Purpose With the advent of latest generation flat panel detectors, C-arm angiographic systems have the ability to provide high-resolution CT-like images of brain parenchyma, vasculature and deployed devices while the patient is still at the neuro-interventional suite.1 However, the presence of high-density metallic implants (ie, aneurysm coils, clips, dental fillings etc) in the field of view can induce severe artifacts that affect the diagnostic quality of the reconstructed images. The purpose of this study is to report our preliminary results of metal artifact reduction algorithm in C-arm CT images acquired during embolization of intracranial aneurysms and arterio-venous malformations (AVMs). Methods During aneurysm and AVM embolization procedures, C-arm CT (syngo DynaCT®, Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector, Forchheim, Germany) images were acquired using the 20s-DR-H protocol. The acquired projection images were reconstructed using standard protocol at the clinical workstation (syngo XWP, VB15D). The same images were reconstructed at the research workstation using prototype software that reduces metal artifacts. The resulting images were retrospectively assessed for image quality and diagnostic information as compared to standard reconstruction. In addition, in-vitro studies using a metal phantom were carried out for quantitative assessment of the effects of metal artifact reduction reconstruction algorithm. Results Abstract O-31 figure 1A shows the result of metal artifact reduction in our tube phantom (containing pipeline device and metal bead), with the line profile plot reflecting Hounsfield intensities along the vessel centerline. Abstract O-031 figure 1B shows the result of metal artifact reduction in cases of aneurysms treated with coils or clips and of AVM treated with Onyx® (eV3, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA) liquid embolic agent. We observed that the individual strands of the pipeline device or stent struts could be visualized relatively better in the C-arm CT images after metal artifact reduction. In the AVM case with Onyx® related artifacts, the algorithm improved the visualization of a resolving hematoma surrounding the AVM.Abstract O-031 Figure 1 Conclusions Our preliminary clinical and in-vitro results show the feasibility of reducing metal artifacts in C-arm CT images using special reconstruction algorithm. This prototype reconstruction software improves the visualization of intracranial metallic implants and better evaluation of adjacent brain parenchyma in C-arm CT images; however further quantitative validation is required. Reference 1. Kamran M, Nagaraja S, Byrne JV. C-arm flat detector computed tomography: the technique and its applications in interventional neuro-radiology. Neuroradiology 2010;52:319–27. Competing interests P Chinna durai: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc., Full-time Employee (Research Collaborations, Angiography Division). G Chintalapani: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. H Shaltoni: None. H Morsi: None. M Mawad: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc.


Direction detection is aimed at discriminating, over multiple "snapshots," between a disturbance-only hypothesis and a useful-signal plus disturbance alternative with useful signals modeled in terms of a common (i.e., over different snapshots) direction of the signal subspace. We will show that generalized-likelihood ratio test (GLRT)-based direction detectors, designed assuming Gaussian noise with unknown covariance matrix plus deterministic interference, belonging to a preassigned sub- space of the observables, possess the constant false alarm rate property with respect to the unknown covariance matrix of the noise.


A novel corrole-type macrocycle, oxocorrologen (2), substituted with hemiquinone groups, has been synthesized. It was found to undergo multiple tautomerism of its exchangeable protons between electronegative atom sites at the macrocyclic core (nitrogen atoms) and periphery (phenol oxygen atoms). Alkylation at one macrocyclic nitrogen atom with a 4-nitrobenzyl group gave 3, which can exist in only two tautomeric forms depending on the solvent. Tautomerism has been studied by means of (1)H NMR spectroscopy in a variety of solvents and solvent mixtures. Tautomer structure assignments have been supported by DFT calculations of the relative energies of the tautomers. X-ray crystallography of the N-nitrobenzyl derivative has revealed that intramolecular hydrogen bonding may be responsible for stabilizing the observed tautomers. The solvent dependence of the tautomerism of 2 and 3 confers solvatochromism. Electrochemical measurements on 2 and 3 in their respective quinone forms have revealed irreversible processes, but indicate that they are both electron-deficient with a small HOMO-LUMO gap and first reduction potentials close to those of fullerene electron acceptors.


Sensory circuits use common strategies, such as convergence and divergence, typically at different synapses, to pool or distribute inputs. Inputs from different presynaptic cell types converge onto a common postsynaptic cell, acting together to shape neuronal output (Klausberger and Somogyi, 2008). Also, individual presynaptic cells contact several postsynaptic cell types, generating divergence of signals. Attaining such complex wiring patterns relies on the orchestration of many events across development, including axonal and dendritic growth and synapse formation and elimination (reviewed by Waites et al., 2005; Sanes and Yamagata, 2009). Recent work has focused on how distinct presynaptic cell types form stereotypic connections with an individual postsynaptic cell (Morgan et al., 2011; Williams et al., 2011), but how a single presynaptic cell type diverges to form distinct wiring patterns with multiple postsynaptic cell types during development remains unexplored. Here we take advantage of the compactness of the visual system's first synapse to observe development of such a circuit in mouse retina. By imaging three types of postsynaptic bipolar cells and their common photoreceptor targets across development, we found that distinct bipolar cell types engage in disparate dendritic growth behaviors, exhibit targeted or exploratory approaches to contact photoreceptors, and adhere differently to the synaptotropic model of establishing synaptic territories. Furthermore each type establishes its final connectivity patterns with the same afferents on separate time scales. We propose that such differences in strategy and timeline could facilitate the division of common inputs among multiple postsynaptic cell types to create parallel circuits with diverse function.


This article presents a novel AC to DC converter implemented by standard CMOS technology, applied for wireless power transmission. This circuit combines the functions of the rectifier and DC to DC converter, rather than using the rectifier to convert AC to DC and then supplying the required voltage with regulator as in the transitional method. This modification can reduce the power consumption and the area of the circuit. This circuit also transfers the loading condition back to the external circuit by the load shift keying(LSK), determining if the input power is not enough or excessive, which increases the efficiency of the total system. The AC to DC converter is fabricated with the TSMC 90nm CMOS process. The circuit area is 0.071mm2. The circuit can produce a 1V DC voltage with maximum output current of 10mA from an AC input ranging from 1.5V to 2V, at 1MHz to 10MHz.


The problem in this research is the result of a IPS class V SDN 58 Balai Makam, still low with an average valueof 67.61. The purpose of this research is to improve student learning outcomes in IPS the application of learningstrategies concept maps in the class V SDN 58 Balai Makam. This study is a class act with 2 cycles. It can beseen in student learning outcomes the average value of 67.61 increased to 70.28 in cycle I. From the first cycleto the second cycle increased by 77.52. Overall increased 14.66%. The average percentage of classicalcompleteness of student learning outcomes also increased. At the score of the first cycle of 66.66%, and thesecond cycle increased to 85.71%. So overall completeness of the classic rose 28.56%. In the teachers' activitieshas increased in each cycle. While in the first cycle the average percentage of the activity of the teacher with66.66% in both categories increased to 81.25% with the category very well in the second cycle. So overall thereis an increase in activity of the teacher of 21.89%. At the student activity also increased in each cycle. In the firstcycle of an average percentage of 64.58% with the good category increased to 77.08% in the second cycle. Sooverall there is an increase in the activity of students 19.36%. Application of Learning strategies concept mapscan improve learning outcomes of students in class V SDN 58 Balai Makam.


The literature holds huge examples on curriculum development for teacher training for all education level and field of studies. However, there is a wide gap in the curriculum development for post natural disaster. This paper proposes an example on how such curriculum for teacher training could be designed which take into consideration the needs of local context. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify the appropriate curriculum content to develop the in-service teacher-training curriculum for Acheh post tsunami to aid Acehnese teachers who are encountering various challenges in performing their teaching tasks. Delphi technique is utilized to obtain experts' consensus on the types of knowledge, skills and values to be acquired by the Acehnese teachers. The experts at initial phase identified 24 major knowledge, 14 skills, and 12 values to be acquired by the teachers. All identified items were developed into questionnaires that were then administered to 35 senior teachers and education officers in two rounds. The findings were analyzed statistically using Median and Interquartile scores. The Median score was used to consider whether the item is accepted (Md = 4-5) or rejected (Md = 1-2) and Interquartile (IQR) was used to find out whether the respondents have reached the consensus (IQR = 0-1) or no consensus (IQR = 2 above). The results indicate that the Acehnese teachers should acquire some competencies in areas such as: teachers' mastery of the concept of peace education (Md = 5.00, IQR = 1), teachers' ability to link the subject matter with Islamic views (Md = 5.00, IQR = 1), teachers' ability to ease students' trauma (Md = 4.00, IQR = 0), and teachers' interpersonal skills (Md = 5.00, IQR = 1). However, one proposed itemteachers' life-skills needed to accommodate to places which they are posted (Md = 2.00, IQR = 1 was unanimously rejected by the respondents. This rejection certainly holds implication for further research. It is hoped that the identified content would be accepted by the Acehnese education authority to replace the previous practices of in-service teacher training programs which were carried out without a set of curriculum. [Zulbahri bin Nurdin, Saedah Bt Siraj, Zaharah bt Hussin, Muhammad Ridhuan Tony Lim. Post Natural Disaster Education: In-Service Teacher Training Curriculum In Aceh. J Am Sci 2013;9(7):432-445]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 53


The interest in the influence of videogame experience on our daily life is constantly growing. "First Person Shooter" (FPS) games require players to develop a flexible mindset to rapidly react to fast moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to switch back and forth between different subtasks. This study investigated whether and to which degree experience with such videogames generalizes to other cognitive-control tasks. Video-game players (VGPs) and individuals with little to no videogame experience (NVGPs) performed on a task switching paradigm that provides a relatively well-established diagnostic measure of cognitive flexibility. As predicted, VGPs showed smaller switching costs (i.e., greater cognitive flexibility) than NVGPs. Our findings support the idea that playing FPS games promotes cognitive flexibility.


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Why do I write? Because my mother killed herself. Twenty five years ago, one sunny autumn afternoon my father was mowing the lawn. My mother went down to the dank cellar of their Georgian house. She looped a belt around her neck, tied the other end to a beam, and stepped off a chair. She was 60. Because mental illness remains an unmentionable topic. Because sharing my experience may give you some insight into depression—30% of you may have this disease. Because I am alive today due to her suicide.

What happened to me? Twelve years ago, after a long crescendo of stress, I stopped singing and started to cry—at night, while driving, at work—in fact anywhere and any time when my brain was not actively engaged. My attention in theatre was not significantly affected, but I watched the patient and the monitors through a veil of tears. Few knew how I was feeling—I was very good at covering up. Pain took up residence in my chest, lodged stubbornly beneath my sternum, and stayed for three years: an overwhelming ache, a tight band, a pervasive feeling of doom.

The evenings were the worst. I couldn't sleep; I woke at 4am. The hideous circuits of pain were particularly distressing at night. I resorted to sleeping tablets very early in the illness. Without sleep I could not …


In this article, we map the features of left wing radicals in The Netherlands. Despite growing public interest, quantitative research on the social composition of the radical left is scarce. That is why this research focuses on the social characteristics and parental backgrounds of left wing radicals. For this purpose, specific data were collected among left wing adherents (LEK2004), which are compared with representative data of the Dutch population (FNB2000). Logistic regression analyses showed that left wing radicals are highly educated, received little economic education, often are students or unemployed, and are nonreligious. In the political field, left wing radicals are not very likely to vote, but they do have an above average interest in political issues. Parental backgrounds that enhance the chance of being radical left wing are a culturally-based parental education, parental secularity and parental voting for left wing parties.


In an era of rapid technological change and an increasingly global economy, investments in research and development are crucial for spurring economic growth and sustaining competitiveness. Yet, across the U.S. federal government, scientists are playing a decreasing role in the policymaking that supports this investment, often being pushed out by a political agenda that is stridently antiscience. Meanwhile, Americans are becoming more distrustful of democratic institutions, the scientific method, and basic facts—three core beliefs on which the research enterprise depends. The United States remains the unquestioned global leader in science and innovation, but given a White House that disregards the value of science and an American public that questions the very concept of scientific consensus, sustaining the U.S. commitment to science won't happen without a fight.


OBJECTIVE
To study the nucleotide sequence of L segment of Hantavirus strain A9.

METHODS
The partial L segment cDNA of A9 strain was amplified by PCR, the PCR product was sequenced.

RESULTS
The nucleotide sequence of partial L segment of A9 strain was provided, the sequence was A, T rich, similar to other Hantaviruses, and similar to both M, S segments. Compared with nucleotide sequences from other Hantaviruses, it revealed a higher homology to HTN virus strain 76-118,83.5% at nucleotide level and 96.7% at deduced amino level. SNV, PUU and Tula viruses shared the lower homology. A9 and 76-118 were at same cluster in phylogenetic analysis, close to SEO virus but not to PUU, SNV, Tula viruses. Comparing of partial nucleotide sequence of strain A9 with 76-118, some conserved regions were found, but also some regions of A9 were more conserved to other viruses not 76-118. It suggested that when design the primers for L segments amplification, more than one type of Hantavirus sequence should he concerned. Like the homology from M and S segments of Hantaviruses, the viruses isolated from same host animal showed high homology.

CONCLUSIONS
Nucleotide sequence of L segment of Hantavirus strain A9 revealed homology between 85.2% -70.8% to different types of Hantavirus and shared a higher homology of 85.2% to strain 76-118.


Undoubtedly, recent technological advancement in smartphones has completely altered how information is accessed, shared, and created. Consumer purchase intentions and choice has recently been influenced by the emergence of disruptive innovation in smartphones. Recent advancement in technology has caused a major shift in the use of smartphones from its conventional purpose of communication to include additional features that have created a greater market and altered the purchase behaviour of the consumers. In this modern era of technological advancement, users of smartphones expect other advanced features such as media support, Internet connectivity and special applications. The current paper discusses significant effects of innovative patterns of smartphones on consumers purchase intentions and brand switching. To conclude, the paper provides relevant practical and managerial implications for the development of marketing strategies.


The 2018 National Seismic Hazard Assessment of Australia incorporated 19 alternative seismic-source models developed by members of the Australian seismological community. The diversity of these models demonstrates the deep epistemic uncertainty that exists with regards to how best to characterize seismicity in stable continental regions. In the face of similarly high uncertainty, a diverse range of ground-motion models was proposed for use. A complex logic tree was developed to incorporate the alternative component models into a single hazard model. Expert opinion was drawn upon to weight the alternative logic-tree branches through a structured expert elicitation process. Expert elicitation aims to transparently and reproducibly characterize the community distribution of expert estimates for uncertain quantities and thereby quantify the epistemic uncertainty around estimates of seismic hazard in Australia. We achieve a multimodel rational consensus in which each model, and each expert, is, in accordance with the Australian cultural myth of egalitarianism, given a "fair go"—that is, judged on their merits rather than their status. Yet despite this process, we find that the results are not universally accepted. A key issue is a contested boundary between what is scientifically reducible and what remains epistemologically uncertain, with a particular focus on the earthquake catalog. Furthermore, a reduction, on average, of 72% for the 10% in 50 yr probability of exceedance peak ground acceleration levels compared with those underpinning existing building design standards, challenges the choice of metrics upon which design codes are based. Both quantification of the bounds of epistemic uncertainties through expert elicitation and reduction of epistemic uncertainties through scientific advances have changed our understanding of how the hazard behaves. Dialog between scientists, engineers, and policy makers is required to ensure that as our understanding of the hazard evolves, the hazard metrics used to underpin risk management decisions are re-evaluated to ensure societal aims are achieved.


The invention reduce the size, weight, and cost of a motor and peripheral devices of the motor. A hybrid automobile is structured in which a required torque is estimated on the basis of an accelerator operation by a driver, and if it is determined that the running by the motor is possible, and an estimation result exceeds a maximum torque of the motor during execution of a running mode by the motor, a mode switch is carried out to a mode in which the automobile runs by an engine or by the engine and the motor in cooperation with each other, even through the running mode by the motor is being executed.


The book has evolved through the author's 25 years of advising and writing on geodetic methods in which the aspect of learning by doing is stressed, including analyses of quality. Consequently, it covers practical aspects of geometrical geodesy and particulars of fundamental constants, horizontal and vertical datums, geoids, bi-axial ellipsoids and reference systems, units of frequencies and time, conformal projections, similarity transformations and spatial developments in electronic and acoustic positioning frames. The impact of information, communication and parallel computer technology with an ability to store and retrieve huge amounts of data is discussed up to the point where the compilation of relevant data is completely automated using comprehensive analyses on a worldwide distribution network. All Fortran computer subroutines described in the book can also be found on the enclosed CD-ROM, including compiled ready-to-run Fortran programs. A computer of modest capacity can cope with the algorithms.


OBJECTIVE
To assess effect of a breath-actuated inhaled steroid, Fluticasone Diskhaler (Flutide) on health-related quality of life in asthmatic patients using Hyland's living with asthma questionnaire (LWAQ).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Randomly selected asthmatic patients filled out the LWAQ (the first study). Then, the eight physicians switched inhaled steroid from pressurelized metered-dose inhaler of beclomethasone (BDI) to Flutide according to their own decision. Consequently some patients were switched their prescriptions and others were not. In 12 weeks after the first study, all the patients again filled out the LWAQ (the second study).

RESULTS
The patients treated with Flutide were 87 and without were 159. The scale scores of the Flutide group (mean, 1.900) were significantly higher than those of the BDI-group (mean, 1.789). In the second study, there was no significant difference between the scale scores in the two groups (mean, 1.782 vs. 1.705). Among the 8 domains, only medication score significantly decreased by Flutide therapy. More than 80% of the patients favored easy handling of Flutide including no necessity of the spacer.

CONCLUSIONS
Flutide therapy significantly improved quality of life in asthmatic patients. The possible mechanisms are the stronger effectiveness of fluticasone propionate and improvement of adherence to inhaled steroid.


In order to find out suitable crop establishment technique and seed rate for obtaining optimum growth and yield of direct seeded hybrid rice, Arize AZ-8433 DT, an experiment was carried out during kharif 2019 at Instructional-cum-Research Farm IGKV, Raipur, Chhattisgarh in split-plot design with three replications. The crop establishment techniques used as main plot were line sowing with seed priming (M1), line sowing without seed priming (M2), broadcasting with seed priming (M3) and broadcasting without seed priming (M4). Seed priming was done with 1% KCl solution. The seed rate treatments incorporated as sub-plot were 15"kg ha-1 (S1), 20 kg ha-1 (S2), 25 kg ha-1 (S3) and 30 kgha-1 (S4). The seeds primed with 1% KCl and sown in line (M1) recorded the maximum values for emergence percentage, number of total tillers m-2, number of leaves m-2, dry matter m-2, number of effective tillers m-2, panicle weight and number of filled grains panicle-1 which resulted in higher grain yield, straw yield, harvest index, gross return, net returns and B:C ratio. With regard to seed rate, growth parameters were maximum at 30 kg ha-1 (S4) seed rate during initial stages but at later stages, dry matter m-2 was highest under 25 kg ha-1 (S3). However, at all stages, both the seed rate treatments were at par with each other. Panicle weight and number of filled grains panicle-1 were significantly higher under seed rate of 15 kg ha-1 (S1), but still seed rate 25 kg ha-1 (S3) gave highest grain yield due to significantly higher number of effective tillers m-2under it. Straw yield was highest under highest seed rate of 30 kg ha-1 (S4). Seed rate 25 kg ha-1 was optimum for direct seeded hybrid rice as it gave highest gross return, net returns and B:C ratio.


Conductive materials (CM) have been extensively reported to enhance methane production in anaerobic digestion processes. The occurrence of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in microbial communities, as an alternative or complementary to indirect electron transfer (via hydrogen or formate), is the main explanation given to justify the improvement of methane production. Not disregarding that DIET can be promoted in the presence of certain CM, it surely does not explain all the reported observations. In fact, in methanogenic environments DIET was only unequivocally demonstrated in cocultures of Geobacter metallireducens with Methanosaeta harundinacea or Methanosarcina barkeri and frequently Geobacter sp. are not detected in improved methane production driven systems. Furthermore, conductive carbon nanotubes were shown to accelerate the activity of methanogens growing in pure cultures, where DIET is not expected to occur, and hydrogenotrophic activity is ubiquitous in full-scale anaerobic digesters treating for example brewery wastewaters, indicating that interspecies hydrogen transfer is an important electron transfer mechanism in those systems. This paper presents an overview of the effect of several iron-based and carbon-based CM in bioengineered systems, focusing on the improvement in methane production and in microbial communities' changes. Control assays, as fundamental elements to support major conclusions in reported experiments, are critically revised and discussed.


Short optical pulses have been involved in a number of areas of science and technology. It is now possible to generate optical pulses of less than 10 fs duration corresponding to only a few optical cycles. One of the most important applications of these short optical pulses is in electronics, where, in conjunction with the electro-optic effect, electrical waveforms now can be characterized with a few hundred femtosecond resolution - corresponding to 1 THz in bandwidth. This technique makes possible the characterization in situ of high-speed optoelectronic and electronic devices as well as circuits operating in the picosecond time scale or 100 GHz frequency domain.


This paper presents a VHDL based method that enables the logic simulator to estimate the longest and the shortest path delays of all signals in the circuit with only one run of the logic simulator. The method is verified for ISCAS' 85 benchmark circuits and for one particular embedded sequential circuit. It is extremely efficient and appropriate in the early phases of the design process where timing analysis needs to be repeated as the circuit is optimized or redefined


Abstract Short-chain fatty acids, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate are metabolites of dietary fibre produced by microbiota in the large intestine, have been proposed to contribute to effects on bone homeostasis. However, it is unclear whether they are used in osteoblasts and directly affect bone formation. We investigated whether short-chain fatty acids are absorbed in osteoblast cells and influence early osteoblastic differentiation using MC3T3-E1 cells. Acetate and propionate upregulated alkaline phosphatase activity, which is an osteoblast differentiation marker, and acetate upregulated alkaline phosphatase mRNA expression after treatment for 9 days, whereas butyrate did not in MC3T3-E1 cells. Butyrate was absorbed more rapidly and to a greater extent than acetate and propionate. These results indicate that short-chain fatty acids were used in osteoblastic cells, and particularly acetate and propionate directly upregulated differentiation in primary osteoblasts. Therefore, acetate and propionate might be useful for maintaining a positive balance of bone turnover.


Introduction: Safe drinking water supply plays an important role in war zones, that is, emergency situations of military forces. Achieving this goal, choosing correct water resources (quantity), planning conservation and distribution systems along with disinfection as a minimum process for water treating (quality) are the essentials for the effective prevention of water-related contagious diseases and the elimination of potential pathogens in water. During most wars, safe water supply for military forces has been one of the worries of commanders, because lack of water or its contamination may cause interruption or failure. Methods: We performed this study through tracing the oral history narrated by 46 people who were the health personnel of Iran-Iraq war 1980-1988in west war zones. Documentation resources, health files and contents, dissertations and written reports were used to gather required information. Results: Drinking water during war operations in west war regions was safely supplied using these ways: 1000-18000 liter road tanks that moved along soldiers' tracks usually were nightly filled up across safe regions like Mehran and Gilan-e-Gharb – compared to operation regions- and then chlorinated and disinfected by health technicians. As operation continued, big road tanks came from back lines and distributed water among smaller road tanks going to the front lines. There were bottles accompanying 10 to 15 chlorine tablets for each soldier whereby they could supply water out of springs and rivers along the route. Necessary educations were provided for the soldiers on chlorine tablets. In the last years of the war packed water was made up in addition to mineral water especially during chemical attacks. Because of Iraq chemical attacks and contamination of rivers, in some operations like Moslem-bin-aqeel (Apr 1982 in soomar district), 20 liter cruets were used in early stages of operation; The Cruets were put in back pack and were loaded by soldier. In the last stages, when operation progressed, small water road tanks (500 to 1200 liters) were used which had been filled, chlorinated and disinfected in Islamabad-e-Gharb prior to the war operation. Conclusion: Due to rough terrains of the Earth, impassable roads and in some cases loss of any path roads in the west, especially mountainous regions, water supply was brought via particular methods that most of them were innovative and peerless. Altogether, water supplies to soldiers during operations in the west war zones were almost decent, whether quantitatively or qualitatively. Keywords: Water supply, Safe water, Military, Iran, Iraq.


Implantable drug delivery systems (IDDSs) offer good patient compliance and allow the controlled delivery of drugs over prolonged times. However, their application is limited due to the scarce material selection and the limited technological possibilities to achieve extended drug release. Porous structures are an alternative strategy that can overcome these shortcomings. The present work focuses on the development of porous IDDS based on hydrophilic (HPL) and hydrophobic (HPB) polyurethanes and chemical pore formers (PFs) manufactured by hot-melt extrusion. Different PF types and concentrations were investigated to gain a sound understanding in terms of extrudate density, porosity, compressive behavior, pore morphology and liquid uptake. Based on the rheological analyses, a stable extrusion process guaranteed porosities of up to 40% using NaHCO3 as PF. The average pore diameter was between 140 and 600 µm and was indirectly proportional to the concentration of PF. The liquid uptake of HPB was determined by the open pores, while for HPL both open and closed pores influenced the uptake. In summary, through the rational selection of the polymer type, the PF type and concentration, porous carrier systems can be produced continuously via extrusion, whose properties can be adapted to the respective application site.


Ensemble learning has been successfully used in many areas, due to its powerful ability to solve complex problems. In recent years, some researchers have shown that ensemble of some learners instead of all individual learners could get better performances. However, how to select individual learners as diverse as possible is a very important issue. In this paper, a new diversity measure is proposed to achieve a better selection of individual learners. Different from the commonly used diversity measures, it makes full of the data distribution information provided by the cheap and abundant unlabeled data rather than the expensive and scarce labeled data in order to obtain the higher classification accuracy. The selection method based on the new diversity measure is simple in computation and independent of models. Experimental results demonstrate its good performances.


This paper presents TrashCan, a large dataset comprised of images of underwater trash collected from a variety of sources, annotated both using bounding boxes and segmentation labels, for development of robust detectors of marine debris. The dataset has two versions, TrashCan-Material and TrashCan-Instance, corresponding to different object class configurations. The eventual goal is to develop efficient and accurate trash detection methods suitable for onboard robot deployment. Along with information about the construction and sourcing of the TrashCan dataset, we present initial results of instance segmentation from Mask R-CNN and object detection from Faster R-CNN. These do not represent the best possible detection results but provides an initial baseline for future work in instance segmentation and object detection on the TrashCan dataset.


This work-in-progress presents a parameterizable  compact model of a microelectromechanical system  (MEMS) beam element that includes mechanical contact  and electrical current flow upon gap closure. Quasistatic  electromechanical simulation analyses include the initial  onset of pull-in followed by an increase in surface contact  as voltage and current continue to increase. The traditional  beam element without contact is a key building block for  many types of MEMS. However, by adding mechanical and  electrical contact physics to the beam model, then the  computationally-efficient design and simulation of many  other types of MEMS that experience contact may be  explored. Prior efforts by others include closed-form pull-in  analytical models and simulations of pull-in and lift-off  without electrical contact. We describe our compact model  and simulate the characteristic behaviors of a simple  gap-closing actuator and a zipper actuator with dimples.


Automobile chassis are constantly being redesigned to improve crashworthiness and decrease overall weight to assist in increased fuel efficiency. Typically, thin-walled axial members such as rectangular and circular tubes are employed as energy absorbers in front and side collisions. These members are designed to absorb a maximum amount of energy in a short period of time by utilizing their collapse behaviors. During collapse, these axial crush tubes undergo progressive folding which exhibits moderate and relatively constant plateau stress regions as collapse occurs. This study is a continuation of the investigation into cross-shaped crush tubes and the addition of a composite graded cellular core addition. The cross shaped tube and graded cellular core have shown to have distinct deformation modes and behaviors under axial loading conditions. Additionally, the work presented here further investigates this structure through the addition of crushable foam material within the cell voids. This foam addition along with bonding techniques of the inner core to external tube structure assist in altering the crush behavior of the tubes while increasing stability and energy absorbing capacity of the structure. Numerical simulations were conducted in ABAQUS finite element software for cross tubes under axial impact loading conditions. Four cases were considered for the present study: no bonding, 3 bonding sites, 5 bonding sites, and 7 bonding sites. These cases were matched with the previous study results to determine the effects of crushable foam addition to the graded cellular core structure. The results show that the addition of crushable foam material to the cellular core structure further increases the stability of the structure and is less susceptible to Euler type buckling. The crushable foam improved structural strength and increased overall energy absorbing capacity. The results presented are a positive indicator of the potential to tune automobile chassis energy absorbers to significantly increase energy absorbing potential and alter the behavior of these members to perform favorably under axial impact loading conditions.


The ability to achieve high surface areas with nanomaterials brought several advancements in energy storage devices and their applications in different industries. Supercapacitors, a new generation of energy storage devises, have quick charge and discharge abilities, and hold as much energy as batteries and other chemical storage devices. The present study focuses on the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) inclusions in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrolytes for the improved capacitance values, which may affect the lifetime, charge holding, and charging and discharging rates of the graphene nanoflake-based supercapacitors. In this research, various supercapacitors were constructed using the reduced graphene oxide nanoflakes, PVA and PVA incorporated with CNTs, and the best candidates were selected for the future considerations. The test results showed that the CNT concentrations of 0.1–1.0wt% in PVA enhanced the capacitance (charge holding capacity) and reduced the internal resistance of the electrolytes significantly. This study may open up new possibilities for the supercapacitors and other energy storage devices currently under developments.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Network pharmacology is an approach that uses bioinformatics to predict and identify multiple drug targets and interactions in disease. Here, we applied network pharmacology to investigate the potential mechanisms of action of triptolide, an active component in the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, in colorectal cancer (CRC). We first searched public databases for genes and proteins known to be associated with CRC, as well as those predicted to be targets of triptolide, and then used Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify enriched gene pathways and networks. Networks and pathways that overlapped between CRC-associated proteins and triptolide target proteins were then used to predict candidate protein targets of triptolide in CRC. The following proteins were found to be expressed in both CRC-associated networks and triptolide target networks: JUN, FOS, CASP3, BCL2, IFNG, and VEGFA. Docking studies suggested that triptolide can fit in the binding pocket of the four top candidate triptolide target proteins (CASP3, BCL2, VEGFA and IFNG). The overlapping pathways were activation of neuroinflammation signaling, glucocorticoid receptor signaling, T helper (Th) cell differentiation, Th1/Th2 activation, and colorectal cancer metastasis signaling. These results show that network pharmacology can be used to generate hypotheses about how triptolide exerts therapeutic effects in CRC. Network pharmacology may be a useful method for characterizing multi-target drugs in complex diseases.


The vibration induced in a deformable object upon automatic handling by robot manipulators can often be bothersome. This paper presents a force/torque sensor-based method for handling deformable linear objects (DLOs) in a manner suitable to eliminate acute vibration. An adjustment-motion that can be attached to the end of an arbitrary end-effector's trajectory is employed to eliminate vibration of deformable objects. Differently from model-based methods, the presented sensor-based method does not employ any information from previous motions. The adjustment-motion is generated automatically by analyzing data from a force/torque sensor mounted on the robot wrist. Template matching technique is used to find out the matching point between the vibrational signal of the DLO and a template. Experiments are conducted to test the new method under various conditions. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the sensor-based adjustment-motion.


An extensive literature documents the infant's ability to recognize and discriminate a variety of facial expressions of emotion. However, little is known about the neural bases of this ability. To examine the neural processes that may underlie infants' responses to facial expressions, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) while 7-month-olds watched pictures of a happy face and a fearful face (Experiment 1) or an angry face and a fearful face (Experiment 2). In both experiments an early positive component, a middle-latency negative component and a later positive component were elicited. However, only when the infants saw the happy and fearful faces did the components differ for the two expressions. These results are discussed in the context of the neurobiological processes involved in preceiving facial expressions.


Fundamental research of the coffee economy have shown that regional class alliances were established imprecisely in the territories, usually in the central mountains of Colombia (although not exclusively or only way) and organized by the State being a necessary response to the inevitable need to defend certain values as embodied and structured regional coherence. Partnerships proposals actively promoted favorable conditions.


Sophisticated network-based informatics support will increasingly be required for collaborating biomedical laboratories located in different geographic locations, both to accommodate the massive amount of data being generated in certain fields, and to allow different types of data produced at different laboratories to be analyzed in an integrated fashion. The paper describes the experience of the Yale Center for Medical Informatics in providing informatics support for collaborative projects in gene mapping (as part of the national Human Genome Project) and neuroscience (as part of the national Human Brain Project). The paper describes the informatics needs of the two projects and the solutions being developed, describes certain lessons learned, and discusses certain broader issues that arise.


The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of corporate governance mechanisms, namely proportion of independent commissioner, audit committee, and foreign ownership toward the earnings management. The populations of this research were the manufacturing companies listed in Indonesian stock exchange 2011-2013. Based on purposive sampling tecnique that sample was taken 70 manufacturing companies. The result of this research show that the proportion of independent commissioner has negative significant influence toward the earnings management, while audit committee and foreign ownership has no significant influence toward the earnings management. The results of this study have implications for investors in the context of decision making based on the company reported earnings. Companies that have a large proportion of independent commissioner is more qualified than the companies that have a small proportion of independent commissioner.


How do supraspinal circuits produce the diversity of locomotor outputs needed for an animal's survival? To answer this question, I study the reticulospinal (RS) system of larval zebrafish, as these cells provide the main source of descending motor control. I combine two-photon calcium imaging of RS neurons with high-speed behavioural tracking to study RS activity across a range of kinematically distinct swim types. Examination of reticulospinal recruitment across different swim types has revealed unique, but partially overlapping activity patterns, suggesting that some cells encode kinematics common to multiple swim types, while others encode kinematics which are characteristic of a specific swim type. By developing regression-based encoding models which describe a cell's activity using low-level tail kinematics, we identify "kinematic modules". These modules contain cells with similar kinematic encoding and thus represent the core combinations of kinematic features encoded by RS activity. I find that laser ablation of cells within a module produce specific kinematic deficits without affecting shared elements of locomotion. This data suggest a circuit architecture where kinematic modules can be differentially combined to produce locomotor diversity through the context-specific recruitment of particular groups of RS neurons. I also describe a novel preparation for the imaging of fluorescent activity indicators in larval zebrafish using an acousto-optic lens microscope. This methodology allows for rapid 3D point scanning of the entire reticulospinal complex during visual stimulus presentation and behavioural tracking. The improved temporal resolution and sampling across the whole population provides an opportunity to examine the relative timing of activity between reticulospinal neurons.


In this paper, a novel blind multi-user detection(MUD) framework for autonomous grant-free high-overloading non-orthogonal multiple access is introduced in detail aimed at fulfilling the requirements of fifth-generation massive Machine Type Communications. From the perspective of the transmitter side, pros and cons regarding diverse types of emerging grant-free transmission, particularly autonomous grant-free, are elaborated and presented in a comparative manner. In the receiver end,code word-level successive interference cancellation (CL-SIC) is revealed as the main framework to perform MUD. In addition, underpinning state-of-art blind ideas such as blind activation detection taking advantage of the statistical metric of the aggregate signals, blind equalization based on the constellation's simple geometric character of low order modulation symbols, and blind channel estimation employing solely the successfully decoded code words are explained.


In physics, we use the same laws to explain why airplanes fly, and why they crash. In psychiatry, we use one set of laws to explain sane behaviour, which we attribute to reasons (choices), and another set of laws to explain insane behaviour, which we attribute to causes (diseases). God, man's idea of moral perfection, judges human deeds without distinguishing between sane persons responsible for their behaviour and insane persons deserving to be excused for their evil deeds. It is hubris to pretend that the insanity defence is compassionate, just, or scientific. Mental illness is to psychiatry as phlogiston was to chemistry. Establishing chemistry as a science of the nature of matter required the recognition of the non-existence of phlogiston. Establishing psychiatry as a science of the nature of human behaviour requires the recognition of the non-existence of mental illness.


Western Java is densely populated with high socio-economic activity. Climate-related disasters can be mitigated with the support of an understanding of systems that produce reliable climate predictions. One of the climate variables included in hydrometeorological disasters is rainfall. The characteristics of rainfall in Western Java cannot be separated from the sea surface temperature (SST) around the area. This study compares the relationship between SST and rainfall with singular value decomposition (SVD) and compares it with Pearson's correlation. SVD Model performance was evaluated using square covariance fraction (SCF) and Pearson correlation. The results showed that rainfall has a higher correlation with SST Anomaly (SSTA) by using SVD, with a correlation of about 0.63 in 6 to 9 months without lag time. Rainfall in western Java was closely related to the positive SSTA anomaly in southern Indonesia, especially the waters south of Java Island, and negative anomalies in other areas. Furthermore, atmospheric dynamic analysis showed that the positive coefficient expansion is followed by warmer SST, lower surface air pressure, higher water vapor, and higher rainfall, all were respective to their normal conditions around western Java. This study concludes that warmer SSTA around Western Java causes increased rainfall in western Java than normal and potentially impacts the hydrological disaster in West Java.


Microsphere is one of the multiple unit dosage forms.  microspheres were prepared by solvent evaporation method. Diltiazem hydrochloride and each polymer mixture were dissolved completely in acetone-methanol mixture by stirring at 500 rpm  in ice-bath at 10oC for 10 minute.  Above mixture was poured rapidly into the liquid paraffin previously cooled at 10oC, while it was being stirred by mechanical stirrer at 1000 rpm.  Resulting emulsion was agitated at 35oC for 4 hours and the organic solvent, acetone-methanol were removed completely by evaporation. Solidified microspheres were filtered through Whatmann filter paper. Scanning of Diltiazem hydrochloride was performed into Methanol, acid buffer (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 7.2).  The characteristic peak, lmax was found to be at 237, 237 and 239 nm respectively. The entrapment efficiencies ranged from 86.11 – 98.90%, Drug release from microspheres was determined using paddle type in-vitro dissolution method. This slow increase in the release behaviour was observed in the formulation F5, F6, F7, F8, F13, F14, F15 and F16; rapid increase in release behaviour was observed in the formulation F1, F3, F9 and F11. Whereas almost the linear behaviour after the burst release was observed in the formulations F2, F3, F9, F10, F12.
 Key words: Microsphere, Diltiazemhydrochloride,Eudragit RL 100,entrapment efficiency.


BACKGROUND
Cardiovascular diseases cause about 50% of deaths in Poland. These disorders most frequently result from atherosclerotic changes in arteries. Knowledge on the prevention and elimination of risk factors is vital in reducing the development of atherosclerosis and other non-infectious chronic diseases.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was the assessment of junior secondary and secondary school students knowledge pertaining to atherosclerosis risk factors and prevention.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
197 students participated in the project, with 97 attending junior secondary and 100--secondary school in the voivodship of Malopolskie. The junior and upper secondary level pupils originated from small towns (86.6%, 51%) and villages (13.4%, 49%) of the Bochnia and Tuchow districts. The study was conducted in May 2010 by means of a diagnostic survey including an anonymous questionnaire.

RESULTS
As risk factors encouraging the development of atherosclerosis to the greatest extent the junior secondary school students selected overweight and obesity, high cholesterol levels, fast food consumption and smoking. The majority of the junior secondary school pupils (61%) and those from the upper secondary level (85%) stated that what should be undertaken in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis is the reduction or elimination of food products rich in cholesterol, such as egg yolks, cream, butter, fatty meat. More than half of the junior and upper secondary school level pupils (57%) knew that the consumption of saturated fatty acids should be reduced as a preventive means against cardiovascular diseases. More than 73% of the junior and 85% of the upper secondary school pupils indicated the important role played by physical activity and maintaining a proper body mass in prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONS
The youth's knowledge ofatherosclerosis development risk factors was insufficient. Secondary school students displayed a higher level of knowledge with regard to prophylaxis and dangers pertaining to non-infectious chronic diseases than the respondents attending junior secondary school.


Trade liberalization during the last decades has increased among nations as a result of decreased tariffs. However, during the same period, market agents have created new protection measures to replace such mechanisms in an attempt to promote the domestic economic stability of countries, while expanding and ensuring the trade between nations. Considering that Brazil is the second largest broiler producer and chicken-meat exporter worldwide, the present study proposed to analyze the main barriers imposed on Brazilian chicken meat imports by the ten major importing countries. This is a documentary research with primary and secondary data, of a descriptive-exploratory nature, under a qualitative approach. Semi-structured questionnaires including openand close-ended questions were sent using Survey Monkey software to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein. The study revealed that technical requirements are those most often imposed by the importing countries, indicating their concern about the safety, quality, and origin of the imported good. Commercial requirements do not constitute a problem for the growth of Brazilian chicken meat exports; however, the requirements made by some countries preclude the exports.


The paper develops a theoretical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers to examine the market and welfare effects of the introduction of variety-level genetic use restriction technologies (V-GURTs) under the current No-Labeling regime of GMPs in the US market. Specifically, the study examines how the agronomic characteristics of GURTs, consumer perceptions and preferences regarding interventions in the production process (i.e., genetic modification) and producer cost structures (e.g., dependency on saving seed) affect the adoption of the technology by producers, the market acceptance of GURTs by consumers and consequently the innovator's incentive to introduce the new technology. Analytical results show that the introduction of GURTs may be welfare enhancing for consumers, producers and innovating firms when consumer aversion to GURTs is low, the agronomic benefits of the GURTs crop are high, and the expected penalty producers face when they cheat on their GM licensing agreements (e.g., due to inefficient or costly monitoring)is low.


We present a general formula for the topology and H-flux of the T-dual of a type II compactification. Our results apply to T-dualities with respect to any free circle action. In particular, we find that the manifolds on each side of the duality are circle bundles whose curvatures are given by the integral of the dual H-flux over the dual circle. As a corollary we conjecture an obstruction to multiple T-dualities, generalizing the obstruction known to exist on the twisted torus. Examples include SU(2) Wess-Zumino-Witten models, lens spaces, and the supersymmetric string theory on the nonspin AdS5 x CP2 x S1 compactification.


ABSTRACT The changing system of scholarly communications and scholarly publishing is exciting for some and unsettling for others. As libraries use their resources and actions to shape the system, they seek to create a system that better reflects their priorities and values. But, at the same time, other stakeholders are also acting in the system. How these various forces will interact over time is unknown, but futures thinking offers an approach to identifying and considering a range of possibilities. This preconference was structured as an experiential workshop, in which participants explored approaches to considering the possible futures of scholarly communications and publishing, and then their implications for access, collections, and preservation. Though no specific conclusions could be reached about "the future" of scholarly communications as the emphasis was on exploring tools and techniques, the workshop enabled participants to think critically and creatively about their organizations, the impact of change and trends, and strategic positioning going forward.


This study presents the derivations of the voltage transfer functions of the amplifier A, the feedback network β, the loop gain T, the closed-loop gain Af and also the characteristic equation for the common-gate (CG) Colpitts oscillator, using the small-signal model of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) CG Colpitts oscillator. Using the characteristic equation, the expressions for the oscillation frequency of the sinusoidal output voltage and the condition for oscillation in steady state are derived. The characteristic equation is also used to obtain a plot of trajectories of the closed-loop poles of the CG Colpitts oscillator by varying the MOSFET small-signal transconductance gm. The locations of the complex conjugate poles of closed-loop gain that depict the starting and steady-state conditions for oscillations are presented. Nyquist plots of the loop gain are given to illustrate the startup and steady-state conditions of oscillations. Simulation and experimental results to verify the theory are also given.


Let H n ( F ) be the space of n -square symmetric matrices over the field F . We generalize the main result of [M.H. Lim (1979). A note on the relation between the determinant and the permanent. Linear and Multilinear Algebra , 7 , 145-147], proving that the determinant is not convertible into the permanent on H n ( F ), provided that n ⩽ 3, F has at least n elements and the characteristic of F is not 2. The case n = 2 is also studied.


This article connects the pillars of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the complexities of living and dying in the United States. Our argument navigates among the emancipatory intent of ADA and the lives of people whose access to power, emancipation, and transformation are compromised by the historical and contemporary divisions of difference that infuse everyday life. The gaps between the possibilities of public policy, missed opportunities, and current realities create a significant, lasting impact on generations of Americans. While we acknowledge the landmark significance of ADA, we also press the imperative to expand and strengthen its impact. This article is framed in intersectionality, the politics of difference, and the potential of social policy.


Virtual and augmented reality devices and applications have enabled the user to experience a variety of simulated real-life experiences through first-person visual, auditory, and haptic feedback. However, among the numerous everyday interactions that have been emulated, the familiar interaction of touching or rubbing the eyes is yet to be explored and remains to be understood. In this paper, we aim to understand the components of natural hand-eye interaction, propose an interaction technique through a proof-of-concept prototype head-mounted display, and evaluate the user experience of the prototype through a user study. In addition, we share insights emerged from the studies with suggestions for further development of interaction techniques based on combinations of hardware and software.


This study aims to figure out how to calculate water recharge using the soil conservation service method, one of the most widely used methods for calculating runoff volume following rainfall. The research is being conducted in Ameriat Al-Falluja City, Al-Anbar Governorate. The Iraqi meteorological organization's Baghdad Airport and Al-Ramadi stations provided data on the research area from 1989 to 2020 as total annual rainfall (123.1 mm), the RH% (43%), the mean monthly T (23.6 °C), total evaporation (3169.61 mm), the wind speed (3.1 m/s), and the sunshine duration (9 h/day). The climate of the study area is described as arid. The total evapotranspiration value quantity is 1137.38 mm for the 32-year comparison period, while the total amount of correct evapotranspiration was 992.3 mm.
Water surplus is 36.7% of total rainfall, which equals 45.2 mm. Groundwater recharge is 45.2 mm, with a rate of 36.7%, showing the groundwater recharge (%) from total rainfall. The value of groundwater recharge throughout a year is about equivalent to 23.6848* 105 m3/year.


Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum remains a public health problem in Nigerian children with treatment complicated by expansion of chloroquine resistant strains known to harbour a common K76T point mutation in their pfcrt alleles. Here, we report the outcome of a 2 – year (March 2000 – February 2002) molecular surveillance for pfcrtT76 in children aged 6 months – 13 years with acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria in rural and urban Lagos, Nigeria. Rural-urban pfcrtT76 acquisition of 48.7 vs. 73.7% and 67.3 vs. 74.6% due to monoclonal and polyclonal P. falciparum parasitaemia, respectively, were found in the two study years, suggesting unstable but increasing prevalence of pfcrt T76 allele acquisition in the rural area. Further analyses showed that acquisition of pfcrtT76 allele was independent of sex but occurred more in ≤ 5 – year old children than older children in both populations. The impacts of K76T mutation in pfcrt gene and immunity on the clinical efficacy of chloroquine against acute uncomplicated malaria are discussed. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (4), pp. 361-366, 2005


Solar and wind energy data available for Oman indicate that these two resources are likely to play an important role in the future energy generation in this country. In this paper, a model is designed to assess wind and solar power cost per kWh of energy produced using different sizes of wind machines and photovoltaic (PV) panels at two sites in Oman, which then can be generalised for other locations in Oman. Hourly values of wind speed and solar radiation recorded for several years are used for these locations. The wind profiles from Thumrait and Masirah island are modelled using the Weibull distribution. The cost of wind-based energy is calculated for both locations using different sizes of turbines. Furthermore, this paper presents a study carried out to investigate the economics of using PV only and PV with battery as an energy fuel saver in two villages. The results show that the PV energy utilisation is an attractive option with an energy cost of the selected PV ranges between 0.128 and 0.144 $/kWh at 7.55% discount rate compared to an operating cost of 0.128–0.558 $\kWh for diesel generation, considering the capital cost of diesel units as sunk.


Introduction: Postural control is necessary for conducting all activities and is the result of corporation of somatosensory, visual and vestibular systems. Impairment in each of these systems leads to disturbance of postural control and increases the risk of falling and injury. Fatigue is one of the common conditions that can affect postural control. The aim of this study was to elucidate different effects of Electrical Stimulation (ES) and Voluntary (Vol) quadriceps fatigues on postural control. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional randomized order of testing study was performed at Biomechanics Laboratory of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from December 2014 to May 2015. Sixteen healthy active males (24.5±1.36 yr; height: 155.37±53.79 cm and body weight: 70.93±4.5 kg) participated. All the participants underwent two fatigue protocols: ES and VOL contractions. Each fatigue procedure contains isometric contraction with five seconds holding contraction, two seconds rest between each contraction and intensity of voluntary contraction was 20% of Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC). In each fatigue protocols, muscles MVC decreased to 30% in both ES and VOL protocols. MVC and postural control measured by using a digital dynamometer and a force plate that registered the Canter of Pressure (COP). Data collected before and after completion of each fatigue protocol. Monopedal postural control was recorded in eyes closed condition. Results: Results did not show significance effect of fatigue on area and mean velocity while showed significant effect on the anterior-posterior (Y-axis) and on the mediolateral direction (X-axis). Conclusion: Thirty percent loss of MVC in quadriceps muscle did not impair postural control. Keywords: Postural control, Quadriceps muscle fatigue, Voluntary contraction, Electrical stimulation


Abstract. In this paper, we perform a systematic evaluation of the impact of Global Positioning System radio occultation (GPSRO) data on typhoon-track prediction over the northwestern Pacific. Specifically, we perform data assimilation and forecast experiments using the Typhoon Weather Research and Forecasting (TWRF) system at 45 km resolution on 11 typhoons (with a total of 327 cases) in the period of 2008–2010 over the northwestern Pacific, with or without the use of GPSRO refractivity observations. On average, about 100 GPSRO soundings are assimilated over a 12 h partially cycling assimilation period. The results indicate that the assimilation of GPSRO data reduces the 72 h track forecast errors by approximately 12 km (5 %). Although this is only a modest improvement, it is statistically significant. The assimilation of GPSRO data improves the analysis and the forecast of temperature, water vapor, and wind fields. Further analysis shows that the reduction in typhoon-track forecast errors can be attributed to the improved prediction of western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) and its associated circulation, which leads to better forecasting of the environmental steering flow.


PURPOSE
Present a new Monte Carlo code (MCEBRT) for patient-specific dose calculations in external beam radiotherapy. The code MLC model is benchmarked and real patient plans are re-calculated using MCEBRT and compared with commercial TPS.

METHODS
MCEBRT is based on the GEPTS system (Med. Phys. 29 (2002) 835-846). Phase space data generated for Varian linac photon beams (6 - 15 MV) are used as source term. MCEBRT uses a realistic MLC model (tongue and groove, rounded ends). Patient CT and DICOM RT files are used to generate a 3D patient phantom and simulate the treatment configuration (gantry, collimator and couch angles; jaw positions; MLC sequences; MUs). MCEBRT dose distributions and DVHs are compared with those from TPS in absolute way (Gy).

RESULTS
Calculations based on the developed MLC model closely matches transmission measurements (pin-point ionization chamber at selected positions and film for lateral dose profile). See Fig.1. Dose calculations for two clinical cases (whole brain irradiation with opposed beams and lung case with eight fields) are carried out and outcomes are compared with the Eclipse AAA algorithm. Good agreement is observed for the brain case (Figs 2-3) except at the surface where MCEBRT dose can be higher by 20%. This is due to better modeling of electron contamination by MCEBRT. For the lung case an overall good agreement (91% gamma index passing rate with 3%/3mm DTA criterion) is observed (Fig.4) but dose in lung can be over-estimated by up to 10% by AAA (Fig.5). CTV and PTV DVHs from TPS and MCEBRT are nevertheless close (Fig.6).

CONCLUSION
A new Monte Carlo code is developed for plan verification. Contrary to phantombased QA measurements, MCEBRT simulate the exact patient geometry and tissue composition. MCEBRT can be used as extra verification layer for plans where surface dose and tissue heterogeneity are an issue.


Bacteria have evolved various types of resistance mechanism to toxic soft metals and metalloids, including cadmium/zinc, copper/silver and arsenic/antimony. Active efflux of the metal is a frequently utilized stratagem to produce resistance by lowering the intracellular concentration to subtoxic levels. Reduction to a less-toxic form or to a form recognized by an efflux system also occurs. Pumps utilized for resistance may have evolved from normal cellular systems. For example, plasmid-mediated cadmium resistances may have evolved from a common ancestor of the pump involved in zinc homoeostasis. Pumps are more efficient than carriers and may have evolved by developing carriers that associate with ATPase subunits.


In this paper, we study the existence of 0-1 universal minimal total dominating functions in a graph. We establish a formulation of linear inequalities to characterize universal minimal total dominating functions and show that for a kind of graphs whose adjacent matrices are balanced, the existence of universal minimal total dominating functions coincides with that of 0-1 ones. It is also proved that for general graphs, the problem of testing the existence of 0-1 universal minimal total dominating functions is NP-hard.


Seismic activity can cause Earth9s crust and upper mantle to deform and then relax slowly, and this relaxation can be detected decades after the original event. In his Perspective,
 Hammond
 discusses results reported in the same issue by
 Gourmelen and Amelung
 in which satellite-based radar (InSAR) was used to detect the surface deformation in the Basin and Range province of the western United States caused by earthquakes in the early to mid-20th century. The data indicate that disagreements between geodetic mapping (such as obtained by Global Positioning System measurements) and paleoseismic observations may be explained by postseismic relaxation. Moreover, the results suggest that magnitude information about past earthquakes might be retrieved by such postseismic analysis.


In this study, the degrees of consolidation were evaluated by analyzing the long-term settlement measured at the 3 work sites with soft ground in Gyeongnam Area. The Hyperbolic, Hoshino and Asaoka method were used, which were focused on prediction of long-term settlement of land on the basis of field measurement data. And the applicability of the settlement prediction method according to the measurement periods was investigated by analyzing the degree of consolidation at the target areas after dividing the terms into early and latter parts. According to the results obtained at the early stage of consolidation, the Hyperbolic method appeared to be in the highest applicability level, which was followed by Asaoka and Hoshino method in the order of level. In the case of latter stage of consolidation, Asaoka method appeared to be in the highest applicability level, which was followed by and the Hyperbolic, Hoshino method in the order of level.


Part of a series of focused subject glossaries which aim to provide a guide to all the key terms relevant to the A Level and GNVQ syllabuses within the subject area, this handbook, now in its second edition, has been revised and updated to include new terminology and material. It takes account of the new specifications for the GNVQ Advanced Business, and also of the revisions to the A Level Business Studies syllabuses. Its alphabetical, cross-referenced format makes it an easy-to-use revision source.


The study of the optoelectronic effects of plasmonic metal nanoparticles on semiconductors has led to compelling evidence for plasmon-enhanced water splitting. We review the relevant physics, device geometries, and research progress in this area. We focus on localized surface plasmons and their effects on semiconductors, particularly in terms of energy transfer, scattering, and hot electron transfer.


At the outset I want to acknowledge the splendid cooperation which I have received in the preparation of this report by the members of my committee. Their support has been most gratifying, and the information received from them on progress in our field in the last year is so complete that I doubt whether I can do justice to their contributions in the space allotted to the report. The year's activities in electrical, geothermal, radioactive, and soil analysis methods will be covered in this report in the order given. Each of these will be subdivided into applications in mining, oil exploration, engineering geology, and activities along scientific or theoretical lines.


Accepted: 19.08.2021 Academic writing block is a psychology-based writing problem that has a productivity-lowering effect on the publishing process. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable assessment tool to measure academic writing block. To this end, during the pre-trial and trial applications, academicians were interviewed face to face. The main application was realized through the online form. A pre-reliability test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and total item correlation were conducted in the trial application. In the main application, reliability test, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and total item correlation were performed for construct validity. After the trial application, it was determined that the scale has a four-factor structure consisting of 23 items. Cronbach Alpha values were calculated to determine the preliminary reliability of the scale. CFA was conducted to test the construct validity of the Academic Writing Block Scale (AWBS). It was observed that the structure with four implicit variables determined in CFA was confirmed by the remaining 18 items in the scale. Besides, the total item correlation was used to test construct validity. Cronbach Alpha values were calculated to determine the reliability of AWBS. According to these values, it can be said that AWBS is a valid and reliable assessment instrument that can be used to measure academic writing block.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Aims of this article were (a) to explore how parents of premature infants experience guided family-centred care (GFCC), and (b) to compare how parents receiving GFCC versus standard care (SC) describe nurse-parent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND
Family-centred care (FCC) is acknowledged as fundamental to supporting parents of premature infants, and communication is central to this practice. Accordingly, nurses need good communication skills. GFCC is an intervention developed to improve nurse-parent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit. This intervention helps nurses to realize person-centred communication as an approach to optimize contemporary practice.

DESIGN
Our qualitative study had a descriptive and comparative design using semi-structured interviews to explore the parent's experience of GFCC.

METHODS
We conducted 10 dyad interviews with parents (n = 20) and two individual interviews with mothers of premature infants (n = 2). Parents in the intervention group versus SC group were 13 versus 9. Thematic analysis was applied.

FINDINGS
GFCC was generally experienced as supportive. Three interrelated themes were identified that illustrated how the intervention helped parents cope as persons, parents and couples: (a) discovering and expressing emotions, (b) reaching a deeper level of communication, and (c) obtaining mutual understanding. In contrast, SC communication was more superficial and less structured. Factors such as inaccessibility of nurses, inability to ask for assistance and parent popularity impaired successful communication.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Our study suggested that compared to SC, GFCC provided structured delivery of supportive communication between nurses and parents of premature infants. The intervention promoted the discovery of the parents' individual preferences and concerns, which enabled more focused communication, and set the stage for better nurse-parent and parent-parent understanding. We recommend GFCC as a method to improve communication in the neonatal intensive care unit.


The pre-stack depth migration of reflection seismic data can be expressed, with the framework of waveform inversion, as a linear least squares problem. While defining this operator precisely, additional main characteristics of the forward model, like its huge size, its sparsity and the composition with convolution are detailed. It ends up with a so-called discrete ill-posed problem, whose acceptable solutions have to undergo a regularization procedure. Direct and iterative methods have been implemented with specific attention to the convolution, and then applied on the same data set: a synthetic bidimensional profile of sensible dimensions with some added noise. The efficiency with regard to computational effort, storage requirements and regularizing effect is assessed. From the standpoint of the global inverse problem, the extra feature of providing a solution that can be differentiated with respect to a parameter such as background velocity is also discussed.


In 2007, diabetes affected around 244 million people across the globe. The number of diabetics worldwide is projected to reach 370 million by 2030. With diabetes incidence reaching epidemic proportions globally, diabetic nephropathy (DN) has emerged as one of the most difficult health conditions. Although therapeutic approaches such as rigorous blood glucose and blood pressure management are successful in preventing DN, they are far from ideal, and the number of diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease continues to grow. As a result, a unique treatment approach for DN should be devised. There is mounting evidence that advanced glycation end products (AGEs), senescent macro protein derivatives generated at an accelerated pace in DN, contribute to DN by generating oxidative stress. The purpose of this article is to discuss the pathophysiological significance of AGEs and their receptor in DN.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present a plan to expand the employment of the elderly in Small business as one of the ways to solve the problem of the supply and demand of the company due to the aging population and the problem of the elderly poverty. Research design, data and methodology: The method of this study is a qualitative research method, and the researcher visited a small and medium-sized company directly and collected data by conducting an in-depth interview with a business owner. The interview period was conducted on a total of 15 business owners from November 5, 2013 to November 18, 2013. Results: First, the reason why companies hire the elderly is because they are suitable people, and the reason why they are not employed is because the elderly are not suitable. Second, it was found that the most recruiting paths continued to work after retirement. Third, the strengths of the elderly in their businesses were diligence, integrity, leadership, wisdom, warmth, and skill. Disadvantages the elderly in their businesses include wanting to be treated as an adult, poor productivity, poor accuracy, and health risks. Fourth, in case of hiring the elderly, they were considering convergence with young employees, and it was suggested that there are no difficulties in being an elderly because the companies hiring the elderly use the elderly according to the characteristics of the elderly. Fifth, It is realistic to actively utilize the employment system after retirement. Sixth, it was found that, unlike young people, it is not easy to recruit people on the Internet, so it is necessary to improve the system. Lastly, some industries clearly distinguished between the jobs of the elderly and the jobs of the young, but in many industries, it was desirable to create jobs for the elderly by harmonizing the main and secondary jobs. Conclusion: Ultimately, the work of the elderly in small and mediumsized enterprises should be reborn as a high-quality job that can solve the poverty of the elderly by working as a regular worker in the enterprise, rather than simply working for the elderly.


Recent data suggest that the response of GH to GH-releasing factor (GRF) is reduced following prior exposure to high concentrations of GRF. However, it is unknown whether this is due to alterations in GRF receptors, adenylate cyclase activity or the size of a GRF-releasable storage pool of GH. In order to clarify these questions we have compared the effects of pretreatment with GRF (10 nmol/l every 2 h for 12 h) with those of pretreatment with somatostatin (SRIF; 1 mumol/l), forskolin (10 mumol/l) and GRF plus SRIF (10 nmol/l and 1 mumol/l added together) on the subsequent responses of GH to GRF (1 pmol/l-10 nmol/l), cholera toxin (10 nmol/l), 3-isobutyl-l-methylxanthine (IBMX) (100 mumol/l) and forskolin (10 mumol/l). Experiments were performed on 4-day monolayer cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells. The cells were pretreated with test substances every 2 h for 12 h and incubated with GRF or forskolin for 3 h. Per cent maximal (Bmax) GH responses to GRF (10 nmol/l) were reduced after pretreatment with both GRF (control, 173% of basal; GRF, 25% of basal; P less than 0.001) and forskolin (98% of basal; P less than 0.001), but were increased after pretreatment with SRIF (246% of basal; P less than 0.02). However, GH responses after pretreatment with GRF plus SRIF were not significantly different from those of the control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Evolutionary economists have tended to assess firms and industries separately, neglecting the role of their interaction in the process of economic growth and development. We trace the separation of firms and industries to Marshall, whose industrial analysis by means of the representative firm formalizes population thinking as "thin" means of relating firms and industries. Penrose avoids the industry concept by focussing on heterogeneous firms, while Young and Steindl develop mundane explanations of firms' relations within groups, locating the impetus for growth in a poorly understood environment. We conclude that evolutionary economics should revisit firms' boundaries, not in the sense of explaining the existence of firms, but in a relating and communicating sense in which boundaries signify selective means of relations with others.


This paper examines Damaris Cudworth Masham's, also known as Lady Masham, first work, A Discourse Concerning the Love of God. Included is a transcription of Masham's original piece with annotations and an introduction. The introduction provides a detailed background of Masham's life from a child to an adult woman. The relationships Masham held throughout her life are reflective her in works. The Discourse, Masham's first work, is a relentless attack on the occasionalist movement lead by Nicholas Malebranche and further developed by John Norris. Norris, with whom Masham had a correspondence, advocated the occasionalist movement and deemed that man should love God with desire rather than benevolence. Masham, with the influence of John Locke, disagreed with Norris's view, deeming this to be absurd in accordance with God's infinite knowledge. More so, the Discourse is a way of Masham's expressing her deeply rooted empiricist perspective and her view against enthusiasm. Masham is one of the many women philosophers who continues to go unnoticed and discussed despite her obvious ability to discuss and contribute to philosophy. This thesis is an expression of the importance of women philosophers as a whole and represents a hope that one day the injustice of neglect towards women philosophers will come to an end.


From 1975 to 1989 114 patients with anal canal carcinoma were treated, 81 of these with radiotherapy (RT) alone and 33 with chemoradiotherapy (CRT), 80% respectively 82% of the patients were colostomy-free at the onset of therapy. RT was given to a total dose of 60 Gy in six weeks, for CRT additional simultaneous 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2 days 1 to 5 and 8 to 12) and mitomycin C (5 mg/m2 days 5 and 12) was administered. 67% respectively 82% of the patients had UICC stage II to IIIB disease predominantly with G2 and G3 squamous cell carcinomas. Local control after three years was 79% for the RT group vs. 82% for the CRT group. Three-year survival rate was 68% and 71%, respectively. These differences were not significant. Only for G1- compared to G3-tumors there is a significantly higher survival rate. Acute and late damage was slightly lower for the RT treatment group (77% and 25%) compared to the CRT group (79% and 30%). In both treatment groups there was one patient needing a permanent colostomy due to radiation induced proctitis. In conclusion, RT or CRT should be the primary form of treatment in patients with and canal carcinoma and abdominoperineal resection should only be performed in case of local recurrence or tumor persistence. The final decision about the indications for RT or CRT can only be made with the results of a prospective randomized trial.


Background: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS, OMIM 209900) is a rare autosomal recessive, clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder with 15 genes identified. The large amount of coding sequence challenges the cost effectiveness of mutational analysis of BBS. Material and methods: We present our mutational analysis experience (83 BBS families) in the context of the literature published up to September 2010, to provide a comprehensive tabulation of all BBS1–BBS12 mutant alleles and optimize a screening approach. Results: We identified two BBS disease alleles in 76% of probands. Together BBS1, BBS2, BBS10 and BBS12 account for 82.4% of published unrelated alleles. On average 82% of published alleles are private. The 267 published principal mutations were positioned and analysis of their distribution allowed the design of a mutation screening strategy. Starting by screening for recurrent mutations, for example BBS1 M390R (10% of our cohort) and BBS10 C91LfsX5 (6% of our cohort), allowed a capture of 23.5% of the principal mutated alleles. Following a hierarchy of frequently involved exons, subsequent sequencing of the 4 most commonly involved genes, BBS1, BBS10, BBS2 and BBS12 could bring this mutation detection to at least 62%. The 16 most frequently recurring alleles could be identified with the use of simple screening methods such as restriction enzyme digest and ARMS assay and require sequencing in only a few instances. Conclusion: Our results suggest that mutational analysis of such a "rare" genetically heterogeneous condition benefits from pooling of data. This allows the development of efficient and cost-conscious screening mutational analysis strategies.


Against the dismissal of sport as "only a game" not worth the deep investment that so many fans make in it, sport is often defended on the grounds that it cultivates important virtues of character that are useful in a range of real-life applications (discipline, resilience, pride, teamwork, and so on). Whatever merit these claims may have, this paper calls attention to something that has not been sufficiently previously appreciated, namely, what sport reveals about the nature of value. By considering the experience of the serious fan (rather than that of the player or casual spectator), the paper argues that sport illuminates important aspects of how to value, of the point of valuing, and of the propriety of valuing. It further argues that, even more fundamentally, the experience of the serious fan helps us to appreciate the ways in which valuing is itself a value.


Introduction, Martha Albertson Fineman Section One: From Women in the Law to Feminist Legal Theory 1. "Le Feminisme" and Professionalism in Law: Reflections on the History of Women Lawyers, Mary Jane Mossman 2. An Inconsistent Affair: Feminism and the Legal Academy, Margaret Thornton 3. Have Pantsuit, Will Travel, Patricia J. Williams 4. Grappling with Equality: One Feminist Journey, Martha Albertson Fineman Section Two: Engaging Equality 5. What's So Hard About Sex Equality?: Nature, Culture, and Social Engineering, Linda C. McClain 6. No Male or Female, Mary Anne Case 7. The New Faces of Feminism: Feminism in Action and Organic Feminists in a Post-Feminist Era, Michele Alexandre Section Three: Engaging Bodies 8. Feminist Legal Theory as Embodied Justice, Isabel Karpin and Roxanne Mykitiuk 9. Privatization and Punishment in the New Age of Reprogenetics, Dorothy E. Roberts 10. A Tale of Two Bodies: The Male Body and Feminist Legal Theory, Michael Thomson Section Four: Engaging Universals and Engaging Identities 11. The Vulnerable Subject: Anchoring Equality in the Human Condition, Martha Albertson Fineman 12. Resistance in the Afterlife of Identity, Darren Lenard Hutchinson 13. Gender Equality, Citizenship Status, and the Politics of Belonging, Siobhan Mullally Section Five: Engaging Intimacy and Family 14. When and Where They Enter, Robin West 15. New Frontiers in Family Law, Laura T. Kessler 16. Family Law, Feminist Legal Theory, and the Problem of Racial Hierarchy, Twila L. Perry 17. Living Alone: New Demographic Research, Adam P. Romero Section Six: Engaging the State 18. Learning the Lessons: What Feminist Legal Theory Teaches International Human Rights Law and Practice, Fionnuala Ni Aolain 19. Prosecuting Sexual Violence in the Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, Fiona de Londras 20. Theorizing the More Responsive State: Transcending the (National) Boundaries of Law, Laura Spitz Section Seven: Engaging Politics 21. Gender Scripting and Deliberative Democracy, Holning Lau 22. The Accidental Feminist: A Story of Transformation, Constitutional and Otherwise, Victoria F. Nourse 23. Defending and Developing Critical Feminist Theory as Law Leans Rightward, Martha T. McCluskey


We consider probability measures arising from the Cauchy summation identity for the LLT (Lascoux--Leclerc--Thibon) symmetric polynomials of rank $n \geq 1$. We study the asymptotic behaviour of these measures as one of the two sets of polynomials in the Cauchy identity stays fixed, while the other one grows to infinity. At $n=1$, this corresponds to an analogous limit of the Schur process, which is known to be given by the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE) corners process. Our main result states that, for $n>1$, our measures asymptotically split into two parts: a continuous one and a discrete one. The continuous part is a product of $n$ GUE corners processes; the discrete part is an explicit finite distribution on interlacing $n$-colourings of $n$ interlacing triangles, which has weights that are rational functions in the LLT parameter $q$. The latter distribution has a number of interesting (partly conjectural) combinatorial properties, such as $q$-nonnegativity and enumerative phenomena underlying its support. Our main tools are two different representations of the LLT polynomials, one as partition functions of a fermionic lattice model of rank $n$, and the other as finite-dimensional contour integrals, which were recently obtained in arXiv:2012.02376, arXiv:2101.01605.


SIR,-The bleeding which occurs in the performance of this operation can, in a large proportion of cases, be controlled by pressure with a hot saline pack. However, there remains a certain percentage of cases in which a relatively brisk haemorrhage occurs resistant to this simple measure. These cases are usually dealt with by Under-running the bleedin' point with a fine ligature, a procedure which is not always eaisy in its execution owing to the friable nature of the oedematouLs tissue of the pyloric tumour. The literature records haemorrhage as one of the dangers of the operation. I quote Szilagyi and McGaw': MN!9lany authors (Haberer and Ladd) consider post-operative haenmorrhage the most dreaded complication. Painstaking haemostasis in the wall of the pyloric canal has been insisted upon by these surgeons. although others believe that if the incision is properly placed the danger of bleeding is negligible with no haemostasis whatever (Browne and Meredith). In any event, post-operative haemorrhage is an important cause of death, being responsible for about 5'', of all post-operative deaths." In my experience brisk haemorrhage can occtur no matter where the pyloric incision is placed. On the surface of the pyloric tLumour are seen a variable number of hair-like vessels, and it is from these that almost all the bleeding arises. It occurred to me that if these vessels w e r e coagulated i n t w o parallel rows (before making the incision into the tumouLr ) the bleeding might be avoided. This is illtustrated diagranmmatically in the sketch ofi the pyloric tumour, in which a (a) are the two parallel rows of coagulation points where the vessels have been sealed by the diathermy electrode, and (b) shows the line of incision. The whole procedure takes about one minute. This technique was first tried in 1953 and an almost completely avascLilar incision of the tumour obtained. The same method has now been used in a considerable series of cases. and in no instance has a ligature been required. Furthermore, time is saved, as bleeding does not obscure clear vision of the mutcous membrane. The electrode used is blunt-ended and about 1 /16 in. (1.6 mm.) broad. It is bent in a slight cur-ve so that the flat part of the tip can be applied to the vessel. Infiltration analgesia is employed throughout. All these cases have been under the care of my consultant colleague Dr. L. A. Hawkins, who has .been responsible fortheir treatment both before and after operation. There has been no mortality.--I am, etc.,


We propose an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for generating 360-degree videos from videos recorded by monocular cameras. We also show immersive virtual reality content generation using AI through an analysis of user experience that compares manually designed and AI-generated 360-degree videos based on the proposed framework. The production of 360-degree videos conventionally requires special equipment, such as omni-directional cameras. Our framework is applicable to a massive amount of existing camera and video, hence it increases the availability of 360-degree videos. We implemented our framework in two steps. First, we generate a three-dimensional point cloud from the input video. Then, we apply AI-based methods to interpolate the sparse point cloud based on geometric and semantic information. Our framework will be applicable to several usages such as assisting surveying past traffic accident videos and education on showing the historical townscape of 360 degrees, etc.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro biocompatibility of denture relining materials using cell culture tests and a test for irritation mechanisms.

BACKGROUND
Denture relining materials contain non-reacted constituents that may leach out during use inducing local toxic or irritative effects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
One chemically cured, four visible light cured and five dual-cured products were included. Cured test specimens were used for the filter diffusion test, and extracts of cured specimens were applied in the MTT and the irritation test using the hen's egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) method.

RESULTS
Five of the tested materials were slightly or moderately cytotoxic in the filter diffusion test, and one product coated with a liner induced severe toxicity. Cell cultures incubated for 24 hour with the test samples were more damaged than those incubated for 2 hour. In the MTT test, extracts of nine of the 11 products induced cytotoxicity. No extracts showed irritation, whereas the coating and two bonding agents tested were strong irritants.

CONCLUSION
Most of the tested materials contained water soluble, toxic substances that leach out of the products and that some time was needed to obtain cytotoxic amounts of the leachables. Many dental materials elicit cytotoxic response, but this does not necessarily reflect the long-term risk for adverse effects as the oral mucosa is generally more resistant to toxic substances than a cell culture.


The purpose of this review study is to present the effect of swimming practice on bone mineral density in prepubertal female children as compared with the same age of children and gymnasts following former studies. The bone mineral density of prepubertal swimmers is the same as that of general girls. The impact load from the vertical direction increases the bone mineral density of the several sites in female gymnasts, but the increase in bone mineral density of swimmers due to mechanical stimulation may not be observed.


Convolutional neural networks are nowadays witnessing a major success in different pattern recognition problems. These learning models were basically designed to handle vectorial data such as images but their extension to non-vectorial and semi-structured data (namely graphs with variable sizes, topology, etc.) remains a major challenge, though a few interesting solutions are currently emerging.
In this paper, we introduce MLGCN; a novel spectral Multi-Laplacian Graph Convolutional Network. The main contribution of this method resides in a new design principle that learns graph-laplacians as convex combinations of other elementary laplacians – each one dedicated to a particular topology of the input graphs. We also introduce a novel pooling operator, on graphs, that proceeds in two steps: context-dependent node expansion is achieved, followed by a global average pooling; the strength of this two-step process resides in its ability to preserve the discrimination power of nodes while achieving permutation invariance. Experiments conducted on SBU and UCF-101 datasets, show the validity of our method for the challenging task of action recognition.


The reflections on the size of the security dimension would not be complete without reference to the cultural level. Stories, myths, fairy tales, including socially acceptable patterns of behavior and interpretations of the surrounding reality, accompanying individuals and societies in moments of transformation. They tame its complexity, giving the ability to adapt to new challenges or transformation based on patterns developed over the centuries. Perhaps the analysis of the past experiences and lessons, just in the times of technological progress and globalization, will enable us to build the security they seek.


A high quality genome annotation greatly facilitates successful cell line engineering. Standard draft genome annotation pipelines are based largely on de novo gene prediction, homology, and RNA-Seq data. However, draft annotations can suffer from incorrectly predictions of translated sequence, incorrect splice isoforms and missing genes. Here we generated a draft annotation for the newly assembled Chinese hamster genome and used RNA-Seq, proteomics, and Ribo-Seq to experimentally annotate the genome. We identified 4,333 new proteins compared to the hamster RefSeq protein annotation and 2,503 novel translational events (e.g., alternative splices, mutations, novel splices). Finally, we used this pipeline to identify the source of translated retroviruses contaminating recombinant products from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines, including 131 type-C retroviruses, thus enabling future efforts to eliminate retroviruses by reducing the costs incurred with retroviral particle clearance. In summary, the improved annotation provides a more accurate platform for guiding CHO cell line engineering, including facilitating the interpretation of omics data, defining of cellular pathways, and engineering of complex phenotypes.