Abstract Main aim of this study is to examine change of microstructural and the mechanical properties of Al-7075 alloy depending on B content added with different proportions. Rapid solidification process used to produce the alloys was carried out with a single roll melt spinner via a wheel with a rotational speed of 25 m/s. For the microstructural characterization of the alloys, a scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analyzes were used. According to obtained results, it can be said that B addition led to modification of dimensions and shapes of both α−Al and intermetallic phases occurred, it reduced average grain size from 0.45 μm to 0.34 μm in the microstructure. The B addition also led to dramatically increase in microhardness of the Al-7075 alloy. The microhardness of the alloy with 0.4 wt. % B is 0.19 GPa, this is clearly one times higher than that of the alloy without B addition. The microhardness of the alloy with 1 wt. % B is 0.21 GPa, this is also slightly higher than that of the alloy with 0.4 wt. % B.


Although obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common disease, it often goes undiagnosed. The signs and symptoms of the syndrome are mostly subjective. Therefore, snoring, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, dejection and mood changes should raise the suspicion of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Scales and tables that have good sensitivity and include the most relevant clinical symptoms and physical examination results can suggest a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The diagnosis is confirmed by polysomnography, which is considered the gold standard method.


This review begins by the principles that describe the intercalation properties of vanadium pentoxide. Recent developments in the chemical synthesis of vanadium pentoxide nanostructures including nanorod and nanotube arrays, nanowires, anhydrous and hydrous nanorolls and nanobelts, nanoribbons, nanocables and gels are examined. The objective of this review is to demonstrate the use of these nanostructures as cathodes for lithium batteries and electrochromics with high storage capacity and rate performance due to the large surface area and short distance for charge transport compared to the thin film cathodes. Copyright © 2013 VBRI press.


We previously reported that the increase in blood glucose was more suppressed when palatinose was taken with sucrose or glucose than when either of these sugars was taken alone. In the present study, we examined whether or not palatinose suppresses glucose absorption using everted intestinal sacs from rats. Glucose absorption in the everted rat intestinal sac was measured with 0, 1, 2.5 or 5 m M of palatinose added to 20 m M glucose. The measurement was repeated five times for each palatinose level to calculate a mean value. The result showed glucose absorption to be reduced as the palatinose level increased. It was significantly reduced when 5 m M palatinose was added as compared with no palatinose addition ( p 0.05). These results suggest that palatinose suppresses glucose absorption.


"In the course of a two-year odyssey ...Kizzia visited numerous native settlements, interviewed leaders and followers, and wrote the feature articles that make up this charming, informative book...Kizzia writes a clear, unobtrusive prose that crystallizes in memorable images."--Washington Post. "A boatful of native Alaskans slapping downriver through the chop on their way to the biggest softball game of the season. A hunter singing the old songs for hunting luck, as he snowmobiles onto the ice with his rifle. Such contrasts--Eskimo and outsider, ancient and modern--run through Tom Kizzia's chronicle of travels in the Alaska bush in search of 'ancestral landscapes.'"--Smithsonian. "Kizzia writes with a quiet compassion that brings the people and their hard land clearly into focus."--Boston Globe. "Kizzia ...is a thoughtful and lyrical writer who manages to be sensitive without veering into sentimentality...[He] joined Eskimos and Athabaskan Indians in steambaths and softball games. He visited their homes and their Russian Orthodox churches and their fishing camps. He even went on a ruthless whale hunt with two young Eskimos, a skiff and a .22-caliber rifle. A careful and sympathetic observer."--Philadelphia Inquirer. Tom Kizzia is a journalist at the Anchorage Daily News.


Identification of optimal transcription factor expression patterns to direct cellular differentiation along a desired pathway presents significant challenges. We demonstrate massively combinatorial screening of temporally-varying mRNA transcription factors to direct differentiation of neural progenitor cells using a dynamically-reconfigurable magnetically-guided spotting technology for localizing mRNA, enabling experiments on millimetre size spots. In addition, we present a time-interleaved delivery method that dramatically reduces fluctuations in the delivered transcription factor copy numbers per cell. We screened combinatorial and temporal delivery of a pool of midbrain-specific transcription factors to augment the generation of dopaminergic neurons. We show that the combinatorial delivery of LMX1A, FOXA2 and PITX3 is highly effective in generating dopaminergic neurons from midbrain progenitors. We show that LMX1A significantly increases TH-expression levels when delivered to neural progenitor cells either during proliferation or after induction of neural differentiation, while FOXA2 and PITX3 increase expression only when delivered prior to induction, demonstrating temporal dependence of factor addition.


The ovarian cycle is central to the physiology of reproduction in most domestic mammals; characterized by repeated patterns of cellular proliferation, differentiation and transformation of ovarian steroidogenic cells (granulosa, theca and luteal cells) that accompany follicular development, ovulation followed by formation, function and regression of the corpus luteum. Luteal cells are the chief cells present in the corpus luteum. Steroid hormones are synthesized in the adrenal gland, gonads, and placenta critical for normal reproductive function. Steroidogenesis is the main process that occurs in luteal cells to produce the progesterone which is essential for the establishment and maintainance of pregnancy. Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, Cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme and 3β hydroxyl steroid dehydrogenase enzyme are major regulators of steroidogenesis. Progesterone regulates the length of the estrous cycle by influencing the timing of the luteolytic PGF2α signal from the endometrium. Termination of estrous cycle is characterized by functional luteolysis and structural luteolysis. Functional luteolysis is due to regression of corpus luteum leading to loss of steroidogenic capacity. Finally luteal cell death and resorption makes the way to structural luteolysis. Therefore it is paramount to know the exact mechanism of progesterone production through steroidogensis in luteal cells. This review is to highlight the important steps of steroidogenesis process in luteal cells.


The study aimed at investigating the causes and effects of stress encountered by library staff of University of Ghana, Kwame University of Science and and University of Cape Coast and the various categories of stress. Using the purposive, simple random and convenience sampling techniques, the researcher sampled 153 respondents from UG, KNUST and UCC to respond to the questionnaire and interview questions. Descriptive statistics (Means and Standard Deviation), inferential statistics (Multiple Regression and ANOVA) were used for the quantitative analysis while content thematic analysis was used for the qualitative analysis. The study among other things found that poor administrative support, lack of support systems, lack of in-service training and inadequate resources, anxiety and frustration, staff conflict, ill-health and smoking and drinking were the major causes of stress among public university library staff in Ghana. However, it was revealed that library staff also adopt numerous coping strategies such as taking time off work and leave, positive thinking, building strong human relationship and going for counselling in an attempt to manage their stress. It was recommended that universities institute proactive guidance and counselling measures, strong social support systems and compensation for additional work.


The Pakistan Agricultural Sector Model (PASM) developed by Davies et al. (1991) was modified to enhance the livestock sub-sector. Nutrient-based rations replaced feedstuff-based rations and dry matter minimum and maximum constraints (stomach capacity) were added. Several initial simulations were undertaken to examine the structure of the modified model and its impact across the crop and livestock sub-sectors. These simulations included relaxing exogenous livestock numbers and selected crop hectarage constraints, and requiring that green forage be fed in the season grown. Most importantly, the results demonstrated that fodder hectarage will grow with livestock numbers to insure that sufficient green forage is available seasonally. Two other analyses were performed to demonstrate the need to specify linkages between the crop and livestock sub-sectors. An analysis of transforming the livestock sub-sector from traditional to feedlot-based technology demonstrated that the reduced numbers of non-milking cattle needed for a given output of meat would provide the potential for increased production of various crops and other livestock products. Also, expanded cotton and Irri rice exports, hypothesised to occur through trade liberalisation from the Uruguay Round of the GATT, highlighted other inter-relationships between the crop and livestock sub-sectors. Greater production of both livestock and other crops might accompany the expansion of cotton production but less livestock feed would be available with expanded exports of Irri rice.


The majority of patients with MELAS (mitochondrial encephalomyophathy, lactic acidosis, stroke-like episodes) carry a heteroplasmic A3243G mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA. The mutation prevents modification of the wobble U base, impairing translation at UUA and UUG codons; however, whether this results in amino acid misincorporation in the mitochondrial translation products remains controversial. We tested this hypothesis in homoplasmic mutant myoblasts isolated from a MELAS patient and investigated whether overexpression of the mitochondrial translation elongation factors could suppress the translation defect. Blue-Native gel electrophoretic analysis demonstrated an almost complete lack of assembly of respiratory chain complexes I, IV and V in MELAS myoblasts. This phenotype could be partially suppressed by overexpression of EFTu or EFG2 but not EFTs or EFG1. Despite the severity of the assembly defect, overall mitochondrial protein synthesis was only moderately affected, but some anomalously migrating translation products were present. Pulse-chase labeling showed reduced stability of all mitochondrial translation products consistent with the assembly defect. Labeling patterns of the translation products were similar with [H]-leucine or [H]-phenylalanine, showing that loss of the wobble U modification did not permit decoding of UUY codons; however, endoproteinase fingerprint analysis showed clear evidence of amino acid misincorporation in three polypeptides: CO III, CO II and ATP6. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the A3243G mutation produces both lossand gain-of-function phenotypes, explaining the apparent discrepancy between the severity of the translation and respiratory chain assembly defects, and suggest a function for EFG2 in quality control of translation elongation.


Context: Around 2.5 million people become infected with HIV each year and its impact on human life and public health can only be tackled and reversed only by sound prevention strategies. Aim: This paper aims to provide the reader about different types of prevention strategies that are effective and practiced in various countries with special emphasis on evidence for success. It also highlights the importance of to the evidence based medicine& strategies. It describes about the importance of combination prevention, which encompasses complementary behavioral, biomedical and structural prevention strategies. Methods & Materials: Searches for peer reviewed journal articles was conducted using the search engines to gather the information from databases of medicine, health sciences and social sciences. Information for each strategy is organized & presented systematically with detailed discussion. Results: For a successful reduction in HIV transmission, there is a great need for combined effects of radical & sustainable behavioral changes among individuals who are potentially at risk. Second, combination prevention is essential for HIV prevention is neither simple nor simplistic. Reductions in HIV transmission need widespread and sustained efforts. A mix of communication channels are essential to disseminate messages to motivate people to engage in various methods of risk reduction. Conclusions: The effect of behavioral strategies could be increased by aiming for many goals that are achieved by use of multilevel approaches with populations both uninfected and infected with HIV. Combination prevention programs operate on different levels to address the specific, but diverse needs of the populations at risk of HIV infection.


Nowadays, the economic environment is portrayed by solid economic liberalization and fierce competition. Consequently, the majority of companies adopt strategies of M&A either to survive or to increase their market share.
In this paper, the strategy of M&A will be investigated. Notably, the airline industry and the recent acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines will be examined.
The thesis is organized into three sections and sub-sections. The first part contains the theoretical approaches to the subject, whereas the second one refers to the aviation industry. Lastly, the third part introduces the acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines.
First of all, the theoretical background of M&A on business sector in general will be examined. More specifically, the types of M&A, their benefits, the interests of businesses which are involved into, and the synergies that occurred after them are analyzed and classified properly. An emphasis will be given into the role and the impact of business culture during M&A.
Then, the aviation industry in domestic and international environment and the role of M&A into them is examined, by researching in detail the recent acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines. The profile of these companies is reported, the massive role that European Commission responsible for competition had played, during the first unsuccessful attempt of possible acquisition, will be evaluated too. Finally, the outcomes of the acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines into the financial position of Aegean Airlines in the time period of 2010-2014 are interpreted.


ABSTRACT Insufficient placental growth is a major factor contributing to intrauterine growth retardation in mammals. There is growing evidence that putrescine produced from arginine (Arg) and proline via ornithine decarboxylase is a key regulator of angiogenesis, embryogenesis, as well as placental and fetal growth. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that putrescine stimulates protein synthesis by activating the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in porcine trophectoderm cell line 2 cells. The cells were cultured for 2 to 4 days in customized Arg-free Dulbecco modified Eagle Ham medium containing 0, 10, 25, or 50 μM putrescine or 100 μM Arg. Cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and degradation, as well as the abundance of total and phosphorylated mTOR, ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1, and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1 (4EBP1), were determined. Our results indicate that putrescine promotes cell proliferation and protein synthesis in a dose- and time-dependent manner, which was inhibited by difluoro-methylornithine (an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase). Moreover, supplementation of culture medium with putrescine increased the abundance of phosphorylated mTOR and its downstream targets, 4EBP1 and p70 S6K1 proteins. Collectively, these findings reveal a novel and important role for putrescine in regulating the mTOR signaling pathway in porcine placental cells. We suggest that dietary supplementation with or intravenous administration of putrescine may provide a new and effective strategy to improve survival and growth of embryos/fetuses in mammals.


The transcription of the cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase gene (CYP7A1) is greatly decreased in cholesterol-fed rabbits. To determine whether the molecular structure of the promoter is responsible for this downregulation, we cloned the rabbit CYP7A1 promoter, identified the binding sites for α-fetoprotein transcription factor (FTF) and liver X receptor (LXRα), and studied the effects of FTF, LXRα, and SHP on its transcription. Adding LXRα/retinoid X receptor together with their ligands (L/R) to the promoter/reporter construct transfected into HepG2 cells greatly increased its activity. FTF did not increase promoter activity, nor did it enhance the stimulatory effect of L/R. Mutating the FTF binding site abolished the promoter baseline activity. Increasing amounts of SHP abolished the effect of L/R, and FTF enhanced the ability of SHP to decrease promoter activity below baseline levels. Thus, downregulation of CYP7A1 in cholesterol-fed rabbits is attributable secondarily to the activation of farnesoid X receptor, which increases SHP expression to override the positive effects of LXRα. Although FTF is a competent factor for maintaining baseline activity, it does not further enhance and may suppress CYP7A1 transcription.


General quadratic optimization problems with linear constraints and additional indicator constraints on the variables are studied. Based on the well-known perspective reformulation for mixed-integer quadratic optimization problems, projective cuts are introduced as new valid inequalities for the general problem. The key idea behind the theory of these cutting planes is the projection of the continuous variables onto the space of optimal solutions dependent on the choice of indicator variables. The advantages of projective cutting planes for practical computations are illustrated with a numerical study of uncapacitated facility location problems.


The main objective of this study was to assess the key causes of work life conflict within
the Kenyan banking industry. Specifically, the study focused on issues in job design,
work environment and rewarding, and how they negatively caused influence on work life
balances in the industry employees. Towards the attainment of this, a sample of twenty
three (23) commercial banks was formulated and five employees interviewed from each.
The opinions by interviewees formed the fundamental basis towards the study's
generalizations.
The techniques that specific firms used in designing the available jobs, the considerations
they gave the special interest groups, and the rewarding programmes affected the quality
work life for the employees. Conflicts frequently arose in cases where people's
expectations were not appropriately met. It was noted that employees were in some
instances overstretched in the terms of work-load and time-length. Additionally, special
interest groups' needs were not superbly met by the firm managements since some
crucial facilities and re-adjustments were far from accessibility. Finally, regardless of
policy guidelines, the rewarding systems were not absolutely without blame as most
employees believed that both monetary and non-monetary packages were inclined to
favouring some set of employees at the expense of others.


Maternal Mortality Rates (MMR) in Indonesia are still relatively high and not yet to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of MMR in 2014 of 133/100,000 live births. One of MMR's causes is due to 3 delays, namely the delay in the introduction of danger signs and decisions, new arrivals at health facilities, and delays in service at health facilities. For prevention purpose, a Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPCR) screening application are needed. This application aims to do labor planning and determine the risk of pregnancy so that the mother is ready to face the risk of complications at delivery. This research method uses a prototype method of designing and building applications. For testing this application, researchers conducted a BPCR screening test on 30 pregnant women. Then the data is tested for validity and reliability using sensitivity and specificity tests. This study's results can display the main page application, Birth Preparedness of the Application, Complication Readiness of the Application. The Result of BPCR of the Application. This application has been tested for validity and reliability by using a sensitivity test of 83% to determine the high/moderate risk of pregnancy that experiences complications during labor. At the same time, the specificity test was 77.78% to determine the low risk of pregnancy that did not experience difficulties during labor.


The fundamentals of total quality management (TQM) are revisited for providing a relevant perspective on business excellence. Judging from the experience of the Japanese TQM movement, there is a need for a step‐by‐step approach towards TQ. As a result of exploratory research, a model called TQMEX, standing for TQM Excellence Model, has been developed based on sound TQM practices. Both the theoretical background, personal experience, and results of an intensive questionnaire survey conducted in Hong Kong, Japan, and the UK have highlighted the importance of the Japanese 5‐S, DPR, QCC, ISO 9000 and TPM on TQM practice. The findings are useful for firms wanting to benchmark against the business excellence of leading firms which have survived and grown despite the two global oil crises and the recent Asian financial turmoil.


The event related P300 potentials, positive waveforms in electroencephalography (EEG) signals, are often utilized in brain computer interfaces (BCI). Many studies have been carried out to improve the performance of P300 speller systems either by developing signal processing algorithms and classifiers with different architectures or by designing new paradigms. In this study, a new paradigm is proposed for this purpose. The proposed paradigm combines two remarkable properties of being a 3D animation and utilizing column-only flashings as opposed to classical paradigms which are based on row-column flashings in 2D manner. The new paradigm is utilized in a traditional two-layer artificial neural networks model with a single output neuron, and numerous experiments are conducted to evaluate and compare the performance of the proposed paradigm with that of the classical approach. The experimental results, including statistical significance tests, are presented for single and multiple EEG electrode usage combinations in 1, 3 and 15 flashing repetitions to detect P300 waves as well as to recognize target characters. Using the proposed paradigm, the best average classification accuracy rates on the test data are improved from 89.97% to 93.90% (an improvement of 4.36%) for 1 flashing, from 97.11% to 98.10% (an improvement of 1.01%) for 3 flashings and from 99.70% to 99.81% (an improvement of 0.11%) for 15 flashings when all electrodes, included in the study, are utilized. On the other hand, the accuracy rates are improved by 9.69% for 1 flashing, 4.72% for 3 flashings and 1.73% for 15 flashings when the proposed paradigm is utilized with a single EEG electrode (P8). It is observed that the proposed speller paradigm is especially useful in BCI systems designed for few EEG electrodes usage, and hence, it is more suitable for practical implementations. Moreover, all participants, given a subjective test, declared that the proposed paradigm is more user-friendly than classical ones.


Currently the world marine primary production estimates range by a factor of two between different models. When the Arctic ocean alone is considered the factor rises to as much as fifty, because sea ice complicates remote sensing, and bio-optical properties of water as well as vertical distribution of phytoplankton differ from those of global waters. Arctic phytoplankton today deserve special attention as they are already living in waters with most prominent climate change effect, which are shifting towards fresher surface layer, thinner sea ice, more open water area and are very likely to experience ice-free summers in the near future. These shifts in turn alter solar irradiation, nutrient transport and plankton seasonality, and whether such an impact will result in an increase or a decrease of phytoplankton remains questionable. Since polar regions are difficult to access with the research vessels, field data are scarce here and remote sensing data provide an alternative. However it is not recommended to use remote sensing data alone, as the satellite ocean color algorithms are known to perform poorly at polar latitudes even if developed explicitly for the Arctic waters. Gaps in satellite data, which occur at these latitudes because of the presence of sea ice, clouds and low sun elevation angles, are also a source of error. The current study combined remote sensing, simulated and field data for the years 1998-2012 to investigate the seasonal cycle, variability and productivity of phytoplankton in the Greenland Sea, which is one of the most productive and field data-abundant regions of the Arctic. Specific objectives of our case Greenland Sea study were: 1) to study the interaction between phytoplankton and the physical factors, such as sea ice concentration and thickness, water temperature and salinity; 2) to investigate temporal trends, seasonal cycle and spatial variability of phytoplankton; 3) to obtain more accurate estimates of primary production.
First the focus was set to northern part of Greenland Sea only (Fram Strait). The western, sea ice-dominated, part of Fram Strait proved to have short, late (middle May) and time varying phytoplankton blooms. At the marginal sea ice zone of the western Fram Strait a stratification induced by sea-ice melt was shown to have promoted phytoplankton growth, which resulted in the enhanced biomass observed in May. The eastern part, dominated by warm and salty Atlantic waters, experienced earlier (end of April) and longer blooms. In the eastern Fram Strait, stratification due to solar warming proved to act as a guiding factor for the the open ocean phytoplankton blooms, while the declining shelf ice was seen to promote the phytoplankton blooms along the coast of Svalbard.
Secondly, we've proved that Greenland Sea chlorophyll vertical profiles largely deviate from the generalized schemes which were proposed for global waters and are usually used in primary production models. We then developed an Greenland Sea specific algorithm which allows accurate (4% underestimation when compared to in-situ data) estimation of chlorophyll vertical profile based on the surface value. This algorithm we then used to adapt global Antoine and Morel (1996) primary production model to Greenland Sea environment. When compared to field data, our Greenland Sea-adapted version of Antoine and Morel (1996) primary production model reproduced field data with better accuracy and was less biased (overestimation of in-situ data by 190 mgC/m2/day on an average) than the global Antoine model or the more commonly used satellite primary production model, Vertically Generalized Primary Production Model. According to our Greenland Sea-adapted version of Antoine and Morel (1996) model, annual Greenland Sea primary production was estimated as 161-194 TgC/yr, which is slightly higher than previously reported estimates. Monthly primary production values increased in the north-eastern open ocean area of the Greenland Sea, on about 120 mgC/m2 per day for the thirteen years of observations. The Greenland Sea primary production estimates we derived can be used for validation of primary production obtained from biogeochemical models, which are based on the climatology of nutrients. On local scale, it would be interesting for marine biologists to thoroughly compare our estimates with the benthic data to study the part of the carbon cycle which links increasing primary production of the Greenland Sea and the carbon stored in sediments.


The problem of housing market discrimination and racial disparities in mortgage lending has taken on a new level of urgency ("Blacks, Hispanics Remain Most Likely to Be Denied Home Loans," 1992; Brenner, 1992; Zuckoff, 1992). Researchers and scholars, as well as federal officials, have begun to reexamine the underlying structures of mortgage and housing markets to understand the persistence of racial gaps in lending (Barefoot, 1992; Boston Federal Reserve, 1992; Myers & Chan, 1995). One particularly disturbing observation is that even during times when racial gaps in mortgage lending should have been narrowing — such as in 1992 when interest rates began an unprecedented nosedive below double-digit rates — the racial gaps persisted (Myers, 1994). Few minority individuals refinanced their loans during this period, even though loan refinancings became the most frequent form of mortgage loan during the period (Myers, 1994). Thus, not only were minority individuals less likely to obtain refinancings when they applied, they were less likely to apply. At least for middle-aged borrowers, the impact could be high debt levels carried into their retirement years. These high debt levels, along with low home ownership rates, may help explain the widely cited evidence of staggering net worth gaps between blacks and whites in America (Smith, 1993).


Membrane transporters can play a clinically important role in drug absorption and disposition; Caco-2 and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells are the most widely used in vitro models for studying the functions of these transporters and associated drug interactions. Transport studies using these cell models are mostly focused on apical transporters, whereas basolateral drug transport processes are largely ignored. However, for some hydrophilic drugs, a basolateral uptake transporter may be required for drugs to enter cells before they can interact with apical efflux transporters. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential differences in drug transport across Caco-2 and MDCK basolateral membrane that could cause discrepancy in the identification of efflux transporter substrates and to elucidate the underlying factors that may cause such differences, using rosuvastatin as a model substrate. Bidirectional transport results in Caco-2 and breast cancer resistance protein-MDCK cells demonstrated the necessity of an uptake transporter at the basolateral membrane for rosuvastatin. Kinetic study revealed saturable and nonsaturable processes for rosuvastatin uptake across the Caco-2 basolateral membrane, with the saturable process encompassing >75% of overall rosuvastatin basolateral uptake at concentrations below the Km (4.2 μM). Furthermore, rosuvastatin basolateral transport exhibited cis-inhibition and trans-stimulation phenomena, indicating a facilitated diffusion mechanism. This basolateral transporter appeared to be a prerequisite for rosuvastatin and perhaps for other hydrophilic substrates to interact with apical efflux transporters. Deficit of such a basolateral transporter in certain cell models may lead to false-negative results when screening drug interactions with apical efflux transporters.


Glioblastoma (GBM) most commonly appears to be intraparenchymal tumor, and intraventricular GBMs are rarely reported. In previous reports, the sites of origin were not identified. Here, we report a rare case of intraventricular mucin‐producing GBM in a 73‐year‐old woman who had a strongly enhancing tumor in the right anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. The tumor had previously been identified one and a half years ago as a small asymptomatic lesion attached to the septum pellucidum. It had been documented to gradually enlarge during subsequent follow‐up examinations. The patient underwent a gross total resection of the tumor, and a soft and gelatinous mass was observed. The pathological diagnosis was compatible with GBM, and numerous tumor cells having cytoplasmic mucin vacuoles were observed. Genetic analysis revealed TP53 and NFKBIA deletions. The patient received postoperative concurrent chemotherapy with temozolomide and radiotherapy, followed by maintenance administration of temozolomide. A follow‐up examination seven months later detected an asymptomatic local recurrent lesion, which was treated with gamma‐knife therapy, followed by bevacizumab administration for six months. The patient has remained clinically well for five years following surgery. The origin of a rare tumor entity, intraventricular GBM, and the specific spatial and pathological findings in our case are discussed in this report.


This is not a research article but an opinion paper that shares insight into the field of performance measurement from both our direct observations and the views of several manufacturing and service companies from the UK and Norway. Data was collected through a survey on the adoption and utilisation of performance measurement systems. Originally started as a replication of 2000 and 2002 studies by Kald and Nilsson with the aim of assessing differences between Scandinavian and British companies, the study was extended to look more generally at the evolution of the field. The study confirmed that, apart from minor evolutions, nothing significant has changed from what was known, what was being discussed in academic circles and what was the general feeling in industrial application some ten years ago and today. Following this realisation, we pose a number of questions that we hope will influence the field's future research agenda.


Summary Background The NCIC Clinical Trials Group has an ongoing interest in assessing investigational agents in minimally pretreated patients with malignant glioma. Topotecan is one of the first topoisomerase I inhibitors to enter clinical trials and has shown early evidence of activity in several solid tumors. We have conducted a phase II trial of topotecan in patients with malignant glioma. Methods Adults with malignant glioma and recurrent contrast enhancing measurable disease (≥2 × 2 cm) were eligible. Topotecan 1.5 mg/m2 i.v. was given daily × five days every three weeks. Response and toxic effects were assessed at the end of each cycle. Results Thirty-one patients were entered onto the study: fifteen had glioblastoma, 16 anaplastic astrocytoma, all had prior radiation, 15 prior chemotherapy, and all were assessable for response and toxicity. Two patients (6%) responded: one had a complete radiographic response, but died with neutropenic sepsis, and the second had a prolonged partial response (>97 weeks). Twenty-one patients (68%) had stable disease for five to 86+ weeks (median 19) and eight (26%) had progressive disease after one cycle. Toxicity was primarily hematologic; 18 (58%) had grade 4 neutropenia (<0.5 × 109/1), usually brief, and three (10%) grade 4 thrombocytopenia (<25 × 109/1). Twelve of 109 cycles (11%) were given at reduced dose. Conclusions Topotecan in this dose and schedule has only modest activity in recurrent glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma.


Improving the captioning performance on low-resource languages by leveraging English caption datasets has received increasing research interest in recent years. Existing works mainly fall into two categories: translation-based and alignment-based approaches. In this paper, we propose to combine the merits of both approaches in one unified architecture. Specifically, we use a pre-trained English caption model to generate high-quality English captions, and then take both the image and generated English captions to generate low-resource language captions. We improve the captioning performance by adding the cycle consistency constraint on the cycle of image regions, English words, and low-resource language words. Moreover, our architecture has a flexible design which enables it to benefit from large monolingual English caption datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on common evaluation metrics. The attention visualization also shows that the proposed approach really improves the fine-grained alignment between words and image regions.


May a sexual fantasy have political implications? Or to put the question in another way, may political circumstances influence certain sexual stereotypes of the Other? The West has been accused for constructing an Eroticized Other of the Oriental within the discourse of Orientalism. Particularly the veil seems to evoke certain sexual fantasies with political connotations: The unveiling of the Oriental woman can be regarded as a classical Western sexual fantasy, as well as a symbolic colonial conquest of the territory of the Other. The seductive and decadent odalisque in the harem is another fantasy to be contrasted to the Victorian puritan sexual morality in the colonial age. These types of sexual fantasies and the ethnopornography had certain political implications, i.e. the conquest and submission of the Other according to Said's (1978) influential analysis on Orientalism. In the present chapter it is elaborated upon the Western colonial sexual fantasy of the Orient. Furthermore, it is investigated whether or not this fantasy was purely a fantasy, or if it was some facts in their representation of Oriental sexuality. Representations and fantasies of the Occident that exist in the Orient today will be discussed. In the postcolonial age, the idea of a Oriental and an Occidental sexuality seem to have been inversed: The promiscuous Oriental has become the puritan, while the former so civilized, controlled, Christian colonizer has become the one with a decadent and bestialic sexuality. This postcolonial discourse on Western sexuality will be put in its political context of Islamism and yet another sexualized stereotype of the Other; i.e. the promiscuous, immoral Westerner in the discourse of Occidentalism. Hence, the aim of this chapter is to discuss how the sexual fantasy about the Other – regardless who – plays a crucial role in the "clash of civilizations" (Huntington 1996) between the West and the rest and how it is used by both sides. The usual mode is to ascribe all negative characteristics to the Other, and hence, when the norms and values changes within a society, the imagined stereotype must also change to fit in. The methodology for understanding these processes is a literature review of colonial/Orientalist, postcolonial and Islamist/Occidentalist writings.


Abstract Cable News Network recently reported that today's children will spend an average of 23 years of their lifetime connected to the Internet. The Department of Education reports that 100% of teens today have Internet access at school. Currently, no laws protecting teens from the collection of their personal data (known or unknown) while online exist. The personal information they post today can be collected today—or 20 years from now and can be used against them when they seek employment or apply for health insurance. This study examines the issue of adolescent consumer privacy protection from the perspective of those entities responsible for protecting and educating them about safe Internet use (educators, marketers, and policy makers). An analysis of transcripts from an expert panel (collected via telephone interview) is used to determine who is responsible for protecting teens' privacy and how to accomplish this task.


Lameness is still an important problem in modern dairy farming. Human observation of locomotion, by looking at different traits in one go, is used in practice to assess locomotion. The objectives of this article were to determine which individual locomotion traits are most related to locomotion scores in dairy cows, and whether experienced raters are capable of scoring these individual traits consistently. Locomotion and 5 individual locomotion traits (arched back, asymmetric gait, head bobbing, reluctance to bear weight, and tracking up) were scored independently on a 5-level scale for 58 videos of different cows. Videos were shown to 10 experienced raters in 2 different scoring sessions. Relations between locomotion score and traits were estimated by 3 logistic regression models aiming to calculate the size of the fixed effects on the probability of scoring a cow in 1 of the 5 levels of the scale (model 1) and the probability of classifying a cow as lame (locomotion score ≥3; model 2) or as severely lame (locomotion score ≥4; model 3). Fixed effects were rater, session, traits, and interactions among fixed effects. Odds ratios were calculated to estimate the relative probability to classify a cow as lame when an altered (trait score ≥3) or severely altered trait (trait score ≥4) was present. Overall intrarater and interrater reliability and agreement were calculated as weighted kappa coefficient (κw) and percentage of agreement, respectively. Specific intrarater and interrater agreement for individual levels within a 5-level scale were calculated. All traits were significantly related to the locomotion score when scored with a 5-level scale and when classified as (se-verely) lame or nonlame. Odds ratios for altered and severely altered traits were 10.8 and 14.5 for reluctance to bear weight, 6.5 and 7.2 for asymmetric gait, and 4.8 and 3.2 for arched back, respectively. Raters showed substantial variation in reliability and agreement values when scoring traits. The acceptance threshold for overall intrarater reliability (κw ≥0.60) was exceeded by locomotion scoring and all traits. Overall interrater reliability values ranged from κw = 0.53 for tracking up to κw = 0.61 for reluctance to bear weight. Intrarater and interrater agreement were below the acceptance threshold (percentage of agreement <75%). Most traits tended to have lower specific intrarater and interrater agreement in level 3 and 5 of the scale. In conclusion, raters had difficulties in scoring locomotion traits consistently, especially slight alterations were difficult to detect by experienced raters. Yet, the locomotion traits reluctance to bear weight, asymmetric gait, and arched back had the strongest relation with the locomotion score. These traits should have priority in locomotion-scoring-system guidelines and are the best to be used for the development of automated locomotion scoring systems.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Constipation is the most frequent complaint of the digestive tract. It has been reported that approximately half of the patients with constipation have functional defecation disorders (dyssynergic defecation). An important diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of functional defecation disorders is the balloon expulsion test. Normative values have not been widely determined in different populations. We aimed to determine the data which could be indicative of normative values of the balloon expulsion test for healthy individuals in our society.

METHODS
A total of 116 healthy volunteers were evaluated in the study (55 men). Subjects were classified into three subgroups according to age (20-39 yrs, 40-59 yrs, > or = 60 yrs). Catheters with balloon and application room were standardized, and then a balloon expulsion test was performed in all groups. The results of the balloon expulsion test were statistically compared between groups.

RESULTS
The distribution of males/females according to age groups was: 20-39 yrs: 20/22, 40-59 yrs: 20/23, > or = 60 yrs: 15/16. The balloon expulsion time was determined as 44.1+/-19.0 seconds in male subjects and 56.4+/-21.4 seconds in females (p=0.001). An increase in the balloon expulsion time was observed to be related with age in males (p=0.00001); however, no statistically significant difference was shown by age in female subjects (p=0.80). If the entire study group was considered, there was a significant correlation between age and balloon expulsion time (p=0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
The balloon expulsion test is a simple procedure to identify impaired evacuation in constipated patients. This study represents the first assessment of the balloon expulsion test in a healthy Turkish population. It has been demonstrated that expulsion should take less than 30 seconds for men younger than 40 years of age and less than 1 minute above 40 years. For women, expulsion should occur in 1 minute regardless of age. Our results could serve as a valuable resource of normative data.


The standard model of modern cosmology is known as the hot big bang, a name that refers to the initial state of the universe some fourteen billion years ago. The name Big Bang introduced by Fred Hoyle in 1949 is one of the most successful scientific neologisms ever. How did the name originate and how was it received by physicists and astronomers in the period leading up to the hot big bang consensus model in the late 1960s? How did it reflect the meanings of the origin of the universe, a concept that predates the name by nearly two decades? Contrary to what is often assumed, the name was not an instant success—it took more than twenty years before Big Bang became a household word in the scientific community. When it happened, it was used with different connotations, as is still the case. Moreover, it was used earlier and more frequently in popular than in scientific contexts, and not always relating to cosmology. It turns out that Hoyle's celebrated name has a richer and more surprising history than commonly assumed and also that the literature on modern cosmology and its history includes many common mistakes and errors. An etymological approach centering on the name Big Bang provides supplementary insight to the historical understanding of the emergence of modern cosmology.


Understanding the fragmentation process in MS/MS experiments is vital when trying to validate the results of such experiments, and one way of improving our understanding is to analyze existing data. We here present our findings from an analysis of a large and diverse data set of MS/MS‐based peptide identifications, in which each peptide has been identified from multiple spectra, recorded on two commonly used types of electrospray instruments. By analyzing these data we were able to study fragmentation variability on three levels: (i) variation in detection rates and intensities for fragment ions from the same peptide sequence measured multiple times on a single instrument; (ii) consistency of rank‐based fragmentation patterns; and (iii) a set of general observations on fragment ion occurrence in MS/MS experiments, regardless of sequence. Our results confirm that substantial variation can be found at all levels, even when high‐quality identifications are used and the experimental conditions as well as the peptide sequences are kept constant. Finally, we discuss the observed variability in light of ongoing efforts to create spectral libraries and predictive software for target selection in targeted proteomics.


ABSTRACT Nine homologous proteins, CspA to CspI, constitute the CspA family of Escherichia coli. Recent studies are aimed at elucidating the individual cellular functions of these proteins. Two members of this family, CspC and CspE, are constitutively produced at 37°C. In the present study, these two proteins were evaluated for their cellular role(s). The expression of three stress proteins, OsmY, Dps, and UspA, is significantly affected by the overexpression and deletion of CspC and CspE. RpoS is a regulatory element forosmY and dps. Further analysis showed a larger amount and greater stability of the rpoS mRNA as well as a higher level of RpoS itself with the overexpression of CspC and CspE. This suggests that CspC and CspE upregulate the expression of OsmY and Dps by regulating the expression of RpoS itself. Indeed, this upregulation is lost in the ΔrpoS strain. Other RpoS-controlled proteins such as ProP and KatG, are also upregulated by the overexpression of CspC. The present study suggests that CspC and CspE are the important elements involved in the regulation of the expression of RpoS, a global stress response regulator, and UspA, a protein responding to numerous stresses. In the light of these observations, it seems plausible that CspC and CspE function as regulatory elements for the expression of stress proteins in the complex stress response network of E. coli.


BACKGROUND
Research in genetics and genomics has led to the development of precision medicine, with health care increasingly individually based on one's genetic makeup. Implementation of genetics and genomics in primary care has been challenging given the rapid development of new advances. Clinicians report difficulties incorporating genetics and genomics in practice, citing insufficient knowledge, training, confidence, and resources for genetic diagnoses, testing, and result reporting.

METHOD
Three pediatric nurse practitioner students participated in elective clinical rotations in pediatric genetics, with the goals of approaching all patients with genetic thinking, gaining competence collecting family health histories, and understanding available genetic resources.

RESULTS
Postrotation, students gained genetic thinking skills, competence collecting a three-generational family health history to assess genetic risk factors and aid in genetic diagnosis, and the ability to navigate genetic resources.

CONCLUSION
Genetics clinical rotations during primary care nurse practitioner education is an effective strategy to learn genetic and genomic competencies. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(11):690-693.].


A 27nm-pitch Graphoepitaxy directed self-assembly (DSA) process targeting fin formation for FinFET device fabrication is studied in a 300mm pilot line environment. The re-designed guiding pattern of graphoepitaxy DSA process determines not only the fine DSA structures but also the fin customization in parallel direction. Consequently, the critical issue of placement error is now resolved with the potential of reduction in lithography steps. However, challenges in subsequent pattern transfer are observed due to insufficient etch budget. The cause of the issues and process optimization are illustrated. Finally, silicon fins with 100nm depth in substrate with pre-determined customization is demonstrated.


We propose and analyze in this paper two new adaptive power controlled minimum selection generalized selection combining (MS-GSC) diversity schemes. The key idea behind these two schemes is to request the transmitter to vary its power level during very adverse channel conditions in order to communicate with the minimum required quality of service. For each scheme, four power control variants accounting for practical implementation constraints including discrete power levels and transmitter gain saturation are proposed and studied. Selected numerical examples, show that ideal continuous power control lowers the average bit error rate of MS-GSC and makes it always meet the specified target quality of service at the expense of an increase in the transmitter gain. Additional numerical examples, show that the power control variants that take into account practical implementation constraints conserve the main features of the ideal continuous power algorithm.


This article examines the life of Lalia Halfkenny (1870-1897), the first identified black Maritimer to graduate from a post-secondary institution in the region (the Acadia Ladies' College in 1889). Particular emphasis is on Halfkenny's trajectory from illegitimacy and poverty in the region to respectability and security as an instructor of elocution at an all-black women's institution in Richmond, Virginia. In so doing the article also discusses the experiences of other early black Maritime graduates and educators, with particular emphasis on the difficulties they encountered in obtaining rewarding employment in their home community and province as well as the consequences for other black Maritimers (who were denied the benefit of their contributions).


In this paper, we propose a robust change detection method for intelligent visual surveillance. This method, named <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M^{4}CD$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, includes three major steps. First, a sample-based background model that integrates color and texture cues is built and updated over time. Second, multiple heterogeneous features (including brightness variation, chromaticity variation, and texture variation) are extracted by comparing the input frame with the background model, and a multi-view learning strategy is designed to online estimate the probability distributions for both foreground and background. The three features are approximately conditionally independent, making multi-view learning feasible. Pixel-wise foreground posteriors are then estimated with Bayes rule. Finally, the Markov random field (MRF) optimization and heuristic post-processing techniques are used sequentially to improve accuracy. In particular, a two-layer MRF model is constructed to represent pixel-based and superpixel-based contextual constraints compactly. Experimental results on the CDnet dataset indicate that <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M^{4}CD$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is robust under complex environments and ranks among the top methods.


Based on the lesson learnt from East Japan Earthquake 2011, we are developing early tsunami detection system using the real time data and advanced simulations. DONET systems deploying around the Nankai trough, will be applied to Tsunami early detection for the Nankai trough large earthquakes and tsunamis. And S-Net system is under construction around off Tohoku seismogenic zone for early detection of earthquakes and tsunamis. Especially, real time data from ocean floor networks are very important and indispensable for early tsunami detection. However, not only real time data system, but also advanced simulation researches are important too. For instance, the integration of real time data of tsunamis and advanced tsunami propagation and inundation simulation will be more powerful and practical information for evacuations and rescues. If we can detect tsunamis using ocean floor networks, we can estimate tsunami propagation and inundation based on the advanced tsunami data base. Furthermore, education and outreach using advanced and visualized tsunami simulation including propagations, inundations and evacuations are more important for saving lives from tsunamis. For the recovery and revival of damaged areas, evacuated people are the most important, indispensable and irreplaceable. In our presentation, we will introduce the early tsunami detection system and advanced simulation for evacuations from tsunamis and disaster mitigation.


Representations of Asian women in Australian soap operas and television dramas contribute to debate about the incorporation of 'ethnic' identities within multicultural Australia. As an alternative concept for analyzing representation, notions of hybridity as the mixing of cultural and racial identity have come into prominence. Hybridity is a complex concept and is not simply a progressive means of representing Asian women. Key criticisms of the hybridity theory are that it promotes a happy, safe and simplified vision of multicultural harmony, or that it leads to violence and alienation. In this paper, hybridity is further divided into bounded culture and translocal culture categories which together cover the range of meanings invoked in discussions on representation. The complex nature of hybridity then illustrated by an analysis of two television dramas with Asian women characters, Heartbreak High and Bondi Banquet. The analyses of these characters show that the contradictory elements of melodrama and realism are limiting and can still have the effect of representing Asian women as controversial figures within a multicultural Australian identity.


In this paper, we present an approach and a visual tool, called HWrap (Handle Based Wrapper), for creating web wrappers to extract data records from web pages. In our approach, we mainly rely on the visible page content to identify data regions on a web page. In our extraction algorithm, we inspired by the way a human user scans the page content for specific data. In particular, we use text features such as textual delimiters, keywords, constants or text patterns, which we call handles, to construct patterns for the target data regions and data records. We offer a polynomial algorithm, in which these patterns are checked against the page elements in a mixed bottom-up and top-down traverse of the DOM-tree. The extracted data is directly mapped onto a hierarchical XML structure, which forms the output of the wrapper. The wrappers that are generated by this method are robust and independent of the HTML structure. Therefore, they can be adapted to similar websites to gather and integrate information.


Police crime information systems contain modus operandi (MO) fields which provide brief text descriptions of the circumstances surrounding crime events and the actions taken by offenders to commit them. This Thesis aims to assess the feasibility of undertaking systematic analysis of these descriptions for high volume crimes. In particular, it seeks to ask the following three questions: 1) Are police recorded MO data a potential source of actionable intelligence to inform crime prevention?
2) Can techniques drawn from computer-aided text analysis be used to identify meaningful patterns in MO data for high volume crimes?
3) Do conceptual frameworks add value to the analysis and interpretation of patterns in MOs?
The study focuses on a sample of theft from the person and robbery of personal property offences (n~30,000). Although existing studies have utilised similar data, they have tended to focus on crime detection and have been beset with problems of data quality.
To explore these aims, it was first necessary to conduct a thorough review of MO fields to identify the challenges they present for analysis. Problems identified include various types of error but a more prominent challenge is the inherent flexibility found within natural language, i.e. human language as opposed to languages that are artificially constructed. Based on the data review, it was possible to select, and develop, appropriate techniques of computer-aided content analysis to process the data ready for further statistical investigation. In particular, a cluster analysis
successfully identified and classified groups of offences based on similarities in their MO fields.
The findings from the analysis were interpreted using two conceptual frameworks, the conjunction
of criminal opportunity and crime scripts, both of which are informed by situational crime theories.
The thesis identified that the benefits of these frameworks were twofold. As methods of analysis the frameworks ensure that the interpretation of results is systematic. As theoretical frameworks they provide an explicit link between patterns in the data, findings from previous literature, theories of crime causation and methods of prevention. Importantly, using the two frameworks together helps to build an improved understanding of offender's ability both to cope with and to exploit crime situations.
The thesis successfully demonstrates that MO fields contain a potential source of intelligence relevant to both practical crime prevention and research, and that it is possible to extract this information using innovative computer-aided textual analysis techniques. The research undertaken served as a pathfinding exercise developing what amounts to a replicable technique applicable to datasets from other localities and other crime types. However, the analysis process is neither fully objective nor automated. The thesis concluded that criminological frameworks are a pre-requisite to the interpretation of this intelligence although the research questioned the strict categories and hierarchies imposed by the frameworks which do not entirely reflect the flexibilities of real-life crime commission.


In 2021, Hawaii will permanently ban the use and sale of octinoxate-based sunscreens as studies have shown serious impacts of such UV filters on the coral reef. This ban, which could be generalized to other countries, highlights the extreme need to offer alternative UV filters that are not only effective in terms of sun protection, but also healthy with regards to human health and the environment. In this context, a wide library of p-hydroxycinnamic esters deriving from naturally occurring sinapic acid has been synthesized using a Knoevenagel–Doebner condensation. The UV filtering activities as well as the antioxidant properties of these sinapic acid esters were then investigated. The results showed promising UVB protection and antioxidant efficacy. A Structure–Activity Relationship (SAR) study on the sinapic acid esters highlighted the need of a free phenol to, as expected, observe antioxidant activity, but also to obtain a higher intensity of protection. Moreover, the nature of the ester moiety also proved to be a key structural feature for the UV absorbance, as higher steric hindrance on the ester moiety leads to more active compounds. The judicious structural design of sinapic esters thus provides promising compounds combining UV protection and antioxidant activity.


There seems to be general agreement that oxidative stress is involved in many pathological conditions including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative diseases, and overall aging. Cerium oxide nanoparticles, also known as nanoceria (CeO2-NPs), have shown promise as catalytic antioxidants, based on their ability to switch between Ce3+ and Ce4+ valence states. In the present work we have synthesized and characterized CeO2-NPs, examined the effect of CeO2-NPs on amyloidogenesis of insulin, and analyzed the impact of CeO2-NPs on oxidative stress and biocompatibility in vitro in three types of invasive cancer cells, and in vivo in the preclinical model of the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of quail embryos. The different experimental techniques revealed a high stability and homogeneity of the "naked" CeO2-NPs synthesized by precipitation from a reversal microemulsion. The CeO2-NPs were 5-6 nm in diameter (TEM) and monodispersed and have a ζ +46.9 mV ζ potential in Milli-Q water. We demonstrated for the first time that CeO2-NPs affect insulin fibrillation in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibiting, IC50, and disassembling, DC50, concentrations were calculated to be ∼100 ± 3.5 and ∼200 ± 5.5 μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, CeO2-NPs demonstrated reliable biocompatibility and sufficient uptake by glioma and breast cancer cells. The presence of a high concentration of CeO2-NPs within the cells resulted only in local changes in metabolic activity and generation of oxidative stress at a low level. Moreover, high biocompatibility with CeO2-NPs was shown in vivo in the CAM.


Background: Many youth with type 1 diabetes do not achieve glycemic targets motivating the development of new therapeutic options for this population. We tested an automated insulin delivery system (AID) that uses a multi-model model predictive controller in children with T1D.
 Methods: We conducted a 40-hour free-living clinical trial to assess our automated insulin delivery algorithm in children aged 7-13 years old with T1D (mean age 10.5±2.0 years, HbA1c 7.9±0.7%, duration of T1D 5.2±2.8 years) . Participants underwent a 7-day run-in period on sensor-augmented pump therapy followed by two 40-hour intervention periods composed of four hours of open-loop and 36 hours of AID use. Controller settings were identical in both intervention periods. Mean time-in-ranges were compared by paired T-test.
 Results: Time in target (3.9-10mmol/L) and time in hyperglycemia (>10mmol/L) improved during intervention periods vs. run-in (52.2% vs. 65.6%; p<0.and 45.1% vs. 30.8%; p=0.respectively) while time in hypoglycemia (<3.9mmol/L) during intervention periods was unchanged from the run-in (1.8 vs. 2.0%, p=0.96) .
 Conclusion: Early results suggest our advanced model predictive controller improves glucose control in a 7-13-year-old population with T1D. Larger and longer trials are warranted.

 E.Palisaitis: Other Relationship; Eli Lilly and Company. R.Jones: Employee; Eli Lilly and Company, Stock/Shareholder; Eli Lilly and Company. M.Katz: Employee; Eli Lilly and Company, Stock/Shareholder; Eli Lilly and Company. H.Wolpert: Employee; Lilly Diabetes. A.El fathi: Other Relationship; Eli Lilly and Company. A.Haidar: Consultant; Eli Lilly and Company, Research Support; ADOCIA, Dexcom, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. J.E.Von oettingen: None. L.Legault: Advisory Panel; Abbott Diabetes, Insulet Corporation, Novo Nordisk A/S, Other Relationship; Eli Lilly and Company, Research Support; AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., Inc.

 Eli Lilly


The Effectiveness of Organization of State Islamic Institute (STAIN)Watampone. This study aims to: understand and uncover the effectiveness of Organization of State Islamic Institute (STAIN) Watampone. This study analyzes the effectiveness of organizations through a variety approaches and competing values include the ability to adapt, sourcing, planning, and productivity and efficiency. As for who becomes the object of research was variable of Effectiveness Organization and analysis using qualitative descriptive. The results of this research showed that the effectiveness of the organization Of State Islamic Institute (STAIN) Watampone based on the dimensions of ability to adapt to changes in the environment shows that is not optimal, and still continue to proceed in response to the demands of the external environment, especially the rules of top-down government, for example, the issue about the demands of quality education, in accordance with the National Standards for Higher education (SNPT), but in the technical implementation is still a lot of fundamental things that need adjustment quickly, especially associated with Tri Dharma College. Similarly in response to the issues that were hot in the community both at the locally, nationally and internationally. It was seen from the low structural design adjustments primarily related to the complexity of the component, and the formalization, but in terms of centralization components had shown good effectiveness with the granting of autonomy to the departements and study program. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the organization in gaining the support resources included in the criteria was not optimal, particularly with regard to the provision of facilities and infrastructure that relies solely on funds from the Revenue Budget and State Revenue Non Tax, Similarly in an increase in the number of lecturers in accordance with the ideal comparison with the number of students. While the organization's ability to got supported from the community in increasing the number of students was very effective as evidenced by the high enthusiasm of prospective students who apply from the year 2012/2013 until 2016/2017. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the organization on the dimensions of planning, shows the level of effectiveness is low, because the vision and mission of the organization was not able to be well understood by all elements of the organization, then the clarity size of the achievement had no time limited and clarity of area coverage is also unclear, and the manufacturing process still need to be involved all stakeholders. Further the effectiveness of Organization in production capability and efficiency, especially in producing qualified scholars still no best ratio between input and output. As well as in scientific publication the national and international level is still very low.Keywords: Efektifitas Organisasi.


The investigation was concerned with the effectiveness of intensive preoperative radiotherapy (IPRT) in 423 patients with locally-advanced breast tumors (pT1-2N0M0) after radical surgery. No significant effect on overall or recurrence-free survival (pT1N0M0) was observed following IPRT as a component of combination and complex therapy. Overall and recurrence-free survival (pT2N0M0) was higher (p < 0.05) after IPRT in patients who did not receive chemo- or hormonal therapy. The results did not change significantly in the hT2N0M0 group when IPRT was combined with postoperative chemo- and hormonal therapy.


Polymer electronics, or Polytronics, as the short name, is a promising technology for low-cost and large-area electronic systems, based on novel organic materials with conducting and semiconducting properties, not addressable by conventional silicon technology. The new properties of this plastic materials are a combination of the electronic and optical properties of metals and semiconductors and the properties of polymers and small molecules. Using active and passive electronic and photonic components, based on organic materials, allows system integration for a specific application. These systems can be made on flexible foil substrates, allowing the processing of large area electronics.


Job application choice is influenced by job/organisational attributes, both traditional ones, such as salary, prospects, location, company type and newer ones, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR). To examine the varying importance of these and the impacts of location and gender for initial job applications, potential job applicants were surveyed who were about to join the jobs market based in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, often grouped together as the Greater China region. Using conjoint analysis of different job scenarios it is found that the importance of different job characteristics does vary across the region, although with no clear result regarding gender. The theoretical and practical implications of this work is discussed.


As a result of the experimental researches conducted it has been shown that administration of some normal animal marine phospholipids (PL) including in their structure omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) provides for quantitative changes of individual PL, fatty acids (FA) content and quantity in general and individual PL of liver, heart, brain and gonads microsomes. While estimating general microsomal PL fraction FA content under the action of PL omega-3 PUFA FA concentration change, unsaturation index (omega 6/omega 3) and relation of arachidonic acid to docosahexenic (AA/DHA) decrease have been identified. The decrease of AA/DHA relationship occurs due to AA and DHA quantitative changes. In the case of AA increase in some tissues there is observed the decrease of docosapentaenic acid and increase of DHA and eucosapentaenic (EPA) acidds. As a result of studying FA content in the individual PL composition it has been identified that certain PL classes characteristic for some tissues respond by changes of some certain FA. The relationship omega 6/omega 3 has been shown as decreasing in phosphatidilcholine (PC) all tissues microsomes (liver, gonads, heart, brain), in phosphatidilethanolamine (PEA) of liver and cardiac microsomes, in phosphatidilserine (PS) this relationship relationship decreases in the liver, brain and heart, for phosphatidilinositole (PI) the changes take place in liver, gonads, brain. Simultaneously, the decrease of AA/DHA relationship in the individual PL decrease of AA and increase of EPA and DHA depend on the tested tissues. The marine phospholipids might be supposed to render their effect on AA metabolism resulting in AA/DHA relationship in PEA and PS relationship displays itself as specific and depends on the tissues functions. The preference of PEA and PS use by certain tissues microsomes could be explained by their membrane protective capability.


It is commonplace to maintain that technology will never be able to reproduce a natural object in full detail. Nevertheless, if one tries to rigorously demonstrate the methodological foundation on which such an assumption is based, one finds a number of interesting problems to clarify. This paper attempts to provide a general framework for the understanding of naturoids (man made objects that aim at reproducing some natural object), arguing that every naturoid — and the cognitive model upon which it is based — is the result of a reduction in the complexity of natural objects due to an unavoidable multiple selection process. Naturoids take on their own new complexity, which leads to a transfiguration of the natural exemplars and their performances. On the one hand, this transfiguration poses severe problems for those who try to gain knowledge from naturoids regarding the analogous natural objects. On the other hand, a generalized replacement of natural objects and processes with naturoids will change our way of looking at nature. Therefore, the technology of naturoids could develop through successive generations, each of which would take as exemplars already artificialized objects, giving rise to a new kind of evolution.


This paper applies an inframarginal analysis of new classical economics thinking to study on the capital structure choice of enterprises. The study finds that the optimal capital structure of an enterprise is a game equilibrium of the interaction among capital structure decisions of individual (such as entrepreneur, investors, employees, professional managers and consumers). The capital structure decisions of Individuals and corporate are an instantaneous optimal decision-making equilibrium.


We discuss the relative merits of absorption and first- and Second-derivative spectra for the simultaneous quantification of bilirubinand hemoglobin, and evaluate single-, two-, and multiwavelength methods. Although both species can be quantified from single- or two-wavelength absorption data, lipids or other absorbing or light-scattering components introduce systematic errors that can be substantially decreased by using first- or second-derivative spectra. Multi-wavelength data-processing methods with derivative spectra permit quantification of components with overlapping spectra and decrease the random error usually associated with derivative methods. A typical least-squares equation for quantifying bilirubinin the presence of hemoglobin and bovine serum albumin from multi-wavelength second-derivative data is continuing


Reconnection events in space plasmas are accompanied by the occurrence of large-amplitude turbulent fluctuations of the magnetic and electric field, covering a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Here, we study the scaling and statistical features of magnetic and electric field fluctuations below the ion-gyroperiod (i.e., in the dissipation domain) by carefully investigating the occurrence of local or global scaling features during a reconnection event studied by Eastwood et al . Our results point toward the presence of a global scale invariance, i.e., a mono-fractal nature, of fluctuations above the ion-cyclotron frequency and at spatial scales near the ion-inertial length.


Autonomic self-healing of interfacial damage in a model single-fiber composite is achieved through sequestration of ca. 1.5 μm diameter dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) healing-agent-filled capsules and recrystallized Grubbs' catalyst to the fiber/matrix interface. When damage initiates at the fiber/matrix interface, the capsules on the fiber surface rupture, and healing agent is released into the crack plane where it contacts the catalyst, initiating polymerization. A protocol for characterizing the efficiency of interfacial healing for the single-fiber system is established. Interfacial shear strength (IFSS), a measure of the bond strength between the fiber and matrix, is evaluated for microbond specimens consisting of a single self-healing functionalized fiber embedded in a microdroplet of epoxy. The initial (virgin) IFSS is equivalent or enhanced by the addition of capsules and catalyst to the interface and up to 44% average recovery of IFSS is achieved in self-healing samples after full interfacial debonding. Examination of the fracture interfaces by scanning electron microscopy reveals further evidence of a polyDCPD film in self-healing samples. Recovery of IFSS is dictated by the bond strength of polyDCPD to the surrounding epoxy matrix.


Abstract Comparing two essays written by Du Bois at a great interval of time, "The Tenth Talented" (1903) and "The Hundredth Talented" or the "Guiding Hundredth" (1948), the author of this article intends to deal with Du Bois's endeavor to cohere culturally and politically an answerable and duty-bound black leadership, and to acknowledge the different accents laid by the author of The Souls of Black Folk on culture and on politics. An accomplished essayist and journalist, a foremost militant for the cause of black emancipation, Du Bois strove to persuade both white and the black audience about the role of high culture, an idea which perfectly matched the towering ideals of Victorian culture, but ran counter to the rapid urbanization of America, and later on, to the times of the Great Depression. The utopian solving chosen by Du Bois in "The Hundredth Talented" mirrors the conflict between the political convictions of a great mind and American reality, as well as the winding course of intellectual ideas which brought black emancipation into life, only in the midst of the last century.


Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a proven model to investigate the effects of small molecules and drugs on fungal and eukaryotic cells. In this study, the mode of action of an antifungal metabolite, 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG), was determined. Applying a combination of genetic and physiological approaches, it was established that this bacterial metabolite acts as a proton ionophore and dissipates the proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane. The uncoupling of respiration and ATP synthesis ultimately leads to growth inhibition and is the primary toxic effect of DAPG. A genome-wide screen identified 154 DAPG-tolerant mutants and showed that there are many alterations in cellular metabolism that can confer at least some degree of tolerance to this uncoupler. One mutant, ydc1, was studied in some more detail as it displayed increased tolerance to both DAPG and the uncoupler carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) and appears to be unconnected to other tolerant mutant strains. Deleting YDC1 alters sphingolipid homoeostasis in the cell, and we suggest here that this may be linked to reduced drug sensitivity. Sphingolipids and their derivatives are important eukaryotic signal molecules, and the observation that altering homoeostasis may affect yeast response to metabolic uncoupling agents raises some intriguing questions for future studies.


This paper depicts about a power conversion circuit of a Pulse-width modulated (PMW) voltage source inverter known as a Solar-based boost differential single phase inverter. The total harmonic distortion of 67.12% found in an open loop Solar-based boost differential inverter is reduced down to 22.37% in closed loop system with the aid of Proportional –integral-Differential (PID) voltage controller. The transient stage of the proposed system takes conical shape before it reaches its steady state.   The core characteristics of this type of inverter are:  it engenders an ac output voltage that is greater than the dc voltage which is not obtained in conventional inverter, it trims down the many stages of power conversions found in other boost converters to one stage, it mitigates the ripple contents of the input voltage and current concurrently and finally, it is portable. This research also shows the disparity between the simulated results of open loop and closed loop of boost differential inverter systems. The dc power source is photovoltaic cell. The maximum power point tracker is in-cooperated in capturing the maximum power from the sun. The proposed topic has its applications in homes, offices and more in industries.


The purpose of this study was to compare positional changes of the hyoid bone and the amount of postsurgical compensation in mandibular position in patients who received either wire or rigid fixation after surgery. Data were analyzed from 97 patients (25 males and 72 females) who were randomized to receive wire (43) or rigid (54) fixation after mandibular advancement surgery as part of a multicenter clinical trial. Radiographs were digitized before surgery (T2), immediately after surgery (T3), and 8 weeks (T4), 6 months (T5), 1 year (T6), and 2 years (T7) after surgery. The wire group had greater sagittal relapse of the hyoid bone at T6 (P =.007), which persisted at T7 (P =.02). Both groups showed upward movement of the hyoid bone after surgery. There was no relationship between the vertical change in the the hyoid bone position and the vertical position of mandible (B point y coordinate, mandibular plane). However, there was a relationship between the horizontal hyoid bone position and B point during the postsurgical period (rigid, r = 0.450; wire, r = 0.517). The direct distance from the hyoid bone to basion increased (P <.001) in both groups at T3 and then recovered its original length after 8 weeks (P <.001). The rigid group showed no significant change in distance from the hyoid to the genial tubercles, but the wire group showed recovery of the muscle length at T6 (P <.05) and T7 (P <.05).


Abstract The coordination chemistry of pyridyl oximes is reviewed. Simple pyridyl oximes have the general formula (py)C(R)NOH, where py is a pyridyl group (2-, 3- or 4-) attached to the oxime carbon atom and R can be a donor or a non-donor group. There are also ligands containing more pyridyl and/or oxime groups. The coordination chemistry of twenty-three such ligands is described, including 2-acetylpyridine N -oxide oxime (which strictly speaking is not a pyridyl oxime) and of four polydentate ligands containing pyridyl groups that are not directly attached to the oxime carbon. References are given to methods for the synthesis of the ligands that are not available in the market. The coordination chemistry of each ligand with all metals is detailed, with emphasis being placed on structural features and physical properties (mainly magnetic) of the resulting metal complexes. This report shows that the anions of pyridyl oximes are versatile ligands for a variety of objectives/advantages, including μ 2 and μ 3 behavior, preparation of polynuclear complexes (clusters) and coordination polymers, mixed-metal chemistry and interesting magnetic characteristics. The activation of 2-pyridyl oximes by 3d-metal centers towards further reactions seems to be an emergent area of synthetic chemistry.


To determine whether sexual minorities have an earlier mortality than do heterosexuals, we investigated associations between sexual orientation assessed in the 2001 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) and mortality in the 2011 NHANES-linked mortality file. Mortality follow-up time averaged 69.6 months after NHANES. By 2011, 338 individuals had died. Sexual minorities evidenced greater all-cause mortality than did heterosexuals after adjusting for demographic confounding. These effects generally disappeared with further adjustment for NHANES-detected health and behavioral differences.


A dynamic model of transfrontier pollution is constructed to analyze production and residual emission decisions for two countries under cooperative and noncooperative behavior. Each country must allocate marginal resources between more commodity production or more residual (emission) reduction. while each country produces a different commodity (say, nickel and electricity), the jointly-produced residual (say, sulfur oxide) is identical. After emission and transport, the residuals are subject to deposition and possible accumulation in both countries. Cooperative and noncooperative behavior may lead to steady state equilibria. A comparison of the equations defining such equilibria permits the identification of corrective taxes, which depend not only on marginal damage but on the rates of transport, degredation and discount as well. While the cooperative solution is Pareto superior to the noncooperative solution, the necessary corrective taxes may not be adopted without side payments between countries. Movement toward the cooperative solution might be facilitated by an international control agency with the authority to impose emission standards on sources of transfrontier pollution. It is unlikely that sovereign states would vest unlimited control over domestic emissions to an international agency, and alternative regimes based on negotiated emission standards, emission taxes and marketable pollution permits are considered. Based on a subjective assessment of resource and transactions costs, a system of marketable emission permits may be least cost.


Introduction: In the embryonic period, several developmental anomalies of the cerebral arteries occur. The knowledge of these anatomic variations is important to avoid unnecessary surgery and to undergo surgery or interventional radiology with safety. Objective: In this report, we discuss the hypothesis of the presence of azygos anterior cerebral artery as a possible cause of anisocoric pupil found in a patient with 35 years old. To our knowledge, this variation has not been previously reported. Results: In this study we reported a case of this artery emphasizing some morphological, functional and clinical data about this rare vascular abnormality. Conclusion: The results could be important to offer useful information to anatomists, radiologists, ophthalmologists, neurologists and head and neck surgeons.


Abstract A new species of anoplocephalid cestode is described from Gallotia atlantica (Reptilia, Lacertidae) on the Canary Islands, Spain. Oochoristica feliui n. sp. belongs to the group of Oochoristica spp. having circular suckers and fewer than 25 testes in a single cluster: O. lygosomae Burt, 1933; O. lygosomatis Skinker, 1935; O. elongata Dupouy et Kechemir, 1973; O. jonnesi Bursey, McAllister and Freed, 1997; O. junkea Johri, 1950; O. macallisteri Bursey and Goldberg, 1996; O. novaezelandae Schmidt and Allison, 1985; O. parvogenitalis Dupouy and Kechemir, 1973; and O. sobolevi (Spasskii, 1948) Spaskii, 1951. Oochoristica feliui n. sp. differs from these species in a variety of characters such as the number of proglottids, size of the scolex and suckers, presence of a neck, size and shape of the ovary (divided into 5–6 lobules), ovoid shape of the vitelline gland, a spined cirrus, size of eggs, oncosphere and oncosphere hooks, and the presence of 2 osmoregulatory canals. Gallotia spp. are endemic to the Canary Islands. This is the first report of an adult cestode species in this lizard.


Comminution accounts for approximately 30 to 40% of the energy consumed on an average mine site (DOE, 2007) and somewhere from 4 to 9% of Australia's total energy consumption (Tromans, 2008). Additionally, if one includes the energy embodied in steel grinding consumables, this may increase comminution energy by more than 50% (Musa and Morrison, 2009). Energy savings of up to 50% are theoretically possible by employing novel circuit designs and using smart separation techniques, which reject coarse liberated gangue. A range of different strategies such as selective mining, screening, ore sorting, coarse flotation and dielectrophoresis can be used to reject the coarse liberated gangue at different particle sizes. These technological advances have the potential to increase the throughput in the comminution circuit, while decreasing the energy consumed per tonne or ounce of metal produced. This paper investigates the energy consumed through sorting, and the optimum position of these technologies in the flow sheet, in terms of energy, cost and risk. The findings form the basis of a methodology that can identify the potential upgrades/changes required to obtain a positive return from these sorting and coarse separation techniques. Reference as: Ballantyne, G.R., Hilden, M., Powell, M.S., 2012. Early rejection of gangue – How much energy will it cost to save energy?, In Comminution '12, ed. Wills, B. Mineral Engineering, Capetown, South Africa.


SUMMARY. In the literature concerning the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) there are numerous specific tests used to detect joint mobility or pain provocation. In this article the authors have reviewed 11 studies which investigated the reliability of these tests. The methodological quality of the studies was tested by a list of criteria developed by the authors. This list consisted of three categories: (1) study population, (2) test procedures and (3) test results. To each criterion a weighting was attached. The methodological score for nine out of the 11 studies was found to be acceptable. The results of this review, however, could not demonstrate reliable outcomes and therefore no evidence on which to base acceptance of mobility tests of the SIJ into daily clinical practice. There are no indications that 'upgrading' of methodological quality would have improved the final conclusions. With respect to pain provocation tests, the findings did not show the same trend. Two studies demonstrated reliable results using the Gaenslen test and the Thigh thrust test. One study showed acceptable reliability for five other pain provocation tests; however, since other authors have described contradictory results, there is a necessity for further research in this area with an emphasis on multiple test scores and pain provocation tests of the SIJ. # 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd


Abstract The paper presents the description of structure and the selected problems of the technical condition, as well as the strength analysis of the thin-walled reinforced concrete shell which has been making a covering of the main hall of the Gdynia Seaport Building through the last 80 years. The rectangle projection of four single curvature shells of the dome was shaped out of mutual perpendicular intersection of two cylindrical shells. The analysis of the state of stress and deformations was carried out using the special model worked out in MES considering the combination of loads, the thermal ones included. For the long lasting loads (the deadweight of the dome), the computed results of static quantities were confronted with analytical results obtained according to F. Dischinger's method. This method had been applied by the DYWIDAG Company in Berlin and its branch in Katowice (Poland) who designed the Gdynia Dome. The computational analysis and the assessment of the technical state, along with laboratory pH tests of concrete, made it possible to carry out the overall evaluation of durability and safety of operation of the Gdynia Seaport Dome through the next decades.


Prior research has highlighted the limitations of traditional management control and performance measurement systems (PMS) whereby the systems were claimed to be inadequate for today's business environment. The shortcomings of traditional PMS have led to the use of more comprehensive PMS. Extant research indicates Comprehensive Performance Measurement System (CPMS) is widely used in organisations for decision facilitating and influencing purposes. Empirical evidences also show that the number of companies adopting multiple PMS (i.e. Balanced Scorecard) for performance measurement and evaluation is increasing. However, recent research provides inconsistent findings on the relationship between the use of CPMS and performance. These findings imply that CPMS may not necessarily lead to better performance, as the effectiveness of CPMS could be subjected to the limitation in the manager's cognitive abilities. In particular, the research in the context of evaluative judgement implies that there are drawbacks from CPMS as there are limitations in the manager's cognitive abilities. Information could be overloaded due to variations or too many measures used in a CPMS.
Review of the literature suggests that research that examines behavioural consequences of the informational characteristics of CPMS is lacking suggesting there may be an indirect relationship between CPMS and performance. Drawing from this gap in the literature, using cognitive motivational theory, this research examines whether the link between CPMS and job performance is influenced by role stress, organisational commitment and locus of control. This research will also contribute to provide further understanding of the effect of MAS, in the context of PMS on individual performance. Specifically, this research proposes that CPMS may affect job performance via mediating variables of role stress (role ambiguity and role conflict) and organisation commitment (affective commitment). Based on the social learning theory, this research also predicts that a manager's personality of traits, locus of control (internal and external manager) influences the relationship between the decision-facilitating role of CPMS and job performance. Data were collected using questionnaire survey and interviews. The sample comprised business unit (BU) managers of manufacturing companies, members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer (FMM).
Based on useable survey responses of 120 business unit managers, the results show the role ambiguity (role stress dimension) and organisational commitment mediate the relationship between CPMS and job performance. However, there is no evidence on the mediation effect of role conflict in the relationship. This implies CPMS will enhance job performance through the presence of high level of organisational commitment and lower role ambiguity. The moderation effect of locus of control is only identified in the relationship between CPMS and role ambiguity. However, no support was found for the moderating effects of locus of control in each relation between CPMS and organisational commitment, role conflict and job performance. Finding implies manager's locus of control personality influence the use of PMS information and behaviour. Particularly, internal managers who perceive that they are in control of their performance will have higher motivation, thus would perform better than external manager. The interview results provide further insights and support for the survey findings. Role ambiguity and organisational commitment play important role in the use of CPMS to improve job performance. There is evidence indicating managers' locus of control personality influence the use of CPMS and managers' behaviour.


Inducers show generally a positive influence on the performance of centrifugal pumps in the two-phase regime, since they produce more uniform mixtures and increase the pressure before the impeller. However, the effect is much more pronounced in part-load compared to overload conditions. In this study, the air–water two-phase flow behavior in a pump inducer was numerically investigated. The main objectives were to clarify the effect of the inducer, the effective operating range, and to examine flow mixing. Several flow conditions were studied, covering part-load, optimal, and overload pumping conditions, together with different relevant gas volume fractions (1%, 3%, and 5%). The simulations were performed using a transient setup and a moving-mesh approach. Two-phase air–water interactions were modeled by the volume of fluid (VOF) method. After checking the proper discretization in space and time, the model was validated against experimental results, revealing excellent agreement. The numerical analysis was able to explain different effects of inducers in part-load and overload conditions. Under overload conditions, the flow separates, leading to the generation of axial vortices and to a negative pressure change across the inducer; additionally, the residence time is reduced, hindering mixing. These vortices are intensified as the gas volume fraction increases, reducing further the pressure downstream of the inducer. This is the reason why inducers can mainly be used in part-load and near optimal conditions in order to improve pumping of two-phase flows.


A national-level diagnostic laboratory has been set up in Taiwan for routine diagnosis of reported cases of dengue fever (DF)/dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), Japanese encephalitis (JE) and yellow fever (YF). The facilities include serological diagnosis, virus isolation by cell culture, molecular diagnosis and molecular tools for epidemiological investigations. To detect and differentiate dengue, JE and YF virus infections, a differential diagnostic system has been developed. For acute-phase sera, virus isolation by cell culture and real-time one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been established. For all of the serum samples reported, serological diagnosis of specific antibodies based on envelope and membrane (E/M)-specific capture IgM and IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are performed. In this report, a case study from Taiwan has been presented with the analysis of 959 serum samples (including some paired sera) collected between day 1-30 of illness from 799 confirmed dengue cases reported in 2002. The results demonstrated that 94.5% of acute-phase serum samples of confirmed dengue cases could be identified as positive or probable with the combined use of real-time one-step RT-PCR and E/M-specific capture IgM and IgG ELISA. Furthermore, a nonstructural protein NS1 serotype-specific indirect IgG ELISA has been developed and used to analyse dengue NS1specific IgG antibodies. Both E/M-specific capture IgM and IgG ELISA and the NS1 serotype-specific indirect IgG ELISA have been used to detect and differentiate primary and secondary dengue virus infections. In addition, the NS1 serotype-specific indirect IgG ELISA has the potential of replacing the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT) and is being used for a large-scale seroepidemiological study.