During the 21-month period from October 1968 to July 1970, Serratia marcescens was recovered from the sputum of 65 patients. Many of these infections resulted from contaminated sodium chloride solution used as diluting fluid for medication nebulizers. Five patients in the sixth decade or older were suspected of having developed pneumonitis. There were no distinctive signs or symptoms, and pseudohemoptysis was not noted in spite of the presence of pigmented strains in three of the patients. Mild leukocytosis was characteristic, and roentgenograms usually revealed moderate lobular infiltration of the upper or lower lobes that was not cavitary, but often was accompanied by metapneumonic pleural effusion. The present antibiotic of choice is gentamicin. Many respiratory infections are the result of nonpigmented strains that must be distinguished from other gram-negative paracolon bacilli.


Superplastic forming characteristics of AZ31 Mg alloy recycled by solid-state process were investigated. Cylindrical scraps and machined chips were recycled by hot extrusion and hot rolling in air. As a result of tensile test, elongation to failure of the specimens recycled from small and large cylindrical scraps was almost the same as that of the rolled specimen from a virgin ingot. On the other hand, the specimen from machined chips had much lower elongation at elevated temperatures. The oxygen concentration of the specimen recycled from machined chips showed about 60 times higher value compared with that of the other specimens. In superplastic forming tests, the specimen from small and large cylindrical scraps exhibited excellent formability similar to the rolled specimen from a virgin ingot. However, the specimen from machined chips showed poor formability. Thus, oxide contamination adversely affected the formability of recycled Mg alloy.


The 802.11 standards specify several transmission rates that can be used at the MAC layer protocol to adapt the transmission rate to channel conditions. Such dynamic adaptations can improve per-hop performance in Wireless Networks and therefore can have impact on the Quality of Service provided for communicating applications. In this paper we present a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of four rate control mechanisms used by the MadWifi driver in Linux: Onoe, AMRR, SampleRate and minstrel. The evaluation of these four rate control mechanisms was carried out in our platform for controllable and repeatable experiments.


Reasoning about the knowledge of an agent is an important problem in many areas of AI. For example in diagnosis a basic question about a system is whether it is possible to diagnose it, that is, whether it is always possible to know whether a faulty behavior has occurred. In this paper we investigate the complexity of this diagnosability problem and the size of automata that perform diagnosis.

There are algorithms for testing diagnosability in polynomial time in the number of states in the system. For succinct system representations, which may be exponentially smaller than the state space of the system, the diagnosability problem is consequently in EXPTIME. We show that this upper bound is not tight and that the decision problem is in fact PSPACE-complete.

On-line diagnosis can be carried out by diagnosers which are automata that recognize faulty behavior. We show that diagnosers in the worst case have a size that is exponential in the number of states, both for explicit and succinct system representations. This is a consequence of the diagnoser having to maintain beliefs about the state of the system.


A construction scheme for generating functions (GFs) suitable for particle tracking across arbitrary magnetic fields is presented. The GF is approximated by a power series solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi differential equation with analytical expressions for the coefficients. This approach is applied to magnetic fringing fields, which are presented as simplified analytical expressions. A short REDUCE code transforms the vector potentials automatically into an expanded GF.


Tis paper aims to analyze some elements of medial development due to the digital convergence and to the infuence of visual communication in the urban space like "city of screens" and "screen city", according to the relocation of the cinema phenomenon. Te image of the screen has became a symbol of our contemporary, it appears at the same time as a results of many computational processes and as a mirror, or a window, or a threshold of access to the real world. Alessandro Blasetti, one of the greater Italian flmmakers, in 1937 shot in Torino Contessa di Parma in which the screen can be read as a diaphragm of the narration and as symbolic object. Contessa, in fact, has been immediately considered a movie of the modernity and it shows us screens used as showcases, entrance doors of the place in which the plots develops but, overall, separation in character's gaze because inside of the hotel they always watch through mirrors or glasses, symbols of their world full of lies and deceptions.


Today, obesity is a public health problem with significant negative effects on mortality and morbidity rates in developing countries, and impact on all levels of the society. In recent years cognitive behavioral therapy approach has been considered as an important part of the obesity treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy for obesity includes sections like self-monitoring, stimulus control, food control, consolidation and reinforcement, cognitive restructuring, proper nutrition education, increase in physical activity, and behavior contracts. As part of the obesity treatment, combining cognitive-behavioral treatments with lifestyle changes such as increase in physical activity increases effectiveness of the treatment and ensures durability of the achieved weight loss.


The hypolipidemic agent bezamidine, a fibroic acid derivative (KPKA, Yugoslavia), was applied to treat Types 2a, 2b, 4 and 5 familial hyperlipoproteinemias. The highest reduction in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations was found in patients with Types 2b, 4 and 5 familial hyperlipoproteinemias. No clear-cut adverse effects of the drug were found during 3 months.


It is widely promoted that an intercultural approach be adopted to develop learners' intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in foreign language education (FLE) and suggested that the use of Internet technologies might greatly increase the opportunities of enhancing learners' ICC. While academic institutions are exploring such potential benefits, researchers caution that technology alone is insufficient and simply throwing students into networked surfing and encountering does not necessarily lead to intercultural learning and ICC development. This suggests that a new balance must be found between technology and pedagogy. This research reports a survey of Chinese college teachers' and learners' perceptions of classroom instruction in intercultural activities, especially with Internet mediation. Data were collected by means of Internet questionnaire including semi-structured questions with respect to setting, input, task tools, classroom activities, assessment, and problems which are central to the kind of task-based approach that facilitates intercultural teaching and learning. The findings suggest that while the importance of developing ICC has been recognized, language skills and cultural knowledge are still the focus of the class. Textbooks remain the predominant resource and tool for information input and Internet information tools are used in support of expanding the knowledge sources. However, communication tools are much less used. The findings do not reveal how activities were undertaken with Internet tools due to insufficient data but a general positive attitude towards classroom instruction with technology mediation was identified. The problems lie in technical support, pedagogical framework and time constraints. Implications were made in theory and practice for pedagogical development in ICFLE in China. Chapter 1 Research Aims & Objectives


Concerning the problem that the least square method in the third stage of DV-Hop algorithm has low positioning accuracy, a localization algorithm was proposed which is the fusion of hybrid bat-quasi-Newton algorithm and DVHop algorithm. First of all, the Bat Algorithm( BA) was improved from two aspects: firstly, the random vector β was adjusted adaptively according to bats'fitness so that the pulse frequency had the adaptive ability. Secondly, bats were guided to move by the average position of all the best individuals before the current iteration so that the speed had variable performance; Then in the third stage of DV-Hop algorithm the improved bat algorithm was used to estimate node location and then quasi-Newton algorithm was used to continue searching for the node location from the estimated location as the initial searching point. The simulation results show that, compared with the traditional DV-Hop algorithm and the improved algorithm of DV-Hop based on bat algorithm( BADV-Hop), positioning precision of the proposed algorithm increases about 16. 5% and 5. 18%, and the algorithm has better stability, it is suitable for high positioning precision and stability situation.


In this work, we used the residence time distribution to study the polystyrene foaming during an extrusion process. The extruder associated with a gear pump is simply and quantitatively described by three continuously stirred tank reactors with recycling loops and one plug-flow reactor. The blowing agent used is CO2 and is obtained by thermal decomposition of a chemical blowing agent (CBA). This approach allows the optimization of the density of the foam in accordance with the CBA kinetic of decomposition.


The Methow, Chelan, Wenatchee, and other terrane blocks accreted in late Mesozoic to Eocene times. Methow valley is excavated in an exotic terrane of folded Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks faulted between crystalline blocks. Repeated floods of Columbia River Basalt ca. 16 Ma drowned a backarc basin to the southeast. Cirques, arêtes, and U-shaped hanging troughs brand the Methow, Skagit, and Chelan headwaters. The late Wisconsin Cordilleran ice sheet beveled the alpine topography and deposited drift. Cordilleran ice flowed into the heads of Methow tributaries and overflowed from Skagit tributaries to greatly augment Chelan trough's glacier. Joined Okanogan and Methow ice flowed down Columbia valley and up lower Chelan trough. This tongue met the ice-sheet tongue flowing southeast down Chelan valley. Successively lower ice-marginal channels and kame terraces show that the ice sheet withered away largely by downwasting. Immense late Wisconsin floods from glacial Lake Missoula occasionally swept the Chelan-Vantage reach of Columbia valley by different routes. The earliest debacles, nearly 19,000 cal yr B.P. (= 19.0 k.y.), raged 335 m deep down Columbia valley and built high Pangborn bar at Wenatchee. As Cordilleran ice blocked the northwest of Columbia valley, several giant floods descended Moses Coulee and backflooded up the Columbia. As advancing ice then blocked Moses Coulee, Grand Coulee to Quincy basin became the westmost floodway. From Quincy basin many Missoula floods backflowed 50 km upvalley past Wenatchee 18–15.5 k.y. ago. Receding ice dammed glacial Lake Columbia centuries more—till it burst ~15 k.y. ago. After Glacier Peak ashfall ~13.6 k.y. ago, smaller great flood(s) swept down the Columbia from glacial Lake Kootenay in British Columbia. A cache of huge fluted Clovis points had been laid atop Pangborn bar (East Wenatchee) after the Glacier Peak ashfall. Clovis people came two and a half millennia after the last small Missoula flood, two millennia after the glacial Lake Columbia flood. This timing by radiocarbon methods is under review by newer exposure dating— 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl methods. Waitt, R.B., 2017, Pleistocene glaciers, lakes, and floods in north-central Washington State, in Haugerud, R.A., and Kelsey, H.M., eds., From the Puget Lowland to East of the Cascade Range: Geologic Excursions in the Pacific Northwest: Geological Society of America Field Guide 49, p. 175–205, doi:10.1130/2017.0049(08). © 2017 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permission to copy, contact firstname.lastname@example.com. 8


In this work we evaluate the impact of automated preprocessing of MR brain images on the prediction performance of a SVM AD classifier.Using a reference data set of 82 healthy controls and 82 individuals affected by AD we estimate the expected prediction accuracy and it's confidence interval. The best model reaches an accuracy of 84.7± 2.2% when trained with 122 images. Best performance can be achieved when the input to the SVM is weighted by a custom computed tissue damage score map. We assess the usability of image characteristics metrics to detect severe classification or registration errors. No proposed metrics alone was a reliable indicator for general processing errors. Yet a sequence of thresholds applied to 3 different metrics discriminated regular segmentation and registration from non-regular processing with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 97%, tested on a data set 481 images.


The tibial collateral ligament, also known as the medial collateral ligament (MCL), is a ligament extending from the medial epicondyle of the femur to the posteromedial crest of the tibia. The ligament is a broad and strong band that mainly functions to stabilize the knee joint in the coronal plane on the medial side.


Supply Chain Management as a business strategy can combine both microeconomic and macroeconomic aspects of preferred value chains. This paper (1) shows the impact of SCM, (2) stretches out the three dimensions of performance, costs and quality of the processes along the supply chain and (3) highlights the SCM-enabler. The method of a process chain analysis is demonstrated for the allocation of resources. Various results of carried out and studies in progress are given and identified through the classification into economical and management aspects.


Abstract Backround: Enuresis implies severe stress in affected children, and impairs quality of life and sleep. Children with enuresis experience difficulties in their arousal from sleep, possibly associated with disturbances of the circadian rhythm. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the sleep–wake cycle and sleep disturbances in children with monosymptomatic enuresis nocturna (MEN). Method: The study comprised 70 children with MEN who were admitted to the pediatrics and urology outpatients department and 94 age-matched healthy controls. Parents completed "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire," Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Children's Chronotype Questionnaire scale. Results: Children with enuresis had significantly more sleep and psychological problem. Enuresis group reported higher bedtime resistance, parasomnias, breathing-related problems, and daytime sleepiness in CHSQ (p < 0.05). Although circadian preference did not differ statistically between the groups (p > 0.05), sleep duration on school days and awakening and mid-sleep points, both on scheduled and free days, were found to be significantly different in the enuretic group (p < 0.05). In logistic regression analysis, age, sleep period on scheduled days, sleep inertia on scheduled and free days were significant predictor for enuresis. Discussion: Children with enuresis were more likely to experience problematic sleep. This may reflect that enuretic children have impaired sleep–wake cycles, leading to dysregulation of daily functional changes of bladder capacity and related hormones such as ADH. These findings might imply a sleep–wake disturbance in enuresis.


Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are ubiquitous components used across the range of today's computing platforms, from phones and tablets, through personal computers, to high-end server class platforms. With the increasing importance of graphics and video workloads, recent processors are shipped with GPU devices that are integrated on the same chip. Integrated GPUs share some resources with the CPU and as a result, there is a potential for microarchitectural attacks from the GPU to the CPU or vice versa. We consider the potential for covert channel attacks that arise either from shared microarchitectural components (such as caches) or through shared contention domains (e.g., shared buses). We illustrate these two types of channels by developing two reliable covert channel attacks. The first covert channel uses the shared LLC cache in Intel's integrated GPU architectures. The second is a contention based channel targeting the ring bus connecting the CPU and GPU to the LLC. This is the first demonstrated microarchitectural attack crossing the component boundary (GPU to CPU or vice versa). Cross-component channels introduce a number of new challenges that we had to overcome since they occur across heterogeneous components that use different computation models and are interconnected using asymmetric memory hierarchies. We also exploit GPU parallelism to increase the bandwidth of the communication, even without relying on a common clock. The LLC based channel achieves a bandwidth of 120 kbps with a low error rate of 2%, while the contention based channel delivers up to 400 kbps with a 0.8% error rate. We also demonstrate a proof-of-concept prime-and-probe side channel attack that probes the full LLC from the GPU.


Abstract The twelfth century was a time of rejuvenated interest in the Holy Spirit in western Christendom. Two German theologians, Rupert of Deutz and Anselm of Havelberg, in particular offered new interpretations of the Holy Spirit that have generally been neglected by previous scholarship. Both of them showed a unique interest in salvation history and the renewal of the Church as shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit. This thesis provides a detailed study of the both writers' works, placing them in a wider historical and theological context. Rupert of Deutz (ca 1075-1129), a Benedictine monk, provided a ground-breaking contribution to the theology of history in the twelfth century through an original conception of the role of the Holy Spirit in Church history. Through a close reading of Rupert's De operibus Spiritus sancti (1113-1117), this thesis analyses Rupert's innovative Trinitarian scheme of salvation history, based around the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is also argued that Rupert's work on salvation history and the Holy Spirit reveals his original (though so far unnoticed) reflections on the changes of the contemporary Church. Anselm of Havelberg (ca 1095-1158), a regular canon, carried on the new direction of salvation history and interpretation of the Holy Spirit as the driving force of the Church as proposed by Rupert. However, in sharp contrast with Rupert, Anselm emphasized the ideas of diversity and development in his major work, Anticimenon (1149). In addition to examining Anselm's interpretations of the seven seals in the Apocalypse, my work also illuminates how Anselm applied his original understanding of the Holy Spirit's work within Church history to his debates with the Greeks in terms of Filioque and papal primacy. The thesis closes with a comparison between Rupert and Anselm, in particular focusing on their respective ideas of the Holy Spirit, salvation history and the renewal of the Church. This research not only constitutes the first detailed study on Rupert and Anselm's understandings of the Holy Spirit in a broad comparative perspective, but also sheds light on important intellectual, theological and ecclesiastical developments in the first half of the twelfth century.


Abstract- This study aims to produce textbooks that can effectively develop psychomotor aspects in students in chemistry lessons in SMA / MA Class XI Semester 1. The population in this study is the class XI students in SMA / MA in Medan City, North Sumatra Province. The sample was taken purposively. The research approach used in this research is an experimental study used to see the results of trial use of books on psychomotor growth of students. Prior to giving treatment to the sample, prerequisite test was done by Kolmogorof-Smirnov test and Levene test with significance level α = 0,05. Data analysis technique use independent sample t test with SPSS 20 for windows at significance level α = 0,05. The results showed that the psychomotor value of students is more developed in the experimental class that is using the developed book (Curriculum Book 2013) than in the control class using the Curriculum Curriculum KTSP.


Using the primary cultured cells of cancerous thoracic fluid, cancerous ascites and mammary cancer tissue obtained from cancer patients at operation, these cells were cultured in the presence of antitumor agents such as Mitomycin (MMC), Chromomycin (Chr. A(3)) and Cobalt protoporphyrin (Copp) either singly of in combination, and the proliferation of the primary cultured cells was observed. The results of the study are briefly summarized as follows. 1. Cultures in the presence of a single antitumor agent: On addition of MMC or Chr. A(3) in the concentration of 10(-1)γ/ml and 10(-2)γ/ml respectively shows a marked inhibitory effect or destructive effect on the proliferation of the prinary cultured cells. Copp, on the other hand, does not show any inhibitory effect at the concentration of 10γ/ml, 10(-1)γ/ml, or 10(-2)γ/ml. 2. Cultures in the presence of two antitumor agents: When 10(-1)γ/ml of MMC and 1γ/ml Copp are added, there can be observed no cumulative inhibitory effect. In the presence of 10(-1)γ/ml Chr. A(3) together with 10(-1)γ/ml MMC there can be seen a cumulative effect resulting in a marked inhibition of the proliferation. 3. After treating the primary cultured cells with Chr. A(3) at a low concentration for 48 hours, then cultured for 96hrs: When the primary cultured cells are cultured in the presence of Chr. A(3) at the concentration of 10(-2)γ, or 10(-4)γ/ml for 48 hours, and after removing Chr. A(3) by washing, when the cells are further cultured for 96 hours, there can be observed an adverse effect; namely, the growth of the primary cultured cells is accelerated. 4. Cultures with continuous addition of antitumor agent at a low concentration: In the presence of 10(-3)γ/ml MMC there can be observed a marked adverse effect, but on further addition of 10(-4)γ/ml MMC adverse effect can not longer be seen. On the addition of Chr. A(3) at the concentration of 10(-4)γ/ml, similarly a marked acceleration of the growth can be seen, but at a lower concentration of 10(-4)γ/ml there can be observed only a slight accelerative effect. These results indicate that the addition of antitumor agent at a certain low concentration, acting on the cancer cells themselves may bring about an accelerative effect (adverse effect). Therefore, it is desirable to consider the adverse effect so far thought to be induced by the unbalance between the cumulative effect of the resistance of host and tumor proliferative capacity, from a new angle. Hence, on administering antitumor agent in vivo we should do it with utmost precaution. Acknowledgement: The author wishes to express profound thanks to Prof. Sanae Tanaka and Dr. Kunzo Orita for kind guidance throughout this work.


The aim of this article is to show the advantages that the use of a multiagent model can provide in implementing vertical and lateral coordination among the components of a noncentralized distribution chain. This model has been implemented in Java language in order to allow for the development of a Web-based decision support system that can perform the coordination strategies, simulated in this article in a real logistics chain. This article, after introducing the main concepts related to the adoption of coordination mechanisms within a supply chain, the main issues of agent-oriented technology, and a brief review of the related literature, presents the structure of the proposed model and the static and dynamic behaviors of the decision-making agents. The design issues of specific coordination models, the negotiation mechanisms introduced, and their proper tuning are then discussed. The models have been applied to a real two-level distribution system of an electromechanical company, made up of a supplier and a geographically distributed network of retailers. Experimental results showed the benefits derived from the adoption of coordination-based models, above all in supply contexts, characterized by relevant information sharing among the main tiers of the chain.


Inorganic-organic hybrid material was synthesized by the sol-gel process. The control of the refractive index was achieved by varying the amount of phenyltrimethoxysilane as a refractive index modifier. Thick layers of hybrid material with 22㎛ thickness were fabricated by a single spin-coating without producing any crack at lower temperature. However, the heat-treatment of the hybrid film above 200°C induced significant cracks on the surface. The refractive index variations and structural changes as a function of heat-treatment condition were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer.


We examine the optical scattering from a variety of axially symmetric plasmonic nanoparticle dimers separated by nanoscale gaps, quantifying the role of classical nonlocality on their optical properties. Due to the rotational symmetry of the analyzed structures, a high degree of accuracy is achieved using a computational approach termed 2.5D modeling, in which a small number of simulations on a two-dimensional domain can replace a memory- and time-intensive simulation on a three-dimensional domain. We find that scattered light from dimers consisting of nanoparticles with flat surfaces, such as nanodisks, exhibits pronounced spectral shifts due to the nonlocality of the electron fluid; these significant shifts persist even at relatively large (>1  nm) gap dimensions, where quantum tunneling effects are believed to be negligible. The 2.5D modeling technique accurately incorporates all responses due to any nonaxially symmetric eigenmodes of the system, such as dipolar and quadrupolar modes, thereby providing a complete characterization of the system for any excitation.


Microbial L-asparginases has wide range of applications as therapeutic agents and in industries. In the present study, 57 bacterial isolates from Konark beach, Bhubaneshwar were screened for L-asparginase production and KBI-13 isolate was found to be potential producer strain. KBI-13 was identified as Bacillus subtilis at molecular levels. During production optimization, pH (8.0), temperature (40 ºC), carbon and nitrogen sources (dextrose- 0.5 %; yeast extract 1 %), aeration conditions, metal salts (FeSO 4 ) and NaCl (4 %) were found to be optimum. The enzyme was produced under optimized conditions and was purified by sephadex G-50 column and the purification was obtained upto 61.54 fold. The activity of enzyme was increased upto pH 8.0 and temperature 40 ºC and its stability was observed upto 16 hrs at 40 ºC temperature and pH 8.0. Pretreatment of 0.5 mM CaCl 2 increased the enzyme activity upto 20 % while, 250 mM concentration of L-aspargine was suitable for optimum activity of enzyme which was further confirmed by values of Vmax (1.25 µM/min) and Km (0.05 mM). The reaction end products did not show any significant change in enzyme activity.


The rat tibia four‐point bending model is a new mechanical loading model in which force is applied through external pads to the rat lower limb. The advantages of the model are controlled force application to a well‐defined bone, noninvasive external loading, and the addition of loads to normal daily activity. A disadvantage of the model is that the pads create local pressure on the leg at the contact sites. This study examined the differences in tibial response to bending strains and to local pressure under the pads. A total of 30 adult Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomized into three external loading groups: bending, cyclic pressure, and static pressure. The right leg of each rat was externally loaded to create either bending or local pressure without bending; the left leg served as a control. Strains on the lateral surface averaged 1200 μϵ in compression during bending load application and <200 μϵ in compression during pressure loading. Histomorphometric data were collected from three regions: the maximal bending region, under the loading pads, and outside the maximal bending region. In the maximal bending region, bending loads created greater mineral apposition rate (MAR) on the lateral surface and greater MAR and formation surface on the medial surface of loaded than control tibiae. The region under the bending pad was exposed to similar bending strains and showed the same pattern of increased MAR as sections from the maximal bending region. Cyclic pressure had no effect on periosteal MAR or formation surface. Static pressure increased MAR only on the lateral tibial surface. Bending stimulates bone formation in regions with the highest bending strains. Similar forces applied only in the form of pressure loading do not stimulate tibial formation either at the contact site or between loading pads. These results suggest that externally applied forces of moderate magnitude stimulate bone formation primarily as a result of increased bending strains, not local pressure at the contact site.


Both ploidy and hybridity affect cell size and growth vigor in plants and animals, but the relative effects of genome dosage and hybridization on biomass, fitness, and gene expression changes have not been systematically examined. Here we performed the first comparative analysis of seed, cell, and flower sizes, starch and chlorophyll content, biomass, and gene expression changes in diploid, triploid, and tetraploid hybrids and their respective parents in three Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes: Columbia, C24, and Landsberg erecta (Ler). Ploidy affects many morphological and fitness traits, including stomatal size, flower size, and seed weight, whereas hybridization between the ecotypes leads to altered expression of central circadian clock genes and increased starch and chlorophyll content, biomass, and seed weight. However, varying ploidy levels has subtle effects on biomass, circadian clock gene expression, and chlorophyll and starch content. Interestingly, biomass, starch content, and seed weight are significantly different between the reciprocal hybrids at all ploidy levels tested, with the lowest and highest levels found in the reciprocal triploid hybrids, suggesting parent-of-origin effects on biomass, starch content, and seed weight. These findings provide new insights into molecular events of polyploidy and heterosis, as well as complex agronomic traits that are important to biomass and seed production in hybrid and polyploid crops.


Not all DNA has the familiar Watson-Crick, right-handed double helical structure. Left-handed helixes, triplexes, quadruplexes, bent DNA and regions of increased stiffness have all been encountered in nature. Some of these DNA structures are formed as a result of protein binding, while others are intrinsic. Such intrinsic structures may be incorporated into future plasmid constructs for gene therapy and DNA vaccine products. Intrinsic DNA structures were included at a defined point in a 2.9 kb plasmid, and their effects on cell growth rate, total plasmid yield, and topology (i.e. the relative proportions of supercoiled plasmid, open circular and linear forms), were determined. The stability of the inserted sequences was assessed using gel electrophoresis. Results suggest that Z-DNA is unstable in a batch Escherichia coli DH1 production system grown in complex medium. Encouragingly other sequences studied (triplex, bend and quadruplex) did not cause spontaneous deletions, and no detrimental effect was found on growth rate or on total plasmid yield indicating that such sequences could be included in future DNA products without any detrimental effect on plasmid yields. Although the intramolecular triplex studied significantly decreased the proportion of supercoiled species. The effect of different topological forms on transcription of a DNA vaccine in a cell free system was investigated, in order to determine the implications of this on specifications of plasmid products. Open circular plasmid was found to be expressed around 3.5 fold more than the supercoiled form. Current guidelines suggest that plasmid products should contain a minimum of 90% supercoiled species. The supercoiled form is not a single isoform, but contains plasmids with different numbers of supercoils (linking number). Measurement of the levels of supercoiled species in comparison to the other plasmid forms allows monitoring of the production process, however it is recommended that the guidelines be set on individual product basis i.e. drug efficacy will depend on delivery method, longevity and transcription levels.


Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly heterogeneous and invasive subtype of breast cancer. The prognosis of TNBC is poor because of its high distant metastasis rate. Triptolide is a type of diterpene trioxide natural compound with potential anti-tumor activities. This study explored the metastatic inhibitory effect of triptolide on MDA-MB-231 cells and its underlying mechanism. Triptolide suppressed cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Low doses of triptolide (0-8 nM) reduced the migration and invasion capabilities of MDA-MB-231 cells. Triptolide decreased ROCK1, p-Akt, N-cadherin, vimentin and MMP-9 expressions, but increased PTEN and E-cadherin expressions on protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, the down-regulation of ROCK1 expression in MDA-MB-231 cells after being treated by triptolide could be rescued by ROCK1 specific inhibitor Y27632. Molecular docking showed that triptolide and Y27632 shared the same active center of ROCK1 protein. This article's findings taken together showed that ROCK1 is the primary target of triptolide, which can cause cell apoptosis and inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of MDA-MB-231 cells.


Aims: This study aimed to assess which variables on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and vasodilator stress-echocardiography (SE) are best associated with long-term cardiac outcome in patients presenting for suspected chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) who performed both tests. Methods: We identified 397 patients with suspected CCS who, between 2007 and 2019, underwent both SE and CTA within 30 days. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and the number of coronary arteries with diameter stenosis >50% were assessed on CTA. The presence of reversible regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) and reduced Doppler coronary flow velocity reserve in the left-anterior descending coronary artery (CFVR) were assessed on SE. The association of SE and CTA variables with cardiac outcome (cardiac death or myocardial infarction) was evaluated using Fine and Gray competing risk models. Results: During a median follow-up of 10 years, 38 (9.6%) patients experienced a nonfatal myocardial infarction and 19 (4.8%) died from a cardiac cause. RWMA (HR 7.189, p < 0.001) and a lower CFVR (HR 0.034, p < 0.001) on SE, along with CACS (HR 1.004, p < 0.001) and the number of >50% stenosed coronary vessels (HR 1.975, p < 0.001) on CTA, were each associated with cardiac events. After adjusting for covariates, only CACS and CFVR remained associated (both p < 0.001) with cardiac outcome. Conclusion: Our data suggest that only CFVR on vasodilatory SE and CACS on CTA are independently and strongly associated with long-term cardiac outcome, unlike RWMA or the number of stenosed coronary arteries, usually considered the hallmarks of coronary artery disease on each test.


This paper proposes an original approach to investigate the influence of the geometry of Francis turbines draft tube on pressure fluctuations and energy losses in off-design conditions. It is based on Design of Experiments (DOE) of the draft tube geometry and steady/unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the draft tube internal flow. The test case is a Francis turbine unit of specific speed Ns=120 m-kW which is required to operate continuously in off-design conditions, either with 45% (part-load) or 110% (full-load) of the design flow rate. Nine different draft tube geometries featuring a different set of geometrical parameters are first defined by an orthogonal array-based DOE approach. For each of them, unsteady and steady CFD simulations of the internal flow from guide vane to draft tube outlet are performed at part-load and full-load conditions, respectively. The influence of each geometrical parameter on both the flow instability and resulting pressure pulsations, as well as on energy losses in the draft tube, are investigated by applying an Analysis of Means (ANOM) to the numerical results. The whole methodology enables the identification of a set of geometrical parameters minimizing the pressure fluctuations occurring in part-load conditions as well as the energy losses in both full-load and part-load conditions while maintaining the requested pressure recovery. Finally, the results of the CFD simulations with the final draft tube geometry are compared with the results estimated by the ANOM, which demonstrates that the proposed methodology also enables a rough preliminary estimation of the draft tube losses and pressure fluctuations amplitude.


The gate-driven effect and substrate-triggered effect on electrostatic discharge (ESD) robustness of CMOS devices are measured and compared in this paper. The operation principles of gate-grounded design, gate-driven design, and substrate-triggered design on CMOS devices for ESD protection are explained clearly by energy-band diagrams. The relations between ESD robustness and the devices with different triggered methods are also explained by transmission line pulsing (TLP) measured results and energy-band diagrams. The turn-on mechanisms of nMOS devices with triggered methods are further verified using the emission microscope (EMMI) photographs of the nMOS devices under current stress. The experimental results confirm that the substrate-triggered design can effectively and continually improve ESD robustness of CMOS devices better than the gate-driven design. The human body model (HBM) ESD level of nMOS with a W/L of 400 /spl mu/m/0.8 /spl mu/m in a silicided CMOS process can be improved from the original 3.5 kV to over 8 kV by using the substrate-triggered design. The gate-driven design cannot continually improve the ESD level of the device in the same deep-submicron CMOS process.


Background: Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare sector and are fundamental in the delivery of quality care. The perception and image of both nurses and nursing as a profession are vital in the successful recruitment and retention of staff in the health care industry.

Objective: To study the perception and aspirations of B.Sc. final year nursing students towards their professional life.

Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Urban Health Care and training Center Shahaganj, Aurangabad. A total 70 B.Sc. final year nursing students were interviewed through self-administered questionnaire containing three major parts: the first part is the socio-demographic characteristics; the second part is perception of nursing profession; the third part is aspirations of nursing students.

Results: Approximately 80% of students' source of awareness was from nearly people, i.e., parents, relatives, and friends. And most (85%) of students were interested in their field. Most of the students choose this field mainly because of more job opportunities. The other significant reason to choose this field is their own interest in health care system and also their passion to serve the community. Majority (81.4%) of the students preferred the urban area while there was a small group (18.6%) of students even willing to work in the rural area. Majority of the students feel that both males and females are equally compassionate and dedicated to nursing profession. Maximum students want to be a doctor if they had opportunity but the majority of students (85.7%) were satisfied.

Conclusion: The perception of nursing profession among nursing students is changing towards positive side. The guidance by family and friends were important factors in joining nursing profession. Providing more career opportunities and projecting the nursing profession as a respectable and high demanding profession will help to boost admission and improve perceptions further.


A study was conducted on 7055 Al alloys processed by Equal-channel Angular Pressing (ECAP). The quantitative information about precipitate size, distribution and volume fraction in ECAPed samples was investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that with the number of ECAP increasing, the quantitative information about volume fraction (fv), precipitate size (R), specific inner surface of particle-matrix (Sp), and integrated intensity (Q0) all increased, indicating that ECAP enhanced the nucleation and growth of precipitates. The microhardness of samples after two passes of ECAP is higher than that of T6 treated samples even after 96 h at 120°C. The formation of fine grains, higher volume fraction of precipitates, together with strain hardening induced by severe deformation are the main factors leading to a high microhardness in ECAPed samples.


Cass Sunstein is the leading advocate of "nudges" – small policy interventions that yield major impacts because of behavioral quirks in the way that people process information. Such interventions form the core of Sunstein's philosophy of "libertarian paternalism," which seeks to improve on individuals' decisions while preserving their freedom to choose. In "Why Nudge?", Sunstein forcefully defends libertarian paternalism against John Stuart Mill's famous Harm Principle, which holds that government should only coerce a person when it is acting to prevent harm to others. Sunstein urges that unlike more coercive measures, nudges respect subjects' goals, even as they reshape their choices. Using an analogy to voting paradoxes, this Review shows that reconciling multiple, inconsistent goals is a fundamentally challenging problem; the challenge leaves even deliberative individuals vulnerable to manipulation through nudges. The fact of inconsistent goals means that government regulators who deploy nudges select and impose their own objectives, instead of merely advancing the goals of the regulated. The analogy also highlights that multimember legislative bodies are subject to many of the same quirks as individuals, raising questions about the government's ability to improve on individuals' choices.


A novel chiral electrochemical sensor based on hydroxyethyl chitosan (HECS) covalently binding with the carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT–COOH) was fabricated for discrimination of tryptophan (Trp) enantiomers. HECS preferably combined with L-Trp than with D-Trp because of the favorability of host–guest interactions between HECS and Trp enantiomers. Thus, the recognition efficiency was remarkably improved after hydroxyethyl groups were grafted onto chitosan (CS); this might be attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between Trp enantiomers and HECS. In addition, the small stereo-hindrance effect could play an important role in enantioselective discrimination.


Two types of distributed fiber sensor systems for temperature measurements have been developed: the first one is multi-point Fiber Bragg Grating based system with interrogation by CW tunable laser and nonlinearity compensation by reference interferometer. The second device is Raman scattering system based on optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) with a pulsed laser providing spatial resolution of several meters and efficient spectral filtering of the Stokes and anti-Sokes signals by means of WDM couplers. Physical effects important for the systems operation are analyzed and their parameters are compared and optimized for applications in oil-gas industry and turbogenerator temperature monitoring.


Temporal sentiment labels are used in various multimedia studies. They are useful for numerous classification and detection tasks such as video tagging, segmentation, and labeling. However, generating a large-scale sentiment dataset through manual labeling is usually expensive and challenging. Some recent studies explored the possibility of using online Time-Sync Comments (TSCs) as the primary source of their sentiment maps. Although the approach has positive results, existing TSCs datasets are limited in scale and content categories. Guidelines for generating such data within a constrained budget are yet to be developed and discussed. This dissertation tries to address the above issues by leveraging existing live comments from a popular video distributed platform, YouTube, as a primary time-synchronized data source and exploring efficient strategies for generating TSCs with a constrained budget. An automatic data mining system was first developed and deployed across multiple platforms. Then, long-period experiments were conducted to test the efficiency of the framework. Additionally, two large-scale TSCs datasets were created through the proposed data framework and analyzed for their characteristics. Finally, the outcomes were tested against the original temporal Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) sentiment labeling to validate their accuracy. The experiment shows the potential of automatically generating temporal sentiment datasets through the proposed mapping system. This project also provides valuable tools for future multimedia research.


This article addresses the role of age-based faultlines in relation to the perceived productive energy of work teams and transformational leadership as a potential moderator of this relationship. Based on social identity and social categorization theory, teams that have strong age-based faultlines— defined as age subgroup formation that is reinforced by internal alignment with other demographic characteristics (tenure and sex)—should show a lower level of perceived productive energy than do teams that have weak faultlines. In teams with high levels of perceived transformational leadership, this effect should be reversed. Study hypotheses were tested on a sample of 664 individuals in 72 teams from a multinational company. Results showed a marginally significant negative relationship between age-based faultlines and teams' productive energy, although the moderation effect of transformational leadership was found to be significant. These results point toward transformational leadership as a promising strategy for overcoming the negative effects of age-based faultlines in team settings.


Con A induced suppressor cell assay was further characterized in this study. Significant lower mitogenic responses of autologous fresh cells cocultured with Con A-activated cells were found when compared with the response of cocultures of responders plus control cells preincubated in medium alone. However, Con A-activated cells did not express a real suppression, since no difference was found between responses of fresh responders alone and responses of cocultures with Con A-activated cells. So, Con A activation seemed to block the expression of the enhancement provided by control cells to autologous responders, rather than to induce a real suppressor activity. The induction of the Con A suppressor cell activity required cell proliferation but it was not proportional to the degree of DNA synthesis. Monocyte depleted cell populations exhibited lower Con A suppressor cell activity compared to unfractionated cells, suggesting a cooperative role of monocytes in the Con A induction step. The expression of this activity was not due to a cytotoxicity against the responders and was dependent on the number of activated cells added. Mononuclear cells from active lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, but not from inactive SLE patients differed from normal controls in showing a significant loss of suppression index.


Background and Purpose A model for cerebral ischemia that requires injection of emboli into the internal carotid artery of the rabbit is commonly used. However, in our experience we have found the anatomy of the cervical carotid to be highly variable. If not appreciated, this may result in unexpectedly high variability in the severity of ischemic injury. We undertook this experimental protocol to determine whether it was possible to characterize the anatomy of the rabbit cervical carotid artery. Methods We examined and recorded the architecture of the cervical carotid arteries of 105 consecutive rabbits involved in experimental protocols to evaluate the role of tissue-type plasminogen activator during embolic stroke. Results Two basic patterns of origin of the internal carotid artery were identified: lateral origin, classified as type I, and dorsomedial origin, classified as type II. In addition, there were three subsequent variations in the origin and morphology of the occipital artery in relation to the internal carotid artery: origin from the external carotid artery (subtype A); origin proximal on the internal carotid artery (subtype B); and origin distal on the internal carotid artery (subtype C). Conclusions The classification of the anatomy of the cervical carotid artery of the rabbit into these easily recognized types will assist those attempting to use this embolization model. Failure to recognize the origin of the occipital artery from the internal carotid artery can result in the misdirection of embolic material into the occipital artery and significantly reduce the effectiveness of this stroke model. (Stroke. 1994; 25:501-503.)


A front-wheel drive hatchback automobile was involved in a severe front end impact. Failure analysis of the automobile revealed only a single sound spot weld in each of two 66 cm (26 in.) sections of both upper and lower floor sill flanges. Consequently, upon impact, the floor pan separated from the rocker panel, buckled and rotated upward and forward. This introduced slack in the seat belts since their retractors, being anchored to the floor pan, also rotated forward. Although not contributory to the accident itself, the faulty welds were responsible in part for the severity of the injuries sustained by the driver. The faulty welds in the unit body were apparently a consequence of improper settings of parameters on a multihead electrical resistance spot welding machine. Lack of appreciation of the hazard associated with failure of this weldment may have contributed to the low frequency of their physical inspection during production. A similar case involving faulty welds in a fuel delivery truck is also discussed.


Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicity of Doxil with low-dose continuous infusion topotecan and subsequently with low-dose oral topotecan. Other specific aims were preliminary assessment of activity in advanced ovarian and tubal malignancies, pharmacokinetics of oral topotecan, and correlation of response with topoisomerase I and II expression in tumors. Methods: Eligible patients had histopathologically documented advanced cancers beyond standard therapy, performance status <2, and adequate organ functions. Doxil (30-40 mg/m2 i.v.) was given on day 1, with topotecan either oral topotecan 0.4 mg/m2 bid for 14 days or continuous infusion topotecan (0.3-0.4 mg/m2/d) for 14 to 21 days, in 28-day cycles. Fifty-seven patients, 23 with epithelial ovarian or tubal cancers were enrolled. Plasma levels of lactone form of topotecan were determined on patients receiving oral topotecan. Results: Grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia and grade 3 diarrhea were dose-limiting toxicities at the highest dose levels explored. Doxil (40 mg/m2/day 1) and continuous infusion topotecan at 0.4 mg/m2/days 1 to 14 could be safely given and is the recommended phase II dose. Oral topotecan was limited by low and erratic plasma topotecan levels and frequent gastrointestinal toxicity. Particularly long partial responses and stable disease were observed in patients with epithelial ovarian or tubal cancers. Clinical benefit (objective responses and stable diseases) correlated with elevated expression of both topoisomerases by immunohistochemistry in four of six epithelial ovarian or tubal cancer tumor samples. Conclusion: Doxil with 14-day topotecan infusion is a well-tolerated regimen and suitable for study in platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian or tubal cancers. Frequent gastrointestinal toxicity and/or erratic absorption complicate treatment with a longer topotecan infusion or with oral topotecan, respectively, and these combinations are not recommended.


We theoretically predicted the existence of an anomalous optical transmittance dip, which must be observed for a metamaterial structure with two metallic slabs with cut-through slit arrays of a constant period d under a normal incident condition. By changing the relative lateral displacement l between the two slabs, the dip frequency varies across that of a so-called Rayleigh-Wood's (RW) anomaly frequency. The mechanism of this anomaly is quite different from that of the RW anomaly and interpreted in terms of the interference between the propagating and evanescent waves. For the present double-layered system, furthermore, it is suggested that the RW anomaly vanishes for l = 0 and d/2. In experiments in the terahertz region, we observe that the fundamental features agree with these theoretical predictions.


Clostridium difficile is a leading cause of nosocomial infections associated with antibiotic treatment. Despite its' pathogenic role, the bacterium can be carried asymptomatically in the GI tract and has an ubiquitous presence in the environment. The ecology of C. difficile outside clinical settings is not fully understood, but the evolution of pathogenic strains may occur in its zoonotic and environmental reservoirs. A major driver of bacterial genome evolution is bacteriophages. This project has investigated the prevalence and diversity of phages associated with strains from these reservoirs. A large and diverse collection of C. difficile isolates was established in order to isolate and characterise the phages associated with them. 27 phages were isolated. These were characterised according to their particle morphology, genome size and plaque morphology which showed they could be sub-grouped according to morphology. Host range analyses showed there is a complex network of phage-host interactions within this species. To characterise to a genetic level, the genomes of seven phages were sequenced and annotated. Their genomes show they are related to known C. difficile phages. However, genes which are unusual or novel to phage genomes were also identified. Comparative genomics identified distinct lineages within C. difficile phages, which correspond to their morphological sub-grouping. Also the bioinformatic analyses provide evidence of genetic exchange occurring between them, presumably during co-infection as multiple prophage carriage is common in this species. Interestingly, analysis of the C. difficile CRISPR system showed that in addition to the bacterial arrays, several prophages encode CRISPR arrays that target phage sequences. Evidence of their co-evolution suggests phage infection impacts both genome evolution of their host and other C. difficile phages. In summary, a diverse C. difficile phage collection has been established which has the potential for development to allow their exploitation.


Inflammatory myopathies are a heterogeneous group of acquired systemic diseases, which include dermatomyositis (DM), polymyositis (PM), necrotising myopathy (NM) and inclusion body myositis (IBM). All four disease entities share certain clinical characteristics, such as progressive muscle weakness and elevated muscle enzymes. Other characteristic-associated features such as skin involvement in DM or the detection of myositis-specific antibodies, may be indicative of a particular subtype. However, muscle biopsy is still essential for the diagnosis and shows distinct histopathological characteristics for each subtype of myositis. Treatment of inflammatory myopathies is still based on clinical experience, since placebo-controlled trials are scarce. While DM, PM and NM respond well to immunosuppressive treatment, IBM is usually resistant to immunotherapy. This review aims to give a concise overview and provide guidance for general management of myositis.


Selection of ocean trawler refitting sites problem in wartime, is affected by a variety of technical factors and other factors such as organization, planning, management, etc. A fuzzy matter-element model is built up in view of the fuzziness and incompatibility of the indexes, combining quantitative analysis with qualitative analysis, with quantifying the qualitative indexes by linguistic variables and fuzzy numbers, and with quantitative analysis on the former. The grey relational analysis theory is used to calculate the value of index weights, to reduce the subjective randomness. The multi-objective selection problem is transformed into the single-object decision by Euclid approach degree. The example shows that the method is very practical and the result is objective.


The sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle, thermochemical water splitting using heat energy from nuclear, is one of the most promising methods for massive hydrogen production. For continuous operation of Bunsen reaction section in SI process, the reactants (SO2, I2 and H2O) were fed to the reactor and the products (a H2SO4 phase and a HIx phase) were sent to storage tanks continuously during the reaction. In this study, we investigated the phase separation characteristics of continuous Bunsen reaction on the reactor shape and temperature. It was found that the reactor shape has little affected on the composition of Bunsen products. It was also observed that the phase separation characteristics of the continuous Bunsen reaction were similar to those for the semi-batch Bunsen reaction.


Abstract Basketball incorporates intense eccentric muscle activity that induces muscle microtrauma and an inflammatory response. This study investigated time-dependent inflammatory and performance responses during a weekly microcycle after a basketball match. Twenty elite-standard players underwent a trial that comprised a match followed by a 6-day simulated in-season microcycle. The trial was preceded by a control condition that did not have a match. Blood sampling and tests of maximal-intensity exercise performance and muscle damage occurred before each condition, immediately after the match and daily thereafter for 6 consecutive days. The match induced marked increases in heart rate, lactate, ammonia, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids and triglycerides. Performance deteriorated for 24–48 h after the match, whereas knee flexor and extensor soreness increased for 48 and 24 h post-match, respectively. Inflammatory (leukocytes, C-reactive protein, creatine kinase activity, adhesion molecules, cortisol, uric acid and cytokines) and oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, protein carbonyls, oxidised glutathione, antioxidant capacity, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) markers increased for ~24 h and subsided thereafter. Reduced glutathione declined for 24 h after exercise. These results suggest that a basketball match elicits moderate and relatively brief (~24–48 h) inflammatory responses, is associated with marked but short-lived performance deterioration, but is less stressful than other intermittent-type sports.


The Indo‐Malayan bioregion has provided some of the most spectacular discoveries of new vertebrate species (e.g. saola, khanyou, bare‐faced bulbul) over the last 25 years. Yet, very little is known about the processes that led to the current biodiversity in this region. We reconstructed the phylogeographic history of a group of closely related passerines, the Alophoixus bulbuls. These birds are continuously distributed in Indo‐Malaya around the Thailand lowlands such that their distribution resembles a ring. Our analyses revealed a single colonization event of the mainland from Sundaland with sequential divergence of taxa from southwest to northeast characterized by significant gene flow between parapatric taxa, and reduced or ancient gene flow involving the two taxa at the extremities of the ring. We detected evidence of population expansion in two subspecies, including one that was involved in the closing of the ring. Hence, our analyses indicate that the diversification pattern of Alophoixus bulbuls fits a ring species model driven by geographic isolation. To our knowledge, the Alophoixus bulbuls represent the first case of a putative broken ring species complex in Indo‐Malaya. We also discuss the implications of our results on our understanding of the biogeography in Indo‐Malaya.


Environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals coexist, and such mixtures could affect the carcinogenicity of PAHs, possibly by modification of PAH induction of the PAH-bioactivating CYP1A. The effect on PAH-mediated CYP1A induction of arsenic, lead, mercury, or cadmium (ranked as the most hazardous environmental metals by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) has thus been investigated. Induction of CYP1A1 by benzo[a]pyrene (BAP), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BBF), dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBAHA), benzo[a]anthracene (BAA), or benzo[k]fluoranthene (BKF) was probed by ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity (EROD) in 96-well plates of human HepG2 cells, by immunoblot analysis, and by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Cells rapidly took up PAHs (BAP, BKF) from medium; by 24 h only 14% remained in the medium, and no detectable PAH bound to well walls. Induction efficiency (relative to dimethyl sulfoxide controls) was in the order BKF (16-fold) > DBAHA (14-fold) > BAA (4-fold) > BAP (3-fold) > BBF (1-fold), all at 5 microM PAH. The metals did not markedly affect cell viability at concentrations of arsenic, 5 microM; lead, 50 microM; mercury, 5 microM; and cadmium, 5 microM. At 5 microM PAH concentration, all of the metals decreased levels of PAH-induced CYP1A1 activities (direct inhibition of EROD activity was excluded) by variable extents and in a PAH-dependent manner. With BAP as inducer decreases in induction were arsenic, 57%; cadmium, 82%; mercury, 4%; and lead, 20%. The decreases were not a consequence of transcriptional down-regulation. One possible conclusion is that these metals could diminish PAH carcinogenic potential by decreasing PAH-mediated induction of their bioactivation by CYP1A1.


This paper presents an algorithm which combining ant colony optimization in the dynamic programming for solving a dynamic facility layout problem. The problem is separated into 2 phases, static and dynamic phase. In static phase, ant colony optimization is used to find the best ranked of layouts for each period. Then the dynamic programming (DP) procedure is performed in the dynamic phase to evaluate the layout set during multi-period planning horizon. The proposed algorithm is tested over many problems with size ranging from 9 to 49 departments, 2 and 4 periods. The experimental results show that the proposed method is an alternative way for the plant layout designer to determine the layouts during multi-period planning horizon. Keywords—Ant colony optimization, Dynamic programming, Dynamic facility layout planning, Metaheuristic


CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) is a large database maintained and operated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It contains comprehensive scientific and selected administrative data on research carried out by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) or supported by PHS grants and contracts. Developed originally to meet the needs of NIH, it is an excellent, largely untapped resource for health information professionals at large, revealing new trends, methods, and techniques, often before they appear in the published literature. CRISP uses its own controlled vocabulary, developed to permit indexing of new and active research areas. Queries can combine subject headings with a great variety of administrative data elements (e.g., research category or principal investigator's name). Output is available in a variety of formats and media. While information professionals cannot directly access the CRISP system, abridged CRISP records are merged into the FEDRIP (Federal Research in Progress) database, and FEDRIP is publicly accessible through DIALOG. CRISP records in toxicology are also furnished to the National Library of Medicine's TOXLINE database. This paper discusses the indexing, information retrieval, publication products, and search services of the CRISP system, and how users of medical information can benefit from it.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The problem of increasing CO(2) concentration [CO(2)] and associated climate change has generated much interest in modelling effects of [CO(2)] on plants. While variation in growth and productivity is closely related to the amount of intercepted radiation, largely determined by leaf area index (LAI), effects of elevated [CO(2)] on growth are primarily via stimulation of leaf photosynthesis. Variability in LAI depends on climatic and growing conditions including [CO(2)] concentration and can be high, as is known for agricultural crops which are specifically emphasized in this report. However, modelling photosynthesis has received much attention and photosynthesis is often represented inadequately detailed in plant productivity models. Less emphasis has been placed on the modelling of leaf area dynamics, and relationships between plant growth, elevated [CO(2)] and LAI are not well understood. This Botanical Briefing aims at clarifying the relative importance of LAI for canopy assimilation and growth in biomass under conditions of rising [CO(2)] and discusses related implications for process-based modelling.

MODEL
A simulation exercise performed for a wheat crop demonstrates recent experimental findings about canopy assimilation as affected by LAI and elevation of [CO(2)]. While canopy assimilation largely increases with LAI below canopy light saturation, effects on canopy assimilation of [CO(2)] elevation are less pronounced and tend to decline as LAI increases. Results from selected model-testing studies indicate that simulation of LAI is often critical and forms an important source of uncertainty in plant productivity models, particularly under conditions of limited resource supply.

CONCLUSIONS
Progress in estimating plant growth and productivity under rising [CO(2)] is unlikely to be achieved without improving the modelling of LAI. This will depend on better understanding of the processes of substrate allocation, leaf area development and senescence, and the role of LAI in controlling plant adaptation to environmental changes.


The study examines the indigenous practices among tribal communities in the Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh area to document the indigenous practices followed in agriculture. The study was conducted in the year of 2018 and the information was collected using a structural schedule, semi-structured interviews, photo documentation, field observation, and respondent observation from the study area. This study contends that indigenous knowledge with scientific reason should be identified and applied to agriculture fields. It also discusses the challenges of proposing this indigenous knowledge in the research area, as well as a plan for employing to know the knowledge level in agriculture to achieve food security, livelihood, and ecological balance on a long-term basis. For the study, a total of 120 people were chosen. Finally, it can be concluded from this research that accurate identification and documentation will lead to food security and sustainability in the study area provided appropriate extension interventions for indigenous knowledge are implemented.


We have been developing an advanced general-purpose computational mechanics system, named ADVENTURE, which is designed to be able to analyze a three dimensional finite element model of arbitrary shape over 100 million Degrees Of Freedom (DOF) mesh. The one of main process modules for solid analysis, named ADVENTURE_Solid, is based the hierarchical domain decomposition parallel algorithm and employs the balancing domain decomposition as a solution technique for linearized equations. The ADVENTURE_Solid has been successfully implemented on a single PC, PC clusters and MPPs with high parallel performances. Since the software has become a quite large system, it is not easy to install or operate the system on parallel machines by users. In this paper, to operate such a system from a client PC through the network, the Web-based CAE system is developed.


Microcephaly, intrauterine growth retardation, a hellenic nose, and severe micrognathia were diagnosed as a form of bird-headed dwarfism (Seckel-like) syndrome in a female infant. In the subsequent pregnancy, monitored by serial ultrasound examinations, severe growth retardation was established at 17 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. The head circumference was disproportionately small in relation to the abdominal circumference and enabled the diagnosis of microcephaly. There was also extreme micrognathia. The pregnancy was terminated, and the diagnosis of a Seckel-like syndrome of bird-headed dwarfism was confirmed at autopsy of the male fetus. This variant of bird-headed dwarfism has probably autosomal recessive inheritance. Ultrasonic assessment of the facial area together with the measurements of fetal head and abdominal circumference are essential in the early prenatal diagnosis of this syndrome in pregnancies of reliably established duration.


Inland river port has a unique advantage in the transport industry. In order to improve the efficiency of operation and management and optimize workflow, it is urgent to design and development of a suitable warehouse management system. Based on field research river port CX, a practical personalized warehouse management system is designed and developed. The practical operation shows that the warehouse management system runs normally and achieves the various basic operation functions of warehouse management. It includes receiving, warehousing, delivery, a library, direct shipment, transfer, query, user management, setting of basic information and other functions, can basically meet the company's individual business needs. In addition, the designs of various types of schedules also greatly help the company to conduct business operations. However, for the system to improve a grade, it is needed to improve appropriately in the follow-up.


In April of 1995, various laboratories in the United States and U.K. were contacted regarding, problems encountered, solutions and their current practice using the ASTM test method D 2882 (Standard Test Method for Indicating the Wear Characteristics of Petroleum and Non-Petroleum Hydraulic Fluids in a Constant Volume Vane Pump). Participants were sent the collected comments and techniques which had been shared by ASTM D-2 submittee N07 members over the last fifteen years. Participants were asked to review the document and add their own comments. The purpose was to collect and compare all available information about the test in an effort to resolve the operational problems associated with this test method. The objective of this paper is to present the results of this survey and to describe the engineering research performed by Conestoga to identify and remedy the operational problems associated with this method.


The health promoting potential of Lactobacillus acidophilus isolated from faeces of human neonate, pig and albino rat was assessed. A set of rats were orogastrically dosed with the Lactobacillus isolates alone (safety test), while the other set was dosed with Lactobacillus isolates and infected with E. coli NCIB 86 (Challenge test). The feeding period lasted for 20 days. The live weight and the feed efficiency of the rats were recorded before they were killed. Blood samples were collected and analysed for some serum biochemical markers that can reveal toxicological effect. The study showed that Lactobacillus acidophilus from the sources above has no toxicological effect on rats. Most of the serum biochemical markers increased significantly (P Key Words: Faecal strain, Lactobacillus acidophilus , health importance, probiotics, rats. Ife Journal of Science Vol.6(1) 2004: 19-22


— In this paper some initial results concerning the evolution of flame propagation in 4-valve engines with tilted valves were presented. Results were obtained by dint of multidimensional modeling of reactive flows in arbitrary geometry with moving boundaries. During induction fluid flow pattern was characterized with organized tumble motion followed by small but clearly legible deterioration in the vicinity of BDC. During compression the fluid flow pattern is entirely three-dimensional and fully controlled by vortex motion located in the central part of the chamber. The effect of turbulence model variation on flame propagation was tackled as well. Namely, some results obtained with eddy-viscosity model i.e. standard k-ε model were compared with results obtained with k-ξ-f model of turbulence in domain of 4-valve engine in-cylinder flow. Some interesting results emerged rendering impetus for further quest in the near future. In the case of combustion all differences ensuing from turbulence model variation, encountered in the case of non-reactive flow were annihilated entirely. Namely the interplay between fluid flow pattern and flame propagation is invariant as regards both turbulence models applied.


Abstract Joint results of two independent international studies on the erosional impact of the 'Late Cimmerian Unconformity' (LCU), a Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous erosional event, are presented. The potential impact on the reservoir and sealing potential of adjacent strata are discussed. Results are based on a seismic mapping campaign in the NE part of the Dutch offshore region and the Central German North Sea sector. The geological evolution of potential traps at the level of the LCU was studied to obtain a better understanding of reservoir potential. Erosion or leaching of the evaporitic Triassic intervals at the LCU caused a locally strong topographical relief with prominent elongated depressions along Permian salt structures (interpreted as erosional valleys). The infill of the erosional valleys may consist of remnants of initial strata as breccia or material from nearby eroded strata, possibly Lower Triassic sandstone or clays. These valleys may be overlain conformably by Upper Jurassic–Early Cretaceous sediments or may be filled with a combination of both. The lithological composition of the infill determines the sealing or the reservoir potential of the valleys, which is essential for further evaluation of the resource exploration possibilities in this locality and across the basin.


This article reviews the results of studies using electromyographic recordings to determine muscle function during athletic activities. Electromyographic recordings were synchronized with high-speed film to provide information on shoulder muscle firing patterns during baseball pitching, swimming, tennis, and golf. The information obtained about the contributions of specific muscles during these activities may be useful in developing effective injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies.


Investigation of three approaches to estimating final loss, given default, for residential mortgage-based securities recommends a blended approach that combines both static factors such as tranche size and dynamic factors such as cumulative loss as a share of principal balance reduced to date in a model to predict the remaining losses on non-matured defaulted securities. There is a survival bias in the current LGD data sample, in that defaulters that have not matured would sustain significantly smaller ultimate losses than defaulters that have matured. On average, a defaulted RMBS security is estimated to lose about 51% of its default date balance or 34% of its original balance. Empirical findings like this are essential to the calculation of expected loss rates and risk-based capital for structured products.


The purpose of this study is to document the relationship between physical abuse during childhood and family violence among a group of police officers from the Baltimore Police Department in the United States. Analyzing data from the Police and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997-1999, this study found a positive relationship between physical abuse and family violence toward spouses and children. Specifically, this study found that police officers who indicated that their parents where physical with them were more likely to report being physical with their spouse and children. They were also more likely to report yelling or shouting toward family members. This study shows a positive relationship between physical abuse and involvement in family violence, and increases our knowledge regarding the cycle of violence in police families. This study points to the need for better recognition of physical abuse and the negative consequences children are likely to endure.


The article discusses the directions of the reforms carried out in the higher education systems of developed countries in terms of internationalization of education. The internationalization of education is considered as a factor in ensuring international cooperation in terms of competitiveness. The author analyzes the integration process with the participation of the Russian Federation in the framework of the European Higher Education Area and the Asia-Pacific Educational Space, as well as the format of academic cooperation within CIS, SCO and BRICS. The main features of the internationalization of education at the present stage are discussed. It emphasizes that the focus of the international student mobility increasingly shifts to the Asia-Pacific region. The article provides an analysis of international experience, as well as the factors that students take into account when they choose a destination of academic mobility (the language of instruction, the quality of programs, school fees, immigration policy). Regional specifics of international academic mobility are disclosed. Special attention is paid to the particularities of university operating in different countries mechanisms of higher education, manifested in the degree of autonomy granted to universities in addressing the reception, organization and content of training, the final certification and financing. Recommendations are given for the purpose of promoting mobility, taking into account the experience gained in this field by the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.


Rheotaxis is a common phenomenon in nature that refers to the directed movement of micro-organisms as a result of shear flow. The ability to mimic natural rheotaxis using synthetic micro/nanomotors adds functionality to enable their applications in biomedicine and chemistry. Here, we present a hybrid strategy that can achieve both positive and negative rheotaxis of synthetic bimetallic micromotors by employing a combination of chemical fuel and acoustic force. An acoustofluidic device is developed for the integration of the two propulsion mechanisms. Using acoustic force alone, bimetallic microrods are propelled along the bottom surface in the center of a fluid channel. The leading end of the microrod is always the less dense end, as established in earlier experiments. With chemical fuel (H2O2) alone, the microrods orient themselves with their anode end against the flow when shear flow is present. Numerical simulations confirm that this orientation results from tilting of the microrods relative to the bottom surface of the channel, which is caused by catalytically driven electro-osmotic flow. By combining this catalytic orientation effect with more powerful, density-dependent acoustic propulsion, both positive and negative rheotaxis can be achieved. The ability to respond to flow stimuli and collectively propel synthetic microswimmers in a directed manner indicates an important step toward practical applications.


In three selected drips in the Postojna cave in SWw Slovenia and in the nearby Korentan spring, which in general belongs to the same karst aquifer, the discharge and electrical conductivity were measured at 15-minute intervals. Simultaneously, the meteorological parameters in Postojna were measured and the effective infiltration was assessed. The data obtained in the period of one hydrological year, 2003–2004, was compared in order to study the influence of the vadose flow on the characteristics of groundwater flow in a karst system and on the functioning of a karst spring. The highest discharges of the Korentan spring are the result of the inflow of water through a hierarchy of fissures of various permeabilities within the vadose zone, but the contribution of stored water from low-permeability zones is especially important. One of our most significant findings is that in the conditions of high saturation of the vadose zone, the network of small fissures is hydraulically connected, which enables an integral reaction of the system to the pressure pulse induced by infiltrated precipitation. On the other hand, a detailed comparison of effective infiltration and discharge indicates that in dry periods with a lower saturation of the vadose zone, the infiltrated precipitation is mainly stored in the system and only the most permeable fissures enable a rapid transfer of the recharge impulses toward the spring. Data on measured discharge and conductivity were additionally compared in order to study the complex conditions of the actual mass flow of water through the system. Key words: karst aquifer, vadose zone, Postojna Cave, Korentan spring, Slovenia


We apply modeling approaches to investigate the distribution of late recombination nodules in maize (Zea mays). Such nodules indicate crossover positions along the synaptonemal complex. High-quality nodule data were analyzed using two different interference models: the "statistical" gamma model and the "mechanical" beam film model. For each chromosome, we exclude at a 98% significance level the hypothesis that a single pathway underlies the formation of all crossovers, pointing to the coexistence of two types of crossing-over in maize, as was previously demonstrated in other organisms. We estimate the proportion of crossovers coming from the noninterfering pathway to range from 6 to 23% depending on the chromosome, with a cell average of ∼15%. The mean number of noninterfering crossovers per chromosome is significantly correlated with the length of the synaptonemal complex. We also quantify the intensity of interference. Finally, we develop inference tools that allow one to tackle, without much loss of power, complex crossover interference models such as the beam film. The lack of a likelihood function in such models had prevented their use for parameter estimation. This advance will allow more realistic mechanisms of crossover formation to be modeled in the future.


In May 1967 in the remote agrarian village of Naxalbari, in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, largely illiterate and landless Santal peasants enacted a pivotal episode in India's modrn history, one that would see this village- hitherto virtually unnoticed outside its district - become synonymous with peasant agitation in modern India. In March that year the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), had unexpectedly defeated Congress and formed a coalition government in West Bengal. It had been anticipated that Congress would retain power and accordingly a number of CPI(M) activists had been dispatched to Naxalbari to incite peasant protest against government agrarian policy. Meanwhile, however, peasants and local activists in Naxalbari were growing increasingly frustrated, and now they began to take direct action on their own accord. For the CPI(M) potentates in Calcutta, their strategies in Naxalbari proved to be the genie that would not go back into the bottle. CPI(M) activist who witnessed the events of Naxalbari, Mujibur Rahman, and who would go on to become a notable figure in the Naxalite Movement recalled: 'The tea garden workers' union back then sowed the seeds of the Naxalite movement. It taught us that from the malik's [big man's] point of view, labour and cattle were equally expendable.'


Contemporary trends in leadership education emphasize paradigms of learning and educational practices associated with developing responsible citizens, furthering higher education's civic mission. Yet, few introductory leadership courses include an explicit civic component (Johnson & Woodard, 2014). Service-learning is a high-impact practice designed to link the classroom and community in meaningful ways (Kuh, 2008). This application brief illustrates how Kansas State University faculty, students, and community partners engaged in a semester-long service-learning experience for the purpose of exercising leadership to make progress on the social issue of food insecurity. We describe how service-learning can be a catalyst to explore and engage the learning nexus of social challenges, leadership, and civic engagement in an introductory leadership course.


The brain of congenital blind (CB) has experienced a series of structural and functional alterations, either undesirable outcomes such as atrophy of the visual pathway due to sight loss from birth, or compensatory plasticity to interact efficiently with the environment. However, little is known, so far, about alterations in the functional architecture of resting‐state networks (RSNs) in CB. This study aimed to investigate intra‐ and internetwork connectivity differences between CB and sighted controls (SC), using independent component analysis (ICA) on resting state functional MRI data. Compared with SC, CB showed significantly increased network connectivity within the salience network (SN) and the occipital cortex. Moreover, CB exhibited enhanced internetwork connectivity between the SN and the frontoparietal network (FPN) and between the FPN and the occipital cortex; however, they showed decreased internetwork connectivity between the occipital cortex and the sensorimotor network. These findings suggest that CB experience large scale reorganization at the level of the functional network. More importantly, the enhanced intra‐ and internetwork connectivity of the SN, FPN, and occipital cortex in CB may improve their abilities to identify salient stimuli, to initiate the executive function, and to top‐down control of attention, which are critical for the CB to guide appropriate behavior and to better adaption to the environment. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2573–2581, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The decomposition of cornstalk residue placed on the surface of soil or buried in soil in the field was followed during a corn crop-growing season by removing from the soil at various times subsamples of decomposing residue contained in glass-cloth bags. Decomposition during the season (20 weeks) amounted to 50% of the surface residue and 65% of the buried residue. Half of this decomposition occurred in 8 weeks and in 5 weeks for surface and for buried residue, respectively. There was little change in the total N content of surface residue throughout the season. Nitrogen was not immobilized. However, the C/N ratio declined from 57 to approximately 30. A maximum of 12 pounds of N per 3 tons of residue per acre was immobilized by buried residue. This occurred after 3 weeks incubation. Thereafter, total N content of the residue declined. A net loss of N occurred after 5 weeks with no N fertilization and after 15 weeks' with N fertilization. The C/N ratio declined from 57 to 22. The decline in C/N ratio, both with surface and with buried residue, was caused by loss of carbon from the residue rather than an increase in total N. Early season growth of corn plants was retarded by surface residue, but the retardation was not a consequence of N immobilization. A slight retardation of growth with buried residue might, in part, have been caused by immobilization of N.


Education nowadays more emphasizes a nation character and value. Nation character and value is the accumulation of local character and value from indigenous in Indonesia. The local tradition has wisdom value. The apllication of nation character and value requires teachers to be wise in choosing the right learning resources to the character of the students with regard to the character and local area. Based on those research background, one of many ways developing student character is exploring local wisdom and implementing as a lesson source. This research aims to reveal local wisdom values from Anak Dalam tribe tradition in Jambi province conducted in group vice tumenggung Bajeloin the village of Bukit Suban, Sarolangun, Jambi toward the cultivation and then implemented as a learning resource biology. This research was conducted by in-depth interviews, participant observation, documentation studies, and field notes were analyzed by triangulation techniques, with data collection, data reduction, and data display. Activities undertaken in the agricultural fields was mancah (slashing), matiko ukor (lethal root), nobong (overthrow), ngengong totobongon (drying), bekor (burning), menugal (puncture), maintenance and weeding. Based on the identification of farming activities, it is founded that values of local wisdom relating to environmental protection, such as: the value of harmony, balance value, the value of environmental conservation, sustainable values, and the values of mutual cooperation. These values are implemented as a biological learning resource which derived from the  competences standard of analyze the utilization and conservation of the environment. Keywords: Local Wisdom Value, Suku Anak Dalam Jambi, Source Of Biology Learning


Proton-proton collision data with low pile-up at a centre-of-mass
 energy
 $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider with an integrated luminosity
 of 1.67 nb$^{−1}$ were collected by the ATLAS Collaboration and used to study
 inclusive single diffractive dissociation, pp $\rightarrow$ Xp. The intact
 forward-going proton is measured in the ALFA spectrometer,
 while charged particles from the dissociated system X are measured in the
 central ATLAS detector components. Cross sections are measured as functions of
 the proton fractional energy loss $\xi$, the squared four momentum transfer
 $t$, and the size of the visible part of the rapidity gap between the
 proton and the system X. The results are interpreted in the framework of
 Regge phenomenology.


The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Physical Status (PS) Classification is used worldwide by anesthesia providers as an assessment of the preoperative physical health of patients. This score also has been used in policy-making, performance evaluation, resource allocation, and reimbursement of anesthesia services and frequently is cited in clinical research. The purpose of this study was to assess interrater reliability and describe sources of variability among anesthesia providers in assigning ASA PS scores. A questionnaire with 10 hypothetical patients scenarios was given to 70 anesthesia providers who were asked to assign ASA PS scores in each scenario and to provide rationale for their decisions. The data were summarized and stratified according to nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist and military or nonmilitary anesthesia providers. We hypothesized there would be no difference between any of the anesthesia provider groups in assignment of ASA PS scores. A lack of interrater reliability in assigning ASA PS scores was demonstrated. There were no significant differences between the anesthesia provider groups. There was no correlation between ASA PS scoring and years practicing or any of the other demographic variables. Several sources of variability were identified: smoking, pregnancy, nature of the surgery, potential difficult airway, and acute injury.


We build up a multi-objective location model of emergency logistics center location, The model combined the construction cost of emergency logistics center with the point of shortest distance from the emergency needs of the logistics center to the limited demand, so that meet the different deployment strategies. We get satisfactory results in the practical by using parametric programming method for solving multi-objective model and verifying for the analysis of examples of this multi-objective decision. The model take into account the cost, efficiency and fairness, combined with the traditional model of coverage (covering model, gravity model and the P-median model).To meet the city's emergency different deployment strategy, the multi-objective location model solve and verify by the parametric programming method and some examples.


It is often supposed that the spectacular successes of our modern mathematical sciences support a lofty vision of a world completely ordered by one single elegant theory. In this book Nancy Cartwright argues to the contrary. When we draw our image of the world from the way modern science works - as empiricism teaches us we should - we end up with a world where some features are precisely ordered, others are given to rough regularity and still others behave in their own diverse ways. This patchwork makes sense when we realise that laws are very special productions of nature, requiring very special arrangements for their generation. Combining classic and newly written essays on physics and economics, The Dappled World carries important philosophical consequences and offers serious lessons for both the natural and the social sciences.


Anastrepha sororcula Zucchi, 1979, is a fruit fly species that can be considered a key pest to the production of guava (Psidium guajava L., 1758), fruit tree which has a wide distribution in Brazil. In view of the importance of this species as a natural pest of Brazilian horticulture and, considering the lack of data about its biology and behavior, the aim of this paper is to obtain information about the age of sexual maturation of A. sororcula in the laboratory and to describe its reproductive behavior. The males reached sexual maturity between 7 and 18 days after emergence, with most of the individuals becoming sexually mature between 10 and 13 days of age. They exhibited signalling behavior to the females, characterized by the distension of the pleural area of the abdomen, forming a small pouch on each side, and by the protrusion of a tiny membranous pouch of rectal cuticle that surrounds the anal area. During this display, the males produced rapid movements of vibration of the wings, producing audible sounds. A droplet was liberated from the anal area during the vibration movements of the wings. After attracting the females, the males accomplished a series of elaborated movements of courtship behavior. The females reached sexual maturation between 14 and 24 days after emergence, with the majority becoming sexually mature at 19 days. The daily exhibition of sexual activities was confined almost exclusively to the period of 16:00-17:30h. A. sororcula presented a sharp protandry pattern.


Background: Pharmacy educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and summative evaluation of trainees. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach for student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent, and structured manner. Though recently become popular in pharmacy schools globally, its use in North Cyprus and Turkey pharmacy schools appears limited.
Objectives: To assess pharmacy students' evaluation and overall perception of OSCE.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pharmacy students, who participated in the final OSCE examination in 2015-2016.The study sample consisted of fifth-year Pharmacy students who took the OSCE assessment during their studies. A24-item self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to obtain relevant data on OSCE evaluation in terms of content reliability and structure of the examination. Students' responses were based on a 4-point Likert scales ranging from disagree to no comment. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22.
Results: Of 81 eligible students, 74 completed self- administered questionnaire representing 91.35% response rate. A total of 68(90.7%) students agreed that wide knowledge area and clinical skills were covered in the exam. Over 80% of the students saw that OSCE besides it provided them with an opportunity to learn real life scenario, it was well administered and run in the faculty and better organized compared to a previous pilot OSCE (68%). Around 77% of the students saw that 7 minutes time allocated per station was adequate, while a close percentage also agreed that standardized patients were competent in their role playing. Majority of students though they identify that OSCEs highlighted areas of weakness in their skills and knowledge but still disagree with incorporating OSCEs marks into final marks and thus prefer it as an formative assessment.
Conclusions: Students highly perceived the exam feeling that it is more resembles actual practice providing them with self-confidence, and more clearly their defects and what they need to improve regarding both skills and knowledge. They saw OSCEs as being a beneficial formative assessment that should not be included as marks into finals.