indicators of disease and death. Less is known about relations between subjective health ratings and level of cognitive performance in older adults. In this study, we explored whether subjective health ratings are related to episodic memory performance, both concurrently and across a three-year longitudinal interval. Persons aged 75–84 years, and participating in the Swedish Kungsholmen Project (n = 105) or the Canadian Victoria Longitudinal Study (n = 71), were examined. Results showed that in both samples, while the cross-sectional relationship was non-significant, longitudinal change in perceptions of subjective health were related to change in episodic memory performance. Next, the two samples were combined in additional analyses. Here, results further revealed that the associations between longitudinal change in subjective health and memory performance generalized across samples independently of demographic, changing physical health status, and subjective memory decline differences. Thus, the present findings suggest that subjective health may be added to the growing number of individual-difference variables that are predictive of episodic memory change in very old age.


Background Excessive production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a central mechanism for the development of diabetes complications. Recently, hypoxia has been identified to play an additional pathogenic role in diabetes. In this study, we hypothesized that ROS overproduction was secondary to the impaired responses to hypoxia due to the inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) by hyperglycemia. Methods The dynamic of ROS levels was analysed in the blood of healthy subjects and individuals with type 1 diabetes after exposure to hypoxia (ClinicalTrials.gov registration no. NCT02629406). The relation between HIF-1, glucose levels, ROS production and its functional consequences were analyzed in renal mIMCD-3 cells and in kidneys of mouse models of diabetes. Results Exposure to hypoxia increased circulating ROS in subjects with diabetes, but not in subjects without diabetes. High glucose concentrations repressed HIF-1 both in hypoxic cells and in kidneys of animals with diabetes, through a HIF prolyl-hydroxylase (PHD) - dependent mechanism. The impaired HIF-1 signaling contributed to excess production of mitochondrial ROS through increased mitochondrial respiration that was mediated by Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) and was followed by functional consequences. The restoration of HIF-1 function attenuated ROS overproduction despite persistent hyperglycemia, and conferred protection against apoptosis and renal injury in diabetes. Conclusions We conclude that the repression of HIF-1 plays a central role in mitochondrial ROS overproduction in diabetes and is a potential therapeutic target for diabetic complications. These findings are highly significant and timely since the first PHD inhibitor that can activate HIF-1 has been newly approved for clinical use.


abstract:The goal of this paper is to begin a conversation between the speculative vision of the Lotus Sutra and the life of devotion it inspires, on the one hand, and the theological and spiritual tradition of the Philokalia, on the other. The purpose of this dialogue is to highlight the points of contact between the notion of Buddhahood and devotional practice intimated in the Lotus Sutra and the soteriological thrust of certain currents of early Christian thought, such as the Origenist spiritual tradition of the fourth century. The first part of the paper outlines the cosmological and anthropological views of the school of Evagrios Pontikos (345–390), underscoring the centrality of the dialectic between unity and multiplicity, as well as the propaedeutic value of the mission of Christ against a stark contrast between undifferentiated noetic oneness and the plurality of material difference; this approach is then contrasted with the Chalcedonian understanding of the hypostatic union, where the uniqueness of the incarnation is the pivot of a redemptive pedagogy that ratifies and confirms the material order in all its specificity and contingency. The second part of the paper offers an overview of certain themes of the Lotus Sutra, such as the soteriological value of the Buddha nature, its different manifestations within the world of conventional reality, and its implications for devotional practice, as well as the "sacramental" understanding of the natural order. The paper argues that the vision of the Lotus Sutra appears to be in greater agreement with the soteriology and Christology developed by Evagrios than with the later developments, which followed the council of Chalcedon and emphasized the uniqueness and radical "otherness" of the incarnation of Christ.


Reduction of the phonon thermal conductivity of thin films as their thickness is scaled down raises a lot of difficulties for the thermal management of nanodevices used in microelectronics or optics. In this work we aim to experimentally prove that the thermal conductivity of silicon dioxide thin films can be enhanced by taking advantage of surface effects, through the propagation of surface phonon-polaritons. The strengthening of these effects for increasingly thinner films enables to offset the decrease of their thermal properties. Periodically laser-heating method is used to measure the in-plane thermal diffusivity of suspended silicon dioxide thin films with strong surface resonances. The thermal conductivity is then determined through a simple relation. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) and dry oxidation techniques are used to produce thin films with thicknesses from 2 pmi to 50 nm. Purity and surface quality are controlled using a scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Based on our theoretical results we expect a total in-plane thermal conductivity of about 2 W/(m.K) for a 50 nm-thick glass thin film at room temperature.


SOA and EAI projects have 80% failure rates. Most IT divisions make it about technology and a testbed for experiments. While SOA & EAI is about delivering strategic business value with agility, to changing business needs.The book covers the basics of SOA & EAI followed by an analysis of the SOA manifesto. We push an arguement against Governance and COE's. The book then builds a feasible model of execution and outlines practices which when in the past practised by Aditya Yadav and Associates virtually have had a 100% success rate.The book outlines the Rincci SOA/EAI (Contrarian) method. Which delivers exactly what the business needs and avoids ivory tower architectures. It is designed with constant change in mind and enables the soa ecosystem to evolve in distributed co-ordinated fashion. It enables individual systems to deliver tactical goals along with the strategic business goals for the multi-system ecosystem.


The aim of this paper is to analyze the quality of the mechanical harvest of rice seeds, carried out by the New Holland L521 rice harvester machines, at the Rice FarmLos Palacios¨. Their technological parameters were evaluated depending on the quality of the harvested product, taking into account some aspects such as: the entire, peeled and/or broken grain, the impurity content and total losses. This resulted in values of 5,2- 6,4% for peeled and/or broken grain in the five agricultural yields. On the other hand, the impurity content was among 8,3- 9,6%, so that both parameters exceed the established limits. This is mainly caused by: the bad regulation of thresh, the work speed and the poor training of operators. These results allow decreasing losses. During the harvest losses decreased from 206kg/ha to 85kg/ha which represents an economic effect of $ 316 202.04 pesos. This also permits to stop investing about 184 793.4 USD on rice for our population feeding.


Introducing small amounts of fumed silica into mixtures of organic liquids, which contain ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate (EGDMA), a hydrocarbon (such as decane), and one of the following monomers: allylchloride (AC), 3,4-dichloro-1-butene (DCB), or methyl methacrylate (MMA), enabled their dispersion into an aqueous solution of surfactant with the generation of stable emulsions. Such emulsions cannot be generated in the absence of fumed silica. Functionalized polymer latexes of poly(AC–EGDMA), poly(DCB-EGDMA), and poly(MMA–EGDMA) could, thus, be prepared through the polymerization of the emulsions. The chloride units in the poly(AC–EGDMA) or in the poly(DCB–EGDMA) were subsequently converted to quaternary ammonium salts. The resulted polymer-supported quaternary ammonium salt together with RuCl3, 4-N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMO) and ammonium persulfate were employed in the catalytic oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid. Furthermore, the presence of fumed silica in the emulsions enabled the preparation of latexes containing rather uniformly distributed inorganic particle clusters of submicrometer size. Polymer–inorganic blends of NaY zeolite–(SiOx)n/P (MMA–EGDMA), zeolite (4A)–(SiOx)n/P (MMA–EGDMA), TiO2–(SiOx)n/P (MMA–EGDMA), CuO–(SiOx)n/P (MMA–EGDMA), and Cu-(SiOx)n/P (MMA–EGDMA) were thus obtained. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is defined as the electrical stimulation of muscles that have impaired motor control, in order to produce a contraction to obtain functionally useful movement. It was first proposed in the 1980s as a treatment option in children with cerebral palsy (CP). FES is used to achieve a direct orthotic effect during gait, for example, by triggering the dorsiflexors to lift the foot in swing or to trigger the quadriceps to extend knee in stance. Probably the most common application, at least in the adult stroke population, is FES applied to the dorsiflexors during the swing phase to prevent drop foot which could lead to tripping and falls. A 2009 UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance states that current evidence on safety and efficacy of FES for improving drop foot of central neurological origin is adequate to support the use of this procedure. However, the studies reviewed for this guidance were mainly on the adult stroke population. Currently, ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are most commonly prescribed for children with CP with insufficient dorsiflexion in the swing phase (drop foot), although as also discussed in the literature, children often dislike wearing them. In addition, AFO use is also often associated with weakness and atrophy of the lower limb muscles and this may lead to a poorly developed foot structure. A recent review with regard to electrical stimulation for children with CP only found five small-scale studies with 12 participants or less. Only two studies used gait analysis to quantify the change in gait kinematics due to the application of FES. As a result, recent reviews called for appropriately powered studies with more rigorous research designs into the effects of FES in children with CP. The research by Posser et al. is therefore an important addition to the evidence for FES of the tibialis anterior muscle in children and adolescents with CP. Nineteen participants enrolled in this study, and a statistically significant improvement of dorsiflexion during swing was found with FES. In addition, the authors report clinically relevant information such as the average time the device was used and how many participants continued to use the device after 3 months (18 ⁄ 19). Clinical acceptability is an important issue. Previous studies with a different device discussed the presence of wires as being a problem especially for younger children. The device used in the study by Posser et al. is wireless and this may have contributed to the high acceptability compared with earlier studies. Other important strategies to increase acceptability of the device include support such as follow-on phone calls and a period of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (used passively) prior to FES to improve the responsiveness of the muscle and to get the child used to the sensation. Long-term follow-up data are also required to decide whether a treatment effect (therapeutic effect or orthotic carry-over) exists, i.e. does longterm use of FES improve the ankle kinematics without FES? Posser et al. did not find this, but the follow-up of 3 months may have not been sufficient. Future studies should look at this over a possibly longer period, and the future electromyography results referred to in the current study would be very informative in this respect as it may shed light into the possibility of improved motor control as a result of FES. Other topics of investigation for future studies in this important area are the stimulation of the gastrocnemius and the use of FES after botulinum toxin. The study by Posser et al. provides an important contribution to the existing literature on FES for children and adolescents, providing not only a scientifically sound design but also commenting on compliance – which is essential information for the clinician. However, further work, including randomized controlled trials, as well health economic evaluations may be necessary to inform decision-making by national health care or medical insurance bodies.


This study aims to evaluate the impact of new media on scientific literacy. Content analysis with a coding scheme was performed on 42 filtered websites and 20 microblogs to analyze the role of new media in disseminating scientific knowledge. The results showed that the quality of science-oriented websites was higher than that of microblogs. Although both types of new media include valid and accurate information, concerns have been expressed regarding the lack of in-depth analysis of scientific knowledge. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to 1,870 sampled college students to determine their scientific literacy levels. According to the results, the use of science-oriented microblogs does not produce a statistical difference, whereas students who use science-oriented websites have higher scientific literacy level than the non-users. Furthermore, students' identification ability for scientific information from new media is significantly correlated with their scientific literacy. Students' education, major, and identification ability contributed to their scientific literacy. Suggestions about how to improve the quality of science-oriented new media and how to develop students' scientific literacy through new media have been discussed.


In this paper, we propose a robust output feedback link position tracking controller for the full-order model used to describe rigid-link flexible-joint (RLFJ) robot manipulators. The method uses a bank of dynamic filters, with the link position tracking error as the input, to generate surrogates for the immeasurable system states. One of these generated filter states is then used in the feedback control strategy. The method is distinguished from previous results by the limited amount of modeling information required, the utilization of only link position measurements, and the overall simplicity of the controller. Even though the approach only requires link position measurements, the controller exhibits good robustness properties while ensuring semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded link position tracking.


We reanalyzed a study that investigated binaural and temporal integration of speech reflections with different amplitudes, delays, and interaural phase differences. We used a blind binaural speech intelligibility model (bBSIM), applying an equalization-cancellation process for modeling binaural release from masking. bBSIM is blind, as it requires only the mixed binaural speech and noise signals and no auxiliary information about the listening conditions. bBSIM was combined with two non-blind back-ends: The speech intelligibility index (SII) and the speech transmission index (STI) resulting in hybrid-models. Furthermore, bBSIM was combined with the non-intrusive short-time objective intelligibility (NI-STOI) resulting in a fully blind model. The fully non-blind reference model used in the previous study achieved the best prediction accuracy (R2 = 0.91 and RMSE = 1 dB). The fully blind model yielded a coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.87) similar to that of the reference model but also the highest root mean square error of the models tested in this study (RMSE = 4.4 dB). By adjusting the binaural processing errors of bBSIM as done in the reference model, the RMSE could be decreased to 1.9 dB. Furthermore, in this study, the dynamic range of the SII had to be adjusted to predict the low SRTs of the speech material used.


(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)IntroductionJuvenile delinquency is becoming a global problem in the world today (Schwartz and Johnson,2012). Delinquency a legal term for criminal behavior carried out by a juvenile is often the result of escalating problematic behavior. It has been defined differently by three perspectives on delinquency. According to first perspective or from a parental view it is a disruptive and delinquent behavior as disobedience fighting with siblings, destroying or damaging property, stealing money from family members, or threatening parents with violence. Second perspective or educational view cite it through school staff members often regard delinquent behavior as that which interrupts or disturbs classroom learning violates the school code of conduct and threatens the safety of faculty and students. Third perspective is mental health view about juvenile delinquency (Steinberg, 1996). Juvenile delinquency include not only those minor acts who actually broken the law but also those who are likely to do so. It includes whose attitude to other individuals, to the community to law full authority is such that it may lead him/her to breaking the law (Changizi, 2007). Juvenile delinquency is thus an anti-social personality disorder which is really harmful for society it is deviant behavior that emerges usually by the age of 15 and goes along through adolescence and adulthood (Muhammad, 2012).Poverty has a strong association with the crimes. Low income level people have high level of alienation as compare to high income people so they are more likely tend to commit crimes (O'Donnell et al. 2006; Smith and Bohm, 2008). The relationship between poverty and violence holds across different sorts of violent crimes including murder, assault and domestic violence (Kelly, 2000; Martinez, 1996; Parker, 1989; Pride more, 2011). Lower class youth more likely to commit crimes as compare to upper class because they lack immediate material wealth (i.e., income), social recognition, and social standing relative to middle and upper class; hence, they engage in delinquent behaviors like theft, violence, and vandalism to oppose inequalities (Piff et al. 2012; Reay 2005). High income families' children parents have good occupation and studying in quality educational institutions. This decrease their chances of indulgence in juvenile delinquency as compare to their opposite counterparts (Uche, 1994). Various studies reported that poverty is the main cause of crime and criminals often belong from poor family background. Further, the boys who run from homes and live on streets for survival have been involved in stealing goods or properties (Prior and Paris, 2005).Many other social factors compel a person to become juvenile delinquents. Socio-cultural change, political instability, financial uncertainty and governmental bad policies negatively affect young people mind (Postman, 1982). Also financial problems, economic inequality and instability are usually associated with unemployment among youth which further increase the probability of their involvement in delinquency (Mooney lindaet al., 1997).A Cambridge study found that among 16 to 18 years olds delinquency rate was three times higher while unemployed than employed. These unemployed delinquents offended only for material gains. Further it revealed that low status job employed youth have much greater rate of offences than high status job youth (Farrington et al., 1986).One of important cause of the emergence of violent behavior is invention of television. Aggressive programs on television and other channels not only lead to aggression but also create problems such as character building problems in juvenile (Huesmann and Miller in Savage, 2004). Media may have both positive and negative impacts on every individual but children in particular are not fully mature regarding the impacts therefore they are the most affected by such kind of material (Sana et al. …


Although the exact mechanism of the conversion of hemoglobin into biliverdin in vivo is still in doubt, the most plausible route is through the oxidation and opening of the tetrapyrrole ring, after which the globin and iron are removed. This reaction scheme is based on the extensive chemical studies of Lemberg and Legge (1) and on the more recent work of Kaziro el al. (2-4). In these studies, the oxidation of the tetrapyrrole ring was brought about under physiological conditions of pH and temperature by a coupled oxidation with ascorbic acid. Presumably, ascorbic acid reacts with the oxygen of oxyhemoglobin to produce a constant supply of hydrogen peroxide. This, in turn, oxidizes either the iron or the tetrapyrrole ring of hemoglobin. Two distinct intermediates are produced in this chemical breakdown of hemoglobin. Choleglobin, which is formed first, has a distinctive absorption band at 627 to 630 rnp after treatment with carbon monoxide and sodium hydrosulfite. As the reaction proceeds further, the appearance of an absorption band at 760 rnp is indicative of the presence of verdohemoglobin. Treatment with glacial acetic acid and ether will quantitatively convert verdohemoglobin into biliverdin. One of the problems of hemoglobin catabolism has been the explanation of the remarkable stability of hemoglobin in the intact cell to materials which would ordinarily destroy it, Ascorbic acid is a normal constituent of the red blood cell, and hydrogen peroxide presumably is generated constantly in small amounts within the cell. Even oxygen brings about a rather rapid autoxidation of hemoglobin in solutions of crystalline oxyhemoglobin (5). Foulkes and Lemberg (6) and Kaziro and coworkers (2) have previously shown the importance of catalase in protecting hemoglobin from oxidative breakdown produced by ascorbic acid. In addition, Foulkes and Lemberg (6) have shown that catalase will give some protec


Micro Stereo Lithography (MSL) is a poor man's LIGA for fabricating high aspect ratio MEMS devices in UV curable semiconducting polymers using either two computer-controlled low inertia galvanometric mirrors with the aid of focusing lens or an array of optical fibers. For 3D MEMS devices, the polymers need to have conductive and possibly piezoelectric or ferroelectric properties. Such polymers are being developed at Penn State resulting in microdevices for fluid and drug delivery. Applications may include implanted medical delivery system, artificial heart valves, chemical and biological instruments, fluid delivery in engines, pump coolants and refrigerants for local cooling of electronic components. With the invention of organic thin film transistor, now it is possible to fabricate 3D polymeric MEMS devices with built-in-electronics similar to silicon based microelectronics.


A meta-analytic review of 53 studies (N= 9,1 4 5) finds that in messages aimed at encouraging disease detection behaviors, loss-framed appeals (which emphasize the disadvantages of noncompliance with the communicator's recommendation) are only slightly, but statistically significantly, more persuasive than gain-framed appeals (which emphasize the advantages of compliance); the difference corresponds to a correlation of -.04. Loss-framed appeals enjoy a small statistically significant advantage for messages advocating breast cancer detection behaviors, but not for any other kind of detection behavior (detection of skin cancer, other cancers, dental problems, or miscellaneous other diseases) nor for all other kinds of detection behaviors combined. Thus, in advocacy of disease detection behaviors, using loss-framed rather than gain framed appeals is unlikely to substantially improve persuasiveness.


User interface is a mean to an end —its primary goal is to capture user intent and communicate the results of the requested computation. On today's devices, user interaction can be achieved through a multiplicity of interaction modalities including speech and visual interfaces. As we evolve toward an increasingly connected world where we access and interact with applications through multiple devices, it becomes crucial that the various access paths to the underlying content be synchronized. This synchronization ensures that the user interacts with the same underlying content independent of the interaction modality — despite the difference in presentation that each modality might impose. It also ensures that the effect of user interaction in any given modality is reflected consistently across all available modalities. We describe an application framework that enables tightly synchronized multimodal user interaction. This framework derives its power from representing the application model in a modality-independent manner, and by traversing this model to produce the various synchronized multimodal views. As the user interaction proceeds, we maintain our current position in the model and update the application data as determined by user intent, then reflect these updates in the various views being presented. We conclude the paper by outlining an example that demonstrates this tightly synchronized multimodal interaction, and describe some of the future challenges in building such multimodal frameworks.


Introduction The last national survey of gastroenterology trainees in 2008 revealed that although the majority of trainees felt that their training was satisfactory, there was significant variation across the country. Overall, lack of adequate training in nutrition was considered the most concerning area. Educational supervision and personal development plans were not being widely utilised. Methods An invitation to complete a web-based questionnaire was emailed to all trainees and data was collected in Febuary 2010. For comparison, results from the 2008 survey are given in square brackets where applicable. Results Training positions 10.1% of trainees were in specialist hepatology posts. 24.2% were in OOPE, with 19.6% having already done OOPE (85.5% for research). General gastroenterology Nutrition is still the area the majority of trainees do not think they will attain competence in, and it was worse than in 2008. 25% felt that they had not had and were unlikely to get a period of formal nutrition training as a registrar. 64% did not feel that they would be confident to run a nutrition team after attaining CCST. Specialisation 73% SpRs want to subspecialise but many were not certain if there were adequate training opportunities in their region to attain specialist competence. 74% (81%) would be prepared to commute and 47% (50%) to move permanently to another area to obtain better training in a sub-speciality. Endoscopy 54% (40%) now get formative DOPS filled in regularly. 21.4% (16.9%) are not very or very unsatisfied with their endoscopy training. Most comments were due to lack of training lists, particularly for colonoscopy and therapeutic techniques. Study leave 68% (59%) never or only occasionally are able to take half day study leave per week. Training/Education 65.8% (58.2%) of training programmes are now on a rolling schedule. 97.1% (95.4%) now have an educational supervisor. 24.8% (22.8%) of SpRs intend to sit the SCE. 29.5% (50.8%) do not have a PDP (Personal Development Plan) General 11.8% (18%) posts non-EWTD compliant. 72.3% (78.8%) believe training affected by EWTD with 100% (95.3%) saying it has been impaired (38.7% greatly impaired). Workforce planning Given the choice, 44.6% (48.9%) would choose to practice gen med. 75.3% (67.7%) would not consider a job in acute medicine with gastroenterology. 19.6% wish to work part time as a consultant. Conclusion More trainees have formal educational support and are using assessment tools regularly than 2 years ago. However, the issues that were of concern in the last survey remain problems, and trainees feel that in some cases, in particular the provision of nutrition training, things may actually have become worse.


This paper studies the Performances of Italian Fund of Hedge Funds (FoHFit), in comparison with those of Italian Funds of Mutual Funds (FoFit) and of a sample of European Funds of Hedge Funds (FoHFeu). The first objective is to build a methodology able to both deal with a limited number of data referred to a specific period of time and to obtain a judgment about the value added to investors by the FoHFit Industry. The judgment will be supported by the comparison of the results of actual competitors (the Italian Funds of Funds) and of virtual competitors (the European Funds of Hedge Funds) in the same financial environment. The comparison between the young Italian Hedge Fund Industry and the European Hedge Fund Industry will be particularly significant to delineate sensitive improvement points. The general methodology adopted follows four phases: * Defining the financial environment in which the Fund Managers performed their activity * Selecting a sample of Funds for each group (FoHFit, FoHFeu and FoFit) that was able to add value in the defined financial environment * Performing a risk/rewards analysis of these value added funds * Realizing a performance analysis of these funds to determine which risk factors and which strategies best explain the results of these value added funds


Get ready for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics both held in Brazil with the story of Latin America's most popular sport. Futbol! explains why competitors and fans alike are so fiercely dedicated to soccer throughout the region. From its origins in British boarding schools in the late 1800s, soccer spread across the globe to become a part of everyday life in Latin America and part of the region's most compelling national narratives. This book illustrates that soccer has the powerful ability to forge national unity by appealing to people across traditional social boundaries. In fact, author Joshua Nadel reveals that what started as a simple game played a seriously important role in the devel--opment of Latin American countries in the twentieth century. Examining the impact of the sport in Argentina, Honduras, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Mexico, Nadel addresses how soccer affects politics, the media, race rela--tions, and gender stereotypes. With inspiring personal stories and a sweeping historical backdrop, Futbol! shows that soccer continues to be tied to regional identity throughout Cen--tral and South America today. People live for it and sometimes kill for it. It is a source of hope and a reason for suicide. It is a way out of poverty for a select few an intangible escape for millions more.


BACKGROUND
The core motive of pharmacovigilance is the detection and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), to improve the risk-benefit balance of the drug. However, the causality assessment of ADRs remains a major challenge among clinicians, and none of the available tools of causality assessment used for assessing ADRs have been universally accepted.

OBJECTIVE
To provide an up-to-date overview of the different causality assessment tools.

METHODS
We conducted electronic searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane database. The eligibility of each tool was screened by three reviewers. Each eligible tool was then scrutinized for its domains (the reported specific set of questions/areas used for calculating the likelihood of cause-and-effect relation of an ADR) to discover the most comprehensive tool. Finally, we subjectively assessed the tool's ease-of-use in a Canadian, Indian, Hungarian, and Brazilian clinical context.

RESULTS
Twenty-one eligible causality assessment tools were retrieved. Naranjo's tool and De Boer's tool appeared the most comprehensive among all the tools, covering 10 domains each. Regarding "ease-of-use" in a clinical setting, we judged that many tools were hard to implement in a clinical context because of their complexity and/or lengthiness. Naranjo's tool, Jones's tool, Danan and Benichou's tool, and Hsu and Stoll's tool appeared to be the easiest to implement into various clinical contexts.

CONCLUSION
Among the many tools identified, 1981 Naranjo's scale remains the most comprehensive and easy to use for performing causality assessment of ADRs. Upcoming analysis should compare the performance of each ADR tool in clinical settings.


We herein report phase transitions, mesomorphism, birefringence behavior and photoluminescence properties of symmetric liquid crystal (LC) dimers based on diphenylacetylene or tolane. A homologous series of 4-methoxy tolanes linked with oligomethylene spacers consisting of carbon numbers (m) of 5–12 via ether linkages (1OTOmOTO1) were developed. The 1OTOmOTO1 series exhibited only a nematic phase, in contrast with the previously reported homologues with long terminal alkoxy chains, which exhibit layered smectic phases. We revealed that even the longest even-numbered 1OTO12OTO1 exhibits higher birefringence (Δn) than the shortest odd-numbered 1OTO5OTO1 at similar shifted temperatures. This fact suggests that the parity effect in the spacer that enhances Δn in an even-m surpasses the dilution effect that decreases Δn in large m for LC dimers. In addition, the photophysical measurements found aggregation-induced emission of the dimer concomitant with the emergence of an abnormally structured fluorescence band, which perhaps arises from a unique excited state enabled by aggregation. Single-crystal structural analysis revealed that diphenylacetylene moieties in neighboring molecules have face-to-edge orthogonal packing with one another, supporting the strong face-to-edge preferences of diphenylacetylene moiety and its enhanced fluorescence in aggregated states.


Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics and it generally corresponds to a recirculating aquaculture system where the waste produced by aquatic organisms becomes nutrients through bacterial action for plant growth. Water consumption as well as the environmental impact are lower in this system compared to hydroponic system and traditional aquaculture system. The recent study evaluated the microbiological quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) farmed in two production systems: aquaponics and hydroponics. At the same time, we evaluated fresh mass gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The lettuce was farmed in an aquaponic system with waste from the fish, and in a hydroponic system with nutrient solution (Hoagland II-modified) for 21 days. At the end of this term, large lettuce was gotten from 8 to 12 cm. The lettuces that grew in both systems did not showesignificant differences in the microbiological quality. The aquaponic system started with rainbow trout, which have an average mass of 27.1 ± 0.8 g, and duringthe experiment rainbow trout gained 13.6 g, getting a FCR of 0.74 after the experiment. These results indicate that the aquaponic system used is a sustainable alternative for the production of high quality lettuce, allowing at the same time the farming simultaneous of fish with a good feed conversion ratio.


Eye-head gaze pursuit-related activity was recorded in rostral portions of the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (rNRTP) in alert macaques. The head was unrestrained in the horizontal plane, and macaques were trained to pursue a moving target either with their head, with the eyes stationary in the orbits, or with their eyes, with their head voluntarily held stationary in space. Head-pursuit-related modulations in rNRTP activity were observed with some cells exhibiting increases in firing rate with increases in head-pursuit frequency. For many units, this head-pursuit response appeared to saturate at higher frequencies (>0.6 Hz). The response phase re:peak head-pursuit velocity formed a continuum, containing cells that could encode head-pursuit velocity and those encoding head-pursuit acceleration. The latter cells did not exhibit head position-related activity. Sensitivities were calculated with respect to peak head-pursuit velocity and averaged 1.8 spikes/s/deg/s. Of the cells that were tested for both head- and eye-pursuit-related activity, 86% exhibited responses to both head- and eye-pursuit and therefore carried a putative gaze-pursuit signal. For these gaze-pursuit units, the ratio of head to eye response sensitivities averaged approximately 1.4. Pursuit eccentricity seemed to affect head-pursuit response amplitude even in the absence of a head position response per se. The results indicated that rNRTP is a strong candidate for the source of an active head-pursuit signal that projects to the cerebellum, specifically to the target-velocity and gaze-velocity Purkinje cells that have been observed in vermal lobules VI and VII.


Catalytic hydropyrolysis of a number of bituminous and lower rank coals in a fixed-bed reactor at relatively low temperatures and a moderate hydrogen pressure (150 bar) has yielded ∼60% tar (daf basis) with <10% hydrocarbon gases. Well dispersed sulphided molybdenum is one of the most effective catalysts with active metal concentration as low as 1000 ppm. Two-stage catalytic hydropyrolysis experiments have demonstrated that the primary tars can be readily upgraded in the vapour phase to distillate containing low concentrations of heteroatoms


Now a day concrete are being used widely in the construction that might be exposed to elevated temperatures. The performance of concrete structures at elevated temperatures is significant importance in predicting the safety of structures in response to certain accidents or particular service conditions. This paper deals with the mechanical properties of concrete with steel fibers subjected to temperatures up to 500°C. The specimens were kept in oven for 1 hour. Different materials were used in the concrete  mixes of M 50 have been designed along with crimped steel fibers from 0.5 - 4% by weight of ordinary Portland cement and river sand was used. Specimens were made and subjected to room temperature, 100, 200,300,400 and 500 °C. In this study the relation between compressive and split tensile strength value is presented. Regression analysis is used to obtain this type of relation. This exploration developed some significant data on the properties of concrete exposed to elevated temperatures up to 500°C.


The article presents current results of a study of Short-Toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) distribution, abundance, and ecology in Nizhny Novgorod region. We designed a network of auto routes to survey the area and subsequently covered it in a four-wheel drive vehicle combined with walking through upland bogs and forest margins by foot. Observations were carried out in 30 districts of the region. Hunting Short-Toed Eagles were observed from natural hills through binoculars. Nests were detected based on adult birds' observations and analysis of satellite images of the surveyed areas. Photo and video recording of birds and nests was carried out using a SLR camera and a quadcopter. In 2015–2023 observations were carried out on 49 breeding territories. A combination of various swamps, burnt areas, and clearings (n=19; 39%) and typical upland bogs associated with pine forests (n=16; 33%) are optimal biotopes for Short-Toed Eagle. However, Short-Toed Eagle occupies both floodplain meadows (n=7; 14%) and fallow lands (n=5; 10%) in the Nizhny Novgorod region, provided that these biotopes are combined with pine forests. Breading territories are least likely to be located in depleted peat quarries (n=2; 4%). Due to peculiarities of the species ecology (vast breeding territories and nests that are difficult to detect), not a single nest was found in the region until 2016. Currently Short-Toed Eagle breeding has been reliably confirmed on eight breeding territories. We found nine nests located on pines. Variants of nest location architectonics are the following: in the upper whorl of a flattened crown (n=6), on side branches in the central part of the crown (n=2), on the "witch's broom" at the top of the tree (n=1). Reproduction timing is recorded from April 20 (the earliest date of egg laying) to August 10 (nestling remains in the nest). Short-Toed Eagle tends to change nests every season. The repeated reproduction in the same nest was recorded for one pair only, and both attempts were unsuccessful. Only Common European vipers and Grass snakes were reliably identified among the prey brought to the nest (n=24). We repeatedly noted neighbouring pairs interacting at borders of breeding territories, furthermore, we observed Short-Toed Eagles' conflicts with Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) (n=6) and Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) (n=1) during the breeding period. We were able to draw conclusions based on the results of long-term observations on a typical elliptic shape of a Short-Toed Eagle breeding territory with the nest located in one of its focuses. The main route birds took from the nest to hunting grounds runs along the major axis of the ellipse. Short-Toed Eagles hunt in the immediate vicinity of the nests only in bad weather conditions or in case of unsuccessful breeding, when long flights for prey become rare. The longest recorded distance a hunting bird travelled from its nest was 7.2 km. The shortest distance between two neighboring nests is 3.9 km. The current Short-Toed Eagle abundance in the Nizhny Novgorod region is estimated at 80–90 breeding pairs, which is about five times higher than the estimate of the abundance given in the Red Data Book of the Nizhny Novgorod region in 2014. This increase is affected less by the actual dynamic in the number of species because of changes in habitats (formation of extensive burnt areas and overgrown fallows) and more due to special research efforts. We can assume that estimates of the Short-Toed Eagle population in areas adjacent to the Nizhny Novgorod region were repeatedly undervalued. Given the specifics of ecology (stenophage species, consumer of the 3rd–4th order, low breeding potential, the highest size class), this species continues to require increased attention and preservation of a high conservation status.


Motorola's second-generation RISC microprocessor, which uses advanced techniques for exploiting instruction-level parallelism, including superscalar instruction issue, our-of-order instruction completion, speculative execution, dynamic instruction rescheduling, and two parallel, high-bandwidth, on-chip caches, is discussed. The microprocessor was designed to serve as the central processor in low-cost personal computers and workstations, and support demanding graphics and digital signal processing applications. The 88110's instruction set architecture, instruction sequencer, register files, execution units, address translation facilities, caches, and external bus interface are described.<<ETX>>


The collection of taxes in Ecuador is considered a source of income that consists of the contribution of natural or legal persons implemented by the State to pay for public expenditure; The research carried out allows to demonstrate the process to be followed by a natural person who is not obliged to keep accounts at the time of making value added tax and income tax, by checking income, expenses and accrued deductible expenses and exemptions stipulated In Organic Law of Internal Tax Regime.


Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium can be used in lactobionic acid production, biosensor for lactose, biofuel cells, lignocellulose degradation, and wound-healing applications. To make it a better biocatalyst, CDH with higher activity in an immobilized form is desirable. For this purpose, CDH was expressed for the first time on the surface of S. cerevisiae EBY100 cells in an active form as a triple mutant tmCDH (D20N, A64T, V592M) and evolved further for higher activity using resazurin-based fluorescent assay. In order to decrease blank reaction of resazurin with yeast cells and to have linear correlation between enzyme activity on the cell surface and fluorescence signal, the assay was optimized with respect to resazurin concentration (0.1 mM), substrate concentration (10 mM lactose and 0.08 mM cellobiose), and pH (6.0). Using optimized assay an error prone PCR gene library of tmCDH was screened. Two mutants with 5 (H5) and 7 mutations (H9) were found having two times higher activity than the parent tmCDH enzyme that already had improved activity compared to wild type CDH whose activity could not be detected on the surface of yeast cells.


As electric vehicle fleets grow, rising electric loads necessitate energy systems models to incorporate their respective demand and potential flexibility. Recently, a small number of tools for electric vehicle demand and flexibility modeling have been released under open source licenses. These usually sample discrete trips based on aggregate mobility statistics. However, the full range of variables of travel surveys cannot be accessed in this way and sub-national mobility patterns cannot be modeled. Therefore, a tool is proposed to estimate future electric vehicle fleet charging flexibility while being able to directly access detailed survey results. The framework is applied in a case study involving two recent German national travel surveys (from the years 2008 and 2017) to exemplify the implications of different mobility patterns of motorized individual vehicles on load shifting potential of electric vehicle fleets. The results show that different mobility patterns, have a significant impact on the resulting load flexibilites. Most obviously, an increased daily mileage results in higher electricty demand. A reduced number of trips per day, on the other hand, leads to correspondingly higher grid connectivity of the vehicle fleet. VencoPy is an open source, well-documented and maintained tool, capable of assessing electric vehicle fleet scenarios based on national travel surveys. To scrutinize the tool, a validation of the simulated charging by empirically observed electric vehicle fleet charging is advised.


Nanofibrous materials are currently widely used in many different areas. One of the technologies commonly used for their production is electrospinning. The mass distribution in a produced nanofibrous layer is a crucial factor especially for filtration applications and active ingredients or drug release applications. Image analysis is an efficient non-destructive method of a mass distribution determination, which has already been used in the evaluation of textiles and melt-blown webs, but so far only a few publications have dealt with its use in the field of electrospun materials. To facilitate the process of image analysis of deposited nanofibers, we developed a new collector electrode, which makes it possible to determine the optical mass distribution profile of the produced layer. A series of experiments proved that the developed collector allows an easy evaluation of the appearance of nanofibrous layers as well as the effects of many associated factors such as emitter configuration on the resulting sample. The results showed how the properties of nanofibrous layers (such as deposition zone dimensions, location of these zones, mass distribution profiles produced by different spinning nozzles) can change during the electrospinning process. The advantages of the method described in the present article are that it allows a contactless and non-destructive determination of mass distribution, detection of macroscopic defects, and investigation of causes behind layer thickness inhomogeneities. All in all, the presented method is a useful research and development tool for the field of electrospinning.


Following its revival in the 1980s, the idea of endogenous money became increasingly widely accepted. Indeed the 2008 global financial crisis was widely blamed on the untrammelled power of banks to create credit. As a result, among the ideas for reforming the monetary system are proposals designed to eliminate that power, that is, to make the money supply exogenous. The purpose of this paper is to go back to the theory of endogenous money in order to assess these proposals, in terms of what is desirable, but also crucially what is feasible. Central to this discussion is a consideration of the range of meanings given to money and endogeneity. It is argued that what is regarded as money under different conditions is an important element in money endogeneity, and is particularly relevant for the monetary reform debate.


Four popular dishes belonging to Italian cuisine and widely consumed in the country were experimentally prepared in a dedicated lab-kitchen following a validated and standardized protocol. This study provides their antioxidant properties evaluating the contribution of extractable and non-extractable bioactive compounds, and identifying the assessment of interactions between their natural active compounds and the food matrix. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values in aqueous-organic extract ranged from the highest antioxidant activity in torta di mele (10.72 µmol/g d.m.) to that in besciamella (2.47 µmol/g d.m.); in residue, pasta alla carbonara reached the highest value (73.83 µmol/g d.m.) following by that in pasta alla amatriciana (68.64 µmol/g d.m.). Total polyphenol content (TPC) ranged in aqueous-organic extracts between 36.50 and 64.28 mg/100 g d.m. and in residue from 425.84 to 1747.35 mg/100 g d.m. Our findings may contribute to the updating of the Italian Food Composition Database, by providing for the first time a value for the antioxidant properties. This could contribute to encourage the consumption of recipes rich in key nutrients and bioactive molecules. This information is useful and important for determining the association between diet and a healthy status.


The wide variety of bacteria in the environment permits screening for more efficient cellulases to help overcome current challenges in biofuels production. This study focuses on the isolation of efficient cellulase producing bacteria found in pulp and paper mill effluent contaminated soil which can be considered for use in large scale biorefining. Four different bacterial strains were isolated and screened for cellulase production by using CMC agar medium. All isolates showed cellulase activity these strains were further characterized by morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene analyses. These isolates were identified as two Bacillus subtilis sub sps, Bacillus mojavensis and Bacillus cereus.


Influenza is a global challenge, and future pandemics of influenza are inevitable. One of the lessons learned from past pandemics is that all pandemic influenza viruses characterized to date possess viral genes originating from avian influenza viruses (AIVs). During the past decades, a wide range of AIVs have overcome the species barrier and infected humans with different clinical manifestations ranging from mild illness to severe disease and even death. Understanding the mechanisms of infection in the context of clinical outcomes, the mechanism of interspecies transmission, and the molecular determinants that confer interspecies transmission is important for pandemic preparedness. Here, we summarize the epidemiology, virology, and pathogenicity of human infections with AIVs to further our understanding of interspecies transmission.


Purpose/objective(s) Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is emerging as a minimally invasive alternative to brachytherapy to deliver highly conformal, dose-escalated radiation therapy (RT) to the prostate. SBRT alone may not adequately cover the tumor extensions outside the prostate commonly seen in unfavorable prostate cancer. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with high dose rate brachytherapy boost is a proven effective therapy for unfavorable prostate cancer. This study reports on early prostate-specific antigen and prostate cancer-specific quality of life (QOL) outcomes in a cohort of unfavorable patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and SBRT boost. Materials/methods Prostate cancer patients treated with SBRT (19.5 Gy in three fractions) followed by fiducial-guided IMRT (45–50.4 Gy) from March 2008 to September 2012 were included in this retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Biochemical failure was assessed using the Phoenix definition. Patients completed the expanded prostate cancer index composite (EPIC)-26 at baseline, 1 month after the completion of RT, every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months for a minimum of 2 years. Results One hundred eight patients (4 low-, 45 intermediate-, and 59 high-risk) with median age of 74 years completed treatment, with median follow-up of 4.4 years. Sixty-four percent of the patients received androgen deprivation therapy prior to the initiation of RT. The 3-year actuarial biochemical control rates were 100 and 89.8% for intermediate- and high-risk patients, respectively. At the initiation of RT, 9 and 5% of men felt their urinary and bowel function was a moderate to big problem, respectively. Mean EPIC urinary and bowel function and bother scores exhibited transient declines, with subsequent return to near baseline. At 2 years posttreatment, 13.7 and 5% of men felt their urinary and bowel function was a moderate to big problem, respectively. Conclusion At 3-year follow-up, biochemical control was favorable. Acute urinary and bowel symptoms were comparable to conventionally fractionated IMRT and brachytherapy. Patients recovered to near their baseline urinary and bowel function by 2 years posttreatment. A combination of IMRT with SBRT boost is well tolerated with minimal impact on prostate cancer-specific QOL.


Caulerpa taxifolia is a marine alga native to tropical and subtropical regions, and invasive in temperate regions worldwide. The aim of this study was to quantify the impacts of water temperature, benthic light and nutrient enrichment on horizontal expansion of C. taxifolia, in the absence of competition from other benthic flora. Field experiments were undertaken in 1 native C. taxifolia population (Moreton Bay, Australia) and 2 invasive C. taxifolia populations (Pittwater and Port River Estuary, Australia). Manipulative experiments were conducted across a range of seasons and different shading and nutrient treatments to determine the effects of water temperature, benthic light dose and nutrient enrichment on horizontal expansion (stolon extension rate). Nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment had negligible effects on stolon extension rate at all locations, suggesting that nutrient conditions at the study sites were saturating for C. taxifolia. Shading significantly reduced stolon extension in Pittwater, and season/water temperature significantly affected stolon extension in Port River Estuary; only in Moreton Bay were both shading and season/water temperature significant. When all data were pooled in a general linear model, water temperature and average daily benthic light dose (log-transformed) significantly affected stolon extension, but nutrient enrichment did not. Site, season and the interaction between water temperature and benthic light dose also improved model performance, indicating that site-specific factors which varied between seasons also affected the measured stolon extension. Overall, our results indicate that C. taxifolia growth increased with light disproportionately at higher temperatures.


This paper presents translation-based knowledge graph completion method via efficient relation rotation (TransERR), a straightforward yet effective alternative to traditional translation-based knowledge graph completion models. Different from the previous translation-based models, TransERR encodes knowledge graphs in the hypercomplex-valued space, thus enabling it to possess a higher degree of translation freedom in mining latent information between the head and tail entities. To further minimize the translation distance, TransERR adaptively rotates the head entity and the tail entity with their corresponding unit quaternions, which are learnable in model training. The experiments on 7 benchmark datasets validate the effectiveness and the generalization of TransERR. The results also indicate that TransERR can better encode large-scale datasets with fewer parameters than the previous translation-based models. Our code is available at: \url{https://github.com/dellixx/TransERR}.


Chinese yuan has the best opportunity among the emerging markets currencies to become
a widely used international currency. The potential of the Chinese yuan derives from China's
economic size, macroeconomic stability, diversified structure of trade, as well as from the high
rate of economic growth. Availability of capital assets denominated in Chinese yuan, which could
be used in the context of global capital investment is, however, limited due to the restrictions on
capital flows. At the same time, the rapid increase in the volume of trade settlements in Chinese
yuan, as well as the issue of bonds denominated in yuan by the Chinese government and
enterprises located in Hong Kong, created several channels of the yuan participation in the
international trade. This article aims to identify the determinants of the growing importance of the
Chinese currency in the context of the characteristics of an international currency and its operating
conditions during the crisis.


Stunting is a growth disorder due to a lack of nutritional intake for a long time. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia is the third highest in Southeast Asia. The PPA Kader application is one solution in helping to overcome the stunting problem because cadres can get information on nutritional status assessments so fast and can detect stunting early. PPA Kader application for monitoring the growth is an android-based application based on the Z-Score value (BB/U, TB/U, BMI/U, and BB/TB), an imaginative and provocative medium for health education. To find out the effect of the PPA Kader application on the knowledge of village health workers about early stunting detection. This research was using pre-experimental research in one group pre-test post-test design. The research sample is 35 respondents taken from the village health worker population at the Integrated Services Post (Posyandu) in the area of the Public Health Center (Puskesmas) in Balik Bukit District with purposive sampling technique. This research was conducted from March to April. The intervention in this study was carried out using the PPA Kader application in which there was an educational explanation video about stunting. The data in this study were obtained through questionnaires that have been prepared for the pre-test and post-test to find out the knowledge of village health workers about early detection of stunting. Statistical test knowledge in this study is using Wilcoxon test. PPA Kader application can increase knowledge (p=0.000) of village health workers about early detection of stunting. The PPA Kader application affects the knowledge level of village health workers in the target area of the Balik Bukit District Health Center.


The authors make an analysis of main organizational measures which could considerably improve results of the surgical treatment of cholecystites. Good organization of active detection of the patients during prophylactic examinations and consultations with physicians, directed sanitary-instructive work among population and dispensary examinations play the leading role in sanitation of patients with diseases of bile ducts.


Background and objectives A fluid responder is a patient who can increase his stroke volume/ cardiac output by more than 10%-15% after a fluid bolus. Left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) velocity time integral (VTI) variability is widely used as an adynamic parameter of fluid responsiveness, but a transthoracic echo view of LVOT VTI is often time-consuming and, at times, difficult to achieve. So, in the quest for another parameter that might equally be a good surrogate marker of stroke volume variation, carotid peak systolic velocity (CPSV) variation has been studied. The objective was to assess CPSV variation in patients who are already fluid responders. Methods The sample size was calculated considering a minimum correlation coefficient of 0.5. Adult patients in whom the physician wanted to give a fluid bolus and whose average LVOT VTI was more than 15% over 3 respiratory cycles were included in the study. Demographic variables, along with hemodynamic parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, the need for vasopressors, mode of breathing (spontaneous or mechanical ventilation), and CPSV variation,were noted and averaged over three respiratory cycles. Fluid bolus (Plasmalyte) 6 ml/kg bolus over 10-15 minutes. Post-fluid hemodynamic variables, along with averaged LVOT VTI over three respiratory cycles and averaged CPSV variation over three respiratory cycles, are noted. Results Thirty adult patients were evaluated in the study. In spontaneously breathing patients (n=12), the average CPSV variation expressed as mean + standard deviation before and after fluid administration of 6ml/kg of ideal body weight was 14.1 ± 3.4 and 5.4 ± 2.6, respectively (p < 0.05). In mechanically ventilated patients (n=18), the average CPSV variation expressed as mean + standard deviation before and after fluid administration of 6ml/kg of ideal body weight fluid was 15 ± 5.3 and 6.5 ± 3.1, respectively (p <0.005). Overall, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between LVOT VTI variation and CPSV variation before fluid therapy (correlation coefficient 0.56 and p-value 0.001) and a statistically significant moderate positive correlation post-fluid therapy (correlation coefficient 0.37 and p-value 0.043). Conclusion We found a significant decrease in CPSV variation post-fluid administration in patients who are fluid responders, which mimics a decrease in stroke volume variation after fluid administration in patients who are fluid responsive.


We report on a new approach, entirely based on an electron-beam lithography technique, to contact electrically, in a four-probe scheme, single nanostructures obtained by self-assembly. In our procedure, nanostructures of interest are located and contacted in the same fabrication step. This technique has been developed to study the field-induced reversal of an internal component of an asymmetric Bloch domain wall observed in elongated structures such as Fe(110) dots. We have focused on the control, using an external magnetic field, of the magnetization orientation within Néel caps that terminate the domain wall at both interfaces. Preliminary magneto-transport measurements are discussed demonstrating that single Fe(110) dots have been contacted.


Manuscript type: Research paper
Research aims: This study aims to examine the institutionalisation of high performance culture (HPC) in a Malaysian government-linked company's subsidiary that recently undertook a re-engineering exercise to improve financial performance. Specifically, it analyses the institutionalisation of HPC by relating to the role of performance measures in influencing the process of change.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The process of institutionalising the HPC in the studied subsidiary is analysed using a qualitative research approach. This study presents an interpretive case study by drawing on institutional theory which focuses on the issue of legitimacy with a special reference being made to the hierarchical complexity of the subsidiary's business model in managing airport operations.
Research findings:The re-engineering exercise undertaken by the subsidiary, which aimed at promoting HPC that concerned financial performance improvement, appeared to have legitimised institutional relationships with various stakeholders. While this promotion appeared to correspond well with its commercial and technical objectives that drove its business financially, there seemed to be much discourse which related to its past role in rendering public services.
Theoretical contributions/Originality: This study contributes to understanding the legitimacy at the hierarchical-organisational level. It highlights the importance of sustaining the legitimacy from being challenged by any single source of pressure which appeared to have been competing with (an)other pressure(s).
Practitioner/Policy implication: Although HPC had shifted the orientation of the subsidiary from being largely concerned with technical operations to also considering commercial activities, the shift towards emphasising the importance of financial performance (measures) had not fully eliminated the public sector's path dependence. Thus, there is a need for business managers (including accountants) to appreciate business complexity in making informed decisions by leveraging on appropriate performance measuresthat would consequently impact organisational performance.
Research limitation/Implication: This study has analysed a single organisation's subsidiary. Hence, any generalisation to other subsidiaries is deemed inappropriate.


Perceptual experts have learned to rapidly and accurately perceive the structural regularities that define categories and identities within a domain. They extract important features and their relations more efficiently than novices. We used fingerprint examination to investigate expert-novice differences in feature choice. On each fingerprint within our set, experts and novices selected one feature they thought was most useful for distinguishing a particular print and one feature they thought was least useful. We found that experts and novices often differed in the features they chose, and experts tended to agree more with each other. However, any such expert-novice difference appeared to depend on the image at hand typically emerging when salient or more conspicuous features of a fingerprint were unclear. We suggest that perceptual training ought to direct attention to useful features with the understanding that what is useful may change depending on the clarity of the stimuli.


SuperB, the 2nd-generation B-Factory with a luminosity of 10{sup 36}/cm{sup 2}/s proposed for LNF, is being designed from the start to be capable of providing a spin-polarized electron beam in the low-energy ring (LER) with longitudinal polarization at the interaction point. Due to the high luminosity at moderate beam current the beam lifetime is short (a few minutes), and a polarized injector will be used. Spin rotators have been designed and the equilibrium polarization evaluated. It will be shown that an average polarization of about 70% can be expected.


We propose an integrated platform of Aluminum Nitrate (AlN) based Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (pMUT) phased array with Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for medical imaging and industrial diagnosis. The ASIC provides wide driving range for frequencies between 100 kHz and 5 MHz and channelscalable, programmable application adaptive transmitting beamformer. The system supports operation in various media, including gasses, liquids and biological tissue. The scan resolution for 5 MHz operation is 68 μm in air. The beamformer covers a test volume from -30° to +30° with a step of 3° and scan depth of 10 cm. The ASIC system features low noise receiver electronics, power saving transmission circuitry, and high-voltage drive of large capacitance transducer (up to 500 pF). Integrated pMUT phased array consists of 4 channels of single-membrane ultrasonic transducer of 400 nm deflection and 20 pF feed-thru capacitance, which produce 15 Pa pressure at 500 μm distance from the surface of the transducers. The active area of the ASIC is (700×1490) μm2, which includes channel scalable TX, 8-channale low noise RX, digital back end with autonomous beamformer and power management unit. The system is battery powered with 3.3V-5V standard supply, representing a truly portable solution for ultrasonic applications. Given the CMOS-compatible fabrication process for the AlN pMUTs, dense, miniaturized arrays are possible. Furthermore the smooth surface of dielectric AlN renders optical quality MEMS surfaces for integration in miniaturized photonic + ultrasound microsystems.


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

Mutant Kras activated Raf-MAPK/ERK pathway and chronic pancreatitis are the most common pathogenic events involved in human pancreatic carcinogenesis. The soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), a pro-inflammatory enzyme, generally inactivates anti-inflammatory epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). Herein, we have synthesized a novel compound of trans-4-{4-[3-(4-chloro-3-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-ureido]-cyclohexyloxy}-pyridine-2-carboxylic acid methylamide (t-CUPM) via modifying the central phenyl ring of sorafenib and confirmed its dual inhibition of sEH and c-Raf by recombinant kinase activity assay. Pharmacokinetic analysis revealed that oral dosing of t-CUPM resulted in the higher blood levels than that of sorafenib throughout the complete time course (48 h). The effect of t-CUPM on the development of pancreatitis and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPanIN) was determined in the LSL-KrasG12D/Pdx1-Cre mice. The results showed that t-CUPM significantly reduced the severity of chronic pancreatitis, as measured for the extents of acini loss, inflammatory cell infiltration and stromal fibrosis. The progression of low-grade mPanIN I to high grade mPanIN II/III was significantly suppressed by t-CUPM treatment. Inhibition of mutant Kras-transmitted phosphorylations of MEK/ERK was demonstrated in pancreatic tissues and in vitro pancreatic cancer cells by Western blot assay. qPCR analysis revealed that t-CUPM treatment resulted in significantly decreasing the levels of inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, MCP-1, as well as VCAM-1, and the levels of Shh and GLI1 (Hedgehog pathway). Analysis of eicosanoid profile revealed a significant increase of the EET/DHET ratio that further confirmed sEH inhibition by t-CUPM. These results indicate that simultaneous inhibition of sEH and c-Raf by t-CUPM is important in preventing chronic pancreatitis and carcinogenesis. (supported by NIH R01CA172431)

Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.

Citation Format: Jie Liao, Wanying Zhang, Sung Hee Hwng, Haonan Li, Aaron T. Wecksler, Ke Ma, Bruce D. Hammock, Guang-Yu Yang. Inhibition of pancreatic carcinogenesis by t-CUPM, a dual inhibitor of c-Raf and soluble epoxide hydrolase. [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 1250. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1250


These days the action with respect to Title VII suits for sex discrimination is away from "bread and butter" claims for unequal pay, denials of promotions, and the like, and toward hostile environment cases alleging sexual harassment. This shift away from charges of economic discrimination is most likely a strategic response to the Court's receptiveness to harassment claims,' rather than a sign that women employees no longer feel aggrieved by lower pay and restricted opportunities. Despite the increasing labor force participation of women and their entry into nontraditional fields, there is still a sizeable pay gap between men and women that is not likely to be eliminated in this generation (p 56).2 Curiously, the issue of pay equity is just barely on the radar screen, even in an election year in which women's votes are crucial and the gender gap in politics seems as persistent as the gender gap in pay.'


PURPOSE
Evaluation of the inflammatory response after Helicobacter pylori (Hp) eradication in patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) during the non-attack period and determining whether there is a change in the ongoing inflammation during the non-attack period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sixty-four patients, who have not been eradicated for Hp in the last 2 years, diagnosed with FMF, and evaluated in the non-attack period, were included in the study. Hp eradication therapy was administered to patients who were found to be Hp-positive. C-reactive protein (CRP), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and serum amyloid A values were compared between the groups before and after eradication.

RESULTS
CRP and hs-CRP levels were found to be statistically higher in the FMF group than in the control group. A statistically significant decrease was found in the values of CRP and hs-CRP, in the number of patients with attacks, and in attack frequency after eradication in the Infected Patients compared to the values before eradication.

CONCLUSIONS
We determined a decrease in CRP and hs-CRP values, the number of patients with attacks, and attack frequency with the eradication of Infected Patients. In patients with FMF, in whom it has been proven by different studies that the inflammation continues during the non-attack period, it may be recommended to investigate the presence of Hp infection, which is thought to contribute to this inflammation and to give Hp eradication therapy to patients who are found positive to reduce the development of secondary complications caused by chronic inflammation.


Materials used in civil engineering constructions display wide range in their engineering properties; a structural engineer is required to quantify the risks and advantages of using such materials. Continuous supply of electricity is essential for every nation and electric poles are been susceptible to extreme damages caused by natural hazards such as snow, wind, ice, earthquake etc. These actions can knock down poles thereby causing damage and disruption of power supply. Selecting a pole material such as steel for power transmissions will sufficiently help in distributing power due to its superior material properties. The determination of the response of the steel poles to loads is accomplished by the aid of Finite Element (FE) coded in software, ABAQUS CAE. The extent of damage as a result of deflections as per stresses and displacements were effectively measured and simulated in the software. The result in ABAQUS shows that the steel poles will not suffer any reasonable deformation when loaded indicating that steel poles material properties are sufficient to provide adequate resistance against actions such as deformations and deflections during their service lives.


BACKGROUND
There is controversy about whether adding clinical breast examination (CBE) to mammography improves the accuracy of breast screening. We compared the accuracy of screening among centers that offered CBE in addition to mammography with that among centers that offered only mammography.

METHODS
The cohort included 290 230 women aged 50-69 years who were screened at regional cancer centers or affiliated centers within the Ontario Breast Screening Program between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003, and were followed up for 12 months. The regional cancer centers offer screening mammography and CBE performed by a nurse. All affiliated centers provide mammography but not all provide CBE. Performance measures for 232 515 women who were screened by mammography and CBE at the nine regional cancer centers or 59 affiliated centers that provided CBE were compared with those for 57 715 women who were screened by mammography alone at 34 affiliated centers that did not provide CBE.

RESULTS
Sensitivity of referrals was higher for women who were screened at regional cancer centers or affiliated centers that offered CBE in addition to mammography than for women screened at affiliated centers that did not offer CBE (initial screen: 94.9% and 94.6%, respectively, vs 88.6%; subsequent screen: 94.9% and 91.7%, respectively, vs 85.3%). Mammography sensitivity was similar between centers that offered CBE and those that did not. However, women without cancer who were screened at regional cancer centers or affiliated centers that offered CBE had a higher false-positive rate than women screened at affiliated centers that offered only mammography (initial screen: 12.5% and 12.4%, respectively, vs 7.4%; subsequent screen: 6.3% and 8.3%, respectively, vs 5.4%).

CONCLUSIONS
Women should be informed of the benefits and risks of having a CBE in addition to mammography for breast screening.