Collaborative learning has placed an emphasis on co-constructing knowledge by sharing and negotiating meaning for problem-solving activities, and this cannot be accomplished without governing the self-regulatory processes of students. This study employed a Web-based tool, Google Docs, to determine the effects of Webbased collaboration on vocabulary improvements among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The work performed in this study represents a further step toward identifying the factors that influence self-regulated vocabulary strategy use and perceptions of Web-based collaboration (SRvsWBC). In total, 210 undergraduate students participated in this study and undertook the designed tasks, such as vocabulary pre-/posttests and a selfreport questionnaire survey of SRvsWBC. The findings of the study suggest that collaboration using a Webbased tool affects knowledge development, and provide insights into the integrated spectrum of self-regulation, L2/FL learning, and Web-based technology that will be useful for pedagogy.


This paper highlights significant moments, strategies, and themes in British non-heterosexual Muslims' management of familial and kin relations. Significant socio-cultural and religious factors constitute the framework within which they negotiate such relations. These factors are: the strict religious censure of non-heterosexuality (specifically homosexuality) based on various Islamic written sources, the pervasive cultural censure of homosexuality as a 'western disease', the expectation of marriage as a cultural and religious obligation, the respect for parents, and the maintenance of family honour (izzat) particularly in the close-knit kinship network. These factors, which significantly inform the participants' responses and experiences, also reflect the social position of this religious and ethnic minority in British society. Specifically, the participants highlighted the complexity of secrecy, silence and discretion in balancing individualism (ie expression of sexuality) and socio-religious obligations. In general, the data demonstrate the intricate inter-relatedness of structure and agency, and the cultural embeddedness of the production and management of identity and social relations.


In this study, the Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) and the Regional Climate Model (RegCM) system as well as the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrologic model were integrated into a general framework to investigate impacts of future climates on the hydrologic regime of the Athabasca River basin. Regional climate models (RCMs) including PRECIS and RegCM were used to develop ensemble high-resolution climate projections for 1979–2099. RCMs were driven by the boundary conditions from the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model, version 2 with Earth system configurations (HadGEM2-ES); the Second Generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2); and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model with MOM (GFDL-ESM2M) under the representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The ensemble climate simulations were validated through comparison with observations for 1984–2003. The RCMs project increases in temperature, precipitation, and wind speed under RCPs across most of the Athabasca River basin. Meanwhile, VIC was calibrated using the University of Arizona Shuffled Complex Evolution method (SCE-UA). The performance of the VIC model in replicating the characteristics of the observed streamflow was validated for 1994–2003. Changes in runoff and streamflow under RCPs were then simulated by the validated VIC model. The validation results demonstrate that the ensemble-RCM-driven VIC model can effectively reproduce historical climatological and hydrological patterns in the Athabasca River basin. The ensemble-RCM-driven VIC model shows that monthly streamflow is projected to increase in the 2050s and 2080s under RCPs, with notably higher flows expected in the spring for the 2080s. This will have substantial impacts on water balance on the Athabasca River basin, thus affecting the surrounding industry and ecosystems. The developed framework can be applied to other regions for exploration of hydrologic impacts under climate change.


The relevance of the study is determined by the need to improve the methods used to assess the presence of mutagens in the coastal parts of natural and artificial reservoirs located in the immediate vicinity of the highway. The purpose of this study was to assess the presence of mutagens in the coastal part of Lake Senezh near the highway. The work carried out relates to the field of genetic ecology of water bodies, therefore, to study the toxicity of water, models that covered two levels of the effects of genotoxicants on hydrobionts were used: genomic and gene. Gene level of exposure was determined by Ames test. According to the results of the study, it is shown that both at the chromosomal and genetic level, after the exposure of test objects in the samples of water from the city Bay, mutations are revealed that genotoxicants enter the water from the highway running along the very shore of the lake and having no stormwater runoff collections. And studies to increase the size of somatid-like particles in the blood of fish also indicate that among these toxicants in the coastal areas of the lake there are carcinogens. The study of water from the central region of the lake showed that no effect of genotoxicants was observed at all genetic levels. The materials of the article will be useful for regional and federal authorities dealing with the presence of mutagens in artificial and natural reservoirs. The described assessment techniques in the coastal part of the analyzed lake can be used when conducting similar studies in other regions.


This paper presents a case study developed by a research unit, named Less Carbon, More Renewable Energies and based in Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, which pursues the goal of understanding how the carbon neutral challenge is changing the present day's urban and architectural practices. We have determined, as research methodology, the analysis of self-acclaimed carbon neutral and/or carbon reduction projects in order to detect which strategies, techniques or technologies can best be applied in different sites and contexts. For this particular case study, we studied "Masdar City", a carbon neutral city in the desert of Abu Dhabi designed by Foster and Partners, with the purpose of determining strategic sustainable guidelines to rehabilitate Cova da Moura, one of Portugal's three "critical neighbourhoods". Most data regarding both cases is very distinct considering both scale and economic conditions; however, we have detected a profound similarity in the core of the development's strategies, both case studies plan to invest in renewable energies to obliterate a current stigma and to guarantee an economic future. What proves to be unique about Cova da Moura is that it is a case of grassroots sustainable planning (planning from the bottom/up versus from the top/down) emerging in a poor, low-educated, neighbourhood, a fact that becomes even more evident when compared to the carbon neutral state-of-the-art development in Abu Dhabi.


Nasi bogana is one of the typical culinary in Cirebon area. This culinary can be found in almost every palace in Cirebon. This cuisine is usually served during salvation  or other celebrations. The Kacirebonan Palace is one of the palaces that still maintain the tradition and culture of nasi bogana. One of the efforts made by the Kacirebonan Palace was to establish a restaurant called Pawon Bogana. In the Pawon Bogana restaurant, nasi bogana is used as a mainstay menu. However, the bogana rice in the Pawon Bogana restaurant has experienced development and headway. The purpose of this study was to find out the complete history of bogana rice, the culinary development at this time when viewed from the quality and uniqueness of food and the development of bogana rice so that the culinary becomes more sustainable and awake. This study uses a qualitative method. Data sources used are sources, events and documents. Data collection techniques used are interviews, observation, documentation and questionnaires. Data analysis techniques used are data analysis that is carried out interactively and takes place continuously since data collection in the field and continues until data collection is completed. The results of the study show that Bogana Rice is one of the typical cuisines in the Cirebon area. This cuisine is usually served during salvation or other celebratory events. This culinary is used as a means of charity and is shared with others. In addition, another meaning of bogana rice is the expression of gratitude to Allah SWT. The development of bogana rice when viewed from the quality and uniqueness of food is growing and continues to innovate so that people can continue to taste the culinary. The development of bogana rice has now been carried out by the Kacirebonan Palace and continues to be carried out so that bogana rice becomes more sustainable and preserves its peculiarities.


Background & Aim: Medication adherence affects the outcome of treatment in patients with epilepsy. Non adherence to the antiepileptic drugs in patients may result in exacerbation of seizure frequencies, higher health-care system costs and higher risk of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the medication adherence and its related factors in patients with epilepsy. Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 120 patients with epilepsy from the Iran Epilepsy Association using purposive sampling method. Data were gathered using a demographic checklist and the Morisky's modified medication adherence questionnaire. Data were analyzed in the SPSS-16. Results: A total of 87.5%, 10.8% and 1.7% of the patients showed high, medium and low adherences, respectively. Being seizure-free for a period of time was the most cited reason of non-adherence (8.3%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the number of drugs and seizures with the medication adherence ( P <0.05). The older people had more adherences to their medications. The patients, who had higher adherences, had experienced fewer seizures in the previous three months. Conclusion: The results showed high rates of medication adherences among the patients. Planning and implementing educational programs on medication regimens, emphasizing on necessity of continues use of antiepileptic drugs despite absence of seizures, can be useful in increasing the medication adherence.


The two major systems of formal verification are model checking and algebraic model-based testing. Model checking is based on some form of temporal logic such as linear temporal logic (LTL) or computation tree logic (CTL). One powerful and realistic logic being used is CTL, which is capable of expressing most interesting properties of processes such as liveness and safety. Model-based testing is based on some operational semantics of processes (such as traces, failures, or both) and its associated preorders. The most fine-grained preorder beside bisimulation (mostly of theoretical importance) is based on failure traces. We show that these two most powerful variants are equivalent; that is, we show that for any failure trace test there exists a CTL formula equivalent to it, and the other way around. All our proofs are constructive and algorithmic. Our result allows for parts of a large system to be specified logically while other parts are specified algebraically, thus combining the best of the two (logic and algebraic) worlds.


Physiological responses of two provenances of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) were studied in seedlings grown at two [CO2 ] in combination with four temperature treatments. For the local Danish provenance, the average effect of elevated [CO2 ] during growth was to increase light-saturated net photosynthesis (An ) and instantaneous water-use efficiency or transpiration efficiency (ITE). These increases were strongly related to the temperature treatment. Stomatal conductance (gs ) was reduced in seedlings in high [CO2 ], but there was no statistically significant effect of temperature treatment. Stomatal conductance was 13-26% lower at elevated [CO2 ] and ITE was 89-156% higher, depending on growth temperature. The effects of [CO2 ] on An were considerably larger than those shown for many other woody species, but similar to those in other studies on European beech. The absolute value of An for a Romanian provenance of beech was 5-18% lower than in the Danish provenance at low [CO2 ] and 14-26% lower at high [CO2 ]. There was no statistically significant interaction between the provenances and [CO2 ], or between provenance and temperature. A model of the response of An to [CO2 ] at different temperatures gave predictions close to the measured results, except at the lowest temperature treatment where the model over-predicted the effect of elevated [CO2 ]. This and measurements of An made at a common, low [CO2 ] indicated a down-regulation of photosynthesis in the lowest temperature treatment at high [CO2 ]. Root plus soil respiration on a whole-tree basis (Rtr ) was increased by elevated [CO2 ] at all but the lowest temperature, but no effect was seen of [CO2 ] on root respiration per unit root d. wt. Mean Rtr on any given date was significantly correlated with An , except at the lowest temperature treatment. It is hypothesized that low temperature limited the ability of the roots to use photosynthates resulting in a feedback inhibition of An when elevated [CO2 ] was combined with low temperature.


With global environment problems increasing, wind power as a renewable energy is concerned worldwide, many wind farms are designed recently, however, the power output of wind farms is fluctuant which is determined by the intermittent and random of wind speed. With the increase of wind farm capacity and the percentage of wind power in the whole power system, the influence of the power output fluctuation of wind farms for the system stability will be more remarkable. The paper describes the use of VSC-HVDC technology to mitigate power output fluctuation caused by wind farms based on doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) which dominate in large capability wind generators, stator flux oriented vector control technology and capturing maximal wind energy are adopted, the independent control of active and reactive power is realized and wind generation by capturing maximal wind energy with efficiency is also obtained. The coordinated control strategy between wind farms and VSC-HVDC system is presented, the active power and reactive power fast regulation of VSC-HVDC system keeps the injection power of AC system a stable value according to the system needs. The simulations performed in PSCAD/EMTDC to verify the proposed control strategy.


Njega wa Gioko (1865–1948) was one of the pioneer Chiefs in Kirinyaga county of Kenya. The other pioneer Chief in Kirinyaga county was Gutu wa Kibetu (1860–1927) who reigned in the Eastern part of Kirinyaga county. Gioko reigned in the western part of Kirinyaga county (Ndia) that extended to some geographical parts of the present-day Nyeri county and the present-day Embu county. Njega also became the first paramount Chief of Embu district, which refers to the present-day Embu and Kirinyaga counties. As colonial hegemony and the protestant missionary enterprises, and its resultant evangelical theology, began to shape up in the present-day Kirinyaga county and the surrounding areas between 1904 and 1906, it found Gioko and Kibetu as the Athamaki (the most revered leaders). The evangelical European missionaries (Church Missionary Society [CMS]) who were comfortable with the colonial expansion, as it provided western governance structures that favoured their enterprises, employed Calvinistic theology in their dealings with the colonial government, and they dealt with the local leaders (Athamaki), who were eventually 'promoted' to the post of Chiefs in 1908 by the new rulers. Nevertheless, the missionary's emphasis on unrealised eschatology (future concerns) differed sharply with those of Athamaki who were the custodians of African indigenous religion and its resultant emphasis on realised eschatology (present concerns). As an agent of African religion, how did Gioko relate with the early 20th-century evangelical European missionaries and their Calvinistic tendencies that favoured the Church–State relationship as the way of God? The data for this research article are gathered through oral interviews, archival sources and extensive review of the relevant literature.Contribution: This article contributes to the journal's vision and scope with its focus on the early protestant theologies of the European Missionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries, and their resultant clashes with the theologies of African indigenous religion. As a multidisciplinary article that builds on a theo-historical design, the article contributes to the ongoing discourses on gospel and culture.


The in vitro antioxidant activity of Citrus mitis aqueous extract (CME) and its effects on antioxidative status and lipid profiles of rat fed with high cholesterol diet were examined. The in vitro antioxidant activity was assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), while the total phenolic content was measured as gallic acid equivalent. The antioxidative status in the plasma was further assessed by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay whereas plasma lipid profile was analysed spectrophotometrically. The result showed that both 5 and 10% extracts possessed antioxidant activities in concentration dependent manner in all tested methods which positively correlated with high phenolic content. The supplementation of 5 mg/kg of both 5 and 10% CME respectively reduced plasma total cholesterol (TCHOL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides (TG) levels concomitantly with an increased level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in rat induced hypercholesterolemia (p < 0.05). The lipid parameters were comparable with statin. The atherogenic index (AI) and sdLDL values were found to be lower in CME-treated groups compared to the control (p < 0.05). Microsomal lipid peroxidation indicated with TBARS estimation was found to be lower in both CME-treated groups. The results obtained suggest that C. mitisaqueous extract possesses lipid lowering and antioxidative effect in hypercholesterolemic-induced model and could potentially be used as therapeutic regiment in managing hypercholesterolemia.


The notion that the risk problems confronting contemporary society are trans-scientific in character - that is, that while they can be posed to science, they cannot be solved by science alone - has gained currency since Alvin Weinberg coined the term over thirty years ago. His prescription in such circumstances - that recourse must be had to legal procedures in order to find an answer - perhaps invests law with more ability than it actually possesses to deal with such issues. What is it about law that ensures that such problems are not also trans-legal? This article considers this question by examining the relationship between science and law, between the realms of the factual and of the normative, in order to determine what happens when the two come into contact, or communicate, in the context of regulation or of litigation. Focusing on this crucial interface leads to the conclusion that traditional - formal and substantive - paradigms of law are ill adapted to cope with risk issues and that a procedural orientation of law is preferable. The question is then to choose among the leading alternatives available: Habermas's procedural paradigm based on the theory of communicative action or Teubner's reflexive law based on the theory of autopoiesis.


As machine learning is increasingly used to make real-world decisions, recent research efforts aim to define and ensure fairness in algorithmic decision making. Existing methods often assume a fixed set of observable features to define individuals, but lack a discussion of certain features not being observed at test time. In this paper, we study fairness of naive Bayes classifiers, which allow partial observations. In particular, we introduce the notion of a discrimination pattern, which refers to an individual receiving different classifications depending on whether some sensitive attributes were observed. Then a model is considered fair if it has no such pattern. We propose an algorithm to discover and mine for discrimination patterns in a naive Bayes classifier, and show how to learn maximum-likelihood parameters subject to these fairness constraints. Our approach iteratively discovers and eliminates discrimination patterns until a fair model is learned. An empirical evaluation on three real-world datasets demonstrates that we can remove exponentially many discrimination patterns by only adding a small fraction of them as constraints.


An understanding of the distribution range and status of a species is paramount for its conservation. We used photo captures from 26,838 camera traps deployed over 121,337 km2 along with data from radio-telemetry, published, and authenticated wolf sightings to infer wolf locations. A total of 3,324 presence locations were obtained and after accounting for spatial redundancy 574 locations were used for modeling in maximum entropy framework (MaxEnt) with ecologically relevant covariates to infer potentially occupied habitats. Relationships of wolf occurrence with eco-geographical variables were interpreted based on response curves. Wolves avoided dense wet forests, human disturbances beyond a threshold, arid deserts, and areas with high top-carnivore density, but occurred in semi-arid scrub, grassland, open forests systems with moderate winter temperatures. The potential habitat that can support wolf occupancy was 364,425 km2 with the largest wolf habitat available in western India (Saurashtra-Kachchh-Thar landscape 102,837 km2). Wolf habitats across all landscapes were connected with no barriers to dispersal. Breeding packs likely occurred in ≈89,000 km2. Using an average territory size of 188 (SE 23) km2, India could potentially hold 423–540 wolf packs. With an average adult pack size of 3 (SE 0.24), and a wolf density < 1 per 100 km2 in occupied but non-breeding habitats, a wolf population of 3,170 (SE range 2,568–3,847) adults was estimated. The states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra were major strongholds for the species. Within forested landscapes, wolves tended to avoid top-carnivores but were more sympatric with leopards and dhole compared to tigers and lions. This ancient wolf lineage is threatened by habitat loss to development, hybridization with dogs, fast-traffic roads, diseases, and severe persecution by pastoralists. Their status is as precarious as that of the tiger, yet focused conservation efforts are lacking. Breeding habitat patches within each landscape identified in this study should be made safe from human persecution and free of feral dogs so as to permit packs to breed and successfully recruit individuals to ensure wolf persistence in the larger landscape for the long term.


Nowadays, technology development in cultural aspect has been rapidly evolved. The main reason for technological development in cultural aspect is to preserve the culture of previous era in this globalization age, particularly in Indonesia. Indonesia has many ethnics, races, languages, and cultures which have been passed from our ancestors, one of which is Kawi language. Kawi language is one of the languages which used in Javanese Hindu-Buddha Kingdoms. It was used in many literatures. At this time, only a few people understand Kawi language, particularly in Bali, so a preservation action must be done. Technology became a media to preserve and enhance understanding of Kawi language. Natural Language Processing like e-translator is the one that can be used to achieve the cultural preservation. Etranslator application is a tool for translating one language to another. It translates Kawi to Balinese language word by word. Stemming methods used in this application are Bobby Nazief and Mima Adriani Algorithm, perfected by Kawi wording regulation. Translated results from Kawi to Balinese language can be in a form of a word, sentence, or paragraph. Quality measurement of the translation system has an accuracy of 82,27%. Hopefully, this application can be one of the media to preserve Kawi language in Bali and Indonesia. Keyword E-translator, Preservation, Culture, Kawi Language, Balinese language.


Tests were made on a model wing with three different sized split trailing-edged flaps, in the NACA 7 by 10 foot wind tunnel. The flaps were formed of the lower rear portion of the wing and were rotated downward about axes at their front edges. The lift, drag, and center of pressure were measured with the axis in its original position and also with it moved back in even steps to the trailing edge of the main wing, giving in effect an increase in area. The split flaps when deflected about their original axis locations gave slightly higher maximum lift coefficients than conventional trailing-edge flaps, and the lift coefficients were increased still further by moving the axes toward the rear. The highest value of C(sub L max), which was obtained with the largest flap hinged at 90 per cent of the chord from the leading edge, was 2.52 as compared with 1.27 for the basic wing.


Using self-consistent effective-medium theory, we studied the complex elastic compliances of conducting disordered heterogeneous piezoelectric-polymer systems. The considered system is a random mixture of piezoelectric spheroids and polymer ones with the same orientation. The proximate cause of the effective elastic constants frequency dependencies was considered. The nature of the obtained spectra was analyzed.


Concentrations of uric acid (UA) in the blood, saliva, circadian urine and serum xanthinoxidase activity were studied in 150 rheumatic fever patients during acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) therapy. UA concentrations were also studied in the organs (myocardium, mitral cusp, liver and kidneys) of the dead. Low salicylemia in nonreactive rheumatic fever and therapeutic salicylemia in recurrent rheumatic carditis produced a normalizing effect on uric acid metabolism but in limited renal and salivary gland excretory capacity ASA therapy aggravated uric acid metabolic disorder.


This paper reports on the results of a long term experiment on spent fuel leaching, canister corrosion and radionuclide immobilization under repository conditions corresponding to early canister failure. A γ-dose of 850 mGy per hour, and Ar-flushed synthetic groundwater were used. During the first 287 days, the fractions of inventory in aqueous phase per day (f/d) increased nearly constantly for each radionuclide (except for 100Mo), with higher fractions for fission products than for actinides. After this initial stage, iron, cast iron and copper coupons (of30 mm2 size) were inserted into the leaching vessel: the concentrations of 238U, 237Np and 99Tc decreased by 80%, 97% and 88% to relatively stable levels (500ppb, 0.2ppb and 0.6ppb respectively). 239Pu concentrations slightly increased to the level of PuO2 solubility (0.5ppb). The leaching process for Cs, Mo and 90Sr was not influenced by the added metals. The pH and Eh values and corrosion potential were measured. The polarization resistance (Rp) was obtained from fitting of electrochemical impedance spectra, and then corrected by the surface area of the sample. The corrosion current density Icorr was calculated according to the Stern-Gary relationship, and using the same Tafel constants (26 mV)for all samples, i.e., Icorr = 0.026/Rp. The momentary corrosion rates of iron, cast iron and copper (Cu/Cu+) calculated based on the Faraday's law are in reasonable agreement with the values estimated from observation of thickness of corrosion layers using SEM microscope. The copper coupon appeared much more stable against corrosion than the other coupons. The corrosion layer and radionuclides deposited on corrosion products on iron coupons were analyzed by SEM-EDS and SIMS. Si was found to be coordinated with all iron corrosion products; however, redox sensitive elements U and Pu were mainly coordinated with the inner layer of iron corrosion products even though some 1-2 μm sized uranium-silica rich particles were found on the outer side of the iron corrosion layer. The findings of this work contribute to an improved understanding of the behaviour of spent fuel under near field repository conditions.


Ownership bias is a decision-making bias that leads to an individual's tendency to prefer their own ideas over others' during the design process. While prior work has identified the existence of this ownership bias in design professionals, limited work has investigated how the characteristics of the idea set affects this bias. In other words, is a preference for one's own ideas a bad thing if the ideas are truly better? This paper seeks to fill this research void through two design thinking workshops conducted with 45 design professionals recruited from two engineering companies. During the study, the participants individually generated and selected ideas as part of a 2-h team design challenge. The ideas generated were then rated for: (1) their perceived future value by the design team and (2) their creativity by expert raters. The results suggest that design professionals only exhibited ownership bias for ideas that were assessed to have little to no future value in the design process (low in idea goodness). In addition, professionals showed preferences for self-generated ideas that were of high usefulness and elegance but low in creativity, indicating an impact of creativity on ownership bias. These findings provide new evidence on the negative effects of ownership bias on the design process.


Poplar (Populus alba L.) lumber with a nominal thickness of 7 cm from the Taleghan region in Iran was dried through convective kiln drying and under three different programs of T5–D2 (Forest Product Laboratory proposed program for poplar), T5–D4, and T5–D6 in order to obtain the optimum kiln schedule so as to protect the wood quality at an appropriate level up to final moisture content of 12±2%. Subsequently, the intensities of warps, superficial and internal cracks occurrence, residual stresses, drying rate, and final moisture gradient were measured. Results revealed that due to low warping values, more homogeneous final moisture profile, fewer internal cracks, and absence of superficial cracks in the program T5–D2 compared to the other two (T5–D4 and T5–D6), this program can be recommended as an optimum program for poplar lumber drying at commercial scale from the Taleghan region. On the other hand and from an energy efficiency point of view, in comparison with the mild schedule (T5-D2), the severe schedule (T5-D6) by saving 456 h of drying time, reduced electricity consumption by 6156 KWh and was therefore found to be $ 240.08 more profitable in this trial.


This article reports on the RoboCup-2003 event. RoboCup is no longer just the Soccer World Cup for autonomous robots but has evolved to become a coordinated initiative encompassing four different robotics events: (1) Soccer, (2) Rescue, (3)Junior (focused on education), and (4) a Scientific Symposium. RoboCup-2003 took place from 2 to 11 July 2003 in Padua (Italy); it was colocated with other scientific events in the field of AI and robotics. In this article, in addition to reporting on the results of the games, we highlight the robotics and AI technologies exploited by the teams in the different leagues and describe the most meaningful scientific contributions.


Frequently updated web objects reduce the benefit of caching, increase the problem of cache inconsistency, and aggravate the inefficiency of the conventional "repeated unicast" delivery model. In this paper, we investigate multicast invalidation and delivery of popular, frequently updated objects to web cache proxies. Our protocol, MMO, groups objects into volumes, each of which maps to one IP multicast group. We show that, by forming volumes of the appropriate size and/or object correlation, the benefit from reliable multicast outweighs the cost of delivering extraneous data as well as the overhead of multicast reliability. Moreover, trace-driven simulations show that the bandwidth saving over conventional approaches increases significantly as the audience size grows. We conclude that MMO provides efficient bandwidth utilization and service scalability, and makes strong web cache consistency for dynamic objects practical.


The reinforcement of the protection of fundamental rights at the European level and the emergence of the status of Union citizenship are two closely connected phenomena. European citizenship has been and continues to be one of the central arguments in favour of the extension of the scope of EU fundamental rights. This argument arises out of a sentiment that vindicates equality at the core of the citizenship of the Union as a fundamental status. Against this background, this paper examines the different possibilities of interconnection between the traditional doctrine of EU fundamental rights and the jurisprudential construction of the citizenship of the Union. Particularly, it will be discussed whether fundamental rights should be placed at the core of the formula that protects the 'genuine enjoyment of the substance' of the rights conferred by EU citizenship, inaugurated by Ruiz Zambrano, already latent in Rottmann and substantially refined in an ever‐growing case‐law (McCarthy, Dereci, O. and S., Ymaraga and Alokpa). It will be argued that this formula carries the very valuable potential to reinforce citizenship of the Union as an independent source of rights able to overcome problems such as reverse discrimination. For these purposes, this formula could be considered to encompass not only the absolute deprivation of the 'genuine enjoyment of the substance of citizenship rights', but also the existence of serious obstacles thereto.


Reactivation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) from latently infected neurons of the trigeminal ganglia (TG) leads to blinding recurrent herpetic disease in symptomatic (SYMP) individuals. Although the role of T cells in herpes immunity seen in asymptomatic (ASYMP) individuals is heavily explored, the role of B cells is less investigated. In the present study, we evaluated whether B cells are associated with protective immunity against recurrent ocular herpes. The frequencies of circulating HSV-specific memory B cells and of memory follicular helper T cells (CD4+ Tfh cells), that help B cells produce antibodies, were compared between HSV-1 infected SYMP and ASYMP individuals. The levels of IgG/IgA and neutralizing antibodies were compared in SYMP and ASYMP individuals. We found that: (i) the ASYMP individuals had increased frequencies of HSV-specific CD19+CD27+ memory B cells; and (ii) high frequencies of HSV-specific switched IgG+CD19+CD27+ memory B cells detected in ASYMP individuals were directly proportional to high frequencies of CD45R0+CXCR5+CD4+ memory Tfh cells. However, no differences were detected in the level of HSV-specific IgG/IgA antibodies in SYMP and ASYMP individuals. Using the UV-B-induced HSV-1 reactivation mouse model, we found increased frequencies of HSV-specific antibody-secreting plasma HSV-1 gD+CD138+ B cells within the TG and circulation of ASYMP mice compared to SYMP mice. In contrast, no significant differences in the frequencies of B cells were found in the cornea, spleen, and bone-marrow. Our findings suggest that circulating antibody-producing HSV-specific memory B cells recruited locally to the TG may contribute to protection from symptomatic recurrent ocular herpes. IMPORTANCE Reactivation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) from latently infected neurons of the trigeminal ganglia (TG) leads to blinding recurrent herpetic disease in symptomatic (SYMP) individuals. Although the role of T cells in herpes immunity against blinding recurrent herpetic disease is heavily explored, the role of B cells is less investigated. In the present study, we found that in both asymptomatic (ASYMP) individuals and ASYMP mice there was increased frequencies of HSV-specific memory B cells that were directly proportional to high frequencies of memory Tfh cells. Moreover, following UV-B induce reactivation, we found increased frequencies of HSV-specific antibody-secreting plasma B cells within the TG and circulation of ASYMP mice, compared to SYMP mice. Our findings suggest that circulating antibody-producing HSV-specific memory B cells recruited locally to the TG may contribute to protection from recurrent ocular herpes.


Flexible metal–gas batteries have become increasingly attractive for use in wearable electronics in the recent years due to their large theoretical energy density and superior adaptability to irregular geometric surfaces, such as the human body. With continuous improvements in design strategies and assembly technologies, the fabrication of various advanced flexible metal–gas batteries has been attempted. In spite of these efforts, the synchronous integration of high flexibility, safety, comfort, and high performance into flexible metal–gas batteries with specifically functionalized configurations still remains a formidable challenge. To resolve these dilemmas, the redesign of cathode catalysts, gel polymer electrolyte, and battery configurations/components has been investigated. In this paper, we review the recent technical advances together with the major dilemmas facing currently available flexible metal–gas batteries, highlighting how flexible cathodes and gel polymer electrolytes with various structures and components can affect the electrochemical performance and functionality of flexible metal–gas batteries. Flexible Zn–air, Li–O2/air, and Li–CO2 batteries are mainly exemplified to elucidate their promising potential. Finally, based on our considerations, unresolved technical hurdles and future research perspectives involving flexible metal–gas batteries for wearable electronics are proposed.


The main subject of research is Container Position and Notary Authority in Making the Transitional Deed, with the formulation of the problem What is the position of Container House as a moving object and What is the notary's authority in making the Container House transitional deed. The conclusion is as follows: The position of Container House as a moving object, that container as an object that is valuable goods, property as a wealth, to the holder as the subject of rights is a private body or persoon, the right object is called an object, which means that the object of rights is object. Containers can be privately owned in the sense of individuals or legal entities, who are both legal subjects and can act according to law. Containers either as movable objects or immovable objects (planted in land parcels) can be used as objects of property rights in accordance with the provisions of Article 489 of the Civil Code. The authority of the notary in making Container House transfer deed, that the container building, the transfer of rights if built together with the land and the owner of the container building will divert the container along with the land can be proven by PPJB deed made before a notary or AJB made before PPAT. If the container building is only affixed, so that if it is transferred it does not damage the basic objects, the transfer of rights can be done with PPJB or with AJB made before a notary


A simple, selective, rapid and precise RP-HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of ezetimibe and atorvastatin from dosage forms. An ODS C-18 (Intersile 4.6 mm x 25 cm, 10 6m) column was used for the separation. The mobile phase was methanol and water (90 : 10 v/v) at the flow rate of 1 mL/min with the detection at 236 nm. The retention time of atorvastatin and ezetimibe were 1.9 min. and 3.46 min. respectively. The developed method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation and solution stability. The proposed method can be used for the estimation of these drugs in combined dosage forms


Objective was to analyze how the governance structures established between suppliers and buyers of certified cocoa in the southern region of Bahia in Brazil have contributed for economic, social and environmental sustainability. Three case studies were carried out with ten producers of certified cocoa (organic and UTZ), one Collective Organization (CO) and three purchasing processor companies who sell for external and domestic market. In case study 1, there is more effective economic governance between the purchasing processor company and its downstream buyer, which refers to a valuation of the purchased product, and involves economic and non-economic aspects. In case studies 2 and 3, the contractual structures are not able to promote efficient coordination in this system. This paper have contributions by evidence the existence of production systems that are focused on the quality and value of cocoa, an assessment that involves not only an economic but also environmental issue, because the region in which it is produced (South Bahia region); innovates by linking the importance of the governance of different agents to the operation of higher quality systems and certification.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of birth defects (BD) and its correlation with parental consanguinity in a representative population of Lebanon.
Methods: Secondary data analysis of the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network (NCPNN), reporting on neonates between September 2003 and December 2007.
Results: Among 50,396 live births, 1,637 were diagnosed with one or more birth defects for an overall prevalence of 32.5‰. The most prevalent defects were cardiovascular, urogenital and musculoskeletal with 15.1‰, 6.3‰ and 5.7‰, respectively. Approximately 40% of affected newborns had multiple defects involving one or more organs. Syndromes were suspected in 128 neonates of whom 77.3% were diagnosed with chromosomal aneuploidies (mostly Down syndrome). Consanguinity was reported among 15.73% of parents, and the odds of BD were found to be significantly increased among first-cousins consanguineous couples (OR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-1.7).
Conclusion: Findings of this study estimated for the first time the overall prevalence of BD in Lebanon, with congenital heart anomalies being most common. They further established a significant association between parental consanguinity and the odds of BD in offsprings.


Background: Micronutrient deficiencies remain common worldwide, but the consequences to growth and development in early infancy (under six months of age) are not fully understood. We present a systematic review of micronutrient interventions in term infants under six months of age, with a specific focus on iron supplementation. Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (Ovid) and Embase (Ovid) from January 1980 through December 2019. Interventions included iron or multiple micronutrients (MMNs). Results: Of 11,109 records identified, 33 publications from 24 trials were included (19 iron and five MMN supplementation trials). All but one trial (evaluating only morbidity and mortality) evaluated the effect of supplementation on biochemical outcomes, ten reported on growth, 15 on morbidity and/or mortality and six on neuro-behavioural development. Low- and middle- income countries made up 88% (22/25) of the total trial locations. Meta-analysis was not possible due to extensive heterogeneity in both exposure and outcome measures. However, these trials indicated that infants less than six months of age benefit biochemically from early supplementation with iron, but the effect of additional nutrients or MMNs, along with the impacts on growth, morbidity and/or mortality, and neuro-behavioural outcomes remain unclear. Conclusions: Infants less than six months of age appear to benefit biochemically from micronutrient supplementation. However, well-powered randomised controlled trials are required to determine whether routine supplementation with iron or MMNs containing iron should commence before six months of life in exclusively breast-fed infants in low-resource settings.


ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic forced elite football leagues into extended breaks followed by prompt resumption of competition. Inadequate periods of on-pitch football-specific training may underlie the increased injury incidence reported following restart in a non-peer reviewed report. Detraining effects from isolated training are expected, but existing models do not completely describe the unprecedented conditions imposed by COVID-19. Providing insight into specific neuromuscular qualities affected by extended absence of football-specific training, we share countermovement jump performance and kinetic data from an elite team's assessments pre and post 15 weeks of isolated training, and to contextualise these trends, off-season changes with no training. The isolated circuit resistance and aerobic interval training maintained jump height and Reactive Strength Indexmodified, but there were moderate magnitude (p = 0.01–0.04) changes in eccentric 'yielding' and landing 'loading' phase variables. These changes suggest a compromised initiation of countermovement deceleration, impact attenuation and altered coordination/motor control strategies or muscle-tendon properties. This analysis may have revealed kinetic markers specifically stimulated by football-specific training/competition, relevant to post-quarantine monitoring. Lower landing forces may reduce overuse injury risk, while yielding phase alterations suggest a negative effect on reactive performance, therefore the overall effect on vulnerability to injury is unclear.


For diagnostic purposes, mineralogical analysis was performed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue from a 58-year-old patient previously exposed to asbestos and rare earth dusts. No significant retention of asbestos was demonstrated in lung tissue by light microscopy (asbestos bodies) or transmission electron microscopy analysis (uncoated fibers). Particles containing rare earth (cerium, lanthanum) and phosphorus were identified in alveolar macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and cerium-containing particles accounted for 70% of particles observed in the lung tissue. Ultrastructural analysis of lung tissue revealed the presence of particles containing cerium and phosphorus in interstitial macrophages and elastic fibers. These results suggest that rare earth is metabolized and should be considered as biopersistent in the human respiratory tract, since occupational inquiries revealed that exposure to cerium oxide abrasive powder had ceased at least 15 years earlier.


The calcium metabolism in allergic diseases has recently been the subject of investigation by a number of workers. The principal method of approach has been through the study of the total calcium content of the serum by methods similar to the Kramer and Tisdall method1for the analysis of the blood for calcium. Such studies have been based mostly on the assumption of a deficiency of calcium in the blood and are supported principally by the indirect evidence that symptomatic relief has been obtained in certain instances through therapy with calcium salts. The mass of the analytic data, however, critically reviewed, indicates that the total serum calcium values lie within the range of normal variation.2For a discussion of the normal values, the reader is referred to the recent work of Criep and McElroy,2who also reviewed the present status of calcium therapy in atopy. As a part of the


Abstract The United Nations announced its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development worldwide in 2015. Comprehensive assessments of member states' performance towards achieving the related UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have since become a major challenge for national and subnational governments. This article presents a bibliometric analysis on the assessment of SDGs, at both the general and specific levels, based on 418 publications obtained from Scopus. The general level of analysis includes the number, types, and subject areas of documents published each year, as well as considerations such as the most-cited publications and the leading authors, journals, countries, institutional affiliations, and funders. The specific level of analysis includes a study of the relevant concepts in the publications and their relationships, allowing for the identification of predominant assessments under the 2030 Agenda, and of the most-often evaluated SDGs. Results indicated a focus on measuring impacts and risks, with SDGs 3, 6, 13, 7, 8, and 4 having been assessed the most often among the 17 SDGs, which is consistent with findings in prevalent subject areas such as environmental sciences, social sciences, medicine, and energy. Future works should address assessments under the 2030 Agenda more comprehensively, including analyses on trade-offs among the SDGs and on the transversal nature of some of these goals.


Traditional ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques have been widely used to detect surface and sub-surface defects of welds. UT inspection is a contact method which burdens the manufacturer by storing hot specimens for inspection when the material is cool. Additionally, UT is only valid for 5 mm specimens or thicker and requires a highly skilled operator to perform the inspections and interpret the signals. Infrared thermography (IRT) has the potential to be implemented for weld inspections due to its non-contact nature. In this study, the feasibility of using IRT to overcome the limitations of UT inspection is investigated to detect inclusion, porosity, cracking, and lack of fusion in 38 weld specimens with thicknesses of 3, 8 and 13 mm. UT inspection was also performed to locate regions containing defects in the 8 mm and 13 mm specimens. Results showed that regions diagnosed with defects by the UT inspection lost heat faster than the sound weld. The IRT method was applied to six 3 mm specimens to detect their defects and successfully detected lack of fusion in one of them. All specimens were cut at the locations indicated by UT and IRT methods which proved the presence of a defect in 86% of the specimens. Despite the agreement with the UT inspection, the proposed IRT method had limited success in locating the defects in the 8 mm specimens. To fully implement in-line IRT-based weld inspections more investigations are required.


Anorexia Nervosa is a severe mental illness, affecting young females more than males. Anorexia nervosa runs a chronic, relapsing course and is associated with high disability and mortality rates. The hallmark of the disease is keeping a low body weight, less than 85% of what is expected. The etiology of anorexia nervosa is complex (unknown), with risks involving environmental, temperamental, developmental and genetic factors. Though not specified in the diagnosis criteria, excessive physical activity has also been described as a prominent feature of the disorder. It plays a significant role in the development, maintenance and recovery rate of the disorder. This thesis aims at unraveling genetic and environmental factors affecting the hyperactivity behavior and the susceptibility to the activity based anorexia (ABA) model, which models this feature in rodents. Rodent studies take place under controlled genetic and environmental conditions, where the dissection of complex phenotypes is facilitated. In the thesis we report on the following novel findings. Physical activity levels prior to the restriction phase were found to highly predict the susceptibility levels across a set of eleven inbred mouse strains exposed to the ABA model. Mapping of hyperactivity behavior, by screening of the chromosome substitution (CS) panel, generated from C7BL/6J and A/J mice, in the ABA model, has shown potential quantitative trait loci (QTL) on mouse chromosomes 4, 12 and 13. Further analysis revealed a locus in the proximal region of chromosome 12, however, additional research is needed to search for candidate genes within the QTL interval that contribute to the observed phenotype. Early life events (inter- and intra- strain cross-fostering experiments in mice) were able to modulate genetic background in the highly ABA susceptible CS mouse strain 4. Change in maternal environment, of CS strain 4, was associated with significant differences in DNA methylation when compared to the mice raised by their own biological mothers. Several genes implicated in different psychiatric disorders, such as Cntnap2, showed hypermethylated regions and were related to reduced ABA susceptibility following cross-fostering. Thus, early life events may modulate genetic background susceptibility for adult maladaptive behavior via epigenetic modifications. Altogether, the studies described in this thesis suggest that the trajectory of anorexia nervosa is likely defined by an ongoing gene and environment interplay starting at an early stage. Close to the onset of illness, the role of excessive exercise or excessive physical activity as a risk factor becomes prominent and it should also be considered as a factor of illness severity. These results warrant further studies to investigate what modifications of brain structures i.e. neuronal organizations or/and connections, have occurred with the epigenetic modifications under the environmental and how these dynamic brain changes affect susceptibility to adult mal-adaptive behavior.


BACKGROUND
Variations in hospital admission rates have been extensively reported for many years, but this evidence has not had a wide impact on clinical practice. Understanding local reasons for high variation to improve quality of healthcare should be a focus of clinical governance. Our aim was to convert routine hospital activity data into information on a category of high-variation, discretionary, hospital admissions and provide a tool for analysis for clinical governors in Local Health Groups (LHG).

METHODS
We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of hospital activity data for the 22 LHGs in Wales and 101 general practices in Gwent Health Authority. Hospital spells for 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 were classified into Healthcare Resource Groups (HRGs). Using the systematic component of variation we identified a category of high-variation admissions for which the only plausible explanation was medical discretion. Using scatter plots we compared the proportion of these discretionary admissions with the age-, sex- and deprivation-adjusted standardized admission ratio. (SAR) for each LHG and practice.

RESULTS
We found a two-fold variation in SARs between LHGs and a three-fold variation between practices. Mean discretionary activity was 55 per cent (range 50-59 per cent) of total activity for LHGs and 56 per cent (51-62 per cent) for practices. Greatest variation was found for elective admissions. The relation between discretionary admissions and the SAR was identified for each LHG and practice as the starting point for further investigation.

CONCLUSION
This method provides useful information to LHG clinical governors to contribute to the process of reducing medical practice variation, increasing equity, improving the quality of care and making more cost-effective use of resources.


This paper presents an efficient method for deforming B-spline surfaces, based on the surface energy minimization. Firstly, using an analogy between the B-spline surface patch and the thin-plate element of the finite element method, and applying external forces on the surface with some given geometric constraints, the forces can locate on part of the surface or the surface. Then, the energy of the B-spline surface can change with the change of the forces. Finally, a new B-spline surface is generated by solving an optimization problem of change of the energy. The forces can be a single force, a distributed force and set of isolated force. The method can accomplish easily local deformation and total deformation of the B-spline surface.


Andrea Hanebuth is a researcher with the German Centre for Energy Resources (DER) at the Technische Universtität Bergakademie Freiberg (TU Freiberg). She studied Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering (TUM-BWL) at the Technische Universität München (TUM) and completed her degree as DiplomKauffrau. A doctoral candidate at the Chair of Leadership, Management and Human Resources at TU Freiberg, her research interests include research and innovation management, especially the management of intellectual property, research cooperation models as well as collaborative research management in the context of virtual organization, teams and networks. Current research areas include investigation of alternative models for sustainable research cooperation involving government, industry and science partners, as well as research into management of research groups and organizations characterized by decentralization and under the influence of virtualization.


The observation on relationship between some productive and reproductive traits of Jersey (J) x Red Sindhi (RS) cows. The data for the study were collected from 50 history sheets records maintained in the department of animal husbandry, Sam Higginbottom Institute–Deemed-to-be-Allahabad University, dairy farm Allahabad for the period from 1944 to 1960 Animals were managed by skilled persons under similar management condition. The mean of first second and third lactation length, lactation yield were 370.200 days, 474.320 days, 368.320 days, 1887.273 kg, 1975. 961 kg, and 1731.426 kg respectively. The mean of age at calving, first and second calving interval were 983.86 days, 436.44 days and 454.68 days respectively. There was high degree correlation between productive and reproductive traits. A total of 18 correlation coefficients were collected for determining the correlation between lactation length, lactation yield and age at calving, first and second calving interval. From 18 correlation, 10 values were found significant and 8 values were found non-significant.


Background Often, due to a heavy workload, nurses are unable to analyse clinical protocols and administer experimental drugs without prior, detailed information regarding characteristics, dilution and side effects. Precise, reliable administration can only be guaranteed when resulting from complete familiarity with the clinical protocol. Sometimes, pharmaceutical handling is governed by mechanical, non-universal regulations encouraging administration errors. The clinical research activity taking place in the Pharmacy of the IRCCS Tumour Institute Foundation is complex due to the vast numbers of experimental protocols it handles. The pool of professionals comprises a research nurse who manages the practical, organisational aspects of the clinical trials conducted on patients. Purpose To assess the nurse's knowledge regarding clinical studies through internal, investigatory procedures and instruments that monitor the quality of personnel training facilitating comprehension of the research protocols. Materials and methods Literature research: study published in 1994 in Cancer Nursing of the EORTC Nursing Group lists the nurses involved in Clinical Trials, documenting participation and specific needs. Internal research directed at hospital nurses who use experimental drugs more often. Results Duration of the investigation was one month. 144 questionnaires were issued of which: 48% were completed and subsequently returned. Results show a disturbing lack of postbase training when one considers the role of the nurse and her influence on patient care and study results. Conclusions It is imperative that nurses administering experimental drugs fully understand the therapeutic effects of such substances as well as administration guidelines in order to protect patient safety, hence guaranteeing optimum execution of the study. Appointing an experienced and reliable nurse for the pharmaceutical, clinical studies encourages colleague participation and guarantees quality control of performance. Such nurses constitute key figures for ensuring efficiency and correct conduct in clinical experimentation.


beta-Lactamase production by bacteria continues to be one of the main mechanisms of bacterial resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, and it seems likely to remain so. beta-Lactamase inhibitors provide 1 strategy to overcome this mechanism of bacterial resistance. Although 3 beta-lactamase inhibitor/antibiotic combinations are currently available, only 1 is approved for veterinary use. Because the beta-lactamase inhibitor must be present concurrently with the antibiotic for synergistic activity, it is important to consider the pharmacokinetic profile of these drugs in combination. These combinations were developed and optimized for human patients, so it is unlikely that they would achieve the ideal plasma and tissue concentrations and ratios in veterinary patients. Indeed, several differences in pharmacokinetic variables of beta-lactam antibiotic/beta-lactamase inhibitor agents have been described in dogs, compared with people. Such pharmacokinetic differences should be considered when interpreting in vitro susceptibility results in veterinary species, because these tests use ratios of drug that were established for humans. The beta-lactamase inhibitors represent a successful example of targeted drug development. However, the currently available inhibitors are active primarily against class-A beta-lactamases. Because the frequency with which class-C beta-lactamases are recognized is rapidly increasing in human isolates, and because beta-lactamase enzymes continue to evolve, new beta-lactamase inhibitors will need to be developed to target these enzymes.


Under high inflation, money's dual function as a unit of account and a unit of payment are split and transferred on alternate supports--either a foreign currency (as in Argentina) or domestic indices (as in Brazil). This paper compares the 1994 Brazilian Plano Real, which rebuilt a working, national monetary order, and the bimonetary Argentine Currency Board regime, whose 2001 collapse caused a major dislocation of both the real economy and the financial sector. "Pesification" is analyzed as an improvised attempt to rebuild a single, national money. Whereas returning to peso pricing on domestic markets proved to be surprisingly easy, the conversion of financial contracts (deposits, credits, bonds, etc.) was a disaster: state intervention into existing private contracts opened the way for a large-scale but opaque redistribution of private wealth. The experience of monetary destruction and reconstruction sheds light on how policy or regulatory intervention interacts with private choices. Policy efficiency is conditional on the willingness of agents to continue using the national money. Yet states that use money as a policy instrument may affect the agents perception that its stability is a condition for their own continuing private capacity to calculate and optimize. The effects of hyperinflation suggest that this constitutive ambiguity may actually result in the destruction of money. Keywords: Argentina, Brazil, hyperinflation, monetary reform, monetary theory JEL classification: E31, E42, E65


PURPOSE
The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of Terminalia chebula aqueous extract rinse on salivary pH and Streptococcus mutans. Mouthrinses have been in use from time immemorial as a supplement for routine oral hygiene practice. Although a large number of mouthrinses are currently available, many of them possess certain drawbacks, which has necessitated the search for alternate agents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Ten per cent of T. chebula extract was prepared. A purposive sample of 30 subjects was selected and randomly divided into extract and control groups. Baseline salivary sample was collected. The freshly prepared extract rinse and control were given to the respective groups. Distilled water was used as a negative control. Salivary samples were collected at 5 and 60 min after rinsing and were subjected to pH and microbiological analyses. An acceptability questionnaire was given to all of the participants. Statistical analysis was done using paired and unpaired t tests.

RESULTS
There was a significant reduction in the S. mutans count at 5 and 60 min after rinsing the extract. Salivary pH remained alkaline for a period of 1 h after rinsing the extract. Results of the acceptability questionnaire indicated that the mouthrinse was acceptable to 80% of the subjects.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study indicate that T. chebula may prove to be an effective anticaries mouthwash owing to its ability to increase salivary pH and inhibit S. mutans. This may also be a valuable public health intervention as it is economical and has multiple health benefits.


Background: Gloriosa superba (Family: Liliaceae) is commonly known as Kalihari in India and has been used by several indigenous communities to treat a snake bite, skin diseases and joint pain. It has been also scientifically reported for many pharmacological activities such as hypoglycaemic, hepatoprotective, anticancer, anti-inflammatory. Present work is an effort to develop validated HPTLC method for the detection and quantification of chief constituent in the tuber extract of Gloriosa superba. Methods: HPTLC analysis of tuber extract has been performed on Silica gel 60 F254 (10 cm×10 cm) plates with mobile phase consisting toluene, ethyl acetate and diethylamine (02:08:02, v/v/v). Densitometric scanning of the plate was performed at 371nm by using CAMAG TLC scanner III equipped with visionCATS version 2.4.17207.2 (CAMAG) and developed method was also validated for accuracy, precision and robustness as per ICH guidelines. Results: present work has confirmed the rich content of colchicine in tuber extract of Gloriosa superba. The calibration curve was linear in the selected range of 0.4-1.2 μg/spot and regression equation found to be y = 0.0285x + 0.0074. the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.9978 for the regression equation. The LOQ and LOD was 0.170 μg /spot and 0.056 μg /spot respectively. The average recovery of colchicine at three levels was 99.5, 98.6 and 99.6 %, which indicated the remarkable reproducibility of the method. Conclusion: findings revealed that the developed method is simple, precise, and accurate for quantitative analysis of Gloriosa superba; and it might be useful for quality control of herbal medicine.


Recent evidence confirms the presence of erythropoietin receptors on a variety of cancer cells. This has raised concerns about the use of erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents in the treatment of cancer‐related anemia. Having previously identified expression of functional erythropoietin receptors in a non‐small cell lung carcinoma cell line, H838, which activated key signaling pathways in response to erythropoietin stimulation, we now demonstrate impaired downregulation of the erythropoietin receptor in these tumor cells. The erythropoietin receptor is not ubiquitinated following erythropoietin stimulation in this cancer cell line, and there is no turnover of the receptor in either unstimulated or stimulated cells. Compounding this blunted response is impaired SOCS3 induction downstream of erythropoietin stimulation and an extremely delayed SOCS1 response. If this finding in non‐small cell lung carcinoma is a widespread phenomenon, then impaired erythropoietin receptor downregulation and degradation in tumor cells has clinical implications for those patients receiving erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents for cancer‐related anemia.


A quantum-mechanical (hybrid MP2/cc-pVTZ and CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ) full quartic potential energy surface (PES) in rectilinear normal coordinates and the second-order operator canonical Van Vleck perturbation theory (CVPT2) are employed to predict the anharmonic vibrational spectra of s-trans- and s-gauche-butadiene (BDE). These predictions are used to interpret their infrared and Raman scattering spectra. New high-temperature Raman spectra in the gas phase are presented in support of assignments for the gauche conformer. The CVPT2 solution is based on a PES and electro-optical properties (EOP; dipole moment and polarizability) expanded in Taylor series. Higher terms than those routinely available from Gaussian09 software were calculated by numerical differentiation of quadratic force fields and EOP using the MP2/cc-pVTZ model. The integer coefficients of the polyad quantum numbers were derived for both conformers of BDE. Replacement of harmonic frequencies by their counterparts from the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ model significantly improved the agreement with experimental data for s-trans-BDE (root-mean-square deviation ≈ 5.5 cm(-1)). The accuracy in predicting the rather well-studied spectrum of fundamentals of s-trans-BDE assures good predictions of the spectrum of s-gauche-BDE. A nearly complete assignment of fundamentals was obtained for the gauche conformer. Many nonfundamental transitions of the BDE conformers were interpreted as well. The predictions of multiple Fermi resonances in the complex CH-stretching region correlate well with experiment. It is shown that solving a vibrational anharmonic problem through a numerical-analytic implementation of CVPT2 is a straightforward and computationally advantageous approach for medium-size molecules in comparison with the standard second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2) based on analytic expressions.


As an assignment in their course on worldwide religions, a group of Swedish High School pupils followed 12 biblical rules for two weeks, while another group from the same school just imagined the experience. Groups were asked to reflect and write down either how it was (experience) or how it would have been (imagine) to follow the rules. By applying a semantic test, based on a Latent Semantic Analysis generated representation of the statements, we first found that the semantic representations of the written reflections differed between the experience and imagine groups, and between gender. Analysis of word frequency count suggests that the group that followed the rules were more likely to use words related to their task in their reflections, while the group that imagined the experience generated words related to themself and problems. The results suggest that the consequences of learning by experience might culminate in greater student engagement.


MOTIVATION
enhancers play an important role in the regulation of gene expression during spermatogenesis. The development of ChIP-Chip and ChIP-Seq sequencing technology has enabled researchers to focus on the relationship between enhancers and DNA sequences and histone protein modifications. However, the prediction of enhancers based on the locally conserved DNA sequence and similar histone modification features is still unknown. Here, the present study proposed a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to predict enhancers that can regulate gene expression during spermatogenesis.

RESULTS
we have obtained a positive set of enhancers using the P300 locus, verified by experiments, while a negative set was constructed using the promoter as a non-enhancer locus. The model was trained on all types of specific cells during spermatogenesis independently, and the transfer learning strategy was used to fine-tune the model based on which the model can be trained and adapted to other cells quickly. We visualized the convolution layer of the trained model and aligned the predicted enhancer with the JASPAR database. The results showed that the model was highly matched with some important transcription factors during spermatogenesis, signifying the reliability of the model. Finally, we compared the CNN algorithm with the gkmSVM algorithm (Support Vector Machine). It is well known that CNN has better performance than the gkmSVM algorithm, especially in the generalization ability. Our work demonstrated their strong learning ability and the low CPU requirements for the experiment, with a small number of convolution layers and simple network structure, while avoiding overfitting the training data. At the end of the experiment, we used the trained model to build an enhancer recognition website for further research and communication.


This is the third volume of a paediatric habilitation series. Its authors are a paediatrician and a physical therapist working in centres in the USA. In an area of medical practice that is already well served by relevant literature a new book needs a definite message and style to be successful. This book fulfills those criteria. Beginning with an accurate and uncontroversial historical perspective of cerebral palsy the authors go on to present an acceptable classification and methods for the diagnosis and evaluation of affected children. These are followed by a very valuable section in which normal and abnormal motor development in childhood are clearly contrasted and well illustrated. This section forms a background to a discussion at both a theoretical and practical level on the planning and execution of relevant treatment regimens. The book also includes an overview, albeit uncritical, of the many eponymous physical treatment methods available to therapists, and a discussion on the wider aspects-medical, educational, and social, of the mangagement of cerebral palsy. I was impressed particularly with the contribution on the management offeeding problems in severely disabled children. The authors concentrate on the problems shown by children with major rather than with minor disabilities and have largely excluded from consideration the problems of older children. This book is of particular value both as a primer and refresher for physiotherapists treating children with cerebral palsy and for paediatricians, especially those in training, who have the care of such patients. It is too detailed to be a workshop manual but is a very useful short reference text of therapy. In fulfilling this function it is considerably helped by its eclectic approach in a field where dogma is not unknown.


This paper reports the results of a literature review on "An Estimate of the Natural Fecundability Ratio Curve" by Bendel and Hua (1978, Social Biology 25). The estimation of this work was the origin of a falsified chart on women's age-fertility profile that was featured in a high school health education material published in 2015 by the government of Japan. The author searched citation databases and collected 23 works citing the study. A review of the 23 works showed that biases and unreliability of the Bendel-Hua estimation had been pointed repeatedly. The results imply that the chart would be inappropriate for educational use, even if it were not falsified. Both the Japanese government and academics are responsible for the inappropriate chart being used without a comprehensive literature review to insure the reliability of scientific knowledge.


The fabrication parameters for highly ordered nanopore arrays formed by self-organized anodization on aluminum have been investigated. To fabricate ordered nanopore arrays in alumina layer a two-step anodization process was used in oxalic acid solution. The regular nanopore arrangement, interpore distance and pore diameter in alumina surface were strongly dependent on the applied potential at anodization. The interpore distance and pore diameter increased with anodic applied potential, and hexagonally ordered pore arrangements in alumina were obtained by anodization at 40V. For the effects of the heat treatment of aluminum substrate on size of domains with same pore orientation, the domain size increased with increasing annealing time.


Abstract The plasticity of the mantle is still not well constrained, and satisfactory mineral-physics-based rheological laws are still missing. Despite olivine being the major component of the upper mantle, it is still debated which deformation mechanism (dislocation creep, diffusion creep, grain boundary sliding) dominates deformation. High-pressure research developments (state-of-the-art presses, synchrotron experiments, and so on) as well as competitive analysis utilities (software analysis, microscopy, and so on) allow considering intra- and intergranular mechanisms (grain boundary sliding accommodated by diffusion/dislocation creep) simultaneously. To study the contribution of individual deformation mechanism to the overall deformation in the upper mantle, we deformed polycrystalline forsterite at 3.5–5.0 GPa, 1000–1200 °C, 2 × 10–5s–1 at different strains in a 6-axis Mavo press. Split-cylinder experiments allowed to characterize an "internal" surface of the sample before and after the deformation experiments. Intra- and intergranular deformation was tracked using a focus ion beam milled reference grid on this surface. Grain internal misorientation where obtained from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data. Both techniques suggest the dominance of intragranular deformation, in agreement with the fact that the samples have been deformed in the dislocation creep regime, as usually defined. Moreover, strain markers and out-of-plane displacements of grains provide the first microstructural evidence for a contribution of grain boundary sliding to plastic deformation at upper mantle pressure. Whether these displacements are grain boundary sliding or involve grain boundary migration cannot be clarified, given the resolution of the strain markers. Our EBSD data suggest that grain boundary processes become increasingly relevant at temperatures above 1100 °C and ensure homogenous plastic strain distribution in the aggregate.


The still popular blue jeans have their origins in the Old West frontier of San Francisco in the late 1800s. Gathered from collections around the world, here are never-before-seen pictures of antique Miners denim worn in the frontier communities of Nevada and California, including Levi denim that is over 120 years old. Over a dozen other brands that used this strong, durable fabric, and helped make blue jeans what they are today include Greenbaum Brothers, Neustadter Brothers, S.R. Krouse, A.B. Elfelt & Co., Heynemann & Co., Harman Adams, W. & I Steinhart & Co., Toklas, Brown, & Co., Yung Chow, and others. To avoid patent infringements, these other, little-known brands designed jeans that found a way around the rivet patent of Levi Strauss. Many of these innovative blue jeans designs have been lost in the dust of history and were inaccessible to the public until now. This book offers an extensive look at the whole era of Old West denim. Over three hundred color photos and illustrations chronicle never-before-seen examples, patent drawings, and the histories of the manufacturers. This is invaluable information for fashion historians and collectors alike.


In the context of high-dimensional data state-of-the-art methods for constraint-based causal structure learning, such as the PC algorithm, are limited in their application through their worst case exponential computational complexity. To address the resulting long execution time, several parallel extensions have been developed to exploit modern multi-core systems. These extensions apply a static distribution of tasks to the execution units to achieve parallelism, which introduces the problem of load imbalance. In our work, we propose a parallel implementation that follows a dynamic task distribution in order to avoid situations of load imbalance and improve the execution time. On the basis of an experimental evaluation on real-world high dimensional datasets, we show that our implementation has a better load balancing compared to an existing parallel implementation in the context of multivariate normal distributed data. For datasets that introduce load imbalance, our dynamic task distribution approach outperforms existing static approaches by factors up to 2.4. Overall, we increase the speed up from factors of up to 27, for the static approach, to factors of up to 39 for the dynamic approach, when scaling to 80 cores compared to a non-parallel execution.


AT the cellular level different mechanisms have been demonstrated or postulated for the transport and processing of proteins in the epithelium of the proximal tubule. Eight pathways are summarized and numbered in Figure 13: 1. The main transport pathway for proteins consist of endocytosis from the tubule lumen and subsequently lysosomal digestion. 2. Proteins do not pass through the junctional complexes into the intercellular spaces under physiological conditions but may do so in very early embryological stages or if the luminal hydrostatic pressure is experimentally increased. 3. Certain small proteins or polypeptides may be catabolized by membrane digestion at the surface of the brush border membranes. 4. Proteins may normally diffuse retrograde into the intercellular space through the basement membrane and then return unaltered to the peritubular space. 5. Endocytosis from the peritubular cell surface is rare and quantitatively insignificant. 6.-8. There is no convincing evidence for the existence of transcellular transport of intact protein, either directly through the cytoplasm, or by peritubular release of protein-containing lysosomes or endocytic vacuoles.


This essay, written in reflection of earlier work, introduces the themes needed to analyze forms of gender and class oppression as these have been mediated through, and by, hegemonic projects of imperialism and nationalism. It argues that the gender critique of imperialism and nationalism should be informed by a critical epistemology that integrates class, capital, and other social relations with ideologies and practices of power. A feminist historical materialism is used that avoids the either-or binary of material, social relations versus culture and language is used, bringing into view the particularities of social relations and illuminating the ways that gender becomes crucial for hegemonic projects. These hegemonic social projects inform languages and cultures of people that are integrated as shaping elements of common sense, consensus, contestations, and the politics of gender. The pitfalls of national consciousness are also brought into view using feminist and class lenses, so that differences between liberal, communist, and even fascist forms of nationalism are revealed. These analytical tools, developed a decade ago, are still relevant to contemporary case studies of imperialism and nationalism of Israel and Palestine and the religious and cultural nationalism in parts of the Middle East that has arisen in resistance to contemporary American imperialism.


The city of Irbid, Jordan, is divided into 17 zones to examine the accessibility of the locations of the public facilities by zone. The educational, health, postal, mosque, public park, fire, police, library, and bank services in Irbid are analyzed, as is the accessibility to public transport, to know how good the location of these facilities is to the public. A descriptive measure, rather than a quantitative one, is used in the analysis. A circle of the maximum walking distance is drawn around each facility representing the service area for that facility, and zones ranging from completely served by these facilities to completely unserved are described. The analysis shows that the central zones had redundant services for many uses, while other zones were partially served or even unserved. The public transport network compensated for the majority of the deficiencies in accessibility over the zones. The analysis shows that the availability of good service tends to vary inversely with the needs of the population served.


The Electron Model for Many Applications (EMMA) will be the World's first non-scaling FFAG and is under construction at the STFC Daresbury Laboratory in the UK. Construction is due for completion in Summer 2010 and will be followed by commissioning with beam and a detailed experimental programme to study the functioning of this type of accelerator. This paper will give an overview of the motivation for the project and describe the EMMA design and hardware. The first results from commissioning will be presented in a separate paper.


Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most important malignant diseases worldwide. Cytokines may contribute to the clinical and histopathological alterations of the disease, while CD44, the lymphocyte homing receptor, is a putative determinant of lymphoma dissemination. To assess their value in NHL, the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-2 and sCD44 were measured in patients with different stages of NHL and the relation between these levels and tumor burden, presence of B symptoms and other prognostic criteria of the disease was evaluated. Fifty-two patients with NHL before administration of treatment as well as 20 age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory assessment was done for the studied patients and the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-2 and sCD44 were estimated by enzyme immunoassay. Laboratory assessment included measurement of Creactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and albumin. LDH and CRP levels were more significantly higher, while albumin level was significantly lower among patients with stage IV as compared to that of patients with stages I/II or III. The levels of TNF-alpha, IL-2 and sCD44 were significantly higher in NHL patients than in controls. The levels of both TNF-alpha and IL-2 were positively correlated with LDH and CRP and negatively correlated with albumin. However, TNF-alpha, but not IL-2, was negatively correlated with hemoglobin (HB). The level of sCD44 was negatively correlated with both albumin and HB and positively correlated with CRP. There were significant positive correlation between the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-2 and sCD44. There was a significant association between the levels of both TNF-alpha and sCD44 and the presence of B symptoms. In conclusion, the occurrence of B symptoms in NHL may be attributed, at least in part, to high level of TNF-alpha. The increased levels of TNF-alpha IL-2 and sCD44 are associated with high tumor burden and poor prognostic criteria and it is suggest that they can be used as prognostic markers in NHL.


Basophil-derived platelet activating factor (PAF) was shown to induce the release of platelet factor 4 (PF4), a specific platelet protein, from isolated, washed rabbit platelets. The kinetics and dose response of this release were similar to that of PAF-induced 3H-serotonin secretion, and indicated that PF4 release was a reliable and sensitive estimate of platelet stimulation by PAF. Plasma PF4 concentrations were therefore used as a marker for in vivo platelet release during systemic anaphylaxis induced by the i.v. injection of antigen (horseradish peroxidase, HRP) into rabbits conditioned to produce only IgE antibody against HRP. Antigen administration was accompanied by the loss of circulating stainable basophils, acute thrombocytopenia and neutropenia, and a significant increase in PF4 levels. The increase in plasma PF4 began approximately 90 sec after antigen challenge, corresponding to 60 sec after the intravascular aggregation of platelets. However, maximum levels of plasma PF4 were not reached until 3 to 5 min after antigen challenge. Concomitant measurement of circulating PAF during anaphylaxis indicated that PAF release into the circulation preceded the decrease in circulating platelet numbers by about 30 sec and preceded the increase in plasma PF4 levels by about 60 sec. Thus, this study documents that platelets undergo a release reaction during anaphylaxis at a time when they are sequestered in the microvasculature. The temporal relationship of this release suggests that the following series of events occur during IgE anaphylaxis: antigen stimulates circulating IgE-sensitized basophils to release PAF, PAF causes intravascular platelet aggregation and subsequent sequestration, and finally, sequestered platelets release their intracellular constituents.


The thermal isomerization reaction of trans-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene (1,2,3,4-DMC) to produce the isomer (2E, 4E)-hexadiene have been studied using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31+G level. For this reaction, two different channels of the conrotatory torquoselectivity allowing the formation of the two isomeric (E,E) and (Z,Z) have been characterized. The isomer (Z,Z) occurs through the inward conrotatory mechanism, whereas the isomer (E,E) occurs through the outward conrotatory mechanism. The outward conrotatory is favored by 11.3 kcal/mol with respect to inward conrotatory one. This behavior is consistent with the thermodynamic properties: enthalpy, free energy, and entropy calculated in both reaction pathways. The topological analysis of the electron localization function at the outward conrotatory transition state explicated the electronic reorganization through a pseudodiradical {2n + 2π} process and not a pericyclic reorganization. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


: Clinical data (n = 275) collected from 52 patients with respiratory tract infection receiving amikacin (AMK) by intravenous infusion were analysed with NONMEM, a computer program designed for estimating population pharmacokinetic parameters. Concentrations of AMK in serum were determined by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). A two compartment open model was used for analysing AMK population pharmacokinetics. The influence of body weight (BW), creatinine clearance (CC), administration history (HIS) and state of pathology (chronic obstructional pulmonary disease, COPD) on pharmacokinetics was investigated. The pharmacokinetic parameters of AMK were shown to be influenced by creatinine clearance (CC) and COPD.


U–Pb dating of detrital zircons, magmatic zircons, and metamorphic zircon overgrowths and titanites from the Priest River complex, USA, reveal the ages of high-grade metasedimentary rocks, intrusive ages of associated igneous rocks, and the timing of Precambrian metamorphic events. Sensitive high-mass resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb dates of detrital zircons from the Hauser Lake gneiss and Gold Cup Quartzite are predominately Paleoproterozoic with some Archean grains. The Hauser Lake gneiss contains detrital zircons with nearly concordant ages as young as 1511 Ma. Isotope dilution – thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID–TIMS) and chemical abrasion – thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA–TIMS) dating of magmatic zircon from amphibolites in the Hauser Lake Gneiss yield 1470–1430 Ma crystallization ages based on discordant data, with Cretaceous lower intercepts. The U–Pb zircon systematics are very complex and reflect multiple periods of magmatic and metamorphic growth. A combination of mechanical abrasion, chemical abrasion (CA–TIMS), and SHRIMP methods were required to identify the major geochronological components. These data, in addition to one Nd model age, strengthen correlations between the Hauser Lake Gneiss and the lower Belt–Purcell Supergroup and the Gold Cup Quartzite with the Neihart Quartzite, which underlies the Belt–Purcell Supergroup. Four SHRIMP-dated metamorphic zircon overgrowths give concordant Grenville dates with a weighted average of 1127 ± 110 Ma. This Grenville-aged metamorphic event is recorded by many isotopic systems in the Belt–Purcell basin and reflects a static thermal event, possibly driven by magmatism at depth.


Embedded software is a sub-system that needs to be integrated with the electrical and mechanical subsystems for a functional medical device to be developed and marketed. In order to be able to develop a medical device system through integrating its sub-systems, the complete system requirements should be known at the start of the project and managed throughout development. Software requirements are then derived from the systems requirements. We have developed and piloted a medical device software process assessment framework called MDevSPICE® that integrates processes from various medical device software standards as well as generic software development standards. This paper describes how the MDevSPICE® framework has been designed so as to enable medical device software developers to produce software that will be safe and easily integrated with other sub-systems of the overall medical device. We also describe the lessons learned from piloting MDevSPICE® in the medical device industry and challenges medical device software developers meet in tracing requirements and risks to and from the system level.


A predictive theory connecting atomic structure to the rate of recombination would enable the rational design of semiconductor nanomaterials for optoelectronic applications. Recently our group has demonstrated that the theoretical study of conical intersections can serve this purpose. Here we review recent work in this area, focusing on the thesis that low-energy conical intersections in nanomaterials share a common feature: locality. We define a conical intersection as local if (a) the intersecting states differ by the excitation of an electron between spatially local orbitals, and (b) the intersection is accessed when the energies of these orbitals are tuned by local distortions of the geometry. After illustrating the locality of the conical intersection responsible for recombination at dangling bond defects in silicon, we demonstrate the locality of low-energy conical intersections in cases where locality may be a surprise. First, we demonstrate the locality of low-energy self-trapped conical intersections in a pristine silicon nanocrystal, which has no defects that one would expect to serve as the center of a local intersection. Second, we demonstrate that the lowest energy intersection in a silicon system with two neighboring dangling bond defects localizes to a single defect site. We discuss the profound implications of locality for predicting the rate of recombination and suggest that the locality of intersections could be exploited in the experimental study of recombination, where spectroscopic studies of molecular models of defects could provide new insights.


To evaluate the rate of establishment of cortical continuity and union of large bone defects with the use of recombinant bone morphogenetic protein (rh-BMP- 2)/hydroxyapatite implants. Six adult male dogs were used to evaluate the effect of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) in filling large cortical defects. A 1.5cm cortical ulnar defect was created in two groups of dogs. First group had 1.5cm BMP implant in a carrier of hydroxyapatite in the cortical defect; the control (group 2) defect was left  intact. Evaluation was through serial radiographic determination of mean fracture gaps. There was progressive filling of osseous defects in group 1, which was total at the 16th week post-surgical (PS); group 2 dogs had radiographic non-union at the 16th PS week. It was concluded that BMP implanted with a hydroxyapatite carrier significantly  enhanced the rate of cortical restoration of massive bone defects in dogs. Keywords : Bone healing, Bone morphogenetic protein-2, Cortical growth, Dogs, Segmental bone defects, Ulna


Research and development in the exploitation of millimeter and submillimeter waves has undergone impressive growth during the last decade due to the potential technological uses of the terahertz (THz) portion of the spectrum with its unique location between the microwave (i.e., electronic) and the optical domains, which nominally corresponds to the frequency range from 300 GHz (submillimeter wave) to 10 THz. There are a number of important applications in the THz band, including atmospheric science, biodetection and imaging, THz spectroscopy, threat detection, broadband communications, and the detection of bioagents relevant to battlefield defense. Due to the sensitivity of THz radiation to the configuration of large organic molecules, THz spectroscopy will support and sustain new technologies for the remote detection of potentially harmful bioagents [1], [2]. Furthermore, the possibility to fabricate solid-state sources and detectors will allow the production of fully integrated biosensors [3]. Wireless communication is another promising application of THz technology. In particular, mobile videophones and highspeed mobile Internet access would be greatly facilitated if THz carriers would be used at least in some links of the cellular network. All solid-state THz communication systems can be envisioned [4] that supply a valid alternative to the expensive and less-developed all-optical communication technology.


ASTROD-GW (ASTROD [astrodynamical space test of relativity using optical devices] optimized for gravitational wave detection) is a gravitational-wave mission with the aim of detecting gravitational waves from massive black holes, extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) and galactic compact binaries together with testing relativistic gravity and probing dark energy and cosmology. Mission orbits of the 3 spacecrafts forming a nearly equilateral triangular array are chosen to be near the Sun–Earth Lagrange points L3, L4, and L5. The 3 spacecrafts range interferometrically with one another with arm length about 260 million kilometers. For 260 times longer arm length, the detection sensitivity of ASTROD-GW is 260 fold better than that of eLISA/NGO in the lower frequency region by assuming the same acceleration noise. Therefore, ASTROD-GW will be a better cosmological probe. In previous papers, we have worked out the time delay interferometry (TDI) for the ecliptic formation. To resolve the reflection ambiguity about the ecliptic plane in source position determination, we have changed the basic formation into slightly inclined formation with half-year precession-period. In this paper, we optimize a set of 10-year inclined ASTROD-GW mission orbits numerically using ephemeris framework starting at June 21, 2035, including cases of inclination angle with 0° (no inclination), 0.5°, 1.0°, 1.5°, 2.0°, 2.5°, and 3.0°. We simulate the time delays of the first and second generation TDI configurations for the different inclinations, and compare/analyse the numerical results to attain the requisite sensitivity of ASTROD-GW by suppressing laser frequency noise below the secondary noises. To explicate our calculation process for different inclination cases, we take the 1.0° as an example to show the orbit optimization and TDI simulation.