The paper presents an attempt to increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy of locally advanced skin cancer by use of radiomodifiers. With this aim the researchers used metronidozol (MZ) and low-intensive laser emission (LILE), whoes radiosensibilizing activity is based on overcoming radioresistance of tumor hypoxic cell fraction. In order to increase MZ concentration in the tumor and eleminate its toxic effect the authors developed a new radiosensibilization technique, implying local use of a drug applicator. The technique is based on use of textile materials with specifed medical qualities (the method of their production was developed by the Scientific and Practical Association "Textileprogress"). The second direction of the research consisted in use of low-intensive laser emission as a radiosensibilizer, which was considered to be possible due to theoretical and experimental data suggesting the LILE capability of activating microcirculation in tumor and surrounding tissues. According to the authors of the article, the improvement of tumor microsirculation must increase tumor cell oxygenation, thus increasing their radiosensitivity. Applying radiosensibilization of hypoxic cells with MZ and LILE in radiotherapy of T2 basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas with the tumor size 4-5 cm and T3 tumors using original dose fractioning regimens (TFD 72 to 73 Gy) allows significant improvement of immediate treatment results without increase in local radioreactions and without substantial influence of the recurrence rate.


The levels of civic engagement in terms of social services and civic activism in the Catholic churches of Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, and Shanghai are very different. While the former three churches have a higher level of social services, Shanghai does not. Hong Kong has a higher level of civic activism than the other three dioceses. This paper explains the similarities and differences among these cities by using an analytical model of political, cultural, and individual opportunity structures. Our findings and analysis are derived from a collaborative research project on the Catholic Church's civic engagement in the four cities using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In a time of rapid political, economic, and social transformation in China, religion is beginning to play an increasingly important role. Our study sheds light on what roles Catholicism or other religions might play in this process, and it has important implications for church-state relations in greater China.


I developed an Internet-based, planning and communication system for professional and private users to make plans for their lands, which is branded as LandHelp (www.LandHelp.info). The project was funded by grants from the Renewable Resources Extension Act, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wildlife Habitat Management Institute, Colorado State Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA SARE) from the Western Region, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agro-forestry program with the NRCS. Currently, LandHelp contains links to 31 broad categories of information that then link to 2,613 more resources. Major topics include, but are not limited to, planning, water, forests, fire, range, fish and wildlife, livestock, rural community living, pests, emergencies, health and safety, recreation, tourism and value added enterprises, financial aid and programs, community assessment and management, education, and the green infrastructure and sustainability. This "first-stop-resource" for understanding and managing land, wildlife, and people has been reviewed 122,000 times in the past year without promotion by the university except through personal communications. LandHelp can be used by faculty, students, professionals, and all persons with access to the Internet. We want to encourage persons to help themselves to information and to practice conservation. LandHelp and the Internet simplifies communications. The Internet is the most convenient, uniform, and accessible place to house, edit, and to share important information. However, persons also need a helping hand to put information into action. Natural resources professionals have made inputs in the past and they will be needed in the future as needs broaden and questions become more thoughtful. The next step for LandHelp is to get natural resources agencies, organizations, and individuals around the world to store information and to communicate with their publics through the shared website. LandHelp could become the Internet voice for all Extension Natural Resources links, and I encourage interest and participation by Extension Specialists, Agents, Administrators, and their clients from throughout the country.


VO2 films were deposited on Pt (111)/TiO2/SiO2/Si (001) substrates by means of a pulsed laser deposition technique. An x-ray diffraction peak at 2θ = 39.9° was deconvoluted into two pseudo-Voigt profiles of Pt (111) and VOx-originated components. The VOx diffraction peak was more obvious in a VOx/Pt (111)/Al2O3 (0001) sample, having a narrower width compared with a VO2/Al2O3 (0001) sample. Temperature-controlled Raman spectroscopy for the VOx/Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si sample has revealed the monoclinic VO2 phase at low temperature and the structural phase transition at about 72 °C in a heating process. The electronic conductive nature at the high temperature phase was confirmed by near normal incidence infrared reflectivity measurements. Out-of-plane current-voltage characteristics showed an electric field-induced resistance switching at a voltage as low as 0.2 V for a 50 nm-thick film. A survey of present and previous results suggests an experimental law that the transition voltage of VO2 is proportional to the sq...


David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon is a generic hybrid: literary journalism, true crime tale of the Wild West, and whodunit. I argue that the activation of different sets of reader expectations for these genres gives it an extraordinarily powerful political impact. Based on reviews and reader responses on Amazon and Goodreads and on the genre characteristics of the narrative itself, I make the case that Grann satisfies readers' expectations for formula Westerns and classical detective stories in the first two parts (i.e., solving the crime and arresting the bad guy), only to undermine them in the final section, in which just about all the white citizens in the county emerge as complicit with the crimes. Further, Killers of the Flower Moon–like many true-crime stories–offers a feminist critique of the romance plot by unveiling how happily-ever-after marriages can turn violent and abusive for women.


Results: For both operators, intraand interoperator reproducibility were high when using both methods (ICC > 0.950). There was no statistical difference of the Mod-MPI values between measured by conventional and new method (p = 0.328). Among the components of Mod-MPI measured by new method, ET showed the highest intraand interoperator reproducibility (ICC = 0.983 and 0.964, respectively), while IRT demonstrated the lowest reproducibility (ICC = 0.839 and 0.789, respectively). Conclusions: Right Mod-MPI measurement after synchronisation of the right ventricular inflow and outflow images is a reliable technique for evaluating fetal right cardiac function and can separately evaluates systolic and diastolic function.


Obtaining ecological products in general and especially ecological dairy products provide a major food industry perspective, which became a common concern for authorities, producers, processors and consumers. The accumulated arguments fully justify the need for further research in this segment of the food industry in order to verify the general requirements necessary to obtain ecological products and their implementation among producers and processors of raw milk. In this paper, the research focuses on ecological products, it is intend to review the requirements for obtaining the certification of ecological dairy products and verify their implementation in a private processing company. In order to implement the procedures and requirements set for the production of ecological dairy in a processing unit in central Transylvania were performed extensive documentation on European and national legislation. The research was aimed at studying the regulations issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Agriculture through the Department of ecological and traditional products, documentation provided by some processing plants nationally accredited for ecological farming, Bio RomA¢nia Association respectively some producers and processors of ecological products. The consulted regulations were the basis for the analysis of raw milk and ecological dairy products obtained in a processing pant in the mountainous region of MureE™ County. Following the documentation and investigations was identified the possibility of ecological farming in our country in general and especially the central area of Transylvania. The analysis of raw milk and dairy products samples revealed that they fully comply to food safety and ecological products standards. In Romania, ecological farming is still an insufficiently explored and widespread segment, despite its great potential. Small producers that represent the main source of ecological raw materials do not possess enough information in order to develop this type of agriculture. The obtained data shows that ecological products processing branch can have high applicability and functionality in many areas of our country, which encourages the expansion of its implementation in various sectors of production and processing.


The new generation left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) for treating end-stage heartfailure are based upon turbodynamic (rotary) pumps. These devices have demonstrated severaladvantages over the previous pulsatile generation of LVADs, however they have also proven more difficult to control. Limited availability of observable hemodynamic variables and dynamically changing circulatory parameters impose particular difficulties for the LVADcontroller to accommodate the blood flow demands of an active patient. The heart rate (HR) andsystemic vascular resistance (SVR) are two important indicators of blood flow requirement ofthe body; but these variables have not been previously well exploited for LVAD control. In this dissertation, we will exploit these two variables and develop a control algorithm, based upon mathematical models of the cardiovascular system: both healthy and diseased, with built inautoregulatory control (baroreflex). The controller will respond to change in physiological state by adjusting the pump flow based on changes in HR and SVR as dictated by the baroreflex.Specific emphasis will be placed on hemodynamic changes during exercise in which the blood flow requirement increases dramatically to satisfy the increased oxygen consumption. As the first step in the development of the algorithm, we developed a model which will include the autoregulation of the cardiovascular system and the hydraulic power input from the pump. This model provided a more realistic simulation of the interaction between the LVAD and the cardiovascular system regulated by the baroreflex. Then the control algorithm was developed,implemented, and tested on the combined system of the LVAD and the cardiovascular system including the baroreflex. The performance of the proposed control algorithm is examined by comparing it to other control methods in response to varying levels of exercise and adding noises to the hemodynamic variables. The simulation results demonstrate that the controller is able to generate more blood flow through the pump than the constant speed and constant pump head method, and the heart rate related pump speed method. The simulations with noise show that the controller is fairly robust to the measurement and estimate noises.


The Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) provides a modeling and code generation framework for Eclipse applications based on structured data models. Within model driven software development based on EMF, refactoring of EMF models become a key activity. In this paper, we present an approach to define EMF model refactoring methods as transformation rules being applied in place on EMF models. Performing an EMF model refactoring, EMF transformation rules are applied and can be translated to corresponding graph transformation rules, as in the graph transformation environment AGG. If the resulting EMF model is consistent, the corresponding result graph is equivalent and can be used for validating EMF model refactoring. Results on conflicts and dependencies of refactorings for example, can help the developer to decide which refactoring is most suitable for a given model and why.


Acrylamide (AA), used in many fields, from industrial manufacturing to laboratory work, is also formed during the heating process through the interactions of amino acids. Therefore, AA poses a significant risk for both human and animal health. This study aimed to elucidate whether N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) treatment could modulate AA-induced oxidative changes in the brain, lung, liver, kidney, and testes tissues of the rat. Rats were divided into 4 groups, as the control (C), NAC [150 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)], AA (40 mg/kg i.p.), and NAC + AA groups. After 10 days, the rats were decapitated and the tissues were excised. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) were determined in the tissues, while oxidant-induced tissue fibrosis was determined using the collagen contents. Serum enzyme activities, cytokine levels, and leukocyte apoptosis were assayed in the plasma. In the AA group, GSH levels decreased significantly, while the MDA levels, MPO activity, and collagen content increased in the tissues suggesting oxidative organ damage. In the NAC + AA group, oxidant responses reversed significantly. Serum enzyme activities, cytokine levels, and leukocyte apoptosis, which increased following AA administration, decreased with NAC treatment. Therefore, supplementing with NAC can be useful when there is a risk of AA toxicity, as NAC inhibits neutrophil infiltration, balances the oxidant-antioxidant status, and regulates the generation of inflammatory mediators to protect tissues.


This report presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of the effect of wind-tunnel walls on the air forces on an oscillating wing in two-dimensional subsonic compressible flow. A method of solving an integral equation which relates the downwash on a wing to the unknown loading is given, and some comparisons are made between the theoretical results and the experimental results. A resonance condition, which was predicted by theory in a previous report (NACA report 1150), is shown experimentally to exist. In addition, application of the analysis is made to a number of examples in order to illustrate the influence of walls due to variations in frequency of oscillation, Mach number , and ratio of tunnel height to wing semichord.


Abstract:This forum explores how the fraught nexus of gender and race became central to questions of citizenship and the franchise in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. How did conceptions of the populace – an unremitting contestation of the "we" in "We the People"– shift with the changing electorate before, during, and after the Civil War? Following an introduction by Christopher Malone, Leila Mansouri investigates how slave narratives staged the paradoxes of black electoral politics during the antebellum period. Laura Free then ponders the loyalty oaths imposed on southerners in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, exploring their relevance to more fundamental questions of citizenship and inclusion. Next, through a close reading of Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, Jennie Kassanoff uncovers how the "gerrymandered black body" consolidated the myth of white male majority rule in an era of tense partisan reapportionment. Collectively, these essays ask us to consider the ways that the nineteenth century continues to reverberate in contemporary debates over race, gender, citizenship and voting rights in today's fractious United States.


Introduction Since 2008, the McMaster University Royal College Emergency Medicine residency training program has run practice Short Answer Question (SAQ) examinations to help residents test their knowledge and gain practice in answering exam-style questions. However, marking this type of SAQ exam is time-consuming. Methods To help address this problem, we require that senior residents help mark at least one exam per year alongside faculty members. Examinees' identities are kept anonymous by assigning a random number to each resident, which is only decoded after marking. Aggregation of marks is done by faculty only. The senior residents and faculty members all share sequential marking of each question. Each question is reviewed, and exemplar "best practice" answers are discussed. As novel/unusual answers appear, instantaneous fact-checking (via textbooks, or the internet) and discussions occur allowing for real-time modification to the answer keys as needed. Results A total of 22 out of 37 residents (post graduate year 1 to post graduate year 5 (PGY1 to PGY5)) participated in a recent program evaluation focus group. This evaluation showed that residents feel quite positive about this process. With the anonymization process, residents do not object to their colleagues seeing and marking their answers. Senior residents have found this process informative and have felt that this process helps them gain insight into better "examsmanship." Conclusions Involving residents in marking short-answer exams is acceptable and perceived as useful experience for improving exam-taking skills. More studies of similar innovations would be required to determine to what extent this may be the case.


We construct a symplectic realisation of the twisted Poisson structure on the phase space of an electric charge in the background of an arbitrary smooth magnetic monopole density in three dimensions. We use the extended phase space variables to study the classical and quantum dynamics of charged particles in arbitrary magnetic fields by constructing a suitable Hamiltonian that reproduces the Lorentz force law for the physical degrees of freedom. In the source-free case the auxiliary variables can be eliminated via Hamiltonian reduction, while for non-zero monopole densities they are necessary for a consistent formulation and are related to the extra degrees of freedom usually required in the Hamiltonian description of dissipative systems. We obtain new perspectives on the dynamics of dyons and motion in the field of a Dirac monopole, which can be formulated without Dirac strings. We compare our associative phase space formalism with the approach based on nonassociative quantum mechanics, reproducing extended versions of the characteristic translation group three-cocycles and minimal momentum space volumes, and prove that the two approaches are formally equivalent. We also comment on the implications of our symplectic realisation in the dual framework of non-geometric string theory and double field theory.


The photooxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone, cyclohexanol and CO2 was carried out by visible light irradiation to tungsten oxide photocatalysts. The physical mixing of tungsten oxide and titanium oxide (WO3+TiO2) led to the high photocatalytic activity. It was speculated that the physical mixing of WO3 and TiO2 took place the charge transfer between WO3 and TiO2, and this inhibited the recombination between electrons and holes on the WO3 surface. The platinum loading on WO3 further developed the photocatalytic activity of WO3+TiO2 photocatalyst. Hence, the degree of the recombination between electrons and holes may dominate the photocatalytic activity of cyclohexane oxidation.


Geomechanical concepts and approaches are associated with many aspects of fractured reservoirs. It is convenient to consider two main contexts: those where the goal is to understand the formation of the trap and its fracture system, and those where the goal is to predict or explain production performance. The practical justification for efforts aimed at understanding the pre-production history of the reservoir is that some or most of the learnings from this are to be used to inform the production evaluation/prediction efforts. The geological evolution of the trap considers aspects such as the tectonic cause of the reservoir's shape, and how deformation processes operated to create fracture networks. These considerations often lead to the recognition that fractures may terminate against other fractures, but often do so at bedding contacts, leading to a conclusion that the pre-deformation vertical arrangement of rock types and their properties is an important control, along with the deformation-caused curvature or distortion of the initially-planar rock succession. The use of fracture observations for predicting reservoir performance can take several forms: from their use to estimate spatial variations of a static equivalent permeability, to the creation of explicit fracture network models with the potential for production-related changes in fracture opening, to methods that aim to calculate fully-coupled interactions between the mechanical state and the porefluid changes. Natural fracture arrays, as seen in outcrop analogues, can range from simple patterns composed of one or two sets, to complex networks whose genesis is not simply explained. The common concepts used to explain fracture formation are based on stress states, but this conceptual framework leads to difficulties in explaining complex networks, which may show overlapping creation and movement on the discontinuities belonging to many fracture sets (Fig. 1). An alternative conceptual framework focuses on fracture arrays in terms of the strain states that they define, and relegates stress to being a local indicator of instantaneous load-carrying arrangements that evolve during fracture creation and trap growth. This framework, with its emphasis on strain accumulation by fractures, provides the understanding needed to inform reservoir prediction.


A friendly protocol is reported to achieve cyanation of aromatic and vinylic boronic acids using nontoxic and readily available α-cyanoacetates as a cyano source under aerobic conditions. Many aryl/vinyl boronic acids (as well as some iodides and bromides) are amenable substrates to give aryl nitriles and acrylonitriles. This cyanation method provides a safe and operationally convenient alternative to traditional ones requiring toxic cyanide salts.


Prerequisite: PY 201, MA 141, Corequisite: MA 241. Credit is not allowed for both PY 202 and PY 208 or PY 211. Typically offered in Spring only PY 203 University Physics III (4 credit hours) Third course of three semester sequence designed primarily for students majoring in physical and mathematical sciences. Calculus is used throughout. Principles of wave optics and modern physics are covered in detail.


E. BIGNONE: Teocrito, Studio Critico. Pp. 388. Bari: Laterza, 1934. Paper, 30 lire. PROFESSOR BIGNONE has followed his translation of Theocritus, published ten years ago, with a substantial critical study in which the Idylls, suitably grouped, are examined against the appropriate historical and literary backgrounds. Professor Bignone is well equipped for his task, since he has published volumes both on Epic and on Epigram, and his eloquent appreciations of Theocritus's delicate vein of originality seem to me in the main apt and discerning. The book is little concerned with the minutiae of Theocritean scholarship, and an elaborate study of the language and metre of the poet with a defence of Id. 8, once destined for inclusion, has been published elsewhere. There is, however, a brief appendix in which it is maintained that Id. 16 dates from about 275 B.C. and is anterior to Id. 17. Whichever the chronological order of these two poems, the date cannot be far astray, but it does not necessarily follow that Id. 16 is a very early work ; and though such judgments are doubly dangerous in the case of an Alexandrian, I confess that I have a difficulty in believing a poem of such triumphantly finished artifice to be among Theocritus's earliest writings. I have noticed one or two unimportant misprints, and on p. 62 Mr. H. J. W. Tillyard (I presume by diplomatic error) appears as Tillyrand. A. S. F. Gow. Trinity College, Cambridge.


The thesis is concerned with the study of Scandinavian glass vessels of the first millennium AD. It examines the significance of these artefacts in early society and considers in detail the archaeological contexts of burial and occupation site. A major part of the study is concerned with methodology and the problem of fragmentary material. A detailed typological analysis is made using new methods of data presentation enabling chronological, geographical and typological information to be presented simultaneously with the aid of computer facilities. The results of this are compared to data derived from the physical examination of selected samples by electron beam micro-probe analysis (major elements) and neutron activation analysis (trace elements). The results indicate that the distribution of glass within Scandinavia is more complex than originally thought. Two areas of origin appear to have existed one of which may lie within Scandinavia itself. The work is presented in two volumes, the first containing the text and the second containing a detailed catalogue of all glass vessels and fragments discovered in Scandinavia together with relevant descriptions, information regarding archaeological context and references.


In this essay, I defend an account of trans oppression and resistance that departs from the prevailing transgender model. While I show why both the "trapped in the wrong body" model and the transgender model are problematic, I also illuminate how the former can be seen as a resistant narrative. The new account has two key ideas. First, I draw from María Lugones's work to defend a model of multiple meanings, arguing that the traditional accounts assume dominant meanings while foreclosing resistant ones. Second, I draw from the recent literature on the transphobic representation of trans people as deceivers to argue that reality enforcement is an important consequence of dominant ways of doing gender. The traditional wrong-body narrative can be seen as resisting reality enforcement.


We describe a new Streptomyces species, for which the name Streptomyces spinoverrucosus is proposed. This species is characterized as follows: green, yellow, red, and gray aerial mass colors: spiral spore chains; spiny and warty spore surfaces; reverse of the colony colorless or faint yellow on salts starch agar and brownish red on other media (the red pigment is a pH indicator); melanoid pigments formed in International Streptomyces Project media 1, 6, and 7; brown, red. or reddish brown water-soluble pigments; and a characteristic carbon utilization pattern. This species differs from all Streptomyces species described previously on the basis of its aerial mass color, color of reverse of colonies, and color of water-soluble pigments. The type strain of S. spinoverrucosus is Diab 163MA (= NCIB 11666).


The study of roles and role behavior is particularly relevant today as individuals acquire more roles in the complexity of the 1990s. One environment that has been significantly prone to change is the workplace, where multiple committees, teams, and departments have transformed the nature of work and are altering the way that jobs are defined. In addition to the fact that workers are now taking on multiple roles within organizations, the roles themselves are changing at an accelerated pace. Reengineering, downsizing, mergers, acquisitions, and total quality initiatives are just a few of the interventions that businesses are implementing in order to become leaner, flatter, and more responsive to their environments. This paper draws from social identity theory and identity theory to understand how employees respond to organizational change. Given the fairly low success rates of major change efforts (estimates are between 10% and 50%), it is suggested that a more thorough understanding of the effect of these programs on an individual's role within the organization is necessary. This paper begins by first defining, comparing, and contrasting social identity theory and identity theory. This has, to date, not been done, and it is particularly important because a number of authors appear to be using the two theories interchangeably. Next, social identity theory and identity theory are used to build a broader framework for understanding human behavior, and this model, called the identity cycle, is used to develop a set of propositions regarding the effects of organizational change on employee attitudes and behavior.


Background and Purpose— The goal of this study was to examine the influence of preexisting symptomatic atherosclerotic disease on subsequent ischemic event rates and compare the efficacy of clopidogrel versus aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) in patients with such disease. Methods— Using the CAPRIE database, we performed multivariate analyses for patients who had symptomatic atherosclerotic disease (ischemic stroke [IS] or myocardial infarction [MI]) in their medical history before enrollment in the Clopidogrel Versus Aspirin in Patients at Risk of Ischemic Events (CAPRIE) trial. Two composite end points were used: (1) IS, MI, or vascular death and (2) IS, MI, or rehospitalization for ischemia. Results— In the CAPRIE population, prior IS and MI each were statistically significant predictors of subsequent ischemic events. Compared with the overall population, patients with preexisting symptomatic atherosclerotic disease had elevated event rates for the end point of IS, MI, or vascular death; 3-year rates were 20.4% with clopidogrel and 23.8% with ASA (absolute risk reduction, 3.4%; 95% CI, −0.2 to 7.0; number needed to treat, 29; relative risk reduction, 14.9%; P =0.045). Similar results were obtained for the end point of IS, MI, or rehospitalization for ischemia; 3-year event rates were 32.7% with clopidogrel and 36.6% with ASA (absolute risk reduction, 3.9%; 95% CI, −0.4 to 8.1; number needed to treat, 26; relative risk reduction, 12.0%; P =0.039). Conclusions— CAPRIE patients with a history of prior symptomatic atherosclerotic disease had a high rate of subsequent ischemic events. The absolute benefit of clopidogrel over ASA seemed to be amplified in such high-risk patients.


Nutrient addition experiments are one way of testing the importance of nutrients in eco- logical systems and can be undertaken relatively easily in soft sediments. We added nutrients (Osmo- cote ® ) at 2 sites in Port Phillip Bay, Australia, which differed in proximity to sources of nutrient loading. Changes in faunal assemblages were assessed over an 18 wk experimental period in 1998. At the Sand Island site, nitrate levels were elevated in the high dose treatments and 3 taxa showed responses to nutrient additions, with differences in densities between control and dosed plots of between 50 and 600%. Assemblage-level measures of total abundance and diversity were approximately 20 to 80% greater in dosed plots relative to controls at the end of the experimental period. In contrast, at the more enriched Western Treatment Plant site, 3 of the 10 most dominant taxa were affected by the nutrient ad- ditions, with changes of between 50 and 200% observed during the course of the experiment. At this site none of the assemblage level measures of abundance, biomass and diversity reflected an effect of the dose treatments. These results are broadly consistent with other studies that suggest that in areas of low ambient nutrient availability diversity is likely to increase, while in areas with high background nutri- ent loadings there is likely to be a decrease. At Sand Island, changing the nutrient status of the area is liable to result in rapid changes in several deposit-feeding populations. At the Western Treatment Plant, the same absolute change in N may have less impact on the invertebrate fauna.


ABSTRACT Aim The following case report discusses the diagnostic dilemma presented by and the multidisciplinary management of a patient with chronic atypical facial pain of psychogenic origin. Background Though oral health care professionals are primarily concerned with the treatment of somatic disorders of the orofacial region, there remains a particularly challenging need to identify, diagnose and treat various psychological and psychosomatic symptoms. Case description This case report describes the management of a 13-year-old male patient with the chief complaint of pain and discoloration of the skin over the right side of the face for the last 5 months, who also demonstrated symptoms of chronic anxiety and social withdrawal. As no associated soft or hard tissue abnormalities could be identified, a diagnosis of atypical/psychogenic facial pain was established. The skin discoloration was diagnosed as pityriasis versicolor and treatment for the same commenced. Following the complete resolution of the skin lesion the patient was asymptomatic, and no longer anxious. Conclusion Our role as dentists is to mitigate the suffering of patients and to improve their quality of life in collaboration with specialists in psychosomatic medicine. Clinical significance This case highlights that dentists must be trained to treat not only teeth, but also attend to patient's psychosomatic symptoms. How to cite this article Naidu J, Bhattacharya P, Mendonsa JP, et al. Multidisciplinary Management of Chronic Atypical Facial Pain of Psychogenic Origin: A Unique Case Report. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):196–198.


Growing numbers of universities are developing service-learning community music-making interventions. However, there has been little research into their efficacy and effect on overall mental health for students. This study explored whether 4-weeks of dyadic group drumming could improve depression, anxiety, stress, social resilience, and enjoyment among 19 college students partnered with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A paired sample t-test revealed significant findings on two subscales of the Perceived Stress Scale: 1) handling unexpected events, t(18) = 2.535, p=.021 and 2) controlling important life experiences, t(18) = 2.364,  p=.030. Documented expressions by the students in the summative reflection noted: expressed joyfulness in the experience with their child and musicality of program; personal growth; stress reduction; and professional impact on their future careers. Overall, these findings indicate that a service-learning group drumming experience between college students and children with ASD leads to enhanced psychological states. Perhaps adding service-learning projects of this nature to college courses can alleviate the growing number of mental health issues faced by today's college students. It may also provide universities with unique opportunities to offer complementary service-learning as an additional form of non-stigmatizing therapy, lessening the demand on counseling services. Keywords: service-learning, mental health, stress, college students, drumming, reflection


This study was conducted within Baghdad portion of Tigris River, which is significant due to the presence of various drains joining the river. Water samples have been collected from Tigris River along different points between Alfahama to Al-Zafarania and were analyzed for various water quality parameters during low flow season (November). The study involves application of QUAL2K model to simulate and predict the dissolved oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) profiles of Tigris River in a stretch of 49.97 kilometer. Remote sensing &GIS technique (ERDAS 9.2 & Global Mapper 11) used in this study as supported software to provide some QUAL2K input data related to the river geometric parameter. The simulation results were verified and showed that the predicted values were in agreement with the measured values. Model output showed that DO in the entire river was within limit of not less than 4 mg/L. For CBOD, the entire river may be divided into three reaches; first one is extended from AlFahama (0 km) to Alkadhmiah (9 km) and have CBOD concentration of 2 mg/L and the second reach has CBOD range (2–4) mg/L in which begins from Alkadhmiah and extend to near Aldora refinery. The third reach extends from Aldora refinery to Al-Zafaraniah (49.97) in the south before river confluence with Diyala River which has CBOD concentrations of more than 4 mg/L. The most polluted zone in the river located downstream of Aldora refinery and extend to the last segment due to the industrial discharge of pollutants to the river. Two strategies were suggested to control the level of CBOD in the river. First strategy suggest that the CBOD of the discharged effluent from industries should not exceed at least 50 mg/L to keep the CBOD of the entire river within limits of not more than 4 mg/L. While the second strategy does not give significant results in which the level of CBOD increase even with reduction in the pollution load (point source).


Do crises affect voters' attitudes towards candidates differently depending on their gender? Literature shows that people in general hold gendered stereotypes about the attributes of politicians that make women be perceived as unfit for office. This thesis investigates whether crises may change what voters look for in political leaders, making attributes stereotypically associated with women become more valuable in certain contexts. I hypothesize that the effects vary accordingly to the type of crisis. Corruption scandals are expected to favor women and candidates with female stereotypes, often related to communal and moral qualities, while economic downturns would strengthen voters' bias for traditional male politicians. I conduct two different survey experiments. The first seeks to identify the contents of gendered stereotypes of politicians in Brazil, and the second aims to estimate the impact of different types of crises on candidates' perceived suitability for office and vote intention. My findings suggest that voters hold positive stereotypes of female politicians and a pro-female bias in all contexts, that is reinforced by both types of crises analyzed. Although corruption related scandals negatively affect the overall evaluation of politicians, this general effect spares stereotypical women while strongly punishes men with traditional politicians' stereotypes. As for the scenario of economic recession, results suggest that it benefits the voting prospects of women over men, with voters notably punishing counter stereotypical male candidates.


A new method for generating the canonical ensemble via continuous dynamics is presented. The new method is based on controlling the fluctuations of an arbitrary number of moments of the multidimensional Gaussian momentum distribution function. The equations of motion are non-Hamiltonian, and hence have a nonvanishing phase space compressibility. By applying the statistical mechanical theory of non-Hamiltonian systems recently introduced by the authors [M. E. Tuckerman, C. J. Mundy, and G. J. Martyna, Europhys. Lett. 45, 149 (1999)], the equations are shown to produce the correct canonical phase space distribution function. Reversible integrators for the new equations of motion are derived based on a Trotter-type factorization of the classical Liouville propagator. The new method is applied to a variety of simple one-dimensional example problems and is shown to generate ergodic trajectories and correct canonical distribution functions of both position and momentum. The new method is further shown to lead to rapid convergence in molecular dynamics based calculations of path integrals. The performance of the new method in these examples is compared to that of another canonical dynamics method, the Nose–Hoover chain method [G. J. Martyna, M. L. Klein, and M. E. Tuckerman, J. Chem. Phys. 97, 2635 (1992)]. The comparison demonstrates the improvements afforded by the new method as a molecular dynamics tool. Finally, when employed in molecular dynamics simulations of biological macromolecules, the new method is shown to provide better energy equipartitioning and temperature control and to lead to improved spatial sampling over the Nose–Hoover chain method in a realistic application.


Summary Four hundred and seventy one inguinal hernia repairs were per- formed by surgeons in training as day cases using local anaesthesia between September 1979 and December 1982. All patients were sent questionnaires relating to the possibility of a recurrence or an unsatisfactory outcome of the operation at a mean of 34 months after surgery. A 96.8% retrieval rate was achieved. As a result of answers received 62 patients were examined. Nineteen recurrences (4.2%) were diagnosed by an independent assessor; a rate of 2.2% for indirect and 8.2% for direct inguinal herniae. No UK series approaches this operation frequency and none has junior surgeons as the sole operators. The recurrence rate is comparable with many in-patient and short stay series. As a result of this day unit, local waiting times for hernia repairs have droppedfrom 2years to 6 weeks.


Fruit flies are a serious pest of horticultural industries throughout the world. The sterile insect technique is used in many countries to suppress or eradicate wild populations. The technique would be more effective if there was a better understanding of the interaction between wild and sterile fruit flies, and their interaction with their environment. We reviewed historic data from the 1998/99 sterile release of Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales which has a resident population of wild Qfly. Sterile flies were released at one point and the wild and sterile numbers were analysed in relation to each other, and to climate and landscape variables. Fifty seven fruit fly traps on a 400 m array within 7 km were used to collect the data. Regression analysis, accounting for 20.1% of the variance, indicated that log number wild Qfly was best predicted by the model with the factors of altitude, growth index, day length, cold stress, rainfall, minimum temperature and dry stress. Log number wild Qfly increased as day length and minimum temperature indices increased but was negatively related to other variables. Regression analysis, accounting for 27.2% of the variance, indicated that log sterile Qfly number was best predicted by a model with parameters including distance from release point, moisture index and maximum temperature. All parameters were inversely related to log number sterile Qfly. Fletcher's inverse distance square rule was tested. The best model linked log number sterile Qfly (including zero detections) with log distance and accounted for 22.5% of the variance. Of the 19 758 sterile Qfly trapped, 50%, 95%, 98% and 100% were trapped within 556 m, 1 355 m, 1 574 m and 5 553 m respectively of the release site. The mean dispersal distance of sterile flies was 830 m and this was used to estimate quarantine distance for wild flies.


This article provides an overview of the rheumatic diseases in childhood, their pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis and clinical course. EULAR, ACR and the current ILAR-classification are compared. The antiinflammatory medical treatment is described. The characteristics of uveitis in the various forms of arthritis are reviewed. The prognostic factors for uveitis manifestation, the clinical course, complications, the prognostic factors for visual loss, and the diverse antiinflammatory medical regimens are evaluated. The suggestions of the "uveitis in childhood study group" concerning screening and treatment of uveitis in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis are provided, and a nation-wide documentation of these patients is described.


In clause 2(b) of the Policy Targets Agreement (PTA) between the Minister of Finance and Governor of the Reserve Bank, the target used to direct the Reserve Bank's pursuit of price stability is expressed as "future CPI inflation outcomes between 1 per cent and 3 per cent on average over the medium term." While the Reserve Bank has the independence to choose when and how to adjust policy settings so as to achieve the target, another clause of the PTA provides guidelines as to how this freedom should be used. In clause 4(b) of the PTA, the Minister of Finance and the Governor agree that, in using monetary policy to pursue price stability, the Bank shall take account of the implications of its actions for instability in economic output, interest rates, and the exchange rate. This article describes how clause 4(b) affects monetary policy decision-making, and reviews the role of clause 4(b) in the current operation of monetary policy.


PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang is a company of electric current of electric distribution from middle electric circuitry, low electric circuitry until service to the customer house. In this time available electrics supply in Malang is very limited. While to build new generating machine require big fund and long time about 10 years. For that's, very important to be apply the existence of economical of electrics. In consequence of mentioned limited electrics supply, public relation of PT. PLN (Pesero) APJ Malang doing economical program of electrics
05.00pm12.00 am and economical program of energy DSM ( Demand Side Management). Both of the program is major thrift of usage of electrics as inexistence effort extinction of have innings to remember limitation of electrics supply in Malang. PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang is one of the governmental institutions which do activity of socialization in order to economical program success of electrics as effort economical of electrics. From that background, this research aim to know how is the socialization process done by public relation of PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang in apply economical program of electrics in Malang and what is economical program of electrics done by public relation of PT. PLN (Persero) APJ
Malang doing effectively. This research indicate that mindful of limitation of electrics supply in Malang must be done by PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang doing policy of economical of electrics by economical program of energy DSM (Demand Side Management) with industry side as special target of the program and economical program of electrics 05.00 pm10.00 pm with household side as target the core
important. To know effectiveness activity of public relation of PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang, this research
is aimed to explore and classification phenomenon to describe a number of accurate by variable that is socialization done by public relation of PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang and to know the result of that socialization done effectively or not, so this research use descriptive research type with data qualitative. And form dig of data in this research in the form of documentation and
interview. The conclusion of this research that program of DSM (Demand Side Management) in execution of doing socialization during three years is not effective. This matter is marked with condition from year to year progressively mount there is no degradation. Besides amount of purchasing of energy also from year to year increasing automatically the amount of usage of energy also
progressively mount this matter become evidence of no success program of DSM in Malang. Industry side as special target of that program not give positive respond program that done by PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang. While economical program of electrics 05.00 pm10.00 pm which done in a year to process of socialization effectively. This matter is marked without of extinction globally remember energy reserve which is minim of PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang
never doing extinction of have innings. Household side as target the core important conscious is important of economical him to electrics. If extinct electrics hence they cannot doing activity. From here, so PT. PLN (Persero) APJ Malang always perform socialization and also create goodcommunications with the customer of electrics generally and also special to industry side as amount of usage of energy to do economical of electrics for the important to all of user


This thesis argues for the innovative potential of an abortion trope, exploring its capacity for conceptual reformulation in both contemporary criticism and the nineteenth-century poetry of Thomas Hardy and Emily Dickinson. In contemporary deliberations over the ethical and legal legitimacy of abortion, critics will often converge upon aesthetic questions of 'appropriate analogy', 'conceptual errors' and discursive boundaries. This investigation takes up this point, highlighting its parallel with contemporary anxieties concerning the 'use' and 'autonomy' of literature. Combining the work of four key critics (Barbara Johnson, Kevin Newmark, Christina Hauck and Maria C. Scott) it will be argued that abortion has already undergone a degree of formulation as a less negative aesthetic, and its manifestation as an aesthetic is presented as governing textual strategies, as well as dynamics between author, reader, and text. The poetry of Hardy and Dickinson offers an invaluable starting-point in which to explore this possibility in practice, clarifying the trope's characteristics and potential. The abortion trope informing nineteenth-century poetics impacts various aesthetic paradigms during the period, while also shedding light upon conventional perceptions of abortion today. The impetus here is to encourage conceptual expansion and support conceptual change, challenging some of the more debilitating formulations of abortion.


The faithful segregation of chromosomes into daughter cells is essential for cellular and organismal viability. Errors in this process cause aneuploidy, a hallmark of cancer and several congenital diseases. For proper separation, chromosomes attach to microtubules of the mitotic spindle via their kinetochores, large protein structures assembled on centromeric chromatin. Kinetochores are also crucial for a cell cycle feedback mechanism known as the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) [1]. The SAC forces cells to remain in mitosis until all chromosomes are properly attached to microtubules. At the beginning of mitosis, the SAC proteins— Mad1, Mad2, Bub1, Bub3, BubR1, Mps1, and Cdc20—are recruited to kinetochores in a hierarchical and interdependent fashion (Fig 1A). There they monitor, in ways that are not fully clarified, the formation of kinetochore–microtubule attachments [1]. Two studies recently published in EMBO reports by the groups of Silke Hauf [2] and Jakob Nilsson [3], and a recent study by London and Biggins in Genes & Development [4], shed new light on the conserved SAC protein Mad1.


Productive Uses of Energy are agricultural, commercial and industrial activities involving energy services as a direct input to the production of goods or provision of services. Productive uses include home businesses, non-monetary income, excludes social infrastructure and cuts across different sectors, energy sources, and types of enterprises. This study focusses on the economic feasibility of a range of businesses in Malawi powered by solar PV. The overall objective is to identify a set of businesses that have the potential to be progressed to pilot projects. Surveys were carried out on existing electricity using businesses in Dedza, Malawi to determine CAPEX, OPEX and monthly income figures for agricultural, sales and services, and repair and manufacture businesses. Solar PV systems were designed to supply the business loads and then priced using component costs obtained from suppliers. 10 year cash flow forecasts were conducted for 3 business scenarios (strong, stable and weak). Using the modelled profit and loss, the viability of the different businesses powered by solar PV was evaluated. As shown in the table below, the study has found that irrigation and small sales and services (specifically barber shop and phone charging) businesses powered by standalone PV systems look likely to succeed, with most paying back initial investment under 3 years over all scenarios. Maize milling and tailoring businesses give paybacks of 5 and 8 years for strong and stable scenarios respectively, indicating grant funding would be required to contribute to CAPEX to be affordable for most entrepreneurs in Malawi. A metal workshop business doesn't recover initial investment within 10 years for any of the scenarios modelled. The results indicate solar PV has potential to reduce poverty through income generation in Malawi. Recommendations have been given for implementing pilot projects based on the feasibility studies, along with suggestions for future research to inform wider scale dissemination of Solar PV productive use initiatives.


: On the basis of ECG recorded in 35 precordial leads and subsequent cartographic analysis of the results obtained, the state of the necrotic and periinfarction zones in 38 patients with complicated myocardial infarction (development of circulatory insufficiency, acute aneurysm of the left ventricle, and pericarditis epistenocardica) was analysed. In circulatory insufficiency being the only complication, significantly smaller values of the indices characterizing the necrotic and periinfarction zones were found. In pericarditis, dynamics of the most mobile ECG indices was observed which characterized the state of the periinfarction zone in the direction of diminution (by half) by the end of the 1st week; in aneurysm the same degree of diminution was noted only by the end of the 2nd week of the process. In fatal outcomes of the disease these indices fluctuated within the range of the individual levels of the initial values without showing any obvious tendency to decrease in the first 2 weeks of the disease.


This study was done to assess the regeneration status of lowland bamboo after gregarious flowering and death in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Homosha District, Jimma and Sherkole Kebeles, North west of Ethiopia. A systematic sampling technique was used to survey lowland bamboo. A total of 20 and 11 sample plots were surveyed in Jima and Sherkole Kebeles respectively and each plots with 10 x 10m size. Field observation, regeneration inventory, FGDs, and questionnaire survey on 80 households were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The seedlings and culms had a significant difference (One way ANOVA p <0.05) in density, size (DBH) and height between the two sites. However, the size difference was statistically insignificant. Height and diameter classes distribution indicated highest number of individuals in the lower classes (<1 & 1-2 year) and this suggests that the age of the forest after mass flowering and death is not more than 4 to 5 years hence regeneration could be sensitive to the anthropogenic disturbances. Sampled HHs harvest bamboo at an age of <1 & ≥3 years and harvesting intensity was observed to be related with culms size rather than age class across different management.


Product design is a problem-solving activity based on knowledge. This paper is devoted to presenting a systematic knowledge representation method of principle solution based on semantic network model. For the expression of product knowledge, the semantic object, constraints and their relationships among the expression of the semantic object network model are proposed step by step. Then the principle solution representation model based on semantic network model is put forwards. The knowledge representation of a car is given as an example, which demonstrates that this method is obviously helpful for knowledge-based design system and product innovation.


There is a growing global demand for continuing adult higher education particularly in science and engineering subjects. New technologies are emerging which would enable the development of a Remote Access Laboratory for rapid prototyping of Artificial Intelligence, as a learning environment for mechatronic engineering, in which high precision electromechanical devices are designed to exhibit autonomous behaviour.

Secondary research investigated the learning theories for a Remote Access Laboratory, and the current practices for distance learning, involving groupware in shared activity 'collaboratories'. Having determined that the laboratory would need a multi-user interactive environment architecture, with the requirement for adaptability to rapid developments,a distributed software architecture was selected. The laboratory design was subsequently argued to be best served by Intelligent Agents in a Multi-Agent system.

The aims of the research were to establish the viability of a Remote Access Laboratory for mechatronic experimentation, and to evaluate the technologies required to implement such a laboratory environment for rapid prototyping. These were achieved by developing a novel user interface, based on a multi-functional screen layout, and a graphical specification facility to provide robotic navigation that is intuitive to use and does not require text-based programming.

The research investigated the prototyping of robotic behaviour, which used Programming by Demonstration as an innovative technique to prototype robot navigation. The method of designing behaviours met an anticipated need to allow the robot to interact with an environment, to achieve goals under conditions of uncertainty, while requiring a level of abstraction in the behaviour design. The interface structured a composite of the designed behaviours into prototype Artificial Intelligence using a hierarchical behaviour architecture, which complied with the principles of Object Orientated programming. This was subsequently a new and original programming method to facilitate rapid prototyping of Artificial Intelligence design and structuring.

Experimentation involved 20 participants attempting to accomplish a series of tasks which involved using the prototyped interface and an existing text-based robot programming system. The participants were profiled by their formal qualifications, knowledge and experience. The experimental data obtained were used to establish a comparative measure of the prototype interface success compared with an existing distance-learning, home experiment kit, in the form of a small controllable model vehicle. The data obtained provided strong evidence to support the hypothesis that a Programming by Demonstration based system for rapid prototyping is more flexible and easier to use than a previously existing distance learning text-based system. The Programming by Demonstration system showed great promise, being quicker for prototyping, and more intuitive. The learning interface design pioneered new techniques and technologies for rapid prototyping of Artificial Intelligence in a Mechatronics Remote Access Laboratory.


In this study, patentability of the human embryonic stem cell lines has discussed in the legal and ethical perspectives. In vitro human embryonic stem cells can be defined as body parts that are departed from the body. Human embryonic stem cell lines are constituted of differentiated self-renewal pluripotent stem cells, which means they have no characteristics to become a human-being. However, interpreting the terms like human embryo and right to property widely can cause the human embryonic stem cell lines are misunderstood as unpatentable. For our point of view, giving the human embryo the protections of both personal rights of the donor and the right to property of the owner of the invention does not reduce the legal/moral status of the human embryo. Besides, the obligations which these rights imposes to their owners, such as the principle of human dignity and prohibition of financial gain can protect the human embryo in a better way.


This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of local revenues with a case study on Kabupaten Batubara. This study aims to determine the cause of Finance and Asset Management Agency Kabupaten Batubara has not been able to achieve the effectiveness of budget revenues. With the results of this study will be expected to provide input to the regional government in conducting the preparation and analysis of budget revenues based Effectiveness Budget. Data collection techniques in this research is the method of documentation and descriptive approach. The type of data that is used is the type of quantitative data, which is where the data is sourced from secondary data. The results showed that the effectiveness of budget revenues Financial Management Agency Kabupaten Batubara, generally speaking, has not been effective or less effective. Ineffective performance budget revenue that occurred in Kabupaten Batubara due to the lack of effectiveness in the achievement of budget revenue (PAD), especially in the case of not achieving the revenue budget of levies and lack of effectiveness in achieving the revenue that comes from the provincial government transfers funds. To the need for review of the mechanisms of budget preparation and review of the implementation of the system of local revenue realization.


Regulation of polarised cell growth is essential for many cellular processes including spatial coordination of cell morphology changes during the division cycle. We present a mathematical model of the core mechanism responsible for the regulation of polarised growth dynamics during the fission yeast cell cycle. The model is based on the competition of growth zones localised at the cell tips for a common substrate distributed uniformly in the cytosol. We analyse the bifurcations in this model as the cell length increases, and show that the growth activation dynamics provides an explanation for the new-end take-off (NETO) as a saddle-node bifurcation at which the cell sharply switches from monopolar to bipolar growth. We study the parameter sensitivity of the bifurcation diagram and relate qualitative changes of the growth pattern, e.g. delayed or absent NETO, to previously observed mutant phenotypes. We investigate the effects of imperfect asymmetric cell division, and show that this leads to distinct growth patterns that provide experimentally testable predictions for validating the presented competitive growth zone activation model. Finally we discuss extension of the model for describing mutant cells with more than two growth zones.


This paper focuses on the numerical analysis for three-dimensional Bean's critical-state model in type-II superconductivity. We derive hyperbolic mixed variational inequalities of the second kind for the evolution Maxwell equations with Bean's constitutive law between the electric field and the current density. On the basis of the variational inequality in the magnetic induction formulation, a semidiscrete Ritz--Galerkin approximation problem is rigorously analyzed, and a strong convergence result is proven. Thereafter, we propose a concrete realization of the Ritz--Galerkin approximation through a mixed finite element method based on edge elements of Nedelec's first family, Raviart--Thomas face elements, divergence-free Raviart--Thomas face elements, and piecewise constant elements. As a final result, we prove error estimates for the proposed mixed finite element method.


Improvement in datacenter networks will enable architects to built larger distributed systems. However, standard distributed system architectures and their resulting communication patterns are incapable of supporting systems much larger than the current limits. This paper describes the design and evaluation of an overlay topology and messaging infrastructure that can be used for creating datacenter-scale distributed systems. The topology provides sufficient scalability to accommodate future datacenter growth. Theoretical analysis suggests its fault resiliency and network capability are unmatched by other common network topologies. The messaging infrastructure build on top of this topology supports incremental scaling, node failure recovery and flexible routing. Properties of the topology ensure that the overlay has constant bounded delay and bandwidth usage, which are useful for planning incremental deployment while guaranteeing performance. Finally, evaluation of our overlay prototype reveals usage trends that best matches the characteristics of our overlay.


Sir At St Mark's Hospital, assessments of global polyp density using dye spray colonoscopy, rectal polyp burden, genotype, patient age and history of abdominal desmoid disease, are all considered in determining whether colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis or restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) should be performed. It is clear from the current study that the desire for future pregnancies is also important, however, until now it has not been routine to base the choice of surgical procedure on a patient's reproductive choices. We are uncertain from the data provided how to counsel patients with regards to their reduction in reproductive capacity. The abstract suggests that fecundity dropped to 54 per cent following RPC, but the cumulative incidence of pregnancy was 48 per cent at 12 months and 61 per cent at 24 months, with no data supplied for 36 months post surgery in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. We are interested to know whether the authors use the 12 month figure, or the 24 month figure when advising their patients, and how much emphasis they place on a woman's reproductive career over the potential risk of rapid progression of rectal polyposis in 'high risk' individuals (e.g. older patients, unfavourable genotype or those with dense rectal disease). M. C. Gallagher, N. J. H. Sturt and R. K. S. Phillips The Polyposis Registry, St Mark's Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow HA1 3UJ, UK DOI: 10.1002/bjs.4287


Protected areas are experiencing increased levels of human pressure. To enable appropriate conservation action, it is critical to map and monitor changes in the type and extent of land cover/use and habitat classes, which can be related to human pressures over time. Satellite Earth observation (EO) data and techniques offer the opportunity to detect such changes. Yet association with field information and expert interpretation by ecologists is required to interpret, qualify and link these changes to human pressure. There is thus an urgent need to harmonize the technical background of experts in the field of EO data analysis with the terminology of ecologists, protected area management authorities and policy makers in order to provide meaningful, context-specific value-added EO products. This paper builds on the DPSIR framework, providing a terminology to relate the concepts of state, pressures, and drivers with the application of EO analysis. The type of pressure can be inferred through the detection of changes in state (i.e. changes in land cover and/or habitat type and/or condition). Four broad categories of changes in state are identified, i.e. land cover/habitat conversion, land cover/habitat modification, habitat fragmentation and changes in landscape connectivity, and changes in plant community structure. These categories of change in state can be mapped through EO analyses, with the goal of using expert judgement to relate changes in state to causal direct anthropogenic pressures. Drawing on expert knowledge, a set of protected areas located in diverse socio-ecological contexts and subject to a variety of pressures are analysed to (a) link the four categories of changes in state of land cover/habitats to the drivers (anthropogenic pressure), as relevant to specific target land cover and habitat classes; (b) identify (for pressure mapping) the most appropriate spatial and temporal EO data sources as well as interpretations from ecologists and field data useful in connection with EO data analysis. We provide detailed examples for two protected areas, demonstrating the use of EO data for detection of land cover/habitat change, coupled with expert interpretation to relate such change to specific anthropogenic pressures. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations and feasibili suggesting additional research ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 8


Phospholipase D (PLD) activity, as measured by the transphosphatidylation of cellular phospholipids, is elevated in BALB/c 3T3 cells transformed by v-Src. Phorbol esters that activate protein kinase C (PKC) also increase PLC activity in BALB/c 3T3 cells. v-Src-induced PLD activity could be distinguished from phorbol ester-induced PLD activity by differential radiolabelling of phospholipids, which are the substrates of PLD. Both v-Src- and phorbol ester-induced PLD activity could be detected when phospholipids were prelabelled with either radiolabelled myristate or palmitate; however, only phorbol ester-induced PLD activity could be detected when either arachidonate or 1-O-alkyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphorylcholine (alkyl-lysoPC) was used to prelabel the phospholipids. The increased PLD activity in v-Src-transformed cells was not detected when the cells were prelabelled with either arachidonic acid or alkyl-lysoPC, which contains an ether linkage at sn-1 of the glycerol backbone. As both arachidonic acid and alkyl-lysoPC are incorporated into phosphatidylcholine (PC), the substrate for v-Src-induced PLD activity, these data suggest that the PLD activated by v-Src can distinguish PCs lacking arachidonic acid and ether linkages. Consistent with v-Src activating a PLD activity that is distinct from that activated by phorbol esters that activate PKC directly, neither depleting cells of PKC nor treatment with the protein kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, had any effect on v-Src-induced PLD activity, whereas both PKC depletion and staurosporine inhibited phorbol ester-induced PLD activity. Taken together, these data suggest that v-Src activates a PKC-independent PLD activity that is specific for a subpopulation of PC and distinct from the PLD activity induced by PKC activity induced by phorbol esters. The diacylglycerol produced from PC by the action of the v-Src-induced PLD may therefore be responsible for the activation of PKC by v-Src.


During laser keyhole welding of thin plates, the melt pool is relatively wide compared to the plate thickness. Under certain conditions, an elongated keyhole can be created and a permanent hole is sometimes left in the weld seam. The generation of such holes is determined by surface tension effects in the melt which can generate a self-sustaining geometry at the rear of the melt pool. The geometry of the shape is known as a catenoid and has clear geometrical limits.


The use of synthetic materials as acoustic absorbers is still applied extensively in building industry. These nonbiodegradable materials do not only cause pollution to the environment, but also contribute significantly in increasing the CO2 causing the effect of global warming. Therefore researchers have now driven their attentions to find sustainable and eco-friendly materials to be an alternative sound absorber. This paper discusses the use of natural fibers from dried paddy straw as a fibrous acoustic material. Since this is one of common natural waste materials found across South East Asia, the usage will also minimize the production cost. A panel sound absorber from paddy straw is fabricated and its acoustic properties are investigated through experiment. Good acoustic performance is found particularly above 2 kHz and is comparable against that from the classical synthetic absorber.


In 5% to 10% of cases, neurofibromatosis type 1 is caused by microdeletions scattered across the entire NF1 gene and various neighboring genes. The phenotype appears to be more severe in patients with NF1 microdeletions than in patients with NF1 single point mutations. We have developed a new method for detecting and characterizing NF1 microdeletions based on a custom high-resolution oligonucleotide array comparative genomic hybridization by using the custom 8x15K Agilent array format. The array comprised a total of 14,207 oligonucleotide probes spanning the whole of chromosome 17, including 12,314 probes spanning an approximately 8 Mb interval surrounding the NF1 locus. We validated this approach by testing NF1 microdeleted DNA samples previously characterized by means of microsatellites and real-time PCR methods. Our array comparative genomic hybridization provided enough information for subsequent long-range PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the microdeletion endpoints. Unlike previously described methods, our array comparative genomic hybridization was able to unambiguously differentiate between the three types of microdeletions (type I, type II, and atypical) and to characterize atypical microdeletions. Further comparative studies of patients with well-characterized genotypes and phenotypes and different microdeletions sizes and breakpoints will help determine whether haploinsufficiency of deleted genes and/or genes rearrangements influence clinical outcomes.


Abstract The standard model of communication in linguistic pragmatics is founded on the assumption that "successful" communication involves the addressee making inferences about the intentions of the speaker. Miscommunication of implicatures thus presumably arises when the addressee does not correctly infer the speaker's intention. In this paper, however, it is argued that this view of the (mis)communication of implicatures does not adequately account for the manner in which intentions may become the subject of discursive dispute in interaction thereby giving rise to diverging interpretings of implicatures. Drawing from an analysis of the "uncovered meat" comments made by Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali and the ensuing controversy over what was implied by them, it is argued that to label such an incident as simply a misunderstanding of the speaker's intentions is misleading. Instead, it is suggested that the way in which Hilali's comments were shifted from a specific audience in the Muslim community to wider Australian society by the media engendered discursive dispute over Hilali's intentions, and thus gave rise to the co-constitution of diverging interpretings of what was implied by Hilali. Building a model of the communication of implicatures must therefore move beyond the received view that it involves "correctly" inferring the intentions of speakers to encompass a broader view where both converging and diverging interpretings of implicatures emerge through their conjoint co-constitution in interaction.


Lymantria dispar larvae are very hazardous to forests and they also cause allergic reactions in humans. In the present study, distinct concentrations of methidathion were applied to L. dispar larvae via oak leaves which were prepared by the dipping method. The data obtained was statistically appraised using probit analysis and a LC 50/48h value for L. dispar larvae found to be 25,480 ppm. Antioxidant defense components protect insects by scavenging reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative stress. The present study was investigated the effects of LC 50/48h value of methidathion , on the oxidative stress indicator, malondialdehyde (MDA), and antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)] activities in midgut tissues. There were statistically significant increases in the MDA level and SOD, CAT, GPx activities in the LC 50/48h concentration of methidathion-treated larvae compared to the control larvae. These results indicated that methidathion which is an organophosphate pesticide, causes an increase in oxidative stress and we infered that increased oxidative stress induces antioxidant defence mechanisms.


The general tendency of design is that being based on human and the aim of Kansei engineering is to follow the structure of emotions based on human behaviors. As we know, Kansei appears in individual emotions and is able to create different feelings in human mind (Nagamachi, 2010) where Flow is a teleonomy of the self (Csikzentmihaly, 1992). However, Design has a convergent and divergent relation with needs and desires. Accordingly, designers are obliged to meet user's desires but the implicit needs of such an emotional experience are difficult, partly because people express their emotions both consciously and unconsciously. Analyzing the relationship between Kansei and Flow, activities can have optimal behavior output. This article provides a new approach, which can be applied to capture the emotions of users and proposes a new framework of Kansei Engineering (KE) to handle the optimal experience of people besides their needs in a various tangible fields such as interior and product design. In this study we use the KE Model of Schütte because it is understandable and compatible with new tools. We use Flow in semantic and properties space and we created a Flow space during the synthesis step of this level.


The aim of this thesis is to give a contribution to the knowledge of why people use violence against each other in public places. In more specific terms the thesis examines mechanisms that generates violent actions by reference to what happens in the situated transaction between the offender and the victim, and to the ways in which the urban environment create opportunities for violent actions. In the thesis I address some overall questions to mark of different dimensions of the studied phenomenon. The questions pay attention to: 1) the relation between the physical and social dimensions of the urban environment and the ways in which the urban environment creates opportunities for violent crimes; 2) why the offenders seek themselves to certain places and the symbolic meaning those places has, and; 3) what happens in the situated transactions between the offender and the victim. My methodological approach is multistrategic. The main components of the approach are qualitative interviews, studies of court orders, statistics and geographical studies. I interviewed respondents that have been punished for different crimes of violence committed in public places in the city centre of Orebro. The interviews were complemented with a case study of court orders over street related crimes of violence committed in the same area, and with a statistic and a geographical analyses over where, when and by whom the crimes were committed. The analyses of the ways in which the urban environment creates opportunities for violent crimes reveals some necessary conditions of physical, social and cultural character, i.e. properties of the urban environment that creates good opportunities for street related violence to occur. I started with a statistical examination of where, when and by whom different crimes of violence were committed. With the empirical regularities as a starting-point I began to analyse the urban environment with the help of Bill Hillier's (1996) concept of virtual community. The analysis reveals that the city centre context of Orebro offer good opportunities for encounters and movements as it contains of several squares and main passages with an open character and good opportunities for orientation. Thus, the physical design of the city centre form a potential for violence to occur. After that I focused on border controls and the potential for violence they include. The importance of border controls were examined in several ways and it was concluded that the border controls contain different dimensions that contribute to the production of violent actions in different ways. This was followed by an examination of the use of the public spaces from the perspective of territoriality and the potential for violence that territories include. It was concluded that the city centre contains of several territories belonging to different categories, and that a distinction could be made between territories established on spontaneous grounds as well as territories established as a result of the activities that exists in a certain area. The analyses of the situated transactions reveal several mechanisms that contribute to the production of violent actions. The analyses started with a statistical examination of the offenders, the victims and the situations that results in violence. With this as a starting-point I began to examine the situated transactions with reference to what happens in the transactions. I found that different kinds of disturbances constitute the initial cause of the process in which an interaction exceeds to violence. Other important aspects that were revealed were the importance of respect and honour for the production of violence and that a distinction could be made between different kinds of violence depending on how the disturbances are interpreted and what it is directed towards. Furthermore, I examined the importance of emotions and social bonds for the production of violence as well as the ways in which different kinds of strategies of action find expression in the situated transactions in public places. Finally the situated transaction were examined from a ritualistic perspective were I found that different kinds of violations of the ritual objects as well as different dimensions of power and status are important for the understanding of the street related violence.


The persistence of harmful cyanobacterial algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems leads to health damage for various life forms. In this study, a photocatalyst active in the visible light range was prepared by combining BiVO4 with hydrogen peroxide modified titanium dioxide (BiVO4@HMT; for short), using an impregnation method. The catalyst was used to photocatalytically inhibit the growth of cyanobacteria collected from a bloom site. To infer the optimum pH for cyanobacterial growth, the effect of pH was studied. The growth of cyanobacteria was favoured in an alkaline environment at pH values in the range of 8–9.5 when analysed on the 20th day of incubation. Structural and chemical analysis of pristine and composite nano-powders was performed using XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS, confirming the heterojunction formation, while optical and band gap analysis revealed increased visible light absorption and reduced band gap of the composite. A small strawberry seed-like assembly of BiVO4 particles increased the light absorption in the 15%BiVO4@HMT composite and increased the inhibition efficiency up to 2.56 times compared to pristine HMT at an exposure time of 6 h and cell concentration at 0.1 g L−1 with an optimum catalyst dose of 1 g L−1. The amount of chlorophyll 'a' decreased due to the generation of catalytically reactive species, especially holes (h+), which caused oxidative damage to the cell wall, cell membrane and antioxidants in algal cells. This study reports that visible light active nanocatalysts can be used as a promising method for reducing algal blooms in water bodies.


OBJECTIVE
To measure the effect of cataract extraction and lens implantation on elderly persons' health-related quality of life and on their ability to perform visual activities.

DESIGN
Evaluations of health status were conducted preoperatively and at 3 and 12 months after surgery on patients scheduled for cataract extraction.

SETTING
Patients were enrolled from the General Eye Service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and 33 Boston practices.

PATIENTS
The cohort consisted of 464 patients aged 65 years or older who were identified from the surgical schedule of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. At 3 to 12 months after surgery, 458 (99%) of the participants were successfully contacted. Health-related quality of life data were available for 419 (90%) to assess changes after surgery.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Ophthalmologic examinations were performed preoperatively and during the follow-up period. The Activities of Daily Vision Scale (ADVS) and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short from (SF-36) were administered before surgery and at 3 and 12 months postoperatively to assess changes in health status.

RESULTS
At 12 months after surgery, 95% of patients had improved Snellen visual acuity, 80% had improved ADVS scores, but only 36% had improved SF-36 physical functioning. Average scores on seven of eight SF-36 subscales worsened at 12 months. Patients with improved ADVS scores had significantly smaller declines across all SF-36 dimensions except for role limitations due to emotional problems.

CONCLUSION
Improved visual function after cataract surgery was associated with better health-related quality of life, suggesting that age-related declines in health may be attenuated by improvements in visual function.


Thesis (Ph.D.)--Georgetown University, 2008.; Includes bibliographical
 references.; Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. This dissertation investigates the
 acquisition of early verb inflection in child Slovenian from morphosyntactic and
 morphophonological perspectives. It centers on the phenomenon of root nonfinites, particularly
 the patterns of omission and substitution errors in verb inflection marking. It argues that
 every acquisition model needs to account for the following robust developmental phenomena:
 initial telegraphic speech, optionality, variability, graded (rather than absolute) morpheme
 order, and gradualness. It suggests that current biolinguistic models can be enhanced by
 supplementing evidence from UG-based studies with that from usage-based and neuropsychological
 accounts. This proposal is tied to Chomsky's (2005) hypothesis that language comprises three
 factors--the innate language faculty, experience, and computational efficiency, and that
 language acquisition relies considerably on this third factor. The study motivates the
 Inflectional Hierarchy Complexity Hypothesis (IHCH), suggesting that while children's early
 morphosyntax is adultlike regarding the availability of functional categories and the
 concatenation operation, children's morphophonological spell-out is unreliable due to
 computational bottlenecks. It is hypothesized that grammars initially contain verbs which may
 be disguised as adultlike finite forms with minimal or zero morphology (e.g., 3rd singular
 present [3S] reported in early Romance). Such verbs are arguably vPs and are
 morphophonologically spelled out with greater success than tensed forms which, in turn, are
 more successful than person-based forms. That is, a probabilistic hierarchy of bare stems
 > tensed forms > person agreement verbs is predicted, where the forms to the
 left are postulated to be spelled out statistically better than those to the right. Based on
 lemmatization and frequency counts and syntactic and morphophonological analyses of existing
 and new child Slovenian data, the study confirms the IHCH. It is shown that early Slovenian
 verbs are mainly complex bare verbs (CBVs) that carry only the conjugation class morphology
 with no person/number inflection--homophonous with 3S forms--and past participles that lack
 auxiliaries (arguably TNSPs). Person-related inflection is supplied statistically less
 reliably than participle inflection which, in turn, is less reliable than the inflection on
 CBVs. This hierarchy is observed even at age 2;5+ when overt inflection is supplied 80%-90% of
 the time and most morphophonological properties have been acquired.


Colouring effluent from industrial activities may affect environment and human
health. Many methods have been used to decolourise such effluent including using
electricity. This study was performed to investigate the behaviour of decolourisation of
solution containing Azo Acid Orange 7. This study was focusing on the effect of
decolourisation due to current density, dye concentration and duration of current flow.
Simple electrochemical cell was prepared by using iron and steel plate electrode. The
effectiveness of the method was determined by measuring percentage of colour and
absorbance removal. The percentage of colour removal was higher then the percentage
of absorbance removal. It is found that decolourisation was directly proportional to
current density, duration of electric current flow and concentration of the dye. Based on
MINITAB™ analysis current density, duration and concentration does affecting the
percentage of colour removal. The efficiency of decolourisation for 100 mg/1 to 200
mg/1 concentration was able to increase up to more 95% of colour removal and more
than 88% of absorbance removal when duration was 18 minutes and current density was
120 A/m2.


The use of mechanical activation (the elemental powder mixture is milled for a short time at given frequency and impact energy) as a precursor to self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) results in the formation of nanostructured porous materials. The mechanical activation step was found necessary (i) to modify the thermal parameters of the combustion front (i.e. combustion front velocity, thermal heating rate…) in the cases of Mo-Si, Fe-Al, Ni-Si (ii) to initiate a combustion front in the case of systems having a low exothermicity. Nevertheless, the control of the mechanically activated mixture characteristics and, the understanding of the mechanical activation role on the SHS parameters are essential to produce end-products with expected microstructure.


Remedial actions are being initiated at many Superfund sites, and the analyses of water-quality data from these sites are being performed. The start of remediation is obvious-the system used for cleaning up is turned on; however, the determination of when this remediation is "complete" may not be clear. With the initiation of a remedial measure, it is expected that the detected concentrations of characteristic contaminants will decrease rapidly and then level off to some asymptotic concentration. This is expected since the efficiency of remediation is generally considerably greater at higher concentrations than at lower concentrations. It is expected that some form of an exponential model, y = C e x p (-kr), will describe the system's behavior. This is especially true when ground-water pumping is the remedial measure used, as is considered in this paper. With Superfund remediation schemes, cleanup or performance goals are set for key compounds. The cleanup is complete when these goals are attained. However, attainment of cleanup goals may be technically infeasible in certain cases and alternative criteria may be appropriate. This paper presents a statistical methodology, based on an anticipated exponential decrease in the contaminant concentration resulting from ground-water pumping remediation. The methodology will initially predict when remedial measures can be terminated. As the remediation program continues and additional monitoring data become available, the methodology will determine whether and when preestablished concentration limits will be attained and when the equilibrium concentration can be estimated.


Objective To explore women's experiences of taking adjuvant endocrine therapy as a treatment for breast cancer and how their beliefs about the purpose of the medication, side effects experienced and interactions with health professionals might influence adherence. Design Qualitative study using semistructured, one-to-one interviews. Setting 2 hospitals from a single health board in Scotland. Participants 30 women who had been prescribed tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole or letrozole) and had been taking this medication for 1–5 years. Results Women clearly wished to take their adjuvant endocrine therapy medication as prescribed, believing that it offered them protection against breast cancer recurrence. However, some women missed tablets and did not recognise that this could reduce the efficacy of the treatment. Women did not perceive that healthcare professionals were routinely or systematically monitoring their adherence. Side effects were common and impacted greatly on the women's quality of life but did not always cause women to stop taking their medication, or to seek advice about reducing the side effects they experienced. Few were offered the opportunity to discuss the impact of side effects or the potential options available. Conclusions Although most women in this study took adjuvant endocrine therapy as prescribed, many endured a range of side effects, often without seeking help. Advice, support and monitoring for adherence are not routinely offered in conventional follow-up settings. Women deserve more opportunity to discuss the pros, cons and impact of long-term adjuvant endocrine therapy. New service models are needed to support adherence, enhance quality of life and ultimately improve survival. These should ideally be community based, in order to promote self-management in the longer term.


This research was undertaken to study on the impact of globalization on production relations and culture in Tanzania: The case of Biharamulo District: 1961-2015.The study employed Descriptive research design under qualitative approach. A sample of 15 respondents was employed in the study through purposive sampling. The respondents included 5 Biharamulo District officials, 5 old persons, and five adult people drawn purposively from five wards out of the ten wards of the District. Besides interviews, other research techniques employed in data collection were library study/documentation,archival research and observation. The findings which were based on the research objectives revealed that there is a notable impact of globalization on production relations and culture in Tanzania in general and Biharamulo District in particular, within the 1961 – 2015 period. This is evident from commercialization of food and cash crops' production,adoption of scientific and advanced methods of farming, high degree of social differentiation and fluctuation of prices for cash crops. Advancement of transport technology that facilitate interaction of people, flow of goods and technology from outside on the one hand and advancement of information technology on the other, have been identified as the catalyst for such impact. On cultural matters its manifestations include western dressing, adoption of western names mostly among Christianity converts, higher use of western drinks as well as western ways of handling marriage ceremonies. The study recommends that the government should revive and practice self - reliance policy to avoid more dependency to global economic giants, and increase investment levels in science and technology. Furthermore, the government should establish a strong cultural monitoring board, while parents and teachers should assume a frontline role in teaching ethical social values to the younger generation.


Surgical operations on vessels and other methods of treatment are considered as non-medical therapies for ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. Some of these methods are accepted (improvement in lifestyle, rehabilitative measures) and some are not (acupuncture, homeopathic therapy). Considering the surgical operations, the results of microsurgical anastomoses between extra- and intracranial vessels, in particular, are discussed on the basis of experiences with 40 operated patients. The principles of some therapeutic methods like acupuncture and homeopathic therapy are then presented.


One of the things that can be observed, looking at the beginnings of the Church, is that it grew in spite of the religious pluralism in which they operate. Even though the Church has been assaulted by all kinds of extraneous teachings, has not had political support, or has even gone through various persecutions, it has continued to grow and provide the world with a testimony worth following. In the present context, when the Church is increasingly fragmented because of all sorts of disputes and totally inadequate preoccupations unrelated to its mandate, you cannot help wondering what can lead again to a healthy growth of the Church even in a context in which religious pluralism is increasingly accentuated. Unlike those who have adopted and applied in the Church all sorts of worldly models and practices, believing that in this way they would be more relevant to the world and the Church will increase significantly, this article will highlight that, the same way as it was in the beginning, today the Church can grow in a healthy way. To the extent that each of these elements will be valued: holiness, unity, worship and edification, the Church will be able to grow and fulfill the mandate it has received. KEYWORDS: holiness, unity, worship, edification, Church


The geometries of two-dozen geoglyphs in Northern Kazakhstan are examined to determine their age and purpose. The geoglyphs include linear arrangements of earthen mounds, cross figures, squares, and other shapes. In an attempt to understand the orientation of the cross figures an interesting alignment has been discovered that may be related to solstices. Based on optically stimulated luminescence and astronomical dating, the geoglyphs are estimated to range in age from thousands to tens of thousands of years old. The presence of more and less precise geometries aligned in different ways suggests that the geoglyphs were not the product of a single period or civilization but could have been created over an extended time with earlier figures more precisely aligned and better executed than later ones.


Background Giving birth in a medical institution, under the care and supervision of trained health-care providers, reduces the risk of maternal mortality and promotes child survival. Despite this, most mothers in Ethiopia are giving birth at home. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the level of skilled delivery service use and associated factors among mothers in Enarje Enawga District, Northwest Ethiopia. Materials and Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed to recruit a total of 777 mothers who gave birth in the last two years. Data were collected using structured questionnaire. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to assess factors associated with skilled delivery service use. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were computed. Results Only 156 (20.1%) of the mothers had utilized skilled delivery service in the last two years. Mothers aged 15–24 years (AOR = 5.57), residing in urban areas (AOR = 1.80), and residing within a walking time of 16–30 minutes from health facility (AOR = 3.52) were more likely to use skilled delivery practice. Additionaly, mothers who had four and more antenatal care (ANC) visits (AOR = 4.94) and mothers who received health education (AOR = 5.04) were more likely to use skilled delivery service. Conclusion The level of skilled delivery service use among mothers was low. Age, residence, distance from health facility, number of ANC visits and health education were found to be associated with skilled delivery service use. Community-based health education programs regarding the risks of home delivery is necessary with a special focus on younger mothers residing in rural area.